Get a Room!

  • Posted by aria on July 5, 2017 at 4:47 am

    Thread continued from SG here: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=25695.0

    [Tuesday September 15th, 2076; CTec Aquaology, Tonga Trench]

    There is a momentary pause, apparently even AIs need time to consider their options, and then her voice returns

    >>Monarch has locked himself in with his cronies in sub bay three in the second dome. I am preventing him from leaving but cannot breach the bay at the moment without compromising the station. Tell your hacker they may monitor the feeds from the bay without my interference. If you can persuade him to speak we may all learn something. You have until I find a suitable way in, after that he is mine alone!

    Damn, you had to skirt the sub bay on the way here to avoid She HAL’s AROs…

    ***
    #32

    adamu replied 5 years, 3 months ago 5 Members · 613 Replies
  • 613 Replies
  • adamu

    Member
    July 5, 2017 at 6:33 am

    Al continued to subvocalize. <<Seems ta me there’s a win here, Silky. Yer interest in Monarch is payback, right? Well, don’t sound like they’s much worse a fate than handin’ him over ta She-HAL. An’ I’m startin’ ta wonder if it’s her that’s got control over these head-cases, if she can’t figure a way ta crack a sub bay with all those hands ta back up her knowledge. I reckon we could solve the sub bay puzzle, trade catchin’ the asshole an’ handin’ him to her fer proof o’ death. Then, once we know a helluva a lot more an’ are on good terms wtih She-HAL, we can decide what needs doin’ with the headcases an’ they kin.>>

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    July 5, 2017 at 7:38 am

    Isaint replied to that: <<I agree, this might be an opportunity – but we still don’t know if Monarch is the true bad guy here. But starting a conversation certainly is the way forward – especially now that we have permission from She-HAL. Aside from that there is the very real possibility that Monarch is in there with other innocent and uninfected people. I certainly won’t condemn them because of Monarch.
    Robyn, please try to establish communications.
    When all is said and done, we have to get into the submarine bay anyway to get out of here.>>

  • adamu

    Member
    July 5, 2017 at 8:09 am

    <<If Silky says he’s the bad guy, he’s the bad guy. May not be behind the head cases, but we’s here cuz he offed her ma, an’ that’s all I need ta know on that.>>

  • aria

    Member
    July 6, 2017 at 11:32 am

    [Tuesday September 15th, 2076; CTec Aquaology, Tonga Trench]

    >>Bad is a rather nebulous moniker in our world, no doubt Monarch had his reasons for his actions and I want to damn well find out what they are. Then I would prefer to hand him over to the authorities but if the condition of us getting out of here is handing him to SheHAL then I don’t necessarily feel much remorse about that. CFD is another matter and if we can do something to halt its spread down here then I feel obliged to do so. It would seem most of you at least are in agreement with me on that one!

    Alyce, can you hack the feeds to the subbay? It sounds like you’ll be left alone to do so…

    >>Silk

    Once more in the host Robyn is able to follow the breadcrumb trail to the cameras and surveillance equipment in the bay. And sure enough Monarch and a group of five others, who can only be described as non standard security personnel, can be seen in various states of unrest as they try and circumvent whatever HAL is doing to keep them locked down…they have locked themselves in manually but clearly the air lock function to the sea is controlled elsewhere and the manual overrides have been disabled somehow.

    ***
    #33

  • mercy

    Member
    July 7, 2017 at 10:51 am

    Robyn slips into the host, examining the feeds from the various sources around sub bay 3. Returning to the group, she nods and uses her own micro transceiver. “Alright, the blighter is in the bay as promised. He has five security guards with him that would seem to be not from this station. They stand like soldiers and their dress and manner of movement would indicate to me that they are mercenaries of some sort. I am spooling the data and will send it to any of your devices you wish me to so you can see what I am seeing and make your own judgments. Right now, it appears that they are trying to override the airlock functions that seem to be currently under the control of the AI. I have examined the feeds I am looking at and I believe them to be genuine but I will continue to examine them for any indication that I am being fed a data loop of some kind. I am confident that I can establish communications with him if you like.”

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    July 8, 2017 at 9:36 am

    <<Than do it, maybe we learn something interesting – for example why She-HAL wants his head. But keep it non-committal. No need to antagonize her further.>>
    Isaint was sure that the AI was listening in and for a computer based entity she sounded very emotional and irrational – so probably more an E-ghost than anything else…

  • obidancer

    Administrator
    July 8, 2017 at 11:48 am

    <<Is there anyone else in that bay outside Monarch and the Security guards? More employees or maybe non-infected?>> questioned Deckard.

  • mercy

    Member
    July 8, 2017 at 1:00 pm

    Robyn shakes her head. >>Not that I can see, Rick.<<

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    July 11, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    <<If you don’t mind, Silk, I’ll try to talk to Monarch first. A mercenary might be more welcome at this time than someone he knows and has a legitimate grudge against him.>>
    When Robyn had established a connection to the sole remaining intercom, Isaint opened up through his micro transceiver:
    <<Isaint for Monarch. Please respond. I recently became aware of your predicament in this lock down and know off your reputation. My team and I are currently on a mission, but it seems you are in need of help and we might be able to give it to you. Can you tell us what caused this CFD infection? Why is this AI so keen on getting hold of you?>>

  • adamu

    Member
    July 11, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    Al felt antsy. They should already be moving.

    Without breaking into the channel Isaint was speaking on, he subvocalized to the team. <<One way or the other, we’s headin’ fer that sub bay. We should start movin’ thataway now, walk while we talk, git into position fer whatever comes next quick as we can.>>

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    July 12, 2017 at 4:34 am

    Still waiting for the reply Isaint nodded at Al and sent him a quick message: <<If we start any overt move, the AI will probably try to sever our connection. But you can block the door open, so we can’t get contained in here.>>

  • adamu

    Member
    July 12, 2017 at 6:41 am

    Al shrugged and went over to the door. There were several ways to keep it from closing. But simplest was usually best, and anyway guaranteed to be somethig She-HAL could do nothing about.

    Al walked a heavy file cabinet over to the doorway and tipped it over wide-side-down across the threshold.

  • obidancer

    Administrator
    July 15, 2017 at 6:13 pm

    Deckard smiled at Al’s simple actions. >>I can always manifest in the bay if we need a communication channel with Monarch. <<

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    July 16, 2017 at 3:02 am

    <<Damn Rick. I totally forgot about that. Yes this is the ideal solution, since no electronic device will be able to hear your side of the conversation or even realize you are there. Please feel free to scout also around the bay what is going on there.>>
    Isaint replied after nearly hitting his own face for being so blatantly oblivious to this solution.

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    July 25, 2017 at 3:32 am

    Quickly, Isaint dictated Rick his questions before his mage friend departed from his body and went to find Monarch.

  • aria

    Member
    July 31, 2017 at 7:10 am

    [Tuesday September 15th, 2076; CTec Aquaology, Tonga Trench]

    If Monarch or his team was startled by Isaint’s announcement he gave no apparent sign…turning to face the speaker

    “More games? You might have us locked down for now but don’t think that will last. So shut the frag up and let us get on with getting out of each other’s hair! Not that you or your nanite parasites have any… ”

    When Deckard manifested he did seem a little more surprised

    “Well that’s a neat trick for an AI…so, there really is another team down here with us or you’ve managed to get a CFD victim that can still throw mana around…”

    Once he seemed satisfied that the team was real and not an AI mind game he seemed ready enough to answer the team’s queries.

    “We suspected CFD a couple of weeks ago, not that anyone really knows much about it but the signs were there. But things didn’t kick off until the storm drew in so I guess the AI has been lurking around long enough to establish herself in the system beforehand and take over key personnel. What the bitch wants with me I have no idea…I did ask but she wasn’t forthcoming and it seemed wise to skip town before she found a way to reach me… Winter? I recognise the name but as far as I know this is nothing to do with that degenerate…” and then the question of Silk’s mother was raised…

    “Silk? She’s here then? Didn’t think she had it in her but then they did say she’d come eventually. Poor little Silk, can she hear me? Why don’t you come down here darling and we can talk about old times? I’m sorry about what happened to Mother, I really am, but it was necessary…”

    ***
    #34

  • mercy

    Member
    July 31, 2017 at 10:22 am

    Alyce continues to monitor the bay throughout both conversations, looking closely at the feed to for any sign of tampering. Finding none, she shakes her head. >>This seems to be genuine, ISaint. If this is a data loop, someone far better than I am is doing it.<<

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    July 31, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    Rick thought for a moment, before continuing with what Isaint had said:
    ‘Yes, she is. And she want’s details. If you answer me true she might be inclined to help you out of your predicament here – and be aware that I can see your aura and I am a master psychometrist. Also I have some powerful spirits ready to materialize – if necessary I can have you burn like a torch. So tell me: Why was it necessary to kill her mother.’

  • aria

    Member
    August 1, 2017 at 3:00 pm

    [Tuesday September 15th, 2076; CTec Aquaology, Tonga Trench]

    Monarch grinned

    “To bring her in to the game of course! Just look at her now and all she has achieved! She was mouldering away as an engineering student, all that potential going to waste. A catalyst was needed, something that would bring us to this point. The destruction of her friends and family was the most expedient way of achieving that goal. Don’t blame me, it was hardly my idea, Balefire were one of my best teams and it was a waste of their talents…but my strings are yanked around as much as yours are, it’s the nature of the world we live in.

    So, can we come to some arrangement that is mutually beneficial and gets me away from the mad digital bitch or are you going to be one more obstacle?”

    ***
    #35

  • jack_spade

    Moderator
    August 1, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    Rick returned with the message to the team.
    Isaint frowned and looked at Silk:
    <<Wow. That is one callous bastard. This sounds a lot like someone who believes in patterns and prophecies was behind this murder.
    So, Silk, what is your verdict? Do you want him to die? Left to the diabolus ex machina – or do you need more information from him, which likely means we’ll need to get hold of him physically unless Rick has him tortured by spirits until he spills.
    And knowing Rick, I doubt that he will stoop to that.>>

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