RP [Operation La Prossima]Uniti Nella Missione

[Rizzo]

RP Date

YE 46

RP Location

Black Sands Testing Range

Black Sands Test Range, Hangar 46

The Black Sands Test Range lay under a relentless sun, its rays beating down on the tarmac and shimmering in the air. The heat was palpable, causing the air to waver and dance off of the pavement. Despite the harsh conditions, the hangar provided a welcome respite from the scorching sun as the members of the Operation La Prosimma task force filed into the mostly empty hanger. The sudden shift in temperature proved a jarring yet welcome relief from the day's heat as the crew carried their baggage in with them, save for Katerina Valla who'd arrived first to Black Sands.

Inside, the hangar was abuzz with activity as engineers and technicians cleaned tools and wheeled machinery away, almost is if in preparation for something. The air was filled with the smell of grease and fuel, mixed with a hint of painting chemicals. In the center of the hangar a ship of some form lie beneath a sheet of tarpaulin, its pronounced silhouette barely visible in the dim light. Initzio Barone stood before it, his presence commanding attention as he donned the new M2-4ix 'Shadow Mindy' minus helmet, it's xiulurium black coating swallowing the sleek lines on the formfitting permutation of the M2-4 'Mindy'. Hovering behind him slightly his new sword, the 140 cm monster of an Ōdachi clad in the same Xiulurium coating as the rest of the armor.

As the crew approached they would find a simple plastic table with a black Mindy helmet and manila folders labled with the names of the individual crew members. Barone raised a hand in greeting, his expression a bordering on the edge of excitement. The moment had finally arrived, the first step on the path to end ST Data Fragmentation. "Welcome. I hope your flights were pleasant."

@Gles @Sunny D @Nakshatra @HarperMadi @Hollander
Note: Hollander, your character Dr. Shinobu is optional. If you would like him to be present he may join.

 

[HarperMadi]

Thorn didn't respond to the greeting, not at first as she found her seat and folder. This was a process not unfamiliar to her, the social and first briefing. Again, as she sat down, she made no move to open the folder. "Barome, good to see you again, sir. I see quite the team you've assembled. For those who haven't seen my wanted posters, I'm Lisa Ironhart. You may call me Thorn. I'm a data acquisitions and compilation specialist with emphasis on xenoarchaology and intelligence management. I've spent the last three years studying archaeology and funding myself through anonymous stellar prospecting work. I'll be your orbital support, bringing to the table four Eye III stealth corvettes, each capable of inserting themselves into a communications network and using dumb AIs to scour for specific intel. I can also use these to monitor and advise during ground operations, and I can fly whatever ship you want me to... With a booster seat."

There was the joke, her height made some uncomfortable. A hairstyle, some dye, and makeup could make her disappear in a crowd, especially with children's clothes. Whether that was a stolen Kikyo Scouts uniform or a street urchin's rags. She hoped he would be willing to remove her physical scars, make it easier to blend in. Maybe give her a face appropriate for TV and his having stolen her name and fame. That brown hair and green eyes, though, that was distinct enough to recognize her anywhere. Especially when one noticed the soft glow on the inside of her wrist and the datapad embedded beneath her skin. The flashlight assembly mounted above one cybernetics replaced ear. Not that that was what she wore now. No, her typical space suit clad form was dressed in simple canvas work pants and a black tee shirt, more at home in the field than an important meeting like this. But she felt that truly formal dress would have been inappropriate, and that her small stature was ill suited for such dress.

She steepled her fingers, resting her chin on her hands as she shot him a smirk, one his past would know well. "You knew Candon. Our contracts have interfered and collaborated in equal measure. He was well aware of my capabilities. And clearly, the best way to get my attention. Well played."

 

[Hollander]

Seated in a cheap folding chair near the black plastic table was Dr. Shinobu Kenja, looking rather ignoble with one leg flung over the other. His long hair, colored a toxic green, was tied back with a hair-tie to keep it from sticking to his face, and his Emrys Uno sunglasses were darkened to their fullest extent; despite the sunglasses, his furrowed brow hinted at a hidden, pissy glare. A white, modern lab coat had been flung over the back of the folding chair; its pockets were full of tools, and the fabric was full of holes and artfully splattered with stains of this or that.

A miserable and beat-up looking service droid stood next to the scientist, and it machine was holding up a box of ice and… drinks. Bottles of clear, glistening water, cans of classic love-fruit-flavored Dr. Poppy, and even glass flasks of what looked to be freshly-squeezed fruit juices. Did some of the stains on the lab coat match the colors of the drinks? Who could say?

Dr. Kenja himself was sipping at an ice-laden glass of something, attempting to look nonchalant… But under the darkened glasses, he was scrutinizing these new arrivals, endlessly curious about who else was signing on to lend their time and skills to the Soul Transfer Fragmentation problem. He listened to Thorne's introduction, noting their confidence first and foremost. Data acquisitions... he thought. That could mean something as academic as pulling and decrypting files... or it could mean ripping cybernetic data drives out of captives and scouring their digital memories for worthwhile intelligence. he mused, wondering which of the two activities she tended to prefer. Her clothes were deceptively common enough, but Shinobu knew enough about Neko operations to figure that, with any irregular forces, what you wore wasn't always an indicator of what you were capable of.

He blinked behind the glasses, intrigued to see what else was coming their way.

 

[Gles]

Black Sands was like a second home to Silas, who often returned to keep his skills sharp until an assignment pulled him back off-world. He walked into the hangar with quiet confidence, the ends of his overcoat billowing gently in the wind on his way to the plastic table. The black-clad man sat next to the woman who had introduced herself as Thorn; it was an introduction that raised a thin eyebrow from behind his pitch-black shades. Silas was passingly familiar with Thorn's extensive criminal activity and her troubled -- yet brilliant -- mind.

As he settled into a rigid, upright posture, an arm extended out from Silas's overcoat, independent of the two that filled its sleeves, and took the folder addressed to him. "It was expeditious," Silas said, his lips thinning into a slight frown, giving the man a ghastly appearance thanks to his pale complexion. Eyes had fallen on him; Silas could sense it, and he didn't care for it.

The operative turned toward the other spectacled man, whose sickly green hair matched an equally repugnant expression that Silas could feel boring into him. With eyes masked by the tint of his glasses, Silas scrutinized the man in kind. It lasted a few seconds before he looked away, but it felt like enough time to take his measure. 'Unconcerned with professional decorum, irritable, perceptive, reserved,' the operative thought, his frown deepening.

Barone gathered an eclectic duo, neither of whom was the caliber of individual Silas associated with a SAINT operation. He trusted the man's judgment, however. Silas kept his folder on his lap while waiting for Barone to begin the briefing.

 

[Miko]

Like missions before, Mikodimus Belmont found himself once again along side SAINT. This had become a growing trend not that he had any issues with it. He enjoyed the company and it gave him great opportunities to try new recipes. He was now part of the Special Personnel Project or was it the Internal Investigations Service. Honestly things moved so fast he had a hard time keeping up. Though maybe that was by design, as SAINT from what he knew worked in strange ways.

Though the choice of this meeting had a lot to desire. The place had sand as far as the eye could see but not a beach in sight. He knew he was meant to be the chef on the mission but they could have at least planted a few more trees for shade. The blazing sun was hotter than his oven set to instant burnt. None the less he owed it to the team who recommended him for the mission to see this through. Though the information he had was thin. Only a rough idea on who he'd be meeting and that was about it.

Miko made his way towards the group in the hanger. He looked around and was excited to meet the crew he'd see calling friend sooner than later. He walked up and gave everyone a wave. He took note of the black Mindy helmet and manila folders, one which had his name on it. "Trip was fine, weather is hotter than the Empress which is saying something." He said as he picked up the folder.

 

[Sunny D]

Katerina meanwhile was more than comfortable in what the other species would consider blistering heat, and would have been quite happy to have a briefing spread out along the warm sealed walkways outside. As it was, temperature controlled environments managed by Nekovalkyrja and Minkans was always a few degrees too cold for the Serapa, but she'd long since developed methods of adapting. She wore an electric singlet on underneath her Type 31 Operative Field Suit which kept her at a more comfortable temperature. The suit itself was set to a generic desert camo print and she wore a Shermagh around her neck.

Beside her was a duffel bag and a large metal case. The duffel bag was standard Star Army issue, though had been decorated with Valla clan pictograms with oil paints made from the dyes of her homeworld. They were clearly drawn on by hand, with small finger prints at the end of every paint stroke. There were some depictions of animals found in their traditional hunting lands, flora that grew in an environment almost as harsh as Black Sands, pictures of Star Army landing ships and a blue humanoid being constricted by a snake. Each one was of a different skill level and style. The large case on the other hand was a simple silver metalic box with bezeled corners. Its only distinguishing fetures were a set of electronic latches operated by a biometric interface and the letters Ke-M2-4S.

"Hello, I'm Hei Katerina Valla." She said with a polite cadence and wave "I've been an Operative for SAINT for some time, specialising in High Threat Response, Emergency Medical Response and extraction underfire. " She said, her cadence probably a bit too melodic for what those occupations implied, though as some on the team were contractors she was careful not to be too specific. "Considering its possible that I'll be tending to your wounds at some point, I'd like to give each of you a physical when you have a spare moment. Aside from that, welcome to my second home, make sure you keep your fluids up, use sunscreen and wear a hat if you're going outside."

 

[Nakshatra]

Dokusei had quietly made her arrival in a directly succinct manner. The aroma of sweetness that followed her likely wafted in a quite narrow wake around her. Radiant yellow hues made a few analytical observances to clarify that she was in fact, at the right location. Things seemed in order, her eyes moved along the line of black Mindy helmets and folders labeled with names until she found hers. Interesting that things were situated in such a manner. Not wanting to waste any time she sat in the seat that corresponded with the aforementioned items bearing her name on their label.

While she waited for this little briefing to start she looked around at the other's who had already arrived to get an initial feel for those who may or may not be involved. Turns out that her seat at the end of the table put her in the vicinity of none other than some pissy looking green haired nob wearing sunglasses, indoors. Internally she was absolutely rolling her eyes, outwardly she made note of his appearance and moved on. On the other side of her she laid eyes on a woman who had what it seemed was an ear replaced with cybernetics.

Indeed Dokusei found the woman's appearance fitting, yet intriguing. As she had been about to look over the person who had next to the woman clad in plain canvas pants her attentions were yanked back to a sudden introduction. "Thorn" had made no bare bones about her introduction, one commonality she found is that they would both likely need booster seats due to their stature. A rather slow blink separated that from her focus going back to Barone at the front, with a momentary scrutinization of the rigid person next to her. This person's answer was much more to her liking, short, sweet and to the point, not that she cared particularly. After all she was not here to make happy friendships.

As she had been about to respond with her own simple answer, something rather brash occurred that disgusted her entirely. Internally she was fuming, her yellow eyes ripped to the man who dared referred to the Empress in such a manner. Hopefully his merits warranted this kind of language, not her project, not her call. The only outward sign of her disdain was a slow emotionless blink before looking back to the front. "Hai," she stated rather matter of factly with a simple nod, decidedly unimpressed by the aforementioned audacious introduction of the new entrant. She folded her hands onto her lap, sitting on the edge of the seat so as not to have them dangling like a silly school girl. She, like others had made no move towards opening the folders just yet.

Another entrant made their way in, introducing themselves as a medic. How interesting, another medic on the team. It made Dokusei's vision of exactly why she was here a little muddier, as she to had been assigned in similar duties. Though as Katerina was Saint actual it is likely that the separa'shan female would be taking lead on that end. In all actuality it worked out nicely that another medic was there, it left her more time to focus on the science side of things. "Unless otherwise ordered I will be performing duties as assigned, including supporting Katerina-hei in a medical capacity as needed." she said in a flat matter of fact tone. At least she was not the only medically trained personnel onboard this little excursion.

 

[Rizzo]

Barone scratched the back of his head at Thorn's comment regarding his little TV trick, "I'll call next time, promise. No more identity theft."

Seeing that the group had assembled he took the chance to begin introductions. "Before we start roasting each other we ought to know the new faces here. Given the differences in security clearance I've made sure to tailor each of your packets for everyone. I won't lie. We're going to be treading a dangerous path here. This is the reason we're not exactly a normal task force." Barone started with the green-haired man at his side, grabbing a Dr. Poppy as he went, "this is doctor Shinobu Kenja. When the scientific community disregarded his warnings regarding the dangers of Fragmentation he ultimately turned out to be correct. He even salvaged my ST data, a feat no one has ever done before. He will be our scientific lead, and in the unfortunate case you lose your PSC coverage you might just be next in his lab."
Moving onto Katerina he continued, "not much else I can say about Katerina here. She's our response to a botched operation and has personal experience in guerrilla warfare, sabotage, and even medevac. If you get shot she'll be hauling you off to the lovely, and totally innocent Dokusei," he carried on his way, gesturing to Dokusei, "she will be serving as our science officer and had been studying ST theory and has knowledge of fragmentation. She will also be handling a good portion of our medical affairs along with Katerina in addition to reporting our findings to Dr. Shinobu. Double duty is why she gets the higher paygrade."

Nodding to the Abwehran he took a sip of his cola and proceeded, "mister Silas Volker is one of SAINT's stealthiest operatives. He hides in plain sight. I've personally witnessed his ability to walk in the front door of a luxury hotel with sophisticated surveillance and neutralize a big time trafficker with nothing more than a replica bellhop uniform. He even got tipped. He and I will be heading up our stealth operations, and believe me when I say that SAINT wants this task force to be quiet. When steath fails he's my scapegoat."

Moving on without skipping a beat Barone motioned to Mikodimus, "Belmont-hei here is a Rikugun chef, which means in addition to flatlining hostiles he can also cook them up later. He comes highly recommended by a person Candon Suites had recommended to the director of intelligence. This is not his first time rolling with SAINT. He will be working with Katerina with demolitions and violence when the time comes so if he's serving crab don't be suprised if it came from a mishu. Welcome aboard, soldier."

"And that brings me to you, Thorn in my side," Barone droned, the irregular detecting a certain familiar attitude to Candon slipping through for only a moment before returning full sail to being Barone, "Thorn Ironhart is a data broker of sorts. She's a large part of the reason Candon Suites never bothered with an alias out on Osman. Her ability to sniff out information is more than just exceptional. She gets the intel that matters. Thorn will assist me in flying the shuttle. It'll always be one of when we're coming into port since we're both licensed pilots. In addition, she will be assisting in science affairs, hacking electronics, or anything else in her box of tricks."

Returning to his spot behind the table he donned the helmet and continued his brief on the armor he wore, voice coming through the speaker with near perfect clarity. "Now you all might have noticed that the Mindy I have on is a little bit different. This is the M2-4ix, yet another product of the developement hell that has been every 'Shadow Mindy' program the Hera Group spends way too much of it's budget on. It trades a considerable portion of it's offensive capability to achieve the bleeding edge of stealth capabilities. It is being made availible to our task force first for those of us with PA's, and it's optional. I have the details in your dossiers, of course at your clearance levels. The refit can only be done here to your M2-4's and it's completely optional, we can simply add the usual stealth refit to your Mindy. This suit really just goes to far with stealth but seriously, watch this."

A near silent buzzing could barely be heard as the teleporter spooled. In a mere second the armored man's body quickly turned to a confusing blur, as if the very matter he was composed of was disintigrating into the air. Simultaneously, a static-y haze reappeared to the immediate right of where he'd been standing. In the course of a second Barone was standing a meter to the left of where he'd been previously with no more than a whisper of wind announcing his arrival to the new location. Removing his helmet revealed the man's face now plasered with a child-like grin spanning ear to ear as he set the helmet back onto the table. "The techs are calling it a soft teleport. Zero emissions, completely silent.. It's perfect- this is perfection. I seriously could not love a child more than I love this suit," he gushed like a kid with a new toy, enthusiasm glowing. Taking a set he concluded coyly, "any questions?"

 

[HarperMadi]

She glanced over to Silas, considering him for a moment, as well. He had the same look to his facial expressions as she'd seen before. From people hunting her, the liars claiming to be family. The weapons that had sought to use her. The weapon that had tricked her into loving him, that she had killed herself before he could launch an attack on the NDC. An attack that would have put her sister, her sister's wife, and her sister's progeny at risk. The kill that had caused her to retire and leave his ship and body falling into the nearest star. And if these people were all SAINT, that meant Silas was a field operative. She could handle that. But she couldn't speak openly. Never could have. Nothing new.

The third arrival interested her slightly more. More jovial, friendly. A ploy like hers or simply an infiltrator? She honestly didn't know, yet. The Empress was cute, though. Not her type. But cute was cute. She would never say that about the powerful leader of the Empire, of course. Then the Separa'Shan. One with stunning cultural art on their duffel and bringing a Mindy case. Great. I hate physicals, her thought leaked through the obsolete Geist, a deliberate lowering of her skill to let the others underestimate the childlike form before her.

Finally, she turned to the last. Well, the one who had been smelling sweet and in the room for a few moments already. Itching at her tattoo, Thorn made her assessment of the second shortest person in the room, finding slightly more trustworthiness there than any other. She, seemed a calm professional. The quiet type that provided more good data than problems. Something Thorn would appreciate deeply, she was sure. "Hei Valla, your duffel's artwork is rather unique. A mural of your exploits?"

Her thought was interrupted by a sharp beeping in her ear implant, inaudible to the others, and she lifted her arm, tapping on the embedded screen to silence an alarm. After that small gesture, Thorn listened to the briefing and introductions with a small smile, considering her options.

With a quick look at Thorn's dossier, it was clear she didn't particularly care which version of pulling intelligence she used, but as her eyes locked onto the doctor's glasses, that smirk faded. "My lovely Barome, your ability to soft teleport will be invaluable, certainly. If a little situational. The main reason Mindies instant teleport is the same reason Duskerian hot drops are so... Hot. Cause chaos and confusion to discourage the enemy from shooting first. I'll make sure you'll have targets that won't get you seen and shot at while jumping in, yes? Also, permission to respond to the pissy glare we got from the just tenured enough dart frog who breaks his bots? If he treats his androids like that, what will he do to his underlings? I can only imagine he's as fucked in the head as I am, and would take great pleasure in pulling me apart memory by memory if I had to be ST'd. Then again, if he can put you back together, he probably is the best for it... If... His slobby lab coat and greasy sunglasses make him look like he's been pickling his frontal cortex in cheap whiskey for the last decade and has a perpetual hangover."

She chose to address the android directly, offering a warm smile. "Friend, would you mind passing me a Dr Poppy? I've never had one."

 

[Hollander]

Shinobu squinted behind his light-obscuring glasses. So… who was next?

Silas
A male, far less bombastic in his entrance than Thorn. He made less noise, yet still presented an image of a capable person, sure of where they were going… And the Doctor began to think there was nothing more to note until the man reached for his folder. Had… Had Shinobu missed something here? Something had reached out to grab the folder, and yet… By then, Silas had turned to regard Shinobu himself, and the scientist broke his gaze first. He wasn’t about to try to match eyes with any of these killers, let alone one whose limb-count was still an unknown value.

Mikodimus
Next came a male roughly equal to Shinobu himself in height, as far as the analytics in his glasses were telling him. They were both lean, but Shinobu was lean like a poorly-fed streetcat, while this newest entrant was lean like a swimmer, perhaps. There was muscle definition, there. Only two arms on this one. Shinobu thought, suddenly deciding he ought to start counting limbs on this gang of killers and spies, for future reference. The man made a crack about the ‘heat’ of the Empress, and Shinobu grinned cruelly, not minding a bit of disrespect toward the Imperial Sovereign. Politically, the scientist aligned with a leader before Shinobu’s own time; the exiled Emperor Ketsurugi Uesureya. Shinobu’s preference wasn’t really for the man’s politics, but more for his vast contributions to Nekovalkyrja science and genetics. He’d read more than a few of the man’s works which had survived the PNUgen purge.

Katerina
Shinobu knew precious little about the serpentine race that had first encountered the Empire less than two decades ago. As it was, their ‘goddess’ fascinated him far more than the species themselves, though he wondered whether he ought to reevaluate his feelings on the matter. Wouldn’t there be some scientific interest in conducting a digital autopsy on this red-headed serpent’s soul? Maybe she has some memories she’d like removed. I should make the offer, sometime. When she waved, he waved back with his free hand. She indicated she was an Operative for SAINT, something that even Shinobu, with his limited knowledge of Star Army Intelligence, felt must be a rarity. She was offering physicals, and reminded the team to hydrate. Shinobu wordlessly raised his glass to the air in ‘cheers’ to that reminder.

Dokusei
Lounging as he’d been, Shinobu nearly didn’t notice this Neko entering the ‘fray’ of personalities assembling for Barone’s operation. Violet-haired and gray-skinned, she was rather short, but the ears certainly marked her as a Nekovalkyra. Close as she was to the ground, she couldn’t be a 33A, and her height was within the range of averages for the Tennyo, so that was what she must be. Dr. Kenja had been working with the Ketsurui Zaibatsu for several years before the release of the NH-33’s, and he’d consulted on matters of their design quite substantially. Another one with my fingerprints on her mind. he thought to himself, taking a somewhat egotistical sort of pride in the accomplishments of all Nekos. I wonder if she knows one of her creators is in her midst.

The Briefing
Dr. Kenja couldn’t help but raise his chin pridefully as Barone related Shinobu’s importance to this operation, and he was pleased Barone mentioned the scientific community’s wretched betrayal. He tried to quiet his own self-important thoughts so he could focus on the introductions of the rest of them. It sounded like the swimmer-boy was a chef, that was unexpected, but not undesired. He smirked at Barone’s ‘thorn in my side’ jest. He slurped the rest of his drink, but dropped his Uno’s down to his nose as Barone prepared to run his M2-4ix demonstration, watching it occur with just as much wonder as it deserved. Shinobu was a programmer of the mind and soul, but feats of engineering and physics still impressed him. He shook his ice-cube-filled glass noisily in a toast to the team of the ‘Shadow Mindy’ program, even as he slid his spectacles back up to their proper place afterward.

Thorny Thorny
It was then that Shinobu became the target of a barrage of withering diatribes from Thorn. Shinobu’s eyes remained scrunched up, but his frown melted openly into a wry grin. Truth be told, he enjoyed a little engagement, and Thorn was coming in ‘swinging’. He certainly couldn’t compete with her physically; not even for a moment. Surely this was the sort of woman who could kill a humanoid with her little finger. At her assertion that Shinobu would pull her mind apart memory by memory if given the chance, he shrugged noncommittally. “Perhaps with as much pleasure as you’d take pulling my arms and legs off, if I were to be your enemy.”

Which he wasn’t, at this precise moment in time.

At her request for a Dr. Poppy, Shinobu wordlessly snapped his fingers. The Geboku, its face expressionless, stepped forward. It mechanically shifted one hand under the box, and used the other hand to retrieve a fresh can of the lovefruit-infused beverage, handing it out to Thorn with a brief twitch of its servos. Up close, it could be seen that the robot had indeed suffered some damage over its years of service. The hands had no fingernails… But then, the Geboku models were never given any. But the hands had scrapes and cuts, and the plain synthetic polymer skin of its face and elsewhere had more than a dozen quickly-patched cuts, burns and scratches. It gave Thorn a facsimile of a polite smile, the slightest sound of mechanical parts accompanying the change in expression.

“What is most important to note is that, despite what it’s endured, my underling remains functional. So too will you all, if we do our jobs correctly.” the doctor said, seeing no need to say anything else about the matter. It was an android, after all, about as sentient as the flashlight assembly above Thorn’s ear.

 

[Gles]

Ah, kindred company at last.

Silas greeted Valla with a gentle nod, the closest thing to a warm welcome the man had shown since arriving. He'd never met Valla before, but there was little doubt in his mind that she was the right woman for the job purely based on being his comrade. While the quality of the contractors that SAINT acquired was always stellar, the simple truth was that none could ever stack up to a vested operative forged in fire by the organization itself.

Of course, a certain bombastic man made Silas wonder, perhaps treasonously, if SAINT's standards were slipping.

Another woman approached bearing a pleasant aroma; Silas noted her succinct summary and quietly appreciated it. More medics were always welcome, given how dangerous their task was likely to be. Given how often they'd pulled him from the brink of death, he counted them among his most treasured companions.

As soon as Barone started debriefing the group, Silas sat at rapt attention as he rattled off summaries of each member and their role. Some gave Silas cause to re-evaluate his initial assessment, such as Dr. Kenja, whose invaluable role in the operation could allow him to overlook some of the doctor's eccentricities in the name of operational efficiency. Whether that was true for the others remained to be seen.

When the subject pivoted to Silas's skills and history with the organization, the Abewehran didn't acknowledge Barone's praise with anything more than a quiet 'hmm.' He appreciated it, naturally, but Silas considered himself typical insofar as SAINT operatives were concerned. Being good at your job was an expectation, nothing more or less.

The most intriguing aspect of the briefing was the Shadow Mindy demonstration, and Silas found himself leaning forward so as not to miss a single detail. The soft teleport elicited a quiet exhalation of surprise; this technology could change the entire methodology behind infiltration. Consequently, there would be immense pressure on its wearer to keep such technology a secret from the Empire's enemies. It wasn't enough to simply keep it out of enemy hands.

"Where will we test it?" Silas asked, speaking over the verbal jabs between the doctor and Thorn. It was a roundabout way of asking where their first mission would be. Silas flipped his folder open and began to extensively pore over the dossier concerning this armor; he wanted to learn as much about it as possible.

 

[Rizzo]

"Where will we test it?" Silas asked, speaking over the verbal jabs between the doctor and Thorn. It was a roundabout way of asking where their first mission would be. Silas flipped his folder open and began to extensively pore over the dossier concerning this armor; he wanted to learn as much about it as possible.

"Good question. Testing has been done right here at Black Sands, but field testing is still not entirely determined yet. We have a lead pointing to Yicuqibu I. I'll include details when we get to that part, as that bit is classified."

 

[HarperMadi]

Perhaps with as much pleasure as you’d take pulling my arms and legs off, if I were to be your enemy.”

"Dude. I'm like 85 pounds. You could punt me faster than I can dismember. Like that doll thing from a horror movie... What was that thing? The one where the Mini Nekos went crazy? Why you think I'm so concerned? I am tiny and in a room full of people who either have or have worked with people who have tried to kill me before. I'm getting too old for this shit and was retired before Barone got to me. Some help with my old achy joints would be lovely, I'm sure." Thanking the Geboku, Thorn opened her soda, sipping at it. "My MO is play the part of a child. Or use my small stature to be sneaky as Hell and move fast in maintenance hatches. And I am faster than a Neko in a maintenance tube. Then if I have to really get away, get to water. The rebreather in my chest lets me hold my breath for like six hours if I bother changing the filters out. There's a reason I'm not gonna be in PA or in the field. Last time I was I got killed."

She gave a small shrug, pulling a meal replacement bar from her pocket and beginning to open it. "I guess that just goes to show you never meet your heroes. I was a big fan of your research. But I couldn't mention any of it, because despite what repute I had, I was still a criminal. And a lot of people have died because of me. But not by my direct hand."

 

[Miko]

Miko took a moment to take in all the details around him. From the very start he could tell this team was going to be like a bull in a china shop. Granted he meant this in a good way as sometimes you need to break a few things to make art beautiful. His ears perked up hearing he was highly recommended for this mission. While this was nothing new it was still nice to hear his efforts were paying off. He had performed his duty well and just maybe his cooking helped seal the deal a little.

His eye brow lifted up when given the news his battle buddy was going to be Katerina. He could not help but smile as he looked her over. He remembered his time when working with Sacra during his time aboard the Kaiyō. His bones could still feel the impact from when he got a little too friendly and she tail whipped him into containers during a mission.

Miko found himself breathless at the sight of this fancy armor. While he enjoyed being the heavy demo man, the idea of this armor really stood out to him. "So can I have some of that armor to try on?" He asked of the commander.

Miko then turned towards the one called Thorn. "You are thinking right to take the good with your size advantage. Never know when there is a duct we need to crawl through in a mission." He said with a smile.

 

[Rizzo]

Miko found himself breathless at the sight of this fancy armor. While he enjoyed being the heavy demo man, the idea of this armor really stood out to him. "So can I have some of that armor to try on?" He asked of the commander.

"Afraid not, due to the war new Mindy's are headed to the battlefront. Best they can do is refit your current PA at this time."

 

[Nakshatra]

Grateful to hear Barone's voice to what hopefully indicated the beginning of the briefing, she fixed her attentions on the speaker. "Identity theft?" she thought somewhat mixed between whether or not this amused or bemused her, she was leaning a little more towards simply curious. It was a rather one of the more interesting introductory openings she had experienced in her career. Did Barone just say Shinobu Kenja?! It certainly lined up with him being thee very same doctor who's work she not only admired, but had some interesting additional theories of her own. She had meant to delve deeper into it at the time until he had been systematically silenced. Her gaze fell over to him a little longer than it had initially, she could almost forgive the sunglasses, almost. Though if he dared to bring up the hand he had in creation of who she was, she would give him a flower to shove where the sun does not shine.

Thankfully her attention moved along as did the introductions for the rest of the squad as it were. Katerina would be probably who she spent most of her time with. Which made sense considering, her thought line cut off when he introduced her as innocent. Innocent?! Dokusei simply raised an eyebrow towards Barone and said not another word on the matter. It was neither here, nor there on how well he knew her darker predilections. Next up was Silas, sounds like some interesting exploits had been in his past, not that it was any of her business to know about them. Was it really in good practice to publicly note one was the fall guy though? Not her circus, not her problem. Following Silas was, another Belmont?! Though granted her prior interaction was quite brief, not very memorable good or bad. Were they really everywhere though? Well no, she had not run into one at SARA during her studies. Thorn for sure was the smaller of the two short women present, had a mouth on her to.

As the introductions summarily wrapped up she focused on what seemed to be the next topic, the black Mindy helmet in front of them, well everyone except Kenja. So the equipment was in front of them at their relevant classification levels. This dangerous mixing was a little concerning, or could be. She had no questions for him and as such remained silent. Thorn's beratement of Kenja did not quite earn any brownie with her as she admired the man, in a professional way. Though if he tried to treat her like he did the droid, he might find himself hard pressed or at the very least at the wrong end of her tongue. When Shinobu detailed what Thorn might find pleasure in, she wrinkled her nose, what an obviously messy way to go about things. These two seemed like they would be combative at best, arguing as they were.

 

[Sunny D]

The snipping between Thorn and Shinobu made the Serpa Operative feel awkward, and her eyes darted between the two of them as they shot back and forth. She didn't like the way Minkan looked at her, but she felt it best to keep her discomfort hidden, and was certainly not enough to jump into a diatribe as Thorn had done. Though she couldn't help but looked surprised when the woman, looking like an urchin child, admitted would use that to escape and evade. It was such an obvious tactic given Thorn's stature and such an offhanded comment, she was either attempting some kind of gaslighting.

All in all a wonderful interaction for unit coheason.

"In answer to your previous quesiton, mrs Thorn." Kat said, attempting to derail and descalate with a smile. "Not just mine. I fought on Essa during the Kuvexian occupation of my homeworld. Some of the children in my community got their hands on it after V day but before I left for my next assignment."

"Oh, and feel free you upgrade mine." She said to Barone "I only brought an S type because its not normal for ships to hold it in inventory. Its normally something I need to req. Seems lucky I did considering."

"With this weapon, do we have an idea on which actors have info on it? What threats would we should prepare for?"

 

[Hollander]

Shinobu had no intention of underestimating the talkative killer, no matter her claims of weight-class or direct or indirect murder. In fact, her loquacious denial only made him more certain that she was dangerous. He leveled a thoughtful "Hmmm." in her direction and said nothing more.

Katerina's questions stood out as a very worthwhile one, so Shinobu glance sidelong at Barone, to let him take the bulk of the answering. Shinobu could fill in afterwards as needed, if Barone wanted him to.

 

[HarperMadi]

"I'm sorry I couldn't help at Essia," Thorn offered a small bow from her seat to Katerina as she pointedly ignored Shinobu. "A beautiful world with beautiful people. That said."

Putting down her soada carefully, Thorn looked to the rest of the group. "I feel it'd be best to put our cards on the table, in agreement with the good doctor. I know that there were rumors that the Turassieli and Shuristans had records of cultures who created ST adjacent technologies, or who were telepathic or psionic, or any combination of those. I'm not sure how many came up with the digital mind. It may be worth probing contacts in the Shuristan Grand Library for any information that could help us understand the root of the problem. Also, I know of two people who have had experience with ST data theft and weaponization of that data. Myself and Ven Volontany. I don't know who she was based on, but the crazy bitch has a striking resemblance to Senator Volontany. So my best guess is she's from one of his kids. The one who stole my ST data is dead, and his company and knowledge with him. It may be worth capturing one of the Thorn clones the NDC has in its military and comparing the ST data. And, if you can bag her alive, Ven Volontany and her gene mother. Not just because I dislike her. It may also be worth looking into the papers Dr. Shinobu wrote on remote Soul Transfer theory, postulating that a powerful enough sensor platform can take the necessary scans and data from a long range. This is foundational to the bed style ST systems that were explored for a while, and was something I was working on, but Oracle doesn't have that kind of hardware."

She considered for a moment before continuing. "I read something last year by the first Senti to undergo ST, where she described a very interesting experience with a partial failure. I think that might be something to look at, alongside the ST data of my sister, Rose Ironhart. She was... Well, she's an alpha fork of me. I don't know why she recreated me, but there's a good chance there was some dysmorphia from a body so different from our original. In Taii Koun's case, it's a good bet that the changes in brain structure caused a glitch and desynchronizing event in her ST. There's also Spark Pine. I think Candon knew her, but her autism made ST impossible. Not sure how. Could be something to look at. I'll chase down and compile the briefings to chase these leads on Barone's order. Who else has something they know. Even a rough possibility. I can't chase data without knowing what I'm looking for. However. if any of you go after Rose. Keep in mind she's married with four kids. I hate my sister, but the only one allowed to kill her is me."

 

[Gles]

"Good question. Testing has been done right here at Black Sands, but field testing is still not entirely determined yet. We have a lead pointing to Yicuqibu I. I'll include details when we get to that part, as that bit is classified."

Yicuqibu I, an ugly brown rock that the Empire used as a mining outpost, but more often than not, a place to dump their garbage. It held some importance in the second Mishhuvurthyar war, but it was by all accounts a place that most would rather avoid. Which, naturally, must have made it appealing for clandestine activity. The dark recesses the miners traveled were ideal for a Nightdweller if extraordinarily dangerous on the best days.

Silas imagined himself suited to such conditions, but nothing was ever one hundred percent certain in his line of work. He'd need to be prepared, and he'd need a solid team to cover his bases. Unfortunately, the individuals gathered for this operation didn't fit Silas's vision of an ideal team, with some notable exceptions. He'd have to make do; part of that was keeping them from getting distracted or killing each other.

Easier said than done.

"You have a vital role in this operation," Silas said, his quiet voice ringing out distinctly over the group chatter as he glanced at Thorn. "Dr. Shinobu won't do anything to you, or anyone else for that matter." It wasn't intended to threaten the doctor, but an air of finality in that statement left little room for debate. Banter or not, drawing lines and setting expectations early was important.

"Our success depends on trust. I trust Barone's judgment in selecting each of you," Silas briefly looked to each person, "Find a reason to believe that each person in this room will get you throughout our future missions." Easier said than done, of course -- you couldn't instantly build the kind of comradery that came naturally from hellish training at Black Sands. "Whether it stems from professional courtesy, shared interests, or mutual understanding that SAINT doesn't tolerate betrayal."

At that, Silas went quiet; he'd said his piece. Hopefully, the message was clear. He never cared much for public speaking.