Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Kedly]

I vote we switch the "Volunteers" in stage 4 with ACTUAL volunteers. Considering our budget, as well as well as our current need for money (zero), I'm quite certain I can incentivise members of our security staff to actually volunteer to be stage 4 victims participants. I know this is war and the survival of our species we are talking about, but when we can avoid doing things that would make it harder for me to sleep at night, I would like to do so.

Is there anywhere on this planet I would be able to purchase/obtain an MK-3 and or flight capable milno-plate? I have the funds. Or is that something I would only be able to do on the sword?

[Gentlefish]

Ryan, who was totally by Dester's side while this happens, pipes up.

"I... Suppose I should count myself lucky to have not been on any of those missions. The two I've been to so far have been successful, and one of them was taking a giant ball of fungus' brain.

I want to live, almost as much as I want to see the UWM burn. I don't take stupid risks unless the payoff is guaranteed. Speaking of... I should get this amp out of my noggin before I go portal hopping." He taps the side of his head.

"And last mission - the invasion of the body snatchers - we didn't take any risk we didn't have to take. I'm sure everyone can agree on that fact. We're not like the ones who blew up a ship because we didn't want to open any boxes."

[DoctorMcTaalik]

Glancing at his wrist pad, Gus audibly groans. He had only ever been educated to the extent required for simple, low-income construction work; only basically literate, Gus found Dester's messages challenging, to say the least.  Only skimming through the plan, he quickly mashes out a reply on the keypad.

sure boss plan soudns good  . what kind of aminals do u want to bring

Also do we need to meet up

they might be wilking to go but my soldeirs are valuable. We shouldnt waist them unless their is no good alternative

[Ozarck]

A distant threat which is consuming our universe and can reach through space to directly affect all amps everywhere, verses us, getting ourselves killed and maybe bringing on the apocalypse a little faster. I think your analogy is a little hyperbolic, but your point is taken. Like my associate says, we don't want to die any more than you, or any of the people we brought here or the ones we failed to bring. Dester glances at his wrist communicator. pardon me one moment if you will, Mr. Saint. I should reply to these. It won't be but a moment. at Saint's gesture of approval (provided he gives one) Dester types for a moment or three. Otherwise these will happen after the conversation.

Thank you for your vote. You can relax for a while if possible. get a nap, take a tour of the facilities if one is available, get some food, or do some shopping as you like. You will be notified when you are needed. As for animals, I think we'll end up with a bit of a variety, provided there are any on this world.

Perhaps you can negotiate with the Hephaestus heads, and make volunteering for this duty valuable to our refugees. We didn't get a complete stock of perfect breeding people, and some of the misfits might prefer this to other forms of experimentation, or exile. If Heph will grant certain privileges for volunteers, we could possibly fill our need without forcing anyone. As for our staff, let's hold them back for Phase Five either way, at least for now. They will be more useful in the exploration of possibly viable universes than as passive test subjects. I wish you better dreams than mine, Vincent.

Dester returns his gaze to the interesting features of this robotic avatar. Thank you for your patience. Of course you are right, recklessness is the last thing we need on this mission. Of course, we're dealing with alternate universes, whose laws we will be blind to until we've experienced them. Who knows what action might trigger a catastrophe? I'm sure your machine is as safe as possible, but that's not saying much, is it? But what choice do we have? to sit it out, live a potentially long life on some "safe" world and die, knowing we could have changed things but didn't? Nah, that doesn't strike me as in the spirit of the ARM, as the others describe it. Rebel against corruption in order to save humanity from itself? this organization sounds proactive at heart.

Hey, how about a tour while we continue our discussion? I'm sure there are lots of interesting things going on around here, or at least some interesting scenery.

Tell me, Mr. Saint. Have you any speculation as to why this powerful destroyer was able to reach out to all the amps? What connects amps, one to another, that might make that so?

[syvarris]

Saint nods at Dester's request. "Of course.  Take your time."

Don't worry about equipment; everything necessary for this mission will be provided to you.  That said, all armory equipment is available for purchase here.  Hephaestus does produce everything, after all.

He pauses for several seconds to send his message, before turning to the man beside Dester.  "...Yes, you should have that removed.  As long as you are being honest, and will not take any dangerous risks, we should not have any issues.  My problem is simply that I do not know any of you well, and the only easy way to discern between those who take risks, and those who stay safe, is that the latter survive to complete several missions.  Maurice was a trusting man, and led a team with several rookies into an anomaly--and now he is most likely dead because of that.  I do not wish to make the same mistake." ((Yes, OOC I get the irony here.  It is intentional ;P))

When Dester begins talking again, Saint returns his attention to the man.  "A tour?  Most of Hephaestus is simply industrial machinery and tunnels, but there is a park nearby.  It was heavily irradiated when ARM took this planet, because an operative decided to drop a nuke in a docking area for fun.  It is safe now."  He turns and begins walking away.  "I explained how the amps exploit a crack in reality itself, yes?  The crack is not spacially related to anything--it is a universal constant, much like gravity.  I speculate that Maurice's Monster altered the crack intrinisically, somehow, and that that is why all amps and manipulators were infected.  In a way, I think we are lucky that this was all it did; Imagine if it affected some universal constant which was more omnipresent, or difficult to disable.  With amps and manipulators, as long as the machine is not running, the presence of the effect is nonexistent.  The same is not true for all effects."

"This is why I'm trying to get the danger of our situation across.  If we bring the wrong technology with us, and then awaken something similar to what Maurice's team awoke, we could have worse results.  Hence, we don't bring anything which exploits our own broken reality; Not only would such things likely be useless, they could possibly facilitate an invasion of sorts.  The risk is negligible if we take the proper precautions, and the potential gains are great, but I still have to ensure you understand what is at stake."

"Now, Dester, I have a question for you.  You described yourself as the acting lead of this blackops team.  Why?  Who was your leader, and what happened to them?  Why were you chosen to replace them?"

((FYI, I'm deliberately avoiding posting any actual actions.  I have five already, and don't want to piss off PW.  If anybody wants him to say or describe anything, do it yourself.))

[Kedly]

My train of thought on the matter is that once the sods have been in there and come back, the risk of bodily and mental harm is significantly reduced. At that point we could use the security staff to do a small, but extended stay in the new universe without too much risk of losing members of our personal army

In that case, would I be allowed to use an Mk-3 with flight plate, until the end of the mission, and after the misson ends, Ill decide if I still want to purhase one? Honestly, with all the shit we do for this rebellion, I see few situations where having a flight enabled battlesuit is a disadvantage

[/quote]

[Gentlefish]

Ryan nods again at the robot before him, before asking a final question:

"Of course. I'll be sure to have it removed as soon as possible. If you would be so kind as to point me to the way?"

[syvarris]

I am not in charge of equipment, and cannot decide what you can and cannot buy or be provided with; That duty goes to the other Steve.

That said, you should be provided with much superior equipment for this mission.  Also, an Mk.III with flight pattern milnoplate is greatly inferior to a battlesuit, which is obselete.  If you value protect highly, I suggest you invest in a Mobility variant assaultsuit.

((PW said before that we basically have a carte blanche on equipment.  Most BLOPS missions do, really.))

"Hmm?  Just a moment, there's three of you..." Ryan's wristpad chirps.  "There, sent you the location.  Ask a sod if you get lost."

[Ozarck]

((Ryan has asked both on planet, and on ship during the journey to Heph, to have the amp removed, and I have agreed, in boldface, both times, to assist. It may be a simple PW oversight that it is not officially already out.))

I say I am the Acting Lead for two reasons. First, the Black Ops team is guided from afar by Mr. Enedrasi, though he had little contact with us during our mission, as did the other Steve. And second, our nominal head, Mr. Niabs, went stasis catatonic shortly after we established ourselves in our first headquarters on planet. I was chosen as replacement primarily because I was willing to step up, make plans, and issue commands. Here Dester pauses for a moment. Mostly, I issued suggestions, which were generally accepted and acted upon. Through the course of events, this became such standard practice that I became the de facto head. Mr. Klart, that is, Vincent, was Skylar Niabs' lieutenant before his catatonia, and was willing to act as my lieutenant afterward, rather than assume the command role himself.  Dester stops moving for a moment, reflecting, then hastens to keep step with Saint. He's pretty good as a lieutenant, actually. He has good ideas, and acts as a counter to me in many ways. He is willing to change course when reason is given, and has acted in the best interest of the team and the mission. ... Without him, we wouldn't have succeeded. He got us the ships. Dester shakes his head casually. The others filled their intended roles - Ryan acting as doctor and overseer of the medical operations, Petra handled a lot of public relations, and Gus and Jesse handled security. I guess Gus is the Commander of our security forces now. Dester chuckles, then frowns. That leaves Xael. Xael was a bit more willing to take risks. And then she disappeared. Just ... disappeared.

[syvarris]

Saint's head swivels around to face Dester when he stops, and simply stares at him until ten seconds after Dester finishes.  "Is that all you know of Xael's disappearance?  Do you have any suspicions about it--Did they express any anti-ARM sentiments before leaving, for instance?"  After recieving a response, and possibly cutting Dester off if he goes on too long ((three sentences)), Saint asks an entirely different question in an unusual monotone.  "Could you please specify exactly what your life was like before joining ARM, what caused you to join us, and what skills you possess at this moment?  And... Have you changed recently?"

[Ozarck]

She muttered something about a lurker, then literally vanished. Into thin air.

Dester responds to Saint's sudden shift as if he were expecting it.

You'll have to be more specific. That's a very broad question. My life was fairly normal. I did a variety of jobs, mostly mechanical. I trained as a medic, and then interned in a teaching hospital for a while.

Dester's look turns hard.

As foir change. Well, I just watched a Hive World Die.
he pauses for three seconds
Is that what you were after?

Spoiler: Iftense moment above passes, and the conversation continues normally (click to show/hide)

Dester asks Tell me, if you would, Mr. Saint, about your own experiences in ARM. I am curious about your adventures as well. How many missions have you survived? What were they like? Some of the missions I hear about sound almost unbelievadble. Dester chuckles a little. I'm sure you have great wisdom born of hard experience in this war we are a part of. I'd love to learn all I can.

Good thinking. Apparently sods are more vulnerable to mental intrusion, so that concern should be answered by them as well. I'll think about how best to edit the plan to address the issue of volunteers.

[piecewise]

That's... Hilariously accurate. It doesn't have to be a rabbit; any small animal that is not Tang will work. The stiff handle will make it easy to shove them inside.

Also, find the medbay. I need the PK amp out of my head for a refund. Store it if I can't immediately get the tokens.

PROPOSED MEASURES FOR TESTING SAFENESS OF UNIVERSES:

1. Open portal (duh)

2. Shove small animal through portal. Pull back after 1 minute.

3. If animal is alive and wholly intact, have brave soldier hop through quickly and report findings.

4. If soldier survives brief encounter sanely, send him back in with a small box that takes physics recordings.

5. Analyse recordings.

6. If recordings are within survivable limits, mark universe for extended probing.

7. Probe.

8.

9. Profit

10. Rinse, repeat.

Consider the amp removed and refunded.

Hello, this is Admin of Production Steve Saint.  I will be assisting you with this project, primarily to ensure everything remains safe.  We've had severe incidents relating to cross dimensional portals before, and it is not pleasant to deal with them.

What are your current plans on how to proceed?  I highly recommend we reach consensus on any plan before acting; It is trivially easy to cause a small scale apocalypse if you rush things.

Also, remember that we have thousands of disposable sods ready for use.  I recommend that before you send any humans through the device, you make sure that sods can survive the trip without damage.

((Gentlefish, I'm looking at you.))

Questions for PW:
1.How does the reality ripper machine operate?  Does it open a portal that we can stick things through, does it just teleport a particular area, like the contents of a room?

2.How much can we know about the destination before initiating travel?  Can we know if we'll be put into hard vacuum, the center of a sun, or the surface of a planet?

3.Do I still have admin privileges (Command of sod army, use of QEC-bots, arbitrary access to items, etc.), or should I assume I only have access to what I own as a standard player (just a robobody, a couple pieces of junk from before I became an admin, and whatever I can buy with tokens)?

4...Can I possibly respec my stats and skills?  They were meant for admin duty, and I never got to use any anyways.

5.Lastly, can we use the apocalypse lab for this mission, rather than risk the surface of Hephaestus?

It isn't a portal, its a stationary machine that moves a "tagged" object. The "tag" is about the size of a fridge so just duct taping a rabbit to it might be a bit...silly. Especially since it's not like a rabbit would survive hard vacuum even here, in our homey little universe.

We dunno jack.

Lets go somewhere in between. As in, feel free to try anything an admin could do, but if it seems borked in terms of the mission, I'll nix it.

Sure. Respec all your points and skills as you want, no charge. Compensation for marooning you on heph for 2 months.

Apoch lab isn't the space magic thing right? It's the one thats off planet, on a moon or something? If so, yes.

After pondering the information he has received for a day or two, and receiving Mr. saint's message, Dester replies

Greetings. Please forgive our excitement. It's been a long journey, and we have been under a bit of stress, what with the apocalypse and all - a subject on which I have many questions. I hope you are satisfied with our manpower efforts on your behalf? our collections went surprisingly well, not even considering the whole "end of the world" snafu. Thank you for your assistance in this new endeavor. I wonder, might I have a meeting with you? I would like to understand WHY this happened, and WHY we are now evacuating the universe. Clearly, some in this organization have some knowledge that apparently even the UWM does not possess concerning events of great magnitude. I will be glad to answer what questions I can as well, of course, though my information is likely to be limited to our recent mission.

Attached please find an initial plan for exploring universes with potentially dramatic physical differences from our own.

Dester sends this plan to all teammates. Hey guys! Look here!

Spoiler: A more thorough plan for Standard Interuniversal Exploration Operating Procedure (click to show/hide)

Phase one: unmanned drones containing a sample of each element and a simple program: enter universe, wait one minute, return. if nothing explodes, dissolves, grows into an abomination, or otherwise becomes useless, move to phase two
Phase two: sensors. Cameras, EM, radio, sonar, motion detectors, etc. Poke around for a minute or three, then return. Examine all evidence. If nothing seems terrible, move to phase three.
Phase three: life. Send samples of cellular life: microbiology, plants, animals, and that human fleshball thingy PW designed. Remain for five minutes, return. if everything lives and functions properly, move to phaze Four
Phase Four: 'volunteers.' Strap a few conscious humans and perhaps roboticised humans into an autonomous drone and send them in. Five minutes then return. If they haven't gone immediately mad/dead/abominable, record their experiences and analyze. after careful analysis, if acceptable, move to phase five
Phase Five: Actual volunteers. Time to start exploring. Go in (or send a team) for one hour, then eight, then a full day, then a week. This is the point at which we will probably have to go in personally as well, though having a crew of grunts along will be acceptable. Explore, record, and report. We're getting closer to something human habitable now!
Phase Six: Evaluate options. have we found something survivable? Suitable? Idyllic? Should we send people to one or more of these universes to prepare short term and long term colonies? Do we have enough time to consider any more carefully, or need we gtfo now? if the latter, which option should we gtfo to?
Phase Seven: Begin the process again from a new universe, just in case this one is being eaten by a thermophage, universal black hole, cosmic entity, generic madness, or grues.

To the Doctor
You seem to know a significant amount about all this. What is going on? Why is all this happening? I think I understand what I have to do, but I'd like to understand the why, also. What brought all these events to pass? How did we get where we are?

We talked about pay for the troops to keep them loyal. I think, at this point, that pay may be meaningless. Currency might be of no value, what with the universe being eaten and all. I think a different tactic might work better here. Loyalty asked for and offered. Mutual benefit, obedience for protection, that kind of thing. Like the Feudal period, or Sovereign/vassal treaties.

"You're going to have to be more specific." the Doctor replies "There are a lot of things going on. Start with one."

[Kedly]

Do I have permission to brief our security staff? I believe I have enough info to let them know what's going on, even though we're still figuring out which phase they'll participate in. I'll have the info I need to brief the shipping and sales staff soon enough as well, see the message I cc'd you in

Is there anywhere on this planet we would be able to house our shipping and sales staff until we need them? I realise most of this planet is filled with classified shit, but I just tbought I'd ask... On that front, do you have need of our shipping crew as labourers or the like? We won't really need them until we are at the point of setting up a colony, in which point we'll need them, so no, not for experiments

[/quote]

[NAV]

((Can we assume that brain-dead Skylar was shoved in a stasis pod instead of going on mission?))

[Kedly]

((I'm fine with whatever, but I vote Ozzie be the official leader of this mission, rather than de facto))