[punch card]
"Sir."
You're the first to step up with a complete and correct card, and though he shows no signs of it in his manner or features, you're sure Castle appreciates your display of basic competence. He slots it into the machine, and with no further ado, the tube spits out three bizarrely-shaped, neatly-wrapped parcels.
[2] The first parcel is the smallest, so you opt to open it first. With the paper removed, the object sitting in your hand is... quite tough to identify. It's a gun, you surmise, but no wider than an inch, and about the size of your outstretched hand. The trigger is almost too small to pull with adult-sized fingers, and the weapon's various mechanisms are left uncovered, allowing you to see the four separate firing chambers arranged in a column down the middle of the gun. "The classic wallet gun," Castle interjects as he notices you puzzling over the device. "I'm... not entirely sure how long that one's been in our stock. It's certainly a much older model than what's available these days. Either way, as the name suggests, it's small enough to conceal in one's wallet, which is ultimately its only strength. I wouldn't expect it to punch through any form of body armour, and you won't be able to reload it in the field."
[2] The next item is similarly small, and equally underwhelming. It's two boxes, both matchbox-sized - one appears to indeed be an actual, typical matchbox, filled with the titular fire-starters, and the other is brimming with coarse grey powder. "That would be a smoke kit," Castle advises. "Simply light a match and drop it in the powder, and the area will rapidly fill with black smoke. The process is rather loud, and the smoke rather noxious, so I would advise against using it to conceal your immediate position."
[5] The final parcel is the largest, the paper falling away to reveal an incredibly compact computer - a true marvel of modern technology, around the size of a microwave oven. It appears to be covered with various antennae and speakers. "Ah, there's a useful one," Castle notes, sounding just a tiny bit interested for a change. "That's the multi-purpose aural interference generator. It comes with some detachable noise generators that can be programmed in-situ to create a series of noises of your choosing, and if you connect it to any sort of voice communications system, such as a radio or telephone, it can analyse the speech patterns of those speaking through the network. Given enough time doing this, you could use it as a very convincing voice decoy. It's rather heavy, though, so it's not quite ideal if you're after mobility."
"my mistake."
He fills it out the same as before, but leaves the offensive devices untouched. It would now show: small, small, hacking.
[2] The first package you receive is unmistakably pistol-shaped. Your expectations are dashed, however, when the torn-away paper reveals a gun unlike any you've ever seen. Its design is far more spartan than a traditional sidearm, seemingly lacking a proper firing pin or magazine. A quick inspection of the weapon's moving parts reveals a chamber containing a small, sharp dart. "The tranquiliser pistol, hm?" Castle observes. "Looks like one of the weaker designs. You'd need a good, clean shot to the jugular to put a grown man to sleep with that, I imagine. Anything else would just cause minor delirium." At least the presence of four extra darts in the package suggests that you can reload your weapon, unlike October.
[6] Your initial disappointment leaves you expecting little from the next package, but once you open it, you're not sure what to make of it at all. The rubbery handle at the base suggests that whatever it is is meant to be wielded like a knife or other such weapon, but unlike a knife, it appears to be missing a blade - or, indeed, any sort of offensive component. It does, however, have a dial right at the bottom of the handle, with four settings - 'Off', 'Stun', 'Pain' and 'Kill'. Castle nods approvingly and briefly palms the odd weapon from you in order to offer a demonstration. "This, agent, is the omni-baton," he intones, twisting the dial, which causes a thin metal rod to extrude from the top of the handle. It glows blue at first, then yellow, then red as Castle turns the dial further. "The technology behind it is complex indeed, but fortunately for you, it's far easier to use than it was to engineer. Just avoid touching the thin end, and it'll do what it says on the dial." He switches it off as he hands it back to you, almost reluctantly - part of you feels that he isn't eager to put something so advanced in a junior agent's hands. Fortunately, the logistics system has a policy of no refunds.
[1] The final parcel leaves no question as to its purpose. In plain terms, it's a hatchet. It's small, a little rusty, and clearly not weighted in a manner that would make it useful for combat. "...you put 'hacking' on the card, correct?" Castle mutters as his eyes wander to the tube. "Perhaps our logistics system is developing a sense of humour. I suppose you'll be able to cut wires with that thing in a pinch, at least."
"Hmph now let's get our gear ready, now I hope medium weaponry just doesn't mean a generic rifle but instead could be specialized into something more akin of a DMR or an anti-material rifle"
I fill out the pack in correct manner selecting Medium Ranged Weaponry, Specialized Melee Weaponry, Utility - Infiltration Devices Mobility
"Also if this guy is really difficult to restrain than why cripple to even remove a few of the limbs for interrogation? As long as the politicians don't know than our torture methods can be rather... effective and efficient
Castle flashes you a stern look as he slots your card into the machine. "O.G.O.D. has no interest in capturing or interrogating Viktorix. We've already surmised that he hasn't shared his knowledge with anybody but the Russians, and that particular loose end has already been tied up. Furthermore, intimate knowledge of our organisation's interrogation techniques are well above your pay-grade."
[3] True to your fears, the logistics system bestows a Kalashnikov-shaped parcel into your hands. Unwrapping it reveals exactly what you expected in the form of a perfectly ordinary AKM, unmodified and seemingly unused up to this point. The tube is kind enough to spit out a pair of carefully-wrapped extra magazines as an after-thought. "That article requires no further explanation," Castle shrugs. "Sorry to disappoint you, agent."
[1] The tube churns as it deposits a perfectly rectangular parcel for you. You hope that it'll be a box containing something cool, but removing the paper reveals otherwise. It's a hard-back book entitled '
Pugilism 101 - The Finer Points of Gentlemanly Fisticuffs'. It's at least a few hundred pages long, and a quick glance inside reveals a stark lack of illustrations and the author's frustrating tendency to ramble about the importance of gentlemanly conduct in a brawl. Castle's face creases in what could be annoyance as he notices what you've got. "I was wondering where that had gotten to," he huffs quietly, consoling himself with a puff of his pipe. "I suppose I'll let you borrow it for the duration of the operation, though I don't wager that fellows such as yourselves will get much mileage out of it." True to the assistant director's words, the tome is far too wordy to extract any quick pointers or immediately useful knowledge from. Still, maybe it's heavy enough to brain someone with.
[5] The sheer size and weight of the final parcel is already enough to wipe away your previous disappointment as it struggles to exit the tube. You fear it'll get stuck for a second, but with a whoosh of compressed air, the logistics system forces it out and into your waiting arms, the weight of its drop almost sending you sprawling. Ripping away the already-straining paper reveals something truly impressive- a pair of air canisters strapped to one another, with large nozzles at the bottom, a pair of long handles with a button on the end of each, and straps for the user to wear like a backpack. Sure enough, it's a backpack that uses jets of compressed gas to propel the user upwards - or a jet pack. "I'm sure you've seen enough bad science fiction films to know what that is," Castle chuckles, minus the chuckling. "I'll spare you the demonstration, and I'd thank you to save your first flight for when you're outdoors."
LARGE | ME
LARGE |
KILLING |
Billy Bob Fills in the Thinggy and hands it back
[4] The logistics tube is spared no rest after delivering Aviator's gift, as a similarly huge parcel comes rumbling down into your eager arms. Castle seems to recognise it even before you unwrap it, and the look of ever-so-slight alarm on his face becomes a little less slight once you confirm his suspicions by removing the paper. Your redneck intuition allows you to immediately recognise it as a traditional-looking shotgun - except it's huge, big enough that you'd initially assume it's not meant to be man-portable. The only thing that even suggests that a typical person would be able to carry it around is the modified barrel, which is a very wide, smooth-bore tube that appears to have been sawn off. You can't imagine how long it must've been beforehand if this is how it looks now. "I see you've found the, ah... miniaturized punt gun," Castle grumbles. "I use the term 'miniaturized' loosely. An engineer who has since been re-staffed to the custodial department once had the bright idea of taking a typical punt gun and shortening it enough to use without the punt. You could blanket an entire room with shot using that thing, providing you manage to fire it without breaking your arms." Two obscenely large shells accompany the weapon, giving you three room-clearing shots in total.
[6] You're amazed that the logistics tube hasn't simply shattered at this point, as the size of the oncoming parcel trumps even the last two. It very nearly dents the table when it hits it, and its significant weight requires a fellow agent to assist you in pulling it over towards you so you can unwrap it. Castle seems as nonplussed as ever as you reveal what's inside - a massive piece of industrial equipment, seemingly some sort of drill, except instead of the traditional single helix design of an average drill-bit, it bears small perforations all along its central drill piece. "Very fortunate for you, Billy Bob," begins Castle approvingly. "That's the laser excavator. It's exactly what it says on the label. Simply place it in contact with whatever you'd like to drill into and pull the lever on the back. The laser helix that it projects melts almost any material you could imagine extremely rapidly, so provided you can find a way to get it to where you're going without being compromised, no door, wall or other wordly obstruction will stand in your way. I'm not sure how practical it would prove in close quarters combat, however."
[4] Finally, the streak of huge objects is broken by a series of four circular objects, each of which drop onto the imposing excavator you unpacked with a metallic ding. Unwrapping one reveals a black sphere with a thin gap around the centre and a button on top - a small warning on the button reads 'angle hand in alignment with this text before pressing'. Doing so before pressing the button reveals the reason for the precaution, as a pair of crescent-shaped blades flick out of the sphere and barely avoid nicking your fingers. "These look like the Pseudorangs," Castle notes astutely. "They're based somewhat on the traditional boomerang, but obviously, they aren't intended to return to the thrower - you can imagine how many lost fingers would result from that, I'm sure. Instead, their unique design allows their trajectory to curve around corners and under obstacles. Think of them as particularly versatile throwing knives."
The all-bestowing logistics tube finally recedes back into the ceiling, its mission for the day complete. "I apologise for some of the more... eccentric items you've been given, agents," Castle starts, his eyes lingering in particular on the impractically large articles now in Billy Bob's possession. "All the same, you may trade them between yourselves or simply neglect to take them with you if you see fit. If you're happy with your lot, however, then please, divert your attention back to me. With the matter of briefing and equipment sorted, then we'll need to discuss your method of infiltration."
Castle removes a notepad from under the table and retrieves a fancy-looking ink pen from his suit jacket, scribbling down a heading for whatever notes he's about to take before turning his gaze back to you. "The default method of insertion would be via helicopter," he begins. "If you select that, then tomorrow morning, you'll be taken to within a few kilometres of where we believe Viktorix's current location to be, given the tracking we've done. However, we do happen to know he's working with private firms in order to fulfill his logistics and security needs, in particular, so we've the resources to insert you as an employee into either his hired logistics company, or the private security company he's hired. That can only be done for one of you, however, and you'll have to leave behind any equipment you wouldn't comfortably be able to fit into a suitcase, so consider that as you will." Castle then pushes the notepad over the table towards your team. "If you have a particular preference, or any ideas of your own for reaching the operation site undetected, then write them here and I'll see about their feasability. Otherwise, you'll be taking the helicopter."
You each mull over your options as you look down at the notepad. They're as varied as Castle suggests - though he's given you a few ideas already, his words seem to imply that O.G.O.D. can accommodate just about any idea that seems that it'd work. Either way, whatever you write down, Castle will put the necessary gears into motion and you'll be leaving for Canada tomorrow, in one way or another.
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Topic: Agents of O.G.O.D. - Operation: Dirty Skies (Read 5371 times)