>>1675354
>>Thanks for the “assist”, Lieutenant. You were a real goddamn inspiration out there.

>>1675354
>>Thanks for the “assist”, Lieutenant. You were a real goddamn inspiration out there.
Oh, so it was him? How even?

>>1675444
This is facetious. It's implying that he turned and ran rather than lifting a finger to help Carya and Artesia.

>>1675354
>>The hell's your problem? We didn't even open fire this time, though we'd have been justified.

>tfw the only reasons I still go on 4chan are the vector threads on /w/ and a single quest that hasn't migrated to akun yet Its this one

>writing
>>1675491
Flattery will get you nowhere, namefriend. I'm not that cheap of a date.

Almost though.

>>1675523
It's not flattery, it's true.

>>1675523
“Thanks for the “assist” out there, Lieutenant,” you frown. “You were a real help. An indispensable team player. Couldn't have done it without you.”

“Carya,” Rossweisse insists quietly. “The car you ran off the road had some of his men in it.”

[I]... well, shit. That kind of changes things.

“Is that true?” you ask, staring straight into the Lieutenant's eyes. “Did you send an unmarked vehicle to tail us to the spaceport?”

“And then you ran it off the goddamn road!” the Lieutenant snarls. “What the hell is your problem you psychotic piece of...”

“Are the officers okay?”

“Excuse you?” the Lieutenant demands.

“I asked you,” you repeat yourself slowly, unblinking “if the officers are okay.”

“Two of 'em are off on medical leave,” the man responds angrily, “the other two were released with minor injuries, but that's beside the point. You ran four cops off the road and endangered civilians all in one go!”

“I should have you arrested, tried, and thrown in jail for that!”

You take a deep breath, focusing your thoughts for a moment...

>Unload on him.
>Explain to him.
>Diplomacy.
>Other?

>>1675562
>Unload on him.

>>1675562
>>Unload on him.

I mean, we did explain what we expected him to do, and what was going to happen, didn't we?

And Carya's been having a really stressful time.

>>1675562
>>Unload on him.
Changed my vote.
Let 'im have it.

>>1675562
You pinch your nose, struggling to keep your temper in check. “So let me get this straight... you sent an unmarked car to tail me.”

“Yeah, that's what I...”

“The heavily-trained, heavily-armed psychic supersoldier,” you continue.

“That's a little presumptuous...”

“Who has killed nearly a dozen people in the last two days,” you press, feeling your voice slip a little closer to shouting.

“Which is still a bad...”

“Specifically because they were tailing us,” you conclude, feeling like your anger and frustration are set to burst forth like a dam ready to break. “What the hell were you thinking was gonna happen!?”

“I don't...”

“We're a career soldier!” you declare, placing your hand over your chest. “Asymmetrical warfare is our bread and counterinsurgency tactics are our butter! We've been on the case nonstop for weeks, and I specifically told you to your face that we were concerned about the chance of being tailed!”

“What would have happened had we opened fire on them?”

“What do you mean?” the Lieutenant asks, his own self-righteous anger giving way to confusion as it starts to become apparent that he's miscalculated.

“We had a fully-automatic battle rifle at our disposal,” you clarify, setting the scene for him as it were. “So what would've happened if we'd decided it'd be best if I opened fire on your guys in the car you sent to follow us without telling us?”

“I'd have killed them all!”

“I think you're...”

“No, I'm not underselling them,” you insist angrily. “You have no goddamn idea what the hell you just did, do you? The things I've seen and done, the kind of person I've had to be just to survive this long?”

“Carya,” Rossweisse interrupts you with a quiet glance.
>1/2

>>1675562
>Other?
Did those officers at least know what they were getting into?

Just plain disappointment would suffice for me. Carya did mention not to be overzealous about it and that if he can't do it, he shouldn't bother.

>>Unload on him.

>>1675670
She's right, you know.

You take a deep breath, then two, then a third.

“You remember what I told you, Lieutenant?” you ask, having succeeded at least in lowering your voice. “I told you not to be overzealous, and that if you couldn't do it not to bother. In sending your men into harm's way because you didn't think it through you managed to do worse than nothing at all.”

“I had to make a choice,” the Lieutenant insists sternly. “And so I did. It was you who put those men in harm's way.”

“We told you explicitly that we were expecting a hostile tail,” you reiterate, “and you already saw what I can do in a fight. You know my reputation, you knew my state of mind, and yet you sent your men in anyway.”

“You made a mistake, and I responded to what I perceived as a threat,” you conclude. “My only mistake was expecting anything approaching competence from you. My contact report will say as much when it crosses the Chief's desk.”

“You what now?”

“We're obligated to report to the Chief of Police in any action where police were directly involved,” you explain carefully. “So we'll be writing our report and submitting corroborating records from Artesia's armored car... a fairly comprehensive look at the city's own municipal security records will also line up with our version of events, confirming that the car you sent after us accelerated blindly into the median to try and catch us.”

“You have no case,” you conclude.

>Give my apologies to the men who were wounded. None of this was their fault.
>Your career is probably over the minute the Chief reads my report. Make your peace.
>I'm going to suggest that the Chief transfers you to a position that's idiot-proof.
>Other?

>>1675739
>>Give my apologies to the men who were wounded. None of this was their fault.

>>1675739
>>Give my apologies to the men who were wounded. None of this was their fault.

>>1675739
“I have one request of you before hang up on you,” you declare. “I'd like you to convey my apologies to the men who were wounded. It's hardly their fault that they were issued stupid orders, or that I was never informed as to their identities. They were doing their jobs.”

Before the Lieutenant has a chance to respond, you issue an order. “ALICE, kill the connection.”

“Aye aye, ma'am.”

The Lieutenant's face disappears from the viewscreen.

“Would you like me to compile a report for you, Captain?” the little AI asks, her digital diva-avatar poking its head in around the edge of the screen to peer at you inquisitively.

“Sure,” you sigh, slumping in your seat. “Send the completed version to the terminal in our quarters and we'll look it over in detail before sending it off.”

“Already sent,” ALICE replies, her head disappearing back around the corner. Cheeky digital brat. She probably had it written out before she even asked.

“Anyway, that leaves our discussion regarding Senator Hawke and the Jovians,” Artesia reminds both you and Rossweisse now that the Lieutenant's complaints have been substantively dismissed.

“There's an empty room to hold a meeting on the crew deck,” Rossweisse declares. “We should speak there, more places to sit.”

Having quickly changed locations, involving no more than a short trip down one deck and along an empty corridor towards the bow, you settle into a comfortable chair across a small table from Artesia. Rossweisse collapses back onto the guest bed, staring at the ceiling as she listens.

>We could track down the Jovian mob. Launch a concerted raid and recover any information they have.
>Do we have enough to take this issue straight to the courts? To move against Hawke?
>I think it's high time we arranged to meet the Senator face to face. And by that I mean raid his office.
>There's one more avenue left: investigating SNRI itself, seize whatever documents we need.
>Other?

>>1675847
>>There's one more avenue left: investigating SNRI itself, seize whatever documents we need.

>>1675847
>>There's one more avenue left: investigating SNRI itself, seize whatever documents we need.
>>We could track down the Jovian mob. Launch a concerted raid and recover any information they have.
One or the other.

And man, this Gundam Thunderbolt episode just continues the trend of dissonant music from last time.
Totally fitting UC song btw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JppX82CwpzY

>writing

>>1675847
“We still haven't investigated SNRI directly,” you observe. “That's the one last point that we should probably address.”

“That's true,” Artesia admits. “And I hate to admit it, but it's probably not wise to leave the ship again this soon.”

“You think there's going to be another attack?” you ask.

Artesia nods. “They missed their chance this last time, probably because they were still recovering after the shootout with you earlier. But now it's the Police who are recovering from a setback.”

“It's just bad timing all around.”

“If we're careful there's another option,” Artesia suggests. “We could get an electronic warrant.”

“And search any of their records,” you nod. “That would be a good start.”

“And if we got ALICE into their internal systems we may even be able to tap their security cameras,” Artesia adds. “I'm willing to bet they're a closed system, but there are ways to get a tap in there. And it's not like Newtype brainwaves are susceptible to standard jamming methods.”

>Then let's try and cook something up. ALICE can do the initial investigation as soon as Artesia can get a warrant.
>I'd be willing to bet if we asked really nicely Anaheim has a way to get a tap into their camera systems.
>Is there anything else we're missing? A more obvious, easier way to do this?
>Other?

>>1675940
>>Then let's try and cook something up. ALICE can do the initial investigation as soon as Artesia can get a warrant.
>>I'd be willing to bet if we asked really nicely Anaheim has a way to get a tap into their camera systems.

>>1675940
>>Then let's try and cook something up. ALICE can do the initial investigation as soon as Artesia can get a warrant.
>>Is there anything else we're missing? A more obvious, easier way to do this?
Leave USB sticks ALICE already tampered with in front of their parking lot, hope someone picks it up, and slots it in one of the machines inside?
Sorry, too much Mr. Robot.

>writing

>>1676010
“So I guess we need to work something out,” you sigh, scratching at the back of your head.

Getting the cops to do it?

“I doubt it,” you shake your head. “Doesn't feel like the cops are going to be too helpful right now.”

Getting the mob to do it?

“Half the Italians are in detention,” you sigh, “and the Jovians are trying to kill us. So that's probably a hard no.”

“Perhaps there's a technical solution to be found?” Artesia offers. “This is after all the most advanced ship in the fleet.”

“We're specced for interdiction, not for infiltration,” Rossweisse replies calmly. “And as for joint operations with infantry the Viola is a new system.”

“Which means we don't exactly have sophisticated tools for that kind of work,” you admit as some noise seems to bleed through the wall from the room nextdoor. “Is that... a piano?”

Rossweisse nods. “Since miss Carlyle was obliged to remain aboard at least for the present...”

“You bought her a keyboard and had it shipped here?” you ask, listening in a little more closely. “Huh, well what do you know. She's not half bad.”
>3d10, DC 18, Crit 21
>best of three

Rolled 5, 1, 4 = 10 (3d10)

>>1676096
What, considering Bianca to do the infiltration?

Rolled 5, 4, 1 = 10 (3d10)

>>1676096

Rolled 1, 4, 8 = 13 (3d10)

>>1676096

File: mpKZg[1].png (200 KB, 500x276)

200 KB PNG

....

Rolled 9, 7, 5 = 21 (3d10)

Well then.

>>1676164
… it almost feels like you have an idea, but as it's literally on the tip of your tongue Bianca strikes an off-chord.

“Dammit!” she curses sharply at her own mistake. “Clumsy... it's been too long.”

And in that outburst, just a single moment of frustration, you's sufficiently distracted to forget your idea.

“I just had it!” you declare, your tone strained from sheer overwhelming disbelief at the turn of events.

“That's got to be frustrating,” Artesia shrugs. “Well I've got a plan, if you wanted to hear it.”

“Fine,” you shake your head, slumping back in your chair. “Better than nothing... which is all I've got to offer right now.”

“I have a few contacts of my own,” Artesia tells you. “I think we could probably get access to their files or to their surveillance system from here overnight, but I don't think we have the time or the personnel to do both.”

“So it comes down to priorities,” you muse.

“That's right,” Artesia tells you. “We can either take a peek inside, or ALICE can sift through whatever files we can get her access to and hope there's something of value.”

>Or we could just raid the place. Not even bother tiptoing around the law.
>Clear images of the interior would include logs for the front door, wouldn't it?
>We'll try for their files, see if we can get any personal communications or financial records.
>Other?

File: 1493763980352.jpg (29 KB, 330x264)

29 KB JPG

>>1676111
>>1676143
>>1676151
Pic

>>1676164
Uhh, yay? Maybe?

I can't tell if this is a good or bad thing for us.

>>1676187
>>Or we could just raid the place. Not even bother tiptoing around the law.

>>1676188
We've almost always had shit rolls in Aphelion

>>1676187
>We'll try for their files, see if we can get any personal communications or financial records.

>>1676187
>>We'll try for their files, see if we can get any personal communications or financial records.
>>Other?
Maybe rope Cima in later to scrutinize if any particular record is using code or some such? Might as well cover the longshots too.

>>1676200
Really making me think if dice is timezone based.

>>1676187
“I suppose their files would be a lot more important to what we're trying to prove,” you sigh. “After all who cares what they're building... either they deploy it and we have to blow it up or we'll end up stopping them before they get that far.”

“I suppose that's true,” Rossweisse agrees. “And we have plenty of people who are qualified to make sense of the information. If all else fails we can just have ALICE copy it all.”

“Then it's settled,” Artesia declares, getting to her feet. “I'll signal one of my contacts and we'll have a bug placed inside SNRI's headquarters. The lights are still on and someone's been paying, so I'd have to assume if they're still in business that's where we'll find them.”

“It's an assumption we'll have to go on,” you nod. However, something strikes you as a little off about the situation: Artesia works in the Lunar Senate, at least ostensibly.

So how is it she has people who can pull off these sorts of jobs?

It's not definitive, but you do have a hunch that your old friend and sometimes-accomplice hasn't been entirely truthful about what she does for a living... in fact, the most damning thing is that she's never explicitly told you anything about her job.

>No time like the present. Ask her about it now, and ask her to be honest with you.
>Not now. Get Cima on board with the endeavor, she's got the piracy knowledge.
>Maybe get Bianca as well. She's a straight-shooting and honest type... a rarity in your line of work.
>Other?

>>1676274
>>No time like the present. Ask her about it now, and ask her to be honest with you.

>>1676274
>>No time like the present. Ask her about it now, and ask her to be honest with you.

>dice+3d10, best of four
>higher is better

Rolled 6, 9, 8 = 23 (3d10)

>>1676338

>>1676339
wew

Rolled 9, 2, 1 = 12 (3d10)

>>1676274

Rolled 8, 6, 2 = 16 (3d10)

>>1676338
Rollin'

>>1676339
Oh hey, finally.

You still have one more roll, though I suspect it's fair that I already started writing.

Rolled 3, 9, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>1676338

File: Sayla 1.jpg (429 KB, 850x742)

429 KB JPG

>>1676379
“Artesia,” you interrupt as she opens the door to head out into the hallway, prompting both her and Rossweisse to stare at you in concern. “One more thing, before you go. I don't recall ever hearing from you what it is you do around here. At least, never explicitly.”

“So, how 'bout you come clean?”

Artesia lets the door close.

“I knew from the beginning that lying to you wasn't going to accomplish anything,” Artesia admits quietly, “and I wouldn't want to do that anyway.”

You'd be willing to believe her. “I never accused you of lying to me. You and I... we've known each other too long for that.”

“You're right,” she nods, glancing momentarily at her feet. “That's why I've been trying to figure out what to say to you when you finally decided to ask... and settled on the truth. Publicly I'm the Vice-Chief of the nonpartisan Office of Accounting and Analysis, which as I suspect you're vaguely aware is in charge of providing unbiased information to government agencies and senators. We focus on any proposed environmental legislation, trade deals, or budgetary measures, to name a few of the more important topics.”

“And so what do you really do?” you ask.

“In reality, I'm the Chief of Division Zero,” Artesia admits, “Lunar Intelligence Agency.”

“So the LIA has a fourth Division?” Rossweisse interjects. “First is foreign service, second is domestic surveillance, and third is propaganda and public relations.”

“Which leaves...” you mutter, prompting Artesia to spell out what you and Rossweisse already suspect.

“Internal affairs,” Artesia tells you. “It's my job to coordinate anti-corruption investigations and to shut down unlawful or rogue programs within the intelligence and military communities.”

“And your position within the OAA allows you to gather and disseminate information appropriately,” you consider the factors aloud, “basically it's not all that much more work.”

“It also means that your position within the LIA's upper echelons is one of absolute trust,” Rossweisse guesses. “To place so much information at your fingertips... anyone so inclined could essentially run the government in secret.”

“Who says I don't?” Artesia asks with a grin. “In all seriousness, sometimes I feel like I do. It's not all it's cracked up to be.”
>1/2

>>1676400
“Then our presence here is a major boon to you,” you realize. “You can't normally get Anaheim to work with you because they're a contractor, not a government agency. Same with SNRI, technically they're privately owned and operated even if they were entirely government-subsidized.”

“That's right,” Artesia nods. “Though I'm also glad to see you, you're in a unique position to make my life a lot easier. As limited as I am by the laws and the rules of my position, your hands are free here. You can be seen with mafia councilors and crooked bookies, you can get into shootouts and get into giant robot fights without the specter of bureaucracy breathing down your neck.”

“And your mission it seems overlaps with mine more than either of us realized at first.”

>3d10, DC 18, no crit

Rolled 1, 4, 4 = 9 (3d10)

>>1676419

Rolled 7, 8, 9 = 24 (3d10)

>>1676400
>coordinate anti-corruption investigations and to shut down unlawful or rogue programs within the intelligence and military communities
Well damn. We might just be sitting on the mother load of ticking all those checklists simultaneously.

>>1676419
Rollin' no low ballin'
pls

Rolled 2, 10, 1 = 13 (3d10)

>>1676419

>>1676426
gg anon.

>>1676426
Your rhyming apparently pleases the dice gods.

File: mig.jpg (23 KB, 265x238)

23 KB JPG

>>1676419
“Well then, we're working together again just like the old days!” you reply cheerfully before suddenly raising your voice to a yell. “Ain't that right, Bianca?”

The piano's been silent too long. A few moments later the door opens, and Bianca Carlyle pokes her head in tentatively. “So you realized I'd stopped playing, huh?”

“And when you heard Artesia was LIA you were a bit too surprised,” you explain. “We newtypes are more sensitive to other people's emotions... even through walls.”

“Well, shit,” she shrugs, stepping entirely into frame. “So what happens now? I take it miss spooky over here isn't too fond of the idea of letting someone join up with Anaheim when they know about her mission... and the fact that she's keeping tabs on the company.”

“Carrina and Rossweisse get a free pass,” Artesia explains, “because we're old friends, and they're outside Lunar jurisdiction. Not only can I technically not stop them from saying anything, I know them well enough to understand that they would keep my secret if it killed them.”

“I don't know you that well, which means we have a problem.”

“There goes that gig,” Bianca sighs. “Nice cushy corporate job, my own desk, regular business hours, raises... who needs 'em anyway, right?”

Artesia chuckles, shaking her head. “Why the hell were you gonna give this one up to Anaheim in the first place, anyway? She's a natural fit.”

“Oldtypes tend to struggle,” Rossweisse observes quietly, directing the comment at you alone.

“It wouldn't be an easy job,” you observe. “There's a reason our forward units revolve around newtype pilots.”

“Whatever,” Carlyle shrugs. “I've always suspected living for this would mean dying for it sometime down the line. Way I figure it I've already had a better run than I anticipated.”

>Welcome to the Grim Guard's regular roster, Bianca Carlyle. I'll put in your transfer recommendation myself.
>I'd like you to consider it a while longer. See how the rest of this mission plays out first.
>I... can't authorize that.
>Other?

>>1676465
>I'd like you to consider it a while longer. See how the rest of this mission plays out first.

>>1676465
>>Welcome to the Grim Guard's regular roster, Bianca Carlyle. I'll put in your transfer recommendation myself.

>>1676465
>>Welcome to the Grim Guard's regular roster, Bianca Carlyle. I'll put in your transfer recommendation myself.

>>1676465
>>Welcome to the Grim Guard's regular roster, Bianca Carlyle. I'll put in your transfer recommendation myself.

File: rossweissecurrentc590bb7f(...).png (259 KB, 544x830)

259 KB PNG

>>1676465
You extend one hand. “Welcome to the roster, Bianca Carlyle. I'll put in the paperwork and finalize it when this mess is all over, but for now consider yourself part of the A-team.”

With a grin the Lieutenant accepts your handshake, but you grasp her hand tightly and don't let go immediately.

“Normally, the only way off the A-team is a casket,” you explain in a low, deadly serious voice. “You still sure this is what you want?”

“I'm running out of places to put new tattoos anyway,” she briefly shuts her eyes in contemplation before giving you a stern look. “I'm committed. This is how I want it to be.”

You release her hand.

“Then let's get ready for this,” you order. “Rossweisse, we'll head to the bridge. Artesia, meet with Cima and get ready to help sift the decoded data as ALICE provides it. Bianca, head down to the hangar deck. The head tech down there will walk you through all our relevant systems, capacities, and protocols, so as you go make sure we're ready to deploy the Viola in case Artesia's contact fails to deliver.”

“Understood.”
“I'm on it.”
“Roger that.”

>>1676516
And that's where we'll have to call a halt for the evening. Archive's up, hope you had a good time, and thanks for playing!

We'll continue this... I think Tuesday evening.

>>1676525
Thanks for the thread. And woah, close to daily updates/continuations for two different threads? It's the dream.

Well, on the player side anyway. I hope it's not too hectic on your QMing end.

Good one for Bianca too. Is it MS roster duty, or something else? And speaking of tattoos, what design did she go for to commemorate Sweetwater?

>>1676590
At the moment she'd be considered reserve because Sericea only has one mobile suit embarked, but active MS duty is the ultimate intention.

>>1677531
I figure as much. Looking forward to what she's gonna handle as a step up from the GM she used.

Also, does she know about the Junior MS curse yet?

>>1679724
She doesn't know about that. And what constitutes that "step up" isn't set in stone.

>>1680194
It's 2am local time.

The lights have been dimmed to help keep Sericea's crew grounded in a 24-hour cycle of day and night. You and Rossweisse have been taking turns to sleep about forty minutes at a time, while Cima and Artesia have both nodded off down in the cabin where they'll be working over intelligence... if everything goes according to plan, that is. As for Bianca Carlyle, the newest member of your team, there was a limit to how many times she could review your MS handling and tactical protocols before falling asleep at the switch. That magic number turned out to be two and a half.

At some point, if you still haven't heard back from Artesia's contact... or rather her field agent... you'll have to proceed in another fashion.

>Wait until you have to wake Rossweisse up, then move on to an alternate plan.
>Discuss the issue with Rossweisse when she wakes, set a cutoff point.
>Continue waiting until you either hear back or Artesia declares it a loss.
>Other?

>Had to go up early again

>>1681588
>Discuss the issue with Rossweisse when she wakes, set a cutoff point.

>>1681588
>>Discuss the issue with Rossweisse when she wakes, set a cutoff point.
>>Other?
Might not be so bad to give Artesia a heads up regarding this. Don't really wanna go behind her back after she's trusted us with the delicate nature of her work.

I realize it would be a stretch, even for Newtype shenanigans, but ask her anyway if she's getting any vibes on this mission akin to the situation of her last agent before their untimely death.

>>1681588
>>Discuss the issue with Rossweisse when she wakes, set a cutoff point.

>writing
>dice+3d10, best of three, higher is better

Rolled 6, 5, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>1681741

Rolled 3, 7, 7 = 17 (3d10)

>>1681741

Rolled 6, 6, 8 = 20 (3d10)

>>1681741

>>1681762
Solid.
>writing

>>1681741
You decide to wait for another half hour, until it comes time to wake Rossweisse for her shift.

“Morning, sunshine,” you joke, prompting a confused groan.

“What time is it?”

“02:30 local,” you report. “We need to figure out how long we're going to wait.”

“I'd imagine daybreak,” Rossweisse suggests. “In an absence of any other information.”

With no knowledge of what's happening on-site...

“He could be dead already for all we know,” you sigh, “or he could be held up for some reason, waiting for the right moment to act without getting spotted.”

“Artesia seems to have some faith in her personnel,” Rossweisse adds.

“The last guy ended up dead,” you counter. “But I don't disagree with the principle of giving them more time to work. So I'll propose a compromise.”

“If Artesia wakes up we could confer with her, but we give up no sooner,” Rossweisse realizes.
We need should wait for Artesia's opinion?

“Both correct,” you nod. “So we're in agreement.”

“02:30, no news,” ALICE reports. “Good night Carrina... again.”

“Yeah, see you in a bit,” you yawn, nodding off.
>QM rolling

Rolled 7, 3, 5 = 15 (3d10)

>>1681829
>I SAID QM ROLLING DAMMIT

>>1681841
gg no re

>>1681829
After several hours of dreamless sleep, you're awakened by your own internal alarm clock.

IT'S GO TIME SIS!

You sit bolt upright, nearly clipping your head on Rossweisse's arm. She leans to one side in surprise.

“That was abrupt,” she muses. “Coffee's on the way.”

“Coffee?” you ask. “What's up?”

“We got an information dump fifteen minutes ago,” ALICE tells you.

“I thought it better to let you finish sleeping,” Rossweisse tells you, looking over a screen with line after line of information scrolling past.

>Check in with Cima and Artesia
>Start digging youself.
>Ask ALICE to filter for relevance.
>Other?

>>1681878
>>Ask ALICE to filter for relevance.
>other
Thank Rossewise.
What a considerate girl

>>1681878
>>Ask ALICE to filter for relevance.
>>Check in with Cima and Artesia
Agent status is...?

>writing

>>1681919
“That was very considerate,” you mutter, cracking your neck. “Thanks. ALICE, try filtering the results by relevance for me, let's not waste time.”

“Affirmative,” ALICE replies. “Constructing an algorithm now.”

“Cima, Artesia,” you continue, “any indication regarding the status of the agent?”

“None,” Artesia reports. “But the information is still coming.”

“The datastream is slow,” ALICE tells you.

“Has to be, otherwise SNRI's systems would identify a discrepancy in network activity,” Artesia explains.

“Alright then, we take it slow,” you sigh.

It takes about five more minutes for ALICE to finish her work and begin processing the incoming datastream, and about another ten after that to build up substantial enough folders for each identified category.

>Focus on technical development projects.
>Focus on financial transactions and business deals.
>Focus on personal communications between anyone who sounds important.
>Other?

>>1681977
>>Focus on personal communications between anyone who sounds important.

>>1681977
>>Focus on personal communications between anyone who sounds important.
Is it really slow because we're being sneaky or is it slow because ALICE is hogging all the bandwidth to torrent more Vocaloid stuff?

>>1682001
The former. If there's too much activity on the SNRI network they'll identify it as a security breach.

>>1682003
Yeah, I know. It was a joke reference to the original SoZ. ;)

>>1682007
Ah. Sorry, bit distracted at the moment.

That's gonna be eased a little from here on.

>>1682012
Also,
>dice+3d10, DC 18, Crit 22

Rolled 4, 5, 2 = 11 (3d10)

>>1682015

Rolled 6, 8, 1 = 15 (3d10)

>>1682015

Rolled 8, 10, 6 = 24 (3d10)

>>1682015

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85 KB JPG

>>1682027

At first you're befuddled by a few trends among SNRI's personal email records. Each address is a string of numbers that has nothing to do with the identity of their owner, and most of the time you see no names used in the subject fields or the bodies. Nobody signs their names either, so it's difficult to make any headway.

Until you look at where the messages are going, that is.

“I see,” you nod to yourself. “ALICE, pull all the messages that were forwarded to the account beginning in the number string 5392586.”

“Done,” ALICE reports almost immediately.

“Alright, now find me all messages forwarded up to the account beginning in 8530535.”

“Done,” ALICE repeats. “What are you looking for?”

“I see,” you nod to yourself. “Now trace those. Where are those accounts forwarding to most often?”

“An account beginning in 4325692,” ALICE tells you. “This account rarely forwards to any other accounts within the company. In fact, most of the internal messages from this account are to set up meetings for in-face appointments.”

“Gotcha,” you declare. “That's more likely the one in charge. The other two are department heads based on how much contact seems to be coming upward, and those two accounts are mostly transacting with the one account at the very top.”

“You have something?” Rossweisse asks.

“I think so,” you nod. “ALICE, get me anything from this account going out of the company and to any known government accounts.”

“No matches,” ALICE reports.

“Artesia, I need you to supply any contact accounts associated with the Senate,” you insist. “Specifically anything you have for Senator Hawke.”

“Gimme a few minutes...”

A few minutes later, ALICE gets back to you. “Several messages back and forth with the supplied contact account. Predominantly focused on financial details.”

>Can we track down the individual transactions?
>Artesia, can this demonstrate illegal conduct and justify a raid?
>Can your contact get us into the interior cameras?
>Other?

>>1682086
>>Can we track down the individual transactions?
>>Artesia, can this demonstrate illegal conduct and justify a raid?

>>1682086
>>Artesia, can this demonstrate illegal conduct and justify a raid?
And if it's still flimsy.

>>Can we track down the individual transactions?

>3d10, DC 18, Crit 22
>best of four

Rolled 1, 2, 7 = 10 (3d10)

>>1682113

Rolled 7, 3, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>1682113

Rolled 5, 9, 5 = 19 (3d10)

>>1682113

>one more required

Rolled 7, 4, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>1682113

Rolled 9, 2, 7 = 18 (3d10)

>>1682113
>>1682136
Guess I can do another?

Sorry it took so long, hard to roll on mobile

>>1682151
... it's that double verification with long-ass code copy-paste, isn't it?

>>1682154
My captcha was the normal picture ones, typing out the roll was the hard part, plus lte is slow here

>>1682136
“So is this enough to make a case for illegal conduct?” you ask Artesia. “Enough to conduct a raid?”

“Not quite,” Artesia replies. “But when you combine it with the list of accounts you got from the bookkeeper you can build that case. ALICE, is there a match?”

After a moment, ALICE responds. “Yes, ma'am.”

“And there we have it,” Artesia nods, but ALICE isn't finished.

“In cross-checking, I also found something I did not expect,” the AI explains, her avatar's brow furrowed in concern.

“There is one more account of note,” she tells you. “That account is linked to the Vist Foundation.”

You turn to Rossweisse, who's just as surprised as you are. “The Vist Foundation?”

“That is correct,” ALICE affirms.

The Vists... they still own a controlling share of Anaheim Electronics, don't they?

“I'm not sure,” you admit. “The Vists don't make their financial holdings public. They could've sold off their shares for all we know, and Luna's government is under no obligation to tell us.”

>If the Vist Foundation is involved we need to MAKE the government tell us.
>Then we need to go after the Vist Foundation itself.
>If we have a case against Senator Hawke we should act on that first.
>Other?

>>1682161
>>If we have a case against Senator Hawke we should act on that first.
I'd like to take it a step at a time. This is a rather surprising development though.

>>1682161
>>If we have a case against Senator Hawke we should act on that first.

>>1682161
>If we have a case against Senator Hawke we should act on that first.

>>1682161
“Alright, the Vists may be involved,” you admit, “and that's a serious problem. More so if they've maintained a controlling share of Anaheim. But we have no case against them yet... we do have a case against SNRI and Senator Hawke. We should proceed to action phase on that.”

“Is there any evidence we've been discovered yet?” Cima asks.

“No,” Artesia reports.

“Transmission was terminated at source,” ALICE confirms.

“He embedded a code phrase just before shutoff, confirming that it's deliberate,” Artesia explains, “under moderate threat of discovery.”

“Moderate?” Rossweisse muses. “What counts as moderate?”

“Not as bad as imminent,” Artesia clarifies, “but bad enough that he had to leave that very moment. We should be fine.”

“Good,” you nod in agreement. “Everyone, get some rack time. Artesia, what's Senator Hawke's schedule look like tomorrow?"

"He's taking a conference call in his office at half past eight," Artesia informs you, quickly checking her detailed reports.

"Then we move out at 07:00. Get a team into Hawke's office before he arrives, and fire off the raid just before SNRI's offices open at 09:00."

Time to see what all that money's been buying...

>>1682214
And here's the cutoff point for the weekend, the last deep breath before the plunge. We'll continue this Sunday with the action phase.

Thanks for showing up, and hope you enjoyed the read!

>>1682218
Thanks for the run and see ya next time.

With the Vist involvement though, I'm low key curious if this had a domino effect on Banana.

Thanks for the run, King!

Man, it's like I'm really back on /tg/.