[21:37] <> [21:39] <> [21:40] <> [21:41] <> [21:42] ( You mean the laughing jackass? ) [21:42] ( Oh, I will never get tired of this. Thank you, Trebeck. ) [21:43] <> [21:44] <> [21:44] * Chako snickers. "Still dunno whether to feel bad for the guy or not." [21:45] * Isis glances around. "I'm more worried about whether or not we can just trust ATC like that again," she says, snapping her fingers for emphasis. [21:45] Looks like someone reminded people that we still exist. *he looks at the welcoming crowd* [21:45] Well, do we trust the Cube? [21:45] * Chako snorts. "'Bout as much as I trust that Egg." [21:46] Exactly. [21:46] <> [21:47] * Charlie lowers his voice. "We'll probalby want to be on our guard in any case." *he starts heading down the ramp* [21:47] So, who's here for me? *he winks at the lady in front* [21:48] * Vernon shrugs and heads down the ramp, waving cheerfully to the techs. [21:49] * Chako chuckles, and walks down the ramp too. Not cheerfully, though. Nope. [21:49] * Isis walks down the ramp, wearing what she was when they all left and thus looking like a refugee extra from Matrix Reloaded. [21:50] * Chako looks about as bad. [21:51] <> "You're expected by it. Go to the first level of the Foxhole and wait for further orders." [21:52] * Isis puts her fingers to her temples. "I knew it. I knew the damned thing was going to be in that damned place." [21:53] * Charlie hmpfs quietly at the lady and keeps walkin'. [21:53] * Vernon nods, and heads on. [21:54] * Chako walks. "Where else? [21:55] * Isis sighs and gets moving. "Between her, Tim, Vernon, the damned lizards, and everything else, I'm starting to wonder if there are any human beings left in existence at ALL." [21:55] <> "Wait for me!" <> "What's this, then?" [21:56] It's a robot. Don't worry, I've checked it out. [21:56] <> "Owwww, my optical sensors." [21:56] * Isis says, with a completely straight face, "A sci-fi geek." She pauses. "In a very good costume." [21:57] * Chako smirks. [21:58] <> [21:58] * Isis raises an eyebrow at the HoBot. "Nice contacts. Can we leave now?" [22:00] <> "Yes." <> [22:01] * Isis glances at Vernon. "If any of the rats in your particular nest disrespect our robotic guest, I'm holding you accountable." [22:01] * Vernon grins. "Oh, no. I'm sure they'll be delighted." [22:01] * Isis frowns. "That's what I meant." [22:02] * Vernon raises an eyebrow. "Oh. Hmm...well, we'll see. Knowing them, some might not even react." [22:02] <> "Ugh, I think that dislocated my altitude sensor." <> [22:02] Oh, dear...do you have any self-repair capability? [22:03] "No, but I can manage for a little while." <> [22:03] (RP while you walk, I gotta take care of something.) [22:04] Okay...I'm sure I can fix it, especially with access to all of the tools down there. [22:05] Those gals need to loosen up.. even if they are probably bots. [22:05] * Chako chuckles. [22:06] * Vernon grins. "Well, the Sleythin have imagination. These are probably designed for business." [22:07] * Isis glances at Prag. "We're heading to hell, basically. It's a giant installation for scientists of all forms who share a desire for research and a complete and total social dysfunction problem." [22:08] (That's us!) [22:09] (okay. back). [22:09] I'd argue, but you're totally correct. [22:09] <> "Sounds... interesting."" [22:09] * Vernon grins. [22:10] * Chako rolls her eyes. [22:11] In a sort of Orwellian sense, yes, it is. [22:11] "Who?" [22:12] Old Earth author. Wrote a lot of dystopian fiction. [22:13] * Chako just looks around to make sure no hippies fall out of the ceiling or anything. [22:13] "Aah. Dystopia. Must use that one more often." <> [22:14] <> [22:14] ( Does he need to be defragged or something? ) [22:14] * Isis glances at the door. "Why do I feel like that's a joke I'm just not getting?" [22:15] I'm trying not to think about it. [22:16] <> [22:17] * Vernon shrugs, and goes to open the door. [22:17] * Charlie scratches his head for a sec and soon decides there's no way it can be worth it. "Ah well, who cares.. Shall we?" [22:17] Sooner we get there, sooner whatever happens happens. [22:17] <> [22:17] * Charlie nods and steps in. [22:18] * Vernon steps in. [22:18] * Chako steps in too! [22:20] * Isis steppeth in. [22:20] * Vernon pulls the handle. [22:22] (And the sixteen-ton weight drops on Chako's head!) [22:22] <> [22:22] (Sorry, slow tonight.) [22:23] * Isis looks around, then actually seems pleased. It doesn't last. "This can't last." [22:24] Wow. Fire drill? [22:24] Well, let's figure out where the hell we're going, then, before it ends. [22:25] <> [22:27] * Isis sniffs, then hmms and turns to Vernon. "There's no strange, SIG-ASP alternate reading of 'fumigate' we should know about, is there?" [22:27] Not that I know of. [22:29] * Charlie hmms. [22:29] Suddenly, the screens are interrupted by the intro to the old-style (as opposed to the four other revisions of it) Looney Tunes opening. Complete with the "Starring Bugs Bunny" add-in. When the intro finishes, the screens return to (relative) normality, and a small door opens square in the middle underneath the screen.>> [22:30] <> [22:30] Puppetry, Isis.. At least we know about it, is all I can say. [22:30] * Isis hmms. "If I were the Cube, and I were hidden in SIG-ASP, I'd make the entry somewhere obvious, and then use a cheap fake fumigation to get the easily-distracted employees out of the way before revealing it to us. I'd liked to have been able to say that." [22:31] * Isis shrugs her shoulders and walks toward the door. "Sadly, I didn't think of it until after it happened." [22:31] * Vernon heads toward the door. "Effective." [22:31] * Chako just looks sorta blank, and walks. "Whatever." [22:32] * Charlie shrugs and heads in. [22:32] <> [22:34] <> [22:35] * Chako rubs her neck, and says, "Space fucking Jesus. And I thought the Egg was bad." [22:35] * Vernon just stares. [22:35] (...I want one at home.) [22:36] "Well, hi there, folks, glad you could drop in." [22:36] ... [22:36] * Vernon waves, weakly. [22:36] * Chako says dryly, with a mere hint of anger, "Yeah, we're thrilled." [22:38] "Oh, come on now. We did apologize to you, and we're going to try to make it up you as soon as we can. That's why I had you come straight here." [22:38] (What's that danglin' from yer monitor? Like it's yours?) [22:38] (Chako as Carl. This image will haunt me throughout all time.) [22:38] * Isis says, sharply, "As opposed to making us dance a little more, THEN bringing us in." [22:39] (Cube = Shake, Egg = Meatwad... ) [22:39] (Vernon and Tim as the crazy professor and his assistant?) [22:40] "Old excuses work the best. Would you have really believed it if we told you the truth beforehand?" [22:40] * Isis shrugs her shoulders. "Yes? It's pointless to ask that question now, isn't it?' [22:41] "Exactly. Which is why we should move on to the business of the day, right?" <> [22:41] ( Made to dance on strings by a Gamecube with a Dick Clark fixation. I will never, ever, ever live it down. Seppuku is the only answer. ) [22:41] (The sight of countless Ed McMahon heads causes you to take 1 Mental Strain! BWAHAHAHA!) [22:41] (Well, not really, but I know I'd go nuts.) [22:42] (Heeeeere's Cubey!) [22:44] * Chako eyes the heads. [22:44] "Now, here's what I'm thinking. You all get promotions, pay raises all around." [22:45] "Charlie, you're a Corporal now, Isis, you're Lieutenant FC, and Chako over there gets to Captain. Tim and Vernon get shuffled around in the corporate structure." [22:46] <> "But let me tell you what else you've won!" [22:46] * Vernon raises an eyebrow. He doesn't seem terribly impressed. [22:47] * Isis would look impassive, but even impassive for her looks a bit angry. [22:47] "CHAKO! Step forward, please!" <> [22:47] * Chako frowns slightly at the monitor. "Yeah?" [22:49] * Charlie raises an eyebrow as well. [22:49] "By the honor vested in me as the being what owns this company, you are hereby vested with the command of the newly formed and newly christened 5th Division of the SIG-ASP Special Forces, retaining command of the Europa Team, as they are to be incorporated into that structure as well!" [22:50] * Isis looks blank. [22:51] * Chako looks stunned. "Uh... er... damn. How big a division are we talkin' here?" [22:51] * Isis shrugs. "Don't look at me, I'm still digesting 'what owns this company', myself." [22:52] You expected otherwise at this point? [22:52] "You are assigned a thousand pre-trained forces from the other ATC military divisions, all top-notch, and you'll be given a secure facility under the ATC base at New Tokyo. From there you will execute priority one - complete and total elimination of the NeoHippy threat from Mars." [22:53] "We'll decide on the asteroid strongholds after you've completed that." [22:54] * Chako blinks, and grins. "Priority one, eh? That's somethin' I can get behind." [22:54] * Charlie whistles.. "Well, at least we're not in it by ourselves.. Hope these guys are good." [22:54] <> "Command chain is me, then you, then those under your command. And I've just given you all the commands I'm gonna give." [22:55] * Isis raises a hand. "Excuse me..." [22:55] < At least we get to wring some Hippie neck *he says, mostly to himself* [22:55] * Isis puts her hand down. "I want out." [22:55] ( Don't panic, I'm going somewhere with this. ) [22:55] * Charlie makes neck-wringing motions. [22:56] <> "Excuse me? [22:56] * Isis shrugs her shoulders. "I want out of the ATC organization. I'll offer my help as a strategic and logistics consultant, if you want. A private contractor." She narrows her eyes. "But I'm a bit tired of the corporate life." [22:57] * Charlie raises an eyebrow at the monitor looking at him. "Nevermind me." [22:57] ( I even managed to keep myself from saying 'military'. ) [22:58] <> "Grating on you, is it? Hmm." [22:58] <> [22:59] ( Yes you are, erm, I mean.. ) [22:59] * Chako looks over at Isis, and then back at the cube. She looks like she's thinkin' already. [23:00] * Isis shrugs her shoulders. "I don't need any pay for the moment. Allow me to 'lease' my suit, give me a place to stay, food to eat, and a small stipend if you're so inclined. But I've had enough of orders and chains of command." [23:01] <> "I think we can work like this. If you'll agree to listen to Chako over there, for the most part." [23:02] * Isis glances at Chako. "Agreed." [23:03] * Chako blinks at the mention of her name, and looks between Isis and the Cube. [23:04] <> "But trust me, it's essential to the Game that we get the Hippies subdued. Now, you'll no doubt have heard that Red Bean and Black Bean are leading the forces, yes?" [23:05] * Vernon nods. [23:05] Uh... Yeah. [23:07] "No orders, just informing you." <> "You're free to do strategy as you will. Now - any other questions?" [23:07] How are you preparing for the Sleythin to arrive? Provided the spiders didn't slip in the gate and wipe them off the map. [23:08] Mmm, yeah. What's the rest of humankind going to hear about all this? [23:09] "They're still there." <> "The Egg would certainly have stopped talking to me if they were not. As for the rest of humanity, we let them know what they're prepared to know, which is that an alien species has suddenly appeared, and since an ATC patrol first encountered them, it fell to us to initiate first contact." [23:10] * Chako still looks a bit distracted. [23:10] <> "All technically true, but obviously not the whole truth." [23:11] About my job. I'm inclined to ask for an arrangement like Isis did...or a very senior, mostly research position. [23:11] ( TrendSETTER. *preen* ) [23:11] (Way to go. ^_^) [23:11] (Hah1) [23:12] ( The difference is that I'm disaffectedand tired, but Vernon just wants a corner office where he gets paid for playing Mortal Kombat. ) [23:12] <> "Well, we can't just let the rest of your team go on without you, can we?" [23:12] (Yup.) [23:12] * Vernon raises an eyebrow. [23:13] * Chako says with a mocking tone, "What, all that combat trainin' wasn't good enough for ya? Not ready to test it out?" [23:13] * Vernon grins. "I'll be happy to help with this, of course." [23:14] (I want a Winnebago.) [23:14] "You of course must fight alongside them. We shall see about reinstalling you as the head of Anomalous Tech when you return.." [23:15] * Vernon smiles. "As long as I don't have to manage the budget, you've got a deal." [23:15] * Isis grins faintly. "And if not enough of you comes back, an AI in effigy could certainly be arranged." [23:15] ( You could be a transgendered wall unit ala Holly. ) [23:15] * Chako snickers. "Let's worry 'bout that after we get rid of those alien-controlled wimps." [23:15] <> "No, actually, it could not. We have not perfected AI like the Sleythin have. I myself was a happy accident." [23:16] (I'm somehow picturing an EVH.) [23:16] Well, in the event that I'm missing important bits, I'd be happy with cryogenic storage until the technology is advanced enough to create an artificial body. [23:16] ( I thought that's what we had? ) [23:17] "Oh, that we can do. For the most part. My Phalanx is more machine than man, these days." [23:17] * Vernon looks disturbingly pleased with this development. [23:17] * Isis tugs on her shirt. "I think our best bet is to reclaim Mars as quickly as possible. The few-- your what? You mean the 'functionaries' we met when we disembarked?" [23:19] <> "Those are them. Prim and proper to a fault, the soulless bastards. Not that giving them mechanical parts made them soulless - most of them were at the start." [23:19] It shows. [23:19] * Chako snickers. [23:20] "To tell you the truth," <> "I'm awfully glad to be talking to some people with personalities." [23:20] ( "I wish I could say the same." ) [23:20] Ah, that explains it. *to himself again* [23:20] tsk [23:20] * Vernon grins. [23:22] <> "So. If we're finished, I'm sure you want to get packed and wrap up things here before you head to Red Tokyo. Oh, and Isis, your sister thinks you've been on a reconnaissance mission. I'm sure she'd be glad to see you safe." [23:23] * Isis mms. "I hope my decision to leave the company won't affect her standing." [23:24] ( I also hope she's not bitter than I burned down our neighborhood. ) [23:24] (Heh.) [23:24] "Of course not." [23:25] ( Well, 'burned' might not be the right word. ) [23:25] (Utterly destroyed in hellfire?) [23:26] ( I was thinking "conflagration" or perhaps "burninated". Then I remember that I hate Trogdor now and spent a few minutes beating my head against the wall. ) [23:28] <> "I hate having to give these false notices, but there's really no other way to keep the lobby clear." [23:29] * Isis shrugs, and actually smiles. "For the record, I thought it was pretty ingenius. 'Hide in plain sight' and all." [23:30] I dunno. I figure they'd catch on after a while. [23:30] * Vernon grins. [23:31] <> "To tell you the truth, I like it down here. It keeps me amused. And so few people need to actually see me that the "fumigation" notices are few and far between." [23:33] "But as the Egg said, the more we directly affect, the greater the danger of our discovery." <> [23:33] * Isis glances at the Cube. "Something to think about, though... the more you covertly affect, the more people will resent it when you become known." [23:34] * Vernon nods. [23:35] <> "Well, yes, but truthfully, I hope it never comes to that. The odds of humans listening to me if I were out in the open are miniscule at this point, and likely for a long way in the future." [23:37] * Chako grins. "Just look out. They'll find some way to hang ya if they do." [23:37] You know the old saying..."Never trust a computer you can't lift." [23:37] "Yes. I started it." [23:37] * Vernon grins. [23:38] ( "Thank God I'm only watching the game, controlling it."...o/~ One night in Bangkok.. o/~ ) [23:38] (quite.) [23:39] * Isis eyes Vernon. "I've never heard that saying. And thank God." [23:41] <> "Perhaps you should go," <> "I can only hold these alerts for so long." [23:42] * Vernon nods. "Thank you very much." [23:42] * Chako just flat walks out, then. And rubs her head. "This is gonna suck vacuum. Taking up a division this fast." [23:42] * Isis chuckles as she leaves. "I'd think legions of military men would be proud to take orders from an attractive woman in leather." [23:43] ( Sadly, all we have is you. ) [23:43] * Charlie follows. "Cant hold up the place too long, I guess.. All that 'important work' and stuff." he smiles. [23:43] (Ouch.) [23:43] * Vernon follows. [23:43] (Chako == Manwich?) [23:43] (She has appearance 1! ;_;) [23:43] ( This is BESM. Everyone has Appearance 1. ) [23:44] (True.) [23:44] * Chako laughs loudly. "Yeah, but that's not the hard part. The hard part's gonna be figuring out how to win." [23:44] Hmm... [23:44] * Isis shrugs. "Supposedly that's why I'm here." [23:45] <> [23:46] Yeah, and I'll be able to use the extra brain. We'll have to get anything we can on those two, and run it by y'all. And figure out where all the sons-of-bitches are. And see what exactly that damn thing gave me. [23:46] * Isis glances at the monitors. "...psycho." [23:46] Isis, if it would be useful to disrupt their technology in some ways, we may be able to do it. [23:47] * Isis glances at Vernon. "As long as it doesn't affect us, too, it certainly would be." [23:47] * Vernon ponders. [23:47] Well, ya can try. We better get packin'. [23:48] (Thinking about ending here, dealing with Stuff in minis, etc.) [23:49] ( I'm alright with that. ) [23:49] (Sound good? x-X) [23:49] (Sure. ^_^) [23:49] (s'ok) [23:49] (Yeah, sure.) [23:50] <>