A Brief Introduction

[Ante]

Getting a Clean Bill of Health

The Director regarded Bannon seriously for a long moment after his old friend had finished his impassioned speech. Finally, a tight but satisfied smile fought its way onto his face and Jake nodded slowly and emphatically at what he saw before him. He clapped a hand to Jason’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze before letting it go. “It’s good to have you back, Jay”, was all he said.

Both of them having said what they needed to, Jake looked abruptly away and down towards Willow. “Doctor”, he said, “I’ll leave you to your work. As soon as you’re done here, please send Dr. Bannon down to 1B his new team and I will be going over the details of their upcoming trip. As for yourself, just head back to the briefing room. The Assistant Director has an operation planned that you’re needed for and will want to discuss with you and a few of the others.”

The Director glanced back and forth between his two ranking agents, nodding once to each of them, “Well”, he muttered, “I’ll be going then.” And then he did, leaving Bannon and Carver alone in the infirmary.

[Ante]

Originally Posted By: Steve Shreveson

Steve asked quietly, "They're keeping it out of view, are they still developing the site? Maybe bringing loads of waste there?"

Lee quirked her head to one side and squinted. “Possible”, she said, “but I doubt it.” She brought up the satellite view of the town again and explained, “We’ve been observing this site for quite a while now; there’s a lot that leaves here, but not much that goes in – other than the miners, of course. It’s not completely outside the realm of possibility, but personally I think you’re either going to find just a bunch of giant selenite crystals down there… or something archeological.”

Lee shrugged, “But you’re the one who’s going in there, so when you get back, you tell me.”

Originally Posted By: Michal Wesson

Michal evaluates the pictures for about five seconds, then begins typing as he talks. "Do we have floorplans of their buildings? Maps of the explored, non-tourist sections of the caves? By 'hot', do you mean temperature, radiation, toxicity, or some combination of the above? Do we know of any other employees whose loyalty comes with a neatly labeled price tag?" As he finished each question, Lee's op-phone gave the little chirp of an incoming text message. "I don't need answers to all of those right now, but I would like them before we leave." He turns to look at Steve and Grav. "Any kind of equipment you two think you'll need, beside the standard spelunking stuff? Oooh, and," he types out another one to Lee, "how many American employees do they have at this place? I want to make sure I can blend in."

The Assistant Director snorted at this. “How many Americans?”, she asked. “None, so far as I know. You should have lots of opportunities to brush up on your Spanish while you’re there, I’ll say that.”

She pulled her op-phone from a pocket and used the texted questions there to refresh her memory of exactly what all Michal had asked. “Floorplans are attached to the case notes that should have already been sent to your opmail accounts. If there’s radiation there it’s the first I’ve heard about it. But keep an eye out for that sort of thing anyway.

“Employees with price tags?” Lee looked back up at Wesson and half-smirked and half-scowled at him. “Sure”, she said after a pause, “most of the miners working that mine are just local boys from the town of Naica. Spend an evening at any local cantina there and I guarantee you’ll have at least half a dozen of them approach you offering to sell you crystals they’ve smuggled out of those caves. The problem isn’t finding someone there who can be bought, the problem is finding someone who’s got something real to sell, you know?”

The cybernetic beauty pocketed her phone before continuing. “Our agents in Section 2 have been slowly infiltrating that installation for some time now, so you’re not without friends there. There’s only so much they can do for you, though, and it’s our job to do all the hard investigative work anyway.

“Wesson, they’ve recently managed to compromise the computer systems within the mine itself – which are otherwise cut off from the OpNet and inaccessible – and it is for this reason that your cover identity is being called in. The people at Peñoles think you’re some kind of high-end IT specialist who’s coming to clean up their systems. It’s essentially the perfect cover for you, so like I told you, strip mine their data – take everything you can find – I don’t care how inconsequential it looks. Alright?

“Shreveson, Grav; I know neither of you are engineers by trade, but given your collective skills in other areas you should be able to fake it really well. So, you’re both being sent in as engineering consultants. The only problem with this is that you’re supposed to be helping them with some demolitions issues they’re having over on the far side of the mine from where the Cueva de los Cristales is located, so you’re just going to have to figure something out Shreveson.”

Lee quirked a well-formed eyebrow at them and finished with, “Well, any other questions? If not then get lost and wait for someone to call you to one of the staging rooms for all that pre-departure crap.”

[BlueNinja]

Originally Posted By: Ante

The Assistant Director snorted at this. “How many Americans?”, she asked. “None, so far as I know. You should have lots of opportunities to brush up on your Spanish while you’re there, I’ll say that.”

Michal shrugs. "Si, Senora."

Quote:

She pulled her op-phone from a pocket and used the texted questions there to refresh her memory of exactly what all Michal had asked. “Floorplans are attached to the case notes that should have already been sent to your opmail accounts. If there’s radiation there it’s the first I’ve heard about it. But keep an eye out for that sort of thing anyway.

The moment she says it, he brings up the floor plans, checking out where the computers are he's supposed to hack ... as well as every other piece of electronics on the property.

Quote:

“Wesson, they’ve recently managed to compromise the computer systems within the mine itself – which are otherwise cut off from the OpNet and inaccessible – and it is for this reason that your cover identity is being called in. The people at Peñoles think you’re some kind of high-end IT specialist who’s coming to clean up their systems. It’s essentially the perfect cover for you, so like I told you, strip mine their data – take everything you can find – I don’t care how inconsequential it looks. Alright?"

"I've yet to meet a databank I couldn't crack. I'll get you everything on those computers." He glances back at his screen, and rises to his feet, tossing the crushed can into the trash. "It's a few hours drive, so let's meet in 1B after lunch. That will give us the evening to do any scouting you need before we make our insertion." He extends a hand to Steve. "Nice to meet you, by the way."

[Courier]

Steve says, "I'm more an expert in figuring out what stuff was used rather than what to use, but yes, I should be good for it."

Steve shook Michal's hand and said, "Like wise. Any other languages you speak?"

[z-Carver]

Getting a Second Opinion

"I'm not your old friend," Willow said tersely when the door shut. "I never met you before the day in the cafeteria." Green eyes blinked at her in an unreadable expression, but she wasn't stopping. "So I'm not a friend who adores the thought of you returning to duty. And were it not for the fact that I respect the Director's judgment, I'd be declaring you medically unfit for duty.”

The last piece of ceramic clinked into the bowl and Willow held up both hands under the glass, going over his palms closely. “You obviously have trauma issues. That’s fine – good people get them all the time when they have jobs like ours. It’s nothing shameful. What is shameful is letting them go untreated.” Her eyes were almost completely gray as she met his eyes again. “What is shameful would be dying with them still killing you.

“I know almost nothing about what happened to you, and I don’t care. It’s not my business,” she continued. “But find a way to heal – to exorcise your demons. Right now you’re hiding from them. There’s an equation I learned in Pandora – pain shared is pain divided. Find someone to talk to about what happened and divide your pain. I recommend Dr. Keller, but you might be more comfortable with someone less… professional, like Truth. You two seem comfortable with each other.”

She held his gaze for a long moment and he saw equal parts empathy and concern in her eyes. Her eyes unfocused and he watched her, curious. There was a tingle in his palms and Willow stepped back, saying, “Your official orders are to get something to eat on the way to B-1. My method of healing boosts your metabolism, so you’re going to be hungry soon. Sleep a couple of extra hours tonight and consume a few more calories than normal for the next few days. Here, let me do this, too.” She dug out a small bottle of pills and counted some into a small pillbox for him. “These are some excellent vitamins – take one with food for the next five days to replenish your minerals I just used.” A smile quirked her lips. “Normally, I’d let you suffer, but you have a mission and I don’t want you impaired. Do you need anything else from me?”

[Zaylee Zanne]

Atlanta shook her head and grunted with impatient frustration. First, she was passed over for going after the Book - sure, it was the longest of shots that there was a connection to the incident that led Prometheus to finding her, but thin as it was, it was still something. Then, in the cruddy little job for her new identity, she had actually known about the Caves of Crystals - well, some, she knew where it was a some of what it looked like - but instead, Bland-boy and the Brain were going. And here she sat, the last one to be picked for the team.

AJ pushed off the wall, then swaggered to the mostly abandoned table and settled into one of the equally abandoned chairs. She crossed her eufiber-clad legs emphatically, then tilted back in the chair so it was balancing freely on its back legs. She arched a fair brow at the Machine Girl, her put-upon frown saying quite clearly, 'Well?'

[Grav]

Grav nodded to her teammates and smiled. "I speak spanish as well, though as the Assistant Director said, I'll be faking any engineering speak." She looked ti Michal. "Thanfully I've been working with one off and on for some time."

[Bannon]

Getting a Second Opinion

Originally Posted By: Carver

She dug out a small bottle of pills and counted some into a small pillbox for him. "These are some excellent vitamins - take one with food for the next five days to replenish your minerals I just used." A smile quirked her lips. "Normally, I'd let you suffer, but you have a mission and I don't want you impaired. Do you need anything else from me?"

"No." Bannon said quietly, his eyes on hers for a long moment before looking at his healed hands. Raising them he flexed the fingers like a pianist, examining the sensations. Satisfied, he lowered his hands once more and looked back at Willow as he pocketed the pills she had given him.

"Thanks for the fix-up, doctor. And the advice." With that and a nod he slid off the examination table and headed for the door.

"You going to take the advice?" Willow couldn't help asking the young-old man's back. Bannon paused at the doorway, head tilted as he considered, then looked back over one shoulder at her.

"The food? Yes. The sleep? I'll try. God knows I'm tired of being tired all the time. The other thing?" He looked back at the door in front of him, his tone matter-of-fact. "I don't know. You say 'pain shared is pain divided'. I think of it as 'pain shared is pain doubled'."

"That's not a 'no'." He raised one hand to forestall any comment. "I'm not that much of an ass. It's an 'I'll see'. Sometimes I get close to talking to Lee or Jake about it, but it always comes out as cold facts: 'this happened, then that happened'. Talking about how I feel about it? That's another matter entirely." He paused, then looked back at her once more, his face expressionless. "Mainly it's because I don't want to share the pain, Doc. It's all mine to bear." He put his hand on the door handle. "But I'll think about what you said. That's a promise."

[z-Carver]

Dismissed From Care

The doctor within her wanted to grab him and shake him, demanding that he do what she’d advised. He was hurting, and Willow wanted to fix him. The mind wasn’t her purview, but she still saw someone who was in pain and needed help. Forcing treatment on a patient who didn’t want it wasn’t her way. “I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.” With the recitation of the most salient portion of the Hippocratic Oath in her mind, Willow nodded at Bannon’s words. “Fair enough,” she lied. “Start with something small,” she added. “A little pain. See if sharing it helps you.”

Bannon gave her another nod and Willow bit back a desire to tell him she was right. “I must not play God… I will remember that I do not treat a fever or a cancerous growth, but a sick human being…” “Doctor? Have a good trip,” she added when he turned to her, clearly half-expecting another lecture.

“You, too,” Bannon said and was gone. Willow leaned against the table, feeling that old helplessness. It was the second most common feeling for doctors after the exhilaration of healing a patient: the frustration of a patient unwilling to do what was necessary to heal themselves. Beyond the fact that he was in pain, Bannon’s unresolved issues could cause physical ailments from stress. He may have been… whatever he was, but he wasn’t immune to the ravages of a body out of balance. And he’d already been that way for several years. How long before his body paid the price of the toll it had been accumulating?

There was no answer to that question. With an angry growl, Willow pushed away from the table and went back to the conference room. She still wore a stormy scowl as she took her seat again. When Lee glanced at her, Carver said, “He’s fine and on his way to drop kick a ‘little god’. Have you covered my mission yet?”

[Ante]

Need to Know

Lee arched her own, much darker but no-less-fair, brow right back at the norn-like beauty, as if to say, ‘Well what?’

Fortunately, Carver came back in at just about that same time, unwittingly forestalling a potential catfight. “He’s fine”, said the doctor, in answer to Lee’s unasked question, “Have you covered my mission yet?”

“Not yet”, answered Lee. She turned back towards the wall and started to put finger to remote – but then she stopped herself and turned back towards those watching. “I almost forgot”, she said, “everything about this next case is Need-to-Know. None of you are to talk about anything you hear in this room outside of this room, got it?”

Having issued her warning, the Assistant Director turned back to the wall-screen and clicked her favorite new toy: the projector’s remote.

“This”, she said as another image appear on the wall, “is the Shi Lang, formerly known as the Varyag and, before that, as the Riga. She is over one thousand feet long, and weighs in at well over sixty-thousand tons. Construction on this ship was begun by the old USSR sometime in early 1987 – making this boat older than half the team.” Lee turned and pointedly gave Jaunt a wry, sarcastic smile before continuing, “Construction was stopped, however, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Ukraine inherited the ship but did nothing with it, other than strip it for parts, until 1998 when they finally put it up for auction.”

Lee clicked her remote again, bringing up an image of the Varyag in a decidedly less attractive state than in the first image she’d shown the remaining Argonauts. “The company that purchased Varyag was a little front organization that Section 2 has had under observation for years now that goes by the name of ‘Chong Lot Travel Agency’. CLT has ties to both PLAN* and to the Heaven-Thunder triads, and so while they claimed to be purchasing the boat for use in one of those bizarre theme park/casino operations that China is so fond of - for reasons I don’t pretend to understand – no one was particularly surprised when the boat never turned up at any casinos or parks and wound up outside of the Dalian shipyards instead. At first, the Chinese continued to claim that it was going to be turned into a big ugly casino, but eventually they gave up the pretense as it became painfully obvious to anyone who cared to look that they were refitting the thing and making it operational again.”

The Assistant Director put another image on the wall, showing the recently-renamed Shi Lang docked at a very mundane-looking port. The amount of smog smothering the city that lay in the background of the picture was far more noteworthy – it looked like Los Angeles would if someone were to gather up the entire city’s refuse, dump the lot of it right in the middle of downtown, and then light the whole thing on fire.

“The ship’s been docked there since 2002”, continued Lee, “and to be honest, we’d stopped paying any attention to the thing years ago, since there are already plenty of amateur conspiracy groups out there watching it for us. However, about six months ago, the Shi Lang was sailed out of its port – and then it just vanished.”

The Assistant Director turned back towards her podium and set down the remote. “Our Eleusinian friends managed to find it again within the month – anchored out in international waters, just past the Philippine Sea. They’ve been watching the Shi Lang ever since. What they’ve managed to confirm since then it that this boat is being used as a remote holding facility for novas with ‘excessive quantum buildup’ – just like the Rashoud Facility in Bahrain. The case files for this that have been sent to your inboxes contain the ship’s new internal schematics that our Section 2 friends managed to obtain for us; those schematics show over a dozen holding cells clearly designed to the same sorts of specifications as those contained within Bahrain.

“Unlike the Bahrain Facility”, Lee said, her eyebrow quirking in emphasis, “even Utopia’s off-the-record records make no official mention of the Shi Lang. In other words, this isn’t a Rashoud Facility at all. And yet when the Section 2 spooks tracked the paper trails left by some of the ships that service the Shi Lang back to their origins, we found some very familiar signatures on the checks. Utopian signatures.”

The Assistant Director paused in her recitation of the case’s pertinent details for a moment and made a face at the gathered Argonauts, as if to say, what are we going to do with those wayward Utopian cousins of ours, eh?

“Essentially”, she continued, “it looks as though China has opened up its own private prison for dangerous novas with financial backing not only from the highest levels of Chinese government – and possibly from the triads as well, though we can’t prove that yet – but also from certain elements of Utopia. For what should be obvious reasons, Project Prometheus wants to know what’s going on onboard that ship. Section 2 agents are still following the handful of paper-trails the Chinese and Utopians have left for us back to wherever they will take us, but in the meantime we”, and Lee pointed a finger around the room at those still in attendance as she said this, “are getting on board that ship and taking a look around.”

The Machine Girl leaned forward over the podium and looked intently at her agents. “Now listen up, people, this is a False Flag* operation. We will be going in under the pretense of this being a terrorist attack carried out by extremists, though we will leave it up to our victims to figure out which terrorist group is responsible. We are not going in there with the intention of killing anyone, but we will need to secure access to the Shi Lang’s engine room, what used to be its main hangar and to the communications center, and I think it’s safe to say people will get hurt while we’re doing that. After we’ve acquired everything we’re going in there for we will sabotage the engine room and the communications center. Not so badly that the facility can’t be made operational again, but enough to get the crows buzzing so that we can follow them back to their nests.

“The primary purpose of this operation is the retrieval of as much information as we can gather from the on-site computer systems. The secondary purpose of this operation is ‘shake the bushes’ and provoke those behind this facility to show their faces. Alright?”

Lee’s lips quirked ever so slightly into what might almost have been a satisfied smile. “Parker here”, she said, the smile still on her lips as her mechanical hand indicated the mysterious new Section 2 transfer, “was transferred over to us when she was in large part because of this mission and she will be heading this operation. I will be participating on this one as well, but Parker has command on this op. She may be new around here, but from what I hear, she’s just about the best there is at getting into places she’s not supposed to get into.

“Jaunt”, she called out in the slightly-irritated tone of voice that seemed to be the only one she ever used when it came to the team’s youngest member, “you’re officially still on call for the team in India. Unofficially you’re assigned to this operation – but no duraká valját* alright my little zvezdá – we’ve already got confirmation that the Shi Lang is crawling with SSI* technology, so you’re only to use your most annoying talent after we’ve managed to disable the security systems, got it?”

Lee gave Jaunt a parting smirk (all in good fun, of course! ) before turning her attention to the Argonaut’s second highest ranking agent. “Carver, this is why you were pulled off the India op, in case you were still wondering. Aside from your not-inconsiderable talent for this kind of operation, HQ wants you in there to examine any ‘prisoners’ on board that boat. You can also back me up if I run into any troubles with the facilities computer systems.”

Finally the Assistant Director turned back to Atlanta, whose patience was becoming increasingly strained as the minutes went by. She smiled wryly and said, “Atlanta, you and I will be providing any ‘damage control’ that might be needed during this operation. Which is really my fancy way of saying that the two of us get to be the human shields, in case the op is compromised and people start shooting at us.

“As for myself”, she continued, “aside from helping Atlanta with any needed ‘damage control’ I’ll be responsible for data retrieval once we’ve managed to gain access to the on-site computer systems.”

Lee leaned back from the podium and said, “We leave tomorrow morning. By the following morning, if all goes to plan, we will be back here. So, any questions?”

Click to reveal..

PLAN: People’s Liberation Army Navy.

False Flag: An attack that is orchestrated so that it looks as though it were carried out by a party other than that of the attackers. Example: a ‘terrorist’ attack that is actually a cover for espionage carried out against a particular country.

Duraká valját: ‘Mess around’, ‘goofing off’, etc.

Zvezdá : A star or celebrity, but used in the ironic sense, as in a diva or someone who thinks their shit don’t stink.

SSI: Spatial Stress Indicator. Recently developed technology that can detect when a someone or something teleports or warps within its range.

[Zaylee Zanne]

Though she shifted while listening to the Need-To-Know briefing, Atlanta stayed in perfect balance while tipped back on the rear legs of her chair. She was disappointed that she wasn't going after the Siribhuvalaya - faint lead though it was - yet she couldn't deny her rising excitement at the prospect of incipient action. Regardless of who she had been before, now at least, it was a part of her, and the only thing that concerned her about that was how much she enjoyed it, but she did enjoy it.

And to someone with amnesia and a need to know - who she had been and to a degree, anything else - Need-To-Know made the Op that much more delicious. Atlanta tried to scowl at the Model-cum-Cyborg Super Spy, but her cyan eyes were bright and animated. "'Damage Control', eh?" Atlanta repeated with a half-smile as she mimed air-quotes. "This is a dance I know. You know me too well, Lee, which is saying a lot, since I don't even know myself. Not really."

The front legs of her chair thumped down on the carpeted floor as she split her attention between Lee and Parker, recrossing her legs and caressing the triangular pommel of her gladius. "So, what's the insertion method for getting us on board the Shi Lang and what flavour of terrorist are we going with? Paramilitary with balaclavas, Civilian Insurgent with head scarves, or something more exotic?"

[z005]

From her renewed perch on the table, Eva tapped her pencil on her pad of paper for a moment. "Terats. We won't have to attempt to disguise our abilities and breaking into a suspected nova prison is easily something a number of Teragen groups would do. And just being novas and doing something questionable is pretty much enough for most people to stamp 'Teragen' all over it. The story is believable and simple." She tilted her head at the screen, her eyes distant as she continued to think. "Also, if word of what we're doing does manage to reach those cheque-writing ears, seeing which Utopians are sent after us could be very illuminating about what is going on inside that Project."

"As for insertion, I should take point. I will have the easiest time getting on to the ship unnoticed and making my way to the security hub to disable it with out setting off alarms on the way. Once I've disabled the SSI's, Jaunt can bring the rest of the team into the secured area. From there, we'll make our way to other points of interest. We should be able to access most of the ship's computer systems from the security point, so I recommend making the engine room our next priority. If those that run the ship have orders to destroy before capture, the engines are the easiest target to accomplish that."

She looked over her three team members, "I also think a buddy system is a good idea. This doesn't mean that you'll always be right next to your partner, but it does mean that that other person's well-being and tasks are as a high priority to you as your own. Lee, you'll be paired with Carver and Johnson will be with me; Jaunt, you get to play with yourself this time. Lee and Carver, your primary objective is to get the computer files. Time and situation willing after that, go get a good medical look at the prisoners. Johnson, after the security systems have been taken care of, you and I will get a good look at the engines and then play hide-and-seek with the guards. Jaunt, you're too keep open communications with all team members at all times. If there's a call to retrieve anything off the ship before the entire team departs, that's your job and you'll take whatever it is to the quickest safe house you can and then come back double time. If an emergency evac is called for any member of the team, you'll do the same. If a total emergency evac is called, you'll take people in this order: Dr. Carver, myself, Johnson, Lee."

"Now, does anyone have any questions, suggestions, or a better plan?"

[Ante]

'T' is for Terat

Lee started to answer Atlanta’s question, but then Eva beat her to it. The cyborg-limbed nova quirked an eyebrow as Eva laid out her plan with nary a moment of hesitation or moment of indecisiveness. When the auburn-haired former Eleusinian had finished Lee turned to look at the other three Argonauts, her expression saying, ‘Well, I guess that answers that.’

However, while Lee did look pleased and impressed as she turned back to her newest ‘acquisitions specialist’, she still raised a weathered steel hand as she indicated she had something to say. “Actually, yes”, she offered, “I have a few. I can see why they sent us you, hon. Considering that you’re brand new to the team and you haven’t had a chance to review the case notes yet, that was a very impressive plan of attack. However, everyone who was selected for this mission was selected because of their skill in either stealth or intrusion – or both.”

Having reached a point where she wasn’t likely to need either the podium or the projector any longer, Lee moved away from both and took up a stance to one side of the room, leaning against a wall casually. “I’ve reviewed the files of everyone in this room and I can tell you that agent Jaunt there is nearly as skilled at intrusion as you are – even without his teleportation – which is the only reason the little scrub was allowed to go on this op ( ). And while it’s true that Johnson is mostly coming along in case something needs hitting, she’s surprisingly quiet when she needs to be, and Carver and myself aren’t half-bad at this sort of thing either. And I swear the Doc was trained by goddammed ninjas or something. So don’t feel like you need to bear the brunt of the responsibilities on this op, Parker. You’ve been given agents so that you can use them.”

Lee’s lips quirked in a barely-there half-smile as she spoke and Eva could tell that she wasn’t being reprimanded (yet, anyway), but simply educated on things she hadn’t had a chance to learn yet. “What none of you know yet, because no one’s asked and I hadn’t gotten around to telling you, is that the facility will undoubtedly have extensive electronic surveillance equipment, beyond just the SSI’s, meaning it would probably be best if we maintained radio silence for as long as possible. Once we finally announce our presence – whether that’s by accident or by design – I wouldn’t plan on having more than ten minutes or so before we’ll need to be out of there. Anyway, what I’m saying is, unless you want to go in there alone and disable both the SSI’s and any other ESE* they’ve got there won’t be any way for you to signal Jaunt to teleport us all in unless he’s already in there with you.

"My suggestion", offered Lee, "would be an aquatic insertion*, with you and Jaunt going in first to disable the perimeter sensors and the rest of us bringing up the rear. Once we're in, I think the rest of your suggestions from earlier sound perfect."

After a slight pause, the Assistant Director asked, with her own knowing smile, "That sound alright with you, boss?"

Click to reveal..

ESE: Electronic Surveillance Equipment.

Aquatic Insertion: Lee hasn't said, but your characters should all know, that Section 1 can and will provide you guys with a fairly impressive array of fancy, high-tech toys for operations like this one. That would include those little hand-held underwater propeller things that Navy SEALS use (I have no idea what they're called, ATM) to travel rapidly over distances underwater. Lee is suggesting that they be dropped off in the ocean a few miles out from the Li Shang and then travel under the water from there.

[z-Carver]

"I have another, since we’re tossing them out," Carver said with a smile. She'd remained silent throughout Lee's suggestions, merely bowing her head in acknowledgment of Lee's comment about her skills. She let the ninjas speculation stand because it seemed better than telling them that she had a sociopathic personality who really liked getting places she shouldn't be.

"I'm not a nova," she stated simply. "If this is a facility for detaining novas, then their countermeasures should be based around the disruption of quantum. If they attempt to disrupt my quantum, then they will be in for a surprise. And as Lee said, I can hide very well, especially for a non-nova. I also am capable of defending myself, Ms. Parker. I think that my extraction should be delayed. Get Atlanta out before me, at least. Their systems, whatever they are, are probably built to stop novas exactly like her and Lee."

Carver looked at Lee. "Do the plans we were given have any details on the types of countermeasures we can expect? What about the guards? Do they have nodes or is this a system that relies on well-equipped baselines?

"And last," Carver added, "you say that people are going to get hurt. Is this the kind of mission where I need to make sure it's only hurt?" She doubted that the answer would be 'yes' but she was would rather ask than be wrong in the middle of an op.

[Jaunt]

"AI?" Jaunt said casually. "No prob. If there's one thing I love it's inserting my self in a wet spot. To be honest I'd prefer not to sit here while everyone waves their dick playing 'I got the best plan'. Lee's plan was good, Eva and I slip in silently and we pave the way for you guys to do your thing."

He jaunted out wit ha thump and popped back in over by the wall closest to Eva, already leaning against it. "Besides, I need to be there to familiarize my self with the interior. I know everyone around here is a doctor and thinks their an expert on everything, but these powers are mine and no one knows them better than me. You do not want me blind teleporting into that place, the rip I could cause in the fabric of space would cause a ton of damage around me."

He poked his finger up to add one final thing. "Oh, and Atlanta has amnesia... not we don't already know that, but since she feels the need to remind us in some fashion every time she opens her mouth, I thought I'd hop on that band wagon too."

[z005]

Eva nodded to Lee and Carver as they both gave their suggestions, blinking at the doctor's last question. Her expression was serious and thoughtful with not a hint of any embarrassment or issue with being corrected by Lee and Carver. A quick glance to Jaunt was followed by a deadpan, "I'm not a doctor."

"Alright, with that information, let's do AI. Jaunt, stick with Johnson and I since we'll be exploring the ship first. That will give you more exposure to the interior in case we do need you bouncing around." She tapped her finger to her lips, looking between Atalanta and Willow. "I'm going to keep the extraction order as it is. Not because I don't think you can handle yourself, Dr. Carver, but because the medical information you will be gathering won't be conveniently on a disk or other portable storage media. In short, it's your brain I'm getting out of danger first. Lee is more experienced than us, and the information she collects off of their computer systems will hopefully be able to be transferred to something that Jaunt can take to a safe location while the rest of us our continuing along our other objectives."

She paused again, giving time for one last round of brainstorming before sending everyone off to get packed and ready.

[z-Carver]

[Before Eva speaks]

"Jaunt, this isn't dick waving," Carver said, sounding a bit annoyed. His youth and impatience were showing themselves, and Carver had never found either of those qualities appealing. "This is tinkering with a plan to make it better. We're a team, not drones for Ms. Parker to command."

[After Eva]

Carver accepted Eva's reasoning with a simple nod. If the mission leader wanted her brain out first, Carver would go first. She just didn't want to be seen as totally fragile. She probably was the most breakable of the people in the room, but she could usually hold her own against baselines. Besides, Jael got worse when she hadn't had a chance to unwind on-mission.

A thought occurred to her and she asked, "Jaunt, if our purpose is to damage the ship, why would a blind jump be so bad? I ask because you are, as you put it, the expert on these things." Her smile at the last statement was bemused.

[Ante]

[Before Jaunt or Eva - because I missed this ]

Originally Posted By: Carver

Carver looked at Lee. "Do the plans we were given have any details on the types of countermeasures we can expect? What about the guards? Do they have nodes or is this a system that relies on well-equipped baselines?

"And last," Carver added, "you say that people are going to get hurt. Is this the kind of mission where I need to make sure it's only hurt?" She doubted that the answer would be 'yes' but she was would rather ask than be wrong in the middle of an op.

Lee nodded as the doctor asked her question, clearly approving of them. "Well-equipped baselines, almost certainly. Of course, we can't be absolutely certain, but all indications point to it. Unfortunately, they will most likely be very well-equipped. Expect them to have access to Mox, tear gas, high-powered firearms and possibly portable lasers."

Lee smirked, "You know: the usual. Though considering the facility's on a boat in the middle of the pacific, it's more likely they'll be making use of electrical death-traps with high enough voltage to be a threat, even to novas like myself or agent Johnson." Lee paused and her smirk became more of a scowl, "Unlucky for us, though, the plans that Section 2 acquired for us are a little vague on those points."

After another short pause, Lee looked Carver in the eye as she said, "Use of lethal force is allowed, Carver, but it isn't encouraged, except as a last resort. OK?"

[Zaylee Zanne]

After one brief, narrow-eyed glare and an expression Jaunt thought indicated Atlanta was going to either stuck her tongue out a him or gut him with the sword at her hip, she ignored him as she listened to Parker detail her plan. At least, she ignored Jaunt as much as anyone could.

The tear gas and firearms didn't alarm her unduly, the lasers somewhat moreso and the Mox was something she could fight through if needed. She didn't like the sound of those shock-traps - really, it was almost like cheating... Unless she could get one of her hands on a 'cooperative' guard that she could toss ahead of them to set off any such traps.

At the discouragement of lethal force, Atlanta pulled her hand from the hilt of her gladius and interlaced her fingers above her head, knuckles cracking audibly. "I'm willing to play nice as long as they are," AJ offered with a small grin. If it was meant to be innocent, she was sorely out of practice.

[z-Carver]

A smirk crossed Carver's face. "I know the rules," she said simply, the implication being that Lee wasn't sure she'd play by them. "And I play by them."

Willow hated when Jael just took over like that; she'd been asking Lee if she should waste time healing the bad guys. But since Lee knew about Jael, Lee was assuming that it was Jael asking for permission. Everyone did it, but it didn't make Willow feel any better about it.

As Willow took back over, the smirk turned into something more tame. Still grinning she added, "That's all Section Two got for us? They're getting soft."