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Daycycle 112 [ October 16 - October 22 ]

daycycle 112

[Oct 16 - Oct 22]

[OOC Plotting for this Dacycle can be found here.]

Early Morning [0800 - 0900] — All Troubleshooters Report for Duty

No Special Troubleshooters have been selected for a mission this morning.

Morning & Afternoon [0900 - 1600] — Service Firm Positions
All Troubleshooters not assigned a mission should report to their Service Firm for their daily duties, unless specifically assigned a different shift.

Free Enterprise is pushing a new, adjusted street form of No Fear (Dynomorphin). The original pharmaceutical is meant for those in Ultraviolet ranks, but this form is much dirtier, cheaper and more addictive. In order to get people hooked, they've put a healthy dose in the wagon wheel's ORANGE and RED level coffee-like supplies. The drug causes a very bullet proof feeling of euphoria. Side effects include paranoia, hallucinations, increased sociability, increased sex drive, panic attacks, excited delirium - extreme agitation and violence, and the temporary loss of feeling in nerve endings (inability to feel pain). A standard dose lasts four hours. Withdrawal symptoms include nosebleeds, sweating, nausea, dehydration and blinding migraines. For those that want more of the drug, Free Enterprise will make it easily accessible.

At 1200, a squad of Grey Ops will arrive at Medical Services to escort Caitlin Snow away for suspected treason. Anyone asking for additional information will be told it's classified and warned not to continue asking questions. Approximately fifteen minutes later another squad of Grey Ops will arrive at Internal Security to lead Vision away. Anyone asking for additional information will be given the same party line.

At 1400 today, Jack Harkness will be summoned by Mind Control to the Production offices on the twenty fifth floor. There he will be offered a position in Media Production where he will assist with the Teela O'Malley show. This position will come with a clearance level promotion of ORANGE, since the talk show star doesn't associate with anyone of lower clearance level. Jack will be responsible for ramping up the excitement levels of the live audience and the personal entertainment of the star.

Evening [1600 - 2200] — Citizen Improvement
All Alpha citizens are encouraged to better themselves through Alpha’s wide variety of educational, entertainment and cultural opportunities offered each evening. Attending these sanctioned events are not mandatory, but is highly encouraged by The Computer. Citizens choosing not to take advantage of these opportunities, have a growing number of other options available to them in how to spend their hard earned credits and free time.

Tonight’s event will be at 1900 in Meeting Room G, Wagon Wheel Floor 24 and will be hosted by the Alpha Smiling Club. Join us tonight for refreshments and tips on faking it until you make it!

Alpha Curfew Restrictions
All Alpha citizens should be in their quarters within the Wagon Wheel by 2200, unless they’ve been given permission from a GREEN or higher clearance level citizen. Sleeping Aid gas is dispelled each night in the Wagon Wheel at 2200 to assist citizens in getting a productive sleeping period.

Confession Booths
There are hundreds of confession booths available around Alpha Complex if a citizen would like to communicate directly with the computer. Please use these confession booths to report mission statuses, report treason or terrorist acts, unregistered mutants, confess your trespasses against Alpha Complex, request propaganda or speak with Your Friend, The Computer, at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After Tony is released from Medical Services, he doesn't bother wasting any time to get the hell out of there as soon as he's allowed. The glow of the arc reactor is impossible to miss through the jumpsuit, which earns him a good amount of glances that range all over between subtle and downright obvious, but he tries not to show how much it bothers him. This isn't the first time that he has dealt with this, after all, and Tony is well versed in knowing how to use masks to cover up any discomfort he may be feeling so, by the time he reaches the Commissary, he's looking as comfortable in his skin as he can.

He doesn't go to see Lydia right away, though; instead, he makes a detour so that he can buy a few things. From there, he sneaks back to his room so that he can store the gas mask, goggles and flashlight under his bed, and then he heads back to the Commissary. All the walking puts a strain on his chest after doing nothing but rest all of yesterday, he can feel the discomfort of the reactor in his chest, but he refuses to let it show. Especially as he approaches Lydia's shop, because he really is happy for her and this new venture. Sure, he's worried - he doubts that will change any time soon - but he has to trust that this won't bring her any additional trouble than what she has already dealt with.

With one arm behind his back, he walks up to her and smiles when she turns to him. "Shop looks great. How's business going so far?"

Torn is probably the best way to describe the way Lydia feels when she sees Tony coming into view. Of course, she's glad to see him. Of course, she's glad her friend is okay, but she can't help that nagging upset in the back of her mind that she should be doing something to fix the thing in his chest and put him right. He shouldn't need it. This place has better medical technology than that and everyone knows it. It makes her angry to see the glow in his chest because it shouldn't be there.

But Lydia bites all of that back to offer him a smile instead because she is happy to see him, after all. "Thanks very much," she says proudly, looking around a little. She put a lot of effort into that, if she's honest. Lydia woke up early, much to both her own and Matt's chagrin, and she'd headed down to the Commissary around 6:00 so that she could get the shop organized. It had largely already been set up by the bots she'd been given as employees, but she wanted to put on finishing touches and make sure everything was just so. Aesthetics are everything, after all.

"It's a little slow today so far, but I think that's mostly because it's the first day," she says, because she has to tell herself that it isn't because of her product; she'll be crushed if she put all that effort into something that falls flat on its face, after all, and she can kiss further promotions goodbye if she can't deliver with this one. "How are you feeling?" she asks, knowing that there must be some kind of gravitational burden to having that thing lodged in his chest. It doesn't look like it'd be very lightweight. It probably aches, she thinks, and looks sympathetically at him in response to her own thought process.

As Lydia glances around the shop, Tony does, too. "Yeah, the first day is always an unknown. Pretty soon you'll be having a good number of people as your clientele, you'll see."

He's not saying it just to be reassuring; he truly believes it, too. Lydia really had developed a good product and, considering the general hygiene products they used to receive were crap, he's convinced everyone will see the benefit of having access to Lydia's line instead.

"Word of mouth helps, too," he says as he turns back to her. "I technically have today off, since I'm. You know. Department-less, so I'll try to send a few people your way." And yes, that's exactly what he'll do. After that he'll go work on the schematics of some things that have been brewing in his head since last night, and get started on his plans as soon as he could.

His train of thought gets derailed by her question about how he's feeling, though, and he's about to say that he's fine, but the sympathetic look on her face already lets him know she probably won't believe him if he says that. "Better," he answers, and at least it's honest. He has walked a good amount of distance without getting winded, so hey. That's something, right? The aches won't go away, he already knows that, but he has to take some victories where he can. "It's... it helps that I know what to expect this time around, so it's manageable."

Considering Lydia's feelings on the reactor yesterday, he has an inkling that 'manageable' probably isn't good enough because she wants to get someone to get it out, so he decides that's the perfect opportunity to reveal what he's hiding behind his back - a chocolate bar and a pen. "This is for you, by the way. As a 'congratulations on your new shop' kind of gift. It's not much," he adds with a sigh, because he really hates how stupid it looks, "but, you know. No flower shops or big stores available here, so..."

Lydia likes to think he's right about that; that once people realize her shop is here and actually come inside to see that the prices are not only fair but, more importantly, affordable, she'll be busier. For now, she's just concentrating on the fact that she's able to make her own schedule and that her clearance level affords her a bit more privacy to spend time with Matt. Admittedly, she'll miss working with Barry, though.

"Yeah, I don't think a whole lot of people realize I'm here, yet. I'll have commercials soon, though, so that'll change and then we'll see." She gives him a sympathetic look. "If you get bored, Gucci is at HQ. With Root gone, I don't really have anybody to upgrade him, anymore. So, have at him if you want."
She looks quickly around him and, satisfied that they're not being overheard, quickly and quietly adds, "she's got him programmed to be a guard dog, but she'd started working on making him a tiny spy for us, but she never finished that. Just saying." She knows he wants to stick it to the Computer, but Lydia's forte has always been making sure she has lots of information before taking any action. If he's like her in that way, he's welcome to tweak her Petbot as needed. "Just make sure you tell him he's a good boy if you want him to hold still. He gets restless unless you power him down or talk to him."

A little nod and a small smile is her initial response to Tony's answer. It's not good, but she'll take "better" at this point. "Good, better is something. Better is at least a step in the right direction. I'll take it," she says with a playful tone, trying to inject a little levity back into the conversation after having stamped it out to begin with.

When he brings his arm out from behind her been, Lydia looks pleasantly surprised. "Oh, honey, you didn't have to do that," she says fondly, smiling. "Thank you," she adds before closing the space between them to give him a hug. "There's a business venture," she points out against his shoulder before giving him a gentle squeeze and stepping back. "Filling that niche with something new. This was really sweet, Tony, thank you," she says again with sincerity, taking the gifts to her desk. "Come here, I want to show you something," she adds suddenly, gesturing for him to follow her even she starts toward the back of the shop.

When Tony catches the sympathetic look on her face, Tony's about to assure her that he'd be fine, but she beats him to it by mentioning her PetBot. And the fact that he could upgrade him. The fact that the bot has been programmed as a guard dog is already great enough, but that he could turn the little thing into a spy? That's something that immediately piques his attention, and it's impossible to hide the way he perks up at the idea. "I'll definitely see what I can do. And, that's fine. I have plenty of experience with talking to bots."

And he doesn't even mean the ones that he has worked on here. Gucci sounds a lot like his own bots, in that they enjoyed being talked to, and he gets hit with a pang of nostalgia at the memory of them, but he doesn't let it reflect in his features. Much, anyway. For now he's just glad he gets a chance to work on a bot that wasn't for the Computer, and his smile becomes a little more grateful than anything else at her offer.

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to." His smile grows fond as he returns the hug, and he chuckles at the mention of the business venture. "God, me with a flower shop? Those flowers wouldn't stand a chance, I think we're better off like this until someone else figures out how to sell flowers around here." He's not joking, either. He has lost count how many times he has killed plants, but...the mention does make his thoughts wander to something else. Like his intellicrops, and all the work he did with them back home. Could he replicate that and sell it to the Computer as his business venture?

The thought gets stored away for now, and his attention is fully on Lydia as he follows her deeper into the shop. "Ooh, I get the behind the scenes tour? You spoil me, kiddo."

There's a little glint in Tony's eye that Lydia finds to be unmistakable, when she mentions Gucci. Most people don't bother much with the little metal dog down in Specials HQ, so they don't know what he can do. They don't know what he does on a regular basis, protecting each and every one of them by guarding the whole corridor leading to HQ, all while he's playing fetch or begging attention off anyone who happens to be down there. That little dog is the perfect cover, because he's playful and affectionate, in spite of being a robot, but he's also very, very powerful. Root made sure of it. Lydia sees that look in Tony's eye and she knows that it means he sees the potential to be had there. Lydia grins.

"Have a blast, just keep me posted so I know his functionality," she says casually. "Upgrades are no good if I don't know how to utilize them after all."

Lydia can't help the laugh that bubbles up at the idea of Tony owning a flower shop. "No," she laughs, "not just flowers, I mean like make up your own new Alpha tradition for gift giving. Or something, I don't know," she says, shaking her head. "Although, in my defense, seeing you selling flowers would in and of itself probably give a pretty good uplift to just about anybody's mood," she says with a smirk.

She pushes the door leading to the back room open and there's a short corridor behind it, leading to two separate back rooms. One is smaller and has overstock on shelves and a little desk where she can balance her books — she'll probably hire someone else to do that later, when she has enough business for it to matter — and the other room is behind a closed door. "Just you, because I have a feeling you'll be the only one here who will really appreciate this."

Lydia grins a little, knowingly, and then opens the door. Behind it, the room is almost twice the size of her shop and is tucked back out of sight because her store is pushed back against a back hall, like the deep inside of a shopping mall that only the employees get to see, only so much bigger. Inside, there are machines that are producing her product, some printing labels, some are shut off all together because they're not needed just yet. There are little robot men inspecting her finished products before transporting them to be packaged.

"Behold," Lydia jokes, looking over at Tony and grinning, "my secret lair." That's a joke, but all the same...it isn't a bad place to have secret meetings where needed, she thinks, with some people with whom she feels especially close. There's a back entrance, too, but she hasn't explored it yet. So far, the only way she knows for sure to get in and out of it is through her store, but that's not the worst thing in the world. For now.

She sobers a little before continuing with the real reason she's brought Tony back here. "...I was thinking...if you wanted...maybe I could match your pay from The Computer and hire you on as maintenance. Whenever my bots don't need to be worked on, you can use this space however you want. Stay out of R&D, be somewhere safe. Make us some cool toys to protect ourselves... Nobody has to know that you don't need to be working on the machines for your whole shift...and you're two clearance levels below me, so it isn't unheard of that I could hire you on. I can take very minimal staff. Mostly, I get the bots, but..." her voice trails off. "I thought maybe if you wanted your own little playground for that sort of thing and a legal excuse to get supplies for your own projects..." She shrugs then. "The offer is on the table."

"You have my word, you'll be made aware of all of the upgrades."

He's just really excited at just the opportunity to actually get to work on a bot that wasn't the Computer itself. Tony has been salvaging pieces here and there from work, things that he knows wouldn't be missed so that he could build something, but having the chance to actually tinker on the PetBot is enough to lift his spirits more than even finding out that he was being released from the hospital today.

At her laugh, Tony can't help but laugh as well. "Oh. Yeah, I guess I could. And good, I'm glad you didn't mean that, because I already know that particular business venture wouldn't get very far."

As they make their way to the back, Tony's curiosity grows with pretty much every step that they take. He doesn't know where she's taking him, so it's hard to tell what to even expect, but when she reveals the 'secret lair' he lets out a low whistle under his breath as he looks around. "Wow, kiddo, this is...quite a space." Especially the whole production, with the machines and the robot men moving about. He almost even asks what the machines that were shut off would be used for, but suddenly Lydia is speaking, and Tony blinks over at her in surprise.

"Seriously?" It's asked more in disbelief than anything else, because he really hadn't been expecting that. And it should be easy to say yes, because hell yes this would be a great opportunity to be able to do something away from the eyes of the Computer, but...there's Cisco. As much as he hates the AI that is his supervisor, he actually enjoys working with Cisco, and leaving him behind feels wrong. And, well, he'd miss him, too. Besides, they work well together, which is rare for Tony to actually find in someone, and all of that is what makes it hard for him to accept without even thinking about it.

But, with his mind thinking about it, he's also thinking of the possibilities. Not only of what he can build, but what he and Cisco could build away from prying eyes.

"I'm flattered, Lydia. Really flattered, actually, and I'd love to." He pauses, briefly. "What... If you don't mind me asking, other than me, were you thinking of adding anyone else to the staff you're allowed to have?"

"That's such a shame," she teases. "This place could really use some better options gifts to give," she adds with a little smirk. In a place, though, where real food is a hot commodity, she tends to think that Tony picked really well from the limited selection available to him. Maybe she'll have to start working on edibles, too...functional as soap but edible. It's a thought worth shelving for now to consider later. It probably isn't possible in a place like this, or if it is, it'll be expensive as hell to manufacture, but maybe someday it'll be worth doing.

His whistle earns him a nod and little grin. "I know, right? I thought you might like that," she says. Lydia isn't all that impressed because she hasn't ever been all that interested in machinery but someone like Tony? It makes sense that he might be interested in the back room at her shop more than she is. Tony's initial question is met with a nod. "Seriously," she assures him.

It isn't a selfless decision on her part. Sure, she'll be doing Tony a favor, giving him a mechanical lab and a legitimate reason to order supplies for whatever he wants to do and there's no way anyone can question whether he's using them "correctly" or not, because as long as he stays within the guidelines of ordering parts for machines or bots that she already has, no one would even think to check. The machines and bots are all in working order, but they're not perfect and it isn't inconceivable that she might hire a mechanical engineer or someone with that skill set to come in and soup them up. The production value would be the same, in the end, as far as the average Alpha would be able to tell, anyway. This is entirely a win-win, she thinks. He gets those benefits and she reaps the benefits of weapons that might actually be useful and which, even better, aren't available on the Infrared Market for the right price. That's the important part. Tony will have the advantage of knowing exactly what's available with just the smallest bit of research. He'll be able to develop things that can trump the available weapons force and no one else will have the same ability to research what they'll be up against. All in all, until he's ready or able to reach out to the Computer to ask about his own lab to create new, more safe but effective weaponry to keep Alpha Complex safe and under control — or whatever verbiage he might use to butter the Computer up the way she did with her soaps — this is the safest way they can function in this vein.

Lydia smiles when he takes her offer but her eyebrows lift with curiosity when he goes on to ask whether she was thinking about adding to her staff. "I...hadn't really thought about it much?" she asks more than says. "I don't need anyone on my staff. I'm not hiring you to actually work for me — although, it wouldn't suck if you could actually maintain the machines and bots for me once in a while as needed — you know? They kind of do everything I need them to do on their own, now, so...I hadn't considered asking anyone else," she admits. "...why?" Translation: who did you have in mind and how does it benefit me to take them on?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Daycycle 112 [ October 16 - October 22 ]

daycycle 112

[Oct 16 - Oct 22]

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