Daycycle 18 [ JAN 26-30]

[computerized]

DAYCYCLE 18

[ JAN 26-30]

MORNING

Matt Farrell will be woken up at 0400 when a squad of Internal Security Gray Ops come to arrest Jason Wilcox for treason.  He is led away at gunpoint and any requests for information will be denied by higher level officers, claiming it’s classified.  Any digging done outside of sanctioned channels will reveal that he was believed to have been stealing medical equipment and supplies.

There is a new briefing officer in place this morning.  She speaks in a sugary sweet voice and smiles often.  Rumor has it she was on the execution squad that finished of the worst traitors in Death Leopard.

Troubleshooter Team: Parker and R. Lynch

Mission:  These fine recruits need practice in small unit tactics.  You will each have a team of three recruits and will lead them as they are pitted against each other in small unit tactical skirmishes.  You’re units are to engage in three to five armed skirmishes against each other.  You will take note of each recruit’s accuracy, obedience and courage under fire.  Fill out these forms indicating each recruit’s performance and turn them in, along with surviving recruits, at the nearest Vulture Squadron barracks.  The Troubleshooter with the most survivors will be awarded a credit reward.

All other Troubleshooters:  You are to report to your Service Firm positions for the day, until called on for Troubleshooter duty.

Specials will remain in their temporary quarters until repairs are completed on their RED quarters.

1202 - S. Rogers - G. Maecenas

1203 - A. Hardison  - Parker

1204 - R.Palmer - B. Allen

1205 - D.Grayson - T. Stark

1206 - M. Farrell

1207 - S.Groves - L. Martin

1208 - P. Carter - A. Patterson

1209 - R. Lynch

Intel: Free Enterprise has begun manufacturing weapons for sale to the highest secret society bidders.  Any information about these weapons should be reported immediately.

AFTERNOON

There is a high-level game of PowerGolf being held this afternoon in the Tech Services sub-sector Delta with many BLUE and VIOLET clearance citizens.  The game will be broadcast across the Complex.  Rumor has it that Free Enterprise will offer any citizen the ability to place bets on the outcome.  Increased security is apparent and all RED Troubleshooters will be pulled to work crowd control and police the game.

EVENING

The Alpha City Library is hosting a special reading of it’s high-clearance level novels this evening in a desperate attempt to attract interest and sponsorship from the Alpha Complex masses.  The book chosen is so notoriously racy that it has been forbidden to most clearance levels for nearly a decade.  There is a small fee to attend, but drinks and food will be provided.

Sleep aid gas will be expelled into the barracks this evening at 2100.

Comments

[adamparrish]

Insane computers. Adam is mentally making a list of all the ways in which this could be so much worse than it is. It makes him feel better, and thankfully he has enough of an imagination to make the list considerably longer than most people probably could.

He lowers his voice, leaning in just a bit before he speaks again. He's going to take that advice to heart, that he should be careful what he says and around who.

"What are the pills?" He asks. The pills that had come with the jumpsuit and various other items when he arrived.

[shrinkage]

"The HappiTime, yeah. Pretty much drugs to keep the populace calm and malleable. Might want to pretend to be taking them." Don't be like Ray and actually take them for a week because of confusion and peer pressure.

It's a tough call, deciding how to act in Alpha. There's so little knowledge among them and so much paranoia that any knowledge obtained isn't necessarily trustworthy. In Ray's opinion though? It's worth the risk of getting burned. If it means sparing someone else hardship.

"There's a secure network where the Specials can talk privately. Do you have your PDC on you? It's really simple to enable the encryption and access the other posts."

[adamparrish]

"Oh I haven't... I haven't taken any. Just trying to understand." Pills to make people calm and malleable? That's terrifying. Which is saying something since Adam has seen a few terrifying things along the way. He's going to have to remember to tell Ronan not to take the pills no matter what. They both need to be in their right mind if they're going to get out of here.

Yes, Adam is still new enough to think they can find a way out.

"Yeah, I..." He hands over his PDC after only a moment's hesitation. He has to trust right now that Ray isn't playing him in some way, even just in this small thing. "How did we get a secure network? Did someone hack the system?" Still, his voice is low and quiet so as not to be overheard.

[shrinkage]

"Yeah, but-- they like to know that you're toeing the line. It's not too hard to pop one in public and spit it out in private, at least."

One of the many stupid hoops they had to jump through just to keep from being too conspicuous (you know, aside from also being a Special).

Ray reaches over the table, oblivious to any uncertainty on Adam's part. His demeanor, while irritatingly upbeat, is also impossibly genuine. He doesn't really anticipate other people not operating in the same manner.

"A Special set it up, and he adds new Specials as soon as you arrive-- see you just access the network here, and you can put in different encryptions. See, there. He already sent you the instructions for our network, as well as how to encrypt messages to a single person if you want." Hardison's work is extremely thorough; Ray thinks he might be as good a hacker as his favorite blonde back home, even.

[adamparrish]

"So we're... supposed to take them. It's a requirement?" Oh that really bothers him. Adam doesn't do drugs. He's always toed the line and done what he was supposed to do. He's never broken the law or been in any kind of trouble. He's generally a good kid. He doesn't want to have to break the law here, but he will. He's not taking those pills.

His expression is clearly mortified, lost in his own thoughts as he idly watches what Ray is doing with his PDC. Adam is good with mechanics. Seeing what Ray is doing, he might be able to duplicate it with Ronan's.

Adam nods deftly as Ray explains what the Special did for them. The guy must be really smart with computers, which would come in handy here, he suspects. "Have you seen any... roots, anywhere." They're underground. Adam might be able to find some ley lines if he could figure out where things above ground are. "Like from trees above."

[shrinkage]

Ray nods, hoping Adam will take his advice and at least pretend to take them. Ultimately, it's up to him and he'd rather get through the network basics so that Adam can make contact with the other Specials if he needs to.

When he mentions roots, Ray has to think for a moment. Have they seen anything other than metal this entire time? The whole Complex has seemed like one big hermetically-sealed sci-fi nightmare, actually.

"You could probably find something in hydroponics..." Do you want like, tea or something, dude? Because even Ray isn't desperate enough to drink root tea. Yeesh.

[adamparrish]

"Hydroponics." Adam looks just a little bit disappointed, which is better than the mass of disappointment he's got going on on the inside. He'll consider it a win. He doesn't much like telegraphing emotions and to press too much might raise more questions than he's willing to answer just yet.

"Yeah, that's cool. I'll start there." He says with a shrug that he hopes says he doesn't really care either way. "Thanks."

He takes the PDC back, looking through it to see what and where Ray found and did what he did so he can do the same for Ronan, if it hasn't already been done. "I'm not very good with computer stuff, I mean coding. Better at mechanical and electronic things. I can eventually figure out patterns but... yeah."

[shrinkage]

"You like mechanics?" Ray's voice raises a little because he's the excitable type and still really doesn't have the hang of how to stay on the down-low. Like, ever. Fortunately that also means he misses his window to press Adam on whether hydroponics was a helpful answer or not. Unfortunately Adam is about to find out that Ray in this proverbial dystopian high school setting is the nerd who doesn't quite get that maybe it's time for him to leave.

"I build gadgets-- well, I did. Back home, my company made mobile phones and smart technology." Oh wait. "Which is computer stuff. What do you prefer to work on? Cars?"

[adamparrish]

There's a slight nod in the affirmative when Ray mentions mechanics and seems to light up at the notion as if he too had an affinity toward it. Won't he be glad to have someone like minded around. Adam isn't all that special, really. But he has a few things he's good at, certain lanes in which he has a niche.

"Cars, yeah. Motors. I can fix most anything that has a motor of some kind." Which isn't computer stuff, but Adam likes to think he could figure out computer stuff fairly quickly. He's able to find where things are broken and fix them.

"Are you more the electronic kind of mechanic?" He asks. "Most motors these days have electronic components. I can work with those." Not the Pig, Gansey's car, but most new car motors have electronics too.

[shrinkage]

Ray shakes his head, muppet-facing as he muses over the question. Does he have a preference? To Ray, they're one in the same because they support building a single unit.

"I wouldn't pick one over the other, but you'll find both around here so you'll get plenty of practice if you want it." Always nice to add skills to the ol' toolbox. Especially when you're never sure where you'll need to use them after being dimensionally kidnapped or something in that proximity.