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Week 8: Coming Home

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Post  SosieTerrehaute Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:51 pm

Mungo parked, Lucia safely out of her hands, and head full of fluffy pink purposeful clouds, Sosie opened the door to the warehouse proper. Everything seemed so clear and easy, and so complicated. There was so much to do, and a fallout she knew was coming, but none of it mattered right now. How long had it been since she'd been home? When was the last time she'd even seen Pinkie?

She dumped Dusty unceremoniously on the training room floor. She called out an "Anyone home?" and gently placed her bags on the table by the computer, looking around. She had abandoned her "official" Krieg wear and was back in an old Smork tank top. "Pinkie, you around?"
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Post  Pinkie Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:16 pm

Behind you.

*Pinkie did not fade in, and stepped to the side of where she had been when she spoke. Truth to tell it was probably good that Sosie couldn't see her face. Nor the Cat, lying along the opposite wall. In fact, Pinkie didn't really see what could be good about what would happen next.*


Last edited by Pinkie on Sat Mar 10, 2012 5:25 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:32 pm

Sosie turned her head to the voice, but as expected, saw nothing. She smiled a little, and ran her head over her shaved head. Thanks to Hair to Go, the middle was already longer than the sides, growing into another mohawk. She turned back to her bags. "I got almost everything I needed--except for what Han destroyed, no rockets in the lab--but I think it went well. Tons of Gemini research, only a few casualties, even saw one of my good friends and coworkers.. Though, well, she didn't see me, but that's fine." She looked up at the holowall. "Bell, turn on the TV. One of those music-videos-with-scrolly news things at the bottom."

The holowall flickered to life, playing a very low techno beat. The text at the bottom was talking about motorcycles or something.

She opened the bag, and ran her fingers over something metal and shiny inside. "I'll miss the upgraded SCEP, but I can work around it." She looked around a little more. "We missed you, too. Let me see you. Ida and Darya should be in in a minute."
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Post  Darya Demeter Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:45 pm

Darya entered, her face looking rather dark. Occasionally she muttered to herself about there being no need to kill them, before she strode forward and sat down on a chair in the living area, pulling out her EMP rifle and looking at the thing strapped to the bottom of it.
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Post  Ida Salcedo Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:11 pm

Ida strolled into the warehouse with a triumphant look on her face, and was met by Rico at the door holding two large mugs of coffee. "Did the mission go well?" he asked, recognising that Ida was after a chance to brag about something.

"You bet it did!" Ida declared as she downed the first mug of coffee in one gulp. "You should have seen me in there! There was this guard who thought he was some sort of hot shot with his sword, just 'cos he got a blow or two in on Sylviane, so I burst in there and..." In one swift motion, she drew Mirabelle and pointed it straight into Rico's chest. "Bang. Got him point-blank, perfect shot, blazed him away entirely! The wep-cam footage will make great viewing when I'm bored, I'll say that much."

Ida frowned slightly as she turned to Sylviane, who was walking in behind her carrying a mule-tech bag full of weapons and ammunition. "This is why you need to be more decisive, Sylviane. If you'd just got the right hit in at the start, you could have saved yourself a lot of trouble." She took a sip from the second mug of coffee, and her satisfied smile returned. "You did good work in there though, I certainly can't deny that. Having you around makes it easier to keep the soft guys unsquished." She gave the replicant a congratulatory pat on the shoulder, which was met with the same lack of expression as ever.

Ida paused as she was about to begin her regular ritual of looking around futilely for Pinkie to avoid walking into her. She activated the sensors in her feet, feeling around for movement. Not noticing anything immediately, she continued into the building.
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Post  Pinkie Sun Mar 04, 2012 3:51 am

No.
Good for you.
18 security staff is a few?

*Pinkie faded in as she walked, measuring each step, towards Sosie. She remained blurred around the edges and at her legs, but the rest of her became more visible with every step. Pinkie's face very much wore an expression, but it was untterly unreadable, half of it not being there wasn't exactly helpful, but it wasn't bored, psychopathic, slight smile or even annoyed. It wasn't an expression Pinkie let herself wear often*

Don't get me wrong. I would have.
But you should know.
I could have been one of them.

*A pace away from Sosie, Pinkie looked hard into the cyberneticists eyes, discerning... something*

You'll be starting soon then?

*Pinkie had fully faded before she had finished the question and the slight sound of cybernetic wirring was clear indication she hadn't stayed where she was.*
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:25 am

Sosie watched Pinkie for a few seconds, and then turned back to the bag. Her brows knitted in confusion, and then the sight of the strange organic looking tools in front of her made her any negative thoughts dissipate. "Eighteen? No. There were a few security guards, but I gave everyone orders not to hurt any employees." She pulled out something that looked like a huge silver bud, and unwound a wire from it. "Had things have gone differently, it WOULD have been me in there, too. I mean, we talked about it before we even went in."

Sosie laid that mechanical flower thing on the table, and reached in and pulled something else out; a long pole, covered with little nozzles. Above, the music and story shifted to some mournful synthetic rock song. She swore softly. "The bastards didn't even clean th--I need to fit these, and then I'll start. Maybe by the end of the week. I'll need to make new fittings for half this stuff, hell, I'm not even sure how it works, though the EHIC seems more or less the same, with amazing improvements. I can't even believe how advanced they've made the homogenisation nozzles." Sosie turned around, to look over her shoulder at Pinkie. "I mean, look at thi--Oh." She turned her head again, trying to spot Pinkie. Momentarily distracted from her cybernetics, a thought occurred to her. "..Wait, how did you know? Eighteen?"
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Post  Pinkie Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:27 pm

*Pinkie faded in. Completley from shear bafflement. Between Sosie's confusion and her affection[?] for the equipment she was speaking incophrensibly about, Pinkie had no idea if she was lying. Troubling doesn't quite say it.*

Bell. Could you play the report I asked you to record.

*Pinkie moved around the room sideways, to watch Sosie's expression as the recording played and try to figure out what was going on.*


Last edited by Pinkie on Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:10 am; edited 1 time in total
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:53 pm

It took a visible concentrated effort for Sosie not to admire the mechtronics in front of her, at least until the the screen started playing for a few seconds. There was an Asian woman on the screen, serious and pretty, standing in front of a now very familiar facility. Battle had definitely taken place there; behind the woman were four visible pillars of smoke. She spoke in a soft and soothing Mandarin, and the ticker at the bottom displayed the logo of the Ai-Jinn official news channel.

"Again, we repeat, just hours ago, here at this simple Gemini research facility some 18 innocent employees were slaughtered by agents of Oracle." The report continued on the Ai-Jinn official news as it was reported on the WDN in print, but with more words like MASSACRE, MURDER, BODIES EVERYWHERE. A UIG official reported on the official kill count, the majority with their throats slit after being knocked out. It was then followed by a dramatic CGI re-enactment, showing massive agents in field combat armor and balaclavas, shooting or decapitating with swords helpless and scrawny looking scientists while they begged for mercy. The rough animation was blocky and didn't match up much to the story at all, but it was ridiculous and bloody and common for any even mildly titillating story in the Ai-Jinn.

Sosie stared with her eyes wide, the look of shock obvious on her face. She mumbled, "No, no, oh no, no. That didn't happen. It didn't go like that." When the clip ended, Bell reset the screen back to the music-and-news-channel, which to add insult to injury was finishing its own little news clip on the "Gemini Massacre", ending with Oracle now being under investigation. Sosie didn't look away from the screen until the words about the 'unspeakable tragedy of corporate greed' were off the screen, replaced with weltball scores.

A sudden change came over the replicant maker. The pink clouds of joy that surrounded her disappeared instantly, replaced with rage. She ignored Pinkie, and turned around to Ida and Darya, her jaw clenched in anger and face pale. "Call Air-Tight, now! If you don't have money, I'll pay you. Ida, you delete that video. Now. And make sure Sylvaine is in your alibi. Fuck!" Her jaw was still tight, her knuckles white around the be-nozzled tool in her hands. "Fuck!"
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Post  Darya Demeter Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:16 pm

Darya sank down in her chair, hands up near her temples shaking slightly. "But...I...no..." She looked up at the viewscreen. "I left them alive! I didn't kill them! We didn't need to kill them!" She was on her feet now, talking very quickly and shaking slightly. "We didn't need to kill them. We didn't cut their throats. Why did they cut their throats? Who cut their throats? I don't understand..." she walked around the room, twitching slightly. Finally, she paused next to the stairs, and turned around to Ida. "We didn't need to kill them." She said quietly. Her expression was dark, furious, but it only lasted a second before she ran up the stairs to contact AirTight.
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Post  Pinkie Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:25 am

*Pinkie looked from one very angry Sosie to catch a look on Darya's face that would have been more at home on her own. Finally she put two and two together.*

You were set up.

Either they followed or found out it was Oracle. Focus is on Oracle solely, so they don't know who we are? Or they don't care. They just wanted to hit Oracle and didn't care who they had to hurt to do so.

That sounds familiar.

*These were the tactics Pinkie knew but not on a landscaspe she recognised. I will not sit here, doing nothing. Unable to act without more information and with only the one idea Pinkie faded and began upstairs, calling Cat to heel. Once I know. Once she knew who her targets were, Oracle's enemies would have all the destruction Pinkie had held in since joining Gemini let loose upon them. A slight smile caught the edges of Pinkie's lips without her knowledge or consent, for she had a mission now, a goal, and currently it was all there was in the world to her.
I will make them pay.*
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Post  Ida Salcedo Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:29 am

Ida stared at the screen in disbelief for a moment, and then just threw her hands in the air with a cry of exasperation. "Y'know what? Fine. I keep casualties to a minimum, didn't even point a weapon at any noncombatants, and this happens. Fuck it. Fuck everything. Damn cowards, too scared to face me head-on. Whoever's behind this is getting a face full of plasma and then some..."

She began to walk out of the room to contact Airtight, but briefly turned back to Sosie. "Don't worry. We didn't do it. We'll come out of this all right, and then we can go flying headfirst into whatever brand new bullshit we have to put up with next."
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:14 am

Sosie waited a few seconds before Ida left, half-nodding to her in sole response. She laid her precious tool on the table, movement slow. Blood slowly went back into her hands. Apparently alone, she fumbled for her cell phone. She used her thumb to scroll down to Airtight's number, but said aloud. "We didn't check. I didn't even take a second glance at the guards. It could have been Oracle."

She hit call, jaw clenching again. "But it wasn't us... ..Hello, thank you. My name is Sosie Terrehaute, and I'd like to arrange an alibi..."
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Post  Admin Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:27 am

The automated voice at the end of Sosie's phone line said "Please wait. A representative of Air Tight will be with you shortly. Have a nice day. Thank you for choosing Air Tight to confirm your location in entirely legal places at important times in your life."
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:52 pm

Sosie hung up the phone after she spoke a few terse lines, and looked at it. A face to face interview, well, fine. Fine. She shoved the phone back into her pocket, kicked her shoes off under the table, and head upstairs.

She tapped quietly on Darya's door with the back of her knuckles. Her jaw was still clenched tight, and she had to swallow a little bit to get her voice to soften. "Darya? You okay?
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Post  Darya Demeter Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:23 pm

Darya opened the door slightly, then, seeing it was Sosie, opened it the whole way. In one hand she held a comms device, which had the first few digits of AirTight's number already typed in. "Hey." She said quietly. Behind her, the room was much tidier than the last time Sosie had entered when she had come say goodbye, devoid of pieces of knockout rifle or mechtronics tools. "I was just about to ring them..."
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:34 pm

Sosie leaned on the doorway, and looked down at Darya's phone. She tried to smile, but it was uneasy. "They have a rep coming in person, since it was a while ago. I'm sure you can make a deal when they actually show up, unless you want to call." Sosie continued hovering in the doorway, slightly.. unsure, as if she was trying to figure out how to say something. "It helps if you just program their number into your phone... Er.." Dusty, now in his quiet, thoughtful way, pushed past Sosie's legs and took up residence in Darya's room, which he seemed to prefer.

"I just wanted to make sure you were.. doing okay. This whole thing seems.. ..wrong."
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Post  Darya Demeter Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:47 pm

Darya nodded "Ok. I'll come down and talk to them then." She knelt down and dropped her communicator device on the floor, and instead picked up Dusty and lifted him up. "I don't like it. And I'm not ok. But thank you for asking." She brushed her hair out of her eyes. It was down from her normal ponytail.

"I've been thinking I'm going to leave Oracle. Once I've found Altruism and dealt with him, I'll have done what I came here to do, so I'm going to find a nice place to live and take sis there and that'll be it. But now...I need to stay and I need to make sure that as few people are hurt by us as possible..." Her words were very quick and very quiet.
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:08 pm

Sosie watched Darya, complicated emotions flickering over her face. She reached out and patted Dusty, who turned his glowing green eye to look from his mother to his aunt. "I was thinking.." Sosie's voice was quiet too, and slow, as if she was trying to remember how to say the words she wanted to say, "I was thinking the same thing. That.. Maybe I don't want people to die just because they're in the way of us finding out some information." Her voice slowed more with effort. "Even if the information is.. important."

She cleared her throat a little. "I wouldn't want you to go. But.. you should. With.. your sister."
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Post  Admin Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:25 pm

A Kalari 5000 GT pulled up outside Seoul Waste Away and parked in the street. The driver side door slid open and a man dressed in a perfectly tailored, incredible looking suit stepped quickly out of it. He crossed over to the other door and retrieved a black mule-tech bag before he locked the car.
Without a movement or a moment wasted the man strode over to the SWA entrance way and pressed the intercom button.

"This is your local Air Tight representative calling for Sosie Terrehaute. May I come inside?"

While he waited for an answer, the Air Tight man adjusted his spotless red tie and admired the security features that were on display.
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:39 pm

Saved from a case of near terminal internal awkwardness by a buzzer, Sosie cleared her throat again and hurriedly rushed to the firepole. She slid down, giving a quick "Bell, buzz him in. Connect me to the intercom." She waited for a little click of affirmation, and continued. "Please come in through the nearest door. I'll be there in a moment."
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Post  Darya Demeter Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:49 pm

Nodding, Darya turned and slowly walked down to the main area, waiting for the meeting to start. Biting down, she activated her smeaker. "Ida, an AirTight representative is here. Do you want to come down and talk to him, or are you making your own arrangements?"
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Post  Admin Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:09 pm

Without a word the Air Tight employee picked up his mule-tech bag and walked into the Seoul Waste Away entrance yard. His gleaming, highly polished shoes clicked over the concrete as he quickly moved towards the SWA public facing office.

"Bell, flag Ida. Call her to the meeting table." said Sosie. Barefoot and moving fast to stamp out any remaining awkwardness crossed past the table and into the training room. She was in the garage in moments, opening the side door. She squinted around in the sunlight, looking for the Airtight representative.

The "alibi service technician", as Air Tight staff often wished to be called, spun around at the sound of the side door opening. He had been moving towards the SWA public office, but that was on the opposite side of the building. "Miss Terrehaute I presume?" he said. His voice didn't have any uncertainty in it, making it difficult to tell if the words were a question or a statement. "May I come in? I'll need to see everyone involved as quickly as possible. And I'll need a table." He spoke as he walked, not pausing for a second until he stepped up to the door and waited for Sosie to allow him entry.

Sosie nodded, and led the "service technician" to the meeting area inside. Trying to match his pace was awkward; his movements were so precise and unhurried Sosie ended up loping between a jog and a hop. He was so immaculate, so well put together, Sosie was suddenly aware of the gunk on her clothes, the dirt on her face, the healing scratches on her arms that were part and parcel for repairing replicants.
She led him to the main room, where Sosie's Mule-techs filled half the table. She hurriedly moved them off, though the bag full of replicant making parts was handled with an earnest sense of affection. It was weird, how being around him made you want to be more.. effiecent. "Here. The others will be down in a minute."

"Thank you Miss Terrehaute. I will wait for the others to arrive before I begin to explain what you were doing at the time you specified in the phone call. Please get onto the table and lay down for me."

The mule-tech bag was placed on the floor and opened with a loud 'ziiiip' to reveal all manner of strange tools and objects. The ones that the Air Tight operative picked up were a simple meat cleaver and a clear plastic raincoat, which he began to put on over his suit.
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Post  Darya Demeter Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:16 pm

Darya walked into the room just in time to see the alibi service technician put on a raincoat and pull out a meat cleaver.

"Are you from AirTight?" She asked, walking forwards into the room. "Why do you have a cleaver in your hand?"
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:22 pm

Sosie turned around to face Darya, her face an expression of sarcastic delight. She turned back to the alibi service technician, face unchanged. She inhaled deeply, and let her face relax. "Yes, excuse me, but what the sweet fuck? I mean, at the VERY least, we have a surgery."
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