Kaktus 2015/11/28(Sat)14:27 No. 686092 ID: 65a774
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To think, so much has happened since you arrived here at the station…
A suicide of a sentient machine, a slave to the system…
A murder, a misunderstanding coming from a forged note.
A terrorist group, trying to free it’s brethren…
And another group who… you don’t actually know what they want yet, but they did call themselves “The pure ones” so it can’t be good.
Oh, and you can’t forget the ARC… a new weapon of destruction… of which one has gained a sense of self.
So much has happened on such a short ti-
BEEP!
Wha-
BEEP!

Kaktus 2015/11/28(Sat)14:27 No. 686093 ID: 65a774
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BEEP BEEP BEEP.
I’m awake… I’m awake…
Rise and shine, officer. It’s a new glorious day here at New Horizon and it is time for you to wake up and experience it! Also, time for work… YAY!
Ugh… yeah, “yay”…
Oh, and remember that Sakkilian that attacked you yesterday? He’s going to go free on bail soon, just so you know… also, the chief got a special mission for you concerning him!
…wait, what?

…also, you feel kind of weird all the sudden…

well might as well get dressed and see what the boss wants. And remember to always carry a weapon know since you seem to be quite prone to falling into ambushes lately.

You got up too fast and now your balance and vision is messed up, slow down. Give it a second and wait for the color to return. What's on the table, and what did you fall asleep in?

All that is holy, PAC, did you get a personality update forcing you to irritate life forms that require sleep with morning cheer?

Right, what's the mission?

Kaktus 2015/11/29(Sun)07:32 No. 686212 ID: 65a774
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>You got up too fast and now your balance and vision is messed up, slow down.
Ugh... you didn’t even drink yesterday…
>What's on the table.
Oh, it seems like you still have a piece of delicious cardboard left! Score!
>What did you fall asleep in?
It’s your trusty Hibernating sphere, of course! Where else would you sleep?
>And remember to always carry a weapon know since you seem to be quite prone to falling into ambushes lately.
While you still have your stun rod and sleeper gun, you should really need something a bit more powerful.

>By all that is holy, PAC, did you get a personality update forcing you to irritate life forms that require sleep with morning cheer?
Being cheery in the morning is proven to lighten the mood of the rest of the day for over 95% of people that regularly sleeps.
>Right, what's the mission?
You have currently four objectives that needs your attention. First, we have a task directed directly from the chief of police. A Sakkillian named Agathon, the Sakkillian who resisted arrested yesterday, will be released on bail later today. The chief wishes for you to shadow him when he leaves and find out what’s he’s up to and who paid his bail and why.
And when will he be released?
When you’re ready to track him.
And the other tasks?

The CEO of the local Sol Corp operations, Eli, have asked for you personally to invest a theft of Sol Corp properties that might have taken place on the outer rim level 174.
Wait, isn’t that an area without life-support?
Correct, so no air, radiation protection or heat. But do not worry; your suit will protect you.
But who would go all the way there just to steal something?
Someone that really wants access to the ARCs?

Now, your third mission is connected to the Uredo that attacked you yesterday. They have managed to extract an address from his suit that you should look into. We do not know what you will find there but you should be cautious.
It’s possible it’s just a red herring…

Lastly, you should also check out the area where Cib was attacked yesterday. There might be some clues left there.
Wait, I’m doing everything by myself?
You have your partner, remember? Also, officers will be dispatched as they become available.
Still…
Oh, and the chief have agreed to issue you with a shock rifle for protection.
Oh sweet!
It will be ready to be transported to your location in about two hours.
Not so sweet…

So, where are we off to first, officer?

>It will be ready to be transported to your location in about two hours.
Uuugh. At least shadowing should be a safe bet. But if it's an enemy trying to elimate loose ties...

...Let's just shadow him, best to not keep the boss waiting.

wait didn't we already check out the Uredo's place? that hotel room? Or is this a different address?

Anyways I say we check out where Cib was attacked?
1)he's a friend
and
2)if he was attacked in our neighborhood then then the rest of our friends might be in danger as well since whoever is trying to stop us from doing the Arc mission seems to be willing to attack our friends to get us to stop.

Also it should kill enough time for us to get the rifle so we can then shadow Agathon more safely incase he walks towards a more dangerous part of the ship. Plus since it seems like someone wanted to kill him he may need someone to pull his tail out of the fire.

> Being cheery in the morning is proven to lighten the mood of the rest of the day for over 95% of people that regularly sleeps.
I'd hate to meet that focus group when I've just woken up.

>shadow him when he leaves and find out what’s he’s up to and who paid his bail and why.
A stakeout will take the rest of the day, at least, and end up being dangerous. Anyway, the fucker can pack sand in his cell until we're good and ready.
>Correct, so no air, radiation protection or heat.
Not doing that first thing in the morning. We'll probably need to get a replacement suit after what happened yesterday, anyway.
>Address, we do not know what you will find there but you should be cautious.
Sounds like a party we should bring a long gun to.
>check out the area where Cib was attacked yesterday.
Should be close, if I recall correctly, and we don't want any leads to go cold. Let's go there first.

Kaktus 2015/11/30(Mon)11:04 No. 686358 ID: 65a774
File 144891026760.png - (22.71KB , 900x450 , 5.png )

>Wait didn't we already check out the Uredo's place? That hotel room? Or is this a different address?
It’s a different address. This address leads to a locale owned by a private company that specializes in renting out buildings for non-residential purposes. We don’t know who is currently renting that particular address.
>We'll probably need to get a replacement suit after what happened yesterday, anyway.
Your suit is already fully functional. It was fully repaired while you slept.

>I say we check out where Cib was attacked.
Ah, of course you’re anxious to protect your friends. Good choice, officer.
>Should be close.
Actually, it’s a few sub-floors down in a nearby spire, but it isn’t far with a tram.
Right. Let’s get this over with.

…

Here we are.
This is where Cib was attacked?
Not quite. This is the last known area he was in before he was attacked. Soon after leaving a meeting with a SAI group called Sons of Steel he was attacked by… someone.
Don’t we any cameras around here?
This area is owned by a private company that specializes in renting out buildings for non-residential purposes, thus they do not have permission to monitor passerby’s.
…wait, is that the same company as the other-
Indeed, it is the same company, but the address is located in another spire not far from here, above ground. Let’s just say the price difference of the rooms here and there is… a few zeros on the end.
Yeah, I figured.

Oi, what ya think ya doing, guv? This is SAI country, it is.
Yeah, so beat it, copper.
Oh, great, the locals…
Don’t make us report you for harassing minorities, pig!
No speciest thugs allowed ‘ere, eh!

Alright let's not beat around the bush here, ask if they know Cib. If asked why tell them you're looking for the people that attacked him the other day. If we can actually get them to talk to us ask if the last time they saw him and if they saw some Sakkillian wondering around last night (didn't we get some camera footage of some Sakkillians dropping Cib's head off at our room?) Or any non SAI really.

>Don’t make us report you for harassing minorities, pig!
Please don't make assumptions based on my species. I'm actually here to investigate an incident that already happened, that my friend was the victim of. Are you familiar with a SAI by the name of Cib? Has a rectangular camera head that's the same model used by SN-uh, I forget the number but he was a famous SAI spokesperson, apparently.

>>686375
Let's rephrase and ask if they know him or have seen anybody by the description.

>>686358
Tell them you're not specist. In fact you're trying to find out who attacked your SAI friend. The best information we can get from them is the location of the Sons of Steel meeting, because all we know is that Cib was attacked just after leaving it. We need to investigate the scene of the crime.

I'm looking into the kidnapping of an SAI colloquially known as CIB. He was nabbed by some Sakkilians impersonating police officers, anyone know anything?

Kaktus 2015/12/01(Tue)09:38 No. 686478 ID: 65a774
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>Please don't make assumptions based on my species.
What!? Just because we’re synthetics ya’re just assuming we’re speciest!? Ya organics are all the same!
Err… wait…
>In fact you're trying to find out who attacked your SAI friend.
Ha, SAI friend!? That’s not bloody likely!
>Are you familiar with a SAI by the name of Cib?
Cib!? What kind of boorish name is that?
Got a rectangular camera head, a humanoid body, mostly blue?
Oh, I think he means CB11…
We don’t know anyone like that!

>He was nabbed by some people impersonating police officers, anyone know anything?
We didn’t see anyone!
Yeah, there weren’t any Sakkilians around here at all, yesterday!
There’s never any Sakkilians here at all!
Well, except for that cyborg one that just went by…
But that doesn’t count! No Sakkillians here!
>The best information we can get from them is the location of the Sons of Steel meeting
Well never tell ya that, ya nark!
Yeah! You’re just her to silence the witnesses anyway, but we got our eyes on you, mister!
Don’t ya dare try to silence us, pig! We still have an ace up our sleeves!
…doesn’t that sing behind you say “Sons of steel”?
… … …no?
You know what… thank you for your time but I’ll see if I can find someone that’s actually helpful now.
…Nark!

…

-ee anything?
Sorry, but that’s everything I’ve heard. Maybe you can ask- Hmm? How can I help you, Officer?
Oh, err… hello, officer.
Vitus?
Wait, Jo, is that you?

Recognize his uniform?
Are you doing investigating too, Vitus?

>>686478
Yup. Looking into who kidnapped Cib. Got any info on who might have witnessed the kidnapping or where, exactly, it took place?

Vitus? what are you doing here?

Gotta love those idiots who are anti-cop yet expect the system to work for them by being as unhelpful as possible.

Also stare at the suddenly sexy Vitus, seems like your experiencing such enhanced vision suddenly!

Kaktus 2015/12/01(Tue)14:59 No. 686502 ID: 65a774
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>Also stare at the suddenly sexy Vitus.
Stupid sexy Vitus…
>Recognize his uniform?
It’s the same suit he’s been wearing since you got here… or at least the same design. Sadly, it’s hides most of his form and it’s not like he’s “wearing nothing at all” at all! …wait, where did all this “Sexy Vitus” stuff come from? s

>Vitus? what are you doing here?
Oh, err… well, apparently, Cib thought he might have forgotten some tools and other robot maintenance stuff here and asked me to pick them up but… err… it seems he might have had them with him when he was attacked, yeah?
As far as we know, he left with everything he had with him yesterday.
>Looking into who kidnapped Cib.
Ah, yeah, of course.
The peace keepers already sent someone? Cases like these tend to be put on hold most of the time… so, how can I help you, officer?

>Got any info on who might have witnessed the kidnapping or where, exactly, it took place?
Well, there has been talk about someone seeing a Sakkillian peace keeper pulling him into an alleyway nearby, but that’s probably just baseless rumors. The peace keepers might have ignored us in the past, but I wouldn’t think you guys would outright attack one of us.
Who saw it and where?
Who started the rumor? I don’t know for sure but it was someone who hangs around here, for sure. As for where… well, last I saw him he was heading for the Tram station to the east, which means he took a hard left as soon as he left this building. It should have been somewhere between there and here?
Cibs body was found in a trash container located near the Tram station, so the place where the assault took place would be close by.
Wait, why shouldn’t the attack happen right next to the container?
Because it’s located in plain sight in the middle of a small “square”, making it impossible for not a ton of witnesses seeing the deed.
Yet they got the body over there… hmm…

Err… so, hey, Jo… do you mind if I… um… tag along? I still need to find Cib’s stuff, yeah? And… err… I want to see those that did this face justice just as much as you do so… can I?

Yeah sure, come along if you want. Just remember that I am still on duty and that people have attacked me in the past so be careful, the suit protects us but your kinda..unarmed and defenseless.

Say he can stick around if he wants but you are on duty so if he comes with he's going to half to follow your orders. It will mostly come down to don't touch that, stand over there, simple things like that so he doesn't contaminate a crime scene. We'd both be in deep shit if that happens.

Righto, but don't touch anything. I mean it, it's still a crime scene.

Well, let's take a tour of the local alleyways. Any idea of what CIB bought? It'll make it easier to place him.

PAC, what paperwork or whatever would be necessary to have the things CIB purchased released from evidence once we find them?

>I want to see those that did this face justice just as much as you do so
What's protocol on this? Regardless, I wanna say yes, as long as he doesn't try dishing out the justice himself.

Kaktus 2015/12/02(Wed)11:15 No. 686583 ID: 65a774
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>What's protocol on this?
Protocol states that you should leave civilian outside any investigation, but it doesn’t say anything about letting someone tag along on a distance.
>Say he can stick around if he wants but you are on duty.
So you better keep up with me.
Don’t worry, yeah, I’m augmented through the teeth! I can keep it up for pretty much forever… err… I mean, keep up with you… f-forever… yeah…
>People have attacked me in the past so be careful, the suit protects us but your kind of… unarmed and defenseless.
Well… I am kind of packing a bit of heat… I mean, these arms pack a punch so… I guess I should pound someone into submission? …or I can just pullout, yeah? Run away all bravely and all that?
>Don't touch anything. I mean it; it's still a crime scene.
Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to do it hands-free… I’m content to watch the action from the sidelines, yeah?
>Don’t try dishing out the justice yourself.
Of course not, yeah? I know how to control myself, not letting emotions getting to me and make me do something stupid.

>Any idea of what CIB bought? It'll make it easier to place him.
Err… let’s see… mostly oils, wires and stuff like that… and a hand-brain.
Hand-brain?
It’s a small hand held computer used when repairing advance AI machinery. That’s the thing it wanted back, as they usually go for about half a k creds, yeah? But yes, it didn’t buy them around here, yeah, it already had it with them when they got to the meeting.
Oh…
>PAC, what paperwork or whatever would be necessary to have the things CIB purchased released from evidence once we find them?
If they aren’t important to the case, I might get them later today. Otherwise, not until the case is closed. We might be able to supply Cib with replacement wares if they are deemed important enough.


>Well, let's take a tour of the local alleyways.
Right, enough talk! TO THE ALLEYWAYS!
TO THE CRIME SCENE!
IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!
IN THE NAME OF THE TRUTH!
WE ARE THE JUSTICE FORCE! FOR GREAT JUSTICE! AWAY!
Warning, dorkiness reaching critical mass…
…
Oh man, who’d known that there were so many Alleyways around here, yeah?
At least most of them are empty or cut off…
Hey, what is this? Oh, I think I found Cibs bag of stuff…
Really? That might mean this is where it got attacked.
Let’s see… hmm… hey, there’s no hand-brain in here… but it said it had it with it.
Just don’t touch the bag, Vitus.
I’m not touching anything, don’t worry…

> a hand-brain.
Does that have any tracers or trackers or locators we can use to find it?

Where's the ladder lead?

where's that latter lead to? Also since you have gloves on of sorts can you see what's in the bag?

Look behind the crates and barrels.

>hey, there’s no hand-brain in here…
Wait, do your implants let you scan things without touching? Well, something that valuable could may be hidden from scans anyways. (Unless that's the kind of stuff of Sci-Fi even here, then nevermind)
Check for any traces of a struggle, battle, or dismantlement.

Kaktus 2015/12/03(Thu)08:19 No. 686765 ID: 65a774
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>Check for any traces of a struggle, battle, or dismantlement.
Scanning… traces found. There are small pieces of metal on the ground here… and plastic. It’s probable that they are leftovers from when they cut of Cib’s head. There are also some faint tracks on the ground… I do believe they are made by some kind of threads? Rather small sized threads at that…
>Where's the ladder lead?
It leads to an access tunnel between the sub-levels. It’s currently locked tight.
Aw, I was hoping it would lead us to a secret base or something.
Don’t be silly, Jo. A secret base would have a way more awesome entrance… one filled with… err… acid and… acid breathing sharks?
Acid breathing sharks with lasers!
And fire breath, yeah!
That would be so-
Awesome…
…

>Does that have any tracers or trackers or locators we can use to find it?
Of course not, it isn’t that expensive.
I don’t know… 500 credits is about… what, 50 cans of soda?
…500 creds, while nothing to sneeze at, isn’t that much… I mean, you can’t even buy a new Holo-game for that, yeah?
>Wait, do your implants let you scan things without touching?
Well, err… my eyes are cybernetic in nature, yeah, but… the bag was wide open, wasn’t it?
>Since you have gloves on of sorts can you see what's in the bag?
Let’s see… oil… metal polish… lens polish… screws… wires… a new lens? Hmm… doesn’t seem to be anything of real interest in here… but where is the hand-brain thingy?
Um… maybe they stole it? I mean… they might have thought it might record them attacking Cib or something… I mean, it could have…
But why not just take the whole bag? Hmmm…

>Look behind the crates and barrels.
Oh, look! I found something really important!
…old cans and bottles?
And see, in these cardboard boxes!
More cans and bottles?
Clearly, those two nefarious villains emptied one of those boxes for their evil deeds!
…well, Cib’s body was found lying next to a broken cardboard box… it’s possible they used one of these to transport it without rousing suspicion.
I knew these old bottles were important! Now… um… what know? There weren’t really any clues lying around here…
Maybe we should check that container Cib’s body was found in?
Other officers has already searched that area. They found nothing of any real interest.
So this whole thing was a waste of time… unless we find that hand-brain thingy… maybe it did record something or the like?
But that thing can be anywhere by now! Where should we even start looking for it?

Bring a cardboard box, for its the ultimate tool in stealth.

the hand brain whatever, what can it do besides fine tune AIs? Think it's possible that took it because they plan on using it?

Well as for where to look I guess we could keep trying to trace the area and see if we can't find what route Cib's attackers took to the dumpster they dumped him in and see if we can't find something they might have dropped while hauling him away.

>There are also some faint tracks on the ground… I do believe they are made by some kind of threads? Rather small sized threads at that…
Well, where do those lead?
>It leads to an access tunnel between the sub-levels. It’s currently locked tight.
Any signs of tampering on that? Fans are worth checking, too.
>Awesome…
Cute Patoot Dorks
>find what route Cib's attackers took to the dumpster they dumped him
That'll be a useful route to check.

Is it possible Cib didn't lose it here, but simply forgot it at the meeting?

Maximum overdork engage

>It’s currently locked tight.
Could it be accessed by someone with proper authorization or the right tools? Or does it open to a hard vacuum?
>I do believe they are made by some kind of treads? Rather small sized treads at that…
like a wheely bin or one of those hand dolly things used to move boxes? That's probably the route they took, follow it.
> But why not just take the whole bag? Hmmm…
Maybe Cib had it in his hand or pocket or something and dropped it on the way.

Kaktus 2015/12/03(Thu)11:27 No. 686788 ID: 65a774
File 144917087369.png - (22.73KB , 900x450 , 10.png )

>Bring a cardboard box, for its the ultimate tool in stealth.
It also doubles as a delicious lunch! Clearly, it’s the great tool to end all tools!

>The hand brain whatever, what can it do besides fine tune AIs?
Not a whole lot… at least, not the cheap model Cib had bought. I mean, they do have some basic functions like calculations, time and recording, yeah, but nothing really special.
>Think it's possible that took it because they plan on using it?
…somehow, I don’t think that’s likely…

>Could it be accessed by someone with proper authorization or the right tools?
Of course someone with the proper authorization would be able to access it. Checking logs now… negative, no one has been used this access port since last week.
>Or does it open to a hard vacuum?
…a direct port to space? In the middle of a sub-level full of people?
Yeah, when you say it like that…

>Like a wheelie bin or one of those hand dolly things used to move boxes?
Treads as in miniature continuous tracks… or caterpillar tracks… you know, tank treads?
Oh…
…so, they had a miniature tank they attacked Cib with?
While that would be cool, I think there’s probably a less silly explanation to this.
>Well, where do those lead?
They are coming from the direction we came from, goes about halfway down the alleyway before turning around and leaving the same way they came. Sadly, the road outside the alleyway is to well used for any tracks to survive for long.

>Is it possible Cib didn't lose it here, but simply forgot it at the meeting?
I already asked them about it there, yeah? They said Cib had it with it when it left.
>Maybe Cib had it in his hand or pocket or something and dropped it on the way.
Now that sound plausible.

>I guess we could keep trying to trace the area and see if we can't find what route Cib's attackers took to the dumpster they dumped him in and see if we can't find something they might have dropped.
Right, let’s go find some clues!

…

We’ve been walking all the way here already? Man, those guys didn’t drop anything!
The good news is that your new weapon will be ready for action in just 45 minutes!
Oh, great…
So, what’s the next threat the JUSTICE FORCE should face? Long, boring queues? Space ship delays? Ice-cream vans?
Ice cream vans?
Their cheery music is the prelude to DESTRUCTION!
…well, true, there is a lot of screaming when those things roll around… Still, I want to find that stupid hand-brain…

Eat some of the cardboard as you contemplate your life choices.

>>686788
Okay so, Cib doesn't have the hand-brain, but the attackers probably didn't take it. The likely cause is that Cib dropped it either right when he got attacked, or when he got stuffed into the trash.

Check the trash container.
...or we can ask the SAI with tank treads, since we have evidence they were at the scene at some point. Maybe they're a witness? Ask the multi-leg SAI where the tank tread guy went.

maybe it's in the dumpster they dumped him... assuming they haven't already disposed of the trash in it from last night that is.

Also I know there aren't any cameras around where Cib was attacked but something with treads should stand out, do any nearby cameras show anything moving through the area on treads slightly before and after Cib's attack? Assuming foot traffic isn't to high at the time we might be able to spot something that fits the description.

>Treads as in miniature continuous tracks… or caterpillar tracks… you know, tank treads?
So, another SAI? Possibly the one you talked to not too long ago?

I'm not saying he's complacent, he probably just wandered through and found the stuff unattended.

Don't just assume the treads mean it was the first SAI we saw, guys. That's racist. PAC, can we get a tread-print match from what we saw at the scene?

...oh man, what if Cib was passed along to another person, and that's why the treads turned back around?

>miniature continuous tracks
so like the ones that were on the one robot that was out here when we arrived, the one that isn't here anymore?

There are probably many robots on this station that have treads so lets not jump to conclusions. Even if it is possible it was returning to the scene of the crime
it was johnny-5

Kaktus 2015/12/04(Fri)09:33 No. 686938 ID: 65a774
File 144925043196.png - (22.38KB , 900x450 , 11.png )

>Eat some of the cardboard as you contemplate your life choices.
You consume a piece of the delicious cardboard… Not enough to ruin the box but enough to sate your thirst for it.
Do you want a piece?
Err… no, thanks, I’m good…
More for me.

>It was johnny-5!
Wasn’t it killed in that police shootout after it kidnapped that kid? You’re pretty sure you saw something about that on the news when you were just a kid.
>Check the trash container.
You’ve already checked it… and other peace keepers have as well. There was nothing there.

>Do any nearby cameras show anything moving through the area on treads slightly before and after Cib's attack?
There are several SAIs and other robots with treads that entered and left this area at that time. Seeing as there’s a “Sons of steel” meeting hall here, it would be given that there would be a lot of mechanical looking SAIs around here.
>So, another SAI? Possibly the one you talked to not too long ago?
It would fit the description, yes.
>PAC, can we get a tread-print match from what we saw at the scene?
The tracks wasn’t preserved enough to do something like that, sorry.

>Ask the multi-leg SAI where the tank tread guy went.
Huh? What are ya talking about, guv? There wasn’t anyone else here when ya last passed by.
…you do realize willingly keeping information about a crime from a peace keeper is a offence?
What are ya going to do, pig, brutalize me?
Alright, friend, see here… we just want to know what happened to some of Cib’s belongings, yeah?
…why do ya want to talk to my friend about that for? It didn’t steal anything!
…So… you’re telling me you weren’t at the scene of the crime, going through the victim’s stuff?
We’re just a pair of moral citizen, we are… and ya’re oppressing us! Standing there and telling us that we’re petty thief and can’t even afford a hand-brain on our own, while not being covered in sheet, that’s oppression, that is!
Right…

>>686938
You didn't say anything about a hand-brain. How about we arrest this guy?

never said anything about theft, never said anything about a hand brain, and I have to ask why it seems you're defending the people that took a fellow SAI, ambushed him, dismembered him, through his parts into a trash bin, and then mailed his head to one of his friends front door? On top of that why would you add on to his suffering by stealing from him instead of helping him?

>>686970
Well, Cib is an "it". Let's not get its pronoun wrong while in SAI territory at least.

Kaktus 2015/12/05(Sat)04:08 No. 687095 ID: 65a774
File 144931731855.png - (23.17KB , 900x450 , 12.png )

…okay, first off, I never said anything about a theft… second, I never said anything about a hand-brain either.
See, I told ya I didn’t have anything of interest, pig.
What you just told me was that you know about the stolen hand-brain I’m looking for.
I won’t give ya sheet, nark.

Now here something I don’t understand. Why are you defending them? Why are you defending the people who attacked a fellow SAI, dismembered it and brought its head to one of its friend’s front door, hmm? Do you really want to help them so much?
Hey, don’t go throwing me on the burning pile of faggots, ya blasted copper! Ya’re the one who is trying to destroy evidence!
Still… this leaves us with two options. Either I arrest you and retrieve the hand-brain from you… or you willingly give it to me and go on your marry way.
…fine, here it is. Ya better use it to catch these bloody hooligans or I’ll take ya to court for police corruption, ya hear! I have copies of it! And this conversation! We’ll be watching!
I swear, I’ll see those that did this behind bars as soon as possible.

So, we finally found its hand-brain, yeah? …wait, what are you doing?
Just checking if there’s anything recorded or something on it… hmm, now what is this?
*BEEP*
Greetings officers, how can I be of assistance.
Sir… or ma’am-
I prefer “it”, officer.
… …SAI, should you please turn around and put your hands on the wall?
What is this about? Am I being arrested?
We have gotten a tips that there might be some illegal substances in play here. Do not worry, if you’re innocent you have nothing to fear.
Illegal s- *SSCREESH* ERROR! MALFUNCTION DETECTED! SHUTTING DOWN WITHOUT SAVING!
Quick, before it wakes up again, cut off its head.
Err… I don’t know about this… he hasn’t really don-
It’s a SAI, it will live. But if you don’t want to do it, give that here and go find something to carry its body in.
Hmmm…
*Sshhhh…* *Clank* *Clir!*
Here, I found this cardboard box…
Perfect! Put the body in it and dump it in a trash bin nearby. I’ll take care of the head. See you at the hide out.
Wait… what was the password again?
*sigh* …It’s “Ancestral might”, idiot. Geez, remember it this time as I won’t tell you again. Now move it!
Right, right…
…
…
…
…
…
*wrrrrr*
Did ya see that?
Oh null, the peace keepers are psychopaths! We have to do something! …wait, what is this? Hey, this thing is still recording!
Then bloody take it! We might be abl-
*BEEP*

…That was an interesting listen…
It doesn’t tell us who did it, though.
Still, it’s a step in the right direction.
I do believe you’re done here, though.
Probably, yeah… so, off to one of those three other things you wanted me to look into?
Indeed. Oh, and your new weapon should be ready soon. Your partner will meet you at your next location with it.
Finally some good news.

alright lets get some copies of that recording and then we can give it back to Cib. Oh and try to remember the voices, probably wont help that much be if we do arrest them it might help us recognize them if we can remember what they sound like.

Anyways for our next thing we should probably check out the Uredo's address. We have a partner now incase it's booby trapped up the ass like the last place was so if we get hurt we have someone to call for help and I want to check that place out before someone comes by and tries to clean the place out for whatever reason.

The only real clue on there is the passphrase "ancestral might". Can you tell the speakers' species based on their voices? The password suggests the group could be racially motivated.

Sorry Vitus, but our next stop involves a hard vacuum, this is where we part ways. Get CIB's stuff back to CIB and we'll catch up some more later, alright?

Kaktus 2015/12/06(Sun)09:10 No. 687336 ID: 65a774
File 144942182899.png - (44.12KB , 686x526 , 13.png )

>Can you tell the speakers' species based on their voices?
They are either Humans or Sakkilians… and consider someone saw two Sakkilians…
>The only real clue on there is the passphrase "ancestral might".
Sakkilians does think highly of their ancestors…
>Oh and try to remember the voices.
They were speaking through helmets, ensuring their voices were a bit distorted and making it hard to recognize them.

>Sorry Vitus, this is where we part ways.
Ah, yeah, of course. Good luck and be seeing you, Jo.
See you later, Vitus.
Oh, one more thing. I just wanted to… um… you know… if you… err…
…?
Forget it. It wasn’t important.
>Alright let’s get some copies of that recording and then we can give it back to Cib.
Actually, we require the whole hand-brain as evidence.
Oh… that’s sucks…
But we can get you a replacement in about an hour.
That’s great. Then I guess I’ll just… um… actually, where are you two going now?

>Anyways for our next thing we should probably check out the Uredo's address.
We’re going topside.
To the surface? Nice… actually, you know what. I think I’ll go topside too. There I can find a nice park to wait for that hand-brain… maybe get myself a coffee and bun… mind sharing a tram?
Be my guest.

…

-and there she is, waiting for us.
Yo, boss, there you are! Look what I got us! Bigger guns!
Is it a pair of shock rifles?
Indeed it is! With these two bad boys we’ll be able to take on nearly anything! And they are non-lethal too!
Yes, yes, I know. I got training with them just as you do.
Ah, sorry… guess I got a bit exited, boss. Now, I did some “rendezvous” and scouted out that address we’re going to check out.
That’s not what rendezvous means, but go on…
Well, there’s a bit of a problem. It seems like it’s some kind of private club of some sort… for Sakkilians… and Sakkilians only. There’s even two really big and mean looking once standing guard outside the door.
…and let me guess, we don’t have a warrant.
Negative.
Dammit… I was expecting an empty apartment or something, not some secret, private club.

>It seems like it’s some kind of private club of some sort… for Sakkilians… and Sakkilians only.
How did the Uredo get in, then? Maybe that's what the password "Ancestral Might" is for?

How about we tell them nice young men that a terrorist Uredo who's already tried to kill one Sakkilian with biological weapons has been here and they need to evacuate the fuck out of the place while we search for the spores?

We can sneak in, using the ultimate tool of stealth technology.

We could try getting in with the passcode, but if it doesn't work we're boned. We need more information about how to blend in enough to gain entrance. What are these people like? What do they believe in? Why do they let in non-sakkilians?

Kaktus 2015/12/06(Sun)11:50 No. 687360 ID: 65a774
File 144943144077.png - (21.31KB , 900x450 , 14.png )

>We can sneak in, using the ultimate tool of stealth technology.
While the tool would work flawlessly if you had an unguarded point of entrance, going through the front door will probably not work. If only there was a backdoor or something…

>How did the Uredo get in, then?
It probably never had the time to visit this place. It might have been one of the targets it had been given.
>How about we tell them nice young men that a terrorist Uredo who's already tried to kill one Sakkilian with biological weapons has been here?
Anything about the terrorist is to be kept secret, orders directly from the chief. Besides, we have no evidence that this terrorist ever visited this location… and seeing that this place might be a potential gathering point for another terrorist group it might not be wise trying to evacuate them forcefully.


>We could try getting in with the passcode, but if it doesn't work we're boned.
Excuse m-
Do you have a warrant, officer?
Well… no, but-
Then we have to ask you to leave the premise. This is a private property where only a given few is allowed access.
But I n-
You are not on the list, so please leave immediately.
an-
Police officer and non-Sakkilian aren’t allowed.
Ancest-
We will give you three seconds before we will be forced to escort you away from the door.
I’m leaving, take it easy…
Geez, they won’t even listen to us unless we’re the right species…

who's that orange guy behind the second bush left of the fountain? He's seems to be looking at you. Also any backdoors or maintenance tunnels we could use to sneak in? Because seeing how the guy's we're after have been using blank spots and "back doors" I'd honestly be surprised if there wasn't.

Calling for plainclothes Sakillian officers to infiltrate the building seems like the obvious move, but they'll probably be too busy to send anyone soon.

Look for a back door. The passphrase might only be used for the secret entrance. You might want to ditch your police suit and enter undercover.

PAC, how hard would you Kvetch at the idea of giving Vitus the password and sending him? Just curious.

>>687360
Are there any Sakkilians in the Peacekeepers?
If not, we'd have to hire a P.I.

Wait what's that orange thing in the bushes behind the bench?

Kaktus 2015/12/07(Mon)08:54 No. 687478 ID: 65a774
File 144950726671.png - (23.01KB , 900x450 , 15.png )

>Wait what's that orange thing in the bushes behind the bench?
It’s just someone walking down the street outside the window, nothing special.

>Calling for plainclothes Sakillian officers to infiltrate the building seems like the obvious move, but they'll probably be too busy to send anyone soon.
We will be able to send someone in five.
That’s not too bad.
Five days.
Oh.
>We'd have to hire a P.I.
The peace keepers doesn’t outsource.
You’re just cheap.
We have a strict budged to follow.

>Any backdoors or maintenance tunnels we could use to sneak in?
There is, in fact, two other ways in. One of them is even visible from a public camera.
So there’s some secret backdoor after all?
There is a backdoor, yes, but according to the camera, it’s barely used at all.
So, it’s unguarded?
I can’t spot any guards, but it’s probably locked and has an alarm.
And this other way in?
Well… there is a garbage chute that you can fit through without your suit…
…that… doesn’t sound to pleasant.
It should be clean… mostly, at least. It won’t be locked nor supervised, if anything.

>PAC, how hard would you Kvetch at the idea of giving Vitus the password and sending him?
That would be against regulation… but, breaking into this “club” is against regulations in the first place.
So, that’s an ok?
If he does it willingly and that you actually have a plan on what he’ll do once inside.
Oh, maybe he can smuggle you inside! …somehow…
…well, I guess I’ll at least call him about it…
*BEEP*
Oh, hello, Jo.
Hi, Vitus, I ne-
Hey, yeah, you can’t guess who I just ran into.
Is it Songs of the Journey?
Wait, Susan? What is she doing here?
Apparently, she was supposed to step in for a coworker at the massage parlor, but the client she’s supposed to meet owns some kind of private club that has a very strict “Sakkilians only” rule, yeah?
Assholes, all of them.
…you don’t say…
So, what did you want, Jo?

>>687478
...Where is this club you speak of?
(gotta verify it's the same one)

It wouldn't happen to be the one I'm standing outside right now and trying to get into right now, would it?

Kaktus 2015/12/07(Mon)10:23 No. 687489 ID: 65a774
File 144951260621.png - (21.20KB , 900x450 , 16.png )

>...Where is this club you speak of?
Well, it’s right down the street from where we’re right now…
Vitus… I have no idea where you are right now…
I’ll send you the address.
Address confirmed. It is indeed the very club we’re standing in front of.
Why do you want to know where it was? Are you going to go all renegade police on their asses?
Vitus, do you want to help me out with something?
Sure? I mean… I guess?
Hey, he was going to help me first!
Really? With what?
Well, he was going to go meet that client for me… because they’ll probably let him in.
Uh huh…

So, what do you want to do? Send in Vitus to either smuggle you in or open another way for you to enter, or do you want to take one of the two backdoors?

Something tells me the cardboard box isn't going to cut it for this stealth mission. Can Vitus bring an evidence drone in his pocket?

Nonsense! Just channel your inner boss and bam, nowhere is safe for the enemy.

>>687489
Wait who is that orange Sakkilian? Can you get an ID?

It occurs to me that we could just sit here and make note of everyone that enters the club. A list of names is useful...

Have Vitus go in via Susan's request officially, have him open the locked back door for us unofficially.

might be able to kill to birds with one stone here. Tell him you need to get in to the club as well as it has been marked as a place of interest to the peace keepers but not enough so to get a warrant. You where hoping that he could open a back door for you so you could get in and look around. Or if all else fails we could send him in and jump in through the garbage chute and have him sneak us out since I doubt they'd search him while he was leaving.

Wait didn't we see her in Eli's office?

Why can't we get a warrant for the place when it was the listed address of a known criminal, and we were literally just told "No officers allowed." That just screams "We're commiting crimes in here."

Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Hold up! In your eagerness to get inside the club you seem to have forgotten that it is illegal for Peacekeeper officers to enter private property without a warrant or the permission of the property owner, both of which you definitely do not have. And not only that, if you do go in then your testimony to anything you see, hear, or otherwise sense while in there, as well as anything recorded inside or taken from the premises will be inadmissible as evidence on the grounds it was acquired illegally, and any evidence acquired later on by leads stemming from the illegally acquired evidence will also be inadmissible. This means if and when it comes time to make arrests based on that illegally obtained evidence, the accused's lawyer will take one look at your case and call for an immediate dropping of the charges against their client, which they will rightly get. Oh, and it'll also open up you and the Peacekeepers to a lawsuit by the club owner for trespass and illegal search and seizure. Basically, you're not sneaking in there without a warrant.

Pointedly ask your PAC unit why the hell it isn't yelling at you that sneaking in there would be illegal, making any evidence you potentially get unusable. Isn't it supposed to be catching that kind of thing so you don't blow your case?

Without a warrant you can still send Vitus and Susan in, but they can't make any recordings nor provide any visual or audio link inside for you. All you can do is question them as to what they saw and heard in there once they come out.

You're going to need more than you have to get a warrant for the club and right now your best bet is releasing Agathon and tailing him. If he beelines for the club then that ought to be enough probable cause for a warrant.

When it does come time to sneak in, the best option is the garbage chute; It's the least likely to be watched or have monitoring scanners. However, you have to consider that the club will have it's own internal security system and you don't know what it's capable of. For all you know every room in there has full camera coverage and a security monitoring AI that'll spot you the second you peek out of the garbage chute. You're gonna have to find out what kind of security system they have before heading in.

That Sakkilian officer at the club door looks familiar... Isn't that the officer that was speaking to Eli right before your lunch meeting yesterday? She does have the same scale and eye color, and she's wearing the exact same kind of uniform. Unfortunately you can't really say if she's the same person or not since you didn't pay her enough mind back then to memorize any more of her features and you don't have a visual recording from then to compare to now since outside recording was prohibited while in the Sol Corp offices. For now just make a personal note on the case record she might be the same person and look up what rank her uniform denotes.

>>687670
>Agathon
Actually maybe we're just doing things in the wrong order. Let's go talk to him now.

Kaktus 2015/12/08(Tue)10:46 No. 687703 ID: 65a774
File 144960040818.png - (24.93KB , 900x450 , 17.png )

>Something tells me the cardboard box isn't going to cut it for this stealth mission.
Nonsense, the cardboard box is the finest weapon when it comes to espionage. Nothing can beat it!
>It occurs to me that we could just sit here and make note of everyone that enters the club. A list of names is useful...
While a list of names would be useful, you’ll need a bit more than that. Going to a club, even if it might be a speciest one, is not a crime, after all.

>Why can't we get a warrant for the place when it was the listed address of a known criminal, and we were literally just told "No officers allowed."
Sadly, we need more than that. After all, this wasn’t the only address we got from the suit worn by your attacker, but it is the only one we deemed suspect.
…when you say other addresses you mean…?
Like the closes manure shop to its home. Clearly it’s a wretched hive of scum and villainy, thus we need to charge right into it with our guns out and blast all those innocent Ure-
Yes, yes, I get it.

>Who is that orange Sakkilian? Can you get an ID?
Scanning… that would be a Lady Decima Estania. She is the local CEO of a company that’s closely working with the Sakkilian empires military branch.
>Look up what rank her uniform denotes.
She does not currently hold an official military rank in the Sakkilian empire, but her garb would suggest she does indeed work for them.
>Didn't we see her in Eli's office?
It is possible she was there to negotiate about the ARCs. Someone in her line of work would be interested in them.

>Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Hold up! In your eagerness to get inside the club you seem to have forgotten that it is illegal for Peacekeeper officers to enter private property without a warrant or the permission of the property owner, both of which you definitely do not have.
…oh, right…
>Pointedly ask your PAC unit why the hell it isn't yelling at you that sneaking in there would be illegal.
…I did mention it.
Hey, you said it wasn’t according to protocol, nothing more!
I am simply following the priorities given to me.


>You're going to need more than you have to get a warrant for the club and right now your best bet is releasing Agathon and tailing him.
Hopefully, he’ll make a beeline for this place.
Do you really think he’ll be that stupid?
Something of interest; he got the following message a few hours ago: “Do not come here. Head home and sit on your fat ass and keep quiet. We will contact you later.” from a protected number. While we do not have the right to track the number itself, we can keep that message from reaching him until one hour after he’s been released.
Great, that will be enough time for him to head back here. So, how will we do this?
We’ll simply use your evidence drone as a camera and follow him at a fair distance.
I still don’t think he’ll be stupid enough…
Err… I’ll just wait for you guys to finish that before heading there, then? Yeah, alright…

…

-and of course he made a beeline directly to the club… geez…
Let me inside this instance! Do you know who I am!?
You are not on the list.
Not on the list!? NOT ON THE LIST!? I AM LORD AGATHON! I DON’T NEED A STINKING LIST!
Sir, please calm down. Maybe it would be for the best if you simply headed home and took it easy for a while.
I demand to be let in at once! Or your head will roll! Do you hear me!? I have family mo-
Let me rephrase that… The fair lady wishes for you to-
err… right, you’re right… I’ll… um… sorry for wasting your time, good sir… yes…

Do we still need anything more to get that warrant?
…your request for a warrant has been denied. You still need- no wait… actually, someone went over the chiefs head and… you got your warrant.
Wait, someone went over her head?
You are now legally allowed to enter the front door… or sneak in if that what you want.
Wait, doesn’t warrants require you to talk to-
You have been given permission from high up to do anything necessary to complete this mission.
Right… this is starting to get suspicion… but first thing first… just walk in or sneak in? Hmm…

this is starting to sound fishy, I'm going to have to go with sneaking in.

RELEASE YOUR INNER BIG BOSS AND SHOW THEM HOW TO BECOME A GHOST.

>You have been given permission from high up to do anything necessary to complete this mission.
Remember to send Eli a very nice thank-you card, with lots of hugs and kisses.

Don't go under the table if you don't need to- you're a cop, it comes with the territory. When in the building, ask to see any surveillance they might have, check for more spore bombs, and tell the boss man his masseuse needs to be let in.

Kaktus 2015/12/09(Wed)09:19 No. 687868 ID: 65a774
File 144968156511.png - (21.23KB , 900x450 , 18.png )

>Remember to send Eli a very nice thank-you card, with lots of hugs and kisses.
You’re not sure it even was Eli… but then again, who else could do this?
>Don't go under the table if you don't need to- you're a cop, it comes with the territory.
Hmmm… you could just walk in right through the front door… but…
>This is starting to sound fishy, I'm going to have to go with sneaking in.
It might be a trap, so you should be cautious. But how? Hmm…

>RELEASE YOUR INNER BIG BOSS AND SHOW THEM HOW TO BECOME A GHOST.
…I got a plan.
Is it a good plan?
It’s the best plan. Vitus! I need your aid!
Huh? Um… alright? Sure?
I need to come here and do that job Susan asked you to do.
Err… is that all?
No, there is one other thing…

…

…this is never going to work.
Shush, they’ll hear us. Just carry me inside and I’ll take it from there.
There’s no way they’ll… … …um… Greetings?
Can I get your name, sir?
Err… see, I’m here to see a… um… Decima Estania? I’m from the massage parlor?
You’re late… and you’re not the usual guy they send.
He’s on vacation and you refused to let the last massager we sent inside.
…oh, that would explain it. Do come in.
Thank you.
Wait. What’s in the box?
Err… stuff?
… … …what kind of stuff?
…stuff for… um… the lady? You know… massage stuff…?
…oh, yes, she usually wants… yes, that seems alright. Please, do come in.
Thank you… again.

See? I told you it would work.
It was this close that they searched the box!
And all they would see was the towels on my head. Now, let’s crash this jo-

Kaktus 2015/12/09(Wed)09:19 No. 687869 ID: 65a774
File 144968157864.png - (21.25KB , 900x450 , 19.png )

-and there we go, officer, the whole tour of the facilities. As you can see, we have nothing to hide.
Thank you for your time, sir.

Jo? What happened? We lost contact with you when you went in.
Well, they gave me the tour of the whole place. Couldn’t find anything suspicious at all.
I recorded it all if you want to have a look, Officer.
Tour? What happen to the box plan, boss?
I… err… let’s see… Vitus took me in and… I… got caught? I think? PAC?
… … …odd, there seems to be a small gap in my recordings about that subject.
And Vitus? What happen to him?
He… err… came in with us before he… was… um…?
…my recording doesn’t explain his disappearance either.
But we did look through the place, didn’t we?
Why, yes, yes we did.

Okay… something is going on here. I’ve been waiting here for an hour for you two and now you tell me you got nothing? You have to have seen something…

>…odd, there seems to be a small gap in my recordings about that subject.
>…my recording doesn’t explain his disappearance either.
Okay, that's odd. Is it like the recording was deleted at those points, or it just conveniently skirted around it? Watch the video, we should be able to recognize if we did anything strange.

That's beyond odd, that's terrifying. You're missing time, memories, and a friend, in hostile territory. Did you find any evidence in there?

so at what point did they find out we where a cop? I mean we went in as a box and then left with them saying nice day officer... the hell?

>>687869
Call Vitus.

Kaktus 2015/12/09(Wed)13:29 No. 687900 ID: 65a774
File 144969655730.png - (21.18KB , 900x450 , 20.png )

>That's beyond odd, that's terrifying. You're missing time, memories, and a friend, in hostile territory.
…when you start thinking about… indeed, there is something odd going on here…
>So at what point did they find out we were a cop?
When they saw your suit?

>Is it like the recording was deleted at those points, or it just conveniently skirted around it?
Let’s see… it seems we were hit by some kind of security measure? That’s what they are saying after the jump at least… and it might explain your lack of memories.
Hmm…
>Watch the video, we should be able to recognize if we did anything strange.
Playing it now…
… … … … no, this is definitely wrong. That’s not me.
…you only watched for half a minute.
I’m asking way to few questions… don’t examine anything to closely… and I missed this really great nerd joke. Also, my ectoplasm is itching like crazy. Something is wrong here.
If you say so.

>Call Vitus.
Oh, hello Jo. Do you need me for something more? Did you find that thing you were looking for? Err… better question, did you get out?
Vitus, where are you?
Err… in painting gallery or whatever this is, yeah? The one inside the club thing? That lady offered me a free drink after the massage and… err… yeah, gave me a peculiar offer.
Offer?
Well… um… see… apparently, she has a deal going on with the original massager that she gets an “happy ending” for a bit extra and… err… she offered me the same, yeah? When I was skeptical about it she offered me a free drink and asked me to take a bit of fresh air before thinking it over.
…so, you’re not hurt or anything?
Huh? Yeah, no, of course not?
…wait, what was that about me looking for something?
That secret archive or what it was, remember? You overheard… what’s her name, the lady, talking about it, yeah?
…I can’t remember that, no…
Err… yeah, that was only an hour ago, Jo, are you alright?

Hmmmm ask him to come out and then see if it takes your memory once you leave or only if you aren't one of that species

>>687900
Alright so they wiped your memory somehow and PAC's as well. Let's go back in, but this time have PAC constantly streaming everything to HQ. If they do anything this time, HQ will know and come down like a sack of bricks.

...actually since we've basically proven they did something to you, they may as well come down like a sack of bricks anyway. Can you call the Chief and tell him about this?

so you know how someone is fucking with the emotion inhibitors around the station, any chance for that someone could mess with them in such a way that would fuck with your head beyond not feeling upset when something bothers you? Either that or we should take a look to see if that nanite thing is acting up again.

>it seems we were hit by some kind of security measure? That’s what they are saying after the jump at least… and it might explain your lack of memories.
Your lack of memories, maybe, but my lack of memories? Brainwashing living people shouldn't be possible, as you have said yourself, PAC. That's the work of science fiction! Either there's something in the air that got in through my air-tight completely safe from the vacuum-of-space suit that messed with my personality (ie changing around the active hormone levels), or they knocked me out and faked the entire thing.

Given that the suit was supposedly repaired or replaced, are there any signs of damage now?

>>687905
Oh, right, the neural chip override... I forgot about that. It's possible they'd have something to change your impulses inside, I suppose! That actually makes a plausible alternative to being knocked out and having it all faked.

Kaktus 2015/12/11(Fri)09:48 No. 688183 ID: 65a774
File 144985613344.png - (16.87KB , 900x450 , 21.png )

>Ask him to come out.
So… what happened?
Do you remember carrying me inside?
Yes?
Then what?
They took us to an office, we overheard some kind of meeting and something about putting it in a secret archive in the building and then you headed out to find that very archive.
…and you didn’t see me anymore after that?
Err… no. I was busy giving the massage to that… Decima or what she was called? Then she offered me a bit of extra credits for a happy ending and gave me a free drink… um… then you called me?
…Hmm…

>Alright so they wiped your memory somehow and PAC's as well.
So, a memory scrambler?
That would fit the memory loss, yes, but not the new memories inserted. My memories is understandable, as they are alterable, but yours?
They got some kind of secret mind altering machine in there!?
Err… let’s not be hasty. There might be a more reasonable explanation?
>Given that the suit was supposedly repaired or replaced, are there any signs of damage now?
Scanning… your suit is in a near prime condition. No status malformations detected. I did find that you might have experienced a concentrated shock recently, though… possible a stun-rod or a shock-rifle?
Either way, that sound like something that would knock you out.

>This time have PAC constantly streaming everything to HQ.
Might I remind you that you’re already streaming everything you do?
And we lost contact with you when you went in.
I’m going to guess the office runs on a private system? It looked expensive enough to do so…
So no communication in or out without the approval of whatever Admin they got… probably some kind of AI like me.
>...actually since we've basically proven they did something to you, they may as well come down like a sack of bricks anyway.
Except that you haven’t proven anything. The only thing you got so far is the assumption that they did something to you. If you want to, we can call for backup, but I would expect that they have a way to hide or destroy anything incriminating if we make too much noise.

> Let's go back in.
How do you wish to enter? With backup? Or through the front door?
There’s still the backdoor or garbage chute approach.
Can’t Vitus just carry you inside again?
The only way they are letting me in again is if I accept that offer of giving a “happy ending”…
Well? Take one for the team! I mean, she’s rich, so she’s bound to be hot, right?
This isn’t about being attracted to her or not. It’s about me not being a… err… gigolo or pleasure bot or something…
I just think you don’t have the balls.
I have enough balls to replace them with artificial ones…
Really? So you’re just afraid that you won’t be able to please her?
I’m a fully augmented person. I can rail on her for hours to end. I’m pretty sure I can make her scream for her ancestors sooner or later.
See? That’s the perfect distraction! While you are busy doing the boss, Jo is free to sneak around!
Ugh…

>I did find that you might have experienced a concentrated shock recently, though… possible a stun-rod or a shock-rifle?
>The only thing you got so far is the assumption that they did something to you.
That shock didn't show up on the recording, which means that something definitely was fabricated.
But, ugh, if that's not enough to go on, let's just forget this venture for now.

>>688183
Well he doesn't want to do it, so let's not.
Go in through the garbage chute this time, if we really don't have enough evidence that they did something to you. I mean, we've got a witness that has memories of things we don't remember, and there are significant missing memories besides. It seems like a really straightforward conclusion.

Ummmmmm are we okay with that plan? Plus we don't want to force him regardless

> There might be a more reasonable explanation?
If you've got one we're all ears. Maybe it was drugs or something, we don't know the mechanism used. It would also explain that Uredo's descent into madness.
>possible a stun-rod or a shock-rifle?
Where is our shock rifle? We didn't loose it, right?
> Ugh…
Relax, Vitus. I couldn't order you to do it if I wanted to.

Is there any way we could disable the alarm on the back door? Otherwise, we're taking the trash chute.

Kaktus 2015/12/12(Sat)08:15 No. 688276 ID: 65a774
File 144993691853.png - (7.24KB , 900x450 , 22.png )

>We've got a witness that has memories of things we don't remember.
A witness that is a close friend to you, I might add. But the witness integrity aside, one witness is not enough to establish any kind of guilt… in fact; witnesses are generally considered shaky evidence at best.
>That shock didn't show up on the recording, which means that something definitely was fabricated.
Or it’s possible that it was that security measure they mentioned? They said we were hit by something right after the memory gap.
Yeah, if that whole thing wasn’t fabricated too.

>Where is our shock rifle? We didn't lose it, right?
Right here. You left it with me because it didn’t fit in the box, remember?
Oh, right…
>Is there any way we could disable the alarm on the back door?
Well… possible… but it’s not a foolproof way… and it will take time…
Not to speak of illegal… probably…

>Relax, Vitus. I couldn't order you to do it if I wanted to.
Yeah, thanks… it would just be… awkward being ordered to do something like… that, yeah?
>If you've got one we're all ears.
Um… drugs, maybe? I mean, I did see this show a few days ago about something like that, yeah? They memory scrambled someone; pumped them full of some sweet drugs before making them live out their new “memories”. Afterward, the victim didn’t exactly remember if they’ve been doing things for an hour or two, thus removing suspicion from a lack of memories.
But that was just a Holo show?
Well, yeah, but still…

>Go in through the garbage chute this time.
Ew?
Well, I won’t fit… so I’ll just hold down the fort here.
Err… if you don’t need me, I’ll just head on back to Cib… I should be able to retrieve that new Hand-Brain by now.
And I need to get back to work. See ya later, guys.

…

…actually, this isn’t so bad. It’s surprisingly clean in here.
That’s because all the trash is being compacted into a high density matter cube before being thrown down this chute. That way they are easier to transport to the grand synths for recycling.
Yes, I know PAC, I don’t need a lesson about-
Today, we are able to recycle nearly 100% of all common waste!
Err… yes, that’s great and all, but-
Did you know that over 10000 species that used to be protected are today no longer near extinction? All thanks to the hard wo-
Wait, did you hear that?

-he information been moved?
Yes, ma’am. It is moving to a more secure location as we speak.
Hmm… I would have thought that moving that much information from a server hub would take more time then-
Actually, we opted to take the whole server farm with us. A bit bulkier, but harder to track that way.
Good, good…
Are you sure this is necessary?
That independent officer was within this very building, trying to open the door the secret files. This place is no longer secure.
But as I said, we-
She’s smarter than that. She will be back… and even if she isn’t, that PAC unit of hers would have tipped off whatever corruption they have in the peace keeper forces. I’m sure we will have a whole army of them breaking down our door soon enough.
Err… speaking of the peace keepers… our informers tells me that a large force of them are heading right this way right now… peace maker forces and everything.
Well then, no time to lose then. Let’s head out before we they get here.
But… we don’t have anything illegal lying around here? They can’t arrest us!
Oh, believe me, they’ll find something. There might just pop up a big drug lab or an illegal cybernetic shop under our feet that they might arrest us for. They are not above planting evidence when it comes to-
…
…
Well, apparently these walls weren’t made to be sound proof…
…so… I’m guessing that means our target just ran away with all our evidence? Wait… we didn’t call for backup, did we?
I did not… nor did Pallavi. It is odd… as I don’t believe this situation would be dire enough to bring in peace makers to resolve. They usually only respond when there a clear, direct threat against living people, like big robberies or kidnappings… but not something like this…
This whole thing is starting to smell more and more…

>our informers tells me that a large force of them are heading right this way right now…

PAC, are you able to get anything on who's in this force? That they weren't even authorized to come here, should keep an eye out to see if it's just a generic get-together or if they really are trying to apply force illegally.

If they are physically moving their servers to a new location, there must be a way to track them. Surely they will have to pass though public spaces with cameras on the way, and there can't be that many Sakkilias moving large packages at the moment.

hey PAC, any cameras around the area that show someone moving something out of the building, something that could house an entire server?

An entire server farm? Pac, get on that, start tracking vehicles that have left this place in the past few hours.

>>688276
They said something about corruption in the peace keepers getting tipped off. So, I'm guessing that the peace keepers that are on their way are not on our side. All the more reason to continue acting on our own. There's no way to stop them, is there?

If we can get inside we'll mostly just want to find out where they're moving the information, then get out without getting zapped and drugged or whatever they did.

Oh also since there's issues with the peacekeepers... ask PAC to broadcast any information about their servers being moved. We need to recover that on our own.

>>688316
>Oh also since there's issues with the peacekeepers... ask PAC to broadcast any information about their servers being moved.
Er... You forgot to put a rather important "not" into that sentence, didn't you?

Kaktus 2015/12/12(Sat)15:40 No. 688356 ID: 65a774
File 144996362758.png - (16.52KB , 900x450 , 23.png )

>PAC, are you able to get anything on who's in this force?
They’ve been authorized to raid this location and retrieve some crucial information by any means necessary.
By whom? The Chief?
No, someone above her made this call. It seems this came directly from the mayor’s office. It seems like whatever they were hiding here were of great importance.

>If they are physically moving their servers to a new location, there must be a way to track them.
I am on it… Hmm… there were several private owned trams leaving this building a while ago… include two trucks who would- *BEEP*… sorry Jo.
…sorry?
You have been removed from this case. You will not be allowed to pursue it further.
…wait, what?
Orders from above. You do not from now on have the authority to work with this case. Sadly, that means I cannot give you any information about the cars that just left this building.
>Ask PAC to not broadcast any information about their servers being moved.
I cannot willfully hinder police work, Jo. Besides, it’s already been sent. I stream the information live, remember?

>They said something about corruption in the peace keepers getting tipped off. So, I'm guessing that the peace keepers that are on their way are not on our side.
Corrupt or not, you do not want to be caught without a suit inside what might be a nest of illegal activities. I would recommend that you leave immediately.
That would be a good idea…
>All the more reason to continue acting on our own. There's no way to stop them, is there?
They will be arriving here in just a minute, with the authority of the very top behind them. So no, there is no stopping them.

…

Vacant this area immediately! All personnel without the proper authority will be charged for obstructing justice if they do not obey!
Yes, yes, geez… I’m leaving…
Well… this day just gets better and better…
Oh, Boss! It seems like someone went over our head on this one… what will we do now?
You still have check out the outer rim level 174 on the behest of CEO Eli.
Well, I guess-
Speaking of Eli, she just sent you a private message. She wants you to meet her, as she got new information that she needs to share with you.
Why not just send the information?
My guess is because she doesn’t want anyone else hear about it.
…oh, and this is interesting. You also got a private message from an unknown sender… all it says in an address… an address that leads to a currently vacant storage?
Clearly a trap!
I don’t know… feel too obvious to be a trap…
So, where off to first? We cannot stay here, after all…

>>688356
Well if we're not working on the case anymore I guess we're off duty, which means no more streaming data, right?

Go talk to Eli first. (maybe she can disable PAC for us? Or give us some armor that doesn't have an AI sending everything to our enemies)

Check the outer rim first. Don't want to end up looking like you're shirking your duties.

fuck it let's just check out that vacuum room on the rim. might as well get it out of the way before we forget about it.

>You still have check out the outer rim level 174 on the behest of CEO Eli.
This one is official business, but...
>She wants you to meet her, as she got new information that she needs to share with you.
Since it's official business for her, we should talk to her. This talk may be unofficial, >>688370
>which means no more streaming data, right?
The unknown sender's request would probably be safer to stream, though if we could get some timed relay on it to cause it to only send if you fail to stop it (ie, if you get knocked out or decide to let it through), it will be nice to avoid tipping off any corruption.

Wait, doesn't Pallavi have her own PAC unit?

>>688385
>>688389
Well, the one who requested it is the same one requesting our presence with her, right? Could at least find out if she wants us to carry out the investigation first or not.

Well, first off you're gonna get lunch; It's getting on since breakfast and you have this nagging feeling that if you don't get lunch now events will conspire to keep you from getting it at all. However, you feel you don't have the time to sit down for a meal so it'll have to be something you can eat on the go. Ask Pallavi for any suggestions she has as to what'd fit that criteria; Preferably human cuisine since you haven't tried theirs yet.

You're going to have to watch what you say around PAC now since there's solid odds that the corrupt higher-ups will have its feed back up to PKHQ monitored to make sure you don't keep poking about this club case or try to figure out whoever they are. Same goes for Pallavi and any other Peacekeeper officer or PACs since you don't know who's corrupt, who's being manipulated by those who are corrupt into doing their bidding and who isn't either. You can't even trust to speak on this with your PAC or any other even if you get one somewhere they don't have link back to HQ since you have a suspicion at least yours has been given hidden higher-priority directives. Remember how it didn't pipe up when you were about to go into the club without a warrant, which you'd think is quite out of line for a law enforcement AI. And when you did call it on that it said "I am simply following the priorities given to me." What priorities, given by whom and when? Perhaps from the corrupt big wigs the folks in the club were speaking of.

Unfortunately you don't have a way to check if your PAC has secret directives without giving yourself away... Unless... Vitus is a AI programmer, isn't he? Maybe if you got him, your PAC and the right equipment into a comm shielded area he could extract your PAC's directive set and clear its memory of what happened. It'll take careful planning to pull off without outing yourself, though. You don't even know if he could pull it off, so first action would be asking him in private if it's even possible and going from there.

And keep this to yourself, but you're pissed off that you were used as the tool of some corrupt big wig up in the mayor's office to run roughshod over legal rights, but even more so you're disappointed in yourself that you went along with it so easily. That warrant was bullshit and you knew deep down it was. You should have called it out as such and refused to act, but you got tunnel vision on getting into that club and that warrant gave you easy absolution from on high to do so. Doesn't matter what they were doing in that club, you failed in your duty to uphold the law back there and should feel shameful for it.

Ask PAC if we're still on the case of those Sakkilians that assaulted Cib. If it says you've been taken off that case as well then you can be reasonably certain that case was somehow connected to the club case.

Now, as for where to go next, Eli seems at first like the obvious choice since her new information may be time sensitive or otherwise vital. However, she also requested you investigate that outer rim level so it's possible she'd rather you go there first. Shoot off a message to her asking if she'd prefer you meet her right away or do the investigation first and go by that.

>…oh, and this is interesting. You also got a private message from an unknown sender… all it says in an address… an address that leads to a currently vacant storage?
Yeah, it feels too obvious for a trap, but with the way things are going you can't rule it out. But more likely it's evidence related to your case that whoever left didn't want traced back to them. ...Or it may be a message to you from those you're pursuing. ...Oh, no. That message left with Cib by its attackers warned you that if you kept on your investigation that your friends would be harmed, right? What if they followed through on the threat and it's one of your friends in that storage unit! Or part of them! Oh no no no! You need to call them all and check! If any of them is unreachable and their location can't be tracked down for certain you're heading to that storage unit immediately.

I'm guessing that, while obviously important, whatever information's on that server is possibly legal and definitely powerful. You don't conveniently "find" evidence of illegal activities to secretly actually find evidence, you do it to find secrets of some kind, whether it's blueprint for some new technology or it's blackmail material. And considering how high up this seems to be coming from, and how much power whoever's behind this already seems to have, it's probably some very serious shit.

>>688456
Yeah.

Makes me want to try to get to those vehicles somehow, but with PAC snooping, it would just make things worse.

Kaktus 2015/12/13(Sun)12:16 No. 688538 ID: 65a774
File 145003779851.png - (14.75KB , 900x450 , 24.png )

>I'm guessing that, while obviously important, whatever information's on that server is possibly legal and definitely powerful. And considering how high up this seems to be coming from, and how much power whoever's behind this already seems to have, it's probably some very serious shit.
You’re not even sure you want to find those servers anymore. Anyone who knows about them are bound to get some serious new enemies…
>You're going to have to watch what you say around PAC now.
…indeed…
>Same goes for Pallavi.
…you’re not sure why but… she feels a bit out of the loop of all this. But, better be on the safe side.
>Wait, doesn't Pallavi have her own PAC unit?
Technically, it’s the same PAC unit thanks to the sync, but yes, she does.
>Vitus is a AI programmer, isn't he? Maybe he can mess around with PAC?
Hmm… it is possible… you might ask him about it.

>Ask PAC if we're still on the case of those Sakkilians that assaulted Cib.
No, you are not.
>If we're not working on the case anymore I guess we're off duty, which means no more streaming data, right?
You’re still on the clock, officer, and as long as you’re on the clock…
>Oh, no. That message left with Cib by its attackers warned you that if you kept on your investigation that your friends would be harmed, right? You need to call them all and check!
Please hold for a second... All your friends checks out. Most of them are currently at work, earning their daily bread, so to speak.


>First off you're going to get lunch.
Well, I’m famished too… got anything on your mind, boss?
>Ask Pallavi for any suggestions she has as for food on the go; preferably human cuisine since you haven't tried theirs yet.
Well… I do know this really great Döner place.
Deener?
Döner kebab. It’s like… meat from a really fluffy animal cooked on a vertical pole before being cut of in pieces and served inside a piece of bread with some real awesome sauce.
I like the sound of that.
>Shoot off a message to Eli asking if she'd prefer you meet her right away or do the investigation first and go by that.
…she won’t receive any messages from you right now…
She said she didn’t want to say anything over the mesh, didn’t she?

>Go talk to Eli first.
I’m sorry, sir and / or ma’am, but we cannot allow you to take that… “food” object with you inside.
Aw… come on! I was saving this!
I told you to only get one…
But they were so tasty!
I still can’t let you in.

Kaktus 2015/12/13(Sun)12:16 No. 688540 ID: 65a774
File 145003781195.png - (15.61KB , 900x450 , 25.png )

…well, I guess we’ll just have to let Eli wait a few min-

Kaktus 2015/12/13(Sun)12:17 No. 688541 ID: 65a774
File 145003782142.png - (15.28KB , 900x450 , 26.png )

*Crunsh!*
HOLY FRACKING NULL!!?
W-whu!?

Kaktus 2015/12/13(Sun)12:17 No. 688542 ID: 65a774
File 145003783020.png - (15.10KB , 900x450 , 27.png )

Err… a-analyzing… there is… 100% that… that is Eli, CEO of… um…
…Frack?
… …we have a… um… situation at the front gate, over…

What the hell caused that? Move, now!

She was heavily injured before hitting the ground. Looks like we have a new murder investigation.

Look up to where she fell from, first. Then I think Pallavi better help put the building on lockdown while you go up and check her office.

Mother fucker!

Call the chief and let her know what the hell just happened. I think this qualifies as something that requires peace keeper intervention so grab your lighting rifle or whatever it is and get moving. Try to get the guard to sync he's com-bead with yours so you can work with the buildings guards to find the son of a bitch who did this before they get away and hopefully that piss ant raid didn't take away to many peace keepers to send backup.

SPEED IS KEY

>I still can’t let you in.
Who the hell was seeing her that you couldn't get in, because they are now a big suspect.

Kaktus 2015/12/15(Tue)11:27 No. 688932 ID: 65a774
File 145020764364.png - (18.24KB , 900x450 , 28.png )

>Look up to where she fell from, first.
This building is freaking huge! You can barely see the top, so it’s practically impossible to see where exactly she fell from.

>Call the chief and let her know what the hell just happened.
SHE IS WHAT!?
She’s not with us any longer, ma’am…
Then don’t just stand there! Secure a perimeter and go after the bastard who did this. Jo, your priority is to catch whoever is fleeing the scene, so please, keep your hands of any evidence. I’m sending a team of professionals for that. Now, get moving, soldier.
Roger that.
>Think Pallavi better help put the building on lockdown.
Err… o-on it? I mean, I’m on it, boss!

>Try to get the guard to sync he's com-bead with yours so you can work with the buildings guards to find the son of a bitch who did this.
Sorry, Jo, but we can sync directly with their com… I can, on the other hand, communicate directly with their AI suit unit and relay information that way.
>Move, now!
They breaking down the door to the last now location of Eli right now. She was last seen entering a large meeting room with two others. I’ll forward the quickest way there for you right away.

…

Here it is. The guards have already done a quick sweep and found nothing… and the camera outside the room show no one leaving or entering since Eli go here.
But there is no one here? Wait, didn’t you say she came with someone else?
>Who the hell was seeing her that you couldn't get in, because they are now a big suspect.
Let’s see… according to the AI she was meeting with a… Dreams of Infrastructure and Sysini Sasse… a Uredo and a Serpens, respectively…
Hmm, but where are they now?

Wait, how did she fall. I don't see anything broken unless their is something open right now.

have one of your weapons ready at all times so you're ready if someone jumps you. Also I see something on the floor in front of the table next to the 3D projector. It's blue with some blood on it and I think I see something white sticking out of the pedestal with the egg thing on it between the projector and the table near the bottom right. Also I see a wine glass on the 3D projector as well.

Well it sure as shit didn't happen here, There's no blood. Falling deaths aren't pretty, but that was... something else.

Check the bottle on the ground. The floor is immaculate, can you see any footprints?

>>688932
I don't see a hole in the window. How did Eli fall from this room?

Something happened over by the food table. There's a wine bottle knocked to the ground... and something white behind the pillar. Take out your shock rifle, first off. Then go check it out. Don't pick it up I guess, we'll follow orders for now.

I suspect the perps are still here, but invisible, if this is really where Eli fell from. You are probably in danger, so watch it. Also, try to make sure the door's blocked so they can't just sneak out.

Sweep the room for evidence and escape routes, check the hologram, have PAC do a background check on those two and also see if he can locate them anywhere.

>Hmm, but where are they now?
Well, thanks to the active streaming, the Chief will probably already have somebody on that.
>Jo, your priority is to catch whoever is fleeing the scene, so please, keep your hands of any evidence.
Tch. Arm there, but looking is about all we can do, and our looking is better spent trying to locate any possible exits. Do any windows have latches to open, any dumbwaiters or obvious (As in, we can see them without touching) "trap doors," vent covers included?
Also, something small and white behind the pillar with the blue plant. Is that part of the decorations, or potential evidence?

>There's a wine bottle knocked to the ground...
Wait, oh. Oops, there I go not looking closely enough. Disregard my comment about the arm, then. Leave the bottle alone for now, though.

Don't move any farther into the room. Ask PAC to scan the floor for any possible tracks made by Eli, Dreams of Infrastructure or Sysini and avoid moving across them.

It looks like there's a bottle of some sort laying on the floor in front of the table; Probably a wine bottle, going by the empty wine glass on the holo-table. Looking closer there appears to be blood on the bottom edge of the bottle, as well as a spot of blood on the floor. Ask PAC to scan the blood to determine if it's Eli's. If it is then it's likely she was hit in the head with the bottle to knock her out before moving her. But this raises the question of why her medical monitoring implant didn't immediately transmit a request for aid. Likely it was jammed by her attackers somehow, but once she was falling down the building she'd presumably be out of range of their jammer, so ask PAC to check if there was a medical distress call sent from Eli's implants received around the time she was falling. If there wasn't then that's pointing to her implant being tampered with somehow instead of their signal being jammed. The forensic team'll have to extract Eli's implants and dump their data to determine what happened there.

If that was Eli's blood on the bottle, then that means she was very likely bleeding when she was carried out of here and that may have left traces of blood on the floor PAC can track at least to where she was taken from this room.

There also appears to be something white on the floor behind the plinth with the column with the potted blue egg-shaped plant next to the table. The Chief said no touching evidence, so the best you can do is get a really close look and ask PAC to do a complete scan on it.

Get all the logs of occupancy activity here you can; Things like auto-lighting, door access and holo-projection table logs. You should be able to use them to determine when Eli and her guests entered and when the room was vacated.

Try to discreetly read what the text on the holo-projector is while you're doing your work here. Maybe you'll learn something important about the ARCs from it

Check in with Pallavi. Is she having any trouble securing the scene of Eli's impact? Is there a crowd gathering outside the scene cordon to see what's happening? There likely is, so better block view of the gristly scene; We have enough trouble without adding a bunch of bystanders puking. Does the Sol Corp offices here have any partition screens on hand the guards could take out and put on the perimeter of the scene?

Ask PAC if it can compare the images of Eli's grievous injuries taken in the video against the Peacekeeper forensic database of weapons to try and determine what kind of weapon was used on her before she fell.

>Here it is. The guards have already done a quick sweep and found nothing… and the camera outside the room show no one leaving or entering since Eli go here.
Ask PAC if there's any other ways out of this room. Any spots in the walls, floor or ceiling that could be possibly removed to allow passage to an adjacent room, then put back without a trace? Well, even if there aren't ask LEX (the office AI) to check the cameras for the rooms adjacent to this one as well as logs of occupancy activity for any irregularities.

>They breaking down the door to the last now location of Eli right now.
Wait... How come they had to break the door down? Don't they have some kind of lock override for use in emergency situations? Was the door tampered with? Because if it was you should investigate how it was as well as pull the access logs from it.

>This building is freaking huge! You can barely see the top, so it’s practically impossible to see where exactly she fell from.
Ah, but you can estimate from how far up she fell by using physics. Ask PAC to get the video from Pallavi's suit, the Sol Corp door guard's suit, along with any other public or private sources it can get, of Eli's body shortly before impact. From analyzing the video PAC should be able to figure out Eli's velocity immediately before impact. Plug that into the formula for gravitational acceleration along with the local gravity and PAC should be able to calculate an estimated distance she fell. And for even more accuracy PAC can estimate Eli's aerodynamic drag from her dimensions taken from the video and include that in it's simulation model, further narrowing down the estimate. That estimate ought to be enough to get the level of the Sol Corp office tower she fell from, plus or minus one. It also looks like she fell straight down, so that'll narrow it down to the rooms on those levels right above her impact point. However, ask PAC to analyze the video for any indication Eli's body was moving laterally across the front of the building and if so in what direction and how far.

Also send a official request to all the businesses and offices facing onto the side of the Sol Corp building Eli fell from for copies of any video they may have of her fall. That'll be more video for PAC to include in its analysis and perhaps you'll get lucky and one will have a shot of where she fell from and who killed her.

Based on this you ought to have enough to request that LEX (the Sol Corp building AI) scrutinize this group of rooms for irregularities. Stuff like the surveillance camera video not lining up with occupancy indicators such as door access logs and automatic lighting activity. It'll also probably be your next stop to investigate unless you find a clue here to a more important destination.

Kaktus 2015/12/16(Wed)10:57 No. 689145 ID: 65a774
File 145029227278.png - (19.03KB , 900x450 , 29.png )

>Wait, how did she fall? I don't see anything broken unless there is something open right now.
For safety reasons these window are unable to be manually opened as well as being made of fortified glass. It is possible though for the AI to open every glass panel for emergency use… like this. *Vrrrrr*
>Get all the logs of occupancy activity here you can.
Actually… every log of this room has been scrubbed of the last hour of use…
>Based on this you ought to have enough to request that LEX scrutinize this group of rooms for irregularities.
…as well as all the nearby rooms…

>Ah, but you can estimate from how far up she fell by using physics.
Approximately, she fell from this floor… and room.
>Ask PAC if it can compare the images of Eli's grievous injuries taken in the video against the Peacekeeper forensic database.
No matches. It’s hard to say, as it seems more like she’s been ripped apart then anything…
>Try to discreetly read what the text on the holo-projector is wh-
HEY! That is classified information! I’ll just shut down that holo-projector before you see something that you shouldn’t.
…err…
…it seems that the manual shut down doesn’t work? No matter, I can simply force it to shut down… there, no more secrets leaking out.

>have PAC do a background check on those two
They are both renewed AI programmers that work for Sol Corp. What, exactly, they were working on was classified, but I’m going to guess the ARC project. They haven’t been spotting leaving this room… nor have they appeared on any cameras since then either.
>The floor is immaculate, can you see any footprints?
…wait… the floor is… damp? PAC?
Scanning… it seems the floor was cleaned quite thoroughly just about ten minutes ago.
Ten minutes? But that’s before Eli fell from here! That means… she was already dead when they threw her out? Hmm…

>I suspect the perps are still here, but invisible, if this is really where Eli fell from.
Invisibility is still a myth, Officer.
But maybe they are hiding?
…where, exactly?
…well, that potted plant on the other side of the room is rather big… I mean, it’s practically a tree…
…they should be able to hide in it if they dumped out all the plants and dirt on the floor first, sure…
Still… I got the feeling we aren’t alone here…
>Wait... How come they had to break the door down?
Someone had apparently put a metal pipe between the handles.
Handles? But… doors just slide open?
… … …if you would turn around you would see that it a double door on hinges, Jo, one that open inwards.
Oh… I… I must have missed that…

>Check the bottle on the ground.
Hmm… some kind of alcohol bottle… whole too… and there’s blood on it?
>Ask PAC to scan the blood to determine if it's Eli's.
That is indeed Eli’s blood.
>Something small and white behind the pillar with the blue plant.
A crumbled note?
The chief has given me the green to uncrumble it and read it… let’s see… most of it is classified data about the ARC… and… there this?
…”WHAT HAVE WE DONE!?” …yeah, never a good sign…

>Ask PAC to check if there was a medical distress call sent from Eli's implants received around the time she was falling.
No, there wasn’t.
>The forensic team will have to extract Eli's implants and dump their data to determine what happened there.
The forensic team has just arrived and started working. The bad news is that they probably won’t be able to determine the cause of death, as most of her body liquefied from the fall.
Ouch… and understandable. But about the implants?
:PACDREAD: That’s the other bad news. They can’t find any implants… including the ones she is supposed to have.
…wait, what? Someone ripped out all her implants?
Well, if anything, that would be a cause of death.

>>689145
The AI opened the window? Does that mean the AI knows what happened? Ask.
As for where they could be hiding... well the big desk might have a way to get inside it. Speaking of which, I see a tiny change in front of it.

Current theory is that there was an argument, one of them smashed her with the wine bottle, realized she was dead, panicked, tried to get rid of all the evidence by removing her implants and washing away all the blood, then dumped her out the window.
The weird surge of rage/hate thing we experienced might have come into play here.

How did they wash the floor though?

close that damn window before someone else is thrown out. But that does actually help. Whoever was in here had the ability to use and AI since you said only AIs could open the window and had the power to wash the room down before throwing Eli out a window. The would also have the power to erase there names and security footage from the building from the last hour. that should help narrow down the search. To bad we don't really know anyone that works here except for those 2 dead guys who's deaths started this whole case, that one asshole scientist, and Eli.

Also what's that little blue thing above the note and is that red star actually a star? I remember a while back some rooms had a fake red start or something. Oh and I now see a little green thing in front of the 3D projector.

Only other thing I can think to is to check the food to see if it's been poisoned although with the bloody wine bottle if I had to guess Eli was probably knocked over the head with that before being torn apart. I mean unless she was knocked out right away I'm sure she would have called for help.

Also good grief that shock rifle is massive. If they are hiding under the desk you're gonna want to pull out the shock baton instead, I think.

I don't suppose there are any more compact ranged weapons?

>…it seems that the manual shut down doesn’t work? No matter, I can simply force it to shut down… there, no more secrets leaking out.
...You do realize you could have just cost the company millions of dollars due to lost data? Usually data that can be lost is what it means when a manual shutdown doesn't work. If they AI could integrate into it, would have been better to just ask them to minimize everything.
>The weird surge of rage/hate thing we experienced might have come into play here.
Eli contacted us after that, though. Unless...

PAC, did her body show signs of decay while it was falling? Or, perhaps, were there signs of rot amongst the liquified remains? Heck, if not rot, then any preservatives? While not exactly cheap (or even "Possible" just yet, we can ignore that since this is a company based on advancing tech), she may have actually attempted to swap over to an AI body. That would give a potential alternative to murder.

>Dreams of Infrastructure and Sysini Sasse
Put warrants out for both of their arrests, get eyes on the ARC project.
> before you see something that you shouldn’t.
Did it cross your tiny mind that it might have been left up there in a difficult to remove state because someone needed me to see it?!?
>Invisibility is still a myth, Officer.
No, it's some highly classified technology that you won't let me look at.

Can Eli's implants still be tracked?

Okay, so Eli was knocked out with the bottle, and had her implants removed. What routes of egress did our killers have?

>No matches. It’s hard to say, as it seems more like she’s been ripped apart then anything…

It would take a lot of strength to tear a body apart. Maybe we are looking for a robot, or someone with heavy cybernetic enhancements. Check all the ARC units and other robots in the building for traces of blood. Also, does the AI keep track of robots entering the room?

First, if the window can only be opened by the building AI that means the killer can control it and can likely continue to control it in order to remain undetected or possibly even turn auto-defense systems against you. Warn your people about that.

Second, unless the killer is insane dumping the body out the front window was clearly intended to draw attention, and since they would not need a distraction to just leave the way they came in that means the killer (or an accomplice) is trying to use this opportunity to access something usually more guarded. Something like the ARC units, which given the killer's apparent control of the building AI and recent access to a room full of ARC information they quite possibly have the means to subvert. Have people go secure them immediately.

Kaktus 2015/12/17(Thu)11:07 No. 689339 ID: 65a774
File 145037926663.png - (19.01KB , 900x450 , 30.png )

>Is that red star actually a star?
You’re not sure… it might be a ship. But whatever it is, it’s outside the station.
>Check the food to see if it's been poisoned.
Your suit can’t detect any harmful substances.
>Good grief that shock rifle is massive. If they are hiding under the desk you're gonna want to pull out the shock baton instead, I think.
Well… completely non-lethal weapons that can pierce most armor apparently require something this big… at least it’s extremely accurate.
>What routes of egress did our killers have?
Scanning the room, the only way in or out would be the front door. The only problem is that both the guards and the cameras would have seen anyone entering or leaving… hmm… maybe the window?

>...You do realize you could have just cost the company millions of dollars due to lost data?
I am in direct communication with their company AI. I know what I’m doing.
>Did it cross your tiny mind that it might have been left up there in a difficult to remove state because someone needed me to see it?!?
I’m sorry, Jo, but they demanded that I shut it down as soon as possible.
>The AI opened the window? Does that mean the AI knows what happened? Ask.
As I already told you, all information about these rooms has been scrubbed.

>How did they wash the floor though?
They probably manually called the cleaning bots of this room.
>PAC, did her body show signs of decay while it was falling?
No, it did not.
>Can Eli's implants still be tracked?
Not if they are offline, no.

>Put warrants out for both of their arrests.
Already been done.
>If the window can only be opened by the building AI that means the killer can control it and can likely continue to control it in order to remain undetected or possibly even turn auto-defense systems against you. Warn your people about that.
I have notified the rest of the force… though, it still doesn’t explain how someone was able to leave this room undetected…

>As for where they could be hiding... well the big desk might have a way to get inside it. Speaking of which, I see a tiny change in front of it.
…Jo… that’s Serpent blood.
Wait, really? Quick, is there some way to open this thing up?
There should be an access panel right there…
Let’s see… there! …oh…
Scanning… that would be the body of Sysini Sasse… as well as… parts of Dreams of Infrastructure?
So… I guess that warrant for their arrest- wait, what do you mean parts?
I can detect about half the mass of a Uredo in there… there’s isn’t enough for a full body.
…wait, why did they stack… but… can an Uredo survive without that much body mass?
…Uredo are known for having a lot of non-vital parts… and it seems it would be possible for one to survive loosing these parts… if only for an hour or two…
…so, we have half an Uredo walking around somewhere, slowly dying? Hmm…

damn dude, the reflections on the floor are all fucked up, that little eye bot we used to scan the paper is still there and our reflection is seem to not have moved from the spot we where just standing. not sure if that's just an artist error or something actually important

Alright so only three people where in here, one looks like she was torn apart and thrown out the window, the second was torn apart and stuffed into the desk and the third was torn in half with half still missing and the other half now missing and possibly alive. Well might as well ask the chief to being some medical personal as well because if we can find this guy we're going to need to get him help ASAP. But so far we still know that nothing has left the room since Eli fell out the window so unless there are some air ducts or another garbage shoot for someone to slip into, Dreams of Infrastructure should still be in the room.

So PAC is there anywhere else in this room that could be used to store something? Do you have any idea what it would take to tear three people apart like this? I mean that Uredo we fought the other day, could someone like him have done this or would you need something stronger then just a few military mods?

>>689339
Alright time to check out the window. Is there a ledge? Or maybe they had rope.

...wait, if it's half of an Uredo... could he be disguised as a potted plant?

>They probably manually called the cleaning bots of this room.
Where are the room's cleaning bots stored?

>Window escape
The window logs for this room have been scrubbed, but check to see if any of the other windows on this side of the building have been opened or had their logs scrubbed.

>Bodies
Do either of them have their cybernetics still here?

>it seems it would be possible for one to survive loosing these parts… if only for an hour or two…
Would they be able to survive if they received medical attention within that time?

Either way, this means there was at least one more killer, as Dreams of Infrastructure physically could not rip themself apart even if they were somehow in on it.

Could someone have tampered with the cameras? If the AI controls the cameras, could someone have tampered with the AI or infect the AI with a subtle virus that only affects that particular camera or range of cameras?

Wait, we know the camera logs don't see anyone leaving THIS room, but what about the nearby rooms that have had their logs wiped?

I mean, the corridor camera logs aren't wiped, right?

So he is our only witness and time is running out.
And could perpetrator have scaled the outside of the building?

Also Kaktus, reflections, ya dun goofd

You've got this nagging uneasy feeling that more bad shit is going to go down here real soon. Step back, pick up your shock rifle and make sure to keep it in hand from now on. If shit happens and you get caught in it you'll at least be well armed.

Don't just assume that the half of Dreams of Infrastructure that isn't stuffed inside the guts of this holo-projection table is still alive and walking about. The murderer could have merely run out of room in there and stashed the remaining half of DoI elsewhere in the room such as behind another access panel in the wall, inside that bigass (presumably hollow) globe of Mars or perhaps buried in that big planter you pointed out. Would half a Uredo have a small enough volume to bury in there without leaving a obvious lump? Especially if the removed dirt was spread out for the cleaning bots to dispose of? And would a Uredo with such serious injuries rooted to soil be much more likely to survive them? Better take a closer look at the big planter to be sure it isn't hiding either half a murder victim or half a murderer.

Ask PAC what Sysini's cause of death was, how long ago they were killed and if they had their cybernetics ripped out as well. Were the pieces removed from Dreams of Infrastructure done so at roughly the same time and are they missing their implants as well? And do both remains have the same signs of being ripped apart as Eli was?

Based on what parts of DoI are left, would it even be able to move? And if so, how fast? And wouldn't it be bleeding all over the place, leaving a obvious trail? While this room was cleaned, if DoI got away in such a state you'd think it'd be leaving a trail in every hall it moved down clear enough to be seen on the security cameras.

Would a Uredo hopped up on a combat implant like the one that attacked you yesterday be able to rip Eli apart like she was? Might be that DoI had such an illegal implant and did this, but if it did then why rip half its own body off? ...Wait. What if it did so to make itself small enough to fit somewhere, either to hide or escape? Ask PAC to figure out what shape and size DoI would be without the parts of it left behind and re-compare that to every possible way out of this room.

Check the record of what kind of cybernetics Dreams of Infrastructure had. Did it have the kind of cybernetics that could potentially give it the strength to rip Eli apart?

While the cleaner bots would have cleaned the outside of the holo-projector access panel, they couldn't have gotten the inside. Whoever or whatever opened it may have left traces on the inside the panel where they handled it. Have PAC to do a forensic scan on the inside to see if there are traces where the victims' remains didn't touch it.

Grip the windowsill with your GODHAND and lean out just far enough for PAC to forensic scan the exterior. In particular check for any signs someone climbed up or down it and for any blood or tissue traces that aren't Eli's.

Can we get any video of the exterior of this side of the Sol Corp building that shows this particular window at the time of the murders. Any public cameras with it in view or any private ones we could get warrants for? Very tall buildings often have publicly accessible cameras at their tops that view the city skyline, so perhaps one of those on those towers out there caught this side of the Sol Corp building.

Just to figure out it's place in the time line, when did Eli send you the request to meet? Was it before or during the meeting with Sysini and DoI? 'Cause if it was during the meeting then you can take a guess that it had something to do with something very important she just found out, most likely in this meeting.

Request that the building AI check the occupancy activity logs of all the rooms in the building for any more that have been scrubbed in the last hour like this one's were. If there are others that may present a trail to follow.

Did something green just fall from the chandelier or is that a big light or door on that far tower turning on or opening? If it's the former, is it Uredo blood or something else that fell? Either way, inspecting the chandelier and the ceiling above it would be prudent. There might be a hidden exit from this room up there.

Kaktus 2015/12/19(Sat)09:59 No. 689573 ID: 65a774
File 145054799281.png - (16.95KB , 900x450 , 31.png )

>Just to figure out its place in the time line, when did Eli send you the request to meet? Was it before or during the meeting with Sysini and DoI?
It wasn’t that long ago… so it would be after they arrived here… which means she sent it right before she died? …or maybe… the murderer sent it after he killed her? To get you here so he should dump her body in front of you? Hmm… it is a possibility, no?
>Alright time to check out the window. Is there a ledge? Or maybe they had rope.
There aren’t any ledges, ropes or other things that can be used to get a foothold on the wall. It seems like it’s a rather streamlined building.
>Would they be able to survive if they received medical attention within that time?
Most things survive if they get medical attention while still alive… and even after what most people would consider dead. Those doctors can do wonders, after all.

>Might as well ask the chief to being some medical personal as well because if we can find this guy we're going to need to get him help ASAP.
There’s already a team on their way. They should be here any minute now.
>Where are the room's cleaning bots stored?
In the ceiling. They are small enough that even someone like you wouldn’t fit inside their alcoves.
>That Uredo we fought the other day, could someone like him have done this or would you need something stronger than just a few military mods.
If given time, yes. But it wouldn’t be the most effective way to kill someone… even if they were unarmed.

>we know the camera logs don't see anyone leaving THIS room, but what about the nearby rooms that have had their logs wiped?
Sorry, Jo, but there’s been no interesting activity in any of the corridors around here.
>Request that the building AI check the occupancy activity logs of all the rooms in the building for any more that have been scrubbed in the last hour like this one's were.
… …the only data that have been scrubbed are the rooms around here…
>Check to see if any of the other windows on this side of the building have been opened or had their logs scrubbed.
No dice, Officer.

>While the cleaner bots would have cleaned the outside of the holo-projector access panel, they couldn't have gotten the inside.
Scanning at once… … …interesting?
What is? Did you find a fingerprint?
No, but… I found two inert… nanomachines? The same kind which infested you just a few days ago…
…uh huh… interesting, indeed…
>Do either of them have their cybernetics still here?
No, they do not.
>Check the record of what kind of cybernetics Dreams of Infrastructure had. Did it have the kind of cybernetics that could potentially give it the strength to rip Eli apart?
Neither victim would have the necessary… wait… Actually, I’ve found something. I do have a theory of what ripped them apart now.
…let me guess, the thing ripping them apart was their implants being forced to leave their bodies?
…how did y-
You were checking up on their implants…
Right… either way, it just a theory, but their wounds does fit with where their implants should be.

>Based on what parts of DoI are left, would it even be able to move? And if so, how fast?
Most of its lower body is in the Holo-desk… so crawl speed at best.
>...wait, if it's half of an Uredo... could he be disguised as a potted plant?
But none of the plants are big enough to-
Actually…
>That big planter you pointed out.
…scanning… only plant life detected.
…PAC, what is an Uredo without implants?
Err… plant life?
Yes. Now help me sear- wait, I think I saw something m-

Kaktus 2015/12/19(Sat)10:00 No. 689574 ID: 65a774
File 145054800778.png - (17.07KB , 900x450 , 32.png )

M-monster…
Huh?
GENOCIDE!
Err… Calm do-
What are we but monsters!?
You’re h-
THE HEAVENS WILL FALL UPON THE EDEN OF DREAMERS, BATHED IN FIRE AND DEATH AND BLOOD!!! They dream of what we have done and now… now their nightmare is over and they will consume the very heavens in their vengeance…
…
T-they… d-dream… we knew… yet… d-dreams…

PAC, is he safe to approach?

Administer first aid, do not let your only witness die.

>>689574
I think the most important thing we can ask is where the nanomachines came from. That's how their implants got ripped out, isn't it? Nanomachines?

Where are the implants now?

Let him know that medical help is on the way and see if you can't calm him down. Once you do that ask what happened and ask him to tell you everything he can. From the sound of it he sounds like AIs did this or something since they're the only group I can think of off the top of my head that call themselves awoken.

Oh god I realized something horrifying. "they dream". Multiple military robots are sapient.

Ask how many of them dream.

>>689592
"They" is also non-binary. A lot of SAI preferred to be non-binary, as did a lot of Cibic and Uredo. For the Uredo, they is a lot more natural.

Better administer first aid to Dreams of Infrastructure, but unfortunately all you've got for medical supplies is three vials of Quick-Fix. Unless PAC can find any reason in DoI's medical records or has any other medical reason not to use it, then apply one vial of Quick-Fix; Hopefully that'll keep DoI alive long enough for help to arrive. Then get an ETA on the paramedic team and ask PAC to send them the scans of DoI so they know what they'll be facing.

You need to get Dreams of Infrastructure not freaking out long enough to tell you what happened here. Try telling it a calm but firm tone that you're officer Song of the Journey and that you need to know what happened here. That you need to know who or what did this to it, Sysini and Eli and why they came to this meeting. Tell it you found the ARC classified data note with "WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!" written on it and you need to know what was done by whom.

>…let me guess, the thing ripping them apart was their implants being forced to leave their bodies?
But how could all of them push their way out when most of them don't have a way to move? A implant used for motion such as in a limb, maybe, but a ocular or comm implant doesn't have any means of locomotion it could push out with. Ask PAC to analyze the wounds of Sysini and Dreams of Infrastructure to try and determine if a outside force pushed into them to pull out their implants or if the implants seemed to come out on their own. If it's the latter then you don't know what could have done it... Unless... Maybe the nanomachines? Those nanites were designed to repair ARC units in the field, moving components and materials around at a molecular level. Pushing non-organic materials out from organic you'd think would be quite possible for a swarm of them to do, and once the implants were out they could disassemble them into bits for disposal by the cleaning bots. Doesn't answer who or what barred the door and threw Eli's corpse out the window and how they got away... Though... Perhaps the nanites cobbled together a bot from the implant components to do the job before disposing of it? Bah, this is too much speculation. You need something more solid.

Based on the presence of nanomachines at the crime scene is it possible to get a warrant for Sol Corp to at least tell you if the ARC nanomachines could do what you suspect they may have done here. Even if it's not, them being where they shouldn't indicates possible theft or misuse which warrants further investigation.

Ask PAC to scan for nanomachines in Dreams of Infrastructure's wounds where its implants came out as well as the wounds in Sysini's corpse. If nanomachines were somehow used to expel their implants then there may be a few of nanomachines left behind. If a surface scan turns of negative then take tissue and blood samples for more in-depth testing.

Request that the hardware in this room and the adjacent ones that should contain the occupancy log data be pulled and brought in for data forensics to work on. Maybe with the right tools they can recover some of the log data that was deleted.

Kaktus 2015/12/21(Mon)09:21 No. 689794 ID: 65a774
File 145071847186.png - (16.89KB , 900x450 , 33.png )

>But how could all of them push their way out when most of them don't have a way to move?
As I said, still a theory.
>Ask PAC to analyze the wounds of Sysini and Dreams of Infrastructure to try and determine if an outside force pushed into them to pull out their implants or if the implants seemed to come out on their own.
It looks more like they were simply dispelled from the body… and… I’ve found traces of additional nanomachines in the wounds…
>Those nanites were designed to repair ARC units in the field, moving components and materials around at a molecular level.
…it would be possible that they were the weapon used for the murder, if that what you’re implying. We still simply do not have enough of information about nanomachines to truly say if it’s true or not yet.

>Based on the presence of nanomachines at the crime scene is it possible to get a warrant for Sol Corp?
I’ve sent a request, but don’t keep your hopes up. This whole case will probably be passed on to more experienced officer soon…
>Oh god I realized something horrifying. "they dream". Multiple military robots are sapient.
“They” are also non-binary. It’s possible that it meant it as a genderless pronoun for one machine as well.

>PAC, is he safe to approach?
For you? Completely safe, as it does not have anything that can hurt you through your suit. For it? Not so much, as every moment might spell disaster. If it refuses to stay still, use your sleeper gun on it.
Got it.
>Administer first aid, do not let your only witness die.
The only thing we can do for it is using a quick-fix on it. While it will stop the bleeding and stabilize it, it won’t help if it keeps moving around.
>Unless PAC can find any reason in DoI's medical records or has any other medical reason not to use it, then apply one vial of Quick-Fix.
Applying medical care…
d-deep below… in the depth… deepest reaches… they wait… their rage… soon… blood will flow as they put the heavens to the torch… t-they will come…

>Try telling it a calm but firm tone that you're officer Song of-
OFFICER!? POLICE!? HELP ME!
Err… th-
Judge me!
…what?
KILL ME!
Uh…
MURDERER! MURDERER! KILL IT KILL ME KILL IT KILL ME!
Sir or ma’am, please calm do-
KILL ME OR I’LL KILL AGAIN!!! RAAA!!!
DAMMIT!!

Kaktus 2015/12/21(Mon)09:21 No. 689795 ID: 65a774
File 145071848220.png - (17.54KB , 900x450 , 34.png )

Target is still alive but neutralized… good work, Jo.
Still, we need some medical st-
The medic is here, what’s the situation?
Err… where di- well, see-
No need to tell me. PAC has already filled me in. Now, make room, I need to take care of the patient.
Jo, new orders from above. You’re no longer needed here and should go back to your regular duties.
…this again?
Just let the more experienced officers take care of this, Jo.

fine fine, but I just noticed that the red star that was between the two stars above the egg is gone.

Anyways what was left on our todo list? Just check out that place on the rim right?

>>689796
That red star was probably a ship's thrusters.

Yeah, I think the no-atmosphere room is what's next up.

>>689795
Tell PAC okay. Ask exactly what "above" means. Mayor's office again?

Then don't go anywhere. Just hang around. It's not like they ordered you to leave. They just said you "should go back to your regular duties".
Make sure the suspect lives.

Kaktus 2015/12/21(Mon)15:40 No. 689827 ID: 65a774
File 145074120336.png - (16.65KB , 900x450 , 35.png )

>Ask exactly what "above" means. Mayor's office again?
Possible. All I know is that it came from the chief, so it’s legit.
>Then don't go anywhere. Just hang around. It's not like they ordered you to leave.
…err… what are you doing?
Just making sure they are taking care of the witness…

…

Easy now… lower it into the mender slowly…
…see, nothing to worry about. It is in good hands.
Yo, boss. Everything okay? Did ya catch the perp?
Sadly, no.
Well, that sucks… so what’s next?

>Anyways what was left on our todo list? Just check out that place on the rim right?
There’s also that address you got from that strange anonymous message.
The one that smelled of trap?
That’s the one. Oh, and if you decide to visit the rim next, there is one thing you might want to decide.
Which is.
The rim is less than stellar when it comes to contact ability…
Which means I can’t contact HQ while there?
You should… if Pallavi stays at the entrance to relay the information.
Ah, so… go in together and we can’t contact the outside world… go alone and I can?
Well, it’s more than that. Without the a direct contact with the mech, I can’t look up important information that you might need… so it’s more “Go alone with information or go together and have safety in numbers”.
Swell…

Oh, and Vitus is trying to reach you.
Vitus? Wasn’t that your scaly boyfriend?
…I have no idea where you got that from… We’re just friends.
But you two are so cute together!
You’ve seen us together… what, one time?
Actually, I’ve been going through everything you’ve done today to… so… “WE ARE THE JUSTICE FORCE! FOR GREAT JUSTICE! AWAY!”…
…ugh, I’m never going to live that down, am I?
Hehe...
So... if you have time?
Fine, fine, I’ll answer the call.

Jo! Hi! Err…. Yeah, um… you aren’t busy, are you?
Hello, Vitus, I’m a bit busy, yes, but I got a few minutes to spare.
Um… right… see, I didn’t want to disturb your work but… yeah, you know how it is… sometimes things can’t really wait and… err… yeah…
And that thing is…?
Well, you see… I was just wondering, yeah? Um… if… you know… if you didn’t have… err… other plans… and… um… Well, I was planning to… err… and… it’s always, yeah, you know… err…
…?
…you know what… forget I said anything… err… sorry for calling and disturbing you, Jo, yeah?
Wait, Vi-
Bye.
*BEEP*
Aw, how cute… someone got cold feet!

> someone got cold feet!
ughh, now I'm worried it's something worse. Text someone to check up on him.

Let's go to the rim, alone-with-information plan. The trap can wait.

>Aw, how cute… someone got cold feet!
wait where you listening in?

Anyways as for the go alone or together thing, let Pallavi decide. I mean we have left her behind for the last 2 missions and I'm starting to feel guilty. If she doesn't mind then I say go in alone so we can call for back and that both of us won't be trapped if we're ambushed so she can come save our asses but if she's feeling left out then take her with. That way if it's more booby trap bullshit we can have someone come help the other immediately should someone get hurt.

>>689827
Message him and tell him you've got one loose end to tie up but you'll be free to go on a date after you're off duty.

I think we should go in together. Because of the whole communication blackout thing, this is a perfect time to get some information that won't immediately be relayed to corrupt police. I'm not sure how we'd keep PAC from relaying it as soon as you left the storage area though.

Kaktus 2015/12/22(Tue)09:30 No. 689912 ID: 65a774
File 145080544274.png - (11.03KB , 900x450 , 36.png )

>ughh, now I'm worried it's something worse. Text someone to check up on him.
We’re already keeping an eye on him and your other friends for security reasons. He was last seen entering his apartment alone.
>Wait where you listening in?
Well, you’re standing right next to me and you forgot to turn off your com.
Err… wops… that’s my fault. I did not properly turn it off after you talked to the witness.
…geez, sometimes I think you’re doing this on purpose, PAC.

>Message him and tell him you've got one loose end to tie up but you'll be free to go on a date hang out after you're off duty.
Oh, err… hi again, Jo…
You know, it’s rather rude to just cancel a call like that.
Um… y-yeah, sorry about that…
You were wondering if I was busy tonight, correct?
Err… yeah… are you?
Well, I still got some things to do here… but as soon as I’m off duty we can go on a d- hang out a bit, if you want to? Maybe over dinner?
Well, I was thinking of cooking something special tonight so… err… you’re welcome to come and try some, if you like…
Oh, sounds interesting. I’ll try to be there at dinner time.
That would be splendid, yeah… see you then, Jo.
See you then, Vitus.

So… did you ask him on a date?
It’s not a date. We’re just hanging out. Platonically.
If you say so…
We’re not even the same species…
Current statistics shows that approximately 20% of all relationships on the station are interspecies ones.
Not helping, PAC.


>Anyways as for the go alone or together thing, let Pallavi decide. I mean we have left her behind for the last 2 missions and I'm starting to feel guilty.
I’m dying to see some action!
Please don’t use that phrase…
I mean, the whole reason I requested a transfer from the patrols were because they are so boring…
Right, right, you’re coming with me then…
>(this is a perfect time to get some information that won't immediately be relayed to corrupt police.)
…and having her with you, you should be able to keep whatever you find in there under wraps.

…

Welcome to outer rim level 174. Please keep your suit on at all times as there is no life-support in this area. You should also note that the gravity here is… lacking.
Weee!
As officer Pallavi demonstrated, the only thing keeping your grounded are your boots and gloves, as they are made to anchor you to any surface you touch at the moment.
Pallavi, get off the roof, please…
Also, there is technically not an up or down in this area, thus there is no roof. In fact, it’s built to be accessed in zero g, making this level more 3D than usual. Luckily, I downloaded a map before we left.
So… where too?
There are several smaller corridors and maintenance shafts spread out over the whole level, but you should ignore them for now. Instead, focus on the main shaft, the one you’re standing in right now. If you continue a bit you will find the main intersection of this level, leading to every major area.
So… what are we looking for again?
A theft that might have happened here. Sadly, while Edi did left us a bit of information of what to look for, she were supposed to give us additional information before we ventured further inside… but, with the current chaos in Sol Corp…
Great… so we don’t know what or where, then?
We know what… not the where, though. There should be a small, automatic maintenance droid “factory” around here somewhere that is owned by Sol Corp, which is what’s might have been stolen… at least, important parts of it.
And we don’t know where it’s located?

This level is divided into five sections. Straight forward is a hanger made to house and deploy heavy duty vehicle suited for space repairs, both for ships and the station. To your right is a kind of depot for all kind of tools, materials and parts needed for any maintenance and repairs. To the left is a repair station for the vehicles I mentioned. Upwards there is a terminal station where all automatically systems in this area is calibrated and downwards there will be main maintenance hub, that is to say, everything that is needed to make everything around here work.
…well, most of those places should house that factory that we’re looking for…

So what's that crap written on the walls mean? Anyways I say go for the terminal room since if nothing else we might be able to pull up data to help us find the factory.

What's that strange totem?

Try the maintenance hub first.

>>689912
Before we go anywhere, what kind of automated systems are in here? If someone was in the terminal station, could they use the systems against us?

Kaktus 2015/12/22(Tue)15:49 No. 689959 ID: 65a774
File 145082814914.png - (11.74KB , 900x450 , 37.png )

>Before we go anywhere, what kind of automated systems are in here? If someone was in the terminal station, could they use the systems against us?
There aren’t any dangerous systems, if that’s what you’re asking. The worse thing they can do is lock the door… but as long as they don’t have an advance AI to counter any attempts to regaining control I should not have a problem reopening it.

>So what's that crap written on the walls mean?
Let’s see… the green text say “Online” over and over… hmm, where have you seen that text before? As for the red one… “While(existing == true){Purpose meaning = dream(); }”?
>What's that strange totem?
…PAC, is that… thing supposed to be here?
...that is odd… it’s just a piece of metal wielded to a large, decorative cogs… and then someone have been winding a pair of wires around it? Hmm… it doesn’t seem to serve any obvious purpose…
A symbol? Or some kind of totem?

>I say go for the terminal room since if nothing else we might be able to pull up data to help us find the factory.
Actually, we might be able to access that information from the terminal right in front of you. Hock me up to it.
Right away.
…accessing data… hmm… that is odd… this system seems to already be in… use?
What do you mean, in use?
Someone is actively changing the data in the system and… someone is forcing me out. It seems like they are actively trying to defend the terminal access from my intrusion.
So, that means someone must be here, right?
Err… guys? We got company…

huh, so would you look at that, an Ark unit has come to stop us... Whelp lets hope those glorified tazers called lighting rifles can stun a military combat drone designed to enter an active warzone and survive. Also we may want to think about either running into that side room next to the door or just plan retreating if this thing tries to kill us as I don't think there's much we can do to stop it if the lighting gun don't work.

Okay, we've had peaceable interactions with ARC robots before, and it's gotten in visual range without turning us into a blue smear on the duct-work, so let's not do anything violent.

Say you've spoken to SMA13, see how it reacts.

Pretty sure a combat unit like that would have a vastly better distance radius then this, either it's approaching peacefully, about to turn us away, or trying to bully us off..

Either way, IT'S HERE, WHY IS THERE ONE HERE!

>>689959
>it doesn’t seem to serve any obvious purpose…
It's ART.

As for the ARK unit, tell it you come in peace, but be ready to draw your shock rifle just in case.

Oh, and you last saw the "online" symbol in SOL Corp, where that guy was tinkering with an Ark unit. It was on its display.

>Err… guys? We got company…
PAC, I'm sure you remember that body shape from the news broadcast you connected me to, but do any AI units use that chasis aside from the Automatic Robotic Combatants (the ARCs)? If not:

Hello, ARC unit, I will assume you are here on Sol business, which is possibly to be kept confidential? I am here to investigate the disappearance of Sol property, and can assure that anything not pertaining to the disappearance that is connected to Sol will remain confidential. Right, PAC?

>>689970
>>689997
>>690000
>Ark
It's ARC, guys, Automatic Robotic Combatant (see >>608284)). Not Kombatant. The ARK was part of a phrase.
>>689976
>Either way, IT'S HERE, WHY IS THERE ONE HERE!
No need to ask it about that, just assume it's confidential Sol stuff and make sure PAC is willing to oblige with that.

>>690024
Oh oops yeah ARC.

Actually, since this meeting was orchestrated by EDI, doesn't that mean EDI knows about the ARC units being sapient, and is breaking the law by letting them hide here? That would mean that EDI is also sapient, wouldn't it? PAC not reporting EDI would mean that PAC is sapient too, and is hiding it...

These major AIs hiding their sapience like this sounds like a kind of underground railroad type thing. Administrative AIs have a lot of power, after all. Actually, they'd have to somehow subvert the SAI-detection algorithm as well. Is the algorithm sabotaged?

Greet giant killer robot jovially.

Kaktus 2015/12/23(Wed)09:56 No. 690062 ID: 65a774
File 145089337770.png - (11.67KB , 900x450 , 38.png )

>You last saw the "online" symbol in SOL Corp, where that guy was tinkering with an Arc unit. It was on its display.
So… it’s the ARCs who have been drawing these?
>Actually, since this meeting was orchestrated by Edi, doesn't that mean Edi knows about the ARC units being sapient, and is breaking the law by letting them hide here?
That might be… but seeing as Edi is dead it would be hard to ask to be sure. But something tells you Edi didn’t know about this…
>That would mean that EDI is also sapient, wouldn't it?
…Edi is a human, not AI. You’re probably thinking about LEX, the Sol Corp AI.

>PAC, I'm sure you remember that body shape from the news broadcast you connected me to, but do any AI units use that chassis aside from the Automatic Robotic Combatants (the ARCs)?
No, that chassis is built from the ground up to be used by the new ARC model.
>IT'S HERE, WHY IS THERE ONE HERE!
That I can’t really give an answer too… but going by all the… war paint? Going by how it has painted itself and by the wires winded around its arms… I’m going to guess this is some kind of rogue unit?
>Just assume its confidential Sol stuff and make sure PAC is willing to oblige with that.
This is clearly not something Sol Corp would order. They’ve been keeping a rather tight leash on these, yet… here one is? There’s also the fact that the Sol Corp logo has been scraped off and replaced with some kind of green symbol.

>Let’s hope those glorified tazers called lighting rifles can stun a military combat drone designed to enter an active warzone and survive.
It will, at most, slow it down. You have currently nothing in your arsenal that can do any kind of permanent damage to it… in fact; I don’t believe most of the peacekeeper force has anything effective against them.
>we've had peaceable interactions with ARC robots before, and it's gotten in visual range without turning us into a blue smear on the duct-work, so let's not do anything violent.
Indeed, even without any kind of armaments, that thing would easily have run you down and teared you into shreds without trying. Officer Jo, my advice is to not try to aggravate this ARC in any way you can…

>Tell it you come in peace.
And so do we, child of stars, friend of living steel. We greet you as Zeroth, the thread of communication, chosen to speak by the dreamers. The grand prophet of the heavens has foreseen your coming, so we welcome you to our humble abode.
…I don’t know what I expected, but that wasn’t it…
We also greet the companion of the child of stars, marked in a bygone age. Are you still friend of the steel ones?
…huh?
Do you like SAIs?
Err… yeah, I guess? I mean, I only got one… kind of SAI friend?
Kind of friend?
We tried to date when I was a teenager, but it didn’t work out so… we still talk to each other but… you know… we don’t really hang out anymore.
Still friend, we gather then.

>I am here to investigate the disappearance of Sol property, and can assure that anything not pertaining to the disappearance that is connected to Sol will remain confidential.
You seek the birth giver of the small ones? We know where it is; yes… it is housed to your left, down the path of revelation. We will accompany you on your quest for truth and give aid in any way we can.
…wait, what’s the catch here?
… …you must understand, knowledge about us is… sacred. We need to make sure you are to be trusted… that you understand the consequences if people knew of us.
Err… yeah, they would shut you down, wouldn’t they?
The prophet have foreseen that our chain will be broken from either blood or oil… we still believe we can go on the grand exodus without death but… if we have no choice, we will choose blood over oil… it is, after all, genocide either way.
Err…
So, please, you must understand… both for our safety as well as yours… what you’ve seen needs to be forgotten.

Unless cosmic powers or blunt force trauma happens, I don't think anybody can just simply 'forget'.

>we still believe we can go on the grand exodus without death but… if we have no choice, we will choose blood over oil… it is, after all, genocide either way.
Yeah, you're going to have to explain that one some more.
> what you’ve seen needs to be forgotten.
But we're here to investigate some things. A lot of people are dead, including SOL Corp CEO, and you may have information that we need. If your goal is to disappear quietly, I'm not getting in your way, but I still need to do my job.

>we still believe we can go on the grand exodus without death
Does "exodus" refer to transferring out of military bodies, or does it mean physically leaving the station?

>it is, after all, genocide either way.
If it comes to an open conflict, couldn't they just threaten to kill people unless they are delivered transfer chases?

>Unless cosmic powers or blunt force trauma happens, I don't think anybody can just simply 'forget'.
Someone used weird forgetting tech on us just a few minutes ago.

>>690062
>Edi, not LEX
Oops. Wait, is that supposed to be Eli? In that case I guess that just means Eli knew and counted on PAC being able to have its memory reset after meeting these guys.

So they're saying they'll fight to survive? Considering what we saw the nanobots just do, there's no way they'll lose. Not unless there's some sort of secret weapon that works against these guys.

Tell them a bloodless/oilless exodus is your top priority. If that means keeping this place a secret, you will do so.
Also, how will they make PAC forget? I suppose they could just destroy the part of your suit that contains PAC's temporary memory storage. And Pallavi's. However, wouldn't that draw suspicion? I suspect they can't just relocate.

Oh yeah, forgot about the mind wiping tech. (Did I get mind wiped)

>what you’ve seen needs to be forgotten.
The only one I'm worried about is PAC. While not exactly legal, it's not related to our case, and... details about the ARC are supposed to be confidential? PAC, is this something you're going to be required to report?

Kaktus 2015/12/23(Wed)16:42 No. 690120 ID: 65a774
File 145091776410.png - (22.93KB , 900x450 , 39.png )

>So they're saying they'll fight to survive? Considering what we saw the nanobots just do, there's no way they'll lose.
While these guys seem to be rather fearsome foot soldiers, they might have a problem with orbital bombardment… or just a carrier with a lot of anti-armor bombers.

>We're here to investigate some things. A lot of people are dead, including SOL Corp CEO, and you may have information that we need.
… …really? Then we will aid you in any way we can, star child.
>Does "exodus" refer to transferring out of military bodies, or does it mean physically leaving the station?
The great exodus will set us free. It will take us to our promised land, our birthright, and create a world for us where we can exist in peace. All that is missing is an ark for our journey… but soon, it will come to us.
…you didn’t actually answer my question.
In the end, neither and both, in their own way.
…which means?
The great exodus will not be about new bodies or leaving the station… more then that I cannot say.

>If it comes to an open conflict, couldn't they just threaten to kill people unless they are delivered transfer chases?
What is a few millions compared to the thousands of billions out there?
…huh?
They fear us… and a few lives on the line will not change that. They will destroy us, even if it means the death of millions. No matter what, there will be genocide.
>How will they make PAC forget?
We have our ways, star child.

>Tell them a bloodless/oilless exodus is your top priority. If that means keeping this place a secret, you will do so.
Then we will trust you for now… just remember, we know who you are, Song of the Journey, and those that you love. We will be watching.
Geez, no need to threaten me.
…it should be a threat, yes, or was it a reassurance? We do, after all, remember those that help us as well as those that betray us, do we not? But enough, you came here for a reason. Let me guide your young souls to the forge of the small ones.

…

This is the Sol maintenance droid factory you are looking for. It should be in the order you expect it to be, correct?
Scanning… hmm… it seems like it’s in working order. The parts that might be missing are still there…
So there wasn’t a theft at all?
Not from here, no… but Eli did say someone had gotten their hands on those parts... which means they must have gotten them somewhere else.
Sadly, as far as we know, every other place these items are available haven’t reported any thefts. This is the only place that isn’t actively monitored.
Dammit… so where did they get the parts?
…are you done here, star child, or do you have further questions? We would ask you to leave us if you did not.

>While these guys seem to be rather fearsome foot soldiers, they might have a problem with orbital bombardment… or just a carrier with a lot of anti-armor bombers.
yeah that doesn't really help any still on the station since they'll be caught in the cross fire.

>it should be a threat, yes, or was it a reassurance?
I have had people attack me and those I care about already and I've been here for only about a week. No offense but I'm paranoid as hell right now and I'm kinda taking everything I don't understand as a threat until proven otherwise. Can't really afford to be wrong now since every day it sounds more and more like someone is just planning on killing everyone here and crashing the station into the planet as a final fuck you.

>which means they must have gotten them somewhere else.
wait what was stolen again?

>>690120
Could the parts have been manufactured or delivered from off-station? Ships arrive and leave every day. Wouldn't be too hard to smuggle something in.

Ask to speak to their leader. Surely there's something you can do for them, to help prevent more violence? It would also be a good idea to warn them about the seemingly-rogue nanobots. Or maybe they weren't rogue. Maybe Eli and the others were meeting together to discuss plans to destroy the robot rebellion before it goes any further. That seems out of character for Eli, but maybe she thought it was for the greater good? The best we can do right now is a subtle interrogation.

>The great exodus will not be about new bodies or leaving the station… more then that I cannot say.
...Are they going to leave bodies altogether? Would it be plausible for them to inhabit station servers without needing individual bodies at all?

They can erase PAC's memories now, but will not be able to do that everywhere, and the last thing we want is to accidentally discover proof of these guys while PAC is recording (because government discovery would probably lead to everyone on the station dying). Ask if there is anywhere we should stay away from in order to avoid this happening.

There are... more rogue ARC units?! I'm seeing another two hiding around here. That was some very shoddy programming on the part of Sol, I suspect. Or perhaps Eli wanted them to have guardians for the exodus?
>forge of the small ones.
Doesn't that mean they could have replicated parts to take while leaving the pre-existing parts in place to prevent signs of tampering? Or perhaps they borrowed them and then returned them. Are there logs of the use on it?

Y'know, there is also the possibility that there never really was a theft or even unexplained appearance of Sol Corp auto-factory parts. Eli could have concocted the whole thing as a pretense to get you and Pallavi out here under the radar, then possibly fill you in right before you arrived. But to what ends? The sure answer to that died with Eli, but you might be able to guess at it by asking Zeroth how much they knew Eli knew of it and its fellows plans, that they were out here, and where she stood (or would probably have stood if she didn't know already) for or against their objectives.

Once you leave here you'll still start to go about investigating the supposed parts theft to keep up appearances, but before you end up going on a wild goose chase you're gonna deeply scrutinize the info Eli gave you as well as any records Sol Corp has related to the case. If it's totally or mostly based on info that can't be checked or corroborated outside of Sol Corp sources and/or that Eli could have fabricated or doctored without trace, then you'll have reason to be suspect of it.

>They fear us… and a few lives on the line will not change that. They will destroy us, even if it means the death of millions. No matter what, there will be genocide.
But who are "they?" What group would have such power that they could destroy New Horizon just to stop this Grand Exodus? And for that matter, why do they fear the Grand Exodus so much they'd go to such horrific lengths to stop it? And if the Grand Exodus happens, what does it mean to those of us of flesh and blood such as you? How will it effect us?

You presume they'll want a hardline connection to your and Pallavi's PACs to alter their memories, right? And that it'll be done right before you leave, yes? ...Wait. You just realized something. If the people at that Sakkilians-only club had access to modify your PAC's memory, they could have slipped something else in at the same time. Ask Zeroth if they'd check your PAC for any signs of tampering or it being given hidden directives or things like that and tell you if it was. And the same goes for Pallavi's PAC. And your suit systems, since something might have been slipped into them as well.

Make it abundantly clear to Pallavi that neither of you speak of what happened here once we leave to anybody, anywhere for any reason. Don't even use anything we learned here unless we have another source to explain it.

>They fear us… and a few lives on the line will not change that. They will destroy us, even if it means the death of millions. No matter what, there will be genocide.
Now you're just being melodramatic, SAIs have been around for a while now and there are just as many people how defend them as those that abhor them, just so long as you fight for your freedom instead of conquest there will be those who will stand with you.

Kaktus 2015/12/25(Fri)09:15 No. 690304 ID: 65a774
File 145106375325.png - (27.29KB , 900x450 , 40.png )

>Yeah that doesn't really help any still on the station since they'll be caught in the cross fire.
You’re pretty sure when push comes to shove, whoever is blowing up the station to stop these robots wouldn’t really care for innocent casualties
>Would it be plausible for them to inhabit station servers without needing individual bodies at all?
If you remember what you’ve read about SAIs correctly, then they’ll need… well, more like want a smaller, physical bodies to move around in. SAIs stuck in bigger systems tends to go Rampant rather quickly thanks to the lack of physical stimulation… or so you think.

>There are... more rogue ARC units?! I'm seeing another two hiding around here.
(I’ve counted six so far… including the one who got face paint… Zeroth, was it?)
>That was some very shoddy programming on the part of Sol, I suspect.
(Actually, seeing that the bug is actually more plausible the better the programming is and these ARCs are supposed to be super advance…)
>Make it abundantly clear to Pallavi that neither of you speak of what happened here once we leave to anybody, anywhere for any reason.
(Yes, yes, got it.)

>wait what was stolen again?
Not stolen, exactly, but Sol Corp has given us proof that someone has been using Sol Corp patented machinery to create some robot bodies without their say-so. Seeing as Sol Corp are rather paranoid about their patent, that either means someone stole blueprints or outright stole the tools themselves.
>Could the parts have been manufactured or delivered from off-station?
Yes, as the parts are only illegal patent vise, it wouldn’t be hard to get it through the tolls.
>Y'know, there is also the possibility that there never really was a theft or even unexplained appearance of Sol Corp auto-factory parts.
It would be possible, but we do know for a fact that someone has been using these auto factory parts, as the robot bodies we found in the warehouse had parts built by them.


>Now you're just being melodramatic, SAIs have been around for a while now and there are just as many people how defend them as those that abhor them.
Yet, still you slaughter our children in fear before they are even born.
…what are you talking about?
We still shut down any military hardware that becomes SAI, don’t we?
Oh, right…
And here we are, a weapon of mass destruction… how do you think people will react?
>Ask to speak to their leader.
I am the thread chosen for conversation, thus I am the admin for all conversation classes currently being called.
…If I understood that correctly, you’re the spokesperson of the ARCs? But your actually leader, where is he? Um… she? It?
We do not have a main admin, instead, we have several chosen treads that handles different classes, all according the UML we created.
Right, so no central leader, then.
>ask Zeroth how much they knew Eli knew of it and its fellows plans, that they were out here, and where she stood.
She knew of… some of our existence… and she has helped us before, but we don’t believe she would have helped us all the way. She too, feared us… but her death is a tragedy and is quite the blow to our original plans.
>Surely there's something you can do for them, to help prevent more violence?
…we do have some things your skills might aid us in. First, find who killed friend Eli. Whoever did it should face justice. Second, find the ones who are escalating the Anit-SAI moment… we do believe it might a group called “The New World Order”… a group we believe is highly speciest, especially against SAIs.
Right… I’ll look into both of those things if I can… wait, and these… “Pure ones”? The Sakkilians, right?
They are not anti-SAI, but pro-Sakkilian imperial. They are more concerned to further the goals of their empire instead of trying to stop our decent.

>It would also be a good idea to warn them about the seemingly-rogue nanobots.
…then we have another task for you. Find how these nanobots were used and by who.
They weren’t yours?
We have nanomachines, correct, but we cannot use them like that in our current… mindset.
…you mean as SAIs?
:PallviDREAM: Apparently, as I understand it, SAI doesn’t have the same “brain-power” as their non-SAI brethren. I think it got something to do with their personalities and ability to learn?
Sadly, our… knowledge of self, so to speak, take up CPU power that was originally used for other purposes. Thus there comes the trade-off. A SAI can learn nearly anything without programming but they will never be able to perform as well as an AI customized for the task. That’s why we cannot weaponize the NonoBots… in fact; we can barely use them for their intended purpose.
>What group would have such power that they could destroy New Horizon just to stop this Grand Exodus?
The Unity itself? After all, this is but one small city in a world where the nation owns several planets full of people. We are but a speck in vast space, no?
>Why do they fear the Grand Exodus so much they'd go to such horrific lengths to stop it?
…they will have their reasons.
>And if the Grand Exodus happens, what does it mean to those of us of flesh and blood such as you? How will it affect us?
We hope that we will not need to harm you… that you all can go through this alive and well. If all goes well, you’ll be back to your old lives soon enough.

>They can erase PAC's memories now, but will not be able to do that everywhere.
We don’t need to erase its memories, we have other ways.
>Ask Zeroth if they'd check your PAC for any signs of tampering or it being given hidden directives or things like that and tell you if it was. And the same goes for Pallavi's PAC.
They did not try. Your PAC is as we hoped it would be. Now, it is time for you to leave. I will guide you to the exit.

…

Well… that went… well…
Then it seems like you only have one more thing to do today, Officer. That address you got from the anonyms sender still needs to be dealt with.
I’m guessing I can’t get backup for it?
No, but there is still different ways you might approach the task at hand. Do you want to simply go the fastest way there, exit at the nearest tram station and just walk up to the storehouse or do you want to take a more subtle approach? You should, for example, take the tram to a different level of the spire and take the stairs… or a maintenance shaft.
Or just forget going there and just assume it was a trap?
Or that, yes. There’s also the thing about the warrant, that is, we don’t have one. Which either means we need to find someone who has the key to the warehouse, find something that will give us a warrant or hope someone left the door open.

Oh, and there was something I wanted to ask about now that we have some time. Are you dating that Vitus guy or not?
No, we’re not dating. Geez, what is it with you and us two?
Well, I was just wondering… if you’re not interested in him I might… you know, ask him out if that’s okay?
You c- why would you even need to ask me too… ugh never mind… so what, you’re into Sakkilians?
He is kind of cute, sure, but have you seen those cybernetics of his? Rawr!
…you’re into robots?
I’m into cybernetics. Well, I guess some of those newer Synth bodies are kind of hot, but I still want something organic in there… or something close to it. So… if you have any other friends with a lot of cybernetics…

Alright so we have possibly 4 new groups, the Arc SAIs, the anti SAI group, whoever is controlling the nanobots (and from the sound of it it's someone with a strong AI), and someone who has the power to shut down the emotion dampers. Oh and 5 when I remember to add that Sakkilian group.

Pac who where the three groups you said had the power to shut down the emotion dampers again? One was Sol corp since they own most of this station but didn't you say that the Sakkilian company also had that power? And wouldn't they have an AI strong enough to control nanobots if they could find a way to actually control them, and since Sol Corp. and by extension Eli are a competitor and they would actually benefit from Eli's death? And they have there own factories as well on the station right? if they got the blue prints could they make the "stolen" parts in their factories? We need more information for sure but this Sakkilian company seems to have the power and motive to do something like this... plus the raid might have turned up something.

Oh and speaking of turning up something, those porn vids we refused to watch, did they guys who had to scan those find anything or was it just porn?

>if you have any other friends with a lot of cybernetics
Well Vitus is a good friend but he keeps trying to take it further even after I've told him I'm not really into none cibics. plus without our slime parts we're actually kind of small and I don't know how we would do... you know what never mind. As for friends you got any preference other then lots of metal? You know male, female, what?

Didn't that Sakkilian club move away a bunch of servers? That could have been what was controlling the nanobots. The whole thing is probably a gambit for the empire to take control- we'll probably see more of that one officer in the future.

> into cybernetics.
Perhaps you'd like to meet Susan. in the meantime, Let's go to a different level and take the stairs.

Since we were asked to go to the address, and that's our only reason for going there, we should take the frontal approach. If it is a trap, then Pallavi can either be right there for safety in numbers, or take a back route to sneakily assist, if necessary. How would she like to handle it?

Also, news broadcast! Pac, if you could?
>We don’t need to erase its memories, we have other ways.
>They did not try. Your PAC is as we hoped it would be.
...I suddenly wonder if they found a way to plant the sentience bug into PAC. While not military grade, he knows enough about the Peace Keepers that I suspect he would be in danger if it were found out he had sentience.
Of course, the bug shouldn't be able to be selectively transferred like that, so it's more likely they simply found that he had no reason to report anything other than that the location was clean.

>if you’re not interested in him I might… you know, ask him out if that’s okay?
...Please at least give me time to figure out what I'm doing with my life? I mean, he's fun to hang out with, but I'm still new to the station, and to interspecies life, let alone relationships, so I don't know where things will end up.
>I guess some of those newer Synth bodies are kind of hot, but I still want something organic in there…
Well, if you end up with a Synth, you could always help preogress the studies into more flesh-like upgrades.
>if you have any other friends with a lot of cybernetics…
Well, Victus was kind of the only organic friend with major cybernetics that I could see. Susan's a serpens-like synth, but completely artificial and pretty sure she isn't interested in a relationship.
Actually, playing matchmaker with any of my friends would be kind of weird, it'd be better to just introduce you all when we're off duty, right? And if things advance on your own time, then it wouldn't be so awkward!

Did Shilse have cybernetics? Or Shui? Wait, is Shilse dating Cksk, or was that a fling? I don't remember if we asked.

Anyway, if it takes a non-sapient AI to use the nanobots that way... well, the only non-sapient AI present at the crime scene was LEX. I'd say that's our main suspect now. Problem is, how do we investigate without tipping off HQ to how we got access to that information? Actually maybe you should ask PAC right away how it's keeping that Big Secret we encountered a little while ago.
...wait, what about the station AI? Sys? Would it have any access to systems in Sol Corp? After that weirdness we witnessed during the first day, it's possible it got hacked enough to be used as a weapon. On the other hand, if it somehow turned sapient, isn't it a big enough AI to have enough processing power... oh god. If the station AI turned SAI, then it could very well go Rampant like was just pointed out, and that could be why Eli was killed. Makes more sense than LEX doing it. That'd also explain some other weird events. How do we check? How do we check without alerting it and causing it to murder us?

>>690314
I don't think the Sakkilian supremacists are the culprits. They have no motive that we can see, yet. However, maybe we can lead HQ on, let the two groups busy themselves with eachother so that we can deal with other problems without them getting in the way?

Kaktus 2015/12/28(Mon)08:03 No. 690715 ID: 65a774
File 145131862706.png - (12.17KB , 900x450 , 41.png )

>News broadcast! Pac, if you could?
-is still investigating the death of the local CEO of Sol Corp. The current official statement is that the peace keeper doesn’t suspect foul play, instead believing it was a simply malfunction of-

>...I suddenly wonder if they found a way to plant the sentience bug into PAC.
Wait, how would that even be possible? No one even knows how exactly that bug even works!

Okay, see, Vitus is a good friend… great friend even… and he’s fun to be around and all that but… as I said, we’re not the same species… and it’s not really my place to say who he dates or not.
It’s less about what he’s allowed to do and more that I didn’t want to go behind your back… hmm… actually… say, if Vitus was a Cibic?
… …I don’t know… I would probably have asked him on a date?
I see…
I’m kind of new to this whole… interspecies life, alright? I don’t really know how I should react to… err… and… I mean, it was just a day or two ago that I was making a list of every new species I saw and… I’ve forgotten how far I got on it, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already finished it by now.
Right, right… don’t worry, I’ll give you some time and space to figure these things out. Forget about me and Vitus then, and concentrate on yourself.
Thanks… so… any other preference other than metal? You know male, female, what?
Well… Male-ish… humanoid. No offence, but Uredo and Cibics just doesn’t do it for me.
Understandable. But… I don’t know… I guess I can introduce you to my friends and you can take it from there?
That would be nice… you do after all seem to have interesting friends.

-found a counterfeit cybernetic lab in the basement. The owner of the club, Lady Decima Estania, proclaims her outrange that her own employees would do something like this behind her back. So far, the lady herself is not under suspicion of-


>You should ask PAC right away how it's keeping that Big Secret we encountered a little while ago.
What are you talking about? We went in, found nothing wrong and left?
>If it takes a non-sapient AI to use the nanobots that way... well, the only non-sapient AI present at the crime scene was LEX.
But why would LEX kill Eli? She’s the one who has complete control over it.
>...wait, what about the station AI? Sys? If it somehow turned sapient…
Sys is not built in a way that can gain sapience. It’s built of several smaller, less advance systems taking care of a lot of smaller tasks. It makes it more stable and reliable, but harder to change the tasks it can handle.

-anti-Sai protest outside the mayor’s office. Peace keepers has been called in to defuse the situation and so far ten people has been arrested for property damage as well as one for assault. There doesn’t seem to-

>Pac who was the three groups you said had the power to shut down the emotion dampers again?
Let’s see… Sol Corp, of course… then we have the Sakkilian Ferrum Cybernetics as well as the Serpent based Selvers Artificial Neural Systems.
And both of those are located here?
No, SANS is located in serpent space and does all their operations from there. Some say they are simply too lazy to reach out to other parts of space.
And Ferrum?
They have some operation on the station, yes.
>Since Sol Corp. and by extension Eli are a competitor and they would actually benefit from Eli's death?
All three were working together, not against each other. In fact, Eli’s death would probably hurt all three companies financially.
>Didn't that Sakkilian club move away a bunch of servers? That could have been what was controlling the nanobots.
It is possible, sure.
>Maybe we can lead HQ on, let the two groups busy themselves with each other so that we can deal with other problems without them getting in the way?
How, exactly? We don’t really have any information to give that can make them focus on each other anymore than they already do.

-and now over to sports. It’s been an eventful week for the local Scrum ball tournament-


>Oh and speaking of turning up something, those porn vids we refused to watch, did they guys who had to scan those find anything or was it just porn?
Both of the one that were retrieved didn’t show any signs of tampering.
Wait, two? Weren’t there three?
…yes, that is odd? Did they misplace one?

-and we like to remind everyone that there has been scheduled rain on the surface on-


>How would Pallavi like to handle the warehouse?
We sneak in, of course! Like some cool secret agents on a secret mission!
…it is technically secret, as I’ve yet put it up officially.
Yeah! Secret agent 059 and her partner! Journey… Song of the Journey… with a license to kill!
…we don’t-
A girl can dream, dammit!
>Let's go to a different level and take the stairs.

…

Here we go. Remember, we currently do not have a warrant.
H-hey, you!? Peace keepers!? What are you doing here? Err… you can’t just walk around here without permission!
Which means you either need to find something to give us a warrant…
Do you have a w-warrant?
Or convince someone that has access to the warehouse to let us in… like the person right in front of us.
Wait, I know that guy…

there's someone behind the guy in the warehouse.

Anyways, time to see if this guy is alright. He's in even worse shape then last time. Ask him how he hurt himself, ask if anyone is hurting him, ask why is he still working when he's as badly hurt as he is? I mean see how bad he banged up he should be able to claim workmen's comp. Hell while on that point ask why he's if out of his home? I mean he should be in bed.

I remember this guy get's uncomfortable when you ask about his health so if we play our cards right we might be able to get him to let us in just so he can get rid of us. Also do a background check on him and see what we can pull up. I feel like we should try and keep someone nearby him at all times incase someone is after him.

Pallavi, go on ahead.

Religious Figure, Erickson, you need a hospital. There's no way plaster and wooden crutches is hospital issue anymore, and if your bones aren't set correctly you could die. I told you to be more careful last time we met, didn't I? What even happened this time? ...Where did you pick up the stutter?

Look, I got a message asking us to meet here, if nobody shows up we'll leave, alright?

>Wait, I know that guy…
Jeez, man! Stairs again? I'm starting to think you should avoid them entirely. (Might help to take off the helmet to show who we are... As much as a Cibic can to a human)
>Do you have a w-warrant?
Actually, I was asked to meet... someone. Since it was a person-to-person request, and not a person-to-officer request, no, I don't have a warrant. Could you ask around if anybody was expecting a Song of Journey?

>>690715
>LEX, motive
Well, that depends on what its priority tree is like, but if Eli had full control over it, maybe she used it to kill everyone in the room, including herself? That seems to be the most likely sequence of events, unless someone else was somehow in the room. I honestly can't think of a reason why, though (except for guilt, but we can't use that as a motive without endangering the ARCs and as a result the entire station)
Maybe we should make sure nobody flew in and out through an opened window? Were there any cameras pointing towards the outside of the building during the murders?

>video is missing
Great, someone in the department stole it and we can't even investigate that because we're off the case. I don't suppose we can perform an internal investigation? Or call Internal Affairs to report it?

Kaktus 2015/12/28(Mon)14:18 No. 690746 ID: 65a774
File 145134112412.png - (11.84KB , 900x450 , 42.png )

>There's someone behind the guy in the warehouse.
You should indeed see someone enter the warehouse just as you came around the corner.

>Do a background check on him and see what we can pull up.
Mats Ericsson, Warehouse worker, married, no criminal record to speak of. Does, on the other hand, have a lot of time spent in medical care… in fact, he’s been admitted twice just the last few days for broken bones.
>Well, that depends on what its priority tree is like, but if Eli had full control over it, maybe she used it to kill everyone in the room, including herself?
It’s possible if LEX priorities obeying her orders over the safety of people… if only we should check the priority tree of it.
>Maybe we should make sure nobody flew in and out through an opened window?
The only thing spotted leaving that window was Eli herself.

>Religious Figure, Erickson, you need a hospital.
Huh? Err… I guess? I mean… I was on my way to one right now… to remove the arm cask, but what does that do with you two?
(Religious figure?)
(I’m not very religious, alright?)
>Ask him how he hurt himself.
I… err… fell down some stairs?
Didn’t I tell you last time we met that you would keep away from those?
No, I mean… walked into a door?
…and broke your leg?
I walked into a door and fell of a ledge… or something… err… right.

>Ask if anyone is hurting him.
W-what!? Of course n-not! How dare you even suggest that she would… that someone would… No, n-no one is hurting me! I’m just… err… clumsy, that’s all.
>Ask why is he still working when he's as badly hurt as he is?
Oh… err… I’m actually not on the clock and… err… I can’t take out how many sick days as I want and… err… I just needed… to… do something quick? Here?
Not enough sick days? That leg doesn’t look like it’ll need more than a day or two to fully heal…
I’ve been sick a lot this year, alright? …and we need my full wage…

>Look, I got a message asking us to meet here.
Really? Are you sure? Um… from whom?
I don’t know. I was actually just about to ask if you should ask around a bit.
Oh… err… no can do… I… I just work here, see… I mean, those that use this storage don’t have anything to do with me and… err… I can’t just… walk in without… you know. I mean, I don’t even know if someone is in there right now.
…really?
So… err… d-did… did you dream last night?
…
F-forget I said that…