Heroica: Glory Amongst The Stars - Mission #2: Deep Dive

[Waterbrick Down]

The headquarters of White Knight Surveillance sits in stark contrast to the other glitzy buildings of the Platinum Way. The imposing structure's architecture harkens back to a by gone era with ornate stone pillars and reliefs of warriors on chargers banners unfurled. The two Chimerans and Varen make their way inside and are greeted by a friendly secretary. Inquiring about Agent Oddsphere the trio are ushered into a cramped but tidy office. A Quaarm floats behind a desk reading from their holo-pad.

"Ah heroes, right on schedule... I do so love punctuality. Won't you come in to my humble work space? Pardon my mess, my case load is a bit overwhelming at the moment and I'm running out of filing space. I'm Agent Oddsphere, epsilon cohort at your service." The Quaarm gives a slight bow, "Can I get you anything, coffee, water, tea?"

Party

Polaris Ursaring [with M.I.L.E.S.]  (samurai-turtle) 
15 cycle old female "Chimeran" 
Character Points: 0/10 
Vitality: 8 
Velocity: 2
Strength: 2 
Skill: 2
Smarts: 2
Spirit: 0 
Proficiencies: Medicine 1, Melee Weapons 1, Nature 1,  Short Range Weapons 1, 
Spells: none, 
Credits: 10
Equipment: Mecha Strike (standard, kinetic, melee weapon), 
Inventory: Nanite Elixer (2x), Plasma Potion (2x), 

Varen Nastayo (KotZ)
26, Male, Human
Character Points: 0/10
Vitality: 5/5
Velocity: 2
Strength: 1
Skill: 2
Smarts: 2
Spirit: 0
Proficiencies: Culture 2, Deception 1, Insight 1, Persuasion 2, Long Range Weapon 1
Known Spells (if applicable): 
Credits: 55
Equipment: Lawyer's Rifle (Standard Long Range Energy weapon), Translator Cube
Inventory: 1x Essence of Glibness, 1x Essence of Intellect

Felix Mao (Khorne)
37 Cycles Old Male Chimeran
Character Points: 1/10
Vitality: 5/5
Velocity: 3
Strength: 1
Skill: 2
Smarts: 2
Spirit: 1
Proficiencies: Short Range Weapons 1, Insight 1, Coding 1, Survival 1, Nature 1
Known Spells: Enhanced Vision
Credits: 0
Equipment: 'Old Reliable' Plasma Handgun (Standard Short Range Energy Weapon), Cloaking Generator, Hacking Chip
Inventory: Plasma Potion (1x)

Mission Master (MM) Note: Welcome to Mission 2! Please look through and make sure I've got your stats correct. We'll get going once everyone has confirmed in thread. Please strive to keep out of character (OoC) comments limited. If it's a quick question or note, no problem, otherwise for lengthy discussions please use the appropriate non-mission thread. The goal is to have fun, so keep that in mind with your interactions between players, if I need to mediate anything please feel free to shoot me a PM. As noted in other discussion, I'm currently juggling a hectic schedule between newborn twins and the rest of life, so my activity will probably go in spurts, but my goal is to respond at bare minimum within 24hrs. Thanks for your patience and enjoy! 

[samurai-turtle]

On the outside of the White Knight's Headquarter. 

I think this is it, from the pictures of horse head around, that or it is some horse stables. 

In a mono tone robotic voice... 

/// Why would their be a stable in a space station? 

I don't know M.I.L.E.S (or Miles). Their is one way to fine out, we go inside and see. 

/// Alright Polaris. 

18 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Ah heroes, right on schedule... I do so love punctuality. Won't you come in to my humble work space? Pardon my mess, my case load is a bit overwhelming at the moment and I'm running out of filing space. I'm Agent Oddsphere, epsilon cohort at your service." The Quaarm gives a slight bow, "Can I get you anything, coffee, water, tea?"

Miles and Polaris takes a position in the corner out of the way of the others and the  doorway. 

I guess I could take a bottle water for later, if one is  available. How about you Miles? 

/// If they are giving away stuff I would not say no to some oil. 

OoC:

Evey thing looks good to me.

 

[Khorne]

Felix chuckled at the sight of the cramped office. "This takes me back", he muttered softly and continued the train of thought in his head, thinking "yet my office wasn't nearly as tidy".

"I'll have a glass of water, if it's not too much hassle. Thankee very much."

Whilst waiting for his water, the Chimeran was quick to cut to the chase, thankful for this opportunity. "So, Agent Oddsphere, what cases have you got on your hands? How can we help you out?"

Felix scanned the room and took out a datapad in case he needed to make notes.

OoC: Stats are fine

[KotZ]

Varen sat down in a chair. It had been awhile since he had been in a small office. “If you have whiskey I’ll take that. Otherwise water is preem.”

[Waterbrick Down]

3 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

I guess I could take a bottle water for later, if one is  available. How about you Miles? 

/// If they are giving away stuff I would not say no to some oil. 

"Ooo a mechanoid fantastic! I'll see what Charlene can scrounge up in the oil department." The Quaarm buzzes an intercom, "Charlene, when you have a moment some water and see if we've got any oil from when they fixed the furnace."

2 hours ago, KotZ said:

Varen sat down in a chair. It had been awhile since he had been in a small office. “If you have whiskey I’ll take that. Otherwise water is preem.”

"Certainly, I hear you heroes have a penchant for strong drink at any time." Buzzing again, "Charlene, also a whisky neat."

3 hours ago, Khorne said:

Whilst waiting for his water, the Chimeran was quick to cut to the chase, thankful for this opportunity. "So, Agent Oddsphere, what cases have you got on your hands? How can we help you out?"

Felix scanned the room and took out a datapad in case he needed to make notes.

"Ah, right down to business then... well let's see. This all started a week or so ago. As you may aware White Knight Surveillance specializes in Ætherspace security. The vast untapped potential of limitless data storage in that reality sphere has many corporations quite invested in converting all their old networks over. The downsides of Ætherspace, or perhaps it's strengths depending on who you ask, are its accessibility and nearly inability to be completely regulated by government agencies. That's where we come in. We provide freelance Ætherdivers who ensure corporations' data is kept safe from other more nefarious Ætherdivers." Oddsphere pauses as a secretary brings in the group's beverages.

"I oversee a team of Ætherdivers and last week one of our agent, Agent Lars, went missing in Ætherspace. We tried to pull his consciousness out, but no luck and we're afraid that if we try a hard reboot of the system he might be lost in there forever."

[KotZ]

"Perfect," Varen said after taking a sip from the tumbler. "Thanks, Charlene."

"What's Agent Lars' background? Has he been working for you for awhile? Is there a chance he went rogue? Do you have any leads on possible bad actors that might be targeting your organization or Agent LArs specifically?" Varen could feel the lawyer in him coming out. Detective work, lawyer work, pretty similar in his experience, he figured.

[Waterbrick Down]

26 minutes ago, KotZ said:

"Perfect," Varen said after taking a sip from the tumbler. "Thanks, Charlene."

"What's Agent Lars' background? Has he been working for you for awhile? Is there a chance he went rogue? Do you have any leads on possible bad actors that might be targeting your organization or Agent LArs specifically?" Varen could feel the lawyer in him coming out. Detective work, lawyer work, pretty similar in his experience, he figured.

"Lars has been with the organization for a few months now, he's a Thudaal from Hi-Pluvvon. Showed some promise as a new recruit. As for going rogue..." The Quaarm points to a gilded manuscript behind him, "That is the White Knight Oath. All recruits take it as a sign of our loyalty to each other and to our work when being hired on. I haven't met a man, Elf, or Thudaal, who doesn't live and breath that pledge. It's why I don't like the reboot option, tenant four of the oath 'We pledge to always return as we left, united'." Oddsphere mulls the words before continuing, "There's always a number of mercenary Ætherdivers roaming the sphere, looking to score an unattended data warehouse, but not too much organized forces thankfully. Lars didn't have much of a personal life, was a dedicated employee, though Agent Molly down in the dive division might be able to tell you more."

[KotZ]

2 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Lars has been with the organization for a few months now, he's a Thudaal from Hi-Pluvvon. Showed some promise as a new recruit. As for going rogue..." The Quaarm points to a gilded manuscript behind him, "That is the White Knight Oath. All recruits take it as a sign of our loyalty to each other and to our work when being hired on. I haven't met a man, Elf, or Thudaal, who doesn't live and breath that pledge. It's why I don't like the reboot option, tenant four of the oath 'We pledge to always return as we left, united'." Oddsphere mulls the words before continuing, "There's always a number of mercenary Ætherdivers roaming the sphere, looking to score an unattended data warehouse, but not too much organized forces thankfully. Lars didn't have much of a personal life, was a dedicated employee, though Agent Molly down in the dive division might be able to tell you more."

"Interesting. Is it possible he was a plant by another organization? Just an idea I had. But if you say he was dedicated to the values your group has, I have no reason to doubt you at the moment." He took another sip from his drink. "What exactly does Agent Molly do? Is she a diver as well or more like a manager?"

[samurai-turtle]

From what little I know of this place, it sounds chaotic. Plus how does anyone know for sure that their is not something "alive" roaming, living, born there. I guess that brings up a question how are we supposed to retrieve Mr. Lars? Are you going to "teleport" us into this space or are you going to hook our brains up to something? 

 

[Waterbrick Down]

4 hours ago, KotZ said:

"Interesting. Is it possible he was a plant by another organization? Just an idea I had. But if you say he was dedicated to the values your group has, I have no reason to doubt you at the moment." He took another sip from his drink. "What exactly does Agent Molly do? Is she a diver as well or more like a manager?"

"I'd have no reason to doubt Agent Lars more than I do any of the rest of the order. As for Agent Molly, she's oversees the Ætherdiving lab."

1 hour ago, samurai-turtle said:

From what little I know of this place, it sounds chaotic. Plus how does anyone know for sure that their is not something "alive" roaming, living, born there. I guess that brings up a question how are we supposed to retrieve Mr. Lars? Are you going to "teleport" us into this space or are you going to hook our brains up to something? 

"Not sure if I've ever heard of roaming monsters in Ætherspace, but it's pretty uncharted territory even with all of the corporate investment." Oddsphere notes a notification on his datapad, "Now then, unless any of you are Cladrasith in disguise, you'll be Ætherdiving in the conventional method. We've got a full lab outfitted downstairs that'll plug you into the Ætherspace."

[KotZ]

28 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"I'd have no reason to doubt Agent Lars more than I do any of the rest of the order. As for Agent Molly, she's oversees the Ætherdiving lab."

"Not sure if I've ever heard of roaming monsters in Ætherspace, but it's pretty uncharted territory even with all of the corporate investment." Oddsphere notes a notification on his datapad, "Now then, unless any of you are Cladrasith in disguise, you'll be Ætherdiving in the conventional method. We've got a full lab outfitted downstairs that'll plug you into the Ætherspace."

"What happens in the lab? Do people have access to it easily?"

[Khorne]

Felix listened attentively to all queries and answers, jotting down details he deemed interesting.

19 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"I oversee a team of Ætherdivers and last week one of our agent, Agent Lars, went missing in Ætherspace. We tried to pull his consciousness out, but no luck and we're afraid that if we try a hard reboot of the system he

might be lost in there forever."

"Seeing as you provide Aetherspace security, you probably make dives routinely. Aetherspace can be a dangerous place, like you've mentioned earlier, and sometimes things tend to go wrong, I figure. Any particular reason you called Heroica for this one? I mean, I take that you've tried investigating it yourself already?"

18 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Lars has been with the organization for a few months now, he's a Thudaal from Hi-Pluvvon. Showed some promise as a new recruit. As for going rogue..."

Felix's ears rose at the mention of 'Thudaal'. "A Thudaal, eh? Aren't they known for their... peculiar... state of mind?", the Chimeran mused while his finger was making circles next to his head.

"Something about a connection to the Underworld or Otherworld or whatnot. Would there be a chance Lars had some sort of episode while being in Aetherspace, confusing it with whatever dark place they dream of and he tapped out?"

He stroked his chin and looked pensively. "I'm far from an expert on species, but perhaps his mind isn't cut out for the job? Do you employ many Thudaal here?"

Felix know it was a shoddy connection at best, a shot in the dark. It would probably lead nowhere, but at least he'd be able to put those thoughts aside if they were proven wrong and focus on searching another path. The Chimeran had experience with Aetherspace in the past and couldn't immediately recall a Thudaal colleague, but then again most of his ex-colleagues were rather bigoted so they probably wouldn't even have allowed a Thudaal to work there.

[Waterbrick Down]

11 hours ago, KotZ said:

"What happens in the lab? Do people have access to it easily?"

"Maybe I wasn't clear, it's an Ætherdiving lab, you'll see when we go down there. You'll need to have someone with a badge to get in."

9 hours ago, Khorne said:

Felix listened attentively to all queries and answers, jotting down details he deemed interesting.

"Seeing as you provide Aetherspace security, you probably make dives routinely. Aetherspace can be a dangerous place, like you've mentioned earlier, and sometimes things tend to go wrong, I figure. Any particular reason you called Heroica for this one? I mean, I take that you've tried investigating it yourself already?"

"We did, leads were slim. It's like his consciousness isn't there anymore. As for why I brought you in... in all honesty my team is up for a performance review soon and have a lot of scrutiny on us. If its discovered one of our agents has gone MIA for almost a week, they could put the entire cohort on disciplinary hold."

9 hours ago, Khorne said:

Felix's ears rose at the mention of 'Thudaal'. "A Thudaal, eh? Aren't they known for their... peculiar... state of mind?", the Chimeran mused while making circles next to his hand with his finger.

"Something about a connection to the Underworld or Otherworld or whatnot. Would there be a chance Lars had some sort of episode while being in Aetherspace, confusing it with whatever dark place they dream of and he tapped out?"

He stroked his chin and looked pensively. "I'm far from an expert on species, but perhaps his mind isn't cut out for the job? Do you employ many Thudaal here?"

Felix know it was a shoddy connection at best, a shot in the dark. It would probably lead nowhere, but at least he'd be able to put those thoughts aside if they were proven wrong and focus on searching another path. The Chimeran had experience with Aetherspace in the past and couldn't immediately recall a Thudaal colleague, but then again most of his ex-colleagues were rather bigoted so they probably wouldn't even have allowed a Thudaal to work there.

"He's our first. I was hesitant because of that very issue, but he assured me that it wouldn't be a problem and was very eager to volunteer for field work. I'm like you don't know much about the species, but we try to have an inclusive hiring policy." The Quaarm notes his datapad once again, "Molly's ready for us in the lab, what other questions can I answer for you?"

[Khorne]

18 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"We did, leads were slim. It's like his consciousness isn't there anymore. As for why I brought you in... in all honesty my team is up for a performance review soon and have a lot of scrutiny on us. If its discovered one of our agents has gone MIA for almost a week, they could put the entire cohort on disciplinary hold."

"Hmm, strange indeed," Felix said. He tucked away his datapad and prepared to move to the lab. "One more question though: what case was Lars working? Was there something off about the client's asset he needed to protect?"

Quote

"He's our first. I was hesitant because of that very issue, but he assured me that it wouldn't be a problem and was very eager to volunteer for field work. I'm like you don't know much about the species, but we try to have an inclusive hiring policy." The Quaarm notes his datapad once again, "Molly's ready for us in the lab, what other questions can I answer for you?"

"I guess that strikes that option off the list, then"

Downing his glass of water, the Chimeran stood ready: "I'm all good for a 'dive. I'm sure we'll figure this one out on the go."

[KotZ]

"No further questions." Varen finished his drink and set the empty glass on the desk and stood with Felix. "Thanks for that. What brand was it? Was pretty good. Thought it was similar to AetherBullit."

[samurai-turtle]

14 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Not sure if I've ever heard of roaming monsters in Ætherspace, but it's pretty uncharted territory even with all of the corporate investment." Oddsphere notes a notification on his datapad, "Now then, unless any of you are Cladrasith in disguise, you'll be Ætherdiving in the conventional method. We've got a full lab outfitted downstairs that'll plug you into the Ætherspace."

Monsters? I said living things, I think their is a difference. Cladrasith? Do you mean one of those plant people. The only one I met seem OK to me. 

12 hours ago, Khorne said:

"Seeing as you provide Aetherspace security, you probably make dives routinely. Aetherspace can be a dangerous place, like you've mentioned earlier, and sometimes things tend to go wrong, I figure. Any particular reason you called Heroica for this one? I mean, I take that you've tried investigating it yourself already?"

Wait, what kind of dangers are in this place any way? 

3 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

 

"He's our first. I was hesitant because of that very issue, but he assured me that it wouldn't be a problem and was very eager to volunteer for field work. I'm like you don't know much about the species, but we try to have an inclusive hiring policy." The Quaarm notes his datapad once again, "Molly's ready for us in the lab, what other questions can I answer for you?"

I might have more questions when we get to this lab, but none right now. 

 

[Khorne]

1 hour ago, samurai-turtle said:

Wait, what kind of dangers are in this place any way? 

Felix fumbled in his inner pocket and fetched his cigarettes. He lifted one from the pack, tapping its bud on the pack several times before putting it in his mouth. He started mumbling while looking for his lighter.

"It's Ætherspace, pal. It's kind of like an out-of-body experience, see. You disconnect from this world to enter the other one. It isn't exactly a walk in the park"

He lit his cigarette and drew in some breaths before blowing the smoke, making sure not to bother anyone. "Then there's also the chance of running in to other 'divers. Malignant ones, you feel me. Bad voodoo. Data thieves and net pirates."

"S'all good, though. You got your friendo there," Felix said, pointing at MILES, "and you got us. We'll be in and out in a jive."

Felix tried to reassure his companion, but he wasn't as sure of himself as he used to be. After all, it had been a long time since his last venture into Ætherspace and he had at least some botched attempts under his belt.

[Waterbrick Down]

3 hours ago, Khorne said:

"Hmm, strange indeed," Felix said. He tucked away his datapad and prepared to move to the lab. "One more question though: what case was Lars working? Was there something off about the client's asset he needed to protect?"

"Lars was assigned a patrol of a data warehouse for Lupin Bio-tech. Standard parameter surveillance contract."

1 hour ago, samurai-turtle said:

Monsters? I said living things, I think their is a difference. Cladrasith? Do you mean one of those plant people. The only one I met seem OK to me. 

Wait, what kind of dangers are in this place any way? 

I might have more questions when we get to this lab, but none right now. 

"Your companion is right, Ætherspace is filled with plenty of dangers. The Thaumuturgic Society lost a good number of its members in the early days of exploration. Cladrasith are known for their ability to Ætherdive sans specialized equipment as they mature. It's rumored the forests in Ætherspace were all once Cladrasith and now permanently sleep in that realm never to awaken."

Agent Oddsphere, leads the group down several hallways to a lower level lab, marked "Dive Division".

"Ah Agent Molly, how convenient. These are the heroes we discussed bringing in."

"Oddsphere, you promised me one or two days, it's been nearly a week Lars has been in there, who knows what's happening to him!"

"I know, I know, but I had to make sure we brought in the best. Trust me Agent Molly, these heroes will find Lars and get him out of there."

The O'Kor'uk turns to the trio.

"Really and what makes you confident, heroes?"

[Khorne]

7 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The O'Kor'uk turns to the trio.

"Really and what makes you confident, heroes?"

"Because you put out a contract which we accepted and I fully intend to uphold my end of the deal, no matter what. I'm not one to back down. We'll get your boy back," Felix smiled.

[KotZ]

"Well good golly, Miss Molly," Varen said, "because we're the best around and we're gonna fix this little problem of yours."

He looked around the room. "Seems pretty clean. Now, about the missing diver, have you ever had divers get trapped before? If so, did you extract them or were they sadly lost?"

[Waterbrick Down]

18 minutes ago, Khorne said:

"Because you put out a contract which we accepted and I fully intend to uphold my end of the deal, no matter what. I'm not one to back down. We'll get your boy back," Felix smiled.

7 minutes ago, KotZ said:

"Well good golly, Miss Molly," Varen said, "because we're the best around and we're gonna fix this little problem of yours."

He looked around the room. "Seems pretty clean. Now, about the missing diver, have you ever had divers get trapped before? If so, did you extract them or were they sadly lost?"

"Hmmph, we'll see. For all I know you could just be street ruffians trying to make a quick credit." Agent Molly purses her lips, "Sometimes a newer recruit has a hard time with the extraction sequence and might bounce back and forth between consciousnesses a few times before settling, leaves them with a pretty nasty headache. But we've never had anything like Lars case here at the lab." The O'Kor'uk nods her head at the Thudaal's direction. 

 

[samurai-turtle]

4 hours ago, Khorne said:

"It's Ætherspace, pal. It's kind of like an out-of-body experience, see. You disconnect from this world to enter the other one. It isn't exactly a walk in the park"

He lit his cigarette and drew in some breaths before blowing the smoke, making sure not to bother anyone. "Then there's also the chance of running in to other 'divers. Malignant ones, you feel me. Bad voodoo. Data thieves and net pirates."

"S'all good, though. You got your friendo there," Felix said, pointing at MILES, "and you got us. We'll be in and out in a jive."

So, I think I will be dreaming? 

Is that all their is? 

I hope so, I hope so. 

/// My knowledge of the place is about as much as Polaris' knowledge of the place. 

3 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The O'Kor'uk turns to the trio.

"Really and what makes you confident, heroes?"

If you seen what we (Miles and me) were fighting earlier. You might not be asking that question. 

3 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Hmmph, we'll see. For all I know you could just be street ruffians trying to make a quick credit." Agent Molly purses her lips, "Sometimes a newer recruit has a hard time with the extraction sequence and might bounce back and forth between consciousnesses a few times before settling, leaves them with a pretty nasty headache. But we've never had anything like Lars case here at the lab." The O'Kor'uk nods her head at the Thudaal's direction. 

Just to let you know I was in the Ne'xo Army, not that I expect you know where any of that is located. I would of assume someone would check us out already. 

[Waterbrick Down]

3 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

If you seen what we (Miles and me) were fighting earlier. You might not be asking that question. 

Just to let you know I was in the Ne'xo Army, not that I expect you know where any of that is located. I would of assume someone would check us out already. 

"Maybe Oddsphere did, but all I know is Lars has been in there for too long. If someone's going in there I want to make sure they're bringing him back alive and not just a brain dead husk."

[KotZ]

9 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Hmmph, we'll see. For all I know you could just be street ruffians trying to make a quick credit." Agent Molly purses her lips, "Sometimes a newer recruit has a hard time with the extraction sequence and might bounce back and forth between consciousnesses a few times before settling, leaves them with a pretty nasty headache. But we've never had anything like Lars case here at the lab." The O'Kor'uk nods her head at the Thudaal's direction. 

 

"Heyhey hey, do I look like that kinda dude?"

[Waterbrick Down]

8 hours ago, KotZ said:

"Heyhey hey, do I look like that kinda dude?"

"You're unsworn swords for hire with no allegiances, I'll wait until I see results to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Alright, Agent Molly. I'll personally vouch that these heroes will do their utmost to retrieve Agent Lars. Now, do you have the dive units ready?"


"They've been ready for four days."

"Ok then. Heroes, do any of you have any Ætherdiving experience? Mr. Mao, it sounds like you do, no?"