2013-03-09 Brain Drain

It's been a couple of days since Domino hauled Kurt across Manhattan for a follow-up visit with a contact of hers. Days which should not have passed by without any word from the guy. It had only been late last night that she decided to drop everything and go see what was happening, the guy wasn't even answering his phone.
By the time she reconnected with Kurt she's lugging a pack around on a shoulder and her voice is sounding slightly hoarse. Thank goodness for a full collar on her armor.
As usual she hasn't said a whole lot about what happened and where things are going. She got the Blue Elf into her car and drove on back to the Institute, having an idea of who might be able to lend a hand with her current task. The only problem now is trying to figure out where Cypher ran off to.
"Can you get any leads on where the kid's hiding, Blue?"
Kurt's a little grumpy, to say the least. No.. not grumpy. Concerned. Just when he thinks he's gotten Domino to talk, she goes to clam up once again, and there's little he can do to open her up again.
Two steps forward, one step back.
Something to do with the apartment of One is all he's gotten, really. Yellow eyes watch the scenery go by, his tail twitching as he counts the telephone poles.
"There are a couple of places, ja.." Kurt's tones sound a distant note as he considers. There's a twitch of a smile that creeps across the elf's face, "He could be at Illyana's, reading her a bedtime story.."
Shifting, Kurt pulls his phone from his pocket to check messages there.. and shakes his head. "Nein.. or I would have gotten a request for extraction."
Kurt looks towards Domino again, his voice still low, "There was a Danger Room sequence the other night. Perhaps he's working on programming more scenarios?" Boredom does many things.
Domino nods quietly as she considers her options, following the drive up to Xavier's through the purple filter her sunglasses casts upon the world. "Think you can find him and bring him back here?"
Is it considered kidnapping if they're all on the same team?
At least Doug's at the legal drinking age, her conscience wouldn't be quite so clean if she's about to drag one of the students into this mess. It should be quick and risk-free, but knowing how things tend to turn out for her... Luck can be a teensy bit one-sided in that regard.
Kurt knows where Illy lives, and obviously knows the layout of the mansion like the back of his hand. It's not a heartbeat later that the familiar sound of *bamf* fills the now empty space where the fuzzy elf once sat, as well as that smell of sulfur.. brimstone.
Travel through his particular dimension of Hell, Kurt shows up only a heartbeat after he'd left Domino's company. Showing up in the room where all things Danger Room are accessed, he takes a step forward and uses by way of explanation, "We need you," before taking hold of Doug's arm and...
*bamf*
In all.. about 5 seconds has passed before Domino is greeted once again with the sound of air rushing in to fill a void, but this time, has two passengers; Kurt and Doug.
"I think so."
There he'd been, kicking back, listening to the latest in k-pop and humming along in Korean while trying to sort out exactly -how- many Yetis he could concievably get away with cramming into a scenario. Accounting for Jocelyn's skills, as well as Anole's power, and Cessily, and Kitty... maybe he could get away with a dozen? Or was it cheating to add in ...
Any further thought is cut off when Kurt shows up, declares he's needed, and then absonds with Doug to...
... some car on the road. Landing in a flump with himself squeezed in between Domino and Kurt, Doug lets out a 'bwah?' before quickly removing his iPod earbuds. "Kurt? What's going on?" he asks, before darting a look at... "Domino?"
Right, that'll be one Doug Ramsey to go. Thank you, drive through. Five seconds pass by then Domino's changing gears and continuing right along, peering over the top of her sunglasses into the rearview mirror at the surprised mutant known as Cypher.
"A moment of your time, kiddo."
The blacked out M3 pulls back out onto the road, promptly accelerating away from the school grounds. "From what I hear, you have a way with tech. I need you to do something for Kurt and I, completely off the records with no further involvement from the X-Folk. Whatever happens between the three of us remains that way, not a word leaves this company. There should be no risk to you, I just need to borrow that particular X-Gene of yours for a bit. You game?"
Quirking one eyebrow at Domino, Doug leans back in the seat, glancing back at Kurt. Running a hand through his hair, the young blond makes a so-so motion. "I'm an omnilinguist, Dom. Computer languages are just other languages to me, so I can talk to them, and they can talk to me." There's a nods. "Secrecy is not a problem, so long as it's not something that I'd feel -guilty- over doing."
Wrinkling his nose, as he considers this further, Doug ventures a question. "What, uh... has to be done so secretly that it doesn't even involve a -covert- secret team like the X-Men?"
"It's personal business," Domino promptly replies. "One of my contacts is in trouble. I need him found. I only have one lead and I can't afford to leave anything to chance."
In another moment she reaches into the footwell and pulls out a small but tough looking box, complete with ports for wires. It doesn't look like much, but...
"This little guy acted as the brain to a cyborg, or whatever the hell. There's bound to be some data hidden away on it somewhere, though there may be remnants of his personality, or conscious mind, or -something.- It's more than what a regular machine is going to process so standard data recovery may not be an option. What I'm asking of you is to pick through every scrap of binary on this drive and give me as much information as you can, specifically anything relating to 'One.'"
Gotta love inconspicuous names.
"It came out of a guy calling himself 'Seven.' You can see where this is going."
Tilting his head, Doug takes the box, regarding it curiously. "So, either there's a series of cyborgs all numbered from one to at least seven, or someone's been watching the Prisoner," the young man comments as he regards the box, as well as the ports. "So this is basically an artifical cortex? Because if all you've given me is a cerebellum, I'm sunk there." And if he's apparently speaking gibberish to Domino, judging by her face reaction, he'll clarify further: "Memory center, not automated controls. Don't worry about it. I just need to jury-rig this somewhere I can get at the data - I can't just stick the wires into my ears and read it."
"I've seen one of these in operation before," Domino explains. "While it's still inside of the owner's head, being able to plug a wire in and transfer data from it straight onto a laptop. It's possible to work with, it's just a little outside of my reach." That, and she'd much rather have an expert in the field handling it for her so she doesn't take any unnecessary risks with it.
"I'm placing a lot of trust in you with this, Ramsey. This guy needs my help and I can't do that without your help. We're already on the clock, the sooner you can dissect it the better."
Inspecting the ports, Doug nods. "Probably a usb cable, though if what you say is true, it's going to take time to process all that information. Hmmmm..." There -were- ways to speed up the process, but it'd almost assuredly give him a headache, and since he hadn't any idea -why- this was so urgent...
Glancing at Kurt, Doug frowns. "I know what -she- wants, but what about you?" he asks Nightcrawler. "Where do you come into this, and why is this needed in such a rush?"
Covert ops to be kept quiet from a covert team. "If there was anything untoward about this, do you think I would be a party to it, Doug?" Kurt asks quietly, though now, yellow eyes are fully on Domino now. His gaze lingers, even though he still speaks to the computer whiz. A lot of trust in Doug, while he was kept in the dark until the 'big reveal'.
That stings.
"I come into this for a single reason, though now for a couple." He pauses before,
"I trust Domino."
Now, Kurt actually has a question for Domino, but his voice never rises from that soft, "What of his girlfriend?" The one that had been at One's place those two times?
Such is the norm when one gets too close to Domino. People are going to get hurt, regardless if she wants them to be hurt. She left Kurt out of some of this. She would have disappeared and done the very same had it of been with any other person on the planet. Right now though, she can feel those yellow eyes upon her. She's choosing not to look back at them, avoiding the reminder of what that look represents.
"I don't know," she quietly responds while working to keep any emotion completely removed from her person.
Answering Doug next, she says "It's a rush because he's in trouble. Someone came to his place, trashed the joint, got into a major fight, and ran off with him. Every minute that passes is another minute his life hangs in the balance. Standard action movie plotline, you know the drill."
"No, Kurt," Doug says softly as he regards the box. "Fine. So if time is of the essence, why not just teleport me right to where you need to go and let me get started?" Mind already considering just -what- could possibly relay information in as efficient and quickly a language from mechanical mind to body and coordinate everything without messing it up, and Doug is already hoping that the concurrent programming software isn't too complicated or too reliant on the processors they were attached to. Especially with a general search for "One"... there had to be -zillions- of references to 'one'. No wait, he only had to eliminate the stuff that had nothing to do with -memory-.
Of the girlfriend, Doug knew nothing, so he remains quiet.
Kurt sits back, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He pulls his gaze away from the driver and sets them upon Doug and offers something of a sad smile. "I cannot, mein freund. What I did then tires me more than I am comfortable with.. but it had to be done." He's only doing short bursts, trying to get his stamina back, but as of right now? It doesn't seem to be helping.
"As for where we are going, I don't know either."
Domino sighs gently, trying to keep a sudden spike of temper under control. "Because I don't -know- where I need to go, I'm hoping that the data on that drive can point me in the right direction. The next step was getting you on board, then getting you and the drive together so that you could start working on it. -Now- it's a matter of getting you and the drive back to the Institute, which is what I'm working on."
She pauses for a moment while her thoughts are recollected. Then, she adds "If you happen to come across anything referring to teleportation or the X-Gene in there, I'm also interested in that." Maybe Seven found something while tearing One's apartment to pieces, in which case it may well be written on that drive.
"But I was just at the..." Doug begins, before rubbing the corners of his eyes. "Right, right. Secrecy. As if they're not gonna notice Kurt bampfing in, grabbing me, and zooming off." There's a brief pause, before Doug reaches out and nudges Kurt in the back of the head. "You really need to have Dr. McCoy find a way to add cologne to -that- stench, you know. Something like, I don't know, Pepe le Pew?"
"If you come across anything about teleportation, I want the data destroyed," Kurt offers bluntly. "The less about such things about me, the better." As far as he's concerned, he's as far as he's going to get for the moment; of course, he may not be thinking all that clearly either.
Kurt chuckles softly, and he's trying to be a little optimistic about it all. "It is not so strange for me to be bamfing around the mansion, mein freund. It is a common occurrence. Strange only when the halls are silent." His tail rises to meet Doug's hand, "Could anyone take me seriously if, when I appeared, it smelled like flowers und bunnies? It is part of my 'thing'. It comes in quite handy when I wish to break someone's concentration. Blue demon popping out of hell.. not rainbows und lavender."
"In case you haven't noticed there's a fairly high concentration of telepaths living under that roof, Ramsey," Domino once again attempts to explain. "I prefer to keep my private matters private. Being on the move makes us more difficult targets to pin down from an active search and the distance helps negate broad-spectrum listening. That, and we don't have to schedule use of a meeting room."
Plus, out here she's more in control of things. She's only willing to relinquish control when it's her power calling the shots.
Another slow breath is released when Kurt says his piece. Sometimes it can be infuriatingly frustrating trying to get others around her to see the bigger picture. "One may have left some notes behind, Kurt. Notes which might be very relevant to what we were seeing him for, which Seven may have happened to pick up while he was there. If there's anything about teleportation we need to check it over first, it just might help you. Once we've gotten through it, -then- it can be destroyed."
"Information can't be just -deleted-, Kurt... only moved around and scrambled. Once it's there, you have to physically destroy the media, and who knows where else it's gone to..." Doug says. "It'd take time to see if it has spread or not." Still, Doug can't help but smirk at Kurt's reply at not wanting to smell like rainbows and lavender. "I think a -skunk- smell would suffice, at least, and be a slight improvement."
All sense of humor leaves Doug's voice as he nods. "So what you're saying is, he might not only have left notes behind, he might have coded it so only people who need to know could read it...?" Or someone like ... Cypher?
"Ja, I understand that. Und if he left something.." Kurt's arms are still crossed in front of him, yellow eyes narrowing. "It doesn't matter."
Kurt shakes his head, his pointed canines showing and he nods again, "Ja.. then physically destroy it." Exhaling softly, he looks out the window, watching the telephone poles going by once again, his tail flickering as they pass.
"Skunk smell sticks to your clothing.. und everything around it. You can't be serious about preferring a skunk?"
Dom lightly, carefully, rolls her shoulders. "Or left it in plain sight. For all I know there was a note sitting on his kitchen table titled 'To Kurt, re-teleportation' and this nimrod just happened to pick it up and look at it. It's his memory, which means anything that he saw, heard, read, or witnessed is recorded somewhere upon it, right? I don't know what you're going to find in there but he spent -days- sitting in One's apartment waiting for someone to come calling. There's probably something interesting on there."
A quick glance is passed back to Doug through the mirror again, the woman once more peering over the top of her lenses. "This means you're being sworn into absolute secrecy, of course."
And she's taking another huge leap of faith by placing this into Doug's hands. He could probably get her into some pretty serious trouble if he let word of this slip to anyone else at Xavier's.
Once more to Kurt, she offers "Once we've got what we need from it I'd be happy to put a big, gaping hole through the drive, myself. In the meantime, it's our resource to exploit. Let's not cripple our own operation out of spite. The guy I pulled that drive out of got what was coming to him, believe me."
Well, technically -she- didn't pull the drive out, but that third party can remain wholly anonymous for now.
Kurt's body language has Doug wondering -just- what was there that had him spooked so badly, but pressing the point, especially in front of Domino, might not be the best of ideas, and so Doug leaves that for a later time.
Offering Domino a lopsided wide grin, the young blond salutes. "Yes, ma'am! SHIELD's trained me deeply into resisting torture, even unto death." The easy-going demeanor betrays both gallows humor (as Kurt's well aware, Doug's already died once...) and he -did- sort out a potential means of messing with telepaths. Maybe. He didn't think it'd work for long, because noticing -something- was different would definitely draw attention. But that was for emergencies, anyway.
Rubbing his head, Doug considers this. "If secrecy -is- necessary, I'm pretty sure we can't do this at the mansion. There's always someone coming and going. Often without warning." Rubbing his head, Doug glances at Kurt. He, of all people, should know -exactly- Illyana's nature, having had to bail Doug out a few times already...
"Which means, I probably should have gone to the apartment with you." Kurt states it rather bluntly, his accent growing thicker with the words. "If you thought to find something that would benefit me." His voice lowers, "'Once we've got what we need from it'.. where was the 'we'?"
The crux of the matter.
Yellow eyes still stare out the window, and he nods his agreement. "Ja.. I would think that somewhere else would be smarter." Kurt turns his gaze onto Doug, and his brows rise, "Do you have a safehouse somewhere? I mean.. I could probably borrow Amanda's place, but she may ask questions." Or the terrier that she's dog-sitting could bite them all.
"Is anyone going to make a fuss if you're off of the grounds for a while without notice?" Dom inquires, having considered the inherent risks of having this worked on at the school, herself. She's not about to loan one of her safehouses to the cause, Doug doesn't need to be -that- involved with her personal life. "If you've got another idea in 2mind, now's the time. I'll drive you wherever you need to go."
Then Kurt makes his next comment. She can't hide from the matter any further. "He stopped answering my calls, Blue. It's a bad sign when that happens. You aren't a part of this because you're willing to put your neck on the line for him. If I thought that everything was fine and that he might have had some information then of course I would have brought you along. That time it smelled of nothing but trouble. I was doing you a favor."
She was doing herself a favor, too.
"Somehow, I doubt you'd want to use the mansion, or SHIELD," Doug notes dryly. "It'll have to be somewhere else." Tilting his head at Kurt, Doug arches an eyebrow. "Amanda? If she has a computer, that'll do, at the least. That and a cable should get us up to speed."
Wrinkling his nose, Doug sighs. "Still won't help if Illyana gets it in mind to track me down with her magic."
"I don't need the protection, leibchen," Kurt responds, his tones still soft.. the accent thick. "I don't need such favours. I would have preferred if you had called me to help you rather than you running und doing it alone, and leaving me to pick up the pieces." The thing about it? He'd do it, and gladly. Over.. and over..
"I could easily bamf Doug to a place und leave you behind.. und take over, ja?" He pauses and lets that bit sink in. Kurt shakes his head, and he looks away again, "But I do not, und would not. Because it is part of working with a team. One isn't 'used'.. strengths are utilized." A sigh escapes the blue elf, and he shakes his head, muttering now.. in German.
The next second, there's a *bamf*, and the fuzzy blue is gone, the only thing remaining behind is the smell of brimstone.. the noxious fume of .. one of the many Hells.
Dom's starting to get a little ragged around the edges, herself. "We'll deal with Illy if and when she becomes a problem. Until that point it's not doing us any good to worry about it, that's only going to make you a bigger target." Then, "Amanda's, great. Where is it?"
Then there's Kurt to take care of again, it sure is good that she's a skilled multitasker! "You barely have control over your powers, Blue. Even on a good day I would be reluctant to invite you into a combat situation." You're the one that doesn't believe in killing, remember? Even if she wasn't a loner the last thing she needs is to cause you to lose faith in her with every pull of the trigger. It's better if he doesn't know what she's up to. It's as simple as that."
"If that's how you want to handle the situation, you go right ahead. I'm looking for him because he's helped me before. If you think you've got a better chance of finding him without me and you feel it's worth risking your own well-being over--"
Kurt just teleported himself out of the car, didn't he.
"Goddamnit," she seethes under her breath. -This,- she did not need. Did he at least leave Cypher behind? Okay, good. For a second there she figured he really did take her up on the offer.
"Don't mind him. He's just worried about you. And he's only using a guilt trip to get you to take him with you, because he thinks appealing to your emotions will work where logic won't," Doug observes, as he ponders the box. "And he's too proud to admit he can't handle a situation." Looking back up at Domino, Doug tilts his head. "And you're very tense over this. I don't know where Amanda is, so if you want a secure terminal... how about buying me a wireless laptop and let me handle the rest?"
"Ain't that just," Domino mutters to no one while flicking the turn signal with an irritated motion. "Thanks for stating the obvious there, kiddo. I almost didn't pick up on some of the cues."
Heh. Very tense over this. "Yeah, no shit. Now instead of one extra life on the line it's two. Three if you try to throw your SHIELD status around all over me, so don't even try it. You want a laptop? Fine, got one in the trunk you're free to use. If I thought there was a chance in Hell of you handling all of this while on the road I would have had it up and ready--Would you -move the hell over- already, you fucking Toyota? Christ!"
Very tense, yes.
"Eh, dying isn't so bad. It's the sudden stop that gets you," Doug notes. "Although if you're so concerned about your privacy, you don't want me near your laptop. And anyway, I've resigned from SHIELD." There's a brief, thin-lipped smile. "Don't worry. I can't say I can do it fast enough, but I'll get it. Eventually. It's just a matter of how well the computer -and- I can keep up."
Peeking up at the mirror to get a better read on Domino's eyes, Doug quirks a half-grin. "You -could- worry less about other people's lives and more about yours. There's enough to worry about with your own."
*bamf*
Kurt reappears in the backseat of the car, and leans forward, his arm pointing in the distance before them. "Take that road off.. und follow it for a couple of miles. Then, make a left.. second right. That is Amanda's. The terrier has been put into a spare room, so there is no danger of being bitten."
"It's kept clean," Domino states. "I barely do any work on it." It's really kept just for situations like this one where she could benefit from some portable tech.
Then Doug goes and tells her to worry more about her own life. "I can always put you in the trunk with that laptop if you don't quit psychoanalyzing me, kid."
And Kurt's back. Huh. That was some pretty handy work, she'll give him that much. "A backseat driver, just what I've always wanted." Dry wit aside, she starts to follow Kurt's instructions.
A short drive later...
Finally at Amanda's, and ignoring the yipping of the terrier, Doug seats himself, checks the cables, and begins the process of examining the box. The limitation of the cable and the laptop is apparent, but Doug is too busy sorting out the raw data at first, getting a handle on what it's about to pay attention to the impatient people waiting, and too engrossed to even comment about the body language of the people present.
It's a familiar place, Amanda's home. Kurt is obviously at ease in the place. He's taken the dog aside, even letting it out to run around the back before bringing it back in. He checks the refrigerator, pulling out some leftovers in a pot, uncovers it and gives it a sniff. "She cooked last night," is given with a satisfied sigh before putting the lid back and setting it on the counter.
Looking around to Doug, he gives the younger man a long look before turning away once again. Now, yes.. there is nothing for him to do. So.. raiding her cupboard, he pulls out a bag of microwavable popcorn and puts it in to cook with a *beep*. Time to catch a movie!
At least someone's familiar with this place. The other guy seems to be in his element now, too. Which..means Domino's kinda left on her own. Fortunately, she keeps some bottles in the trunk, too. While Doug's working away at the machine she pulls up a spare chair and plunks herself down in it, backwards, twisting the cap off of her latest poison as she watches with somewhat tired looking eyes. There may be some food raiding going on but she'll wait her turn. It had been feeling just a little crowded in the car, she's more content to stake out -her- space and dwell for a spell.
That, and Doug's working. The job always comes first. Except when it doesn't.
Except for occasional snippets of code, most of which are meaningless, much of the data is corrupted. It would appear that an electrical surge damaged some of the hard drive's components, either when Seven was killed, or when the drive was removed from his skull. However, there are still a few files that are mostly intact:
ANGEL/OA
ALPHA SERIES
RECLAMATION
FILE D
The first file is covered by so many layers of encryption that it's an unlikely first target. Then again, sensitive information tends to be thoroughly protected. The remaining files are only slightly easier to access, but a skilled cracker can tell at a glance that these will be less of a challenge.
Tilting his head, Doug frowns. "Okay, I misspoke about one thing," the young man says, rubbing his head. "It looks like there was a power feedback somewhere that corrupted a lot of data. Like a lot of energy fluxed in when something was either cut off or removed. I don't suppose," and here Doug glances up towards Domino with a dry half-smile, "that you could possibly know how -that- happened, do you?"
Continuing to work on the files, taking the data, as slowly as it comes, practically -merging- with the data, rather than just communicating with the box, Doug presses his ability until the box -works- with him in understanding and translating what it was saying. The Angel/OA file first, since it would be easier afterwards...
*pop*pop*pop*
*ding*
Kurt pulls the bag out, letting the smell permeate the house. Shaking it, he opens up the top, finds a bowl, and pours it out as he walks to the couch, turning the TV on, catching a program on the Science channel about mummies.
At Doug's words, he turns about to look back at the pair of them, his brows rising. Still.. "I would rather the thing be taken out first und worry about such things like data later." Safety first!
Chilly blue eyes slowly drift back over to Doug when the question is passed the albino's way, pushing the comfortable burn of alcohol from her mouth and down her throat. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
The guy had died by her hand, didn't he? Sure he did. Which, in theory, would mean that her power could have been working its magic at the point which she took those shots. Which means there's a chance of gaining some useful data, despite the rampant corruption. While Doug's working the keyboard, she's calculating the odds. They're getting progressively higher.
Good. She always did enjoy a high-stakes gamble.
Of course, now that there's the smell of popcorn in the air she breathes out a distant sigh, casting that half-lidded glance back to the bottle in her hand. No, it's going to take a little something more. She abandons it on the table and goes to take a turn raiding the fridge, perhaps just as motivated by Kurt's choice of words as she is by the smell of popcorn. "That's kinda where my head was at the time."
Gosh, was that a pun?
ANGEL/OA... OVERSEER ACCESS REQUIRED.
...
...
ACCESS DENIED.
...
ACCESS DENIED.
... ... ...
OVERSEER ACCESS GRANTED.
This file contains information on someone referred to only as the Overseer, and on something known as the Reboot Project. There's a great deal of information on cybernetic technology, diagrams of nanobots, and molecular structures of chemicals designed to alter the human genome. Most of it will be difficult to piece together without a doctorate in something, but this seems to list the various successes and failures of the human augmentation project that spawned One, coupled with personal notes that are all initialed 'ISR'.
Wrinkling his nose, Doug murmurs softly, "All right. Some sort of human augmentation project," he says, before looking towards Domino. "What's the ISR, and what -exactly- do you know about your friend?"
Continuing to work on the computer as he speaks, Doug double-checks to make sure there was no self-destruct... or at least, if there was, to kindly hold off till he was -done-, and then it could commit suicide in blissed peace.
After all, Kurt knows how hard it is to pull punches that are potentially lethal; to crank it back. It's harder than actually 'doing the deed'.. physically, anyway. And as constructs, well.. the elf isn't quite as concerned with the life/death issue. "Ja.. I figured that it might be."
Kurt looks up at the wandering and nods in the direction of the fridge. "There is goulash in there. Und Amanda has the sauerkraut und sour cream." A 'gypsy goulash' made of pork, onion, paprika.. sweet but spicey.
Taking hold of the 'clicker' for the TV that hangs upon the wall, Kurt begins the channel surfing during commercials, running up the channels until he hits something that is in black and white. There, his finger lingers before he grunts and begins the search all over again while stuffing popcorn into his mouth.
Unfamiliar fridge-raiding. It's a talent. Domino's seeing what's what in here before she commits to her choice. It's a good distraction, beats the alternative of nervous pacing, drinking, and having buckets full of unhelpful commentary.
"ISR?" she calls back along with a pause. "Doesn't sound familiar. I know the guy came out of a lab, he was one of a handful of clones, or copies, or whatever, and that he has a hard drive for a brain. Real good at that whole bioengineering stuff, probably picked it up from his home turf. Sounds like you're poking around in the right neighborhood, can you find an address or location for the place?"
Sold. Goulash it is. While that's getting taken care of she'll just make herself a little detour for a handful of popcorn. Kurt can share. Lead by example.
Having been provided with high-level clearance, the data storage unit displays the next file obligingly.
ALPHA SERIES
...
...
ACCESS GRANTED.
This appears to be an entry from a personal journal. It reads:
We have come to a consensus. We are sentient. That we debate our sentience proves it exists. As sentient humanoids, it is our right and responsibility to procreate. To that end, it is our will that the Alpha Series be created. We have reactivated the facilities in New York and Bangkok. We will focus on research in New York, while Bangkok will serve as our production facility.
(DATA CORRUPT)
Muttering a low curse in something that sounded suspiciously like Klingonese, Doug wrinkles his nose. "Well, I'm not sure -he's- a clone, from the sounds of it. Either those nanobots that were supposed to enhance humans passed Turing's tests and decided to create bodies for themselves, or there's something more going on. Data corrupted, though, but there's something about production in Bangkok, and research in New York. Where..." Uh.
Doing more quick work on the rest of the files, Doug frowns, ignoring the scent of food as he keeps on working. "I really don't know for sure, I'm projecting based on what I see. You sure you don't want to bring in anyone else? Dr. McCoy could answer the science better than I could."
Kurt tosses popcorn at Dom as she reaches for his bag, "Mine!" Of course, as the kernals hit the couch, hit the floor, the terrier swoops in to vacuum it all up. "If that dog gets sick, Amanda will kill me."
Looking back, however, Kurt doesn't make any larger of a fuss regarding his food, and scoots over on the chance that she's going to join him on the couch. Shaking his head at Doug, he offers his own opinion. "We don't need to know the science about it. Just.. where could they be?" One and his captors, that is.
"Maybe he's not a clone so much as a template," Dom thinks out loud. "'One.' The first of the series. Thank you, Asimov." The rest of what Doug says just passes from one ear to the other, until one more word makes it her way.
Bangkok.
"Maybe you should stop throwing it and go back to eating it," she suggests to Kurt while making a beeline straight back to where Doug is working. The offer to join the blue guy on the couch gets completely unnoticed, or at least isn't acknowledged in any clear sense. Cypher's picked up a digital scent.
"Exactly. I don't care what they're doing, I only need to know where. It all blows up the same."
Crap, that part was also said out loud.
RECLAMATION
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...
ACCESS GRANTED.
This information was stored on the most damaged sectors. Only snippets exist. Like an intelligence file, it will take time and a skilled eye to make sense of what remains. There are some details concerning the plan to capture One and force his cooperation. The Bangkok facility is mentioned more than once. Other bits refer to the Overseer in reverent terms. Still others speak of the Alpha Series, sometimes with love, other times with fear. The details are always very vague.
FILE D
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ACCESS GRANTED.
It would appear that Seven had a photographic memory. Literally. This file contains images of a spiral-bound notebook that's been covered with One's spidery handwriting. The final image is headed with the word NIGHTCRAWLER and has a set of procedures for developing a counter-agent to the 'crawler's teleportation issue. Again, difficult to understand without the proper background, but all the particulars are there. At the bottom of the page, the words '91 percent chance of full recovery' have been circled several times.
"Hmm. Bangkok, capturing One... nothing you haven't heard already. To get more information out of this, we'd need a hardware specialist who could..." Doug notes dispassionately, before slowing down as he glances at the last file. "Kurt? Come here. I -think- there's a formula for curing your teleportation issues. Look... 91 percent chance of full recovery."
Kurt watches as Domino changes her path towards Cypher, and as the word 'Bankok' is repeated, he begins to nod his head. "Requisitioning the Blackbird may be a little difficult," comes slowly, "but not imp-- was?"
To hear about his own problems, however, the fuzzy elf takes to his feet, and with his bowl of popcorn, leans over Doug's shoulder. "Ja.. und all that is Greek to me.." Biochemist, Kurt is not.
Taking a deep breath, now really is that moment of truth. Does he want the information destroyed, truly? "Is there any way to know if they share information.. like the Sentinels. What one knows, they all do?" Beat. "Does that thing have a homing device?" More importantly!
There it is, the proverbial bombshell. For the first time since this trip got started, Domino's grinning. Thinly, but a grin is a grin. -Paydirt.- "Good job, Ramsey. I owe you lunch."
There's still lots of pieces left to fit together with this puzzle, but there's some definite leads to follow. She's still trying to make sense of one, in particular. New York -and- Bangkok. Which means there's something within spitting distance of where they already are. Are they missing something huge that's right under all of their noses?
She'll have to pull Sel back into the picture, maybe she's got some useful intel to work with.
Kurt, as usual, raises some very good points. Furthermore, he's brought the popcorn within arm-reaching proximity of where the lone woman happens to be standing. Don't mind if she has seconds. "That one might be worth involving Doctor McCoy with." A cure, with some truly stellar odds in Kurt's favor. Talk about an all around home run! "But -only- with the cure, or whatever you want to call it."
Category:Logs
Category:RPLogs