2022-05-14: Lost Dog
- Log: Lost Dog
- Cast: Liam 7-020 (as Hephaestus), Anti, Alexis Kerib, Elisa Kafim, Dr. Spartura
- Where: Treasure Robotics (Nouvelle Tokyo)
- Date: 2022-05-14
- Summary: Several weeks ago, a very expensive asset escaped BioNet's clutches, and took his robot with him. One of BioNet's wealthy 'donors' would like to get both of them back, and has ordered Hephaestus--the asset's handler--to do so. Hephaestus knows better than to go it alone, so he enlists the aid of some equally-shady people.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
To outside concerns, Treasure Robotics is just another large robotics firm, based out of Nouvelle Tokyo. Its public-facing offices have all the usual amenities, including testing facilities, open-plan workspaces, servers, and some very nice boardrooms on the top floor with top-of-the-line anti-surveilance technologies One of those boardrooms has been booked, covertly, for a shareholder meeting.
The reality, of course, is far different. BioNet, like many modern criminal networks, is diffuse by nature--but occasionally something comes to light that affects every part of it. And occasionally, one of its cells runs into a problem that it can't solve on its own. The latter is the case here.
The Crucible is a longer-running BioNet project, started by a School scientist who made an enemy of Adler Koch and faked his own death before disappearing into the criminal underworld. Old habits die hard, and he realized he could develop a unique niche in the science criminal ecosystem: providing other masterminds with bespoke pilots. So far, the Crucible has been successful in "training" a generation of loyal, augmented pilots... but it's run into a snag. They sent one of their handlers to Nouvelle to explain the problem.
"Hephaestus", the handler in question, sits at the boardroom table, having left its head for someone else. He looks every inch the Career Military Man, from the muscular build to the short, helmet-friendly haircut to the mirrored aviators to the practical-yet-high-tech modern combat boots. The bottom half of a unit logo peeks out from the right sleeve of his black smartfiber t-shirt. Out of all the faces here, he only recognizes Dr. Spartura, having worked with her extensively on his most recent project. The project that went catastrophically wrong a few weeks ago. Everyone else... is a mystery.
Hephaestus knows time is valuable, but so is making a good impression, especially when the other parties involved have zero regard for sapient life. He waits until everyone's settled, fingers clinking against the metal of his vacuum flask. He takes a drink from it every now and then. There's ice water inside.
Once everyone's situated, and the door's shut, Hephaestus sets the flask aside, folds his hands, and leans forward with a winning smile. "Good evening," he says. "On behalf of Dr. Jacket and the Crucible, thank you for coming on such short notice. I'm Hephaestus. Some of you already know, but for the rest: One of our backers lost his commission when its pilot ran off, and he is very upset about it. I'm here to help us solve this problem."
<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.
Anti -- just Anti, the 'Gridman' is silent -- is more familiar with Treasure Robotics' hangars than its boardrooms, strictly speaking. He is much closer to a tool than a craftsman, in these calculations; regardless, for some reason, he's ended up here. Did he follow someone in?
... he gives the seats a sceptical look, but people are sitting down, so he does, too. With his typical glowering intensity, he looks over the table, until he finds the place he's supposed to be looking: Hephaestus.
Anti is certainly learning something, here. Whether it's what they're gathered to teach him is an open question.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Dr. Kafim is wearing a nice black suit with a green tie, and a bit of green-crystal jewelry to boot. Her long purple hair is back in a ponytail, her green eyes sharp, her movements graceful as can be. She is all smiles--way more smiles than one would expect from someone who had done enough terrible things to be invited to this place.
"Isn't he precious?" she comments on Anti, as they're all settling in. She beams at him as he glowers. He's so damn CUTE. It's wonderful.
But eventually they get to business. "Why, you're terribly welcome," Elisa says of coming on short notice. "I do so enjoy opportunies to... help my colleagues."
A beat, "We'll need to hear more, naturally."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
BioNet meetings are an entertaining curiosity for Alexis Kerib. He has no grand fondness for the organization (though if pressed, he'd confess a fondness for an element of it that almost no one knows and which would be a liability for people who don't know to find out about).
On the other hand, their work very much lays track for his own, and in the end, that's the most important thing. He's come along, then, to have a nice, pleasant discussion about this wayward asset. Moreover, he's brought a friend!
They cut a bit of a bizarre look, next to each other; even scrunching down to be comfortable, Alexis is twice Anti's height -- even before you account for the flickering flame and trail of smoke above his head. The red glasses that seem yellow from just the right angle, granted, mirror Anti's own sunset reds -- or at least, they appear to at a casual glance.
As always, Alexis is unfailingly polite. "Ah, I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, Hephaestus! Please, tell us more about this wayward child."
As an aside, to Elisa, he notes, "He's such a wonderful creature, isn't he? It's a pity his creator doesn't see his full potential!"
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
Dr. Dorothy Spartura walks into the private meeting room carrying a paper bag with twine handles.
Dr. Spartura is dressed fairly neatly. She is, for one thing, wearing a blouse; while she is wearing very comfortable khaki slacks with a flattering fit, and even a belt, she is NOT wearing sneakers. Are they leather loafers, and obviously comfortable? Yes. Are they literally garbage you wear while watching TV? No.
She has a white coat over it all, of course; and her glasses, today, are goggle-type, currently around her neck.
She sets down and unpacks what appears to be a Plus-Sized RealBeef(tm) Bowl from a nearby institution. It is fresh enough that the egg still smells fresh-fried, and she takes a moment to break the yolk so it drips down over everything else, even as Hephasteus introduces himself.
"Well, next time pay for overrides," Dr. Spartura says, cryptically, before she takes a huge bite out of the beef bowl.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Without missing a beat, Hephaestus turns to Dr. Spartura, and answers. "We did. The moment I turned them on, the kid reached into the anti-intrusion code and threw together a lockout. Somebody taught him just enough code to be a pain in the ass. But that's been resolved. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself."
The handler looks out at the room, his mirrored sunglasses reflecting Anti, then Alexis--and they linger there for a moment. "You must be Alexis Kerib," Hephaestus says, taking the entity's striking appearance in stride. "I'm told there were others who couldn't make it, but I'll get the word out to them shortly. Anyway!"
Hephaestus takes off his sunglases. His eyes are green, and the right iris glows slightly like figures seen through night vision goggles. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a palm-sized projector, and slides it onto the wireless power port in the center of the table. The device turns on, starts displaying schematics. Those familiar will recognize the Proto Helios, dissected in intricate detail--from the unorthodox, weaponized secondary reactor to the modified Mobile Trace system to the high-performance coolant loops with hookups for matching loops installed in the pilot. (Dr. Spartura helped with those.)
"A little while back, some of our people scouted out a prospect who calls himself "The Sun Prince"." It's pompous as hell. Hephaestus says it with a straight face. "The Sun Prince needed someone to make his pet project, which he'd intended for the next Gundam Fight--he'd told us he'd taken it to his nation's Committee, only for them to veto his 'brilliant design'. He gave us a lot of money to do it. As sweetner, Dr. Jacket threw in my own project, one of the Crucible's older test subjects: Number Seven-Zero-Two-Zero. Seven-Zero had taken well to his augmentations, and to his training. Dr. Jacket determined he would likely survive the additional modifications necessary to keep the Sun Prince's machine from cooking him alive." A glance at Dr. Spartura, and a nod of acknowledgment.
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
Dr. Spartura keeps eating her beef bowl, glancing round to the others as Hephasteus goes over the basics. This all does not seem to surprise her, but then, she was probably involved, and indeed she seems to be getting a cue. She gestures in the air with her chopsticks.
"It's honestly pretty impressive," Dr. Spartura says. "Guy was already spliced to the gills before they even called me, which meant I was able to get a little more creative than usual. I was able to jack with his inflammation response which went well with the skin underlayering which is meant to reduce surface burns... messed with the autonomic hormonal systems to reduce shock-injury reaction... There was the usual bone and muscle stitching -- oh! But the fun part was the additional cooling loops!"
Dr. Spartura looks at -- Elisa, she decides, is the most likely to get it. "Three of 'em! I had to drill out and seal a passage through his spine, you know? Isn't that wild? Just so they could get the brain coolant working. I love the work but even I was thinking, why not just go with a helmet, but maybe that went against the Gundam Fighter code."
She considers saying something further, and then seems to smile, vaguely, before taking another big bite of beefonionricefried egg.
<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.
Anti followed Alexis in, obviously. They do seem to be connected, somehow.
He scowls, at Elisa, sinking down a little in his seat. He doesn't appreciate special attention, in a group like this.
He doesn't appreciate the idea of 'overrides', either.
His lips thin, press together, as he deliberately doesn't ask whether this boy was human before they got through with him. (Whether he still is.)
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"Oh yes," Elisa agrees with Alexis. "Mmm, it is a shame when such clear potential is overlooked..." The scowling doesn't particularly bother her at all. She actually seems to like it! So fierce.
But they have business to which they must attend, and Elisa will not have it said that she has no head for business. She watches that slight glow to his iris, the projector in place; she does not recognize the Proto Helios, but she does not have to just yet. Instead, she listens... A pilot with enough code knowledge to be a pain; a Sun Prince. So he would... likely survive.
Yes, that's probably good enough. And hearing Spartura's enthusiasm brings Elisa to look over at her brightly. Indeed; she does seem to get it, her eyes lighting up a bit. "My, through the spine? How bold! I love it." A beat, "I suppose a helmet doesn't have the requisite style..." Ah, well.
She smiles.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Alexis gives a pleasant, "Indeed! A pleasure to finally meet a colleague," when he, specifically, is addressed. "This is Anti. He's not the latest model from the young lady I have the pleasure of working with... but all things being equal, he is the one with the greatest long-term potential. The concept is one every designer arrives at eventually, mind, but there's something singular about this one, isn't there?"
He goes back to listening. This is all technical nonsense he has absolutely zero interest in other than for what it can tell him about the personalities involved. A pompous, arrogant nationalist; an escaped test subject, who is somehow special; a mobile weapon that might as well be fully unique to the subject.
"And where is your wayward child now, then?" Alexis asks. "Surely a runaway must have run somewhere known; would you call such a meeting for a search party...?"
He glances to Anti. Considers for a moment. Then asks: "And what is it that makes him irreplaceable? Some unusual tolerance for bodily modification?"
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Hephaestus rolls his eyes, amiably, as Dr. Spartura describes their patron's hesitation over conventional cooling methods. "'But the Mobile Trace,'" he says, and then he laughs, as if this were nothing more than a colleague being picky about the graphics in a presentation. "I told you he could endure it," the handler says. He takes another drink from his flask.
Alexis introduces Anti. Bright green eyes flick in the youngster's direction, the right one making more micromotions than usual as the sensors inside start to scan him. "'Latest model?' Some kind of Super AI, or something else?" He's heard of Alexis, and the bizarre parallel micro-world associated with him--but there's a hole in his knowledge encompassing what Alexis does. "Hi," Hephaestus says, and there's another amiable grin.
Back to the matter at hand.
"Primarily, he was very expensive," says Hephaestus, eyes flicking towards Alexis. "But you're right. Out of all the subjects we've had, he has... a good starting place, you could call it. Good genes? You're basically right in that they got lots of stuff right in him that they didn't get right in previous subjects, and people wanted to study him once his first deployment was done."
Hephaestus lets out a huff of breath; even now, the memory still angers him, and it shows in his eyes. "The Sun Prince wanted a demonstration. Set some Elevens on fire, get Britannia's attention, see how well the Proto Helios fares against their Knightmare Frames--as a bonus, we'd ID'd a Britannian lab near the operational zone, and sent in a second squad to smash-and-grab while the Helios and its drone escorts were keeping the KMFs busy."
"Shit went sideways," Hephaestus says. Anger boils beneath his voice like scalding water in a tranquil-looking hot spring. "The kid--well, I told you what happened. He took out the drones, locked me out of his machine, and ran for it. The smash-and-grab caught the full fury of Britannia's finest, while Seven-Twenty ran for the border. The mercs chased him and tried to herd him into the sea, but NERV's... things got to him before they could finish the job. The last readings from the Helios' beacon put it in Tokyo-03. Safe bet they found the secondary monitors and killed those before we could reestablish contact."
"So." Hephaestus reaches into a pocket, and pulls something out: a little metal disk with gold finish and blue enamel. On the top side is a unit insignia--a laurel wreath, a pair of crossed blades, and in the very center, an open eye atop a double helix. '12th Special Operations Support Wing'. "Our Sun Prince is furious, and wants both his toy and his pilot back, in one piece. I assume, anyway, he told us to do something, in those very words, and then hung up." Hephaestus picks up the coin, turns it over in his hand. On the other side is another insignia: the star-and-eagle of the Titans. "That's awfully vague, don't you think, kid? Dr. S.? Ma'am?" He looks at Anti, then Doctor Spartura, then Elisa in turn.
<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.
"I'm a kaiju!" Anti snaps, scowling, when he's described and subsequently greeted. Long-term potential...
... and the irreplaceability of body modification tolerance.
He thinks of the weight in his pocket, where his phone lives. He does not reach for it.
But, the way they describe this boy... Anti thinks, again, of Renais's perspective, on the danger Akane is in. They would... treat her this way, if Alexis got her involved in this. If she had to address the real world, then she'd get tangled up with these people who are willing to shelter aliens and kaiju, too...
That they know about her is uncomfortable enough. Scarce comfort that Alexis is referring to her in vague terms, when this Hephaestus is talking about how well he can find people.
He frowns, to Hephaestus, when he asks what he thinks about it. "..." He says, in deliberate elision, lips parted just so.
He doesn't want to say that those orders could apply just as well to getting rid of the evidence.
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
Dr. Spartura raises her chopsticks in salute to Alexis, finishing off her bite of food and getting out some kind of sealed cup of what may be hot tea or may be miso soup; either way, she takes a big sip off of it. "Right?" she tells Elisa. "But it was that or get it snapped constantly. Only way, really."
"He does have an excellent skeleton," Dr. Spartura echoes the question of 7-020's interiors. "Impossible to say how much of that is phylogenetic vs. epigenetic, though. Not right now, anyway. Cloning's harder than you'd think."
When Anti declares he's a kaiju, Dr. Spartura's head tilts at him, but rather than answer, she finishes off another biteful of meat.
"Well, as a medical professional, I don't feel that I can really give you advice on how to exfiltrate this guy from NERV's base," Dr. Spartura continues. "From what I've heard they have all of that locked down tighter than the Minmay marriage rumors, if you guys don't mind me dating myself with that one; and their BIG central base is, in fact, specifically built to resist the obvious kind of direct offensive you might have pulled, Dr. Hell style, back in the day."
"So here's what I'd ask all of you," Dr. Spartura concludes, "which is, how would you go about luring this guy out? And WITH the machine, too... that's going to be harder. That means he's, essentially, got to be deploying in it; and it can shoot superheated plasma, which rules out the old box-and-stick option."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
"Of course you're a kaiju," Elisa says to Anti. "What else would you be? Kaiju are very much of interest to me." Then to Spartura, "Yes, I see, certainly."
Elisa laughs pleasantly at the matter of what Alexis does, as if it's all a pleasant matter that they can share. She doesn't actually explain, though. That would be entirely too helpful of her. Instead she smiles at the matter of cloning's difficulty. Maybe she's just being polite.
But the matter of expense... yes, that matters. Useful in very many ways. She waits, through the talk of the demonstration, considers the matter. His anger does not affect her overmuch, save that she wishes for a moment that a certain someone were here. That would be fun.
"Ah, NERV. How exciting!" Elisa consider for a moment. "Yes," she agrees. "That is rather vague. And yet, in vagueness we find opportunity."
"...It's Doctor, by the way."
She laughs at the matter of the rumors, and then, "Yes, I think luring him out will be the key. Simply going in is... Mmm, less than practical."
She considers. "Well, the question is--what does he want?"
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Alexis lets Anti answer for himself; he sees no reason to take that from the young man. Besides -- the more opportunities he has to affirm his existence to himself, the better.
Geopolitics. Alexis is once again bored. There's no feeling in this framing! Just the cold assessment of capability! The movement of materiel back and forth! ... The Titans, though. That's an insignia even Alexis recognizes.
Teal panels all light up at once for a passing instant. Alexis affirms, "'Do something' is quite vague, yes. I suspect your Prince simply wants this to disappear without liability... slightly pedestrian, as solutions go."
Dr. Spartura asks a pointed question, and Alexis actually has to think about it. Then, simply: "If you want a specific individual to move, it would be a question of their bonds, yes? To force someone to respond, you simply place in jeopardy the things only they can do, or the things they must do."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
"Awful short for a kaiju," Hephaestus says, that banked anger giving way to an almost playful ribbing--which might be even worse for Anti's current state of mind. "But there's no shortage of weird shit out there these days." He's seated right next to a guy wearing(?) the sort of outfit you'd normally see on the likes of one of Dr. Hell's minions, or at a fashion gala with a very specific theme. It makes a statement, even if Hephaestus isn't sure what that statement is. (Aside from the fact that Alexis gives zero fucks about subtlety, maybe? Hm.)
"Ah," Hephaestus says, when Elisa corrects him. "Apologies, Doctor." But collectively, they're building towards a plan, a solution. "The obvious is the other subjects," Hephaestus says. "He's the oldest survivor, and he helped keep the younger ones from causing trouble. He cares for them--" Annoyance, again; that was something Hephaestus couldn't stomp out altogether, only minimize. "But I thought he knew what he was. Unless--"
Hephaestus puts a hand to his chin, in thought; Alexis speaks like someone who's done this many times, and as proud as Hephaestus is, he didn't call this meeting so he could reject others' thoughts. "Seven-Twenty's a weapon. He needs to be used. I don't think Jacket would approve of another Crucible subject as bait, but a kaiju, or something like that..." Green eyes meet Alexis' orange 'shades'.
"Didn't you just say you had somebody who could make those? That gives us a lot more room to work with, especially--as Doc S said--the Proto Helios is an absolute motherfucker to engage in terrestrial or aerial operating theaters." Hephaestus looks at Anti, then, realization lighting up his eyes. If Liam were here, he would recognize that look, and feel like crawling out of his own skin in terror. "Matter of fact, I think we've got a useful Kaiju right here."
<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.
Anti scowls, at Elisa, and doesn't much enjoy the idea of being of interest to her. He scowls at Hephaestus, too, when he calls him short.
His existence... as a kaiju. He's certainly saying that much.
Anti reflects on the fact that Alexis says -- more or less -- just what Anti was thinking, about the problem disappearing. They're different types of monsters, but similar enough when set in contrast to humanity, he supposes.
But... Alexis's logic on making someone respond...
As for Anti, he has absolutely nothing to contribute to the conversation about luring Seven-Zero out. Nothing at all.
His eyes widen, though, when Hephaestus asks whether Alexis had someone who could make kaiju. It's an angry sort of expression; it's questionable whether he knows how to make any other.
"You don't need to make any other kaiju," Anti insists, gravel-gruff, and perhaps it's pride. Perhaps. "I'll do it."
He says this sharply, firmly, and before Alexis can open his vocaliser to volunteer Akane.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Alexis does what he does best, when Anti volunteers to take this particular mission on:
Absolutely nothing.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa doesn't seem bothered. She hasn't seemed bothered about much of anything since she walked in. She just marks the correction and that's all. But the obvious... Other subjects. And of course, they aren't willing to use those as bait. Elisa sighs, but lets it pass. "Hmmmm."
A weapon that needs to be used... Elisa reflects on that, and keeps her thoughts to herself for the moment.
Instead, she considers. She might object... but Alexis does not. And it's not really her business. No... his reaction is altogether more interesting than that...
"How helpful! Well then, it seems that we have a plan."
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
"So the plan is to get 7-020 to engage, emotionally, with our friend here," Dr. Spartura reviews, gesturing at Anti with her chopsticks, "and then we leverage that to get back him and the Helios."
She stirs her remaining rice bowl, in thought.
"Solid plan, if you think you can swing the acting," Dr. Spartura tells Anti. "But I can tell you're a real go-getter, so I'm sure you can get him thinking you're a wounded waif in peril in no time flat!"
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The term 'kaiju' encompasses a fantastic menagerie, from the sensible-if-enormous beasts fought by the likes of STORAGE to the eldritch horrors NERV calls "Angels". Perhaps a kaiju that could shrug off raw plasma isn't too outlandish, Hephaestus thinks. Maybe Alexis's supplier could--
'You don't need to make another kaiju.'
Those green eyes lock on Anti, and were Liam here, he would freeze solid while trying desperately to will the boy to run. "Looks like we have a volunteer," Hephaestus says, with a smile. "All that's left is arranging the contact, then the check-ins, then the final setup once things have taken shape." There's nothing odd about his teeth. Anti's are, objectively, able to cause more damage. And yet, when the handler grins, it's like being in the presence of a predator who just scented blood--worse. Predators hunt in order to eat.
"It'll be a pleasure working with you, kid."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Just so," Alexis agrees, to Elisa. He continues to avoid crowding Anti too much; this is, after all, a choice Anti is making with no obvious coercion!
"Anti's greatest strength is his adaptability," Alexis notes, for Dr. Spartura. "I'm sure he'll find a way to manage."
With that matter settled, Alexis asks: "Will there be anything else, then, or will that be all for now? I'd hate to keep everyone here from what I'm sure is business of tremendous import."
<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.
Alexis does nothing, when Anti volunteers himself, but that suits him just fine. It means he doesn't betray Akane. That's what's important, here.
Dr. Kafim praises his helpfulness. Dr. Spartura questions his capacity to act the part. He grunts, noncommittally; Alexis, helpfully, explains how adaptable he is for him.
And Anti meets Hephaestus's eyes without blinking. Perhaps he doesn't know to be afraid; he's a kaiju, after all.
He does not return the expression of pleasure.