[Nexus] HALO 179: Under New MAGnagement!

[The Bushranger]

[Glade]

Tobias holds Carrie up and starts looking for somewhere to set her. Sam and Dani are already on the stone table, Ori's on the only other item of furniture in the Glade, and he can't lift her high enough to set her on Dem. So he just holds her in his arms like a child and makes a mental note to do something about that ridiculous Blightwalker thing later.

Sam sits up partway and hugs Dani back. It's okay, I'm back now. What... what happened? The last thing she remembers is fighting demons on AMENside's airfield.

"You...you got killed. I couldn't do anything," Dani whispers, holding Sam tightly as if she's scared the older redhead will go poof if she lets go. "And...to get you back we had to play Histor's twisted little games." At that, the bitterness in her voice was obvious. "And...he decided that just having us fight illusions of you from your past wasn't enough."

She figures Sam can figure out the rest.

[Lord Raziere]

Kwen-ni just shakes her head. "Can't do the body. Thank you thought.
Anyway," She says, changing the subject from him offering suggestions, "Who are you looking for?"
.

"Caelynn, I say, Caelynn. Huntress, female human but with cat ears, late into pregnancy, still badass despite that?"

[Lord Magtok]

MagOffice - Sam & Hector

Spoiler: Firefox Post

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[MagOffice]

After Ark leaves, the two warriors step into the office. Sam looks pretty much the same as when Magtok last saw her. A little older, a little more tired, about the same level of suspicion in her eyes, oh, and a lot less bloody and dying messily. She has an MP7 holstered on her leg and a few other concealed weapons. Hector seems to be unarmed and merely looks curious to see the infamous Lord Magtok in person. He remains silent while the redheaded woman speaks up. Captains Sam and Hector reporting... sir. She's making an effort to meet her new Commander half way, but that last word clearly leaves a bad taste in her mouth when using it on someone who murdered her once.

"At ease. I'm not seeing a Captain Hector in my notes, so-" He fishes a pen out of a silly-looking coffee mug, grabs a blank sheet of paper, and writes

• Squad...Gamma?
• Captain Hector
• Other People, I'm Sure

"Alright then, correct me if I'm wrong, but so from what I've managed to piece together so far, there's...Omega squad, apparently for murdering deity-level threats deader than dead, judging by the two in it, Alpha, which is yours, Ms. Goswell, Sigma run by a Vulpan I've not yet met, and I'm assuming Squad Gamma, run by Hector here, who's leading...I haven't any idea who he's commanding."


MagOffice - Civvy/All Throughout the HALO Base

Spoiler: Mee's Post

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[Magfice]

"Actually, yes. The button is probably the best way of getting people. Otherwise I could introduce the idea to newcomers as they walk to your office to join? Not sure what I'd suggest for finding the current strike teams. Could make an announcement over the intercom, then meet them all somewhere. Up to how you want to run things."

Magtok nods, pushes down on the intercom button with his finger, and begins.

"Attention, HALO. Magtok again. I need some people capable of going undercover to report to my office. Don't all rush in here at once, I need only maybe...three agents for this operation, at most. If you hadn't been assigned a squad by the previous leader, that's fine; anyone's welcome to volunteer. I'll be making some new squads soon anyways."

He releases the intercom button, and turns back towards Civvy with a smile, as if expecting praise for merely doing his job, and not accidentally setting anything on fire in the process.

[Arkhosia]

MagOffice - Sam & Hector



"At ease. I'm not seeing a Captain Hector in my notes, so-" He fishes a pen out of a silly-looking coffee mug, grabs a blank sheet of paper, and writes



"Alright then, correct me if I'm wrong, but so from what I've managed to piece together so far, there's...Omega squad, apparently for murdering deity-level threats deader than dead, judging by the two in it, Alpha, which is yours, Ms. Goswell, Sigma run by a Vulpan I've not yet met, and I'm assuming Squad Gamma, run by Hector here, who's leading...I haven't any idea who he's commanding."


MagOffice - Civvy/All Throughout the HALO Base



Magtok nods, pushes down on the intercom button with his finger, and begins.

"Attention, HALO. Magtok again. I need some people capable of going undercover to report to my office. Don't all rush in here at once, I need only maybe...three agents for this operation, at most. If you hadn't been assigned a squad by the previous leader, that's fine; anyone's welcome to volunteer. I'll be making some new squads soon anyways."

He releases the intercom button, and turns back towards Civvy with a smile, as if expecting praise for merely doing his job, and not accidentally setting anything on fire in the process.

Thalia arrives after a few minutes, deep in thought.

[FireFox]

[Glade]

Problem solving, problem solving... Ah, let's try delegation. Tobias starts to pray. Of course, as a professional godslayer, he mostly uses prayer the same way other parents yell up the stairs to get the kids to come down for dinner. Within seconds, Carrie is transferred to the arms of a confused and increasingly alarmed Kynegetis.

Oh. I'm... sorry? It actually is Sam's fault, in a way, having sold her soul to Histor years ago to get her memories back. Are you hurt? What happened to Carrie? Where's Theo? Did we accomplish the mission?


MagOffice - Sam & Hector

Sam looks to Hector for help, but the silver-haired man is just staring at the mug like he wants to laugh but knows his fellow captain is trying for a more serious mood. ... Yes, you're right about Strike Team Omega. Strike Teams Alpha and Sigma have each lost a member to deadtime, so we could take some of the new recruits on, but otherwise that's it. And while I'm correcting you, it's "Mrs. Goswell."

Just after the silence turns awkward, Hector realizes Sam wants him to talk about the Patrol Teams. Oh, right. Yeah, I've got Patrol Team Beta, which is Thariza and Tovpir right now. I heard Nai, who was tagging along with Sigma when we hit AMENside, received command of Patrol Team Delta, but I don't think anyone has been assigned to it yet. There's also an Intel Team Tsan led by Mrs. Goswell's girlfriend Carrie, but she couldn't find anyone to join. I guess all the people joining up want to smite evil, so spook work doesn't appeal to them.

[Beans]

[Glade]
Carrie curls into Kyne's arms, hands still burny until someone gloves her. She makes little noises in her sleep, though they die down to content murmurs when the familiar smell and feel of her favorite tsundere becomes apparent to her on-standby brain.
Well, now she can probably focus on that job she's got at HALO and all, given that she doesn't have dead people to hang out with.
---
[Lab]
Pesty finishes brushing the mess into the dustpan, giving a proud smile to her new baby. Her wall-ruining metal piston-rifle baby.
Sadly, that was three months' worth of her narrow slice of the HALO budget pie, and given the new management... well.
Tobias, as a druid, had a soft spot for animals and those with animal aspects. Magtok... well, she's heard she has a history of dating catgirls, but that also means he has a bunch of catgirl exes, soooooo maybe it cancels out.
Waiting for funding is stupid and boring.

[Hattish Thing]

Shoyler Mctowry, one of the newer HALO initiates had been spending the last few minutes awkwardly sitting upon one of the benches. He hadn't really been sure of what to do now that he'd joined due to the sudden change of leadership. It really didn't seem to be Shoyler's day what with the bad omen he'd gathered from his latest ritual, and now the disorganization of the ACRO he wanted to contribute to! But he supposed eventually it would all calm down and order would resume its position over chaos. As it should be.

After a while of sitting back against the wall and tilting the large brimmed hat of his to precariously balance atop his face, he begins to gently rest. No more than a few minutes after, the intercom blares out loudly, somewhat spooking the cleric and rousing him from his gentle rest. Instinctively, his hands go for the hammer lying against the bench at his side, but in his frenzy he fumbles, bumping the hammer and accidentally sending it to the ground, the sharp metal hilt scraping against the ground.

The cleric sighs and slowly moves to pick his weapon up as he listens to Magtok's speech. Oh? Good. A mission of some sort.

---

And so, Shoyler will soon move to unobtrusively knock upon Magtok's office door.

[Zefir]

MagOffice

Tovpir, the giant stone scorpion knock on the door as well, maybe he can suit the terms of this 'undercover' mission. At least he might be able to know which team he belongs to, since the AMENside teams were only temporary as far as I know.

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok's Office - Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...

Spoiler: Tovpir, Thalia, and Shoyler

Show

MagOffice

Tovpir, the giant stone scorpion knock on the door as well, maybe he can suit the terms of this 'undercover' mission. At least he might be able to know which team he belongs to, since the AMENside teams were only temporary as far as I know.

Thalia arrives after a few minutes, deep in thought.

And so, Shoyler will soon move to unobtrusively knock upon Magtok's office door.

((I'll answer these in a following post, don't worry. Just saving it for after Mee posts.))


MagOffice - Sam & Hector

Spoiler

Show

MagOffice - Sam & Hector

Sam looks to Hector for help, but the silver-haired man is just staring at the mug like he wants to laugh but knows his fellow captain is trying for a more serious mood. ... Yes, you're right about Strike Team Omega. Strike Teams Alpha and Sigma have each lost a member to deadtime, so we could take some of the new recruits on, but otherwise that's it. And while I'm correcting you, it's "Mrs. Goswell."

Just after the silence turns awkward, Hector realizes Sam wants him to talk about the Patrol Teams. Oh, right. Yeah, I've got Patrol Team Beta, which is Thariza and Tovpir right now. I heard Nai, who was tagging along with Sigma when we hit AMENside, received command of Patrol Team Delta, but I don't think anyone has been assigned to it yet. There's also an Intel Team Tsan led by Mrs. Goswell's girlfriend Carrie, but she couldn't find anyone to join. I guess all the people joining up want to smite evil, so spook work doesn't appeal to them.

Magtok's pen jots down it all, crossing out Gamma and replacing it with Beta. He doesn't seem inclined to make any distinction between the Strike Teams and the Patrol Teams, for whatever reason. He does make a note of the Mrs. Goswell thing, though.

"Mhm. Thariza is bipedal tiger that could probably bite off my head if she wanted to, yes? And Tovpir...giant scorpion. Beta's quite the squad, I see." Magtok straightens out some papers, clicks a pen a few times more than necessary, and rereads a line he just wrote a minute ago, before looking back up at the two.

"Alright then, here's the deal. There are riots breaking out in Inside right now. People just going totally crazy, some sort of aerosol released into the general population or something, I don't know. I'm assigning crowd control and investigative duties to the two of you. Sort out who's doing what, or do the standard adventure thing and try for both simultaneously, and do what you can to get the place back under control.

Priority is the city's Red Zone, because terrorists are an uninspired, cowardly lot, and the target is always Red Zone. I'm almost certain it's a cover for something else too, because these things are always covers for something, so watch for escalating stakes and convoluted schemes built on mass sacrifice of innocent lives or whatever, while you're at it. Goswell, you might be a man short, but my gut's telling me you can manage; that this won't be too intense. Once you find out who's behind this, call in reinforcements, though, and consider retreating. If I were whoever's behind this, that's when I'd send in my elites to crush you and sweep up any evidence I was behind anything. I'd be expecting some plucky investigators or adventurers to devastate, not an abrupt, paramilitary curbstomp. Dismissed."

He drops his pen back into the coffee mug, and nods to the both of them, waiting to see how his attempt at assigning duties and acting like a proper commander plays out.


Lab

Spoiler: BeansPost

Show

[Lab]
Pesty finishes brushing the mess into the dustpan, giving a proud smile to her new baby. Her wall-ruining metal piston-rifle baby.
Sadly, that was three months' worth of her narrow slice of the HALO budget pie, and given the new management... well.
Tobias, as a druid, had a soft spot for animals and those with animal aspects. Magtok... well, she's heard she has a history of dating catgirls, but that also means he has a bunch of catgirl exes, soooooo maybe it cancels out.
Waiting for funding is stupid and boring.

"Oh hey, HALO has a lab? Neat, HALO has a lab!" Magtok, you're talking to yourself again. I thought you made it your new years resolution to stop doing that stuff. Anyways, Magtok walks in the door, glad to find a place that seems a bit more like home, and less like a constant reminder of the fact that this far under the sea, he's half-expecting Bioshock splicers to jump out and try to stab his face off. Unless of course this is a private lab or something, in which case, Magtok wouldn't just go recklessly barging into people's private business like that. I mean, he's a fairly terrible person, but he's not that inconsiderate.

[Beans]

[Lab]
The lab is, in fact, not private in any official sense. Pesty just seems to be the one who's used it most of late.
As the new ma(g)nagement arrives, Pesty looks up from the work she's doing on the Thumper. The reddish wooden stock and foregrip being attached to the weird wall-punching rifle, combined with its gunmetal-dark main body, is reminiscent of late-40s Russian gunnery.
Oh, hi mister new boss guy!

[Mee]

"Caelynn, I say, Caelynn. Huntress, female human but with cat ears, late into pregnancy, still badass despite that?"

"Can you tell me any more about her? Do you know when she joined? It'll just make looking through files easier."

MagOffice - Sam & Hector

MagOffice - Civvy/All Throughout the HALO Base

Magtok nods, pushes down on the intercom button with his finger, and begins.

"Attention, HALO. Magtok again. I need some people capable of going undercover to report to my office. Don't all rush in here at once, I need only maybe...three agents for this operation, at most. If you hadn't been assigned a squad by the previous leader, that's fine; anyone's welcome to volunteer. I'll be making some new squads soon anyways."

He releases the intercom button, and turns back towards Civvy with a smile, as if expecting praise for merely doing his job, and not accidentally setting anything on fire in the process.

[Tokfice]

Civvy nods. "Just like that. That was good. I'll go ahead and take off, though, since people should start showing up soon." Unless Magtok had anything else for her, Civvy would then leave with a polite bow.

[FireFox]

[Glade > Carrie's room]

Ow ow ow. The assassin goddess doesn't even think about putting gloves on her friend. So she just puts her in bed as quickly as possible. And then lies on top, keeping the covers between them. You really are troublesome...


[MagOffice - Sam & Hector]

Sam didn't come here just to answer Magtok's questions, but her own can wait for later. There's a job to do. Yessir. She heads out with the other captain, who gives his new commander a knowing grin. They confer in the hallway for a moment, then split up. Sam pages the members of her team to meet her in the armory ASAP. Hector goes looking for the members of his team to personally bring them to the armory. ((If Zefir would rather Tovpir be involved with Magtok's other task, than the third spot on Hector's team is open to anyone willing to do riot suppression.))

[Beans]

[Carrie's Room]
Carrie blinks awake groggily, but smiles when she sees her tsundere waifu friend.
Hey, you... watch the hands, they burn. Again.

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok's Office - Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...

Spoiler: Tovpir, Thalia, Shoyler, and Civvy

Show

MagOffice

Tovpir, the giant stone scorpion knock on the door as well, maybe he can suit the terms of this 'undercover' mission. At least he might be able to know which team he belongs to, since the AMENside teams were only temporary as far as I know.

[Tokfice]

Civvy nods. "Just like that. That was good. I'll go ahead and take off, though, since people should start showing up soon." Unless Magtok had anything else for her, Civvy would then leave with a polite bow.

Thalia arrives after a few minutes, deep in thought.

And so, Shoyler will soon move to unobtrusively knock upon Magtok's office door.

"Alright, thanks for the help, Civvy. I'll head down to the entrance if I need anything else." He waves the goddess goodbye, just as these three come walking (or scuttling, in Tovpir's case) into the office. Standing up from his chair, he activates a holograph projection, and gestures towards it throughout his following speech, as it transforms into various buildings, landmarks, maps, and people when necessary, to help get his point across.

"Huh. Exactly three of you, that's oddly convenient. Anyways, I have a plan for an attack on the slavers of Skyside, but my face is far too recognizable, and my stance against slavery too well known for me to do it myself, so that's where giving HALO a mission comes in. To make a long story short, I need one of you to go to SLAVE, another to visit MALE, and a third to visit this orphanage, which is really just a front. A slaver that deals in children, which is pretty ****ing sick. Thalia, I don't know if this is really the right mission for you, but if you insist on staying, please take MALE or the orphanage. Let's not tempt fate if we can avoid it.

Anyways, you'll all be given an obscenely large amount of money, and your job is to seem as innocuous and ordinary as possible. Ordinary for them, I mean. The sort of nasty, awful person who would buy slaves in bulk, as opposed to a misguided good person trying to do a good deed. Anyways, after buying up as many slaves as you can, I need to pay in full with the money provided, walk out the door, and then teleport every last slave out of there and to HALO as soon as possible, because the money's on a timer and is set to dissolve shortly after the exchange is made. I'm making it sound easy, but if you screw up and get discovered, you'll be in deep ****, and I won't be able to rescue you right away. This is not a safe walk in the park, and you're all free to turn me down and walk out right now, if you want.

Oh! And if you can convince any of them to become PCs and join us here, that'd be a fantastic bonus. I think we really need more capable adventurers down here if my whole 'bright new future of HALO' thing is going to work out. And...that's it. I think I covered everything that needed to be said. Any questions?"

Lab

"Hi...whoever it is you are. Sorry, still getting to know names, and there's no photo IDs or anything in the files that would make this easier. So...what's the whatever-that-is supposed to be?" Magtok asks, glancing at it briefly, but generally just looking all over the place, trying to get a feel for what he'd find in here, what sorts of science are done, what floor tiles might have foot-eating gargoyle-face booby traps, etc.

MagOffice - Sam & Hector

Magtok smiles. He figured there were probably some questions to be asked, but decided it'd be best to just neatly sidestep them for now, and get some more work done in the meantime. Work that would, theoretically, lend him an even greater shield against whatever criticism or difficult questions that surely lie with that woman. He's got nothing to hide, not yet anyways, but the less time under Samantha Goswell's eye, the better.

[The Bushranger]

[Glade]

Oh. I'm... sorry? It actually is Sam's fault, in a way, having sold her soul to Histor years ago to get her memories back. Are you hurt? What happened to Carrie? Where's Theo? Did we accomplish the mission?

"We did the mission. I...haven't seen Theo since we got back," Dani admits. "I'm fine. Now. Carrie wore herself out getting you back...mentally especially," she adds, hugging Sam tighter. "I...I can't do that again. What we had to do..."

[Hattish Thing]

Magtok's Office:

Shoyler enters the largish office, a bit wary of what seems to be a sentient and very large scorpion. Too large. He was absolutely terrified by spiders, scorpions, and other nasty creepy crawlies. It was a fact he'd always been embarrassed of. A cleric? An Agent of Kelemvor? Afraid of bugs? Anyway, he'll move to sit on a chair as far away from Tovpir as he could. Nothing personal of course, he just made it his policy to stay away from scorpions. Especially giant ones.

Putting the thought of working with one of the few things he was afraid of beside, he begins to listen intently to Magtok's plan. Slavers? In a place like this? Not really surprising all things considered, but it still disappointing Shoyler. Humans could be so cruel to eachother. He hadn't ever been to Skyside before, but from what it sounded like, the place was pretty damn frightening. Slavery seemed to be a booming business up there in the City of the Skies. He didn't really know if he was to raise his hands or just blurt out a question, but he'd gathered now was the time... Sir, I believe I could handle SLAVE. I think as long as I can keep my aura undetectable, I should be able to fit in fairly well. However... what should we do in case we are detected? A contingency plan might be useful.

[Arkhosia]

Thalia pales.
Sir, I'm afraid I cannot. The owners of SLAVE put a bounty on my head.
She informs him reluctantly, before swiftly exiting.

[Morty]

[Armory]

As a matter of fact, Hector need not look, since Thariza is already there. Polishing a battered old shield. She stands to attention and salutes when she sees her squad leader enter.

[Arkhosia]

Armory

Thalia is here, trying to preoccupy herself with cleaning a copper-colored rifle with an angular end, similar in shape to a hunting rifle.

[FireFox]

[Armory]

Sam and Theodore are here, presumably with Dani unless BR says otherwise. Hector saw Tovpir go into Magtok's office for the undercover mission, so he grabbed Thalia instead and brought her to meet Thariza. Then it's time for a lock and load montage where everyone grabs gear and weaponry.

There is a disturbance going on in Inside where civilians are going crazy and rioting without any clear reason. Our new Commander thinks that it's either a diversion for something big, or part of some dark ritual. Either way, we're going in to prevent any kind of slaughter.

After putting his battle rattle on, Hector examines a pump action shotgun and then starts loading pouches and bandoliers with different types of shells, most of them less-lethal options. Patrol Team Beta: we're going to insert into the hottest spot in the Red Zone to control the crowd and keeping the citizens from killing each other or breaking anything. Armor up, but bring a nonlethal weapon. Padded club, stun gun, sonic ray, magic, whatever. We want to stop the riot as gently as we can, because we're dealing with victims, not true hostiles. Keep that in mind when you're incapacitating people for their own good.

Strike Team Alpha: We're going hunting for who or whatever is causing this. Theo, you'll take up an observer position on top of a building as close as we can get to the heart of this mess. Dani, you'll follow me into the thick of it and use your magic to try to divine the cause. If there is a magical source we can track, we'll investigate in force. Bring a less-than-lethal weapon, love. Regular rules of engagement for you, Theo. Everyone else, be at the aerial base in ten minutes and bring your A game. Just like our new leader has to prove his good intentions to us, we have to prove our abilities to him. I want this done fast and professionally. But this is the Nexus, so be ready for everything to go to hell. Watch each others' backs and we'll get through this just fine. Sam smiles at them all, then grabs Dani and hurries to the teleporter connecting the main base to the aerial base. She's got a preflight checklist to go through.

[Morty]

[Armory]

"Aye aye, Legionnaire," Thariza says, and goes to strap on her armour and grab her weapons. Since her usual flanged mace is decidedly of the bone-breaking and skull-cracking persuasion, she also packs a non-lethal police baton... albeit a heavy one. Apart from that, she's got her magic scepter and her shield. Conveniently enough, she knows a lot of protective, non-lethal magic.

[Arkhosia]

Talia grins, and stores two police batons in her belt, loading her rifle with nonlethal rounds and prepping reloads as well.

[Lord Raziere]

"Can you tell me any more about her? Do you know when she joined? It'll just make looking through files easier."

"Erm....no idea about that. But I know she is really fast, uses Dust crystals, I think dual-wields some kind of weapon, oh and is friends with this girl named Arkhosia, good at fighting.....but when she joined? not the slightest clue."

[Beans]

Lab

"Hi...whoever it is you are. Sorry, still getting to know names, and there's no photo IDs or anything in the files that would make this easier. So...what's the whatever-that-is supposed to be?" Magtok asks, glancing at it briefly, but generally just looking all over the place, trying to get a feel for what he'd find in here, what sorts of science are done, what floor tiles might have foot-eating gargoyle-face booby traps, etc.

I'm Pesty. Or Mrs. Brandt. Or whatever! She shrugs, shouldering the contraption.
And this is the Thumper! It did that. She points to the row of wall samples and the big ol holes in them. It punches stuff.

[FireFox]

[Carrie's Room]
Carrie blinks awake groggily, but smiles when she sees her tsundere waifu friend.
Hey, you... watch the hands, they burn. Again.

Is this... permanent? Kyne's never heard of a mortal becoming a deity, burning out their divine power, and then later recovering it.

[Glade]



"We did the mission. I...haven't seen Theo since we got back," Dani admits. "I'm fine. Now. Carrie wore herself out getting you back...mentally especially," she adds, hugging Sam tighter. "I...I can't do that again. What we had to do..."

Sam wants to promise that she'll never die again... but she really can't. It's the nature of the job. Although she isn't getting any younger, she still has plenty of years to spend getting herself killed in battle. I'm sorry, love...

[The Bushranger]

[The Glade]

"Don't be. Just...try not to get hurt," Dani whispers, before leaning up to kiss Sam fiercely.



[Armory > Elsewhere]

Dani nods, grabbing the massive energy pistol she likes to carry around. Hey, it has a 'stun' setting!

She puts up no resistiance to being pulled along by Sam, of course.

[Zefir]

Spoiler

Show

Magtok's Office - Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...




"Alright, thanks for the help, Civvy. I'll head down to the entrance if I need anything else." He waves the goddess goodbye, just as these three come walking (or scuttling, in Tovpir's case) into the office. Standing up from his chair, he activates a holograph projection, and gestures towards it throughout his following speech, as it transforms into various buildings, landmarks, maps, and people when necessary, to help get his point across.

"Huh. Exactly three of you, that's oddly convenient. Anyways, I have a plan for an attack on the slavers of Skyside, but my face is far too recognizable, and my stance against slavery too well known for me to do it myself, so that's where giving HALO a mission comes in. To make a long story short, I need one of you to go to SLAVE, another to visit MALE, and a third to visit this orphanage, which is really just a front. A slaver that deals in children, which is pretty ****ing sick. Thalia, I don't know if this is really the right mission for you, but if you insist on staying, please take MALE or the orphanage. Let's not tempt fate if we can avoid it.

Anyways, you'll all be given an obscenely large amount of money, and your job is to seem as innocuous and ordinary as possible. Ordinary for them, I mean. The sort of nasty, awful person who would buy slaves in bulk, as opposed to a misguided good person trying to do a good deed. Anyways, after buying up as many slaves as you can, I need to pay in full with the money provided, walk out the door, and then teleport every last slave out of there and to HALO as soon as possible, because the money's on a timer and is set to dissolve shortly after the exchange is made. I'm making it sound easy, but if you screw up and get discovered, you'll be in deep ****, and I won't be able to rescue you right away. This is not a safe walk in the park, and you're all free to turn me down and walk out right now, if you want.

Oh! And if you can convince any of them to become PCs and join us here, that'd be a fantastic bonus. I think we really need more capable adventurers down here if my whole 'bright new future of HALO' thing is going to work out. And...that's it. I think I covered everything that needed to be said. Any questions?"

Lab

"Hi...whoever it is you are. Sorry, still getting to know names, and there's no photo IDs or anything in the files that would make this easier. So...what's the whatever-that-is supposed to be?" Magtok asks, glancing at it briefly, but generally just looking all over the place, trying to get a feel for what he'd find in here, what sorts of science are done, what floor tiles might have foot-eating gargoyle-face booby traps, etc.

MagOffice - Sam & Hector

Magtok smiles. He figured there were probably some questions to be asked, but decided it'd be best to just neatly sidestep them for now, and get some more work done in the meantime. Work that would, theoretically, lend him an even greater shield against whatever criticism or difficult questions that surely lie with that woman. He's got nothing to hide, not yet anyways, but the less time under Samantha Goswell's eye, the better.

Magtok's Office

"I got no problems with such things. I will take the orphanage then. I already got an idea." The giant stone scorpion say. He doesn't mind Shoyler's reaction. I just wonder why Shoyler is here and is going to be a Watchmember.

[Lord Magtok]

Lab

"It punches holes in walls? But it looks like a gun..." Magtok frowns in confusion, trying to figure out why in the world anyone would make such a ridiculous device when there are perfectly good powerfists for punching, and much shootier guns for shooting. It's a moment later that he remembers that his default weapon is a live goose that shoots lasers from its eyes, and stops being such a goddamn hypocrite.

"How far does it punch from?"

Magtok's Office

"If you're discovered, get out and go home. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Get out alive and intact, by any means necessary. I can't guarantee an immediate rescue mission before something bad happens, if you're caught. A rescue mission will come, of course, but that doesn't excuse doing anything stupid. You will not be safe."

Magtok attempts to make eye contact with the both of them, to stress how serious he is about this right now.

[Beans]

[Lab]
Pesty finishes cleaning the gun-thing and re-inserts something into the front, some sort of piston thing with a domed striking head about the size of half a grapefruit.
The distance is something I'm working on---keeping the thing stable gets harder the farther it extends. It's up to about four feet so far.

[ImpSyndrome]

[PSI-chosis: Poolside]

"Psychokinesis, mind control, clairvoyance, there's a lot one can do if they put their mind to it." Arlem smiles, someone polite!
"Not that I can do all of that, but it's possible. Nice to properly meet you. You've done some of those things before, through the spirits, haven't you? It's similar to that."

Leo's got to find some other way to get used to the whole "having his thoughts read" thing. "That's true," he admits, "but it's quite another thing altogether to do it without assistance...It's difficult to imagine myself capable of such a feat."

A pause, a deep breath, and then, "But then again, I suppose it's not the first out-of-this-world idea I've come across in the Nexus. I mean, between discovering vampires with human souls, combating enchantment-controlled spiders, and men possessed by almost a dozen different spirits...I guess I'll just need to start...expecting the unexpected, as overused as the phrase may be."

[PSI-chosis: Poolside]

Mr. C got around in the Nexus. You won't belive how hard it was befor he was able to do this. A creatuure a few inch in size walking trhoough a normal sized room... days may pass.

"I could, but as I said I'm not sure if I am able to do anything."

Well there is something I think he will be able to learn.

A thought strikes Leo at Mr. C's words: they sound an awful lot like what he himself has been saying about his own potential abilities. "You know," he tells his companion, "if you do possess any skills like that, we probably should stick together. Considering what's happened here already, maybe certain abilities can be discovered by contact association...That is, if you experience some effect, maybe an ability with similar effects will become clear. I think it's at least worth a shot."