1st Contract; video

[ninjamanager]

[the feed flickers on to show Charles in a neatly-pressed suit, looking about as professional as he always does]

Hello, everyone. Normally I wouldn't make this sort of open broadcast, but, ah - I need some information, and I thought asking the widest base possible might be the best course of action.

My name is Charles Ofdensen, I'm a recent arrival to the Initiative, and I've been doing a little field work for them, the past few days. I've run up against something unfamiliar, and I was hoping some of you might be able to tell me what a symbol means.

[he holds up a paper with this drawn on it]

Any information you have would be quite appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Comments

[Video]

[speakveryclearly]

[Kanaya answers this from a seat in one of the hospital's waiting rooms. She holds the tablet in her lap so presents mostly a waist-up view. The immediate impression is a mature fifteen-year-old girl who has a strong interest in maintenance of her clothing and cosmetics. Well, the immediate immediate impression probably has an emphasis on her obvious alien features - heavy green makeup, glowing white skin, horns, all that - but she can dream. Especially that she actually knows what Charles is talking about.]

That's a simplistic model of an atom. I'm afraid I've never seen the specific image of it you're presenting before.

[ninjamanager]

I'd grasped the resemblance easily enough, yes, but - I was wondering if it had any significance to anyone.

[he doesn't seem phased by the horns or anything, at all]

[speakveryclearly]

[Then that makes this a good day, in her book.]

...No, I can't think of any specific significance.

[ninjamanager]

That's unfortunate. ... Oh well. It may not have meant anything at all. The man that my partner and I tracked on our last mission had it tattooed on the back of his ear - it just seemed like a strange combination of symbol and location.

Most people don't generally tattoo their ears, after all.

text

[vaudevil]

[There's no way he's going to speak over the network when he sounds like he swallowed a frog, so have Lee's text instead.]

It's either an atom or the patch for the space program, take your pick. Either way, something is orbiting around a larger body.

[ninjamanager]

Have you seen it anywhere before, specifically? You mentioned a space program...

[vaudevil]

JAXA worked with a group called NASA that had the symbol on their jackets. I wasn't a part of either program though my company had contracts as part of the initiative for the space station that was built in orbit 5 years ago. Other aerospace agencies, some private, had something similar. You won't find them here.

However, what you can find here is something called UE or United Earth and they may have something similar though you won't get much information out of any of them unless you become a part of their fold. I do not recommend it.

[ninjamanager]

Oh, I've read plenty about the United Earth. But your candor's appreciated. ... No space programs here, hmm?

Perhaps the atom's a better option to look into.

[vaudevil]

You're quite welcome. Now, don't quote me, but it could be possible there is one, though I'm uncertain where to look at this time other than toward the obvious.

There are various sciences being studied by the Initiative. It's like you said, it's better to start with the atom first then work outward.

[ninjamanager]

Mmh. [Charles is quiet for a moment, thinking] Anyone you'd recommend that I get in touch with about this? I'm used to having a much larger list of reliable contacts than I do, right now, so any tips would be appreciated.

[vaudevil]

Queen Medusalith Amaquelin-Boltagon. She seems to be the main authority liaison between the Initiative and Transports. Her connections to others seem relatively vast in comparison to many I have seen here. She could be your best start.

[ninjamanager]

[hell of a name, but Charles had pulled up records on plenty of other experts with equally convoluted monikers]

She sounds like she very well could be, yes. ... And who do I have the pleasure of thanking for this, ah, very useful bit of information?

[vaudevil]

My apologies that I hadn't introduced myself. I am Lee Chaolan.

[ninjamanager]

Quite alright. The tablets sort of ... encourage an informality right off the bat, don't they?

[vaudevil]

I won't deny that. As long as I have been here, I've been annoyed with it more than I would say informed. I prefer a face to face contact personally.

While that is my preferred method, today is not a good day for me to attempt it. I'm afraid that I'm not at my best.

[ninjamanager]

I'm used to video conferencing, admittedly, but I can remember how much it took getting used to.

You, ah - caught the virus, did you?

[vaudevil]

I work in the labs and given the nature of my work, yes. I caught the virus. It is better to isolate myself than be the one to spread the contagion. My apologies.

[ninjamanager]

I should imagine, given the circumstances, there's not much you actually need to apologize for. It's not like you engineered the virus.

[vaudevil]

You are correct. The ones that had created it had long since incubated the ones that were brought to this island. Governments have been applying germ warfare for a long time to weaken a nation, this would not surprise me in the least if the United Earth was doing the same to us.

[ninjamanager]

I would honestly be more surprised if it turned out they weren't responsible, given what little the man my partner and I caught had to say.

Switched to [Private/Encrypted]

[vaudevil]

How interesting. I apologize if I had switched the encryption to a more secure one. I do believe that the sensitivity of this information had changed.

If say, by chance, that the Initiative is responsible, this could cause a widespread panic that would cause a serious complication.

[ninjamanager]

That was wise of you, and yes, I agree. Though I wouldn't put it past the Initiative to be a bit corrupt here and there in their pursuit of victory ... I think we can safely say that the virus itself was the United Earth's, ah... handiwork.

[vaudevil]

Agreed. Once we have certain evidence to support the claim, I would hold off any assumptions until then. With my experience working with various governments through contracts of a sensitive nature, I have no doubt that the Initiative would do just the same in order to stake their claim.

Though, in lieu of this revelation, they are using us to enact this purpose. We are in the midst of a war.

[ninjamanager]

Oh, I'm no stranger to intermilitary relations, myself. Believe me, we are quite on the same page. I know there's a lot more information to be gathered before any concrete actions can, or rather, should be taken.

[vaudevil]

Understood. The very fabric of our livelihood has been compromised once already with a previous encounter with a sleeper agent in the form of one of our own implanted with nanites that created a disturbance just last month.]

(A wild Amy appears...it's good that you caught it. XD)

[ninjamanager]

That was before my time here, Mr. Chaolan. I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me more?

[vaudevil]

Ah, it's Mr. Lee. Chaolan is my given name, but that's not important.

Yes, I'm more than willing to share with you. A man named Adam Jensen was the man involved. I don't know the full extent of the details surround how he came to have those nanites, but according to rumor, he had infiltrated the UE and was captured.

Since he was a cyborg, the nanites were able to use his visual sensors to relay information about the Initiative. In doing so, this could be the reason why they chose to use a base biological weapon, though as crude as it was, it still proved effective.

There was an explosion in the lab when The scientists were trying to remove the nanites. We didn't know how long those nanites were there, but Adam himself had turned into a bomb, and a devastating one at that.

At the time, most of us were transported to various parts of a world time thread, which was around the time of the explosion. A man named Elmer had lost his home due to the United Earth taking control of the time stream. We were overwhelmed and undermanned.

[ninjamanager]

[instantly, Charles feels foolish. how did he manage to screw that up? he should have recognized an Eastern name, even used the proper honorific. he's losing his focus. he berates himself for it, internally, then has two words to say before they move on:]. My apologies.

I had read about the loss of that alternate Earth, but the details of Mr. Jensen seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle. That's one hell of a way to turn a security breach into an asset. I'm almost admiring the sons of bitches.

[vaudevil]

I agree. As much as I loathe the UE, I must admit that it was a brilliant tactic and one that fooled a great many of us. Even we didn't know until it was too late.

[ninjamanager]

As gambits go, it's a good one. .... You, ah, mentioned you work in a lab. What field do you study, exactly? I know that can be a very broad spectrum where war is concerned.

[vaudevil]

Robotics primarily, but I'm also well known in the environmental sciences primarily in the field of remediation and replenishment. It has been...a challenging effort.

[ninjamanager]

And something I'm sure a war-torn society like this would find very useful. They keep you busy, I'd expect?