oo1 [ voice → video ] (July 1st)

[interspace]

Testing, testing... Is this thing on? ALFRED?

[ Despite the sound of rain mostly being filtered out of the audio, there comes a slightly-computerized male voice with none of the background interference. As if it's speaking from inside the microphone. ] We're transmitting.

Positive?

Positive.

All right, and now... [ Video! Here's a young woman with some bright red hair tamped down by the wet rain falling all over her as she walks down the street. She does have a rain jacket on with the hood up, but that never really helps completely. She's wearing a frameless visor over her eyes, but even with that, she may look pretty familiar to some of the Transports here, though her "user name" identifies her as 4d 69 73 68 61 20 48 75 6e 74. ] Voi la! Are we in business?

Not only that, but it's booming.

Great. Okay, now to finally have a point to this instead of just futzing with my new toy. What's the current progress? I mean, sure, all these links to history and general info is great, but there isn't a whole lot of talk on how far we are now, what's left to go, how coordinated the actual effort is... Basically, how much shit is this Initiative still in and how much do we "Transports" have to keep digging?

... also. [ She flips the notepad around to momentarily show the street that she's on, heading toward the apartments. ] Am I going the right way?

Comments

[interspace]

No dumb question, etc., but it would have been a dumb answer if I said something else.

Something about them. Biological, then a bombing. Sleeper agents?

[bodilesswarrior]

[A slight nod.] They used the virus as justification, which is interesting.

[Her lips purse; she hadn't heard about the agents.]

From what I've read, there was an information leak. That's what led to the first bombing.

[interspace]

That would make depressing sense. Okay, so they double-whammied us with some political BS. Any info on the amount of casualties? Damages?

[bodilesswarrior]

I don't have exact numbers yet, but I know the locals were hit harder than the Transports.

[interspace]

That's only natural. We're, what, in the hundreds to their thousands of?

[bodilesswarrior]

As in "zero casualties versus dozens".

[interspace]

Wait, hold the phone. Zero casualties?

[bodilesswarrior]

From the latest calamity, yes.

[interspace]

No way. Not even one Transport amidst a contagion and a bombing.

[bodilesswarrior]

Sounds absurd, doesn't it? Makes me wonder if the Initiative played favourites in its defence system.

[interspace]

How? How could they have protected all the Transports but not have enough manpower for their own people?

[bodilesswarrior]

It's hard to say without knowing what exactly they're capable of. [If she sounds frustrated about it, it's because she is.]

It might all just be coincidence, but I don't usually believe in those.

[interspace]

Not in a case like this, anyway. It's too contrived.

Would you like me to run statistics?

No thanks. Gut instinct is good enough here.