☆TRACK VIII: I'LL REACH YOU BELOW

[interdimanagers]

Who: All rescuers!
What: The trio is here to give you the deets.
When: The evening of February 18th.
Where: An abandoned subway.
Warnings: Nothing predictable, but you never know.

“Word has it on the wire That you don't who you are. Well, if you could jack into my brain, You'd know exactly what you mean here.” ☆I'LL REACH YOU BELOW The notification is sudden. A several hours in advance, all rescuers will receive a ping over the network from Shep that they are to gather at a specific location late that evening. The location will not be given out until one hour in advance of the meeting, but they are advised to be ready to receive it and move out immediately. When they arrive, the meeting is taking place in an abandoned subway. At first it doesn't seem like there is a way in, but after slipping through the rubble in some collapsed tunnels, you'll find it. Shep, Gold, and Silver are all present, and will spent the first while doing a careful headcount of those that show up, until approximately 15 minutes after the starting time. The results seem to be disappointing. People who were here the first time are missing, that much is obvious just from looking around – the leaders’ unease with it is clear. However, it doesn’t cause them to panic or change the point of the meeting, either. At 11:15 PM on the dot, then Shep will begin the meeting by explaining what they are all there for: information. There have been details that the team has been holding back on giving until now, and Shep will somewhat sheepishly explain that it’s because they didn’t want the risk the change of it being leaked in the event that new recruits were incapable or unwilling to blend and lay low for the time being. Thankfully, he’ll explain, everyone here has more than proven themselves capable of working within Vista’s system. So, they’ve been brought together so they can be fully brought up to speed. Information will be delivered in three parts, by each one of the leaders. Afterwards, questions can be asked, and the rescuers will be allowed to mingle and discuss for a few hours. All the information is concise, and in the end the actual explanation will end up taking a half hour or less. Afterwards, Gold has brought snacks to share, as has become customary. Hopefully you like pastries. “So, if you've got the time, Set up the tone to sync. Tap in the code, I'll reach you below.”

Comments

[eversohungry]

"Are you so certain that it's prudent to start making plans to go after these 'managers' before we are able to secure a single victim?" Vastra can appreciate the fervor, but what she's hearing is that they're not ready to free anyone just yet. Showing their hand before the ante seems premature.

"Sounds like we would be opening up a hive before purchasing a bee keeper's hood."

[fromearth]

"Yeah, well, you catch more bees by breakin' a few eggs." That's.... Sparks no, that's not how sayings work.

"All I'm hearin' is that we got people with more resources, supplies, and leverage than we do. My experience, that means we gotta start making some ground, or else we ain't never gettin' anywhere with it." It's not a situation Sparks likes, but it's hardly one he's unused to.

[eversohungry]

...bees by breaking eggs. Certainly a curious turn of phrase, sir, and Vastra frowns and tilts her head to indicate she has no idea what he's getting at.

"I would agree that ground needs to be made, however I put forward that mounting an attack is not the sort of ground we wish to gain. If these are in fact robots-- metal-based humanoids-- it stands to reason they will simply manufacture or assimilate more. I've seen it happen before in my own timeline. We will lose more ground than we gain as they replace these 'managers' aggressively."

[fromearth]

Don't think about it too hard, Vastra, he's not putting a whole lot of effort into making sense.

"It ain't like we're going to be runnin' up to their lobby or whatever and declarin' we're here to fight 'em. Things go right, all they know is a robot went missing. Best case scenario, they're down one of their nice bits of tech, and some of their hostages get a little more room to move. Ain't nothing we can manage without takin' a few risks."

[eversohungry]

Duly noted. She'll chalk it up to temporal displacement for now.

"I agree, rescue missions never come without risk, however the risk-reward factor has to be acceptable. I don't see how chipping away at their 'nice bits of tech' will move us towards the goal of rescue. If these heads of these labels are as powerful as our leaders say they are, dismantling their servants would be tantamount to stealing a newspaper off of a porch. Noticeable and annoying, but ultimately doesn't get us inside the house."

[fromearth]

"Wh--the whole point of tech is carryin' information. We ain't taking them out just for the heck of beatin' up a robot." That's a nice bonus though. "They're carryin' data, and if we get our hands on one we can hack out whatever it is they know about these guys we're fighting. We ain't stealing a newspaper, we're stealing their... mail, I guess. Mail potentially full of schematics, layouts, and... you know. Stuff that gets us in the house."

[eversohungry]

Vastra looks intrigued, but skeptical. "It's a gamble. We have no idea how stupid or intelligent these robots are-- if they learn, if they even retain information past what is necessary to the moment, if they will destroy the data they hold if they are captured.

"And what exactly do you propose we hack these robots with? As long as we are stealing equipment, we might as well be stealing equipment to relieve the hostages of these chips."

[fromearth]

"Yeah, well." He picks at his teeth with a shrug. "Can't know that won't happen, but these things're try'na take care of their programmed jobs. I think they're more likely to fight back as long as they can, so they can get back to their work instead of leaving their bosses with an empty body. Odds are we'll get to disable 'em before they get that desperate." It's nothing but conjecture on his part based on past experience. But it's a lot of experience to base on, and that's enough for him.

"I was hopin' there'd be a more brainy type willing to step in on the hacking front. If not, I've always got my robot fists." He taps at the metal gloves on his belt. "They ain't just for punching, they hack into tech in a pinch. I'm no Troubleshooter, but I'm..." Pause for drama. "....capable."