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That was really cool CF! Loved the whole documentary/News thing there.

Project Beyt

ALEPH's concerns regarding the capacity of the invading alien Combined Army to significantly harm not only the Human Sphere but ALEPH itself only deepened with the first reports of soldiers subject to the so-called "Sepsistor Virus" which turned free men and women into drones. ALEPH's fears were confirmed when the first Sepsistorized troops were captured alive and analyzed. Specifically, ALEPH became concerned that the Evolved Intelligence could potentially infect ALEPH itself, a blow that would cripple the Human Sphere. In the interests of self-preservation, ALEPH began the development of Project Beyt.

The operatives of Project Beyt form a secondary iteration of ALEPH. All resources assigned to Project Beyt are cut off from synching with ALEPH's core, though they are still permitted to synch with each other to a limited degree. Only the Project Beyt's Devas are permitted to communicate with ALEPH directly, and they do so through several layers of failsafes and firewalls. The goal is to wean these Aspects off of a dependency on ALEPH. Should ALEPH be compromised by the Evolved Intelligence, Project Beyt will form a last line of defense. In the meantime, Project Beyt performs operations that ALEPH must remain ignorant of, and hone their skills against alien invasion teams whenever possible.

So far, the project has proved successful. Despite its disconnection from ALEPH, Project Beyt has performed admirably. However, there have been complications. Deprived of a connection to ALEPH, the Aspects of Project Beyt are beginning to develop more complex personalities and motivations. So far, Project Beyt has retained operative stability, but detractors fear that it is only a matter of time before the increasingly Human nature of its Aspects hinders Project Beyt's ability to perform its stated goals.

And that is all of today's episode of Documents from the Underground! Tune in for next week's episode where we discuss some of the illegal trading of silk!

Crap, that means I gotta post my fluff now doesn't it?

ElectricPaladin wrote:Project Beyt

(...)

Very nice work! I like it More than enough motivation to make some neat conversions, for one

Hellwolve wrote:

ElectricPaladin wrote:Project Beyt

(...)

Very nice work! I like it More than enough motivation to make some neat conversions, for one

I agree. Well done. It allows you to come up with distinctive personalities for them.

CDK wrote:That was really cool CF! Loved the whole documentary/News thing there.

Thank you! (Was afraid no one was going to respond to it - It took some time )
And yeah, one thing I really loved about the fluff in the rulebook was how everything, especially the first part, was written like you basically was browsing Maya and reading some documents / watching some videos... So I decided to replicate that!

Chemical Cutthroat wrote:

And that is all of today's episode of Documents from the Underground! Tune in for next week's episode where we discuss some of the illegal trading of silk!

Crap, that means I gotta post my fluff now doesn't it?

Why yes, it does!
(My thoughts when writing the last part; "Let's end it with a "IN THE NEXT EPISODE!"... But what should the next part be about? Hm, wasn't there a guy at the forums dealing with illegal silk trading? Yeah, that sounds good. Let's go with that!")

++++Booting Audiolog…
++++++System loaded… Initiating…
…
…
…
…Timestamp *REDACTED*… Location *REDACTED*…
*Playback*…

Male Voice - “Ms. Shinawa, a pleasure that you could make it. I trust your flight was a pleasant one. Please have a seat, excuse me for not getting up.”

Shinawa – “Yes, of course. I certainly didn’t expect to be dealing so swiftly in person with you…-“

Male Voice – “You may call me Kagit. That will do fine.”

Shinawa – “Kagit?” *a pause* “Turkish, not Arabic?”

Kagit – “An astute observation Ms. Shinawa, You’re certainly up on your languages.”

Shinawa – “In my field of work it certainly helps.”

Kagit – “Naturally. Tea? “

Shinawa – “No thank you. I was hoping we would be getting right to business?”

Kagit – “Of course, not all of us are used to old fashioned pleasantries.”

Shinawa – “I didn’t mean to off-“

Kagit – “Of course, none taken. Now what can I help you with Ms. Shinawa?”

Shinawa – “I would like to import seven units of silk to my company on Svalarheima, preferably within the next three weeks.”

Kagit – “That is a task, but certainly not an impossible one. Your timetable seems to have increased since your first contacted me, that will naturally be adjusted in the price.”

Shinawa – “And the price that you’re setting is…?”

Kagit – “Whatever amount of funding was allocated for your project by O12.”

Shinawa – “Pardon me?”

Kagit – “We knew that since you first contacted us, your network doesn’t-“

BAM!BAM!BAM!

Kagit – “Well then. I believe that answers my next question.”

Shinawa – “A hologram? Seriously? Shitshitshit…”

Kagit – “I had entirely been willing to go along with the charade Ms. Shinawa… don’t bother, it’s locked. If your agency did need a large amount of Silk moved, I was willing to negotiate for it. But as you’ve shown me, that was never your intention anyway.”

Shinawa – “So now what? Maybe I am still interested?”

Kagit – “You just put three rounds in a very nice, very empty leather chair Ms. Shinawa. I think your actions speak volumes.”

*silence*

Kagit – “I assume you still have bullets left. The smart thing to do would be to put a round in your cube right now. As in fifteen more seconds one of my teams will be opening those doors, putting you down, and then we are going to hook that little brainbox of yours up to our in house hacker. We won’t even have to ask nicely to get what we need from you. Right now you’re thinking about taking on the assault team, which is natural… survival instinct. I’m sure you’re good Ms. Shinawa, but nobody is that good. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.”

***End Playback…
+++Last Recorded Audio-Log from Agent Ibis, acting under the alias of Ms. Shinawa in the dealings with the criminal entity known as Black Paper, aka Kagit…

Nice.

I've still got to work on my fluff, but that really means I've got to go back and re-read the books so that I feel confident I'm not writing total piffle.

Very cool. It' had the perfect "feel" to it.

Thanks, I was bored on Saturday and felt like I should contribute something, so I ticked away at that... I'll do some more later.

I like my Haqqislam because I've really woven a crazy sort of reasoning for everything that ends up making perfect sense in the universe, so that makes me happy.

I'm thinking my Ariadna forces will be less fluffy, as they're very no-nonsense and to the point.

You might want to add in some sort of sound affects or something mentioned between talking. I didn't understand that she tried to shoot him. You might want also mention what she is a spy for. O-12? Business rival? etc.

Did mention O12.

I didn't want to get caught up describing sounds and the like, just wanted it to primarily be an audio exchange of the talking.

Looking forward to more. It felt like the opening scene to a Bond movie.

Chem... That was really, really good, mate. I hope you right more soon!

Here is a intro for my Ariadna force,

1st Special Forces Group of Ariadna
“Okay, listen up ladies my name is Captain Roger Van Zant and I am in charge of this outfit. The Cossack High Command thought it would be swell to create a joint Special Forces unit. We have Rangers, Chasseurs, Vet Kazaks, Grey Rifles, Scouts, Wolvers, Para Commandos, Tank Hunters, SAS, and a Cateran. For those who do not know me, let me be frank, I am arrogant, hard headed, and infuriating. However I will never ask you to do something I will not do myself.
For those who are wondering about the chain of command, Veteran Kazak Aleksandr is my second in command; Uxia McNeill is third in command.
We are going to be doing a lot of black ops which is good because that what we are good at sort of thing. This means that we are all going to die horrible deaths at some point in time. So if you do not want a piece of this action, then bug off. We are also going to do missions that require working with PanOceania, Yu Jing, Haqqislam and the Nomads from time to time. So if you do not like that, well too bad, get over it.
Now that we have that out of the way, welcome to the 1st Special Forces Group of Ariadna. Our motto is “Death Before Dishonor”. I expect everyone to live up to it, do not embarrasses me.”

Umberllia. Special. Services. team stationed at Research and Devlopment lab OSCAR. [Paradisio]

Mission- engage the Combined Army in the jungels of Paradisio to ensure DNA,Tissue, and LIVE! specimens for Umbrellisa B.O.W research.

Sounds pretty cool guys. I like the Umbrella Corp. stuff.

Yeh, nice work guys!

Wrote something up for my Haqqislam force, that turned eventually into a character scene for my Lt. Hope it's not too wall-of-texty, ended color-coding dialogue, as the formatting was bleh. Feel free to tear into it with C&C!

---Inbox (Lt. Maia Ferrer, Diwan al Jund)---
To: maia.ferrer @ jibrilnet.com
Fr: khalisah.alnasser @ jibrilnet.com
Subject: re: Something's up

All right, Maia, you were right. The Kampilan islands aren't quite the cushy dead end posting I was hoping for. After Ravensbruck, you'd think they'd give us a break. Kampilan seemed like a nice quiet vacation in comparison. The locals (what do you call them again, the Tasug?) got a really nice settlement zone. While the Arabs and the Farsi, masochists that we are, lept right into the deserts, they grab the island paradise. Those little boats skimming across the harbor (vinta, irc?) are quite picturesque.

I did a little snooping, and you're right. Loads of close-mouthed offworlders doing security and construction consultancy work? Nightly overflights by stealthed helicopters? And have you seen the service records of the people here in the garrison? Sgt. al-Hazred looks like an old drunk quack that I wouldn't trust with a stethoscope, but he saw action at al-Hadiyye way back during the 2nd Neocolonial. Whole parts of his CV are just blacked out... (Continue to page 2 - Y/N?) N

**

To: khalisah.alnasser @ jibrilnet.com
Fr: maia.ferrer @ jibrilnet.com
Subject: re: re:Something's up

They're Tausug. They've always been seafarers. "People of the Current". When the Philippines joined PanO, they got fed up and a lot of them emigrated to Bourak.

Back on topic. It gets better. Remember that new nature preserve that the Sultanate is setting up in the northern islands? Guess who's providing the funding? Masyaf MediTech. Private firm. Really opaque corporate structure, but way too many of the directors have ties to the HaqqSufi up in Alamut. You know I've never liked conspiracy nuts, but this is too much. PMCs from Corregidor? Stealthed helicopters? Secret cargoes that get waved through inspections at port? A nature preserve funded by the Hassassin ETTVAK?

I almost wish I was back in Ravensbruck. Those damned monkeys fought like demons, but at least you always knew where you stood with them.

---
Send? - Y
Sending....
---MAILER DAEMON ERROR 2501, please contact technical support---
Try again? - N

***

Maia shut the computer down and disconnected her comlog. She carefully unholstered her sidearm and then set it down on her table. She leaned back in her chair and spun it around, looking out the balcony into the glittering night lights of Kampilan island’s beachfront resorts. She took a long sip from a glass of cola, savoring the way the melting ice had diluted the fizzy drink to the point of perfection.

The sound of her office door opening was almost drowned out by the gentle beating of the waves on the shore. She made it a point not to spin around and confront the intruder, tried to keep her voice steady. “So what are you people going to do with me now?”

“That depends.” The voice was barely a whisper, quiet and neutral, the English accentless. It could have been the voice of anyone in the Human Sphere. “Who else have you told of your findings?”

“Nobody.”

“Really now? And what was that email you were sending?”

Maia clucked her tongue. “A commander’s got to be able to trust her second.”

“And you haven’t told anyone else?” Slight hint of mockery. Smug snake.

Maia growled. “I may be a kafir mongrel, but I know where my loyalties lie, Hassassin. I am a daughter of Bourak, regardless of religious differences.”

The intruder grunted. Maia tried to ignore the twitchiness between her shoulderblades.

“I’m curious. Are you just going to sit there?”

“Hmm. Odds are, you’re a Hassassin. I can’t out fight you, and I’d be dead by the time I reached for my sidearm. Given that you’ve got the drop on me, I figure it’s not worth the effort.” Maia took another sip from her glass. “Favor?”

“Hmm?”

Maia raised her glass to eye level, watching the refractions of the twinkling night lights of the beach as the cola sloshed around. The intruder’s sneaksuit reflected dimly on the glass surface.

“Whatever you’ve come here to do, could you at least wait until I’ve finished this glass? You wouldn’t believe what the USAriadnans charge for a can of Coca-Cola.”

She wasn’t sure if she heard a suppressed snort of laughter. There was a muffled beep of a comlog going online. “Zephon? Yes, you’re right, she’ll do. Clever, and reasonably discreet. And as you say, she survived Ravensbruck. She’ll be perfect for the Paper Route.”

“Well, I’m glad I passed the audition.” Maya finally turned her chair around, lifting her boots up to the desktop and considering the Hassassin’s impassive visage. “Out of curiosity, what would you have done if I had started talking to that MassiveEffect newsy who was snooping around yesterday?”

“Well, then she would have told me that you were untrustworthy and I would have shot you as I entered the room.”

"Glad I kept my mouth shut. And what about Khalisah?”

“We trust your judgement. If you trust Ms al-Nasser, then so will we.”

There was an audible click next to the Hassassin’s helmet as Khalisah set her pistol to safe. The Tuareg scout disengaged her thermoptic camouflage to reveal herself standing behind the Hassassin with a gun leveled to the back of his skull. “I’m so glad we didn’t have to do anything unfortunate. It’d be a pain having to clean brains out of the carpet.” Khalisah grinned as she holstered her sidearm.

Maia drained the rest of her glass. "We figured you'd be reading our mail, so I decided to use that to draw you out. No offense, but you fell right into it."

Now the Hassassin really laughed. “Well played, Ms. Ferrer, Ms. Al-Nasser. It will be a pleasure working with the two of you.”

Maia’s desktop computer fired up of its own accord. A new message was flashing in her inbox.

Deployment orders for something called Taskforce Karambit.

That was fantastic PW! Loved it.