station72 | [DAY 45] let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night

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[DAY 45] let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night

CHARACTERS: Mynockman (

batmotif), Mara Jade (

snaphiss), and everyone who offered to help with the plan.
WHERE: Public Security HQ
WHEN: Day 45, nighttime.
SUMMARY: The break-in is happening. Distractions, hacking, potential information theft, and maybe even some quick getaways are all on the table.
WARNINGS: None at the moment, but will be added as necessary.

OOC: Below are the mods' description of the interior, exterior, and Ngozi's office proper! I will be making top-levels for each "team" and we can go from there, but threadhopping is highly encouraged for the sake of characters communicating effectively (or not so effectively, your choice) with one another.

Other than that, dive in and have fun! You've pretty much got free rein to make up your own NPCs in and around the building, run into your own problems (or have things go very smoothly if that's how you roll), and what have you!

EXTERIOR

Public Security Headquarters is twenty-story, older construction building located in Concordia’s DELTA BLOCK. It’s surrounded by a number of taller high rises that primarily house corporate, government and private offices. There’s very little in the way of residential housing in the blocks surrounding HQ. In general, this area of Concordia is a strong blend of old and new next to (and on top of) each other. There’s a motorpool located on the HQ’s roof with a fleet of PS hovercraft. The motorpool is manned by two PS officers at what’s nominally a ‘guard station’ who check vehicles in and out. There’s a fair amount of movement in and out of the motorpool, but it’s clearly based on shift rotation with long periods of low traffic between shift changes.

INTERIOR

From the top down (rooftop entry): There’s a security lift that leads inside, though someone will either have to follow an officer into the lift to operate it from the inside or the lift will have to be hacked to operate without the proper security clearances. Once they access the lift, the hosts can go to any level in the PS HQ. On each floor the lift opens out into a small foyer-esque chamber with glass doors leading to the main part of the floor. The glass doors have a security checkpoint, so to get through them the hosts will have to either hack their way past or have a hostage (...or whatever) willing to help them gain entry.

Floors 20 through 16 seem to be evidence storage and databases; at this hour they’re largely darkened and manned by only a few officers. Floor 15 is personnel offices, including Ngozi’s. Like much of PS HQ, Floor 15 has an air of a place that was remodelled to once be extremely state of the art and has since seen some considerably wear and tear. The tile floors have lost some of their sheen, the cubical subdivisions are peeling in places, and there are faint scuff marks on a variety of surfaces. It’s clear that this late in the day, only a few people are on duty in this particular section of the HQ. With the exception of specifically lit cubicles where PS detectives are working late, the floor is largely darkened - including Ngozi’s office.

Floors 14 through 8 are offices and administration, an armory, a series of labs etc. Use your imagination if you go there, I believe in y’all. They also have the security checkpoint glass doors. Level 7 houses the AI ADMINISTRATOR’s direct access servers. The floor is entirely taken up by servers and seems to function primarily on extremely heavy security checkpoints. There’s no way to remotely access the AI, so someone will have to physically be present if they wish to talk to it. (This doesn’t mean Pidge or Anders have to be here - it just means they have to have a strong mental link with whoever is). Level 6 through 5 are more offices and briefing rooms, though these have suffered considerably more wear. Level 4 has counseling and interrogation rooms etc. Level 3 is a security checkpoint (that you’d have to go through if you were going UP) and levels 2 through 1 are open to the general public. There are three basement levels entirely dedicated to PS’s android workforce.

In general, use common sense about how these places are populated in the middle of the night. A good rule of thumb is that the lower levels (except for the ai admin server room) will have more people while the higher levels will have less.

NGOZI’S OFFICE & FINDINGS

The door itself has heavy security protocols on it that are directly monitored by the AI Admin of the building. The list of authorized personnel is evidently extremely short, so it’s likely sweet talking the admin AI will be required to gaining access. Once inside, they’ll find Ngozi’s office is similarly weathered. There’s a big desk and a series of shelves behind it that have a number of awards and digital photographs detailing Ngozi’s personal service history as well as various accolades for PS itself since her tenure as Commissioner began. There are no notable personal belongings in the office. The desk has a built in computer port, but Ngozi’s personal attachment isn’t there. The hosts will need to find one to access her profile’s stored files. It’s possible to “borrow” one from one of the cubicles, but be aware that accessing Ngozi’s terminal with another detective’s attachment will ping the AI admin. Hopefully you’re friends with it by now or you might be looking at having to make a quick escape very soon.

Once you’re plugged in, you’ll need to paw through Ngozi’s files. There are two partitions to Ngozi’s terminal. One is the GENERAL PUBLIC SECURITY DATABASE which has average security protection - any detective will know the password, or the AI can get you access if it’s feeling friendly. There’s a wealth of information on the general database regarding the bombings and a slew of suspects. Most of them seem to be small time arrests made in Subspace. Most of the suspects have priors, though none of them seem terribly sophisticated. In general there’s a lot of raw data and very little being done with it. The earlier warehouse bombing has a considerable amount of information stored, whereas the royal parlor bombing seems to have been less adamantly investigated. That said, there’s been a general increase in the number of filed reports since the parlor bombing - most of them simply have nothing to do with the bombing investigation. They’re all criminal cases, ranging from minor to major (though most are digital-crime related) and a large proportion of them are associated with notable corporations or have some ties to the Concordian elite. Notable corporations and individuals include:

I&D INC.

Fabribank

Manufacturing Progressive Insurance

Moreno Technics

Roberson Industrial Products

Aug Tech

Richards Soft

Kusuma Ming

Swarna Haydn

Loren Tristin

Aytac Devin

Kulap Aquila

Aviv Alaban

The second partition of Ngozi’s terminal can ONLY be accessed with the AI admin’s help. This partition is CURRENTLY A MYSTERY and will be revealed if characters get chummy enough with the AI admin.

(For reference: some OOC info and an IC post.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[A few perfectly timed explosions in the nighttime sky is just what the doctor ordered when it comes to Big Distractions, but that doesn’t mean smaller street-level ones aren’t welcome, too.

Barring that, any eyes on the ground will help those slinking through the offices above have an idea of how much time they have, and can provide warning if anyone seems to be growing suspicious.

Make sure you keep a mental link open with the rest of your hosts, because communication is going to be key.]

[ Sam had headed out a while ahead of most of the teams - because he planned on starting from farther away, and because leaving his earpiece behind to stay off the grid meant he was getting there the old-fashioned way. No pings that would link to his ID, no weird energy signatures caused by his powers suspiciously starting or ending at the Bearings. If they had anything that could read him as human at all, it shouldn't be able to put an identity to him, and more than likely, he'd just look like some kind of really weird blip on the scanners that showed up nowhere near where they were staying.

So he leaves early. And waits around for the appointed time. And tries not to project too much enthusiasm for getting this shit done across the mental link, but he's been stuck on the ground for over a month and that's just totally awful, ugh.

When the moment rolls around, he cracks his knuckles, pulls his helmet out of his bag, and wastes no time in putting it on and taking to the skies.

Sorry for that loud AWWWWW YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH you may have just gotten over the mental link, everybody. ]

[If they think Lexa is here because she doesn't trust this operation to go well, they are absolutely correct. It's not that she doesn't trust her own warriors when they're needed. The problem is that when it comes to this particular group of "warriors," she feels as if she's been given little reason to trust them. They don't work well together. They have a lot of interpersonal conflict. And there are those who are too petulant to be trusted to not be out for themselves when it's least needed.

But she's here. She is here.

Lexa is less a part of the distractions and more someone hidden, crouched into shadows with her mind open to those around her so that they know where she is. She has already tracked several paths to where she needs to be if necessary, and she's prepared to do actual harm if it comes down to it.

But as it is, she sits patiently, even as Sam is ... abruptly much too loud in her mind.

Damnit, Sam.]

[ Sorry not really sorry.

do you know how much he's suffered ]

[ And that exclamation is followed almost immediately by the warmth of something like a mental chuckle. Hell if that doesn't remind him of himself and Riley, years ago. ]

( You having fun, Jayhawk? )

[ Oh, you know. Just a little. ]

( You know when you get an itch in that one spot you can't scratch, and it goes on for like ages and it totally drives you nuts? )

[ That's being stuck on the ground for a month. If anyone here gets it, he figures it'll be Sam. ]

( Oh hell yeah. Best feeling in the world when you finally get to let loose a little and scratch it. )

[ Yeah, he definitely gets it, and if nothing else he's glad the mission is giving Sam the chance to fly again. ]

( I'm gonna vicariously enjoy it through you. )

( Next barrel roll is dedicated to you. )

[ This is why Bellatrix is the best brood. Other broods have dramatic show downs, they have barrel rolls. ]

( I'm seeing more pizza in your future. Maybe some nachos, and a cheeseburger. )

( Bribery will get you everywhere. )

[Sam's doing his part, that's for sure. And more than just punctual -- eager, too.

At this point they're too focused on not getting caught to really look out any windows to see the show Sam's putting on, but that yelling through their mental link? That comes in loud and clear.

Geez some of us are trying to focus here!]

[ yeah he doesn't expect you street level vigilantes to understand the soul of a cosmic superhero anyway ]

[Were he as straight-laced as Hux, he would be asking for permission before monitoring— and adjusting— the minds of those workers that are only briefly touched by distraction. In this case, he opts not to: from his perch on a nearby office balcony (amazing what the right connections will do, even for a minorly recognized athlete) he reaches out to keep focus on work, on selfish trains of thought, on Sam's brilliant display. A minor touch here, a quick press there.

Only after a moment does he notice something sharper— a pinprick thought, waters stirring somewhere else in the building.

He abandons his prior efforts to reach out towards Bruce's thoughts (and everyone else's by proxy).]

( You're being noticed. Personal security. )

[It isn't asking permission as much as it is waiting for a signal to proceed.]

[ The operation goes smoothly, to a point; their entrance through the roof's lift doesn't go detected, their hacking efforts at the security checkpoints go without a hitch, and while a couple members remain on floor 15 to go through Ngozi's personal office, Rey - with encouragement - investigates the floor below it. Once she's through the security checkpoint for the floor she realizes it's an armory, weapons stockpiling, and she takes mental inventory of what she finds.

At least, until she feels Ren's consciousness nudging against hers, which suddenly fills her with dread. ]

( Bruce is in Ngozi's office. Where is the source of the detection? ) [ perhaps if she can get to it, she might be able to provide her own form of distraction...even if her abilities are only temporary. ]

Edited 2016-10-22 15:19 (UTC)

[Bruce hears the warning from Ren, and Rey's question in response echoes in his mind soon after. He had been coordinating with the hacking team, busy trying to access the files that seemed blocked from them for the moment; it's a testament to the man's focus that he can manage to multitask without losing noticeable concentration.

Regardless of what Ren's answer might be, Bruce's own query in return would remain the same regardless.]

(And can you take care of it?)

( Keep your distance, Scavenger. )

[As much as humanly possible, he wants nothing tied to the Nest - less to Rey, given his personal interest in her continued existence.]

( I'll delay them. Keep them incapable of responding.

You should tell one of your slicers to erase all holo— visual recordings. Should something shake their minds free of our collective hold, I don't want to see them refocus their suspicion on you. )

[Between the hard distractions outside, the trials of distance and virtual security, they at least have the luxury of a significant buffer. Still, when he strains himself to grasp the minds of those three distant guards (two in the office at the far end of the hall between glass doors, the third nearing Ngozi's office) it's Rey that he speaks to in taxed passing, symbiotic connection singing already with his exertion.]

( Assist me. )

[ Her conditioned response is to bristle at his initial command, but for the sake of the mission at hand Rey forces down her indignation.

Ren offers to take care of it, but even in his thoughts she can sense the strain that the exertion takes on him to do so from afar. It makes her more receptive to his demand to assist, even though her answer through the mind link is tinged with disbelief. ]

( Without touching them? — I don't think my symbiote will work that way. )

( It won't. )

[There's such tension in it, as though his thoughts are spoken out loud and strained from physical exhaustion. In a way, they are: to leash three minds at once from so far away, however weak-willed they might be, is nearly too much to ask of his symbiote and its blooming relation to the Force.]

( But the Force will. )

Edited 2016-10-25 00:50 (UTC)

[ She doesn't ask him why his own link with the Force is insufficient, here — in the interest of safety and his tenuous hold on the guards he's mentally leashed, she closes her eyes and focuses on one floor above, on the minds she can't see but tries to feel for.

At first she feels nothing — untrained, her senses unhoned, she can barely grasp for what she sees before her with the Force, much less adhere her mind to something sight unseen. Rey grits her teeth and tries to concentrate, looking for a beacon, something to reveal itself to her for her to latch on to, but all she can sense is the bright flare of Ren's Force signature in the other adjacent building followed by Mara Jade's somewhat less-blinding signature one floor up. She tries again, only to be met with impatience and frustration. Her breath starts to come faster. ]

( — I can't. )

[It draws something from him, her response. A heated pang of anger that thrums across their shared connection, more impatience than outrage: were circumstances different he'd be more forgiving, but already his fingers— outstretched out of necessity— tremble, blood trickles from his nose and unlike so many prior instances of it he's keenly aware of the fact that to anyone that might stumble on him, he'll look nothing short of demented. Possibly threateningly so.

They don't have time for this, and he's yet to test the full extent of Mara Jade's abilities. She may not even be capable of that level of control.]

( Useless. )

[A dismissal. His impatient shift (in the footsteps of the Supreme Leader himself) from encouragement to disregard entirely. Necessary in spite of its cruelty if Ren intends to maintain his current chokehold on stalled sentries: the two in the office have open access to alarms, numerous contacts - the one closest to Ngozi's office a physical threat that could manually spring any disabled security systems.

He doesn't have a solution; he can't think clearly enough to manage it.

Perhaps someone else might.]

[ That word thunders across the bridge of consciousness between them: useless. Plutt had told her so, in so many words, on the rare occasion her skills as a scavenger failed to find him his most sought-after treasures — that she was of no importance to him if she couldn't provide, that if she couldn't find him pieces he needed, he'd find some other way to make her useful.

She's no Jedi, no matter how captivated by their stories and legends she'd been, even if she has some control over the Force; she doesn't know how to properly attain and exact a measure of her power. Perhaps in the scheme of things she is, in essence, still no one, of no relevant importance.

...But it's not Kylo Ren's place to decide that.

She sets her teeth and reaches out again — this time physically, her arm reaching out before her, fingers straining — and focuses. At first it's an angry, shuddering attempt at concentration, but as the moment drones on she recalls their duel in the forest, the chasm at her back, their sabers crossed over her face and the way he'd reminded her to channel in to it, to let it come.

Rey relaxes and gives herself to it, to that energy permeating every living thing, folding herself into the three minds on the floor above her.

Only in that rush of power, of yielding to it, she inadvertently sinks her awareness into more than just the three — with the exception of Ren and the other hosts she takes hold of every living mind on the entire fifteenth floor of the security building, within her grasp. There's a sensation like held breath, a suspension, as she finds herself connected to sentries and guards, administrative assistants and detectives, everyone all in an instant.

To Ren alone she projects her surprise, her stunned wonder at holding so many minds enthralled at once. ]

( ...Ren. )

[It's a shock, and a relief; alleviating the pressure that comes from having so much in his distant, somewhat blocked grasp. He can breathe again, and trust that it won't ruin them completely.

And it means his suspicions were not misplaced.]

( Finally. ) [His palms square off against the railing, posture going slack.] ( I was beginning to think I was wrong about you. )

[ There's relief and elation that floods her, that she can use her powers this way, and can hold these minds in thrall; there's surprise, too, that Ren apparently has enough faith in her abilities to have suspected all along that she could do something of this magnitude.

...Then again he's been on the receiving end of said abilities, albeit briefly, back on Starkiller.

A quip rests at the forefront of her mind in response, but it's derailed when she feels her powers suddenly lurch and shift, the individual minds she holds fast tugging against the cord of her own that binds them all together. It's a slipping feeling, something that reminds her of the Sinking Fields in Jakku. Sand sliding through fingers. ]

( Ren...something's wrong. I can't...I can't hold it. ) [ Her grip on them is dwindling, and she can't stop it. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[DAY 45] let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night

DISTRACTIONS/SUPPORT

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