Video - mention of "apparent" child suicide

[prorenataa]

[ Life had taken so many twists and turns that Adrien had been sitting on certain events for a bit longer than he had originally anticipated. He had been pulled in multiple directions, which was nothing new in his life, watching over a friend, treating other friends and watching events from the shadows.

He hadn't been affected by the shadows, mostly because he suspected that whatever was causing them had taken one look at him and overloaded before retreating.

Also in the mix, was the consideration of just what to do with the information. To go underground with it or above board. He suspected his feed would be watched, fuck the Fates but he was used to that level of scrutiny. In the end, a specific and recent event, a finding during his most recent follow-up had prompted him to his next actions.

It was late, late enough that his electricity had gone out like clockwork. A fire burned in the hearth, it's light casting an amber glow and shadows across his face as he actually put himself in the frame for once. ]



Before I begin, I want you all to be aware that this communication is not encrypted. I suspect, it wouldn't matter if it were, but if any of you enjoy that illusion, let me disabuse you of it now.

Are we all done with our latest bit of self imposed dramatics? If not, feel free to fill one another in as the rest of the class makes it back to their seats.

Weeks ago, you may recall the fog that overran Region Five? There was something in that fog, which some of you might have experienced; the voices?

A handful of us, non-natives shall we say because not all of us were on the Moira but we were not Savrii, encountered something within a tunnel. Actually we encountered quite a bit, but for the sake of brevity I'm going right to the heart of the matter.

We encountered a child, formed from ... a flesh like substance and held behind a barrier.

She remarked that we had come, as if she had called us and said she had called before but no one came then. She insisted that they had killed unknown others. She insisted she wanted to help and was here to warn us.

We asked who were 'they' and 'others' but getting specifics was difficult. Words that were cast about include:

"Yes! I--I called you, I tried to give it back, but..."

"The... people here. The ones who-- "

"--twist us--"
"--rule--"
"Don't leave us--" "Run--"
"--lie they lie they lie they lie--"

"That's what they do. They take you and change you and they kill you if they can't and that's what happened that's why the people who helped us are all gone!"

[ Adrien paused and reached up to rub at his temple for a moment, before lowering his hand to stroke his hand over Courser's broad head. ]

As those of you who know me are aware, I am what my world calls psi-null, meaning that psychic intrusion does not usually work on me. However, this encountered, carried with it a psychic intrusion that affected even me. Makes of that what you will.

But back to the child's words. She insisted that 'the greeter, the makers... helped us. Helped you. But the-- the liars in this place took that away. They killed them, and--' and 'They lie about everything. They take you apart and find all the pieces and twist you up so you fit into their shape. Except they killed the makers and they killed the ones like me and I don't know--'

At this point we were interrupted by Savrii personnel. We tried to release the child and she made a move towards the soft targets of the group and whether she meant harm or aid, we don't know. Everything she said could have been meant to manipulate us into releasing her. It could have truth, we don't know.

The timing is also such that her capture was around the time the fog disappeared.

[ This time, when his hand moved away from Courser, Adrien rubbed at his eyes in a tired manner. ]

I've done what I could, offered my assistance to research teams who pulled samples from the tunnel and gathered that data, while also attempting to follow-up with the child's status. I've been stone walled and had to push when and where I could to get any traction there.

[ Not to mention, he's been busy with his day job. Sleep has been a joke. ]

Today I was told that the child had died. The cause is listed as apparent suicide, but I was never shown a body.

[ Lowering his hand once again, he reached for the device, lifting it up as he prepared to sign off. ]

These are the facts as I know them. If you want any further details, contact me if you wish. Otherwise, feel free to draw your own conclusions from the relevant data.

[OOC: Link to the log event some of these details/dialogue comes from ]

Comments

[coldhardy]

[Elsa's wide blue eyes look surprised and sad, and her expression is troubled.]

She's dead? Who told you that... how did they tell you?

[She'd found it hard to believe the child, but there were moments where it had strongly influenced her thoughts and mood. That's dangerous, she knows -- that anyone might be able to control her.]

Wait. Should I talk to you some other way?

Encrypted - Get out Rinzler!

[prorenataa]

[ While Adrien was fairly relaxed when it came to his own safety, he remembered Elsa from the tunnel and took a moment to enact an encryption algorithm he'd picked up ... somewhere.

Probably from Stark. ]

I can't promise the Savrii don't have some sort of override, but our conversation should be mostly private.

I was told by the people who secured her in the first place. I've been trying to gain access to her, been making a right pest of myself. Today I was told that she was dead of an apparent suicide and no I could not see the body.

text;

[nishizono]

everyone gets all uppity and dramatic when it's kids involved, huh.

text;

[prorenataa]

Is there a question in there somewhere or ...

video;

[modelsixtythree]

[Natasha's expression is unreadable when the video flicks on.]

Suicide?

video;

[prorenataa]

[ His own expression is distracted, like he's ... cleaning something? ]

That's what they said.

text

[mylawn]

[He's seen the video footage of the encounter, courtesy of Zer0, and Ana had told him all that she could, considering she was one of the party who got knocked out. Suffice to say, though he can't consider the child at all trustworthy, the Savrii don't look so hot, either.

Or maybe he's just a little biased.]

So what do you think really happened?

text

[prorenataa]

The data is inconclusive.

[ He's learned not to draw conclusions without the facts. It's been an internal wrestling match to make the choice to share what he'd heard and knew at all, because it is the nature of people to speculate.

But perhaps it's time to bring in as many eyes as possible on this matter. ]

voice;

[brokeassgoing]

Usually I take cryptic bullshit spoken by a mysterious creepy child with a grain of salt....still, if this is a trick, it's one that'll tug at your heartstrings.

voice;

[prorenataa]

I don't have heartstrings. I have extreme amounts of what I consider healthy paranoia.

text; private

[a_shadow]

You sure it was a kid? Or did it just look like a kid?

text; private

[prorenataa]

Tex, does it really fucking matter?

[warandpeace]

I'm interested to hear what you think.

I've been looking into a bit of Savrii history, if you should have the time to talk.

[Not over the network. It makes his conversation with Ocelot even more relevant. Though knowing that not even a healthy amount of mental fortitude could block that influence raises the stakes.]

[prorenataa]

I'm just sitting in the dark, cleaning a Glock.

[ He and sleep had always enjoyed an extremely remote relationship. ]

text;

[shashka]

[ of course, this is something that piques his interest. but considering he doesn't know the man, one has to be careful about how you go around collecting information. ]

Charming.

[ it almost reminds him of the Soviet Union. all it needs is a little more photo editing. ]

text;

[prorenataa]

Not especially

[ But hey, each to his own. ]

( text )

[sleepdarts]

I'd like to see what you have.

( text )

[prorenataa]

Not over the network.

[ That is his only stipulation.

Encrypted; Text

[beautifulspaceraptor]

The entity I'd connected with over the psychic link was a mental conglomerate that'd called itself 'Mother'. It was angry and looking to for vengeance. If what this child has revealed is reliable, it would explain the potential motivation behind infecting us with the contaminant, even vague as it is.

I'm not entirely sure we can trust this departure of information as entirely good-willed considering the psychic backdoor the contaminants seemed to have left us with, but there's a lot of holes in what we know about the society we'd been thrown into.

And after what had happened to Shepard recently, I'm rather inclined to believe it.

Encrypted; Text

[prorenataa]

[ Well.

That is a lot of very good information that definitely helps slot of what he's learned into a different light.

Hmmm.

But first. ]

What happened to Shepard?

video;

[sketchycharacter]

Did they bother to write down how the kid allegedly did it, or was that left nice and vague?

video;

[prorenataa]

Three guesses and the first two don't count.

video;

[sugaroutlaw]

[a grossed out look.]

The hell was that thing?!

video;

[prorenataa]

You need to elaborate on the word 'thing'.

action;

[tearsinajar]

[ At this point, Elena was still staying with him in Region Two. She'd waited until he was done projecting the call onto the network, a mug of warm tea between her hands, watching him from the doorway. From time to time, getting a full night's sleep was achievable. Tonight was one of those nights where accomplishing that without needing a sleeping pill or two was impossible. Tea seemed like her only option, that and sitting by the fire until she became drowsy, which she hadn't expected he would be there after the electricity had gone out. ]

Are you alright?

[ Hoping not to startle him, speaking up should've alerted him to her presence. Though...Courser had a keen sense when it came to movement inside the house and outside. He would've known she was up and making her tea before she'd shuffled to the other room, a light throw wrapped over her shoulders. ]

action;

[prorenataa]

[ Adrien had retreated to a bit of wall by the window at this point. He was leaning against the frame, hands in his pockets as he stared out into the night.

He'd grown so used to Elena's quiet presence over the weeks, that he'd instinctively noted her moving around, but hadn't alerted to it. He knew that some nights were better than others for her and if she required his intervention, wanted to talk or simply wanted his presence, she'd seek him out.

Otherwise, he did his best to give her space and ensure that she (hopefully) felt comfortable enough to make herself at home; rather than feel like a guest who was going to have her host swoop in at every sneeze.

At the sound of her voice, he turned towards her and blinked. ]

I'm f ... [ he began to respond with the habitual phrase 'I'm fine' but then he stopped, considered and amended. ] Just thinking.

[ It was a bit of an understatement, he was analyzing data, but it was a genuine answer all the same.

After a moment, he straightened and turned towards her, walking towards the chairs in the room. ]

Difficult night?