trans_9 | Spy Team #1 [Closed]

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Spy Team #1 [Closed]

[OOC: sorry this is late, guys!]

For the most part, since the Punishment fiasco, the Daligig have been keeping themselves to the restricted areas of the ship, away from the prying eyes of the crew. But while they spend a good deal of time in places the crew literally can't access, they do venture into places the crew just might not expect them to be, as well.

Currently, a group of low-ranking Daligig are taking some readings on the damage SHODAN did to the pod caverns, making lists for their private records of the deceased - and taking samples from the crusted fluids still in the mutilated pods. What they plan to do with these samples is unknown, but they are doing some chatting amongst themselves.

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After the recent debacle at Punishment, Aibghalien recognized exactly what level of trouble anyone who dared tempt fate around the Daligig would be in... but that made the information they wanted no less valuable. Perhaps more so, particularly where the pod caverns were concerned. If -- and he felt this was a very qualified 'if' -- if the Daligig were at all responsible for the repoddings of Command and Department heads, then he was certainly on the list the moment any duplicity on his part came to light.

That being said, when word of the Daligig being observable reached him, he immediately contacted Celena, trusting her network of contacts to exceed his own. Then it was a matter of furiously crashing through his spellbooks to prepare.

Celena though she may have seemed exceedingly busy had partly done so that it would be harder to suspect her and also give reason should she need to leave a location in short order. Such it was that she made time once Aibghalien contacted her as to Daligig working in the pod caverns.

Once she was able she moved quickly to contact Kang as to the opportunity to send another if he was able before she herself moved quickly to join Aibghalien in the pod caverns herself, shifting to her less conspicuous elven form.

And Kang was the reason that the third member of their odd little group ended up there.

Jono wasn't exactly busy. He had a few things that he did around the ship, but mostly he kept to himself. Probably should have been getting more involved, but he was a loner by nature. Intelligence was a good use of his powers, though, so he'd jumped at the chance. And when Kang called, Jono made sure that Siouxsie was safe in his room (and only his room, now that Julian had been repodded) and headed for the pod caverns.

Arriving, he noted the two elves and moved to their sides, nodding to them. He made a motion to his head, giving them a little warning before he spoke. Telepath, he said by way of explanation. Can keep this conversation absolutely silent, if you wanna. Keep 'em from hearin' us.

Well. That saves him a casting of telepathic bond, so he was fine with it.

I propose that under the cover of invisibility and nondetection spells, we enter and split up. If one of us is detected, that should decrease the likelihood of the others being so as well, with any luck. Are any magics or effects counterindicated in your case?

Though Celena hadn't had too many dealings with all of the other intelligence members she accepted his arrival without question, though with some interest. Dipping her head in greetings.

Unfazed in the least by the telepathic speech she replied in kind Indeed, communication without detection would be of great use, utilizing Aibghalien's spells we should be able to observe just what they are up to, should it be required I also have my illusions on hand for a distraction. If observing gathers little information I could approach them directly and attempt to engage them in conversation while you both.

As to your spells, spells that do not prevent or hinder telepathic communication would be quite useful.

Real useful, aye. Jono looked down, then knelt down to start unlacing his Docs. Honestly, the last thing they needed on the walks was for the boots to alert anybody that they were there. 'At could work, aye. Could maybe hide meself, but I dunno their brains well enough t' even try. I reckon anythin' Aibghalien's spells cover won' affect me telepathy badly.

He straightened, putting his boots aside. If it's anythin' to worry 'bout, 'M mostly psionic energy. Doubt it'll mess with the spell, but jus' so as y'know.

Good. Only three of them. Aibghalien drew a rod from his belt, swiftly gesturing with it. "We'll have 45 minutes or so of invisibility. That should be plenty. The rest will last around half that."

Without further ado, he quickly began casting. Extended invisibility, Mind Blank, Mass Fox's Cunning, Mass Owl's Wisdom, Mass Cat's Grace, and just in case they were somehow observed, Seeming to make them all appear as other people. (For his own sake of humor, he disguised them as old friends of his; hopefully Jono didn't mind looking like a cloaked ranger, and Celena just became an elven druid. Aibghalien, meanwhile, was a barbarian who made Conan look like Rick Moranis.)

For his own use he also deployed Greater Prying Eyes, Greater Herosim, and True Seeing.

Not particularly winded from slapping reality around thirteen times in a minute and a half, he nodded (forgetting the others couldn't see him, though he could see them). That should be a good start.

Celena dipped her head in acknowledgement before watching on for that minute and a half as Aibghalien cast all of the spells, watching the other two disappear from sight, something that she could rectify by switching to her true sight, which she did for that brief moment.

That should do adequately I think. she commented telepathically with a soft chuckle as she took note of the increased ease of motion, speed of thought and awareness the spell granted.

Lets see what we can find out then. With that she took little time in moving with near utter silence as she moved in toward the Daligig.

"The first crew never should have invested in robots," one Daligig says to another, taking samples. "They should have looked into organic servants, or some kind of viral if it was a failsafe."

"Part of the genius of the bacteria filter in the ship's air systems is that if we ever really needed to get rid of them, we could put some equivalent of Earth smallpox in the air ducts." The other makes a disgusted face as it unclogs one of the tentacle tubes of goo. "But that would mean killing them."

"God knows we can't have them dead. That's why we went to such effort to repod them last time. Like it or not, we're stuck with these goons."

"I'd feel bad killing them. They're so...vibrant. I hope they just go along with us instead of doing anything stupid. The Archite may try to reason with them but the Archon's much less forgiving."

"What you were saying about the smallpox, do you think we could find a viral that works on the Ohm?"

"Would you be willing to risk that? We share so much of our genetic code with them that we'd probably be at risk." The Daligig unclogging the tubes makes a disgruntled sound and then pauses. "Do you smell something?"

The other Daligig mutters something about this whole pod cavern smelling bad, but stares out into space anyway.

Jono wasn't sure what all the spells that had been cast were meant to do. He'd never been much into D&D when he'd been home and the magic wielders here didn't make him any more interested. But he could certainly appreciate the fact that he felt like his mind was working a lot faster now and he felt more like his body actually fit the way it was meant to. It was an odd feeling.

He tilted his head, watching the Daligig. Wait. Did we know they shared genetics with the Ohm? 'Cause I missed 'at part. It was interesting, especially as he was pretty certain that one of the stupid viruses they'd tripped over in the ship were meant for the Ohm. Might explain some of what happened with the previous crew, too.

Jono bent his head, sniffing his shirt. We ain't the ones they're smellin', are we?

I can only assume so, Aibghalien said. Better safe than sorry in any case.

Speaking as softly as he could, he swiftly wove another illusion spell to provide the olfactory sense of 'perfectly normal pod cavern'. He brought a few other selections to mind swiftly, just in case the magic proved inadequate -- or if they had heard him.

Indeed, best keep distance for now. Celena agreed as she drew back a bit herself, though her sharp hearing would still allow her to hear what was said.

That is an interesting development indeed, there has been no mention of any similarities or shared traits between the Ohm and the Daligig, very curious. Celena pondered on what they had overheard, watching the Daligig closely.

It would also appear that they require us alive for the most part if that is any indication, if they took such pains to repod instead of let the previous crew die.

"You're losing your mind. I don't smell anything."

The other Daligig shrugs and finishes collecting a sample. "So what did Yavek want with these samples?"

The first shakes its head in a very human manner. "Probably a way to recreate the Chosen so we can see if we can get away with clones instead of these rebellious types."

Oh, these blokes're lovely. Celena's sharp hearing and Jono's telepathy meant that they could all hear what she was hearing. 'Cause 'at bullshite's gonna go over so well.

Jono never exactly trusted the Daligig, but this was beyond what even he'd considered before. Anybody takin' notes? Not Jono. Though his memory was good enough that he could remember.

I will remember, though the technical details escape me. Allow me to ask you both about acceptable levels of risk? There are further spells I can cast to enhance our information-gathering, but they require more direct magical contact on our subjects. In other words, how much risk of detection did they wish to take?

Clearly, they're quite talkative at the very least. she commented wryly as she pondered just what they were doing. I got all we hear recorded for later review.

If they prove not to say much more of interest, nothing further ventured, nothing further gained. Does it require direct physical contact? It was something that she'd lived by in many of her experiences both in her research and in her activies on the surface.

Try as much subtly as you can without alerting them, otherwise I shall be ready to cover via illusion or otherwise.

Afraid I ain't gonna be much good fer 'at sorta thing. Jono could certainly move in and probably sneak up pretty well, but he didn't have the magic necessary to do what was needed. Do what I can. Jus' lemme know.

Very well. He was more prepared for this spell than he had been for others; with but a mental exertion, he cast quickened Detect Thoughts, then concentrated on the minds of their targets to home in on their surface thoughts.

...and Aibghalien's reach should be turned back on him, as the psychic shielding from the Daligig is much stronger and more versatile than anyone could have anticipated. Rather than reading the Daligig's thoughts, all Aibghalien can do with that spell is let them know someone is trying to get a read on them.

"Someone's here." The Daligig prepare themselves in a fighting pose, although it's starkly clear that they are not warriors. "Where are the Kessek?"

Celena picked up near instantly in their reactions, Drop the spell and fade back, they have some way of detecting such methods of information gathering. She sent shortly to Aibghalien as soon as their reactions had been noticed.

Spread out and draw back, we've already got some useful information. She commented quickly, keeping a close eye on the two Daligig as she herself began to draw back. Though keeping as good an eye on the two as she could to see what they would do.

Bollocks, Jono swore softly bur fervently. He drew back as well, though he took a moment to create a psi-block. It wouldn't show them as a null-psychic space. There were no such things on the ship, after all. But he did his best to make it 'feel' like background noise.

That he had a lot of experience with.

Sorry, mates. Should've expected 'at one. That he didn't was a failing Emma Frost would have mentally smacked him for. The Ohm're telepathic. Seriously strong telepaths. If the Daligig are related, would make sense 'at they're someone psychic as well. An' 'at they'd've been training to not get caught out by the Ohm. He was fading and spreading out just as much as Celena was. Keeping his movements both mentally and physically as quiet and shielded as he could.

Aibghalien dismissed his spell.

Don't worry, I had fully expected it. The nature of their powers appears interchangeable with magic, inasmuch as the one affects the other despite not sharing an inherent similarity. Fortunately, that means that my own spells are as capable of warding against their abilities as theirs are against mine. It also means their protections should be subject to dispelling or disjoining. That being said, I am perfectly content to withdraw at present rather than attempt further action if we agree on that course of action.

Probably the scariest thing about that entire speech was how fast he could think it.

"Let's call a Kessek down here. They might be able to bump into something," one of the Daligig says, still looking Super Suspicious (tm).

Celena pondered briefly on the reactions of the Daligig and her fellow infiltrators.

I would not be so certain overall as to the interaction of their protection and its nature. However it is likely that those spells that you possess that focus on detecting thoughts would be hindered and detected much as telepathy from other sources. It is a possibility however, though direct action in the case of dispelling such protection would likely draw a hostile reaction.

Her mind was running through all manner of possibilities as well as the prospect of a Kessek being called in.

If we could better study their mental shielding, we may have a better chance at avoiding its detection.

While Jono figured the three of them could take a Kessek, it wasn't something that they really wanted to deal with. Especially since they were trying to be discreet.

Let's not annoy 'em more 'an we gotta, he said after a moment. We ain't here t' take 'em on. We're here t' learn what we can an' report back. Dispellin's an idea t' keep in mind, but this ain't the time t' be tryin' it.

Honestly, Jono didn't want to draw their attention any more right now. They call in a Kessek, might be a good idea t' withdraw, least for the moment. Or spread out an' listen. Harder fer one t' run int' us 'at way.

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Spy Team #1 [Closed]

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Will be slow today, class.

I'll be heading to bed soon, myself.

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Whoops, sorry about the delay >.>

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