Job 1: Into the Black (IC)

Yuri takes the uniform and heads towards Ian's quarters. "Thanks, its appreciated. Be careful with the Gorgon Group. If they're going after Bloodhound, its because they want to know what was in that lab. I'd imagine Slater's turning out the whole company trying to track me down too. Its probably best if I lay low for now." With that Yuri exits into Ian's room, followed by the sound of an electric razor humming.

Priya sits down in the common area, looking a bit dazed by recent events. "I guess I'll hide here too then." She looks over at Roz and Henrietta. "I don't suppose either of you have a change of clothes I could borrow?"

You look for another cab. Its a bit cumbersome finding one that can fit all 6 of you and your gear but eventually you manage to hire one. It drops you off 30 minutes later about a block away from the Thalamus Industries building. It is clearly much newer construction than the run down high rise buildings that flank it. The lab looks much like the pictures you found online; modern, mostly glass, four stories tall with a two story wing off to one side. From this angle you can see a main entrance, located in the two-story wing. You observe an employee enter there using a swipe badge, though there also appears to be an intercom for visitors. There is also a garage door on the opposite side of the main building that Gomez knows is the loading dock where he entered for the delivery.

Roz grinned over at Priya and for a second her eyes played over her taking in her measurements.
"You've got a little bit of height on me but I should be able to find you something to fit. Come along and take a gander yourself."

Pushing down on the edge of the table, her boots landed with a heavy clump on the floor, and leaving her bag behind her on the table, she exited the general quarters and back into the main corridor. Waiting for Priya to emerge, she then set off down the corridor, boots thumping down on the metal mesh floor, as she jogged back towards her quarters. Once she reached it, she depressed the flat square button on the wall, and waited for the door to slide back revealing the top of a ladder. Grinning at her companion she turned, gripping the bars of the ladder and quickly slid down into her room. Despite it's comfortable size, a lot of the free space was already taken up with magpies nest of various mechanical detritus. While a few blinked with light, or whirred in some action, the vast majority were either halfway through disassembly or the process of being made new. One project often led to another, even before the first was actually finished.

She paid little attention to these and instead slid back the curtain in front of the iron bar from which her clothes were hanging. Most of these were boiler suits, similar to the one she was wearing, though slightly cleaner. There had been no time to grab any of the clothes from her previous life, but she had managed to scrounge a variety of things which weren't work related. She might not get the opportunity to attend many formal events any more, but it was still nice to go on dates in something that wasn't charred or smelling of chemicals.

Turning back to Priya, she winked before indicating the clothes with her arm.
"Now fair lady, is there anything silva here, that catches your obviously well attuned eye?"
Lifting a number of these from the pole, she held up three for Priya to examine.
"If you were wanting to pass yourself off as a mechanic like myself, you could take this boilersuit. Only a few oil stains, and its a nice deep red that would suit you. Otherwise..."
She folded this over one arm, before displaying a dark pair of jeans and a pale long sleeved top which looked like it had been fashioned from wool or a similar organic component.
"This would be a little more relaxed and not tie you to any particular job on board, while still giving the impression of having your space legs."

A little more awkwardly she folded this over the boilersuit laying across her left arm, before holding up her final offering, with a wide grin, eyes glittering. A dark green dress patterned with black symbols, its hem reached just below Roz's knees as she held it up.
"And finally there's this, if you wanted something a little more proper seam. Picked it up randomly in a wreck a couple of months ago. Probably the fanciest thing I have. Any of those you want to lay your strike for?"

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Exiting the cab, Roz looked up at the building with interest and whistled before turning back to her companions.
"Shall we go ahead with this then? Nips and myself go ahead and ring the intercom and go through official like, while the rest of you do your things?"

Priya cautiously followes Roz up the ladder. As Roz rummages through the clothes, Priya waits somewhat awkwardly behind here, trying not to accidentally knock over any of the various mechanical devices strewn about the room.

She looks over the options presented to her. She reaches for the shirt and jeans but hesitates."Oh god, I don't know. I guess I should disguise myself shouldn't I?" She takes the set of coveralls with an exhausted sigh. She sits down on a stool, toppling a stack of gyros onto the floor. "Shit, I'm sorry. This is just pretty messed up, you know? I've got a job, I've got classes to teach, but then Yuri just drops a fucking AI weapon on my front step and now I'm an accessory to murder or something. The Skeleton Key had better do what he said it would."

Roz shook her head, and smiled back at the other woman before bending down to lift the gyro's up and stacking them along one crooked arm.
"No worries. If we are speaking about things which are messed up, then my room needs a special award...."
She raised one wry eyebrow, before dumping the gyro's with a loud clatter in a red plastic box, that was half filled with fist size batteries. Moving back, she bent her legs beneath her, and slid somewhat gracefully down so that she was sitting cross legged on the floor, a foot away and looking up at Priya. Her expression was more sympathetic than humorous now, her green eyes wide and warm.

"You were a teacher? Shattered splinter that really is a scree. I know what it's like to have a life, and then to have that torn away from you by something that is completely out of your hands. A life isn't something you can just change like a pair of clothes. It's hard. Splints..." she shook her head.
"That's a pretty stoved inadequate way to talk about it."

She reached out a hand to tap Priya gently on the knee.
"You seem to be dealing with it pretty well though. Hopefully Yuri is right yeah. Have you two been dating long?"

"So, I say the ladies and Ian go in through the main entrance and ask for the goods. If nothing is else, we might find out what's the hold up.
If that does not yield results, we all go in stealthily. Our best bet is likely getting overalls and enter through the service entrance as some kind of maintenance crew. The maintenance office and the security are right next to each other. Maybe we manage to get access to the network cables, then I might be able to reduce the security camera coverage and possibly open some doors. If we manage to get into the security office and get a few moments alone there, we might even be able to issue ourselves some ID cards and just walk into the places we need to be.
Gomez, any special insights from your time here?
You got anything on people in there? Maybe we can social engineer our way in, or at least get more intel.
Thoughts? "

"I think that could work Kolya," Gomez says, pulling out is compad. "I'll see who I've still got on the inside or, failing that, what my people might know about the inside. I do a lot of temp work type stuff, so me showing up there again shouldn't be too suspicious."

Ian absently flicked his lighter open and closed as he stared at the passing landscape God, what a dump, is there anywhere here that isn't a slum? his mood had been soured by the events of this morning, the back of his mind held out for some fun at the lab but he tried not to get his hopes up, the eggheads there were unlikely to put up a fight, but there was always a chance that whatever mercs that were probably hanging around the lab would.

"Right. Should we make an excuse for being there or outright tell them that we were hired by the higher ups of a rival corporation to take some secret tech they've got?"

Shifting the heavy straps of her bag across her shoulders, Roz flicked her eyes between the different members of the group as they spoke up. She was in an extremely good mood, and it showed on her face, the grin as permanent as if it had been carved and her eyes glittering expectantly. She was convinced that there was a good chance that she'd see some exciting new tech, even if it didn't happen to be the exact one they were looking for. Plus she was curious to see how an advanced lab operated. If war hadn't come to Ibeen, and well if she'd been born a boy too, there was a chance she might have ended up in some place like this, rather than fashioning bodge jobs with half broken tools. Not that she didn't appreciate the freedom and autonomy her current life provided, it was just interesting to see how the other half lived.

She clicked her fingers and pointed a finger at Kolya.
"Tis a worthy claim you've laid out there Mr M. I'll head over there now with Henrietta and Big Bang and display our ledgers clear and simple. Honesty might work well. And yeah in the meantime if you see what you can about the security office and Gomez you see about the contacts. It might help spread our scree about "

She winked over at Zhen.
"Nips is being quiet but I'm sure he has something in mind too but be careful. Like the oasis drained dry guys."

Shaking her head she tapped Ian on the chest good naturally .
"Sand scrubber..... This lab is backed up by the heavy hitters of this sector. Not the time to make threats yet. We'll just go in and be straightup. Here to check the progress and collect our order and see what we learn. Right, tis time to make a move."

Raising her thumbs at her teammates in encouragement, she turned and made her way over to the intercom by the main entrance. Unsure whether it would have a camera or not, she pressed whatever looked like a button and smiled brightly at it and adopted the assured cultured tone of her former life.
"Good morrow. I'm a representative of Mr Teke of the Cornucopia Corporation. I was hoping to speak to someone about an order he's made, if possible Dr. Haydee Ojeda?"

A voice emanates crispy from the intercom in reply. "One moment please." You hear a buzz and a magnetic thump as the door unlocks. Proceeding through the glass doors, you find yourself in an immaculately clean lobby, with almost entirely glass walls. To your left, at least 30 feet away are a set of glass double doors. To your right is fine wooden door that appears to lead to a suite of offices. Directly in front of you is a semicircular reception desk. Seated at the desk is a young woman with a bobbed haircut, and leaning casually against the counter is a security guard whose face is pockmarked with chemical scars. They both seem to have just been laughing. The guard remains at the desk and regards you silently as you approach the desk, as if you just interrupted a good conversation he hoped to continue. The receptionist smiles politely at you."You're here for Dr. Ojeda on behalf of Mr. Teke? One moment please, I'll notify Dr. Ojeda," she says, starting to type without breaking eye contact with you. She gestures to a set of cushioned seats near the entrance."If you'll just have a seat over there, Dr. Ojeda will be with you shortly."

If everyone waits as directed by the receptionist, a group of three individuals comes out of the glass doors to your left after about fifteen minutes. In the front is Dr. Ojeda, looking slightly older and more tired than the video you saw of her. She is wearing a wrinkled labcoat and her hair is pulled back into a frizzy bun. There appear to be a pair of VR goggles stuffed into the pocked of her coat. She is flanked by two men. One is a heavyset security guard dressed similarly to the one at the front desk. The other is a tall, muscular man in a suit with a flat-topped military haircut. They both have pistols strapped to their belts, the guard at the desk does not.

Dr. Ojeda steps forward, both hands shoved deep into her labcoat pockets. She looks around the group of you, unsure of who exactly to address. "Hi, I'm Haydee Ojeda. What can I do for you?"

Roz smiled back in a genial manner back at the receptionist before nodding her head.
"Certainly."

Shifting the bag across her shoulders again, she laid against one of the seats before settling herself comfortably on it. In the fifteen minutes, she split her time between turning her head to look at every new arrival into the the reception, and keeping her two companions entertained with a range of comical stories of her various escapades over the last few years. These were all quite light in tone, and none of any real importance beyond entertainment, and none older than three years. It was clear though that her mind was only half on these, and was on something else. She had just started a story about the first time she'd met an old flame of hers, when the three individuals came through the glass doors.

"So yeah, first time I ever saw her, she was holding this crime boss by his ankle out a window and asking him cold as ice again and again where he'd hidden his hard drive. Naturally I made scarce. Well after looking for a little too long. Two days later we are handcuffed together and I'm trying to talk her through rewiring a seven series positioning node while the engine room tries to blow a gasket. That's what you get with boun.. Ah I think we have action."

Standing up promptly from her seat, Roz moves forward, a friendly smile on her lips. It was likely that the doctor wouldn't be expecting someone quite as young as her, but rather than to try and age herself, Roz had decided to lean into it. They were less likely to perceive her as a threat that way.


"Silva and sparkle, Dr Haydee Ojeda, its my pleasure. My name is Rosalind, and these are my companions Ian and Henrietta. We were hoping that we could speak to you about the device which Mr Teke contracted you to produce. Would it be possible to speak about this somewhere a bit more private or should we continue it here?"

Dr. Ojeda seems unsure and glances at the tall man next to her, who gives her the slightest of nods. "Sure, um, right this way." She says, leading you through the glass doors, her hands still shoved deep in her pockets. The doors open up to an intersection. To your right you see a short hallway lined with offices. At the far end is a stairwell and emergency exit. Directly in front of you you see a hall that contains a pair of elevators and what seems to be the security office. This hallway appears to end in in a T-junction with another hall. Dr. Ojeda takes you to the left, through a second set of glass doors that required a keycard and into another long office hallway. She leads you partway down the hall into a conference room that looks out towards the building's entrance. The security guard remains outside the room, but the man in the suit joins Dr. Ojeda at the table.

"So you said you were here regarding the Teke project?" Dr. Ojeda asks, fiddling with the buttons on her coat.

Roz's eyes glanced innocently at the tall man next to Dr Ojeda for a moment before turning back to her and nodding her head.
"Cracking. After you."

As she followed after her, she looked curiously around her. It might or might not come in handy later but it was worth getting a view inside if they could. That man in the suit though. From his dress, he wasn't a scientist or researcher but was still obviously the person of authority. Perhaps they were a Gorgon representative? Could they be the reason for the delay?

Sitting down at the table, Roz leaned her elbows on it, her hands clasped together and looked up at the head of the table and smiled.
"Yes. As I said Mr Teke asked us to come along here for him and get an update on the project. As far as he understood the device in question has been completed and he was hoping that he would be able to see and utilise it soon. Would you know when this might be?"

Henrietta stood by, attentive but silent.

She was very interested to see how this would play out.

Turning to the remainder of the crew, Kolya says "I hope this won't be necessary, but if we want to infiltrate, we need some kind of disguise. Like a van, uniforms and equipment. Cleaning equipment should be the easiest to get, but those crews usually have more restricted access. What do you think, which kind of personnel might be our best angle? If I am supposed to be of any help with opening doors or handling cameras I need access to the server room, or to the security office.
Alternatively I need to go and buy some materials and I might get access from out here, if we find some kind of access to the cables of this joint. "

Apparently having given himself an idea, Kolya turns his attention back to the blue prints searching for hints of the cabling situation, maybe a service shed. "Maybe they still have the switch room outside of the main building, separating the outside lines physically from the building. In that room I might also get access to the inside network and it's typically less guarded." , he mumbles moving his finger over the plans.

A light breeze blew past, cooling Zhen's scalp. He focused on the way it felt filling his lungs, clearing his mind with some mild meditation. Zhen stood across the street from Thalamus Biotech, waiting with Gomez and Kolya for a signal from the trio that had entered the building. Hopefully this visit would go better than their last. Just to ease his concern, he typed a quick message: "Keep us posted. We're ready to move if things go south."

He hadn't particularly liked the idea of splitting up like this, but he was trying to cultivate a more agreeable demeanor. It wouldn't help to constantly be the dissenting voice. The plan was reasonable for handling the situation peacably, which was far better for Zhen anyway. What actually bothered him was being left to wait. He hated waiting around while someone else was at risk.

To Kolya's discussion of infiltration and hacking Zhen replied, "Ideally we would know what security measures are in place. Lacking that, we need to follow through on Gomez' contacts. If we have a legitimate reason to be inside, we've won half the battle. Once inside, we can either hack or steal credentials if necessary."

OOC:

Nitafrong wrote:

Sitting down at the table, Roz leaned her elbows on it, her hands clasped together and looked up at the head of the table and smiled.
"Yes. As I said Mr Teke asked us to come along here for him and get an update on the project. As far as he understood the device in question has been completed and he was hoping that he would be able to see and utilise it soon. Would you know when this might be?"

Dr. Ojeda shifts uncomfortably. "Ah yes, well I think you'll be happy to know that the project has really made incredible advances in the field of neuroscience. We hope to get it to Mr. Teke soon, the development is definitely in its final stages." The suited man clears his throat, causing Dr. Ojeda to pause, then continue. "But its really not ready for clinical application yet though. Obviously we need to make sure its safe to use and all that."

Kobras_Aquairre wrote:

Dr. Ojeda shifts uncomfortably. "Ah yes, well I think you'll be happy to know that the project has really made incredible advances in the field of neuroscience. We hope to get it to Mr. Teke soon, the development is definitely in its final stages." The suited man clears his throat, causing Dr. Ojeda to pause, then continue. "But its really not ready for clinical application yet though. Obviously we need to make sure its safe to use and all that."

Roz brightened her smile for a moment.
"Oh sparkle! That is good to hear. Incredible advances is certainly a proper seam, and not just to Mr Teke."

She allowed her face to fall slightly, showing a little disappointment, her eyes wide and remaining on the researcher.
"That is a pity though. As I said we had heard that the project had been completed. I understand what you mean though about checking if its safe to use and all that. Not that I actually know what that might involve, a lil sandscrubber like me probably doesn't have a blinding sandstorm."

She opened her palms face up on the table and shrugged her shoulders, with a bright grin.
"Could you give me an idea of when you think the project will be ready for Mr Teke?"

Henrietta was about to ask the same question about the time-table when Roz asked first. She closes her mouth and smiles, knowing her and Roz were on the same page.

Ian sighed and tapped his foot a bit and raised an eyebrow at the researcher.

"How're you conducting trials, though? What other people who are trapped in their own flesh suits are lining up for this machine for you to check if it's safe? I may be a simple PMC guy but I've worked with medical offices specializing in cybernetics enough to guess that human cybernetics require human tests."

He bounced his leg and tapped his fingers against the desk he was sitting at.