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Post by Jordanna on Aug 17, 2008 22:19:06 GMT -5
"Oh, man." Joey grimaced, giving Daws a worried look. "But they sure are starting over fast, aren't they? I mean--I guess they can't even have cleaned up yet from what happened. Why are they in such a hurry to get it going again?"
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Post by skybright on Aug 17, 2008 22:23:19 GMT -5
Daws shook her head. "Maybe what Colonel Ashley did was proof that they could create a really, really powerful human weapon -- maybe that was what they wanted, and they're eager to get started on another one."
Jai glanced up from the folder. "There may be another reason." He murmured.
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 18, 2008 21:32:23 GMT -5
"What do you mean?" Joey asked with a frown.
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 19:05:20 GMT -5
Jai nodded to one corner of the room, where lines of code were scrolling slowly across the surface of one of the monitors.
"I did not salvage much from Mount Bliss," He explained, "And most of what I did is heavily encrypted. What little I've managed to crack so far is of little use, I'm afraid -- it's mostly memoranda and the like, nothing incriminating."
He shrugged slightly. "But a few of those memoranda concern the results of meeting between the Mount Bliss staff and those above them -- and they are not always positive.
"Some of those who were funding the project were unhappy with the progress that was being made . . . or with what they saw as the lack of it. There was a lot of discussion of the enormous cost of the project." His expression darkened. "Not a word of objection because of what was being done to a living person . . . but quite a lot of noise made because they didn't feel they were getting enough for their money."
Daws nodded slowly. "With Mount Bliss gone, the scientists who're left might be scrambling to make up for lost time . . . before their superiors decide the costs outweigh the potential benefits and scrap the whole project."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 19, 2008 21:21:32 GMT -5
Joey made a face. "Sounds like a government project, alright... But what can we do about it? Take apart the place where they're doing the testing?"
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 21:35:33 GMT -5
Daws scratched thoughtfully behind her ear. "Yeah, maybe." She said. "Or wreak enough havoc with this new venture that those superiors will be proved right -- or right enough. We already cost them a lot at Mount Bliss. If we can cost them even more, then maybe the number-crunchers will get enough leverage out of it to do what we can't . . . and put a stop to them for good."
Veeru glanced up with a troubled expression. "But to do that, D, you need more information than you've got in this folder."
"A lot more -- and that is where I come in." Jai smiled thinly. "I'll see what I can come up with, Regina."
Daws nodded. "That's what I was hoping you'd say. Proteus has offered to help us, if we can -- so any information on someone he could mimic would help a lot." She chuckled humorlessly. "Of course, at this point, any information will help a lot."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 19, 2008 21:53:59 GMT -5
Joey frowned. "You figure on maybe... well, having somebody--maybe somebody they wouldn't want--volunteer for the testing, to get inside and see what the layout is?"
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 22:04:57 GMT -5
Daws frowned thoughtfully. "That might be one idea to consider, yeah -- I don't imagine that they'd let potential victims see too much, but it might be something useful."
"The only problem would be in making sure whoever that was would be someone they positively wouldn't want." Veeru pointed out. "Otherwise we risk them becoming an actual subject."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 19, 2008 22:13:17 GMT -5
Joey shrugged. "Are they looking for some kind of mutant in particular? I mean, if they want a telepath or something, maybe they wouldn't care about somebody who just had fur or something like that."
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 22:25:04 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "That's more or less what Tiernan said. They probably won't want people with physical mutations -- they're more interested in people with powers like Vance's."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 19, 2008 22:31:06 GMT -5
"I guess he's gonna have to know about all this," Joey mused grimly. Then he gave Daws a sharp glance. "You don't think he'd be crazy enough to try spying 'em out himself, would he?"
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 22:39:35 GMT -5
Daws winced slightly. "I'm not real optimistic about that, honestly." She said. "I just hope if he turns out to actually be that crazy, the rest of us can talk enough sense into him to keep him from trying it."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 19, 2008 22:45:11 GMT -5
"Yeah." Joey shifted uneasily. "If that guy Ashley had to convince them not to take Vance the first time... I bet they'd love to have him just walk in."
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 22:51:34 GMT -5
"He'd be just what they were fishing for." Daws agreed grimly.
Jai glanced up from the contents of the folder, which he had spread out on the bed before him. "And since their plan is to close up shop and disappear the moment they find their subject, they would likely be gone before we could do anything."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 19, 2008 23:01:45 GMT -5
"But are they looking for just one subject?" Joey pondered, and his eyes darkened. "Maybe it takes 'em a few tries to get what they had with Ashley."
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 23:16:06 GMT -5
Jai flinched slightly. "That is a very good point." He said thinly. "Not everyone who disappears into one of these places is . . . lucky enough to be brought back out alive."
Veeru gave his brother's shoulder a slight squeeze. "Whether they want one subject or ten, letting anyone they might keep go in there is still quite a risk."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 19, 2008 23:20:09 GMT -5
"We'll just have to keep the Major from trying to do it, then," Joey said. He glanced at Daws and ducked his head. "I'd volunteer to do it... it's not like my mutation is anything fancy. Only, I don't guess I'm really a good enough spy--not yet, anyway."
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Post by skybright on Aug 19, 2008 23:31:08 GMT -5
Daws grinned faintly at him. "You've got enough guts to be one." She said. "But if we do end up sending in a spy or two, I think we've got several people who would fit the bill."
She shrugged and glanced back at Jai. "Anyway, I guess we can't make any concrete plans until we've let Vance in on what's happening -- and until we have a little more information."
Jai nodded and swept the papers back into the folder, which he handed back to Daws. "I have all the names and details I can take from that." He said, "And I'll start searching right away."
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Post by Jordanna on Aug 20, 2008 21:21:07 GMT -5
Joey wrote down his email address and gave it to Jai. "Here. You can let me know when and where you need that computer stuff picked up. I should be able to do it pretty much anytime, but if I'm on an errand or something for--you know--then I'll get back to you about it."
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Post by skybright on Aug 21, 2008 18:59:43 GMT -5
Jai smiled gratefully and nodded. "Thank you. I'll most likely wait until all of this business is behind us -- repairs are the least of my priorities for the moment."
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