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[Well, this has been a hell of a day...couple of days? Emile's not entirely sure, since his mission clock isn't synching with anything. He's completely out of his element here, especially after the little white fuzzy bastards put him in some kind of stasis a couple times. The idea of those things controlling everything here--which they clearly do--isn't comforting in the least to him. He's also not entirely sure what to make of this little snake...thing that he supposedly "made" from those weird pieces.

At least there was something to fight here, and a few battles with Nightmares had done a lot to calm him down. So now he was poking around with the communicator, and wonder of wonders there do in fact seem to be other people here. Might as well see what kind of afterlife he's landed in.

The video clicks on to show armor that might be familiar to anyone who's been paying attention to the Freelancers, but there's a very distinctive skull pattern carved into the domes gold surface of his smooth EVA helmet.]

This is Noble-Four requesting contact from any UNSC-friendly forces in the area. This don't make any goddamn sense.

--And are those little white bastards shitting me or is it really called "munny"?

Comments

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[He nods; this is all good information, whether or not kids should be there in the first place. Though he can't argue too badly about that, having once been a kid who wanted to fight.]

Does it stay in one place, or we gotta be on our toes any time we're in there? What kinda injuries, and can we tell anything about its weapons from them? And does it go after the Spirits, too, or just the rest of us?

[guerriera]

[ Admittedly, these are definitely not "normal" kids, even by the standards of their universe - Carolina simply hasn't seen them in action yet. ]

The target has yet to appear on the bridge, but the rest of the ship is fair game. The majority of attacks appear to have taken place in the corridors, though we've had one confirmed attack in the locker room. Those who've been attacked seem to be on the receiving end of purely physical attacks.

No magic, no bullets, no sign of handheld weaponry involved. Hits hard enough to leave targets unconscious and bleeding. I don't know if it consistantly takes out spirits too. No ID means we've no way to tell if it has spirits of its own, but no nightmares appear in its vicinity, that I know of at this time.

[ What else is relevant? ]

There's a sense of.. [A pause. How to explain it?] From the moment you're on the bridge, it's as though you're under constant surveillance. As far as we can tell, FILSS -- the ship's AI -- doesn't appear to have come with the dream, or if she has, she's not running under enough power to respond to us. I do not believe that's caused by her.

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[Emile nods in acknowledgment, mind already working.]

Ought to set up the bridge as a base of ops, then. Do all the planning here so it can't spy on us. In person, too, in case it has network access.

Spirits look like they're more or less based on animals. Any of them got a good sense of smell, maybe? If it is somethin' from our time, they're a good wildcard.

I'd say groups of no fewer than two people and one spirit to hunt it. Probably two and as many as someone has. More eyes we got looking out for something, the less invisible it can be.

[guerriera]

[There's a dismissive Hnn.]

I told you - it does not care if you're partnered or alone, or if you have spirits. Small scouting teams is how folks here learned there was an invisible occupant who didn't appreciate visitors.

[Still:] Spirits usually accompany their own partners, and I've never seen anyone with more than two at the same time. Not sure if that's a dream thing. But it may be worth checking the database Sora provided to see if any are noted for heightened senses that could be useful.

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See, that's a good thing, long as you know you're huntin' it and not the other way around. Sometimes the best time to strike on a predator is when it's striking its own prey. Use the stronger partner as a lure, then have the other three gang up on it. Assumin' one partner and two Spirits for the three, that is.

[Emile nods, absently scratching one of Spikes' spikes.] Any kinda edge we can get against it is worth the effort.

[guerriera]

Live bait is a dangerous gamble. And we can't be certain whatever it is will go for what or whoever we leave out as a lure.

[It was smart, after all. Whatever it was. Whoever it was...

Her head turns away a moment, thoughtful. Then:]

With a cloaked enemy, we've no idea their size, or true speed. They may simply be using the limited space against us. Which means we would want to lure it to the most open location on board if we can. Assuming the training room floor is still open, if we can override the controls to the doors, we may be able to trap it inside - or at least block its escape if we can face it down.

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Fair enough. Gamble I'd be willing to take, though. [But that doesn't mean he should be asking it of everyone, especially if they've not had his training.]

Could be dangerous, if it's fast. Bein' in a large area, that is. Assumin' it ain't taller than a standard corridor, might be long if it's a snake-type thing.

[Even so, he likes the idea of a direct confrontation.]

Good thing is, if it's only been melee-ing people, we got an advantage with ranged attacks. In that case, the bigger space works in our favor, long as we can figure out its movements. You think the AI will help us? [...Being that the only one he's really met so far is Epsilon, he doesn't know there's more than one AI here.]

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As would I. [The tilt of her helm seems to dare him to suggest otherwise.] But I'm not prepared to sacrifice anyone else who isn't able. Ambush attempts haven't worked. It's going to be dangerous regardless of where we ultimately fight it.

We have several snipers. And there are those who can use magic here. Like the story book stuff, made real. [Sounds crazy, but hey, there are magic flying unicorns and fluffy teddy bears controling the free market. Magic's just another step.]

There are several AI, here and there. If you mean the one who should be but isn't on the ship.. Depends on if we can wake up whatever dream of FILSS might exist here, but I wouldn't count on it.

[Yet, somehow, she doesn't think you mean FILSS.] As for the others, you'll have to speak to the people they're linked with about that.

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Good. [Hey, his team's second-in-command was a badass lady. He can respect that.] We let it hunt us, bring along only people who are on board, and we might be able to get somewhere. Ain't met anything yet we couldn't take. Ain't gonna start now.

Snipers? More than one? Good. We can work with that training room that much easier, then.

[And somehow the magic part isn't as shocking to him as it would have been before he got, er, well, let's just say the Moogles got the upper hand at first.]

The one I met is Epsilon. Who's he linked with?

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[ That attitude certainly wins a few brownie points he might otherwise not earn from Carolina. Stubbornness could be considered her middle name. ]

North's an excellent sniper. [She was told Wyoming was here, but she'd yet to see hide nor hair of him..] But most people here in the dream world who are able to fight will likely be willing to lend their aid if you put the call out. If the moogles have some sort of stasis spell, perhaps one of them do as well.

[ ..Oh hell. Of course Church would have introduced himself. ]

No one. [Not anymore.] He's occupying a robot body while in this dreamscape, but bringing him back on board the Mother of Invension would be a bad idea. Epsilon'd be a bad choice for this mission, he couldn't shoot the broadside of a frigate even if he wanted to.

[ Pay no attention to the protective hint beneath the dismissive tone. ]

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[Emile's not entirely sure how he feels about working with the moogles, but, well, maybe they can work something out. He did apologize, even if it was under duress.] And you got at least partial schematics of the ship, right? So we don't gotta scout it out. [Not that he won't advocate a sweep anyway, but any intel is good intel.]

Robot body, huh? Why would anyone do that? [Everyone knows AI are more effective as computers. Still, she seems to know him better, so if she says it's a bad idea he'll take her word for it.] We got other good options for AI support?

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[She's quiet a moment.] It's been almost eight years since I was on board the ship, it may take me a while to find if I still have them. But one of the others might. I'd say most of us who worked there know it well enough to make a rough map if needed.

[There's a shrug. Epsilon's case was...special, to say the least. Details the Spartan didn't need to know.] I do know he didn't have it when I last saw him in our world. It seems to be a means for the dream to compensate for his lack of a more physical form. He's been here longer than I have, he may know better than I on that score.

Delta and Theta are paired with two other agents from Freelancer: New York and North Dakota. They'll know best how they'd work well with any plan we put together.

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[Emile nods sharply. They can always make a rough map and then verify with a scouting expedition.] Assumin' whatever this is knows the layout, so the more we can match its knowledge the less advantage it'll have.

...Huh. Might ask him about that. [Being in a city that isn't optimized for an AI to run it is a little weird for Emile, but then again with the unpredictability of the Dream Eater attacks, it probably isn't safe for a centralized data bank. Or an offworld one, like Auntie Dot had.]

Roger that. They work together all right? I know AIs can be competitive.

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North's been on the ship recently. He and Theta should be able to give an accurate idea of the layout, especially if there's been any changes.

He gets mouthy, just tell him I sent you. He'll probably behave. [ Maybe. ]

[ Given how paranoid Wash and Epsilon are of each other, the AI was probably regretting not having a safe source to jump to. Or at least back himself up to. This world was weird enough - and the MoI didn't appear to have computers that could be communicated with.. ]

There's nothing to restrict them from doing so here.

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North and Theta. I got it.

[Emile snorts a little, sounding amused. Sassy AI? Yeah, he knows the type.] He ain't been bad so far, but I'll keep that in mind.

"Restrict"? What you mean by that? Some kind of weird-ass protocols in this Freelancer program of yours? [Because really, why wouldn't you want AI to work together? Aside from maybe sheer amount of processing power required.]

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Something like that. [ Her voice cooled slightly. ] Much of the work involved with the Project was experimental. It was also a security measure, amongst other things.