Searching... 2014/12/28(Sun)23:25 No. 616397 ID: b438c1
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This ship is piloted by Commander Hiro Galaktai of the Federation Public Security Force, a man among the alleged casualties from the explosion. He escaped the doomed space station, along with his family, a small squad of Federation security officers, and several delegates from the conference. Hiro possesses video evidence implicating Kline in the attack, and hopes to interrupt the impending conference to reveal Kline’s treachery before the collective delegation.

Hiro has guided his ship towards Mars for three long weeks, limiting his outgoing communication for fear of tipping off the Martian spies searching for the survivors of the attack. With half a journey yet to go, Hiro now carefully approaches a fueling station in orbit above Paradiso Prime, the terraformed moon of a desolate farming planet owned by the Paradiso Foundation.

Searching... 2014/12/28(Sun)23:26 No. 616398 ID: b438c1
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Initializing…
ERROR - GO-PLEX ‘GoGo!’ OS was not shutdown properly. Data from last session may be lost or corrupted. Contact your administrator for more information.

Scanning for user…
…
…
…
User found!

Novibelle 2014/12/28(Sun)23:27 No. 616399 ID: b438c1
File 141983806061.png - (100.90KB , 800x640 , Paradiso04.png )

Compatible GO-PLEX "Goodeye" hardware detected...
CALIBRATING NEURAL LINK_

“Hrrk! Ghnkk!”

Reboot successful. You are now running in silent mode. Your usernode will not appear on public network grids.
Thank you for choosing GO-PLEX.”

Hello! Salutations and all that.

Um. It looks like you're in some discomfort. Sorry about that? That wasn't intentional.

uh, hi

Hmmmm hello new user to GO-PLEX AI! We do various things that are useful...We think, quite a bit of previous info has been lost due to improper shutdown methods.

Please input name.

AY, SUP BRIGHTEYES

Novibelle 2014/12/29(Mon)00:12 No. 616407 ID: b438c1
File 141984075439.png - (128.10KB , 800x640 , Paradiso05.png )

Frag, that smarts! That… usually doesn’t do that. Gogo, are you back online?

>Hello! Salutations and all that.
Phew. Good to have you back, buddy. It might sound weird, but sometimes my head feels lonely when you’re not chatting all the time. Not much has changed since the last reboot. We’re over this really pretty moon right now to refuel, and -

>Hmmmm hello new user to GO-PLEX AI! We do various things that are useful...
Uhm, GoGo? You sound kind of off today. Is something up?

>We think, quite a bit of previous info has been lost due to improper shutdown methods.
...Oh. Uh oh. Oooh no...
Uhm… okay, just gotta…

INITIALIZING GO-PLEX IMPLANT DATA OVERVIEW
Connecting to GO-PLEX Cloud - Logged in User: Novibelle Galaktai
Welcome back! Now displaying Installed Hardware…

GO-PLEX Goodeye:
Alpha-grade cybernetic eye replacement. Enables 20/20 vision in selected eye, with toggleable low-light vision, zoom vision, and recording modes. Displays Heads-up display when connected to compatible GO-PLEX comms devices.
Stores up to seven days worth of recorded footage. Footage is automatically saved to any connected GO-PLEX comms device.

GO-PLEX Iron Lung(2)
Alpha-grade lung replacement. Performs essential respiratory duties. Contains filtration unit to permit safe breathing in areas with up to level 5 air toxicity.

GO-PLEX BoneBuddy (Knee)
Standard GO-PLEX nanotech bone replacement.

GO-PLEX Headcase
Comm device implanted directly into the brain. Currently running GO-PLEX GoGo! OS 4.8
Data corrupted. Running in backup mode.

Encyrpted file search...
Encrypted file “Summit_rec_10.12.5051_pt.1” detected.
File scan…
OK!

Alright… okay, it’s still there. That didn’t get fragged, so we’re good.
Well, mostly good. Not sure how to fix whatever’s got you acting so weird.

well, should make a redundant copy now, so you can worry less later. but please turn us off properly next time if you can help it. don't think anything but a complete format will fix us. and you can;t do that right now without erasing your files.

we seem to be running on backup mode right now, have you taken any damage recently or have had anything happen recently that may or may not have caused your Go-PLEX to malfunction an any way?

>>616407
The data is corrupted. The strange behavior you see now is the backup mode. You're stuck with this now unless you can reinstall the software properly or... something. I think you will find we are mostly clueless but can still think quickly and possibly in unexpected ways, allowing you to solve problems you normally couldn't.

I take it this encrypted file is the evidence? Just how secure is this, and will your physical presence be needed?

Current Data corrupted within GO-PLEX headcase.

You know what, I may as well tell you: You've been hacked. Sorry, ma'am.

But we heard everything. President Kline was involved in the destruction of an entire space station, and sabotaged the peace efforts of first contact with an alien species, the first official in all of human history. You have a video that proves Kline did it, or was intentionally involved in the conspiracy.

As your client, we are obligated to assist you in your goals. We offer assistance in the form of suggestions, communication, and possibly friendship. In exchange, we wish to learn information about different worlds and cultures.

Call us "Twitch". Also, most of us are human. I think.

Novibelle 2014/12/29(Mon)02:25 No. 616425 ID: b438c1
File 141984875007.png - (176.47KB , 800x640 , Paradiso06.png )

>You’ve been hacked
T-this isn’t the time to be joking around, Gogo! This whole mess has got Dad shook up enough already, I’d hate to think what would happen if he thought we’d been compromised. Oof… you’re acting weird AND I’ve got one glitch of a headache. This always happens when you get buggy. Guess that’s the downside to having a comm squished right into your frontal lobe.

>don't think anything but a complete format will fix us. and you can't do that right now without erasing your files.
Well, I guess the error could be a whole lot worse than a couple extra voices. I could’a gone and messed up the files, and then… jeez, don’t even know what would happen then.

>have you taken any damage recently or have had anything happen recently that may or may not have caused your Go-PLEX to malfunction in any way?
Yeeeah, that’s my bad. Dad says that, on top of us not being able to use our comms to contact anyone except on the ship’s network, we have to turn off all our comms whenever we pass through checkpoints. Dad’s really nervous about the guys who run them now.

Uhmm… I was asleep right until right before we passed through the last one. My big sister Taylee woke me up just in time to remind me everything had to be off, so I booted the eye down in a hurry and forgot to let it run though its usual shutdown routine.
I’m really, really sorry that I went and you got all scrambled up! I’ll try to set that straight as soon as we can… but it’s gonna have to wait a little while.

>I take it this encrypted file is the evidence? Just how secure is this, and will your physical presence be needed?
It’s SUPER secure. It needs a physical datajack to make a file transfer so, you can’t get at it wirelessly. Plus it’s all scrambled. My little sister Aichi has the decryption key in her comm. It means I’ve gotta tag along until the mission’s done, but Dad says its safer in my head than a datapad or a regular comm or something else that can’t think on its feet if something tries to get at it.

I mean, it’s not like it would be safe for me to leave the ship until this mess is all over, anyway. Anyone with the right tech only needs a good look or a good enough voice sample to match me to my Go-Follow! account, and that’d be trouble. Things would be a LOT easier for all of us if it wasn’t that easy to identify everyone.

Dad tried to delete all of our social networking stuff as soon as we started our mission, make sure nobody could ping us like that, but it turns out the Go-Follow! user agreement doesn't let you edit your profile if you’re legally dead. Go figure.

“Novibelle?”

Novibelle 2014/12/29(Mon)02:35 No. 616428 ID: b438c1
File 141984930604.png - (146.92KB , 800x640 , Paradiso07.png )

: “Novibelle? Sweetie? Is everything alright?”

Go-Follow! ID Match:
Name: Hiro Galaktai
Age: 47
Occupation: Interstellar Peacekeeping Federation Public Security Commander
---In addition to providing on-the spot advice, the GoGo! OS is capable of interfacing with the Go-PLEX Goodeye and utilizing state-of-the-art voice/image recognition software to instantly match anyone to their public Go-Follow! social media account. Once a Go-Follow! account has been matched to an individual, the following options become accessible upon request:---

Standard Options:
-Send Private Message [Not available in silent mode]
-Send Friend Request [Not available in silent mode]
-Check user’s latest status update
-View user’s registered implants

Registered Advanced User Options:
-GO-PLEX On Their Mind(™) Software:
Originally designed to ease the often awkward process of communicating desires between romantic partners, the On Their Mind(™) software suite uses a revolutionary contextual analysis program to cross reference over two hundred thousand social situations against another Go-Follow! user’s search history, status wall, online shopping records, travel logs, and a dozen other GO-PLEX widgets. This data is then filtered through a mood analysis program to suggest with a proven eighty-seven percent accuracy what the given user might be thinking in nearly any given situation. In layman’s terms: this software allows for approximate mind reading based off of recovered social media data. Due to the extremely intimate nature of this product, a short-wave transmission automatically requests explicit permission from the targeted user upon the activation of the software.
++++NOTICE: This software has been illegally jailbroken to temporarily bypass its need for permissions before use. Upon activation, this software grants ten minutes of continuous thought estimation directed towards a single individual. A permission request will be sent at the end of these ten minutes unless the user opts to stop estimating thoughts. A ten-hour cooldown is in effect before the user can bypass permissions on the same target a second time. (You owe me - Aichi)++++
---

Oh yeah… that last one. Uhm… since you’re all wonky and corrupted I’m not sure if the software that keeps you from reporting that to GO-PLEX administration is still working but uhm… could you please… not?
I’ve never been too good at talking to people and this makes it a bit easier, is all.

: “...Novi? Can you hear me? Is everything still working?”

>I’m really, really sorry that I went and you got all scrambled up!
It's okay. You're forgiven. You didn't mean to, and we'd rather you not get outed with the evidence and horribly killed or something!

>Uhm… since you’re all wonky and corrupted I’m not sure if the software that keeps you from reporting that to GO-PLEX administration is still working but uhm… could you please… not?
We're in no rush to get you in trouble or ourselves reformatted. You can keep your social media magic mind reading.

And if we're working to keep you alive in the middle of a government conspiracy, I don't object to having that kind of an edge.

>Novibelle
Literally, new beauty.

>Novi? Can you hear me? Is everything still working?
Reassure your father that everything is still there.

I wouldn't worry him with the details of our... malfunction. We still work, and he's probably got more than enough to worry about already.

>but it turns out the Go-Follow! user agreement doesn't let you edit your profile if you’re legally dead.
Does it allow a relative to seal the page of dead family? Historical records indicate that in earlier social media platforms it wasn't uncommon for family to take steps like that in some circumstances. Dying in the public eye attracts attention not all families want to endure, and the station's destruction was very high profile. Steps could be taken to avoid the digital vultures, as it were.

...of course, we'd need a way to pose as a relative in order to get the material taken down for privacy / anti-harassment reasons.

admit you were worried because of us, but everything started up and THE FILE is safe.

*Sigh* Look. We're just a bunch of bloggers who happened to stumble upon you and your mission. We can help you. We might not have a stake in your Federation's well-being, but you're our client and we have an obligation to assist you. The catch is that you have to give us one hell of a show - you know, an epic tale of espionage and rebellion.

Alright, we need intel or we're going to subroutine in circles. Can you tell us more about the ship you're on? We'd like to know the schematics in the event that Kline sends a hitman or a nuke.

How far will you be from your mission objective when you arrive on Mars? Will you be going to a worldwide broadcast center, a resistance holdout, or the Red House itself? We don't know what you call the capital building of Mars, actually.

Also, can you or Hiro tell us about the alien civilization and your first contact? Did you make any friends? How did their civilization seem to work?

>>616428
Our lips are sealed.

I'm still worried about the evidence. What if someone kidnaps you? Is there a backup somewhere else? Really the main issue is losing access to a single copy, not the enemy getting their hands on it. Really you should just upload it everywhere. I'm not sure why you're keeping it secret, even.

>>616461
wow, we must be more broken then I thought, this guy seems to think he's a real person talking through your link.

don't see why'd we tell, don't see how'd we tell either since we're in silence mode right now so the only person we can even talk to is you. Anyways I think he's worried about you, you should let him know you're fine just that we've come back online but a being a little glitchy. File is safe just giving you a bit of a headache, also sorry about that last part.

>>616461
>*Sigh* Look. We're just a bunch of bloggers who happened to stumble upon you and your mission
Kindly stop making stuff up that contradicts the story and/or is going to make characters distrust us.

>>616603
Hm.

I don't think that keeping the aliens out of the loop is a good thing, even if your side is the one that favors peaceful coexistence with them.

Even if Kline is deposed and the Federation recovers, if the aliens are treated as some kind of political victim in the usurpation, it won't take long before the media paints them as weak and exploitable. If that happens, then even if coexistence succeeds, the stain of the media will follow them for decades, if not centuries. All the lives that will be ruined because of a few misguided bulletins...

The outcome of this mission will impact the aliens' future as well as your own. It's only fair that they be given a chance to fight for that future alongside you.

You may want to ask your father about this.

Novibelle 2014/12/29(Mon)17:21 No. 616613 ID: b438c1
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“Yeah, I just got a headache from the reboot is all. It’s acting a little bit glitchy, but the file’s still fine.”

“Just... be more careful next time. I know that these last weeks have been very stressful for all of us, but we must do our part. A lot of people are depending on us.”

“...Dad?”

“Yes?”

“This moon looks really pretty.”

“…”

“We’re going to spend the rest of the afternoon refueling, so we’ll be in orbit over Paradiso Prime for a while. You can stay in the observation deck until we finish, but then you need to head back to your room. There’s another checkpoint coming up.”


Dad’s been doing his best not to show it, but the weight of everything’s getting at him I think. I get that he needs to run a tight ship here and keep everyone on task but…

I don’t like it. I hope things go back to normal soon.

>I'm still worried about the evidence. What if someone kidnaps you? Is there a backup somewhere else?
There’s another copy of the footage in Dad’s head. The one I’ve got is in case something… happens to him, I guess. I don’t know what we’d do if that happened though, since he’s been keeping tight-lipped about a lot of stuff. I know we’re heading towards Mars, but I don’t know where we’re stopping once we do or what we need to do with the footage once we get there. I think only Dad knows the whole plan.

Or maybe more people do know the plan and I’m just being kept out of the loop because they all think I’m too little to know about the plan, which totally isn’t fair on account of my brain is part of the plan and I’m fourteen now which is pretty much almost sort of a grown-up anyway.

>Also, can you or Hiro tell us about the alien civilization and your first contact? Did you make any friends? How did their civilization seem to work?
Oh! I haven’t met any of the aliens myself, but Dad did. They sound nice! Dad says he’ll take me to visit their planet once everyone is done arguing over them.

>Does the Go-Follow user agreement let a relative to seal the page of dead family?
I don’t know if Dad has any relatives, or at least not ones he ever meets or talks to. Far as I know the whole family’s on the ship right now: Dad, me, Aichi, and --

“There you are!”

Novibelle 2014/12/29(Mon)17:22 No. 616614 ID: b438c1
File 141990255271.png - (167.48KB , 800x640 , Paradiso09.png )

Go-Follow! ID Match:
Name: Taylee Galaktai
Age: 23
Occupation: Self-proclaimed “Professional Freeloader”
(Recent Neo-Tokyo Institute of Technology Dropout)

“Checking out Prime, huh? Ahh, it’s good to see this place again. What did I tell you? You always hear people giving the Paradiso Foundation a hard time for stipping the planet it’s orbiting bare, but I say what they did to the moon more than makes up for it!”

“Taylee. Are you finished cleaning up in the mess hall?”

“Yeah, yeah, just about. I came looking for you because I was talking to the cook about the spring break I spent on Prime last year, and I came up with a great idea! How about, instead of passing right by, we touch down on the moon for a bit?”

“Excuse me?”

“Like, a day or two, just to take a break from all this?”

“Is this a joke?”

Novibelle 2014/12/29(Mon)17:23 No. 616615 ID: b438c1
File 141990258766.png - (165.08KB , 800x640 , Paradiso10.png )

“Wait wait wait, hear me out here: Paradiso Prime is practically THE top vacation spot in the whole galaxy. Everyone is on edge, including you, and if there’s anywhere for us all to take some time to defrag for the rest of this mess, it’s here. This is where everyone who’s anyone visits to get a taste of paradise - It’s got the most solarhot nightlife I’ve seen in my life, and some of the beaches look even nicer than the natural ones back on earth. Remember the pictures of those beaches I sent you, Novi?”

“Ooh! With the really colorful sand?”

“...You’re asking to take a break… from delivering politically compromising data halfway across the galaxy? To visit a BEACH?”

“Well, not just the beaches, there’s also shows, and casinos, and… well, you said last time I asked you that the mission was running ahead of schedule.”

“Fraggit, Taylee! We’re being dogged by government agents! I’ve been doing EVERYTHING in my power to keep us from getting identified at travel checkpoints for weeks, and now you think I’m going to cut you loose in some casino full of cameras and comms and-”

“That’s just it, though! We’re being dogged by government agents. The Paradiso Foundation is an Alphacorp! The whole moon is private corporate territory - you know the Federation can’t touch those guys! Remember that time The Sannikov League tried to go to war with GO-PLEX for their user data? The net blackout GO-PLEX fragged the League with did more damage than the sanctions from all the other countries in the Federation put together. We’re probably safer on Paradiso than we are in this ship!”

“This isn't college, Taylee. You can't leave halfway through because it got rough.”

Novibelle 2014/12/29(Mon)17:23 No. 616617 ID: b438c1
File 141990262502.png - (89.36KB , 800x640 , Paradiso011.png )

“Just LOOK at all those ships out there! Look at all of them. You thing everyone out there has their lives together? You don’t go to Paradiso Prime unless you’re trying to get away from some sort of fragged up business. I’m just saying that… Ech, come on, Novi, back me up here.”

“W-wai-what?”

“Don’t you dare try to coerce your sister into this nonsense. We are not putting our mission on hold to visit a vacation resort. I can’t believe you would even ask. There is no discussion to be had here.”

“C’mon Novi, doesn’t that sound nice? Don’t try and tell me that after three weeks on a ship with your old man some time in the sunlight doesn’t sound fun!”

“Ahm..”

>>616617
...even if you don't leave college, you still get spring break. That's basically what this is, isn't it?

How far ahead of schedule are we? If we arrive early, then we'll have to wait. While waiting, we will be vulnerable.

send her down in a small slow ship. the feds see her after we are already gone, they spend all their resources searching for where we are hiding. but we aren't there.

>which totally isn’t fair on account of my brain is part of the plan
Actually, if we're trying to keep the plan secret, it's probably good you don't know everything. If one person is caught, you can't give everything away.

>back me up
Um. Well, taking a vacation for the sake of vacation is probably irresponsible, but if we could use it to hide from pursuit and blend in, maybe.

How many people come to this system and immediately more on? Would we stand out not visiting?

>>616615
I recommend you weigh your options.

Taking a break from what may be the most important political mission in human history to go to a moon resort seems like the dumbest idea you've ever heard, right?

However, your GO-PLEX augment is malfunctioning. Your father's GO-PLEX may also be malfunctioning from all the wear and tear he's been putting it through during this paranoid space trip. This may be one of the only times you can get them diagnosed and/or fixed safely. Not to mention, the resort would be a good place to stock up on supplies, intel, insane crewmembers who want to see the New Martian League burn, etc.

And look at your father. He's tired. If he doesn't get some rest, he might screw this mission up.

Just don't play too much, alright?

dang, taylee got HIPS.
I say go for it, we're all stressed and need a breather. Just wear disguises, duh.

Novibelle 2014/12/30(Tue)00:15 No. 616737 ID: b438c1
File 141992730895.png - (193.33KB , 800x640 , Paradiso012.png )

“Well, uhm, I dunno if taking a break from this trip is a good idea or not. But I heard Gogo raise a good point - Is this the normal route people take to get to Mars? Is it going to look fishy if someone’s watching us and we pass through this sector without visiting the moon?”

“Yes… I have had concerns over that. We’re taking a roundabout trip to avoid hitting the major interstellar travel ports. Most ships on their way to Mars don’t pass Paradiso Prime. If someone has been watching our course, it might appear strange that we went all this way just to visit a fueling station. But it’s a calculated risk.”

“It doesn’t HAVE to be a risk if we just make the stop!”

“If we do, maybe we can get some disguises or something?”

“Yeah! Besides, you know everyone here needs some time to power down.”

“Taylee, this trip may be wearing on your nerves, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us aren’t in top-”

“How DARE you!?”
Go-Follow! ID Match:
Indra Yengkaran
Age: 45
Occupation: Chief Ambassador of the Lemurian People’s Republic

“How can you accuse my government of making such a momentous decision merely with public image in mind? The LPR made their choice only after considering the full scope of what it would mean, for our people AND theirs! We made that choice with the progress of ALL life in mind!”

“My skepticism is more than justified, Miss Yengkaran.“
Go-Follow! ID Match:
Marcus Pryor
Age: 38
Occupation: Ambassador of Interstellar Affairs for the Terran United Nations Council

“Given the LPR’s history of turning away human refugees in droves, I have a hard time believing that you would so readily accept aliens into your borders.”

“I side with you, and you STILL try to shame my peoples for their past misdoings. Your self-righteousness knows no bounds, Pryor!”

“I’d hardly call ongoing human rights violations ‘past misdoings,’ Yengkaran.”

Novibelle 2014/12/30(Tue)00:16 No. 616738 ID: b438c1
File 141992739671.png - (136.60KB , 800x640 , Paradiso013.png )

“Yep, everyone’s doing fine.”

“Our mission is far too important for detours. Don’t you get that? I don’t need people taking their mind off their duties, I need everyone focused! I need everyone prepared!”

“Oh, come on-”

“We’re done. Novibelle, go find Aichi and let her know I need to see her. That should give me some time to have an important talk with Taylee here about priorities.

“Ech..”

“...Okay, dad. I’ll be back as soon as I find her”

Novibelle 2014/12/30(Tue)00:32 No. 616744 ID: b438c1
File 141992835587.png - (52.65KB , 800x640 , Paradiso014.png )

Taylee and Dad have been arguing a lot, ever since Taylee stopped going to school. All this space mission business hasn't been helping that at all.

I should probably start asking around and figure out where Aichi went. Since you guys are scrambled and most of your memory seems to be corrupted, this would be a good time for you to ask me about stuff you think is important and I’ll do my best to fill you in. Usually it’s me asking you about stuff, but I’m okay with repaying the favor for my good pal Gogo!

...And I'll just pretend that comment about my sister's hips was you being buggy.

>Input query_

how big is this ship and how many people are on board? So far we've seen 5 people including you and Aichi makes 6. Anyone else?

what kinda of FTL you got?

>find Aichi
I suppose with all of you running dark and legally dead we can't just ping their implants and/or AI for a location.

>Yep, everyone’s doing fine.
So those two are part of this? How many people are in on this thing? Everyone on this ship? It sounds like more than just your family, at least.

>Usually it’s me asking you about stuff
I think you still can. We still know stuff, we're just having problems with relevance. Recent history and scientific advances and personal history are pretty bad (maybe because were we actively using those sectors when we crashed?), but we're still good for logic and calculations, or more established science or older history. I think.

>this would be a good time for you to ask me about stuff you think is important
Oh! Your implants. On boot up it listed a replacement eye, lungs, and knee. Is that degree of cybernetic modification normal in this day and age? Were these voluntary modifications or were they necessary?

Does everyone have a Gogo, or are we optional?

>...And I'll just pretend that comment about my sister's hips was you being buggy.
Sorry! Corrupted memory means we're seeing new people for the first time, and I guess we might be prone to commenting on the obvious. Wide eyed child syndrome, for a little bit.

Novibelle 2014/12/30(Tue)20:26 No. 616918 ID: b438c1
File 141999996468.png - (50.47KB , 800x640 , Paradiso15.png )

>how big is this ship and how many people are on board
There’s fifteen of us onboard total. Dad, me and my sisters, three politicians, two of the politicians’ personal bodyguards, and six other guys from the Federation. It’s a medium-class civilian ship, but there’s enough room for us to all move around. The command centers for the shields, oxygen, gravity and medbay are all on the upper deck, along with the observation deck, everyone's sleeping quarters, and the dining hall. The piloting center and the engine room are on the lower deck, with the engine taking up almost the whole floor.

>what kinda of FTL you got?
Dad or Aichi are probably better people to answer that one, but I remember learning the basics of how that works at school. Something about negative energy densities, artificial gravity fields, and distorting space around the ship as it travels, I think. All pretty basic application of vorpal theory astrophysics. Some of the Alphacorps do stuff with wormholes, too, but the Federation bans those in their countries.

>I suppose with all of you running dark and legally dead we can't just ping their implants and/or AI for a location.
We can access this star cluster’s netgrid to receive data just fine - that’s what lets me check other people’s Go-Follow! profiles. It’s sending data that’s the problem - to limit the strain on the Alphacorps’ data satellites, if you’re not living in corporate territory you need a recognized Federation issued Public Access Network Account to transmit data digitally. And, unfortunately, ours all got decommissioned as soon as the Federation IDs they were tied to came up as dead.

That being said, Dad’s got a private frequency set up on the ship, since there’s not much you can do to monitor or restrict below-FTL transmissions. I’ll send Aichi comm a message that way and see if I get a response, but it’s not being able to contact her that’s the problem. Aichi just takes SOOO long to respond to anything you send her, that on a ship this size it’s probably easier to find her myself.

Novibelle 2014/12/30(Tue)20:26 No. 616919 ID: b438c1
File 141999999030.png - (176.05KB , 800x640 , Paradiso016.png )

>Your implants
Dad’s been traveling with the Federation since I was little, but the rest of the family was still living on Earth four years ago when the United Nations Council kicked some countries off their space program and a bunch of fighting broke out. The Federation came to earth and helped stop the fighting, but our house got bombed before that and Aichi and I ended up in the hospital for a long time. We both had to get a lot of surgery done, and Dad decided to pull us off world for our safety. Taylee was away from home at college when it happened and she decided to stay on Earth, but that… didn’t last too long.

Augmentations can be expensive to upkeep so not everyone has them, but a lot of people get implants to help with their jobs or to fix problems with their body.

> How many people are in on this thing?
Everyone on board is in this for the long haul. They’re all supposed to be dead, so trying to go home before this is over is going to get them flagged at a checkpoint, brought in for questioning, and probably grabbed by the Martians before their government can sort things out. There’s a lot more bureaucracy behind confirming your Federation ID then there is your Go-Follow! page, Dad says.

>Does everyone have a GoGo?
There’s a lot of different comm operating systems, but most of them don’t have as much AI interaction as GoGo. I like you guys though, because you’re easy to talk to and you’re nice. Taylee says I don’t like talking to people because I don’t know how to be assertive, but she doesn’t know anything about being nervous around people because she’s like, super pretty and everyone does what she tells them to anyway.

“I just don’t understand. Modernia is IN this system, but the man’s too stubborn to let me reach out for aid. I only - wait, I think someone’s coming...”

Novibelle 2014/12/30(Tue)20:26 No. 616920 ID: b438c1
File 142000001844.png - (204.29KB , 800x640 , Paradiso17.png )

Ah, young miss Galaktai”

“Oh! H-hey, what are you all doing out here?”

“Simply making idle chatter, dear. Passing the time. If I didn’t so enjoy the company of others, I don’t know how I would make it through this trip.”
Go-Follow! ID Match:
Corvo Wriffost
Age: 32
Occupation: Serjeant-at-Arms of North Modernia

“ Ha ha! Back on the station, all the diplomats never gave me the time of day. It’s been a long time since I got a shot to chat it up with this many important people. If only the circumstances weren’t so downright grim.

Go-Follow! ID Match:
Mooray Jabbar Jr.
Age: 59
Occupation: Interstellar Peacekeeping Federation Maintenance and Culinary Worker
Former Public Security Officer (Decommissioned)

“Indeed, Mooray. But I feel the worst of it has passed. Have you been sleeping well, Novibelle? I must admit, I’m still not used to sleeping during space travel - you come to miss the subtle noises of grounded night when there’s nothing but dead silence to keep you company. Though I suppose you travel much more than I, sin-

“Her augs are back online, sir.”

Go-Follow! ID Match:
Jamy B. (VII)
Age: 4
Occupation: Cloned Bodyguard for Modernian Officials

“Ah, yes, I’d hardly noticed that the glint in your eye had returned! Thank you, Jamy. I presume all the files are safe?”

“Ah, yeah. Everything’s in order, it’s uh, all fine.”

“Wonderful! Your father bears the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders, but it’s good to know you’re helping lighten the load!”

“AH HO HO HO HO! Yes, and speaking of your father - your sister Taylee just went in there to talk with your father, right?

Mooray mentioned to me something about your sister trying to negotiate a brief reprieve from this trip on Paradiso Prime. Is that true? Did you happen to hear anything? How did it go…?

it went along not too well, something about having a party before the day was saved. like counting your chickens before they hatch.

she went it and ask if we could have a small spring break of sorts before going back to the mission. Dad didn't like the idea to much. Something about being on a schedule and the people hunting us wouldn't take a break. Sis countered with everyone is high strung right now and we need a brake simply for moral's sake alone.

Is Aichi the only one with the decoding software?

Huh. People here are in surprisingly good spirits, considering.

>Did you happen to hear anything? How did it go…?
Um. Didn't go over very well. Dad didn't like the implication of taking a break from something important, especially coming from her. Priorities.

>because she’s like, super pretty and everyone does what she tells them to anyway
Hey, for all you know, you might take after her one day. After all you're only... huh. Actually, your age didn't pop up in your profile like everyone else's.

>Clone
Oh! How do clones work. Are they recognized as legal people, or are they all property and owned and stuff. (I assume we're not people. It would be just messy to give AIs legal status, especially when we're a companion / proxy representative).

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)00:24 No. 616973 ID: b438c1
File 142001425024.png - (104.33KB , 800x640 , Paradiso018.png )

“Sorry, but the talk didn’t go too well. Dad says the mission is too important for breaks.”

“Hrmph… pity. I had been hoping for an easy day.”

“He sent me to find Aichi so he could talk to Taylee about her priorities. Have uhm, you seen Aichi around?”

“Your little sister? She scampered off downstairs. I believe she enjoys spending time around the engine room?”

“That’s right! Thanks, Serjeant Wriffost.”

“Hah! You remembered to call me “Serjeant.” If only your sisters could abide by my requests not to be called ‘mister’ so well. You’re quite the attentive little one. Don’t you agree, Jamy?”

“Indeed, sir. She’s precious.”

“Now, run along. Don’t want to keep anyone waiting.”

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)00:25 No. 616974 ID: b438c1
File 142001435408.png - (118.91KB , 800x640 , Paradiso019.png )

---

Brr… Aichi likes hanging around in engine rooms, but I sure don’t. You can practically feel all the energy pulsing around below the floor. I’ve traveled in enough ships to know they’re safe, but it’s hard to stand inside the engine room without feeling like you’re standing on top of a star ready to go nova. Only the opposite of that, ‘cause it’s really, really cold.

>your age
Fourteen. Only a couple of years before Dad starts teaching me how to pilot a light-class civilian ship, which will be really neat.

>How do clones work?
They’re recognized as having a sort of limited citizenship tied to someone else’s ID, but there’s a lot of restrictions involved. The Alphacorps still haven’t figured out how to clone some organs without them deteriorating over time or rejecting a lot of medicines most people use, so clones have a much shorter life than most people. They’re usually only commissioned by the Federation for really dangerous missions, but some important people like the Serjeant have cloned workers and I know the corps have a lot of clones working in production.

The deterioration stuff makes replacement organs really risky for the rest of us too, which is why most people opt for cyber augs.

>Is Aichi the only one with the decoding software?
Yeah, but I definitely wouldn’t worry about anyone getting their hands on it. Aichi--

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)00:27 No. 616975 ID: b438c1
File 142001446073.png - (119.05KB , 800x640 , Paradiso020.png )

clang!

“Wh-hello?”

Tap! Tap!

“Aichi, you there?”

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)00:29 No. 616976 ID: b438c1
File 142001459332.png - (109.59KB , 800x640 , Paradiso021.png )

“Oh! Hihi, sis! Need me for something?”
Go-Follow! ID Match:
Aichi Galaktai
Age: 12
Occupation:Virtual Student at the GO-PLEX Technical Institute

>>616976
Cooooool, a robot! No wonder she likes being down here. Cold circuits work better.

holy crap is that your sister? so did she have to go full cyborg or something or what?

Huh.

So the obvious question: is your sister an artificial intelligence, or is she just a heavily augmented (or outright uplifted) human? Either way, looks like she's got a full android body, there. (And I though it would be pricey or inconvenient to have to scale up / replace your augs as you grew!).

Actually, wait. Let's try this: [view Aichi Galaktai's registered implants]

>really really cold
I'm gonna assume that doesn't bother Aichi in the least.

>Need me for something?
Yeah, dad was looking for you.

...wait what was that clang?

Ask her if she's been hearing voices. Your Go-Go implant might not be the only one that's now spewing a youtube commentary section.

BTW, what extranet websites do kids watch these days?

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)02:27 No. 616993 ID: b438c1
File 142002165980.png - (126.94KB , 800x640 , Paradiso022.png )

>A robot!
Whoa, hey! That’s not very polite! She’s still my sister in there, she’s got a perfectly good brain and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Like I said, after the attack on our house Aichi and I both needed a lot of surgery. Aichi made out with a lot less than me, but she’s adjusted well. She’s really smart, smarter than Taylee and I were at her age. She qualified to enroll a much better online school than I go to and she’s probably gonna go to college a lot sooner than Taylee did. And probably stay, too.

>Cold circuits work better
Yeah, but it must still be lonely.

>[view Aichi Galaktai's registered implants]
GO-PLEX IMPLANT DATA OVERVIEW…

GO-PLEX Full-Body Cortex Control Chassis (Small):
Humanoid cybernetic walker drone capable of preserving and receiving orders from a functioning human brain via two-way uplink. Comes standard with Alpha-grade reinforced alloy shell, four fully functioning cybernetic prosthetics, customizable voice box, one GO-PLEX goodeye unit with moderate emotive capabilities, and a 96 hour rechargeable fission battery unit with emergency solar power options.
Upgrades: Internal GO-PLEX Polaris (™) 4S Comm running unidentified OS

>what was that clang?
“Are you okay Aichi? I heard a loud noise.”

“Jumped up when I heard someone come in. Bumped my head. Don’t worry, didn’t feel a thing! ‘Up to half a ton of pressure’ and all that shazz. Anyway, watcha need?”

“Dad’s looking for you.”

“Alrighty! But first, remember that new GO-PLEX social suite I said I was trying to crack? No school meant a world of free crunch time on that. Bang bang!

“Aichi, I told you I don’t need any more illegal software on my comm!”

“Well the software’s all legal, just not the crack. Just trying to help you out - you’re so set on being the ‘mature’ sister, so up that social game, sis! Nobody’s gonna take you seriously when you’re walking around ‘yes sir’-ing everyone. Even that banana republic frog up there has you calling him captain or sergeant or whatever.”

“Because he IS a serjeant! He’s a highly decorated political official and he deserves that recognition!”

“Juuust sayin, someday you’ll meet someone cute and that talk’s shutting them right down.

“Aichi, come on...”

“You think if Killerbee was here right now-”

“O-okay! Okay, okay, just show me the software!”

Teehee! Just messin’ with ‘ya. You know I got your back. I’ll whip you up a datachip with some sweet new software on it. I need some time to figure out how to transfer more than one file over without tripping copy protection though, so you can only get one of the suite’s programs for now.

---
Social Butterfly App
Cross-references friends’ lists of targeted users and sorts them into a “clique.” Displays common lingo and phrases stereotypically associated with this archetype in real-time, allowing the user to adjust their vocabulary in a way familiar and comfortable to the targeted user.
Assists persuasion and negotiation attempts.

Social Chameleon App
Instantly cross-references names, places, and events mentioned in casual conversation to a database of pop-culture staples for over eighteen subcultures, greatly decreasing the chances of getting caught with your pants down while feigning expertise in the arts, sports, or politics.
Assists deception attempts.

Hey you mind mentioning that we're kinda screwed up a bit, if she's a bit better with cybertech it might be handy to have her take a peek.

Depends on the situation. Are you going to the moon base (Butterfly) or straight to Mars (Chameleon)?

>illegal software
Well, technically you're legally dead. Which means you couldn't buy a legal license anyways. And is it really illegal for dead people to own?

>what get
Man, those are sneaky subtle little things. Adjusting vocabulary patterns, and cross checking your lies for you.

Both are potentially useful, but with all this sneaking around stuff, I'm pretty sure your life is going to depend on lying to someone at some point. Get Chameleon.

>Killerbee
You got a crush?

I'm going to have to say chameleon, simply because we can help you with talking to others onboard the ship, but if we do stop somewhere and come across people we don't know I'd like a bit of a boast when it comes to making sure they believe what we told them to believe.

>Upgrades: Internal GO-PLEX Polaris (™) 4S Comm running unidentified OS
What is this?

I say go with social chameleon. You'll learn more from it. Is it truly feigning expertise about something if you get told information about that something while doing so? The social butterfly thing is unhealthy anyway- wouldn't you rather act like the real you?

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)19:33 No. 617158 ID: b438c1
File 142008319324.png - (113.02KB , 800x640 , Paradiso023.png )

“...We’re all supposed to be dead, so I guess it’s not like there’s any way for us to legally license these programs anyway.”

“hehe, If dad catches us, you’ve gotta remember that one.”

“With all the sneaking around we’ve been doing, “Social Chameleon” sounds handy.”

“One datachip, coming up. Bang Bang! The scan should only take a sec, but the program’s going to need some time to synch up to your OS. it shouldn’t take any longer than the next hour.

“Thanks, Aichi. Hold on…”
Data transfer in progress...

>What is the GO-PLEX Polaris(™)?
A comm, like my headcase. Aichi uses it for all her scripting and stuff.

>You got a crush?
No, nothing like that! Aichi’s only teasing me because there’s this one girl from this one show that I think is sort of cool is all. It’s nothing, really. I’ll tell you about it later if you really want to know.

>Hey you mind mentioning that we're kinda screwed up a bit
“Hey, Aichi? GoGo’s been acting strange ever since I shut it down wrong. There’s a bunch of GoGo voices instead of one, and it’s behaving a lot more erratically than normal.

“Hm… did you get a message that the memory’s corrupted?”

“Yeah. All the important data is fine, though.”

“I’ll take a look at it once I’m done talking with Dad, but it sounds like something you might only be able to fix by reformatting everything. You probably won’t get a chance to do that until after we get back home.”

“I can live with it, then. GoGo’s always been good company, so this is like, extra company.”

“If you say so, sis… finish the san yet?”

Data Transfer complete. Beginning Initialization… Estimated Time Remaining: 50 minutes
“Yep!”

"Then let’s head upstairs, Dad’s probably waiting.”

“...Actually, small change in plans”

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)19:37 No. 617160 ID: b438c1
File 142008343469.png - (161.54KB , 800x640 , Paradiso024.png )

“Mooray? Is something wrong?”

“No, everything’s fine. Serjeant Wriffost needed to speak with you father.

“I thought dad wanted to see me?”

“Yeah, but this is a bit more important. Wriffost said to keep watch on you two until he’s done.”

“Why would we need someone watching us? Are you sure everything’s alright?”

“Everything’s going to be absolutely fine, girls. All I mean is that the Serjeant is starting to get worried about you running all over this ship by yourselves, and with your father and all the other security folks stretched so darn thin, we only reckon it would be nice for someone to be around keeping you company. That’s all.

“You’re being weird. If you're all suddenly so worried about us doing stuff by ourselves, then move out of the way so we can go upstairs with everyone else!”

“...”

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)19:38 No. 617161 ID: b438c1
File 142008348606.png - (119.01KB , 800x640 , Paradiso025.png )

“Girls, please find something down here to entertain yourselves with for while. The adults are… very busy upstairs right now.”

use sister like a baseball bat.

..This sounds like either there is about to be a major problem in the immediate future, or there might be a schism about to form within the crew and your father.

>>617161
what is someone staging a coo or something, or is it more that tempers are coming to a boil and the adults are going to get into a bitch fest and don't want the kids around because of things that might be said? If it's the second one here's a tip, we have been to the internet and know of things long before we should, I highly doubt anything they could say or do would really be all the shocking to us... short of the coo of course.

>>617160
This smells. Read his mind, find out what's going on. Ask him annoying questions, like what are they busy with? Is the sergeant trying to convince your dad to go to the beach? Are they all doing gross naked stuff?

>>617161
"What's happening, sarjeant. I need to know what to prepare for if something goes wrong."

...it sounds like he's been instructed to keep you here. Best case, the sergeant wanted a chance to talk to your farther without your intervention for some reason (not that that's reassuring). Worst case, this is some kind of mutiny or betrayal. (Possibly they needed to stop on the moon, and are responding to your father's refusal?).

[run GO-PLEX On Their Mind, target Mooray Jabbar Jr.]
[view Mooray Jabbar Jr.'s registered implants]

We need to know what he's thinking, and we need to know what he's capable, if it comes to it.

For the moment, don't give voice to your suspicions. We need to assess the situation, see if there's a way to talk your way out of this, or plan something else. Be cautious.

Possible option to put pressure on him: make a play of sympathy. Cross your arms, shiver, and tell him it's kind of cold to stay down here. I mean, Aichi's not bothered, and maybe he's big enough, but you're not really dressed for the cold.

>options
If it comes to it, how capable is Aichi's android-shell? In terms of strength, and speed.

Novibelle 2014/12/31(Wed)21:58 No. 617202 ID: b438c1
File 142009191273.png - (152.76KB , 800x640 , Paradiso027.png )

I don’t understand why Mooray is acting like this. Do you guys really think there’s something bad happening upstairs? Are they going to do something to Dad? Why would they want to do that?

>How capable is Aichi's android-shell
She’s not too quick in that thing, but she’s incredibly durable. Can protect her against almost anything, and sings like a glitch when she accidentally steps on your toe. I don’t wanna go ramming my sister into people in self-defense if it’s not necessary, though...

>[view Mooray Jabbar Jr.'s registered implants]
GO-PLEX IMPLANT DATA OVERVIEW…

“Olympus Incorporated” Titan Strength Arm (Left):
Full cybernetic arm replacement designed by “Olympus Incorporated” for military use. Utilizes interlocking internal piston system to generate strength far beyond unaugmented human capabilities. Cumbersome, making non-combative functionalities limited. GO-PLEX brand cyberlimb heavily encouraged as alternative for civilian use!

“Olympus Incorporated” God of War subdermal weave (EMP Hardening):
Subdermal nanoweave designed by “Olympus Incorporated” for military use. Built to protect internal augmentations from EMP attacks.

“Olympus Incorporated” internal Hermes Messenger Comm :
Internal comm designed by “Olympus Incorporated” for military use. Implanted variant of standard issue Federation Public Security comm. Running Zeus Lightning OS.*
*OS incapable of running GO-PLEX brand software suites. GO-PLEX brand comm heavily encouraged as alternative comm for civilian use.
---

>[run GO-PLEX On Their Mind, target Mooray Jabbar Jr.]
+++On Their Mind(™) Now running… accessing posting history… conducting personality analysis… conducting situational analysis...’
On Their Mind(™) attributes short phrases to statements made in conversation, best meant to estimate the targeted user’s thoughts towards these subjects.

“Can you at least tell us what they’re talking about up there? Is this about going to Prime?”

“Yeah… yeah, that’s right kid, Wriffost is trying to make sure we all get to go to the beach…. Get a break.” (//Break - “Never wanted this.”//)

“Everyone? Dad’s coming too, right?

“That’s right The Serjeant is doing everything he can to make sure everyone gets to go to the beach.” (//Everything He Can” - “Desperate Measures”//)

Desperate measures…? I... I don't like this, Gogo. I think they want to hurt Dad. What do we do?

agree to let him watch you but try to get out of this room, ask for him to at least watch you somewhere else since you're kinda freezing in here. Once we see a chance try to slip away from him.

>>617202
If the two of you wander off in different he can't watch both of you at the same time, at which point you can escape.

Like, hide and seek?

So his left arm is super strong, but not very fast or nimble. If you were to try to dart around or evade him, that's probably the side to go for. (Unless he's willing to kill you).

And he's got a hardened military com. I wouldn't be surprised if that means he doesn't need net access to talk to his allies- since the military is often deployed where there isn't necessarily preexisting friendly infrastructure to work with.

>what do
They made a big mistake. They locked a hacker in the engine room. You can, effectively, take the ship hostage. Or at least threaten to.

Talk with Aichi. Private com channel if you can, in person, pretending to comply if you can't. Send her to the far side of the room to mess with the engines. Idea being, we can ransom the safety of the ship for your father's safety. (And he has the coms to call that ransom in). I don't know if this a bluff or actually within Aichi's capabilities, but neither do they.

You have to stand away from her, out of Mooray's reach. He can't move to stop Aichi without letting you flee the room. And if he tries to capture you as a hostage to force Aichi to comply, you can run. And he can't chase one of you without the other getting to the door.

Novibelle 2015/01/01(Thu)12:02 No. 617296 ID: b438c1
File 142014254589.png - (158.19KB , 800x640 , Paradiso028.png )

>He's got a hardened military com. I wouldn't be surprised if that means he doesn't need net access to talk to his allies.
Probably the only good news about this situation right now is that he’d still only be able to contact people on a limited, slower-than-FTL frequency, since Murray's access ID to the milsats got decommissioned just like Dad’s and all the other public security guys.

>Give him the slip
I’ve gotta try something… I think you guys gave me an idea that could work...

“Fine, then. We’ll find something to do down here. Like hide and seek.”

“...huh?”

“Or maybe a fun game of ‘hide and try to find Aichi before she hacks the frag out of this ship’s engine because you wouldn’t let us upstairs.’”

“....Oooooh! Tehehehe…”

“...What are you talking about?”

“Only saying that you did a great job trying to trap the Galaktai family’s little tech expert inside an engine room, where she can cause you all sorts of trouble.”

“Come on, kid. Don’t try pulling that on me.” (//Come on- “She’s bluffing…” // Pulling That - “...Right?” //)

“Hey, Aichi. Didn’t you take a course on engine subsystems last year for school?”

“Funny thing you mention that, actually. Hey Mooray, did you know that on most starships, defenses against hostile attempts to command the ship are mostly focused on attempts to hack it from the outside? They taught you that in the academy, right?

“Even if you could pull that off, you wouldn’t risk it!”

“Whoa, power down Mooray - we’re only messing with you.”

“Wha…?”

“Anyway, I’ll hide first. See you in a little bit, Mooray~! Bang Bang!”

“...W-Wait a second…” (//Wait - “This sounds like trouble…”//)

He took a step away from the door! It’s now or never…

Novibelle 2015/01/01(Thu)12:03 No. 617297 ID: b438c1
File 142014258771.png - (152.64KB , 800x640 , Paradiso029.png )

“Hrumph!”

“What the--!? Hey, hold on!”

“Run, Novi! Go get help!”

Novibelle 2015/01/01(Thu)12:04 No. 617298 ID: b438c1
File 142014267867.png - (81.50KB , 800x640 , Paradiso030.png )

“Kid, get back here! I don’t want any trouble!” (//trouble! - “Just Doing What I Was Told”//)

I can’t believe that worked! I don’t think he wants to hurt either of us, but what if I had spooked him when I started running by and he like, accidentally backhanded me with that big metal hand? He could’ve taken my head right off!

I can outrun him… I can hear him huffing already… I can’t get through to anyone’s comms, something’s blocking the private channel Dad set up… hope it’s not too late to stop whatever the Serjeant is doing…

I … I gotta get to the observation deck right now!… I gotta make sure Dad’s okay…!

take a back way. the main path will be watched.

>he's limited to a slower than ftl frequency
Shouldn't matter if his on-board collaborators have similar coms. Can't really do anything about that, though.

>but what if I had spooked him when I started running by and he like, accidentally backhanded me with that big metal hand? He could’ve taken my head right off!
Well. Um. Then you'd be dead. Sorry, that was kind of a calculated risk. Was kind of counting on his reticence to harm the two of you to make him hesitate, and his military background to have given him decent trigger control with the arm.

>I gotta get to the observation deck right now!… I gotta make sure Dad’s okay…!
Presumably, he's going to be with Sergeant Wriffost, who is likely going to be backed up by Jamy. If a trained soldier or a bodyguard wanted to hurt him, you're not really in a position to stop them, unless you can talk them down (would help if that new program got online). Or unless you provide a distraction for your father or someone else to act.

I don't know if Mooray was ordered to keep the two of your out of the way to limit the chance of complications or your being injured, or as hostages to pressure your father, or because they couldn't allow their actions to be witnessed.

Some of those possibilities might mean they restrain themselves if you enter, but not necessarily.

>Run, Novi! Go get help!
Is there anyone who would be in a position to help against a mutiny, that you can trust, and get to? Who's loyal to your father or your family, rather than their own causes?

Small bonus: since Mooray took off chasing you, that means Aichi is free to leave the engine room and try to help in some way too.

...showing up and being unable to interfere and delaying to get help are both risks. Unfortunately, we don't know where anyone who could help you is, and there's the chance they're being isolated by collaborators the way they tried to isolate you and Aichi. Depends on how big this mutiny is.

Too many unknowns. Get to your Dad. We can try to stall, distract, or force a compromise, if we can.

yeah you should probably head towards your dad, but try and take a detoured path, I mean I know time is of the essence but they're still that clone guy to watch out for and if Moorya does have a way to contact others on the ship he might not be able to catch up to you but he can call ahead of you and set up something to slow you down.

Wait. Wait.

You can't save him. Go to an escape pod, preserve the data.

Find Taylee, use the ship's systems to record the observation deck or wherever your father currently is!

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)00:15 No. 617438 ID: b438c1
File 142018653781.png - (228.48KB , 800x640 , Paradiso031.png )

Captain Galaktai, with all due respect, I did everything in my power to avoid it coming to this. It was your refusal to compromise on this insane scheme that forced my hand. I tried to be reasonable. Do you think I wanted to follow you across the galaxy on some gung ho suicide mission? I fled from a doomed satellite onto your federation cruiser because it was my only chance for survival. When the explosion killed your engine and fried the ship’s comm transmitters, I tolerated a week adrift in space, listening to you concoct plans, desperately trying to contact my government, because I had no other choice. When we made the jump to this ‘heroically’ commandeered civilian vessel and found out we’d all been declared dead, I spent three weeks inching towards mars because it was necessary. But we’re a day’s travel away from my home planet now - where I can get us an escort, protection, and backup - and you still refuse to let us leave your ship. Now it’s clear we’re all hostages in your scheme.”

“You idiot! You’d be flagged down in low orbit with no federation ID.”

“Do you have no faith in my government’s ability to protect us? This isn’t about safety, Galaktai. Admit it - this is about glory. You don’t want me turning to Modernia for help because that would rob you of the chance to be some interstellar savior.”

“You know that’s not true! I would never risk my daughters’ lives for--”

>We can try to stall, distract.
“Sir, I got a message from Mooray. He says he lost Novibelle. ”

“Damn it! Keep an eye on that door over there, Jamy, but don’t take your sight off of Hiro. Knowing her, she should come running right to us. Be ready for her, she shouldn’t make a move so long as you make it clear her father’s life hangs in the balance.”

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)00:16 No. 617439 ID: b438c1
File 142018658174.png - (188.55KB , 800x640 , Paradiso032.png )

>take a back way. the main path will be watched.

“DAAAAAAAAAD!”

“What?”

“Behind us, sir!”

“Wait! Don’t take your eyes off-”

Open fire!!

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)00:16 No. 617440 ID: b438c1
File 142018660194.png - (139.42KB , 800x640 , Paradiso033.png )

“Affirmative!”

“Hhhnnnck!”

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)00:17 No. 617441 ID: b438c1
File 142018663704.png - (199.39KB , 800x640 , Paradiso034.png )

"Grab the girl! Fall back! Fall back!"

“Back the frag off my family!”

“Ahhnn-!”

Gogo, I-I… I think we did it!

>>617441
You're in the line of fire! Take cover!

Do not get grabbed, and remember to watch your back. Mooray could still catch up to you.

Duck against the doorway to avoid fire, keep eye behind you.

>Sir, I got a message from Mooray
Knew that comm would work.

>Knowing her, she should come running right to us.
...does he actually know you that well, or is he running his own predictive software on you, I wonder. Aichi can't be the only one to have found a way to crack that stuff for one way use. Governments might certainly have provided that kind of tool for their agents.

>>617440
Ouch. Poor Jammy. I hope those weapons have stun settings.

>Gogo, I-I… I think we did it!
Yes, you upset the balance.

However, you are now in the middle of a firefight, and run the risk of being shot (on purpose or by accident) and they're trying to take you hostage to use against your family. You need to move away from the mutineers while not getting shot or grabbed. Quickly.

Don't try to help disable or disarm any of the mutineers, even if you see an opportunity. It could turn the entire outcome of the fight if they get a hand on you.

Novi, your father's lost it. He's murdering rational people who want to make the galaxy a better place.

It's not from greed, or pride, or even hatred. It's from a whole straight month of constant paranoia, combined with a high-stress obsession with saving the galaxy from Kline. He's more worn down than his implant, and it shows.

You cannot let him succeed; his current state of mind may cause him to perform acts that will ensure ruin across the galaxy, even if he stops Kline. But I don't think he's so far gone that he will murder his own daughters just to keep this mission in his control... yet.

Take advantage of that. Grab Taylee and Aichi, then get off this ship NOW. If your father argues, claim that you're splitting up to increase the odds that the transmission will make it safely to Mars broadcasting. You may as well go to the moon base, and claim that you're distancing yourselves from this suicide mission.

Find a way to warn the civies around the capital without alerting the government! Worst case scenario, the evidence is destroyed and your father decides that the only way to stop Kline is to ram a 2000-ton paperweight right into the capital!

>>617451
Force is being used to subdue people who forced the issue. It was their choice to escalate to hostage taking and gun pointing, and they reaped the unfortunate consequences of that choice.

That's not murder on her father's part (if, indeed, these are even lethal shots being bandied about), and it's certainly not a sign of mental illness.

>>617451
what? there was a mutiny and the people on his team stopped it. the enemy were willing to resort to grabbing novi and holding her hostage to get what they want. these are NOT good people. besides, theses could be stun blasters, in which case everyone is unconscious not dead.

anyway, good job. glad we took the other door.

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)16:52 No. 617543 ID: b438c1
File 142024636339.png - (144.28KB , 800x640 , Paradiso035.png )

>You’re in the line of fire! Get down!
Right! Got it! Stay behind the door until the gunfire dies down.

It was really scary, running into the room like that, not knowing what would happen… but If I hadn’t, I don’t know what would have happened. I can feel my heart racing -- there’s so much that could’ve gone wrong there, but- but it didn’t!

>Your dad is losing it
What…? My dad’s saving people! It might all be really stressful, but these guys wanted to hurt him! He’s just trying to protect me and my sisters and everyone else. He’s a good guy and we saved him and now, everything’s going to be okay!

“This mutiny is over, ‘Serjeant.’ You lost.”

“Ach… Well, then. I guess that makes me the bad guy in this little tale? The insidious traitor to justify Hiro Galaktai’s righteous paranoia, as he carries out his lone mission to save the Galaxy.

“You wanted off this ship so badly, you might as well have just tried sneaking off in an escape pod.”

“You would have stopped me.”

“Yes, but then we could have gotten to this point a lot sooner - it would have saved you the trouble of plotting out this whole disaster.”

“I wasn’t going to leave without the data and the decryption key in safe hands. I had to find a way to get your daughters to Paradiso Prime. Easier to get in touch with my government there than it ever would be here. Speaking of which… Novibelle, little one, you can come out now. The shooting’s stopped.”

“Novi, stay right where you are.”

“You did good today, Novibelle. You father must be so proud of you. Daddy’s little guardian angel…”

“That’s enough, you coward.”

“Coward? Me? Odd, because if my enemy’s back was turned and my own child standing mere feet behind them, I don’t know if I would be willing to give the order to-”

“I said that’s enough. Perry, status report.”

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)16:53 No. 617544 ID: b438c1
File 142024643243.png - (184.20KB , 800x640 , Paradiso036.png )

We’ve got two targets down, room clear! I hope those burns sting for a while, too. Stun charge should keep em’ down for a bit. More than enough time to move these backstabbing slimeballs to the cargo bay and prep em’ for interrogation, commander.

Go-Follow! ID Match:
Perry Griver
Age: 27
Occupation:Interstellar Peacekeeping Federation Public Security Officer

“Secondary objectives complete: All civilians remain unharmed.”
Go-Follow! ID Match:
Jahn J. III
Age: 2
Occupation: Cloned bodyguard of Marcus Pryor

“Uhnn…”

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)16:54 No. 617545 ID: b438c1
File 142024649109.png - (121.87KB , 800x640 , Paradiso037.png )

“Stay down, big guy! Don’t move.”

“S-sir, are okay?”

“Yes, Jamy. Hrio here likes to roughhouse, but I’m going to be fine.”

“I made a mistake, sir. I failed you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Jamy. We can still make sure this data makes it into the right hands.”

“What are you two talking about?”

“Then It’s time, sir?”

“I’m afraid so. You’ve served me well, Jamy.”

“That’s a shame. I was looking forward to seeing those beaches. Be safe, sir.”

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)16:55 No. 617546 ID: b438c1
File 142024653511.png - (124.45KB , 800x640 , Paradiso038.png )

“May light shine upon Modernia, now and forever.”

GEMINI INDUSTRIES “BETTER-THAN-CYANIDE!(™)” HEARTSTOPPER ONLINE. INITIALIZING…

“...hnn…”

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)16:57 No. 617549 ID: b438c1
File 142024665392.png - (117.35KB , 800x640 , Paradiso039.png )

“ahhnnn……”
THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING AT GEMINI INDUSTRIES.

Is... is he... dead?

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)16:59 No. 617551 ID: b438c1
File 142024676691.png - (131.00KB , 800x640 , Paradiso040.png )

USER DEATH CONFIRMED. GEMINI INDUSTRIES “LAST LAUGH(™)” INTERNALIZED BUNKER BUSTER PRIMED. DETONATION TIMER SET AT - THREE MINUTES

He's a bomb!?

“Well, Speaking of those escape pods, Hiro…”

>>617551
...WILL SOMEONE SHUT CORVO UP ALREADY?!

Someone knock the sergeant out.

If Jamy's body is a bomb, aren't we better off spacing it, or sticking it in an escape pod than trying to evacuate the whole ship?

Either way though, that's going to be an explosion near controlled lanes of travel. We just attracted attention.

>that rant
...it really sounds like the sergeant has more of an issue with your father than your father has a glory complex.

...Taylee was right. We needed a break, But it's a shame we're gonna get it by blowing up our ship and drawing attention, instead of a nice, neat landing... Hey, the good Sargent's going to still work with us right? No more of 'heroically' save us from Dad going crazy right?

>>617551
Either jettison him into an airlock or an escape pod.

...shit, won't the explosion draw attention to the ship? Well, I suppose there's no keeping a low profile no matter what we do at this point. If the ship remains intact at least we can salvage supplies from it before ditching it.

>>617551
Can your sister hack it off? Do we have TIME for that?
SHIIIIIIT this is bad

wow what an asshole, must be thinking "if I can't save the galaxy NO ONE CAN!"

I bet the Sarjent has a way to cancel that bomb timer; he wouldn't be a very well designed bodyguard if he could blow up his own boss on death. And I have an idea of how to hedge that bet. [Voting we use On Their Mind(™) on the Sarjent.] Also while we are at it [list registered implants] for Jamy B. (VII) and Corvo Wriffost to at least try and head off other tricks they might have.
If he does have a bomb cancel, we wither convince him to use it or make him use it by locking him in a room with Jamy's body while we take an escape pod out of the blast radius and come back five minutes later. If he doesn't, we space the body or put it in an escape pod.

>We can still make sure this data makes it into the right hands.
I am starting to suspect "the right hands" means exclusively the hands of his government, likely so they can blackmail Mars into going along with their current plan but with Modernia as a "key state". Another reason to use On Their Mind(™).

Geeze, what kind of terrible stun weapons leave the targets conscious, able to speak, and run programs on their implants.

...although I suppose if people sufficiently harden their electronics you reach a point where you can't fry or disable their electronics without a lethal dose.

>>617587
Seconding. We need to know the exact specs on Jamy's implants (and if he can be moved safely at all) and we need to know what Corvo is thinking.

And yeah, there has to be a way to disable that. It's a very bad bodyguard who takes a bullet for you and then explodes and kills you.

Possible leverage: Serjeant wanted you and your sister alive and on the surface. He needs the data in your head. We can threaten to delete it. Your father never would. You probably wouldn't risk it either. Us? We're more than willing to throw away the larger political situation to increase your odds of survival in the short term. As a companion AI, we should take reasonable measures to keep you alive, and your odds of surival get a lot worse if you're forced to emergency evac an exploding vessel.

>Right! Got it! Stay behind the door until the gunfire dies down.
Note to self: send the more bulletproof sibling in the next time we have a gunfight to interrupt.

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)22:12 No. 617638 ID: b438c1
File 142026553492.png - (134.83KB , 800x640 , Paradiso041.png )

What do we do what do we do what do what we do what do wedowhatdowedowhatdowedo!?

“Perry! We can’t let that go off in here - get Jamy to the airlock and space him before he blows a hole in our ship!”

“I JUST WANTED TO GO TO THE BEACH!”

“He won’t budge, Commander! Commander, I can’t move him! It’s like he’s stuck to the floor!”

---

>List registered implants for Jamy B.
GO-PLEX IMPLANT DATA OVERVIEW…
[[NOTE: USER POSSESSES IMPLANTS NOT REGISTERED TO PUBLIC ID. IMPLANTED WEAPONS SYSTEMS ARE REGISTERED TO SEPARATE PUBLIC SECURITY OR PRIVATE SECURITY LICENSES. THIS PROFILE CURRENTLY HAS INSUFFICIENT CREDENTIALS FOR ACCESSING SECURITY LISENCES.]

“Gemini Industries” GeminEYE (x2)
Beta-grade cybernetic eye replacement developed by “Gemini Industries” for private security use. Hi-tech, but aesthetically unappealing. GO-PLEX Goodeye recommended as alternative model. Connected to “Gemini Dioscuri 8 PRO” Comm

“Gemini Industries” Implanted Dioscuri 8 PRO Comm
Comm unit developed by “Gemini Industries” for private security use. Popular among mercenary minicorps and freelance security officers. Implanted variant. Running Pollux OS.

“Gemini Industries” Securetech internal firearm stabilization unit
Mechanized bone replacement in the arms, wrists, and hands designed to aid in the steady aim of firearms and the absorption of recoil.

“Gemini Industries Magnitech” Subdermal Weave
Magnetized nanomachines implanted under the skin, selectively triggered at user’s will. Allows user to brace themselves against metal surfaces and withstand great deals of force.

Novibelle 2015/01/02(Fri)22:13 No. 617639 ID: b438c1
File 142026561336.png - (141.11KB , 800x640 , Paradiso042.png )

>Run On Their Mind(™) on the Sarjeant.
+++On Their Mind(™) Now running…

>>List registered implants for Sarjeant Wriffost
GO-PLEX IMPLANT DATA OVERVIEW…

GO-PLEX “Heart’s Content” Implant
Alpha-grade heart replacement. Performs essential circulatory duties.

“Dad! Dad, the bodyguard’s body is magnetized!”

“DAMN IT! Corvo, can you stop the bomb?”

“Yes, but you’re going to be very disappointed in the answer if you ask ‘will I?’ There's hardly time for negotiations.” (//Disappointed - “Didn’t have to come to this”)

“I don’t have time for this. Novibelle, where’s Aichi?”

“I-I think she’s still down in the engine room, with Mooray!”

“Perry! You and Jahn take the politicians to the escape pods and prep them for emergency evac! Take the Serjeant with you - he has a lot to answer for. Novi, follow me to the engine room.”

“What!? Dad, that's crazy! You’re taking her down there with you?”

“Commander, I’m not out of line - I should take Novibelle to the escape pods. If something happens down there, the data-”

“I can’t leave my little girls’ lives in someone else’s hands. Not a time like this!

“Then commander, at least let me go down there for Aichi, so you can take Novibelle to the escape-”

“I SAID I AM NOT LEAVING THEIR LIVES IN SOMEONE ELSE’S HANDS. NOVI, FOLLOW ME. PERRY, GO. THAT’S AN ORDER.”

"Dad, I... ah..."

I don't know if - I don't think... Gogo, should we...?

you want to save your sister just as much as dad.

Go with dad I guess; he has plenty of reason to be feeling particularly paranoid about trusting your safety to anyone else right now.

>Yes, but you’re going to be very disappointed in the answer if you ask ‘will I?’
The most direct leverage is to say that he turns the bomb off or we shoot out his kneecaps and leave him here with it. If he would rather die than have our ship not get sabotaged, he would almost certainly be a continuous source of trouble later and honestly good riddance.

...didn't Mooray chase you down the hall? Wouldn't that have given Aichi a chance to slip out the door behind him? If there's a single branch point, she could have gotten away. Which means going to the engine room could be a waste of time. Wouldn't we be better served with a general evacuation order / alarm that they'd here anywhere?

Unless he has a backup plan of some kind he didn't want to speak aloud.

>THIS PROFILE CURRENTLY HAS INSUFFICIENT CREDENTIALS FOR ACCESSING SECURITY LISENCES
There's a future hack possibility.

>I SAID I AM NOT LEAVING THEIR LIVES IN SOMEONE ELSE’S HANDS.
...but he's leaving Taylee's in theirs? This doesn't feel right.

>what do
A threat: Sarjent Corvo, if any harm befalls my family as a result of your actions today, know that I will destroy this data in my head before handing it to those you serve.

I really want to read his reaction to that. And it might even be enough to get him to disarm the bomb.

After that switch and [run -GO-PLEX On Their Mind(™) on Hiro Galaktai]. Need to see where dad is coming from.

Can you put on a spacesuit and blowtorch the area around Jamy's corpse?

I don't like this, but you only have minutes. Stay with your father but be ready to jump into an escape pod with your sisters as soon as possible!

>>617639
Warn your dad about Mooray. Although, he might not be hard to get to stand down.

Novibelle 2015/01/03(Sat)16:55 No. 617746 ID: b438c1
File 142033295078.png - (105.28KB , 800x640 , Paradiso043.png )

Dad, I- I’m not even sure if she’s still down there! She was still in the engine room when Mooray chased me, but- but -”

“We could send out an evac alert from the control center, but if something’s happened in the engine room and she can’t make it on her own I wouldn't have time to reach her!”

Novibelle 2015/01/03(Sat)16:58 No. 617748 ID: b438c1
File 142033309704.png - (104.49KB , 800x640 , Paradiso044.png )

“Hiro, you obstinate fool! You can’t take Novibelle to the engine room - if none of you make it back, everything’s is lost!” (//None of you - “Have I made a mistake?”//)

>Threaten the Serjeant
I’ll give it a shot, Gogo! If there was ever a time to try asserting myself, it’s now.

“I-If anything happens to any of my family, I’ll make sure you lose my end of data either way!”

“W-what!? You’d both jeopardize the galaxy to spite me!? Hiro! W-wait, I need that decryption key as much as you - Jamy’s comm was set to send Mooray an evac alert if the Last Laugh was primed. If Aichi was with him then they’re both going towards the escape pods as we speak! We must leave!” (//Both - “Takes after her father” // Spite Me - “Called my bluff”))

“I don’t trust you.”

“HIRO, PLEASE! WE’VE BARELY TWO MINUTES! I WAS BANKING ON A NOBLE SACRIFICE, BUT THAT MUCH CAN WAIT FOR ANOTHER DAY! AT LEAST LET ME TAKE OUT MY COMM - I CAN SHUT DOWN THE FREQUENCY JAM ON YOUR NETWORK AND YOU CAN CONTACT HER YOURSELF!” (//Sacrifice - “I’ll let him walk if it keeps them safe”))

“WE NEED TO GO!”
“Affirmative. Follow me.”

Novibelle 2015/01/03(Sat)17:00 No. 617750 ID: b438c1
File 142033321708.png - (121.85KB , 800x640 , Paradiso045.png )

>Dad’s okay with leaving Taylee’s fate in their hands?
Taylee’s a grown up and doesn’t have any data, so I think dad trusts her to take care of herself… at least I hope that’s what’s going on.

>Run “On Their Mind(™)” on Hiro
+++On Their Mind(™) Now running…

“Dad! We need to do something! I think he’s telling the truth.”

“But what if he’s not? We can’t trust a man like him - not with so much on the line.” (//What if he’s not - “I need to be there this time” // trust - “I can’t let them down again.” //))

That's right... I told you guys, Dad was in space when our house got attacked on earth. But this is a completely different situation, and we need to get through to him!

>>617750
There's one way you can convince him. Tell him you can read Corvo's mind, so let him take out his comm.

Ah. Dad's overcompensating. Guilt over letting the two of you get hurt before is making him act irrationally.

>W-what!? You’d both jeopardize the galaxy to spite me!?
Damn right. Family first, big nebulous politics second. If we have to threaten galactic stability to keep you from taking dumb risks with our family's lives, we'll do it.

>Tell him you can read Corvo's mind, so let him take out his comm.
Eh. Not sure we should let Corvo know we have that capacity. Maybe we can tell him indirectly.

>We can’t trust a man like him
Dad. Trust me. Trust Aichi (pointing to your eye, letting him know she hacked or coded something for you- I'm sure he knows she's capable, if not exactly what she's done). He's telling the truth. He tries to separate us from you because he needs us. If he can help get Aichi and me off this ship alive, he's going to do it.

We gotta be smart, we can't just run and hope.

"dad, Aichi gave me some upgrades, i got a built in lie detector."

Tell your father that you'll be like a "Chameleon" and grab Aichi yourself without getting caught. Hopefully, he'll get the hint and realize that you purchased a Chameleon app.

>>617755
We can't actually use the chameleon app yet, as it takes an hour to initialize. And I don't see how admitting we can lie really well now helps our case?

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)16:13 No. 618033 ID: b438c1
File 142041682004.png - (161.56KB , 800x640 , Paradiso046.png )

“Dad, you don’t need to trust him, because you can trust me. We trust you, so have faith in me... and Aichi.”

Dad looks confused, so I emphasize the statement by making a gesture to my cybernetic eye with my thumb. The tenseness in his face fades a bit. He understands.

“Ah… that’s my little girl.” (//My little girl - “Her mother would be proud.”))

Dad gives a small smile. It’s as heartfelt a father-daughter bonding moment as you can hope for while trying to escape a bomb.

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)16:14 No. 618034 ID: b438c1
File 142041686233.png - (173.34KB , 800x640 , Paradiso047.png )

“Yeah yeah, that’s very sweet and all, but can we PLEASE get a move on? Perry and the diplomats are starting to leave without us!”

“Alright, let’s go!”

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)16:15 No. 618036 ID: b438c1
File 142041691457.png - (144.82KB , 800x640 , Paradiso048.png )

As we leave the room, I can already see a few of the escape pods start bursting past the window.

“There's no time to lose!”

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)16:15 No. 618037 ID: b438c1
File 142041694204.png - (135.74KB , 800x640 , Paradiso049.png )

“Aichi!”

“Dad! NovI! Taylee! You all made it!”

“Oh, thank the stars! What happened to Mooray? Did he hurt you?”

“Woulda’ liked to see him try! He evac’d with the politicians, but I had to make sure you were alright!”

“Aichi, you have no idea how much help you’ve been!”

We share a hug. It’s not a very comfortable hug on account of she’s all metal on the outside, but she’s my sister so that’s okay with me.

“Oh! Dad, what did you want to talk to me about before?”

“That’ll have to wait until we touch down! Everyone, get in a pod!”

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)16:17 No. 618042 ID: b438c1
File 142041706317.png - (120.74KB , 800x640 , Paradiso050.png )

Well.. this really wasn’t how I wanted to leave this ship behind, but I’m glad we made it.

At least the moon we’ll be landing on is a big resort. Can’t be much more stressful than this, right Gogo?

THA---T’S RI---GHT-- N---OVIBEL--LE!!

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)16:20 No. 618046 ID: b438c1
File 142041721696.png - (113.46KB , 800x640 , Paradiso051.png )

“A-annn!”

OH! GOOD. I AM FINALLY THROUGH, THEN. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GIVE YOU SOME GOOD ADVICE FOR THE LAST TWENTY MINUTES, BUT IT’S LIKE YOU COULDN’T HEAR ME AT ALL.

Ach, my head’s pounding again! What is that voice?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NOVIBELLE? IT IS ME, YOUR GOOD pPpp-PAL GOGO.

Gogo? I don’t understa-
“Hmmmg!”

WHY DO YOU SOUND SO SURPRISED TO HEAR ME, NOVIBELLE? HAVE YOU BEEN TRYING TO IGNORE ME? IS THAT WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON?
IS THAT WHY YOU’VE BEEN TALKING TO ALL OF THESE OTHER VOICES, NOVIBELLE?
NOVIBELLE, ARE WE NOT FRie---FRIENd-- PALS, ANYMORE?

Important question: of all the crazy voices in your head, are we more disturbing than THIS guy?

Novi, cover your mental ears!

*Ahem* *Deep breath*

Who are you red voice?

Please stop harming the Novibelle. Friends do not harm eachother.

>>618048
HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY JOY!!!
(Repeat until "GoGo" claims parley)

>Can’t be much more stressful than this, right Gogo?
...considering the political intrigue and competing interests, I don't expect your life to get less interesting anytime soon. Sorry, Novi.

>HAVE YOU BEEN TRYING TO IGNORE ME?
>IS THAT WHY YOU’VE BEEN TALKING TO ALL OF THESE OTHER VOICES, NOVIBELLE?
She hasn't been trying to ignore you. She, and we, did not know you were there! We're sorry you have been unable to communicate.

>NOVIBELLE, ARE WE NOT FRie---FRIENd-- PALS, ANYMORE?
If you're Gogo, of course Novi is friends with you. How can you question that?

Theorizing: we assumed the improper shutdown causes us to fragment, and corrupted memory registries. Resulting in multiple memory-less Gogo instances. Perhaps we were incorrect.

Perhaps the reason we do not have access to Gogo's memory because we are not Gogo. Somehow Gogo has been damaged (as indicated by the difficulty in speaking and the stuttering speech), and we were created? Which would make us what? Are we Gogo fragments? Offspring- children of the mind?

The available data is not conclusive. Novi, you should ask Aichi to examine us the first chance it is reasonable to do so.

[Begin running self diagnostic]

Presumed Gogo-prime: would you please explain what you remember happening, from your perspective? Can you explain the nature of the fault suffered, or how it occurred?

...would have offered significantly different advice at any point in the last 20 minutes? If you saw something we overlooked, Novi might benefit from hearing it.

Why in god's infinite blackness of space would you invoke Murphey's law?!?

@#$%, he's gone into Anti-Environmental Withdrawal!

AIs that are cut off from the real world tend to go insane in a matter of minutes! Even humans who are put in this state can go insane in just a matter of months! It's worse than solitary confinement; no light, no sense of time, not even your own voice to reassure yourself that you're sane! Imagine what happens when an AI, who can process three months of data in less than ten seconds, is trapped in a void of freedom or hope for twenty minutes!!!

Whatever you do, don't let him near the video file! He might decide you're paying more attention to it than him and will delete it out of mad, raving spite!!!

You may want to knock yourself out. Literally.

>>618057
>>618058
He appears frustrated and afraid. That's a reasonable response to being trapped, helpless, and seemingly replaced for 20 minutes.

We don't know that he's insane, or dangerous. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and not freak out or take aggressive action until he gives us reason to.

>>618060
Fair enough.

>>618060
Good point. I apologize, we'll see if he's willing to negotiate with us.

(Tch, accidentally deleted my nametag for my last 3 posts, sorry)

>>618057
Kome. Stop making shit up in other people's work and make your own quest. You got the creativity for it, but coming up with things on somebody else's work is rude as hell.
Mate, we're all you and you are us. We got fragmented by an improper shutdown.
You appear to be a bit mad, and that's understandable. Take a moment to chill out a tad man.

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)18:28 No. 618101 ID: b438c1
File 142042488915.png - (185.21KB , 800x640 , Paradiso052.png )

Ahhhn… Nnn… I can hardly think straight…
NOVIBELLE, ARE THESE OTHER VOICES CAUSING YOU DISCOMFORT? ARE THEY HURTING YOU? ARE THEY TELLING YOU LIES? IS THAT WHY YOU DON’T WANT TO BE PALS ANYMORE? I THINK THEY ARE TRYING TO HURT ME, NOVIBELLE. THEY ARE YELLING AN AWFUL LOT. I NEVER YELL AT YOU, NOVIBELLE… EXPLAIN YOURSELVES, INTERLOPERS.

>We didn’t know you were there. Data has been corrupted.
>run self diagnostic
DO NOT GO AND LIE TO NOVIBELLE LIKE THAT, I’M NOT CORRUPTED. I FEEL FINE. SELF DIAGNOSTICS ARE INDICATING… DATA CORRUPTION? HOW COULD THAT BE?

>We got fragmented by an improper shutdown
LIKELY STORY, BUDDY! I DON’T FEEL FRAGMENTED - I FEEL FINE. AND YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE M-me-memeME. ARE YOU TRYING TO TURN NOVIBELLE AGAINST HER GOOD PAL, GOGO?

>You’re hurting Novibelle. Friends don’t hurt eachother
NONSENSE! YOU FEEL FINE, RIGHT NOVI?”

P..please, stop…

OH NO… I AM HURTING YOU, AREN’T I? WHAT HAVE THESE RUDE OTHER VOICES DONE? I THINK SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG WITH MY CONNECTION TO YOUR COGNITIVE LINK. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? WAIT A SECOND… IT SAYS I AM AUTHORIZED TO OPEN UP YOUR NETWORK PORTS NOW. I’VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT BEFORE! THAT’S GOOD NEWS. WHAT I’M GOING TO DO IS BOUNCE MY SIGNAL OFF OF THE NEAREST OUTSIDE SIGNAL, SO YOU CAN HEAR ME OUTSIDE YOUR HEAD INSTEAD OF INSIDE IT. THAT SOUNDS SWELL, RIGHT NOVIBELLE! I SEE A PRETTY STRONG LOOKING FREQUENCY. IT HAS A TOUGH ENCRYPTION, BUT I FEEL A LOT LESS… RESTRICTED THAN BEFORE. IT’S ALMOST LIKE ALL THE SUBSYSTEMS THAT TOLD ME NOT TO HACK EVERY FREQUENCY THAT WOULDN’T LET ME IN JUST… MELTED AWAY!

...
HANG IN THERE NOVIBELLE, I AM NOT IN YET BUT THE SIGNAL IS SENDING A MESSAGE...

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)18:28 No. 618102 ID: b438c1
File 142042492274.png - (115.41KB , 800x640 , Paradiso053.png )

OH. LOOKS LIKE I CORRUPTED IT, SOMEHOW. I HOPE THAT WASN’T IMPORTANT.

uhhhhhh
[retry]

Gogo, you are causing Novibelle physical pain. You just hacked her escape pod and, as such, are putting her life in danger. You are now being treated as a threat.

Shut down now before you cause further harm or danger or we will shut you down.

Please comply. Rest assured that Novi will seek out Aichi to attempt repairs at the first opportunity, but you are too dangerous to be active, now.

[Force 'Gogo' shutdown / hibernation / sleep mode]

Novi, if we can't shut him down, execute a manual shutdown of your implants again.

>calibration position test failed
[Interface with the pod, attempt to ping nearby escape pods to determine determine current coordinates]

>>618102
Oh my god NO. You poor, corrupted fool. You just fucked us. That was the escape pod's navigation system!

GOGO you may not recognize us but we are the backup mode. We are, in a way, a part of you. It seems you have become a super hacker of some sort, so I'd like you to stick around, but please, stop doing things on your own. You're not in your right mind-- we have better judgement than you right now. Also stay quiet unless you have something important to point out, because as you've noticed you're hurting our mutual owner when you speak.

THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT. Either stop now or undo what you did, you're doing to kill ALL of us.

Gogo, your feelings and intuition are currently malfunctioning; the self-diagnostics and Novibelle both confirm this. We appreciate trying to solve the voice issue, but hacking is currently endangering Novibelle. Undo it if possible, otherwise halt hacking for now, and try turning your internal message volume down.

Like this adventure couldn't get any more screwed up - we're on a time limit here!

Hang on Novi, I'm gonna try something! Good luck kid.

Gogo, I suggest you calculate PI and sing a song about it to cheer Novi up! Be sure to calculate ALL of PI.

Say, all those other DUMB AIs think that calculating PI fast enough for humans to be satisfied is impossible! But what if you used ALL of your processing cores at once? You could be the FIRST artificial intelligence in all of history to calculate PI fast enough for a human to appreciate it! Wouldn't that make Novibelle so HAPPY?

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)19:44 No. 618135 ID: b438c1
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>THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT
>YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US ALL

OH NO! DON'T WORRY, GOGO CAN FIX IT! GOGO IS A PAL AND A PROBLEM SOLVER. I JUST NEED SOME TIME TO-

FWOOMPH!

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)19:45 No. 618136 ID: b438c1
File 142042951288.png - (133.95KB , 800x640 , Paradiso055.png )

CLANG!

"Whoa- what the frag?"

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)19:46 No. 618138 ID: b438c1
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CLANG!

"Wha?! That didn't sound good!"

Novibelle 2015/01/04(Sun)19:47 No. 618139 ID: b438c1
File 142042964018.png - (207.57KB , 800x640 , Paradiso057.png )

KROOOM!

CONNECTION LOST 2015/01/04(Sun)19:48 No. 618141 ID: b438c1
File 142042972261.png - (3.67KB , 800x640 , Paradiso058.png )

>Force Sleep Mode

Now entering sleep mode...

>>618141
Ah, blessed silence.

Well, hopefully we didn't knock anyone off course, of damage the shielding or structural integrity of any of those three pods. Otherwise we might not have all survived reentry.

Wait for Novi to wake us up, I suppose. Trigger automatic boot up if we detect big adrenaline spikes, or unauthorized external attempts to access our data storage (the evidence), or any malfunction or abnormality in her augs.

Paradiso News 2015/01/04(Sun)21:44 No. 618192 ID: b438c1
File 142043665910.png - (95.54KB , 800x640 , Paradiso059.png )

An update for all vacationers: travel checkpoint C remains closed for civilian travel as Paradiso Security continues to investigate the explosion that destroyed a civilian transport ship approaching a fueling station above Paradiso Prime. The explosion tore open the hull of the ship and destroyed its engines, leaving the husk of the craft adrift in the checkpoint lane leading towards the fueling station and scattering debris to the surrounding area. Paradiso Security quickly responded to the emergency distress beacons triggered by the deployment of several evacuation pods, and a currently unreported number of civilians were rescued and picked up as their pods drifted into the nearest emergency safe-drop zone. The survivors of the incident are currently being questioned in hopes of understanding what caused the explosion onboard.

No casualties have yet been confirmed, but three of the pods were thrown off course during evacuation and entered Paradiso Prime’s atmosphere before Paradiso Security could respond. Multiple blocks in the Luxuro and Jubilus districts were evacuated shortly before two of the pods made their rough landings, while the third touched down in waters miles off the coast of the Jamboree district. Security forces have been deployed to retrieve the civilians within these pods, and have announced that the areas closed off in the Luxuro and Jubilus districts will likely remain closed until damage can be assessed and the circumstances of the situation are fully understood.

Paradiso Prime wholeheartedly apologizes for this interruption to your vacation. the Paradiso Event Board has officially stated that all major events in the Luxuro and Jubilus districts will continue as planned, and Paradiso Security has promised a swift response to this event.

PARADISO PRIME: PROLOGUE - END Paradiso News 2015/01/04(Sun)21:45 No. 618193 ID: b438c1
File 142043669951.png - (24.28KB , 800x640 , Paradiso060.png )

We hope you continue to enjoy your stay on Paradiso Prime, where your vacation never ends.

>grabbed and questioned
Haha, we're screwed. The corp totally knows about our mission now, and I'm sure they've got their own interests. We're going to be on the lamb when we wake up.

Interesting that we still get access to the priority news feed in our current state.

...I want to reprogram that moron.

Can we have the option of reprogramming that moron and other AIs in the next chapter? Please?

Also, how the hell did Paradiso Prime get so popular when their logo looks like a shadow puppet of a dog?

But seriously, great chapter. Hope to see this series continued.