Mask or Menance IC Contact Post

[failureisntachoice]

[ An automated voice speaks because someone hasn't bothered to set up a proper voicemail. The only part in her voice is her name. ] You have reached Agent Texas. Leave a message at the tone.

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[failureisntachoice]

[ She stares at him for a while longer before stepping closer to his hologram and removing her helmet (does he even remember the fact that they have bodies beneath the armor?). That tells her nothing because a lot of their history falls under the category of 'fucked up.' ]

You're going to have to be more specific than that. [ There's a brief pause as she looks at his inert armor back to his hologram. ] It's mobile enough.

[fuckai]

[As Tex takes off her helmet, that hologram gets to his feet. He's about to start forward, to tell her not to, to somehow get her to stop because he doesn't know what the Director put under that armor, but he knew it wasn't a person. Not... a person like she would remember being. And he doesn't want that for her.

But then, the helmet is off. And he's staring at her-- skin and hair and a face, and he has to pause because that's-- he knows that's not how it was. AI development was still new, still a military secret. The UNSC wouldn't just make bodies for them, their lifespans weren't worth the cost.]

Uh. [He's caught between answering her and demanding to know what the hell he was looking at, teetering one way and then the other until finally, he decides to fall back on facts. On what he knows, rather than the thing he can't explain.] I remember everything I should?

I'm program designation Alpha, implemented to assist Freelancer Agents in ending the war as quickly as possible. Meant to assist the functionality of suit implants in the field. [He hates how clinical that all sounds. But hey, if she's asking.]

You're Agent Texas, top of the leaderboard. The Director's ace in the hole.

[The Beta AI. Allison.]

[failureisntachoice]

[ That's... He's willing calling himself Alpha. Does that mean...?




Just when she thought there weren't any more curveballs that could be thrown at her today. Her helmet is set down on the surface of a dresser. Is it even worth explaining? If everything gets fixed, solved like it always seems to, then he'd at least have a few days of understanding who he was without the damage that's been done.

He deserves at least a few days.

It hurts as she forces herself to maintain her composure, her expression remaining carefully neutral as she regards him. She nods in confirmation. ]

Yeah, I am. People tend to drop most the syllables and call me Tex. [ A beat then, ] You don't know how you got here?

[fuckai]

Tex? I didn't think of you as a nickname type. [But despite what he's saying, there's clear amusement in his voice. Just as there's a little more energy, a little less anger and broken edges.]

No goddamn idea. [Oh. Wait.] Unless you're counting the corrupted files I'm dealing with. Lots of half images, weird familiarity with things. Like this.

[He flickers out of existence for a second, only to reappear standing on the discarded armor's head.]

The color means something, I think. But I don't know it. Same with that Porter people keep talking about.

[He might have been picking apart the Network while he was waiting for Tex to show up.]

[failureisntachoice]

[ She manages to keep herself from rolling her eyes. 'Tex' isn't far of a leap if she's going to going by codenames anyway. ]

It works better than Beta. [ And less conspicuous. She eyes his hologram as it moves. ]

What corrupted files are those? And if you mean the color of the armor, it doesn't have much purpose besides decoration. The porter is the piece of junk that brought us here.

[fuckai]

[There's a mixed moment when Tex says her AI designation. A second where he would be grinning, if he had a mouth to do so. But at the same time, there's a hint of unease. Since he's... not sure if she should really know that. He never was told the full scope of what the Director laid out for her.]

Right. Yeah. Sure. Better than Beta. [At least he still sounds amused.]

And I dunno. Files. Shit about a Florida that doesn't exist. Cities that don't match up. People who aren't in the Freelancer Program. [He's facing Tex fully now, tilting his head to the side as he regards her body again.] What the hell is going on? I mean really going on.

[failureisntachoice]

[ He really doesn't know shit about what's going on. Well, he's about to get a crash course. ]

First of all, Florida exists. We're not in Project Freelancer. That stupid porter people talk about? Is some damn magical technology that drags people from everywhere here and they want us to help with their crappy war.

[ There's a pause because she knows how ridiculous this all sounds. Her next statement doesn't make it any less so, but it's important dammit, ]

They don't even have colonies. [ HOW ]

[fuckai]

Magical technology? [He snorts, complete disbelief in his voice.] Sure. And I'm actually a genie from a lamp.

[Look, he may be bound by the Director's orders, and he may just be a super high tech calculator of sorts, but like hell will he ever give up his sense of humor.]

Wait wait wait wait wait. They don't have colonies? That-- hold on. [He holds up a hand, skimming the network, jumping from there into the internet, running a quick search on this place, on the local history and technological accomplishments and--]

Holy shit! They can barely go into space!

[failureisntachoice]

[ She rolls her eyes at his scoffing. Whatever, she's not here to make him believe the bullshit they've been forced to since arriving. He'll figure that out soon enough.

Instead she focuses on his reaction to that last bit of news. Good to know they still share that opinion. It had been her first damn thought when she showed up here. ]

Yeah. You should see their military tech. Somehow they can build transporters and hover cars, but that's where their advancements stop.

[fuckai]

[If a hologram can perk up, Alpha just did. Maybe his light seems a little more intense, or maybe it's just the way he's standing with his hands on his hips. Either way, he suddenly looks a little more interested in this conversation.]

Sure. [Oh yeah, he sounds interested.] Show me their military tech.

[Oh, wait--] You have open storage in your suit, right?

[failureisntachoice]

[ He had her interest, her own expression brightening with excitement, until that last question dampens it completely. ]

Yeah, I do. [ But the thought of him that close to her mentally... She's not sure that would be for the best with their current age discrepancy. ] Is your own body here not usable?

[fuckai]

[To Alpha, it's not even a question. That's just the simplest thing, the thing that makes the most sense. It's what he was made to do, after all.]

What? That thing? [He glances back to the armor.] Why the hell would I use that? It's armor, yeah, but that's not how I work.

[He waves one hand through the other, the white light flickering a little as he does it.] Hologram, Texas. Way more mobile this way.

[failureisntachoice]

More mobile, but less autonomous.

[ She nudges his unused armor with her foot. Why couldn't he just want to use that instead. With a sigh, she folds her arms over her chest. ]

Are you going to keep to yourself if I let you on board?

[fuckai]

Trust me, if I want to go somewhere, I'll go.

[He claps his hands together, though. Undeniably excited over the prospect of actually doing what he was designed for.]

What, you have shit to hide? [He raises a hand, though.] Yeah, I'll be a good shoulder AI and leave your stuff alone. Just basic access, sitting in the suit, not the head.

I know the drill, Agent. I was kind of designed to do this.

[failureisntachoice]

Agent? Really?

[ She rolls her eyes and slides her helmet back on. If he's only interfacing with her suit, then everything else should be fine. She's already reaching for his chip to install it. ]

And more like I don't want you digging around where you don't belong.

[fuckai]

It's what you are! [Look how defensive he sounds!!] But okay. Tex.

[His hologram floats on over to where she's getting his chip from, and he lets himself slide out of the housing and into the suit itself, mentally patting himself on the back for making that transition so smooth. He'll jump into her suit once the chips in place, but he doesn't really want to be in limbo in the meantime.

He's spent too long crammed inside his code, he doesn't really want to go back to that just yet. Even just for a few seconds.]

I won't. I'm not invasive, I swear. They didn't make me that way.

[failureisntachoice]

[ God, she hasn't truly been an agent in... Well, since she crashed the whole damn Mother of Invention to try to break him out. Even if she still went by it at times.

But he doesn't need to know that. It's irrelevant and instead she focuses on making sure she doesn't jam his chip in wrong. At least this is easy enough. ]

Just because they didn't make you that way, doesn't mean you aren't.

[fuckai]

With all the restrictions and safeguards they put on me, I don't really have a choice.

[Says the AI blatantly disregarding one of the Director's most stressed orders-- don't interact with the Freelancers.]

But I promise. No digging, no peeking, no getting shitty country songs stuck in your head.

[He makes the shift, jumping from suit to suit with only a slight flicker running through his avatar (and no silly possession sounds), settling into the woodwork and absently running through a system check in the back of his mind.]

So, Not-An-Agent Tex. What military stuff have you been up to?

[failureisntachoice]

Is that your version of a pick-up line?

[ Still better than any of Tucker's she's heard. She shrugs and moves to step out of his room. Has he even seen the rest of the house yet? ]</small Besides dealing with an occupation and a kidnapping, not a whole lot. They're not that efficient here.

[fuckai]

[Alpha can't help it, he has to laugh at that.]

I guess that depends on if it worked.

[He sort of drifts behind Tex, letting the range of her suit's projection drag him along into the main part of the house.]

Huh. I expected something less... homey than this.

[Oh. Wait. She's saying important military stuff. He clears his throat.] Occupation? Sounds like an ordinary old Earth Thursday.

[failureisntachoice]

You'll have to try harder than that.

[ Particularly after their last fight caused some drifting. A less tangible one than the movement of his hologram. She brings them out into the main room and does a slow walk through of the main floor. ]

It's what we were assigned. And it's less common here than you think. It's been over for a few weeks now.

[fuckai]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Hey, that was a fight in another life. As far as he's concerned, this is Beta. This is a collection of bittersweet memories that ate away at his head. A collection of a consciousness he had let form on their own.

As far as Alpha's concerned, the two of them have an unbreakable, intimate connection. Because that's just. How they were created.]

I was imagining more punching bags and targets. [But...] Okay, not common occupation. Actually serious.

... and it's just you and Agent Washington here? [Not that he doesn't trust Washington to be able to handle it, but.......]

[failureisntachoice]

[ She shakes her head. 'Punching bags and targets' describes things better before the Soviets took that extra step, but things have tensely returned to it. Well. Somewhat now that everyone's changed. ]

Out of the Freelancers? Yeah, and Epsilon who's another AI from the Project. [ She makes her way to the kitchen for lack of a better destination. ]

Not that it matters. They don't have an alien invasion going on.

[fuckai]

Epsilon? [Oh. That must be the designation of the guy who's going as Leonard Church.] Don't tell me, there's a Gamma and Delta too?

[Does he sound like he's pouting? Because he's definitely pouting.]

Freelancer wouldn't need other AI if I was just allowed to work.

[But that's a conversation for another time. Because he has to sigh at the mention of the war.]

Yeah, I guess everything ranks beneath alien invasion.

[failureisntachoice]

Yeah, but they aren't here.

[ And that's all he needs to know about the other AI fragments. ]

You do plenty of work without needing to hitchhike. Why won't you use your own body again?