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piper902021-01-14 07:28 pm
piper90npcs) wrote in piper902021-01-14 07:28 pm
Jorgmund Emergency Announcement
[In the middle of the night, when even the night watch shifts should be pacing through the dorm area, there’s a peal of noise from the communicators impossible to ignore or sleep through. It’s clearly an alarm of some sort, like tornado alerts back on Earth. It goes on for solid three minutes, long enough for everyone to move on from being woken by it to loathing it, before a message shows up on the communicators-
-and the doorways out of each of the dorms are sealed with a semi-translucent forcefield.
On the communicator screen, Richard Washburn shows up and straightens his tie.]
Hello, employees. Believe me, I’m not any happier about this midnight interruption than you are, but we’re currently in a state of – mild – emergency. I don’t want anyone to get overly excited, but until the situation is resolved, you will remain in your dorms. Depending on how long this takes, all activities scheduled for tomorrow morning have been suspended.
The reason for this is that we have an intruder in your living quarters. We have this footage from a few weeks ago.
[A new image shows up on the communicator: a security camera video of a Santa Claus with a line of the highest executive-level parents and their small children waiting to tell him their wishlist. A little girl in pigtails and a sparkly t-shirt of a Christmas tree hops up onto his lap.
“Ho, ho, ho!” Santa says, and he boops her nose. “Aren’t you a peach? Tell me, little one. What would you like for Christmas?”
“I want a big plastic spider!” the girl says excitedly.
“A creepy little child, aren’t you? Well, that’s just swell, because that’s my favorite flavor,” Santa says, and then – blurry on the security camera footage – transforms into a mass of black goo, latching onto the little girl’s face and suctioning to stay on. The child’s mother screams and yanks her daughter away, and the footage shows pure pandemonium as some parents lunge forward to help the mother with her daughter while other parents snatch their own children and start running. In all the chaos, the black goo vanishes.
Washburn flicks the footage away and reappears on the screen.]
Thankfully, there were no fatalities in this incident, and after we couldn’t find any evidence of the attacker, we assumed that it was a freak incident of the Stuff. However, there was recently another unsuccessful attack on a teenager by this same creature posing as one of the tutors on the Rig, and then again on another thankfully unharmed child disguised as another child, and then on another child under the guise of a children’s television show host named “Mr. Rogers”, and tonight-
[He takes a deep breath, annoyed, as if this is somehow the Hires’ faults.]
-tonight we found a security breach to your floor, and we have good reason to believe that the shapeshifter is posing as one of you.
We know this: we know it poses as figures appealing to children, so for obvious reasons, you won’t be allowed anywhere near any Jorgmund staff whatsoever until this is resolved. We know that its ability to disguise itself is relatively seamless. And we know that it preys on minors.
If you can determine who among you isn’t at all appealing to children, we can consider releasing you from your dorm and discussing next steps to search out whoever’s been replaced.
If this starts taking long enough that it jeopardizes the Jorgmund’s mission, we may start taking more drastic measures to ensure that we aren’t harboring any imposters.
I’ll keep you updated if you keep me updated.
-and the doorways out of each of the dorms are sealed with a semi-translucent forcefield.
On the communicator screen, Richard Washburn shows up and straightens his tie.]
Hello, employees. Believe me, I’m not any happier about this midnight interruption than you are, but we’re currently in a state of – mild – emergency. I don’t want anyone to get overly excited, but until the situation is resolved, you will remain in your dorms. Depending on how long this takes, all activities scheduled for tomorrow morning have been suspended.
The reason for this is that we have an intruder in your living quarters. We have this footage from a few weeks ago.
[A new image shows up on the communicator: a security camera video of a Santa Claus with a line of the highest executive-level parents and their small children waiting to tell him their wishlist. A little girl in pigtails and a sparkly t-shirt of a Christmas tree hops up onto his lap.
“Ho, ho, ho!” Santa says, and he boops her nose. “Aren’t you a peach? Tell me, little one. What would you like for Christmas?”
“I want a big plastic spider!” the girl says excitedly.
“A creepy little child, aren’t you? Well, that’s just swell, because that’s my favorite flavor,” Santa says, and then – blurry on the security camera footage – transforms into a mass of black goo, latching onto the little girl’s face and suctioning to stay on. The child’s mother screams and yanks her daughter away, and the footage shows pure pandemonium as some parents lunge forward to help the mother with her daughter while other parents snatch their own children and start running. In all the chaos, the black goo vanishes.
Washburn flicks the footage away and reappears on the screen.]
Thankfully, there were no fatalities in this incident, and after we couldn’t find any evidence of the attacker, we assumed that it was a freak incident of the Stuff. However, there was recently another unsuccessful attack on a teenager by this same creature posing as one of the tutors on the Rig, and then again on another thankfully unharmed child disguised as another child, and then on another child under the guise of a children’s television show host named “Mr. Rogers”, and tonight-
[He takes a deep breath, annoyed, as if this is somehow the Hires’ faults.]
-tonight we found a security breach to your floor, and we have good reason to believe that the shapeshifter is posing as one of you.
We know this: we know it poses as figures appealing to children, so for obvious reasons, you won’t be allowed anywhere near any Jorgmund staff whatsoever until this is resolved. We know that its ability to disguise itself is relatively seamless. And we know that it preys on minors.
If you can determine who among you isn’t at all appealing to children, we can consider releasing you from your dorm and discussing next steps to search out whoever’s been replaced.
If this starts taking long enough that it jeopardizes the Jorgmund’s mission, we may start taking more drastic measures to ensure that we aren’t harboring any imposters.
I’ll keep you updated if you keep me updated.
no subject
Telepathy. Sprock.
[He thinks.]
Can it imitate meta powers? Can it create new things, beyond what memories might allow? Such as schematics?
no subject
How do you mean by create new things?
no subject
I'm curious if it has the capacity to create new things based off the memories of others.
An alarming prospect, given the capabilities of some of the people here.
no subject
no subject
[ Oh, the resignation. ]
no subject
What, you didn't get lumped with some new super-bull████ when they dragged you here?
no subject
no subject
[ South snorts. ]
They're not all they're cracked up to be.
no subject
[ She knows she would. It's not like any of them would've turned down a cool new toy. ]
locked to carolina
Ugh.
[ York, Wash and North already know about the big one, but she's not putting this out there completely publicly. ]
Two things. Y'know my voice modulator? Yeah, I can just... [ she mimics her brother's voice perfectly for the next three words ] do that now.
And this.
[ The full effect doesn't translate well over video, especially with Carolina looking right at her before she uses it, but it isn't entirely nullified. South suddenly... becomes hard to look at; Carolina's eyes will skip over her, as if her conscious mind is refusing to perceive that she's there. ]
locked back
Oh. Well. That has some applications.
[ She's definitely surprised by the second and unsettled by the first, but the gears are already grinding away. ]
Does the corp know you have the vocal mimicry?
[ Jorgmund rank and file aren't smart. That? That's a weapon. ]
no subject
[ South comes back into focus as she shuts the effect off earlier than it would fade on its own. ]
Nah, haven't shown them that trick. Don't think they've figured out the disappearing act either and I'm in no rush to show them. Figure the less they know about either of them, the better.
no subject
[ Is that a smile? That's a smile. And not a particularly nice one. ]
Let's make that one count when they do.
no subject
Y'know, I almost like you when you say shit like that.
[ She almost just cuts off there, but then she reconsiders, sighs, and adds: ]
Using the disappearing bullshit means I gotta be nearby someone to fuckin' trigger it. Works with anyone but [ rolls eyes ] works best with North. For y'know. Reference.
[ To 'make it count' the people who know about it have to know how it works. Unenthused about the idea of working with anyone from home again she may be, but she at least knows these people have the skills to cover her when their interests are aligned. ]
no subject
[ She'll leave it at that, they're not exactly besties. But she appreciates being told.
And, if she can come up with a good way to use this, South will know. ]