anothercontinuity | Red vs Blue Voicetesting Thread

This is usually when I wake up, is all I'm saying.

[ in that infinite empty of After the project but Before Locus. Days filled with relatively easy and occasionally challenging jobs that aren't terribly fulfilling, the odd night in a bar and motel to sate skin hunger, pinging from port to port, colony to colony to keep his head down.

He learned his lesson about shit going too well, things being too easy, too good. He got cocky and lost the eye. Adjusted. Got Delta-

And lost everything.

Survivor that he is, if this is real, he could probably take one more loss like that and still keep going- but people? A partner? It wouldn't happen. Not if this goes wrong. ]

If you're sure? I'm sure.

Good.

[ And before York can get out another word he's stepping in, cupping a hand to the back of his head, and pulling him into a kiss. Not the usual sharp hunger of a kiss after their missions, but warm, tinged with something heavier. Something that twists in the gut.

There's a small rumble of approval as he pulls back. ]

For the record? This is real, too.

[ He's about to make a smart comment- something offhand and ridiculous to cut down on the rather serious bent of the conversation, like he do-

And Locus bypasses all of that bullshit neatly with a kiss that has him blanking out for half a second before he presses back. Warm and weighty and. Real. Solid.

Taylor is, in fact, someone that blushes. So he's blushing a little at that declaration. ]

I- uh. [ Don't say anything stupid Taylor, come on. ] Wasn't worried?

[ He's still a shit liar- it comes out more a question than a statement and he can feel Delta rolling his eyes in the back of his head. ]

[ It takes him a moment to realize that he is, in fact, blushing. And then he chuckles quietly. Yes. Still a terrible liar.

But that's one of the things he...appreciates about him. ]

Fair enough. I'm going to go check in with FLISS on our ETA.

Yeah I'll. Um. Look through the stuff we got from the thing.

[ Smooth, York. So smooth.

He hooks a thumb over his shoulder and actually does manage to get to the data terminal without tripping over anything. Somehow. ]

[ He'll leave him to it, for the moment. Let things settle. He's got his own thoughts to ruminate on, and the silence of the cockpit is good for such things.

This is real. He needs the reminder sometimes as well, but it's somehow easier to reassure Taylor. He's not entirely sure why that is, or why Delta isn't able to. One would think with all that logic, it should come across more certain with the AI's advice than his own.

After all, this is fairly new to him. ]

[ For about half an hour- probably a little longer the back's quiet save for the odd bit of spoken commentary between York and Delta- D having popped up to hover green and glowing at York's shoulder so they could converse outloud if Locus wanted to poke is head back and catch what was happening.

Everything was pretty familiar, the suits, the modules, the data on the AI- until they hit a portion of possible 'future' projects and York lets out an unrepentant ]

Holy fuck. D could you- yeah. LOCUS!

[ The cry is loud enough that he bolts back in a hurry. Navigation's taking care of itself, FLISS isn't about to let them crash into anything.

That can't be anything good. ]

What is it?

Shit they never got around to doing but had planned.

[ York brings up schematics for a theoretical module, the little CG video along with it. Armored figure runs up, armored figure blinks from one side of the field to the other, armored figure shoots targets in the back. ]

You mentioned teleporting cubes and shit on Chorus, right?

Yes. Crafted from alien technology recovered during occupation. Everything we had on hand malfunctioned once the other temples were activated, however.

[ Had he found a way around it? Locus scowls at the schematics, as if they might have been Hargrove's face itself. ]

The sim trooper bases had stationary teleporters in a few of the facilities hardwired to other points on their respective maps for a few years. They were glitchy and unreliable so the Project quit employing them. The cubes you mentioned seem to be a step up but-

If he takes the basics of what we had and tries to throw in what he'd gotten from working with those cubes? This could be problem. Especially if he gets them working.

That could be enough for his scientists to get started with. Hard to say what level priority it would hold, but if they managed it, our missions could become significantly more difficult.

[ He grunts, propping his hands on his hips as he stares at the data. ]

We could step up our next target to one of his research facilities.

I can't imagine how they'd begin to test it without having an excess of bodies to risk on this shit. Volunteers don't just come out of the woodwork. You and Felix hijaked prison ships to bolster your numbers for Chorus, right? I'm gonna put a bead out for any more ships like that going missing in the past year or so.

[ Bumping up their time table to handle a lab- higher risk, higher potential reward. ]

We weren't that far off from hitting those anyway- there are two I've been looking at. One with low visible security but a high drain on the local power grid- and one with high security and a hell of an artillery range in the back. I figure the first is more research and development and the second is more practical testing.

[ Locus's eyebrows narrow in thought. He recalls the set up of such testing grounds. The research labs would be less known to him, but the information would undoubtedly be there. On the other hand, if they wanted to make use of the tech themselves, prototypes could possibly be housed at the second lab.

His gaze darts towards Taylor. ]

They're bound to be working in close communication, then. If we attack one, security at the other is bound to increase.

...or.

[ And this is a big or. Early on Taylor ran small jobs on his own. Milk runs. Nothing compared to what he and Locus have been doing lately. It wouldn't just be upped security, it'd be high alert. ]

We can hit them both in the same day. Or if we're feeling like real badasses? Divide and conquer. I don't like the odds on the second one but I'm pretty confident we could swing the first if we time everything just right.

Depends on how quickly we could move from one target to the next. They could be alerted immediately if something goes wrong with the first mark.

[ Splitting up wasn't preferable, but doable. Felix and he had run a number of operations that required them to hit different marks simultaneously, usually to good effect. ]

I'll have to case them both and have D run the numbers. He'll be reviewing the mission data from our previous jobs to get a feel of how we work before he starts making suggestions.

[ If they're too far apart he'd rather not run it separate. But... ]

If we go with plan B, I say you take research, I take testing. We're both pretty well eared to stealth but infiltrating something that well kitted out? That's my bag. Delta helping me run the locks and work the security system? Risky but doable.

Afraid of the body count if I take testing?

[ There's only the barest amount of side-eye going on. But it's noticeably there all the same. ]

Data extraction's the safer run, but I've been in facilities like the testing grounds before.

Yes.

[ Not even going to try to talk around it- that's a concern. ]

We haven't had to go hard anywhere just yet. If we're gonna- and I know we will- I'd rather we made it count. He's noticed something's going on. We've kept the targets erratic enough but he's not dumb. He knows you're alive, he knows you've got a grudge. If I'm not there to back you up- I'd rather swing it myself. You he's got a feel for. But Hargrove and his men haven't ever seen anything like me. The data he has on me is skewed since it was just after the eye- and just after Delta. I'm in top form.

We time this right? He won't ever know I was there.

[ Locus just stares him down for a moment. He doesn't like it. For a number of reasons. But it's not an unsound plan. Taylor isn't wrong on any particular point, but that doesn't mean he feels any less resentful of that fact.

Finally, his arms drop. ]

I don't need to be protected.

[ Which isn't him arguing with the plan, necessarily. ]

...Dude.

[ Seriously? Taylor turns to face Locus fully, head tipped back to meet his eye as best he can while sitting. ]

Protecting you is my job. Just like you protecting me is your job. That's part of what partners do, remember?

So is trusting that your partner can get the job done.

[ His expression doesn't budge, not an inch. ]

I'm not saying your reasoning doesn't make sense. Or that it's a bad call.

I trust you. Locus, the research job has less security and likely won't take as long. I'll need you to come in at the end of my run. You're my failsafe.

[ When all else fails, Locus'll make sure he's safe. ]

Hargrove thinks I'm dead.If something goes wrong, you've got everything you need. If it goes great? You run point on the next one.

[ Alright. That, he can live with.

A brief nod indicates that he's on board. They'll still need to do their homework on this one in order to pull it off, but if they do? This will be a major blow to at least one branch of his operations. This will be all but a formal announcement that they are now here for him to contend with.

That shouldn't please him as much as it does. ]

Nothing goes wrong.

[ He gives Taylor a look, before turning, heading back towards the cockpit. ]

[ Planning for something to go wrong and being ready is how they've gotten this far. habitual, sane, healthy paranoia keeping a solid buffer between them and Hargrove's men, keeping several steps ahead and always on the move from job to job.

One day something'll happen they won't have planned for. And given the odds- it'll happen on this next job.

Taylor just needs to be sure he's got all their bases covered. ]

Sure. We got this.

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agnominal - 2016-08-22 18:12 (UTC) - Expand