@leo.fitz ― 4 NOVEMBER 2511

[retravel]

Hi everyone,

If you don't already know me from the safehouse or the guide, I'm Fitz, one of the arrivals from the first transport. Prior to being here, I was a weapons and technology expert at SHIELD. Now, I’m a Pulsar engineer and, more importantly, an agent of Morningstar.

Recently, @ojiro.juniper approached me with the clever idea to kickstart some research and development efforts. We’re working on a way to bankroll this, and we’ll let you know how that develops in due course. For now, regardless of where discussions have evolved on the nature of organisation and leadership, we need your assistance with some big endeavors, both for the Displaced and Morningstar.

1. As some of you may know from the raids, Morningstar has a cache of unidentified weapons in its local store. We don’t know what they do, how they work, how dangerous they are, and so on, but I want to find out. So, let's discuss a plan: Any thoughts or ideas for how to approach the cache and suss everything out safely would be welcome.

Reckon we’ll need at least one colour-coded spreadsheet. [ ***NOT JOKING ]

2. We could use a team of engineers for ad hoc projects. Presently, I’m exploring tech that could counter both the UNA and the creatures that keep popping up, as well as give us more freedom to act whenever trouble comes our way — all by my lonesome.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, whether or not you have the technical know-how to get to work immediately, or you want to learn on the job, let me know. Can’t pay you in anything except snacks, but I can assure you they’ll be bug free.

3. Hi, this is Ojiro. In addition to the above, I also need an engineer for personal reasons, and I will pay you. I need someone with a lot of experience with tech as advanced as the standard here, preferably lots of hands-on engine work. Message me if you're interested!

Cheers.

― Fitz

[ Check out here for more deets on the cache and here for some OOC knowledge of what Fitz is working on personally. He’ll share details of the latter strand of work with any individuals wanting to form a geek squad c: For #3, interested applicants can just private message Ojiro on this post! I'll be throwing together a plot engagement incorporating what characters ICly suggest in the coming weeks! ]

Comments

[retravel]

[ "hello fitz," he says. cute... ]

Hey Abel. Glad to have you on board.
What do you make of the task at hand?

[ fitz has a potential plan in mind, but he doesn't want this to be a case of everyone deferring to him. they're a smart lot — who make him consider new angles more often than not. ]

[adsero]

[This is a boy who clearly has very limited social networking experience, and structures everything like a cover letter.]

Well, admittedly my experience testing untested technology has amounted to 'turn it on and see what it does' without too many safety measures, but I have some experience doing modeled tests and lab-controlled experiments on engine configurations. It shouldn't be too hard to run the same sorts of models in VR, if we can scan the equipment and extrapolate what each part does.

[retravel]

[ well, fitz will admit it's nice to have a practice problem at the ready during this recruitment. seeing how others approach it is both helpful and fascinating. ]

That's a good shout. I'll put you down for our potential Research phase, where we can hopefully incorporate attempts at scanning and 3D-modelling.

Would you be open to observing field testing as well, if we manage to secure a site?

[adsero]

Sure, of course models only do so much. Sometimes the field is the only place where something really works the way it's meant to work. ...or breaks in a new and fascinating way.

[Comforting, the idea of the jump drive breaking and throwing him and Cain here.]

I'd be happy to participate in a field test.

@cain.fighter

[blyat]

if you do a field test i wanna be there

[yes he was lurking this thread]

[adsero]

[Well this is a little startling. And nerve-wracking, given the message seems to be getting quite a bit of traffic. How is he supposed to react?]

Okay, but I'm sure the proper precautions will be in place, there's nothing to worry about.
If that's what you're getting at.

[blyat]

i dont care
still dangerous
just cause the ships not here doesnt me we dont do field tests together

[This is public, he knows. But also doesn't care. There's no secret behind being teammates.]

[adsero]

I'm not saying you can't be there, I'm not sure I even have the authority to say something like that.
But I hope you know that I understand the risks and how to mitigate them, I'm not just going into this blindly thinking nothing could possibly go wrong.

[This is about him not knowing what his power is, isn't it?]

[blyat]

[No, he's just seen the weapons the UNA soldiers had used firsthand.]

i know, i trust you
its their shit i dont trust
we can talk about it later

[Aka not on a public network.]

[adsero]

Fine. We'll talk about it later.

[Yikes.]

[retravel]

[ your relationship drama is your own, kid, but science-wise — ]

You’ll need to volunteer explicitly here. If we get as far as field testing, we’re likely to opt for teams of three, in which you’d be the firearms operator. If your power has increased size or range since the UNA strike, you could also fill the defensive position, for shielding or removing hazards.

Are you comfortable with that?

[blyat]

[Help, he doesn't know how to do a relationship.

This is also a step in an uncomfortable direction, if he's agreeing. He'd promised to himself he would keep a distance from Morningstar. Not because he doesn't believe their work is good, or that Fitz and Peggy are not well-matched at its helm, but he's never played well in a group like that. The military hadn't suited him for more reasons than just the nature of his own individual assignment.

It's like standing in the hangar hearing he got signed up for a suicide mission against his will all over again.]

either, whatever, doesnt matter
i can move larger shit now. further distances. if that matters
cant move people

[SIGHS, FINE. HE'LL HELP.]

[retravel]

[ #oblivious ]

Oh, that's very exciting. Well done.

[ offered as he takes notes. ]

I'll pop you on the list. Do let me know if you have any thoughts about the overall process as well.

[retravel]

That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.

[ everyone’s so fussy, but all they observe is piping hot data ]

Excellent. I’ll mark you down as a Phase 2 and potential Phase 3 researcher. I've just said to Cain we’re likely to opt for teams of three, with firearms-defense-research to ensure we note any anomalies and react to any failsafes. If we get that far, there’ll be a group briefing outlining protocol and mandatory practice drills. Otherwise, we should be able to be more flexible in our approach.

Any other thoughts before I tell you about the fun stuff?

[ aka his own projects 👏🏻 ]

[adsero]

Well what's Phase 1?

[Somebody's eager, clearly. Even though he's not too thrilled about Cain being an 'operator', he thought this would be more of a concrete-barrier-and-a-string situation. But it's fine, it's fine-- it's all fine. Fitz wouldn't hand Cain a time bomb and hope the timer wasn't accurate.]

I'm reanimating pets in VR for a living right now Fitz, I'm here for anything.

1/2

[retravel]

[ !!! ]

As I'm proposing it, Phase 1's the initial recce. We'll be inventorying the tech, tagging it with the associated metadata; attempting to identify failsafes, defective parts, trip wires and so on; and classifying the tech according to its threat level on a colour-scale of green to red.

Red means dead. We don't touch it. Box and lock. Yellow means further analysis required, and we reckon it's safe enough to handle carefully and attempt to scan or perform a controlled disassembly. Green means research can take a more hands-on approach as they identify and confirm functionality. Items can move categories as needed.

You're welcome to join for that as well, if it interests you. Do you have experience handling weapons?

[ if the answer's no, he can still work on tagging, if he really wants to help from the jump. fitz is aiming for the most experienced and trusted hands to pass over the items first to ensure the safety of the research team. ]

[adsero]

I like the color coding system, though perhaps we could expand the Red tag out to include an Orange? Red would mean we never touch it again, Orange would indicate that if we knew more about some aspect of it, it could potentially be understood enough to move it to Yellow. But I'd understand if we're not looking at a high enough volume of subjects to get that specific about categorization. It would just be annoying to have to go through all of our Red tags because something had been discovered in another, separate test that could be useful.

[You've met your color-coding buddy, Fitz.]

I've done some weapons handling both in maintenance settings and
practical applications, in one case.
I could take apart a Starfighter cannon and put it back together better than I could a normal rifle, but it's not like I wasn't firearms trained at the Academy.

[retravel]

[ ABEL! YOU DELIGHTFUL NERD! ]

I love the orange idea. You’re right that a little bit more work now could save on a lot of work later.

[ and maximising how much tech they could use in future. the rest is just as good — reminds Fitz of his own training. ]

You’re making me nostalgic for my academy days.
That’s quite the resume, Abel. Welcome to Phase 1.

[adsero]

[HE IS APPRECIATED HERE, WHAT A JOY.]

Oh! I'm glad you think it's a good idea!

We'll have to reminisce together sometime. Though I imagine your stories would be a lot more exciting than mine-- I didn't get up to much at all.

['Welcome to Phase 1', that just makes him blush with excitement.]

Thank you, I'm looking forward to starting.

[retravel]

[ WHOLESOME CONTENT ]

Depends on how exciting you consider getting dragged behind hotshot field agents in training exercises. Or everyday chats about dielectric polarisation.

[ exhilarating stuff, lads. ]

I'll reach out again when we've won over the brass. Schedule a briefing for the Phase 1 scouts. Looks like you, me, Jaqobis, Angel and Kara will make the first pass through. I may be biased, but that's a top-notch group.

2/2 PRIVATE.

[retravel]

Last time we opened our cache, some items went on walkabout.

[ nicked, even if he likes the thieves in question, including his business partner. ]

Can't afford to lose track of these items. They're too unpredictable. A comprehensive inventory is needed before we open access to large numbers.

PRIVATE.

[adsero]

Oh my God. Do you know where they went??

[If they're talking about locking things in boxes and not touching them, it's just a little disconcerting that some of those may have walked off.]

PRIVATE FOREVER

[retravel]

Two stolen items were handed to me, with the request that I use my expertise to alter them before I made my allegiances to Morningstar abundantly clear. I'm still debating how to handle one of those requests, but the other has been tidily subsumed in this endeavour.

Unfortunately, it's impossible for us to know what, if anything else, was taken. When Gaby opened the initial cache of Morningstar technology, she wasn't keeping track of the inventory, and it's not her area of expertise, besides. With the chaos of the raids, it made for a prime opportunity for anyone to take a range of items.

It shouldn't be anything half as dangerous as what we'll be looking at from the UNA, but it means I don't trust that our fellow Displaced will wait for the group to decide what happens to the contents of the cache. Some might choose to take what they want.

But if we inventory and tag everything, they won't be able to do so. No need for orders or lectures: Thievery will simply carry a higher risk.

[adsero]

I see... that is a problem, not that I fault Gaby for not keeping better records from the get-go, but it does make things a little tense. Not knowing what we don't have.

I can see why some people might not want to wait, we do tend to talk things out as a group, and the more of us who arrive will just slow down those talks. Have you thought about moving the dangerous inventory somewhere else? Maybe someplace someone wouldn't think of. We can keep everything else in one place and let thievery carry the risk of being caught, but I don't know that we should keep things we never plan to touch again in a place where we're hoping they don't walk away.

[retravel]

Indeed.

The UNA inventory is currently being held far off-site, under the watch of my fellow agents, so we could send everything dangerous right back there. Can't mix it with innocent people Morningstar looks after at our safehouses regularly, anyway, and I doubt Strange and Markus would want it at our new locations.

It'd keep it out of reach of the Displaced as well as any locals, to be sure, but it doesn't remove the potential of future trouble entirely. Various factors to consider, as we move forward.

[ Fitz doesn't say where. The location is need-to-know for a reason. ]