@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]

[ mmmm some regrets ]

Didn't mean to assume. I've noted that now, too.
Fortunately, the other pick would be the researcher or observer, so distance is part and parcel of the job.

If we reach the testing stage, there'll be a mandatory group briefing to finalise and go over protocol as well as run containment drills. We'll find a third suitable for your team then.

[ a blank spot on the spreadsheet until the meeting... criminal... ]

Do you have any other thoughts on this project or your potential role in it?

[strongarmed]

Okay.

[This is organized, she'll give him that. It may even unearth some grudging respect on North's part -- somewhere deep down, stripping all of her bias and dislike away. Morningstar bears some resemblance in structure and function to Jericho, it must be no wonder Markus has seemed to settle in so far as she's seen.]

I wasn't here for the discussions on leadership you mentioned. I'll catch up on that later, if it's a good read. The only question I have is: what's the plan for these weapons? Are you going to arm us all? Are you going to let us arm ourselves? You can't expect me to believe this is for the sake of research alone. There's always a goal.

[retravel]

It's certainly a lively chat

[ so dry. ]

Some of the weapons already in the cache are Morningstar's design and property, so those will stay put. However, the bulk are items retrieved during a raid of a UNA base by Morningstar agents and Displaced operatives. As such, it's expected that the majority of the items are useless or rigged to backfire.

But I suspect a vital portion of the items are usable, given the waste of time and resources a dummy cache of this size would be for the UNA otherwise. If nothing else, understanding how their traps work will inform how we counter them in future. The usable portion is another story.

I'd advocate we store everything safely at one to two containment sites, for checking in and out as needed. It means we have what we need when trouble knocks on our doors, because it most certainly will, and that no one can be arrested for carrying illegal, stolen weaponry in a surveillance state.

That being said, there's an argument to be made for divvying up the contents between individuals, seeing as the Displaced were crucial to the operation that retrieved the cache. They did, however, have Morningstar intelligence, support, and gear for the strike, so in the event we're dividing the items, I'd argue both the Displaced and local operatives should have a say in the discussion surrounding it and an eventual deal to "arm ourselves," as you put it.

And it would seem I've landed the lucky role of chair for that future debate.

[ THE PRICE HE PAYS FOR SCIENCE ]

[strongarmed]

[That is... a lot of information. Thorough and organized.]

Lucky for you.

I don't see the logic behind a dummy cache either. I also don't see why some of the weapons would be useless while others are fully functioning. What's the point? Make it harder to test, hope some backfire and kill us in the event of theft? If they didn't plant the cache there to be picked up in a raid on purpose, then you're guessing the traps are designed and set just in case. Right? So the UNA has a way of identifying a worthless or compromised item from one that can actually be used as intended, and it's likely they're all trained on the difference. Might be a lot easier to get that information from one of them instead of trying out every single weapon. But maybe you can't. Maybe all you've got is this big box of unfamiliar tech and a line of eager volunteers.

[No other resources, she's assuming. Not the Morningstar that used to exist. They've suffered a blow before she ever got here.]

If the contents get split to two locations, does everyone get access to those coordinates? Are you advocating it because you want to control who gets what, to keep something dangerous out of the wrong hands? That means we'll have to just trust whoever's calling the shots. Is that going to be you?

I'll keep an eye out for that debate.

[Since it'll be some time before it happens if they're starting with these tests.]

[retravel]

[ oh, she's clever. ]

I think you've a keen read on the situation, though I will add that we know the cache was a trap in and of itself, laid with the knowledge that Morningstar was coming after it. Doesn't affect your theory on the whole, however. They most certainly know how to tell the tech apart, while we lack that intelligence.

[ with those damn masks of theirs, he suspects, though he can't be sure. they learned too quickly; that's all. reminds him of stark's tactical tech. ]

And I'd give up the big guns for the chance to get a one-to-one with a soldier, but they're formidable adversaries. Even with our powers and impressive tactics, my team of four barely survived an encounter with five. If not for my ability, I wouldn't be alive.

[ he doesn't fear admitting that: being an agent has its risks. ]

As for the rest, it'll depend on what people say. Might be me. Might not be.
I'd suggest a few someones have the nuclear codes for that, so to speak. Morningstar and Displaced. I've a well-documented bias, at this point, and I'm not universally well-liked, besides.

[ as mr morningstar and, uh, a massive pain in the arse. ]

As long as we can track the tech and ensure, yes, it doesn't end up in the wrong hands — or in the right hands the wrong time, I'll be satisfied.

[ everyone stop getting noticed by the masses ]

[strongarmed]

So it's confirmed it was a trap.

[He's right, the theory still stands. The UNA would know their own technology better than anyone else, after all. What they're doing here is working in the dark, hands on a potential bomb, no manual or guidelines to lean on.]

You're not universally well-liked? That wasn't the impression I got. [From a brief scan of a few lines of conversation, and from Fitz's tone in general. He tends to err on the side of diplomatic from what she can tell. Much like the Markus in this place, not the Markus she knows, not hers.] Anyway, I'm not advocating an attack on the UNA.

[Big not yet invisibly hanging on there.]

But it might tactically be a good idea in the future. They've got intelligence. Information. Advantages. And we'll need all of that if we ever want to come out ahead in this fight. I know what it's like to be the underdog. Sitting on our hands won't accomplish a single thing going forward. Resources dwindle, volunteers die or vanish, and the enemy gets stronger and more organized. Whoever the enemy is, in this case. [Because she isn't sure she believes it's the UNA. She hasn't done enough of her own investigation.] Hope I'm not telling you what you don't already know, Leo.

[retravel]

[ leo. still better than leopold. not preferred. fitz is the agent, the other half of FitzSimmons, though he hasn't been part of that for almost a year now. he waits to pick that up, even so. next time. ]

You know they say all survey data is skewed because people who respond only represent those willing to respond, right.

[ no need to die on this hill since people do tend to be cordial with him... but he knows there are exceptions to that. ]

It's not misplaced, as hopes go, North.
I don't intend to be a passenger in this world or any other.

[ he could write another novel on wanting to be better equipped and trained, with eyes and ears in as many places as their potential opponents, but that statement summarises his position in all things. there's work to be done. he's not at liberty to reveal kylo ren's budding plans to capture an agent, but — ]

My fellow agents are like-minded, in that way. Tactically-speaking.

[ they're rebuilding, advancing, trying new approaches. no more waiting. that's the path fitz believes in carving out for them. ]

[strongarmed]

[It's a fair point, even if the motivations laid behind those responses are more complicated. While North discusses winning the fight, she's not thinking about everyone else at large. These other "displaced" strangers. In her eyes, nearly everyone here is an enemy.]

Good for you and your fellow agents, then.

[She - and Markus - had those once. Not long ago in memory. She's not counting herself among one of this man's, or Morningstar's.]

Keep me updated on those weapon tests. I'll be ready.

[retravel]

I'll keep you in the loop.

[ good luck rebel droid ]