@kylo.ren - november 4, 2511; locked to morningstar agents and contacts

[warfares]

Investigation into the leak that lead to the raid on Morningstar agents in September strongly suggests that the source might, in fact, be survivors of the crash in June.

It is time to consider moving on the UNA.

However, this poses several problems, particularly given that our goal is ultimately to reclaim the captured agents.

The first is determining their location; Morningstar has been unable to track the captured agents and it is likely that the UNA has a means to nullify or otherwise cloak the implants much in the way Morningstar has been able to do with the Displaced following each drop-off.

The second is extracting the agents once we have determined their location; this will place any rescuers directly in the path of UNA soldiers who are, as experience suggests, difficult to engage directly. It is also likely that in accomplishing this, the UNA will immediately suspect Morningstar which will lead to an elevation in hostility.

The most efficient way to acquire the information that will allow us to do both is to go to the source: capturing one of their soldiers.

To that end, the UNA has a base locally. Scouting for information will be difficult though not impossible.

Ideally, we will be looking to pin down movement patterns and shift times before moving onto outright capture; the soldiers work in groups. We will also need to secure a site to hold them once they’re in our custody.

Those that wish to assist are welcome, particularly those with abilities and experience beyond that which Morningstar can provide. Additionally, anyone wishing to weigh in on this plan or offer alternatives should do so now, as the longer the agents remain in UNA custody, the greater the risk to the rest of us.


( OOC NOTES:
1. while the tone of this post might give the impression that kylo ren has determined his course and will not be moved, we are in fact very open to suggestion and brainstorming.
2. this network is locked to morningstar agents and contacts. if you would like to be involved and have not signed up with morningstar yet, the page is here.
3. any ideas discussed here will likely be referred back to in the upcoming event, despite the fact that this network is happening prior to knowledge of the event.
4. mods wanted to clarify that there is only a single base in the city. )

Comments

[evite]

what's the margin of error on the masks?

[ will they work against other tech? who's to say the una doesn't have something working against it? ]

and what's the back up if they fail?

[warfares]

Were the masks used in the last raid?

[retravel]

They’re the same stock.
And we’ve got a batch in a familiar blue that could distinguish this mission from other Morningstar action. Send the message that we’ve a more rebellious subset than they anticipated.

[warfares]

That might not be the worst idea.
Division happens within organizations like this often enough.

[retravel]

And it could draw attention away from the organisation as a whole.

[ its more peaceful efforts... ]

[warfares]

That is my chief concern.
There's at least some breathing room between "suspecting" and "knowing".
Given the choice, I know which of the two I'd prefer.

Daisy suggests the caves as a holding site.

[retravel]

Agreed.

If we force a scrambler mask on the target, it's certainly doable. And we can't bring them near those who seek refuge at our safehouses.

[revlon]

It happened before Fitz and I came into the picture. Gaby told me a little about the ambush on the first transport and how the Morningstar agents involved kept her in the dark about their plans that day. As I understand it, they preferred a more aggressive approach to Morningstar's overall goals.

The organisation operated on a need-to-know basis and that isn't an altogether bad thing. It keeps the parts from damaging the whole, should they become compromised — as they were.

[warfares]

I was unaware of that.

( but unsurprised. eventually their frustration was bound to come to a head. a gunfight over a supposed weapon's cache is not the least surprising way this might have resolved. )

Using the blue masks, at for the capture, seems prudent.

[forcevisions]

The people who made the shrines will know it's us.
I mean, they'll probably make the connection. They already know about the blue glow from our powers.

[retravel]

It certainly makes a statement to anyone watching us.

[ UNA, third party, cultists. ]

[forcevisions]

I've been talking with Markus about this.
About how we can't hide much longer.

[retravel]

Minimal to no technical error.

Morningstar has used them enough to be considered something of signature, but given that it took mass kidnapping to expose their agents last time, I’m confident in their functionality.

You’d have to smash or remove the full mask — or use an EMP to shut them down.

[warfares]

Inconvenient.
Is there a way to adapt the idea I discussed with you earlier? Something we can direct at areas of weakness in the armor itself?

[retravel]

Depends on your turnaround time. We have the stun guns in stock for the intial shock value, if we need to act fast.

[ puns even in this time of stress. ]

They're weak at the joints and the neck for close-range, targeted attacks. Have to be for their own mobility. Some of our powers can bypass the armour as well.

[ cain and fitz both moved with fatal results. ]

[warfares]

It would be better not to have to rely too much on our abilities.
Though I do wonder if their targeting system would be able to account for something like that.

[retravel]

Their systems certainly can.
If our abilities are already on record, we may as well make use of them, with the caveat that the soldiers may know how to counter as soon as we do so. Any evolution of our powers will be a blindside.
But, in my experience, the trick only works once or twice.

[ he's mostly thinking aloud here. their powers are assets, but kylo's right not to bank on them. ]

They started anticipating my portals after a few uses. Got yanked back through by one in a particularly close call.

[evite]

the soldiers are strong. if someone's reckless enough to get close to them, i wouldn't hold my breath that a soldier wouldn't just rip the mask off.

we need a back up plan. i hope we don't have to use it, but in case of disaster.
if wiping the board [ murder ] is off the table, what next?
[Bad username or site: stephen @ strange], can your ability remove thoughts or just access them? [Bad username or site: clarke @ griffin], is there a medical way to induce amnesia?

[ where is jemma when she needs her to create some kind of memory altering drug on the fly!!! ]

[retravel]

I won't object to a back-up plan, but I recall you getting awfully close to the UNA and retaining your anonymity.

[ he's js sorry bff. ]

It's not as straightforward as pulling off a bit of plastic. If they're close enough to get your helmet off, they're close enough to take your whole head. The capture is the key hurdle to overcome.

[evite]

to be fair, i think they thought i was dead.

[ you right but also don't @ her like that ]

i'm not saying let's get revenge
just if it comes down to it, protecting our own has to be more important than ideals

[ but also... revenge. ]

1/2

[retravel]

We're not acting as individuals. We're acting as agents of Morningstar.
The UNA may not show us mercy, but Morningstar will extend mercy to them until we cannot any longer.

2/2 PRIVATE.

[retravel]

Would Coulson agree with you? Mack? Jemma? Carter?
We're SHIELD and Morningstar both. I don't have those answers, but I keep asking myself what the agents I trust most would do, if they were here in our steads.

[ Fitz's moral compass has built-in design flaws, whizzing round with biases, opposing pulls, and the need to believe in certain truths. He thinks instead of what his betters would do.

And then he adjusts his course. ]

@john.jaqobis

[stabilis]

Not to complicate this ethical debate, but if they really are on the hivemind level, none of this is going to matter. Their buddies will know what they know as soon as they know it. We can't wipe the board on all of them.

Which also means we either need to make sure there's zero real-time info they can use against us or to even guess at their location, or we need to understand how they're communicating and cut it off.

[evite]

can we test the hivemind theory?
send two teams in different directions to interact with them, see if they're aware of the other interactions. ask bizarre questions, namedrop fake people, anything memorable but non-threatening.

if they're really a hivemind, one soldier should be aware of the conversation another is having. if not, they'll both be clueless.

[stabilis]

That's one way to do it, sure. Similar to trying to expose an info leak.

But since we're under a time crunch and messing with them might put them on high(er) alert, maybe our best option is to just assume they're online 24/7 and take the necessary precautions to hide our IDs and the location obscured. Which I know we're doing anyway, just. More. We should assume memory wipes or more permanent wipes aren't going to work if we screw up.