The V.I.C.I Diaries - Broken (Part 5)

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The V.I.C.I Diaries - Broken (Part 5)

Post by DukeNukem 2417 » Sun Apr 24, 2016 1:12 pm

Octavia frowned as the last of the attendants for the meeting left the conference room. It wasn't out of a sense that she'd failed in some way---on the contrary, she'd done exactly what the Baron wanted her to, and possibly even opened a few new avenues for the DVS to explore in regards to profit margin and influence.

No, her frown was brought on by the troubling news of an “incident” in San Jose, received during the meeting.

Minutes after the first message had appeared in her field of vision, several additional notes, all corroborating the same basic story---a strike team using DVS-spec gear had attacked the residence of an ALPA-aligned roboticist, Theodore “Ted” Lawson. A second strike team, also using DVS-spec gear, had been deployed to a factory formerly owned by Drake Bradford around the same time. The attack on the Lawson residence had ended rather quickly, with no reported fatalities (though all members of the strike team had either fled or been incapacitated), but the Bradford factory incident was “ongoing”---and at least one bystander had been shot.

That wasn't what troubled Octavia. Nor was she bothered by the fact that the Lawson house strike team had been incapacitated.....

….no, the true cause of her ire was that neither strike team was actually part of the DVS.

“No order was given,” she murmured---partially to herself, but also just loud enough for Harmony, Melody and their newly-appropriated assistant, Siren, to hear. “The Baron never authorized an attack on any known allies of the ALPA---at least, no such order was issued to me.”

“Perhaps the Baron wanted to....surprise you,” Harmony offered.

“To test your reaction to spontaneous events,” Melody agreed.

Siren had just opened her mouth to add her thoughts, but Octavia silenced her with a glare. “I think I've come far enough in my service to the Baron,” she reminded the three gynoids, “to not need such 'tests' on a regular basis.” She rose from her chair, already looking away from Harmony, Melody and Siren. “Whoever carried out these attacks is not with the DVS....we could be dealing with a rogue element.”

This time, Siren got the first word in: “Could it have been a distraction?”

Harmony and Melody shot her annoyed glances, but Octavia looked rather intrigued. “Explain.”

“Someone may have ordered the attacks to draw our attention away from....other matters,” Siren replied. “For example, someone else may be looking for Epsilon---”

'Siren,” Harmony warned. “We talked about this...”

“.....your theory could lead us all astray,” Melody added, “if you turn out to be wrong---”

Octavia held up a hand to stop them, her eyes never leaving Siren. “Go on....”

“Suppose someone else is looking for Epsilon,” the petite gynoid theorized. “And that someone.....knows of our world, for lack of a better term. They know about it, they know people----things like us exist....but they don't have all the details. They don't know what the ALPA is, or who's in the Coalition....they may not even know anything about the DVS---but they've seen Epsilon.” She ignored Harmony's overly theatrical groan, and Melody's eye-rolling. “Maybe someone they know was hurt in the last rampage, or affected in some way---”

“And they wanted answers,” Octavia finished, nodding. “I think we can eliminate most of the...average citizens of Silicon Valley, by default---none of them have the resources to carry out a vendetta like this.” Even as she spoke, a process within her CPU pinged the DVS' servers for a search query.

“You don't seriously think,” Harmony began, but Melody stopped her.

After two seconds, Octavia let out a short, sharp gasp---an involuntary “reflex”, triggered by the end of a search routine. “....How many...unaffiliated robotics companies have caused problems for the DVS in years past?” she inquired.

Harmony and Melody were somewhat confused---but Siren spoke up quickly. “Very few, ma'am.”

“And of those few....how many might have been affected by Epsilon?”

“....I don't know.” Siren's brief look of triumph faded into a downcast expression.

Octavia gave her a reassuring smile. “Then we can find out together. Harmony, Melody---run a search on all known opponents of the DVS. Cross-reference them with a net worth of.....$10,000,000 or more.”

“With all due respect, ma'am,” Harmony replied, “that could take hours---”

“---or weeks,” Melody finished. “There's no way of knowing how many---”

The stare they received in return held just enough menace to silence their protests.

“What if this is a rogue element from the Coalition?” Siren quietly asked. “They haven't been too happy with---”

“SIREN!” Melody hissed; Harmony guided the shorter gynoid away from her. “We've discussed this already,” she reminded her fellow DVS agent.

“Melody yelling at me doesn't count as 'discussing' it,” Siren sulked. “She never let me get a word in!”

Melody scowled. “You're supposed to be our intermediary---”

“Weaving your song between ours,” Harmony added, “and---”

“Enough, both of you.” Octavia ushered Siren to a chair. “Things between the Coalition and the ALPA have already been...tempestuous, in recent history,” she informed her. “Acts of direct sabotage....aren't tolerated, to say the least---” Another message popped up in her field of vision, earning a frown. “...at least we know that these attacks weren't orchestrated by the Baron,” she muttered. “He's demanding a full explanation, and an inquiry....”

The memory of Celine's self-immolation briefly rose to the forefront of her thought processes.

“Whoever did this,” she continued, suppressing the shudder that she felt coming on, “is more than likely not with the ALPA or the Coalition.” She would've said “and not with the DVS, either”....but that fact effectively went without saying. Nobody in the DVS was stupid enough to try something like this on their own---the Baron had made it abundantly clear that such “ambition” would lead straight to the unemployment line (for the “lucky”) or a five-week wait for the inevitable missing persons report to be filed (for the “terminally incompetent”, as the Baron tended to call anyone stupid enough to think they could get away with defying his orders).

As if she could read Octavia's thought processes, Siren piped up: “What about anyone from our side?”

Melody uttered half of a swear word, which trailed off into a frustrated groan; Harmony settled for blowing out an exasperated sigh.

“It's not anyone from our side,” Octavia absently replied. “None of ours are that....ambitious.” Even as she spoke the words, another memory---Kendall's insistence on reporting all of Celine's suspicious activity---surged into her vision. “Aside from that, the Baron has people working to weed out any would-be traitors.”

She conveniently neglected to mention that she had been given that exact task.

“You're actually suggesting we listen to her,” Harmony muttered, glancing at Siren with obvious annoyance.

“Her flights of fancy may be a complete waste of our time!” Melody added.

“And you two have better ideas?”

It wasn't Octavia who chastised the two gynoids---indeed, she was staring, almost too stunned to say anything, as Siren glared at her “teammates”. “You spend so much time working on your battle banter,” she snapped, “and so little time actually preparing for any battles you might get into.....” She glanced at Octavia, trying not to give the impression of pleading. “It's because I look so freaking young, isn't it? My registration papers clearly state that my emulated age is 26, but I look like I just turned 18---and the clothes they keep buying me don't help AT ALL!”

Even as Harmony and Melody tried to find something interesting to stare at, so as to avoid Octavia's glance, their supervisor realized that Siren did, in fact, have very valid points of contention with her “teammates”. Her slender frame barely topped five feet, and her wardrobe---sports bra and a crop top over B-cup breasts, acid-washed jean shorts, knee socks and sneakers, with her hair done up in twin pigtails---did little (if anything) to give the impression that she was a capable operative in her own right. “I'm sick of being treated like a Kid Sister, especially by THEM!” Siren's stomp sent her pigtails bouncing---an almost comical punctuation to her remark, if not for the note of genuine frustration (and a borderline tearful breakdown) in her voice.

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Octavia nodded. “Siren, I think it's high time you got a makeover befitting your status within the DVS.” She handed over a platinum credit card; “Just tell them it's a birthday gift from Miss Martinet,” she added. “You'll be looking like royalty in no time.....”

Even as Siren's jaw went slack over her newly-received gift, Octavia turned her attention towards Harmony and Melody. “As for you two,” she continued, “you'll be setting up a meeting with the five highest-earning CEOs in Silicon Valley, to see which of them has probable cause to muscle in on our operation---starting with....” She paused, reflexively touching two fingers to her temple as the first name from the list came up.

“Is something wrong?” Harmony asked, followed swiftly by Melody's inquiry of “Is it someone we know?”

“....I've heard his name before,” Octavia quietly replied, “but....I thought he wasn't one to lavish support on the robotics industry.” She transferred the picture to the table-top screens, allowing Harmony and Melody to get a glimpse of their prospective “interviewee”---handsome, possibly late-20s to mid 30s, and (surprisingly) not smiling or even looking at the camera, but looking past it. “Have any of our affiliates had any dealings with him before?”

“Not that we're aware of,” Harmony replied; Melody was quick to add “....but it couldn't hurt to check.”

“Which is why you'll be checking this lead in an hour,” Octavia informed them. “Siren, wait for me in the car park---I think I'll join you on that shopping trip...” She smiled as the petite gynoid bolted past her, letting the expression fade into a frown as soon as the door closed behind her. “You two,” she quietly reminded Harmony and Melody, “should be more supportive of her---and don't say she'll never be as good as Cadence was. She isn't Cadence, and she wasn't designed to replace her....so stop treating her like she's an outsider and start treating her like your teammate.”

Harmony and Melody were stunned into silence by the rebuke. They'd intended to mention Kendall's recent (as in, a few hours before) erratic behaviour, had it not been for Siren's decision to speak out....

“You can start arranging interviews now,” Octavia informed the pair, not bothering to look at them as she paced around the conference table to collect the notes left behind. “I expect an e-mail confirming the appointment in 30 minutes.....and before that, you can pick up Siren when she's done with her shopping spree.”

Despite their annoyance at that last order, Harmony and Melody nodded. It was going to be a long, long day...
-------------------------------------
"No one steals our chicks.....and lives!"

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Re: The V.I.C.I Diaries - Broken (Part 5)

Post by DollSpace » Sun Apr 24, 2016 8:21 pm

Love the re-introduction of Harmony and Melody, and Siren looks like she's destined for great things. Great interplay with Octavia. We get to see how the other half (or is it other third?) lives. This should ratchet up the action a bit! :)

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