Dirty Dealings Done Did

Asymptote would begin to lumber into the recruitment area, he felt like it was about time to get himself knee deep in what the net was actually capable of. He needed to begin looking for info on who did this to him and why they did it. Unfortunately, he couldn't trust the net police with this, they were so...marred in protocols and red tape to get anything done properly, an element like himself would likely not be welcomed there. He had no idea who these "Neo Shogunites" were or what they were capable of, nor was he willing to put himself into the aid of a "rogue" element...and he was unsure if they had the resources the Mafia had.

Lumbering towards the booth, Asymptote placed a couple fingers upon it slowly. Excuse me. I am looking to join the Net Mafia, Bloodhound unit. Asymptote.exe, level 14 by net standards. Whatever you may have on the pile will be good so long as I get into direct combat. I also play well with others, my signature attacks are mostly supportive and defensive in nature, despite...my build. Asymptote spoke, slowly and carefully to whoever represented the mafia booth at the time.

(Mafia, Bloodhound Recruitment)

"Bloodhounds, huh?" the receptionist, by all appearances a very ordinary heelnavi commented, quickly setting aside one viewscreen he'd been using and picking up another. "Makes sense. Guy like you's wasted in any other division, by the look of you. Mafia'd do well to remember the Bloodhounds are what keeps the Mafia on the map! Beh... Little early for me to start blabbin' about Mafia politics to ya," he grumbled, sliding the viewscreen across the table. "Soon as I put ya in, this mission popped up. Maybe somebody's been waiting for ya? Lemme know if this is the one ya want..."

Quote

Welcome back,

Funny thing about Spartoi outliving her creator: it's worked out very well in some ways and not so great in others. While she took on most of his knowledge and personality, as well as what limited strength he possessed, she also adopted some of his attitude. Now, we're worried if we can trust her. There's that sort of... you know, conniving tone behind everything she says now. It's hard for all of us Bloodhounds to trust each other, but it's also critical. When you're out on a job, you don't want to be with someone who doesn't have your safety at heart.

That brings me back around to the mission: unfortunately, we need you to take on that unenviable role of accompanying her. Officially, this is a new mission for Spartoi to take out a new target and absorb their strength. Until you take the mission, I can't tell you their name or location, but I'll send it in a discrete data packet once you've accepted. The important part to know is this: you're not just accompanying Spartoi to kill this guy off, you're also keeping an eye on her. If she tries anything funny... anything that shows signs of disloyalty, a plot, or an old grudge, like something that DesignMan would have held on to, you'll need to take her out with a kill-switch we recovered from DesignMan's lab. We'll give it to you for the mission and reclaim it afterward. It's very easy to activate with a single push. If she demonstrates any of that behavior- before or after consuming the target- push the switch and save us all some headache.

I will want the switch back, afterward. Let's not double-cross the Mafia on our first day, alright? You might have some reservation killing her off since she seems to trust you, but remember this: she takes on a little of every navi she absorbs. We didn't realize just how much until she started. If she's become more that bastard DesignMan than she is herself, then she's no longer the partner you worked with. Show me you have the guts it takes to be a Bloodhound and I'll come welcome you myself. You'll receive other rewards as well, of course, and will be well on your way to establishing yourself. Furthermore, if she does her job well, we'll even destroy the killswitch afterward as a show of solidarity. Can't beat a win-win-win, right?

-PantheonMan.EXE

Looking over the mission briefing, Asymptote closed his eyes. He knew those two names all too well, and he was figuring they were gonna pop up again. Opening his eyes again, he looked down at the receptionist. I know the guy who sent this mission. I'll take it and whatever else goes with it.

(Taking mission)

The receptionist nodded, then stepped away a moment to contact someone privately, presumably PantheonMan. He stepped back quickly enough, then delivered the remainder of the briefing.

Quote (PantheonMan)

"Good, good. You know, I had a suspicion you'd come back to the Mafia. Anyone who could stomach that first mission probably has a little appetite for the sort of thing, whether they know it or not. To be clear, I consider that a very good appetite to have, especially for a Bloodhound.

Your target for this mission is another mafioso, former member of our Vivarte family: SecondGuess. Though I call her a mafioso, she's really a traitor, which is the whole point of this. She's a disguise specialist who's done a lot of work for us as a fake NetPolice operative. Quality work, really. Fantastic skillset, if you're into subterfuge and that sort of thing; not really my bag. However, she's made a critical mistake: from what we understand, she's planning to go to the Neo-Shogun Empire and exchange both our secrets and the NetPolice's with them in return for status and protection.

Of course, faction politics aren't the blood feud they once were- much to my chagrin. What I mean by that: we openly cooperate with the Neo-Shogun Empire in several ways now, as do the NetPolice. We have our little brush-ups now and again but I don't openly attack them and they don't openly attack us. We have liaisons, that kind of thing. What I can't allow, however, is opportunists jumping ship with well-kept secrets. Since she isn't a Neo-Shogun officer just yet, they really can't do anything about it if we take her out now, can they? Suffice to say, if we fail and she doesn't get the boot: a big list of our moles in the NetPolice, including both fledgeling and well-established operatives, is going to fall into hands outside our faction. For all I know, they wouldn't take her anyway- might not want to sour relationships- but we can't take the chance.

You're the perfect person to handle Spartoi, and Spartoi is the perfect tool for this mission: if she eats SecondGuess, she'll gain most of the knowledge that SecondGuess possessed. There's an awful, awful lot of NetPolice secrets left in there, including some she probably hopes to use as bargaining chips if we try to pull something like this. Let's not give her the pleasure. If she tries bargaining, remember: she has nothing to offer us that can't be better consolidated into Spartoi.

You'll be headed to the Guesses' Homepage. You might also run into her sister, FirstGuess. Right now, we have no reason to suspect FirstGuess' loyalty; the two are usually at odds and show nothing you might call "sisterly affinity." FirstGuess is still a valuable asset, so be sure not to delete her. For that matter, try not to invade her privacy either... Spies get testy about that sort of thing. I know what you're thinking right now, but from what I hear, FirstGuess is the only person that SecondGuess refuses to disguse herself as, so you shouldn't have any issues with SecondGuess trying to pull a fast one. Just be wary that SecondGuess might very well disguise herself as someone else to throw you off. Tip: if you find anyone other than the Guesses in their homepage, it's pretty likely it's SecondGuess in a disguise. Oh, and the difference between FirstGuess and SecondGuess is pretty obvious. The black one is FirstGuess, the white one is SecondGuess. If you need more than that, they each have a numerical tattoo somewhere on their body they can't get rid of.

Make sure Spartoi gets the kill. That's essential both to making sure SecondGuess stays dead and to absorbing SecondGuess' information. If you absolutely have to... we could live with SecondGuess' death and not retaining her information, but that would be quite a waste. If you're detected and she starts to escape, though, contact me and I'll work on getting a jackout barrier erected ASAP. Or you could potentially even ask FirstGuess to do it and be a little quicker... but let's try not to complicate things.

All of this sounds like a lot to keep track of, but I suspect it will go easier than these many contingencies suggest. Just remember these objectives:

1) Have Spartoi eliminate SecondGuess. If SecondGuess makes to leave, you have clearance to request a jackout barrier be erected and delete her via other means, but you'll have to act fast.
2) Do not kill FirstGuess. Try to avoid tampering with FirstGuess' things either.
3) If Spartoi shows any behavior that threatens the Mafia, activate her killswitch. Then, if possible, request a jackout barrier and complete the mission.

Got all that? In and out, Asymptote. You'll be a Bloodhound before you know it.

-PantheonMan.EXE

"Maybe save a copy or something. That's a long-ass briefing," the heelnavi snorted. "Here's the coordinates and the killswitch. Don't you trip that by accident, alright?" he finished, handing over a data packet.

*Coordinates.DAT and KillSwitch.DAT attached*

((Topic opening soon in NPC Homepages))

Asymptote finished reading over the mission briefing...and obtained the packet without a word, giving the receptionist navi a nod before gently hiding the killswitch on his person, he didn't exactly have pockets, but after a moment, he would attach the killswitch to the side of his head, he was big enough he could avoid it being touched and he could activate it on a dime, the coloration of it matching his after a couple seconds. Turning away and beginning to walk away as he saved a copy of the mission briefing, he chuckled to himself.

Appetite for this, huh...maybe I do. Asymptote spoke to himself, Joseph piping up as he himself began to go through the briefing Asymptote had saved. Are you sure about this, Asymptote? We can always go and ally ourselves to the Net Police or...or these Neo Shogun folks if- Joseph began, before being cut off by Asymptote. Net Police are too mired in doing things "right", as well as procedure and the like, too slow for our purposes. And we have no real data on the Neo Shogun to make heads or tails of what all they want or wish to do or if they have the resources we could make use of if we get in their good books. The Mafia's our best bet for what we need... Asymptote cut off his operator. I'd sooner be deleted than ever let any of my actions come back to you.