There is a place in Sharo Rogue Net devoid of even viral activity. The story among the shady navis that inhabit this sub-layer of the net say that it was once the most infested sector, until all the viruses that ventured within began to disappear, until there was nothing left within, and even the marginally intelligent viruses learned to stay away. The area is barren, a vast tundra of black ice veiled by an unnaturally dense fog. Various barriers scatter the landscape within, unseen to all but the most sensitive of scanning equipment. These barriers create a maze leading into the center of the affected area, in which stands Altair's main laboratory.
Due to the fog and barriers, the exact design of the lab from the outside is unknown, and likely not even constant. Inside, however, is another maze weaving through entire fields of stasis tubes, each holding contorted figures of what may have once been navis. The more recognizable ones appeared to have been fused with virus data. The less fortunate were probably failures or victims of more twisted fusions. Deeper portions of the laboratory were darkened at the moment, hiding their contents from view. In the center, beyond the experiment tube maze, however, was a small meeting area. A single long table marked the exact center of the lab, with four chairs marking off its length. At the head of the table was a fifth chair, a desk chair of a comfier and slightly more intricate design than the other four, with the emblem of its occupant imprinted in the back.
At the moment, this fifth chair was facing away from the table, its occupant staring at a large screen divided into twenty smaller sections. Fifteen showed camera footage from each of the major networks, the Colosseum, and the NetMafia's Family's Pub. One in addition to that showed the edge of a portal, and a bleak distorted landscape beyond that could only be the Undernet. Two more showed the inside of her own laboratory, though the latter was positioned at near ground level and moving slowly through the experiment tube maze. One more still was connected to the real world, in the house of Melodie Randelman. Occasionally a hand would reach across the camera's view, or the faint clicking of keys would be heard from this screen's speakers, but it never did show the person responsible for either one.
The final screen was currently blank.
The occupant of the fifth chair watched and waited patiently as the eighteenth screen continued to show the path weaving through the maze until coming upon the meeting area and displaying the navi herself from the side, sitting and watching the screen. The navi in the view reached over the side of her chair, felt for a button under the cushion, and turned that screen off. She then turned to the now powered down camera's owner, speaking. "Welcome back, Holo."
The subject of the navi's welcome was another navi, this one a holographic projection of a labcoat-adorned humanoid standing atop a cylindrical case of projecting equipment. While the hologram was perfectly motionless other than the occasional fuzz or ripple in the image, the projector walked slowly into the meeting area on mechanical legs. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Altair" the hologram recited as its stand took up a position between two of the chairs, eliciting a giggle from the navi at the head.
The chair turned around, revealing the occupant: a dark-haired female navi in a blue dress and sporting silver mechanical gauntlets. "Holo, you wouldn't know pleasure if it...no, I suppose I can't make that joke to you, can I?" Sighing softly, she turned back around, focusing on the screen from the lab's other camera. "Boson was coming as well...were they not?" She fumbled with the pronoun for a second, having come to work with each of the navi in question's components and thus finding it hard to think of them all as a single navi.
"Affirmative" was Holo's mechanical answer.
The screen showing the interior of Altair's lab emitted a soft blip, then focused on the main entrance, where another female navi, albino and wearing white garments and surrounded by a pair of orange rings, had just entered. Altair smiled upon seeing this, then turned around as the screen was obscured by a brilliant flash of light. The same flash radiated from one of the chairs in the meeting area, closest to Altair and situated opposite from Holo. The flash deposited the albino navi in the chair before fading. "Sorry we're late," she said.
Altair gave her a playful wink. "Not at all. You haven't missed anything, Photon." Contrary to her treatment of most of the Techari navis, Altair liked Boson and Holo, as much as she could be said to like anyone. In the midst of the family's latest major staff change, she had been promoted to family leader, and was able to hand-pick her first rank replacement and that of the former rank 2, Moderatrix. She was also able to ship Necrosis off to Teksqp where he belonged which, combined with her hand-picked underlings, left her feeling much better about the navis she was forced to work with on a day to day basis. "To business then. Holo, you had a report on the situation with the other families?"
"Correct. A feud has developed between the Vivarte family and both the Bloodhounds and Teksqp."
Great, thought Altair. Figures that the three strongest families below the Head would go at it.
"Data indicates the probable source to be Vivarte Navi OrbitMan, who resents the anti-Netpolice initiative this faction has taken. However, tensions started to rise after an incident in OrbitMan's Starsign Café," Altair raised a hand, interrupting the hologram. She pressed another button on the side of her chair, and the electown screen switched to a recording of a large navi harassing a smaller female and tripping over himself in the process.
"I'm aware of the incident. It's your hacking ability that allowed me to view this, remember?" Altair asked the hologram. In response, it disappeared, then reappeared in a position with is arms behind its back and its head inclined forward to look at the ground. The screen, meanwhile, continued into several minutes of the large navi yelling at the ceiling. The words, however, were indistinguishable other than a select few. "I want to know the situation now." The Electown screen returned to its usual display, now showing a black navi and a bird statue exit the portal from the NetSquare and take to the sky.
"A mediator from the Head Family is attempting to resolve the conflict before it develops into an internal war. Attempts to locate and observe sites for these negotiations have failed. However, evidence suggests that Vivarte plans to back down for the time being."
"Shame," Altair shrugged. "Would have been entertaining to see the most powerful families in the NetMafia tear themselves apart. I could even have had a small army ready to overrun all three when they were done."
"You aren't suggesting we instigate an internal war anyway, are you?" Photon asked. She was replaced by the large metallic form of Z, who backed her up with "That seems unwise."
"Not at all. It would be a great opportunity, but for now I'm not going to do anything on such a scale that could be traced back to us. Not yet, anyway. For now we will simply watch and see what happens." She waved Z away, who appeared to collapse into itself before returning Photon to her seat.
"I hope so, I don't want to end up fighting any of those navis. Especially Oni." Photon visibly shuddered. "I suppose that's all then?"
"Unless Holo has anything else to report." Altair looked over at the hologram, which blinked between three frames of a head shaking motion before returning to its normal, standing projection. "Then yes, that's all." She waved the other two off, though Photon recognized it as permission to leave, rather than an order, and stayed behind. Holo, meanwhile, turned away from the table and began the long trek back through the experiment tube maze.
"Hey, Miss Altair, how's your latest?" Photon asked, glancing over at one of the nearest stasis tubes. Inside, a skeleton of a navi floated in the fluid within, occasionally slamming its bony fists against the glass or thrashing around.
Altair noticed who she was referring to and put the back of one of her gauntlets to her mouth, laughing softly from behind it. "Very well, actually. I think he's almost ready for testing. What do you think...shall I send him against the officers who killed him the first time?" It was a rhetorical question, but after a short nod and a giggle from Photon she stood up and walked over to the tank with the thrashing navi. "Such a shame, you won't even be able to hold the weapon I gave you last time," she whispered to the navi, laughing again. "What do you think, my pet? Don't you want revenge for that humiliation?"
The SkarabNavi within let out a snarl and slammed a bone club fruitlessly against the glass. Altair's face twisted into an evil smile. "I'll take that as a yes."