[ROCKET ORP] Upgrades - Prizes on page 9

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Yet another grunt had made his way to the rooftop when the announcement asking for visuals had come through the intercom speakers. He had been headed there since the lights had started flashing, having grown suspicious of the strange occurrence. Even if the higher-ups had known what had been causing it, he didn't think it would have been likely they'd have mentioned it to the lowlier Rockets such as himself. That meant that if he wanted to know what was going on, he'd have to do his own investigating. Within the parameters of his own privileges as a grunt, of course.

Not only could he get some fresh air and avoid running into the other Rockets racing through the halls indoors, but Grunt Nakura felt that the roof was the best place to get a good view of any distant or large threats that might have been headed toward base. He kept his pokedex on hand, ready to report in if he saw anything strange or unusual. His mouth was a firm line and his eyes were hard as they surveyed the horizon.  

[BlackPidgeot]

During the confusion of what was going on, one particular janitor seemed to have gone forgotten. Lance continued to stand where he was in the middle of the cafeteria, which had been swiftly abandoned. Having stood there for about ten minutes, with no sign of Rockets in the immediate area, Lance set his mop aside and headed calmly for the door.

Walking like a mindless drone through the halls and intersections, he paused as he heard the announcement over the intercom. Seeing a window nearby, the League Champion walked to it and peered outside.  

[Catzandbirdz]

[ Anyone outside or looking there ]

Outside of the base walls, people would discover a collosal, ginormous, greatly noticeable number of--

Nothing.

As far as any human eye would be able to see, the cameras had been functioning perfectly well.


----------


[ Seth + Security ]

As more reports came back negative on any outside visual, Harvard's jaw tightened more as well. This wasn't adding up. So the next question would be, what was causing this to not add up?

"Perimeter not the issue, cameras not hacked..." Harvard muttered quietly to herself, slowly pacing back and forth a few steps and absorbing the information before her on the screens.

Finally with a huff and hands on her belt, she twisted to face Seth. "Don't you have your own department to work in, Elite Agent?" The tone was polite, as though asking about the weather. The intention was to basically tell the other Elite to either be of use or get out of her way. She wasn't on a stage conducting a play, and therefore did not appreciate an idle audience. She turned back to her screens without waiting for an answer.  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Harvard]

Seth frowned as well as he watched things from over the shoulders of other agents, trying to be discreet, but that was a bit difficult when you're as tall as he is. However, he snorted and glanced over at Harvard when she asked her question.

"This is my department. Or at least... it use to be. Part of it anyway. I built this security system. My post is off base now. But if you're so eager to put me to use, then by all means, I'm open to suggestions."

Despite his gruff and impatient tone, he was being nice. For him anyway. Besides he could tell that just jumping in would do little more than piss this lady off, and he had sorely been tempted to do it anyway.  

[LexThetaSigma]

Aulus

When the new voice came over the intercom, Rory fought the urge to shake his head as he stopped behind the fellow Rocket he was following. At least now they seemed to think the problem was outside the base instead of inside the walls.

"Yeah, that'll be our best bet," he replied, "lead the way."  

[Catzandbirdz]

[ Inigo + Jerome ]

Alba just kind of went along with Inigo pushing him the other way. He stopped and nodded a bit dumbly at Jerome's comment. "Can't say I've seen anything like this since getting here."

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[ Tambrey ]

The elevators thus far had been functioning properly and as intended. Tambrey just wasn't fortunate enough to continue that string of luck.

As the metallic doors slid to a complete close, there was a sudden jolt before the box began to move upward. Then it stopped again with a second jolt between floors. Every possible light, including the buttons for the floors, blinked randomly on and off for a full four seconds. There was a pause for three, during which the floor buttons were lit in a way to resemble a smiley face. And then, another several long seconds time of more flashing, the elevator moving, and a staticy noise. The show concluded with a final, soft, "ding" as the doors slid open, revealing the tech floor. Everything, elevator included, once more appeared as normal.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Negative, negative, nothing nothing everyone and each one of her robots were reporting the same thing. There wasn't anything TO report.
Faleen's brow furrowed, looking troubled as she checked the scans once more for something she missed.

"We can't pick up anything, and we can't see anything." Faleen signed, pulling the USB out of the port and putting it into her pocket.
She picked up her Rocket Dex, sending an announcement to anyone in the tech aria

[Anyone on the tech floor]

"This is Agent Faleen, Any free Grunts and willing Agents please join me in a security sweet of the section, and secure all sensitive projects for the time being, and report anything suspicious. please acknowledge?"

At this point she was starting to consider a false alarm, but she knew they wouldn't take that chance.
Her hand reached down to her Pokeballs, where her team of Banette, Umbreon, Absol, Zoroark, Spiritomb and Nachtara were released to help her patrol.

She trusted the security department to do their job, and she trusted the field agents to do their job on the upper levers, and until they knew what was going on, her job was to help the other techs make sure that their department was secure.  

[Gwennythe]

(The Elevator and then anyone in the Tech Level that's near The Elevator)

Oh well. That wasn't normal... Tambrey was thinking when the elevator first jolted.
The second jolt got a less calm statement assigned to it in her brain.
The thing was stopped and the doors were shut and it was between floor.
Oh frak, oh frak, oh frak...
When the lights all blinked, she hoped it might be some kind of error being registered. Maybe it needed input; a press of any button or something... 'Press any key to continue' perhaps? One hand went for her pokédex.
No such luck- as Tambrey reached out her other hand to press one of the buttons, a smiley face appeared.
"GAH!" She jumped back and, kudos to Aulus at least, found herself taking up a 'ready stance' again, 'dex still gripped in her left hand. It made her feel... well actually it did nothing for how she felt, this was /scary/, but it seemed like the right thing to do. How one fought an elevator? She had no idea but wasn't really thinking so far ahead yet.
The flashing, the static-y noise and no-one/nothing to fight or any way to fight what was doing it... Her pokéballs forgotten for the moment as a horrid sick feeling coursed through her. Flashing lights, static crackling- it led to a ringing in her ears that wasn't really there and a memory of pain.
"..no." She squeaked out without realising, before doors opened and she found herself stumbling out to the tech room. She'd look 'pale' to those who knew her well.
She needed a moment to recover, but some part of her remembered to raise her 'dex to her mouth while she crouched, her back firmly turned on the elevator.
-*- "This.. uh... th-this is Ta- erm, Grunt Greene.. The... The, uh, lift, one of them to the labs. 'S... doin' a thing..." -*- It wasn't exactly loud or particularly concise but she really didn't feel very well. It would do. She'd take a moment to recover and then she'd face whatever it was...  

[Catzandbirdz]

[ K.O + Claire + Frost, Lance, Anyone on Floor 1 ]

There was a high-pitched shriek from the direction of the kitchens, and the last of any Rockets that had been in that area (probably shirking any duties that required actual work) fled in a hurry. There were flashes of light coming from the back, accompanied by the distinct CRACKing sound of electrical charges.

And out of it all, a toaster floated out of the back area, through the cafeteria, and out into the hall. It didn't pay any mind to the zombie-like redhead, nor any others as it meandered lazily overhead towards the front side of the building. The only thing it did otherwise, really, was randomly eject a piece of burned toast as it floated over Frost's pale head.  

[Catzandbirdz]

[ Seth, Security ]

Harvard sucked on her teeth to hold back any short remarks without thinking. Her tone was back to all business. "Grunts and Agents need assigning and supervising. You are an Elite with a predetermined position, former Executive or not. I should not need to delegate tasks to keep you busy. However..." She eyed a new window that had popped up on a screen, but it wasn't anything she didn't already know. Her voice took on just a smidgeon of an airy feel. "I'm sure I have some print-outs of your old reports somewhere. I could have someone get you a box of crayons to go with it." She stepped to turn a full 180 to face him. "If you're really that badly in need of something to keep you entertained." She completed the 360 degree pace back to facing her screens.

Honestly, it was like dealing with a spoiled child, never wanting to share any toys regardless of the owner. Not her responsibility if he then wanted to sit in the middle of the aisle at the supermarket until Mommy and Daddy bought the candy.  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Harvard]

Seth's eyes narrowed at this woman's particularly belittling words. He stood his ground though, staring down at her with an even glare.

"You're right, I don't need to be delegated by the likes of you. Forgive me for attempting to be polite, I won't make that mistake again," he seethed. He didn't care if she was of his same rank or not, or what she thought of him, he'd had it with her.

"Good luck finding your phantom. It's a wonder I haven't been called back here sooner to fix your faulty security system." He had no intention of getting in a shouting match with this empty headed woman. In fact his voice was rather cold and calm, which was unusual for those that knew him. Anyway, he had better things to do... or... well... he would like to think he did. He would find something. With that, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room,  

[BlackFireKitsune]

[Alba, Jerome]

Inigo turned with a broad grin as Jerome came up. "Heeyyy!" He said brightly as he briefly nudged the gangster's arm with his knuckles. Not hard, of course. "What's up?" Oh, yeah, there was something kind of serious going on. "Nah, I haven't seen anything like this before either," the grunt replied with a shrug, then jerked a thumb behind him towards the direction they'd been heading, "we were just going that way, if you wanna come too. See if we see anything." Another shrug.  

[Catzandbirdz]

[ Security + Seth ]

Harvard silently continued to monitor the screens as Seth had what she considered the equivalent of a grownup's temper tantrum. Wait for it... waaaaaaait for it... And there was the sound of the door shutting behind him. Harvard allowed herself a small, secretive smile in victory.

One of the female Agents was looking at her, which caught her eye. "Bit much?" the Elite asked, genuinely curious. She wasn't exactly famed for her social skills. The Agent gave a sympathetic but amused smile, and motioned with a wobbly hand that yeah, it may have been a bit. Harvard scrunched her face slightly. "Yeah?" The Agent nodded in a "Yeah, but what can you do?" way. "Huh." Maybe later when half of the systems weren't reporting imminent danger, she'd go call a truce with the taller Elite. For now, though, she had half of the systems reporting imminent danger.

"Alright, moving on, people! The threat is not outside, so let's narrow this search down. I want Team Alpha to stay on top of perimeter, external motion sensors, and video footage. Anything goes in or out, or if a cactus so much as drops a needle out there, I want to know. Beta, you are still on systems. Delta, Epsilon, and Gamma, take your assigned floors and narrow down what's setting off each individual sensor. Sigma and Omega, you--"

The orders went from there. Each group had their normally assigned duties even before Harvard had left her office. The only difference was now she could redirect some of their energy from monitoring outside to more inside.

Then word came in that something was up with an elevator. Harvard listened to the odd report. To her credit, she masked her growing confusion well as a different Agent relayed the message. "It did... what?"  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Tech Floor]

Hmph. Seth was not amused, but this wasn't the time to sit around and pout. And he sure as hell wasn't going to offer his assistance to that woman again. Thus, the elite started walking through the tech division, and into one of the computer labs. He got a few surprised stares from some of the agents that were working there, but he paid them no attention. Instead he took up a vacant terminal and sat down, putting in his password and... scowled at the layout. Okay... this was getting ridiculous. Did Hayes really have to change everything? That was a slap in the face in itself.

Grumbling, the elite spent several minutes trying to figure things out before pulling up diagnostic screens on the security system and other vital systems on base, looking for something unusual.

[Floor One]

Not seeing anything out the window, Lance turns around to... see a toaster float by. He stared at it for a moment, before deciding to follow. Keeping a pace just quick enough to keep the thing in sight.  

[TawnyAngel]

[Claire, KO, Security]

"Mmmh, the odds of spotting something planning to decapitate, disembowel or otherwise extirpate us is greater with three pairs of eyes than two...." Frost trailed off and swept the party with cool blue eyes. He then released Skiron from his luxury ball. "Five pairs of eyes, and one extrasensory perception... sensing... creature. Mmh, that phrasing needs work."

Luckily Frost walked as he talked, quickly for a small man, and they were on the first floor when he finished his minor ramble. Busy thinking as he had been he failed to notice anything that might have been muttered or any looks that might have been shot his way.

He did not miss the animated toaster that floated over his head.

The toast didn't miss either.

The burned bread product bounced off Frost's head and landed on the stark clean floor with a soft crummy thump.

Frost stared at the toast. The toast failed to stare back. Frost then looked up at the still floating toaster and pulled out his dex once more. "...Security. Agent Frost, first floor. I am observing a... I am observing a flying toaster. It has just assaulted me with burned toast. Should we... neutralize it?" That was quite possibly the single strangest report he had ever been forced to make

...There were crumbs in his hair. Frost attempted to brush them out whilst keeping his eyes fixed on the toaster, lips pressed into a thin line.

--------------

[Frost, Claire, Security]

KO shrugged to Claire's assertion about theories; he wasn't about to get into a discussion about something so minor with a superior officer when the base might or might not be under attack.... And who was this clown? KO ran his eyes up and down Frost critically: neatly pressed uniform, off standard Agent style - luckily, he didn't want to think what the slightly chubby man would look like in the usual attire - pretty coloured hair but nothing done with it, pretty coloured eyes but all the expression of stone in them. Or Frost, apparently. Well if he added another pokemon to the mix he wasn't complaining....

Wow. Well this one definitely wasn't neurotypical. "What's his malfunction," KO murmured to Claire as the blond rambled about eyes. The silence, when it came, was blissful.

And then toaster.

KO watched first in shocked silence and then in incredulous silence as it floated past them. So, this was the kind of outfit he'd signed on with? Greeeeat. Taking out his own dex KO patched through to security. "Trainee KO... toaster sighting confirmed." Any minute now he was going to wake up and swear off absinthe for life.

----------------

[Rory, Tech peoples]

Now down on the tech floor Aulus received the message and pulled out his dex. "Agent Aulus here, coming to join you Faleen. Grunt Rory's with me." Message passed on he stepped out of the stairwell and into tech proper. Being rather too focused on the mission at hand to intentionally be belligerent, he held the door open for Rory. "We've just come in at the stairwell," he continued into his dex, "nothing I can see right now."

Rory was Tam's friend, right? He was pretty sure he'd seen the two of them hanging out together, pretty sure that Tam was the reason he knew the guy's name at all... how was Tam, he wondered, and the others come to that? Jerome would be fine, probably Lore too. Shadow, Tam, Xander and Alex however he was less sure of. Still, maybe he'd manage to run into Alex down here; it was his friend's domain after all.

Taking his dex away from his mouth Aulus turned to shoot a look at Rory. "Anyone you want to check in with?... I'm going to touch bases with a few once I'm off the line with Faleen." There, he'd left it open ended so the grunt could make of it what he wished.