Infinite Project | (IC)

[Katrix]

Project Esper Bunker

---

It sounded like Jason didn't quite trust Sidna. That was reasonable. They were, after all, currently engaged in combat. Only a fool would trust the enemy like that.

"Well, that depends on your definition of freedom. I couldn't have you walking around on the street like you are now. Would simply cause too much commotion. 'Why is there a soldier in the city?', 'He looks big and scary,' 'Has I done something wrong?'. What I can give you is freedom to carry out your day as a commander within a military base as you want, as long as you follow the orders of your superiors. That's how it is for all of the military," Sidna tried to explain to him, changing her voice to ordinary citizens when imitating them.

"Explaining why I will leave the people here unharmed is more complicated, but it boils down to politics. I can see why it would be hard for you to understand. We never really covered that too much. Here's the basic gist. There's always a good guy and a bad guy. For society at large, we are the good guy, but for the soldiers' family, if that soldier dies, we're the bad guy. We don't want to be the bad guy. So why are we attacking? Well, when a good guy finds a bad guy, the good guy needs to beat the bad guy, or at least make it look like they do, or they're not a good guy. Hopefully, you can work out the rest yourself. Oh, one last to make it a bit more complicated. There needs to be a bad guy."

"So, what you say? I'd prefer an answer as soon as possible. Not really in the situation where we can think it over for that long."

Sidna hoped that she had explained to him in a simple way that we would understand, where she still seemed somewhat impartial. If he again said no, then that placed him entirely on her kill-list.


Aircraft above project Esper Bunker

---

"We got a person approaching at 40 mph", one of the soldiers called out.

Ceres walked up to the monitor showing the person. "That's Accelerator, head away from him at 150 mph, and make sure the optical camouflage is turned on. We do NOT want to engage in combat," she yelled out to the aircraft.

Right, so Accelerator was heading towards them, what could she do to avoid a battle? And if she did end up in a battle, what advantages did she have when fighting him? What sort of weapon did they have around here that she could use that did not produce a vector? Information, one of her most potent weapons, her voice, was one such choice, but it might not work here.

"Correct the weather forecast to go into effect 1 minute from now," she said to one of the soldiers at the monitors.

"Prepare my personal battle suite and a railgun that I can use from up here. I want it to include the optical camouflage, be weatherproof, have a good encrypted link to the targeting system, and include an eye monitor where I can receive video feeds from all over the battlefield," she ordered.

A few seconds later, a message was sent to all the soldiers on the ground. "We now bring you an update to the weather forecast earlier today. It looks like the pressure is changing rapidly, so we recommend anyone that doesn't already have their rainwear on to put that on now. That's all for. Thank you for your attention."

[Koishi]

Site 47 | Research Wing

---

"Just making sure, is all. You would be surprised how well some creatures can give off a facade of intelligence." Matis replied, scribbling further notes down idly as thy continued, ruby optics locking back onto Bandit after a couple of moments.

"Now, the next question. What is the first thing you can remember? If you remember waking somewhere, can you remember where, even vaguely? Anything helps." Matis asked, adjusting their legs within the chair as they spoke.

[SUSTIC]

Site 47 | Research Wing

---

"I'd say that's a pretty darn good estimation" Bandit spoke as he tilted his head. He then crossed his arms, looking a little annoyed for a moment as he spoke. "And yes, I understand ya loud n' clear ma'am. I may be forgetful, but I can at least understand a few questions here and there." He stated before looking back to the scientist. . . then back to glancing around the room again.

[Tewi_Inaba]

Project Esper Bunker

Misaka had been preparing to EMP the area since Jason first mentioned it to her. Now that it was almost time she proudly answered back ("The EMP is ready, just tell me when to fire.") There wasnt' a hint of doubt in her mind that Jason was still on their side. Call it naivety or intuition, but the thought never crossed her mind.

Raina transmitted everything picked up by the radio as instructed by Jason. When she sensed unease in Jenny's mind and Jason's will to be exonerated she gladly chimed in to help. ("Don't worry jenny, he's to clever to fall for their ploy.") she assured her. ("Alex is engaging the enemy. He's currently heading for the IP soldier in the chopper.")

[S121]

Project Esper Bunker

Bullets flew through the smoke and tore through metal and flesh as each bullet eliminated its target. Jason landed on his feet with a thud as each soldier crumpled to the ground, dead. He quickly reloaded his grenade launcher and walked forward, knowing full well the room was clear. Just as he was about to transmit that the room was clear, a familiar voice came onto the radio. Nobody could see, but Jason furrowed his brow as he looked down at the radio and intercepted the signal.

("Hi Jason, Tethys here. Having a bit of a fit are we? Look, I'll get right to it. I'm sure neither of us like the current situation. I'm being threatened with being decommissioned if we can bring you back, and you or some of your new friends might end up killed. So here's the proposal. You come with us, peacefully, and no one will have to get hurt.

I'll even throw on a few extra perks. Make you captain of some secret force, or something like that. Give you some free space, and even maybe tell you where some of your family is. You decide, but to me, that sounds like a pretty good deal.")

In truth, Jason did not like the thought of being cornered with a deal he had no idea would even be held. No, if that were the case, then they would not have blasted the door like this. They should have run a diplomatic mission instead of going on the offensive and blasting a hole in the top entrance of the bunker. Not only that, but why was he to be promised all these extra perks? Wouldn't they just put him back in the position he was already in? That was what he was made for. They would not waste money on having him elsewhere. No, Tethys did not have the authority to move his position. She was but an overseer, an assistant, not a director. It smelled a bit like a trap, so if there was going to be dealings, then he was going to make some demands of his own. They were both on thin ice, so what was there to lose?

"I want my freedom. Can you promise that? How do I know you'll leave the people here unharmed?", Jason said into his helmet's radio.

He then turned his attention to the Espers and mentally transmitted all that was said before thinking to them.

("I'll keep them on the line. Misaka, get to charging that EMP and move in formation with Jennifer, in front of her. Jennifer, move up and close the door on your way out."), Jason thought as he began to move closer to the ladder.




To be honest, Jenny was a bit nervous about the proposal that was mentally broadcasted to them. Sure, they only knew Jason for a while, but he wouldn't switch sides that easily, would he? She tried to keep focused on what was instructed, moving up and hoping for a response from Raina on his intentions.

[Tewi_Inaba]

Project Esper

Alex was going about his business slaughtering the enemy foot soldiers. Anyone that got close to him was promptly blenderized, anyone that ran either got launched into the air or had their bodies destroyed by rocks, bits of wood or whatever else Alex wanted to throw at them. one poor sap even had one of his buddies thrown at him, both bodies falling apart from the impact. While all this was going on, Network had relayed the transitions Jason was picking up to the other espers. However when they heard about an IP in the area she quickly pulled out her phone and made a call.

On the other end of that call Alex took his phone out of his pocked and answered. "This better be good."

"Accelerator. there's a bar code south-southeast of your location."

"ID?"

"Unknown."

Alex hung up the phone and put it away again. He was done with the small fries and now making a bee line for Ceris, moving at about 40MPH through the dense forest.

[Katrix]

Project Esper Bunker

---

Ceres guessed what would happend next as soon as she saw the grenade in the videofeeds from the soldiers. The next moment they were all dead. She'd likely have to fake the next part. Jason was supposed to be dead after all. "Focus on the figure that just entered the frame", she told one of the operators.

"Would you look at that. A clone, just as we anticipated. Seems like a rather good one too. Considering that, and the fact that they were able to grow it so quickly, I'm glad we found this rebel site. Would be a real hornet's next if we had left it any longer.", she said once Jason was shown.

Of course, it wasn't really Jason she was looking for. He was old news. It was that girl with the electric powers. Sadly she hadn't shown herself yet. Luckily she wouldn't be too hard to locate once she used her powers. She would act almost like a beacon, if you just knew where to look.

After that Ceres sent a message to Sidna. "We found Jason, you can talk to him using one of the soldiers radio's if you want" she wrote, together with one of the radios around Jason

---

"Hi Jason, Tethys here. Having a bit of a fit are we? Look, I'll get right to it. I'm sure neither of us like the current situation. I'm being threatened with being decommissioned if we can bring you back, and you or some of your new friends might end up killed. So here's the proposal. You come with us, peacefully, and no one will have to get hurt".

Although it wasn't uncommon for Sidna to lie, it wasn't uncommon for her to make deals like this either. If she gained from it, she would gladly hold up her end of the deal. In this case, sure she would benefit from the deal in quite a few ways. If he turned bad again later, or she couldn't keep him after all, there were always quieter ways to kill someone.

"I'll even throw on a few extra perks. Make you captain of some secret force, or something like that. Give you some free space, and even maybe tell you where some of your family is. You decide, but to me, that sounds like a pretty good deal"

[S121]

Project Esper Bunker

As soon as Misaka opened the revolving room, Jennifer sealed Jason off from the rest of the room, making a funnel of sorts to allow him through, but no bullets to come out.

It was in that moment when time seemed to slow for Jason. He sprang into action, firing a 40mm grenade into the slit in the wall, and immediately jumped and spun himself like a screw, bullet jumping through the air. As soon as the grenade exploded, Jason was already halfway through, giving enough time to switch over to his night vision and lock on to his enemies. Jason's visor lit up with multiple red triangles, and he let loose a hail of homing bullets, all aimed for faces and center-mass.

[Tewi_Inaba]

Project Esper Bunker

Stalker made himself scares for the moment. Misaka created an electro magnetic shield around her body powered by her ability, making sure to stand between herself and Jenny for an extra layer of protection. On Jason's order, she turned the room, the men inside it seeing the walls rapidly spin as the door opened just big enough to fit Jason in. At the same time the hole they made on the other side was pushed, preventing anyone else from getting in through it.

Meanwhile up top, Alex had gotten started as well. He found a large rock, about the size of his head before tossing it towards a group of soldiers, lining up at least 2 of them. As the rock left his hand though, it suddenly accelerated to well over 7000 miles per hour, causing a loud BOOM to sound as it broke the sound barrier. But by the time anyone heard the boom, it would have been too late for the targeted soldiers.

[S121]

Project Esper Bunker

"Status update to Ceres, we've breached into the circular room, and are getting ready to place more charges to break into the main bunker. We recorded the audio of the charges going off, and we're hoping you could use them to better analyze the structure of the base."

"Sure, just upload the files, and I'll take a look at them. No promises though."

Upon receiving the intercepted signal and hearing it through his onboard speakers, he gave Raina the affirmative that they had a message. Their window was narrowing. It was time to act.

("Seems we may have an IP in the combat zone... Window Closing. Misaka, open the cylinder to a crack, just big enough for me to slip through. Jenny, put a barrier right behind me. I'll give the all-clear when all hostiles are down."), Jason thought as he grabbed his XM40 Grenade Launcher and CORAS C2G7 Assault Rifle.


Jenny nodded to Jason and readied herself for her part in this plan. It was good to see he was on their side.

[Koishi]

Site 47 | Research Wing

---

"Better than I anticipated, to be honest. Would you say around 2-4 weeks would be a good estimate? If we can figure out the time-range and the area, it's possible we could figure out where exactly you came from. And thus figure out exactly how you came to be as you are." Matis explained, pausing for a moment before adding "You understand what I mean, yes?"

[SUSTIC]

Site 47 | Research Wing

---

During the brief moment it took for Matis to jot down Bandit's name into her datapad thingy, Bandit was already taking quick glances around the room. Thankfully he managed to snap his head and focus back to Matis when she asked him yet another question. This time about his age.

For a moment Bandit started scratching his chin and then the back of his head. Trying desperately to remember. "Hmm... Ya know, I ain't too sure. Livin' in a sewer for most of what I can remember makes it hard. Can't remember anythin' before a couple weeks ago." He spoke as he continued to try and think. "Yep. Can't remember anythin' before that."

[Koishi]

Site 47 | Research Wing

---

Matis noted the name down on their datapad quickly, giving a small smile towards Bandit in another attempt to calm them.

"Good. Since Bandit is a far better name to put down on documentation than 'green fellow'." the scientist replied. "Next question. How old are you? Considering i've heard you have memory issues, i'm not expecting the most accurate answer, but just give me an estimate."

[SUSTIC]

Site 47 | Research Wing

---

"I uh..." Bandit mumbled as he got caught a little off guard at how suddenly she started asking questions. Thankfully he didn't let his mind go too far off track as he quickly managed to get an answer out.
"My name? It's uh.... Bandit! Yeah, came up with the name myself. Don't know any other name's other than 'green guy' or 'green fella' or stuff..." He answered, having stopped fiddling about anxiously, but still a little uneasy deep down. Mainly due to the thoughts of being asked any questions he might not be able to answer... almost like a kid forgot to study for an exam.





Oceans of Cali

---

013 listened intently to Senna's report of her experiences before meeting up with him and everyone else. The details she had given him allowed him to click a few things together, and with this knowledge in hand he sat down.

The look on his face went from being sharp and a little threatening, to a more calmed and contemplative one. Crossing his arms he tilted his head and thought a bit more.


He remembers when he and his team found nothing when they searched the trucks they attacked. However the one that wasn't badly damaged, did show signs of some thing busting out from the inside. Despite that it wasn't definite proof that something did escape from the trucks. After that there wasn't much else his team found before they were assaulted by the military and rescued by the people of the vessel they are currently on. Thanks to Senna's info however, he was able to mostly connect some things together.


He then looked at Senna and asked "And how long ago was it when you witnessed what you saw? Was it immediately before you converged on my squad's location? Or was it significantly earlier than that?"

[Katrix]

Project Esper Bunker

---

Ceres looked down at the soldiers from above. They were about a kilometer away from where all the action was happening. Close enough to keep track of the soldiers as a whole, but not close enough to give them orders. Not as specific as she wanted them to be anyway. While it was true that she preferred to keep her distance, that only applied if she could actually take aim at the target. No such luck with all the trees in the way. The next best option? Being down on the ground. Preferably with her optical camouflage, and doing the work herself. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't an option either. Sidna had given her a clear message that she would not put herself in harm's way if not needed. Thus there she was, on lookout for something interesting.

"Got any binoculars with thermal vision around this ship?" she asked around her. Maybe she could spot something interesting if she saw the world differently?

"You sure? It will likely be just as useless as your normal vision soon," one of the soldiers replied. Despite that, he still moved towards some boxes which Ceres assumed contained the binoculars.

"But they won't be useless right now. Might as well take advantage of that small window". She tried to sound confident. It was just a lie though. In truth, she just wanted to kill time.

"Here you go," the soldier said while handing her the binoculars. "Just ask if you're unsure about the settings."

Ceres took the binoculars and eyed all the different settings. Normal operation, thermal imaging, night vision, and more. It even had a digital mode. That could maybe come in handy later.

Before she got any further, the radio kicked in. "Status update to Ceres, we've breached into the circular room, and are getting ready to place more charges to break into the main bunker. We recorded the audio of the charges going off, and we're hoping you could use them to better analyze the structure of the base."

"Sure, just upload the files, and I'll take a look at them. No promises though." She said. In truth, she would just hand over the files to Sidna and let her to the processing.