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[NSFW] Do What You Can [Worm][SI-OC][Celestial Forge V3]
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AconitumNot too sore, are you?
I wonder which tech tree he would need to transform the Machine Army into a waifu xD
Because that would be a first time in worm fanfiction^^
Yesterday at 12:11 AMReport
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Poe Darkly, Your Target, KNIGH7DRAGON3 and 3 others like this.
Threadmarks: Interlude I - Emily Piggot
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PsylentFoxMerging Porn with Plot. Or was it Plot with Porn?
[Emily Piggot - Director PRT ENE]
"What do you have for me, Armsmaster?"
Despite being hooked into her dialysis machine in the medical bloc of the East-North-East Headquarters the Director didn't get 'down time'. From the moment she woke up in the morning to the moment she put her head on her pillow, Emily Piggot was the only force that was keeping the powder keg that was Brockton Bay from blowing up.
Harold Renick, her Deputy, helped from time to time, but he was a Finance staffer that had somehow managed to fall his way up the ladder to the Deputy Director's chair. He wasn't a soldier, nor was he a strategist. Where he did shine though, was in keeping her department on budget and handling some of the PR hurdles and conferences in her stead with his megawatt smile and that gift of Gab the media outlets ate up.
This freed her up to focus on what really mattered- hounding Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown's ass until she finally gave her the true support she needed to effectively do her job.
That and make sure the Bay didn't boil over in the meantime, though that was a balancing act that was easier said than done. A seemingly endless loop of compromise that was an anathema to a woman who didn't compromise. She was hard-nosed, unyielding, and being forced to cede territory to the gangs and rely on local Rogues to shore up patrols- to rely on children to participate in this cesspool in the Wards program- was galling beyond measure. Emily Piggot hated it, but until she got even half the support Boston got then there wasn't a God Damn thing she could do about it.
If she hadn't had a spine of steel and an iron-clad will she would have thrown up her hands and retired to Fort Lauderdale years ago, but Emily liked to think of herself as someone that chewed up scrap and spit out tacks.
It didn't change the fact that she was getting older, and that she was a broke-dick Trooper in a pencil pusher's job. They had recommended she get Parahuman healing, but she refused- sure, she had to spend an hour each day hooked up to a damn machine to filter her blood, but she could still Command and do everything she needed to do... even if she couldn't fit into the fatigues she had been issued five years ago when she first came to this posting.
She arched an eyebrow as she looked up at Armsmaster from her chair- a shitty plastic chair, but comfort was last in mind in a medical bay. "Well?"
The Tinker and Leader of the Protectorate branch waited for the technician to finish setting up the dialysis machine before scurrying off out of the door. That was when he turned towards her and handed her the manila file folder that he'd been carrying in his hands. "At approximately 0017 hours February 2nd, 2011, this morning, the new Rogues known to us as 'Horizon' and 'M16A1' initiated a systematic, large scale raid on Merchant held territory; they raided six locations, five of which were known to us; only MER-ST-4 annotated in the report we received from the BBPD was unknown."
"They moved from Merchant held storage location to storage location, often many blocs apart, from Sectors B-1 through B-4 and D-2 through D-4, in less than two hours. They neutralized the alleged Merchant members non-lethally using sophoric tranquilizers, often without any injury aside from minor bruising; Horizon's and M16A1 claimed that any bruising was the result of restraining the Merchants while they waited for the sleeping agents to take effect so that they would not alert their fellows. Medical examinations of the Merchant members appear to support this claim, as the majority of bruising was around the wrists, ankles, knees, or elbows; all common locations of restraint."
Emily flipped through the pages, scanning the summaries and reviewing the photographs taken from Velocity's mask camera from yesterday morning and Armsmaster's helmet camera this morning. "So these are Capes who know how to exercise some restraint, such a unique thing here in the Bay. What else?"
"During the last of their raids, against a container vessel known as the 'Sea Queen'- you can see the report for this interaction on page seventeen- they encountered very stiff resistance, or what would be stiff resistance for most Capes. 39 un-powered Merchant foot soldiers were arrested on top of ten times that many automatic weapons, along with nearly 850 pounds of various types of narcotics including prescription medications, the standard Merchant amphetamines, and a new variant that has been making its way into the hands of street dealers all across the city."
"All in all, Horizon and M16A1 have captured to date 137 un-powered Merchant members, though, during that raid the stress of the gunfighting caused one of the young men to Trigger and he gained powers that are akin to the Empire Cape, Rune, but seem to be restricted to ferrous materials. We will not know more until we can get him into power testing, but the boy is adamant about leaving the city, going so far as to accept the standard Wards contract," The Protectorate Cape's jaw clenched, "Rather than serving his community he has chosen to go to the Atlanta branch on account of having relatives living there."
"Can you blame him for wanting to leave?" Emily shook her head, while having an additional Ward would be nice, having a former Merchant on the team would cause some friction that she'd rather not have; sending him off was for the best, and more importantly, it accrued the ENE branch more Transfer Points; if she sent a few more Wards or new Protectorate Capes elsewhere then she could 'spend' her points to force the Chief Director's hand and gain an additional Protectorate member of her choosing for the roster.
Not that Costa-Brown didn't have mechanisms to deny her, but it would be much harder for her to do three times in a row. Emily smirked at the thought.
"No. I suppose I cannot. The Bay requires a certain level of tenacity and dedication- if the young man believes he cannot meaningfully contribute here then it would be best if he was sent elsewhere," The man cleared his throat, taking advantage of the fact that his hand was near his mouth to scratch his beard, "Continuing on, the two new Rogues secured $1.35 million dollars in Merchant funds, all of which were claimed properly according to the Parahuman Legislation VA-3.14-77c of the United States Criminal Code."
Emily arched an eyebrow. $1.35 Million dollars in cash on top of 137 arrests in less than48 hours? She scanned over the police reports and the reports given by Horizon and M16A1- they averaged roughly 30 minutes per target spread across the take-down, apprehension, policing of the bodies, inventorying of the illegal materials, and travel time to the next location. All done without warning the other members and potentially drawing the attention of the Merchant Capes.
She placed the folder down in her lap as she pinched her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger. Emily already knew her thoughts on the matter, but Armsmaster was her counterpart, and while she didn't trust his Parahuman abilities, she did trust his attention to detail. "Thoughts?"
"Hmmm," Emily could hear the servos on his armor whirr lightly as he straightened himself up, "They are incredibly efficient; their planning of each take-down was meticulous, and their information-gathering capabilities are something I suspect to be outstanding. Having gone through the reports of each breach, and reviewed the floor plans for the homes and other buildings they infiltrated, I conclude that their armors have very powerful sensors that allow them to locate their targets before entry. They moved inside knowing full well where each potential gang member was and moved to neutralize them in a fashion that allowed them to remain undiscovered."
He reached down towards his thigh and a small LCD tablet slipped out that expanded in size before he handed it over to her, "You can see evidence of this based on the helmet camera footage volunteered by the pair of their raid on the 'Sea Queen'. M16A1 moves directly from target to target with little time spent observing her surroundings; she knows where each un-powered member is, oftentimes shooting her weapon before they even reveal themselves. Horizon was more cautious, moving tactically and clearing each room and hallway; however, if you look closely, you can see there is some hesitation in his sweeps, indicating familiarity with room-clearing procedures but unsure as to how to apply them on a naval vessel."
Videos were pulled up and played displaying US Army, Police SWAT, among a few other branches of service all conducting room clearing operations. Next to those were teams of Marines and publicly available footage of Navy SEALs conducting naval vessel clearing operations. The differences were slight but noticeable to Emily's eye; she had been on the PRT's Tactical Response Unit for nothing. "Based on this, I believe that Horizon is former military, likely Army based on the cadence of his 'Pie Slicing'. Also not used to operating alone. Though not much can be inferred just from this alone."
"Now, as for their power armor, we can confirm that it does have energy shielding of some kind, but the exact process by which it operates is not known," Armsmaster waggled his fingers, and a clip from the helmet footage played showing the Cape Horizon allowing four Merchants to mag-dump into him at point-blank range. "The HUD has been, in his terms, sanitized before he handed over the footage, so we don't know how durable the shields are for certain, but we do know they recharged rather quickly as heard by the beeping. Less than 2.5 seconds for the system to spool up."
On and on this briefing went until her dialysis was completed and Emily sighed in relief about being able to get out of this damn plastic chair; the technician came back in as soon as Armsmaster left and unhooked her.
The walk back to her office was uncomfortable as always, but when you were missing your kidneys and a not-insignificant amount of back muscle that was just her lot in life. Her failing. Her punishment.
Emily had just gotten herself seated when her Secure-line buzzed, and seeing that it was from Renick she picked up, "Harold, what have you got for me this time?"
"Well, I just wanted to give you a heads up, but that new Cape, Horizon, was going to be coming by at 1600 hours to register his team here at the building," Emily looked at the locked screen of her computer monitor and noted that it was only 1007 hours, plenty of time for them to get ready to 'receive' the newest Capes looking to call Brockton Bay their home.
"Very well, I'll have Armsmaster ready the 'Welcome' mat," She chuckled sardonically. The thought of more Parahumans entering the Bay made her skin crawl, but at least these knew how to operate discretely and without massive amounts of property damage or injury.
"Well, it's not just that, I do believe you should check our PHO, Emily," She rolled her eyes and the man on the other end of the line headed her off, "It appears that this Horizon's new team is already causing quite the stir. A poll was posted and the results were... rather telling."
The former Trooper struggled to withhold her groan as she slipped her ID badge into the card reader, placed her thumb on the fingerprint scanner, and spoke out lowly, "Piggot, Emily. Director East-North-East. Sierra-Hotel-Five-Kilo-Two-Gold."
With a ding and a 'Welcome back, Director Piggot' that scrolled across the screen the computer unlocked and she flicked the switch to toggle the 'Public Domain' mode that sandboxed her system and prevented her from downloading attachments outside of official '.gov' web pages and web portals. It also prevented any scripts from running that were not already on the computer to begin with. She logged into her PHO account and copy/pasted the links that Renick had DM'd her.
Upon seeing the poll and the responses it was getting she felt her blood pressure rise. Just like that, all of the goodwill she had for these new Rogues had dried up like a pond on the Savanna. Then she watched the team's little "Introductory Video" and the woman felt like she was about to have a brain aneurism. Harold's chuckle came across the line clearly, "Well, they certainly know how to run their PR. The production values aren't too bad either."
Son of a bitch.
It did not get any better for Emily as Renick called her again a few hours later to inform her that the new Rogue team had apparently logged a Flight Path request.
They had an aircraft too?
Seeing that the Brockton Air Space was spartan even on the busiest of days, the Brockton Aviation Authority didn't see the need to deny the request. Brockton Bay had only four entities that had aircraft- Brockton Local New Channel 4 and 6 both had two old helicopters, that blow-hard Max Anders took a helicopter from the Med Hall building to the airport on the few occasions he needed to leave the city in a hurry, and the PRT had a half dozen helicopters at their disposal for quick movement. Though with the spate of flying and blaster capes in the city her birds were mainly relegated to long-range surveillance when they had the opportunity to deploy them; most instances of Cape Combat started and ended far before the pilots and crews could even finish their pre-flight check-lists and get their craft into the air.
They better not expect her to let them utilize the landing pads on the roof.
If so, they could kiss her fat ass.
Regardless, Emily had Armsmaster condense his report and made sure that he briefed all Protectorate members before the new Rogues could arrive. She thought about briefing the Wards, for a single moment, before discarding it outright; they were like Mice who'd been given cookies- if they were told about the new Capes on the block showing up then they'd want a glass of milk in the form of a greeting.
They could be informed when this 'Frontline' left the building; until that time the Wards were going to be on lockdown the moment they arrived. She didn't have time to entertain the whims of the Wards when they should be doing their homework and catching up on their yearly certifications- Clockblocker and Kid Win both were a whole month behind, and the DC was asking her why the Protectorate's Wards weren't getting their training done!
"So, let me get this straight. They got power armor, some sleepy-nap time juice, and they caught a bunch of Merchants?" Assault's agony-inducing voice cut through her musings as Armsmaster finished his preliminary report, "That and they offered to wingman for you and Dragon, Armsy, are you sure we shouldn't be trying to sway them over to the Light Side?"
"Dragon and I have a purely professional working relationship, and I would very much appreciate it if you did not stick your nose into my projects looking for a soap opera that does not exist, the rug on that joke of yours has worn quite thin," Armsmaster replied succinctly, "And to answer your question, they have displayed some excellent capabilities along with some technology that Dragon and I have a joint interest in; however, we are not here to discuss the possibility of a brainstorming session. Whether or not we will attempt to recruit them into the Protectorate falls to Director Piggot and likely Chief Director Costa-Brown. Further speculation on that particular matter is irrelevant."
"Assault, Battery, Miss Militia, and myself will be here to receive them, and to act as security. Dauntless, Triumph, and Velocity, you three will, unfortunately, be required to cover all sector patrols until such time that 'Frontline' has vacated the premises," The armored Protectorate Cape looked over the three in question, "I trust that this can be handled?"
Dauntless nodded his head, "Of course, I doubt it will be much more than an hour; we can hold the line, so to speak."
"Excellent, if that is all then we can ready ourselves and wait for-"
"Uh, boss man?" Piggot glowered at Assault as he held up one hand while his other held his phone in it; the man looking at the screen intently. Did she not have a rule about messing around on phones during a briefing?
"Yes, Assault," Armsmaster looked away from the projector screen showcasing the modified routes for Dauntless, Triumph, and Velocity.
"'Frontline' is supposed to get here in like 15 minutes or so, right?"
"Indeed, that is the case. Why do you ask?"
"Well, they just posted on their page for everyone to keep their eyes on the skies."
"We are well aware that 'Frontline' has filed a flight plan with the Brockton Aviation Authority, I mentioned that in my briefing for this event," Armsmaster spoke, his arms locking behind his back, "I also remember quite clearly that the Director has a rule about utilizing your PRT phone during meetings. It would behoove you to put it away, Assault."
The red-clothed cape coughed into his fist as he slipped his phone into the pouch on his belt, "Oh, yeah, right. Whoops, my bad. I forgot."
He was completely irreverent. Emily felt her hands clench into fists. Lord save her from buffoons! "Armsmaster, if you would please, finish your briefing and then be ready to receive the new Rogues. Conference room 4 on the fifth floor should have been cleared already, correct?"
"Yes, Director. The security team has given the all-clear for it."
"Good. Carry on."
They had airdropped, all eight of them.
She had an excellent view from her office of eight people in power armor falling from the sky like bricks, but despite her irritation, she had to admit that for bricks they flew pretty good. It galled her to admit it, but they had executed their little stunt flawlessly; not that it had scored them any points with her- all Capes were flashy show-offs at heart, and despite their apparent professionalism, she wondered if they'd even thought about the consequences if their little stunt had gone wrong.
Frontline had come armed to the teeth, though it wasn't that surprising considering what they knew of their capabilities already; possibly augmented with power armor, but they still used mundane weapons to ply their trade. They relinquished their weapons readily, not insisting that they remain armed, which showed a willingness to play by her rules, though whether or not that persisted would be anyone's guess. Emily herself bet a bottle of Jack Daniels that she couldn't drink that the Frontline would become belligerent, just as all Rogues Capes did when they were faced with Authority.
They didn't believe that they had to follow the laws of the land, as everyone else did; the fact that there were more laws for Parahumans than there were for mundanes was inconsequential in her mind. Capes caused problems no matter where they cropped up, it was a statistical fact; once people got powers they didn't wait to use them, oftentimes jumping headfirst into the deep end of the pool without having any ideas as to how to swim. Then it was up to the PRT and Protectorate to pull them out - if they were even still alive by that point- and then deal with the fallout their actions caused.
Not one month ago a new Merchant Cape with the ability to generate poison clouds, who the Merchants jokingly named "Fart Box", decided they wanted to take on Lung, believing their poisons could let them stand toe to toe with the Parahuman that fought Leviathan to a stand-still. He somehow believed, according to witnesses, that his poisons couldn't be caught on fire since he could smoke and fight at the same time. Well, in the end, the moron burned alive and they lost almost a whole city block to Lung's Rage.
Despite the Merchants being the ones to antagonize Lung's businesses the media laid the blame at Emily's feet, as if she was some sort of puppetmaster who was trying to egg the gangs on in some inane hope that they would kill each other off! Of course, within the privacy of her own mind, Emily would have been thrilled to see the gangs murder each other off- picking up corpses was much easier than trying to process live gangers. However, it was an opinion she never voiced because not only would it be irresponsible but it would also make her job that much harder.
The Bay was a constant balancing act, and it took all of her concentration to keep everything from tumbling over; without the funding, manpower, and resources to actually clear out the city the best she could do was manage this slow descent into madness.
If the 'Independents' could rally around the PRT then maybe they could clear the Merchants out, reducing the number of gangs to monitor to two, but they were loathed to give up their independence and be seen as subservient to the Government. The Government that in their mind has done little to aid their city. Which, if they knew what Emily did, was fact- there was always money left-over in the budget, and there were some PRT branches that didn't need more than a few Capes to handle their street-level crime problems. Those resources could easily be shifted over her way, but there was always some reason that Costa-Brown had to move the funds and manpower elsewhere.
"Your gangs are already entrenched, Emily. Meanwhile, the Lousiville Branch has a golden opportunity to remove their newest gang before it ever becomes a problem."
"Boston has seen an upsurge in crime not seen since the Boston Games, meanwhile your levels have remained consistent. Wrecker and Hotfoot can do much more good there under Armstrong than they would in Brockton."
"Emily, I need you to understand that I am not your enemy, however, there are rules and limitations baked into the legislation that prevents me from reallocating the funds that Congress has given us. Attempting to do so would require a joint session of Congress and approval from the President. Considering Senator Hansen and Representative Hames are once again feuding, attempting to get the two sides of the aisle to come together even for this would be impossible. I'll do what I can, but at best you won't see the results until next year."
Excuse after excuse after excuse. If Emily didn't know better she would have thought the Chief Director was sandbagging her, and she probably was, but Costa-Brown knew how to play the game well- better than Emily did in any case. She kept all of the other Branches happy with the little trinkets and requests they asked for, and then her position was secured- no matter how much Emily screamed she would only be seen as the squeaky wheel.
Still, Emily was a Trooper at heart, not a staff-puke, so she would continue to beat the drum for as long as she needed to; the men and women serving under her deserved to have a Director that would fight for them rather than just roll over and play dead. She was many things, but a coward was not one of them.
Not like those Capes who abandoned her and her men to Nilbog.
Having felt that Frontline had waited long enough, Emily closed out her terminal and stood up from her chair; the woman using the walk from her office to the elevator to work out the kinks in her legs and back. The elevator was smooth as always- and didn't that just gall her! An increase in the budget for a Tinker Tech elevator but not an increase for Armsmaster's tinkering budget? The man was without a doubt the hardest working Cape that Brockton Bay had, and he was by far the most versatile; she was not above giving her men and women what they needed, even if she and Armsmaster butt heads every so often.
She took a side hallway on the third floor, scanning her badge at the checkpoints so that she could take the entrance on the opposite side of Conference room 4. It was a room constructed primarily with Brute capes in mind, with two-foot thick steel walls, flooring, and ceiling that she was told could probably keep Hookwolf contained within it. The room had two tables with chairs, and the center of the room was divided in half; it had a one-foot thick steel wall that could drop down from the ceiling at a moment's notice should any Brute that was being interviewed become hostile.
Emily Piggot stepped through the doors past the two Troopers stationed outside before moving into the room and taking a seat at a chair where Assault and Battery flanked her; Armsmaster stood forward a little bit and to her left so that she could see his cues. He had been playing around with a lie detector, and while there was no way it was admissible in court, much like a polygraph test, it at least gave her a baseline in addition to her gut instincts. "Frontline, thank you for calling. I was a little busy answering a few questions from the Mayor's office about your little... stunt when you arrived."
Not untrue, she did have a short chat with Mayor Christener, but other than a few cursory questions about the inclinations of the group the call was blissfully short. No doubt the man was already trying to figure out if they could be beneficial for his re-election; Roy wasn't a complicated man- if he thought it could improve his chances then he was all for it, no matter what it was.
"I'm sure that the phone call was important, Director. I highly doubt you'd waste our collective time on nonsense." The cape in the center of the conference table spoke, his voice smooth, distinctly masculine, not that she couldn't already tell. She took an opportunity to observe the other capes that were arrayed to his left and right; they were all wearing a similar style of power armor as Horizon did, but the style was inherently different. It was more militaristic, but the biggest difference was the helmet- the visor was larger and quite distinctive.
She slid her eyes across the capes in attendance- M16A1, M4A1, M4A1 SOP MOD II, K2, ST AR-15, ART556, HK 416, and of course, Horizon. Their names were proudly displayed on the left armor pauldron, while on the right pauldron was a flag. There were full American flags on all but K2 and HK 416- they had their flags divided in half in a diagonal line; she easily recognized the German and South Korean flags. So this was a multinational team? Or a team that had dual citizens?
"Yes, my time is valuable, as I'm sure yours is as well," Emily adjusted her pantsuit in her chair, "With that in mind, why don't we discuss what it is we came here to discuss."
The Director flipped open a folder and pulled out the relevant files so that she could have the numbers in front of her, "In the past 48 hours you've started conducting... operations against Merchant assets, detaining non-powered members of the gang for arrest by the BBPD. To our knowledge, you've done things by the books in regards to vigilante conduct, which is all fine and dandy, but I am not in the business of believing that everything will stay sunshine and rainbows. Based on your 'introductory' video, you will not be staying on the Merchants for long."
"Yes, that is the case, Director. The Merchants are only the beginning."
"So you mean to take the 'fight' to the Empire and ABB?"
"Of course, because one week from now the Archer's Bridge Merchants will cease to be a threat to the people of Brockton Bay. Their un-powered members will be in BBPD, or PRT, custody, and the Capes will be in Protectorate custody." The man's helmet tilted to the side, "Isn't it natural that when one mission objective is completed you move on to fulfill the others? The Empire88 and the... A-Z-N Bad Boy-Z will be next."
The pen creaked in her hand. "You are quite certain that you can accomplish this, Horizon. Let me tell you now that a lot of Capes have crossed the city limits thinking that they will be the ones to truly make a difference. Do you know where they end up? They end up in a body bag with me having to put out the fires they caused."
"If there is someone in this city that can put me in a body bag, then you have much bigger problems to worry about than a few fires, Director," He leaned forward just a touch, "Fires that are only started because the PRT and Protectorate allowed the trash to build up in the first place."
Emily wished that she wasn't wearing that helmet of his so that her gaze would really pierce him. "Are you... suggesting that I am not doing my best to keep this city stable?"
"No, not at all. I'm certain you're working your ass off, Director, and so are our esteemed Protectorate members," He nodded to the capes assembled around her, Assault gave him a cheeky grin and a thumbs up, "However, I know the system, and I'm guessing that you're not having budgetary requests approved. Calls for more Capes are ignored while smaller cities with few Cape-related crimes get pick-of-the-litter."
He leaned back in the chair, his helmeted gaze looking towards the ceiling, "I think that you have to fight not just for new anything, but you have to fight just to keep what you have. Brockton Bay is dying on the vine- the economy is in shambles, the people are struggling, and the gangs have footholds in the area that make direct action untenable with what you currently have. Your Protectorate roster is half what it should be, but they let you keep your Wards to pad the numbers. However, since they are Wards you can't actually do anything with them because one- they are Children- and two- the Youth Guard would be right up your ass."
"My guess is that PRT DC has written the Bay off, does that sound about right? A sinkhole where money and careers go to die. What is the purpose of throwing time, manpower, and funds into a city that lost its industry years ago?" He tapped the table a few times before directing his attention back to her, the woman seeing her face reflected in his golden visor, "Alexandria doesn't have that many problems to deal with in L.A., hell, she could clear out the gangs here during her lunch break. Yet she doesn't."
"Let me put this plainly: You have no one in your corner, Director Emily Piggot. Not at the state level, and certainly not at the national level. Your area of responsibility is viewed as a petri dish at worst, and the Nation's very own version of Aleph's Truman Show; a place where everyone can tune in to watch the news and think to themselves 'Glad I don't live there'. It's the cautionary tale and the example that politicians from other states use to pound their pulpit, and you, unfortunately, are the one that has been entrusted with seeing the inevitable collapse."
"Not prevent it," His fist clenched, "But manage it. Then once the collapse has been completed they will rake you over the coals as the scapegoat, all the while ignoring the fact that you've been sounding the alarm about this since you took the position."
"Us, though? We are in your corner, Director Piggot. Frontline is here to give the Protectorate and PRT the boost they need to do their jobs effectively," He opened his hands and placed them down on the table, palms flat, "We are committed to removing the gangs and giving you guys some breathing room."
"That was a very good speech," Emily ground out. Calmly. Even though he had pounded virtually every nail she'd been stepping on the past few years right on the head, he was still missing the point. "The situation, as you so artfully pointed out, is always in flux. One misstep and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. I am the one that is responsible for the people of this city, and I cannot have Capes running off half-cocked believing that they can take on every gang here and win."
"Do you understand?"
"But we're never 'half-cocked'. We're fully cocked." The short woman with the large-eared helmet chirped, "and ready to rock. On the Gangs, of course."
"That childishness does not inspire confidence," Emily did her best to not let her blood-pressure spike. After having dealt with Assault's antics for the better part of two years she thought she was learning how to cope quite well; this new Cape would have to try much hard to test her patience.
"Then what would inspire confidence?" M16A1, the woman that they believed to be the second-in-command of the group spoke up, "I would have thought our previous displays would have been more than sufficient. We are highly capable, highly trained, superbly equipped, and more than that, we are committed to working hand in hand with the relevant authorities- that being you. What more would we need to do in order to be recognized?"
"Well, I'm so glad that you asked, M16A1, because I had a list," She grabbed a sheet of paper and held it up to Assault, who took it and walked over to hand it to Horizon, "Everything on that list is something that you will abide by. It is non-negotiable. If you want to operate on my turf under the PRT flag then you will play by my rules."
Horizon looked at the list for less than a second before setting the paper down on the table. "Your terms are dogshit, Emily."
She arched an eyebrow at the 180-degree turn, despite herself she did enjoy the conflict just a touch. The fact that he'd gone out and said it instead of tip-toeing around the issue was quite nice. "I'm glad that we can dispense with the pleasantries and get down to brass tacks. What about those terms are, 'Dogshit'? This is PRT policy for 'Partner' status."
"You're wanting complete access to my operation; intelligence, resources, etc, etc, etc. You want my planning, you want me to ask for permission before I conduct operations, and IF you DO grant permission, they will be conducted with Protectorate 'oversight'. With PRT leading the charge," He picked up the paper and gave it a wiggle, "You're trying to tie my nuts to a fencepost and still expecting me to chase after the ball. The stipulations in here are so restricting I would be much better off just joining the Protectorate; I'd probably have way less red tape to deal with."
He wasn't wrong- the 'Partner' program was designed to be painful, at least in Emily's estimation. The level of oversight was horrendous and without any of the legal protections or funding. Joining the Protectorate was by far the least damning option.
"I'm trying to help you and you're hamstringing me before I can even begin. Did you give the gangs this paperwork? If you did I'm sure they'd have up and left by now."
"You're a Rogue entity, Horizon. You and your whole team are. We don't know you, we don't know what you stand for, and I cannot have Capes that do not answer to PRT running around my city," Piggot brought her hands down on her desk, "Capes like you all talk a great game, but when it comes time to put up or shut up they're all talk. Words. Meaningless drivel. You cause far more problems than you solve, and when the gangs go headhunting and burn down a city block or two then it is ME who has to answer for your indiscretions!"
"I'm well aware of the pandemic of weekend-warrior Capes, Emily, but we are not the same. We aren't traumatized teens with delusions of grandeur. We get results, and we'll prove it to you." Horizon stood up, "You're lucky I've got a broad back because I'm going to carry you out of this hole that you've been tossed into. Expect us to follow the letter of the law, but don't expect Frontline to bend to the whims of a woman who can't accept help when she's starving. From here on out, the only thing you will need to worry about is the jail space for the gangs, and when this is all over you can grin and bear it for the cameras as you come out of this smelling like a rose."
The other members of Frontline stood up slowly from their chairs and began to filter out of the room, "I wish things could have been different, Director Piggot, but it appears that you and I have some irreconcilable differences."
He turned his attention to Armsmaster, "I trust you will escort us out and take us to retrieve our weapons?"
"Of course, even meetings such as this are covered by the Truce. You will be allowed to leave unmolested and with your equipment."
The moment the Frontline group walked out and the door closed Emily Piggot couldn't help but chuckle, one that opened up into full-blown laughter. It didn't last too long, because even if she was alone she wasn't alone; the cameras recorded everything. Still, it was refreshing to have such a candid discussion, no matter how short it was. No bullshit, just hard words.
Her smile faded though as she leaned back in the chair. Horizon and Frontline, huh? "You better not fuck up."
Still, there was no denying that she was a drowning woman in the middle of the ocean. She did need help, but nobody was offering, not when it came with all of those strings attached. The list she gave to him wasn't something that she drew up, it was PRT policy, written up by the pencil pushers in DC who thought that everyone would just bend over backward for the Government.
Those who wanted to fly under the PRT banner needed to abide by PRT rules, and that was non-negotiable.
Personally, If Emily could tip-toe around the gangs then she was certain she could play ball with the independents, but she had leeway in dealing with the criminal elements that she did not have when it came to PRT and Protectorate affiliated Capes.
Ironic.
To date none have signed on, not even New Wave, acquiesced to the policy, and they had the greatest visibility with the Protectorate here in the Bay.
However, this was the first time the refusal was so blatant. So military.
"Tie my nuts to a fence post," She snorted. That was a good one, she'll have to remember it next time she had a candid chat with Costa-Brown.
Emily stood up from her chair and walked around the tables before picking up the paper that she had given him, "Seriously, don't fuck up."
A/N: Took me a while to write this, and I'm still not sure if I'm happy with it.
Emily is a fighter, and part of that is that she enjoys fighting. Whether that is over a conference call or in a meeting room, fighting is something she always likes to do, even if it ends up being a hassle that spikes her blood pressure. Still, there was really only one way this was going to go down, as much as I want to let there magically be a peaceful and fruitful relationship between Frontline and the PRT, the system was set up to make independents fail so that they will join the Protectorate. Or make things so painful for that that they join the Protectorate. PRT policy reflects this.
Still, having been a Commander before for a little while, the thought of someone I don't have control over coming into my AO and fucking around with shit would be UNSAT, especially if I'm the one that has to answer for their fuck ups. That was just with equipment though, Piggot is responsible for people's lives, and if she fucks up by pushing too far one way or another, then the gangs will press into whatever gang she managed to weaken.
So, she doesn't hate Frontline, and she recognizes that they are inordinately capable for an independent team, but at the end of the day she has a city to protect, and having Rogue elements operating within it that won't even tell her what they're doing is not something she can tolerate. She will have to let them operate, as long as they're following the law, but that is about it. Still she has some hope, the teeniest, tinniest amount of hope, that maybe, just maybe they can actually do some good, because she doesn't enjoy drowning in the position she's in.
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Yesterday at 12:14 AMReport
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TikkyMikkSlaughterhouse 9 Recruit
You know I'm legit Excited for Ziz Fight,
Let's see how MC handles Worms best Waifu.
Yesterday at 12:27 AMReport
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Inconspicuous LlamaMaking the rounds.
PsylentFox said: ↑
she had to admit that for bricks they flew pretty good
I don't have the words to describe how absurdly happy this line made me!
Yesterday at 12:33 AMReport
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kaloskatoaMaking the rounds.
This went better than I expected
Yesterday at 12:37 AMReport
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TrekThe Ascendant
TikkyMikk said: ↑
You know I'm legit Excited for Ziz Fight,
Let's see how MC handles Worms best Waifu.
Well that will probably be a while he is only sending healing and minor security to the ziz fight, not going there himself. Going there himself without precog blockers would be bad idea, a really bad idea.
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pnadadogunitedTypo Police
PsylentFox said: ↑
$1.35 Million dollars in cash on top of 137 arrests in less than48 hours?
missing a space