" You didn't try tracking down who gave you the tip? "
Tom asks Pads with a skeptical glare.
" I did, actually. Whoever they were, they made sure to cover all of their bases. There wasn't a single identifiable piece of data related to the tip whatsoever. It was very suspicious indeed, but ultimately I saw that the tip was legitimate when this one here took out those mercs on the rooftop with ease. "
Pads says as he points at you. Tom puts his hands in his pockets as he asks Pads another question.
" Okay, so what's this impossible task that you have for us, and why couldn't you hire a Minder for it? "
Pads turns to Tom and responds with a serious stare.
" In order for you to fully understand the nature of the task, I have a bit of explaining to do. You don't mind if I monologue for a bit, do you? "
" Go ahead. We're all ears. "
Tom says as hops up and sits on the counter that he was leaning on. Pads then pauses awkwardly before looking at you and Reylesh confusedly as he makes a remark.
" What about you two? You gonna let mustachio here do the talking for you or what? "
You respond to Pads patiently as you lean against a wall.
" There's not much for us to say. He's the leader of our op and he's the most knowledgeable and qualified out of us all. I trust him with my life, so wherever he goes, I go. "
" I'm just here because I'm too invested in their little adventure to miss out on how it ends. "
Reylesh says nonchalantly. You and Tom then look at each other with a smirk, knowing she's bluffing, but you don't say anything so as to not get sidetracked.
" Ah… I see. Well then, let us begin! "
The projection of Pads then distorts until it turns into him standing next to a screen. Pads points to things appearing on the screen as he elaborates.
" We begin our monologue with the great Ryen Miles! Technological genius and creator of the Mind Mirror, one of the most remarkable inventions in all of Voldoorian history! Surely you've heard of the Mind Mirror, haven't you?
" Yes. "
Reylesh says as she looks at the projection with curiosity.
" The Mind Mirror was an invention that allowed humans to duplicate their consciousness into a digital copy, in theory allowing them to escape death by being ported into a new body. Naturally this became something that only Voldoor's elite would have access to, as the process was incredibly expensive to undergo and maintain. "
" Very good! Yes, Ryen Miles quickly became known as one of Voldoor's brightest minds after he released his invention to the public. Many of Voldoor's most wealthy and elite became quickly acquainted with him, paying him hefty amounts of credits to preserve their consciousness in the unlikely event that they kicked the bucket unexpectedly. His work attracted the most powerful and dangerous people in the city, even earning him a personal relationship with the Czar… and it's this relationship in particular that's at the center of this task that I have for you. "
Pads says in an ominous tone like he's giving a school presentation.
" You see, Ryen Miles wasn't just a genius with an extraordinary invention that changed the course of Voldoorian history… he's the one who created me as well. I am a digital ingram of his consciousness, cloned during the very first testing phase of the Mind Mirror project. However, rather than have me be an exact clone of him, he decided to turn me into the friend that he never had. Ryen suffered from many psychological afflictions behind closed doors, which is usually expected for someone of his intellectual caliber, so he programmed me to have all of the personality traits that he desired himself. I was to be the perfect vision of who he could've been had he not suffered the afflictions that came with his extraordinary mind, and I assisted him throughout all of his intellectual endeavors from the moment of my creation. "
" I see. "
Tom says as he looks at Pads.
" The way you're acting right now is very different from how you were in the elevator. I'm guessing your vulgarity and carelessness in the elevator were parts of those personality traits that Ryen desired but didn't have. "
" Correct. "
Pads says to Tom.
" Master Ryen often couldn't muster the courage to speak his mind in the presence of others and he was prone to overthinking and worrying about things that could potentially go wrong. I share his genius, but I don't have the social limitations that he had as a human. "
Tom makes another remark, followed by another question as he continues to converse with Pads.
" Also, based on everything we saw upstairs, I'm willing to bet that something happened to him. And if I'm to assume what you want from us, I'm guessing it involves finding him. "
Pads looks at Tom with an impressed glare.
" Correct again. I believe the intruders were searching for this room but they were unable to find it. You're sharp, Otherlander. "
" Tom. You can call me Tom. "
Tom says to Pads.
" Ah, yes, of course. Tom… "
Pads then looks at you and Reylesh for your names as well, so you speak to him.
" I'm Abbadon and this is Reylesh. "
" Reylesh? "
Pads asks in disbelief as he looks at her with a judgemental glare.
" Like, the Goddess of Sin herself? In the form of a small girl? "
" Yeah! You got a problem!? "
Reylesh says as she sneers at Pads. Pads responds patiently with a calm tone.
" Due to the statistical improbability of actually meeting a god, if this was any other circumstance, I would've accused you of trying to bullshit me. However, since you're traveling with Otherlanders which are exceedingly rarer to encounter than a god in physical form, it checks out. It's a pleasure to meet you both, Abbadon and Reylesh. "
Reylesh rolls her eyes, obviously upset that she's only being validated because of you and Tom's presence. You nod your head to Pads respectfully as Tom continues to ask him questions.
" So what exactly do you want us to do? Is this going to strictly be a reconnaissance operation or are you going to want us to kill people? "
Pads looks back at Tom and responds with an honest look in his eyes.
" I need you to locate Master Ryen and do whatever it takes to return him here safely. He was last seen entering a Mind Mirror facility to fix an issue with their servers. I initially considered hiring a Minder to go in and find him, but I quickly learned that this facility is one that even the most skilled Minders would be unable to infiltrate. "
" Good thing Gareth didn't come with us. If he would've heard that, I'm sure he would've taken that as a challenge. "
You say to Tom as you both look at each other with a smile. Tom then asks Pads another question.
" So what about this facility makes it so unassailable? "
" It belongs to The High Temple and it's one of ten facilities that's responsible for backing up and storing the consciousness of the Czar and his family. It's locked down deep underground with the most robust security systems ever created, protected by a small army of The High Temple's special forces that are armed with prototype weaponry, along with an elite division of four Minders and their various clones that constantly patrol the premises. The only people who have access to these facilities are people directly related by blood to the Czar, with the exception of Master Ryen because he's responsible for creating and maintaining the various Mind Mirrors around the city. It takes him a couple hours at most to perform maintenance on one of his Mind Mirrors, however, he's been gone for several days and I've begun to suspect that something happened to him while he was down there. The facility is so deep underground and it's built in such a way that wireless signals cannot travel between the facility and the surface level, so I've been unable to breach their systems to take a look at everything in the facility for myself. "
Pads says in a foreboding tone.
" That's where we come in. "
Tom says with a serious stare.
" Yes. This facility is only accessible by an elevator hidden inside of a church dedicated to the worship of Vol. Naturally if you were to infiltrate the facility by force, it would require you to attack the church, which would label you as a terrorist, which would then put a bounty of billions on your head for the whole city to be incentivised to collect. This, combined with how the facility and the church are under constant surveillance, makes this operation impossible for even the most talented man or machine. Things can and will get very ugly very fast if we don't perform this incursion perfectly and precisely. "
A pillar then begins to rise from the center of the room with a piece of small hardware on the top of it. Tom then grabs the hardware with his telekinetic power and it flies into his hand. He looks at it closely as he continues listening to Pads talk in the middle of the room.
" There's a copy of me on that drive. Get into the church's server room and plug me in. Once I have direct access to their servers, I'll be able to override their surveillance system, give you access to the elevator, and be your eyes in the facility to help you find and rescue Master Ryen. "
" I didn't think your favor would be this serious… You're asking us to break into a facility that belongs to the Czar right before our meeting with him. There's also no way we're going to be able to do this without using our powers, and I'm not trying to blow our cover like this. "
Tom says as he thinks about the risks involved.
" Don't worry. Once I have access to their servers, I'll mask their surveillance system with a perfect simulation of what would or could happen on an ordinary day by using footage from the past several years. Not a single soul outside of the church or facility will see you using your powers. I promise. "
Tom looks at you for approval and you nod your head. He then looks back at Pads as he gives him an answer.
" Alright, we're in. "