Episode 72
Episode 72 - Operational Readiness
The team's Case Officer is eager to understand what happened in Esinpiel.
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Transcript
Hello?
Speaker B:What time is it? Who is it?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker C:Situation green.
Speaker B:Crystal clear. Sorry love, I have to take this. Cool. Well, where we last left off, we had just said our goodbyes to Faith.
He reached out to director Tennis McIntyre and he's going to be flown back home. And it doesn't sound like he'll be back in the field ever again. You did contact Horatio and Snedeker.
The latter has arranged for you to get a quick trip back to Tijuana to debrief him in person. He did not want to hear any sensitive details over the phone. So you know that there is going to be a Cessna C43. Oh shit.
Is that the actual right thing? Some asshole will call me out. Dude, I get. I get so many DMS from people calling me out for shit. It is killing me. It is killing me.
Speaker C:It's just how much they care. That's it. They just care, John.
Speaker B:All the time. It's driving me insane.
Speaker C:They care so much.
Speaker B:So you reached out to both Horatio and Snedeker and the latter wanted to ensure that any debrief on the operation of Oaxaca was in person. And so he's quickly arranged to have a private jet fly you to Tijuana. You're waiting for it to hit the tarmac right now at the Oaxacan airport.
This is going to be a small cessna citation cj3 that you're supposed to be on the lookout for. It's an unscheduled flight now, Chris. Are Cessna's jets. I don't know. Probably not.
Speaker C:Inquire?
Speaker B:Probably not.
Speaker C:Sir.
Speaker B:Sir, technically God damn citation CJ3 is a fucking jet. Motherfucker. I am accurate. All right. Oh God.
Some asshole is going to come and say, well there's several different models that were manufactured in that line and you didn't really specify which one it was.
Speaker A:So which is it, Chris?
Speaker D:Wow, you just sounded so much like your dad.
Speaker B:Glad my dad doesn't listen to this at all. That was pretty mean.
Speaker D:Oh, I didn't mean to be mean. I just like the way that you were making fun. I've just heard your dad do similar.
Speaker B:Anyways, I understand what you said and my dad would be very sad.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker C:I just want to say the immersion is really breaking down here.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Are we to believe that this. That's happening to this podcast? Friday night.
Speaker B:Friday night.
Speaker D:Turn.
Speaker A:Are these people medicated?
Speaker B:All right, all right, all right. So you guys are waiting in an airport, a Mexican airport.
There's a private jet on its way to pick you up to spirit you away to Tijuana so that you can talk to Snediger in his sina cohorts, give him a full debrief, big ol rundown of all the things that happened in Oaxaca. Hopefully he's not gonna shoot you and take you back down underground. That's. We'll see. We'll see. We'll see what happens. Right? It's a possibility.
It always is.
So before we have that scene, I will just note that we have already rolled for Delta Green bonds for the last sequence where some pretty harrowing things occurred to the surviving agents.
That's Felix and Forest, our good colleague and friend Frankfurt does not exist in a way where he will be joining us for this session or has bones or has any human bones any longer in his human body. So, yeah, we did roll for Deltar green bonds already.
Forest, Felix, did you gain any additional bonds or any increases there that you'd like to share with our audience?
Speaker A:No, I didn't.
Speaker D:Yeah. So Forest's relationship with her Delta Green bond, Felix keeps going up. And that is by design.
Unfortunately, her bond with her sister Charlotte is down to two. So there's not a lot of relationship left there.
Speaker B:Yeah. So we'll keep that in mind for any future home scene.
Speaker A:I guess I'm not crazy enough or too crazy. I can't figure out which one it is. But I have no differences in my.
Speaker B:Bonds as a survivor of what, three operations now? Three and a half operations. Probably too crazy. Dang.
Speaker A:Okay, that's twisted.
Speaker B:Ah, dang, it's.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Always this. So we'll take a step back for a moment here, because I want John to keep playing the game, so we gotta get him a new character.
So before we board this Cessna that's just about to land in Oaxaca. So we're gonna set the stage for a new character that.
Speaker C:Am I stage right or stage left?
Speaker B:My right. My right. Which I believe is stage left. Stage left, yeah. Okay. It's a pretty non Euclidean looking stage.
We're gonna have to come up with some different directions off tracks, off real.
Speaker C:There are no corners. Right. It's all round edges around sides.
Speaker B:I am afraid we are infested with hounds of tindalos. There are too many edges. So you're gonna have to deal with that as well during our stage direction conversations.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:But as long as you don't transgress their unknowable rules and mandates, you'll be fine.
Speaker C:Sounds peachy. Let's do it.
Speaker B:So, John, since we're gonna keep you on the cast, we talked about getting you into another role.
Speaker A:You passed the test, John. The rest of us, watch out.
Speaker C:I'll be honest. I just discovered the Milkbaths channel on our discord, and I'm currently engaged with a conversation.
So, Max Owlbear, in the future, when you hear this, if Chris keeps it in, this is live. Why?
Speaker D:That's it. That's all. Why.
Speaker C:Why do we have a channel called Milk Baths?
Speaker D:Oh, Eric, that's fine.
Speaker B:You apparently don't listen to our show, I suppose.
Speaker C:Did I miss. Did I must have missed something.
Speaker B:That is a running gag that you don't listen to our show. So thank you for allowing me to allow it to run one more time. How is it a gag if it's true? It's very true.
Speaker C:Obviously, I think I've admitted to as much because if I listen to it, I'd hear myself talk and then I.
Speaker A:Would cease to exist.
Speaker B:Cringe into a small fetal position.
Speaker D:Try.
Speaker C:Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker D:Pretty much.
Speaker B:Well, before we jump into some actual quick little vignettes that take place way in the past to try to introduce this character effectively, did you want to briefly talk about who you'll be playing? The character's name? Just a little snippet of his background.
Speaker C:Yeah, be happy to. So Vega is who. The character I'll be taking over, or not taking over. Playing and introducing to the. To the.
To the surviving crew in the state that they're in. He is a doctor. He is a cartel doctor. Is who he primarily works with. Educated in. At a medical school in South Texas.
So has spent a lot of time living in Texas, living in America, but has spent a significant amount of time patching people up at the request of demand of the cartel. Sometimes it's not always clear. People say, he's a handsome man. He's a full head of hair, which I wish I had, but I don't.
But I get to play a character who does.
Speaker B:So that's for now. For now, until you get touched by something special.
Speaker C:I'm not trying to go the Ryan route. I am, you know.
Speaker B:Oh, well, I don't think Ryan is trying either.
Speaker C:Or the Paris route. I like to keep my arms, you know, held together or by their natural tendons and flesh. But, you know, we'll see how things go.
Speaker A:And bones.
Speaker C:Delta Green.
Speaker A:And bones.
Speaker C:Thank you. Thank you, Marconi. Yes, and bones.
Speaker B:Cool. Well, let's. Let's. Let's go ahead and pop in and see what. What his life is like just. Just a bit. So what.
What I'm going To do is is have a couple of vignettes here. First one is going to take place, oh, a few months ago, let's say. Let's keep it nice and vague, Carlos. You know I don't come to you lightly.
This thing with Sena, it's heating up. My bosses are pushing, so I'm gonna be stuck playing both sides of the border for a while.
It's possible that you and I might be working together on a protracted timeline, so I'll cut to it. I need to talk resources.
Speaker A:Help.
Speaker B:On retainer. Discreet. You huevones always got your hands out, eh? Last time, you bled me dry for that set as trisme cost me more than your pretty promises.
Now what? More of your shanky bullshit to fatten up those black bags you love so much. You're not far off, but this time, it's mutual.
Sena's been sniffing around your routes, too. I've read the reports. Those are disruptions that I can steer away. That is, if I'm not worried about staffing issues on my end.
Say, a man who can patch up problems without asking questions, Someone that you trust. What, you think you can just poach my people now, cabron? That's bossy, snedegar, even for a sleek gavacho like you.
I'll take it as a compliment, Carlos, but I'm not fishing. I'm just borrowing. Call it a loan. I know you've got a guy. He's smart, got steady hands, knows how to keep his mouth shut.
And I need a field medic often. Hell, I. I might actually need him for a bit of a stretch in the near future.
So if I make sure Cena's focus stays off your back and those interesting items you're sending over to Hong Kong, you both win. Here you are talking vega. El doctor, he don't come cheap. And he ain't some perro you snap your fingers for. What's your angle, huh?
You pinches sombras always got a knife behind the smile. No, no, no. No catch. Just a job. He works with me off and on. And I keep the heat off of your more esoteric operations.
We'll call this a gesture of goodwill. Keeps our little detente live. I'll chew in on it. But if he rolls with you, he's still my sangre. Comprende? You don't buy hints, nedegar.
You are just renting. Show me you don't understand, and I'll carve that favor out of your hide. Cheers. To a good deal, then. Carlos may it be profitable on both our account.
So this, this next sequence takes place today.
It's before, obviously, the storied flight that we've referenced so often on the Cessna that will be departing from Oaxaca at some point, and I'm gonna go ahead and describe where we are. We're in a makeshift operating room and it shows clear signs of better days.
Shows even more signs of frequent use, judging by the patina of stains across nearly every supposedly sterile surface. Steel clashes with cracked concrete walls. Here we see Dr. Santiago Vega, his sleeves rolled up.
He's just finishing the final few stitches on a gunshot wound on an unconscious man's chest. The air smells of antiseptic and sweat.
There's another figure here, large man wearing a black T shirt and shoulder holster with a very large and cumbersome looking revolver. He looms in the nearby doorway, the only way in and out of this windowless room.
Speaker C:So Vega starts wiping some blood from his hands and looks up to Joaquin and says, he'll live. Keep him off the coke for a week or I'll be sewing him up again. Now where's my payment?
Speaker B:The big man shifts slightly, grunts. He barely raises his gaze to Dr.
Vega, but he reaches into his front jeans pocket, pulls out a fat envelope, tosses it or it slaps against a nearby table. There. But hold up, Doc. Boss has a new gig for you.
Speaker A:But hold, Doc. Remember that?
Speaker B:But whole time. Jesus Christ, is that what that sounded like? Do I need to do that again? No, like I'm not kidding. Did it sound like butthole, Doc?
Speaker A:Not until Marconi said it.
Speaker C:We're moving forward.
Speaker B:Let's just keep moving.
Speaker A:On.
Speaker C:Friday night. Vega looks at the envelope that he threw down and crosses his arms. I don't do gigs, Joaquin. I fix messes. What's this about?
Speaker B:El Cuervo's orders. You're going out on loan. There's some American Pintejo Snedigar. He called in a favor. Says he needs you for his crew. Long term.
Speaker C:Snedigger the Fixer. What's he want, a facelift for his spies? I'm not a mercenary.
Speaker B:The big man shrugs, completely nonplussed with Dr. Vega's concerns. Doesn't matter, boss says. It's good for business. Keeps the gringos happy. Keeps their dog sleep of our tail. Pack your kit.
Your plane's waiting.
Speaker C:And if I say no?
Speaker B:The big man grins, seemingly has more teeth than he should. You don't. El Cuervo's not asking, Doc. You're too valuable to sit still and Too smart to argue.
Speaker C:Yes, I know, I know. Look, lead on then, but tell Equival we need to have a chat about my rates.
Speaker B:So we shift again. It's still present day. Be crazy if we went to the future, right? But no, we'll stay with present day.
And the Cessna Citation has landed on the Oaxacan airstrip that was set aside for this again, last minute flight. Right now it's still idling on the airstrip, its engines are humming and we see Dr. Vega. He's lounging in a looks like a very luxurious leather seat.
This is a nice, nice interior in this aircraft. In one hand he has a half filled tumbler of scotch whiskey and he's wearing a bespoke suit.
It seems at odds with a sterile medical kit that's open next to him on another seat. When the door to the plane finally opens, two bedraggled individuals stumble in. Man and a young woman. They look disheveled, hollow eyed.
Blood and dirt is caked on their clothes. This is, unbeknownst to Vega, Felix Forest.
But he does know he's here to attend to two agents under Snedigar's wing to make sure that they are healthy and any injuries they have are triaged appropriately because all three of them are due in Tijuana in three to four hours to meet with El Jefe himself. Snedgar. So as these two walk in Vegas, eyebrow raises. They're in worse shape than he would have thought.
He wonders why nobody with a heart of gold helped them as they wandered in this state through the airport itself. And he glances up and speaks before the two agents can take in this person sitting in the cabin.
Speaker C:Well, look at you two. I've seen Sicario's after a turf war with better posture. Please sit before you collapse and ruin the upholstery.
Speaker B:Vega gestures to the seats across from him. Felix Forest. His gaze is clinical. There's something glittering behind it though, as if he's dissecting you just with his eyes.
He watches you carefully as you stagger a few paces in the direction that he gestures toward.
Speaker A:Felix will kind of lump down into the chair and kind and look over and go. Got any Valiums?
Speaker C:No Valiums, but get you a drink. Looks like you could use one.
Speaker A:I could use two. I'm Felix.
Speaker C:I'm Dr. Vega. Snedigar's new toy, apparently. He said you might need a fixing. Understatement of the year, I'd say. What the hell happened to you out there?
And don't say cartel hit you. Look like you wrestled a ghost and lost. No offense.
Speaker A:That's pretty much what happened. We're real tired of losing.
Speaker D:So what do you do exactly?
Speaker C:I'm a doctor. I spend time sewing up people. Often in your condition. Tell you what, let me make you a drink. Would you like one as well? Your name is.
Speaker D:You can call me Forest. I'll just have a water, please.
Speaker C:Forrest. Felix. Good to meet you. Let me get you that drink and I'll start patching you up.
Speaker D:Make that a bottled water, please.
Speaker C:Sure. Of course.
Speaker D:Bpa. Free plastic if they have.
Speaker B:Holy shit.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker B:So as. As the doctor begins attending to you, I would like.
So typically I'll have the person driving the character describe them for the audience, but I kind of want Felix and Forest to do it. So I'm going to go ahead and share his picture. I know he looks just like John and it's. You know, this is moot, but here you go, here's his picture.
If you can describe what this doctor, this Snedger dude. I guess. You guess. Looks like to the audience, please.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, obviously he kind of looks like Hispanic Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four.
Speaker D:Okay. So you know he's got that extreme E lure. Right. Sharp jawline and actually it does seem like John's characters all have sharp jawlines.
But I think the thing that's distinct about this McDreamy is that he's Hispanic. So he kind of has that nice sun kissed skin, if you will. Right. He's tan and his eyes are sort of. Don't even get me started. Deep, soulful.
Speaker B:All right, all right, we're gonna move on from describing. He's a handsome man.
Speaker D:Let's go back.
Speaker B:I get it.
Speaker D:Let me restart.
Speaker B:What do you think his calves look like?
Speaker D:Listen, from a woman's perspective, he's.
Speaker A:Hold on.
Speaker C:I want to hear more about my character. This is great.
Speaker B:Tell us about his calves.
Speaker A:We didn't even get to the point where we're talking about what it feels like to run his feet, your hands across his abs. Right. Like we gotta get. We gotta get there. I mean, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, he's. I did mention he's wearing a suit, but there's no dress shirt underneath. It's all abs all the way down.
Speaker C:Yeah. As he turns to get a drink, you notice his glutes. Please describe them.
Speaker A:Fat.
Speaker D:He's got great legs. He doesn't skip.
Speaker B:Doesn't skip leg day. Of course not. He's the kind of guy who never. Great. Okay. All right. I regret asking. The jet suddenly lurches as it taxis. And Dr.
Vega's steady hands are reaching for gauze, looking over each one of you now privately, in order to diagnose any injuries and attend to them. As the plane lifts off from the tarmac.
I want to ask the agents on board if there's anything besides being healed up and drinking some bottled water and high quality alcohol, that you'll be doing well.
Speaker A:Felix is going to want to call the Handler for his brother, but he doesn't. He wouldn't want to do that, like in. In this space. So whenever he can get, you know, some alone time.
Speaker B:Okay, so when Dr. Vega goes to attend to forest, which is, like I said, private. That would be a great time.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Perfect. Cool.
So you dial the secure Pegasus line to get in touch with Jules, and he's the common caretaker who you're supposed to liaise with if you want to find out statuses on your brother. Tim. Yeah. And he does pick up. His voice is calm. Felix. I've been expecting. I've been expecting this call. He's awake. Lucid too.
Speaker A:I'll.
Speaker B:I'll patch you through. Keep it short. He's still fragile.
Speaker A:Sounds good.
Speaker B:There's a sound of a click and then a faint background hum. Felix. You can hear the very familiar sound of recirculating pumps and the beep bean of monitoring equipment. Then you hear his voice.
It's weak but clear and. Andy. Felix. You're. You're. You're alive. You're alive. I. I saw you. I saw you in the dark with the thing. The buzzing thing.
Speaker A:Felix will start palming the artifact within his bag that he's gonna not leave with the crew. Of course. And nervously he responds. Tim? Yeah, I'm here. Oaxaca was. God, it was a nightmare. You tried to warn me, didn't you?
The eyes under the mountain. Wasn't that what you said? It's done now, but I've got something with me. Somethin, I dunno. Alive, maybe. It's hard to explain. Are you okay? Tim?
They treatin you all right?
Speaker B:There's a bit of a pause before he answers. And you again. Hear that beeping equipment. It's. It's better than the tub at home. Felix. It's still weird to call you that. Jules. He.
He keeps things steady here. Keeps the machines quiet when I can't sleep. And I'm. I'm seeing clearer now. It's not just flashes. I'm seeing. I'm seeing whole pictures. But it's heavy.
It's too heavy sometimes. That thing you're carrying. It's A thread. It's a thread to something bigger. There's insects in the walls, chewing through time. They're coming for you.
Not today, not tomorrow, but soon.
Speaker A:Tim. Tim. Insects. Tim. Do you mean the Sean? I've got it under control. For now at least. Well, our. Our team and Snediger, we're gonna.
We're gonna put a stop to it. You don't have to worry. What do you see, Tim? Give me something I can use, man. Last time I just couldn't make anything of it.
Speaker B:It's not just them. There's a cave. There's cold. Drowning. Cold. Faces in the water, screaming without sound. You're walking into it, Andy. And I can't.
I can't pull you back this time. You'll. You'll break before I can. I'm trying to hold it together, Jules. He says I'm getting stronger. I'll be ready. I'll be ready for when you're not.
Speaker A:Don't. Don't talk like that. I'm not breaking yet. Just stay with me, alright? Tell Jules if you see anything else. I've got a thread to pull.
Another one in Alberta. Place called Castleguard Cave.
Speaker B:Castle Guard. It's waiting. He interrupts you. Something's already there, Hindy. It's older than the bugs and it's hungrier. Don't let it.
Don't let it get interested in you or. Or the others. Promise me you listen next time I call. Promise.
Speaker A:I promise, Tim. I'll check in again, alright? You hang on. You hear me? You're sounding. Sounding like you again.
Speaker B:Almost. I. I'm getting there. Be careful, brother. Thread's pulling tight. The line clicks and abruptly Jules cuts back in. You. You almost start up. Felix.
That's enough for now. He's tiring. I'll keep him stable. You can call again. Perhaps in a day or two.
Speaker A:Tim.
Speaker B:I love you. And then there's a dial tone forest. Anything you want to do on the plane? Any scene that you'd like to. To have or should we move on?
Speaker D:Can I ask you first? Like, where do I stand with such low willpower right now?
Speaker B:Yeah, so we'll have a chance to bump that up, but you're basically feeling tapped out, flagged. You just had an emotionally harrowing experience that you just haven't had time to rest from. You really need some sleep.
So that's how you feel with that low level of willpower. Okay.
Speaker D:Now I think I'm gonna hold off on saying or doing anything and just take that plane ride to rest.
Speaker B:Okay? Cool. I'll.
Even though it's only like a three, four hour flight, I'll let y' all roll for willpowers if it's a full night's sleep, assuming you both pass your sanity. So go to roll your sanities, boo. Actually, I'm sorry, Felix, you don't have to roll your sanity. You don't have this trauma yet. Only for a spell.
Speaker A:Yay.
Speaker B:Yeah. Yeah. You. You can just go ahead and give yourself one D6 willpower. If you. If you're not already at max, looks like you need it.
So go ahead and roll a one D six.
Speaker A:Five. I'm back, baby.
Speaker B:There you go. Force. Go ahead and roll a 1D6. You passed your sanity. Nice.
Speaker D:A one.
Speaker B:Okay. Well, there you go.
You're at two out of ten, so I wouldn't be projecting any traumas or lost sanity anytime soon until you get another good night's sleep.
Speaker D:Thinking exactly about that when you told me to roll. So. Okay.
Speaker A:I mean, it is double. So I count your blessings, I guess, you know.
Speaker B:There you go. Yeah. You doubled your standing. Well done. Well, before we go ahead and land in Tijuana, I want to just briefly visit Nicholas Shields. And guess what?
This is actually a little bit in the future. So we are going to do a future scene? Hell yes. So don't. Don't fucking call Nicholas Shields slash Faith during the next scene because it will break.
It'll cause a time paradox. So do not call.
Speaker A:We got enough of those. Definitely. We got enough of those.
Speaker B:Yeah. Way too many. In a sterile D.C. apartment, half packed boxes clutter a dirty faux wood floor. The hum of traffic filters through a cracked window.
Staff Sergeant Nicholas Shields, Agent Faith, once a sturdy RCMP officer, sits on a sagging couch. His bandaged right hand, a mangled ruin of flesh and bone, rests uselessly in his lap. His eyes are sunken, staring at nothing.
Across the room, his wife, Marie Claude tapes up a box, her movements sharp, her law textbook stacked nearby. The air between them is thick with unspoken rot. They called today. Compensation's cleared six figures, plus the flight home Ottawa by Friday.
Speaker A:Guess that's that.
Speaker B:Yeah. Back to the snow. No more borrowed time.
Speaker A:You keep saying that like it's some grand exit.
Speaker B:You're.
Speaker A:You're not even here, Nicholas. You haven't been here since you got back.
Speaker B:What the hell did they do?
Speaker C:Do to you?
Speaker B:The words hang in the air, jagged. Nicholas flexes what's left of his crippled hand, wincing, and the memory of hypergeometric shrieks fill the air.
The memory of his teammate's possessed. Sacrifice. All of this flashes behind his eyes and quick cascade and then he shoves it down. But it's too late. Marie Claude steps closer.
Her voice is breaking. I hated the city.
Speaker A:I hated the job, the metro, all of it. But I stayed for you. For us. And now you're a ghost blaming me for what? Not understanding. I can't fix this if you won't talk.
Speaker B:It's not you. It's. It's me. What I saw, what I did. It's in me now. I can't shoot, can't write, Can't. I'll drag you down with it. Marie. Maybe you should stay in D.C.
marie Claude stares, tears brimming, then turns back to the box, slamming it shut. Silence stretches, punctuated by the distant wail of a siren. Nicholas reaches into his jacket with his good hand, pulling out a crumpled photo.
Him and Marie Claude younger, laughing on a frozen lake in front of a small, humble cabin. He sets it on the couch, a quiet offering.
Speaker A:What's that supposed to mean?
Speaker B:Means I remember before all this. Marie maybe. Maybe up north I can figure out how to be that guy again for you. If you'll wait.
She doesn't answer, but she picks up the photo, folding it into her pocket. The gestures small, fragile, a threat of hope against the abyss. The mover's knock Time's up.
So y' all go ahead and finally arrive in Tijuana and disembark the Cessna Citation jet and Caracas and Lopez greet you. Their faces are taut with professional restraint. Go ahead.
And both of you, not Vega, but both of you, go ahead and roll your human intelligence, please.
Speaker A:I rolled a 33 critical success success.
Speaker D:And I got a success 45 out of 53, yeah.
Speaker B:As you approach them in what appears to be a waiting vehicle, the same one that they drove you to the airport with, it appears you can see that Lopez's eyes linger on the empty space where Alabastro should be. Her lip is bitten in quiet frustration. You can also see Felix Karakas. He's scanning your diminished roster and his eyes kind of scan over Dr.
Vega, the doctor himself. He's walking with you.
He's casually adjusting his pristine linen suit, and he just exchanges a curt nod with what he thinks are some of Snedger's thugs, or perhaps just drivers. They don't say anything. They look perturbed. Caracas, he finally speaks up after this protracted silence. As you're staring at one another, he says.
The other ones. He shakes his head, trailing off.
Speaker A:Won't be working with us Anymore.
Speaker B:He nods. Just explain it to el Jefe. His tone is fairly clipped. He shoots a glance over at Lopez. The air is heavy with what you feel.
My two human intelligence successors. Which you feel is unspoken judgment. You pile in to the vehicle. Caracas and Lopez help you with any baggage?
I don't think Forest or Felix have much, but Dr. Vega, what do you tend to bring with you besides a medical kit and a surgeon's kit? Anything interesting I need to know about?
Speaker C:I mean, Vega thinks it's interesting.
Speaker B:Well, maybe I think it's interesting, too.
Speaker C:He's got a very, very nice leather overnight bag that he carries with him.
Speaker B:Nice, nice.
Speaker C:Nice structure to it. He has.
Speaker B:I like a nice structurally sound leather bag.
Speaker C:Sound. Structurally sound leather overnight bag. Friday night. Yeah, beyond his usual. Nothing. Beyond. Really nothing. Nothing really.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:I mean, he's got. He does have a small Sig Sauer. Am I saying that right? Sig Sauer, Yeah. Pistol that he keeps with him in addition to his medical kits.
Speaker B:Got it. So you checked that out once Disembarking.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah. To make sure he has all of his personal defense items which are necessary in his line of work.
Speaker B:Yeah, maybe. Maybe your new line of work, too. Who knows?
Speaker C:Yeah, who knows?
Speaker B:Okay, cool. So you pile into the vehicle. They help you with any of this equipment or luggage, and Lopez takes the wheel.
Karaka sits stoically in the front passenger seat. You are crammed in the back with Forest unceremoniously squashed in the middle.
Speaker C:He kind of sniffs the air, notices a stench, makes a face.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's not a stench of your fellow dirty and sweaty humans that you scent or that you sense. It's just good old Tijuana. The smell of sin. Go ahead and roll your alertness, all of you.
Speaker A:We get to find out what kind of sin we're smelling.
Speaker B:Yeah. One of the seven deadly.
Speaker C:This is for the very first roll for Vega. Here we are. A critical failure. Let's get it going.
Speaker B:Right. Okay. Go ahead and check your alertness, Dr. Vega.
Speaker A:I also failed, but not. Not as bad.
Speaker B:Check your alertness.
Speaker D:Not as bad.
Speaker B:It's definitely not a critical.
Speaker D:Forest had a success.
Speaker B:Excellent. The heady scent of all seven deadly sins overwhelms you for a moment, Dr. Vega.
Completely overloading your olfactory nerves, causing sort of a heady, strange flood of ecstasy for a brief second that almost causes you to pass out. Forest, you notice that you're not heading towards the same hotel where you first briefed with Snedgar. You're going a very different way.
Through the city. This is the kind of thing that your natural genius kind of allows you to key into.
You have a near memetic memory, or, I'm sorry, a near eidetic memory. And so as you start to take this in, you feel something cold in the pit of your stomach. Where are you going? Where are they taking you?
Speaker D:This doesn't seem to be the same place that we were previously staying. So where are we going right now?
Speaker B:Lopez pauses for a moment and then snaps, we're under attack. You think staying put while the enemy creeps around is smart? Read your damn Pegasus manual.
Speaker D:I didn't see you helping us out back there.
Speaker B:She nearly spins around and Karaka puts a hand on her shoulder and turns to look you in the eye. He looks tired, serious, as if he's been through hell. There are many fronts for this war. You're not fighting all of them.
He turns back, eyes forward, takes his hand off of Lopez's shoulder.
Speaker C:Vega's brow furrows strongly. He kind of glances over and looks at Forrest with an inquisitive look in his eye.
Speaker D:Too many need to knows.
Speaker B:Silence dominates the drive now. The car finally halts at a decaying building on Tijuana's northeastern fringe. The faded sign announces it as something called La Muela podrida.
Graffiti scars its walls. Its windows gape like broken teeth. Glass shards and used needles are scattered across the cracked sidewalk in front of its facade.
You all get out of the car and Caracas and Lopez motion for you to walk through the front door as glass and these dirty needles might crunch under your foot as you approach. Felix. Forrest. Dr. Vega. The two agents don't seem to be walking in with you. They seem to want to be behind you as you go in first.
What are your thoughts? Are we gonna follow through or do something else?
Speaker C:Vega goes on. This is nothing entirely out of the ordinary for him.
Speaker A:Yeah, Felix just goes in.
Speaker D:Forest is gonna sort of pause and look at them and say, what? Haven't we built any trust yet?
Speaker B:Karakas looks up at you again, a tired look in his eyes. El Jefe is waiting.
Speaker D:She just sighs and then moves forward with the other two.
Speaker B:The door creaks open. The stench of stale beer and tobacco mingles with a faint antiseptic tang. Dr. Vega you find curious.
There are rusty tools and eyeless mannequins that clutter this space, and ancient dental chairs sagging along its walls.
Part of it's been transformed, though, into a bar, by maybe the loosest of standards, some madman's idea and design that doesn't appear to have ended up being fiscally sustainable.
The place looks fairly abandoned, but someone took an old dentist's office, slapped a wooden bar in one of its corners, and kept a lot of the former establishments accoutrements. As you scan this bizarre landscape, you spot a familiar man sitting alone in a booth. He's hunched over a greasy cheeseburger.
There's a pile of fast food bags spilling across the table in front of him. He's wearing a stained T shirt. Faded jeans and a black cap seem to shadow his bloodshot eyes as he looks up to meet you.
When you enter, he looks exhausted. He waves you over, his mouth half full. Sit, sit. I got food. Eat if you want.
Speaker A:Felix will start picking at fries.
Speaker B:Nice, Felix.
You go to join Snedegar and sit across from him and find there's plenty of different types of fast food delectables to choose from, including delicious fries.
Speaker C:Vega goes to sit down, kind of eyes the fast food but doesn't reach for it, and says Snedigar. So I understand. I'm here to help you out for a bit.
Speaker B:Indeed, Doctor. I appreciate you joining us. Your expertise will be invaluable after. He flicks his gaze over Forest and Felix. Forest? Have you joined them?
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker B:He flicks his gaze over at you two after Oaxaca. But if you don't mind, I'd like you to coordinate with Karakas and Lopez outside.
They've got some logistical details to finalize, and your input on the team's condition would be critical for our next steps. He looks at you, his eyes keen despite his kind of shabby outward appearance.
Speaker C:Input? What kind of input are you looking for from me?
Speaker B:Karakas and Lopez will walk you through it, but your expert input, to be precise. Greatly appreciated. Go ahead and roll your human intelligence.
Speaker C:Success. All right. 15 out of 20.
Speaker B:Nice. So you've been in very similar situations as you previously mentioned.
This is the time when the boss asks one of the underlings to leave so that he can speak in private about something that happened that you really don't need to know about and probably don't want to know about. He's given you a moment to step outside, chat with those other two and not be involved in whatever hellacious thing he's inferring or referencing.
When he says Oaxaca.
Speaker C:Oh, so I might have to understand. And you're saying Vega's feeling like he should go outside now and talk to.
Speaker B:You can do whatever you want, but I'm giving you insight based off your successful role about what's happening right now based off of what Snedeker is doing saying, and his body language.
Speaker C:Okay, I think I understand. I will step outside then, and have a chat with our friends that we've made.
Speaker B:Hinats. Appreciate it, Doctor. I'm glad you're here. Thank you for coming. Sure. He waits until Dr.
Vega is completely out of this bizarre dentist bar hybrid, the door closing, and then he turns to you, Forest. You, Felix. And his posture straightens. He's a friendly. He's not cleared for the full scope, but he's a capable asset.
I say we keep him focused on the practical. Medical support, operational readiness, no exposure to the deeper realities. He emphasizes this last phrase.
If we bring him into future assignments, you too will ensure he stays on task without crossing that line. Understood?
Speaker A:Understood.
Speaker D:Copy.
Speaker A:I guess we're really scraping the. The bottom of the barrel now, huh?
Speaker C:From outside. Outside. You hear someone?
Speaker A:Go, hey, Come on.
Speaker B:Hey. Yeah. Actually, Dr. Vega is a extremely capable surgeon. We're lucky to have him. But some things are neat to know.
And for now, he doesn't need to know some of the more esoteric aspects of what we're doing.
Speaker A:I understand.
Speaker B:Good.
Speaker A:What I'd like to know is we lost two.
Speaker B:Yeah, I know.
Speaker A:And a friendly doc sounds nice, but we barely made it out there. We need. We need some more backup to do this kind of work.
Speaker B:Let's talk about that. Felix, Frankfurt and Faith. I sent four agents into the highlands. You two return. One is lost to us entirely.
And the other, my understanding, has been sidelined, possibly permanently. So I'm going to need a detailed accounting of what transpired. Leave nothing out. His hands clasp on the table.
Speaker A:Felix will look at Forest, kind of shrug at her.
Speaker D:I actually think that it's pretty clear that we didn't really fully grasp or understand what we were walking into. And on the note of operational readiness. And Forest looks kind of back over to Felix. We're not all fully ready. And Felix, we've got to get you a gun.
We cannot walk into another operation without you knowing how to shoot a gun and feeling fully confident in your ability to use that. I won't move forward until all of us are capable to defend ourselves and each other.
Speaker B:Snedegar doesn't allow Felix to respond just yet. I hear you, Forest. But before we talk about what's next, I need to know what happened. What happened with the target? Alabastro?
Speaker A:Well, we found him. He had no flesh on his body. He was thriving in some sort of torture device.
Speaker D:It was magic.
Speaker B:You see him take A napkin and a pen out of his pocket. And he starts jotting down notes, his brows furrowed as he listens intently.
Speaker A:I think the bug inside of him went a little too nuts. Maybe. Maybe they're like us and some of them just lose it. Just like some of us.
Well, he was being tortured by some big old tree monster thing built or born right into the. The stone. He was in ecstasy. And we managed to get some. Some information out of him about their next moves.
Now, I don't know if it's good information or just some sort of weird setup, but they mention Canada, that they're getting ready for something. A place called Castle Guard Cave. I think that this. This place that we went to in Mexico, it was a site of a long ago crash.
And it had some power, some technology. I mean, what's the. What's the difference, really? Something that they thought they could use. But this thing, that. That was where we were in.
In the mountains. It wasn't even important for enough for them to go after. And it. It drove a whole town mad. Ripping apart each other, tearing each other's flesh off.
It was. It was horrible. But what I'm saying is whatever they're looking for in Canada, it's gotta be something like that.
Something that they could use against us. A weapon.
Speaker B:He nods grimly. So extraction of Alabastro was not feasible is what I'm hearing.
Speaker D:He was too far gone.
Speaker B:But you did recover some intelligence after interrogating him. What about the entity you encountered and its effect on the nearby villagers? What was the outcome?
Speaker D:They were under a spell.
Speaker B:He looks up at you. Can you be more specific? Forest.
Speaker D:This entity just had a control over the whole village, and they were stuck in this ritual.
Speaker B:And. Are you saying Alabastro was ensnared in this as well? And that is why he was unrecoverable?
Speaker D:No, I'm not saying that. We did our best to go through our process like we do to extract the bug, and unfortunately, that did not work out for Alabastro successfully.
And that did not work out for us successfully either. As far as the bug.
Speaker A:Plus, your man, he had no skin left. He wouldn't live. He was already. He was a dead man walking. The bug was the only thing keeping him alive.
Speaker D:We gave it our best effort in the village.
Speaker A:They. They tore each other apart. We got out there as. As fast as we could.
Speaker B:What about the entity you mentioned? The one that was torturing Alabastro?
Speaker A:I'm not sure what happened, but. A black nothingness devour that whole. That whole Mountaintop. We barely got out.
Speaker D:The rocks started caving in. We. We had to make a run for it.
Speaker B:Okay. He continues to jot down a few notes. No indication of what might have caused this? No. No sign, no objects. Nothing.
Nothing that we would need to catalog or cross reference with our intelligence.
Speaker A:Snedeker, can I trust you? And I mean this for real. None of this games from the CIA playbook. None of this interrogation. I'm looking at you as a man. Can I trust you?
Speaker B:He pauses for a moment. He purses his lips. He lets your question hang in the air for a moment and says, I'm the Deputy Chief of space operations, pay grade 09.
Name's Lieutenant General Roger Felder. He puts out his hand across the table, wiping it carefully with a napkin before he fully extends it.
Speaker A:Nice to meet you. I'm Andy.
Speaker B:He turns to Forest, holds out his hand.
Speaker D:Forrest leans in and shakes his hand. She doesn't provide her real name.
Speaker B:He nods. He turns back to you.
Speaker A:Felix, I think. Well, you know how I was talking about they're looking for a weapon. We might have one against them.
And he slings up onto the table the satchel that he has with the artifact in it. He doesn't pull it out or open it or anything. That was the thing that was pushing all of the bugs buttons. Couldn't get enough of it.
Speaker B:You've. His gaze narrows. He's assessing. It appears you've retained an item of that nature here. He exhales slowly.
Standard protocol demands containment or destruction. But given the Shan threat. Well, you say it has potential utility.
Speaker A:Yeah. We might be able to use it. Snedeger, you gotta get. You gotta pull your head out of your ass, man. The bug said it himself.
We're compromised at all levels. Standard protocol. It would have been destroyed. But then we're back to square zero. We don't got the guns to take them out. We don't got the means.
But with this, we might be able to Something that we have on them that they don't even know, and we got their next location.
Speaker B:If and only if, you can demonstrate control over it, I'll authorize its retention. For now, you'll evaluate its properties. Correct. And perhaps under my strict oversight, one misstep and it has to be neutralized. Permanently.
Are we clear?
Speaker A:Crystal.
Speaker B:Okay. He eyes the satchel warily. Then let's move on to the other matter. His expression hardens and his voice drops to a lower, more deliberate cadence.
Yolodl, Zezot, Yolotl, the pyramid. Three civilian guards dead. A Police vehicle incinerated, evidence scattered across the site. That level of exposure doesn't resolve itself quietly.
I expended significant resources. My contacts at Sina, the cartels, even government channels to suppress the fallout. These are favors I can't easily replace.
Now, I know Faith in Frankfurt initiated that error. He looks at you both pointedly. You're not sure how he would knew that, but you two permitted it to escalate. So I need to know why I should trust you.
He looks at you. Felix. With any future field work after such a lapse in judgment, Go ahead and both roll your human intelligence, please.
Speaker D:Ooh. Critical failure. 55 out of 53.
Speaker A:Just regular failure for me, sir.
Speaker B:You both feel your hair standing on end as he goes through this laundry list. This organization demands precision. Maybe that's different from what you're used to with Pegasus. Another failure of this magnitude.
It risks more than your careers or the alliance we have going on here. It endangers everything we're fighting for. Are we crystal there?
Speaker A:I lost two brothers that day. All right, I'm crystal.
Speaker B:He turns to you, Forrest.
Speaker D:This is why I'm emphasizing operational readiness for everyone moving forward.
Speaker B:He nods.
Speaker D:We led with trust before, but I don't think that was misplaced. But it made me a little blind to preparedness, and I'm not going to allow that to happen anymore. So it's crystal clear?
Speaker B:Good. Okay. Castleguard Cave. It's a familiar name. He reaches under the dirty table, produces a laptop, opens it up, begins to type rapidly.
Silence again hanging through the air. He nods grimly, as if he's discovered something. Yeah. Dr. Alistair Braden, speleologist. Used to be a friendly of our organization.
He vanished for six months, resurfaced under a fake id, then led a cave expedition up there that went to hell. Floods, drownings, three survivors. Brayden's in a psych ward now, broken. Two others died in hospital, both with brain embolisms.
He's scrolling and scanning his laptop as he speaks. That's too convenient. Something's festering up there. He slides his laptop over, parting the greasy wrappers as he does so, turning it towards you.
News articles are glowing on screen. Read up on this. I'm gonna make some calls. He stands up, walks away, leaving you with this handout that I'm about to make available to you.
One moment, please.
Speaker D:Does this give us an opportunity to read it out loud?
Speaker B:Yeah. Do you want to take over?
Speaker D:Yeah, I'll take over.
Speaker A:Also. What's a speleologist?
Speaker B:A speleologist? It's a caving scientist, Somebody who studies caves.
Speaker A:Oh, that's convenient, because that's where he was.
Speaker B:That just coincidence.
Speaker A:Sa.
