The Trouble with Triton

[Phoenix]

The following information, marked as urgent, is being sent to all members of the Paragon City branch of the Alliance.

Last night we recovered a recorded message from Jane, warning us that 'trouble was coming'. Attached to this recording was a ciphered message in plaintext, decoded as follows.

Triton Dynamics warehouse
Bayside Docks
Peregrine Island

Phoenix


We did a little digging into the company and found out a few things. The most immediately worrying was a collection of hardware details and software protocols for a device designed to hijack and re-encode psionic signals without trace. Such a device, if completed and used, could bring the Carnival of Shadows among others directly under the control of the operators, without their leader ever becoming aware. Scans of the company's financial history reveal several large, anonymous donations to the cause, including one from a bank account previously used by one Firebird Phoenix.

A deep scan of the city overnight revealed that several devices have already been planted in the expected pattern, seemingly confirming the suspicion that Triton are attempting to create a mental net over Paragon, allowing them to influence both the Carnies and any other latent psionics without impressive mental defences. Progress on the network has been slow, however. The sites have been plagued by attacks from the Carnies, Malta and Nemesis, despite heavy security. How much these groups know of the devices is unclear at present.

We have picked up on rumours indicating that the Carnies are planning an attack on the facility Phoenix pointed us towards at some time in the next few days. Whether they are there to capture or destroy the devices we do not know. Whatever they are planning, such an attack would give us adequate cover to make one of our own, making it easier to destroy the machines ourselves under the pretence of saving the warehouse from the criminals.

There is the possibility, slim though it may be, that this is a legitimate research project on Triton's part. However, even if the device is legitimate, someone if not Triton themselves is using it for evil, and the technology cannot be allowed to remain in existence. Destroying it may expose us to legal action, but the current leadership feels that it must be done.

Phoenix herself remains in England as far as we know, though we have not heard from her in some time. The UK branch of the Alliance has been alerted of this, and is working to find her.

[Shadowe]

Voice message to all Fletched Alliance: Paragon City members from Samantha Huntington.

Hey, guys. Look, I know this is kind of short notice, but by now you've all had a chance to take a look at the briefing 351 prepped for us.

Not to put too fine a point on it, this thing scares me shitless. If it can control the Carnies and latent psychics in the Paragon area, we're looking at the possibility of the state-wide control of every psychic mind by an agency with unknown goals.

Ves, Iris and I bandied a few ideas about while we were talking last night. I came up with two scenarios - if anyone can think of any others, please let the Advisors know!

One: We wait until the Carnies have stolen the damned thing and take it back from them.
Two: We go in and do it ourselves.

Ves came up with a better one:

Three: We wait until the Carnies assault the warehouse, then go in and do the heroic thing on their asses, destroying this infernal machine in the process, preferably with big explosions. I happen to like this plan, as it absolves us of all responsibility, is within the remit of our licenses, and it will build up some goodwill to the city.

We are not going to sit by and let someone take over. We are not going to give the Carnival of Shadows another way to possess latent psychic minds. This thing must be stopped. It will be stopped.

Thank you.

[Ves]

((

Ves came up with a better one

But he'll deny all knowledge of any 'planning' and 'leadership type stuff' for all he's worth ))

[Akkarin]

Message to 351

Source: Hidden

Location: Unknown


Message encoded: running decode program.

..........

Analysis complete: message as follows.

............

Akk here. Got Triton message. Will try get back. Arketh going Paragon. Blow up machine good.

............

Message ends

[Shadowe]

((The question that springs to mind here is: Would 351 (cantankerous git that he is) actually tell anyone that Akk sent him a message? Because you know that if Lu finds out he's here, she'll go crazy (with desire? with rage? Who knows?), and if Richard finds out, he'll try to find Alrua (assuming she's still around in the Rogue Isles or Paragon).))

[Phoenix]

((^^that=good question. Would appreciate opinions since I don't know 351 all that well. Apologies to anyone who was expecting continuation last night, I wasn't feeling all that well and attempting RP would likely have produced utter crap (well, more than usual anyway ). Sorry about lack of warning on that, but should, my general fitness willing, be able to get back on it tonight.))

[Akkarin]

((Your point is a good one, and has made me think. 351's personal interpretation of what the rest of the FA will need to know would be along the lines of "Rin's on his way, he says blow up finland or something"))

[Phoenix]

Triton's warehouse has been destroyed, eliminating a vast number of the psychic devices and setting the plot back months. An oddly-reinforced wall survived the blast, a map and a message left on it and recorded by 351 at the scene. While the main AI dedicates its number-crunching power to analysing maps for similarity, a near-forgotten backup pops into life to deliver the message...




<<AI351 BACKUP SYSTEM ENGAGED>>

<<PARSING TEXT>
<<PRINTING...>>

"counting down, only down"

<<PARSING NUMBER STRINGS...>>
<<PRINTING...>>

7-9-18-7-12-13--13-22-7-4-12-9-16--24-12-13-7-9-12-15--24-22-13-7-9-22

24-22-13-7-9-26-15--14-26-18-13-21-9-26-14-22--12-13-22--12-21--7-4-12

4-26-7-24-19--7-19-22--11-26-11-22-9-8

11-19-12-22-13-18-3

<<PRINT ENDS>>

[Ves]

Okay folks, here's my translation of the number chains from 351...

7-9-18-7-12-13--13-22-7-4-12-9-16--24-12-13-7-9-12-15--24-22-13-7-9-22

T-r-i-t-o-n N-e-t-w-o-r-k C-o-n-t-r-o-l C-e-n-t-r-e

24-22-13-7-9-26-15--14-26-18-13-21-9-26-14-22--12-13-22--12-21--7-4-12

c-e-n-t-r-a-l M-a-i-n-f-r-a-m-e O-n-e O-f T-w-o

4-26-7-24-19--7-19-22--11-26-11-22-9-8

W-a-t-c-h T-h-e P-a-p-e-r-s

11-19-12-22-13-18-3

P-h-o-e-n-i-x

Looks like we have more hunting to do....

[Phoenix]

351 has completed his analysis of the map found at the warehouse site, and released the following briefing to Paragon City members:

Analysis of landmarks and geographical information on the map Phoenix provided for us has pinpointed a site some distance north of the main body of Paragon City. Satellite scans in all frequencies reveal only minor structures on the surface, thus the bulk of the facility must be underground.

No power or water connections are evident, but magnetic signatures detected nearby may be local generators. Detailed analysis and tracing of recent Triton intranet and internet traffic reveals large flows of information to and from this facility.

Alarmingly, the facility is emitting a low-frequency, short-range psychic wave similar to that generated by the destroyed nodes. Jane's assertion that this is a network control center of some sort appears to be valid.

There is no reason to believe at this time that Triton are aware of our knowledge of this facility. The guard will likely be light, and the facility should be operating normally for the forseeable future. As such, we have time to carefully plan any attack or other action, and it is recommended that the current leadership does this.

[Phoenix]

Triton's network core has been destroyed, sending out a psychic shockwave and rendering any remaining nodes in Paragon useless. Another facility nearby was explosively destroyed by unknown agents immediately afterwards.

As ever with a story even faintly involving the Alliance, the Unmasked has leapt in headfirst...



Sunday 16th September
TRITON DYNAMICS WAREHOUSE BOMBED!
Facility on Peregrine Island destroyed in senseless attack!

Triton Dynamics, an advanced weapons and defense technology manufacturer, was shocked yesterday by a terrorist attack on a storage warehouse located in Peregrine Island. The storage facility, believed to have been holding prototypes of Triton's much-hyped secret project, was completely levelled by an explosion late on Saturday night, killing several innocent workers and injuring dozens more, many seriously. The devastation will cost the company millions of dollars in lost revenue and rebuilding costs. Members of the 'hero' group the Fletched Alliance were spotted fleeing the scene shortly before the explosion, proving beyond doubt that they were the ones responsible.

A spokesman for the company appeared so distraught that he could barely read from the prepared statement he had been given, and who can blame him? Paragon City's toleration of the lunatic fringe terrorism-disguised-as-heroism that the Fletched Alliance so happily spreads has gone on long enough! This writer urges his readers to make their voices heard, to force our governors to take action against these monsters and bring them to the justice they so richly deserve. Act now, for the sake of the city!



Sunday 30th September
MORE TRITON DYNAMICS FACILITIES DEVASTATED BY TERRORIST ATTACKS!
Research set back years by three bomb attacks in two weeks!

Triton Dynamics was rocked yesterday by the senseless terrorist bombing of two more of its facilities, beileved to have set its prime projects back years if not decades in lost data and prototypes. Members of 'hero' group the Fletched Alliance were spotted fleeing the scene of the initial warehouse bombing, on Peregrine Island on Saturday, September 15th, which killed and wounded dozens. Two weeks later, the so-called 'heroes' have struck again, destroying two vital network centers on the East Coast and disrupting communications between TD sites in what appeared to be a co-ordinated attack. No other group is believed to be involved at this point.

Triton shares took a heavy fall as news of the first bombing broke, and again as news filtered in of the second attack, slashing the overall value of the company by more than two-thirds. With this, rebuilding costs and lost profits taken into account, the company is expected by analysts to post a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars at the end of the fiscal year, putting hundreds of innocent jobs at risk. A spokesman for the company spoke of their "disbelief" at the events immediately following the second and third bombings:

"We can't believe this has happened. Utter disbelief, that's all there is here. We're all fighters here, we're not going to fall to this kind of horrific terrorist act, but it will be very difficult for us to recover. We fully intend to track down the perpetrators of this crime and will demand recompense and criminal damages in the courts to the maximum extent permitted by law."

The Fletched Alliance has remained publically silent on this issue, stony as ever in the face of its horrendous crimes. I ask, no, implore, no, beg my readers to write to the FBSA representative in Paragon, and make it clear that this group of 'Heroes' is nothing more than a cell of terrorists being allowed to operate on US soil. No longer can Paragon City tolerate this madness in our midst!



In the wake of the network core's destruction, however, 351's scanners picked up a disturbing pattern. Removing the signal of Triton's network has revealed another signal on a similar frequency, suddenly detectable now as the interference of the Triton plot fades away...

[Phoenix]

The following information, marked as urgent, is being sent to all members of the Paragon City branch of the Alliance involved in the ongoing Triton issue.

Bad news, people.

Triton Dynamics' headquarters in Steel Canyon has been fire-bombed by unknown agents, killing 56 at present count and wounding hundreds, in addition to shutting down major financial infrastructure nearby for some time while the emergency services attended the scene.

It is not known at this time whether these agents are the same ones that destroyed the second network control center after our attack on the primary facility. This attack appears to have been carried out in a manner similar to our own methods, and available evidence points to someone trying to frame us for this tragedy.

The psychic signal detected in the wake of the primary facility's destruction has remained low-level, allowing us some time to determine the identity of these agents and shut them down if necessary.

All Triton Dynamics facilities have been placed under top-level surveillance, and should suspicious activity occur at one or more of said locations, Alliance personnel we be informed immediately.

Stay on your toes, people. Whoever's pulling the strings here still hasn't revealed themselves yet, but they'll slip up sooner or later.

[Phoenix]

((Update: Plot is OFF tonight barring absolute miracles, had to reinstall and the download is projected at north of 16 hours. Really sorry, guys.))

[Ves]

(( Not to worry, technical difficulties can't be helped.

Besides, it gave Ves time to have a sit down and chat with Sam about sneaky devious stuffs.

Everyone has officially become part of a big sneaky plan, no matter how much they think otherwise mwahahahahahahahahahahahah ))

[Phoenix]

Following the interception of an attack on Triton, the Alliance encountered a woman in black armour controlling the hordes of shadows attacking the building. Reforming the fallen enemies into replicas of the Heroes, she dealt the Alliance a near-total defeat before vanishing following the arrival of StoneGiant on the scene. 351 managed to lock onto her exit teleport, and has been computing a location.

TO ALL PARAGON CITY MEMBERS: IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Analysis has confirmed that the armoured figure who waylaid Alliance personnel following the Triton lab defence teleported back to the location of the remaining psychic disturbance after the battle.

It appears that the villain of this particular piece has finaly made themselves known. This figure, though identification is difficult due to lack of information, does not appear to be one we have faced before. However, she is dangerous, and she must be stopped before she uses whatever device is emitting the remaining signal.

That signal is located deep underground, presumably in a section of the Circle city of Oranbega, since no overground facility or source of mechanical energy was detected nearby.

Entrances to Oranbega are, as we know, inherently unstable. The Circle seeks to control access, but there are some passages that even they have not detected, and it is believed that one such entrance, in the outskirts of Paragon, leads down to the location of the emitter. Once this is confirmed, available members will be alerted and prepared to enter.

Prepare for attack, people. This ends here.