Face the Facts (ID)

[DanteMGalileo]

"Oho, Miss Niles. The suit will be ready in the hour. Now, I wouldn't offer this chance to just about anyone..." Will pushed up his glasses, with the smarmiest smile he could manage between his increasing discomfort and the facial morph. "Why don't you and your shadows follow me down? You could be the very first people to see the PathEngine suit in action, if not appearance."

"Are... are you sure?" At least someone's keeping up appearances, even if his hair's not. "Doctor Kent, would, ah, your boss be okay with you showing such classified information to the general public?" That was close, Percy, ah Felix. And there goes your bun.

With the same smile, Will nodded. "I trust that you and your friend will not leak our data, if you know what's good for you." Hmm, maybe he should try the tranquil fury method when scolding Jordan in the future. "Ah, your hair's undone... And what is up with Victor?" He walked over to the cyborg, his eyes catching a glimpse of the file on the floor for Lydia to scan.

"Hey, Victor?" Percy was pulling his hair back into the bun, briefly leaving the long strands and pointed ears exposed. "You okay, man? You're all anxious today. Nerves? I-I mean, this'll look good on our resumes, right?" Once he deemed his hair secure enough, the brunette walked up to Ryan. "I mean... we've been working at this since we were kids, and now we're here..."

[ColArana]

Ryan stooped and quickly gathered up the files. "I um.. Well." He sighed. "I.... found the files you were looking for Doctor Kent. Here. Miss Niles, if you could pass these to Doctor Kent..." He handed the files to Max, tapping with his thumb the detail about the Lunar base mentioned on it to draw Max's attention to it. He was really, really worried. How the hell were they going to get to the moon if this was really the case. "Doctor Kent...."

Will had started talking and this time he had an idea that Ryan seemed surprised at. "O-Oh.... Really, Doctor Kent?" He asked in surprise. "I'd be honored if you would be willing to let us witness such a momentous occasion. The suit... It's going to the facility mentioned here?" He asked, indicating the file he'd just given Will. He looked at Percy and leaned in. "Just a little freaked out as to how we're supposed to get to and from the moon" He whispered to Percy. "Apparently that's where we need to get for their main facility." He was sure to keep his voice very low, as he reset back, leaning back away from Percy to check Max's reaction to the address in the file.

"It's nothing. Don't worry! I'm just a little anxious and excited to be getting a chance to work with such great individuals!" He replied cheerfully.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Thank you..." Max stepped away from the computer without reading a word of the email and accepted the files from Ryan, picking up on the specific manner in which his thumb was pointing to the text. She spared only a few seconds looking it over herself before passing the papers onto William, but that was all the time she needed to spot the devil in the details.

She tried not to wince. She tried not to fret over the revelation. Hiding this knee-jerk reaction was no small feat, nor was whatever means they could possibly conjure up to get themselves to a high-tech, high-security facility on the freaking moon.

Will suggested they move on to where the PathEngine suit was being developed. Now that they had a destination in mind, Max agreed that it best to move on. If there was any chance this suit was connected to Lydia or the missing microchip, it would've been worth it to stick around and gather more intel before rocketing themselves into space. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. We really should get down to brass tacks here."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Granted, it's doubtful they would let an interview team follow us to HQ..." Lydia continued to murmur to herself, only barely coherent through the headset. "And I'd rather not tackle the main facility by ourselves. So maybe... the rest of the gang can sneak aboard? Nah, too many risk factors. Probably better to stick to the original plan..."

She looked back up at her monitor as Will steered the conversation towards the mech suit, keeping quiet out of agreement with this next step. In the meantime, there was a stack of papers in Will's hand courtesy of Ryan and Max that needed translating...

"Okay, what do we have here? 'To: Kent, Andrew, Assistant Director of Biorobotics Research, Alpine Facility. From: Michaels, Cora, President/CEO, Lunar-' OH MY GOD."

Lydia flopped back in her seat, covering her face with her hands. "I called it. I F*CKING CALLED IT. OF ALL THE THINGS FOR ME TO ACTUALLY BE RIGHT ABOUT..."

Her hands dropped into her lap as she cast a scowl at her screen. "Will, please don't freak out on me –I'm not in any position to stabilize your facial morph if your adrenaline gets too high– but the chip is on the moon."

[DanteMGalileo]

I have no idea what a moon is.

"Pip pip, Miss Niles!" Trying to disguise his nervousness with fake enthusiasm, Will began to exit the office, holding open the door for Max and her 'interns.' "Time waits for no man, or woman, of course."

Ugh, I sound greasier than Forrest's hair.

Pretending that Will was genuinely enthusiastic about whatever, Percy continued, "This is exciting, Doctor Kent. I'm honoured." Maybe the things he listened to in his audiobooks would be of use here. Or at least he'd see a practical application of them.

"Do try to keep up, Miss Niles, Felix, Victor." Turning to face the hallway, he was glad to be in front, glad that nobody could see his face. He wouldn't be surprised if his face was changing back.

[ColArana]

Ryan saw in Max's face she saw what he was indicating. Yeah... This was definitely a problem. But it looked like Will was thinking of using his own faked status to get them in to the Lunar Base on a shipment up there. That... That could work. And beside.... Worst case scenario.... Ryan looked at his arm. Well, I've heard LunArc deals in cybernetics. Maybe we could fake something else, in a pinch.... He thought. Never know. Some quick talking and lying might be able to get Ryan to sneak in and lie his way into being the test subject for this PathEngine Suit or something.

Ryan followed behind Will on the tour he was leading them on, and glanced at Max. He'd have liked to know more as he went along, but if this was their only shot at helping Lydia.... "We'll do our best, Doctor." He assured Will, as he bid them to keep up, and doing his best to follow that instruction. "We've gotten this far..." He whispered to Max. The trick was that they seemed to be getting deeper and deeper though. Already they were deep enough that getting out if something went wrong would be tough. On the moon though? What the hell were they going to do if they got caught there. No. We won't get caught. I won't let anyone here get caught... Ryan thought as he tagged along.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Of course." Max bared her teeth in the best grin she could muster, following William with an upright march. Everything inside her was fuming, and it was getting increasingly difficult to mask it.

The group walked down the hall, Max once again leading the boys, navigating towards the testing facilities. A few employees passed them by with little interest, and once each of them was out of earshot, Max took the opportunity to whisper back at the others through her forced smile. "Okay, does anyone have any idea how we're gonna catch a flight to the moon? I'd rather keep improvisation to a minimum this time around."

No one seemed to be paying much attention to the hallway windows they walked past, each of them offering a view of various robots and devices currently undergoing rigorous tests on this end of the building. One such room was currently serving a slightly different purpose. One of LunArc's more noteworthy cyborgs had sustained critical damage during an altercation the day before. His mode of transportation had been rendered inoperable, effectively leaving him temporarily stranded on the island, but he was at least intact enough to carry himself to the research facility for repairs.

Now, whilst the engineer assigned to him put the finishing touches on his arm, Mr. Stone kept his gaze focused on the window, watching the LunArc technicians pass by outside. Everything seemed to be in order on the surface, but when his connection with the facility's security alerted him to a camera malfunction in the main lobby, needless to say, it raised a few questions. He'd been patiently waiting, contemplating what might have caused this error, when a few new puzzle pieces landed in his lap.

A group of four walked by outside, most of its members looking rather out of place. Mr. Stone snapped a quick mental picture of them, then started sorting through his data banks, trying to determine their identities.

Scanning...
Andrew Kent. LunArc Assistant Director of Biorobotics Research. 81.27% Match.
Maxine Niles. Reporter for The Lacuna Chronicle. 100% Match.
Unknown Subject. Cross-matching... Unknown Assailant accompanying William Lowe. 92.69% Match.
Ryan Summers. D͡A̕͠T҉̀͘A̶͟͡ ̷̴C͠͏O͘Ŗ̀̀R͢U̸̴̴P̀͠T͝E̢D. 100% Match.

Mr. Stone's eye twitched behind his sunglasses.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Yeah, I have an idea..." Lydia sighed, her tone somewhere between dejection and resignation to their current predicament. "I think we're gonna have to drop the stealth element for the most part and hijack ourselves a ship. I honestly doubt we can get the rest of the gang to HQ otherwise, and I don't have the patience to negotiate with any LunArc higher-ups. Time is not a luxury right now. So let me see..."

She spotted a directory in the corner of Will's eye, straining to read it, somewhat relieved when it pointed her in the direction she needed. "Take a right at the end of this hall. We need to get to the hangar-"

"Mr. Kent!"

"Sh*t."

A technician rounded a corner and approached the touring quartet from behind. He didn't seem angry, at least. Just slightly bemused and mostly confused. "Oh! Miss Niles, good to see you again. Uh, Andrew, where are you taking these three?"

[DanteMGalileo]

Oh fuck.

Will did not like the way his face felt, so sir, not at all. Come to think it kinda felt like... okay, let's not think of that and focus on something else, dammit! Anyways! He cleared his throat, pretending he was merely startled by the technician, not turning around. "Ah, good sir, you caught us in the act! Why, I'm going to give Miss Niles and her shadows a little preview of the PathEngine suit before we unveil it! And I assure you, her shadows have been firmly reminded to not leak anything to the general public."

"... That's right!" Percy was concerned about Will not wanting to look at anyone, but he figured he might as well draw some heat off the poor guy. "Firmly warned on penalty of something. Something severe." The brunette chuckled a bit, adjusting his messy bun as if trying to calm himself down, loosening some pieces.

Will, if you need to improvise again, we're all doomed.

If the blonde buffoon has to improvise again, we're all doomed.

[ColArana]

Ryan whispered back at Max as they walked along, hanging beside her. "Sounds like this project is getting delivered there shortly. We might be able to hitch a ride along..." He suggested. "Worst... worst comes to worst, we can lie our asses off and say I'm LunArc property..." He barely refrained from visibly wincing as he suggested that, though the flicker of uncomfortability was still visible in his eyes. At least his cyborg nature could be useful for something.

"Relax." He continued to whisper to Max. "If... If anything happens, I'll make sure we get out okay." He wished he were actually confident of that, but in actuality, Ryan had never fully pressure tested himself in a high intensity situation.

When the technician rounded the corner and spoke with Will, Ryan tried to clam up, but was ready to act if something went wrong. As he stood, thinking he heard the Will answer and Percy chime in. "Doctor Kent said it would be alright. We'll be very, very discrete sir!" Ryan piped in to try and reinforce Percy's claim. "It was made crystal clear that there'd be major problems for everyone involved if we say a word."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"I doubt they'd let us go that far," Max awkwardly whispered to Ryan, regarding the possibility of them hitching a ride with the suit. His second idea just made her even more nervous. "You sure? I'd hate to throw you under the bus like that, but-"

And then the technician butted in, eliciting a flinch out of Max before she slowly turned around to meet him with an anxious, borderline panicked grin. "Hiiiii... Nice to be back. Sorry for the spontaneity. Just a little eleventh-hour interview to chronicle the progress of this new suit of yours. Andrew here said it was nearly ready to enter the public conscious, so I opted to jump in on it and give some students a little taste of what you do."

The group had stopped not far from his window. From his seat, Mr. Stone continued to study them through the glass, paying especially close attention to Mr. Kent. Something about him seemed... off.

Facial alterations detected.
Andrew Kent: 79.4% Match.
Is subject William Lowe?
Cross-matching...
William Lowe: 58.42% Match.
Cannot confirm identity with confidence.

Analyzing options...

Request backup.
Contacting: Transmitter 024M. Subject: Keruv Liderc Shamash Serapis.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

The technician offered the quartet a good-natured laugh. "You do realize you're going in the wrong direction, right? The PathEngine testing facility is this way. Come on, I was heading in that direction anyway."

As he turned and gestured for the group to follow him back the way they came, Lydia was tightly griping her controls with anxiety, hot under the collar, her eyes locked on the monitor and too tense to blink. Through gritted teeth, she just bared whispered into her headset, "Will, I hope you have an idea, because aside from decking this guy too, I don't."

"Head's a little more scrambled than usual today, eh, Kent?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"... Yeah, my head feels all kind of weird today, Doc." Oh phew, another way to cover the fact that he had a little person inside him, telling him what to do. "Must've been something I ate last night. Hopefully it passes soon. There's a lot we need to do, yeah?" Just ignore the twinge, Will, and follow the tech guy in the right direction.

Percy's ears perked up slightly, picking up something that his more-human friends hadn't noticed. Feeling the top of his head, he pulled off a green feather, still slightly warn. Not wanting to burden Will or Max more, Percy got close to Ryan, holding up the green feather. "Must be a robotic bird, huh?" He hoped Ryan would get the implication of that statement. Pulling one arm up a sleeve, the arm not facing the window, the now-empty sleeve hung limply for a moment, before a hand made of grey-pink magic, close enough to his skin tone, came into existence.

From within his suit jacket, Percy began channeling magical energy into his hidden arm. First Night... Moonbeam... Nox... Moonrise... Thanks for the boost, Imago...

No problem, kid. You're gettin' the hang of this.

[ColArana]

"I told you earlier. I kind of contributed to getting you into this mess. I know you volunteered to come with us, but still.... I'm going to make sure you don't get completely screwed over by the fact that Will and I couldn't figure out a better plan than this past the front door." Ryan replied. "If that involves throwing myself under the bus to cover for you... Well... At least then maybe there'll be a point in this body of mine." Ryan mentioned with a sidelong glance.

Once the technician was arrived and started directing Will around though, Ryan shut his trap. He had to avoid talking to staff around here too much. Max knew journalism jargon and phrasing and rules, he didn't. Will would be expected to talk a little. Fine. But Ryan reminded himself that Victor was just an understudy, and should be listening to Max here. Which is what he aimed for. Even so, he glanced aside as Percy whispered to him. Something about a robotic bird...? What...? Ryan looked at the feather. Was this something important? Something substantial? What was the deal with-- 

Oh no.... For a repeated time in the past few days, Ryan was very glad that his mostly cybernetic face wasn't as reactive as a normal human's unless he wanted it to be, because he might have started at the implication Percy was suggested. "But if that's the case then...." The look Ryan gave Percy very much said he understood what he was getting at. 

[ParamountKeymaster]

Max cast an anxious, empathetic glance back at Ryan, one that showed apparent, distraught uncertainty at how they were going to get out of their newest dilemma. Then she looked up at Will, once again donning a smile to mask her growing concern. "Eheh... Yeah, a lot to do."

Okay. Okay, she could work with this. She wasn't sure how, but she could work with this. Not her first curveball of the day.

"So! Andrew!" Thinking quickly, Max jumped back into her journalist persona and asked, "This PathEngine suit is returning to your main facility today, right? So you're on the cusp of official preliminary testing. Where do you propose the project will go from there?"