- Location
- Goose Land
Very interesting, being a balance between our free 25 and Dal Fon's flexibility.
Attempting To Fulfil Your Contract: A Noveria Planquest [Mass Effect]
- Thread starter Faith
- Start date
Very interesting, being a balance between our free 25 and Dal Fon's flexibility.
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
The Binary Helix investigation is getting it's own post? Well that's ominous.
Guess they're not getting off with just a slap on the wrist this time.
Guess they're not getting off with just a slap on the wrist this time.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- Reader
I find it intriguing. Mini turn with the option to possibly bring in shepard? Rachni outbreak? Collector/Geth incursion to collect Rachni? Things are about to get interesting.
- Location
- California
This sounds like a Thunderdome moment tbh. Hope the Council doesn't park their Cruisers above us for safety concerns.
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Given they just proved that no, Rachni cloning wasn't just done for Saren, yeah, it's a given.
This is a bad idea. Whatever moron thought it was a good idea is likely trying to find a good place to hide before a Spectre shows up with a pair of friendship bracelets.
Turn 31 - 2185-07 Results (Part 2)
Faith
Some idea of what I'm doing.
- Location
- Land of Waves and Warmth
[ ] NSID Investigation (Target: Binary Helix) (Rolled: 213)
Whilst the NDC already has the legitimate means to perform an in-house audit and corruption sweep on any of their clients, the naturally very public nature of these investigations means that particularly smart saboteurs, spies, and other corrupt elements can obscure their activities and avoid the proper punishments for their actions. With the foundation of the NSID, a new avenue exists to perform more subtle investigations of corporate activities, although the hidden nature of these anti-corruption operations precludes their use for general financial auditing.
(May use Security or Administration die)
(Breakpoints: ??? - 10 Resources per die) (Removes corruption, counters dangerous events, other consequences unclear)
You don't often get roped into priority calls by the Chairman himself. Generally the point of your position is to handle all the important things so he can spend his time being useful elsewhere, doing press releases or mixing it up with the corporate elite of the galaxy to lure in more clients.
The fact that he's seen fit to contact you isn't really surprising on this issue, though. Given Binary Helix just made themselves the galaxy's foremost war criminals and it's probably the NDC's fault, it would be rather more surprising if he didn't see fit to call you.
The first thing you notice when you join the conference call is that it's a full-board meeting - every chair but one is filled. Even Korten Rugg has shown up, making this the first time you've seen or heard from him since your last performance review. The empty chair, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the one belonging to Binary Helix's former chief financial officer and long-term Executive Board member Meyla Va'moor.
Joining you at the table's hotseats are NSID Director Sevarus, ERCS Captain Matsuo, and her nominal superior, ERCS Director Sarun Toradul, head of their Noveria branch, the three of them filing into the call shortly after you do.
"Alright, Administrator, Directors, we'll make this quick, because time is of the essence." The Chairman begins, not even giving you a chance to say hello. "If we continue to stand by whilst Binary Helix flaunts every rule in the book, it hurts us two-fold. First, it makes us look weak, ineffective, if we aren't seen as exerting our power. We don't have many restrictions here so it's vital we're seen to enforce the few we do. They're restrictions we kept for a reason."
"Second, it makes the Citadel reconsider their stance of politely ignoring us. Our operations live and die on the Council accepting that the unrestricted research performed here is more beneficial than dangerous, and needless to say, Binary Helix is putting that in jeopardy."
"Specifically," Dalatrass Yimm interjects. "We've just received word from our contacts on the Citadel that the Council is about to come down on Binary Helix with all the force they can muster, and I trust you to realise that's quite a lot of force. If they decide to bring that force down on our heads, it risks destroying everything we've worked to build here."
"But if we've heard, Binary Helix will too," Rugg says simply. "If they haven't already. Which means they're probably about to do something stupid."
Dalatrass Yimm continues. "The Council are obviously going to send Spectres, and there's a good chance Binary Helix tries to cover up or delete any data they may have. But a Spectre will not be stopped so simply, and the last thing anyone wants is a Citadel cyberwarfare team coming in under supervision from a Spectre to poke around."
"Couldn't we just limit their authority?" Director Toradul asks. "Spectres only have the power we give them - if we tell them they're not permitted..."
Matriarch Anyela nods. "Under usual circumstances, Spectre authority on Noveria is limited, yes. These are not usual circumstances. I suspect if the human returned, she would see no problem in shooting her way up to, and then through, Peak 15 all over again, and we of the Board are inclined to let her. Frankly, whoever they send, we'll be lucky if they don't bring a Blackwatch Platoon or something with them. We can't conceivably prevent them from investigating Binary Helix by force, and ultimately, we don't want to."
"Quite the opposite, in fact," the Chairman explains. "What Dalatrass Yimm has proposed, and the Board has agreed to, is simple. We preempt the Spectres. They won't necessarily like it, but if your units can seize control of Peak 15 and make full copies of all of Binary Helix's records, we can present it to the Spectres as soon as they arrive. Give them a guided tour of the damn place, if they want. The important part is that we make it clear to the Citadel that we're more than capable of cleaning up in-house, as it were."
"Also serves as a reminder to everyone else," Rugg notes, chuckling. "Pay up or we'll invade your shit."
"I suppose you'd like us to... remove any sensitive data we find in the process?" Kodak asks.
"If there's anything that implicates the NDC, yes," the Chairman responds with a nod. "But otherwise, no. I know that Tevura and others have been keeping it off the front page as best they can, but Binary Helix's stock price has been tanking since the news broke, they've had entire research teams quit in protest, funding pulled, grants retracted. If they come out of this still solvent, I'd be amazed. Their ship may be deorbiting, but we see no reason to go down with it."
"Understandable. We should have no trouble justifying a seizure of assets, under colonial security rulings," you muse aloud. "Do... do we actually think they're breeding more rachni?"
"Not here," Matsuo confirms. "I had Lieutenant Bowman triple check every room in the building. Bioweapons and gene-mods, but no cloning." Turning to the Executive Board, she continues. "Which makes me wonder why exactly you want us to move in as well? We know there's not going to be any rachni there - the NSID teams should be more than sufficient."
"It's not a practical concern, Captain," the Chairman answers with a shake of the head. "It's about appearances. Binary Helix has rocked the boat too damn much, so we're cracking down hard. Fear will keep the other corporations in line."
Matsuo nods, seeming satisfied.
"If we're not sure whether or not they've heard about incoming action, I can set up a network buffer," Kodak suggests. "We might be able to intercept any warnings they would be sent, keep them in the dark a little. First they'll know we're coming to audit is when we knock on the doors."
"Do it," you say immediately, members of the board nodding in agreement.
Lieutenant Bowman rocked back and forth in his chair and tried very hard to resist the urge to get up and pace through the control room. Deputy Director Vass hated when he did that.
The control room wasn't a particularly big room, despite its relative importance - aside from his desk and the Deputy Director's, there were only four desks, most of which were never occupied. In theory, it was the room from which primary utilities such as facility-wide heating and power routing, and security features like cameras and patrol drones, were controlled in the event of Mira going offline. In practice, it was the room where he and the fat bastard sat and quietly watched movies on their omni-tools.
Well, the Deputy Director wasn't doing that so much nowadays - busy fretting over the status of his retirement fund, probably, given the way his company stock had to be plummeting. Instead, he seemed to spend all day consuming galactic news, reading and rereading emails, and generally working himself into a tizzy.
The radio at Bowman's desk beeped.
"Peak 15 Security Control, this is Captain Matsuo."
Deputy Director Vass shot him an agonised glare from the other corner of the room.
Bowman sighed and grabbed the radio headset. "Captain Matsuo, this is Ell-tee Bowman, Peak 15 control. How can I help, ma'am?"
"Bowman, can we talk privately?"
Vass's expression turned thoughtful. "What does she want?" he mouthed, but Bowman ignored him, instead swapping the radio headset for his combat helmet, taking a second to seal the helm and switch off the external mouthpiece.
"Alright, Matsuo, bucket on head. What's the go?"
"The NDC are worried about Binary Helix, we're moving in to secure the lab."
Bowman immediately sat up in his chair, earning him another confused look from Vass.
"Secure? Ma'am, there haven't been any breaches-"
"The board don't actually care about any breaches, Bowman, it's a publicity stunt. But they are concerned about the scientists. Worried someone might try to delete some incriminating data, destroy some samples, or hide some evidence."
Behind his visor, Bowman glanced at Vass, and considered that. "Okay, fair enough. What do you need me to do, ma'am?"
"First of all, we need to make sure no one tries anything stupid..."
On average, Peak 15 experienced four main waves of traffic - morning arrivals, the lunch rush in and out, and afternoon departures. Staff travelling outside those times, such as the workers attending the staggered overnight shifts, higher management and administration staff needing to commute between the lab site and the corporate office, and various other specialist staff not needed on site at all times, generally made up such a small proportion of the staff that the traffic they generated was barely notable.
Needless to say, the sudden and unannounced arrival of four NSID shuttles, eight ERCS APCs, and a pair of ERCS gunships was somewhat unusual. To say nothing for the fact that every single one of the transports was packed to the gills with the most veteran troops that could be mustered, clad in hazmat assault armour and armed for war. The APCs beelined for the garage, the shuttles breaking off to divert to the landing pads attached to the Peak 15 tower.
Aboard the foremost shuttle, Kodak Sevarus spared just a moment to look over his squad, the shine of their clean black armour and their hardened eyes. Nodding, he grabbed the helmet from between his legs and slipped it on, the HUD flashing as memos, tactical data, and squad indicators booted and synchronised with his suit's computer.
Diagnostic runtimes informed him of the status of his toxin filters (nominal), contained air supply (two hours), and current ammunition load (standard). A countdown timer in the corner of his field of view told him time-to-landing (not long now). A row of squad status lights along the top of his vision flashed green.
"Alright people," Kodak began, flipping on his radio. "One more time. Matsuo and the ERCS boys are doing the grunt work - a full sweep of the labs, to make sure no one ditched quarantine to try and hide evidence. That leaves us the task of clearing the tower, hunting for VIPs and intel. Matsuo, I'll leave coordination of ERCS assets to you on channel 3."
"Acknowledged, Sevarus-san. Switching channels."
"As for us," Kodak continued as the ERCS contingent swapped comms channels. "Magpie Team, take the data archives, seventh floor. Raven Team, management suites on floor ten. Bluejay Team, floor eleven suites. Crow, with me, we're going straight for the control room on floor fourteen." The troops on his shuttle gave a series of sharp nods.
"Remember, this is not a hostile raid. I want safeties on and fingers off triggers. We are here to scare people and look tough, nothing more. Let's roll."
Bowman nodded one last time. "Copy that, ma'am. I'll start the alert as soon as you give the signal. Bowman out."
"Uh, sir," another voice interjected on another comm channel. "We've got two NDC shuttles just set down on Pad 12. They're not on our itinerary, should we...?"
"No worries, Jackson," Bowman answered. "That'll be the NSID guys. Let them through."
"You sure, sir? Looks like they came prepared for siege warfare or something." Jackson paused, but kept the comm line open for a moment as if trying to decide what to say next. "One of them has a grenade launcher, sir."
"Sounds like a good reason to let them through, Jackson."
"Uh, yes sir."
Shaking his head, he tapped a command into the security console, sending a message across the Peak 15 Security network affirming that the NDC's goon squads were allowed to be there.
It only took another few seconds for Matsuo to call again.
"Lieutenant, we're on site. If you could start now, please."
"My pleasure, ma'am." Taking his helmet off, he turned to the rotund man he shared his office with. "Sir, it seems like we have a situation in the labs. I recommend moving to the shelter," he lied, gesturing to the security shelter at the back of the control room.
"The labs?" Vass asked in a panic, face reddening. "Which lab?"
Which lab is the bioweapons one, again?
"Rift Lab 2, sir," he half-guessed. "I'm about to trigger a lockdown." Bowman didn't even have time to finish the sentence before Vass leapt from his chair and started running.
A corpo through and through, the useless bastard probably didn't know that Thoros-C only worked if you were exposed to the liquid form through physical contact - in fact, Bowman doubted he knew anything about the virus at all except that it was exceedingly dangerous and slated to make them billions from unscrupulous actors.
Having had his fun, Bowman turned back to his console and turned on the PA system.
"All staff, this is Security Control. A stage four biohazard lockdown is now in effect. Please report immediately to quarantine shelters and await guidance from security personnel. I repeat, a stage four biohazard lockdown..."
By the time the staff of Binary Helix learned that the NDC was coming to pay them a visit, it was already too late. Matsuo's plan to trigger a lockdown ensured that everyone working in the labs suddenly had much greater priorities than deleting any incriminating data they might otherwise have tried to hide, and it also conveniently kept them out of the way whilst Kodak's cybersec teams picked apart every file and terminal they could get their hands on for more information.
And after seeing what their records turned out (and hearing the borderline-deranged ramblings of their upper management once they realised just how much shit they were in), you couldn't help but think of that as a good thing.
Because if you'd been in their shoes, you wouldn't have waited for the authorities to come knocking before trying to get rid of some of this stuff.
Of course, a lot of the documents you receive are scientific research notes well outside your field, and Kodak's, for that matter, but Binary Helix has no shortage of scientific minds desperate for any kind of lifeline with the looming dissolution of their employer drawing ever closer, and some of the research they explain is fascinating.
Also, in places, fascinatingly stupid.
True to Director Urvan's words, Binary Helix had not continued their rachni breeding project (at least, not on Noveria). However, they had continued a related project, development of a biotoxin named Thoros. The initial version, based on the natural biotoxins of some Terminus pest or another, had been designed, under Saren's orders, to kill some exotic beast out in the frontier, at which it excelled.
Binary Helix, not seeing the value in a biotoxin that only killed one rare species far from civilised space, expanded the project into a more broadly-lethal variant, Thoros-B, and then, after that backfired and almost killed a bunch of their researchers, shifted focus again to Thoros-C, which was to be a whole range of bioweapons, each based on the Thoros core and aimed at a particular species. Apparently for no other reason than that they already had some rachni tissue samples on hand thanks to the leftovers from that experiment, Binary Helix added 'rachni' to the list of species they were targeting, and successfully created a version of Thoros-C that was deadly to them, but, whilst harmful, decidedly nonlethal, to everything else.
Since you only have records from the Noveria office, you don't have the full picture of what happened next, but shortly after the Thoros-C test results were made available to the rest of Binary Helix, another branch started requesting it in bulk, alongside rachni tissue samples. The researcher who helped explain the BH documents to the NDC Executive Board, a scrawny beanpole of a human named Himmler, confided that he'd initially assumed that the other group was just doing their own bioweapon testing, using the proven Thoros-C as a control, but acknowledged it was entirely possible and, in light of recent newsworthy events, even likely, that someone else had taken it upon themselves to breed or clone more rachni, using the Thoros-C as a way to keep populations in check in the event of outbreaks.
When asked why he thought that anyone would need bioweapons to use against the ostensibly-extinct rachni if they weren't intending on building an army of them, he couldn't provide an answer worth a damn.
But, in dumbing down the research notes his team had generated, he at least proved more useful to the Executive Board than the management team.
Deputy Director Vass appeared to be almost completely clueless as to what it was that went on in Peak 15, repeating insistently and at length that he only handled finance and facility management for the Noveria branch and had no idea about any plans involving the rachni.
Director Urvan was a little more useful, elaborating that he was aware that many of the staff previously assigned to Peak 15 had been reassigned to the same deep-space quarantine station somewhere in the ass-end of the Traverse, and admitted it was likely they were there for rachni-related reasons.
The only member of the management staff no one could reach was Meyla Va'moor, Binary Helix's representative to the Executive Board, who had gone completely silent during a holiday on Thessia and seemingly dropped off the grid entirely since then.
You wrap up your explanation, end the attached informational slideshow, and pass the metaphorical ball to the man and woman sitting on the other side of your desk.
Jondum Bau, Citadel Spectre, cocks his head ever so slightly to the side. "Interesting. Agent Ruve?"
"It lines up with our own investigation," the asari nods. "I trust you'll want to stay here and confirm this for yourself regardless?"
"Naturally."
"Excellent. I'll leave that in your hands, Agent Bau, and head for Utukku immediately. Good day, Administrator."
(Binary Helix Closed For Business)
(Quota Adjusted)
Whilst the NDC already has the legitimate means to perform an in-house audit and corruption sweep on any of their clients, the naturally very public nature of these investigations means that particularly smart saboteurs, spies, and other corrupt elements can obscure their activities and avoid the proper punishments for their actions. With the foundation of the NSID, a new avenue exists to perform more subtle investigations of corporate activities, although the hidden nature of these anti-corruption operations precludes their use for general financial auditing.
(May use Security or Administration die)
(Breakpoints: ??? - 10 Resources per die) (Removes corruption, counters dangerous events, other consequences unclear)
You don't often get roped into priority calls by the Chairman himself. Generally the point of your position is to handle all the important things so he can spend his time being useful elsewhere, doing press releases or mixing it up with the corporate elite of the galaxy to lure in more clients.
The fact that he's seen fit to contact you isn't really surprising on this issue, though. Given Binary Helix just made themselves the galaxy's foremost war criminals and it's probably the NDC's fault, it would be rather more surprising if he didn't see fit to call you.
The first thing you notice when you join the conference call is that it's a full-board meeting - every chair but one is filled. Even Korten Rugg has shown up, making this the first time you've seen or heard from him since your last performance review. The empty chair, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the one belonging to Binary Helix's former chief financial officer and long-term Executive Board member Meyla Va'moor.
Joining you at the table's hotseats are NSID Director Sevarus, ERCS Captain Matsuo, and her nominal superior, ERCS Director Sarun Toradul, head of their Noveria branch, the three of them filing into the call shortly after you do.
"Alright, Administrator, Directors, we'll make this quick, because time is of the essence." The Chairman begins, not even giving you a chance to say hello. "If we continue to stand by whilst Binary Helix flaunts every rule in the book, it hurts us two-fold. First, it makes us look weak, ineffective, if we aren't seen as exerting our power. We don't have many restrictions here so it's vital we're seen to enforce the few we do. They're restrictions we kept for a reason."
"Second, it makes the Citadel reconsider their stance of politely ignoring us. Our operations live and die on the Council accepting that the unrestricted research performed here is more beneficial than dangerous, and needless to say, Binary Helix is putting that in jeopardy."
"Specifically," Dalatrass Yimm interjects. "We've just received word from our contacts on the Citadel that the Council is about to come down on Binary Helix with all the force they can muster, and I trust you to realise that's quite a lot of force. If they decide to bring that force down on our heads, it risks destroying everything we've worked to build here."
"But if we've heard, Binary Helix will too," Rugg says simply. "If they haven't already. Which means they're probably about to do something stupid."
Dalatrass Yimm continues. "The Council are obviously going to send Spectres, and there's a good chance Binary Helix tries to cover up or delete any data they may have. But a Spectre will not be stopped so simply, and the last thing anyone wants is a Citadel cyberwarfare team coming in under supervision from a Spectre to poke around."
"Couldn't we just limit their authority?" Director Toradul asks. "Spectres only have the power we give them - if we tell them they're not permitted..."
Matriarch Anyela nods. "Under usual circumstances, Spectre authority on Noveria is limited, yes. These are not usual circumstances. I suspect if the human returned, she would see no problem in shooting her way up to, and then through, Peak 15 all over again, and we of the Board are inclined to let her. Frankly, whoever they send, we'll be lucky if they don't bring a Blackwatch Platoon or something with them. We can't conceivably prevent them from investigating Binary Helix by force, and ultimately, we don't want to."
"Quite the opposite, in fact," the Chairman explains. "What Dalatrass Yimm has proposed, and the Board has agreed to, is simple. We preempt the Spectres. They won't necessarily like it, but if your units can seize control of Peak 15 and make full copies of all of Binary Helix's records, we can present it to the Spectres as soon as they arrive. Give them a guided tour of the damn place, if they want. The important part is that we make it clear to the Citadel that we're more than capable of cleaning up in-house, as it were."
"Also serves as a reminder to everyone else," Rugg notes, chuckling. "Pay up or we'll invade your shit."
"I suppose you'd like us to... remove any sensitive data we find in the process?" Kodak asks.
"If there's anything that implicates the NDC, yes," the Chairman responds with a nod. "But otherwise, no. I know that Tevura and others have been keeping it off the front page as best they can, but Binary Helix's stock price has been tanking since the news broke, they've had entire research teams quit in protest, funding pulled, grants retracted. If they come out of this still solvent, I'd be amazed. Their ship may be deorbiting, but we see no reason to go down with it."
"Understandable. We should have no trouble justifying a seizure of assets, under colonial security rulings," you muse aloud. "Do... do we actually think they're breeding more rachni?"
"Not here," Matsuo confirms. "I had Lieutenant Bowman triple check every room in the building. Bioweapons and gene-mods, but no cloning." Turning to the Executive Board, she continues. "Which makes me wonder why exactly you want us to move in as well? We know there's not going to be any rachni there - the NSID teams should be more than sufficient."
"It's not a practical concern, Captain," the Chairman answers with a shake of the head. "It's about appearances. Binary Helix has rocked the boat too damn much, so we're cracking down hard. Fear will keep the other corporations in line."
Matsuo nods, seeming satisfied.
"If we're not sure whether or not they've heard about incoming action, I can set up a network buffer," Kodak suggests. "We might be able to intercept any warnings they would be sent, keep them in the dark a little. First they'll know we're coming to audit is when we knock on the doors."
"Do it," you say immediately, members of the board nodding in agreement.
Lieutenant Bowman rocked back and forth in his chair and tried very hard to resist the urge to get up and pace through the control room. Deputy Director Vass hated when he did that.
The control room wasn't a particularly big room, despite its relative importance - aside from his desk and the Deputy Director's, there were only four desks, most of which were never occupied. In theory, it was the room from which primary utilities such as facility-wide heating and power routing, and security features like cameras and patrol drones, were controlled in the event of Mira going offline. In practice, it was the room where he and the fat bastard sat and quietly watched movies on their omni-tools.
Well, the Deputy Director wasn't doing that so much nowadays - busy fretting over the status of his retirement fund, probably, given the way his company stock had to be plummeting. Instead, he seemed to spend all day consuming galactic news, reading and rereading emails, and generally working himself into a tizzy.
The radio at Bowman's desk beeped.
"Peak 15 Security Control, this is Captain Matsuo."
Deputy Director Vass shot him an agonised glare from the other corner of the room.
Bowman sighed and grabbed the radio headset. "Captain Matsuo, this is Ell-tee Bowman, Peak 15 control. How can I help, ma'am?"
"Bowman, can we talk privately?"
Vass's expression turned thoughtful. "What does she want?" he mouthed, but Bowman ignored him, instead swapping the radio headset for his combat helmet, taking a second to seal the helm and switch off the external mouthpiece.
"Alright, Matsuo, bucket on head. What's the go?"
"The NDC are worried about Binary Helix, we're moving in to secure the lab."
Bowman immediately sat up in his chair, earning him another confused look from Vass.
"Secure? Ma'am, there haven't been any breaches-"
"The board don't actually care about any breaches, Bowman, it's a publicity stunt. But they are concerned about the scientists. Worried someone might try to delete some incriminating data, destroy some samples, or hide some evidence."
Behind his visor, Bowman glanced at Vass, and considered that. "Okay, fair enough. What do you need me to do, ma'am?"
"First of all, we need to make sure no one tries anything stupid..."
On average, Peak 15 experienced four main waves of traffic - morning arrivals, the lunch rush in and out, and afternoon departures. Staff travelling outside those times, such as the workers attending the staggered overnight shifts, higher management and administration staff needing to commute between the lab site and the corporate office, and various other specialist staff not needed on site at all times, generally made up such a small proportion of the staff that the traffic they generated was barely notable.
Needless to say, the sudden and unannounced arrival of four NSID shuttles, eight ERCS APCs, and a pair of ERCS gunships was somewhat unusual. To say nothing for the fact that every single one of the transports was packed to the gills with the most veteran troops that could be mustered, clad in hazmat assault armour and armed for war. The APCs beelined for the garage, the shuttles breaking off to divert to the landing pads attached to the Peak 15 tower.
Aboard the foremost shuttle, Kodak Sevarus spared just a moment to look over his squad, the shine of their clean black armour and their hardened eyes. Nodding, he grabbed the helmet from between his legs and slipped it on, the HUD flashing as memos, tactical data, and squad indicators booted and synchronised with his suit's computer.
Diagnostic runtimes informed him of the status of his toxin filters (nominal), contained air supply (two hours), and current ammunition load (standard). A countdown timer in the corner of his field of view told him time-to-landing (not long now). A row of squad status lights along the top of his vision flashed green.
"Alright people," Kodak began, flipping on his radio. "One more time. Matsuo and the ERCS boys are doing the grunt work - a full sweep of the labs, to make sure no one ditched quarantine to try and hide evidence. That leaves us the task of clearing the tower, hunting for VIPs and intel. Matsuo, I'll leave coordination of ERCS assets to you on channel 3."
"Acknowledged, Sevarus-san. Switching channels."
"As for us," Kodak continued as the ERCS contingent swapped comms channels. "Magpie Team, take the data archives, seventh floor. Raven Team, management suites on floor ten. Bluejay Team, floor eleven suites. Crow, with me, we're going straight for the control room on floor fourteen." The troops on his shuttle gave a series of sharp nods.
"Remember, this is not a hostile raid. I want safeties on and fingers off triggers. We are here to scare people and look tough, nothing more. Let's roll."
Bowman nodded one last time. "Copy that, ma'am. I'll start the alert as soon as you give the signal. Bowman out."
"Uh, sir," another voice interjected on another comm channel. "We've got two NDC shuttles just set down on Pad 12. They're not on our itinerary, should we...?"
"No worries, Jackson," Bowman answered. "That'll be the NSID guys. Let them through."
"You sure, sir? Looks like they came prepared for siege warfare or something." Jackson paused, but kept the comm line open for a moment as if trying to decide what to say next. "One of them has a grenade launcher, sir."
"Sounds like a good reason to let them through, Jackson."
"Uh, yes sir."
Shaking his head, he tapped a command into the security console, sending a message across the Peak 15 Security network affirming that the NDC's goon squads were allowed to be there.
It only took another few seconds for Matsuo to call again.
"Lieutenant, we're on site. If you could start now, please."
"My pleasure, ma'am." Taking his helmet off, he turned to the rotund man he shared his office with. "Sir, it seems like we have a situation in the labs. I recommend moving to the shelter," he lied, gesturing to the security shelter at the back of the control room.
"The labs?" Vass asked in a panic, face reddening. "Which lab?"
Which lab is the bioweapons one, again?
"Rift Lab 2, sir," he half-guessed. "I'm about to trigger a lockdown." Bowman didn't even have time to finish the sentence before Vass leapt from his chair and started running.
A corpo through and through, the useless bastard probably didn't know that Thoros-C only worked if you were exposed to the liquid form through physical contact - in fact, Bowman doubted he knew anything about the virus at all except that it was exceedingly dangerous and slated to make them billions from unscrupulous actors.
Having had his fun, Bowman turned back to his console and turned on the PA system.
"All staff, this is Security Control. A stage four biohazard lockdown is now in effect. Please report immediately to quarantine shelters and await guidance from security personnel. I repeat, a stage four biohazard lockdown..."
By the time the staff of Binary Helix learned that the NDC was coming to pay them a visit, it was already too late. Matsuo's plan to trigger a lockdown ensured that everyone working in the labs suddenly had much greater priorities than deleting any incriminating data they might otherwise have tried to hide, and it also conveniently kept them out of the way whilst Kodak's cybersec teams picked apart every file and terminal they could get their hands on for more information.
And after seeing what their records turned out (and hearing the borderline-deranged ramblings of their upper management once they realised just how much shit they were in), you couldn't help but think of that as a good thing.
Because if you'd been in their shoes, you wouldn't have waited for the authorities to come knocking before trying to get rid of some of this stuff.
Of course, a lot of the documents you receive are scientific research notes well outside your field, and Kodak's, for that matter, but Binary Helix has no shortage of scientific minds desperate for any kind of lifeline with the looming dissolution of their employer drawing ever closer, and some of the research they explain is fascinating.
Also, in places, fascinatingly stupid.
True to Director Urvan's words, Binary Helix had not continued their rachni breeding project (at least, not on Noveria). However, they had continued a related project, development of a biotoxin named Thoros. The initial version, based on the natural biotoxins of some Terminus pest or another, had been designed, under Saren's orders, to kill some exotic beast out in the frontier, at which it excelled.
Binary Helix, not seeing the value in a biotoxin that only killed one rare species far from civilised space, expanded the project into a more broadly-lethal variant, Thoros-B, and then, after that backfired and almost killed a bunch of their researchers, shifted focus again to Thoros-C, which was to be a whole range of bioweapons, each based on the Thoros core and aimed at a particular species. Apparently for no other reason than that they already had some rachni tissue samples on hand thanks to the leftovers from that experiment, Binary Helix added 'rachni' to the list of species they were targeting, and successfully created a version of Thoros-C that was deadly to them, but, whilst harmful, decidedly nonlethal, to everything else.
Since you only have records from the Noveria office, you don't have the full picture of what happened next, but shortly after the Thoros-C test results were made available to the rest of Binary Helix, another branch started requesting it in bulk, alongside rachni tissue samples. The researcher who helped explain the BH documents to the NDC Executive Board, a scrawny beanpole of a human named Himmler, confided that he'd initially assumed that the other group was just doing their own bioweapon testing, using the proven Thoros-C as a control, but acknowledged it was entirely possible and, in light of recent newsworthy events, even likely, that someone else had taken it upon themselves to breed or clone more rachni, using the Thoros-C as a way to keep populations in check in the event of outbreaks.
When asked why he thought that anyone would need bioweapons to use against the ostensibly-extinct rachni if they weren't intending on building an army of them, he couldn't provide an answer worth a damn.
But, in dumbing down the research notes his team had generated, he at least proved more useful to the Executive Board than the management team.
Deputy Director Vass appeared to be almost completely clueless as to what it was that went on in Peak 15, repeating insistently and at length that he only handled finance and facility management for the Noveria branch and had no idea about any plans involving the rachni.
Director Urvan was a little more useful, elaborating that he was aware that many of the staff previously assigned to Peak 15 had been reassigned to the same deep-space quarantine station somewhere in the ass-end of the Traverse, and admitted it was likely they were there for rachni-related reasons.
The only member of the management staff no one could reach was Meyla Va'moor, Binary Helix's representative to the Executive Board, who had gone completely silent during a holiday on Thessia and seemingly dropped off the grid entirely since then.
You wrap up your explanation, end the attached informational slideshow, and pass the metaphorical ball to the man and woman sitting on the other side of your desk.
Jondum Bau, Citadel Spectre, cocks his head ever so slightly to the side. "Interesting. Agent Ruve?"
"It lines up with our own investigation," the asari nods. "I trust you'll want to stay here and confirm this for yourself regardless?"
"Naturally."
"Excellent. I'll leave that in your hands, Agent Bau, and head for Utukku immediately. Good day, Administrator."
(Binary Helix Closed For Business)
(Quota Adjusted)
Shinr
Lurking since December '98
3 points of profit down the drain, and that is for a good outcome of avoiding getting boinked by the Citadel.
Lets hope that BH left behind a lucrative vacuum for us to fill in.
Faith
Some idea of what I'm doing.
- Location
- Land of Waves and Warmth
It was always the plan for Binary Helix to escalate like this if given the chance. Their leadership are wildly ambitious, going far beyond the bounds of what most would consider safe. So ambitious it's almost self destructive. Almost... suspiciously ambitious? Nah, I'm sure it's nothing.
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We sure Saren didn't give any special gifts from his old buddy Nazara to other high ranking BH executives?
- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
Thanks QM! I have to admit I was a bit concerned that there might be something more to their irrational choices than rampant sudden onset stupidity, but now I can rest easy
I'm rather enjoying playing the role of "utter idiot". It's sorta kinda empowering to own it and feel like I'm being one by choice rather than as default. My point is, if my dumb-posts look to ever be seriously pushing a dumb argument/position please tell me, fellow threadgoers, and I'll knock it off.
Why would anyone IC even have reason to be concerned if he did or did not? (Edit: he totes did tho)
---
If this quest does reach reaper-war, one of the things I'd be looking to do is direct people to develop and implement practices and policies that help mitigate/impeed those vectors of indoctrination, but untill we know IC that there is even a danger, well... :/
Edit edit: Do ya know what's worse than an indoctrination device hidden in something innocent?
One that is hidden in something innocent but is also within scan resistant materials, and also also is only sometimes actively sending out a signal/energies
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Durabys
Miaow! Break the Chains!
- Location
- the land of the Boii
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oh...MEGA FUCK...
- Location
- Texas
So should we offer up Peak 15 to other Genetics labs on Noveria? Or should we try to bring in some new blood to take it over? Halsey Gene labs may be open to going to a more established Facility...
- Location
- Philippines
Wait a minute utukku? Thats where the rachni queen/breeder substitute was when the reaper war happened.
- Location
- Italy
well, they left a completely equipped bioresearch lab facility. and some research data that might be of value to other companies.
Even if the labs might need some modifications for the next client, it would definitely be easier than working on a new Peak's infrastructure starting from nothing.
- Location
- Somewhere, probably Earth
Well, at least we don't have a Spectre and their agent blasting their way through Noveria like a dervish on crack.
Again.
Yet.
God dammit Binary Helix why are you so cartoonishly evil.
. . . . It's been awhile, but... wasn't Binary Helix a human founded company IIRC *coughCerberuscough; clears throat* Oh, excuse me, something seemed to had gotten stuck in my throat.
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
Nobody got shot or did anything stupid and the Citadel isn't putting any blame on us. A successful operation. Now just to auction off all that seized Binary Helix property.
That bioweapon though. At least it seemed to be limited to touch only and each variant customized to be lethal to a single species only. So a very deadly poison but not a biosphere killer.
That bioweapon though. At least it seemed to be limited to touch only and each variant customized to be lethal to a single species only. So a very deadly poison but not a biosphere killer.
Halsey Gene Labs is the one with ties to Cerberus. Though Binary Helix probably did some work for the Lazarus Project.
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Um, that's the one with the Cerberus backer that made Miranda and her sister. Yes, it too were a human founded company, but I'm also, mostly certain, that Binary Helix was a human founded company as well. And given that in or out of cannon it wasn't a particularly bright company (wisdom dump stat speaking) that it'd be right at home with a Cerberus operation. Thus questioning whether or not it was a Cerberus company from the start (and thus an "operation" at it's core, hence all the derpy badness)
- Location
- California
Of course, it was the boogieman Saren, haunting Noveria from beyond the grave. Also, himmler is an unfortunate name for a human.
Durabys
Miaow! Break the Chains!
- Location
- the land of the Boii
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I think we should send this tidbit to Shepard. Let us cut down on future Reaper War troubles.
- Location
- Philippines
Well if in some improbable way, Shepard shows up again on Noveria, we could call in that favor she still owes us to not rock the boat too much while shes here. For clarification Halsey is the Cerberus front, while Binary Helix is the Saren/Benezia front right with ties to Cerberus as well? (Weird that they'd fund a human research group and that TIM would be okay with their meddling)
Also I find it kind of funny how most problems/crisis we had are mostly caused by humans or had a lot of human involvement. BH is a human company. Hassan Atomics had the Cerberus problem (and is also a human company). Shepard running around to cause shenanigans. Its not to say the other corpos didnt also have an egg on their face. The defense perimeter, the suspicious data leaks from Jaeto all had were annoying to deal with too.
Also I find it kind of funny how most problems/crisis we had are mostly caused by humans or had a lot of human involvement. BH is a human company. Hassan Atomics had the Cerberus problem (and is also a human company). Shepard running around to cause shenanigans. Its not to say the other corpos didnt also have an egg on their face. The defense perimeter, the suspicious data leaks from Jaeto all had were annoying to deal with too.
Err, no, Halsey isn't a Cerberus front. It's the company of a Cerberus backer that used it to make his daughters, Miranda and her little sister. They work with Cerberus, true, but it isn't a Cerberus company. There isn't any detail that Binary Helix is either, but as I've been pointing out, I'm almost certain that Binary Helix is a a human founded company. And given it's actions both within the games, and especially in this quest. We could make the supposition that Binary Helix is the Cerberus front genetic research company, given it's apparent tendencies to massively screw up deadly researches.
As for Saren/Benezia "meddling" with a Cerberus company... Harper is nothing, if not pragmatic in ME 2. And letting aliens fund research for deadly alternatives is actually right up his sleeve of tricks. So long as the human members of the company remain loyal to Humanity First, and Earth Second... and money third.
Me @ binary helix right now
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