>>6153227The L4 Operator’s standard office, the one outside of the aberrant studies section, is one you know to be soundproofed away from the typical clerk staffed offices. You’ve come to understand that there is a barrier, a very clear wall of trust. It was obvious at the start; you’re still not allowed on most floors. At first I thought it was simple paygrade, simple authority. Do better and you’ll be let in. But now, you’re wondering now just where that threshold lies.
As you enter the room, you see Sumika sitting at her desk with her Stormwatch hat on. Even from sitting at the desk, poorly suited for her abnormal stature, you have to raise your head to meet her gaze. The one eye not caught by hair levels at you with a pained look. Not angry or sad. Just an intense look that you'd usually find on L3 Kiikoinen.
Your asian friend looks particularly grim today. What she has to say must be terrible.
Or perhaps she has always looked like this and you only just noticed.
“Jarnafeldt. Shut the door,” Nonoka says coldly. “We need to talk. About the person who intercepted your signal.”
With a nervous gulp and the sealing of the heavy wooden door carved to absorb sound, soft foam boarders sealing every little crevice. You looked around the stark room; there seemed to be no cameras or devices here. You are where only the gods can hear you. After many restless nights, you sometimes wonder if they even try to.
Taking a seat, her urgent explanation continued. “Our audio recordings are server side. We were cut off from you. We don't know what they could have been trying to tell you. What they could be telling other Stormwatch agents later. Telling them before. And even now. <span class="mu-i">Did you hear them say anything?</span>”
<span class="mu-b">When it happened before, you initially claimed that your signal was intercepted and they started raving at you over harsh static that caused you to discard your headset. You did this because you believed they were capable of hearing what was being said, as well as having deniability.</span>
>Come forward with the whole truth. It’s Sumika, you trust her, and some things aren’t meant to be said over radio, which is of course monitored.>Say that you heard the voice tell you that to get to L3, you have to kill a child for the Stormwatch.>Say that they introduced themselves as an Old Oak before rambling about nihilistic nonsense.>Stick to the story; you heard nothing of real importance.>Write in 