[b]Anthropozine Channel: Main[/b]

[b]NeonCzolgoz[/b]: I- One sec
[i]NeonCzolgoz has changed their nickname to LatheOfHeathen[/i]
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: yeah okay
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: i think we're going a bit too literal with this now
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: not complaining though, taking it literally has been rad as fuck and i live for all these takes
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: but i think wheen le guinn wrote it it was like, about the third world as much as anything
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: no ethical consumption under capitalism and yet you participate in capitalism 
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: so if you live in the decadent west, when you become woke, why don't you go off and join... I dunno, whatever NGO wasn't shit back then
[b]JuntaSThompson[/b]: The kid being a literal kid is way more fun though
[b]NumbToNothing[/b]: I kin the garbage closet martyr child
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: yeah you know what fuck it 
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: don't know why i said something so clearly wrong and boring
[b]LatheOfHeathen[/b]: this went somewhere way cooler anyway

[b]November:[/b]

[b]Orange:[/b]

There are two different reactions to consider here. 

Crystal’s is restrained, calculating, thoughtful. She wears a relaxed poker face with the faintest hint of an indulgent smile, as she takes a half-teaspoonful of a whipped mousse that is to a 2020s tastebud what a Cheese Supreme Dorito would be to the Dickensian orphan. She considers this. There is no impression she is about to walk away; Only that she is considering what it means that she is about to say yes. But such a critically incriminating posture must be guarded and dismantled like a ticking bomb. 

Fiona, though? Fiona’s eyes flare. You can hear the klaxons between her ears, the jitter in her fingers as she drops her cutlery and starts ghost-typing on the table as she types on a keyboard only she can see, already drafting introductions. Her thoughts are broadcast thus; [b]BE GAY DO CRIMES[/b]. 

“I love how [i]interesting [/i]you are.” Crystal begins. “But now, we must know.”

“That is to say, you have to tell us.” Fiona chips in. 

Crystal gives Fiona a sidelong look. “How deep in this are you? What are the risks? How likely are you to get caught?” 

“How can we help?” Fiona adds. Crystal winces in frustration. 

“Must you?” She asks, and Fiona grins back, in a way that makes it clear that ‘grin’ and ‘smile’ are not synonyms. 

“I must.” Then, with a teasing inflection. “I’m just skipping to the part you’re going to end up, anyway. [i]Allons-y,[/i] love[i].[/i]” 


[b]November:[/b]

Team Strawberry has eyes, now. The camera feed goes back two weeks, then compressed to shit to keep another six months, then deleted unless manually flagged for archival. Goat’s vault has one clear entry point. Roughly once a week - on a random schedule - a small team of maintenance workers - never less than two, never more than five - went into the one entryway, disappeared for an average of half an hour, then came back out. Actual eyes on the location show that doorway is just a blind turn left, and standard electrical panels. Secret door, clearly. 

But that information made it to Waffle, with time to prepare for this. There were a few breach points to pick. There’s the ‘ceiling’ directly across from Goat’s jack into the station. Normally it's the inside of a pipe that feeds the Cloud. That’s the thinnest cut point, almost definitely being borrowed for water cooling. You’re going to have a window where it’s empty, but it’d be up to Team Flood to make sure that it [i]stays[/i] empty long enough to be an exit channel. Otherwise the Cloud will be spitting pieces of Waffle down on soy fields for days. 

There was also the ‘back’, through a rail line shaft. Half a meter of space-age alloy walling to cut through, but plenty of open space and a fast egress. Your cover makes the heavy tools you need plausible, and the microgravity makes more things count as 'handheld'. Sometimes the best safe cracker is a thermal lance, just make sure you're not trying to get paper bills from the inside. 

Finally, there’s the front door. How did it go, with Persephone? "Accessibility demands concessions from security?" The gate is the weakest part of the castle wall, but defense is usually centered around it accordingly. If your number one priority is not risking any damage to Goat from your smash and grab? This is the safest option.

What did you choose? 

This is it. Last decision before the bell rings. The end of strategy and the beginning of tactics.