Opposition

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

Don't worry, guys. I'll give you encouragement with a fresh daily shot of dank memes.

@The Bork Lazer

Truly the glue of the RP

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

@OppositionJ

Got it I'll start on the post ASAP.

@Prizrak

Assume then that @The Bork Lazer's post takes place after your arrival. He'll be editing you into it, so the two of you can proceed from there with the information Delilah has given Mackwell.

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

@OppositionJ

Taryn could take the call too. I wouldn’t mind her abruptly switching groups, maybe have the other characters radio in that the other didn’t show up and the decision is made amongst the group to send Taryn.

@Prizrak

Alright. As it seems like we've lost Hour Error, I'm going to go ahead and say we'll proceed without them. I've edited the last Delilah post and story post with small bursts of information directing Taryn to join them. If you could make your next post a transition to the Old Rail Stop, that'd be fantastic. We can just say you arrived shortly after Cass and Mackwell did. Thanks for the help with this one.

For everyone else in Group #1, all is well so you folks can proceed as normal. After the next round of posts, the debate is going to begin again.

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

@The Bork Lazer
At this point, if Hour Error doesn't come around by tomorrow, I'll write something out for what Emma would be doing and you can proceed. This is a bit of an unfortunate circumstance since it's now just Mackwell and Cass at the Old Rail Stop.

Perhaps one of the characters can move groups or something. I am unsure of what to do at this point in honesty.

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

Okay! I like the post, just one thing though. I didn't want to nitpick but I'll just go ahead and say that I didn't want the other characters to know Proctor's actual name bc he's paranoid someone might remember him as the guy who used to rival Jackson Rott back in the day, so he gave the campaign his fake name Richter Gamble to throw them off.

Also, do I smell a collab with @Prizrak ???

@Firecracker_

Right. I'd entirely forgotten about that. I'll edit the post.

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒t 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

𝕊𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤

ℕ𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟠𝕥𝕙, 𝟚𝟘𝟞𝟜 𝟙𝟡:𝟙𝟝

[𝕊𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕝], 𝕃𝕠𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘....

Campbell found himself falling into a nearby chair as he finished speaking. Not a moment later did S'venia begin to approach. The reporter's comments defaming Gatch seemed to only leave the candidate with his head in his hands and a nearly manic look in his eyes. In response, Campbell could only offer a single huff of air trying its damnedest to be a laugh. He couldn't find such an emotion through all the nerves. I'll... I'll definitely think of something. That or I'll lose." His unsure words were finished with an absent shrug. Campbell already looked like a defeated man, but at the very least he was prepared for whatever awaited him back on that stage, whether it was personal attack or being outwit by a company man.

Without thinking, Campbell took the computer from his media manager, pressing play as he stared into the void behind the screen. The frazzled demeanor of the candidate seemed to fall away if only for a moment while the series of video clips played out before him. As if the striking images of Campbell only moments ago reinvigorated any lost courage in the man, his composure fell back over him like a tidal wave. He was back. "Alright. This is it, yeah. Let's get it on the Net. Good work, S'venia." Just a moment later Campbell directed his gaze back to the suite door in the mess of commotion. The look of willful intent upon his face remained. "That seems like it might help..." Campbell shrugged. "Anything to sate the masses at this point. There ain't much else we can do. Stick to the sources you know will make a difference. I— ..."

Campbell trailed off, his eyes caught by the fluctuating light of a mounted television providing coverage of the debate. As much as his diminutive media team could accomplish in their own right, they would never be able to stop large-scale news outlets from putting all the spotlights on Gatch. Campbell's opponent hadn't left the floor of the lounge during the intermission. Swarmed by his colleagues, reporters, and supporters alike, he was in his element. Campbell needed to follow suit. Before the candidate could get down to business, however, Richter Gamble spoke up. His words certainly offered Campbell little in the way of comfort, but what Richter spoke was pertinent. Rott was gone, and no one in Campbell's network of information knew where he was. Taryn and Alton soon joined Richter in his concerns, both bringing up claims that were just as valid. The candidate started speculating aloud.

"Maybe Gatch knows where he is... Maybe he has something to do with Rott's absence in general." Campbell paused, heaving a lofty exhalation. Now certianly wasn't the best time for him to be worrying about it. Campbell bit his tongue slightly. "You're right. I'd say we need to keep tabs on him, but I imagine that isn't going to happen any time soon— if ever." It appeared as though Campbell was going to continue, but his voice was overpowered by the volume of the loudspeaker that soon sounded its own robotic message throughout the Central Square lounge. "The debate resumes in five minutes." Just as the alert arrived, so too did Delilah. In her facetious comments, Campbell almost lost the urgency of the situation.

Campbell steadied his breathing, turning to address the group before him as a whole. The best we can do is keep as many eyes around Central as we've got... Richter? Could be nice to see if we can find any Knights in the crowd." His eyes then shifted onto Taryn. "Delilah can stay on comms with the team at the Old Rail Stop, but they are short-staffed right now. If you speak with the Central Square staff, I think I can manage to get you a car over to them. I don't mean to take you away from all the action, but Cass and Mackwell might need some help with the machines." Campbell stepped away from the group once again, getting back to his pacing. This time around, however, there was a certain determination in his step. He looked to the clock.

"This is our last chance to get out on the floor boys. Alton? S'venia? I imagine you two could work some magic with the crowd so long as they aren't hounding me. I've gotta get back out on stage soon anyways. Everyone stay on deck and keep busy. If we want it, we're gonna have to pull this one back to our side. Nothing we haven't done before..." With a final regard to his team, Campbell convened with them for only a moment longer. The mayoral candidate sent a fierce gaze towards the doors. Without hesitation, the fire in his step picked back up and he headed for the lounge floor. Five minutes to spare.

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

I'd like to get started on a new post, but I'll wait for the next Dexter post

@Firecracker_

I'd like to get started on another post as well but it would make sense for me to wait until the next Campbell post.

@Prizrak

Coming up within the day.

@OppositionJ Should I wait for Hour Error before I make my next post?

@The Bork Lazer

I think it would be best if we gave them another day or two, but after that, I'll just momentarily control of Emma and we can proceed from there.

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

_{@The Bork Lazer}

𝕊𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤

ℕ𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟠𝕥𝕙, 𝟚𝟘𝟞𝟜 𝟙𝟡:𝟘𝟘

It's a strange feeling to say the least... That feeling of being... Undead? A ghost? A dead woman walking? Or maybe I'm the odd thing out.
The non-ghost. Something like that...

Delilah couldn't do any better to describe the absolute fatigue that overcame her aching body as she removed her experimental cyberdeck from her head. The ache was otherworldly. It made her feel immobile while simultaneously numbing her limbs just enough to feel weightless. She wanted to say that it wasn't abnormal, and for the most part it wasn't. Delilah had felt like this before— within her vast experiences spent in the simulation it was nothing new— but she would never get used to it. Her eyes floated down to the cyberdeck held in her limp arm hanging off of the side of her chair, then to the viral override units that lay atop her desk entirely out in the open. Somewhere inside herself, Delilah fought her own war.

But now wasn't the time for a fix. With the muddied fog that lined her thoughts, Delilah recalled Campbell's precarious scenario. She had been in and out of Labyrinth all evening, monitoring all sorts of media outlets, surveying what security resources she could tap into around Central Square, and maintaining communications with Campbell's newfound recon team. The thought of Campbell's distant campaigners forced the sluggish Delilah to bring up her comms on the monitor array before her. Within seconds, she had patched herself into Mackwell's Victory Ultra, whether such a feat could be accomplished with ease or required an override of the vehicle's simple AI was irrelevant.

"How's it going, Chauffeur? Are you in your tin can?" Delilah paused, calling out one last time with a "Hello?" Delilah heaved a heavy breath as she pushed herself up from the slumped position in her chair so that she could better access the array before her. While she was at it, Delilah brought the cyberdeck back up to her head and began fixing it to herself. The queen was ready to be re-crowned. Patching the communcations link into her Labyrinth connections was an easy feet, and soon Delilah was catapulted back into the nauseating neon cyberscape.

This time the moment of static crackling followed by Delilah's synthesized voice came through the driver's prism helmet. Whether Mackwell was aware of Delilah's connection to his internal headset wasn't entirely known to her. She had managed to pick up most of the crew's signals in a scan blast she'd sent out when they were all in close proximity of her equipment. Campbell had Delilah on comms for a reason, and she assumed that was it. "Come in Chauffeur!" As her second try to establish a connection with Mackwell failed, Delilah could only assume he had taken off the stuffy helmet. Seconds later, she amplified her volume all while surging through Labyrinth to bring up as much relevant information on their location as she could. Soon enough, the nearly inaudible static that may have been emitted from the interior of the helmet was now just loud enough to be alarming to someone not expecting it.

"Come on. Don't leave me all by myself. I'm here to help, you know... If you could believe that. Driver-boy?" Delilah spoke while she scanned over the slew of information beginning to surround her. It was remarkably easier than the layman would expect for a cyber jockey to exploit simple vulnerabilities in the Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics. By the time Delilah had jumped through the Cyberscape to the Old Rail Stop, she had already found her way into a number of the few remaining surveillance cameras that were operable in the area as well as the Rail Stop's electric grid itself. Unfortunately, her view was rather limited as any electronics in the nearly abandoned structure were either bordering on broken or the voting machines and any cameras she found were away from the Rail Stop. What kind of dead project would have cameras inside it anyways?

"Well that's interesting... These voting machines are definitely... different than the ones over in Central..." There was a knowing tone to the electronic voice transmitted through Mackwell's helmet. Only Delilah, however, would know that her 'knowing' tone was complete bullshit. The differences in the machines' ICE were easy to spot, but unless she cracked through them, any software differences wouldn't be known. Finding out if the hardware had been tampered with would be even more of a pain. Delilah supposed that was why Campbell hired other people as well. "And they're set up awfully. Isn't there supposed to be a standard number of machines per voting zone? I'm counting only three in there..."

A rattling of the fabric of Delilah's cyberscape shook her to a pause. She had set an alarm to pull herself out of whatever sort of slumber, altered-state, or Labyrinth she was in so that the team could confer. The clowns at the Old Rail Stop would have to wait. "Shit. I'll be right back. The boss needs me— probably..." She jacked out, leaving Mackwell as quickly as she had joined him.

As the queen removed her crown, she stumbled up from her chair towards the office door. Just a moment later, Delilah flung it open to enter the main floor of the team's suite. She stood out immediately. While most of the team was dressed formally for the event, Delilah spent most of her time behind as many closed doors as there were available to her. As such, she was wearing nothing more than her usual t-shirt, leggings, and skirt. The girl hadn't even had shoes on, though most of the team had probably expected that already. Delilah had a habit of claiming that she 'worked better in Labyrinth in socks' despite the cyberdeck rendering her entirely unconscious and unaware of her body. Those hacker types always had their damned superstitions. She was no exception.

"Get ready for the big moment, big guy. Everyone's watching, and I mean not just the people out there. Despite the strain it caused her to use her cyberware in such a sad state, the struggling Delilah was momentarily surrounded by miniature holographic fireworks. The hologram fizzled out seconds later, however, as if by malfunction. All's quiet with the other guys," she said, almost entirely speculating. "But something is definitely screwy with the machines. Both mechanical and software issues? Not quite sure yet."

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

Delilah post will be finished once I'm out of class today followed by a general group #1 post to help move everyone along into action around the rally.

I'm still hoping we'll see from @Hour Error soon before I push group #2 along.

𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖

Alright! Things are moving along well. My plan is to give group #1 another round or two of posts before anything goes down, because there's a lot you can do in this massive scene. Thoughts on that?

I'll put a post for Delilah in that group with whatever haste I can manage.

Group #2 is just waiting on Emma, then get ready to get busy.