[ Kitty's voice is cheerful, girlish, and energetic. She hasn't been around lately: the effects of getting out the warning about the invasion of Olympus had intense physical effects on her, and a long period of unconsciousness has been followed by a period of working hard to recover from that physical weakness. So this post's chipperness is partially motivated by the fact that Kitty's persona/alias Lizzie is just a chipper person, and it's partially motivated by the fact that Kitty wants to prove to herself that she's recovered and in good health and spirits. So...Honestly, that energy is frankly bordering on manic. ]

Hullo, Zion! Or at least the network-users of Zion. It's Lizzie again.

A few things. The first of these things, I think, is going to make some of you quite happy. I expect a lot of you remember the restaurant I work at - Cafe Modak - it's the one with the best food in the whole city, so you might have heard of it. If you pay attention to those sorts of things. Anyway, Chef and Mrs Dutt - that's our owner - are putting together a little celebration dinner, for the people who helped defend Olympus. And also when I say little celebration dinner, I actually mean that it's going to basically be a feast. Everyone's invited, but people who helped out get to eat free. So if you've got any dishes to request, just request them here, and I'll pass it along to the two of them.

Anyway, the second thing is that we really don't all know each other so well, do we? I mean, we do all use this, but I hardly know any of your names. Or anything about you. So we ought to play one of those silly games like they make you do, to get comfortable with the people around you. So...How about we play a few rounds of two truths and a lie? If you all know that game. Or you could do a little introduction speech. Or just talk about your favorite sims, if you do sims.

[ Translation: let me pick your brains and figure out what sorts of people you are. ]

[The Real again.

You all have the same orders, or close enough. Forty-eight hour rotations for teams, twelve-hour shifts for every woman and man, five ships available if you include the two Olympians that survived. Formal crew assignments are less rigid these days, though some captains insist. Commissioned or not, your task is to find the ejected control unit of the Harbinger, which measures twenty by twenty feet, wherever it scuttled off to in the tunnels. Sounds big. Sounds easy— if you've never been into the tunnels.

The comms line is clear now. As your hovercraft floats its sensors and lights through cold darkness into the next gruelling hour, the chatter offers some measure of comfort. Young or old, chafed by habitual smoking or clear as a singer's, these voices accompany you through what was so recently enemy territory.]

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OOC: This post represents casual network spam and navel-gazing while characters are on this mission! Your characters can participate while on-duty or between shifts. No plot action/modding will occur in this post unless otherwise requested.

The search lasts 1 week, and personnel determine early on that the control unit must have hidden rather than escaped all the way back to the Machine home base.

Additionally, an addendum about the fates of the Phoenix and Nidhoggr are here. Players are welcome to take rotations with the Shangrila instead, and play it loose with schedules.

[ When the network is finally rebooted and online, there is a message waiting for all. It is a digital rendering of video footage, although to the naked eye, it may as well be video in high definition. The background is completely white but without glow, and there is a man in view -- his hair is a distinguished shade of silver, and he is well dressed.

He speaks calmly and at a cool remove. ]

I am the Architect.

Your city was involved in a battle against a quantity identified as the Reapers. Subsequently, many of you will have questions about the nature of this enemy. I am not here to provide them for you. I am here to tell you what it was not.

The deplorably fractious nature of your leadership and human alliances should make you familiar with the concept of division. Plainly put, I honour the Treaty struck between Machine and mankind and so too do the machines affiliated in that alliance. There are groups that would see the Treaty dissolved completely, and ergo, are a threat to all that uphold it.

Do not compromise our peace because you can't tell the difference.

If you, as a species, wish to build a future upon this planet, you will need to look first into the past. A fact of life my contemporary is prone to neglecting.

[ ooc ; please note the architect may not reply to everyone or may terminate conversation suddenly. he's not into baking. ]