Video - Four days after Malicant's message

[highprofilerichkid]

[Malicant has made his move, and Tony has decided that it's time for the Foreigners to step up their game. Starting with their communication network. As Bakura demonstrated, the consoles are no longer safe from Malicant's prying eyes (if they ever have been).

After a marathon troubleshooting session with Akito, Tony has also concluded that if a truly secure secondary network is going to happen any time soon, there's going to need to be a lot more people working on it. His time and resources are stretched thin, and he needs help.]

The consoles are not secure. I don't know if anywhere is, but we can actually do something about the consoles, at least. I know there've been some attempts to encrypt the console traffic and a couple false starts at a secondary network. I think it's time to get down to business and get a fully independent secure mobile network up and running, as soon as possible.

Magic is too susceptible to influence, so this network is going to be strictly technological. Pure tech and heavy encryption give us the best chance of shutting out our nosy neighbor.

If you have any expertise with radio, electronics, or telecommunications - anything that might be helpful - get in touch. Engineering, physics, cryptography... Hell, if you worked a summer job in IT. I want you here at Stark Industries.

Also, if any foreigners from higher-tech worlds brought any stuff along with them that they don't mind giving up, I'd like to take a look at it. Electronic devices like cell phones would be the best. A lot of post-industrial-revolution consumer goods contain minerals and compounds that are hard to get a hold of here, and we'll need as much of those as we can get.

And one more thing: I've put together a dozen... self-defense devices. Nothing big, but enough to give you a few seconds if you're in a tight spot. Distributing them to the turtle parents is the top priority, but if there are any left over, it's first come first serve. If you want one, meet me at SI and I'll give you the rundown here.

[private to ALL TURTLE PARENTS]

The fewer people are bonded to each turtle, the more vulnerable they are. Protecting the turtles means protecting their parents, so you all get first dibs on the toys. Anyone who's interested, send me a message and I'll set one aside. And come to SI as soon as you can.

[private to AYA, RICHIE FOLEY, CLARK KENT, DONATELLO, and MIKE WESTON]

I'm contacting you all specifically because I know you have tech skills or because Aya told me that you've worked on the secondary network in the past. We need you in on this.


---


((ooc: For the sake of security, Tony will only be describing the self-defense gadgets in person. Anyone who comes to SI to claim one will be given the following information:

There are six aversive devices [remaining: 4]. They consist of a slightly concave hemisphere - sort of like a very thick-walled bowl - that fits in the hand. They work on a principle similar to the Active Denial System. When they are held with the concave side facing out, and a button on the side is pressed, they emit a ten-second burst of radiation that, while harmless, causes immediate and intense discomfort to any person standing in range. Anyone without extreme magic- or drug-enhanced pain insensitivity will be compelled to move out of range. The area of effect is a wide cone that extends out about thirty feet. Each device has enough power for two bursts before it must be recharged.
[claimed by: Enjolras, Annabeth]

There are six force field generators [remaining: 5]. These are devices are disk-shaped, with about the same dimensions as a restaurant pager. Press the large button on top, and they will generate a transparent force field bubble about six feet in diameter. The field lasts about six seconds under ideal conditions, but may collapse sooner than that if it is interacting with a lot of matter (e.g., if the person holding it is swimming, or in tall, dense grass). The field can be moved, and will remain centered on the device when in motion (in other words, you can run with it). Each device has enough power to generate one force field before it must be recharged.
[claimed by: Raine]

Both devices can be recharged at any console, or at Stark Industries.))

Comments

Action:

[solo_patria]

[At the message, Enjolras is making his way over to Stark Industries, leaving Taraja, for now, in the care of her other parents, though he's careful to keep his mind link with her open for the explanation of how everything to protect them will work. As with many things, she may understand them better than Enjolras himself, after all.

After he's arrived, Enjolras is taking a look around, considering that he's not been here before. His work with communications is hardly anything to provide an answer here, but even so, he has a few ideas, learned from others along the way. For now, he's shifting on his feet a little, waiting.]

[highprofilerichkid]

[Only minutes after posting his message, Tony is notified of his first visitor. Wow, that was fast.

He sticks his head into the lobby and sees a somewhat familiar face.] Uh... Enj. [He's not even going to attempt the full name. It's impressive enough that he remembered the nickname. He hasn't seen much of the guy since his first day, when they spoke on the console.]

Good to see you. Or, well... maybe not, under the circumstances. [He smiles tiredly.] But thanks for coming. You've got a turtle, don't you? Want to take a look at the gadgets?

[solo_patria]

[Honestly, it's not like Enjolras is doing a lot since everything went down. The paper idea has been shelved for the moment in favor of keeping himself out of the path of any mistrustful kedan these days. Why increase the stress, right? At any rate, he's giving Tony a nod and a grin at the fact he recognizes him.]

I am with Taraja, yes. I'd certainly be interesting to see what you have been working on.

voice;

[andaway]

I'll help in any way I can. The radio seemed to be working fine as a secondary network once Aya played around with the receptors, but once the consoles got back on it seemed unnecesary to keep on using them.

video;

[highprofilerichkid]

That's the problem. The consoles are easy because they're already set up. Every time they go on the fritz, we fall back on them as soon as we think they're working again. If we're still depending on them when shit really hits the fan, and our enemy decides to take the network down, we'll be dealing with a communications blackout at the worst possible time. It's done it before, I'm betting it can do it again, no matter what security measures we have in place.

video;

[andaway]

I completely agree. I never really trusted a technology that was basically handled to us by them on our arrival, but Mali’s way of repeatedly invading it makes it pretty obvious we need to find an alternative.

The radio devices are ready to serve as a two-way communicator, though.

text; 100% encryption, later in the day

[wrathfulkhan]

I need to talk to you. It's important.

Re: text; 100% encryption, at the end of the day

[highprofilerichkid]

Just finished up for the day. Where do you want to meet?

text; 100% encryption, at the end of the day

[wrathfulkhan]

Are you still in the lab? I can meet you there.

private video: 100% Encryption

[looksfine]

[Given recent past conversations, Aya was unsurprised when the message reached her. It took very little consideration on her part before replying.]

I believe you are already aware that I am willing to be of assistance in any way you require, Tony Stark.

video; 100% Encryption

[highprofilerichkid]

Thanks, Aya. [Despite the seriousness of the situation, he actually smiles a little.] I'll let you know how things go.

[He'll be keeping her in the loop as volunteers and supplies trickle in so that they can formulate a game plan together. Normally, he prefers working solo, but with her regular presence at Stark Industries, her technical know-how, and her familiarity with the status of communications in Keeliai, he's sort of come to regard her as his... partner? co-conspirator? in this project.]

oh so public

[oneofthegoodguys]

Mike Weston. [And he does not look pleased.]

With all due respect, Mr... ? We've been working on an isolated network for months. Any "false starts"- [There are air quotes and everything.] -are the result of people disappearing against their will and I don't appreciate you demeaning or minimizing both their loss and their hard work in the time that they were present and contributing.

Here's the problem: The Big Bad Wolf is a technopath. From what I can gather, that means he has a hand in anything and everything with any sort of technological component, regardless of where it came from. On a small scale, we've found that he tends to leave us alone. I have a small self-sustained network in my suite, for example, that Dick Grayson and River helped me to build. It features an isolated database that has yet to show any sign of leaked data. Anything larger, however, risks infection or unwanted involvement.

The last time anyone tried to build a technological loophole, every console - and some private systems - caught a virus that made using them nearly impossible and knocked out all securities or encryptions for months. I don't want to repeat that.

[He sighs.] I'm not saying you shouldn't pull people together and continue working on something new - you should, and I'll help if I can. All I'm saying is to do your research, know what you're getting into, and watch who you're insulting in the process.

public right back atcha, Negative Nancy

[highprofilerichkid]

[And Tony looks annoyed. What bug crawled up your ass, Mike?]

Did I say anything about them? I'm sure they were great and all, but the fact is, there's still no network up, and we need to do something about it. I know lots of good people put a lot of work into this before they got pulled home, but it's the people who are here now who need to build off what they did. If you've got a problem with that, take it up with whoever's putting people on the bus. ["And get off my case," is the unspoken implication.

But a lot of this information is new to Tony, and troubling. Though he's clearly still riled by Mike's attitude, his tone is serious (if a little clipped).] If it's a technopath, then I guess you're lucky I am too. [He glowers a little.] And even if it is, I can think of a couple ways to do this that'll make it a lot harder for it to mess things up. But I need to know more about that virus, and what vulnerabilities it exploited.

If you can help with that, I'd appreciate it. If not, I've got a bunch of other people who are helping that I need to talk to. [Who won't waste their time lecturing him.]

And it's Stark, by the way. Tony Stark.

action;

[skeletonenigma]

[The message reminds Skulduggery of something important he'd been planning to do before he was poisoned, crippled, nullified, and woke up to dead turtles. It doesn't seem quite so important anymore, but he's never underestimated the power of normalcy - despite all appearances to the contrary. Besides, the message gives him an excuse.

So he drives the Bentley over to Stark Industries, turning on the engine for the first time since discovering the car in the jungle off the continent shore, and he's pleased to discover it remains as smooth as it always has. Should that be ruined, he'll know exactly who to blame.

He turns to the first person coming out of the building and tips his hat.] Yes, hello. I'm looking for Tony Stark. I have something for him.

[highprofilerichkid]

[This visitor is waiting outside - a little unusual, but when Tony exits the building, he sees why.]

Oh, wow, [he says appreciatively, admiring the sleek 1950s Bentley - in perfect condition - parked outside. He's so taken with the car that it's a couple seconds before he notices the person attached to it. Oh, hello there, Skeleton Man.] This is yours? [He sounds impressed.]

action;

[peacefullywreathed]

[He dislikes using the consoles for these very reasons, which is why he shadow-walks directly to the disconnected series of deaths he now knows belongs to Tony, appearing behind him in a swath of shadow. And then, because he can:]

Boo.

[highprofilerichkid]

[These days, Tony doesn't leave the door to his lab open. Nor does he leave the closed doors unsecured. He has all sorts of security measures rigged up that should alert him if anyone tries to enter his lab uninvited.

These security measures do not, unfortunately, encompass shadow-walking.

Which is why Solomon's entrance takes him completely by surprise. He leaps up and whirls around, knocking over the stool he'd been sitting on, and falls immediately into a fighting stance. The armor, which Tony now keeps within sight almost constantly, starts to disassemble and fly across the room towards him, and he's already got the gauntlets on and powered up before his conscious brain finally catches up and he realizes he's pointing them at someone he recognizes.]

Solomon?! [He nixes the Extremis command to summon the armor, and the parts of the suit that he's not already wearing halt in their transit and lock back together. (This has the decidedly creepy effect of the armor dismantling itself and suddenly reassembling about twenty feet closer.)]

Holy shit. Don't— don't sneak up on me like that! Do you want a repulsor beam through the chest?! [Tony powers down the gauntlets and yanks them off, then tosses them onto the table behind him. He runs his fingers through his hair. He's obviously shaken.] How did you even do that?

video; turtle-parent lock

[gistful]

I have a carry-radio from the Second World War. It has been non-functioning for some time, though we were able to get it working temporarily a month ago.

[Pause.]

I would also like to request a defensive item for my co-parent Raine Sage.

[Anton won't need one as much as Raine would, and she's a healer besides; the greatest defenses always went to the healers in war.]

video; 100% Encryption

[highprofilerichkid]

Raine? Absolutely. [Raine is good people. Tony certainly wants to make sure she gets one.] And I'll take the radio, if you're offering. If you or Raine can bring it over here, I'll trade you.

[Action]

[theideaguy]

[Sokka may not entirely fit the bill that Tony Stark is looking for; most of his technological innovations aren't exactly the sort Tony Stark might find immediately useful when it came to building a communications network, but Sokka is certainly adept at picking up engineering-related things fast, so that might help? And while he doesn't know this Tony character in the slightest, what he's saying certainly makes a ton of sense.

[After finally having to return home for a night or so due to those ever so inconvenient spirit lanterns, Sokka isn't over at Stark Industries right away but at least the next afternoon. He doesn't really know what to expect from this place, and so he merely wanders around the lobby or otherwise entrance, seeing if there's anything interesting to look at until Tony gets there.

[And besides, he also happens to be incredibly interested in whatever turtle-related protection Tony might happen to have, though certainly Tony might not know about that quite yet.]

[highprofilerichkid]

[Tony's back in the lab the next day - a little late, and more than a little distracted, but there nonetheless - both to work, and to be around in case anyone else shows up to respond to his message on the network.

He's left the lab to grab some coffee and is on his way back when he spots someone loitering in the lobby, looking like he's waiting for something. Maybe this is one of his stragglers.]

Hey. Do you need any help? You looking for someone?

[i_speak_softly]

[Donatello is barely functional right now, but he manages to get to the console anyway. Picking himself up and following orders is kind of his specialty.]

What do you want me to do?

[highprofilerichkid]

Anything you know or any materials you have leftover from working on the network in the past will help. And there will be plenty of work once we've decided what our game plan is, so if you know what you're doing, I could use the extra pair of hands.

action;

[sophos]

[Annabeth doesn't bother with the message - the next time she hears Tony milling about in the kitchen, she makes her way for it. Her expression is stern, but that's fairly standard for her.]

So what's this device?

[Haha, formalities. She jumps right into what she wants, curious.]

[highprofilerichkid]

Huh? [Tony turns, a piece of french toast raised halfway to his mouth. He puts the toast back down on the plate, somewhat reluctantly (what? he's hungry!).]

Oh, from the console message. They're all at the lab right now, but I can bring one back for you. There's actually two different kinds.

[He goes on to give a brief description of the devices and how they function.]

Interested? [While waiting for her answer, he takes the opportunity to stuff about half of the entire piece of french toast in his mouth.]