maskormenace | 003

003 | VOICE

[ Cassandra's voice sounds nearly gone. And it sounds close- this is on the mental link, not her communicator. The communicator's smashed. (Many things are smashed, but this is voice, not video, thankfully.) She hasn't bothered to get a new one yet. ]

So if you were one of those shitheads who kept whining about how "oh, those Gods, they ruin everything", you're in fucking luck, because now three of them are gone. So if you had some sort of hang-up on Baphomet setting shit on fire, or Persephone and that flooding issue which, by the way, was her saving your asses, or with Dionysus- I, I don't know-

[ There's a brief pause. This hurts. She shouldn't be talking about it, and not in public. But she's already too far in. ]

You can just keep it all to your fucking self. It doesn't matter anymore. What a great time it is for you.

And- if you had some sort of problem with Rex, who knows what the hell that would be, and he doesn't come back- then you'd better keep that to yourself, too. Before I fucking rip your fucking mouth off.

[ There's quiet, for just a bit too long. Then, softly: ] What am I doing.

[ The feed cuts off. ]

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That's a hell of a lot of people to lose at once. I'm sorry, Cassandra.

You're telling me. Thanks.

[ Honestly, she prefers this- someone who can get right to the point. By the time she gets the message she's cooled down a bit, looking for things to distract herself. Jacob provides a perfect opportunity. ]

Weren't you just on another planet? How'd it go?

[Jacob's voice perks up in enthusiasm as she brings up the mission.]

Technically on another Moon, but- it went better than I expected. We kicked ass, and that base isn't going to be a problem again. Found out a few things too.

Only casualties were a couple team members who got hit with radiation, and... Phobos itself. OTO doesn't mess around when they make a self-destruct.

Hell. Hope we didn't lose too much. At least we don't need to worry about getting destroyed in a nuclear explosion from space any time soon, right?

[ She doesn't like knowing there's nothing of the base left to be investigated- but she'd rather have it completely gone than still functioning. ]

Who got irradiated?

Me and another Aegis agent. Both of us are bouncing back, though. The nanites can work wonders.

[He's not going to disclose 622's condition- for all he knows, the trooper prefers to keep it discreet.]

The nukes are out of commission, and we got plenty of evidence to follow up on. Even some prisoners. We can call this one a success.

Well, don't destroy yourself or anything, Jesus. [ She doesn't know Jacob well enough to fuss over him or anything, but she doesn't like the sound of him acting like that's something normal. ]

But- that's good. Something actually substantial, for once. Let me know if you need any help working through what you've got, alright?

[ In another time, she'd be excited to make that request. Now she just sounds gutted. She thinks working will make her feel better; but it won't, really. ]

You've got it. We're still working on processing everything we came back with... there's a lot of data, and a lot of pieces to put together. But we'll be releasing a report to everyone within the month. No secrets here.

You don't need to worry about me, either. It's all part of the job- and it was worth it, to get this done.

[He is so done with worrying about shit from Mars.]

I wish everyone saw it that way.

[ But she's a bit less vehement than she would be about that, in another time. ]

Thanks for the well wishes, anyway. Especially considering you must be feeling pretty shitty yourself.

No problem. There's plenty of feeling shitty to go around, right? Too bad none of the really bad people ever seem to get Ported out in groups.

[Like Woden, for instance. Jacob hasn't faced him personally yet, but he saw what the Shamtheon did to all four cities.]

You'd think if Lachesis was so omnipotent she'd want to kick out the assholes, right?

[ She rubs her forehead. ] But she's probably not omnipotent right now, is she. Just one of our many problems.

Yeah... no idea what happened to her after the time loops. But if you ask me, I feel safer with her gone than having her hovering around. I'd rather face problems on my own two feet than rely on some all-powerful asshole that treats people like playthings.

Then again, I can't rewind time. We might end up missing having that on our side.

Normally, I'd feel the same way. But with Atropos apparently screwing around somewhere? I don't fucking know anymore.

[ A pause. ] God, I don't feel like I know anything these days.

[Trying to be encouraging:]

From what I've seen, you know plenty. More than most people here, maybe. And we all know a little more thanks to you. Hell, without you, we'd all have no idea Atropos was even around.

Yeah, and that was a fluke. We couldn't even find the person, god, whatever we were actually looking for. And...I'm not inclined to look that way again, considering the apocalyptic potential of the whole shitshow.

[ Usually she just sounds angry about that. Now, Jacob may be able to find a bit of worry in her tone. ]

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend a second try. But that's not the point. The whole reason we know better in the first place is because you thought to try something nobody else had. Now, maybe we've got a chance. Beats not knowing, right?

[ A short sigh- she's never sure what to say when other people are so right, especially when she's in a bad mood. ]

Key word there is maybe. But- sure. I just wish I had actual progress I could tell you about.

Well, here's some good news from Mars: the OTO is in way over their heads with her. They didn't have firm contact or any kind of real alliance.

The bad news is that it sounds like she has it out for us in a bad way.

So... [ Her voice sounds duller than one would expect from this kind of revelation. ] Basically what we expected. OTO are dangerous, but they're dangerous idiots. And Atropos still wants to swallow us all whole. Good to know we've still got that lingering over our heads.

[ Despite the clear exhaustion in her voice, she is thinking as she speaks, though. ] Did you get anything else about her? Or just that OTO thought she was on their side?

One of the prisoners did say that they made contact with her months ago. That's why they didn't send any more nukes- they thought they'd found a bigger gun.

[Jacob grunts, half frustrated, half thoughtful.]

It's strange. They really think they're the underdogs in this. All those resources and money, and they talk about themselves like they're this outgunned force taking on the big bag imPorts.

What, Atropos didn't think nukes would be a fun addition to her roster? To help her get the job done?

[ She's eager to know this information, but she can't be as intense as she normally would. She takes a moment to lean back in her chair, thinking, though Jacob can't see it. ]

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to one of the richer imPorts trying to build up our defenses, at this point. But frankly? I've got no fucking idea what they think we are. We're walking bombs, but we're not gods. No matter what some of us think.

If what I've heard about Atropos is true, she's something that could use nukes for toothpicks.

[Cheerful thought.]

Not gods, huh? Strange thing to hear from a member of the Pantheon. But I hear you. Aegis is doing all we can to make sure we're ready for anything, but when you get down to it, the best defense we can have is more information.

I mean, I'd love to blow a bit of her oversized jaw off. We might as well tempt her.

[ If that was supposed to be a joke, it doesn't have the right tone. ]

I'd give you the run-down on our not-quite-godhood, but if you couldn't tell, it's not the time. [ She pauses to rub her forehead. ] Like I said. If you all find something I could look into, just tell me. For all we know it'll buy us a few months.

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