![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
master chief | week 1
Who: The Master Chief
When: Week one, Monday night
What: A Message
[Once Jack's alone in his room after the first Kampff meeting ends, he'll notice that an odd unlabeled file has suddenly appeared on his datapad. When he opens it, an audio recording of a woman's voice will begin to play, though parts of it is obscured by heavy static.]
This is Capt-- [static] This log has been created as a safeguard against contamination and will only activate when-- [static] --re hearing this, then the ship is no longer safe. It has been invaded by the S--[static]
--a parasitic alien race. Once the alien has infested a host, it will be able to control their body and alter their consciousness and memories when it emerges from its dormant state. When the alien is dormant, the host will be completely unaware of the alien's presence. Awakened, the alien can mimic their host perfectly as well as --[a long burst of static]
--advantage is that they are cautious creatures who rarely attack in large numbers, preferring to work slowly from the shadows instead. However, you must be aware that any person on the ship could be infected and exercise caution as well as you attempt to eradicate the aliens. Should they discover that someone is aware of their presence, they will most certainly kill or infest you. Because of this, this log will only be sent to the datapad of the highest-ranking member of the ship - if you are infected, then the entire ship is likely lost anyway. Even the ship's AI is unaware of the invasion, as being alerted to their presence may cause it to intiate--[static]
--up to you now. You are the last line of defense. I trust that you will be able to do whatever it takes to eliminate the aliens while minimizing the loss of human life. We're all counting on you to be a hero, soldier. Remember, everyone's lives are in your hands.
[The recording ends there. Once it finishes, the file will delete itself - no amount of hacking will be able to bring it back.]
When: Week one, Monday night
What: A Message
[Once Jack's alone in his room after the first Kampff meeting ends, he'll notice that an odd unlabeled file has suddenly appeared on his datapad. When he opens it, an audio recording of a woman's voice will begin to play, though parts of it is obscured by heavy static.]
This is Capt-- [static] This log has been created as a safeguard against contamination and will only activate when-- [static] --re hearing this, then the ship is no longer safe. It has been invaded by the S--[static]
--a parasitic alien race. Once the alien has infested a host, it will be able to control their body and alter their consciousness and memories when it emerges from its dormant state. When the alien is dormant, the host will be completely unaware of the alien's presence. Awakened, the alien can mimic their host perfectly as well as --[a long burst of static]
--advantage is that they are cautious creatures who rarely attack in large numbers, preferring to work slowly from the shadows instead. However, you must be aware that any person on the ship could be infected and exercise caution as well as you attempt to eradicate the aliens. Should they discover that someone is aware of their presence, they will most certainly kill or infest you. Because of this, this log will only be sent to the datapad of the highest-ranking member of the ship - if you are infected, then the entire ship is likely lost anyway. Even the ship's AI is unaware of the invasion, as being alerted to their presence may cause it to intiate--[static]
--up to you now. You are the last line of defense. I trust that you will be able to do whatever it takes to eliminate the aliens while minimizing the loss of human life. We're all counting on you to be a hero, soldier. Remember, everyone's lives are in your hands.
[The recording ends there. Once it finishes, the file will delete itself - no amount of hacking will be able to bring it back.]
no subject
But once he actually starts to listen to the message, that sort of warm, pleased pride that he feels is rather quick to fade away. Jack's expression drops to one that's completely serious as he stares at the datapad. As soon as the word "contamination" comes up, he's truly taking in every word instead of just casually dismissing what's said. It's a good thing, because this is definitely a lot to take in, and unbeknownst to him just yet, there won't be a way to listen to it again.
First, he does think that it's unbelievable. I mean, an alien infestation on a dead ship? That lets them copy a person that well? Totally fake. Like, shitty B-movie fake. If there was something like that, then Jack is absolutely sure that Hyperion, no, he would have found it. After all, how fucked up is that? It's something horrifyingly simple, and if he could harness it, he could think of little better way to slowly destroy any of his detractors. Killing people was nice, killing them slowly was even better, but this? Man, something like this, it'd break a person. It's special.
Second, it's that thought that gets him to actually take it a little more seriously. Because when he thinks about that, he does realize a similarity that gives him far more pause. If he did have something like this, then this is how he would use it. Toss everyone on a quarantined ship, throw in a shitton of guns, let everyone go to town out of paranoia once they realize what's going on. Granted, minus all the crazy rules, because he's more of a free-for-all kind of guy, but those rules makes him wonder in a different context about why they're there at all.
But finally— ]
Goddamnit.
[ Finally, Jack realizes this situation was way easier five minutes ago. Jack runs a hand through his hair with a sort of anxious, manic energy that always bubbles up when he's facing something big. Because when he thinks about the idea that this might actually not be bullshit, it gets his mind racing. If it was just killing people for the sake of killing them, that wasn't exactly something he was going to turn down. Being the "Master Chief" and leading his merry little band of murderers to... something, well, that was just like old times with Wilhelm and Nisha. But this? This is dangerous.
That dream that the AI had showed him and actually feeling Angel's hair in his hand was all the motivation he needed. Hell, he would kill someone tonight if he thought he could get away with it in certainty, because for his daughter, he would do anything. Even if it's twisted in a way he no longer recognizes, he loves her. Angel will always be his baby girl, and that video was a vision of what he believed happiness would be like. He's wrong. But it's what he believes with all of his heart. He's her father, and so he'll protect her.
So he absolutely can't let this happen.
If there's even a chance that this was true, it meant a chance of bringng whatever the hell they were back to his corner of the galaxy. For most of the people in that galaxy, he doesn't give a damn. But for Angel... He can't risk it. Jack may be reckless and unhinged, but when it comes to her, he never takes risks. Ultimately, that was the problem. His "love" was so strong that he kept her locked up like a songbird in a gilded cage. He would let any danger come to her, and he'd trapped her and manipulated her in a way that he wasn't even capable of seeing.
Angel is the one he thinks of immediately, but his thoughts do drift eventually to the reality of what this entails. He thinks about the people on the ship, and while he wouldn't exactly care about giving any of them a face full of buckshot, that didn't mean he wanted this. There were some people that deserved to die, sure. But there were also probably some that didn't. Killing people on Pandora was one thing, because they're all bandits, but these people? Oddly, for the first time, he recognizes that these were the kinds of people that he'd been wanting to be the hero to for so long.
Odd, that he would forget that. But like many things, he pushes past thinking on why that might be because of his own ego.
After all, Jack feels like he understands why he was the one picked for this, if there was any thought into who was picked at all. He's the hero. He's the one willing to do this. He always has been, because a hero isn't some kind of figure that never has to make tough choices or never kills. The hero is just the guy willing to do what it takes, no matter the cost. That's the weight that Jack feels that he carries. It's twisted, and his perception of things is absolutely wrong, but in his mind, it's all necessary. In the end, everyone will thank him. In the end, he'll kill a hell of a lot of people, but it's so that a hell of a lot more can live happily.
So, as Jack sits back and turns the datapad in his hand repeatedly, it's a strange feeling. Wiping out every person that ailed Pandora was what it needed. Get rid of the problem, and innocent people will be spared in the end. And here? Well, here, it doesn't feel all that different to him. ]