Osmanthus CYOA

I can't remember what we were doing here at all.

I guess we wanted to learn about augmentations like what kinds they have and what they're capable of.

>>28660730
>>28660877
We are getting small, electronics related jobs from groups related to augmentations in a try to find some clue of what to do, since the suspect was apparently also doing a job for one of them.

>>28660985
well in that case we should say " the better question is how can i help you? i'm looking for a job."

>>28661026
Sure.

>>28661123
>>28661026
"The question is, how could I help you? I heard you take people for one-time jobs?"
"Yes! Dopan has always had a firm stance of supporting freelancers- provided, of course, that you have the proper certifications, recommendations, or both?"
She produces a small tactile computer for me to sign from under the table, and I use one of my local identities to sign it.
She presses some keys in her intlock, "Oh, I don't think you will have any problem at all mister Light, the manager should answer my message in a minute." She fiddles some more with the tactile computer, "I see academician Bianca from Twelve has high opinions of you, how is her knee doing these days?"

>>28661341
She says that it's not so bad and that she can't complain.

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>>28661413
"She says it's not so bad, nothing worth complaining."
"That old hag never changes, doesn't she?" She rolls her eyes. "Oh, the manager answered. He says there's been an issue with one of our servers and that he doesn't have time to get a new technician yet, would you mind giving it a look?" I nod, "Great! A member of the security staff will be here to escort you in a moment. Now, would you sign this?" She gives me the tactile computer again, "It's a non-disclosure agreement as well as our contract for freelancers, if you have any questions I will answer them to the best of my capacity."
"The usual, then." I sign everything, "What's the model?"
She takes a moment to answer, "Most of our servers are MTH three hundred, except for some destined particularly stressful tasks."
Oh, those are always a pleasure to work with. Robust, power efficient, and with a few little-known security holes I rarely see patched out.
"I should be able to fix it, then." I turn my head to see the sliding door open.
A large earth pony stallion enters, my sight drawn first to the pistol he carries and then to his mane. That's one dandy cut.
"You will not go anywhere without telling me first, is that understood?" He asks curtly.
"Yuperoni," I walk behind the counter and follow him, pasing through several security checks that he has to open along the way.
I notice the air of the server room is hotter than it should be as soon as we enter, even if only by a few degrees.
"This is the area's server. A temporal account has been made for you to use, the password is your name."
He stands firmly in the corner with a bored expression, not willing to move from there anytime soon.

>>28661784
ask if he has a name. what is it? Is his job usually to watch what the freelancers do?

>>28661784
Check out the ass.

>>28661823
>>28661866
"Do you have a name?"
"No one ever pronounces it right."
"Try me."
"Hochspannung."
Oh.
"Can I call you Hotch?"
"Everyone does." He shrugs, his metallic ass clicking against the wall.
"Is this your usual job? Keeping an eye in freelancers?"
"I take care of most visitors, yeah. The tours can be unruly at times."

>>28662131
Tell me a bit about it. Had any trouble makers lately? What'd they do?

>>28662344
"Unruly?"
"Idiots who talk about the purity of our bodies." He scoffs, "As if they knew what it's like to be blind."

>>28662614
Alright, we better start doing the job. We can ask him what his boss is like.

>>28662701
"What's your boss like?" I read the contents of the screen and log into my account, then run the automatic diagnostics before doing anything else.
"He's alright. Could use loosening up a bit."
I nod distractedly. Apparently the system is trying to make backups despite the storage being filled, so basically nothing else is let happen until the backups are made properly-- There's a particularly large queue of messages from the security division that should've reached the head manager directly several days ago, all of them with the highest priority available.

Do you have any archives of the last thread/s? I wanna start playing this, but I wanna catch up first.

>>28663294
There isn't much yet, only two shortish threads before this. http://desuarchive.org/mlp/search/subject/Osmanthus/
I think it's fair to warn you that the start was pretty rocky tho.

>>28662994
let's try to read those while having a casual conversation with him to distract him.
ask what he means by loosening up. does he have too many rules?

>>28663362
"What'd you mean by loosening up? Too strict?" I open the queue in a corner of the screen and read it.
"Nah, he's a good boss, it's just that I can't see him dancing, if you get what I mean."

>From: Gallant To: Branch
> There was another try to get into our main backups storage. We've tried to track down who did it, but didn't have any luck.

>From: Gallant To: Branch
> Did you get the last message? We need to take measures about this.

>From Gallant To: Branch.
> It seems like whoever it is is paying random people to do the attacks for them, we've identified over ten different devices using the exact same methods, all of them tied to people who are law-abiding and mostly uninterested in experimental augs.

>From: Gallant To: Branch
> Why haven't you answered? We'll need more staff or new security systems if this continues. Or tell the police of what's going on, and I know how much you hate the paperwork that comes with them.

I skim over the following messages, but nothing seems important.

>>28663502
maybe he just needs the right partner to teach him.

>>28663661
"Maybe he just needs the right partner?" I suggest, trying to find out what is that filled the storage.
"I... what are you implying?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing." I say nonchalantly, "Just, you know, dancing takes two."
"I, er, I have no idea of what you are talking about." He says, flustered.
My search proves fruitful when I find what was that was clogging the drive, a folder named "Schedules"... wait, no.
What. No, no, I don't want to see this, who needs so much porn of this, delete, delete, why aren't you deleting it faster, why can't I delete those images from my brain.
"Ah." Autch seems to be gladdened by the change of topic, "That's why we fired or last IT."

>>28663971
We better finish this soon. Then go to the bathroom and wash our face.

>>28663502
Wait, they have problems with hackers too?

>>28664119
>>28664050
"I need to wash my face."
He nods in silence and guides me to a nearby bathroom.
I take several minutes to do it, letting the cold face wash over me.
"Hey, you done with that?" Clem comes out of the intlock and flutters around me.
"It was horrible."
"You organics and your fetishes," He rolls his eye, "Anyway, didn't you read the memos?"
"What do you mean?"
"Duh, they are having troubles with hackers too, and it seems awfuly similar to what was happening to Luna."

>>28664328
maybe we can plant something on the mainframe so that way we can trace him?

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>>28664386
"Yeah, I get what you mean." Hotch may not be able to hear Clem, but he can hear me from the other side of the door easily. "Remember uncle Sling? She always said that."
He nods to the code and twirls into the intlock, it's screen alighting immediately, "I'll prepare the worm, boss. Just gimme a few minutes to make the capsule."
I nod, even when I know he can't see me from inside the 'lock, and walk out of the bathroom.
"I want to make sure there's nothing else wrong with it, but I think I solved the problem."
Hotch nods and walks me back to the server room, where I reread the system logs searching for anything else that catches the eye.
"All ready, boss." Clem comes out of the 'lock, pulsing a light yellow, "Just open a port so I can upload this thing."
I have it done in a few keypresses, yawning as I do so. I really need to get myself a bed after today.
"Alrighty, it'll be spread to the other servers by tomorrow, and I'll get a message if security closes any connection forcibly."

>>28664962
Alright then, let's get out of here. if he wants it and takes it then he's going to end up sorry.

I wanted to update once more but am too tired, paused for the night.

Let's hope he takes the bait.

have a good night page 10.

This guys days are numbered.

jump up

My day just got completely filled with stuff I've got to do away from an internet connection, I am sorry but I won't be able to run today.
See ya tomorrow.

>>28669071

>>28669887
alright fine, see you tomorrow.

leaving nine.

time to bump from page 10.

>>28673695

>>28674866

I suppose we should look for/follow other leads.

>>28676298

>>28677603

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I enter the motel room tiredly, looking over everything thoughtlessly-- a lamp in the night table as the only light source, a phone besides it, the door to what I must assume is the bathroom.
Another paid room, another unknown ceiling..
"Hello?" I ask aloud, just in case I got an occupied room. There's no answer.
"I'll write a report and send it, boss. You sleep." Clem's intlock shines a bright white when he talks.
I nod distractedly and head for the window to close the curtains, but hear a sound like aluminium foil being crumpled coming from the bed.

>>28678738
turn on that lamp and then look under the bed.

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>>28678900
I turn on the night light and crouch to look under the bed, remaining at a cautious distance from it.
A black shape dashes to me and clenches to my face, it's claws digging into the skin in my forehead and its chitin covering my face and suffocating me.

>>28679117
Grab it and pull it off. Throw it at the ground! Stomp it!

>>28679143
I run against a wall in panic, crushing it and spilling its fluids over my face, and tap my intlock. I have to include this in the report, no mater what.
Nothing happens.
"Clem?" I notice a tone in my voice I can't help but detest, entirely too scratchy. "You there?"
There's only silence from him, the fluids tickling down, drop by drop...
My eyes sting from the blue blood entering them, so I walk to the bathroom in trembling legs and open the watertap. I will call Princess Luna. I will call Princess Luna and she will tell me what is going on and everything will be fine--
Insects flood out of the water tap, as small as to move like a wave of dark-gray sand towards me.

>>28679342
Turn off the water, and try to look for something wide and flat. Also get out of the room!

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>>28679376
I run out of the bathroom to search something, anything, I can wield as a weapon, but a creature awaits me outside.
It stares at me quietly as I stop from the surprise, as the sand-like insects cover me and drown me and--
"Enough!"
The whole world stops, like glosamer wings afraid of breaking to pieces.
"Agent, you are free to move." Luna's hoof reaches for my withers and pushes me gently . "It's fine now. They can't do anything to you."

>>28679749
look around. ask what's happening.

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>>28679792
"Princess Luna," I bow down, "What--?" Lucidity returns to me, and with it I can remember clearly. This nightmare. I hate this nightmare so much. "Thank you."
"Nightmares are fickle creatures, aren't they? So willing to help, all of them, but so erratic in their efforts." She smiles in a way that makes me nervous, so I bow more. "Anyhow, I received the report from your sprite, Clementine. I admire the effort you've put into this, but he seems to be worried about you," Her gaze passes over the remains of the nightmare that dissolve around us, "At the risk of sounding crass you know this job entitles you to a psychologist, don't you?"
"Clementine has reminded me of it several times, my lady. But if you want me to..."
"I won't order you to do such a thing, agent. It's not my place to do so."
"But you are my lady, my lady." I raise from my bow, still trying to gather my wits after the nightmare. It always makes my limbs feel weak for hours afterwards.
"But I am not your friend."
I can't think of an answer.
"You did admirably for a single day of work. If nothing else, you reduced the list of suspects far faster than I expected you to. But I got to ask, do you not have an informant in the area?"
"I do, my lady. But he is not... enjoyable to contact, in any way, and I hoped I could avoid to."
"I will leave that at your discretion, but I expect this to not affect your progress."
"It won't, my lady."
The dream starts to lose coherency, her shape blurring.
"I certainly hope so." She takes a deep breath, "I have other ponies to take care of, but do not hesitate to send me a message if you need assistance." Her form dissolves almost entirely, only her eyes remaining, "Farewell, agent."
"Farewell." I say, despite knowing that she can't hear me.
I wake up what feels like several hours later, my whole body stiff from having fallen asleep in the floor.

>>28680075
Wake yourself up with a nice hot shower. After that we get some breakfast and we can continue our day of trying to find this pony.

Paused for the night, I thought this post had been sent like half an hour ago.

eventually we will have to go to a psychologist if nothing else helps.

we can probably follow that changeling for a day and see what he's up to? we can also go back and get another job from the auggies.

10

Bump and resuming in about an hour

>>28685402

Here, just one tiny little bump

>>28687251

>>28684571
?

10

>>28689582
Has some troubles and couldn't resume. If I cdon't update today just let the thread 404

>>28692387
Drawing next panel

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>>28682074
>>28681171
>>28680116
I stretch and head for the bathroom to wash my face.
"Clem?" I ask as I leave the bag and intlock under the sink, "Mind ordering something to eat?"
He doesn't answer, but I shrug it off and enter the shower for a long, hot bath after last night.
After a few minutes I hear the tap of a hoof behind me, but don't acknowledge it, instead going through the mental list-- The bathroom itself has no windows for anyone to go through and I locked the door, so this is probably a very good lock picker.
"Quille," She says before I am done thinking, bowing, "Psychokalmaro at the service of the crown and under the Princess' direct orders. She has to handle an unrelated emergency, but wishes you to make haste to the fourth block of the Madison avenue, as another try is being made there. Her staff will hold the connection open for as long as they can, but that amounts to a few minutes." She charges her horn, "I apologize for this, but pain is the fastest way to wak--"
"Ah!" I wake up, shouting at the top of my lungs, the flare of pain in my head unbearable for the fraction of a second it lasts.
I look around, giving myself a second to ascertain that yes, I am in the hotel room, the sun barely over the horizon.
Fucking alicorns and their fucking drama.

>>28693492

>>28693679
Alright let's go. The sooner this ends the better.

>>28694738

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>>28694755
I fly to where I was told to as fast as I can, shruging off breakfast for now. Madison avenue... there.
"Is this the place?"
"Yup yup," Clem comes out of the intlock and flutters around, "It was a pegasus resort but there's been some dispute over who's the owner of the place for several moons by now, so it's closed."
I nod distractedly, scanning the building-- sixty, no, seventy floors tall?
"And whoever is trying to get to the princess' accounts is inside."
"Yup yup."
I can't help but groan. I'd try to wiggle out of this job if it wasn't the Princess herself who wants it done.
It's midnight over here, pausing.

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>>28695993
Fug

>>28695993
Have any clue as to what floor they could be on?

gotta get it done somehow

>>28697703
bump

>>28698370

>>28696873
>>28697703
"And I am guessing you don't know which floor is our guy in?"
"If they're connected to a public network it can't be very high." Both Clem and the intlock's screen switch colours briefly, "Seems like in this area it reaches up to about twenty meters from ground level."

>>28699240
start looking

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>>28699523
With a sigh I lockpick inside the building, closing the doors behind me.
Almost immediately a flurry of small, purple floating metal pieces floats at me, producing light beams erratically.
"He- He- He- File not-- Hello! Syst-- Systems requiring maintentaaaaanccczzz..." The lights die for a minute, "Sys sy sys Hello! Welcome-- Welcome to Cloud Alpacalace, open brackets guest name and or guest id and or mention of guest origin close brackets! I-- name is -- open brackets moonly designation close brackets!"

>>28700164
This is gibberish. We might be able to fix it? Or at least turn it off.

>>28700760
"Clem? Can you check if we can fix it?"
"We-- We-- We assure you that your room will be- Shall be. Was repaired nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Days ago." Chirps the hologram.
"Can't be sure from here," He comes out of the intlock and flutters closer to the hologram projectors. touching their surfaces and producing small splashes of static, "But I don't think the intelligence is complex enough to be too hard. There should be backups at the server room."
"I don't feel like doing that, how about just turning it off?"
"I dunno? Maybe I could try to disable the speakers, that'd get her to not bother us."

>>28701054
We'll need a map and wouldn't we find the guy we're looking for in the server room? Or at least we can find out where he's accessing this. maybe find a security room.

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>>28701158
"No, we could use a map of the place." I pause. "Wait, how comes this thing is turned on?"
"It-- It-- It is unpolite to speak that way where-- where-- where children could hear." Scolds the hologram.
"Huh?" Clem turns back to me.
"This should be off the power grid, right?"
"No-- Guests-- Guars are not required to bite-- behold-- know the exact internal workings of the- the- the resort."
"I guess the owners could've agreed to keep staff cleaning it and all that?" He flutters back to me. "But then she wouldn't be this broken."
"I think we should find the server room. Maybe we can also find where our guy is."
"Staff area is-- is-- are outside the boundaries of guests."
"If she's working maybe the security rooms are, too?" Clem ignores the hologram.
"Yeah, we should check out those before."

Too tired to do it properly, sowwy. Also paused.

>>28701716
Let's check those computers.

have a good night page 10.

it's bumpin time.

>>28703519

>>28704182

Hope we can find something interesting.

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>>28702317
I flicker the switch of the room, but the bulb only flares to life briefly before dying again. Great.
I take the flashlight from my bags and switch it on, illuminating the security room. Several lines of monitors fill the room, most of them black, and floor plans cover the walls.
There are some monitors with green lights under them, but I give a good look to the floor plan before checking them out-- It seems like the hotel is a classic pegasus one, with floating cloudcrete rooms rather than proper floors.
Huh, can't be cheap to live in if it has so few rooms in the space it occupies.
"You are-- You are-- Security has been informed--" A soft alarm comes to life in the ceiling, "Security has been informed of your tresspassing." Talks on the hologram

>>28706907
Let's go upstairs to floor two.

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>>28706943
I wouldn't mind living in a place like this-- spacious yet private.
One of the lights seems broken, so I turn my flashlight on again. I can't help but have the feeling someone's slept in the hammock recently.

>>28707766
Doesn't look like there is anything of interest in the room. I think we need to go to the fourth room now.

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>>28707939
It looks like one of the doors of the closer was taken off at some point.

>>28708338
There looks to be some kind of red item on the ground. See what it could be. where the heck is this joker. the very top?

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>>28708506
I pick up a toy left in the closet, old and well loved from the looks of it.
It seems to be a relatively new addition to the room, if the dust under it is any indication.

>>28708722
There is possibly a child around here. Let's check out what room three looks like since I have no idea what the colors mean yet.

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>>28708818
'The agent slid acrossthe darkness and readied his gun, nearing the door slowly as to not ma--'
"Boss, you are spacing out again."
"Sorry." I whisper, flying closer to the door and opening it quietly. I hear snoring, and see someone sleeping in the hammock as soon as I enter.
The closet's doors are bulging out, and when I open them I see that inside them there's some baggage inside it.

>>28709077
Alright. I think the colors mean that red someone is inside, green empty and somepony can move in and orange meaning empty but owned. so the hacker we're looking for is in 6 nine 16 or 18. let's check out room 6.

>>28709126
There is a sleeping changeling in room six, his wings buzzing every few seconds as he dreams of flying.

>>28709266
Let's go to rooms 6 and nine and try to find someone who isn't sleeping.

>>28709401
There is a young couple of pegasi sleeping in room nine, the stallion covering the mare with his wings.

>>28709428
Alright how about 16?

>>28709466
In room sixteen there's a sleeping griffon, a book fallen over his beak.

>>28709563
18

>>28709591
In room eighteen there's some foals sleeping together in the hammock, apparently siblings from their colours.

>>28709669
then maybe 21

last episode day for a while