Afterglimmer

Yeah, that sounds about right. Aska had a feeling there would be some balance issues with the legs, but that’s the risk you take with customization. To his surprise, Nero had decided to end the Q&A and opt to demonstrate the Journeyman’s capabilities early. Remembering Eupraxia’s earlier warning, the masked man retreated a small distance before activating his phone’s recording function. He could barely contain his excitement as the Journeyman’s visor lit up. Seeing the customized frame in action would be more informative than a boring talk session any day. The pre show would also give Aska some time to personally ascertain the frame's capabilities. Hopefully, the frame will live up to that serf's earlier boasts...

Aska took a moment to repurpose his original question. As much as he wanted to say “both”, it would be better if he didn’t. The upcoming show would reveal the conversion rate if he paid close enough attention, so it was better to ask about the other thing that was harder to notice. Besides, some of these other questions were either too bland or too obvious. Why ask about something that anyone who’s going to watch the show will notice quickly. “General responsiveness. I’m curious about how the customization’s impact on the general response time specifically, if that helps,” Aska clarified for the pale serf.

“I see,” With that kind of speed, the Cavalier would be able to get in and get out rather easily….in the air at least. The big question, however, was how easily can it reach those speeds with its customization. The enemy wasn’t going to wait for them to hit their top speed to get in and out. Besides acceleration speed, there was another thing that was important to both frames. “This might be a shot in the dark, but what’s the input-to-output speed for the two frames?” Aska dropped the question he was holding back. Ideally, the customization wouldn’t make that big of an impact if these two frames were so acclaimed. Still, he was curious on the craftsmanship of the two frames’ additions and wanted to know just how well these two bad boys were put together.

It took Aska a moment to attune to the flow of the conversation. If he had to hazard a guess, they were talking about the Cavalier. On closer inspection, he noticed that the leggings were from the Ishikurite Class. Yep, these are definitely customs all right. The show later tonight would now be more interesting since he was now even more curious of these custom Frames' capabilities. Where to begin…I guess I’ll go with something basic regarding the frame itself…. “What’s the Cavalier’s top speed?” The masked man innocently asked the speaker. Since that model looked to be designed for hit-and-run, Aska would hope it would be somewhat quick given the modified thrusters and legs.

The Cavalier and the Journeyman looked impressive, as expected. Both units were displayed in their full glory; practically begging to be taken for a ride. I can only imagine what these frames can do, shame I don’t see the Hound anywhere, Aska quickly snapped a few photos; quickly sending the best looking one of both frames to his older brother. Otto is definitely going to love these. I guess I’ll have to get one of the Hound during the show later. He grinned as he pictured his older brother’s imagined jealously. The commotion from the growing crowd gained Aska’s attention. It looked as though there was a Q&A session regarding both displayed frames, with the moderator barely able to hold off the onslaught. The masked player definitely did not want to be the pale man’s shoes right now. Despite his internal sympathies, Aska elected to join the crowd; wanting to learn more about the displayed frames.

Looks like Linus was trying to get some volunteers. Aska briefly entertained the idea of volunteering as a host. Besides the obvious risk of his identity being found out, he would very likely feel out of place given his...choice of attire. On the other hand, some easy brownie points could probably go a long way. “I’d like to check out the G-frames first, but if things get dicey, I’ll come help. Worst comes to worst, I'll make it up another way." the masked Frame Ops player grinned. "Have fun with the café. I'll stop by once I'm all done” I don’t think the customers would appreciate the mask, though. He waved goodbye as he entered the dock, mind completely focused on meeting Thomas and his Hound in person. Once he was cleared to enter, he picked up an event program and scanned the map to locate the G-frames’ field station. Man, I can’t wait to rub this in Otto’s face.

Well, this was an odd sight to be greeted with. Aska was a little tempted to join in the petting fun. However, he had more important things on his mind. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer. I’d definitely like to pay a visit to the G-frames before the show starts. Call it a….show of respect.” Aska grinned as he eyed the mansion. The opportunity to meet Thomas was too big to pass up. The Cavalier and Journeyman frames did not ring any bells; if he had to make a guess, they were custom frames from House Riaz. If they were on display with Thomas, they had to be just as good, if not better. The entry fees being settled later was some more good news, he was already pushing it with the split for the battleship package. “Ah, before I forget. Where we should meet before the show starts?” They only had about an hour of free time and it would suck if someone got lost right before the big presentation.

After a short drive, the sign indicating “Dock C-142” directed Aska’s taxi to the venue. Eupraxia’s notice quickly flashed across his phone, one that he had seen many times before on many business trips outside the station’s jurisdiction, as his ride dropped him off. The driver had been quiet throughout the tripped, probably too unnerved by the costume to strike up a conversation with the masked player. After thanking the driver, Aska activated his voice changer and headed towards the docks. The exhibit area was a lot livelier than Aska had anticipated. It was no BatCon, but between the Babylonian architecture and House Riaz’s influence, the event packed a powerful presence. There were a lot of things that the masked player wanted to do, such as meet Thomas and get a closer look at the mansion. Business, however, was top priority and as such, he needed to meet up with the rest of the team. The attendees nearby had mixed reactions to Aska’s arrival as he regained his bearings. Some were creeped out by the costume, some wanted a picture with him, and others thought he was part of some presentation later. After a few photos, some of which had him do various poses, it was time to find the others. Thankfully, it did not take long to find the Team Odyssey attendees, especially with a certain streamer also present. He couldn’t help but sneak a chuckle at Mewlanie’s….predicament. That’s the price of fame for you. There was also another woman with them. She seems….familiar, but where have I seen her before? Aska waved as he approached. “ Crazy turnout, huh? Took me awhile to find you all in this crowd,” he pleasantly greeted his other teammates.

The next morning came a lot quicker than Friedrich would have liked, even with the roundabout route he took to leave to throw off any possible pursuers once he changed out of his Aska costume. He didn’t know what was worse, the remnants from yesterday’s stressful events or the lecture Nicholas had prepared when he got back to the hotel. He was already beside himself with worry at how late it was as well as the news of the AI attack, but cooled off after a few minutes once Friedrich. Friedrich decided against telling Nicholas about his “involvement” the AI; if he found out about that, Team Odyssey would be finding a sudden vacancy on their roster. Nothing eventful happened throughout the morning. Friedrich reported his initial findings on the reports he managed to get through as his intent to investigate the few teams he had looked over. To cover his tracks, Team Odyssey wasn’t on the list of approved applicants that he had sent back to HQ. With that matter settled, he quickly shot a confirmation text to Nicholas, who was meeting with some BattleNet reps to get the necessary sponsorship forms, before checking his “Aska” phone. Hitomi wanted to meet everyone at the docks. She also mentioned that the entry fee was waived, which Friedrich was thankful for since he was about to use up most of what was left in the budget for their trip paying for that battleship package. He still had some credits left, but he wanted to hold on those in case of an emergency. ‘I’ll be there shortly,’ Friedrich replied, adding an emoji of a hawk spreading its wings. The Aska costume was ready to go, with a few minor repairs and checkovers having to be done on the mask and voice-changer. Friedrich didn’t want to run into any “surprises” the AI might have left from yesterday. He quickly sent a text to Nicholas, saying that he was going to out to meet “some very important people.” It’s not a lie, at the very least. Otto would kill me if he knew I was meeting a G-Man. Containing his excitement, Aska left the hotel; hailing a taxi to take him to the location stated with Hitomi’s directions.

Looks like most of us are staying despite what happened. Some of them are a bit odd, but where's the fun in a boring team? In that case… “Yeah, I’ll stay as well. I didn’t sign up just to be scared off so easily.” This definitely wasn’t how he expected to join up, but a direct handout like this wasn’t something that comes along often. Additionally, the investigation into the AI could be a big bonus to the thrill that Aska was looking for to spice up his life. He had a chance for a good performance and he was not about to let this opportunity slip away. “I can chip in to help pay for the package if you want; 50/50,” The hawk-faced player offered Mewlanie as Hitomi reaffirmed the bold claim she had made earlier that morning. “Doesn’t sit right for one of us to pay for the entire thing and I have a bunch of credits saved up from my other shows.”

Aska nodded along to Matsuo’s deduction. Eupraxia was powerful, but not powerful enough to really cause the Empire any headaches. If that AI was using “weapon” as a broad classification instead of the traditional meaning, then that could mean it had access to some political leverage or something else entirely that they were keeping under wraps. If Otto were here, he would have preferred it to be a weapon just so he could dissect it. An amused smile briefly crept along Aska’s face as he imagined his older brother’s excitement at such a project before the nearby monitor lit up. The woman who appeared on screen announced that they wouldn’t be quarantined. However, a nagging feeling told him that they weren’t entirely out of the woods just yet.. “A decision? What are you planning to do with us?” Aska asked as he rose from his seat, his gaze never leaving the monitor. After a small pause, he decided to prematurely ask the big question on his mind. “I don’t suppose your plan has to do with our angry show-wrecker friend, does it?”

“Wait, that’s not a go-“ Aska didn’t have enough time to finish his warning before he was drowned out by the onslaught of noise that washed over him. He quickly covered his ears while the AI, who had surprisingly taken the bait, threatened everyone present from Mewlanie’s phone before disappearing. Aska groaned as he adjusted to the silence; hesitating a moment before turning off his phone. Nicholas was definitely not going to hear from him while that AI was still around. “Any clue on what that show-wrecker was on about?”

An AI going after a serf? That’s…..definitely odd. Now I’m really curious what they’re hiding… The anonymous tipster seemed to know a lot more about this AI than she was leading on. Unfortunately, there were many different types of core matrixes and combing the station would be fruitless if they had the wrong type. Do you have any idea on its range or what type they’re using? Aska replied, trying to squeeze as much information he could. The others seemed more concerned about their tryout results. The masked player himself would like a redo after his rocky start and the unwanted intrusion on their game stealing away any hope of a comeback. He also wouldn’t mind revenge on the hacker for ruining his show right before he could have shown off properly. “Sounds like talking to Carmen is your best bet. The only other option I can think of would be to try and find that AI’s core matrix. Can't do much while that thing's still around,” Aska suggested, arms folded pensively.

Aska simply shrugged as Melanie replied despite his warning. So much for being careful… His attempts proved futile anyways as Motherloader had already been talking to El Gigantess beforehand. The masked player shot him an annoyed look, though it was mostly hidden from view. While the idiot was preoccupied with trying to save face, Aska answered Hitomi. “I didn’t hear anything besides the initial warnings. Then again, I also had my hands full just trying to get away from those infected Soldaats.” Stupid logout timer. ‘That thing's still here? Can you give me more details? Do you know why it came after us? Anything you can gave us will help.’ Aska replied to the strange messenger before glancing around the mall, trying to find anyone suspicious watching the meeting. As much as he would like to give that thing some payback for ruining his show, something was definitely off here. If what El Gigantess said was true about the AI still being around, that meant that they aren't entirely safe just yet. Not to mention their anonymous tipster was also suspicious, what with her the timing of her messages. Is she watching us from somewhere? This whole situation is just too weird.

Kirara definitely wasn’t pulling any punches with her investigation. Can’t blame her considering what happened to that poor kid, I’d be on edge too. Aska grimly recalled the aftermath of their confrontation with the AI. “I don’t have that big of a following despite my rather...flashy play style. Unless that thing has a grudge against fresh Aether promotes, I can’t think of any reason why they’d go after me.” Even if it was able to access his data, the phone he used while in costume contained nothing that could trace back to him; the only contact was Nicholas, who also used a different phone. Besides, the address book had them listed under a pseudonym, so chances they could find out his true identity were minimal. His pocket began buzzing again. Nicholas can be such a worrywart, I swear…. He pulled out his phone and began scanning messages only to find it wasn’t from “Birdie”. “Elle Gigantess…yeah, I got a message as well,” Aska answered as he tapped out a simple “Yes” to the unknown sender. “It’s probably best if only one of us answered.” The masked player hesitated for a brief second, before hitting SEND.