INTERNAL INVESTIGATIVE INITIATIVE / "OPERATOR"
Audio Log Transcripts - 001:
 |
| Unit: HCIH’s “Chroma Stream” A05 |
Date: ██/██/2023 |
| Subject: CENTCOMM Operator |
Authorization: BS/NTNB |
| Archive Storage: Consult Unit’s Personal Cabinet OIRS Manager |
[THE FOLLOWING FILE IS PART OF AN ONGOING BLACK SITE INVESTIGATION]
Forward: Following OPERATOR's candidacy for the upcoming GD elections, requests for profiling of the elusive individual have been filed by several of the current Global Directors, particularly Lighting Rod, Jingo and Halfpenny as they consider him a possible security threat. The following is a report on the current status of the investigation.
«Begin Log»
[Agent [WHITE] enters the briefing room with a manila folder at hand and a frown on his face. Sat at the table is Ofc. [BLACK], reviewing the rest of the documents acquired in the past two months. He looks up at Agent [WHITE] as he rounds the table.]
Ofc. [BLACK]: Why the long face, [WHITE]? That's the most paper I've seen together throughout this whole investigation.
[Agent [WHITE] drops the folder onto the table and takes a seat next to Ofc. [BLACK] before retrieving the papers from within.]
Agent [WHITE]: It's still not much - only a few pages worth of actual data. Besides… well, it doesn't matter. At least we have something.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Well? What did you gather?
Agent [WHITE]: Pieced together a rough, very rough, early life profile from his Navy documents. He allegedly studied in Ain, France, before working as a radio operator for KPE in the US — but we already knew that one from the photograph. These ones have a bit of military history and… this is his contract paper with the Authority - pretty roughed-up, however. Looks like the scan of a scan.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Ain? Do we have an ethnicity?
Agent [WHITE]: It was a mixed boarding school, so we'd be guessing.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Couldn't subpoena his school records?
Agent [WHITE]: The place shut down decades ago; investment fraud. They didn't bother keeping their paperwork off-grounds, so it all went away with the institution.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Same thing with KPE? I tried looking into employee documents, but there seems to be a gap during the early 80s.
Agent [WHITE]: The whole place burned down in '84. A boat exploded and it caused a domino effect. My best guess is that they tried to bury the whole accident. We know he was fired alongside most of the workers present during the incident. Easier than to pay for damages.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Picked up by the navy soon after?
[Agent [WHITE] nods.]
Agent [WHITE]: Must've seen something in him, yes. Still, I would've imaged the US military to keep better track of their documents.
Ofc. [BLACK]: You think he's hiding something.
Agent [WHITE]: No, quite the opposite.
[Agent [WHITE] holds the entire stack of documents and passes them along.]
Agent [WHITE]: I got this one from him, actually. Back when I went to investigate that lead from Halfpenny saying he may be a GEAR asset.
[Ofc. [BLACK] frowns at the paper in confusion before looking back up.]
Ofc. [BLACK]: You simply… met him?
Agent [WHITE]: Indeed. As soon as I arrived I saw some old guy in Union representative clothes standing by the entrance. You know, black work pants and a tucked in orange shirt.
Ofc. [BLACK]: How did you know it was him?
Agent [WHITE]: I didn't. I couldn't even see his face at the time, either. He was wearing a Hotel-1 cap one size too large for him.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Possible af-
Agent [WHITE]: No, it's one of those free caps they gave away to everyone back in 2021 to raise morale. You threw yours away, and I still don't know why. It was Alpha-1. Could've sold well to a rookie in the Protectorate.
Ofc. [BLACK]: That's besides the point, just… continue, please.
Agent [WHITE]: I ignored him, thinking it was maintenance, until he stopped me at the entrance. By my name.
Ofc. [BLACK]: That's classified Black Site information. Not even other units have access to it.
Agent [WHITE]: That's true, but all of our comms go through the safe channels on the Webster relay, and the Webster relay circles back to CENTCOMM. It's why the position hasn't changed since its inception. They'd be an informational hazard of the first degree. I also doubt he doesn't have a few dozen contacts all around the Authority just in case.
[Ofc. [BLACK] sighs and rubs his temples.]
Ofc. [BLACK]: We'll have to bring this up in the next meeting.
Agent [WHITE]: Bit of a mute point by now, but it's your call. Anyhow, after shaking the shock off my face, he handed me this old-looking manila folder - I'm guessing he must've had in case something like this investigation ever came about - then invited me for a coffee. "No strings attached", in his words. Just a little chat.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Did you get a good look at him? We only have images having back more than 20 years.
Agent [WHITE]: Older than in the photograph we have, obviously, and with a nasty burn scar on his left cheek and neck. The ones that still look red after they've healed up. I can only assume it's the result of the KPE accident. Otherwise, he was a pretty unassuming man. Physically, at least. He had this overwhelming air around him, like I was being watched from all sides.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Alright, and then what? Did you get anything else from him?
Agent [WHITE]: So-so. We walked by the main hall and he asked me about how I was settling in on my new apartment, how the investigation - his investigation - is coming about, and also why didn't you come along too.
Ofc. [BLACK]: Do you think it was a threat? He knows where you live.
Agent [WHITE]: Maybe, but I didn't feel any malice coming out of him. He seemed genuinely curious on the investigation - even cleared up a few of the minor leads we had on his person. At best it was an informational shoulder check. We know about him, he knows about us.
Ofc. [BLACK]: And here I thought being vague and ominous was more of a Research thing?
Agent [WHITE]: Times change, I suppose. But at least we know he's willing to cooperate - or at least, willing to clean up misinformation on his image. The coffee talk wasn't much different. Told me he would've sent some of the Union guys to hand me the folder, but didn't want it to look like was running a gang of thugs.
Ofc. [BLACK]: If he's willing to cooperate, then why is he a phantom on the database?
Agent [WHITE]: Well, I've been thinking… He's part of the old guard, yes?
[Ofc [BLACK] nods and gestures him to continue.]
Agent [WHITE]: Communications guy, very good at his job, it seems - good enough for Black Whale. Perhaps he was also on Echo? Back in the early '90s?
[Ofc. [BLACK] glances at the papers laid on the desk.]
Ofc. [BLACK]: Made sure those were safe to read?
Agent [WHITE]: They're clean enough to read and keep on a database, at least. But there's some buzzing on the letters. Too organic to be intentional, however. I also got a little headache after asking him about any other extra-divisional operations besides Black Whale.
Ofc. [BLACK]: That… would explain the need for an entire sweep of his identity, as well as all the secrecy.
Agent [WHITE]: It also explains why Pimpirev keeps speaking up in his favor. They must've worked worked together in the past at Antarctica.
Ofc. [BLACK]: But if that's the case, why is he there at CENTCOMM and not… well, here?
Agent [WHITE]: As I said before, finding a replacement for that position sounds like a nightmare. Besides, what better job for a possible infohazard victim than solitude in the Atlantic?
[Agent [WHITE] puts the documents inside the manila folder and rises from his seat.]
Agent [WHITE]: I don't think there's much more to discuss at the moment, unless you have any new leads?
Ofc. [BLACK]: No. We'll just have to report back to Rod and hope it's enough to deter him from letting the ACI loose on him. That would be a tiring mess to clean up after.
«End Log»
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