[Written | Open To All]

[malnosso]

Welcome ladies, gentlemen, to the Malnosso Assigment and Reward Center. That stands for MARS. Center may not start with an S, but it damn well should, once you sound it out. The Luceti program, that's you lot, was set up to include the best of the best. Heroes, geniuses, and all you other people. Special's the word the people in charge like to use

Comments

[its_troublesome]

[This thing sounds really interesting, CJ, and he's gonna let you finish, but... The Great One is the greatest NPC of all time I'msorryIhadtodoit]

...what's that bit about sanity and next week?

[malnosso]

Just what it said on the tin, son. My job here is to talk about MARS. That's it.

[its_troublesome]

How troublesome... [He's going to keep it in mind, though. 8|]

Well in that case, what measures are being taken to make sure volunteers will only be given assignments that they can handle?

[malnosso]

Tons of research. Spent a hell of a lot of money to make sure we'd know just what you people are capable of.

[its_troublesome]

That's reassuring. [Not. He's not comfortable that they could find out so much about everyone here just with some 'research'. Especially when it's unclear so far if that's going to mean squat in the end.]

And you're not gonna be like the idiots who send little kids or people who know shit about fighting out into the middle of the war zone anyways.

[Because that is the main issue here, far as he can see.]

[malnosso]

Only if they volunteer and can handle the job. I once saw a five year old beat up a grown man. Fierce little kid. He stole my wallet after that.

[its_troublesome]

That grown man was you, wasn't it.

[malnosso]

You can't prove anything.

[its_troublesome]

[He grins, briefly. Pointless as the turn in the conversation may seem, Shikamaru had his own reasoning behind it.]

Don't worry, I'm not interested in doing so anytime soon.

This really is volunteers-only though, right? No chances of executive meddling, like with the drafts? 'Cause some of this stuff sounds about as dangerous.

[malnosso]

It's what I said, isn't it? Volunteers only. No meddling. Sure, it's just as dangerous, but that village is crawling with people who love this stuff.

[its_troublesome]

Yup. Definitely a lot of people who are nuts enough for it.

[Same thing, really. But this reminds him of something he told Bil a while back - that there were other ways the Malnosso could use their power, or the villagers themselves.

He's still not sure how trustworthy these kinds can be, but you can't make progress without showing a little faith yourself.]

Will you guys be working with us a little better when it comes to these missions? It'd be helpful if we could get all the information we'll need to handle job without asking questions, for once.

[malnosso]

Once you arrive, you'll get an information packet with all you need. On the job training, too! You'll be pros at doing whatever the hell it is you people will be doing in no time.

[its_troublesome]

Will we be able to keep in contact with people back in the village while we're on these missions?

[malnosso]

No can do. Journals will be disconnected from the network. That's what they tell me. You're better off leaving them at home.

[its_troublesome]

Troublesome. But all right. How much notice, on average, can we expect to be given if we're asked to go on a mission?

[malnosso]

One day. Best I can do for you. Sometimes it might be less.