7189/Changeling/Leviathan: Flu

Changeling/Leviathan: Flu
Date of Scene:	10 April 2019
Location:	The Triskelion, New York City
Synopsis:	Skye uses a scheduled visit to R&D to disclose SHIELD's plans for Zola.. and propose another plan of her own against future attacks on SHIELD systems.
Cast of Characters:	Quake, Jemma Simmons, Melinda May
Tinyplot:	Changeling
Tinyplot2:	Leviathan

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Quake has posed:
Things were coming together nicely. As discussed with those in the know, the bits and pieces of information gathered by Skye by delving into untold dusty boxes of paper files, and information provided by her father, plus a few other sources besides, had led to a working plan that was now being set into motion.

That, and Skye needed a regualr check-in with R&D for her gloves for fine tuning, as well as for some more medical diagnostic tests. 'Jsut routine' she kept being reassured by Simmons, but Skye's love of medical ranked up there with Clint's, which is to say it didn't at all.

However, it was a perfect cover for the mission..

Dutifully, and with a laptop bag that was holding more than just her laptop, Skye shows up for her appointment.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    As Skye walks in, there is a sudden crackling sound...a very distinct sound of frost forming rather quickly. Followed by another easily identified sound of joyful exclamation from one of the co-leads of R&D. "Yeeeeaaahh! Didja see dat, Jemma?! It worked! And...didn't shatter da gun!" One rather excited Leo Fitz is seen running (yes, running) over to a closed off testing area, surrounded by blast-proof glass, to reach out and touch a gun that was set up to autofire. A gun that just seemed to have frozen a target dummy solid. With his bare hand.

    "Fitz!! Don't touch that!" The other co-lead, Jemma Simmons, tries to restrain Leo as he runs like a giddy little schoolboy, but to no avail. Of course, when Leo does touch the gun, there is no immediate reaction. Which...calms Jemma down. But only a little. "What if that was supercooled? You could have lost your hand!"

    "Yeah, but I didn't! It's perfectly insulated, Jemma! We did it!"

    "Yes, well, you did it, really, Fitz. I just modified our ICER technology to carry a concentrated cryo-organic compound, rather than the dendrotoxin." Jemma shakes her head, walking away from Leo...and looks up to see that the lab has visitors.

    "Oh, is it that time already?" There is a quick glance to the clock, which confirms that yes, it is time for Skye's appointment. "Hello, Skye! We....were just testing a prototype weapon." A dangerous one, from the sounds of it, but one that Skye might recognize, since it is similar technology used for a certain archer's speciality arrows. "I am so sorry about the mess. Shall we get started?"

    Of course, the lab is spotless...except for Leo's test. But that is forgotten, as Jemma's attention is with Skye at the present.

Quake has posed:
"Ooo, weapon, huh? This happen to be that crazy idea Clint and Bucky had?" Because she had to admit that while sniping wasn't really up there on things that thrilled the pants off of her, the idea of a long range ICER was kind of neat, and would have been oh so useful in the past.

She has to look around in disbelief, though, at what Jemma is calling a mess. "You're kidding, right? Like tell me you're going to laugh any minute now and say gotcha, cause I gotta say, I'm not seeing it." There was a reason Clint and Skye paid someone to come to their house and do the major housekeeping jobs. It had been money well spent given the two of them together had the domesticity of a Ebenezer Scrooge.

"And shoot anytime you want to get started it good by me." Her grin is easy, and her laptop bag set down. "I was gointg to show you some specs of things I've noticed while I've been using my abilities." All a good front for what this visit wasn't going to be, as well as what it was, and Jemma nd Fitz might notice the serreptitious dipping of hand into a pocket, giving a nervous fidget before pulling out a lighter - just an innocuous looking lighter that Skye was given by Director Fury, and that she had a habit of fidgeting with when she was nervous. Frowning at herself, she puts it back into her pocket, but by this time it's already done it's job in scrambling all things observational and recording, creating a cozy little pocket of privacy to speak frankly within.

Melinda May has posed:
May arrives a few moments after Skye does, entering as quietly as ever. Was she even told about this particular meeting? Well, that's an irrelevant question. She's here, however she found out. And yes, she saw the fidgety lighter but doesn't comment on it like most things she refrains from commenting on.

She stays back by the door, watching the two scientists as much as the hacker. Perhaps she's only got a few moments to spare between other demands on her time, and isn't planning on staying long enough to get involved. Or maybe she's going for a sneak up and startle on one of the trio further into the lab.

Though really, do you want to spend time speculating?

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    There is a pause as Jemma tilts her head, contemplating the first question. "You mean a long-range ICER? We already have rifle models with the corresponding rounds. We actually developed the rifle first, then modified for the handgun models, because it was easier to start with a larger base. Or, so Fitz says." The mess commentary isn't touched, because Jemma is fully aware the lab isn't disheveled. But...it also isn't pristine, either, and that is why she apologized for it. Damn those British manners.

    And...speaking of the one blemish in the spotless lab. Leo calls over, his voice gaining a distinct sarcastic air as the Scottish accent turns up just a touch. "Oh, nevermind me at all. Ah'll just be ovah here. You know, cleanin' up my mess." There is a pause, then, as punctuation, Fitz adds. "By myself!"

    There *might* be a roll of the eyes from Jemma that only Skye is witness for, before the slightly annoyed expression leaves her face and she deigns to not bother responding to Leo. Her attention back to Skye, Jemma claps her hands together once, holding them just under her chin. "You have some notes, I see?" Jemma herself does not pick up on the sudden dead zone that just formed by the clicking of a rather innocent appearing lighter, though Fitz seems to take pause, noticing a flicker or two on his screens that were monitoring the test. He remains quiet, for now...but it seems to be more in spite for being left to clean his own mess than anything more malicious than that.

Quake has posed:
Skye holds her hands up in a 'I am sooo not getting involved in that' manner when Leo's 'by myself' floats over, though she does nod to Jemma about the matter of notes. And, as it happens, there's a sheaf of papers in her bag that make a showing as well as some microfilms and some cassettes. If Skye noticed May slip in, she's not saying anything, but neither does she startle when and if the Assistant Director reveals herself.

Nor does she make a fuss about the flicker on the screens. Her own, notably, doesn't do any such thing - but then again, Skye has long maintained a work habit of not connecting directly to SHIELD's computers for most things she works on until such a a time as she wants what she's working on out there for fair game. That's pretty much been protocol since the Hydra attack in her early career at SHIELD, and only reinforced since the Tidepool mission.

And while what Skye has up on the computer screen really is her own data, on herself, for the most part, most of what she's brought with her has nothing to do with her abilities, or her gloves.

"So, we all need to talk once Fitz over there is done puttering."

Melinda May has posed:
May watches the two younger women for a moment, then Fitz as he starts cleaning up without help from the other two. She moves toward the young man on habitually near-silent feet until she's right next to him. And seemingly not caring if she startles the dookies out of him or not, she stops his tidying up and shoos him back over toward the others.

Work first. Tidying up later.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    "Ah am not putterin'!" Leo detaches his prototype freeze gun from the autofire setup, paying special care to activate the safety so that it doesn't misfire. Don't need to contract an extreme case of frostbite. He only manages to retrieve the gun...before the startling visage of Director May does indeed frighten the poor technican almost to the point of dropping the prototype. "Okay, so I was putterin', but..." Leo catches the look that May is most certainly giving him...the 'Get to Work' glare, to which his excuses just drop. Instead, he offers a quick nod and a single word.

    "Coming..."

    It is only after Leo joins the pair, cradling the prototype freeze gun to his chest like a little kitten, that Jemma deigns to speak. "This....isn't about your gauntlets, is it?" She glances at the pile of papers in the bag...which isn't a usual sight for someone who spends most of her time in electronic mediums. Well...that and May's presence seems to trip a few triggers, as well. "What did you want to talk about?"

    

Quake has posed:
Skye looks over with a smirk as May shifts Leo's attention to where it shoudl be, and carries on like he's been there all along, and like she knew this was going to happen. Even if she didn't tell May about the meeting.. But then again, when Skye already had an appointment in R&D, and they'd already talked about next steps over dinner at Chez Miscreant, when and where else would this happen?

"So, we have a small window to get this started. What I have here is everything I could find to date on one Arnim Zola. The Benefactor. He's working with Hydra, and used to be SHIELD. Long story there, but for today's lesson, what you need to know is he put his brain engrams into an AI interface, and ultimately, SHIELD's systems."

A flick of look between the scientists.

"We've confirmed this, and we want him out. However, it's going to take some finanagling on all our parts" both present, and a certain contact she's waiting to hear from, but proceeding without regardless "to make this work."

The papers and such are up for access and perusal.

"What we're going to need is both firmware changes, and a virus program. But I need the virus to be targetted specifically and dynamically to Zola. I know his code inside and out, but what I don't know is biology. And we don't have a huge timeframe to put all these pieces together."

There. That's the bulk of it.

Melinda May has posed:
May walks over and joins the group alongside Fitz, letting him keep his modified ICER woobie if it means he'll pay attention. As Sye starts to explain, she reaches for the stack of papers and starts glancing through them. She's from a generation that remembers when computers were not the way data was handled. Paper does not intimidate her.

"Get me a list of any physical items you need and I'll make sure they happen." Even if it means pulling unregistered cash and making deals with unscrupulous sorts. Or even if she has to recruit one or more sloppy trenchcoated individuals to make said deals.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    If Skye was expecting a look of shock from the pair collectively known as FitzSimmons, then she would be disappointed. The pair of scientists take the news at face value. "Dat explains the scrambling of the systems just now." Jemma turns to regard Leo, who just shrugs. "either you or May must've triggered an IP blocker or somethin'. Only reason da monitors would futz around like dat." If there was a test to see if Leo could handle the task...that would have been it. "So...ya need me to come up with sumthin' dat our ghost in the machine can't break his way into, yeah?" Already, it seems that Leo's mind is processing, as the freeze gun is placed down on a table, with a notepad immediately slid over with pencil. Judging from the way he is going, Leo already has a design in mind.

    The biologist in the room, however, reaches over towards the stack of papers that May is already flipping through. "You...want me....to code a computer virus to attack a specific brainwave pattern? You're talking a designer virus, yes?" There is a shake of the head as Jemma attempts to process the concept. "I can certainly help with the identification of the brain emgrams. It may be....difficult...to do, but...I suppose if you created a virus to target a certain bit of coding...and we converted the mental recordings into digital data, then I don't see why we couldn't pull it off."

    As far as physical items, the two have never been shy about asking for resources. There is already a list being constructed by the engineer, while Jemma herself flips through the papers, looking for medical information specifically.

Quake has posed:
Skye hadn't expected them to be surprised, mostly because when it comes to business, despite her genearl carefree and devil may care attitude, she's all serious about her job.

"Pretty much," she tells Fitz. "I can to the coding, but I can't switch out our hardware into things he can't get his claws back into. I mean, I'm hoping we can take the data from his brainwaves.."

A nod to Jemma for following that little breadcrumb right to the exact conclusions she needed to, "and convert it into the code we need, but it's all got to work together, and come into play at the same time." And here is where she adds the kicker, "And it can't be on our systems. He's living int them. As much as you can hide is what we need hidden."

Of course she's got the start of a list already for May, but it's just an anticipatory list, and liable to change as things develop, as witnesed by Fitz' already jumping on that bandwagon.

"We can hide some under the guise of more tests for me. Work sessions around field tests, that sort of thing, but some of this is going to be blind and hoping we all trust one another's work." To which Jemma and Leo have a distinct advantage, and Skye has yet to mention the fourth player in this. ".. I'm also looking at an outside source. They have an advantage I don't in this one. I can't say yet, but if they agree, it could make a huge difference."

Then she adds, much more quietly, "While we're at it, I want to add something to our systems. Some designer code for anyone else who attempts to get in. It's going to let them." No surprises there. They already let a lot of backdoor traffic in to monitor where they went and what they targetted, as well as a way to disseminate things that they couldn't officially put out there. "And when it does, it's going to use their connection to travel back and open their doors to us."

The implication being making their visitors open books to them should they want them to be, but also suggesting something more nefarious based on Skye's delivery.

Melinda May has posed:
May lets the scientists take the papers from her and reaches into her jacket to pull a slim notepad smaller than a smartphone as well as a slender mechanical pencil. "I'll arrange a series of field trials for you, Skye, and make sure both Simmons and Fitz are tapped to go on them." She might also send an escort with them. She'll have to consider if she wants that escort to be Micah or Barnes.

"Also, make sure your outside source knows to contact me if anything." She finishes whatever notes she's taking (and they're not in English), and tucks the little notebook away again.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    "Right." The word is uttered, in unison, by both Fitz and Simmons, practically in the same manner. The gestalt that is FitzSimmons is on the case. Jemma then slides the paperwork back over to Skye. "you should put these back in your satchel, then. Take them out of the Triskelion and away from prying electric eyes. We can review them when we gather for more....social interaction." The hint is there. To take the papers back to the home Skye shares with Clint and use visiting as a cover for collaboration. "We can proceed from there."

    Then, as an aside, Jemma offers an oh-so-sweet smile to Leo. "Did you hear that, Fitz? We're going out in the field."

    To which Leo responds with..."Yeah, yeah. Don't remind me."