All Warfare is Based on Deception (Koji Silvia)
| All Warfare is Based on Deception (Koji Silvia) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 27 August 2023 |
| Location: | Silvia Residence - Juuban Ward |
| Synopsis: | The burns that can come with passing the torch are not still healed.
(Guest Starring Shia Silvia!) |
| Cast of Characters: | Koji Silvia |
Shia just had to stare at her son, and with a frown and a shake of her head, she says, "I know you're not going to listen to me, but this is a bad idea, Kojiro. Even I'm not foolish enough to try and assault THEM directly."
Standing up, Koji paces across the small guest room of the apartment, far enough from his snoring and unconscious father so that he wouldn't hear the pair of them talking, and stared up at his mother, "Aren't you the one who told me that before you can fight your enemy, you have to know the enemy? Well... Obsidian is a pretty big enemy, and I don't know anything about them! It's time to change that."
With a sigh, the pink-haired woman reaches reflexively for a cigarette that isn't there, and then gets a faintly annoyed look for it. Tilting her head, she moves off and away to settle down on the bed that is used half the time for her husband to sleep off a night of binge drinking or partying with some of his new-found friends, "I don't think you really understand how stupid this is, son. I am past half-ready to knock you flat on your ass and take Hanzo away from you. Do you even have an entry to their systems?"
Koji gets that triumphant little grin as his mother takes the bait, "Why do you think I've been studying hardware in Computer Club. So... the best way in is physical connection wh-."
He's immediately cut off, "No go. You can't get access to any of the corporate buildings. Beyond the normal security they'll have the other stuff in play."
Shaking his head, Koji gets an annoyed look, "Are you going to let me finish, mother, or are you just going to sit there and be judgemental."
Fishing into her pajama bottom pockets, Shia takes out a vape pen and gets a pull from it, sending a vanilla-creme scented plume of steam into the air, "Fuuck..." the woman groans out in an obvious tone of annoyance, "So this is what it was like for my superiors. Okay fine... go on."
With that Koji leans his butt onto a desk, "Alright, so there's no way I am getting into the building. Even with a copy of my roommate's access card to their facilities, and using Hanzo to fool the security cameras, there's zero chance I'm passing for him on a physical check. I get that. But... there's one weakness in the whole corporate mess. It's this."
From his wrist, Hanzo's Core comes to life and projects the image of a cellular tower array in front of the former TSAB special agent, and her son goes on as she stands up and walks around it, "Wireless towers and signal boosters litter the upper skyline of Tokyo, pretty much on every building they can get a contract for to keep signal strength with all that real estate getting in the way. They're almost as common as Air-con units. But in order for them to work remotely-"
She almost cuts him off but also finishes his sentence, "-has to be a physical connection to the building's network... So what you're planning is..."
Koji picks it back up, "Hooking right into the hardline to the building and bypassing the exterior security measures."
With another puff of Shia's pen, she shakes her head and wipes a hand across the hologram, "I could have done it... back in the day. But you're not NEARLY ready enough to tackle this, Kojiro. You've got half a year of this under your belt, you aren't military trained, let alone fully attuned to what Hanzo can do... plus you're rooming with the enemy. What if he gets a sniff of what you're doing and goes back to base to tell his side?"
Shia then gets a hurt look on her face, "I know you're still mad I lied for all those years but... son, I need you to listen to me. These people are DANGEROUS. This isn't like you fighting random crap on the street. This is the level where people get dead. Please."
Sitting up off the desk, Koji just shakes his head sadly, "They sent an assassin after one of the few people I could be friends with. My roommate, who is one of my BEST friends... whatever they're doing is ripping him in half. There's no one out there as experienced or as ready as I am to run the gauntlet and hack Obsidian. It HAS to be me."
As he turns and walks out, picking up his backpack, "Oh and about my roommate... the Enemy? I gave him your number in case something happens... to him or to me. Y'know... because if anyone can get someone out of a problem it'd be you. Try thinking about that for a minute."
Shia just leaves the vape pen sitting hanging in her mouth and digs into her pocket for a card.
Kyouka Inai. School Counselor.
The elder and former Device User taps the edge of the card on her knuckles, and the gets a shiver as the door's closing feels like guilt slamming down on her heart.
"I wish you were less like me and more like your father. Why won't you listen? Why won't you ask for help? What's so important to prove that you don't realize you're a housecat walking into a wolf's den, Kojiro?"
She puts it away, and mutters, "Damn that school. Damn Tokyo, and damn this whole fucking planet."
Outside of the apartment building, Koji lands lightly on top of a trail bound back towards Radiant Heart, saying to himself, "I'm sorry Mom. But I'll show you I'm ready."
