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Paranoia Rising

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Red Alert enters from the Main Lobby - Second Floor to the south. Red Alert has arrived. Kup is sitting at his desk, hunt-and-peck typing at his keyboard. "Fraggin' new-age computers... where's all the damn keys?" If Kup's looked around the base, he may have noticed that there are a lot of new security cameras. Pretty much everywhere at this point. Red Alert's had a good few days to work on this, even discounting the time spent in the Black Forest or in double-checking the 'help' provided by other people. "Sir? Did someone steal the keys?" ...Safe because he was attacked... ... Oh. Dear. Contents:

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Red Alert fears a conspiracy within the Autobots. Will he get anyone to listen to his warnings before it is too late?

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Paranoia Rising

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2029

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Red Alert enters from the Main Lobby - Second Floor to the south. Red Alert has arrived. Kup is sitting at his desk, hunt-and-peck typing at his keyboard. "Fraggin' new-age computers... where's all the damn keys?" If Kup's looked around the base, he may have noticed that there are a lot of new security cameras. Pretty much everywhere at this point. Red Alert's had a good few days to work on this, even discounting the time spent in the Black Forest or in double-checking the 'help' provided by other people. "Sir? Did someone steal the keys?" Kup stares at Red Alert. Hard. "*What?*" is all he says in response to that question. Red Alert looks confused. "You... /did/ ask where they all were. I assumed they were missing?" Kup blinks. "Ehhm... I dunno. Memory's bad. Look, I just called you in here to ask you what the frag you were buggin' me about when I was on the fritz in the med bay. I recall it bein' important. Also, what the frag is up with all the cameras? It's friggin' overkill." Red Alert holds his palms out, and sighs heavily. "I... I wanted information about the attacker, Kup. It's not a Decepticon." He seems quite certain about this. "And if it's not a Decepticon, we've either got a new faction to deal with, or a traitor in our own ranks, and either way... either way, no one's safe until we have answers." Then he blinks, and looks around the room. "The cameras? Those aren't overkill! I've been plugging previous holes in our security." The lambo looks intently at Kup. "They need to know... or at least think... that we're watching them, Kup." Kup raises a brow. Just one. "Huh? What are you tellin' me, not a Decepticon? I remember the... the red optics. Most bots don't have those cuz of friendly fire issues, specially at night. I'm sure..." He looks off into space. "It musta been. I just... I just can't remember. Not yet. It's becomin' a little clearer. But anyway. This... I don't know about this, Red. Yer good at yer job. But I worry sometimes that yer TOO good at it. Spying on our own side like this, expecting 'em to turn on us, it ain't good for morale." Red Alert frowns, and takes a step towards Kup, hands opened and almost pleading. "Kup, it's the white tank! I was there just today gathering evidence! It had to be! And like I told you... the 'Cons didn't know them! Besides, how much effort does it take to switch out colored lens glass? /And/ we had our frequency compromised yesterday. They stopped before I could trace them but... it wasn't Soundwave. Entirely too /petty/ for him." Then he sighs, exasperated. "And no personal quarters have had cameras insalled. Of course. After all, that /is/ against regulation. But, I mean... Grimlock just /publicly admitted/ to taking materials from the armory and distrubting them to an unnamed alien populace without authorization! Supplies in several of our lockers run low much faster than normal usage can account for! Just because they're not working for the other side doesn't mean they don't need to be watched, and with my... my..." he looks around the room, verifying they're alone. "With my damage," he adds, softer, "I just can't do it." Kup gives out a tired sigh. "We're runnin on low on supplies?" He types in commands on his console, then facepalms. "Ah... ah, geeze, yer right. Supplies are short. If I wasn't knocked out, I'd... Alright, I buy that, somebody's been stickin' his fingers into the cookie jar. I'm givin' you as much authorization as you need to look into who's been stealing our supplies. I have every confidence you'll catch 'em. But... this other business? Listen to me..." He leans across the table. "Will ya listen to yourself? This is just a buncha thieves, and some Decepticon that got the jump on me. So the 'cons got problems of their own, maybe a new recruit they didn't remember bringin' online or sumthin'. That doesn't prove nuthin'. Focus on finding out who the thief is, Red. Don't let your wires get crossed with this conspiracy crap." Red Alert's optics open wide and flash for a moment. Even when they dim, the observant might believe them to be... a bit too bright. "But... but sir...!" he protests. Then he slouches, looking for a moment like a marionette that's had its stings cut. Kup doesn't believe him. The person he was /sure/ was safe... ...Safe because he was attacked... ...An attack he rather /conveniently/ doesn't remember... ...Which he dismisses as 'just some Decepticon,' despite having asked Red Alert to monitor the situation before, despite the frequency intrusion, despite the missing Autobot, and despite being 'unable' to actually remember it... ...An attack which he took relatively little /actual/ damage from, despite how tough he is... ... Oh. Dear. Finally, Red Alert lifts his head and nods it, a curt, sharp little movement. "Yes sir. I'll... I'll focus on the thief." Busy work, is it? Red Alert can play along. Red Alert has left. Outside, Just as Silverbolt is transforming and preparing to take off to meet Kup, a shuttle descends into view. "Hey, Fireflight, is that the one we're looking for?" Privately, Silverbolt really hopes so, given that the alternative involves flying high enough to meet a shuttle in orbit. Outside, Fireflight is just about to transform himself when the shuttle arrives. He pauses, before straightening once more, waving a white arm to the descending shuttle "I dont know. Maybe?" Outside, The Concorde's nosecone snaps backward, arms and legs emerge, and finally Silverbolt's head pops up, looking slightly relieved. You leave the Autobot Shuttle . Landing Pad The smell of heated tarmac hits you first as you survey the landing and liftoff point for all flights to Cybertron. The wreckage of previous battles here are off to the back in a jumbled heap. To the southeast is the massive form of Autobot City itself, a bit battle-scarred, but still operational. Surrounding you on all other sides are forests of large conifer trees. The spaceport absolutely sparkles with a new shine - in fact, it's almost blinding in direct sunlight. Spots are a thing of the past, and each building has a brand new coat of paint. Even the *scrap* piles look like they've been cleaned off and straightened up. Contents: Autobot Shuttle Fireflight Silverbolt Millennium Scrap-Heap Autobot Hovercraft Autobot Sensor #6596 Shuttle Terminal - Autobot City Obvious exits: Fly leads to Sky over San Francisco. Launch leads to Earth Orbit. South leads to Entrance to Autobot City. Kup KICKS open the back hatch of the shuttle right after it lands. He stomps out angrily, all hunched over, like he's about to whoop on EVERY troublemaking whippersnapper in the Autobots. Or something. "NNnnnngh." Fireflight watches Silverbolt transform, when Kup makes his grand entrance. THe aerialbot's optics widen and he takes three steps - two back, one sideways - until he was behind his bigger brother. Silverbolt walks briskly over to the loading ramp unfolding from the shuttle. "Kup! Are you all right? We're trying to stop fights breaking out among the Autobots, we don't need you to start any." Kup's teeth grit together as he growls at Silverbolt, "Then get the frag outta my way. Need to talk to the boss, and I ain't in the mood for walkin' around people." Several gumbies note his dour attitude and wisely clear a path for him. Fireflight peeks out from behind Silverbolt, and murmers "I think that there's no change in his behaviour beyond what is expected." Silverbolt nods to Fireflight as he falls in behind Kup. "True, but we should go. You've been involved since those two started their random searches, and I intend to find out what's going on before Autobot start aiming worse things than Swoop's nose at each other." Kup grumbles, "Fine, whatever. I got my own investigation to worry about, lad." And so he enters the city without further ado You move south to the Entrance to Autobot City... The vast atrium of Autobot City's entranceway stands before you. When Metroplex is not in residence, this area doubles as a military spaceport. Large towers relay information from around the globe and keeps the spaceport in contact with Earth's solar system outposts and the rest of the known universe. Security cameras and gun emplacements surrounding the entrance make sure that only those who are welcome enter. Scorch marks and small holes in the wall are reminders of the last battle here for Autobot City. When Metroplex is not present, a gate allows easy passage to and from the battle station's facilities. The Space Bridge to Cybertron is constantly monitored by solemn-faced personnel. To the north is the landing pad for flights to and from Earth. "I'm right behind you brother." Comments Fireflight, following on behind. This is the main repair bay for the Autobots. Several operating tables lie in a row here, and a long bench lines one wall. On the bench are assorted tools used in repairing damaged Transformers. Scattered throughout the room are various repair bots, awaiting the arrival of more wounded to repair. The room gives you the perception of being immaculately clean, not a tool out of place. On the left side of the operating arena are wide sliding doors that open into the recovery ward. Less frantic than the busy repair bay, it consists of two rows of immaculate beds on opposite walls for those needing peace and quiet to rest and recover from their repairs. The sounds of quiet conversations between medic and patient, or between visitor and patient, are about all that disturb the quiet. Contents: Rodimus Prime Foxfire Bitbucket Medical Barracks Supply Closet Gumby Medic Obvious exits: Doors leads to Main Lobby - First Floor. Doors leads to Lounge/Observation Room. Shaft Downward leads to AC Training Chamber. Silverbolt enters from the Main Lobby - First Floor to the north. Silverbolt has arrived. Fireflight has arrived. Kup stomps into the medward, looking agitated. Anyone who knows him well would realize that he's actually furious and is trying to force those feelings down so he can get to business. The old mech looks around the room for any sign of their leader being mangled by med gumbies. Bitbucket looks up from his duties as Kup stomps in and mentally uh ohs. Rodimus Prime is on one of the Frankenstein repair tables -- even his hands are cuffed to his sides, strangely enough. A floating medical drone is slashing at him with a buzzsaw, and Rodimus seems to be fending it off with kicks. "Hi Kup," he asides to the elder Autobot. "Mind lending a hand here?" Kup scowls at the med drone. His fist tightens as he muses over how good it would feel just to punch that thing across the room. But, luckily, Kup represses his urges for violence, and instead simply grabs the medical drone's arm and lifts it away from Rodimus. "Eh, somebody in here who can reprogram this crazy thing? The lad doesn't need a lobotomy. Well, not anymore. Heh." Kup manages a grin in spite of his mood. "Anyway, gotta talk to you about this business with the stolen supplies, and Red Alert." Foxfire seems to have dozed off earlier. He is curled up in a corner, ears lowered and optics half-dimmed, an indication that he is awake, but only somewhat. "Chief...?" Fireflight remains behind Silverbolt, though still watching Kup attentively. He rubs the back of his head, looking over at Foxfire and blinks "Werent you going with Swoop to find Red Alert?" he asks her, puzzled. Several steps back from Kup, Silverbolt makes is way back in, looking around immedately as if he's expecting something a lot worse and more widespread than one Autobot on a repair table. "Well, I guess sending everyone out kept any fights from breaking out, at least," he comments to Fireflight just behind him. "Where's the off switch for that - oh." He shrugs, seeing Kup has solved the problem another way. "And Punch, who's been accusing everyone of everything since Red Alert vanished." "Slag," Rodimus grunts, ripping his fists out of the medical restraints. "Thanks, Kup. Someone needs to program these things with a better /bedside manner/." He stands up, dusting himself off. "Okay, Kup, brief me with what you've got." He kneels down, waving an energon goodie at Foxfire and waving the tape bot closer. Foxfire paws at his optics and mumbles, "Went offline...probably wouldn't be much good, anyway..." He yawns and gets up to meander over to Rodimus. "Punch seems to think that *I* would be capable of...how'd he put it...'silencing' Red Alert. Can you imagine?" Kup blinks, as the drone struggles in his grip, trying to saw into Rodimus again. "Ennnh, actually, could you find that off-switch? I don't know this new-fangled stuff works." Holding onto the drone with both hands, Kup says, "Uh, yeah, but Red Alert was also suspectin' just about everyone. You shoulda seen him when I talked to him not so long ago. He honestly believed there was this huge conspiracy within the Autobots to do... SOMETHING. It could just be his paranoia, but now he's missing and... I dunno anymore." Rodimus Prime waves the energon goodie one more time before tossing it a friendly under-hand toss towards Foxfire's mouth before standing up. "Ah, sure, Kup," he says, walking over to the DRONE CONTROL TERMINAL. "Let's see... Not enough time to do a full shutdown... Let's try... introducing a logical paradox..." Rodimus' fingers click away on the terminal controls. "Hmm... LEt's try something about the existence of good and evil... Yeah, that should do it..." The drone thrashes and squeals, before oily smoke starts spilling out from underneath its chassis. "Kinda... Messy," Rodimus says, his tone apologetic. Foxfire rears up slightly, snatching the treat in his jaws. He steps back, keeping a good distance from the drone as he eyes it warily. "So, chief...uh, how, exactly, did you get yourself strapped to a repair table with that thing trying to cut you in half?" Silverbolt says, "Messy, but effective." Silverbolt looks impressed by Prime's solution, even as he tries to wave some of the smoke away. "It's not just Red Alert's paranoia. Punch has been at least as bad, probably worse since Red Alert disappeared but it was both of them running the random searches, wasn't it?" He looks to Fireflight for confirmation." "Or at least, taking every little thing said as an excuse to search." Fireflight adds, folding his arms as he pipes up "But yes, it was both of them. Punch also I think suspects Nightbeat a bit, since because of a really complicated situation, I happened to have a link to Nightbeat I didnt know about so that kind of connects us together and - I'm confused now." Kup coughs as his air intakes cycle the smoke. "Agh, dammit all--" The drone thrashes about madly, and Kup presses it down onto a table, batting away its arms full of harmful implements of pain. "Geeze, this is like a really bad turbo-massage I had, once. Look, what I'm sayin' is, it wasn't just Red Alert freaking out over nuthin' again. There really was something to this. I checked our inventory. It's short, all right. And that... that guy who shot me. There's still something about I..." He doesn't finish, as he's having trouble remembering, especially since the drone has gone berserk from the logical paradox. Rodimus Prime mutters some commands into his wristcom, looking distracted, his blue optics focusing on something distant and not present in the room. Finally, he snaps back to attention. "Look, if Red Alert is missing, we need to find him." He scowls seriously. "Autobots /never/ leave one of their own behind. Is that understood? Nightbeat, Punch -- They'll have to work together to find Red Alert, instead of pointing fingers." Foxfire nods. "I *did* tell Punch we weren't getting anywhere by him making random accusations. And I might be able to sniff Red out, but the hard part is locating his scent." Fireflight ventures "What about his locker?" Rodimus Prime takes something out of a wrist compartment. "Here. Here's one of Red Alert's personal briefing to me. It should have his scent all over it." The data capsule reads, in big block letters, "URGENT: HUMAN CULTURE PRESENTS CLEAR DANGER TO DISCIPLINARY PROTOCOL". He tosses it to the Foxfire. "Get a whiff of /that/, buddy." Kup presses the drone to the table as it finally sputters and dies. "Damn, this is just how that massage ended, too," Kup says, letting go of the rogue automaton. "Read you loud and clear, boss. Still. I'm worried that he mighta been right all along. Too many strange things happenin'." Glancing at Fireflight, Kup says, "What, you wanna search HIS locker? Ennngh, geeze, I dunno if we really wanna know what's in there..." Silverbolt moves to help Kup restrain that thing that won't stay down. "Someone said something about white treads. Does that sound familiar?" He looks hopefully at Kup, until that drone starts to get loose requiring Silverbolt's attention as well as hands. Fireflight blinks "I never said THAT. " he states "Anyways, he already showed me. I meant it would have his smell on it." he explains to Kup, moving to try and help the othe rtwo. .. but he could not get close enough to really be of assistance and instead steps back, kind of halfway between the drone and Rodimus. Foxfire catches the capsule firmly in his jaws, then sets it down. He sniffs at it carefully, taking in the strong scent emanating from it. "Yeah--Red's all over this thing. I think I can track him." "Good," Rodimus nearly grunts, standing up. "Then we can get over this thing and get on with our lives. We have bigger things to worry about than playing McCarthy Inquestion all day." Kup frowns. "White... white... treads... I... I can't..." Suddenly the drone springs to life again, trying to give the three Autobots holding it down a free vaccination! "Agh!" Kup says, ducking under a vibro-syringe. "Damn thing! Someone think of another logical paradox, dammit!" "Robot," Rodimus scowls, "I am the Autobot Supreme Leader. My will is absolute and my orders have to be followed to the letter. I am 100% correct in /all/ matters." His scowl deepends. "2+2=5." Fireflight yipes and leaps back as well "Uhm.... " he points to the drone "True or false: This sentence is a lie!" Foxfire ducks back against a wall. "I could bite the thing! Would that help?!" The drone is assaulted with a barrage of logical paradoxes, overwhelming its tiny CPU. It emits a shrill scream before it spasms and goes limp, perhaps forever. Kup eyes it warily for a moment, then mutters, "Eh, no thanks, Foxfire, I think it's done. Ok. Uh. Where were we. Oh, yeah. The white tank." Kup faces Rodimus, looking at him grimly. "You know, lad, I know how ya feel. All these accusations flying around, they aren't good for morale. I know that. But something's up. Might turn out to just be a buncha jerks who think they can get away with anything... but... it might not be." Foxfire slinks over to the motionless drone and cautiously nudges it with a front paw. "I'm really not good at this sort of thing; the only help I can be is probably finding Red." Fireflight nods and states "I am only cleared for light duty, but I could walk with you if you want Foxfire." he notes, then looks to Kup "And if its okay with you." Kup waves dismissively at Fireflight. "Yeah, alright, alright, fine. Go ahead, lad." Foxfire stretches his shoulder joints a bit. "Be my guest, 'Flight. Beats havin' to go alone." Fireflight grins and stands, almost leaping up "let's go then!" he states "You lead the way, Foxfire. You have his scent and I dont." Foxfire nods and starts out. Nightbeat enters from the Main Lobby - First Floor to the north. Nightbeat has arrived. Kup is drinking an energon cube. Yaaaaaaay. Nightbeat walks into the medical ward, looking fairly serious, as far as he goes. Red Alert is missing! He knows that the Decepticons are gunning for Autobot Intelligence personnel. Perhaps they've decided to snuff Red Alert, too. He knows his own neck is on the chopping block. He delivers a slightly sloppy salute to Kup. Kup urps, and returns an equally sloppy salute to Nightbeat. "Ehhh, Nightbeat. Good to see ya. Hope you're helping Punch locate Red Alert and figure out what the frag is happening." Nightbeat leans against a wall. He replies, "Yeah, about that, boss..." He shifts and looks a bit uncomfortable. "When Red Alert fought Arachnae, his higher level sensors were damaged. He... he didn't want me to tell anyone, because he though they'd take advantage of him if they knew. Look, I've got a similar sensor set-up to him, and I know, when my sensors were down - it was horrible. I could see it being maddening, even." Kup squints a bit, nodding. He sips on his cube. "Yeah. He told me about that. Wasn't much I could do for him, though. But lemme tell ya, I can't see or hear as well as I used to and I ain't crazy. And I don't think Red Alert was driven crazy... uh, crazier, I guess, by losing some sensitivity. He seemed to be, I dunno, more worried about sumthin' else." Nightbeat shoots a beseeching look at Kup, and he points out, "With all due respect, boss, I think it was a more gradual process in your case. Did he also tell you that he suspected you, because," and now he parrots Red Alert's voice, "'I've been ordered... ordered not to look for traitors. Or to further investigate what happened in the Black Forest. After he put me /on/ it, now I've been ordered off it. I have to concentrate on theft instead. Just petty theft.' He seemed none too happy about that." Kup nods, not really looking at Nightbeat, twirling his little energon cube around in his fingers. "Yeah... Red Alert's real paranoid, as we all know. But that's how paranoid guys work. Don't believe 'em, and they think yer in on it." He shrugs. "Wouldn't believe a word of it myself, if it weren't for all the weird crap coincidin' with everything. Me gettin' attacked in the Black Forest. Supplies disappearing. And now, the guy I put in charge of looking into that theft is missing. It's too early to connect any dots, but... I'm bothered by all this." Finally, he fixes Nightbeat with a glare. "Tell me sumthin'. What kinda nutjob would steal supplies from his own side, then KIDNAP the investigator lookin' for 'im? Who the hell would do that?" Nightbeat points out, "Boss! That crazy Seeker who framed me - he flat-out told me that the Decepticons are gunning for Autobots Intelligence agents. Maybe the Decepticons are gunning for Red Alert, too. Wouldn't put it past them." He scowls, showing sheer and utter disdain for the Decepticons. "My bet is that some 'con looking to make a name for hismelf got 'im." Swoop pokes his head in to the room, optics bouncing around as they scan everything in the room. Oh, snap, there's Nightbeat. "Hey! You Detective find Red 'Lert yet?" he squawks. Oh, oh, oh! Kup's here too! Swoop scoffs and steps in, trying his best to look natural. "Me just gunna stand around here for a bit, 'kay?" Kup suddenly yells, "I KNOW THEY'RE GUNNING FOR INTELLIGENCE AGENTS!" and throws his cube to the ground. It detonates with a PACHOOMF. "Maybe it's just a coincidence that Red Alert happened to get kidnapped right after looking into this crap. Maybe. But why didn't he tell us he had been captured by Decepticons instead of telling Punch it's "Worse than you think" or whatever the hell he said? Is that really the last thing he would say before getting tossed in a Decepticon gulag? And what about that guy that shot me in the Black Forest? Why... why did he screw up my memory? Why didn't he finish off the number 3 guy or so in the Autobots when he had the frickin' chance?! It makes no sense!" There's a little devil Kup sitting on his shoulder, telling him Red Alert is right and that he needs to stockpile weapons and supplies of his own and prepare for the day the Autobots all turn on him, but he ignores the vicious little imp for now. "Huh?" Kup says. "Oh, hi, Swoop." Seeing the Dinobots seems to have calmed him down a bit. And yes, the devil Kup is not real. Even if he is waving at you. Swoop is totally used to people throwing explosive crap around, so Kup's actions don't bother him in the least. C'mon, guys. He lives with freakin' Slag. "Hi Kup!" he chirrups, siddling on over to everyone's favorite grandpatron. "How you doing? You, uhm, look good today. Still 'live and stuff." Nightbeat shakes his head sadly and replies to Swoop, "I haven't even gotten a chance to look into the case yet, Swoop. I had to drop of a load of monitoring sensors to help out Cliffjumper." He claps his hands over his audios as Kup yells and bestows an instant headache upon the sensitive private eye. He murmurs, "I... I... don't know, sir. I'll get right on it. I know Red Alert was working on stalling more security cameras, and he was teaching me a bit about security systems. Would you mind teaching me the rest, boss? With him missing, someone's got to fill in." Bitbucket startles at the explosion caused by the energon and turns to look at Kup with an expression of "What was THAT for??" Kup pats Swoop on the shoulder. "Yeah, still live. I've gotten used to the idea the Decepticons will never kill me. Ever." He doesn't seem to be either dismayed or thrilled by that realization, though. "Huh, he was teaching you about security cameras, Nightbeat?" Kup continues, rubbing his chin as he regards the detective. "Well, suppose you could use the training. There's some missing footage from that security video log you sent me. Heh, if I had an energon chip for everytime I accidentally deleted security footage... damn new age computers." He shakes his head. "We rely too much on that stuff, anyway. Footage can be faked, in, uh, Photoshop or whatever they call it." As Bitbucket berates him, Kup glances at the diminutive bot, and looks apologetic. "Er... sorry, just got excited. Uh. Can I get another cube?" Oh, and he seeemed not to answer Nightbeat's question. Nightbeat removes his hands from his audios, now that the explosions and shouting seem to be over. He agrees readily, "Blasted computers. Can't trust 'em. But yeah," he points over at one corner, "I installed that camera there. Thing is, while I can slap a camera in a wall, Red Alert didn't get around to explaining how to design a system, top down." Bitbucket would sigh if he were human as he goes to get a fresh energon cube for Kup. Swoop waves his hand around in the air, "Me want cube too! Me should get one 'cause me not throw them all over the place like SOME PEOPLE." He crosses his arms and nods to himself. Oh Swoop, you are so subtle and witty! "Why cameras? Should just get some tough guy to stand around and watch everyone." Kup scowls at Swoop. "Watch it, lad. Just because you like listenin' to my stories doesn't mean you get a pass for EVERYTHING." To Nightbeat, Kup says, "Alright, yeah, I'm not a big technical wizard like Perceptor but I know how to set up a security system. Not too good with the computers, but I know all about magnetic tape storage. Harder to "hack," if you ask me. Yeah. Yeah, I could teach you what I know." Swoop just gives Kup one of those 'I totally do get a pass for everything because I'm so damn cute' looks. It's actually even more hideous than one would imagine. Nightbeat almost smiles, but he can't - there's too much going wrong right now. So he nods and replies, "Thanks, boss. I'll take you up on that when you got time. I gotta duck out now - got watch duty to stand. But I'll look into Red Alert's disappearance as soon as possible."