Final report

Primary Objective: Failed.

Secondary Objective: Failed.

Tertiary Objectives: Failed.

Mission Status: Failed.

Survivor Count: One.

Specter was right. Kind of funny in retrospect.

For those curious, I'm not going to bother with an entire transcript or report. We found Specter. We fought our way to him, getting killed off all the way. There were a lot of Indoctrinated between us and him.

We killed them, silenced a few witnesses. Nothing out of the ordinary. When we reached Specter, he was tied to a chair like you see in a lot of movies. We cut the ropes.

Next thing we know, one of us is shot in the back of the head with a gun he was hiding on him. He didn't survive the next few seconds, and then we had to fight our way back out. Almost as many of my men got killed on the way out as the ones that died getting in.

When we got back to the safehouse, those of us who were still alive ran into Twiggy. The damn thing had gotten in, and just killed everyone. Organs are all over the place. Lab equipment was in pieces. They tried to break out the Hammer of Thor to deal with it, and from the looks of the security cameras, it didn't work.

This entire mess with Specter makes me wonder how long he was Indoctrinated. I think that Twiggy had him under his sway for a while. Rigged the situation up so that we'd get strung along for as long as possible with no gains, before just taking us down. The PATCH was corrupted by Twiggy. I'd bet money on it. Specter was probably using it to covertly siphon money out of our accounts to hire mercenaries to attack us and keep us off balance as we worked. That attack on our hideout, back when we got the PATCH online, only happened because the PATCH was brought online. And then it started feeding us false data, just to mess with us even more.

We got played like a fucking fiddle the entire time. We can't fight something that can outsmart us like this.

Central Command, I'm requesting pick-up and immediate reassignment. You know where to find me.

I'm done.

-B2

Stop following me

B2, it's Specter.

Look, what we're dealing with is something I'm not convinced we can handle. I was convinced we could handle it, but, we can't. Over a year of work, and less to show for it than almost anyone else fighting this thing who's lasted this long.

I'm being held captive. You know where I am, and I'm telling you that they know you're coming.

Don't try to give pursuit. Write me off, disband the SMD, and move on.

We can't fight this anymore.

-Specter

Something came up

The transcript for that last mission is completely gone. Seems to have been deleted somehow. None of the science staff did it, but Twiggy was here for a while. It's completely possible it got rid of the file.

Well, we have the main important parts out there already: 50% casualties, Specter was dragged off, and the Indoctrinated are using weapons.

We'll resume searching for the file, but more importantly, we know where Specter is now.

Heading out.

-B2

50%

That was our fatality rate on this last outing. The bastards were waiting for us, and they had weapons. They're getting smarter. Specter was dragged off. I could see him being taken to a van during the shootout. We'll have a transcript for you sometime later tonight or tomorrow. Tomorrow's more likely.

As for everyone here back at our nice little hidey-hole, let's just say things were thankfully not so bad. Nobody's hurt, but everyone's scared out of their wits. The nerds get chills when we talk about face-to-lack-of-face encounters with Twiggy, but they hold up worse than we do under that degree of pressure.

Commencing with funerals. Then we take another crack at it. We've had people tracking the van.

-B2

Oscar Mike

B2 and the rest of the Military Department just set out four hours ago. They should be at the location the Friend gave us by now.

Best of luc

Shit. We have other problems.

It's here.

-Goggles

Can't sleep

A certain tall and slender friend has been sighted on the premises. Plans to rescue or capture Specter are in the works as I type this, but we need to get through the night, at the least.

Keeping eyes open.

-B2

And this brings us to...

Why I think we've been duped this whole time.

We're starting to suspect Specter may be Indoctrinated. Might have been for a while. We're not sure, and I honestly hope not, but looking back, there's a lot of things we've noticed that have pointed to this.

He was moved from his bed back in April. That's usually a sign of some kind of influence from the Slender Man. This is topped off by numerous orders given by Specter that saw little to no positive outcome, dating back to just after Nightcrawler was removed from the chain of command, and even before that. I was just chalking it all up to a run of really bad luck and little information to work with, but it's entirely possible Specter was setting us up the whole time, getting us picked off one by one, and sending us on wild goose chases to make sure we never accomplished anything that actually related to our mission.

The financial record discrepancies from the PATCH siphoning money out of our accounts would have been spotted by Specter, and I doubt he'd have let it continue if he knew what was going on. Either he didn't suspect the PATCH but still knew something was up and was running his own investigation without letting anyone know, or he was helping it along. One of the bank accounts that the PATCH was siphoning money into belongs to Specter.

If Specter's been Indoctrinated this entire time, then there's no telling just how bad things really are for us here. How better to keep a hostile organization from ever doing anything to harm you than to have an inside man in a command position giving orders that make it seem like they're accomplishing their goals when they're really not?

I'm on the fence here, but the Friend's given us Specter's location. We need to find Specter and set things straight. One way or the other.

From there, it's back to business as usual.

-B2

I am The Friend - 2/2

This will require a bit of an explanation.

There is reason by my master to believe that there are twenty paths mankind can take. Mankind nears a pivotal point in its history. This pivotal point comes approximately one year from now; You know it as the upcoming, infamous 2012 event. From there, numerous paths will open. More than one path is guaranteed to lead to the non-existence of all that has ever come to be.

This Slender Man's activities are pushing mankind onto one such path, and that is why I've been trying to assist the PTC in their endeavors without being noticed. I have failed.

My master's struggle is beyond the scope of what you are all facing, but this Slender Man has motives, methods, and a purpose that my master cannot discern. Its influence is harming my master's efforts, and yet it is not inherently opposed to us. The Slender Man simply is, and my master is intrigued by this.

My usefulness to the PTC has come to an end, aside from one last thing I can do.

I know where Specter is, but the PTC isn't bound to be happy when they find him. I've given them Specter's location and requested to go on my way. I am done here. They are discussing it in private.

Hopefully, they will be able to turn their little war around. I doubt they will, but they've been full of surprises in the past, haven't they?

-A Friend

I am The Friend - 1/2

They have me in custody, and are holding a weapon to my head. So it's time to come forward and tell you all in plain terms what I know, and why I have played this (now rather pointless) head game thus far.

I am the one the PTC calls 'The Friend.'

I serve Father Paranoia, and I've been trying to help.

My aid has been behind the scenes, and it is becoming irrelevant very quickly. I've been working to mitigate the Slender Man's work, but that has been rendered pointless thus far. The PTC's been a danger to it. Everything that has been going on for the last year has slowed it down, but no matter how much they've been struggling or whatever damage to the Slender Man's agents they've been inflicting, the Slender Man itself is untouchable. The cancer can be treated, resisted and endured, but not cured.

The PTC have been killing what you call proxies. That much is true. It has hindered the Slender Man's efforts for a time. They have been interfering in that which is truly and honestly beyond them. And the Slender Man has foreseen their actions as being a long-term annoyance, if not a danger, to the point of warranting the creature's personal attention. This is why the Slender Man has been acting against them in turn. The PTC has been treating this as a war, and rightfully so.

This does not change the fact that it is a war they cannot win.
Now, I am certain that this begs the question of why I'm telling you this and how I know it.

I'll tell you.

I lack a snappy title for this blog post

The Indoctrinated that's been leaking all of those transcripts has shown us everything he's shown you guys. It doesn't add up. A lot of what he says in the posts he's put up don't point towards him working for the Slender Man, unless it was an intentional misdirection.

In the meantime, we've been talking to the Friend. And if what the Friend is telling us is right, then we've been getting played for fools this entire time, ever since the SMD was formed by Central Command. Central Command was played, we were played, Nightcrawler was played, and if he's telling the truth, Father Paranoia was played. I'm not inclined to believe him at face value, but there's something about him that just seems to make sense.

He can explain it better than I can, but there's a lot we didn't know until just recently.

Everything we've done up until this point has been absolutely useless.

-B2

One raid was a success

We have the Friend in our custody.

We don't have Specter.

Details to follow over the next couple of days. We have a lot to sort out, and we're going to be busy. We've gotten some unsettling information into our hands.

-B2

Busy, busy, busy

Let's just put it this way. We've run across a lot of problems.

Where to begin?

OK, first off, we've done some further digging into the last couple of months. We finally decided to do a line-by-line check of all the code in our computers again. Everything came up clean, no viruses or anything. Then we checked the PATCH, just for good measure.

The PATCH's operating system has been corrupted from the day it was activated. How it happened, we're not sure. It makes sense now. The PATCH was occasionally unresponsive, or didn't listen to certain commands over the last couple of months, and upon closer inspection, everything it was giving us was intentionally falsified in small ways. So, after some close looks at pretty much everything on the PATCH, we made a bit of a breakthrough regarding our stolen finances. The PATCH had access to all of the bank accounts our division uses, so it makes some sense.

All the money's been getting funneled into three different bank accounts. In regards to the first account, we're not absolutely certain who it belongs to, but it hasn't been touched for over half a year. There was a large payment to a private security company from the second account right around the time of the attack on our hideout. We're conducting research on the names involved as I type this.

The third seems untouched recently, but the important part is who it belongs to. It was made right around the time the PATCH came online, and it's been confirmed to belong to Specter's public alias. Our search for Specter's taken on a new aspect. We need him to sort out what's going on with this whole financial issue. We're not sure how Specter is linked to the PATCH's data corruption, but there's a few possibilities. None of them are pleasant.

Regarding our search for Specter, our interrogation of our transcript-leaking buddy has turned up some interesting facts. After a week of on-and-off interrogation/torture, he finally let slip a few details. He's Indoctrinated. Says his name is Kevin Hound, and he's most certainly not a kid. Looks to be in his mid-twenties. After a bit more effort, he eventually gave us his 'friend's' location, as well as Specter's. No name. Says he doesn't know it. From the way he said it, I got the impression he wasn't exactly on friendly terms with the guy. If nothing else, it gave us a few more questions to answer. Like we didn't have enough to answer already, right?

We've already dispatched two teams to the locations he's given us. They should be arriving right about now. It's part of why we didn't want to talk about this publicly until today. Might have tipped some people off we were coming.

If this doesn't answer any of our questions, I'll eat my gas mask. Oh, and our Friend left a little encouragement over on Specter's Blog.

-B2

Fun little offer for you guys.

Hey, gang. Goggles here.

B2 and his Military Department buddies have been having a few interviews with the guy they found. I'm gonna shorten this to the basics as much as I possibly can. We've got more leads to follow up on, thanks to the interrogation. But more importantly, we think this is the guy who's been fucking with us this whole time by leaking transcripts and classified information. The guy you people keep telling us about.

The reason we think this is because he's been making a lot of comments about random details only someone in the PTC would know, and we've checked all employee personnel records. He's not in any of them. Sure, the dimensional bleeding might raise the red flag there, but I've got a gut feeling this guy's the real deal and B2 shares my concerns. I mean it. I honestly think we have our man. For once.

B2 said to put this offer up. Hell if I know why, but if anyone wants us to ask him certain questions, feel free to post in the Comments section. We'll be taking requests for the next two days, and getting some of our own questions answered in the meantime.

In other news, the team we sent to capture Mr. Reed, Collector's good friend, finally caught him. We've already done everything in our power to make him and any mention of him disappear off the face of the Earth, drained all of his assets from his bank account under our 'battlefield salvage' policy, and brought him in for a little chat. As soon as we got any information we deemed necessary out of him, B2 had him lined up against the wall and had him shot. No new information about our other, more relevant concerns, but Reed's dead and we've got a few bills paid thanks to his generous donation.

We're going to be pursuing the leads turned up by the interrogation, but we've noticed a few more things.

B2 and I were looking further back through the financial records, looking for any further discrepancies and the first time it seemed to happen is as far back as two months ago.

Specter knew about this financial record problem and didn't say a word.

-Goggles

That was weird.

Our internet connection cut out for a while. A long while. It's come back on for now. I don't trust it to last long enough for an extended post. With any luck, we'll be getting our findings up by sometime in the late afternoon. That's American Eastern Standard Time.

-Goggles

Financial records aren't adding up

Goggles here.

There's been a few other developments regarding our investigation into Specter's abduction, but I'll be posting about those later today. Right now, me and B2 just noticed something.

We were looking through a couple of the SMD's budget reports. Me and B2 have been splitting the paperwork that the Head Executive would normally handle until we can find Specter, and we're noticing a lot of stuff that's not making sense. A lot of funds have been transferred from our general maintenance fund to the science department, all with Specter's 'consent and permission.' I didn't request any of these financial transfers, we didn't get the money for any of the supplies they say they're for, and we didn't get the supplies themselves. I wasn't even informed of any of this, and it says I made the request, and then Specter gave the green light. Some of these financial transfers have gone through within the last two weeks...which isn't possible, because he hasn't been here the last two weeks. B2's noticed the same problem regarding military supplies. Funding for ammunition, training dummies, spare sets of NVGs and thermal goggles, etc. None of it was requested by him, and Specter apparently said it was alright, despite him not being here.

Someone's stealing our cash, so we've got the PATCH tracing where all the money's going. The transfers all appear to have happened at consistent, regular intervals, so we should be able to figure out who's doing this if we just trace where it goes during the next 'scheduled' transfer.

We'll be posting later tonight with further findings regarding our search for Specter. We think we've got the guy who knows where Specter is.

-Goggles

fraud

i refuse to tolerate this

do you understand me?

i will not be denied

i will not be touched

my attempts to keep them trapped by their own inactions have failed

and now they are after me

i will not be denied

Getting some results.

Relocation's complete. That's one small blessing.

We did as our mysterious informant asked. One guy we have no connection to, dead and buried. We've been looking into his history after we got his name. So far, nothing notable. By all appearances, he was a fairly random, off-the-street kind of guy. Worked as an accountant. In return for killing him, we've been given a lead on the location of a guy who might know where Specter is. A team's been dispatched already, and they've been ordered to take this man alive. As for our informant buddy, we're considering tracking him down, too. There's too many questions and not enough answers. If we can get everyone in the same room, we might be able to get the air cleared a bit, if only to get back to our main job. I don't doubt this whole mess is Slender Man-related. It's just a matter of when we come face to lack-of-face with it again.

Our team tracking Collector's made it to Shreveport. They've been settling in for the last week and are trying to track him down. Overall command of all operations within Shreveport has been handed off to the squad leader. He's officially in charge down there until this whole mess with Collector's done.

I just hope that none of this is some big mistake.

Goggles has taken to a pet project. Nice to see someone on-task, here.

Kind of wondering if I'm going nuts from not being out in the field for so long.

-B2

The Rendezvous, and other developments

The rendezvous was with a guy matching the description of the guy looking for Specter. He doesn't have Specter, but he works for someone who might know where he is. Or, at least, that's what he claims. It was worked out as a very simple agreement. The PTC makes a guy he wants gone disappear, we get Specter back. Internal Affairs wants to kill him, possibly kill Specter if necessary, and keep the SMD out of the equation altogether. We're thinking of agreeing to the terms of his offer. We asked him if he was responsible for killing Specter's bodyguards, and he said that he wasn't personally responsible, but he knows what did it.

Those exact words: What did it, not who. So, of course, we're on our toes now.
No word from the team pursuing Collector, but I doubt he's managed to take them down. Last reported location was Baton Rouge. It's likely they're closing in on Shreveport, by now. Relocation's more or less complete. We finished putting the PATCH back together at the new safehouse. A few more days and we'll be able to write this place off.

Oh, and for those who heard of my Katamari problem, I forced that guy into a shower at gunpoint. And told him to stay the fuck out of my office.

-B2

Finally some progress on all fronts

B2 took a team down to Florida right when he got back from Africa. The hotel manager was coerced to help us out through a combination of bribery and forged FBI badges. Specter was nowhere to be found, and the manager mentioned that there'd been no sign of the guest who rented the room for a couple of days. The manager mentioned there had been a guy looking for Specter, though. Asked for his cover name while in public (the one he rented a hotel room with). Grey shirt, brown hair. Fairly nondescript. The kind of guy you'd expect to miss walking down a street or in a crowd. B2 and his team searched the room top to bottom, didn't find any kind of hidden message or warning. The manager said there were no signs of a struggle in the room. Specter just up and disappeared. If anything like that happened, they would have called the police.

It wasn't long after that we got a call from a cell number one of the dead bodyguards had used. The guy in possession of the phone, whoever he is, wants a rendezvous. He didn't say why, but he rattled off a very interesting list of facts. Whoever it is has a fairly intricate knowledge of PTC operating procedure. We don't exactly pass out fliers with that information. Either it's someone in the PTC, or Specter's been captured and he's getting interrogated. And he's cracked. We've got to find him, and fast.

The rendezvous is to take place tomorrow. He's provided an address. We're not gonna say where or when, as he requested.

As for Mr. Collector, our team's still hot on his trail, regardless of his offer. This Mr. Reed fellow, however, is interesting. As important as finding Specter is, Collector needs to be dealt with, and Mr. Reed's a potential security risk. We've already dispatched two squads to Reed's address. They have orders to take him alive if possible, but if he's difficult, another one for the body count doesn't hurt.

Internal Affairs has been bugging the crap out of us to just get back to work and let them find Specter. They're being unreasonable about this. We haven't given two shits about their authority before, and we're not about to start now. Meanwhile, our relocation is almost finalized. Things are cleared up, and our previous safehouse is now recognized as a potential risk for future PTC Divisions to use until this matter with Collector is resolved.

I've also been getting back on topic, in terms of the science team's workload. We had a theory, relating to the Electric Theorem. Common circulating theory is that the Slender Man is easy to harm with electricity and magnetism. So, assuming dimensional manipulation can be done artificially (if at all), we might be able to dimensionally contain him to keep him from just getting away, get him inside a cage consisting entirely of highly-magnetic and conductive materials, run a massive current through it, and then get it to close in around him. The result should be a bit explosive.

That's assuming any of that works at all, let alone hurts him. We might be able to actually kill the bastard. We'd need to lure him into the cage, though. But again, just some theories we've been kicking around. We've also been debating 'lethal taser' rounds again.

The problem is that solid-projectiles seem to do nothing upon impact (presumably that's just without an electric current), and just don't connect if they do have an electric current. Confirmed video evidence of a blunt object and a car not hurting the Slender Man exist and are currently on the everymanHYBRID channel on Youtube. That was the whole reason we broke out the laser carbines to deal with this. And they were effective. Current theory to explain that here at the SMD involves the stuff that hits the Slender Man simply moving too fast and being something different from your average baseball bat. In the case of the laser carbines, a beam of coherent light. Nothing slower has ever been confirmed to harm it. You don't get faster than the speed of light. And the light's not actually solid, and even the laser carbines never really did anything but make it back off, which could be explained by any number of things.

That might change with the addition of a running current into the mix, but that still leaves the matter of the taser rounds just not connecting. I don't know, I'll keep kicking the idea around.

Anyways, we'll keep you posted.

-Goggles

On my way

Money's been wired, I got a plane ticket.

I'll be back in the States by tomorrow. We can put our heads together and come up with a plan once I'm back. Hold things together, Goggles. Twenty-four hours to go.

-B2

Tried to contact Specter

He hasn't answered any calls, and he's not replying to emails. So I contacted his bodyguards.

Turns out, they're all dead and Specter's disappeared, for one reason or another. Either he's gone to ground, or he's been captured or killed. I haven't gotten an answer for that.

How do I know this from calling a dead guard?

It wasn't the dead guy who answered the phone. Someone took his phone, said that he was dead, and hung up on me.

If Specter wanted or needed help, he'd contact us himself, so I have to assume he's unable to, or simply won't, for whatever reason. So for now, Specter's on his own. We need to relocate anyways.

B2, I know you're reading this. Please, just get some money wired. We can't wait for you anymore.

-Goggles

Supercomputers

Do you have any fucking idea how hard it is to SAFELY take one apart and then put it back together without breaking something?

Do you?

Because I'm doing it.

IT ISN'T A FUN PROCESS.

-Goggles

Well FUCK.

OK, so, a guy got killed right outside our hideout. One of our science team members.

Then Collector bragged about it and took credit. And compromised our hideout's secrecy.

We're taking apart the PATCH and relocating already. Damn it.

On the other hand, now we have a lead. It's amazing what a bit of DNA testing, security footage from our own cameras, and some satellite-surveillance data from hacked satellites can do.

We're on your trail, you little freak.

-Goggles

My boss's unpaid vacation

Specter's going on a little trip. I'm not at liberty to divulge all the details, but it involved a hissy-fit, some confusion on my part, and Central Command locking him out of the PTC Darknet for two weeks. I'm in charge here at the SMD hideout while he's away. Great.

Word from B2. He apparently got into a shootout with a bunch of African militia out in the middle of fucking nowhere. How's this correspond to him getting out of Africa? Apparently, he needs to get enough money to pay off a guy who can get him safely off the continent. Which makes no sense, because he could just ask for someone to wire him some money, or call for a pick-up. We have PTC units operating in Africa, so he could just get in touch with one of them. Anyways, apparently, he's raising the money by hunting down and killing African militia, and then he's taking their rations for food, and selling their guns to some other militia. Why do I have the feeling he's played way too much Fallout, and just wants an excuse to get away with this kind of thing in real life for a little while?

Anyways, the science team's finally finished going over all of the test results from the PATCH. We're finally getting to work on some actual devices now. As for Mr. Collector, we've given Central Command a rough idea of his current location, and they've dispatched a few investigators. They're already on the move. Once they have a solid fix on his location, the SMD will send in a squad to wrap things up.

-Goggles

good

Subject: SMD/Central Command Conference
Sender: PTC Central Command Transcript Office
To: PTC Transcript Record Databank
Date: 7/20/11, 01:29
Conference 1793 Audio Transcript

Attending:
PTC General Marcus Karmac (Callsign: Orca)
PTC Head Executive Omar Carlyle (Callsign: Drumroll)
SMD Head Executive Kyle Leonard (Callsign: Specter)
SMD Science Department Head Scientist Phillip Spinal (Callsign: Goggles)

Specter: Karmac, Carlyle.
Drumroll: Leonard, what is the meaning of this conference? It's one-thirty in the morning.
Specter: Oh, no reason. Just thought I'd call up, say hi, request permission to authorize the 'Imminent Exposure' protocol, and top it off with permission to engage the target of Imminent Exposure with heavy assets.
Orca: Wait, wait, wait. You want to authorize gunship deployments again? Against what?!
Drumroll: I know what this is about. Karmac, he's talking about this Collector business.
Orca: You want to kill some random psychopath with a gunship?!
Specter: Gunships. Plural.
Orca: Are you completely insane?!
Drumroll: And with the Imminent Exposure protocol active, no less. You're basically requesting permission to broadcast our existence to the world by way of excessive collateral damage.
Specter: Yeah, pretty much.
Drumroll: I don't know how you can make this call to Central Command and remain so calm about this while requesting authority to deploy heavy weapons! With a straight face! This is a joke, right?
Specter: Yes, Omar. I'm joking. I'm really calling to request authorization to deploy our tank. Can I have authority to deploy heavy assets, now?
Drumroll: I don't appreciate jokes, Leonard. Especially not when we're discussing such a matter as the Imminent Exposure protocol.
Goggles: Wait, we have a tank?
Specter: I'm not joking. Rockets, tanks, gunships. Give me something to green-light, here.
Drumroll: Absolutely not!
Specter: Why is it whenever I try to do my job, Central Command does everything in their power to tie down assets or flat-out keep me from deploying anything big enough?
Drumroll: Don't start up with that! We've given you plenty of leeway! That blog, the rampant gunship deployments, numerous casualties! Drafting of Irregular personnel! You're almost as bad as Nile!
Specter: Don't you dare go there, Omar. I'm not Nightcrawler. We've been over this.
Drumroll: You're going too far, this time!
Specter: I'm going to green-light it, with or without your permission.
Drumroll: I'm calling your bluff, Specter. You wouldn't dare do that.
Goggles: Could somebody rewind for a minute? What was that about a tank?
Specter: You're right. I wouldn't. Congratulations, you called my bluff.
Drumroll: What do you hope for this...temper tantrum to solve, Leonard?
Specter: A very bad problem.
Drumroll: Specter, you're not getting authorization to deploy heavy assets for the Imminent Exposure protocol. Kill him with nothing bigger than an automatic rifle. Do a drive-by if you feel it necessary. Nothing pointlessly public if at all possible.
Specter: Karmac, authorize it.
Orca: Of course I won't authorize it, Specter. I'm in full agreement with Carlyle. No good.
Specter: You won't authorize it, either?
Orca: Why should I? No point. It's one guy. Kill him, by all means. Just do it the usual way.
Specter: Is it such a bad thing to make sure the guy's dead?
Orca: Specter. Think about it. You're authorizing Imminent Exposure and requesting permission for tanks and gunships to make sure one person stays dead and buried when a brief engagement on foot would do just as well, with minimal exposure.
Drumroll: Specter, are you alright?
Specter: What do you mean?
Drumroll: You're sweating. A lot.
Specter: I...What are you talking about?
Goggles: Can we go back to the tank for just a minute?
Specter: Shit, you're right. I AM sweating. I need to go and get a drink or something. Excuse me.
Drumroll: Oh, sit down. As long as it doesn't afflict your ability to think rationally. Not that it's a skill you're known for, these days.
Specter: I'm not nuts, alright?
Drumroll: Specter, you eat, breathe, and drink this job, and specifically this case. Maybe it's time for a vacation.
Specter: No way! We're finally making some progress! We-
Drumroll: Do you trust your subordinates to properly do their jobs while you take a day off?
Specter: Of course not!
Goggles: Hey!
Drumroll: In which case, give me a moment here...and, there we go. All of your passwords and registry information will be rejected for the next two weeks. You won't be able to access any PTC databanks or darknet sites.
Specter: You're locking me out?!
Drumroll: Take a vacation, Leonard. For your own sake. You're twenty-nine years old. You have greying hair. Your Division has reached an odd sort of stability in the wake of a recent drop in activity that you can track. Your situation will not totally collapse if you take a vacation. I'd suggest Florida.
Specter: Unbelievable! I try to do my job, and you lock me out!
Drumroll: Listen to yourself! You're obsessed with this case! Take a break!
Specter: You listen to me, Carlyle-
Drumroll: Take a break, or I will have you discharged, shot, and left for dead in a dumpster.
Specter: You make a persuasive argument. I'll start packing immediately.

CONNECTION CUT

CONNECTION CUT

CONNECTION CUT

Goggles: Will somebody please confirm or deny the existence of the tank?!

CONNECTION CUT

-END TRANSCRIPT










soon he'll be isolated

perfect

I thought I was done with this blog

Goggles is busy in the labs right now, so I'm responsible for keeping everyone updated.

In light of B2 getting stuck in Africa, he's responsible for getting himself out. I don't doubt that he can, but he's stuck there until he can get back home on his own. We're too busy here, and I need everyone on hand.

Mr. Collector, on the other hand, has proven he's out for blood. His kill-count has spiked in the last week. If only for the sake of keeping this from making the news, and possibly exposing us and the Slender Man to the world (you know he's gonna prattle on about it if he's ever interviewed, and he'll try, I think) we probably need to take him down ahead of schedule. We're narrowing down his location, but we can't devote the PATCH to that right now. It's too busy assisting Goggles, and we want Goggles and the rest of the science team done with the dimensional restabilization equipment as soon as possible. So we're resorting to identifying where he's been, and using that to determine where he's going based on what he's said on his blog, combined with our usual methods of covert recon to confirm he's there once we narrow down a location. I'd rather use PATCH's pattern analysis, but the PATCH is tied down with the lab work, so our field agents are on their own.

We're not gonna say if he's hot or cold, but that incident with the school definitely means we need to get on it in earnest. One Indoctrinated running around with delusions of grandeur and 'fighting the good fight' by killing kids isn't what we're normally supposed to really focus on, but the body count's entered the hundreds. The bigger this gets, the more we (and more importantly, the Slender Man) risk very public exposure if the police get him into custody. We can't let that happen, since there's no guarantee of our main target somehow bailing him out of trouble a second time, and if he gets interviewed, and ends up on mainstream media somehow, it'll cause more problems than we can deal with. If he gets caught and ends up staying in police custody, gets interviewed, and it gets aired to a large enough audience, then...well, there goes the neighborhood.

Onto another topic. There doesn't seem to have been any hacking attempts or transcript leaks lately, since you guys haven't brought it up for a while. Keep us posted about that, guys. If there's another transcript leak, we need to get that fixed as soon as we can. As for The Friend, there hasn't been any word from him. If he requests another meet-up, we're going to try and talk to him, face-to-face, and hopefully he'll oblige. The ball's in his court.

On that note, there's been no further leads regarding the attack on our hideout here. I'm not sure if we should completely drop that investigation, or try another angle.

There hasn't been much that's changed over the last month, so, that's a small blessing. Goggles is looking at it all wrong. 'Quiet and undisturbed' means 'stable.' That's all we can really hope for right now.

-Specter

Not as planned!

OK, so, one thing kind of led to another, and, long story short, I'm stuck in Africa.

Lucky me, right?

Don't worry, I planned for just such an occasion. Gimme another week to get home, and we'll cover everything I was supposed to be doing while I was away. Alright, Goggles?

-B2

Gonna be a little late

Won't be back at the hideout today or tomorrow, Goggles. Expect me back on Monday. I've got something I need to wrap up here, and it's taking longer than anticipated.

-B2

Reality of the situation

Specter made a few calls. We dodged a bullet, but there's no telling how long that's gonna hold up.

We've been getting a lot of incentive from Central Command (Read: Threats to transfer our funding to other Divisions) to get off our duffs and actually make something happen. It's been especially boring for a while, around here. Most of us have been holed up in here on lookout during our work hours, or pointlessly bashing our heads against a metaphorical wall. Progress has been slow on all fronts, but we're making progress nonetheless.

It's kind of depressing since it's been so long since our last big breakthrough, and there's been close to no major changes in the situation ever since. We haven't really been messed with since the last attack by (what we think were) Indoctrinated that knew how to use guns. We've gotten stagnant. The PATCH has been helping with research and data compilation, but we've been near-totally isolated here in our little hideout, trying to come up with the magic bullet to win.

We have no idea what's going on in the wider Irregular community nowadays. Most of us are too busy to keep up to date on any of the runner-blogs circulating out there, which doesn't help matters in the least. And this Mr. Collector that's got B2 so pissed off is showing an attitude outside that of most of the Indoctrinated 'community', which indicates that (when combined with what little information we've got regarding that last attack) Indoctrinated are somehow 'evolving.' Getting more complex, smarter. That's definitely a bad sign.

The Slender Man hasn't been sighted by us in...shoot, I don't even know how long. Think it forgot about us? On a lot of levels, we've forgotten about it. We've been so wrapped up in researching the dimensional bleeding and how to stop it, keeping the cops/FBI off us, and putting out a few other fires over the last couple of months that we haven't really stopped to try and track down the thing. The reason we haven't given the Banhammer a shot is because it hasn't come looking for us, and we haven't gone looking for it. Kind of an odd ceasefire.

Anyways, that magic bullet might actually be coming around. If the PATCH can figure out how to stop the dimensional bleeding, there might be an angle we haven't considered before. Keeping the Slender Man from getting away like he normally does when he just disappears can allow us to finally pin the thing down. Even if it can't be killed, we might be able to keep it contained. That's all a theory, but we might be able to make it work out.

Of course, given our track record, something will go horribly wrong. Oh, well. Let's do it. FOR SCIENCE.

B2's slated to come back sometime tomorrow. I'm sure he'll tell us all about his trip. He never really explained what that was all about.

-Goggles

Morning Mayhem

Hey, everybody. I'm Goggles. I don't post here most of the time, but Basroil 2's out on what he called 'personal business' and kind of left me in charge of this little pet project of his and Specter's. I'm sure you're all positively anxious to hear how I'm doing. I mean, sure, B2's the big, badass sniper, and Specter runs the show, but let me put it this way: The scientists are the ones who make or break any PTC case, and never let anyone tell you otherwise.

So, all bragging and attempts at blowing my own importance out of proportion aside, my morning's been rather hectic thus far. The PATCH has been kind of acting weird. It's doing a few things off to the side, anticipating orders, and has been compiling dimensional variation reports all night despite being told to power down to minimize risk of overheating. So, we're checking that out. Not sure how long it's been acting like this.

On the subject of Father Paranoia, we've been narrowing down whether or not this is the real deal, or just a guy fucking with us. For once, it's looking like the real deal, in which case, we can expect close cooperation with the Father Paranoia Division of the PTC. This is actually a bad thing. Joint PTC operations have no over-riding protocol for determining chain of command between the two Divisions. Both Divisions tend to retain overall authority over their own personnel, and that can lead to some infighting between the officers of both groups. It's happened before, and usually ends badly. At any rate, this Father Paranoia thing falls under their jurisdiction, but if the two cases are tied together, we're gonna need to work with them. Not looking forward to that. Nothing's worse than getting the science teams of two separate Divisions in the same room. We start off comparing notes, and it eventually degenerates into us stealing each-other's research. Sometimes at gunpoint.

Our dimensional bleeding problem's definitely not getting better, but we think we've managed to contain the damage and keep it from spreading. So we're making progress, for those of you still concerned with that.

Now, one thing we've had to deal with recently. Some cops have been coming around asking a few very specific questions we never want to hear, along the lines of 'Have you seen these people?' At least one of the people 'missing' is in our custody, and at least one other has been confirmed Indoctrinated and executed with a few others. Specter's talking about relocating, but we're running out of places to go. If the cops narrow down our hideout here, then we end up with very little else to work with. And we can't move the PATCH, so we need to stay here. We might have a problem on our hands, but Specter's got to have some ideas. He's gotten us this far. I can't see him letting us down this time.

I'll update sometime tomorrow. Got some test results out of the PATCH to look over. Then it's time for breakfast.

-Goggles

Good, I was getting bored

Still no word on Mr. Collector's current location. Soon as we get a solid lead, I'm sending a team out. Specter's cleared any shootings for 'permission to make the news.' No lasers, though.

I'd go along myself, but something's come up. I'll probably be gone all next week. Updates to this blog will be made by Goggles in the meantime.

-B2







the marksman is suspicious

OK, then.

So, Specter just called me over to his office, showed me his blog, and I have a theory.

You ready for this?

The blog has schizophrenia.

Mystery solved. Pack it up folks, we're done here.

-B2

A Friend's Warning

Our Friend decided to leave a little warning over on Specter's blog.

Wanted to get our computer experts on tracing the hacking attempt. Specter said not to bother.

-B2

Overall priority update

Alright, so, we've been going over our current priorities ever since we've managed to take care of a few of our problems in quick succession.

Priority 1: Killing the Slender Man.

Still no progress, and that's frustrating the hell out of me.

Priority 2: Fixing this dimensional bleeding crap.

There's been some word from the science team on this, actually. Now, according to them, there's been a lot more 'stability' or whatever, ever since the Reintegration Tablet flipped the fuck out. They have no idea why, they have no idea what's going on, and they all have some suspicion that it's just the calm before the storm.

Lovely.

Priority 3: Figuring out what's up with these hacker posts, and the transcript and communication leaks.

Still no luck with this, but, judging from how nobody's tried to bring it up lately, there hasn't been one in a while.

Priority 4: Figuring out the identity of 'A Friend.'

We have no idea where our Friend stands right now. The Wyoming Incident videos at that suburb may have been some attempt to try and tell us something, but if he's working for Father Paranoia, why is he tipping us off to some of the stuff he knows about? It makes no sense. Does he know anything he's not telling us?

Priority 5: Killing Indoctrinated.

This sick fuck's still on my list. No, I haven't forgotten him. But as soon as I can, one bullet, between the eyes. Boom, headshot.

Priority 6: Clearing up whether or not Father Paranoia is involved in any of this at all.

DONE.

Priority 7: Figuring out what's going on with this attack by PTC Internal Affairs.

We're still unsure of whether this was an Indoctrinated attack, or actually was PTC Internal Affairs. If it was Internal Affairs, we've got a problem. If it was Indoctrinated, then see Priority 5.

Priority 8: Ensuring the safety of the Reintegration Tablet.

Not a whole lot of point, now. We got what we wanted out of the Tablet, and it's pretty much become useless ever since the Summer Solstice. We've been leaving the matter alone. Crowley's been on the move, lately, but we can't afford to track his movements. We're spread too thin elsewhere as it is. It's out of our hands.

Priority 9: Ensuring the safety of Dr. Cairo Zelphest.

The situation on Dr. Zelphest's end is now out of our hands, too. Best of luck to him.

 Priority 10: Working out the kinks in the PATCH.

We've got this fixed, for the most part, and the PATCH is now hard at work helping the science team track and compile dimensional distortion and changes so as to make it easier to figure out how to fix it. We might actually make some progress in the near future.

Priority 11: Trying to convince the PTC's financiers to provide additional funding.

ALSO DONE.




This brings us to a series of revised objectives.

1. Kill the Slender Man. Top priority, nothing less. But, that's kind of a 'take shots when the opportunity presents itself' thing rather than 'search and destroy.' Because we haven't seen hide-or-lack-of-hair of Twiggy for ages, and we can't go looking for him, except in the Path of Black Leaves. And we all know how well that one worked out.

2. Fix the dimensional bleeding. With the PATCH upgraded and in a better position to help, we should make some progress.

3. Find out where this hacker guy who keeps leaking transcripts is, and keep him from leaking any further information. That shit's classified for a reason, and it's not making our job easier.

4. Find out where and when the Friend is going to be when he contacts us again. We need to find him and get some answers. Concrete, straightforward answers.

5. Kill that Mr. Collector piece of shit, and any of his Indoctrinated buddies.

6. Narrow down suspects for that last attack, and either clean house or return the favor depending on the culprit. If Internal Affairs did it, they're not talking. And I mean 'not talking.' No confirmation or denial at all. Specter's called out the Head of Internal Affairs on it during a live conference twice now, and he was completely ignored.

7. Narrow down our list of priorities so that we have something in the range of two or three, instead of six. Because this shit is getting ridiculous.

-B2

What Specter found

OK, Specter couldn't access his blog. Probably bad news, there.

At any rate, he's back safe and sound. What he found definitely implies something else was going on before he showed up.

He found the original Wyoming TV hijacking videos, from the Wyoming Incident, on infinite loop on a big-screen TV. The message he got said to meet the Friend at an address that turned out to be a small house in the suburban area of the city. No sign of Twiggy, no sign of any Indoctrinated, and no sign of anyone else there, except for the fact that there were a few things that had quite apparently been moved recently, and there was no sign of any dust in the house. None. The whole house was fully furnished, had a clean pool in the backyard, and generally looked like it was inhabited, with no sign of what happened to the people who lived there.

He went to the extent of asking the neighbors living near that house about it. They said nobody's lived there since (they think) sometime in 2007. Right around the time things in Wyoming started to go bad.

Specter immediately latched onto the idea of our Friend working for Father Paranoia. That raises a whole bunch of questions, though. I'm not sold on it. We're still not sure if our Friend is actually on our side, here, and if Father Paranoia's actually involved, then all hell could break loose at any given moment.

I don't like this.

-B2

Got a call

Specter's fine. He found something. He'll update his blog sometime tomorrow with the details.

-B2

Specter hasn't called back

Said he would by the time he got there.

Against everyone's advice, Specter went alone, and I sent a squad to tail him and keep him safe without him knowing.

I think something's happened.

-B2

Indianapolis

Specter left our hideout by car.

In all likelihood, he'll be back by Thursday. Unless it's a trap. He didn't take anyone with him, on the off-chance our Friend wouldn't show if he did. Brought something with him to help him out if things get bad, though, so that's something. I'm in charge while he's gone.

-B2

Well, crap

Didn't see this one coming.

Watching the security cameras right now, Crowley's packed his things and he's trying to slip out the back.

I'm giving the all-clear for the security staff to let him out without a problem.

Hey, when you get a heads-up from a likely-supernatural presence that doesn't hide blog posts from you, you're inclined to believe it when it says keeping a certain guy from leaving is a bad idea. Especially when that guy showed no inclination to leave until after that warning came through.

Specter can bother me about it later.

-B2

I don't like Solitaire

OK, so, up early on Summer Solstice. 'A Friend' is back, and we're paying attention. He hasn't contacted us directly, so, either he didn't mean us when he said 'you', or he meant we'd be waiting a while.

Who likes Solitaire to pass the time? Because I don't.

On other matters:

Specter saw Dr. Zelphest's post, and we've been speaking about it at length. Pros and cons real quick.

PROS

1. He might be able to help his friend, which at this point, wouldn't be a bad idea. It's one runner, but, the Doc's helped us out, and this might be important enough to keep him useful to us. Might. Emphasis on that word. That may sound selfish, but, we've gotta stay focused on the bottom line.

2. We can't keep babysitting the Doc. We're not exactly shorthanded now, but we're still not swimming in manpower, and every squad we send to keep an eye on Dr. Zelphest as he wanders around the city we're hiding in right now is another one we could use elsewhere. Again, might sound selfish, but, the bottom line is more important.

CONS

1. For one, he knows where we're based right now, and with how many of our hideouts and bases have compromised in the last year, that's something we can't exactly risk getting out. Dr. Zelphest leaving the premises and not coming back would put that information in jeopardy by potentially allowing FBI or CIA elements to track us down by just capturing or arresting him, and then interrogating him to find out where we are. The guy cracks easily under serious interrogation efforts. I know that because I've done that. Lock him in a room and play Rick Astley songs, and he'll sing like a bird. (Yes, that's a joke, but it's fairly easy to see my point.) So, possible capture by non-Indoctrinated elements makes him a serious security risk, which leads to...

2. It goes against PTC protocol to let people go like this for the above reasons. Specter honestly doesn't care about this, but we just got the financiers back on our side and having a bit of a maverick attitude towards our own policies doesn't exactly show we mean business to the guys funding us. It's just something I'm concerned about.

So, we've spoken at length about it. He's helped us out, and he seems to be legit. No Indoctrinated influence we can see, he's helped us in the past, hasn't acted too weird, his laptop checks out. I think he's clean. He hasn't actually come to speak to us yet, but we have an answer for him if he comes to bother us about it here in person. We've got a car lined up and everything if he decides to leave.

In other news:

Been watching Crowley. This Reintegration thing is something we haven't actually explored, but I don't really care.

And finally:

This sick fuck is on my list.

-B2

Miss me?

Time is short.

Pay close attention, and I will contact you directly when I can.

Do not obstruct Crowley when he attempts to leave, Leonard. The outcome will be unpleasant for everyone.

-A Friend

This was my reaction when Specter managed to win over the financiers

Needless to say, I was happy.

-B2

Update on the budget

Specter's been explaining everything to the financiers in a conference, and I think he's managed to win most of them over so far. They've decided to return funding to its original state from back before the SMD was ever founded (huge step up from how things have been going ever since) and then step up recruitment for the Military Department (and then they send troops to every other Division's Military Department). But, it's not like we can plop a recruiting booth down on a street corner, so we won't be getting much in the way of recruits for a little while. Not long enough to seriously mess us up, but long enough for things to be short-handed down at Central Command.

So, disaster averted so far. If he can win everyone else in that conference room over, then we might actually end up with a surplus. I'm surprised the guys at Central Command let Specter do this; normally, they want to talk to the financiers themselves.

We'll keep you informed if anything else comes up.

-B2

List of Priorities

OK, me and Specter have been talking long-term priorities.

Priority 1: Killing the Slender Man.

This has not worked out for almost the past year. No progress made at all, and it's draining us dry - Money, supplies, personnel, faith in us from our superiors - everything. It's also impacting anyone who's been around the SMD long enough psychologically. The new guys aren't really getting the picture, but me and Specter keep finding it hard to sleep at night, and took to recording ourselves and reviewing the footage daily, just to make sure we catch anything important before things get too bad. Our best shot has to be the Hammer of Thor, but nobody's gotten close enough to actually hit him with it. So, fingers crossed.

Priority 2: Fixing this dimensional bleeding crap.

I'm not going to lie, this dimensional bleeding has everyone here rattled. No telling when things are going to get better or worse, but it seems like nothing's happened in a while. The science team has been working on it, but with the PATCH needing so much effort poured into it before, there wasn't much of an opportunity to really do anything on this front until recently. So far, no word, but Goggles (the head of the science team, you guys don't really hear about him much) has been getting the nerds back on track.

Priority 3: Figuring out what's up with these hacker posts, and the transcript and communication leaks.

You guys have repeatedly come to Specter in the past about blog posts on this blog, and on Specter's, obviously made by someone or something else that keeps hacking the blogs and posting transcripts that were supposed to be classified, up to the point of people apparently knowing Specter's real name, now. That's a problem and it needs fixing, so we need to find out how and why it's happening, then stop it.

Priority 4: Figuring out the identity of 'A Friend.'

Then there's the guy who hacked Specter's Blog ages ago and started asking nonsensical questions for a contest. We need to find out what was up with that guy, and see if he can't help us any further. Whoever it was, he seemed like he was on our side, and we can see the blog posts he put up. So far, that means he's being straight with us. We think, anyways. Apparently, he hasn't been active for a while, so there's no telling when and where he'll pop up again.

Priority 5: Killing Indoctrinated.

This part has worked out, but to a lesser extent than anticipated. It was bad enough to warrant direct attention from the Slender Man on at least one occasion (Or so we think, anyway), so, we must have been doing something right. Haven't engaged any Indoctrinated for a while, so that makes me think we need to really get back on the ball on that front. We did more damage when we were fighting Indoctrinated than whenever we started going after Twiggy directly. Besides, killing some more people will really raise morale around here. That's something.

Priority 6: Clearing up whether or not Father Paranoia is involved in any of this at all.

We honestly haven't been able to find any serious ties between the Wyoming Incident and the Slender Man at all. The Wyoming TV Hijacking not too far back (the one Dr. Zelphest helped inspect) was a definite sign something's up on that front, but nowadays we're not so sure. Eyes are peeled.

Priority 7: Figuring out what's going on with this attack by PTC Internal Affairs.

Specter keeps insisting it has to be someone else, but I honestly think that Internal Affairs is after us. The head of Internal Affairs is definitely a bit nuts, and has been known to make bad decisions. Like trying to kill PTC personnel for taking care of a problem that needed taking care of ASAP. So, another case of waiting for any response from the guys in charge at Central Command.

Priority 8: Ensuring the safety of the Reintegration Tablet.

Self-explanatory. Gotta watch out for the Tablet and Crowley. So far, so good.

Priority 9: Ensuring the safety of Dr. Cairo Zelphest.

Dr. Cairo Zelphest is still with us, but he's been keeping quiet on his Youtube channel, Twitter, and his own blog. No clue why; we gave him the passwords we changed them to. Haven't really spoken to him myself, and neither has Specter. We've both been too busy to associate with someone who's essentially an Irregular informant on any regular or consistent basis. Even one who's on-base. Seems like he's a bit scared of us, to be honest. Then again, I did interrogate him. So, might be a bit of a connection there.

Priority 10: Working out the kinks in the PATCH.

The PATCH has proven remarkably useful and has been at work reorganizing and sorting all of the files the command staff and science team need sorted out. But, the PATCH has a few problems with voice-command recognition. If the thing was any smarter, I'd swear it was deliberately ignoring us sometimes. We've been making sure not to use it too much. The thing runs hot, and we need to keep it in working condition. So, the science team's been trying to split themselves between keeping the PATCH running and fixing the dimensional bleeding issue.

Priority 11: Trying to convince the PTC's financiers to provide additional funding.

This part's actually critical to us continuing to operate, so it shouldn't be this low on the priority list. But, basically, the entire PTC has been dropping into the red financially. The guys who provide the PTC with their budget are looking at progress reports for the last few quarters, and decided that since we weren't showing results, they need to cut funding all across the board to cut their losses. It's at an almost ludicrous point. Ever since the Slender Man warranted our attention, we started failing to make much in the way of results as the Slender Man became a higher and higher-priority problem for us to deal with. It's at the point where the vast majority of the PTC's resources are being poured into our Division, which means every other Division can't show the results they need to, thanks to a lack of assets. Some Divisions are being cut altogether, others are being downsized, and it's all to keep us going in the hopes we'll make some big breakthrough, and the financiers are starting to figure that out. Central Command was happy about the Tablet, and us figuring out how to access the Path of Black Leaves, but that's the thing. Central Command doesn't finance us. They just do Division assignments and budget allocations each quarter.  The guys who really run the show haven't put it all together that we need more money, not less. We can't keep this going until they see that, so that's Specter's job right now.

Gotta see if we can't pull this trainwreck together. Everything hinges on some good things happening over the next few days.

-B2

inconsistent

SMD Command Staff Conference 15 Audio Transcript

Attending:
SMD Head Executive Kyle Leonard (Callsign: Specter)
SMD Military Department Field Commander Anthony Wilson (Callsign: Basroil 2)
SMD Science Department Head Scientist Phillip Spinal (Callsign: Goggles)

Specter: OK, we're running out of options, here. Who could have possibly known how and where to organize this last raid?
Basroil 2: I'm telling you, Kyle, the only options were FBI or Internal Affairs. Knight's been liable to fly off the handle eventually. Us fixing a security hole that was his jurisdiction to handle? I wouldn't let that shit fly.
Goggles: The FBI's been quiet for the most part. Could be CIA, or foreign intelligence. We're not exactly contained to the USA.
Specter: [Audible sigh] Alright, from the top. Fisk's boys have been leaving us alone, and Knight's been known to outright threaten the rest of the staff at Central Command before. My god, are we looking at an internal conflict?
Goggles: We can't deal with that. Not in our situation.
Basroil 2: If Knight's actively working against the Slender Man Division now, then it means the PTC's in even deeper shit. Our funding's been coming out of every other Division that fails to get their jobs done. And they can't get their jobs done because we keep getting funding allocated to us. Twiggy's not the only supernatural gribbly out there, we all know that. If this keeps up-
Specter: Wilson, I've seen the reports myself. The PTC's dropping into the red. Half the different defense contractors that finance us have pulled their support entirely. The possibility of us being compromised by supernatural influence, combined with increased government attention after that helicopter crash when we picked up Scott, further combined with this 'dimensional bleeding' phenomenon that seems focused on our most critical Division since the Wyoming Incident makes us a liability more than an asset. They'd be better off cutting the entire PTC loose and starting from scratch.
Basroil 2: I'm not letting that happen.
Specter: Agreed. We need to sort out who's doing what. We'll have another conference sometime this week. Look over reports, deal with problems on-base since the attack, and start laying the groundwork for the SMD to break off from the PTC altogether.
Goggles: Break off? Damn. I didn't think we'd go that far.
Specter: If the PTC ends up going under because of what's going on, we need to keep operating. Gotta have a back-up plan. Do it.
Basroil 2: Done and done.
Goggles: I'll talk to the science team.

-AUDIO TRANSCRIPT CUT-




my friend is doing better

how are you?

Just got hit

Our little hideaway just got hit. Again.

And this time, it wasn't Indoctrinated. These guys had guns, body armor, and fought like people who knew what they were doing.

This was PTC Internal Affairs.

-B2

Nightcrawler's dead

Got the bastard myself.

That was the purpose behind Operations Gone Fishing and Big Game Hunting. The PATCH narrowed down Nightcrawler's contacts for Gone Fishing, then we hunted them all down, picked them off, and moved onto Nightcrawler himself for the purposes of Operation Big Game Hunting.

The PATCH has officially finished an appropriate shakedown run.

Now we can move onto other problems.

-B2

Operation Gone Fishing successful.

Operation Big Game Hunting underway.

-B2

Operation Gone Fishing Underway

Will report success or failure later. Hope the PATCH isn't screwing with us.

-B2

The PATCH

Our Tablet knock-off is done.

Now, barring the thing pulling a SKYNET and trying to kill us or someone trying to fuck with it, we can probably keep it secure and operational long enough to do us some good.

-B2

Called it

Specter has been arguing with the PTC command staff for the last hour. They got word that information on Conference 1452 got leaked, and Specter's taking the heat for it. They're actually calling for us to shut the blogs down, and one of them's trying to swing support from the others to shut down the SMD altogether.

It's not gonna be a pretty argument, but I'm sure Specter will win. He normally has his head on straight for this sort of thing. Good news, though. The PATCH goes online tomorrow afternoon. In all likelihood, we can start using it to plan our next operation. Specter says I'm not allowed to talk about what it is.

-B2

Specter's angry

Specter is kind of pissed right now. I asked him about public response to the PATCH announcement about twenty minutes ago. He says he really didn't want to talk about it. So, I pressed him on the matter, and he decided to yell at me before calming down.

Apparently, one of you guys knows his name, or something, and posted it in the comments section over on his blog. He's not happy to hear that. That's the sort of thing the PTC keeps seriously under wraps. There's a reason we use all these whacked-out aliases. If the Runners know the names of PTC executives or the command staff, then it's a serious security breach, because none of you know how to keep your mouths shut. At least, that's how Specter's putting it.

The fact that any of you know about Conference 1452 is bad news in and of itself. I didn't know about it until Specter told me a very short, concise version of what happened once he cooled off.

Guys, you probably think this is a small thing to raise hell over, considering how open we've been with you as it is, but Specter's freak out was actually pretty legitimate. We can't have that information circulating in the blogosphere. We've got enough PTC secrecy blown as it is. The fact that the names of our command staff are still a secret is part of how we're able to operate at all anymore. The Feds are watching this blog, and they do want to shut us down once and for all.

Keep that in mind.

Don't say anymore than is necessary from now on.

-B2

Operation Headhunter After Action Report

Date: May 18th, 2011
Time: 14:30-15:43 Hours, SMD HQ time
Location: Classified

Operation Headhunter's primary objective was an attempted elimination of Target Alpha in what is believed to be Target Alpha's primary base of operations, referred to in various intelligence reports and in the Irregular community as 'the Path of Black Leaves.' Secondary objectives included locating and rescuing surviving members of the previous expedition into the Path of Black Leaves, if any such individuals existed.

An all-volunteer unit was selected for Operation Headhunter. Rather than assign a specific squad, PTC operatives were selected from four different units and deployed as a single team into the Path of Black Leaves. This unit was designated Headhunter Squad for the purposes of the operation. Headhunters 1 through 5 were outfitted with light body armor and the newly-upgraded Type-5 Multi-Barreled Laser Carbines, while Headhunter 6 was given a suit of heavy body armor, and the Type-21 Electrified Melee Weapon (Designation: Hammer of Thor) prototype. The operation was intended to be a combat mission, as well as a field test of the new design.

All members of Headhunter Squad were given HelmetCams for the purposes of analysis of combat footage at SMD HQ. Upon entering the Path of Black Leaves, Headhunter Squad began a sweep of their immediate area. After no sign of hostile contact, Headhunter 1 took point. Navigation software loaded into the squad's helmets was ineffective in the Path of Black Leaves, with no clear direction that led north. This indicates severe magnetic interference, or some as-yet unknown effect stemming from Target Alpha's influence on his immediate environment. Opting to take a randomly-selected direction for an extended sweep, Headhunter Squad did not encounter any hostile contact for ten minutes. Video footage of the operation contains heavy audio and video distortion, as is normal when dealing with Target Alpha, or objects, persons, or areas related to Target Alpha.

No transcripts have been provided, but at 15:00 hours (SMD HQ time), Headhunter Squad confirmed contact with Target Alpha. Headhunters 1 through 5 opened fire, shooting to kill. Multiple head and torso shots were confirmed with laser carbines while Headhunter 6 attempted to flank and attack with the Hammer of Thor. Target Alpha engaged Headhunter 6 in close combat, managing to evade the Hammer of Thor (suspected to be highly dangerous to Target Alpha). Target Alpha succeeded in neutralizing Headhunter 6 while under direct fire from the rest of Headhunter Squad, and fell back quickly after throwing Headhunter 6 at the rest of the squad. The Hammer of Thor was damaged, and rendered useless for the rest of the operation as a result. It is presently undergoing repairs by the SMD's Science Department.

Headhunter Squad gave pursuit, and lost track of Target Alpha. Target Alpha re-engaged Headhunter Squad with a flanking maneuver, hitting them from the left and almost managing to pierce Headhunter 3's left arm. Headhunter 3 engaged Target Alpha directly in hand-to-hand combat, while the rest of the squad prepared to hit Target Alpha with concentrated fire. Throwing Headhunter 3 off, Target Alpha made a second attempt at what was believed to be a false retreat. Headhunter 1 called for the squad to disengage, and Headhunter Squad was back at SMD HQ within the hour.

Combat footage analysis indicates Target Alpha is not slow or sluggish when the situation is believed to require rapid movement, such as in the case of Target Alpha's hand-to-hand engagement with Headhunter 3. Target Alpha is also confirmed to have excellent upper-body strength, judging from how Target Alpha threw Headhunter 6 at the rest of the squad.

Operation Headhunter has been deemed a failure, due to a lack of any useful information being gleaned from the operation's footage analysis, and the failed primary and secondary objectives. Advise against further deployments into the Path of Black Leaves.
----------
Suspected as much. Power failures when we tried to post this last night. Not sure if that's a bad sign, or if we're just being paranoid.

-B2

No casualties

Not sure if they managed to hurt the bastard, but they're all back in one piece. Definitely gaps in some of their memories, but they're alive and unharmed.

After-Action Report sometime tonight. Tomorrow night, if there's any problems with the site, or power failures on our end like Specter said there was last time.

-B2

Deployment

Alright. So, my first official act as Field Commander of the SMD is sending an all-Military Department strike team into the Path of Black Leaves.

They've been deployed as of two hours ago. HelmetCam feeds have all cut out, but according to Specter and the nerds, they did that last time.

Best of luck to them. They're taking a shot at that slim bastard. If they're lucky, they'll find the other team, too. We're going to make sure to get a full after-action report from whatever fragments of information come out of the survivors and video footage.

Specter's also posted a heads-up about our soon-to-be computer buddy, the PATCH. Check his blog for any further details, like what PATCH stands for.

Off to go get drunk, now.

-B2

the plan

Subject: SMD/Central Command Conference
Sender: PTC Central Command Transcript Office
To: PTC Transcript Record Databank
Date: 5/12/11, 13:15

Conference 1452 Audio Transcript

Attending:
PTC General Marcus Karmac (Callsign: Orca)
PTC Head Executive Omar Carlyle (Callsign: Drumroll)
PTC Head Scientist Dale Elb (Callsign: Venom)
PTC Head of Internal Affairs [REDACTED] (Callsign: Knight)
SMD Head Executive Kyle Leonard (Callsign: 'Specter')

Specter: Gentlemen, I believe you know why I called this conference.
Orca: Leonard, our decision is final. Central Command absolutely will not permit the Slender Man Division to continue reverse-engineering this 'Reintegration Tablet' alone.
Specter: I am aware, and cannot permit you to take it into Central Command's custody. It is absolutely vital that the Tablet remain in the SMD's control. Information on the Slender Man could come from this device, and may finally permit the SMD to deal with the creature once and for all.
Venom: Leonard, with all due respect, your Division has shown multiple attempts at killing the creature, with a zero-percent success rate. Your scientists should be focused entirely on the elimination of the Slender Man. My science team here at Central Command can deal with the matter. You're in no position to deny us access to the Tablet.
Specter: So that's your plan? Take a valuable asset from the SMD? The SMD is becoming high-priority. You've all said as much. We're permitted certain assets denied to other Divisions. I believe that includes the Reintegration Tablet.
Knight: That may be, but you have proven to have a problem with dissent in the ranks, multiple times. We can't permit the Tablet to fall into rogue hands. Turn it over to our control, or we'll see to it that your Division receives no further support.
Specter: That isn't your jurisdiction, Knight.
Drumroll: It's my jurisdiction. Knight, further attempts to undermine my authority will not be tolerated. The SMD will receive additional support as the situation warrants. That is PTC policy, and will not change at the whim of Internal Affairs.
Knight: Do not presume to threaten me, Carlyle. I don't answer to you.

CONNECTION CUT

Specter: Knight's getting bolder.
Drumroll: He is. About this Tablet. I'm not sure leaving it in your hands is the safest option for the device. You have to understand, Kyle, this dimensional bleeding, it might not stop, and it seems to be centered on your Division. We can't risk losing the Tablet because we didn't move it sooner.
Specter: Omar, I'm telling you, this isn't going to be a problem. We're fixing the bleeding now.
Drumroll: How can you be so sure?
Specter: Just trust me, alright?
Venom: How can we? All you've done this entire time is present multiple failures, despite miscellaneous advances in scientific aspects of the paranormal. We've been putting your data to work, but your primary mission has shown minimal success. How do we know you haven't been squandering your resources to simply bleed us dry?
Specter: Bleed you dry? Are you insinuating that I'm Indoctrinated?
Venom: The proxies are a subversive group. You know that. You could be operating under the Slender Man's control on a purely subconcious level. And the constant use of that blog Arthur made, which you should have shut down, is a major breach of PTC policy in and of itself. We've given you a lot of leeway, and evidence has been piling up that you might not be operating within PTC policy any further.
Specter: Do NOT say that I've been compromised. I am NOT Indoctrinated.
Venom: I see. Leonard, I want this made very clear. We can do better with the Tablet than you can. By rights, you SHOULD pass it over to us.
Specter: And if I refuse, your little council will just use it as ammo against me, right? Get me reassigned, or locked up in The Box.
Orca: You're being paranoid, Leonard, and perhaps a bit obsessive. That's a dangerous sign.
Specter: My fears are well-founded.
Drumroll: Leonard, if it really means that much to you, we'll permit you to keep the Tablet. But absolutely ANYTHING related to the creation of the PATCH is to be handed off to Central Command as priority traffic.
Specter: Acceptable.
Drumroll: Are we done here?
Specter: No. There's still the matter of Arthur Nile.
Drumroll: Leonard, he got a lot of PTC intelligence into the wrong hands. We can't possibly track down all of his contacts. Nightcrawler is untouchable.
Specter: Is he really?
Drumroll: You're proposing a solution to Nightcrawler's rampage?
Venom: Don't entertain his ideas any further. Specter's proven time and again that he can't be permitted to-
Specter: Be very careful of the next words that you say, Elb. It would make things far more difficult for the both of us.
Venom: Is that a threat, Leonard?
Specter: Yes.
Venom: You're in no position to threaten me. I'm-
Specter: A beaker-slinger with an over-sized budget and a gun at his back.
Venom: You don't get to make demands, Specter.
Specter: Yes, I do. I've got the Tablet, and I'm the head of a high-priority Division. And we have a psychotic PTC agent on the loose. He's my mess, and I intend to deal with him. Nightcrawler will be killed. I'm proposing the first task we use the PATCH for is hunting down Nightcrawler and his contacts that he has passed classified PTC information to.
Venom: I see. The PATCH would be able to sift through meaningless data, calculate probability of who's got what information. Then...
Drumroll: We use that information to track down and kill all of Nightcrawler's contacts at the same time, before anyone can pass it along that we're after him.
Specter: Brilliant in its simplicity, isn't it? This is why I'm requesting additional scientists for my Division, to speed the reverse-engineering process of the Reintegration Tablet. We'll settle for the core systems. It should be more than sufficient for the shakedown run.
Venom: I'll send out a memo for volunteers.
Specter: Our business is concluded, gentlemen.

CONNECTION CUT

Venom: We can't permit Leonard to strong-arm us like this. We're the heads of Central Command.
Drumroll: Leonard's always been focused on what he thinks is the correct course of action. Thank God he didn't go insane like Nile.
Venom: Has he been compromised? Do we need to send in Internal Affairs?
Orca: Absolutely not! Knight will not take charge here. We took a risk permitting him to send in Cyclops.
Venom: What risk? We already told Specter as much just now. We suspect he's Indoctrinated, if only on a small level. This Slender Man creature has been conducting limited activity within a specific sphere of influence, and we've been throwing lives and money and time at the problem until it stops. It's not stopping. I'm recommending we shut down the Slender Man Division once and for all. It's gotten us valuable assets, but we need to cut expenses now.
Drumroll: That is my jurisdiction, Elb. I will deal with the matter as I see fit.
Venom: At least give it a thought, Carlyle.
Drumroll: I will, Elb. Everything is spiraling out of control, but we can get our hands on the steering wheel and pull the PTC back from the brink. The key lies in ensuring the Slender Man Division can generate enough gains for all of the losses it's brought us.
Venom: And Nightcrawler?
Drumroll: Leonard's absolutely right on that course of action. The plan proceeds.
Orca: I'd say this concludes our business, then?
Venom: Yes, I believe so. Marcus, meet down in the bar for drinks. I have an idea for a new standardized firearm to issue to the troops.

CONNECTION CUT

CONNECTION CUT

Drumroll: Stacy, bring me that map you drew for daddy. Oh, this thing's still on.

CONNECTION CUT

-END TRANSCRIPT



they are on the right path

my Friend will help them seal the veil

it won't stop the faceless one, but it will set things right

Settling Into the New Job

Being the new Field Commander isn't exactly awesome. Lots of boring shit to deal with. Gotta keep briefing the soldiers on how to best kill an Indoctrinated, keep drilling them with the new Hammer of Thor weapons, gotta keep signing requisition forms, and on and on and on.

It's really, really boring.

So, even though there's a bit of a dimensional bleeding issue, only the Science Department's getting assets shifted to working on it. There's only so much that my men can do to deal with the matter. We shoot stuff. And Specter signs paperwork. In other words, this one's all on the eggheads. We've got a betting pool going to see how long it takes for them to totally fuck things up worse than they already are.

The clocks seem to have started working normally again. I give it a week before they're back to being all wonky. Could be a sign that the nerds are actually fixing the problem.

To keep the troops from going stir-crazy and get them used to killing off Indoctrinated, we've gone back to search-and-destroy operations for the time being, along with scouting missions to try and find Benefactor and Dr. Zelphest like Specter wants.

No word on the reverse-engineering of the Reintegration Tablet. Not my department. Specter says he'll be updating his own blog later today with some information on that. They've apparently been making some progress, but not enough for us to actually get our own version of the Tablet operational.

For the return expedition to the Path of Black Leaves we've been planning, we've decided to only send an all-Military Department team armed with the Hammer of Thor prototype and some laser carbines. I don't want to get our hopes up, but we're running out of wiggle-room. We need to take a shot at the bastard.

-B2

PROMOTION

FUCK YEAH!

So, Specter was on the line with Central Command, wanting another new Field Commander, but the last two we got either went nuts, or went missing. Central Command can't free up anyone else until they get some new blood in for reassignment to the SMD. As Specter brilliantly put it, this was 'a problem', and needed to be rectified. So Central Command decided to promote a dude.

Guess who got the job?

-B2, FUCKING FIELD COMMANDER OF THE PTC SLENDER MAN DIVISION

Updates all around

Specter here.

First, it is with great relief that I am announcing I'll be returning to handling my own personal blog, leaving this one in the hands of B2. He'll be updating here from now on. Now I don't need to be the bearer of bad news when things go wrong.
Second, our tests with the Reintegration Tablet have been extensive these last few days. We've confirmed it can run software intended for Windows operating systems, as well as at least a few Mac programs. B2 won't let go of the damn thing, but that's more his crippling video game addiction than anything. The science team appreciates the test data either way. Other tests we have in mind involve taking it apart to see how it operates, and eventually seeing if we can't reverse-engineer it for more all-purpose uses than Reintegration, whatever that is. The Tablet and its creator, Nathaniel Crowley, have both proven very cooperative so far. If the Tablet can process supernatural activity, then it's very likely that anything based off of it will be able to do the same. That would be a massive boon to the PTC as a whole, and especially the SMD.

Third, on the matter of Dr. Cairo Zelphest's disappearance, we're still searching. We'll provide an update on the subject if we find anything at all. We can't devote everything to finding Dr. Zelphest, but we're doing what we can with what we've got. That's generally more than the likes of, say, Zeke Strahm, or the young men who operate the EverymanHYBRID channel on Youtube, but we're not omniscient. If we can't find him, then we simply can't find him. So, apologies in advance if that turns out to be a massive disappointment. I know some people out there appreciated what the Doctor did for the Irregular community, and if he turns out to have been Indoctrinated the entire time, we'll just line him up against the wall and shoot him. Target dummies for the troops to practice on are expensive, so he'll serve the PTC as a cost-cutting maneuver, if nothing else. We're also trying to track down Benefactor, and there's been no word on that so far.

Fourth, on the subject of the Path of Black Leaves, we've been making an effort to try and see if we can't somehow take another shot at an expedition into the Path to see if there's any way we can use it. The prospect of a reverse-engineered Reintegration Tablet is critically important in this capacity; it could make all of the necessary adjustments to our calculations to see if we can't solve this dimensional bleeding issue. We're not even sure if that's possible, but we need to try and see what we can do. Zero may not have intended for the Solstice to cause the problems it did, but it's something we need to fix, desperately. If this gets bad enough, there's no telling what will happen. Time can become a hellish nightmare with no beginning or end, but there's also the possibility that the sky will just turn pink and everyone can go about their merry day without any further issues. Two nights ago, just glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I can tell you that it actually stopped for no good reason, and didn't match up with the computer clock. I unplugged it, reset it, checked every other clock we had to see what the time was, and came to the conclusion that everyone's perception of time is off. Clocks all over our current base of operations are showing different times. Now, that's not exactly important on its own, but what really raised the red flag was that nobody was sharing the same perception of time. I've asked around. It's been getting worse whenever someone is alone, but the time discrepancies apparently haven't gone beyond an hour in difference between any two people. Everyone's been given orders to check in every ten minutes ('their' time) when they're alone, even if it's just by radio, and more people have been switched to the night shift. I've already been considering bumping the time between each check-in down to five minutes, just in case.

So, in short, B2's right. Fixing the dimensional bleeding is our top priority at the moment. This clock thing is already getting annoying, and it hasn't been a full week yet.

Anyways, that's all for now. The science team's gearing up for another round of tests regarding the Path, so I need to at least check in on that. Every time we do something, we probably risk the dimensional bleeding getting worse, so we need to wrap up the 'bend reality to our will' part and just skip to the 'fix what the Slender Man is doing to the fabric of our realm of existence' part.

Hacking Attempt Successful

Posting a message shortly.

-Specter

Fun with Dimensional Bleeding

Hey, gang. B2 here.

So, you're probably wondering if I'm completely nuts about 'the walls breaking.'

The answer's going to take a while, so grab a snack. Basically, the situation with Twiggy being able to pop around almost at will with his dimensional-folding thing is causing dimensional barriers to break down. He's mostly at fault on his own, but Zero's plan with the Solstice made it way worse.

I'm still not allowed to talk about the intricate details of what actually happened because the PTC's got a guy with a gun leveled at my head, but when Twiggy got stabbed, the idea is that time and space sort of warped worse than they already were. Things were already reaching that 'bleeding over into each-other' threshold, but the Solstice kicked it into overdrive.

That's what started the dimensional bleeding in earnest. This probably explains our encounters with Revenants shortly afterwards, and the Conduit we were dealing with during the teleportation experiments. The dimensional bleeding caused us to start interacting with people who weren't inherently from our reality. Reach may have confirmed Revenants don't exist, but that's the thing, they don't exist where Reach is. Conduits in that same reality are called into question, but confirmed to exist in other dimensions. Twiggy's ability is giving rise to some serious distortion in more than just footage on numerous levels of 'oh shit.'

The reason I know about this whole thing is because me and Basroil Squad were present at the site of the Solstice when Zero's plan went down. Nightcrawler was always totally batshit, but I was perfectly fine until dimensions started bleeding over. Information from two versions of me crossed over, and sort of broke my brain-meats over and over again. Then I saw myself, and shit sort of spiraled downward from there.

The reason I originally broke off from the PTC was because I needed to confirm what was going on for myself. Lost on two paths and all that. I was mostly twisted in the brain until one of the two Nightcrawlers we've got floating around out there killed one of me. That sort of fixed it. I still have full memories from both versions, but the two minds aren't interacting anymore. One B2, whole and solid.

The thing is that Twiggy's ability to do his crazy dimensional crap isn't going to be making anything easier for anybody but him. It seems to be worst for the PTC because, simply put, we've been fiddling with the technical aspect of the whole thing and trying to replicate it this entire time, and actually pulled it off with the Path of Black Leaves expedition. Shit's getting worse, and it isn't going to stop unless we put our heads together and start coming up with a way to fix the problem instead of actually killing Twiggy. That won't fix the dimensional bleeding, which should be our number one priority right now.

That's enough out of me, I'm off to play Portal 2 on the Reintegration Tablet.

-B2