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[Late at night, Mulder is up and about, wandering aimlessly. He's just received Scully's letter so of course that's sending him into a bit of a broody mindset. Sleep? Ha, no, he's not planning to sleep for a while.]

[On the one hand, she's free of all of this. On the other... she's gone. His partner. The one person he trusts more than anyone. And what she's returning home to doesn't sound very pleasant. It's the future relative to him so he has no way of knowing just how safe she really is. He's not supposed to worry, but he can't stop himself from doing so anyway. The troubling thoughts that always come up at these times are there to bother him, too...]

How do we know they really send us home when we vanish from here, anyway?

[Yeah, this is what happens when you overthink everything.]

For anyone who knew... anyone who knows her, Dana Scully has left the building. I'm sure she's relieved to be somewhere a bit more down to earth.

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Considering the overall state of things, it seems that they do. Still, for all their advanced technology, I can't see that they're that much harder to crack than the Syndicate. Different, maybe.

The Syndicate was easier to infiltrate with certain credentials, although I doubt that matters much to the Malnosso.

But if they're prone to information trading... there may be something in that. It would take a great deal of work without clearance, but the greater the chance of being drafted for a mission, the easier it is to speak to the members.

The missions would be the best way to gain that information, from everything I've seen. Especially if you can manage to get in on one of their more... specialized missions.

[People always seem to come back from those with interesting experiences, for what that's worth, he's noticed.]

[ Marita idly wonders that, if they can hear their conversation now, would they be willing to prevent it from even happening at all? Even with an information trader and the other members of the hierarchy coming to them. She decides that the only way to find that out is by her own experience, as per usual.

She gives him a curious look. ] Specialized missions? Like what?

[Yeah, they definitely will want to keep any information found off-journal... but that'll be to deal with in the future.]

It seems to vary, from what I can tell. The ongoing missions usually fall into a standard set involving... sometimes combat, sometimes research. The specialized ones tend to end up more challenging and unusual. They tend to earn more of their "points".

[ She recalls reading about the points in the guide and the different missions that are assigned to receive them, but even that is not guaranteed an easy win with the Malnosso. ]

There seems to be little leeway room, even with the points, but if we could figure a way that would gain us the most information, there could be a trade. Or, at least, the opening to have a conversation with those who run this place.

Is there any discerning pattern between the timing of the combative missions and the research missions?

No definite patterns as far as I've observed, no. The nature of the missions, how many people are sent, the duration, location... none of it follows a set pattern. There's a great deal of variation, from what I've observed. So it also means there are likely some missions more likely to give us useful information than others.

[He's a lot more interested in the information gathering potential himself, than using the points for anything.]

I see...

[ Not even the Syndicate were this hard to pin down, but she also had the access to easily infiltrate their group. Information is all they have at this point and once being a Special Representative doesn't exactly matter to anyone here. ]

I know we don't exactly have a track record — good or bad — but... Mr. Mulder, I would be willing to work with you on this if you are. I don't expect to take Agent Scully's place, but it would benefit us more if we worked together, rather than against one another.

[Mulder is so used to working... not exactly against or with, but beside his informants in a very particular way. They'd always maintain their distance and come to him in shadowy clandestine meetings. But it was because of the nature of their world. Here, they don't have to hide the working together part so much, even if they have to be careful about where information is relayed or stored.]

[As for working with Marita... she's proven herself trustworthy in matters like the Tunguska incident, and then there was that Kazakhstan thing. He's still not even sure what happened to her. If she'd been willing to take that kind of a risk...]

I think you're right. We need to work together on this. We can't afford not to at the rate things have been going. The more information we share, the more likely something will lead us out of this situation.

[ Even Marita herself has her own lingering paranoia, knowing just how irrational it really is. The fear that, despite the Syndicate being destroyed, the varying timelines can still haunt them. Even the sheer fact that Spender is a viable option to arrive here leaves her thinking that it really is no different than from back home.

Regardless, she knows there is safety in numbers — that X entrusted her with his client for a reason — and that she trusts Mulder and Scully more than anyone else (more than Krycek or Spender) that it's her only chance of residing in Luceti. ]

With both of us, there is a greater chance of gaining information in the first place and your work with Luceti's X-Files cases should help gather me up to speed.

Hopefully if the Malnosso is anything like the Syndicate... we will matter less to them as individuals and more as a whole, making it easier for us.

Edited 2013-06-03 03:11 (UTC)

[He's hoping that she might notice something in those files, any sort of pattern or similar that he could have missed from being too close to it all, over the couple of years he's been here.]

So far, all evidence suggests they're similar in that regard. We're test subjects and foot soldiers to them... and they know that we pose no threat whatsoever.

[In a sense, that gives them something of an advantage; they could work toward something useful without the Malnosso paying close attention. The problem is, getting started on something like that.]

Then we will have to use that. Us being expendable means we have a greater chance of discovering something on our own, even with the barcodes they've given us to keep track of our whereabouts.

[ After all, Marita's own expendability was the reason why Mulder was led into places he wouldn't have otherwise known. She easily recognizes not being the bigger player in this game of chess; a pawn's value increases once the game comes closer to an end. ]

Edited 2013-06-03 18:14 (UTC)

Exactly, it gives us a great advantage, so much that I'm sure they'll underestimate us.

[Though they still have their intelligence, their ability to plan and strategize. They have to rely more heavily on that, he's certain, than any raw power.]

They can track our location and potentially monitor other data about the effects of their experiments... but I'm sure they haven't figured out ways to read our minds. Yet. We're always safest with off-journal communications, too.

Should we designate a meeting place then?

[ She glances around, knowing that Mulder has other living mates. Trusting her empty place may work, but she's paranoid that there is some way that someone will be listening. It's clear in her gaze that she trusts Mulder to know a more appropriate spot due to his experience here.

Her voice grows a bit lower, more hushed. ]

We carry on as per usual, but once every two weeks, we will meet there with whatever information we have. If it's urgent, then... I'm sure either of us will find a way to let the other know.

If it's something urgent and we absolutely have to use the journals, we'd better make sure it's something that isn't easily recognizable as a signal to meet.

[It's always best to err on the side of paranoia, he thinks. He definitely doesn't trust meeting in any of the residence buildings, himself. The Battle Dome is out- for as much as he likes the ability to control the setting and potentially have the illusion of privacy, it's still a simulation that they could be monitoring.]

There are several New Feather Watch Stations around that I don't think are used much in between cycles. Or there's a couple teleporters around that lead to the beach or the hot springs areas. They're fairly distant locations away from the town.

Changing our location every time we meet may be helpful, as long as each of us know before hand... that way it won't look too frequent or suspicious.

[ It is possible to her that even some of the inhabitants could be working with the Malnosso. Even if they are not, she would rather play it safe — she's not even sure the risk she took last time was even worth it that she's willing to take another so soon. ]

That would be a good idea to throw off any potential spies. We don't know if and how they might be monitoring us around town.

[They could have planted someone among them- it's still a thought that Mulder hasn't ruled out. Or there could simply be some other means of monitoring that they've hidden well. Regardless, he isn't taking chances.]

It wouldn't surprise me, but I'm sure both of us will keep an eye out just in case.

[ As well as keeping light of Scully's note. Without an allegiance, she is sure that she will have less luck than Mulder has had in his time here, and even though the two of them are more acquaintances than anything, she still feels the need to help. Perhaps as her own way of revenge toward what the Syndicate has done to her. ]

[It definitely IS a strange position to be in- they've never been close and only cross paths when he's in need of information. But here, they're the only ones from their particular place and time.]

The notion used to cross my mind that they might plant one of their own among us, but... I've never seen any verifiable evidence of that. [Thanks, Scully, for still being there in his mind somehow.] We still have to be careful, of course. As much as I'd like to think we've all got a unified purpose in this enclosure, people still have their own motives.

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