( It's a little after he's arrived on Solmara that he tests the strength of their connection and, surprisingly, it holds. Maybe it's the fact that they're both omegas for telepaths. Or maybe it's because Quentin's little psi-comm is just that good. Whatever the case, he reaches out through the connection, locks onto Quentin's psi-signature, and comes in like a shooting star across the sky. )
[Quentin is going to spare Nate the "are you asking for my help? Use your words" shenanigans he'd pull normally. This is a mission, and that means lives are at stake. No time to fuck around.]
/Send me all the intel you've got./ [And then, because he realizes Nate may not know what all is included in "intel"] /Everything you know about them, all the expositional bullshit. And do a scan of all conscious minds in the relevant area that you can reach and send that to me too. You got that?/
( He currently doesn't know if this means this other telepath is just as powerful as them — if not stronger — or way better skilled, but. Doesn't exactly want to chance seeing which of those is true. Much like Quentin, he needs to be smart about this. Especially because it's not just him here... Scott's also with him. )
Yeah. I don't think they realize I'm here. ( Never mind the others, but. Telepaths have a way of knowing when another is around depending on how they make their presence known. Or if they go about snooping too close like Xavier did to him. ) I'm trying to keep my distance. Guess it's a good thing I came after all.
/Shit, I should've installed psi-comms on the rest of your squad before you left. Run a scan on them too, make sure there's nothing untoward going on upstairs. You should be inoculated against most psychic bullshit, but they aren't./
[Yes, that is a whiff of actual worry in his voice. Sometimes that happens. He's a very complex guy, thanks very much.]
/Try to scan everything except your mystery telepath. If you think they haven't noticed you, better that it stays that way. Keep your head down, get me the scans, and no theatrics./
( Well there's something he hasn't felt from the other before. )
Wasn't planning on going in guns blazing.
( Again, he needs to be smart about this, especially with having others with him. )
I can possibly shield the others but I feel like it'd just draw attention. Just banking on their being too busy shielding Alrys here. But yeah. When I get a chance, I'll get back to you with what I can find.
[Don't think he doesn't remember that "I'll cut you off if necessary" bullcrap, Nate. He fucking remembers! Quentin is a gajillion miles or whatever away right now, but he makes sure Nate can feel the "I'm watching you" gesture he's doing.]
( The drop comes in the form of Nate having been able to scan three fourths of the minds around on Solmara — the other fourth he's unable to. The name Beckett comes up amongst the minds of the Solmarans as the one with the ability to mentally shield others from detection. There's also the information of his being well-trained and that his abilities are what keep them all safe. The majority of the Solmarans know him as the guy who walks around a little slumped over. Also, you know, he's one of the close confidants of the person they're looking for and, therefore, the one shielding Alrys from them. )
My guess is he's exhausting himself from keeping these mental shields up so much.
[Ah, yes, give him all that juicy intel. Quentin is already sifting through the data, cataloguing all relevant details and searching for any potential weaknesses in this "Beckett" guy's mental shields.]
/Received. You guys trying to track this dude or shut him down?/
I'm of the thought that if he figures out we're here, he's going to be a problem.
( What telepath isn't, really? )
That said, not trying to draw his attention either. But if he's the reason I can't locate Alrys, then disabling him would likely help, don't you think?
/Okay, yeah, see, that logic only holds up if he's not an omega. Or equivalent. Or whatever./
[Look. Do you have any idea how many times Quentin's bragged about being an omega right before getting absolutely wrecked by something? Because it's not a small number. He got killed by a goddamn Sabretooth clone.]
/Guess you could always use the Chuck Maneuver. As a back-up./
/Yeah. What I used on Xavier. Malevolent thoughtform quarantined in my brain until he got too close. You know, psychic booby trap. I don't have that one anymore, but I could probably replicate it if I had to. Thing is, you'll have to quarantine it in your own head, airtight enough that it can't leak out, but not so locked down that you can't pull it out and toss it at some chucklefuck as a Hail Mary, you feel me? You just don't, you know, want it infecting you or anything. It's one doozy of a nasty little bug./
Let's keep it as a possibility. I'd like to think if he's draining himself with keeping these shields up all the time, that alone could be a spot to target.
/Unless you start makin' trouble in his neighborhood, and he drops the shields and opens up a can of whoop-ass on you. I'll start cooking you a dirty brain bomb, and we'll hope we don't need it. Or that it doesn't explode in transit./
[Nope, not going to elaborate on that. Moving right along.]
/I should be able to triangulate his position based on data from frequent, regular scans of the area. Like... every 15, 30 minutes or so. Shields leave gaps in the psychic landscape. Send out enough pings, and you start seeing what's bouncing them back. You know. Telepathic radar. Think you can get me that?/
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We have a problem.
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/Of course there is. Shit's never easy. So? What's wrong now./
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( Which, for an omega, means that's both annoying and concerning. )
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/Send me all the intel you've got./ [And then, because he realizes Nate may not know what all is included in "intel"] /Everything you know about them, all the expositional bullshit. And do a scan of all conscious minds in the relevant area that you can reach and send that to me too. You got that?/
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Yeah. I don't think they realize I'm here. ( Never mind the others, but. Telepaths have a way of knowing when another is around depending on how they make their presence known. Or if they go about snooping too close like Xavier did to him. ) I'm trying to keep my distance. Guess it's a good thing I came after all.
( Because none of the others are like them. )
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[Yes, that is a whiff of actual worry in his voice. Sometimes that happens. He's a very complex guy, thanks very much.]
/Try to scan everything except your mystery telepath. If you think they haven't noticed you, better that it stays that way. Keep your head down, get me the scans, and no theatrics./
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Wasn't planning on going in guns blazing.
( Again, he needs to be smart about this, especially with having others with him. )
I can possibly shield the others but I feel like it'd just draw attention. Just banking on their being too busy shielding Alrys here. But yeah. When I get a chance, I'll get back to you with what I can find.
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[Don't think he doesn't remember that "I'll cut you off if necessary" bullcrap, Nate. He fucking remembers! Quentin is a gajillion miles or whatever away right now, but he makes sure Nate can feel the "I'm watching you" gesture he's doing.]
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Got some intel for you.
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/Sweet. Airdrop me the data dump./
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My guess is he's exhausting himself from keeping these mental shields up so much.
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/Received. You guys trying to track this dude or shut him down?/
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( What telepath isn't, really? )
That said, not trying to draw his attention either. But if he's the reason I can't locate Alrys, then disabling him would likely help, don't you think?
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If you could get in his head, you think you could take him down?/
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( Ah, that overconfidence. Like looking in a mirror, right, Quentin? )
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[Look. Do you have any idea how many times Quentin's bragged about being an omega right before getting absolutely wrecked by something? Because it's not a small number. He got killed by a goddamn Sabretooth clone.]
/Guess you could always use the Chuck Maneuver. As a back-up./
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( Explain, please. )
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[Nope, not going to elaborate on that. Moving right along.]
/I should be able to triangulate his position based on data from frequent, regular scans of the area. Like... every 15, 30 minutes or so. Shields leave gaps in the psychic landscape. Send out enough pings, and you start seeing what's bouncing them back. You know. Telepathic radar. Think you can get me that?/
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( There's a brief pause that comes then. As if he's mulling over something. )
There's a nullifier here. In our group.
( Which Nate has... mixed feelings about. For mutant reasons. )
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( From what he's overheard. )
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