Session Start: Sat Aug 12 13:15:18 2006 (H-1) [Tuesday, April 5, 2039 - 820 local time] [H-2 SIS offices] Fortunately for Snow, Mashimo's leg is healing nicely so far. He spent the night in the high-security cell, and this morning doesn't want to chat at all. H-4 came in and did a sweep with their biological weapons sensors - they found some foot fungus in the shower, but that was it. Some data has come back on Anemone's brewery - it looks like a real business, though not one that's been very successful yet. [session start] * PrincessRoyal shuffles paper while talking to Ozawa. * LadySnow is busily hanging posters and various other decorations around the office as people arrive. After having seen her place, they look almost tasteful. Today it looks like she's made some sort of coffeecake for everyone to share. * LadySnow also has a pot of coffee brewing for whoever wants some. Her own cup has chunks of ice floating in it. Lady Snow? * LadyTwister is busy helping with decorating, as well as eating the coffeecake quite happily. "Seriously, Chi... you should bake every day. Ever consider doing this as a little side-hobby?" * LadySnow turns away from what she's doing. "Yes?" Well I'm no Lady Muffins, but I try. I have a small favor to ask. As long as you're decorating, would you mind saving a spot for a poster I want to bring in? ^^ Sure! How big is it? * LadyKiss is sitting there still pouring over her notes just kind of staring at the information. 4 feet by... *pauses* a little over 2 feet. Heh, considering that Chi'll make this an extension of her place, bring whatever you want. Yeah. I'm just trying to make it a little more comfortable with some stuff I had lying around. You guys are more than welcome to bring in your own stuff. And we gotta go furniture shopping too! It's almost life-size. ^^ What is it? Is it like my life-size Queen poster? I'd love it if you saved a spot for it. ^^ ... we need a poker table. * LadyTwister snaps her fingers, smirking. "And a minifridge... no, a full- sized one. And... hm... what else..." But but then you'll want to play strip poker again and you know I'm no good at cards... It's embarrassing. * BobOmb disappears, popping up on Twister's head, and jumps up and down, making cute noises that are impossible to decipher. ...Do we really need all that? That's why we need to go shopping for stuffs! Is there anything else, ma'am? Well, this should be a home away from home, in case we hafta stay for a while. * LadySnow jumps and looks over to Ozawa, wondering who he's talking to. Ooh we could get bunk beds! * LadyTwister blinks, then reaches up and takes the Bob-Omb into her hands, peering at it. "... heh, cute!" * LadyBobOmb blinks, then looks at the BobOmb, then giggles. If it should be that we should have something comfortable to sit in. And as for you! Like I said! Furniture shopping! We could get a bigger AC too. * LadyBobOmb looks a bit embarrassed as she continues, "He insists, Lady Twister, that a refrigerator comes with ice cream." ^^; * LadyTwister points at Snow. "You had a choice! And besides, we stopped at skivvies. But you were doing better than the others!" ... ice cream. Nothing wrong with that. Could we get some plain vanilla in there? * PrincessRoyal taps her chin. "At the moment, yes. Thank you." She nods gratefully to Ozawa. But still! There were boys there! So what? It's not like they have anything you haven't seen before. C'mon, live a little, girl. * PrincessRoyal peers suspiciously at the girls. "What's up?" * Ozawa turns to the rest of the team. "If the rest of you have special weapons you want, I need to know now if we're going to get them in this week." * LadySnow protests. "But but but... Royal ma'am, tell them that girls are just supposed to strip down in front of boys like that!" * BobOmb hops off Twisters hands, falling to the ground. Then disappears just before it hits the ground, and reappears on Chi's head, getting it's balance there to watch, firsthand, as posters go up. I'm certain Snow prefers her mysteries of the opposite sex to stay mysteries. Though, that book is well thumbed to me and I don't mind reading it again. We get special guns? * LadySnow giggles and patpats the BobOmb. We have the ANP 11mm pistols and subguns on hand, and some less-lethal stuff from the old H-1 team. But I know that some of you want long guns. Ooh can we get bazookas? And one of us would prefer a whip if possible. Whip. Right. Do you have a length or material preference? ... A nice assault weapon would do me nicely... and maybe a couple of disposable RPGs just in case. * LadyBobOmb nods at Ozawa. "Just an attachable sniper barrel for a standard assault rifle will do, along with some good sights." * LadyTwister chuckles a little, smile creeping along her lips while she eats more cheesecake. Uh uh... do you have a catalog? If you don't know what you want, I'll just get standard issue stuff from the SDF. Can I get one of everything and see what I like? Something braided and with a metal tip if you could do it. I really should buy my own but that seems...dirty some how doesn't it? ... but Kiss? Yeah, yeah, but she's a magical girl and this is Tokyo-E. If anything, someone turned the hornball knob up to ten the moment this place came to be. * PrincessRoyal nods. "Better to do that than to order fancy things you're not familiar with based on their shininess." * LadyTwister shrugs. "But, yeah, someone needs to stay relatively pure." Didn't you go through standard weapons training during your SDF year? * LadyBobOmb blinks. "If you could get a HUD scope, that would be absolutely great. I've always wanted to play with one of those." ^^ Just pick what you worked with best. Yeah. But, a new shiny rifle would be so cool. I'll find you that whip, Lady Kiss. Nevertheless. Can can I go shopping with you and see what they have? * Ozawa heads back to the workshop. "I think you have other things to do, Lady Snow." If you want a rifle, that's fine, but more than that and it'll just get complicated when you actually need to use one. But I'll practice with it a lot until I'm really good! I promise! ...fine. But just a standard rifle. Then get one for practice, and get something you're already good with for standard use. Just the basics for me. And... four RPG tubes. But um, you know guns better than I do. So. Just get what you think would be best for me. Okay, Mr. Ozawa? * LadyTwister ponders, visions of destroying armored vehicles dancing in her head. "... maybe six." Thank you Ozawa-sama. It's a pleasure having your assistance. For myself...I'll just bring my own equipment if it's necessary. * Ozawa nods, then closes the sliding door so he can have some quiet to place orders. * LadySnow turns to Royal. "So how was your meetings and stuff, your Highness- sama?" ...productive. Yay! Although, I have bad news about your requested support personnel list. Oh no... * LadyBobOmb looks momentarily alarmed. "They were all accepted?" Basically, since we are a more or less covert operation, we're *supposed* to run with minimum personnel. So...no additional employees. I'm sorry. But but... * PrincessRoyal shakes her head. * LadySnow looks really sad about that. ... ah well. Hey, we tried, Chi. * LadyBobOmb takes a breath in relief. * PrincessRoyal then glances at Bob-Omb and tries to suppress a smirk. * LordFate yawns as he walks in, carrying a bottle of some (presumably caffeinated) soda. "What's wrong?" * LadyTwister pats Snow on the shoulder, and looks legitimately unhappy...ish. So then... it's just us? * BobOmb disappears from it's perch on Snow, and reappears on Fate's head. It carefully tries to walk down Fate's arm to take a closer look at the bottle of whatever it is, without falling. It appears so. * LadySnow pouts. Being covert sucks. * LordFate holds his arm quite still, almost without noticing, giving the little creature a steady walking surface. Weaver stands up from where he was clinging to the lord's wrist, just under the duster-coat's sleeve, and eyes the approaching explosive. We'll make do with what we've got, Chi. It'll be alright, really. It has its advantages, too, Lady Snow. Like what? * BobOmb makes it to the bottle! And tentatively bites the plastic. For one, you get to do things without checking in with half a dozen bureaucrats. *winks* For another, who's to say that we -weren't- having a business meeting at that ice cream parlor? * LadySnow still sounds rather pouty. * LadyBobOmb frowns, then looks at the BobOmb, and holding out her hands. "Leave his drink alone. You probably won't like it." * LordFate eyes it, and with a practiced motion grabs the little BobOmb by its wings, pulling it swiftly and gently away from his soda. "Nah-ah," he wags a finger back and forth at the thing. "Mine." * BobOmb disappears out of his grasp! And reappears on Kas's hand, then on her head. ...are they even allowed to drink caffeinated beverages? ... I haven't had the joy of finding out yet. Try not to test that around fragile things, mmkay? * LadySnow can't help but giggle at the antics of the BobOmb. There's a lot of things that are fragile around them. ^^; So then um. What are we doing now? I think we'll reserve that test for when we test Chi's reaction to the substance under controlled conditions. * LordFate might be joking. It's hard to tell, with his deadpan British accent. What substance? * PrincessRoyal rubs her chin. "Couple choices. Check the rest of the guys here, go to the brewery and have a talk with Anemone." A highly volatile one used to keep sleepy Lords awake. *winks, and takes a swig of his soda* Are the other guys awake yet? And did we ID all of them? I say we hit the brewery. Let the others simmer in their own juices for a bit... might loosen their lips some. * LadySnow points at Mari. "No sampling though!" * PrincessRoyal nods. "So far only one is conscious. the other two will take a while." They have been positively identified as HWGC employees. Did they all work under Mashimo? Hmph. We're transformed... the brew'll pass through us faster. ¬_¬ The goons did. The accounting guy was their corporate head of accounting. Mari, you're such a lush! Uh... so then do you think Mashimo was the guy in charge? Did the tech guys see if all these guys had the same deposits in their accounts and stuff? I mean we should make sure that there's no one else in the company that might do stuff against us... * LadyTwister hmphs. "I am not a lush, I'm a connoisseur." I don't think the others were involved in anything more than tax fraud. All evidence points to Mashimo, although there's always the possibility that the guys who were killed had some sort of second contact in the company. It can't hurt to confirm, but I do not think that's necessary to pursue today. Is there anyway we can check for stuff like that? Besides the money thing? Hey I bet the accounting guy would tell us all about that... Anyway, yeah I think we should probably go to the brewery first until they're all awake. Is that okay with you Highness-sama, ma'am? Sounds fine. Okay! So uh, what's the game plan for that? I'm all ears myself, if someone's already got things laid out. While we're there, I think it would be a good idea if we kept an eye out for any kind of schedule or company calendar. Why? In what Twister discovered, there's a date coming up next month. What date? If it's a date. If it is, I would like to know what this brewery's plans are around then. Oh, yeah, that. Maybe another meeting, although who knows if it's still on, considering we've got Mashimo. May 21st. Hmmm. We can ask Amineno-- Argh. We can ask the Ningyo lady about it. What else do we ask her? About what she wanted sent to Ningyo City. Should we just ask about that directly? * LadyBobOmb pauses, thinking. "What she knows of the meeting, and the transaction." And ask what she knows about what happened at the garage. Did we ask Mashimo when he was supposed to deliver it to her? * LadyBobOmb looks at Royal. "Royal-sama, did you take care of the Ningyo political difficulties?" ...take care of? I asked about it, if that's what you mean. * LadyBobOmb shakes her head at Snow. "Mashimo's men took the package from her, as I understand it." Basically, they get the benefit of the doubt until we can really pin something on them and make it stick. She had the package originally, she wasn't going to be the recipient. * LadyBobOmb hmms. "We should also see if we can find any of the sample beer there, and get some of that for analysis." If there's a reason to arrest her, them, whatever, then so be it, but we're going to need to handle things with a little....discretion. Seriously. Last thing we need is more static with the ningyo. * LadyBobOmb stands up. Are we ready? Ready as I'll ever be, Bob. * LadyTwister smirks a tad, standing up... and cramming one last piece of coffeecake down. Maybe we should go ask Mashimo really quick when he was supposed to deliver it to her. It might help convince her we know what she was up to if we have that information. * LadySnow looks to Royal for what she suggests. Bah, it can wait. We just need to get a feel for the place first. Probing, scary questions later! * PrincessRoyal blinks. Uh, the timing of it all suggests that the handover would have occurred that night or very soon afterwards. You know, considering. Let's get on our way, and we can discuss things later. * LadySnow shrugs. "Maybe." But I dunno if we're gonna be able to arrest her... I suppose we could just grab her. * PrincessRoyal ignores Snow and heads down. * LadySnow follows. * LadyBobOmb grabs the BobOmb, holding it in her arms and stroking it, as she heads out herself. * LadyTwister rolls her eyes and tags along. "This should be fun." * Ozawa comes trotting out of the workshop as he sees the team heading out. By the time he gets out to the garage, the bus is starting itself up. We're heading to that brewery, right? Yup! * LadyBobOmb nods. Okay... What would we charge her with anyway? * LadyBobOmb giggles. "Public indecency?" Hey they can't help how they are! The van rolls out into the streets of Tokyo-Earth. It's a genuinely beautiful day out today - sun and blue sky, a few puffy white clouds, and a comfortable 15 degrees. They really can't... but a little something wouldn't hurt now and then, y'know? * LadySnow is of course hot and has an umbrella to keep her out of direct sunlight. But maybe it's hard to swim with stuff on over their uh... stuff. You head around downtown, taking the main underground beltway to save time as you head first east, then south, then east again towards what was once Chiba. Point taken, yeah. The van emerges for the second time this week at the sprawling Ningyo City parking garage. There are signs indicating the top four floors are still closed, but this time of year there's no problem finding a parking space on a lower floor. I mean, I think they should be free to live how they want. Besides it's not our jobs to tell them what to do with themselves... Nope, but at the same time you have to find a happy medium. Of course, I can imagine the whole nudity thing's a draw for some tourists. * LadyBobOmb looks up banned imports into NC, during the trip. Ningyo City has no special ordinances making it different than other sections of T-E, save for some even-stricter controls on dumping stuff into waterways. Ew. That's icky. As you wait for an elevator down to street level, loud crowd noises from below draw your attention. * LadySnow looks. What's going on? I don't know... ... well, let's find the hell out. * PrincessRoyal frowns. * LadyTwister adjusts her hat, then makes sure her earpiece is on straight under her hair. Can we get out to look? ...well, since we're headed there anyway. * LadyBobOmb checks her gear, then whispers something to the BobOmb, which promptly disappears. The elevator deposits the team at the base of the parking garage. To the south is a shipping and trucking complex where goods are moved into and out of NC's barge system. A good-sized train station is to your north. Right in front of you is a plaza that normally welcomes guests to the fishy part of town... but today it's filled with humans shouting slogans and waving signs. * LadySnow reads the signs and tries to figure out what the problem is. Protestors? * PrincessRoyal sighs. "Oh, dear." * LadyBobOmb frowns. "I do hope this isn't what I think this is the start of." And I do believe we have ourselves a situation. Should we stop it? * LadyKiss frowns heavily. "Those don't look good at all." * LadySnow looks ready to hop and chase protesters. Some of the less offensive signs include "Kick out the fish!" and "Genocide is a two-way street!" - and go on to cover things like Ningyo sexual habits and comparisons with Koreans. * PrincessRoyal sighs. "Damn the media." * LadyBobOmb pulls out Glitch, asking him to check the news to see what started this. Royal-sama, ma'am? Should we do something? I think we should. We shouldn't draw attention to ourselves. But but they shouldn't be allowed to do this! It's not nice! Can you stop them? The crowd is probably only three hundred men and women, and both uniformed and riot-geared H-4 teams are already arriving in force to contain the demonstration. Disrupting crowds is not in our job description right now Snow. Not being nice is, unfortunately, not illegal. I can try... * PrincessRoyal jerks her head at the H-4 teams. "They'll control things one way or another. Let’s go." Without hurting them, or endangering them or us? * LadySnow pouts. Let them riot. * PrincessRoyal shrugs. I can't believe you guys are just letting this happen... * LadyTwister is, idly, taking snapshots of the riot with her PDA, occasionally peering over her sunglasses (since she doesn't wanna give away her nature TOO quickly). They're not being violent. Snow... Chi. Covert. I don't get why everyone can't just get along... Sometimes we have to. Other visitors to NC are keeping well clear of the protest, trampling over the grassy area to its south. What do you think we should do? Run out there waving our arms and singing songs of peace and love? Let H-4 handle it. * LadyBobOmb blinks, then gives Royal a Look, before blinking again and clearing the expression. We have our own objectives. Let's not get distracted. Kas's PDA returns with a listing of news articles about an "Anti-Ningyo League", and a few smaller rallies that they've ran before this. I don't know... *mumbles* something is better than nothing... Lead on Ma'am. The sooner we get there the sooner this is done with. * LadyBobOmb skims over the results. "Apparently this crowd is experienced at protesting this." Maybe there's a deeper agenda somewhere, but apparently some people just don't like Ningyo. Not hard to figure out why... * PrincessRoyal walks on. "It's not as if H-4 is 'nothing.'" * LadyTwister sticks close to Royal, snapping a few final shots of some of the signs. H-4 has a line of barricades set up to keep the protestors separated from their targets. Some Ningyo are already on the other side, screaming insults back, and occasionally spraying water at the humans. * LadyBobOmb continues walking. "There's an Anti-Ningyo League. They've had a few rallies before, this seems to be their latest, largest one." Maybe we should investigate them... Oh, good. Then no indication it's because of a leak in our case. Well, directly anyway. Snow, they have nothing to do with what we are doing right now. We need to focus. I _know_ that. You don't have to keep telling me what I already know. Once you're by the protestors from both sides, you find yourself on a large dock. The canals and low buildings of Ningyo City stretch out in front of you. Multiple water-taxi drivers wave for your attention. * PrincessRoyal checks the address and maps a route on her PDA. It's... always something to come here and see this place for yourself. Like those pictures of Venice you always see on TV, but... y'know. Fish people instead of Italians. It's a very pretty city. Yeah. Plus the water taxis are fun. Are we taking one? Only about a third of the people around you are Ningyo, but it's impossible to not notice them. The current fashion among both male and female Ningyo is to wear form-fitting midriff tops, but there are many traditionally- ungarbed fish around as well. * LadyBobOmb closes her eyes, trying to just walk with using the sounds and the Sea-Magic sense. Probably, yes. Lady BobOmb trips over a loose board on the pier and falls on her face. ... ow. * PrincessRoyal blinks and bends down to help BobOmb up. "You all right?" * LadyTwister moves to help her up as well. * LadyBobOmb makes a weird little sound as she falls. Then follows that with an "Ow." * LadyKiss goes to kneel down and help her up. "You ok?" Why'd you do that? You should walk with your eyes open and stuff. * LadyBobOmb accepts the help, and gets back to her feet, looking a bit embarrassed. "That... didn't quite work." * LadyBobOmb laughs. "I probably should, at that." ^^; What were you trying to do? * LadySnow walks over to one of the taxis that looks particularly interesting and large enough to accommodate their group. Ooh can we take this one? * LadyBobOmb waves an arm. "There's all the Sea Magic here that I can feel." The low-level magics most of the Ningyo around you use whispers eerily to your magic sense. There are a few empowered Ningyo nearby, and of course the flaring beacon of the Queen of the Sea pulses a kilometer to the southeast. * PrincessRoyal glances over. "....it'll work. Let's go." Well, Sea Magic alone is not a map of the town proper. It's... quite an interesting feeling to close out everything but that. But not quite good enough to walk with. * PrincessRoyal rubs her temples as she walks over and discusses the destination with the driver. * LadySnow waves at the driver. "Can my friends and I take your taxi, Mr. Sir? ... I wonder how we feel to them right now. This taxi is essentially a very large, van-sized jet ski. The driver nods as he recognizes the address and you move out into the canal. * BobOmb pops into existence on Lady BobOmb's head, from wherever it was, looking a bit concerned and protective. You know. I've never taken one of these before. * LadySnow wheees and sits in the front. They're neat! That they are. A few Ningyo you pass by turn to watch you, but mostly they seem either oblivious to the Earth Magic or accustomed to its users. * LadySnow waves at those who turn to look. It is fun, although I was never one for open water... give me grass and mountains anyway. * LadyTwister kinda eyes Chi, then snickers and ruffles her hair. "Never change, girl!" The speed limit is lower than on any normal street, though you actually move faster than traffic would in downtown T-E. mmm the water feels nice against the skin though. * LadySnow idly chats with the driver as they drive, asking about where they're from and how long they've been doing this etc. * LadyBobOmb nods. "It would be nice to go for a swim." The driver - a male Ningyo - rides halfway out of the water behind you, steering with a keel rudder and his tail. He chats politely with Snow, ignoring her silly question about where he's from. * LadyBobOmb closes her eyes, and feels out the surroundings magically. Since she doesn't have to walk, now. * LadySnow tries to keep track of where they're going as she chats in case she needs to find her way back in an emergency. One has to wonder... if the answer to everything is right on the tip of our tongues. * LadyTwister looks at the water. "And we just can't taste it." Ningyo don't register as pure threat to BobOmb's magical sense - that's been trained out of the last generations of MG's - but they do still feel alien, and she shivers. * PrincessRoyal blinks. ... just thinking out loud, boss. I see. * LadyKiss just leans back smiling enjoying the ride. * PrincessRoyal looks out to the water, winces, touches her temple, and turns in the other direction to look out to the water. Hope the beer's good. No drinking till after we finish! I know how you get when you drink. The taxi banks northeast, into a more built-up section of town. You begin to pass more large barges, and while there are plenty of humans still around, most of them look like they're workers rather than tourists. * BobOmb nudges Kasumi a few times, who doesn't respond, then gets bored of her, and pops onto Snow's head, to watch the Ningyo taxi driver. And just how is that? Hmmm? * LadyBobOmb is pretty well zoned out, focusing on other senses. What type of bar is this? You begin to pass what appear to be modified fish farms and specialty boat construction docks. You get all touchy and huggy and stuff. And then you start making me drink... And I get sick... Brewery, Kiss. Yeah, yeah. You'll have a tolerance one of these days, Snow. Or I'll die from alcohol poisoning! * Ozawa works at his PDA, pretty much ignoring everything around him. * BobOmb crawls down Snow's arms, then disappears and pops back in at Snow's feet, and walks to the veeeery edge of the boat, getting as close as it can to the Ningyo without falling in. * LadyTwister rolls her eyes, nodding her head to and fro in a 'yeah, yeah' manner. Sadly I don't think I can talk their language. What language? * PrincessRoyal quirks an eyebrow at Kiss. Brewery. What? ...say again? The taxi slows, pulling up to a medium-sized dock at a quarter-block- sized factory building. There's a sign here - Flowers of the Sea Brewers. I don't know much about the business. I don't think I can talk niceties to them. * BobOmb hops a little and makes cute, querying sounds, trying to get the Ningyo's attention. The driver tries to ignore his passenger's weird weird pet. Ah. Well, not to worry. Thank you very much for the ride, Mr. Ningyo, sir. *bows politely* * PrincessRoyal thanks and pays the driver, then gets out. * LadyTwister promptly perks up and grins. "We have arrived. Indeed we have arrived." She's over and out quickly, admiring the brewery from a distance. * LadyBobOmb opens her eyes, then stands. "We've stopped." ^^ Yes, thank you for the ride. It was the most pleasant one I've had in some time. * LadyKiss gives the driver a smile. Do we need to call or something to get a ride back when we're done? We can just catch another one. * LadyBobOmb glances over at the BobOmb, and holds out her hand. The BobOmb makes a disappointed sound, and pops back into Kasumi's grasp. Okay. * LadySnow turns and looks the brewery up and down. The driver hands Snow a plastic business card. "We're available 24 hours, ma'am." Ooh! * LadyBobOmb pets it, smiling. "Those are Ningyo, little one." ^^ * LadySnow takes it and pockets it. "Thank you very much!" We should definitely call the same company. It was a great trip. * LadyBobOmb takes a moment to re-orient herself visually, then disembarks. * Ozawa hops off the boat, barely watching where he's going. You catch a glimpse over his shoulder of an online whip store. * PrincessRoyal nods, and leads the team inside. * LadySnow goes back to looking the place over, and follows Royal inside. * LadyKiss takes a deep breath and follows. * LadyTwister seems almost... giddy about this whole trip, grinning wide. Did she just giggle? A human receptionist stands to greet the team as they come inside. Hello! * LadySnow waves politely at the receptionist. Good morning! Welcome to the Flower of the Sea! * Receptionist bows. Thank you! Good morning, thank you for the welcome. It certainly lives up to it's name. I'm afraid I don't have an appointment listed this morning for a group... are you here to buy, or are you one of our suppliers? We're here on official business with the Hierarchy. Is Miss Anemone available? We'd like a few words. We're here to talk to uh... Aneno-- mono-- Um. Is the owner around? Anemone. Ah-nem-oh-nee. ^^ * Receptionist blinks. "Who are you, exactly?" Ah-nem-mo-ni... * PrincessRoyal flicks out her SIS badge. "We're from H-2." Oh, my! I'll get her right away! That's hard. * Receptionist scurries around the corner out of sight. I think that's good. * LadySnow looks around the inside of the place looking for any other humans or ningyo that happen to be around. You're in an office area, one that seems to be mostly staffed by humans. There are a couple of chairs designed for Ningyo sitting around, but for the moment there's only a half-dozen humans working at computer screens. * LadyKiss smiles pleasantly. "I think you just effectively cut through many headaches Ma'am." * PrincessRoyal shrugs. * LadySnow looks around for which door leads to the actual brewery. Water trickles out to cover the floor in a half-centimeter sheen, and a Ningyo floats around the corner. She's very nicely dressed in a suit-coat and a silk shell, and even has a dress-like wrap around her upper tail. Hello! * LadySnow waves politely at the Ningyo. Hello, I'm Anemone. Can I help you? * LadyBobOmb bows politely to Anemone. ^^ Hello. We're from H-2, and I'm afraid we need a few moments of your time. * LadyKiss bows very politely, still having a nice smile on. * PrincessRoyal glances about. "Is there somewhere we can speak...privately?" * Anemone bites her lip for a second, but then forces herself to relax. She waves the team back into the door she came from. * PrincessRoyal inclines her head in thanks, and heads through the door. * LadyKiss smiles and nods following the group. You enter a large open space, filled with impressive-looking machinery - huge vats and closed cauldrons, as well as refrigeration units. * LadySnow follows closely behind Royal, looking around the office as they enter it. This is an office? This is the innards of a brewery. Flower of the Sea is the largest brewing operation in Ningyo City - there are a couple of other small groups trying the same things we are, but they plan to sell to the upscale market. We want to service all of Japan. Seaweed-flavored beer is going to sweep the market! Ew. * PrincessRoyal shoots a quelling mini-frown at Snow. I mean uh. I'm sure it's very nice. I'd love to try some myself. ^^ * PrincessRoyal then clears her expression and nods at Anemone. "An innovative idea. But how is it implemented?" Nori has been used to flavor Japanese beers for many generations - we want to extend it beyond flavoring, and actually ferment the seaweed. Would it be along the lines of a fruit beer, or perhaps a...well, a sea version of a lambic? I've never had some, but I'll have to try it when I see it on a menu. We want to end up with a nori lager. The process is much too delicate for the lambic method, and the material is really not a fruit. * LadySnow looks around for workers in this part of the brewery. * PrincessRoyal nods. "Makes sense." You use normal ingredients, otherwise? Mostly Ningyo are watching the brewing operation, though there are some foreign humans back here as well. * LadySnow looks at the foreigners, trying to figure out where they're from. What type of flavor are you looking for? * Anemone frowns. "Mostly normal... we're staying away from hops, as the nori has its own bitterness. The hard part has been finding yeast that will ferment the seaweed." ...non-hops bitterness? Should be interesting. So where are you getting your yeast from? * Anemone reaches a walled-off area on the east end of the factory floor. "Here's my office." Inside, it's a very normal executive office, except with waterproof flooring, good drainage, and a buckety Ningyo-chair. * LadyBobOmb pulls out her PDA, doing a quick sweep of the area, before entering the office. She's focusing on getting a visual of everyone there, for future ID'ing. * Anemone waits for everyone to come inside. "So... what is H-2 doing looking at a start-up brewery?" * LadySnow steps inside, looking at how she has her office decorated. Well, to start out...where *are* you finding this yeast for your nori-fermenting operation, Miss Anemone? The office walls are solid displays, showing a pastoral underwater scene. Pretty. * Anemone looks away. "We've been using a licensed yeast from a brewer in Sapporo... but it's not working very well." Mm? * Anemone reaches into a drawer, and pulls out a bottle, which she hands to Royal, along with a tall glass. "Here. See for yourself." You haven't been trying other yeasts? * LadyBobOmb watches. What kind of yeast were you planning on trying? Of course we have. Nothing works better than this, so far. * PrincessRoyal raises an eyebrow. "Thank you." She opens the bottle and tilts the glass, pouring in a little of the beer before setting the bottle down. I would think a place would try six or seven yeasts at once... The beer is a dark, murky green, with a bluish head. * PrincessRoyal holds it up to the light, sniffs, sips a bit. * LadySnow looks at it and tries and fails not to make an ick face at it. It's really, really bad. There's something to the idea, you think, but they obviously are not filtering the beer the way you would expect for a lager, and it tastes way too much like raw seaweed. * PrincessRoyal screws up her face a bit, swishing the sip around in her mouth, then, almost forcefully, swallows. "I see." * LadyBobOmb holds out a hand. "May I try?" * PrincessRoyal hands over the glass to BobOmb, almost gladly. Gross. So you haven't been trying to, say...import other kinds of yeast? * LadyBobOmb takes a sniff of it, then downs a large swallow. * Anemone blushes. "If you're asking the question, you probably know." * LadyBobOmb winces, and swallows. * PrincessRoyal raises an eyebrow and waits patiently, keeping her eyes on Anemone's. * LadySnow leans over to Mari, whispering. "I change my mind. Feel free to drink as much as you want." And sticks her tongue at her. * Anemone sighs. "Can I see your identification?" * PrincessRoyal flicks out her SIS badge for Anemone. * LadyBobOmb sets the glass down. Yes, yes, you're with H-2. But *who* are you? General Princess Royal, miss. Now, can you answer the question, please? With a bit more detail, if possible. * Anemone winces. "I figured I was in trouble after Saturday night, but I didn't think they'd send a Princess after me." Are you aware of the full extent of what happened? * LadyKiss smiles nicely. "I think answering the questions might help ease some of the troubles." Mm, Saturday night. Can you tell us about that, please? * LadyBobOmb blinks. * PrincessRoyal glances at Snow, shaking her head a tiny fraction. The delivery was supposed to come in Saturday. All I know is that something crazy happened at the exchange point, and the garage is still half- closed. * LadySnow gives a "What?" look back and goes back to just listening. The news said that there were bodies recovered after an explosion... all they were supposed to do was hand over a small package! "They"? Someone was bringing in a... a... I had arranged for a genetically programmed yeast to be made, and sneaked into the country. * Anemone looks down at her desk. * PrincessRoyal listens intently. From who? A...? I didn't want to go myself to receive it, so I got some more people to go pick it up for me. * PrincessRoyal waves Snow and Bob-Omb to silence. Could you tell us who please? * LadySnow closes her mouth. I don't know exactly who was coding the new yeast. I went through a go-between on that end of the deal as well. What were the details of this...arrangement? * Anemone shrugs. "Money. My go-between did it as a favor, but the coders wanted 30M E-Yen. The couriers got a few hundred K." * LadySnow eyes widen to the amount paid for yeast. It was... Yes? * Anemone sighs again. "It's wasn't quite our last hope, but we've been having problems with the genetic coding laws here, and we may not survive long enough on our capitalization to get a beer to market if we have to wait for the proper testing to be done." ...mm. But you could afford to shell out 30M E-Yen? The creditors are still being sympathetic, and if we could get a worthwhile product for them to sample next month, we'd be in good shape. Our operational costs here are about half that per month, so... eh. Of course, since you're here, obviously I'm in bloodier waters than I thought. I see. Were the couriers on your end to bring the package to you on the same night? Yes. * LadySnow gives Royal a "Can I speak now?" look. Would you be willing to give us names, times, that sort of thing? * Anemone smiles weakly. "Am I going to prison?" * PrincessRoyal smiles blandly. "That depends." * PrincessRoyal gives Snow a discreet "in a little bit" gesture. What do you want to know? * LadySnow pouts but accepts. She is starting to look rather antsy in the pantsy though. Well, any details you could give us on the deal; who you contacted, how you contacted them, h ow things were supposed to go down. * LadyBobOmb nods. It's a bit of a long story... If there's nothing in that that leads directly to the consequences of Saturday night...you may be treated more, ah, leniently. But I can't give any promises. Oh, we have time. The delivery was supposed to be just a straightforward handoff. The... smugglers were going to be on the roof of the parking garage, and my couriers were simply supposed to show up and pick it up. No money was to change hands there. I *really* don't know how it was coming into the country, or even who was doing that. The couriers were arranged through a gentleman at Harvest Wind Global Contracting. * PrincessRoyal murmurs a non-interrupting, following-the-formula sounding, "Name?" I, uh, asked Anya at the NC Chamber for some help arranging couriers, and she gave me the number of a... Mr. Mashima? Mashimo? Something like that. Mm. * PrincessRoyal seems to enter the name into her PDA and lets a mutter of "Anya, eh?" slip, apparently by accident. I paid him something like 800 thousand. We had one meeting, at Harvest Wind. They had a very nice Ningyo-adapted conference room. * LadySnow makes notes in her PDA. Anya's a good friend to a lot of us entrepreneurs. She seems to know a lot of people. * LadySnow also does her best not to fidget with her desire to comment as she does so. * LadyBobOmb 's PDA is automatically taking notes, and recording it all anyways. Come to think of it, I met the woman who arranged the front side of the deal at one of the Chamber of Commerce parties, too. Really? And who was she? * PrincessRoyal tilts the screen away from Anemone, and taps out a quick note to Snow. [Problem?] * Anemone scrunches her eyebrows. "She was a real odd one. A European, I think, or at least she had a western name and an accent that sounded British. Bodica? Boacia?" * LadyBobOmb checks that name against the known info about the Belgians. Interesting. * Anemone snorts. "She said to call her Bo if it was too hard to use her real name." Um... could you spell that? No? * PrincessRoyal snorts. "Well, western names are sort of hard to pronounce anyway." Or do you have a card or something? * LadySnow starts looking for info on these parties and if she can dig up a guest list anywhere. * Anemone shakes her head. "She was sipping a martini at one of the CoC socials, and I was complaining about the import controls. A couple of days later, she called me back, and said she could arrange something... discreet." I see... Do continue, please. We had lunch a couple of times, and I got her the changes that my genetics consultants recommended... and she called back and offered to arrange the deal. She seemed... heh. She seemed trustworthy, almost to the point of vulnerability. It was weird, but she really made an impression on me. * PrincessRoyal makes an "mm?" sound. Just... You're going to laugh at me. I met Her Earthly Majesty once, just to shake her hand, and got that same sense of absolute trust for a second. Except it was even more personal with this woman. I don't know, maybe it's some sort of magical personal magnetism. * LadySnow raises a major eyebrow at that. ...really? Huh. Do you have anyway we can contact her? I have a phone number, but no one has answered it when I've tried since Saturday. Figures... Still, if we could have that, please? We might be able to trace it. * Anemone grabs a pen and jots down an international number. * LadyBobOmb starts a trace and search on that as soon as she can enter it. * LadyTwister was... rather underwhelmed by the beer, but she's gamely going at her share. And listening/PDA-note taking. Any port in a storm, as the old saying goes. I just can't believe Bo would have anything to do with the mess at the garage. Mm. Perhaps she would have more information about the deal though. We're not certain at this point what stage of the arrangement resulted in...that. Any other details you could give us? About...? Well, Mashimo, if anything stands out in your mind. He was polite, and took my money graciously. He seemed... just perfectly professional. Polished, like he was used to working under the table. What did he agree to provide for you? Or did you leave it completely up to him? Specifically, I wanted completely discreet and secure pickup of the package, and immediate transport here. Do you know if he had any contact with this Bo person at all? I don't see how he could have. I suppose he could have been at the Chamber function where I met her, but... * PrincessRoyal PDA-taps to the group. [Don't interrupt her, but if you have something that's related to whatever's being said, go ahead. Leave tangential stuff for after she's done with one line of questioning.] But nothing was ever formally arranged between the three of you together? Hum. 'see. I did not mention Bo to him, or vice versa. Mm. Hmm... Anyone else at the function who might be able to help us track her down? * LadyTwister catches the alarm in her earpiece, reads the note, and nods, still nursing at the nori beer. The look on her face is... something. She seemed to be with a Belgian guy - he was a high-powered investor. I didn't catch his name, and he didn't seem to be interested in my brewery. Anya would probably have a record of who he was. How did you end up talking to her? Did she approach you? She... they just drifted into the group I was chatting with. He left, she stayed and chatted with us. * LadySnow sends out a message on the PDAs. [You think she was being set up?] So would you say the idea for...acquiring internationally coded beer was yours, or hers? ...ultimately, it was hers. Her solution to the problem I told her about. [Seems like it.] ...mmm. And Anya....? What about her? You contacted her after this "Bo" contacted you, or was she in the same group? She was around at that party, but I never saw her and Bo chatting. I called Anya for some recommendations when I decided I needed a courier later. How much of the deal was she aware of, or did she only know about the courier arrangements? I never discussed why, though I suppose I did mention that this might solve my brewing problems. So, from you, she knew only that you needed discreet couriers to pick up a package at the Ningyo City parking garage and bring it to you; is that correct? * LadyTwister opens her mouth... pauses, then closes it, realizing Royal's covering most of the bases here. Yes, your highness. Who else was aware of this plan, that you know of? No one. Well, my accountant sort of knew, since she arranged for the cash. Hmm... Do you have account numbers we can look at? Have you seen or spoken to anyone who was involved in this deal since Saturday? If you're investigating me, you'll have my accounts and my business accounts - you'll be able to sort out the cash withdrawals. Mashimo had a more exotic scheme for payment, which went right over my head. I've kept quiet. I tried calling Bo, but I figured that calling Mashimo now would be a bad idea. And Anya? Why would I call her? Were you ever given any details on just how the arrangement was to be implemented? The layers of contacts, names of people, transportation, timing, anything like that? No. Bo said it was better if I didn't know. I see. When was your last contact with...any of these three people? ... hm. Any reasons given for why not knowing was better? * Anemone looks witheringly at Twister. "Gee, it was all illegal?" Last date of contact, please. Bo... I handed the down payment to her a week ago Friday. Mashimo... was a few days before that, I think. * LadyTwister raises an eyebrow over her shades, but shrugs the ningyo's look off. Anya stopped by to try the latest brew sometime last week. Wednesday, maybe? Did she mention anything about the deal then? No. Mm. * PrincessRoyal enters in the information, and looks around the group, with a "more questions?" raised eyebrow look. * LadyBobOmb nods. "What was going to happen on May 21st?" What? Does that date have any significance to you? No, not at all. * LadyBobOmb nods. "And did you ever get a sample of the yeast you were trying to get?" * LadyTwister idly taps away on her PDA. [There has to be something else to the date, then. But what?] ...no one came with it, no. I expect it got blown up at the garage... * PrincessRoyal taps. [Assuming it is a date.] How much were you attempting to get? Did the yeast have a name, or code, or serial number? Any way to identify it? We ordered about ten grams. That would be plenty to culture. And I have the specifications for it in my computer. Mm. Gonna need to take that... You were the only one to have direct contact with these people, yes? Your accountant received the information from you? That's correct. She acted on my instructions. Did you tell her why she was handling the accounts in that way? She knew... what we were supposed to get out of the deal. Not at all how we were getting it. So, from her end, she believed you were simply buying 30M E- Yen worth of genetically coded yeast. [break session] Session Close: Sat Aug 12 18:29:05 2006 Session Start: Sat Aug 19 16:25:42 2006 You were the only one to have direct contact with these people, yes? Your accountant received the information from you? That's correct. She acted on my instructions. Did you tell her why she was handling the accounts in that way? She knew... what we were supposed to get out of the deal. Not at all how we were getting it. So, from her end, she believed you were simply buying 30M E-Yen worth of genetically coded yeast. [break session] [resume session] Yes. I didn't want to involve anyone else in the less-legal aspects of this. * PrincessRoyal scratches her chin. "I see. Do you suppose we could have a word with her?" I can hardly stop you. We outsource our accounting so far since we're just starting up, so she's not here. Really? Who does she work for, and where? Eriko works for herself. If we ever get a real product, we'll need a proper department here, but Tokyo-East Accounting Services is just a few people with computers and CPA licenses. Ahh. So she's out in Tokyo proper, then. She works out of her home, in the northeast burbs. Hm. Full name and contact information, please? * Anemone pulls a card out of her desk. "I'll call her to authorize release of our company records. But she really doesn't know anything." * PrincessRoyal nods absently. "I understand. We'd only be speaking with her to check on...the financial aspects of this thing. For the paperwork, you know how they like things to be specific." She gives Anemone a knowing- insider-type grin. * Anemone smiles back weakly. Now, can you identify anyone who might have reason to go to such extreme lengths to stop you from receiving your package? * Anemone blinks, then thinks about it. I don't have any enemies... There's those ANL assholes, but how would they even know about it? Or who it was for? ANL? * LadyBobOmb blinks. * LordFate has Wyrd do a quick scan for any companies with that acronym or name, especially in the brewing business. * Anemone points a remote at one wall, and the image blinks to show H-4 beginning to arrest some of the protestors at the parking plaza. Oh, them. * LadyBobOmb frowns. What about any business rivalries? There are a couple other breweries in Ningyo City, but they're doing different things. * LadyKiss smiles politely. "Or perhaps, did you know if your contact delivered to others?" Magically-pure water, and such. I guess I don't know what else Bo might have gotten into. * LadyBobOmb frowns. "When you were going to get the yeast, how long of a testing phase were you planning on going through?" We'd have to culture the yeast to produce more of it, but once we had enough in a week or two we'd go straight to brewing with it. The sooner I can get a working prototype to my investors... I should say a drinkable prototype. * LordFate laughs a bit. * LadyBobOmb nods. "This... Bo? Did she express interest in helping you before or after you let out you were in a hurry?" No, no, she didn't offer help until she called me back later. She was only sympathetic at the Chamber event. * PrincessRoyal nods. * Anemone folds her arms and looks sad. "I really don't know why things went so crazy at the garage. Obviously it wasn't in my interest to screw up the exchange, and I regret that anyone was hurt or killed there." Mm, of course. * PrincessRoyal taps out a message on her PDA. [Any other questions, people?] * Wyrd replies for Fate, [None we want to ask her now, before a bit more discussion and investigation of this "Bo".] [I can't think of anything else relevant.] So... am I under arrest? I do not think that will be necessary. You have been most cooperative. If you remain available should we have any further questions, though, it would be very appreciated. Er, I'm afraid that's not true. My apologies. The well-dressed Ningyo moues in confusion. Sorry. The fact of the matter is, we will likely have to take you into custody at least for a bit. Until your story checks out, of course, though I suspect that shouldn't take long...but more importantly, in case anyone involved attempts anything. It's as much for your protection as anything else. If they were willing to go to the lengths they did to destroy that shipment...you may know more than you think you know, or they may fear that you do. Ah. Can we keep it quiet, at least? If we can work things out and my investors don't have to hear about it... * PrincessRoyal smiles. "That, I believe we can arrange." You've been very helpful, Miss Anemone, and I'm sorry about all of this, but I'm sure you can see why it's necessary. We don't want anyone else hurt. * Anemone stands - well, floats - up out of her seat, and straightens her suit. "All right. I suppose I'll have to live with that." We'll need your computer records, of course, for the investigative bit. Yes, I would imagine so. Let's go back to the front office and I can make arrangements. * PrincessRoyal nods and stands up, packing away her PDA. * LordFate sips his soda, ready to go. * Anemone opens the door and heads across the factory floor, looking wistfully at the massive fermentation vats. * PrincessRoyal follows. Who do you plan on putting in charge? * Anemone shrugs. "The brewmaster already really does the day-to-day management here. If we ever get out of R&D, I'll have more to do, but for a week or two I don't need to designate anyone." * PrincessRoyal nods. "Good." * PrincessRoyal lowers her voice a bit. "And said brewmaster knows nothing, correct?" He knew that I was expecting new yeast to try, but that's all. * PrincessRoyal nods again. The group is nearly back to the front door when a weird, continuous impact noise echoes throughout the brewing chamber. What was that? * LordFate whirls, dual pistols appearing in his hands almost like magic as he looks for the source of the sound. Shit! * LadyBobOmb 's BobOmb she's been carrying disappears, startled, then reappears on Kasumi's head, watchfully cute. * LadyDestiny turns towards the sound, not at all startled by the noise. * LadyBobOmb reaches up, and picks it up, before saying to it, softly, "Go. Stay in touch." * BobOmb promptly disappears! The lights hanging from the ceiling suddenly sway, making everyone look up as the metal roof begins to buckle. Near the top of the wall, a long strip of metal has been heated to glowing and is starting to give way. Glowing globs of something fiercely hot spit through the cracks that have already formed. That can't be good. EVERYONE. OUT. MOVE! *does a semi-military gesture to send everyone out the door* * PrincessRoyal pushes Anemone out ahead of her, covering her. * Anemone grabs hold of a nearby railing, looking up in horror. My brewery! Go, woman! We have to get out of here! * LordFate is already moving, helping Royal push Anemone out. * LadyKiss runs. Not looking back, not thinking, just runs. * LadyBobOmb pauses a moment, and summons another Bob-Omb - this one winged. "Up!" And that one takes flight, heading Up to get a view. * LadyDestiny glances up at the ceiling once more before heading towards the door. * LadyBobOmb then takes off, running out. The ceiling dips, sags, and collapses inwards, smashing the huge refrigerated cauldrons of beer and sending waves of greenish brew cascading across the brewery floor. * PrincessRoyal mutters into her PDA as she pushes/runs. "Get me local security, fire safety, and an explosives and a forensics team at this address, and I want them ten minutes ago! By order of Princess Royal, H-2!" * Ozawa bangs the office door open just in time to get steamrolled by Lady Kiss. He stands back up and helps pull the thrashing Anemone back into the office section, just in time for the building to collapse entirely around them. * LadyKiss leans against the closest thing she could, even if it was a person, just taking a few deep breaths. BobOmb, Destiny, and Kiss find themselves tumbling into the canal outside the front door as the metal structure makes painful collapsing noises behind them. * PrincessRoyal dives in after and covers Anemone, if possible. The office walls provide a little extra support, leaving a meter-high pocket of air filled with a dozen trapped humans and Ningyo. * Anemone sobs. "MY BREWERY!!!" E... every one made it out? *Pants looking around* Can be rebuilt, Anemone. Royal, Anemone, Ozawa, myself, and several others are trapped in here, Kiss. * LadyBobOmb sinks for a moment as she composes herself, then swims back to the surface, dripping wet, the loose clothing she's wearing sticking to her. * Ozawa pulls a flashlight out of some pocket, and shines it around. He has a nasty gash on his forehead, and rubs the blood away from his eyes. * PrincessRoyal leaves Anemone with Ozawa, and does a (short) prowl of where they are. "Anyone seriously injured?" This is BobOmb, I'm okay. How is everyone else? * LadyKiss frowns. "We need to fix that. Any suggestions on what not to do? I can't see your situation." * LadyDestiny stands up as best she can. "Ok, what's the plan now?" One of the Ningyo has lost a huge chunk of his tail fin, and a few others have minor head injuries, but no one looks like they're dying. Weaver, find someplace where the debris is thin enough to bring people through. The spider-thing scampers off, and begins exploring the wreckage of the office. We need to check the structural integrity of this pocket. It could collapse on us at any minute if we don't know what we're doing. * The spider detaches from the Lord's wrist, and scurries up to the ceiling, where he vanishes and reappears in and out of the fallen mess. I called emergency services, so they should be here...soon. Or they better, anyway. If he can't find a short enough path through, I'll have Weaver try to use his webbing to add structural integrity. If you call and reiterate the urgency of the situation, that might make them more inclined to crack their asses getting here. Outside, hundreds of Ningyo are swimming to the scene. Some of them look very angry. What's happening out there? Any indication of a follow-up of some sort? We got angry Ningyo coming... I think. * LadyBobOmb does that, having Glitch start an emergency call. "This is Junior Lady Bob-Omb, with H-2 SIS. We have a collapsed building in Ningyo City, Sea Winds Brewery, and we've got people trapped in here. We need support NOW!" * NingyoWoman surges up out of the water next to the three Ladies. You can feel her Sea Magic surging, and it's obvious that she's one of the more- empowered fish. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" * LadyKiss stares her right in the eyes. "I'm wet, ruining my clothes, and have friends stuck in there. Drop the attitude. Accept we did nothing in there. And help me save them and your people. AFTER we do that we can be bitches to each other. Okay?" Shit. Calm them down as much as you can. Do *not* let anyone touch this building until emergency services arrives. We don't know if there's anyone else stuck anywhere else, we can't risk anything happening to make things worse. I felt it! It was Earth Magic that destroyed this building! * LadyBobOmb frowns. The crowd of Ningyo begins to rumble angrily. ...what? What's happening out there? Ma'am. I make chocolate. Chocolate doesn't do that. We can talk about this later. I just got orders to try and keep this place in one piece. There are some minor injuries. I want nothing more then to save those people in there. If you want to fight and let them die, it's your choice. Can we - please- save them before we duke this out? The Ningyo say they felt Earth Magic. Fuck! Wait. They felt *us*? Or they felt a surge before the collapse? * LadyBobOmb turns to the Ningyo. "Ma'am? Can I ask when you felt that?" Was it what you feel now, or was there a surge before the building collapsed? * LadyBobOmb is totally nonplussed by the angriness. * LordFate looks to Anemone. "Did you feel anything of the sort?" His British accent is a bit thicker, but his tone is far more brusque than usual. I felt the Earth Magic surge, and looked up, and there was a fuckin beam of something slicing at the roof of the brewery. Don't tell me there aren't Ladies here, I can feel them! I can feel a Princess! * LadyBobOmb looks sharply up. "From what direction?" I'm just an ordinary Ningyo, my Lord. I can sense Her Highness here, but that's about it. I assure you that if I or anyone else the least bit competent were to do this, we wouldn't be caught here talking to you, and we wouldn't be careless enough to get friends stuck in there. The Princess... is... Understood. Well, let's try to get you out of here, and everyone else. Weaver! You found someplace to take those of us stuck in here? * NingyoWoman turns in a circle. She's in the rubble? Along with some other powers. What? Yes, there is a Princess. She is trapped in there. I'm a Lady. I make chocolate. We can talk about this after we save them. Please? *Takes a deep breath* You should have a procedure for saving them? What do they say? Start tracking for information and don't let anyone who had eyewitness view of the entire thing leave the area. Do I look like I know what to do about a collapsed building? * The not-so-little spider appears on the ground in front of Fate's face. "Yep! Shouldn't be hard at all. Who's first?" * LadyBobOmb turns back to the building. "Will all of you be alright until rescue personnel show up?" Sirens approach as H-4 and Ningyo City rescue craft begin to fill the canals outside. Nope, and neither do we, so I suggest we take a step away from the collapsing building, lest we do some more damage to it and the people inside. No, but you look less uncertain then I. Help me make sure people stay away from it till rescue personal show up then? As I said afterwards I'll be happy to stand there and let you yell at me if you want, but I want every one to live. * LordFate looks to Royal. "Anemone first, then you, then Ozawa and the other civilians, Princess?" Hey, I'm not a civilian! No. Anemone, the civs, Ozawa, us. * LadyBobOmb turns back to the Ningyo who saw the beam. "Ma'am? I assure you, we did not do this, and your magical sense and seeing the beam would be invaluable in finding out who did. I'm Junior Lady Bob-Omb, with H-2, and I'm officially asking you to stay on the scene and answer a few questions, okay?" Yes'm. Weaver, get to it. The floor shakes, and the building starts to subside a little. Green beer starts filling the space where everyone is trapped. Hey, out there, standby to receive Anemone and the other trapped civilians. We got civilians coming out Ma'am. Would you help make sure they are okay? * PrincessRoyal looks down at the floor. "Quickly, if you please. We're getting beer leaks in here." * LordFate 's Pet scurries over to Anemone. As soon as he's crawled onto her fin, they both vanish, and appear outside. Weaver promptly vanishes from her tail before it gets submerged, and reappears inside, scurrying for the next civilian. * LadyBobOmb makes sure there's a clear spot, and starts shooing people away if there's not. "Wounded are about to be transported out, please make sure there's enough space to receive them." Well, some Lady is responsible for this, and I'm certainly not leaving until I make sure everyone knows that! There's not so much a clear spot, as a clear section of the canal. It'll have to do. * LadyKiss smiles nicely. "Of course, and I assure you that this attack will be taken very seriously. It hurt some Ladies and a Princess. We shall help you get justice. * LordFate army-crawls over to speak privately with Royal while Weaver works on this rescue-mission. "If we get you out there, can you force her into a situation where that...'I know when they're lying directly' thing of yours will be able to tell if she knows more of this than she's letting on?" he whispers. * PrincessRoyal replies. "Possibly. If it becomes necessary." We've cleared as much space as we can. We're ready when you are. * Weaver appears with another rescue, and vanishes again to pick up more. Make sure Anemone is safe, out there. Not much doubt as to who was the target of this. The evacuees splash down one at a time. The Ningyo take it quite gracefully, while the humans thrash about predictably. ...I'm not so sure, Princess. *still whispered* But I'll explain when we're safely on the way back to base. * PrincessRoyal raises an eyebrow, not that he can see it. "I think you misinterpreted what I said, but sure." * Anemone appears over the water, and swims elegantly back to the edge of the rubble. As she rises out of the water, she pulls off her ruined jacket and skirt-thing. Perhaps, ma'am. * LadyBobOmb watches Anemone splash down, then takes a glance around, and Up. * NingyoWoman darts over to Anemone, and begins urgently discussing something with her. * LadyBobOmb politely interrupts. "Miss Anemone, may I request that you stay underwater for the moment? You're an easier target on the surface." ^^ The rescue crews are fully here now, and beginning to work on the fringes of the rubble. Several humans are arguing over a meter-square display of the building's blueprints. I what? * LadyDestiny attempts to catch a few words of the conversation while appearing not to be listening. * LadyKiss heads over to the ones arguing. "May I be of any assistance? Lady Kiss at your service." * NingyoWoman seems to be asking if the Ladies assaulted Anemone. You're an easier target from the air if you're visible on the surface. It might be a good idea if you continued your conversation underwater. ^^ * Anemone is being somewhat coy in response, but denies that these Ladies did anything wrong. Not *too* underwater, unless you're good at holding your breath. She's not to be left unwatched. If you say so... * Anemone slips back into the water. Weaver has worked his way through the trapped civilians, and is ready for the team. * LadyBobOmb frowns. "Yes ma'am." She focuses for a moment, and yet another Bob-Omb springs into existence. This one's blue, and she holds it, points at Anemone, and says to it, "Protect her. Talk to me if anything changes, or anything catches your interest." And slips it into the water, where it starts swimming. * LordFate wrinkles his nose at the odor of the beer as it creeps up in the air pocket. "Ozawa first, Weaver. Then the Princess." Weaver vanishes with Ozawa. * Ozawa stays in the water rather than climbing out when offered a hand. "Need to get that beer out of my pants." * Weaver appears right on Royal's head, glances around, then vanishes when he realizes he's on his target, taking her outside into the canal. * LadyBobOmb closes her eyes, concentrating for a second. Shortly after the original BobOmb that accompanied them on the trip appears on one shoulder. * PrincessRoyal nods a thanks to Weaver, and swims out towards Anemone as soon as she can. * Anemone blubbers something underwater, then sticks her head out as Royal approaches. Are all my people out? Everyone we could find, miss. * LordFate appears in the canal moments later, Weaver standing on his head as the Lord treads water. After a moment to get his bearings, Lord Fate looks for a good place to climb out. There may be more back in the brewery, but I guess there's nothing I can do to help. Yeah. Emergency Services will find them, if they're there. I'm sorry about the brewery, Miss Anemone. I know how much it meant to you. * Anemone grimaces, and doesn't say anything. * PrincessRoyal 's lips thin. "Mm." She waits. "Of course, you see now what I meant when I said you might be in danger." I don't know anything! * LordFate stretches as he walks over. "Hopefully, you had insurance," he says, a touch coldly. What you do know may be worth more than you think. On the building... not on the equipment, and the business is just gone. * PrincessRoyal winces. * PrincessRoyal frowns, and turns in the direction of the Ningyo woman she can sense. "Ma'am?" Yeah? Are you the...woman who witnessed what happened before the building came down? I'm sure others saw it too, but yes. You sensed it as well. ^^ * LordFate offers Anemone an...encouraging smile? Nah. "I'm sure you can rebuild it. You built it once, after all." * PrincessRoyal paddles over and holds out a hand. "Princess Royal, H-2 Support Investigative Services. Could you tell me exactly what it was you saw and sensed, please?" * PrincessRoyal fishes out her PDA as she talks and dries it off as best she can, one-handed and in the water. * NingyoWoman doesn't take the hand. "I sensed one of you Ladies blasting the hell out of that building. Saw some beam of... something at roof height." * LadyBobOmb takes it from her carefully. Can you describe that beam? Red, glowing... it seemed to be a stream of some material, rather than a laser or something. It... dripped, as it tailed off. * PrincessRoyal frowns. "..into the water?" I stopped looking at that point, and started swimming here. Where did it come from? * NingyoWoman looks up and around. "Didn't see where, but it was coming from above the warehouse across the street here." * LadyKiss frowns and moves back and tries to find a nice quiet place away from others. What's going on here? Is this some sort of intramural squabble the School need to know about? * PrincessRoyal curses fervently. "A sniper. I *hate* snip--" She glances Bob-Omb's way, and stops. "I see. What buildings are over there?" Anything that would be tall enough to fire over the warehouse from, anyway. * PrincessRoyal makes it clear that question's for whoever from the team on land as well as for the woman. There's a personal-watercraft factory, that lot is a composites transshipment biz, more like that. * LadyDestiny pulls out a scope that looks like it belongs on a rifle and begins scanning the warehouse area. Did the surge of magic feel different in any way, aside from being Earth Magic? Different? Earth Magic is Earth Magic. Hmm. * PrincessRoyal traces an arc in the air from the ruins of the brewery to said warehouse. "Like that...and...dripping, you said?" * LadyBobOmb holds out her hands as the BobOmb with wings lands on them. She points it at the building mentioned. "Be a dear and see if you can find anyone over there, okay? Show them to me as you see them." She tosses it up in the air, and the BobOmb takes flight over there. * LadyKiss stops as she finds a place and calls the lab people on her radio. "Could you all do me a favor? I need to know what weapons or Ladies can make red substances come down to destroy buildings. It looked heat based, but don't narrow your search too much." Destiny spots a line of small blackened and smoldering spots on the roof of a low warehouse - one end points at the ruined brewery, the other is going back towards a grain tower. We've got some slagged equipment on top of the warehouse. Should we take a closer look? Hell yes. Um... if I'm in so much danger...? * LadyKiss when finding a nice quiet spot starts to search for anything that might cause the effect described. I'm not going, Miss Anemone. That's the good thing about having sub--people working with you. All right. Anyone want to come with me? I'll go. * LordFate heads over to join his sister, Weaver crawling back down to cling to his wrist. * PrincessRoyal turns to the Ningyo Woman. "You've been a great help, ma'am. What's your name?" I'll go. * LadyBobOmb gestures the blue BobOmb over, and pets it. "Be good for Royal- sama and Miss Anemone, okay?" ^^ I'm Matriarch Seree. And you're Princess...? Royal. The School will want answers for today, Your Highness. Be sure we get them. * NingyoWoman swims off towards the nearby media boats. * PrincessRoyal raises an eyebrow. "The Hierarchy will be just as interested in those answers, Matriarch." Ozawa, can we get a secure transport here? We're taking Anemone into protective custody. All right. Let's go quickly before someone can clean up the mess. We may want to commandeer an H-4 boat, ma'am. Sounds fine. * LordFate exchanges a nod with his sister, and looks to BobOmb, before dashing off at a run for the warehouse in question. * LadyBobOmb hands Royals PDA to Ozawa. "Give this back to Royal-sama when she's ready to receive it, please?" ^^ Yes'm. * LadyBobOmb then takes off after the twins. * PrincessRoyal squints angrily at the media, but shakes her head. She looks at Anemone thoughtfully. * Anemone is looking quietly bemused and aggrieved. * PrincessRoyal sighs. "Don't know if it'd be best to get you out of here unseen, or to have you give a brief statement to the media first. Though I hope the Matriarch's not going to start mouthing off too much to the press about how evil and vile we MGs are. If the ANL gets involved..." I... I wouldn't know what to say. * PrincessRoyal eyes her. "I hope you don't believe we had anything to do with it." * LadyKiss comes back to sit near where the Princess is. Oh, no, not you! ...but nothing about all this makes any sense to me. * PrincessRoyal grunts. "You're not the only one." * LordFate snerks over the radio, "If we had, Destiny and I would have been more thorough." * PrincessRoyal primly ignores the radio on that one. From a distance, the burnt dots on the roof looked like a nice line. From closer up, they're just slightly-smoking blobs on a white metal roof. They were slow or we were fast, and I won't rule out both possibilities. Apparently you have an enemy you don't know about. One that doesn't like us either. Not much of a surprise, that. * PrincessRoyal blinks as a thought occurs to her. "Ozawa, the H-4 boat will have facilities for her, won't it?" * LordFate scans them, recording the images for later analysis and extrapolating the path further along. "If these were 'drips' like the witness referred to, they came from overhead. Molten depleted uranium, perhaps?" Uhhh... dunno about the boat, but our bus really doesn't. Yeah, I figured. We should get an evidence team over here. * PrincessRoyal radios to Bob-Omb. "You hadn't called one in already?" I can rough it for a little while, but you'll have to lift me into the vehicle. Not yet, Royal-sama. I wanted to make sure it was safe to do so, but it would probably be a good idea to have one on it's way and on standby. Just call evidence with security backup, Bob-Omb, and they can take it from there. * PrincessRoyal eyes Anemone. "If you're sure." From their new position, the dots point not to the grain elevator, but to some of the rigging nearby it. We'll need a boat to take us to where the garage is, anyway, though. * LadyBobOmb has Glitch call in a request for a forensics team with some security backup to get over to the area. Fate to Royal; we're investigating the line further to its source. * LordFate looks to Destiny. Understood. Keep me posted. All right. Let's go. I feel too exposed out here anyway. * LordFate pulls his pistols out again as he follows Destiny. The sniper - might- be dumb enough to still be where they're now going. It's a couple more fences and a canal crossing away, but they reach the granary without any serious trouble. A couple more blackish, steaming globules are on the ground below the elevator rigging - these look round, as if dripped from straight above. * LordFate vanishes, reappearing gripping rigging for a moment about 10 meters up before vanishing again and reappearing at the top. * LadyDestiny looks down at the globs. "I don't recommend touching those." * LadyBobOmb pauses to take a couple of pictures, and forwards them to Royal and the others, before resuming the pace. * LadyDestiny looks about to see if there's any way to bring the elevator down. The grain elevator is a huge tower full of grain. Not something you'd want to bring down. Fate reaches the top ramp, and finds... no one. But it certainly appears that someone was here recently, as there are dusty footprints everywhere. Looks like we'll have a bit of a climb. * LordFate sends Weaver down to pick up BobOmb. * LadyBobOmb blinks, then giggles. "The little one found you, Fate." Pause. "And it's going to keep you company." She says this even as it starts circling him to land on his shoulder. * LadyBobOmb takes a moment herself to find a suitable ladder, then starts climbing up. * LordFate then proceeds to take still and video recording of the footprints in the dust. "Welcome, little one. Your mistress should be up shortly." * Weaver appears on BobOmb's shoulder, and offers to take her up the rest of the way. * LadyBobOmb blinks at the spider, pausing mid-rung. "I'd appreciate it." And gives it a big, cheerful smile. ^^ O-- *vanishes along with the Lady, reappearing at the top* --kay. * Weaver then disappears again, reappearing a couple moments later with Lady Destiny. Everyone gathers around, admiring the shoeprints. A shame there's no sniper here to go with them. Welcome, Ladies. *puts his guns away* * LadyBobOmb makes sure to take lots of zoomed in video footage of the shoeprints. * LadyDestiny tries not to walk around much, lest she mess up the prints. * LadyBobOmb also tries to not mess up the evidence. Lord Fate turns around slowly, examining every millimeter of the facility, then points down the ramp at a rope. "There." The rope is tied around the top rung of a half-ladder, and it trails all the way down to the ground, providing a quick exit for someone strong enough to use it. * LadyBobOmb frowns. "Mark that area for fingerprints." Might have left some DNA on the rope, too. There was magic involved. Bring some sensitive Pets, maybe. * LadyDestiny takes her scope and tries to find the best place from the rooftop to fire at the brewery, which is probably near one of the piles of slag. * LordFate has Wyrd send these images to the dispatcher for relay to the incoming forensics team. The footprints are at the best spot on the ramp, and it does indeed line up with the blobs she spotted earlier. Fate to Royal; found where the sniper was, attempting to track. Lady BobOmb, Destiny, I'm going down there to keep searching. Destiny, you can help BobOmb down if she needs it, to avoid disturbing the rope and ladder, right? * LordFate nods to Weaver, and the two vanish, reappearing in mid-air for a second or two before vanishing and reappearing on the ground near the base of the rope and ladder. Fate proceeds to search around again. If it's no trouble. ^^ Fate looks all over, but can't work out where the sniper ran next. That said, there are multiple obvious ways out of here - the barge dock would be good if you had a boat waiting or didn't mind getting wet, the front gate has an open entrance for personnel, though not vehicles, and then there's the lowish fences. I think we'd do better if we looked around up here to look for anything out of the ordinary on the ground. The bird's eye view can help us notice things we can't see from down there. * LordFate snaps shots of each of these, tagging them with filenames indicating possible escape routes, and sends these along for forensics, too. He then tries once more at the barge dock and front gate, double-checking to make sure he’s not missed an obvious sign of those boot prints from before passing that way. He also tries one more look at the fences, looking for bent portions where someone might have climbed. There's only so much one can look at in a grain elevator. And all that dust will probably make me sneeze constantly. * BobOmb hovers about Fate the whole while, looking all around itself - though more out of curiosity than a concerted search. ...I'm not finding anything anymore. I've sent the images to forensics; but I have lost the trail. There are too many possible routes to figure out which our sniper took, and one of them would render it hard to track her at all. * Ozawa has unparked the bus, and driven it down to one of the boat ramps. Have a casual look for some barges or small boats fleeing this area. Other than that, we may as well head back. Princess, where's it easiest for you to have us picked up? * LordFate appears up top near his sister and BobOmb again. * PrincessRoyal , still dripping a little and seemingly unaware of it, helps Anemone into the bus before letting Kiss in and following. "We're at the NC parking garage now, actually." I can send the H-4 boat over to you all for a pickup, though. Unless you want to wait for the forensics team to show up, first. * Anemone sits awkwardly inside. Human seats just are too angular for people with fishtails. I'll wait for the Forensics team, unless you need me in person. That's probably a good idea. We'll meet up with you after they get here. Very well. Keep me posted if anything else turns up. Will do. * Ozawa puts the bus in gear, and they roll back towards H-2 HQ. [end session] Session Close: Sat Aug 19 19:40:12 2006