[Day: Tuesday, Arpil 9th. Time: 2:00 p.m.] [You're all in the briefing room! Why? Because you were told to go to the briefing room.] [Start] * Heinrick is sitting in the briefing room, drinking some nice hot tea. He seems calm and relaxed. Though he usually does at that anyhow. He's taken residence in one of the corners of the room at the moment. * Jamie hasn't been seen much for the past week since Rose's mostly kept her locked in the VR room undergoing intensive training. She looks tired, with dark rings under her eyes, and not enough energy to fidget in her chair. * Luana is wearing her shiny new armor clothes which aren't literally shiny. She's trying to juggle some small beanbags and failing pretty badly. * Roseli comes walking in, without coffee but definitely chewing gum. She nods at those present and offers gum. Because that is what she does! * Keiko is not in her room! Awesome. Today is black dress with orange ribbon day, and she's rubbing her collar as she waits, duck sitting on the table. * Heinrick politely refuses. Because gum and tea don't mix. [Lydia enters not long after I said start. "Good afternoon. I wonder if any of you have heard that terrorists attacked a government facility in Rio dr Janiro?"] * Keiko looks up at Rose, startled, then shakes her head slowly. "No... and no." * Jamie gives Lydia a blank look. * Luana gets smacked on the head by a beanbag as she answers. "N- no." (Rio Dr. Janiro is an awesome name for a rapper.) (... you are fired.) (YOU DIDN'T HIRE ME! HA!) (Hahaha.) [Lydia types up something in the computer, and an image pops up. It's got a number of guys firing at a greco-roman style building. "The target was the city's capital building. The terrorists were repulsed, but suffered few casualties."] * Roseli nods. "Heard of it. Not many details, though." I had heard of it. But I'm not sure...how does that affect us here? * Roseli slips into a seat next to Jamie. * Keiko 's head moves very slightly as Luana's smacked on the head, then thinks at Luana (with Jamie able to hear), ~Is that really gonna help your gunning?~ ( Who has weapons encyclopedia? ) (Not I! Just milsci.) ~Never said it would. I just wanted to try learning.~ (I does nots. I probably should get it!) ( Holy lag, Batman! ) * Keiko looks down at her duck and smiles a little. ~Oh. That's... neat, then.~ (Hardware recognition count?) ["I'm glad you asked, Doctor." Lydia hits a few keys, and the image zooms in on the terrorists. Particularly, on the weapons they're carrying. Many have gattling guns, RPGs and other heavy weapons.] ["As you can see, the terrorists are using German manufactured weapons in their attack. Not only that, but these particular weapons are the same kind that Freidrich Stolt's terrorist cell used." She looks up. "In other words, they've got the same supplier."] * Heinrick rubs his goatee a little. "So this is more than a local operation. I see..." * Roseli is silent for a moment, then asks, "Any tie to Sofia?" (AFK for a sec) ["We don't know. But it's certainly possible. I understand the military situation in Brazil is unstable."] * Roseli nods, stone faced. "Putting it lightly." (Back) * Heinrick considers for a moment. "So is this a long distance operation or are we to look for the supplier? Stemming it at the source seems a likely prospect." [Lydia hits some more keys, and the display changes. Now it shows Freidrich Stolt. "Section 1 used Stolt to set up a meeting earlier this morning. But something went wrong. Stolt must have been able to warn the suppliers of the operation."] * Keiko frowns a little to herself. ["Four agents are down, Oscar Jung was injured, and Odval Choybalsan was taken hostage."] [Lydia hits more keys! The display changes to a road map. A green line heads north from Potsdam. "We were tracking them on sattelite, but lost them here." The line stops abruptly halfway between Berlin and Denmark.] ( Which is really more Northwest, but I digress. ) * Roseli nods. * Heinrick nods as well. "What was being tracked, exactly?" ["A grey van, found in an alley in Hamburg."] ["The trail would be lost, if not for this." She hits another key, and an image insert comes up. It's a torn strip of silk, with some odd discoloration in one corner. "A piece of Odval's clothing." The image zomes in towards the discoloration, which....] ( Hmmmm... Hang on ) ( Hokay..... Keiko, gimme a mind roll at +4. Heinrick, gimme a mind roll at +3. Luana, gimme a mind roll at +2. ) (No skill?) ( Nope. ) 2d8+4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Keiko (2d8+4) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 8. (Make by 2.) 2d8+2 2d8+3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Luana (2d8+2) and gets a natural 12 for a result of 14. * Dicesuke throws the bones for Heinrick (2d8+3) and gets a natural 12 for a result of 15. ( o: ) (Wee.) (Hardest roll, I win! XD) (You luck!) ( Heinrick, gimme another roll, mind - physics ) 2d8-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Heinrick (2d8-4) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 1. ( Chemistry spec... not that it matters. ) (...I was thinking Physics spec, since you said Physics. ^^;) (In that case, made by one more.) (You meant physical sciences then? ^^; ) ( Yah. Well, same thing. ) (No? ;P) (No, it's really not. ^^;) [Lydia continues. "We believe it's a message, a clue as to the whereabouts of the suppliers."] * Keiko is looking at the screen a bit idly, then says slowly, "A... kanji, written in whatever she had." * Heinrick extends off of Keiko's statement. "Acid." * Roseli looks to Keiko and Heinrick, the amazing duo. ~...Nice.~ * Heinrick shakes his head slowly. "It would have to be a relatively weak kind as well in order to not thoroughly burn the silk." * Keiko thinks back at Luana, ~It is my language.~ [Lydia shrugs. "Which she likely doesn't have anymore. The rest of her clothing was found along with the van, torn to pieces."] What does the kanji mean? ["At any rate, Minister Bernstein shifted this assignment over to us instead of Section 1. It's quite obvious he has some measure of faith in us; let's not disappoint him."] * Keiko looks away as the clothing thing is mentioned, and murmurs, "Can't quite tell... kinda a mess." * Heinrick sighs slightly and shrugs. "And I'm guessing that they didn't take it to sell on eBay." ( Gimme mind rolls, those of you who speak Japanese. ) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Keiko (2d8) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 10. (Exact make.) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Heinrick (2d8) and gets a natural 11 for a result of 11. (Exact made too!) (Synergy bonus!) (I'll pass because, why would Shumacher have bothered to teach me to read it if I was blind and he liked the way it sounds?) (Snerk.) [It's the kanji for tree. More specifically, it's the kanji for elm tree. More more specifically, it's the kanji for elm tree written twice. i.e. two kanji! Though it's kinda hard to make that out.] * Heinrick quirks a brow for a second and then turns to Keiko. <"Elm tree?"> * Keiko looks up to it again, though, and after a moment she murmurs back, (So if she said Japanese words in Japanese, do they come out as "elm tree elm tree" in German?) (Ssh.) (XD) (LANGUAGES DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!) ( Put it through babelfish and find out. ) * Keiko speaks in German. "It... seems like elm tree, twice." * Jamie listens to the conversation, but doesn't respond. * Keiko pets her duck idly and murmurs, "Or maybe just forest. Unless that means something to you." Jamie. Access the databases; see if there's any locations that could signify or be related to two elm trees. * Jamie has orders! * Roseli turns her attention to Lydia. "Can we see the van and clothing?" (Any penalty on that roll?) [Lydia hits some buttons, andm ore images appear: Photos of the van from the front, rear, side, and inside. And one of the remains of Odval's silk dress. ] ( Nope ) 2d8-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Jamie (2d8-4) and gets a natural 13 for a result of 9. (Sonova... missed by 1) ( Welp! Guess Jamie's getting executed. ) (;_;) * Roseli starts studying them, asking occasionally for Lydia to zoom in on certain spots. (Can I make a forensics roll to get some hints on the attackers and so on?) [Jamie's search returns with "approximately" 496000 matches.] ( Uhhh... Sure! ) * Heinrick looks a little sternly at the screen. "I do not trust people who give "hints". I believe it goes without saying to be prepared." (Since this seems like a forensics situation. :)) 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Roseli (2d8-3) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 5. (And that's a really solid make!) * Jamie goes glassy eyed for a moment and then narrows her search down to Germany and Denmark. * Keiko thinks at Luana, ~Pretty... harsh for a strip search. At least there's no blood.~ She rubs her collar. ~Let's... try not to think about it too much.~ * Keiko nods slowly and after a moment, thinks, ~I hope it's not a pun.~ (They're staying at the doubletree.) (Hahaha.) ~I guess that wouldn't make much sense. An english pun in Japanese meaning the nearest elm tree?~ (WHile we're all speaking German no less.) (German pun.) (No, it's an english pun.) (Nire nire.) (...that's bad.) (I know.) (Welcome to reading japanese mystery manga.) (I will be your host, 'stupid english puns.') * Roseli has Lydia zoom in on one of the pictures of the inside of the van. "Ace of Diamonds playing card. Between the two front seats. Little out of place." * Luana winces. ~I do speak English, you know. Please don't do that to me.~ * Keiko smiles weakly and glances at Luana. ~Sorry.~ Beat. ~Too many manga when I--well, could get them.~ [Lydia nods. "It was noticed. Section 1 has no idea what it means, though."] 2d8-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Jamie (2d8-4) and gets -2, a CRITICAL SUCCESS!!! "My momma always said, you gotta take the good with the bad. Here's some good." No reference to any known criminals? 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Roseli (2d8-3) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 3. ["None."] How about locations within a 10 mile radius of where contact with the van was lost? 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Roseli (2d8-3) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 6. * Roseli zooms in on another section. "Matchbox from Denmark." * Jamie looks at Rose. "I... There's a town called Elmshorn." [Lydia cups her chin. "Hmm."] * Roseli nods to Jamie. "In Denmark?" * Heinrick considers. "It has potential..." * Jamie shakes her head. "It's near Hamburg... Bark too." ["No, Elmshorn is just a few miles from Hamburg. And Bark isn't much further in the opposite direction."] [Lydia pulls up a map, where Hamburg is clearly marked. After a few button presses, Elmshorn and Bark both appear, too!] Perhaps it means between the two elm trees then? * Roseli nods. "Could be." She looks to Jamie. "Do a search on Denmark. Best to be sure. Cross reference the two elm trees and casinos." * Jamie does that! (Bonus or penalty?) ( Laggin' ) (Gurren Laggin'?) (MY DRILL WILL PIERCE THE [LOADING PLEASE WAIT]) (Holy Crap PING Brett: 142 seconds) (Impressive.) (I'm amazed you *do* ping at that level, rather than just timing out.) ( Me too ) (I'm not sure the other one's comng back) (... There's only one expination for this... PING Brett: 1 second. The lost ping came back one second after I sent the next one.) (Silly billy.) (The second ping put the first ping in a box, and then put that box in a bigger box and then mailed that box to itself.) (And when it got there, ha ha haaaaaaa!) (I'll SMASH it with a HAMMER!) [Halfway between Bark and Elmhorn is the city of Kaltenkirchen. And sure enough, there is a casino-hotel there, called "Big Wins." There is, in fact, a large sign right in front of it. A sign that says "Big Wins" in neon pink letters. They're flanked by neon green elm trees.] (SWEET. GAMBLING.) (Can Keiko go gambling? Please please please?) (Do you even have anything to bet besideds your body? ;p) (Gonna need someone to spot me.) (I can be old enough to go gambling!) (But it's not like I'll lose.) (Unless you play the odds or a machine.) (Did Jamie get this info, or did we all get it somehow?) (Video Poker is MAH BITCH) ( Jamie did ) (You're underage.) (Since when did casinos check if you 'looked' 18?) ((And are female.)) (Oh come on, I don't even have to be inside the building. Rose can walk past and collect my winnings.) (And depending, you could lose at blackjack if it's a blind dealers hand. (ANYWAY.) (Jamie has things to tell us now.) * Jamie blinks. "There's... uhm. A casino. In Kaltenkirchen." * Heinrick nods and doesn't look very surprised. * Roseli nods and looks to Lydia. "Bring that up?" Back to Jamie. "What is it called?" * Jamie says softly. "Big Wins." ~Huh. I've never been to a casino before.~ * Keiko thinks back, letting Jamie hear, ~I'm guessing that none of us have been to a casino.~ [Lydia brings it up. "Seems like a possible choice. The owner is a Mr. Thomas van Trier."] ~ No. ~ * Keiko looks at the picture, and murmurs, "... and elm trees too." Do we have any information on Mr. van Trier? ["He's a dual class Dutch-German citizen, and has owned the hotel for many years." Lydia frowns. "And apparently, the top ten floors of the hotel are all reserved for special clients."] * Heinrick whistles slightly. "That is quite an amount of potential business then." * Keiko 's mouth twists into a frown and she pets her duck a bit more firmly. [Lydia nods. "Seems very suspicious."] * Roseli nods. "Looks like." (Time to make with the go?) [Lydia adds, "Well, then. The longer we wait, the more danger Miss Choybalsan is in, so I suggest you hurry."] To be clear, what's our mission, exactly? We're to rescue her. Anything else? Any knowledge of the attackers in general would also be helpful. What you have, of course. (Unless I somehow missed that.) ["Your objectives are to rescue Choybalsan and apprehend the suppliers. We need at least some of them alive for questioning."] ["We know they have heavy weapons at their disposal. They have Choybalsan as a hostage, and may well be able to use any patrons at the casino, as well. Plus they may or may not be housing third parties."] * Roseli nods. (Agh, I'm super tired for some reason.) They will most likely be expecting us as well. *Which* of us is the question... ( Do you want to end here, then? ) ( Up to you guys. ) (Though this is an RPG, so odds are "us", even if it *didn't* make plot sense.) (I'd appreciate ending soon, yeah. I'm sorry, I can't stay up very late this time... I'm exhausted for some reason. >_<) (You can't help it. Your brain is dead from THESIS OF DOOM.) (Might have something to do with your THESIS) (My thesis of doom is going to keep dooming for a couple more months, at least. x.z) ( Alright then. Next week will probably be a fairly long session anyhow. ) (It's what they do.) (I shall hense forth refer to it as TOD) * Keiko thinks at Luana and Jamie, ~It's... supposed to be fun, but not much time to enjoy it.~ ( I sure am glad I can do an internship instead of a thesis. o: ) (I'ma gonna have to work on the weekend too. Because the deadlines here are retarded.) ("State law says this! But we're gonna require you to have it done in half that time. Have fun!) ~ I don't understand. ~ [Aight, session end.]