RP: ISC Phoenix [Mission 2] - Choke

[Moogle]

Kyoka took her key from the desk, having left it there for the day to explore the neighborhood once again. She stood there in her jeans and simple jacket, thinking on recent history. After her failed career with the Byakuren, she decided it was about time for her to leave the military. After all, she was born during the war, and now, that it was over, well. . .

It was at this precise moment she decided to turn and see. . . somebody sitting in the lounge.

Why does he seem so familiar? the neko thought to herself, cocking her head.

Luca Pavone was sitting there with a can of experimental Phoenix Energy pressed against his lips, drinking what amounted to lightning in a can, and barely flinching.

"Hm. Needs more butterscotch," Luca wondered aloud as he wondered what to write back to the manufacturers of his own line of drinks. There wasn't much left in the can and he gave it a few shakes left and right to determine how much was left before drinking what was left.

For a minute, his watcher stood, and, er. . . watched, much to the dismay of another customer who was waiting for her to move to get access to the counter. And then it hit her.

Saki raised her box protectively making sure Kyoka could not see. "Oh you were close, but no!" She reached in and took out a figure. It was a man in the black leather jacket with sideburns that could topple whole empires. "It is a Luca Pavone action figure! Squeee!" She said happily.

"Itaa!" she exclaimed, momentarily dropping her key. Quick reflexes caught the card again. Walking over, Kyoka tapped him on the shoulder. "A-ah, gomen, but. . ." she began in broken beginner's Trade.

Luca looked up at the woman through her pink hair, and in Yamatai-go, responded, "What?" His Yamatai-go accent would place that he was raised in Stars. A difficult one to mistake.

"Are you Luca Pavone?" she asked, mentally comparing the scarred man to the little plastic toy that her ex-bunkmate so cherished.

He looked down at himself, then looked back up and shrugged. "Seems that way to me last time I checked," there was some bitterness directed towards himself - he had taken a taxi to remain inconspicuous.

"A-ah, sorry. It's just that my girlfri-" the neko paused, considering her choice of words. "Well, old bunkmate, anyways, kind of idolized you. She even got the jacket."

He grinned a little when she slipped. It was usually that way with Neko who stay near each other for long enough - maybe it was programmed to be that way. "Sounds like a big fan. Those jackets aren't cheap if she got the combat-suitable one."

"I don't actually know which. She also got a toy that shouted the catchphrase they use on that. . . ah, what was the show? Peacock man?" Kyoka stumbled.

He looked at the can of drink in his hands and turned it around to the back. Beside the Ingredients listing and the warning that the can did indeed contain real lightning was the Captain Phoenix! TV show advertisements. He always liked the way the Yamataians did the logo, the Kanji were made to resemble a Phoenix Punch. Something that was a little more difficult to do with Trade script.

He glanced down at his communicator and wondered when Seiren would reply back with an ETA. Conveniently, a text did come at that exact moment, as convenience does.

Took a wrong turn. Be there soon~

"Am I keeping you?" Kyoka asked, genuine worry crossing her soft features.

"Nah, just waiting," he replied. "Were you going to go out or something? Karaoke bar? Arcade? Dance club?" he guessed absently.

Kyoka placed a hand on the back of her own neck, rubbing softly. "Actually, I was heading in for the day. I've been here for about a week now, waiting until my paperwork gets through. I'm on my way to civilian life."
She said the last part almost wistfully.

Luca looked out the door and towards the Imperial Palace, behind some columns and a water feature. "Guess they'll get to it eventually. My discharge was a lot quicker." He remembered the Goban and how it all ended despite all the sound and fury.

The neko sighed. "Well, since the war has wound down, quite a few people are leaving to support reconstruction. I can't say I know much else besides fighting, to be honest," she said. "With a few addendums from my last transfer that had to get resolved first for my papers. But it'll get through, eventually."

"You'll pick it up quick," Luca tried to be assuring, but came off as dry instead. Perhaps it was the artificial atmosphere all around him souring his tongue.

"A-ah, well, if you need a guide while you're in town, I know the area quite well," she said nervously, feeling like the legend wasn't quite willing to talk with her.

"If you want, sure. It's been a long time since I've been to Kyoto," he leaned back in his chair and sighed, chest slowly depressing as he let his breath out. "I'd rather be at Ralt, but I've got business." Something about the way he simply uncoiled quietly on that chair showed Kyoka that for all of his heroics, at the end of the day he was just a weary person not unlike the average civilian or the retired ex-Nekovalkyrja she could pick out.

"Well, if you need me, I'll be in room 37."
The neko bowed, her soft-toned hair spilling over her shoulders. Luca couldn't get up to bow back, but he did not his head forward as deep as he could to her.

"I think I'll be in 32," he raised his eyebrows and shrugged with an exaggerated smile. "Small world, isn't it?"

Kyoka let out a small laugh, returning to an upright position before swiping her hair back onto her back. "Sa-yo-na-ra," she said before heading down the hall. If anything, at least she'd get a story for potential offspring out of meeting a legend.

He waved goodbye to her as she left and left with a passing, "Take care," in Trade.

 

[OsakanOne]

The cab finally arrived at the hotel. Somehow, the cabbie misnavigated by taking a wrong turn as a 'shortcut'. Seiren didn't believe this for a second, and instead mentally blamed the cabbie for wanting to run the meter longer.

"-and then they did some crazy magical girl stuff. I gotta say, it's a decent show, y'know? I can't help but feel like deja vu when watching, tho'," Seiren explained to Rebeka as he pulled himself out of the vehicle.

"Huh..." her voice lulled as she followed behind him - the side of the vehicle visibly lurching as she moved through it to exit the same side he did. As her body finally left it, the whole car felt... Lighter, rising up on its suspension to a more respectable height as her feet met the pavement.

The short inventor retrieved their belongings from the trunk, then tipped the cabbie an underwhelming amount. A little ways walking away from the taxi, Rebeka's voice piqued.

"You've already paid. Why did you pay again?"

Seiren shrugged.
"It's a custom, sorta. Normally, you'd pay like. . . ten or fifteen percent extra if they did a decent job. I paid less, 'cuz they got lost."

"Small wages or... Were you under duress to pay? Would he have tried to harm you?"

"N-no, nothing like that. It's a sort of cultural respect thing."

"Do you respect him?"

"I paid him less than the usual amount. It's a way of communicating disrespect without actually saying it."

"But why at all?"

"Er. . ." Seiren paused, thinking for a moment. Then, it occurred to him. "Have you seen how, on Nepleslia, people just sorta say what they're thinking?"

"No." she said.

"Well, on Nepleslia, if you don't like somebody, you say it to their face. Or with a gun. Usually a gun. On Yamatai. . ."

He paused again.

"Wouldn't shooting him have been cheaper?" Rebeka stated with an odd flatness in her voice.

Seiren facepalmed. "This isn't Nepleslia. The gun laws here are much stricter. Besides, Yamataian cultural custom demands a lot less. . . forwardness when, uh, interacting."

Rebeka on the other hand just stood there with the same usual stoic expression. It was like talking to a brick wall. The inventor sighed and continued the walk to the door of the hotel.

Luca would hear the pint-sized male as the duo entered the lobby, "It's all about maintaining a sort of. . . like. . . mutual respect without direct offence. So you can't say, 'I don't like you', but you can give less when making a sale and stuff."

"Huh..." she fished into her pocket. She pronounced to him what would appear to be a down-payment from Lazarus, thrusting it into his hands. It was quite a sizable amount.

Seiren's eyes boggled a little at the amount. "U-uh, thanks? What's the occa- W-wait, is this like you're trying to say you respect me? You don't need to give me your money to say that sorta thing, silly!"
He passed the money back to her, beaming like a child with a dollar. But instead, she closed her hand about both of his, sliding the money back toward him.

"No, no. This. Yours. Yours."

"W-well, if you insist. . ." he mumbled sheepishly, pocketing the money. He'd have to sneak it into her belongings later, at any rate. That much money wasn't something to just hand to somebody!

 

[Ira]

Bronzi nodded at Reeves as he spoke. "Ya well, don't ya start cryin on me or nuthin." He said with a grunt as he proceeded to swagger past the glares and condescending sneers that the Yamataian's presented them.



------ Sura and Soruk -----

Sura nodded. "I'd like that." she said as she turned about and started walking to the ledge of the building.

"I never thought to learn any blade forms, I can't mimic my da's fighting style...he uses his size and strength to compliment his agility."

Sura then lept off of the roof and onto the next building.


Before too long Bronzi sauntered through the Hotel doors and nodded at Luca. Sura was behind him as were the others.

 

[Lamb]

I thought you'd never ask, Captain Pavone. I'm in the penthouse suite. My company comped it to me for the duration of my stay here on Yamatai. Of course, we've gathered some display equipment and props for your approval, so come up and say hello at any time.

Enzo chortled and tossed his communicator onto the next cushion over on the couch, then gathered his project for the moment. The conman pried a nicotine patch from the back of his neck and scraped some of the adhesive off with his switchblade. Then, he spread it around the interior of a metal tube containing a small atomizer. To the casual observer, he might have been building an experimental tiny electron super phase bomb or some other scientific nonsense. Any long-time Nepleslian expat would recognize it for what it was the moment a few drops of nicotine silicant went into one end-- it was the makeshift, disposable, and completely legal electronic cigarette that could be made from an NSP battery pack, a common design for tourists.

 

[Reynolds]

Shayla needed some fresh air. A long walk. The door to her third floor hotel room silently slid shut behind her after she slipped into the hall, reflexively ducking her her head under the door frame. Years ago, Ronnie had to worry about that often enough as a large Nepleslian in the Star Army, and it was one of the few things that hadn't changed after her return. Although city life on Yamatai had always been just a bit too tight and compact for him, it seemed even more confining now. Even the nearby garden was still too snug and manicured for what she craved, but it would have to do. For now.

After her triumphant return, and the small media storm her story had created, Shayla had been mostly confined to small, uncomfortable places. Debriefings, tests, scans. It felt like the Star Army had been saving her paperwork the entire five years she'd been missing, judging by how much she'd had to deal with. Returning from MIA (or KIA, depending on who you talked to) status, rejoining at her old rank, back pay (sent to her mother and sister - she was an uncle/aunt now, apparently!), proper discharge, retirement. There'd even been forms to maintain ownership of her new body, since it was technically Star Army property. Thankfully, none of the scientists wanted to risk damaging or possibly destroying the unique creation, so she hadn't even had to undergo any of the normal upgrades or downgrades for her outdated model as she formally left the service.

Still, for the next few days, she was technically Shoi McBelle again. So, the giant-sized Neko was wearing the new Working Uniform she'd been issued, sporting Medical teal and her proper rank patches, as she stepped into the lounge on her way to the front exit. Even customized, it was having some difficulty properly restraining and containing her bountiful assets. Shayla couldn't help but tug at the collar, trying futilely to loosen the top half of the uniform. It was certainly doing a better job than the tatters of the last uniform had, after the crash, but she still longed for something simpler. Breezier.

Shaking her head, she forced aside the memories and daydreams before she could become too distracted. This digital brain was still a bit tricky, since the poor Nepleslian had never been properly trained for it. If she'd wandered off, lost in thought, she might have missed the strange group beginning to assemble on the ground floor of this hotel she'd been put up in. A few of those aliens that had shown up while she'd been missing. One little Neko-sized Yamataian girl, who was walking right next to a strange woman nearly as tall as Shayla. That certainly drew her attention! And, for some reason, they all seemed to be making their way towards a fairly ordinary, mundane Nepleslian guy. She slowed her pace, no longer in as much of a hurry to get outside. This was probably the most interesting thing she'd seen in days. No need to rush past and miss all the fun.

 

[Luca]

As Luca was listening to Enzo, he wondered how the Rogue had so many connections. If it meant finer living he was all for that, but Luca was planning to keep things fairly low profile. Fate had a way of nudging him otherwise now. He saw the pint-sized Seiren and the towering Rebeka beside him, and he tilted his head at their conversation. Anything that involved a bale of money being hot potatoed was an interesting topic to eavesdrop on. It eventually rested with Seiren. I wonder what Lazarus wants with Seiren? The two seem very close recently. Luca pondered as he watched Seiren pocket the money.

What caught his attention shortly afterwards was the Mega Neko. Six foot seven of Nekovalkyrja was a very odd sight indeed since most of the time they were rarely made to go above 5'9" - a petite and poorly programmed killing machine with some ideas and afterthoughts about humanity retrofitted onto it and diluting the whole package with weakness. Something about the 6'7" Neko struck him as odd, height rivalling that of Rebeka. She seemed to be thinking of leaving the hotel previously, but she was now fixated on him all of the sudden.

Well, what else was a man in a bright purple jacket surrounded by aliens and imperfect sorts to do. Be inconspicuous? "Okay, it's good that we're all assembled here. Enzo managed to book us a floor to crash on," he went to the front desk and got everyone key cards for the rooms on the floor. The key cards were no bigger than a credit card with a magnetic strip, flashed at the doorknob to enter them. Luca made a headcheck before heading up the elevator. "What happened to Tani?" he asked. "We just lose her?"

Bronzi shrugged. "Dunno boss, she just kinda wandered off."

Luca didn't take the news too personally. "Fair enough, stay here for a bit," he looked down one of the corridors, following one of the signs that said 'Massage'. "I need to figure out where Allison and Echelon went. Zeta, stay here and keep the others nearby will you?"
"Yes boss," she replied, looking for the refreshments. Vending machines filled with snacks sweet and savoury were available around a corner.

Luca, meanwhile took a walk down towards the Massage facilities, and she asked the green haired clerk if she'd seen a redhead and a Mimicom go by. She pointed him along and told him what they'd gotten. Luca could hear the sounds of moaning from behind booth doors and wondered if the Yamataian idea of massage included a happy ending every time. He found the Waterjet Massage booth, and found an empty booth with a waterjet massage machine and its operator sitting idly by themselves. "Have you seen a Mimicom woman?"

"She left a few minutes ago in to join her friend," the operator replied with a shrug. "Down the hall, to the right." Luca thanked them and moved along. He reached the door and pushed it open cautiously and saw a tub with some soupy looking black mud splashed around it. He looked around the rest of the room for his two understudies and wondered if they'd gone out together or something. He approached the bath and looked into its blackness, seeing a sort of rippling on the surface that came from an unexplained place. He then gave the side of the bath a firm boot.

"Hey," he said, kneeling down beside the bath and resting his arms on it. "You in there?" He had seen enough to know exactly what was going on here. Eventually a feminine face rose out of the mud and looked into Luca's eyes. She wiped her eyes and ears and looked at Luca. Her formerly red hair stuck to the back of her neck, making her appear to be some sort of creature of myth. The black mud almost reminded him of another gelatinous figure, but the way she was holding herself dashed the comparison immediately.

"Oh! Captain, have you come to join us?" It was Allison's voice, she smiled nervously. Her voice with a slight tremolo.

Us? he pondered before getting to the point. "Meeting's starting in a few, just letting you know." He looked at the massive pool of mud that his chief engineer was wallowing in and had to ask the simple questions first. "What're you doing exactly?"
"Indulging." Her right hand rose out of the mud and with a smile she put a dab of it on Luca's nose. "This is so much better than Sargasso," she replied.

"How did you breathe in it?" he asked the next most obvious question as he wiped the speck of muck off his nose and ground it between his fingers. It felt like damp silt.
"It's technology at its apex for the Yamataian consumer, 'course." She seemed very proud of that fact. "The mud here can feel like anything I want. Like a thousand tongues licking me down-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Luca groaned head bonked against the side of the bath. He didn't need to know what Allison did in her spare time in Sargasso. Maybe Vita's pokes and prods at her about what she did in her spare time were right after all. He leaned back up and fished through his pockets, "Just hurry up and get clean," he left a pair of keycards on a side table, stood up and turned around to walk back to the door. "Meet us in the lobby."

"Okay Captain, we'll be out in a bit." she replied back cheerfully. As Luca closed the door, another head rose out of the mud over Allison's crotch. "I didn't say stop," she said.
"Who was that?" the unidentified person gurgled back, looking at the door.
"Just the cap'n. C'mon, hurry up." The unidentified face sunk back down. Allison grinned and went back down too. They had about ten minutes left. Their hour was nearly up.

-

Luca walked back through the lobby and to his group to find the large Nekovalkyrja still hovering around, so he shrugged and passed her a contact card with his details if she needed anything. "Can I, er, help you with anything?" he asked. He was eye level with her bust and had to stand back to look into her eyes. Maybe giantesses were in on Yamatai and this was another bizarre fad that'd come and go. For a stranger, he didn't want to ask the simplest question first: Why is she so large?

 

[Moogle]

Seiren mentally compared the new neko and Rebeka.

There really are some big people around, huh? he thought, remembering the ID-Sol, too. This train of thought didn't last long, and in fact as pulled in for repairs while a different one was set on the tracks. "C'mon, 'beka! Let's get some snacks!"

The tall woman gave a slow nod, lumbering behind Seiren like a slender giant, dragged with two of his small hands about one of her own. Contemplating, she felt the smallness of his hands and how he reminded her of wild-game. With a single pull, she could probably present him the same way one did a prize when hunting, both wrists hanging from one of her hands, feet hanging beneath. The thought made the Sourcian smile, just barely, in that inappropriate way.

Seiren led Rebeka to the nearby vending machines, entirely unaware of the woman's inappropriate train of thought. Once they had reached the dispensers, Seiren scanned a card and punched in an option. The machine itself was kind of old - strange for a hotel as nice as this one - and used a coil dispensing method. So, it should have come as no surprise that the bag of chips got stuck on the end of the coil and didn't drop down.

"Ah, Mou! It got stuck! We're in the goddamn future and we're still stuck with coil vending machines!" He complained.

"Stuck?" Rebeka quizzed in a low subdued tone. She eyed the machine with scepticism, a look one would normally reserve for another human being as she tried for almost a solid minute to stare it down and intimidate it.

"You're not being very cooperative" she finally said "Is violence appropriate?"

"Well, lemme try a thing first. . ." the shorter one said, folding his fingers into a fist. He rapped at the glass of the machine several times, hoping the vibration would be enough to dislodge the bag. It wasn't. "Darn. I mean, I would buy another, but. . ."

"What is it you want and where does it come out?" Rebeka quizzed -- beginning to unzip the length of her fore-arm, revealing pale pearly glistening skin beneath, dripping with slime. It took her a moment before it dried into something resembling a real hand -- a moment later followed by a swift click of her wrist as something unlatched.

Seiren looked up at the woman, biting his lip. He sheepishly pointed at the bag that was stuck on the coil. "Er, it comes out of that flap at the bottom there, and what in the world is your arm- er, wait, that's a rude question."

She soon settled down, essentially fisting the vending machine. It took her a moment but she grabbed at the first thing she felt, pulling something down into the tray in the bottom with a thud.

"Is that it?"

"Um. . . No, you grabbed an Origin Energy Bar. Also that's stealing."

"Which one did you want?"

Seiren gestured to the bag of chips stuck in the middle of the machine.

Soon, her fingertips climbed against the glass like the feet of a clumsy blind spider -- twisting smoothly to grab at the bag. She pulled sharply and was met with an intense thud as the silver coil twisted and buckled - fracturing the glass of the machine.

Several packs falling to the bottom.

". . . I'm not sure whether I should be alarmed or amazed. But, uh. . . maybe we don't mention this to the front desk, yeah?" Seiren said, tugging on Rebeka's shoulder.

"I'm not following" she said -- already pulling for another coil - more thuds as the glass cracked again.

"N-no! Stop that! You're gonna break it!"

"Its a box. Boxes are for putting things and taking them out. This one won't open. When something isn't cooperative, Miles said I should hit it until it is, but that I should ask first" she said, pondering quietly. "You gave me the OK."

"Not this kind of box! It's not made to open like that. . ."

"Its a very strange box."

"Well, Miles whoever is wrong. You don't hit everything to make it work - though I do advocate it on occasion," Seiren sighed, tugging on Rebeka's shoulder again. "You have to pay the machine to get things, but sometimes older ones like this don't like giving their goods up."

"Maybe doing this will make sure it knows better for next time... Does it displease you when it refuses to work?"

"'Beka, these machines aren't sentient. It's purely mechanical. And yes, it makes me frustrated when it doesn't work."

"There's a difference?"

"Well, technically Freespacers are all machines, and yet they're sentient. They think thoughts and stuff. This sorta machine is just. . . you push a button, that button corresponds to a coil, and then stuff drops."

"And it doesn't have to think to do any of that?"

"No. It's purely cause-and-effect driven."

"Incredible" she said, finding a new respect for the vending machine.

"Uh, I guess. . . now lets get these bags that are at the bottom and scram before anybody sees."

Soon Rebeka walked with Seiren's thighs either side of her neck riding her shoulders -- several bags full of chips in her left hand and her gray slimy tongue curled about a red popsicle.

"Uh, We got chips. Anybody want any?" Seiren asked, munching on his own atop his new seat. In a low voice, he asked Rebeka directly, "So, um, what did you learn today about things and commodity?"

"I like vending machines" she said, slurping. Her blackly painted lips closed about the white icecream - teeth snapping she pulled the whole thing into her mouth and began chewing, stick included "Vending machines are good."

"It's. . . a start," the inventor sighed.

 

[Sham]

When Soruk entered the hotel, he had immediately slipped off to a dark corner, to watch the room. He didn't like being in large groups of people. With his hood up, he watched the proceedings, which were fairly uninteresting, save the giant Neko. That didn't exactly scare him, big meant unwieldy, and someone such as himself was probably fast enough to dodge an unwieldy weapon.

He took his keycard, looked at the number, and nodded when it was presented to him. As soon as Luca left the room to find his two compatriots, Soruk left as well. He had gone to find his room, standing around in the lobby wasted time, time was precious. Standing in a metal box filled with other people didn't appeal to him, so he took the stairs. As a bonus it provided some exercise as he climbed the stairs.

When he arrived at his room, he looked at the keycard, and then the slot for it. He looked around, and cracked the casing off the slot using the Rura. His hands immediately went to work, and in a minute, the little red light turned green. He opened the door, replacing the casing on the slot. That was easy. He proceeded to throw his bag on the floor at the foot of the bed, and he sat cross-legged in the center of the room. Now I wait.

 

[Ira]

Bronzi took the best strategic position in the event things went sour. For him this was right out in the open only 12 paces from Luca. For Sura this meant finding the best place to hide, which was near anything she could hide behind. (Bronzi followed Luca)

For the most part the two kept them selves in open view, but did little to impede the discussion at hand. Of course the peace was only a reflex away with Bronzi in the room, and he kept and ever watchful eye on the situation.

 

[Reynolds]

She watched the group pull together for a few moments, before just as suddenly bursting apart again. Scattering, everyone heading off in separate directions. Shayla noticed the mismatched pair heading off together, eyeing the taller one before they disappeared. She could hear some sort of commotion coming from that direction after a few moments, but it wasn't really her problem. By the time she looked back, one of the aliens had departed. The others waited for the Nepleslian that was apparently their leader to return. She wasn't expecting him to walk right up and hand over his card, honestly.

Shayla took the comparatively minuscule item and lifted it up closer to her face, peering at it. That name seemed familiar, along with the rest of the information. "Didn't mean to stare. This place has been pretty quiet durin' my stay." She grinned, her voice low and growly. "Everyone was just staring at me instead, until you showed up." She was buying time as she finally gave in and used her relatively new, built-in communications to look up who this person was. McBelle gestured with the card towards the others, chuckling at Rebeka's return with a passenger. Seiren's head was actually above her own, now. "You and your friends."

So, apparently this guy was a big deal. Her search had returned far more information than she'd expected, although she refrained from letting the information flood her, just picking up the broadest of details. His adventures had started about the same time as hers, so it was no wonder she didn't recognize him. "Name's McBelle." She passed the card to her left hand, holding out the right to shake. It looked large and thick enough that Luca's head might disappear in her grip, much less his hand. "Everyone calls me Shayla now. I guess it's even official!" She barked a laugh, glancing back at the odd couple as she heard an odd crunching noise. The Neko decided to take them up on that offer, attempting to swipe a bag of chips with the hand still holding Luca's card.

 

[Phe0n1x]

Makari's right eye twitched. If push came to shove, there were far too many nekos around for his liking....and this new one. DAMN she was massive. He didn't like the odds if the Nekos revolted and sent their companions back in time to kill off the resistance. He didn't like the odds one bit. Makari really didn't like the idea of machines running the universe using something like a "UniverseNet". He kept his hand in close proximity to his (only) pistol and waited for the possible upcoming confrontation. Since he really didn't have any bags, he stayed put with his keycard. In the meantime, he hazarded a look around the hotel lobby. It was a fairly snazzy hotel, all things considered. Things seemed neat and orderly. He made a slight approving nod about his surroundings and kept an eye on the door for a possible escape route.

 

[miss_story]

"I um... promise I won't cry on you I guess." Phoenix preferred to deal with his emotions alone. Perhaps he would get over emotional about his current situation once he had shut himself inside his hotel room, but for now he would just keep his trap shut and follow Bronzi to the hotel. By the time he made it to the doors he was glad to be able to hide from the leering eyes of the Yamataian natives. He felt insignificant like a bug the way some of their noses crinkled up when they saw him passing by. He let out a long controlled breath. Being shorter than all of his walking companions Reeves found himself more tired than they were. At this point he wanted to be able to throw his belongings in his room and find something to help with his parched mouth.

 

[Luca]

"Alright then Shayla." Luca nodded to the large Nekovalkyrja. He'd been idling with the others for long enough, and he'd noticed that Soruk had gone missing. "I'll get back to you in a bit because my team and I are about to have a meeting, alright?" He gave her a polite bow, "Be seeing you."

Allison and Echelon both appeared, walking away from the Massage facilities fully clothed and cleaned with wide smiles on their faces. Luca gave them a nod with a wry smile, then turned around and lead his team to the elevator and they took it up to the penthouse suite. If Enzo had rented it out, they might as well make the most of it. Subtlety was always the first casualty before long on the Phoenix team.

"Oh, yoink!" Allison said as she snagged a bag of cheese-powdered corn chips from Seiren, opening the bag and stuffing some in her mouth as the elevator kept rising. "Where'd you -mph- get all this? Rob a corner -ronch- shop or something?" As she held the bag, there was a slipperiness to it that she couldn't discern from the person who'd procured them. She ignored it - chips were chips.

When the elevator reached the floor of the penthouse suite, there was a path leading left and right. Right ahead of them were the doors to the suite. Beside those doors were some vending machines with all sorts of products inside them. Around them, a plush red carpet was beneath their feet and the furnishings were lavishly decorated and gilded, it was fit for a prized dignitary that Yamatai wanted to butter up if they wanted something out of them since the suite wasn't far away from the Yamataian Senate. The Senate building and the gardens around it could clearly be seen from up above if one stood out on the balcony, accessible from multiple points.

"And if I go through door one," Luca mumbled to himself as he opened the doors and walked right into the mini-meeting room that was in the penthouse suite, "I find you." He could see Enzo relaxing on the couch with his benefactor. He had no idea who Glenn Stapleton was, but if he was footing the bill for this place and a friend of Enzo's, he was of no negative consequence. Luca gave him a nod of respect.

He could see the footlockers of the gear that wouldn't have gone well with the airport security and he nodded with a smile. "I see you got through without a hitch?" Luca bent down to inspect the footlocker and look at the gear. WHITE or RED HHG bullets wouldn't have been allowed through at all. Plain .45 didn't have enough punch. He could see the assorted weapons and items of the others here too. If they'd left it with the rogue, it was there. "Make yourselves comfortable," Luca commanded to his team after retrieving his ammunition. "I'll begin the meeting whenever we're ready."

Luca started looking for a drink and found that there was a well stocked bar inside this penthouse suite - he wasn't sure if they charged by the bottle or if it was an open bar. Two large and comfortable leather couches had a coffee table with Enzo's effects and drink on them. The beds didn't seem to be in this part of the suite. Allison had wandered outside and looked out on the balcony, taking in the breeze. Echelon looked at the entertainment on offer and started channel surfing the hotel's cable TV. She ran face first into the cable TV paradox - there were about two hundred channels available, and yet there was nothing to watch.

Pay per view television was available to those of certain persuasions, but that would have to wait for now. "Oh, uh, Rebeka," Luca asked, looking over at the tall Sourcian. "I heard something metal getting crunched. Is everything alright?" He was a little late to the elephant in the room. He looked down to Seiren too, to see if he had anything to say in her defence of her innocent activity.

-

While all this was happening, Soruk was left to his own devices, unsure of where the others had gone. There were no other sounds of activity in the hallway save for some angry digital squeaking that the keycard scanner he broke apart emitted in protest and cried for a repairman. He didn't have any ball on them, or any of their communicator numbers. On the back of his keycard though, it said that it had penthouse clearance too.

 

[Moogle]

Pay per view television was available to those of certain persuasions, but that would have to wait for now. "Oh, uh, Rebeka," Luca asked, looking over at the tall Sourcian. "I heard something metal getting crunched. Is everything alright?" He was a little late to the elephant in the room. He looked down to Seiren too, to see if he had anything to say in her defence of her innocent activity.

Seiren sheepishly shrugged at Luca. "Rebeka, um. . . learned a valuable life lesson about mechanical things today."
His eyes wandered to the TV, as people's eyes often do, where Echelon flipped to a program about skinheads and the like. He didn't care for most of it, though he did stare a little when a heavily pierced person came onscreen.

Rebeka's eyes searched the room with a look of discomfort.
"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"I can hear talking but none of your lips are moving."

"Um, it's coming from the TV. We had one of those in the lounge of the Kestrel, you know."

Carefully, her gaze traced Seiren's, slowly moving from his eyes to the flat rectangle on the wall.
"This?" she pointed.

"Yep," Seiren replied with a nod.

Her hand lowered slowly as she gave the television another odd look, pointing again.
"Why do you keep looking at it?"

"'Cuz there's interesting stuff on screen," He said as another pierced individual, this time less so, came onscreen. God these Nepleslian documentaries were weirdly enthralling.

She moved closer to the screen, stepping about the room from several different angles, quiet for almost a whole minute.
"I don't see anypictures. Am I doing this properly?"

"Um. . . I'm going to have to explain this another time. This is way too big of a discussion to have before a meeting," he sighed.

She drummed her fingertip against the display - strange patterns of light rippling as she distorted the image. This, she noticed -- and continued to do - her face pushed almost right up against the screen, on her hands and knees now.

Seiren facepalmed. "U-um, don't do that. You'll either ruin your eyes or break the screen."

She soon sat aside Seiren, feeling unincluded with whatever they were doing.

"I don't like it."

"You'll like it in time. You just don't know how to do it."

"I don't see anything interesting on it. Its just a flat piece of plastic."

"It's a projection of light that assembles itself into recognizeable patterns FROM the flat piece of plastic, 'beka."

"I can't see it."

"Are you sure your eyes are on?" Seiren joked.

"Do yours need to be?"

"Um, well, generally you need to be able to see to be able to watch things. . ."

"I see" she nodded solumnly. She still had no idea what he was talking about.

 

[Sham]

So Soruk waited... and waited... and waited some more. I hear nothing. Except for the door, which should be making no sound at all. It's annoying. He thought to himself while he was still seated on the floor. After a little longer, he came to the conclusion that they weren't coming yet, so they had somewhere else to go first, they left him there on purpose, or they all died. Ruling out the last one, Soruk looked at what he had. I haven't gotten anything from them, save this keycard...

Soruk examined the thing, flipping it and looking at the back. Penthouse Clearance? Well, since it's my only lead, I'll follow it. So he was left with two options. Either walk out the door, and potentially face a repairman that would question what he had been doing... or...

He looked at the balcony. The penthouse should have a balcony, at the very least, a window... He stood up and walked out onto the balcony, looking up, then looking down. Long way up, longer way down. In the odd mind of Soruk, climbing a building was easier than explaining himself to a repairman. So he did what was easier.

Using his skill of traversing buildings, the balcony's of other rooms, and his trusty grappling gauntlet, Soruk reached what he believed to be the Penthouse Balcony. It was the last balcony he could go to, and it was the farthest up. So he grabbed the railing, and leaped onto the balcony, looking around. "Greetings."

 

[Luca]

Luca took Seiren's explanation on face value. He wondered if Sourcians even had a concept of vending machines where they came from quietly, but then he started watching Rebeka and Seiren interact with the television - and then he wondered if they ever had televisions as he knew them. Holding the remote was Echelon, who was similarly listening to their conversation passively, watching the normally aloof and foreboding Sourcian push her face against the television. She can't read... because she doesn't see like us either. Hm. Luca wondered how else one could see things - all that came to mind were perhaps cybernetic implants that he'd never had the pleasure of using, various glasses and goggles that granted different sorts of sights like nightvision, infravision, motionvision, electrovision, x-ray vision.

He did not know how Rebeka saw. He could not fathom it. He had no yardstick to measure against with the timeless being - only Seiren seemed to be able to get close enough to attempt to tease the answer out of her. 'Seiren,' he talked to the inventor using Yamataian digital telepathy, 'Have you figured out how she sees yet? If not, could you?' the request was made mostly to satisfy his curiosity, but also so he could make things easier for her - make her feel more like a person rather than a strange alien. After that nightmare he had a couple of nights ago, he thought it was because he'd told her to eat the Lagrange Bagman's head - or at least, his construct's head.

Just the idea of constructs was still giving him a headache.

Allison was examining each of the buildings lazily. They all looked samey to her; all built to specific codes and standards to ensure that they stood up to attack, were easy to defend in the advent of invasion, and logical to navigate to citizens. However, Allison rolled her eyes skyward and wondered if they'd anticipated something like a Kaiju attack rather than another bloody Mishhu invasion - these buildings were just not right for it at all. She looked back down to see a blue face on the railing and fell over in fright, mistaking it for a Kaiju were it not for the fact that Kaiju are normally naked - not wearing such stylish hoods and coats.

"O-oh. It's just you," she said, "I was wondering where you went..." she recalled some of the other 'stealth experts' who'd come and gone in the Phoenix. According to John, Hitori was the first one to appear and disappear once Luca's fame had skyrocketed. Then there was Panther, who was a cat that simply went out one day and never left. Robert Raggleton was another 'stealthy' who could dispense with the stabbing, but he hadn't heeded the call when the Phoenix II rose. Perhaps they were a little too good at being unseen - Enzo stuck around mostly because there was money in it and he was shameless. "Luca's waiting."

"Oh, 'lo Soruk, I thought you'd gone AWOL, glad to see you're sticking around," he said as he looked over to Enzo - that disguise had fooled him very well at first glance but it didn't take long to figure out who he was thanks to how he carried himself and the voice that were the big clues. The improvised NSP battery cigarette was something only a man of his ingenuity could devise too.

Seeing that everyone had settled in, mostly, he took a seat at the dinner table. This series of suites was meant to house some important people and their delegates too, it was also meant to feed them all and the table was big enough to seat twelve. Luca sat at one of the heads of the varnished ebony table, black enough to swallow light and looked to the others. "I might as well begin the briefing soon," he said to get everyone's attention, "I just have to make a phone call first," his voice was lower here as he pulled out his communicator and flicked through the contacts to 'V' and hit Call.

Ring ring... Ring ring... Ring ring...

 

[Yoshi]

It was a bit before Tani Mako had enough of the club. She wondered towards the hotel, grabbing her key she went up to her room and took a quick shower before meeting everyone up for the briefing. She found a chair and dropped in it. She wasn't really sure of the reasons they were on Yamatai , but she wasn't sure she wanted to be here long, she was after all a traitor in the eyes of the of the SAoY. If Luca was going to lead them into something that was going to cause trouble she would have to make sure she had a way off this planet and far away before they realize who she was.

Sitting there in her chair she prayed she was keeping her thoughts hidden behind her smile.

 

[ShotJon]

Zeta was in the lounge with others by now. She ignored the sourcian and tiny inventor. Instead she walked around the penthouse and checked it for security weaknesses. She did not like all the windows and checking them, they were bulletproof but to what extent? What if some insane bounty hunter in power armour decided to kill Luca. Zeta frowned as she scanned for best vantage points, sniper might want to use if he would like to shoot Luca. If she had time and equipment, she would travel around and put motion sensors and camera's on the spots. Just to be sure.

With a sight, Zeta got herself a beer from the suite's fridge and plopped down on the couch. When Soruk hopped on the balcony, her eyes were set on her, her hand on the handle of her revolver. There was reacting and there was choosing to react. Zeta was fast enough to do the second and seeing as it was just the newest Gartagen the group met, she put her hand away.

 

[miss_story]

Reeves checked in at the desk figuring out where his party of companions would be staying. Committing the room number to memory he glanced at a map of the hotel first before taking a lift up to the penthouse suite that had been rented by Luca and company. He lingered outside the door a moment before knocking. "Is anyone there? I..." The voices inside confirmed his guess that he was in the right place. Instead of waiting for someone to answer the door he let himself in and tossed his belongings out of the way before finding a seat with the others. He hoped he hadn't kept anyone waiting. He had taken his time making his way up to the room. He really felt like dragging his feet after that long walk.

 

[Sham]

Soruk had landed on the balcony in a crouch, scanning the room before he stood. His face had a tinge of puzzlement, as he observed Allison's response to his sudden 'entry'. He failed to see why it was surprising for someone to enter a room from somewhere other than the front door, even if said room was at the top of a skyscraper.

"Did I frighten you? I'll try to announce when I'm entering through somewhere other than the door when you are near it, if that makes you feel safer." His voice didn't sound like he was joking, the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth probably helped too.

He nodded to Luca, "I have nothing else that requires my attention, so I am here until something does." He was serious, but not mean about it. He didn't feel compelled to enter the room, so he resumed his sitting position on the balcony, looking out at the city.