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RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 9] The Silver Lining

Blake shifted his gaze to Marissa at her suggestion that he and Nell find a room. He didn't make the tempting retort, but instead just brokered her a blank, glazed over look. The drugs were putting all sorts of things in his head. Fortunately, he'd learned from years of self-imposed retardation to keep his mouth shut on these occasions. His focus drifted back over to Nell, and he pushed his sunglasses back up over his eyes again. A soft smile came to his face as his eyes, now behind the relative safety of his sunglasses, were free to roam around her. He took in the details of her face, her hair, and her body.

She was supposed to be the enemy, but Blake had a feeling that even if Vinross-Yu was an unholy union Nell was oblivious to it all. Then again, maybe she just didn't care. She was the epitome of Nepleslian values. Which, in a strange way, drew him in. That, with the added news of her decision to seek medical treatment for her 'Fortuna-Sneezing Sickness' made him carefully consider just how nice it would be to follow Marissa's instruction.

'No, no, no!' He thought, 'I must remember my duties as an artist, and a thespian first and foremost! I must communicate this idea to the universe, even if they're tired of listening!'

So, he went on his artistic journey. Before he spoke, the drug haze cleared away for numb excitement. His head was buzzing, but suddenly, Blake's mind was sharp again.

"Miss Sarahs, I have a modest proposal for you, one that doesn't involve 'getting a room' in the euphemistic sense!" Blake stated, glancing sharply at Marissa as he quoted her, "Nell, I've decided: I want to represent you artistically. I would like to sculpt you. Would you allow me the privelige, if say, I were to give you two bottles of your favorite whiskey and a pack of your preferred brand of cigarettes or snack food if you don't smoke? It'll be fun, I promise!"
 
Laj grinned widely along with Kokuten's apparent knowledge of tobacco. It was refreshing, to him, to meet one who shared in a particular hobby. The dashing CEO lit his cigar as Kokuten explained further on, taking a deep draw as the captain began to query about Odette Swann's position in Vinross Yu-Cranker Materials. Laj's eyes drew back over the stoney rocks behind them, towards the direction of their table.

"Ah, well, normally I would agree with you," Laj nodded with a smile, flicking the lighter in his hand closed and, in a casual parlor-trick fashion, allowed it to vanish back into his sleeve in a single stroke. "However, it was Lisa who requested that, should she ever be unable to work, Nell be placed in her stead. And... well..." Laj paused for a moment, looking back across the balcony over the city once more. A single light off in the distance caught his attention; a shuttlecraft, most likely, flying in low over the city for one reason or another, far off in the distance. "Swann's position in the company is unique. She only falls under my supervision, and has the right to refuse orders from others in the company and Unique divisions. Including me. She exercises this fairly often, as well."
 
The smoke began building, but Tweak had already found her place upwind of them both. Unfortunately, it was not a very strong wind, a mere breeze, if even that, so the smoke had time to build up around the cigar-chompers before air movement took it away piece by piece. Terrific.

Tweak attempted to distract herself by listening to the conversation. The smoke wouldn't do anything to her, but when did smelling something burning ever mean anything good?
 
"I see, an agent who acts in your best interests even if that's not what you have in mind." nodded Kokuten, as he leaned comfortably up against the railing. He plucked the brown blunt from his lips and blew out a little more smoke down the way. The thick plume pushed through the air, following the breeze coming though. "Squad 35, is somewhat similar in that regard. Unlike most units in the Cirrus Security Service, we're given the worst assignments, the poorest equipment, and expected to perform in the same fashion as Commander Abeck's personal squad. Despite what's said of us, we're in no way an elite unit.

"It's a harrowing experience, trying to command under those kind of standards, in those kind of situations, with that kind of insanity," Kokuten drew in a little on cigar, the burning end glowing a brilliant orange, before letting the smoke flow from the edge of his mouth. His eyes began to turn that same orange color as wel, "Especially when you're a Marine who was hoping to use his M.D. credentials to start a private practice, not command a unit where some of the soldiers don't even have the discipline to follow orders." The Captain ran his hand through his hair, before flashing his teeth in a short chuckle, "And that's what this job does to me, which is why I wanted to ask you something, whether it's my business or not."

Those flame-orange LED's turned in Laj's direction.

"How long are we going to keep up this charade? "
 
Upon hearing Kokuten's words, Laj paused for a moment, short trails of smoke wafting from the tip of his cigar as he turned his head away from Kokuten's stare and leaned back into the bench. A single, short, amused breath left his lungs through his mouth as he delicately pulled the cigar from his mouth and held it aloft in front of him, elbow propped on his thigh. Laj continued to smile, letting the question sit for a moment before returning an answer.

"Odette is an indentured servant," Laj started on, the topic perhaps not quite what Kokuten had wanted. "The Swann family has been a part of the Vinross Yu household for two whole generations thus far. Odette is the third of their line; would you believe she simply cleaned our estate until I started the business? And now she's a security officer, at her own request," he continued, casting a sideways glance between Kokuten as well as Tweak from the distance between the three. "She is generally fine with doing what I ask of her, but has the right to refuse if she disagrees or feels strongly against it. As such, I don't ask much of her. She isn't an agent, or some hired bodyguard. Just a lovely lady with an inclination to safeguard my well being, whether or not I desire it so."

Laj Vinross Yu knew that wasn't the answer Kokuten wanted to hear; his attitude visibly declared that much. It was also clear that this particular subject was one that weighed a bit heavier on his mind than talking about business or his standing. Laj looked a bit relieved after he finished, turning his eyes back to Kokuten as he considered the man's question in earnest.

"Back at my table, Mr. Chiaki, you proposed a question, to which the answer I gave may not have been what you wanted to hear," Laj spoke again, the moments of the past still relatively fresh on his memory. The man drew the cigar back up to his lips and took another, single puff. "If you want, you can ask again and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. Consider it a thank you, for helping Odette out this evening."
 
"The question was something Cassefin never clarified herself, Senator Vinross-Yu." said Kokuten, looking back out onto the scenery, a trail of grey drawing off the burning end of his cigar. "It was something I didn't quite understand, what with your company's size and scope and..." The Captain straightened himself, giving his next words some thought, before looking directly at Laj, "... judging by how that day went."

He knew he was digging rather strongly at this moment. With the table away from them, and only Tweak to watch from their shadows, it was much easier to pressure an answer. A real, honest answer was all he wanted.

"Let me first say that I will be more direct and firm this time." clarified Kokuten, rolling his cigar over his fingers, before tapping off the end into an ash-tray, and returning his gaze back to Laj. "Why did you contract with the Cirrus Station?"
 
Kokuten said:
"How long are we going to keep up this charade? "
Click to expand...
The question shocked Tweak, but she pretended to be staring, disinterested, at the cityscape while she calmed down. Maybe this was the best way. She didn't have a clue, this sort of thing was beyond her.

Listening in, Tweak was puzzled. Laj's 'answer' didn't sound like one, but there was something else, how he said what he did, that made Tweak curious. She checked his vitals as he spoke, looking for signs of fakery or other indicators that might tell what he was feeling about what he was saying.

Not just that...why did his company attack us? And why is he acting so differently from how he did that day? Tweak wondered. She tilted her head to one side, then the other, back and forth, to keep up the impression that she wasn't interested while she sped through a slightly more detailed review of incidents relating to the Yu-Cranker group.

As she did this, Tweak continued listening in, letting her tactical system continue tracking things that she hoped would give her an idea of how Laj was feeling about what he was saying. The whole lie-detection-via-vitals was far from foolproof, and she didn't really have access to his pulse rate, but she could still measure stress points in his voice and breathing rate (as interrupted as it was by the whole smoking activity). And if one didn't know that one was being tested, maybe it might be more accurate than usual.

((edit: minor edit for continuity.))
 
"Well, that's simple enough a question," Laj said, lightly twirling his cigar around in between his fingers as he returned Kokuten's stolid stare with his own annoyingly aloof smile. "I have a lot of stake in the Cirrus Research Station, actually. I've been interested in it for quite some time, ever since Marrisa brought it to my attention during the conceptual phase. I lent a lot of the materials used in the creation of the Cirrus to NAM when the modules were being constructed," he explained, making gestures with his open palms as he spoke, aggrandizing his speech with the accentuating movements.

Tweak's sensory analysis wouldn't detect anything that would hint that he was lying to them. He could have been fairly skilled in the act of lying; he had shown before that he was not fully truthful about the things he does. He was calm, collected, his breath was rhythmic, his eyes focused, and his smile, for the most part, sincere. "I'm not lying when I say that Cirrus Station and its projects are of great interest to me. I hope to continue doing good business with Ms. Montreal."

Laj drew in another breath from the cigar before placing it down once more, looking back at Kokuten and Tweak expectantly.
 
He's too disconnected to get a good read from, Tweak decided, almost annoyed, but starting to get scared. And the senator's reply to Kokuten's question did nothing to actually answer it, he just stated the obvious. Technically, it answered the letter of Kokuten's question, but not the intent. It was made worse that she couldn't really trust anything the man said anyway, and she hoped Kokuten didn't either.

But, if she could ask the right question, any answer might reveal something they didn't already know or guess. Glancing up at the back of Kokuten's head, Tweak tried to decide whether to pitch in. It wasn't her place, really. But, then again, it wasn't really Kokuten's place either, to ask what he did...Tweak looked back out at the city to gather her nerve and her brow furrowing as she thought out how to say what she wanted.

"That's obvious enough. But why are you interested? What did you get out of the attack that you couldn't have taken another way, without killing those people?" she asked, confusion and sadness on her face and in her voice as she turned her head toward Laj. "No one had to die."
 
Kokuten stared quietly at the man, giving no real indication of a reaction. Instead, he closed his eyes and tucked the cigar between his lips again. He breathed deep of his Rueben, burning a decent half-inch before letting the smoke fly free out of the edge of his mouth. A gunmetal-black hand came to his chin, stroking the neatly trimmed hair on it.


The question was sudden, but didn't appear to jar the reflecting Kokuten. His only real reaction was stopping his hand on his chin. He made no effort to enforce that point on the spot, but he also made no effort to silence it either. The Captain simply waited.
 
"Ah... that," Laj's voice lowered a bit, although it appeared he still fully expected the question to take a turn in this direction. The man sighed, tilted his head back for a moment as a plume smoke rolled out of his mouth. "That was... an unfortunate turn of events. Not exactly how I had planned for it to go," Laj paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing a bit as the suddenly began a short but intense process of thought. In the end, however, the man simply shrugged. "I don't see why I couldn't tell you now."

"You see," Laj leaned forward once more, turning his head again to gaze at Tweak, his smile fading a bit, replaced by a more serious tone. "The vandals that attempted to sack the Cirrus Station that day were sent there to simply break in, reach one of the Savtech nodes, and insert a coded program of my design. The program would then extract some information from the Savtechs that I was interested in discovering," Laj spoke his piece without an inkling of hesitation beyond the pause he had finished moments ago. "We provided them a window of opportunity, as you recall, and had hoped to finish the exchange with as little violence as possible. They were paid to simply run in, do their job, and leave. Unfortunately," Laj's tone turned to that of one slightly annoyed. "... the fools botched their attempt and, in aggravation, deviated from the plan and approached me in front of several Cirrus Station employees, compromising the plan completely."

"I had to dispatch them after that, and Marrisa convinced me that it was necessary to do the same with the witnessing dock workers. I am regretful of the decision but, at the time, I felt it was necessary," Laj continued. Although he tone sounded serious enough it was difficult to tell whether or not he was truly sorry about the lives he inadvertently took that day. Laj paused once more, his eyes glanced up again in sudden epiphany. "Ah, and I still haven't told you the real why, what possible information I would need to stoop to such underhanded methods to obtain. I apologize for being so vague, but... well," the CEO tilted his head a bit to the side, studying the two for a short moment. "... I am unsure of whether or not you two actually want to hear it. I don't think you will like the true reason; even I was a little unsettled about it when I heard."

Laj exchanged another serious glance between the two, the momentarily forgotten cigar betwixt his fingers roiled soft hazes of gray in the air. "It involves your administration. Do you still want to hear it?"
 
"I see."

Kokuten's eyes opened at that, his now green LEDs now dimly lit. The Doctor crossed his arms as he continued to keep that same, quiet repose. There was a little closure at actually hearing it all from the source in this fiasco. The explanation itself actually served to settle him more than unsettle at the extent brutality admitted to. Still, there was a part or two that egged on him, lies, perhaps. His teeth started to grit under his own facade.

"I have hard time believing some aspects of your story, especially in consideration to your slaughter of innocent lives." went the Captain plainly, his stare meeting Laj's, "Or do you value the families and people of your own workplace more than those who died on the station that day?" Kokuten rubbed his chin at that, shaking his head at that, "No. No need to answer that." The stare returned, simple and placid. "Please, continue."
 
Although his eyes yielded twinges of doubt at first, Laj's smile returned back, only slightly, at Kokuten's reply. Their curiosity, in turn, made Laj himself curious as to what they would do with such information. "I run a little side business, other than my shipwright and Vinross Yu-Cranker Materials, you see. Sometimes, individuals with large sums of money want to have things they normally wouldn't be able to obtain. I simply find these things and bring them to these individuals, for a finders fee of course. I can do it quite discreetly, too; we've gotten increasingly good at it over the years."

Laj sat back into his seat, drawing in another breath from his cigar to alleviate a biting nag on his mind. The smoke drew it off almost immediately as he continued on. "So, when an order came in for several tons of contained, weaponized antimatter and two large plates of 'salvaged' Yamataian zesuaium, I didn't so much as bat an eyelash. Both of them are highly illegal in Nepleslia for civilian use, but interestingly enough, incredibly easy to transport in secret. A simple coat of paint and you can hide those zesuaium plates onto the hull of a vessel and nobody would be the wiser," Laj smiled in amusement of just how much knowledge he had on the subject of contraband items and effective ways of transporting them.

The smile drew back down from Laj's face. "But the order came through several dummy sources. I didn't like that; I drew the traces back to the original sender for the order, and I didn't like that either," the man spoke in a more hushed tone, his seriousness growing more profound. "Your lovely head administrator was willing to pay a large sum of money for these items... and I wanted to know why. Why would a civilian research station need these items? Even the NAM-approved labs on the Cirrus aren't allowed the grade quality of antimatter I procured. If Yamatai knew we had zesuaium plates, there would be an uproar."

"So, I needed to know why myself. But I keep a strict no-questions asked aspect to this business. I have a reputation to keep up, after all," Laj shrugged his shoulders once in an aloof manner. "So I went to an outside source to handle this information gathering. I suppose I should have chosen more wisely... an oversight on my part that won't happen again."
 
It explained a lot, it made a great deal of sense, but the mouth it all came from was questionable in the first place. Laj Vinros-Yu was firm, genial man in appearance, good with people, but there facts that needed to be taken in. He was a politician, a business man, and a smuggler. The man was highly trained in the abilities of directing people towards a profit or agreement. He wasn't just a businessman, he was the businessman, and represented facets of that title that made Kokuten more and more skeptical.

"So you mounted this operation in a way to find out what exactly she was doing with that zesuaium and anti-matter." responded Kokuten, leaning back against the railing, not sure if he was able to believe him as of yet. "And apparently Cassefin needed these materials for something rather monumental if she ordered that much individually." He closed his eyes.

If it was true, what would Cassefin intend to do with all of that material? Would Laj continue to hound the woman for answers? Is this why Cassefin became so distressed after learning of the owners here? No, no. Cassefin was naturally Cassefin when she met Laj and Marissa the first time they saw them on the Cirrus. It was only until after the attack... Then...

The Savtech...

The tactless evasion...

The preparation for what was a surprise attack...

Was that really to stop them...?

Despite refusing to believe them at an earlier time, Cassefin reassured their 'baseless suspicions' anyway.

It was too much. Was this really the truth? Was Cassefin trully the source of all this strain? Or was Laj trying to to make them question their loyalties to an administrator with questionable goals? All that was left was one more question.

"So, you had every witness of that event killed." said Kokuten, in barely a whisper as he popped awake again in a bit of clarity, his eyes shifted in the direction of the man behind these strains, "Save for Squad 35. We know everything that happened, we filed reports stating the truth. What was the point of inviting all of your loose ends to this dinner?"
 
Tweak tensed from her slouch over the rail, straightening up when Kokuten posed his question. Most of her was not looking forward to a fight, but her Tactical Operating System brought itself to full readiness. Something for it to do!

He wouldn't do it in front of his restaurant's guests. It would be delayed, she thought. Poison, or accidents in our room. Though, unless he takes extreme measures, it would be suspicious if the entire squad vanished while at his hotel, wouldn't it? She had one more question, though, but it would need to wait until Kokuten's was answered.
 

Kokuten's final question caused Laj to smirk, his eyes narrowing onto the two as the wry smile spread across his face. "I brought the loose ends to me for only one reason... to tie them, of course," Laj mockingly brushed his free hand up against his chest on top of his jacket as though he was reaching into the coat itself. Quickly, the man swung his hand towards the two, his index finger and thumb stretched out into the common form of a handgun. The CEO closed one eye and aimed in exaggeration, switching between the two as he exclaimed, "Bang! Bang!"

Laj laughed shortly at his own jest, opening his palm and waving in apologetically. "I'm sorry, that must have been in terrible taste," the man said, tapping his cigar against the brim of the small ashtray settled next to the bench. "Yes, I know you filed reports. I even read a couple of them; good stuff, very thorough. It was unfortunate," Laj shrugged his shoulders slowly along with his drawn-out word. "That a handful of our Uniques were actually double-crossers working for the pirates. Luckily, you all took care of them before they could do much else."

The man smiled at the two, his grin showing just how comfortable he was with the position he was in. The press were satisfied with the answers Vinross Yu-Cranker had given them, and the authorities had all but dropped any allegations against Laj and Marrisa for the incident. As far as the universe was concerned, the events that happened that day were an open-and-shut case, with a modest conclusion. Laj sighed when he saw that his words provided little comfort to the two. "To be completely honest, I simply wanted to meet you all. There's no rhyme or reason to it beyond my own indulgence. There really is no longer any reason why I would want to have you all dead... so I don't see why I should pursuit it. I asked you all here to, perhaps, show you this... I guess I'm not doing a very good job, hm?"
 
Kokuten seemed satisfied with that last bit, tapping off his own excess of ashes into the same tray the senator had. So, it was all because Laj just wanted to meet the infamous Squad 35. All of that strain, anticipation, and anxiety, all misplaced. It was very possible that it was all a lie, that there was some other story. Then again, that's all truths and lies were, just stories told people who could be either lying with the truth or just truthfully lying. The Senator was a man who spoke to get his way, and this little reveal was enough to prove it. His little gag, which still had Kokuten a little tense.

"That's enough for me, then." said the Captain, standing up out of his seat and snuffing out the end of his cigar, "I'm going back to my room."

Kokuten turned, and gave a short bow of his head to Laj.

"Senator, it was a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for leaving early." said the Captain, before turning to Tweak, "Tweak, tell Cassefin I'm feeling ill."
 
The 'Spacer neko twitched. Laj had no idea how close he had been to death or serious injury just then. Even as Tweak's Tactical Mind had insisted that he had nothing under the coat, even as the senator had withdrawn only his empty hand, she had been a moment away from over half a dozen actions that would have ended badly. Fortunately, she performed none of them except to close her eyes until he finished.

Tweak looked up at Kokuten again. "A...alright," she said while giving him a brief nod before shaking her head. "Wait-wait-wait one second, please?" she added quickly, then turned to Laj. Should she ask? He hadn't seen her that day, and there was a chance Marrisa didn't tell him...

No, those were questions better directed to Ms. Cranker, and dealt with by what Tweak had in mind. She shook her head again.

"Nevermind," she said slowly, then bowed her head to the senator as Kokuten had done. "Thank you for answering our questions."
 
"Ah, one moment," Laj hold out his hand, a little surprised with the direction his conversation had turned. His eyes flashed for a moment as his mouth drew into a smirk, confidant and controlled. "If you don't mind, I was wondering if you two could answer a question of mine."
 
Kokuten stopped on his way to the door, and made half-turn back at Laj, sheathing the unfinished cigar back into it's plastic packet. Despite the information that had been dumped on him, the Captain was rather unreadable in the face, giving Laj a somewhat plain gaze. He seemed to consider that prospect for a moment, before stuffing away his cigar.

"Shoot, but not literally. My leg-wound is still healing." joked Kokuten idly with a somewhat grim flavor taking his expression.
 
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