Okichi blinked for a moment when Nobutora began stammering. She hadn't had time to be properly introduced to anyone, so she had contented herself to taking the Shosa's lead with names. Realizing she must have said something wrong, she bowed quickly and blushed. "I'm sorry if I had embarrassed you. I should have learned your proper name before making assumptions." Taking a moment to breathe, she began organizing the information that Nobutora had given her in her head.
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RP: YSS Genei [Mission 1]Finding the hand that feeds
- Thread starter mizunoyoroko
- Start date
Sean_ODuibher
Inactive Member
Nobutora almost sighed out of frustration with himself, but instead opted for his typical self-effacing grimace. “Ahem, that is quite alright, Nobusuke-hei,” he said neutrally. Her apology did seem to vindicate his… annoyance, but making a new crewmember blush and bow over a mistake was hardly going please the Shosa. “I am Yamamoto Nobutora, Santo Hei. Pleased to make your acquaintance. It was a, erm, simple misunderstanding. Hardly something as grave as compromising our operational security.” The second he finished speaking Nobutora regretted it. His attempt at levity fell flat even to his ears; speaking in his on-the-job emotionless voice, it came out more as a warning, reprimand even, than as friendly encouragement.
Konpeki could not help but notice Nobotura's distress, and she tried to figure out how to help him. She picked up her datapad and quickly typed a message.
Feigning frustration with the pad she turned to Nobotura. "Yamamoto-Hei, I am having a problem with this pad, would you please take a look at it." She said walking over to him and handing it to him.
Feigning frustration with the pad she turned to Nobotura. "Yamamoto-Hei, I am having a problem with this pad, would you please take a look at it." She said walking over to him and handing it to him.
mizunoyoroko
Inactive Member
Yoshiko hadn't intended to use Nobutara's given name, it was a slip of her tongue, nonetheless it turned out to have an interesting effect on the new Hei. Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I did it again. Best not to push my luck for the time being. Yoshiko thought before looking back over at the gear. "Oh? Doing some shopping then I take it?" Yoshiko asked Konpeki. "There are a couple of ways to do this, if you want. We have an account specifically for these kinds of things, missions that is, you can buy what you need with that. Of course, you won't be able to keep anything once the mission is deemed complete. Or you could use your own funds, which of course would mean that you can keep whatever you buy."
Yoshiko opened up one of the laptops and began browsing the list of pre-installed programs. "Yamamoto-Hei," Yoshiko was very careful to use Nobutara's family name this time "there is one snag. You have a limited amount of time, it's hard to justify to anyone getting clearance to spy on the going-ons of Novacorp or any other civilian entity for an extended amount of time. We're looking at less than a day, this might require you to be a little bit more...direct in what you were looking for. You might not be able to just rely on an AI to do this for you." Yoshiko stood up and looked at the small group. "Alright, let's do this."
Yoshiko opened up one of the laptops and began browsing the list of pre-installed programs. "Yamamoto-Hei," Yoshiko was very careful to use Nobutara's family name this time "there is one snag. You have a limited amount of time, it's hard to justify to anyone getting clearance to spy on the going-ons of Novacorp or any other civilian entity for an extended amount of time. We're looking at less than a day, this might require you to be a little bit more...direct in what you were looking for. You might not be able to just rely on an AI to do this for you." Yoshiko stood up and looked at the small group. "Alright, let's do this."
Konpeki turned towards Yoshiko, "Ma'am, actually for these purchases it would be best to draw out local currency from tha account and conduct the transactions with cash."
With a thought, Konpeki used her holographic ability to hide her uniform and make it look like she was wearing regular clothes. "Looking like this and making the purchases with currency, there would be no record of a Star Army soldier purchasing civilian clothing for several persons to alert our targets. After the mission said clothing could be stored aboard the Genei for future use. I suspect we will have need for non-descript clothes in future missions."
With a thought, Konpeki used her holographic ability to hide her uniform and make it look like she was wearing regular clothes. "Looking like this and making the purchases with currency, there would be no record of a Star Army soldier purchasing civilian clothing for several persons to alert our targets. After the mission said clothing could be stored aboard the Genei for future use. I suspect we will have need for non-descript clothes in future missions."
Sean_ODuibher
Inactive Member
Nobutora took the pad from Eika a little quizzically. It was odd that she would need a pad fixed at such a… The message, of course, was quite correct. As he expected, his attempt at levity and amicability had failed and would require some quick work to repair. But then the Shosa spoke and all thoughts of correcting social faux-pas were driven out of his head. Eika’s response to the Shosa gave him a needed moment to reassess the tactical situation; after she finished, he promptly turned to the Shosa, pad held forgotten at his side. “Forgive me, ma’am, but what might ‘clearance’ being rescinded actually mean? If I invade their system’s registry with a self replicating program and have it send out files under the local system’s mask, would PANTHEON not allow it through? Will a brute force attack be required? Because if so, I must point out again the extreme danger to our operational security such an action would pose.”
Derek
Inactive Member
Yamamoto Kansuke stepped into the hotel and surveyed his surroundings. He had found the encounter with Yuki both informative and refreshing, a lot different than what he was used to after going through basic training. I suppose I should get used to that. Yuki did say fieldwork tended to be rather informal after all. With a mental shrug Kan shifted the C-bag on his shoulder, the slightly heavy burden that contained nearly all his worldly possessions, and walked briskly towards the reception desk. It took him only a minute or two to acquire the key card after speaking with the fairly attractive woman standing behind the desk. Holding the card in his hand he smiled and waved before striding towards the lift and entering it. Kan looked down at himself. Maybe I'm a bit over dressed.... He had expected a formal interview, nothing at all like what he had received, so he had worn his best formal dress uniform. I'm going to have to change into something else if we are working an undercover assignment like Yuki said... He sighed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Hope somebodies got something in my size I can bum off them until I can buy some normal cloths. All I got are uniforms for crying out loud! I stand out like a sore thumb! The thoughts had flashed through his mind in a blink, interrupted by the chime of the lift, indicating it had stopped at his intended destination. Muttering to himself he steps out and looks up and down the P-way, searching for the right room number. Kan eventually found it and took a deep breath before swiping his card through the reader, turning the nob, and entering.
mizunoyoroko
Inactive Member
"Good thinking Eika-Hei." Yoshiko complemented before the familiar noise of a door handle turning. "Ah, I'd like you all to meet Santo-Hei Yamamoto Kansuke. He'll be joining our team for this as well. He's been briefed on the mission at hand, so you won't need to catch him up too much." Yoshiko invited Kansuke in before addressing Nobutara, "Basically what you are saying is correct. Since NovaCorp has committed no crimes, and there is no evidence suggesting they have, we only have a limited time-frame for our permit. If we discover any information pertaining to the terrorist group on the NovaCorp computers then we can of course file for a new permit."
Derek
Inactive Member
Kan stepped into the room, his eyes alert and perhaps a bit unsure. He had prepared himself for an introduction as he opened the door but Yoshiko beat him to it the moment he stepped in. That left him standing there for a moment with two lung fulls of hot air, a slightly gaped mouth and a look of mild surprise on his face. Ok.... real nice first impression... idiot! Kan turned slightly red and closed his mouth, his nostrils flaring and chest deflating at the same time as he closed the door silently. He found a place to sit and put his bag down on the ground in front of him. Kan glanced around him at the people he would be working with, but only for a moment, and his eyes snapped back towards Yoshiko as she started to speak about their mission.
Konpeki turned to Kan. Allowing her hologram to dissolve. "Good day Yamamoto-Hei." This is going to get confusing, two Yamamoto's she thought. "I am Santô Hei Eika Konpeki." "Shosa, will there be any other personnel additions? If not I will go and withdraw some of those funds you spoke of and go shopping for suitable clothing for all of us to blend in with the locals."
mizunoyoroko
Inactive Member
"We are waiting on one more person, a Santo-Hei Rokunohe Aeto, he should be arriving soon. Go ahead and get what you need. Nobutara-Hei," Yoshiko was beginning to enjoy calling Nobutara by his given name, just to see the Hei squirm. It also helped identify him from Kansuke. "Once everything is set up you can begin your work." Yoshiko instructed.
Konpeki nodded to the Shosa, restoring her hologram she headed out the door. Making the fund withdrawal was relatively simple. With cash in hand she left the hotel and merge with the flow of people on the street. She passed several shops selling the latest fashions. That kind of clothing won't do us any good. It would make us stand out for other reasons. Need to find a thrift store. she thought. As she walked she saw an information terminal and entered a query for the locations of thrift stores. She made a mental note of three different stores and set off to the first one. Using her rogue skills she made sure to not attract attention. When she came into the first shop, she made a careful selection of clothes that looked worn enough without looking distressed. Not bad selection here. I'll buy enough for a couple of us. Then find a mass transit facility where I can store them then head to the next shop.
Derek
Inactive Member
Kan turned his head towards Kanpeki, offering a small smile and a nod after pushing his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose with the index finger of his left hand. "Good day to you as well." He fell silent when the Shosa addressed her and his head swiveled towards their captain. He regarded her openly with his intelligent eyes, trying to equate what he has heard and seen of her so far, not at all self conscious of the fact. Kan glanced back at Kanpeki as she stood and left the room. "I assume she has all of our measurements correct?" He said lightly after the door closed, a small crocked smile played across his lips. The question was asked in general, not directed at anyone in particular.
"Shosa, if I may ask... how exactly is an engineer going to assist with a covert mission of this sort? My skills and credentials are in my dossier, I'm sure you could tell me more clearly than I could assume."
"Shosa, if I may ask... how exactly is an engineer going to assist with a covert mission of this sort? My skills and credentials are in my dossier, I'm sure you could tell me more clearly than I could assume."
Blue Impact
Inactive Member
"If that could be answered so easily, then it'd hardly be covert."
A detached voice answered, followed by a shuffling of boots and the shuffle of an overcoat rustling against the opened door. Aeto entered just enough to let the door close behind him, his right hand grasping a black sash. His coat's collar rose and fell with a heavy sigh, followed by a few quick glances to glean the situation.
"Rokunohe, of the Santô Hei variety. Resident...well, I suppose I'll find out what muck I'll be trudging through along with you. Pleasure." Aeto lifted his hand and greeted Kansuke first, seeing as he barged through with an interruption.
A detached voice answered, followed by a shuffling of boots and the shuffle of an overcoat rustling against the opened door. Aeto entered just enough to let the door close behind him, his right hand grasping a black sash. His coat's collar rose and fell with a heavy sigh, followed by a few quick glances to glean the situation.
"Rokunohe, of the Santô Hei variety. Resident...well, I suppose I'll find out what muck I'll be trudging through along with you. Pleasure." Aeto lifted his hand and greeted Kansuke first, seeing as he barged through with an interruption.
Derek
Inactive Member
Kan turned his head back towards the door when he heard someone offer up a comment to his question and watched as Rokunohe stepped through the door. One of Kan's brows quirked a bit at the flippant answer as he regarded the man for a moment before replying.
"Perhaps for our query but it should be easily answered for ourselves. After all... we are a team. We are not supposed to be covert amongst each other."
Kan smiled a little and extended a hand to Rokunohe, a replacement to the formal bow, in light of the fact he is sitting down.
"Yamamoto Kansuke, also Santô Hei. Mechanic, Ships Operations and Engineer. You can call me Kan." He looked at everyone as he added that last part to show he included them all in the invitation. So far, with the exception of the Captain of course, everyone he had spoken to was Santô Hei. He hoped that the mission was low priority.. especially if it was entrusted to a group of untested recruits...
"Perhaps for our query but it should be easily answered for ourselves. After all... we are a team. We are not supposed to be covert amongst each other."
Kan smiled a little and extended a hand to Rokunohe, a replacement to the formal bow, in light of the fact he is sitting down.
"Yamamoto Kansuke, also Santô Hei. Mechanic, Ships Operations and Engineer. You can call me Kan." He looked at everyone as he added that last part to show he included them all in the invitation. So far, with the exception of the Captain of course, everyone he had spoken to was Santô Hei. He hoped that the mission was low priority.. especially if it was entrusted to a group of untested recruits...
Konpeki repeated the same process of shopping for an assortment of non-descript used garments that would fit her crew mates from the data the CIES aboard the Genei provided. After visiting the third store, she returned to the location where she had stored the clothes from the first two trips. Consolidating the clothes into as few packages as possible, she disposed of the empty bags.
Konpeki joined the flow of people walking along the main road. She stopped once to procure a beverage and while she sipped it scanned the area with her eyes for anything that was out of place. Once she was certain that she was not being followed, she then headed back to the hotel. When she entered the casually strolled across the lobby and to the elevators.
Konpeki joined the flow of people walking along the main road. She stopped once to procure a beverage and while she sipped it scanned the area with her eyes for anything that was out of place. Once she was certain that she was not being followed, she then headed back to the hotel. When she entered the casually strolled across the lobby and to the elevators.
Sean_ODuibher
Inactive Member
Nobutora sighed; it was no longer surprising to hear his given name called out so casually and he supposed all discomfort would disappear with time. Focusing for a moment while the other crewmembers sorted themselves out, he finished monitoring that last of the updates to the computer’s parameters. The limitations of the PANTHEON authorization required a few minor manual adjustments, but the system was ready to function within minutes. Pausing to glance at the newcomers for a moment, Nobutora turned back to the Shosa. “Ma’am, with your permission, I’m ready to begin. I’ll make a brute force attack on their internal network, giving it an internal DDoS like system-wide error. That ought to provide at least fifteen minutes of unobserved time to strip their memory systems, ghosted or otherwise. If they are only using public key PANTHEON encryption, it will only take five minutes. If they have a third party key in place, it will take ten. I will try to mask the packet flow, but there is a potential for a sysop to see the traffic. Shall I proceed?”
mizunoyoroko
Inactive Member
"Please proceed Yamamoto-Hei." Yoshiko responded
"Eika-Hei, Yamamoto Kansuke-Hei, Rokunohe-Hei," Yoshiko said looking at the three, "Why don't the three of you begin a preliminary investigation into the terrorists. Remember we don't want to tip ourselves off to them so try not to draw attention to yourselves." Yoshiko said to the small group that she had just addressed. "Eika-Hei, you have more civilian attire correct? I think now might be a good time to try out the new clothing."
Nobutara's terminal screen hung for a few seconds before suddenly flooding with information concerning its present task. Within 8 minutes the network servers, user computers, and any attached or connected media were all easily ghosted, it's contents backed up to PANTHEON itself for immediate review. There were a number of errors on the screen however, some of the attached media wasn't responding to the queries, as well as a few that were removed during the scan. (([JP]A hacking we will go))
"Ma'am, I purchased two sets of clothing for each member for the crew using specifications from the CIES" Konpeki replied. "I intentionally purchased second hand clothes to further ensure that they would not attract attention."
Kan looked up when his name is meantioned and nods, glancing at the others that would be joining him in the task. How exactly are we supposed to do that? Hope someone has some leads already... He does not interrupt the conversation, but he was pleased to hear they had some cloths other than his uniform he could wear.
Aeto's eyes stared at Konpeki first, slowly sliding in Kan's. "...Three. As in..." Aeto pointed at Konpeki "And..." Aetoi pointed at Kan "...and me?" Investigation into terrorists? No tipping? Well, it wasn't as if Aeto was the tipping type unless the service was out of the ordinary anyway, but orders were orders. He lifted his hand for a question, casually looking between the others while clearing his throat. "I understand the civilian attire, but is there anything...obviously edge giving that we should know? Something that would put the info in our laps faster?"
"It's interesting that you would ask that question Rokunohe-Hei, since that's basically what you will be doing." Yoshiko handed a datapad to Aeto, and one to Kansuke. "Here is a list of the suspected members of the terrorist cell. You tell me what would give you an edge." Yoshiko said as she relinquished the pads. "My advice is to pick the most easily interactable target and, well...interact." Yoshiko said. "Of course, you could always start surveilance if you'd like."
Konpeki thought back to the list of suspects given to her back aboard the Genei while she selected one of the two outfits for herself from the stacks on the bed.. She then went to a place in the room and started changing into them. "Shosa, I think I would be best starting with Himiko Suami."
Kan took the pad that was offered to him and looked over the intel it had displayed on the monitor. A look of complete concentration crossed his face and his eyes and fingers rapidly moved over the pad. After a moment he reached into his duffle bag, his eyes still on the pad as he did so, and lifted out a small data unit. With a deft practiced motion he pluged the pad into his data unit and began uploading the information. "Do we have current schematics of the city? Any known routes the suspects are taking could be calculated and possible meeting points could be extrapilated across the map." He blinked and looked up, just now realizing that Konpeki had gone to change already.
"I'd...I'd...oh yes, definately would." Aeto mumbled with a bit of a smirk on his face as he slithered through the information. His eyes looked to Kan for a few seconds as he spoke, but returned to the pad for a few more seconds of idle thoughts. "Yes, yes. We need those. A lot. Depending on how the information can be extracted, to what depth is needed? Hobbies? Stomping grounds outside of possible terrorist activities? Three sizes? 6 x 8 glossy photos? Mmm...I may need to pick up a camera for the pi-for the mission. Yes. The mission."
"A map of the city is available through PANTHEON." Yoshiko responded while she tried to ponder exactly what it was Aeto was talking about. Even during the interview Aeto had been slightly odd, perhaps it was his quirk. Hopefully this isn't a liability. Yoshiko thought to herself.
Kan blinked at Aeto and then glanced a bit worriedly at Konpeki and Yoshiko...
Konpeki finished dressing, three sizes? glossy photos? Are they looking at the same datapad we were shown? she thought. "I do not believe that we need worry about Hobbies, as for the routes the suspects take, I do not believe we have that. But we do know where they live and their place of work, so we should be able to observe them and either observe, or engage them."
"Shosa..." Kan looked up at Yoshiko as he put the pad on his lap. "What kind of resources do we have at our disposal? Would it be possible to track the suspects using satalite imagery. If we did that for a while it would cut back on time and man power required to gather such information. How about money transfers? We know who these people are, or at least we think we do, so there is the possibility of a paper trail leading back to their backers." Kan lifted his hand to his face and pushed his glasses further up his nose with his middle finger.
Aeto sighed, nodding with his eyes closed for a few seconds. It was worth a try. "Very well then. Any restrictions on engagement? The source of the investigation and the connection between those on the list. I wouldn't bank on the bet, but I'd assume at least some of these folks have background experience with the equipment. Maybe prior operators, technicians, or involved in the procurement. Money transfers would make things easy as well. I also would doubt that there'd be another weakened link, since we did manage to get a...leak in their info. I'm sure if there's one, the next isn't far from following."
"For the time being we are operating at a low level. Satelites for the most part are unavailable unless pressing need presents itself. Trying to see if there is a paper-trail might be a good idea though, how do you plan on going about it." Yoshiko responded. "Are you suggesting that we might be ablet convince some of them to give up their comrades?" Yoshiko asked Aeto.
Kan saw that Konpeki finished dressing so he stood and made his way over to her after setting his equipment down on top of his duffle bag. Can I see what you got for me?" He asked her.
"Certainly, the closes I selected for you are in this stack." She said pointing to a pile of clothes. "I do not believe we will find any more weak leaks. But by making casual contact it will help to allow us to interact with them, and once established, observe discretely."
"Keh." Aeto almost laughed, showing a bit of a sadistic, fang bearing smirk. That wouldn't be any fun he said to himself, returning to a frown. "Mmm. Wishful thinking, that. The leaks certainly won't come out any more than they already have. No, I think that having one become free enough to spill is proof that things aren't as secure as they should be. As they should be, mind you. If we are working with what should be professionals...and this is a stretch, mind you...I don't think it's a simple miracle that one got away. There's a wide open door somewhere. Hopefully I can peek through that door and observe what I can."
"Thank you." Kan smiled at her and reached for the stack she indicated looking the selection over. "Casual contact is only a good idea as long as we keep the contact to a minimum. The more people we come in contact with the more likely it is someone will notice and make a connection. From the data I saw there are three people working at Nova, two at a grocery store, three at a shipping company and two that are students. In the normal scheme of things those four areas would have little to do with each other, with the exception of possibly Novacorp and Takahashi Shipping. Aeto has a good point as well... A wide open leak.
"Am I the only one who feels that something is... off... about all this? I mean... Here's a group of people who should, as a whole, have little to do with each other. Yet they have advanced computers and equipment. What's more if they are exactly what they seem to be then there is little chance they are professionals. Why would someone with so much money hire nobodies to make a hit on PANTHEON? They must know the security is so tight that even pros would have a hard time. Maybe this is a test run.. maybe its a decoy. Whatever it is I get the feeling we don't have a lot of time to figure it out." Kan got dressed as he was talking and it all just seemed to pour out of him at once.
"There's a connection somewhere. We just have to find out what it is." Aeto nodded. "Which is why I asked about the three sizes..." he mumbled under his breath.
"If we find the source, we might be able to answer some of those questions. By infiltrating this group to do so, or at least getting the information we might find out just what is as you have said...off. Anyway, you're not going to find out much standing around here." Yoshiko finished. "Yamamoto-Hei is correct, we don't have time. Yamamoto Nobutora-Hei is operating on a clock, and if we need anything to be found out from him we'll need to do it before that clock reaches zero."
"We better get moving then..." Kan finished dressing and picked up the last pile of cloths and tossed them to Aeto. "You mentioned starting with Himiko Suami" He said to Konpeki. "Any particular reason why?"
"She's young, and a student. I feel I can establish a rapport with her easily enough. Then use that to try to make casual contact with the leak. Using Himiko as a means to legitimize my presence."
It wasn't hard for the group to locate where Sumai might be, Yoshiko managed to pull some strings and get Sumai's student schedule from PANTHEON. It revealed that she had a class that started in about an hour. Luckily for the trio it would only take 30 minutes to get to the campus and find the building.
Kan frowned a bit as he thought to himself before asking. "Why would you need her to make contact with the leak? Since he was our source why can't we contact him directly by some secure means?" Kan sat back down behind his duffle bag and quirked a brow. In preparation to depart he slides his data units into his pockets.
"Two reasons, first because we are supposed to get him and his family safely away. Second, he should have information about who on that list is incharge from what he's seen. Helps us to narrow down who all are the main players." Konpeki replied.
"Well I understand that part of it. We could get all of that from him without involving Sumai and exposeing ourselves to the terroist cell." He rubbed his chin a bit. "Still... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have an alibi.. in case our presence is noticed and someone takes an interest." He looked at the time display on the inside of his glasses, his eyes going out of focus for a moment. "Lets get going. We can discuss the details on the way."
Konpeki grabbed her SACO glasses, and headed towards the door. "Exactly. its not like we're going to walk up to him and say, Hello, we're from Star Army Intelligence, we understand you are part of a terrorist group. I do not plan to talk to him other than in a customer fashion, but will use my skills to slip a piece of paper into one of his pockets. It will provide a number that he can contact, and say something like: It is urgent we talk."
"Good luck." Yoshiko said as the group left, before turning toward Nobutora and watching what the Hei was doing.
"Alright. But how are we going to get from Sumai to our leak? It's not like we can say oh lets go to this little grocery store down the street so I can talk to this guy." He stood and checked to make sure he had everything he needed. "Ready when you are." He slipped his hand into his pocket and activated it, bringing up a map on the inside of one of his lenses. "Doesn't look like it'll take us to long to get there."
A concerned sigh came from Aeto as he stepped back to his briefcase, still looking at his data pad. He shoved it away, replacing it with a small vial of cologne. He fiddled it for a bit while thinking, but didn't bother nudging off the cap. "Suppose it's a good starting point as any."
Konpeki thought as they were going down the stairs, "Well, after talking with her, and establishing that I'm a new student with her. I can ask her if she knows of any good stores? It isn't really necessary that she go with us, but to establish my presence so if she sees me around she won't think anything about it."
"That's great. Now.. what are we supposed to be doing?" Kan chuckled a bit and glanced at Aeto before looking back at Konpeki. "I suppose we could also be students.. but that would set our profile right from the beginning. We may need to fill different rolls down the road. A college student wouldn't suddenly be an engineer at Nova or a dock worker at the shipping company as an example. Someone could notice that and set off bells."
Aeto gave a few grunts in agreement as he produced a black tie and a red tie from his suitcase, giving them a careful eye before putting them back.
"Hmm, well there is another student on the list, one of you could make inquiries about him, and one should probably watch our backs. Just a thought." Konpeki said.
Kan nodded as they got to the bottom of the stairs. He waited till they were out on the street before continuing and he spoke more lowly so his voice wouldn't drift. "That's a possibility. Any idea what kind of surveillance equipment we have available. Who ever is going to hold back could keep an eye on things more efficiently that way."
The street outside the hotel was bustling with vehicles going to their various destinations, there was even a spot where vehicles could pull into to pick up or drop off their passengers or be taken by the hotel's valet service.
"The SACOS sunglasses are part of it." Konpeki then reached into her handbag, and pulled out two sets of SA-CDLD-1s, "These are listening devices, that will let you discretely listen to conversations from a distance. I'm using the SA-CDLD-2."
Aeto hung back a bit so as not to crowd, his attention more on the streets and the unnoticeables around them. "Mmm. Well, it's a man's duty to take someone out on dates. Or just sitting around with the folks for a while, no real need to bother going out if out has nothing to do." he said at his normal tone of voice, checking his breath. When the sunglasses came into view, his eye brightened like a birthyday boy with a pocket full of change at an arcade. "Heeeey. Not bad, not bad at all. They'll go good with my everything."
Kan reached out and took the offered glasses and looked them over. His brows lifted and he made a questioning sound in the back of his throat. "Interesting. Are they able to interface with data storage units? Or do they have internal units? These could come in handy..."
Konpeki smiled, "They are similiar to the Uno Sunglasses, and have all those features which includes data link. Plus a few additional features. So you can transfer what you are seeing to storage, or display what you have in your storage on them."
"And here I was bummed about leaving mine behind." Aeto hummed as he clipped them to his shirt. If I knew infiltration'd make me this studly, I wouldn'ta blown half my pay on those pants with the pre-made shotgun holes.
As the group stood there talking a cab pulled up and let its passengers disembark. The driver sat there waiting for a little bit, using his radio to talk to the operater back at the cab company.
"Are they also communications capable? We could use telepathy... but an outside communications source would be more secure I imagine." Kan saw the cab and promptly climbed into it, waiting for the others to join.
Konpeki followed Kan into the cab. She pressed the side of her glasses and and said, "Yes, they can."
Walking around the cab, Aeto idly slid his hand across the trunk as he got inside. Though he lifted his small cologne spray to his neck, the casual agent decided to put it away. "Mmm. A bit too strong to be putting on in a cab anyway."
"Where to?" the driver, an older Geshrin, asked the group as he got off the radio. "Been busy today, I think there's a convention in town or something, you know how it is with NovaCorp."
The driver was slightly tubby, probably from an inactive lifestyle, he had stubble but not a full beard, his voice was gruff and deep.
Konpeki looked at the cabbie, "A convention? At Novacorp? Why do you think there is be a convention at Novacorp?"
Aeto relaxed in his seat, pushing the sunglasses onto his face as he looked outside. Maybe he'd find some sort of possible hiding ground, a front, or something linked to their mission. Even better, he might find somewhere nice to take someone for a night out on the town.. Somewhere nice and cheap.
"Who knows. I keep seeing reporters everywhere, maybe a new release of some kind. It's good for business, that's all I know." the cabbie responded to the young neko.
Konpeki thought about what the cabbie said, All that activity would make it easy for us to check out the Novacorp facility without being noticed. "Well, perhaps we will find out what is going on. Please take us to Novacorp." She then leaned towards Aeto, and whispered. "Change of plans, lets take advantage of the reporters being at Novacorp to ask some questions. Get some images of the site, etc."
Aeto lifted his shades at the whisper, returning the whisper likewise. "Leave it to me. I'll ask so many questions we'll be able to reverse engineer power armor in a bathtub by the end of the day."
"Allright, you got it boss." the cabbie responded before pulling out of the inlet. The roads were heavily trafficked but they would be at the main NovaCorp office in about 15 minutes.
Konpeki puzzled over Aeto's response. reverse engineer power armor? a bathtub? I hope he is joking. "Well that might be a bit more than we need. For now, you see what you can get from the crowd, I will position myself to watch your back and I'll see what I can learn by a
little eavesdropping." She said tapping her ear.
Aeto tapped his ear as well, nodding. "You got it boss." Aeto took a breath as he clasped his hands, speaking normally rather than whispering. In fact, it was quite loud. "One thing I don't get though, what's all the fuss about these days anyway? Isn't someone always bringing out SOMETHING fancy and new? I'm pretty sure there's at least three new attachments for my toothbrush and a thousand tin can types that can launch into space, but not a single one that makes women more managable. AM I RIGHT?!" he shook the cab driver's chair with a few slaps.
"Hahaha, tell me about it." the cabbie laughed gruffly as he spoke. "Mine back home....she just won't shut up. "Harold get the remote." "Harold you're eating too fast." It's always Harold this and Harold th-." Harold suddenly became very quiet. "Sorry miss." The cabbie said apologetically.
Konpeki chuckled at the comments the two made. "No need to apologize, each sex is wired differently, and unfortunately, no one included a user manual to help either figure the other out."
Aeto waved his hands, continuing to jabber on. "Don't mind her. You wouldn't if you knew how many shoe boxes I've had to carry! I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Novacrap or whatever is up to anyway. If ya ask me, sounds like the old man Nova is trying to market himself out to some new ladies. Musta got their hands on some series cashflow."
Konpeki chose to ignore Aeto's comment. She instead focused her attention outside the cab. Getting images of the area, buildings and such that might be needed later in the mission.
The cabbie nodded in agreement before speaking. "Probably, I mean heck with the number of nekos in the military they could make a killing off of shoes." he replied as he pulled the cab into the inlet to let off his passengers. "Here ya are, welcome to NovaCorp's main offices. That'll be 15KS" the cabbie said as the vehicle rolled to a soft stop."
For a brief second, Aeto's front was broken entirely as he sunk back into the seat. Not from some mistake he made, or from the weight of the mission. The number of shoes was truly sickening to him. "Hmm...close." he mumbled. Not a bit of info from the driver, but it was still early.
Konpeki leaned forward and handed the driver 20 in KS. "Keep the change, it was worth you keeping my friend chatting." she said with a smile. Then she opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She looked around casually to identify what news groups were present."
"Take care boss. We're not along in our financial struggle." Aeto said to the driver as he left the car. His first search, the casual people. What kind of crowd would this NOVAcorp covention draw, and how similar or different would it be to any other? If he stood out too much, he'd have to mix himself with the other sore thumbs.
The driver chuckled a little in response to Konpeki before pulling out of the inlet and merging back into the heavy traffic. The crowd was a mix of normal citizens and reporters, but only a medium sized crowd with roughly 100-250 people, the latter swarming around the main entrance while the former merely stood around with mixed expressions on their face. Some were excited, some confused, while some only seemed to have a mild interest.
There were 2 NovaCorp security guards stationed at every entrance though more at the main entrance. Just as Konpeki and Aeto had exited the cab a NovaCorp employee dressed in a suit walked out of the main entrance and up to a podium that had been centered at the top of a short staircase that led up to the building. "Regional President Sakimoto will be out momentarily." the man said before the reporters started swarming him with questions.
Konpeki moved to have a good position to observe and record the speaker when he arrived. While waiting for the speaker to arrive, she turned towards one of the civilians standing near her and asked, "Any idea what all the excitement is about?"
Regional President such and such ay...so it's THAT kind of crowd Aeto thought as he removed his shades, placing them into his pants pocket. Respectable reporter, trasher reporter, protesting halfwit or confused no life bumming out in the streets. So many personas to choose. Rather than make a rash decision, he decided to look for this President's arrival while turned asay from Konpeki, listening for the right answer.
"NovaCorp is releasing plans for a new product line today. Something big. They've started investing heavily into Ketsurui Zaibutsu as well as a few other starship engineering firms." The civilian replied. The crowd didn't have to wait long before Regional President Sakimoto arrived. The business man was swamped with questions for the next few minutes. While the NovaCorp security and the Regional President worked to calm the crowd so that Sakimoto could speak, Aeto's communicator vibrated indicating that someone was calling him.
Too early... Aeto cursed to himself as his eyes narrowed. Trying to find the nearest semi-blinding light or annoying light source, Aeto casually placed the sunglasses back on his head. The stronger technique would have to come at a later time. "Kuh. Why did I have to come all the way out here when I could have done the same research with a live feed on my sofa. Today isn't even a good hair day." Aeto faked a miffed mumble, flicking at the comlink as he pushed some of his hair out of the way.
"Rokunohe-Hei?" a familiar voice asked, it was Yoshiko. After a few seconds she continued, "We need you guys to make a pick up. We believe that Iro Sukimade, one of the terrorists employed at NovaCorp, is using a portable data storage device that could contain information related to the terrorist activities. We need you to pick it up, preferably without him finding out." Yoshiko said.
"Eika-Hei, Yamamoto Kansuke-Hei, Rokunohe-Hei," Yoshiko said looking at the three, "Why don't the three of you begin a preliminary investigation into the terrorists. Remember we don't want to tip ourselves off to them so try not to draw attention to yourselves." Yoshiko said to the small group that she had just addressed. "Eika-Hei, you have more civilian attire correct? I think now might be a good time to try out the new clothing."
Nobutara's terminal screen hung for a few seconds before suddenly flooding with information concerning its present task. Within 8 minutes the network servers, user computers, and any attached or connected media were all easily ghosted, it's contents backed up to PANTHEON itself for immediate review. There were a number of errors on the screen however, some of the attached media wasn't responding to the queries, as well as a few that were removed during the scan. (([JP]A hacking we will go))
"Ma'am, I purchased two sets of clothing for each member for the crew using specifications from the CIES" Konpeki replied. "I intentionally purchased second hand clothes to further ensure that they would not attract attention."
Kan looked up when his name is meantioned and nods, glancing at the others that would be joining him in the task. How exactly are we supposed to do that? Hope someone has some leads already... He does not interrupt the conversation, but he was pleased to hear they had some cloths other than his uniform he could wear.
Aeto's eyes stared at Konpeki first, slowly sliding in Kan's. "...Three. As in..." Aeto pointed at Konpeki "And..." Aetoi pointed at Kan "...and me?" Investigation into terrorists? No tipping? Well, it wasn't as if Aeto was the tipping type unless the service was out of the ordinary anyway, but orders were orders. He lifted his hand for a question, casually looking between the others while clearing his throat. "I understand the civilian attire, but is there anything...obviously edge giving that we should know? Something that would put the info in our laps faster?"
"It's interesting that you would ask that question Rokunohe-Hei, since that's basically what you will be doing." Yoshiko handed a datapad to Aeto, and one to Kansuke. "Here is a list of the suspected members of the terrorist cell. You tell me what would give you an edge." Yoshiko said as she relinquished the pads. "My advice is to pick the most easily interactable target and, well...interact." Yoshiko said. "Of course, you could always start surveilance if you'd like."
Konpeki thought back to the list of suspects given to her back aboard the Genei while she selected one of the two outfits for herself from the stacks on the bed.. She then went to a place in the room and started changing into them. "Shosa, I think I would be best starting with Himiko Suami."
Kan took the pad that was offered to him and looked over the intel it had displayed on the monitor. A look of complete concentration crossed his face and his eyes and fingers rapidly moved over the pad. After a moment he reached into his duffle bag, his eyes still on the pad as he did so, and lifted out a small data unit. With a deft practiced motion he pluged the pad into his data unit and began uploading the information. "Do we have current schematics of the city? Any known routes the suspects are taking could be calculated and possible meeting points could be extrapilated across the map." He blinked and looked up, just now realizing that Konpeki had gone to change already.
"I'd...I'd...oh yes, definately would." Aeto mumbled with a bit of a smirk on his face as he slithered through the information. His eyes looked to Kan for a few seconds as he spoke, but returned to the pad for a few more seconds of idle thoughts. "Yes, yes. We need those. A lot. Depending on how the information can be extracted, to what depth is needed? Hobbies? Stomping grounds outside of possible terrorist activities? Three sizes? 6 x 8 glossy photos? Mmm...I may need to pick up a camera for the pi-for the mission. Yes. The mission."
"A map of the city is available through PANTHEON." Yoshiko responded while she tried to ponder exactly what it was Aeto was talking about. Even during the interview Aeto had been slightly odd, perhaps it was his quirk. Hopefully this isn't a liability. Yoshiko thought to herself.
Kan blinked at Aeto and then glanced a bit worriedly at Konpeki and Yoshiko...
Konpeki finished dressing, three sizes? glossy photos? Are they looking at the same datapad we were shown? she thought. "I do not believe that we need worry about Hobbies, as for the routes the suspects take, I do not believe we have that. But we do know where they live and their place of work, so we should be able to observe them and either observe, or engage them."
"Shosa..." Kan looked up at Yoshiko as he put the pad on his lap. "What kind of resources do we have at our disposal? Would it be possible to track the suspects using satalite imagery. If we did that for a while it would cut back on time and man power required to gather such information. How about money transfers? We know who these people are, or at least we think we do, so there is the possibility of a paper trail leading back to their backers." Kan lifted his hand to his face and pushed his glasses further up his nose with his middle finger.
Aeto sighed, nodding with his eyes closed for a few seconds. It was worth a try. "Very well then. Any restrictions on engagement? The source of the investigation and the connection between those on the list. I wouldn't bank on the bet, but I'd assume at least some of these folks have background experience with the equipment. Maybe prior operators, technicians, or involved in the procurement. Money transfers would make things easy as well. I also would doubt that there'd be another weakened link, since we did manage to get a...leak in their info. I'm sure if there's one, the next isn't far from following."
"For the time being we are operating at a low level. Satelites for the most part are unavailable unless pressing need presents itself. Trying to see if there is a paper-trail might be a good idea though, how do you plan on going about it." Yoshiko responded. "Are you suggesting that we might be ablet convince some of them to give up their comrades?" Yoshiko asked Aeto.
Kan saw that Konpeki finished dressing so he stood and made his way over to her after setting his equipment down on top of his duffle bag. Can I see what you got for me?" He asked her.
"Certainly, the closes I selected for you are in this stack." She said pointing to a pile of clothes. "I do not believe we will find any more weak leaks. But by making casual contact it will help to allow us to interact with them, and once established, observe discretely."
"Keh." Aeto almost laughed, showing a bit of a sadistic, fang bearing smirk. That wouldn't be any fun he said to himself, returning to a frown. "Mmm. Wishful thinking, that. The leaks certainly won't come out any more than they already have. No, I think that having one become free enough to spill is proof that things aren't as secure as they should be. As they should be, mind you. If we are working with what should be professionals...and this is a stretch, mind you...I don't think it's a simple miracle that one got away. There's a wide open door somewhere. Hopefully I can peek through that door and observe what I can."
"Thank you." Kan smiled at her and reached for the stack she indicated looking the selection over. "Casual contact is only a good idea as long as we keep the contact to a minimum. The more people we come in contact with the more likely it is someone will notice and make a connection. From the data I saw there are three people working at Nova, two at a grocery store, three at a shipping company and two that are students. In the normal scheme of things those four areas would have little to do with each other, with the exception of possibly Novacorp and Takahashi Shipping. Aeto has a good point as well... A wide open leak.
"Am I the only one who feels that something is... off... about all this? I mean... Here's a group of people who should, as a whole, have little to do with each other. Yet they have advanced computers and equipment. What's more if they are exactly what they seem to be then there is little chance they are professionals. Why would someone with so much money hire nobodies to make a hit on PANTHEON? They must know the security is so tight that even pros would have a hard time. Maybe this is a test run.. maybe its a decoy. Whatever it is I get the feeling we don't have a lot of time to figure it out." Kan got dressed as he was talking and it all just seemed to pour out of him at once.
"There's a connection somewhere. We just have to find out what it is." Aeto nodded. "Which is why I asked about the three sizes..." he mumbled under his breath.
"If we find the source, we might be able to answer some of those questions. By infiltrating this group to do so, or at least getting the information we might find out just what is as you have said...off. Anyway, you're not going to find out much standing around here." Yoshiko finished. "Yamamoto-Hei is correct, we don't have time. Yamamoto Nobutora-Hei is operating on a clock, and if we need anything to be found out from him we'll need to do it before that clock reaches zero."
"We better get moving then..." Kan finished dressing and picked up the last pile of cloths and tossed them to Aeto. "You mentioned starting with Himiko Suami" He said to Konpeki. "Any particular reason why?"
"She's young, and a student. I feel I can establish a rapport with her easily enough. Then use that to try to make casual contact with the leak. Using Himiko as a means to legitimize my presence."
It wasn't hard for the group to locate where Sumai might be, Yoshiko managed to pull some strings and get Sumai's student schedule from PANTHEON. It revealed that she had a class that started in about an hour. Luckily for the trio it would only take 30 minutes to get to the campus and find the building.
Kan frowned a bit as he thought to himself before asking. "Why would you need her to make contact with the leak? Since he was our source why can't we contact him directly by some secure means?" Kan sat back down behind his duffle bag and quirked a brow. In preparation to depart he slides his data units into his pockets.
"Two reasons, first because we are supposed to get him and his family safely away. Second, he should have information about who on that list is incharge from what he's seen. Helps us to narrow down who all are the main players." Konpeki replied.
"Well I understand that part of it. We could get all of that from him without involving Sumai and exposeing ourselves to the terroist cell." He rubbed his chin a bit. "Still... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have an alibi.. in case our presence is noticed and someone takes an interest." He looked at the time display on the inside of his glasses, his eyes going out of focus for a moment. "Lets get going. We can discuss the details on the way."
Konpeki grabbed her SACO glasses, and headed towards the door. "Exactly. its not like we're going to walk up to him and say, Hello, we're from Star Army Intelligence, we understand you are part of a terrorist group. I do not plan to talk to him other than in a customer fashion, but will use my skills to slip a piece of paper into one of his pockets. It will provide a number that he can contact, and say something like: It is urgent we talk."
"Good luck." Yoshiko said as the group left, before turning toward Nobutora and watching what the Hei was doing.
"Alright. But how are we going to get from Sumai to our leak? It's not like we can say oh lets go to this little grocery store down the street so I can talk to this guy." He stood and checked to make sure he had everything he needed. "Ready when you are." He slipped his hand into his pocket and activated it, bringing up a map on the inside of one of his lenses. "Doesn't look like it'll take us to long to get there."
A concerned sigh came from Aeto as he stepped back to his briefcase, still looking at his data pad. He shoved it away, replacing it with a small vial of cologne. He fiddled it for a bit while thinking, but didn't bother nudging off the cap. "Suppose it's a good starting point as any."
Konpeki thought as they were going down the stairs, "Well, after talking with her, and establishing that I'm a new student with her. I can ask her if she knows of any good stores? It isn't really necessary that she go with us, but to establish my presence so if she sees me around she won't think anything about it."
"That's great. Now.. what are we supposed to be doing?" Kan chuckled a bit and glanced at Aeto before looking back at Konpeki. "I suppose we could also be students.. but that would set our profile right from the beginning. We may need to fill different rolls down the road. A college student wouldn't suddenly be an engineer at Nova or a dock worker at the shipping company as an example. Someone could notice that and set off bells."
Aeto gave a few grunts in agreement as he produced a black tie and a red tie from his suitcase, giving them a careful eye before putting them back.
"Hmm, well there is another student on the list, one of you could make inquiries about him, and one should probably watch our backs. Just a thought." Konpeki said.
Kan nodded as they got to the bottom of the stairs. He waited till they were out on the street before continuing and he spoke more lowly so his voice wouldn't drift. "That's a possibility. Any idea what kind of surveillance equipment we have available. Who ever is going to hold back could keep an eye on things more efficiently that way."
The street outside the hotel was bustling with vehicles going to their various destinations, there was even a spot where vehicles could pull into to pick up or drop off their passengers or be taken by the hotel's valet service.
"The SACOS sunglasses are part of it." Konpeki then reached into her handbag, and pulled out two sets of SA-CDLD-1s, "These are listening devices, that will let you discretely listen to conversations from a distance. I'm using the SA-CDLD-2."
Aeto hung back a bit so as not to crowd, his attention more on the streets and the unnoticeables around them. "Mmm. Well, it's a man's duty to take someone out on dates. Or just sitting around with the folks for a while, no real need to bother going out if out has nothing to do." he said at his normal tone of voice, checking his breath. When the sunglasses came into view, his eye brightened like a birthyday boy with a pocket full of change at an arcade. "Heeeey. Not bad, not bad at all. They'll go good with my everything."
Kan reached out and took the offered glasses and looked them over. His brows lifted and he made a questioning sound in the back of his throat. "Interesting. Are they able to interface with data storage units? Or do they have internal units? These could come in handy..."
Konpeki smiled, "They are similiar to the Uno Sunglasses, and have all those features which includes data link. Plus a few additional features. So you can transfer what you are seeing to storage, or display what you have in your storage on them."
"And here I was bummed about leaving mine behind." Aeto hummed as he clipped them to his shirt. If I knew infiltration'd make me this studly, I wouldn'ta blown half my pay on those pants with the pre-made shotgun holes.
As the group stood there talking a cab pulled up and let its passengers disembark. The driver sat there waiting for a little bit, using his radio to talk to the operater back at the cab company.
"Are they also communications capable? We could use telepathy... but an outside communications source would be more secure I imagine." Kan saw the cab and promptly climbed into it, waiting for the others to join.
Konpeki followed Kan into the cab. She pressed the side of her glasses and and said, "Yes, they can."
Walking around the cab, Aeto idly slid his hand across the trunk as he got inside. Though he lifted his small cologne spray to his neck, the casual agent decided to put it away. "Mmm. A bit too strong to be putting on in a cab anyway."
"Where to?" the driver, an older Geshrin, asked the group as he got off the radio. "Been busy today, I think there's a convention in town or something, you know how it is with NovaCorp."
The driver was slightly tubby, probably from an inactive lifestyle, he had stubble but not a full beard, his voice was gruff and deep.
Konpeki looked at the cabbie, "A convention? At Novacorp? Why do you think there is be a convention at Novacorp?"
Aeto relaxed in his seat, pushing the sunglasses onto his face as he looked outside. Maybe he'd find some sort of possible hiding ground, a front, or something linked to their mission. Even better, he might find somewhere nice to take someone for a night out on the town.. Somewhere nice and cheap.
"Who knows. I keep seeing reporters everywhere, maybe a new release of some kind. It's good for business, that's all I know." the cabbie responded to the young neko.
Konpeki thought about what the cabbie said, All that activity would make it easy for us to check out the Novacorp facility without being noticed. "Well, perhaps we will find out what is going on. Please take us to Novacorp." She then leaned towards Aeto, and whispered. "Change of plans, lets take advantage of the reporters being at Novacorp to ask some questions. Get some images of the site, etc."
Aeto lifted his shades at the whisper, returning the whisper likewise. "Leave it to me. I'll ask so many questions we'll be able to reverse engineer power armor in a bathtub by the end of the day."
"Allright, you got it boss." the cabbie responded before pulling out of the inlet. The roads were heavily trafficked but they would be at the main NovaCorp office in about 15 minutes.
Konpeki puzzled over Aeto's response. reverse engineer power armor? a bathtub? I hope he is joking. "Well that might be a bit more than we need. For now, you see what you can get from the crowd, I will position myself to watch your back and I'll see what I can learn by a
little eavesdropping." She said tapping her ear.
Aeto tapped his ear as well, nodding. "You got it boss." Aeto took a breath as he clasped his hands, speaking normally rather than whispering. In fact, it was quite loud. "One thing I don't get though, what's all the fuss about these days anyway? Isn't someone always bringing out SOMETHING fancy and new? I'm pretty sure there's at least three new attachments for my toothbrush and a thousand tin can types that can launch into space, but not a single one that makes women more managable. AM I RIGHT?!" he shook the cab driver's chair with a few slaps.
"Hahaha, tell me about it." the cabbie laughed gruffly as he spoke. "Mine back home....she just won't shut up. "Harold get the remote." "Harold you're eating too fast." It's always Harold this and Harold th-." Harold suddenly became very quiet. "Sorry miss." The cabbie said apologetically.
Konpeki chuckled at the comments the two made. "No need to apologize, each sex is wired differently, and unfortunately, no one included a user manual to help either figure the other out."
Aeto waved his hands, continuing to jabber on. "Don't mind her. You wouldn't if you knew how many shoe boxes I've had to carry! I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Novacrap or whatever is up to anyway. If ya ask me, sounds like the old man Nova is trying to market himself out to some new ladies. Musta got their hands on some series cashflow."
Konpeki chose to ignore Aeto's comment. She instead focused her attention outside the cab. Getting images of the area, buildings and such that might be needed later in the mission.
The cabbie nodded in agreement before speaking. "Probably, I mean heck with the number of nekos in the military they could make a killing off of shoes." he replied as he pulled the cab into the inlet to let off his passengers. "Here ya are, welcome to NovaCorp's main offices. That'll be 15KS" the cabbie said as the vehicle rolled to a soft stop."
For a brief second, Aeto's front was broken entirely as he sunk back into the seat. Not from some mistake he made, or from the weight of the mission. The number of shoes was truly sickening to him. "Hmm...close." he mumbled. Not a bit of info from the driver, but it was still early.
Konpeki leaned forward and handed the driver 20 in KS. "Keep the change, it was worth you keeping my friend chatting." she said with a smile. Then she opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She looked around casually to identify what news groups were present."
"Take care boss. We're not along in our financial struggle." Aeto said to the driver as he left the car. His first search, the casual people. What kind of crowd would this NOVAcorp covention draw, and how similar or different would it be to any other? If he stood out too much, he'd have to mix himself with the other sore thumbs.
The driver chuckled a little in response to Konpeki before pulling out of the inlet and merging back into the heavy traffic. The crowd was a mix of normal citizens and reporters, but only a medium sized crowd with roughly 100-250 people, the latter swarming around the main entrance while the former merely stood around with mixed expressions on their face. Some were excited, some confused, while some only seemed to have a mild interest.
There were 2 NovaCorp security guards stationed at every entrance though more at the main entrance. Just as Konpeki and Aeto had exited the cab a NovaCorp employee dressed in a suit walked out of the main entrance and up to a podium that had been centered at the top of a short staircase that led up to the building. "Regional President Sakimoto will be out momentarily." the man said before the reporters started swarming him with questions.
Konpeki moved to have a good position to observe and record the speaker when he arrived. While waiting for the speaker to arrive, she turned towards one of the civilians standing near her and asked, "Any idea what all the excitement is about?"
Regional President such and such ay...so it's THAT kind of crowd Aeto thought as he removed his shades, placing them into his pants pocket. Respectable reporter, trasher reporter, protesting halfwit or confused no life bumming out in the streets. So many personas to choose. Rather than make a rash decision, he decided to look for this President's arrival while turned asay from Konpeki, listening for the right answer.
"NovaCorp is releasing plans for a new product line today. Something big. They've started investing heavily into Ketsurui Zaibutsu as well as a few other starship engineering firms." The civilian replied. The crowd didn't have to wait long before Regional President Sakimoto arrived. The business man was swamped with questions for the next few minutes. While the NovaCorp security and the Regional President worked to calm the crowd so that Sakimoto could speak, Aeto's communicator vibrated indicating that someone was calling him.
Too early... Aeto cursed to himself as his eyes narrowed. Trying to find the nearest semi-blinding light or annoying light source, Aeto casually placed the sunglasses back on his head. The stronger technique would have to come at a later time. "Kuh. Why did I have to come all the way out here when I could have done the same research with a live feed on my sofa. Today isn't even a good hair day." Aeto faked a miffed mumble, flicking at the comlink as he pushed some of his hair out of the way.
"Rokunohe-Hei?" a familiar voice asked, it was Yoshiko. After a few seconds she continued, "We need you guys to make a pick up. We believe that Iro Sukimade, one of the terrorists employed at NovaCorp, is using a portable data storage device that could contain information related to the terrorist activities. We need you to pick it up, preferably without him finding out." Yoshiko said.
Sean_ODuibher
Inactive Member
As the Shosa contacted the other crewmembers, Nobutora checked over the terminals again. Satisfied that the automated analysis systems were running smoothly, he powered down the interfaces and set the laptops aside. Once the Shosa finished speaking he turned to address her. “Ma’am, PANTHEON is now handling the data extrication and collation process. Once the pertinent data is flagged by the system, I can begin manual analysis but for the moment there is little left for me to do here. Is there anything else that you might need me to do, ma’am?”
Konpeki maintained her position, scanning the crowd discretely, and taking photos of the Novacorp building, including range, direction and GPS readings for possible use later in the mission. At one point she spotted Rokunohe-Hei holding his phone. Probably doing more of that nonsensical chatter he does to blend in. I'll see about recording the press announcement, it might give some insight into what's going on inside of Novacorp. she thought.
