GM:
~~~ IC ~~~

GM:
::The hours have shifted, and it is quite likely now early morning, saturday, the 2nd of February... Hours ago Tien went out walking and found himself lost, being trailed by agents in black... he put up a good cat and mouse.. never knowing whether he was hunter or hunted.. but eventually realized that there were many, and they were well armed... finding himself backed into an alley with no doors and knowing they were just behind him he took the only exit available, the sewer grate... and quickly found himself more lost beneath the city streets, but apparently beyond pursuit ... several hours passed, and he found his way to a more-traveled looking section of the sewers... within moments he was surrounded by a host of empyrean and quippothic looking figures, and he believed he was having another vision... however, it became apparent that they were real and flesh, and within a few minutes the similarity of many of them to An's appearance gave him the information he needed to realize that these were also Changed, sculpted into images that only the Pancreator had any right to create...

Tien:
::Sing of the Jumpgate Cross::

Tien:
::Sign::

GM:
one said "Ah, the priest... come with us please" and they led you to another band of mutants, such that you've counted at least 20, these leading Saburo, An, and Lan... this is where we join our party::

GM:
::An is silent with the shock of all of these last few minutes::

Tien:
I thank you, my brothers for safe passage unto my friends

GM:
::one of them nods politely to you::

Tien:
::Bow to my aids::

GM:
((is anyone logging?))

Lan:
((I shall.))

GM:
((cool, send me a copy after please, so that i might not have to repeat myself to cam))

Tien:
May the blessed Pancreator protect you during this dark days.

GM:
((cool, send me a copy after please, so that i might not have to repeat myself to cam))

Tien:
May the blessed Pancreator protect you during this dark days.

Saburo:
::walks up to Lee, grabbing him in a hug:: I am happpy to see you again, little priest!! ::smiles::

Tien:
::Turn to my friends::

Saburo:
((oops.. Tien.. lol))

Tien:
Saburo.. It is good to see you. And you all.

Saburo:
::puts him down::

Lan:
::smiles quietly. Still looks vaguely disturbed::

Tien:
Lan. An. What brings us together here?

GM:
::now that you've had a good look at them, about 10 are angelic looking, with pale skin, white hair, and black or white wings.. all of them very attractive... another 7 are demonic looking, with black bat wings, horns, and dusky skin tone.. a few more that stick to the shadows, making it hard to count, have various mutations::

Saburo:
::observes them, looking for the leader::

GM:
::the apparent leader, Aleph, is a demonic that is almost as big as a Grimson::

Saburo:
::Walks up to Aleph:: I wish to thank you for saving our lives.

Lan:
Hasty retreat. ::to Tien::

Aleph:
Think nothing of it, the boss considered you worth saving and i got to smash Jakovians... all in all a good night's work

Saburo:
Your boss? And who is he.. Or she?

Tien:
Yes, I to had to resort to the sewers for my life. I know not who was after me nor how many, but they were more then I could handle.

Aleph:
Yes, the lady... you are being taken to see her, and your friend

Tien:
::Whisper:: Jakovians?

Saburo:
Thak you again. ::turns to Tien: Yes, Jakovians.

Tien:
So, the strong arm o the Decados has made its presence known?

Saburo:
Yes. It seems that the info Kruze gave us is very valuable... Even to them.

GM:
((lee, make me an introvert + theurgy roll to see if you can use your Celestial Alignment to figure out where you're going))

Tien:
tell me, what has happened?

Lan:
::will jabber on about what happened credulously, if no-one else does::

Tien:
## InT [6] + THE [6] = 12

Lan:
::bug-eyed, even::

GM:
::and i will point out that the sewers wind very oddly, almost as if they were built to avoid a lot of subbasements::

GM:
((bill, are you mentioning the location of the stone?))

Tien:
rolled 1 20-sided die: 2

GM:
::right.. tien is sure that he is in the NE of town.. possibly outside of the wall right now, but most likely heading to just under the city's major factory areas::

Lan:
((Do... I know the location of the stone?))

Tien:
Where are we to go?

Saburo:
((Um, yes you do. You were there when Kruze said it, too..))

Lan:
((If I know it, I'm not mentioning it specifically. Just "this strange 2nd republic artifact."))

GM:
((you know that it's in a flower pot in the residence where cruze was staying, but at this point probably only Saburo knows exactly which one))

Saburo:
((damn right.)))

Saburo:
Tien, we're going to meet Aleph's oyabun.

Tien:
oyabur?

Saburo:
Boss. Leader.

Tien:
::Looking at Lan:: artifact? how do you know it is an artifact?

GM:
::and about now the fuzion torches of the mutants light on a few more mutants waiting at a corner... waiting with them, looking like he hasn't had a good shower or shave in two years, but otherwise none the worse for wear is the unmistakable Don Ricardo::

Aleph:
Hail.. we return

Lan:
S... 'what it sounded like....

GM:
::for the record, ricardo is wearing piecemeal kossack armor and found clothing::

Tien:
My Don. ::Running to him and landing at his feet.::

Saburo:
::eyebrow peaks at the sight of Lee at Ric's feet, then a shake of the head::

Tien:
Oh, how I have missed you. ::Tears:: I beg you to forgive your faithless servant.

Ricardo:
::laughing:: Get up Tien. Formalities are so out of place here

Tien:
I should have been there to aid you.

Saburo:
::eyebrow lowers, and Saburo grumbles in Japanese::

Tien:
::Open weeping::

Ricardo:
::kneels down to pick Tien up::

Saburo:
Viaba n'tene! Get up, Lee. And quit your crying.

Saburo:
((dammit, Tien.. lol))

Saburo:
((have to get used to Tien again. Been so damn long..))

Tien:
I shall never leave your side again..::sniff:: If you will have me...

Ricardo:
::Ric does look a bit leaner than before and definitely has some harder edges. Where before he looked a lot like Maria, now he looks more akin to his father::

GM:
::save not nearly so fat::

Saburo:
Can you stop this?! ::sighs, turns to Lan: :Does he always act like this around him?

GM:
::An nods slightly at saburo, then returns to brooding::

Tien:
::Hugging the Don tightly::

Ricardo:
::looking up:: I do not believe I have met you two before ::indicating Saburo and Lan::

Saburo:
Lieutenant El-Sabeh of the Muster. ::nods head::

Tien:
OH. Forgive me. Lord. ::Wipig tears away:: They have come with your sister and I to find you.

Lan:
::nods modestly:: Lan Maningzhoue. Physick.

Tien:
This is Saburo of the muster and Lan of the Apothicary.

Ricardo:
I am Ricardo Valentin Eduardo of the Hazat.

GM:
((just reminder to bill and adam if you forgot, finding Ric was the secondary mission even if tien didnt think so))

Lan:
M'lord. ::acknowledges title evenly::

Lan:
((Ah. Well. Shyte. We're done here. I don't get to play with the local flora!))

Saburo:
Oh, the 'Don Ric' we were looking for? ::slight grin:: Your picture makes you look 10 lbs. heavier.

GM:
((the primary mission is still unsolved.. it being discovering the source of the selchaka and figuring out a plan for dealing with it))

Saburo:
So, where's your ward?

Ricardo:
Ward? Do you mean my son or my wife?

Saburo:
your wife.

Tien:
Your wife

GM:
((you were never actually married to eldritch.. you were abducted too soon))

Tien:
She was with you when you were attacked/

Ricardo:
((edit wife to fiancee))

GM:
((right then))

Saburo:
Have you seen her? Is she around?

Ricardo:
She is somewhere up there ::flicks eyes upwards:: Our mutual friends have here locked away somewhere.

Ricardo:
((here=her))

Tien:
Then we must find your sister and go and rescue her

GM:
::at this point a number of the changed have left, leaving you all alone with about a half dozen guards::

Saburo:
So ka. Aleph, do you know anything of her whereabouts?

GM:
::aleph, in fact, is gone::

GM:
::he has, Ric suspects, gone to update the boss on the events of tonight::

Saburo:
::snaps fingers:: damn, he's gone. Hazat-sama, is there any way to meet this 'boss'?

Ricardo:
She will meet you when she is ready. She is not the most trusting of individuals.

Tien:
Who has done this to them? made them flip sides of coins

Ricardo:
What do you mean?

Saburo:
Have you met her, Ricardo?

Tien:
((did ya'll get that last comment?

GM:
((no))

Tien:
Who has done this to them? Made them flip sides of a coin?

Ricardo:
((Ric doesn't understand what you mean by that))

Saburo:
((neither does Saburo))

GM:
((An probably does, but he's not lucid))

Tien:
::Tien then realizes that AN heard him:: I mean, who has made these fair souls unto the changed?

Lan:
Someone with fairly exacting knowhow? ::ventures::

Ricardo:
Ah. Our considerate hosts ::taps some of his Jakovian armor:: It's hard to believe we were actually allied with them in the Emperor Wars.

Lan:
::begins to contemplate the politics of Noble houses and high technology. With accompanying sour stomach::

Aleph:
::aleph sticks his head out:: The boss will see you all whenever you're ready

Tien:
::Tien is so over joyed to find his Don, but senses that AN does not wish to be filled with joy.::

Ricardo:
And yes,... is it El-Sabeh or Saburo... I have met her and let's not keep her waiting. ::gets up and indicates for the others to follow::

Saburo:
::following, contemplating:: Call me Saburo, Ric. ::proffers hand::

Tien:
::Tien extends his hand to AN,:: Come Friend.

Ricardo:
::shakes Saburo's hand::

GM:
::An, of course, is still silently following... Ric leads you down to where Aleph popped out of, and down another short length of sewer into an area that is lit by fuzion lamps powered off of spliced conduits...

Saburo:
::nods:: I may call you Ric, ne?

GM:
a few short chambers look cut into, and it's obvious that holes were made to make rooms out of abandoned sub-basements... many look like barracks, though you see a mess area and storage rooms... doors are in short supply though

Ricardo:
That will be fine.

GM:
several doors have ruined cloth hanging over them for some privacy...

Saburo:
::looking around::

GM:
once such room you are led into... it is well lit and the walls are covered with sheets of paper with maps and information written on them... a salvaged wooden desk is near the rear of the room which is no more than some 20' x 20'.. The room is clean, but shabby, and you can see another hanging in the back that seems to be covering a spare bed chamber... those who have visited the Baroness of Nuevomilan cannot help but be struck by the parallels ... against a corner, Aleph is leaning, sorting through a stack of notes, and behind the desk is a young woman, a bit older than Tien and An, a bit younger than the rest of you.. mid twenties... she has auburn hair and green eyes and is fairly attractive, in a way that says Hawkwood breeding to any of you with familiarity with that house... she is wearing obviously scavenged and functional clothing, though of the nicest material you've seen on any of the other changed... and changed she obviously is, as a pair of reddish-tinged white wings protrude from her back and rest on the back of her chair, also sorting through papers::

Saburo:
::curt nod of greeting::

Tien:
::Bow deeply to the lady::

Meredith:
::she notes your arrival after a moment:: Oh, welcome... I'm sorry that I don't have any other chairs to offer you, so I'll stand ::and she does, using her wings for balance in a natural-seeming way:: ::bows:: I am Dame Meredith Hawkwood of Ravenna.. or was before I came here... I take it these are your friends Ric?

Lan:
::Thinks all these people are sexy in a "cool to dissect" way. Nods politely.::

Tien:
((LOL))

Saburo:
::taken by her bearing:: Saburo El-Sabeh, Meredith-sama.

Tien:
Tien Xuan Hai Dinh

Ricardo:
::nods:: Well, An and Tien are, but Saburo here and Lan are their friends.

Meredith:
I heard about the abduction of your sister Ric, I'm sorry

Tien:
::Bows deeply again::

Saburo:
You have much humility, Dame Meredith. It is very.. Refreshing.

Meredith:
You don't need to do that Tien.. down here none of us is entitled to any more respect than we've earned

Tien:
You have returned my lord unto me. I will always be gradteful. ::Bows ::

Meredith:
Thank you Saburo... it's one thing that i have learned down here

Saburo:
How did you come to be here, if you do not mind me asking?

Meredith:
I was an emissary to the Decados after the War... I pissed off the wrong person and was captured and used as an experiment... I managed to escape and have been putting together this little resistance ever since

Lan:
::perks at the mention of experiments, but keeps his tongue in his head::

Meredith:
as you can tell from the fact that my hair is still colored, the experiment was only partly completed on me

Saburo:
I am... Deeply sorry, Dame Meredith.

Meredith:
Just in case it is not clear, you are not prisoners here, but are under our protection on Ric's advice for as long as you need to stay. So... you have other questions? I may be able to answer a few of them, and you may be able to help me with some of mine once you're done

Saburo:
Yes.. Is there any way you can find out about the location of Ric's fiancee?

Tien:
You als know of Maria's abduction. Do you know where we can rescue her?

Meredith:
It might be the same place.. there are a number of suspicious locations.. unfortunately we do not have the power to raid them all

Lan:
Begging your pardon, milady, you said experiments on your person were left incomplete? Can I assume there are others here in like condition? Does your health suffer? Can I... be of some assistance?

Meredith:
Some of us have genetic defects from the mutation, yes, usually manifesting in weak immune systems.. some of us have weaknesses in various organs ::at this point An goes into one of his regular coughing fits, punctuating the statement:: But those of us that could not cope with the physical changes have already died

Lan:
::nods mutely::

Tien:
::Jumpgate cross:: May the pancreator have mercy on their souls.

Meredith:
Some of us were born Changed, but most of us were mutated deliberately

Saburo:
Some sort of... Military experiemtation?

Saburo:
((oops.. experimentation..))

Meredith:
We aren't exactly sure... Aleph here is obviously designed to fight ::he grins slightly and flexes a bicep for emphasis, then goes back to his work::...

Lan:
It sounds like an extensive program. Having taken unwilling subjects, I deplore it, medically speak. It also leaves me a bit... awestruck. I must admit.

Lan:
((speakING))

Meredith:
however this Cyrille i've heard about seems to have been made as a spy... many of us seem to have been made, however, almost as a kind of artistic statement

Tien:
Yes, the dicodimy.

Saburo:
::shakes head again, ice creeping into his voice:: The Decados version of 'art'.

Ricardo:
((dichotomy?))

Tien:
When I first saw your people, I thought that I was having a vision.

Tien:
((Yes))

Meredith:
I'm not sure the Decados as a whole can be blamed... the Jakovians seem to largely work as their own power without the jurisdiction of the local nobles ::you note that every time she says Jakovian there is a hint of fury beneath it::

Tien:
((I can't spell worht a darn))

Saburo:
So the Jakovians are.. independant? Without restraint?

Meredith:
Or guided by only a few nobles, not necessarily even highly placed within the family... this is only rumours and gathered clues, of course

Saburo:
((brb))

Tien:
Is all of this being funded by the sale of posion and death on other worlds?

Meredith:
From what i've been told, it's entirely possible

Lan:
Designer drugs are childsplay in comparison to this kind of work.

Saburo:
((bak))

Tien:
Then we must stop the flow of these drugs and end their production. For good.

Meredith:
That would be a step, obviously.. but it's not necessarily their only funding

Saburo:
But what if the production is being funded by the Jakovians?

Meredith:
What we need is a way to destroy enough equipment to make it too expensive to continue with the work... and then figure out a way to get to Leagueheim for treatment

Tien:
What then, can you tell of their operations and secret dens of death?

Meredith:
::she gives Ric a "your friends certainly are melodramatic" look::

Lan:
::starts contemplating the possibilities for rogue retroviruses sabotaging post-natal genetic engineering::

Ricardo:
::chuckles to self::

Meredith:
Unfortunately not a whole lot... we mostly live day to day and try to take out Jakovians whenever possible... we've disrupted a few bases where Changed were being held, but not enough

Lan:
I'm wondering ::rubbing his eyes:: if there'd be other ways to sabotage their work.

Meredith:
I'm open to suggestions

Lan:
With the right facilities... and someone who knew just a bit more than me... ::Drums his fingers on his chest, thinking:: There ought to be a way to engineer interference retroviruses and release them.

Meredith:
We're hoping so, but not with the absence of tech that we have here

Lan:
Just something that'd call up the immune system against the delivery agent.

Saburo:
Then, there's our first priority. Maybe we can get the Hawkwood to talk to the Lady Decados... To 'borrow' some tech.. Maybe some arms as well...

Lan:
Believe me, rogue viral agents ::grins, as if remembering college days:: totall screw with the ability to diagnose and predict any... ::shuts up::

Meredith:
The Questing Knight?

Saburo:
Yes, Godfrey-sama.

Meredith:
::she looks at a note:: He was apparently escorted directly to the starport and put on a ship offworld

Saburo:
::chin in hand:: so ka. Then can we get an audience with her? Or maybe procure some tech another way? Raid a Jakovian center?

Meredith:
It depends, do you want to walk into the center of the city's government offices, where dozens of Jakovian agents are on duty at all times, in order to meet someone that may not be trustworthy?

Saburo:
no.. Not into the center of the offices... ::grins:: Under them.

Meredith:
We might be able to raid a center, but not for long enough to do any research.. and the baroness' building goes quite deep underground

Saburo:
::Turns to Tien:: Do you think we can get an audience with the Baroness, again? Rather, can you?

Meredith:
I can probably give you cover enough to go after whatever item this is that the Jakovians want you for

Saburo:
That would.. ::turns to the rest of the group:: Would that suffice?

Lan:
Hell, if we could get rid of that, I'd love to study it. I ... don't know the fellow that well. Do you all believe what he said about it?

Lan:
(rid--> hold)

Saburo:
He says it... Changed... Him. We have to be careful not to touch it...

Lan:
Or... make sense of it?

Tien:
I'm not sure

Saburo:
It's worth a try, is it not?

Tien:
Yes. I believe that it is

Saburo:
Lan?

Lan:
::nosd::

Saburo:
An?

GM:
::an nods::

Saburo:
::turns back to meredith:: Then we are agreed.

Meredith:
Right, then I will send you on your way ... though i encourage you to wait until tonight, as it is getting near dawn and you all look as if you havent slept in a while

Lan:
::nods in admission::

Saburo:
You are very gracious, Daimyanaso Meredith. Again, I am honored. ::bows slightly::

Lan:
I'm sure, we're all greatful.

Tien:
Yes, let us sleep. And we can all sleep well knowing that we are indeed safe ::Then his mind flicts back to Maria::

Saburo:
::covering mouth while he yawns:: Yi Na'asi, Dame Meredith. Good night.

GM:
::they show you to a spare room with some bedding.. it's not good bedding, but it's cared for and clean, and you can all rest::

Tien:
::He bows his head and says a silent prayer for her safe return.::