[WAR] Role Play: Terminus

[Neo Emolga]

Noah "Neo" Ashfield
Slateport City, Hoenn
Affected RPers: Tazz

Still wearing my gas mask, I had Smoky let out a nice, long fart through the ventilation system, releasing toxic gas throughout the interior of the ship. It called for an immediate evacuation, and they pulled the alarms, but eh, so what. I couldn't care less.

While the gas worked its magic, I had Smoky the Skuntank and Snuff the Dragonite guard the doors while I started up the Entourage and prepared to sail it out of here. I managed to get the Entourage out of the docks before I was suddenly greeted on the radio.

"Captain Thompson, what the hell is going on in your ship!?" The obviously cranky as hell operator shouted at me. I didn't know whether it was a commanding officer or some two-bit chump working the radio lines, but all these army snots were all the same to me.

"Well howdy-do," I told him sarcastically. "Captain Thompson... man, I've always hated that name. Anyway, Captain Asscrack was thirsty. He's not here right now. If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up and dial your operator."

"Who the hell are you!?" He shouted. "You are commandeering government property, and we will shoot you down if you do not surrender immediately!"

I kept wasting his time.

"Sorry, you're breaking up," I told him. "Or... you're congested. What was that?"

"You deaf!?" He shouted again. "If you do not surrender now, we will board and you will be shot on sight!"

"Oh, oh, ok," I replied, nodding, trying hard not to laugh. "Sorry buddy, your radio was... you know... kind of fuzzy like and I didn't get what you were saying. I mean, at some points, you were coming in like REALLY LOUD, and then other parts I thought you were just whispering or something. You said something about coming on and boning right? And sandering or sundering or something like that?"

"Boarding and surrendering!"

Meanwhile, the ship kept moving on. Buying time and distance. If anything, he was now going to have to deploy Rhib boats to try and board, as I had already left port. Slateport City was going further and further into the distance.

"Oh, geez!" I laughed. "Ha ha, big difference! My bad, I hope no one else heard that!"

"This is your last chance!" He exclaimed.

Definitely cranky. Yeah. But I was making good time, and he was wasting it. In the meantime, the Hoenn military was only just starting to notice one of their ships was waving goodbye, and chances were good they'd never see it again. I knew it would cause a commotion, but hey, I had a backup plan for that also.

---

Janine "Angel" Price
AMS Deathwing, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: Lord Celebi (Norb Whitehall)

I was notified that some of the peeps on the higher up wanted to be absolutely sure PokéTarts wouldn't backfire on Aqua. They wanted to be totally certain Happy Buneary Candies wouldn't be traceable to Team Aqua, and that it would be just as secretive as an invisible Willy Wonka chocolate factory. I mean come on, I even made a cute and convincing website for it! It even featured an interactive Flash game!

Someone, I wasn't sure who, was concerned about the candy causing the Hoenn FDA to investigate. PLEASE. The Hoenn FDA? We were building gatling railguns for stolen aircraft carriers, preparing to wage war on these peeps, and they're worried about a few suits showing up at our doors? Let me guess, they're afraid of heights, germs, boogers, his own reflection, and that scene in Game of Thrones where the Mountain guy makes that dude's head go splat with his hands. Who were these saps anyway? I kept asking but hey, it was all hush.

PokéTarts was going to make money like a crazy Spinda on CRACK. These guys had nothing to worry about, just so as long as they didn't feed any of their Pokémon that stuff.

In the meantime, PokéTarts was being mass produced on islands away from Mirage Island. I was told by a dude by the name of Craig Jones that the stuff would be ready for distribution throughout Hoenn in just a short while. Couldn't wait for the action!

With the working prototype of the Liquidator complete, the actual gun itself was now being created and would soon be operational. In a one on one fight with any other ship, the Deathwing was sure to win now. Sure, it had a stronger chance already, but now, we were going to rock the waters.

Shadowfall tanks were now being produced after prototype tests worked and aced the testing exams. It would be a while before they were ready to be deployed, but once they were ready, we were going to have an armored division that would totally beat the ugly stuffing out of anyone else. And I was going to bring popcorn to that flick.

There were also rumors floating around that some people didn't like MEND and thought the project should be whacked. Probably because they didn't know anything about it! MEND was started as an experimental project, but Tiantus confirmed this was really possible and we were going to make it work! Once they saw it in action, they were going to love it, but canning the project now was really going to be a waste.

[Lord Celebi]

Norton "Norb" Whitehall
Marigold's Fine Dining, Evergrande
Hoenn
Affected RPers: None

DyneTech was going to be an incredibly tough nut for Whitehall to crack. However, if he wanted to be able to keep his newly acquired chess piece in play, he was going to have to find a way to ensure money flowed freely from DyneTech into Orson Barkley's coffers, even if Hoenn (or Team Aqua for that matter) declared war on Orre. It was for this reason that he was sending Makoto on site to find a way to take control of all or part of DyneTech through whatever means possible. He knew that Makoto was probably going to have to acquire the necessary wealth on site to acquire a piece of DyneTech. All that really meant was a few more dead rich people in Orre--no consequence to him.

Across from him at the dining table was Isaiah Carnegie, Hoenn's Secretary of the Treasury. Before his stint in public service, Carnegie had earned the nickname "The Last Financial Wizard of Hoenn" for his almost perfect predictions of the world's stock market. So good that the general consensus was that there never would be someone as brilliant as Carnegie. With Carnegie at the helm of the Treasury, Hoenn law required him to liquidate all of his assets. This liquidation caused a brief, worldwide recession a few years ago, which gave the Financial Wizard second thoughts about the position.

"So what is it that you want to know about Orre?" Carnegie asked in between bites of steak. Whitehall had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to pick up the bill--Carnegie was that kind of guy. Whitehall would also be wont to put it on the State's tab were he to pay for the meal, something that Carnegie was opposed to in principle. "I understand that the Defense Committee is running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure out who to aim our cannons at."

Carnegie was very staunchly anti-war. As he constantly reminded the country on his blog, "War is bad for trade." It was true. It's hard to trade with a country if, say, the shipment of pineapples Country A was sending to Country B could just as likely be grenades. Whitehall was unconcerned with the drop in trade for he assumed the entire world would be under his thumb at the end of World War Terminus. "Oh, I know, Isaiah. We cannot go to war. It would do untold damage to Hoenn's economy. What I need from you is information about how Orre's economy is essential to the functioning of Hoenn's, so I can bring it back to the committee and bring them back to their senses."

Carnegie pondered this for a second, "I could just testify for you."

His plan threatened, Whitehall replied, "That's very kind of you to offer, but I think it would sound better coming from me. These men work with me all the time--they're used to me and they'll listen to me eventually. Now, if the Last Financial Wizard were to descend from the heavens and issue commandments, well, I assure you that they'll be aiming their cannons to heaven* after they're done with Orre."

"Right, right, that makes sense," Carnegie copped a smile. Whitehall was immediately relieved that Carnegie didn't need to be talked down from the idea of testifying. Not only would that throw a wrench into his plans for the Defense Committee, but he wouldn't find out what he needed for Makoto. "Well, Orre's biggest company is one by the name of DyneTech Industries. You may have heard of them--I'm pretty sure that they're Orson Barkley's biggest donors."

"Why no, I haven't, and it saddens me to hear rumors that one of my esteemed colleagues is illegally taking foreign campaign contributions," Whitehall feigned disappointed. "I really thought you were a better man than to spread gossip, Isaiah."

Carnegie scoffed. "Oh, I know about every single dollar that comes in and out of this country. I just can't prove it. That's what the HECU is for anyways." Carnegie cited the Hoenn Election Contribution Unit. "Though, I can't seem to figure out how Team Aqua keeps moving money in and out of this country. I'm confident that we'll catch up to whoever is laundering their money soon enough though."

The old politician feigned another emotion: laughter. He made a mental note to find a way to throw Carnegie off of his tracks later.

"Anyways, DyneTech... But Industrial company: makes everything from computer chips to cell phones to refrigerators. They mostly employ cheap labor comprised of the massive amount of refugees in Orre from the sectarian violence in the northern mountains. The lack of labor laws really makes it cheap for them. Many of their principle shareholders are government employees, actually, which is why this arrangement is still legal. Darwin Lynch is a majority shareholder that comes to mind, actually. He was a white collar criminal in Hoenn until he went turncoat and got Orre citizenship. The government set him up in DyneTech. He hates Hoenn with a bitter passion."

Whitehall smiled. He had what he needed.

*For more of Norb Whitehall and Isaiah Carnegie's adventures, be sure to read Cannons to Heaven, kids. This product placement paid for by "rusty really wants someone to read his fan fiction" Inc.

[TheProtobabe]

Helena Gray
Harper Industries Headquarters in Goldenrod City
Affected RPers: @XaiakuX

Helena's oceanic eyes tracked Bane carefully, noting for future reference the Ice Punch he was preparing. Obviously she knew her Crobat was quicker, but there was no guarantee that the bat wouldn't get nicked by the ice and potentially damage her powerful wings. The woman made sure Lance had clicked his Pokeball shut before withdrawing her own Pokemon.

"Narcisa," she called calmly. The bat seemed disappointed not to have had a battle, but allowed herself to be tucked safely into the ball anyway. Helena cocked an eyebrow as Lance circled her, the only sign of emotion she willingly showed as he attempted to size her up.

Honestly, there wasn't much to see besides her tiny form and comfortable, close-fit clothing that was purposefully dark in color. Her hair was up in a plain ponytail, Pokeball belt slung across her hip with leather wrappings securing each ball so they wouldn't clack against one another as her body moved. She looked a common thief, if anything.

His circling was irritatingly macho, though she moved slightly every time he entered a blind spot so she could counter if needed. He reminded her of a fighting dog, sizing up its opponent before diving in for an attack. Men.

In contrast, she was a cat--small, cautious, ready to be attacked, with slicing claws and nimble feet that could climb away.

"Information, Harper," she answered finally, and met his eyes unflinchingly. "There are things I need, namely from your parents' killer. Tell me..." Her voice changed, more lilting and curved into the form of a question. "Do you plan on going after him, or am I to find him without your aid?"

[Homura]

Jans "Agricola" Hanson
Harper Industries Headquarters in Goldenrod City
Affected RPers: @Lord Celebi, @Death's Spook

“You’ve been a big help for me and I’d hate to risk you, especially on something trivial. I should be arriving in the building shortly, and I want to know why you’re telling me to send you into danger. If the reward is greater than the risk, I may be amenable, but I’m not sending you there if you just happen to be thrill seeking. It would not be right for me to do so to a friend.”

Jans heard the message loud and clear. Alastair Harper was to Jans a stepping stone to wealth. Unfortunately, despite Oliver's best efforts, the money wasn't quite where he wanted it to be at, so a few odd jobs here and there with Alastair was well within reason for him to take. Of course, he was aware that he would be dealing with yet another Harper. They weren't quite the right type of people to associate with often. This Alastair had his way with words, but his kindness hid his intentions too much for Jans. He felt he needed to be careful with him. He sent a message back.

"Since when is Hoenn a dangerous place? I assure you that I need transportation to Slateport. Something small. Nothing more than a small trip to deal with some work related issues with the goings on in the company. I cannot tell you the details, but I can also assure you that this will be useful for the company in the long run for me to go there physically."

He was not persuaded that his tracking of Whitehall would be something that he could reveal to anybody. The price would be too high. However, Alastair would most certainly have eyes wherever Jans himself would go. No doubt. He had a plan to take the crew with him, but to abandon them as he arrived at Slateport afterwards. He needed, for the most part, to be alone for the job, and having anymore around would be trouble. He'd simply have to operate while doing his best to put a veil on Alastair's eyes.

Jans readied his gear. If anything, Alastair should only need the press of a button to summon the transportation he needed. Over that time, he could go over the complex alogrithms he'd need to deal with the architecture of the communication satellite. Funk was his target, and nobody would know about this.

[XaiakuX]

Lance Harper
Harper Industries Headquarters in Goldenrod City
Affected RPers: @TheProtobabe

---

"Uncle Van, what's the point of learning all this? I don't see where this will become necessary in life," Lance groaned to his uncle. He was bored of all of the tactical rubbish that Giovanni was feeding him.

"If you don't realize the point of this, then you prove your own ignorance!" Giovanni snapped at Lance, "You need to work on the way you speak to people. To be able to hold and control a conversation is essential for when you become a businessman. Control is the key to power, success, and leadership."

It wasn't certain if Giovanni was trying to teach Lance to become a man, or to become a puppet. He spoke of control and power almost as fondly as he would speak of Alastair. For some reason, Giovanni favored Alastair over Lance, which didn't bother him, but did beg to question why.

"Uncle Van, I'll do my best to be the best man I can possibly become. I'll make you proud!" Lance declared, with his own pride showing through his words.

"Idiot child! You need to do this for you, not for me! I'm not your father, I am not the one you need to make proud. Focus on you, and make everything you do for your benefit. If it doesn't go your way, either make it your way, or abandon it. It isn't worth the time and effort when you could be doing something more worthwhile. This is business, this is how things get done. These lessons are to teach you that principal."

---

His pacing was slow, relaxed, and genuinely nonthreatening. He took note of her defensive reactions as he approached her blind spots. Then she asked him a question that he almost didn't know how to answer. He stood to his back to her, where he could not see her, to test her. "If you are asking if will I be hunting Giovanni to avenge the death of my parents, the answer to your question is 'no.' Revenge is something I've never believed in, and there is a much bigger work here that my parents didn't give me much detail in. I need that information, and I know who can get it. My goal at this point is simply to learn. To assess this situations from all sides before deciding my next move," he spoke with an indirect tone, hinting his split feelings on the situation. It hurt him to say that his parents weren't the bigger picture. That revenge wasn't the answer. However, he needed to look at it as a man, and not as a son. His heart was broken, and his mind was clouded with various thoughts and memories.

He stood silent for a moment, then spoke up, "You watched the video, meaning you know about as much as I do. You also know not to tell my brother should we encounter him." He turned to face her, once more, after fighting back any emotions his previous statements might have surfaced, "We have a common goal, and I see no reason why we shouldn't work together to get this information. Clearly you prefer stealth as a tactic. While I could detect you, I'm well trained in detecting your sort. I prefer a direct approach. I've got a bit of a silver tongue, and a reputation as 'bad boy.' It works for me in getting what I want."

He recalled in his mind the many times his mouth got him out of sticky situations, then recalled how many of those times his mouth got him into those situations to begin with. A look of horrified revelation appeared on his face for a moment, until he scoffed and shook his head. He wondered for a moment if his own tactic was the correct one. But he wasn't really comfortable in any other form, so it had to be this.

He strode over a short distance to a wall, which bore a knob. He twisted the knob to the right, and the office room got brighter. Everything became more clearly visible, and everything that was hidden in shadow was revealed. He twisted the knob until it clicked. Then he pushed the the knob into the wall, which caused the wall to separate and form into a doorway. The door way led to a small room which had several fine suits and clothes.

For the first time in what seemed like months, he closed his eyes, and cracked a smile. He turned to look at Helena "I guess it's time for Lance Harper, Bachelor CEO, to make an appearance. Unfortunately, to the public eye, I can't be seen with someone dressed like she's ready to go to a Saffron City rave. Don't worry though, when the time comes to infiltrate, you can wear whatever you want. This is merely for your public appearance."

Lance paused, and thought for a moment. "Of course! I know how to rebuild this company! This is perfect. Already a step in the right direction. This will also deliver a blow to Giovanni's pride," he walked into the closet and grabbed a suit as he spoke, the suit was black, with a red dress shirt, and black tie. He also grabbed a pair of dress shoes to match the suit. "I know we just met and all, but I need you to trust me. I'll fill you in on the details if you go grab something dressy that will fit you out of that closet. If this works, we'll have our information, and we'll be able to pursue Giovanni to stop him."

[TheProtobabe]

Helena Gray
Harper Industries Headquarters in Goldenrod City
Affected RPers: @XaiakuX

"If you are asking if will I be hunting Giovanni to avenge the death of my parents, the answer to your question is 'no.'"

A wave of icy heat crashed through Helena's chest. So, she'd have to do it alone, then. Lance Harper was probably one of those people who didn't believe in revenge... his continued speech confirmed this. She had half a mind to slip away right then, seeing as Harper would be useless to her... but she stayed and listened until he was finished.

His voice was uncertain, and try as he might have to keep it hidden--emotional. Helena absently wondered what that was like. Then he mentioned working together to obtain a common goal. If she had a cat's ears, they would have perked forward in interest. She ignored his comment about himself and faced him directly, arms crossing, chin tilting up as if to say 'I'm listening'.

But before she could even answer him, he strode away to click a button, revealing a huge closet of clothing. He picked out an outfit for himself, gesturing for her to do the same. If she was a more expressive person, Helena's mouth would have dropped open as his blatant display of power. He knew she'd take the offer--he was so confident, he was talking to her about the next 'mission' already! Talk about arrogance...

But she did need him, as much as she was loath to admit it. So she strode forward, swallowing her pride, and selected a simple but elegant black dress. This one was cocktail length, and covered her entire front with a formed fit all the way up to her throat, clasping at the back of her neck and dropping dramatically to expose her elegant spine and shoulder blades. A pair of patent black heels finished the look, along with a simple comb to put her hair up into a simple bun at the crown of her head. She left her single earring in her right ear, but added a pair of black feather earrings to the second ear piercings up the side of her cartilage. There wasn't any makeup around, but her dark lashes really didn't require any. Not to mention her natural beauty was far better than the cheap makeup, anyway.

"All right, then, Lance Harper," she sighed, tucking away her various tools and hiding her Pokeball utility belt under her skirt as a garter. "It seems you've a new partner. Oh, and it wouldn't look very good to the public if you didn't even know your lady friend's name..." A tiny smile curved the corner of her mouth, barely perceptible. "It's Helena."

[TheoreticalSelkie]

Clarisse Thompson
Oceanic Museum, Slateport City, Hoenn
Affected RPer: Tazz

Clarisse scratched her chin, smiling gaily as she crossed the large hall to where the main exhibits were -- the meteorite. She was wheeling a stout metal cart with several boxes, intended for some of the artifacts. Or rather, should it be him we are talking about here? Donning a beard and glasses among other things, Clarisse easily passed for the museum curator, a short, meek man, who certainly did not deserve to be shoved into an uncomfortable cabinet somewhere in the archives. If it was any consolation for the poor guy, once this was all over, the soldiers should at least be able to find him.

Her target was the meteorite. She had received news a while back about how the rock had been moved from its usual place at the space center to the more lightly guarded Oceanic Museum in Slateport. As to why she wanted to steal it, it was really for the challenge... or lack thereof for a thief of Clarisse's skills. Well, she did intend to return it at some point. Considering that a good amount of the Hoenn navy was stationed near the city, it was reasonable to assume that the firepower would be a deterrent to any would-be thieves, her excluded. Clarisse had flown out from Johto, leaving Ace to fill in for her while she was gone. And perhaps, she could pick up some of the other rarities she had her eyes on -- the stone tablets on various mythos in the world for instance.

"Good day, Mr. Haputenal and Mr. Ralles." Clarisse greeted the two navy members guarding the entrance to the meteorite's exhibit, pitching her voice to match the curator's. She pointed at the cart, holding up a set of keys lovingly filched from the real curator's desk. "I need to take in some of the exhibit items for daily inspection, so could you make sure no one enters the exhibit in the meantime? I'll return them as soon as possible because of our crowd today."

"Morning, Mr. Rosehall. It all looks good. We should expect you back within the hour?" The guard commented, checking the cart.

"Yes, it shouldn't take too long."

She had a bit of an easier time pushing through the crowd with the cart in front of her. At least, no one wanted to be run over by a short curator on their fun day out. The meteorite was on a stand in a glass case, unlocked with one of the keys on the ring. She pulled on some surgical gloves and put the meteorite into one of the boxes lined with packing peanuts. Since her interests also included some of the mythos of various regions, she also took the array of stone tablets in the other cases and then closed the boxes. First step... done.

Smiling, Clarisse, or rather, Mr. Rosehall bid farewell to the guards. She strolled across the hall with the cart in tow, humming a light melody.

[Neo Emolga]

Noah "Neo" Ashfield
HAN Entourage, Route 134, Hoenn
Affected RPers: N/A

These chumps were starting to pursue with RHIBs and a patrol boat. I managed to get all the way to the sea route 134 before they finally caught up to me. Figured it was time to play my hand on this trick.

"You're a dead man, whoever you are!" The commanding officer shouted into the radio. "You don't stand a chance when we board you!"

Nuh uh.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I told him, snickering. "You see, Captain Chumps, you're going to give me this ship and back off. Like, right now in fact."

"The name's McBride, you half-wit!" He shouted back at me.

"McBride, Chumps, what's the difference?" I asked, shrugging and smiling as the Entourage made great distance. "Any-who, you're going to give me this ship because if you don't, I'm blowing up the Enforcer, Paladin, and the Legionnaire. So you're going to end up losing three ships instead of one. While you weren't looking, I had a few friends disguised as your friends wire up the engine rooms of those ships. A little click and those nice, big, expensive ships become real estate for all the water Pokémon in the bay."

It made me wonder if he thought it was going to be a bluff. If he did and tried to continue his attack, I was blowing one of these suckers up just to prove my point. Also, I lied about the engine rooms and having the help wiring the bombs. But, why not get them wasting the time to look for the bombs in the engine rooms and suspect some of their own navy soldiers? Seemed like fun to me.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists!" He shouted. "You're nothing but a thief!"

Oh yeah, figured he'd say that sooner or later. They always do...

"Aww, I think of this more like an adoption," I smiled, figuring I might as well continue wasting his time. "It sounds so much nicer. Don't you think so?"

"Where the hell are you taking my ship!?" He shouted.

"Why, back to Orre, of course," I lied again, laughing. "Think of this as an exchange for what happened at Realgam Tower and for 'adopting' our Dracaria. You send your clowns to steal our metal and blow up one of our iconic buildings... yeah, you can bet your crotch you'll pay for that. Generously."

That would get them thinking this was more payback from Orre. What's better than killing two birds with one stone? Having those two birds kill each other.

[Lord Celebi]

Raidon Makoto
AMS Deathwing, Mirage Island
Hoenn
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga

After only one glance at the docket Whitehall had given him, Raidon Makoto knew that this mission was going to be a long one. He was to find a way into DyneTech through whatever means necessary, either through coercion or through on-site wealth acquisition. Both would be tough to pull off, but Makoto had done it before and Makoto knew that he could do it again. The dread lord of the Deathwing had returned to his seat of power momentarily in order to visit his old friends and prepare for the new mission. Aqua's flagship and headquarters was parked at Mirage Island in the East Hoenn Sea. This made it particularly hard to track the movement and location of both Aqua's headquarters and Aqua itself. While normally it would be impossible to find Mirage Island again to either reunite with the Deathwing or redock it, Tyrus "Tiantus" Hale had installed a homing device on the island so all the Aquas would be able to find their way home.

"Commander on the deck!" one of the grunts in the Navigations Room yelled as Makoto walked in. Non-essential personnel immediately dropped what they were doing and saluted Makoto. Makoto waved his hand and mumbled "at ease." He slouched back in his chair, one leg over the armrest and his opposite elbow dug into the other supporting the fist that held his head up.

Makoto waved his free hand, "Captain Lando, catch me up."

Captain Reg Lando of Internal Affairs approached Makoto's sea throne and fumbled with a tablet for a moment. Lando was easily the oldest soldier on the Deathwing. He has to be pushing sixty by now... Makoto pondered. The Captain was an enigma: one day he just showed up at the Deathwing and asked for a job. When Makoto had Internal Affairs do a background check on him, they couldn't find a damn thing. It was almost as if he had been born the day he had joined Aqua. Lando proved to be an excellent soldier and climbed the ranks of Aqua very quickly. "The prototype for the Liquidator has been completed at our foundry on Mirage Island. Captain Sasuka of the Aqua Corps of Engineers had reported that the prototype is in good working order and construction on the working model has begun. They hope to have it attached to the Deathwing shortly."

"That's good to hear. I'm looking forward to being able to fire that thing," Makoto said excitedly, pointing at a big red button on his armrest. "What about Project MEND?"

"It's chugging. I haven't seen Tiantus in a few days now. I hate to imagine what the lab smells like..." Lando trailed off.

"He had a shower installed in that lab for a reason. Besides, he's working with Kaede. There's no way she'd let Tiantus work like a scumbag. As far as she's concerned, "Skunkworks" is an ironic title, not a literal one," Makoto explained to the Captain.

"That does sound like Kaede," Lando agreed rather readily. "Anyways, that's pretty much it. Janine is working on a few projects of her own down in her lab, but I haven't had a report on my desk in a few days now. I'm thinking I should pay her a visit soon."

Makoto yawned. "Excellent. Dismissed, Captain." Lando hung around the Navigations Room to obtain reports from the crew operating the ship's essential systems. Makoto emerged from his chair and wandered below deck to the common area. Finch Reynolds was playing billiards with Frank Bueller and Peter Jennings, two Aqua skippers.

"Not with the Skunkworks?" Makoto asked Reynolds. Reynolds finished a trick shot from behind his back before even processing what Makoto had asked him.

"Oh, no. Kaede kicked me out hours ago. Said I was "distracting" her," Reynolds laughed. More like Tiantus was tired of the heavy sexual tension... Makoto thought. "Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on them though. I'll be the first person to know if there's an intruder in his lab."

"Actually, Finch, I was thinking of taking you off of Skunkworks' security for a few weeks for a special mission. Our patron saint wants us to go to Orre and take care of some business for him. I'd absolutely hate to go alone, so I thought this might be a good opportunity to spend some quality time with you," Makoto summarized his plans.

Reynolds gave Makoto a thousand-yard stare. "Orre... We haven't been there since Incident 731."

Makoto threw a piece of paper with a photograph paperclipped to it onto the billiards table, "I'm well aware. This is more than a social call. Check out who the current President of DyneTech is: Hank Riley. Orre's former Defense Minister. He worked with Hoenn to cover up 731 and to pin the blame on us."

Reynolds smiled, "Say no more, boss."

[bronislav84]

(This is sort of a meanwhile post, and starts before Neo is too far away. I took a while fixing my character, so excuse me just this once)

Karai "Kar" Horoshi
HAN Paladin Dock, Slateport City, Hoenn
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga

Ah, war. Tis a cruel mistress. Lives lost, messed up, or otherwise ruined. I'd trained to be the best, even with what I'd had to give up. Few actually graduated Hebijo, and most gave up about half way through or somewhere around the end of the High School portion. Those who graduated were pretty much guaranteed to be hired. But enough about that. For these two weeks, as for the past two years or so my team and I were working for Team Aqua. We had no shortage of missions really. I'd received the mission parameters along with the pay. We were, as usual, to help the team in any way we saw fit.

We were dressed as Hoenn Special Forces, observing some sailor guy yelling into a radio. He wasn't happy. Not one bit. He then started barking orders to get the Paladin to follow whoever stole the other big ship. Really, now? If they were with who I thought they were with, this wasn't even a contest. At the same time he was also yelling into the radio. I motioned to my squad to follow. While all of them had similar shionbi training, they chose to specialize in other things as well.

Dan Zembrovski was the tallest of our group, but thin as a branch. A regular brainiac in software. The resident computer expert, he could break through just about any encryption given enough time, and was the designer of all my hacking software.

Amanda Highborn was our sniper and gun expert. Nobody could shoot a gun like her, and she often competed with me on who's better with guns. Though she's better at long distance shots than I am, I let her win on everything else to make her feel better. She's often polishing her sniper rifle, which she calls Flashy.

The mysterious man named Scar never really told anybody his real name. Even at the Academy, he said the only one who knew his real name was Madame Hebijo. If anybody else knew it, they weren't telling. Scar was our muscle and could bench about 500 pounds or carry it around. He gives some Fighting types a run for their money. While not as tall as Dan, Scar's physically the strongest of us five. Whether he uses steroids or just works out when nobody is looking is unknown.

Anna Lang is our medical specialist. A regular wiz at chemicals and how the body works, this medical ninja keeps us going when we would otherwise be taken out of the fight.

"Sir." The five of us stood at attention and I showed him our forged papers to prove who we are. "Sarah Hathaway, Hoenn Special Forces. Give me a sitrep." I manipulated my voice to sound like I'd lived on the farm most of my life.

"Captain McBride. I command the navy ships in this city." He handed me back my papers as I put them in a pocket in the camo uniform I was wearing. It was authentic. We'd lifted our armor from real HSF officers who were probably eaten by Sharpedo by now. He nodded to us to at ease and we relaxed. Have to keep up the charade. "Some yahoo has made off with the best ship that we had parked here. We're going to be giving chase and the Paladin will be chasing the Entourage. We found a bomb on it and disarmed it."

"We'd like to help sir, but we need a ship though. Mind lending us the Paladin?" I gave him a smile that looked quite genuine. My team nodded.

"You know the crew won't follow you, Hathaway." He looked at me sternly, crossing his arms. He wasn't looking at my face.

"Sir, with all due respect, eyes up here." I pointed to my face and sighed. He coughed and stopped staring, then I continued. "They don't need to. Tell them to abandon ship and that HSF Blue-92 will handle it. While not as well armed, being smaller means we can catch up to the Entourage. They won't stand a chance with the HSF boarding them." He thought about this for a moment while I shuffled my feet bored.

McBride nodded to me. "I'll radio the men to abandon ship. If you need it, there are enough Burst Hearts for everyone on the ship. Surely there's enough for you five."

"Actually, I already have one but my team could use some. Thank you kindly." I pulled mine out from my shirt as the captain looked on from where I pulled it out. It was hanging on a necklace and I waved it to him.

"That's fine. As I was saying, the important ship systems can be controlled from the bridge in an emergency. Good luck." He started barking orders into the radio for his men to abandon ship, and then went back to yelling at who I assumed was the thief. I could hear him yell "We don't negotiate with terrorists!" as the five of us filed into the ship past the sailors who were leaving. Dan had already downloaded an inside floor plan to his laptop by interfacing with the ship using the codes McBrirde gave us and we got to the bridge pretty easily.

The ship to ship radio was ready, and also connected to McBride. Good, it would be all the more bitter for him when he found out exactly who he signed his ship over to. I took the wheel while Dan manned the gauges and the others took the rest of the bridge stations. Over the comm I could hear McBride threatening the thief that the bomb was already found and disarmed, and that HSF Blue-92 would be boarding the Entourage shortly, saying to give up and turn around. We were gaining on the bigger ship, but if it was who I thought that had stolen it, they'd know that Blue-92 was actually a code word Team Aqua used. McBride had no idea, and had handed over yet another ship. I'd contact him soon with the 'good news' of having caught up to the Entourage. That, and that it plus it's large amount of Burst Hearts previously reserved for the crew were being seized by Orre. That would get these dummies hopping.