Vicarious

[Zerstorendar]

Indrick had known the girl was in the general vicinity for several hours, his questions to passers-by occasionally netting useful responses. Activating some of the latent powers that had been gifted to him when he was recreated as a Spectre also allowed him to detect remnants of her presence, though her signature was far more erratic than normal. Just more evidence she was not remotely what she seemed.

However, when he finally saw her approach Fettel and make a painfully innocuous comment, he decided the girl was without doubt a remarkably eccentric individual. Then again, it seems she had been looking for them as well. That boded well for her potential cooperativeness. The Spectre also noted that her right eye was now red, clashing quite noticeably with the green of her other eye. It would make sense that she possessed the ability to make physiological changes, to an extent.

Indrick admired her ability to play havoc with Fettel’s disposition, however. She must have been aware that the neutralisation agent would mostly restore his memories of the incident.

Fettel’s eyes widened as he finally saw her, pointing up at him. He looked down at the diminutive figure, indecision plain on his features. Indrick supposed he was struggling between averting his eyes from her smiling gaze, kicking her in the face, and simply staring angrily at her. His attempts to combine the former and latter were proving quite comical. However, Indrick stepped in before Fettel could make a mess of things.

“Who are you?� The statement was plain and possessed no literal space for ambiguity. However, Indrick inserted a subtle inflection that Fettel would have missed, but he was sure the girl would pick up easily. The true meaning of the Spectre’s words were closer to:
“Who and what are you, what is your business here, and what is it you have to offer�.

[Xenonier]

This question caused a great deal of amusement to raise itself in Syukata's mind. Having now found the Rendari, her eye slowly changed colour back to the usual green, providing an interesting contrast to the still absolutely sugary look she had currently written on the confines of her face. There was no question to the observer, she was enjoying the possibility of taunting this one a little more (although the average observer wouldn't have been able to derive her motivations about it). Nevertheless, such a question left little diplomatic room to move, so some sort of a decent response was expected. Besides, Syukata felt she owed them some sort of substantive answer anyway, even if it didn't strictly address their concerns.

"Allrighty ren-dyar-eeeee, assuming you're entwined with the brotherhood of the people named after RIP AND TEAR, I am leaving. If you take care not to strangle the gardener, as she's a fragile thing and you could rupture her spleen by looking at her funny, you should be able to follow without any concerns that might require violence. Now, to the slums we go, for his wife is made of jam. Blueberry jam. Best flavour. And by the way, the slums are nasty. Mind you, that's probably because there will be you four and myself there. Quite the melting pot.

Although I don't really like strawberry jam. Acintttiiic."

With that, the little Xenonian operative set off a reasonably brisk pace along the streets of Rabona once more. This time however, there was at least a specific location in mind. By the first ten seconds, she was quoting comedians again, repeating nonsense phrases that would be heard by any bored enough to listen. Whether it really was a sign she had lost any semblance of sanity eons ago, or just a indicator of her comfortable nature in this environment, it would be up to the emissaries of Zestorendar to decide.

Ahead, the slums would soon come into view, separated by a series of police checkpoints, gunfire sensors and automated defenses. For all the supposed left-wing goodness and social welfare programs of the government of Rabona, these had extended in a crescent shape around the middle-class districts. Driven by the fat surpluses of the government, many a young youth was able to experience a richly-lived, well fed life that lacked any sort of greater meaning. The end result was while even the lower classes lived in fairly good conditions, the small numbers of minorities driven into the slums had activities of questionable legality which stretched even into the upmarket slices of Rabona. Money, Wealth, Power and a bored youth. More than enough ingredients for a cheesey western.

[Zerstorendar]

Indrick, and Fettel, set off after the girl without hesitation. Both of them knew she knew something they knew they should know, but she had successfully annoyed both of them in her approach making them aware of that.

Indrick kept his expression neutral as he followed at a casual pace (despite the small girl moving deceptively quickly), but he was slightly frustrated at the subject’s unwillingness to provide a straight answer. There were countless approaches Indrick could use to squeeze her for information, but he doubted intimidation would work. They were playing her game now. So all Indrick could do was keep his six senses focused and his mind racing through countless possibilities. He did, however, inform the other two Spectres that he had a lead.

Fettel kept his expression furious as he followed at a stiff military gait. That little witch was playing him along like a puppet, and he knew it. If the Zanekriegerlich had told him this is the sort of thing he would be dealing with, he may have been less eager to accept the mission. Though of course, he still would have accepted. He was a professional, and he prided himself on doing his job as well as it could be done.

Unfortunately, his job was killing people and breaking things, and there was none of that to be had here.

Still, Fettel swore he would deal with the ‘girl’ eventually. Nobody makes a fool of a Ravager Lich of the Zerstorendarian Zanekrieger. Not even Tereza-warped children.

As the two followed, it became apparent that they were being led into progressively poorer areas of the city. Degradation and disorganisation were becoming more rampant as they followed. Indrick was taking detailed mental notes on the state of the slum-like district they were entering, attempting to draw conclusions as to the planet’s socio-economic status and approach to civil equality.

Fettel, for his part, was taking detailed mental notes on relevant assault and clearing procedures for the buildings he passed. He couldn’t wait to give his Ravagers the order, and he was willing to bet they wouldn’t either.

But for now, Fettel followed Indrick’s lead.

[Xenonier]

Despite clearly moving further and further into the depths of the slums themselves, an observer would have felt there was something deeply wrong about the path this little Xenonian was taking. In a seeming about turn of expected scenery, the Slums themselves slowly began to give way to something approaching order and organisation, the shell of what could have once been a magnificent stadium. Sure, it was of the corroded, slowly decaying type, but it represented a break in the chaos nevertheless. Changing her stream of consciousness drivel to something approaching Narration, Syukata assumed her role as a (Somewhat) helpful guide for the attentions of the Rendari, even as they drew close to the entrance of the building.

"Now .... this place brings back memories. It's the centerpiece for a series of urban reclamation projects launched by the former Mayor Magnate Jockstrap Morgon, roughly seven years ago. The idea was that by bringing a form of distraction to the people and by building it in such a public place, much of the ethnic divide amongst the lower class could have been addressed. Radical idea, but Morgon had the money and the temperament, so nobody dared to stand in his way. It was a good plan, in truth. I calculated a roughly 18.7% reduction in youth crime that could be derived from first and second order benefits, to say nothing of the longstanding ramifications for the slum-dweller's and their unique youth culture. One of the better initiatives I've seen on this little planet, I must admit.

Those hopes are gone now, however. So is Morgon, assassinated in a carbomb. The funny thing is, he was supposedly last of the Tsukasa people left alive in this system and a key proponent of producing relationships with Zestorendar to deal with all terrorist groups. He was unquestionably a believer in freedom on the social scale, yet he also felt that communication between intergalactic defense agencies was preferable to ... tightening the laws themselves. As you may have observed, the government has made efforts towards that direction in recent times, which has lead to more tension. Morgon was ... A genetic and ideological relic of better times. He was a good young man when he was in college too, very practical.

I used to babysit his children as well, ...." muttered 'Kata, drifting into a haze.

She now swerved, dodging and crawling over the admission gates to gain access to the facility, before unlocking the gates to allow the Rendari through. As she did so, concealed automated defenses tracked all three, observing the newcomers until being dismissed by the girl with a handwave, a nod or another key movement. 'Kata then swerved into an access pathway which sloped into the depths of the stadium ... and kept descending, until it was clearly headed underground, into the extensive preparation rooms of the compound. Behind the Trio, the Rendari would have clearly heard the telltale opening and shutting of access gates.

Moments later, the motion stopped as the path that this little group was following seemed to hit a dead end. Absent mindedly clicking her fingers with only the 'emergency lightning' still flickering overhead 'Kata seemed almost to have forgotten where she was headed. Hanging onto this little action for just long enough to annoy the angry Rendari, she then turned to face the both of them with another ditzy smile. Behind her, lights began to throw back the darkness, revealing a fairly large, open and windowless space. This space's rooms were decorated with an all number of odd variations of the term 'stuff', ranging from memorabilia, cultural irrelevance, pin-up posters and even a section of wall decorated to demonstrating many, many variations of weaponry throughout the times. Finally, a large and (judging by the appearance), exceedingly comfortable plush leather swivel chair was now occupied by Syukata herself, located right in front of a massive board.

It was covered with colour coded post-it notes.

It was also as messy and disorganized as the rest of the place. (Evidently, Syukata cared little for visitors.)

"Since you're all so fascinated with who I am and I don't really care about you lot, I'll go first. I'll use a nice and informal version of my name for this little relationship we're going to have. Syukein Ter'Kata, or 'Syukata'. Member of the Xenonian Defence Forces, attache to the Certain Situations division, subdirectory 'Relics', for now. My Business here is in all truth, entirely pleasure and has little, if any oversight from the Projected Irregularity itself. " She paused, conjured up a sip-top bottle and a plate of chocolate biscuits from ... somewhere and took one wistful look at the empty bottle. A moment later she had filled the bottle with a vial of what could only be the liquid she'd slipped the Rendari earlier and finally, chose to continue speaking.

"I used to babysit Morgon's Children, before those certain terrorist groups killed his entire bloodline, bar one. His wife really was truly sweet, that I joke she was made of out jam." Leaping out of the chair as if struck by a new and vivid moment of genius, she proceeded to both catch and balance the remaining biscuits in a tower formation on her nose. Taking care not to lose balance, she then proceeded to break and consume each biscuit one by one, before finally addressing the final question.

"As for what I can offer, depends on what your purpose for being here actually is. Right now, a quick analysis of what we know of the Ryeeeeen-daaaarrrrrrhiiiiee suggests that the Smart ones in your group are being weighed down by political expedience by lobbyist equivalents for the Angry part of your army, while the Angry ones want to rip and tear something in half. " She proceeded to finish with a smile and a hair-flick.

"Isn't politics just a real bother?"

[Zerstorendar]

Fettel gazed shiftily at the girl. Perhaps she was not all she seemed. Certain Situations? His briefings remarked upon a secretive organisation that acted as a special operatings group of some kind in the Xenonian Defence Force. Perhaps she was one of them.

Fettel turned his capable mind toward the task of deciding what sort of danger she presented.

Syukata was licking milk out of a cup like a cat.

No threat at all, he decided. She was just some sort of Tereza-warped intelligence agent. Nobody would give much credit to a freakshow like her, after all.

It was only Indrick, however, that saw the true purpose of her masterful choice of physical form. She may be genuinely eccentric, but her form allowed her to mingle where few others could. Nobody would look down on her unfavourably (well, ‘most’ people, decided Indrick after spotting Fettel’s contemptuous expression), and she would be written off as a “batty little girl� when in fact she would constantly be collecting information.

Though the part that still fascinated Indrick was her apparent lack of interest in intelligence gathering (on Relics, specifically). She could not possibly be on this planet purely for pleasure. Indrick decided he would pay special attention to anything that may give away her true motives for being present on Airavuni.

Syukata was watching them in a semi-interested fashion, and it was apparent (to Indrick) that her interest was dependant on what the two Zerstorendarians said to her next. Indrick decided that he needed to run his plan by Fettel before doing anything that may cause the Ravager to do something rash.

Indrick used his voice in a manner possible only by the heavily-engineered Spectres: he projected his voice directly into Fettel’s mind.

“Lich Fettel, this is Operative Sindri�. The Ravager flinched, and Syukata tilted her head in fascination.

“Do not be alarmed, this is a standard ability of all Spectres. Do not show any indica-“

“Fucking sorcery�, Fettel said aloud. Indrick was not perturbed, expecting some sort of blatant reaction.

“I am speaking to you like this because the girl will hear otherwise. Now, I will be using the subject as a source of information on the Cult. You may or may not get the chance to unleash your Ravagers, but you must follow my lead. Is this clear?� Fettel nodded. Indrick tried not to sigh. Perhaps he should throw the tense soldier a proverbial bone:

“If anyone accosts us when we emerge back into the slums, which will surely happen, you can take care of them yourself. I’m entrusting you with our security, Lich Fettel.�
The Ravager, catching on to the game, mostly concealed his reaction, but was obviously concealing a smile. Good. Appealing to his pride was useful.

The Spectre then turned his mind to how he should approach Syukata’s unvoiced request for information about the Zerstorendarian presence on Airavuni. The Xenonian would no doubt be able to tell if he was lying, even with his own considerable talents in concealing the truth. Yet he could not give her all the details of their mission lest she somehow use it against them. So, he would have to omit certain details in a manner that did arouse any suspicion whatsoever. Indrick ‘said’ one more thing to Fettel:
“I am going to tell Syukata a thing or two about why we are here. Just…look angry�.
Fettel scowled at the implication Indrick was making. Perfect.

“I am Operative Indrick, of the Zerstorendarian Blitzmord. I am an agent known as a Spectre, and I imagine my purpose is something similar to yours-“ Syukata raised her eyebrows in mock indulgence and Fettel rolled his eyes, “-and this is Lich Dirk Fettel, an experienced officer in the Zanekrieger. He is a soldier known as a Ravager, and they are the foot troops of the Zerstorendarian army.

We are here on a mission ordered by the Kaiserlich, Supreme Lord of the Mannlich Imperium, which I’m you know.� Syukata shrugged, and Fettel’s face contorted into a snarl- he was doing very well so far:
“We are here searching for a terrorist organisation known as the Cult of Clare. The Tsukasa people, who you mentioned before, were closely linked to this Cult and it was this that formed much of the reason we exterminated them. The Cult of Clare, we thought, was wiped out after their last attacks on our empire. However, they have recently re-emerged operating from this planet. Since the planet’s government is loathe to sacrifice is vaunted ‘civil rights’, the Kaiserlich saw fit to send a team here to oversee intelligence gathering on the cult.

Basically, what we want is information on this cult. Anything at all. And since you mentioned it, any information on survivors of the Tsukasa’s would be useful also.�

“So we can kill them�, added Fettel brusquely.

While any emotional response Indrick experienced was always a far more diluted and controlled one than any human, the words “fucking idiot� still came to mind.

[Xenonier]

"Officers."

"Officersofficersofficersofficersofficersofficersofficersofficersofficers".

"You did that thing with the OFFICERS, and that thing with the soldiers who had OFFICERS, then that party ball with the OFFICERS".

Syukata being who she is, had immediately returned 'fire' with a little information of her own, derived from both her observations and a desire to voice suspicions . It was apparent enough that to her, that there lay a significant brace of intentions that lay beyond the scope of what this Indrick's had stated. Being a Xenonian lent her a cynical nature to begin with. However, natures aside she had enough knowledge on Rendari force organisation from the troops present at Security for the ESUS to guess that this couldn't be the extent of their forces on the planet. While that was no real knowledge which indicated how many Rendari might be here beyond what she had seen, there would have to be something for Fettel to lead around. Despite her address to them seeming like indulgent babble, it was in many ways a summarization of the reasons he had to expect more than what she had been told.

"I must note your interesting military organisation. Haven't seen a nation where you post officers of your ground-pounders alongside intelligence operatives without giving them a whole squad of their charges to rip things up should the situation go pear-shaped. I remain skeptical of the idea of him as an attachment for advisory purposes too, since the military nature of Zestorendar's culture as I understand it would leave plenty of fighty operatives for a sting like this, among all the other considerations. Then again, I haven't seen the universe. Furthermore, there's plenty of reason to suspect you eventually intend to annex or take over this planet at some point, given it's proximity to your growing Imperium. After all, for all the leftwing natures of the planet, the people are generally hard working, intelligent and motivated, while the natural resources of the planet are quite significant to boot. So, you're going to have to excuse me if I don't expect you to have a lot more force multipliers than you're letting onto. The nature of those may or may not translate to more care-bears like 'Fettel' over there' crashing into a pub somewhere, or terrifying the occupants of some dingy hotel-motel on Nyanyoi street. Not that I find ... "

At this moment, 'Kata had paused, her focus shifting to one of the walls for a few brief moments.

"Not that I find this a major concern, that is. Despite there's ample means for the both of us to suspect the other isn't telling everything we know, I do have some interesting knowledge to impart to you lot. To a Xenonian, relics can have quite a far-reaching meaning given our values place knowledge above any other desirable quality. Hence my desire for you not to hurt the Gardener, whom we will meet later" Reaching out her hand, she uttered the words 'Fly, Giacomo!', at which point a book shot out from one of the shelves on the wall. Leaping into the air so as to be able to catch it left her skidding to a stop roughly a Metre from Fettel, to whom she then passed the text itself. A Triggered screen kicked in life as she did this, showing an analysis of the Cult of Claire, outlining members, moments of renown and ideology, morphing into new displays as if to announce it's readiness to follow Syukata, and Syukata began to narrate.

"See, now you're going a long way towards explaining to me the reasons you're here in the first place. Destroying the Tsukasa's wasn't going to get you any closer to your goal, as filling as this type of vengeance may be. It's ultimately like bread. Rather bland, it'll keep you alive, with the fact that it never provides all you want constantly hanging over your existance. Anyway, what I have to say is sadly, not a little tale I am able to really prove to any conclusive level of study. Nevertheless, I think you'll appreciate me mentioning it, since it is inferred from my studies here" A pause, and then the chirpy storytelling resumed.

"Now, the Cult of Claire. Quite an interesting organisation they are. Good historical study, working on very limited historical evidence itself. The Cult of Claire begin as a fundamentally peaceful little group, devoted towards historical study ... and ironically enough, it was actually an organisation that glorified Tereza more than your own superstitions. I am able to know this because the organisation seems to have quite a lengthy existance here. Prominent ... posthumous members of this 'cult' in their founding years often frequented early academic studies in this planet's history, and writings, workings and artefact's relating to their existance are currently controlled by the Irregularity. In truth, I even brought in half of them. The parables of the Cult, which I was able to translate from a series of preserved scrolls (the screen changed to show these, with all their contents) originally state that the reason Tereza left those fine young lads was for a somewhat different calling. The cult writes that roughly the same time as she simply removed herself from the world, strange emissaries, all known as 'Claire' began to appear around the nations of the time. These emissaries supposedly subtly manipulated the local politics to some greater end, and the writings here are to be taken seriously, helped found empires from behind the scenes. The Cult of Claire theorises these Emissaries were the work of Teresa herself, attributing it to the fact no other possessed such foresight in this current period of history. To care for those who were strong, yet had been thrown into disadvantaged, or damaged lives and to bring that strength to all. She became a mother-like figure in all aspects, relentless and fearsome in war, yet able to shape a nation with a thousand invisible hands."

"Now see, that's where the claires came in. Important enough to advance and create a bastion of civilisation for those who had none, yet ultimately nothing without the shadow of Teresa hanging over them. Teresa made the idea of the Claire possible, and together they made society.�

Having followed her speech by displaying images of relevant data ranging from maps of early Zestorendar right over to Artistic depictions of Tereza herself, the screen now flickered to tactical displays, maps and analysis which was unmistakably concerning Airavuni itself. Syukata meanwhile, took roughly ten seconds to attempt to spin in her chair as fast as she possibly could (unsuccessfully trying to go fast enough to be able to hang off the thing while in motion), before moving along

"Anyway, this is the original position the Cult of Claire sought to push. Creating Tereza as more than vague idea for battle prowess, linked to respect they felt people should have for these ... emissaries. Sadly however, this viewpoint never really got much attention in the culture of Zestorendar or any cultures it came to influence and they began to change ideologically into what you might recognise today. By the time your people had FTL, they had lost any real sense of purpose and simply sat around circle jerking it to their own philosophies. The Tsukasa's themselves actually had quite a major hand in that. The Parable of Morgon gains a great relevance, you see. Fourteen years ago, there was a significant split amongst the group known as the Tsukasa's. More than a few of them were quite hostile to the idea of ever tolerating the idea of living inside Zestorendar, or submitting to its power. Morgon was an interesting character, whom suggested attempting to join Zestorendar as a protectorate or some similar concept, so as to preserve their identity he felt they would lose in a full scale war. They weren't going to let him live, particularly given his opinion carried quite some support. Naturally, they had him executed, although it was an expensive measure for them to do so ... due to other circumstances the cult didn't quite take into account.� Syukata left the end of this sentence hanging into the air, certain that Indrick knew exactly what she meant, and expecting it to just make Fettel want to wring her neck even more.

"So, they took a broken, destitute cult and attempted to turn it around and on their enemies ... without ever actually getting their hands dirty. My records for the most part, end here, except for Morgon, what you have told me and references to generally getting their posteriors kicked into next week, despite all their nefarious planning. Since you have confirmed you're hunting the Tsukasa's, I can only assume they attempted to personally lead their investment ... and lost. " At this, Syukata smiled. While she had done little other than sarcastically lambaste the Rendari since they had met, this little gesture indicated a genuine approval of the Zestorendari tactics. .

[Zerstorendar]

Well, she had guessed most of what he had left out. At the very least, she had no specific details that she could use to endanger their mission and was unaware of the numbers or position of Zerstorendarian Ravagers currently in Rabona. Still, she was proving a very useful source of information.

As Syukata recounted what she had discovered about the Cult and Tsukasa’s, the people that had been generally responsible for assisting the Cult of Clare in their assassination of the Kaiserlich four years ago, Indrick could help but be impressed. He also surmised that she researched this on her own time as a matter of interest. Impressive indeed.

Fettel, for his part, was not remotely interested in Syukata’s guessing his position on the planet. He didn’t care if she knew he was a soldier, he didn’t care if she knew there were more soldiers like him in the city. What she knew was Indrick’s problem, all Fettel had to worry about was whether or not he would have to kill her or anyone else to keep their mouths shut. Indrick seemed to be in favour of listening, however, so that’s what Fettel would do for now.

The Spectre simply stood unblinking as Syukata reeled off the history of the Cult of Clare. He was fascinated that the cult that was so reviled in Zerstorendar now started with such close ties to Tereza, a generally adored figure both historically and spiritually. This particular element of their history would not be well received by many in Zerstorendar, though in all likelihood none would ever find out. Indrick would, however, include it in his report.

The Ravager, on the other hand, found the suggestion that Tereza herself inspired the Cult insulting. Fettel had been a Ravager when the Kaiserlich Marius was killed four years ago, and it was a source of frustration that he was not stationed in the Kaiserlich’s ten thousand man protection detail during the rebellion. He was as caught up in the anti-Clare/pro-Tereza sentiment as any at the time, and would have happily participated in the ensuring genocide. Yet this little slag- Syukata, was it?- has the gall to suggest that the cult was anything other than a bunch of secessionist psychopaths? It may be a word he was not used to, it only being introduced as a minor crime in the last four years, but it definitely applied: Heresy!

Indrick was enthralled by Syukata’s claim that the Tsukasa’s were not all opposed to joining the Zerstorendarian Imperium. While their destruction as an ethnic group was necessary for the nation’s security, it was curious that even Blitzmord intel rated them as a group of fanatics. Obviously, Blitzmord intel did not extend to the Tsukasa population on Airavuni. Though they would probably be dead soon anyway.

Fettel was less impressed, but rather uninterested. The Tsukasa’s were rebels, and even if some of them weren’t, they should have known to distance themselves from anybody trying to crumble the Imperium from within. Ignorance is not an excuse for treason, and Fettel was pleased that the last of Tsukasa’s would probably perish when the Kaiserlich ordered a full-scale invasion.

Only Indrick, however, saw the potential danger of this information. It was possible that sympathy for the Cult of Clare would be aroused, even though despite its more benign beginnings it was without doubt a militant anti-Mannlich terrorist group. It was even possible that another splinter group sympathetic to their ideals could be formed if people saw these ‘Clares’ as an alternative to Tereza herself.

Yes, this group was even more dangerous than Indrick had initially suspected. Perhaps Fettel would not be useless after all: if there was one thing Ravagers were good at, it was killing things, and Indrick imagined fifty Ravagers could annihilate this cult and its associates much more quickly than he and his two fellow Spectres could.

“Continue�, said Indrick.

[Xenonier]

The display screens, which had up until this point had focused on somewhat planetbound objects, had now switched to the display of two specific things, a dramatis personae of one Caucasian human, and one fleet analysis, complete with shiny identification signs.

"Of course, nefarious plans have a tendency to be quite complex. Evidently the remains of the Cult of Claire were able to move a great deal of their finances before your inevitable counter strokes and judging from my records here, they made use of fairly advanced AI systems acquired illegally to do so. See, for all the destruction wrought upon the Cult and their backers, and the greater movement they represented, the Tsukasa's have evidently managed to construct a system which functions even after you paste the head. Even the Projected Irregularity has begun to notice these sorts of things, particularly when our surveillance is turning up 81% pattern matching systems on figures with links to former Tsukasa organisations attempting to enlist the surveillance of key pirate, renegade and warring factions. They were competent enough to hide the actual reasons for wanting that sort of force though. They could be planning to fight you in space, found a large mobile armada, or even start their own nation. Their motives in this aspect are lacking enough clarity for me to state their intentions with total certain, other than the fact they do intend to cause you trouble and that they intend to do so with a significant force. What little information I have been able to read linked the destruction of a merc armada of roughly fifty ships under a name of 'The Seven Plagues' that was destroyed when they attempted to run from XDF:Kol Class Battleship, "The Tourism Bus Driver", to the Cult of Claire and such organisations"*. Syukata allowed a moment of enthusiasm to cross her face, perhaps as if to indicate how humorously pointless she thought the attempt was.

"The irony of all this however, returns to the issue of Morgon himself. The Tsukasa's organised their operations under an incredibly strict chain of command, with the Tsukasa's at the top. This indoctrination was fed back into the system to the point where total obedience to the actions of a Tsukasa is expected, a belief which affects all aspects of their plots, with the exception of the highest tier of command. Hence, as I am sure you can guess, they went to such extreme lengths to kill him and his bloodline to prevent his family ever turning their own weaknesses against them. I'd been hanging around for a while at this point, and Morgon wasn't blinkered enough to overlook that I was a little different to the average resident of Rabona, or the average human for that matter. While it was hardly a duty as a member of Certain Situations and I am not the one acting in the offical stead of Xenonier in this situation, both he and his wife did entrust me in my capacity as a friend rather than the agent of a nation, with one little piece of genetic information. You might say I was given the responsibility of preserving one last ... relic of Morgon's family ... " 'Kata at this point had stopped her chatter, the reasons of which had just become apparent.

Standing in the doorway they had entered moments before was a rather dirtied girl holding what appeared to be an pickaxe and a pair of scissors, wearing dirtied overalls, covering one set of ripped jeans and a shirt with detached sleeves. She had her brown hair set into twintails, and while certainly not appearing to be plump and spoiled, was really very normal.

"Er ... visitors then. I'm not erm ... I don't know what's going on ..., you didn't tell me ... what there was when ... . I'll ... um, er, I'm not dressed. I'll ... just go and get dressed".

The Momentary distraction this had brought Syukata heralded a change in dress. Somehow, she now wore a tweed jacket, top-hat, pinstriped shirt and attached monocle. The Tweed jacket was even decorated with a caricature of a genteel character dipping his biscuit in tea, with the resultant dialogue of "HAW HAW". You couldn't have wiped the triumphant grin off her face with a volley of orbital lance fire.

"Fetch me a latte while you're up there, dear!" remarked 'Kata, before she dissolved into peals of childish giggling.

*. OOC: This is a joke that you can't really look up without an understanding of Korean. Basically, in Korean professional SC games, the progamer iloveoov used to so dominate his opponents that it was called 'rape' by many in the scene. The Korean word for rape has many similarities to the word for tourism. Thus, iloveoov was known as the 'tour bus driver' or the 'tourism bus driver' and this title has passed onto all the dominating players since. tl;dr, it's a euphemism for RAPE TRAIN.

[Zerstorendar]

Indrick was unsurprised by now Syukata had the ability to manipulate in her dress in some way, and Fettel did not seem the notice the change at all. Both men were deep in thought concerning what they had been told, though they were approaching it very differently.

Operative Indrick was highly concerned at the level of organisation the Tsukasa’s and Cult had shown in the past unknown even to the Blitzmord: obviously much of their operations originated on Airavuni, not Zerstorendar or its moon, where the rebellion took place. This meant Airavuni had been the origin of the rebellion, not simply the fall-back point. Not only that, but the Cult’s resources had been underestimated: even a fifty ship pirate armada could be a problem in the right place at the wrong time. As a side note, the Spectre resolved to track down some specifications on Xenonian battleships.

For now, however, there were three important issues to be dealt with: Firstly, the Tsukasa who had just appeared in the doorway. Were Indrick to abduct her for interrogation, he was sure he would lose a valuable ally in Syukata, and he did not dare incite an unnecessary deadly confrontation until he knew more of her capabilities. However, at some point the Tsukasa would have to be dealt with: the Kaiserlich had ordered the destruction of her race years ago.

Secondly, Fettel was visibly struggling with the idea that the Cult was so organised and dangerous, and Indrick felt his control over the Ravager slipping away. If the soldier snapped and decided to unleash his Ravagers, Indrick may be forced to take measures that could compromise their mission at a later time. Indrick was also unsure what to make of Fettel: his level of aggression was on par with that of most Ravagers, but his restraint was impaired. Mental instabilities aside, Fettel also appeared to have subtle physiological differences to all other Ravagers Indrick had encountered. The Spectre was beginning to suspect that the Zanekriegerlich had dispatched Fettel and his Ravagers for a reason other than political powerplay.

Thirdly, the Cult had to be found, and immediately. The Spectre suspected that the rebels already had contingency plans for the arrival of a Zerstorendarian invasion force over Airavuni, and so matters may have to be taken into his own hands. Indrick sent a brief pulse of thought to the other Spectres- a connection shared only by fellow Spectres for purposes of covert, long-range communication- requesting a status update.

While Syukata giggled, Fettel considered a thousand and one ways to kill her before deciding against it. She was irrelevant. The new girl that had rushed off to ‘change’ was, according to his mission description, now a primary target. Fettel briefly considered informing Syukata, but almost immediately dismissed the idea. She would get in the way.

Fettel flexed his enhanced muscles, slightly stretching his clothing. What he wouldn’t give to be in his Powersuit, and he assumed his Ravagers felt the same. The Lich smiled inwardly. Even Indrick and Syukata had not guessed his true purpose for accompanying the Spectres to the planet. The Ravager admitted they were smarter than he was, but they weren’t smart enough.

The three Blitzmord Spectres were not the only ones who had received orders from the Blitzmordlich himself. Destroy the cult, annihilate relevant resistance, and observe the Spectres. Especially Indrick.

Ugh, enough thinking. Fettel really, really needed to kill something. He was considering going after the Tsukasan girl when Indrick spoke to the infuriatingly jovial Xenonian girl:

“This is no longer a game, Syukein Ter'Kata. I want to know the details of this Tsukasan girl, and then I want you to tell me everything you know about the Cult’s presence on this planet.�

[Xenonier]

Indrick's lecture was met with the trajectory of a speeding object, courtesy of 'Kata's hand. It was a relatively small screen, flashing with the shine of a data archive filled to the tips. Smiling as he caught it, the CS operative took a second to turn towards the direction her ward had gone, before speaking again.

"You should be nicer to that girl, dears. Emily is her name, everything in her little world is about to change in the next few hours, till the point the lesson is learned but the damage done is irreparable. You could say not only am I a narcissistic bitch, but that I've failed as a guardian by not preparing her for more. Such is life." at this point, Syukata finished by looking forlorn into her cup. There was just enough emotion to suggest her inherent powerlessness. She straightened moments later however, looked around the room for her guitar with a confused air, and then seemingly decided it was not worth looking for.

"As that information reveals, the major significant Cult asset is a Kalandrite processing facility in the industrial sections. It's quite an impressive construction, funded by the high price that Kalandrite fetches on the local market. The guards are trigger-happy and for the most part, supported by some surprisingly heavy armour on all approaches, as well as the usual stack of automated weaponry. However, due to the nature of Kalandrite and processing equipment itself, most of this is concentrated on the perimeter. Plus, the perimeter, while guarded by forces who are well trained, also happen to be raised on a planet with a rather large bleeding heart. I have a plan in mind, you might appreciate it ..." noted Syukata, as she moved off the chair and over to Fettel with greater speed than she had shown in front of the Rendari before.

"All it requires, is that you use your heads" she finished, before leaping into the air and tapping Fettel on the forehead. This action was performed all in one graceful movement, at just the right angle to prevent Indrick noticing the minuscule wink she gave Fettel as she performed the action itself. It was everything Indrick had the pleasure of now consuming, and more, with a small attached message of "forgive the blasted sorcery". The excess information was concerning her own capabilities for the use of multiple avatars, on top of the other information. This way at least, she could guarantee both of them knew exactly what they were up against. There was work to be done, for better or worse and she intended to ensure that a few aces still remained open to her.

While seemingly innocuous in it's absence, the lack of a guitar for our dear little heroine here would have surprisingly far reaching implications. Several miles away, in the major spaceport which serviced Rabona, three fairly normal figures were leaving a transport ship and entering the lobby of the building. They wore identical attire, neatly maintained suits which, while lacking the formality of a conventional piece of clothing, far surpassed the standard equipment in other areas ... such as heat resistance. Despite carrying themselves as foreigners and being very much the part in action and circumstance, they acted as if they knew the place intimately, as if they had experienced the layout all before.

Which they had.

A keen observer would note as they moved a certain odd quality about the three male travelers. Besides their attire, they had seemed to have an extraordinary sense for their surroundings, as if all three were sharing sensory outputs. There was a disturbing deftness and grace to their movements as they weaved between the crowds of the airport, well above what one might expect from even a boosted human, however trained. Finding their target, they moved a a group towards one woman, prompting a slight nod and a twitch of a smile around the lips.

"Delayed flight, I see"

She was of athletic build, mid twenties and carried herself with the same air they did, part warrior and part intelligentsia. Blond, short hair, blue eyes, black suit and one intricate weapon at side a scabbard. The woman was also ambidextrous, shaking hands with the trio, throwing around the banter of old friends and holding a rather unique looking guitar, all the while. It took only a few minutes for them leave, although they already had measures in place to ensure not even the environment would testify to their memory.