Description: Deep in the Suiryuu's engineering spaces, many have tried to discern the meaning of the seals inscribed there. The eerie network of seals do not surrender their intent easily. But when Aislinn comes to investigate personally, she'll find and learn a little more than she'd bargained for..
Since her second round fight was over so quickly--and due to her extremely nonsocial tendencies--Aislinn had more than enough time, and resources, to take a copter from the Suiryuu to meet Elle and get back. It's unlikely that the Suiryuu staff -doesn't- know that she left and returned, but she wasn't trying to be stealthy about it. There's little point in trying to out-stealth ninjas anyways. They're just better at it.
As it turns out, Elle had a relatively simple request--investigate the boat. Her suspicions are that the boat is some kind of chi battery and that it may have some more nefarious purpose, like maybe draining the chi of its occupants... or something else. Aislinn really isn't sure, but looking around is free, isn't it? So it is that she makes her way from her cabin downwards... walking casually, but purposefully. Striding like she knows where she's going, nodding to the security forces she should encounter...
Bluffing, basically.
The odd thing is, there are no security forces aboard the ship. Oh, there is a security /chief/. There is a crew running the ship. But as for guards? People to 'watch' just what is is Aislinn is up to? Basically absent. Most are simply concerned with their own business, and scarcely little more, unless directed otherwise.
This deep in the ship, while the Suiryuu is underway, there is a lot of ominous creaking--the weight of the water the ship displaces compressing the hull with an astonishing strength. There is that, and the deep, deep thrum of the engined beneath your feet.
Here, somewhat troublingly, all crew are absent. Though the energy here tickles the senses, the only lighting is from dim bulbs, flickering overhead in enclosed cages.
That, and the crawling lights in the walls. They slowly follow Aislinn as she moves close by, dim now, but the spiderweb-type crawling pattern is reacting to her very presence, pulsing with every step.
All the better for her then; the show is only put on for observers, other fighters. Much easier to bluff, as she assumes most of them have little clue as to what they're doing here other than watching and betting on fights. So her trip down through the hull is without incident and all the better for her.
If the creaking in the bowels of the ship is worrisome, it's not to Aislinn, at least not outwardly. One must assume that a ship this size must have to settle or that the sounds are just... movement.
But she is aware, all her senses thrumming. Just because there hasn't been any security doesn't mean there won't -be- any security... and in the absence of security pukes, she can be assured that if she is confronted, it will be by an elite personage.
The spiderweb is... not unnoticed, and in fact, it's very much noticed. Curiouser and curiouser. Aislinn, being the unfearing personage she is, wonders briefly, and walks towards that wall, testing to see if the web intensifies.
Almost amiably, the system responds, the web intensifying, brightening, spreading outward with Aislinn's closer presence. There is no feeling from the walls, however--though the patterns of elaborate sealwork react to Aislinn's presence, other than the buzz of energy in the air, it seems to /impart/ a feeling of power to Aislinn. It would be easy to get drunk off that sense.
With Aislinn's movements, the energy floods across the walls, a small wave retreating off into the deeper recesses of the hull, crawling inside seams, doors, bolts.. and disappearing.
There is only that dim light on the wall as Aislinn stills, that and the bulbs overhead, to provide lighting.
So the system responds to presence, and moderates by distance... interesting. Aislinn had intend to manifest her chi, briefly, to test the system's response there... but as the energy floods and the wave moves off, she follows along. Her hands are loosely held at her sides--she well knows the importance of not touching anything if she can avoid it.
And then wave stops and Aislinn... stands in front of where the wave stopped. If only she had Candy with her! Candy had the analysis packages and the extra processors for this. Aislinn is enhanced, of course, but mostly with an eye towards combat. Still...
With the wave of light gone, Aislinn puts out her right hand, and decides to go back to an earlier fork... so her right hand flares with red-white electricity, an aura flashing into existence. It's purpose, two-fold: To provide additional lighting and to test the system's response.
The system responds dramatically to this. As the chi floods from Aislinn's hand, the red-white bolts will interact with the matrix in a nonstandard way. That entire section of the room will light up, flooding the area with a brighter pale blue light. As it does, it reacts even the thrumming pulse of the engine beyond it, with the system active, it is at its most sensitive. It reacts to that aura and everything else in the room, shivering with every step, moving with every sway of the ocean beneath.
More importantly, this close to the heart of the ship, this deep in the system.. that electricity? If not kept under tight control, will begin to react in the same fashion. A sort of sympathetic effect. It will flash brighter, become harder to keep control over.
It will become stronger.
About thirteen seconds will pass, before an electric bolt jumps from the bulkhead, attracted to Aislinn and the energy she wields.
Fortunately for Aislinn, her chi is well under control. In the larger scheme of things, Aislinn was built as a footsoldier for NESTS. But she was -also- built as an experiment in the enhancement of chi control through artificial means. She, within her own limited power, has as much mastery of her chi as Kain does, in his larger sense. He is of course more powerful than her, and more skilled--but to compare within their respective 'ranks', Aislinn's control is as good as his.
So she simply holds the hand up, concentrating her chi into it--carefully regulating the amount that builds up, holding it at a certain point. But even so...
That bolt of lighting, so similar to her own, flashes out, and there's little she can do to avoid it. As it sizzles and crashes into Aislinn, the young girl is blown back, and away, flying silently into the middle of the hold, landing hard upon her back. But all is not lost; even as Ais is flying through the air, she's literally switching her chi off, rerouting it to all internal systems... so that by the time she lands there's no evidence of chi around her at all.
So she knows at least one thing.. the system is reactive.
And the room goes black.
Even the lightbulb dims when Aislinn hits the ground. There is no reaction whatsoever. Now that the presence of a fighter has vanished, there is no interest from the ship in Aislinn. That force retreats into the excesses of the bulkheads, a brief flicker and the scent of scorched and twisted ozone the only evidence that they were ever there.
One tap of polished wood on steel later, even that too is absent.
"Troubles, ma'am?"
No one heard him arrive. No one saw him enter the lower hull. He appears as if he has been standing here the whole time, an old man whose eyes are shielded beneath the shadowed brim of a hat branded with the by-now familiar seal of the Jinchuu tournament upon it.
Leaning upon his cane, the only thing visible of the ops director's face in the dim light is that faint smile, good natured, humble, faintly bemused at the poor girl's blight. She must still be smouldering a little, after a shock like that.
A hand is proffered, open. To help her up.
Another interesting thing to note. How far could Aislinn have gone--what would she have found--had she entered the place completely null? She lays on her back--effecting a possum ruse, to an extent. But whoever this person is--their senses are apparently far too tuned for this. She didn't hear him enter, or walk to her... So, suddenly, Aislinn's eyes pop open. She doesn't smile at the old man... but she doesn't frown, either.
And though she doesn't take his hand, she isn't rude about it either. "Thank you," she says, as she pushes herself up to a sitting position, "but the damage was not that great." Lifting her right arm, she rotates it around the shoulder, once, experimentally, then bends the elbow, and the fingers. "Painful," she muses, to herself, "but not disabling."
Only then do her eyes turn to Hiretsu. "... and you are?"
The director seems to take little offense to the courtesy denied. That hand only folds over his first, permitting the man to lean upon his cane more fervently. "Ah, good," he replies. That smile reveals satisfaction above all else, in point of fact. "It must have." Been painful. "But an agent of our great event is expected to endure above all else."
A thin sliver of white light shines as one of the old man's eyes open slightly, a chance reflection off the bulb above, which has recovered at about the same time Aislinn rises. "I am Hiretsu. Director of Operations aboard the fighting vessel Suiryuu." He pauses. "...I wouldn't recall there being a schedule down here on our card for you this round..."
"I wonder what you would be doing down here, antagonizing our electrical systems? I do apologize--they malfunction somewhat frequently, I'm afraid."
He is interested in Aislinn's response.
She didn't really answer his first question, but that's alright, isn't it? She abosrbs the information quietly, as she stands, dusting herself off. "No," she agrees, "there are no fights scheduled down here that I know of." She's still performing a cursory check of her body--a quick, visual inspection--though she knows what she will find--that she is pretty much alright.
"I am investigating this ship on the behalf of an interested party who could not make it aboard the Suiryuu." A convienient lie if there ever was one... But also -not- a lie. Part truth, part lie, the best way to handle these things.
"And I was curious." That's also true, as she was very interested in the concept of other chi-manipulation technology other than NESTS-derived technology... Aislinn turns her head and looks directly at Hiretsu. "I don't suppose you would answer some questions for me, rather than risk my investigations possibly disrupting any shipboard operations?"
"Mmm," Hiretsu vocalizes softly, a sound of acknowledgment. It would seem that her story--truthful or otherwise--is accepted with little complaint. A glance is traded in kind--a survey of Aislinn's form guised in a faint nod, as the director steps back to allow her her space and, ostensibly, to allow him greater stability on the end of his cane.
"Not to be rude," Hiretsu chuckles, "but it is far more likely shipboard operations will disrupt your investigations than your investigations will disrupt shipboard operations." He waves a hand. "Saa, it's of little consequence." A hand is opened. "For your interest, you may endear me." With the favor of her questioning?
"Though.. one of my own, first. What is it your hope to find, down here? What answer are you looking for?"
Will he be able to assist?
Truth, lie, they're so often so close to each other that they're twisted around. Aislinn smiles, faintly. "Perhaps so," she acknowledges--while she of course is confident in her skills, she also acknowledges that there are many things she cannot account for. But then, perhaps the same can be said for the people behind the Suiryuu.
At Hiretsu's question, Aislinn quirks a little eyebrow, and considers how to put her questions--how to get what she wants out of Hiretsu. Truth be told, if she could magically switch with Elle, she would. Words are far from her strongest point.
"I'm looking for secrets," she replies, without a hint of irony in her voice. "The secrets of this ship's operation and technology."
"Well.. aren't you forward," Hiretsu observes, impressed.
The cane tilts upwards, lifting over Hiretsu's head. He keeps his balance quite well even as he does this, reaching upwards. As he does, he continues. "Then.. perhaps you are right to investigate. Only the most intelligent, only the smartest..only the /most deserving/... only those few will be able to find their way into the Inner Heart of the Suiryuu."
He taps the caged light twice. And, as if it were waiting only to obey a command only he knew how to issue, flares up brightly. The light finally illuminates the deep cramped engineering space to a satisfactory level.
Cane returning to the steel flooring beneath him, the old man breathes outward very faintly. "Secrets aboard the Suiryuu do not exist," the man finishes simply, now that he has better light.
A more meaningful denial never forged.
Hands knotted together upon his cane, Hiretsu raises a single finger. "One question. If I know, I will tell you."
He does have the grisly matter of that crashed airship to attend to, after all.
Now -that- is a lie. The Suiryuu and the Jinchuu tournament are perhaps the biggest secret going in public, and like Edgar Allen Poe once said, where best to hide something than in plain sight? But it is not in Aislinn's best interests to challenge Hiretsu's statement. He knows it's not true, and she knows it isn't true. But there it is. A single question. This is a unique opportunity... and one not to be wasted.
Aislinn's brain moves at the speed of light; one question... and Elle wanted to know far too much about the activity of the Suiryuu. What was it she wanted to know most, however?
"One question," she echoes, the nods. A worthy puzzle. So let's assume that Elle knows what's what--the woman has a way of getting information that's good. "The Suiryuu is built with chi amplification technology and other chi-related technologies. This is rare. Match cards listed have revealed the ability to manipulate not only external chi but to manipulate the chi of fighters aboard the ship." All statements, so far. "For what purpose does the Suiryuu amplify and channel the chi energy?" Now, of course, Hiretsu could sandbag this question, easily. But she expects that he will answer honestly... and if not, she'll just have to take a further trip...
"Ah," Hiretsu echoes. "A worthwhile question."
The director straightens his cap, pulling it down over his eyes, the brim's shadow concealing them as they had before in the dim light. "You see.. it isn't Master Ryouhara's wish for me to know everything about this ship of ghosts. As truth, I wouldn't want to..." He shrugs. "Does the Suiryuu amplify and channel this energy within?" he asks, genuinely, though it is a question not expected to have an answer.
He turns, shifting his cane with the motion. "It's simple. For all things that the Suiryuu was built to accomplish, there is one goal above all that is paramount, a goal towards which all things aboard will inevitably serve. It is here to decide. The goal of myself and the crew, the goal of our Master Captain Ryouhara... we will forge the greatest conflict in seven decades. It will be greater than that of any tournament prior. We will realize a victor of this Judgment, and crown him or her as the proleteriat's champion." He is quite earnest, it would seem. But from the cut of his thin frown, he is also deadly serious. "By any means, ma'am."
Even now, Hiretsu is making his way away from Aislinn. He is heading back to the hold. "That is the only answer you should ever need. That is the only goal we as agents can or will serve."
As he makes his way away from the young woman in the new pregnant silence, she might even now notice an important detail as he ascends. Her very presence awakened the sealed chi here--those spider's lines only now silent due to her willful restraint of her own chi. In her investigation, she might have noticed even the normal crew's presence is enough to cause some reaction across the ship's hull, for all living things have chi.
Hiretsu, on the other hand, despite his ability to move within the ship more or less undetected..
He now passes within a foot of the bulkhead.
And the seals etched there.. fail to react at all.
Log created on 18:32:37 09/08/2007 by Hiretsu, and last modified on 06:26:41 09/10/2007.