Description: Thank God For The Bomb - Ozzy Osbourne (1986). Aislinn returns with valuable information on the Suiryuu that she gathered on Elle's request and some disturbing facts are revealed. Elle's suspicions are reinforced, new paths are opened, and Elle comes up with a final solution if all else should fail.
Information is the key to everything.
Money, power, influence, all of it is inconsequential to a good heads up over everyone else.
It's a currency more valuable than any amoung of gold or jewels, and Elle's always looking for it. She spreads her people like feelers, searching ine very direction for the puzzle peices she needs to assemble the big picture.
Her boots tread on the deck, looking for the young NESTS creation that recently attatched herself to her organization. Aislinn is a direct link to NESTS. No more having to go through so many intermediaries to get the information she needs. Now, she has a phenomenal level of processing power at a single speed dial.
Elle wasn't joking when she stated that she beleived Aislinn to be a computer in boots.
She sits on one of the deck chairs in the open air. Night has fallen on the Suiryuu, and staying beneath the deck doesn't sit well with Elle. She prefers to be out here, despite the growing chill. Cold doesn't seem to bother her anyhow.
Given a choice, Aislinn might be up on the deck herself, rather than in her cabin. If the cabins were singles that would be one thing, but to have a 'roommate'... even briefly... well, let's just say that there's a distinct lack of trust on Aislinn's part. She knew well that Elle was on-board the ship, but secrecy must be maintained, and knocking on Elle's door would just advertise a connection. A chance meeting, though...
...Elle will hear movement, as Aislinn settles into one of the other deck chairs. She doesn't look at her new employer/teammate/whatever you want to call Elle and Blackjack... just leans back, though the very act screams a lack of preparedness should anything bad happen...
And she speaks, her voice quiet but able to carry.
"The ship is a chi amplifier and storage facility," she says, confirming Elle's information right off. "And I do not know their short-term goals. However..." She pauses, recalling the information.
"The goal of the master of the Suiryuu is 'to create the greatest conflict in seven decades'," she says, quoting the old man she met, the Director of Oprations.
The mercenary listens, and rolls the information in her head. She's not a cyborg. No electronic amplification increases her brainpower. However, her ability to take logical conclusions and apply them is considerable. Aislinn's statemen, however, confirms more than just simple suspicions, however.
"So, we're sitting on a 'chi tanker'," Elle says, brow furrowing in thought. "That's both good and bad."
"On the plus side, we don't have to worry about this boat being a weapon directly," she says, her voice as cold and dry as ever. "The downside is, that means the boat is going to be used to charge up something else."
She changes gears for a moment, to consider the rest of Aislinn's statement. "The 'goal of the master'? I don't suppose he actually mentioned the name of the master, did he? Because if you want to count back seventy years, there's only one really major conflict on record."
"World War II."
"And we're sitting on the biggest Chi Bomb ever created."
"I was unable to confirm whether the ship siphons chi from those aboard or not," says Aislinn, and she sounds, as best as she can, genuinely sorry for it. "Their technology is extremely advanced," she continues--perhaps more advanced than NESTS's, which is profoundly disturbing. Is Aislinn going to run into some Mark II version of herself here?
"They clearly have the ability to manipulate a fighter's chi externally," she continues, making her report as unemotional as possible, "and their technology is able to sense chi and responds to it. If you go belowdecks I would suggest refraining from any overt displays of energy. The ship may... react negatively." The last phrase is delivered rather dryly, but there's a slight rotation of Aislinn's right shoulder...
... apparently she confirmed the last part personally.
"Fantastic. Because I have a match down there, and if I've done my research right, they've paired me up with two stupid kids who use Chi like it was going of of style," Elle replies. However, as always, Aislinn seems to have an aversion to directly answering questions.
"Who exactly is the director of operations on this crate? What does he look like, where is he hanging out, and what, if anything, does he know about this 'master'?"
Elle considers the options, and shakes her head. "While the obvious answer is 'Seishirou', I don't think that's the case. There's too much structure in the Ryuohara clan from what I've gathered for some young wet-behind the ears punk to skip through the ranks so easily. That confirms Marise's suspicions that someone behind the scenes is definitely pulling the strings."
Then, she slips a jumpdrive from her pocket, handing it to Aislinn. "Get this to NESTS. It's a complete photographic composite of the interior and exterior of this ship. Or at least, the best we can do with the tech we have right now. They might be able to do something with the circuitry. Consider this a 'thank you' for loaning you."
"I'm going to need an analysis run, and a way to circumvent the power on the ship. If I'm right, the result would mean that this place will go up like a nuke. But if NESTS can get me some better materials to work with, we might be able to just short circuit this place, and keep it from gathering more power, if we have to."
Oh yes, the name. He -did- mention the name... although not the first. "The Director of Operations' name is Hiretsu." It's the only name he gave and that's fine with Aislinn. She pauses for a moment.
"He mentioned the 'Master Captain' of the boat and the name Ryouhara, though this is no surprise." Again, Aislinn seems to think for a moment, then mentions, "Belowdecks, the ship literally reacted to my chi. Hiretsu was able to move around below decks without the ship reacting to him. I was able to do so as well, but it was a willful act on my part." God, something about Elle actually makes Aislinn talk, it's so weird.
The Silent Assassin takes the jumpdrive and slips it into a pocket. It will be kept safe for NESTS. And Aislinn considers what Elle is saying. "Hiretsu implied that the ship would... defend itself, if necessary. I have experienced that. It may be more effective to render the human element inpoerative instead."
Elle has different effects on people. Some react violently to her rather straightforward attitudes. Others seem to like her no-nonsense approach. Whatever the case may be, Elle pulls no punches in discussion. It's always and forever all about business. Elle knows what people want, and makes sure that they get it.
For a price.
The advent of discovery always makes people more chatty, she finds. "I'm sure it would," is the reply, after a thoughtful moment. "But it doesn't mean I can't try. As much as the builder of this ship prepared for everything, i don't think they expected someone to mount a bomb inside the ship."
As for neutralizing the 'human element', Elle takes that into consideration. "I suppose we could do something about all the people on this boat." Getting her hands on high grade knockout gas wouldn't be too hard. "But it's easier said than done. I'm not concerned about stopping the boat. There's at least five ways I can think of off hand to stop this tub."
"I'm more worried about what they're doing with it. You, on the other hand, are going to be my go-to girl on the stopping part, though. You know the boat specs better than I ever will, thanks to your connections. I want you to build me a circuit breaker to go to my bomb. If I can't figure out what's going on here by the end of the tournament, I'm going to want to find a way to shut off the power, arm the bomb, and get off this thing before it goes up like Hong Kong on New Years."
In the mean time, Elle's acknowledges Aislinn's discovery. "I'll make sure everyone else on this boat keeps their chi level to a minimum." She knows just who to talk to on this ship to make sure that happens, too. Well, two, anyhow.
"Have you checked on the spires on the superstructure yet, out of curiousity?"
"I was unable to investigate the spires," replies Aislinn, turning her gaze back out to the sea. "I felt that the majority of the discovery would be made belowdecks." And she was, to a point, correct on that. "I am going to be checking the spires out within the next day or so," she does say, however...
And now she -does- look at Elle, for a moment. "I will request from... my employers.. what you ask." Hopefully Elle doesn't expect Aislinn to build the damn thing herself. That is not possible and not what she was made for, but she -does- have the connection to the highest tech going.
"If we -can- stop the boat..." She muses. Some of the technology is NESTS-derived, she's sure--some of it is new. "I'm sure my employers will gladly pay for the technology."
The mercenary considers Aislinn's statement. "Just get me the breaker. If I can halt this without blowing the whole kit and kaboodle to smithereens, then I'll sell this thing to NESTS, lock, stock, and smoking cannon barrels." And that alone would be enough to finance Elle's projects for years.
"Here's a heads up. I've contracted with Mad Gear to get things off the boat that Naerose has been collecting. If you get me a list of anything that can be picked up and moved that NESTS might be interested in, I'll put that on their target list."
The mercenary's gears begin to spin in her head as she considers the ramifications. "They'll be striking by the beginning of round three. Birdie will be there, as well as Katana and Naerose. You can help, or stay out of the way. But just so you know, that's what's going on."
The best part is that Katana and Birdie don't use large amounts of chi in their attacks. It makes them perfect operatives to use on this boat.
Serendipity at it's finest.
Aislinn nods. Elle can consider it done... although, just in case NESTS can't come through, Ais makes no promises. She tries to never promise on anything that isn't firmly within her control--it just makes for broken promises. As for the heads-up... Aislinn nods.
"I will do what I can to identify any pertinent items." And she hmms, at an idea. "Perhaps NESTS can help in defeating the boat's defenses, as well," she murmurs. "I will make an additional request when I give this information to my employers." She won't say what, but she does have something in mind...
"I will contact you when I have word," the Silent Assassin finishes, finally rising to a seated position, in preparation to leave.
Log created on 23:12:27 09/08/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 06:30:09 09/10/2007.