Description: Bob Seger (1973). It all comes back to this. The end is just another beginning. As Jinchuu finishes, the ever focused Elle sets it aside as just another mission complete for better or for worse. Blackjack's original plans are placed back on track and Aislinn is given her next assignment. The next chapter begins. Turn the page.
"Now here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page."
-Bob Seger
Jinchuu is over. The results are mixed. In the end, Elle walked away with something different than she imagined that she would. There's no time for disappointment, even less for regret. Business continues, life goes on, and Elle can't change the way things turned out.
Not that she would. In the end, she was paid by Rugal, and managed to forge an alliance with yet another would be despot. "R" is a formidable ally in any arena. The coffers are once again full. Projects are being completed. It's once again time to take the helm, and the weight rests familiarly on her shoulders.
But that doesn't mean Elle walked away unchanged. Most important of these subtle changes is the level of complete professionalism. Elle has always been a professional in that she never let her feelings, as minimal as they are, get in the way of how she conducted herself. But now there's a distinct level of icy businesslike profesionallism to her. Wild hair is gone, cut short and slicked back against her head, eyes hidden behind sunglasses, the black leather she wears making her look more like a military commander than a wild child. The scar on her face makes her look more severe than she did before.
But the surface is easy to change. Whether or not Elle's personality has undergone any major shifts is difficult to tell, as reserved as she is. As such, she sits in her office, dealign witht he piling up work that needs to be completed. Blackjack is once again moving ahead without hesitation, and it's always been her responsibility to head that progression with her usual clinical efficiency.
Amongst those things that need addressing is the aspect of expansion. Blackjack needs to grow, or die. Stagnation is never Elle's friend. Her hands shuffle quickly through papers as she leans forward, her chair creaking as she spreads things across her desk. Things have been shuffled, and now Aislinn is becoming ever more important in her push to solidify Blackjack's holdings. Elle epxects the girl to show up on time.
She always does.
Ah, yes. Jinchuu. Jinchuu is something of a sore spot for Aislinn. Not that she was booted out of the tournament for being in Blackjack--the only explanation for why her near-perfect record was dismissed in favor of Tiffany--or that things didn't turn out exactly 'as planned'. Life is unpredictable and Aislinn has come to the knowledge that, no matter what, no one--not anyone or anything--can really plan for everything.
She isn't even mad that Vice and Adelheid doubleteamed her and kicked her ass thoroughly No, she's sore about ne thing, and one thing only:
Having to swim from Jinchuu back to the harbor of Southtown. There wasn't really anywhere safe left to go after that climactic battle--she couldn't very well show up on the Black Noah, after her performance in helping Elle and Jinchuu (outwardly) and she couldn't set foot on the Suiryuu again.
So she swam. And swam. And swam. She found out what happened regarding the semi-finals and the finals after she reached shore, of course, and well...
Aislinn certainly hasn't gone through the kind of changes that Elle has--but she's certainly showing a bit more emotion, as she stalks into the office. Still sore about Jinchuu, in all likelihood--though her expression softens in some undefinable way, as she looks at the Blackjack leader.
"Elle," she greets, as she drops herself into a chair.
Oh, she's still as direct as ever. "We have new business?"
The mercenary leader nods. Elle seems to take to that title with a little more comfort now. Before, it took effort. Making decisions for her wasn't as easy as she made them seem, and the seamlessness with which she answers the question shows. "I'm removing you from command of Birdie and Katana," she says matter-of-factly. "Glad to see you made it out. That was a complete mess." It's all she has to say on the matter. Aislinn will discover her compensation: a prototype Blackjack Commander's'uniform', on her way out.
"I've been over their profiles, and I don't think they'll ever conform to your personality type."
Gloved fingers dance over a few files as she turns to her recruitment cabinet. Nicknamed 'Pandora's Box', the filing cabinet holds a wealth of information that pours in from almost every source imaginable for Blackjack prospects. "Instead, I've got two other faces for you to work with." Camille and Ayame's faces appear on the table, along with a memory key. The picture of Camille is sharp, clear, and from a computer printout. Ayame, however, is a little blurry, clearly taken from a surveillance tape.
"Camille. Early twenties. I had Leilani pull this fromt he Syndicate personnel files. She's an enforcer for them, but she's frankly pretty terrible at it. She's a sweet kid, but doesn't have any sense of focus or direction," Elle's dry voice describes with a clipped tone. "I've fought her once. She uses a claymore in battle. It's a little ridiculous if you ask me, but to each their own."
Elle's hand taps the other file. "This one here is a little different. I've only got the barest information on her. She's probably not much older than you. Apparently she's been raising hell downtown. Seems to have enough weaponry on her to arm a small platoon. Best bet is to hang out in front of a school with something valuable and see if she stops by to steal it. If she turns out to be a decent theif, all the better."
Aislinn regards Elle--and the uniform--for a moment, before she starts listening. And that's all she does for the minutes it takes Elle to explain why she's removing Katana and Birdie from her command. She has no complaints about it at all, and that should be evident as she nods once Elle talks about her reasoning.
"Agreed," she says, softly. In a way, working with Katana and Birdie is kind of like trying to work with K9999... you kind of point him in the right direction, pull the pin, and get away before he tries to incinerate you, too. The two enforcers aren't as nutso, but they're just as likely to bulldoze you a path from point A to point B.
And then she's leaning forward, scanning the photos, committing the images to memory. A claymore. Scottish broadsword--ridiculous? Perhaps. But no more so than a tricked out guitar. Though... Aislinn doesn't -say- that.
"The Syndicate is too content with what it has. There is no draw for a new recruit to exert themselves." Naturally, Blackjack is different. A claymore.
"I'll track down this 'Ayame'..." Shouldn't be too hard to do. Technically, Aislinn still goes to a school. She looks from the photos up to Elle. "Are they both approved for entry into Blackjack?" The question's unspoken follow-up is, 'or do I have to test them?'
Really, what the ridiculous part was the fact that Elle managed to basically avoid taking much damage from the giant sword. The weapon is supposed to cleave horses in half, after all.
"Yes and no. Camille is. The other one, I have no idea. She seems to be capable, but I want to make sure of exactly what she's capable /of/," Elle replies, pushing the sunglasses up her nose. "But it doesn't matter. The important thing here is that you not only recruit them, but test them yourself. After all, you're going to be their commander. The important thing is for you to hold their attention and exert some authority."
"Do whatever it takes. You know that I'm only concerned with results. How it gets done only becomes a concern of mine when it causes more trouble than when we started," the Blackjack leader expounds. "As for the Syndicate... don't underestimate them just yet. We're a lot more versatile than we used to be, but I don't want to risk poking the bear just yet. Sparking conflict with them this early would be a disaster I want to avoid."
The unspoken 'for now' remains that. It's perfectly clear, however, that Elle doesn't see such a thing as an impossibility in the future. just highly implausible now.
Again, Aislinn nods, after hearing her commander out. Of course, Elle is largely concerned with results, and that is rather refreshing--the worst thing is the kind of commander who tries to micromanage everything. There's a time for it, but that is for when things get complex. The Silent Assassin turns her head back to the pictures. Test them. Test, specifically, Ayame.
"I will give thought as to the best way to figure their capabilities," she says, and those gears are already turning, of course. Some sort of battle--a two-stage thing, perhaps... she'll figure it out.
"The Syndicate is a powerful organization," she agrees--and she, like Elle, has some experience in working with powerful organizations-- "but they are almost too large. And they have not been tested in some time," she notes. Again, that is something for the future. Let sleeping dragons lie, and all that kind of thing.
"I may require assistance in testing them--I will let you know once I have contacted both." The lavender-haired agent's eyes lose focus for a moment as she reviews what little she knows--both are, to some degree, weapons fighters... but both should be more tractable to command from someone who is, to all appearances, a young girl. Aislinn nods to herself, finally, and then to Elle. "It will get done."
"Don't take your time with this one," Elle says, "We've got a lot of things coming up, and I'm going to need more operatives." Camille and Ayame are only the beginning, but they'll be it for a while.
"I've got more work lined up for us. There's a salvage operation in Thailand someone's hired us for," she explains, "and I need warm bodies at the very least. On top of that, now that we've been seen working with Rugal, I'm getting too many calls for us to handle without additional hands. Looks like that one eyed bastard has a lot of international connections with people that have too many problems and too much money."
Elle doesn't need to tell Aislinn how she feels about money. It's the ont constant Elle seems to always be after. She pushes the memory key on the table closer to Aislinn with her right hand. "That has the floorplan to one of Shadaloo's bases on it in a 3D model. I want you to study it, memorize it, and be ready for a mission the second you're done gathering your troops. You'll likely be spearheading the escort for the salvage operation. Someone's hired us to see if Vega left behind anything worth taking. Looks like the base's old automatic defenses have already eaten two salvage teams."
The mercenary leans back in her chair again, her eyes closing behind the dark rims of the glasses. "I hope you don't mind going headfirst into an old Shadaloo base... but I think you're the best one for the job."
"I should have a plan in place by the weekend." Aislinn muses, tapping Ayame's picture. "She is a thief... she does it to survive, or for fun. Blackjack should be an easy sell." And Camille's already interested. Aislinn nods. "It will be done as soon as possible."
And then another interesting possibility is raised. "Salvage of Shadaloo technology?" she asks, smoothly palming the memory key. She'll look at it later--no need to scan it in the here and now. "I will be more worried about bringing Ayame and Camille in with me." But, undoubtedly, she will. Ais is confident--but not stupid. She smiles faintly. "It will be a good team-building exercise," she concludes.
Aislinn studies the memory key in her hand, then glances up at Elle. "Am I going in on this mission as the sole operative?" She's fine with that, if it comes down to that--she just wants to know if that's the case or if she'll be coordinating with the others.
Elle shakes her head. "I'll be there for backup, and I may bring Birdie along. Both of us have experience with that particular Shadaloo facility." After all, it's /the/ Shadaloo facility. Elle, however, isn't going to really expand on it. She's made enough cash on her former organization's death. "I know my way around the place pretty well, but that doesn't mean I don't think Vega put in some nasty tricks before he decided to kick off."
As usual, the risks are high, but the payoffs greater. Elle wouldn't place anyone on a mission if she didn't think that her team couldn't complete it.
"I'm trusting you on this one," she says flatly. "I know Vega has some information that NESTS has been wanting for a long time. But the fact remains that the client I have isn't going to tolerate any leaks. I can't have you putting NESTS ahead of the mission, Blackjack, or yourself, and that includes piping anything you see or hear to NESTS. I can scrub you from the mission. You know that I will in a heartbeat if I think you'll compromise it. That being said, I'll repeat myself: you're the best operative I have for a job like this. I just need to know that you're going to be doing exactly what's being asked of you."
Elle's face is largely unreadable, and the sunglasses on her face are probably more of a blessing than a curse considering the hard, merciless stares she's known for giving to her operatives.
Aislinn meets that gaze placidly, sunglasses or no. Give up secrets to NESTS? Yes, of course she has a dual allegiance, but as far as she's concerned, she's heard nothing about NESTS being interested in Vega's tech. After all, the last she knew Zero and Vega were dealing some deal and that was that. There isn't even a hint of disloyalty on Aislinn's visage. To her, double-crossing doesn't come naturally--as one may expect, she is straightforward. A soldier and assassin, not a trickster. Had her involvement with Blackjack not been, she would have just been another fighter on the Suiryuu.
But she doesn't speak. She lets her gaze speak for her. Elle should know by now, the wizard that she is at reading people, that Aislinn's trust and loyalty, when given, are near-absolute. This will be a problem for her sometime... but it's the only ways he knows how to live.
Elle trusted her on the Suiryuu--trusted her enough to let Aislinn help set up that ultimate betrayal. And she earned that trust. Truth be told, Elle's done more to keep Aislinn active than NESTS... but the Assassin isn't going there just yet.
Then it's settled. Elle stands up, and motions for Aislinn. "Alright then. Let's get moving. I have more people and things to take care of, and I'm not getting them done sitting here with you." It's business as usual as she motions to shoo Aislinn out so that she can get started on he next assignment. Elle always keeps her people as busy as possible, after all. She's known for it. isn't she?
Whatever the case, unless Aislinn has any more questions, Elle's going to be turning her attentions elsewhere. The assassin usually doesn't have much else to say, really, so it's not like Elle is expecting anything out of the young girl.
"Bring me back some heads. In the meantime, I need to start getting prepped for another trip to Thailand."
"Right," is all Aislinn says. She rises, and turns towards the door. And... then she turns back. "You can count on me," she finishes, as she walks out the door, snagging that uniform on the way out. She'll have to try it on and make sure it fits and it's combat-worthy... and she has plans to make, to make quickly.
"I'll contact you in a day with a progress report," she says, as she disappears out the door. Again, she marvels at how such an essentially rag-tag group of people can be so effective in a group--but she doesn't question it. It's just true.
Log created on 22:46:13 11/01/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 04:15:17 11/02/2007.