Baten Kaitos RP: How Many Burger King Jokes Can We Make.

[Jack]

Orion Lainsworth: Komo Mai Streets

Not much was said as the trio made their way through the never-ending bustle of Komo Mai. Orion led the way, occasionally glancing back to check that his potential recruits hadn't been lost in the crowd.

Really, Orion hoped that he wouldn't need to rouse them into combat. For an effective reconnaissance team, he would need people who could collect information from a variety of areas without being discovered. In reality, he had access to more than enough manpower for that through his own connections.

He had a distinct feeling that his group would be put to use for more than just recon. And, if Orion was forced to act on his own, then he would need an autonomous group under his exclusive command. That way, the responsibility was all his.

As the group approached the palace, the activity of the crowd intensified. People were scattered from the usual messy crowd formation, and they seemed to be gathering around one space. The sound of fearful screams confirmed to Orion the fact that something was wrong.

Slipping away from his small group with a nod, Orion dodged his way left and right through the throng, eventually managing to get to the fore in order to see what was going on. An unkempt young man had one of the local restaurant owners in a stranglehold with one arm, the other clutching a kitchen knife. Orion pulled a Magnus card from his tunic and readied himself to use it.

"Sir, please," came an even female voice, "let him go. He hasn't done anything to hurt you." Orion peered around and spotted a figure, not overly tall, clad entirely in a set of full body armour. She had her hands held up, demonstrating clearly that she bore no arms.

"This man..." began the haggard assailant in a deranged rant. "This man took everything from me! My job, my wife and kids, my home... I have nothing to live for ever since he took my life!"

"Times are hard..." spluttered his hostage, fighting to find the air with which to speak. "I couldn't... afford to keep you on staff... I'm sorry your wife left you... but it's not my fault..."

"Shut up!" growled the assailant. Wrapping his arm tightly around the restaurant owner's head, he heaved the man into the air, muscles cording out, the old man groping at the extremity to support himself. "Shut up! Shut up!"

"Sir, please calm down," said the armoured woman. "Don't make a decision you'll regret later. This can be worked out; it's not too late to let him go."

"No, no, I'm going to hell anyway... but before I do, I'm taking someone with me!"

The assailant raised his weapon, poised to cut the throat of his hostage, but before he could do anything, the woman raised two Magnus cards and summoned them. Raising the scattergun, she sprinted towards the man, her armour striking sparks against the stones. In a spectacular motion, she slid onto her back and underneath the man. A deafening blast cracked the air as she went, and her victim dropped both weapon and hostage in order to clutch his arm. She had apparently shot straight through it.

While she grandstanded over her victory, Orion slipped into the midst of the throng and spoke loudly to catch the apparent warrior's attention. "That was certainly a spectacular display. I will have to request that you accompany me so that we may speak in private; I have an offer to make to you. Don't worry, I will deal with him."

He gently pushed the armoured woman aside and heaved the fallen assailant to his feet. "Can you hear me?" he asked. The attacker looked up at him fearfully, bending double over his wounded arm. A messy hole ran straight through it to the other side, where the bullet had penetrated his skeleton. "Can you hear me?" Orion repeated, enunciating more clearly this time. The man nodded slowly.

"You are under arrest," he said, his voice even. "I am going to take you to the palace, where the guards will take custody of you. It is within your interest to come quietly." Glancing back, he scanned the crowd for the two students who had been accompanying him, hoping that they would work out to follow him too.
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[Psychon]

<Komo Mai: Main Street>

Mai was surprised by the quick response of what she thought was law enforcement, but listened to what he had to say, shifting her helmet back enough to break the seal that the hearing protection in her helmet had against her skin. He needed to make an offer to her, what exactly it was she had no idea, but something about the man seemed to project a sense of authority far greater than the common officer of the law, and that sense of intrigue seemed to grab her attention. She moved with no resistance to the man when he attempted to move her aside, and once she was sure he had everything under control, began to move into the usual routines she had before in her past dealings assisting Sadal Suud's police department. She quickly disarmed herself in a manner that seemed to have been done time and time again in the past, retracting her ammunition box, which still had ten shells, and her loaded scattergun into the respective magnus cards mounted on her left hip. She moved the two cards into the small container on the opposite hip, shutting it as she observed the strange man making the arrest, keeping her hand over the deck of cards, both out of caution should the unshaven man try to fight again, and also to be ready to hand them over should the police request that she disarm herself further.

Only now did Mai really have time to look at the damage she had caused to the unshaven man, looking at his arm. The force of a slug round fired less than half a meter away was devastating, it had mangled his arm where the bullet entered, and the opposite side where the slug exited, that was a bloody, horrific mess. She was quite certain she had hit his bones, judging from the odd shape of his damaged arm, the slug had most definitely shattered the radius and ulna into pieces on its way through him. She didn't have any qualms against killing or harming others if it was justified, not since her years of service with the police in the past, yet as she watched the man whimper as he was helped to his feet, clutching the remains of his arm, she knew that the man could very well lose that arm entirely. She remembered that if this had happened a few years ago, she would have been distraught about what she had done, she would have felt nothing but guilt for what pain she ahd inflicted, completely forgetting the fact that her actions were necessary to save the lives of not one, but two men. Even now, as she stared at the guilty man, she felt no remorse, she knew she was justified in taking the shot.

The man she had previously assumed to be an officer turned around, as if looking for someone, and she took the moment to approach him, conducting herself in as respectful a manner as possible. She reached up, unlatching a series of locks which held her helmet in place. She pried the helmet free, revealing first, skin that had been very lightly tanned from her time in the rural communities of Sadal Suud, then thin, pale lips; next, a narrow nose with triangular nostrils; then dark, green eyes; and finally, as the helmet came completely off, a head of wavy, black-brown hair tied up to keep it out of the way while wearing her helmet. There were light beads of sweat marking her face, to be expected considering how warm a suit of armor typically gets. She couldn't think of anything to say to the strange man before her, but the fact he requested her presence to speak in private began to eat at her at this point. She was worried that perhaps she had broken some Anuenue law she wasn't familiar with, but then the realization ran through her mind that if she had done something wrong, he would have arrested her already along with the other man. She finally set the helmet in her hands just under one of her arms, freeing one hand and at last speaking.

"Sir, I apologize for interfering in Anuenue business; I saw the need to act, and stepped in. Had I known you were behind me sir, I would have allowed proper Anuenue authorities to handle the situation."

Her voice was filled with a very rigid, formal tone; that combined with the very stiff stance she took standing in front of him, reminiscent of a soldier standing at attention, gave a sense that she was attempting to hide the worry in her body language and tone of voice through a strict sense of formality.

[Jack]

Orion Lainsworth: His Office, Komo Mai Palace

"Take a seat," said Orion as the group entered his office, indicating the squashy Komalia seed bean-bags which lined one wall in an orderly row. He stepped behind the desk and settled into his own wooden armchair, opened a drawer in his desk, and pulled out the piece of paper which Arian had given him. "Have a look at this." He handed it to his potential recruits for them to pass around and examine.

"It's a note, stating the acceptance of money for an assassination. An agent of ours discovered this during an inspection of an Alfard cargo ship, earlier today." He paused, watching their reactions before continuing. "As you can see, the amount of money accepted for this kill is significant. From this, we can infer that the target is someone highly influential. Royalty, possibly, or a high-ranking official or military officer."

"In light of the approaching summit between the leaders of Diadem and Alfard, and due to the fact that the note was discovered on an Alfard ship... We think it's safe to assume the target to be King Muphrid of Diadem." Orion paused for a moment in order to let this sink in.

"Now, if this is the case, it is a matter of extraordinary importance, but this note alone is not enough solid evidence to convince our Queen to take action, as it's just not specific enough. That means that I must conduct the investigation independently, not using military resources. This is the work I offered to you," he said, indicating Mylennia and Cole. "I want you all to work under my command to help work out the truth behind this, and to prevent anything from happening to the royalty of either country."

"If all goes according to plan, your only involvement will be reconnaissance, nothing more. I need people who can access a variety of locales and gather information from all areas. However, there is a possibility that I will require you to take up arms... So I don't want any of you to enter into this contract with me lightly. Once you have decided to work for me, I may not be able to let you go. Your work will not go unpaid, of course. I am a very influential figure, so name your price." He looked each of his potential candidates in the eye and waited for their reactions.
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[Toku]

~Cole Rosmire: Komo Mai Palace (Orion’s Office)~

Cole raised an eyebrow as Orion gestured toward the flower-shaped beanbag chairs lined up in front of a desk. ”Not very professional,” he thought as he slowly settled down onto one. He descended slowly, not wanting to clumsily fumble back or make any unexpected lurches like beanbag chairs were known to cause.

He listened closely as Orion explained his motive. From his words and the paper hastily passed along, Cole gathered that the possibility that the Alfard nation was planning some treacherous act was a high one. Orion was gathering people to offset this act, which in turn led him to search for people he could count on to assist him.

And really there was no one he could count on more so than Cole.

“...Your work will not go unpaid, of course,” Orion said, showing signs of turning the conversation over to them. “I am a very influential figure so name your price.” He stared at each one of them in turn with an intent look, appearing to gauge their reactions to his explanation.

Cole acted first and raised his hand to acquire Orion’s attention. ”I won’t require any further means of bribery,” he replied. ”I had been inclined from the start to accept your proposition and hearing further details has only made me more confident that this is what I want to do. Frankly, this is a worthy challenge for a prodigy such as myself and one that I won’t let pass me by so easily. If you want me to gather information, I can do that. If you want me to fight, I can do that also. I’m positive I will be of use toward your cause so consider me a loyal part of your legion, Commander Lainsworth.”

Cole stopped his hands to loosen out his fingers, the signing equivalent of stopping and taking a breath. ”However, since you graciously offered, if you were to pay off my student’s tuition at the Magic School, why, I would have no qualms whatsoever about that.”
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[KittyKatStar]

~ Arian Gweneal ~ [Orion’s office]

Arian watched timidly from behind a tall potted plant as Orion addressed three potential recruits. One was a young, tall, slightly frail-looking, girl with long blue hair in twintails, and wore an complex looking leather outfit with many belts and straps. Another was an older woman covered in armor and wore her brown hair in a ponytail. The last one was a young adult male in formal clothing, with auburn hair. She recognized him since he was a well-known student at the School of Magic but only saw him a few times.

Arian remained quiet, however when any of the three looked her way she gave a bashful smile, retreating back behind the plant to hide herself. However since the discussion was important, she politely listened. If she was going to work along side them, she might as well know what kind of people they were. Although she had something important to tell Orion, she patiently waited for the conversation to be over.

ooc: Waiting for everyone to finish talking. >.>b If it'll take too long, we can skip over it and assume everyone replied then left the office.
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Thank you for the lovely set, Seraph <3

[Psychon]

(Man, I've been watching Google Wave for a sign of you guys, guess we're just winging it?)

<Komo Mai Palace: Orion's Office>

Mai followed the strange man to his office, expecting some kind of discussion, after which he would probably ask if they were willing to join him, but she had already made up her mind on the matter, silently playing along to avoid offending her future employer. She decided to untie the bun her hair was curled up in, but to show at least some professionalism, she retied it into a ponytail to keep her hair under control. When they entered the room, Orion directed them to the odd seats; she clutched her helmet in her hands while looking at the bean bag chairs.

Mai tilted her head to figure out how to sit in it, having never before seen such a piece of furniture, but witnessing Cole lower himself slowly, she did the same, only to sink back because of the additional weight of her armor and become trapped. She began to wonder if he had intentionally chosen these chairs to prevent them from wanting to leave too quickly, and listened and watched while he continued. She gazed at the document she was handed by Cole beside her, noting important features on it. She had heard of hitmen, people who dealt only in blood money, and practically, her polar opposite in terms of career choices. There was a brief moment of doubt if she had the skill to take on someone who risked their lives to make money, but she soon came to the realization she did this too back in her days in Sadal Suud, and her fears were just as quickly eased as they came to her. She passed the document on to the next person and returned her full attention to Orion.

As he began to elaborate on the circumstances and the likely target, she began to see how deep this went. It could mean full-on war, the stakes were only becoming that much higher, yet she remained adamant. Memories began to pour back to the men of the coup in Diadem who wanted to take over, by force, how they took everything from her. Her back burned as she thought back to what she could remember from before he left her. She snapped back to reality, and her attention faltered briefly while he discussed the reasons behind why he was choosing to use them instead of the other military resources that were clearly at his disposal. She noticed a girl hiding behind a potted plant; she smiled at her, but being so used to wearing a helmet that hid her entire face all the time, she didn't return the smile at first. She eventually managed to force a smile, but not one nearly as genuine and warm as Arian's.

When the time came to respond, she saw Cole stand first, and listened to his proclamation, he was young, he had a lot to live for, yet he still volunteered. She admired his courage, watching him declare loyalty to the legion. It at last came to be her turn to speak, and she managed to wrench herself out of the chair, which now possessed a deep indent from holding her heavy armor. She fit her helmet onto her head, the latches clicking shut and locking the seal of her helmet. She stood at attention.

"The man who helped me when I was most miserable, the man who taught me how to fight, he also taught me principles which I've adhered to all my life. I once before had a chance to join the military, and here I see that chance again... I'll fight, but not for Diadem, but for law."

She relaxed from her stance at attention.

"As for payment, all I request is enough money to cover any expenses incurred during the investigation, no more, no less."

[Jack]

Orion Lainsworth and Arian Gweneal: Komo Mai Palace, Orion’s Office

The first to respond was Cole, who raised his hand, an expression of etiquette in a formal meeting, though, judging by Cole’s personality, it may have been more because Cole was mute than a desire for politeness. Nevertheless, Orion read the signs with a benign smile on his face and chuckled as Cole made his carefully disguised request. “This is hardly bribery, Mr Rosmire,” Orion said. “There are very real risks here. I can’t just throw you out there without paying you. Nevertheless, done. You will be an invaluable member of the team, I am sure.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Orion noticed Arian, attempting to conceal herself behind his large potted plant. He gave her a little nod, acknowledging her presence to confirm that she was allowed to stay.

Then, with a great effort, it seemed, Mai stood, her bean-bag fairly squashed. She clicked her helmet into place and spoke. As he listened to her, he was struck by how righteous her purpose really was. She was a warrior of justice, it was clear. Orion had learnt in his first year of service how to tell the difference between a soldier who wanted to fight for what was right, or for the sake of it.

“You are noble, Miss, and I deeply admire that. I am grateful of your acceptance. If you think of anything else that you may want as payment, please don’t hesitate to speak to me.”

“I’m not really sure if this is for me after all - I mean, this totally sounded like a good way to improve my magic skills without all the rules and regulations of the school, but if all we’re going to be doing is snooping around...well, that’s not exactly my forte,” Mylennia complained, flipping herself up out of the saggy chair. “Unless you want someone to sneak off-campus and out into the Holoholo Jungle. Then I’m your girl.”

Orion turned to Mylennia, fixing her blue-grey eyes with his own. “Unfortunately, Miss Josten, reconnaissance is all we can do right now. If we were to simply draw our weapons and charge against a foe we don’t even know is there, we would be lucky simply to be put straight out of action. I’m recruiting a team to do what’s right and maintain order, not to be heroes. If you aren’t interested, then I ask you to leave now.” He indicated the door behind her.

“Hey, don’t get all high-and-mighty with me. It’s not like I don’t appreciate what’s at stake here - but, I mean, you sure you want someone like me on your team? I’m not going to hold back if I get into a fight. I’m not going to be a shadow on the wall or some crack detective - I’m the cannon you aim at your enemy when you want them deader than dead.”

Orion decided to ignore the high-and-mighty comment for now. “Quite honestly, Miss Josten, I don’t know what may happen. If we are fortunate, it may be that nothing happens at the meet, and you may all return to your lives. Or the King of Diadem might be killed, and we’ll find ourselves in the middle of an all-out war. What I need is a diverse group of people, with a range of skills. You happen to fulfill the cannon bracket, but you are also a student, and no-one would suspect a student of being involved in something like this. Hence, you are also perfect for covert operations. Does that help at all?”

Mylennia shrugged. “You’re the commander - they must’ve put you in charge for a reason. I’ll trust you to make use of my skills appropriately.”

“Do I have your full co-operation, then, Miss Josten, in whatever I may ask you to do?"

“Depends on your definition of full, but I’m not about to walk away if that’s what you’re asking.”

Inwardly sighing, Orion said aloud, “Excellent.” He looked over to the plant which was just barely concealing Arian. “Okay, Arianneth, there’s no need to hide behind my plant any more. We’re all working together now, so Cole, Mylennia and Mai are entitled to hear this- as long as it stays between us.” A short, slightly sharp gaze at each member to punctuate this. “That is, if it is pertaining to our work. What is it?”

Reluctantly, Arian emerged from her little hiding place, and stood next to Orion and turned to the new recruits, although her eyes were unable to directly face them.

“Um, I...” she stammered, then gave a light cough to clear her fading voice. After a deep breath, the usual shy personality slipped away into a more confident scout. “While I was investigating the surrounding area, I spotted a suspicious transaction made at one of the market stalls. I followed the customer to a residential house. He appeared to be highly vigilant, checking over his shoulder before entering the home. Um, there’s, uh, more details in the magnus...” she timidly pulled out the card she used to record the incident of the stall. She had other cards where she recorded the appearance, and actions of the suspicious man, including the location of the house.

The sound of the street emerged from the card, a mass of indistinct conversations. Closer to the card, the voices became easier to hear. Amidst the discussions about everyday life and people ordering from the stall, there were two voices which sounded as though they didn’t want to be heard.

“Did you get me what I asked for?”

“Yep. Here you go. One map of the pala-”

“Shut up! You’ll be heard!”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s all there, anyway. The meeting times and stuff are enclosed... have a look at them before the meet.”

“Right. Excellent. Here’s your payment.”

“Thank you kindly, sir!”

“It ends there,” Arian explained as the conversation died off and the card returned to her pouch. Glancing at Orion nervously, she wondered if he thought the house was worth investigating.

The man himself smiled a little, sighed and leant back in his chair. “Well, this seems quite obviously set up. No-one is that bad at containing themselves on a mission involving potential treason. They’d get themselves killed, and they’d know it.”

Arian nodded, now that she thought about it.

“However...” Orion leant in, and looked his new subordinates in the eye. “In a mission of such importance, we cannot let anything slip past us. Even if this is a mere decoy, we need to find them and capture them. They will have some knowledge, depending on how tightly the operation is being commanded.
“As such, consider this your first formal order from me. Get out there and find them. I want the men involved brought to me for questioning. Try to avoid conflict- if this becomes public, it will jeopardise this whole operation. Arian, since you have the knowledge, I’m putting you in charge for this mission. That is, if you have no complaints?”

Honored that Orion would trust her with such responsibility, she nodded. “You can count on me,” she said, which was a typical line from Chara.

“Excellent. The four of you will work together...” He looked Mai up and down in her armour, scratching his chin. “I would prefer if you could travel incognito, Miss Aupenta. It is ideal for our target not to suspect anything, so that he may be taken quietly. Same goes for you, Arian- wear something casual. You two-” he indicated Mylennia and Cole- “will probably be fine in your student robes. No-one would suspect students.”

Orion stood up. “Arian, as a scout, I’m trusting you to orchestrate the mission so that you may stay undetected. However, if you don’t feel able to do it, don’t hesitate to let Chara or myself know. We can help you with it.” He turned to the gathering, and his expression lightened. “Okay, then. Thanks for your undivided attention, folks. Any questions?”
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[Psychon]

<Komo Mai Palace: Orion's Office>

When it was asked of Mai if she ever wanted anything more, there was nothing that came to mind, nothing that could by any earthly force be given to her anyway. All she desired was an understanding, finding a purpose in these journeys; she could only hope that enlightenment would come to her of these investigations. Her thoughts once more turned to the state of the world, and what was in store if she let her personal goals get in the way of defending order, knowing it was her new responsibility now to defend others, rather than herself. She managed to utter a response, her metal helmet causing her voice to become muffled, perhaps, even intimidating despite the benevolence of her message.

"There isn't anything more I can ask of you... but I appreciate the gesture sir."

As Mylennia, the third potential recruit, took her stand to speak, Mai stepped back, but preferred to remain standing rather than risk being caught in the bean bag. She held her arm with her opposite hand and gazed at the younger individual. She was certainly full of fire, vitality; she then was caught in a moment of prrejudice, and soon began to mistake Mylennia's eagerness for the behaviors of an individual who has not yet been jaded, not yet been touched, by the horrors of the real world. She saw hope, and was both happy and afraid; happy that there was a glimmer of life within Mylennia, but also deeply afraid, fearing that one day, that hope, that light, would be smothered out just as hers once was.

Not too surprising to her, Orion was quick to bring the veil of reality back out and throw it over Mylennia's seemingly infinitely expanding ambitions. She felt relieved that there was someone here to ground Mylennia, to keep her from doing something that might harm herself, or in the scope of what they were about to do as a team, what would harm the world as a whole. She silently observed as Mylennia, in her youthful, indomitable spirit, insisted she was a force to be reckoned with, directly stating that she wanted to do things her way, not the way that was necessary for all the world to remain a whole. Yet again, Orion was quick to keep Mylennia's aspirations in check, reminding her of the grave consequences that could come from their failure. Yet, there was a strange way he formed his words, he seemed to be actually encouraging her while at the same time trying to restrain her. Mylennia, soon after, seemed to comply, or merely told Orion what he wanted to hear to end the minor argument, yet her answer was unsure, not filled with the same level of devotion to the cause as the previous two recruits before her.

It was, soon after all three had agreed to work as one, that the woman who had formerly been in hiding emerged from the plant and approached the group with information that may or may not have been vital to their current objective. Mai watched the young girl as she shyly delivered what she had recovered, a Magnus Card which recorded a conversation. Mai immediately opened the hearing protection built into her helmet to allow herself to hear even the faintest whisper from the recorded messages. She was quick to accept the information as genuine, until Orion disputed the validity of the recording, claiming it to be a decoy operation. In a second thought, she began to see what he meant, and quietly agreed with Orion's observations. Mai stepped forwards when it was announced that they would be working on the first investigation, but was hurriedly stopped by Orion. She noticed he was staring at her, looking at her manner of dress, it didn't take long for her to figure out what he wanted to do, even before he said it.

"Yes, that's understandable... Excuse me for a moment."

She stepped back to the large door, gently opening to make sure there were no eavesdroppers, and allowing the door to slide shut just as gently to avoid interrupting the conversation. While walking to the washroom, Mai thought of how best to hold her armor. She remembered the card that once held a peach, given to her by the dock workers as thanks for her assistance. She entered the washroom doors, locking it behind her and drawing the Magnus Card from her pouch, which held nothing more than the pit of the already eaten peach. She summoned the pit out into existence, and for a moment, allowed the woody pit to roll in her armored palm. Mai set the pit on the sink alongside the card that once contained it, and began to strip off the armor. She set the armor in a neat, organized pile, and used the now empty Magnus Card to store it. She whirled around, slipping the card in its pouch, and snatching the peach pit off the counter, clutching it in her bare palm.

Mai returned a moment after Orion had asked if there were any questions, and quietly slipped inside to avoid being distracting. In place of the armor, Mai now wore a red, sleeveless top, along with baggy, gray trousers and a pair of ratty, old shoes. She had also taken the opportunity to let her hair out. Most striking about her figure, however, was that a certain feature on her back was missing; she had no wings. Mai swiftly advanced towards Arian, presuming that she was the acting commander of the ensuing investigation, standing at attention and rejoining the ranks of the newest recruits. Yet, in one hand behind her back, she still rolled the bare peach pit between her fingers and palm.