In Nomine: the Pacific War (IC)

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Puck

Mitch's tail twitches slightly as he thinks over his response. "For the most part this team works well together, there have been some tensions between the human members, but they have been able to over come them for the most part. I feel that we should hunt down this Huntsman who may be a messenger between the factions and also stirring up trouble on his own.

The suggestion/ order from the local Ethereals that all angels leave from Japan so that they can attack a Media tether in retaliation for the attack on their tether is interesting, it seems to show that they wish to be seen as a side of their own and not pawns to be used by either celestial faction."

"As you say, interesting. Perhaps more than you realize."

There are no clocks, no hourglasses, no overt means of keeping the time in this most timeless of realms, aside from the ornamental timepiece on the Archangel's arm. Even so, there's the impression of a long silence as Marc chooses his next words carefully.

"We have an offer on the table -- or the beginnings of one. Naturally, this is sensitive information, not yet ready for the Litherites. But because of your unique situation on the ground, you will have to be the one to decide when the time has come to act on this. It may already be nearer than we think."

"The Kami want more than to be a side. They want to be an ally. Or they say they do."

He leans forward, all his body language displaying trust, partnership, integrity, the sort of the thing that the best executive trainers only dimly approach on Earth.

"Their opening foray was simple. They invoked my Word. A representative for our Japanese friends approached and noted that they had evicted a Prince by honoring a contract. Surely, he intimated, that was worth something."

"You have heard the old maxim that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Well, when demons and ethereals attacked Kumamoto, the Kami didn't have to look very hard to decide who their friend might be. Mind you, they still had to choose their friends carefully -- and if they discover how restless Michael and Baal truly are, things could still become very unpleasant ..."

A long inhale. A controlled exhale.

"So. An alliance. Maybe. Possibly. But they've not made an offer yet. Nor have they made it clear precisely what they want yet. The matter has remained ephemeral, provisional ..." a wry grin. "Ethereal."

"They want peace. But on what terms?"

The grin is in Marc's eyes as well as he meets the many eyes of Mitch.

"Just the situation for a skilled Trader, don't you think?"

[Puck]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

"As you say, interesting. Perhaps more than you realize."

There are no clocks, no hourglasses, no overt means of keeping the time in this most timeless of realms, aside from the ornamental timepiece on the Archangel's arm. Even so, there's the impression of a long silence as Marc chooses his next words carefully.

"We have an offer on the table -- or the beginnings of one. Naturally, this is sensitive information, not yet ready for the Litherites. But because of your unique situation on the ground, you will have to be the one to decide when the time has come to act on this. It may already be nearer than we think."

"The Kami want more than to be a side. They want to be an ally. Or they say they do."

He leans forward, all his body language displaying trust, partnership, integrity, the sort of the thing that the best executive trainers only dimly approach on Earth.

"Their opening foray was simple. They invoked my Word. A representative for our Japanese friends approached and noted that they had evicted a Prince by honoring a contract. Surely, he intimated, that was worth something."

"You have heard the old maxim that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Well, when demons and ethereals attacked Kumamoto, the Kami didn't have to look very hard to decide who their friend might be. Mind you, they still had to choose their friends carefully -- and if they discover how restless Michael and Baal truly are, things could still become very unpleasant ..."

A long inhale. A controlled exhale.

"So. An alliance. Maybe. Possibly. But they've not made an offer yet. Nor have they made it clear precisely what they want yet. The matter has remained ephemeral, provisional ..." a wry grin. "Ethereal."

"They want peace. But on what terms?"

The grin is in Marc's eyes as well as he meets the many eyes of Mitch.

"Just the situation for a skilled Trader, don't you think?"

The Seraph bows his head in acknowledgment of the compliment, saying "I thank you for the trust you place in me Sir." Straightening, he continues "So the Kami offer an alliance, well and good. But what do we bring to the table that they want, what can we offer them in return?"

[tHEhERETIC]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

The couple has no trouble walking away. Ryuki explains, "Okay, just them and they're clearly not demons. Sunae tells me her grandfather is being haunted and I offered our help, but she thinks we should focus on finding the lost Huntsman. I've got passports--fakes, but they should work--so we should get to a plane."

((players of Mitch and Cameron, you are not forgotten, just delayed for another day or two. After Thanksgiving then?))

"Here're your passports." He hands them to Glen and Sunae without ceremony. "Read it, know it, love it." He walks you out of Mo-Mo's earshot but otherwise ignores him. "The bad news is that in order for those to work we have to transfer at Honolulu instead of taking a direct flight to LA. LA," he says, almost parenthetically, "is Hellish on Customs and Immigration. We could also fly here to Tokyo and straight to San Francisco as long as you two didn't get too bored on the long layover. We'd be stuck in Narita itself for a couple hours.

"The good news is that we'll get plenty of sleep where our angel buddies can't throw tasks at us. I'll buy Business class which will smooth the passport issue but," he sighs, "I swear I'm going to bill Briathos for my accounting work on that one." It's all rather earthy to him just now, finance and travel and banal details. "We'll clean up at the BC lounge to look the part. That works for you I hope?"

((IRL this would be nowhere near as easy as it sounds, if it were possible at all. For one thing, his fake passport would collide with his frequency at those airports, where the staff would know his face. There'd be no connection in Honolulu--that is there in case you want to do Plot with Gabriel and Pele.))

Originally Posted by Puck

The Seraph bows his head in acknowledgment of the compliment, saying "I thank you for the trust you place in me Sir." Straightening, he continues "So the Kami offer an alliance, well and good. But what do we bring to the table that they want, what can we offer them in return?"

((My professional vocabulary contrasts significantly from RocketMan's, so I hope I do something like justice to his style.))

"Ethereal." He's almost wistful with that word, but with a tinge if distaste, or perhaps regret. "One thing about that culture that is maddening to the contract-minded is a sense of reciprocal gifts. I give you a tie, you feel obligated to give me a handkerchief. I get the handkerchief, I start shopping for some other little accessory. Both sides are essentially expected to anticipate what the other wants. So, before we out and ask what they want, we should take an educated guess, to establish that we understand a culture of gifts. Just ask any Bright--we do understand it.

"So we saved a castle, and they would feel the need to repay that. I'd be mildly surprised if they haven't already, with a small deduction for involving them in the War in the first place. Have they? If so, it's our move.

"Protection we could offer, but they've just protected us--by asking us to leave. Guarding the gates is off. Do they want their spirits to roam the Earth without interference? Surely they understand that is off the table. Even if they could convince me of it," he shakes his head, "I seriously doubt I could convince the entire Seraphim Council.

"For now, unless you've got a better idea, I think we should respond in kind. Listen closely for infernal activity and give them early warning of it whenever it might affect them. Show them we've got their backs, in that."

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

"Here're your passports." He hands them to Glen and Sunae without ceremony. "Read it, know it, love it." He walks you out of Mo-Mo's earshot but otherwise ignores him. "The bad news is that in order for those to work we have to transfer at Honolulu instead of taking a direct flight to LA. LA," he says, almost parenthetically, "is Hellish on Customs and Immigration. We could also fly here to Tokyo and straight to San Francisco as long as you two didn't get too bored on the long layover. We'd be stuck in Narita itself for a couple hours.

"The good news is that we'll get plenty of sleep where our angel buddies can't throw tasks at us. I'll buy Business class which will smooth the passport issue but," he sighs, "I swear I'm going to bill Briathos for my accounting work on that one." It's all rather earthy to him just now, finance and travel and banal details. "We'll clean up at the BC lounge to look the part. That works for you I hope?"

((IRL this would be nowhere near as easy as it sounds, if it were possible at all. For one thing, his fake passport would collide with his frequency at those airports, where the staff would know his face. There'd be no connection in Honolulu--that is there in case you want to do Plot with Gabriel and Pele.))

"The worse news is that we have to get him (points to Mo-Mo) out of here too, and neither of the obvious options is open to me. " Glen sighs. "Much as I hate to test him that way, I may have to send him back on the low road with Shuck for an escort and just hope they both come out the other end. Or at least that Shuck does; if Mo-mo gets eaten on the way I don't think anyone will shed any tears."

[ladyarcana55]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

"Here're your passports." He hands them to Glen and Sunae without ceremony. "Read it, know it, love it." He walks you out of Mo-Mo's earshot but otherwise ignores him. "The bad news is that in order for those to work we have to transfer at Honolulu instead of taking a direct flight to LA. LA," he says, almost parenthetically, "is Hellish on Customs and Immigration. We could also fly here to Tokyo and straight to San Francisco as long as you two didn't get too bored on the long layover. We'd be stuck in Narita itself for a couple hours."

"The good news is that we'll get plenty of sleep where our angel buddies can't throw tasks at us. I'll buy Business class which will smooth the passport issue but," he sighs, "I swear I'm going to bill Briathos for my accounting work on that one." It's all rather earthy to him just now, finance and travel and banal details. "We'll clean up at the BC lounge to look the part. That works for you I hope?"

Sunae looks at her passport with curiosity.

"Eh, doesn't matter to me. Just as long as we get back. We still have things to do."

Originally Posted by Dalillama

"The worse news is that we have to get him (points to Mo-Mo) out of here too, and neither of the obvious options is open to me. " Glen sighs. "Much as I hate to test him that way, I may have to send him back on the low road with Shuck for an escort and just hope they both come out the other end. Or at least that Shuck does; if Mo-mo gets eaten on the way I don't think anyone will shed any tears."

"I don't know if I am comfortable with leaving him and Shuck alone. We really need Shuck and I don't want to risk losing him. If the Huntsmen see him, they may call to him and take him back. But we were going to have him <motioning to Mo-mo> try to get some information for us."

[Puck]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

"Ethereal." He's almost wistful with that word, but with a tinge if distaste, or perhaps regret. "One thing about that culture that is maddening to the contract-minded is a sense of reciprocal gifts. I give you a tie, you feel obligated to give me a handkerchief. I get the handkerchief, I start shopping for some other little accessory. Both sides are essentially expected to anticipate what the other wants. So, before we out and ask what they want, we should take an educated guess, to establish that we understand a culture of gifts. Just ask any Bright--we do understand it.

"So we saved a castle, and they would feel the need to repay that. I'd be mildly surprised if they haven't already, with a small deduction for involving them in the War in the first place. Have they? If so, it's our move.

"Protection we could offer, but they've just protected us--by asking us to leave. Guarding the gates is off. Do they want their spirits to roam the Earth without interference? Surely they understand that is off the table. Even if they could convince me of it," he shakes his head, "I seriously doubt I could convince the entire Seraphim Council.

"For now, unless you've got a better idea, I think we should respond in kind. Listen closely for infernal activity and give them early warning of it whenever it might affect them. Show them we've got their backs, in that."

Mitch curls his body into interesting patterns and loops as he thinks this over "A good deed for a good deed? I think the Kami would understand and appreciate that my Lord." He smiles slightly, "Perhaps with a good sake thrown in to show our thanks."

[tHEhERETIC]

Originally Posted by Dalillama

"The worse news is that we have to get him (points to Mo-Mo) out of here too, and neither of the obvious options is open to me. " Glen sighs. "Much as I hate to test him that way, I may have to send him back on the low road with Shuck for an escort and just hope they both come out the other end. Or at least that Shuck does; if Mo-mo gets eaten on the way I don't think anyone will shed any tears."

"So much hassle. What was it we wanted from him?" He paces around Mo-Mo but it's mostly for show.

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

"Yeah, but he's a smart one." Ryuki wants a bit of privacy away from the captive. "...

Ryuki starts with Glen. "He is smart, and he will slip the leash the very first chance he gets. The pity is that duct-taping him like you did the others," he catches his glitch--a demon is an it, not a him, "would be a waste of talent. If we can get something serious on it, like geas-level serious, it would be the perfect guy to send behind enemy lines. It thinks it's an angel and its buddies think it's a demon."
....

"But I'm less concerned with why they're doing it and more with how to stop it. We tell Michael. Somehow we tell Baal." He points at Mo-Mo and shrugs. "And we get any cities that are up for grabs, we keep those fights cold until they're settled. ...

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

Sunae looks at her passport with curiosity.

"Eh, doesn't matter to me. Just as long as we get back. We still have things to do."

"I don't know if I am comfortable with leaving him and Shuck alone. We really need Shuck and I don't want to risk losing him. If the Huntsmen see him, they may call to him and take him back. But we were going to have him <motioning to Mo-mo> try to get some information for us."

"Ah, of course, we know a Malakite who could escort him, but there'd be no guarantee he'd survive the trip. Safe bet--" he jogs a leg. "Dammit, I need to find a men's room but I don't want to 'break the seal'."
A light bulb goes off with those last three words. "Of course. We seal him into a jar. A regular jar would get security's attention, but..." he's enjoying his mind working rapidly again, "nobody would bat an eye at a blender." He likes that idea, a lot.

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

"So much hassle. What was it we wanted from him?" He paces around Mo-Mo but it's mostly for show.


"Ah, of course, we know a Malakite who could escort him, but there'd be no guarantee he'd survive the trip. Safe bet--" he jogs a leg. "Dammit, I need to find a men's room but I don't want to 'break the seal'."
A light bulb goes off with those last three words. "Of course. We seal him into a jar. A regular jar would get security's attention, but..." he's enjoying his mind working rapidly again, "nobody would bat an eye at a blender." He likes that idea, a lot.

"Sounds good to me. If you find a blender, I'll break the news to the cargo."

[chumley1013]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

Corat lets himself out of the bar and Kane soon follows, figuring Glen could handle one compliant demon better than Corat could handle the one that ice-cubed Kane. If he was worried about starting a fight they couldn't finish, he needn't have worried. The demon or demons who knocked Cameron out were gone. They'd moved her unconscious body, apparently considering taking her hostage before changing their minds. Her stuff, though, not so lucky. Anything remotely related to an old Apple computer is gone and a few other things as well. A small laptop is also missing albeit one that didn't work all that well anyway, but significantly a handful of flash drives, the ones containing the kinds of things that Cameron didn't talk about in polite company. Whoever Michael White was, he knew his computers well, though not so well that he didn't ditch those old jelly-bean Apples for something more recent.

Unfortunately with the old Caddy he drove up in it would be easy enough to hide most of that junk from your average patrol cop.

Corat checked the place carefully and then checked Cameron for injuries before waking her. She was completely unharmed outside of a small bump on the head from hitting the side of a table on the way down. "Well, the good news is he doesn't appear to have hurt you bodily. How's your insurance policy?"

She blinked, yawning a little. "Insurance?" She slowly sat up, looking around her ransacked home. She notices a small box she usually keeps the flash drives in, turned out and half of it's contents scattered on the floor. "Oh crap."

After gathering the drives and looking at the hastily applied labels she put on them, her face pales a bit. "Rocinante is missing. I wrote that program to allow for being online while being untraceable. A few of the hacker groups were offering top dollar for that. Now that it's out of my hands, a few other groups will be interested in it too, namely ones that go by letters of the Alphabet, like FBI, CIA, DHS......"

[tHEhERETIC]

Originally Posted by chumley1013

She blinked, yawning a little. "Insurance?" She slowly sat up, looking around her ransacked home. She notices a small box she usually keeps the flash drives in, turned out and half of it's contents scattered on the floor. "Oh crap."

After gathering the drives and looking at the hastily applied labels she put on them, her face pales a bit. "Rocinante is missing. I wrote that program to allow for being online while being untraceable. A few of the hacker groups were offering top dollar for that. Now that it's out of my hands, a few other groups will be interested in it too, namely ones that go by letters of the Alphabet, like FBI, CIA, DHS......"

Corat's calm and in control but not happy. "Okay, you think about how we're going to keep that from becoming a problem, while I try to track down the physical drive." He gets out his phone. While it's ringing he says to Cameron, "We do have angels who can ride the wires if that's what we need."

Back in a park in Kumamoto, Ryuki picks up his phone. "Ryuki, the demon has left. What do I need to grab, photograph, doodle, whatever, to give us a shot at tracking him down? He stole a lot of stuff, some of it contraband and we need to get it back with a minimum of cops."

"Ugh. You'd think angels would have a better handle on tracking demons. Ummm," he thinks on it a second, even as he leads the little party towards the shopping center. "Anything it left behind that belonged to it. You said he was there for computer repairs, so see if he left behind some old components, ideally something left behind accidentally." When speaking of demons, Ryuki's pronouns get inconsistent.

"Pieces of an old computer shell, check."

"Okay, handle it as little as possible. Put it in a box, wooden is best, and don't even look at it if you can help it. I'll be a few hours..."

"Don't you know anybody in L.A. who could do the tracing thing before you get back?"

"If there was anybody in L.A. I trusted like that, Gavin would not be dead. What about a Cherub?"

"An interesting thought."

Originally Posted by Dalillama

"Sounds good to me. If you find a blender, I'll break the news to the cargo."

Ryuki pauses to let folks know, though he doesn't hang up the phone until he's sure no one plans to reach for it. "Let's go shopping."

Shopping will be uneventful, provided they manage to pocket Shuck. Sure, Mo-Mo will try to slip away from them in crowds, but with three experienced demon wranglers he won't get that far. Once the blender is acquired Ryuki leads them to a slightly seedy motel where he can pay for the privacy they need to get Mo-Mo into the most undignified demon jar ever.

((Sunae--I reread the dialogue with Ayato but it occurs to me that Grandpa-Ayato will take place out of Sunae's hearing. Either may discuss it with her later, but both can talk to her in the dreams. IOW, no hurry on that. I'm going to wait until they're on the plane, unless there's a chance she'll react by visiting the family in person.

Mitch--will answer shortly, but it looks like a wrap-up on that dialog.))