09:56 <banana> It's Saturday night and you're all out of spirits. 09:57 <Crion> Aster's old enough to make the proper musical joke, but not in the mood. 09:57 <banana> The super blood moon continues in its course overhead, influencing other parts of the world. From what they told you at the initial meeting, there are people handling that - some kind of wider network. 09:59 <banana> There were three of the wizards back then, calling themselves Wolf-Mourners. You're still missing the one called Opal, but Zeno and Carrey have turned up to mark your work. 09:59 <banana> It's late, dark, cold and dry, with only a small amount of vegetation around the torn-up dirt paths. The pest control van and a Chiral Service lorry are parked at an interval along the single access road. 10:00 <Quaker> Can they see her? Badawi will slowly walk up behind them. 10:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's finished Bob's cigarette and moved to rejoin the group. She can't really close her right hand, but the bleeding has stopped, and she only looks slightly battered and sooty. 10:01 <tom> Bob’s bracing himself up against his riot shield with a bit more jitteriness than he’d like to show, but the ammo count’s still good and he’s in a strong position if the two prisoners decide to start any trouble. They shouldn’t, with their guns on the ground in a little pile, but you never know with Cheiron guys what tricks they might try to pull. He taps his comms. Click: ”Advise 10:01 <tom> on detainees?” 10:02 <Crion> Aster's moved towards the link-up, but he's not about to move into eyesight of these Cheiron operators until someone puts hoods on them. 10:02 <hrolf> Rolf is still guarding the two with Bob. 10:02 <Crion> He's still carrying Badawi's SVD, and ready to shoulder. 10:06 <banana> Zeno, the least talkative of the three mages you met, has just transformed from some kind of huge furred monster into a neatly put together man. He's immediately interested in the detainees. Carrey leaps off his back as that happens - and looks around in alarm. Her gaze passes right over Badawi, but she keeps searching the night. 10:07 <tom> He keeps the two bagmen in his sights at all times. He flips through view modes on his visor. Infrared, low-light. The friendly green box has the two men bracketed and is fruitlessly trying to perform facial recognition scans on the backs of their heads. 10:08 <Crion> Aster looks around, frowns...and puts his earpiece back in. Badawi hasn't reappeared yet... 10:08 <hrolf> Rolf nods at Willie as she returns. "Could do with a fag meself." 10:08 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I didn't think to bring any. More fool I. Mr. Goreman might have another." 10:09 <banana> Carrey strolls toward the group of people in front of the truck, with the weird broken equipment. She wears a suit, sharp despite having ridden here on a scrambling beast's shoulders; short grey hair and smooth skin, with a million dollar smile. 10:09 <tom> Pay attention, kids! Today we’re going to learn what an Optic Thorn is. 10:09 <hrolf> "Can wait, fink we've got company." 10:10 <banana> Carrey: "Those things will kill you. Everyone's alive? We've got company?" 10:10 <Crion> Aster, quietly: "Badawi, I don't know if you're up to something, and don't reply to this on-channel, but remember: there are three of them. We don't have eyes-on the third." 10:10 <banana> Zeno's quieter, still looking around. Perhaps he remembers that there were five people in the cell... 10:10 <Quaker> Badawi will chill quietly in the background. 10:11 <banana> Zeno's the same height as Carrey, which makes him look short, but more appropriately dressed. Anonymous fatigues, not camo but military-looking regardless. He has a very bland face and moves deliberately... when not in the form of a giant furred thing. 10:11 <tom> Bob is already reaching into his webbing to grab the pack of cigarettes and toss it to Rolf. ”Don’t have a light on me.” 10:11 <hrolf> Rolf throws a casual salute as they walk up. "Two of these lads captured, and all bogeys neutralized." 10:13 <tom> The Radio clicks again: ”Oh just so we’re clear we’re not doing any executions tonight. I mean I’m not. You guys do whatever.” 10:13 <banana> Carrey is pleased, sort of. "Frankly I didn't think you'd manage it. And only Goreman's covered in blood. All three sites hit? Did you get any other incursions?" 10:14 <banana> Zeno walks straight up to the captives. To their guards: "May I?" 10:15 <hrolf> "Aye, we got all of them and-" Rolf casts a beady aye at the prisoners, who are looking pretty unhappy at the moment. He shrugs. "Fine with me. What do you say marm, Bob?" 10:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "By all means." 10:16 <tom> “May you...?” 10:17 <Crion> Aster leans against the vehicle and eyes the cigarettes. He used to smoke, back in the day... 10:17 <tom> How tall’s this guy? 10:17 <banana> Zeno: "There's no sense having these people listen to us." He stands between the two men and reaches for their heads, one palm for each; they try to flinch away. 10:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's not going to get in the way of whatever these guys want to do, magically, to the Cheiron lackeys. 10:18 <Crion> Once they're effectively...muted? Put on mute?...Aster says, "As a logistical and legal proposition, if there are to be executions we either need a substantial raise or to not be around for them." 10:18 <banana> Carrey's still talking as well. She doesn't seem concerned with interrupting Zeno. "Detail on the other incursions, please?" 10:18 <tom> Well, Bob isn’t physically intimidated, but he kind of moves aside to let them through. ”You aren’t gonna, you know.” 10:19 <tom> He mimes popping each in the back of the head with his weapon. Mercifully, this is to their backs. 10:19 <banana> Zeno: "No, I won't murder them. Who are they?" 10:20 <tom> “Cheiron.” 10:20 <tom> Bob relaxes. 10:20 <banana> The wizard does.. something.. with his hands on the Cheiron guys' foreheads. Bob finds it upsetting to some sense he doesn't have. Their eyes roll up in their faces and they both slump bonelessly in their bindings, deeply asleep. 10:20 <Crion> Aster will put the rifle down at something approximating parade rest, then. Pity. A surge fee would have been nice. 10:20 <tom> Quietly, pressing coms: ”Badawi, one of these Cheiron guys can see you.” 10:20 <tom> “Just a heads up.” 10:21 <Quaker> Well…not anymore, apparently. 10:22 <banana> Carrey: "I don't have all night." She looks around at the four visible hunters. "And there's someone else here, or something concealed.. a creature.." 10:22 <Crion> Aster: "Mmmhmm."{ 10:23 <VoxPVoxD> Now is maybe not the time to be coy... 10:24 <Crion> Aster doesn't presume to have the command authority to order Badawi to show up. He's not even sure she can, really; he has no idea how those potions work. 10:24 <tom> He’s quiet a moment before continuing. ”Other guy has an intraveinous pump. Some kind of combat stim, my guess.” 10:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie looks from Zeno to Carrey and turns to face the latter. "There were several spirits at the barn. One possessed a tractor — see Mr. Goreman's leg — and one was forced to ride some sprouts." 10:26 <tom> He’s gathering up their weapons and ammunition and bagging it up. 10:26 <hrolf> "Fairly standard incursions. One of 'em possessed a tractor and hit one our lads." 10:26 <tom> “I’m fine,” he adds, zipping up the bag. 10:27 <tom> “Thanks for the free guns, suckers,” He laughs. 10:27 <Quaker> Badawi speaks up. She’s still invisible. “A barn burned down at the second location. And the tractor was blown up.” 10:27 <Crion> Ah, finally. That was becoming uncomfortable. To the wizards: "She's a friendly." 10:27 <Quaker> “And these two were attempting to summon something using some kind of magic-interfacing technology. They appeared to be interested in capturing it.” 10:28 <tom> Of course, one of the guns is a Five-Seven, and so useless. But still. It feels like winning. 10:28 <banana> Zeno examines the Cheiron guys now that Bob's done so, running his hands over their weird magic cybertech and shaking his head slightly. 10:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes, the Cheiron lackeys were holding the barrier between worlds open. Ms. Badawi was able to disable the device before anything came in. The frogs were behaving strangely when we came up." 10:29 <banana> Carrey: "Ugh." She turns toward the voice. "Well, thanks for shutting it down.. that sounds pretty fucking stupid.." 10:29 <banana> Zeno: "Their lorry. That thing's designed to hold something with a prelapsarian body plan." 10:29 <tom> Bob will shoulder the bag and sort of limp back over to Zeno. ”You see it?” 10:29 <Quaker> “Does ‘idigam’ mean anything to you? It’s what the frogs were chanting.” 10:29 <tom> “Prelapswhatian?” 10:30 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "It means 'before the Fall'." 10:30 <banana> Carrey, to the invisible Badawi: "Yes. Everyone close your eyes, cover your ears, turn away from the vehicle. I'll give you five... four... three..." 10:30 <VoxPVoxD> Are they some kind of Biblical cult? 10:31 <tom> Well shit, kid, alright. Bob slaps his hands over his ears. 10:31 <Quaker> Badawi turns and crouches, her head in her hands. 10:31 <Crion> Aster power walks away." 10:31 <hrolf> Rolf is taken aback, and manages to obey instructions just in time. 10:32 <VoxPVoxD> Willie turns away... but peeks through her fingers using the reflection of the van's mirror. 10:33 <banana> Zeno looks a bit irritated as he picks up the two unconscious captives, one under each arm, and moves them rapidly back toward the fallen standing stone. 10:36 <banana> You see your own skin against the night. Bob's bones stand out to him through the reticle of the Odin. You hear a muffled and decisive cronch. 10:36 <banana> Willie alone witnesses the Cheiron FPD lorry turn from a medium-sized vehicle into a half-metre sphere of twisted metal, collapsing in on itself in a way which - the truck doesn't *move*. Every part of it remains where it is, but the relationship of those places to each other changes. Becomes an orb. 10:36 <banana> Carrey: "Ahh! Fuck, Christ!" 10:37 <hrolf> Rolf opens his eyes at the cursing. "What! What 'appened?" 10:37 <banana> Her arm - it's hard to keep your eyes closed after that kind of exclamation - something's gone wrong with it too. The expensive suit jacket seems to have melded into flesh, with dark smoke pouring out at the wrist. 10:38 <banana> Zeno: "Are you serious?" 10:38 <Crion> Aster is already moving, holding out the rifle. "Somebody take the gun." 10:38 <VoxPVoxD> Fucking hell! 10:39 <Quaker> Eugh! 10:39 <banana> Carrey: "I'll be ok. There's time for.. we'll deal with it." 10:39 <banana> You can all see the trucksphere now, a shining mostly-white ball. It also smokes gently, with the heat of compression. 10:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Is that going to explode?" 10:40 <banana> Carrey: "No. Ow ow ow." To Aster: "What's this?" 10:40 <Crion> To Zeno, instead, then: "Can your biologies deal with a lost arm?" 10:41 <Crion> To Carrey: "You've lost an arm and I'm trying to determine if you're improbably somehow only inconvenienced, or if you're instead in shock." 10:41 <tom> The friendly green box is flipping out over ‘Carrey’s arm, suddenly attempting to identify something. He’ll let it twist in the wind for a while. Bob stands there and thinks. 10:41 <hrolf> Rolf swivels his eyes from the mage’s fucked up arm to the truck. Despite her saying no to it’s structural integrity, he isn’t fully convinced after seeing that display of incompetence and casually sidles away in a direction further away from it. 10:41 <banana> Zeno is severe - either disapproval or trying not to laugh. "We can, at a price. She'll pay." 10:41 <banana> Carrey: "Uhh.. feel free to take a look. Why not." 10:42 <Crion> Looking closer, perhaps not 'lost.' Hrm. Aster's eyes narrow. 10:42 <Crion> He will take a look. Rarely does one get to examine a paraphenomnal bodily injury. "Will someone please take this rifle?" 10:42 <banana> The arm's all there, it's just.. not a human arm anymore. It's all jacket, and half-burned jacket. Carrey flexes it experimentally, which seems to cause considerable pain. 10:43 <banana> While Aster examines the other wizard, Zeno will address Willie, Rolf and the others. "Moving on. It seems like you've done the job we asked, and we're all grateful for it." 10:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Hang on a tick; what's going to happen to the lorry?" 10:44 <banana> "I can't guarantee you more work in the future. This was an emergency. We don't outsource. And if we did, we wouldn't pay emergency rates." 10:45 <banana> Carrey: "I was going to roll it into a mineshaft.. Opal should be here to help with that.. are you even a nurse?" 10:45 <banana> This last is addressed to Aaron Aster. 10:46 <tom> Bob is there, hat in figurative hand as he takes up the weapon. 10:46 <Quaker> Wow, what a terrible spectacle! Badawi will drift over to where Zeno is holding the hostages… 10:46 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, actually. And mortician lab technician. Both certifications are from the state of Pennsylvania, however, if that concerns you." 10:46 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, actually. And mortician lab technician. Both certifications are from the state of Pennsylvania, however, if that concerns you." 10:46 <Quaker> Wow, what a terrible spectacle! Badawi will drift over to where Zeno is holding the hostages… 10:47 <tom> To the rifle, wordless: it’s okay baby the bad man can’t hurt you any more. We’re gonna make it through this. 10:47 <Quaker> And liberate wallets, trinkets, gadgets, whatever from their pockets. 10:47 <tom> He checks the magazine. 10:48 <hrolf> To Zeno: "You reckon on not 'avin any emergencies in the future, yeah?" 10:51 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Why was this an emergency? Was this a black swan event or were you caught understaffed?" 10:51 <tom> Yeah, no problem here thinks Bob to himself as he painfully shoulders the rifle along with the rest of his kit and shield. 10:52 <banana> Zeno: "To be honest with you - given what you've stopped here tonight you deserve it - it gets worse every year. There are fewer of us who remember, or who.. accept our responsibility to stand in for wolves." 10:52 <banana> "Tonight was a massive meteorological coincidence. Lunacy and sunspots. That won't recur, generally. But our numbers.. should be higher." 10:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "You mean all this... is werewolf's work? And no one's been doing it since they've gone?" 10:53 <Quaker> Badawi will speak up again now that her own pockets are full. “And what, exactly, does ‘idigam’ mean?” 10:53 <banana> Zeno: "I don't know how much you know about werewolves, but what you don't I probably shouldn't tell." 10:53 <tom> “Aw, don’t tell me I missed on meeting one for good.” 10:53 <Crion> Aster: "Hmmm. Well. Yes. This does contextualize some previous experiences of mine. All on the slab, you understand. You're much luckier than they are. Same as whatever's happened to that van, incredibly inimical to the operation of the wider world, but this is the first time I've seen it applied as a consequence to the body of a practitioner. I can make the various suppositions and 10:53 <Crion> corollaries from there, but you're not paying me so that I can give you a job review." 10:53 <banana> "An Idigam.. is like a spirit but simply far worse. Vast, incomprehensible in form, indefatigable in power. Don't summon them for your corporate profits." 10:53 <tom> He is crestfallen. 10:54 <tom> Do you have *any* idea how many FORT boys couldn’t make a bingo without ‘Werewolves!’? 10:54 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "...so it's just down to you three, then?" 10:54 <VoxPVoxD> "Here in Manchester. Keeping watch of the bordermarch." 10:55 <banana> Carrey: "Uh, I appreciate the effort, and you're not wrong. But you're probably not gonna be able to do anything about it." 10:55 <Crion> Aster, to the rest of the group: "In the future, when a caster tells us not to look at or perceive what they're doing, and we're friendly to that caster, it would be my clinical and professional advice to take them very seriously." 10:55 <hrolf> "Don't look at me, mate." 10:55 <banana> Zeno: "Just us three in the North. ...it's an area of occult relevance outweighing its budgetary value." 10:55 <Crion> To Rolf: "Now you're getting the idea." 10:56 <tom> Bob is shuffling back over to the van to unload the rifle, his shield, and the duffelbag full of guns. The radio clicks: ”Are you saying I’m so stupid I can make them choke up?” 10:56 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's sure it wasn't her fault. It was just a little peek. 10:56 <Quaker> Badawi: “If you’re feeling grateful, Mr. Zeno, I do have one more question…” 10:57 <Crion> Aster is not completely unaware of his own motivations here: letting the casters know what he knows. Braggartry is just resume-bombing by another name. 10:57 <tom> “Just by looking with my dumb ass eyes?” 10:58 <banana> Zeno: "Tell you what- do you have my charms still?" 10:58 <banana> "If those are all intact and returned, my gratitude increases measurably." 10:58 <tom> Bob cringes. 10:58 <Crion> Aster: "We used one to avoid getting trampled by the family cow." 10:59 <Crion> He shrugs. "When you shut the cow, God opens a tractor." 10:59 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "But we got it back!" 10:59 <tom> “I didn’t want to shoot the cow bro, that’s on me.” 10:59 <VoxPVoxD> Willie turns her pair in. 10:59 <Crion> Aster does the same. 10:59 <tom> Bob’s fucking around in his pockets like a kid caught without a bus pass. 10:59 <Quaker> A trio of dogtags will float, seemingly by themselves, onto Zeno’s neck. “I grabbed it off the cow when we left.” 10:59 <tom> He returns the one. 10:59 <tom> If he had dropped it back at the farm he would already be running back to go get it for the nice man. 11:00 <banana> Carrey, to Aster: "I made assumptions about you lot based on the invisibility and the glow of fading heat. More notice will be provided next time, if there's one." She's going to take her arm away from him now. 11:00 <Crion> Aster will nod. He was done with it anyway. 11:01 <banana> Zeno, to Carrey: "Mere mortals are capable of many things." 11:01 <banana> Carrey: "That's the party line, huh?" 11:01 <tom> “Really dog, in front of me?” 11:02 <tom> He realizes ‘dog’ is perhaps insensitive to a shapeshifter? 11:02 <VoxPVoxD> Certainly no more offensive than 'mere mortal'. 11:02 <tom> “At least don’t call me a muggle to my face, c’mon.” 11:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do you need anything else or are we free to go?" 11:03 <banana> Carrey: "I'm going to find Opal. He's probably lost. Are you ok to stay with the french guys?" 11:03 <tom> Rifle and shield stowed, Bob is lighter on his feet. Still fucked up. 11:03 <banana> Zeno: "I am. I'll release our muggles here when they're done debriefing." 11:03 <Crion> Aster bites his tongue. This is, obviously, not his first go-round with casters. They're all basically like this, though. They talk like Superman, but you can still shoot them twice in the chest and once in the head. 11:03 <banana> He turns back to Bob and smiles; not very much. 11:03 <tom> Bob returns it, warily, or goofily. POV. 11:04 <banana> Zeno tells Willie, "We can take care of the rest. Should have been able to cover the whole thing, but.. we would have been late to the summoning of the Idigam. So you were vital." 11:05 <hrolf> "Seems like that calls for a bonus, mate." 11:05 <banana> Carrey hesistates for a moment and then just.. starts jogging away into the night. It'll remain ordinary jogging until she's far out of sight. 11:05 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "We're happy to be of service. Effective work at an above-board rate. Tell your friends. Tell anyone you can tolerate." 11:05 <Crion> To Badawi as he heads back to their van, softer so only the hunters on comms can hear him: "How much longer is that potion going to last? Are you prepared to leave?" 11:05 <tom> Before Zeno can depart, Bob will try to get his attention one last time. 11:05 <banana> Zeno: "Our contract had no such clause, Mr. Hughes. But I'll vouch for you when asked." 11:06 <hrolf> "Fair's fair." 11:06 <tom> “You know where they were planning on taking this thing,” He gestures toward the empty manacles. 11:06 <Quaker> Badawi speaks into her walkie-talkie. “I’ll be there in a moment. Just don’t drive off without me.” 11:06 <banana> Not manacles anymore! They got crumpled with all the rest of the gear. Only the 'carpet' you stole earlier has survived. 11:06 <tom> Right, right. 11:07 <Crion> Aster sighs, but not on the open channel. Then he keys it: "Understood." 11:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's now realising that if we're going to do this effectively, we're going to need branding. A name, at the very least. Maybe a logo. Business cards would be a bit much, though, probably... 11:07 <tom> “I don’t ask about jobs, alright. But..” It’s clear there’s something more on his mind, but it’s not clear the wizards would or should care. 11:07 <Crion> It's Sourjack's operation. Ask him to come up with something. He'll get a kick out of that kind of scratching post. 11:08 <banana> Zeno: "No, but literally anywhere is the wrong place to take it. We'll ask them some more questions later." He wanders over to the menhir and sits on it cross-legged, behind the sleeping men. And the lorryorb. 11:08 <tom> And I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to tell me. Bob fumes. 11:08 <tom> Whatever. 11:08 <tom> Click: “We’re done here.” 11:08 <Crion> To the party line: "I'm behind the wheel and the engine's warm. Let's get out of here." 11:09 <tom> He hauls up into the van and sits in silence, quietly fretting over the welts. 11:09 <Quaker> Badawi rummages through her satchel and finds another Monster can, this time in a white can. She tips it back and shudders. In a few moments, the others should start to see her outline appear as a faint shadow, and then fill in until she’s standing in front of them as normal. 11:09 <Quaker> “Wait, one more thing…” 11:09 <VoxPVoxD> Willie won't wish Zeno a parting 'good luck'. To Bob: "How bad is it? Do you need to go to A&E?" 11:10 <Quaker> “Mr. Zeno, who or what are the Seers of the Throne? And Janissary?” 11:12 <banana> "Now that is a question I should by policy destroy you for asking." 11:12 <banana> Zeno: "You've done the world a great service tonight, taking on a responsibility that was mine. One which should, by policy, be better-funded. We can part on good terms." 11:13 <tom> Opening up his shirt and making a little ‘ah fuck’ noise: ”No, but I might hafta go to the ER.” 11:13 <banana> The seated Wolf-Mourner raises an arm in salute, spirit-ward charms jingling together where they're wrapped around his wrist. The sign of Nemesis glints in the super blood moonlight. 11:14 <Quaker> “So if they reached out to us for a job, you’d prefer if we….” 11:14 <banana> "We won't." 11:14 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "ER?" 11:14 <tom> “Emergency Room.” 11:15 <tom> “Not a UK citizen. Hopefully I got a chunk left after I pay medical.” 11:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Oh. That's what A&E is. Accident & Emergency." 11:15 <tom> “Right.” 11:15 <hrolf> "You don't have to pay for emergencies mate." 11:16 <Quaker> “Ah…Ms. Carrey, too?” 11:16 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Oh, you poor dear." 11:17 <tom> “I think I’m good for now though. I have uh- you know what I’ll go home and look it up on WEBMD.” 11:17 <banana> Zeno: "You may test my goodwill, but you will find it boundless." Which is to say, he's not going to hold it against her that she's asked the question. 11:17 <hrolf> Rolf gives him a confused look. "Just go to the doctor lad!" 11:17 <tom> “Alright, alright. First thing after I get outta here,” he lies. 11:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, sensing that Bob is being evasive: "He can clearly move under his own power." This is one of the areas where Willie can't really hide her natural accent at all. The way she says 'power' it's not a two-syllable word. It's barely even one. "So his primary concern, and ours, is getting him treatment as deniably as possible." 11:19 <Quaker> Ah. Well, she won’t impose on his patience. “Thank you for your patronage. Good night, then.” She gets into the van with the rest. “Ok, let’s get out of here.” 11:19 <VoxPVoxD> "I'm sure he'll ask for help if he needs it." 11:19 <tom> “Thanks, Will.” 11:19 <Crion> Aster, who is licensed to drive in the United Kingdom (Scotland Yard expedited that one), gets them back to the safehouse. 11:19 <tom> Willie just sounds wrong. 11:20 <tom> Will at least is a name. A guy’s name, but it’s better than trying to translate into Tele-Tubby. 11:21 <Crion> ...? Has this man not seen The Simpsons? 11:23 <Quaker> Badawi goes through her own pockets…were the Cheiron men carrying anything of interest? 11:23 <banana> Badawi's found a Galaxy S9+, for one thing. 11:23 <VoxPVoxD> Willie makes a face. "Is Willie too many syllables to serve as a nickname?" 11:23 <tom> “Willie it is.” 11:23 <VoxPVoxD> "It's much shorter than my proper name." 11:24 <banana> She can't get into it immediately, but there were also some credit cards and even passports. Both men entered Britain through the Chunnel and got stamped for a business visa. 11:24 <tom> “Which is what, Princess Diana?” 11:24 <tom> Too far? He makes a face. 11:24 <tom> He’ll have to check and see if they’ve got their own version of the JFK JR. stuff. 11:24 <VoxPVoxD> "Wilhelmine." The pronunciation is thoroughly Teutonic: VILL-hell-mee-neh. 11:24 <Quaker> Nice. She’ll have them ready to present at the debriefing. She’ll only smirk a little at her small score. 11:25 <VoxPVoxD> When a man takes a tractor to the chest for you, you've got to let go of that much. 11:25 <tom> “Nice. I’m William.” 11:25 <tom> “...You read the dossiers.” 11:25 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles. "How'd you settle on 'Bob', anyway?" 11:26 <Crion> Aster: "I certainly did. And I'm still astounded." 11:26 <tom> “Bill was starting to grate.” 11:26 <tom> He doesn’t expand on that. 11:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That's surprising. There are many more famous cowboy Bills." 11:26 <tom> “Exactly.” 11:26 <tom> “Dying race.” 11:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie doesn't seem to take the comparison to the People's Princess as an insult. 11:27 <banana> Days later, and it is the daytime now, the cell meets to debrief. 11:29 <Crion> By the time they're formally ready to start, Aster's been here for probably about an hour and a half, doing work on his business plan and making coffee. He has not made conversation, and his greetings were restricted to "Hello, [name." 11:29 <banana> The safehouse they've taken to calling the greybox - which it is - is something close to livable now. There's the mini-apartment area in which Richard Haldane *does* live, researching and maintaining the place, a workspace and mini-lab, the big meeting area, a kitchen, toilets, and secure storage with emergency cots. 11:30 <hrolf> Rolf is sitting on a chair with his feet up on another, having a lager. The money's been deposited into his account, and this is reflected in a gold chain around his neck and a shiny, glinty new ring on the hand that's holding the can. 11:30 <hrolf> To say nothing of the brand new Range Rover parked outside. 11:30 <dammitwho> The coffee machines are working and hot coffee is available for the victorious hunters, along with a rack of mugs affixed to the wall. 11:31 <tom> Bob’s where he usually is, at the lathe. The tub full of gross fluid is taped over, and the wooden stock taking shape within has started to turn a tea color. His delicate work will occasionally be interrupted by the reminder that things are ‘going to be loud for a sec’ and punctuated by the roar of the grinder. 11:31 <tom> At the moment, the man is somberly using a bandsaw to slice a garden gnome in half. 11:32 <Crion> Aster will find the most generic mug and claim it for himself. If Richard insists on insufferable novelty mugs with messages and pictorials, he will bring one from home. 11:32 <Crion> Well. From the apartment. 11:32 <VoxPVoxD> The team were delighted to have an unconditional remote day. Willie's happy with how well her hand is healing up — she hasn't gone that hard since training — but she's still got it wrapped in a much neater bandage. There's savory pastries on the table, stamped with letters by some baker's machination to indicate what's in them. S for steak and potato; M for mushroom and leek; C for 11:32 <VoxPVoxD> curried chicken. 11:33 <tom> The gruesome business done, he takes the hollow halves, blows the chalk away, sets them down. Takes one of the lifted guns, a magazine, and a wad of bills, roughly jams them inside. Goes over to the cabinet, comes back with epoxy. 11:33 <Quaker> Badawi comes in with a stack of Domino’s pizzas and a bucket of KFC. To Rolf: “Nice Range Rover, mate. Proper mint, that.” 11:33 <dammitwho> They are, in fact, exactly identical plain white mugs with a small felt tip pen hanging beside them for you to write your name on one, if you so choose. 11:33 <Crion> He raises his eyebrows at the food. Well. 11:33 <Crion> American fast food is generally better outside of the country, it's true... 11:33 <Quaker> Badawi’s mug has been replaced by one with an orange cartoon cat. 11:33 <hrolf> "Ta, mate. Me old one was getting on in years. Nearly three years since I got it." 11:34 <Crion> Excellent, re: mugs. 11:35 <VoxPVoxD> Willie looks askance at the takeaway. 11:35 <hrolf> Rolf looks down at his phone and makes a disappointed clicking sound. "Wish we had a telly in 'ere. The hammers're are playing Chelsea in a mo', 'aven't missed that game in years." 11:35 <tom> Bob comes over to grab some food, scratches his name into one of the mugs. He’s still limping, but he’s already back to speed. 11:35 <VoxPVoxD> Really, we just split a million and you want to eat like that?" 11:36 <Crion> Aster agrees...but he's still going to take a slice and a drumstick. 11:36 <tom> “Food’s food,” Bob mumbles, bumbling back over to glue the halves of the statuary back together. 11:36 <banana> When people are ready, Richard's got everything set up for a debriefing and planning session. You've got a small boardroom table, the big maps and a projector screen, comfortable chairs and a sterile atmosphere! 11:37 <Crion> It's an even better cure for homesickness because it's made to higher quality standards than the US chains have, so it more accurately matches your warped memory. 11:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie does a passable imitation of the WILLIE SCARY and the (finished) pentagram on hers. 11:37 <VoxPVoxD> No red ticks though. 11:38 <Crion> In a similar situation in the mid-2000s, Aster put 'AA' on his for exactly three days before realizing/remembering what that was a common abbreviation for. 11:38 <Crion> Now it's just ASTER in neat block capitals. 11:38 <hrolf> Rolf's mug has the Union Jack on it, of course. 11:38 <tom> Bob’s just finishing up painting over the sawmarks on the lawn gnome as the muster comes down. He’s pretty happy with how it turned out. Now those custom loaded wrought iron loads in the mag oughta be enough to grant some peace of mind. 11:40 <Quaker> “Figured you more for a sportscar type, Rolf.” She’ll sit next to the bloke when they assemble around the table. 11:41 <hrolf> "Not me style. Space over flash, never know when you need to stow some gear. Or a body, like." 11:41 <banana> If Rolf's having a cold beer he may also want to partake of https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/british-ice.jpg 11:41 <tom> He takes a seat at the table and idly scrolls through some of last night’s tabs on his visor. Lots of stuff about local folklore. Lots of stuff about iron. 11:42 <dammitwho> Briskly, Richard walks to the inhabited portion of the greybox, having just finished some kind of esoteric maintenance. He carries a small yellow folder, and looks determined. "Are we all here, then? Good. If you all don't mind, I'd like to get the debriefing started. Our employer will be joining us via videoconference later and his time is limited, so the faster we can get through this..." 11:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie perks up. Videoconference? 11:43 <Crion> This should be good. 11:43 <banana> Technically, he's Haldane's employer and everyone else's partner. 11:44 <Crion> Mmmm. I'm sure he would say that. 11:44 <VoxPVoxD> That would imply we all got to boss Richard around, which is ludicrous. 11:44 <Crion> As long as Sourjack doesn't start talking about how this company is a family, Aster is generally fine with his airs. 11:44 <dammitwho> Richard is old fashioned - he believes that the man cutting the checks is the boss. 11:44 <tom> Bob’s got one of those puffy polymer winter jackets on, but peeking between the ziplines are the letters I C K O on the black tee. https://i.imgur.com/SIVQlze.jpg 11:44 <hrolf> "Faster we get through this, faster I can head to the pub to catch the game with the lads." 11:46 <banana> Rolf's flat is actually really near the Old Trafford, though it's not like that's the only place football is played in Manchester. But it's nice. 11:46 <dammitwho> "Quite right. Let's see here," He opens the folder and muses at his notes. "Alright, to begin with, let's talk about the last job. Obviously it was a success, client paid, you all came back, well done. Was there anything in specific that any of you think went particularly well? Anything that could have gone better? Lessons for next time?" 11:47 <tom> “Can we leave a note telling them to take the gas outta the trucks n’ stuff on spooky night?” 11:47 <tom> “Would that help? Can’t hurt.” 11:47 <Quaker> Badawi produces a shoebox that’s been wrapped in tinfoil. 11:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "There was feedback the night-of that we need a signal for live fire." 11:47 <tom> “Yeah.” 11:48 <tom> “That goes for live fire too.” 11:48 <tom> Bob’s rapping his knuckles on the table, stops. 11:48 <dammitwho> Richard makes a note about the gas tanks. This is good stuff! 11:48 <hrolf> "Thought it went pretty well meself. No offense but barrin ol Bob here and maybe Missus Badawi, some of you ain't exactly swimming with combat experience. But it went pretty smooth." 11:49 <Quaker> Badawi: “We need to make sure we are all properly outfitted before we take another job involving the supernatural. Rolf and Mr. Goreman have sufficient sighting equipment, but maybe we should look into taking a few things from the Human Office until we all have the proper equipment.” 11:50 <Quaker> “And hopefully our jobs in the future will be less urgent, and involve less frantic running around.” 11:50 <Crion> Aster: "As a 'noncombatant' I was responsible for one-fourth of our downed contacts and a turn providing overwatch fire support with a Chinese-made surplus Soviet rifle. And I was able to expand my knowledge of caster paraphenomon as a bonus. I have no notes, given that I expect our communication to improve as we grow as a team." 11:51 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I am not trained for small unit tactics. This is not the kind of work I had to do back in London. So any guidance our more seasoned people have would be most welcome." 11:51 <tom> Rolf, the oldest Tactical Team (roughly speaking- he assumes they do have Tactical over here, or else what else is this guy) he’s ever met, just called him a veteran. He glows in the praise. 11:51 <hrolf> Rolf scatches his chin. "We--ell, getting equipment from the 'uman office won't be as easy as pie, I reckon. We might need some assistance, possibly from Mr Jack 'imself, to get past the quartermasters." 11:52 <tom> Keep it cool, bro: ”Happy to lead a gun safety course, ma’am. Just, uh, it occurs to me that we don’t actually have a range.” 11:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I don't have a gun." 11:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Where do you... get them?" 11:52 <Crion> Aster shakes his head. 11:53 <tom> He gestures over his shoulder at his desk. ”Stand there, and wait.” 11:53 <Crion> Does Bob ever call any of the men 'sir?' Is this a sex thing? 11:53 <Crion> And with 'Stand there and wait,' it becomes a sex thing. 11:53 <VoxPVoxD> Rolf does 'marm'. They've got a certain amount in common! 11:53 <VoxPVoxD> She assumes it's a military thing. But she also assumes almost all military things are sex things. 11:54 <Crion> Aster's met TF:V hardcases and departmentally-similar units before. Bob is certainly a unique leaf from the tree. 11:55 <hrolf> "The major 'fing of concern for me, though, is what those lads from that company - Cheiron, was it? - were upto." 11:55 <tom> Are the vibes in here starting to feel off? Bob tugs his collar and continues: ”I’m just working on projects. All of this is, it turns out, incredibly illegal.” Flare guns are legal to carry at sea. On land, it’s emergency whistles. Not even bear spray! The mind reels! 11:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Well yes. We're vigilantes." 11:55 <tom> “I have a history.” 11:56 <Crion> To be clear, he likes Bob more. But he does worry what happens to the man if they have to take down a leather-clad vampire dominatrix with a porn star body. Which now that he's been to the Wise and Solemn Court, he knows isn't precisely outside of the realm of possibility. 11:56 <VoxPVoxD> Leather burns. 11:56 <tom> He should worry. 11:56 <dammitwho> "Fantastic, this is all really good stuff. Oh, incidentally, I'll want to be speaking with each of you one-on-one about your, uh, unique supernatural experiences in the near future. I'm looking to expand our research database, collate what we have, that kind of thing." 11:56 <Quaker> Badawi unwraps her little signal-blocking box. “I took some things off them, actually. A phone, passports, credit cards…took the SIM card out, obviously.” She’ll slide the contents over to Richard. 11:57 <Crion> Aster: "Excellent. These are additional data points." 11:57 <Crion> "And they'll probably blame the casters." 11:58 <banana> On that topic.. Badawi's familiar enough with the Mysterium mages to be able to note that the Wolf-Mourners are the same *kind* of wizard. Magic comes in, frankly, too many forms, but she wasn't just guessing when she asked about Janissary. 11:58 <tom> “We’ll need dedicated medical, too. I know some stuff- you know, basic combat medicine for grunts. I think that’s more Aster’s speed, though...?” He squints, dropping his brows beneath the rims of the aviators. 11:59 <tom> At Richard: ”I’m an open book. Just blur me out and give me the spooky voice if you wanna give that shit to the internet freaks.” 12:00 <tom> At Rolf: ”That was your first time with Cheiron, then?” 12:01 <tom> “What about you guys, run into ‘em?” 12:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Can we access our research database?" 12:01 <dammitwho> "I can purchase medical supplies and written instructions, that's no problem. Arranging for training in emergency medicine might be a bit more difficult with the lockdown and all, but I'm sure we can manage something." He's going to buy the stuff from overseas, though. The NHS is in crisis! 12:01 <hrolf> "Yeah, never seen their like 'ere before." 12:02 <dammitwho> To Willie: "Certainly. That's it over there." He points to a PC on a small table, a pair of filing cabinets, and a mostly-empty bookshelf. 12:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "If the circumstance arises that we do need an operating theatre, I can probably make a call. We'd almost certainly need to supply our own surgeon." 12:02 <tom> “They have actual cyborgs. You heard that guy yammering about his ‘optic thorn’? He had an eye ripped out and that put in.” 12:02 <Crion> Aster: "I'm a registered nurse and could easily get my certification for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, which is not homeopathic in nature, something I commonly have to point out. I haven't done a residency and I can't prescribe medication, but I'm competent in the required practical fields." 12:03 <tom> Continuing, breathlessly: ”They’ve got dudes with surgically-attached zombie hands, freaky tentacle arms, mind-control poison. The whole business.” 12:03 <Crion> Aster: "I could establish an emergency medical station here, though it would take some space." 12:04 <dammitwho> "The phone and passports you've brought will be helpful, incidentally. I should be able to get more on the Cheiron Group off of them." 12:05 <tom> He turns, smiling nervously: ”Aha sorry, didn’t mean to talk over you man. I’d appreciate anything you can get me. Really.” 12:07 <VoxPVoxD> He's so anxious...! 12:07 <tom> If only they knew. 12:07 <dammitwho> Smiling cheerfully: "Don't worry about it! We're all working toward the same goals, right? Speaking of which, I did manage to dig up something that you all might find useful. One of the things I committed mild to moderate treason to get out of the Human Office, so do enjoy." 12:10 <dammitwho> He reaches down into a plastic supermarket bag and pulls out... something very peculiar. The whatever-it-is is centered around three fluoroplastic wires running along the x, y, and z axes and connecting at a central point, like the origin of a 3D graph. attached to the ends of the plastic wires/tubing are, in no particular order: a viewfinder, an LED readout (currently off), and a 5mm headphone 12:10 <dammitwho> jack. 12:10 <tom> Bob squints. That looks a bit like OPFORT tech. 12:11 <banana> It looks a bit like a hitbox in a videogame. Or the corner of one. 12:11 <Crion> Aster: "Well then. There's a war crime." 12:11 <banana> The viewfinder has a simple toggle switch built in, on/off. 12:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What's it?" 12:11 <dammitwho> "They called it the TrackCheck. Allegedly it can be used to get some amount of information on quite literally anyone, no matter their supernatural defenses." 12:11 <dammitwho> "Use it in good health!" 12:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie reaches out for it. 12:11 <VoxPVoxD> "How does it work?" 12:12 <dammitwho> "Esoterically!" 12:12 <VoxPVoxD> "I mean how do you use it." 12:12 <Crion> "This is how the Cheiron Group perceive fringe paraphenomenology -- in the parlance of the industry, it's how they hunt hunters. It can see your blood and my modules. I believe the industry scuttlebutt, which I fully believe to be accurate given the reputation of LGC, is that it was prototyped using the bones of Lucifuge." 12:13 <tom> “Can it see my chip?” 12:13 <banana> Aster's speaking, of course, of the Optic Thorn. 12:13 <dammitwho> "Ah, you point the viewfinder at your target and turn the little toggle switch on. It should work with any ordinary set of headphones compatible with the jack." 12:13 <Quaker> …does that stand for Le Group Cheiron?…. 12:13 <Crion> To Bob: "No. Your chip is a chip." 12:14 <tom> “Good enough.” 12:14 <hrolf> "Hunt hunters, eh? Any chance they'll figure out what 'appened at the incursion and come after us?" 12:14 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's got wired earbuds (backups, lost her third set of airpods just yesterday) to plug into the TrackCheck. 12:14 <tom> “Depends on what happened to the shmucks.” 12:14 <Crion> Aster, bluntly: "Yes, especially if the casters didn't kill them and hide the bodies." 12:14 <banana> The TrackCheck can be turned on even without headphones plugged in, but who knows what it might do. 12:14 <tom> Bob winces. ”He said he wasn’t.” 12:14 <Crion> Aster: "Which is what he should have said, regardless of his intentions." 12:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "So do I just point it?" To Richard: "May I? For science." 12:15 <Crion> "It's better for us if their remains no longer exist at all." 12:15 <tom> “Maybe they’re gonna like..” He takes his palm and wipes it in front of his face, revealing a dazed expression. 12:16 <tom> “Freaky shit, man.” 12:16 <banana> Zeno and Opal did come off as a little bit Men In Black. Carrey not so much. 12:16 <Crion> Aster stares at him for a moment. Then: "Sure." 12:16 <dammitwho> "Go ahead." 12:16 <VoxPVoxD> Willie points it at Richard and turns the LED on. 12:17 <tom> Finally, answering Rolf in a roundabout fashion: ”Hopefully Le Groupe will cut their losses.” 12:17 <tom> “Hopefully.” 12:17 <Crion> That's not what those people do. 12:17 <banana> The minijack of Willie's earbuds rattles around in the plug as she holds up the device... and falls out. Apple uses a 2.5mm plug, when they bother to support one at all. The TrackCheck begins playing music, audible to all, from what sounds like quite a decent inbuilt speaker (although you can't SEE such a thing anywhere on it). 12:18 <banana> This is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaEMdK1wnac 12:18 <VoxPVoxD> Huh! 12:18 <VoxPVoxD> Oh! How very soothing. 12:18 <dammitwho> Richard hums and begins tapping his pen against the table. 12:18 <banana> As it plays, text begins to scroll along the LCD display. Willie can read it, but it's a bit difficult at other angles unless she shows the thing around. 12:18 <banana> “Always fiddling with something -- wires, files, his tie -- idle hands are someone’s playthings.” 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie will read it aloud, with increasing uncertainty in her voice, over the music. 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> "Who wrote this?" 12:19 <Quaker> Badawi: “Hm. Point it at me next.” 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> She does as directed. 12:20 <hrolf> There's a beep from Rolf's phone. He whips it out and turns red (well, redder). "Fahcking bollocks! Chelsea just scored." 12:20 <tom> Bob is starting to pay attention. 12:20 <tom> “Good for her?” 12:21 <tom> “What?” 12:21 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeDuO0KSAz8 - "A seed grown in planter pots, trailing roots -- heir to despised ancients -- switch to side 2 when invisible." 12:21 <VoxPVoxD> Willie again dutifully reads it aloud. She doesn't like this song as much, it sounds like opera a bit. 12:22 <VoxPVoxD> But it doesn't any any grim undertones... 12:22 <tom> Bob winces. ”Haha, wow. That’s- I recognize that.” 12:22 <VoxPVoxD> *have any 12:22 <tom> “Any you kids watch old-timey Westerns?” 12:22 <VoxPVoxD> Willie shakes her head. 12:24 <tom> “Good, The Bad, and the Ugly? Really?” He’s crushed. ”Not from that one, but it’s the same composer..” 12:24 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I've heard of that. I've not seen it, though." 12:24 <VoxPVoxD> "That's Ennio Morricone, then?" 12:24 <Crion> Aster, distracted, staring at the device in her hand: "It's good." 12:25 <tom> “Yeah.” 12:25 <VoxPVoxD> "Bob, Rolf? Mr. Aster?" 12:25 <VoxPVoxD> "Any other takers?" 12:25 <tom> He rises to his feet and spreads his arms. ”I’m ready. Shoot me.” 12:25 <hrolf> "No thanks. I'd like me soul intact, if you please." 12:25 <VoxPVoxD> "I'm not sure how this is powering it, or where the text is coming from..." She TrackChecks Bob. 12:25 <Crion> Aster: "Don't point that thing at me. Frankly, I can't recommend pointing it at anything else. Do we have any idea what it actually does?" 12:25 <tom> “I’m aboutta find out.” 12:26 <tom> He thinks malicious thoughts. 12:27 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTEscgVDnAU "Hiding everything except himself -- alternate combat themes for stages of the arc -- don't overuse early, this is not a farce." 12:27 <tom> How loud is that, exactly? 12:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie flinches at the music. This is abrasive. 12:27 <VoxPVoxD> She has to raise her voice a bit to read the text aloud, which might make it worse. 12:28 <tom> Bob adds his wretched cackling to the cacophony. 12:28 <Crion> Aster: "...Theme songs, and accompanying orchestral notes for performance." 12:28 <banana> Is that a vuvuzela. 12:28 <Crion> "That's what it is." 12:28 <VoxPVoxD> "Is that a vuvuzela?" 12:28 <tom> Breaking: Local Man Feeling It 12:28 <tom> “Don’t ask me..” 12:29 <VoxPVoxD> Alright, that's enough of that. "Who wants to do me?" 12:29 <Crion> "I have no interest in knowing what a jumped-up, hubristic camcorder thinks of me." 12:29 <Crion> Phrasing, Wellesley. 12:29 <tom> “Really dude?” 12:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What?" 12:29 <banana> Retcon: the Trackcheck has a 3.5mm jack, not a 5mm jack. (But headphone minijacks are still too small, 2.5mm). 12:29 <tom> He basically ignores Willie entirely: ”What, you’re afraid it’s gonna give you something by the Beatles?” 12:30 <tom> “Eleanor Rigby?” 12:30 <dammitwho> "Uh, not to interrupt, but we do still have some things to get through, and time waits for no one..." 12:31 <Quaker> Badawi: “Where’s Sourjack?” 12:31 <Crion> Aster reiterates: "Do not point the device we don't understand that is used for hunter hunting at me." 12:31 <VoxPVoxD> Sighing, she kills the audio. We'll play with it more later. "Do go on, then." 12:32 <dammitwho> To Badawi: "About half an hour out, maybe less." 12:32 <dammitwho> "Right! Job leads. I've put together four of them for you." 12:32 <Crion> Aster: "Here we are." 12:34 <dammitwho> "First off, a local businessman and philanthropist by the name of James Roth is looking for mercenaries that can deal with the supernatural. Our employer finds this somewhat suspicious, because from what can be determined Mr. Roth is a perfectly ordinary man - not a whiff of the mystic or occult about him, and no history of hiring PMCs either." 12:35 <Crion> Aster: "Do we have a brief on whether he can afford our fee? It's very high for a single mortal man with no supernatural connections." 12:36 <dammitwho> "Oh, his money is good. I wouldn't bother mentioning him otherwise. He's not a recluse, not wildly famous, but does occasionally appear in business news. Here's a sample clipping- they all say more or less the same kind of thing." 12:36 <tom> Bob googles the name on his visor. 12:36 <dammitwho> He slides this across the table toward the hunters: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/roth-article.png 12:38 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "He's a businessman. He sells business, to businesses." 12:38 <VoxPVoxD> "They call it B2B." 12:38 <Crion> Aster's frown deepens. "So he can, then." 12:38 <Quaker> Badawi: “Wow, they really fucked up their columns in InDesign.” 12:39 <VoxPVoxD> "Yes. If he's reaching out, then he's probably under some kind of pressure from within the night-city. But how did he get our name?" 12:39 <tom> His eyes are kind of glazing over behind those glasses. He gets up for some more coffee. 12:41 <banana> You don't even have a name. 12:41 <VoxPVoxD> "We don't even have a name. We'll need to do at least some rudimentary branding work if we're going to keep doing this." 12:41 <banana> Has Badawi read the print edition of the Manc much? It might confirm her prejudices. 12:41 <dammitwho> "To clarify, he hasn't reached out to us directly. He's been putting feelers out into the occult underground, which our employer picked up on." 12:41 <VoxPVoxD> "Interesting." 12:42 <Quaker> She doesn’t read English-language newspapers. 12:42 <tom> “By what means? Like, what’s this guy’s connection?” 12:42 <tom> “Maybe one of us can follow up?” 12:42 <VoxPVoxD> "That sounds to me like he's in some kind of trouble unfamiliar to him and is groping around in the dark." 12:42 <VoxPVoxD> "Alright, so that's one lead. What's the next one?" 12:42 <Crion> Aster: "As long as their referral fee doesn't come from our cut. I'd like to know who referred him, too, but let's hear the other prospectives before getting too into the weeds." 12:44 <dammitwho> "Second item. There's an up and coming britrock band called Waistcoat Colony based here in Manchester. Their lead singer, a woman by the name of Reveille, is looking for someone to help deal with a supernatural threat to her person. Possibly as bodyguards, possibly pest control work. Her familiarity with the supernatural is a bit more explicable than Mr. Roth's - Reveille is apparently a 12:44 <dammitwho> natural psychic of some kind." 12:45 <hrolf> "'ow does a starvin' artist come to afford our fees?" 12:45 <hrolf> "Oh hold on a mo- I think I know 'er." 12:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's eyebrows go up. 12:46 <tom> “Really?” 12:46 <hrolf> "She's in a band wif Benni's bird. Heard em a few times. Fahckin 'orrible. Maybe Benni's frontin' the cash on her behalf?" 12:46 <tom> Ah. 12:47 <dammitwho> "Mmm. They're doing well, but there is a small degree of uncertainty as to whether they could afford our fees. Not starving artists, certainly. They might've toured Europe were it not for this plague, but they haven't gone global. Anyway, no harm in making further inquiries." 12:47 <tom> Bob quietly commits to a google image search. 12:48 <hrolf> "Couldn't hurt to take it on to get on Benni's good side, if you ask me." 12:48 <Crion> Aster: "Bodyguards for a musician sounds like a Hollywood movie pitch, not serious work." 12:48 <banana> Has Rolf put up any information about the Athletic Outfit on the big board? If so, people will be aware that it's a gang- that is, a group of local boys looking out for themselves, many of whom are 'children of the stars'. Mentallists. 12:48 <Quaker> Fackin’ mental, more like. 12:49 <Crion> Aster has no qualms helping the starchildren if they can pay. But the stature of the work you take does say things about it. 12:49 <Crion> And about you. 12:49 <VoxPVoxD> "Oh. That kind of psychic." 12:49 <banana> Bob finds this: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/reveille.jpg 12:50 <tom> Checks out. 12:50 <VoxPVoxD> "Alright, so a dubiously financeable job with a psychic connection. Item #3?" 12:50 <VoxPVoxD> Willie wants to get through this fast now that it's standing between her and playing with the thing. 12:51 <dammitwho> "Moving along. Numbers three and four are both vampire work. The Wise and Solemn Court of Manchester et cetera et cetera, in the person of its Carthian Constable, would like some enemies of the vampire state, possibly rogue vampires themselves, tracked down and dealt with." 12:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie winces. 12:52 <tom> Bob lights up. 12:52 <tom> “What?” 12:52 <tom> “What.” 12:52 <Quaker> Badawi: “Let’s do those ones.” 12:52 <tom> “Yeah!” 12:53 <banana> Killing vampires is certainly what some of you have trained for. It's not exactly safe though. 12:53 <tom> “Some good, clean, un-messy Dracula Smashing.” 12:53 <hrolf> "I think that's a bad idea." 12:53 <dammitwho> "That was three. Number four comes from two vampires of the... I guess undead ancien regime? Decidedly not in favour with the Wise and Solemn Court. Anyway, they have two missing persons they'd like found." 12:53 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "It's not at all un-messy. We'd be taking sides in some sort of vampire political dispute in a city we have to keep working in." 12:53 <VoxPVoxD> "Do we have names? For the missing persons or the petitioners?" 12:54 <tom> “Oh is there a thing going on with them?” 12:54 <tom> Bob will look all this shit up on the database later. 12:54 <tom> “I guess that’s their deal, huh.” 12:54 <Crion> Aster, after a long period of silence: "Well. This certainly is. Something." 12:56 <hrolf> "Thumbs down on number 3 for me. Enemies of the vampire state means friends of another vampire state. Now I’m not going to say there were vampires working for the ‘uman office, per se, but we did deffo have someone I fink was some kind of…what’d you call it, a liaison. ‘e didn’t show up for work for a few weeks. We found ‘im in his flat with all the blood drained out of his body. Don’t get tangled wif the 12:56 <hrolf> bloodsuckers.” 12:56 <Crion> "On the balance, payment here is most predictable. Vampires have assets, and these vampires have some interest in cultivating us." 12:56 <dammitwho> "The missing persons are known as 'the Gardeners', though what that means I could not tell you. Our prospective clients for that job are exiled from the Court, so it might take a bit of digging to properly contact them and make arrangements." 12:56 <Crion> Distractedly, to Rolf: "I am going to say there were vampires working for the Human Office. Or above it." 12:57 <tom> “...Yeah, alright. Let’s stay out of the bat business for now.” 12:57 <VoxPVoxD> Willie sighs. "I'm not as doctrinaire as Mr. Hughes, but we must tread very carefully with that kind of work." 12:57 <Crion> Aster: "However, if we take that job I have to report it to the Wise and Solemn Court." 12:57 <Crion> "As soon as I walk out of here." 12:57 <Crion> "So." 12:57 <dammitwho> "Our employer would like to remind you all that, as Mr. Aster said, working for vampires is likely to be extremely lucrative, but more dangerous. He leaves you to make your own inferences about what, if any, connection there may be between the Court's kill job and the exiles' missing persons job." 12:58 <tom> “You thinking about bolting up those windows now that you know you’re like, a fifteen-minute walk from the Hive, huh?” 12:58 <VoxPVoxD> "That has nothing whatever to do—" 12:58 <Crion> To Bob: "Wouldn't do any good." 12:58 <tom> He cools it. 12:58 <banana> It's called defense-in-depth. 12:58 <VoxPVoxD> It's a five minute walk. 12:59 <tom> “That’s what the flares are for.” 12:59 <tom> Bob produces a twenty gauge shell- orange, studded in warning text, rolls it on his fingers. 12:59 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I think we have scope to do a bit more digging before we commit to any of these." 13:00 <tom> “Hopefully it never comes up.” 13:00 <Crion> Aster: "To be clear: I am for taing the operation from the Court. I am against taking the operation from the Court's rivals, who are the Victus Indomitus." 13:00 <tom> “Fire’s a nasty thing.” 13:00 <banana> There's a hum from the Wires. The projector's coming to life, although it'll take a minute to warm up the lamps. 13:00 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I can look into the issues with Mr. Roth. Mr. Aster can follow up with the Wise and Solemn Court. Perhaps Ms. Badawi can press her contacts about the others?" 13:00 <Quaker> Badawi: “Come on, now. Bit of someone else’s bad luck has got you all mithering and wetting your kecks. Don’t be so nesh about hunting down some vampires who need a proper staking.” 13:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "And Rolf has a way in with the mind-invaders." 13:01 <banana> You also have this, courtesy of Bob's goggles. 13:01 <banana> https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/waistcoat-colony-poster.png 13:01 <hrolf> "'s right." 13:01 <banana> So that'd be a way to contact them if you don't want to go through Benni Athletic. 13:01 <dammitwho> "Oop, look busy, everyone. Looks like Greyjack is here." 13:02 <VoxPVoxD> Time to see if the TrackCheck works through video. 13:02 <tom> Bob saves the screencap and shares it with a couple clicks. 13:03 <Crion> Aster always looks busy. 13:04 <tom> “Like, actually here, or-” 13:05 <banana> The overhead projector turns on, displaying a large image on the bare grey wall beside the city map. At first it's just two large squares, one black and one white, set apart slightly by a dividing line. 13:07 <banana> They quickly divide into smaller and smaller blocks, patterns of white and black becoming chaotic, eventually forming patterns that give you the impression of an image. A face or head in silhouette, an arm.. other black squares swirl in way that gives you the impression of a teacup. 13:07 <dammitwho> Bob raises an excellent question! 13:07 <tom> “If the local Cour..” He pauses for a moment. ”If the Vampire Court, wants us to ice some Count Orlock motherfucker who is slicing through college dorms, I say we make a good impression.” 13:07 <VoxPVoxD> What does TrackCheck do when pointed at the screen? 13:07 <banana> Nothing at all :( 13:07 <Crion> Aster: "I agree, naturally. But I am biased." 13:07 <tom> “Same.” 13:08 <tom> Aster might clock Bob’s confusion at the terminology. 13:08 <Crion> "...With regards to the vampires. Not the co-eds." 13:08 <VoxPVoxD> Ugh. 13:08 <banana> Some of you have heard Sourjack's voice before. "You'll have to catch me up on this Orlock, if title precedes metaphor. This place is as impenetrable to me as anyone, so I haven't got the context of our confab." 13:09 <banana> The projector's connected to a pair of computer speakers somewhere. Presumably. Maybe only through the Walls. 13:09 <Crion> When Bob looks away, Aster doesn't; he continues to stare at him for a long moment. Then Sourjack appears(?). 13:09 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Mr. Haldane just briefed us on the four leads you've secured. We were discussing the political risks of involving ourselves with the vampire body politic." 13:10 <hrolf> "It'll all end in tears, or worse, you mark me words." 13:11 <banana> The black and white squares shift as if depicting facial expressions. Sourjack: "Understandable. They're much like us but their drives and priorities make trust difficult. If you want to pick up those jobs, please do the diligence." 13:11 <VoxPVoxD> "Naturally." 13:12 <Quaker> Badawi: “Would you prefer we do something else apart from those four jobs?” 13:12 <banana> Sourjack: "I'll keep hunting for leads. That's all I have for you right now.. but more will come. I don't mind if you want to take a bit of time off, relax.. we've earned a payday's worth of leave. The 'spirit world' is now saved, I understand?" 13:13 <tom> “It sounded more like a bandaid.” 13:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "For the moment. The line holds. But is very thin." 13:14 <banana> Sourjack: "Don't worry too much- you're a thermoregulator now. The system's in an equilibrium which we shall help to stabilise." 13:14 <VoxPVoxD> She nods at Bob approvingly. She knows that a bandid is what Americans call a plaster. Good metaphor. 13:14 <hrolf> "Much like western civilization.." 13:14 <hrolf> In response to Willie. 13:15 <Quaker> Badawi: “We brought back what some other…competitors….were using to pry the gate between worlds open.” 13:15 <Crion> He's just going to keep saying things like that, isn't he. 13:15 <tom> Did the temperature just drop a bit? Just me, huh: ”Yeah I’m all wedged up in here now.” 13:15 <VoxPVoxD> Certainly Willie's not going to try and get him to stop. 13:15 <tom> “...Crawlin’ around..” 13:16 <banana> Sourjack: "I'm interested, actually, in the possibility of work that isn't just killing-time. Missing people, bodyguarding, whatever local businessman Roth wants.. there are options here which present less personal risk. If perhaps less chance of a bonus over the base rate.." 13:16 <tom> “I’m wondering, though: How long are you gonna keep this up? This kinda-” He waggles his hands. ”Arms-length.” 13:16 <banana> "Unusual artifacts are also a perk of the work. What've you found, Miss Badawi?" 13:16 <Crion> Aster: "Our biggest issue with those two jobs is the possibility the applicants will not or will not be able to pay." 13:16 <Crion> Aster: "Forensics are my discipline, not forensic accounting." 13:17 <banana> The black and white squares shift. Sourjack's attention seems to turn to Bob, if you're interpreting the quasi-image correctly- but then moves on to Aster. "Payment is necessary. Offering this sort of service for free would imbalance the city situation." 13:18 <tom> Hrmm. 13:18 <Quaker> Badawi puts the magic carpet on the table. Has Richard given it a more thorough inspection? Maybe he can explain its build and purpose. 13:18 <banana> "My funding estimate.. anyone but the band can certainly meet our minimum. If working for the undead, we should also extract danger pay." 13:18 <Crion> Aster: "I have little interest in proving how virtuous it is to collect my fee. I simply wish to collect it." 13:19 <banana> Referring to the sparkplug carpet: "Richard, d'you have any idea what the hell that is?" 13:19 <hrolf> "Not like anyone'd miss the mancs if this shitehole got too imbalanced. The real power and money's in London...why'd you set up this shop in Manchester, if I may ask?" 13:19 <banana> Sourjack: "Limits." 13:19 <VoxPVoxD> Because he needed losers, and Manchester is where losers congregate. 13:19 <hrolf> "Wossat mean." 13:20 <banana> "I have them. London is far and heavily contested." 13:20 <VoxPVoxD> See? Jack himself is just a loser with a VFX budget. 13:20 <tom> “Big fish, small pond, huh.” 13:20 <hrolf> "Fair enough. Big fish in a small pond." 13:20 <VoxPVoxD> Same dude. 13:20 <banana> Snap! 13:20 <dammitwho> Richard: "If it's not someone's attempt to build a jellyfish out of nothing but AAA batteries, I have no idea." 13:20 <tom> Bob gulps. 13:21 <Crion> We're not that big and the pond's not that small. Overweening pride suits the casters far better. 13:22 <Quaker> “Far from where?” 13:22 <banana> Certainly Carrey. All that power - the tractor would've been trivial - and she practically takes her own arm off (or, something did, upset at the use of power). 13:23 <banana> Sourjack: "If I may ask - is the base of operations suitable? Systems stable, and your cheques deposited?" 13:23 <hrolf> "We could use a telly." 13:25 <dammitwho> "Everything's running fine logistically, no Treacheries or reshuffles." 13:25 <banana> "Consult Mr. Haldane. He can make use of the computers to receive broadcasts." 13:25 <banana> The mess of black and white squares without inherent meaning pauses for a moment, as if depicting someone hesitating in order to think. 13:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Sir?" 13:26 <banana> Sourjack: "Mr. Goreman, Miss Badawi- you've been hinting around whether I intend to reveal my identity to you. I don't." 13:27 <banana> "I hope it's acceptable." 13:27 <tom> “That’s fine, just so long as you’re O.K. with the fact that you’re in deep with us.” 13:27 <Quaker> Badawi sips from her coffee mug. “Sure that’s acceptable. One thing, though.” 13:28 <banana> "Please, present the proscription." 13:29 <Quaker> “When you contacted me, it was pretty professional. No drama, no theatrics. I thought that reflected well on you. Then I learned you were a bit less professional with some of the others here. But that’s no good. From now on, you treat us all the same, like how you thought I needed to be handled. If I hear about you’ve been big-shotting somebody here, I walk and you can find a new world-class expert in my field. You get that?” 13:31 <VoxPVoxD> Badawi is Willie's favourite. 13:33 <tom> “...Yeah I was getting fortune cookies there for a while.” 13:33 <tom> “Which we still gotta discuss.. by the way.” Fixes his glasses. 13:33 <banana> Separated black and white squares dance in the projector's lamp, forming the shape of a smile. "I'll leave it to each of you to decide how far you want to go with our enterprise and note the criteria you've presented. I promise perceived professionality, Badawi. You will not have the opportunity to concern yourself with what casts the shadow." 13:34 <banana> "I'll have to take my leave shortly. Goreman. This is about the protection request?" 13:34 <Crion> Interesting. 13:34 <tom> “We’ll talk about it.” 13:34 <tom> Bob crosses his arms over his chest. Later. 13:35 <VoxPVoxD> 'That which casts the shadow'? 13:35 <hrolf> "Protection? Do we need protecting? From what?" 13:35 <banana> Sourjack: "Then I shalln't take action until we do. Thank you all for earning us the first million." 13:35 <tom> Privately. 13:36 <tom> “Thank you for paying me my cut.” 13:36 <Crion> Aster will step back towards his workstation area. Nothing further to add. 13:37 <tom> He goes back to work. 13:37 <VoxPVoxD> Once the meeting is over, Willie takes the TrackCheck over to Bob. "Bob." 13:38 <banana> The grid of squares arranged so as to create the impression of a continuous image dissolves, and it's just.. pixels. 13:38 <tom> The paint on the gnome is all dried out now, and he hefts the thing under his shoulder like a football and sets it aside. ”Oh hey Willie,” He grunts as he makes space on the tabletop. 13:38 <banana> Richard will have to turn the projector off by hand though. The power surge was one-way. 13:38 <VoxPVoxD> She holds the TrackCheck out to him. "Please. I was going mad wondering the whole meeting." 13:38 <tom> “What, you’ve never heard MC Ride before?” 13:39 <tom> “Really big in the Channer circles.” 13:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "No, I don't know who that is. But I mean me! I want to know what it puts out for me." 13:39 <tom> “Which is weird, considering-” He frowns. ”I guess nihilism unites everyone.” 13:39 <tom> “Oh- Oh yeah!” 13:39 <tom> Shit. Yeah, damn, shut up, idiot. He takes the offered device. What- it’s all covered in wires and crap? 13:40 <tom> Well, he flips the switches or whatever, aims it squarely at ‘Wilehelmine.’ 13:40 <banana> No wires at all, actually. It's like holding an assemblage of green plastic rods. 13:40 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQq8jzROdEk 13:41 <banana> “Make sure the beat never stops — she hasn’t actually left the frying pan — one lifetime isn’t enough to make a difference.” 13:41 <tom> “Is that a piano?” 13:41 <Crion> Aster turns back to see Bob wielding the device. "What the fuck are you doing?" 13:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie doesn't recognise this. "Yes, it sounds like a piano having a seizure. What does it s—" She goes silent. 13:42 <tom> Bob doesn’t say anything, but he looks worriedly over at Aster. His hand hovers over the dial to turn it off- What’s Willie doing? 13:42 <Crion> "Don't just fucking point that thing at people without asking. It's a supernatural risk." 13:42 <VoxPVoxD> "I asked." 13:43 <VoxPVoxD> It's hard to hear over the crooning. Her voice has got very small. 13:43 <tom> Yeah, that’s all he needs to know. He turns that off. 13:43 <VoxPVoxD> "What does it say?" 13:43 <Crion> Aster presses his lip into a thin line. You can tell he's unsettled because he used 'supernatural,' not 'paraphenomenal.' 13:43 <Crion> "Well. My mistake." 13:43 <Crion> "We should still shove it in a box." 13:43 <tom> He breaks out of his shock and squints down at it, reads it off, quirks his brow. 13:43 <tom> Yeah. ”Yeah that’s enough spooky shit for one day, alright.” 13:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie rips it from Bob's hands. 13:44 <tom> “Wo- hey, you alright?” 13:44 <Quaker> Badawi runs her finger around the rim of her mug, thinking. Maybe the Mysterium knows more about the vampires. But what has she got to trade for information? She’s got a bit of her own…idigam, the Wolf-Mourners, Zeno and the Seers. Maybe they’ll consider it an even trade. 13:44 <banana> The thing's not fragile at all, despite its appearance. 13:44 <Quaker> “Point it at me again.” 13:44 <Crion> Is she about to point it at him? 13:44 <VoxPVoxD> No. 13:44 <VoxPVoxD> She just tosses it on the table and storms out. 13:45 <tom> Bob supports himself on the table. Woof. 13:45 <tom> Real nice. 13:45 <Quaker> Badawi: “Go on, Rolf. Point it at me.” 13:45 <Crion> To Bob: "Don't give people everything they ask for." 13:45 <Crion> He sighs. "...But Badawi can probably take it." 13:46 <banana> Maybe there's a reason they hid that thing in a warehouse for forty years before Richard dug out the card file and realised its potential. 13:46 <hrolf> "I'm not touching that fing, sorry." 13:46 <Crion> Surely Richard will be accomodating. Because Aster's not touching it either. 13:46 <tom> Bob just kinda looks at the machine, doesn’t really move to pick it up. ”Yeah, sorry Badawi. I think I’ve got enough girls mad at me today.” 13:47 <tom> He holds on Aster’s comment, squints. Shakes his head. Just nerves. 13:47 <Quaker> Badawi grabs the headset and wheels her chair all the way across the room to Richard. “As your boss, I order you to point it at me again.” 13:48 <Quaker> Richard is a pretty soft fellow. She winks just to make sure he knows she’s joking. But just about the boss part, not the pointing part. 13:49 <tom> Bob turns back over to his workstation, where the piece is starting to take shape. The two barrels are wheeled into the vice grips, positioned, marked. Bob walks the perimeter of the workstation, dragging high-temperature partitions into a protective square. It gets very bright in a moment. 13:49 <banana> The liner notes are just the same as last time. This is the song that plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=She3ZD94ELA 13:50 <Quaker> Nice. 13:51 <tom> He twists off the valve on the oxy-acetylene, reviews the long, crude weld along the barrels, frowns. Goes over it with the belt sander. Goes over it again another four times. 13:54 <tom> ==================================================================== 13:54 <tom> TO: PAUL VAN RIPER, USMC - CHIEF MARINE CORPS LIASON OFFICER: TF:V OPERATION FORT, QUANTICO VA. 13:54 <tom> THOROUGH QUESTIONING OF ENE-P (D) "DOPPLEGANGERS" BY CORPORAL WILLIAM GOREMAN, OPFORT, HAS YIELDED INFORMATION SUGGESTING AN AGENCY-WIDE INTELLIGENCE FAILURE. 13:55 <tom> INTERVIEWING OFFICER CONCLUDES THAT ENE-P (D) DESIGNATION ERRONEOUS: SUBJECTS RECOUNT ABDUCTION & EXPERIMENTATION BY ED/ET-(H), TRAUMATIC CAPTIVITY IN E.D. SPACE, AND SUBSEQUENT ESCAPE. 13:55 <tom> SUBJECTS UNWILLING TO DESCRIBE ED/ET-(H) ENTITY IN DETAIL; QUESTIONING SUGGESTS AFFINITIES FOR E.D. TRAVEL, ALTERED PERCEPTION OF TIME, REALITY MANIPULATION, AND EXTREME HOSTILITY. 13:55 <tom> THE ENTITIES ARE NAMED BY THOSE QUESTIONED AS "UNSEELIE", REFERENCING LOCAL FOLKLORE. SUBJECTS EXHIBIT EXTREME FEAR OF RECAPTURE BY ED/ET ENTITY HEREAFTER REFERRED TO AS "UNSEELIE". 13:55 <tom> THAT SOME ED/ET ABDUCT AND EXPERIMENT ON AMERICAN CITIZENS HAS LONG BEEN SUSPECTED BY OPFORT. THAT IT COULD BE HAPPENING ON A GLOBAL SCALE IS CATASTROPHIC NEWS. 13:55 <tom> THE "UNSEELIE" DESCRIBED ABOVE IS A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF A HOSTILE ED/ET ENTITY THAT REPRESENTS A CLEAR THREAT TO U.S. INTERESTS AND FALLS WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF OPFORT. 13:55 <tom> MORE CONCERNING: THE ABOVE INFORMATION WOULD HAVE BEEN GLEANED AFTER THE FIRST DEBRIEFING OF AN ENE-P (D) TO ENTER OPERATION FORT CUSTODY. 13:56 <tom> CONCLUSION: WIDER AWARENESS OF FACTS CERTAIN TO RESULT IN DEMANDS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION. FORT'S STANCE SUGGESTS A LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN OPERATIONAL SUCCESS. 13:56 <tom> W. GOREMAN 13:57 <VoxPVoxD> Willie walks home with the barreling purpose of a drunkard, but none of their unsteadiness. Someone makes a comment — she didn't even hear what it was, but she felt it prickle her skin (the eight legs of the devil) but her glare makes whatever followup was brewing go flat in their throat. She almost collides with the door to her building. The motion sensor doesn't recognise her for a 13:57 <VoxPVoxD> moment. 14:00 <VoxPVoxD> There's an animal in the hallway outside the door to her flat. One of the neighbor's cats got out, and she (the neighbor) is chasing him (the cat) right to the stairwell as Willie comes through. The fluffy white cat (so dusty now!) skids to a stop at Willie's feet and, with an unholy yowl, scrambles away from her and claws his way up his owner's bare, outstretched arms and shoulders. Almost 14:00 <VoxPVoxD> enough blood to call Hell by. 14:01 <VoxPVoxD> "I'm sorry," protests the neighbor at the embarrassing and painful display. "I don't know what's got into him! He's usually so well behaved..." 14:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles tightly on her way back inside. 14:03 <VoxPVoxD> The cat hisses as she brushes by. 14:05 <VoxPVoxD> Once she's home (for whatever definition this meets) she lets out a sigh that ripens into a low, weary groan, changes her bandage, and gets the afternoon meeting up on her iPad while she cooks, butchering and battering with one clean hand and one dirty one. Fried chicken? Please. How can a colonel hold a candle to a marchioness?