[Jaunt] early on during the third mingle

[thornsofmalkav]

Okay. So. On one hand, my date tonight was fucking ruined because Thace's Infiltration is up to his purple furry butt--which he doesn't currently have--in intrigue and guess who he thought was Up To No Good?

On the other hand, after he got done ruining my date and all our misunderstandings were cleared up, I did find out a bit more about what shit is currently up. So I guess that sort of makes up for the whole date ruining thing.

Basically, you know those firework salesman guys from En Zhenming? Alcuin's infiltration is their captain, Haru and Gil and Eren are on the crew, and Yakumo's their weird asshole? Well. It turns out that they're here to start a fucking war between En Zhenming and Paramo with the idea being that if Paramo invades the Bando in response--which they would because geography, I guess--that means Paramo can do the dirty work on putting down the rebellion there with no skin off of En Zhenming's back.

Which, like, I think all of us will agree is definitely not the fuck what we want to happen.

Right now, I'm too compromised to really help him out much, but I'm pretty sure most of you guys aren't. I'm gonna see if I can hook him up with whoever's into stopping this shit, even if I can't do much myself.

Comments

[awitchdidit]

I'm sorry about your date, dear, but it does sound like Alcuin's crew need to be stopped or exposed. I assume that we'll want to put assassination down as a last resort, this time?

[thornsofmalkav]

Please? At least not their captain? I know he's not really Alcuin, but I've grown pretty fond of Shen. He's not... he's not a good guy, exactly, not at all, but he's better than he was made to be? If that makes any sense?

[awitchdidit]

You're talking to the person in the universe to whom that makes the most sense.

Now, that does leave the question of whether or not we want the Paramo authorities to catch on, since they could easily take even a foiled plot as a casus belli. The Emperor is probably counting on that, in fact. It might be safer to sabotage their efforts without exposing them.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeahhhhh, that's what I'm thinking too. We need to be sneaky as fuck about this.

[fearinahandfulof]

Weird in what way?

[thornsofmalkav]

Every way.

But also he's an overpowered illusionist. I'd joke about him wanting to become Prime Minister, but honestly it would be just our luck to have Dark Magician 2: En Zhenming Boogaloo.

[fearinahandfulof]

[That... doesn't help at all, and also makes no sense to her.]

Did he go into specifics?

[thornsofmalkav]

[Right, she missed Artwarts.]

Uh, well, he said that Yakumo probably just as dangerous as Shen? Maybe more?

[fearinahandfulof]

[Actually, she didn't.]

Is that just the illusions, or...?

[thornsofmalkav]

... you know, that's probably something Thace can explain better than me. Like I said, I haven't really interacted with the dude. Shen won't let me on his boat. Which, like, makes sense if he's an agent provocateur and not, like, a legit firework salesman.

[fearinahandfulof]

Shen is.. Alcuin?

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah. That's the guy Alcuin is stuck inside. I've been, uh, seeing him since we got to Paramo. We've been meeting at hotels. Things like that.

[fearinahandfulof]

...Oh.

[Really, what else can she say to that?]

Do you think he'll be all right after this?

[thornsofmalkav]

Shit, I don't know. But that's why I'm too compromised to do more than hook you guys up with Thace's Infiltration. Because if Shen finds out that the girl he's been having his affair with is a spy working against him--god, that would fuck him up.

I mean, Alcuin will be fine with that part. We have blanket permission to seduce and spy on each other for the good of the mission on Jaunt? It's more the whole Trying To Start A War thing that I worry about fucking him up after this is over, which is why I don't want him to end up having to do anything else that would fuck him up. And if I were being an active agent in this Jaunt, there's a large enough chance that I'd get in over my head and get caught or die and maybe he'd even have to kill me and--

Yeah, no. Not going to do that to him.

[She'll just... not address how she doesn't want to do that to Shen himself, not just Alcuin. God, why did she have to get attached to him?]

[fearinahandfulof]

[...Oh.

Although even though Thorne doesn't state it, it does seem to Cassandra as though Thorne wants to avoid hurting Shen as well as Alcuin. Otherwise, she'd probably be less worried about the effect of her betrayal on him.]

No, that would... not be good.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah.

[Cassandra is way more perceptive about this shit than she probably realizes.]

[fearinahandfulof]

[Cassandra's come a very long way in her time as a Traveler.]

Has he... talked about his crew at all?

[She suspects the answer is 'no,' or at least 'not in enough detail to be useful,' but still.]

[thornsofmalkav]

Not really. I haven't asked either.

[fearinahandfulof]

He's probably very used to keeping secrets.

[thornsofmalkav]

I mean yeah, given he's an agent provocateur and all.

[forcechanic]

Kriff.

What do we know about how they plan to set off a war with one ship?

[thornsofmalkav]

Considering what Wash just said about floating mines? Probably by exploding shit.

[forcechanic]

That might mean a blockade.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeahhhhh. Might be, yeah.

[forcechanic]

So that makes the question who would you blockade to spark a war with Bando...

[thornsofmalkav]

I think maybe this is shit you guys should ask Thace when you meet with him.

[dino_zarf]

Another crew got floating mines when they weren't expecting them. That's probably part of it.

They also know something's up with me and Rosie.

[thornsofmalkav]

Ah fuck.



Yeah, Thace's Infiltration made that second part clear.

[dino_zarf]

It's hard to convince a toddler to not fling people across space when she's upset.

[thornsofmalkav]

I told him that she's not an illusionist, just a baby with near godlike powers that decided that since you looked close enough to her daddy that you were her daddy. He seems to have actually accepted that explanation?

[dino_zarf]

Somehow that's the good option.

[How did they reach the point where that's the good option?]

[thornsofmalkav]

Somehow!

[dino_zarf]

Do you ever think about how completely absurd our lives are?

[thornsofmalkav]

Sometimes, yeah. It's pretty cool.

[awitchdidit]

If those were meant for the provocateurs, then they must be targeting ships. Unless that kind of mine works against harbor facilities, but if those were their target, it'd be easier to just use gunpowder charges on land. Especially with all these Zhenming fireworks around...

[dino_zarf]

Real question is where exactly they were meaning to target the ships.

[ninjayeehaw]

Yakumo already knows me right now, an' I reckon he's about as wary a' me as I am a' him. Didn't seem t'much appreciate me nosin' around an' askin' questions before, so I ain't got nothin' t'lose if'n I go back an' keep doin' it.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah, true. And, I mean, if there's one thing you ninja guys are good at, it's yolo-ing into everything. Care to yolo into Yakki's grill and maybe see what the fuck is up with him? Like, he's super fucking dangerous according to Thace, so you might want to at least try for a modicum of caution, but we could use a little more intel on him, def.

[ninjayeehaw]

I'll do my best not t'get killed while I'm all up in his grill.

[He might be a bit curious to learn just how dangerous Yakumo's overlay is.]

[thornsofmalkav]

I mean, at least you're Investigating, so if you did get killed, you'd technically survive since our actual bodies are presumably still in Liminal Space, but death still sucks even if you survive it.

[ninjayeehaw]

[there's the sense of a slightly befuddled stare on the network.]

If I go dyin' it'll likely be my own fault fer not keepin' a close enough guard up, so here's hopin' that I don't gotta go worryin' 'bout none a' that right now.

[thornsofmalkav]

[What? She's thought a lot tonight about how it would fuck up Alcuin if Shen ended up killing her. She might think Yakki's a pain in the ass a lot of the time, but she doesn't want him to have to deal with having killed Kinji.]

Yeah. Let's hope.