synopsychic | (no subject)

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['For those of us who are more interested in solving the problem than stealing pants,' Naoki doesn't lead off with. Rehashing that fight's going to get nowhere other than giving people headaches again.]

I found Minako-san, though... really, anyone who's been overnighting in Liminal probably figured out she's infiltrating already, between Suzaku and Mothman. She's leading the hunt for this Captain Phoenix person, who's apparently developed a bit of a piracy problem and sent the last person out to catch her back with horrific burns.

I also found Yua. She's keeping such a low profile she's taking Naoto's 'dressed like a guy' slot - I barely recognised her voice, and I'm not sure I'd be so lucky a second time. Assuming she keeps to the same getup, which I doubt. I'm not sure if that makes her Captain Phoenix or not, but I can't rule it out.

Whether it's Yua or not, I think it's safe to say Captain Phoenix was behind that little firebird just now. I don't know what the captain's motives are or which one we're meant to help, but that seems to be part of what's going on. Anyone heard more about this Blitzkopf guy?

And are those of you who remember things from here doing all right? [Hopefully no one else has passed out. If there's any insight to be had from the old guard, they'll probably all need it sooner or later.]

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I'm not Blitzkopf. But Mr. Sparkles is going around saying I am, and he can mimic me pretty well.

[There is a very long pause.]

I'm also still in jail while he's running around by himself, if anyone cares.

[Guess who's sulking over no one bailing him out? This guy!]

Well, Herr Doktor, with a setup like that I find it unlikely the locals are going to let you out any time soon.

[His German accent is atrocious, but he tried.]

They'd let me out if someone had some bail money, you know.

[Just going to subtly drop that hint there. So subtle.]

Not if you're a wanted fugitive, they wouldn't. Besides, I really doubt I have that much.

[And he's not spending it on the pants crew unless they're really in trouble. Brought this one on yourself, buddy.]

They wouldn't tell me how much it'd be, someone could always go ask.

You know, before I figure out how to get back into Liminal Space. I could always try to get out that way.

[There's a pause.]

Might blast the stupid cage open if it takes too long...

If they have any reason to think you're actually Blitzkopf, the answer's going to be 'too high for much of anyone who's not with the Prussian government,' I think. They're really after that guy. And if you blast the cage open you'll either fall a lot further than you want to or get stuck in a new one.

I don't think going to Liminal Space will help you much, either. Not unless you figure out how to open a portal back to somewhere other than your cage while you're at it.

I'm pretty sure the fall wouldn't kill me. Not if I did it at night, anyway. And they'd have to be idiots to think I'm this Blitzkopf guy; I don't know the first thing about electricity.

[There's a dramatic sort of mental sigh.]

...but someone else could come open a portal to here, right? You wouldn't even have to pay the bail!

You're forgetting that a lot of these people have probably never met Blitzkopf before, most of the advertising for these giant rewards doesn't include photos, and as good as a lot of people seem to be at disguising themselves, it wouldn't even necessarily help to have a photo. If someone that looks like you is going around saying they're Blitzkopf, someone's going to take it at face value.

In theory, yes. In practice, I don't know who could open a portal that would spit you out somewhere else after you pop into Liminal Space.

Well, I could make myself look different from what I look like now. There's that.

[He sighs.]

But they'd probably get more worked up over something not really human-looking running around, right?

...Almost certainly.

All the screaming might be fun, though...

Until you got arrested again.

They wouldn't have a prayer of catching me when I'm like that. Not unless they had the ToQGers working for 'em--and I haven't seen any of them since I started in on this crazy trip.

And how long before you had to stop?

I could probably go at it infinitely...people get scared of the monster, the monster gets stronger off the darkness in their fear...

Sabetha's captain of that ship that looks so familiar to some of us. Figure that's probably important somehow.

I don't think I know her. But if the ship looks familiar, maybe it was important last time?

That's the thought, yeah. I tried gettin' on board, didn't get very far. Remy says he thinks there's a bar inside, which ain't somethin' you'd expect from a military or cargo ship, really.

Huh. Maybe it's more of a cruise ship kind of thing, normally? I mean, people have to get here from the far ends of Africa and Asia somehow, and that seems to be the way to do it.

That's closer to it, I think. Might've been some kinda flagship, like for heads of state and shit. Gotta keep those rich assholes fed and watered with the best.

No kidding.

Sounds like the kind of thing they would've wanted to show off. And probably like a big prize for the person who has it now.

Which means whoever's flyin' it now is either really nuts, really rich, or really smart.

Why rule out a combination of the three?

Suppose I don't, really, but it's not really a common thing to find all three at once.

True. It's not impossible, but it is rare.

Well, Sabetha's got it now. Don't know her name, in here, but she pretended like she knew me, at least. I've got a place I can hunt her down, though it might be a trap.

If you've been here before, maybe she does.

Be careful if you do go, but I probably don't have to tell you that. [They haven't talked much, and for a lot of that at least one of them wasn't themselves, but Naoki's pretty sure Riddick can take care of himself regardless.]

She did say she wouldn't knife me in the back, at least.

[There's a pause, and some faint amusement filtering through.]

Said she'd rather shoot me from well outa arm's reach. So I think her place to meet up is probably safe enough, at least once I'm in there.

...Well, that is one way to look at it. And it at least sounds like she doesn't hate you, which is a good place to start.

I'm guessin' she wants somethin' outa me, but I ain't sure what yet.

Do you think she’d be willing to accept help from us? Maybe we can join forces with whoever the jaunt made her and find—

You really think Yua is this Phoenix person? Damn, I hope this doesn’t end badly.

[Because from a different timeline aside, Yua is still his… niece (and the niece part still throws Ryoutarou a little, but family) and he can’t help but care.]

I wonder if there’s a way to find out for sure. I tried poking around where the firebird was, but the guards wouldn’t let me close and it looked to burnt out for the area to provide much in the way of evidence anyway.

I'm not sure. Minako-san's with the Caliphate, I think, so getting an in with her manhunt might be tricky, and I don't know how often blunt inquiries are going to be refreshing instead of annoying.

I don't know for sure if Yua is Phoenix, but I can't rule it out. Minako-san confirmed Phoenix is a woman, and Yua's definitely keeping a low profile for some reason. If it is her she's probably ditched the disguise I talked to her under.

[Oh, he knows the feeling, Dojima-san. This is his stand-in sister they're talking about.]

With that much fire, I can't say I'm surprised. There's probably not much evidence worth finding, either.

Oh. Caliphate, yeah… Maybe we should leave that to someone who won’t trip over themselves and piss her off.

Knowing Phoenix is a woman is a step in the right direction. Disguises, though. What kind of things was she using? Even if she changes the disguise, looking at things like that might give us an idea what they can use for disguises here, you know?

It was for some kind of fireworks, though, so safe to say that we should be on the lookout for anything else like that. Stalls, or performances, or whatever. If she’s shown up to ruin someone’s fire-related stall once, she might do it again.

Edited 2015-09-27 04:40 (UTC)

Yeah, probably. I'm not sure I want to know what kind of goodies she has at her disposal, at least not by winding up on the receiving end.

...She had a pretty distinct pair of goggles, but if those were associated with an identity she's ditched, they're probably gone. Otherwise - like I said, I didn't recognise her on sight, I probably only caught that she was trying to drop her voice because Naoto does it so much, and it took me a while to place that it was Yua and not just someone I knew. I wouldn't be surprised if people are just using the clothes and makeup available to them.

[Hey, no one noticed Naoto wasn't a guy for a long time. Naoki's pretty sure there are still some people at school who managed to miss the memo. If it works for her...]

It's as good a place to start as any. And if Phoenix has already sent one person back with nasty burns, she probably has some fireworks of her own, if not something stronger.

From what I’ve heard and read on those posters, I don’t think I want to know either. On the other hand, knowing might help us prepare to not get a nasty surprise, so…

Anyway, the dropping of the voice bit might be useful. When she was dropping her voice did she… sound like my nephew at all? Or the one that’s here, I guess. I think I could pick up on that if I heard it.

I don't... think so? But I haven't talked to Souji-san all that often, so it's possible. I just don't know how much of a resemblance there is.

I guess all I can do is keep an ear out. Thanks for the heads up.

Sadly, I barely know anything more about Blitzkopf than I did a week ago. A few half-baked rumors of scientific miracles some of the lesser members of the the delegation passed around in the bar, but unlikely thanks to current technology levels.

But speaking of the Prussians, Alcuin's infiltrator-self--at least, I'm fairly certain it's him--does a white-haired fellow who looks like he's had a fairly expensive face-and-bodysculpt fit the description? I've only talked to him over the psychic network--anyhow, he's a fellow named Aleksandr Maksimov and he's definitely a spy for the Prince. A good one too. He, ah, may know that I'm from the future now. Among other things. He shouldn't know the identities of anyone else in our group, though he might suspect a few of my regular associates.

Arlert, Verreuil, Doujima, Braig... try and keep your head down. Istas, refrain from inflicting carnage upon Maksimov. He's only doing his job.

I do have some good news. Our mystery ship is almost certainly formerly named the Zeitgeist and it was a diplomatic vessel. Take from that what you will.

Edited 2015-09-27 11:52 (UTC)

As far as scientific miracles go, that probably depends on what kind of work he's doing on his own. Which we're unlikely to find out about unless we work out who it is.

Yes, that's Alcuin. Why did you tell him you're from the future? [Naoki's more curious than exasperated. That will come later, if and when he hears about everyone else's blunders.]

...Well, that's interesting. If it was a diplomatic vessel and now decidedly isn't, it'd explain the balloon's color-change trick. Whoever took it wanted a new association.

He was giving me a valid but stinging critique of what he saw as my, ah, capabilities as a spy--among other things, he accused me of sleeping through mission briefings and failing to properly prepare for the mission--and I was frustrated enough to inform him that I had a very good reason for my Earth geography to be shoddy and my Russian to sound odd to him.

It was beyond foolish and I don't know if he believed me. I then went on to claim it was a lie and to tell him some rigmarole about being from a secret village in the New World where they breed Europeans for spies, so hopefully he'll buy that instead.

In any case, the Prussians seem to view me as an enemy agent, as well as whoever keeps sending children to monitor me, so I think for now I ought to retire from active information gathering and attempt to be a distraction, the better to let the rest of you operate more subtly.

[Well, at least he knows it was a stupid thing to say. No sense in rubbing it in. Still, can one thing go right this jaunt?]

Probably the best way, if they're already on to you. And if you happen to overhear something useful anyway, so much the better.

Hopefully I shall.

I only regret that my own incompetency has tainted my students by association. If I train anyone else, I'm doing it in liminal space. I should have been doing it there in the first place.

[He feels very stupid about that.]

Now you know for next time. It could have been worse, really.

[True. He didn't get one of the few relatives he liked nearly castrated this time or grotesquely endangered the man who was sixth to the imperial camp stool. This is far from the worst failure in his espionage career, although having his cover blown so early on galls. He can just picture what Lady Alys would have to say to him.]

I suppose it could have been.

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