Infinity PbP - Sunz of VaudeVille

"I'll not deny Father the wisdom in telling the rest of the team but both you and I are the most qualified to follow THIS lead should it warrant following." They both stop walking along the beach and look again at the photo.

"Also, my new 'friend' over at the bar did say something mildly frightening." Saito looks at the Black Friar with what could best be described as a very concerned look that they were walking into some game that they had no idea was being played around them. And that they were fresh pawns on the field.

"What if Loren Dixon isn't some clueless run away... What if she isn't some pawn in a game. What if she's the mastermind? Her parents could be clueless to a potential sociopath/ psychopath they raised."

Saito let's the question hang in the air for Pietro to mull over.

 

"Unfortunately is a very real thing that could be possible; maybe You aren't aware as is not widely signaled in My Sunz Agency CV Folder, but as many other Order Knights from Panoceania I have regularly took Teaching Lessons; following an old middle-age tradition most of the Rich and Powerful of Old Money Europe sent their Offsprings to study under tutelage in Catholic-Priests Owned schools and academies, and Panoceanian Glitterati Megacorp Execs follow suite. . .!!"

"Some of those Corporate Beavertown Kids are just Spoiled Brats, who care only to Party in Young Years, nail down a Spouse that is pretty to the eye and pleasant enough company (I'm not speaking only of "Trophy Wives" there; plenty of "Trophy Husbands" vapid and shallow too in Pan-O !!) that is allowed by Parents and then settle in a Megacorp Medium-To-High Position Office to do almost exclusively nothing on the rest of their Pampered, Devoid Lives, indulging in Vices and Stupid Hobbies. . .!!"

"But Corporate Families tends to run multiple offsprings (some even purposefully search Multiple Gemini Offsprings, mail-ordered to unscupolous Gene-Technicians, to be raised altogether at the same Time and not bother for Later) and Intra-Siblings Competition could be incredibly fierce and create very dangerous Cutthroaths Manipulators; they start High-School Queen-Bees and Jock-Princes and then develop into Brutally Oppressive Fraternity and Sorority Majors in the Academies and Colleges, to finally become Megacorp Black-Ops Directors, Cleaner Team Leaders and Hexa Field Agents. . . . .!!!"

"If the Dixons are especially Old Fashioned then Lauren could have a Older Male Sibling, if not a Brother then an Important Cousin, that was doted on and pampered by the Parents, a vapid and stupid Privileged No-Gooder that will ANYWAY inherit Major Shares of the Family and then handle crumbs to Little-Sister, if She behave properly enough (probably to be bethrothed to some Idiot Fellow on the Inner Circle of Corp Young Execs of the Intended Inheritor, as if She is just a Prize Cow !!) that could be cause of Little-Miss-Mischief madness. . .!!"

"Or She could have been raised as Throne-Heir in a competitive, cutthroat manner by Aemotive Parents that cared ONLY for what they saw in Little-Golden-Princess as Intended-Inheritrix, totally uncaring for what could have been Her expectations, hopes and dreams; maybe they squeezed too fiercely and She balked and rebelled, coming Here to affirm that She could triumph even without Daddy and Mommy Money at Her beck-n-call. . .!!"

"I started to suspect the Very Fears that You have when apparently She played the Punkette Baby Boss at Her own Game; is not easy to upmanship (Upwomanship ??) a Native Bakunite on their own Turf, but maybe this is what is happening and She is a vicious Adder that will bite our Hand if We reach uncautiously to succor a Damsel-In-Distress that in reality was never there. . .!!"

"Do You propose We split from the rest of the group and start to Beat the Bush around, Noir Detective Style, to search for possible parallel avenues of Investigation. . . . .???"

"A Bold, but Potentially Very Risky Move! But Maybe the Payoff would be rewarding. . . . .!!!"

. . . . .

While speaking in Safe Cypher and Hushed Whispers to Saito, still Father Beretta continued to scan around for issues; at least His Technologically Advanced Smartglasses weren't confiscated by the too strict No-Weapons, No-Armours policy of Fakebeach Pseudohau Module and could provide an edge if an Ambush was in the making. . .

Maybe the Aim of their mysterious enemies was clearly to split the group and besiege insulated numbers; after all "Dividet-Et-Imperat" was still a very viable Strategical Tactic now as it was almost 3000 Years before. . . . .!!!

 

Samira looked around as Kenn entered the airlock to the ocean and answers to Hasinas observation with a light laugh

"I hope he didnt get himself into some sort of trouble again. Like getting roped into doing some adult entertainment with the people in there."
Which ends with some jokes from hasinas side about the things that may have happend with some tourists in that regard which ended as a laughing stock on the Mothership.

Getting serious again Samira gets back to Hasina:
"He is a nice guy but he lacks the understanding of the finer tunes of human society, so let me check with my friends what happend."

Before she leaves Samira offers Hasina her com code with the words:
"Maybe we can have a more intimate chat later, without getting others into trouble."

Samira walks up to the Padre and Saito and starts a teasing conversation with both of them:

"Whats with the face od you two? You look like your favorite Maya Idol decided to be a nun with a vow of chastity.
Especially you." Pointing at the Padre.

And over the TacNet:
Please tell me Kenny is talking with Seeks Fish and didnt get roped into being the next Maya Star in depraved adult entertainment and what got you worked up that much.

 

That was an idea. But though Kenn was a Kumotail & studied under masters in the craft ever since his trauma of being lost on Paradiso for weeks his memory concerning certain things was hazy. He had gotten used to going through the process with pieces of the puzzle missing. Trying to re-figure out how a certain technique went. That would probably not go well with some certain science types. Since Tohaa & Mankind shared similar or identical personality levels or souls as some called them.
Kenn: "I suffered a trumatic experience on Paradiso that has hindered my memory in some areas. But I do have...Let me see here...Some notes that...Ah! Would this be sufficient?"
Kenn sent a message to Seeks' personal mail. Due to the closeness of between the two the transactions was without interference.

The eye socket seemed familiar to the Tohaa but he could not remember why. Maybe some alien species he encountered during one of the tours of duty he took before being sent to Paradiso's front?

He succeeded! Horay!! Now all Kenn had to do was get out of the liquid death and back into the stale recycled air that the motherships were famous for.

 

Taking care that the Brand-New Encryption Code was totally in effect to avoid eavesdroppers (and still checking a 360° Cautious visual scanning of the surroundings, with the Geist-Linked Smartglasses warned to alert to any High % Risks) then the Black-Friar Inquisitor answered to the beautiful Haqqislamite Socialite. . .

"Unfortunately We don't know if Kenn is ensconced in some weirdly promiscuous activities! I don't want to infer to the Cultural Erotic Representations of the Nihonjin Native Culture of the valorous Saito, but would be more fearful of sending a Nubile Japanese Schoolgirl (or was a "Fisherman's Wife" ??) to speak with a Sentient Octopus, rather than an Adult Representant of an Alien Xeno-Exotic Culture that is Eldest of Millennia respect to Us Humans, and Parahumans and Posthumans too. . .!!"

"The Squid-Fixer seems rather Paranoid about Security and there are Quantum-Scrambler and Sensor-Bafflers that started as soon our esteemed Tohaa Colleague reached the Habitat; We have no answers about what is happening there. . .!!"

"But Kenn survived TWO stints of Service in the Extra Dangerous Paradiso Frontlines, first with the Expeditionary Tohaa Corps and then a few months ago with various other Veterans of the Sunz Investigative Teams; I don't think that a Speaking Takoyaki Dish will be so difficult to cope with. . .!!"

"But there are some other Unforeseen Complications, along with Sinister Implications that We are ruminating upon, by fact-checking and collating data, that I believe the Honourable Nightwarrior Bushi would be better apt to explain. . . . .!!!"

 

Edd "Are you not forgetting something? The payment s..."
Kenn "Payment? Oh yes. Right, right, right. Completely forgot about the pay-ment."
Kenn transfers the 4 assets over to Seeks. Now it was time to get out of there!

 

"Padre i am sure Kenn can handle himself in normal in combat situations, but going into that giant pool with more or less native species seems like something different. The water is their natural habitat. As i heard those uplifts in there differ from the human thinking sheme, the same is with can as an alien, so i hope we dont end on bad terms with the inhabitants of this modul."

 

"Maybe is not the Smart Pulpi the problem, but (as You inferred before prvately with Me) is SOMEONE ELSE the Issue with Us in this Carnival Of Crazyness (and I tell this in total honesty that Miss Taisa Grunewald is one of the Best Colleagues with whom I had the Honor of beating the turf of "Dark Noir Back Alley Streets" recently, even if ANYONE of You is a Reminder that Sunz Agency only hire the absolute best of the Human Sphere. . . . .and Beyond !!). . . . .!!"

"Is High Time We confer in the most secure way possible, sharing that worrysome Video Footage, with both Lady Samira, whose Social Warfare Craft is peerless, and Taisa, that being Native-Bakunite, surely could find Red Herrings or Subtle Clues that We, as Outsiders of the Mothership, will surely miss. . .!!"

. . . . .

Saying so, and feigning to be a totally clueless Tourist gawking at a Laguna Beach in Space, gawping up with the Nose on the Holo-Sky, then the Inquisitor started to collate the last News on the Com-Log, asking the help of the Abbott-Principal, the custom Teaching Geist that has progressed so much from His heydays as a mere Theological Student of Old Terra, at the Domenican Friars Central Monastery, nearby what was once the First Holy See of Christianity, in Earth's Rome. . .

The suspect of the brave and clever Ninja that the Agents were played by some extremely devious Trickster was forefront in His mind too. . . . .!!!

 

"Padre i dont doubt anyones skills in their specialisation, but as a team we must look and compensate each others shortcomings. Thats why we bring all a differnt expertise to this job. My Short time with Kenn showed that he still lacks an understanding of the finer subtilities in human speech whcih may in this case be a benefit with those upliftet or make it even worse.
The same goes for you. Your speech pattern shows that you are not fond of the idea of uplifts but you should wathc your words in that regard outside our private conversations.
For the people from this mothership those uplifted pilots are part of their team, maybe even friends, they may not react well to those slanders and the possibility is there that someone is willing to forcefully correct you on this."

Samira wraps a friendly arm around Saitos shoulders

"Just look at this serious face with his well chosen words, he is doing really well.
Maybe i should take him to the next party just to see how much comcodes he can get. There are a lot of girls going for the strong, silent gangster type you cultivate. I bet you wont be lonely for the rest of our stay."

Teasingly smiling at Saito and poking his ribs with a finger.

 

Giving a playful little recoil from Samira's wandering fingers he lets out a small chuckle followed by a heartwarming smile.
"Oh please, have mercy on me."

Over the tacnet the poked and prodded Japanese man let's the crew in on his theory about Lauren being a wolf in sheep's clothing. When he was done he looks at Samira flatly and asks, "how paranoid am I?"

 

With the information gotten and no more need to remain around Kenn thanked Seeks for his help & time. Then asked Chumani to guide him back to the surface where life giving breath existed.
As the two swam the Tohaa wondered what this personal mission of Loren Dixon was keen on seeing through. Perhaps when all is said and done he would try and make sure the young woman could get away from her parents burdensome thumbs. But that depended on what she was aiming at accomplishing. Was it a good crusade? A road paved with good intentions but bad actions? A desperate attempt at freedom he could very well understand where she was coming from.
He feared that when he meet her she'd might have gone too far. That handing her over to her parents was "the right thing to do". Kenn was not keen on that scenario, that theory, turn out to be reality.

 

Samira replying to Saito over the tacnet:

Depends. Does Paranoia run wild in your family? I cant prove you wrong with our lack of hard information, but it is a possibility we should plan for. It would explain some stuff but open a new can of worms. If she really is a professional, who trained her and whre did she get her support and of all is there still some sort of agency supporting her?
We probably should watch our backs and working on some counter messures if we have to deal with something more than a simple runaway with big pockets.

 

"Lady Samira, we could not discount the possibility that She self-taught most of the useful Skillset available for a similar Operation; providing they success mildly in the expectations of their "Hyper-Filthy Hyper-Rich Parents" (Corporate Beaver Kids slang, not mine) that could also be rather low (as the Dixons seems rather Old-Fashioned the Women in the Family could not be asked to be MORE than "Be Pretty & A Good Trophy Wife For The Spouse We Choose For You. . .!!") You will surprised what kind of weird Skills and Talents some Glitterati Spoiled Brats with "Too Much Free Time" and "Too, Too Much Money" could have. . .!!"

"That is also the typical Headhunting Place where sometimes the Hexaedron collect their New Recruits, but we could not discount another Foreign Hyperpower Secret Service. . .!!"

". . . . ."

"Taisa, my Good Friend, as the only Knowledgeable Local of the Investigative Group, what do You think anyway could be the issue with that Praxis Crimelord be able to suborn so easily an accomplished Gladiator and be able to use that Pit-Fighter as Bait or Hostage. . .??"

"Are We speaking of some SERIOUS Mothership Submondo Kingpin, or just a Petty Gang Boss with more than half of the Available Thugs be Drug-Addled Morlocks that somehow are not yet put on some Frontline Gruppen. . . . .???"

"As soon as Kenn resurface, hopefully with Useful Tactical Infos, we should quickly plan our Next Strategical Initiative. . . . .!!!"

. . . . .

Said His piece Father Beretta still continued to scan for potential threats; all this talk of Hexa Black Ops brought to the forefront some serious bad memories; Inquisitor Friars as the premier Secret Service of the Panoceanian Orders very often were at odds with the so-called "Supreme Hyperpower Intelligence Agency" and results were often not pretty at all. . . . .!!!

 

On the Tacnet: "With Seeks fish infos it seems you arent far of with your Paranoia, dear Saito. If she calls it her personal mission in front of that smuggler or maybe it slipped it seems she has personal reasons to be here. I wonder how Valentine and the others fit into that plan. Padre you seem to be more knowledgeable about this sort of rich folks, what could be the reasons for something that personal from the rich and wealthy?
Did someone of Nomad Defence Force hurt or kill someone she was close too, are did a Nomad Agent play with her heart? What could have triggerd something that looks like a personal vendetta? Or are we looking into soem shade business dealings with the black labs around her birth? To much possibilites and not enough information about that girl."

 

"When you've been in the industry and hunted by the industry as long as i have. You develop a healthy sense of paranoia. However... This personal vendetta is only a first step in something bigger. Of that I'm sure of. She'll want to be a big fish, but she could of easily become one with her families backing. So why go rogue?" Saito begins pacing back and forth, deep in thought. The playfulness gone in an instant, as if he never could be one for such games.

"It has to be for something that wouldn't have the family's approval." Saito trails off again. A quick look at his dossier back at HQ and you would know that he could trail off on these spirals.

 

"This is all a very confusing issue, My friends, let's start from the Basic Premises. . .!!"

"Dixon Family is powerful in Varuna, and this automatically means Helots Exploitation and being Targets for Liberto Terrorist Cells; they Black-Marketered in Praxis something for their Daughter (for all that we know She could be a Gilled Gene-Tweak "Siren Posthuman" or even sharing some % of Genome with Varunan Helots) and She have some Personal Vendetta here. . . . .!!!"

"The Sunz Agency is contracted to bring the Errant Wayward Childe back; but for all that We know we are returning an Anti-Libertos Experimental Geno-Hybrid Mermaid-Princess back to a shady Megacorp Lobby of Panoceania; honestly this become an issue if it will infringe on Tunguskan Nomad Mothership Concerns; Sunz is a Tunguska-Based Firm and ANYTHING that damage the Finance Mothership damage Sunz and, concursively, damage US. . .!!"

"We could corner that Errant Wayward Childe, even if She is without Local Support, and find that She will be VERY difficult, of not outright lethal, to overcome, subdue and package-back to Mommy Dearest and Daddy-Carebear. . .!!"

". . . . ."

"And now this Local Mob Kingpin is accusing Us to infringe on His affairs; BRUTALLY said, what We risk if we do not care and the Hostage is executed? Not that I condone this Callous Method, but We should have a CLEAR idea of the Stakes at Risk!! Maybe Lauren Dixon paid Circus-Morlock-Godfella there to waylaid Us while She book a Passage outside the Mad-Carnival-Mothership and is all a Red Herring. . . . .???"

 

"Either way, we will need to make a decision. I'd say we find a way back to the hotel, debug a room and really go back to square one and look at the whole picture again with this new information added into the mix. While we're at it we can update Sunz and see if Eddie has gotten anymore Intel on the Dixon family. Like I said earlier. There has to be another angle to this whole affair. Nothing is black and white although I don't need to remind you all about that."