[Closed Event - Debrief At Sector Security]

[becomeanwarrior]

[FADE IN:]

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[ INT. SECTOR SECURITY BUILDING/DIRECTOR'S OFFICE - EVENING ]
[ The blinds are drawn, letting only faint slices of the oncoming Domino twilight through the guarded windows of the director's office. ]

[ The steam coming off a personalized coffee machine catches the rays of light as they filter into the room, substituting for the smoke that would otherwise fill this scene with the requisite clandestine gravitas. ]

[ One hears the faint muffled drumming of fingertips against the arm of a chair behind the desk, as CHIEF ONNI AMAHARA looks over his written work — police reports and papers sent back from the Imperial Guard who retrieved him and his niece from the scene of their latest adventure. Worry lines crease on his face, the first shadows of sleep deprivation have set in under his eyes, and his brow furrows in abject frustration. ]

[ He exhales a sharp breath, the punctuation of which disperses the gathering clouds of steam from the coffee machine as he pushes himself out from behind his desk, grabbing a fresh cup of Blue-Eyes Mountain from the pot. ]

[ He takes a sip as he turns to look through the blinds at the skyline behind him, clearly expecting his trusty aide to be here any moment to compare notes. ]

What a fucking mess.

Comments

[isdragonlady]

::Opens the door and comes in, nice tight pencil skirt, tight blouse, gloves, smooth hose, nice kitten heels, glasses, with a tablet and smartphone in hand, both VRASH brand.::

You're imagining yourself right now with a noir themed soundtrack, aren't you, sir?

[becomeanwarrior]

Hah. And if I say I was?

[ He turns around, motioning to the coffee machine, ready to brew another cup. He's striding over to his desk. ...He does give Katie a once-over look of approval. ]

Coffee, if you take it this late. Sit or stand, y'know I don't stand on formality when it's just us, Katie.

[ He sets down his cup, fingers touching his temple as he continues to stand. ]

So, which of us should go first, do you think?

[isdragonlady]

I'd flick your nose but I'm tired.

::She takes the coffee and sips on it gingerly.::

You first. You set the tempo and I'll respond, so I don't overwhelm you.

And be slow. I want to go home and have my feet massaged.

[becomeanwarrior]

[ He gives an amused snort. ]

Methodical approach it is then.

Alright, before I recap — Katie, I have a serious question for you.

...Do you think I've let things fester? That I've gotten lazy?

[isdragonlady]

... I think the world changed violently two years ago. Noriko's new "Banzuke" society, for lack of a better term, is trying to become the new norm.

A lot of things changed, and it's beyond the scale of the Imperial Guard, the Ministry of Normalcy and Sector Security to properly keep track of it.

But we... only currently have Suguru as our best 'crisis' specialist besides you. And the Empress seems to want to keep her close.

... So, I think you've let things fester because you try to do too much alone.

And even the Knights Errant program is barely help bridge the gap.

[becomeanwarrior]

I think that... largely tracks with my assessment.

[ He sits down, kneading his brow. ]

It feels like the societal changes Noriko is trying to establish are stripping us of the time we'd usually have to react, just based on how violent the world has changed.

And we haven't significantly been able to increase manpower since the world change, and especially given Suguru is largely the Imperial Family's most trusted operative, we've really lost some manpower even if the vigilante corps of the Knights Errant are working in our favor.

And while everyone being a Duelist makes things easier in some ways, it makes it harder in others.

I've tried to tell Noriko she's going too fast, but I think we're in... basically something akin to an industrial revolution, or maybe the singularity. We can't significantly slow things down from the speed they were set in motion.

[isdragonlady]

It's possible Noriko feels she can't stop because stopping is death.

We don't know what's in Moscow. It's getting very difficult for us to safely reach Europe due to the Middle East, and there's some new shmuck trying to kill your niece every week to "Save the World".

The point being is we either need to fish Sullivan and Gina out of whatever pit they vanished into, or we need to find actual manpower.

And Artemis hasn't graduated and will likely want to be assigned to Duel Academia.

[becomeanwarrior]

I feel like all of these problems could have been forseen if she just took it slow and wasn't trying to boil the world like a lobster... but I digress.

[ At the mention of Artemis, he grimaces. ]

Right, I'll start from the top, but to put the bottom line up front—

'Galatea the Pandora' is my wife, Kiriya Shiroko. Her accomplices— 'Aeon the Blinding Eternity' and 'Ultima the Farthest Shore', are my daughter, Amahara Kaguya, and Kenzaki Kanan, youngest daughter of the Kanan Clan.

I don't know that for absolute certain, but let's call it a 98% certainty.

[isdragonlady]

... Mmm, that's a headache but Shiroko wouldn't be doing that if she didn't have a reason but didn't she have an episode that made her -- oh. Cute. Smart woman.

But along with that, my impression is Noriko overturned everything at such an insane pace, is because Kamala's Duel and the Missile launched shattered the sealed doors between Earth and 12 Dimensions.

And that basically gave everything sleeping for the last 2000 years a wake up call.

[becomeanwarrior]

Yes, and there's probably no better move my cousin could have made to ensure the safety of her family, but as usual it leaves me picking up the debris and putting out the fires. It does get exhausting.

[ He nurses his coffee. ]

Yes, working backwards from the solution, it seems likely my wife has been using a mental health episode that put 'Funako' in charge as a reasonable alibi. Annoyingly clever, but I believe she underestimated me.

I had Rani tail her, which is why she was at the former Church of Starry Wisdom in the first place, and reviewing incident reports of past actions taken by the so-called 'Puppet Princess' seem to line up accordingly with holes in Shiroko's whereabouts.

To say nothing of the attire the Puppet Princess is wearing. I'd know the clothes from Shiroko's various high-school and post-Academia days anywhere, Katie, and the Puppet Princess' costume is very much put together from her past — outfits she can only assemble thanks to the effects of having become part-Otherworlder before being transferred to a different body.

[isdragonlady]

... So what do you plan to do? I like Shiroko well enough, she's probably operating under a Knight Errant license and she doesn't do things. Without reasons. So she can probably escape legal trouble.

No nevermind she's the consort's sister.

::Sips on her coffee.::

[becomeanwarrior]

I suppose that depends on what information you found. I believe you had the girls looking into the targets Shiroko was hitting— all of which seemed to tie back to the Rosencrantz' business. Did any of those leads bear any fruit as to what reason my wife would have for doing this?

I have to assume she has a reason but given how she was operating I don't have all the pieces.

There is, of course, also the elephant in the room, that she's attracted a notable member of the so-called 'Queen of Otherworlders' retinue in Huntsman Orobas. But I will get to him in time.

[isdragonlady]

Every target has or had connections to the Rosencrantz Group. And has been violating more recent laws regarding unauthorized materials and occult items, violating custom laws, but all are basically wealthy enough or have enough political clout or association, that the Imperial Guard and Sector Security would have trouble touching them even with the Imperial Family's backing...

::Tapping her tablet as she explains this.::