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+--- Thread: Red Rice With a Slice of Lime (/showthread.php?tid=202871)
Red Rice With a Slice of Lime - Mr. Lime - 04-29-2024
A thoroughly disreputable Dunlin pulled up to Noshima and spat out a guy and a cartoonishly oversized piece of luggage. They then took up station nearby. Lime reviewed his checklist and walked to the bar. Yeah, that bar. The bar his contact asked him to visit. That bar.
It was a surprisingly subdued affair, representatives of the Sisterhood on their brief visits were quite solemn and not given to festive moods at this time; these were most likely in place to listen in on both Artifact smugglers and keep tabs on various HVTs. The slightly more boisterous Hogosha clustered around a table would have the server bring more drinks and continue their discussions. Even deep into their cups, these men stood on ceremony. A Rheinlander, almost as out of place as Lime himself, was sitting almost but not quite with the Hogosha. And then he actually walked in.
His first mistake was making eye contact with the Chrysanthemum nearest the door. His second was saying nothing and keeping his head down, he had an appointment to keep. It was too late, though, he had drawn unfriendly eyes from the local underground. The Detroit Garner he was currently checking with the bouncer, as well as his carry-on would be perfectly safe, he hoped. To his lack of surprise, one of the GC’s colleagues had gotten up ostensibly to collect a drink order. She would hear the almost-whispered “red rice, please. I’ve heard it to be excellent.” The sight of the woman relaxing after hearing whatever the gaijin said defused tension nobody in the room would admit to there being. To the Chrysanthemum, he must have been just another gaijin Order agent likely discussing the alien situation. No party was really willing to molest the man, everyone in the room knew of a colleague disappearing mysteriously, with energy signatures consistent with alien weaponry-scathed hull plating turning up some time later. The Chrysanthemum returned to her booth with the three other women Lime couldn’t for the life of him tell apart, the Hogosha must have concluded whatever he said not to be their problem and went back to whatever they were discussing, and the bartender waved him to a more private room almost but not quite subtly. The serving of dyed white rice with a drink of plum wine seemed sacrilegious somehow, but Lime wasn’t saying anything. To his lack of surprise, his luggage had also been rolled in.
Now all that was left to do was wait.
RE: Red Rice With a Slice of Lime - Mr. Lime - 04-30-2024
The door opened to admit the wrong person. The wrong person completely.
"Bold move coming here, agent." It was one of the Chrysanthemums from earlier, and she looked almost amused. "This is Chrysanthemum space, the Dragons are north of here." Lime tilted his head at her. "Were you followed?" "Were you?" "Only by you, it seems." This got a chuckle out of her. "Don't flatter yourself. We only tolerate your kind in Kusari because of your long history with the Dragons, and the aliens at our doorstep." Lime shrugged. "And we're grateful. You actually listen when we ask people to just let us do our jobs."
The lady sighed and turned around to walk out. "The Dragons may trust you. I don't. Remember that." And she was gone.
Lime broke out his datapad and got back to work. With a direct line to the Calico's array, he began working on the non-sensitive stuff. He'd have to; it was likely that his contact was tied up in a completely unrelated meeting and would be arriving shortly, and his ass was still on the clock.
RE: Red Rice With a Slice of Lime - 0xCosmin - 05-11-2024
The door opens for two shady figures to step inside, the dimly lit space makes it unable to see their face proper.
"Ah Mr. Lime".
One of the men remains at the door, gun in hand, the other steps into the light to take a seat across the small table, fully revealing himself.
"Apologizes for the delay but we had to unexpectedly commit to an operation in Kyushu, but you certainly are already aware of that, aren't you agent. It's good to see face to face, on more *ahem* solid grounds. I will be Mr. Abe for you and this is my right hand man Mr. Fudo.
With a simple glance at his second the luggage gets shoved on the table and opened.
"Superior quality, good ... D a u m a n n ... I see, exceedingly sly agent, we nevertheless appreciate the gesture. Leave us".
The large suitcase is dragged out of the room, only the two men remain.
"The Dragons do not forget nor forgive these sort of humiliations that easily, but my sensei has a keen interest in making deals with your kind should a house war break out. Now lets hear what you have to say about this interrogation first, we can talk agreements if this endeavor ends in success ."
"Ah Mr. Lime".
One of the men remains at the door, gun in hand, the other steps into the light to take a seat across the small table, fully revealing himself.
"Apologizes for the delay but we had to unexpectedly commit to an operation in Kyushu, but you certainly are already aware of that, aren't you agent. It's good to see face to face, on more *ahem* solid grounds. I will be Mr. Abe for you and this is my right hand man Mr. Fudo.
With a simple glance at his second the luggage gets shoved on the table and opened.
"Superior quality, good ... D a u m a n n ... I see, exceedingly sly agent, we nevertheless appreciate the gesture. Leave us".
The large suitcase is dragged out of the room, only the two men remain.
"The Dragons do not forget nor forgive these sort of humiliations that easily, but my sensei has a keen interest in making deals with your kind should a house war break out. Now lets hear what you have to say about this interrogation first, we can talk agreements if this endeavor ends in success ."
RE: Red Rice With a Slice of Lime - Mr. Lime - 05-13-2024
Lime sets down the tablet for it to activate a holo-display of an Interdictor circling a Tokugawa. It’s very… blue. He then shuts it off.
“That’s Slate’s pipe dream. More on that later.” He sets the tablet aside. “And I suppose interrogation would be the right word. Allow me to give you the pitch without Prower’s or Jones’s dogs interfering.”
The arms opening theatrically are thoroughly unnecessary, but he does it anyway. “We’re conducting a loyalty check on Navy boys whose families are from Kusari. If we had some your warriors accompanying our interviewers, it would be salve for the men that our conflict would be with the Shogun and not the Emperor, and would out any spies for the Shogun on the spot.” His voice drops conspiratorially, “It’s looking pretty interesting, my sources back home tell me they found a KOI monitoring station likely calling targets for the Nagasaki battlegroup in the surprise attack they don’t think we expect. Slate’s team is dealing with that now as we speak.” Lime grins. “We’re keeping that last one quiet back home for now, no need to start a panic.”
Slate’s task group enters the Pittsburgh field loaded for bear zeroing in on the comically oversized dish attached to a scrap space station. A recently abandoned space station, from the looks of it.
“So anyway, that’s what Slate wanted me to pitch. We borrow a few of your warriors, we loyalty check our guys with their help, and when the war breaks out, they’ll come back with word of how the Navy isn’t about to stab them in the back. Way I figure it, if we have you on board when we're marching on New Tokyo, it means you have a seat at the peace conference at least, signing the peace treaty for the Empire after a regime change if things go really well.” He pauses. “Unfortunately, we’re pressed for time thanks to the Navy’s stunts and the KOI operation we found.”
Then an even worse pause, the man really likes those for some reason. “Also, we’ve been getting word of some massively stepped up KNF activity in the Taus. Our war games showed that if Kusari was to launch an all-in assault of Liberty, they’d need some way of keeping the Taus relatively pacified long enough to win. Everything’s adding up, the Shogun is about to try something.” The idea that all this is just confirmation bias goes unsaid. Then again, the memories of the Shogun’s adventurism with a surprise attack on Gallia are relatively fresh. Of course the staunchly conservative KNF would attempt the exact same trick with Liberty having slashed its defense spending.
“I have the minutes of the war games we ran here if you want. I think you’ll find the part where Clark had you ask the Order to assist you to be either brilliant or stupid.”
Lime finally catches his breath. "Anyway, that's the pitch. We had to scrap the quietly recruiting the Xenos to link up with you to break open Fuchu in advance of the war, I don't believe we have the time anymore, hence the Lehigh blitz to break that prison open before the Kusari Police do anything... drastic. Which is a damn shame, Cobra had no real problems with the arms shipment he saw my boat had on me when his entire war party popped out of nowhere looking for convoys to hit, he of all people is very likely to play ball." And with that final tidbit, Lime waited expectantly for the man kind enough to save his questions for the end to give his honest feedback.
RE: Red Rice With a Slice of Lime - 0xCosmin - 05-21-2024
Abe who had been listening closely to Lime's lengthy exposition of events takes a moment to digest the information before responding.
"Very well agent, that is quite the comprehensive report, let's see ...".
A contemplating Abe gives a nodding glance across the room.
"First things first, I'm confident we can perform the loyalty checks on your designated navy personnel, if their hearts truly lie with the Kusari usurpers then it will be easy to root them out. I'm certain they are well aware of what happens to our prisoners taken to Kyoto. They would rather die a swift death given the chance".
The man's face turns to a more serious expression.
"The KOI being able to maintain such a station in the middle of your home-system is concerning, even if it is dealt with. It proves once again the Liberty apparatus is not as reliable as we would like it to be but also a cause of concern for the safety of the warriors we are about to lay in your hands. We need assurance on how are you going to conceal our identities and be certain this deal remains undisclosed to any other party, by either malice or proven incompetence.
As for the Naval forces' offensive in the Taus, we have that covered with our gallic friends, no need to worry about it they will not secure the region.".
Abe's right hand reaches for Lime's minutes, takes a time to read the synopsis before giving the agent a blank stare.
"Securing a role at the post war peace negotiations table certainly sounds appealing, only one problem agent. You see, we can already set up hush agreements because we plan to be on the other side of the table and us alone, the current Kusari ruling elite will be cut down, their legacy thrown into the void of space, there is nothing they will have to provide."
A slight shift in Abe posture indicates his attentiveness with the matter at hand.
"I find your analysis redundant. We are men of honor, there is no need for lengthy explanations: if the war breaks out, we expect Liberty to mount a big enough offensive to draw most of the Naval forces to the fronts, we will carry out the righteous coup behind, the domestic law enforcers and their hogosha lapdogs will pose no threat for us in this endeavor, after all we are plotting this operation since times immemorial. As for the Order, you will have no answer from me, but fret not, our confidence in the success of our operation stems from more than just sheer bravery and planning."
He then considers the final point.
"Lastly, as for the Fuchu prison plan, you can forget it anyway, there will be no cooperation between us and the arrogant Xenos."
With a simple clap of arms, the doors opens for Abe's second to enter and bring a platter with two glasses of kusari's finest sake.
"Now then, let's drink to our potential mutual cooperation. Kanpai!".
"Very well agent, that is quite the comprehensive report, let's see ...".
A contemplating Abe gives a nodding glance across the room.
"First things first, I'm confident we can perform the loyalty checks on your designated navy personnel, if their hearts truly lie with the Kusari usurpers then it will be easy to root them out. I'm certain they are well aware of what happens to our prisoners taken to Kyoto. They would rather die a swift death given the chance".
The man's face turns to a more serious expression.
"The KOI being able to maintain such a station in the middle of your home-system is concerning, even if it is dealt with. It proves once again the Liberty apparatus is not as reliable as we would like it to be but also a cause of concern for the safety of the warriors we are about to lay in your hands. We need assurance on how are you going to conceal our identities and be certain this deal remains undisclosed to any other party, by either malice or proven incompetence.
As for the Naval forces' offensive in the Taus, we have that covered with our gallic friends, no need to worry about it they will not secure the region.".
Abe's right hand reaches for Lime's minutes, takes a time to read the synopsis before giving the agent a blank stare.
"Securing a role at the post war peace negotiations table certainly sounds appealing, only one problem agent. You see, we can already set up hush agreements because we plan to be on the other side of the table and us alone, the current Kusari ruling elite will be cut down, their legacy thrown into the void of space, there is nothing they will have to provide."
A slight shift in Abe posture indicates his attentiveness with the matter at hand.
"I find your analysis redundant. We are men of honor, there is no need for lengthy explanations: if the war breaks out, we expect Liberty to mount a big enough offensive to draw most of the Naval forces to the fronts, we will carry out the righteous coup behind, the domestic law enforcers and their hogosha lapdogs will pose no threat for us in this endeavor, after all we are plotting this operation since times immemorial. As for the Order, you will have no answer from me, but fret not, our confidence in the success of our operation stems from more than just sheer bravery and planning."
He then considers the final point.
"Lastly, as for the Fuchu prison plan, you can forget it anyway, there will be no cooperation between us and the arrogant Xenos."
With a simple clap of arms, the doors opens for Abe's second to enter and bring a platter with two glasses of kusari's finest sake.
"Now then, let's drink to our potential mutual cooperation. Kanpai!".