Chapter 4

[thenine]

Who: OTA
Where: Quad
When: Week VI, Day VII - Week IX, Day I
Summary: Chapter 4 prompts!
Restrictions/Warnings: Violence, blood, et cetera. For anything surpassing 'R' on a rating scale, please create your own log.
Notes: Please title your subject line in the following format -- Open / Closed | Date. OOC event information can be found here. Calendar information/dates can be found here.

Quick Navigation
The Nine
The Company
Westies
Leith
Resistance
The RAC

The Nine: Ballroom Politics

Delle Seyah Kendry herself has sent a message to all with Qreshi citizenship. She calls them to a gathering of her own inception, a gala for the affluent few to spend a leisurely three days adrift in orbit. The invitation includes the ship's parameters, sure to comfort or entice any member of the nobility with expected and lavish accommodations, as well as a personal note of interest. It's been too long since everyone was together to discuss their pursuits, their thoughts, their projects… Invitations sent to: Crowley, Rhys, Sui Feng, Hanzo, Hanbei, & Royce On the surface, the event is a extravagant social soiree, but the undercurrent is clear. With the Peace Summit concluded, it's time to find an actual solution to the unrest in the streets. What house Kendry seeks is a move that benefits all members of the Nine, something that solidifies their position and ensures more years of prosperity. House Simms agrees, their pandering to the powerful Kendry family only intensifying. While there are some - perhaps land Hyponia - who disagree, their voices are hushed, few willing to lose life or estate for the common man. The cruiser hosting the event has three levels. The highest houses an opulently decorated hall, repurposed throughout the day for banquets, entertainment, and mingling. Only the finest food and hokk will be served, and those attending may also sample delicacies from the reaches of the J as they converse. As days drift into nights the lights will dim, long dining table replaced with smaller stands on which the elite can amuse themselves with the newest tech, including a gambling interface. The middle floor houses personal rooms, each containing a king sized bed with too many pillows, a walk in shower, a full kitchen, a stocked minibar, and a fully equipped entertainment room. Communication between rooms has been installed as full-scale holograms, and a mere voice command activates all tech within. The lower deck, housing the bridge of the ship and all workers’ quarters, is not advertised for visitation. Heirs and family heads alike will be in attendance, mingling through the ambling guests to speak with the most important, or the most concerning, individuals. Such a party would be woefully unenjoyable without proper security, and several warrants requesting RAC agent service have been placed. A high-paying position, any Killjoy who attends will need to dress formally and keep their gaze narrow. Some among the aristocracy may wish to speak with them - to ask for favors - but any conversations will be carried out with utmost secrecy. For the spaces warrants could not fill, Company enforcers have been summoned to bolster the event's protective forces. The higher within the Company, the less surreptitious one needs to be to chat with the Qreshi. However, having a distinguished Company pedigree doesn't guarantee any contact aside from being asked to dispose of something (or someone) for the good of the Nine.

The Company: Training Day

A divide has begun to form within Company ranks, and those at the top are loathe to see such cracks being driven into their foundation. Though the riots are growing more subdued, the lack of a 'unified' approach to street patrol has inspired action. Model Company officials will receive either a promotion or higher clearance for access to equipment. There is no mention of violence or brutality in the messages each receives to alert them of their bonus, the expectations of continued service acting as implicit reinforcement. Company officials who approached the malcontent populace with what have been officially labeled "high risk" methods - plainly stated, with mercy - will be notified of a different sort of reinforcement. Those who require acclimation training will be paired with an officer the Company can trust to exercise appropriately severe punishments, and sent to a volatile area. The location differs by assignment, but each has in common the hostility of its community. Spitting, jeering, and sudden attacks are to be expected by anyone wearing Company issued gear. All patrol, arrest, or recon missions in these areas will prove to be a battle against the Westie citizens who reside there. Not intending to lose members of their workforce, the Company does expect success and will not set any team up for deadly failure, but kindness on the part of any officers in the area will likely be met with suspicion or revulsion by the people, and possibly a report to upper by their partner. In a completely different sphere, officers who caused the Company figures of damage - or just a financial headache - will be assigned to stress training. The process is available to any employee, should they wish to opt in and kiss ass have something nice to put on their resume. A debriefing outlines that those participating in the training will board a vessel with a partner and be launched into orbit. The ship will have several interface and mechanical failures - all carefully monitored by the Company control below, of course - over the course of the simulation. Officers are required to land the ship despite these errors, and will be evaluated on their technique, teamwork, and attitude. Unbeknownst to all participants, the small ship will also contain three spider-type bots that will activate once in orbit and scatter over the framework of the vessel. They will trip alarms, project voices, and interface with the system to cut communication. The last any participant will hear from ground control is, "What's happening up there!?", an urgent final message sent before the true observation begins. Characters granted higher weapons clearance: Giovanni, Jack, Sui Feng, Hijikata, Hanzo, Juvia, Fenris Characters assigned acclimation training: Julius, Nyx, Shiro, Sion, Rhys Characters assigned stress training: Giovanni, Hijikata, Shiro Aside from the Company's inner workings, the world has not stopped spiraling deeper into chaos. Some enforcers may be requested as security at the Qreshi convocation, serving both abroad the actual pleasure ship and patrolling around it. Others may find their battle with the streets of Westerley dragging on as organized crime rises alongside the Resistance cells. Gangs threaten Company officials and average citizens alike, looting bars, sacking shops, and carrying out their own executions. Agree with the Company's blame of the Resistance, or see the gangs for the opportunists they are - either way, one thing is clear: The streets of Westerley are unsafe.

Westies: Karma Police

Cries for justice have distorted, shouts becoming incomprehensible as the dawn breaks on an otherwise calm Westerley morning. The riots that had become almost commonplace have dwindled, crowds thinning as the days drag on. Yet the violence that accompanied such frenzied backlash continues. It's not unusual to see a beaten and broken man lying motionless on the sidewalk as one makes their way throughout their day, bloodstains on the street coloring nearly every path through Old Town. The disenchanted have splintered. Some have returned to work, looking to keep their heads down and their necks safe from trouble. Some have taken a more subversive approach, fading into the shadows as the Resistance receives a new wave of sympathizers and participants. Some bask in the chaos, taking advantage of the upheaval to assert themselves, and their gangs, as a new authority on the street. Company enforcers remain pervasive, their patrols constant and their responses brutal, but they are no longer the only danger. Every abandoned safehouse, every street corner, and every back alley has become someone's territory. Lines drawn in the gravel are frequently contested, skirmishes between rival groups a common but insular backdrop to the violence teeming in the city. Though all gangs have different expectations, different eccentricities, they share a brash hatred for the Company. With growing frequency, establishments that serve Company officials will find themselves ransacked. Windows broken and goods stolen in the night, or the owner run out and beaten on the street, no venue can guarantee its safety without turning away those in Company attire. For some, even that is not enough. Speak too gently of the Company and one may find themselves labeled a sympathizer, subject to jeering or beating with little provocation. The question, How do you feel about the Company, asked by both enforcers and crime rings alike, is impossible to answer without earning at least one enemy.

Leith: Changing Winds

The winds of change howl across the Leithian landscape. The actions of the True Leithians have set events into motion that start to propel the usually relatively peaceful moon into the kind of unrest that's more common to its neighbors. As land reallocation continues, the upper classes of Leith start to resist the pull of charity. Where Leithians were content enough to provide aid to Westerley before, it's more difficult for that generosity to continue as their own coffers start to diminish. The relief efforts that the poorest of Westerley had relied on come nearly to a halt, because Leith is drawing away to protect themselves in the chaos. After all, chaos is starting to seep into Leith too. As donations slow, the Westerlen workers start to show their own unrest as their families and friends at home suffer for the slowed aid and the decreasing prospects of their own work. Leith's relationship with its Westie workers has always been tense, but it's never bubbled to the surface so much as this. The Resistance is quiet, but growing louder even on Leith. The market is often surrounded by workers striking, and Leith struggles to contain the protests. While a few unruly workers could be dealt with by a farm alone, hundreds of them forces those same farms to listen. Without their Westerlen labor, there's no one to tend to the farms and harvest the valuable crops that Leith provides to the Quad. The Leithian farmers may have to listen to the protests of their workers, but they wait, cutting off pay for those that refuse to work in a tactic to try and force them back to work. However, where some return to the farms reluctantly, it only makes the anger burn hotter for others. A massive field belonging to one of the biggest producers of Hokk in the Quad is torched, and the fire and smoke can be seen for miles. Ash falls on nearby towns like rain, and while the Qreshi fret over a shortage of their favorite Hokk, the people of Leith and Westerley both know that this is the start of something more dangerous on Leith. Rumor has it that the fires may have been started not by a Westie, but a rival Leithian, and with no one to conclusively blame, everyone bears the suspicion and distrust. Those disappearances that had effected only a select few associated with the True Leithians increase, but Leith itself doesn't complain too loudly. In the streets, Leithians seem oblivious or ignorant to what's coming, but they know. They only hope that so long as they pretend in public that everything is fine, maybe peace will return to their home.

Resistance: Power Vacuum

Hyperion becomes a whisper, a phantom looming in the background noise of discontent conversations and secrets kept. Some say it's a single person, a man of strong pedigree and polished cuticles, while others speak of a woman clothed in midnight black with a piercing stare that strikes through the heart of a man. Others yet suggest that it's not a person but many, a group of shadow puppeteers who offer direction.. but at what price? While rumors swirl and build into the myth of the Hyperion groups, rival factions rise to fill the empty spaces. For some, it's an ideological clash: whoever Hyperion is, they're too well-funded and connected to truly be of the people, too secretive and selective to warrant the trust of those who risk life and limb for sedition. For others--most, really--it's a matter of power hunger, groups forming and striking out to take control of the scattered members of the Resistance while the mysterious Hyperion remains an intangible figure. Unity, they say, in this time of division. They say it in town meetings and raids, in private conversations and public--albeit careful--demonstrations, using the cover of Westerley's rising gangs to cast shadow on their movements. As is often the case with politics, what they say and what they mean are quite different. While these different groups call for togetherness, they seek subordination and compliance to their respective ideas and goals going forward. Some call for violent uprisings, others aim for organized strikes and legislative pressure, and others still seek a peaceful but complete abolition of the current monarchy class. Each spreads their own propaganda in coded pamphlets and messages sent across the Meshwork, and though they agree on little, they are, indeed, unified on at least one common goal: The Nine must fall. In the meantime, though the focus of those outside of Hyperion's reach drifts, Hyperion teams continue to receive missions and intel, each cell working on a singular component for some great machination of change. Hyperion cites its compartmentalization as a means of protection--should one cell fall, the loss can be contained to those secrets and plans alone--but a closer look at each division's missions will offer a slightly more tarnished future than the one Hyperion claims to build. It's a war, even if the people on the streets don't realize they're fighting in it just yet, and in war... there are always acceptable losses. Collateral damage to be tallied and disregarded for the greater good. The Nine will fall, broken bone by broken bone.

The RAC: Level Grinding

As always, agents will have their hands full as the juggling jesters of the Quad's court, tasked with keeping the various factions served and satisfied with their contracted work. Between acting as guards for the Qreshi envoy, cleaning the streets of the detritus corpses left in the wake of the riots, and the monthly warrants, there's no shortage of work for the killjoy who's looking. And there's more killjoys than ever, at that. Following the lower level evaluations, a new score of Level 4 agents arrives on the scene, eligible--and potentially willing--to form new teams. With this advancement in rank comes new opportunities that span beyond the potential for awesome buddy-cop movies: higher level warrants that pay better and offer increased access to otherwise off-the-books missions. Will you band with your graduating class to knit powerful units and make your mark on the J star cluster? Or do you prefer to remain the lone wolf figure in this otherwise disparate organization? Maybe you have you sights set higher than that. Maybe you want to go for the top tier of the RAC and make yourself a Level 5. While it's generally thought that only those agents who have proven themselves as Level 4s are afforded the opportunity to advance, it's not strictly a requirement. Whether that fourth notch in your killing belt is fresh or well-worn, the Level 5 evaluations are open season, but not unfettered. Indeed, while any Level 4 is elgible to try their hand at the highest ranks, those who hold the most tenure will have a far easier curve to ascend than their less experienced counterparts. Competition will be fierce and the opportunity for advancement strictly regulated based on not mere skill, but psychological stability and past performances. Any mark left in the records of an agent can and will become leverage against them when they enter Level 5 evaluations. The evaluations, at least, are similar in construction to the lower-level missions, albeit with far greater danger. The evaluating agent must carry out a Level 5 warrant--with his or her team, if applicable--but rather than having the guidance of a senior agent to shape their path, they'll be monitored and observed with real time telemetry from RAC HQ. The results will thereafter be analyzed by the RAC's top brass and released for viewing in Chapter 5. With competition fierce and the test itself a life or death scenario, agents will need to utilize any advantage they can in order to come out ahead. Cultivating their contacts and gathering the necessary resources isn't just a strong recommendation for these killjoys but an implicit requirement for a successful promotion. That's not the only unspoken requirement. Whispers begin to circulate throughout HQ that certain palms have opened for greasing and can facilitate a smoother evaluation for the right price. Open discussion of the rumors is strictly prohibited and strongly punished, but for the cunning and sly.. ...any attempt to bribe those palms will be met with an automatic failure and subsequent investigation into the killjoy's past endeavors. Those individuals rumored to offer grace in exchange for joy are among the RAC's most loyal and stalwart class of senior agents, purposefully placing themselves within the public eye in order to draw out the rats of the organization. The warrant is all.

Comments

[rhygret]

[ It's a welcome interruption to the pacing of things even if it does catch him by a surprise a little, enough that he blinks once or twice before he remembers oh right, Angel's on comms and he lifts a finger to the earpiece unconsciously.

He doesn't actually have to press on it or anything to communicate...he's just a nerd. ]

Oh, hey Angel--yup. Loud and clear on my end, what's up?

[ Rhys would be lying if he said he wasn't happy to hear from her. He prefers the company of AI to the company of relatives by a long shot. ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ She lets out a sigh of relief ]

Good, I was getting a pretty weak signal for a second there, someone must be running some interference.

[ Which isn't surprising, considering the passengers on board. ]

How are things so far?

[rhygret]

Well, the folks are pretending I don't exist and Delle's got all of Simms kissing her ass for favours so...about the usual? [ The sad part is that Rhys doesn't even sound sarcastic about this. It's as if he's talking about the weather and this is all entirely factual. ]

Can't believe they let Hyponia in though... Guess someone felt sorry for them. [ Rhys is catty when it comes to The Nine...sorry Angel. ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

[Angels knowledge of the nine and their inner-workings is general at best. She knows what she's learned from the cleaned up public news, and the bits of gossip that filter through her servers. She knows that the Kendry's and Hyponia are...not on the best of terms, but not the complex details of their feud.
Unless it's specifically requested of her, her stance on these sorts of things remains neutral, like a generalized Company issued AI would be programmed to be.
Besides, her true target right now is the Nine as a whole entity. For now she's looking for chinks in the armor, small exploits. Even if one of those exploits is you, Rhys.]

Well, there couldn't be a party without them. Things sound rough, though. Is the food at least good?

[rhygret]

All the food in the world wouldn't make up for having to deal with these jerks. [ Rhys grumbles a little there, but mostly he's just tired of having to pretend he likes anyone here besides Crowley, and that's tentative most days. They're technically friends? But Rhys wants Crowley's attention a whole lot more than Crowley cares for his. ]

I'm glad you're here at least. That already makes this whole thing a lot better.

[r3f4c70r3d]

[Well that's a sentiment Angel isn't used to...at least, not said so earnestly.]

Oh. Thank you for bringing me. Is being with your family and the others really that bad?

[Cause while Angel can kinda understand that, at least in her own way, she can't really fathom why this sort of setting would make Rhys this miserable. There may be some friction with his parents (though Angel only knows so many details from talking with Rhys and general research on his history) but for the most part Rhys seems to live a gilded life.]

[rhygret]

You kidding? [ Rhys scoffs a little, lips already tilted in a wry smile as his gaze looks out over the attendees with an outward look of faint amity. Really though he's sizing up how many of these people are being fake as heck about themselves and just trying to suck up to those in better positions of power than them. ]

The politics in this room alone could rule the Quad. Like...for example. [ Angel doesn't have a video uplink, so Rhys describes for her: ]

Over there's Giddeon Derrish, some cousin six-times removed. Never has a hope of owning land on Qresh. But he's rubbing shoulders with Armand Derrish, and while he's not exactly big news he's still got some nice property inland thanks to his grandmother. Giddeon's probably hoping for an in there, maybe some family favours. Gods know what he's offering for them in exchange.

[ from his tone it's obvious Rhys doesn't think highly of him, although it's more sarcastic than outright dislike. ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ It's still not really registering to her why this is as unpleasant as Rhys makes it out to be, but it certainly seems like a complex social ladder. ]

Sounds complicated...so why are you here?

[ Connections of his own, she assumes. Or blackmail. ]

[rhygret]

[ He wishes it were that simple. ]

"In order to provide stability to the Quad and its people it is important for all of Land Kendry to set an example among the other Houses. There is strength in unity; show no weakness."

[ Rhys sighs and drops the tone of authority and practised ease, like he's had the saying drilled into him over and over, lips pursing together as his gaze flits out to the crowd in the room. He takes another sip of Hokk. ]

If you're Qresh-born and belong to the main family, you're here. Whether you want to be or not.

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ Angel lets out a huff of a laugh at Rhys's authoritative and pompous for how little it suits him. ]

Well I didn't mean here in general, I meant here as in this room. Don't you want to explore the ship a little?

[ Could find something of interest. ]

[rhygret]

Oh...yeah, I guess we could do that. [ "We," not "I." ]

I was just hanging around to make an appearance out of habit. There's some pretty neat spas on the next level, but I don't think that would be too exciting for you.

[r3f4c70r3d]

Yeah, I can't exactly get my nails done or anything...

Are there any terminals around? Since I'm linked up with your PDD and you've synced it with yourself, I might be able to extract some data on this place if you can uplink me. At least map.

[rhygret]

Is that going to be okay? They've got some pretty advanced security on this thing... There's a ton of firewalls and stuff. None of that will hurt you or anything, right?

[ Because Rhys's automatic concern is for Angel and not at all the fact that he'd be plugging a Company AI into a secure, powerful Qreshi cruiser network.

He's responsible like that. ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ Aw that's nice of you Rhys...sorry that Angel is using this for her own ends. ]

It shouldn't. If anything goes wrong my own security measures should block any bad feedback, but that's worst case scenario.

[rhygret]

[ He is a bleeding heart for the people he cares about :'c ]

Alright... Okay. Just tell me if anything goes wrong alright? I'll sever the connection. [ Rhys pulls out his PDD and begins a wireless uplink, connecting with his login and ID ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

Initiating relay, this may take a few minutes.

[ On her end Angel is doing exactly that, looking for an opening where she can take hold. ]


So...Going back to our earlier conversation, I'd like to understand your position better. Do you truly hold contempt for every other family in the Nine? You seem to at least get along with Crowly.

[rhygret]

Crowley is.... It's different there. [ And not just because he wishes Crowley would Notice Him in more ways than as dinner. ]

We were both sort of on the outside in our families growing up, so we wound up hanging out in school. Went to a few parties, grew up....then he got sick. I was one of the few people that stuck around, I guess. Technically I guess you could say that Simms and Kendry are allies now, but....even if he wasn't, I don't think things would change that much between us.

[ Rhys isn't sure if he should call them friends or allies or what at this point. They spend time with one another because that's...just what they do. Crowley's awful and manipulative but Rhys isn't exactly all that moral either. In certain ways he'd argue that Crowley's actually better in some regards.

It's weird. He's never really thought about it before. ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

[R3L4Y H4CK @ 5% ]

It sounds like it was good that you found each other. Both personally and politically. Hopefully you ally status isn't too fragile, I understand that politics can be...unstable.

What about the others? You spoke pretty poorly of the Hyponia family earlier.

[rhygret]

Huh? Oh, yeah. Hyponia is...well, no one really likes them right now. They looked like they were behind helping the Resistance and the plot against Derrish or something? Or their last head was. It was...a mess. They're pretty much keeping their heads down and trying to stay out of anyone's way.

As long as Delle Seyah's gunning for them everyone else will play along. She's the real Queen Bee here.

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ R3L4Y H4CK @ 15% ]

So nothing personal, it's an act to save face. Though the information I was provided with around the Derrish incident was pretty bad... it would make sense if people both feared and were embarrassed for them.

You haven't had anyone try to harm you the same way, have you?

[rhygret]

What, like plot behind my back? You worried about me Angel? [ Rhys smiles wryly down at the terminal, slowly opening and closing his right hand. ]

Nah though, I'm not important enough for that. I'm just some second cousin, however many times removed. Sure there was the usual when I went to school, but... [ He shrugs. ]

If anyone's going to be a target it'll be someone much higher up than me.

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ R3L4Y H4CK @ 25% ]

I'm here to help you, Rhys. Being concerned for your safety is part of my designation.

[ She says as she's actively putting him in danger in more ways then one. ]

You mean someone like Delle. She sounds like she has her share enemies.

[rhygret]

Delle Seyah's...a tough one, that's for sure. I can't think of a lot of people who honestly actually like her. Everyone falls in line because she's the Matriarch most of the time, but she's also someone you just don't really want to cross. What Delle wants something, she gets it.

Heh, you know it's going to sound stupid but...as much as I don't like her? I actually sorta...admire her. Not--not because I like her or anything, but just. People look up to her. When she speaks people listen, you know? That sort of thing. I've always sorta wished that was...me.

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ R3L4Y H4CK @ 35% ]

That doesn't sound stupid, Rhys. Isn't that something you'll gain from your plans for the badlands? Similar power and recognition?

Though people will probably start noticing you in the bad way for that, too.

[rhygret]

Heh, yeah... Thaaaat's already started happening. You probably already saw but I'm listed for "acclimation training." Like, what does that even mean?? I'm an office worker, this has to be one of them getting pissed off and doing it just to be an ass.

[ probably his parents. Or another petty relative. ]