2023-11-09: Reading In The Masses

• Cast: Koji Kabuto, Leina Ashta, Sayaka Yumi, Sayla Mass
• Where: United Emirates of Orb
• Date: U.C. 0097 11 09
• Summary: Touching base with old friends, the heads of the Photon Power Lab drop the details on Infinity to Sayla and Leina - and Sayla offers them the ace up her sleeve.

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<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

Following their meeting with the acting Captain Enba Rezza of the Ra Mari II, Sayaka - and Koji have been in Orb for a short while. But as time runs thinner and thinner... there's another phone call they need to make. A secret of Sayaka's own she must disclose.

It's a small cafe-ramen fusion shop in one of the shopping and culture districts sandwiched between industry and manufacturing districts. Almost definitely no Boss Ramen, but the three proprietors are currently using their novel 'Boss Borot generator' to provide power to those who need it. This place will do for what they need now - a comfortable meeting place.

To start, tea is already placed in the center of their booth, with cups in front of each seat. All that's left is to wait for their guests...

Sayaka made it clear enough in the message she left that it's 'urgent business'. The state of Fujinomiya should in turn show why that is.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Orb. Leina's spent more and more time here this year, in part because the Ra Mari II makes port here so often.

They were summoned here on 'urgent business' but that clashes a touch with the location of the meeting, in a fashion which makes Leina think both 'spy games' and 'unofficial'.

Naturally she's dressed the part, she's in a T-Shirt of a cute chibi black bear named 'Son of Kumamon' with cartoonish features, that came from a trip to Kyushu with Shiro in the past - and also a pair of denim shorts, tennis shoes, a barrette set with a holographic shine of Persimmon's wand and a small purse with features of Wonderful Persimmon's henshin that was a birthday gift from long ago.

Her Cathedra Security Team was just told she was meeting with friends with her Mother and she'd appreciate privacy... so they're keeping their distance.

They're still monitoring her location of course, and there's one person stationed outside near the front, and another near the back. Her watch has a tracking device, as does her phone.

Sayla and her walk in at the same time of course - but Leina doesn't need to ask the hostess where they're seated, she walks right over, and takes a seat.

"Sure you want to take this risk?" Leina asks, gravely to Sayaka and Koji, taking up her tea as she scoots in first on their side, "If Boss catches you cheating on him for some trendy 'fusion' place... you'll both be in the doghouse for sure."

A light joke, certainly, perhaps meant to cut the tension some... before asking more seriously, "How bad? I've read reports and Shiro's kept me in the loop but..."

Well a risk always comes with Shiro's optimism of him downplaying such things, rather than say that though, she trails off.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla, by comparison, has not spent much time in Orb. On another day it might be nice to do some of the touristy stuff with Leina... But sadly that's just the cover for today.

        Sayla is dressed almost actually casual- tan jeans, a white short sleeved blouse, sensible black walking shoes and abroad-brimmed hat. Arriving with Leina, Sayla follows her to the table, taking off the hat as she enters. Officially, Cathedra and the Shuffle Alliance have no working relationship.

        Unofficially, Sayla and Leina live in the same house and still talk shop within reason.

        So it's reasonable for both to arrive. The situation in Fujinomiya has been concerning, and whatever Dr Hell has been up to in there is cause for worry.

        "Sayaka, Koji." Sayla greets them, and while she has a small smile... This is business. Still, she can't help but shake her head a little at Leina's comment. "I think he can accept them settling for what they can get, under the circumstances.

        Still, as Leina moves onto the topic, Sayla does settle into more serious mode. "I know Fujinomiya's been largely evacuated, but I take it you two have something you need you to tell us."

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

Koji smiles at the sight of Sayla and Leina approaching. It's been too long since they've talked properly.

"It's about the attack on Fuji. We know what the target of the attack was, we know what it can do... but we don't know where it is." He slides a datapad across to the two of them, depicting the silhouette of a colossal Mazinger inside Mount Fuji. "These are our geological surveys of the mountain from January 15th, 0096 - if you flip back to the day before, you'll see there's nothing unusual about the readings. We took the ones on the 15th after our excavation team discovered the head of this Mazinger during a routine Japanium excavation. As far as we can tell, it simply didn't exist before then."

"We've recently learned that this Mazinger, codename 'Infinity', is the key, or activation mechanism, for a system called 'Goragon' that is... apparently capable of rewriting reality according to its user's whims. Shiro led a strike team into the Anomaly Research Site while we convinced Asciel Colette to surrender... and found that Infinity was gone."

He sighs, sipping from a mug of coffee. "Y'know. Ordinary problems."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

Sayaka certainly notes Cathedra's presence along with Leina's arrival. Her feelings about Leina's being under their banner is complicated, sure... but she's just happy to see her and Sayla again. "Glad you two could make it," she starts, casually, with a smile on her face. "I hope it's soon that we can meet like this again without such a heavy backdrop to it."

"It is a bit sacrilegious, isn't it?" Leina's light joke gets a chuckle out of Sayaka, even if she over all looks very tired. "But I don't think we have to worry about those three... they matured just as much as the rest of us. Even now they're fighting out there on the front lines with Borot as an energy generator!"

But yes... business is business. And soon enough, they settle into it. "Pretty damn bad," She nods, gravely, when Leina asks. "We knew he had some scheme up his sleeve the moment he turned up at the Yumi Foundation gala, right? But what he really had in plan is so absurd, I can't even..."

Koji goes into it, explaining Infinity's existence and its implications. "The silver lining is that Infinity requires a key - a little different, but not unlike the Unicorn. Without her, Infinity simply won't move. On the other hand... the fact that it's disappeared in the first place probably means Dr. Hell is developing a means to jury-rig a key of his own, so to speak." She frowns. "Therefore, we're taking the situation under the assumption that Doctor Hell has already figured out how to move Infinity."

"No kidding... ordinary problems." Sayaka shakes her head. "If Doctor Hell gets his way, the world as we know it will be gone with a snap of his fingers. And the shape of the world that will take its place is solely up to his own hand. No one should have that power... especially not him."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Grinning at Sayla's comment, she replies to Sayaka's statement of the three on the front lines, "Really now?" Leina chuckles at Sayaka, "That'd be a sight to see..."

Koji not even responding to the joke? Leina immediately interprets it as 'that bad'. Which is then confirmed by Sayaka's 'Pretty Damn Bad.' And looks at the datapad he slides across to them, sharing it with Sayla.

"Can't believe anyone fell for that whole Citizen Hell B.S." Leina mutters in agreement for Sayaka, as she looks across it.

She lets the image flip from one to the next, then her eyelashes flutter in surprise at 'rewriting reality' to the users whims.

"Excuse me, I'm not sure I heard you correctly there - what?"

Leina rubs a finger against the side of one temple and asks, "Who the hell makes something like that and just - leaves it someplace for someone to find?"

Silver lining though, that it requires a key but it being Dr. Hell...

"Great... just... fantastic." Leina puts a hand over her mouth, eyes trailing up, as she considers the idea that Hell managing to jury rig a key is something that's sooner rather than later.

Dropping her hand, her palm draws the conversation back a little.

"Alright... let's back up a little. Asciel, unwitting accomplice, that he used as a distraction or did Hell just - you know, betray her and cast her aside?"

It's probably relevant in her mind as 'What does Asciel know about Dr. Hell's plans?' She does eye Koji, "And 'surrender' sounds pretty relative given that I just ran into her answering a distress call in Chobu. What kind of deal did you make with her, exactly?"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        As Koji just lays into the situation, Sayla stares at him. "What." No, this is the sort of bullshit that is definitely more the crest holders speed, but Sayla has a concern about machines with giant heads.

        Leina sums up her feelings pretty aptly. "So, hang on, you've been sitting on a giant mystery Mazin for two years, and now it's vanished and you believe it can rewrite reality." Sayla is aware that she is hardly one to talk in this position, but... "So that's what Dr Hell was after, with his whole 'reform' act? Access to that?"

        Sayla's eyes flick to Sayaka for verification- which she gets. That doesn't make her feel any better. "...But until we know where Infinity is, we can't act, right?" Patience, then. Patience with the threat of reality itself. "...and Guy and the rest are out towards Jupiter." She says, with a sigh. "Have you worked out a way to track it? To know if he's activating this... Goragon?"

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

"Well... We notified NERV - and Guy - when it first appeared, and since then we've compiled lots of data trying to measure... well, everything that can be measured about it - material composition, reactor design, it's so far ahead of what we can build that just examining it has jumped our potential tech development by at least a decade." Koji sighs. "Honestly, I meant to read you in a lot sooner, but... well. You've both had a lot on your plate." An understatement.

Leina, meanwhile, asks about Asciel's involvement. Koji frowns. "She professed to having connections to an organisation that considered Hell a 'business contact'. When Gamia-NX2 talked to us, she dropped a name - 'Amalgam' - that doesn't mean a lot to us, but she and Asciel seemed familiar as well, so it stands to reason that that's the point of contact. It seems like she was planning to assist Hell and then take Infinity for herself, but, well, having a Kikaiju Legion made up of multiple copies of one-of-a-kind designs is a pretty good way to show you always had the upper hand - Hell outplayed her. Currently, the Neo-Parthenon - her name for the Macross 13 - is acting as a forward base for the joint operation to push the Kikaiju Legion out. It doesn't surprise me that she'd be able to operate out in the REA as well, though."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

"I figured 'Citizen Hell' must have been a test. To see how the world would react to his return... as if he was playing judge." She answers, in regards to that. "I guess he probably wasn't very impressed. The Federation, and especially the Orbital Ring bent over backwards to appease him for a while. For a man like him... isn't that boring?"

But there's a greater bombshell here, and Leina and Sayla both react accordingly. "That's exactly it. I kept it under wraps so long... precisely because I knew it would be disastrous if it fell in the wrong hands. I have no intentions to let Goragon be activated by anyone." She nods, seriously.

As for reading them in sooner... "Actually, when Asciel attacked the Labs near the start of the year... she infiltrated Mount Fuji and discovered Infinity. And since Roux was there for that battle... we showed her with her own eyes. But I suppose she kept it a secret, too." She takes a slow sip of her tea.

It's good timing then, that Leina asks more about Asciel. "Since she discovered Infinity in that battle, Asciel probably figured she had some sort of leverage over Hell. She said herself that she was aiming to outplay him... because she doesn't know a damn thing about not flying too close to the sun." Sayaka sighs. "Yes. 'Amalgam'. Honestly, we had no knowledge of Hell having any sort of external contacts like that. But I imagine by now, he doesn't need their help anymore."

Can they track Infinity? "The moment it appears again, it'll likely emit an absurd amount of Photon Power. We can at least track /that/. As for Goragon... I don't know. As its original key, I think Lisa is our only hope in detecting it."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

When Sayaka speaks of how it was a test, and- how boring it must have been. "... Asshole. So what, he makes a few humanitarian overtures as - one final chance for humanity, then he has the temerity to be bored when the status quo continues as it always has?"

This causes her to just... sigh, "What a pompous blowhard."

The invocation of Amalgam causes her to glance sideways at Sayla briefly, then she sighs and looks at Koji.

"Amalgam is complicated. We found out recently Syam Vist... was a founding member."

Which rather implies a lot, doesn't it? "Near as we can tell it was founded with good intentions, but it's values started to drift to being a shadowy secret society seeking power and control - funding various paramilitary and terrorist organizations, as well as research and development black sites that they believe will further their goals."

She does look at Sayaka in that moment to say, "Given who Syam Vist was - it wouldn't shock me to learn that Dr. Hell had contacts in Amalgam, or perhaps that he was even another founding member."

Partially it comes out easily enough, but lets her process the rest about the 'Neo-Parthenon' being a forward base, "She is so goddamn ridiculous." Leina just sighhhhsss, "Did you know she told me with a straight face that her ultimate plan for Earthnoids and Spacenoids to get along is just to move all the Colonies into orbit over Venus?"

There's this, small wave of her hand, "There's this... weird naivete to her arrogance, like she thinks she has it all figured out, has all the answers, so it doesn't shock me that Hell outplayed her."

The weird naivete constantly reminds her of... Glemy perhaps, but she doesn't say that out loud right now.

"So ballpark figure - you all have been studying this. Once it does reappear...?" Leina looks from Sayaka, to Koji, "How long?"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "...ah." Sayla's response to 'you've had a lot on your plate' is rather muted, but she can kind of understand why, at least. "...and the last time we sat down to talk I wasn't exactly... agreeable."

        That's one word for angry and drinking heavily.

        But it's when Koji drops 'Amalgam' that Sayla's eyes suddenly turn to meet Leina's. "...Can this Gamia be trusted, Koji?" It could be a feint, but if Asciel Colette and Dr Hell are associated with that organization... Even if it's a fake out, the fact that she knows about them at all can't be chance. There's a silent communication to Leina there- acknowledgement that she'll have to make a call.

        They can track the Photon Power signature... "That's something, at least." If this is an Amalgam plot, Mithril will want to know.

        "...They're not the sort of problem you can march up and punch in the face. We don't know what their end game is, what they're up to, or how far they're embedded. So for all we know Hell could be enacting their master plan or setting off on his own." She pauses again. "...They also tend to not like people knowing they exist. But you're already involved, one way or another. Better to know what you're up against."

        Tessa can kill her for it later.

        It's Leina who has the inside track on Asciel, but even Sayla cringes at the suggestion of moving spacenoids to Venus. "...That's..." How could that be in line with the organization that's been kidnapping Whispered? Are Amalgam THAT disparate?

        Still, it's Leina with the hard question, and Sayla's all ears.

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

"I would say her naivete is... childlike," Koji says, of Asciel. "Which makes sense, given that she's only been self-aware since 30 Bunch and doesn't trust anyone enough to talk about that trauma. As for the Gamia... I think Cascade can be trusted to want to follow her own path - one of her sisters is destroyed, and the other is, well, all-in on 'being Gamia', so it's that one I'm most concerned about right now."

The tricky part: What do they do when Infinity re-emerges? "I'm working on an attack plan. Since it seems to follow the core design logic of every Mazinger, with the chest-mounted radiator weapon and cranial control vehicle, if an attack team can get close enough they can climb or fly up the body at too close a range for its Breast Fire to be effective. Then it's a matter of forcing whatever's in the control dock out, and we're working on a virus to force-jettison it."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

"...If there's one thing I'm looking forward to, it's punching that ego down 600m right along with Infinity." She agrees, when Leina calls him an asshole and a pompous blowhard. She might play the role of the mature businesswoman director perfectly... but there's always some room for ultraviolence.

So they know about Amalgam already... "Syam Vist... it's possible, though." She nods. "Especially considering his service in the Zentradi War, and later breakthrough contributions in the medical and archaeological fields before suddenly starting his own war." She looks at Leina, and then down into her cup, back at Sayla. "...Yeah, we'll be cautious. Thanks for letting us know, Sayla." She nods, at the elaboration about Amalgam.

Sayaka knows Asciel is nothing less than ridiculous, alright, but that is a new one. "Venus? Seriously? Ha... I'd like to see what kind of logistics she has for that one!" Not to mention that shoving Spacenoids further into space doesn't solve the root issue in the slightest.

"I was suspicious at first, too. I mean... our only experience with the original trio was when they tried to kill us." She says of Gamia. "But I don't think this is the same. They're suppressed, but she definitely has emotions." She looks at Leina. "I'm pretty sure she's the one who tried to crash last Christmas." There was definitely something deeper there than just Baron Ashura asking her to go be the Grinch. "She's given us no reason not to trust her. So we can at least give her a shot at finding that path."

Finally, Leina asks the most difficult question. "We workshopped that virus at Denver, when the Neo Zeong II took over Aphrodite Areia. This is on a whole other level... but it's going to take being crafty more than going in guns blazing." She adds, to Koji's layout of the plan. "As for how long Goragon will take... our goal is to make sure we never have to find out in the first place."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

"Think all of us are." Leina says in agreement with Sayaka, "Especially since you know, the alternative is non-existence."

Such a casual thing to speak about, but indeed... it needs to be done.

Leina listens as Sayla elaborates further, but has no fear of Tessa perhaps on the subject, herself.

This is important information, and it's not like Amalgam is too classified after Syam's speech was heard by the entire 3SA.

"Thirty Bunch?" Leina murmurs for a moment in shock as she processes 'Self-Aware', then... "Oh my God she's an actual baby."

For some reason that doesn't HELP the Glemy comparisons in her mind, after all he was the guy who tended to say messed up shit about what his Mama taught him.

As the talk goes to Gamia, Leina takes a sip of tea, then she coughs when Sayaka talks about the Gamia who crashed last Christmas. "Really? That was her?" Yet... "It is a gamble, right now, but... sounds like one worth taking."

She can hardly judge them for putting their faith in someone who has turned from... a family like that.

In the end, she nods thoughtfully when they speak of the virus, the plan - and...

"Alright... so real talk..."

Leina looks sideways to Sayla and then back at the pair of them... "... Koji. Sayaka. The two of you didn't call us out to some ramen fusion joint in Orb to do this for the atmosphere."

She folds her hands in front of her on the table, "You know the two of us are in, certainly, but who are you trying to keep out 'sides Hell and his cronies? Are you wanting me to loop Cathedra in for this... or?"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla nods. If Koji thinks a Gamia's information can be trusted, well... that says volumes, doesn't it? "Understood."

        "...There's a lot hinging on that thing operating the same way as Mazinger Z. Even then getting in close at all sounds like it would be difficult." 600 meters of Mazin is... a lot.

        "Do you really think a something as little as a fatal fall would break that man's ego?" Sayla shakes her head. Still, the possibility that Hell was a founding member as well... "He still would have been relatively young to fall in with Syam Vist. But it's not impossible..." She sighs. That's for Meyer to dig through.

        "Most of the colonies probably couldn't survive that much closer to the sun. The Macrosses, maybe, but not your average PLANT or Closed type..." Sayla sighs. "Another reason to get in her way, then."

        Sayla frowns., "...another aware Super AI, then..." And one associated with Amalgam? Still, Sayaka and Koji choosing to trust someone that tried to kill them does sure sound like them. "...Alright. I'll trust her intel for now."

        Sayla nods, "So someone has to get the Virus in, and if we can keep them alive for long enough, Infinity stops operating?" It's a big if, but that's a better plan than some they've had.

        "...Leina, Super AIs don't age that way. I know the GGG Super AIs were only operating for maybe a year but they were in many ways full adults." AL, on the other hand... "That doesn't stop her being inexperienced, but... don't write her off as a child." More of a warning for Leina than anyone else, but knowing her daughter as she does, Sayla feels the reminder is warranted.

        "...Are you asking us to call on our allies as well?" ...Sayla has a hunch, though. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out... a playing card? A two-of-hearts, and slides it over the table. "...That has a frequency. I don't know how much the Invisible Burst will interfere, but if you need help, that will call it. If you don't... burn it. Just make sure it's destroyed."

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

"Only twelve years of experience with the world - and from the sound of it, handling all her maintenance herself. Not exactly a good recipe for a stable operating platform," Koji points out to Sayla. "And with most of 3G busy at Jupiter, the infrastructure to get her that is thin on the ground at best."

Leina asks why they're here, though. "Mostly because we're in Orb talking to the Ra Mari II, honestly. I think at this point, this threat is something that nobody should ignore. ... Cathedra are probably gonna have a lot of questions for us afterwards, though." He glances to Sayaka. "What's your call on this?"

Sayla, then, slides something across the table to them, and Koji picks up the card - then locks eyes with the older woman, and nods seriously. "Thanks, Sayla."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

"I don't think we should underestimate her, either, in any case." Sayaka notes, of Asciel. "If nothing else, she's a wild card in any operation... and her allies in Amalgam might be even more dangerous. I was hoping her Hell misplay would've been a hard lesson... but it sure doesn't sound like it."

Koji explains they're here in Orb to get the Ra Mari II onboard... but it's up to Sayaka to make a decision regarding Cathedra. "...I have to admit, it's hard not to say this lands in Cathedra's remit just as much as something like a Psychofield would." She considers. "But yes. They'll have a lot of questions for us afterwards. But for /now/, our goal is just making sure there's an afterwards at all. We can't be choosy when it comes to the rewriting of the world, so if Cathedra's on our side for that, I'm not about to turn them away."

She sips down the last of her tea. "If Delling Rembran wishes to field any questions about the 600m reality-bending monster of a Mazinger, I'd rather take them myself than leave it to Doctor Hell after all."

There's one last surprise, though, as Sayla slips them that card. "A heart up your sleeve, huh?" She turns to look her in the eye. "Thank you. ...If that's what it will take, we'll use it wisely."