If teaching at a high school and working with teenagers had taught Vincent any one skill, it was the art of reading people. Such as it was, the man couldn't help but pick at Dharma's response in his head. "Deflecting with humour, diverting the conversation...you've a skeleton or two you're hoping I haven't picked up on, don't you?" he mused. It made sense enough to him; a celebrity wasn't a celebrity without the odd scandal tucked away, even considering the young CEO's chaste reputation. The rest of her reply was sincere enough to his ears to nod in approval, formulating a response in his head...only for Dharma's attention to be diverted off to their uninvited guest. A barely-perceptible sigh escaped Vincent's lips as he turned his attentions down to his tea, forgotten for the moment. While the two women conversed, he hid his expression behind his teacup and ruminated, his eyes icing over.
"...Vincent?" A tiny voice whispered right into his ear. The giant turned his head, and locked eyes with Phase's tiny hologram, still standing on his shoulder. She was biting her lip, concern for her Operator written all over her face; Vincent couldn't help but notice the smudgy redness lingering around her eyes, remnants of tears she was still learning to shed. He smiled softly at his Navi, wordlessly conveying an apology for worrying her, and was pleased to see some of the tautness ease off her elfin features.
Dharma's crisp overtures sounded Vincent's name, and the overgrown man roused himself from his woolgathering to give a cordial nod in his host's direction. "Not as though it's any of my business, anyway," he concluded, taking in her words with a slightly bemused look. "The GNA? I'll confess that Phase and I don't access the Net World much at all, no, not much at all. That being said, if you don't mind us tagging along, we'd be happy to accompany you."
Phase's eyes lit up upon spotting Phero's entrance. "Pleased to meet you, Phero!" she waved from Vincent's shoulder. "Your Operator said you help her with experiments? That's so cool, I love experimenting! I work at a medical lab in Netopia Net; we should collaborate on something while we're out on the field!" Always eager to make friends, the chance to meet a real lab-Navi was enough to set Phase off; her hologram was practically vibrating with excitement, hands clasped under her chin and stars dancing in her eyes.
At this, Vincent finally turned to the third present party; his ruminations had led him to the conclusion that he'd never actually stopped to introduce himself earlier, an oversight his manners would not stand for. "You'll have to forgive me my rudeness," he started, offering a sheepish smile, "for I never introduced myself: Vincent Miles, at your service. I'm a teacher over at Electown West High, and Ms. Heart-Payne has quite generously allowed my class the chance to take a field trip through her company complex - quite generously at that!"
"Ahh, whoops, I didn't introduce myself either! How rude of us, Vincent!" Phase cried out, turning to address the two other holographic Navis. "I'm Phase.EXE; I look forward to working with you two!" She capped off with an ear-to-ear grin, bouncing on her heels from her perch on Vincent's shoulder. Her Operator gave a fatherly-looking smile at her enthusiasm, sipping his cuppa and looking as dignified as he could in a chair rather too small for his dimensions.
Elsewhere in the Heart-Payne complex, Flora Hanahara was in full-tilt Science Mode (as Phase would have put it). She stood amid her students, maintaining order and jotting notes on a clipboard as she went, looking for all the world like a shepherd among her herd. With Phillip leading the procession, the gaggle of teenagers was guided deep into the internal workings of the facility. "Oh my, you must have quite the manpower to conduct so many projects at once!" she exclaimed, slightly in awe of the sheer amount of science going on around her. "I would love to check out some of the ongoing experiments, see how research is conducted on this large a scale, but we are operating on a schedule here. Everyone, be sure to take a few notes while you're here! It's rare for kids your age to get this kind of chance!"
"Yes, Ms. Hanahara," the class chorused with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Near the back of the group, one unremarkable-looking teenage boy murmured to another youth of similar make, "Bro...are we literally just gonna stand around watching Ms. Hanahara try on perfume?"
"Uhh...yeah, bro." Bro #2 was rather too busy watching the back-and-forth sway of their teacher's derriere to really notice or care for his comrade's plight.
Bro #1 sighed with all the put-upon pathos of a true adolescent. "Bro...this sucks."
"Uhh...yeah, bro." Bro #2's eyes were glazed over.
The gaggle continued onward to the New Product Room: Flora lectured on such scintillating topics as empirical research and the scientific method, the studious dutifully took their notes, the lackadaisical oohed and ahhed over the eggheads and the bleeding-edge equipment they were working with, and the Bros grumped and perved to their respective hearts' content. Flora was rather surprised to see so many young faces running the trials; her stint in the research sector had inured her to being among the youngest in any given room. In particular, the swarthy gentleman in charge of PU#3800 was a far cry from the sorts of faces she was used to.
"Not that I'm complaining, strictly speaking," noted the side of her that occasionally remembered she was attractive, single, and under 30. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Causey," she greeted Howard with a winsome smile, only for the man to dash off to retrieve the bottle the very next second. Rolling her eyes, Flora turned her attentions back to their guide. "Mild drowsiness, I think I heard you say?" Flora asked Phillip, looking like she couldn't decide whether to be skeptical or not. Finally, she shrugged. "I don't tend to wear much perfume, but I suppose today is for doing as the Netopians do. Kids, time to run an experiment!"
As Howard returned, Flora stepped up to the front of the group, accepting the perfume bottle with a smile and nod. "Alright, class, so here's your test subject," she indicated herself with a flourish, "and here's our test! I will apply the perfume to my person, following which I'll give as accurate an account of its effects as possible. Your jobs are to form a hypothesis - which you should be jotting down about now - of what you think will happen; remember, Heart-Payne is a company dedicated to the alteration of emotion through chemistry, so think along those lines, and then you'll want to take notes of my reaction to the product. Everyone had enough time to write? Brilliant, then let's commence the experiment!" Without further ado, Flora gave each wrist a couple of spritzes, rubbing her wrists together to let the chemical sink in. A generous helping was then spritzed into her hand, which she dabbed along her neck and jawline. "Oh my..." she started, raising her eyes skyward as she concentrated, breathing deep and trying to feel for the onset of foreign sensations. "Okay, I believe I feel it starting. Class, get ready to take notes!"
Student Field Trip at the HP Electown Research Facility
last edited by
Diana shot Dharma a puzzled look as she explained the tea's origins; she hadn't given anyone specific credit for it, aside from 'the brewer'. Kinda self-centered for her to assume she meant her. Meh, whatever. Her suggestion, however, was a bit more interesting. But before she could speak, Phero appeared, eager to get things under way. "Well-"
"Come on, Diana! You gotta let me join in! You gotta you gotta you gotta!" HunterWoman had her hands clasped in front of her chest, giving her operator puppy dog eyes. "You wanted to see what taking a GNA mission was like anyway, right? So this kills two birds with one stone! Bam! One bird! Ricochets off and hits the other one! Blamo! And since stones don't break easy, you can walk over, pick it up, and you've got supper AND you didn't even lose any ammo! And that's just super awesome!"
"You can drop it now, Hunter. I was going to accept anyway." She turned back to the CEO, and nodded. "If it'll help convince you to sponsor the zoo, then we'll do it. She may be a bit hyper, but you should see that HunterWoman's actually quite capable."
"Yeah, quite capable!" The huntress raised her hands in the air. "Though I'm more than that! I'm SUPER capable! If I was any more capable, I'd self-delete from having too much competency data!" Somehow, it turned out that she hadn't noticed Phero and Phase appearing until just then, causing her to wave her arms at the other holograms. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY other Navis! Great to meet you! I'm HunterWoman, and uh, I'm not a researcher, or ever been in a lab before, but that doesn't mean we can't be awesome friends and totally crush our mission into tiny pieces you can't even see! Um, unless you have zoom features in your eyeballs, in which case you'll totally be able to see them anyway, but otherwise nope, no pieces!"
Ah, the large guy didn't actually introduce himself. Not too surprising, they hadn't really had a chance, what with her sudden entrance and all. "Well, pleased to meet you, Mr. Miles. I'm sure you heard it before, but I'll say it again as a proper greeting...I'm Diana Hawkins, current underling of Mr. Horatio Wilde. It's a pleasure." Somehow, she almost seemed happy over the phrase 'current underling'. "Can't say I know where ElecTown West is...this is actually the first time I've ever been in ElecTown. I know little about DenCity, aside from Beach Street and Okuden." She stopped to drink more tea, giving the others time to react to what had been said.
"Come on, Diana! You gotta let me join in! You gotta you gotta you gotta!" HunterWoman had her hands clasped in front of her chest, giving her operator puppy dog eyes. "You wanted to see what taking a GNA mission was like anyway, right? So this kills two birds with one stone! Bam! One bird! Ricochets off and hits the other one! Blamo! And since stones don't break easy, you can walk over, pick it up, and you've got supper AND you didn't even lose any ammo! And that's just super awesome!"
"You can drop it now, Hunter. I was going to accept anyway." She turned back to the CEO, and nodded. "If it'll help convince you to sponsor the zoo, then we'll do it. She may be a bit hyper, but you should see that HunterWoman's actually quite capable."
"Yeah, quite capable!" The huntress raised her hands in the air. "Though I'm more than that! I'm SUPER capable! If I was any more capable, I'd self-delete from having too much competency data!" Somehow, it turned out that she hadn't noticed Phero and Phase appearing until just then, causing her to wave her arms at the other holograms. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY other Navis! Great to meet you! I'm HunterWoman, and uh, I'm not a researcher, or ever been in a lab before, but that doesn't mean we can't be awesome friends and totally crush our mission into tiny pieces you can't even see! Um, unless you have zoom features in your eyeballs, in which case you'll totally be able to see them anyway, but otherwise nope, no pieces!"
Ah, the large guy didn't actually introduce himself. Not too surprising, they hadn't really had a chance, what with her sudden entrance and all. "Well, pleased to meet you, Mr. Miles. I'm sure you heard it before, but I'll say it again as a proper greeting...I'm Diana Hawkins, current underling of Mr. Horatio Wilde. It's a pleasure." Somehow, she almost seemed happy over the phrase 'current underling'. "Can't say I know where ElecTown West is...this is actually the first time I've ever been in ElecTown. I know little about DenCity, aside from Beach Street and Okuden." She stopped to drink more tea, giving the others time to react to what had been said.
last edited by
In their own ways, both sets of operators and navis seemed content to help Dharma in her work for the day. "Splendid," Dharma thought to herself as she clapped her hands together. "All that really matters is that I can keep my eyes on these inconsequential, unwanted interlopers until I'm certain they're prepared to depart from my labs without discovering anything I'd rather them not inspect too closely." "Splendid!" she externalized, smiling warmly to go along with her gesture. "The important part is that it ought to be a great chance to get acquainted. Well, not only that, but I'm a bit of a workaholic. A chance to meet people and be productive at the same time is right up my alley."
Dharma could fake giddiness all she wanted, but Phero brought the genuine article, jumping up and down and somehow looking just as childish as Phase in the process. "I've never tried collaborating on an experiment before! Usually it's sort of one sided, with me as the experimenter and the other person as the test subject," she giggled, despite her ominous statement. "And you're a teacher, Vincent? Neat... You're right, it's pretty rare for anyone to get a tour through here," Phero mused, tapping one finger to her lip. She couldn't help but feel jealous of Phase's and Vincent's relationship, one factor dragging down her otherwise jovial meeting of a new friend. The two looked like they really cared for each other... Or, perhaps, Vincent was actually evil like Dharma and Phase just tried to be as cheerful as possible despite her daily trials? It had looked like the girl had been crying when she first showed up... "I'll have to investigate during the mission," she thought to herself, thinking that perhaps they could put their heads together and figure out some way to stick it to their operators together.
The pharmaceutical president gave her PET a knowing smile, realizing that when Phero when into contemplation, it usually meant she was not doing something befitting an obedient science project. Just as she'd planned to keep anyone from looking too far into her experiments, she'd need to similarly make sure that the others didn't discern more than she wanted about Phero's true purpose as a being created solely to distribute potentially dangerous compounds, testing each until she discovered her new hypnotic wonder drug. On the note of things that were dangerous, Dharma found herself very happy that this gang of habitual bounce-up-and-downers weren't going to be getting anywhere near the testing equipment inside her laboratory's network... none more so than HunterWoman, who instantly became Dharma's least favorite person in the group with her boundless enthusiasm. "Good to meet you," she said simply, then put her tea back up to her mouth.
All of the excitement was feeding into itself, making Phero more and more energetic. "Another new friend... and she's super competent! That ought to come in handy," Phero smiled at Dharma, thinking her operator ought to be pretty on-board with competent folks. Actually, competency in others was not something Dharma sought from anyone but those she intended to use, and she was more so diverting Diana and HunterWoman than 'using' them, so she had no reason to favor them. "I want to see the stone trick later, too! I've never heard of anyone being able to do that," Phero mused.
"Perhaps we'll get a chance? Let's see what our employers have in store for us. Phero, why don't you go make the request now?" Dharma urged, to which Phero happily agreed. There weren't many orders Phero was happy to carry out for her operator, but this was certainly one of them. Dharma raised her eyebrows and spread her hands out. "Jack in wherever you like. The table has jack-in ports, the coffee-maker, the tablets under each seat..." she offered, hoping they'd go for the table for ease of keeping an eye on them. She made certain to exclude the foreman's console from a list of places to jack-in, as she hoped to keep them away from that if at all possible. "That's the foreman's taste, not mine," the president chuckled. For her part, she'd already jacked her navi in, and Phero was making excellent time headed to the GNA.
((Jacking in, headed to Internet City GNA Mission Board))
--------------------------------------------------
Phillip smiled in a slightly less eerie way, happy to have the company of a fellow science enthusiast and professional. "'Man-power' might not be quite the right word for it... While engineering new products is a part of this, the main goal is to invest in the future, providing students the tools they need to break in to the field. We hope that the lessons they learn here will be invaluable in their future career, be it in pharmaceutical research or perhaps another field of study. Ideally, we hope to see them come back to us... we're always interested in hiring out of this talented pool of young minds." He smiled to the children for a moment, intending to indicate, "yes, you children too could be part of this program," but something about it looked a little sympathetic... or perhaps like a warning? It was hard to tell. Seeing that nobody was really biting at that comment, Phillip adjusted his glasses, pursed his lips again, and led on.
Howard had a good chuckle at being called "Mr. Causey." "Oooh, no, Flora! Call me Howie, or Howard; something like that," he laughed as he walked off, seeming to have no problem dropping both the "miss" and the "Hanahara" from hers. He and Phillip exchanged glances of approval as Ms. Hanahara took the bottle of suspect perfume, though a bead of sweat was running down Phillip's thin, flat face; he was pretty prone to nervousness and didn't hide it well. Howard stepped in again to answer for Phillip. "Yeah, drowsiness... It won't be anything to worry about. If you're feelin' a little funny, we have antidotes and all that. But in our clinical tests, we haven't see anything that set off any alarms," he reassured her again. The young man snapped his fingers, then pointed one towards the unsuspecting teacher. "You're fine to drive a car after this! Not that we tested that..."
The supervisor for the trip gave him a glare that might have been, "you're trying too hard now, kid," before turning his white, reflective glasses back towards Ms. Hanahara. He felt a nervous cough coming on in spite of himself, but attempted to smile all the same. It was hard to tell what his eyes were doing behind his glasses, but it was easy enough to see where Howard's went when Flora indicated that everyone ought to get a good look at the test subject. A smirk had come on to his face; not an evil smirk, more of a yeah, that's right smile of flirtatiousness. Phillip liked that even less and transfixed the student by coughing loudly into his fist; Howard replaced stuck his hands behind his head and leaned against a wall nonchalantly. Phillip shook his head slowly, smiling in a way that again seemed almost pitying. "A nice thought, Ms. Flora, but I don't think there's much of a chance that we're going to see any notes worth recording. As I mentioned, any psychological effects of this compound are mostly felt subconsciously; they'll barely be perceptible to the one who's administered the perfume, let alone to observers," he assured her. This time, it was his chance to be transfixed by a glance. Howard was shaking his head a little bit, discretely, but still looking to the side and trying to play it cool. "That is, with the regular sample size, you wouldn't... But with a larger sample size, it should be... perhaps a bit more noteworthy," he added.
Jonathan mouthed the words: "never tried this much at once on aaaanybody."
The scientist suddenly felt another coughing fit coming on, clenching his teeth for a moment before covering his mouth with his shirt sleeve. "M-Miss Flora," he stammered, before bellowing a loud series of hacks that caused a few of the students scurrying about the lab to jump dangerously. "That's enough," he warned her, before she had the chance to apply any more. "The smell, er, should be quite potent enough already. I just thought I'd warn you, s-since you said you weren't accustomed to perfume," he elaborated, trying to save himself from the hole he'd dug himself into. He reminded himself of one important factor: "if the drug was lethal, it wouldn't be in here... it would be in the locked room near the back of the compound..." That somehow calmed him down, he adjusted his glasses again and managed to stop hunching over.
Speaking of things Miss Flora Hanahara probably wasn't used to, she could smell the scent of honey as soon as the lid came off the bottle, and did indeed feel a slight tingle as she applied the first bit to her flesh. She probably wouldn't feel her mental state change at all. However, with the more thorough application, there came a buzz a little like being drunk, then finally, something akin to having a goofy reaction to anesthesia at a doctor's office. Worse yet, the drug had begun to act as an aphrodisiac, something that the testers had never realized due to never experimenting on a human subject at such a dosage (though Phillip would have protested the application of that dosage had he known and Howard probably wouldn't have gone along with it either had Phillip not pressured him). The mental state, overall, was fast growing towards something like being hammered, so the class would soon know what kind of drunk their teacher was. Her physiological state would be hot and bothered, something that she probably ought not to be in front of her students in general. "Miss Flora... Are you feeling different?" Phillip asked again, barely managing to avoid begging her to say she was feeling fine. Hopefully she was the kind of drunk who would never admit to being buzzed.
"I can get you some water if you need it, I think you might be having, uh, some kinda..." Howard murmured, pushing slowly off the wall and watching Phillip to see if he should continue. Phillip shook his head very discretely, to indicate that in no way, shape, or form should they acknowledge that anything out of the ordinary was happening. "Some kinda... thirstiness," he finished, unable to avoid smiling now at the absurdity of the situation. If he knew what was likely to happen to him if Dharma found out, he'd probably be significantly less jovial, but right now, he had to admit it was pretty funny to watch Phillip try to reign in the situation.
Dharma could fake giddiness all she wanted, but Phero brought the genuine article, jumping up and down and somehow looking just as childish as Phase in the process. "I've never tried collaborating on an experiment before! Usually it's sort of one sided, with me as the experimenter and the other person as the test subject," she giggled, despite her ominous statement. "And you're a teacher, Vincent? Neat... You're right, it's pretty rare for anyone to get a tour through here," Phero mused, tapping one finger to her lip. She couldn't help but feel jealous of Phase's and Vincent's relationship, one factor dragging down her otherwise jovial meeting of a new friend. The two looked like they really cared for each other... Or, perhaps, Vincent was actually evil like Dharma and Phase just tried to be as cheerful as possible despite her daily trials? It had looked like the girl had been crying when she first showed up... "I'll have to investigate during the mission," she thought to herself, thinking that perhaps they could put their heads together and figure out some way to stick it to their operators together.
The pharmaceutical president gave her PET a knowing smile, realizing that when Phero when into contemplation, it usually meant she was not doing something befitting an obedient science project. Just as she'd planned to keep anyone from looking too far into her experiments, she'd need to similarly make sure that the others didn't discern more than she wanted about Phero's true purpose as a being created solely to distribute potentially dangerous compounds, testing each until she discovered her new hypnotic wonder drug. On the note of things that were dangerous, Dharma found herself very happy that this gang of habitual bounce-up-and-downers weren't going to be getting anywhere near the testing equipment inside her laboratory's network... none more so than HunterWoman, who instantly became Dharma's least favorite person in the group with her boundless enthusiasm. "Good to meet you," she said simply, then put her tea back up to her mouth.
All of the excitement was feeding into itself, making Phero more and more energetic. "Another new friend... and she's super competent! That ought to come in handy," Phero smiled at Dharma, thinking her operator ought to be pretty on-board with competent folks. Actually, competency in others was not something Dharma sought from anyone but those she intended to use, and she was more so diverting Diana and HunterWoman than 'using' them, so she had no reason to favor them. "I want to see the stone trick later, too! I've never heard of anyone being able to do that," Phero mused.
"Perhaps we'll get a chance? Let's see what our employers have in store for us. Phero, why don't you go make the request now?" Dharma urged, to which Phero happily agreed. There weren't many orders Phero was happy to carry out for her operator, but this was certainly one of them. Dharma raised her eyebrows and spread her hands out. "Jack in wherever you like. The table has jack-in ports, the coffee-maker, the tablets under each seat..." she offered, hoping they'd go for the table for ease of keeping an eye on them. She made certain to exclude the foreman's console from a list of places to jack-in, as she hoped to keep them away from that if at all possible. "That's the foreman's taste, not mine," the president chuckled. For her part, she'd already jacked her navi in, and Phero was making excellent time headed to the GNA.
((Jacking in, headed to Internet City GNA Mission Board))
--------------------------------------------------
Phillip smiled in a slightly less eerie way, happy to have the company of a fellow science enthusiast and professional. "'Man-power' might not be quite the right word for it... While engineering new products is a part of this, the main goal is to invest in the future, providing students the tools they need to break in to the field. We hope that the lessons they learn here will be invaluable in their future career, be it in pharmaceutical research or perhaps another field of study. Ideally, we hope to see them come back to us... we're always interested in hiring out of this talented pool of young minds." He smiled to the children for a moment, intending to indicate, "yes, you children too could be part of this program," but something about it looked a little sympathetic... or perhaps like a warning? It was hard to tell. Seeing that nobody was really biting at that comment, Phillip adjusted his glasses, pursed his lips again, and led on.
Howard had a good chuckle at being called "Mr. Causey." "Oooh, no, Flora! Call me Howie, or Howard; something like that," he laughed as he walked off, seeming to have no problem dropping both the "miss" and the "Hanahara" from hers. He and Phillip exchanged glances of approval as Ms. Hanahara took the bottle of suspect perfume, though a bead of sweat was running down Phillip's thin, flat face; he was pretty prone to nervousness and didn't hide it well. Howard stepped in again to answer for Phillip. "Yeah, drowsiness... It won't be anything to worry about. If you're feelin' a little funny, we have antidotes and all that. But in our clinical tests, we haven't see anything that set off any alarms," he reassured her again. The young man snapped his fingers, then pointed one towards the unsuspecting teacher. "You're fine to drive a car after this! Not that we tested that..."
The supervisor for the trip gave him a glare that might have been, "you're trying too hard now, kid," before turning his white, reflective glasses back towards Ms. Hanahara. He felt a nervous cough coming on in spite of himself, but attempted to smile all the same. It was hard to tell what his eyes were doing behind his glasses, but it was easy enough to see where Howard's went when Flora indicated that everyone ought to get a good look at the test subject. A smirk had come on to his face; not an evil smirk, more of a yeah, that's right smile of flirtatiousness. Phillip liked that even less and transfixed the student by coughing loudly into his fist; Howard replaced stuck his hands behind his head and leaned against a wall nonchalantly. Phillip shook his head slowly, smiling in a way that again seemed almost pitying. "A nice thought, Ms. Flora, but I don't think there's much of a chance that we're going to see any notes worth recording. As I mentioned, any psychological effects of this compound are mostly felt subconsciously; they'll barely be perceptible to the one who's administered the perfume, let alone to observers," he assured her. This time, it was his chance to be transfixed by a glance. Howard was shaking his head a little bit, discretely, but still looking to the side and trying to play it cool. "That is, with the regular sample size, you wouldn't... But with a larger sample size, it should be... perhaps a bit more noteworthy," he added.
Jonathan mouthed the words: "never tried this much at once on aaaanybody."
The scientist suddenly felt another coughing fit coming on, clenching his teeth for a moment before covering his mouth with his shirt sleeve. "M-Miss Flora," he stammered, before bellowing a loud series of hacks that caused a few of the students scurrying about the lab to jump dangerously. "That's enough," he warned her, before she had the chance to apply any more. "The smell, er, should be quite potent enough already. I just thought I'd warn you, s-since you said you weren't accustomed to perfume," he elaborated, trying to save himself from the hole he'd dug himself into. He reminded himself of one important factor: "if the drug was lethal, it wouldn't be in here... it would be in the locked room near the back of the compound..." That somehow calmed him down, he adjusted his glasses again and managed to stop hunching over.
Speaking of things Miss Flora Hanahara probably wasn't used to, she could smell the scent of honey as soon as the lid came off the bottle, and did indeed feel a slight tingle as she applied the first bit to her flesh. She probably wouldn't feel her mental state change at all. However, with the more thorough application, there came a buzz a little like being drunk, then finally, something akin to having a goofy reaction to anesthesia at a doctor's office. Worse yet, the drug had begun to act as an aphrodisiac, something that the testers had never realized due to never experimenting on a human subject at such a dosage (though Phillip would have protested the application of that dosage had he known and Howard probably wouldn't have gone along with it either had Phillip not pressured him). The mental state, overall, was fast growing towards something like being hammered, so the class would soon know what kind of drunk their teacher was. Her physiological state would be hot and bothered, something that she probably ought not to be in front of her students in general. "Miss Flora... Are you feeling different?" Phillip asked again, barely managing to avoid begging her to say she was feeling fine. Hopefully she was the kind of drunk who would never admit to being buzzed.
"I can get you some water if you need it, I think you might be having, uh, some kinda..." Howard murmured, pushing slowly off the wall and watching Phillip to see if he should continue. Phillip shook his head very discretely, to indicate that in no way, shape, or form should they acknowledge that anything out of the ordinary was happening. "Some kinda... thirstiness," he finished, unable to avoid smiling now at the absurdity of the situation. If he knew what was likely to happen to him if Dharma found out, he'd probably be significantly less jovial, but right now, he had to admit it was pretty funny to watch Phillip try to reign in the situation.
last edited by
Flora Hanahara was feeling good. Veeeeeery good. So good, in fact, that the tiny rational voice in her head screaming about things like indecency before students was being given the swift boot, and instead she was relishing in the pure intoxication she'd just invited upon herself.
"Bro...is Ms. Hanahara, like, high or something?" Nobody would ever head a list of Bro #1's traits with 'observant', but even he could not ignore the massive leer, caught somewhere between 'drunken' and 'bedroom', spreading across their teacher's rosy cheeks. She ignored the buzz of whispers among her class, and unabashedly eyed the tall-dark-handsome gent like a slab of meat that was also waving around a bottle of tequila.
"Uhh...yeah, bro." Bro #2 was far more interested in the completely unsubtle heaving of Flora's chest.
"Bro...this is freaking gold." The two bros exchanged a silent, mutual glance, which carried the agreement that this had metamorphosed into the greatest field trip they'd ever partaken in.
On the other side of the room, the Class Rep, a mousy-looking girl who probably covered her bedroom walls with straight-A report cards instead of boy band posters, was frantically trying to regain control over her classmates, the field trip, and their teacher simultaneously. After several unsuccessful attempts at distracting Flora from her attempts at sneaking off with Howard (whether he was consenting or otherwise), she finally dug through her Class Rep-borne stack of papers to find the field trip itinerary, and dialed Vincent's emergency number in a mad panic.
Said teacher was sequestered off in Dharma's commandeered office, enjoying the back-and-forth verbal fencing and delicious tea provided. He regarded the phone ringing in his jacket pocket with a distasteful glower, but got up with several apologies to his hosts and exited the room, leaning against the other side of the door. "Vincent Miles speaking," he droned.
"Mr. Miles! You-you've got to come and get Ms. Hanahara, she tried some weird perfume and now she's - oh, she's gone all funny and hanging off some guy and oh, please, Mr. Miles, can you help?" The high-pitched piping of his Class Rep was on a higher order of magnitude than usual, and Vincent fought the dog-whistle headache to reply.
"Could you go into a little more detail?" he asked, and regretted his question the instant he began receiving the answer. He listened to the tale of his colleague's inadvertent drugging, pinching the bridge of his nose hard enough to leave angry red half-circles when his fingers withdrew. "So...let me get this straight. Ms. Hanahara tried on a perfume they offered her, and now she's acting intoxicated and disrupting the field trip?" he summarized, glaring out at nothing in particular. The Class Rep squeaked an affirmative, and he vented a bit of frustration into a long, wordless grumble. "Right, then, nothing else for it. We can't very well have a field trip with the teacher out of commission; I'll get her back on the bus, and we'll perhaps try this trip again some other time."
"Does this mean I won't be able to take the mission with Phero and HunterWoman...?" Phase piped up, voice about as small as her little shoulder-bound hologram.
"Yes, I'm afraid it does. Come on, then, we'll have to apologize for all this," Vincent stepped back inside, eyes cold and hard with frustration. He addressed Dharma succinctly, "I'm afraid there's been a bit of an incident with my fellow teacher, and we'll have to leave to get her treated. Terribly sorry to waste your time like this; I do hope we can try this field trip again another time." And without another moment to lose, he dashed out the door as fast as his long, brace-clad legs could carry him, off to sound the death knell on what might have been the most interesting field trip in ElecTown West High history.
"Bro...is Ms. Hanahara, like, high or something?" Nobody would ever head a list of Bro #1's traits with 'observant', but even he could not ignore the massive leer, caught somewhere between 'drunken' and 'bedroom', spreading across their teacher's rosy cheeks. She ignored the buzz of whispers among her class, and unabashedly eyed the tall-dark-handsome gent like a slab of meat that was also waving around a bottle of tequila.
"Uhh...yeah, bro." Bro #2 was far more interested in the completely unsubtle heaving of Flora's chest.
"Bro...this is freaking gold." The two bros exchanged a silent, mutual glance, which carried the agreement that this had metamorphosed into the greatest field trip they'd ever partaken in.
On the other side of the room, the Class Rep, a mousy-looking girl who probably covered her bedroom walls with straight-A report cards instead of boy band posters, was frantically trying to regain control over her classmates, the field trip, and their teacher simultaneously. After several unsuccessful attempts at distracting Flora from her attempts at sneaking off with Howard (whether he was consenting or otherwise), she finally dug through her Class Rep-borne stack of papers to find the field trip itinerary, and dialed Vincent's emergency number in a mad panic.
Said teacher was sequestered off in Dharma's commandeered office, enjoying the back-and-forth verbal fencing and delicious tea provided. He regarded the phone ringing in his jacket pocket with a distasteful glower, but got up with several apologies to his hosts and exited the room, leaning against the other side of the door. "Vincent Miles speaking," he droned.
"Mr. Miles! You-you've got to come and get Ms. Hanahara, she tried some weird perfume and now she's - oh, she's gone all funny and hanging off some guy and oh, please, Mr. Miles, can you help?" The high-pitched piping of his Class Rep was on a higher order of magnitude than usual, and Vincent fought the dog-whistle headache to reply.
"Could you go into a little more detail?" he asked, and regretted his question the instant he began receiving the answer. He listened to the tale of his colleague's inadvertent drugging, pinching the bridge of his nose hard enough to leave angry red half-circles when his fingers withdrew. "So...let me get this straight. Ms. Hanahara tried on a perfume they offered her, and now she's acting intoxicated and disrupting the field trip?" he summarized, glaring out at nothing in particular. The Class Rep squeaked an affirmative, and he vented a bit of frustration into a long, wordless grumble. "Right, then, nothing else for it. We can't very well have a field trip with the teacher out of commission; I'll get her back on the bus, and we'll perhaps try this trip again some other time."
"Does this mean I won't be able to take the mission with Phero and HunterWoman...?" Phase piped up, voice about as small as her little shoulder-bound hologram.
"Yes, I'm afraid it does. Come on, then, we'll have to apologize for all this," Vincent stepped back inside, eyes cold and hard with frustration. He addressed Dharma succinctly, "I'm afraid there's been a bit of an incident with my fellow teacher, and we'll have to leave to get her treated. Terribly sorry to waste your time like this; I do hope we can try this field trip again another time." And without another moment to lose, he dashed out the door as fast as his long, brace-clad legs could carry him, off to sound the death knell on what might have been the most interesting field trip in ElecTown West High history.
last edited by
Even if she had known that she'd fallen headlong into Dharma's trap of not checking out anything she wasn't supposed to, it was hard to say that Diana would've cared. She was sitting in a cozy office, drinking tea, and had the opportunity to boost HunterWoman's arsenal, all while fulfilling her duties as Mr. Wilde's aide. Everything was aces as far as she was concerned. "Indeed. I know I've never cared much for wasting time." She shot a quick look in Agnis's direction, before letting everyone else carry on.
"Really?" With a grin, she reached back, and donned her crossbow to show it off to Phero. "It's not too hard, you just need to make sure they don't see it coming ahead of time! And hopefully you end up with a rock that doesn't whistle, like 'WHEEEEEEW'! Once, I had a perfect shot, I bet I could've knocked three or four birds out of the sky, but I grabbed a rock with this weird hole on it, and it made a noise like that, 'WHEEEEEEW', and the bird I was aiming at instinctively got out of the way, so I didn't hit anything. I was sooooooooo mad, that I just got out an arrow and shot it so I wouldn't be empty handed! Also spite!" Naturally, at no point did she find anything wrong with admitting to cold blooded bird murder. "But yeah, it's not hard at all! It's a bit easier for me with a crossbow, though, since I'm super trained in using it! Just throwing it adds lots of variables I'm not really used to, like arm strength, and it makes the optimal angle of ricochet way harder to get, and-"
"As...fascinating as this surely is for everyone, perhaps we should move on to some other topic?"
"I dunno, Phero looks pretty interested..." The hologram looked over, but noticed that the other Navi was suddenly gone. "Hey, where'd she go?"
"Requesting the mission, by the sounds of it. You should go on ahead, as well."
"Oh, okay! Yeah, let's get this show on the road!"
"Let's." According to Dharma, there were several ports on the table, one of which was right in front of her. And why waste time searching when there was already a suitable answer in front of her. "Jack in! HunterWoman, Execute!"
Once her Navi was in, she took a sip of tea, and looked over at the CEO. That last bit she'd said made no sense whatsoever. Did she think she said something she didn't? "Hmm? What's the foreman's taste, exactly?" Might as well ask while they were waiting.
Around this point, Vincent suddenly got up to take a call. While she couldn't exactly tell what was being said, his expression upon made it clear there was a problem. And sure enough..."Well, that's a shame. At least it sounds like it's treatable, whatever happened." But exactly what happened? Hmm. "Ah well, if you must go, you must. Do take care." A terse farewell. Or, as she called it, a good farewell.
"Really?" With a grin, she reached back, and donned her crossbow to show it off to Phero. "It's not too hard, you just need to make sure they don't see it coming ahead of time! And hopefully you end up with a rock that doesn't whistle, like 'WHEEEEEEW'! Once, I had a perfect shot, I bet I could've knocked three or four birds out of the sky, but I grabbed a rock with this weird hole on it, and it made a noise like that, 'WHEEEEEEW', and the bird I was aiming at instinctively got out of the way, so I didn't hit anything. I was sooooooooo mad, that I just got out an arrow and shot it so I wouldn't be empty handed! Also spite!" Naturally, at no point did she find anything wrong with admitting to cold blooded bird murder. "But yeah, it's not hard at all! It's a bit easier for me with a crossbow, though, since I'm super trained in using it! Just throwing it adds lots of variables I'm not really used to, like arm strength, and it makes the optimal angle of ricochet way harder to get, and-"
"As...fascinating as this surely is for everyone, perhaps we should move on to some other topic?"
"I dunno, Phero looks pretty interested..." The hologram looked over, but noticed that the other Navi was suddenly gone. "Hey, where'd she go?"
"Requesting the mission, by the sounds of it. You should go on ahead, as well."
"Oh, okay! Yeah, let's get this show on the road!"
"Let's." According to Dharma, there were several ports on the table, one of which was right in front of her. And why waste time searching when there was already a suitable answer in front of her. "Jack in! HunterWoman, Execute!"
Once her Navi was in, she took a sip of tea, and looked over at the CEO. That last bit she'd said made no sense whatsoever. Did she think she said something she didn't? "Hmm? What's the foreman's taste, exactly?" Might as well ask while they were waiting.
Around this point, Vincent suddenly got up to take a call. While she couldn't exactly tell what was being said, his expression upon made it clear there was a problem. And sure enough..."Well, that's a shame. At least it sounds like it's treatable, whatever happened." But exactly what happened? Hmm. "Ah well, if you must go, you must. Do take care." A terse farewell. Or, as she called it, a good farewell.
last edited by
((Continued from events in this topic.))
Dharma nodded along with Diana's extortion efforts, suddenly all business as she grabbed a business card off the plant manager's desk, as well as a pen, and began writing down her contact info. She bent over slightly so that she could bare down with one elbow, given that she needed to use the other forearm to cover her chest. "There," she finished, handing it over. "Remember: we did a good thing today. It was all to help that man. So there's no reason either of us should feel ashamed over our role in it... it's just the optics, you understand. I can't be directly linked to this, I just can't. If I was, it would be bad for both of us," she explained, keeping it cryptic, though it wasn't hard to read a threat in her words. "Let's just forget it ever happened."
She'd been pretty eager to get out of her clothes moments ago, but now, she was very desperate to get back into them. Unfortunately, before that could happen, Agnis re-entered the room, this time not announcing herself by carrying a heavy tray. "Oh, Dharma! I cleaned up the spill but there could still be shards from the broken cups, so you should-" she began, before taking a look around. The blond girl's face went from a baffled frown to a scary, beet-red mask of discomfort and some negative emotion as her condition kicked in. "Wh-Wh-Wh-?!" she asked, unable to get the words out of her throat.
Dharma held up one hand for her to be quiet.
"... Am I going to be cut loose?" Agnis asked, hesitantly.
"Nonsense. Please hand me your PET, I'll need it for just a moment. In the mean time, I'll need you to go downstairs and watch the front of the staircase to ensure that neither Phillip, nor the plant manager, nor anyone else come up," Dharma answered in a cool, calm voice, despite her half-nakedness. Agnis nodded, moved quickly, handed it over, then skittered back out the door. Hopefully, Agnis would be alright when next Diana encountered her, but it was equally likely her head was going to explode on her way downstairs. Dharma focused her attention on the PET, working with it as she again spoke to Diana. "Please, produce my clothing ASAP," she insisted, sounding a little less patient now. There was no telling what she was doing with the PET...
Dharma nodded along with Diana's extortion efforts, suddenly all business as she grabbed a business card off the plant manager's desk, as well as a pen, and began writing down her contact info. She bent over slightly so that she could bare down with one elbow, given that she needed to use the other forearm to cover her chest. "There," she finished, handing it over. "Remember: we did a good thing today. It was all to help that man. So there's no reason either of us should feel ashamed over our role in it... it's just the optics, you understand. I can't be directly linked to this, I just can't. If I was, it would be bad for both of us," she explained, keeping it cryptic, though it wasn't hard to read a threat in her words. "Let's just forget it ever happened."
She'd been pretty eager to get out of her clothes moments ago, but now, she was very desperate to get back into them. Unfortunately, before that could happen, Agnis re-entered the room, this time not announcing herself by carrying a heavy tray. "Oh, Dharma! I cleaned up the spill but there could still be shards from the broken cups, so you should-" she began, before taking a look around. The blond girl's face went from a baffled frown to a scary, beet-red mask of discomfort and some negative emotion as her condition kicked in. "Wh-Wh-Wh-?!" she asked, unable to get the words out of her throat.
Dharma held up one hand for her to be quiet.
"... Am I going to be cut loose?" Agnis asked, hesitantly.
"Nonsense. Please hand me your PET, I'll need it for just a moment. In the mean time, I'll need you to go downstairs and watch the front of the staircase to ensure that neither Phillip, nor the plant manager, nor anyone else come up," Dharma answered in a cool, calm voice, despite her half-nakedness. Agnis nodded, moved quickly, handed it over, then skittered back out the door. Hopefully, Agnis would be alright when next Diana encountered her, but it was equally likely her head was going to explode on her way downstairs. Dharma focused her attention on the PET, working with it as she again spoke to Diana. "Please, produce my clothing ASAP," she insisted, sounding a little less patient now. There was no telling what she was doing with the PET...
last edited by
"Of course." With a simple agreement, Diana checked what Dharma had written. There was no way she could confirm or deny that the information was real, but considering how easily she could leak the story to the press...the CEO would have to be an idiot to try faking it here. And she was fairly sure that, of all the things she thought Dharma was, an idiot wasn't really one of them. Still, she should probably note as much. "...Yes, it would be bad. For BOTH of us." They could either swim together, or sink together. And she wasn't above sinking the ship if she was deceived.
Regardless, the huntress was satisfied, and so she flung her partner in stripping her clothes. She certainly didn't want them. Too formal for her taste. And the bra was just a bit too big for her..."See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" With that, she gathered her own clothes, and put them on as she obtained them. "Well, this has been very...er, educational, but if you've nothing to add, I believe I should be on my way once I'm dressed." If nothing else, she certainly learned more about Dharma Heart-Payne today than she'd ever cared to. But, gotta stay professional, even after being on camera with her in her underwear. "I assume there's no other message you'd like me to pass on to Mr. Wilde before I leave?"
Regardless, the huntress was satisfied, and so she flung her partner in stripping her clothes. She certainly didn't want them. Too formal for her taste. And the bra was just a bit too big for her..."See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" With that, she gathered her own clothes, and put them on as she obtained them. "Well, this has been very...er, educational, but if you've nothing to add, I believe I should be on my way once I'm dressed." If nothing else, she certainly learned more about Dharma Heart-Payne today than she'd ever cared to. But, gotta stay professional, even after being on camera with her in her underwear. "I assume there's no other message you'd like me to pass on to Mr. Wilde before I leave?"
last edited by
As usual, Dharma found it very difficult to allow anyone to step on her for any reason, even if the offense was only temporary or merely circumstantial. She inwardly continued to plot what miserable end would be most befitting of a virus zoo and its caretakers, although there wasn't going to be any opportunity to enact any such plan any time soon. "Well, I wouldn't call blackmail my idea of a good time, but at least it will help a good cause," she sighed. Internally, she thought to herself, "What good cause? There's nothing good about these people and certainly nothing useful about viruses."
The president dressed back quickly and cautiously, slowly transforming from some weirdo in panties and a gas mask back into the stately business figure, Dharma-Heart Payne. "Oh no, I have nothing else to say. You can tell Mister Wilde that I wish the both of you only the best in your conservation mission," she responded, though Diana had probably caught on by this point how little such platitudes really meant. "It's probably best if I go down and meet Agnis first, saving you the hardship of dealing with her in her current state," she chuckled, heading down without a word more. Once downstairs, she'd quickly grab Agnis by the arm and drag her away, a little further into the plant and inside one of the rooms that Flora and Philip had passed by earlier. If Diana was close enough behind to see that transpire, she'd probably assume Dharma planned on a little "damage control," but if not, she might assume Dharma and Agnis had simply left together.
The president dressed back quickly and cautiously, slowly transforming from some weirdo in panties and a gas mask back into the stately business figure, Dharma-Heart Payne. "Oh no, I have nothing else to say. You can tell Mister Wilde that I wish the both of you only the best in your conservation mission," she responded, though Diana had probably caught on by this point how little such platitudes really meant. "It's probably best if I go down and meet Agnis first, saving you the hardship of dealing with her in her current state," she chuckled, heading down without a word more. Once downstairs, she'd quickly grab Agnis by the arm and drag her away, a little further into the plant and inside one of the rooms that Flora and Philip had passed by earlier. If Diana was close enough behind to see that transpire, she'd probably assume Dharma planned on a little "damage control," but if not, she might assume Dharma and Agnis had simply left together.
last edited by
"Don't think of it as blackmail. Just think of it as being nudged towards a valuable business opportunity." Via blackmail. "At least you can see it's a worthy cause. Not enough people realize that just yet. But as Mr. Wilde has personally taken charge of it, you can rest assured that it will serve as a wonderful place to learn about viruses, nothing more, nothing less."
Soon enough, each woman was now fully presentable to the outside world. Dharma wished her and Mr. Wilde well, but...an alarm was going off in Diana's head. She really didn't think she meant it...but she was cooperating with them, so it didn't really matter one way or the other to her. What did matter, apparently, was the order in which they left. "...Indeed. I hope your company manages to find a cure for...whatever it is she has, before her head explodes from it, or something." And with that, she was alone. She noted that she hadn't received a goodbye, even though it was fairly obvious that this meeting was over. "...Dharma Heart-Payne. Like a turtle, it's impossible to tell what your insides are like from looking at you. Let us hope you don't renege on me, or else I'll have to smash your shell, and reveal the contents to the world..."
"Who ya talkin' to?"
"Just myself, HunterWoman. I assume you...enjoyed yourself?" Diana pulled out her PET and took a look, finding immense relief upon seeing her Navi fully dressed.
"It was great! I won!"
"So I saw. I believe we'll make good use of your winnings very soon..."
"Yay! Ooh, are we gonna get even MORE CHIPS? Or maybe upgrades! Yeah, upgrades! I want to feel super upgrady!"
"We'll go over our options on the way to SciLab. Come. And bring up a list of the Navi shop's stock, if you please. The sooner we make up our minds, the sooner the new and improved HunterWoman can come to pass." Heading down the stairs, Diana noted that there was no red faced woman in sight. Made it that much easier to nonchalantly head out, her mission a resounding success.
(TO SCILAB)
Soon enough, each woman was now fully presentable to the outside world. Dharma wished her and Mr. Wilde well, but...an alarm was going off in Diana's head. She really didn't think she meant it...but she was cooperating with them, so it didn't really matter one way or the other to her. What did matter, apparently, was the order in which they left. "...Indeed. I hope your company manages to find a cure for...whatever it is she has, before her head explodes from it, or something." And with that, she was alone. She noted that she hadn't received a goodbye, even though it was fairly obvious that this meeting was over. "...Dharma Heart-Payne. Like a turtle, it's impossible to tell what your insides are like from looking at you. Let us hope you don't renege on me, or else I'll have to smash your shell, and reveal the contents to the world..."
"Who ya talkin' to?"
"Just myself, HunterWoman. I assume you...enjoyed yourself?" Diana pulled out her PET and took a look, finding immense relief upon seeing her Navi fully dressed.
"It was great! I won!"
"So I saw. I believe we'll make good use of your winnings very soon..."
"Yay! Ooh, are we gonna get even MORE CHIPS? Or maybe upgrades! Yeah, upgrades! I want to feel super upgrady!"
"We'll go over our options on the way to SciLab. Come. And bring up a list of the Navi shop's stock, if you please. The sooner we make up our minds, the sooner the new and improved HunterWoman can come to pass." Heading down the stairs, Diana noted that there was no red faced woman in sight. Made it that much easier to nonchalantly head out, her mission a resounding success.
(TO SCILAB)
last edited by
With Diana out of her hair and both of them supposedly complicit in their silence by means of mutual blackmail, Dharma moved on to her next problem: a very confused Agnis Agnu, who was now in a perpetual state of wincing, sweating, beet-red head-explodiness. She'd taken Agnis' PET for reason of keeping her from sending any panicked messages to friends or family, but now, having her underling alone in a small student laboratory, she was coming up with a plot to best win Agnis' silence, and the PET might factor into that. Truth be told, Agnis was too devoted and slavish to say anything about what she'd seen anyways, but as far as the navi... Dharma couldn't take any chances. "Agnis," she finally spoke.
The other girl looked as though her head was about to pop then, but she managed to speak anyways. "D-Dharma?!" she got out, wringing her hands together.
"What you saw just now was... business. I can't describe how. All I can ask is that you trust me as you always have," she suggested, fiddling with the PET in the mean time.
"Of course, Madam President!" Agnis agreed, calming down a little.
"Unfortunately, while I know your loyalty, I have not tested that of your navi. As such, I'm going to keep her close for a while. Phero will benefit from the experience and I will be able to... learn her," Dharma spoke calmly, as though suddenly swiping someone's navi and holding it for ransom was a normal part of business. "Thank you for your understanding. I'm converting her to an SP now."
"Ah... Uh..." Agnis murmured, seeming lost, before shaking her head and reddening up again. "M-Madam President! Boil is my life planner, I can't just let her go! It's going to be hard to, er, function at work without her!" she complained. Dharma gave her a calm but somehow withering smile, as if asking if she really wanted to go the route of protest. "I-I mean, er... I look forward to the challenge! Of learning to... navigate the world with a new navi, who doesn't know anything about my schedules, how to access my important files, or the proper dosage for my blood pressure medicine," she continued weakly.
Dharma reflected that, in hindsight, it was a good thing such a weak-willed and subservient person had been the one to walk in on her. "Very good. Boil will be kept safe, so long as you and she both remember that my business stays private," the company president finished, smiling and handing back the now empty PET to Agnis. "Feel free to spend the rest of the day shopping for a new navi. We are in Electown, after all. You can also write it off as a business expenditure and submit that to me when your're finished."
"Thank you, Madam President!" Agnis responded. "And I know Boil will serve you well! I always wanted her and Phero to be friends, anyway. There's so much they can-!"
"You're dismissed," Dharma finished, sighing and returning her attention to her PET. Agnis scampered away, but Dharma was left with many questions that she'd be unable to answer until she saw the new SP in action. "This is her, hm? It's clear that aesthetics weren't a priority like they were for Phero," the young lady sighed, vainly. "Very well. I'll put her through the paces in a GNA mission. That's the best way to learn what makes her tick," she whispered to herself (megalomaniacs are allowed to monologue to themselves, after all). "I'll let Phillip finish his tour or... whatever it is he's doing." She found an empty outlet and jacked Phero in.
((Jacking in and headed to NetSquare))
The other girl looked as though her head was about to pop then, but she managed to speak anyways. "D-Dharma?!" she got out, wringing her hands together.
"What you saw just now was... business. I can't describe how. All I can ask is that you trust me as you always have," she suggested, fiddling with the PET in the mean time.
"Of course, Madam President!" Agnis agreed, calming down a little.
"Unfortunately, while I know your loyalty, I have not tested that of your navi. As such, I'm going to keep her close for a while. Phero will benefit from the experience and I will be able to... learn her," Dharma spoke calmly, as though suddenly swiping someone's navi and holding it for ransom was a normal part of business. "Thank you for your understanding. I'm converting her to an SP now."
"Ah... Uh..." Agnis murmured, seeming lost, before shaking her head and reddening up again. "M-Madam President! Boil is my life planner, I can't just let her go! It's going to be hard to, er, function at work without her!" she complained. Dharma gave her a calm but somehow withering smile, as if asking if she really wanted to go the route of protest. "I-I mean, er... I look forward to the challenge! Of learning to... navigate the world with a new navi, who doesn't know anything about my schedules, how to access my important files, or the proper dosage for my blood pressure medicine," she continued weakly.
Dharma reflected that, in hindsight, it was a good thing such a weak-willed and subservient person had been the one to walk in on her. "Very good. Boil will be kept safe, so long as you and she both remember that my business stays private," the company president finished, smiling and handing back the now empty PET to Agnis. "Feel free to spend the rest of the day shopping for a new navi. We are in Electown, after all. You can also write it off as a business expenditure and submit that to me when your're finished."
"Thank you, Madam President!" Agnis responded. "And I know Boil will serve you well! I always wanted her and Phero to be friends, anyway. There's so much they can-!"
"You're dismissed," Dharma finished, sighing and returning her attention to her PET. Agnis scampered away, but Dharma was left with many questions that she'd be unable to answer until she saw the new SP in action. "This is her, hm? It's clear that aesthetics weren't a priority like they were for Phero," the young lady sighed, vainly. "Very well. I'll put her through the paces in a GNA mission. That's the best way to learn what makes her tick," she whispered to herself (megalomaniacs are allowed to monologue to themselves, after all). "I'll let Phillip finish his tour or... whatever it is he's doing." She found an empty outlet and jacked Phero in.
((Jacking in and headed to NetSquare))