"Nothing like a common enemy, hm?" Bank chuckled, her eyebrows lowering as her red lips finally curled back into a smile. "This will do nicely... Now I can put a stop that idiot before he does any more damage. Let's see who we can connect you to from Investigations..."
"Ah ha... There's that one navi, Cabal, who specializes in tailing our own guys. To be honest, I've always said that she's a waste of our money, but with what you've brought to light, maybe she's got a purpose. I can set her up right away to look for Carbuncle, or, if you'd like, you can give her the details yourself. To reach Investigations, you just take that warppad there... her office is probably far, far down the hall."
Bank finished organizing her files back into their major folder, then crossed her arms. "So, just tell me if you want me to send her a message saying you're coming, or if you want, I can just get her on the investigation myself. It'll work out either way, but I really need to get going. I was in the middle of something."
SoapMan's Office
last edited by
"Tell her I am coming."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia answered, kindly tilting his helmet. "Good day, officer."[color=5A6351][/color] With that, he turned and walked into the warp pad she had denoted.
last edited by
Bank gave the navi a halfhearted farewell, then went her own way as he disappeared into the warppad.
The pad let out in the Investigations offices, as Bank had implied it would. The setup was very similar, although the halls were more busy than the previous floor's had been. Regalia had only to walk down the hall... a little further... further still. Bank's guess had been right: the hall was very far to the back. Finally, he came upon an office marked "Cabal."
Before he could knock, a voice from inside spoke to him: "Good to see you've decided to stop by! I was worried you were going to leave the message with Bank and this might be a dead end for me," a female voice came from inside. "Feel free to come on in."
Inside, Regalia found that the office was distinctly different from SoapMan's or the few he'd managed to peek at on the way down the hall. The room was very dark with only one spotlight, constantly trained upon the room's sole occupant. No terminal or desk or even chair sat in the room. The walls were plastered with tremendous white sheets, each marked on in countless places to feature names, arrows, circles, and other indicators, along with pinned photographs.
The figure in the furthest right-hand corner of the room was a very tall, slender woman wearing a black skinsuit, marked with unreadable white text around every edge. Her black hair was unkempt and spread all around her, hiding her eyes. Her breasts were rather small in proportion to her height. Her unpainted lips smiled as she turned her head to look at Regalia. "I was just hanging up another sheet before you came in," she remarked, then held both arms out to her sides. A stark, white sheet of canvas-like material formed around her, then gradually softened into a cloak. "I know it's probably better to record things on computers, but I prefer to do things this way."
The navi offered Regalia no seat or light, but did turn her attention to him and away from her writings. "Bank gave me the short version: you're looking for Carbuncle," she started. The way she said "Carbuncle" familiarly, rather than "a navi named Carbuncle" seemed encouraging. "I don't want the short version, though: I prefer the long version. Can you tell me what brought you to search for Carbuncle? The more details, the better." As she prepared for Regalia to speak, she brought out a black marker and started scribbling on the arm of her cloak.
The pad let out in the Investigations offices, as Bank had implied it would. The setup was very similar, although the halls were more busy than the previous floor's had been. Regalia had only to walk down the hall... a little further... further still. Bank's guess had been right: the hall was very far to the back. Finally, he came upon an office marked "Cabal."
Before he could knock, a voice from inside spoke to him: "Good to see you've decided to stop by! I was worried you were going to leave the message with Bank and this might be a dead end for me," a female voice came from inside. "Feel free to come on in."
Inside, Regalia found that the office was distinctly different from SoapMan's or the few he'd managed to peek at on the way down the hall. The room was very dark with only one spotlight, constantly trained upon the room's sole occupant. No terminal or desk or even chair sat in the room. The walls were plastered with tremendous white sheets, each marked on in countless places to feature names, arrows, circles, and other indicators, along with pinned photographs.
The figure in the furthest right-hand corner of the room was a very tall, slender woman wearing a black skinsuit, marked with unreadable white text around every edge. Her black hair was unkempt and spread all around her, hiding her eyes. Her breasts were rather small in proportion to her height. Her unpainted lips smiled as she turned her head to look at Regalia. "I was just hanging up another sheet before you came in," she remarked, then held both arms out to her sides. A stark, white sheet of canvas-like material formed around her, then gradually softened into a cloak. "I know it's probably better to record things on computers, but I prefer to do things this way."
The navi offered Regalia no seat or light, but did turn her attention to him and away from her writings. "Bank gave me the short version: you're looking for Carbuncle," she started. The way she said "Carbuncle" familiarly, rather than "a navi named Carbuncle" seemed encouraging. "I don't want the short version, though: I prefer the long version. Can you tell me what brought you to search for Carbuncle? The more details, the better." As she prepared for Regalia to speak, she brought out a black marker and started scribbling on the arm of her cloak.
last edited by
"I am on a mission I received whose details I am unsure if I am allowed to discuss."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia said, glancing around at the numerous drawings, outlines, relations... the web of intrigue around him and Cabal. "Cabal... named for witches. A witch-hunt, then?"[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia paused for a minute, then produced the notes he was originally supposed to give to SoapMan. That hadn't really panned out. "A man contacted me through the GNA's Mission service, and told me to try and pry more details about Carbuncle and her involvement out of SoapMan. That led to him trying to capture me, which led to him being reported, which led to me being here in your office. He told me to give these to SoapMan."[color=5A6351][/color] With that, Regalia handed the notes to Cabal. "What do you make of them?"[color=5A6351][/color]
last edited by
As Regalia spoke, Cabal eagerly scrawled notes across her cloak in marker. The ghostly navi nodded, smiling with genuine amusement at Regalia's words. "There are elusive witches out there that make us other elusive witches look bad through their actions," she laughed in a light-hearted way. "All of that's interesting. I especially like the part where you ended up in my office. And this about eerie navis lurking around SharoNet... it links into a thread I've been curious about!"
The navi backed up, leaned against the wall, and tapped the butt of her marker up and down against her chin. "I'm going to play what we call a Trust Bargain. You're wise not to give me all of the information you know right out of hand. However, I need as much information as possible from you in order to weave together several threads I've got under investigation. I'm glad that you managed to provoke SoapMan; a lot of my suspicions were confirmed there, so you'll understand if I'm antsy to see just how far his madness is rooted in the NP," she continued, grinning widely as though she were a little mad herself. "Here's how we play- you've given me some information already. I'll ask you to fill in blanks for me, and if you agree, I'll tell you everything I know about Carbuncle."
"Let me start us off! Some interesting tidbits to wet your whistle. I will save you the details, but she has no records of employment here, which you likely already know. Therefore, it is impossible to learn anything about her operator... one can only speculate," she sighed, although she seemed to grin further at the idea of speculation. The expression indicated that she might have some ideas about the operator herself. "She never talks to anyone but those she comes to bring documents to, which are a select few. The most frequent- that is, only frequent- was SoapMan. She's spoken to several others, but never for more than one meeting. The specifics of what they've talked about are a little beyond my capabilities to obtain. Bank's never spoken to her, but I've got a lot of dirt on her too if you're interested."
As if remembering things while she talked, the navi scrawled more notes across her cloak. "Oh, and Carbuncle's a cupsize 32C. Alright, now it's your turn! Who exactly asked you to start this investigation? That's all I want to know for now. Tell me that, and I'll let you know what I know about Scavenger. Oh, and another one! Tell me your history of notable actions on the net, too. Do that and I'll fill you in on what I speculate Carbuncle may be involved in."
The navi backed up, leaned against the wall, and tapped the butt of her marker up and down against her chin. "I'm going to play what we call a Trust Bargain. You're wise not to give me all of the information you know right out of hand. However, I need as much information as possible from you in order to weave together several threads I've got under investigation. I'm glad that you managed to provoke SoapMan; a lot of my suspicions were confirmed there, so you'll understand if I'm antsy to see just how far his madness is rooted in the NP," she continued, grinning widely as though she were a little mad herself. "Here's how we play- you've given me some information already. I'll ask you to fill in blanks for me, and if you agree, I'll tell you everything I know about Carbuncle."
"Let me start us off! Some interesting tidbits to wet your whistle. I will save you the details, but she has no records of employment here, which you likely already know. Therefore, it is impossible to learn anything about her operator... one can only speculate," she sighed, although she seemed to grin further at the idea of speculation. The expression indicated that she might have some ideas about the operator herself. "She never talks to anyone but those she comes to bring documents to, which are a select few. The most frequent- that is, only frequent- was SoapMan. She's spoken to several others, but never for more than one meeting. The specifics of what they've talked about are a little beyond my capabilities to obtain. Bank's never spoken to her, but I've got a lot of dirt on her too if you're interested."
As if remembering things while she talked, the navi scrawled more notes across her cloak. "Oh, and Carbuncle's a cupsize 32C. Alright, now it's your turn! Who exactly asked you to start this investigation? That's all I want to know for now. Tell me that, and I'll let you know what I know about Scavenger. Oh, and another one! Tell me your history of notable actions on the net, too. Do that and I'll fill you in on what I speculate Carbuncle may be involved in."
last edited by
Regalia balked for a moment at the mention of cup-sizes, but quickly recovered when he was asked questions. "I was asked to do this by a woman named "Roc". As for my notable actions... would taking down one of NAXA's manned aeronautics programs single-handedly count? The man driving it was a special sort of buffoon, and continued to attack me even though it was a public area and I had said I meant him no harm several times."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia paused to chuckle.
"Do not mistake my lack of silence for contempt, however; he was reprimanded for his actions and I was recompensated for mine, so I hold no feeling of animosity for NAXA. Aside from that..."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia paused, then shrugged.
"For all the time I have been active, I have not done much. My operator and I only recently came into ownership of a lot of powerful programs and battlechips, which I would assume is his reason for suddenly taking an interest."[color=5A6351][/color]
"Do not mistake my lack of silence for contempt, however; he was reprimanded for his actions and I was recompensated for mine, so I hold no feeling of animosity for NAXA. Aside from that..."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia paused, then shrugged.
"For all the time I have been active, I have not done much. My operator and I only recently came into ownership of a lot of powerful programs and battlechips, which I would assume is his reason for suddenly taking an interest."[color=5A6351][/color]
last edited by
"Ah, Roc! I recognize that name. She was involved with ChronicleMan, who's become a big name for the NP recently, since he sank PatrolMan's car in some lava. He's done a lot of other stuff too, but that's the only one that the people-who-matter have noticed. That's my pet name for the secret division of the NP that gets what they want. I've got a lot of threads on it, but I'm getting off track," the navi continued excitedly, having a hard time stopping herself from gushing. "ChronicleMan had her forced into servitude somehow; I've never learned the specifics. They prowled around SharoNet, attacking navis! Why? Never got that either. Suffice to say, she's now on the people-who-matter's shitlist, just like ChronicleMan and everyone who's ever associated with him. All because of that burnt car! It's amazing how these things work..."
Sensing that Regalia might feel guilty for turning over the name of his employer, the ghostly woman settled her aggressive grin into something more cordial. "Don't worry. I'm as far from the people-that-matter as it gets! Nobody in the NP's going to hear the name 'Roc' from me, nor Regalia," she assured him. "As for your history, that's interesting stuff too! I don't have a lot of threads related to NAXA. I'm sure there's a lot of interesting dirt there, but I've got my hands full with the threads I'm already investigating," she sighed, as if genuinely disappointed that she had no motivation to drill Regalia as deeply as she could on the incident.
"What you've told me, interesting as it may be, doesn't evoke any particular theories. I'd say Roc's motive for recruiting you was just as it sounded. What I'm really interested in now is to see how the results of the SoapMan interrogation go! And even if there is no interrogation, I can draw some interesting threads from who was on duty that let him escape~" she cooed, somewhat negligent of what Regalia might feel upon hearing that there was a possibility SoapMan would be released. "So allow me to repay you with everything I know about Scavenger..."
"The navi, Scavenger, was really a small-time Bloodhound, sent out on tasks that require no great degree of skill to accomplish. She often failed, as I recall. She was spotted once with a notorious figure named Idol, just before Idol vanished off the face of the map! It looked as though she jacked out during the battle, but some witnesses claim that a jackout barrier was in effect. This makes the question of her current location a huge subject of intrigue: was she deleted? Did she teleport back to the Mafia? There's no telling! I'm of the theory that if there was a beam, she got away somehow. The worst part, though, is that for all I know, she could just be sitting lazy back at the Bloodhounds camp. I hope some of that information will help Roc."
"As for Carbuncle: I've told you the basics, so lets move on to my theory-crafting! I'll start with the obvious: the fact that she approached the others with those files, but only consistently visits SoapMan, combined with her seeming abundance of clearance yet lack of records, indicates that she has been trying to make outrageous deals. I think it's safe to say that SoapMan may have been tricked into thinking he was doing something for her that aligned with his goals. The interesting part is that thinking on it, if what she had to propose was something that would show that she's abusing her powers, someone she approached should have stepped up and said so. From that information, I now know that she must be picking those she approaches off of a particular list of people, likely those who she knows will not report her."
"I wish that this thread continued further: 'those presented the documents were all corrupt, and that's why she approached them!' Sadly, I don't think that's the case. SoapMan, as you know, turned out to be some kind of delusional- and stupid- madman. The others who were approached were all low enough rank so that, if Carbuncle threatened their rank in some way, they would have to keep quiet about it. Still, that leads to another conclusion! To ensure that she can intimidate them, Carbuncle must somehow be above reprimand from the NP... That is, if one of those little guys did report something, she wouldn't be threatened by it."
"Other interesting threads I'd like to follow up on... Carbuncle has been occasionally spotted moving around Hades Net! As far as I know, the only times she's ever been spotted are in Hades Net or here at the office. I think that means that if your friend can't be seen around the NP- and she can't, not so long as she's on that shitlist- her best bet is to investigate Hades Net. I think we can also say, however, that she'd better be ready to be in some serious danger if she investigates Carbuncle any further," the navi finished at long last, having covered one entire arm's length of her fresh cloak with notes. "And I will also add that anyone who is helping her ought to be very careful! Try not to talk to Bank any more, okay? She's one of the people-who-matter."
"... Oh, do you need a copy of all of that?"
Sensing that Regalia might feel guilty for turning over the name of his employer, the ghostly woman settled her aggressive grin into something more cordial. "Don't worry. I'm as far from the people-that-matter as it gets! Nobody in the NP's going to hear the name 'Roc' from me, nor Regalia," she assured him. "As for your history, that's interesting stuff too! I don't have a lot of threads related to NAXA. I'm sure there's a lot of interesting dirt there, but I've got my hands full with the threads I'm already investigating," she sighed, as if genuinely disappointed that she had no motivation to drill Regalia as deeply as she could on the incident.
"What you've told me, interesting as it may be, doesn't evoke any particular theories. I'd say Roc's motive for recruiting you was just as it sounded. What I'm really interested in now is to see how the results of the SoapMan interrogation go! And even if there is no interrogation, I can draw some interesting threads from who was on duty that let him escape~" she cooed, somewhat negligent of what Regalia might feel upon hearing that there was a possibility SoapMan would be released. "So allow me to repay you with everything I know about Scavenger..."
"The navi, Scavenger, was really a small-time Bloodhound, sent out on tasks that require no great degree of skill to accomplish. She often failed, as I recall. She was spotted once with a notorious figure named Idol, just before Idol vanished off the face of the map! It looked as though she jacked out during the battle, but some witnesses claim that a jackout barrier was in effect. This makes the question of her current location a huge subject of intrigue: was she deleted? Did she teleport back to the Mafia? There's no telling! I'm of the theory that if there was a beam, she got away somehow. The worst part, though, is that for all I know, she could just be sitting lazy back at the Bloodhounds camp. I hope some of that information will help Roc."
"As for Carbuncle: I've told you the basics, so lets move on to my theory-crafting! I'll start with the obvious: the fact that she approached the others with those files, but only consistently visits SoapMan, combined with her seeming abundance of clearance yet lack of records, indicates that she has been trying to make outrageous deals. I think it's safe to say that SoapMan may have been tricked into thinking he was doing something for her that aligned with his goals. The interesting part is that thinking on it, if what she had to propose was something that would show that she's abusing her powers, someone she approached should have stepped up and said so. From that information, I now know that she must be picking those she approaches off of a particular list of people, likely those who she knows will not report her."
"I wish that this thread continued further: 'those presented the documents were all corrupt, and that's why she approached them!' Sadly, I don't think that's the case. SoapMan, as you know, turned out to be some kind of delusional- and stupid- madman. The others who were approached were all low enough rank so that, if Carbuncle threatened their rank in some way, they would have to keep quiet about it. Still, that leads to another conclusion! To ensure that she can intimidate them, Carbuncle must somehow be above reprimand from the NP... That is, if one of those little guys did report something, she wouldn't be threatened by it."
"Other interesting threads I'd like to follow up on... Carbuncle has been occasionally spotted moving around Hades Net! As far as I know, the only times she's ever been spotted are in Hades Net or here at the office. I think that means that if your friend can't be seen around the NP- and she can't, not so long as she's on that shitlist- her best bet is to investigate Hades Net. I think we can also say, however, that she'd better be ready to be in some serious danger if she investigates Carbuncle any further," the navi finished at long last, having covered one entire arm's length of her fresh cloak with notes. "And I will also add that anyone who is helping her ought to be very careful! Try not to talk to Bank any more, okay? She's one of the people-who-matter."
"... Oh, do you need a copy of all of that?"
last edited by
Regalia paused for a moment, occluding visor hiding his closed eyes from view, then smirked. "Recorded."[color=5A6351][/color] He said simply. "As to what you have just said... if I may, every natural order has its' chain of command, certainly, but what is most important is not that..."[color=5A6351][/color]
"It is the food chain."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia almost leaned back before realizing there was no chair for him to sit in, then turned his cane into one and placed it behind him. After he was comfortably seated, he continued. "Who do reports of malpractice in the NP usually go to? Assume that she has corrupted them. Who are the 'flagged' reports from that person directed to? If it is not the first link, then assume that person is corrupted."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia explained calmly, his voice soft yet clear in the darkened space.
"My other concern, aside from SoapMan being released, is that someone might realize what he is wrapped up inside of and execute him to keep that story wrapped."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia elaborated grimly, his voice full of weariness. "That is typically the problem with inner corruption in organizations; you either cut off everyone's access, or you risk anyone dismantling your investigations."[color=5A6351][/color]
Regalia paused, watching Cabal's face and considering, then leaned back in his chair. "It could be Carbuncle herself that attempts to do it; it could just as easily be someone else. I would wager on the latter. With Carbuncle herself possibly being an investigative target, she would likely be the last person to attempt to kill him. It would only make her more suspicious."[color=5A6351][/color] He sighed.
"Regardless, that is not why I am here."[color=5A6351][/color] He stood at that, chair disappearing behind him as his cane reappeared in his grip. "Unless you believe there is more to be gained for my employer here at current, I will likely conclude my mission, for now, with this. While I desire justice to be served... I have no desire to wind up engaged in the Netpolice's internal politicking. Not now."[color=5A6351][/color]
"It is the food chain."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia almost leaned back before realizing there was no chair for him to sit in, then turned his cane into one and placed it behind him. After he was comfortably seated, he continued. "Who do reports of malpractice in the NP usually go to? Assume that she has corrupted them. Who are the 'flagged' reports from that person directed to? If it is not the first link, then assume that person is corrupted."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia explained calmly, his voice soft yet clear in the darkened space.
"My other concern, aside from SoapMan being released, is that someone might realize what he is wrapped up inside of and execute him to keep that story wrapped."[color=5A6351][/color] Regalia elaborated grimly, his voice full of weariness. "That is typically the problem with inner corruption in organizations; you either cut off everyone's access, or you risk anyone dismantling your investigations."[color=5A6351][/color]
Regalia paused, watching Cabal's face and considering, then leaned back in his chair. "It could be Carbuncle herself that attempts to do it; it could just as easily be someone else. I would wager on the latter. With Carbuncle herself possibly being an investigative target, she would likely be the last person to attempt to kill him. It would only make her more suspicious."[color=5A6351][/color] He sighed.
"Regardless, that is not why I am here."[color=5A6351][/color] He stood at that, chair disappearing behind him as his cane reappeared in his grip. "Unless you believe there is more to be gained for my employer here at current, I will likely conclude my mission, for now, with this. While I desire justice to be served... I have no desire to wind up engaged in the Netpolice's internal politicking. Not now."[color=5A6351][/color]
last edited by
"The problem is that every thread comes to a roadblock with someone I either can't observe or have observed and can find no cause to suspect. Another big limitation is my inability to place surveillance on operators. If there was one of me in the real world to complement me here on the net, I'd have an easy time! Reports of malpractice are usually handled by Internal Affairs; it's a big part of their job. Of course, Internal Affairs is also one of the hardest to interview due to the necessary secrecy of their job: things like bookkeeping, relaying strategy, record-keeping all must be kept secret..." Cabal muttered, looking annoyed as if bumping into wall she'd become distressingly familiar with.
"I'd say you're right to speculate that SoapMan's release is unlikely. It seems like the whole reason he was picked for the job was because he's ridiculously stupid, so there's a good chance that nobody's going to stick their neck out even a little bit for him. It's especially unlikely because the more this can be made to look like he was the only one involved, the better it'll be. I'd actually imagine him taking the fall a little harder than he already should be. The ones-who-matter have pinned things on far more competent defendants than SoapMan," she shrugged. "So if you want my opinion, somebody's going to take this opportunity to cut their losses and pin a few extra things on him, just to make sure it's not a total bust. Rather than having him released or executed, they'll probably be content to have him spend the rest of his days in confinement... Because if whoever we're dealing with gave him any information that's sensitive then I've really overestimated them!"
Her grin faded as Regalia relieved himself of the duty of listening to her speculate any longer. "No interest in the internal politics of the NP? That's my bread and butter! It's really amazing how much gossip, and fact for that matter, you can absorb if you devote some time to it... If you ever want to know more, just come speak to me in the office again some time. Talking to others helps me organize my thoughts," she chuckled, pulling off her cloak as she spoke. Her thin body faded into the darkness of one corner of the room as she concentrated on covering up some of her old notes with the new canvas.
"I'd say you're right to speculate that SoapMan's release is unlikely. It seems like the whole reason he was picked for the job was because he's ridiculously stupid, so there's a good chance that nobody's going to stick their neck out even a little bit for him. It's especially unlikely because the more this can be made to look like he was the only one involved, the better it'll be. I'd actually imagine him taking the fall a little harder than he already should be. The ones-who-matter have pinned things on far more competent defendants than SoapMan," she shrugged. "So if you want my opinion, somebody's going to take this opportunity to cut their losses and pin a few extra things on him, just to make sure it's not a total bust. Rather than having him released or executed, they'll probably be content to have him spend the rest of his days in confinement... Because if whoever we're dealing with gave him any information that's sensitive then I've really overestimated them!"
Her grin faded as Regalia relieved himself of the duty of listening to her speculate any longer. "No interest in the internal politics of the NP? That's my bread and butter! It's really amazing how much gossip, and fact for that matter, you can absorb if you devote some time to it... If you ever want to know more, just come speak to me in the office again some time. Talking to others helps me organize my thoughts," she chuckled, pulling off her cloak as she spoke. Her thin body faded into the darkness of one corner of the room as she concentrated on covering up some of her old notes with the new canvas.