4982/Little Girl Lost Part 1

Little Girl Lost Part 1
Date of Scene:	04 January 2017
Location:	The Industrial Behemoth
Synopsis:	A ragtag group investigates the Ito Company on suspicion of slavery, and a lost little girl important to Yari Takane. What they find chills the blood.
Cast of Characters:	691, Nagato, 774, 385, 399, 127, Sanary Rondel

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Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Ito Military Industries is a massive conglomorate cobbled together out of several remains of old manufacturing businesses prior to the Upheaval. Sars Ito, the CEO, purchased one of the many massive factory-ships that now float the Industrial Behemoth not too long after the massive event, and his factory has been doing good business. There's been a large influx of displaced workers to help fill the need for hands where machines can't do the job.

But even that influx hasn't been enough. A surge in demand, however, has made even this pool of laborers not enough.

Yet, production hasn't stopped and workers have arrived in suspiciously vast quantities. Documents that have been investigated show many signs of being altered. And worst of all, one escaped 'employee' has complained to many multiversal 'authorities' of being a slave worker.

That was already enough for Yari Takane to send out feelers to known associates and friends to investigate. But it's the picture of a young girl, all smudged up with oil and looking gaunt, that really gripped her heart. A young korean girl around her daughter's age, and having that very same shining pair of eyes she'd never forget. Yari couldn't be sure given the dim lighting and the discretely taken photo.

Thus she's assembled a team on a small airship transport with plenty of room in the back. Everyone has been given the local grey-and-black tunic-like shirt and trousers of Ito Industries, along with a cap. There's various ID's for those that want them: low level mechanical and electrical type technicians.

"Our mission here is simple. We are going to find out whether or not Mister Ito is using slave labor in his factory. If so, we do what we can to free them, and make him pay. How exactly you do that is up to whoever finds him first. He'll be at the top, on the executive level. Our secondary objective is to find this girl." The photos are all given out, of both Ito (an asian man in his late fifties) and of the girl.

"If you find her, do what you have to in order to make sure she's safe. This might be my daughter. I won't forgive anyone who hurts her, and I won't forget anyone who saves her." Her gaze grows cold for just a minute, motherly worry and fierceness lurking in there.

But it relaxes swiftly. She opens a window on the transport. The smoke-belching factory is massive, with five distinct layers. A map laid out for everyone names them: Storage Entrance, Factory Floor, Laborer Quarters, Management Quarters, Meeting and Executive Area. A number of vents and other area that surround the complex are mapped as well, and a particularly sneaky person could get inside. What lays within the highly polluted areas, however, is hard to say.

"You have your options. Make a scene and get in that way, use the vents, or the disguises. It's up to you. Be aware the guards here are heavily armed and probably won't hesitate to shoot you dead if they realize you're not supposed to be here. Any questions?"

The Storage Entrance, as the little ship pulls up and the driver knocks on the back. The guards are slow on walking up to check the driver. People have time to ask questions before slipping out as they want.

Nagato has posed:
    Disguised as one of the Ito Industries members, with a mechanical tech id, Nagato's pulling the brim of that hat over her head, hiding her eyes. She takes a look at this image, tapping her foot, "I see." she mutters, listening to the ninja lizard, an odd turn of events if one was to consider the history between the two. Nagato looks at the second picture, of Ito, and hmms, looking up towards the Ninliz... and everyone else around. "I'll investigate the factory area. A woman of my build should convince them I'm there to handle machinery."

    A quick poke at her earring, if she needed to get into a fight, she had something to back her up with, if not for her own melee capabilities. "I'll keep this on low when it comes to reports I have to make, but we'll make sure we find her and, if he is doing slave labor and kidnapping, I'll handle the arrests needed for such." a pause, "Don't worry, Yari, we'll find her. I'm sure we'll all make sure that we do."

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    IDs? Yes please. Dorian's not exactly one for stealth, but this time he's going to definitely be doing his best to blend in. He's even left his staff at home, so as not to stick out too much. He doesn't need it to cast, as it's only a focus, and he can pick up a pipe or something if he needs to bash someone's head in.

    He's also wearing that gray and black outfit and cap. Though his moustache might make him stick out a little. He is not, however, shaving that moustache. He does consider Yari a friend, but there are some things that are sacrosanct and cannot be sacrificed for anyone. Though he can forego that sassy upturn at the end, and comb it to look less like a dashing rake and more like...

    ...Well, honestly, he looks like a sailor. There are times when his muscular-for-a-mage build comes in handy, and this is one of them. He looks like he belongs on a ship. Even if he's forcing down the urge to be sick. Ugh. Ships. Bloody ships.

    For the time being though, he's looking at these photos. He remembers Linh vaguely, sadly he's only seen her once apart from this. Hopefully he can recognize her if he sees her again. He actually has an idea. "...Yari. Forgive the rather odd question. But was there a song that you sang her, or one that she knows only you would know? Do we have time for you to teach me a little bit of it? Perhaps if she hears it, she'll know we're sent by you and we'll be able to make the identification more quickly, and anyone here will be none the wiser."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Normally, Yuna might not be terribly worried about how an industrial factory is doing its business, but the possibility that Ito is stooping to slavery is enough to make her frown - inwardly, if not openly where others can see it. But the chance that Yari's daughter has been dragged into this ... ?

That makes it *personal*.

Yuna remembers meeting Linh at one point - a cute and charming young girl, and a devoted fan of the idol singer. Even if Yari hadn't directly asked for help, Yuna would probably have committed to investigating Ito Military Industries just to make sure Linh - if she was here - was hale and hearty and of sound mind, body, and spirit. It's kind of fortunate that the initial legwork has been done already.

Now it's just a matter of getting in and investigating. Yuna's bundled her ponytail up to try and stuff it inside one of those caps; the end result is passable, although brushing it out again is going to be a chore. Elner is occasionally hiding in Yuna's tunic, but for the most part the robo-faerie is sticking to the usual 'be where people aren't looking' approach to stealth. And there's no way that Yuna would go into the factory WITHOUT Elner - she depends on the robo-faerie's sensors, and Elner isn't going to let Yuna go into a situation like this without being close enough to let her transform.

Until then? Well, Yuna may not have the build for serious mechanical work, but she's small enough to get into crawlspaces and check or repair circuits. That's where Elner's support is REALLY going to come in handy. Not that Yuna knows much about soldering or the like, but with Elner hopefully able to walk her through it, it should be manageable.

Of course Yuna's got a fake ID for the duration as well. She looks around at her allies, smiling to them and nodding greetings where appropriate; if she's less outgoing than sometimes, it's because she's trying to get into character.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Slavery is a practice with which Taro takes no issue in and of itself - he is himself a slave, enforced by his programming. That said, there are rules and obligations upon a Master, ones that are expected to be observed. From what he learned through Yari's missive, that appears to not be the case here.
    Besides, Yari is considered a preferred associate, regardless of current politics, and family is family.
    The android priest has exchanged cassock and collar for one of the megacorp's uniforms and presumably forged ID of Junior Electrical Technician II, though he's still wearing his armored bodysuit and holy symbol under the uniform. Tools are tucked away wherever he could find room for them in the outfit.
    He's listening to Yari as she outlines things for the, his gaze on the map so he can tuck it away into memory. The photos receive the same treatment once she provides them to him and the others. "I think I'd be best suited infiltrating the computer network. It would be more efficient if we can locate her general position without having to canvass the entire complex," he opins, then looks to the others. "If anyone would care to help me to get to a computer terminal? Or causing enough of a distraction would do."

Kirikou (127) has posed:
    It took little persuading to convince Kirikou to come. This isn't exactly League material. Fortunately for the Meister this isn't actually counter to League interests. He's here on his own time for his own reasons, to help out a friend. Good enough for him. What would happen if this operation ran counter to the League... well, good thing it doesn't. So long as it doesn't, he doesn't have to worry about it.

    The unfortunate thing, however, is that this is a covert mission. There's no place for a couple of young kids, and there's equally no place for Kirikou to wield a pair of massive gauntlets. Problem solved by him nonchalantly wielding an oversize toolbox. One with a pair of massive gauntlets stuffed inside the main compartment under a thin shelf of tools. Kilik himself is dressed as a technician, complete with local clothing and ID.

    The Meister's doing a decent job of looking cool and collected, not furious and jittery. He was utterly furious when first told of the kidnapping, but he's had time to mellow. Time to settle into his role. Everything's cool now, everything's calm. The easygoing manner he usually shows, part of his nature that makes him pretty much the best Soul Technician of his generation. Not the best Meister, but the best at synchronization; at matching his emotions to those called for.

    "I'll take a look through the Storage areas." Kilik volunteers, all easygoing and seemingly carefree. Until, of course, it's time NOT to be carefree.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
The news of Linh being missing and the possibility of her being located in the factory in question has had Sanary on edge for the past hour and a half. Not because she's itching for fight, but because she has no idea what to expect. Former allies, former enemies, all coming from different factions with different agendas, yet all with the same likely goal of finding Yari's daughter. She's not entirely sure what to feel at the moment, but she does know that she needs to be on good behavior this time around instead of just breaking things and demanding answers.

     For now. "If this guy really is using slave labor, though, I can't promise anything." The healer mutters quietly while checking her gear over. Like several others, she's dressed in the uniform of a low-level mechanic, complete with toolbox and a wrench that looks like it'd be way too cumbersome for doing anything but the heaviest tasks! Or cracking heads.

     "I'll check out the laborer's quarters. Figure someone there might know somethin', right? Or at least see just what these quarters are even like." And then Sanary is off! She tries to get inside with the ID, following a mental map and making a beeline for the laborer's quarters. That was to the left, right? Or was it the right? Straight, even...?

     There's got to be signage somewhere!

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
FACTORY: Yari pauses Dorian makes his question. The ninja sighs. Ahem! "Oh, sleep little one, may you have a pleasant dream. Count-count-count the chocobos, see them dance, see them preen! Cute little chocobos, count them all at once! Bye bye chocobos, have a happy little dream."

The ninja is outright blushing.

"...That does not leave this airship, understand?"

It'd easy for Nagato and perhaps Dorian to get in as the doors to the airship slide open. Yari gives a smile to the Admiral. Despite everything, she's proven herself reliable among many other things. "I trust you, Nagato." She adds, before slinking behind and into an airship storage box.

The two guards at the front give Dorian a scowl, but Nagato's ID alone would easily get him through. It's a quick trip to a side elevator that gets them to the Factory Floor. Large moving belts move obscenely massive parts to be reassembled later down the line. Cannons, treads, Nagato might even recognize parts almost like those of her metallic predecessors, only on a scale beyond even those. These are largely spaceship, airship, or Superheavy Tank pieces. Many even show signs of magitek parts on much smaller lines. Thus far, all entirely legal.

Guards stand at high towers overlooking the facility. It will be a long jog to get to where the actual workers are: deeper on the floor lay large sections of various machining tools where delicate parts are made by hand. The workers are utterly absorbed, and watched by a single guard for around thirty or so workers. They're dirty, smudged, sweating...but this is hard work. There's at least a football field's length of similar types of work at play here.

But two things might stand out: one, a fenced off and dark area with two guards. Another, a small young shriek at one of the machining stations not too far away. There's a commotion!

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Manager's Quarters: Similarly, Taro and Yuna both pass the rather laxidaisical ID check. Past two massive rows of stacked boxes, is a much fancier looking elevator. The two are waved on in, and a guard mumbles something about a failed junction box. Lazily. No details, the useless scrub.

One minute later, a ding! And out into the managerial quarters. There's light jazz playing, and rows upon rows of hallways lead to what look like vaguely spacious living quarters. Each one has a number-and-letter stretching ridiculously long! It'd take forever to even find said malfunctioning junction box, nevermind a proper terminal!

Which is right about when Elner helps out. A quick search points to room 4-AAX. Should the pair head there, the lights above it are blinking oddly, and the door is slightly ajar. These are sealed doors, that shouldn't be a thing. The pair might need to pry the door open. There's also a small panel beside the security lock.

Inside, it's a nice apartment. Unoccupied! Most of it is nondescript, but there's a few points of interest: an open laptop plugged into the wall with a network cable. A little journal on a bedside table. There's the junction box in the kitchen, and not too far away, what almost looks like a very advanced audio tape player.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Boxes and Laborers: Yari...offers a smile just before hiding in a box towards Kilik and Sanary. /Especially/ Sanary. It's what she'd do, after all. Some part of her wishes Sanary the absolute best of luck in finding the potentially guilty jerk.

Boxes. Tons of Boxes. An absolute labyrinth of boxes. Minus whatever horrific underbelly this smoggy factory has, this might be the dirtiest and darkes portion. For Sanary to get to the laborer's quarters, she'll have to find the elevator. It's located stupidly diagonally away from the actual factory floor, judging by the map and how there's a constant stream of dead-eyed, exhausted looking people trudging about. The nearer parts of the line are just that: exhausted factory workers, if eerily so. But as the pair start to make their way deeper...

It gets darker. Darker and darker. One might even need a flashlight to find their way to the laborer's quarters. Indeed, there's little lights everywhere. And precariously perched, rotting boxes to hit your head on. Eventually, the laborer's quarters can be found, lit by red light with an elevator. A green-lit helmeted guard complains.

"Uggh. Somebody aught to fix the damn lights!"

So maybe they're just having electrical problems. Several flashlights are being provided to the workers as they come out.

But the storage area has an even /darker/ area. It stretches way beyond, and somewhere, there's the vague sound in that pitch blackness of what might be a girl's cry.

Kilik and Sanary have a choice to make.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari: The ninja, of course, chooses the classic 'box hiding' tactic. She eventually slips into a vent. There's vague radio silence.

And then a SKREE and quiet sounds of sharp objects and claws clashing. Maybe it's best most of the party didn't choose the vents.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
The words, 'That does not leave this airship,' actually bring a faint but distinctly disappointed look to Yuna's face; still, she nods gamely to Yari, consigning the tune and lyrics to her memory just in case she's the one to run into Linh. (Elner's likely to help her remember too, but Yuna's *pretty* good at karaoke, she's not too worried.) It's an adorable little song, but she can understand it maybe being embarassing to Yari.

She certainly isn't going to tease Yari about it. Lullabyes are supposed to be cute, right?

Then they're on their way. Yuna holds up her ID for inspection, nods regarding the junction box, and heads in with Taro. She didn't quite catch where that junction box was ...

But luckily, Elner's on it. A couple of moments' scanning work lets Elner map the nearby floor, as well as pinning down where a junction box seems to be on the fritz. Room 4-AAX isn't that far away; Yuna refrains from trying to make conversation with Taro - odds are, two workers wouldn't be chatting that much on their way to a repair job, at least not where a manager might overhear. Or so she suspects.

If Taro is comfortable enough to make conversation, Yuna won't give him the cold shoulder, that's for sure.

"Here we go," Yuna murmurs as they reach the room with the blinking lights and the - unsealed door. Yuna does some quick inspection of the door, then tries to help push it open - she'll definitely need Taro's help - before starting to look around. "You wanted a computer, right?" she asks Taro, indicating the laptop plugged into the wall. "Right, let's see what we can do with the junction box ..."

Even with Elner coaching her, this is likely to be over Yuna's head. She can at least *look* and see if the damage is obvious and easy to diagnose/repair. If she has to let Taro do it, she can turn her attention to that tape player while he's busy.

Kirikou (127) has posed:
    Kirikou enjoys the little lullaby, and makes a note to try to get Yari to sing it again sometime. Maybe, once Linh is found, he'll suggest they duet it for their three little wards sometime. It'll be embarrassing, but he can stand a little embarrassment for the sake of seeing Yari blush. Totally adorbs. Besides, the twins would love it.

    Looking at Sanary, Kilik shrugs. Good that he's working with her... she's one of the other people here he has some trust for. "Shit. All these boxes. Could search for hours, not find anything." he complains. Well... okay, perhaps. But someone's gotta do it.

    Then he hears the girl's cry. "What the..." he pauses, glances at Sanary, then back at the direction of the cry. "You got a flashlight?" he asks, starting to move much more quickly. "I kinda had a full toolbox. Didn't bring one. Light us up!" he requests.

Taro (399) has posed:
    A failed junction box, hm? Well, that saves Taro and Yuna the trouble of coming up with a plausible excuse for them roaming the hallways. The light jazz muzak that greets them, he makes a quiet amused sound at that. But then, he's all business, pulling the brim of his cap down just a bit lower and slouching his shoulders a bit, to be just yet another tech sent out on a service ticket. But it seems luck is with them, with no residents in the hall to notice them.
    He'll happily head for apartment 4-AAX once it's pointed out, thank you Elner. He'll cast a glance inside just to be sure there's not some exasperated mid-level manager or their spouse or children actually waiting to complain to them, before slipping his hands through the gap in the doorway. "Between the two of us, we should be able to pry this open, I think," he says to Yuna, keeping his voice low. Either he's overestimating her abilities or trying to not make her feel like he's ignoring her. Regardless, the door is opened enough for them to slip through.
    "So I did." He walks over to the open laptop, mentally chiding whoever its owner is for being so lax. A quick glance to Yuna, then to the junction box. "Do you actually know anything about electrronics repair?" he asks - not patronizing, an honest question. Even while waiting for her answer, he gives the computer a quick look-over. Is it already connected? Was the owner so foolish as to have left it unlocked? Is it going to be comparitively slow as molasses and better bypassed entirely?

Nagato has posed:
    In the airship, Nagato points to her earring, overhearing Yari's little 'expose'. Payback. "I appreciate your trust." she comments before heading off, a quick flash of her ID and she's in with Dorian. She gives the human an odd look, a curious look honestly before giving a wordless nod. Heading down the elevator, the Battleship gives a look around the room they've arrived, it kinda makes the battleship look in awe of some of the parts made, but with everything being on the up and up here, it's nothing to poke her Paladin head at.

    An eye looks up to the guard tower, why would they have a guard tower here of all places... She'll have to take a look at it sometime soon, but for now. "This way." she comments to Dorian, heading off, until that shriek peirces her ear. And her eyes spy that fenced off area. "Dorian, go see about that area.. I'll check out the shriek." with a brief point, she's off and heading off to the direction of the sound.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
The lullaby might not have quite the effect on Sanary that it might on her allies. Why not? She's probably heard it before. Hell, she's probably even attempted singing it herself a few times!

     Keyword being attempted. Not that anyone else will ever know that... Probably.

     Dammit, boxes! Stupid corners. Stupid right angles. Stupid rotting. Wait, why are the boxes /rotting/? "S-seriously... Guh. But we have to make sure." With her luck, of course, she's hitting almost every single one of those boxes with her face, and she winds up just holding her toolbox overhead to mitigate thenasty feeling of dead wood gunking up her hair. Just what kind of conditions are the workers here working in, anyway?

     Judging from the looks in their eyes, awful ones, but... One thing at a time. She needs to prioritize finding out if Linh's here first before worrying about the rest of the maybe-slaves. Kilik's there to keep her in check, at least, and she's still got some vague responsibility to be a good role model while the kids are watching!

     As the lights get dimmer, she's tempted to switch the magitech eye's night vision function on, but the flickering lights and eventual flashlights do dissuade her from doing so. "Getting kinda... Creeped out. Is this what factories are supposed to look like...?"

     At least getting to the elevator shouldn't be too hard if this really is the right way. Before Sanary can figure out if she's made it there, though, something else catches her attention: The superdarkness, and the vague crying sound. She nods at Kilik and pops open her toolbox, digging around for a moment before following him swiftly and shining a light in their path.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna smiles sheepishly, "I'm out of practice ... haven't done hands-on electronics since middle school, but I think I remember the basics of how to solder a connection, re-seat a loose chip, little things like that. I also know what you *shouldn't* do to a circuit board if you want it to keep working correctly."

That said, she does make sure to ground herself properly and get rid of any static electricity before she tries touching the junction box - and she's appropriately cautious, *JUST* in case there's a short going out through the case that would give her a terminal bad hair day. Insulated gloves if she has them, borrowing a dishtowel if she doesn't, something to keep electrical current from going through *her*.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    Dorian smiles at the song from Yari. "That is very pretty." As for not leaving this room? He raises a hand. "Scout's honor." Not that he was ever a scout. But, more seriously, he has no intentions of revealing this hidden talent to anyone. This is just for the purposes of trying to identify Linh.

    Since Nagato seems to be going solo, he heads to the Factory floor with her. When the guards scowl at him, he draws himself up proudly. Half of functioning in Tevinter is looking like you belong there even if you don't. Show the slightest weakness and the wolves take you down.

    Oh but there's so much walking! Not that Dorian complains. He has to look like he belongs there, and looking like he belongs there means acting like he's used to the great walk. That guarded, roped-off area gets his attention. But before he can do much about it, there's that shriek from the workstation, and he turns in that direction. Nagato, however, has that covered. It looks for all the world like he's accepting orders from a superior as he salutes to Nagato's request, with a quiet grunt. It hides his accent. Thankfully he can snap to attention with the best of them -- all that academy schooling.

    Though, that done, he turns smartly and heads for the roped-off area, still looking as though he's only following orders. Though he... begins trying to disappear. Not literally, he can't actually do that. But he's trying to blend in amongst any people milling around, keeping step with guards, trying to find an angle to approach the roped-off area where the guards aren't likely to instantly see him.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Managerial Quarters: The junction box isn't too tough for anyone with 'Electronics 101' or even having vaguely tried to ran some wires before. The junction box has a breaker, two of which are shorted. Yari thought to give out some basic tools if one took them: pliers, spare wire, that sort of thing.

Shouldn't be more than a quick and dirty replacement of wires to get them working again. A quick snip-and-cut, and it'd be up to code in this poorly regulated place.

And with Yuna properly grounding herself and getting to work, it's done in about a minute. Electrician Skill +1 for the idol!

Days after this, the identity that Yuna is using will be up for a promotion.

Clickt! Goes the recorder: 'Hi honey-boo! Ok, this is the third recording, so I'll try not to stuff it up! I hate this place. It's dirty, smelly, and the workers...they scare me. Dead eyes. Seriously, shouldn't the hours they put in be criminal? I've tried to complain to upper management, but they keep telling me to 'do my job'. I just push papers! Give out orders for new cannons or other stuff like that. I'm all logistics, I don't even know one of the ten-thousand laborers on this ship." A sigh. "Here's the weird part. Some of the people they've brought in the last few days...I swear, they came in with /handcuffs/. Chains. It was...weird. I don't like it here. I'm getting out. Buying up my contract. Don't care about the money. Something's weird. I have to know. See you soon, honey-boo. Love you."

Taro would find his way in...fairly easily. Actual network security is well done, at least with sensitive systems. Payroll, accounting, executive files...it'd take some work to break in, though hardly impossible for Taro. The laptop is recent for this place, and pretty fast given the tech available. But it's unlocked! And there's an open email. It's addressed to a nearby authority. There's a few simple lines.

"Ito Industries is worrying me. I found this. Didn't come from me."

There's three attached pictures. One, is of a dark section of the Storage Area. Nearly pitch black, one can almost make out a door and a single hand near it. Hard to tell, but it might be severed. Another picture is overlooking the 'managers-guards' towers on the Floor. In a very far corner, there's what looks like a chain gang. A large group of guards is huddled around, unlocking cuffs, obviously trying to obscure what's going on from the factory workers.

A third is a very familiar photo of a dingy young korean girl.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro nods to Yuna. Apparently that's good enough. "Then do be careful, take your time, and bear in mind that we don't actually have to repair anything." He tugs back his right sleeve and opens the hidden I/O port in his wrist. "I'm going to mostly blind while interfacing with their network. If someone comes, shake my shoulders or the like to get my attention."
    Since the laptop itself seems to be the easist way to route himself into the network, he jacks in from there rather than the wall port. His head slumps and his eyes mostly close as attention shifts to cyberspace or local version thereof. The emails are rifled through first, and an archive copy made and shipped to the 'external storage device'.
    ...and then he finds the photo of the young human girl, which is immediately cross-checked against the images of Yari's adopted daughter and of the suspected match that brought them all here in the first place. This followed by isolating the image files of what appears to be the storage area, so that it can be shared with anyone else on the team that's capable of receiving it.
     After that...well, let's see if the owner of the laptop is the type to store passkeys in emails and local files, shall we?

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Factory Floor:

The shriek is indeed of a girl! Or...at least of someone ending girlhood and sneaking towards an adult. Pale, now turning to grey-ish skin, this worker is one of the many machinists! Smudged, dirty, she's now rolling on the floor howling. The reason soon becomes clear to Nagato: The girl is now missing a hand, and her workstation is an utter mess. It quickly comes to a halt as a guard presses a button. Several workers stop their trade in alarm, and it seems like panic will set in.

"Get back to work you slo..." Starts the guard, starting to pound over. But a thin man slides down a ladder deftly. He wears an equally dirty suit, with thick gloves. Already, he's ripping off part of his sleeve. "Geoff, shut up! One through thirty, back to your work! Rest of you? Break time. Out the way."

The suited man looks to Nagato. "Technician! Help. I'll take responsibility!"

He kneels down, presses his ripped cloth to the wound to staunch the bleeding on what remains of her wrist.

"Get the kit! Should be..." A glance back. That hand is in /pieces/.

"Damnit. Get the cauterizer. Sorry, kid." There's real sorrow in his words.

It wouldn't be hard. Dorian slips through the equally-or more-muscled workers amidst frighteningly wasted waifs that make up workers here. There's a pair of guards to this roped off area. They pause, and glare at the man before them.

"You. This place is off limi..."

The other guard interrupts. "Hey. You're here to fix the chemical processor, right? Alright. Just go on through. Ito'll fire us both if that keeps breaking."

The other guard frowns. "But..."

"Shut up. Go on in." A quick door opening, and Dorian is shoved through! "You didn't see anything. Break your neck if you squawk."

Oh, but there's lots to see. Massive chemical vats are being mixed by men, women, boys, and girls. The scent of the air is acidic. It stings the lungs to be in this horrible mess! Long mixers are used by hand, where the mere air seems to corrode metal almost visibly.

There's big, muscled men behind each gang of workers snapping whips.

"Keep goin', ya grunts!"

One man falls in. There's obvious soundproofing, as the screams are ignored.

One of the whip-wielders turns to Dorian. "Oi. You here to fix the processor?" He points, utterly unconcerned, to a machine with pipes spread out of it to each vat.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Boxes & Darkness: There's a single door. No one is guarding it, oddly enough. It has the look of something hastily soldered into a single sheet of metal. But it's a very bad job. As if someone was hiding something!

As Sanary's light falls upon the door, one can make out very, very faint bloodstains. Again, that shriek very quietly comes again behind the door. Something, or someone, is possibly alive.

Despite the thickness of it, it might just be moveable if the pair get creative, given the horrible job. Time's ticking, though, given how that nearby guard is slowly noticing the lights of Sanary and Kilik! He's starting to walk over, very slowly, from the Laborer's Quarters' elevator. He doesn't even have his gun out.

"Hey. You two. Shouldn't poke where you belong. Boss might dock you pay..." A nice guy. Maybe a little too naieve, or just stupid.

Nagato has posed:
    The sight of this place has Nagato on edge... the conditions here are so deplorable and the varied ages of people here... she shakes her head, but when she rounds the corner to see about the shriek, she perks... "Understood." she comments, running off quickly to the general direction she's seen the head go. She digs around for the medical kit, or scrouging up things to help with that wrist, and something that can take heat and make heat in a very short amount of time. Well, she was carrying a toolkit...

    She runs back towards the commotion area with a steel plate and gear... with a quick flip, she lights the torch and starts heating up the plate. "This is going to make you scream very loudly, but this will cauterize the wound and prevent infection." she turns up to the guards, "I'm just a Technician here, but can you tell me what happened? I'll need to make a report to see about improving saftey to my boss." she does try to sound convicing on this, but with the plate ready... she turns to the girl.

    "I'm sorry." she comments, turning her head back up, "What's going to happen to her here? Failing that, I can take her to any approved medical facility to try to have that hand reattached."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
As simple as the task is, Yuna still feels mildly accomplished at being able to do it by herself. The tools which Yari provided are definitely handy for that!

And while Taro is working on the network, Yuna listens to the playback - quietly, so as not to either disturb her partner or draw attention from a third party. Her expression gradually darkens as she listens - the number of laborers is one thing, but getting brought in while handcuffed, chained up?

The idol stifles a shudder, or at least she tries to. Combined with what Nagato's reporting, Yuna shivers despite herself, huddling in on herself for a moment.

They know Linh is here, or at least a girl looking much like her has been here. They have concrete evidence of slavery - maybe the relayed sound from Dorian's radio isn't admissable as evidence, but they can at LEAST get the Paladins to take official interest.

And it may be sloppy as hell, but Yuna just slips the tape recorder into a pocket - or better still, lets Elner put it in her 'inventory' where it should escape a search or a security scan on the way out. This is direct evidence of the sort that somebody will need down the line. That's all she can do ... at least, not without giving in to a terribly familiar urge that's building up force in the back of her mind and the depths of her heart.

The urge to simply discard stealth or subtlety, go find Ito himself, and make him pay for his countless crimes.

This is why she's not in the Paladins, really - Yuna can't simply close her eyes or her ears or her heart to an injustice of this magnitude. Even setting it aside temporarily to focus on the immediate mission is almost impossible for her.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    Dorian is not about to waste this opportunity. He nods to the mention of fixing the chemical processor. "Yup." Yes, he is indeed making an effort to not sound like himself. Some of those dwarves in Ferelden, they have a very bland-sounding accent. Let's see if he can duplicate it. Though it's not that he's allowed to ENTER the room, so much as he's PUSHED into it! He doesn't immediately report on the radio... but he doesn't let any of this pass by. He keeps his mic open, so everyone on the channel can hear this.

    Only once he's gotten a relatively safe area does he say quietly into the radio, "They're asking me to repair a chemical processor that keeps breaking. And yes, the workers ARE being whipped, and a man fell into the vat. No one cared, the end." Of course, the slight growl in his voice indicates that he definitely does.

Kirikou (127) has posed:
    As much as Kirikou wants to race after that screaming girl and deal with the threat himself, teamwork is very much a part of any Meister's kit. And Sanary's got the flashlight. He glances at Sanary and gestures towards the darkness, a quick handsign she should recognize from Fed Ops telling her to take the lead. A suggestion since he never outranked her, but he doesn't really think about it that way.

    Kilik then ambles towards the guard, slouching to minimize his height and to present a harmless demeanor. "Whadda ya mean?" Kirikou says. "Didn't we get told to fix the damn lighting? They didn't send us to the wrong freakin' spot did they?" he asks, moving close. He pops the lid of his huge toolkit, peering inside. "Yeah, here it is. Look! Hey, you got a light? Says right here." Kirikou says, pointing inside the case.

    The Meister grins. "Says we can go wherever the hell we want." he adds in a soft, menacing voice. Inside the toolkit, a pair of steel gauntlets rotate, aiming a pair of pistols at the guard. "Right? No noise. Just agree." he hisses in warning.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Even if Linh isn't behind that door, the suspicious... Everything surrounding it is too much for Sanary ot continue ignoring in her search. She barely even glances over at the guard coming over, although she does nod towards Kilik in thanks for taking care of that guy. Even if their former employers no longer exist, signage still works, and she's more than willing to follow that plan!

     Not that she particularly cares about how Kirikou plans to do that specifically, but it's still one less person to confront as she tries to get the door open. The tricky thing is... How? It's not like she has a box containing a large variety of tools with which someone could conceivably use to dismantle something like a door with a little time an elbow grease!

     Right. Toolbox. Holding the flashlight in her mouth, Sanary starts testing various screwdrivers on the door's hinges to see which ones actually work on the thing. It's going to take her some time to actually get it open, though, considering that Sanary's not exactly an adept with these sorts of tools!

     And if the screwdrivers don't work or take too long, then it's time for plan B: Prying the hinges off with a screwdriver, hammer, and brute force instead!

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Managerial Quarters: Both pictures, as far as Taro can tell, are the exact same. Indeed, it seems as if this particular manager might be the source of much information that has led the group here. There's a chain of emails to upper managers, all giving the same story on the tape: concerns rebuffed. Told to pipe down. And then they got smart: there's signs of a TOR-like network client installed, then deleted with only a single mail sent.

Yuna and Taro, you've found the whistleblower.

As far as comparisons between Yari's daughter and the girl in the picture? It's a seventy-five percent match. Both email chains are saved, and the encrypted email added. The manager themselves seems to have taken off on 'vacation'.

Hopefully they're still breathing.

Yoink! In goes the audio recorder to the pocket of one Elner. Or space pocket thing! Somewhere, Yari might approve of that growing urge if she knew of it. Particularly as she slogs through her twentieth mutant bunny in the vents. She pops out somewhere, and has to duck to a bathroom to wash out all the gunk! Ugh!

But there's something near Yuna as the power finally stops blinking thanks to her work. It's clearly labeled. 'Managerial Fire Alarm'. Next to it, is another device.

'Emergency Sprinkler Activation'.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Factory Floor: The girl is braver than she looks. Amidst the pain, she actually smiles to the manager and Nagato. A slow, slow nod. The manager slips her a bit of cork, and she bites down hard.

She screams perhaps less than Nagato might have expected. She twitches, shudders...and then passes out. Her newfound stump is smoking, but there's no bleeding. Already, the manager's hauling her to his arms. Nagato's question gives him pause.

Then, gaze suspicious, he leans in. "Nothing good. Hey. You. Really want to help? This kid is one of the older ones. She's seen more than me. I'll...get her out of here. Here." He flicks some keys to Nagato quietly.

"I'm done with blood money and slavers."

They look a lot like the keys to an airship, like the one parked near the Storage Area dock.

Then the man 'trips'. Right towards the machinery. The results aren't pretty, and they send the workers into a panic. The old manager falls very still and lifeless.

Nagato has a distraction. But some of the workers seem to be trying to calm the others down!

Dorian's report goes through the radio! And there's definitely evidence being collected!

He might also note an 'emergency dumping' valve near the chemical mixer. That chemical mix also has a sign: flammable.

Taro (399) has posed:
    If fortune and the CyberGoddess are smiling on them (hopefully far more the former than the latter), perhaps the manager can be located later. Once someone is able obtain an employee list, they should be able to determine their identity thanks to the emails and the apartment number. Taking the computer outright is briefly considered, but no, that would be too easily noticed. The data and the data trail will have to be enough. That said...
    Taro's head snaps up and his eyes blink as he returns attention to the physical world, and he gently tugs his dataport cable free. He glances over to Yuna, then walks over to her and around her to oone of the cabinets to find a cup. He doesn't offer any explanation as to why he takes it over to the sink and fills it up under the tap, but she'll probably get the idea.
    He's going to make sure that after the alarm is pulled, the laptop is a casualty.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Boxes of Horror: The poor guard actually leans in to look at the tool kit. Idiot. "Hey. Don't yell at me! Just doing my job to..."

Gulp. Suddenly, pistols! Hands go up in the air, and he even manages to drop the gun he started to fumble with! "Uhh. Yeah, ok. Guess you've got the right authorization. Heh. I've got a kid back home, ya know?" A shadey glances. "Screw this place. It's freaky. I'll start patrolling this way, okay?" Hands never dropping, he hastily starts to walk towards the safety of the Laborer's Elevator. Perhaps a foolish move!

Tink tink! Tink tink! Sanary goes to work. The combination hammer-screwdriver makes an agonizingly slow, ear-piercing way of getting the job done. HOpefully she brought earplugs. But after five minutes, hinges pop off, and the whole shoddily done, overly heavy thing falls in on itself. Darkness, until one shines in a light.

Corpses. Decaying, molding corpses of workers in uniforms that are thread-bare, some newer than that. And amidst it all, a girl's scream can be heard. This time, loud. A corpse shifts out of the way. There's soot, there's this gaunt look to her that's fresh, and the poor thing is holding a broken hand to her chest. Korean. Twelve years old, and terrified as she breaks into a stumbling, knee-scraping run towards Sanary.

She breaks down into terrified cries.

"H...help me! Darkness...darkness, no! No more!" She devolves into mind-bending sobbing.

Sanary would know Linh's face though. The eyes are just a little too apart, and their shine too dull. No, she's very close, but this isn't Yari's little girl.

Kirikou (127) has posed:
    "Not that way." Kirikou hisses in warning. Then he smiles, proffering his loaded toolchest. "You got the right idea, dropping your weapon. But what I really hope to hear? Right now? Is you're rethinking your career choice."

    The threat is clear enough, what with those weapons pointed at the guard. The safeties are engaged, and the Twins have no easy way to disengage them, but the guard need not see or know that. If it comes down to a fight Kilik has other ways to deal with things, but this is his way of remaining subtle. "That's right, say you don't wanna work for slavers no more, and head on out the door that way, without your weapon. Don't draw attention, just get out. Then once you're out, and I'll be followin' to see you get out nice and quiet... start running." Kilik advises menacingly. And nicely. Nice and menacing. "Then go home for the day. Think about career options. I think this warehouse is closing down soon."

    Kirikou keeps an eye out for Sanary, but at this point she sounds like she's on her way out. He'll join up with her when she does, so they both get clear along with the kid she's saved. And the guard, probably, assuming he wants to consider his career options.

Nagato has posed:
    She gives a bit of a small smile, she's taking it better than expected. Except.. her questioning gets that suspicious gaze, crap, was she found out? But when his words are spoken, she gives a brief nod, "I do. Don't worry, I'll get her safe... and a lot more. Godspeed, sir." she comments, holding the girl and catching the airship keys. She makes a brief little touch to her ear and makes a few notes. "Alright, let's go." giving a minor command to those over the radio, she starts hefting the girl and walking to the exit.

    "Dorian, if you please." she comments... as if that should state everything.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    Dorian goes to the vat controls, studying them as if looking to see what happened. In actuality, he's examining those 'emergency dumping' controls... and giving that 'flammable' sign more than a cursory glance. He's going to try and get as far away from the door as possible, so that he doesn't catch anyone in the blast radius. He leans towards the vats as if squinting at something.

    While he does this, he does two things. Firstly he hides tampering with the emergency release and making a puddle of the chemical on the floor. Secondly he hides saying into his microphone, "Right then. I'm going to make this look really bad. But it should get this lot running. I'll be all right, I promise. I know what I'm doing."

    And then he turns to one of the remaining uniformed guards here. "Geez man!" He's still faking that accent. Or lack thereof. "Why didn't ya call me sooner? That emergency dump is busted, and this whole thing's gonna blow if there's even the littlest spark 'a metal on metal!"

    Of course, it's not metal-on-metal. It's a tiny little spark, and then he reaches out to the fire that forms, mentally pulling it around him, but using a Barrier to keep the worst of it off him. And then? He emits a BLOODCURDLING SCREAM, as if the fire was burning him up!

    ...Yeah, that should get people running.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Ironically, for all Yuna's itching to get out and *do something* about Ito - something personal and direct - the fact that everything is suddenly coming together to ring down the curtain on this factory is sufficiently reassuring for Yuna to bide her time just a little longer.

Taro gets a drink of water - which Yuna doesn't actually pick out as odd, although she'll get the idea shortly. Nagato gets the keys to an airship, which will surely be useful for a general evacuation. Sanary rescues the girl who was locked up - not Linh, but an innocent in need of rescue nonetheless. And Dorian has found something to make the emergency fire alarm evacuation more convincing ... and, in all likelihood, to set back this factory's work for a good long while.

Once Dorian does his thing, Yuna pulls the fire alarm. She's less certain about the sprinkler - is that just for the managerial level? Probably, but she's not *certain*. She goes ahead and pulls that too.

And then, following Elner's guidance, she sprints for wherever Nagato is right now - avoiding elevators, of course, because if ONE thing about this factory is up to spec, the elevators should be cut off from functioning when there's a fire alarm.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
As that door's looking closer and closer to falling right off, Sanary's movements quicken. Sadly, no earplugs, but at least having healing magic swirling around in her head can help with the actual damage even if it doesn't make the noise any less painful. Once it finally falls over, she hurries inside and gags at the sudden stench hitting her nose.

     If not for that scream, she'd probably be cursing up a storm at that. Alas, good-ish role model and all that. "Li...? Eh?" It's not Linh. She steels her expression to hide her disappointment, taking a few moments even after catching the girl against her before leaning over and wrapping an arm around the child protectively.

     "Easy, easy. I gtocha. Uh... We're gonna get you somewhere safe, alright? I got friends with me." It's taking quite a bit of concentration to keep her tone as reassuring as it is, considering the simmering rage and all that boiling inside of her between the injustices here and still finding no signs of Linh around.

     <<"... Negative on Linh. Got a kid with me, though. I'll.. Behave.">> Reporting in with her allies, the healer actually lives up to her favored job and directs some healing magic into the girl. She might not know where her injuries are, but... Well, something's bound to work, right? "Don't let go." Sanary murmurs and hoists the girl up carefully, holding her against her chest while starting on her way out. She spots what she can only assume is the side of Kilik's head and raises her free-ish (toolbox-holding) hand to signal that she's moving. Between Dorian's acted-out screaming and Yuna's fire alarm triggering...

     It's time to get to the airship Nagato mentioned. <<"Feels weird to me, too... Ah. Storage area, you said?">> She's not sounding as worried as she could be, both because that girl needs every bit of reassurance she can get, and because Taro's got what sounds like some very interesting data on hand!

Taro (399) has posed:
    Moments after Yuna presses the buttons, approximately eight ounces of tap water is poured down through the laptop's keyboard. That sould leave quite the mess for their IT department. Asuming they'll still have one.
    He sprints after Yuna, matching pace with her as Elner shows them the way. No doubt there's going to be quite a bit of stairs involved, but better that than to be trapped in any elevators.
    Once they're safely away, the data he found will of course be shared...and of course he's going to keep a private copy for his own personal use.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
"....Huh?" Comes the guard to Kilik. Yes, he actually sounds surprised. "Slavers? What're you?"

Oh, right, guns. He's turned away, plus darkness, so he can't quite notice the safeties. "Like I would! Think I'm stupid? Yeah, yeah, I'm going!"

Slowly he walks, walks, walks...and then cue a pitched run the heck out of here. Somewhere along the line he throws off his guard id. Is that...a letter of resignation that gets tossed towards another bewildered guard as Kilik runs out? Oh yeah. Right in the face. Good aim. The pair get out.

Dorian gets things running. Literally. The guard turns...and then a spark. Flame, horrific flame! And he's lit aflame himself! Every slaver and slave alike screams almost in perfect unison, and they're all running. One opportunistic slave or two adds their former charges to the vats, adding to the chaos. Another shifty individual shivs a guard, steals their wallets, and walks off whistling with a smile.

There's an entire crowd of fleeing people to hide in.

And it's only made worse by the chaos on the factory floor. Dorian and Nagato both will have ample time to run off. (And for Dorian to extinguish his flames!). Just after the pair are back to the storage area, lockdown commences. Slaves, guards, slavers and workers, all in one panic'd deluge. Worst of all? It's started automatic sirens for the authorities.

Yuna and Taro are a well oiled and magical team! Taro shorts the laptop to hide evidence, Yuna pulls the alarm, and as the duo of 'techs' get to the stairs...well, it's a far sight less crammed than the elevator is! Indeed, not long after, it stops working! Thankfully, there's only the smarter of executives to rush and jostle with on the stairs. Uncomfortable, but easy enough to escape from. Making it over to Nagato's newfound transport is easy thanks to the radio, and empty as it is, there's plenty of room. Even a convenient medpak in the back for emergencies. Folks might need it.

Sanary is the last. She leaps in, that poor girl clinging to her desperately. Sobs fill her, until she can't cry any more. Exhausted, stomach growling with the sound of someone quite starving on a literal sense, bleeding and dirty with thekind of rot no child should endure...she looks up into Sanary's eyes just before she passes out.

"Hero...you...saved me. Hero!" She whispers to the much older woman. Shuddering, still scared even in her nightmares, this poor girl is safe.

Nagato would find it easy to pull out of the area. And even easier would it be to alert Paladin and local authorities to the horrors here.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Elsewhere, Executive Level: Yari Takane breathes a sigh of relief. The office is large, spacious, even quiet despite the chaos she knows is below. Only a broken bottle of whisky and fallen glass shatter the peace. And the silent writhing of a man clutching his side.

She flips a piece of paper in the air. "Lucky."

"Lucky you, Mister CFO Sasuke Sars. The one I wasn't looking for isn't here, and you've given me your brother's other operation. Just as I said, I will not cut your throat. Good luck with the Paladins."

A casual wave, and the ninja hops a vent. She folds a single needle into her sleeve.

"You drink too much. If they're too slow, you might just die of that liver of yours."

And then the ninja is gone.

Nagato has posed:
    There's no way Nagato will make it to the ship... especially with that alarm and people panicing.. She guides those who want to follow her along with her as she launches into her IS suit, carrying people if she has to as she speeds along the way to the ship. Only /one/ here has seen her in this, so when they arrive, she tosses the keys to Yuna, "PUt them all inside and I'll cover behind just in case there's people stupid enough to fire upon us." and once everyone's out of the docks, Nagato takes off, flying behind the new transport.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    Seeing an apparently burning man flailing around is, thankfully, enough of a catalyst to get people running. And there should be some direction once they get out there, too. Dorian waits only long enough to see that everyone's gotten out before extinguishing the flames around him. Only around himself, mind, by 'snapping' the Fade around him. Then he's off and running. Literally, since he's using Fade Step as a means to get away. But this is actually giving him the bonus of obscuring him as he runs, because he's surrounded by a blue-white wispy energy as he runs.

    Of course, he's not going to just run to the airship and forget everyone else, no. He's going to help the workers onto the airship. There's no order here, no attempts to get it from Dorian. He just shoves people in the right directions when they get in shoving range.

    He is, of course, going to get himself on the airship too. Would suck to get left behind! And he may or may not have scorched his clothes enough not to get shanked by a worker thinking he's a guard. Burnt? We'll call it 'artfully and organically customized'. Yeah.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Crap. This kid would be hungry, wouldn't she? Sanary looking around the airship slowly, making her way to a less crowded (yet well-lit) spot on the vehicle to try and keep the girl from freaking out too much. Finding food is another matter entirely, but for just such occasions, she's got...

     ... Pocket ham! It's wrapped in plastic, at least, and it's still fairly fresh. "Here. Not much, but... We'll get you some real food once we get somewhere safer." Another reassuring, if somewhat awkward grin, and then the healer is left to wonder about way too many things.

     Where's Linh? Where did all these people even come from? How did the company even get this far? Being called a hero doesn't feel half bad, either.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
There are probably a *lot* of people who need medical attention - and it's not the first time that Yuna has wished she knew more than the kind of very basic first aid that every schoolgirl picks up along the way. But she's potentially better equipped to pilot the ship than anyone else; she catches the keys and heads for the bridge or cockpit, whatever it is, with Elner accompanying her. The airship probably needs more than one person to fly it; Yuna will do what she can, and Elner will be interfacing with the computer to try and pick up the slack.

As soon as Yuna sets foot on the airship, though, she does one unnecessary thing. A swirl of wind and light rises around her, starting at her feet and ascending around her body - and beneath the transformation effect, the 'uniform' is replaced by the sleekly armored boots, bodysuit, and gauntlets of her Light Suit. She doesn't need it for combat, but she transforms anyway - for symbolism's sake, basically. This was the impulse that kicked in when the full weight of Ito's crimes sank in for her: that as the champion of the Queen of Light, she had no choice *but* to take action, to be the symbol of hope and defense that she sees in the role of the Savior of Light. To be more than just a symbol, but to be that defender, that rescuer.

If the airship has a decent autopilot, Yuna might leave that set with Elner watching things, so that she can mingle among the rescued 'workers'. She can't do much to treat injuries, or to feed the hungry, but she can at least try and support the rescuees' hearts. Not necessarily by singing, but just by being her usual compassionate, outgoing self, a friendly face and a reassuring voice.

There are far worse things she can be than a symbol, and there are plenty of ways to embody the Light besides fighting. If she can ease even one heart's suffering by stopping to talk with someone, by pausing to gently squeeze an uninjured hand, by brushing a dozing child's bangs back from his or her eyes ... you'd better believe she *will* be there for those who need the encouragement.