842/Clandestine Meetings

Clandestine Meetings
Date of Scene:	23 October 2014
Location:	Boston-666
Synopsis:	Psyber, Jude Mathis and Gawain meet to try a daring strategy.
Cast of Characters:	253, Sir Gawain, 542
Tinyplot:	Fate/Maelstrom

---

Psyber (253) has posed:
    As with most of his discrete meetings, Psyber has elected to meet at Boston Harbor. A famous location in the city, it was perpetually crowded and that meant it was very hard to actually SPY on a conversation, because picking one conversation out of a hundred would be very difficult. The huge crowd makes it a great place for a quiet conversation.

    Psyber, who actually came to this meeting after a day of work, is dressed pretty differently than usual. There was a raid in the city today of PSWAT and Psyber led it, so he's wearing navy blue BDU pants and shirt and has a baseball cap turned backwards on his head with some sunglasses on top. He's not too hard to spot at 6'6, either.

    He's leaning up against one of the railings that overlooks the water, the afternoon sun hitting the water and causing it to shimmer in a pretty nice view. He's also smoking while he waits and holding a personnel file in his free hand. It's Jude's.

Sir Gawain has posed:
As with most of his discreet mee- wait, Sir Gawain never has discreet meetings, never mind!

Gawain is not far from Psyber, a few feet away to perhaps make it look like they're not necessarily together because he saw it in a movie once.

He's dressed in a golden jacket with a white undershirt, a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes finishing the ensemble. He's rather easy to notice himself, rather tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. He's currently staring down into the harbor, watching the view.

Thank god they are unlikely to be listened into, because Gawain is likely to be the least covert person in all of history. Ever.

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    Jude is a creature of habit. Time was, that meant studying by magical lamplight, hunched over some books, and completely tuning out the world around him. More recently that's meant answering emergency calls for a nurse on Njorun when there's no one else around to fill the role. He's had juuusstt enough time since the last big incident on his homeworld that he's begun to lapse into a sort of routine there, so, well... it was a little weird hearing his name on the radio that's frequented by higher echelon military personnel.

    Still, never say that he's one to ignore a plea of help from a complete stranger. Psyber asked, and he answered; quick as can be he's stepping out of a warpgate and on to a boston street, weaving his way through the crowds under a waning sun. He could almost believe he was back in Fennmont right now if, you know. The sun wasn't out at all. It makes him feel a little nostalgic in spite of himself. Even moreso when he starts bumping into people as he runs to Psyber's locale -- bit of a bad habit.

    "S-Sorry! Here, let me..." He helps a woman that he had just knocked off-kilter to her feet, fetching her bags and putting them together. By now, he's in the harbor, so Psyber probably sees this whole thing go down. And before long, Jude sees him too; he gives him a lingering look and decides, yes, the outstandingly tall man in that corner over there is probably the one he's looking for. Why? Just intuition, I guess. But that sort of intuition generally gets chalked up to 'common damn sense'.

    His arrival is as humble as Psyber might've expected from reading his profile. He gives a faint bow and a welcoming smile as he walks up to Psyber. "Hey. Jude Mathis. I'm guessing you're the one who wanted help?" He doesn't notice Gawain at first on account of this distance between them, but when he does, he gives a look in his direction. "... oh." Then back to Psyber, "Is he with you?" His expression... dips a bit, and his hand wanders to the back of his neck in some approximation of embarrasment. "Eh... heh. I kinda don't know what I'm here to help -with-, or who I'm supposed to help. Buuut I'll go ahead and guess you're about to tell me and leave it at that."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber smiles at Jude when he helps the woman he bumped into. Good kid. And a nice sign to start the meeting off with. The half-angel stands up off his leaning position and gives Jude a wave with the hand not holding the file, "Heeeey!" Psyber calls cheerily, "I'm Psyber. This is Gawain. Welcome to Boston."

    He gives Gawain a nod that it's safe for them to all group up while he walks over to Jude Mathis. Psyber exhales a bit of smoke, smoking being one of his three least healthy habits (The other two being drinking and friendship with Confederates). And then he holds out Jude's own personnel file to him, "Jude Mathis. Nice to meet you outside of a personnel file."

    "Well, yeah, about that," He says with an awkward laugh to Jude, "Gawain and I are currently partnered in a War for control of the Holy Grail. A Master-Servant kind of deal. If we win, we both get a wish. Gawain can explain the nuance of that better than I can." Psyber awkwardly scratches the back of his head.

    "Now... truthfully, I think I critically misplayed. I didn't realize a lot of these people, because of how noted I am, can easily research my capabilities and powers. It makes me... very easy to plan around. And a liability," Psyber says, having a hard time admitting this fact, "So we came up with a Hail Mary. Switch out the Command Seals onto someone compatible, with a good skill set. Keep the other participants in the dark about it. It's our best option of winning, I think."

    "You're... the best candidate. And from your profile the only one I think I can trust to do this."

Sir Gawain has posed:
"Greetings, Jude Mathis. I am Sir Gawain, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Sir Gawain moves over, extending a hand to Jude as he does so. His smile is big and warm, though, it rarely isn't.

"It is a ritual in my world that has been going on for a century. Historical figures of lore, like myself, are summoned to the present to fight with a Magus, our magical wielders, for the Holy Grail. I am one such case of historical figure, a Servant, as is my designation. Saber class." Sir Gawain seems like he's been trying to rehearse this possibly, as it seems very serious for him.

"You power me with magical energy to keep me on the physical plane, and you receive three Command Seals, which allow you to make a binding order towards me. Though they are not to be wasted, as they are also the tether of our contract. I can explain more if you need, before or after you may agree."

And then the rigidness ends, as Gawain has ran out of rehearsed material. "I must warn you that the Grail War is risky, but I believe you are capable of this, otherwise Psyber would not have chosen you."

"I trust you as well."

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    Still sporting that same grin, Jude looks to Gawain and nods. "It's nice to meet you, Gawain. Psyber." Turning back to the latter, he nods. "Yeah. It's weird being in a place where I can sense so little mana, but it still reminds me a little bit of home somehow. I... haven't been there for a while." Once Psyber says his first words on the Grail War, though, all bets are off -- his mouth gapes slightly, subtly, and his previously warm demeanor devolves into a bunch of bewildered blinking. Yeah, that... does not seem to have registered very easily, if at all.

    "I'm... sorry?" Blink. "You're fighting a war? I'm not sure if I'm the best person to --. I mean, don't get me wrong - I want to help, I just think there are probably better fighters out there that you could ask. I'm just a med student." He completely disregards the wish bit for now. Probably less interested in that anyway.

    How 'noted' he is? Wow. Having any kind of fame in the larger Multiverse must be a /really big deal/. He might start to contemplate, briefly, just who he's talking to, but he doesn't let that break his focus. He listens closely with every word, bobbing his head to indicate attention (if not complete understanding). When the half-angel has finished speaking, though, he's still at a loss for a few moments, awkwardly holding the bend of his arm and shifting somewhat in place.

    "... like I said. I'm not the strongest person around, but if I can still help somehow, then I would be glad to. I just need to know what we'll be up against." He turns to Gawain. "But no matter what comes at us, you will probably be our main fighter. I can heal you and try to spot our enemies' weaknesses for you, but I mean. Aside from a few punches and kicks, I don't think I really have any way to bring trained soldiers down." Another expression reminiscent of a sweatdrop. Either he's being painfully modest, or this is sincere. And chances are eerily good that it's sincere.

    Still, even before he pauses to listen to Gawain's more detailed explanation, he's already spoken as though he's signed some sort of invisible contract. In spite of some confusion, there's no way that he would ever say no; both Psyber and Gawain would know well before he speaks what his answer will be. He gives a nod of his head to further cement that. "I... might need some time to learn the specifics, but if I'm hearing you correctly, you're like a spirit: I give you mana, and you give me help. Right?" He smiles, nodding his head. "So this isn't -that- confusing. And as long as I help you out, you get your wish. Sounds pretty good to me." He exhales. "But... wow. A wish? For anything? I don't know what I would use that for. Maybe world peace? Or a way for humans and spirits to communicate more easily." Yet /another/ sweatdrop. "... sorry. That probably sounds pretty boring. If we win, I might just give you a second wish, or pass mine to Psyber."

    Already acting like he's in this thing, yep. Just like that.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks over to Gawain as he explains the details of the war. See? He knew Gawain could explain this way better than he could. And his gaze falls back to Jude moments later when he looks confused, "Don't look so amazed. You can Multiverse Google me later or something," He says playfully with a wave of his hand.

    There's a long moment of silence while he lets Jude process through and then he seems to immediately be on board with the idea, "You know, I thought it would take more convincing than this," Psyber says to Gawain as he reaches for the glove on his left hand and takes it off to reveal the red Command Seals.

    "Gawain is a great guy. He's more than your partner in a war. He'll be your friend, he'll have you back. He believes in doing what's right and helping people, the whole knightly shebang," Psyber says to Jude, "Gawain is a really good friend."

    "Now I'm not sure how to transfer these. I'm hoping a really hard handshake will do it," He confesses as he holds out his hand to Jude.

Sir Gawain has posed:
"That would be better than what most Masters are capable, and is all I would ask of you. In turn, I will assist you with any problems you yourself may have. Masters are mainly support and mana generation for their Masters, few can go up against a Servant."

Sir Gawain stares at Psyber's Command Seals, and then at Jude's hand, and then seems to be thinking for a moment. "I do not know the exact way to transfer it..but it may be best for you to verbally express that you wish to transfer them for him, and he to verbally express that he accepts the contract." Sir Gawain ignores the compliments for now. He's actually a bit nervous, but he has faith in the plan. "Any more questions you may have, I can tell you of what we know."

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    "Multiverse... Google?" Annnd that was completely lost on him. He's probably got a ways to go on understanding the colloquial humor of his -own- world, let alone that of mighty alien cultures he's still only scarcely aware of. He picks a good, suitably inconspicuous time and looses a sigh, figuring that he'll probably just hear some lore about this guy from word of mouth if he's really so well-known. Psyber, was it? He'll have to remember that name just in case.

    Seriously, though, him? Need more convincing? He just shakes his head with a smile. "Nope. I just want to help out however I can. And if that means fighting, then... that's fine, too. It has to be. Even though a lot of positive change is peaceful, some just can't be. Someone has to be willing to do good, even if it's hard. And a chance to help someone -and- to get a wish that could really make things better is a chance that I just can't pass up."

    And at that next bit, Jude nods. "... yeah. If he wants to help people, too, then I think we'll get along just fine. All that matters is that we have the same goals. Anything else we can work through. Together." He holds out a fist to Gawain as if to request a fistbump; the punchman requesting a punch it. "Let's break 'em down. With my fists, and your blades."

    Following that gesture, he would gladly take Psyber's hand. Then, after hearing the rest of what Gawain has to say, he announces: "I accept a contract with Gawain. Together, we'll do our best to win the war and help as many people as we can along the way."

    Once all's said and done, he would briefly aside to Gawain again. "And... you don't have to, but if you want to help me, I'm working with a girl named Milla to destroy as many Spyrix as we can find. Spyrix... well. Normally, artes - techniques that use mana - donate some energy spirits to help keep them alive, but Spyrix rips it away from them. It's usually lethal. I'm sure that you can understand what that would be like, and why it should be stopped."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    A nod to Gawain and then a look to Jude as he takes his hand, "And I consent to relinquishing my Mastership and all things association with it, unto Jude Mathis. He will serve as one of the Magi in this Grail War and I will do so no longer," Psyber firmly states.

    As he does so, the command seals fade from the back of his hand until they are gone. He releases Jude's hand after this and then lets it falls back into his pocket. He's back down to his normal number of hand-based magical powers once more, smiling at them both. The other hand flicks his cigarette to the ground and snuffs it out.

    "Good. I expect you both to win. I'll help out any way I can, I still promised that to Gawain," He says before taking a deep breath, "I'm hoping this will keep them in the dark a bit more. And we might have an increased chance."

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    Jude gives Psyber a resolute nod, balling his fist and holding it confidently aloft before his chest. "Yeah. We'll do our best." He flashes Gawain a lasting look of warmth and dedication.

    He's definitely in this to win.

Sir Gawain has posed:
Gawain accepts the fist bump after realizing what Jude is doing, before watching what is about to go down.

Jude's going to feel magical energy as the contract is transferred, and possibly the fact that a small part of his own is being siphoned to keep Gawain on the physical plane. A Command Seal appears on the hand he used in the handshake, a sort of red pattern with three different parts to it, one for each command.

"If Spyrix is that much of a threat to your world, then I will do all I can to assist. It is my duty as your Servant! And we will win this war."

"The holy grail will be ours."