Scene #8081: RIFTS: Campaign Map

Owner	Pose
Lilian Rook	At last Paladins Outpost ??? has achieved a sustainable first iteration. Split between the six sections created by the three overlapping leylines, the arcane array covering a soccer pitch's area at its center, the plateau sparkles with greenhouses, cabins both prefab and log, forge presses and printer shops, air and water fuel extractors, monitoring stations, medical tents, barracks, a supply yard and vehicle garage, and a brand new saloon, glitteringly podunk as they are. They're also occupied by an equal mixture of Paladins military grunts, Commonwealth skilled labour, 'reformed' bandits, Boothill citizens, local little-to-do farmsteaders, and a motley assortment of drifters, merchants, trappers, and bounty hunters. Nobody has been really making personnel decisions yet, so the range of faces from sun-weathered farmer's families glad to move off defenseless fields to adventurous Commonwealth volunteer students, battle-scarred marines and ten gallon hat-wearing genuine gunslingers, is just kind of an inevitable mess at this point. The clientele flogging frontier goods or watching Multiversal television at the saloon are at least, usefully paying their keep. With the subterranean area properly sealed off --given regular elevator access down for round the clock salvage crews, researchers, and petty adventurers-- and square miles of space space given over to the intricate wards and geometry needed to control the erratic power flow of the mighty leyline nexus, the Paladins finally get to settle down from hunting freaky monsters and resolving frontier disputes, gather around the holo-table in the command 'bunker' (really just a bombproof flat with an officer lounge and single basement level) and discuss goals. It's not strictly necessary, but Lilian has requested clearing out all the other staff. She has the great big fancy touchscreen tabletop set to show a quilt of aerial photography taken of many many miles of the surrounding area, including a decent ways into the mountains, cross-referenced with a modern elevation map of (not her) Earth. She also has a lot of chairs that she must have bought from local crafsmen because they're cozy wood and wicker and cushy goosefeather; and also tea, because for once people can hang out here with no particular need of wearing combat gear.
Ioanna Langstrom	Finally. She's been up all night. Over, and over, and over. Days and days and months and months have been poured into this project. Into notes. Into blueprints. Into double-checking everything. Late nights. Falling asleep at the desk. Everything. But it's finally getting there. Ioanna Langstrom is finally seeing it come to fruition. A base of her proposal - and the design of so many others who came together to support her. She's...proud. This was, at the end of the day, her project, her proposal. It was, at the end of the day, her pushing that got the ground broken. It may not have been possible without the others, but she's allowed to be just a little selfish, isn't she? That all these Elites came together to make this happen?" Ioanna sits down in one of the wicker chairs. She's wearing the usual - the coat, the heavy gun, the eyepiece - because that's just what the MCM does. She looks over the tabletop. "Reference for further expansion?"
Mack	Okay, so you know how there's always that one wicker chair that's unnecessarily elaborate whenever people have them? Like, the half-eggshell kind, with the weirdly deep cushion, and also it's on a swivel base you can't actually figure out the physics of, but it kind of anchors it in place and makes it utterly useless if you have to move a chair a variable distance from a table? That's the one Mack's settled into. He's hung his coat on a hook that he may have adhered to a wall near the door by himself, and is dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt rather than some kind of scrap metal-fueled armor plating. There's still some evidence of armor, though; he's got fragments of some kind of piping visible here and there, pressing against his clothes like scaffolding for his body. "Nice aerials," Mack comments. Nearby, tea is pouring itself. He remains slouched in the chair. "Musta taken a lot of them to make a composite like this."
Hellwarming Trio	Actually sitting at table to discuss plans is not something Utsuho nor Rin are used to. They're doers rather than thinkers, after all, but their instructions from their Master are as clear to them now as they day they were said. Thus, they're sitting patiently at the table, their general jittery-ness tempered somewhat by Lilian's big screen showing off all sorts of photos that they don't fully comprehend just yet aside from generally recognizing the area. They're wearing their usual (and possible only) outfits of white or black with green, and they're actually behaving pretty well. They're even drinking tea. That much actually seems to calm them a bit. "Is there any other stuff they need us lookin' into?" "There's always going to be something. No, they need more... Uh. The self..." "Doin' stuff on their own?" "Yeah, that. It looks like they can probably take care of their own stuff day to day, but are they strong enough?" "You thinkin' we should train 'em to get stronger?" "If they can even learn the stuff we do. Then we can really focus on finding other places further out." "Oh! Like somewhere way out that nobody's been to before. Or some kinda... In-hos-pi-ta-ble place so we can fix it up and really get things movin'!"
Tamamo	Strictly speaking, Tamamo doesn't need to be wearing her very American outfit, but it's actually rather easy to move in, and no one (including Lilian) has complained about it, so it continues to be her locality-specific uniform for this project. Wicker, in her opinion, is actually quite nice. There are durability concerns, but it has a bit of give, and a very homey quality to the results. Being, still, in the West, she sits with one leg crossed over the other, rather than in her usual, more formal posture, while taking tea. She won't change how she drinks tea, though. Rather, it's difficult to change that level of habit. "We had concerns over some neighbors, as I recall. There was mention that we would likely need to deal with some patrol as discovered our efforts, and that they would not be kind to those who show, ah, 'dee-bee' qualities. Was this so, Mr. MacCloud?" Tamamo looks over to Mack for confirmation. "Beyond this, I wonder what should be our first concern. The progress into the underground tunnels... am I mistaken, or have we allowed some as would be called 'adventurers' into those spaces? I remain unclear as to how dangerous the areas at the other end of that path may be. To speak of those who have increasingly congregated to this place, should we consider, next, that there is ought to accomplish, for each group? It is well and good to provide a place of refuge, but many more would be well off to have productive work, that they might otherwise find themselves in stressful idleness, lacking, yet, the means on which to announce a retirement from all labor."
Ishirou	Ishirou has been through some things lately. A lot of things. Rough things. He's glad for a chance to sit down, talk, and plan for once. So here he is, actually taking a moment to look over the work in the chairs. "Wow, these are very nice chairs, and local..? Things are much better here after the hateful demon thing was put down." He sits down in one, relaxing and pouring himself some tea as he looks over the aerial view put out on the display. He looks over it with some thought. "So...when do we think we're going to get noticed by the other powers that be? Especially now that we're sitting on confirmed ruins and stuff? The defense might be good and all, but opening up diplomacy might also work in our favor and show our intentions better to others." He pauses and considers, "And might give us a better view into their outlooks."
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's "not in combat gear" appearance, thankfully, continues getting incrementally more presentable. This time she's discovered tan flannel. She eases herself down into a chair, threading a delicate needle between 'not putting too much weight on her bandaged hands against the armrests' and 'not just flopping down onto the wicker from too high up' with a little grimace. Once there, she graciously accepts the offering of tea- "oh, thanks, Lilian"- and falls into a companionable quiet, trying to sip it while it's still a little too hot. "Well," she says eventually, looking to Ioanna: "We were going to check out the main nuclear complex, right? Because of the... the satellite, still in use. I guess that that's not urgent, if it's been all this time, but it's still worrying, isn't it?" A pause. Another ill-advised hot sip. Then: "We should come up for a name for this base, too. I think that's important. It'd give the people here a sense of belonging to something, right? Especially the bandits."
Lilian Rook	"Amongst other things, Langstrom." Lilian says to Ioanna. "This world has no internet, no useful satellite footage, and the people are overall fairly 'anachronistic'; aside from weapons and occasionally transport, we may as well be exploring the pioneer west ourselves. I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty, but I got a little bit tired of how often you were repeatedly consulting the same documents, and decided it might be better for you to examine some new intel, instead of fretting over done deals." She looks up from the map, and smirks to Mack. "Oh no, it really took now time at all~" says Lilian, smug cheek obvious, before she relents. "No, actually, it was quite tedious, but we don't know anything about any more aerial monsters in the region, or if local powers might have an established airspace, so it was better me than anyone else." She turns to the youkai pair. "Boothill appears to be fine. This region doesn't seem that eventful; if it were, we'd never get anything done. The issue is simply the inevitable tradeoff of picking such an out of the way, yet useful area as this." she says. She looks at Tamamo next. Oh, and she also eventually remembers to say something. "We do need the tunnels mapped, but it's a matter that's rather tedious and consumptive and time of personnel, without seeming to justify a deployment of major force. The 'adventurers' are willing to do it basically for free, hoping to scavenge odds and ends. Ah, but on that subject . . ." Lilian nods in Strawberry's direction, then reaches forward to run her hand through the haptics, shrinking the composite and enlarging the modern map until they're both about the same size, and overlapping them. It looks suspiciously like Starktech, for the whole two people who've seen it. "The landscape of the Americas has changed quite drastically, it seems, but going by celestial drift, topography, extensive aerial recon, climate, flora and fauna, and --well, also magic-- I've verified exactly where we are. That mountain to our northwest, first in the range, is none other than Cheyenne Mountain, given another thousand feet of elevation, and much of the Rock Creek area now leveled beneath it. Looking up records about twenty first century Earth, this is traditionally the site of America's 'space force' program, mainly a missile warning and surveillance outpost undder the North American Aerospace Defense Command center. Though I can't confirm it's one and the same with what we saw, this world likely has some association with it, possibly developed further over time, given the degree of surveillance capability they had in Tamamo's psychometric playback." "We have no leads on the other locations mentioned, save where to find them. The satellite uplink remains an outstanding concern, but it fits well with the hypothesis that we're currently sitting on the very edge of this world's 'future' NORAD-SFS complex. God knows what war eventually prompted expanding it into hangars of giant robots. Nuclear power would make sense for a major goverment military installation, but if this area is without power, we can likely assume it's been physically severed from the main complex to the northwest; likely by the tectonic activity that caused that massive chasm underground, and created this plateau."
Lilian Rook	Going back to her tea, Lilian smiles faintly at Strawberry. "I agree on a name. And Langstrom, I'd especially appreciate it if you were to make certain 'personnel decisions' very soon. Ideally today." Then to Ishirou, "That ties into what Tamamo was asking as well. I've mainly had to research this by . . . interacting with the trading caravans, drifters, mercenaries, and wilderness sorts that come through here, and the use of quite a good deal of divination magic, with Satsuki's help." "Our closest neighbour is the premiere major town in this area. 'Silvereno'. A significant mining settlement and lumber mill, by the sounds of it, with major trade with the largest arms and equipment corporation operating in the region, as well as some sort of independent 'magical kingdom' further away, and a cluster of major baronies operating in the northern portion of the state; much more populous and settled this area; far enough that we have some time, but a little close for comfort." "Besides that, the word on everyone's lips here is 'the Coalition States'." Lilian looks meaningfully towards Mack. "I don't suppose you'd care to elaborate on them with your own words?"
Ioanna Langstrom	Ioanna lets out a sigh. "I appreciate it." She does. She sits back against the wicker-wood back. She purses her lips. "I'm very hesitant to allow freelancers into anything that might lead to NORAD-SFS until we've changed every password and thoroughly locked down every entrance to the complex. That seems...dangerous. Especially with these Coalition States." She glances at Mack for his explanation. Ioanna nods and taps her finger on the desk at the personnel question. "Ideally we're hitting the point where we can begin building outwards. This place needs to be a fortress. There are threats of all manner here that we're only just coming across, and considering the NORAD situation, I'm unwilling to leave anything to chance. Let's push for more power armor and soldiers to hold ground. We need to ensure that we can withstand and counter whatever comes after us as we spread our power base." "Plus, garrisoning more extensively will allow us to protect trade routes, which ensures further power projection for our setup, and thus, an easier time expanding our reach to protect people."
Ishirou	Ishirou nods once at Lilian who goes into their closest neighbors. Ishirou puts that knowledge away for now because it'd likely be important later. Especially as sources of raw materials...trade will be important there. He's considering things until Ioanna makes a suggestion that gets his attention. "I could do that, it'd be...well, long and likely tedious, but I actually rather enjoy that kind of thing. I could also work on locating the other locations and maybe try to work on reconnect them to each other. I'm not much for diplomacy...though I also wouldn't mind coming along. I got to figure out more about myself, so I can at least be around to provide accurate info." He also looks towards Mack about knowledge of the Coalition. Certainly, they're not such bad guys, right?
Hellwarming Trio	"That makes things easier, right?" "Yeah! If we don't gotta worry about this place for now, then we really can focus on checking out the other places! "The ones with no leads?" "Yeah! Wait." Not having leads on the other locations has the pair mulling over their options again. They're still quite careful about the way they drink their tea despite the way they eat and drink everything else on any other occasion, although they do slip every now and then into a bit of fast drinking instead of sipping here, or letting a bit drip off there. It doesn't interrupt their ability to listen, though, as they listen closely when new names come up. Utsuho seems to be a little more interested when the magical kingdom comes up, and Rin when the Coalition States comes up. While Rin proceeds to stare right at Mack expectantly, Utsuho turns her attention back to Lilian. "How's this kingdom's... Uh. The relations between it and the other places? Like that Coalition thing." She glances over at Rin and Mack, then turns back to Lilian. RinAre they... Good? What about here?" She's straining, but she's trying!
Mack	Mack's tea cup floats on over to him, where he cradles it with his chrome fingers. He sips it carefully, not because it's hot, but because he's a little bit concerned he's going to breach Tea Etiquette and be cursed unto a thousand generations by any given person at the table. He's never met a tea drinker who didn't have Opinions on it. "The Coalition, yeah," he says, nodding over at 'Murican Tamamo. "The more obviously non-human you are, the less friendly they'll be." He answers Ishirou at the same time. "No chance that they don't have someone looking in on us on the sly already. Bet they don't know what to make of us, though. With any luck, they'll send someone to talk instead of shoot at first blush." Sip. A nod. He extends a hand, and the cup floats over to sit on the edge of the table, amber optics swivelled to Lilian's smug countenance. He waits a beat, then laughs. "You did good. Solid detail. More than I've ever seen, I think, at least on modern maps. Definitely going to be useful. Especially if..." Mack trails off. The question that he expected comes up. Mack sighs, shifting in his seat. He sits up a little, with obvious effort, lifting his too-long neck and propping his gnarled, metal-clad chin on extended chrome digits. "Right. The triceratops in the room. Where do I even start?" Mack drums the fingers of his other hand on his leg. "The scholar in me wants to go over the history, but that's not immediately useful. So let's go for an overview for those who've been living under a rock, or on the other side of the planet, or... off-world, obviously." "The Coalition States is one of the largest nations on the planet. It's been a rival of the other big powers on the continent, like the Federation of Magic, for as long as they've existed, and that rivalry is what's hammered home the most defining traits of the C.S." Mack casts his gaze around the table. "As I've implied, there's a strong current of fear and distrust of non-humans in the Coalition, and a hatred of magic that borders on the irrational to go with it. Their attitudes have been galvanized over the years by their Emperor Prosek, reigning in his fortress-city of Chi-Town -- who's always seemed a bit loco, if you ask me, but he's got a presence that makes people act with a sort of zeal that borders on the religious. It's that attitude and his declarations of a 'Campaign of Unity' and a 'Crusade for Humanity' that did things like crush a Juicer uprising -- uh, augmented humans, super strong and super fast but burn out in a few years and die -- and destroy the city-state of Tolkeen, which was one of the bigger magic-using populations outside the Federation up until recently. Tolkeen got up to some heinous things like demon summoning and ritual sacrifice to fight 'em, though, so... no good guys in that war."
Mack	Mack sighs. "Anyhow, the Coalition has its problems, like its reliance on ignorance and propaganda to keep its citizens in line, and the parts of its military and civilian population willing to go to genocidal extremes, but they started out coming from an understandable place. Humans on this Earth are frequently the weakest, most vulnerable groups of people, and the most exploited, by a huge number of superhuman D-Bees and creatures that use 'em as food. There's whole kingdoms down south full of vampires that use the human populace as cattle, and where there's slavery, you'll see a lot of humans in bondage. The Coalition got itself together to show the world's new predators that humanity isn't a prey species, and they did it. It's why they have a whole skeletal motif to their gear, and have whole squads of 'Dead Boys' who go up against insane odds or undergo dangerous augmentation to go toe-to-toe with monsters and demons." "The problem is," the mutant continues, "it started from a place that you could empathize with, but nowadays, it's human supremacists and people who hate the world outside their walls with no rhyme or reason to it other than they're told to. Add to that the biggest army on the continent armed with technology capable of fighting demons and dragons, and you can see why it's become a problem for all of us who don't fit their narrow humanocentric ethos. Still not as bad as Free Quebec," Mack adds begrudgingly, almost in an aside, "but pretty bad. Like, discover you're a psychic and give you a car and a survival kit and kick you out of their territory versus a Quebecois execution in the streets. Still gonna get you killed and still gonna come from a racist place, but one takes longer than the other." Mack retrieves his tea. "Questions?"
Strawberry Princess	"I remember the word 'Cheyenne' came up. I think it's like that in my world, too- the NORAD stuff," Strawberry says. She's still trying to slurp tea that's too hot for her mouth to actually handle, taking little dainty sips and then subtly recoiling. "So that should be our next priority to do in person, right? Since it's so close." Despite her no-doubt burnt taste buds, she adds: "What kind of tea is this, Lilian? It's really good." She crosses her legs and leans back in her chair. Her lips pull to one side as Ioanna speaks. Strawberry pulls out her phone and starts tapping at it: Paladins analysts have definitely gotten a good enough look at this place, so what do they think the local reaction to a military up-arming like Ioanna's describing would be? Would the nearby factions respond with hostility? "For a name, what about 'Redemption'? I mean, maybe it's a little cheesy, but..."
Ishirou	Ishirou after thinking on what Mack just said speaks up. "So they're the Imperium of Man?"
Mack	"I have no idea what that is," Mack replies, "but it's pretty reductive to make single-sentence comparisons off your own world, yeah?"
Hellwarming Trio	"... Both of these places sound like they suck bad." Rin concludes after Mack explains the Coalition States' big thing, frowning after a few long moments. "So they probably wouldn't like what we did out here. Y'think they're ever gonna come all the way out here to stir up trouble?" A beat, and then Rin wrinkles her nose again as Mack describes the differences between the Coalition and Free Quebec. She opens her mouth, stops, then takes some time to put a few context clues together before asking her next thing: "Aside from keeping humans safe, is there any reason we'd wanna work with these guys?" "Redemption's not bad. But what about... 'Firehell'? Utsuho offers in comparison, sounding genuinely pleased with her own contribution to the naming matter.
Tamamo	Though side-tracked by both the question of roles and strengths and by Ishirou's dangerous suggestion of asking Candy to explain anything, Tamamo does eventually nod to Ioanna's suggestion. "If this land is as some I have known, it would befit to establish, of sorts, a castle in the wilderness, that it should ease the protection of those surrounding it. There are mines and lumberers and craftsmen, too. Yet, if roads should be left unsafe, both simple travelers and merchants, those who transport goods from one place to another, shall leave every area wanting." Tamamo's head tilts in thought, her tea cradled in both hands, the steam just reaching her. "I do not know just what it is that might be left wanting, for our own efforts, but of others, it does seem that there is always something. Should more wood become available to a village, they will ever find something of wood that they wish to raise. A notion of 'enough' hardly exists, to those of sufficient optimism for the future. To families with children, in particular." That those without optimism for the future tend to care for fewer children she doesn't mention, though that's the implication. "Perhaps it is that I am mistaken, and things are different in this land than those to which I had been accustomed. If this is not so, then it remains that, when food and roofs are available, safety of the home comes after, and safety of the roads just after that."
Tamamo	Though Tamamo looks increasingly scandalized as Mack's descriptions continue, it's one particular matter she seizes on. "Vampires, is it? My, to think they would be present in such numbers as to operate openly. They had, I suppose, been mentioned, prior to now. And yet, it is still shocking to hear of such a thing. Perhaps it would be best to leave alone, so far as this place is concerned, those things that are happening at some sufficient distance, if only to avoid a dangerous overreach and its resulting imbalance. Still, it does not sit well with me for such a menace to remain, nor the suffering they must, every day, inflict." She's got something against creatures cursed by the Sun. Or maybe it's the other way around. "'Redemption,' is it? I do rather like the sound of that. It would be well for those who arrive, whatever their prior circumstances, to see this place as one in which they may seek redemption -- or rather, to seek redemption may be to seek this place, yes? Even if only poetic in its meaning, it is well-chosen. There is, of course, also the matter that those things long-lost are things that should be redeemed, for the benefit of those as still live, and so, there is more than one meaning to the term as is aptly put, for our purposes."
Lilian Rook	Lilian nods politely over her tea when Ioanna makes the calls she asked for pretty much immediately. "Might I ask, is there something, anything, in particular that you hope to find in NORAD's grave?" She swirls her cup around a little in thought. "Leave it to a marine I suppose. Still, this world is certainly far more lawless and dangerous than any I've encountered that weren't simply outright apocalyptic wilderness. Further fortification is likely a good idea. As for 'trade routes' . . . do you have a target in mind? Goods? Quota? Likely partners? I imagine we have fewer volunteers eager to be soldiers." "The one thing I'd really like you to think about is thus. In fortifying this outpost into a full on garrison, militarizing to that extent, who or what, exactly, are you hoping to take on? One builds a fortress when they expect an earnest attack, not out of fear of wandering beasts." "I'm very much aware of your background. You didn't show up here to sample the local cuisine, did you?" Then she has to turn her mind to matters of Mack's professional consultation. Offhand, she says to Strawberry "Orange darjeeling. Hold on a moment." Lilian leans over and conjures a thumb joint-sized ice crystal on her finger to drop into Strawberry's tea, melting almost immediately, while she watches Mack speak, and offhandedly says "Vetoing 'Firehell'. Do you think we're the baddies or something?"
Ioanna Langstrom	"I expect military pressure from the rogue states like the Coalition and Free Quebec," Ioanna says, "As well as these aggressive insect aliens and the Atlantean threat. Similarly I expect economic pressure from the same, so we should probably begin with securing raw materials in trade - we have massively superior manufacturing, thanks to our organization and technology, but raw materials here are something we lack." She taps her finger. "So we should be finding small settlements nearby, probably mining specifically."
Strawberry Princess	In Ioanna's direction, Strawberry adds: "For staffing, it'd be best to use locals wherever we can, right? We want to give them opportunities, not take them away. If we always bring in outside people, then... it could end up pressuring the workers here out, I think." Utsuho's suggestion makes Strawberry draw in a little breath. Her lips press together while she tries to think of a way to break it to her gently. "Utsuho, I think... I think most of the people, at least here, think Hell is a bad thing." Mack's description of the CS weighs heavily on her. She sits with it for a while, silently trying to absorb the idea. "I guess they're not going to like us either, then," she finally says. "Even if most of our personnel are humans. Why magic and psychics, though? Can't those be human things? Is it different here?" "Orange darjeeling... oh! Thanks, Lilian!" Strawberry stares at the melting ice crystal in pleasant surprise, takes a little experimental sip, and finds it 'just right'. "Haha, it's a shame. If it needed to be hotter, I could've done that on my own."
Mack	Mack actually is here to sample the local cuisine, so he's momentarily thrown by the comment, even if it isn't directed at him. "It's not great, no. I've been to both places; the Coalition's population is more alright with 'otherness' the further you get from the major cities. You help them out, they'll overlook red skin, pointy ears, or freaky mutations. Still want to keep any wizardry under wraps, though. Free Quebec..." Mack makes a face. "Well, we're far enough away we don't really gotta worry about them, so, don't! We go out East, we'll talk." He grins a gleaming macabre grin. It fades, and quickly. "Ah, well. The theory among us academic types," read: the metal morphs who have something like a library, "is that it's a holdover from the Coalition's founding. See, it was originally made from four or five nations that clawed their way up out of the Great Cataclysm, and back then, nobody really understood magic or psionics. Both were appearing seemingly at random in humans, and the places they were most visible was in the monsters comin' out of the Rifts. Add to that an even higher concentration of potential psychic energy in the atmosphere, and you have yourself a recipe for uncontrolled magical mishaps and psychics going mad with power and turning into local warlords." "So the ones that turned into the Coalition were the ones that didn't like magical anything, and the ones that ended up forming the Federation of Magic and Tolkeen and Lazlo and so on, they were the ones that embraced it. When a rivalry between the Coalition and the others started, it was an easy difference to build up animosity on, especially when it was still so poorly understood." Mack gestures at his presently-hovering tea cup. "The CS military employs psychics, though -- a couple very specific breeds of near-human mutants used to combat 'em. But there's definitely a witch-hunting attitude when it comes to mages. It's a bit more wariness about folks employing strange powers over their neighbors on the psychic front."
Lilian Rook	The look she wears for Mack could best be described as carefully measured, thoughtful displeasure. It's a complicated mixture of little cues, from the tight grip on her cup to her frozen lips to the regretful downturn of her brows. An exasperated sigh follows the end of his description, of the kind that sounds like she mostly knew what to expect, but would have liked to have been surprised. "Indeed. Given the complete collapse of civilization, and the endless menagerie of demons, monsters, extradimensional psychopaths, and magical nuisances, all with a baffling penchant for slavery and or eating human flesh, the rise of such a consolidated power is inevitable in any scenario where humans retain enough power for it to be possible." She makes a quiet grimace, and says in admission, "I'd have aimed for exactly the same thing, in their situation. My sentiments about monsters who believe themselves to be natural predators or superior beings should be well-known by this point." "The problem is obvious, though. This operation isn't happening without magic. The Paladins operate with enormous support from non-human personnel with various extra-normal abilities. Limiting ourselves to such a narrow paradigm only serves to make our operation that of smaller, inferior upstarts. Not having a choice about how to approach them politically is a serious issue, but we can't cede practically to some ultranationalist ideology of ethnic purity." "I'll be honest." says Lilian, setting down her tea, and resting her cheek in her palm. "I really don't want to engage in a hot conflict with the center of human-positive civilization on the continent. Especially if their only alternative is even worse. Not only do we not have near the resources to engage in a serious large-scale conflict with them, by the sounds of it, I simply don't believe that there's any positive message to be sent by, functionally, declaring ourselves enemies of humanity." She stops to assess her own sentence for a moment, and makes an uncomfortable noise. "Well. Not for the Paladins. And not in that way. You know what I mean." Lilian taps her cheek with her nail, clearly having already thought of what Mack asks for next. "Yes. For one question, let's say, hypothetically, there was someone here. A spy or reconnoiteur. What, in your professional opinion, should be done about them?"
Hellwarming Trio	"What? It's a cool name! Not a bad guy one." Utsuho grumbles at Lilian's veto of her name suggestion. Rin pats her on the shoulder sympathetically, and Utsuho does seem to relent a bit after Strawberry's explanation. "Right, humans... Fiiine." She's grumpy, but at least she understands better now. "If this place ain't gonna be attacked by more than roaming weirdoes, I... Guess they won't need too much more than what they got already, yeah." Rin comments, lacing her fingers together in front of her face in the hopes of looking smarter while listening to Mack's continuation about Free Quebec, then Lilian's own assessment of who's worth and nt worth fighting. "Hmn... Yeah, what Lil said. If anythin' happens, who knows who's gonna get blamed?" Judging from the anxious look on her face, she's guessing it's herself. "If there's a spy, we should set 'em on fire. Easy, right?" Utsuho suggests, glancing around slowly once she starts guessing at Lilian's '''actual''' meaning. "But there's nobody like that around here, right...?"
Ishirou	Ishirou shrugs at Mack, "Fair enough. I'll send you a document on them later," he comments. Though it's far from required reading! The boy also stares at the pair of Yokai. "No," he says without any debate on anything named 'hell'. He's with Lilian on this one, if they named themselves hell anything they'd be the baddies, and give people the wrong idea of what they're about. With a sigh, he thinks for a little bit. Redemption is a bit too... "Why not Deliverance?" Ishirou puts forward. Ishirou looks over towards Ioanna with a touch of concern. "Yeah I see where you're coming from, but without any attempt at diplomacy, we might just be provoking. It also seems to me that people of this place are afraid of being hurt again...and I'm not really blaming them for how their culture turned out..." Lilian speaks her mind on that and he thinks about it. "We could start by trying to keep a sense of peace with them. Avoid provoking them as well as keep the things they are afraid of down...things we're the enemy of anyway. Show them that magic CAN be beneficial if used responsibly. I think it's possible to reach understanding with them.." "But without letting them squash the rights of people who DON'T mean them harm. On the other hand...we could be a safe haven for those who wouldn't be welcome there. It's not about trying to meet them halfway, it's about trying to establish understanding...and then influencing them and healing their wounds."
Lilian Rook	Lilian handwobbles towards Ishirou. "I'm personally very much not a fan of anything Biblical. For several reasons." She glances towards Tamamo. "Unfortunately, people like that don't want proof. They want you to be wrong. What's quite likely is that if you were to show them a responsible magic-using society of a size they can drop bombs on, they'll do exactly that, before someone starts getting any ideas." "While this operation is still too small for them to care, or if they think we're unlikely to last out here, we probably won't have much trouble. But once we scale to a certain level of credibility, they'll be glad to descend on us with overwhelming military force." "Of course, there's no way I'd lose to anyone dressed in a skull uniform, but it's not as if I can protect an entire territory from an invading army by myself. Matching them force to force essentially amounts to hoping for approval for a full-scale military intervention from the Paladins on exigent humanitarian grounds. Which is a tricky proposition."
Ioanna Langstrom	"I know." "But I'm hoping that it can be done. I think this base as proof-of-concept is important. And I think this world..." She looks sideways at Mack. "I think it probably deserves a better chance than it has right now. And we can give it to them."
Tamamo	"If I heard correctly, there are those who are far from their largest cities who are more understanding of outsiders, and who will treat with them with at least the possibility of good faith, yes?" Tamamo says, setting down her tea to lace her fingers together. "In that case, perhaps, we may prove ourself better neighbors than an alternative, at the least. There are, after all, other groups they have yet to successfully destroy, for whatever combination of reasons. If they believe us aligned with their own interests regarding the wider environment of nations and borders, would they be willing to overlook our societal differences?" Again, Tamamo looks to Mack, as the resident expert. Without actually going and asking -- and having some way of extracting truthful answers -- it's difficult to otherwise answer 'what would they think?' "Perhaps we may be well-served by finding a more reasonably-minded insider, that we should then be able to create a favorable impression, backed by actions against some of those as are most strongly hostile to humanity. To return to the matter of 'roles,' I judge myself generally competent in speech, though it is unfortunate that my appearance would not spark trust, in this case." She artfully hides the extent to which that truly bothers her.
Mack	Mack has no strong opinions on naming the place. He's sure a clever nickname will crop up eventually anyway, and he'll adopt that. It's just how it goes with these things. "Right. The level of information control they have works in our favor, at least -- the majority of the population only knows what they want them to know, so we won't be on their radar as a magic-approving, non-human-positive force in their backyard disproving their way of life unless we try to be. Lowers the chances of skelebots marching in by the hundreds and deleting the nice greenhouses quite as quickly." Lilian asks a good question. "Way I see it, it comes down to your desired approach on a diplomatic level. If you intend to be hostile, you catch 'em, bring 'em in, interrogate 'em, and make sure they haven't had a chance to deliver any intelligence while you're fortifying for the inevitable response. If you want to extend an olive branch, instead make contact on the sly and have them pass word up the chain. Intelligence will usually get listened to more closely than open and overt diplomatic channels, and you'll get a chance to speak to someone with some amount of pull before they have to worry about the public perception of talking to a bunch of mage lovers." "My personal preference would be to spy on the spy and manipulate whatever they're sending back however we want. If you can outfox 'em, you can do a whole lot with a little bit of effort. If you'll pardon the, uh... phrase?" Mack isn't sure if that's offensive to Tamamo, but he offers it anyway. He slouches a little. "If they think we want the same things they want, and that we aren't coming to conquer 'em... well, we might manage some kind of truce, at least for a while. Coalition military operations tend to be sudden and devastating, so we'd definitely need some kind of intelligence apparatus ourselves if we were going to deal with them like that. Reaching out to provide aid and stability for the outlying communities might get us some grassroots support though, yeah." He bobs his head. Amber optics flicker towards Ioanna. Whatever the esper thinks of the implications of that statement does not show on his face.
Lilian Rook	"I'd certainly not have any faith in them to recognize you as a goddess who has been with humanity since ancient times, over some sort of quirky 'dee-bee'." Lilian bemoans in Tamamo's direction. "Though in either case, we're both magic-users. Another, new reason for the same shitty behaviours." She rubs her face a little, then begins manipulating the map, at the mention of neighbours. "The Coalition States is allegedly, and loagically, a coalition of five states that divides most of the former United States north-west down the middle. The people of the western frontier, where we are, tend not to be fans of them, and for various reasons, the Coalition hasn't attempted to annex, settle, or pacify the region in earnest. There are numerous major settlements and tribes that we should likely be trying to make friends with, if we're really going to adopt a stance of hostility. And there are plenty --the Simvan and vampires in particular-- we'll want to neutralize where possible." "The issue I see is that, like most empires, the Coalition is both enormous and spread thin by all accounts. Even if they have millions of people and armies of tens of thousands, they have countless enemies across the continent already. If we become too convenient in eliminating all their problems in the area, and don't have substantial allies to rely on, then it'd behoove any machiavellian dictator to simply erase our outpost and tie up the only remaining loose end, then take the territory for their own, not turn a blind eye." "Looking for sympathizers is . . ." Lilian is back to tapping her cheek again. "I imagine, difficult. Those on the fringes most likely to tolerate our operations are also those who will be immediately outranked, should hostilities come down from the capital. I suppose it couldn't hurt. I might like to stick to counterintellgence on my part, as grating as it is to pretend that I'm not the biggest deal they've ever seen." "Sadly, we can't just point Strawberry at an army company of theirs and turn it to ash, to show that we mean business." Lilian sighs. It's frighteningly unclear how sarcastic she's being. "I've researched the other factions mentioned. Supposedly the 'Atlanteans' don't come any further tha the mississipi. There are reports of wild vampires in the area, but nothing credible; the kingdoms are much further south. Those 'Xiticix' aliens are all the way to the northeast; the Coalition is actually a buffer against them." She trails off. "Then let me ask you a very serious question, Langstrom. Do you sincerely mean to go to war with the Coalition? If that is your priority, do you really know what that means?"
Hellwarming Trio	There's some big words like Machiavellian that the pair clearly aren't familiar with, but some of what Lilian says actually looks like it's sticking. "So if I'm getting this right, we need the Coalition's enemies to... Not get wiped out?" "But ain't that gonna be a problem for the humans in there?" "Maybe that's what they want us to think. You know, like a... Hostages, but backwards?" "So... What, they'll want us to fix their problems so they can wipe out our place here?" "It sounds like it'd be easier for them if we did. But if we don't... Gh." Rin looks to Lilian in the hopes of getting some kind of confirmation while Utsuho just continues to struggle mentally with the idea. Eventually, though, they both turn to Ioanna as the topic shifts towards a potential war with the Coalition. There's a long moment where the gears are visibly turning even from the glazed over look in their eyes, and then they both puff up their chests. "Maybe you can't turn Strawberry on them, but I'm right here." "Yeah! And.. Wait, aren't we supposed to do stuff non-lethally if we can?" "Right. Unless... They shoot us first, and then it's okay?"
Tamamo	Tamamo gives Mack's apology a gentle smile. Acceptance, probably. Regarding the Coalition, Tamamo listens, but eventually frowns. "It rather sounds as if a conflict is inevitable, though I would not have thought it needed be. I am unfamiliar in these matters, myself, of course, having never known those people involved. Nor, even, have I seen them from afar." She begins picking over pieces of the conversation, counting on her fingers. "If we are the only and most pressing matter on their agenda, then they should turn their full force upon us. This, then, is to be avoided. If we are to align ourselves against the enemies of humanity -- by our own definitions, of course, and not by their rather broader meaning -- then we shall seem useful to those among them with discernment, so long as we 'work' but do not fully succeed, that latter being the case in which we would no longer be useful. How we might do this is less clear, in any case, as the vampire states are rather far from us and, I take it, not quite close enough to be their own present concern." She's not letting the vampire thing go. "Still..." That's three, or maybe four. "If we first look for some sympathetic ear to emphasize our shared interests, it may provide us with time to forge friendships with the local peoples, and a clear justification for fortifying the area, which must be done, in any case. We may then transition from a useful, if distasteful stranger, to a neighbor not worth the price of conquest. Though I count myself one ignorant of war, I may wonder, is this a reasonable path?"
Ioanna Langstrom	Ioanna purses her lips and looks down. "...you're right. I need to think about this. I need more intel. I..." She clenches her fists under the table. Is she just trying too hard to be impressive? To make a mark on the world? To show that she's able to do this? Is she jumping ahead of herself? Her knuckles whiten. "Give me twenty-four hours to pore over reports," she says finally, looking Lilian in the eye.
Strawberry Princess	"'Deliverance'... I like that one a lot. Thanks, Ishirou. Haha, you really are the smart one, aren't you?" Strawberry remains silent throughout the discussions of warfare and factional conflict. It's a silence that begins relaxed, and then becomes increasingly tense. By the end she's visibly troubled, and even the laugh that Lilian's remark about ash gets out of her- she doesn't think it's serious- is taut. When Rin and Utsuho volunteer themselves, her smile isn't much of a smile at all. "Ioa- sorry. Lieutenant." She speaks up, finally, at the very end. Her voice and face are careworn. "I know that you're the one making the decisions. And not me, for a reason. But... Don't. Please don't."
Ishirou	Ishirou is silent and lets the conversation go for a moment. There is a direct question to Ioanna and a very important one. Though the comment about not using Strawberry as a WoMD is taken as it is, a bit of sarcasm. Lilian's humor is known to be darker. Though her underlying meaning is important. Ishirou gives Rin and Utsuho a stare. One of those first horrifying, and then slightly angry looks. "What the hell is wrong with you two?" he asks, just not sure what to even able to parse what is going on between their heads. It's hard to ponder the void, apparently. "I'm with Tamamo on this one. It's harder, but I think better, to try and ease the suffering that's here. Just because it's harder..." he shrugs. "It's not practical, but I'm also here because of people wanting to help. I know many are here because of that thought process...some in this very room." "So if you need help with this, Ioanna, just ask okay?" Ishirou, is less on the ball with ranks these days. "I'm with Strawberry on this too! So if you need help..." he taps his head, "Analysing is in fact what I'm good at!" He looks over towards Strawberry, "Thanks, though it looks like it's from another large book of fantasy stories and now we can't use it," Ishirou says dejectedly in response to Lilian shooting down his idea.
Hellwarming Trio	Strawberry's tense expression doesn't go unnoticed by the pair, and Ishirou's direct response to them actually keeps those gears turning instead of just drawing out a kneejerk rebuttal. There's definitely a Look that suggests Rin's about to go 'hey' really loudly and incredulously, but instead... The yokai put their heads together. Literally, even. "If Strawberry doesn't even like the idea, then..." "They still need some kinda thing to wave around, though..." "If even Ioanna needs time to think..." "And Tamamo's looking for other angles, too." "And Ishirou's... He's always like that." "But then why would Lilian say it in the first place?" "Maybe she's got something else in mind." And then they resume staring at the group expectantly, apparently eager to try pulling more of this into their skulls despite everything.
Lilian Rook	"Don't be ridiculous. I love fantasy novels." Lilian says to Ishirou. "I just have a very poor relationship with the Bible in particular." She drums her fingers lightly on the edge of the table. "Besides. I think most people seeking 'deliverance' have already gone to the Coalition by now. 'Redemption' is what that godawful place requires." She watches Ioanna carefully for her answer. "I'll have everything I got from the locals compiled. What I actually spoke to them about, and what I read from their minds. Being your advisor on this project, it's the least I can do. To say that I have mixed feelings about this issue would be an understatement, but the Code is clear as ever. Unless it should be something directly contrary, I'll abide whatever priority you decide on." "All I'll say on that subject is that there are plenty of people out west, scraping up lives of their own, and the ones cowering inside giant walled cities have probably been terrorized enough already." She snorts just a little about Utsuho and Rin taking. "Yes. It's one of those obnoxiously delicate balancing acts that comes with a risky gambling game; the type you often see in high society and statecraft. People at this level exist in a different world of choices and consequences. However, I won't shed tears if you decide to vapourize some ethnostate lunatic for taking a shot at you." Lilian nods with Tamamo. Of course she approves of most things Tamamo says and does, but in this case, the reasons are very well-grounded. "Indeed, we needn't forget that the Coalition became as big as it did by attracting the cooperation of other territories. The vampires might be something to try and turn their attention to, if you prefer; certainly it'll keep them terribly distracted. Otherwise, the locals have plenty to say about the western wilderness; especially in terms of monsters and unfriendly extradimensional sorts. 'Not worth the effort' has to become 'not worth the risk' and 'not worth the trade' at one point or another, if this operation is to continue." "In the end, I suppose it remains to be seen just how deep that xenophobia goes." Lilian ho-hums to herself. Stretching her fingers against each other, she thinks to add: "I suppose I'll have to sit down our lovely friends from the Coalition Expeditionary Force with you all."