Skyside Prime

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Like all cats, movement of any kind will wake them from the deepest of sleeps. And Klaus leaving his office means Rein's slipping out the door as well. After all, an open door must be traversed. Plus he doesn't want to get trapped in a locked office and have to meow his way out. Even if the computer or cabinet were unlocked, he still wouldn't check them. Klaus is paranoid. There's a good chance he keeps his own office tapped, watching for those who would move against him. Rein can't trust the anonymity in there.

Much of the rest of the day is spent catting around the warehouse, but at one point Rein will go to slip out, back into the wild streets of Skyside. He is, after all, a stray. A roamer. Completely independent and self-reliant. He'll be back for free food tomorrow.

If he can get out without Bebe or Diva getting in his way, then it's time to contact Ambrosia finally.

[Zefir]

Arkant Factory
"That makes sense," Sekhmet replies, "What do you need to do that?" She can provide the demons, but she's not sure what else he might need beyond that.

Arkant Factory

"Someone with experience in that matter would be nice." Arkant says "other then that anyone with a friendly appereance. As you might know we don t want to slowly get people to them."

[Ironsmith]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Like Diva's going to stop him from leaving. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, jerkhead!

Bebe doesn't seek inclined to stop him from leaving, either. She knows how these stray cats are. He'll be back the next time he wants free goodies. Maybe she'll be able to give him a bath then, too; poor kitty could use it. Ah, well, another time.

Point is, he's free to go.

[bc56]

Arkant Factory
"By experience, do you mean an, uh, advertiser or an actor? I can find either, I, uh, just need to know which." Those are both skills that it won't be hard to find among her minions. "Don't worry about appearance, they can change it if they need to."

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Reinholdt moves a few blocks away and a few roofs up, embodying the second story cat burglar as best he can. Once he's satisfied he's alone, he'll call upon the elemental he attuned to with Ambrosia's help. "Jeon!" As soon as this word is uttered a tiny lighting bolt appears. Well, lighting bolt doesn't do this creature justice as it bends in a way that it outlines a raven. Or at least it does from most angles, otherwise it just appears like living lighting that sits on the cat's shoulder with its bird-like feet. The lighting constantly shifting and arcing but always return to its raven form.

"Ambrosia. You there? You awake? Hello hello?" Reinholdt speaks at the raven like lightning.

[Shadowcaller]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

It takes a moment, but suddenly there's a reply. Though Rein might not be able to recognize the voice straight away.

"I'm here." It almost sounds like they're trying to whisper but the voice is still more than audible.

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Hey, it works! Not that there was doubt, though Rein may have just woke a sleeping dragon based on the kinda whisper and you're not supposed to do that.

"Wanted to update you. Things are going much better and faster than I thought. I'm not the first stray cat they've taken in apparently so I blend right in. Further, he actually has an office within the safehouse that he uses. Very private. Saw him today even, but wasn't able to make a move. I'm going to tomorrow though, as long as I get the opportunity."

[Shadowcaller]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

"Good job." The voice rumbles back after a moment, followed by a deep yawn. "...sounds like I might have expedite my schedule then. If you could give me the location where you're planning to strike I could make sure to be close by. While being out of sight of course."

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

"Yeah. The office itself is on the [compass] side. It's..." Reinholdt spends a good bit of time describing the full layout of the safehouse and making sure Ambrosia knows exactly where she needs to be.

"So yeah, I stiffen our target, you come in from that direction, rip the roof off, get him in your jaws and fly off to Vigil. The other members of the group aren't exactly battle hardened from what I could see, so they're likely to just panic when they hear the noise, but I'll stay behind for a bit and slow them down so they don't chase after you. So from there it's all you."

[Shadowcaller]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

"Sounds relatively simple so I expect there to be some complications. I'll try to keep ahead of them if possible. Any particular weapons you've seen them used that I might need to watch out for?" It pained her to ask this as she should naturally assume it going well. Being humbled was for non-dragons but here she was asking for things to be cautious of like some human.

[Zefir]

Arkant Factory
"By experience, do you mean an, uh, advertiser or an actor? I can find either, I, uh, just need to know which." Those are both skills that it won't be hard to find among her minions. "Don't worry about appearance, they can change it if they need to."

" Both." He replies. " sadly we don t have those around. Most people are slaves and only a hand full i creativ and even less knew the technical stuff."

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

"Complications? Hah! You obviously haven't run a mission with me before." Wait... is Rein saying that he can handle any complications, there won't be any complications, or there are guaranteed to be complications beyond their wildest imaginations?

"Anyways, I didn't see much beyond the standard suit of firearms. Mostly ballistic, but I'm not ruling out energy. I don't know how bullet proof you are, but hopefully I can keep them too busy to shoot at you. At least until you get out of range."

[Shadowcaller]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

"I haven't tested how bulletproof I am yet so that would be appreciated." Though since there were mortal-made armor that could withstand bullets then surely could she. "But... keep me updated on these complications that you so often run into." Ambrosia was more of a glass-half-empty kind of person so she assumed that Rein meant that there were always complications. Few plans survived the contact with reality and all that.

[bc56]

Arkant Factory
"I can find some people for that." Sekhmet confirms. However, she realizes something. "But their sense of, uh, decency is usually a bit, uh, off. You should probably have some normal people at least verify that there's nothing wrong with what they make."

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

"Uhh... I mean, there's this one cat complication you can feel free to eat, but other than that I'll let you know. If I'm able to talk that is." Damn that Diva.

"Alright, I'm headed back. Have a good night." Gotta get some sleep for the big day tomorrow!

Reinholdt will dismiss Jeon if there's nothing else and return to the warehouse once morning breaks, in search of some fresh food. He got a good meal here yesterday so...

Admittedly, today's target wasn't the food, but the mission itself.

[Ironsmith]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Rrrrrrow.

If Rein was honestly expecting that Diva wouldn't meet him there, he wasn't paying enough attention. The only thing that's really changed so far is that she seems to be a little more tolerant of his presence, content to glare at him from afar, as opposed to actively trying to chase him off. She continues to glare even as she licks her paw and runs it over her ear, cleaning herself without breaking eye contact with him.

That aside, the scene in the warehouse isn't far removed from what he experienced the first time around. Except for the fact that Klaus isn't out on the floor, that is. He's either out and about or in his office.

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Diva can glare all she likes, Rein's got more important cats to deal with. After a bit of breakfast as he stalls somewhat in hopes Klaus will show his face again, he has but one choice. Go to the office door and sit and meow in front of it. Meow. Meow. Open the door. Meow.

[Ironsmith]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

To Rein's potential surprise, Diva seems to be thinking along the same lines. Sort of. Her following him to breakfast probably isn't that difficult to accept; she clearly doesn't like him and isn't letting him out of her sight (except to eat, as Bebe proves with a bowl of cut-up fish). But when he heads to the office door, she pops up right next to him and mews and scratches at it, seeming to ignore Rein completely.

Then the door opens and Klaus is standing right there, looking down at the two of them quizzically, opening it just enough to let both felines slip in unhindered. Diva, at least, takes immediate advantage of the opportunity and hops up onto the desk, sitting in front of the computer and staring down at Rein.

[Zefir]

Arkant Factory
"I can find some people for that." Sekhmet confirms. However, she realizes something. "But their sense of, uh, decency is usually a bit, uh, off. You should probably have some normal people at least verify that there's nothing wrong with what they make."

Arkant Factory

"I'm sure I can do that." he says. "Just in case would they use magic to seduce whatchers like those who verify it? I would need to take that into account."

[bc56]

Arkant Factory

"I'm sure I can do that." he says. "Just in case would they use magic to seduce whatchers like those who verify it? I would need to take that into account."

"I would be prepared for it. I'll, uh, try to impress on them that magically manipulating emotions isn't making a good impression. They may try anyway, so, uh, just be ready." Sekhmet doesn't have high hopes for this. Many of her subjects would much rather cheat than fail at a task like this.

[Zefir]

Arkant Factory

"I will be prepared." Arkant says. Less does Sekhmet know that he himself is a master in manipulationg. Right now he just didn't need it. Things go as planned and the less tricks he need to use the better. after all he really wants to increase the image of the company.
"I guess thats it for now unless you still got a question i shall answer? If not May I escort you to the port?"

[bc56]

Arkant Factory
"Of course," Sekhmet nods. Their business here is finished. It's time for her to go.

Technically she could just create a portal out now, but there's much more decorum in leaving the mundane way. She'll let Arkant escort her back to the port.

[Ironsmith]

[Omega Briar]

"...but by that time I had two stragglers with me, and they were both really curious about why the 'ambulance' looked so much like a hover tank, so I had to sedate both of them, too. Which wouldn't have been so bad, except one of them weighed, like, six hundred pounds and change." Rose laughs into her phone. "Although, thankfully, he was also really dumb. I mean, really, really dumb. Like, I shot him twice in the face and he just looked at me like 'aahooeh?!'" She lets out another cackle and slaps her leg, shaking her head. "Anyway, yeah. That's the situation, Empress. I've got a couple of spares in the tank now, so I'm going to be a bit late dropping off our alchemist. Gotta find the right hole to dump the witnesses in."

Those are going to be the first words Dorota's going to hear when the toxin finally wears off and she finds herself strapped into the back seat of a high-tech hover tank, hands bound behind her back by some unseen metal fastenings (probably handcuffs, but with the gratuitous tech already around her that's by no means a safe assumption). Despite Rose's ramblings, there don't seem to be any other passengers in the tank; it's just her and Dorota. Raven's pet minion currently has her back to the alchemist, and she might not be aware yet that she's awake.

[Reinholdt]

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Dammit, Rein knew it. Diva is a secret agent of Klaus'. A plant, placed specifically to keep an eye on potential animal infiltration. A druid in disguise most likely. Fine. Rein's been able to seduce and pin druids down in the past. Now that he knows what to expect, he can handle anything Diva throws at him!

For now, though, he's going to go around the office, rubbing allll over things. Leaving his scent on the edge of the door, the cabinet, the desk.
Eventually even Klaus' legs, once he closes the door and actually sits back down. Gotta get his guard down first. Diva can stare at him all she likes while he claims things for himself.

[Omega Briar]

"Hah! Don't shoot the face! Oh wait, you said sedated. I guess you can shoot them in the face then. You just don't want to mess up perfectly good teeth," replies the voice on the phone. Mechazombies need to bite! It's important. "You may as well bring the witnesses with you. Don't want anyone coming to rescue what's her name until she at least finishes her job. And we're going to need test subjects for her. I had someone already in mind, but the two you picked up should do fine instead I guess." Waste not, want not.

[Ironsmith]

[Omega Briar]

"I considered that, but I think we need to break from our usual M.O. on this one." Rose replies silkily. "We're dealing with a skilled hostage laborer here, and that means striking a balance in motivating her. If we make it too obvious we're just going to make her a mechazombie when we're done, she's not going to see any point in cooperating, and we'll be back to square one, plus putting HALO on high alert for any future abductions. I was planning on dumping the bodies somewhere and feeding her a line about giving them amnestics and dropping them off at a quaint little Seaside town. Let her get to thinking we'll just put her back when we're done, or at least give enough room for doubt that it's in her best interests to do what we say; better to have a hand in Empress Ebondark's master plan and maybe get killed over it, than not and definitely die." She shrugs. "Plus, they're her coworkers. If we make her do evil science on them, she might quit out of spite, which isn't any better."

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Diva lets him claim territory with all the high-minded, mission-first self-control one would expect from a housecat.

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS! She bares her teeth and jumps down from the desk to intercept Rein before he can get much further than the door. Uh-uh. She's willing to let him be in here, but this is still her house and that's still her human, capiche?

For his part, Klaus seems pointedly disinterested in the internal politics of the two cats that found his way into his office. He'll give a handful of ear scratches to either of them if they come close (Diva certainly makes a point of it), but otherwise seems completely wrapped up in his work.

[Morty]

[Omega Briar]

Dorota has started to wake up, but wisely decides to stay quiet and pretend she's still out of it. What Rose is telling her mysterious employer chills her to the bone, but it does mean there will be a period where she'll be more useful to them alive than dead. Hopefully enough for a rescue or escape. She also feels slightly vindicated (underneath the fear for her life) that Rose was indeed lying through her teeth back in Inside. If she'd agreed she'd have waltzed right into their trap.

[Reinholdt]

[Omega Briar]

"... Huh?" Raven replies quizzically. "I'm not killing her when she's done! I'll need a hostage for that cow lady to rescue when she comes barging in to ruin my plans. She's my ace up my sleeve! Of course I'm keeping her alive. And the test subjects aren't going to die either. Well, unless the alchemist poisons them when she tests her concoction. Which is the whole reason to keep the co workers. To make sure she isn't doing anything sneaky and creating poison or acid or something volatile to escape." Dorota will be much more likely to cooperate in a productive manner if she has her friends to think about! Silly good guys, always friending anyone and everyone they meet. See now how it bites her in the ass! Nyahaha!

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Foolish Diva! Reinholdt... scurries around one side and hops up onto the just vacated spot, hissing back down at her, ears laid back against his head. It's over Diva, Rein has the high ground. This, uh, does put a hamper on Rein testing Klaus' legs for needle proof padding though. Just... stay down there and don't make Rein bap you, you damn cat!

[Ironsmith]

[Omega Briar]

"...Wait, really?" Rose frowns for a moment, before a small smirk breaks out on her face. "Well, that's good to hear. Although I wish I'd known that sooner, it would have changed my entire approach." She leans back in her chair, quietly examining her nails. "Would you mind running through the plan again for me, then? Just to make sure we're on the same page. I don't want to get there and find out I've goofed it up somehow, in a way that could have been prevented by a five-minute conversation. That'd just be embarrassing for all concerned."

In the meantime, she quietly nudges the steering controls on her tank to take her back the way she came. She might need to pick up those test subjects for Raven. They can't have gone all that far, and the Empress doesn't need to know they were ever out of her sight.


[Extraction Plan: CD]

"If you two are going to fight, you can get out of my office." Klaus drones, with all the offhanded annoyance of someone who is painfully aware of the fact that neither of them can actually understand him.

For her part, Diva decides the desk isn't worth it and settles for crawling up the boss's leg and into his lap, curling up in the ideal spot for petting, which also happens to be a nice place for her to be the obligatory little white cat if anybody feels the need to interrupt.

Aw, look, she's even kneading his legs. She just wants some cuddles. After all, at the end of the day, isn't that all your average housecat really wants?

Klaus, meanwhile, nonchalantly presses a button on the keyboard in front of him and leans back, giving Rein a vaguely perplexed look. "...My god, what happened to your face?" He asks, his voice still not rising above vague detachment.

[Reinholdt]

[Omega Briar]

"Change your approach?" All Rose had to do was bonk Dorota on the head and drag her in right? Well, Rose's method did make for a much better story on the phone and Raven can appreciate the effort put into making the kidnapping appropriately stylish. It's quite the turn on. "I can't tell you the plan again because I never told it to you in the first place. You're cute and an excellent right hand evil girlfriend, but you're also a spy. I mean... we'll still go over phase 2, but when you get here, cause I gotta go over that with the alchemist anyways, and I hate repeating myself." Is there anyone who likes repeating themselves? Probably actually. "Besides, a proper evil villain only reveals the depth of their plot to a hero during their moment of triumph."

[Extraction Plan: CD]

Pfft. What a human concern, with his flapping human words. Rein's face is perfectly fine and amazing. Reinholdt doesn't even deign to dismiss Klaus, not rising to the obvious bait on Rein's intelligence. The cat's pulled enough tests of his own to see one staring him in his all too perfect face.

Instead the cat busies himself with loafing up, becoming a perfect breadcat for the modern day desk worker. Letting things calm down a bit, get relaxed, return to routine. Diva, for once, is making herself useful by being the lapcat that guarantees Klaus won't be able to leave for at least the next fifteen minutes.

[Ironsmith]

[Omega Briar]

"Aw, you still don't trust me?" Rose giggles playfully, batting her eyelashes for effect despite Raven's apparent inability to see the look on her face. "All right. I'll go ahead and bring them in, then. And I'm looking forward to seeing what you have set up. I'll see you in..." She glances down at her watch. "...We'll say ninety minutes, just to be safe. I might be earlier than that, but you never know when some upstart rookie cop is going to pull over a hover tank on the grounds that it's 'speeding'. Or something equally ridiculous. Side note, if there's a cop in the batch of test subjects, now you know how that happened." She makes a kissy sound into the microphone. "See you soon! Love you!"

boop

"...And as for you, Miss Drowsy-Mouth-Breather," She begins again, without turning her head. "You can drop the act. Go ahead and get all the yelling out of your system. It's not going to help, but I can tell you want to do it anyway."


[Extraction Plan: CD]

"...Hm." Klaus frowns, continuing to stare at Rein skeptically. Does that mean this cat's a genuine idiot, like most housecats, or is he just smart enough to not give away that he's smart? One result of the test is ambiguous, and unfortunately, it's the result he got.

What the hell. He's holding all of the cards here anyway. Worst case scenario, he looks a little paranoid in front of absolutely nobody.

"You're not fooling anybody, you know." Klaus continues, staring at the cat-loaf. "I know exactly why you're here. Do you really think you're the first person to try to infiltrate my organization as something innocuous? Even just in Skyside?" He reaches into his coat and produces another one of those handguns, the kind with an air tank attached to the side, that he would have seen being made in the warehouse last time he was here. "Bebe has dozens of cats. I'm sure she won't notice when one goes missing." He levels the handgun at Rein, making the movement slow and deliberate. Even a dumb cat will react to a sudden move; an intelligent one would have to know exactly what's happening to respond appropriately.