Session 14: Kraken Right Along - kaseido/NeoTokyo GitHub Wiki

304 Bezos 1 Earth

TreeHouse R&D Center

The team is back from the highly successful raid on the Okushiri Ridge Logistics Hub. It’s still late morning, though everyone’s been up since before 4 AM.

Kniffin has taken Moopsie back to the resort for a day of intensive therapy: the voices in her head have gotten bad again, after Kestrel offloaded the Alice shard. Kira and Kat stayed with Croyle on the sub for training.

Calder states that, assuming the base has replicators, with unlimited geothermal power they can hold out down there forever. Apparently they don’t have industrial replicators, as they’ve been importing tons of parts. Additionally, getting down there required custom-built subs like the Yokozuna, Zhukov’s deep-sea sub.

He adds, according to specs, the Anglerfish-class subs are only armed with anti-kraken screamers, but they’re nearly indestructible, designed to operate at extreme depths.

“If we could get a sub, we could probably brute-force an approach – particularly to the geothermal tap, which might not be heavily defended. Cut power there, then get to the base, infiltrate, and bob’s your uncle. Though a heavy-weapons diversion from the sub might be nice... Lane discovers that there are two other subs: the Kraken and the Chimera. They’re easy to track down: they’re publicly registered, to the Shenzhou University Department of Marine Research and to Evergreen Marine Transport LLC, also headquartered in Shenzhou, respectively.

Calder notes that TreeHouse has active relations with both entities: their R&D division regularly cooperates with the University, and nearly all their machine parts are manufactured by Shenzhou companies and shipped via Evergreen: in fact, there are three Evergreen containerships in port right now. Thing is, nobody up there likes the Landfall mega-corps, and Nguyen Acquisitions doesn’t have a presence there: they just buy stuff.

Madison interrupts: What TreeHouse can offer, though, is introductions via their researchers to the University department: working the scientist network might get you in to pitch to the University. She’s got colleagues in the Oceanography Department she’s partied with: they don’t care who funds research, as long as they get to do it.

Lane gives Madison a big hug and kiss for that one, and smacks her on the ass. She asks if Madison will make the connections.

Rook wonders if they might be required to take a Uni researcher: they’ll need a really good story for why they can’t come. Lane says they’ll just promise that Madison will report back. Rina suggests they put in the contract that all research will be shared with the University.

Madison and Lane head off to her office, where they call Madison’s colleague in Shenzhou, Dr. Lindsay Deluca. Delucca’s interested in the prospect of renting out the sub: it’s just sitting in port right now: they’re in the processing and review phase of the grant cycle, so they’re pretty much just sitting on their hands until funding comes in. She’s very curious about the project, though! TreeHouse doesn’t do deep work: what’re they after?

Lane: “Madison’s putting her tail in the water with this deep sea research.” Delucca buys it, bus she says she’ll have to pitch any deal to the Dean, Dr. Hu Zhao: he’s the one with contracting authority.

Lane and Madison double-team Dr. Hu, and wheedle him down to NB5k plus insurance for the sub rental.

Meanwhile, Rina decides it’s time to get Bathory a kitten. She pings Kaito, who’s excited to hear from her: he’s full of news and questions. Is it true Moopsie’s here? That she sold the clinic? Why hasn’t she come to visit? Are they in danger like the Haiphong Colony was? And they hired a liaison – and you have to come hear her story! He’s told it to Grandfather, who’s very concerned!

They’re getting settled in nicely in their warehouse: nobody pays them any attention, and there’s infinite fish. They hired somebody, a paramedic named Shiori – she’s like Rina or Moopsie, before – you know. But not! Entirely different biotech! It looks like they forked from the original Shimizu U. designs ages ago. She’s got a daughter who they’re pretty much taking over raising.

But here’s the thing: Shiori’s a refugee from a colony the Clowder didn’t know about – but things went really bad for them. The cats are ruled over by human-cat hybrids, and they’re all a gang that pretty much runs the underworld up in Shenzhou, where it’s really cold. They even call themselves the Snow Cats.

Anyway, they’re really bad people, and Shiori didn’t want her daughter Chika to be bad people, so they ran away, and have been lying low but she doesn’t even know if they’re looking for her or not, so she doesn’t know how much to risk, and so they’re all hanging out in the warehouse now and –

Rina makes some notes on what would make for an adoptable kitten, based on stories of the previous adopted-out set: like Boo, probably. He was very good at managing the humans, even for being so young. There’s so many stories about the prowess Boo and how he went on to be an Intergalactic Cat!

And she should bring Jiefan along for her insights into organized crime! And on this alternate kitty colony that they will probably have to make war on and conquer utterly! It sounds like their people don’t want to be there, but people in the Clowder do, so they’ll need to smash! She calls Jiefan and says they need her expertise, since there are kitty gangsters out there! Jiefan will head over once she stops laughing.

Colony Warehouse

They arrive at the warehouse the Clowder has rented for the local colony. Rina has Bathory sit down and talk to Kaito, who he’ll be answering to. They’re totally vibing together! Eventually Kaito breaks to recommend Yori, who is super cute, and climbs right up onto Bathory’s shoulder, digging metal claws in. He pretends not to notice as blood seeps into his turtleneck.

Rina suggests they go hang out elsewhere for a bit: she needs to talk biz with Kaito. She explains to Yori that probably you shouldn’t damage the humans: it’s harder for them to get you snacks if they lose all feeling in their arms.

Rina sits down with Jiefan and Kaito, so Jiefan can get the briefing. Rina gives Kaito a briefing on threat levels, stressing, run, do not fight, if anything comes at you. She doesn’t give Kaito more than “need to know.”

Shiori arrives: she is not like Rina or pre-Flame Moopsie: this is not a human with bolt-on parts and some minor gene tweaks. Shiori looks like she’s a full hybrid from the DNA out. You know the Clowder doesn’t have anything remotely like that kind of biotech. Moopsie would kill- probably literally at this point – for a look at Shiori’s DNA: Moopsie needs to see this: maybe it’ll get her acting like a doctor again. Rina talks to Shiori like a cat. She explains who she is: “This is my Clowder! And I have a job! This is my friend Jiefan, and she knows about bad people who organize together to do crime. You can trust her.” Weird accent, but she’s sure Shiori got the message. She switches back to Standard and introduces Jiefan.

Yori knows to go cuddle up to the supposed mother with a kid who just came running to them.

Rina asks who runs the Clowder-equivalent, and Shiori thoroughly describes the Xue Ma leadership. Rina thinks she knows an awful lot about the organizational structure for an undergrad dropout. “No, if you were disposable, you’d be dead. Right Jiefan?” Jiefan agrees. “I collect princesses now!” She swishes her tail, grinning. “It’s ok, I’m very good at keeping secrets.” Shiori sticks to her story.

Nobody notices the shadows over the skylight until it shatters, and a Xue Ma strike team rappels down: two women in red armor, each with a snow-white cat with cyber-eyes.

“WTF are you?!” The attacker with the katana comes to a dead stop, boggling at Rina.

“I am Cat!” and goes right for the face with her rippers. She connects! As she dives for cover, she slaps Shiori on the chest and says, “You have to make a choice!” Rina keeps swearing at Team 1’s Cat.

She calls her team for a chill heads-up: “We’ll probably be ok, but, you know…”

She’s been screaming in Cat all along. Team 1 goes down, her Cat running off. She runs over towards Team 1, screaming insults at their Cat. Jiefan and Florian shoot Team 1 at close range, taking her down. Her Cat runs off as well. Rina’s in bad shape. She looks over at Shiori: “Expendable?!”

Shiori admits to being one of their major geneticists. Rina uses Jiefan to pull herself up. “You brought them here to my family! What are you going to do now to protect my family?!”

She says she’ll turn herself over to Rina’s authorities if Kaito will protect Chieko. Kaito says she’ll protect an innocent kit, but just hisses at the mother.

Rina sends a frantic Agent message to Jiefan: “What the fuck do I do now?” Jiefan tells her to ask for a guarantee on behalf of her Triad, against revenge by the Wo Group. Rina adds, “and we will send them one of your ears to seal it!”

Shiori agrees to surrender to both the Clowder and the Triad for judgement.

Rina asks Jiefan to get word that Shiori isn’t on the Drift anymore, and that there’s nothing of interest there. She agrees and says she’ll be sending a full report to the Mountain Master.

Rina tells Shiori to say goodbye to her daughter, then turns her over to TreeHouse security. Bathory is more than happy to turn him over to his backup.

Back in the car Rina curls up in the car and whimpers. “Getting shot hurts, Jiefan!”

TreeHouse R&D

Meanwhile, Rook is taken over to a room full of very confused engineers. They’re supposed to make some sort of weapon? For a super deep sea submarine they don’t have? And to do it all yesterday? What’s going on? And by the way, who are you?

“I did play a lot of that sub game, though, and I think I might know how to drive one?”

They design a turret that definitely can work at depth. They’ll deal with mounting it once they get the sub.

Reunited, Lane talks about how great Madison was, and then describes the sub, which should help with mods. Rina’s still pretty busted up. “After we pull the legs off of Zhukov, we have to go destroy the mountain. There’s a cat abomination nation!” Lane says whatever Rina wants, they’ll do – after pulling Zhukov’s legs off.

Grandfather calls. Rina won’t take the cats up till she’s done her own recon. She definitely hasn’t told Moopsie. She wants to talk to Kniffin after she’s gotten better. She cries to Lane about having ruined another hoodie dress. Lane gets online and orders some things delivered. It’s been a long day, since before sunrise. The team retires to their hotel for the evening.