XenoMUCK - Monday, February 25, 2002, 5:48 PM
<br><br>
As the day turns into late afternoon, Gabriel Taisen sits largely alone in the
sleepy Nisan Cafe.  On the table he sits at are two cups and an empty dish-- the
cup and dish, however, are not his own.  Apparenly, he had company earlier; but
they are long gone now.  The young priest has since opted to sit and drink his
coffee, staring off into space and contemplating things quietly.
<br><br>
From outside, several sounds are heard.  The shuffling of feet, the murmer of
passers by, and the sound of Kyle Brighton, Yggdrasil Engineer, tripping over
his own feet, and falling on his face.  With a mutter, he enters the cafe and
looks around.  Seeing someone he knows, he heads over to Gabriel's table. 
"Hello, there," He says, politely.  Kyle, for once, actually looks well rested,
and coherant...well, mostly coherant.  He doesn't have a megalomanical gleem in
his eyes, that's for sure.
<br><br>
Gabriel looks up at him, blinking once or twice for good measure.  "Chief
Brighton..?" He states/asks, his voice noticably confused.  He rarely saw the
Engineer, and when he did it usually meant one of two things: 1) Something was
due to break, and 2) That mechanical monstrocity of a chu-chu was around.  
"A-are you okay?  What was that fuss outside?"
<br><br>
"Eheheheheh...." Sweatdrop.  "That commotion outside was just...err..an animal
of some sort...", quieter he says, "Yea...that's the ticket..."  For once, and
Kyle was very greatful for this, nothing was out of the ordinary, and, almost as
a second thought, Kyle says, "And don't call me Chief!  I'm just an
engineer/technition/roboticist, not a Chief."  Great Caeser's Ghost!  "I was
just wondering if you ever got that Gear you were inquiring about."
<br><br>
"Oh!" He sets his cup of coffee down, "To be honest, I havn't had time to follow
up on it... although, at a time like this, it would prove useful."  He sighs
softly, "I'm not sure how closely you've been following the situation of late,"
He gestures vaguely towards the Cathedral, "but it's got me very worried..." 
His eyes lower back to the table, "... I'm deathly worried about the Holy
Mother."
<br><br>
"Hrm?"  Brighton looks a bit confused, which is understandable, as he's been
holed up in his lab for a while, trying to figure out what's wrong with Mecha
Chuchu, and where it is for that matter.  "Is Margie-san in trouble?"
"Techincally, no."  Gabriel sighs again and sips his now lukewarm coffee. 
<br><br>
"She's in meeting with some ambassador from a "faraway land"... but the whole
thing stinks to high heaven.  They won't let me anywhere near the Cathedral, and
there are guards all over the place that claim they're working for us... but I
know all of the Cathedral guard, and it is certainly not them... I really wish I
had one of your Gears, Master Brighton.  Maybe then I could stand a chance if
she was suddenly kidnapped..."
<br><br>
With a blink, Kyle looks at Gabriel, "Well, it sounds fairly foul to me, too. 
Where's the skipper during all of this?  Isn't it his job to protect
Margie-san?"  Kyle looks a bit angry, it's not really directed at Bart or
anyone, really, it's just that he wishes he could help out some how.  "She's in
the Church?"  Kyle looks in that general direction, "Hrm..."
<br><br>
Gabriel nods.  "And the Captain was supposed to have gotten inside somehow...
but how, I'm not exactly certain.  I've not heard from him in some hours... I'm
also beginning to fear for him as well."  The young priest sighs nervously,
running a hand through his hair.  "This whole thing just seems so wrong... but
what if *I'm* wrong?  Then I start an international incident that could put
Nisan in a very dangerous place... AND it would offend the Holy Mother to no
end.. it may even dishonor her, and I would sooner die than let that happen."
<br><br>
Kyle looks pensive for a moment..."Maybe...no, no, that could be
seen...Perhaps..."  He quickly pulls out a piece of paper and a pen, and starts
sketching some stuff.  It looks like a fairly complex diagram, involving lenses,
electronics, and a few recievers... "Maybe if I could rig up a few small
transmitters, I could find out what's going on!"  (OOC: With everyone's
permission, of course.).
<br><br>
The young priest perks up, blinking some more.  "You.. you can do that?  You can
rig up some kind of spying device?"  A mixture of emotions rages through
Gabriel's mind; Margie's safety is paramount to him, but he also feels he should
respect her privacy... but then again, does she have any privacy left to
protect?!  Deferring to his sense of paranoia first, he watches Kyle with
interest.
<br><br>
With a quick nod, Kyle states, "Yes...I'm sure I could rig up something like
that, and it wouldn't go mad like some other creation of mine...I'll be sure
never to by robotic brains from that old drunk again!  'Big Joe Brand parts are
the best' my keester!"  Kyle looks a bit angry while saying that last statment,
but it quickly passes.  "I'd have to be careful where I put them, though, as I don't want them to be seen...and I don't want them to go any place that could be embarassing to anyone."  Kyle looks thoughtful.
<br><br>
"But if I recall correctly, the meeting room doesn't have many windows... in
order to see in the window, you'd probably have to look from the other side of
the Lake... maybe even the mountainside, and from there you couldn't see much." 
Gabriel now smacks himself mentally for not thinking of this himself.  "And as
far as getting a microphone near it is concerned... well, that would be tricky
at best.  The outside guard is very... determined."
<br><br>
"Hrm...that could proove to be a problem..."  Hrm...the Ygg's got some special
listening apparati..."We might be able to rig something up..."  Kyle ponders
this for a few moments, "I'll have to ask a few folks, though, but I think we
can do some stuff.  And I might be able to sneak in a small video device...maybe
I could have one of the nuns take it in...or disguise myself somehow..."  One
thing pops in to Kyle's mind, "What country are they from, anyway?"
<br><br>
"They never said... but I suspect it may have something to do with one of the
sky nations... Their accents were very thick, and definately NOT from anywhere
on Ignas."
<br><br>
You say, "So, either Solaris or, what was it, Shebat?  Shegrat?  I can't
remember.""
<br><br>
Gabriel says, "Nor can I... but the Captain isn't fond of the other one, and I
wouldn't put it past Solaris to try and test our loyalties... especially that
damned Ministry.  The field of suspects is about as narrow as the ocean, and
their reasons for doing what they're doing are legion... I just want to find out
who it is and stop them... assuming this IS foul play..."
<br><br>
"Well, the best way for us to find out is by getting this stuff built, and then
finding out a way to get in.  I can work on the first part, but I don't know
Nisan very well, unfortunately, do you think you can find a way in, or a way to
sneak past the guards?"  This plan could work!  And, if we find any sort of foul
play, it might make up for the whole 'Mecha Chuchu' thing!
<br><br>
"I don't know the way as well as I'd like... the Captain grew up here, though...
I'll have to see if one of the Sisters is about... or maybe even Master Sigurd! 
I hear he grew up near Nisan... perhaps he knows something that the Captain told
him... at this point, I'll have to chance it."
<br><br>
Brighton nods, "Yea!  I'm sure that he'll go along with it!  Especially if it's
to keep Margie safe!"
<br><br>
Gabriel smiles softly... something he has not done in many days now.  "God bless
you, Master Brighton... I do believe that you were sent to me in my hour of
need, and I thank both God and you for finding me when I needed help the most."
<br><br>
With a grin, Kyle responds, "Thanks.  And ask the Lord to keep an eye on me
while I'm doing this, I'll probably need all the help I can get, and, Brother,
God's the biggest helping hand there is!"
<br><br>
The young priest laughs at this, and it feels good... he hasn't laughed in even
longer.  "Amen, amen, and amen.  What can I do to help right now?"
<br><br>
Kyle starts to look serious at this, "Keep an eye on that guard.  See if there's
anyone that he lets in, or if there's any pattern that he has to his watch. 
With that kind of information, as well as the information on who comes and goes
from the Cathedral, I can probably figure out how to smuggle the device in
there."
<br><br>
Gabriel says, "That's the catch... it's a she, and even she isn't allowed in...
her only job is to keep others out."  He sighs, staring out of the window. 
"Miss Scivenhein's one of the toughest opponents I've come across, both
physically and mentally... I pray that it won't come to a fight."
You say, "Hrm...I wonder if I could talk my way in there...or perhaps we can
fake a Mecha Chuchu attack...Yea!""
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He narrows his eyes, "At which point, she would obliterate it."
<br><br>
You say, "It meaning my attempt or Mecha Chuchu?"
<br><br>
Gabriel says, "Chu-Chu first-- and your plan promptly thereafter."
<br><br>
You say, "Ah..."
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You say, "I take it that small, controlled explosions wouldn't work either,
right?"
<br><br>
Gabriel says, "They might disorient them for a bit... but it might just make
them push up their final move sooner-- AND it would damage a milennia-old
cathedral."
<br><br>
You say, "Yes...yes, that would be bad.  Sleeping gas or a Sleep ether?""
Gabriel says, "Gas maybe... ether is tricky.  I sense that the lead guard has
some powerful ether powers she's keeping under wraps."
<br><br>
You say, "Hrm...Dang...I just wish I had developed my Chi more, now a days...I
heard rumors that my father could knock out a guy just using that...."