Honor and Money

[Renekin Skywalker]

"Hey!" Charger says, grinning and rolling up the carpet. "I wonder if they'll miss this." Heaving it over his shoulders, he heads East.

[Mierin]

Miranda is quiet before asking "So now you're asking us to pick the way we become your indentured servants?" 'No wonder Charger left. I have half a mind to leave with him. This is BS. No matter what we do, we end up their slaves.'

[shiivster]

*Jeckle covers the mouth with one hand and shakes her head at how the one from the shaft that run her up and out walked away and then vanished.

*she takes a deep breath and then lowers the hand and looks at Ivan with a more studied look, as if assessing him. she finally assumes that HE's the one that uses fire and is there to keep her in check.

*who the others are or what they could have used are still lost to her. with that thought in mind, she wonders how HIS team is the counter to their own.

*one hand still cups her chin and now one finger taps against her lips from time to time. her mind is thinking things thru along her original thought of the Labyrinth becoming a 'distinct' society.

*she mutters a fewwords under her breath as she taps her finger. 'self government .. hmmm .... ' *her attention is then back on the others as she watches before asking one simple question in the silence and taps the case thats on the table in front of her 'Sir? were these grown here?'

[tag]

[dakota]

Growing tired of all the banter as well, but not as impatient as Charger, he leaned back in the chair and looked at Tiger. His mouth engaged before his brain as usual," Well Bosskitty, here's a thought. It's your team. You tell me what you want me to do, and I'll bloody well do it. But we do it as a Whole team." It occured to him that he had probably just offended both Tiger and her father and instantly regretted it, but he didn't let it show. " Oh, and that includes the nutbag that just go whisked out of here. He's better comic relief than I could ever me."

[shiivster]

*Jeckle closes the lips and holds back any other comment, but her face can be seen holding back some repressed laughter and she focuses on the salt shaker in front of her to get control of herself.

*once under control again, she looks at Khris and then her attention is focused to scan the faces for the reaction of his words.

[tag]

[albatross]

A server clears away the stack of bills in front of Tiger as if it were a dirty dish. She walks over and reaches for the pearls but quickly retreats to the kitchen when Jeckle asks her question. Tiger's father thinks for a moment. "No," he pauses, "South Seas I think."

Tiger quickly recovers upon hearing that Charger is a mere three years away. She considers Kris' response carefully. When she hired Charger she had been expecting a battle, and he like the rest of her team had not been selected as a negotiator. Indeed, Tiger herself was rarely selected for such missions and if she had known her father was going to be here she would have killed anyone who tried to force her to go.

The Captain was capable of working with her enemies and former enemies. She could work with Charger again, despite the way he had set the team back. But right now he was safe, relatively unscathed. If they managed to convince her father to return him, would he want to return? Tiger knew skipping him forward three years was merely a joke to Fakir and her father. If he did agree to return there might be something far more nasty in store for him in the present or the future. And Tiger held no illusions that returning Charger would cost the team 'extra' if there was really meaning to the term at this point.

At Kris's suggestion, her father and his team look to see her reply. Dervish interrupts, "Why not an unfinished mission? One job and thats all you owe us. Completing a mission is hardly servitude," he looks at Wind Chill, "You complete them for Omega Shield all the time. A mission is merely an assignment you chose to accept for pay. In this case you are earning the Labyrinth. You could even pick the mission."

Tiger looks at Dervish without saying anything for a moment, "What is behind the doors." She gestures round.

Ivan says, pointing, "Kitchens, Storage, Business, Massage, and Pool."

Tiger stands up, "Could we continue this discussion by the pool." Her voice is oddly cold, and she stands with her back straight.

"Certainly," Tiger's father agrees.

The room with the pool doesn't just have a pool, but also a hot tub and several jacuzzis. The pool is staffed with three merrows, the hot tub has two mermaids. One Jacuzzi is filled with milk. There are tables, chairs and a big screen television visible from the hot tub. A massive bar stocked with all kinds of alcohol and hundreds of bottles of wine is on one wall, staffed by an amphibious mutant.

Tiger's father and his minions ditch their clothing, which is gathered by servers, and all of them get into the massive hot tub, yet there is still room for at least ten more people. Tiger also removes her dress without any hint of modesty. She is in the hot tub quickly and orders water from the bar to stave off a headache. One of the mermaids give Dervish a back rub while everyone decides where they are going to sit. The minions all look very nice out of their conservative clothes, but Tiger's father looks even more alien.

To the possible surprise anyone who hasn't worked with him before, Patriot also has no modesty, and orders a drink and walks it over to the hot tub without his uniform.

Tiger waits for everyone to decide where they are going to sit, expecting at least of couple of her team to merely sit next to the hot tub rather than sit naked with their enemies. At least Patriot doesn't seem disturbed by the cheap psychological trick.

O.O.C.: Be sure to be clear if any character decides to stay behind at the dinner table or attempt to walk out ala Charger.

[shiivster]

*Jeckle follows, and suddenly becomes interested in her nails as the others strip down and enter the pool. *she settles on one of the chairs near the pool and returns to her quiet observations.

*she shakes her head to herself as a random thought crosses her mind. Heckle would have loved this place. he would have fit right in. she looks tothe left as if someone was there, and then shakes the head.

*she wipes at the left eye as it twitches. she'll need a place to soak soon with a straw above the water. the fire sorta dried hr out a little. she shower earlier did help, but its easier to soak in private when fewer eyes are watching her.

[tag]

[Mierin]

Miranda gives Devrish a flat look as she says "I owe you NOTHING!" For a minute, her calm exterior is gone, and if one looked closely enough, it looked like there were flames in in the blue of her eyes. She closes her eyes and visibly takes a deep breath, in an attempt to control her temper. While her fire powers were a great asset in many ways, they were a liability as they sometimes seemed to fuel her already explosive temper.

When Tiger suggests they move to the pool, she follows silently, not speaking. When she sees the next psychological trick Tiger's father and his associates are pulling, she simply turns around and walks out of the room and returns to the dining room and sits back down.
(tag)

[albatross]

Back in the dining room, away from the pool room, the servers still pay attention to Wind Chill and will fetch her any food or drink she requires, however the staff of all the rooms other than the pool room sit down to eat at the far end of the table.

The two dozen staff members fit quite easily at only half of the great table. Some look human, while at least ten are obviously mutants - though some are quite beautiful. There are also elves and small canine creatures who are apparently the cooks. Their vague resemblance to the werewolves is easy to overlook since they are dressed in sharp chefs uniforms and are mixed in with the others. The staff is apparently on meal break and they have friendly conversations in several friendly languages and frequently tell jokes.

[Renekin Skywalker]

"... and in the desert, you can't remember your name, for there ain't no one for to give you no pain..." Sings Charger, as he tromps East, carpet in tow.

In the back of his mind, he was curious to see what would happen next. If they didn't need him, he was off scott free. If they did, he figured Tiger wouldn't ask, and if he was that crucial to the plan, then the father would have to bring him back on his own... And he was off scott free, because, there was no way either would bring him back and weaken their positions. politians... I still don't see why they have to have the pissing contest. If that guy was so temporally manipulative, why not change the plans of the government to a date he could work with? But noooo.... Nope, gotta make a bonus off manipulating people... Charger shakes his head.

And he walks on through the desert, wondering what he'ld encounter first.

[dakota]

Khris merely followed the others , loosening his collar and sitting down on a backwards chair. When Tiger disrobed, he caught himself watching and quickly averted his attention to WindChill's abrupt departure. " I'll get her." He said too quickly and went back to the dining room.

" Hey, what was that all about?" He asked as he approached Miranda, ignoring the others at the other end of the table. " Look, Miranda, you have to trust me here. I'm out of my element too, but we have to stick together. If they can divide us, it makes their plan simpler. That was just their way to show they have no fear of us, don't let it get to you, the Sicilians and Russian mafia do the same thing. " He smirked," And trust me, it's alot worse having a pasty 400 pound russian strip down and crawl in the tub than that bunch."

[Dome]

Dante, who for the last several moments had remained totally silent while watching Charger depart, and the others discuss things stands with the group and follows them to the pool area. When Tiger disrobes, he cannot help but look and appraise her appearance for a moment. For a moment he thought of following Miranda, and staying back in the dining hall. Instead he stands behind Jeckle as she sits in the chair.

He decides to speak up and remembering the way his father spoke at High powered dinners when he was still alive and CEO of Hayfurst Technologies, hesays, "Excuse her(indicating WindChill), Captain, and Captain's Father,(for lack of a name) I do truly believe she and even Charger mean you both absolutely no disrespect. Please understand that the current predicament most of us find ourselves in is new to us. None of us were chosen for this team, or mission because of our skills at negotiation or politicking. We were chosen for our abilities in the field, whether they be combat, or in the case of Jeckle here, the creation of field capable hardware. This new situation is new to us all, and we have been given little time to adjust. I'm sure sir, (looking at The Father) you are very much aware of what we had to face and fight our way through to get here. Perhaps if we were given more time to adjust to this new situation, and even a chance to confer in private with the Captain, the negotiations can go much smoother."

[tag]

[shiivster]

*Jeckle looks up towards Dante's form behind her and suggests 'no point in you missing out on the hott water. i'll relax later, when my body won't be critiqued for lousy doctoring skills'

*she says nothing more, but there are a few comments she wishes she could say. if she did, it would prove Dante's words as 'individualism' than 'team'. while she doesn't know the others yet and would rather work behind the scenes and NOT deal with people, she's learning that teamwork, even if its scary, could be worth something.

'in for a penny, in for a pound' *her simple words to Tiger shows her support as simply as she can state. her eyes study the various faces now turned towards Dante and herself.

[tag]

[albatross]

Tiger's father smiles, "Don't worry I believe my daughter will be asking all of you a question shortly, it seems she justs wants a short break before then." His tone seems jesting, as if he knows exactly what Tiger is really trying to do and he is merely playing along because he enjoys it.

"I don't think we need to wait on anyone, if your team does need to confer privately I'm sure those absent can be filled in at that time."

Tiger responds, "Agreed." Inside Tiger had wanted a private meeting earlier, hoping she could use Bell's insidious plan of asking each member of the team to volunteer to be an apprentice as an excuse to confer privately. But that ship had sailed. At the moment most of the team seemed reasonably well composed in the wake of Charger's departure and there was probably nothing Tiger could tell any of them that would make the next step any easier.

Tiger proceeds to tell two stories. It seems like at first she is recalling old adventures, the first one being an encounter with the Pilgrim. They take a bit of time to tell, and she confirms several details and her father interjects several comments along the way. Since the stories take a while, Shroud or Wind Chill are likely to hear the majority of the first one and all of the second if they return to the pool room.

The first story details her father's team's defeat at the hands of the gunslinger and mage known as the Pilgrim. This happened long before even Dervish joined her father's team, so the minions listen with rapt attention. To this day they aren't sure how the Pilgrim knew the location of the 'off site' minion, but the fact remained that he had been killed, and although the Pilgrim was temporarily killed in the ambush, so were four of Tiger's father's team.

And, when the survivors had gone back in time to re fight the battle, not only was the "off site" minion killed again, but this time the Pilgrim did not die and he killed six team members and four mercenaries before someone managed to escape.

The survivors had gone back in time and canceled the mission, thus it was 'unfinished.'

The next story was very similar, only this time the 'off site' minion was fine. Instead the entire combat team had been annihilated by something Tiger's and her father called a 'demon' though it was difficult to imagine the kind of creature they would view as a monster.

And when the combat team had changed tactics and added some extra help, they had still been killed to the very last and the demon has been even better prepared the second time. While it might not have been a time traveler, its knowledge of the present was complete.

This mission too was 'unfinished.' Dervish, TS, Fakir, Nan, Bell and Ivan seem to enjoy the stories, though they all realize eventually what Tiger is trying to do. On one hand, she is detailing to her team exactly what an unfinished mission is: not something merely forgotten, but something her Father's team failed and was deemed too dangerous to repeat. On the other hand she is leveraging any potential offers of unfinished missions. An unfinished mission may not be worth as much money as the Labyrinth, but there is no way Tiger would view it in terms of money. Instead she has re framed the discussion in terms of difficulty.

Tiger turns to Dervish, "What did you have in mind?"

Dervish reaches back and takes a drink of his margarita. "You could save the President." Patriot looks up in alarm, but Tiger rolls her eyes. "It is very important to the world economy."

"You mean the smuggler economy?" Tiger responds sarcastically. At this point Patriot looks confused. Tiger turns to him, "He isn't talking about the President of the United States." She turns back to Dervish.

"Why no, why ever would you think so? I'm referring to the leader of China. Still Tiger, as a former soldier of China, wouldn't it be your duty to save him?"

"How significant were the casualties?" Tiger asks bluntly.

Dervish pauses, about to say something clever, but he thinks better of it and says, "Four."

"Then forget it."

"I bet you could figure out how to get it down to one or two." Dervish shrugs.

Tiger says nothing. The other minions fidget, unimpressed by Dervish's waste of time. They were sure Tiger's father would be extremely displeased if she went on such a suicidal mission.

Fakir speaks up, "What about a mission where no one got killed?" Tiger's eyes narrow and she studies Fakir intently. "Why was it unfinished?" She inquired.

"The mission was to find and recover something. We found it, but we couldn't successfully recover it." Fakir explains.

"Actually," Tiger's father interjects, "Fakir did manage to recover one, but it didn't work. We need one operational. Extremely useful. "
"Thats right," TS says, "Fakir did put together a team that brought one back didn't you Fakir?" TS grins at Fakir mockingly.

"What is it? How did you bring one back and what needs to be done to succeed?" Tiger asks Fakir.

Fakir looks at her, frowning, "I'm convinced our tactics and whole way of thinking about the problem were wrong. The team I took was different, but they failed too really. It was just a different kind of failure."

"What Fakir is trying to say, Captain," Tiger's father says, "Is that if we had the slightest idea how to put together a team to recover one then it would already be in our possession. As for what 'it' is, I'm sure you won't miss it if you are concerned. A magical artifact of incredible power which is in different forms at different times. We'll give you the location. That part at least was a success."

Speaking to Fakir she asks, "Did you have to kill alot of people to get it?"

"No," Fakir says surprised by the question, "no. Our enemies suffered very little loss of life. Less than a dozen people were killed each time."

Tiger turns to Patriot, "Think this over carefully before answering. You said you wanted to stay and clean up the district. Would that include acting as a communication liaison for the handover of Labyrinth territory?"

Patriot is quiet for only a second. "Yes, Captain." He responds. Tiger looks at him intently and nods.

"Time for our conference."

[tag: Kris, Dante, Jeckle, Wind Chill]

O.O.C.: Tiger will get a bathrobe and convene a meeting in the Business room. It includes computers and expensive offices and desks, undoubtedly where the crime is organized. Patriot has slipped back into his costume. Unfortunately, Charger hasn't been brought back for the conference.

[shiivster]

*Jeckle simply rises and studies her feet as people start emerging out of the hottub betrays her actual uneasiness of the action mixed in with some respect to not stare. without a word she follows the others out, but turns once to give Minator a simple nod before exiting the room altogether.

*she simply waits for the others to have their reaction to the whole thing. she's just a tinkerer of toys and not really worried about this area, but even she's bothered by something that was said and is trying to figure a way out.

[tag]