Sakura waited with Kioko for the other's to arrive, sitting a staff room the Soshi helpfully commandeered.

Dai arrives promptly, "Sa...oshi-sama, Hotaru-sama." He catches his manners, barely, "Good afternoon. Thanks for having me."

The speech patterns of serious/business Dai present as opposed to Delvin' Dai.

(D6, MA: Fluff etiquette/awareness | 4k3 ⇒ 17 (TN: ?))

Arriving soon after was the little Spider. A smile on her face, as she bowed to those who had already arrived.

"Good afternoon mina-san. I hope you are well?"

"Dai-san, greetings! Glad to have you onboard for some delvin'." She giggled at her own lame joke.

Turning towards the other arrival, she bowed. "Susumu-sama, I presume?"

The Soshi had asked for Sakura and the others to wait in the room for a moment while she went to gather some documents in another room, but she's soon back.

"Hotaru-san, Susumu-san, thank you very much for coming", she says, bowing respectfully - and speaking in a somewhat more serious and formal manner than usual, as both will probably notice. "Dai-san, pleased to meet you. Hotaru-san has said good things about you."

She looks at the door. "I believe some others may be joining us in a while. For now... do you want some tea? Refreshments?"

Two drake heads poking out of her pockets suggested they would like refreshments, but this time she's quick to react trying to calm them down.

She'll then close the door. As this is an internal staff room that she's reserved for a meeting, this should give them a reasonable amount of privacy - those coming to the help desk at the Centre later looking for Kioku would be directed to the room where the meeting was happening.

Even with these precautions, she lowers her voice slightly when saying the next few words.

"Minasan, I... imagine you have questions. Let us start with some of those, and I can fill the others in as they arrive."

(OOC: Those arriving later will be directed to the room, and if the meeting has gone far when you get here we can just assume you'll have arrived at some point during the conversation to make things easier with different posting times and all!)

Dai bows at the greeting and offers a slight smile to Sakura.

He lets his betters lead the flow - partaking in tea and refreshments if they request them and foregoing them otherwise.

Similarly, though he has many questions, he remains silent for the moment to let them ask theirs.

"Hai I am Hotaru-san, we met briefly at the arcade a short while ago."

Sumiko bowed when Kioku arrived.

"Good afternoon Soshi-sama. I hope you are well. I do have quite a few questions, but the main one would be the location of the site. Forgive me, I'm not a local, but I wasn't aware of an easy route to get into such a restricted area nor to travel to specific places within it."

Sakura smiled as she sat next to the Soshi.

"Just to be celar, this is in the Desolation, a dangerous location. The lab shoukd be mostly intact, and our gial is..whatever we can find that is useful."

Dai listens and nods along, "If it's intact I'm guessing we're talking about outside of Ground Zero then? There's little that fits that description further in unless it was underground."

Susumu Sumiko wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:02 pm

"Hai I am Hotaru-san, we met briefly at the arcade a short while ago."

Sumiko bowed when Kioku arrived.

"Good afternoon Soshi-sama. I hope you are well. I do have quite a few questions, but the main one would be the location of the site. Forgive me, I'm not a local, but I wasn't aware of an easy route to get into such a restricted area nor to travel to specific places within it."

Hotaru Sakura wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:05 pm

Sakura smiled as she sat next to the Soshi.

"Just to be celar, this is in the Desolation, a dangerous location. The lab shoukd be mostly intact, and our gial is..whatever we can find that is useful."

Dai wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:14 pm

Dai listens and nods along, "If it's intact I'm guessing we're talking about outside of Ground Zero then? There's little that fits that description further in unless it was underground."

"I've been quite well, Susumu-san, thank you. I hope you have been well as well?", she will say to Sumiko, with a polite, but friendly nod.

"In fact... since I've learned of the possiblity of finding these samples, I have felt better than I have in a long time. As I've told you all... it will be very important to me if they can be retrieved." A nod.

"I have said part of this to some of you, but not all. The samples I hope we may find in the laboratory - these would be the last known samples of the main species I had been working with back then. The Rainbow Olm."

She takes a long breath. "These are an amphibious species similar to salamanders, which lived underground, in caves, or in burrows dig by themselves or other animals. They had a very long lifespan, a remarkable capacity for self-regeneration, and they were resistant to many diseases. But with such lifespan and slow reproduction, they were ill equipped to survive in human-altered environments, or compete with other species in the ever decreasing habitat they could have available."

A pause.

"During my work there, we kept a population of them. The one believed to be the last one in existence. We were trying to use gene therapy and other techniques to develop treatments for... a number of diseases. One of which..."

Another long breath, her eyes falling to the ground for a while before she raises them up to the others again. "My daughter, Soshi Omoi, she was one of the patients at our laboratory. Being near the population of Olms we kept at the lab, they... " she trails off, nostalgic.

"You could say they came to be her closest friends. Even as her disease made her increasingly frail, they seemed to give her hope and energy". Some happiness gleams in her eyes as she says this.

"If the sample can be retrieved... it won't bring my daughter back, of course. But it could bring the Olms back. It wouldn't be easy or quick, but... I believe we could work to bring some specimens, a small population, back. Have them exist here at the observatory, as... a memorial, you could say. A monument to hope and to rebirth."

Holding back the obvious emotion in her eyes after a moment, she looks at those there again.

"Of course, that is... not all. They could be used to develop treatments again. And for you... there were other projects ongoing there. I don't know what would still be intact... but there could be things of interest. Samples, documentation... We could negotiate whatever else you find, or... well" She pauses, pondering, but doesn't quite complete the sentence. "There are possibilities."

Then, turning specifically to Dai and Sumiko.

"The laboratory was in the Desolation area, as Hotaru-san said. Not very far from Ground Zero, but apparently far enough that another facility very close to it had intact samples inside. This, and some additional information I received, is what leads me to think the laboratory should be... intact enough that the samples may have been preserved. And a significant part of the lab is underground. I hadn't thought anything would have been left even so, but... the last news give me great hope."

Then, to Sumiko.

"I can't say there is an easy route... but I know the specific location, and while I expect there may be difficulties reaching it and a number of detours will probably have to be made, there are still some roads that can be travelled in the area." Then, nodding towards Dai. "I understand you have experience travelling the destroyed area, ne, Dai-san? That will certainly make things easier."

She then gets her densai, swipes down, as if looking for something. "As for the area being restricted... I will be able to arrange temporary permits. As I've mentioned to some of you, I can't make these permanent permits, but they should be enough for the trip to retrieve the samples."

She falls silent then, looks around. "I hope that makes things clearer. But... I expect there may be other questions?"

"I've been in many times, sometimes even deeper, getting there shouldn't be an issue... well not in terms of finding it. What finds us along the way is always an unknown factor." Dai, always with survival in mind, continues, "Your project sounds harmless enough but what of this other research? I know you likely wouldn't know every detail of every project but were there any predatory creatures on site... or hazards like toxins or diseases?"

Dai wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 17, 2022 11:11 pm

"I've been in many times, sometimes even deeper, getting there shouldn't be an issue... well not in terms of finding it. What finds us along the way is always an unknown factor." Dai, always with survival in mind, continues, "Your project sounds harmless enough but what of this other research? I know you likely wouldn't know every detail of every project but were there any predatory creatures on site... or hazards like toxins or diseases?"

"Well... as you said, I can hardly say much about all projects on site. The samples I hope may be found would be located in laboratories in the Seventh basement floor - these would be actual biological and spiritual samples, if these have survived the accident, kept in compartments close to our desks there. Specimens were always kept further underground, except for those that needed direct sunlight, which were kept in floors above ground. But I... wouldn't expect actual specimens to have survived, to be honest. At any rate, you wouldn't have to reach the underground floors where actual specimens were kept."

She then seems to think for a while.

"Toxins and diseases... the facility did research on those. I wasn't directly involved and don't know the specifics, but these were not handled in the same areas or floors as those I worked in. I can't be completely sure, as I don't know the state the facility is in, but... I don't think these will cause problems for you."

Looking directly at Dai. "What might find you... that might be a problem. Although, with the laboratory inside a building and you heading underground, I... believe should call less attention than if you were just walking out in the open?" She nods, reassuringly - even though her pressed lips might indicate some worry... "Other than that... well, my main concern is what condition the laboratory will be in. Moving around, getting to the floor the samples are in, dealing with that might need some work. The internal security systems... they might be completely destroyed, or they might be malfunctioning. Having some way to deal with that might be good, too. And... well, you will have to make sure the sample you're getting is the correct one."

He nods back, "If the security systems are still functional, and not malfunctioning, would you have access codes or keycards to bypass them still?"

Dai wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 17, 2022 11:49 pm

He nods back, "If the security systems are still functional, and not malfunctioning, would you have access codes or keycards to bypass them still?"

She slowly shakes her head. "Unfortunately not... we used to live close to the building, and I didn't have my keycard with me when.... "


She breaks off, shakes her head slightly.

"You... might be able to find something of the sort there, depending on... on what situation the place is in. Some documentation on our projects and on the staff were kept at the Ground Floor of the laboratory, near the reception. If any of that is still intact... it might still be possible to find some sort of credentials there"

For anyone well aware of Yesugen's personality, it would come as no surprise that she hadn't said much during the proceedings. Indeed, practically nobody knew her here except the Soshi. She'd seen Sakura, of course, but while both had been masked.

"Would we be able to requisition a craft? It could prove useful to be able to extract on a moment's notice." She closed her eyes, a small smirk on her lips. "Although perhaps I am simply eager to fly."

Utaku Yesugen wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 18, 2022 1:04 am

For anyone well aware of Yesugen's personality, it would come as no surprise that she hadn't said much during the proceedings. Indeed, practically nobody knew her here except the Soshi. She'd seen Sakura, of course, but while both had been masked.

"Would we be able to requisition a craft? It could prove useful to be able to extract on a moment's notice." She closed her eyes, a small smirk on her lips. "Although perhaps I am simply eager to fly."

The Soshi nods. "I can arrange one or two vehicles... although you will have to make do with cars. We can arrange for you to leave on wheels from the Diplomatic District. I'll give you an address for the meeting place."

"Be prepared for very rough roads - where there are roads at all. I'll do what I can to find a route that can still support vehicles but we're going to want skilled drivers."

Dai wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 18, 2022 1:30 am

"Be prepared for very rough roads - where there are roads at all. I'll do what I can to find a route that can still support vehicles but we're going to want skilled drivers."

The Soshi seems slightly worried, but she nods confidently. "With your expertise, I trust you can do that, Dai-san. With a car you should be able to get there quickly, and hopefully avoid any problems with... whatever roams the old district these days. If you do secure a route, please let us know."

OOC:
Dai has secured a route. Can we assume he'll give word to Kioku? If so, she'll send out a message to all of you informing this and giving you an address in the Mercantile District where you can meet tomorrow to drive to the target location?

Soshi Kioku wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:37 am

The Soshi seems slightly worried, but she nods confidently. "With your expertise, I trust you can do that, Dai-san. With a car you should be able to get there quickly, and hopefully avoid any problems with... whatever roams the old district these days. If you do secure a route, please let us know."

OOC:
Dai has secured a route. Can we assume he'll give word to Kioku? If so, she'll send out a message to all of you informing this and giving you an address in the Mercantile District where you can meet tomorrow to drive to the target location?

(Assuming she trusts a filthy ronin with her com digits But, yes, he'd notify the group)

Kanna had, to her own shame, arrived late and slipped into the room with as little fanfare as possible. She was now multitasking, listening to the conversation with one ear, and cross-referencing all the information she was hearing with the ones from the galaxy of articles stored in her densai.

She eventually decided to open up about the issue that was bothering her:

"My excuses Soshi-sama but there's something I don't get.

I understand that Dai-san here with us today is the expert regarding how the 71st habitation district has changed in the aftermath of the incident, having under his belt many trips into the danger zone from which he brought back pictures, videos and samples. An inestimable experience few on this world can boast to have.

But aren't the rest of us totally out of our element? Especially the courtiers?"

Her eyes lingered on the Susumu.

"From what I could gather, the zone, in the state of disarray it is now, requires a good physical condition to be explored safely, as well as a certain degree of crafty resourcefulness. We seem more likely to encounter a jammed door in need to be cut down with a blowtorch than to meet a temperamental lord fishing for compliments, and I fear I only have experience with the later.

If that expedition was organized on a Lion world, a Kitsu would definitely be of the party, to bless the pilgrimage, offer expertise about the realms, and help the restless dead on the premises find peace. But a Kitsu shugenja. Something I'm not."