LOOKING FOR SOMEONE

[twoscompany]

Who: Garnet, Koumei, Molly, Pinkie, Greg, and Jamie
What: Where Are They Now? The Scoobies Come Together!
When: February 19th
Where: A club booth/Lesedi and Edward's offices later
Warnings: The characters in this log will be getting in trouble with the labels, so brainwashing, injuries and torture, implied or otherwise, is very likely.

It started with a simple text that evening. Well, no, that was wrong. It started with a knock on the door that morning.

Garnet had wanted to check on Nariko, on all of her bandmates. All that responded to her was silence. She kicked open the door, and was met with nothing. As if the bedsheets had never been used, or the bed even slept in at all.

Nariko - the girl she saw as a daughter, their lead singer - gone. For hours she sat on that bed, her hands over her face. Once the tears dried, however, she balled her fists and stormed out of the penthouse. She wound up here, at this club, typing on her cell phone, a grim expression set on her face.

Pinkie, Koumei and Greg. If others were at the club, and wanted to join in, fine. She didn't think there would be others, though.

P3nn Station. 8pm. I'll pay.

Its a sophisticated little place, a jazz club with a good clientele, a good waitstaff - and a good chance they will be left alone for the most part. She might be asked to perform. Otherwise, though, the guards could have their own drinks, and she would be able to talk freely with those who came.

If they came. As time ticked away, she knew her idea was contingent upon people arriving, much less be amenable to it. If this didn't work out, well - this was a nice club. She could come here again in the future.

Comments

[nandemonai]

The last to go, Molly watched the others belaying down and attempted to think about how she got here. She was a musician, and here she was getting ready to propel herself down a building. She was scared, but, at this point, her focus was on the eight girls in her dreams... Or were they memories? The only way she would find out was possibly waiting for her in Lesedi's office. She could only hope.

With those thoughts, she took hold of the ropes and began her descent, the wind whipping at her red hair. She thanked everything once she reached the window and was met by her comrades. As soon as she was pulled inside, she sighed and shivered. "Well, that was refreshing."

[twoscompany]

Once the portal opened, and Molly went in, Garnet also managed to get herself in. Her hair is a square mess and her glasses are askew on her face, but she was in and she was all right. She'd watch to make sure everyone was in, but her eye also roved around the large space in the corner of her eye, as well.

"Ok, let's see what we've got here."

INVESTIGATION TIME

[interdimanagers]

For anyone whose never been in Lesedi's office, it's...sort of strange to look at. Largely because it seems more like somewhere someone would go to have sex, eat cheese, and drink wine than to do paperwork. The large windows that they portalled through line the back of the room, with her desk just in front of them. Everything else is laid out as if it's a personal lounge, filled the brim with red velvet, black leather, and animal furs - most notably, an enormous lion skin on her wall above a large fireplace.

Despite the apparent frivolity of her decorating choices, there do indeed seem to be items around that are meant for practical purposes. Her desk is luxuriously stained wood with and advanced computer set up, as well as a collection of files and other papers lying on her desk. Her office phone has two saved messages on it. The desk also has multiple drawers.

There are various statues and other object decorating the the room, both set above the fireplace and just about every other flat surface in the room. There are comfortable looking black sofas surrounding a glass coffee table, with a fancy looking globe sitting in the middle and some scattered journals.

There is a big screen TV opposite from the fireplace, with various DVD cases sitting around it. There is also a bookshelf containing more miscellaneous statues and, well, books. There is a personal bar filled with various drinks, some stranger looking than others.

It's a large room, and Lesedi's Santiago's tastes seem far to the eclectic side. Where do you start?

[Bolded items are recommended starting places for searching. Please have each team member reply to this comment separately with what they are investigating and I'll reply with more info.]

Garnet - Files and Papers on Desk

[twoscompany]

Well, may as well start with the most obvious thing. Aside from the computer, but first things first, Nariko had disappeared that morning, after all. Surely something in this pile had something about that, so Garnet begins her search shuffling through the physical assortment, to see if there's any order, rhyme, or reason for what's on top of the desk.

[interdimanagers]

There is a lot of mess - Lesedi evidently doesn't keep a very neat desk. A lot of it is paperwork that is meaningless to Garnet outside of just being typical music industry legal jargon, in regards to selling rights to this and that and the other thing. All of that stuff is thrown into a pile in what approximates an "in" and "out" box.

More central to the desk are a few different coloured plastic folders, each with a different musicians name and code on the lip. One of them reads "Nariko Lunae."

Inside is an colour image of Nariko as well as some vital statistic, followed by about five pages of various charts and "frequency readings" that just look like total gibberish to the uninformed. However, they are all very neatly arranged and finely printed, as if done by a graphic designer. The last page in the folder is a letter from what looks like "Marketing" titled "RE: Nariko Lunae". It looks like a printed out email.

Within the email a "Dr. Callisto" seems to be discussing Nariko's general popularity with her specific demographics, which generally comes across as positive. Which is probably why it ends with the following:

...while I do agree that subject Lunae fits the specifications, I would caution that her removal will cause an unbalance in her current choir. As such, I would advise caution in choosing her as a candidate for energy conversion at this time.

Regards,
Dr. Callisto

On the letter is a sticky note that says nothing but the following in red sharpie:

"Just do it. -L.S."

[twoscompany]

A couple of the less-meaningful items were...uh. A soda ad for 'You're Great But Keep The Fuck Away From My Room' to be played in? Must be Jolt.

Garnet's own joking inner thoughts began to vanish as she came to the colored folders, seeing a musician's name on each. And Nariko. Her hand grabs that folder and opens it up. This must know where...

where...

Its true Garnet doesn't understand much of the charts or readings. Were they...physical readings? Music decibels? Art program testing? Five year old getting on his parents' computer? Who knows? What she does understand, though, is the word "removal". Nariko...Nariko was removed. Not...not fired. Removed. She'd done nothing wrong and still they...removed...

Her heart stopped at the words "energy conversion". Became ice in the pit of her stomach at those words. Just do it.

Just do...what? What is energy conversion? It...it sounds like...

Garnet's grip tightened on the folder; her other hand begins to shake as she swipes another folder for inspection. It sounded...it sounded bad. Really bad. Oh god. The possibilities begin to fill her mind, and they are not from Future Vision. No.

She's going down the rabbit hole. She has to understand. She's not in denial. This must be her eyes playing tricks on her. She has to know. Be sure.

What exactly is energy conversion.

[interdimanagers]

There are a few other folders, containing much of the same information. Unexpected finds include Yusuke from Flashstep, that clearly states that he has been approved for "conversion" as there is a vacancy for his soul frequency. In coming days, he will be missing as well.

Every band member that disappeared for those three days early in February also have their files here, and each of them is listed as "under consideration." The statistics and decision making factors behind them are no less clear to a third party, but each of them carries a note that they have had major disciplinary issues and so utilizing them for another purpose would be considered a reduction of risk, and therefor any vacancies should be filled with them first, where possible.

Steven is very much included in that list.

[twoscompany]

"....No."

Her breath hitches, the more she reads. Soul frequency. Approved for conversion. Under consideration. Vacancies. Oh god. Oh god. Steven.

All of the papers and folders fall back to the the table - no, are thrown back onto the table - as Garnet staggers back, hands over mouth, even as she repeats the same word, over and over. Its what she and everyone had feared.

Not even a chance for goodbyes. They weren't just gone. They weren't just fired.

Its worse.

One word keeps repeating as she stares at the pile. There was more, wasn't there. There was just...more.

"No no no...!"

Molly - statues

[nandemonai]

Since Garnet is heading for the desk, Molly decides to check out the opposite side of the room for other clues. She is hoping to find anything that might reveal Lesedi's true nature, or proof that the dreams she's been having are in fact memories. But any sort of information would be helpful. She wants to be useful, here.

[interdimanagers]

She starts at the fireplace. Many of the statues seem normal enough, despite being of a strangely occult or straight up erotic nature - some of them can definitely be taken to represent abstract sex poses. Beyond those, though, something that sticks out is a series of crystals that glow with an inner light, mostly set in the center of the mantle as if in a place of 'honour.'

They don't seem to be connected to any kind of electricity, nor do they seem to have batteries. They just glow of their own accord. They are warm to the touch, and upon dragging a finger up a crystal's side, it will let out a single note of pure music - like a cross between a voice and a crystal glass.

Each crystal is a different colour, and each one is faceted in a very non traditional way - each of them looks like it may be meant to look like a statuesque image, but the cut makes it hard to tell what the inspiration is without knowing what you're looking for. Each crystal is somewhere between the size of a fist and the size of a lava lamp. Sometimes, it will look like something in moving from within them.

[nandemonai]

Some of the statues are quite vulgar! Thankfully, Molly's eyes are drawn to the crystals next. And she does reach out to run her finger along one, but when it makes a noise, she quickly draws her hand away. They shouldn't be making noise right now!

It is still strange, though, that the crystals are glowing. She can't see any kind of wire or cord coming from them, so how are they lighting up? And when she tilts her head, it's almost like she sees something moving inside one of them. She peers closer at a purple one, trying to see inside, looking for a switch or battery, or at the glow.

[interdimanagers]

There are no switches or batteries to be seen, even upon close examination, and upon taking a moment to view the movements itself - she will see that the lights vaguely resemble that of a humanoid form. Any features are totally undiscernible, though, and it appears more like an abstract representation of a figure than a real one.

[nandemonai]

"Huh," she breathes out loud, squinting her eyes at the lights inside. Molly could have sworn that it looked like something was in there. Hesitantly, she reaches out to touch the crystal again, this time pressing a finger to it, as opposed to swiping her finger along the side.

Pinkie - Globe

[sailorlaughter]

Privately, Pinkie's pretty sure that the computer is the best shot for finding any useful information. But she's not really feeling up to using a keyboard right now, so instead she wanders over to the globe. It's fancy-looking, isn't it? Neat!

She might give it a spin just for fun - and maybe to see if there's anything marked on it? Do people do that in real life? But the journals also catch her eye, and she picks up one of those to look at.

[interdimanagers]

When she spins it, its surface will light up with all kinds of markings - all very official and fancily rendered, as if its meant to be a carefully put together demonstration. It highlights several key points around the globe with various coloured lines moving between them, not unlike the new age concept of "ley lines".

The biggest dot, perhaps unsurprisingly, sits over Vista City itself. The map that covers the globes surface does seem to be interactive, and touching various points seems to change the flow of the webbing of coloured lines.

Within the journals is a mass of incoherent notes in what seems to be Santiago's handwriting, that looks to an outside viewer like some kind of crazy witchcraft related to "auras" and "frequencies" and other various key words that don't make much sense out of context. At a quick glance, it probably seems like it relates to what is being portrayed on the globe - maybe the globe is some kind of neat second draft of the chaos within the various journals?

...Also there are some kind of rather crass doodles inside of the journals in random places, done in a rough cross-hatch style. Sorry, Pinkie. Some of them might be almost effigy-like pictures of Edward Blanche getting murdered? It's pretty unwholesome.

[sailorlaughter]

Ooooooh, shiny~!

Pinkie touches a few points, just to see the lines change configuration. But she doesn't know what that even means, and they're here on a mission, so she's uncharacteristically quick to drag her attention back to the journals. Which, honestly, don't make much more sense than the globe.

The drawings make sense. Somehow, they're not unexpected?

She doesn't know what to make of this, and she glances over her shoulder. Everyone else is busy, and she can't take the journals with. Who would even know all this? Her mind flashes to an equine face, but that's not really helpful right now, and Pinkie shakes her head to dismiss the image.

Well, if she gets caught, she's super-screwed either way! Pinkie takes out her phone and snaps a few pictures of the journal pages.

[interdimanagers]

They are easy enough to photograph. There are a few pages that seem more like "keys" to the rest of the language, like some sort of code, that maybe someone else might understand with more time to look at it. It might be worth snapping a few shots of the globe, too.

The lines seem to slowly float back into place after being moved, like the current configuration is locked in.

Koumei -- bookshelf

[dishevelment]

The mind of Lesedi Santiago was a strange one indeed, considering how opulent her office was. This seemed to be hardly the environment for any actual work, and the setting itself spoke volumes about her character. Seeing Garnet make a beeline for the desk for current intel, Koumei decided to make a move for the bookshelf.

Surely amid the decorations would be something of interest-- perhaps a false shelf, or a key that leads to something greater. Perusing the titles might also be a good idea, so they could get a better understanding of Santiago's personality...and know how to work with it, should something happen.

[interdimanagers]

Lesedi Santiago clearly doesn't like to do any work that she doesn't have to - she also prefers to ensure that what work she does do has to look as little like work as possible. It isn't the room of someone who is lazy, so much as someone prone to distraction. The books on the shelf show this - most of them are totally unrelated to her work. For the most part they are a vast selection of tourist guides and atlases, cook books, and both fictional and non fictional erotica. There are a bunch of genre novels (largely mystery and fantasy) as well. Evidence suggests she doesn't treat her books very well.

There doesn't appear to be any secret portals or false shelves, but there are some boxes set up along with the statues that are filled with various nick knacks. What's in them ranges anywhere from gemstones to seashells, small tribal totems to a rabbit's foot. It's vaguely reminiscent of a crow's hoard - anything interesting and shiny the owner has been found, dumped into a pile and simply admired.

Resting on the top of the contents of one particular box - this one mostly other gems and geological artifacts, is a necklace with a glowing crystal pendant, not unlike the larger crystals set up over the fireplace in terms of appearance. It glows from an inner source, its faceting strange in shape. This one is red.

[dishevelment]

Unnerved by how ordinary the contents of the bookshelf itself appeared to the eyes of an observer, Koumei immediately found himself latching onto the inherent strangeness of the glowing crystal. He had never seen such an artifact before, and he reached out to take it for further examination. Was it warm or cool to the touch? Did it have an off switch? What kind of metal was the necklace and setting made of?

[interdimanagers]

The metal used in the chain is a grey metallic - probably stainless steel - and the crystal is bound with a simple wrapping of wire around its edges. The crystal is notably warm, and touching it seems to result in a faint feeling of vibration against one's skin, like a soft buzz. There is no off switch and it doesn't seem to have any power source available to connect to it in either the gem or the metal. The edges of the shard are sharp enough that they could cut your skin if you pushed against them too hard. The pendant itself is about the size of a small pocket knife. You could probably stab someone with it.

Jamie - computer

[mildwildchild]

Once inside the office, Jamie spends a few seconds just taking in everything that's here. There's so much stuff, where should they begin looking?

Everyone else has already started poking around, though, so Jamie hurries to follow suit. The computer might be his best bet, but it's probably password-protected, at the very least - still, it's worth a shot, isn't it?

[interdimanagers]

The computer is on screensaver when Jamie approaches it, which he will be able to dispel with little issue - unfortunately, as he feared, it doesn't lead to anything but a password locked page. The user profile is simply called "DON'T TOUCH MY SHIT".

He is welcome to try guessing passwords if he wants, but unless he has specific computer expertise or a followup plan, it's not going to be so easy to get into.

Will he keep examining the computer or look at something else?

[mildwildchild]

He's tempted to try to figure out the computer, because who knows what kind of shit the CEO of an entertainment empire is keeping on her harddrive, but trying to bypass the machine's security would probably take too long. Making a frustrated noise in his throat, Jamie assesses the other things nearby. The phone messages are tempting, but also probably password-locked, and he doesn't think it would be prudent to make too much noise.

Maybe later, though. For now, he'll rifle through the desk drawers.

[interdimanagers]

In the drawers he will find a flask, seven bags of different kinds of candy (all of which are open), what is basically an iPad, various lotions, another iPad, a bag of marble sized metallic orbs, scissors, pens, some cool rocks, and dental floss.

What does he do?