Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Lute      Lute is currently at his home in the Orre Region, the vast desert land of the Pokemon World. He lives in Phenac City, one of the few oasises in the desert. The front door to his fairly typical door is open. Lute himself sits inside, resting upon the couch within. He sits, drinking some tea.

     Normally, he has no problem with robots. The vast majority of them he gets along with. But, HK? He still isn't sure what to think of him. for now, though, he'll listen. Albeit, he is puzzled at the cause of the meeting. What brings the robot to meet him?
HK-47      This was not going to be an enjoyable instance.

     It had been several days and the desired effects had still not happened - why must all meatbags be so stubborn about clinging to their miserable lives? But as of the latest news instance, there had been no sign of the expected death announcement for Kazuko Kawakami - and after having experienced such baffling failures before, HK-47 was now taking precautions to ensure that, if this was traced back to him, or at least back to being an assassination attempt, the Confederacy wouldn't be paying for it.

     Stepping through into Lute's abode, the rust-red droid takes a stationary position facing the Pokemon trainer... though the way he moves seems strangely apprehensive for a machine.

     "Query - Before I explain... you /are/ in fact considered the residing authority on how to manage situations regarding Momoyo Kawakami and her reality, correct?"

     ...

     Knowing the droid's 'habits', that alone was probably going to tell Lute to expect a headache from this.
Lute      Lute takes a sip of his tea as HK starts with the question. His eyes close slightly. Normally, this would be a disadvantage he wouldn't allow while with someone he didn't trust. But, he has some things set up already. His Unown are up and merged with the ceiling and walls, hidden and disguised as part of the decor. The question itself gives a significant amount of insight into what is occuring. He sets his tea on the table in front of him, smiling a bit still.

     "Mm. I've been helping handle the situation, and clearing up some of the issues. Now, please, tell me. What, exactly, did you do, to further cause difficulty to this situation?"

     Lute's tone is calm, collected, and surprisingly dark. He /almost/ sounds pleasant, but there is a bit of sinisterness in ihs tone. If HK has checked the records, he'll know that Lute has two personalities. The stupid one, and the serious one. It's not a stretch to guess which one might be in charge, suddenly.
HK-47      Perhaps he should have prefixed the situation a bit more delicately? He had spent enough time in the company of Sith Lords - his Master most prominently - to know when meatbags of similar mindset were shifting into a more serious personality setting. Lute seemed to be now doing the same.

     However, he could not really afford to draw it out - it had been far too long after the point where Kazuko Kawakami was supposed to have died. At this point, the odds of it being discovered as attempted assassination were growing higher - and there was no telling what the Kawakami meatbag would do even if she waited long enough to be sure.

     If she even suspected foul play, the Confederacy needed to be ready to enact damage-control countermeasures... but at the same time, HK was not going to be offering his own processor for the scrap heap.

     "Hesitant Explanation - That will... require a bit of prefixing, Savant Lute. I have not even said it was my own fault... directly."

     That might soften the blow a bit... hopefully.

     "Statement - If you are close enough to Kawakami sources to hear... you may have heard that 'Eastern Diva' Kazuko Kawakami has been absent from her academic studies... as well as searches for an individual in a pink mascot's outfit."

     He let that sink in a moment - he still didn't admit to anything himself.

     "Hypothetical - Now... if Momoyo Kawakami's counterpart-meatbag - 'sister' I believe the term is - was discovered to have been the victim of a very subtle attempt at assassination via ingesting large quantities of plant-based toxin, meant to imitate 'death by food poisoning' ... what would the political fallout be regarding Kawakami's response?"

     He couldn't leave it at that - he'd have felt concern for his chassis integrity if he did so.

     "Hypothetical - Now, suppose I knew a lesser, cheeply-built, more eager version of a certain finely-crafted assassin droid who, in their eagerness to undermine competitors in the Kawakami ranking system, would be brazen enough to conduct such an attempt on the Holliday known as 'Valentine's Day'? If said assassin droid were to offer his lesser subordinate unit for punishment for this affair, would that placate any possible desire for retribution and resolve any potential political difficulties?"

     ...

     Perhaps it's that he hasn't stopped talking that gives it away, but HK is obviously talking about himself and an HK-51 - what's possibly /not/ clear though is if the HK-51 screwed up... or if HK-47 screwed up and he is scapegoating one of his disposables.
Lute      Lute remains calm. Quiet. His hands lift up onto the back of the couch. His eyes stay closed, his face still smiling. He shakes his head, just slightly. "So. A model similar to you, except not you, decided to poison the sister of someone who we had arranged peace with. And poisoned her so that we might, just possibly, have a chance in the tournament situation going on. A tournament with no real stakes, aside prestige. A tournament we had /no reason/ to try and win aside from pride. A tournament set up only so we could prevent Momoyo, a powerful Elite, from joining the Union. And from the sound of things, Momoyo has /many/ powerful friends as well, who would join alongside her."

     "Meaning. We put a significant amount of efforts into negotiations, and then /you poison her sister after we have declared peace/."

     Lute stands up, his hands sliding into his pockets. And then, with a flash of motion? He reaches for his Pokeballs. His Giratina appears. His Registeel appears. And, the various Unown hidden throughout the room burst forward, the runic Pokemon starting to circle around HK-47.

     "/Why/ would you do such a thing? Why would you allow someone to be poisoned when we have /nothing/ to gain? Are you so mindless that you can't even correctly pick targets? We have lists. Lists of people who we need taken out. And you attempted to poison and kill someone whom we had no reason to?"

     Lute's voice seethes with rage. The Unown start to slam into HK, in turn. None of them cause a ton of damage, but they are making it clear that, if they wanted to, they /could/. Not to mention the two other Pokemon sitting in Lute's living room, so large that they've knocked over couches and tables to get them out of the way.

     "I'll clean up the mess. But you need to learn a bit of a lesson, here."
HK-47      It was /definitely/ like dealing with a Sith Lord - the attacks rattled and scraped against HK's frame but he knew full well it could have been far worse.

     However, he endured it if for no other reason then it would serve as a reminder - simply because he had been on an upturn in succeeding at maiming or debilitating Union Elites... he could no longer bank the entire faction's reputation on his stand-alone skills so cavalierly. Still, he did have another card to play, so to speak.

     "Statement - Naturally I would /never/ wish to irreparably damage the Confederacy's reputation to the extent this incident would. And if - in the unlikely event - that Momoyo Kawakami discovers her sibling-unit was the victim of an assassination attempt, I would wish to ensure that the Confederacy is not implicated nor blamed unfairly for the resultant scandalization."

     Then, with as definite a gesture as he can make while being bombarded by the Unown, HK signals to outside Lute's hut... and another HK unit steps in - this one being the silver-plated form of an HK-51 that seems rather notably anxious. "Demand - Now, confess - so that in the event of discovery the Union and Confederacy will know who to levy the blame upon."

     The HK-51 unit seems to hesitate for a long moment... but then faces Lute full on and gives its prompt statement - "Confession - On the Earth-Calendar day of February 14th, Kawakami City, Japan, this HK unit took part in an independent, unsanctioned assassination attempt on one Kazuko Kawakami through the use of two bowls of Abura Soba spiked with poisonous Darkkoninn berries from the Wild Space planet of Gorsh."

     With this, HK would make sure that his bases were covered - if the Union did somehow find out, they would get /an/ HK culprit. It simply would not be the original.

     "Expository - Records indicate Kazuko Kawakami was identified among rebel forces on Balmorra in the reality of one Nima Karin. Between this and Momoyo Kawakami's partial association with Union Admiral Nagato, this unit believed it possible that she is already Union affiliated. Therefore, this unit believed there was sufficient grounds to remove her so as to eliminate a potential threat, clear the way for Confederate personnel to claim the absent Eastern Position in the Deva Ranking System and force Momoyo Kawakami into a period of grieving and instability during which a possible subversion or follow-up assassination may be enacted. Peacetime seemed the perfect opportunity to remove the possible threat early before it could become a potential concern"

     The HK-51 paused to let the information sink in before continuing - "Continuation - There should have been enough toxin between the two dishes to render a grown human male dead within 1-3 hours, yet it has been more then 80 hours since Kazuko Kawakami ingested the poison and there has been no post-mortem announcements. The longer she remains alive, the more evident it will be that it was poison - so in the interests of avoiding negative backlash upon the Confederacy, this unit will turn itself in for punishment and potential destruction if deemed necessary."

     ...

     Whether or not Lute suspects or even outright knows that HK is using the younger unit as a scapegoat from that long-winded and /possibly/ somewhat well-rehersed-sounding confession, HK-47 does not know. All he does know is that he is, at the very least, giving the Confederacy and himself an out to avoid scandal for attempted murder on a neutral world.
Lute      Lute is uncertain whether or not the other unit is to blame for hte poisoning itself, or not. But, Lute's fury is still not going to be held back. The Unown move in, starting to batter at HK's body with a further force. They move to slam into the arms, and legs. All the while, Lute is slowly walking forward, arms crossed in front of him. His tone is still filled with rage, but calm and collected despite it.

     "I reiterate. You, or the other droid, initiated a plan to poison someone who we had minimal reason to assume was a direct threat, and yet is now a bit further pushed towards becoming one. What's more, you didn't even have the common decency to try and cover it up. You used a poison from your star-systems, something that can /certainly/ be traced to you. You didn't even bother trying to cover it. A number of similar incidents, all at once, would have hidden it. It could have been blamed on an employee at the food supplier, or similar. But, no. This is /targetted/. This is aimed at once person in specific. And this can be directly linked back to us, even if we /can/ offer them a droid to destroy in reparation."

     The Registeel and Giratina start moving forward, a bit more slowly. They are filled with power, an energy that is filling the entire room. Lute stares forward, anger still throughout him.

     "I'll be talking with your direct superiors. I will be suggesting that you no longer be allowed to make an assassination attempt without direct permission. For now, though, I will find a way to settle this situation. We will, at least, leave it hidden who exactly did it, until Momoyo or the Union use their resources to track it down."

     Lute turns around, frowning. "But for now. Your punishment. Be good and take it, or else I'll ask someone more fearsome to handle you. Like Vader. Or Xiang."

     Lute lifts a hand, and snaps. With that? The two Legendary Pokemon start to move forward, using their claws and fists to try and pound into HK over and over again. They won't go to the point of him being irreparable. But, the Confederacy's mechanics will need to put in some work to fix him up after this, unless HK attempts to flee.
HK-47      The HK-51 seems almost pained seeing it's progenitor being punished, looking as though it intends to jump in front of the Unown - however, a rust-red limb gestures for the silver-plated unit to stand down. It does however try to plead 'it's' case - "Statement - It seemed obvious that Momoyo Kawakami has no interest in Confederate agendas. Her association with Nagato and her unwillingness to subside from attacking Confederates unless the tournament rules were abided by only cemented that insinuation! The idea that she will not act against us sooner or latter is an absurdity! Proclamation - We were also careful to cover our tracks, using a fruit that is obscure even in our own reality with no indication that it wasn't in fact simply a-"

     "Interjection - Enough!"

     HK-47's own response seems to surprise the HK-51, the other glancing questioningly at his progenitor. However, the elder model seems more then willing to be blamed "Admission - As you say, regardless of it being my successor-unit's failing, I am also accountable as their superior. Assurance - I shall endeavor to always cross-reference the target-lists of myself and all my subordinate copies with Confederate Command from here on out. If need be, I shall take you directly to my Master herself if you deem it necessary."

     Legendary Pokemon or not, the droid turns out to be very durable, the repeated strikes denting his armored shell and likely jarring internal components but not actually piercing the plating itself. In fact... the droid's attention seems more focused on Lute, gleaming red photoreceptors pulsating dimly even as he is forced into a state where he will be all but limping home on grinding servomotors. "Assurance - I guarantee you, there will /not/ be an incident such as this again."

     ... no, there certainly would not. He was tired of being humiliated by underestimating his opponents - of their resilience constantly defying even perfect calculations.

     Well... come the next few months and that may very well be nothing more then a bad memory. One way or another.
Lute      Lute continues to walk away. At last, he lifts the Pokeballs back up, recalling his two legendaries. They are placed upon his belt yet again. He closes his eyes, tilting his head towards the ground. He remains quiet as he looks at the ground.

     "It is almost certain that the continued issues will push them towards the Union. Unaffiliates often have Union friends, without being a member, though. Take the Syndicate, for example. Union, Unaffiliates, and Confederates are within it, and many of the members of it are friendly to others. But this, amongst the other incidents? It ensures that they will become more direct enemies."

     "No more excuses. Head back to the Confederate base. I will make a report on the situation, as will you. If it turns out you are lying, though, and it is /your/ hand that caused this incident, and not your underling's? Well. That will be yet /another/ strike against you. Lying to the Union is one thing, and a simple matter. Lying to the Confederacy, your allies? Less appreciated."

     He takes one last deep breath.

     "Get out of here."
HK-47      "Observation - They were already specifically inclined to Union allegiance well before this incident" the HK-51 persists. "If you actually believed they were ever 'unaffiliated' when Momoyo Kawakami only ever showed open aggression to Confederates, then your photoreceptors must have been malfunctioning."

     Well, if nothing else, the younger HK certainly /sounds/ like it's steadfast enough in that belief to have been the culprit. Or perhaps the HK units as a whole are simply ill-inclined to believe that anyone who would force an agreement as arguably one-sided as what Momoyo did was any evidence of not already having a clear-cut favorite between the two multiversal sides.

     "Assurance - You will not have to worry about my honesty on the matter. If I had truly wished to conceal this event, I would not have said anything at all" HK-47 intones, though his frame is slightly slumped from servomotor damage. "Either way, as I said before, you are welcome to discuss the issue with my Master as well. In the meantime, I shall compose my report as soon as possible. "

     Translation - as soon as his frames are repaired.

     With that, the two HK units slink out of the house into the desert stands, the successor unit keeping vigil over it's damaged progenitor as the machine moves to return to it's homestead for repairs.

     Perhaps the claims were wrong - perhaps Momoyo simply wanted a good fight and didn't care about sides so long as she got it. Perhaps the claims were right - perhaps Momoyo was simply using this system as a way to game the Union-Confederate War in clear favor of suppressing the other with the vain hope she 'might' not decide to rampage one day - even though it was possibly clear from the outset which side she had friends on.

     But either way... it seems certain that, if nothing else, it was a decision that affected everything - and therefore /wasn't/ a decision that should have been made alone.