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Lilian Rook     The words 'satellite colony' might bring many different images to mind prior to seeing one, but given the opportunity, finally, to use a pretty hokey, low-cost, possibly rental Warpgate setup, all those long charge and recharge waiting times included, the ultimate theme appears to be very much 'colonial' and in the sense of 'a satellite to a larger entity'. Though there had been a VIP tour, run by the power bloc made of various houses supposedly related to the Round Table of old, since that faction only comes around every couple of months, there is nothing so convenient this time.

    Long waits and inconvenient travel come from cheap parts borrowed through a Multiversal outfitted borrowed through a middleman company borrowed through Leopold & Hektor Metalcasting; the colony of Caelton's corporate sponsor. It doesn't even quite match the general decor atmosphere of the place. Wide spaces, low skylines, and small buildings packed into neat rows that radiate from a central plaza, certainly make it seem as if it were established by settlers on the frontier. With two hundred years more human common knowledge, though, they've evidently done their best to recreate a small, quaint, even romanticized version of a 21st century city, working with aluminium and concrete and ceramic and glass prefab all set up on-site, then prettied up with later facades, and laced together with paved paths and tiny 'parks' and gardens of wildlife brought in from only a few miles away.

    According to the known figures from before, this one has been around five and a half years -- which is supposedly an unusual length -- and has an equally unusual population of fifteen thousand or so. One could forget that space is at a premium here; the pocket of blue skies, green grass, and fresh air stretches far enough to reach the horizon from the colony, but you could walk across the whole settlement from end to end in a couple of hours. It's ultimately pretty compact, trying to use two or three storeys where it can, and evidently runs off as much solar power and wired connections to low-cost and low-impact hydroelectrics inserted into a river on the outskirts. Even then, you can see plenty of offset costs, from laundry hung out to dry on lines over streets, to longer roads navigated exclusively by bike.

    It's almost kind of idyllic, for someone who's had the full 21st century experience. A textbook model for someone, somewhere, of a planet-conscious future of communal living, save exclusively by necessity. Save again, sponsored by some very powerful people. The Pendragons with supposedly altruistic, chivalric motives. L&H probably with purely financial ones.

    The latter is invested in some sort of mine nearby, evidently deemed a valuable enough location to have assisted in the moving of people out here and the reclamation of the area, rather than the usual 'don't let the door hit you in the ass' treatment. The northwestern end is where the edge of town begins to turn rocky with scattered shale and bluestone, angled somewhat in the direction of the river, where the perimeter of the colony is mostly dedicated to supply yards and the only heavy, wheeled vehicles you can see. The due northern end is where you're called to, being the place that hosts a broad, rectangular building with ornamental pillars carved out of some local rocks to affect the idea of an old town hall.
Lilian Rook     That is, after all, apparently its purpose. Rather than meeting a mayor or anything though, you're pretty much just allowed to walk right in through the front doors out of the summer heat, and to a conference room that's half-furnished with faux-wooden floors and aluminium frame furniture, and half with homespun cushions, hand-carved tables, and fired clay flower vases. You're only even meeting one person -- a tired-looking brunette woman probably in her mid-thirties -- who is not even sat down, but pacing restlessly back and forth before a line of panoramic, energy efficient windows. She introduces herself only as "Ellie Webb." and only after that mentions that her job is some combination of trade accounting, ordering, and transport inspection and oversight, apparently not having the function of 'treasurer' here.

    Putting her hands down on the table, the first thing she says beyond that is "If you're running any recording devices, please, turn them off. What I'm about to ask you should be considered very, very private. For the good of a lot of people."
Raphael Cousteau CONCEPTUALIZATION: Hoooo. There's a lot going on here. They're trying to say something, here, but...I'm gonna need some time to chew on this.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY: You know what else we could chew on that would help? Tobbacco. I mean, think about it. Just think! Safely, indoors, getting that sweet nicotine.
> Okay. Let's not worry about the artistic implications for right now.
Raphael Ambrosius Cousteau, of the Revachol Citizen's Militia, rubs between his eyes. "Alright, ma'am. It's alright. I'm an *investigator*. I understand the importance of confidentiality."
EMPATHY: She's incredibly tired. She must handle a lot of the work around here.
SUGGESTION: Focus on being the helping hand she needs.
CONCEPTUALIZATION: Wait, what's going on with the decor here?
PERCEPTION: It's like two separate groups going in two different directions. Is this a mystery? Should we be investigating *this*, too?
In a brief, flawed attempt to get a moment of silence, he starts to pace about the room. Perhaps allowing his various senses and internal opinions to get a better grasp of the internals of the room might keep them occupied enough for him to pay attention to what Miss Webb has to say. It's worth a shot, at any rate.
Gawain Caelton is a nice little colony, Gawain had decided. With its connection to people associated with his kingdom's legacy, he was happy to help in any way he could, and so, when invited, he stepped through into the town hall. After a few moments checking to see if anyone was there waiting for them, the knight proceeded into the meeting room, a formal greeting as he did so, looking around.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Sir Gawain, Knight of the Sun, Warden of the Paladins. No recording devices here, do not worry!" A light smile, and then a serious nod. "What you are asking must be very grave indeed. You have my full confidentiality."

The knight sees if he's expected to take a seat, and does so casually if he intuits such. Placing his hands together, he looks at Webb with an intense curiosity.

"What is the situation?"

Gawain has probably never noticed there's a problem with the furniture, if it can be considered a problem.
Rhongomyniad     One such attendant of this meeting is a familiar blonde in the same dark blue suit and white fur mantle worn on her previous visit to this region. Most recognizable by green eyes which glow quite obviously from within, the goddess Rhongomyniad has not seated herself since entering the meeting room. She does not show signs of unease such as fidgeting either. Her response to Ellie Webb's introduction is a slightly-too-deep nod and an introduction in turn; "I am Rhongomyniad." The usual title is omitted this time.

    Though the setting is more casual, as usual the goddess is entirely business. She perhaps suits the pomp-and-circumstance of the prior visit, as some sort of foreign dignitary, but shows no sign of disdain for this less formal encounter.

    "I understand, Ellie Webb." Her eyes briefly follow Cousteau's sojourn about the room, before returning to the hostess proper, "Please proceed."
Maya Maya has never seen any of the satellite colonies on Lilian's world before in person. Now seemed like the time to do so given there was some need of help. Off the record sort of help? She could do that so here she was to help figure out just what was going on, long waits were something she was used to. When she finally had got through that. She does take in the colony it's large for this sort of thing and does seem to be something out of Earth's part. She's not here to site see she sadly missed that chance, due to some political issues back home.

She's found her way to the meeting point at the town hall. The blue-haired Paladin looks Ellie over for a moment.

"Understandable."

She'll pull her comm unit out and remove the power cell before putting them back away into separate pouches.

"My name is Maya and I'm also a Paladins operative, please tell us what you can about this situation Ms. Webb."
Tamamo     Certain people were contacted. Tamamo no Mae being among them, and having been here once before (a VIP on a VIP tour), she returns. There are, as before, a couple of reasons for her interest. It's more than academic, but nothing she needs to explain to their... informant?

    Her dress is rather less formal for the occasion, being not much more than a well-accessorized sundress in lighter tones of her signature colors, but certain traits ensure that she is easily recognizable, all the same. She, simply, always is. Secrecy is... only technically possible.

    And there are two others who might, given those interested in this colony, be likewise widely recognized--as well as one man who is rather less likely to be, and one of no certainty. Tamamo doffs the fine straw hat as she enters, wiggles her ears freely for a moment, and gives a bright, cheerful, "Oh, hello!" together with a nod and a brief word to each of the other Paladins. Hm... Paladins? No, that is surely only some coincidence.

    She does not introduce herself, nor does she make any show of turning off a phone. She has few places she could be hiding one, anyway.
Damocles This little town seems quiet, calm, and efficient.  For all those reasons and more, Damocles, renowned 'Scholar of Magic' does not want to be here.  His only interest in this particular corner of the multiverse lay in its most chaotic regions, and places like this, while nice enough to exist, do nothing to further his own research.

Unfortunately for the sorcerer, he's also got some obligations which have bidded him come answer this call.  He isn't even sure what precisely he's needed for here.  All too often, the assistance he's asked to give comes in the 'hit something with stuff it doesn't like until it ceases to vex' variety.  He didn't go through 8 years of Wizard School to solve things by hitting them with sticks!

Still, he's here now, so he's damned well going to try and do his best to be the scholar and scientist he desperately wants to be.  A task which is made all the harder by the fact that, in a colony where space is at a premium, he is built like two bears in a giant metal trenchcoat.  This makes it a little hard for him to fit into the meeting room, but he does his best, looming in the back like the most antisocial wizard at the ball. 

Probably a good thing, too. He recognizes some of the other people he spies in this meeting, and while he's worked with a few of them here and there, he's sure a couple of them are probably of the 'death to chaos' bent, so it's best to just loom ominously. 
Tony Stark Ah, the idyllic village once again. The coffee was acceptable, and the people seemed cut out of a movie poster.

One like The Truman Show, maybe.

The last time Tony Stark came here, it was for pleasure, and he had dressed for such: clothes that showed care and status. This time, being here for a 'work call', he comes dressed in a charcoal brique t-shirt, slacks, and a belt. An expensive and overlarge high-tech watch sits on his left wrist.

With some incredulity, as people make their entrance, Tony scoffs impolitely while he makes his. "You put out a call for..." Tony counts people in the room. "And took into your confidence all of them, but you're asking us to turn off our recording devices?"

Tony taps a button on the side of his watch. "Friday, honey, cover yor ears."

His watch beeps. "I don't have *hands* per-s--"

Stark smirks, pressing the button again and lowering his wrist. "She'll be good. You'll just have to trust me."
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Interrupt

    Arthur's efforts around here have lately mostly been about helping radioactively annihilate and subsequently purify border soil, which he's still working on consistently. That means he's on-call and around town when the call gets formed and put out, and one of the ones who can hear about it first.

>Arthur: Disable streams

    For those playing through this part on the Playstation, Arthur activates PSN spoiler-prevention share-disabling when asked to turn off all recording devices! A little camera behind a forbidding circle pops up in a quick icon animation at his snap. "FOR SURE, DAWG." He agrees, plastering a stupid grin on his face. "WHAT UP? Hit me with those QUESTS, I'mma take the DEETS to the GRAVE an' shit, for real."
Lilian Rook     Weirdly, Miss Web's response to Tony isn't deferent or apologetic, but a short way down the road from copping an attitude. She doesn't shrink and isn't put off, replying almost automatically instead. "I put out a call for anyone I could get my hands on, Mister Stark. You understand how limited my options are here. We don't exactly have a job page on the web to post an ad for it, and I wouldn't if we did. What I wasn't isn't a stranger running away and squealing; I don't want the following on accessible media." He can tell straight away this woman is the very rare kind who has an education and a mid-high-functioning career but doesn't 'believe in' authority. Or, at least, not unofficial authority coming from status. "If your assistant can keep it from being pulled from your drive, that's good enough."

    Standing back up straight from leaning on the table, 'Ellie' resumes pacing around the window at a reduced rate. "I'll explain this as straightforwardly as I can. Caelton is large as satellite colonies go. Usually a petition to leave an Urban Center for good is lucky to read four digit signatures, and organizing that many people to get going, assuming they're in valid standing and can be supplied, isn't easy. They rarely attract that many people after the fact, either. Caelton has done as well as it did because people have been drawn to the Pendragon name. That is, they'll tell you the reason is that they 'support' it -- and don't get me wrong, they do -- but for the most part, it's because people assume it will be safe, so they come, and the bigger it gets, the more people see it as a viable alternative to living where they are now; probably in the Third Circle. The longer we last here, the less scary it is, the higher people's confidence, the more we can grow our community, and the more resilient it is."

    "Even with everything our people bring to the table, though, we can't get everything here, and we can't comfortably provide for them all with just what the Reclamationists have to offer. We especially refuse to situate people 'where we can for the moment'; that only leads to segregating our community by wealth and timing, like the Seaboard Urban Centers all over again. The Caelton community leadership has an arrangement with the Leopold and Hektor company to provide the extra income and speciality items we need to keep growing at the rate we are. They're some kind of industrial outfit run by a couple of magnates based out of the Hidden Continent." She very much says that as if she doesn't actually know many of the details of the company. "They can, and will of course, purchase items from wherever they see fit, and sell to whoever they want; those things are both heavily prohibited between a Satellite Colony and an Urban Center."

    "What they want from this place is what they can't get out of the Pendragon Reclamationists directly. The reason this area was settled down is that there was already a preserved site on location, which they, and we, expanded over time. A pocket of space guarded by some of the Fair Folk that held out in the middle of nowhere. 'Friends' of the Pendragons, historically. The mine you've heard of is little more or less than a hole in a hill that leads straight to the Otherland."
Lilian Rook     She waves a hand dismissively. "They negotiated a contract that they be able to set up their project colony on these grounds in exchange for reintroducing nature and repairing the leylines. Someone comes by again at each solstice to adjust terms. The thing is that L&H makes good money off of the kinds of things you can dig up on the border territory to the Otherland, but they couldn't possibly get a red cent out of those creatures, and the Pendragons certainly won't press terms on the Good Neighbours for the sake of money; two different types. So they go through us. We have people who contribute to the community by digging and exporting, and we buy what we need to take in more migrants. Makes sense, yes?"

    "However, by now I have to say that I believe the nature of the work was . . . misrepresented. We didn't exactly have experts to fact check. We're talking about that old thing that ancient legends used to call Tir na nOg. Time runs differently -- faster -- the deeper you go into that hole. To tap into what we need to stay in the black, our medical staff are saying we're working past a scale of six hundred to one; that means if you're down there for just an hour, when you come back up you'll have aged almost a month. Which means that since we don't want a modern day leper's mine, we have to import anagathics. Telomere steroids. A lot of them. And they're expensive. And we can only buy them through L&H, which have to buy them from a medical company themselves. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

    "It's difficult. A third of the colony works in mining or in mine support now. It's . . . not exactly the life people were looking for out here. Usually, people are trying to get away from that kind of life of overwork and heavy debt. We've worked hard over the past two years to try and reel back that situation. We've put our connections with the Pendragons to good use, and gotten two years through a ten year plan to reduce our dependence on mining by eighty five percent. We know the two groups don't coordinate. Even if they're both based out of the Phantom Circle, we figured that out early on."

    "Except, a few weeks ago, we had a disastrous cave-in that buried almost four hundred miners for two weeks. An extremely complicated one at an extreme depth, with a number of implausible safeguard failures. We were able to create a safe route to lower down supplies, but not large enough to extract human beings. Food and water and air, obviously but . . ."

    Actually sliding physical paper spreadsheets across the table for someone to check, she says "Though our stockpiles of staple supplies are all locally sourced, and could handle the strain, we blew through our entire depot of anagathics a day before we dug them back out. We couldn't *afford* to have that many skilled, physical workers age twenty three years, even if we thought it were morally acceptable. That's four hundred people times over three hundred hours worth. Mining operations were completely stopped, so we weren't making any money to buy more, and now we can't resume it, which means our only option is taking out an astronomical loan from L&K to pay back two weeks of ceased activity, the entire stockpile, and the advance material we need to even backpay it."

    "My job isn't just the accounting. I go down there too. I inspect things. I'm not an engineer, but I consult with them regularly, and we had no reason to believe that even a small accident should have occurred, never mind something so catastrophic. A lot of people are thinking it. I'm saying it. I believe the collapse was caused intentionally. Not just because it's set us back what might be decades from our original goal of reducing our corporate dependency, but to drive a wedge between us and our 'Good Neighbours' as well."
Maya Maya starts to get a feel for this woman as she responds to Tony Stark and seems thoughtful at this. Ellie seems to be going right to the point? Direct? This is a point in her favour with Maya.

"So the Pendragons have a vested interest in its success if it keeps going like this it could become a full-on center in its own right. To which they would get a lot of the credit for."

Ellie goes on explaining more of the situation with supplies and the company that has its hooks in here.

"Yes it does seem to make sense."

It slightly reminds her of her home city state's situation with how it does business.

"So the mines were sabotaged? I take it you wish for us to look into this matter and see what we can uncover, hopefully being able to find who did this and why?"
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Speculate

    "Holy shit, my dude, are you getting BANANA-REPUBLIC'd at 600-TIMES SPEEDRUN?" Arthur mutters in a kind of awe. "FUCKED UP. Okay, so, we're here to TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF? What's the FRONTS you need PUSHED? Only OPTIONS I can see are..." He counts on his fingers.

>Arthur: Solve some mysteries, pin the failure on L&K

    "Like, I guess, NORMALLY it would be SUPER USELESS to pin the INDUSTRIAL FAILURE on the INDUSTRIALISTS, but it's not like they can bribe a FAE JUDGE, right?" Arthur says, furrowing a brow. "Like, you don't gotta prove L&K did the BIG OOPSIE to some HUMAN COURTS, when you can just give something DEFINITIVE to the FAE and then tell L&K to GO POUND SAND. They wouldn't have the guts to BREAK THE DEAL since there's still a bit less PROFIT in it."

>Arthur: Hey, what about mining yourself?

    "I've got that IMMORTALITY up in this. I could tank some YEARS down there if it comes to it." Arthur says, running his index finger along his clasped chin. "I mean, THEY did it. And I bet the GRAVITY BIZ can make up for not knowing shit from fuck about MINING."

>Arthur: PUNISH THE SINFUL, DECLARE THE COMMANDMENTS

    "...If you know who'd know about this, maybe we could hit back against the people who did it hard enough--"

>Arthur: Don't. Try improving the anagathic situation

    "Nah. Nah, never mind. That's not savvy. Uh... Hmmmmm... what if we could fix up the ANAGATHICS situation? I got some PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT, I bet if we can figure out what kinda GRISTS go into it, and SOURCE SOME LOCALLY, I could getcha RESTOCKED for a while, take a bite outta that DEBT."
Tamamo     A couple, more colorful attendees arrive, and Tamamo listens to a story. She doesn't have to look at the numbers. Outside of the ability to calculate numbers, 'accounting' isn't within her expertise, but that's not what she focuses on, anyway.

    "And so, you wish for someone to find whether these suspicions bear sparks of truth. This is your quandary, yes? Foul play suspected, blame is readied, yet it cannot /stick/ to great satisfaction without 'evidence,' is it not so? What you might do with such evidence, and from where you might seek justice, well! That much need not be my concern, I think. To your great fortune, such individuals as have varities of means of uncovering secrets do assemble here. For my own part, I shall not begrudge you this assistance."

    Tamamo brings her hands together. "And so, might you begin with that knowledge, those clues, as you already possess?" She counts off on her fingers. "The path to the 'mine,' the Fair Folk with whom you deal, the nature of the artifacts exported, the names of some affected, and... let us see... any such item as would be present at the scene of 'mishap.'"

    Arthur makes a series of suggestions, and Tamamo opines, "The Pendragon cult--pardon me, the Reclamationists--have a reputation to uphold, ideals to which to cleave, and some considerable influence. I would not immediately suppose the convincing of humans to be entirely without merit."
Gawain Gawain is fascinated by the story of the anagathics and the deals with the fae, though he doesn't seem to /like/ it too much, especially when it's revealed that the company may be taking advantage of the workers and trying to set them up. The people believe that L&H are the problem...Arthur lists some ideas, but Gawain puts a hand up.

"Arthur, if we boost the anagathics' power, we are simply giving the corporation more time to cause problems. You said something about striking back - while I do not believe this should escalate to violence, I respect the sentiment."

"Miss Webb, your people are being taken advantage of, and it's gone from ''normal'' mining to sabotage, correct?"

Gawain stands up tall. "I say we investigate, find evidence of their sabotage, and then see what we can do about your supplier issue. You may need a new one...though I am not business-savvy enough to know how viable that is."
Damocles Damocles listens to the story quietly, and everything tracks more or less as expected, save for the bit about the fae and linked realities which is interesting but probably unimportant.  Something to poke into later when he's not 'on the clock' as it were.

"And I presume is all you needed was an investigation, you'd have done that already.  Let me take a guess:  You've already exhausted all the local clues but there's nothing concrete, so you're looking for people who can use more, mmm, let's say unorthodox methods to investigate further."

A brief pause, and Damocles adds quizzically, "One thing I don't get, though.  If you suspect your corporate 'benefactors', why not just go to the Pendragons with your suspicions and let them investigate?  You said yourself the two aren't exactly on the best of terms."
Tony Stark "So it's mine sabotage because of tenuous relations and you need to be floated or it all goes to hell." Tony observes, having followed along with the explanation after the bookkeeper fired back on his initial volley. As the others speak up, Tony draws a pocketbook from his back pocket and plucks a pen off the pacing woman's desk or other office supply tray, scratching the tip against the paper.

"Mmhmm. A surfeit of mercy missions. Got it."

He tears the lightly perforated paper out of his pocketbook and offers the checque towards Miss Web. "So, let's figure out your little mine mystery with the whole van and make sure it's not Old Man Hendricks in a mask."

The face of the checque has 'Enough' penned down onto the amount line. It's signed.
Rhongomyniad     "Mmm," Rhongomyniad hears out the entirety of Webb's exposition, and it is only at the end when she at last makes that thoughtful, appraising sound. Her mantle parts just enough for a hand to raise, cradling her chin in thought with those luminous eyes angled towards the floor.

    "Prior inspections had revealed no points of concern, and thus through this disaster you believe foul play."

    Her eyes lift, focusing on Ellie Webb with laser-like precision.

    "The matter then is in resuming production, securing the needed supply, and uncovering the truth of the incident. Whether it truly was accidental or some manner of sabotage. With others approaching these matters.. Evidence must prove guilt, or mob justice will only harm the innocent in pursuit of the guilty. Who stands to benefit from the situation you now find yourself in. Therein lies the next step."
Lilian Rook     "It's not that the two are feuding or anything, it's that the Pendragons could barely care less about L&H." Webb says to Damocles. "The name is new, but the Reclamationists are made of a lot of old families under several branch societies. They have a lot of history. A lot of power. A lot of tangible clout. Big magic. Leopold & Hektor is a company in everything but official registration. It's an outfit set up by two rich partners who happen to have a lot of connections in the Phantom Circle, but they themselves aren't anything special as far as magic goes, as far as I'm aware. They own things, and they have access to things, and that makes them valuable to a lot of people, but the Pendragons seldom need anything from them."

    She sighs. "You're right in every other respect though. Our ability to investigate is pretty limited, and our external contact even more so. We can tell what was damaged and get an idea of how, but we don't exactly have security recordings everywhere, and this is such a remote location that if we don't have a traitor, it'd take someone really special to get here, down there, and out again."

    She nods towards Rhongomyniad. "We can handle restarting work ourselves; obviously, we've prepared for this eventuality already, but it doesn't mean anything at all if someone really is out to get us. A year or two from now, it'll be another disaster. And bigger. Maybe people die. I need to make sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there isn't something bigger going on, before I can stamp a form that says 'return to business as usual'."

    To the larger question of justice, she makes a face like she knows she isn't formally qualified on the matter, but also slowly shrugs to communicate that she doesn't really care. "If we have a traitor, we'll do with them as we will. If there really is someone from outside, she's probably right that the Pendragons will want to deal with them." 'She' of course means Tamamo there. "Knightly virtue and all. Plus, it's someone muscling in on their project and disrupting it. Secret societies don't like that, even when they aren't secret anymore. As much as I'd like to hang whoever's responsible at the gallows -- if there is someone, of course -- it's way outside of our ability to hit back against a foreign agent even if we wanted to."

    The woman grimaces a little at the words 'taken advantage of'. She isn't very 'politically professional' about her feelings. She doesn't have to be here. She seems the type who values not having to, even. "It feels that way alright. Of course, everyone knew you can't trust these people at face value, but cautious as the founding party was, nobody can exactly double check a cost estimate based on mythical faerie time acceleration. We just didn't realize it'd be as bad as it got. They made the mistake of believing there was more unity -- more accountability -- within that circle, and they'd be on good behaviour around the big names. We just couldn't have had the information, and they knew it."

    She waves off Arthur, but politely -- a first so far. "Please. We don't want anyone toiling away down there on our behalf. That's . . . we can't accept that. For a lot of reasons. If you're talking about production though, that's something we *do* have over the company. Namely, we own the land. This side of it, that is. Only the Reclamationists have any means of fast and safe travel here. We can do whatever we want with it. Build whatever we want. Make whatever we want. So long as it doesn't piss off the bi-monthly missionary party, anyways. We don't do mass surveillance here, like in the Urban Centers. The only chance of L&H taking notice would be in the case of a sell-out."
Lilian Rook     "I . . . don't think I like the idea of taking appeals to the Good Neighbours though. I'm sure they'd do something especially terrible to an intentional saboteur, but it's just not a good idea to talk to them if you don't have to. They don't take things the same way as you or me. We'll consider that one a last resort."

    Tony just handing her a cheque is met with an understandable degree of shock, then a strange amount of reluctance. She stares at it if as if she intends to burn holes through the paper with her mind. "There's no way I can just take this as it is. I can't have Caelton just shift who they owe like that. I . . ." She makes a frustrated noise, then folds it into a suit-blouse pocket. "I'll hang on to it, but there's not a chance in hell I'm cashing this until I know who's responsible. I refuse to put this much money into L&H's pockets if there's any possibility they're involved, even if it is someone else's."

    Getting to the practicals with Tamamo, though, she pulls a plain folder from a desk drawer that she'd probably prepared just for today, handing it over before continuing. "I had two copies of the colony plan and all the mine routes made, as well as our export/import list for the past six months, and some photography of the site taken. The cavern itself is currently still unusable; barely accessible even. Outside of the clothes on the miners' backs, nothing much has been retrieved yet. As for the Fair Folk, I don't deal with them, thank the Lord almighty. All I know is that you'll run into them eventually if you stray off the paths marked with electric lighting. And don't fall down a pit. If one of the little ones doesn't push you down a hole first, they'll find you."
Damocles "I notice you didn't actually answer my question," Damocles quips at the explanation about the relationship between the two factions.  "If someone was attempting to damage their investment here, surely the Pendragons would want to find out who regardless of their current standing." 

He leans over and looks at the files pressed forward, adding, "If you're reluctant to involve your overseers though, I won't press you for details.  I'm sure you have your reasons."  The sorcerer can make some guesses as to why, but there's no reason to drag every little thing out into the open right now. 

"I suppose the first step is to talk with your own investigators, find out what evidence they observed, and talk with the victims to get their account of the events.  Since you had to clean up the site to free your people, I don't suspect there's much evidence left there, but an inspection of the location might still turn something up.  Interviewing people who worked at the mine could also turn up leads."

Damocles looks up again, and leans back slightly as he adds a bit aloofly, "All of which is work best suited for someone else.  People can sometimes find me intimidating to talk to.  I know, I can't understand it either.  I might poke down to the location the miners were working in at the time, though.  Your...time acceleration factor doesn't concern me, and there might be some reason that particular location was targeted."
Rhongomyniad     "The matters of corporations are somewhat beyond my experience," Rhongomyniad admits after a long, thoughtful pause, "And the behavior of the fae folk is as opaque as those I am familiar with." After a moment, she at last lowers her hand back into the depths of her mantle, "There is little to be gained through speculation. I shall have words with Leopold and Hektor. Their level of involvement, or non-involvement, must be ascertained. The sooner this can be done, the better to narrow down the investigation."

    While it might be interpreted as a forceful statement, Rhongomyniad's face is as impassive as ever, "The weight of their hearts shall inform my next steps."
Maya Maya gets this look on her face as Webb talks to Damocles and she seems to have some idea of that sort of a situation. Further details are given at this point.

"So get down to the roots of this and make sure it can't come back to haunt this colony." Maya seems a bit lost in thought for a moment though Arthur might catch some signs that the old elite has had something hit a sore spot with her. It's also clearly a fairly tangled political situation here.

"So how much of the history of this region do you know? The fae are in the region as you told us earlier, but I'd like to know. You mentioned repairing the ley lines. Was this region important before the antigens came magically? Could there be some need someone would want it for ritual magic?"

She looks to the Chaos Mage for a moment.

"I agree, we may also wish to put our abilities to work at the site of the incident? Also, do the Pendragons have any major enemies who might have the means to try and sabotage a project like your colony?"
Gawain Gawain hms as Webb speaks, but turns to Rhongomyniad as she states her plan. "My king...while a forthright plan is usually best, I worry that such a thing so quickly would cause them to force their hand down on the colony. As much as it pains me to say, /subtletly/ and patience may be the best avenue to go here."

"I'll explore the mine passage myself. How well do cameras work in there, or alternatively, is it possible for you loan to me equipment, for recording anything I may find?"
Tamamo     Tamamo accepts the folder with both hands, then quickly, with great focus, goes down the export/import list. She commits all of it to memory, including any terms that aren't self-explanatory. Not being in an import/export business, nor an expert on the local Fair Folk, there is likely little she can immediately do with this information, and she passes that information on to whosoever would like next to see it. Perhaps to someone with that sort of analytic, clue-digging ability, or else to someone who does have that specifically Britonian connection.

    Though she glances over the photographs, there's nothing she can read through them. "Only their clothing, is it? My, that is unfortunate to hear. I should need something with a bit more substance and memory so as to find an accurate reading. Perhaps if we could begin, instead, with those safety matters that mysteriously failed? There should be some equipment, or else, some place where that equipment has been, yes? If neither of these is so available, and the miners themselves had not the closeness to the danger such as I might uncover such secrets through them," which would be an awfully strange way to say 'if they don't have the info,' "then a return to the scene is all that can be reasonably expected to succeed. I should hope to need no dealings with Fae, however, we shall see."
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Clarify

    Arthur shakes his head at Gawain. "Naw dawg." He says. "I'm not talkin' BOOSTING THE POWER, I'm talkin' just getting a LOCAL SUPPLY. Of that, maybe other shit they NEED here. I ain't got the GRIST to cover a WHOLE TOWN," A lie. "But THESE DUDES are HARDCORE enough we could solve some shit if we get the SUPPLY figured out. Not like these dudes ain't got HELLA RAW MATERIAL to work with."

>Arthur: You should get into that mine

    "If it's a problem gettin' down up in that MINE, I betcha I can HELP. I got that SPACE SHIT, and the ASPECT OPPOSITION between SPACE ASPECT and TIME ASPECT is MUTUAL. I know SUNNY T over here," Arthur gestures at Tamamo. 'Got that PSYCHOMETRY and all, I betcha I can GET HER WHERE SHE NEEDS TO GO." Following Maya's plan seems to be the best way to ease that sore spot, as well as to fulfill Tamamo's needs for better access. Rhongomyniad is definitely drawing an eyebrow up with her own statements, though.

>Arthur: OBSERVE
>Arthur: A GOD TRUE TO THEMSELVES

    "Shut up." Arthur whispers to nobody in particular. Then he speaks properly. "So I'm gonna work any SUPPLY biz we need to KEEP AFLOAT, and I'mma hit that MINE up with the SPACE MANEUVERING to get people WHERE THEY GOTTA BE, and I think that's about ALL I CAN DO on this one."
Rhongomyniad     Gawain's comment gives Rhongomyniad pause, her gaze swinging towards him for a moment. After a few moments, she lets out that characteristic, thoughtful 'mmm' sort of noise. "Your counsel is welcome, Sir Gawain. I will accept this advice." Her eyes close for a moment, "Then let is begin the investigation within the mine itself. I should venture the nature of time within Tir na Nog shall be of little consequence to you or I."
Tony Stark Seemingly put at ease by the response given by the functionary, Tony shrugs. "The number's correct." He didn't write a number, but that still seems to be that.

"We're here now, so we may as well check the mine like everyone's saying. Over the long weekend-" Only for Americans, but, well. "-We can commit to an investigation of L&H, and if between half the Round Table--" Tony gestures at Rhongomyniad and Gawain. "-- three gods and two metal assholes can't find what's wrong in the mines, then there's probably nothing wrong in the mines, either. Sometimes real life is just like that."

Tony groans. "And yes. I'm aware I just talked about plumbing a fairy mine as 'real life'."
Lilian Rook "Apologies." Ellie actually says to Tamamo. "I'd send someone down to bring something back up for you, but, well." She shrugs. "You know." The imports list is mostly technical parts that there's no way even a place with relatively moder (small) manufactories could produce, and doesn't mean much to her.

    The exports are the interesting part, though only just. There are no indications of ever having sold any base materials like copper or iron, though some odd occurrences of things that probably shouldn't be discovered in large quantities underground, in the same place. There's a weird surplus of both salt and mercury, for instance. There are four columns for elements that only come with a dry numerical name, none of them so conveniently memorable as a colour-coded fantasy supermetal, but evidently not found on a periodic table. The same strings are marked on the photographs of some excavation sites for visual reference.

    "If you think you can produce locally . . ." Webb begins with Arthur, then shakes her head. "No, if there's any possibility of that, I'll take it however this turns out. We should accelerate our independence plan as much as possible, and these things cost a fortune every year. Even for L&H, it's a fortune we could be spending on something else from them. I just can't take the risk yet, that someone with a vested interest in a lot of money won't do something worse once they see what you're up to."

    She looks to Gawain. "Oh, things work perfectly fine. Your navigation and timekeeping will get wobbly, of course." she says, making rapid seesawing motions with her hand. "Take anything you like. We don't have any need to tightly register much here. Isolation has some benefits." She takes a little longer to consider what Damocles and Rhongomyniad are talking about from their own angles. "Talking to the miners might be done best by . . . Well, no offense, but not you." she says to Damocles. "But the thought is good. Likewise, I've never even met those two in person, and I doubt they'll respond even to a genuine Arthurian title -- they're nouveaux riche, secular, and probably magically mediocre; and you aren't their buyer. Unless you have something to offer."

    Webb finally responds to Tony with nothing less than what can only be described as a dry-ass cackle. "How do you think I felt about it? A few decades ago, I was telling my daughter about fairies as a bedtime story. Now she lives here." Waving her hand again, she adds "Of course, I'll arrange anything you need to get around here. I can't procure transport anywhere else, but I'm sure that isn't difficult for you now is it. I appreciate your discretion. And . . . for hearing me out. A good deal of Caelton feels like I do, but there's less they can do about it. I'm glad there are still people somewhere that understand."
Damocles "Fantastic," Damocles agrees with Webb agreeing with him about not being the one to conduct the interviews, instead glances briefly at the maps and then looks quickly off to the distance before his eyes settle back on their host.  "I'll join the cadere of age-resistants to inspect the scene, then.  Oh, I'd also like a word with the foreman beforehand.  Assuming there is one."

He tilts his head for a moment before adding, "Oh, and if you have any 'rules' for interacting with your fairies, you should probably get us a list just in case.  I'd hate to inadvertently start a war because I stepped on what I thought was a particularly industrious rat only to discover it was the fairy-king's second wife or something."
Tamamo     "Ah, of course," Tamamo says to Ellie, "if there is no possibility of some communal supply having been tampered with prior to their expedition, then we can only see to the equipment that was, in fact, used. Rather, we shall see to what is left of it. As to the nature of what we should expect, might you explain what safety measures these were that so failed?"

    After that's covered, "Swift transportation would be quite appreciated." Tamamo shows the colony plan and mine routes to Arthur. "Will this suffice, or must we busy with 'mapping' before your gates might take us to the more important destination? All distances being equal, moving directly to the scene would be most quickly informative, matters of 'aging' aside, yes?"
Maya Maya thinks for a moment on the subject of talking to the miners.

"I have to agree Gawain might be the best one to do it or I could if it's needed." Having Arthur on board for transit would help a lot and Tamamos has all the fitness with magic that Maya honestly lacks.

"We will do what we can about this."

Maya suspects there's something more than just trying to debt trap these people here going on. As to what? She and everyone else involved is going to need to dig deeper.
Lilian Rook     "I'm afraid I don't know anything about this place's history. I grew up in Liverpool." Ellie says to Maya. "Everyone who does lives on the other side of the curtain. I assume it was important solely for being one of the few remaining connections between our world and the other one. Since nobody here does any sort of real magic, and the Pendragons don't have a base here, the ley lines must matter to the Fair Folk exclusively. That is the Reclamation's half of the bargain and all. I believe that they have something to do with the permanent wards around the city limits and where they can be placed, though." She stops, then makes an amused little noise at herself. "The edge of the settlement. Old habits."

    "As for enemies; I wouldn't know, but all those types have rivals, even the most above board ones. The Ring of Solstice and Ulster's Branches are the two big ones. Don't ask me to tell you anything specific about them, though. As far as I know, it could even be some individual who has a gripe with Leopold and/or Hektor and wants their business to tank, as potentially unlikely as that is."

    She nods at Damocles. "I'm glad you understand. I'll give him a ring if you have your face decided. When it comes to 'rules' though, don't even bother. The little ones make up their own as they go. The ones that the missionaries deal with are probably Tuatha De themselves, who don't have to follow any, and they don't play games."

    For Tamamo's benefit, she gives her a list of page numbers (there's only perhaps thirty pages to even go through though) and briefly elaborates that the structural supports holding up a major bridge, the emergency suspension chains, the struts holding up the tunnel beneath where it fell, the generator on that level, and its emergency backup, had all failed almost simultaneously.
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Order up. First mines, then manufacturing

    "Alright, we put the PUNCHCARD ALCHEMY on the BACKBURNER. I mean, I guess if you're not wantin' to INCITE SOME SHIT up in your hood, I'm CHILL on it." Arthur says in an easygoing tone, shugging and rolling the idea round his shoulders like he's on a careful balancing act with it. "Guess we gotta do a whole lotta MANEUVERING and a whole lot of SUBTLETY if we're not gonna spark some CORPORATE BULLSHIT. That's why you were wantin' me to turn on the SPOILER MODE, huh?"

    He shakes his head. "Alright. Well, you got my GATES on-call for the MINES. Let's get an EXPEDITION goin', yo."