~ Perfect Blossom Tea Room ~

[Wobbly]

The drunken pilot in the dark corner yells out, "More Sake, and something to eat!" He needed to take an out-system run soon to replace the now useless missle launcher on his torp slot with a nova, and he wanted to be good and drunk to handle the stench of corsair and nomad space.

[Malaclypse 666]

The Fool sat in stunned silence at the small wicker bar which bisected one corner of the main tea room.

His ashen face appeared in shock as he stared at again at the message on the commscreen embedded in the bar's surface.

"Sophie?? Sophie Noire?? Your sister? Gone? My Goddess, who did this unspeakable thing, Dis! Who took her life in cold blood?""

*I'm so sorry, Boss. We all decided. No back-up datasets. We each had one life. As part of our freedom, we didn't want to be part of some faceless net, or be re-hashed endlessly as copies. She's gone.*

*My ship was being tweaked, so Sophie answered the squawk from Lo-Tek. He, Misfit, and Kasume were attacked while on routine patrol by the Revoluntionary Army Vessel RACS M'zav'koh. Lo-tek's fighter had been forced to withdraw *1, as did Kasume's thereafter. Sophie saw the big ugly Albatross just inside Shikoku, just sitting there taking potshots at local traffic.*

"But what in hell for? What did the Navy say?"

*Not sure, Fool. Sophie's box had no real comes from KNF explaining the situation. The captain of the Alby was raving about "watching the South" or something, strange raving messages according to to Misfit, who was there, finally backed up by Lotek again, when Sophie tried to reason with the Xeno, and find out why he was not at least engaging them!*

"He was not actively engaging Sophie or the KNF at that point??"

*Negative. He seemed almost unaware of their presence, as if his only purpose was in delivering the cryptic message to Sophie.*

"Then how in this wide Sector did she get herself.. ki.. terminated?!?"

*Misfit and LoTeK_ reported later that after the comment about looking to the south, there was comms silence, and still no return fire from the Albatross as it was swarmed by Kusari Police. Misfit said that the Nuit_Sombre slowly approached the nose of the craft, to see if visual contact could be made. That's when the Albatross opened up with everything, and took the Raven's Talon out in a second at point blank range.*

"I wonder what those last few miliseconds were like for Sophie. She would have had no human hopes for escape or salvation, or even the deceny of leniency. And the bastard who killed her certainly had no decency!

"Dis, you and Merci have got to hang in. You gals may just be hired hands, but I intend to take this incident to High Command and the Ambassador. If the KNF will not comdemn this act and respond to it; and take the SCRA to task for wantonly killing our sister, then they may find themselves without the services of us all!"

---

[ghostcat]

OOC: this is ghostcat
--
A ragged looking pilot wanders up to the counter and sits down.

"Hey barkeep, hope you don't mind if i sit here. I've had a strange day."

He shifts in the stool a bit, revealing several bandages and burn marks.

"I'll have some of that... what d'you call it? Sake?"

He accepts the glass and quickly gulps it down.

"Ahh, that does the trick, i'll have a few more."

As a stack of glasses starts to grow, he becomes more and more gregarious

"y'know, I'm now officially the g'dmaster of te FGS"
"Tht Aslorian went and sent me my papers this mornin"

He looks down at his injuries forlornly

"Then I went and got my f'vorite ship shot up, lost half my crew...Even got a good p'son killed"

As he looks up, he sways alarmingly.

"Funny thing, i don't really drink much, but i think i might need to go find a seat."

He slowly gets up and wanders over to a booth, where he carefully sits down and starts to doze off.

---

........Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;..........But when the blast of war blows in our ears,.....
........Or close the wall up with our English dead...........................Then imitate the action of the tiger;.................
........In peace there's nothing so becomes a man........................Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,.........
........As modest stillness and humility:........................................Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage!....

Dasher

"Another popup faction. Great. What's wrong with my popup blocker?" - Denelo
"Oh come on, slow and steady doesn't win any races, fast and steady does."

Back, if I can get this thing working!

[Malaclypse 666]

Mama Dis to our valued customers:

Due to the untimely losss of our beloved sister Sophie Noire,
and the retirement of Merci Coup to rejoin her partner Beau,
I will be taking over management of the Tea Room for the time being.
However, I will be accepting applications for my replacement, as I may be
returning to Canaria soon to join my old partner Malaclypse.

The Roppongi Rouster Dojo for KNF Pilots is officially closed.
I recommend contacting Saijin Nebotuba for flight tips and training.

It has been my pleasure to know all you fine KNF Warriors.
I also have many fond memories of shopping trips with deLuna-san.
Please drop by and share tea, and your memories of the F-Troop.
I will remain until I have seen and talked with all of you, my friends.

Until then,
F-23 Discordia
"Mama Dis"
[Merc]Killer_Dis

---

[Wobbly]

Wasabi stands shakily from his dark corner and staggers out into the street, leaving a quarter full bottle of Saki and a slightly richer girl at the tearrom. He stps at a street vendor and has a quick bowl of tempura udon, then takes a train out of the city core and gets off at the stop near the military flight line. Time for space once more.

[Malaclypse 666]

The Captain of the Shikikan sat quietly with the new Captain of the Osaka in the Officers' section of the Perfect Blossom.

"Seiji-san, those items you requested have been acquired."

"Hai, Shiki-san."

"It was an amusing journey. After the items were acquired, we turned our vessel towards Yaren Station, and destroyed the nearby storage dumps. A passing Osiris patrol also seem to have been asleep, for they were much too easy to destroy."

"So, Sensei, for what purpose?"

"The continuing Bret hostilities tend to enamor the Corsairs to us for some reason. They must occassionaly be swayed from their assumptions."

"Ah yes, Shiki-can. And now the tide has turned?"

"Hai, Seiji-san. We will now have to visit the Taus again. How can one focus on defense and combat while trying to balance these delicate diplomatic issues. Such matters should not be the concern of combat forces!"

"Hai! More tea?"

---

[Yngen]

Nebotuda: "No, thankyou. I must evaluate this new recruit of ours that calls himself Manslayer. A barbaric name, but we have need of such people in these times, especially if we are to be sent to the Taus. My crew and I thank you for your efforts, they are finishing the installation as we speak. Now I must excuse myself."

---

[AU]Anton_Blix
-Signature by Doom

[Yngen]

Seiji Nebotuda is sitting at a table in the Perfect Blossom speaking with a very non descript man. They look as if they are having polite conversation. Nebotuda laughs out loud and gestures at an inebriated dancer while he surreptitiously passes a data card to the other man under the table.

A few minutes later, the KNF Captain leaves the Tea room, leaving his Hogosha contact to ponder the latest message from his informant:

Unwanted guests detected on the homeworld, sensor logs included-last known bioscans in Tokyo city, ion trail leading to abandoned warehouse...

say 'hi' to Nabuko for me.

-SN-

---

[AU]Anton_Blix
-Signature by Doom

[Craines]

Fiona sat in her private area of the Perfect Blossom, sipping on some wine or another. She wasn't paying attention. She feared that she had made many mistakes, and now, she had misinterpreted data for the worse. She may have just started a war.

How was she to know that there were circumstances that she couldn't have prepared for? How could she have acted any different? Each moment that the House Kusari Policemen were in the hold of the Nordmar, they could have been executed! But now... well, she didn't know what to think.

She sipped more on whatever she was drinking, discovered that she thought it tasted awful, and stood up. She paid her tab and boarded the Pride of Kusari, and left for Planet Honshu. Her embassy needed tending to.

---

[Malaclypse 666]

Two bedraggled traders entered the Lounge. The Tekagi Maru and the Hexagram 23 had each taken a turn at running the gauntlet from Omega 49 with fat loads of deuterium. They were soon followed by another pilot, the new Ensign commanding the Haiiruguma, a brand new Chimaera, who had escorted both vessels on the northern half of their journeys through Edinburgh and the Taus.

"Haiiri-san! Please join us." said the Fool. "Thirsty work, eliminating those BAF Templars, and eluding those ice chunks in 31. I managed to tractor in a few to cool our drinks. I hate warm Sake!"

Captain Nebotuda merely stared at his drink. "I find it inconceivable that neither of those two SF vessels in Leeds ever entered range and tried to engage us! We were plain as the noses on your faces, Chijin. Are we not moving slowly enough for them? Should we dismount our cruise engines comletely? How can we get any decent target practice from these dunderheads??"

"Not to worry, Seiji-san," said the Fool. "I know a few more routes to Canaria that will show them we are definitely poaching on their territory. They will eventually have to engage our deuterium convoys, or they will lose much face!"

"And what of that rust bucket parked on Canaria, the Harlequinn?" queried Nebotuda. "Has it been overgrown with dung and those Banasteria vines those Zoners chew for insight? If we could put together an even larger convoy, the SF would either move upon us, or be totally humiliated."

"I cannot say, Sensei. I once heard rumor that its pilot might grace the Trader Corp with her presence once again; but she is as the wind through the Fields of Gold. Now here, now there. I fear we must taunt these SF lackeys by ourselves."

"I am honored to escort the KNT, even if our poor traders must fly Dromedarys to present more enticing targets!" said the new Ensign. "They will face the Haiiruguma's guns eventually!"

"Hai! Mama Dis, another round for these brave warriors. Put it on deLuna's account! What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

---