Communique to Lelouch Roux

[Yoko]

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Transmission open.

Communicator Identification: Yoko Mori
Target Identification: Lelouch Roux


Beginning voice transmission...

H- hi there. You asked m- me to get in t- touch with you, s- so... here it i- is.

Transmission ended.

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[Shagohad]

>>>>CHANNEL DETECTED
<<<<OPENING

Source: Warden Lelouch Roux
Location: Mazagran Depot, Champagne
Comm Image:

Bonjour, Yoko Mori,

I'm glad that you remembered my contact details. I trust you are doing well since we last met? I want to apologize for my rather hasty retreat, but when business calls, you have to answer it.

I actually have a favor to ask of you. Nothing too strenuous or dangerous, but important nonetheless. We of the Maquis are outsiders to Sirian customs and organizations. We more often than not bumble into odd situations and can't help but smack ourselves on the foreheads when it comes to these blunders.

As a traveler, I'd imagine you have extensive knowledge of the Sirius sector and the systems within. I'll be blunt, we need a guide. We of the Maquis would be willing to offer a rather hefty payment if you decide to sign on as an assistant to the cause. A guide of a sort as we expand. We would be willing to offer you any accommodations, within reason, to aid you in your work.

If you do not wish to take this offer, I can understand. You are considered a friend of the Maquis and will be treated as such either way.

Signed,
The Warden

>>>>CLOSING
<<<<CHANNEL LOST

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"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THE SCIENCE IS LEAKING OUT!"

[Yoko]

Incoming transmission...
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Transmission open.

Communicator Identification: Yoko Mori
Target Identification: Lelouch Roux


Beginning voice transmission...

Oh, th- that's quite alright. I kn- know the feeling of h- having to take off q- quickly. And y- yeah, I'm actually d- doing better. I m- might get another contract s- soon, which'd be just g- great, especially cons- sidering how much I c- could get from this o- one.

But ap- pparently, I might be about to g- get two new cont- tracts. I'm d- definitely interested in w- working for y- you. What k- kind of st- stuff would I need to d- do? I mean, th- there's a lot I c- can do, but there's also a l- lot I won't do. I'm p- pretty good at inf- formtion, and r- really good at h- hiding people. I kn- know most of the area ar- round Bretonia and Kusari l- like the back of my h- hand. I kn- know s- some of Liberty and Rheinland, t- too, though not nearly as m- much, and mostly th- the well-traveled places. I'm g- good at scouting and g- getting away, though I'm not m- much good at h- hiding. Shooting's n- not my thing, espec- cially at fighters and st- stuff, but I c- can do it if I'm payed en- enough and d- don't think it's g- gonna get me k- killed. If I g- get shot d- down bec- cause of you, I'll n- need you to m- make sure I g- get another sh- ship, of c- course. S- so what exactly w- would you need from m- me?

Even if I d- did take it, th- there's a few cond- ditions I'd have t- to attach. I d- don't want to h- help any Colon- nials or Independent G- Guild Miners if I c- can help it, th- though I will if y- you pay me enough, but I'll n- never h- help the Outcasts or the Kusari g- government - or the Emperor's th- thugs, the Hogosha a- and Farmer's Alliance. I als- so won't ever h- help with any k- kind of C- Cardam- mine smuggling, n- not even just b- by ignoring i- it; th- that stuff is j- just downright evil. I also w- won't help you h- hurt any innocent p- people, espec- cially not Bretonians, even indirectl- ly. Ev- vil people, though, I c- can help with, th- though I'd rather n- not shoot them myself unl- less you're paying a l- lot. Oh, a- and I really d- don't want t- to work with th- that Girard guy unl- less you or... w- well, one of a f- few other people I kn- know who c- could keep him in c- control was th- there. A- and if it's Oz- zei or Saerieve, he'd probably h- have to pay f- for them to k- keep me s- safe from him.

L- let me know! Th- thanks.

Transmission ended.

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[Shagohad]

>>>>CHANNEL DETECTED
<<<<OPENING

Source: Warden Lelouch Roux
Location: Mazagran Depot, Champagne
Comm Image:

Bonjour, Yoko Mori,

Girard is an idiot, that much I can confirm. I assure you, if he touches you I will slit his throat myself and give you his head to laugh at. My Maquis may have once been criminals, but I will not allow them to force their diseased minds on those I wish to keep around me. That's a promise.

You have quite a list when it comes to your morals and your methods. Half of the people you mentioned I don't even know, so it'll be a first-contact basis when we encounter them. That's rather tricky.

Working for the Colonials and the IMG or any other group is not what I meant. We may be neutral to them, but we aren't their dogs. If our paths happen to cross, then they do so and we chat about fine drinks, finer times, and even finer women. Mutual goals and agendas are what keep us together. I am asking you to work for me. Not them.

For the first task, I need you to recon an area for me. It's the Baffin system. I need to know every spatial body and artificial installation. I will pay you five million credits once you complete this. Take your time when doing this, I'm in no rush.

For now, you can explain to me what it is that Kusari and Bretonia stand for, and whether or not we of the Maquis can trust them. It's tricky when one expands into the neighboring territory and has to take a rather hesitant approach towards those in it. We need more money than we do friends.

I trust and like you, Yoko. Working for us will get you a rather good ticket into our home to explore its splendor and wealth.

Signed,
The Warden

>>>>CLOSING
<<<<CHANNEL LOST

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"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THE SCIENCE IS LEAKING OUT!"

[Yoko]

Incoming transmission...
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Opening transmission...
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Transmission open.

Communicator Identification: Yoko Mori
Target Identification: Lelouch Roux


Beginning voice transmission...

Oh, mmk- kay. That sounds g- good. J- just... I m- mean, I'm a little m- more worried ab- bout prev- vention than punishm- ment with Girar- rd. J- just... if y- you ever w- want me to w- work with h- him, make h- him pay the b- bills for my b- bodyguard.

Anyw- ways, here's th- the first job. S- sorry it took me s- so long t- to get it d- done; th- the Neural N- Net was clogged in B- Bretonia bec- cause of th- the whole Rheinland th- thing, and I had t- to get back o- out to the Taus t- to send th- this.

B- Baffin's a p- pretty strange system. Th- then again, those "Erisians"'re ev- ven weirder than m- most Zoners, s- so I guess that f- fits.

I d- dunno if you alr- ready know it, b- but Baffin's a p- pretty import- tant system. It's part of th- the "Barrier P- Pass", which is the sh- shortest w- way from Liberty and the c- Core to Taus, a- and the Taus are the b- backdoor of half of s- Sirius. Kus- sari, Bret- tonia, the Edge Worlds... a- and Gallia, I g- guess. There's a b- bunch of big issues i- in the Taus, anyw- ways; there's th- the whole w- war between Bretonia and K- Kusari, p- plus the Colonials, th- that huge Outcast sm- smuggling route, the wh- whole war that th- that creates... l- lots of st- stuff. On t- top of all th- that, s- some of the b- best mining fields in Sirius are th- there, so of c- course a l- lot of people - l- like the Independent Miner's Guild k- kill people ov- ver who g- gets the best bit of f- fields there.

Anyw- ways, here's th- the system its- self.

First, h- here's a map. It'll h- help you know wh- what I'm t- talking ab-bout here.

The m- most important p- parts are the Jump H- Holes. The Coron- nado Jump Hole l- leads to the oth- ther part of the Barrier P- Pass, Coronado. There's a b- big station there that'll p- pretty much let anyo- one resupply th- there. The guy wh- who built it gets t- tons of money off everyo- one resupplying there. You c- can get to Cort- tez from there, which is one of th- the "Independent Worlds" bet- tween Liberty and the other Houses - Bret- tonia, in this c- case. The Jump H- Hole from Coronad- do to Cortez act- tually comes out r- right behind Curacao, wh- which is th- the biggest res- sort planet in Sirius.

The oth- ther Jump Hole goes t- to Tau-29, which is th- the Kusari-side T- Tau. Kusari p- pretty much owns it, b- but a lot of t- traffic sneaks th- through under th- their nos- ses from the Baf- ffin hole to Tau-23, th- the system where I m- met you.

The
pass bet- tween the two jump h- holes is w- well marked w- with a bunch of b- bouys, wh- which is good, 'cause a l- lot of it g- goes through the edge o- of the Barrier n- nebula.

As f- for Baffin its- self, the Tempor- rary Autonom- mous Zoners own it. They're... st- strange. I r- really don't kn- know much else ab- bout them, exc- cept they do a l- lot of charit- ty medical work. There a- are four planets in B- Baffin... s- sorta. One of th- them's more l- like an ast- teroid or... s- something. I'm n- not really s- sure.

F- first of all, Planets H- Hodge and Podge. W- weird little th- things. They orb- bit each other r- really closely, a- and there's this wh- whole cloud of rocks ar- round them. I asked s- some people, and f- found out that th- they're basic- cally identical, a- and keep r- running into each oth- ther. The rocks - "Chao Field" - a- are what gets b- broken off every t- time the hit each oth- ther. P- pretty dangerous ar- rea, but as you c- can see on the m- map, it's w- way out o- of the w- way.

Th- then there's Planet Eris. It's the onl- ly "normal" p- planet in Baffin... exc- cept for the f- fact that it's the b- biggest gas g- giant I've ev- ver seen. It's h- huge! P- pretty, too. D- didn't see anyth- thing special ab- bout it, though.

Then there's the... "G- Goddess Geode". I d- don't even kn- know what to m- make of that. It's... b- basically a g- giant rock. Ap- pparently it's g- got a huge cave st- structure, th- though, a- and the Zoners l- let tourists g- go through there s- some. They l- like to go down th- there a l- lot thems- selves.

Th- there's this h- huge installat- tion above the Geode c- called "Shasta". The c- call it a "Skyhook". B- basically, it's a m- mooring fixture f- for fighters. You d- dock there, and th- they take you d- down to the G- Geode with... elev- vators, basically.

On m- my way back from Hodge and P- Podge, I sp- spotted some k- kind of h- huge... s- something in the dist- tance. It t- turned out to b- be a base c- called "Pueb- blo Bonito". They w- wouldn't let m- me get any c- closer th- than that, and th- they told me t- to leave, s- so I g- got out of th- there.

I'd h- heard someth- thing about some k- kind of sp- special field of... s- something called "scrubbies" in th- the Barrier. I d- didn't find that, b- but I d- did find an- nother hidden station. I d- don't get why such a "peacef- ful" group has s- so many hidden b- bases, but oh w- well. This o- one didn't w- want me anywh- where near them either, s- so I took off p- pretty quickly from th- there, too. Weirdest th- thing is the sh- shape, though. I've n- never seen as stat- tion that looks anyth- thing like that bef- fore. It w- was... st- strange. Very strange.

Anyw- ways, that's the s- system. It h- has a pretty sm- small star, s- so it's pretty c- cold. It g- gets worse in the Barrier, b- but this awf- ful Charon alw- ways gets st- stuff frozen in th- there, even w- with the "upg- graded" ext- ternal heating. M- most people j- just take the Barrier P- Pass and ignore the r- rest of the syst- tem, though.

Um... B- Bretonia and Kus- sari. Right. W- well, Bretonia's my h- home, these d- days. It's w- wonderful. I m- mean, it's not perf- fect, but no governm- ment is. They're h- having a lot of t- trouble right n- now, though; we h- have two major interh- House wars going on n- now, not c- counting all the Cors- sairs, Mollys, G- Gaians, Lane H- Hackers, and rand- dom other murderers wh- who attack on a d- daily basis. It's still d- doing pretty w- well, though. It's surv- viving, a- and we've p- pretty much got cont- trol of Dublin now, so th- that's a h- huge income f- flow. The Mollys aren't g- gone now, but they're comp- pletely disorg- ganized, and they're f- falling ap- part. The Queen j- just formally c- claimed Omega-3, too, and ren- named it Snowdown, th- though Rheinland d- didn't like th- that at all. Rheinland's l- losing their war ag- gainst Liberty, th- though, so th- they're l- less dangerous th- than Kusari, and it'll g- give us a p- place to fall back int- to if Leeds goes d- down.

Bretonia's wh- what's called a "democ- cratic monarchy". B- basically, the citiz- zens elect a Parliament, a- and they have the real p- power, but w- we also have a "ruler" - Queen Carina r- right now - and a wh- whole system of n- nice titles. The t- titles don't r- really give you a b- bunch of power, th- though. They're m- mostly about all the honor a- and formality and st- stuff. They're a h- huge honor, b- but that d- doesn't mean they make you more politic- cally powerful. The Queen d- doesn't rule dir- rectly, but she d- does have a t- ton of influence, and Parliam- ment'll usually v- vote for what she wants, bec- cause she's really popul- lar. They d- don't have to, but as l- long as the Queen doesn't g- go crazy and t- try to be the abs- solute ruler or s- something horrible l- like that, they d- do.

Kusari's... b- bad. Act- tually, Kusari's the main r- reason I m- moved to Bretonia. S- see, they... w- well, they work on a s- sort of dict- tator system. They have a Emperor and a b- bunch of lords and st- stuff, but those p- people actually hold abs- solute authority. They're completely h- horrible - everyth- thing there, f- from what y- you can do f- for a living t- to who rules the House - is contr- trolled by who your p- parents are. A- and if you were b- born outside Kusari or y- you're a woman, y- you can forget ab- bout it. Men d- do everything; women are b- basically there t- to be the mens' pers- sonal slaves. Their wh- whole lives are cont- trolled by the men.

In Kusari, th- they're all ab- bout "honor" on the s- surface, b- but deep down, they're all b- brutal. The gov- vernment will d- do about anything to g- get what it w- wants, as f- far as attacking Bret- tonia to steal some s- systems. When there's st- stuff that even they won't d- do publicly, th- they hire their little thugs, the Hogosha, and th- the Hogosha's f- friends, the Farmer's All- liance. Those p- people'll do anything: they murder anyo- one who d- dares to compete with the m- monopoly Samura h- has over half of Kusari, a- and anyo- one who disagrees w- with the Emperor. If th- that wasn't enough, there's a wh- whole secret police b- bunch that do even w- worse than the Hogosha, if th- that's possible. I d- don't know much ab- bout them, but wh- what I do know is all b- bad. I th- think you g- get the idea.

Amaz- zingly, there's even people wh- who've managed to surv- vive resisting in Kusari. There's t- two main groups: the Blood Dragons, wh- who want to get r- rid of the Emperor and rep- place him with their own Sh- Shogun, and the Golden Chrysanth- themums, who w- want to f- free women. I w- work for both of them, b- but mainly the Chrysanthemums. The Chrys- santhemums're p- pretty small, though; they use Cardam- mine, and th- that really slows them d- down. The Dragon's're b- bigger - huge, r- really - and p- pretty rich in comp- parison, but they're a l- little like the current governm- ment in some w- ways. They aren't as... oppres- ssive, but they are really honor-f- focused.

Anyw- ways, I h- hope all that h- helps!

Transmission ended.

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[Yoko]

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Transmission open.

Communicator Identification: Yoko Mori
Target Identification: Lelouch Roux


Beginning voice transmission...

Um... hello? D- did you g- get the transmission?

Transmission ended.

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[Yoko]

Incoming transmission...
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Opening transmission...
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Transmission open.

Communicator Identification: Yoko Mori
Target Identification: Lelouch Roux


Beginning voice transmission...

... H- hello?

Transmission ended.

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Re-encrypting...
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... Transmission stored in archives.

[Shagohad]

>>>>CHANNEL DETECTED
<<<<OPENING

Source: Warden Lelouch Roux
Location: Mazagran Depot, Champagne
Comm Image:

Lelouch appears on screen, looking worse than he normally does. His right eye is a deep black, swollen to the point where it barely hides the emerald green orb beneath. Bandages dot his nose, brow, and chin; the crimson stains visible on their surface. Behind him, men scramble about, shouting things in a very frantic and nervous manner.

Yoko, I am so sorry. I've been...a bit busy. I have forwarded the money to you and hope that you can forgive me for neglecting something like this. We'll talk again when I have the chance.

He smiles weakly before the feed cuts.

>>>>CLOSING
<<<<CHANNEL LOST

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"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THE SCIENCE IS LEAKING OUT!"

[Yoko]

Incoming transmission...
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Opening transmission...
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Transmission open.

Communicator Identification: Yoko Mori
Target Identification: Lelouch Roux


Beginning voice transmission...

O-... oh. Ok- kay, then. Alr- right. Be s- safe.

Transmission ended.

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