2656/TSAB Briefing -- Rashmi's Terrible Plan

TSAB Briefing -- Rashmi's Terrible Plan
Date of Scene:	29 June 2025
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	With a terrible plan in mind, Rashmi calls Chrono and Souta -- as the primary TSAB field operatives active on Earth -- to brief them on events so far, and what exactly she intends to do. Vaguely surprisingly, they both give their grim but realistic approval, and Chrono claims the module to do some final checks on it, to make sure everything is 100% up to code. And absolutely nothing else.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Souta Camero, Chrono Harlaown

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The message that Nicomachea had sent to S2U and Paradise Spectrum was... foreboding, to say the least.

    << So, I need to talk to you both. There's been a development on the Seriss Nyx situation, and I need people to pick apart my awful plan so it's not so awful. Meet me in the Shed after school? Also, you pick dinner and I'll go get it. >>

As both Devicer and the child of restauranteurs, 'working dinners' are a closely-held tradition; few mahou run on their stomachs in quite the way Devicers do, after all, and now Rashmi waits at her seat amidst a cluster of desks shoved together, hoping that her plan is a) not *too* awful, and b) there won't be riots about her implementation.

An honest concern, considering.

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta's nearly neutral expression grew just a little more tense at Rashmi's message. The last time the Inspector had seen Rashmi make a play against Seriss, it was... dramatic, but also effective. Whatever plan she might be cooking up now, well... he gets the feeling it's going to be a choice between Rashmi something risky or allowing Seriss to continue doing whatever she wants.

    Which isn't really much of a choice.

    On the matter of food, Souta says, <<Surprise me. I'll be there.>>

    Souta arrives at the shed at exactly 5 minutes after the last class lets out. Because that's the kind of person he is. Careful, precise, and punctual. At least, when he can be.

    This does not prevent him from rioting.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown would arrive not very long after Souta, his uniform perfectly straight laced as ever. You'd think he hadn't been wearing it all day or something. But then, it was Chrono. He probably could go through a blizzard and within three minutes be ready for routine inspection.

Then again, he had once gotten docked for having a 'pet' in his room, or so the rumors said... it was a fly.

<< I trust your judgement, but something tangy and sweet sounds delightful, Rashmi, with a hint of citrus. >> Chrono told her when she offered.

He didn't comment on the... state of what her plan would be. Because, frankly? He'd hold his reserve for that. He knew she loved Seriss, she was a friend. And he'd seen, and heard, some REALLY stupid, idiotic, dense, SUICIDAL plans.

And to his mild annoyance, he'd seen those plans work DESPITE THEY HAD NO RIGHT TO.

... Sometimes he even liked this planet when the bullshit worked in his favor.

When he saw Souta, he gave what could almost be considered a cheeky smile for him. "Hello, Inspector Camero. Have you been making good progress on my reports?"

Oh, only Chrono could end up stranded on a planet like this for over two years and maintain his reports... But oh. How *wondrous* it felt now, to be able to *share* the utter *bull* this world was with someone else...

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Heeeeyyyyy, guys," Rashmi says as the two enter, standing up and circling the desks to give Chrono a brief hug. "Sorry to worry you, but... yeah you'll get it in a sec. Meantime..."

She moves back to the desk-table, and starts pulling dinner out from her Device. 'Tangy and sweet' proves to be piping hot bowls of katsudon -- sliced pork-cutlet, egg, and slow-simmered onion over rice -- and little pickle-salads, and a gallon thermos of hot tea.

"So," she begins, setting out sauces and pouring tea, "Chrono already knows this part, but before the fight over Hotaru-chan... Molly-chan made a deal with Seriss. Seriss gives Molly-chan one hour of control of her body, in exchange for access to Starcrash's secure storage. Molly-chan used that to have ice cream and lunch with me... and pass me a warning about Hotaru-chan."

Souta Camero has posed:
    With a mild smirk, Souta clasps his hands together and glances at Chrono. "They have been very helpful at getting me up to speed, if a bit detrimental to my sense of reality. Every time I think you're pulling my leg it turns out that you aren't, and I'm not quite certain how to take that."

    Dinner, apparently, is served. Souta gratefully accepts a cup of tea and holds it while listening to Rashmi. He, of course, knows at least a bit of the situation. Molly is the girl who rightfully owns the body that Seriss Nyx is possessing, and Seriss is some kind of creature from the dusk zone. The fact that he's not asking questions about these things is proof that he actually has been reading the reports.

    "So, regardless of Seriss's boasting, Molly seems to have at least some bargaining chips here. What, exactly, was the warning?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a very, very long suffering smile to Souta. "You... get used to it. With time. This lost logia of a planet... can often even work in our favor. And... eventually you learn to cope. With time."

Chrono blinked a few times at Rashmi's greeting and... "Huh. That was quite the pitch on that 'Hey', this idea must be a Riventon level bad idea," Chrono said, flatly. "You're not going undercover and defecting to her side. You'd be a terrible villain." He did, however, hug her back.

"Other than that, carry on."

He sat down and at least began to set up his own plate as well, though he didn't start to eat until everyone was seated and ready... Bracing for what was to come. He'd choked enough, thank you very much. Instead, his eyes locked on Rashmi. Just waiting for his cute little alien supermodel girlfriend to drop the hammer on his head.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You might as well eat for now, Chrono," Rashmi says around a wry chuckle. "There's kind of a lot of context behind all this." Sitting down next to the Enforcer, she picks up her own tea, and just turns the cup in her hands for a bit. "'Hotaru, now,' was the message. See... Seriss' whole thing is buried under a couple layers of superiors; the whole reason she was installed in Molly-chan to begin with -- and yes, 'was installed' is the horribly accurate way to put it -- was to serve a Daimon by the name of Mistress 9... who had been sleeping inside Hotaru-chan's soul for longer than I've known her, and was *even more powerful than Seriss*. Around... February, I think? Mistress 9 tried to bring *her* superior to Earth, Pharaoh 90 -- same magnitude of power difference -- but Hotaru-chan was instrumental in stopping *that,* and now she's Sailor Saturn, with Mistress 9 comfortably on the other side of, I guess, the galaxy."

Rashmi lets out the rest of her breath in a rush, then inhales. "Anyway that's why Seriss tried to capture Hotaru-chan. She wants her boss back, and *everything she's been doing up to this point* has been to make sure she could do that."

Souta Camero has posed:
    "I see," says Souta, processing all of what Rashmi has just told him. Paradise Spectrum marks up his internal conspiracy board and notes the new connections. Pharaoh 90, Mistress 9, Seriss Nyx...

    "So, she's been cut off from her chain of command, and wants to reestablish contact. More than that, she wants to bring Mistress Nine back, and poor Tomoe-san is supposedly instrumental in that." He considers this as he takes a few bites of the offered food. "Mistress Nine wants her old host back, presumably either because it's familiar or possibly because of... whatever conditions potentially made Hotaru appealing to begin with."

    He frowns thoughtfully, looking down into his food. "Would this be related to whatever, or whoever, she has been searching for up until now? It seemed like she had multiple targets, a primary, a secondary, and a tertiary."

    He can't help but wonder if those other targets aren't people too.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown took a long, slow breath. "I... see. And they want... Hotaru for that. That sounds... pleasant," Chrono said with all the dryness of a sponge in the sahara desert. "Have you mentioned this to the Sailor Senshi, or do they already know?"

He took a small drink of his own tea, before taking a single bite, swallowing, and then glancing towards Rashmi. "This plan doesn't involve giving them Sailor Saturn, does it? Because I am pretty sure Pluto will murder the two of us if we even consider such an action, even as a feint. She may already be on her way."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"By now they probably know," Rashmi sighs, "but I'll check in regardless. And if she has *more* targets... I don't know. Maybe she wants more Daimons she doesn't have to create herself. ...Like me, if her idle threat was anything to go by. Which... brings me to now. And no, Chrono, I'd give her my key to Molly's parents *garage* before I gave her Hotaru-chan. But a few days ago... I got a call from Molly-chan. She'd kept a burner phone in her secure storage, and used that to call me when Seriss was asleep enough Molly-chan could take control. Only... it wasn't Molly-chan at the other end of the line, it was Seriss. Now that she had *access* to secure storage... she found the phone. A lot of words were said, but the most important one was that Molly-chan's being locked down to keep her from causing more trouble. Specifically... she's being locked into *her dreams.*"

Leaning back in her chair, Rashmi bites on her lower lip for a moment. "...I was consulting with the only exper on the dream world I knew of, when Coco-chan found us both. Turns out... *her* big pain-in-the-neck has a subordinate who traps people in their best dreams, forever... and Seriss is working with *her.*"

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta gives Chrono a sideways glance. The Inspector is... less inclined to annoyed the Outer Senshi. Part of that is due to the hospitality he was shown at his arrival. Another part is that he knows by now how they are. The Enforcer isn't exactly wrong here.

    The situation with Coco's problem, Michel, he is significantly less familiar with, as interesting as it was to learn that actual mermaids exist in this world. However, the fact that this significantly raises the stakes isn't lost on him.

    "So, now Seriss Nyx has support... from another dark general, it seems. One who specializes in dream traps."

    Well, it doesn't take a genius detective to connect those dots. Souta scowls at his tea while he considers the implications.

    "You mentioned and expert on the dream world. I take it you intend to recruit their assistance?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small sigh. "Remind me to give Starcrash a commendation when all of this is over," he mumbled, the exhaustion clear in his voice. Seriously, the things that device had been through during this entire affair...

Worse, however... Dreams. That? He had no grounding for. Another lost logia. There was magic, things that could tamper with such, but he didn't know much about it. That was magic that was so, so far beyond him it might as well be... well... It was beyond him. By leagues. He shook his head.

"Magic that tampers with dream is so far outside my knowledge pool. I'm happy we have a specialist, because I couldn't begin to guess in this. Two, even. Well... At least if Coco-chan has some experience. There... wait. No. I think... there was an incident before, where..." He trailed off, tapping on the air annnnd... "Ah, here it is. Sailor Moon's nightmares... I believe... Coco-chan was pivotal then as well, yes? Neither of us were involved in that incident, but... huh. That girl's enemies sure do like attacking nightmares. Maybe we should see if her people have any special anti-nightmare defenses or the like, she could be pivotal in both aiding the growth of your other friend and in rescuing Molly," Chrono said softly.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeaaaaah," Rashmi says, pursing her lips. "Both of you are pretty much spot on... the expert says what if I can put something in Seriss' possession that she -- the expert -- has handled, she can use it to home in on Molly-chan's dreams, and get to her. *And* she's dealt with the lieutenant in question before, so the three of us are probably gonna have a sleepover after I've gotten the thing onto Seriss."

Rashmi falls silent again for a moment, then closes her eyes. "Whiiiich brings me to my plan," she says, extracting a Device module from Nicomachea and setting it in the middle of the makeshift table. "...Starcrash's last missing module, containing a new suite of devensive spells, and his telepathic interface."

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta can't help but feel sorry for the device that Seriss uses. Especially after all the horrors that she's visited upon it.

    "It sounds like we have several people with experience in this matter," says Souta, looking pensively between Chrono and Rashmi, but mostly at Rashmi. He has a feeling he knows where this is going. Well, Coco has proven reliable so far, so he has no complaints on that front.

    His eyes glance towards the piece of Starcrash that's been set down on the table. "Acquired in our last conflict with her, I take it."

    He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. "Let me make sure I'm following. Your intention is to give this piece of Starcrash back to Seriss Nyx, after your expert has handled it, and then use that as an anchor to invade her dreams and, therefore, find Molly? Are you intending to retrieve her this way?" Surely not, unless they have some place to put her aside from her own body. Unless they have some nonsense way to answer that problem, too?

    Then he reconsiders, and thinks about it with regards to how Rashmi seems to operate. "... Or, perhaps, your intent is to bolster her in some way. Give her a bit more strength to overcome Seriss from the inside." That seems more reasonable. To him, at least.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown slowly, very slowly, put his elbows on the table. Hands together. Chin resting on his hands. Shadows covering his eyes as he just... sat there for a few moments. Seemingly lost in thought.

Unfortunately, though, he actually had... some answers for that. But Souta likely wasn't going to likely enjoy the answers. "Starcrash was in maintenance when the Arthra fell, Rashmi," Chrono said. "Where did you *find that*?" he asked, slowly looking over to her. "That is my big concern. She uses dark energy, as well. Our devices just... aren't designed for it. The magic device mages use aren't *set* for dark energy. It's going to *hurt* Starcrash even more, because she's going to figure out these spells and *mangle Starcrash* into the right form to make them work."

"... I won't stop you, but you should know what you're intending to do, Rashmi. There's a reason I was so horrified when I first saw Riventon's device. Why what it does seems so... wrong. This... is not going to be pleasant for it. But... if it can help rescue them? I trust you... and they likely would, as well."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...So apparently there are options for retrieval," Rashmi says slowly, "options that exist entirely in the dream world. Which would *get Molly-chan out of the way* for these fights... but honestly that's not even the primary objective."

When asked where she even found it, Rashmi lets out a long, long breath. "...Chrono... remember my friend Hinoiri? After she was Sunbreaker, but before now... she was scraping for any bit of power she could get her hands on. So... apparently she cobbled together a half-jacked power source from a bunch of scavenged parts. ...One of them was a bit from a Device. Turns out? Starcrash, specifically. I learned this... when she gave it back."

The look she gives Chrono is rather bleak, and it's clear that she has indeed, been turning over all this in her mind already. "Seriss isn't a Meister, Chrono... the only reason she can *use Starcrash at all* is because she's using Molly-chan's linker core to act as the interface. And I know, I *know* what it's going to do to him, but... If Seriss only knows Devices from Starcrash, *she doesn't know there's supposed to be telepathy involved.* So if I can *install* this, and show her the catalog of spells for her to make out lives miserable with? The gamble is, she won't know to *ask* about the interface, but Molly-chan *will know.* Because Seriss locked Starcrash from accepting commands from *any voice but hers.*"

Flopping back in her chair, Rashmi closes her eyes. "And I know... I *know,* never count on the ignorance of your opponent, but... I can't think of anything she'd want that I could sell her, and I *double* can't think of anything else she wouldn't triple-check almost immediately. And without her accepting possession of the thing, Molly-chan's *going* to die a gentle death."

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta has only been here a brief time, but that's been long enough for him to learn with some certainty that Dark Energy in of itself is one of the worst Lost Logia around.

    The risks and problems are laid out. Chrono is giving Rashmi his trust. Souta sits and ponders the complexities of what this all means. Rashmi is right, of course. More than that, even if they had some kind of alternative to use as bait, chances are that whatever they come up with could end up being just as bad. Here, the risks are at least known.

    "More defensive spells might not be as problematic as it seems. Ideally we would of course love to be able to defeat Seriss in combat and resolve the matter that way, but as things are now we already face an opponent who can't be easily felled. The impossible becoming even more impossible means that not much is changing."

    He sweeps his hand in front of him and then shrugs, "If we take this gamble, we will need to secure an alternative means of victory, or something that breaks or undermines the... dare I say impressive layer of defense that Seriss already has. A weakness, perhaps, or a back door."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod, closing his eyes once more. "Good. You understand exactly what you're intending, what you're asking both of us, and yourself. Then I have no objections," Chrono said, shaking his head.

However... When he heard about Sunbreaker, he sighed. "The girl who ate the sun? I... see. At least she didn't try to eat it." Though, he then gave it another wary look. "... I hope."

"Just so long as you're not meeting with her alone and have someone you can trust, then... fine. I trust your judgment on this. It's... reckless. Ill informed and frankly... Probably goes against the letter of at least half a dozen different TSAB regulations, if not more..." He then glanced towards Souta before saying some words that Souta likely imagined he would say.

"But... sometimes regulations need to be bent, or even broken. We're going to need every tool we can get if we're going to rescue her without killing her. You mentioned retrieving her... how would that work? Is that on..." Then he paused before uttering the words he never, ever thought he would have to say. He really... really... REALLY thought he would never have to say these words, and he had to brace himself.

"... Is Molly going to be a mermaid for a while?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Well... we *could* hold off for a couple days and *build* weaknesses?" Rashmi ventures. "I know the both of you are much more proficient in actual spell code than I am... Or even slip a message to Molly-chan somwhere in there. Other than that... The only chink in the armor would be Molly hopefully having access that overrides Seriss."

She nods as Chrono speaks, and while she may have argued her plan, it does her a great deal of visible good to hear the Enforcer's unvarnished, I-hate-that-I-approve analysis. ...And then he ask if Molly's going to be a mermaid, to which Rashmi cannot help but giggle about for a moment. "...I really, *really* doubt it. But my source was talking about using her own dreamscape as kind of a refugee shelter. Hers, or Mamoru's. Which I haven't asked him about, but I might just to cover every base I can."

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta gives Chrono a wary look as he mentions trying to eat a device, as well as the sun. Paradise Spectrum senses his question and starts bringing up relevant reports, but Souta dismisses it with a mental 'not now'.

    "If the TSAB ever gets a significant presence here, I imagine we'll need all new regulations entirely. As it is, the only regulatory board we have around would have to consist of... the people in this room, maybe? A handful of others?" Souta doesn't exactly like bending the rules, because they exist for a reason... but they also exist under the TSAB's social contract which... doesn't really protect them here.

    "If nothing else, I'm sure whatever inspector comes to question our methods will at least take our intent into account. We're trying to rescue the girl, and we don't have a lot of options."

    He is silent on the topic of mermaids, though Rashmi's actual solution seems a bit more bearable.

    "I see. Then, at least, she'll be out of the way as you said. Hopefully where she can't be tormented or held hostage." He glances to Chrono and then to Rashmi and says, "That said my understanding of spells is... a bit unusual. They wouldn't let me out of basic without learning the standard suite, but I don't really rely on offensive spells so much outside of barrets. I rely more on Paradise Spectrum's weapon modes, and use self-enhancement spells to make myself stronger or faster, so really... I'm probably not the expert on that you'd hope to find. Unless you intend to trick Seriss into debuffing herself."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown blinked a few times and then... slowly... reached out placed a finger on the module. He then slid it over to himself. "Give me two days with it," he said. "I'll see what I can do."

He wasn't smiling. He wasn't. He definitely did NOT have anything planned that would, in any way, be useful in the future or prove to be helpful at a key moment. And would not, in any way, be used against the person who had, repeatedly, caused such incredible, untold, unrelenting, vicious and cruel psychological, physical and emotional torment upon as Paradise Spectrum called her... Chrono's ship.

"I'll ensure that everything is up to date and then give it back to you after class, does that sound fair?" he asked. Definitely NOTHING mischievous planned. At. All.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That's my hope too," Rashmi says to Souta, nodding. "The less she has to actively deal with, honestly... the better. She could *use* a little peace at this point, even if it'll probably be frustrating for her."

The comment about Seriss debuffing herself earns a quiet chuckle... which is cut off as Chrono simply claims the module and asks for two days. Blinking sharply, she raises her eyebrows, looks from module to Souta and back to Chrono, then raises her hands. "I'm not even gonna ask," she says. "You know the requirements, and what I don't know I *do not* have to fail at lying about later."

Souta Camero has posed:
    As soon as the words were out of Souta's mouth, he was already thinking of ways he could sabotage the spells themselves, but...

    Ah, it seems like the Enforcer has plans of his own.

    "Then I'll defer to your greater experience in these matters, Enforcer Chrono. I'm sure you have a firm grasp on what exactly Seriss Nyx needs in this situation."

    Was there a knife hidden in those words? Surely not. Rashmi mentions potentially being unable to lie, and he responds with a shrug and, "Need to know basis, then. As for me, while I'm confident I can keep a secret, I don't strictly need to know either. I will simply trust the Enforcer to do his best in this matter."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
"I assure you, this module would pass all TSAB inspections after I finish, that is all," Chrono Harlaown said with an entirely straight face before they picked it up. "I merely want to ensure that all of the maintenance it was taken apart for was finished. Nothing more."

Lies. Absolute lies. But there would be absolutely no proof. Not a single bit of it.

And the module disappeared into his own device. "Other than that... I think that means we're all up to date? Is there any other pending news? Any new apocalypses?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean aside from Coco's *new* problem, not that I know of?" Rashmi says, shrugging... And somewhere between her telling her story and now, two-thirds of her katsudon has *vanished.* It's not that she's a superspeed-eater, just... apparently when she chooses to eat, is when people's attention is fixed elsewhere, leading food to simply seem to teleport away from her bowl.

"It might be worth checking in with her and getting the full story though. And with the Moon Wedding and Senshi Shenanigans mostly put to rest, it's just the Black Moon Clan -- which I *know* is in Chrono's reports, since he helped train their target in Device Mage tactics -- and the mystery that showed up at the Art Museum. You should go check that out, Souta-kun, apparently all kinds of magic nonsense has been all over Earth's history. Even found depictions of Device-looking stuff."

Souta Camero has posed:
    'Any new apocalypses?'

    Souta glances at Chrono and then Rashmi with a raised eyebrow for a moment. "Honestly, most of my recent work has been on the Seriss Nyx case, and Rashmi has seen everything I have."

    Rashmi mentions the art museum and Souta glances towards the Shed's relevant murderboard. "I have to admit, the mystery of the museum has intrigued me. I've been intending to look into it. It's... exactly the kind of thing I'm into."

    "Considering how wild this planet is, I suppose it'd be no surprise that other Devicers have been here in the past. If there's some way to circumvent the Fade before we fall victim to it..."

    Much of his food has vanished as well, to no surprise. It helps him think, and there's a lot to think about today. A lot of puzzle pieces to put together.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod. "Indeed. Unfortunately, we still have little to go on in regards to bypassing the fade, as it were. I've been trying to compile what information I can that might lead to some breakthrough in that regard as well, but I've had little success," Chrono said. "The fade is a problem I never would have imagined. The TSAB would have never even imagined such a thing existing..."

Their civilization wouldn't EXIST with it, after all.

Then again... this whole world broke so many parts of it.

His food was also nearly gone as well. While Rashmi was plenty sweet, he had craved a bit of sweet and tangy and she had delivered, not that he had it, the meal had helped him to recoup what energy the new developments had stolen.

"As it is, then... For now? I will see what I can do. I trust you have things well in hand, Rashmi. Coco is a valuable resource, in my experience she won't lead you wrong. Try to stop the other girl from eating any more magical artifacts or orbital bodies, if you can," he said with a hint of playful energy. "Camero-san, for now? I'd suggest trying to continue to meet with other members on our side. While my reports may have helped you get some grounding... trust me. Nothing in the world will have quite the impact as seeing them tell the rules and laws of reality to... more or less... bend over and do what they say."

"... Terrifying as it may be, at times, to watch." Chrono said, in a flat, mildly shuddering tone.

"Get to know the pretty cures, too. They'll likely mix well with your style. They're basically sparkly belkans."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Also you met Hinote-san in that fight," Rashmi says, "but I really, really think you and he could be *terrifying* to the wrong people. Just... watch a few movies of the 'noir detective' genre, and understand that his magic kind of forces him to talk like a stereotype of that kind of thing. But he's got a great mind, and two investigators on the same trail could ruin so many days."

Grinning at Chrono, Rashmi leans over to nudge his shoulder. "No she's completely done there... she's *all the way* a good guy now, and in fact one of those sparkly Belkans!"

At least, with the bad stories told and a plan of action laid out... Rashmi can still have high spirits. Given everything Seriss had done, and the amount of time this has been going on? Some people might not have managed to find things to smile about.

Souta Camero has posed:
    "Yes, well, getting myself up to speed seems to be my top priority for now," admits Souta. "Naturally, I'm here to assist as I can, but I'll be better at that once I have a solid foundation to build on. Your reports, Enforcer, have proven invaluable so far. My congratulations on doing such a thorough job."

    Yes, Souta is actually thanking him for making and giving all the reports. This is just how he rolls.

    Sparkly Belkans? "I... caught a glimpse of the fighting at the wedding. From afar. What I saw made me glad that they're on our side."

    With regards to watching noir movies, Souta gives Rashmi a slow, considering nod. "I'll look into it. I'm sure Paradise Spectrum would love such a movie."

    Souta reaches down to get a bit more food and realizes, oh, his plate is empty. Ah, well, he got so caught up in conversation that he just didn't notice... "Well, with all that said, it seems we have our work cut out for us. Thank you both for the meeting, and especially thank you, Rashmi, for the meal. If you need my support, in this or other matters, you know where to find me. If I get any updates, I'll let you both know, or post it here in the Shed."

    He has half a mind to leave these two lovebirds to their ship, or at least Chrono alone with his scheming.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown blinked a few times, but as he put his next bite into his mouth it almost sounded like he muttered some words that sounded a lot like 'Yeah, a belkan would try to eat the sun...'

The last of his food eaten, he smiled none the less. "Indeed. Now, there is some uhhhh... unrelated affairs I would like to discuss with Rashmi. So I believe this meeting is abjurned?" he offered, giving Souta the go ahead. "We'll clean up," he offered.

Yes, he did in fact want to spend a little time with his girlfriend, maybe... before he got to scheming. Not that he INTENDED to scheme or anything. And the device module was definitely going to be on the up and up. Entirely up and up. 100% up and up.

It definitely wasn't going to have a small, minor trigger that, during a key finale would cause the device to go into a manual reboot and defragment mode or anything, and lock Seriss out or anything like that. That'd be ridiculous. And certainly not something that'd be triggered by her gloating from behind a shield about how Rashmi could never defeat them, or saying certain words... Definitely NOT.

Never.