Chapter 4

January 20, 2011 (11:30 AM) \ Sunny

Brockton Bay, Dockworkers Union Office, Parking Lot

Folinic watched the PRT van leave. She smirked as the trooper who mistook Rosa was now reprimanded by his companions. "Are you sure it was wise to send them?" Dobermann asked, standing beside her. While she was dealing with the PRT and Armsmaster, her fellow team leader had taken the initiative to get everyone up and running.

"Rosa's the only person in either team with diplomatic experience." she pointed out. "Unless you want Talulah to represent us."

The instructor winced. "At least Yato and Noir are with her." Folinic continued, turning around. "Come one, let's go. Hibiscus and Perfumer are probably done checking everyone."

The two walked towards the tower, where the rest were standing under its shadow. Closure had taken Chaive and Weedy to inspect the tower for any damages. "Hi Instructor, doctor," Hibiscus greeted, waving at the two. Beside her, Ifrit was helping Ptilopsis up. "How can I help you?"

Folinic smiled. "A status update, if you will."

The intern gestured to the Liberi medic. "Outside of Dr. Ptilopsis, no one was unconscious for more than a minute. Other than that, everyone's fine." she paused, glancing at the rest. "Though we're kind of wondering where we are."

Exusia raised her hand. "Are we really in another world?" she asked. "I couldn't help but hear your convo with Rosa earlier."

Folinic and Dobermann shared a look. "Unfortunately, yes." she answered, seeing looks of fear and confusion in everyone's eyes. "Whatever the Device did, it somehow transported us into another world."

Ifrit growled, huffing. "This is why we shouldn't trust the Rhine Lab white coats." she grumbled, arms crossed in anger.

Folinic then raised her hands, trying to calm Ifrit down. "Now, the good news is this isn't the first time this world has contacted another. Turns out, they're currently in contact with another world, so there's hope they might be able to help us. It's also great that we can understand each other, even if it's modified Victorian."

"Blue armored personnel approaching." Ptilopsis announced. Turning, she saw that Armsmaster was indeed walking towards them, with Mr. Hebert trailing after.

"Hello Armsmaster, Mr. Hebert." she greeted, offering them a smile. "Everyone, this is our current contact with the local government, Armsmaster. Mr. Hebert happens to own the lot."

Mr. Hebert shook his head, laughing. "I'm just a Union spokesperson and HR Head. I don't own the lot, just responsible for managing it."

She then saw Ifrit sizing the cape up. "What kind of name is Armsmaster?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. "Are you a master of arms or something?"

Before things could escalate, Ptilopsis took control. "Analyzing the term Armsmaster suggests the bearer is proficient in weapons." Ptilopsis glanced at the halberd Armsmaster was holding. "Presence of the weapon halberd suggests that Armsmaster is proficient with an armament - specifically a halberd."

Ifrit scoffed. "Still a boring name."

"And Ifrit the Burninator isn't?" Zima countered, giving the pyro caster a look.

"Obviously!" Ifrit declared, looking smug. "It's a great name for the greatest caster of all time!"

"Ignore her," Folinic suggested to Armsmaster. "Ifrit's…"

"Proud and likes to brag?" Dobermann suggested, smirking.

Folinic shrugged, smiling at the two. "How can we help?"

"With your permission, I'd like to inspect the tower," he asked, pointing at the imposing figure behind them. "Mr. Hebert here was going to offer the DWU facilities for your temporary usage."

"You're kind of cramped huddling beneath it," Mr. Hebert pointed out. "The lobby's heated, with restrooms and some snacks."

Folinic turned to the Instructor. "Doberman?"

After some thought, she nodded. "I'll leave Fang and Exusia to guard. The rest can stay inside."

The large man smiled. "Alright, follow me."

Folinic gestured to Armsmaster to follow. "I already asked our engineers to take a look," she explained to the cape. "Though a second opinion might not hurt."

Walking around the tower, the two arrived as Weedy closed a panel. Chaive had his screwdriver out, putting it back together. "Hey, got anything for us?"

Closure smiled at Folinic, dusting her hands off. "So, I got news, good news, and bad news." she paused, staring at Armsmaster. "Who's the blue cyborg?"

"Armsmaster, leader of the Brockton Bay Protectorate." he introduced himself, standing straight.

Closure frowned before shrugging. "Right…" she muttered, turning back to Folinic. She patted the tower's base. "So, news! Turns out, this whole thing is full of sensors: geiger counters, soil analyzers, atmospheric readers, etc - hell, we even found some cameras. Weedy even found some reversed engineered Ægir and Iberian tech in it!"

"Why though?" Folinic asked, frowning.

"That leads us to the good news." Closure pointed towards the top. "See that light beam over there? That's not just for show - it's literally beaming back all the data this tower's gathering back to its counterpart."

"It's an Ægir Deep Range Tight-Beam Communications Array, in case you're wondering." Weedy explained, letting the mechanic handle the last screws. "Mark 7, from the looks of it. I heard the Columbian Institute of Science and Technology has one, using it to retrieve data from Terra 1."

Armsmaster looked up at the top of the tower. "I'm not detecting anything from the beam."

Weedy scoffed. "Obviously - the Mark 7 has the highest encryption in the world." she answered, pausing. "Well, in Terra I suppose. Passive or active scanning won't reveal any data unless you have the correct algorithm to decipher it. It's why Ægiran tech is so valuable - cutting edge technology that no one can replicate."

The Iberian bioengineer turned to stare at the tower. "It really makes you wonder what Rhine Lab paid just to be able to get it. The one used by CIST is actually a loaned product, to be returned after the end of Terra I's mission."

Closure whistled, sounding impressed. "Well, that at least dampens the bad news." she glanced at Folinic. "We know it's transmitting data. What we don't know is if Rhine Labs - or anybody, really - is getting it."

She tapped a small black dome on the slanted base, a camera from the looks of it. "For all we know, Rhine Labs can hear and see us through these cameras." she explained. "Unfortunately, we have no way of confirming that."

Folinic groaned. "And there's no way we can contact them?" Closure shook her head, giving her a sad look. "Damnit!"

Armsmaster hummed, taking time to look at the camera. "Would it be possible to get access to the Mark 7?" he asked, turning to Weedy. "I might be able to rig a communication device."

Weedy shook her head. "Mark 7's a highly sensitive and delicate device, sir. Even the smallest touch could upset the system." she countered, snorting. "That is, if you can even dismantle the whole thing."

Before she could ask why, Chaive clapped his hands. "Better step back, guys." he announced, grinning. He pulled out his giant wrench and pliers. "Things are about to go loud."

"What's he going to do?" Armsmaster asked as the four of them walked away. On the other side, Folinic could see both Exusia and Fang backing away from the tower.

"He's going to use his Arts," Closure replied, once they were sufficiently away from him. "On the tower."

The Medic Operator whipped her head towards the engineer. "ON THE TOWER?"

Before she could command Chiave to stop, the vanguard operator took a step back before whipping out his giant pliers. Flaming originium arts exploded out of him, burning everything within his range. To her great relief and confusion, his flames produced a wave of purple, hexagonal shields that covered the entire tower. "GODDAMNIT CLOSURE!" Folinic screamed, turning to the amused Sarkaz. "Warn me next time, will you?"

"And lose the surprise?" Closure laughed. "No way!"

"What was that?" Armsmaster asked, pointing towards Chiave. "How did he produce the flames with his pliers?"

"Oh that's my Arts!" Chiave answered, storing his weapons on his back. "I call that Blazing Wire Stripper. Hurts like hell to any who gets caught in it."

The cape turned to Folinic, sounding confused. "Arts?"

"A technique that can alter matter or consciousness by stimulating the energy inside Originium, harnessing it to manifest Arts." she recited from memory. "Originium isn't just an energy source for Terra, it also empowers roughly half of the people to utilize the energy within the element. In simplest terms, Arts allows us to wield energy."

"You can read it here," the mechanic added, handing him a book. Folinic snorted, seeing it was titled An Idiot's Guide to the Arts. "Dumbs down all the scientific mumbo-jumbo about the Arts and helps people who can barely use Arts to its maximum potential!"

"Like you?" Weedy countered. Chiave just grinned.

Armsmaster was already reading the book. "Would you mind if I borrow this?" he asked a moment later. "I promise to return it tomorrow."

As Chiave gave his ascent, Folinic turned to the two. "Okay, what about the hexagonal purple thing?"

"That, Folinic, is an Ægiran Shield Generator." Closure answered, grinning. "Think Coura's shield, but a hundred times better. But that's just the first layer."

"Titanium alloy, adaptive solar steel panels, self-repairing nanobots. It isn't far-fetched to find this kind of tech in deep sea or space exploration missions." Weedy continued, frowning. "But why in God's name is it in a device that was supposed to stabilize Catastrophes?"

Folinic had no answer to that.

# # # | # # #

January 20, 2011 (01:20 PM) \ Cloudy

Brockton Bay, Dockworkers Union Office, Lobby

"I have come bearing gifts!" Rosa proclaimed, giving an elaborate bow upon entering the DWU Conference Room Mr. Hebert lent them. "Enjoy, my friends!"

Everyone cheered as Noir and Yato entered with a cart full of food, which for some reason had the logo of KFC. "How exactly did we pay for this, Rosa?" Folinic asked, watching everyone eagerly await the food. "You didn't sell anything, did you?"

The Ursin noble smirked. "Would you believe it was my charming attitude and status as the Heiress of the Duchy of Muscovy?" Folinic merely raised an eyebrow. Rosa chuckled. "The Chief-Director realized it was already past noon. Testing one of the MREs we had yielded that our dietary consumptions are similar to that of Earth Bet, to everyone's relief."

She handed her what looked like a burger. "I tried one myself. A bit greasy for me but tastes fine."

Unwrapping the burger, she took a bite. "Why does it look like it came from KFC?"

Rosa laughed. "Funny story - we were supposed to get food at the PRT cafeteria when I saw someone carrying a bag of KFC. Long story short, we discovered that KFC also exists in Earth Bet."

"Anything else we should know?"

The sniper nodded, taking a bite out of her burger. "Both directors want to speak with you, I guess."

She scrunched up her face. "Me?"

"Well, whoever's in charge of us actually." She gave her a look. "Then again, you've been calling the shots from the start."

"ROSA!" Exusia appeared out of nowhere, hugging her fellow sniper. "This is so good!"

The medic operator watched the Laterano thank the Ursin noble profusely, thinking over what she said. "Hey Folinic!" Suzuran greeted her, slurping a soda with her staff on the other hand. Noticing her expression, the vulpo frowned. "What's wrong?"

Folinic pursed her lips. "Rosa said the PRT wants to have further discussion with the person in charge. For some reason, Rosa immediately thought of me."

To her surprise, Suzuran nodded. "She's not wrong, you know?" she replied, giving her a kind smile. "You were the first to talk to Mr. Hebert and Armsmaster-"

"That's because I was the only leader awake."

"-did a quick check on everyone-"

The Feline gave her friend a flat look. "I'm a medic, Suzuran."

"-coordinated with the PRT-"

"Because I was their first contact!"

"-and everyone followed your orders without question."

"...because they made sense?"

Suzuran laughed, shaking her head. "Folinic, they made sense because they were coming from you." she countered. "Even Closure defers to you!"

"I defer to who?" 'Speaking of the devil,' the Sarkaz walked up to them.

The supporter pointed at her. "Folinic. She's having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that she's been leading us."

A look of understanding dawn on Closure's face. "Don't worry, Folinic." she assured the medic. "That's understandable. Now I can see why Dr. Kal'tsit speaks highly of you."

That made Folinic blink. "She does?"

Unfortunately, before she could clarify what Closure meant, Zima burst into the room, panting. "Something big's heading this way!"