Log:Princesses' Guard Revived, Scene 6

Princesses' Guard Revived 2014/04/02 	 Ghost Scrapper

6

Past Times Coffee Shop
The smell of fresh coffee is the first thing that assails you. The next is the very old style. It seems the owner has gone for the Edwardian style from early last century. Lots of imitation wood panelling and prints of old English countryside. There are many partitions between the tables, affording some privacy and the sound seems hushed in the room, this has been achieved mainly through very good design, which muffles sounds. At the counter service is quite quick and cheery, conveying a welcoming and friendly attitude. The menu boasts the fact that for a little extra real coffee is served along with light hot and cold meals and snacks. All in all a pleasant place to pass a bit of time.

Interlude with Scrapper
Ghost is seated at a table in the coffee shop close to the window. She's shuffling a deck of cards in her hands, but her face is lacking animation and there's a thin cable from a laptop on the chair beside her plugged into a socket on her temple.

Scrapper steps in the door, enjoying the Earth spring weather after so much time in the unchanging lands. Still, natural caution makes her scan the contents of the room before even opening the door fully. She smiles when she spots Ghost and says, "Hey stranger," as she passes on her way to the counter, not wanting to interrupt Ghost's reverie too much.

Ghost's dull eyes take on some animation as she looks up. "Hello, Jo. It's been a long time." She's dealing a pair of poker hands as she speaks without looking at the deck or table. "Why don't you come and join me when you have your drink."

Scrapper nods, grabs a hot peppermint tea and returns fairly quickly. Indicating the cards, she asks, "Is anyone else plugged into the other side of that hand?"

Ghost chuckles and gathers the cards in. "No. It's just practice. Gives my hands and fingers something to do that doesn't require any thought while I'm doing data searches. That's why I'm on Earth actually. There's still no net connection through to Undermoon." She looks at you with a half smile, "How long has it been for you since we last spoke?"

Scrapper pauses considering. "Earth time or relative? I'm not sure. Rumor has it that you've been busy on reconaissance missions and I've been doing bodyguard duties exclusively since I gave Princess Stephanie grief over neglecting our bodyguard duties in favor of what was, in essence, a military mission."

Ghost says, "Your personal subjective time, Jo."

Scrapper says, "Eight months? Give or take a month or two."

Ghost nods. "For me it's been close to sixty years. Some of the more distant realms in the Twilit Worlds have horrendous time rates. I've been doing rather more than just reconaissance, Jo. You remember we released the Shaman so she could take a message to the Goblin King? Well he didn't listen. He rejected any negotiations, and kept on rejecting them even after it should have been obvious that his forces were losing."

Scrapper frowns, scowling deeply. "That is ... bad," she finally says. "When leaders get obstinate like that it is the troops that suffer."

Ghost nods. "Yes. I was the eye-in-the-sky, Jo. Warleader Tuveril knew exactly where the Goblin forces where and how many of them there were in every battle I was present for. The Goblins have been driven back to their own lands. I don't think they'll pose a significant military threat again for several generations. Excluding shapeshifted assassins paying Undermoon a visit, of course."

Scrapper nods, "That was always the primary threat. ... Well, that and the tendency shared by both Fae and humans to villainize the opposition."

Ghost says, "You're right. Duke Tuveril didn't sink to that type of behaviour, Jo. But many of the fae did, as did the Goblins. If you look closely, neither side has clean hands. But it was the goblins who invaded the fae lands. I didn't have any personal moral issues with assisting the fae. Which was fortunate, as my pledge to the Princess would have obliged me to assist the fae anyway."

Scrapper says, "Oh! I'm in agreement there. Whether an assassin is evil or misguided is moot when you are the bodyguard assigned to protect his target. kind of ethical discussions. Until then, he's just an opponent."
 * After* the opponent is disabled is when you have the luxury to have those

Ghost hesitates for a moment, and then asks, "Have you accessed HeroNet since returning, Jo?"

Scrapper says, "I have. I assume you are talking about the Guard announcement. Have the princesses discussed anything with you in person?"

Ghost nods, "Yes. Princess Stephanie asked me to revive the team. Titan and I have been recruiting members. The HeroNet post was one of the measures we have taken."

Scrapper says, "Well, that certainly resolves an old - I guess for you sixty year old - leadership discussion."

Ghost nods. "Yes. It does. But it brings up another question. Well, two questions actually. The first being, if you were a member of the team could you accept my role as team leader?"

Scrapper blinks in surprise, "Why wouldn't I? A leader that can't follow makes for a piss-poor leader."

Ghost nods again, "The second question. Can you be comfortable with the team following the intent of Princess Stephanie? The official duties are to safeguard the Princesses and Quetin Dallimore, and also to come to the assistance of the Embassy and the city of Colonial Bay when other duties allow. But it's obvious that is not what Princess Stephanie had in mind when she formed the team, and not it's not what she had in mind when she tasked me with reviving it."

Scrapper sighs, "That was the problem we had the first time around. The princess is not the first person to think they didn't need a bodyguard when all evidence said otherwise. You, yourself, mentioned potential assassins just a moment ago from an opponent that has refused to back down after sixty send out all thirty on missions instead of just seven or eight and leave the rest to work shifts as actual bodyguards."
 * years*. If you were to form a thirty person team, her instinct would be to

Ghost says, "Jo, my honor demands that I comply with the Princesses' desire. Call it nostalgia if you like, the Princess wanting in some fashion to relive vicariously the period when she was part of a hero team. Call it a nod towards the reality of the situation. Have you studied the history of Princess Liandere and Princess Stephanie?"

Scrapper says, "That was the issue we had when we started. You think like a soldier and I think like a bodyguard. You want to follow orders and my thinking is 'nobody dies on my watch, no excuses'. Is there any way you could convince her to make the Guard big enough this time around that *both* missions could be satisfied without neglecting one?"

Ghost says, "There aren't enough suitable 'metas' on Earth to fill a roster that size, Jo. However Princess Stephanie is and will be accompanied by a significantly sized escort of fae Palace Guardsmen until she leaves the castle. And protected by an even larger force after that time. Quetin Dallimore stays in the Embassy most of the time, protected by the Embassy Guard. Which has been increased in size since the attacks on the Embassy. And as for Princess Liandere... I'd almost pity any assassin or person trying to harm her. You do realise during the period when her heart was stolen by Palanir, the entirety of Undermoon was terrified of her. She doesn't need us."

Scrapper says, "They wouldn't need to be metas to be regular bodyguards, just perceptive and loyal. The biggest problem with assassins is not how powerful they are, but that the successful ones rely on attacks that the victum never sees coming. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure that some of the current Palace Guardsmen would make better bodyguards than some of the metas in the original Princesses' Guard. Only the 'away team' would need meta membership."

Ghost says, "It's the 'away' team we're talking about, Jo. The Palace Guardsmen and Duke Vantherion's men are part of the fae military establishment. The Princesses' Guard is not. The Princesses' Guard will be the away team. Of course if there are known threats to the Princess or her parents it would be our duty to deal with them. But not as bodyguards. Instead as a meta team who will seek out and deal with the threat before it even gets anywhere close to them."

Scrapper says, "If you could convince me that the princesses were protected - that there were no gaps in their protection while the military was supposed to be doing one thing and the Guard was doing another - I would be behind it one hundred percent." She leans forward and whispers conspiratorially, "And I would be first in line to join that away team. I know my duty as a bodyguard, but I am sooooooo bored. I have fantasies about summoning a baseball bat and whacking nobles on the head just to liven things up."

Ghost laughs, "If you want a list of suitable names of fae nobility who deserve a whack on the head I can print one out for you. Jo... Jo, go take a look at the security measures in place. You'll be a better judge of them than I would most likely. If you spot any holes tell me and I'll make sure they get patched. But the security in place now is the best I can arrange without the Princess shouting at me. Then decide if you are convinced, and come to one of the try-out sessions and tell me what you have decided. I know you well enough to know you could be a huge contributor to the team if you can work within the boundaries of the role the team will be following. Although... you'll have to convince Titan of the same. He also has a veto on team selections."

Scrapper smirks "No worries on that score. I'll just whack Titan in the ego with a baseball bat until he gives in."

Ghost says, "I suspect your baseball bat would break before Titan did, Jo."

Scrapper rests her elbows on the table with her palms about six inches apart. A miniature purple baseball bat slides out of her right palm and stretches across until it bumps her other palm. She then grasps the newly formed purple stick with her right hand and slaps her left palm experimenally a few times. "His ego's gotten that tough has it? How long has it been for him, relative subjective time?"

Ghost says, "About a year. He hasn't spent much time on Undermoon. You knew the Princess and he broke up?"

Scrapper nods, a triffle sadly. "Yes." but doesn't elaborate further on her feelings on that matter or possible role in that.

Ghost says, "Jo, if you decide you need to be a bodyguard rather than a 'away team' member I am more than willing to recommend to the Princess that she adopts you into her personal household as such. I believe such a recommendation will carry some weight with her Highness. However you decide though, I am bound by honor to abide by the Princesses' wishes and employ the team in the manner she desires. And in the immediate future at least those two goals will largely co-incide."

Scrapper nods, "As I said before, you're a soldier - and a good one. I wouldn't expect anything less."

Ghost nods, "Jo. When you look over the security measures, keep in mind that ex-Duke Palanir, probably the most serious threat to the Princess and her family, had a keg of gunpowder and a flintlock pistol in his rooms. I've experimented with flintlocks. They will fire maybe a dozen times before the spring snaps. And a matchlock will continue working as long as you have powder.

Ghost says, "That's what I was doing when you arrived. Running a data search to see if anyone is buying quantities of either flintlock or matchlock firearms."

Scrapper hmms, "That's odd. For assassins, black powder weapons don't offer any real advantage over bows and crossbows. And there are a great number of other ways to generate explosions."

Ghost says, "They may do if you consider that bullets don't have to be made from lead. Cold iron bullets for example. And the fae aren't used to firearms. They may not even realise what a gun is should they see one."