Log:Guild Expedition, Scene 1

Guild Expedition 2016/04/26 	 Dorian Wasp Star Girl The Torus Grimm

1

Dorian is in his office, waiting for folks to arrive. He's dressed formally, in his regulation uniform. He's been doing that more and more over the last year or so. This oval office has slate grey walls with pale gray accents and thick elbony deep pile carpeting covering the floor. An ornate Indian Rosewood desk with a rubber tree standing to one side and a small gunmetal gray wastebasket at the other presides over the room while a plush, supple black leather chair sits behind it and a few comfortable looking lounge seats sit across from it.

Close by, a small conference table surrounded by padded swivel-chairs stands ready. One wall is covered entirely by a grand bookcase, while another features a reinforced titanium filing cabinet and a trophy case, fitted into a third wall is a huge reinforced titanium gun safe, and the last wall is claimed by a humongous flat screen plasma monitor.

Grimm was a little nervous that there was a meeting called to the Commander's Office while Malcolm was reassigned to the motor pool. When she gets to the door, she hesitates a moment to gather her thoughts. Her street clothes shift and rearrange into a more formal configuration (still all black) before finally she reaching for the doorknob and enters.

Star Girl shows up just after Grimm, bumping the door back open with her shoulder as she enters. She's come bearing a box of doughnuts from the shop down the street. "Hey Spirit, Grimm!"

Dorian is standing over by the conference table, near the plasma screen when Grimm and Star Girl walk in. He smiles.

Jackie was worried she's going to be late. One of the senior consultants at the CBSU hospital gave her a lift in his new European sports car. Too senior for her to refuse... but it slower than wings. Rushing to Dorian's office she just stops herself from bumping into Grimm when the heroine hesitates to adjust her attire. "Oh. Sorry." She tries to peek over Grimm's shoulder, "Am I late?" she asks as she follows Grimm in.

Dorian is standing over by the conference table, near the plasma screen when folks walk in. He smiles, "Thanks for coming. Take a seat."

Smiles. Smiles are good. Okay, so maybe this isn't over a screw up she was unaware of. Gabrielle smiles back at the others. "I think you're just in time," she replies to Jackie, missing the close call bumping. She looks over her shoulder, then her eyes widen at the donut offering. Maybe this meeting won't be so bad after all! I mean, sugar blunts everything, right?

Gabrielle forgoes donuts for now, taking a seat at the conference table. But she makes sure not to take the seat right by the commander, wanting to keep a low profile.

Dorian sits down at the end of the table, "I'll get right to it. I'm sure you're all aware of the prep we've been undertaking. The rumors are true: We're sending a diplomatic mission out to the Guild, based on how things went when Ambassador Gusdana was here a year ago. I'll be leading the team out there myself, and I'm looking for volunteers to come along. Current estimation is that we'd be gone for about a month, give or take. Perhaps two."

With a sudden silent flash, and a wave of displaced air- a perfectly black sphere appears overhead.

The Torus scans the room for those who have joined the debrief.

The sphere hovers silently before it decides to lower itself to eye level and join the meeting.

That's about when Dorian gives the lowdown on operations.

The Torus says nothing, waiting for others to state their peace..

Dorian smiles. "It's a bit of a leap, so to speak. So, I won't order anyone to go. If you don't, you'll be here on monitor duty, though." He chuckles quietly.

Jackie frowns to herself. A month. Maybe longer. That's a lot of patient appointments to re-arrange. Then with a slight shrug of her shoulders she decides to tag along. There's certainly some unresolved business with the Guild she's been intending to get around to dealing with for a couple of years... and she's got a huge amount of leave saved up. She catches Dorian's eye and nods to him.

Dorian notices Jackie's look. "We have another option for you specifically Jackie, if necessary. When I get into details, it'll be more clear."

Star Girl sets the box of treats onto the table. She slips into the chair at the conference table. She acknowledges Dorian's statement with a nod. She considers the others in the room with a glance. "How can we help out? I don't have much experience in diplomacy..."

Gabrielle's eyes go wide at the time frame mentioned. How is she going to deal with school? And what will Malcolm say with her gone for so long? But...how often does one get the chance to see space? Gabrielle debates the pros and cons, her expression betraying the conflict.

To a being such as the Torus- a month long trip into the depths of space is no more daunting than a trip to the grocery store, or to go sight-seeing.

Mastering the TransWarp system makes distance- and therefore under these circumstances time, as a non-issue.

It can attend to its duties on board as a support operative as well as maintain its Anthropological Studies back on Earth. But the sheer variety of responses around the room surprises him. Some are quite willing to make the leap, while others are understandably conflicted.

The sphere moves towards a chair so it may take part in the conference as an equal.

As it lowers into the seat- a humanoid figure begins to take shape.

"This one has no aversion to your mission plans." It says simply.

"I'm hardly diplomatic either," Gabrielle adds as her hand sneaks for the donuts to provide her with some stalling time to decide whether to go or not. She is often considered the polar opposite of diplomatic.

Dorian nods, "Well, here's the issue: We know that the folks we thought were the 'Guild' were in fact a cartel. I think it's reasonable to believe that our diplomatic mission will be...under attack, perhaps both figurative and literally, on this trip. That's why I'd like an SGG team along, if possible. The Takaga Corp has been kind enough to lend us the use of an FTL ship, one which can get to any part of the Guild in about 5 days. It's going to be necessary to take the ship, despite a couple of us..." He motions to Jackie and himself "...being able to make the same trip in seconds on our own."

Dorian says, "The reason we need the ship, is that we'll be taking along engineers and a diplomatic corps from Starguard. And then of course the crew. We'll looking at a total of perhaps 50 people on top of SGG personnel."

Dorian continues, "We might fit in more, but again, it's going to be a matter of who is available on short notice." He looks to Jackie, "If the travel time, which is likely to be 10 days total or so, is too long, then you could meet us out there...since you can move through space quickly."

Star Girl nods. "Got it, boss." She's quiet a moment, in thought, her gaze shifting towards the table. "Count me in."

Dorian nods. "Thanks, Star Girl."

Jackie gives the suggestion some thought and then smiles, "I go with the ship Dorian. I haven't had a break.. a holiday.. for about six years. Now I've made my mind up I'm rather looking forward to being idle."

Dorian nods to Jackie and smiles.

Star Girl nods. "Got it, boss." She's quiet a moment, in thought, her gaze shifting towards the table. "Count me in." She looks up around at the others.

The details of the humanoid configuration of The Torus begin to stand out.

Instead of modeling a biological entity it has modeled itself after a standard Helper Unit.

The details are perfect- the only thing wrong is that there is no color or notable markings besides that which can be provided via bas-relief.

The Torus begins reviewing Earth FTL capabilities and runs a cross reference to get more details on the ship Dorian speaks of. The sheer number of crew members is a big surprise to him. He was not aware of any ships that of that size or capability.

When Dorian offers Jackie the opportunity to meet the ship at its destination, the Torus final has a question.

"Will rendezvous coordinates be supplied to all those who can make the trip on their own in less time? If so- This One would appreciate that dataset as well. Managing FTL vectors while travelling via wormhole is possible but I would avoid such use of processing power if possible." It would seem The Torus is in as well.

Grimm slowly drags a maple glazed donut towards her. "I'm in," she says and tries not to think about it. She'll break it to Mal, somehow. She consoles herself with a bite of sugary goodness, having not really thought things out entirely.

Dorian nods to both Jackie and Grimm, and smiles. "Sounds good." He nods to the Torus, "I can provide the coordinates, yes. I take if you're still coming along?"

"This one is. My vested interests have not changed. Participation has been designated a high priority." The Torus replies in a very monotone and robot fashion.

Dorian smiles. "Excellent. So, do any of you have any questions? I'll do my best to answer."

Star Girl helps herself to a donut as well. Aside to Grimm, she says, "I'm glad I won't be the only one eating these." She takes a powdered, jelly filled one. She gets one bite down before she takes up Dorian on his offer for questions. "Who's in charge while you're away, Spirit?"

"Is there any special space training or gear required? I've, uhhh. Never been to outer space," Gabrielle asks shyly, since she's still a very green member.

The Torus waits his turn to ask a question. He waits for what seems thousands of years from his perspective- but he waits nonetheless.

"Commander Dorian Perrault, are there any language suites that would prove more valuable than others for this encounter? I do have a number of languages that I can load from my databases or if necessary, I can default to Lincos- it is as close to a universal language as I have in my databases." The Torus asks.

Dorian says, "The director is going to pick someone to fill in while I'm gone. Perhaps Guardian or Forge. Both have enough time under their belt to hold down the fort for a month or two. And if the SDPA is involved, I'm sure Pleiades will step in."

Grimm grins at Star Girl's comments and murmurs aside, "I'm surprised they're not a bigger hit. Thanks for bringing them." And then in a whisper, she adds, "It really takes the edge off."

Dorian says to Grimm, "We'll run some simple training for you, so you know how the zero-G suits work. Just in case. Don't worry...it's not hard."

Dorian finally turns to the Torus, "If you can access the Guild languages, that would be great. I don't know what we'll be expecting. Ambassador Gusdana was able to adapt to English. So it appears they can translate if need be.

Dorian tilts his head as a thought crosses his mind. "That reminds me: Star Girl, when you get a chance, I'd like you to give me a report on one of the new recruits. I'll give you the details after the meeting. I just want to get your assessment."

Jackie raises her hand, "I'd like to join in that training session, Dorian." She smiles, "Yes, I'm space capable but if I'm going to be able to communicate with others I'll need to wear a suit and I've no experience of doing so."

Grimm grins slightly at Dorian's comment. Space isn't hard. Right. She really hopes so, and plans to pay extra close attention so she doesn't get spaced in some accident. When she hears the potential for Forge to step in as acting commander, she's both happy and bummed. It seems he definitely is off this mission, but he told her that would happen eventually.

Star Girl nods to Spirit. "Yes, sir."

Dorian nods to Jackie and smiles. "Probably wise. I can't really do that myself, since my shapeshifting makes a suit impractical."

Star Girl says to Grimm. "I'd be more than happy to help share what I know... My suit is space worthy, so I can't help with that aspect, but I spent some time on the Starguard space station. I can give some tips for getting around on space vessels."

The Helper-Bot/Torus turns its mechanical head as it scans the room. It listens intently- more for its own edification than anything, but considering it IS its own spacesuit, he has even less to offer in that regard than StarGirl.

Dorian snaps his fingers, "Oh...one more thing. This doesn't need to be SG-restricted. If you know someone else that would like to come along...AND is willing and able to follow my lead, we can bring them along.

Dorian says, "I don't want any loners along who are likely to torch their commerce building in a fit of rage."

Dorian chuckles, finally adding, "So...no one suggest Cobalt, please."

Grimm smiles at Star Girl. "Really? Crash! I could definitely use some tips." She tries not to sound super excited about the idea of being in zero g, forgetting that she can be weightless even on earth.

Star Girl says, "I should probably also mention that my suit has an on-board translator. It's a little wonky at times, but when it's worked it seems to understand both human and alien languages."

The Torus has no real way of expressing excitement- but its subroutines have noted an increase in active processing in regard to this current mission.

"Is there anything this one can do to assist in mission preparations besides trace a suitable language with which to speak to these Guild members?" The Torus asks.

Jackie comments, "On my previous trip to the Guild Worlds they seemed to have easy access to translation devices. I could communicate with them without difficulty." She adds rather darkly, "Maybe too well."

"My concern in not that they can understand us- This One's priority is maintaining the sanctity of Human rule in Earth space as well as ensuring we are not being misled." The Torus adds after Jackie's statement.

Dorian looks to the Torus, "Any other data we can get on the Guild member races would be helpful. We have some intel, but not as much as I'd like."

Dorian acknowledges Jackie's statement. "That's why I want SGG along. I know what happened last time you were out there. I don't want a repeat of that. And I want to make sure that we create actual diplomatic ties with the real Guild."

The Helper-Bot/Torus' head turns slowly towards Commander P. "I will endeavor to explore more of Guild space and see what intel I can provide." It says.

Jackie raises her hand again. "Jade would a good person to ask, wouldn't she. It was her book that exposed the fake Guild for what it was."

Dorian nods. "If she's willing to come along, and willing to follow my lead, I'd agree that she'd be a good choice."

Grimm purses her lips in thought at the talk of translations. "I don't have any cool gadgets like that. But if I take some time, I can understand someone mind to mind. I'm still figuring out how to do that on purpose. Doesn't seem to work in a crowd, and I try to avoid it usually," Gabrielle comments before taking another tasty bite of donut.

Gabrielle raises a brow and adds, "'Last time?' What happened last time?"

Star Girl nods, wanting to know the same question as Grimm.

Jackie lets Dorian tell the story.

Dorian waits to see if Jackie will tell the tale, and when she remains silent, he says, "Jackie went out there, and from what I understand ran afoul of the cartel. They were trying to keep us contained. They wiped her memory and reverted her age at the same time. She has since recovered her memories, but it took some time."

Star Girl's eyelet widen. "That's... awful," she says.

Jackie nods. "That happened on the home world of the Larcians, the lizard people. I discovered the leadership elite were using genetic engineering to suppress the intelligence and willpower of the general population."

Grimm blinks and tilts her head, wrinkling her nose at the idea of getting turned back into a kid. High school was bad enough the first time. "The memory wipe, I get. But...why the age reversion?" she ponders their evil scheme.

Dorian says, "I believe it went hand in hand. Kind of like if you go to the beginning of a movie. Those latter parts haven't happened yet."

Jackie says, "That was a unintended side effect, Grimm. They infected me with a virus that reverted me to age sixteen, both physically and mentally, erasing all my memories after that age."

Grimm's eyes bulge at the revelation. "That really sucks!" she obviously understates.

Jackie simply nods in total agreement.

Dorian nods. "So...both Jackie and I have a personal stake in this trip. If at any point, if you think you see me acting what you think might be a personal vendetta, feel free to call me on it. Privately."

Dorian chuckles. "Many of you may not remember this, but I do have vindictive side. Most of that side is now literally in prison on Tranquility at the moment. But that's still a side of me. I just used to be much more vengeful than I am now."

Dorian takes a deep breath, even though he doesn't really need to do so. There's just something relaxing about it. "At any rate, are there any other further questions?"

"Isn't...isn't this supposed to be a diplomatic mission?" Gabrielle checks again, even though she knows they're in security detail.

Dorian nods. "It is. But at the same time, I'm being realistic. We may very well run across those same elements again from the cartel. Or more likely, some other facet. The memory wipe didn't take. So, they might try something different."

Star Girl shakes her head, "Not at this time, Spirit."

Dorian nods to Star Girl and then looks back to Grimm, "I really want this to work. I want to make contact with the Guild. The REAL Guild. We've had one successful meeting here. I want to reciprocate and set up formal ties."

Dorian smiles. "So...my job is two-fold. First, to facilitate the meeting between our diplomats and the Guild. Second, to ensure their safety."

Dorian chuckles. "And while I can be pretty diplomatic...I'm not a diplomat. I'm technically a military commander. I'll have to spend some time in diplomatic meetings while there, of course."

Grimm nods silently at first as she listens. "Well, hopefully Ambassador Gusdana was the real deal. But how can we even tell?"

"Then formal ties is what you will have, Commander. We will all endeavor to broker a peaceful treaty that does not encroach on unalienable human rights & freedom." The Torus says as its surface fluctuates- almost as if a pebble tossed into a perfectly black pool. The waves wash over its shell.

Where they go is left shifted- smoothed into a geometric pattern that wipes away the Helper-Bot camouflage.

Soon enough only a crystalline shaped entity remains.

"And This One will be sure to gather as much intel to insure the success of this mission." The Torus stands.

Dorian nods to the Torus, "Thank you." He says to Grimm, "My intel appeared to be good regarding the ambassador. I'm pretty sure she was the real deal."

Grimm nods in response, satisfied with the answer. The rest she'll figure out as they go.

Dorian smiles. "Anything else I can answer for people?"

"Uhhh, when are we going on this mission again? Just wondering how much time I have to train," Gabrielle asks uncertainly.

Star Girl sighs softly, nervously. Then she offers a slight smile. "Not every day you get a mission like this."

Dorian smiles. "Next week. So, seven days. Plenty of time."

Grimm takes a big bite of her donut and gulps it down to hide her gulping at the timeline. She just nods and says in mildly strained voice, "No problem."

The Torus would groan if it were emulating a person. But luckily it is not. Instead it begins scheduling the next week to ensure it makes the most of the time between.

There are a number of things it must attend to in that time- like learning the trade language of the Guild. getting a strange extraterrestrial earth-side and of course continuing its anthropological research as The Mechanic.

"I look forward to our departure. This One would like to attend and ensure a safe take off. I can return to earth for anything the crew might have left behind or was missed if necessary as well, Commander." The Crystalline entity says with a curt nod.

Dorian nods. "Glad to hear it. That makes three of us at least who can make the trip quickly. That should give us more flexibility."

Grimm is at least assured her hair dryer could be retrieved if she left it behind. She idly ponders if they'd deliver pizza in space. And what space would do to pizza. "Well, I think that's the only questions I had. Just have training to get on."

Dorian nods. "I think that covers what I wanted to cover." He looks to Star Girl, "So, the recruit I'd like to see a report on is Mr. Lockwood. Try to get something written up by tomorrow."

Star Girl nods. "Right -- Victory. I'll have it on your desk tomorrow."

Dorian smiles, "Thanks. He's a bit of a political football. I'd like to know whatever I can."

Grimm munches away on the last of her donut, listening curiously as she tries to figure out who this Lockwood is. She has no idea he and Victory are one and the same.

"How so?" Star Girl asks. "Is this because of his father?"

The Torus nods and listens intently as they discuss another potential recruit.

Then the Torus shifts again, shrinking as it does.

First its appendages retract into the torso, followed by the torso folding in on itself until only a baseball sized sphere remains.

The surface is covered with geometric shapes that shift and morph into each other, yet it seems no shape repeats.

Star Girl catches a glimpse of Torus's form shifting from the corner of her eye. o O ( Man, that's hard to get used to... )

Dorian nods. "His father is a senator, after all. And a former super soldier. The powers-that-be are trying to leverage that. I just really want to know what the young man is like. From your point of view."

Jackie sits up with a start. She has been half dozing in the chair.

Jackie is slender with long light reddish-brown hair falling well below her shoulders. Her movements are graceful and fluid yet somehow indicative of a notable strength for such a slim figure. She looks young, no more than sixteen years of age. Jackie is dressed in casual clothing, a plain fawn blouse and matching slacks. Pinned to the blouse just above her heart is a silver brooch shaped in the form of a small wasp.

Dorian grins as Jackie wakes up, "Just like I was as a teenager."

Star Girl nods. "Got it. I'll go start on it now..." She smiles slightly at Jackie's fit. "Later everyone..." She takes a bite of donut as she heads through the door.

Grimm waves to Star Girl as she leaves. "Thanks for the donuts. I'll try and find you later for training," she calls after her.

Star Girl mm-hms! to Grimm with a nod.