Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shee grinned; this was her kind of mission. She was taking yet another new recruit out on their first mission. She was excited about this one. China was a shopping mecca; that is, if you knew what you were doing. Shee had been through the Chinese marketplaces enough to know her way around them fairly well.

Shee was standing in a crowded Chinese square waiting for Eponine, the recruit who'd signed up for this mission. Pulling a slinky, sandy beige hood over her head and then lowered it again, Shee thought for a moment. She'd heard Eponine could be a bit... jumpy. Perhaps she should just leave the hood down for now.

Being run into was all too common in the sweaty, populated square, so it wasn't surprising to Shee when it happened to her.

It was surprising that the person that had run into her was Eponine. As she recalled, Wraith had specifically mentioned that stealth was needed for this particular mission- hopefully this was a one time thing.

Turning to the very angry fish man yelling at Eponine, Shee walked up to him and grabbed the hand he was waving madly in the air, depositing a handful of coins into it.

Turning back to Eponine, she smiled. "Hello Eponine! Ready to go?" Shee pulled the hood back onto her head.

Eponine seemed even more nervous than usual. This was Shee's first time meeting the French woman, but she had seen Eponine walking around the base and in the gardens- nervously, of course.

"Well, there's a guy calling himself 'Fuhua' who's been selling some very strange things around these markets. LOTUS has recieved a few tips about him and about the shops he's sold to. So firstly, we've got to go question some of the vendors we know have bought from him. And then try to find Fuhua himself and question him.

It's good you've got that cap and coat of yours. It'll hide you well. That's why I brought this hood."

Shee pointed to a dingy little shop squeezed in between two vegetable merchants.

"That's our first stop."

Shee was a bit startled when Eponine began to walk towards the shop. She'd thought Eponine would have had a few more questions.

Running a bit to catch up, Shee fell into stride with Eponine in a few moments time.

"Well, yes. A lot of the missions that new recruits- and more experienced ones, too, come to think of it- complete involve talking with people and extracting information that may be important to LOTUS. Often, you have to be quite tactful when you go on more difficult missions because of the power that the other side can wield. But don't worry," Shee smiled, "I'm with you, right?"

"Well, that depends on what kind of shop we go into and how the shopkeeper behaves.

This first shop," Shee continued, "is run by a little old man who is quite fond of shoes. He sells all kinds; I once bought a gorgeous set of slingbacks from him." Shee squealed just thinking about them.

"Anyways-- according to my sources, Fuhua attempted to sell him some wares, bu t the man refused. We've just got to ask him the right questions in order to make him tell us what Fuhua offered him, and any other information about Fuhua and the wares that we can get."

"English? Maybe, but don't count on it. He probably is able to say a few words or speak some broken English, but not any that will help us."

Shee looked at Eponine with a little smile on her face.

"How's you're Chinese?"

As Eponine fidgeted with her sleeves, Shee's eyes floated there for a moment. Eponine sure was a nervous person. She'd have to figure out some way to remedy that...

"Well, you know some, so that's good. I've picked up a bit as well, but perhaps we should try to get someone here to help us? Any ideas?"

"That's a fantastic idea! But you're absolutely right-- we can't involve anyone like that."

Shee frowned and put her finger to her mouth, apparently somewhat deep in thought.

"Hmm... schoolchildren... I think I've got an idea. But it requires us to start our mission with a different shop."

Reaching towards Eponine's arm as though to loop her own through it, Shee pointed in the opposite direction.