Welcome to Gaia! ::

As he listened to the General King start talking he found himself torn. Would he leave to go see the spec ops meeting, or could he seek out the General Queen for a run down of things later? So far he did like the introduction from the copper haired General King and found it interesting that he had been in spec ops himself, it was something to wonder about - why the change.

Turning around to find himself a seat he spotted a certain figure - his newest Lieutenant. Nodding once in his direction he headed his way to join him. Finding himself a seat, Katya could remain where she was or join them, he sat himself at the others side. "You're first meeting. I'm pleased to see you. I didn't think you'd wish to attend a branch meeting this soon into things." He spoke softly, wanting to explain why he hadn't brought the other himself, why he hadn't offered. He was new, he was in the general branch that all new members went into upon joining the Negaverse's ranks.

"It's good to see you wanting to participate. It'll give you a good feel for the branch." He said with an approving, pleased, smile and look in his eyes. Turning from the other he took the folder out from under his a** and set it on the empty chair next to himself for a moment as he arranged the layers which made up his uniform. Once that was one the folder found itself settled in his lap and flipped open as he skimmed it while listening to the General King.

Yes, this city did have a problem with senshi and knights...it would take a lot to remove it from Destiny City - that much he knew. He'd been trying for five years and some people had been at it longer - still senshi and still knights.

As the General King continued he smiled, this man he liked. He was serious when and where it was needed but also personal and seemed easy to approach - easy to talk to. He didn't have to ask why no internal promotion had been made, he didn't need to ask why outside forces had been brought in - he didn't need to ask any of this because he knew. He understood even before the general King explained. He'd wondered why they hadn't brought in outside forces sooner - it was needed - had been needed.

When the call for introductions came he stood up and bowed his head once before speaking. "General Benitoite, though you can also call me Alexandre Evans. I'm 21 years old and I've served for nearly five years and have led one operations but served in many during my time. For those who may need, or know someone in need, my home is always open to agents in need of a bed or place to stay." A glance to Makemake then and he smiled at her.

He should talk to her later, to see how she was fairing. She was still young - she looked it...she had have been close to the age the chibi senshi were..just a bit older it seemed.

"I was a member of the information branch but have bounced around a bit, in order to gain a grasp for other areas." He spoke calmly, easily, a small smile in place as his hair was brushed from his face before he sat himself down, making sure he didn't sit on his cape or coat.

Sarabauite seemed keen on standing, but not because she had any intention of leaving. The idea of getting close to anyone in a seat had her at a crossroads. So, instead, she scooped up the folder that was addressed to her and leafed through the paperwork with fallow eyes reading their contents with great amiability. She felt words could convey more than people, and while Axinite's words brought some calm to her palpitating chest, she still felt hesitant.

No, Jinxi, you promised to break yourself out of your shell! her mind reprimanded. So shoot! Let them know who you are! You won't be invisible here!

Unfortunately, when introductions were expected, Sarabauite just couldn't work up the nerve to say something. Her eyes glanced between each brave soul who presented information about themselves, her own name inching closer and closer to being spoken, until she couldn't hold on anymore. In the midst of a small silence, likely out of politeness to someone else to go, Sarabauite cried out, "H-hi, um, HELLO!" Wincing at her own volume, she laughed sheepishly and restarted with, "I mean, erm, hello, I am Lieutenant Sarabauite. I-I'm a completely new member to the Negaverse, recently recruited by General Aurostibite. I don't... know much about the other half of this so-called, uh, "war", but I know that the Negaverse is doing good and something to be f-fought for! Um. Uh, my real name is Jinxi Carmen and I-I'm eighteen and I'm a d-dropout from Meadowview. But that just means I have a lot more time on my hands! To help out with the Negaverse! A-and I seem to have a knack for research and putting information together, so hopefully I have some p-potential to join the Information branch. T-thank you!"

Sarabauite knew her introduction was a tad long-winded, it even took a lot out of her to say. Her hands were trembling as they clutched the folder she held. But all that mattered was that she said something. She made a place for herself because her name was now known.

The Space Cauldron

Captain Amethyst

This was shaping up to be an interesting meeting all in all. The baked goods, the folder that contained all the essential information for them to take away with, should they choose to leave prematurely for whatever reason, including Axinite’s personal identity and various means through which they might reach him if they wished to. Every little detail was telling of the individual who was the new General King that now stood before them. It made him seem more human. Personable even. And that was a far cry from the impression Amethyst had of the General Sovereigns that were before him.

”Captain Amethyst from the Infiltration branch. Recruited by General King Howlite and been in service for about three years now.” He rose from his chair to begin his self introduction proper. Even if it required more effort out of him than it was supposed to with the headache that he was nursing and the quesiness that was made even worse by the smell of the baked goods that permeated the entire room.

”Out of uniform, I’m Boaz Crawford. Orthopaedic resident at Destiny City General Hospital. I can be reached if you require medical attention in or out of hospital.” A brief pause. ”I’m currently working together with General Xenotime on setting up a medical clinic outside of the Rift for emergencies. We will greatly appreciate people approaching either of us if they are interested.”

He was glad to be here. He had nothing to do for the rest of the evening after all and it was certainly better to be somewhere doing something than face the four walls of his own apartment with his own thoughts and problems. Problems that he still had not found a solution to as was evident by the awkwardness with which he carried himself and the dark circles around his bloodshot eyes.

Quartz found a seat for himself near the center of the room as Axinite called the meeting to order and began his lengthy debriefing. He thumbed through the paperwork they'd been given when it was indicated, but otherwise kept his attention on their new General-King.

It was almost depressing, how much effort was expended on making people comfortable with the notion of outside leadership. It was a testament to how many among their ranks were self-interested little rats, certain that they were here of their own merit and volition, whose esteem was still their own to grant or withhold. It was the lie that so many of Metallia's soldiers bought into: that they had a choice about being here. That they had a choice to accept or reject their commanding officers. It was absurd, and they were absurd little fools for believing it. Quartz, who felt certain that he knew better, used this time to continue his observations of the meeting itself. Eventually Axinite would get back to the real meat of the occasion.

On the subject of introductions, however, Quartz was somewhat more stumped. While he was well enough familiar with the frequently-abysmal state of their filing and record system in the Negaverse to know how sparse some of the files were, it was harder to imagine what information about himself wasn't in his file. He'd seen his file. He knew its contents up to his own clearance level, and could imagine well enough what was in it above that.

He listened for a while to what the others were saying. His face fell blank, momentarily, at the absolute horrors of naivete that were coming out of Sarabauite's mouth. Where did they find these people? So many of the officers in the room who'd spoken up so far were completely new recruits, horrifically impressionable children, or both -- and these were the best they had for the Information branch? A passel of greenhorns? No wonder their recordkeeping system looked like it did.

"Captain Quartz of the Information branch," he said when his turn to speak came around. "Civilian alias Lazarus Klein, a massage therapist with the Destiny City Ballet Company. I joined the army by conscription, just shy of two years ago. My primary field work is with confidential informants, as well as some work in tracking and surveillance, partnered with a bonded youma. I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you that isn't in my personal file already. The General I report to is -- " A bitter smile slid across his face. " -- very thorough. Her recordkeeping is no exception."

Axinite listened to each person speak and nodded. He had a calm demeanor and the moment anyone opened their mouth, he gave them his full attention. He might have had an overbearing energy signature, but he treated everyone in the room with the upmost respect.

General or Lieutenant, old or new, he didn't seem like he was passing judgment.

While there were some that had not spoken, he did not seem to mind; when the group grew quiet, he simply nodded. "Excellent. You seem to be a very well rounded group of individuals. I look forward to working with you."

If he was upset about the lack of Generals, or people even in the Information branch, he did a decent enough job at concealing it.

"The fact that you're all here is reassuring. Regardless of what Branch you are currently in, Information is something all branches should add to when they can. To the newer agents, you've still got a lot to learn—but remember, it means you've got a lot of opportunity to grow. Which leads me to—the Database."

He cleared his throat and seemed to be settling into things. "The Database seems to be sorely underused. I've noticed that most agents don't make regular logs. In the other areas I've served, we made constant logs—being informed can sometimes be the difference between life and death. Even information that seems insignificant might wind up being pivotal in the future. I trust that the older agents here," he nodded towards a few of the Generals, "Will have experience, and can help guide those who haven't yet learned our methods. There's another page in your folders, if you'll please refer to it?"

He gave them a moment to do so, and continued, "The Database can be accessed by the computers located in the Castle. You don't currently have a way to access this information on the field, but I'll touch on that in a moment. Every agent should sign up for a username and password. Username is traditionally your uniformed name, password is decided later. While the database can be accessed by anyone, you'll receive only basic clearance levels. You can review and submit information anonymously, but I recommend against it when possible. Generals? You'll need to oversee everyone signing up for a username and password. There's a guide in doing that if you haven't already been taught, but it's simple. Only Information Generals have the clearance to do that."

It was only now that he reached over for a few papers on his desk; he skimmed them and then lowered the pages. "Generally we ask for information on people. Senshi, Knights, even your fellow agents. If you are ever conflicted about what you should report, consider the safety of your friends and allies."

Axinite seemed very serious.

"You have no friends, no allies amongst the Senshi and Knights. No matter what they tell you, they have an agenda. At the end of the day, they want to further their goals. You are a means to an end. I've seen good men and women fall to them because they thought they could trust them. Thought they could be saved. And then I've seen those same Senshi turn around and murder Agents in cold blood. So, if you think that the enemy can be saved? Report it. If you think that one of your fellow Agents might be plotting something? Report it. If you notice suspicious behavior in any area, or think it might be some meeting ground? Report it. When it doubt, report it. You can never have too much information. This isn't just the Negaverse you're looking out for—it's yourself. And good information will be rewarded. We'll be trying to implement a system to encourage the database be better utilized. Are there questions on that before we move on?"

Lt. Serpierite

Lt. Serpierite was late. Quickly surveying the rows of people there, she discerned there was nobody of her acquaintance. That made it easier to skip the greeting, and discreetly entering, she gracefully sat on a chair to peruse his materials already offered. With a few baked goods at her side, and a helpful cookie; she listened to his thoughtful manner of speaking. Though she had nothing but fear initially for the new sovereigns, Axinite's calm temperance helped to ease her anxiety, helped her to think beyond the blood rushing through her veins. She still had no idea of which branch to join, and had little pressure to do so in her current rank. However, as she rose in ranks.. she would be forced to make a choice. It would be best for her to attend the meetings if she wanted to make the best choice for herself. Whether it was a correct choice wasn't important.

Leafing through the papers as people introduced herself, she realized the folder was extensive. He eyes quickly skimmed their contents. But in a way, Serpierite welcomed it. Beyond the former instruction of General Zinkenite, whom she hadn't heard from since her entry -- she was an agent sorely lacking in information. And so far, she had nothing to disagree with in his points. He was methodical, but not so much that he was hindered by his methods. In fact, he appeared open-minded about many things.. to be honest.. the young lieutenant couldn't have wished for a better person.

When her turn came around to introduce herself, she tilted her head with a smile to welcome everybody in the room. "Lt. Serpierite, recruited by General Tanzanite. I'm afraid that I have nothing else to contribute," Putting her hands together, she didn't look very abashed at admitting it, "other than the fact that I hope to develop skills useful to the negaverse." It was true she had a variety of skills, but which ones and whether they would be useful to this branch, was something she didn't yet know.

As introductions finished (for the most part), Axinite once again took the reins on speaking. Her fingers which had been toying delicately with the pen offered, paused, as she heard of General Queen Hessonite and her reaction towards traitors. The thought of special operations hadn't even crossed her mind, well aware she did not have the brutality needed to perform in that branch. And while the lieutenant had no foolish plans of betraying the negaverse, she had to wonder if her disagreement with the morales of the negaverse constituted their attention. Her eyes darkened in her hesitation.Given the chance, she might have a private chat with Axinite. But she wasn't going to fool himself; as he said, his compassion was not to be mistaken for mercy. Each step she might take would have to be taken carefully, and in order to exercise caution -- she needed to know more about her general sovereigns.

Axinite did not pay mind to Serpierite arriving late; instead, he just smiled politely. A late agent was better than no agent. "If you stick around, we'll see that you develop useful skills," he promised.

He then turned his attention to Reinerite, and Sarabauite; his expression was not particularly readable, but he didn't seem to be expressing any negative emotions. "Not a stupid question at all," he reassured. "You do need, specifically, an Information officer. I don't know how up to date the Registrar is, but you should be able to access it from the computers even without a username or password. I will be asking everyone to please review the Registrar and double check that you are where you want to be. If you are listed in the wrong branch or want to switch branches, that is absolutely acceptable. It's going to be a bit of a complicated process until we get everyone caught up, however if you cannot contact a General in the Information Branch, you can come see me and I'll direct you to one or, if need be, I'll help you, myself."

He cleared his throat.

"Though, that leads to Communicators. I've had a bit of time to examine these." He reached into his pocket to pull out one of their crystals.

"They are incredibly fragile, a drain to make, and essentially—forgive me, if you are attached—useless. We are an advanced operation and deserve the tools to match. These crystals have such limited properties that they might as well be destroyed. You're better off buying disposable cell phones to communicate. Thankfully, however, you'll incur no out of pocket expense—and the Negaverse has something a bit better to offer. I have only a prototype, but," he set the crystal down on his desk and produced a simple object that looked like a pen. It was smooth and silver.

"We're working out a few kinks and will be mass producing them soon, but you'll find that this little tool is far more useful than your crystal ever was. It's powered with a crystal from the Rift," he tilted the pen so they could see the tiny shard imbedded in the tip of the pen. "The crystal will run out of a charge after some time, but by the time these are produced we'll have replacements easily available. Like the communicators you all have, this one allows you to send out a distress message to any Negaverse Agents in the area—you simply press down on this button and speak into it like a microphone. There's a button on the side that sends out a GPS location if you need as well. This should reduce response time immensely. But, that's barely the most impressive feature."

He pressed another button on the pen and it split into two even pieces; he stretched them apart, roughly eight inches, and a pale purple screen suddenly flickered between the two metal strips.

It took a few seconds but a loading screen appeared; he held the device up so the group could see. "We're still implementing a few basic applications, but this should grant you access to the database outside of the Dark Kingdom. You won't be able to upload information anywhere from the computers, though. We've taken some precautions to ensure that this won't ever wind up in the wrong hands. To access files or send messages requires a thumb print to be held. We're also working on developing a battery life that is both convenient to the Agent and safe, should the utensil fall into the wrong hands. But, that's something to look forward to."

He paused, and snapped the two metal pieces back together. The screen disappeared with them. "It's durable, the screen is holographic, touch sensitive, but we have a few more tests to run. I'd like to see them rolled out within the month, but we'll have to see how long it takes to work out the bugs. We will have the opportunity to continue upgrading them regularly, including to implement applications crafted by some of our more technologically gifted Agents and Mauvians, so if you find yourself with a suggestion please don't hesitate to share with a superior officer or myself. I don't suppose any of you are sitting on any suggestions we can work on before release?"

Bloodstone stood near the back. He didn’t plan on staying long, so he didn’t bother moving up to the front to make introductions. While he was sure he could be of use in the Intelligence division, he knew his talents would be wasted, and he didn’t want to disappoint General Aurostibite or Metallia.

“Lieutenant Bloodstone. Also known as August de Rais,” he introduced with a purposeful look in Amethyst’s direction. “I work in the trauma ward at Destiny City Memorial Hospital, so in case you can’t get to DC Gen to see Dr. Crawford, feel free to get in contact with me. I can at least recommend doctors who know how to be… discrete.”

After that, he kept back to listen to the General King discuss the new Communicators that were being developed and what uses they would be for everyone. Hopefully they really would be as useful as having a disposable cell phone. One would think with the power of Chaos, they would be able to do just about anything. Resources seemed to be limited no matter who was running the show.

Part of him hoped for more than just a demonstration of a new toy. Perhaps some bit of information that would encourage them to remain in the Intelligence division, but as a doctor, it would probably be much more useful if he were to work with Infiltration, or even Special Ops once he grew in experience enough to join. For now, he doubted they would accept a mere Lieutenant like himself.