Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Hmf, I'd be surprised if any information that oaf of yours gathered was in a purposeful manner" Cut in the deriding, self-important tones of another operator. Operator Alexandria of Black Kat's 6th Cell was best known for her quite overpowering air of self-confidence... or vanity, depending whether or not she was in earshot at the time of reference. She had an almost too fitting peacock esque look about her, an extravagant skirt trailing down from the back of her elegantly hued business suit, looking the part of a well preened tail as she perched beside her place round the large meeting table. "I dare say the only thing he does proficiently is claiming credit regardless".

It took the better part of Jane's self control to silence the myriad of potential scathing quips that sprung to mind, and to instead remain professional, opting to simply turn her head away from the rival Operator's accusations. She satisfied herself with the knowledge that being ignored probably pissed off the self-adulating agent more than wasting her breath chastising her for her remarks ever could. Jane really did dislike her, so saying she was the sort of person who had trouble liking people in general, but Alexandria - always so uppity, so critical, so focused on bringing down others - left an especially sour taste with her. It was probably - she had begrudgingly admitted to herself - because that reminded her a little too harshly of traits at times she herself was prone to exhibiting.



"Oooh-hoo~" this time another Operator spoke up from across the table, leaning over a little to affix Alexandria cheerfully cheeky smile. Operator Eva of the 4th Cell was always a quite the oddball of the group. 'Unique' might be a polite way to describe it, 'mentally unstable' might however be a good deal more realistic. Her pastel attire, dishevelled tie casually resting over one shoulder, and shock of bright purple hair set the slight framed girl apart from the more carefully presented businesslike aesthetics of her peers. She loosely clasped her hands behind her back, continuing in a whimsical, and less than subtly mocking tone "Sounds like soooomebody is just a teensy weensy bit jelly, wobble wobble". The odd girl's playful grin only seemed to widen as Alexandria's own features settled into a displeasurable scowl back towards her.

"Little children should stay out of other's business, you should just stick to playing with your toys, you hokey mechanic" Alexandria was quick to answer back, her words whipping out, like the stinger on a scorpion prodded one too many times by a curious youth. Eva's cheerful expression appeared unaffected by this counter blow though, but Jane was close enough to catch the subdued sounds of the brightly garbed technologist cracking her knuckles behind her back. "Try to say that again, and I'll rip your throat out, b***h..... Nice comeback though" for a moment there was the slightest change in the look upon Eva's eyes, and yet this minute change was enough to alter what had been an innocently mischievous sparkle, to a murderous glower. The abrupt threat seemed barely contained behind that unchanged smile that not a moment ago had been almost uplifting. Then with similar lack of warning the malicious glare had vanished without a trace. Jane felt a small shiver make its way down her spine. She often times chided herself whenever she recalled feeling intimidated in some way by the capricious young lady, but then she would catch a glimpse of the horrid look that sometimes crossed her bright eyes, and would quickly recall precisely why. It was to her good fortune that the 2nd Cell Operator was placed between her and the nutty engineer around the table. The buffer made her feel safer. Jane had become fairly certain that at some point the purple-haired looney was just going to snap all the way, and somebody's throat was going to pay the price. Not being within direct grabbing distance undoubtedly made her feel much more secure in her neck's survivability.



The group were shortly brought back to order when the sharp clack of the Chairman's decorative cane being brought down upon the floor tiles pierced through the air. As one, all eyes quickly turned to rest on the decorated businessman and his unfaltering smirk. You could almost be forgiven for wondering whether he had been enjoying a little, the discourse between the Operators as it played out. "I'm sure these most pressing discussions can be resolved at some other juncture" he began "We really must be getting on though, loathed as I may be to hurry you, I'd much prefer not... to be kept waiting" the Chairman went on. The man was always collected, hardly raised his voice, but when he spoke people listened. Through his diplomatic mannerisms rode a distinct feeling of superiority. This as well as - as most took an often acute note of - the distinct feeling of ominousness. Jane had long since learned not to explore what caused that uneasy feeling further. The more she tried to pry, to look and to work out what it was that gave off that uneasy feeling, the more she felt an incisive dread of what she would have found if she succeeded. Never mind the bipolar Eva, the elitist corporate investors, the often creepy Professor Otsdarva of the R&D department. If there was one person Jane felt that it would be a poor idea to get on the wrong side of, in all of the company and its vast network of assets, it would be Chairman Zacchaeus. "Do take your seats then, and we shall begin" the Chairman casually raised a hand in offering towards the assembled Operators, who hurriedly complied with this 'offer' and alighted in unison upon the expensive leather seating prepared for them. There was a loud crash as someone was perhaps a bit too hasty and missed their seat completely. Eva pulled herself - a little flustered - from the cold floor, glancing around "I meant to do that! Just seeing if you were awake... you're dumb!" she loudly excused herself, managing on the second try to properly rest herself on the pricey furniture, and tried her best to look as intense as possible, under some sort of delusion that maybe everyone either didn't notice, or would completely forget if she looked serious enough.

"Fantastic... well then, if you'd care to get us started Professor" The Chairman strolled forward casually to take his place in the centre of the large semi-circular conference table, while to the side of the desk by the window, Professor Otsdarva, the resident Research and Development executive, reached a sickly hand over to punch a few commands in to some of the desk's in-built consoles.

The lights dimmed, and metallic creaking and the whir of hidden machinery filled the room as huge panels rose up from the floor around the conference desk, extending almost to the roof as they ground to a halt behind the CELL members. Similarly shaped to the table itself, they encompassed the space around the Operators and Chairman with a screen of curved LCD monitors. Meanwhile to the front of the room, large holographic projectors buzzed to life, System information and company logos flitting in pulsing strands of light across the thin air as a holographic screen was thrown up before the massive window. Light sprang to life from behind the CELL Operators, casting splayed shadows as the LCD screens also flashed to life, displaying a multitude of simple squares and rectangles of various different sizes interlocked with each other across the length of the huge curved displays. This was the representation of the others, the onlookers. Investors, shareholders, subsidiary executives, anyone who had a stake in the company large enough to be deemed relevant, and how relevant, was represented in this simplistic but highly effective visual chart, with their only identifications being a lengthy serial number and sometimes a company name marked at the edge of their respective squares, the size of which was indicative of how big a 'player' they were within the mammoth conglomerate. Jane could only recognise a few of them as she took a glimpse to her sides, the larger ones. The rest she could only guess at "But you know, don't you..." she thought, resting her chilly analytical gaze back upon the grinning Chairman "You know every single one of these people, probably better than they'd like. Hundreds of them, by barely more than a registration number". It was a feat that never ceased to impress Jane, quick to pick up upon the analytical talents of others due to the work she herself often performed.

The various cameras around the spacious meeting room whirred into place to get good angles for the anonymous audiences' benefit, and in turn Chairman Zacchaeus raised his arms in open greeting the corporate elite now assembled "Greetings and a fine evening, ladies and gentleman of the Black Kat Commercial & Industrial Group. It is as always a pleasure to play host to you, and a similar pleasure to see such a large turnout despite the relative promptness of this meeting" Zacchaeus greeted, and Jane could tell by the way his demeanour and body language changed, that he was in his zone, putting on an ostentatious display with the silver tongue and calculatedly exaggerated gestures virtually indistinguishable from a skilled actor playing an enraptured crowd. "And of course, as always, it is a very distinct pleasure to have you with us in person, Shareholder Cheng" the grandiose Chairman moved to indicate an Operator sat near one of the ends of the table, an old and disgruntled looking gentleman, distinguished from the other assembled agents as much by his rich and elaborately decorated clothing as by his relative age. Operator Guan of the 7th Cell, or as most tended to recognise him; President Guan Cheng of the Black Kat incorporated 'Chioh-Ga Construction'. The age old firm held one of the more generous positions among the roster of shareholders, and this translated into a good deal of influence within the company. Jane often wondered why a man like that would bother 'lowering' himself to the level of a CELL Operator, high and mighty as he often carried himself. She frequently came to suspect it may not have been entirely his own choice however.



"Yes yes, please get on with it Chairman, I've not got all the time in the world for your posturing today" The ageing Chinese man grumped impatiently. If anything it was a demonstration of his clout, that he was one of the only ones present who didn't seem at all intimidated by the golden haired CEO, even going as far as to act dismissively towards him. "Is that so?" Zacchaeus was, as expected, completely unphased. Yet the patronising undertones in his speech seemed to become more pronounced. It wasn't as if he'd suddenly become passive aggressive, Jane noted, it was simply that his passive aggressiveness that was always there had become relevant, noticeable, because of Guan's own indignance. Were it not that Jane found little joy in listening to either of the two aristocratic executives, she might have thought this fairly clever. "Have another meeting later then? paperwork piling up? Happens to the best of us" the Chairman went on. Guan paused for a moment "I promised my daughter I'd take to the premier of the new Some Piece movie, some anime thing..." the balding gent replied, a little hesitantly this time. It was not a terribly good reason from an outside perspective after all "Ah yes" Zacchaeus continued "I hear that's quite popular with the kids nowadays. Well, I shan't keep you longer than I absolutely have to then" there was nearly enough feigned concern in the air that Jane wondered if Professor Otsdarva might start jotting down ideas on how to weaponize it at any moment, at least, if the Chairman didn't seem to be doing such a decent job of that by himself "After all, she's become quite a valuable company asset as of late..." all the Chairman got back this time was a disgruntled snort of displeasure from the old executive.

Zacchaeus let out a few soft chuckles at his associates grumpiness before returning his attentions to the business at hand "As I'm sure that you all know, over the years since it's inception, Black Kat Industries and the Black Kat Corporate Group thereof, has seen a steady climb in the success of both capitol and military ventures. As those of you familiar with the last quarterly statements are aware, we are at an all time high across the board. Black Kat Industries and its declared and... undeclared subsidiary organisations are responsible for the manufacture and distribution of an estimated 87% of all standardised weaponry on Gaia. Facilities under direct or indirect ownership of the Company extend to an almost worldwide scale, and nearly 94% of all homes that were registered under the last Government Census contain at least one Black Kat manufactured product. Gross revenue has in the last century, passed and exceeded even the Gaian Government's own GDP, and - ladies and gentlemen - we have enjoyed greatly the success of our labours" he swept a hand round, motioning it over the monitors and their silent assembly of digital blocks "And it is you, as well as I, that make this company mighty, you who innovate, you who build, you who strive towards the future of humanity, the meek that inherit the earth. Pulled from the dust of a tyrannical world, stood united against its oppressions and its monsters. From the edge of disaster our ancestors rose up where the established order faltered, and we laid the foundations for Aekea North, the most magnificent city, the most indomitable fortress ever seen in all history, and we accepted all who were willing to work towards a safe and secure future, and to slay the demons and cretins that infest the old world, spreading terror and disorder"

Jane cracked an ironic smile as the Chairman recited his speech, stealing another glance at what part of the Stakeholder's display she could see. She knew as well as the next person that Zacchaeus' words were mostly for show, empty motions of formality. Any of the people who were concealed away behind the stream of data packets and code of those little digital rectangles would likely be more than glad to see one of the other lights fade out and vanish. The only two things really holding the majority of the group together, Jane had figured, were the central Black Kat administration, which had far and away the lion's share of control over the company's mercenary armies, and of course their own mutual greed. Or perhaps it was the mutual fear of what might become of them if they found themselves on their own. The pink eyed Operator knew the drill. Fear was one of Black Kat Industry's greatest weapons, more potent than any gun or assassin. Black Kat had spent nearly 500 years stoking the fires of people's paranoia and insecurity, and in doing so had moulded them into an industrial juggernaut, unwieldy yet frighteningly effective.

"But... I didn't convene this meeting to run over our financial success, that's what our quarterly conferences are for, I wouldn't want to spoil them for you" Chairman Zacchaeus made a show of shrugging "Recently we have seen the surfacing of various rogue elements that pose a threat to the careful balance we have strived to maintain. Forces that seek to work against us and compromise the considerable investments put into our future, most notable of which, is this..." he turned, extending his cane towards the holographic display at the opposite end of the room, and clicked a button on its head. This prompted the display to change to a large image of a red Templar cross upon a white background, encircled with the legend 'Sigillum Sanctum Fraternitatis' in similar crimson. The Chairman turned back round, resting the cane back upon the floor as he took a choice moment to allow the realisation to sink in for those learned enough to recognise the seal before them. "They go by 'The Divine Paragon'..." he iterated for those less familiar "Remnants of an age gone by, seen not since the all consuming wars of the Great Cataclysm. I'm sure most of you with a grasp on the vagaries of history will recognise them, if not by their emblem, then by the iconic imprint they left upon the world" another click of a control upon his cane and the Chairman changed the display again to show a variety of smaller pictures. Old and grainy photos, barely in colour, warped slightly with age before even having been scanned into computerised data. If anything this simply gave a more sinister feeling to the pictures they displayed. Hastily captured Images of gargantuan ironclad fortresses hanging as if suspended in the air over smoke covered battlefields and burned out towns. Massive battleships, that dominated the skyline, casting great shadows down upon chaotic fighting bellow, in a way that almost made the pitched conflicts upon the ground seem insignificant in comparison. It gave the impression that somehow they occupied a higher order of existence from the rabble confined to the charred Earth, unconstrained by mortal laws of gravity. They were a sight that still inspired a sort of primal awe, even in this day and age. One could only have imagined what a soldier hundreds of years ago must have thought, gazing up to the sky and seeing those behemoth dreadnoughts as they blotted out the sun above them. It must have been a truly terrifying sight.

"Truly a frightening force during the Cataclysm period, even after extensive research we still only have a cursory understanding of who the group were, and even some of the technology they employed. A peculiar mix between cult, and modern city state, they at one time operated out of a large fortress on of the larger islands in the Western Oceans which they named 'Nirvana'. Their ideological goals, like much of the advanced equipment they utilised remains largely unknown" Zacchaeus continued to explain, as various tertiary data and images Black Kat had managed to scrounge up flashed over the holographic screen "We suspect the organisation followed a regimental command structure, the leaders of which therein answered to some sort of central command. Although, the only visual evidence we've been able to find that supports the existence of such a leading figure is this picture taken by the old BKI 3rd Advanced Recon" The large holograph changed again to display another blurry photo scan, showing a figure garbed in white robes - closely resembling that of an old priest or minister - conversing with some form of floating monolith. Jane noted hints of transmission static around the edges of the white slab, too pronounced to be pegged on the poor photo quality. A hologram, it must be. The front of it bore the same red cross as the Paragon's insignia, and some simple text reading 'Sound Channel Only' and below that in large numbers '01'. "Going by this image, among what other data we have, we suspect that the individual represented in the holographic tablet you see in the photo to be either the leader or senior of the organisation. As nobody has ever found out further details, not even their name, this individual is referred to in contemporary texts simply by the identification 'Zero-One' which you can see represented in the photograph"

Before the man got much further with his exposition, he was interrupted by a loud discordant intonation, masked all but completely behind a heavy voice filter built in to the same elaborate system that hid the Shareholder's identifications "We are well aware of the legends behind the Divine Paragon, Mr Chairman, but why does this suddenly hold relevance now?" the voice firmly enquired "They haven't been active for hundreds of years, not since they virtually wiped themselves out during that dimensional tear incident" Jane nodded to herself, recalling reading old articles about the event. The once proud city of Nirvana had been wiped from the map, along with most of its military assets during the Cataclysm wars, in what she among others could only imagine to have been a malfunction of dimensional technology far ahead of its time. The gargantuan hollow where it once stood was since marked on the maps as 'Ground Zero'.

Chairman Zacchaeus replied with another short click of his stave, bringing up another image of one of the impressive air vessels, perched in the distance among the partial cover of rolling clouds. This one was different though, sharper, unfettered, clearly taken through some sort of digital device "Because this image, was taken ten days ago..." One could almost visualise quickly paling faces behind the impersonal glass of the cameras, as they put two and two together "Within the past few months we've have been keeping tabs on these various anomalous sightings" the holo-screen scrolled onwards through a string of similar shots until it came to rest upon one of a larger catamaran styled variant occupying the airspace above a small tower, decorated at its spire with the sculpture of a golden crescent moon "The earliest being what you see here, taken by CELL Operative 'Obi' while in the vicinity of Barton town"



"If I may ask, Mr Chairman" for a moment the shuffling of chairs filled the dimly lit air as the other CELL Operators twisted towards Jane. She continued undaunted, daring not to acknowledge the fact that everyone was suddenly staring at her "Out of all the images of these 'Divine Paragon' ships , only this shot specifically seems to show one operating in very plain sight. All subsequent recon of these vessels we've carried out have found them extremely passive, surreptitious" she moved to rest her chin upon a couple of slim fingers, frowning at the picture, to the point one may begin to pity the poor digital facsimile, that dared to be so blatantly atypical in presence of the stern woman's uncompromising rationality "So why then? What was special about this location and at this time?"

The Chairman took a few steps closer, his attentions turned from his beloved investors to the inquisitive Jane, and she nearly cursed her own curiosity, hardly helping but to imagine the very worst the eerie trillionaire may respond with for butting in to his little executive circus "...A very good question, Miss Operator" a wave of relief rolled over her, though failed to completely wash away her tenseness as she looked back up at Zacchaeus, matching his prying, officious stare. She still wasn't quite sure whether that was a 'Good question, glad you asked' or a 'good question, but ******** you for asking it'; it was something typically hard to discern from the suave company head "In short; we don't actually know" now that sure flushed out a lot of Jane's tenseness, if only so enough room could be made for her unexpected surprise, and judging by the crackly mumblings that found their way over the surrounding audio devices, she wasn't the only one. The frankness of the answer made her feel like there was something she wasn't being told "Are you familiar with the place in the image?" the Chairman continued with his own query "A non-profit Inn and bar establishment registered under planning records as 'The Lunar Hope', all appropriate licences check out, ownership registered to one 'Kyla Ewens'; a neko of unspecified clan affiliation. Recorded bounties have been known to pass through the establishment, but then, what bar on Gaia hasn't played host to unfavourable types? I noted no other extraordinary data in the records" Jane deftly recited, all too pleased to demonstrate her talents for information management "Exactly, it's a place that carries barely any greater worth or tactical value, it's rather perplexing why they decided to appear so openly there, but I'm sure in time the reason will become clearer to us" Jane didn't like how dismissive the Chairman was being with this anomalous event, but had little means with which to press further into the issue. As if responding to the Operator's inward admission of defeat the Chairman turned back round with a flap of his long red vestments, taking a few steps back towards the focal point of the curved table "Your analytical skill are impressive as expected though, Miss Operator. A testament as you, honoured investors, can plainly see to the great success we have found in our CELL project. The most gifted experts, in analytics, tactics, coordination, and countless specialist fields, combined with skilled operatives using the most technologically advanced, and the most lethal cybernetic weapon systems ever devised. They will as ever be a great boon towards protecting Black Kat Industries and our revenue stream in these trying times, speaking of which, that brings me on to the second point of note I wanted to bring before you today"

As Chairman Zacchaeus made his transition, another motion of his cane saw the the dancing illumination of the holo-display alter again, transitioning just as smoothly into a collage of far smaller snippets; pictures and data of various individuals and groups. Jane needed to squint to see the display halfway decently, but picked out a few common themes. Criminals, activists, terrorist groups, bounties, she recognised more than a few from the CELL databases "It is a regrettable thing, that not everyone recognises the benefits of the structure and security we wish to bring to the people of Gaia. It is in recent times that we have recorded a particularly high insurgence of malcontents and fringe groups that seek either to propagate chaos or bring damage upon our company. Supernatural demons, wanted criminals, rogues, so-called 'liberation' groups, scum that use morality as their own shield to name but a few. I'm sure you're all familiar with the type of people I speak of, and none more so I'm certain, than the CELL personnel assembled here, who have so efficiently combated such threats, as a sword of progress cleaves asunder the archaic darkness" he made somewhat of a poetic flare, showing if anything the pride the company took in their CELL Project and its elite members. Bloody right when you considered the vast sums of money the industrial giant poured into it, to turn ordinary people into human weapons capable of matching and exceeding the meta-physical might and wild sorceries that commanded the balance of power nearly unopposed in past epochs - Jane felt the strings of pride tugging the corner of her mouth into a satisfied grin - and there was nobody in the CELL project considered more elite than herself, and her operative Heero."Of special interest, are these two most recent individuals, sighted during undertakings of our 1st Cell operative 'Heero'" the holo-display zoomed in, the extraneous images flitting away from the virtual screen until only a couple remained, one of a jovial business attired man, bright orange hair arranged in a neat braid, and the other of a lady garbed in white and pink pyjamas sporting an unkept mop of similarly coloured hair, and stuffing her face maybe a little too contentedly with Dango. Jane grimaced as she saw it, "Really? THAT was the image Heero gave them from his optical records? I hate you sometimes" the neatly presented operator thought, moving to steeple her fingers so that she might avoid facepalming herself on instinct "Why did they even agree to use that?".