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 Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 3:12 pm
As part of the Information Branch, Jet was expected to take orders from General King Axinite and report to him as necessary. But other than requesting General King Axinite to help him corrupt now five senshi, having them promoted, and getting Aquamarine promoted, Jet had not had much of an opportunity to talk to Axinite. Even now, it wasn’t as though he was going to the General King with frivolous personal problems. He’d never want to bother others with his personal problems. He was entirely capable of handling things himself. At least for the most part.
Jet paused as he and Aquamarine drew closer to the General King’s door. He had no idea if this was a bad time, or if their suggestions and requests would be brushed aside. He didn’t expect the General King to be cruel, as he never had been before, but Jet expected Axinite’s hands to be tied about various things that might be restricted to even Generals knowing.
Every time he opened his mouth to maybe say something to Aquamarine, he couldn’t get the words out. He wasn’t nervous exactly, but surely they weren’t the first to voice their opinions or concerns or suggestions about things, right?
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:49 pm
Aquamarine didn’t make a habit of approaching the General Sovereigns for anything. Other than his promotions, he’d had little interaction with any of them, and for the most part he intended to keep it that way. He saw to his duties when it suited him and did what was necessary to maintain his position, but he didn’t see a point in coming to the attention of anyone higher ranking. Attention brought risks and expectations, and those were things he generally preferred to avoid.
Alas, certain undertakings required approval.
“Control your expressions,” Aquamarine reminded Jet, lowering his voice so it wouldn’t carry through the office door. “Even if you don’t feel confident, act like it. Fake it until you make it, or whatever. And remember, all of this was your idea. I’m just here for support.”
Normally, Aquamarine might consider barging in with all the boldness and bluster he had at his disposal, but that seemed like a bad way to start a meeting with someone Jet respected, so he put on what he hoped was an inoffensive bland expression and knocked on the door before entering.Guine Quoting so you see it, although I think it sends a notif anyway now since you started it?
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:34 pm
Axinite seemed relieved not to have to call out, 'Come in,' and his expression relaxed when he saw the two entering. "Aquamarine, Jet," he greeted; he knew them by sight. But then, he had gone out of his way to know everyone. He would have been a poor leader of the information branch if he didn't know that much, at least. "It's been a while. I would say it's nice to see you, but I suppose that depends on the subject that brings you here. Come, have a seat," he invited, and as was his instinct he pushed a freshly stacked plate of cookies a little closer. "Help yourself. I've got some tea going, if you'd like. Unless this a conversation that warrants my full attention, in which case, I'm all yours."
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:50 pm
Luckily for them it seemed as though General King Axinite wasn’t too busy. He didn’t seem frustrated or angry about anything either. Not that Jet had seen Axinite angry, but he couldn’t imagine wanting to be on his bad side if he was.
“General King,” Jet greeted with a respectful nod, and then glanced down at the cookies and then back up at Axinite with his offer of tea. He couldn’t exactly say he’d had tea with Axinite before. Or cookies. He tried to bother him as little as possible.
At least this time there was no one for him to help him corrupt.
He almost glanced over his shoulder at Aquamarine to see if he was going to stop him as Jet approached the desk and took the offered seat. Under the table he rubbed his suddenly cold hands together, before somewhat hesitant taking one of the cookies.
“Thank you,” he said, still rather unsure of the situation or what they would be told. “We shouldn’t be taking too much of your time. We…” Jet started and then paused, “I… wanted to discuss some ideas with you and I wanted to get your feedback or permission if acceptable.”
Oh boy, he was not as eloquent as Aquamarine was when it came to talking. He felt really stiff while trying to be as polite as possible.
“I think we should dedicate groups to clean and maintain the castle and grounds. I know there are places off limits in the castle but… I think it would be a good idea to start offering some of the empty rooms as temporary, or even permanent housing for those who are injured or have nowhere else to go. The barracks are available, yes, but there’s so much room in the castle, it seems like wasted potential.”
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 6:39 pm
Aquamarine struggled not to give the cookies an odd look. Trust was a difficult thing for him to offer anyone. Who was to say there wasn’t some sort of ulterior motive in offering cookies?
Regardless, he didn’t have to eat any. He didn’t bother to voice acceptance or rejection, simply took his seat quietly and allowed Jet to get on with it.
Except Jet had to go and stumble over his words right off the bat.
“What he means is, the castle is a disaster,” Aquamarine explained, propping an ankle up on the opposite knee as he lounged in a chair, faking comfort better than Jet did. “Everything down here is a disaster, even the functional buildings, but the castle would have more to offer with a bit of work.”
Aquamarine was careful with the thoughts he expressed and the opinions he exposed. With other agents, he might curse at them, treat them with snide sarcasm and haughty disdain, but Axinite was a General-King. Aquamarine could behave himself around a superior.
“The glory days of the Negaverse have become a distant memory. As an organization, we’ve had a high turnover rate, especially in recent years. We should be working to revitalize the Negaverse, but for a while it’s felt as if all we’ve been doing is maintaining the status quo. It might be time for some restructuring and reorganization, starting with the castle and other available structures.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:22 am
Axinite did not seem moved by acceptance or rejection of the offer of sweets and tea; he listened intently. It may have been easier to listen to Jet, whose words seemed more tempered and considerate, but he did not seem offended by Aquamarine's bluntness. Instead, he tapped his fingers on the desk contemplatively. "I'm surprised you think such a conversation would be quick," he mused. "It sounds like there's a lot of thought put into this. It would be a shame not to hear all of it." He was sitting upright and his attention was completely on the two in front of them. He suspected Aquamarine was either here to give Jet the strength he needed to propose his idea, or Jet was here to keep Aquamarine in check. Either way, they seemed to compliment each other well enough. "The castle has been maintained as much as need has demanded," he began. "I won't deny that there are parts of it in very bad shape, but it seems a wasted effort to restore what might not be used. We've been focusing on gathering energy and resources, so home repair has been somewhat neglected. I'm not opposed to the idea, but you must understand that much of the castle is deliberately off limits. There are things here that Queen Laurelite--and Metallia, herself--would not wish others to disturb. There are a few wings on the first floor that may be repurposed, I suppose. Though, I had always hoped we'd have offices set up. But." 'Turnover rate' was high, loathe as he was to admit it. He did what he could, but it was never enough, and he felt it as if it were a physical blow. He shrugged, because offices were given to officers who were dedicated to their job, and with too few of them operating, too few had been given out. "I appreciate your ambition, though. The castle is always busy, though. I recommend also that if you are interested in revitalizing the grounds, you also consider the vacated buildings within the city. They may allow for a more personalized establishment. Less of an apartment and more of a house, if there are those that are interested." More work though, because it was each individual house instead of only individual rooms. "I don't know how many groups we could manage, but I suppose since you're proposing the idea, you have a plan for recruiting? Cleaning is one thing, but repair and construction is another. And you'd need a team you could trust to do things right. But you've thought of all this already," he insisted expectantly.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 11:10 am
Jet was both relieved for the assist from Aquamarine and embarrassed that it was apparently that obvious that he needed a little help. He had a lot of respect for Axinite, so it was difficult for him to be completely open when he didn’t think he’d earned that right.
“Yes, sir, we have thought about that,” Jet nodded, still holding the cookie in his hands. He had been trying to keep himself from anxiously turning it into cookie dust as he sat in front of the General King, but somehow Aquamarine speaking up gave him enough of a boost that his fingers relaxed. Which was good for the sake of Axinite’s carpet that Jet would have offered to clean if he had made a mess.
“Of course we wouldn’t want to intrude on anything Queen Laurelite or Metallia would want to remain undisturbed. But the castle would be the best place to start instead of the vacated buildings. With the infrastructure already in place, we would be able to focus on making it livable before moving to the larger projects. If we have agents living here, it would be easier for them to continue work on the rest of the grounds. We were hoping you’d be able to offer some suggestions on who we could approach to ask for help with such a task.”
It was obvious that Axinite prided himself in his position as the General King overseeing the Information Branch, so he would definitely be the man who would know which agents may have a background in construction or plumbing or electrical. They would need all of that if they were going to focus on repairing the damaged structures, as Axinite himself suggested.
“The medical bay would be another focus. It’s one thing to have it supplied, but we need a list of agents who are willing to be on call to be contacted for help, based on the severity of the injury or medical need. Not all agents have insurance needed for healthcare in Destiny City, and I myself have had to choose between proper medical care and taking care of my own injuries. If I decided for proper care, I would have been unable to devote my time to the Negaverse, since I would have instead had to work longer hours to pay my medical bills. If we had skilled doctors able to assist when needed, there would be more productivity within the ranks. And it isn’t always easy explaining injuries to people we can’t trust to not be White Moon.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:57 pm
If Aquamarine and Jet were discussing these matters between themselves, alone, without the possibility of being overheard, Aquamarine would have a lot to say about Laurelite and Metallia and the areas of the castle that were considered off limits — mainly about how secrecy did not breed trust among agents, and his oft repeated complaints that they were all just pawns to be used and discarded as necessary.
But they were not alone, and he was not so stupid as to voice anything negative on that topic around someone he could not be sure wouldn’t misinterpret his aggravation, or who might use it against him. Aquamarine was a blunt and expressive young man, and he could be grating to those who did not appreciate his attitude, but he also knew when to keep his mouth shut around his superiors. After six and a half years as an agent, he was well-practiced at maintaining a blank face.
“If any of our current agents want to make better use of the buildings down here, especially if they require shelter or medical care on a long term basis, I don’t imagine we’d have too much trouble rounding up people to help,” Aquamarine said. “The light cleaning and some of the easier repairs can be added to everyone’s list of duties.
“Other tasks that call for skilled labor would likely require us to intensify our recruitment efforts,” he continued, tipping his head toward Jet to acknowledge his focus on the medical bay. “Filling our ranks with naïve teenagers offers no benefit other than padding our numbers. And I say that as someone who joined as a naïve teenager. I realize with the turnover rate it’s sometimes been difficult to focus on recruiting individuals with advanced skill sets, especially when a lot of our day to day focus goes toward surviving, but it might benefit the organization if some of us in a position of authority were more discriminatory with our recruitments. Which I believe was always the intention? That's been easier said than done sometimes. Either way, skilled laborers, doctors, and influential members of society would be more useful to us than some punk kid at Hillworth.
“No offense,” he added with a light, bland smile, though he gave no indication if he meant to direct it toward Axinite, whose history Aquamarine did not know and who was therefore unpredictable, or Jet, who used to be a punk kid at Hillworth.
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:01 am
"None taken," Axinite said, with a smile that seemed slightly more guarded than before and might have indicated that he did, in fact, take the slightest bit of offense. "It's been a long time since I went out to recruit someone myself. General King Lepidolite handles Infiltration, perhaps he might be able to council you on some of the steps we've taken to recruit established professionals. The best I can do right now is hope that such agents in positions of authority, who regularly interact with the general population--perhaps, my most esteemed Generals," he gestured to them, "are on the lookout to recruit such worthwhile candidates." He remained seated in his seat, straight and professional, and considering proposals and commentary. "In the meantime, I hope that our younger recruits are getting the guidance they need to advance into such prestigious career opportunities. We do have the ability to help guide them into such fields. I'll see if I can't put you in contact with some agents who have experience enough to help in such tasks," he promised Jet. "It would be a good opportunity for such young, impressionable agents to learn important skills as well, if they're interested. At the very least, a little hard labor never hurt anyone. I'm sure we can spare a few agents to help clean things out. I'll take a walk later and see what we have to spare. Naturally, I'll need Queen Laurelite's permission, but I'll vouch for the project. You two seem like you're dedicated to seeing it through. I'll make sure you have the resources you need so you can lead it. The medical bay," he mused, and tapped a finger thoughtfully atop his desk as he considered possibilities. "We usually have a few officers tending to things. We do have doctors and nurses available, but they tend to split their time between Destiny City and here." He seemed thoughtful and then looked off to the side, an indication that he was very deep in thought on something. "Give me some time to see what I can work out. Such requested changes will come with a price tag, and I have some freedom with that but I don't have complete control of our finances. I'll take it to discussion and get back to you, if that's all right? I can't grant insurance, but perhaps we could bypass that by simply having a more functioning hospital down here. Either that, or recruit enough people managing hospital collections that they can erase the debt." They had a few, but it was never enough, not really. And not as helpful if you didn't know where to go, or who to talk to. "I'll look into it and see what our options are, unless you have something specific you're requesting?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:00 pm
Jet frowned to himself as Axinite spoke and gave suggestions. Yes, they might be able to guide people into specialized fields, but what about financing for that? Axinite just said he didn’t have complete control over finances, but at least he would try to help. Jet knew he couldn’t be the only one in the Negaverse who had struggled to make ends meet while also maintaining a quota. If it was that easy to get young officers set up and get their future planned out, then why didn’t they advertise it more? It had been years since the new General Kings and Queens arrived in Destiny City to help, but so far things seemed like it was just more of the same.
“Thank you,” Jet said instead of going into his concerns and frustrations about the lack of support and funding provided by the Negaverse. If they wanted people to serve to their best capabilities, then it would be a good idea to make it easier for them to do so.
And that was even before taking into account the medical side of things. Insurance was a whole nother monster.
“Not anything specific at the moment, but I will continue to look into things myself. We also wanted to discuss the possibility for more training, specifically to fight against the White Moon. We have a number of Senshi we’ve recruited,” he continued, knowing Axinite knew very well that all of Jet’s recruits ended up being Senshi, to his chagrin, “So we should be making better use of them and their abilities. They can help train agents with how to deal with magic. General Aquamarine and I can volunteer to help set up training events. We would need some of the old training rooms cleaned up as well.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:53 pm
My most esteemed Generals…
Aquamarine almost snorted at that, but he held it back and showed little more than a twitch of the corner of his mouth.
Esteemed was generous at best, in his opinion. Aquamarine was capable, but he didn’t often care to rise to the occasion. Between the two of them, Jet was certainly more along the lines of what the Negaverse should hope for in their Generals. Dutiful. Hardworking. Passionate. Aquamarine did what he had to because he had to. Jet did it because he truly believed in the goodness and the rightness of it all.
“We also recognize the need for more energy,” Aquamarine added, “particularly if we intend to implement further changes or improvements. As you said, our focus has been on gathering energy and resources. I’d argue our agents spend a majority of their time fulfilling their weekly quotas. Which isn’t surprising, given the state of things, but we—”
Aquamarine cut himself off, briefly flicking his eyes over toward Jet before returning his gaze to Axinite. They may have brainstormed and discussed these things together, but as far as Aquamarine cared for anyone to know, Jet was responsible for most of it.
“Jet has mentioned to me that he would like to devise a means to collect a large amount of energy at once, like we used to on occasion,” he continued. “I agree with his idea. If we can collect enough, that frees up our agents for other responsibilities, even if only for a short time. We’re still in the discussion and planning stages, but if it pans out well… we could bring it forward for approval at a later date. Jet has other plans he’d like to finalize first.”
Aquamarine looked toward Jet again.
Every subject so far might have been a joint effort, but the desire to head into the Rift for a personal youma was Jet’s and Jet’s alone.
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:11 pm
Axinite seemed a little amused by all of this--supportive, but amused at the sheer volume of topics they were covering. “Generals, I hope you know you don’t have to save all of your ideas for one meeting. You’re more than welcome to come visit me whenever you like. I’m impressed with all of your plans--big plans.” He had reached for a pen while they were speaking and was writing in an incredibly small font that looked like it could have been a typeface as he kept notes, and was no doubt scheduling to himself what he needed to do to arrange things for Jet and Aquamarine to proceed with things. “More training never hurt anyone, and I know some are better teachers than others, so that’s a good plan. As is large scale energy gathering. I had no idea you two were so ambitious, but I am grateful.” He smiled politely but the sentiment seemed to be genuine. “I like everything I’ve heard so far. I don’t want either of you spreading yourself too thin, though. Tell me what you want to prioritize and we’ll start there. I’ll do what I can to help you prepare for the rest, we’ll get some of these ideas set in motion.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2021 2:03 pm
Even though Axinite told them they didn’t have to save up all their ideas for one meeting, Jet couldn’t possibly think that wasting a General King’s time with every idea he or Aquamarine had would be very productive. He seemed to relax a little more as Aquamarine explained their plans about gathering energy, and when Axinite seemed to agree to get things started.
“Thank you, General King. There is one thing I was hoping to prioritize first,” Jet said, feeling the glance from Aquamarine. He’d been doing whatever research he could, because he knew what the Rift did to people. He’d read the reports of others who’d come back from the Rift… as well as reports of those who had been lost there.
Even though some might think he was reckless and dove into danger before looking at other options, Jet wasn’t a fool. He was no longer the fourteen year old boy who had joined the Negaverse for the purpose of revenge. He might still have some foolhardy tendencies but he had also grown and his goals had adapted to what he, and more importantly the Negaverse, needed.
“We would like permission to enter the Rift so I can look for a youma to bond with,” he said, although he still didn’t like the idea of Aquamarine being in danger. “I’ve been doing research and have been preparing for an extended period there, and with Aquamarine’s help, we should be able to obtain what we’re looking for and come back.” At least that was the plan.
“After that,” he continued, assuming they would make it back in one piece, “We would like to work on the large-scale energy gathering. With quotas filled, it should free up additional help to clean up down here.”
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:12 am
Aquamarine would not call himself “ambitious.”
As a younger agent, sure, he’d wanted power, and he’d done what he thought was necessary to get it, but that passion fizzled out the longer he remained on the job. Now, his primary concern was Jet’s protection and Jet’s success; everything else was secondary, up to and including his own. He was, in his own opinion, the exact opposite of ambitious.
Their plans were (also in his own opinion) necessary. As he considered what needed to be done to make his time in the Negaverse more bearable, these were the things that seemed most likely to bring improvement. The Negaverse could function better than it currently was. It had before. At the moment, it was simply a matter of figuring out what they could do to get themselves there.
And then, perhaps he would feel pride in the Negaverse one day.
Though he didn’t show it, Aquamarine was relieved that Axinite seemed interested in and willing to see some of their ideas through. Aquamarine knew very little about their current General Sovereigns, as he’d never had occasion to spend much time around them, and therefore had no idea what to expect when he brought anything to their attention. Axinite seemed accommodating, and almost kind, though Aquamarine could never be sure when kindness in the Negaverse was genuine, and when it served a purpose.
“We’ll be sure to keep you updated as our plans develop,” Aquamarine agreed.
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:58 am
Axinite nodded appreciatively and offered a rejuvenated smile. “I’m proud of you for doing your research and putting so much thought into it before running into the Rift. Having backup is never a bad idea out there, you never know what could happen. Two Generals shouldn’t get into too much trouble, but if you do I have faith you’ll be able to get yourselves out of it. Take your time and don’t push yourself too hard. If you don’t find a good fit, don’t feel like you have to stay out there until you do. Come back, rest, replenish supplies, and try again. If you’re going out for an extended period of time, check in with me before you leave, and let me know if you have an expected return time. If you aren’t back by then, I’ll come looking for you. I don’t want anyone to get lost out there.” He looked between the two of them. “I don’t want anything to happen to either of you. I trust you’ll be safe. I think you’re very capable, and I look forward to your safe return. You have a lot of plans that I am eager to see realized.”
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