Interlude #1 - A breakfast call

GM - MordantCrimson - Bryant Kho is woken by his minicomp chiming... He looks for a time display and sees it is 8am Local...he has overslept. He moves to sit up and feels the twinge in his shoulder. Æon were kind enough to get him patched up as an urgent case at the Æsculapian Order's famous Beaulac Clinic, and the vitakinetics did great work, but he was still stiff and sore.

As he came more to his senses he realised that the chime wasn't his alarm, it was an incoming call and from a number his Agent didn't recognise...

Bryant Kho - "Fallon, do we know where that call I's originating from?" Bryant utters as he swings his body round and puts his feet on to carpet."

A European looking archer is projected in to the room, his bow and quiver still strapped to his back. 

"I am sorry sir, that information has not been shared with me"

The chiming continues...

"Pickup call Fallon, This is Kho speaking, who is this please?"

GM - MordantCrimson - "Greetings, Mister Kho, it is my exuberant joy to once more refresh-renew our acquaintance."

The holo image of a stylised Qin avatar resolves in Bryant's view.

"My abject apology-sadness-regret if I have prematurely ended your sleep cycle, but you seemed to impress upon me an urgency in the request you made at our previous meeting."

Bryant Kho - "Emerald Whispering Elms Society Tung Jen?, I hope I got that right. My memory of the last day is pretty hazy still.  Thank you for contacting me. I presume you have some information concerning our missing persons case?"

GM - MordantCrimson - "It is very gracious of you to recall our meeting, let alone retaining knowledge of my full nomenclature. By all means please address me by my family name of Emerald or personal name, Whispering Elms."

The Qin's tone is polite and possibly warm. Bryant gets the impression that this alien is well versed in the subtleties of communication and dealing with humans, regardless of the hesitancy and inexperience they might portray.

"The reason for my call is that I believe that I have identified the fellow Qin whose image you provided me with. The individual pictured is Carmine Truthsculpter Society Qián. I hope that this assists you in your enquiries."

Bryant Kho - "Thank you for extending the opportunity to address you less formerly, I am certain otherwise that my recall would eventually fail me. Emerald, this is indeed good news, and I thank you for it. We had an unusual turn in the case yesterday.  The woman we were looking for was spotted in a district in the city, and was attacked by an assailant. We were unable to prevent the attack, but we did apprehend the attacker. It appears the victim was not human though..."

GM - MordantCrimson - "That must be very troubling for you. However you would not have been appointed to this case unless you had the capability necessary to resolve it to your employer's satisfaction."

It's in that moment that something clicks; the octopus-thing that Emerald used to pull the image from your minicomp seemed similar to the thing that was inside Aisha's body...

Bryant Kho - "The troubling thing is that the lady we thought was our missing person appeared to be incorporating Qin technology within their physiology. I was going to see if I could make a request to examine the deceased today. Do you think The Qjn Embassy would be interested in providing me with assistance in determining what we have encountered here and whether it might be related to this Carmine individual?"

GM - MordantCrimson - "Your offer is most courteous and I shall ensure that it is relayed to those within the embassy who may find it of interest. But I must advise you that I think it highly unlikely that Carmine Truthsculpter is in any way connected to the death of the human lady you mentioned as they have already returned to Qinshui."

Bryant Kho - "They are both on Qunshui...interesting.? In order to settle this as a missing persons case would you be willing to share with me any information concerning their passage?  I can then pass that to Aeon to determine if they still want to establish contact with Aisha or not?

"Of course, the fact that someone tried to murder this woman should be made clear to Qinshui authorities as if the assailants realise the have killed a decoy, then depending on the monies promised them, they could make the same trip of course."

GM - MordantCrimson - "Please be aware that my species does not have genders as you do. In translating our self-words we use they as you use he/she/it/they. I would therefore use they to refer to Carmine or myself. I believe such use in your English language dates back to 1375 CE by your calendar."

"As for Carmine's passage, Ananda took them to our homeworld on her most recent voyage."

Bryant Kho - "And how long ago was that most recent voyage?"

GM - MordantCrimson - "I understand that she left this system 36 standard Earth hours ago."

Bryant Kho - "Thank you Emerald, I very much appreciated your assistance in this matter."

GM - MordantCrimson - "It warms me that I have assisted in your investigations in some way Mister Kho. Should you have need of further information you may contact me via the Embassy and I will endeavour to provide what you need."

Bryant Kho - "Fallon, can you check the status of Howies agent? Is it running active at the moment or still on standby...?"

GM - MordantCrimson - "It, like me, is always active. Do you wish me to initiate a call?"

Bryant Kho - "Just let him know I have confirmation that our victim is a Qin drone, and that Aisha travelled to Qinshui 36 hours ago on bio-ship the Qin refer to as 'Ananda'. I'm logging case notes with Aeon now if he wants access to a copy I can request he has full access."

"Remind his agent his laundry is ready, and he should  wear some fresh clothes"

"Fallon, contact Terry at Aeon, tell him I have reports that Aisha is off the rock in Qinshui. Full case notes are being updated now. If hes already up he can contact me....but not before I grab some coffee..."

Howie Sadd - Howie dabs at his shirt with a bit of toilet roll. A mystery stain had appeared overnight. It smelled a little like hoi sin, but it could have been kebab. Still, no one would notice.