IC Contact post for Mask or Menace

[dun_moch]

"You have reached Count Dooku. I regret that I am unavailable to answer your hail. Kindly leave a message, and I shall respond at the earliest opportunity."

Text | E-mail | Voicemail | Phone call | Hologram | Other

Comments

voice;

[dun_moch]

I see.

[So even Kagami's knowledge is just a copy of Riku's, as well as his body. No wonder he is so tormented by the nature of his existence...]

Do not fear, Kagami. You will not become a Heartless. I will not permit it.

But it would be helpful to know why the darkness within you is growing so uncontrollably.

[ghoulking]

I'd go there myself. [ he doesn't even need to think too hard about it. Kaneki is pretty driven when he wants to find things. ]

[dun_moch]

I am sure that you would. And would your mission in Liechtenstein be simply to obtain answers to your questions? Or would you go there to identify the source of this threat... and eliminate it?

[ghoulking]

It'd depend on the exact source. [ he isn't going to destroy a whole country, if the Russians are behind it ]

If it's a relatively small group, like the Hornets, the plan would be to stop all of their operations and destroy all of their little hideout. [ kaneki leans back in his chair as he grabs his coffee once again to take a sip ] Allowing dangerous groups like that to run amok and do whatever they want isn't wise.

[dun_moch]

A sound plan.

[Dooku takes his own sip, looking appreciative- and not of the coffee. Kaneki is truly realizing the potential Dooku has always seen in him, now.]

And if the attack was the work of a larger group? Ordered by a particular government, perhaps?

[ghoulking]

If you mean the Russians, we are already at war with them, regardless of what USA doesn't do and what the imPorts say about remaining neutral. [ like attacking them. instead they attack a whole different country ]

They see us as things and weapons, invaded the cities we live in, kidnapped us, brainwashed and tortured us. [ they hurt Hinami ] I think it's pretty obvious we are way past niceties and neutrality.

[dun_moch]

[The Count makes a noise of agreement deep in his throat. He hasn't forgotten. He will never forget.]

They have more than earned a punishment for their aggression. As have their allies in Liechtenstein, if they are indeed in league for this sabotage.

But thus far, we imPorts have only acted defensively in reaction to their attacks. If the blackout was yet another of their offensives, that may need to change.

[ghoulking]

[ kaneki nods softly ]

Continuing to remain on the defensive hasn't achieved anything. They continue to attack us, they always have, and it keeps escalating.

Maybe it's about time we bring the fight to them. [ kaneki puts down his cup, frowning a little ] But we are all too disperse, too many imPorts don't care, and it's difficult to organize ourselves like that. [ only under pressure, when they are suddenly faced with reality. But when things are calm? Nobody really wants to organize and do something ]

voice;

[darkimitation]

[He lets a long pause draw out before he's able to answer.]

It's because... I allowed my weakness to overwhelm me. I wanted her to only have eyes for me, but she doesn't. Love is a weakness, Master. I see that now. I don't want it to keep causing me pain.

voice;

[dun_moch]

Ahhhh. Her. I understand now.

[Some dim part of Dooku that still understands empathy flickers with light for a moment. Yes, love is noise, love is pain, love is these blues that I'm singing again. People are better off without it.]

You have learned an important lesson, even if it is at a painful cost. Love is weakness. To love is to be vulnerable, and to be vulnerable is to risk destruction.

But consider this, my young friend: if you allow this pain to drive you into cutting off your power, you will have allowed her to hurt you even further. Her humiliation of you will be complete. Don't let her influence weaken you any further.

Letter!

[baetiful]

[ Dooku finds himself getting some more of those old foggie letters. Delivered by mockingbird and sealed closed by a wax mockingbird sigil, it's pretty obvious who this is from. The letter is hand-written in careful cursive. ]

Dear Count Dooku -

I write to you on behalf of a project I am working on within my city. Construction has already begun on rebuilding a much larger library, but I wish for this to be more than simply a bigger structure. I hope to inspire education and the spread of knowledge to the natives of Maurtia Falls as well as provide an invaluable resource to new arrivals here. But more than that, I wish to use it to pay homage to the natives who lost their lives within Maurtia Falls due to imPort related tragedies. Their names will be honored within the library itself and donations will be set up to be made to the families.

For this project to succeed, I need your help. If you are able to donate anything at all to the cause, it would be most appreciated -- whether that is books, money, or simply your time. And if you would be so willing to say a few words at the grand opening, I would be honored.

I thank you for your time, and I do hope to hear back from you soon.

Sincerely,
Ambassador Petyr Baelish


[ OOC: You can feel free to just respond to this OOCly if he would donate anything or not! ]

[dun_moch]

[A return letter soon arrives, written in similarly elegant cursive:]

Dear Ambassador Baelish,

Thank you for your kind letter. I am pleased to say that your proposal is of the highest interest to me, and I believe it will be a grand contribution to the improvement of Maurtia Falls. I have some antique books that I would be happy to donate, as well as one thousand dollars in funding. And, should I be invited, I would be all too happy to speak at the opening of your library.

However, I feel compelled to add a note of caution regarding the library's dedication. Honouring the dead is a noble gesture, yet I fear that in these troubled times talk of how many lives have been lost due to imPorts could be exploited by our enemies to stir further resentment against us. I know I can trust your instincts to handle this matter with the sensitivity it requires.

Thank you once again, and please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything further I can do for you.

Yours most sincerely,

Count Dooku

text;

[catchacold]

Knock, knock.

text;

[dun_moch]

Hello, Snart. Are you ready to report?

[If they have knock-knock jokes in Dooku's Galaxy, he never much cared for them.]

text; I will finally stop being slow on this, I solemnly swear

[catchacold]

[Presumably no knock-knock jokes, given the abundance of automatic slide doors.]

I am. And I didn't even break into your place this time.

Do you want to do this in person?

:)

[dun_moch]

[Nah, you can knock on those doors. But most of them have beepers for visitors. So there are 'beep-beep' jokes.]

Certainly. Provided we meet someplace other than my living room. You will find that my security has been much improved since your last 'visit.'

Come to the 'Brew World Order' tea shop in Maurtia Falls. We can discuss our business there in private.

[catchacold]

[Which is clearly an entirely different joke genre!]

Don't say that. You have to realise that's pretty much just a challenge.

I'll come. Now or some other time?

---> Action

[dun_moch]

It is not a challenge.

[Don't even, Leonard.]

I will meet you there in an hour. Ensure that you are not followed.

[Snart will find the Count already seated and enjoying some tea at the shop, in a private booth toward the back of the business.]

[catchacold]

[Sure sounds like a challenge to him.

But for now he has an hour, so he makes his way to the appointed place and doesn't have to spend any time looking for the Count. The man undeniably has a presence.

Leonard slides in the booth across from him, crossing his legs at the ankles.]

Do they do iced tea too?

[dun_moch]

[Dooku resists the urge to wrinkle his nose. To ice a tea is to insult it, according to his aristocratic tastes.]

Indeed they do. In many different varieties. Please, order what you like. I will be paying, of course.

[What's an extra few dollars on top of the ten thousand for Snart's espionage?]

[catchacold]

[So, British sounding people from space are still British enough to have opinions about tea. Leonard takes note, but decides not to remark on it. He's getting a lot of money out of this, after all.]

Very generous.

[He even refrains from putting his feet up on the bench, true show of manners.]

I assume you're sure this place is discreet.

[dun_moch]

[Strong opinions. Especially the Space Counts.]

Perfectly. I have used it many times in the past without incident.

[Which is fortunate, since it would be a shame for Dooku to give up one of the only sources of decent tea in the area because of a security issue.]

[catchacold]

Good to know, because that would be a waste of hard work.

[And that's an elegant way to point out that getting the results he now has had been hard work. Leonard refrains from saying more yet, since he orders himself an iced tea first - all the more because the Count disapproves - then he leans back and waits for the waiter to be far enough away before he begins.]

There's two bases in each Porter City. Heropa has two navy, Maurtia Falls two army, Nonah a navy and an air force and De Chima an army and an air force. All with high level security systems, redundancies. Very well guarded.

[dun_moch]

[The Count steeples his fingers in front of him on the table as Leonard speaks, giving the mercenary- sorry, 'anti-villain'- his full attention.]

I imagined they would be heavily defended. How interesting that these troops are so rarely deployed to defend us in times of crisis...

[Dooku wouldn't have minded some military backup during the history invasion, for instance.]

Now then, are these bases which contain Porters themselves? Or do they hold another purpose?

[catchacold]

I have pictures of all of them. I managed to get a closer look at two.

[As he speaks, he takes out the pictures, sorting them by location and leaving two stacks for last.]

These are from De Chima, the army base, and these are from one of the navy bases in Heropa. I'm assuming most of the other bases would serve similar purposes, at least their layout and makeup doesn't hint at any staggering differences.

What do you think?