ON ORDER, IT'S ABSOLUTELY

[keep_your_dignity]

1- Private room [Closed]

[At the wee hours of the night, Kagura stands in a closed room, standing as straight as her metal frame can in front of two monitors. One shows Colonel Suzu, one of Kagura's immediate superiors, in her black and red Graveyard uniform and looking mighty bothered and more than a bit doubtful. On the other, a man in a very high ranking but rather undefinite uniform is staring straight at the large form of the Major in a VERY displeased manner. Kagura is clearly getting a chewing out here.]

SIR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG ALREADY IN ANY CASE. I HAVE KNOWN FOR WEEKS NOW THAT A SET OF COORDINATES FOR A POSSIBLE CENTER NODE HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THE DATA OBTAINED IN OPERATION NIMBUS.
That is none of your concern, Major, and you should not know that in any case!
MY ORDERS ARE TO FIGHT THE PRAYERS WITH ANY AND ALL KNOWLEDGE AT MY DISPOSAL. INTELLIGENCE IS ONE OF MY CONCERNS AS PER MY ASSIGNED ROLE, SIR.
...look, Kagura, we've overlooked your... condition because you are a very useful asset to our organization. Your service sheet is nothing short of stellar...
THANK YOU, SIR.
...but you know nothing about the situation. It would be most... unlike you to jump the gun, Major. I have always been able to rely on you to not dive in prematurely when you don't know what you are facing.
YES, SIR. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I AM ASKING, SIR. IF WE ALREADY HAVE A SET OF SUSPECTED COORDINATES, THERE HAS TO BE A REASON WHY THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN OPERATION YET, BUT SEVERAL WEEKS HAVE GONE BY AND I STILL DON'T KNOW. YOU KNOW I WOULD PROBABLY AGREE WITH YOU WITH REGARDS TO THE COURSE OF ACTION TO FOLLOW, BUT I CAN'T KNOW THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IF I'M IN THE DARK.
The best course of action, Major, is to shut up and do what you're told.
USUALLY SO, SIR.
I can hear the "but" incoming, Major.
BUT THIS COULD BE A CLUE REGARDING WHERE THE CARDINAL SHAFT IS LOCATED. IT IS WITHIN MY DUTIES TO CARE.
No it isn't, Major! [The commander all but shouts, thumping the table with his hands] That's what I'm trying to get into that damned head of yours! But if you want to play that way, then I'll have your duties changed. Or will you try to ignore those too? I can and will take it away from you and throw you in the trash if you force my hand, Kagura!
NO, SIR. THAT WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. YOU KNOW I HAVE NEVER DISOBEYED A DIRECT ORDER.
Good. Then, Colonel Suzu? Give Major Kagura her new orders. Command out.

[The commander's screen blinks out with a gesture. The colonel, salutes and looks at Kagura, still rather bothered - Suzu is a tactical genius, but she's not the most imposing or assertive of people]
Um... sorry about that, Major.
DON'T MENTION IT, COLONEL. IT HAPPENS.
[There's a pause as the colonel doubts, and then she frown and nods, looking severe again]...okay, here are your new orders, Major. You are to continue assisting Unity Group in their current endeavours within your abilities except wherever it could infringe in Graveyard classified matters. You are not under any circumstances allowed to bring your unit within fifty kilometers of these coordinates. These orders have been recorded and are not reversible except from direct order of the Admiral. Have you understood your orders correctly, Major?
[Kagura takes a second to reply] ...YES MA'AM. PERFECTLY UNDERSTOOD, MA'AM.
Good. Good luck, Major.
GOOD LUCK, COLONEL.

2- In a more public area [Open to tags]

[In one of the command rooms, Kagura is observing several large monitors with satellite imaging of what looks like a remote mountainous area in Asia. Where, has to be said, there seems to be fuck all except rocks and snow, in that order, but Kagura is still staring at it as if it contained the secrets of the universe.]

NOTHING. THEN WHY?

[She keeps shifting through the satellite images as if zapping through them constantly might give her some new insight. Inasmuch as anything can be deduced from Kagura's inexpressive frame, her immobility probably betrays her being lost in thought. She's in fact rather unusually distracted.

And in Alhambra that means someone is almost certainly going to come pester her while she works, doesn't it?]

Comments

[broken_puppet]

Are you looking for something in particular major or merely trying to enjoy scenery as a form of relaxation?

[keep_your_dignity]

I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO TO RELAX, IF I BOTHERED TO DO THAT, THAN WATCHING FUCKING ROCKS.

THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SOMETHING THERE. EMPHASIS IN SUPPOSED.

[broken_puppet]

I've given up on assuming anything at this point in this group Major.

[Lamia watches the screens for a moment with the major.]

I wonder why you would use satellite imagery rather than ground/air reconnaissance which would give better resolution for your search.

[keep_your_dignity]

I HAVE MY REASONS. INFRARED SATELLITES ARE HARDER TO FOOL THAN HUMAN EYES AND RAISE LESS SUSPICION.

[broken_puppet]

Harder to fool in some ways, easier in others. Thermal masking, camouflage tarps and even simply building into a cave system can prevent the satellites from detecting what you're looking for.

It may not apply to prayers directly but if you are seriously looking then leveraging additional resources would be wise just to be thorough.

[keep_your_dignity]

DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB, LOVELESS. I KNOW VERY WELL THE STANDARD MEASURES OF FOOLING ALL THE INDIVIDUAL IMAGING MEASURES I'M EMPLOYING, INFRARED, LASER IMAGING, SWEEP LOCATING. I HAVE USED MOST OF THEM AND SOME THAT YOU DON'T KNOW BESIDES.

SAVE YOUR ADVICE FOR SOMEONE WHO NEEDS IT.

[broken_puppet]

I highly doubt that Major Kagura. There are countermeasures that we have that make your current detection grid laughably inadequate in even the best cases.

[Lamia thinks to herself as an angry look flashes across her face for a moment. Recovering her normally calm expression Lamia responds.]

I apologize Major. I did not mean to offend you with my curiosity. I see you're obviously busy so I will leave you to your work if there is nothing else.

And we'll see if those coordinates have anything which may prove of use to us if you're so interested in them.

[keep_your_dignity]

[Given the coordinates are not actually shown, Lamia, because Kagura is a paranoid jerk, that seems difficult. You can always comb the entirety of every mountain in Asia to find a place that looks like the one in the satellite images]

THANK YOU. IF I FIND ANYTHING I THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW, YOU WILL KNOW. IN THE MEANTIME, I'M TRYING TO THINK.

[deathflag_survivor]

Quite a slideshow you have going on there.

[One glance though and Albhard frowns.]

... Though I figured it would've been of a Shaft or something your scientists got from our last excursion with a Shaft.

[keep_your_dignity]

WELL, YOU THOUGHT WRONG.

THOUGH EVEN SO, THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE MUCH OF USE HERE ANYWAY.

[deathflag_survivor]

Then why keep looking? For that matter, what're you hoping to even see in the first place?

[keep_your_dignity]

BECAUSE I'M MAKING CERTAIN, BECAUSE I HAVE MORE DETAILS TO CONSIDER, AND BECAUSE I'M THINKING.

THE LAST OF WHICH IS A NOVEL CONCEPT AROUND HERE, I KNOW.

[deathflag_survivor]

And there's nothing wrong with airing on the side of caution. Though if it's something important, something that could involve us, I'd like to hear it.

[keep_your_dignity]

AND I'D LIKE A SPACE STATION, BUT NEITHER THING IS HAPPENING.

WHEN I HAVE SOMETHING AND I DECIDE IT'S WORTH SHARING, YOU'LL KNOW IT.

[deathflag_survivor]

And what if I'm the one who first sees this thing worth sharing? If it's serious enough to be worth your time going over these shots again and again, -especially after that last Shaft incident- then keeping everyone else in the dark about it just makes your job harder.

[keep_your_dignity]

I CAN DEAL WITH HARD. HARD IS MUCH BETTER THAN LEAKING.

[deathflag_survivor]

Suit yourself then.

Enjoy the mountains.