[HEADING=3]Anything Goes[/HEADING]
-Asura Group-
The man obviously conducting the meeting appeared to be a very by-the-books kind of person. His suit was proper and well cared for, and a glance at his Rolex signaled that the briefing was about to begin. With a nod directed to a person by the door, a loud click sounded as the door leading to the room was locked. Then, after a moment of silence hung in the air, the man spoke. "It has been found to be in the common interest of the Board that our business expands into what is commonly referred to as the 'Underworld'."
The man messed with a keyboard on his side of the table and suddenly a projector mounted on the ceiling whirred to life. Once it warmed up, a map of the Underworld directly under Manhattan and little beyond that was displayed on the far wall. "Our agents have assessed the situation most thoroughly in this area, beneath us. They have reported that any direct intrusion at this time would result in a loose alliance of elements forcing us back out. This is where you come in..."
Another swift jab at the keyboard brought up an overlay on top of the map first displayed, showing an array of colors, two relatively large ones being red and brown. "While at a glance one would assume that Gareth..." The man spoke with a tone of distaste as his spit out the name of his company's rival. "...and the rising group of malcontents calling themselves the 'Emergence Coalition' are the dominant powers, there a large parts of the area under the control of more...manageable parties."
The man pulled out his laser pointer and directed it at a light blue part of the map, under Central Park. "Blossomers, probably best known for their Druidic practices. They are pacifists, but also don't like anyone 'disturbing the balance'. Along with assumed hostility to our incursion, they have prime real estate, their territory being in the middle of our surface holdings and Gareth's area of influence. Drive them out or clean them out, it doesn't matter how you get rid of them, but Asura wants that spot."
Next, he moved over to the east side of the island, to an grayish area that actually runs more under the river than Manhattan itself. "The Mechanist's Guild, or Mech for short, mostly made up of Goblins and other individuals with some good brains. Used to just be a Community union of subway workers, but decided to try bigger things when their numbers started to swell. Now, they have what some a claiming is a 'Tech-geek's paradise'...if it wasn't for the fact that most of their territory has to deal with a leaky roof." apparently, this was meant to be a joke, but the man was met with awkward silence. "Anyway, Asura would actually like to procure this group's assistance, and asks you to show restraint in your dealings with them, though I won't question your methods. Play the diplomacy card or pacify them covertly so we can come in later and provide aid. Now, finally..."
One last flick of the wrist to direct attention towards a yellow-green blob bordering the Emergence Coalition's territory. "These guys don't have a name for themselves, but the people down there have started to call them the 'Drudge'. Mostly scum of all sorts, our Agents have been led to believe that this group is currently backed up by Gareth, in secret. If word were to get out that most of the crime in that part of the Underworld is thanks to them, the Corporation would be faced would a relations disaster. They would not only lose their own influence, but the Drudge would undoubtedly lose their support, and crumble. We want you to find solid evidence of this in the Drudge's turf, how you deal with them otherwise is up to you.
The man paused after jabbing at the desk one more time to turn the projector off. "Any questions?"
-Gareth Corporation-
Once everyone had been shuffled into the backroom of the Blood Bank Bar, they found a rather mild-looking woman mixing a ration of Fae blood with a few dashes of gin. "Not as many as I hoped..." See scanned the group assembled. "...but you'll do." Taking a quick drink of her cocktail, the woman's eyes appeared to light up and she continued. "As some of you may already know, Asura's starting to stick their noses in the underworld, and the higher-ups want us to swat at them. However, they don't want to simply expand the conflict into the Underworld, so we need to play a more complicated game to keep them on the surface.
The woman picked up a moderately-filled file and slid it across the table in the middle of the room, letting its contents scatter and be easily seen. "We need to use the groups that are squatting down here to our advantage, and use them to push the Asura's probes out. First, we have the Blossomers, the higher-ups would rather their neutrality be protected, but they're not the ones getting dirty here." The woman paused for another sip of her drink, letting it flow through her before continuing. "I think these glorified gardeners are just a loaded gun, asking to be pointed and shot at something. If you can, get in their graces and show them the shit Asura will stir up if they get a foothold here. Then let them run wild."
Walking over to the table, the female vampire pointed a finger at a specific picture, featuring a trio of goblins wearing welding goggles. "Then we have the Mech, crafty little devils. We'd rather they not get involved in this at all, but some of you should take care to either sway them to our side or keep their neutrality by heading off Asura's attempts to ally with them."
"And finally..." The woman glanced over the table and started to pull several photos together. "This may come to a shock to some of you, but we haven't be our usual squeaky-clean selves when it comes to dealing with the Emergence Coalition. Most of you must be aware of the Drudge, the trouble makers near the Bronx? The Corporation has been in some deals with them, basically propping up a lesser evil to fight a greater one. In order to keep the EC in check, we've been keeping the Drudge supplied. However, these guys..." The woman arranged the photos in front of the gathered party. "...have found out how badly it could damage us if this information was made public. So, we need them taken care of, but without the rest of their ilk finding out. The arrangements with the Drudge must be kept secret, or our position in the Underworld is fucked." After taking a deep breath, the woman went to sit back in her chair. Letting a silence sit in the air as she finished her drink. Apparently if there were questions, now was the time to voice them.
-Emergence Coalition-
"I'll make this simple..." The Ork apparently leading the meeting growled after a pair of goblins had just ended a long list of questions. "We know the Asura are trying to get a foothold down here, and we're going to stop it...while at the same time bolstering our own forces."
Stil looking at the goblins, the Ork held up a fist. As he spoke, he unfurled his fingers. "First, we have the Drudge, who anyone can take a piece of while on their way to the other factions. With everyone all crazy about Asura, we might just catch them by surprise. Second, we have the Blossomers, so long as we present ourselves to Tender Maliko and prove ourselves with a Trial of Deed, as is their custom, we can bring them under our influence. Third, and finally..." The ork seemed to punctuate this with another growl. "...we have Mech, which has to be brought to our side if we're going to keep what we claim in these next few days. Everyone got it?"
[HEADING=3]Temple Run[/HEADING]
When the table became crowded with willing participates, the tanned-to-the point-of-looking-orange Fae began his briefing. "What we thought was a blessing has turned to a curse, and we find ourselves back on the razor's edge." With such a flowery opening, the Fae was sure he had the table's attention now.
"The Templar's last attack against the Chosens' frequent haunts has sent the depraved cults to the backfoot, but instead of simply taking what they pushed the Chosen out of, the Templars seem to be preparing for the killing blow. Weapons of all sorts have been coming through the ports, all paid for by known Templar members all over the world. However, in our attempts to track the shipments, we've hit a snag." The Fae produced what appeared to be an aerial photo of a city block-sized complex. "Once a Baptist church and community facility, the Templars bought the place a few years ago. All the shipments have at least been routed through here, but members we sent there never came out to report what they found. Which is why we've decided to send more than one person this time."
The Fae knew the logic there was faulty, shrugging as he spoke it, but he didn't allow anyone to question him before continuing. "You need to slip in, find either the weapons, or proof of where they've gone, and slip out. Stealth is required, as the Templars will no doubt move the weapons if they find out their operation has been discovered." After finished the Fae looked around absentmindedly as he tried to see if he forgot any general detail. "That should be everything, any questions?
[HEADING=3]Union Breaking[/HEADING]
-Black Fang-
The average apartment just seemed able to fit everyone who wanted to exact a toll on the Lugato Family. A rather buff-looking Ork in the middle of the living room look pleased as he scanned about the room. "Good, lotta' people came. Good...we gonna show dem Lugatos that the Black Fang aren't people you want to fuck over."
The Ork laid down a map of the Bronx, with several locations circled all over the borough. "We've decided to make an example of the Lugatos, all of our metal is gonna sweep this place clean, in a move only trumped by our 'war' against Grey Talon." The Ork pointed to each individual, and then to a small box containing several slips of paper. "We've got our human 'muscle'..." The jab at the unwitting servants of the Black Fang was met with some chuckles around the room. "...already in place by these safehouses we know the Lugatos use. We gonna draw lots to see how's hitting what. When you draw one, you go to the address and meet up with the humans there. Then, you gonna use them to raise some hell."
Some growls of approval came from the more excited members of the gathering, which the Ork let echo about the cramped space before continuing. "And this is just phase one, once we turn the safehouses inside out, we'll use what ever info we find to really hit those traitors where it hurts! Dem Lugatos ain't dumb, they'll have operations going on we don't know about yet...but once we hit these places we'll know all we need to know."
The ork glanced around to search the crowd for quizzical looks, though he saw none. "Time is of the essence, we need to strike tonight our we risk tipping our hand. If you have concerns, speak now."
-Emergence Coalition-
"Ah, well I guess that's everyone..." The old Fae sighed as he looked at his watch. "I guess we should get to business. As those of you here may know, the Lugato family has recently cut ties with their Black Fang overseers, and are now trying to claim the Bronx as their own." The Fae tisked loudly likely he was chiding a child.
"The fools don't know what hell they bring upon them, but the benefits of their weak rule compared to the Black Fang's heel are apparent. Which is why we're here." Taking a sip of steaming tea he had recently ordered, the Fae took his time to enjoy the drink before continuing. "In order for them to survive the Black Fang's retaliation, the Lugatos will first need allies, which we're going to help them with.
Pulling out a notepad from his coat pocket, the Fae looked through his spectacles to read off the Lugatos potential allies. "Gianomo, Miazzo, Tiela, Witra, Elzo; some still influenced by the Black Fang, some too small to be of any concern. If enough of them side with Lugato, the Black Fang will have no choice but to back off and reassess the situation. That will give us precious time. Any and all methods are supported to bring them to the aide of the Lugato. Now, does anyone here have questions, concerns?"
