Arumi, Airfields and Aethergas!

===> COH <===> 3/20/2020, 9:11:42 AM <===
Lucky Cat Roadhouse - Bar(#14304RM)

	The Lucky Cat Roadhouse - a small intimate honkytonk type of a dive bar joint!

	The lighting in the roadhouse is low and dim, and the the air is kept perpetually cool. There's a jukebox in one corner of the long rectangular room. A small parquet dance floor anchors the center of the space. Towards the back, opposite the entrance, is a long bar. Behind the bar are bottles of cheap booze, along with a tap for a few select local craft brews. Off to the side of the bar opposite the jukebox is a small raised wooden stage for live music performances. Over on the other end of the bar opposite the stage are a few billiards tables, and storage for the cue sticks and balls.

	 A door behind the bar leads to a small kitchen that prepares snacks and basic bar food meals to accompany the drinks. Another door behind the bar is marked "PRIVATE" that when opened reveals a set of stairs leading up.

	*** PLACES ENABLED ***
Contents:
Arumi

	*** Nightzone ***

Obvious Exits:
  Loft <Lo>   Out <O>

	Mo had called the number on the card that Arumi had given him, and left a message with a time and an address. The time? Now. The address? The Lucky Cat Roadhouse, up in Fern Valley. It was a bit of a drive from Prospect to this north-central enclave, but at least it was scenic. The roadhouse will be mostly empty. A singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar sits on a stool on the small stage, playing music. Mo? He's over at the bar, chatting with the bartender.

Arumi is surprsied to get a call, and not a text. Huh. Well he says he's old. But, she gets in her car and drives over. The lightly clad teenage scientist parks her red Tesla, and steps on in. Looking around, trying to find Mo, walking over to him with a wave.

	Despite the early hour, the roadhouse seemed to be a 24 hours type of joint. Mo was having the breakfast of champions - a bottle of locally brewed craft beer, and a piece of local jerky of some sort. The bartender would nudge him, indicating Arumi's arrival and then Mo would look over a shoulder to greet her. "Hey, wanna grab anything before we head on up?"

Arumi shakes her head. "No thank you, Mo. I had some coffee on the way over. We should probably, you know, get right to business. The sooner I know what you need, the sooner I can start putting together the tools I need to help you out."

	Mo grabs his beer and tosses the last bit of jerky into his mouth, then waves to the bartender and leads Arumi towards a door behind the bar. "This way," he says before opening the door and heading up a flight of stairs.

You move to Lucky Cat Roadhouse - Loft
Lucky Cat Roadhouse - Loft(#14336RU)

	A simple loft apartment that runs the length and width of the roadhouse below. Its divided up into several sections across the open floorplan: living area, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, a workshop of sorts, and meditation/exercise.

	The furnishings are both antiquated (circa World War I), and spartan (nothing particularly fancy or lavish), if well cared for and immaculately maintained.

Obvious Exits:
  Fire Escape <FE>   Roadhouse <Ro>

Arumi nods, watching him finish his breakfast, then following him out the door, and up the stairs. Waiting until they're someplace apparently private. "Thanks for having me over. So you've found a 19th century dimensional airship, and you're trying to restore it to functionality?"

	Mo trundles on up the stairs. "OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE!" he hollers. "Mr. Fu! We have company! She's from the Society of Aether! Come on out and meet her while I make tea!" Then he looks back at Arumi as he heads into the kitchen. "We recovered it from where it had been docked near a dragon nest out on an island in the Pacific, yeah. Down near Ensenada Bay."

Arumi is quite startled when he calls out. "Mr. Fu?" she asks, looking around. Then smiling up to Mo. "Huh. If he left it on an island, then either he had an accident there, or someone took it from him and parked it there?"

	"The hollow-Captain's logs haven't revealed much. Some of the files have been corrupted," says Mo as he busies himself with making tea. "At least that's what Em's diagnostics golem says." A shrug. "MR. FU! Where are you?"

	And then? Behind Arumi, comes a voice that echoes like distant thunder. "You're of the Society? Did you know of the Captain, then?" ENTER MR. FU!

Arumi looks up, and there's Mr. Fu. She tilts her head, looking at him carefully. Squinting. "Mr... Fu?" she giggles, quite surprised. "Dr. Arumi Hanada. I... um..." she pauses, still unsure about this. "I never met your Captain. I was only born in 2002, long after his tenure." She then bites her lip, reaching for her goggles... slowly pulling them over her eyes, as she looks for a place to sit.

	Mo makes his way to join Arumi and the tiny dragon with three cups and a kettle of red tea, setting out places for everyone on the floor. "Mr. Fu is one of the last remaining Great Dragons of the middle kingdom," he says quietly to Arumi. "Fan Fang Fu - Bluegreen Dragon of the East. The other three are out there, somewhere. The Black Tortoise is also rumored to be here in California, in the care of a maoshan."

	The little dragon regards Arumi curiously. "A hatchling, then." A nod. "The Captain was a very good friend, and one of my agents here in the middle kingdom. He took Thomas in on my guidance," he says as he indicates MoGui with a nod of his head. "The last great convergence of the celestial cities was successful in no small part due to his efforts and those of his Irregulars."

Arumi nods to Mo, as she slowly sits down. "Tea, thank you," she smiles, settling in. Goggles still on, she raises a hand to them, gawking at Mr. Fu, as she spins one of the lenses, then the other... and then bites her lip. As she looks, she murmurs "Fan Fang Fu, a dragon. So what's the Black Tortoise? Another ship then?"

	Mr. Fu shakes his head, "Another of the Great Dragons. He represents the north and the winter season, and yin. I represent the east and the spring season, and yang." He looks to Mo as the dhampyr pours out tea, "Thank you, Thomas." Then he leans forward to take a sip.

	Mo looks to Arumi, "What Mr. Fu said." Then he sets out a small mooncake, cut up into wedges.

Arumi takes in what she sees in her goggles, and nods. She lets out a giggle, completely forgetting the tea for a moment. "Oh wow. So the Captain met you on his travels, Mr. Fu? That's amazing. So the Great Turtle, is he... another friendly dragon like you? Or should we be concerned?" Looking to Mo, then being reminded of the snacks, she sits up, scooting forward a little, to look at the tea and cake. "Either way, I'm sure I can adapt my knowledge of engineering and materials science to help restore the Captain's ship."

	Mr. Fu looks to Arumi after he takes a sip of tea. "I recruited the Captain, he assembled the Irregulars. Including taking on Thomas as his ard before forces could find him to drag him into the yomi wan, or worse." Mo's brow furrows, then he sighs and hides his face behind a noisy slurp of tea. "The Black Tortoise is ... a contemporary of mine. But as a force of yin, he is decidedly less gregarious and proactive. He has his role to play, I have mine."

	Mo looks to Arumi, "The aethergas in the zeppelin is still viable, I think. Mostly we need to get the systems back up and running, and make sure the ship's integrity will hold."

Arumi tilts her head. "Yomi Wa I'm sorry but what is Wan in this context? Are you talking about the, um, world of darkness?" When you're dealing with aliens, things get weird, and she resigned herself to it. Nodding to Mo, she leans in, and carefully takes a sip of tea. "I'll do what I can. Where is the ship now? It's on the ocean then? On an island? Near Prospect?"

	Mr. Fu looks to Arumi. "Yomi Wan, literally meaning Thousand Hells, is an artificial spiritual dimension created by the Yama Kings from a combination of the spirit worlds of the Yang World and the Yin World, to serve as their headquarters. The Yomi Wan are often called the Yomi Worlds, and are often referred to in the collective form as Yomi."

Arumi nods, taking another careful sip of tea, and trying out one of the cakes, nibbling carefully. Her eyes on Mr. Fu mostly, since well, ALIEN RIGHT HERE. Swallowing. "Ah ok, so completely different from the old legend. Understood. That's where... you're from?"

	Mo blinks, "Uh, she didn't mean that, Mr. Fu." He looks to Arumi. "Mr. Fu is a celestial dragon, not some /demon/ from the hells. He's part of the celestial bureaucracy, supporting the Jade Throne."

Arumi looks at Mo. "Thomas... the Jade Throne? I know the Chrysanthemum Throne, but not the Jade Throne. Good cakes, thank you." She has another nibble from her slice.

	Mo looks to Arumi, "The August Personage in Jade, monarch of all the deities in heaven."

Arumi makes a rolling gesture with her hands, toward Mr. Fu. "Ok I see. So this is an... extradimensional political matter? And the Captain's Ship is necessary to intervene?"

	Mr. Fu gives Arumi a small smile, taking a breath so as to not overwhelm her. "There are seven celestial cities. Four are here in the middle kingdom, or have local manifestations, watched over by me and my colleagues. Three are in the Outlands. One is forsaken and in the Hells. When the realms align, there us a convergence. And a contest. The Captain, al-Mirzam, and his crew, the Irregulars, have assisted me in ensuring the middle kingdom survives."

Arumi smiles, taking another sip of coffee, finishing her cup. She sets it down, and nods. "A contest. I see. So yeah, it's... yeah. Well, I'm in it to see the ship."

	Mo nods. "Do you know Emrick? He's helping do repairs. We have it stashed at a hangar at an abandoned airfield."

Arumi shakes her head. "Not really. I saw him the day I saw you. Which in hindsight is not surprising. I'd like to see that airfield." She finishes off her slice of cake, catching crumbs with her palm.

	Mo nods. "Ok, just. Now that you're involved, you should be aware of some risks. There are forces out there, enemies, even, of the Captain and us Irregulars, that might come looking for the salvaged ship."

Arumi nods, taking a deep breath. "I figured. I do have... weapons and shielding I can bring if need be. But hopefully at least, just repairing the ship won't be too bad."

	Mo nods, then draws back his cloth overcoat to reveal a pair of twin .45s in a dual shoulder holster. "Always be prepared. That was the Captain's motto. One of'em anyway."

Arumi laughs. "It sounds like you really liked the Captain. Well, I'll do my best hoping with the ship, alright?" Going into her bag, taking a cloth, she dabs her mouth carefully.

	Fu looks to Arumi, "Captain al-Mirzam was the closest thing to a father that Thomas had," he says quietly. Then he laps up the last of his now cold tea. "Thank you for helping us with the ship. Perhaps you'll be able to work with the holo-Captain better than us - many of the elements of the apparition have been malfunctioning, or functioning in limited capacity."

Arumi nods, and slowly stands. Looking to Fu, then to Mo. "I uh. I'll need to see the ship, the holo captain, and the systems. Then I'll be able to investigate and find out what tools I need to create to work on this. We'll talk again soon, I hope. Thank you for the tea and the cake."

	Fu smiles and nods, the little dragon pleased at Arumi's offer of help. "Be safe. Should you sense anything suspicious after today, keep us informed so that we might help keep you safe."

	Mo rises up to see Arumi out. "Thanks for helping us. The Irregulars scattered to the winds, and we're short handed. This means a lot."

	Mo smiles. "I'll send you the coordinates for the airfield, and a time."

===> Log ended by user <===> 3/20/2020, 11:58:17 AM <===