For SRWU, an attempt at a different kind of story

[killed_the_cat]

 1.) [New guy's wandering around base. No military insignia of any kind, but he's got an ID badge clipped to his chest that reads "JOHNATHAN VALE-PRESS".]

So this is the unity group, huh...
[He can be seen taking pictures as he wanders around.]

2.) [Later, the same guy can be found wandering around the hangar, though he's got an escort as he takes more of his pictures.]
Quite the variety, isn't it...

[He's probably even taking pictures of your robot.]


3.)
[If you're going out to the bar in town, who should you happen to see there but-Johnathan Vale, Freelance Reporter. He's got a laptop, a notebook, and dozens of sheets of paper arrayed in front of him on the table. The ashtray's got plenty of cigarette butts in it, so he's probably been here a while.]


Heh, I'll probably be doing this until the day I die...
[He takes a drink of his scotch.]

Comments

2

[zenbuzenbuzenbu]

Boring. Is that all you're going to do? Take pictures?

[Your escort consists of one short girl with huge... guns.]

Re: 2

[killed_the_cat]

Well, yeah, that's kind of my job. Newspapers will pay good money for these pictures.

...Actually, wait a sec. Do you mind if I take a picture of you?

[zenbuzenbuzenbu]

Are you sending those to some kind of magazines for robot fanatics and other weirdoes?

...

W-wait a second! A picture of me? Why?

[killed_the_cat]

Nah, most of my work goes to the wire services. You know, Reuters, AP, that sort of stuff.

And you're one of the Symphogear users, right? Kazanari's got her face all over the place, but it's hard to come by pictures of the rest of you. And people wanna know what the Noise-killing superheroines look like, you know? Like your fanclub.

1/2

[zenbuzenbuzenbu]

Ohh? You're well-informed. Not that I care, but a picture or two won't hurt so whatever, knock yourself out.

2/2

[zenbuzenbuzenbu]

F-f-f-f-f-faaanclub?!

[A delayed reaction.]

[killed_the_cat]

[click click click click goes the camera.]

You didn't know? There's at least one for each of you girls. Something about cute girls in skintight suits beating up monsters, I guess.

[zenbuzenbuzenbu]

Whaaat! I had no idea, just... what the hell is wrong with this planet?!

[Though she was petrified from shock at first, Chris quickly reaches out and tries to grab the camera.]

Wait a second, give me that! I need to see!

[killed_the_cat]

[Johnathan pulls the camera away, holding it above his head-and out of Chris's reach.]

Whoa now, this thing's delicate! And expensive! What'll you do if you break it, huh?

Besides, you're wearing normal clothes now, this can't be more embarrassing than your combat outfit.

2

[prismphantom]

[Yeah. And about that.]

...

[Selena's not entirely sure if the Intelligence Division would be very happy to know one of their stealth machines was known to the public so quickly.]

... Elma? Could you please activate you-know-what?



The what?

[A kick to the side however clues him in.]

O-oh! Right!

[Prism Phantom kicking in, and poof. Suddenly the Soleares is completely gone!]

3)

[in_over_his_head]

... The smoking or the drinking? Honestly from what I'm seeing its both.

[Calvin lightly taps his finger on the side of his glass.]

[killed_the_cat]

Hey, it helps me deal with...[he waves over the table.]

This.

[Looking closer, there's a lot of documents on memory, neurological conditions, migragnes, the like. The notebook has a list of times and activities, with notes like "light buzzing" and "strong nosebleed" mixed in.]

Re: 2

[killed_the_cat]

[Johnathan ends up staring up at where there was a bright red mech not fifteen seconds ago.]

...Now that's just showing off.

[in_over_his_head]

Hm...

[Calvin shuffles through the papers, his eyes narrowing at some. Something about this doesn't click for some strange reason.]

Just how far back did this start? All your life? Just recently?

[killed_the_cat]

I dunno. Ever since my accident, at least.

[There's a fair number of nautical maps mixed in there, too.]

[in_over_his_head]

Have you spoken to any doctors about it? Any medication?

[The mystery thickens, Nautical maps... just where are they pointing to?]

[killed_the_cat]

Yeah, but on my income, there's not much help they can give. Still saving up to get an MRI.

[A chain of islands off the coast of japan. There's hundreds of tiny little bits of land out there. A spot on the largest one-the only one with any sort of human habitation marked-has a red X on it.]

Doc's said that if they find a new disease they're gonna name it after me. So I have that to look forward to, I guess.

[in_over_his_head]

I suppose it would ... Why the maps?

[He traces over the Xs... something about that island was prickling at his brain and he didn't know why it was.]

[killed_the_cat]

That's where they found me.

Washed ashore 15 years ago with no memory and nothin' but the clothes on my back. Wouldn't have even had a name to go by if it were't for those dog tags I had.

What, you a detective? Or just a concerned citizen?

[in_over_his_head]

The first one is pretty close to what I do.

[Calvin pulls out his credentials.]

Calvin Eldred Edwards. I'm an inspector with ESUN's Office of Special Investigations. Technically I'm not on any assignments right now, but given that the mandate of the OSI is to pull off covers from mysteries to better help mankind...

I'm not averse to trying to help you figure this out.

It's like Fox Mulder and Kolchak teaming up

[killed_the_cat]

OSI, huh...You really think there's some kind of mad scientist involved in all this?

Isn't it great?

[in_over_his_head]

Maybe, maybe not. Saying that your lapses in memory and this grab bag of issues you're dealing with here are an after effect of your accident is a little too clean cut and convenient.

Is there anything else? Anything odd that happened or still happens around you.

[killed_the_cat]

Well, alright, if you're fine taking on my obsession, so be it.

[He downs the rest of his drink.]
Headaches crop up whenever I think about this stuff too hard, that's the weirdest thing...like I said, my doctor's hoping to get a new disease named after me. Other than that, it's all in here. [He gestures across the table again.]

Though, what I could really use right now is a ticket to japan. Don't suppose you've got one of those lying around...

[in_over_his_head]

I suppose you could say its already in the job description...

[Calvin listens as he goes over the documents again, shuffling the papers in the right order before settling them down.]

And its this matter specifically and nothing else?

[The investigator's lips thin into a tight line. Something about this felt very out of the ordinary. If it was chained to a specific set of thoughts... some kind of mental block?]

I could find something, but I can't make any promises. And even if I can get us there it'll probably be uncomfortable as hell.

[killed_the_cat]

Hey, I'm used to bottom-rate airlines. It'll be just like normal.

...And no, the headaches aren't just about this. I keep a log.

[He hands over the notebook. There's all sorts of activities recorded in the cramped, scratchy handwriting; taking photos of base personnel, talking to people around town, going to the laundromat, reviewing photos for sale...]

I've been getting them more frequently now, actually. Ever since I got back from that bit in mideast and went to this gig.