A Time for Secrets

Alexia took several minutes after Kesslan sent her the info, She stepped to the side and sat down out of the way going over the list of things they had and over the blueprints of the garage that she had been given. The Garage was an easy task to do for a low cost yet secure aspect of protection, albeit mostly in a "seeming" secure kind of way. She went with writing up 2 different plans for it, one was the low cost and in their line of work "Pseudo" Security. The other was for more actual security that was slightly more expensive.

Knowing just what Kess told her she went ahead and wrote up a letter to be submitted to the individual per Kess' approval
[Insert Company Name]
We are Happy that you chose [Company] for your security needs. Our Specialists have looked over your facility that you wished us to secure and have come up with several options for security purposes. The first option allows for 360^ field of vision, leaving no blind spots inside of the facility provided by both Infrared and Normal vision Cameras and for Infrared beams to be mounted in the high trafficked area allowing the cameras to immediately focus on that area and record what is happening. This process can also be applied to other areas at your discretion and at minimal extra cost. Our second option for you includes everything that the first one does as well as providing Magnetic Anomaly Detection sensors to all the entrances along with ID scanners. Attached is an overlay of where the devices would be installed, Please note the two colors as the primary listed is for our fist option and the secondary is the second potion additions. We thank you for your Patronage and look forward to doing business with you.

The attached file show the blueprints of the garage with about 25 red dots interspersed almost seemingly at random but also containing an organised appearance on teh whole that it would allow for complete vision of the area if they are cameras (as they were noted to being) the Blue set of colors are focused around the entrances and exits of the facility which by the letter would dictate those being the scanners

While not wanting to get up and to start moving onto planing for the island she copied the letter and the image and sent it over to Kess for his approval
TO: Kess
Hey i know this will seem lazy of me but i didn't want to get up just to tell you about this and i want to start work on our facilities right now but i finished the other task you gave me and am attaching a letter and image of what i planed for it. I Made the letter look as official as i could and if the plan meets your expectations either you or Eleanor could make it look more professional and coming from our "Business" As for our island it might take me a few hours to plan out some basics for it, but it wont be much different than what I've described for this facility here, At least initially it will look similar

After finishing and sending the message to kesslan she got started right away with looking over the list to see what they had and what she wanted, to make teh security the best possible. But however she knew that what she wanted would constantly change as there facilities grew

LT made it back to camp, and immediately found the others. He walkded over then in a casual manner he leaned on the rock specter was sitting against on one leg the other crossed over right over left and his arms crossed over his barrel but scrawny for a troll chest... "Kess you feel me, sent you a voice mail bout yer task..." He grunted in his guttural troll speak. "Yeah i tried fer yer tents." he continued wiggling his stubby troll fingers "But yeah not happenen... So wut yous guys up doo" he said as he watched Specter sleeping... looking around at all the new people, he figured if nothing else came out of this, he'd meet a few people.... He stopped at Viking, and the prisoner... It was a curious scene. Mostly because the prisoner was sleeping. Squinting from time to time... While Viking stood over him eyes closed... Viking was a Mage no doubt about that. Or at least he said so. Mind mage or something similar. He saw the spellslinger with his palm gently over the prisoners forehead. At least with that image in mind his claim could be considered. But anyway tradition did not matter to LT... Just Effect! He'd studied Krave Maga under Job his fixer, and sorta father figure sorta... but he'd never really got into the other stuff the mystics had taught Job. He'd learned to move quicker yes, through magic yes, and Job had been no slouch as a teacher. It was every bit as hard for LT, as it was for Job to learn... The gritty older Ex-mossad Agent was quite knowledgeable in the area of self-defense, and gun play. LT Absorbed as much as he could from the older Job, Till they started the casting part... Never got into that... He just could not wrap his head around it, just could not do it....

He let that very magic he learned work for him now. Magical energy filled the part of his brain that was responsible for site, as he willed it too his vision slowly shifted into the astral. Now he looked again at Viking and the prisoner... he had hoped with new understanding...

(not sure if i need a roll here or i just don't have the ability to understand what im seeing is all )

Kesslan could feel a bit of a headache coming on but he understood enough to just 'tough it out'. LT not even being able to put tents together was frustrating as well, and the shifter idly mused that it was almost stereotypical of troll intellect. None the less LT was part of the original crew and he'd pulled his weight when it mattered so he still had some uses. "Alright LT, just give me a moment to deal with everything and we'll find you something to do." He said reassuringly before trying to pay attention to what Viking, Alexia and Elanore were all talking to him about as well (Anyone else he apparently missed in the sudden mass attention). Alexia netted a quick 'Good job, thank you' text while he shipped the message as was to Elanore 'Hey Elanore, sorry to put even more on your plate. Can you please attach our official letter head to this, set up a company account for the fox and send it out to our 'client'? I'll follow up with him later in person to see what he thinks. Thanks.' he then regarded LT once more "Ok, so I don't suppose you have any contacts that can put us in touch with a fixer? All my contacts got burned when I cut ties with Aztechnology, and we need a reliable source for gear."

"So Ka chummer I can Hook ya up if yous remember I was da one, nah Forget it, I'm on it..." He could see the shifter was under a lot of stress and pressure. He wondered what that would mean if he was calling the shots now... He assumed it had something to do with the leadership roll that had been thrown on him. From where LT sat the shifter a Jaguar or something was not a pact animal. He was used to going at it on his own. This was new stuff, had to be. All that everyone looking at him going what do you want me to do. No one ever asked LT what he wanted to do. Just "I'd get something for you to do" it was short and bordered on... He stared at the cat for a moment, it was not disrespect but a position of superiority. He'd started this Job on equal terms, and despite how helpful he'd been in the past. And had gone out of his way to be. Now he was being told what to do again. Not that he could not do it... Hell it was better then grunt duty building tents. So yeah if he'd not remembered all they had gone through, and was now talking down some how. It was because he was so busy. He could see it. He quickly added "Same guy got yer gear in the beginning... And yous was happy with that right? k send me a list o' what ya want, ill be in the truck if yous need me." He grunted As he moved past the shifter on his way to the truck he draped a big troll hand on the shifters shoulder. As to say your doing a great Job, and offer some comfort to his team mate, not his boss... Watahsi was his boss... And he was gonna see this through. Just as he said he was. If time to time that meant playing good solider, that was fine. He'd do it, but he was by no means a dummy and he figured they knew that by now...

He kept it moving said not a word this time. Besides he had his own demons to tackle. He'd place what ever order needed placing with Job as soon as Kess sent the list....

"I did forget about that actually." Kesslan admitted "Too much going on." he added with a sigh. "Right well then great, we are going to need to get some more stuff to help set up the security here as well as a number of drones and such to set up our legitimate business. Most of the latter will be gotten through normal channels of course but we do need to keep some stuff off the books for obvious reasons." he explained "Can you try and get in touch with your contact again and see if they can get shipments out here, or put us in touch with some one that can? If they can then touch base with our new friend here." he says indicating Alexia "And help her get what she needs. Beyond that I suspect we are going to need your help where ever your able to set up everything. We've got a big budget but it's not bottomless and there's some stuff we have to do ourselves anyway just so we can keep our real reason for being here hidden from the authorities, and anyone else taking an unhealthy interest in us. I want to try and avoid more incidents like today."

LT stopped in his tracks as he realized Kess was speaking with him now he heard it all double checked in his head then he turned to regard Alexia His Astral site had never been reset to normal vision LT was confident in his ability to tell a spirit from a metahumen and reverse that... But when it came to reading auras he was not sure what all the colors meant with out the sound and body language to hint yeah still green in the magic area for an adapt with his power level and still had not been initiated yet... he walked over to Alexia "Hey Darlin LT here. I know a bit bout corp security tactics myself, not much. So ill be looking forward ta seeing what yous got for us... welcome to the HQ, nice entrance, and Welcome ta da team..." He held out a big heavily callused troll hand for the Security specialist to shake, one finger extended so she could shake some part of it at least, and feel comfortable with him... As they would be working close to each other he figured... LT took everybody's safety on the team as priority. He promised to do just that at the first meeting. So he and Alexia would probably be working together on projects, and positions of security physical and proper. He looked her in the eyes trying to make something out in the Astral but was not sure it was working. Or what he was seeing. It was like Kess before he Adapted but different some how. "Screw it!" he thought...

(if she shakes his finger then read on i guess if not he just leaves to go contact job)

He did not mean to stare and quickly added "I Bodyguard mostly in field, watch everyone's Rumps yer's incuded Missy so keep me posted, Well with what kess's got ya doing. We need to be eye to eye me and you. Feel me?" He grunted out in his normal Guttural troll/Ebonics speak "Oh and get me a list o' stuff you's needing for locking this pace down. k?" He let her speak a bit, answered her, if needed be, and then finished... "Gotta bolt got some communications da make chow babe..." with that he kept it moving to the comfort of his Truck which was not Elenore smart but comforting and he liked it just like that...

Alexia is pulled out of her concentration when LT walked over to her and greeted her, she smiled and replied friendly Well i'm sure your help will be greatly appreciated when i move this past its design phase. she shakes his hand and when he continues on a strange glint appears in her eye, be it mischievous or humorous or a mixture of both? a sly and a little more heated smile appears on her face and her voice drops in tone a bit to take on a bit more of a flirtations atmosphere
Well then ill have to keep that in mind she stands up and closes the distance between the two placing her hand on his ches (well as close as she can with him towering over her as he does though i do hope you keep your eyes somewhere else as well. we can see how things turn out but you might just be a bit to big she finishes off her sentence with quite a bit of concealed humor. she heads off to another tree just out of sight and as she goes winks at LT and chuckles to herself

LT's tanned hide troll skin Blushed slightly as he walked away, catching the wink, and in turn patting his cornrowed hair into place, though it did not need to be touched... It was more of a force of habit then anything else, but this time quite deliberately he did not lick his left most prominent tusk... He new when he was being teased. The street walkers in the barrens that hung out where the mercs hung out use to holler things too him. After all LT was a troll and they knew he did not really have much romance in his life... Oh he talked smooth. Well if you consider the sound of gravel being poured smooth... But that was an attitude he had picked up in the barrens with the rest of the hoods, and shysters. Every now and then he would hang with the mercs and they would teach him stuff, some of them pretty smooth guys... nerves of steel... He kept his cool but the scrawny troll was not as untouched by the situation as he made it appear...

When she had put her hand on his chest, she reminded him of a friend he once had growing up in the barrens... Elisa Lopez a Hispanic American elf. She died tragically and quite swiftly only having been in LT's life for a brief Period, from the troll equivalent of a 10 to 12 years old in human years. They were close friends. She was not afraid of LT's size or appearance, and had shown him the same love his mother had, Before she too had died leaving LT to Job who mostly was on mission... Elisa died killed by Polly Clubbers in a random act of violence, which did not even make the trid... Before that they would hold each other at night for warmth from the cold wet Seattle rain... And from time to time she would lay her hands, as well as her head on his chest and listen to him breath his massive heart pumping like an ox nothing uncomfortable though... But the way the shifters hand felt was very similar to Elisa's. Elisa the one LT could not protect... And that hurt him more then made him feel any type of pleasurable emotion. He figured she meant him no ill will... After all she did not know it would evoke such a memory, and why was he always getting so damned worked up about old memories like as if he needed to roar for no apparent reason. It was bothersome to say the leased... But he moved like it was all water off a ducks back, as he moved however all he said was "Don't forget da list for what ya need k" as the massive emotional maelstrom swirled ever the stronger for the buried feelings...

Oh can't you foolish lovebirds keep quiet? Specters thoughts were slightly annoyed. But mostly at herself. Why couldn't she find any rest?

“I've got a contact who could arrange transport from the chinese mainland. If we need it. I figure this island shouldn't be too far off from there, right?” She spoke quietly, not moving an eyelid. Only after this, she stretched with a sigh and sat up. “As for equipment, anything legal I'm sure can be organized.” With a grin she added: “Anything less legal, chances are not bad we could get too.”

The headache wasn't any better than before her short nap. But the relaxation helped her to endure it. Staying mostly horizontal helped a bit too.

“I got an inspiration for some magical security of the island. But I'm not sure if it will work.” She leaned her head against the stone, being completely relaxed. “I guess we'll see later. Remember the offering I prepared? Anyone interested is welcome to join.” Wether it works or not, it's worth a try, she thought, mentally shrugging.

When LT got down to the Truck he opened it and sat in the drivers seat he then Sent a message to...

Spectpr:

Re: Ritual

"Sorry spec thought I Just heard you mention some type of JuJu ceremony or was i mistaken... just wondering what the nature of the ceremony was...? Maybe i could help? not much for slinging spells but im no mundane... let me know when and where thanks."

End message:

Oddly enough LT had a good working knowledge of the English language... did not speak as he typed/text... In truth it was the ceremony magic he did not like. The sound of that but what did he know. Perhaps specter could do her thing no problem when it came to spirits... She certainly seemed competent, but sometimes things like this were bad and he just felt shaky bout magic he did not know anything about. Anything out side of his understanding was a potential threat to the team. LT did not let on, he would even participate if only to be there when it went wrong. Which in truth he hoped nothing would happen bad... So he played nice with the new team mates...

The albino elf girl stood up slowly, wiping some sand off her well shaped behind. She took her comlink and sent back to LT:

Yes, first I intended it to be a simple offering for the spirits of the island. But I think I could make more out of it, so that they accept us as on the island and maybe help us if we get attacked again. I can't exactly describe it yet. If you're interested, be at the east end of the camp in twenty minutes.

Specter looked around. “I will be over there. If you like, join me in twenty minutes.” With that, she walked off to the kitchen corner and got the box with the rice cakes, salt and sake as well as one of her bags. She carried it over to the east side of the camp. The elf looked for a flat stone somewhere near that would suffice as an altar. Not satisfied with what she found, she got back to the camp and searched for something. Now what... oh yes that will work. She took the lid of one of the crates. It got off the hinges after some pulling. With some effort, she heaved it over to the place. There, Specter positioned it on a couple of stones on each corner of the lid, so it made up a flat surface with enough room, maybe ten centimeters off the ground.

Next she threw a blanket over it, as decoration. On it she placed an insence burner and a few candles in glasses, so the wind won't blow them out. “Alright, that's a start.” Specter looked around. “Now for the rest.” Setting one foot before the other, she circled off an area where everyone could stand, sit or maybe lay down. Then she took on the task of clearing that area of debris. Branches, logs, squirrel poo. That kind of stuff. It was actually fun and she hummed the tune of some trid show about a group of shipwreckers on a lost island they named after one clumsy crewmate.

Finally satisfied, she wiped her forehead. This island is warm. Seeing as the sun was setting, she shrugged out of her coat and removed the hood. “Oh that is MUCH better.” As she was already on it, she also removed her boots and socks. Barefoot, wearing a tanktop and cargo pants, she continued, without the need to worry about sunburns. Not long after, the place was prepared, the altar was set up and the idea formed out more and more in her mind.

Being a bit thirsty, Specter went back to the supplies to get a few bottles of water, not sure how long this whole thing would take in the end. And dehydration was the last thing she wanted to add to the odds.

I am ready. Let them come. With that thought, she sat down and waited, curious as of who would attend.

"Hey!" Eleanor said to Kesslan's Commlink after Specter had given her announcement.
"Giddyup! I had intended on making sure that Ashe was there to "represent" the Old Guard on this little thingy that Specter is doing. But that's clearly not within our current capacity right now. So, head on over!" Eleanor said. Her multitonal voice danced around her words, conveying far more energy than they normally did; and more still than within the last several hours. The change in her voice underscored how taxed she must have been; and raised the interesting intellectual question of whether the machine responded to her feelings, or if she did it intentionally. Either way, her voice was up and down like the waves on an ocean, conveying far more emotion than she had been recently. Obviously she was excited for whatever Specter was about to do.
"Oh, and bring some water and food and stuff. I did some side-reading on this sort of thing, and from what I gathered, it can sometimes turn in to a fairly lengthy endeavor." Eleanor added, mostly as an afterthought. She was clearly in no need of such things. Though her "sustenance" came from the machines, and required as regular upkeep as their foodstores, it was another matter entirely.

"I will join in, for the moment, if you don't mind." A handsome gentleman said, announcing his presence. He walked up wearing a perfectly tailored "work outfit" with the stains and grime of a day working with the gears on the island. It was an interestingly strange mix of dirty and well-intentioned, and one not often seen.
"You may call me Driver. And I am, in general, Eleanor's favorite toy." Driver stated, announcing himself and his most general relationship to the group.
"Yup! Eleanor's multitonal voice announced agreement over. The sound most likely came from Driver's commlink; but technology was sophisticated enough that if Driver was Eleanor's regular companion, he likely had the best of the available support-hardware for her. Which meant that within reason, she could project the sound to wherever she wanted it to have come from!

LT went to see Ashe instead of being where he said he would be... He stayed there until the announcement went out... He stared at her... He had only known Ashe for a short time, but had confided in her against his better judgment. Or the Judgment Job instilled in him for survival. There was something he'd seen in from the time in the bar when he made first contact with her, plus it did not hurt that she was a mage, and might have been able to help him... "Yous a tuff kid" He said to her in a low guttural tone (Troll whisper ), "Pull it together were counting on ya to be pretty for those of us that cant, to pull strings..." She was not able to help him decipher he's nightmares... But she did make him feel better in a time when he was not so sure of himself... LT was in over his pay grade. He thought they all were! From the first time he'd doubted Watashi, and found out from Job (who knew LT's Juvenile background) all the places to look about Tyrone Sunders no longer had any record of him. There there was no records Job could pull up! Not even the competent Hacker could dig up anything from the past... He sat there holding Ashe's left hand and wiped some moisture from her forehead with a rag near by...

Then He was off when the announcement went out. Taking one last look at Ashe, and then Heading for the Site that was given in the communication From specter. He took off with his normal No-Dichi none magical but no less imposing in the scrawny trolls hands, He also took his Globetrotter camo jacket, under which he wore a tank top. That would have reveled his barrel chest, though small for a troll still quite impressive, was hidden under his Jacket and combat load vest...

When He finally reached the E. side of camp he strolled up about five yards away from the Altar "Now wut?" he said to Specter and added "Yous should know i don't know squat bout magical spells, But i can channel magic through me pretty good. Sustain it at least to do what i need... Hope it helps... and uh Where yous want me...?"

Specter watched the others arrive by and by. She smiled happily. Which means they trust me somefar. The thought was only to reassure herself. She stood up from where she had been waiting, gesturing for the others to gather in the area she had prepared. In the increasing twilight, a slight, blue shine became visible on her that would only become stronger the more sunlight faded. Together with her pale skin it made her look surreal. More like her namesake.

„I'm not sure how log the whole ritual will take. But you don't have to stay for the whole thing. All I want is your participation To show the island I don't speak for myself alone.“ She started explaining. „I hope the spirit of the island will see that we mean well. And accept us as residents. Maybe it'll even protect us.“ She winked at LT, hoping that answered his question. „The least thing we can do is say hello politely.“

She pointed at the box. „When I tell you to, please take a bit of salt, sprinkle it in front of the altar, pour a thimble of sake and put one of the rice cakes on the altar. Say hello to the island and ask if we're welcome. And please mean it.“ She smiled at the others. „After that, you can stay and watch the boring part or go and do your stuff.“ She smiled excitedly and rubbed her hands together. „Let's start then, shall we? Get comfortable.“

With that, Specter lighted the insence. It was a resin called dragonblood. With the scent filling the air, she started walking around the prepared area, chanting in sperethiel. The reciting helped her concentration. Just as she had prepared the place in the physical sense, she now adjusted it in the astral.
It was no ward, no logde. Nothing determined. But she smoothed the mana of the area, balancing it out a bit. At the same time, the elf girl adjusted herself to the manaflow of the island. She almost dived into it, searching a connection.

After circling the area three times, she kneeled down in front of the altar. Her toes dug into the soft earth. Deeply inhaling the fresh air, feeling the green of the plants behind the altar, hearing the birds welcoming the night. „We're composed of cells. Each once a lifeform aeons ago. Now more than the sum of their parts. Like us, the island exists as a commposition of units. Birds, bees, mice, fish, palm trees, flowers. And supporting all of this, like the bones of our body, the stone, the sand, the sea. Underneath us, around us.“ Her soft voice barely audible and yet each of them could understand her clearly.

Specter reached to her left, taking a small handful of salt and letting it slip in front of the altar. „Everything is connected. And thus we are connected to you, land we stand upon.“

Next, she took the sake bottle and a sake cup. She unscrewed the cap and filled the cup. „And thus we are connected to you, souls that were. Forefathers, inhabitants of past and present..“ She could smell the ricey aroma of the liquid as she poured it onto the soil in front of the altar.

„Spirits of all beings here, and spirit that is more than the sum of our parts. Please accept our offering as a sign of our friendship. As a sign that we are part of You. And let it show our wish that our stay here will be prosperous.“ She took one of the rice cakes and unwrapped the paper. Then she gently placed it on the altar, next to the burning inence.

Still kneeling, the gestured for the others it was their turn. There was enough room next to her.

LT played his part. He was the Bodyguard proper for the team after all. So he figured it should be him to go first... He approached the special area slowly, never taking his eyes off it. The wind was blowing slightly then, and he could feel its cool breeze. He decided to turn the Astral Vision on again, to take it all in... He huffed then started as he was now knelling before the alter...

He winked and nodded Specter's way... indicating he was not nervous at all, but in fact while not really showing stress or feeling it. He was just kinda embarrassed to go first... What a kid. "All Part of the job" he thought to himself... Knelling on one knee before the makeshift alter and as gingerly as he could, he took a bit of salt, sprinkled it in front of the altar, poured a thimble amount(Cant hold a thimble hope it does not matter ) of sake and finally put one of the rice cakes on the altar... He looked up at the mostly darkened sky and said, in a booming troll voice "Names LT...! And... If you don't mind... May i stay here...!?!" he had lifted his arms and stood up during the speech mostly to center himself an ability he was no good at but still tried never the less... When done he was standing not kneeling arms wide he waited for a moment quietly wondering if they would strike him down with all their power...

(LT will then go sit down and watch assuming nothing happens to him lol)

Job did ritual stuff he was some kind of mystic adapt or something he could do magic and matrix stuff, he was one hell of a package... LT did not read the Torah He was more self taught then anything else... He missed checking up on the Fixer, missed there talks now and wished he were with him to see him taking part in the ritual. The Ex-operative would have been proud that LT was at least giving it a try...

Kesslan for his part wasn't sure if he was going to go or not. Part of him didn't want to simply due to the difference in belief system, the other half wanted to for that very same reason as curiosity was none the less strong, as was the need to know what was going on, on the island. As a result Elanore's 'nudge' gave him all he needed to go along but he went quietly and stood back from the others, observing but not partaking of the ritual. He recognized some basic elements that were common to Aztec Shaman, and perhaps to a much lesser extent his own belief. The Shifter after all was one that aimed to be more with nature and nature spirits, the world, the trees, the animals. Even the prey played it's part just as the predator did. Balance was important. The rest confused him however and his knowledge of magical rituals was lacklustre at best, for his own powers and abilities focused on the self rather than directly affecting the area around him or influencing others.

Driver steps forward after LT, kneeling down by the fire, seemingly engrossed in the ritual. Unlike LT, Driver stares deeply in to the fire. For a few moments, he seemed to be doing nothing at all; but on closer examination, his lips were moving slowly, as though he were whispering something. Although no one was close enough to hear if he was; and his Subvocal Mic was not turned on.
After a few moments of kneeling, and leaning forward toward the fire, Driver settled back a bit and relaxed, nodding toward Darkon. Driver had completed whatever he was contributing to the ritual.
"My Turn." Eleanor stated. It was difficult to tell which commlink she had used to project the sound, as it sounded very much like she had spoken from the center of the flames. Interestingly, it was just as difficult to understand why it was that she would be interested in participating, since she could only possible participate through a material intermediary; like a Commlink. And Magic, except for it's possible effects, were entirely foreign to her and her capacity to interact with. But, no one in the circle was about to tell her not to participate!
A few moments went by where nothing seemed to be happening. After a few moments, there was an incessant feeling that something was happening. What was happening though was as yet unclear.
A few more seconds ticked by, the something slowly becoming more clear. When all at once, it crystalized.
A soft keening sound started to fill the space in between the people kneeling in front of the fire. It was a harmonic sound, which started to feed, back and forth across the flames, actually causing them to shift with the sound. The sound picked up in intensity, while deepening adding another octave below, deepening the harmonics it was producing. The sound continued to play across the space between the kneeling people, forcing the flames to leap first one direction, and then the next. The effect was very similar to what would have happened in the midst of a storm, the flames dancing almost as if in a violent wind.
A few moments later, as Eleanor seemed to "catch her stride" of sorts, and really started to settle in on what she was doing, she added a new element to her addition to the ceremony. She rhythmically increased and decreased the intensity of the sound being produced, almost universally about the circle. It was clear to everyone there that she was using every sound device available to her. Each and every one of their commlinks was currently firmly under her control and being used to an impressive effect. As the sound waves were increasing and decreasing, there came a moment when the flames on the fire would leap, tall and skinny under the pressure of the sound, settling down slightly as the sound decreased. Eleanor increased the pressure she was creating, and the intensity of her output. Fortunately, the sound was mostly cancelling itself out, as it interacted with itself in the center of the circle, and didn't have a chance to even hurt anyone's ears. But it was clearly a powerful effect.
A few more moments passed, while Eleanor worked out how to do what she was now attempting, and suddenly her intentions were clear. Eleanor's rhythm changed, subtly, finally finding the "harmonic frequency" that her actual sound had had before. Only this time, the effect was even more dramatic... Eleanor's sound undulations caused the fire to shoot upwards, and the sound-pressure generated and focused as she was doing effectively cut off the bottom of the flame, leaving a disembodied flame spike soaring skyward. It didn't last long without the nourishing logs below, but the effect was tremendous!
Once Eleanor had managed this, she did 4 carefully created flame spikes; each one sent off in a slightly different direction - as if, an offering to each of the four major points on the compass.

"That's the best I could do, without a body." She intoned, finally allowing the sound waves she had been generating to die out. It had been an incredible sight and the fact that she was probably correct: That likely was the best she could do without a body. Light shows are unimpressive to the "Elements" of Magic; but Fire always played an integral part in the Shamanistic traditions' rituals. And Eleanor had managed, to the best of her ability, to work with the fire, and make herself a part of the ceremony.
The following silence was palpable.

Alexia, finished up her planning of the defenses around the island, at least for the moment it was just basic stuff but should prove suitable for adequate security until she could make it more elaborate and flesh it out more. She decided to drop in on the ritual going on and to wait it out till it was over.

(after the ritual)
Alexia walks over to Kesslan If you dont mind i would like to call a group meeting over the details for setting up the security so everyone has an idea of what is going to be in-place, I don't wish to have to repeat everything more than once and it will require help to be installed.

She waited for the responce from kesslan and then noded. I thank you for this. unless you have any objections i think the center of the camp might be best, but where ever you want it to be will do. she smiles politely and heads off in the direction for the group meeting in several minutes and set up a place for her to "show and tell"

After several moments and when everyone gathered she began with a plesent and professional smile Good evening everyone, I'd like to introduce myself to those whom i havnt already met and explain a few things before i get started so you all know just who and what you'll be working with. First off im Alexia Moi Voss, a fox shapeshifter as the magicaly apt people would mostlikely have already realised. And as is also obvious i'm an Albino Fox at that. Il'll be your securety specialist for this mission, thought i dont have much conbat skills i know my way around security systems. Also as a not though im not sure if any of the majicians have figured this out yet or not. Im older than many of my species and in fact i can be sure that im older than anyone here for that matter. I was born in 2012 so, if any of you are shocked by that i would be more than willing to explain this in detail with you later. However note i'm only telling you this as i believe we will be working together for the long haul and becasue of the many things that come with me it might bring some unwanted people looking for me. she stoped for a minute and smiled then went on

Now, on to the reason why i asked if you all could be here. I have finished with my preleminary designs of our securety systems. Most of what is needed we have on hand already so that helps to cut soem of the overall costs. She hits a few buttons on her comlink and displays a holo image though the progectors and it apears to be an image of the island with several different icons littered throughout it Here is what im proposing to be implemented. she points to a total of 9 red dots scattered at various points on the island These here are microwave sensors. Posisioned where they are they would allow us the ability to see anything that moves on the island and up to several hundred meters off the coast. giving us the early detection of incoming vessals. she points to a blue dot closer to the center of the island this would be a radar station allowing us detection of both land and air vehicles, it would also be able to work in conjunction with the microwave sensors and see stuff out at sea. This itself will be usefull for the front buisness when we get ships as well as more aircraft noting where they are for that. she moves over and traces along an orange line that encerciles the island.
This here will be the Infrared beamsto detect intrusions from an outside source making there way onto land by foot with that she gors to several dots that are promenint along the orange line and throughout the island these are our cameras both standard and Infrared. I hopefuly shouldn't have to describe what these would be used for. All of this she jestures at the image Is just some of the basic stuff i came up with as necessary and needed right away. I want to expand on these at a later time but some of my expansions will need a bit more permanent structures here to hide the major stuff. So what do you all think? she ends her presentation after several minutes waiting for some feedback from the others.

A bit tired of the Memory alteration Viking looked up, most of the People were starting to gather for the Ritual. Specter had come trough with this idea and He for one did not really know if he should take part. The spirits here in these parts were different, used to different names and would not like if people with different believes would live here so appeasing them would only be natural, but on the other hand, acknowledging this different system of magic, spirits and world order might get him in trouble with his own gods and spirits, even these thought alone were treasonous in a way.

Being of Both -Northern European and Japanese Origin Viking knew of the Traditions and beliefs of this region.
Shinto - the religion of the simple folk who believe in the Kami - gods that can take any for and shape, where purification is the highest way of prayer and where every smallest form of live and mater has soul.
Viking knew of this, his Grand dad had taken him once or twice to a Shinto temple, but he was small at that time, and he found himself more acclaimed to the mighty Thor and his brethren in the Nordic lands.

In the End, Viking decided to do what he can on appeasing the Spirits, but not only for him and his team, but for his spirits and his Gods, and asking for the premmision to make a Magic lodge for himself. He went back to his Bags and produced a crystal wine glass and a small silver bell. Filled the glass with wine from the most northern vineyards in the World in a small European country called Latvia, and he left for the ritual.

Viking joined the Ritual in the middle of the LT's performance, he was impressed, the troll was Magical, he was simple and pure, he spoke with a clear mind and his thought came out with no possibility to misinterpret them. Eleanor on the other hand did a fabulous performance, playing with the best purifier there is - fire, Viking feared his idea of the Ritual would diffiranciate from what the others had been doing here, but he knew to stick to his idea.

It was his turn, at least no one else stepped for. He steped for and called for her Valkyrie to come to the ritual as well, The spirit was not happy about what Viking asked of her, but in the end she agreed to help him. so both of the stood on each side of the small altar Viking on the one side Vlkyrie on the other, materilazed for everyone to see. Viking began with a bow, Valkyrie followed his example then he rang the silver bell, the pure sound of the small bell was a strong contrast for the tones Eleanor had used, but the sound was clear, just as clear as the crystal of the vine glass, the sound diminished slowly and only after everyone was so silent that the sound of the bell could be heard to die out of its own Viking spoke "Kami of this island, we come before you to share our food and our drink" Viking took a sip and gave the glass around to everybody who wanted to take part in his part too, to take a sip of the red wine, when the glas had made a full circle it found itself in the hands of the Valkyrie, who took a sip too and Placed the rest one the Altar, the Red wine and the clear sake made a strong combination, the drink who's color could be compared to blood and often was the symbol of life, and the clear and strong Saki and the white rice balls, as in the white, white as the Japanese symbol of death.
"We offer you this and promise not to trespass on your lands and your real, but ask you for your premmision to stay here as long as our quest might take, i beg of you to give mercy to me, and my friends, be it from this real or from he other. I beg of you to endure a place where i can give my offerings not only to you, but to my gods and my friends of the other real. in Return i promise to do the most to keep this island protected from evil powers and harm. Once again a clear sound of the bell rang, but this time it was accompanied by the sound of the crystal glass as viking had emptied it on the altar and at the end made both of these items make a sound to resonate in the circle, just the constant cracking of the fire was hear throughout the whole time. Viking stepped back into the circle as did Valkyrie, but not soon after that she vanished, just a voice in Vikings head ... You owe me, You owe me big for this ...

Specter was happy about the others ethusiasm. Especially Eleanors display surprised and amazed her. She also appreciated Vikings very own offering.

After the last one made the offer, Specter spoke up again, taking the salt. “A comrade of us is not able to make her offer herself. But her intentions on the island are ours.“ The sake. „Please welcome Ashe as you welcome us.“ The rice cake. “Please nourish us and let us thrive here.“

Specter stayed knelt. With a soft voice, not much more than a whisper, she said: „Thank you all. Now the boring part begins. Feel free to leave if you like. I'll stay here and finish things. Might take a while though.“ One could notice her state of deep concentration in her voice.

Then the albino elf girl closed her eyes and started humming and chanting, focussing her mind on the task at hand, deepening her concentration. The blue glow of her body clearly visible in the night. Her mind reached out into her surroundings, into the mana, into the island. Further and further, seeking an understanding, a balance. Still her thoughts and emotions emanated the request to be welcomed. To be part of the island. The shamaness felt it necessary to go so deep, that she lost her senses for her surroundings on the physical plane.

No sounds, no smells, no sights. Only the invigorating pulse of magic all around her.

As things started really going with the ritual Kesslan dropped his masking, not for any particular reason save that he was uncertain if it would somehow interfere with the ritual in progress. Beyond that however he by and large merely remained a observer as the shifter has his own views on spirits, magic and such. While the present ritual was in part somewhat something he could understand and relate to, much of it was also very, very different. His kind had few if any great rituals, and having grown up in captivity he wouldn't have learned any even if jaguar shifters did have some sort of rituals. That didn't mean what was going on was uninteresting, quite to the contrary he found himself very curious about the whole affair and gave it his full attention. The trick Elanore pulled off actually surprised him as it was something he'd not been aware the AI was capable of, though it certainly explained why she'd wanted to be there. He didn't 'get' this invisible entity really though. He understood technology to a reasonable degree but it always seemed odd to him that something he couldn't see, something that 'technically' didn't exist could still affect the physical realm, and possibly the spiritual one, though Elanore had no aura and no body and he wondered if that was how mundanes saw the awakened world around them. In the end Kesslan watched, but did not judge nor really take place in the ritual save by his presence and when it seemed concluded the mask he maintained returned and he once more had to delve into other matters as the fox approached once more, though already he found he didn't have to fight back the urge to bristle at her. Of course the fact that she wasn't another feline, much less jaguar probably helped a good deal.

"Sounds reasonable to me." Kesslan responded to Alexia's request, slightly now about what she would have to say on the matter. As she introduced herself, Kesslan realized that it might be a good idea if everyone introduced themselves at some point, given how much the team had both expanded, and changed over such a short time. That however, could wait at least a little longer as he figured it would be best to wait until everyone could be present. At her claimed age he let out a soft snort though it wasn't entirely clear if it was surprise or derision. Her proposed plan however met with a much more obviously enthusiastic response, or well enthusiastic for the Jaguar anyway...

"Pretty good so far, but we should also factor in for magical security to some degree." thanks to the fact that Kesslan had at least some grasp on security procedures in general he could see at least a few flaws, if not necessarily know how best to properly account for them. "The most common would be a few watcher spirits, and with all the life this island holds, it would likely also help camouflage activities on the astral, but it couldn't hurt to have some more active deterrents and some sort of warning system. That said right now it's more important to get the island set up, and then we can kick start the cover business in proper. With some luck we could probably get the business to help cover expenses related to building up the base, among other potentials."

Alexia nods at kess' statement yes, that is something i had though of as necessary. however though i don't posses the aptitude to summon spirits, and as we have many dedicated mage's here i figured i would leave that part to them as i had assumed they would have already done that. but my assumptions have got me me into a bit of trouble in the past. she smirks to herself to the last statement i do however know a bit about magical security, though the practical for me has been more to the use of stuff that would be far to conspicuous for what were wanting, a large grey blob on the astral is not something helpfull in deterring unwanted glances. but ass i have mentioned before though i have knowledge with matrix and magical security i've spent more time researching and applying physical security measures. she pauses and waits for the others to chip in there thoughts and after a few second pause she perks up Oh, i forgot to mention that if there is anything you need me to repair or whatnot, i can build and repair most anything

Elenor's presentation while snazzy did little to move LT. He did not really take to the marvels of AI like everyone else did on the team, and He'd been the only one the AI had seen reason to scream on When he asked her for a favor... That event had left a sour taste in his mouth for the sentient machine...

LT Took the cup when viking passed it around "Good stuff!" He thought to himself. More then that he was amazed at the spirit he saw before him Viking had summoned a Valkyrie it was the first LT had seen or the first time he'd payed close attention to What the magician could Summon... She was as beautiful a warrior as the young troll had ever seen, and LT could on Guess at how strong she was in battle...

It was then that he realized a Wrenching feeling inside him it was a very odd feeling like as if he was being watched by something ominous something much greater then he... Like something inside him was stirring, compelling him too scream out! In the middle of vikings presentation LT got up bowed and Left the ritual in a hurry something was Gravely WRONG... And it wasn't the alcohol LT did not know what it was...

He started back for camp, after he arrived sometime later (at least) everyone was gathered with the fox shape shifter. LT had Calmed his mind and moved in and listened to the shifter as she spoke... She Spoke of some personal stuff one of subjects baffled the young troll... Such as her Age Lil'Tiamet found himself counting on his fingers how old it made her... He could handle math well as long as he had a calculator to help... He stared over her security layout of the island and nodded at kess's comments he was happy to here she would address the concerns of the group and was mostly open to suggestion... Using What he knew of corparate security tactics he gave it a once more over to find any flaws he could...

(Using corp security tactics knowledge skill to help out with the island prep... Looking for possible add on's or flaws: 3 hits

All in all he liked her plan even wanted to help out but it was pretty solid. So using knowledge he picked up from the Mercs in their hang outs... LT gave what little pointers he could... "Me I would implement some none visual early detection here, here, and here" he pointed out various points of security interest around the island, mostly in the water surrounding it, as he spoke. "udder den dat looks good"

Sure he was physical muscle, and minor magic support... (if you could even say that) But he did have a working knowledge of these tactics, and he wanted to contribute. Anything would be better then paying attention to his gut...

(Sorry bout the "this this and this" stuff like that is kinda not my style but im soooo tired its 2:58am and iv not slept in two days so bed time hope you like it guys and G im late but your post was awsome)

Alexia nods, at LT's coment Yea a seismic sensor would be nice to implement for that, however i have no idea where we can get one at the moment. nor am i familiar with the local area for such a sensor, but i'm sure there's plenty of that information to find on the matrix. i will add that into the plan she takes a few seconds and some new dots start to appear scattered throughout the image. Next up would be detection from sea, the only issue is gettting to places to deploy them, i think ultrasonic sensors would work well for that. And they can be placed quite a bit below the surface and still detect surface activity. however those too i didn't not see on our list of available items for use. It looks like were going to have to make a trip inland or have them sent to us.

LT smiled sort of and nodded his agreement with the foxes idea's. "Maybe we can run a few beach(breach) drills see if we can make it on da island to da base camp wit out getting caught...? O' course when ya done I mean...?" He added... He was happy to have some say again, or at least to have his two cents considered. It was all in his head mostly but he felt better... After the meeting he headed off to check on Ashe, he felt he should sit by her side. So that when she woke up she'd want to see a friendly face... LT's while not friendly looking... Would be just what the doctor would order he figured... He shook the foxes hand with and extended troll finger "Gonna be good working wit ya" And he trotted off to watch over Ashe...