Shaping Up To Ship Out

It didn't take long for the Shibuya HQ to again become the buzzing center of activity for the New World Alliance. It wasn't the most joyous of events though, with the war with the Palace Land, word that Scale intends to weaponize a Wave of Darkness against the Mac Anu occupation, and everything else in-between. So much of the orderly chaos was getting together their weapons and supplies to head for the Dukedom and prepare for whichever way fate decides to toss those dice.

And Shiruba was in middle of it at the moment, trying to keep things moving, while occasionally having to turn to chat over her chim as well. "No, I don't like the idea either. But right now, its the strongest option that's been present to us." A pause to listen to the response. "I know. But between the War, the Gnolls, and the outsiders still being out there, we can't spread ourselves that thin. If someone else can come up with a better plan, I'm all ears."

Yeowang has been taking care of the administrative needs of the HQ mainly. No tactical decisions, but someone needs to know how many meat drops we'll need each day to keep everyone fed. Our cooks are top notch, but it's important they keep cooking and leave the collection of ingredients to specialists. Yeowang's that sort of specialist, too, but she's mainly an organizational person. As to Scale, she says, "I'm more interested how they can aim the Wave than anything else. That's quite the interesting power. And we'll have to watch Mac Anu closely. The Palace Landers had a huge force to deal with the tenth Wave. I don't think they have that same level of force here. So I assume our main objective is to step in and save Mac Anu if the Palace Landers retreat?" She looks toward Shiruba at the question.

Haru has been handling logistics. There was a brief period between Shibuya's reclaimation and the upcoming marching orders where Haru managed to celebrate Christmas. The sheer amount of couples that wanted Christmas gifts for their significant others in the form of accessories was staggering. Same every year. He made time for small personal gifts, too. It begs the question if he sleeps. "Plan: Discuss and negotiate. Validate claims with our own Divination and special predictive powers in house or, at least, with a second party in Olympus," Haru comes in like a wrecking ball. If he doesnt sleep, he doesnt look tired. Cranky, maybe. That is becoming more common. Both of his hands press on the table. It is hard to tell if he was going for a table slam of outrage with those noodly arms. "I thought we were on terms with Scale /not/ to do any tower climbs until the foreign invaders were repelled. What changed? A 'take at it my word, this helps the war' declaration?" There is Dark/Emo Haru and Firey Haru, somewhere out there is a Mellow Haru. Maybe that is Earth Haru, communing with Nature like a naturalist.

Shiruba looks up, so to speak, from completing the chim call to answer Yeowang. "Yes. If they fall or retreat from the city, we need to be ready to move in. And have response forces ready to move if it turns out to be somewhere else." Then back to her own checklist. She wasn't the consumate economist Yeowang was, but her tendancy to stockpile oft used resources did come in handy at times like this.

And there's Haru coming in as well. This is a moment she's both waited for an somewhat dreaded, as his comments are what she was expecting. The wolfgirl sighs softly, and shakes her head a little. "If there was such an agreement, I wasn't aware of it." Or forgot it when she was all obsessed over the demon gnolls, but we're not going to bring that up at the moment. "Which really just farther proves why I need other people to try and get things more organized around here." She sets down the notes she had and turned to Haru. "So far no one else has presented a plan. And while it's not totally garunteed, I've seen enough of what people, myself included, have been able to do with these unusual power sets, so I'm willing to hope this Oracle prediction is going to at least be close enough we can take advantage of it." A pause. A flick of her tail. "If anyone else can come up with a more garunteed plan to get into the city and to the Kunie, I'd be all for it."

With that out of the way she turns back to her stack of supplies. "And before you ask, it wouldn't really matter if anyone told them no, Scale will just do it anyways. We can't spread ourselves thin between the war effort, the Demonic Gnolls, the Otherworlders still lurking about in the shadows, AND confront Scale directly. I'd rather be on the side of being prepared." She pauses to tap her finger against a cheek. "There's an American saying for this sort of situation but I can't think of it at the moment..."

Yeowang had thought the same thing about Scale, that they'd agreed not to climb, so she shares Haru's concern in that regard. But she says, "Perhaps that working out how to aim the Waves changed their minds? If they didn't aim it, it's a matter of incredible luck that Mac Anu is the target. I am not inclined to trust in luck, but I will take it when it comes."

It's not so much the tendency to stockpile resources, all packrat types share that trait; Yeowang's expertise is stockpiling the right amount of each resource so that it's used at the same rate that it's replentished. That's a much trickier ballet than just stockpiling things. Plus, her way conserves storage space, so that a greater /variety/ of things can be stockpiled.

Haru points to Shiruba, "You. You come up with a plan, Shiruba. Or you ask someone to help make one, raise one up." Even as he says it, he can see the demons coming out. Taking this out on Shiruba is wrong. He holds up a finger as he respectfully asks for a moment with his body language. This strikes a nerve with him. It is something more than just Scale and New World. Something he has lived through before and took a similar approach to Shiruba. That it was out of their hands and just let it play out.

Then people started dying.

"I do not believe the statement of 'no one has brought you a better plan' is a sound stance. We are entrusted to take accountability and responsibility. So if what you are really saying is 'Everyone, I want options. What are they? Because I don't see any beyond not picking this fight.' then we have a lot to talk about. First being an official request with terms along with a cross Alliance conference to talk out our ideological differences. Scale is going to climb the Tower. WHEN they climb is a discussion. Why now? Why can't it wait?"

It is clear that Haru is putting on a show of composure. Not for Yeowang or Shiruba. It is like muscle memory. Uncontrollable. His facial expressions have reverted into that mask of cordial-not-notcomplacent in front of that of a child in ire. "What Yeowang is saying is true. Are we armed with knowledge and capability. And, when negotiating, it comes from a place of good faith, trust, and respect even when goals differ. If we know there is a 'We do what we want, eat crow' then why would we believe them when its just as likely a sweet lie? There is an American saying for it. Its called bend over and get the bottle, you are in for a rough night. /That/ is not the message we want to be telling our guilds, that we are impotent."

"So, actions, not emotions," Haru says, "first, corrobrate the report with a third party. Do we have someone with Oracle prediction that can do that? I know Kau can, and I trust Kau, so that is plan B to outsource the request. Second, a plan to uncrown the Kunie, which is already underway with Olympus and Goldenblade, so Kau's predictions are already in alignment to our goals. Third, we /fix/ this power imbalance because that is no way to peacefully coexist. There was someone who came from the wave last time, right? Track them down. There was the lich and underlings that appear related to the Wave phenomenon. There are the Chaos gates for rapid response. If the Waves are going to happen, we need weapons and defenses against the threat. Scale isn't the threat. The phenomenon fallout of their actions do. It the Old World thats the idea of common law. If the town upstream from you throws thier garbage in the river and makes your down, downstream, sick, you have to do something. In this case you can guess who is who."

Shiruba squints a little when Haru starts off on a tone that she can't quite tell if it's harsh, stressed, or likely a combination of the two. Then he reels in a bit. Doesn't make anything he says any less strong though, to which she responds to by letting out a sigh and sitting down on one of the crates. "Everything you say is pretty on the nose, Haru. It's two years in but this is the first time I've ever been in a priority role like this. I'm still learning. Brash decisions are going to happen.... And yes, if you know someone with Oracle or even Divination that can corraborate, please do so. In fact..."

She lifts her legs to scoot back and turn so she can hop done on the other side of the crates. Kneels down to retrieve a smaller container from behind the stack, pull a letter from it, and hand it towards Haru. "This is from William. It might help you with doing such things. He apologizes for not seeing you in person, but with the warfront being managed against the Palace Land he's already back in the field." Pause. "That and he's not really fond of meetings in the first place."

Yeowang is having a hard time parsing Haru's comments, not because of his strange composure so much that she's not sure just what he's getting at. She's used to the icy boardroom composure where quarterly profits are the greatest risk, so maybe she's giving insufficient importance to other things. She's assuming we want to prevent as many Landers as possible from getting hurt, but she's not viewing it as a personal failure for the ones she can't help. She knows she's doing her best, and she won't break herself for her lack of ability to do better.

She nods at the pre-planning plan Haru mentions. Corroborate the Wave, find out what the Palace Landers will do. "We have access to the Chaos Gates?" she asks in surprise. "I didn't know we had them working."

As to Shiruba in a leadership role, she says, "We don't have anyone that's commanded forces in a military role in the game, so I think we're all learning as fast as we can." A letter from .... the actual Guild leader? Unusual to even have communication with them. "I had assumed they were arranging things with the Kunie," she admits. "Since we can't do anything without regaining control, and since as -are- doing things, I had assumed that those making decisions had already made arrangements. Yes?"

"It is not that brash decisions will not happen from time to time, Shiruba," Haru says as he rests his hands on the back of a chair, "it is that the way we respond to them when they happen. Power dynamics are important in business. Its not always Profit and Loss statements. Its political and often politics impact the bottom line," he says as the later is leveled to Yeowang. "So I will reach out to Kau and ask what she sees here. We should be the ones making decisions for ourselves. Not someone else making it for us with us just accepting that as our new reality. We are not submissive slaves. We own our fates and that comes with making difficult calls. The price of freedom." The whole thing they are fighting for with the Crowned situation.

"Silver Swords is a combat guild," Haru says as he takes the letter from Shiruba. The one blue eye remains on her. It is as vacant as his monocle. The letter is tapped against the table and then opened, "so I do not expect to spend much time, as a crafter, speaking to William. Its bad enough that you have to deal with me, if I was William I'd kick me out of the Guild." He opens it and reads it. Irony. Maybe fate? "One more asshole with a title to deal with," he notes crudely, if not accurately, before putting the letter away.

"No, Yeo, the Chaos Gates are inert. Last LOONS meeting we had confirmed as much. However, they are still just an object, a device. When dealing with clockwork accessories or enchanting, its clear that this world follows metalaws. Something broke. Something can fix it. If it is power, consider that it takes a great deal of it to get a device of that size working and the Wave phenomenom generates a great deal of it. To be concise with what I am asking there: Have we organized specialists in New World to investigate it? Have we asked? Are people doing this independantly. If we keep letting other people do the work for us, we have no room to complain when they benefit from innovation." He takes in a deep breath. "I think assumptions are our enemy more than anything else. Mismanaged expectations are the bane of relationships, including leadership. For example, our guilds assume that the upper leadership has all the answers and just are not sharing. That there is a transparency issue. I spoke with Riz about his research the last two years and some of that /is/ true, but just as much as it is true that we do not know what we are doing." He holds up a hand, "Not a jab. I know I came on strong earlier and it won't be the last time, but that isn't what I am getting at. Yeowang, you hit the nail on the head. We are not military commanders. We are a mixed smattering of the Old World in a whole new one. So I wouldn't 'assume' any of us are on top of anything without confirming it. Its just as likely members of the Silver Sword are out hunting epic loot and levels as it is making arrangements with the Kunie." He could see both, honestly.

"I have a background in managing large organizations," Haru informs, "as I have mentioned before. The issues we are dealing with right now are not too horribly different than the ones you see at the director, VP, or C level. We can turn it around, but we have to be willing to do so and not accept things as they are." He taps the chair to make a point. "I'll start speaking to people directly, there is something missing there which is the cultural apathy we've inherited."

Shiruba tilts her head a little to the side. "Combat -and exploration-," she emphasizes. "And we need people who can help keep our gear and such in order as much as we need more people to keep -us- in order. And you're both right about that, not being military leaders. Hell, Kaydon was a Marine, but not a commanding officer. So we both," meaning herself and William, "Have realized that while I may be good leading in the field, I am a terrible strategist outside of short term figuring out how to beat whatever threat at the here and now. We need more people that can look ahead, plan, and maybe do something about some of those shortcomings you're mentioning." She reachs over to pay Yeowang on the shoulder. "Along with our economist, who's also running the Red Chain so regardless of how things turn out, we have people ready to respond with relief efforts."

Shiruba turns to duck down behind the stack of stuff for a moment. "And you guys might need these." She comes back with a pair of wooden lockboxs with the Guild emblem carved on the lid. ".. Okay, these are probably useful too. But I mean what's inside. It's a little late for the holidays, but with everyone busy getting Shibuya back in order it is what it is."

Haru's box contains a set of small wood figurines much like he's been using in his organization method. These are a bit more recognizable as they have been handcrafted by a certain someone with actual Woodworking skills. But she's used similar representations, such as a wolf for herself, a large reptile for Riza and a lion for Giganpor. As well as a stack of coins for Yeowang and one of his stones for Haru himself.

In the box for Yeowang is a clipboard. It has several decorative patterns and the Red Chain logo carved on the back of it, but otherwise it's been kept practical in use instead of being flashy. Much like she sees Yeowang being when at work, practical and efficient.

Yeowang nods to Haru about a background in managing large organizations, she's admitted more or less the same for herself. "The problem is, the Alliances aren't like the large organizations we've managed before. Someone else said it, it's like managing cats." Who are famously unmanageable, she does not add aloud. "At least when managing IT people, you can fire them if they absolutely won't get with the program. But we of course can't fire anyone. So, neither military leadership nor business leadership is really appropriate. I find myself at a loss as to how to be effective. The issues are similar, but the solutions are different."

As to the Chaos Gates, she says, "We recently learned that some sort of fragments of some ancient dragon lock various game aspects, yes? I assume it's as much to do with players' flight as for the Gates?"

She smiles as Shiruba mentions the Red Chain. "It does good work, though it's not as effective as I'd hoped it might be." She'd intended it to sideline in espionage, so far, nothing to spy on that we can use them to spy on.

She accepts the box, opens it, and smiles. "Thank you," she says. "I was not expecting to exchange gifts, so I was not prepared." Also, not being a crafter means it would be a storebought thing. But what stores are there down here?

"Different challenges," Haru notes to Yeowang with a tap of his finger against the chair, "but the people challenges remain the same. Some people join a guild because they want to be in one, just like people pick up jobs for a paycheck. You don't have to fire someone to motivate people or to marginalize negative impacts. People just want to be heard, appreciated, and accepted. It is crude, but the you just make that stimulus align to what strategic goals are." Then thar be presents.

The silver haired Artificer takes his lockbox. "That is good craftsmanship. Your carpentry has really come along," he says as he opens it up. He picks up the wolf figurine and impersonates a Shiba voice, "Thank you, Haru, your keen observational skills are second to none." Then picks up a Riza Lizard, "Use them to help me find some cheese." And Lion Giga, "And a rocking chair, kiddo. Mah old bones can't take anymore. Im so stiff." Because. Made of wood. The young man puts them all away. It is no surprise he played Angelic Layer, which involved dolls. Nerd.

"Thats fine, Yeo. The time I spend really thinking about the people Im making gifts for is the real gift. As you've pointed out, it takes all types. Seeing people and appreciating them is not my strong suit," Haru notes, a strong counter to the earlier statement on organizational values. "I took up accessory crafting to work on that and distance myself from the Old World version of myself. There are items like the Power Bracers that sell well for stat boosts, but its the artisinal stuff that I enjoy more. As for the Chaos Gates? Possibly. If I know anything about my time under my family's company, its that there is more than one way to get software or hardware to do what you need it to do. The more complex a system, the more ways to work around it, and the Chaos Gates look pretty complicated. Point is that we shouldn't give up because a single lead is drying up or stalling. Get theories and leads. Test and explore them. Look at the results. Repeat. Not much different than an R&D division." He lets a short laugh out, "Though given how we ended up faring againt CC's R&D, maybe thats an understatement." For a moment he used 'we' incorrectly. "I keep dancing around it, so the company I was with was Himekawa Technologies. If you had a microwave, phone, computer, boat, factory..." he starts go go on, "...we likely had a hand in a component that made it run. Unless it was proprietary, like most of CC's work. Angelic Layer was a real marvel, when you think about it. Anyway, the company structure wasn't via incorporation. Meaning the partners had personal responsibility, unlike treating the company as a seperate entity. It has been in the family for generations, so generally that meant a father and son pair had authority. Currently, my grandfather and father until my elder brother is to step up." A hand waves it off, "life story, done. Kept bringing those references up, now demystified. Born into the whole 'tell people what to do' lifestyle."

Shiruba giggles as Haru plays with the figurines a bit, and smiles. "Glad you both like them. I had to hang the one Haru gave me high enough Yojimbo wouldn't try to get at it." Then she pauses, and rubs the back of her head with a hand. "This is the first time I ever actually -made- holiday gifts for people." She's part canid so of course her tail is wagging, the following pile of floof that it is. "Now how about we get the rest of this stuff sorted out so it can be hauled down to the docks and shipped to Fourlands and the other places needing our help?"

Yeowang seems skeptical about how closely business management aligns with managing a Guild or Alliance. "There are /some/ parallels," she agrees. "But several differences." She smirks as Haru gives a voice to each figurine, and nods slowly as Haru mentions distancing himself from the old world Haru. The RL Haru, she's assuming. Which is the opposite of what she's done, she could have walked in out of RL and come straight here. The main difference is she'd be far better at fighting than she is now. That piece of knowledge still bothers her, but she's fought it and lost so far, she's not going to keep fighting it at this point.

As Haru explains his situation, she feels compelled to lay her own cards on the table. "YK is like that also." That's one of Korea's top companies. "My grandfather and father run it, my little brother will, in time, but he's twelve now. Or, fourteen, if we've been trapped in game for two years." For herself, she's taking several pages and notes and organizing them on her clipboard. Now she -looks- like someone who kicks ass and takes names. She nods about getting the rest of everything sorted out. "Will do."