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[sup][sup]                           [i]No funny banner this time, fam.[/i][/sup][/sup]

With everyone present, the briefing could begin post haste. Fritzi stood beside a projector screen that had pictures of both St Bianchi Church and Dante’s on it. 

[color=bd71e8]”Alright agents, we got Binky back, but GEMINI isn’t quite at full strength yet. Timekeeper is still passing out in piles of sand, and Oros the Mad has taken an interest in Cerberus. The latter wouldn’t normally be an issue, as she’s more or less treated GEMINI as a neutral party in the past and the Hand is a far more immediate danger for GEMINI operations. However, she’s recently attacked Timekeeper with the intent to kill. She can’t be left to her own devices.”[/color] She pointed at the screen beside her. [color=bd71e8]”We will be splitting up the GEMINI squad to tackle both issues in one night. Some of you will go to Dante’s, where there should be some lead as to what’s ailing Timekeeper. All of this started after he encountered a succubus there, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Dante’s has something to do with it all.”[/color]

[color=baddab]”Meanwhile, an esper known as Sovereign claims that she has to bring Cerberus to St Bianchi Church, where she claims Oros the Mad is waiting for her.”[/color] Binky’s eyes wandered onto Finn. [color=baddab]”We suspected it was a trap, but between Orion’s interrogation and reports from the water truck incident, it seems that she ‘drove off’ Oros by making a deal with her and got further details about Cerberus from one of our own agents.”[/color]

[color=bd71e8]”Against my better judgment, I’m letting Timekeeper join everyone for these operations. After the deal with the Diver, I’m unsure if I’ll be able to field enough freelancers for two full operations. Tackling these issues separately is not ideal either. If Oros is expecting us, I’d just as soon not have her change her mind and meet us at Dante’s. That said, the goal of these operations should be apparent. We need to go to Dante’s to see about slaying the monster that’s cursed Timekeeper, and we need to go to St Bianchi Church to learn more about Oros’ motivation. That said, we haven’t formed much of a battle plan yet. We haven’t looked into Dante’s and Sovereign was dropped on us very recently.”[/color] Fritzi looked at Ashley. [color=bd71e8]”Speaking of, what was your read on Sovereign? Can she be trusted to keep Cerberus safe?”[/color] 

[color=MediumSpringGreen]“I would say she takes the stereotype of a money-obsessed mercenary to the furthest possible extreme,”[/color] Ashley replied with a small frown. [color=MediumSpringGreen]“I get the feeling that she’d fully devote herself to any possible task as long as some form of reward was waiting for her at the end of it. As for her keeping Cerberus safe,”[/color] the high-tech heroine continued. [color=MediumSpringGreen]“I’m not sure I would trust her to do that, or anything else, especially if we weren’t offering her some form of compensation.”[/color]

[color=bd71e8]”We are going to be hiring freelancers for these operations. Are you advising against letting her tag along, even if she’s paid to be there?”[/color] 

[color=MediumSpringGreen]“Well, if that’s the case, then I suppose it would be fine,”[/color] Ashley replied. [color=MediumSpringGreen]“I mean, she was the one Oros tasked with bringing Cerberus there in the first place, and as long as we have some form of support on hand in the event an extraction is needed, I don’t think Cerberus will be in any additional danger than would otherwise be the case. That said,”[/color] the Knight of Tomorrow added. [color=MediumSpringGreen]“If freelancers are available, I’d suggest having them compose the entire support team for the St. Bianchi op. At the very least, they’re slightly less likely to be perceived as a threat by Oros, as opposed to a team including known G.E.M.I.N.I. agents. Plus, it will allow us to put all of our admittedly-limited resources into investigating Dante’s.”[/color]

Fritzi smiled. [color=bd71e8]”Now there’s an idea! It also lets us keep Timekeeper’s situation on the down low. Meanwhile, the freelancers will jump at the chance to brag about having a close scuff with our mad esper.”[/color]

Mika scoffed. [color=tomato]”Really? You’re sending me out there by myself?”[/color] She looked between Fritzi and Ashley. [color=tomato]”Her file claims that she can see the future. I doubt she’s going to be fooled by a bunch of freelance espers. Not to mention she’s already attacked us once. It would be more suspicious [i]not[/i] to send me in with some backup.”[/color]

Fritzi chuckled. [color=bd71e8]”You’re so animated today. I don’t see how Oros’s abilities invalidate Orion’s strategy. It does allow us to pool our resources into one operation, and if Oros is less inclined to ‘look’, we’re less likely to be discovered.”[/color] She placed a finger on her chin.  [color=bd71e8]”Though if we’re trying to prevent her from looking, maybe it would be good to give you a little bit of help. Any volunteers?”[/color]

[color=ff3838]”Oh! Me!”[/color] Angelie threw an arm around Mika’s neck and gave a thumbs up. [color=ff3838]”I’ll be Claudia’s backup! If Sovereign or Oros try anything, I’ll make sure they regret it!”[/color]

Mika sighed. [color=tomato]”I don’t like it, but she’ll work.”[/color] Angelie cheered before hugging Mika. 

[color=MediumSpringGreen][i]And here I thought she didn’t [b]need[/b] any help…[/i][/color] Ashley mused, doing her best to suppress an annoyed scowl. While she was glad Ellie would be looking after the feisty feline, the angelic agent was as distressingly far from subtle as one could get, and Ashley only hoped that her addition to such a delicate situation wouldn’t backfire catastrophically…

[color=bd71e8]”I don’t anticipate Dante’s having any hired espers, so this arrangement should be fine.”[/color] She turned to the rest of the GEMINI espers. [color=bd71e8]”We have a floor plan of Dante’s, but have little information on what else you should expect. To our knowledge, they do not appear to be affiliated with the weretiger mafia. It should just be temptation and dream monsters like the succubus Timekeeper encountered. Did you have any more questions?”[/color]

[color=MediumSpringGreen]“None at the present time, ma’am,”[/color] Ashley replied.

Finn shook his head. [color=7F2A3C]”Nothing else I need to know at the moment.”[/color]

Estelle blinked, then shook her head. Nope, she definitely didn’t zone out for a moment there.

[color=bd71e8]”In that case, we’ll prepare for deployment immediately. It shouldn’t take more than a few days to get the freelancers we need.”[/color] Fritzi shot a smile at everyone. [color=bd71e8]”You’re dismissed until then.”[/color]