IN Southern Star: Session 2 Log

[pyrephox]

Logfile from SamingaMU.

Jeff, the bartender and owner, pours a beer with absent grace and plunks it down on the bar before Harris, most of his attention on the television screen. The conversation is mostly going round and round about who got sent to the hospital, who got dead, and who came out okay. These fellows (and they're predominantly men), don't seem to have much in the way of family, but a lot of them seem to be, or have been, workers on the Star line.

Harris calls out to Jeff, "What's the news making of this thing?" He turns to the nearest line worker and asks something similar, "What's the take from the inside?"

The fellow Harris turns to is not one he's seen before, or at least not often enough to know. He's a little over six feet tall, and built like a construction worker, although at the moment, he seems sapped and drained. "I don't know, man. Too soon to tell, I guess." Another worker, further down the bar, overhears and snorts, "Like they'd tell /us/ anyway. You know they're gonna blame it on us. On the work we did on the line..." Meanwhile, Felicia on the television stares out at the audience with grave concern and a soot-smudged face as she says, "Jim, Self Regional Hospital is reporting 6 dead, and 35 wounded in today's tragedy, with two of the wounded still in critical condition. Our thought and prayers remain with the families of the victims. Various members of the press, including myself, have been attempting to have questions answered about the cause of the derailment, but Southern Star and its head engineer, Edward Majors, have not commented at this time."

Harris nods to the man, "Hey, I know that. The management always gets away with that crap when they're the ones who signed off on it." He shakes his head. "Anything strange ever make it down to you?" He listens to the news broadcast and frowns slightly. "What about that guy, Edward Majors?"

[[DICE]] The Conductor rolls the d666 and gets 2 3 CHECK: 5.

"Huh?" The second fellow, who seemed to be just starting to work himself up to a good rant, seems thrown for a moment by Harris' question. "Mr. Majors? Uh, okay, I guess. Hardly ever saw him or the other engineers, y'know? Not local," he says, with the easy dismissiveness of the small town. "Seemed alright. Smart guy, I guess."

Harris throws some cash on the table and calls to Jeff, "Fill any up if they need 'em, I've got to run." He nods to the men he was talking to and says, "You guys have got my support, if that means anything. Good luck."
It's a mark of the depressed mood of the crowd that the offer of free alcohol just gets muttered thanks, and a couple of hard claps on the shoulder rather than the cheers and ribald jokes that more usually float around. Jeff says, "Thanks. Hey, we're going to be taking up a collection for some of the wounded, regulars, over the next few days. Stop back in if you can spare some time later, okay? And be safe out there."

Harris nods grimly. "You got it. Let me know if anything else is going on to help; I'd like to do what I can." He nods again to the workers and then heads for the door and to the Tether.

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Alright, we'll fade out on Harris here for a bit, and check in with Amy."
[[OOC]] Amy says "All right. Amy was heading back home to serve as a touchstone for her kids and the other locals in the neighborhood."
[[OOC]] Harris shakes a fist at the vulture newsanchor.

By the time Amy arrives at her house, there are already two cars out front; she can easily identify them as members of the Rodgers clan, Evelyn and Rodney are waiting on the porch, cell phones stuck to their ears as they each hold a conversation with each other /and/ whoever is on their seperate lines.

[[OOC]] The Conductor snickers.

Amy gets out of her car, leaving the furniture shoved in the back of the battered station wagon. Wordlessly, as she gets to the porch, she goes to hug each of her 'children' in turn.

She's managed to get /some/ manners into them, at least. As soon as they spot their 'mother', the cell phones go off with quick, "Call you back"s, and they eagerly go to hug. Evelyn, as always, is first, while Rodney hangs back for a moment, looking Amy over with worry. "Are you hurt?" he asks anxiously.
Amy shakes her head. "No, no. I was on the other side from the wreck... scary to watch, though, with the smoke and all." She pauses and looks THEM over. "What about you two? And Jimmy?"

Both of them look fine, just worried. Evelyn pipes up, "We're okay, Mama. Suze has those allergies, you know, so I didn't take her today, and Rodney..." "I was working," Rodney breaks in with a faint smile. "No time for all of that mess, and a good thing it was. Jimmy called; he's at the hospital. Claudette was there, she got cut on the leg. Part of the," he gestures, "wreckage. She's gonna be fine, though."

Amy grimaces, and nods. "That's somethin', at least," she says. "Coulda been a whole lot worse. I know a few folks didn't walk away from that." She bites her lip. "I imagine it's gonna be busy here in a little bit... camera crews and all that damnfoolishness."

Rodney sighs, looking disgusted. "You're right about that, mama." He looks around, as if expecting a swarm of reporters to descend upon them right then and there. Evelyn flaps her hands at both him and Amy. "Well, let's get Mama inside, and sit down and have some tea. Jimmy's going to call back with word from the hospital, and the kids are with Lloyd, so that's fine."

Amy nods her head. "I'll go in and put the kettle on," she declares firmly. "Any other phone calls y'all need to be making? Lot of folks gonna need some help and friendship tonight, I think."

Evelyn nods firmly. "I'll call some of the girls, we'll get a potluck going to bring them that have their kin in hospital some decent food." Rodney grunts, looking slightly less enthused about the prospect...possibly because he tends to get drafted to carry stuff like that halfway across the county. But he lets his hands rest briefly on the women's shoulders, squeezing reassuringly.

[[OOC]] The Conductor reflects that "Kinslayer" is possibly not the right song for this scenelet.
[[OOC]] Thomas chuckles.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Let's fade out here with Amy, and move on to Thomas?"
[[OOC]] Amy says "Sounds good.,"
[[OOC]] Thomas says "kk."

Thomas didn't have anyone to look after, or anyone waiting for him at home. Well, that wasn't entirely true, but he didn't think the cat would be any more concerned for him than it needed to be in order to get fed. He might not have the contacts and friends to draw info from, but there was still much he could do. Once home, he headed straight for his office and began to shuffle through his multitude of magazines, newspapers and local newsletters for anything that might be useful about this new train line and the company fronting it.

[[OOC]] Thomas ponders if his computer is telling him something as "1-800-Suicide" comes up on Winamp.

There are a number of articles from the local paper, and a couple of magazine articles from one of the bigger regionals. Southern Star was incorporated about seven years ago, but hit absolutely no one's radars for the first few years. Just another small-time contractor, specializing in transportation. But about five years ago, they first unveiled the idea for the Star line, with an ambitious vision: revitalize the small towns of the South by connecting them by bullet train to the larger cities, and provide jobs and consumer traffic to places that the modern era was quietly forgetting. Most of the articles are glowingly enthusiastic, tracking the number of new jobs, and the visits by Southern Star engineers to local high schools.

"Hmm.." Thomas mused as he took down the names of the visiting engineers, he switched on the computer and put those names into any research database he had access to. While waiting for that to come back, he started pulling info on the Southern Star company itself, and it's major players. Information was ammunition after all.

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Gimme a Research role, please!"
[[DICE]] Thomas rolls the d666 and gets 6 3 CHECK: 1.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Because Thomas has the big throbbing brain, that actually makes. :D"
[[OOC]] Amy is scared of Thomas's giant brain.
[[OOC]] Thomas's brain throbs smugly.
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "GIANT BRAIN."

Most of the information doesn't seem terribly useful; Lucille Colby, John Redding, and Dusty Chrisco were the engineers that visited the schools, and nothing pegs as unusual about them. There are a couple of interesting things, though: one article from about two years mentioned that Southern Star ran into funding trouble, and its head engineer/CEO, Edward Majors, ended up finding a local business magnate to take over the main funding: Reginald Wright. The article has the two of them interviewing together with the writer.

[[OOC]] The Conductor notes that the Mercurian /can/ attempt a resonance roll through media, but you'll only get a faint impression, barring a super roll.
[[OOC]] Thomas says "Info is ammo. I'll give it a shot, nothing to loose."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Roll me Perception, then!"
[[DICE]] Thomas rolls the d666 and gets 3 1 CHECK: 4.

Faint echos tremble through the Symphony about the two men, revealing a sense that Mr. Wright is confident, self-assured, and a dominant personality, while Edward seems more withdrawn, introverted, and willing to let others deal with people. But the general impression does not tell much about their specific relationship.

"Reginald Wright eh. Who's he when he's at home." Thomas ponders. Checking his watch, it's almost time for the War Council, but he's got time enough for one last search. He drop Wright's name into the digital sea and waits to see what he catches.

Reginald Wright has a web presence: he's a member of the Lovell Chamber of Commerce in good standing. He's from the Wright family, who owned several of the mills in this area, and still has a good chunk of real estate. His own accomplishments include a M.B.A. and Wright Parts Manufacture, a factory on the south side of town. Not much on his personal life, except that he's married to a local, and they have a seven year old child.

Thomas nods as he gathers all his notes, and hurriedly stuffing them into a folder he heads out. Stopping at the door, he grabs his cane from the closet, then steps out into the night.

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Alright! And now, Marjorie!"
[[OOC]] Marjorie is here!
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "What are you doing until time for the Council of War?"
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... hanging about in the church. Praying and/or talking to other people who have gathered there."

The church is, unsurprisingly, filled this evening. The father has already set up a collection box for families and survivors of the victims of the train crash, and several small groups of older women are clustered together, gathering the might powers of Organization.

Marjorie drops a twenty into the collection box and heads over to the nearest group, taking the time to kneel and cross herself at the side of a pew before approaching. "Hi," she says, simply. "How are you all doing?"

The group opens up to allow Marjorie in, and one of the women freely offers a hug. "Oh, just shaken, sweetie. How are /you/? I saw you on the news! They were showing shots of the scene and you were helping a woman, God bless you. Were you hurt?"

Marjorie shakes her head, hugging back. "Nothing hit me. But you just have to help when God gives you the opportunity, y'know? It wasn't a big deal."

Another woman pipes up with an enthusiastic, "Hmph!" She shakes her head at Marjorie, and chides, "Don't you go saying it wasn't a big deal, young lady. It was a star in your crown, and that's for sure. We," she gestures to the rest, "are going to get together care packages for those at the hospital, and their families. Just to make sure they have enough."

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "And yes, the people at the hospital are going to be drowned in free food by nightfall."
[[OOC]] Amy says "It's The South. Isn't this What You Do?"
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Yes. We feed people!"
[[OOC]] Amy says "The British make tea in times of crisis. The South makes cornbread, and biscuits, and chicken, and some stew, and ..."
[[OOC]] Harris says "It's all going to be fried, too. So the ones that weren't killed by the train will be taken out by heart disease :)"
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "It's not /all/ fried. Some of it is merely smothered in gravy."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "Tasty tasty food. Mm."
[[OOC]] Amy says "And some of it is BOTH fried and smothered in gravy."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Well. yes."

"That sounds wonderful, Mary Anne," Marjorie agrees. "Do you need another pair of hands? I have a while before I should head home."

[[OOC]] Thomas says "mmmMMMmm.. death in a plastic tub."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... good lord, it is weird playing someone this genuinely serene. ELOHIM, good god."
[[OOC]] Amy says "And THAT is why I can't play Elohim! :)"

Mary Anne smiles. "We can always use an extra pair of hands!" She looks around at the others. "C'mon girls, we've got work to do. Marjorie, you can help us pack the care packages." Apparently, someone has no confidence in Marjorie's cooking skills.

Marjorie isn't going to argue about that assessment of her cooking skills. She can make a mean -- well, a mean beef jerky and battlefield hardtack, but that's about it, and it's not like she's going to mention it here. She smiles and asks where to begin.

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Alright! Shall we fade out here, and then back in on the Tether when the group comes together?"
[[OOC]] Amy says "Works for me. :-)"
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "I think so!"
[[OOC]] Harris says "k"

The Lakelands Rail Museum is never very busy...especially at night, when it isn't even open. And yet, there are lights burning in the converted Victorian house, flanked by display rail cars, and a couple of tough-looking youngsters hanging around in the shadows, glaring at anyone who happens to look like they might be pausing. Raul and Joanne are Soldiers of Stone, and members of the 3rd Street Crew, so there are probably a couple more youths where they can't immediately be seen.

[[OOC]] Amy says "Are we posing in arrivals, then?"
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Sure!"

Amy pulls up in her station wagon, her family members long since sent back to their own homes. Parking across the street of the old house, she steps out and looks up and down the street before crossing towards Raul and Joanne.

Marjorie parks her car, and walks quietly after Amy, not saying anything until she's arrived at the house. She knocks on the door.

At the knock, the front door opens, and the slender figure of Elisha is framed in the doorway. Raul and Joanne nod respectfully to Amy, but start to look a little skittish as others arrive; they drift away to either side, slinking behind the corner of the train cars. "Come in, come in," Elisha says in a distracted tone, already turning away and leaving the door open for all to follow.

Harris makes his way along the sidewalk, carrying a brown paperbag in his right hand and humming a bit. As he approaches the museum, he slows a bit and waves with his other hand. He then continues towards the museum, calling out "Wait up, y'all."

Marjorie nods, with a faint smile, and holds the door for Harris.

Thomas steps out of the shadows across the street from the old house just after Amy's car pulls up. Looking up and down the street before he starts across, the cane making a ticking noise every other step as he moves, nodding to the others as he catches up with them near the entrance.

Harris nods to Marjorie, "Thanks," and steps inside.

The inside of the Tether is spacious, although stark. Display cases line the walls, showing the rise and fall of the railways...and the communities that they fed and nourished. Elisha leads the group back to his small residential area, where there's a thick, antique table with some hard, albeit beautifully-carved, chairs. "I'm glad none of you were badly wounded," he says, briskly, by way of greeting.

Amy nods her head and folds her arms as she follows inside. "Glad this place held up."

"Barely," Elisha replies with a grimace. "I was /this/ close to trying to call the Lord Shaper to hold it...this Tether is too old to handle these kind of shenannigans." He glares at the group as if one of them might be responsible.

Thomas steps towards the table, "Was there any activity around here during the event?"

Elisha leans against the wall and shakes his head. "Nothing unusual, under the circumstances. No secondary Disturbance, no strangers."

Marjorie says, "Have any of us noticed strangers in town in the past couple weeks?"

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Roll Intelligence, all of you."
[[DICE]] Thomas rolls the d666 and gets 4 4 CHECK: 1.
[[DICE]] Harris rolls the d666 and gets 5 3 CHECK: 1.
[[DICE]] Marjorie rolls the d666 and gets 5 3 CHECK: 3.
[[DICE]] Amy rolls the d666 and gets 6 6 CHECK: 3.
[[OOC]] Harris doh.
[[OOC]] Marjorie faiiiil.
[[OOC]] Thomas flexes his big brain again.
[[OOC]] Amy says "Oh dear. It's up to The Throbbing Brain to save us!"
[[OOC]] The Conductor laughs!
[[OOC]] Thomas says "All this combat power... tsktsk. 9)"

You paged Thomas with 'You've seen some new people around. Mostly reporters (including Felicia Masters) hanging out, trying to get the 'human perspective' on the events. Also a scruffy fellow, maybe some sort of day laborer? You wouldn't have noticed him at all, except that you both seem to enjoy taking walks downtown at the same time a couple of times.'.

Harris considers the chairs for a second, but ends up leaning against a wall. He shakes his head, "Just the usual hooligans pawning off their playstations and tools. What about the rest of the town? New businesses?"

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "No new businesses that any of you have seen."
[[OOC]] Marjorie is well-rounded! Only /sorta/ a combat monkey!

Amy shakes her head.

[[OOC]] Amy is... well, okay, a bit of a Combat Monkey.

Thomas nods thoughtfully, pulling a manilla folder out of the inside of his coat and setting it on the table, "Just the reporters, including that wonderful Masters woman, covering the opening." He ponders a few moments, then starts as if something suddenly occured to him, "I did notice this rather straggly fellow downtown a couple of times. A transient perhaps, but given the situation he might be worth checking out."

Marjorie says, "/Everything/ is worth checking out, given the circumstances.""

Elisha sighs. "I wish I could be more help to you, but nothing strange has been going on this way. I've asked the children to keep an eye out, but so far, no signs of any aggression towards the Tether, or our Soldiers. I doubt we are the target, or else they would have struck while the Tether was weakened."

Harris makes a spitting motion when Thomas mentions Ms. Masters. "That vulture. I doubt I could muster up any surprise if I found out she was involved somehow." He shrugs. "I can go through my books for the past week or two. Might be something in there I've forgotten. Maybe buy the sheriff a steak and see what a good sirloin shakes out of him."

Amy frowns. "If it wasn't us, then what? That train? Trying to break up everyone, put folks back out of work?"

"Whatever was going on, someone didn't want to be noticed at the scene." Thomas leans against one of the chairs, "I thought I recognized a Shield song active at the site just as the dust was settling."

Marjorie nods. "Destabilization. Horror and despair and hopelessness. /Demonkind/." She pauses and turns to Thomas. "/Did/ you now. Whereabouts?"

Thomas shrugs, "Can't say specificly. It was likely Celestial in origin though, something in the way the dust was, or in this case, wasn't settling."

Marjorie considers. "We can assume it -- or they -- was actually at the scene, then. Not directing it from afar." She sighs. "The kind of demon who likes a spectacle. Media?"

Harris frowns. "Just couldn't help bein at the scene of the crime. Hey -- Thomas, you got any pull with the news? Some copies of the tapes that were shot might help out." He nods. "Yeah, I noticed the dust was strange but didn't put any more thought into it after that."

Amy nods, and frowns. "The smoke did get awful thick there, for a bit."

Thomas regards Harris thoughtfully, "Local print news I've got contacts, television not so much. But I might be able to talk to someone in the name of journalistic comradery," He frowns as if he swallowed something distasteful, "So long as I can avoid Ms. Masters."

Marjorie raises an eyebrow. "Is /she/ new? Ms. Masters."

[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... xenophobic little things, these angels."

Thomas shrugs, "Almost all of the reporters around, print and television are new. This is a relatively big event in the region after all. Almost didn't happen though from what I can gather."

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "She's been the on-the-scene, human touch, anchor for the Greenville affiliate for about two years. All of you have seen her on TV at least once or twice, usually covering farm shows or the like."

Harris says, "That's a lot of suspects."

Amy nods her head, still thinking. "Quite a few," she says, finally. "Best to just start trying to narrow the list."

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Everyone roll Perception, please."
[[DICE]] Marjorie rolls the d666 and gets 2 3 CHECK: 1.
[[DICE]] Thomas rolls the d666 and gets 4 1 CHECK: 4.
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "Mwahah. I am perceptive."
[[OOC]] Thomas says "Not me this time."

Thomas ponders, "Did anyone noticed any of the reporters, other than Ms. Masters, being less surprised and more opportunistic?"

[[DICE]] Amy rolls the d666 and gets 1 4 CHECK: 2.
[[OOC]] Amy says "Whee! I got it!"
[[DICE]] Harris rolls the d666 and gets 1 4 CHECK: 1.
[[OOC]] Thomas says "The brain fails. X)"
[[OOC]] Harris oops :D

About this time, there's a tremble through the Symphony, a shiver of reaction from directly above. Elisha jerks, curses in Latin under his breath, and hurries out of the room, calling back to the rest, "Incoming. Be back in just a sec." He doesn't seem worried, just peeved.

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "CDs are low enough that pretty much all everyone gets is, "Hey, Disturbance!""

Amy glances at everyone else before looking up.

Marjorie blinks at the Disturbance. "What /now/," she mutters.

Thomas furrows his brow and looks around the room cautiously, "Should we follow?"

Harris looks up suddenly and watches Elisha rush out. "Elisha said he's be right back, so I don't think it's anything that requires us." He turns to Thomas. "None of the reporters stick around in my head."

No-one has to wait long, as Elisha comes back soon enough, preceded by a woman. If you gave a knife a business suit and a thin mask of humanity, this woman would be a good approximation of the result. Everything about her is sharp and cold. Her hair is ash-blond, slicked back and cut brutally short. Her face is angular, with thin lips, and a nose only an eagle could love. Her eyes are slightly slanted, and a cool green. "These are the locals," she says to Elisha. It's not a question, and he just nods in response. As she turns back to survey the group, he grimaces expressively at the back of her head. His voice is quite calm, though, as he says, "Justine, Seraph of Judgement. The Tether in Greenville heard."

[[OOC]] The Conductor Elisha . o O (And, of /course/, they couldn't be bothered to let me know they were coming...)

Amy inclines her head. "Not surprisin', loud as it was."

[[OOC]] Harris says "Judgment. Very dangerous. You go first."

Marjorie stands up and offers a hand to the Judge. "Marjorie. Elohite of the Sword."

Harris waves to the newcomer. "Hi, Justine. What's the news our of Greenville about this?"

Justine ignores Marjorie's offered hand and Harris' wave, and her gaze slides over each of them for a moment, but her attention lands and fixes on Thomas, and it seems to be to him that she speaks. "I will be conducting a separate investigation. For now, all I require of you is a statement that you were not responsible for the Disturbance, and do not know who was. This statement will be evaluated for truth, of course."

[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... JUDGES."

Justine continues to stare at Thomas. It's not, by any measure, a friendly look. "You may go first, Tabris."

[[DICE]] The Conductor rolls the d666 and gets 5 6 CHECK: 2.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "...thank you, Dominic, for your attunement."
[[OOC]] Harris | The Conductor says "Everyone take the oath. Not so fast, Thomas."

Thomas raises an eyebrow at the introduction of the newcomer, and her apparent bias. It's not the first time Judgement has had its eye on him. "It's to be that way is it." He's also not asking questions, and he remains in eye contact with Justine as he replies, "I had nothing to do with the Disturbance, nor do I have any idea who was responsible."

Justine follows up, quite quickly, "And are you at this moment dissonant or Discordant?" Behind her, Elisha visibly bristles, but doesn't object out loud.

Amy frowns. Deeply.

[[OOC]] Amy is doing a lot of frowning, it seems.
[[OOC]] The Conductor |Justine says, "People do that a lot around me. I have not yet figured out the cause."

"Straight to it eh?" Thomas sighs and shakes his head, "No, I am not dissonant, nor discordant. Oh, and since you're likely to ask anyway. No, I have not seen my Superior in a very long time, and I have no idea of his current whereabouts."

[[OOC]] Marjorie head in hands. JUDGES. JUDGE SERAPHIM. WORST KIND.
[[OOC]] Thomas resigns himself to the abuse.

"Your cooperation is noted," Justine says, without a trace of irony. She turns next to Marjorie. "Now, you."

[[DICE]] The Conductor rolls the d666 and gets 3 6 CHECK: 2.
[[OOC]] Harris bets the Angel or Demon of Irony hate Seraphim.
[[OOC]] The Conductor snickers.

Thomas rolls his eyes, and relaxes the white knuckle grip he's unknowningly had on his cane.

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Poor Thomas."
[[OOC]] Thomas goes for the sympathy vote.
[[OOC]] The Conductor only hurts the characters she likes? "Which is, for the record, all of you." Happy smile.

Marjorie is serene and cold and bland, her fingers laced loosely together and held at her waist. "I had nothing to do with the Disturbance, and do not know who was responsible for it."

[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... oh god, the GM likes us."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "We're doomed."

Justine nods, and notably, does not ask about Marjorie's state of dissonance. Instead, she moves on quickly to Amy. "And you."

[[DICE]] The Conductor rolls the d666 and gets 6 4 CHECK: 1.
[[OOC]] The Conductor | Justine is unhappy Judge Seraph who cannot get decent CDs!
[[OOC]] Amy nods sadly to Marjorie.

Amy's frown doesn't flinch, and she matches Justine's gaze. "I had nothing to do with the Disturbance, and at this time do not know who was responsible for it."
Another curt nod, and then the cold green gaze moves on to Harris. "And you."

[[DICE]] The Conductor rolls the d666 and gets 5 5 CHECK: 6.
[[OOC]] Harris ...
[[OOC]] The Conductor cackles.

Harris shrugs. "I did not cause the disturbance and I don't know who did."

You paged Harris with 'I know he's telling the truth, but the reason he's telling the truth?'.

[[OOC]] Harris truth-lawyers Amy's statement and thinks she used to know who was responsible, but conveniently forgot.
[[OOC]] Harris hates Seraphim.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "But Seraphim love you, for you give them CD 6s?"
[[OOC]] Thomas says "No sir, we have no sense of humor that we are aware of sir."

Harris pages: Because Judgment asked and messing around with judgment is always bad news.

[[OOC]] Amy says "Hehe."

You paged Harris with 'Thanks!'.

[[OOC]] Harris shakes a fist!

Justine nods, more thoughtfully, to Harris' response, and then her attention returns, as if pulled by a magnet, to Thomas. "Thank you all for your cooperation. Inform me immediately if you find anything useful; Elisha has my...phone number. I will inform you if your investigation is no longer needed. Until that time, please do not acknowledge me should we meet, unless I initiate. Walk in justice." And then she turns and heads for the front door, trailed by a glowering Seneschal.

Amy blinks. "Well," she says, "Ain't that special."

Marjorie says nothing for a moment. Then she smiles, tightly. "Wasn't that the most pleasant thing."

[[OOC]] Harris | Justine flashes a badge. "I was never here."
[[OOC]] The Conductor gives Amy and Marjorie As in sarcasm.
[[OOC]] Marjorie treasures her good grades.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Holy cow, there's rain!"
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "It's been raining here for maybe three hours now. *displeased at rain*"

Harris chuckles "Well, it's always nice to know when you're at the bottom of the totem pole. I'm almost frightened about what sort of investigation she's going to pull off around here -- well, assuming she's staying."

[[OOC]] Harris fails to be surprised by rain.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "It's lots of rain! All at once!"
[[OOC]] Amy had a bit of drizzle earlier, but that's nothing much.

Thomas shakes his head again, glad to see the back of that Angel, "So, where were we before we were," He pauses as if searching for a word, "Interrupted."

Amy shakes her head. "Even allowing for a Seraph's ... talents... she's gonna just be a five-year-old with candy in a china shop. On the other hand..." Amy's lips twist just a bit upwards. It's not a pleasant smile. "She WILL be distracting, all right."

[[OOC]] Harris shakes a fist at mixed metaphors.

Marjorie says, "Discussing possible identities of a suspect, Thomas. I had just suggested the Media."

Harris nods "Yeah. You had just asked if any reporters were acting especially strange during the crash."

[[OOC]] Amy stuffs more metaphors in a blender and turns it on FRAPPE.
[[OOC]] The Conductor giggles.
[[OOC]] Thomas just about used the word Judged.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "It would have been terribly appropriate, even if it does smack of a Media-derived Reality Show."

Harris grins at Amy. "Good point, you know. With her going about, no one will notice us."

Thomas nods, and smiles faintly, "Perhaps a failed Technology experiment?"

Marjorie shakes her head. "It didn't seem like a /failure/ to me. It was too damnned effective."

Harris frowns and shakes his head. "You know... I just don't see this as Technology for some reason. It's missing that... mad scientist pizazz. If we could get ahold of that engineer, though..."

Amy considers. "The body count is a bit low for it to be Death," she points out.

Marjorie nods. "Not Death. ... Malphas and his twisted people? A lot of this town was going to be brought together by that train."

Thomas looks at Harris, confused, "Which Engineer?"

Harris says, "That could be luck on our part, though. The low bodycount."

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "...woe. Rain is followed by angry thunder."
[[OOC]] Amy says "Woe."

Amy hisses softly at Marjorie's suggestion. "Looks like we have too many suspects even on the Celestial side, too."

"What we need," Marjorie says, "is more /information/."

[[OOC]] Thomas says "Oh! And one last note, Thomas will share anything that he's dug up in his research with the crew if it comes up. 8)"

Amy nods to Marjorie. "And so we'd best start getting it. Otherwise, whatever's behind this is going to get away... or worse, do something MORE."

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Ah-ha! Okay. :D Let's say that Thomas fills the rest in pretty quickly on what he found out on his own, then."
[[OOC]] Amy says "Do the rest of us know anything useful about any of these folks?"
[[OOC]] Amy says "Colby, Redding, Chrisco, Majors, or Wright? Especially Wright, since he's a long-time local..."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Marjorie, give me an Area Knowledge roll. Amy, you can roll at default."
[[OOC]] Amy realizes suddenly that she never DID take Area Knowledge. Ahem. *blush*
[[OOC]] The Conductor grins.
[[OOC]] Amy says "What's the default on that one?"
[[DICE]] Marjorie rolls the d666 and gets 5 1 CHECK: 5.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Knowledge skill, defaults to -4/Int, I believe."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "What stat does Area Knowledge ... oh, INT."
[[DICE]] Amy rolls the d666 and gets 3 5 CHECK: 6.
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "Made."
[[OOC]] Amy says "Fail. CD 6 fail. There was that rumor about the puppies... :P"
[[OOC]] Amy snaps his fingers, and will remember for next time to include that one. Even 1 point in Area Knowledge would've made that a success. *grump*

You paged Marjorie with 'You know several of those people, actually. Chrisco is Catholic, and you've spent some time with him on various committees. He's even come to practice at your studio once, but really had no talent or interest in continuing. Wright is a quiet, but important member of the business community. He has a reputation of being cold and very bottom-line oriented; he didn't have much trouble turning out a struggling family business to sell the parcel to a chain store, and the Wrights have always considered themselves to be sort of local nobility. They say jump, etc. Edward Majors came to service with Chrisco once, but did not linger afterwards.'.

[[OOC]] The Conductor scritches.

You paged Amy with 'You've heard things about Wright. The people at your church speak highly of him, and he has donated a significant amount to local charities, you think.'.

Marjorie speaks up. "I know some of them myself. Chrisco's a good Christian. He's been around my church longer than I've been here. Wright ... I don't know him personally, but he's got a reputation as a cold sort of man. Big name in this town, though; all the Wrights are. Majors, I've only seen once. Church apparently didn't agree with him. He knows Chrisco, though."

Amy nods towards Marjorie. "I think someone at church said Wright gave well to charity, but I wouldn't swear to it. Like you said, though, a big name in this town."

Harris shakes his head. "Big names like that don't come around my shop. I've talked to a couple of the workers back at Jeff's. They've got no clue what's wrong and think Wright is a pretty good guy. In fact, I short-circuited a guy's rant against the company by bringing up Wright."

Amy says, "Still, though, why would any of THEM sabotage the train? It couldn't have been cheap."

Harris shakes his head. "Wait a minute -- got that wrong. Majors is the good guy. They never talked about Wright. I blame the news -- I was listening to it at the same time."

Harris shrugs. "Insurance -- if that thing could be insured. Or maybe a rival to discredit the company or personal vendetta? I've seen enough Hollywood flicks to come up with something."

Marjorie shakes her head. "You can't insure a train..."

Harris says, "Or maybe plain old fashioned crazy..."

Marjorie says, "Or /influenced by demons/. Considering."

[[OOC]] Amy says "Just to be clear, GM, since this has varied from game to game: how direct did the Celestial influence have to be to cause the Disturbance in the deaths? Would it have been sufficient to influence someone else to somehow derail the train, or would they have to thrown a switch themselves?"
Harris nods. "I was taking that into account. But it might not be the demon's original idea." He shrugs. "Just tossing out ideas. Too much CSI, I guess."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "They would have had to have taken direct action, themselves, to trigger the Disturbance."
[[OOC]] Amy nods.

Amy shrugs. "Somewhere around is a Celestial who we don't have accounted for, and somehow he, she, or it caused that thing to go off the rails and kill some nice folks who hadn't done anything worth dyin' for, and tore up this town. All we've got to do is track it down."

[[OOC]] Amy says "We can check out the scene of the crime, now that it's quieted down. Hopefully the bad guys haven't had a chance to clean up their tracks?"
[[OOC]] Harris says "Police probably have it cordoned off. NTSB will investigate, too, I bet."

Thomas ponders, scratching the back of his head, "Well, we haven't really narrowed the field too much, but we have some leads to follow. The Wrights don't strike me as demonic directly, too long of a history and a whole family. Majors though, staying out the light, not dealing with people. Who's to say he didn't manipulate Wright into backing him."

Amy nods his head. "Could be, could be. Set the whole thing up just for the explosion?"

Marjorie says, "It's possible."

Thomas shakes his head, "We need to focus a bit I think. Right now, we have no information on the why of this, so it's not going to get us anywhere speculating. We do have information on possible who, so I think we should follow that trail first."

Harris shakes his head. "That'd be heck of a complex plan. Take a lot of work and thought behind it." He sighs. "We need more information -- we've got too many leads and I bet each us could come up with a dozen theories for each suspect -- and that's just the ones we know of."

[[OOC]] Thomas says "Lot of headshakin' goin' on."
[[OOC]] Amy says "Ain't it, though?"

Marjorie nods. "There has to be something concrete." She pauses. "Does anyone know the Songs of Memory?"

Amy shakes her head. "Not I."

"Not me." Thomas looks around at the other negative looks, "Looks like we might have to do this the old fashioned way so to speak."

Harris frowns. "Nope. Never came up before now." He looks up at Thomas and nods. "Not really my area -- I tend to deal with merchandise more than investigations."

Marjorie wrinkles her nose. "I'm half tempted to call up that Judge to see if /she/ has them. Except for the fact that she'd just waste our time."

[[OOC]] The Conductor | Justine looks hurt.
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... aww."
[[OOC]] Amy looks Unimpressed.
[[OOC]] Marjorie -player has total soft spot for JudgeSeraphim. Character does not, though.

Amy nods. "Just maybe." She gestures towards Thomas. "I think you've the right of it, though."

[[OOC]] The Conductor | Justine is very Efficient! Wastes no time with irrelevant matters!

Thomas sneers, "You'll excuse me if I don't have much faith in anything 'Justine' might have for us." The acid in his voice is palpable. "I can probably get near the wreck and see what kind of official word is coming off of any government investigation. Perhaps we should see what more we can find on the CEO of Southern Star?"

Marjorie nods. "... who, precisely, was injured? Do we have a victim list? We should be looking at /targets/, too. Who a demonic influence would have wanted dead."

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Newspapers will probably publish victim lists in the morning; the only ones that might be left off will be those whose families have not yet been found to inform."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "That'll just be fatalities, though. Injured will vary, depending on the severity."

Harris says, "Jeff's got a fund going for the regulars and their families. They might by privy to some information that's not hit the general public."

Marjorie says, "And my church has been taking food over to the hospital. Someone probably knows who is there, and who didn't make it there."

[[OOC]] Harris wonders if this is demonic Munchausen syndrome by proxy...
[[OOC]] The Conductor snickers. "I could see a Habbalite being into that."

Thomas nods in agreement, "That's a good idea, both of them. Perhaps we can get some info from the docs if we're dropping off stuff."

Amy nods. "Evelyn's getting a group together to feed folks too, and Claudette -- my granddaughter -- got admitted briefly to get her leg patched up -- she got injured, but Jimmy didn't make it sound too bad." She pauses. "'Course, that was what Rodney was tellin' me. Still, I ought be checkin' on her, if she's still there."

[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Okay. Are y'all going to split up again, or stay together? I'm hearing a couple of different venues here..."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "Site of accident, then hospital?"
[[OOC]] Thomas nods.
[[OOC]] Harris says "Donating at Jeff's doesn't take much work on my part, so I can go with someone else. Harris does have a proper pickup."
[[OOC]] Amy can drive her station wagon anywhere. Site of the accident, then hospital seems like a good order of things.
[[OOC]] Thomas suggested that going enmass doesn't seem like the best idea for either of the sites.
[[OOC]] Thomas says "*suggests"
[[OOC]] Harris says "Yeah, good call there."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... how many of us are there? Four? That's not a very large mass to en masse with."
[[OOC]] The Conductor snickers. "It's not that big, and there are likely a lot of lookie-loos making 'casual' passes by the accident site, at least.
[[OOC]] Amy says "I expect we might be able to swing by, then, and then head for the hospital."
[[OOC]] Thomas doesn't plan on being particularly 'casual' about his visit to the accident site. 8P
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "OOh, that sounds exciting."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Tell y'all what. Let's fade out here for the night, and then we can pick up at the accident site, in whatever progression you decide, next time?"
[[OOC]] Thomas makes sure to pin his local paper's ID to his lapel. 8)
[[OOC]] The Conductor griiins.
[[OOC]] Harris says "Sounds good to me :)"
[[OOC]] Thomas says "Works for me."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "Okay!"
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... when is next time?"
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "That is the next order of business! I am free any night but Tuesday and Friday."
[[OOC]] Harris says "I am not free Saturday. The rest is pretty free."
[[OOC]] Thomas still likes Sundays.
[[OOC]] Amy says "Sundays continue to be good. Wednesday and Friday aren't good for me in the coming week."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Looks like Sunday, then?"
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "Sunday, Wednesday, or Thursday are good."
[[OOC]] Marjorie says "... Sunday then!"
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Sunday it is! We'll be starting at seven. That seems to be better for most. :D"
[[OOC]] Amy says "So Sunday, the 24th -- seven pm EST?"
[[OOC]] Marjorie nodnod!
[[OOC]] Thomas says "Crap.. One sec.. gotta check my schedule.."
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Yep. People who arrive early are free to do side RP or whatever if they like. Also! People are free to do side-RP during the week, if one or two of you get together and want to. Character building, whatever."
[[OOC]] Thomas just remembered he might have a lacross game to go to this sunday... *curses*
[[OOC]] The Conductor eep!
[[OOC]] Amy says "Gah, lacrosse! It's too cold for lacrosse!"
[[OOC]] Thomas says "Indoor."
[[OOC]] Amy says "Oh."
[[OOC]] Harris says "Too cold indoors, too..."
[[OOC]] The Conductor peers at Thomas. "Is this a Definitely have a game or a Maybe have a game?"
[[OOC]] Thomas says "Played in the same place as the hockey team plays usually. The 24th is the game day, but it's at 1700EST, so I can be late. Though I've no idea how long the game will go, I've never been to a live game."
[[OOC]] Thomas hangs his head and apologizes profusely.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Stuff happens!"
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "We'll keep the game for Sunday, since you hope to be able to play late. And we'll see how it goes."
[[OOC]] Thomas nods.
[[OOC]] The Conductor says "Thank you all again for playing! I hope that y'all are having fun; I know I am. :D"
[[OOC]] Thomas is abused, but still having fun. 8)