[center][color=#438095]Late Morning. December 3rd, 21XX - Fort Five, Shanhu[/color][/center]

"I may not be able to shoo away the paparazzi if they find you out on the streets in the forthcoming weeks, but I'm hoping that the places you'll be will give would-be camera crews the spine-tingle to stay away," John said, tapping the desk. "To that end, no more interviews. Sorry about forcing you into that one with EGN the other day, by the way, Iphigenia. My hands were tied," he hummed.

"Cobalt won't be joining us just for the hardware you might be thinking of," he said, looking between Runa and Jin-sun. "She's been through the paces with the Osprey PMC in Australia's Area Zero. Eventually worked for Hientje's R&D. You might be privvy to your own weaponry at will, Runa, but the time may call for something... integrative. To that end, the doctor was specifically sought after due to his involvement with the cleanup of Operation Unknown -the very same that made you." He continued,

"I'm not sure what you've learned yet in history classes with Kyouko, but there was somewhat of an Operation Paperclip following -the end of World War 2. Doctor Meyer was given an amount of the research materials to continue with where he could. If there's anyone out there who could heal you when you can't yourself, it's this guy." John paused, clearing his throat as Kyouko sifted through the various leads. When she finished with her exclamations, he elaborated on the menagerie of titles that the young girl relayed.

"Magical effects in general have surfaced at an alarming rate in the last few weeks. The kinds that we don't have much information about. Ever since the Awakening, no manner of scientific research has managed to quite piece together how to understand these things. Only Grimoire Group has come close with their Leyline Engines, ignoring the amount of information they're probably keeping well hidden. We don't know how to deal with cultists, mages, the like... Any one of them could turn out big, Tian-gui, or they may be tiny. It's hard to say for some of these."

John tapped a finger on each of the dossiers that Kyouko had moved around the table, speaking about it and re-organizing it at the same time. The first was labeled 'Bremen Musicians' as Kyouko had exclaimed.

"On the matter of Operation Unknown, it seems some misplaced research materials had eluded the grasp of the 'States. Given the presence of a few misbegotten... subjects appearing in Shanhu, and the simultaneous timing of some claims by the Musicians on their variously-frequented internet boards, it's clear that they're being used for... improper means."

The document described a certain 'Musicians of Bremen' anonymous group, made up of unsavory 'artists' who dealt in body modification as a kind of artistic expression. And it wasn't the tattoo'ing kind. Abominations were encountered and dealt with in Shanhu's lower levels, and not long after forum board messages appeared from vaguely-verified Musician members claiming responsibility for the creations. There was a threat of more encounters in the future.

"If you want to pursue this one, you'll want to talk to Yigga first," John said, moving onto the next, labeled 'Church of Gears'.

"After the news cycle beat the Skyfleet topic to death, this Church came out of the woodworks. Definite cultists that are believed to have been in meetings for about twenty or so years. They're highly secluded from global connectivity, so information on them is next to nothing. They're nearby an abandoned stellar cannon power plant, long abandoned by larger civilization. It'd be a task without a lot of amenities," John said.

The document described in better detail about the reason why the 'Church of Gears' was more than just an oddity; power failures in German towns nearest to the cult's own ramshackle town were loosely attributed to them, if only due to their centrality to the surrounding affected locations. The zone they lived in was considered 'Legacy Uncontrolled Territory', signifying it's possible importance in the future with regards to stellar cannon operation. Only those belonging to no nation settled there.

The third document Kyouko had spoke of, 'Yesterday's Promise' depicted a Changed individual, heavily augmented by cybernetics. A single red eye glowed from beneath a dark hood. John paused on speaking about them, appearing as if to gather his words.

"If you'll recall the incidents where the leyline engines were 'failing' leading up to the Thremont's big move," he began, "The investigations finally came through. Turns out it was deliberate. Terrorist attacks very well-disguised as inescapable engineering failures. Yesterday's Promise is the name, though it's clearly a codename. Leader of his own band of mercenaries. Seems as though the young man was convinced by Thremont himself to aid the company and his ultimate intents; world peace by force. Give the illusion that leyline engines can't work, so the world turns to Thremont's Abyssal Engine -the thing you recovered from the flagship," John explained.

"Whoever they are, Yesterday clearly knows his stuff with magic. Finding him has been impossible, but if we work together, I think we can narrow the search, and pick up a trail."

A fourth document was labeled 'Psybloc Incident'.

"This one is likely to be the most dubious, and yet the most straightforward... paradoxically," John said. The sound of crinkling newspaper followed suddenly, as Mason jostled forward.

"If I may, Mister Cornell" Mason said, clearing his throat. The butler folded the newspaper he had in his hand, placing it flat against the table and turning it towards the group.

[b][10k square miles of Sakha Republic, Russia, lost to unknown event][/b]

The news headline, and its proceeding explanation, remained as vague as each other. 'Something' had happened, and a swathe of the land became uninhabitable. Investigators entering the area never returned, and satellites could pick up no signs, infrared or otherwise, of anything living besides the hardy permafrost vegetation.

"The only sign of anything having been there was a single record in a bank transfer database row from Switzerland. 'PSYBLOC', attributed to a non-existent rural town in the Sakha Republic, way up north. Whatever's there... regular investigators have given up on uncovering. Obviously we'd be sending you all in to figure out what the Hell happened. The last one I have for you all hits Iphigenia's home," John said, pushing forward the final folder.

"London's been seeing a number of museums and research companies being pilfered. The culprit is still at large, and the only unifying feature between the items stolen is apparently buried behind the state's MI6. All of the items were labeled as 'OSW', but the meaning behind the acronym is highest-tier confidential. I'm still trying to understand why their label is a state secret, but the items themselves are not. In any case, there are other known OSW items, which means you'd all be put up to the task of aiding local police in intercepting the next attack. Thus far they've been unsuccessful. The assailant has used utterly different methods every incident."

John returned each of the folders neatly into a staggered pile, and crossed his arms over one another as he leaned upon the dinner table.

"It's up to you all which you'd like to pursue first and, of course, I'm here for you if you've got any additional questions about them."