<div></div><div title="Magnus" style="margin-top:2em"> It&#39;s high noon somewhere in the world. Right here actually, in the belly of the bureaucratic beast, the top floor of RSX&#39; homestead, so polished and shiny it made the rest of the world look like an unwashed latrine. Here, situated right outside a glassy meeting room, ass plopped right down atop a cozy looking leather bench, was a familiar feline garbed in nothing out of the ordinary. Seems Magnus hadn&#39;t put in the effort to look all gussied-up. His figure was covered by the usual standard array of clothing. Say it with me folks, a dark brown duster, blue undershirt, black cargo pants and the brown and green handstitched scarf that was slowly becoming iconic to him. <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>In his hand he carried something else however, a small black briefcase no doubt full of documentation and utilities that would help them later. He looked a little nervous, no doubt way out of his comfort zone in a place like this. He&#39;d always been the sort to prefer spartan accommodations and express disdain for corporate luxuries such as these. Sure enough, he was expecting backup from willing smoothtalkers who took the proactive side of things, and among them he expected at least two who&#39;d witnessed it first-hand. All they needed now was for the group to gather and for them to be called into a meeting. ...but a meeting with who?</div> <div title="Fenris" style="margin-top:2em">Fenris plucks at his ascot and adjusts his grey bowler hat on his head, tilting it gently with the tip of his nose. <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>Fenris is also an elephant today. If he is going to be arguing for anti-otherworldy funding, it might be best not to show up as an otherworldly representative. Besides, he&#39;s heard that Elephants have gravitas. He is even wearing pants and carrying a very professional looking briefcase. &quot;Magnus,&quot; he says, flapping his ears regally.</div> <div title="Randel" style="margin-top:2em">A near seven foot tall white tiger anthro walks up, wearing a very formal jet-black business suit that is finely tailored for his large body. The outfit shapes well around his muscled frame, making his broad shoulders look even broader and his narrow, but still powerful, hips look distinguishably narrower by comparison from the suit&#39;s masculine accents. Under the pressed suit jacket is a white and crisp dress shirt and a blood red tie with widely spaced diagonal black stripes, held with a silver tie clip. The feline beast even has matching black dress pants and shiny black leather dress shoes, both of which forced him to compromise some on his mutant form and forgo digitigrade legs for something more human, though despite his size they still seem powerful and agile looking as he walks. However, he still has a white and black striped tiger tail idly swinging behind him through a subtle hole in the dress pants. <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>The serious looing feline walks in with that regal unimpressed expression large cats are known to wear, his shoes making a telltale ta-tack as firm heels and stiff soles impact the hard and smooth floor. As if his muscled predatory body wasn&#39;t imposing enough, the fact that he looks like an important corporate representative, high end lawyer, or even a mob boss just adds to the aura of power and authority about him. To his left he carries his own black suitcase, using three out of his four fingers to hold it, due to how large his paw-like hands are and adding to the larger than human average scale about him. When he meets up with the nervous looking Magnus, he says in a deep and formal tone, &quot;Greetings...&quot; almost looking like he belongs here, if it wasn&#39;t for the fact that RSX are very human centric. <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>Then feline gives a broad toothy smile, and says, &quot;It&#39;s me, Randel.&quot; and then looks over to Fenris, having to sniff the air to make sure he knew who it was, and says with a smug smirk, &quot;So, there is an elephant in the room. How are you doing?&quot;</div> <div title="Ludwig" style="margin-top:2em">Ludwig looks around at the gathered group and finds himself a seat with coffee in hand.  Ludwig looks like one would expect an RSX tech would look like: lab coat, glasses, office attire, and completely unremarkable.  The man looks completely human and unaccustomed to the ravages of the wasteland with the most dangerous thing he has come across is a papercut and all-nighters. Other than that he looks like he is right at home.  He offers up a polite grunt before sitting down as he focuses on his beverage.</div> <div title="Magnus" style="margin-top:2em"> &quot;Fenris?&quot; The feline quirks a brow. He knew that scent, but not that form. &quot;Huh, there is a joke to be made here, but I am in no mood for humor. Good to see you, and... honestly surprised to see you. I thought you&#39;d oppose me on this, but... yeah. You never really know.&quot; He&#39;d move in and provide the greeting most common to him, a big ole&#39; hug right around the massive lad. Looks like a whole lot of altered faces today, when Randel walks in looking gussied up enough to be the best man at a royal wedding, it elicits a bit of a concerned look on Magnus&#39; face. He kind of stood out now, didn&#39;t he? No matter. &quot;Randy? Damn, I know we&#39;re handling something important today, but you look ready to meet with the president.&quot; Magnus twirls one hand &quot;If we had one. Maybe sometime in a few years. Who knows.&quot; The feline goes in for another tight hug, this one a little handsier than the one delivered prior. Along with them comes a fully human lad whom he&#39;d heard of in the days prior, a man on the inside willing to clarify and provide insight regarding RSX affairs while the negotiations are underway. &quot;Ludwig. Thank you for this. I don&#39;t know what prompted you to step up but I appreciate it.&quot; <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p> With all the pleasantries exchanged, the four are promptly approached by a tall looking lady, distinctly human, no tail or animal features at all yet easily towering over seven feet tall. &quot;I take it you&#39;re crew here to address a new proposition? The meeting is not due to start for another ten minutes, however if you are all assembled, we can start right away. You will be speaking with Professor Miller, head of Research and Development of sector seventeen. You will address him as &quot;Sir&quot; or &quot;Professor&quot;, you will keep to the point and not waste his or anyone else&#39;s time, you will be concise and accurate as to your demands and as to how an investment on our part can benefit us all. Fail to do so and you will simply be dismissed.&quot; He finger points towards a corridor far off to their right. &quot;Professor Miller will be joined by a security guard and a financial auditor who will perform checks should you... people, somehow sway him in your favor. Best of luck.&quot; He notes, then turns heel, and walks right off...</div> <div title="Fenris" style="margin-top:2em">Fenris accepts the hug, patting Magnus&#39;s head with his trunk. &quot;I&#39;m not looking to seal the borders, mind,&quot; he says, his voice a bit different as an elephant, &quot;But a bit of regulation could go a long way. We don&#39;t need Outsiders popping in willy nilly.&quot; The big elephant saunters off down the corridor as directed, looking very dapper and professional. With a whole briefcase full of snacks.</div><div title="Randel" style="margin-top:2em">Randel sees a human walk up to the rather animal-like group, making him sigh in relief and say, &quot;Oh good. Can use someone that knows this place well, welcome&quot; and waves to Ludwig with a claw. He does beam a smile when complemented by Magnus, seeming like it was very much on point. Though he gives a reluctant hug back, patting and rubbing the other feline&#39;s back, stifling a quiet and deep growl. &quot;Please, Magnus...&quot; he says quietly, after letting go of the hug, wearing a stern demeanor again, &quot;This is business, and I&#39;m riding this form&#39;s mindset close to the surface to stay confidant, and... they don&#39;t like other males... But I am just as worried as you are.&quot; He then pats down and straightens out his suit again, muttering, &quot;I just took a shower and I feel like a need another just walking in here.&quot; <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>A brow raises when seeing an even taller person come in, an amazon of a secretary, making his height seem a tad short. If he was in any other setting, he might find her attractive, but the corporate atmosphere and topic at hand sucked any joy out of that. So much for the size advantage he wanted. Just as well, he didn&#39;t to be too big if only standard seats were available. When briefed about the proper etiquette around Professor Miller, he nods in acknowledgement and makes a mental note to keep things to the point. His tail gives a couple of feisty wags after taking in the information.<p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>After the large woman heads off, he says, &quot;Looks like this is it. Hope you all did your homework.&quot; He looks over at Fenris and says in a calm and deep tone, &quot;I am not sure if we could seal off our world completely, even if we wanted to. I would be thrilled if we prevented another P-Day like event. Or prevent another form of aberrant infection.&quot; He looks down the hall for a moment and then asks, &quot;What are we asking for here? I want to make sure we are all on the same page.&quot;</div> <div title="Ludwig" style="margin-top:2em">Ludwig nods towards Magnus after sipping his coffee.  &quot;Sorry, I just got out of the lab.  While the prospect of this &#39;Otherworld&#39; is interesting, it is a complication that would impede the reconstruction efforts RSX is trying to bring about.  This event is a concern for everyone and it seems like the sensible duty for us to ensure the safety of this world.  Safeguards, due diligence, and professionalism.  I&#39;m here to remind the higher ups about our company&#39;s importance and what it stands for... just in case they forget.&quot;  Ludwig goes in for another sip of coffee but quickly mentions, &quot;although, I&#39;m not the best speaker so someone else should do most of the talking&quot; and then puts the cup against his mouth to drink more coffee. As he finishes his sip he says, &quot;Just remember, people at the top like to think they know and see everything.  Play to his ego, don&#39;t get too annoyed by any pro-human rhetoric, and try to be as professional and to the point as possible.&quot;</div><div title="Magnus" style="margin-top:2em"> The feline tucks his hands into his pockets and reminds everyone what they were here for. &quot;Simply put we are representing the people&#39;s concern over recent events in the greater city area. We&#39;re here to present our findings and make a case for establishing a program for combatting these otherworldly incursions. We won&#39;t ask for much, but a steady income of resources for even a small unit at first would give us the needed foothold to make a positive change. Furthermore we will have easy access to anomalous events that both the tech giants will want dibs on. I&#39;m wagering this information would be our secondary source of funding further-on, but let&#39;s not get into that with this Miller person.&quot; Ludwig&#39;s words elicit a sharp sneer from Magnus. &quot;Rub the fat cat&#39;s ego... I&#39;ll be keeping my muzzle shut if possible then. I&#39;m not the sort to gussy up to people like that.&quot; <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p> The feline reaches for the door handle, and turns. Sure enough they would emerge into a large meeting room, bare white walls and grey carpeting, fluorescent lighting and one solitary table suited for a board meeting of over twelve persons situated dead-center, surrounded by chairs. On the side opposite them were three people, all human at a glance, however looking at the security guard he was a fair bit larger than your average pure lad. He had a chiselled face and a stern look, one glance at his claw-capped hands also suggests he&#39;d adopted an ursine form yet decided to retain his humanity through the kemonomimi alteration. Even so he was by far not the scariest of the three. That title belonged to the man of the hour, the one in the center, the golden-eyed stern-looked white-bearded man in his late 40s... <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p> &quot;Gentlemen.&quot; He&#39;d greet them with a court nod, then gesture towards the four chairs ready, just there on the side opposing Miller&#39;s. &quot;If you&#39;d all take your seats, we can begin. I was informed in great detail regarding some escapades into the outer city area as of late. Anomalies having started to emerge, billowing radiation and occasionally permitting in things unwelcome to our realm.&quot; Magnus looked surprised, leaning back in his seat a bit as it dawns that he needed to explain very little. Miller goes on, &quot;We are well aware, we have been for the longest time now. Don&#39;t look so surprised, it&#39;s our job to be informed of such things after all.&quot; He&#39;d reach out with one hand towards the busy-looking human girl at his other side, her fingers dexterously running over the keys of a laptop before her. She reaches beneath the table and hands her boss a small file. Miller opens it, and clears his throat, <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p> &quot;So far we&#39;ve received funding requests from all sorts of hired guns willing to do the work. Now I am not saying we&#39;re even open to offering these kinds of resources, but tell me... what sets you apart from all the street gangs, mercenary groups, and...&quot; he scoffs, adorning a smirk while shaking his head. This pulls in the security guard&#39;s glance, his eyes peering into the paper, before he covers his face with one hand. His boss casts him an amused glance, then returns it to the four before him. &quot;...the self-proclaimed &quot;Cuties Squad&quot; from four days prior.&quot; Almost as if looking to prove he wasn&#39;t jesting, Miller slides the list of previous groups trying to cash in on easy RSX money by offering their services to dispose of such rare extraplanar encounters. Sure enough, somewhere around the bottom there, someone had listed themselves under that exact name. <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p> Magnus too covers his face with one hand. He already felt annoyed and hadn&#39;t even spoken a single word yet. Passing the list onto whoever else cared to see, the feline merely clears his throat, and pulls up the briefcase. He pops it open and pulls out a file of his own, then slides it towards the three opposite him. &quot;Fair tidings to you too, Professor. Unlike the jokes on this list, I bring photographic evidence that both myself, and two others in my group here have encountered such monsters before. With all due respect, we&#39;ve seen the horrors of the otherworld first-hand and demonstrated an aptitude for these affairs.&quot; The three gloss over the paperwork Magnus had submitted, this development having perhaps dissuaded a few doubts. Miller casts a cold glance their way. &quot;Even so... if a ragtag bunch like you can handle this, why would we consider going through you instead of raising forces of our own?&quot;</div> <div title="Fenris" style="margin-top:2em">Fenris takes a seat, just barely large enough for his elephantine derrier. He takes the file from Magnus and looks it over, nodding gravely at the list. &quot;You have a remarkable turn out here, Professor,&quot; the elephant admits, &quot;Though I doubt any of them have the sort of experience nor the expertise that Magnus and his team represent.&quot; He passes the list along to the next interested hand. &quot;They also lack the intelligence that Magnus has collected. I don&#39;t suppose you are familiar with the space-time stabilization research that is being performed near the breach?&quot;</div><div title="Randel" style="margin-top:2em">Randel smirks and gives a deep chuckle when hearing Magnus&#39; comment and says quietly in a deep tone, &quot;Glad I&#39;m here then. I&#39;m used to placating others when needed.&quot; After that, he walks into the room with the rest, his tiger tail flipping about sporadically with pent up energy, but otherwise his unimpressed demeanor seems to hold. With cold eyes, he looks over group on the other side, sizing up the guards and the main person of interest at the negotiating table. Secretly he is relieved when he sits, able to hide and capture that incessantly twitchy and nervous tail from others. <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>Before the tiger can say anything, Professor Miller jumps right to business, stating what he already knows about the situation. The whole thing makes the feline smirk in amusement, both not surprised that RSX knows, and by the reference of a &#39;Cuties Squad&#39; amount the teeming hoards wanting supposedly easy money, or a quick scam at RSX&#39;s expense. When the list passes to him, he looks as though he merely glances over the pages, but in fact reads every single bit of information on it before moving it to the next person; the contents making him chuckle quietly in a deep feline tone. <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p>&quot;My friend here is correct, Professor Miller&quot; Randel says in a deep tone still with slight smile from the file, &quot;Hardly anyone is prepared for this kind of threat, let alone the reason why it is happening. Going in unprepared could cause not only severe casualties from both combat with powerful hostiles and acute radiation poisoning, but could inadvertently help create a foothold situation due to otherworldly corruption.&quot; His smile slowly turns to a sneer, as if disgusted by the idea, and continues with a hint of a growl, &quot;The Outer Realm is not to be trifled with, Sir. It is not like any other plane of existence. Allotting us some much needed gear would go a long way towards our success and the city&#39;s ensured safety.&quot; He glances to the list and waves with a claw, &quot;Those... amateurs... don&#39;t know what they are getting into. Then getting themselves killed would be a sad loss. But them getting corrupted and turned...&quot; He trails off and looks at Miller eye to eye, &quot;You need a specialized and educated containment squad, not just troops.&quot;</div> <div title="Ludwig" style="margin-top:2em">Ludwig sits down on the large sit with his legs dangling as he can&#39;t reach the ground after setting his coffee cup on the table.  He ponders on the arguments being issued while reviewing the documents being passed to him.  He doesn&#39;t say a word as he patiently reviews the documents and observes the dialog between the Prof. Miller and Magnus&#39; team.</div> <div title="Magnus" style="margin-top:2em"> The golden-eyed human casts a glance towards the girl at his side. She gives him a brief shake of her head, then returns to her work. He looks back towards Fenris and answers. &quot;We have no such agents stationed for purposes beyond area control. If you&#39;ve found someone, then they are a rogue that needs be brought in for questioning.&quot; His eyes then dart towards Randel, brows furrowing as though the other had indirectly implied that RSX were not up to snuff for the task. He leans back in his seat and coldly answers. &quot;I assure you, whatever experience our men need will be acquired and forwarded.&quot; He does however get a soft nudge from the security guard at his side, a few whispers exchanged between them. Once the discussion was over, the pair separate and a tired look crosses Miller&#39;s face. &quot;Right... at great expense.&quot; <p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p><p style="height:0.5em;margin:0"></p> For a moment he considers... thinks... ponders, then glances towards Ludwig, the only one sat across from him with a human face and an RSX place of employment. Miller leans back forward, looking a little stuck between a rock and a hard place. &quot;Among you lot, you are likely the only one who can really understand how this might impact us in the long-term. Tell me agent, were you in the CEO&#39;s place, and one of your direct subordinates comes in with a cost report for such an endeavor, something so impactful that it may well result in the opening of a new branch, what would be your immediate response?&quot; His eyes narrow, golden gaze practically cutting straight through Ludwig in expectation.</div> <div title="Fenris" style="margin-top:2em">Fenris raises an elephantine hand. &quot;The research is independent,&quot; he explains, &quot;Affiliations notwithstanding, the theory is sound and the application proved satisfactory in sealing a small rift. We are not asking you to fund a large operation here,&quot; he continues, &quot;Only to supplement the efforts that will already be underway. It is up to you if you wish to be a part if this effort, but rest assured we do not need you. We are asking you to support a guaranteed win, not to bankroll a risky venture.&quot; The elephant entertains the idea of handing around goodie bags, but decides that maybe this is not the opportune moment.</div> <div title="Randel" style="margin-top:2em">Randel smiles a little and raises his paw like hands up in mild submission says, &quot;No offence, Sir, RSX troops are quite capable, but the required training takes time, and we don&#39;t know the time table nor the full capabilities of this threat. As a doctor, I want casualties to be minimal as well, both for troops and civilians. And this is a threat we can&#39;t just go in unprepared for.&quot; He then looks over at a clawed hand, remembering an event as he splays his padded fingers and unsheathing his black claws for a moment. &quot;Having firsthand experience,&quot; he continues, and looks back over the table, &quot;woke me up from my... arrogance. Well over 10 years of in the field feral studies, having worked with many combat teams to down Prime Specimen ferals, feeling like I&#39;ve seen it all.&quot; Randel pauses and makes a deep feline sigh as he looks away again, &quot;First encounter wasn&#39;t like anything I&#39;ve ever experienced. The way the thing looked, sounded... ugh, felt, and smelled... the sickening radiation...&quot; He looks back again at the man across the table, and says in a plan tone, &quot;Look, Professor Miller, you have a mercenary team that has skill in this matter, and at the cost of gear, you gives us a much needed force multiplier. We can discuss findings and make formalized troop training programs later, once more is learned about the threat.&quot;</div>