[attr="class","samjermain"]The elder of the two chirped, “I am sure we shall.” Calpurnia knew questioning another’s work was wise, but it stil did not make it being done any less irritating. Especially when she had been doing this sort of work longer than Shizue had been alive. Allowing the woman to survey her work—confident it would be satisfactory—the violet-haired vixen turned her attention toward the horizon.

“Wow.” Everything around them was lit up like the remnants of a fireworks show. It really is beautiful. The light came not from some artfully applied gunpowder, however. It was the effect of a hundred battles below. The light and glimmer of a terastal crystal. The blinding light of a Z-move or desperate mega evolution. As Shizue proofed her work, one manicured hand dropped to her feline companion’s head. “It’s stunning.” Hopefully her babies and besties would come out all right.

Calpurnia smiled. “Desperate times. Desperate measures, hm?” Testing could be damned in a situation like this. Though, in truth, she thought it could be damned in all situations. “Few things are as effective as a trial by fire.” At the question about birds, the woman chuckled. “No, no. It is a Hoennian turn of phrase.” Kelpie smiled, turning to give Shizue her full attention. ”I was thinking we could pass this formula to a few more science checkpoints.” It would make synthesis easier. “The more the merrier, right?” And, in the case of the league, the deader.

“Though we could try sending it via passenger Pidove.” She chuckled, almost tauntingly. Though, the second she said it, the more effective the idea seemed to be. Airwaves were a lot easier to break into and pass to some opposing egghead.

NOTES

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[attr="class","samjermain"]Well, someone seemed to have a stick up their bum. And, judging by the general neutrality, it did not even vibrate. A prim hand lifted to wave away the younger woman’s concerns about the efficacy of field testing. “In most circumstances, yes.” She crunched her numbers and data like any good scientist. “Though, I think efficient is a stretch.” All of the bureaucratic red tape led to a lot of wasted time. Pokemon and lab testing could take years and rarely lead to desirable results. “There are many things only found out through a field test.” Then again, while she understood the importance of validity and repeatability, Calpurnia tended toward impatience.


“And, unfortunately, they are not giving us much choice.” The product deployed seemed foolproof—not that she ever believed in such a thing. Idiots could be quite persistent when they put their little brains to it. “The workaround they found is equal parts stupid and effective.” It’d be nice if someone mentioned that particular loophole before all this—oh, wait, she had. “We can perfect the formulation when we return to HQ. Or, at the very least, type it out.” Typically one for fanciful cursive and heart-shaped riddles, her lab notes were a true story in contrast. They were erratic and often cramped.


At the question of ciphering the formula, Kelpie smiled. Some part of her always wanted to play a spy—a femme fatale, of course. “Well, the encoding can not be too difficult to decipher.” They needed the solution communicated tonight, not next week. The woman glanced at her bag where two books peeked out. One very much work inappropriate. The other book 27 in a cozy mystery series. “I would say we use the Rocket handbook, but no one actually reads it.”


Then, an idea came to her. A rather fitting one considering her tendency to vivisection. “Perhaps we can split the formula up? If they miss one piece, the League cannot do anything. But our side may be able to figure it out.” They were not the only eggheads in the field, after all.

NOTES

• +10 MP for post

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[attr="class","samjermain"]Ahhh, I get it now. Calpurnia smiled softly, a bit more empathetic. The little chickadee was not on a high horse, she was frightened of making a mistake. As someone who likely came from a 4.0 GPA, the feeling cropped up often in the labs. Scholastic life often graded on a black-and-white scale. The true value of failures rarely got explored in depth. So, a lot of her compatriots—especially the little fledging eggheads—would hesitate on important decisions. They would try to create iteration 3.2 of a product before letting anyone reveal the base code.



“Come now.” The older woman cooed. “I do not intend to spread it around like a high school pregnancy rumor.” Calpurnia tittered at Shizure. The very idea was silly “I just want to get it to the sector that needs it.” And, if it worked as intended, the other side would not know what hit them. Or, more accurately, what they’d sucked in. The concern about falling outposts received a prim little sigh in return. “It is rather chaotic out there. An, well, pass codes and code names only do so much.” An unfortunate reality when the other side happened to be just as prepared to use torture.



When Shizue joined the solution crew, Calpurnia grinned, releasing a little golf clap. Mostly because the constant needling without actin had started to chafe like a cheap pair of panties. “Ah~<3! That’s perfect.” The scientist smiled viciously. “We can up the difficulty by sending a number of decoys. Only the real ciper will head to the target zone.” Losing a Pokemon—as long as it was not Titania or Purrsy—did not bother her in the slightest. “Do you have any Pokemon that could help with that?” Her hands trailed across her waist. “I have a Vivillon and a lab reject.”


NOTES

• +10 MP for post

[attr="class","samjerpoke"]

[attr="class","samjermain"]The talk of gibberish drew a smile to the elder’s full lips. “I suppose a romantic letter will not do either?” The idea of a bird being captured and confessing a star-crossed love to it seemed so romantic. It might even spark a bit of infighting as people pondered which of them loved the enemy. “Then again, that is gibberish to the wrong person.” Her third child, for instance, found the idea of romance and sex disgusting.


At the reminder of their failures, Calpurnia chuckled. Her upper body pivoted slightly, locking onto the mess of notes on her table. While the scientists on the other side wouldn’t be silly enough to make a bomb, they could be set to chase their tails. Turning to her own work station, Calpurnia smiled. “Perhaps we can unite one of my attempts with one of yours?” It’d have to give them some tantalizing results—just enough to wet their whistles. “Maybe forge some promising testing data as well.” It’d make the enemy think they were farther ahead of the curve than initially thought. It might prompt them to rush.


Instead of dissatisfaction, Calpunia’s face shined with smug satisfaction. “Perhaps a pronged approach is best. Keep them guessing at the delivery method.” Ivanka could be trusted to accomplish the job. The ability to change her appearance would create the illusion of multiple deliveries. With the plan pretty solidified in her hands, Kelpie clapped. With a smile, she hopped off the desk.


“Let’s get to work, love.” A pen was pulled from her pocket. A pair of dark purple glasses placed back on her nose.


NOTES

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[attr="class","samjerpoke"]

[attr="class","samjermain"]Calpurnia allowed her smile to tilt impishly to one side. “Precisely the point.” It also meant she wouldn’t have to contaminate her perfect little field notes with something alien. “We want to waste as much time as humanly possible. So, we must give them a few wrong trees to bark up.” Though, if Kelpie had her way, those would have figurative thorns. The woman paused to hide a yawn, stretching her arms toward the fiery sky. “Any stall is a good stall, after all.”

Even an extra second could be the difference between victory and defeat. Much like her heels, the fate of the world is often balanced on the edge of a razor blade. “It is fieldwork, after all. It would not do for it to look like a proper presentation.”

Unlike Shizue, the mother did not immediately get to work. Instead, she took a moment to reorganize her desk. Trademark pink paper clips went back into their cups and the freshly emptied coffee cup disappeared into a trash can. Purrseus was also allotted some time to find the perfect spot beneath the desk. Only after things were just so did Calpurnia turn to the work at hand. Flipping through a few initial prototypes, she settled on one with promise. This she expanded on—providing a few breadcrumbs to the right solution. But, like bread crumbs to Hansel and Gretel’s cottage, these ended in a horrifyingly dead end.

Once she completed a handful of these amalgamations—which brought to mind Bomi’s poor little end—she pushed herself back from the desk. “I believe I am ready.” She spun her chair back toward Shizue with a vicious push. “It’s time to decide which chamber gets the bullet.” Personally, she would go for the weakest, least useful-looking Pokemon of the lot.

A Charizard seemed far more worthy of attention than a Rattata.

From the balls at her waist, a Vivillon, Charizard, and Zoroark emerged. The last is almost translucent. Though bruises were present, all three seemed capable of doing the job. For his contribution to this enthralling operation, Purrseus merely yawned.

NOTES

• +10 MP for post

[attr="class","samjerpoke"]

[attr="class","samjermain"]At the mention of familiarity, Kelpie turned to the Purrseus at her side. He lifted his nose in disgust—glaring back. “Unfortunately, that would be Purrseus.” She stroked the giant cat with the flat of her heel. “And my chubby-wubby baby just isn’t built for this.” Though he took offense at the word chubby—he was covered in muscle—the cat did not mind the sentiment.

“But I can always give our lucky little daredevil a memento.” The scientist leaned forward, removing the cat’s bejeweled collar. Still a fan of Shizue’s idea, she went with the Pokemon she used second most. The first thing she ever captured. An embodiment of her homeland and her own life story. “Most of them should recognize Tia, however.” It was not like this region was covered in Kalosian Vivillon. A nervous flutter of wings followed as Calpurnia moved to latch the collar around the bug’s waist. From its o-ring, she dangled the proper formula.

Kelpie wiggled her fingers in the lineup’s general direction. “Go ahead and pass them out, love” She tried to avoid touching Pokemon when she could avoid it. With the exception of Purrsy of course. He really was quite clean.

“Perhaps we could include a trap or two while we’re at it?” The woman smirked as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a poisonous barb. “They did a wonder on Joshie.”

NOTES

• +10 MP for post
• +10 MP for Poison Barb

[attr="class","samjerpoke"]