Mato knows that McElroy is right in terms of Wu's capabilities, although McElroy seems to be laying it on a little thick. Mato will deal with the consequences. Or, he won't, and he'll be dead, at which point he'll be past caring about them.

He's not sure why he's so sanguine about all of these things. Has he lost the capacity to care? Massive cyberware replacements - like his - are associated with detachment, and that would certainly be accurate in Mato's case. He doesn't want to die but... nor does it seem like a major concern. He supposes that a really vindictive Wu might do something drastic like have his cyberlimbs forcibly removed (which would suck) but she seems like an entitled brat, not a certified psychopath.

He replies to Brad. <<Understood. Thank you. Yeah, I knew that she be able to tell if I wasn't swinging with full strength, which I thought would make her angry. Maybe I made her angry anyway.>>

<<I'm going to change and go visit the kennels.>>

It will be interesting what happens as a result of this. He suspects that Brad will spread the word, maybe even the footage. That might help Mato's standing with the staff, or maybe it will make him a target. Katya seems like the paranoid type who wouldn't want another cyber-enhanced monster on staff. He's not sure how proactive she might be about a perceived threat, but he resolves to watch his back.

He cleans up and changes back to his uniform, then visits Sabine in the kennels as promised.

Brad replied: <<That's probably a good idea. I'll let you know when it's time to come out and get into dress uniform.>>

Sabine was busy mucking out the stables, but looked up with a smile when she realized who visited her:
"Hey there. Are you lost or are you just here to horse around?"


McElroy lead the way up, but turned to Jawsey: "Take a break. I'm going to talk to Mr. Cunningham. Get your dress uniform ready for dinner. We'll continue the training the day after tomorrow. The hunt will be an excellent opportunity for some more training in the astral."

"Not lost," Mato says. "I said I would come, so I came."

His tone is professional, a bit distant. He's not here to flirt, although he's aware of the potential for his visit to be misconstrued. Some women love that hard-to-get persona, which never made much sense to Mato but, then again, lots of things never made sense to him.

"Sorry I couldn't come earlier. I was on rounds and then got caught up in... guest services."

He's pleased with his euphemism. He looks around, taking in the surroundings.

"Tell me about the hell hounds," he says, trying to get her on a professional topic. "I only know what they say on the trids, which are the most sensational things. I know they're de rigueur among some gang leaders, tinpot dictators of the Barrens who keep hell hounds to demonstrate their prosperity and their insanity. Is it true that they love zebra meat or is that an old shadowrunners' tale? The hell hounds, I mean, not the gangers."

"Thank you. It will be good to find my room, and check that my bags made it there OK. Once I've arranged that, when and where do I need to be showing up in my dress uniform? And what will be expected?"

Once he had his response, he headed off in the direction of their quarters. He was a bit vague on the details, but so long as he avoided voices or obvious guest areas he didn't mind if he got a bit lost -- no better day for it really. In fact, asking for a spot of help was a decent way of breaking the ice with someone, and getting the first fingernail of grip into them.

But speaking of having a grip, he'd better warn Cunningham about McElroy. In fact, McElroy would probably expect it, given Jawsey's openness about reporting to Cunningham. <<To let you know, with his astral awareness it didn't take McElroy long to figure out that I was under double orders. I explained that of course you'd wanted your own people on the staff, so you'd have a more immediate and direct knowledge of what might be going wrong, but that I didn't see this as a conflict with working for Mr. McElroy, since our common goal is the safety and happiness of the guests. Anyway, he says he is coming to talk to you, I assume about this but I don't know.>>

Sabine laughted: "No. They like Premium Dog Food like any other puppy. They are first and foremost dogs - dogs that spit flames, but still fundamentally dogs. We train them from puppy age to be friendly and obedient. Come, I'll introduce you."
Putting back the fork, she wiped away a drop of sweat from her brow.
"It's important to show them no fear. Fear is prey reaction. Let them get your scent from your downturned hand and keep eye contact. Smile, but without teeth. And when you speak to them, speak clearly and slowly.
Zeus is the oldest of the pack. If he likes you, the rest of the pack will respekt you."

They left the stables and moved to a smaller building that had an unmistakably sulfuric smell to it.
Sabine grabbed a bag with treats and pressed it into Mato's hand: "Once he has your scent he'll realize you have treats. Don't give him one before he sits and is still. They speak German by the way - easy short commands. Sitz - sit, Komm - come, Bleib - stay, Platz - lay down, Fass - attack. Avoid the last one for now."

They rounded a corner and came face to face with a tiled room full of six fully grown black mastiffs - or rather Hell Hounds. Zeus was easy to recognize - he was the largest of them with a silver streak in his fur. Sabine opened the wire grid door.



Cunningham replied to Jawsey: <<Thank you for informing me. I'll take care of it. But try to keep a low profile from now on. I'll speak to you shortly before the dinner starts.>>

Mato accepts the instructions, but it would be fair to say that he's not a natural with animals. They often have an uncertain reaction to the excessive amount of chrome, and there's a look in his eye that doesn't always translate well to animal instincts.

He approaches Zeus with a downturned hand. Eye contact is easy. Smiling... less so. Mato's smiles are getting better, but they still have a hint of stiffness, a mechanical quality that reflects his modified nature. "Sitz," he says a bit rigidly, his body more tense than he means it to be. Is it leftover adrenaline from the fight with Chan? Maybe Mato still smells like aggression.

It was a good thing, that Mato's arm was made of metal. Zeus took a sniff and looked at Mato - then decided to bite the hand that held the treats.
It was painful insofar the artificial nerves sent damage signals. The chrome finish was definitiely marred and the temperature sensors showed that the teeth became dangerously hot as well.

"Aus, Zeus, Böser Hund!." Sabine immediately stepped in an the menace in her voice let all other hounds step back and cover, but Zeus didn't budge
"Give him a slight flick against the nose."

The bite doesn't feel good. It doesn't do any lasting damage - his limbs are armored for a reason - but it's enough to bring Mato's senses back to the present.

The threat assessment happens fairly quickly: Mato has weapons in his cyberlimbs and could neutralize the hell hound almost instantly. That's a more drastic solution, given that it would likely alienate Sabine and almost certainly put him on the wrong side of Hamington. He'll leave that for a last resort.

Mato follows Sabine's instructions, taking care to be gentle with his flick, unlike his strike against Chan. He THWAPs the hell hound on the nose, his metal finger making good contact seemingly with just the right amount of force.

This will be a memorable day, he thinks to himself, if I survive it. Bit by a hell hound, beat down a corporate scion... I wonder what's in store for dinner?

The house ended up being less confusing than he'd anticipated. It was huge as houses went, a true mansion, but nothing like the size of a hotel or convention center. Knowing the floor where their rooms were, it was easy to find the servant quarters. After which he simply checked doors until he found one that opened to his credentials. He did hope that the rest were out and about their duties, and not disturbed by his rattling of doorknobs.

And then he could finally lie down for a bit -- no, get the dress uniform ready first, he reminded himself. He pulled it out and hung it up, brushing out the creases as best he could. Might there be facilities for ironing or or steaming these things? He really didn't know, and the amazing fabric barely showed signs of having been packed. Assuming he didn't get called too quickly, it should work itself out pretty well, surely that would be good enough.

Then he set an alarm for half an hour and collapsed on the bed, the early start making it easy to quickly fall asleep. He just had time to promise himself a quick astral excursion when he woke up, if duty didn't call just yet.

AM follows the house staying unseen, and maps the matrix access ports and what she can identify for there. The matrix of he house is supoused to be fragmented - so she attempts to understand where the important parts are. Knowing that there is a silently running agent, she searches for more hidden things. Formally performing routine diagnostics, but using the time it takes to study. She uses Trouble to make sure that she does not disturb anyone important so that she does not attract too much attention.

Mato was surprised at the reaction: The hellhound not only let go of his hand but also laid down on the ground and got a suplicating look on his face.
"Good, he respects you now. Come on then, let's give them a bit of a work out, so they don't bark unnecessarily during dinner."

Sabine got the dogs collared in record time and let them out a back door into the fenced yard and from there onto the grounds, running with them and apparently expecting Mato to keep up also.


AM found the offline host to be confusing. She had no problem accessing the normal Matrix, but any kind of transfer from the local offline grid to the open Matrix seemed to be impossible - at least without first creating an offline copy of the file she wanted and converting it through the authentication key she had gotten from van der Bloom. And even then it was a hassle.
Having Trouble around turned out to be a real blessing. Twice she was able to avoid contact with occupants of the house - one of them the Russian guy.
There were quite a few drone pilots and agents built into the building, but no drone bodies. Most of those performed specific tasks - like watching sensor feeds and searching for intruders. But they also worked as expert systems to help find stuff like books in the library or tracking where people were around the house.

All too fast the leasure time was over and it was time to get dressed for dinner. A message came in from the Housekeeper: <<All personell on non-essential tasks, report to the kitchens. Guest Assignment in 10 minutes>>

Mato smirks. A run? He can go for a run.

Having grown up sick and infirm, one of his favorite ways to pass the time is to celebrate his (purchased) physicality, running and jumping and picking up unnecessarily heavy things and doing the things he never could as a kid.

He doesn't break out the skimmers, at least not for now. He can already run absurdly fast without sprinting - he's been clocked at 24kph while trotting along at a steady jog - although he expects the hell hounds would still be faster than that.

He could break out his hydraulic jacks, but he hasn't tested them as much on turf like the grounds. They work great of firm surfaces like concrete, but he wonders if their effect might be diminished on softer turf that would absorb some of the energy directed downward...

For now he'll skip the skimmers and the jacks in favor of jogging along at a rapid clip. Nothing that would break a sweat before dinner, not that the temperature outside would trigger any sweating in and of itself. Best not to spend it all at once, he thinks to himself. This should already be faster than anyone else who has run with them. He allows himself a broad smile as he races over the grounds, enjoying the exercise and the outdoors and the dogs trying to keep up alongside him.

Jawsey put on the dress uniform promptly after the call, and headed straight to the kitchen. He didn't particularly want to be seen as eager for chores, but it seemed like a good chance to see the other servants in action, where any frictions or conflicts might be more apparent.

Besides which, so far the whole place had been remarkably sane. Well, other than the Wu woman trying to get herself killed by Mato. That had been appropriately 'the rich are crazy!' But supper held the promise of things like decadence, excess, social conflict to witness, and just generally many of his favorite things.

AM gets back to her room and searches her bag for the dress uniform. She gets dressed promptly and then heads to the kitchen to see whats the fuss is all about. She feels a bit worried over the silent running module in the library, as it is different from all other agent programs she witnessed in the private network.

The assembly in the kitchen was nearly complete - except for the stable hands who had taken over guard duty.

Van der Bloom was the only one among the superiors that wasn't present.
Hamington stood there with his four Chasseurs as well as the Wire Maids and Boys to the side, while Housekeeper Emilie Nassau stood with the maids and the cooks on the other side. Jawsey again had to decide where he wanted to stand as Mc Elroy stood next to the Head Butler Ralph Thornton and Cunningham.

As soon as the old man had ascertained that everyone was present, he adressed the assembled ranks:

"Attention.
The seven course dinner is nearly ready and the places are set. The traditions of Christmas Eve at Pike Manor require your utmost concentration. The guests and family will come down in an hour. Two of each of you will be serving one guest. I will now draw the lots and assign you your charge."
The head butler produced a bowler hat began to draw little pieces of paper from it.
"Masha and William - you are responsible for the Duchess."
"Emma and Brad - you are waiting on Sir Thomas Pike"
"Mona and Ignatio - you are on Harabia."
"Winona and Johnny - you have Jenny Marshall..."
And so it went on until all guests had two servants to take care of them.

The butler had somehow made sure that there was whereever possible a man and a woman in a team - which made it unlikely that this was truly a random drawing. The superior servants were exempt from this duty - presumably because they never where in the lottery in the first place.

"Before the dinner we'll do the parade - girls to the left, men to the right along the long carpet. When all have seated you bring in the soup and work your way down to the cheese tray.
After that the cake will be served by the Chef.
We expect the mercenaries of MET2K to arrive at precisely 2100h, bringing with them the Blue Cardinal. This will be the time Sir Pike will proposing to the Duchess. Prepare for a big hurrah. There will be dancing and various instances of general merriment. Do not let any of the guests draw you into conversation or pull you from your assigned charge. They are your only concern this evening.
Do also not engage with the mercenaries. They will secure the grounds and the rooms, but are instructed to stay invisible otherwise.

Any questions?"

After his afternoon exercise, Mato used the remainder of his free time to shower, eat quickly, and then put on his fancy evening clothes. He twists from side to side, admiring the tailor's work in the mirror.

In the kitchen, he stands at attention and wonders why the guests and family will come down in an hour if dinner is 'nearly ready'. Perhaps a difference in the definition of 'nearly'. But why is he here so early, if there's nobody to wait on for an hour? No matter, he'll use the time to meet Mona and get a better sense of what he should be doing (and when he should be doing it).

Harabia, eh, he thinks to himself. He knows more about trids than he does about films, but he knows a bit about some of their early work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The RSC had produced several very fine miniseries of Shakespeare's histories, including a superb tetrology of Henry VI (Parts I, II, and III) plus Richard III. It was from early in Harabia's career, and they played multiple roles... would Mato even be able to remember which ones? Queen Elizabeth? Anne? Margaret? All of the above? Harabia could certain change their appearance to represent any or all of them.

But Mato is a casual fan, not a mega-fan, so he doesn't think he'll freak out. In fact, he's not entirely sure that he'll be able to identify Harabia, because who knows what they'll look like.

AM feels increasingly uncomfortable with the excess of people. Too many people, too many possible dangers. She cannot possibly be aware of all of them. She wishes she was somewhere else, anywhere else for that matter, even fixing the sewers. She barely recognizes that "Emma and Bard"...
is an instruction for her. "Emma is you" she feels Trouble whispering in her ear. She breathes deeply and prays "I am one link on a chain of noble people. I am not weak, I will not break - Iktomi chose me, and he values strength." She gathers her resolve and searches for Bard.

It became shortly clear why they had all been called down an hour early: Thornton made the whole group of servants practice their performance - starting with standing in a straight line - which was actually quite a lot harder to do than expected, as they weren't allowed to touch the carpet as a guidance. Then came the moving about, pulling out the chair in synch and serving their charge without colliding with the others.
Although the team had the least practice, it became clear that the more outdoorsy parts of the servants also needed the refresher.

Mato, for his own part, is glad to have the practice. Having never done this before, he was uncertain how the evening was going to proceed. But the practice is a good idea and he is thankful for it. His natural grace - or unnatural grace, as it is the product of cyberlimbs - helps smooth out his unfamiliarity with the movements and unusual coordination.

I get paid, I don't care, he reminds himself. Better this song and dance routine than getting shot.

Jawsey was wondering when they would name him, then re recalled that he was Johnny. I'm not as deeply in character as I should be!

When they are paired up he smiles at Wynona in a friendly manner, but he was pre-occupied with the demands of service. This sort of performance is really not his thing. He has a good enough memory for remembering details, but the careful timing and the near dance-steps of syncronized movement and not running into each other .. it would be second nature in the astral, but with stiff, awkward, meat, that was a whole other issue. It was why he'd never taken more than a few fencing lessons yet, despite carrying a sword cane, it was just so hard making his body do what he wanted, when it was so easy in the astral, that it was just maddening.

So, work to my strengths. Memorize how to do it, anticipate what might happen, communicate well with my partner. For that matter, learn from the more experienced teams He paid attention to how other pairs did the moves, and how they communicated with each other, trying to soak in as much as possible. He wanted to take some time to scan the assemblage in the astral, but once the initial speeches were over they seemed to be steadily on the move and it was never a good time to be distracted. Finally he snuck in an opportunity while they were returning everything to starting positions in order to practice yet again.

Mato was just putting down the wine glasses for a second time, when he became aware of a presence from the corner of his eyes. Turning around, he couldn't see anything, though as he relaxed and didn't try to get the person in focus, keeping them instead in his peripheral vision, he became aware of a man, wearing what appeared to be a Roman legionaers armor as well as a surprisingly long sword, that he could recognize as a spatha. The person had to be using some kind of magic to stay unobstrusive like that.

Jawsey nearly dropped what he was holding when he switched to astral during a free moment: A powerful - na scratch that - an immensely powerful spirit just stood amidst the bustling servants, who all for some reason stepped around it, but didn't seem to notice it, despite it being clearly materialized. It had its eyes fixed on the door leading to the entrance lobby.

Mato casually accepts the weirdness. He didn't like the thought of someone sneaking up on him, but, you know, magic. It was the great wild card of the 21st century; there was little he could do other than stay vigilant. His radar sensors could cut through some forms of magical concealment, but not all. His millimeter wave detection system? Maybe, maybe not. That would depend on the sword being real metal and not, say, ectoplasm, or whatever the hell spirits were made of. He couldn't rely on it either.

He DNIs a quick message to Jawsey and AM. <<Did you two get a load of this chummer in the Roman Legionnaire armor? Invictus, I presume.>>

AM said >> Haven't noticed anything, I'll look in the astral.

She looks in the astral and then tries again to observe the large spirit.

To the team, Jawsey sent <<Hopefully it is Invictus who is among us, else we have a real problem>>

Then to his boss he sent <<large spirit in the middle of things, mostly being ignored by everyone. I'm assuming Invictus? We've not been introduced. Is the protocol to pretend I don't notice him too? Or should I ask him if I can get him anything? >>

McElroy replied: <<The description fits - but he is not actually supposed to be down there. Keep an eye on him... and tell one of the Chasseurs they should equip purple rounds - just in case.>>

Anna also found the spirit - now that she looked on the astral the concealment didn't affect her. Though now the spirit seemed to have noticed her. His gaze fell upon her and a little cruel smile played on his Roman features.
The spirit dematerialized and moved through the closed door into the hall beyond.

Jawsey messages Matt with the information about the 'purple pound's, adding that the spirit seems to have left for now.

When Jawsey can grab a quiet few seconds he gives a quick call on Red Jacket Boy -- only to receive a brisk astral reminder that one calls friends and allies with care and respect. Shaking off a quick wave of dizziness he takes the time to ask Red Jacket Boy to come and keep watch for him, and the spirit graciously appears without further mischief. Jawsey asks him to stay astral, stay in a quiet corner near the ceiling, and to simply let Jawsey know of any astrally active forms that come into the room.

Mato gives Jawsey a silent nod to confirm the receipt of the message when he knows the elf is looking at him.

Changing rounds covertly is a slightly different challenge. He has the manners to know NOT to do it overtly and there are a lot of people around who might be alarmed if he handles his weapon openly.

Luckily Mato is well-suited for this challenge. In a break during practice, while everyone is resetting their positions, his dexterous fingers easily palm a magazine of the purple rounds. A mental command from his smartlink ejects the magazine of gel rounds in the Walter. It's in his shoulder holster, so all he has to do is slip a hand quickly under his jacket. When his back is turned, two cyberfingers quickly grab the magazine of gel rounds while two other cyberfingers slip the purple rounds into place with a small *click*. The magazine of gel rounds is soon in his pocket and he's back to the ongoing practice.

He does wonder, though, why Invictus represents enough of a threat - To whom? he wonders- to warrant the instructions to/from Jawsey. Has he caused trouble before? Why the restriction? Conversely, what exactly is he doing down here?

Questions for another time. For now, between AM, Trouble, Jawsey, whatever help Jawsey summons up, and the purple rounds, Mato is not terribly concerned about Invictus.

Edit: grammar, clarity

Shaman Maka gazed back at the spirit, a mixture of emotions dotting her aura. From fear to curiosity, awe, and embarrassment. Such a powerful spirit must see right through her, and that self-awareness is awkward to behold. She waves her hand making a shy "hello", and as the spirit leaves, she asks her partner "Did you see that Bard?".

To the dematerialized Trouble she thinks "Stay close to me, he may be dangerous."

Brad replied to Anna with a frown: "See what?"
The chasseur cocked his head and like Mato discreetly changed magazines of his pistol.

Red Jacket Boy watched silently on as the test performance came to an end. All places where brought back into pristine perfection and Thornton called out:
"Alright everyone, get into position. No more talking from now on. Concentrate on your tasks. Guests and family are approaching."
Just as everyone hurried into place, faint classical music began to play, filling the room with a sense of tense expectation.
The two servants closest to the doors opened on a nod of Thornton the two double doors.
Now only the shine of candles and very discreet, dimmed spots as well as the large christmas tree remained as a source of light, as Sir Pike and the Dutchess, followed by Cunningham and Katya Komorova directly behind them strode into the room. They were followed by all the guests of the house - including Invictus. Everyone was wearing the finest clothing the team had ever seen - except Invictus who just appeared in his Roman legionare garb.
After that it was a frantic flurry of movement from the staff to accomodate their charges and bring in the first course.

Mato feels calm and confident. In fact, he feels as composed as he ever has in his life, to the point where he wonders if he's under some sort of magical influence. Was it the shooting qualification? The fight against Chan? Bringing Zeus to heel? Perhaps all of the above, or none of the above.

The surroundings are rich and luxurious, but he doesn't feel out-of-place. He grew up well-off enough that he doesn't feel star-struck by the ostentatious luxury. The candles are beautiful, the classical music is beautiful, the clothes are beautiful. It's all... a gilded cage. Can any of them actually escape it? The things you own end up owning you.

He follows his instructions and begins to bring in the first course.

Jawsey wouldn't ever have said that he was the servant type. To himself he'd even admit that he rather enjoyed being served. But this, this was different. Being part of this much pomp and excess, working as part of a team to make it happen, almost like so many actors in a play, it was somewhat enjoyable.

Of course he was pulled out of the moment when Red Jacket Boy told him about Invictus returning to the room. Jawsey told it that it could leave now -- whether or not Invictus was going to be trouble was a different thing, but for now the spirit was easy to spot, and Jawsey doubted that any other astral beings would come cause mischief around something so powerful.

He'd wondered if Jenny Marshall would be as glamorous in person as on the trids, but he immediately realized that he'd mostly just be seeing the back of her head, and a bit of her shoulders. How glamorous can shoulders manage to be? he wondered, but then it was time to bring in the first course and the flurry of activity drove out such questions.

The training before had paid off: The meal went along without a hitch.

AM found that Pike was - at least for a super rich noble - quite a likeable guy. And he seemed to be genuinely in love with the Duchess. He barely took his eyes off her, but still found time to acknowledge the service, smile and say thank you for it.
The Duchess for her part was more reserved although she too was polite to the staff and avoided eye contact most of the time with anyone except for Pike, whom she looked at least some time in the eye.

Mato had Harabia and found out that the actor/actress was indeed as good as they were supposed to: Whenever they turned to their left they showed feminine body language and cadence while talking to Thorbjörn Valez, easily giving the appearance that they were also a full blown decker.
But as soon as they turned around to the other side, Harabia appeared to be dominantly male, parleying with Chan Wu about politics and business with assuredness and confidence that made one 100% sure they were another high powered Exec.

Jawsey learned that Jenny Marshall was quite a lot more than she appeared: Contrary to her image, she spoke educated and with a keen intellect about business opportunities with Igor Kaminsky. And while Igor appeared to be a condescending asshole, she never once took any of his shit and called him out at every turn. When the dinner reached the desert, Igor excused himself and left the party. Jenny had a very pleased smile on her face as she turned to her other seat neighbor, Invictus, and began chatting with im about history. Invictus likewise excused himself after only five minutes.

As time went on, desert plates were removed and coffee served. The rich aroma filled the hall, when Pike gave a subtle nod to Cunningham. Cunningham got up and went outside, while Pike got on one knee:

"Dearest Maria..." Immediately all conversation ceased and even the music was turned down, "... we have know us for years now - although it somehow feels as if I had known you since time began. You are in my thoughts all day everyday - awake and in dreams. And I can't imagine ever being apart from you.
Dearest Maria... would you..." At this moment Cunningham materialized by Pike's side, handing him a small ring box. The team noticed that a group of armed men in the uniform of MET2K had also entered the room and now had taken position to the left and the right of the door.
"...marry me?" Pike opened the box. Inside was a ring with a truly gigantic looking blue stone. The gem was nearly 2cm in diameter and practically strobed in the dim light.

AM did her part and tried to avoid the growing sense of dread understanding that it all goes so quickly and she is stuck playing nice. She couldn't really bail on Pyke though, he was like the most important guest. She hopes for the best and is polite and transparent as instructed.

Mato is alert and attentive. He appreciates the opulence but, for the most part, he doesn't feel envy. There is a twinge of desire when he smells the coffee, which calls to him like a loving mistress, but he ignores it to focus on his duties.

He keeps his eyes moving during the proposal. Certainly if he had cybereyes he could be capturing footage of this that would be worth a fortune, but since he doesn't - and since he doesn't intend to form any emotional memories over this scene - he chooses to glance around the room. If Mato had been planning something infamous (Wait, should I have been planning something infamous?) he would launch his plans during a moment of high distraction, like the present moment.

As 'the moment' drew near, Jawsey tried to scan the room as best as he could, although certainly the opulence and pageantry was distracting. It was only as the MET2000 members came in that he finally realized [color blue]I should be watching the astral[/color]

Nobody had chased Red Jacket Boy away from his corner of the astral, so Jawsey gave him a new assignment "[color orange]Let me know of any new magic use or astral forms that you see.[/color]" And then when he had a moment to step back from the table for the spectacle itself, he activated his own astral vision.

The Duchess drew her hands to her face, tears flowing freely from her eyes and with a choked voice she managed to get out: "Oh Thomas, yes I do."

There was spontaneous applaus from all assembled - including the staff - as Sir Thomas Pike put the ring on the Duchess' finger.

Jawsey kept looking in the astral - the ring was a powerful object in the astral, connected to many emotions, including alien ones that Jawsey could only suspect to be belonging to a dragon.
But there was something else. The faintest trace of a spell, burried beneath the aura of the ring. Some kind of detection spell as well as an illusion.
The ring fit the finger and Thomas and maria embraced and kissed.
Even the usually sourfaced Katya smiled at the two embracing figures while Cunningham practically beamed with something akin to fatherly pride.

Mato, oblivious to any astral proceedings, claps politely.

If he gets close enough to Katya he might scan her with his cyberware scanner, but that would be more for his own curiosity than anything else.

Well that is worrying ... I wonder if either of them know that about the ring? And Invictus should be able to tell, too, what does it think? Jawsey clapped along with the others, while quickly reading the aura's of the newly engaged couple.

Trouble was extra curious about the ring, and he examines it closely fascinated by its design. AM's order is to help in the mission, which is open-ended enough for him to show some goodwill. After carefully looking at the ring, he tries to see where Invictus is and if there are other astral entities in the room that are worth talking about.



In the meanwhile, AM observes her surrounding, trying to keep her composure while imagining that either the ring was already stolen, or something dramatic is about to happen. She looks for traces of magic and extends her counterspell to the Duchess and Pyke as well as her friends. She claps her hands, and grins to hide growing suspicion inside. She watches the matrix for anything unusual that might happen.

Neither Invictus nor any other spirit beside the one Jawsey had called were inside the room.

The music got louder again, and the guests got up to dance with each other as well as Pike and the Duchess.
The kitchen servants began to clear the tables, allowing the other servants to take up unobstrusive positon, watching out for their charges to tend to them should it be necessary.
Soon, Thorbjörn Valez excused himself too, leaving the dancers one man short. Chan purposefully strode towards Mato and reached out her hand: "You wouldn't make a girl sit out during a dance, would you?" Her voice was slightly purring and she seemed to have drunken just enough alcohol to make her mischiveous.

Mato watches Harabia dance with Jenny Marshall. Dancing with Chan represents a potential distraction... but it also means that he'll be closer to his charge (provided, of course, that Harabia stays on the dance floor).

After making a quick mental calculation of the pros and cons (and taking a second to study the people dancing), he smiles and says to Chan, "I would not." He offers to take her hand to lead her onto the floor.

This is a waltz, right? he thinks to himself. It must be waltz. He thinks about what he knows about waltzing, which is just about nil. Lead to the right, rotate AAHHH how often do we rotate??

Jawsey looks around to see if any of the other servants are dancing. He'd rather be near his charge than back by the wall, but he doesn't want to commit a faux pas. He messages AM and asks <<Thoughts about joining the dancing? Think we are allowed? Our principals are dancing with each other, so if we danced close to them we'd be able to provide better coverage -- although I don't claim to be as a good a dancer as they seem to be.>>