‡ 5th treasure‡ Video

[totallytrustworthy]

[Chloe--long time no see, network-- is settled down in a dimly lit bit of local architecture. At least it looks that way at first glance; Initiative buildings are usually a touch more pristine, and one hell of a lot more futuristic.]

Evening lads and ladies. Given the way things've been going lately between our sort and the locals, there's no doubt that finding what we need to get by isn't exactly an easy venture. Then again, when everything around here is coated in a couple hundred years of grit, it wasn't all that easy to begin with. [A small, thoughtful little beat. Drummed out on a table too low to see.] Or worth it for that matter.

Which is why after a lengthy hiatus, I'm pleased to announce that my item retrieval service is back up and running-- with a few minor adjustments.

[The camera shifts, dipping slightly as whoever’s holding the tablet shifts their hands. The cameraman in question hisses at her, clearly trying and failing to be discreet:] Oi, your retrieval service?

Well it was mine first. The next time you wind up in an alien future before the rest of us you can go start your own bloody business.

Fine, alright. Go on then. [And the camera shifts up again, less steady than before.]

--Right. So as I was saying. For those of you that need something-- anything-- found or picked up or even gently borrowed from a few bygone eras, Frazer and Cutter's Acquisitions and Fine Antiques is here to manage it for you. For a few nominal fees of course, and with much less glaring than what you’ll find around here.

Trust me, with the sort of luck the Initiative’s been having, you’ll want a pair of professionals on your side.


**Charlie Cutter is in red and the pair of them are more than happy to respond to any incoming inquiries or requests!

Comments

[video]

[lambofcolumbia]

[Elizabeth looks a tad aghast! 'Gently borrowed' her ass!]

You're stealing things from the past?

video;

[alittlesweptup]

[The tablet is abruptly flipped round in a nauseating swirl of the camera. The man it scrambles to focus on seems rather cheerful about defending semantics:] Acquiring. We're acquiring things from the past.

video;

[lambofcolumbia]

Acquiring is a nice word for theft.

permavideo;

[alittlesweptup]

Hold on, let me just--

[The camera dips, catching a nice view of the flat's cracked ceiling. The tablet wobbles as Charlie types a few things and then--Ding! A hyperlink to one of the tablet's more useful functions pops up.]

I believe you'll find theft no where on that list, darling. You will however find 'wangle.' If you were looking to add something to your vocabulary, I'd go for that one myself.

[lambofcolumbia]

[She just rolls her eyes.]

The context is as important as the meaning. These things you 'acquire'...aren't yours, right?

[alittlesweptup]

I find concepts of ownership to be rather flexible when you're jumping about through time in the first place. And think of it this way: if we didn't rescue these things, they'd likely to be lost to us forever. Don't see too many museums lying about, do you?

[See? They're practically doing community service.]

[lambofcolumbia]

But you don't know if taking something from the past could change the past! I mean, I know the Initiative makes us do that, but they plan things out and try to change specific things. What if you do something horrible?

[alittlesweptup]

You mean worse than Orwellian robot clone apocalypse horrible? [He's clearly more than a bit skeptical that could even be a thing.]

[lambofcolumbia]

I don't know what Orwellian means, but it could still be worse! This place could somehow become even more barren, or the initiative could disappear, or anything!

There's no way to tell.

[alittlesweptup]

Bit of a pessimist, aren't you?

[lambofcolumbia]

I suppose I've just seen enough awful things that I've begun to realize the worst case scenario often happens.

[alittlesweptup]

So 'yes', then?

[Sorry, sorry alright. He'll stop being an ass. --Or try to.]

[lambofcolumbia]

...Somewhat. Maybe.

I still believe good things can happen. It just seems as though they usually don't.

[totallytrustworthy]

[While Charlie's somewhat preoccupied with his tablet, Chloe uses hers instead. There's a notch or two of reverb for it, but getting in internet arguments with small children probably isn't the best for their business.

It just lacks a certain professionalism.]

Don't worry too much, love; the Initiative has a sort of....customs service that catches anything too troublesome.

[alittlesweptup]

[There's some commotion and a brain-hurting overlap as Charlie reaches out and gently swats her arm from across the table, bits of the action catching on both video feeds. He shoots her a mild glare. Stop undermining his authority, would you?

Something he manages to do himself a moment later:] What she said.

[lambofcolumbia]

...A what?

[She is still going to worry.]

[totallytrustworthy]

Let's say...[Pointedly ignoring Charlie's prodding for the moment, Chloe cants her head from side to side in thought while she tries to think of a suitable scenario.] let's say we were hired on to bring back the Shrine for the Crown of Thorns from the Notre Dame. We pick it up, set it in with our belongings, and voila-- come right back home.

In the seconds that it takes for us to go from there to here, if the Initiative decided the relic would cause too much of a fuss, it'd be left right back in whatever year we'd just abandoned. Even if we strapped it right to our chest. Duct tape or locks or anything you can think of won't make a shred of difference.

It stays, we go.

[lambofcolumbia]

...Oh.

[She's quiet for a moment, thinking that over.]

I suppose that's a decent safeguard.

[totallytrustworthy]

It sure as hell helps when you've got a few hundred running missions on the regular.

Then again, I'm fairly certain poisoning the food source of an entire region is worse than picking up a few priceless artifacts. So they might not be the best judge of-- most things, really.

[lambofcolumbia]

That does sound...wait, what? Who did they poison? What are you talking about?

[totallytrustworthy]

It was well before your time. The Initiative sent us back to fend off an entire army, and when we were through? That's when the less pleasant part of their plan came into play.

[lambofcolumbia]

They poisoned an entire army?

[totallytrustworthy]

Nah. The army we fended off. The local land, though...yeah. They went after it.

[lambofcolumbia]

...But what would that accomplish?

[She can figure it out, she just wants to be wrong.]

[totallytrustworthy]

Never cared enough to listen. I assume for the usual reason: it'll hurt the UE.