MEDIATOR DOJIMA

[indignitas]

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[indignitas]

* Follow up with Sumire about the red hand print.
* Ask around about the history of inception of each family.

* Setting engagement to work as a mediator for the families/gembonded, in a few months.
* [Future] Setting engagement to host a high roller event.

SETTING ENGAGAMENT

[indignitas]

Protection payments to the Lotus Family during black outs [link]

Daigo will find that the Lotus Family appears to be the least hostile towards the Gembonded. In fact, they've done quite a bit of "business" with Red and allowing usually off-limits items to be placed in Gembonded hands. While not everyone in the Lotus Family agrees with the decisions of their head — Sumire Hasumichi — she has her reasons for her investment in the off-worlders.

Although he hasn't troubled them yet, Hasumichi has been keeping an eye on Daigo and his budding enterprises in the Ruby Underground. She is more than happy to accept his gifts, invitations to drinks (only tea for her, of course — she is a lady), and seems content to discuss the latest news and gossip circulating among the families.

The recent word is that one of the criminal families staunchly against the Gembonded has been planning to work against Red's efforts to aid them. While Red is a neutral party who doesn't discriminate where their Currents come from, not everyone sees it that way. One of their own is going to be running for office, of all things, to try and gain a foothold in the government and be a man on the inside. Although his campaign on the surface will be about giving power back to the native gems, in reality, he just wants power for his own.

SETTING ENGAGEMENT

[indignitas]

Making a name for yourself [link]

Daigo has certainly made quite a name for himself in the Ruby Underground. Almost everyone knows his face by now and in the rare good way and not the 'this person is totally mugging material' way. He's done well in keeping things orderly and putting a couple of the more unruly, younger folks in line to the appreciation of the Crime Families.

Sumire Hasumichi can vouch for Daigo's ability to mediate (and kick ass) should be need it. Since he will be a neutral party, however, she will not do more than that to not show any obvious bias. After all, a conflict of interests would be in poor taste and despite her stance on Gembonded she does have a certain reputation to maintain in the Underground.

He will be coming in at a good time, actually, as things seem to be growing especially restless in the Ruby Underground this month. There's been whispers of a 'new player' coming into the scene unexpectedly and stirring up trouble. It's put a couple of the Crime Families on edge and pointing fingers at each other. Tensions only seem to be gradually rising as time ticks on.

Hopefully, they'll simmer down but even Red will note that this feels different than their usual squabbles. Whoever is behind the scenes knows what they're doing to raise hackles and get them at each other's throats. At least Daigo's mediation efforts will help in keeping Gembonded (mostly) out of harm's way should things take a turn for the worse.

CRIMSON WAY MEETING

[indignitas]

Sumire [link]

Daigo looks like who he is: a yakuza chairman. He sits with Sumire and watches the others pensively. He is familiar with a problem child making sudden power grabs, deciding they know better, that they and theirs are the only ones they can protect.

"How likely is she to quietly accept some new territory and back down?" His voice soft, eyes on Colombia. He asks this with a tone that suggests he knows the answer is 'not very'. "And is her next in command more amiable."

He fiddles with an unlit cigarette in his fingers.

Compared to the other members of the Crimson Way, Sumire carries herself with a more dignified poise. In that sense, she comes off more like an elegant empress than a crime lord in a seedy underworld, favoring more tasteful decor and hot teas over hard liquor. She wishes to remain sharp.

"I have known Colombia for a very long time. She knows a losing battle when it comes knocking." Spoken like someone who has seen what such failure looks like firsthand, she nods at a sodalite gem sitting adjacent to Colombia, younger looking with fewer body modifications compared to the rest of the heads. "As for her next in command... Pen and I will ensure that her successor in the interim will be properly educated in how things are going to work around here from now on."

What that education entails, surely someone like Daigo can guess. It's clear that both the Lotus and Blue Sun Families intend to make an example out of her.

He nods. He understands perfectly well and he leaves Colombia's fate with them. Instead, he considers the future.

"I might offer them some downstream business, contingent upon supply that I provide them," he murmurs. "Let their people line their pockets, but at my say so."

Tie together your fortunes and it makes war so much less appealing. Of course he understands that the ambitious will look for a way out from under that yolk, but that's another bridge for another time.

"Better money may take the edge off of their anger towards the gembonded as well."

He has to speak up for his people. They have no power here and those who think to get their hands on some are sorely misguided in his opinion. He doesn't want a gembonded mafia. Otherwise, he might have been the one to create it.

He looks to Sumire directly. She's smart enough to understand: why he's here, why he involves himself.

"We'd be grateful for your consideration."

SETTING ENGAGEMENT

[indignitas]

Colombia in jail [link]

1.) The assault on the Broken Dove-owned warehouses did have an impact on Colombia’s efforts during the conflicts between the other two families. Once she realized that, despite believing that she would have at least some government support, she relented long enough to agree to meet with the Gembonded other Families. This, of course, led to her ending up in custody after the talks were over.

2.) Daigo’s connections pay off, and he’s granted visitation rights at the Diamond Dispatch Center, where he is escorted to the basement holding cells prior to prison transfer before she is to be shipped off to Lumisade. Prison life won’t allow its ‘tenants’ many luxuries, so Colombia (albeit reluctantly) accepts Daigo’s offering, which the Diamond Guard allows. Between cigarettes and shots of liquor, she becomes increasingly more loose-lipped – not due to any lack of loyalty, but the exact opposite.

“Make no mistake, Pen will try to take advantage of ‘em,” she clarifies and, indeed, Daigo may later hear word that Penumbra is moving in to assume command over the Blood Diamonds. She does not dare to speak of it further, as she’s keeping an eye on the Diamond Guard standing within earshot.

As for her relationship with Alyhandra, Colombia will admit that she now believes her entire role was probably made to be an elaborate distraction to divert security away from the Embassy. Alyhandra has no love for the Cardinal Gems, and would seek to put an end to the awakening of further gods and, thus, the arrival of more Gembonded. She and Colombia weren’t close, but foolishly saw her as a potential ally with a common goal. With no one else she can rely on and betting on the Lotus Family’s judgement for trusting Daigo, she begrudgingly accepts the favor of yet another Gembonded in exchange for this information.

If there was a connection between Alyhandra and the other third party who supported her run for the mayoral race, Colombia claims she’s uncertain. Just as she had told Liem at the talks, however, she is certain that the name she was given had been an alias.

SETTING ENGAGEMENT

[indignitas]

Escorting Konoka [network] [link]

As the message did not specify to come alone, Konoka is free to bring whoever she wishes, either accompanying her inside or spotting from around their meeting place. In fact, Penumbra will be quite disappointed if the healer is so trusting as to show up unprotected, and be even more intrigued and, oddly enough, sure of herself if Konoka chooses to do so in a monstrous form.

Whenever Konoka & Co. arrives, Penumbra will already be there waiting for her, despite there having been no designated time. The warehouse will be empty, though the Blue Sun leader will make a point that she is not vulnerable by hinting that she has muscle of her own ready to storm the warehouse should anything happen to her.

Once ‘pleasantries’ are out of the way, Penumbra will reveal that, with Colombia in custody, her absence will leave the Blood Diamonds vulnerable, who primarily relied on Colombia for support. Only key members of the Blue Sun Family know this because of information they stumbled upon some years ago, and may have been sitting on for reasons unknown. Penumbra is, if nothing, an opportunist.

Since Konoka had shown such keen interest in Ruby Underground and the missing citizens, Penumbra will offer to appease her curiosity: The missing gems are alive, but have each taken deals to help maintain a balance in the underground – the result of this deal leaves them in weakened and anemic states. Given that what they know could disturb the obviously very weak order in the criminal underworld if fallen into the hands of the gem government, they all agreed to be relocated from Espera Village to avoid arrest and interrogation. Now, without their patron to protect and look after them or the Blood Diamonds, Penumbra has seized her chance at taking advantage of her findings. That is where Konoka and healers like her come into play.

What the Blue Sun Family head is offering is access to the ‘missing’ gems, in addition to allowing Konoka to continue her work in Ruby Underground. She will warn that the gems are currently in a critical state, due to the recent war that had been building between the three criminal factions, and are recovering in an undisclosed location. Take her deal, and Penumbra will not only give Konoka the information she needs to find and heal those gems on a regular basis, but provide permanent protection for her and any companions from thugs and other threats whenever visiting Sumarlok’s underbelly.

“Well, what do you say? Sounds like a pretty sweet gig, don’t it?” the Family head will say with a shit-eating grin. Of course, Konoka is free to raise any questions or concerns of her own at this point.