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Untitled Document
Robert the spotted mail Chia whistled merrily to himself
as he slid a letter into the mailbox outside the Miroshima Teahouse. Sure, he
was supposed to be there earlier in the morning to deliver mail, but that
crazy Eustabee down the street had slowed him down a bit. Robert shuddered as
he looked down at his ripped shirt--his favourite shirt.
As Robert stepped away from the mailbox, he heard
a voice.
"Psst... heeeyyyy...!"
Robert turned around to where he heard the voice
come from, but saw nothing. "Huh," he murmured. "Must be a stray Kadoatie or
something."
"No! Over here...!"
Robert, a bit skeptical now, began to walk a
little faster. As he heard a rustle in the bushes, he began to jog. When something
tapped him on the shoulder, he broke into a run, only to discover that whatever
had tapped him had grabbed his arm.
"AUGH! DON'T HURT ME! I'M JUST A MAIL CHIA!"
A white Aisha clad in a fish-print kimono glanced
at him and sighed exasperatingly. "I was only going to ask you something."
"Like WHAT?"
"Well," she loosened her grip on his arm, "I
was just thinking... I have a close friend back in Neopia Central... and ever
since I started working here at the teahouse, things have gotten a little lonely...
so, I want to send her a letter just to see how she's doing."
Robert frowned. "Really? I don't know...."
"But this is so important to me! You HAVE to
deliver this letter!"
"I have to?"
"Yes!" The Aisha shoved an envelope into his
paws. "This is important."
Robert lifted the envelope suspiciously. "This
is kind of heavy for a letter."
"Are you a mail Chia or a mail inspector?"
"Chia, miss."
"Well, your job is to just deliver the letter!"
the Aisha sighed. "Can't a gal just have a letter delivered without an interrogation?"
"Fine," Robert replied. "I'll deliver it. But
if this explodes in my face, I'm blaming you."
"Trust me, that's the last thing I want to happen."
The Aisha smiled, walking towards the teahouse. "Thanks! This is very nice of
you!"
"You have no idea," Robert grumbled, walking
down the road.
33991 Aisha Avenue, Neopia Central
"So... you're saying some Aisha at a teahouse
insisted you deliver this letter to Tiira_Misu?" Funame the spotted Blumaroo
frowned disdainfully. "It sounds pretty suspicious."
"That's exactly what I thought!" Robert replied.
"She said something about it being lonely or something at the teahouse. I don't
know. I just know she was really adamant about it."
"Well, nothing's happened yet!" Funame took the
letter from Robert. "Thanks, Mr. Mail Chia."
"You're welcome!" Robert replied, stepping down
from the porch.
Funame closed the door and leaned against it,
looking the letter over. "Tiira, you have mail!" she called. "It's from some
Aisha at a teahouse on Mystery Island!"
"You mean Magnolia?" A rainbow Usul poked her
head out of a door at the end of the entry hall. "Oh, what's it say?"
"I don't know," Funame replied. "I haven't opened
it."
"Makes enough sense," Tiira_Misu answered, taking
the letter from Funame. "Thanks!" she exclaimed, running back down the hallway
and closing the door.
"Uh-huh," Funame murmured.
A Few Minutes Later...
Tiira_Misu looked over the letter again, attempting
to make some sense of it.
Tiira,
This is Magnolia. I found this disk in some super-secret
room at the teahouse. I think it's pretty important to the mission, so I thought
you should look at whatever's on it. Some guy named Jim Daisuke told me the
'password' was 'Chet Flash'. Just thought you should know.
Mag.
Setting the letter down on a table, Tiira_Misu
frowned. "Well, that doesn't tell me much."
Esmerelda the Cobrall hissed from behind. "Oh,
hush," Tiira_Misu murmured, attempting to slide the disk into a drive. When
it failed to completely enter the drive, Tiira_Misu began to hit it with her
paw. It still refused to slide in. "OKAY," she began. "YOU ARE GOING
TO SLIDE INTO THIS THING!"
Esmerelda sighed and slid the disk into the drive
effortlessly.
"Oh, just make it look so easy," Tiira_Misu
grumbled, sitting down in a chair. "Well--"
Suddenly, the screen burst into a combination
of bright light and blaring music. After Tiira_Misu and Esmerelda's eyes had
finally adjusted, they saw that the screen displayed a lovely cloud pattern
and a small text box. As they viewed the box, a soft, digitized voice abruptly
spoke.
"Before you proceed further, please enter
a password."
Tiira_Misu and Esmerelda stared blankly at each
other. "Uh... well... all that for a security screen?" Esmerelda hissed, still
stunned by the vibrant display. "Oh, you'll get over it. What was that password
thingy again?"
Esmerelda held up the letter with her tail, and
Tiira_Misu entered 'Chet Flash' into the box. The blaring music played again,
Tiira_Misu and Esmerelda nearly pushed back in shock. "SHEESH!" Tiira_Misu exclaimed,
readjusting her glasses. "I CAN BARELY HEAR MYSELF!"
"SSSSSSS!"
"Welcome to SysTech, setting a firm foundation
for technological research and development since Y. 3. If you would like to
learn more about us, click "About SysTech". If you would like to know more about
our current products, programs, and services underway, click "Work in Progress".
If you would like to contact us, click "How to Reach Us".
Tiira_Misu frowned. "Oh, I know better than this.
Why on Neopia would they put a contact section on a disk that belongs to the
employees?" Esmerelda hissed in reply. "Is that all you do?" Tiira_Misu inquired,
clicking "About SysTech" on the screen. A new screen filled with text replaced
the old one.
"Hey, it says Mr. Shinichi Miroshima founded
the company, too," Tiira_Misu read. "Well, I could have guessed that. I mean,
he is the president--"
Esmerelda hissed frantically, pointing at the
screen with her tail. "What?" Tiira_Misu inquired. "Honestly--look, it says,
'On November 19th, in the Year Three, Shinichi Miroshima founded a company to
last'... wait a second!" Tiira_Misu adjusted her glasses and read through it
again. "That doesn't make sense... isn't Fujita Miroshima the president
now?"
Esmerelda nodded, urging Tiira_Misu to read on.
"Oh, right, Es," she replied. After a moment
of reading, she finally paused. "Huh. It doesn't say much else we don't already
know... Oh, 'View More Information on Our Works in Progress Here'." Tiira_Misu
clicked a button at the bottom of the screen. The next screen was a list.
"Hey, there's the satellite project!" Tiira_Misu
exclaimed, clicking "The International Satellite Communication Program". After
waiting a while, a dark screen, different from the others, showed up. In white
letters, bold text went across the screen.
Entering Hanagami Project. Please Wait...
Welcome! View current status of development
- y/n? y
International broadcast - In Progress
Satellite Launch - EARLY
[Offices have received notice of early satellite
launch. Some problems might result.]
Technician's Capture: In Progress
Complete System: In works since yr. 2
New Developments:
Spy assumed to be sneaking around teahouse.
Probably one of the "geishas". Hanagami program to be transferred to company
diskette in slate room. (3829).
Tiira_Misu gaped at the screen for a while. "Oooookaaaaay,"
she finally murmured. "It's like this disk is updated pretty often--Mag just
went to the geisha house about three days ago!"
Esmerelda hissed, waving her tail as Tiira_Misu
returned to the main screen and clicked "About SysTech". Tiira_Misu grinned
enthusiastically. "Ooh, look, Es, they have an employee list!"
The list was quite long, and among the names
was "Hanagami, Izumi". Tiira_Misu quickly clicked on that. The next screen was
a profile of a white Acara in a business suit.
"'Izumi has been working for SysTech ever since
it was founded by Miroshima,'" Tiira_Misu read. "'She has contributed greatly
to SysTech's success, and has quickly made her way to the title of Top Employee
and Consultant.' Well, interesting, seeing as she's behind some sort of diabolical
plan. Oh, what's this?" Tiira_Misu clicked on "Daisuke, Jim".
After reading on for a moment, Tiira_Misu discovered
that Daisuke had contributed greatly to the development of the satellite communication
system in progress. He was employed shortly after Fujita Miroshima took presidency
of the company.
Once this was discovered, Tiira_Misu knew exactly
who to look for--"Miroshima, Shinichi". Much to her surprise, however, that
name was not listed. She tried searching for it by means of the search engine
provided by the disk, but nothing about Shinichi was to be found. Fujita's profile
was very easy to spot, however.
"It says nothing about Shinichi here! It's like
he never founded SysTech at all! Oh, wait..." Tiira_Misu read on. "Says he and
Hanagami took over when the founder left... wait a second! Hanagami doesn't
own the company, though...that must mean that when Fujita took over, Hanagami
helped him, but didn't get her fair share of the profit, so now she's just the
consultant! So she's plotting against Fujita and...that means that she's planning
to take over the satellite system!" Tiira_Misu exclaimed.
She paused, resting her head on her paw. "But
this system's been in the works for years, since Year 2! Hrm...that must mean
they aren't very experienced with satellites, and neither is SysTech as a whole.
So, they'd need to hire a more experienced technician--or they'd have to take
one by force. Ah, that's what that 'Technician's Capture' thing was for!" Tiira_Misu
frowned. "Es, do you know a good technician?"
Esmerelda hissed exasperatingly, slamming her
tail against her forehead.
"SWEET FAERIE MAMA! I'M A TECHNICIA--MMPH!"
"SSSSSSSSS!"
To be continued...
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