Holiday Road

Prelude to a Road Trip

2031:

So now that the Emerald Kerfluffle has sorted, we need about a week to prep for this. Thankfully, Serenity has a decent cargo hold, so I've got clothes and a few other items. 3 sets of body armor, photographers' vests (80 billion pockets means I can carry damn near anything) and some cases that'll be marked as photography equipment.

Doing some heavy feeding and bloodwork for my latest ammo experiments. One of the drawbacks to a gun is that the ammunition does minimal damage to vampires. Solution, make the ammo more lethal. Experimenting with materials and ballistics gel to figure out shatter and penetration. Basically we're creating a jumped-up hollow-point bullet, so that's pretty well solved. Now the propulsion is going to be a fun part. I think I'm going to have to go with a compressed air bottle under the barrel. Bonus, I can create a series of acceleration vents allowing for constant acceleration out the barrel. End result, better penetration and pure unadulterated ouch for the target. The down side of this is that it's a cast-iron bitch when I run out of ammo. With that in mind, I've got a couple spares that'll chamber the classic ammo from NATO and the Soviet block. Of course if I break those out, we are deep in the shit.

Not to say that it's been all work. When Cass gave me a dumb look after I explained why the planes are thusly named, a night in was in order. She likes Zoe. Who knew. The question of ghouling Rebecca is over on the side right now, but I think we'll have an answer once we land back in Rio. Brushing up on my German and Arabic, I'm doing some translation for my software documentation. Because that's always how we spend fun nights. No, really. I know it might be weird from the outside, but the documentation is a good thing. And it helps me with language skills, which are tremendously important. God knows we might be negotiating something, and I'd rather we not get boned because of linguistical error.

Future looking statements. I think I've got things plotted out to be able to determine the next Giovanni moves - I mean, with a memory of disasters pending, I'm taking a chance on thinking they'll be there for the cleanup, if they're not already there to help make it happen. Hopefully, Dresden will have sufficient infrastructure that I can make friends and slowly work them against the Giovanni. At the very least I can make friends who can feed me information on the Italians. How Tina reacts to what we're doing is going to make for an interesting flight. Hopefully she won't think her pops has gone totally around the bend.

To expand a little, Dresden gives us a chance to explore Europe a little bit more - on the up side, the mortal side of the house is fairly contentious, which gives a little chance for me to make some university contacts. On the down side, the people running the show in Europe are the ones who saw the Anarch Revolt, the foundation of the Camarilla, and are generally loathe to accept interlopers. We're going to have to follow protocol, which means presenting ourselves before the Prince. Brenda already apparently has credentials as a Toreador, and Cass is a Brujah, so those two are covered. Hugo and I are totally different matters. I'm not too dark, so I could possibly pass as another clan. My business interests and snazzy attire would make it easy to be a Ventrue. I can dominate people, but I don't know the ins and the outs of the clan, so I would have to wing it. Of course, Tina would also have to fake it as my childe...I'm getting a meh feeling the more I consider it. Being upfront is best, especially since they could call me on it in a century. Weird, for someone who used to play politics a lot (if memory serves) I am crap at dishonesty. However, the other side is that walking in and honestly announcing ourselves as Assamites is going to make some people shit. My saving grace might be that I don't carry a knife. Either way, we're probably going to be persuaded to make our stay as brief as possible. Note to Inner Smartass; do not tell the Prince we're just in town because we've got a few days to kill. Millennia-old vampires might not see the humor in that. Hopefully we can turn clan to our advantage, 'Give us what Cass is looking for and we'll GTFO.'

Beirut is a different animal. As a coastal town, I might be able to make some import-export contacts here, which would help for trans-shipping some of my brethren who want to make their way to Rio. Note to business self - while we're away, tell Andre to buy some houses and a few bodegas on the west side, make sure everyone gets a key and keep the lights on. Safe houses are handy. With that in mind, I'll need to make sure that the safe houses are indeed safe. Sewer exit to the street, panic room, etc. Also, it'll keep Andre busy. That man has attachment issues.

Finally, Baghdad. Further foundation to the underground railroad, there's going to be a lot of clan-intensive conversation. Ur-shulgi is...concerning. Okay, let's not kid ourselves, anyone older than Christianity is pretty scary. Ur-shulgi is from a time when the world was just figuring out bronze. I'm not even sure it's possible for him to understand the Giovanni plan. Given the results, he may in fact approve. Those of us are not fans of apocalypses may have to work around that. To that end, the Rio Port is born. Hopefully I can find enough people to make it worth my while. Hopefully, Masood has something in the works or at the least he can give some advice on how to form up some outreach. We can maintain our independent status as a clan, and we should. Our independence keeps us where we need to be - separated from the morass of politics and able to act.

I think I'm getting ahead of myself. Uniting a clan could be a bit of a pain in the ass. Especially if it has to happen in a century and a half.