Welcome to Gaia! ::

With the calamity behind him, if only momentarily, Chalcanthite had the time to consider how best to proceed with things regarding the opposition. Having gotten the opportunity to see a few of those wonders and how some were in more disarray than others, a curious thought had started to form in the back of his mind. There were agents who had betrayed Metallia and the Queen, whom he knew of, but there were also Knights who were now on the proper side of things.

One of which was connected to him through just a few degrees of separation. With Brassite having gotten particularly close with Cryptomelane, an agent whom his Mauvian had also helped with, Chalcanthite had poked into their overseeing General to make sure there wasn’t any risk that might lead his captain astray.

While it had been uncommon for him to leave his office or the Rift, outside of meetings or missions, this downtime between crises seemed like the perfect opportunity. It would also give him more insight into the long-term viability of a side-swapped agent for future reference. Ako was a special case, but if he was going to try bringing over more, he needed to make sure things wouldn’t relapse. It wasn’t a mistake he was looking to have happen under his watch, not a second time.

To dig into the enemy, he needed more information, more things to add to the facade and build the story stronger until it was solid and passed as much scrutiny as possible. Eventually, he might use a scapegoat if he had to, living or dead, he was still deciding on, but he preferred not to let things fail to that point. Those older senshi were tricky, with centuries to wise up and see through things. It was a challenge, one he felt perfectly fit to play. This wasn’t something he wanted anyone else to have a hand in, especially not Benitoite and their horrific reputation that made them toxic to a diplomatic or peaceful conversation.

Standing in front of the office door, he took one more moment to run a hand through his bangs and make sure everything was neat and tidy. This would be an interesting experience, no matter what the outcome, considering the last time he had talked with anyone who was partially or wholly youma had been Bazzite.

With a light knock, he leaned in slightly to the door. “Hello, General, may I have a moment of your time?”

At the approval, he let himself in and shut the door lightly behind him. “I hope you are well, considering the recent… unpleasantness everyone dealt with.” It wasn’t a topic he wanted to go over more than minimally, but he was curious how everyone had fared. Though as he took a breath and noticed that there had been a drop in temperature between his office and here, he felt an uncomfortable protest in his lungs, which he shrugged off as he turned slightly to look over the lab.

“One of my younger captains has been tagging along with, I believe, a captain of yours. I thought I might introduce myself and apologize if she has caused you any trouble.” Offering a polite smile, he looked back at them for a moment. “Your lab is impeccable; it makes me curious what work you do.” Speaking casually as he continued walking just a little closer to the desk, it was colder closer to the woman, something that was interesting in itself, but not particularly good if he wanted to avoid a coughing fit if it got too cold.

“Pardon the intrusion, I am Chalcanthite, and Brassite is my captain, whom I spoke of. I apologize if it may seem as if I am overstepping by investigating into things, but she is very young and I want to make sure she refrains from causing or finding trouble. I worry about her, even if she has shown her capability in the field.” Sighing slightly, he adjusted his coat, and then he took a seat and looked up for the other to continue this conversation.

It was good to hear that the other had avoided the trouble and the bothersome mess that everything had been. A half-formed question about what their take was on the lightning ended up dying before it made it out of his mouth as his eyes flitted towards the book at the edge of the desk. It was a curiosity indeed, and drew his attention even as the other provided a concise response.

It was good to hear that Brassite was behaving; he knew she had the energy to cause trouble from what he'd seen during missions. As for the focus of their research, he nodded in agreement. Conflict was something he preferred to avoid, so it was good to hear that there were more Generals involved in avoiding that unpleasantness. Though his own venture still relied on human energy, it was far from the way he'd been expected to reach his quota back in the beginning.

"Of course, though now that I see it, that book is quite interesting. Is that a record of your research or something else?" Leaning forward slightly to look at it, he recognized the symbol of Mercury on its cover. That was curious indeed, and he smiled slightly. While the rest of the lab held the usual lab tech, the book stood out now that he'd looked at it.

"It may be a coincidence, but I do believe I saw that symbol recently while looking into something. Is that from Mercury?" Speaking with curiosity, he wondered if it spoke about that horribly cold weather he'd endured with Ekstrom. Brushing his fingers against the little vial he'd found, another bit of curiousness he'd gotten while on his various escapades, finagling his way off planet to gather what information he could, he wondered what other things could be learned by digging into things deeper.

Looking at the book as it was pushed closer, he hesitated to touch it for a moment. His attention focused more on their past, something which he had insight into second-hand from Ako, and now the alien who haunted his home and looked through his collection of books.

"I see, discarding something so interesting would be a shame." He knew how it felt holding onto things from the past, not that he would bring it up in present company, or really any company that didn't already know what had happened.

With Amazonite's instructions, he traced the cover for a moment before opening it. Page after page seemed filled with information, though he decided not to linger on them as he flipped through them carefully, as he might an old stack of sheet music.

That nagging suspicion of his rose back up, the one that had lingered since he'd seen a planet through those foreign mirrors in mirror scape, at least before it had shattered in his face.

When he reached a blank page, he held his breath for a moment, eyes avoiding looking down at the page as he touched it. It could go either way, not that it would change things, at least regarding where his loyalty lay. But he couldn't lie to himself about that curiosity that had been building, and the way it twisted that he couldn't look into something that could have been related to him.

"Of course, fascinating indeed..." He could say more about how it was best here in the hands of a general in the negaverse, but he didn't feel the need to bring up something so obvious.