Neko Girl Cultural Exchange (Catsfern and Las Palmeras only)

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
García nodded, not sheepishly, but she was a bit too enthralled to give out a lengthy response , notably unfazed by the noice of the detonations and explosions nearby. She was still unsure if the purpose of the trip was to show off a potential arms emporium, a demonstration of force or merely a genuine show of national pride but Takiri began to clutch the box that had their camera.

In Las Palmeras
Ife nodded at Morgan's (correct) assumption and promptly replied at Oldhall's comment with genuine enthusiasm: "Nice question! We can do both. If a box can fit between your arms it can be placed down the hatch and we can bring supplies through emergency hatches if that were necessary...but the supplies we used are all bought in during a few set dates year-round and they're all hoarded in a cylinder meant for storing tools and food, so it's not necessary to throw things down here on a regular basis."
...
"If you want, you can see the storage container."

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
A bit father down the road there was a large heavily guarded gate where Garcia got her first look at actual Catsfern soldiers. Guards at the gate seemed to be wearing standard camo underclothes but with what looked like metal plat armor almost like that of medieval knights overtop. Once they got to the gate Garcia would have noticed that it was actually a thin layer of metal overtop standard bulletproof Kevlar. Them men were carrying their rifles on their shoulders, and also had what looked like a shot sword or long dagger at their hip. As the car entered the base they passed groups of soldiers all in either full armor or just camo fatigues marching between buildings lead by officers in full dress uniform. Eventually they stopped in front of a large rectangular brick building in the middle of a half circle of similar buildings. There upon getting out of the car they were met by a man in a black dress uniform emblazoned with metals and a yellow shoulder cord. The mad had dark skin and blue eyes. When President Eden got out to the car to meet him they didn't greet each other with stiff military formality like one would expect, but like old friends with large smiles and a small hug. "Ms. Garcia this is General Quincy Greene. a three star general and an old friend of mine, he'll be showing us around today."

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall nodded and smiled, "Sure lead the way, when do you get new shipments of supplies by the way."

Morgan followed and scratched his chin "If I were to guess once every six months or so would seem reasonable."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
Takiri García looked at the armor, asking herself if there was anything special about the material that surrounded the ballistic vests. There must be functionality to the extra load, perhaps a response to the enhanced rounds of the future...but then again...the Catsfernians' fixation with style cold mean the design could've been there for aesthetic value, seeing as how they had those Roman-like swords and all. The style was surely different to the simple "Number Six" used by the Palmeran Army, merely a lighter version of the British "BD", with more cotton than wool.

She was a bit more surprised by the lack of formality between the Commander-in-Chief and General Greene, though then again, Eden was quite a laid-back politician. Garcpia extended a hand to shake Grene's hand, which she expected would result in a firm handshake for whatever reason.

In Las Palmeras
The storage container, rather unsurprisingly, was filled with boxes stacked upon each-other. Many were stamped with the name of the content or with abbreviations of them, from "rations" to "canned goods" and "cured meats". Other small crates had more cryptic manifestos, like "LED-123134", which apparently were flashlights, others hand content which could be inferred with symbols like the Red Cross that indicated they were medical supplies or bottles of chemicals with warning signs, though a fair bit of the cylinder contained silvery tanks.

Tapping one of the Aluminum canisters, Ife continued to gush out over her trade: "Uh, the gas that we keep in from breathing in the surface and the gas that gets in our system when we breathe tank oxygen. The water's weight above us compresses nitrogen in our tissue and it'll damage a body given enough time, pressure depending on the depth, or both. But we don't have to worry much about decompression sickness at these shallow depths. I'd say a healthy person could dive around here for slightly more than three and a half hours non-stop without having to mind nitrogen gas saturating in their body. The real drag is actually stopping every 5 to 10 minutes to change the air tanks, that can get tedious quick so nobody would dive that long".

Charles clarified something personal, "Ife was originally a technician but since she lived in the New Nanba Isles in the Caribbean she got into scuba diving and oceanography as a side-job that served tourists."

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general took her hand and gave it a firm but very friendly handshake. "Ms. Garcia It's good to meet you. I heard you were sort of foreign press from the other side of the portal, and I look forward to showing off some of Catsfern's recent military technology. The question is where to start, service weapons, artillery, mechanized infantry..." He stopped for a moment and thought. "oh I know, How would you like to pet some puppies?"

In Las Palmeras
Morgan looked around the room and spoke "well I cam imaging having some sort of diving experience would be useful in this line of work. I'm noticing mostly canned and dry goods here, though I suppose that is to be expected."

Oldhall was also looking around "so what kind of research do you actually do here, and when you're not doing actual work what do you do for fun?"

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
García was pleasantly surprised that what she imagined hadn't come true, though the prejudice may have stemmed from her not-so-pleasant days at the Civil Service. Her ears slid back a little over hearing the word puppies. Takiri smiled, revealing some large fangs, then coyly questioned "Training dogs?"

In Las Palmeras
Ife led them to another compartment, this one had several drawers and cupboards, some had jars with a variety of animals preserved in them. To the other side of the room were what looked like laboratory work-tables, one at the far end had what looked like a sink though those close-by tables had metal-mesh desks filled with papers and files as well as mugs with pencils and pens. The walls were full of maps on a large brownboard, some of them had seemingly random x marks or circles scribbled with sharpie. Ruffling her hair around, Ife giggled. Charles commented, "You got her really excited now".

Then she continued: "You see, ever since the 1940s many researchers and deep water surveyors have been reporting anomalously hot brines or jets of water where they shouldn't be. Many times people assumed they were equipment malfunctions until a wonderful new theory came up with the solution that these traces of hot water deep down are the result of some kind of geothermically heated fissures near the crust or volcanic regions. Up until recently! Our nation's submersible became the first in the world to find what is now called hydrothermal vents at some 1000 meters near the Green Isles and near our own continental shelf...it figures, many islands are just big mountains and tectonic zones are so close to lava. My job is to pinpoint the possible sources."

Playing around with her fingers, she continued "this is important because those vents contain rich deposits of ore, mostly of cobalt, gold, copper, and certain rare earth metals. And because...well...it's just on the drawing board now, but those babies could get connected onto tubes that lead right up to power generating stations on shore. In the future, when more super-conductive materials will be around, it may be even more tempting as the power output could increase...and because it relies on geothermal energy, the supply is limitless......Oh yeah, what I do in my free-time...eh...I guess I enjoy my job so much that it's not a chore, most of the time."

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general began to lead the two to the building on the left end of the semicircle "Well, more accurately dogs in training. The Catsfernian military utilizes canines for a number of purposes including mine detection, reconnaissance aid, and building sweeping among others. The type of do we use is a specially engineered blend of germanic shepard, golden retriever, and kangal."

In Las Palmeras
Morgan chucked a bit "They say that if you love your job you don't work a day in your life, That aside this certainty does sound like an important find, access to geothermal energy and rare earth metals are both great potential. I'm not exactly familiar with the sea exploration scene on my side of the portal, but I believe these "hydrothermal vents" you speak of have also been found in our oceans."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
Takiri nodded, some things remain the same: dogs are still valuable partners, if that was the correct term. The physical abilities of the German Shepherd made them among the best of work-dogs...other things changed all-together, as the Catsfernians could mix and mash the traits of different dogs in ways that would have made breeders green with envy. Genetic engineering seems to have been the constant and prevalent field in Catsfern that affected everyone, from medicines to the dinner plate and now, also in the military.

In Las Palmeras
Ife gleefully continued, "Mining is currently an issue, new technologies are always expensive, but the promises are big for those willing to risk it. And of course, the National Institute of Oceanography and it's private partners have other things in mind. Some are more mundane, data about sustainable fishing in certain zones, temperature related to coral growth, taking plankton samples...here at the lab we usually sample wildlife to see if everything is normal. Gutting fish is dirty work sometimes but I don't mind. Work here is so relaxed and the water's temperature is so agreeable that sometimes I just wear a regular swimsuit instead of the scuba suit.
...
You folks swim, right? " Ife turned to Charles, he shrugged to indicate he didn't know.

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The group reached the building and entered into it. Inside was a long wide hallway with a number of doors on wither side. The walls were a simple manila color and the doors were simple wood. the general led the group down the hall almost to the end to a room on the left of the hall. the inside of the room was decorated as a sort of dog care center with a thick carpet, a large number of dog toys, food and water bowls, and several kennels along the back wall. The dogs inside were all young and active. They had somewhat thick light brown fur, pointed ears, a short wide shout, and a tail that curled upwards. As soon as the three entered several of the dogs ran up to them.

In Las Palmeras
Morgan smiled. "Work keeps me busy so I rarely have the chance to, but yes I know how to swim."

Oldhalls also wore a large grin. "I love to go swimming whenever I can, nothing beats a nice swim on a warm beach. Though I cant say I've been scuba diving before."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
Takiri Garcia tensed ever so slightly and braced for impact as the dogs lifted their front legs up and began to sniff and lick , she took it with stride though and once the initial shock was over, the small correspondent began to pet the canines' heads. She laughed as well, turning to the President and the General, "It's funny to know they could possibly rip me up effortlessly."

In Las Palmeras
Ife briefly returned to the theme of the deep-sea fissures: "Those vent miners will need the help of submersibles with hulls made of titanium, our country is very good at that field: we've made many firsts when it comes to setting records. But here in the shallows, that technical knowhow isn't necessary. I'll demonstrate."

Minutes later, Charles entertained the two Catsfernians as Ife got ready. When the dusky woman got into the room again, she was wearing a black wetsuit that did little to hide her figure. She asked the Prince for help again, very nonchalantly, the visitors would be able to tell that Ife didn't take protocol as seriously as Tepka but was close enough to him to not even call hum by his titles. This time the Prince helped Ife with her gear, mostly a back-pack with oxygen tanks air tubes strapped on by belts that only seemed to accentuate her figure more, save for one that had small metal weights. She turned to Morgan and Oldhall, "It looks a bit clunky, doesn't it?"

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general bent over and picked up one of the dogs "These little guys, nah the puppies are notoriously friendly, but yes the dogs are rather strong. The Kangal has the strongest bite force of any domestic breed of dog, a bite which these dogs inherited. Catsfernian army dogs are known for three things their strong bite, their trainability, and their fierce loyalty."

In Las Palmeras
Morgan looked over the equipment. "A bit yes, I believe back on my side of the portal diving equipment has become a bit more compact, though that may just be hobby equipment."

Oldhall also looked a the weighted belt "So the belt with the weights, is that just there to help you sink faster, or does it help keep the rest of the stuff in place?"

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
Takiri laughed, almost like an innocent child, when one of the smaller pups stroked her cheeks with it's tongue, blushing a little. "Back home we have dogs for this kind of work too for the same reasons, but we also have Kapi-Eaters." Pausing to think of describing a creature that neither Eden or Greene had seen or heard of, she made familiar comparisons, "think of a spotted hyena with a dog snout, very sociable and smart, big." Then she realized they also didn't know what a Kapi was either, "And kapi beasts are...they're like...sheep-sized rodents. Wooly like Afghan hounds."

In Las Palmeras
Ife wanted to ask where Morgan had heard of more compact equipment but paused and looked down at Oldhall, only slightly, she was just a bit taller. "The weights can be adjusted. They're there to balance me a bit and stop me and my equipment from floating up. The alimimium oxygen tank is a bit heavy at the start of a dive but it loses weight near the end."

She led them to another room and told Charles to open a door to a barebones cylinder with a moon pool. Without a warning, she dunked herself into the sea-water below. Soon enough, they saw Ife tapping on a porthole and doing a thumbs up sign. Charles playfully put his face near there and the two made funny gestures. A bit boastful, he said, "I'm lucky, aren't I?"

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The president had since sat down on the floor and had three or four puppies playing around him. "I'm guessing by their name these Kapi-eaters were specifically bread for taking care of kapi problems then. Most domestic breeds of dog exist for a practical reason after all."

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall laughed a bit "Sure are prince, Ife here seems a lot more easygoing than Tepka, and the two of you have a good dynamic as well. You're rather lucky to have both girls"

Morgan Nodded "A lucky man indeed, though judging from how different Tekpa and Ife are I'd have to say that you have rather diverse interests in your women don't you Crown Prince."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
Takiri thought a little, "The truth is that the name supposedly comes because that's what the Kapi Eaters did before the Kapi were domesticated. Though feral ones still get eaten. Despite their name, most Kapi Eaters guard the Kapi like shepherds. Even if they aren't dogs...we really don't know what they are, specifically." She looked back to see what the General was up to, even if the dogs were very entertaining so far.

In Las Palmeras
Charles just shrugged his shoulders and guessed himself, "I guess they represent different aspects of this country. I also like-"

Before the Prince could finish, Ife's head pushed up from the pool and she spit out the air tube, revealing fangs larger than Tepka's. She swam towards the edge, "This is a lucky day! I found this!" Ife victoriously raised their arm, revealing an empty shell in their hand, it was modestly sized and barely fit in her palm. "Neverita josephinia. Or more simply, a moon snail. Common in the Mediterranean and in these latitudes." Peering up at Oldhall, Ife asked, "You want it?"

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general was playing tug of war with one of the puppies using a rope toy, once he noticed Garcia's gaze he cleared his throat and spoke. "You know these dogs aren't the only genetically engineered animal our army makes use of, we also have militarized bees."

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall looked at the shell and her eyes widened, "Really it's alright for me to have it, It's a really pretty shell I would have thought you'd want to keep it for yourself."

Morgan seemed mildly impressed "I must say Ife I find it rather impressive that you can remember the scientific name of the species off the top of your head like that."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
"Mili...tarized...bees?" Garcia was dumbfounded once again, though she shouldn't have, now remembering that several ancient civilizations used to throw beehives at their enemies. Allergic reactions and stings were no laughing matter, no matter how much Saturday-morning cartoons seemed to make such situations into gags; more so if these organisms could be enhanced. Takiri imagined many things, bees being kore poisonous, or freakishly bigger...it was a frightening prospect at times, this genetic engineering.

In Las Palmeras
Ife panned her head sideways and snorted in her nasally accent, "Heh. Don't worry it's not a treasure and it isn't a feat to memorize one of the most common species around the area. Some of these critters even farmed to be used as decorations. I'd have given you one too, Mr. Morgan, but I only found an empty one right now. Normally I get out to clean the windows from scum and barnacles." After she handed Oldhall the shell and resumed to float around in the pool, Ife just stated "Anyone want to join me? I'm sure Charles can pay for the oxygen tanks."

The Prince could only nod, jokingly replying, "And I'm trying to lend you a hand here."

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general chuckled a bit "well President eden, do you want to explain the bees or should I"

The president then let out a sigh as he stood up from the puppies. "Well initially the goal was to make a sort of genetically superior honeybee to combat declining bee populations, but they also wound up with a venom so potent only three stings can kill a man. That's about when the army took the project over. They developed a couple pheromones' to control the bees, one that makes the bees hostile to anything it covers, and one that calms and attracts the bees. Ironically they still do actually make honey, darn good honey too".

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall carefully set the shell down on a counter. "I could go for a dive though I think I'll need help getting the stuff on."

Morgan looked into the water "A dive does sound rather enjoyable, and who knows I may be able to find a shell for myself."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
Takiri mused once again, "I guess it's no loss when one can still make gains from them. It's nice to know you killed two birds with one stone." Expecting to see something else now, mostly because Eden had risen, García was ready to follow. Though the correspondent unwittingly kept cradling a pup in her arms even when she began to follow the men around, stopping only to set the small creature down gently.

In Las Palmeras
Delighted if not slightly nervous at having trainees at her hand for the first time in a long time (even if they weren't beginners as they knew how to swim, at least), Ife gave them time to dress up with some spare wetsuits, though finding one that fit Morgan was a challenge and a spare was finally found in storage and she took off her own wet-suit to avoid making slippery puddles, something that went against protocol. The Prince also helped carry around the supplies but he didn't get any for himself, stating that he was comfortable dry.

The gear was probably a bit more barebones than what they were used to. Silver-chrome tanks were attached to a vest-like cushion that and rather straightforward harnesses, on top was a smaller bottle-like section as well as some valves which Ife García had carefully adjusted, as two tubes described as "regulators" protruded from them. The dusky Palmeran helped both Oldhall and Morgan with putting the metallic packs on as well as strapping the gear to a comfortable yet sturdy enough extent. She then told them to not hesitate in taking the buoyancy belt off and activating an emergency air compartment in the vest and/or letting the air go should they feel the need to suddenly float up to the surface. But Ife also sternly warned them that they should stay nearby at all times. Not wanting to waste more time she herself didn't bother with re-adjusting her suit and went in the pool with just her regular underwear, apparently not caring about the seawater ruining her lace-trimmed undergarments

As Ife and her new guests went down the moon-pool and into the sea, the Catsfernians would see that the white sand reflected the water ripples above and the sun's mid-day rays easily illuminated everything in the crystal-clear waters. The research base wasn't nearly as tidy-looking or photogenetic from outside though: it was covered in green growths, clams, and barnacles.

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general led the two out of the room with the puppies and outside the building. he then lead the two to a light grey jeep style vehicle and drove them all to a different semicircular cluster of buildings. The jeep stopped there and the general lead the two into the central building, where after the door there was anther large sealed metal door and a number of beekeeper suits. "You're going to want to put one of these suits on before we go inside."

In Las Palmeras
Morgan and Oldhall both looked around the water taking in the sights. They both did some swimming around the area but stayer pretty close to Ife. Morgan examined the exterior of the research base for a few moments but then went back to casually swimming around.

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
Takiri put on the suit, a bit too loose, and they humorously described a feeling: "I've got butterflies in the stomach while getting near bees. Haha." She turned to Greene and Eden, "That hormone you described is gonna be used, right?"

In Las Palmeras
The shallows were mostly empty that day, though a school of small and silvery fish eventually swam around and avoided the divers though they were dispersed by a barracuda, a creature which contrary to popular belief, avoided the larger divers. Other sights were rocks with modest-sized and dull-colored coral around them. The only bit of darkness around the well-illuminated area was the anchored ferry boat, which dwarfed the station. Scouring around the sand and the floor revealed a few rocks and even debris from old crab cages.

As time went on and the search for another moon snail became fruitless, bubbles from the tanks began to rise and the divers began to feel lighter. Feeling like a mother duck that was in charge of leading their chicks, Ife tapped their watch to indicate time was running out and they headed back to the moon pool below the station, but not before briefly swooping down to catch something on the floor. Once the three were floating on the pool, the woman turned to the ambassador and handed him half of a scallop. "I didn't see it in the mud at first."

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general, now also in a beekeeper suit, pointed to a locker ok the wall. "Inside that locker you'll find two spritzer bottles, one with a blue liquid inside and one with a red liquid. The blue one is the calming pheromone and if you want to you can give yourself a few spurts of it."

In Las Palmeras
Morgan looked at the shell and examined it. "Well it's not quite as pretty as the moon snail shell, but this will certainly be a good souvenir. Also I had a question. I noticed a buildup of barnacles and such on the exterior of the station, how often is that cleaned off?"

Oldhall meanwhile had walked up the the prince. "do you think you could help me get all this off."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
García made sure to thoroughly spray herself with the blue container's content, she laughed off any nervousness and wondered why they needed the red one at the moment but at least felt that it made accidents difficult to occur, even if the entire situation reminded her of the red-wire/green-wire bomb gimmick seen in movies. With a slight sense of sardonic humor, Takiri said, "Alright, you first."


In Las Palmeras
Ife laughed a little as she got up with a ladder to the side of the pool, "Nice catch. Now on your question: We clean muck from the portholes but we don't do much to clean the barnacles or the mussels. If anything, this shallow base exists to test how much corrosion different kinds of alloys and marine-grade steel can take so we let those critters be. The Navy operates a base that's deeper than the one here and they test fancier things, like ultrasonic devices and electro-chemical machines, to prevent fouling animals from settling on the hulls."

Meanwhile, the Prince that had wanted to avoid getting wet, nonetheless decided to help Oldhall, mostly out of courtesy. Just as he was going to crack a joke, Ife led the Catsfernians to a shower and changing compartment, letting Morgan go first out of respect for his age as she and Oldhall waited. She asked, "are you tired?"

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The General opened up the door into the next room and as he did so he jokingly said "I'm getting the feeling you may be a bit nervous". As the door opened Garcia saw the massive singular room with its dirt floor covered in flowers with stone paths cutting through to semicircular clusters of wooden bee hives arranged similar to the buildings on the outside. Bees buzzed around the room going to flowers and flying around the hives. As she entered the room bees stared to fly around Garcia and she got a good look at them. Their heads and bodies looked similar to classic honey bees, but they had larger wings, narrower and longer legs, and a larger more pronounced thorax with a noticeable stinger.

In Las Palmeras
Morgan tried to keep his shower short only doing a thorough rinse, he then tried to completely dry himself before putting his regular clothes back on. All in All he only took about 5 minutes.

Oldhall meanwhile rubbed her arms. "I wouldn't say I'm tired, but that was a bit tiring just for my arms, and they're kind of sore."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
García chuckled, "Just a little". The scenery of flowers and gardens evoked an entirely different set of associations and scenarios that had nothing to do with an untimely and venomous death. The bees were certainly a bit unusual in appearance, something that the correspondent shrugged off as part of the genetic manipulation the Catsfernians talk about. The stinger was particularly intimidating.

In Las Palmeras
Ife hummed a little, "I guess I take that for granted. I've lived near the sea all my life and swimming comes naturally, I guess." As Morgan opened the door, she signaled that it was Nancy's turn and she entered the enclosed cubicle. As the noise of water was running, Ife said something nonchalantly, "normally my co-workers and I just go in there at once to save time, but we all know each-other so it's not awkward. We're all women."

Charles subtly smiled ever so slightly at the prospect and then Ife burst his bubble with some serious considerations. "We're not supposed to do that, though, there's no escape hatch there and rooms should never be filled at more than full capacity".

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general walked slowly through the room and calmly let a few of the bees land on his hand. "I can understand why honestly, but these guys are actually pretty docile unless you get sprayed with some of that red stuff, that's when they get nasty."

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall got in the shower and was more relaxed about it. she took care to make sure she kept her clothes dry, but wasn't in a hurry. It took her about 10 minutes for her to get back out.

Morgan Meanwhile stood beside Ife and the prince. "I suppose for the sake of efficiency doing something like share a shower would work, and sometimes we all do things on the job were not exactly supposed to. One question though, how did it end up that the entire crew of the station was female?"

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
García built up the courage to imitate the General and extended their hand, surely enough, the bees landed on it. Some light weight could be felt but there was no tickling sensation, the glove's thickness impeded any funny feelings. "Heh. They're actually kind of cute. First the puppies and now the bees. But I'm guessing what lies in store doesn't belong in a petting zoo."

In Las Palmeras
Ife shrugged, "Like normal, I suppose. Most everybody in the shipyard industry is a woman, except the designers, office managers and executives. Lumberjacks, factory workers, steel-mill workers, the car-making production line people. Littoral industrial divers, women too. Most of the time. They're jobs that men usually have abroad but there's three women for every man and that blue-collar labor won't do itself. Apart from government and white-collar stuff, the only real job that's a man's thing is sailing off as a merchant, or a fisherman or in the Navy. A lot of superstitions over a woman's place in the open ocean have been proven false, but being a sailor in the high seas is still seen as a man's thing. It's just tradition."

Charles looked at his watch, it was almost mid-day, "Well, looks like it's time for lunch." led them to the living cylinder, a place with a small kitchen, a fridge, a small TV set and a shelf with books. She was about to open the refrigerator and a pantry when the Prince showed her the basket. She smiled, "What a treat, fresh food!"