Mercenary on the Winds

ENEMY PHASE TURN 1! Vermeil froze, as the boom of thunder echoed through out the halls. For one, he knew that the clouds did not imply that there would be a storm this evening, and even if there had been, the ringing shouldn't have hit his ears. It shouldn't have felt like it was so very close to him. "...What in the Sands name, was that?" He could hear the men, and women around him taking hold of their arms, and then, shouting. It was too distant to make out, garbled by the echo, and then steel against steel. "...That's not possible. Another? Another--" "Attack! We're under attack! Sound the alar--" The man was crushed long before he could finish his words, Aegean's axe cracking the man's armor like a hammer against a chestnut. The cries from the vanguard didn't fare much better as they crumpled, the stun from the sudden bolt of lightning, and then the rush of mages far too much for them to handle. The lone remaining swordsman looked on in horror as a mass of beasts rushed into the area, just like the pirates from before had, except there were more of them, better equipped, and the sheep woman with the fantastical items that brutally eviscerated Vandrek, there was a horrific malice in her actions, and in her tone, eyes focused on him now. He drew his blade, resolve returning to his frame as he felt the steel in his hand--this is what they all trained for, prepared for. The monsters were to be culled one day, and one day, they would come. Today was that day, and today, he would fight, they would win just had they had hours before. "Sound the alarm! Get someone to the commander, and warn him that more of the half-breeds have come! Rouse everyone! For a better Islexia!" "Ho-ly shit." The lizard woman got up, and followed after M, only to watch her leader crumple to the ground, overcome with emotion. Not joy, not relief, but anguish, pain, knowing that had they waited, had they followed the plan... "Boss! Boss, come on!" The lizard knelt down next to M, "Hey! Look at me. Every single damn one of us walked in here not because you asked us to, but because we needed to get that rat-ass bastard back for what he did. If this is another chance... We can't just sit here and dwell on our fuck up! We could have stopped you, we all could have, but we all chose to follow you, because we couldn't wait to get another chance to ice that man-baby." Loud groans of pain came from the other side of the cell, as the man pulled himself up to sitting, "Ki-ka's... right." The pain was still real, it radiated all through out his body, and seemed to grow in intensities as the Islexian vanguard roused themselves. "We... fucked up... so... if we get... one more chance... let's... let's... take it..." "You ain't doing shit, Istavion, you can't even--" "You... said, if I'm gonna die... do it in peace while... the rest of you... think. Then... let me die... doing... the shit... I can." Myrm 2 attacks Alvira! [14, 91] The sword rakes along Alvira's scales dealing 17! Alvira counters! [11. 90] Alvira returns the favor with a chunk of ice to the head for 20! Alvira gains 12 EXP! Soldier 4 engages Miria! [62, 54] The man's steel lance pierces armor for 13! Miria counters! [86, 72] Miria's counter _barely_ connect, resetting the situation for 13 damage! Miria gains +1 Sword EXP, and +12 EXP! Soldier 5 engages Ullr! [36, 74] Despite the wicked looking spear in the man's hand, the hit was like any other for 15 damage! Ullr returns the favor! [67, 59] Ullr's fist breaks his guard and deals 15! Ullr gains +1 Brawling EXP, and +12 EXP! Reinforcements have appeared! PLAYER PHASE TURN 2!

Marianne felt her concern build as Senri seemed to know quite a bit about the ship that had just landed, and more importantly, quickly caught onto how she hadn't given him her name. He was a lot sharper than he looked, perhaps dangerously so, but that was the sort of game that she played daily, and she'd won every single time. "...I guess you're way sharper than your cute looks suggest." Marianne sat down across from Senri, "Marianne Linan, that's my name. As for who I really am... A civilian up on this cursed moon from one of the less terraformed regions. That's as much as I can say... Who exactly would you be to be able to call a search for my missing contact? You're not AHI, that much I can be sure of--there's an air that usually exists around those types, and no, it's not on you. So I have to find it hard to believe that you could do that... unless you're just trying to get on my good side?" Marianne stared at the man with her bright red eyes. No way... he's dead serious. But... who could you be that would have that kind of ability? AHI controls this area, and there are like... two rebel groups that actually have people who could operate here without bringing the hammer down on them. Is he with them? If he is... then shouldn't he know who I'm talking about? How strange... And how does he know so much about that ship? Amy paused as Leon called out to her, mentioning Avery, "Gotcha, gotcha, I'll make sure to tell her~" Amy swayed her way back over to her console, finding two more tasks on her plate. "Alright... Let's--Hmm?" Amy looked over at one of the machines, and saw a white haired man on his way up to one of the machines, and then suddenly stopped, hand slipping to his hip where the pilots typically had their weapons stashed. Amy raised an eyebrow, and wandered over--she knew that there wouldn't have been any stowaways, so if there was someone in the machine now, it was someone from the ship. "Hey, is everything okay over there?" The situation seemed resolved amiably--she didn't really expect different, but she hadn't expected anything needing an apology--but it was what Leon said that got Sia thinking. Something that they were both chasing after. They hadn't been together for too long, and she didn't recall that they two had crossed paths on too many occasions. Except... tangentially there was one thing were the two of them crossed. ...There's no way, right? Louise's call placed her back into the hangar, "Oh, uh, right. Hmm... we should probably start at the embassy, just so we aren't carrying so much for so long." Sia led Louise out of the main hangar and over to one of the cars. "Hmm... is there something I should know about Louise, or is that something that's best left to you and Leon?"

It seemed as if Amelia's time in the conversation was over and done with, and by now, there was probably some work she could be doing. Amelia saluted Sia, "Well, I have work to get back to. Nice to see all of you, and good luck with her 'hot-shot'." Azame seemed like she's be a good friend to spend time with, they seemed to flow in a similar way. She'd already begun trying to work her magic, or perhaps she was just friendly like that. Always a possibility even if it was pretty obvious which one it was. Amelia wandered off with pep in her step, the quicker she got done with things here, the quicker she could see what Tristan was up to~ Sia frowned as Azame confirmed some of her worries, "Well, perhaps that will have to be a place that I visit later on... It is rather odd that he has just vanished, especially at this moment in time." Rather convenient timing too... I can't rule out that he's been taken somewhere... but there are too many potential options for this. Ugh... "In the meantime, Ensign, welcome aboard. I expect you'll have a lot to do here, but you'll have support, and from the looks of it, you won't have much difficulty getting acquianted." Sia then looked at Leon, faintly smiling. "I think this works out quite perfectly actually. Everyone should be traveling in pairs if they're leaving the ship." Then, Sia found herself stunned, in the way that she hadn't expected, or known to expect what followed, with Louise suddenly apologizing to Leon about... something. It was left wonderfully vague, clearly so that only the two of them would know. Sia's eyes bounced back and forth between Louise, and Leon, she'd clearly missed something, but couldn't be sure of what it was. She'd defended him earlier, but now she was also apologizing? I guess today is going to be a day of how many questions am I going to have to ask how many different people by the time it's nightfall... It seemed it was serious enough that Louise was prepared for Leon not to forgive her, so it was best to do as Louise had indirectly requested, and watch over what happened here. Marianne giggled at the man's turn of phrase, "With so many people that kind of pun would have been rehearsed, you can always tell, but with you? That seemed second nature. You'd probably not be surprised at how poorly some of these engineering types think to flirt." Marianne pointed over her shoulder, at the guy sitting at the front, now staring over at them, "Or don't make an attempt at all, and are just trying to undress a person with their eyes. Bet you he couldn't tell me what my hair color was, but he could probably give you a detailed drawing of my hips." She looked over her shoulder and then stuck out her tongue. "Any-way. Senri Takahashi, I'll be sure to keep that one in mind, and I get it, I do it a lot too. There's so much going on around here in Remensburg that just sitting down, and taking in the atmosphere let's you learn a lot. The best places to go perform, when not to, best sort of deals, that sort of stuff, and more." She winked, "It helps a dancer like me know where to strut my stuff for best effect~ Been doing it almost all my life, so I do take a lot of pride in it; helps the folks stay afloat. AHI isn't gonna do it for us, well, not directly anyway. Drinks, and a dazzling dancer such as myself makes it really easy for some of the engineers to... offer assistance so to speak~" The engineers were always going to be set so long as they worked at AHI, and could live in the major areas--parting with their money was never really going to be a problem for them. Marianne then giggled, "I can certainly point you towards a good time, the mall is always nice, got tons to do, a lot of the 'earth-style' amenities in there, little expensive though, but not really a problem if you're tied up with AHI. But unless it would be something quick, I'm actually the one waiting on people, although, they should have been here by now. A little rare for them to be behind schedule, but hey, stranger things have happened, like that giant ship that's pulled into port. Thing is huuuuuuuuuuge, it's apparently a CEN battleship, and one of the newest ones too. Can't imagine what it's up here for..." Since it's not up here to deal with AHI and their bullshit from the looks of it... more than enough information to have that entire operation shut down, but that would be in a just world, and we live on Callisto instead...

"Yeah, the captain's a busy lady, and especially so today from the sounds of it..." She didn't get the specifics, but rumors were abound that something had happened in their AHI meetings. Amelia wouldn't have minded getting a chance to go and peruse the premises--things were going to be different up here, and that meant new design philosophies. Amy had been about to return the light tease, when the woman of the hour arrived, and sporting a rather relaxed outfit. "Hiya, Captain! Good to see you down here." Amy looked down, noticed that she'd had her jumpsuit zipped down to her stomach, revealing her everything underneath, "Oops!" She quickly zipped mostly up, and then chuckled nervously, "Aha, sorry, it gets real warm down here, and when you're on duty, and all of that..." Fortunately, someone else entered the conversation to give her time for her brain to catch up with her words. A cute red head, and it seemed like Azame agreed with her, and was onto him immediately. Sia masked the embarrassment on her face, by focusing on the ensign, "So she has." Sia returned the woman's salute, "At ease, I'm not exactly in my uniform anyway, and permanent duty?" Sia blinked for a moment, "I imagine that must have just come over my console... Either way there was something I wanted to ask you." The engineer that Azame was speaking with, Sia remembered her name as Amelia, one of Cia's requested acquisitions. The woman was beaming, almost radiantly bubbly, until she realized that she'd left her jumpsuit open. For a moment, Sia was unsure if the suit was going to zip up at all, but then Leon walked up, sporting his own casual outfit, and from the looks of things, Azame approved. She smiled faintly at Azame's clear interest before continuing, "It was about what you mentioned earlier with Ambassador Shiva... have you found him? Or is he still missing at this point in time? That is a... point of concern." Sia was hoping that this wasn't also going to get added to their rapidly growing plate of things to handle. There were a couple that were seriously paying attention. The nearest one appeared drunk enough that he wasn't even masking the fact that he'd hardly followed her dance, and was just glued to her ass. He'd be absolutely of no help, and definitely not anyone fun to talk to. The others were more cursory glances, focused more on their conversations. Marianne wanted to find her way in there, see if there were some... parts or items that she could procure, and pass on to the more upstanding men and women who could actually use them. That left her with the man all the way at the back. He was paying attention, and was close enough to the group in question, and was pretty cute while also still having some drinks in him. Probably the best place to start... Doesn't look like the contact is here anyway... if I assume that it's gonna be the red head again. Marianne gave the man a wink, and sauntered her way over, past the man in the front, eliciting a groan from him as she stopped in front of Senri's table, "Some people really do make it easy to ignore them, huh? Are you waiting for someone, or could I sit and chat for a little bit? I've been around, so I recognize a lot of the regulars here, and you aren't one of them... Are you just new to the bar, or did you just arrive?" All the while, Marianne kept her ears perked for the men at the booth nearest to them. It did sound like they were complaining about one of her more recent endeavors, but well, that just meant they shouldn't be so poorly defended.

Kieran grimaced, but from the looks of things, they'd gotten all the way through, and it was going to be time to push forward. Roxanne, or that was what Kieran thought her name was, mentioned something about there being another ship that they could have linked up with for the attack, but it to was nowhere to be found. To him, it seemed obvious what they had to do, but he wasn't going to be the one on the ground--he was going to remain on the ship, with Bella and a number of the others to protect the ship as an escape route if things really did go south. Kieran shook his head, "It doesn't really matter at this point. We've made it this far, the only thing left to do is to push forward, right?" Kieran looked over at the sheep; her eyes had been darting from place to place they'd been getting close. "Hey, eyes focused on the prize. You know that whoever you're looking for is here. They're fine, and you're going to go find them with the others. That's all we've got to go on at this point." With no way to turn back, the Maelstrom entered the sea caves, and when the fog started to clear, it suddenly became clear that things had already been in motion. Just ahead at the docks--also without guards--was a second ship, that didn't look like any ship that Kieran had ever seen before. It didn't flip the standard of Kazran's men, and the general make was more modern than anything Kazran, or even Islexia had its hands on. "...I think we've already got our answer then..." But if there were no guards at the dock, this was going to be the easiest landing that anyone had ever made. Only Kieran couldn't expect that things were only going to get more and more difficult the moment that the Tigers set foot onto the dock, and started making their push towards the castle... One man walked down a set of stairs into a musty basement like area, droplet of water dropping from the ceiling. He clicked his tongue, he truly hated the dungeons, but he'd always been the one that had to give the orders, and execute Kazran's orders. Mostly the latter, he had a damned monster that he could 'trust' would follow his orders to the letter. "Krystal!!! Krystal, where the hell are you?! Haven't got time for your disappearing acts..." Fully armed men and women were patrolling the caves, an unusual sight, but the night before had been an unusual evening. They were still accounting for the dead, and the missing. The attack was swift, and oddly well handled, so it hadn't been other Islexians. Turns out, it had been a band of pirates, a band of pirates with a death wish, and with nothing but a well laid plan, and fury befitting that of the Six Tribes themselves tore through the caves, and then broke into the manse. That had been their undoing. Lord Kazran might have been a philanderer and a fool, but what he could do was fight, and one by one, he tore through the attackers leaving only their captain conscious or alive. She'd taken a shot, and hit the man, but he was a brute, and with his castle on the line, only a bullet through his heart would have sufficed, and he was unsure if that would have been enough. "Captain Vermeil! Reporting in sir, we've confirmed that we lost 60% of the dock guard, and the cave guard in the attack, we're doing as Commander Giovanna suggested but--" Vermeil put his hand up, "Do not call her Commander. That woman is the reason we are in this mess. She should be executed for her part in allowing half-breeds to get this far! I cannot believe that Lord Kazran saw fit to leave them alive for this long... Blast it, where is Krystal?! She is to give the damned pirates the news of their coming demise!" Elsewhere in the caves, a prison situated in the center of the caves, a man lie on the ground in one of the cages. His arm had been severed at the joint, and barely wrapped with what remained of the clothes from his two companions, or rather, the two surviving companions. The pain had almost gone, which made him wonder if he was close to the end, or if he had simply lost all ability to feel. "Boss... Ha... We fucked up, huh?" "Shut up..." Came a voice from the other side of the cage, a small lizard woman with a gash across her face, also wrapped in tattered clothing. "You've been saying nothing else for the past couple hours. If you're gonna die, at least do it in quiet so the rest of us trying to get out of this can think." She huffed, trying to gauge anything, find any hope to latch onto. She'd been trying for hours, but there was nothing. Or rather... there was nothing before now. She could feel it. Movement, and not just the movement of the guards... something coming from where they'd come. "...Hey, Boss... Not making any promise, but I think I hear something coming... A lot of something." Map Start! Objective: Defeat Vermeil, then have one unit arrive in the Top Right Space! Mastery: Rescue one other of the surviving Pirates! [This Mastery has multiple parts, be aware!] If there are deployment requests, changes, or anything, please let me know immediately.

Amy was practically blowing through the repairs on her plate; the little break that she had with Tristan before returning to work had done wonders. So much so that the bubbly engineer was beaming the whole way through, despite the fact that they were informed that they were going to be remaining on the ship to handle repairs. Amy didn't quite care, for the first time in years she'd found someone who walked the line that she was so eager to find, and was gorgeous to boot, and was perfectly willing to express their enjoyment of her personality and figure. She'd fully expected that this would be like any other sortie; there were always wonderfully cute guys, but they were either exhausting to be around, incredibly one-note, or were just interested in the fact that she was almost always the bustiest woman on any given ship. There was also the fact of them tending to be hyper wary of her given how quickly the Boston fiasco spread, and even if that had never been proven, such a thing never had to be proven for it to be burned into the conscience of her peers. Tristan was everything she could have hoped for, and it was showing. So much so that she ran out of work to be doing; the others were working at a more reasonable pace, so Amy wandered around looking for something to do, and found the woman with the worker mech from before, except she was dressed for a day on the down. Amy chuckled a little as she wondered about her clothes shrinking, or maybe something growing--Amy was no stranger to the latter. "Hiya, hiya! Did you find the Captain, or are you still waiting on her? Gosh, I feel like they should be over and done with by now... Also, that's a pretty nice ensemble, are you heading out with the pilots? They got released, so they'll be heading out and--" Amy held her hand up, "Sorry, get carried away a little sometimes... what was your name again, miss?" Sia nodded, "That certainly sounds right. She mentioned that she was searching for Ambassador Shiva, and I wanted some clarification on that. Given that... he's the man that we're supposed to be rendezvousing with." The man was the premier spokesperson for the people of Callisto, and was certainly the man they were going to need to see if they were going to get things under control peacefully. If that's even possible anymore... We'll have to content with Toki and whatever her machinations are. Sia then bobbed back and forth as Louise asked her what she had in mind, "Admittedly... I hadn't thought about it much. What first came to mind was simply wandering the streets of Remensburg to get a feel for the location, the atmosphere, and everything." Sia started toying with her earrings again, "I think the first part of Tokiwa's shenanigans would probably be explained by just taking in Remensburg, it's the center of this moon, for better or worse, which means there are certainly things to be learned here... Beyond that, I admit, I hadn't really thought about it. Perhaps clothing, or their mall..." By the time Sia had gotten her thoughts out, they'd made it all the way down to the hangar, "Now then, where is our... Ah! There." Sia pointed towards the now casually dressed woman, who appeared to have taken up conversation with one of the engineers. "Pardon the interruption, Ensign. Do you have a moment?"

Sia had been about to answer Hannah's response, but Louise beat her, and Hannah, to the punch, offering herself as the escort. She was certainly on the short list of the people to ask, given recent conversations. "You're certainly correct. Leaving the ship should be done in pairs now that we know that we're being watched in some capacity... I certainly wouldn't object to your company, Lieutenant Park." She still did have to use the woman's name and rank; Sia didn't want any ideas spreading so soon. "Though, let's be clear, unless I'm having difficulty breathing, I'll be quite capable of handling myself. Though, you know that by now." Sia watched as Kazue vanished from the room, nary a word, and disappeared out the door. Leon was soon after. There was going to be so much to do on her return, questions she needed to ask, and answers she needed to find. Sia waved Louise on, "We can continue our conversation as we walk, I should pop by the hangar, and see how things are going in there. There was mention before I left about the woman who had arrived in the older HEX model, her machine is still present on the Dawn, and there was something I wanted to ask before we headed away..."

Kieran looked over at Sylmaria, her facade was broken, and he wasn't sure if it was coming back. The reality of the world was crushing her, crushing her being like it had so many others. Sylmaria was only lucky that it was only metaphorical so far, as so many had feel the crushing weight translated upon their bones by the swing of an Islexian's axe. Kieran's eyes closed as he pondered the question; it was a question he had to ask himself recently, a question that pervaded his thoughts now that he had been made to question all that he had known. When Kieran finally opened his eyes, he was staring towards the sun, now approaching the zenith of it arc, "I don't know. I haven't answered that question for myself. It's nothing like what's happened with you, but... I can say that I was doing the same thing. Maybe we all are." Then Kieran's eyes drifted back down to the distraught dragon, and nodded, "Yeah... maybe it does all need to burn. Islexia truly... this place and our leaders, our history... I don't know, but I do know one thing at least. We can start by taking Kazran's head from his shoulders." Versaris wandered over and expressed his concern for Alriana, Jeremiah chuckled to himself as Versaris started collecting Alriana, who still hadn't really moved since crashing her entire being into Jeremiah, "Sparing a hand for your significant other before your teacher... it seems as if you're already learning well, Versaris." The man snickered, but stopped as Lucretia walked up waving her staff over the trio, frowning all the while over their spar. Jeremiah blinked for a moment before the snicker returned as a hearty laugh, "Sorry, sorry... it's just... I know you've never met her, but, Serena really would have been saying the same thing about a spar like that." And probably more given what Alriana is... That will be a difficult conversation. "Please don't take my laughing as dismissive, Lucretia. You're quite right, there was no reason to engage in a spar at that level... on the surface at least." Jeremiah stood up, letting Versaris focus all of his attention on Alriana, and began to whisper to the buxom healer, "I needed to be sure that the two of them would be able to handle fighting together. I couldn't let them go without knowing that the two of them are going to be in sync with one another, and that they realize that they'll have to fight together if they both plan on facing what they plan on facing together. The confidence to know that they can keep up with me, even if I am holding back, will help them going forward, both on the battlefield, and in fields like this one." Jeremiah then backed away, and offered Lucretia a warm smile, "Genuinely, thank you for your concern in your work; I'll have to pay it back to you at some point. Now then... I believe there's still plenty of time to hone their edge..." Jeremiah wandered off to watch, and help instruct the Tigers. He could see it plain, this was a very unique group, and that couldn't be more evident then through how quickly the Tigers seemed to improve fighting one another, and himself. Many of them seemed to have latent potential that seemed to be waiting for the moment to come forth. Perhaps that was why they'd crossed paths with Lucille; she too was a talent well beyond her years, and with time, she'd easily surpass even the best mages in Lufiria, if she hadn't already. Jeremiah's eyes looked to the skies, knowing that he wouldn't see the princess's diminutive pegasi gliding through the air as they so often did. Where exactly had the Princess gone, and why exactly had she been so adamant on protecting the Escaflowne? Jeremiah looked over at the Evokers; he hadn't found the time to converse with them over the veracity of Alvira's claims--claims he'd already accepted as a possibility. But what exactly did that mean? If the Tigers really had encounter Mercuria, and she had tried to command them to bring her the Escaflowne... had Lucille been commanded herself, or was there something more to this? Jeremiah shook his head, Lucille knew far more about the happenings across the continent, and without her or their expert, he was as in the dark as anyone else, and he knew that Lucille was far too magically gifted to be swayed in such a manner. He'd just have to find her, and with any luck, the Tigers would lead him right to her--there was no other way to explain how fortuitous it was for the Tigers, and then Celine Altair to happen across Lucille. But that was time he needed to spend later, now was the time to make sure that the Tigers were even capable of surviving the jaws of Islexia... June 15th, 1218 PAF Location: Off the Coast of Northern Islexia. Time: 8PM Despite not having been officially selected for the mission itself, Kieran milled about on the desk of the Maelstrom. It was all so perfect. Too perfect even. Aegean, and Cass managed the heading of the boat down to the minutae of what this Leon fellow had laid out for him. Marigold had long since explained that the man wasn't Leon, but was in fact, one of Lufiria's top officials, but Leon made more sense to him. That man had stayed behind, along with the Evokers, as the three of them were political bombs of proportions that dwarfed that of the Evoker-- Stop that and focus. This is going way too well... Even if Kazran's not the brightest spell in the bunch, we haven't seen a single goddamn ship of his since we set out. While fortuitous, it was concerning. Had Kazran caught wind of their attack? Even Kieran knew that Kazran's ships patrolled this area decently well, even if Jeremi--Leon's instructions were perfect, there should have been something but as the fog on the seas began to part, before them appeared the entrance to the sea cavern. "No fucking way it was this easy..." Kieran hopped up, and made his way to the helm of the ship, "We're ahead of schedule, there's the cave opening." Kieran could feel his body starting to quiver, he wasn't even going to be on the ground--resigned to protecting the Maelstrom--but with the cave opening in front of them, and seemingly no defenses in sight, their fortunes couldn't be better. "I can't be the only one who's thinking this worked too well, right? Shouldn't we have seen something?" Location: Beacon Castle, Islexia "Stop. Moving!" An exasperated, feminine voice shouted as Cereza glared at Kazran. "You're only making this harder and harder, when you could just ask one of the--" "No." Kazran said, his voice filled with malice, "I'm not trusting one of those hacks to handle this. I'm not trusting one of her hacks to handle this, when it was her who let this happen to me!" Kazran almost growled the words out, words nearly bursting forth as flame. "I need someone who I can fucking trust to do things right, and so far, it seems as if it's only you, Cereza. Damned halfbloods, damned filth... Didn't think they'd come back, and use the fucking cave. Impossible. It should have been impossible, but that fucking hussy can't even line proper defenses!" Cereza kicked Kazran, "Yes, I do remember telling you that she wasn't worth the name of her family, but I'm quite sure you weren't listening to me while your eyes were glued Galari knows where." She rolled her eyes, and worked with the blades of metal, trying to draw the bullet lodged in his shoulder. "We're killing the pirates tonight, right? I don't plan on having such filth stinking up our castle for long. I know you likely have plans for the women, but... what of the one who shot you? Surely you won't find anyone willing to part with much for... that?" Kazran barely flinched from the woman's kick, but winced as she went in deeper with the blades, "I plan to auction all of them off. I'm sure that Luthier would be dying to see how some of these pirates tick, especially the one with the coward's weapon. He was interested in the stain that we took from her ship. I still plan on breaking her apart slowly; Luthier will only need her breathing, and I doubt he'll care if she dies on the way to whatever place that demon takes her. All I know is that she's going to die, and it's not going to be fast, and easy, it's going to be slow, and agonizing. Then I'll find the stain, and make sure that it knows that I'm going to send it to meet her. Where's fucking Giovanna? I want to know all of the fucking damage that she allowed to happen under her goddamned watch. When we're done here, go and tell Vermeil to make sure that the prisoners know that they aren't going to see another sunrise."

Hannah's confirmation brought a faint frown to Sia's face; it all but confirmed that they were likely going to be the timing for the attack. It was going to be risky effectively flying right into an enemy's attack, but Sia wasn't about to let Toki have her way with things. If she was going to try and frighten them, then all they could do was show her that they meant business. Which meant, first and foremost, figuring out exactly what her game was. The silence from the rest of the room was telling enough, but the lieutenant commander was already on top of things, "Yes, you're right Lieutenant Commander, there are few avenues before us, and I believe it's best that we use them. All of you are dismissed for the time being, but please return to the ship by evening; I doubt that Miss Shezsacosh will go back on her word, but I'm not going to chance it. If anything happens, notify me, or the XO immediately." Sia's glance stopped on Leon for a moment, before drifting over to Louise, "By the morning, I believe we'll have our movements planned out, so take this time to clear your heads, and prepare for the road ahead. We know now that this mission likely isn't going to be as simple as we hoped. So be on your way, and take care. If you're heading into Remensburg, please make sure that someone knows where you've gone." That brought her gaze back to Leon, he'd promised that he wouldn't put himself in unnecessary danger, but he was certainly the type that needed to be reminded that they were being watched. Then Sia's eyes drifted over Daeran for a moment, taking note of how... distant the man seemed. Not surprising, he had just been propositioned into joining Toki on her mission to torch the moon. But more importantly was that Daeran knew who the woman was. An old friend, or flame, perhaps? The possibilities were numerous given his station, so Sia couldn't quite narrow it down, not without asking him. However, the man seemed more lost than usual, it was odd, and Sia shook her head. Probably best to wait until later... I don't expect there's any reason for me to rush this now, not unless Tokiwa is content to throw the board into disarray immediately... "Hannah, if you would transfer all of what was sent to my terminal, I'll look over it when I return to the ship... I'll have a lot of work to do when I return..."

Kieran winced as Sylmaria broke, the wounds covered by the bandages, her real wounds, slashed open once more by his words. He grimaced, but, there was nothing else he could do but continue. "...Because we Islexians are cowards. All of us. It's a goddamned poison, and all of us eat it up until we all fall apart." Kieran started to put his hand out to Sylmaria, before stopping himself. He was a part of that poison, even if he'd never met the dragon before this moment, he ate that poison and let it destroy him until it was too late. "...Because like me never fought back. Content to just live our lives knowing that it could always be worse... we could be a clouded or monster, and we displaced that fear onto you. I wonder, what have you done really? Killed people, that much I'm sure--I've killed people too. But I know people who've done heinous shit, and it's fine, because they're human. I think I know more clouded and monsters who would be paragons anywhere else, and they're mocked and derided. Could have said something, did something, but stayed silent. It's not just me, it's hundreds, thousands of people like me, cowards every single last one of us." Kieran leaned back against the wall, "...That's why I gotta believe in Owen. Because he's not a coward. He's putting everything on the line. I don't know you, you don't know me, at best, we'd be acquaintances, but Owen? He doesn't know you, yet, but he's still gonna put his ass on the line, that's who he is. Maybe he's not as strong as Nicolas, or even Kazran, but that's fine, he ain't gotta be. He just has to be strong enough to let his ideals show, so that the people who can win him the fight come along and back him up." Kieran looked out over the training ground; the Evokers, the dark haired swordsman, the Tigers, all of them so strong, and all converging in this one place to defeat Kazran. "It's already worked once... so he'll just have to keep going, and going... then eventually one day, Islexians like me, won't hurt Islexians like you. But we have to deal with the poison first." Pfeh... when did you become so sappy? You don't know this woman, and yet... You know just as well what she's going through. She's been hugged enough, just be here and watch... All you can do right now. Ha, can't wait for Marigold to rake me over the coals for this one... bet she's watching from somewhere. Kieran just stood by and watched Sylmaria sob, staff at the ready if there was anything more that he could do. But the rest, he thought, was up to Sylmaria. Jeremiah nodded his head, "Very well." Jeremiah released a breath that he hadn't realized that he'd been holding in. He chuckled, was he really concerned that Alriana wouldn't accept his words? A glance over at the man by her side quashed that theory, no, he was concerned more about where that argument would have placed Versaris in all of this. You see him and Aegean once in years, and all of those emotions just come flooding back... Gods, Serena would have laughed herself unconscious at all of this... Jeremiah took his stance on the other side of the field while Alriana, and Versaris got their plan together. This would be difficult without simply resorting to using all of the tools available to him; Versaris wouldn't fall prey to many of his tricks, and was simply an excellent swordsman, and Alriana was a bit of a black box--he knew how effective the creations could be but Alriana was Alriana. How she would strike, how she would move with Versaris were things that he didn't have any way of knowing. All of that would be done on the fly, and with the speed that a creation like Alriana was to possess... It would be difficult, but if the two of them weren't perfectly in sync, then he could take them apart--neither of them were capable of handling him on their own, it had to be together. Jeremiah chuckled, "I'm always prepared to be proven wrong, Alriana. If you can win, then show me that you can win." Jeremiah drew his sword, and pointed it at the pair before taking a different stance, "Let's see how well you two fight together. You'll make this very easy for me if you aren't on the same page."

There was little time to issue orders, and little need--the Falcons were quick on the uptake, and even both Jil and Rina moved with an appropriate swiftness. That meant that he could move on ahead, and there had been a swordsman who had been shouting about their boss, and retreating. While it would do for them to sweep the area of bandits so they weren't swarmed later, Rivane didn't see the point in allowing the man to warn the others. "Clean up the others, I'm moving on ahead. I'll be back." Rivane urged Danzig forward, pursuing their their escapee before finding him in the trees, "I'm afraid your time has run out my friend. You'll have to be quiet." Rivane moves to 8, 13, and Iron Lances Merc 3!

"Jasmine, huh?" One of the bigger Isoldan ports, and considering that Lohengrin was spearheading the effort against Garmr, exports through there were paramount. The mention of magical artifacts could only really have been aimed at one person, and Alouette let out a sigh. "Well, I don't plan on letting anyone else ruin the festival, so just say the word..." Alouette melted onto the table, "Just... after some sleep. Today was an exhausting birthday..." Hopefully after a good night's rest she'd be back to normal; more and more she was glad that today was when she suffered an overload, and not in the midst of things. That did remind Alouette as she looked over at Ichika, the swordswoman had something to talk to her about. Luce mentioned something about plans this evening, and Miles, the other swordsman, was already asking what exactly was on Luce's agenda. Then the healer, Mikhail, placed a series of gifts in front of everyone at the table, notably all food. "Oh, uh..." Alouette could feel her aversion to the offering rising to the forefront but, Alouette took a deep breath. "T-thank you," Alouette said quietly enough that it likely would have been missed amidst the conversations. She could try to trust the group a little more. Alouette had completely missed that she'd admitted what today was, her exhaustion getting the better of her.

Kieran watched as Sylmaria--beautiful name--slingshotted between resolution, and then pointed self-deprecation. It was familiar, so familiar that Kieran could almost feel the second hand embarrassment welling up inside of him. She gazed up at him with eyes that seemed poised to run over with anguish, pain turning into tears. A mantra escaping her lips, a truth that had to be or... Kieran looked up, unable to glance at the Dragon for too long, but the words were already escaping his lips, "Yeah, you're wrong... just not in the way you think you are. You're not vile, or a mistake, or the problem." Kieran looked down at his feet, and took two steps, "This ground beneath our feet, is the problem. I used to think the way you do; I can't say that I still don't. I used to hate the clouded, and monster, thought they were the cause of all of our problems. It's what we're taught here, but... It becomes really hard to hold onto that belief when I look out over this field, you know? They locked me up earlier because I betrayed them, got two of their members captured by the underground, and I did it because I told myself that I hated the clouded and monsters, and that they had it coming. That I hated the Belrose more than anything, so I gave them what they wanted... That's what I told myself, but no, no that wasn't it. It was never the reason why... it was because I was, I am, a coward. I looked death in the face, and ran, and I had to tell myself, make myself believe... that they were the problem. It's easier, you know? To blame something small, than to blame what's really the problem... Islexia." Kieran found enough of his resolve to look back at the expectant dragon, "For days after doing that, I resolved to just let the Tigers kill me. Because I was the problem, I was the person who betrayed them, if they wanted their revenge, then they should have it. My life for what I nearly took from them. But that too... that too was me running away from the real realization, the real choice that I had to make. If I was who I was when I made that decision, if I was in your shoes... I would have killed Owen. I would have rationalized it as the only thing I could have done... But you didn't. That already makes you better than a lot of humans, better than me... because you had, have, something that kept you from doing it, and now are going to fight against Kazran. So now we're the same in that regard... I got something to propel me forward too now, just... wish I'd thought about it sooner. Hold onto that. Don't bother trying to face this world alone... I already tried, I can tell you first hand, you won't get far. These people get that; we can learn something from them." Jeremiah's eyes came to rest on Alriana, the faintest smirk on his face as she had fought to be set down, and tried to hide the remarkably obvious blush across her face--it was hard to genuinely mask the blue across her almost true white skin. Versaris confirmed that Alriana hadn't said anything to him about that night, a fairly reasonable assumption given how close that he and Versaris had been--she likely couldn't be sure how he would have reacted. "I'm surprised that she didn't, but yes, something did happen. A misunderstanding of her own position, and a foolish one on my end." Jeremiah shook his head, it was not being direct that got him in trouble with her and Iris in the first place. No reason to not strike at the heart of things this time. "I already have apologized to her, several days ago. What I said to her was wrong, regardless of my feelings on my actions, and the necessity of them. Even if I believe in their validity... My validity does not alter hers. I took her father, that is the unarguable truth, and I left her to fend for herself. I apologized to her for that, and you can ask her if you don't believe me." It was the slightest bit frustrating for Alriana to move forward like this, especially after admitting that she hadn't even spoken with Iris, but he had opened himself up to this. It was the least he could do in this situation, and it did confirm that Alriana was worried that if she didn't get her closure, she'd lash out. However, Jeremiah had already made his decision. His feelings on Alriana aside, if Versaris was this sure, this committed, then it would be a disservice to him to not see things through. Perhaps that would eventually quell his own disdain. "Will that suffice, Alriana?"

Kieran raised an eyebrow at Sylmaria's response; she wasn't a Tiger, of that he could be sure given that she hadn't tried to take his head off on approach, but the way she spoke about the rather gorgeous scales underneath her bandages was... confusing. There had to be a lot more to what she was saying then she was letting on, but he was already in a hole, so he wasn't going to start digging another. "Well, if you're new around here, then you wouldn't have seen me before now. Was locked up only a couple minutes ago for a stupid mistake, but I've gotta get out and start making amends for it at some point. Kieran, I'm one of Owen's--for as long as he'll have me." The scales really did stand out against her pale skin and silver hair; it was a rather gorgeous juxtaposition, but regardless of how pretty they were, there appeared to be sharp animosity towards them. It wasn't too uncommon for some monsters to genuinely come to despite their monster elements. Kieran knew perhaps too many who wished to cast that part of them way, and to live amongst the humans, but their features were always pronounced, always present, and always returned even when they suffered pain to destroy them. Kieran sighed, "Yeah, definitely not a good idea to hurt yourself like that before going to deal with Kazr--" Kieran was quickly cut off by the explosion of flame on the training grounds, where a training dummy had been was now a beautiful pyre of flame. Sure enough, the caster was one of the Evokers, the strawberry blonde, except her hair had been a bright pink. He'd heard stories, and dreamed of meeting them, but even the stories couldn't accurately explain them. "...So that's the upper limits of magic, huh?" Sylmaria appear to lose focus, staring at the display of unbridled power, "Kind of crazy what real mages are capable of. I never got to go, but apparently, Glacian mages are way stronger, and more talented than anything we've got down here... Those two are the pinnacle of that--Evoker is the title given to the most powerful mage in the alliance." Kieran cleared his throat and shook his head, "Sorry, carried away. So, uh, what's your name, and what brings you here?" Sylmaria slunk off, and Tio let out a huff. It really was just Alvira, and her all over again, except this time, there really wasn't anything that Tio could explain, or prove like she had done with Alvira. Sylmaria was a very different wall; a wall that made itself taller and taller the closer one got to climbing over top of it. Even if it ran out of material, it would use something else to continue its refusal to fall. It was exhausting to deal with, and it would have been so much less frustrating if Tio didn't understand the impulse. Her clinging to Giovanna was proof of Tio's belief, but if Sylmaria herself didn't allow the wall to fall, then it didn't matter if Tio could prove anything, it didn't matter if Owen did keep Eslcas, or if the Tigers were strong enough to best Kazran. Sylmaria had to be the one to believe it, and... Tio knew how difficult that would be, after everything that had happened to her, everything that Islexia placed upon her, to accept that all of that was not preordained, and simply Islexia being behind the times... Ugh... Am I ever going to have a week of just relaxing ever again? Tio sighed, she wasn't going to be able to break through to Sylmaria, but she just couldn't sit back. Even if Sylmaria never truly came to believe her, even someone challenging her belief was enough. Sylmaria had to be the one to chip away at her belief, but she wasn't going to do it on her own, because it would be a very painful realization. Tio knew that first hand; the day she finally understood that she was not to blame for her father's actions, nor complete obliteration of her home, friends, and family, and finally, the hatred that she received for being a survivor of the wretched village, it broke her. She'd spent so long with that baggage on her shoulders, and none of it was hers, all she endured, all she placed on herself... Elisa, bless her, pulled Tio out of her thoughts with a flawless Bolganone, showing that she was almost back to form completely. Tio knew that she needed to get her own practice in, but her simmering temper meant it was probably best to relax, and let the others perform. And perform Alvira did, the dragon--with a hefty amount of effort--performed her own fire spell, a reasonably strong elfire. Tio smiled, "Well, well... it really does seem like you're starting to be able to break past our favorite goddess's shackles. Well done, Alvira." Back to focusing on magic, that didn't tend to make her upset. Speaking of which... Jesse went to show Elisa something in regards to her armor--they were supposed to have done this before but so many things had happened since their meeting that there hadn't been time--and while Tio couldn't grasp much of the underlying structure, she could grasp the magic itself, and there had been very little from Jesse before the attack. ...Is her armor working the same way as Miria's? Is it a conduit of some sort for a particular element? ...Where the fuck do these things keep coming from?! Jeremiah raised an eyebrow at Syndra, before chuckling to himself. "I have to admit, I've been thrown off a lot today, but seeing you here alongside the Tigers tells me that I really shouldn't be surprised that you just didn't eat up all that you've been told about your grandfather. Most of it is true, at least. Elliot Belrose, the closest ally to the late Vivianna, and Vincent Serapia, and arguably the most brilliant military mind of his time. When people say that it was him who made Islexia into the military powerhouse that it used to be, they are almost entirely correct... In the eyes of an Islexian, Elliot would be a hero worth mourning--to my understanding there is such a day across Islexia. However... to anyone who was not Islexian... your grandfather was a butcher, responsible for the deaths of many clouded, monsters, and when the war began, Lufirians. He was a man without equal in that sphere..." Jeremiah hands tensed, even speaking about the man brought of memories of what he had seen, what Elliot had commanded--visions of towns burnt down to their foundations, heads in the streets with too many bodies to determine who was who. Jeremiah took a deep breath, and opened his eyes, not realizing that he had shut them, "That's why he had to die if Lufiria was to survive. I admit, I only met him directly twice, the first as a witness to his brutality, and the second as party to his assassination. I only wish that I had been the one to drive my sword through his heart, but... it could have only ever ended with her taking his life. Serena might have been the one to come up with the plan, but it was Rosaria who put everything together in the end; Virion and I were tasked with opening the way for her. Four fools on a suicide mission ended up besting the greatest military mind of the time, and living to tell the tale." Jeremiah rested his hand on his sword, "I'm not sure you asked for all of that, so I have to apologize. For some of it, at least. So, yes, I did know your grandfather, and I'm party to his death." There was so much more that Jeremiah could have said on the man--the man had a storied history in the collapse--but those were secrets that he didn't need to hand over at this point. That was a problem for Lufiria. As Jeremiah finished, finally, Versaris called over and his voice was full of joy. Full of confidence too from the sounds of it. Jeremiah shook his head and started chuckling, "So I'm assuming this is where you tell Alriana that you've not once won against me, Versaris. I suppose today could always be the day given that you have something more important than simply winning this duel now." Jeremiah looked at Lucretia with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Lucretia, but I believe this one will go more according to a proper duel, rather than what happened with Kise. Just we're clear, Versaris, Alriana... the both of you are stronger than the rest of the tigers, and considering that the two of you will be fighting together, I will not be holding back nearly as much as with the others. I want the two of you to land even a single hit on me, Versaris knows how difficult that will be. You will have to pull together if you want so much as a chance."

Jeremiah kept his eyes on Aegean until Lucretia had made her way over, letting out a sigh as the woman's magic washed over him. By now, he was absolutely sure that there was something that linked Lucretia and Serena, even if minor, but that was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. Renais's reaction to events was louder than Aegean's, and she was quickly to Kise's side--the Kitsune would be fine, he'd avoided all fatal points, but with the way she fought... Jeremiah wondered if he would have been given the same courtesy. There was absolutely no mistaking it; the woman was testing herself, and if he'd been any slower just now, there was the faintest chance, however small, that she would have gone for it if she could. Jeremiah looked over at Lucretia with a half smile, and shrugged, "Kise said she wanted to see what she could manage, and she's a league beyond all but the Evokers here. That's just the reality of what a fight between people of that caliber would look like, nothing to be concerned about." Jeremiah's half smile turned neutral at Kise's continued whining, "Barely a taste? I shudder to imagine what you'd consider a meal then. That blast would have killed a number of people, most everyone here on the grounds as a matter of fact. I simply met the moment. I'll be sure to pass on something to Tamarinne from you." I hope you know what you're doing, Aegean. I have a feeling that given a chance, this woman might do things in your name that you'll regret for the rest of your life... Syndra returned, having scurried away as his and Kise's duel began, "Certainly a glimpse; you have quite the ally alongside all of you. I didn't get to say it before I had to deal with Kise, but your use of dark magic is... lacking for a solo engagement. It doesn't appear to come naturally to you, so it is a bit sluggish, and in an engagement where a single opponent can focus you down, you'll suffer. You'll need to find a way to leverage your strengths; your magic is powerful, you just need the time to get it where it needs to go. Unfortunately, I'm hardly a mage, so I can't quite assist beyond pointing that out." Jeremiah then placed his hands on his hips, "But judging from your voice, and the look in your eye... that was the second most important thing. What would you like to ask me, Miss Belrose?" Before Syndra could ask though, Miria wobbled her way forward, asking to be released so that she could eat. It seemed like her Shroud took a bit out of her. As Jeremiah thought on it, her's did seem... incomplete in comparison to Rivane's. Of course, comparing the two was like comparing a mouse to the falcon that considered it a meal, but the fact remained so. "I may be instructing people, but I am no teacher; if you need to go eat to recover then best to go while you're still able to in peace." Jeremiah returned his eyes to Syndra. "I didn't think we'd be that lucky." Tio replied, content to return a barb or two, just because she was willing to help didn't mean that she wasn't still rather bothered by Sylmaria, and her situation. It was at that moment that all eyes fell on the fight between Kise, and Jeremiah. Tio hadn't the pleasure of seeing Kise, or Mikoto for that matter, fight in earnest and the sight was... concerning. The pulse of magic made it clear that there was no holding back on Kise's part, and that in turn, brought Jeremiah out of his teacher's shell. His speed, and ability to control his sword were unmatched--swiftly dispatching Kise's tome, and forcing her into using her claws. Tio remained quiet as Sylmaria asked the all important question, as Tio slowly began to release her magic, but it really was wholly unnecessary, as Jeremiah frankly vanished, appearing alongside a crumpling Kise. "...I don't quite know, actually." That definitely seemed more serious than practice, but with both rose haired healers bounding up to take care of the two, Tio felt like it was safe to relax. The same could not be said of Sylmaria as the woman seemed to shrink suddenly. Tio cocked an eyebrow at the sight before swiftly stowing the expression as Sylmaria resumed conversation, "Yes, if Elisa or I figure something out regarding your magic, you will be the first--well, second--to know. You'll get a good sense of what you're working with by continuing to watch." Not terribly surprising... I don't think I hid the chill that ran down my spine watching all of that... The worst part is... I still don't know if Jeremiah was holding anything back still, and he still was able to best Kise... Just how strong is he? How strong are the people of his rank? Genuinely ridiculous... Hopefully neither she or Elisa would ever have to find out the answer to that question... Equally as important was the fact that Kise was able to draw out that much; she'd be a valuable ally for the Tigers going forward. Kieran stopped as Marigold strode out in front of him, and... the look on her face was one that he'd never seen before. No, that wasn't true... he'd seen it a couple days ago, back in the cell, back when she had been crying, frustrated over her immortality, frustrated over his stupidity. Kieran's mind stopped wandering, and focused on Marigold, taking in her words exclusively... Until a phrase him him harder than the realization of what he'd done to the Tigers. It stunned Kieran to the point that he had only been able to reach out for Marigold before she disappeared into one of the shadows to hide. He stood there frozen for a good moment, before he looked down at his outstretched hand. "...Damn, you really ain't good at anything else but making people hurt, huh? You're supposed to be a healer last I checked..." Kieran looked up, to see that 'Tits Mcgee' had finished up her bout with the dragon, and was over with the raven haired man. There had been a fight there, but Marigold required his full attention... Now though, he wasn't ever going to find her unless she came out again, so... the only thing to do was figure out what to do. Kieran looked around and saw the white dragon resting against the wall, legs hugged together. Probably the best place to start... Don't want to walk out there just yet. Don't want to give Marigold a reason to come back before she's... Ha... when did you start caring so much? She's... right though, I don't have that right to just... let people have their revenge, to just give up and do nothing. How the hell am I going to find a way to deal with that immortality if I'm dead? Kieran wandered over, "Doing okay over here?"

Kieran ribbed the Zombie back as, of course, she started teasing him about his words. "I'll leave it up to you to decide. I'm not sure you'd believe me even if I told you honestly. Besides, who's really going to want to interact with a guy who nearly sold one of their friends?" He put his hands out wide, and shrugged, "I fucked up, simple as that." He sighed, and mulled over his words for a second or two, "I'll kill one of the options for you at least... It's not because they're monsters, or Clouded, or whatever. Everything else, you can keep guessing, but I guess I owe you that much." Kieran then raised an eyebrow, and looked over at her, "Thanks, but... I'd appreciate it if you kept that to strong words. If someone puts a weapon in my face... I've gotta own that, and either make them put it down myself, or just do what I gotta. No one's gonna deny me, I've got things to do." The door to the training field was already wide open, and sure enough, there they all were. Two people were going at in, with some other fights going on around, but Kieran's eyes were quickly on Jeremiah, and then... to one of the Evokers embracing... someone. In truth, there were a lot of people around that Kieran didn't remember seeing back when the Tigers first arrived; it was impossible to forget the Evokers, and then the Belrose, the gun toting Tiger... Amongst those he didn't recognize was the very bouncy rose haired woman twirling a staff as she tried her luck against the massive dragon. What she lacked in speed, she was making up for in defensive movements, and striking back with strong strikes. Kieran whistled under his breath, more impressed with her handling of her staff, more than the obvious. "I've been taking it easy on everyone, Iris. Don't take that to mean that I'm not taking you seriously." Iris was in like a shot, her speed was certainly impressive and she knew how to use it... mostly. Her first attempt was lackluster enough that Jeremiah simply side stepped the attack, and waited for her to correct her strike. She immediately did so, and one landed clean, but the 2nd one was reckless, and Jeremiah returned the favor with two well placed blows. However, quickly, it became clear that Iris's claws were as dangerous as they looked. She was doing her best not to wield them to lethal effect, but their sharpness was a point of a concern. Iris came in again, and Jeremiah stepped to the side again. Iris was quick, but she was unrefined in her attacks. What Iris was however was a quick learner, as she adjusted her strikes, to where both connected as she came in this time, bringing a smile to Jeremiah's lips, "You adapt well, Iris." Jeremiah struck back twice, pulling his strikes, now was the time for Iris to strike. Will she see it, or will she hesitate... Iris, went in, and she found her footing, hitting her counter, and then hitting both of her strikes, with the last tearing the man's shirt. "That's more than enough, Iris. Well done." Jeremiah looked over his shirt as Iris flopped to the ground, exhausted, but delighted with her efforts. "Ah Lucreti--" Jeremiah stopped himself as Lucretia was in the midst of dealing with Cinead, and it was clear that he was taking his words to heart. Which made Lucretia's guard that much more impressive. Renais was elsewhere, and then, Roxanne walked up, and revealed that she could also use healing magic. "Hah, aren't you just full of surprises... I wouldn't mind a little pulse t-- Hmm?" Jeremiah looked over towards Syndra--she'd already stated her case to be next in line, but it was the person next to her that his interest. The Kitsune sauntered over with her tome open, a nosferatu tome from the looks of it. "Admittedly, I hadn't expected you to step forward, but..." Jeremiah looked over at Gean, "I suppose that would be a good way to see how high the ceiling is, I can tell just from your tome, that this would be a very different sort of engagement." There was... something behind that smile of hers, and Jeremiah couldn't quite place what it was, but that was something he'd have to deal with after dealing with the Belrose. One glance was all that was necessary to see the resemblance, "I do have to admit a little surprise at one of the Belrose being a mage, but times do in fact change." Jeremiah drew his sword, "At your ready, Miss Belrose." "I am quite aware, or rather, I am becoming more aware day by day." Tio released Sylmaria as she seemed to regain her composure, though, her words weren't as harsh, at least for the moment. "Yes, you're right, Owen will have to hold what we help him to achieve. We can't remain after Kazran falls, but I have a feeling that we won't have to. I can't refute anything that you're saying, not yet. As much as you'll have to see what the Tigers can do, I'll have to see if Owen, and those who support him are strong enough to really make this dream into a reality. It is all I can do, and I will do it proudly." Tio then smiled at Sylmaria, "For now, I'll help in the ways I can to give Owen--and you--the best chances for success."

Sia sat at her desk while Alrenne went over what they had learned off their conversations with Arielle, and then, the real enigma of the hour, Tokiwa Shezsacosh. She felt lucky that she'd found time to visit the range afterwards with Louise, and take a moment to swim to clear her head from events, she figured that she might have had a lot more to say to Leon after his outburst with Arielle. But now that she was on the same page with both Louise, and Leon, it was a little easier to think about the future, and that involved crossing paths with Toki, and her group again. "Yes, to say that Arielle is focused solely on the power that AHI's control of the moon affords her would be an understatement. She... doesn't appear to pay much attention to anything that wouldn't improve AHI's bottom line, to the point, that she hardly knows much about Shezsacosh's actions, and we don't have the standing with her to even try to inform her. Tokiwa has complete control over the cameras within the building, so if we so much as tried to relay anything, she could doctor footage, and cast us as the aggressors." Alrenne's musing about Toki's unit were apt, Tokiwa herself, and the armored figured were both incredibly dangerous, Hannah's assessment of the both was incredibly troubling, but the giant man didn't appear to be any less threatening. Kazue seemed to recognize him, so perhaps she'd need to have that conversation with her sooner rather than later. The only one who didn't appear to be as large a threat as the other three was the red haired woman in the labcoat, had it not been for the eccentricity of the group she was apart of, she would have stuck out more but she was hidden behind the giant, and then the desk, clearly fearing for her wellbeing. The point remained though, Tokiwa's unit was exceptionally dangerous, and watching their backs around them was paramount, but as far as Sia was concerned, they were going to have to move directly against them. "A CEN research facility..." An obvious target if Tokiwa's words were to be believed, and if it wasn't well defended, then... She really is testing us... But for what purpose? If your goal was to just destroy the moon as you say, then... Alrenne continued to speak, suggesting that the unit take the rest of the day to relax from what occurred, and to see Remensburg. His logic was sound; taking the time to see Remensburg, and perhaps learn intel that they wouldn't otherwise acquire if they were to move today was an excellent one. "I second that, XO. From combat into our... meeting with Arielle and then Shezsacosh, I think everyone could use sometime to relax before we formally get underway here. There's still things that we need to handle before we head out that way anyway, and... I do think we should take this time to see the city, and figure out what we can. We're already behind." There was also another question weighting on the Captain's mind, "XO, there wouldn't happen to be a timeframe in which our message from 'Head of Security' mentioned they would begin their attack, is there?" If there isn't, I might expect that we might be the timing they'll use... No other reason to warn us of what they're to do, unless she's just that overconfident. But... she didn't strike me as the type.

Kieran just blinked as Marigold wrapped her hand around the door, and just opened the door, with the key from the guard. Kieran nodded his head, "Somehow, I don't know why I didn't just expect that. The guy really doesn't do much beyond sleep, because it's only me down here, and I'm not going anywhere... Except now, I guess." Kieran grabbed his book, and sighed at Marigold's antics, "What can you do when you're faced with an open door? You walk on through... Also, shut up about that. First of all, not interested. Second of all, they'd probably gut me before I ever got that far, and I'd probably deserve it. Circumstances or no, I did just sell them all out." Kieran shrugged, and started making his way upstairs, "Besides, I've got a hell of a lot to do before I'm worth stuff like that. I can help with the healing at least... provided I don't get a weapon in my face; kind of hard to do that when you're fearing for your life, you know?" Tio simply let Sylmaria burn herself out, let her anger, and grief slowly subside as she hurled question, after question, before finally coming to rest on a belief that nothing mattered. Even if she had been born to parents who cared for her, even if she had been born here under Owen's reign... Islexia would eventually come to snuff it out. There was the truth of the matter, the truth of her distance, and her hatred; neither of them were real, they were a defense mechanism, something she'd crafted to protect herself from the crushing weight of knowing that solely because of the scales on her skin, the tail at swishing at her back, and her magic, that she was an eternal target here in Islexia. "...What's left? What's left is Giovanna. If you can't believe in your leaders, or your fellow monsters and clouded, or yourself, why not believe in the one person who has believed in you?" Tio took a deep breath, both to steady herself, and to release the breath that she had been holding that Sylmaria would strike back at her. They weren't exactly on positive terms. "There... isn't one reason why I care so much about this. It's many reasons, some personal, some practical. The most important of them is that I desire a world where people like you aren't seen as a pariah simply because of what you are. Because I've seen what a better world looks like, and know that it can be reach. Because I've seen, felt, lived... things similar to you. I've been both fortunate, and unfortunate enough to see Glacies truly become a place where monsters and humans can live together, and I've seen its difficulties, faults and problems." Tio pulled back to look into Sylmaria's eyes, "But that does exist. Is it something we'll have to fight for? Yes, Islexia, Karavel, Mura, Kansei, and even Hecatia still hold negative sentiment towards monsters and clouded... but for what? Genuinely, Sylmaria. What? What have the monsters of this era done? Why are they reviled and hated? You can't give me that answer. No one can, and no one of this age will ever be able to. Because the world that so many people have been sold no longer exists, and we should stop believing that it does. Owen won't crumple. This paradise, his ideal? That will persist. Because the world he's trying to create is the world as it should be, and it will continue its march towards that ideal. It wasn't so long ago that Owen's forces were going to break under the weight of Kazran, and two days from now, that man is going to die. All because he found people who believed in his world. Of course, I don't expect you to believe me, that's why you should go and rescue Giovanna, and watch what the Tigers do. Watch the allies that Owen has made, and what they do, and then answer for yourself if you really think that none of what we do here matters. I know my answer; I answered this question for me many years ago. You're not broken, and neither is anyone else present here." Tio pulled her back in for another hug, "If you don't trust my words, or anyone else's, then trust in Giovanna and their actions. Make your decision after seeing that." Jeremiah walked back over to see Iris and Syndra finishing up a conversation of their own, and seeing Iris beaming already striking up a combat pose, "...Big J?" Jeremiah blinked for a moment, "I really should be used to nicknames by now, but I really have just been hit with so many on this excursion..." Jeremiah tilted his head looking at Iris's stance, and her claws. Despite the intimidation factor from her claws, she was frail, certainly a lot frailer looking than Alriana, and most of the others he'd dealt with today. "Hmm..." Jeremiah sheathed his dagger, and assumed an unarmed stance, "Yes, I think this will do... Whenever you're ready, Iris." Jeremiah turned to look at the blue wolf, a quick glance, and then a smile, before turning back to focus on Iris. What an interesting group...

Kazue pulled herself back onto the elevator, followed lastly by Hannah, and Sia hit one of the buttons. Which floor they were going to was not in the forefront of her mind; they just needed to not be here right now. Sia kept her eyes focused on Toki until the door squeezed shut, and the elevator was in motion. Sia looked around, making sure that everyone had pulled back into the elevator. "...Good. Everyone's here, and we all made it out of that... alive." Sia looked at Daeran for a moment, the sheer confusion palpable on his face. "...Looks like we've gotten more than we'd bargained for." As soon as Sia's body started to come down from the adrenaline, and the sheer force of will, her legs gave out, and she just collapsed to the floor of the elevator, back against Hannah's legs. "Oww... Fuck... This is just... not my day." Giving up any sense of professionality, Sia flopped on the ground, and lied there. "A newtype terrorist basically in control of AHI's security, and with technology beyond our means. Fantastic... where was this on the dossier...? Uggh..." Sia tried to push herself to her feet, but quickly gave up. "Hannah... I'm sorry to impose, but... between the fight, and now this, I, I can't move." She knew that either Leon or Louise would have offered had she asked, but this was the simplest way forward. Especially if they were to be pursued. Tanvir grinned as Kazue couldn't find an answer for his words, choosing to remain in front of the Vhane boy. "Yeah... it might be better for you to stay that way. Miss Fujiwaru." Tanvir's eyes drifted over the rest of them, the red haired man seemed to... have some idea of what was going on and how to handle it. The others had weapons drawn, and the Captain... had they not been in the thick of it, he'd almost have complimented her. To stand so resolute in the face of certain death, staring down a threat that could have killed them all right then and there... it was impressive, almost as impressive as her figure. But when the doors to the elevator closed, it was Kazue Fujiwaru, the reigning world champion, who kept his gaze. It had been a very long time since anyone had recognized him. But now they were on their way, and now it was time to deal with the real issues. "Miranda, you can come out from behind me now. Geez, you get any closer, and I swear you'd be hugging my ass. I guess I wouldn't complain, but--" The red haired woman popped out of hiding, "You were the quickest--and largest--place I could get to when everything started. Speaking of which," Miranda turned on Toki, "¡Pero qué coño--" Miranda covered her mouth, before quickly trying again, "What the hell was that about, Toki!? I thought we were talking with them?! If I'd known that we were going to Mexican standoff, I would have left the three of you to it! I brought my guns, I didn't bring my gun! I could have died!" "I don't think I'd be yelling about it like this... but Miranda is right, I know you and Aly would have been fine, and... I might have been, but if we'd all started blasting, I don't think the desk, or me, would have kept her alive..."

Kieran glanced at Marigold, "...You know you're gonna get yourself in trouble, and besides, you really think the Tigers are gonna be happy to see me? Hell, I half expect the tiger will put me in tighter irons before the day's done..." But then Kieran smiled, "But that sounds like something I deserve in the first place, and I gotta admit; seeing the outside of a cell sounds heavenly. So... how are we jail breaking~?" Oh dear... Of all the Tigers to first wander into Sylmaria's range was Alvira. If prior events were to put the dragon on a list of people who would handle this situation delicately; Alvira was somewhere near the bottom. Of course, Sylmaria's words were fire and brimstone to start, but to Tio's surprise, Alvira just laughed. Laughed that the sheer implausibility of Sylmaria; berating Alvira for being the very thing that she was as well, and proclaiming so loudly that she believed in her country, and its 'teachings'. Tio hesitated to call them teachings, more like lack there of, but Alvira returned Sylmaria's flames with just frigid truth. Truth that when it hit Sylmaria's ears, she froze up for a moment, before completely falling apart. Tio just leaned her head into her hands, Sylmaria was not the kind of person that Tio expected to have to deal with today, but here she was, at her feet, sobbing now, and one glance at Alvira showed that she had absolutely no idea where to go from here. There were a lot of things Tio wanted to say, and not a single one of them would have been wrong, but... the woman's tears were born of something familiar. Where was she to belong? She did not belong amongst the Islexians as a matter of her birth, and she felt that she didn't belong amongst the monsters because of the garbage she had been taught--but regardless of how wrong it was, it was real for her. "You know the answer to that question." Tio finally spoke up, "In fact, I think you know the answers to all of your questions, except the ones that can't possibly be answered. You're certainly correct; at this moment in time, the people who lead Islexia will never care about much you love your country because of what you are. So are you betraying your country to strive for something better? You're foolish to believe that any of us are her to cleanse Islexia's leadership; were it left up to me, I don't believe we would have met, and perhaps you would have slain Owen. We have our own task, and that requires us to assist with Kazran. No more, no less." Tio sauntered over and stepped as close as she thought was safe to Sylmaria, "Why are things the way they are? That was the question you asked. Why are you reviled because of what you are? Who decided that you were wrong? Were you not in Islexia these things would change; Hecatia is not the same, and neither is Glacies the same, and if I am being honest, both countries are a fair sight stronger than Islexia. Why are things the way they are? Because of the people you continue to hold up and believe that they have the best interests of Islexia at heart. So far, I believe you have named only one person who truly appears to have Islexia's best interest at heart, and her name is Giovanna." Tio mentally sighed, and then, pulled Sylmaria in for a hug against her better judgment; if Sylmaria lashed out, well, she'd have to deal with that as it happened. "You want to believe Giovanna. I don't quite know the exact reasons that drove her to want to become your friend, but I do know that she was; that's why you're doing this. Perhaps you're not what Islexia needs... I think you might be right. You're not what this Islexia needs... You're what a better, stronger Islexia needs. So what are you supposed to do? Rescue Giovanna, first of all, and then decide from there. If you believe so deeply in Islexia, then choose to make her stronger, truly stronger, not this myth of an Islexia free of the monsters and clouded, not the myth of an Islexia that your leaders call for." Frankly, Tio didn't expect her words to have any effect; Sylmaria was too far for her to reach with her beliefs, but words from the old woman who saved her so long ago echoed in Tio's ears as she held Sylmaria. Words reach a person's ears, a warm hug and comfort can reach a person's soul, if my words can't reach, perhaps my hand can. Keep you close long enough so that the words can sink in. Whether it worked, or if she was about to take a spell to the chest were anyone's guess. Gean snapped out of her trance, and acknowledged her praise before wandering off. He breathed the faintest sigh of relief, but Iris appeared to be fired up from watching the bout between him and Aegean. Jeremiah smiled faintly, "Well, you're not selling yourself short, that's a good start, Iris. You never quite know until things begin..." Jeremiah inwardly chuckled, days ago he would have laughed at the possibility of speaking so cordially with a creation, and he truly hated admitting that to himself. How easy it was to become so blinded by the fear, and pain of what he'd experienced, only to so easily downplay the pain and fear he had exacted upon... Jeremiah looked over again to Versaris, and Aly, and... it had been clear to him before about what Versaris and Alriana were speaking about, but now... the tears rolling down the creation's face made it a foregone conclusion. ...Hah... Only a fool would be able to look at that and not see a full fledged being... So I must wonder how I missed it. If only Virion and Rosaria were here to watch... Rosaria would turn the brightest red being forced to relive such a familiar scene... Jeremiah looked back at Iris, and then sighed, "Wait here a moment, Iris. We'll duel when I return, alright?" Jeremiah sheathed his weapon, and wandered over to the pair, taking a deep breath as he gathered his words. "I had wondered what exactly you two were speaking about... but I think I know the gist." Jeremiah stopped a distance from the pair, hands away from his weapons. "I thought about it a little bit after we argued, Alriana. There was something you mentioned, something I didn't think much of then, but something that stuck with me. That night, you told me to stay away from Versaris. You knew that you couldn't keep me from speaking with him, and... you hadn't stopped him from trying either. It didn't make sense then, but that was me being foolish... of course it made sense for that, after all, you had nearly just lost him, didn't you? That's why you were so upset with him back in the underground." Jeremiah sighed, his eyes moving between both Versaris and Alriana, "Versaris. The look in your eyes tells me what I need to know. Stay with her for now, but... when the two of you are done here, I would like to face the both of you, together. When you admitted to me your feelings of inadequacy, your belief that you needed to be the one to protect the Tigers... You have something to fight for and to hang onto now, and believe me when I say that she is not going to let you go. Believe me, I've seen that look countless times, and will see it countless times again past today. All I can do is to assist you with that, the both of you. Alriana," Jeremiah turned his gaze directly to her, "Don't forget that feeling. It hurts now, it will make it hard to breathe now, but don't ever let that feeling go." He faintly smiled at her, "You'll understand why." Jeremiah turned and began making his way back to Iris, "If you'd rather not deal with me, then that's fine, I just thought I would offer." The older man wandered away back towards Iris. The rest is up to you Versaris...

Alouette sat across from Eve as she explained that Isolde was in need of assistance, and so they were going to get right to work on the morrow. She took a deep breath, fortunately, she felt much better than she had the afternoon after her Ichika's little excursion to the garden, which... ended up being so much more than Alouette had bargained for. Homecoming Today had felt like the longest birthday she'd ever had, both for good and ill, but a glance over at Ichika convinced her that it had narrowly won out positive. What she did know was that she was going to pass out tonight, and hopefully things didn't kick off immediately in the morning. She'd gotten back to lucidity soon enough after she'd well and truly crashed, but they had to speed things along as Lyria needed to return to her post. She got her hug at the very least, but while nothing seemed to have changed on the surface, so much had changed in the background. She'd never quite gotten her explanation as to what had happened with the Baroque family either with Katherine buzzing around and trying to help Alouette enjoy what was left of her birthday and time with her sister. "Not... entirely surprisingly that we're called upon immediately..." Alouette was on her second plate of food at this point; the other side effect of her magic fizzling out like it had, she tended to be rather ravenous afterwards. Had Lyria been around she'd have joked that the habit was what was responsible for her endowments, but thankfully, she wasn't--she couldn't handle that right at the moment. "There are... a couple ports to consider, so is there a specific one that we're to be investigating?"

Jeremiah blinked as he saw Aegean's glare. It was not an unfamiliar glare, and that was the problem. It wasn't Mahalia staring at him, no, that was a glare that he would have gotten from Duncan and, far more concerningly, Serena when he had struck a nerve. Ah. I'm in danger. Gean launched her attack, and Jeremiah's guard shattered--no knife could have possibly allowed him to block such a savage strike. But Gean simply followed through spinning herself, and building momentum for her second attack. In that instant, Jeremiah drew his sword to block Gean's attack, but they were both separated with just the force of her attack. The reverberation of steel ringing across the battlefield. Jeremiah breathed a sigh of relief, he's gotten what he wanted but didn't quite realize what he had been asking for. "...Well. I did say last chance. Well done, Aegean." Jeremiah slid his sword back into it sheathe, and looked at Aegean with a smile. "If you could swing like that the first time, I probably shouldn't have let the fight restart. But you've quelled my concerns, and yours, I hope." Well that'll teach me to play to her insecurities... I'm just glad that it was me who did that, and not anyone else... There was more than convinction in that attack... and perhaps a broken rib if that had hit me... Stars above Aegean, I'm not invincible!

Were they not practicing Jeremiah would have regretted taking Aegean's hit; so far she had hit the hardest, but it was that strength that all gave Aegean away. Her first attack broke the deadlock, but it made it all too simple to spin away from her second. Jeremiah heard the frustration from his niece, and punctuated it with kick to her side, separating them again. "You hit extremely hard, Aegean... but your ability to switch from defense to offense is lacking. That last attack was telegraphed, but your counter was excellent. Flow from attack to attack, and if you can't flow, wait and find your opening. For example," Jeremiah was on Gean in an instant, and swung his knife once more, connecting with her axe and opening Gean up for the finishing blow, moved in for the last strike, when Gean's necklace shimmered. Jeremiah smiled, and stepped back. "...So it was Mahalia's necklace that I noticed back then. Serena's handiwork really does last the test of time." Jeremiah put his knife up, "Last chance, Aegean. Break my guard, or you won't be getting much closer to Luci." That should be enough... Come on Aegean... Show me I won't have to worry... Jeremiah braced himself, knowing that Aegean was going to give it all she had with these next blows.

Jeremiah chuckled as Aegean's sass was completely gone; she hadn't met his gaze, but her stance this time was defensive in nature. "That's a lot better, but, if you're not going to come to me..." Jeremiah was suddenly in front of Aegean, "Then I'll need to see how well you handle a direct assault." Jeremiah struck quickly, giving Aegean little time to respond, but, as was the case with small arms, the only thing that he could really do now that he was in her reach was dodge. Her guard was good, it didn't afford him many places to strike without risking the attack himself, but that was the point of all of this, wasn't it? Aegean needed to know when she could and couldn't go on the offensive.

Kieran started juggling his book as Marigold's voice appeared out of nowhere, as it tended to do, but this time was a bit more personal than any before. He caught the book finally, and took a deep breath before slowly turning to Marigold, "...What do you mean you've never seen me this serious, I've been this serious plenty of times. And would you stop doing that? I can't tell when you're here or not." Eventually you'll hear something that you're not supposed to. Kieran cleared his throat and then leaned back against the wall, "Yeah, I did. I'm gonna work until I pay back my debts, said that before, and for once, I can't go back on it. So I'm studying up; never been much of a fighter, but I know how to keep people from dying, so, might as well get better at that. Maybe one day I'll work on a weapon but..." Kieran lifted his arm and pointed at it, "Never been one for heavy stuff..." Maybe something like a bow... probably something to keep me out of range. Kieran then sighed, leaning back, "Yeah, maybe you guys should have. Instead you all trusted me as I was, and nearly got burned for it. Nearly, but here we are, I guess. What's going on outside? Hate to say it but they don't really tell a prisoner much down here." Tio's head tilted sideways as Sylmaria performed a series of spells. These she could actually call spells, there was an underlying structure to them that she could follow, even if the spells themselves were incredibly unusual. First there was the dome of thunder, simple enough to achieve by modifying aspects of the spell structure, but the speed at which it was cast was far more effective. It seemed easier as well. Then there was the violet thunder that Sylmaria simply recast, and its effects struck twice; that one was something different. Delayed reaction spells weren't unheard of, but delayed reaction recast spells were something else entirely. While her mood wasn't subsiding, it was being held at bay by her intrigue over the woman's magic. There was no two ways about it; the woman's magic was incredibly divergent, the effects, ease of use, and finally the two unidentifiable spells... Her eyes narrowed slighly when she looked at Elisa and her eyes flashed, but Elisa was more than capable of handling herself. "My, my... Well, I have ideas after seeing all of that, but... Part of me wonders if I should even be relying on my current understanding of magic. What I can at least glean from my eyes is that the lack of an affinity is what makes those two spells of yours the most difficult to cast. Affinities give our bodies, our circuits, the ability to properly conceptualize the form to give our mana... it's why Healing magic is the most difficult school of magic to properly utilize, because it doesn't quite have it's own affinity." Tio summoned spheres of light all around her without gesturing, or taking her eyes off of Sylmaria, "Something like this is easy for me because Light Magic is my general affinity, and I'm by far the most practiced with it, so my magic naturally defaults into light. However..." Tio held her hand out, and a flower of ice appeared in her hand, "I have to focus to be able to do this because, while I have the ability to use lower levels of ice magic, it's not a very strong affinity of mine." Tio then waved all of her magic away, "I think your difficulty with controlling those two spells are because of that, but the fact that you're even capable of doing that is intrigue in and of itself..." Jeremiah took his stance as Aegean got herself ready for their duel. It was a little ironic; he never thought that he would be staring Mahalia's little girl down with a weapon in his hand, but times did change, and almost eleven years was enough for everything to change. Both frightening, and exhilarating at the same time, getting to see how she'd grown. Aegean made the first move, and Jeremiah's head tilted slightly as he could just watch Aegean, and know that her mind was suddenly elsewhere. Lucretia had spoken loud enough for her to hear, and a single glance at Lucretia would have called to question the mounting similarities between her and Aegean's aunt. But even if Jeremiah couldn't put that all together, the fact that Aegean's axe seemed poised to swing far too wide, and far too soon would have tipped anyone off. Jeremiah stepped to the side, stuck his foot out, and let Aegean trip over his foot into his outstretched arm. "You know, Aegean. In a combat situation, being where you are right now would be last thing you ever felt as your opponent wouldn't have caught you, they'd have stabbed you in the back." Jeremiah pulled Aegean back up to standing, and looked her in the eyes, "You put your hair like that to prove that you were serious, didn't you?" Jeremiah then stepped back, and turned his dagger back on Aegean, "So keep focus until you've won; leave your questions until later, Aegean. An opponent will answer with steel, not words."