mcd900
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Posts posted by mcd900
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Here wasn't quite the place to reciprocate in full, not with dozens of engineers around; but he set a hand on her shoulder as Vivien leaned against him, giving her a small squeeze. "Sure, that's fine, just... don't push yourself too hard. Just because it was a long time ago doesn't mean you need to rush for that missing time. Especially if it means that you don't end up, well... doing things properly." He paused for a moment, sighing.
"Ah, but as for your question... well, I'm just checking up on things, here. The Captain..." Alrenne smirked for a brief moment, unable to forget Vivien's... creative... nickname for Sia. "...well, she's gone into town, and things are all quiet up on the bridge. We're probably going to end up in another battle tomorrow, so everything needs to be in good order, here especially."
The XO glanced around at the hustle and bustle in the hangar. "Well; want to come with me as I go around? I'll be inspecting things; we can say you just wanted to tour the hangar, if you like?"
Mick fiddled with a loose thread on his uniform as the two women mused over the situation, evidently taking the facts of what had happened to the ambassador as news - and not good news. "Yes, the details of what happened to you all were in Ensign Nishimiya's report. It seems you came out of that without too much of a scratch, fortunately - but I can say that nothing nearly that drastic had occurred besides what happened to the ambassador until you arrived. Your ship's arrival is undoubtedly some kind of impetus, though as to what or why, I couldn't say..." He crossed his arms. "I know the two of you have your suspicions about AHI, but it wouldn't make sense to me. There was clearly some kind of fight - and even outnumbered as our single security HEX might have been, Viktor was no slouch. He would've dropped at least one of them..." He clicked his tongue.
"Look here." He swiped his comm, the projector switching display to a slideshow of still images depicting the smoldering wreckage of what could have been nothing other than the ambassador's convoy. "The damage is precise." He grimaced, tapping again, zooming in on the wreck of the HEX-2, a clean hole through the cockpit. "Beam weaponry. It couldn't have been a ship, there's no way we could miss anything big enough to mount a beam. And unless AHI picked Ambassador Shiva's convoy as their first testing ground, AHI hasn't got beam weaponry in any real production. To our knowledge, anyway."
He paced for a moment, then his lips drew into a thin line. "Done in response to your dispatch... they'd have to have some extreme information capabilities to know to do that before you arrived, or a fast ship." He scrolled through his comm for a longer moment this time, then held it up, letting the retinal scanner run. "...There. Alright, now this... well, I think it speaks for itself."
The scene now playing before their eyes was grainy, but what was happening was apparent enough. It was grainy footage, a full third of the image not displaying - shot from the shoulder subcamera of a HEX-2, muzzle flashes from its rifle nearly blinding - but between them was a faint outline. An outline in the sky - the commander paused, scrolling to a frame between roars of the rifle. "Flying. From the silhouette it seems to have some massive boosters - we were only able to pull a few seconds from the black box. Have you ever seen anything like that before? Using a beam weapon with that kind of precision, moving at that speed - damn. We're just lucky whatever it was didn't come back for Ensign Nishimiya when we had her searching." He stared at the projection, scratching his chin.
17:02
Industrial Zone 16B, Remansburg OutskirtsNorbert groaned, leaning back on the shipping container he'd climbed on top of, tossing a cigarette butt over the side.
Two past five. They're late, but what do you expect, I guess.
He dug his hand into the paper bag at his side, rustling around in it without looking. He had his problems with AHI, sure enough, but they ran every food joint for miles around. And, damn it, if the Jupiter Rings as Starsliders weren't wheels of fried golden goodness he could've said there wasn't a thing he cared for about the company--
An eighteen-wheeler started backing into the open warehouse lot - it wasn't on the schedule, not any of the official ones, anyway. It was on his schedule, though, and he slid off the side of the steel cargo container, flipping his baseball cap on, waving it over.
It was a well-trodden ritual for him by now - little mishaps he'd run across here and there ever since he started as a supply manager for this zone had led him to the realization that actually you could get away with a lot around these parts, and if that meant odds bits and bobs fell off a truck now and then for a couple extra zeroes in his account - well, how was he ever gonna complain about that?
It had started off as a neat little side business - replacement parts that were on weeks backorder, a small generator for someone's home greenhouse... then he met some people who were just a touch more jaded than he was, and then it was HEX parts - hell, even weapons, after a minute. And somewhere along the way he'd run into some R&D people who were a little ideologically motivated, and, well...
The back of the container on the truck popped open, and a hand beckoning him over popped out. He jogged over, peeking inside, giving a quick nod to the shades-wearing man inside.
What've we got here...
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There was an opening beginning to form in the enemies' ranks, and there was pressing little reason to waste this ground. Forward--
Laniva to (25, 24) Iron Greatsword Myrm 9.
Seila's healing hadn't been enough for the Clouded to find his feet - her allies had the situation handled, so she could spend her focus here.
Seila holds and casts Heal on Ullr.
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Seila to (24, 19), Heal Ullr.
Laniva to (24, 20), Iron Greatsword Myrm 7.
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The lance struck deep, but though she staggered from the wound - she did not allow it to fell her, and she returned the strike with flashes of light. Clutching her side, she gasped for a moment, the axefighter rushing forward to finish what Rina had started.
This is no time to allow weakness. Duty must come first... the wound can be tended later.
There was another bandit yet ahead - she raised her open hand, a gleam growing within her palm...
Rina to (12, 18), Light Bandit 3.
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The witch had hardly finished her treatment of Cass before she rushed off in search of yet another fight, and just behind where she'd been stood a wolf Clouded. He shared Cass' former state of injury, it seemed, and she went to assist. "My, it seems you've all made rather a mess of yourselves. Keep up the pressure on them - I'll be right behind you all."
Seila to (22, 17).
The lines were shifting readily. Seila had made her way over to their little eastern group, and she felt a bit of relief - they'd been sorely missing a healer. The fight was turning now - forwards!
Laniva to (24, 21), Iron Greatsword Archer 6.
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Alrenne sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he made rounds through the winding hallways of the Dawn. With little to do upon the bridge but idly stare out the viewport at the shipyard they were currently docked in, and the Captain away in the city for... something - well, no matter what it was, it left him ill at ease. In all reason it made sense that there would be little danger in allowing her to do so, and not to mention she was with Lieutenant Park, but - simply put, it didn't quite feel all as if they were dealing with reasonable people in the first place, and that set every conclusion they'd made at risk...
His idle wandering had set him on a course towards the hangar, and he paused for a moment outside it, debating whether to continue on a more solitary route or duck into the hangar to inspect the machines (and the engineers), though after a long moment's consideration eventually settled upon the latter.
The personnel-sized door slid open with a quiet hiss, and the first thing in his view was the sight of their HEXes in various states, standing, kneeling; engineers bustling about in a frenzy to get the machines fully in spec for the next day's expected combat, Chief Warrant Officer Howe exchanging shrugs with Amy as they gestured up at one of the HEXes - Lt. Vhane's, from the squad numberings tagged on the machine. It took him a moment to hear the heavy breathing coming from the nearby wall over the din of maintenance, and he glanced over to find Vivien slumped against it. Nobody in particular had noticed, it seemed, which was rather concerning, but putting that aside - he went over to her, worried. "I didn't expect to see you here at this time of day, Vivien..." He glanced over his shoulder at the rather significant amount of people. "Too many people all at once? Pushing your limits is good, but this is a big jump..."
Commander Mick was slowly working through finalizing the personnel transfer documents for Ensign Nishimiya and the nurse, Manami, when two women walked into his office; one dressed casually, the other in uniform with a lieutenant's rank pinned to her lapel. "Ah... It seems our little embassy is quite the destination today." He blinked for a moment as the lavender-haired woman introduced herself, standing and snapping a quick salute - professionalism not lost to him during his time on Callisto, though he had grown quite used to interacting with civilians that casual dress had become rather tightly associated with leaving aside matters of rank. "Captain. Yes - of course, ma'am. I spoke with the ambassador earlier today about the general state of matters, but if you have any specific questions I will of course answer."
He nodded towards Louise as she continued Sia's line of inquiry. Right to the point, Lieutenant; and confidently, too. Perhaps she's the Captain's adjutant? They're certainly on the same page... "Ambassador Shiva... yes. The particulars of his location are something of a mystery to us as well - I can tell you we last saw him some time before he arrived. About a month, I'd say. He was on a regular route that he took between Remansburg and a couple of the smaller outlying settlements - goodwill, outreach type of things, I'd suppose. The CEN doesn't run Callisto, but that doesn't mean we close our eyes." He sighed.
"Security was relatively light. He was traveling along well-known routes between the towns, his vehicle, a truck of security personnel, one HEX carrier with a standard mark 2." A grimace, now. "He didn't check in one night. We sent Ensign Nishimiya out the next day, and the convoy... well, it was in the state you might expect. Not a lot of signs of who it could have been; no idea of how many of them, even, but they left all our guys there." He pulled up a map, projecting it on the wall behind him, highlighting a road. "About... here. We'd been sending out the Ensign to look for him, but with only one HEX and no clues there's been not even a hint of the man around."
He turned back to face the two of them, a grim expression on his face. "I won't lie. We haven't officially declared anything as of yet, but about two weeks before you arrived we sent a message along with one of the passenger ships bound back for Earth reporting the situation - we didn't stop looking, but the outlook is not optimistic; even with your ship here."
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Laniva strode forward - it would be her first opportunity to test her steel against this group of louts; though this one in particular was already weakened. Still, it was good - she was nearing the front now, where she did her work best.
Laniva to (23, 17), Iron Greatsword Merc 6.
Seila sighed internally; what an assumption to make - though... at least in her case, it was far from incorrect. And in any case, she wasn't feeling much like correcting the woman when she was rather significantly injured, drawing a staff from one of the belts on her robes. "Just a moment. Try not to move until I'm done."
Seila to (18, 18), Heal Cass.
(flavor pending)
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Laniva to (23, 14).
Seila to (16, 16).
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Cia raised an eyebrow as the girl in front of her just about melted into her sweater at her greeting, raising an eyebrow. Huh. Real shrinking violet. How'd she get on board a ship like this? If she's someone's family, they got a real mean streak for bringing her along... "Ehh... no, I'm not gonna kick you out or anything. You're fine right here if you wanted to look." She wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her jumpsuit. "Not that it's that much to look at. They're not movin', or anything, and half of them are worse off than they might look right now... Well, don't let me get in your way or anything. I gotta get back to it."
She turned, giving Vivien a quick wave, starting a jog back towards the center of the hangar, calling across it. "All good over there, Amy?"
Security at the embassy entrance was light; a quick scan of the transport by a camera at the gate, and the doors slid open without any trouble. Mira was seated at the reception desk as usual; idle - there was a real lack of people around, lately, and the commander was not exactly the most personable of people...
She sighed, spinning her digital pen, rotating in her office chair - though she straightened up with a smile as the two new faces came in - both dressed in casual clothes, but she'd known to maintain a touch of decorum before they arrived thanks to the embassy security systems. "Ah - hello, welcome, Captain, Lieutenant. The Commander...?" She gave a bit of a sheepish smile to the two women, not even bothering to pull up the schedule. "He's available. His office is through that door, on the right. Can't miss it."
Their entertainer for the night had seen fit to sit down with one of the bar's customers for a while. It was no trouble for Reisa; as much as she recognized that the woman was quite a good performer, most of the bar's patrons had their attention directed elsewhere - their own conversations, mostly. She sighed quietly to herself as she cleaned a glass, setting it down behind the counter as two new patrons walked in - one bubbly woman, already bouncing her way over towards Marianne. Not that either of them were looking, but she gave them a deadpan stare anyways; really, that kind of size... I guess miss Marianne is drawing attention anyways, even offstage.
The man, on the other hand... "I can do that." His request was easy enough, at least. She bit back the urge to say 'Got anything more specific?', settling instead for a sardonic eyeroll as she turned to find one of the nicer bottles with which to make Marianne's usual, dexterously pouring, already shaking the cocktail by the time she turned back towards Leon. "Just a moment, sir."
The businessman from down the bar gave Leon a smile, raising his eyebrows. "Caught your eye, has she? Heh. She definitely looks to be pretty popular... good luck, pal."
Reisa groaned internally, her aimlessly wandering eyes reflecting more of her similarly wandering mind than she realized. Oh, great. Not what you wanna see in a regular. And this other guy... wow. Talk about an old school kinda line... whole lotta weird people in here tonight. 'Least most of them are ordering...
Her shaking complete, she poured the cocktail into a short glass over ice, setting it on the counter in front of Leon. "One drink for the lady."
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Laniva to (24, 11).
Seila to (15, 14).
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The battle had come to a good start; the initial momentum from their limited surprise of the enemy had carried them beyond the entrance and split into the halls, but here was where the fight really began - no more tricks left to either.
Amera wasn't holding back any, that was for certain. Seila made a note to herself; she'd have to make sure she got a proper reward later...
Seila to (16, 10), Lightning Flash Merc 3.
Onwards, onwards. The enemy would be holding these halls, and holding them with everything they could, for neither side was particularly inclined to mercy on this day.
The enemy within their reach had fallen quickly; but she could see cruel blades ahead, the sting of which gave even her pause.
Laniva to (24, 6).
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Seila took a deep breath as the group strode deeper into the cave; she was no stranger to combat, of course, and with Amera at her side there was scant little to fear from the battle itself. There was little concern for their exit, as well; Bella was guarding the ship, not to mention it seemed their little attack party was squarely between the ship and the only exit towards it.
She didn't know very well those she stood now shoulder to shoulder with; but that, too, was of pressing little concern - such was natural of course for most mercenaries, herself being no exception. There was blood on the ground - it was in the air, too; the moisture of the sea made its scent all too apparent - this had been a recent battlegrounds, and the guards would still be primed for battle. There would be few surprises today, it seemed.
No; what she felt wasn't fear, but a softly smoldering fury. Within these walls laid a number some significant number of turns worse than the last mercenary company she'd spent time with, and for a moment she allowed herself to idly wonder whether they'd name her traitor to her kind or spare her a blade instead, but there was precious little time as there was - rather than ponder upon the answer, she stepped forwards, tome at her side in her left hand, her right raised high, uttering an incantment singlemindedly.
Seila to (14, 8), Lightning Flash Myrm 1.
There was a quickness to her step as Laniva disembarked from the Maelstrom, eager to once more set foot upon solid land, but more for the fight. Their purpose here was singular, unquestionable in its plainness, and by this day's end they would have delivered justice, or fallen in vain like those that had come before.
The sounds of the beginnings of a battle rang out in the narrow halls; she closed her eyes for a brief moment, then stepped forward, throwing her cloak off her shoulder, hands finding hilt as naturally as she breathed.
There was evil here, and today she would be their bulwark against it. Today, the next... and ever beyond.
Laniva to (22, 4).
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Laniva stood on the deck of the Maelstrom, patient and pensive. She wore a thin cloak over her armor, today, though not for concealment - no matter how good at sailing Gean and Cass were, nothing was going to hide the Maelstrom in open waters but the fog they'd moved in through. No, it was for the sake of her armor; the last time they'd been aboard a ship, she'd learned that the salt air of the sea had rather a tendency to make maintenance of her armor quite the hassle, and she intended to avoid a repeat of that as much as possible.
Not to mention the other inconveniences typically associated with sea travel... this was her second time, now, and for quite some time she'd gone without thinking of the unpleasantries of time spent aboard a ship. The seasickness wasn't quite as bad this time - comparatively a short journey, this one - but she bit her lip and stayed closer to the center of the boat, anxiously awaiting their group's disembarkment.
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The assorted crew in the room seemed rather eager to take him up on Alrenne's suggestion - most of them, at least, the Captain joining their number. "Yes, Lieutenant Park and the Captain have the right of it; wander about if you like, but if you're heading into the city - do not go alone. Captain, as it seems you'll be heading into the city, I'll remain on the ship in the event that something comes up. I'll contact you by comm if it becomes necessary."
The Captain, Louise, Leon, Kazue, and Markus all seemed to be rather willing to get out of the meeting as quickly as possible, leaving Esther, Iskra, Scylla, Daeran, and Bonner in the room with him; and Hannah, he supposed, though as his eyes swept the room to check on their moods he was rather unconcerned with the android, admittedly.
A rather pensive lot we've got here, by comparison... well, I suppose that's about half the pilots. Two polar groups, it seems.
Of them, he had very little doubt as to why Daeran was lost in thought, and both of Esther and Scylla had had a somewhat rough go of things in the battle just earlier that same day. His fellow Lieutenant Commander - well, he could chalk that up to an air of maturity about the man, Alrenne supposed...
Iskra, though... well, she appears to be trying to make herself as small as possible, and rather succeeding, actually... hmm, doesn't seem to be much that's happened recently weighing her down. She performed quite well, actually, by all accounts...
It occurred to him, then, that he might be approaching it from rather the wrong angle - that in fact fundamentally that was the problem, and he grimaced to himself. No doubt that if that were actually it - he'd be rather poor comfort. It was one thing to stand on the bridge...
He strode casually over to Bonner, still at his desk, leaning towards him and speaking quietly for his ears only. "Commander Bonner. This is, of course, in no way an order; but could I ask that you spare a moment today to check in on some of our pilots? Lt. Dusan, in particular; I feel that you might have some, ah... perspective that I comparatively lack, as to their wellbeing."
Cia wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. After a couple of hours in dock, the engineering personnel had managed to get everything just about back in working order, but just minutes ago the word had come down for anticipated combat the next day. So here they were, making sure the fixes were holding and refitting all the equipment requeests the pilots had put through with the foresight of battle on the horizon. Damn. Pilot crew gets to go out and have fun in the one place that resembles fun between here and Jupiter, and we're stuck in here. Not to mention that they got these things in this shape...
She sighed heavily, shooting a quick look over into the corner of the hanger at the now-pilotless spacefighter. "This thing's just taking up room now..." Almost enjoyed working on that while it lasted... it was like a nice break between all the HEXes. The generators on these new models are a nightmare...
Glancing around, she noticed one of the HEX-3s active. She squinted at the ID number spray-painted on the shoulder. Huh... Daeran's machine? Guess he's a meticulous kinda guy...?
Her attention was quickly taken by the new sweater-clad figure on the hangar deck; definitely a new face, at least to her. A civilian, probably. She'd known there were a bunch around on the Dawn, politician's family and all that; in truth she'd been surprised to make it this long without some of them getting curious and wanting to peek at HEXes, though some of that surprise was probably biased by her own interest. She gave a quick wave. "Hey there! Haven't seen you around here before. Don't mind you hanging around out over by the entrance here, but if you wanna get a closer look at the tech I gotta escort you around. Sorry, rules'n all that."
JULY 10TH, 2174
16:34
Bar "Elegy", Remansburg"...thing was huge, I'm telling you. Like a, a, giant, flying, steel brick. I thought it was, eh, one o'those supply ships out from the Jupiter colonies. But it- it just kept getting bigger, I mean, I saw the whole thing from my office window--" The man went on and on, his speech finding itself with a touch of lilt, though hardly slurring his words; he was one of a countless number of city employees finding themselves at a Remansburg bar after work, perhaps a pleasant quarter sloshed. His suit jacket hung over the back of his bar seat; a businessman, this one was - not unusual, though perhaps making up quite the same majority of the population here, being as Callisto was so heavily focused on its research and development efforts. His verbal deluge broke upon the pointedly blank expression of the bartender; her face was perhaps uncharacteristic for a slightly classier bar as Elegy tended to present. She spoke, interjecting, though not particularly intending to cut him off - he was hardly stopping anytime soon. "Yes, Mr. Brooks, I know. This is the... third time, now, I think you've mentioned it. Would you like another drink?"
Surprised he keeps coming back... maybe he likes getting to hear himself talk. Or maybe he just lives a block away...
"Ehh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, lemme have a, ehh... lessee... a Piano Man, Natalie. ...What was I sayin'?"
"Alright, just a moment then, please... and you were talking about work."
A few feet back from the bar counter, the rest of Elegy's booths stood surrounding short tables, the place about half full, a mix of regulars and newer faces. The bar counter stood out - wooden and carved - the rest of the furniture stood in contrast, a more modernist style, flat and rounded. Small fixtures dangled idly from the ceiling in the corners of the bar, lighting the room in a dim yellow, lending to the atmosphere; though in truth the bulbs were dimmed and their housings colored to achieve the effect, as opposed to using the incandescent bulbs of a century ago.
One booth was crowded with a group of four beginning to sit down, speaking quickly and quietly amongst themselves; it might have been difficult to ascertain what they were doing here if not for the company logos and project names proudly splashed across all of their clothing, marking all of them as working in one of Avyndor's many development departments. A clinking of glasses was audible to the adjacents booths, followed by the occasional whisper floating across the room.
"...ce work fixing that. I heard it was some stupid problem..."
"...configured voltage curve was..." "...oh, yeah, it kept reading the modulated pulse incorrectly..."
"...what, so it just works then? All that crap about 'designed to be unstable'..."
"Yeah, bullshit."
"...fighters have done it for over 70 years..."
"...not so loud, idiot..."
"Who cares, everyone in Remansburg works for the company, man."
"...doesn't matter anyway, it went on a truck to a warehouse and got yoinked..."
"...ESPECIALLY shut up about that, man, that's even less public..."There was a long pause.
"...yeah, alright. Uh, so, the powerplant in that thing, though..."
Seems like the rebels have made quite a name for themselves, even out here. Senri sat alone at a table, taking in the ambient discussions and emotions of the place. He'd gotten something hard on the rocks, just a little burn for his body and some alcohol to keep his mind loose. He always felt that things flowed better with a little assistance. Still, they're being rather open about those kinds of things... You'd think security would be tighter. Then again, if it was, they wouldn't have taken those parts so easily, now would they~
With something of a satisfied smirk, he leaned back and took another sip. The rum was particularly strong here...
Things never really seemed to change. Whenever she went, she could always be sure that she would find the men and women of Avyndor, and learn a good amount about what their work was. It made it easy to figure out where the best places were to slip in, grab a few things, and then quickly disappear. They were the only game in town, so they were lax, easy for people to over when things went missing. Today was no different, except for the bar being a little higher quality than the ones she usually frequented, so she'd chosen a more appropriate song, slowly, but still carried that sultry tone that made her performances pop.
Her ice blue hair glided across the stage, a gentle spin ending with her back to whoever would have been watching, and then a slow sway of her hips, head looking over her shoulder with her fan covering the smirk on her lips. Nothing particularly new, but as her friend had always said, When you perform, you have one job: Sell your performance to whoever's watching. Make your performances a part of who you are, and then convey them to whoever's watching. A good performance can sway hearts, and for someone like us? That means the world.
There were a couple people that she was keeping her eyes on, the idiots at the booth not too far from the stage, yammering on about... something, she wasn't quite close enough to hear. Then, the man who was sitting alone at the table. He'd walked in not too long ago, and just seemed to be... listening. Didn't look like AHI either. Wonder if he's from that ship that landed... Something about CEN? Crazy that they'd decide to show up...
Marianne paused with her hands on her hips, highlighting the strength of her figure, and then quickly transitioned into a pirouette, ending with a flourish, and a finger at her lips. The clapping was sparse; most everyone else was into their conversations, but that was fine, so long as she could find people to... borrow information from, it was all worth it in the end.
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"Mrrh... ah... that's better, thank you..." Laniva was blushing rather strongly as she sat up rather slowly, still slightly singed but feeling significantly better after the sheep's staffwork. She looked up at Roxanne, embarrassment no less apparent than Syta's, although from where she was standing it must have been rather more simple to make heads or tails of. "I-It's hard to explain, properly. Where to start... well, um, she, ah--?!" She turned quickly at the blast, catching only the tail end of the bout between Kise and Jeremiah; it seemed as if that magic was on another level even beyond what Kisara's had been a moment ago. Was Kisara really not holding back...? Well, she was hardly the best evaluator of magical ability; her metric was approximately "how much did it hurt?", after all.
"N-No, it's okay, that surprised me too... um, I'm fine, Syta, don't worry..." Laniva gently pat her shoulder, hoping to alleviate the rather significant embarrassment she was going through right now. "It's-- you weren't interrupting, or anything like that, she just, sometimes, um... can be impulsive..." She winced a little at her own awkwardness. It had been a hardly flattering explanation, but going on a long diatribe about the context of Kisara right now didn't quite... seem appropriate, right now.
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The next group of bandits was already upon them; Kagi and Raz, as well as the Princess. Now was not the time to be left behind.
"Push them back...!"
These woods were treacherous indeed; too thick in places to tread through even for the most determined.
Rina to (13, 18), Light vs. Bandit 4.
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Laniva let out a groan as Kisara sat Syta right into her lap, tail bristling with surprise as the finger traced her cheek, blushing as her chin was lifted, looking back into those red eyes. "Hwahh... K-Kisara, you--"
As Syta came back into control, though, she was cut off by Syta's sudden bout of exhaustion, first blinking momentarily at her gasp and then slumping down to the ground on her back as Syta flopped against her. "A-Ah, um, you definitely did, though..." She tiredly raised her arms around her, giving her a hug, though weakly through her exhaustion. "Mrhh, no, no, it's okay, Syta, I asked for the spar-- oh, you, you mean..." She squirmed a bit; usually she'd have no trouble getting up with Syta's weight on her, but as it happened magic with "no holding back" had a way of putting you in an unusual state. "Um, well... y-you know, she probably wants... um, no, I'll... she can answer that, probably..."
Laniva sighed, lazily waving her arm for a healer for the both of them. "Heyyy... does anyone, have a moment..."
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Huang spent the exchange cowering behind the no-longer-very-diplomatic detachment of CEN's finest; to his credit he at least retained enough of himself not to be actively cowering and shuddering, instead opting merely to be utterly frozen with fear. The second the doors slid open, though, he was one of the first through the door and slumped against one of the walls of the elevator as they slid shut. "Oh... oh, no... w-what was that? That, that wasn't supposed to happen, we, the information, we were supposed to... oh no, oh no... C-Captain, we can't let them do this, we need to stop them, and we need proof! They're, they're not going to listen to reason, are they..."
As the elevator began its descent - somehow feeling agonizingly longer than their initial ascent, despite the elevator being top of the line - the ambassador slapped his face with both hands, taking a deep breath to cut off his own hyperventilating. "A-hem. Okay - alright. Hr-hm. Best faces now, everyone. We - we represent the CEN at all times. Let's - let's leave quickly. I know what that women said, but I don't want her changing her mind before we leave the building. Ah, do help the Captain to the car, android. Yes, I do believe I'll be staying aboard the Dawn unless strictly necessary...
JULY 10TH, 2174
15:52
Alrenne grimaced. Assembled loosely behind the desks in the briefing room were the ten-odd pilots of the Dawn, with the Captain seated at the head of the room; he was standing off to the side, looking notably dour. The away team had come back about an hour and a half ago, and seeing the looks on their faces, not to mention the rather discomposed Captain as they'd returned, he'd scheduled everyone to report to the briefing room to report. He'd listened patiently to each as they gave their account of the events, quiet, though the look on his face was shifting towards grim."So - you're telling me that Arielle Avyndor doesn't have the slightest clue what's going on, what - one? two? - floors beneath her, and on top of that the meeting with her was... what, mediocre at best? I don't doubt that we are in some way being used, here, but... I don't understand why she'd tell us."
He palmed his face briefly, before knocking an errant strand of hair underneath his officer's cap. "That group you saw is obviously extremely dangerous, and yet it seems they have no intent to actually endanger us; at least, not at this time. The data retrieved from H4na suggests that their next move will involve..." He tapped his comm, and the holoprojector in the room brought up a topographical survey of what looked to be one of many industrial clusters on the Callistan landscape, if not for the CEN flags flying proudly from the buildings' eaves. "...a CEN research facility on land that the company is essentially loaning to us as a show of cooperation. It's not a well-defended facility, so tactically it seems sound from their perspective... I suppose us knowing who they are means they can attack indiscriminately."
He pinched the bridge of his nose briefly; this voyage was certainly going to be no shortage of trouble - it was growing exponentially by the day, it seemed. "Well, in any case... Captain, I believe it'd be best for everyone to recuperate for the rest of the day before we head out there. We can monitor outgoing traffic from the capital in that direction; if any kind of force heads towards those labs from here, perhaps we can tail them." He looked around the room; cheerful enough as some were, there was turmoil on a number of faces, apparent enough even lacking familiarity with some as he was. "I believe we will have freedom to move around the city during our time here, at least; nominally we are here as allies of the corporation, and... well, if that woman intends to use us for her own purposes then there will be scant risk of us being attacked by any of her people... hopefully. I think we can give the crew freedom to go about Remansburg today, Captain. Especially if it means we might gain intelligence about things; what little we have seems to be shrinking in proportion the longer we spend here."
The ambassador certainly won't be doing us any services, not with how he's locked himself in his room... Well, perhaps Ambassador Diana will have slightly more luck.
-
"Amera...! So handsy..." Seila huffed and sighed, though there was more of her smile audible in it than any exasperation. "I know you'd be plenty happy with pets, Amera, don't worry. Mm, still..." The mage let out a little laugh, gazing at the cat through glasses slightly askew. "You make it sound like a sappy novel... 'Sneaking away from prying eyes in broad daylight, the two--', ah...!" As those hands grew more brazen, she blushed, accidentally bumping her book off the armrest where she'd left it, already forgotten.
"Mm. I'm sure. Especially if Kisara helps you, because I know what you can do when she does. I've seen it myself, Syta." Laniva smiled, a little sheepish at Syta's slightly-begrudging agreement, in truth a little unable to fully contain her own excitement. Syta's hair turned - growing pale, her eyes changing, until unmistakably it was Kisara; and the tome was already in her hands, thrown wide with the fox's own eagerness for a fight, and in she brought her practice blade into a plow guard. "Don't worry... I didn't think you would...!"
Already her feet found the ground in front of her, one after another; there was no time to wait in a battle against a mage - every moment spent not approaching was another moment for a snap of the fingers, a swish of the wrist, such a little thing, truly, to invoke such power. the thought briefly crossed Laniva's mind as she charged forward as to how one went about a practice battle with magic, but sooner than she could dash the thought the fox's words from but moments ago echoed as if to dismiss the thought out of hand - she wouldn't be holding back. Need to strike first--
The blade laid a heavy thud across Syta's - no, Kisara's - arms, the cat having hoped to disarm her before she could respond with a flurry of magic; but her hands yet found purchase upon her tome, and a fireball shot her way. Raising her sword, she attempted to deflect the magic to little avail, coughing under the heat. She set her feet for a powerful swing--
--but her blade met the resistance of naught but plumes of ash and smoke, and through the cut where her blade had passed through it she glimpsed only Kisara's grin at the second cast of flame, the smug smile sending a chill through her despite the radiant blaze.
She blinked, and found herself on her back, her blade a few paces away. She sat up, slowly, propping herself up on her hands and looking over towards her all-too-jubilant opponent. "Mrgh... ow. Hahh... magic's... no fun."
-
"Mm... what did you ever do with yourself before I found you, Amera..." Seila let out a small, quiet giggle, leaning her head against Amera as she nuzzled closer, no less attentive about those ears. "Hmm...? Yes, we're going to stay in if I'm going to be reading... oh, wow, someone's nice and comfortable~." She smiled at the near purr, though she soon replaced it for a blush, the heat rising to her face plenty obvious to Amera where she was resting against her. "O-Oh--, Amera... isn't someone~ eager. Did meeting a couple other cats the past few days get you all energetic?" She set her book down, page already bookmarked from the first time she'd gotten up, opting to focus on the pets.
Laniva nodded in response to Syta's protests, still sure of her own request. "I don't know about that, Syta... I've seen what you can do, especially when you're getting a little help." She gave her a little knowing smile; Syta was wearing the amulet now, though she hadn't been... earlier. Laniva shook her head a little, clearing the thought with a light flush to her face. S-Save that for later...!
"See, Gean's got plenty of sparring partners... whoa--?" The explosion from the current main event didn't escape her notice - couldn't have escaped anyone's notice, really - and she nodded slightly, approvingly. It's been a little while since we last saw that... Took me a moment to remember what that was. "Mm, anyways... come on, I think you'll enjoy it. I promise."
-
The nearest patrols disposed of, the next group of enemies to face lay to the west; and indeed the rest of their motley group had already begun to engage them, the princess included.
Not one wont to letting her liege go the battle alone, she moved to join her and the others fighting the approaching bandits.
Rina to (15, 16).
-
Laniva let herself smile a little hearing Syta's encouragement; there was no shortage of cheer for Gean, certainly, but for her it was a new experience. Syta's enthusiasm was impossible to resist, and she nodded in response to Gean's acceptance of their little bout. "Alright. Let's get started, then."
Their second bout wasn't quite as one-sided as their first; Gean's tactics were different this time, fighting at a slower pace, opting to counterattack as was her own preference. Bringing her blade down against Gean's side, she found herself too slow to move against the first axeblow, awkwardly parrying the second; and though she knocked the axewielder to the ground with her second blow, Laniva still couldn't deny her rapid improvement. She stuck her practice blade in the dirt, helping Gean up. "That was a lot better than last time. You keep this up, and I'll have to start wearing my armor to spar." Laniva dusted off Gean's shoulders briefly, then turned to Syta with a smile.
"Mm... well, that's my first bout. I saw how eager you were watching everyone else, Syta..." The faintest hint of teasing crept into her voice. "I can't have you feeling left out, now can I~?"
Seila let out a relaxed sigh as Amera nuzzled her in a hug, reaching a hand up to pet those ears. "Mm, I think they're letting some of the ones who aren't Tigers join too, looks like... but if you don't mind staying here, I think that suits me just fine~." She slowly sidled back towards the comfortable chair she'd picked out earlier, having intended to spend quite a while in it, cat attached to her side meanwhile. "Ahh, there we are. I'm just as happy to read here, since it seems like cozying up here is spending all that energy of yours is just fine." Seila gave her a quick pat on the head, thumbing her book back open to the bookmark. "Maybe you're not good at thinking, but you can decide whether you wanna go outside or not, can't you? Silly."
-
A smile crept onto Arielle's face once more; this really was quite the cast of a crew. Righteous ones with more justice in their hearts than sense, one with a smile on his face and ice in his veins, and thankfully, a couple professionals - oh, but of course, there was one more, wasn't there? She hadn't said much about him just yet, but she'd get there...
She leaned over her desk, almost casually, comfortable, hands resting on her edge of the desk. "Certainly. I would be more than happy to set a meeting between you all and my chief of security - in fact..." She deftly keyed the holographic keyboard floating just above the desk's surface. "There we are. She's one floor down, and will be expecting you after this. I'm sure she'll be much better suited to talk through the, ah..." Arielle paused for a moment, the word hanging on her tongue. "...technical side of matters - much your specialties, I'm sure; there's more familiarity to be found there than here." Her eyes lingered on Louise for a moment. "I've no doubt you have your own opinions on how matters are being addressed here, and as such I greatly appreciate your... cooperation, in how you intend to go about resolving this issue. As you say, miss Park, there is a touch more flexibility in a person's approach than a machine."
She raised an eyebrow at the redheaded man, her smile not fading, as he apologized for his outburst. Interesting. Too much fire in you to stop yourself from the beginning, but you know well enough when to stop. Experience with toeing the line? Or is your brain just catching up to your mouth?
"Miss Captain Silverwind, you are of course free to retain the black box until such a time as you've run whatever tests you like on it - after all, it doesn't belong to Avyndor Heavy Industries, though I'm sure there are those who'd love to analyze it once you're finished with it." Arielle tilted her head just a bit at Sia's continued discussion of the stolen parts. "Well, should you find the rebels, I think you've already established that your approaches may be better than ours - though of course if your discussion with my security chief Miss Shezsacosh leads you to a different conclusion, that will of course be up to you. And should you find the parts... we would appreciate them back, naturally. I think they'll be rather unlike most HEX equipment you may have seen before."
There was almost a smirk as Sia saluted, but she was back to all business as the older man spoke, meeting his seriousness in kind. "If they're based out of a single location, it would have to be somewhere in the undeveloped zones. Anywhere they've terraformed, we'd notice with the kind of equipment they have. There's only so much you can do to hide HEXes in a city, no?" A finger raised to her chin in thought. "Not from this moon... well, perhaps they have some kind of outside help. It's hard to know, honestly, but maybe Miss Shezsacosh will have a better idea."
Ah, but at long last, he was addressing her directly now - the son of such a notable CEN politician in the Jupiter Sphere - she could see the resemblance from he minute he'd walked in, seeing as she's spoken to him a not-insignificant number of times in a political capacity. Her eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. "Ah, Mr. Vhane... that's a fine question. For a long time it was peaceful, to tell you the truth - the occasional rally, handing out pamphlets, nothing concerning. Not that I really intended on acquiescing on too many fronts, but we didn't so much as lift a finger when it was just talk."
She sighed - the most exasperation she was willing to show. "The raids are a more recent development. It didn't seem like where things were trending towards... it was a surprise to all of us. Actually, they've even made some moves on a CEN facility - we have an agreement to allow use of some of the underdeveloped zone by the CEN for their research. I suppose those involved might not have realized it didn't belong to us? My head of security will have the details; you could even visit the facility yourself, if you like - they might appreciate the visit."
Ambassador Huang gave a short half-bow, no shortage of effort on his part to appease. "Ah, well then, Miss Avyndor, it sounds as if we'll be making the rounds, courtesy of the Dawn. I think that's all we had for you personally, isn't that right, Captain Silverwind? Our warmest thanks for your time. We will, of course, be in touch should we resolve your issues, or find anything that requires your more immediate attention."
Arielle circled around her desk, sitting against the front of it, giving a small nod to the group. "Very good, Ambassador. I'm glad to hear it. It was my pleasure to meet all of you; but please, don't keep Miss Shezsacosh waiting. She is quite busy as of late, after all."
Faith in the Spirits Arc 1: To Align the Stars
in Roleplay
Posted
Laniva to (23, 26), Iron Greatsword Pirate 6.
Seila holds, Lightning Flash Pirate 2.