Futuristic [Archived] VOIB_ARC1_PART1

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Zengren

KARIKO MORINRA / Female / 35

Iscariots of Solarian

Chapter 0. Prologue | Synedriaseon - Room 402, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Zengren sighed at the situation in-front of them It looked like they had a fan girl form the vanguards and pixie had decided to start introductions Zengren stared down at the others, due to how tall she was, the armour adding to her imposing figure. “yeah keep to Code names…. And hi Im Zengren, anyway I’m heading inside before anyone starts anything“ Zengren replied giving a death stare to one of the vanguards the pretty boy that seemed waaay to smug about everything. However having her helmet on meant that her stare was lost on the vanguard.

short but sweet they had a briefing to get too, and petty shit about there rivalries, Zengren instinctively ducked a little due to her height and horns, and so that her hammer didn’t break anything. Pushing through the spinny door it kept spinning rather rapidly once Zengren had entered the Bar scanning over those that were already there.

a figure who’s mask and imposing height was all she needed to see to spot a very old friend of hers, gently placing her hammer onto the floor and leaning against it. “Hey breaker been a while hasn’t it? Good to see ya again, honestly didn’t expect to be working with you“ her tone was way more jovial then she’d been before obviously to the others there was history between the mercenary and Kaiser Knight. “not got your jacket on? Bit odd for ya“ Zengren added taking her own helmet off to hang it on her hammer. Meaning the others present would finally see her face and silvery hair a small smile on her features. And despite the way she lifted her massive hammer and moved around she didn’t exactly look like a hulking grumpy wall breaker. “Anyhow Iscariots here“

GM // Arkangel Khocolatte Panther
KKO // Rielaix Worthlessplebian _Line 213 voracity pomme
ISD // GasMaskie StorybookParagon Ghostiiys Funnier President
VOI // kasigi The One Eyed Bandit Paltajayd
IOS // simj26 azenva lunar_moth

 

[voracity]

ANTHEM

PHELES / FEMALE / 33

Third of the Kaiser Knights

Invictis Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

In answer to Dove's question, Pheles had simply brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, though her annoyance was conveyed, it also served to hide a smile. Her regard for the ISD agent rose a few notches, although it seemed she was all business, there was a hint of humor in that one, intentional or not, and Pheles could appreciate someone who practiced it as dryly and tamely as Dove did.

"...I shall leave everything for Remiel to explain. She has received a full report involving the operation beforehand, and I am certain that she will perform her duties outstandingly." and following Lucael's example, Pheles crashed into a salute, wishing the First Knight safe travels and a swift return alongside the others.

*****​

With Claudwin gone, Pheles settled down quickly and quietly. At last, realizing that he had only been here to say his goodbyes, and having done that, it meant that it was time to actually set their eyes on what they were all gathered here to do, and heed their guests, and what their new commander had in store for them all.

"Having you both arrive together at the same time like this is a pleasant surprise, well worth any amount of waiting, I'd say," Pheles replied diplomatically, addressing both the raven haired Vanguard, young she may be, but clearly in charge of the 2 noble stone cold faces and the Demonoid that was nearly as tall as Pheles herself, and the Iscariots who beelined for the refreshments and snacks readied by Lucael.

"I know that they want us exchanging names after the important business has concluded, but hopefully some of you will be open to exchanging some stories as well ... whenever I ask after details of the Tournament of Valor, I am ever reminded that my colleague does not have the grace or patience of a loresinger."

GM // Arkangel , Panther , Khocolatte
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker) , _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint), Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko) , Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling)
VOI // Paltajayd (Fleur) , kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss)

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Shiro

"Breaker" / Male / 32

Secundus of the Kaiser Knights

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Shiro bowed, showing his gratitude towards the Kaiser maid for being so thoughtful. "I appreciate your foresight as always, Bethlehem. Let our swiftness put an end to these syndicates." The interrogator proclaimed though one could faintly make out an emotion of joy and pride in his iron tone. In truth, he need not have more offensive capabilities than his pistol and shadowmancy, but it is always helpful to have a backup in case. Lingering around, Shiro decided to fit his hands in his pockets while waiting for the lone Demonoid on the ground to awaken from her existential crisis on the floor. This must not be an irregular occurrence with her.

Then suddenly, Shiro felt the whispers of knowledge enter his ear. Claudwin informed Shiro of his temporary position as acting First Knight, a great honour he thought. "I shall do my role diligently as always." Whispering back, Shiro fully acknowledged his role. As if it wasn't the first time. Though he admits, a tinge of anxiousness did fill him momentarily. Emotions as always are fleeting things, this too passes without much struggle.

With the arrival of the Iscariots and Vanguards, Shiro felt no longer the need to continue these introductory moves. Simply remaining in view should be enough for them to approach. Unexpectedly, a familiar voice had called out to him. One that he had not heard in a long, long time. Turning around, Shiro was faced to face with a horned woman who neared his height. A friend from his time in Sanguinum. "If it isn't my old playmate, Zengren." Truthfully, Shiro did seem surprised to see her, though deep down he probably expected something like this when they mentioned the Iscariots arriving. He noticed her being already prepared for a mission in stark contrast to the others. "I see you are as prepared as always." He said while unholstering his Kurian K-45 pistol and tapping her armour with the magazine end then reholstering. "Trusty hammer too." His eyes observed the hammer that propped her up. "My jacket is over there," The Masked Man nodded to the nearby sofa holding his jacket. "Glad to have you on board."

GM // Arkangel Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), _Line 213 (Darklight), Rielaix (Bethlehem)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3

 

[StorybookParagon]

Akiba

Dove / Female / 33

Imperial Security Directorate

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

"Good luck, administrator." Akiba nods. She stops herself from telling him to watch out for snakes, but he doesn't need to know something redundant. Any group knows that rotten cores can decimate an operation. The hardest part is finding who they are. Then, she's quickly taken aback and loudly whispers to herself. "Cinnamon apple?"

The door is thrown open before she can settle her thoughts. Isocrates and Vanguards. A few look just like their profiles in the database. A especially the Isocrates. Zenko, Sterling, and one that she hasn't seen before... at least not in official data. She keeps her mouth to herself, but doesn't bother hiding that calculating glare beneath lidden eyes—like she's expecting for any one of them to spontaneously detonate. Their penchant for going directly against the law and not being able to do anything about it has bothered her.

With a tug, she pulls on the collar of her standard ISD uniform to take a breath.

"This is more than I was expecting. The syndicate is going to get what's owed. For every drop of blood. Five times over." Her smile curls. Normally, she would be concerned that it would require this many operatives to work on a mission and perhaps even more that she is unaware of. That means that this syndicate must be affecting larger and larger parts of the city, maybe even beyond that to warrant such a response.

She didn't mind. They'll burn all the same.

"Agent Guts, for our sake, please at least sit upright." She looks down at the operative, only partially out of necessity. Guts has made a splash inside the ISD for her sharp eye and sharper mind. While effective she is strange even compared to the others in her field. At least the others would have had the decency to look presentable. Not like this train wreck of three people trying to dress up an empty building. Why can't there ever be slightly normal scientists working in forensics? People don't need to look towards the ISD in even worse light.

Akiba sighs and sinks into her seat.

GM // Arkangel , Panther , Khocolatte
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker) , _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint), Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko) , Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling)
VOI // Paltajayd (Fleur) , kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss)

 

[Panther]

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren / Female / 40

The Shadow Huntress

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Thessia, or Remiel, watched the substantial flow of once-missing team members fill the remaining gaps in today’s guest list, giving each and every one of them a good look for a preliminary judgment with their individual files as a reference point, of course aware that looks can be particularly deceiving and that the files are rough estimates. She has not yet identified herself to nor has she greeted them as she will do so anyway during the beginning of the briefing. She would also have to introduce the members to one another for everyone’s convenience, especially for the new arrivals who were plausibly feeling the Ashen Ember’s stern watchful gaze from the other end of the bar where she was seated.

Suffice it to say that the Vanguards caught her interest most as they were the direct subordinates of one of the most powerful people in all of Empyria among many other implications. She was discreetly wary of them as they are highly likely to be privy to information, crucial or otherwise, that can affect the operation in any way. The same however can be said for the Vanguards and Iscariots towards her as there are scant files on the Ashen Ember, sure she was an Anteråsan agent but some more transparency was likely expected. Regardless, she and the rest of the team would have to exercise caution around the Vanguards, especially around the one that looks to be their leader in the spiffy officer uniform similar to her. Luckily, the Iscariots did not need any reminders.

She checks her watch again, deciding to give the newcomers 5 minutes to acclimate to the environment around them, the timer starting as soon as the last one had stepped inside. Patience and familiarity are among the key tenets of being a spy and an assassin after all. As soon as the time she allotted for their acclimation expired, she stood up and fixed her jacket, a hologram projector in her right hand as she walked onto the bar’s rostrum that would have been reserved for a band or solo artist on a normal day. The soft clacking of her shoes drowned out by all the noise in her surroundings that would be temporarily silenced either by the sight of her making her way to the rostrum or simply stomping her right foot on the rostrum’s floor thrice in even intervals after resting the projector on the floor. Now that she definitely has everyone’s attention, she spoke, the cold, commanding, and imposing aura of her pride and professionalism filling the room for the second time since introducing herself to those who came before the Vanguards and Iscariots.

“Good evening everyone, especially to those who have just arrived, namely the representatives of the Iscariots of Solarian and the Vanguards of Imperius. I am an Elite Operative of the Ashen Embers Special Task Force, Codename Remiel. I will be your commander for this operation under Lord Kaiser’s orders. Before I begin this briefing, I will be initiating a roll call to help ourselves be familiar with each other at least in name and by appearance. If you hear your codename, raise your hand. Feel free to verbally report your presence as well if you want.” With that, she calls out each person in this room by the aforementioned naming convention in alphabetical order with her eyes moving towards the general direction of the individual, a brief silence following each call to see if the person made themselves known, “Anthem. Bethlehem. Breaker. Darklight. Dove. Fleur. Glint. Grimoire. Guts. Jammy. Lucael. Pixie. Siesta. Sterling. Wayfarer. Windshot. Zengren. Zenko.” As soon as the last person was finished, Remiel made something clear about a missing team member, “Due to the sensitive nature of their involvement, a team member of ours won’t be present until we send something their way to work with, codename Cerberus.” She then follows up with a stern reminder to everyone after a sharp exhale, “We will only address each other by our codenames on the job, no more, no less. Why should be quite self-explanatory.” She took a deep breath, preparing to discuss the next point.

Opting to give everyone a brief lecture on the decree’s, and this team’s to an extent, background for those who were unfamiliar, she began by turning on the holographic projector with the push of a button on a small remote control in her left hand, displaying multiple images in resolutions high and low, rotating between them as she went. The projected images contain the pictures of a warehouse stocked to the brim with unmarked military equipment and ordnance from small arms to even the Mechanized Assault Walkers used by the Imperial Army, organized stashes of money, and other necessary supplies for what seemed to be waging a war among other pieces of intelligence that were shared with sufficient authorization and a map of Aucteraden with the warehouse’s location marked by an ominous red dot, it was just on the outskirts of Somnum, one of the largest cities in the province.

Remiel stepped aside to let everyone see the projection clearly, speaking with minor gesticulation, “As you all have likely heard at least once in your careers, there were rumors that a criminal organization is operating in the shadows right underneath our noses here in the mainland, the organization we know as the ‘Arcalion Syndicate.’ For years, the Imperial Security Directorate and other intelligence communities had scrambled to prove the validity of these rumors to no avail but eventually proved that the rumors were, in actuality, fact as what is made known to us in a raid carried out by the Imperial Security Directorate and local authorities in a warehouse just outside Somnum where they found a plethora of what you see in these images. Military equipment of high quality and other supplies and materiel imported from multiple provinces over the span of several years, eventually accumulating into this dangerous and foreboding stockpile that gives us a gist of what the Syndicate is capable of, clearly not to be underestimated.” She sighed, “We know very little of the Syndicate as we are missing key information like its origins, motives, ways of operations, and who their members and accomplices are but we have reason to believe that their members are a good fraction of commoners, officials, and even certain echelons of the nobility or rogue nobility across multiple provinces, sectors, and possibly as far as the Commonwealths. One of them could even be in this very bar right now, in the surrounding floors and rooms of this building, or in the block this building is on. That just goes to show how much power they have and how embedded into the food chain they are if they can afford to make such efforts while leaving us at an inherent disadvantage.”

The images switched back to the map of Aucteraden, now displaying more red dots than before that covered between a tenth to a quarter of the province, “Since then, both the provincial authorities and the Imperial Security Directorate’s Aucteraden branch have made significantly more hits against the Syndicate with the indirect assistance of groups such as those of yours truly, the Anteråsan Internal Security Service, and other provincial authorities that are fighting their own battles against the Syndicate in their own territories. However, we’re far from seriously denting the Syndicate and that is where we come in with that decree from Lord Kaiser and the agreement between Aucteraden, Anterås, Elesrith, the Imperial Security Directorate, and the Iscariots of Solarian that has formed this special task force. There are, and possibly will be, more agreements between other authorities which means we will be receiving reinforcements or additional teammates. We will act as the scalpel to the rest of the law enforcement group’s sword. As such, our missions will almost always involve hitting high-value targets in coordination with the Imperial Security Directorate and provincial authorities under Lord Kaiser’s orders.” Remiel paused, she did not want to go through all of this too fast but it was now time for the important part, the objectives and first mission of the team.

She switched the projections to a port in Seraphiel and pictures of three wanted criminals along with information on where they were last sighted with the exception of one – one of unknown sex in a sealed suit of armor, one female in specialized light armor that is painted red, and another that is just blacked out because of lack of information, “Our current objectives are to debilitate the Syndicate’s capacity to supply its forces, apprehend or eliminate key Syndicate combatant figures and their associates and subordinates, and apprehend or eliminate a key auxiliary figure of the Syndicate, potentially one of its main commanders who heads its number of underground labs for drug trade and manufacturing chemical weapons that has proven rather elusive even after successfully hitting a good number of them. We will likely never see this person until later on. I will be discussing two of our objectives in this briefing.” Along the way, she rotated between the pictures according to the objective, the port was shown in the first objective, the two clear pictures in the second, and the blacked out picture in the third. “I will now brief you on our first mission.”

The projection now switched to a full map of the port and the surrounding area and waters, not even the sewers, waterways, and networks beneath the roads were spared as the raiding group had to know everything since the Syndicate likely took important information such as this into account upon acquiring the port. Remiel continued, “We will be raiding a large port in the provincial capital that is revealed to be under the Syndicate’s control only recently where a potentially even larger stockpile than what was acquired in Somnum is present, it is also one of their major distribution centers in the mainland and is heavily defended according to our assets. This is especially true during the reception and distribution of shipments, even in broad daylight as the port’s security and select civilian personnel and distributors are under the Syndicate’s payroll which leaves a raid during downtimes more favorable. We likely cannot be able to intercept either process without straining ourselves more than we should, not that intercepting convoys ever had a large impact anyway. We have to be very careful with our manpower as well, it’s entirely possible that the very ISD agents not in this team and provincial police officers that will help us in the raid will turn on us partway. It’s why we can’t risk a larger raiding party that would’ve allowed us to hit the port anytime we want. The same or similar idea will apply to any further operation that we will be partaking in jointly with them.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, indicating some frustration at having to deal with a two-pronged attack from the Syndicate during the raid before modifying the projections and going back to her normal stance.

Two of the three criminals’ pictures soon joined the map of the port amongst the projections, “Fortunately and unfortunately, intel suggests that these two figures are jointly supervising the port’s defenses which allows us to hit two objectives at once. The Syndicate already learned from their mistake that cost them their warehouse in Somnum so these two and their acumen are not to be taken lightly once they come into the field. Onto their identities, the person in the suit is known as the ‘Marauder,’ clad in what looks to be a highly modular battle suit that grants them a variety of combat capabilities, they have appeared in multiple intelligence photographs, but none have ever shown them in combat. We have no identification name for the lightly armored female yet but it has been rumored that her armor gives her unique agility and mobility, same situation as the Marauder with only intelligence photographs and no combat record. They are assisted by a number of officers and grunts, well-trained and well-armed that are posted throughout the port inside out.” She had taken a good look at everyone and saw their general equipment scheme from their current getups to which she would point out in another reminder, “As early as now, I would suggest that you treat your swords and other melee weapons only as your secondary or tertiary weapons. They won’t be of much help here outside of stealthily eliminating someone. Other than that, you're allowed to bring any of your equipment that you deem fit for the upcoming operation.”

Remiel shrugged, these people were capable enough anyway to find a use for what could be their prized possessions, especially the tall Demonoid Iscariot with the tactical sledgehammer. Onto the battle plan, multiple dots of differing colors that were at least 100 in number appeared throughout the port’s perimeter with arrows drawn over four avenues of entry where the dots were distributed along, the yellow dots were allies, the green dots were the individual team members, and the red dots were potential enemy positions. Multiple yellow dots were out in the sea as well, signifying that the police and ISD’s naval patrol crafts are to be involved. She continued, pointing her fingers at parts of the projection to emphasize on them as she went, “This is the tentative battle plan of the provincial authorities. Our team will be split into three groups that will each assist three of the four main breaching elements. Of course, this is an oblique maneuver where at least half of us will be assisting the police that will be breaching the main gate while the rest split to assist the other two police teams on the western and eastern gates. The port is to be secured in a sweeping maneuver where all four elements will converge around the port’s main office building here. Some of us will take to the heights of the stacked containers for better positions that we will likely have to wrestle from the Syndicate first.” The building in question was highlighted, an office sitting smack dab in the center of the port. A word of caution follows, “Upon securing each portion of the port however, we must make sure that the merchandise we’re looking for is indeed there and that the Syndicate did not rig their stockpiles or the area in general to explode, if they did, secure the stockpiles with the assistance of EOD specialists. While the Syndicate scuttling their supplies can count as a victory for us depending on what time they choose to do so, chances of it becoming one lower if they set it to blow while we’re carrying out the mission. We also definitely want to avoid severe and widespread property damage but given what we’re up against,” She sighed, “we will have to expect the worst.”

She checks her watch, particularly part of the display that indicated the date, “We will be raiding this port within the week. The authorities are still ironing out the plan as we speak but rest assured that we will be conducting this mission in at most 48 hours, and at earliest, tomorrow night. From their patterns, they won’t be receiving or distributing shipments until next week at earliest. Any and all intelligence data that we acquire from the port will be sent to Cerberus for processing. I will be splitting the team according to the qualifications and backgrounds of the members. Naturally, those of us in the center will be the strongest of us as we will be expecting to face the two people I mentioned earlier. A few of us won’t be fighting as they will be in the reserves and to an extent, the rearguard. I think you know yourselves enough to figure out which group you will be in but just in case, I will announce the lineup I have in mind. Should you have doubts or disagreements with your assignment, feel free to raise it up with me and we'll work something out.” She takes out a small pocket notebook that contained the tentative lineup according to the aforementioned, opening it before taking a deep breath and glancing at the team before her.

“The center group will include myself, Anthem, Bethlehem, Fleur, Grimoire, Lucael, Siesta, Wayfarer, Windshot, and Zengren.”

“The flanking groups will include Breaker, Darklight, Dove, Jammy, Pixie, Sterling, and Zenko.”

“Reservists and rearguards will be Glint and Guts. Assuming things go bad, you will be among the next set of groups that will make up the reinforcing teams. Both of you will be conducting your own investigation of the scene after we’re done with captured Syndicate members assuming any arrests will be made on-site and the would-be deceased of the Syndicate to see if there’s anything… peculiar. Glint, you’ll be working with Breaker on those captured, we’ll be sure to check them for anything that they can use to kill themselves with before sending them to you but recheck them just to be sure. Multiple raids have shown that the Syndicate extensively uses cyanide pills, other dangerous chemical compounds, the classic bomb vest or grenade, and,” She points a finger gun to her head, jerking the hand upwards to signify the gun firing, “a bullet.”

Remiel closed her notebook in a snap, gazing at the team with a blank expression, “And that concludes the briefing. Any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions?” She turned off the projector, taking a nearby piano stool afterwards and saw herself seated with her arms crossed.

GM // Arkangel (Lucael) Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove) GasMaskie (Glint) Ghostiiys (Guts)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) azenva (Sterling) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer) kasigi (Grimoire) Paltajayd (Fleur)

 

[_Line 213]

Aizu

"Darklight" / Female / 21

Sixth of the Kaiser Knights

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

For a moment, the Second Knight's response caught the demonoid off-guard. Verbal questions? she thought, mulling internally over the potential content before coming to a snap conclusion. Whether or not it was the correct one, however, would remain to be seen. Ah, like a test. I'll ace it!

"Verbal questions. Got it--I'll be there!" she replied, nodding firmly and offering the masked man a smile as her enthusiasm overtook the natural sense of reservation his towering appearance caused. Despite her energy, Aizu could not help but let out a slight sigh of relief as Breaker moved to attend to some of his other duties; even if she hadn't noticed her own tension, it was present all the same, only abating once she was--briefly--alone again. Another figure approached near-immediately, following the wake of the Second Knight by mere seconds as the fresh recruit was shaken from her momentary calm once again.

"You must be Frau Emaril," came a calm, smooth voice, "servant of the Kaisers and attendant of the Kaiser Manor, Bethlehem, at your service."

The appearance of the new arrival caught her off-guard, the woman seeming like someone straight out of an Imperial period-drama rather than anyone she would have expected to be on an investigation force.

"O-Oh, it's Aizu Emaril actually, but thank...you..." she managed, slowly processing the woman's words; she didn't remember the dossiers she had looked over mentioning an attendant, or a manor. Part of her wondered why they were meeting at a seedy bar of all places when they supposedly had an entire palatial grounds at their disposal.

Her expression drooped slightly. Even here, it seemed that it was impossible to escape signs of service. Even knowing that the woman was likely compensated well for her services, Aizu could not help but feel the tight twisting of a knot in her stomach. "I..." she paused, swallowing after a few moments. "...I think I'm good on drinks. But thank you," she replied. Slowly, the ball in her gut began to release. In a way, the two were similar; a maid, and a recruit that was practically only a member of the order in name. Two not-quite-knights; the realization caused a small sense of kinship to sprout in the place of her mixed feelings. Aizu took in a short breath, then bowed, a smile returning to her features. "I look forward to working with you!"

Before much else could be said, the operation's leader, and her "temporary supervisor," took to a bandstand near the edge of the bar. During her conversation with the Second Knight and the Kaisers' supposed attendant, the bar seemed to have become twice as packed, new voices reaching her ears now that she didn't have anything else to concentrate on. And yet, they quieted in short order, the commanding presence of the woman upon the makeshift stage gaining their silence in no time at all. In addition to silent, Aizu very nearly remained entirely still, as if afraid that even the slightest movement would somehow draw the woman's ire.

Role-call in alphabetical order came first. Aizu managed a modest "present" when her name came, snapping her attention briefly to the head agent. As the names made the rounds again, however, she focused on their bearers--or at least those she knew or could discern. Quickly, they all moved on to the next topic of discussion; seemingly, the sharp promptness that characterized this 'Remiel' extended to things beyond their appearance and demeanor.

“As you all have likely heard at least once in your careers, there were rumors that a criminal organization is operating in the shadows right underneath our noses here in the mainland, the organization we know as the ‘Arcalion Syndicate.’"

Aizu hadn't heard that. She tried not to wince; certain things were simply entirely out of the scope of your average patrolman, even without the provincial governments attempting to keep a lid on things. Thankfully, their leader had more details to explain. Aizu crossed her arms, shifting them every now and again as Remiel went on, detailing persons and locations of interest, before shifting gears to their first task and its related battle plan. Though she had been doing all she could to soak up all the information provided, it was the raid and its details that ultimately caused her ears to perk.

We're going into the thick of it that quickly? she thought to herself, trying to hide any visible signs of surprise; her expectations had been more aligned with slews of detective-work followed by some searches, maybe some apprehensions, maybe a no-knock raid on something small, like a storefront. Instead, they were raiding an entire port, with what was practically an entire army for backup.

Another quick jolt of adrenaline shot through the girl as her name was called again, this time regarding her team assignment. She sighed slightly; she had no questions, despite the return of an ambient sense of uncertainty. "The B-Team, huh," she muttered to herself, her eyes focusing on one of the green dots near one of the secondary gates before it flickered into nothingness by Remiel's command.

Well, that doesn't matter, she thought, clenching her fist again, I'll do everything I can anyway. Even then, the post was awash with opportunity; the wisdom in trusting someone so green with a secondary objective rather than the forwardmost one aside, there were still quite a few people on her assignment she was looking forward to seeing in action. She looked toward some of the others on her team, watching them silently from afar in an attempt to gauge their reactions.

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Rielaix (Bethlehem), Worthlessplebian (Breaker), _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), GasMaskie (Glint), Ghostiiys (Guts)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling), simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko),
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer), kasigi (Grimoire), Paltajayd (Fleur)

 

[Arkangel]

Lucael

Lucian Asher / Male / 31

Fifth of the Kaiser Knights

131st Street, Seraphiel City, Aucteraden

"Actually, before that."

Lucael stepped in from behind the counter, temporarily excusing himself from his duties. Although it was more proper to say that his current line of work mattered more than his hobby, Lucael considered his occupation as a bartender and owner of the establishment to come first when guests were present. Nonetheless of his strange priorities, the black-haired knight equipped with his energy sword sheathed stood next to the newly issued commander and faced the crowd of operatives.

"I should add onto the briefing that the intel regarding the 'Marauder' comes from my former confrontation with the enigma. A few weeks ago, during the investigation of the warehouse led by myself and a few ISD agents that led to the formation of this team, I managed to trace the footprints left by the Syndicate before their escape. I couldn't investigate further when my squad was ambushed by unidentified soldiers of what I assume was the Syndicate's henchmen. They were equipped with gear not accessible by the general public or military officials, so I advise caution during possible confrontations in the future."

This was most likely expected by the others. Lucael was one of the few that was privately investigating the syndicate before Draigh Kaiser made his decision to act and join forces with the other Collbrandes, in order to obtain proof to showcase to the other provincial leaders. He didn't like keeping secrets, but it was because of a direct order from his Collbrande.

"Putting the obvious aside, I'd like to expand on the data we currently have on the one who we have identified as the 'Marauder'. If this was an operation capable for the common man, we wouldn't have recruited champions of the Tournament of Valor and financially invest in exceptional mercenaries. And we certainly wouldn't have assembled our most capable agents of the ISD if we didn't require their skill. The Marauder is most likely the lieutenant—if not one of many, that lead the syndicate workers below the masterminds. I know this because I fought the Marauder directly during the ambush, but due to my lack of skill and strength, I couldn't break through their defense and eventually had to rely on reinforcements. From what I gathered, the Marauder carried two broadswords with incarce-tech imbued in the blades, giving it the capability to manipulate multiple elemental affinities. I can't give confirmation that his twin broadswords are capable of all affinities, but during the confrontation, it primarily focused on electromantic and pyromantic abilities."

Lucael pulled a broken piece of steel from his pocket and showcased it for the team to observe.

"Standard steel for the common eye, but with my Exousiarch activated, I can see the roots of incarce circuit manipulation. I managed to damage their armor slightly before they escaped, and that was the parting gift that proves the Marauder's existence. So to reiterate, we're dealing with a heavily armored android or cyborg that also utilizes advanced incarce-tech. That armor of his won't break with the standard sword, even if it's enchanted by magic, so we'll have to resort to something that can cut the toughest of steel, or smash it to oblivion."

SGM // Panther Khocolatte
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), _Line 213 (Darklight), Worthlessplebian (Breaker), Rielaix (Bethlehem)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint), Funnier President (Windshot)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss), kasigi (Grimoire), Paltajayd (Fleur)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling), simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko),

 

[Rielaix]

Bethlehem

K. Rieper / Female / 29

Maid of the Kaisers

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel City, Aucteraden

When Emaril corrected her, the maid only replied with a soft smile and nod. Bethlehem, wired to respond everything with politeness, chose to indulge the Knight's amusing reexamination of her name. Forsaking the fact of titular matters, Bethlehem was instead impressed by the knight's wide-eyed response. As expected of Lord Kaiser's magnificent eyes, Emaril was an ideal soldier. By Empyrian standards anyways. She would have to keep a close watch on this one, the maid noted to herself.

On the other hand, she turned to Shiro and bowed at his regards. She bore witness to his succession shortly after a conversation that broke out between him and Claudwin. When the latter departed, the maid maintained a brief moment of silence as she studied her surroundings. Her fair eyelids concealed her emerald gaze, as she excused herself from where her compatriots' shadows once lingered.

Bethlehem adjusted the rogue strand of hair that hindered her vision, when a timely order was entrusted to her. A lady not that much younger than her with half-a-mind in their stead. One concoction that was going to fix her evening right, recently graduated from milk. If she did not know any better, Bethlehem would have taken it as a compliment for being able to persuade her to switch it up for something outside of their instinctive decision. But the truth remains that her attire was simply out of place for a city that was so bent on chasing the demands of dazzling glamours and gritty valours. For the maid, it was an honor to don these clothes. Behind the silky frills and simplistic designs, the maid found it too comfortable to compromise for anything else, besides its primary capacity. Like a clockwork doll in guise of an Exhelian, Bethlehem responded to her matron swiftly. "Understood."

Doubling back on Lucael's new details, Bethlehem maneuvered behind the bar with haste, where her hands brushed by the variety of vessels and colorful decanters. Her skillful fingers danced among the perfectly line-up apparatus, until she finally settled her sharp eyes upon the shakers. Suppressing the noise of the motion with her inhumane wrist technique, the maid finally strained the content until she was satisfied with its creamy white texture. The coupe glass slid across the counter at the lightest nudge of her gloved index finger, where the content flowed into the glass like a delectable waterfall of Aucteraden snow. A coaster wedged itself into place between the drink and the counter. "Your Alexander, mein Frau." She announced softly within earshot.

Her attention was then beckoned by a younger gentleman, whose attentions were fixed on the briefing that was going on. It did not take a genius to figure out that these individuals were going to accompany Lord Kaiser's finest into battle. Judging from his nonchalant spacing and unspoken acknowledgement with that of the recipient of the Alexander, Bethlehem could only deduce that they were from the same organization. Based on his description, there were a handful of drinks that he could have implied was the right fix for him. There was also the slight chance that his cast attention contributed to his erroneous slip. But such a thing was not the case, she settled. Catching a brief glimpse of his tone, Bethlehem detected a certain flair of confidence radiating from his nonchalant posture. The maid accessed her palace of memory and resolved to follow suit with a style that she had the surekill chance.

"On the way." Bethlehem responded softly.

A bottle of vodka stood tall, as a variety of colourful mixtures surrounded it. Mixing the contents separately as to not contaminate it, Bethlehem's emerald optics danced about the shakers with speed as her coordinated hands began to carry out her strategy with haste. A thin veil of one-third a vodka shot became the foundation from which she began to lay the tower of her patron's preference, settling in between the layers of vibrant colours. Firstly, a crimson sea of passion that resembled a translucent banner. The second a zesty wave of amber with a diffusing motion that danced about like a lava lamp. The last level was an eye-catching ocean of cool cyan, garnished by a freshly rinded peel of citrus. The three distinct levels was given a glow to it by the chilled glass's immaculate sparkle. A coaster followed, then the reuqest itself. "Your Raignork Drop, mein Herr." Bethlehem served, as she put away the utensils that have already served her purposes.

When her bartending duties were completed, the maid stood behind the bar to tune into what the orators needed to say. She remained at her station, making sure everyone else's orders were attended to.

SGM // Arkangel (Lucael)
KKO // _Line 213 (Darklight), Worthlessplebian (Breaker)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko)

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Shiro

"Breaker" / Male / 32

Secundus of the Kaiser Knights

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

With the gathering on its' way, Shiro sat on one of the bar chairs. Crossing his legs and relaxing his left arm on the table, he was ready to process the briefing from the Shadow Huntress. Though truth be told, Shiro already harboured dissenting thoughts. Not the validity of the informa—Oh, she is starting. Hearing his codename called, Breaker simply lifted his hand high, it is certainly impossible for anyone to miss. Breaker paid close attention to the holographic projector. His idle hand summoned a wisp of shadow energy to manipulate. It flew around the hand, betwixt long fingers, up-n-down his arm. The stockpile of weapons and munition did not surprise Breaker. He, like the aforementioned intelligence communities, did try to prove the existence of the Arcalion Syndicate. Though also like the aforementioned communities, the attempts bore no fruit.

When the Shadow Huntress boasted her Ashen Embers' deeds, Shiro could not help but roll his vermillion eyes. Refocusing on the task at hand, he memorised every detail that is available about the three HVTs. There is something that bothered Shiro as Remiel explained about the port. If the possibility that the Syndicate has its' claws deep within the hierarchy of the Empire, then wouldn't they know that this motley crew of knights, defence force, secret agents, and mercenaries are planning a siege on their precious supply point? It seems to him like they're walking into a trap.

Him receiving the flank guard is no surprise, he's exceptional at any role. Although some appear to be under the impression that Breaker only ever uses a pistol. Technically true as pistol weaponry take up 68.79% of Breaker's operational time, they'd find he is no slouch with any other firearm or melee weapon. Mentioning that Glint, an ISD agent would be working with him did not enthuse Breaker at all. His best work was alone or with another analyst behind a camera. Saddened by this information, Shiro crushed the shadow imp in his hand.

Darklight's reaction didn't escape Shiro's eye. She appeared to also be looking towards the others in the flank team and when her gaze met his, he gave a thumbs-up as a sign of reassurance. Just because she's green, doesn't mean she'll be treated as lesser.

Suddenly, Lucy spoke up about his experience with this Marauder. Causing Shiro to shake his head. The presence of incarce-infused metal surprised Shiro, this Syndicate was beginning to become an irritating migraine. With the briefing completed, Shiro waited for anyone to raise a question. Any questions that he had were not for subordinate ears. "Well, Lucael, thank you for your valued first-hand experience." No Lucy this time, he wouldn't want to demean the Fifth Knight in front of everyone right now. That would breach his duties as acting First Knight.


GM // Arkangel Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), _Line 213 (Darklight), Rielaix (Bethlehem)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3

 

[azenva]

Lilianna

"Sterling" / Female / 25

Iscariots of Solarian

Invictis Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

The first leg of the race was over. There…wasn’t a point, but at least the Iscariots won.
Almost mockingly, the more veteran Iscariots and Vanguards were taking their sweet time crossing the plaza. Nothing to do but wait and stare at the fancy lobby decorations through the windows.
Zenko dragging her to the elevators snapped her out of her reverie. With the second leg also an easy victory, Lilianna took the high five and totally didn’t miss, you’re hallucinating, shut up.
The elevator ride itself was a cramped pain, though the minor satisfaction of “winning” won out.

The establishment chosen was a bar. Loose lips sink ships—alcohol was out of the question. The atmosphere was nice enough, even if the upcoming briefing killed the mood a bit. She took a seat in a spot against two walls and facing the entrance, her usual practice. Not the best place to get to know people from, but old habits die hard. The corner also provided a nice place to take a quick look around the room and take stock of everyone else.
So half the Demonoids in Empyria walk into a bar—
"This is more than I was expecting. The syndicate is going to get what's owed. For every drop of blood. Five times over."
Someone’s excited.
There were some other statements or actions probably also worth an overly snarky mental remark, like “that tall dude” tapping the other notably tall person with a plastic brick of shoot people in the face as if the thing were a toy and not a delivery mechanism for death, or the person somehow currently both in a chair and on the floor, et cetera et cetera, so on and so forth.
The little train of “hmm, what’s goin on in here” ground to a halt, as the noise in the bar died down and Remiel took the stage and started the briefing.
First order of business: Roll call.
“Down here.”
Hurdle successfully vaulted.
Second order of business: The actual briefing.
The sheer bravado of the assignment was something to behold. Every bit of intel was a punch in the face. They weren’t beating around the bush, they’d be launching a direct assault on a fortified compound. Split team. Moles and traitors galore. An outer perimeter comprised of a tugboat with a K-45 mounted to a coin operated set of binoculars and two clowns, because of course the aforementioned potential turncoats would be entering the compound itself. To be fair, law enforcement don’t seem to even know what a perimeter is. And if the Syndicate grunts are dedicated enough to prefer death to betrayal, them just taking the money and running won’t be an issue. Still…
And they were sending the largest people vertically and horizontally to be the (comparatively sneaky, they couldn’t let the stealth operatives actually stealth) flankers.
“And that concludes the briefing. Any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions?”
Oh, I have a question. Are you people…competent? Actually, maybe insane would be a better descriptor?
Lilianna managed to keep her mouth shut. Go along with this and she might get the tiniest bit of leverage for when they finally put the pieces together…
She piped up from the corner with, “Flanking, huh? Thankless job, can’t bring the really big guns, hard as all hell, but if you’re real top notch, the frontliners might hop in just in time to take all the credit for themselves.”
Lilianna got up from her chair, but before she could go properly meet her new teammates, the bartender dude—Lucael—walked up onto the stage and provided his extra info on the Marauder.
Her internal thoughts were as follows.
Yikes. Can’t suffocate an android, probably extremely heat resistant, and I’ll eat aluminium if he isn’t waterproofed.
Her external thoughts were far less serious.
“Just feed him a USB killer.”




GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther

KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker) , _Line 213 (Darklight), Rielaix (Bethlehem)

ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint), Funnier President (Windshot)

IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren)

VOI // Paltajayd (Fleur), kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss)

 

[lunar_moth]

Delpher

"Zenko" / Male / 23

Iscariots of Solarian

Synedriaseon, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

"Present," Zenko calls out with a wave, to the woman who's swiftly listed all their names with an air of brusque professionality -- Remiel, as it were. As she speaks she delivers the facts of the mission in a rapidfire way, and Zenko tries not to let the increasingly chilling feeling up his spine get to him. Mind you, the Knights' woman across the room from him seems to be suppressing a similar feeling of uncertainty, so he supposes he's not the only one feeling a bit ill at ease.

One of them could even be in this very bar right now, in the surrounding floors and rooms of this building, or in the block this building is on. That just goes to show how much power they have and how embedded into the food chain they are if they can afford to make such efforts while leaving us at an inherent disadvantage.

It's just, well... it's not that the possibility of a Syndicate plant too near to them for comfort is entirely foreign to him, he's not stupid when it comes to things that matter, it's just that the notion of having some of their power be inherently forfeit to the Syndicate before they've even started is a bit discomfiting. It makes him bristle. Delpher has never been one to care for submitting control to anyone beyond himself, but luckily Zenko's been assigned on the mission with Empyria's finest to debilitate the Syndicate and reclaim their footing. It's with this knowledge that he attempts to reason with himself and soothe his raised hackles, rapping his clawed fingertips against the bar's countertop as he absorbs Remiel's continued briefing.

Belatedly, he remembers that he's ordered a drink, and he plucks it from the counter with a sideways smile at the woman behind the bar. The drink practically seems to glow from whatever she's put in it.

"Perfect. Thanks, mein.... lady," Zenko says flawlessly, as if he had been asking for anything particularly meaningful rather than been trying to cover up how little he knows about drinks that aren't cheap wine. Whatever. She knew what he meant. He goes back to gazing over the sea of people in the bar and absentmindedly takes a sip; it makes him perk up a bit and thump his tail pleasedly against the side of his chair, turmoils momentarily balmed.

Anyways. The rest of Remiel's briefing is straightforward, if not quite detailed. Zenko's been put on the flanking team -- despite his slight apprehension at shipping out to take down a bunch of Zhenra criminals they know precious little about, he can't help but feel a little offended that he's not center. He supposes it makes sense if only because he's not really a melee kind of guy. Still, stings a little. He's totally center-team material.

Lucael slips in a few key details about their targets once Remiel's finished speaking. Apparently their head honcho, the Marauder, is a...

"A cyborg!?" Zenko stage-whispers to himself. Waugh, okay, maybe it was a good thing he was put on the secondary team. Lucael says that not even magic-infused swords could carve through their armour, and Zenko supposes that, no, his amateurly-enchanted arrows probably won't be a ton of help there. Damn, what a day to be a ranged weapon user. He has a sudden urge to throttle the higher power who thought it would be a good idea to make him an archer. Could've had a lot more fun with a greatsword, he thinks.

(He snickers to himself at Sterling's suggestion for dealing with the Marauder. Yes, it's a serious situation, but come on, he's only human. It's still funny.)

It could have been a lot worse, he finally settles on. None of the, ugh, Vanguards of Imperius are in the flanking group like him, but Pixie and Sterling are, and at least Sterling knows how to have fun. He's only a little disappointed on the inside that he never got to ask the fancy Vanguard what sort of tablecloth-modelling-parties he goes to and how exactly one receives an invitation. Zenko thinks he would've killed it as a model for expensive tableclothes.

Regardless, the show must go on, and an Iscariot's gotta get that paycheck. Zenko slurps his drink louder than is strictly necessary (in his mind it seems like that should be a complement, clearly it means he's enjoying his- uh, Ragnarok Juice) and tries to decide in his head which of his newly appointed teammates he should bother get to know first. ...Not Breaker, he decides. Too scary. Instead he scans the crowd for any of the remaining three he's not acquainted with yet. Uh- shoot, which white-and-red-haired woman was on which team again?

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther

KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker) , _Line 213 (Darklight), Rielaix (Bethlehem)

ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint), Funnier President (Windshot)

IOS // simj26 (Pixie), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling)

VOI // Paltajayd (Fleur) , kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer)

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Zengren

KARIKO MORINRA / Female / 35

Iscariots of Solarian

Chapter 0. Prologue | Synedriaseon - Room 402, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Zengren cracked a little smile at her old friend's reaction, seemed that neither of them had expected to see one another of course a pleasant surprise. “of course i'd be prepared, not like I’m fresh-faced newbie.” Zengren replied her tone light-hearted. “yup just like your jacket at this point, it’s signature, and yeah great to be working with you” Zengren added concluding the pleasantries that were shared between the old friends. Once again place her helmet upon her head likely indicating now was time for business and no small talk. deciding to ignore the woman who seemed to be having a bit of a breakdown as awkward as that was to just be happening in the middle of their briefing. Downright embarrassing for whatever organisation she worked for.

Someone by the codename of Remiel spoke up seemed they were the head of this whole operation starting with a roll call of everyone here, a smart move Zengren making sure to look around For the people that responded to each name to put a face or mask to the words. Upon her Codename being called she’d raise a hand
“present and account for” Zengren added just in case despite how tall she was and the fact her gear made her stand out like a sore thumb they didn’t notice her.

from their the briefing continued, this syndicate had apparently been able to keep itself well enough hidden that trying to get evidence for it was hard… and they found a lot of weapons.. fun as always especially when combining it with apparent drugs and chemical weapons. Regardless they were hitting one of the syndicate key supply ports but the fact the ISD were allowed to know so much considering then previous information had trap written all over it… and the smell of gas weaponry. Zengren was just glad her helmet came with an inbuilt filter that should help in such a situation. On top of that, they had mysterious and apparently rather strong combatants thanks to their battle suits.. marauder fun name. Along with this information was their plan of attack, Zengren was a little annoyed she would likely need to sideline her signature hammer.

But she already had a gear set in mind, anti-material rifle for heavy targets, needler gauntlets for squishier targets explosive shot of course. as for the combat suit pair, they’d have the honour of being the first targets of her newly purchased disruptor, They wouldn’t be so scary once their armour had shorted out. Even while Zengren went through this loadout idea in her head she still listened in.. objectives: secure sections of the port find the stockpiles and ensure they are not rigged to detonate.. easy enough but the idea of this being an ambush was still very for front of Zengren‘s mind. Next was teams and Zengren was happen enough to be in the central team they seemed like a capable group… Breaker on the other hand was stuck with all the other mercenaries, Zengren turning to him for a second and just shaking her head.
with that, the briefing was more or less concluded. “Not to question anyone’s judgment but does anyone else get that ”this is an ambush” vibe? I mean it feels a little too good to be true“that's all I really have to say on the matter" Zengren spoke up in a neutral tone.


GM // Arkangel Khocolatte Panther
KKO // Rielaix Worthlessplebian _Line 213 voracity pomme
ISD // GasMaskie StorybookParagon Ghostiiys Funnier President
VOI // kasigi The One Eyed Bandit Paltajayd
IOS // simj26 azenva lunar_moth

 

[simj26]

Pixie

The Chariot / Female / 26

Iscariots of Solarian

Invictis Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

“Thank you,” Pixie curled her fingers around the stem of the cocktail glass, and raised it in acknowledgement of the maid-dressed bartender’s skill. She sipped once from the brown contents, and let the taste of the gin and the chocolate liqueur mix together in her mouth, before she swallowed. “Wonderful,” she remarked, and took another, much faster, sip. She wondered if she should ask the maid if she was with the Imps or not. From the way she worked her hands, Pixie could tell she was skilled in various lines of work. Deft, precise movements, no wasted actions, there was no doubt she was a pro at tending to guests and a home. She held back on her question, and watched intently, between sips, as the maid prepared Zenko’s ‘neon coloured-est drink’. An unusual order, in and of itself, but the maid prepared something just the same. Satisfaction guaranteed. Pixie’s lips curled a little bit. A professional, indeed.

The atmosphere shifted behind her. A strange pall of silence fell across the bar, and she registered the look of what looked like respect cross the face of the maid behind the bar. Cold, hard, deliberate footsteps clacked across the floor, the movement of someone of authority and purpose. It seemed like the briefing was about to begin. Pixie looked down at the remaining volume of her drink, took quick stock of her being, then downed the rest in a single gulp and turned around, just as the owner of the footsteps stepped up to bat. The dark-haired woman introduced herself as a member of the Ashen Embers Special Task Force, Remiel. Quick as a flash, Pixie’s notebook was out of her pocket, and, with a click, her pen was already scribbling across the paper. As Remiel began to give the roll call, Pixie’s eyes darted up from her notebook to the owners of each of the names called, registering their names on her notebook and their faces to memory. It would seem like they were to be using codenames, much to her relief. She wasn’t very excited on the prospect of having her name being revealed in front of a crowd, and the fact that Remiel confirmed her hypothesis that codenames were mandatory gave her some reprieve. “Aye,” she answered curtly when her name was called, twirling her pen in the air, though she did not lift her head from her notebook. As Wayfarer’s name was called, and she gave her response, she struck a line next to Wayfarer, and scrawled down Claus beside it. She frowned, then cancelled out the name, and wrote Klaus instead. It still didn’t look right, but she supposed it would have to do.

As the briefing went on, her scribbles got more and more slanted as she scribbled hard and fast. She was now leaning on the countertop, her pen a blur on the pages. Some of the words had been misspelled, some missing a letter or two, or had certain letters switched around, but she had no time to correct them. As long as she understood what was written, that was just fine by her. Explosive ordinances were a nuisance, surely, but it was nothing a simple electromagnetic shock wouldn’t work miracles on. She gave another furtive glance across the room. She had no idea how many of them relied on electronic gadgets, though, and even a red dot sight would be rendered useless. It would cripple their center force if she gave them the pulse special order, or it would help them secure a quick win, and they could all go home quick sticks.

Lucael took the front stage after Remiel’s briefing to discuss the threat that was Marauder (who had been simply abbreviated as MRD in her notes). She puzzled over his decision to engage this Marauder in close quarters combat, and with edged weapons, no less. Armor was always meant to deflect sharp weapons in the first place. Puncturing it, from his description of the armor, was probably a no-go as well. Pixie tapped a rhythm on the countertop with her pen, bringing to mind a vivid image of this Marauder person. There was nothing that cannot be solved, in her opinion, with excessive application of explosive force. Judicious use of plastic explosives could probably give the Marauder a very bad time, she supposed. She made a note of that idea on her pages. She could probably consult thermite as well, if only to boil the lobster in its own shell. Then again, she mused, she could just fall back on the good old EMP trick up her sleeve. She sighed, and set her notebook aside, and took out her phone, gazing at the lit up screen. Working alone or with a smaller team, she didn’t have to take into account what she could and couldn’t do. Now that she was part of a platoon-sized group of mishmash, she was made to do just that.

After a buffer time, Pixie finally raised her hand slowly. “One question, if you’d please, Remiel. I just need to clarify that we shoot to kill.” She was sure the answer would be a resounding affirmation. From what she had just learned, the Syndicate were fanatical, to a fault, willing to kill themselves for their own slights. Even if they were to corner one and offer them two years in the big house, they would most likely bite down on their cyanide. More than that, they would probably sooner go down biting and gnashing than to give up. In this situation, it would be better to put a bullet between their eyes before they made it an issue. She had no issue with that. It made her job much easier, and she could bring all she had to bear without risk. Still, she had to ask, just to be sure. She was never entirely certain on how the Imps operated, and maybe, for some reason, they wanted to pull their punches a little.


GM // Panther Khocolatte Arkangel
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), _Line 213 (Darklight), Worthlessplebian (Breaker), Rielaix (Bethlehem)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint), Funnier President (Windshot)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss/Wayfarer), kasigi (Grimoire), Paltajayd (Fleur)
IOS // lunar_moth (Zenko), azenva (Sterling), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren)

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Klauss

"Wayfarer" / Female / 34

Vanguards of Imperius

Invictis Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Klauss reclined against the bartop after she tailed Pixie into the room. For a secret op, there was a surprising amount of people crammed into the sleepy, highrise bar. Her eyes flicked about the room, resting on one face and then the next, mentally sorting those who she did and did not recognize. She lingered on the three Iscariot's with which she hadn't spoken to yet, subtly eyeballing the kitsune-boy in particular, until Anthem made a bid for her, or rather the Vanguards-in-generals' attention.

"Ah! Nice to see somebody's feeling friendly." Klauss spoke to the white-haired woman with a smile on her face, but a halfhearted look of apology in her eyes. "Afraid I've got to disappoint, though. There's not really much in the way of lore or singing as far as our favourite bloodsport is concerned. At the end of the day, it's just a bunch of people trying to beat the tar out of each other, though maybe Siesta or one of the boys would disagree with me on that." The Demonoid nodded in the general direction of the other two Vanguards present, obviously trying to pawn the duty of loresinger off onto them.

"I go by Klauss, by-the-by." The Demonoid dusted off and then offered Anthem the same hand that she had Pixie. "Surprised this is the first chance I've had to work with you Knights, honestly. Let's not butt heads too much."

As Remiel and Lucael briefed the group, Klauss processed things quietly. The deluge of information was a mouthful, and by proxy, a skullful, to say the least, but that was nothing new for Klauss. The op was a touch less elegant than what she was used to, but she elected to keep that thought to herself.

"Sheesh, Wayfarer." Klauss bemoaned aloud. Her callsign was something she'd thought of off the cuff, some countless number of years ago, and she'd never grown fond of it. "Gives me the shivers whenever I hear that name, and not the good kind." Eyeballing the ceiling for a moment, Klauss let out a huff. She could already tell that things were going to be rough on this op. They were a room of perfect strangers, and they were expected to assault a fortified compound in no less than two days. Regardless of the competency of those involved, she couldn't help but see trouble in their future.

"But it is what it is, I guess." Her contemplation finished, Klauss returned her attention to Anthem, her eyes quickly lighting back up with the liveliness that was appropriate of their yellow hue. "Scratch that last, I guess I'm Wayfarer today. If you want a story, then one of these days I'll have to tell you why I thought that was a name I'd ever want to go by." Klauss's ears flattened, and her brow furrowed. The things she did for teambuilding.

GM // Khocolatte (Siesta)
VOI // kasigi (Fehlek) Paltajayd (Émile)
KKO // voracity (Anthem)

 

[Funnier President]

Hikari

¨Windshot¨/Male

Iscariots of Solarian

Synedriaseon - Room 402, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Well, this was interesting.

Hikari had sat down on an empty barstool, mulling over the facts that had been present to them. The Syndicate was force he was familiar with, although he hadnt encountered them personally. Admitingly, for him this felt like overdoing it with the involvement of all four of these groups, but if half of what he had heard was true, they would need all the extra firepower they could get.

The opening of the door startled him from his thoughts, and with it, the arrival of the remainder of the team. It looked like the actual briefing of the mission would now commence.

The briefing started of pretty much how he expected it, with The Shadow Huntress giving a background on the Syndicate, and giving out information on high-value targets. And the minor hitch of swords being ¨secondary weapons¨ was probably something he was going to ignore. Sure, he could fire a pistol okay, but that was around it for pretty much anything that wasnt melee.

As for the fact that they would be doing this big of an attack so soon was a suprise, but one he could understand. If there was as many Syndicate members rooted this deeply into Law-Enforcement, they would have quite a bit of bit to alert their leaders that ¨Hey, they´re coming!¨

The Fifth Knights added information was one that was slightly troubling, but nothing much to worry about. He allowed himself a small smile at Sterlings joke about feeding Maruder a USB Killer, but the smile was fleeting as the meeting finally came to an end. He hadn´t had much reason to interact with the Knights and his fellow I.S.D Agents, having interacted with most of them in the past. However, his eyes flitted to Darknight, the latest introduction to the Knights. Perhaps he should congratulate her?

Finally moving from his seats, he approached the demonoid. Calmly he said

¨Im sure you´ve heard this over a dozen of times today, but congratulations of making it to the Kaisers.¨

Glancing briefly behind him at the rest of the group, he returned his focus to Darklight

¨Is this your first mission with the Kaisers, or have your already had some experience with them?¨

SGM // Panther Khocolatte

KKO // Arkangel (Darklight)

IOS // azenva (Sterling)

 

[Paltajayd]

Émile

"Fleur" / Male / 28

Vanguards of Imperius

131st Street, Seraphiel City, Aucteraden

After the traditional reception from the owner, Émile got some time to recall the faces of those in front, already set and waiting for their arrival. The Kaiser Knights had brought up their whole arsenal, along with the specialized agents from the ISD. He was definitely glad to find some familiar faces from the past, at least having seen them once or twice, but not really taken time to know them actually. Only the masked man had been a bit of an itch to his sight. At least for now, he'd have to wait for their first operation to see if Ophelia's grace would be on his side or not.

He looked for the closest trashcan, dropping his files in it, mindfully playing around with their fate to see if one lucky option would take its course of action. The rendez-vous center for this coalition was bound to be meticulously scrapped for any disclosed material to the eyes of the Empire. But what if this one went right through every security measure, privacy filters failing for who knows what stranger would end up with this content? Wouldn't be so bad to bet against Lucael's entrepreneurship efficacy, would it?

Well then... where were we?

Ah, right. Klauss' ability to mingle with the Iscariots, or at least to stay close with them showed to be more effective than he would ever be. As of now, he wasn't feeling like joining the seats to explicitly replenish his alcohol storage. His capacity couldn't hold that much before his brains lost control of his speech with a couple shots. "The legend himself could tell you a few of his stories from the battlefield..." He added to the demonoid's nod, smirking at Fehlek to drive the knight's attention to him. Today wasn't the day to venture into storytelling either, but instead, he'd prefer to check on his new comrades.

Émile strode to the spot next to the women agents of the ISD. Taking three of the petit-bouche carefully crafted by the local owner, as it was the custom, he took them to the pale-eyed girl and her partner who's meditative state left him wondering what could be going through her mind. An interesting avant-garde choice for today's shoewear fashion by the way.

Taking the weight off his feet, the vanguard spoke to lift up the spirits of his two new acquaintances. "Invictis Angelas is well known for captivating people with these special treats." His arm rested on the table, leaving two of the delicacies to the pair, "Akiba and Desdemona, right? You know what they say, sharing is caring. The names Émile, in case we haven't met before."

Remiel's presentation interrupted his chance to munch on his appetizer, its fragrance from the condiments teasing him with thoughts on the first bite. He'd have to leave it down until the Upon hearing his codename, the vanguard rose his voice firmly, exchanging direct eye contact with the stern leader. "Here."

Quite attractive if you ask me, but too severe for my taste.

As expected from House Cineris' liege, a flawless presentation developed in minutes that felt like seconds. All details placed and ready to be noted, drawn maps on his imagination. Depending on the fourth breaching element wasn't by any means his preferred methodology, but suffice it was to say, this must've been the only way to move on the operation. And this second target, similar in traits as his own in times of the Tournament of Valor, could possibly show herself as a formidable opponent to try out his new skills.

After the preamble to the upcoming mission, Émile shifted towards Desdemona without any comments to add to the briefing. "It might get complicated with the Iscariots lying around, but I'm sure you'll be able to make up for their mistakes." He said, sincerely wishing her the best of lucks for the task she'd been given. With the sensation of Ophelia's blessing over him, he himself would know how to make his abilities useful when the time is right. Even more with the Marauder showing signs of a greater force having to be dealt with within the Syndicate.

GM // Khocolatte Panther Arkangel
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), _Line 213 (Darklight), Worthlessplebian (Breaker)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint) Funnier President (Windshot)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss), kasigi (Grimoire)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko), azenva (Sterling), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren)

 

[StorybookParagon]

Akiba

Dove / Female / 33

Imperial Security Directorate

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

"Ready." Dove said with the eagerness of a hound. She was more than ready. Having investigated as much and as obsessively as she did, every fact that Reimel stated only reinforced her hate. This lurking iceberg of a criminal organization existed and festered like a parasite. But, who could she turn to when every added whisper could be a turncoat, every source a lie, every person with their own ties? And then this opportunity finally revealing itself was catharsis.

Ready? Dove was already tasting the blood.

"I'll assume we'll be using standard communicators to keep contact with everybody, or will that be sorted through other means?" Dove spoke up as she sat back up in her seat. Communication was important, more than vital, especially in a raid like this. Anything could happen and it's important that everybody is able to be informed... just so long as she could avoid playing leader to another slaughter. It can't happen again, and she'll make sure it doesn't happen again. After all, this was just a larger scale operation of a raid...

Then somebody decides to speak up in the corner of the room. A surprising amount of sternness found itself in her voice as she turned to that voice in the corner—Sterling. "It's for us to make sure that the frontline is able to do so with as minimal of resistance as possible, so that everybody is aware of what's lurking inside. That way if there is a trap, if there is an ambush, or a hostage, then we'll be able to resolve it or inform about it. Not brag about how many you were able to eliminate. Don't make that mistake."

She practically hissed at Sterling. It struck a nerve much deeper than she thought before Dove quickly recollected her composure. Not that it accounted for much as there was still venom that rolled on her tongue. "The syndicate has its claws deep and with that is bloody work required to remove them. Even if it means piece by piece. That being said, what do you want us to prioritize? I'm assuming... neutralization of the two leaders, security of intelligence, then the 'merchandise.' From the sound of the plan, we're expecting a firefight from the very start? I won't lie with saying that puts me out of my depth as much as blood needs to be spilled. Glint seems better suited to such a task if we don't decide to stagger our times of entry, but I'll arm myself if you believe me suited for the task."

Which isn't much of an exaggeration. Not a knife nor a pistol is found on her, living up to her callsign of "Dove." Sure, she can handle herself in a firefight as every ISD operative is trained to do. However, Dove is much more used to smaller operations where she acted more alongside the role of a scout. Carefully planned silence and frantic firefights hardly go together. Unless they somehow plan to break in quietly with traitorous informants in their midst and forces at every gate.

GM // Arkangel , Panther , Khocolatte
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker) , _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint), Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko) , Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling)
VOI // Paltajayd (Fleur) , kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss)

 

[GasMaskie]

Sain

"Glint" / Male / 27

Imperial Security Directorate

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

At long last, details had finally begun to trickle out from the commanding officer's mouth when everyone had assembled. The Revenant brought a hand to his chin as he briefly surveyed the others who had arrived - not that it particularly mattered for him. With the decision to have him assigned to the reserves to conduct an investigation, he had little use for memorizing the names and faces of those outside of the ISD. They'd listen to his report at the end of the investigation and they'd part ways as simply as that.

Silently, he committed Lucael's account to memory. He wasn't well versed in the mechanics of incarce-imbued technology, but with the resources available to the directorate, perhaps he'd be able to find some sort of connections within the Aucteraden branch's files. Though, with how loud the operation seemed to be, he had his doubts about being able to conduct his own duties at a leisurely pace as well. His hand brushed up against his sheathed blade - he'd surely be prepared regardless.

The agent's red gaze fell upon the pale-haired woman - Guts. From the way she conducted herself to her speech, he was already certain that she'd be someone he'd avoid as much as possible. Cooperation was necessary, but he was sure that he'd keep a conscious distance in his interactions with her. As off-putting as she was, however, as long as she performed her duties well he'd care little for how she conducted herself. He sighed quietly - her own inclusion had to be justified for her proficiencies, surely.

His gaze shifted to the masked man next - Shiro. Someone he could probably handle well enough just based on his observed demeanor. Though, he couldn't help but feel uneasy about someone who hid behind a mask at all times. If his suspicions were correct about the odd knight, however, he'd likely be able to leave him to his own devices and see what sort of answers turned up. As an agent of the ISD, he wasn't unaware of the sorts of men who committed wicked acts in the name of justice. And burdened with that knowledge, Glint was simply someone who turned the other way - rejecting answers because of methods was foolish.

Taking another sip from his flask, he closed his eyes. This was going to be a long, drawn-out affair - simply a hunch.

GM // Arkangel , Panther , Khocolatte
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker) , _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko) , Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling)
VOI // Paltajayd (Fleur) , kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss)

 

[voracity]

ANTHEM

PHELES / FEMALE / 33

Third of the Kaiser Knights

Invictis Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Aside from making an acknowledging hum, and raising a hand for others to more easily spot her during the roll call, Pheles did not interrupt throughout the briefing. But she was certain that her confusion, disapproval, and worry were plain for all to see on her face, as the presentation jumped from context, to concrete plans and then a sobering conclusion of the lengths their enemies were willing to take to deny them their victory.

When Remiel paused to allow questions, Pheles shifted her weight from one leg to the other, exhaling just a touch heavier without sighing outright from the amount of information to digest. To take her mind off any immediate concerns, she turned back to Wayfarer, elated by the promise of what she could sense was a good story, especially if that rather troubled expression was anything to go by. "Don't you worry, I'll make it worth your trouble - if we ask nicely enough I'm sure we can convince Bethlehem to find something in the Lord Kaiser's personal shelves to partake in after the mess this week."

As others took their turn directing their questions to Remiel, Pheles cupped her jaw and thought out loud, allowing those around her to hear her questions, although it was clear that most of her attention rested upon Shiro who she thought might have an appropriate answer for her, "Wouldn't it be awfully expensive for a human to undergo full conversion? To go 100% Machine/Android/Cyborg, I mean. How many qualified ... surgeons are there even that can make something like this Marauder?" As she pondered over her own questions she continued, betraying some of her own eagerness at the upcoming hunt. "What do you say our chances are trying to break both those broadswords. If we can't break Marauder ... nice to have a back up plan, hm?"

She allowed some of the others to throw in their questions and finish their own thoughts before she pipped up, turning to Remiel when she saw an appropriate opportunity, conducting herself more conversationally than in search of any honest answer. "Just to clarify, that means nobody gathered here right now is expected to join the forces out in the waters, right? That's the only part of this whole operation where we," Pheles gestured around the room, "are not going to have any eyes on? Or any real heavy reliable reinforcements stationed?"

GM // Arkangel , Panther , Khocolatte
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker)
ISD //
IOS // azenva (Sterling)
VOI // kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss)

 

[Ghostiiys]

Desdemona

"Guts" / Female / 22

Imperial Security Directorate

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

After rubbing her chin to the point it was irritating her skin, Desdemona snapped out her daze as she had lost focus some time prior about the matter at hand. She looked up to see a rather odd man questioning her posture, she didn't necessarily see what was wrong with the way she sat. But before she could answer she watched as he sat down, squinting her hollow pupil-less eyes at him, She didn't really know how to answer him. She tapped at the table awkwardly, her claw-like nails denting the table with each tap for some time before she turned her head back to him to ask him a question in retort.

"Does your mask smell like fetta cheese when you take it off?" She asked curiously. But her attention was redirected upon hearing her name. She raised her hand, wiggling her fingers in the air.

"Here!"

Her attention was caught by the woman standing in front of them, Remiel. The briefing made her uneasy, the last thing anyone would really want is to engage in a head-on altercation. We must have been pretty desperate, Des thought. Gangs, Mafias, "Criminal organizations" were not rare to her. Desdemona grew up alongside them and she also performed a multitude of autopsies on them as well. Prevention was key in lessening said numbers and Gang units were created solely to lessen the number of people who wanted to join such groups. Something seriously wrong had to have happened here.

Of course, it wasn't as easy as just arresting them all and throwing them in prison, but to let such an "organization" proliferate to the point where they could just sell their supplies and commit serious crimes under everyone's noses irked Desdemona. Remiel mentioning how deeply embedded they were to the point where they could be in the same room as the rest of them made Des stiffen for a moment. Twiddling with her hair she couldn't help but feel everyone in this room was a part of the problem, completely negligible to such crimes just didn't make sense. How could no one at this point identify at least ONE person who could be tied to such a group?! It was almost obvious that someone or someones of very high status were aiding them and that just spelled a bad time for everyone in this room.

Although in spite of it all Desdemona was quite thrilled she would be on scene to look at the bodies. She giggled at the thought of the smell of fresh iron in the air. She didn't have the pleasure to examine such fresh bodies in a long time.

"Let's hope no one in this room dies. Unless we are all cool with me seeing your dead naked corpse and fiddling with your insides." Addressing anyone who could hear her.

Desdemona did not like thinking of the prospect that she would be the last line of defense since she was never someone to confront combat head-on, she more liked to conceal herself and flank, using her tails to give a finishing blow. The fact that they were barbed at the end meant whoever was going to receive the said blow would not be able to move easily at all and injure themselves further once it snagged into the muscle. If it wasn't for her tougher skin she probably would have looked like grated cheese herself.

She looked at Glint and could tell that he had a serious stick up his ass. But luckily for Desdemona that was pretty much every higher up at the ISD so it wasn't new to her at all. As long as they could make it out alive she thought before looking at her hands. They were already stained with the blood of the innocent, and maybe that was why she didn't hold any fear in her heart. If anything she welcomed death. And now that her death could have some sort of meaning eased her. Des always knew she was destined to an unceremonious end. But she still wished that a piano would fall on top of her, maybe with her extra-strong skin, she would turn into a fleshy accordion, like in those old cartoons she used to binge-watch after work.

GM // Arkangel , Panther Khocolatte
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker) , _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko) , Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling)
VOI // Paltajayd (Fleur) , kasigi (Grimoire), The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss)

 

[Panther]

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren / Female / 40

The Shadow Huntress

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Remiel took note of those who explicitly raised their concerns after Lucael’s addition which she warmly welcomed in spite of not looking like it, at the very least, they were already notified before the raid and that alone was enough for her. Lord Kaiser definitely has his rights, such as withholding information that he deems has no basis until a basis has been found. After all, what one said can and will be used against them in a court of law should things go that way. Nonetheless, the mixed reactions and the suggestions that the looks the team members gave made clear to her that not everyone was one hundred percent with this, this was expected. They had been outmaneuvered and outsmarted by an extraordinary criminal organization that has most likely spawned and thrived from the incompetence or moral ambiguity or both of the top all the way down to the bottom. To add more insult to injury, the provincial authorities are compromised and this is just looking to be the tip of the iceberg. Who was to say that the Syndicate will not outsmart and outmaneuver them again or worse, outgun them in a direct confrontation? Even she thought this was a trap like some of them but the best they can do at this point was just prepare for any possible setup. They were not letting these targets go unharmed.

Now, unto the questions, Remiel takes note of the first one, the next, and then the next up until the last concern was raised. She makes sure to paraphrase each question before answering them so as to help the others understand the situation for everyone’s convenience. She may be in a room with some of Empyria’s best and brightest, but there is no harm done by reiterating in this case.

First, Pixie’s question,

“One question, if you’d please, Remiel. I just need to clarify that we shoot to kill.”

Remiel answered, “Yes. We have a shoot-to-kill order for every Syndicate constituent that we will encounter in the raid unless they explicitly surrender themselves in which case it’s your discretion on what you want to do with them. Of course the two high-value targets are exempted as we need both of them alive for information, bare minimum is either of them so it’s up to you on how badly you want to incapacitate them.”

Second, Dove’s question,

"I'll assume we'll be using standard communicators to keep contact with everybody, or will that be sorted through other means?"

Remiel nodded at Dove, “Yes, we will be using specialized communicators using a heavily encrypted and secure line for the entirety of this raid and the operations after as those communicators will be our means to directly communicate with each other from a distance. Any announcements I will make will also be sent through those communicators. Once we’re done with all of this, I’ll have to ask you to destroy and dispose of those communicators if you don’t intend to return them.” To Dove’s subsequent concern, she simply answers, “We’re expecting a firefight either as soon as we enter the port with the assistance of the forward breaching teams, or as we get deeper. If it’s the latter, we will focus on quickly getting into better positions before moving in any further. They’ll know we’ll be there anyway so stealth is not an option for long if ever.”

Third, Anthem’s question,

"Just to clarify, that means nobody gathered here right now is expected to join the forces out in the waters, right? That's the only part of this whole operation where we are not going to have any eyes on? Or any real heavy reliable reinforcements stationed?"

Remiel crossed her arms, “We won’t be partaking in the raid from the water but we will have eyes on that flank regardless. All flanking elements are to converge at the center of the port or where we will be engaging the Marauder and the lightly armored suspect since we will be coming from virtually all points of entry. There are also reinforcements stationed on every gate and the waters around the port to screen for any potential outside encircling movements or counterattacks or as reserves if things go south. Any more reinforcements of any form will have to be called which we will hear. If we get word of reinforcements en route but we never called for them, you know what that should mean. The rest of the authorities that are participating in the raid with us are trustworthy to say the least despite the relevant provincial agencies being compromised to an unknown extent, we’ve looked them over as well with the assistance of the Anteråsan Internal Security Service as a third party and those that Lord Kaiser trusts. On good authority, they are not traitors, at least not yet.”

Remiel likely wanted to say more to reassure more of the suspicions about the police and ISD participating in the raid likely being turncoats but that likely will not do much as that might just raise more questions as with what she said just now. Onto the topic of dealing with the high-value targets, she has this to say, “All concerns aside, the best we can do is just prepare. As for dealing with the Marauder and their lightly armored associate, the former will definitely justify the use of heavier weapons and explosives to rid them of their broadswords or armor, you’re welcome to be more creative with your means such as hacking or frying the systems of the suit if you can. Either way, we’ll have to keep the Marauder busy for the more opportunistic of us to capably damage them. For the latter suspect, be prepared for anything, keep your distance and be watchful of the rumored agility and see how you can exploit her weaknesses. Remember, we want them alive so if you’re using explosives, do not go too hard. For those intending to use anti-materiel weaponry, most notably rifles, I would suggest a ‘death by a thousand cuts.’ Shoot the joints and weak spots of the armor from range but I like to think that our lightly armored special enemy will be there to try to impede that. We’ll know if there’s any control surface that we can hack into during combat unless Lucael will have more to say about the suit from his firsthand accounts. I will have to discuss with Cerberus about these matters later to see what they know.”

She then goes silent once more, waiting for any follow-ups before the briefing can formally end.


GM // Arkangel (Lucael) Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove) GasMaskie (Glint) Ghostiiys (Guts) Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) azenva (Sterling) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer) kasigi (Grimoire) Paltajayd (Fleur)

 

[_Line 213]

Aizu

"Darklight" / Female / 21

Sixth of the Kaiser Knights

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Aizu froze for a moment as she locked eyes with Shiro, still not having grown used to his mask or his mannerisms as her momentary stare briefly transitioned into that of a deer caught in headlights. It was like catching eyes with a stranger you had been staring at unknowingly--it was all Aizu could do to brace herself for whatever tense interaction might follow.

Is he...giving me a thumbs-up?

Her startled expression slowly shifted to one of uncertain confusion, followed by an awkward, open-mouthed chuckle as she offered a shakier thumbs-up in response. He might look weird, but he just acts like somebody's uncle.

She quickly stifled herself as one of the other Kaisers offered additional information, blinking slightly as she attempted to shift herself back into something resembling professionalism. Though some in the room--particularly those numbering amongst the Iscariots--seemed to be playing more fast and loose with their briefing demeanor, Aizu wanted no undue attention pulled from the woman atop the bandstand; the mercenaries were likely only accountable to their own (a perhaps enviable freedom), but her own dreams, as far as she could feel, were held squarely in the hands of a woman who seemed as if she would be more than willing to quash them for a few seconds of middling amusement.

The very thought made her swallow slightly, an otherwise-unacknowledged display of nervousness despite the Second Knight's reassurance.

Aizu sighed slightly at the Fifth Knight's mention of his Exousiarch, working another bout of tension out through the brief clenching of her bandaged hand. Though she had only ever seen such things in action during her review of tournament footage during her brief period spent training for a potential Valor entry, she knew enough to know how formidable they were. As a patrolman, they weren't the sort of thing someone casually encountered out in the field. Whether or not she'd be able to work her way around one would no doubt be one of her first major tests.

I really hope they don't hand those things out like candy...

It was strange, seeing how self-assured some of the others in the room were. One of the Iscariots--one of the more professional-seeming ones, at that--was already asking if they had permission to shoot to kill. Aizu clenched her jaw a little tighter as their leader replied in the affirmative; it wasn't the sort of thing she had hoped she would have to think about. Even if they were cultists, insurgents, whatever--weren't they still people in some respect? Wasn't there...

"...Some other way?" she muttered to herself, not even seeming to realize that she had spoken out loud.

Many in the room already seemed as if they were ready to move. Aizu's gaze shifted slightly as Pheles's words reached her ears; all the woman had seen was a few slides, and she was already talking about breaking metal. The Sixth blinked again as she took stock of the other woman's countenance; she was dead serious about it.

A strange, motivational stirring worked its way up through her chest. Man. She's kinda cool.

"I'm sure you´ve heard this over a dozen of times today, but congratulations of making it to the Kaisers. Is this your first mission with the Kaisers, or have your already had some experience with them?"

Aizu blinked, shaken from her internal thoughts for the umpteenth time that day as her attention darted immediately to the nearest face, a new one to her. There was a sense of aged gentleness about him, something that the force's newest arrival had yet to really encounter amongst the battle-hardened members of the investigation and strike teams.

"Oh, um," she said, composing herself slightly, "A-Actually, I don't think anyone's congratulated me yet, though I've got some welcomes and all that." She paused, for a moment, then offered a smile, taking a few steps back so that she could pair it with a full bow. If it was unclear why she had stepped away from the man at first, the full length of her horns coming down only a few inches away from him over the course of the motion might have made it clear. "So, thank you! I think you're the first!" She snapped upward again, her smile having grown; despite being suddenly pulled from her thoughts earlier, she appeared to have taken the man's well-wishes to heart. "And yeah--this is my first time. I've, um...honestly never done anything of this size before. Up until a few days ago, I was just working street patrol."

She took a better stock of the man's appearance now that her wits had returned to her. Judging by his features and his calmness, rodeos like this one were probably something he had gone through many times--or at least had the 'pleasure' of cleaning up after. "I...um...I'm not asking for like, gossip or anything," she said, mildly waving her hands, "but, uh...what are they and the ISD like? If you've been around a while, I mean."

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Rielaix (Bethlehem), Worthlessplebian (Breaker), _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), GasMaskie (Glint), Ghostiiys (Guts), Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling), simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko),
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer), kasigi (Grimoire), Paltajayd (Fleur)

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Shiro

"Breaker" / Male / 32

Secundus of the Kaiser Knights

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

The briefing continued into the Questions-and-Answers section, Shiro listened attentively as always though he found himself with not a lot to achieve. So he simply resolved to take note of everybody's behaviour. A small passive thing to do. Like Guts who asked him if his mask smelled of fetta cheese. Blatantly obvious, Shiro pondered why Guts sounded like she was tortured via sensory deprivation which caused her to go insane. It's no secret that he's used that method before, but not on her? Strange situations create strange bedfellows. Then Anthem spoke and asked a question to everyone though Shiro assumed that she'd like an answer from him. "Though I have no direct experience with cybernetics, I do know that there are three core principles to getting one or deciding on one: 1. Acquisition covers the price and rarity of the parts, 2. Skill, the capabilities of the Surgeon and his team to accurately and safely integrate the parts, and 3. Maintenance, repairs and replacement parts. If you have the money and connections, which this Syndicate seems to have, then it is possible to able to augment yourself with pretty rare parts. As for surgeons? I'd say maybe seventeen or twenty-one. Depending on who you ask."

Having answered Pheles' question to the best of his abilities, Shiro returned to his vigil over the group. He'd also begin to mentally prepare a checklist of equipment that should be brought along, at least for his own needs.

Then he heard Guts mention how she'd poke around in their insides if they died. A morbid curiosity sprouted in the torturer's mind. He'd have to ask if he can oversee the autopsies afterwards.

Then the Remiel answered the questions that were directed at her, rather comprehensively. The only thing left in Shiro's eyes were to prepare and wait for the call.


GM // Arkangel Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), _Line 213 (Darklight), Rielaix (Bethlehem)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), GasMaskie (Glint)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3

 

[simj26]

Pixie

The Chariot / Female / 26

Iscariots of Solarian

Invictis Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Shoot to kill. That was all she needed to hear. She suppressed a cry of exuberation, which in her case, was possibly just to pump her fist in the air and exclaim ‘yes’ in a wholly underwhelming tone. She ran over her initial loadout schematics over her head, exploding the diagrams of her arsenal, and fitting them together. As she compiled her list, her pen took to paper, jotting it down with noticeably much more fervour than she had for the other notes. The other notes had been mandatory, required for her job, but this was her personal project, her own art piece. Though her framework and topic had been decided by external factors, she could bring her own flavour, her own personalised touch to the canvas. It was...fun. It couldn’t beat soaring through the clear, blue skies at Mach 5 speeds, but it was something.

Breaker spoke up from the side, discussing the details of the pricy operation that would have costed Marauder, in response to Anthem’s question. Pixie took mental notes that whoever the Marauder was, they were well-paid, and had enough money to throw around to augment themselves. She did not, however, take physical notes. There was no point in logging it into the front of her memory banks. After all, the investigative matters of the what, the who, and the why were not her focus. They were here to do a job, provide the service they were tasked to do, and vanish with money in hand. They were paid to support the raid, not to play police and private investigators. She charged extra for that. While she was in the business of advertising her skills, she was certain the elites of the Impsec were not going to be happy about having Iscariots do their job for them.

She was not in the habit of troubling herself with making enemies, or things like winning and losing. It’d only cost her her beauty sleep. That was how she dealt with society, and she knew that this was what gave her happiness during times of quiet and peace. A quiet life, in the midst of the roars of gunfire and the danger of treading the line between life and death.

The briefing was over, in any case. She could relax a little bit now. “Bethlehem, am I not wrong?” She turned around on her seat, to face the operator in the maid outfit, and raised her empty glass before setting it down on the countertop. “You make a most wonderful drink. I’d be happy to visit your services again, possibly as soon as possible. Hopefully, after the mission, if you’re not too busy. I’d even pay for it.” She wasn’t lying- she didn’t like to lie. She would be most pleased if she could have another drink from her. She wasn’t an eyesore to look at either, especially when she was working. Perhaps that was the allure of the maid outfit, or perhaps she simply wore the outfit like it was made for her. “Until then,” she nodded again in thanks.

She got off her seat, and patted Zenko on the shoulder as she made her way past him towards the elevator. “I’m heading out to prep. We’ve got, at least, a few hours to do that. Think you could get Sterling and,” she cast a glance at Zengren, who was already decked out in her armor, a puzzle for the ages, “maybe Zengren to get ready by then? I’m leaving it in your hands. It’s time to make our money, and I don’t want us to go home a dollar or a life poorer than we started.” She patted his shoulder again, hopefully coming off as reassuring, before she made her way into the elevator.


Mentioned:
KKO // Worthlessplebian (Breaker) voracity (Anthem)
IOS // azenva (Sterling), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren)

Interacted:
KKO // Rielaix (Bethlehem)
IOS // lunar_moth (Zenko)

 

[kasigi]

Fehlek

"Grimoire" / Male / 22

Vanguards of Imperius

Invictis Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Fehlek moved with the herd as they entered the room, taking a moment to absorb the presence of the numerous individuals he'd be working with. In all honesty, he wasn't quite expecting this many people. He was overhwhelmed, solely due to the amount of names and faces he would have to remember going forward. Getting someone's name wrong always made his stomach drop, as he feared they'd interpret it as him being disrespectful and, frankly, it was incredibly embarassing. Maybe it called for a study session, depending on how frequently they'd be working together in the future..

The ambience wasn't bad at all; in fact, Fehlek let a little bit of jealousy fester in his heart, distraught by the fact that he hadn't stepped foot in the place earlier. Of course, there was no arguing the strange looks Fehlek would get, considering he would seldom bring a glass to his lips. His reasons were arbitrary, but he preferred to be sober and mentally present. Being in complete control of his actions wasn't something that Fehlek was so ready to take for granted. He wasn't going to stop others from having their fun, though. Letting take the lead, they were quickly intercepted by one of the Knights and their curiosity, He couldn't help the woman's friendly demeanor, bringing up her interest in the Tournament of Valor. Thus, Klauss deflected the responsibility of answering to Fehlek and Émile , then Emile to Fehlek. Acknowledging Émile's grin, Fehlek had trouble stopping himself. "Of course, my overwhelming success at the tournament! Well.." The hype was nice, but Klauss was spot on, even considering how much he personally enjoyed the tournament. "Overwhelming success is an obvious overstatement. Though, I guess that's a story for another time, huh?"

Raising his arm and announcing his presence during the role call, Fehlek stood silently throughout the rest of the information dump, crossing his arms as his eyes stared intently at the speaker. There wasn't a drop of information he was going to miss, as their success depended on it.

The briefing was clear-cut and kept short. It easily could've been extended for some extra fluff, but it seemed like nearly all of the bases were covered. The Syndicate wasn't an opponent to be taken lightly, a truth Fehlek couldn't avoid even if he wanted to. As a Vanguard, hearing about the Syndicate was practically a daily occurrence, with familiarity being the driving point for Fehlek's borderline hatred. With everything Fehlek knew thus far, Syndicate could practically be considered public enemy number one, having spread their plague with no sign of slowing down. Given the chance, putting a dent into them was something Fehlek wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of. Remiel's efficiency during the briefing was entirely expected. It didn't seem like they were lacking in any department. Afterwards, Fehl found himself pondering any potential questions, but he couldn't dig anything up that was worth asking. Either way, it looked like everyone was going to pick up the slack in regards to extra information. His position at the center was exciting. Fehl was worried that he'd be stuck either at the back or as some kind of reinforcement, which might consequentially would've ended up killing his drive. Not to mention the kill order. Fehl wasn't one to disregard life, but an order like that was definitely going to keep things interesting. This was entirely different from other scenarios; the people they'd be dealing with weren't worth keeping alive.

Fehlek was disappointed at the revelation that close combat came second, not first. He always felt like a pansy when he had to use firearms, but he never made much of a fuss about it. Fehlek had quite the knack for making small arms work, even in scenarios when they weren't necessarily applicable. This was entirely due to his stubborn nature, of course. "I've got a good feeling about this. Seems like the chemistry ain't too bad. As long as everyone's got eachother's backs, it should be smooth sailing from here. Just curious as to who's gonna be the one to rid of Marauder." Now was a good time to get acquainted with the rest of the people at the center team. Only issue was figuring out who was who..

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove) GasMaskie (Glint) Ghostiiys (Guts) Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) azenva (Sterling) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer) Paltajayd (Fleur)