Futuristic [Archived] VOIB_ARC1_PART1

[NUSKI]

Maximus

"Patriot" / Male / 25

Vanguards of Imperius

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

The vehicle was silent except for the faint hum coming from the metal under their feet. Quite large for personal transport, it could fit three people but as the ride progressed, Maximus was seriously beginning to doubt the accuracy of those specifications. He sat uncomfortably between half of his aunt's security team, an annoyed frown painted on his face as he tightly clutched a piece of paper with an address scribbled on it.

"I really could have taken this peregrination alone. I am more than capable of finding my own means of transportation," Maximus declared after nearly an hour of complete silence.

Crickets.

Maximus sighed as his observation was met with continued silence. His attention returned to the address in his palm, his destination.

The group was coming from his hotel room in Aucteraden, where the young Exhelian had been staying for the past week with the intention of securing some answers for the most recent assignment he had been assisting. Maximus had been tracking some criminal activity related to nobility in Elesrith which he thought he could track back to the mainland and get any time of information that he could build on. However, it had appeared that he had severely overestimated the abilities of his contacts in Aucteraden. It was only this morning after he had been denied countless appointments had he been informed of his apparent scheduling meeting at the Bismarck Estate. His mood soured further as he pondered on the ramifications of his absence at the call of Lady Bismarck, to which he now had no excuse to miss. Maximus mentally slapped himself for refusing any personal staff. With a social circle as his, it was not rare that people wouldn't know his whereabouts outside of his regular workspace in the north.

The noble pushed himself upright as his head turned towards the bustling province outside the window to which he could only see half off, the left side blocked by a man sprouting a tactical vest. The man on his left flicked his eyes on Maximus before returning his attention to the front of the vehicle. If it wasn't embarrassing enough that he would be late for potentially the most promising opportunity since the Tournament of Valor, it was his aunt who provided the messenger from Elesrith. The message was brief, verbal and vague but played itself on a loop in his mind. While he didn't know what the task entailed, the chance to work with the KKO and ISD was something that quickly extinguished his worries and filled him with merriment.

"Devastatingly dreadful. I am being released from you gregarious gentlemen," Maximus began as he felt the vehicle lower itself to the ground. The driver in the front stifled a faint grin as he opened the doors. The young noble tucked the paper in his jacket sleeve before standing up to exit the shuttle. The man on his left grunted what he could only assume to be a goodbye while the other pulled out a device, presumably to tell his aunt that he had reached his destination. As the personal transfer flew away, Maximus pulled out his own communication device to take another look at the restaurant promotion sent from an unknown number.

* * *
​

Maximus stopped just past the entrance of the armoury, his face had gone pale at the sight of the group assembled. His arms quickly folded themselves tightly against his back as he bowed his head and cleared his throat. The wave of embarrassment that washed over him prevented him from properly assessing the individuals in front of him so when he slowly raised his head upwards, he couldn't help but rest his eyes on the fox-eared woman adorned in white and gold. "Greetings," he started as his eyes drifted to the main bulk of the group. "I am Maximus Alden, Vanguard of Imperius. I hope you can forgive my absences and late arrival, I had some business keeping me on the other side of the mainland" he ended, a bit louder as he aimed to project an aura of confidence.

GM // Arkangel (Saintalia, Cerberus) Khocolatte (Siesta) Panther (Remiel)
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) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Klauss) Paltajayd (Fleur)

 

[voracity]

ANTHEM

PHELES/FEMALE/33

Third of the Kaiser Knights

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

”I have just one small inquiry, if it’s not too much to ask… These weapons, are we able to use them for this mission, or are they only exclusive to the KKO or the Collbrandes?”

Fixing the curve of her lips into a more respectful expression, Pheles turned her attention to Siesta, and then to the equipment locked away behind polished and unmarred glass panes. Whoever was in charge of maintenance was certainly paid exceptionally well, something Pheles had personally made sure to check up on when she first started her days as a Knight. As she preferred swinging around blunt weapons and sharp edges of melee weapons, that left everything else in the hands of others. Haunted by the experiences from her time in the war, she would end up badgering the maintenance crew for updates a few times a month to ensure she was aware of every little change in their arsenal.

"I have to admit I'm a little ... proud that these weapons have managed to catch your eye," Pheles admitted with a smile, striding over briskly to where Siesta had trained her gaze. Standing in front of the glass display, Pheles raised a hand and knocked on the glass twice with her knuckles, after it rippled from the contact, it eventually fell away, breaking apart and retracting its teeth to allow others to access it. "KKO might not have have access to state of the art, or products that haven't been released to the market yet, but I can guarantee that these are above standard," Pheles assured Siesta.

"I don't frequently make use of tripwires or landmines, but I know that we have them ... somewhere, some of the other Knights keep taking them like they're candy so we've always got a good number of them on hand..." she murmured to herself, looking this way and that as if in search for the mentioned goods. "What are you interested in? I can only assume that as a Vanguard you probably get bigger and better guns ... an arm canon maybe?" She asked Siesta.

As she reached for something on the tallest rack, her posture stiffened. And she turned her head around to sneak a glance at Breaker, but before she could ask for permission, a new arrival made their appearance. "To think you made it over in such a short time ... the KKO should thank you for your swift arrival if anything," Pheles raised a hand, hailing him, but quickly turned back to Breaker. "It wouldn't hurt to share with our allies, would it? I'd imagine the hasty trip to Aucteraden leaves some of us without a comfortable loadout," she paused to turn to the Iscariots, nodding, at their own personal equipment,"save for the Iscariots, perhaps. But the ISD certainly wouldn't have weapons ready for what we're about to walk into, no?" She tilted her head.



GM // Arkangel (Lucael, et. al), Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker), _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), Funnier President (Windshot), @Sheng Ling (Myriad), @.chxrryette. (Lancer)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren), azenva (Sterling)
VOI // NUSKI (Patriot), The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer)

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Klauss

"Wayfarer" / Female / 34

Vanguards of Imperius

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

"...and then I told her; That's not a dead body, that's your wife!" Klauss laughed. Everybody else laughed. Unbeknownst to all but two of the people in the room, what they were laughing at was not in fact a joke. Regardless, Klauss was having a good time.

And then her phone buzzed.

"Ah, shit." She muttered to herself, and then swung to her feet like a marionette on wires. "Sorry boys, I'm late for something." Her voice was apologetic, and her expression full of pain, grief, and embarrassment, but the manner in which she'd so hasitily gone from nearly pissing herself to stone-cold sober was a bit suspicious. Luckily, everybody else in the room was too, well, pissed to notice, and quickly returned to their merrymaking.

It's Stanley. Make sure to do what I asked when you're done with him, okay?

Klauss got a message out from her phone while she sauntered out of the dank little haunt that she'd spent the last few hours in. It wasn't the most professional thing, but there was another teeny-weeny task she'd taken the liberty of taking care of before meeting up with the rest of the raid team. It was the usual petty flimflammery that the nobility so often engaged themselves in, and Klauss had happened to have been in the right place at the right time to flam her way into it. Power and money were all well and good, but the favour of the rich and powerful was a currency that could be spent in the place of both.

Naturally, a driver was already in place and waiting for the Demonoid woman when she exited the bar. Her usual helper understandably was not interested in following her halfway across the planet for maybe two and a half gigs tops, so the woman in the driver's seat was an unfamiliar face. And she'd been expensive. But, she supposed, that was the price she paid to travel through the air rather than on the ground when she wasn't subsidising it with favours and/or blackmail.

*​

Klauss's transport swung onto the armoury premises not long after fellow Vanguard. She arrived just in time to hear his pair of apologies, and briefly considered whether or not she should make one of her own.

"Hey, hey! Don't worry about it, bud." Ultimately, Klauss decided to skip the grovelling. Not only did she not feel bad about her lateness, but she also, like, didn't want to harsh the mood, man. Or something to that effect.

"Here's here, isn't it? Lighten up... Ah... Max, was it? I know it's a bit of a shock, but despite most of them being nobles, most of the KKO won't screech at you for being at the beck and call all the time." Klauss brought her hands up to her head, and then mimicked an explosion. "Or at least, so I hope. Otherwise I'm getting yelled at too."

GM // Arkangel (Saintalia, Cerberus) Khocolatte (Siesta) Panther (Remiel)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight) Rielaix (Bethlehem)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove) Ghostiiys (Guts) Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie) Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) azenva (Sterling) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // NUSKI (Patriot)

 

[Funnier President]

Hikari

¨Windshot¨/Male

I.S.D

Synedriaseon - Room 402, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

As the meeting slowly came to an end, Hikari had went to the apartment he had, and simply made sure what few weapons he had were where he had placed them(One long sword that could channel wind magic through it, a standard katana, and a pistol with a silencer). He wasn’t the kind who hid his things in a secret room which one had to pull on a book to enter. His place could do with a bit of cleaning up, something he added to the ever-growing list of mental things he had to do.

Shame the restraunt promo wasn’t real, there wasn’t any good food near his area, he always had to go out quite a bit for dining. Well, it was time to get ready after all….

As Hikari finally arrived at the meeting, a smudge late (Traffic, it always appeared at the worst times.) He found that quite a few people were already there; although the only I.S.D members he spotted were Dove and Guts, going with her usual talk of death. From her, he probably knew more facts about death than he did than the girl herself.

Offering a small wave at the cyberhacker, Cerberus, he let his eyes wander, seeing who had yet to arrive.

Taking a seat near his fellow I.S.D Agent, Dove, Hikari simply just watched interactions play out.

Sometimes, observing was better than doing.

 

[Panther]

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren / Female / 40

The Shadow Huntress

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Remiel’s wait in the rather talkative atmosphere wouldn’t be too long until another curious soul, a fatigued one at that, spoke up and voiced her own set of questions in rapid succession. It was Dove.

"I assume that we have a map considering all the reconnaissance; are there specific areas that you want the flank team to focus on so that we can secure the loads so we can support the center breach team as quickly as possible? I'd like to go over a general path that we want to take to keep in the back of my head. At least, before all hell breaks loose. And you mentioned unsynchronized breaches? Are we planning on flanks first or the center team first? What about escape routes that we should be aware of such as any underground works—?"

Dove’s eventual realization and embarrassment being shown towards her direct superior would definitely add to her tense mood that was mitigated by the little and relatively meaningful things that members of the group were doing to one another, especially the highly casual and jovial verbal exchange between Anthem and Jammy, showing themselves to be quite close to one another which would make Remiel’s job a bit easier. To further mitigate, the Ashen Ember would proceed to reassure the ISD agent and then answer her set of questions. She starts by pointing at a large bulletin board that could be moved using roller wheels that she used in her preparation that had a complete map of the port, blueprints, layouts, and building plans annotated with the general plan posted that anyone could defer to or use but she had other things prepared along with the fact that she briefed these people before with everyone likely doing their own reading. Ideally anyway.

“That’s okay, Dove. In your defense and in all fairness, you actually asked a good set of questions so let me get to them right now. Yes, we have maps and others, your burner phones have the exact same pieces of information that you see on this bulletin board here that you can freely access. Any further information about any future operation will also be sent to those phones. So as much as possible, do not lose your burner phones, those may be protected by fingerprint locks but let’s face it, anyone with the brains, equipment, and requirements can crack open those burners without triggering the defense program for it where the burner automatically formats itself to get rid of all the information on it.”

“As for the breaching itself, the initial entry will be synchronous but depending on what the Syndicate will be putting up, progress on any flank will be asynchronous at least in which case we’ll have to adapt on the fly to ‘be on schedule.’ For any specific areas, the central building that we will be gunning for is flanked from a short walk’s distance by container yards, storage houses, and a berth from three sides where all teams except the center will come from. Good cover and vantage points to assist the center from, just be mindful of the roof and windows of the central building that will most likely be used in the Syndicate’s defense. We also have to be quick because as soon as we hit them, they will very likely commence the process of deleting or burning any digital and physical documents. But I’m positive that a certain hacker of ours can do something about the former.”

“On escape routes, the only subterranean route they can go is the underground sewer system that is connected to and accessible from the port and throughout the rest of Seraphiel. The sewage flow is controlled by sluices at key junctions, none of the system’s port channels lead to the open sea so the only way they can go is inwards. I’ve already informed the local authorities to close all channels connected to the port which means the Syndicate will have to blow or hack their way through any sluice that blocks their path which will inform public works who will then inform us. As for the port rail yard, the local authorities have procured heavy cargo cars and some barriers to block any outgoing trains. They will be in position before the operation starts and will remain there to make sure no one tries to escape by train. Other conventional escape routes are obviously the ways that anyone comes in from and over the electric fences and concrete or steel walls. Other than all this, another option is them making their own ways out in which case we can only prepare.”

Upon finishing, Remiel addresses a general concern: equipment, “Since this armory might have you thinking about your loadouts, if you want to procure equipment from this armory, you’d have to go through the Knights. This is their armory and thus, their equipment, after all. Since our targets are confirmed to be in the port, and because we’re a special task force, we have the necessary clearance for better-suited equipment from the get-go, just that if you want to take equipment from this armory that you think will better aid us in the upcoming operation, just get the Knights’ consent. Unless they are not cleared by their liege to share equipment. In that case, just prepare more of your own.”

Remiel then finishes, taking a deep breath as she didn’t mind what other small talk occurred in the meantime. Not too long after, a newcomer arrives. A rather odd young man who is part of the reinforcements that the Ashen Ember mentioned in her briefing yesterday that’d be ‘running late’ due to official reasons as the participating parties can’t bring all their agreed resources to bear instantly. Thankfully, information on those ‘running late’ were already transferred to relevant figures meaning that she was informed of the who, what, and when at the very least. The newcomer was a Vanguard of Imperius, a good addition to the team.

She stared at the young man and greeted him with the same serious tone that she used in the briefing yesterday, “You are forgiven, Mister Alden. I am Ashen Embers Elite Operative, Codename Remiel and I am the commander of this team until further notice. We are happy to have you and welcome aboard, you are right on time as we will be carrying out an operation in 3 standard hours.” She does take note of the man introducing himself formally with his real name to which she would remind, “Oh, a house rule, we are to address each other here by our codenames for security reasons granted I don’t think this is very useful for individuals who are already publicly known but nonetheless, it’s for the good of everyone in the team as we don’t know what the Syndicate may do if they learn the real identities of some of us. Anyway, I’ll have your colleagues among the Vanguards fill you in on what’s happening and leave it to you to pick what team you will be part of in this operation. Again, welcome aboard.” Her greetings would be concluded with an accommodating nod.

Remiel then remembers something of note with a slight widening of her eyes, deciding to say it now before it is forgotten or buried in other kerfluffle, “Speaking of picking…” She calls a group of the team, “Flankers, you are free to choose between the western or eastern gates as your points of entry. Ideally, all of you should not pick the same gate unless you are really a fan of the oblique order tactic in which case, if the Syndicate fights their way out by focusing the flank you lot aren’t on, you will share a degree of accountability as do all of us, especially I. But in our defense, we can always chalk it up to the authorities there being incompetent or simply outmatched or actually in league with the Syndicate but let’s not unless there is just cause.” Now that she’s made herself clear, she remains silent again until any further action.

GM // Arkangel (Lucael, Cerberus, Saintalia) Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove) Ghostiiys (Guts) Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) azenva (Sterling) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer) NUSKI (Patriot)

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Zengren

KARIKO MORINRA / Female / 35

Iscariots of Solarian

Chapter 2. |Luminarium Underground Armory Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Zengren noticed the rest of her IOS compatriots namly the fox boy Zenko and pixie, least pixie seemed to actually have some gear on leading to Zengren nodding slightly towards pixie. "hu actually got some gear ill admit I'm a bit surprised" Zengren said with a slightly amusing but respectable tone genuinely expecting some kind of incompetence, oh and then zenko started handing out little charms to the others Zengren would take the little charm looking down at zenko before ruffling the fox boys head. "sure kid whatever you say im sure it well help that's if you do really grant luck if not well rubbing your head should help too rub a bit of luck hey" Zengren chuckled a little bit jokingly before her attention turned fully back to Remiel who gave another rundown of the plan that finally sounded as if it would actually go down well if everyone did there part. seemed like more onus was on the flankers to get there jobs done quick while the center team just kept up the pressure easy enough job


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

 

[lunar_moth]

Delpher

"Zenko" / Male / 23

Iscariots of Solarian

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Zenko yelps a bit when Zengren ruffles his hair. It's hard to maintain a dignified air as he rakes his fingers through the fluff behind his ears that's now standing in all different directions, but he tries his damndest.

"Ahem, ha--" he clears his throat a bit, hands still fluttering awkwardly before settling over the remaining charms in his coat. "What do you take me for? I'm sure they'll work. Kitsune's guarantee."

He glances back towards Pixie, currently examining the arrays of tech whilst clad in her shimmering-cel mask. Her words from moments before still ping around in his head. For all that she heralded herself as an emotionless mercenary, still trickles of softness seemed to escape the cracks, he thinks as he watches her awkwardly offer words of reassurance to the softer-spoken demonoid girl.

A curse of humanity, maybe. For all the walls they built up, things they said, mostly, it seemed like people just wanted to do good.

...Well. Whatever that meant to them. Zenko runs the pad of his thumb over one of the fingernail scars on his neck, mostly faded and hidden by his hair, now, decade later.

"Besides," he starts belatedly, "I never was planning on dying anyways."

...

A few things happen in quick succession, then, and Zenko settles into the whirl of it all around him, poking at one of the earpieces on display and lazily pondering how to fit it in his decidedly non-human ears.

There's fresh meat. A man, one with dusty-brown hair and a demeanor that screams 'I-have-a-stick-up-my-ass,' which Zenko can't help but be a bit endeared by. He looks a little pale to be showing up to the fray noticeably late, but he's quickly waved off by everyone who greets him and left to his own devices. Zenko silently hopes he'll pick the flanking team, if only because he would love to haze the new boy a bit.

Oh, speaking of. Zenko perks up a bit from his hunch over the earpiece he's been fiddling with (if he-- sort of clips it to the edge of his ear here, and wraps this part around a bit--). He's looking at Remiel when he speaks, indirectly responding to her last point, but his voice is elevated enough that he's addressing most of the others who may be listening,

"To be honest, I'm not sold on the oblique order. The Syndicate's rats are going to be fighters. We can handle 'em, I know, but I don't think it'll be a smart idea to leave them any easier outs. I vote we converge equally from both sides, yeah. Doesn't matter to me who goes where, so if anyone else on the flanking team has an idea of how to split people up best..." he trails off, casually inviting someone else to pitch in.

Sterling's still not arrived yet, and he tries not to think about it too much. She's a grown person, and she's real scrappy. Let her do her thing, he reasons with himself. And, hey, if he has to hold onto her luck charm for the time being, well, that just gives him more time to infuse it with kitsune-luck-powers. Not that she needs it. He's not worried about her. Duh.

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther

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

ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove), Ghostiiys (Guts), Funnier President (Windshot), @Sheng Ling (Myriad), @.chxrryette. (Lancer)

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

VOI // NUSKI (Patriot), The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer)

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Shiro

"Breaker" / Male / 32

Secundus of the Kaiser Knights

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

The briefing has proceeded just as Shiro predicted. Though the unexpected arrival of Lady Anastasia. Along with the Lady, was the so-called infamous hacker, Cerberus, that was contracted by this joint-task force. Breaker... did not register her, he didn't find anything of note or worth. "As long as she does her job." The spectre mumbles. Still, it is courteous and respectful to greet a colleague as they arrive. "Greetings, Saintess." The hooded man spoke, clean and calm, bowing faintly to address this Saint of War. Back to the matters at hand, Remiel had answered the tormentor's question... But he felt puzzled? Fifty men will be split between the gates to accompany the flankers? That seems like wasted logistics... Severely. He'd reckon that eighteen men would be enough; splitting them into two will give nine people per gate. But that's not his call to make.

Jammy was, uncharacteristically (in his mind), worried about everyone being so lax. To which then Anthem retorted that they were bad at distinguishing life-threatening situations. "Police yourselves, you two." He added. Knowing Nina and Pheles, once they start going it's hard to stop them. "Bruise, bleed, or fracture. Stay alive and do well. I'll hold you to the same standards as Claudwin." That goes for all the Knights, though it mostly came out of worry as they are his comrades and he is responsible for their lives.


His attention was drawn to Siesta and Anthem. The former wanted to know if they may procure weaponry or equipment from their armoury and the latter sought his approval. "I see no reason to not share our equipment with the Vanguards. And our Lord shan't miss paltry pieces such as these, should they become irreparably damaged. You have my permission." The hooded man spoke with the uttermost confidence. "That applies to all of you in this room present." His head turned on a swivel to address everyone present.

Unfortunately, that cussed coroner chafed Shiro's nerves. If she isn't spouting about how she'll be so overjoyed at dissecting their bodies, she's burning a hole through the roof and sputtering nonsense. He'll be most pleased to be rid of her after this joint task force. The appearance of another Vanguard caught his attention, this "Maximus Alden" was strange to Shiro, guess this was a last-minute addition.

----------------------

"I agree with the vulpes. Despite the odd number of seven, it would be most prudent to split up." The fox hierophant made a good point. "I'll accompany the eastern gate," A momentary pause as Shiro decides how to relegate this. The odd number of flankers makes this awkward. "Darklight, Sterling, and Zenko are my most optimal candidates for the eastern gate. While Dove, Jammy, and Pixie approach the western gate. Though if anyone sees fit to disagree with me then say it now."





GM // Arkangel (Lucael, Cerberus, Saintalia) Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove) Ghostiiys (Guts) Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // Don't care + didn't ask

 

[NUSKI]

Maximus

"Patriot" / Male / 25

Vanguards of Imperius

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Maximus slightly bowed his head in acknowledgement towards the ashen-haired woman before turning to address the Vanguard who arrived just after him. Before he had a chance to reply, the woman who appeared to be leading this meeting spoke up.

"You are forgiven, Mister Alden. I am Ashen Embers Elite Operative, Codename Remiel and I am the commander of this team until further notice. We are happy to have you and welcome aboard, you are right on time as we will be carrying out an operation in 3 standard hours. Oh, a house rule, we are to address each other here by our codenames for security reasons granted I don’t think this is very useful for individuals who are already publicly known but nonetheless, it’s for the good of everyone in the team as we don’t know what the Syndicate may do if they learn the real identities of some of us. Anyway, I’ll have your colleagues among the Vanguards fill you in on what’s happening and leave it to you to pick what team you will be part of in this operation. Again, welcome aboard.”

The previous tension he felt had now faded, and the young man dropped his arms to his sides where they could comfortably rest on the hilts of his sheathed swords. He remained motionless as she continued to speak, addressing the rest of the room. Remiel's voice faded into the back of his mind as his eyes danced across the room, finally given a chance to assess his surroundings. It had taken him a few seconds longer than he'd care to admit to recognizing the other members of the operation but once he did, an expression which could only be read as scorn was painted across his face at the sight of the Iscariots. Although he had no justifiable reason for it, Maximus couldn't help but feel an odd mixture of annoyance and uneasiness in their presence. He had no strong opinions about the ISD nor the KKO, the latter an organization he sometimes mused he could have joined in another life.

As the Hyzurian spoke of the syndicate, Maximus returned his attention to his fellow Vanguard. He couldn't recall many interactions with Vanguard Klauss but he was aware of her endeavours against the criminal underground and that provided him small comfort. It was only after he was done eyeing some of the individuals from the Iscariots and the KKO that he remembered he hadn't finished his previous conversation with her

Maximus turned his head to the side, tilting his head to the side as he spoke to the Demonoid woman. "We have been gathered together to deal with the Arcalion Syndicate?" he began with a hushed tone and a spark of enthusiasm in his eyes. "Then it is only fitting that the Vanguards have been summoned. Once again, I have been provided with the opportunity to protect Empyria from those who would wish to disrupt its denizens," he continued, his chest now puffed up with pride. "I don't need the details, just tell me what team you're on so I can join the other. I think it would be best if we... cover our bases. Unless you disagree, Wayfarer?" he ended, mentally patting himself on the back for remembering to address his colleague by her codename.

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer)

 

[_Line 213]

Aizu

"Darklight" / Female / 21

Sixth of the Kaiser Knights

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Aizu flinched slightly as a heavy weight suddenly came down upon her shoulder. She remained distant for a moment more, the brief flicker of disappointment crossing her features with due subtlety. I'm...safe here, aren't I? Why am I still so flighty?

It was only after addressing her inner thoughts that she turned to the unfamiliar figure in front of her. Despite her professional stance and countenance, a strange sense of dourness hung around the woman--Pixie, from what she remembered. Despite her callsign, she lacked cheer--though the Knight could still gather a semblance of why she had the callsign she did. Much like herself, the Exhelian was slight of form, and bestowed with surprisingly small features. Hers was the sort of visage one might expect from a handheld doll, and perhaps not too dissimilar from those that graced illustrations of fantasy tricksters--were the woman before her to ever smile.

“You’ll be fine," she said, a dry sincerity to her tone, "Survive, and see more of this world.” As quickly and starkly as she had appeared, she moved to take her leave, drifting off into the murmurs of the crowd and disappearing between a set of larger figures before the Demonoid could even offer her thanks. She had half a mind to shout a reply over the crowd, yet a far more sleazy, assaulting tone reached her ears as she opened her mouth.

"Oh, Hello All! It's me your personal undertaker! I'll make sure that everyone has a beautiful send-off if you guys decide to have a perforation in any of your extremities or maybe have one of your major arteries sliced!"

Aizu let out a shivering sigh; the closest she had gotten to that kind of imagery was as a perimeter guard for a particularly-grizzly crime scene, and it wasn't anything she was keen to revisit. "...Pretty mixed messaging, huh," she muttered to herself, moving away from the center of the room to diminish her sense of presence. For once, she willingly allowed a partial retreat into her own head, submersing herself in the muddled sounds of others conversing around her as she found a point of calm. The more she heard, the longer she thought about it, the clearer it became that what she was about to get involved in was lightyears beyond what she had encountered during her stint with the local security forces. It was as if the entire world operated on two different strata.

Almost as soon as she thought that, the Knight clenched her jaw in distaste. You knew that was the case already. Why should it be any different here?

Aizu was called to quick attention as their operation's leader spoke again, perking up nigh-instantly as they began to outline the last detail of their plans--and then offer a choice. She blinked in slight confusion, having expected such things to have been unceremoniously assigned to them with no further discussion. She wouldn't even know what to do with such a choice, let alone the best one to make; personnel dossiers did little to say who she would work best with, or who she could work with at all. She did her best to muffle her sigh of relief as Shiro offered his own take on their assignments--as the Second Knight, he would certainly know better than she.

Immediately, she scanned the room for those the Second had mentioned, doing her best to match codenames to faces based on her memory of the prior meeting. Sterling...Zenko...

At least in terms of appearance, the two mentioned names belonged to people of utmost bombast; certainly, their faces were difficult ones to forget. Certainly, they were far more colorful than anyone from the ISD or the Kaiser Knights--

W-Wait, I'm the only Knight on my team?

Though her brief bout of panic only shone through in the form of a slight shiver (perhaps she was simply a little cold), her mind's interior raced in circles. Is he sure this is a good idea? W-What if the Iscariots don't like the Knights? Are they gonna listen to me? Wait, is this some sort of test? It must be some sort of test...

Slowly, she began to quietly vouch for the Second Knight's decision-making by slowly drifting over to her two assigned partners, focusing on her breathing as she went. "A-Ah," she stammered as she reached the mercenary pair, holding up a hand in a casual wave, "I guess the Second Knight's plan puts us together, huh? I-I'll do my best not to get in anyone's way, okay?"



GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther

KKO // Worthlessplebian (Breaker)

ISD // Ghostiiys (Guts)

IOS // azenva (Sterling), simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko)

VOI // lol, lmao

 

[voracity]

ANTHEM

PHELES/FEMALE/33

Third of the Kaiser Knights

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

With Breaker and Remiel in agreement to unlocking the KKO's arsenal to those gathered, Pheles tipped her head in a silent self-dismissal to Siesta, eager to finish fitting herself with the Vanguards, and by extension the Iscariots, free to explore the options opened to them now. Her eyes flitted across the various melee options one by one. Her eyes fixed on a pair of tonfas for a second longer than any other option, but all too soon, she shook her head with a mild sneer at how fraile she judged it to be. How easily she could imagine a broadsword, two broadswords if Marauder wasn't keen on playing and warming up, making a sound dent in the tonfas in one fell swing.

But there was still an idea worth salvaging. Pheles ended up picking up what looked like a double-bladed heavy sword, but with a quick pull, the two ends would part from each other, seperating themselves into two blades - one longer and one shorter. Inspecting it closely, and its seperating mechanisms closely, once she was satified, she fixed it up once again, grabbed a belt and sheath to properly attach it to her person before moving onto consider a sidearm.

However, seeing Breaker pull away to address the rest of the flankers, Pheles felt an odd competitive spirit rise to the surface. The need to catch up, in a sense. It left an odd agitation in her heart at the thought that the flankers were organizing themselves far more quickly and outspokenly than those who were tasked to charge ahead - even if she recognized that it was for the best; her job was just to make a mess, and theirs to run a fine comb and eye over narrow and hidden corners.

Cleaning up her expression to one of distinct disinterest, she turned to Remiel, hoping her own question wasn't entirely redundant to the Commander, "You mentioned we have visual confirmation that Marauder is in the building, what about the other one? The lightly-armored one? Even if they're not in on this, have we been able to gather anything more about their capabilities?"

Rolling her head over her shoulder to glance at the members who would consist of the central team, she gave a hum before continuing, "who would you give priority and permission to directly engage with Maurader when he does make an appearance? I'd like to sort it out before we find ourselves making hasty moves and decisions to launch a eight to ten person offensive in the heat of things," Pheles clarified.



GM // Arkangel (Lucael, et. al), Khocolatte (Siesta), Panther (Remiel)
KKO // voracity (Anthem)
ISD // Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren)
VOI // NUSKI (Patriot), The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer)

 

[Ghostiiys]

Desdemona

"Guts" / Female / 22

Imperial Security Directorate

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Guts pulled out her burner phone and as expected the information on it was vast for something so serious. '' Seems like everyone is going to be fairly busy." she stated before putting her phone away. Being a reservist in this team meant the Demonoid didn't really have to communicate with everyone else, no strategic game plans for her since her only job thus far was to assess the dead unless of course, she became one of them. But so far it seemed as if she was not going to be on scene while the confrontation was happening. She looked around the room to observe the others who were with her, all engrossed with each other.

Filing her nails with one of her bladed tails Guts couldn't help but sigh. Maybe it was because her role was so abstract from everyone else's that it made it hard to engage in conversation. What really was there to ask about? "Don't kill them too hard! It'll be hard to discern cause of death if their bodies are filled with bullet holes!" or maybe "Make sure you don't spill too much viscera, no one likes the smell of someone's steamy breakfast!" talking to herself she cringed. It was probably for the best anyhow, the less attached everyone became the less of an impact their loss would cause.

She blew the dust off her nails and examined them for a moment. Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with getting to know each other and their roles in this mission, but she wondered if people viewed her role as important? Shrugging her arms Guts opened her burner phone once more and began to lose herself in the blueprints and building plans, the blue glow illuminating her yellow eyes as she hummed to herself.

 

[Arkangel]

★★★★★★

Saintalia

★★★★★★

Cerberus

Luminarium Cosmosys | Seraphiel City, Aucteraden

━━━ ◤❖◥ ━━━

Eccentric Proficiency: Cerberus

━━━ ◣❖◢ ━━━

"Ms. Saintalia! Are we really going to be using these vehicles for our mission!? No fair, no fair! You're going to put me in reserve and force me to miss out on this action!? How could you do this to your cute little junior!? I thought we were friends!"

Cerberus' sparking gaze eventually fell upon the Saintess, embarrassing the horse-eared familiar as she facepalmed at the sight of her client shedding fake tears of compassion. Now the words of her master were starting to make sense. 'Cerberus... is an eccentric one. It is difficult to properly analyze the girl's temperament. A charming individual, that, I can be certain of. Perhaps talented for her own good as well. But... she can be rather... unruly, I suppose.'

"Settle down, Agent Cerberus. The operations listed on your record do not even compare to what we are here to face. This operation has been carefully planned out by the Collbrandes and our commander before the team was assembled. That should tell you that it would be best if non-combatants are left in the reserved role, for the sake of analyzing the data left after the battle."

"Aw... you're no fun. Claudwin wouldn't be so strict if he was still the commander. Shame, buuut~... our new captain isn't so strict, isn't that right-"

The moment Cerberus spun to look at the Ashen agent her eyes immediately dropped low, her height not even coming close to that of the new commander. Speaking of, Cerberus hadn't familiarized herself with the Ashen agent yet, nor had she done so with anybody else. Was she the shortest one? Nevermind that, what's up with that cold gaze? Geesh, that chest of hers was going to seduce the enemies and capture them when their attention is elsewhere, wasn't it? Cerberus shook her head and sighed, realizing that she was going to grow an inferiority complex if she stared for too long. Seriously, she was like a child compared to everyone else, and especially Remiel.

"Aaaaaanyway. Alright, I'll do that tech support thingy you wanted me to do. You win, Miss. Yes ma'am, mhm."

Saintalia's discomfort could be seen from every angle, as she desperately tried to hide her expression when Cerberus was rambling while acting like an amateur. It was certainly refreshing to have an individual like her as her client, but it was certainly stress-inducing to be involved with that hacker. She sighed, brushing it off for now.

"I was specifically asked to protect this girl from harm, as she will be joining us in the battle to support us from the backline. I cannot join the attack force and breach the orders that were given to me by the First Knight. With that said, I do wish to ask you several inquiries regarding the operation." Saintalia cleared her throat and stepped forward, facing the commander with confidence. "I have read the reports written by the Collbrande of Aucteraden before this operation was greenlighted. I believe it is only fair if the agents gathered here today are aware of our enemy's potential threat level. From terrorist attacks to the kidnapping of nobility, the Collbrande of Aucteraden and the First Knight has also theorized that the Order of Eden might have had known about their existence far before the Collbrandes had recognized the threat of this organized crime. As you may know, the Order of Eden cannot operate on domestic grounds as that goes against the constitution written in the Aeterna Imperium. These points are not trivial. If anything, once this operation goes haywire, our failure will result in problems that may just trigger a large-scale policy war. Are the agents of this operation aware of these consequences?"

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

 

[Panther]

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren / Female / 40

The Shadow Huntress

Luminarium Underground Armory, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

The Ashen Ember turned to face Anthem as she raised her questions to hear her out, letting her finish all of them before constructing the answers that she would be telling her. There was an ‘Aha’ moment in Remiel’s mind as it was found out that Anthem was not fully listening to part of the final briefing. Understandable and forgivable, but still, Remiel would make clear again.

"You mentioned we have visual confirmation that Marauder is in the building, what about the other one? The lightly-armored one? Even if they're not in on this, have we been able to gather anything more about their capabilities? Who would you give priority and permission to directly engage with Marauder when he does make an appearance? I'd like to sort it out before we find ourselves making hasty moves and decisions to launch an eight to ten person offensive in the heat of things."

“I have already mentioned that both suspects have been visually spotted according to surveillance. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of information on the lightly armored one but from the surveillance photographs, it is safe to assume that the armor gives a phenomenal increase in mobility and gives our Syndicate friend a number of options, but conversely, a number of limitations. At least going from the quality of equipment, we have the Marauder that a Kaiser Knight struggled against, it is not unreasonable to assume that the lightly-armored suspect is just as difficult or even more difficult to handle. But, at the very least, speed is her asset and her liability, my guess is that it’s from the boots that she’s wearing so if we ever fight her, which we will, target the boots or exploit her mobility if she makes a mistake with it. A matador but with extra steps.”

She stops for a bit to collect herself and to let Anthem process the message before continuing onto answering the next question, “Whoever prefers to conduct melee combat regardless of the Marauder’s specifications, go ahead and fight it first if you think you absolutely can but leave room for supporting cover fire, I think you lot are capable enough to work out the details on how you’ll strike together, whoever is at the back can and will adjust. If you want a personal opinion on who exactly, people like Zengren can engage the Marauder first given their similarities. I would just prefer to keep a distance from it and whittle it down with heavy gunfire but looking at everyone else, having both melee and ranged attacks in a coordinated manner might be nice to have against the Marauder in spite of the lightly-armored suspect likely covering its bases like how the flanking teams cover ours.”

“To further clarify the ‘rules’ of engagement, all teams have permission to engage the Marauder if they make themselves known on any flank, priority is flank-dependent. It’s a given that the team on that flank will engage the Marauder first before the rest of us if it appears on that flank in which case the team members there can work it out together while backup is on the way. However, I think the Syndicate will place the Marauder where our forces are most powerful - the center. It’s where its kit will shine the brightest. So in practice, the central team will be getting permission and priority, who goes first, I already mentioned. We’ll adjust. We can potentially leave the lightly-armored suspect to the flanking teams who I expect will be screening us. Either way, both suspects will go after those most threatening to them so cover and diversions to allow those most threatening to them to do their work will be instrumental.” Remiel looked at her own loadout on the table for a brief moment, acknowledging that her vibroblade katana might be of little use compared to the firearms of her choice beside it like the AM rifle, carbine, and gauss pistol. A rocket launcher might’ve also been appropriate but given the team composition, more precise options are preferable. Though, her opting to be a ranged attacker is not just out of personal preference, it’s also to further secure her identity as hinted with the loadout including the full-cover helmet from earlier.

Now onto the highly interesting questions raised by Saintalia. This was something that Remiel did not cover yet due to the nature of the people in the team, surely they would know what failure means and what the other implications once suspicions have been proven real and correct, even if only the faintest idea. Of course, there’s no harm in telling them now along with her own opinions of it, especially for those who are less politically knowledgeable.

"I have read the reports written by the Collbrande of Aucteraden before this operation was greenlighted. I believe it is only fair if the agents gathered here today are aware of our enemy's potential threat level. From terrorist attacks to the kidnapping of nobility, the Collbrande of Aucteraden and the First Knight has also theorized that the Order of Eden might have had known about their existence far before the Collbrandes had recognized the threat of this organized crime. As you may know, the Order of Eden cannot operate on domestic grounds as that goes against the constitution written in the Aeterna Imperium. These points are not trivial. If anything, once this operation goes haywire, our failure will result in problems that may just trigger a large-scale policy war. Are the agents of this operation aware of these consequences?"

“I have not explicitly told them the consequences of failure yet. I believe that they know what failure means, especially to the Vanguards of Imperius who have more political acumen than many in this room. One simple consequence of which, assuming we all survive, is the possible disbanding of this team and our respective reputations will plummet among all the other things that will come crashing down. I suppose I should further tell these people how important it is that we do our jobs and succeed. Albeit this is my opinion as we don’t know for sure what happens until it happens.”

She clears her throat, sounding a lot more stern now to add emphasis, “Onto more complicated consequences. If we fail, as you implied, changes in policy will be put forward by opportunistic and like-minded parties among our divided upper echelons with increased leverage that those against them will be even more hard-pressed to oppose. For example, amendments or repeals to the Aeterna Imperium may be made to finally allow the Order of Eden to operate on home soil which will be the most controversial decision that the Empire will make to date. More hardline policies may be put forward as well that grant more power to the central government figures that are higher than the Collbrandes of Ophelia, the Cardinal Caliburn Order. This creates a hornet’s nest of a sociopolitical minefield and if not handled properly, a conflict in policy will then escalate to a social conflict that can then escalate further into a civil war. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

Admittedly, this was a topic that made Remiel’s stomach churn as she tensed up at her own awareness of the gravity of the situation, this was important for someone in intelligence and the government. Taking a deep breath, she continues, “As for the Order, we’ll find out the truth about their knowledge of the Syndicate eventually, be it through this team’s efforts or other channels. But if it is us that knows the truth first, we ought to be very careful with what to do with it. Conflict is Empyria’s middle name and all it takes is the blow of a whistle or a more formal release of findings. The truth hurts, and it is especially true here, so we need to tread this minefield very carefully.”

She sighed, frustrated with the current order of things, “Back to the policy on the Order’s not being allowed to operate on home soil possibly being changed as a result of failure, or even before. I apologize for my cynicism but unfortunately, the Aeterna Imperium is, at its base, pieces of paper compiled into a book. The Empress and the Symbol of Valor are not afraid to show us that reality by amending or repealing parts of the Aeterna Imperium to allow the Order to operate here, assuming they’re not doing so already which is most likely far from the truth, if the Syndicate is as threatening as it is paired with the Order’s alleged prior knowledge. We find and arrest an Order of Eden member secretly operating on home soil ahead of any change in policy, the Symbol of Valor, with the Empress’s support, will just force a pardon and release order down our throats and we won’t be able to do anything about it as things stand as they are now where noncompliance means our heads will be on pikes or we end up in the darkest corners of Empyria, adding more fuel to the fire. It’s already public information that the two figures support each other so opposition is highly difficult, at worst, futile, unless there’s an equally powerful party that checks both the Empress, the Symbol of Valor, and their supporters. And most importantly, it isn’t alone.”

She glanced at the Vanguards before looking back at the rest, “Regardless, we must do our jobs and succeed if we’re to mitigate the impact of this crisis even if only by a small fraction. I believe that this Syndicate has already lit the fuse to a larger conflict within our own borders and between our own people and we can do little to stop it, especially as we find more information that is verified to be truth that can and will be found out by others eventually, maybe even before we do. We can give the upper chains results and do our best but whether this bomb explodes prematurely or on-time and controlled or uncontrolled is not just up to us, we’re one catalyst out of many.”

Remiel walks over to the table where her gear rested, taking her helmet and held it firmly, not even looking at the team as she says, “If that is all, then prepare yourselves. This is the beginning of something massive.”

GM // Arkangel (Lucael, Cerberus, Saintalia) Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // StorybookParagon (Dove) Ghostiiys (Guts) Funnier President (Windshot)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) azenva (Sterling) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // The One Eyed Bandit (Wayfarer) NUSKI (Patriot)

 

[Panther]

Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden | Current Time: 7:00 PM, Standard Seraphiel Time

The briefing ends with Remiel's final remarks that warned the team of what is to come to pass should they fail here. Everyone was on edge as they prepared themselves for their first operation against the Syndicate of great proportions. Over a hundred law enforcement officers in tactical loadouts ranging from light to heavy brought into the field by a sizable fleet of patrol boats and armored personnel carriers and trucks armed with heavy machine guns and autocannons alongside a mobile command post that is supported by two helicopters with onboard sharpshooters and two UAVs to act as air support. No expenses were to be spared for this operation.

Then, the order to mobilize finally came.

Everyone hurriedly got into their respective places and formed up, hastily embarking on the armored vehicles. The fleet was split into three main convoys, each one assigned a designated avenue of entry of the target location with the respective members of the team aboard. The convoys of fire and steel would set off almost immediately, setting their course for the target location at speed. The trip was mostly quiet and went without a hitch as routes were already cleared prior but one thing is certain, the Syndicate knows that they are coming and they too, would be prepared for the worst. Men and women from both sides exchanging words that might just be their last.

The targeted port would be blockaded from four sides, the three parts of the convoy parked to form roadblocks at their designated positions while patrol boats from the coast guard prowled the waters, ready to unload their cargo of tactical police. The helicopters and UAVs flew above at the ready, circling the port. The command post was already set up as well while everyone went into their places including some armored vehicles that are to assist the land-based breaching teams to provide cover and fire support. Everyone was in position, the only thing they await now is the order to strike.

The battle is about to begin.

 

[Arkangel]

★★★★★★

Saintalia

★★★★★★

Cerberus

★★★★★★

Marauder

★★★★

Reginleif

Syndicate-Controlled Port | Seraphiel City, Aucteraden

━━━ ◤❖◥ ━━━

Eccentric Proficiency: Cerberus

━━━ ◣❖◢ ━━━

Today had to be Cerby's worst day. The Goddess of Luck was certainly not advocating for her success, tainting her taste buds with the worst flavor she had ever witnessed with her tongue. The strong, grassy flavor of the tootsie pop had already ruined her state of mind and further worsened her grumpy attitude. Stuck in the furthest of the operational zone where one couldn't observe the battlefield with the naked eye, Cerberus, Guts, and Saintalia patientially but nervously waited for the order to strike, viewing the bodycam of multiple police forces from the comfort of the armored vehicle, equipped with multiple cybernetic apparatus that aided Cerberus with her line of work. Having been prepared before the arrival of the main attack force, the cyberhacker cracked the lollipop with her teeth and dreadfully savored the remaining flavor. She then unwrapped another mysterious tootsie pop and placed it over her front tooth. Strawberry! Finally, she was beginning to feel lucky about the whole situation.

"Agent Cerberus, it'd be best if you were to focus on the operation."

That noisy familiar, Cerberus thought to herself. She had been tagging alongside her since day 1 and by this point, she has had enough of it. To think that the famous Fervent Saint of the Battlefield could be so garrulous—it was almost exasperating! She sighed and took the lollipop out from her mouth and twirled it between her fingers, almost as if she was mocking the contract familiar.

"Pft. I had an entire hour before those bozos arrived, what did you think I was doing while I waited for the death squad to finally show up? All security cameras installed in the port have been hijacked by yours truly. Their network was challenging to skyjack, to say the least. Props on the Syndicate for actually using updated encryption to protect it from being breached. Though I had alternatives prepared, so it was a piece of cake."

Saintalia observed the hijacked cameras carefully behind Cerberus, leaning towards the monitors that showed the syndicate's movements from the inside, though several of the cameras were being covered to prevent the outside forces from obtaining knowledge about their current movements. As expected, the majority of the syndicate goons were preparing to create an escape route, as all entrances and exits were blocked by a horde of armed agents. All routes were compromised, but there could always be surprises. In the knowledge of this, Cerberus and Saintalia's duties were clear.

"Commander Remiel, the syndicate forces have barricaded themselves behind the front gate in an attempt to slow down your progression into the building. From the looks of it, our target, whom we've identified as the Marauder, is located on the fourth floor in the control room. Cerberus has successfully seized control over the devices installed by the syndicate forces, but she requires a direct connection with the mainframe to access their transmission. We advise caution. The Marauder's not the solely capable fighter. A masked individual with orange strands could raise trouble as well."

Meanwhile, Cerberus kicked back and leaned back in her chair, partially attentive to the situation at hand with another lollipop unwrapped and prepared to be devoured.

"Looks like it's starting," Cerberus scoffed, "Now that I think about it, I've only heard stories about the fighting capabilities of the Iscariots and the Vanguards. Lady Bismarck's really the luckiest woman in the whole of Empyria, isn't she, Guts? Having wealth and power of that extent must be tiring, though. Imagine having to discipline twelve brutes who won the Tournament of Valor. No wonder why Collbrande Kaiser only has six knights."

Port Control Room | Syndicate-Controlled Port | Seraphiel City, Aucteraden

━━━ ◤❖◥ ━━━

The Marauder of Aucteraden

━━━ ◣❖◢ ━━━

"Escape route C and D has been compromised. The guards are investigating the other escape routes that we've previously installed to see if it has been breached. Additionally, the administration has asked for you to priortize our experiment more than the cargo of miscellenous materials. This is an order from the the consigliere in charge of Seraphiel, sir."

The standing individual shielded with a dense amount of enchanted armor stood before the clear glass, observing the guards follow protocol as they prepared for the inevitable battle they would have to face against the ISD and its supporting forces. The Marauder kept his silence for a prolonged period of time, disregarding his right-hand soldier's words for several minutes. He then finally spoke after further understanding the situation. His masculine voice echoed throughout the control room, forcing the guards to pay close attention to his next line of command.

"Gather the first and second company to the front of the entrance. Fire when ready. The third company will continue guarding our rear to prevent an ambush. I'll leave the special forces in your hands, Reginleif. Transport the experiment safely to Somnum, I'll distract the Knights and their allies."

His stern command left most frozen in place to stomach his orders for a quick second, before returning to work to follow through with their initial objective. Reginleif, as the right-hand and trusted advisor of the Marauder, followed her leader to the first floor knowing that he was not going to reverse his command to plan an all-out attack against the officials.

"Do you plan on initiating the emergency protocols, sir?"

"No."

"Are you sure that you wish to go against the administration's wishes? They've demanded that you escape along with the experimentations to ensure maximum safety of the payload."

"They'll have their precious product. I disagree with their intention to leave without combat."

Reginleif struggled to find the right words. "I... agree with you, commander. But we haven't had these urgent calls from the administration since our last imperil. It is also apparent that the Phoenix is present nearby the port, shouldn't we wait for them to arrive at the very least? It'll drastically increase our chances of-"

"You are to follow the command and lead the Valkyries against the Knights and their allies. With the absence of the First Knight, our opportunity to mutilate the archnemesis will not come twice."

The expression behind the mask was difficult to make out. This was a difficult situation to handle and Reginleif found it inconsiderate of them to disobey orders for the sake of some adrenaline. She begrudgingly nodded, leaving to attend to her squad known as the Valkyries, to finalize their preparations as commanded.

The Marauder stood behind the line of guards armed with lethal armaments, hulking over them with his twin broadswords by his sides, ready for the strike to occur. He did not intend to start the battle, as he specialized in defense over offense.

Panther Khocolatte voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) _Line 213 (Darklight) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Ghostiiys (Guts) NUSKI (Patriot) Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)

 

[Panther]

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren / Female / 40

The Shadow Huntress

Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Remiel stood near the central gate with the rest of the team that’s assigned with her to breach the designated avenue, the cold evening breeze brushing against them, complementing the chill that some others felt. She wore a full set of light tactical power armor starting with her helmet that completely covered her head all the way down to the metallic alloy greaves and sabatons. She was not exactly one to rely on enchanted armor in a defensive manner thanks to her prior experiences in multiple situations where the only thing it was useful against were other casters or magic users, not someone with a high-powered firearm. Her preferences lay in enchantments that boost her utility in the field. In Empyria, magic can still be compensated for by the wonders and terrors of science. The two mixed together can lead to some rather unique possibilities but are ultimately exclusives at least due to their complexity and cost. What’s worse is that some enchantments are not permanent.

In her hands rested a modified standard-issue assault rifle used by the Imperial Army, distinguished by its different cartridge and chambering at 6.8x51mm from the typical sub-6mm or above 7mm cartridges, lengthened barrel, custom textured grip and foregrip, an adjustable scope that has a maximum magnification exceeding 4x accompanied by a night sight in front that can be used should her helmet’s optics fail, an underslung 40mm grenade launcher reserved for grenadiers in a conventional Army squad, a laser sight, and more. Slung over her back is her trusty anti-materiel rifle chambered in the timeless 12.7x99mm with an attached bipod stand and a specialized imaging system that doubled as the rifle’s sights that can be retracted to allow use of the conventional iron sights near the barrel’s muzzle brake. Holstered on her hip is a gauss pistol chambered in 8x40mm with extended magazines, albeit the pistol is only gauss-assisted meaning that the weapon still uses conventional means of propelling projectiles at its base. And finally, her vibroblade katana and a small assortment of short melee weapons.

The Ashen Ember lightly tapped the toe tip of one of her sabatons before placing a hand on the side of her helmet upon hearing Saintalia’s message:

"Commander Remiel, the syndicate forces have barricaded themselves behind the front gate in an attempt to slow down your progression into the building. From the looks of it, our target, whom we've identified as the Marauder, is located on the fourth floor in the control room. Cerberus has successfully seized control over the devices installed by the syndicate forces, but she requires a direct connection with the mainframe to access their transmission. We advise caution. The Marauder's not the solely capable fighter. A masked individual with orange strands could raise trouble as well."

To which she replies, “Acknowledged. We’ll see if we can find any other interfaces along the way other than the ones in the central building’s control room. Keep an eye out back there, we’re already aware that the Syndicate’s planning their escape, and they’re it doing faster than I would like. Seems we caught them at a bad time. Keep us updated.”

Another voice then joined the radio chatter, the unit commander, “Commander, all units are in position to breach. Awaiting orders.”

Remiel took a deep breath before nodding, “Breach in 30 seconds. Make your final preparations.” She then cocked her rifle and pointed it at the gate, the armored personnel carrier by her started revving its engine as the tactical law enforcement units prepared themselves, their breaching equipment primed and ready. The rest of the team should’ve already steeled themselves by this point.

And so, the time finally came.

“All teams, breach! BREACH!”

Demolition charges placed by the gates and adjacent fences and walls would detonate, destroying them and giving the signal for the helicopter gunners to immediately pick off anyone from the safety of the air and for the teams to actually get moving. The armored personnel carriers assigned to each gate would go forward first, covering the infantry that went with it with hails of autocannon and coaxial machine gun fire at any visible Syndicate grunts that stood in their way in a slow but methodical advance. The dive teams and coast guard patrol craft would set up at one of the berths, rapidly deploying and springing into action to join the fray.

The sounds of gunfire and small explosions filled the port, dust and smoke in the air, blood and viscera on the cold pavement and steel as Syndicate member after Syndicate member fell in the push at the highly skillful hands of Remiel, her team, and tactical units that did not have the movements and tactics of conventional SWAT units but were more akin to military special forces.

The center would naturally see the most action due to the intelligence gathered by Cerberus and relayed by Saintalia and the conventional order of battle where the center sees the most concentration of troops. Remiel and the rest with her would have quite the field day as they slowly but surely penetrated the Syndicate’s entrenched center, one of their primary objectives drew near and they were not going to give the Syndicate more time and space as is indicative of their movements thus far. The aggression in it all reflected just how much the Empire viewed the Syndicate not as a pushover crime ring, but a legitimate threat to the Empire’s interests, some were not just criminals, but also insurgents in a way, possibly even radical insurgents.

The flanks had a somewhat easier time due to the smaller distribution of Syndicate troops so it was not as difficult to get to their objectives thanks to weaker resistance, but definitely still posed a challenge to them as they were short on hands due to the order of battle and the size of the port. As they got deeper, some of the infantry would scale the nearby container yards and buildings to provide overwatch and fire support from the top to further contest the Syndicate’s position and to secure their own positions as the authorities moved deeper. Swathes of armored men fanned out to secure objectives such as stockpiles, immediately sweeping the area under the cover of allied fire for any merchandise and traps. Both would be found with the former in great numbers with at least one secured warehouse containing ware after ware that would go to Syndicate hands and the latter traps being painstakingly deactivated as best as possible as the operation continued. The Syndicate members holed up in the central building knew what was coming and they had no choice but to stand their ground. There was little time and space to reconsider.

Remiel fired her assault rifle in bursts or semi-automatic modes at several Syndicate goons throughout her time in the center so far, taking them down at speeds paired with quick hands and wits that many could only dream to ever reach. She provided more than adequate cover for her teammates to do their jobs to which she would adjust with such flexibility and speed, leading to some few ‘close ones’ as the individual members did their jobs with a degree of ease. Truly, she wasn’t an elite of House Cineris for nothing. Albeit careful as she was to not be too exposed or to even use her Exousiarch in the first place to avoid further identification, she was still at the forefront of the center.

A small squad of Syndicate troops would try to outmaneuver her in the sea of small buildings and cars and pin her down in a direction she was covering but would ultimately fail as she picked them off one by one in quick succession, taking cover quickly upon seeing that more were coming and firing their weapons at her general position to which the tactical units and armored personnel carrier would greet in kind. She motioned for the rest taking cover with her to provide suppressive fire and keep going on the offensive with some tactical troopers throwing grenades in the background.

Remiel held the side of her helmet again to communicate with the team whose chatter was available for every one of them to hear. They were getting deeper and deeper into the port’s interior and it had already been 10 minutes since the breach and the action was still ongoing, “Teams! I need a SITREP on your end and on Cerberus’s mainframe access!” She then peeks out of cover to fire her rifle at incoming enemies before continuing onward, making sure to cover her bases while keeping an eye on her teammates which would serve them well, one of them in particular.

"Siesta, your right!” A group of Syndicate troops were spotted heading towards the direction Siesta is covering, they were providing cover for a few others behind them that were tasked to work on an escape route amidst the chaos that saw the forces of both sides scattered.

GM // Arkangel (Lucael, Cerberus, Saintalia) Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // Ghostiiys (Guts)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // NUSKI (Patriot)

 

[lunar_moth]

Delpher

"Zenko" / Male / 23

Iscariots of Solarian

Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

“All teams, breach! BREACH!”

No need to tell him twice!

Detonation blasts ripple through the air as the gates are sieged. Scan the crowd, find a vantage point, aha— Zenko lets fly the array of exploding arrows in his grip, a straight shot heavy into the crowd of Syndicate rats that still coat the inside of the gate.

BANG! BOOM! MORE EXPLOSION! The arrows do their trick and the clump of Syndicate troops is— well, “adequately dispersed.” Poor things never stood a chance, Zenko hums to himself as he scrambles back down the stack of shipping containers he’s perched himself on. His clawed nails squeal down the metal sides.

He lands heavy on his feet with an “uphff—“, and immediately twists to sock a knife into the shoulder of a straggler lunging from behind him. The brat’s a dirty fighter, though, and Zenko yelps and elbows the guy in the face upon having his ears grabbed in a handful and yanked. They tussle for a moment but it ends unceremoniously when Zenko takes another swing at him and then twists the knife out the body with a squelch.

There’s something hot smeared across the side of his jaw, quickly cooling in the frigid air. Zenko swipes a sleeve over the side of his face and all it does is smear red trails up his hairline.

“Fucking gross,” he mumbles, but there’s not much time for lamenting the state of his glorious vulpine coat. He got lucky earlier, taking out that swarm — doesn’t mean jack, though, ‘cause the Syndicate’s not going down without a fight, and more troops are already rushing out to meet the flanking teams, guns blazing.

A stray bullet whips past and rustles the fur of his ear. Zenko swears, reaching over his shoulder to pull out another of his favourite toys. He doesn’t deign to nock his bow as he ducks and slips behind another container, narrowly dodging the Syndicate’s rain. Instead he cricks the shaft of the arrow and tosses it into the fray. He doesn’t stick around to see if it works, but he can hear the tell-tale crackling of Electro magic as the elemental energy inside the arrow surges its way free.

Despite himself, Zenko can’t help but giggle a bit as he vaults across the shipping yard to one of the warehouses, handfuls of men buffering him on both sides. He tosses another, and Pyro sparks red up the shaft before it rips into flames. Classic trick.

He skids to a stop at the wall of an undamaged warehouse, and quickly makes to remedy that; he steps back dramatically for show as ol’ faithful blasts a hole into the wall for then to climb through. He darts around the inside, and doesn’t find much piled around besides filler— drat. No goodies here. Must be further in, past the decoys scattered upfront.

He’s already tearing to the next storehouse, clearing the way with some of the armoured backups. The Syndicate’s troops are fewer, here, as they focus their strength on the center, but they still come steady. Zenko blasts one in the face when a voice rings out in his ear.

“Teams! I need a SITREP on your end and on Cerberus’s mainframe access!”

Zenko grunts as he dodges low to avoid a shot from a Syndicate goon, then swings back up to finish him off before he can shoot again. His hand snakes up to touch his earpiece, as he falls back into the cover of the men with him.

“Nothing good yet. Still looking. Making our way deeper into the port. Syndicate’s forces are steady but we’re handling it.” Hopefully the rest of the flankers were luckier in their search so far.

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther
KKO // voracity , pomme , Rielaix , Worthlessplebian , _Line 213
ISD // Ghostiiys
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 , simj26
VOI // NUSKI

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Zengren

KARIKO MORINRA / Female / 35

Iscariots of Solarian

Chapter 2. |Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

“All teams, breach! breach
behind her helmet Zengren grinned, she had been itching to get into a good fight for a while now. instead of rushing in right away, the Demonoid walked in almost casually her heavy armour looking incredibly menacing for one thing especially as she stepped through the smoke allowing the faster centre team to mow down the easier targets the huge woman casually carrying the anti-matieral rifle in one hand the syndicate troops that attracted the ire of Zengren were met with a particularly cruel fate.

a group of syndicate troops begain to fire on Zengren she simply raised an arm the gauntlet on her arm firing black spikes into them at a rapid rate skewering a few of the poor bastards in a hail of quills the ones that hadn't been hit fatally were met with the next more grizzly end Zengren snapping her finger as a small wisp of fire formed and was thrown forward towards the injured group the back spikes humming before suddenly detonating in sequence due to the heat or something painting the area red and the goons were more or less eviscerated. Zengren turned her sights onto some entrenched troops raising her rifle and simple firing through the concrete that they were using as cover resulting in a shower of shrapnel from their cover being literally blown. "well this is all fun and games where are the big guys rather not waste all my Ammo clearing out these hardpoints" Zengren grumbled to herself continuing forward quietly like a grim spectre of carnage the clean white armour becoming gray and red due to dust and blood.

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther
KKO // voracity , pomme , Rielaix , Worthlessplebian , _Line 213
ISD // Ghostiiys
IOS // lunar_moth , simj26
VOI // NUSKI

 

[NUSKI]

Maximus

"Patriot" / Male / 25

Vanguards of Imperius

Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Maximus' eyes remained closed as he quietly prayed for Agartha's protection for the fight looming ahead. His arsenal consisted solely of his trusted twin swords, choosing to abstain from any of the weapons at the armoury. His usual advantage in the field was his speed and he wasn't going to ruin that by adding any weight to his person. The Exhelian opened his eyes slowly, his gloved hands fidgeting with the hilts of his weapons.

“All teams, breach! BREACH!”

The gates were immediately ripped apart as if they were paper and the flanking team made their move. The Vanguard's eyes followed Zenko's projectiles into the compound before turning to the enemies that remained, his mind quickly working to find the fastest approach.

"Praise be to Agartha," Maximus affirmed before sprinting forward with intense speed, his hands tightening their grip on his blades. His objective was to clear and obtain the cache's of the warehouses but now that he was caught in the thick of it, he was more concerned with eliminating the enemy. Maximus branched off from Zenko's original path, his swords being pulled out of their sheathes halfway as he charged towards two Syndicate soldiers preoccupied with the cover fire from the allied infantry.

A soft hiss escaped from his sheathes before the first man noticed his arrival but his fate had already been decided. Using a backward grip on his hilt, Maximus pushed his right arm with full force towards the ribcage of the man closest to him. The second quickly switched his aim on the Vanguard but was unable to defend himself against the psychokinetic-powered sword which ripped through his throat and dropped him to his knees.

“Nothing good yet. Still looking. Making our way deeper into the port. Syndicate’s forces are steady but we’re handling it.”

Maximus bent down to retrieve his swords, noticing the sounds of guns and explosions moving farther away from him. He used his wrist to move his hair out of his view, his eyes scanning the warehouse for the Hyzurian. Wearing a condescending frown, he rushed forward with his blood-painted weapons, adamant about keeping up with the rest of his group.

GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem), pomme (Jammy), Worthlessplebian (Breaker), _Line 213 (Darklight), Rielaix (Bethlehem)
ISD // Ghostiiys (Guts)
IOS // simj26 (Pixie), lunar_moth (Zenko), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren)

 

[_Line 213]

Aizu

"Darklight" / Female / 21

Sixth of the Kaiser Knights

Invicta Angelas, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Wait--this is it? This is it already?!

Aizu hadn't felt ready in the hours leading up to the raid, and now that the breaching order had finally been given, she felt even less ready than before. Immediately, the sounds of guns and chaos echoed throughout the harbor district, key personnel backed up by supplementary forces immediately charging forward into the fray. Aizu herself had to throw her legs into double-time in order to keep up with the others, their enthusiastic forward bounds leaving her behind for the initial push.

She panted slightly as she prepared her main weapon, the stock of the light SMG resting snugly against the underside of her shoulder, pushing gently against her as she ran. She knew she would have to use it, she knew she was being commanded to use it, but that didn't stop the very idea of pulling the trigger from weighing heavily on her mind. At that point, she could only hope that she wouldn't hesitate if the time came. Zenko's immediate, no-holds-barred charge scattered the enemy as Aizu caught up, prompting a wince as she briefly shielded her eyes from the explosion. Already, this was far more chaotic than any of the handful of police raids she had been a part of, no matter how well organized. She swept the immediate area with her weapon as the smoke cleared, bringing the gun to bear after spotting a flash of movement at the corner of her eye.

"Hands up! Drop your weapons and surren--" Before she could even finish her request, a bullet shot right past her face, mere inches away from impact as she forced her back into cover, several more bullets slamming loudly against the shipping container she braced herself against before she could so much as think about peeking. Damn it, this is ridiculous--they're not even listening! she hissed to herself, gritting her teeth in frustration as she regained her bearings. During a break in the fire, she quickly checked around the corner of her cover, positioning her weapon as she waited for the slightest sign of movement. As soon as her foe peeked, she pulled the trigger--her reaction only a split-second faster than his own. As the figure on the other side of the field slumped over, Aizu let out a sigh, clenching her jaw again as she immediately attempted to push the sight from her mind. The sound of the rushing footsteps of other breaching personnel ripped her from her brief, shaken thoughts, prompting her to move up alongside them as she kept pace as best she could.

Zenko's already really far up, she thought to herself, worry in her mind, if he gets caught alone up there then we're gonna have a problem...



GM // Arkangel , Khocolatte , Panther

EAST FLANK // Worthlessplebian (Breaker), lunar_moth (Zenko)

 

[voracity]

ANTHEM

PHELES/FEMALE/33

Third of the Kaiser Knights

Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

Pheles narrowed her eyes as the ground beneath her feet shook. It was something that was going to persist with grenades and explosive weapons running amok - hearing the punctured sounds of flesh and armour follow every shot from her comrades, her respect grew for those whose aim remained true. As for herself, she had to rely heavily on the alternate firing modes of her gun to respectfully keep up. Experience had made it look as if she knew what she was doing, but others on the team could certainly tell that she had no other choice but to come to rely on these neat functions.

At some point, Pheles found herself clicking her tongue. It felt as if they weren't moving fast enough - or maybe there were more syndicate meatbags than anticipated that made it felt like things were being prolonged? It was monotony. The sound and smell of fallen bodies had already lost its unique taste. If this kept up, she was going to be too dull when the fighting inevitably ramped up ...

A sharp bark on the comms alerted her to the state of the team, she first growled at the distraction, but then quickly found a neat opening, a chance, within the exchange shared between Siesta and Remiel.

Unsheathing the large double-ended heavy sword, Pheles gave herself a few practice swings, drilling bodies against the cargo containers, as if to make sure the sharp edges were ready to work with her before tapping on the communication device from behind the cover fire of the unnamed forces and Remiel.

"I count three cranes on the right. Taking them down in a few. If they want a way out, they'll have to start looking in a new direction," she informed them, eyes trained on the right side that Siesta had been warding exquisitely. If things worked as she had envisioned, the blocked right path would make the enemies reroute and come out heavier in the left and center ... where Zengren would be waiting with a stone cold smile, or Lucael with his own impish grin. And those stupid enough to try crawling over the remains of the infrastructure would likely be nailed to death from their air support.

She should conserve her energy. She shouldn't paint herself a target. But chances are, the enemy were well aware of who she was, what she was capable of. She has come out of many other encounters with similar conditions stacked against her; they weren't good enough to stop her regardless of what she chose to reveal at this time. With a grunt, she took a few steps out from behind the firing line, allowing the shoulder pieces of her armour to give way for fire to spill out, quickly shaping into a pair of bright wings in the cold, grey dark of the port. Another quick burst of Aero at her feet sent her propelling upwards, letting her jet towards the arm of the first crane that was towering over a sizable section of the right side with her sword in hand.

CENTER // Arkangel (Lucael), Khocolatte (Siesta), Panther (Remiel), voracity (Anthem), Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren)
EAST // lunar_moth (Zenko), Worthlessplebian (Breaker), _Line 213 (Darklight)
WEST // NUSKI (Patriot), simj26 (Pixie), pomme (Jammy)
RESERVES // Ghostiiys (Guts) + Saintalia + Cerberus

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Shiro

"Breaker" / Male / 32

Secundus of the Kaiser Knights

Syndicate-port: East Flank, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

The order had been given and the umbral master prepared for the charges to detonate. Boom! They went and the operation had officially begun. Every fibre of Shiro's essence had accepted the totality of this ordeal: the risks, the benefits... And the consequences, should this end in an unfortunate disaster. The brave fox jumped forward ahead of everyone, the masked man's hopes were that he didn't suddenly and unexpectedly receive a new hole in his skull—the fox's skull. He'll have to rectify that later if there is a later. The veteran's legs moved with trained and experienced confidence, his hands guided the rifle to sweep areas that Zenko (or anyone else) had not covered. There were no wasted motions, but that doesn't mean there was no resistance. Twin soldiers of the Syndicate, one armed with a rifle and another an SMG, had paraded themselves into Shiro's view. Their short sprints stop, their weapons wretch themselves up, their triggers edge closer to firing. "Decay this coil" The masked man whispered amongst the serenading sounds of combat. A blazing glare was cast and the cthonic shade that he casts ate him away into the aether. Before the soldiers could even process what had happened, their motions were still in effect. Their shadows combined, he leapt out! Delivering a spinning kick which knocked both men to the ground. Their rifles fired into the same ground, injuring none of the supplementary flanking team. Shiro fired upon one man with a controlled burst, taking his life. He stood over the other man, his cloak casting an even greater grip. Before the Syndicate goon could do anything, Shiro's hand was lifted into the air and casted another spell. "YARRGGHHHHHHHH!" The goon screamed, fear drenching his heart as he was eaten by the shadows. One sheep for the shearing.

Shiro moved to reconnect with the east flanking team. Along the way, he'd send some members from the support team to break off and continue ahead of the others. It was the hope that they could cut off any Syndicate soldiers that tried to counter-flank or escape with any goods.

Zenko's explosive arrows had done their job, Shiro nodded in approval at the battlefield that he saw before him. However, he'll have to deduct points for reckless charging. He'll have to find Darklight quickly, ensure that the newest charge to Shiro's responsibility had remained breathing. In spite of Zenko's efforts to be a ginormous target, there were still Syndicate dogs that hungered for their lives. Such as these three troopers that tucked themselves into cover. Annoying is the word that Shiro thought. They popped up and down like moles, providing covering fire for each other. Shiro was forced to hide along the wall of a cargo container as they pinned him down. But that would be their fatal flaw to allow him a moment. His left hand was presented before him as he forged daggers of darkness, thrice in fact. Then for a moment, his eyes flickered blue and crackling electricity jumped into the throwing instruments. Now for the timing. His mind shuttered all noise except theirs.

3...
2..
1!

He bounded from his cover and threw the three daggers, he had caught them as they moved! The daggers plunged into their flesh and electrified their bodies but that wasn't the lethal move. It was the lead that flew through their centre mass that ceased their hearts. Enough of this, he's getting distracted. Through the use of his shadowy sorcery coupled with careful manoeuvring, Shiro had managed to link up with Darklight. His hands moved quickly to remove a mag, socketing it into a pouch under his grey cloak then inserting a new one. "Darklight," He called to the new knight. "Zenko left the middle open, I'll plug it with some men while you head up the rear." He did not relegate Darklight to the rear because of some preconceived notion that she wasn't ready or to put her out of harm's way. Lord knows there is only one safe place and that isn't this dock. But he trusts her to defend his flank and that should be enough. "Call out if you need help." With that done, Shiro rounded men and proceeded forward.







GM // Arkangel (Lucael, Cerberus, Saintalia) Khocolatte (Siesta)
East Flank // _Line 213 (Darklight) lunar_moth (Zenko)

 

[Panther]

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren / Female / 40

The Shadow Huntress

Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

The ensuing siege and firefights would drag on in the authorities’ favor. The defenses by the center main gate and entry berth were inching closer and closer to being completely wiped out or forced to withdraw with the more experienced senior Syndicate members ordering for a retreat deeper into the port which was tenuous at best due to circumstances, the retreat becoming more of a rout. The flanks were losing heavily as the authorities and the squad members assigned to these avenues of assault would gain considerable progress, securing stockpile after stockpile which would then be swept by groups of armored men for any traps and merchandise, this would however, bog them down. The rate at which they push from the flanks would be slowed down until the teams could fully secure the stockpiles and rejoin the battle upon confirmation that the area was safe, putting pressure on the reserve teams at the gates to keep their eyes open and tighten their blockade of the port.

The only options for the Syndicate members there were to retreat, be encircled and slaughtered, find another way out, or take the only way out that they know of if surrendering to the authorities was out of the question. Any of the four would be chosen as the flanking teams kept pushing at a slower rate with sparse but dogged resistance, the relatively slower transpiring of events giving them time and room for the Syndicate’s staunch, even fanatical, nature to sink in as every man and woman under the enemy’s payroll that they encounter refused to surrender with a very brave few charging towards the authorities with a bag or vest of explosives to almost no avail as they were the obvious ones of the bunch. Some would be wiser with their plans involving explosives by attempting to throw them from the safety of heights provided by the cargo containers the deeper the authorities moved. Most would be intercepted by the authorities from the air or from the ground on top of the cargo containers who saw them coming.

Unfortunately, one Syndicate member would succeed in the eastern flank, albeit barely, leaping from a cargo container stockpile with an explosive vest and a bag of explosives on his person and landing straight on top of the armored personnel carrier supporting the men there, screaming incomprehensibly in what was an attempt to usher a final battle cry amidst several bullet wounds before detonating the explosives on his person, taking him, the APC, and a few others unlucky enough to be close by in the explosion. Others farther down and around were injured to varying degrees. The first serious losses so far.

Remiel and everyone else would hear of this not too long after through a soldier’s comms. The Ashen Ember grunted, “These buffoons are not going to let up, are they? Sergeant, order for another APC and a fresh squad from the eastern gate to help out the eastern flank, NOW!” The sergeant in question aptly replied. A minute later, Breaker, Darklight, and Zenko would hear the trundling of another vehicle nearby amidst all the gunfire and explosions that must’ve done a number on their ears by now, especially the recent APC loss.

The western flank was not having it easy either as they were suppressed by a couple of machine gun nests perched on top of cargo containers in the more deeper parts of their end. To make things worse, the Syndicate troops in the west that did retreat consolidated and reformed a partial defense. The APC there suppressing the nests and a soldier’s timely call for the helicopter sharpshooters to come around would give them reprieve with the complete silencing of the nests, allowing an advance to sweep the rest of the area where Syndicate troops laid in wait to ambush fireteams that peeked the corners and checked their surroundings, killing or injuring a small number of men before dying or withdrawing themselves. Some even hid away in unlocked cargo containers that sprung open to unleash lead on an unlucky fireteam that tried to pass by to screen the main flanking body that slowed the west’s advance even further as they now had to check each and every container they pass by.

The berth that the seaborne teams entered through would successfully secure their entry point not too long after with few losses. A few fireteams and coast guard patrol craft would be tasked with staying while even fewer squads would carefully move deeper into the port to set a perimeter around a nearby container yard and warehouse that were lightly defended where they would be fighting the Syndicate from while also fulfilling other objectives. Snipers would head up the cranes in the berth to provide overwatch and fire support.

The Syndicate’s outer center was soon completely broken with more routing deeper into the port to which the authorities would give chase. Remiel duly notifying her squad members and ordering them, “They’re retreating! Do not let them lick their wounds!” She fires upon the retreating Syndicate members on the road that led deeper into the port and her surroundings, killing a good number in the process, she leaves no one alive, not even the wounded ones limping or crawling their way to safety by making sure to double-tap them, especially after what they did in the eastern flank. She found a group clustered together that would fall victim to a 40mm grenade from her launcher, splattering their viscera across the cold pavement on the wide open road to the central container and storage yard.

Her turkey shoot would be stopped by a motorized group comprising of a couple of technicals, civilian pick-up trucks with light armor and machine guns strapped onto them, blocking the path ahead and providing cover fire for the retreating Syndicate members, suppressing the Ashen Ember and some others momentarily as the APC returned fire in their stead. Another group comprising of two more technicals quickly joined, one equipped with a heavy machinegun and another with an automatic grenade launcher. These two in particular would look at Zengren and the APC that was supporting them and immediately opened up, the AGL technical opting to deal with the APC to which the infantry around it would instinctively scatter and seek cover upon someone in the squad alarming them while the HMG technical suppressed Zengren and whoever else was with her with the aid of the earlier two technicals. A timely reaction from the APC crew would save it from being severely damaged by the AGL technical, temporarily silencing it in a counter-volley of autocannon and machine gun fire that would kill the crew, although anyone else could man it to which they’d need to be quick to intercept. Nonetheless, it would not leave the engagement unscathed with all the small holes and explosion markings on the hull, and furthermore, it needed to reload its belts. On the bright side, it served as a good barricade against the other three technicals.

Remiel, upon seeing that Anthem was preoccupied with something else that involved substantial property damage and arson, decides to take matters into her own hands with a sigh and a shake of her head as the rest were pinned down with few trying to catch the technicals’ attention to give an opening. Not wanting to waste their efforts, she quickly disposes of one of the machine gun technicals with a 40mm grenade to its bed, destroying a few ammo boxes in the truck in the process of turning the gunner into red mist, causing it to erupt into a blazing inferno that quickly escalated to an explosion as the fuel was ignited, temporarily suppressing the other technicals that gave the rest of the team an opportunity. Remiel quickly loaded another grenade and peeked out to deal with the other machine gun technical in the same manner, leaving only the HMG and AGL technicals with their supporting teams. Finally, the APC reloaded its autocannon and MG belts, the metallic carnage promptly resuming that silenced the remaining technicals and surrounding enemy infantry for good. This made Remiel sigh in relief before emerging from cover and moving behind the safety of tactical units that went first with the APC, checking the heads that were still with her amidst the barking of orders. They were near the central container and storage yard and this would likely have the most surprises waiting for them, they all form up once more with the tactical units locking up their ballistic shields with the others sheltered behind as they made their advance to the objective under bursts of enemy gunfire to which they would greet in kind. The Syndicate would continue to lose ground.

Remiel then briefly checks on Anthem and her plan, seeing her heading towards her destination while a few encountered Syndicate troops shot at her from below. She calls out, “Anthem, be careful with those cranes, do not block our entry points and deal as much damage as you can! Name your targets and we’ll steer clear of them!” This wasn’t exactly a ‘legal establishment’ anyway, damages would be justified and any more in succeeding operations once the public and those in charge become more aware of the power of what they are dealing with firsthand.

She briefly brings up a tactical map linked to the mobile command post that was updated in real time with the help of the UAVs and helicopters, all three flanks have already sustained a number of casualties before they even reached the objective that was the central office building which would expectedly be the most heavily-defended position. Though they did find success with the merchandise, about 30% of the breaching forces present had been injured or killed and a breach of the central office would likely result in more. Calling in all the present reserves while only half the total manpower and resources allotted would mean that the blockade would be thinned, leaving gaps in the line that the scattered goons can exploit. This prompted a change of plans that she would inform the rest of after closing the tab of the tactical map.

“All teams, advance slowly to the objective as planned. Take your time to clear and secure each and every area. I will be calling for reinforcements. Once we reach the central building, we will surround it and smoke the Syndicate out from there. We’re not going to be breaching it immediately as it would be too costly. Not to mention we still have not engaged the two primary suspects yet.”

It was time for the big guns to come.

“Bravo Company, I’m ordering reinforcements to come onsite. We’re facing heavy resistance and require immediate assistance!”

Another voice on the comms replied, “Bravo Company reads you, commander. Cavalry’s on the way, ETA 10 minutes. Hang in there.”

Remiel took a deep breath as the advance continued, “10 minutes, people! Let’s try to keep this up while the momentum is still ours! We’ll press them harder once reinforcements arrive!” She resumed her participation in the firefight, asking in the comms, “Anthem, status report!”

GM // Arkangel (Lucael, Cerberus, Saintalia) Khocolatte (Siesta)
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // Ghostiiys (Guts)
IOS // Huntertabbysandshark3 (Zengren) simj26 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // NUSKI (Patriot)

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Zengren

KARIKO MORINRA / Female / 35

Iscariots of Solarian

Chapter 2. |Syndicate-controlled Port, Seraphiel, Aucteraden

With the APC supporting her Zengren the demonoid had little trouble mowing Down the infantry that approached her black shards peppering them only for a flick of the wrist and a bolt of flame to turn them to gory chunks those fanatics with explosives where easy enough to spot Zengren actually finding to be commendably brave if not stupid as one jumped from the safety of cover only for thier explosive payload to be detonated right amidst there comrades causing significantly more damage to themselves. “Right anyway actually difficult” Zengren said mockingly. Only then did the technicals suddenly appear out of nowhere dropping a field of fires that forced her to dive behind a nearby shipping container letting out an annoyed huff. “Of fucking course as soon as I say something this happens“ she’d grumble keeping her head down due to the fire form the technicals luckily her support APC wasn’t too damaged a grenade detonating The AGL armed one as the HMG was already Down the demonoid let out a sigh of relief. “Well that was annoying“ she’d grumble stabilising the Anti-material rifle on a crate another technical was about to round the corner of the wear house, quick silence by a burning streak launched from the rifles barrel blowing up its engine and fuel. “Ok vehicle should be clean now will keep an eye out while we get ready for this big push could be dealing with more technical“ Zengren spoke over the phone to inform the others


GM // Arkangel (Lucael, Cerberus, Saintalia) Khocolatte (Siesta) Panther
KKO // voracity (Anthem) pomme (Jammy) Rielaix (Bethlehem) Worthlessplebian (Breaker) _Line 213 (Darklight)
ISD // Ghostiiys (Guts)
IOS // @simj22 (Pixie) lunar_moth (Zenko)
VOI // NUSKI (Patriot)