Project S.W.O.R.D. IC Thread (discontinued)

[RedArmyShogun]

S.W.O.R.D. Camp Miller's Hill - Lower New York State - Near NYC
May 8th 2023
Emily Zhang

​

On the Western bank of the mighty Hudson River stood an encampment at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains, known by a simple if not deceptive name in what was a ghost town just a couple hours drive from Manhattan at best stood the headquarters for all SWORD MTF operations in North America. Secreted away in the mountains and just a stones throw from JFK international and S.W.O.R.D.'s UN Office. A number of barracks and apartment like buildings dotted the farm, training fields and helicopter landing sites, aviation fuel tanks and power transformers dotted the landscape. There were even a few stores, vendors, religious sites and a recreational complex on the site. Then there was one large office looking building, a few smaller ones, garages and five hangar complexes.

All surrounded and protected by a few guard posts, block houses and chain-link fence surrounded by barbed wire. A tidy complex where people wondered about and training exercises happened, tucked into the hills of New York State.

Nothing unusual, it looked like any other Military base on the smaller scale, in total five MTF Companies were here, each split into three teams. Who in kind were set out to dispatch across North America, their was another base out West based in the hills of Northern California, which meant minus heading into Alaska or Central America the MTF's could reach all points in a matter of hours. Reflecting on this fact as she watched a helicopter take off, Emily found herself reflecting on the other MTF's locations. There were four bases in Western Europe, Four in Eastern Europe, South America had two, there were three in Africa, two in the middle East, nine scattered all across Asia, including Japan, and one for Oceanica and Australia. She had never seen them all, and doubted she would, though troop numbers varied. Then there were the Garrison bases, which nearly every religious site of major importance or major City had one Garrison at least.

Sifting through the folders she was given there were more than a couple in the list that were older than her, a few she had heard of, more than a few were Fallen and some were brand new. One was blind, the other fought unarmed, their were two priests, well she wasn't sure the older of the two could even be called that anymore, and others aside. She was tasked with leading the 12th Mobile Task Force Company, and its A team, B and C teams? Well, she would decide that for later. Smoothing out the papers as a nearby helicopter blew them around, she waited at one of the Garage buildings that had a simple marking on the side.

A12. Glancing at her phone, it was 12:15. They should be arriving soon.

All of them had been called from other MTF's for rotational deployment, to keep them from becoming too accustomed to any one location. She herself had been to one other base. Either way it was of small consequence. They all would be told to come here, would arrive directly here or would be getting off the flight, their scant few possessions would be handled by support troops, equipment requests would be processed by the respective departments and all she needed do was gather them all, given the basic talk and show them to the briefing rooms and pounce on any immediate hostilities. With this circus she expected at least a couple of those.

Interactions: any and all who arrive.

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Annabella-Annaliese Angelova

A boy walked up to a lady sitting on a bench out on some street or park or some such, with lovely trees swaying in the gentle breeze and the whistle of birdsong on the air.

"It's very nice of you to visit me everyday like this," the lady suddenly said in a gentle voice, surprising the boy.

"What?! But how did you know I was here, lady? - You never open your eyes!"

Annabella-Annaliese giggled. "That's because I'm blind, little one."

"What's that?"

"Oh, it means one who cannot see out of their eyes," she answered sweetly, cocking her head down at him, a smile on her face.

"But then.. how do you know I'm here??" He asked, totally confused.

"Well, I can still see you."

"But you're eyes aren't open! So how?"

She chuckled again. "That was a joke. Lets say I can feel you."

"Huh? But you've never touched me."

"Oh, I know. Hm, how else can I put it? Lets say I sense your presence. And it's a familiar one now."

"Sense my presents? But I didn't bring any presents, lady."

Her smile curled in amusement. "Well, your presence is gift enough for me."

"Huhhh?" The boy was very confused now.

"You're speaking such fluent English, are you from around here?" Annabella-Annaliese asked.

"No! My parents brought me here for vacation!"

"Oh! That's lovely then! Have you enjoyed your time here?"

"Yeah!" the boy began, carrying right on into conversation, forgetting the previous topic. "It's been real fun! We've gone to all sorts of places and seen all sorts of things! But my favorite thing has been when I sit beside you!"

"Awww~! That's real sweet of you to say! I've enjoyed it immensely, too!" Annabella-Annaliese was all smiles now. This was a good boy. He'd grow up to be a fine man. "I'm also here on vacation."

"Really?" the boy gasped with enthusiasm.

"Oh, yes. I like taking vacations to different places. Sometimes I just get this 'calling' to go somewhere, you see. Like.. I'm just 'needed' there."

"Hm.. No. Not really."

"Well, that's quite alright." The smile momentarily left Annabella-Annaliese's face, as she picked up someone else had joined them.

"He-"
"Hel-"

They spoke at the same time, cutting each other off.

The other woman chuckled nervously, feeling a bit surprised the blind woman was saying hello to her. "H~hello," she spoke in a shakier voice.

After allowing the woman to speak first, Annabella-Annaliese carried on. "Hello, ma'am. Sorry if I spooked you. I should know better. Anyway, am I right in presuming you are this boy's mother?"

"Yes. So you're the one.." She trailed off. The woman was caught off guard by how gentle and nice this blind woman was.

"Hm..?"

"O~oh! I meant.. Well, you see.. My son, Trafalgar mentioned you."

"Did he?"

"Yes, he said, 'Mom! Mom! There's this 'Cool No-Eyes woman' down at the park! Come see, come see!'"

There was a bemused smile on Annabella-Annaliese's face. "Heehee.. I've been called worse. That's a much better name than most I've been called."

The boy -Trafalgar- seemed particularly happy about that, grinning broadly.

"Oh, but where are my manners? I have yet to introduce myself; I am Annabella-Annaliese Angelova."

Trafalgar seemed bewildered now. "Anna..bel.." He seemed at a loss.

"And I am Geraldine, Trafalgar's mother. It was a pleasure to meet you miss Angelova. But I think we should be going."

"Is that so?" Annabella-Annaliese leaned down to speak to the boy. Who was now frowning, and on the verge of crying. "You may call me whatever you want. I like Cool No-Eyes, if that's what you prefer. Oh, don't be upset, Tra. Can I call you 'Tra'?" He nodded, without thinking about her situation. Still, she smiled all the same as she pet his hair. "You're a good boy Tra. Listen to your parents. Don't worry. I think we'll meet again."

He shook his head. "No we won't! We're leaving today!"

Annabella-Annaliese frowned for a moment then smiled again. "That's okay. Don't worry, I think fate has spun its threads around us. I feel it in the wind. Don't you?"

"But - but!" He whined, now sniffling.

"Don't worry. I'll find you someday, if you so wish it." Annabella-Annaliese said, this time opening her eyes. They were shining a bright blue.

Trafalgar stared up into them, mouth agape, his tears forgotten. "Wowwww~" The boy gasped. Even the mother seemed shocked.

"-How are they..?" she trailed off, in awe of just how shinning the blind woman's eyes were. Like the crystal waters of the Caribbean.

"They're so blue.. Like the sky.." the boy breathed out.

"Really? Is that what they are today?" Annabella-Annaliese couldn't help but wonder aloud. Trafalgar and his mother were too stunned to notice. "Now run along, don't make anymore trouble for your mamma. We'll meet again. I know it." Annabella-Annaliese said, leaning back up, closing her eyes once more.

"Hm! Okay!! Thank you!" He said, unaware of just what he was thanking her for, but it sounded like the right thing to say, as he ran over to his mother and clung to her leg.

"You've got a good kid, Geraldine."

"I know. Thank you, miss Angelova."

Annabella-Annaliese held up her hand. Geraldine knew that was the end of it, dipped her head, then ushered her son away. As he was leaving, Trafalgar turned back and waved enthusiastically. "Buhye bye!"

Annabella-Annaliese gave a small smile, and waved one hand very gently.

Just then she received a message.

She looked down at her phone. Even if she couldn't see it or read it, she knew what it was about. A small frown crossed her lips. "Looks like my vaca's over, too." She sighed. "Oh well, back to work." With that, Annabella-Annaliese stood up, and began tapping her cane around, walking down the street towards the airport.

~*~*~

Later a jeep drove passed the gates, entering the compound. A short while later it drove over to the garage, parking at a crooked angle. After some pleasantries spoken to the driver, Annabella-Annaliese stepped out of the vehicle. Gently and slowly, she began walking over to the designated spot. She was still feeling a bit jetlagged -having hopped a flight, rushing over here from across the sea, but there was a warm smile displayed on her face all the same.

"Good afternoon," she spoke softly.

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Interactions: any and all who arrive.

Han Liuyang


Anyone who'd worked with him before would immediately recognize the signs of Han's presence. The obnoxiously blared hip-hop music. That shit-eating grin with those cheesy cheap sunglasses. A fat cuban cigar between his teeth, that he snuffs out with his fingers before putting the remains of the cigar away into a pocket in his voluminous robes for later. That flagrant disregard for the dress code, even, wearing his organization's traditional clothing in flagrant defiance of the tactical aesthetic espoused by the rest of SWORD. That big ass gap in the front of his robes showing off his muscles was particularly galling.

He had come in through the front gate, his ostentatiously decorated motorcycle screaming through the front gate and drifting to a stop before the garage, before slotting into a parking space. Han Liuyang steps off his bike, stretching his limbs out for a moment, before turning to the person disembarking from the parking space next to his. A blue-haired, apparently blind woman. He calls out over to her, raising his voice.

"Yo. I'm guessing you're another agent? The name's Han Liuyang."

 

[RedArmyShogun]

S.W.O.R.D. Camp Miller's Hill - Lower New York State - Near NYC
Emily Zhang - Irina Nikitovna

​

Turning her attention to the next two to arrive, first was the blind girl, well, got around well enough for a blind girl. Recalling the file, she would not have to deal with her too much, though getting field reports from her wouldn't be too problematic, she hoped. Giving a nod in response, she paused for a bit. She couldn't see that could she. "You've been here before I take it?" As far as she knew, the girl had mostly been involved at the European branch.

Then there was a rather fit Far Eastern male that came screaming in on a motorcycle, his manner of dress could be ignored for now, if not for good. He would not be the first nor the last to defy it. Not that there was and "it" to defy. Outside of the Garrison Troops at least. Though it could be said the larger part of the MTF favored the tactical gear of GRU and Force 56. For an infant organization such things still needed to be decided upon. They haven't even standardized training just yet. And she wasn't about to get into a fight over that. Then again her means of command would likely come as a relief or a worry to most of them.

It was then that a 2nd figure arrived, easy to see in the distance departing where abouts the helipads would be. Looking half dead and beaten by the sun as she trudged around with a load of weapons, her red eyes gazing at the trio, her first words when she finally got close were a complaint. "Why the fuck not somewhere with shade?" With that she walked past them and slumped against the back wall, mumbling to herself as she slouched against the exterior wall of the garage. Pinning herself to the side of it and what little shade it offered, it made it pretty easy to tell who she was from the folder. There was only one person disturbed by the sun, with red hair and eyes to match.

Emily found herself wondering what the girl's eye color originally was. Still, it was interesting to see the differences between her and Han... Or did he prefer Liuyang?

Interactions: Thalia_Neko @ open to any/all others.

 

[Cresion Breezes]

"Ah, there's no need. I can handle the rest myself."

A rather mild-mannered voice rang out beneath the mountain range of East Coast America, somewhat drowned out by the sound of twirling helicopter blades as a young man can be seen organizing a few pieces of what seemed like luggage, one of the boxes was so long and narrow that almost anyone could instantly tell that it was a carrying case for a weapon. The young man smiled at the pilot and attempted to take a bow while carrying the various baggage and unboarding at the same time, it seemed like a lot, but he managed to do it well enough, albeit looking a bit unbalanced with the landing.

"Alrighttt, if you say so then, Father Angelerio." The pilot responded half-haphazardly, it was hard to tell if it was annoyance, fatigue, or both.

The one he was addressing smiled a bit awkwardly as the engine of the craft fired up again, kicking up the sound of the whirling wind as it was preparing to leave. "Haha, no need to address me like that on SWORD's grounds, the soutane is for combat purposes. 'Alessio' is fine." Even after SWORD went public, there were a few things that most laymen (or even experts) didn't understand about demon hunting.

"May the lord be with you, my friend." Alessio nodded to the pilot as the aircraft lifted off in a small cloud of dust, he looked at it for a moment and gave a small wave in the direction before heading to the purported and marked rendezvous point.

---

"Tactical leader Alessandro Angelerio, formerly of the Pontificia Congregatio Benedictionis, reporting in." He set the long narrow weapon-carrying case on the ground from his back and pulled off the half-face mask he wore around civilians, the jagged burn scars were a bit too attention-grabbing most of the time, especially with the soutane.

"Haha, guess I shouldn't be so formal, from the looks of it."

There were very few people there, glancing at the time Alessio assumed that he may be one of the earlier ones, timeliness was a virtue after all. There was the other squad leader that he had occasionally heard of while still working in Europe, and three younger agents that seemed rather, free-spirited, to say. He quietly sighed a bit and wondered if he was getting too old in comparison to all the new recruiting that SWORD has been doing ever since its publication.

"Just 'Alessio' is fine, I know it's a mouthful. A pleasure to meet you, everyone, and you too, il mietitore. Miss Reaper." He added more casually this time, as well as giving a quick nod to the American agent on the bureaucratic duties.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

"Thanks guys!" A blue-haired woman cheered.

The recipients of her gratitude, all wearing fatigues, were in a variety of positions of exhaustion draping the walls outside her room. Originally, these men were to meet the woman at the landing strip, escort her to her room and then give her orders on where to rendezvous with her team. However, the men barely mentioned her room before the girl zipped through the premises, causing the lot of them to chase her down until she finally guessed right and they caught up while she moved in her meager personal items.

"We-We didn't even fuckin' do anything..."

"You helped me move in my stuff."

"We didn't even tell you which room was yers! Ya' just kept going to random ones until you guessed right!"

"Ah, don't sell yourself short guys!"

The cheerful and seemingly genuine tone of her voice brought confusion to the group. It didn't sound like sarcasm, but if it wasn't, it was surely delusion. As one caught his breath and shook his head, not willing to die on an increasingly stupid hill, he opted to tell the Fallen of her next orders.

"Well, if you're settled... your team's at A12—"

"Oh! Already?! Thanks guy!"

And just like before, the blue-haired woman dashed off leaving the group behind, albeit this time she at least caught the hanger number. This didn't stop the woman from getting lost, however, as she got the number right but not the letter. Thankfully, the bottomless pit that was the Fallen's energy pool didn't allow such a hurdle from demotivating her in the slightest.

"10... 11... 12—B?!" Skidding to a halt, the woman let out an exaggerated whine and groan before resuming her sprint. "Okay... A and B are close, so the A hangers can't be that far away anyway!"

They were not.

Nevertheless the excitable Fallen eventually found the correct set of hangers and blitzed toward the entrance, skidding past it a meter or two before course correcting. "Okay! I'm good—Wait." Pausing at that, the woman dashed back outside to look at the signage to confirm before reentering. "Yes! A!"

The woman was of an average height, but a noticeably fit physique. Just as striking was her dark-blue hair and, more than that, her blackened eyes with golden orbs for irises. She had some sort of a sleeveless sweater that exposed tattoo markings on both her arms, as well as some blue torn jeans and some old running shoes. The most concerning of her apparel were the blades hanging from her hips, one katana and one wakizashi.

She turned her attention to Emily and Alessio, given they were the closest to the entrance. "Hi! I'm Aki! Sorry if I say anything weird. English isn't my first language. I learned because they kept nagging me and throwing books at me—Ah! Dead girl!"

As the latter portion of her sentence was recited with some modicum of panic, Aki dashed between the two over toward the pale, red-haired woman that was currently slouched against a wall like a corpse. As one does with suspicious, seemingly dying people, Aki grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her. "Oi! Don't close your eyes! Stay away from the light! You have so much to live for—Well, I don't really know you—But I'm sure you do! Oh, I can probably restart your heart!" She said with a gasp, suddenly realizing that she could create electrical discharges.

Usually it was for the opposite purpose, but when life gives one lemons...

Interactions: Emily, Alessio, Irina

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Annabella-Annaliese Angelova

Hearing a man's voice, she turned his way, tapping her cane onto the ground in front of her, holding it between her two hands. "Oh yes, you've guessed correctly, Mr. Han Liuyang." With a thinking face she asked, "Hm, it's.. 'Vajra', I think?" Then she smiled. "I am Annabella-Annaliese. How're you?"

She turned slightly to face the woman who spoke to her, but not entirely. "Yes, that's right. I've been here several times. I go where I'm needed; there's always work to be done," she answered. "Good afternoon, Tactical Leader Alessandro -or, 'Alessio'," she said airily, dipping her head to him.

Annabella-Annaliese closed her mouth as someone sprinted up -bypassed the group- then dashed towards them again. This excitable girl ran her mouth so fast that it left no one able to speak, least of all the soft and carefully-spoken woman that was Annabella-Annaliese. With a bemused grin after listening to all that shenanigans, she said, "Well, she certainly has a lot of energy, hm?"

For but a moment her face fell. She could tell some of these people were 'them'. Demons. Some of the individuals around her were demons. That left her feeling uneasy. Demons around was never a good thing. She had worked with their kind before, and had played her part, but still. At least one of them was energetic and excited. That was a better sign than the dark, gloomy one over there. On the other hand.. an excited demon was always trouble. She would have to 'watch' these ones closely.

A second later, she realized she was frowning. She reaffirmed her posture, and reaffixed a gentle, amicable grin that really conveyed much of nothing to her face.

 

[TreasureSniper]

Hachi "Seymour" Shimoku​

The sound of thunderous rotor blades echoed through the air as a fleet of sleek black CH-53 helicopters descended from the sky. The markings on the side of the helicopters were easily recognized by the ground control as the ones belonging to the Psi-Ops division. As they approached their landing zone, the ground shook beneath their powerful turbines, sending dirt and debris flying in all directions.

As the helicopters landed, their doors slid open with a hiss, revealing a figure stepping out of the lead aircraft. His most notable feature was his eyes which seemed to glow with a strange power along with his personal choice of attire which resembled a lead boy band singer rather than anything militaristic. Accompanying him was a small team of heavily armed bodyguards, their weapons at the ready. Like the aircraft, they too had the markings of the Psi-Ops division.

As the military personnel made their way across the landing zone, the other helicopters in the fleet began to offload their cargo. Crates and supplies were unloaded meticulously, as ground crews worked tirelessly to get everything in place. Among the cargo that was being unloaded were caged demons, most of which were sedated through unknown means. Another cargo was much less animated, some of which were corpses of freshly killed targets that were sent to this facility specifically for a biopsy. Despite the chaos of the landing, everything was executed with incredible efficiency and precision. The military personnel and his team moved with purpose and confidence, their training evident in every movement they made. Within minutes, the landing zone was transformed into a bustling hub of activity, with supplies and equipment being distributed throughout the area.

Special agent Seymour wasted no time in making his way to the hangar that was designated as their meeting point. Thankfully, his fleet of helicopters was generous enough to land right in front of his meeting point. His strange attire and the bodyguards that accompanied him did draw many eyes on him, but he's gotten used to it by now. When he finally got close enough to the personnel he was told to meet, he would wave off his guards, telling them that their mission was done. The guards obediently nodded and march off back to their helicopters, preparing themselves for their next assignment. Recognizing one of them as the tactical leader Emily "Reaper" Zhang, he made a beeline toward her to introduce himself. "Special Agent Seymour, reporting for duty." As per usual, he gave her his standard salute accompanied by a sly smile.

Seymour briefly scanned the room to see what other individuals were present. Silently, he peer into each of their minds while observing their appearance to get a rough idea of who each of them was. The first tactical leader seemed to be simply a highly skilled human from what he could tell, the other leader was some sort of a fallen hybrid, with some interesting choice of weapons. The one wearing sunglasses was a human that seemed to be proficient in martial arts. The black-eyed blue haired one was a fallen that seemed proficient with blades. And then there was a blind girl who also seemed to be fallen from what he can guest. "I am guessing I was called here for more than just the cargo. What's the sitrep? Are there any immediate threats that need to be dealt with?"

 

[RedArmyShogun]

S.W.O.R.D. Camp Miller's Hill
Emily Zhang - Irina Nikitovna

​

As the rest filed in, be it unexpectedly or overly dramatically, the Martial Artist seemed the most sane of the lot... Well, maybe not sane, but at least the less problematic, minus the Spainard. With the arrival of Alessio and Seymour, Emily tipped her had a little in greeting and says flatly, "Be at ease. I don't have any interest in exchanging salutes outside of here. I won't put up with insubordination, but this is not West Point. Nor are most of us from the Military. Plus, I don't like any casual observer knowing who needs to be shot."

Looking at the excitable Japanese girl, pausing to reflect on that, Emily wondered if such a classification of her was correct, but yes, the two were girls. Even if unnatural ones. Pausing to reflect on this, she did not bother interfering with the other's grabbing of Irina, she decided to let sleeping devils lie, and to focus on what she could.

"Alessio, An- Yeah, not happening, your name is just Anna as far as I'm concerned. And Seymour. Making an entrance I see. Don't. Unwanted attention can be a bad thing. Nice of you all to join us. You as well Liuyang. We have a few more to still join us." Having seen the files before the rest did, she wondered what Annabella seen when she looked at Alessio. Given the history and differing temperament of the two, she didn't blame command not just sharing this in advance. If some parts of the team didn't try fighting the rest, she would be highly surprised. A welcomed surprise at that.

For her part Irina couldn't give a shit who was who and who said what, minus the leader. She would learn the names of the rest if they lived more than four days and the ones she would immediately fight beside. Then, who was this stupid bitch?! Hissing as she was grappled and shook about. "EeeeH! Iiii-STOP! STOP!" With an audiable and loud hiss, she bared two sets of fangs as her lifeless eyes narrowed in upon...

"Who the fuck are you? Just touching sleeping people, eh?!" Reaching for one of her knives, her left hand remains stationary over it. "It's too damn hot and too damn bright, what do you want?" Narrowing her eyes at that. She paused for a bit.

"I'm trying to stay out of the Light! You blue ass! And what do you mean restart my heart!? It's fine! Well, strictly speaking it isn't, but it's all the same!"



Interactions: Everyone currently present, Irina just with Aki EmperorsChosen

 

[jmann]

Roman Elder
Special Agent

An armoured utility vehicle pulled into sight from the gates of the compound. The grey and black blended well with the urban environment, nearly unnoticeable except for the roar of the engine. The fleet of helicopters was starting to thin as the car slowed to a halt across from the garage. The door swung open and out stepped a giant of a man squeezed into a suit jacket over a novelty "I NYC" tee. With a duffel bag slung over one shoulder and a coffee in his other hand, Sergeant Roman Elder waved off the car.
"Have a good one, ey?" With a customary farewell, he started the painful march towards the growing group of people.

Everything hurt. Twenty eight hours on a cramped plane and another hour or so drive to the MTF operation center. Roman was used to the brutish American vehicles after his time in Kabul, and the four cups of coffee was doing wonders to help the jetlag. Roman could not pretend to enjoy black coffee, but in the freezing desert nights he was just glad to have something hot and caffeinated, and the satisfaction stuck around long enough he forgot what other flavours were out there.

The echo of his footsteps on the concrete flooring announced his arrival as he made his way around the group to the obvious head of operations. Tactical Leader Emily Zhang; Reaper. From what Roman had heard, T.L. Zhang had been a part of S.W.O.R.D. since the beginning. Her skill on the field was undeniable, though her ability to lead others was subject to doubt and rumour. Roman didn't care for rumours, he would find out the truth soon enough.

"Tactical Leader Zhang?" Roman called as he finally got through the crowd, reaching out to shake Zhang's hand, "Your reputation precedes you. Special Agent Elder, glad to be on your invite list."

---

Interactions:
Everyone present, specifically RedArmyShogun

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

As of a week ago, Ogre had received summons to a SWORD base up north, Miller or something. At the time, she'd been on a mission of her own, hunting a demon out in the Appalachians. Big, mean thing, skull for a head. Of course, she wasn't supposed to be doing this, using her off time to hunt demons for fun - but that's what made it fun. Eating them after was a bonus.

So - since she'd gone up into the hills on her own, she had to go off to Miller the same way. On foot. It'd been a few days, following the roads, for Ogre to get there, running as fast as she did. For anyone else it would have been exhausting, but Ogre was good at that sort of thing. Perhaps Ogre was a hunting demon. She was damn good at that, after all. The other demon had been faster, more nimble, but it grew tired without constant human blood to feee on, and Ogre caught up eventually. The last bit of its meat, fried an salted, sat in ziplock bags in her large backpack, made good eatings whenever she stopped. There were encounters, odd looks, shouts, questions. But she has a badge and long feet, so she wasn't slowed much as she ran alongside the highways, making her way North.

But now she had arrived. She slowed to a jog, and then to a walk as she approached the gates, and already she could see the guards getting riled up by her presence. Guns were raised, commands were shouted, and Ogre reached down to grab that badge of hers. With a big wave over her head with all three hands she offered the soldiers a sharp-toothed smile. "It's aight dudes, I'm with you. Name's Ogre." With an understandable few seconds of hesitation, and a verification from a higher up they let Ogre through, allowing the three-armed demon access to the camp.

Clad in that big ugly jacket of hers, and covered in all the filth of the hunt and the run, Ogre swaggered right up to the crowd of people she assumed relevant to her. Fallen, not-fallen, soldier types. She didn't recognize any of them, but that made sense. She was never super invested in that soldier rank yes-sir shit. As she was spotted by some of the group, Ogre tilted her head upward for a moment as a sort of greeting before she strode over. "Lots of people here for this one, huh? Sup. Name's Ogre," spoke the demon as she opened her mouth and raised a red-fleshed finger to pick at some remaining gristle between her sharp, crooked teeth. As she did, she took a moment to look at each of them in particular, though her thoughts wandered to the last of the cooked flesh in her bags. She was feeling hungry again. "Alright humans, what's the job? Who we gonna make dead?"

 

[Solirus]

Felipe Fortuno​

The wind blew hard through the side window of the small plane, the cardboard piece used to cover it back up was shoddy at best. Felipe had to call up a few favors to not run late, given his activities the past few days he'd hardly had enough sleep. "Look man, this is the last time I do this for you, capisce?" The pilot was nervous and his face was plastered with frustration. Before the pilot could get any other word out, the radio lit up.

"You are entering restricted airspace, turn back now or we will-" the voice from the radio announced

"Shshshshhhhh, It's me Felipe Fortuno, Senior agent for SWORD and all. Don't shoot my friend here ok? He's here to just drop me off." Felipe finally spoke leaning in to speak at the man.

The man in the radio let out an exasperated sigh, "very well... we'll prepare for the aircraft to land."

"No need, I'll go down there myself." Felipe said, cutting off the radio transmission before any other word could be said. "Be sure to exit the airspace once I hop off, capisce?" Felipe reached into the back of the plane, pulling with him two backpacks, one the parachute, and another much larger one with it's contents hidden. "I'll be off then. Take care my friend" Without another moment of hesitation, Felipe opened the door and let himself fall, putting on the parachute and holding onto the other backpack with a single hand.

Skydiving was exhilarating, no matter how many times he did it, it never became dull or boring. The air rushing into your body, the view of the world from on high, and the knowledge that one wrong move could make the difference between a blood pumping experience, and a mess on impact.

Once the parachute had been deployed, it took only a few minutes for Felipe to land, kicking up some dust and sand. Felipe quickly picked up and put the parachute on an inconspicuous location for someone else to have and not before long, Felipe found the people he was supposed to be around at this time. Slowly approaching them Felipe reached into his large bag, pulling out a small notebook with a pen attached to it, which he quickly opened up and began writing down as he finally arrived, speaking not a single word as his eyes moved from each member present and his notebook.

 

[BFabulous]

Dimitri Saint JeannaSince Dimitri had made the change from the research department to a field agent most of his time has been spent training for combat, but when he got his new assignment he immediately asked if he could be in the security detail for a delivery to Camp Miller's Hill. This saved everyone time and Dimitri figured this would help his nervous down. It didn't. For most of the ride, he was either pacing back and forth or incessantly tapping his foot. The first few hours were annoying but feasible, but about mid-way, the others on the detail began to get annoyed, some more than others.

"Ayo, calm down bruv! You haven't stopped since we boarded, what's up!? " The man barked his question with an obvious British accent. Dimitri hadn't interacted with enough people from the UK to pinpoint the accent and even if he had, at that moment he was too shocked to think of anything outside of the man's question

"I-I-I. Um. Uh...I-i-"

"Watch it Evans!" The stern voice of the commanding officer, Cherry Alderman, boomed at the agent

"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry mate." The man released a sigh and slid back in his seat. The commanding officer's gaze turned to Dimitri.

"This your first assignment?"

"Y-yes ma'am." Dimitri had stopped his foot from tapping, but now he his grip on his cane was like a snake strangling its prey. His body hunched over mirrored his anxious nature, while his eyes darted from the ground to meet someone's eyes, then immediately fall back to the ground.

"Where ya from...Jeanne, right?" The woman's voice was smooth and relaxed as if she had done this 100s of times before.

"Y-yes ma'am! I'm from New Orleans, Louisiana!"

"Ah, the Big Easy! I ain't neva been but I heard Mardi Gras was a WILD TIME! I bet you had a few wild times on them streets!" The woman sent a smirk towards Dimitri which instantly caused him to become flustered at the implications behind her words.

"N-n-n-no! I-I-I w-wouldn't do s-s-something l-like that!" Dimitri could barely get his words out from the embarrassment. The other agents burst into laughter as the air in the vehicle slightly shifted.

"Ha! Not your cup of tea, well then what did you like to do and did it have something to do with that carrier by your feet?"

"Oh...Um, yes. Before I left, my sistah said to make a good impression I should bring snacks for them, sooo.... we baked some beignets but then I got nervous that there wasn't enough. So I baked a bunch more!" Dimitri's gaze returned to the ground.

"Crack it open, I bet the wild thangs at Mardi Gras were all over you just for a quick taste...of your bean nates!" Agent Cherry's mispronunciation of beignets brought a smile to Dimitri's face and a small laugh escaped him.

"I-I-I...I'll be happy to share, I have more than enough." Dimitri began to pass out the beignets after everyone wiped their hands with some of his sanitization wipes and used his sanitizer. They had to do both or he wasn't gonna hand any over. Everyone took a bite and their first reaction was silence, which scared Dimitri until someone screamed.

"AAAAYOOOOO! Bro, this is bloody phenomenal," The rest of the squad roared in agreement,"This is top tier!"

"Evans!,"The commanding officer thought for a second and smiled,"You're absolutely fucking right! Agent Jeanne, these are amazing! You ever heard the old saying 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach'? Well they lied, you could tame a dino with these, shoot I think Agent Evans might even be prepared to propose right now, especially if you can cook too." All of their comments brought such joy to Dimitri being he could barely contain himself. For the rest of the ride, he was a bit more open as they talked and exchanged stories. Some about their time as a SWORD agent and others about their personal experience.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
​

After arriving and getting his personal affairs in order, Dimitri was all set to go to the meeting area before Agent Cherry stopped him,"Hey Agent Jeanne, may I speak with you for a second." She pulled away from the other people.

"Yes ma'am?" For the first time, Dimtri was really looking at her and taking in all of the small things that came from her experience. She had a scar running along her neck down her shoulder, probably further. Her hair was graying but was obviously very well manicured to the point it looked majestic, but the few wrinkles that lined her face were minimal as if she took very good care of her skin and appearance. Just from looking in her eyes, Dimitri could see the years of experience and empathy behind them.

"You're new to combat and I can tell you are anxious...When you get out on the field it's gonna be scary, but you better not run. When you run and abandon your squad," Agent Cherry was especially hard with words,"A few things can happen. The most likely thing that will happen is option 1: You run away and get killed instantly. Option 2: Your team gets killed because you weren't there to support them. Now that one sucks the most because then you have to carry the weight of their deaths with you forever...And then... you have to make the choice of either going AWOL or coming back and telling everybody you were a coward," As she spoke it was only disgust that could be heard in her voice. Her eyes bore into Dimitri but he couldn't turn away because he knew he needed to hear this,"Agent Jeanne, I see the potential in you, and whoever ever assigned you to this saw it too. When you're out there just pretend your squadmates are family, and from what little I learned from you, you would never abandon family, right?" She gave him a quick salute and turned to walk away

"Yes ma'am!" Dimitri saluted and turned to leave. Shoulders back, head up, eyes forward, and confidence false Dimitri made his way to the garage, which was too far away, and peaked inside to see his future squadmates. They all varied in size, shape, and power. Taking a second to breathe, Dimitri steeled himself and entered the garage, but the closer he got the more rigid and robotic his body got,"Agent Jeanne reporting for duty!" Dimitri was stiff as a board his voice sounded like an animatronic reciting a script. He he lifted the pastry carrier to present to everyone,"I also brought beignets!"

 

[Juju]

Thalia_Neko
“Cerulean… warbler?” Fuyuko peered over the edge of her book, her fingers blocking out the glossy cover with its bold title reading Birds of New York. “...or perhaps Eastern Bluebird?”

The book was lengthy with its descriptions and full of words she wasn’t entirely sure of, but the illustrations did wonders. Fuyuko moved her gaze to the unidentified bird and then back to the pictures.

The bird chirped and fluttered down to the lower branches, its blue-feathered head flicking this way and that. For the moment, both woman and bird were transfixed with curiosity of the other. Fuyuko stood very still as she watched the bird, aware that even a slight movement could frighten it away.

It was a delicate moment, and she couldn’t help but smile, “Hana would have known. Ah, but you are beautiful nonetheless.”

The bird’s attention soon waned, and it darted back into the canopy of trees. Fuyuko closed her book and made her way back to the parking lot of the rest station.

The black car with its tinted windows was still parked, the driver sat on a nearby bench with his cell phone face down beside them. Along the way he had needed to take a call, and Fuyuko insisted it would be an excellent opportunity to stretch her legs. Besides, she had just purchased a bird-watching book and was eager to test it out. The driver, who was clearly upset over a personal matter, had been gracious.

When he saw her coming, the driver wordlessly returned to the car and started the engine. Fuyuko took her place in the backseat, beside her bag, and did not confront the silence. In fact, she welcomed it. Clouds had also gathered in her mind, and she intended to clear them away by the time of her arrival.

---

It wasn’t difficult to tell where the gathering point was. By the time Fuyuko arrived a group had already assembled. She made her way over to them, and when she neared, noticed a familiar face.

“Hello everyone. Sister Fuyuko present,” She said with a respectful bow, “I look forward to working with you.”

Despite introducing herself as a priestess, Fuyuko was not wearing her usual uniform that might have given away her occupation. It was neatly packed away with the rest of her equipment, though as always she kept her carved mask at her hip. It was tied up with a red sacred rope, tucked under her coat.

With formal introductions out of the way, she turned to Annabella. “Hello Anna! It has been a long time, hasn’t it? I hope you have been well!”

She glanced up at the sky, looking beyond the helicopters that came and went. “Such fortunate weather. After this concludes, would anyone care to take a walk?”

 

[Stros]

The profile of a black sedan could be spotted in the distance, as it gingerly made its way towards the south gate of the S.W.O.R.D installation atop Camp Miller's Hill. As it drew closer by the minute, it soon caught the attention of the two armed guards posted out front of the gate. From their somewhat cramped guard box, they could spot the familiar yellow tinge of a New York State plate, but as the car approached and came to a halt beside them they soon realized it was of European design. Taking a step out the box, one of the guards approached the sedan and knocked on the driver side window. Its tint made it impossible to see who was operating or even sitting inside.

After a moment, the window lowered and the guard was greeted by the stern visage of a weathered middle aged man. He wore a pair of tight fitting sunglasses and wordlessly held out his S.W.O.R.D badge and passport for the man to promptly verify who he was. The guard recognized the badge immediately, but hesitated to take it, seemingly on edge about something. He eventually took the badge and passport, bothering to inspect the latter.

"One moment, Mr. Martin."

The man stepped away and entered the guard box, talking briefly to his partner and showing him the ID. After a short phone call was made from inside, he returned outside and handed the badge and documents back to Issac.

"Sorry. I just had to check something… You're free to go in. Welcome to the states."

"Thanks."

Issac didn't even bother to look at the man as he took back his IDs and prepared to drive past the guard shack and into the compound. At least, until the man put a hand on his door and cautioned him.

"Oh, and watch out for Fallen. A real monster of an agent just stomped through here not long ago."

"I'll try."

Answering the guard dryly. The man had hardly been the first to welcome him to the great states of the U.S.A. Every yank he met along the way seemed to just revel in the opportunity to welcome a foreigner, despite the fact he was no stranger to the nation by any means. Though, he could at the very least respect the man for taking his job seriously. It was a bit abnormal for an Agent to drive personally to a station, but Issac hated flying unless forced to and even then always by personal airline.

Driving a bit aimlessly inside the small base, he soon found what looked like a garage for personal vehicles and parked. Downing what remained of the coffee he had purchased after landing from an 18 hour flight. He left his locked sedan behind and started walking, his hands in his pockets. He was clad in a simple yet loose fitting black tailored suit. It was his usual attire while on the job, which meant he wore it everyday. His overcoat was undone and underneath his M1911A1 shoulder holsters were clearly visible.

Stopping outside the garage it was marked simply with an A4. Knowing the rendezvous point was set at A12, he began wandering to find some indication that he was either getting closer or further from his destination. Coming upon garage A3 it seemed he was headed the opposite way, when he spotted the meet up site across the wide open dead center of the base. Crossing the dead space took him several minutes at his unhurried pace. Trucks hauling cargo and personnel passed him by, as groups of soldiers marching in column formation were also out looking to cover the open ground.

Passing Issac's solitary figure as he steadily grew closer and closer to the slowly crowded garage. He could spot from a distance as others arrived mere moments before himself. Forming what would soon to be his "New Team". His face adopted a scowl at this notion, and at the fact he had been pulled all the way from London to join yet another MTF. This became a permanent fixture to his face the closer he got. As before he even arrived at the garage door he could spot a hulking mass that was to him clearly more demon than man.

It towered above everyone else in the room, and if he hadn't been warned about it upfront he very likely would have come running in with his pistols drawn. Reluctantly, he continued his course, scrubbing the idea of running back to his car to grab his Remington. Once standing outside the garage he could get a better view of its tail, scales, and enormity. It easily stood a meter above everyone else, and it wasn't alone.

Scanning the room he could spot other, more subtle peculiarities among everyone there. An avoidance of sunlight, blackened irises, and… a blind woman. The judge would be out on her just yet, but the profession of "Demon Hunter" hardly fit the woman's profile. Standing there for a few seconds, simply scanning the room and thinking of ways he would fight the goliath if he needed to. Issac's latent social awareness kicked in as others turned his way.

"Special Agent Martin… Reportin."

There was a tinge of British accent to his words, but for the most part his English was rather "Americanized". Looking to the "Reaper" as she was nicknamed, Issac addressed these words to her while choosing to remain a bit distanced from the rest of the group. Habitually looking over his shoulder, he wondered if he would be the last to arrive.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

"Anata wa ikite iru!" The woman cheered, not ceasing her shaking efforts but rather increasing them as she pulled the redhead into a tight, erratic hug.

However, then the Fallen girl seemed to get distracted with more of the newcomers. There was a relaxed looking older guy that went over to the two she had just been speaking with. Then came the giant, and Aki's black eyes lit up as if it were Christmas. Suddenly, Irina was released as Aki disappeared from accosting the young woman before appearing at the base of the ogre.

"You're HUGE!" Aki cheered, zipping around from the woman's side, to her front, then back, and at some point was hanging off the woman's shoulders as if she were a living jungle gym.

In the midst of this, Felipe arrived and momentarily evaded the Fallen's attention as she was still absorbed in the stature of Ogre. However, Dimitri would not be so fortunate. Rather, he invited it with his entrance and offering of sweets. The swordswoman's gaze locked on the box like a predator eyeing prey, and with an impressive display of speed had swung off the larger Fallen and blitzed over to the side of the nervous man carrying a box of confections.

"Ooooh~ Can I have some? Please~?" The woman begged, practically bouncing in place as she awaited permission, hardly paying mind to Fuyuko and Isaac as they arrived.

Direct Interactions: Irina RedArmyShogun Ogre SirDerpingtonIV Dimitri BFabulous

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Michiru Kuiiru Shizu

BFabulous​

"'Ey-yo!! 'Sup ev'ryone!!" Came the casualist of casual greetings from a loud female's voice, echoing across the garage. Alongside her boisterous greeting, she clapped her hands once in accompaniment to her words, and held her hands up above her head, snapping and pointing at the gathered group of individuals. While simultaneously glancing at each one behind her slick darkened sunglasses. She confidently strolled over, cool sunglasses and fancy suit prominently first noticed, earrings glinting, fancy shoes clicking with almost deafening steps, something that sounded far louder than it probably should, given her frame. Ah, maybe that was just one's imagination. Then she carried on.

"We got grizzled old agent dudes here, some fiiiine ladies, a couple of beasties -ooo~ and water-gun enthusiast, we got everything, yo! And a -blind woman? Should she even be here? 'Ey! There's the Reaper, sweet. Vajra, Eastern badass -nice! 'Eyo!" She repeated, with a large, toothy side grin.

"Michiru Kuiiru Shizu, in the HO-USSSEE!" She called. "You decide which one's my first name, heh," she chuckled. "Oh, I mean, Senior Agent Michiru Kuiiru Shizu, r e p o r t i n' i n." She finished, adding a robotic inflection to her voice, mimicing -and mocking some of the more formal greetings. Only to wink at one dude. "Otherwise known as.. The Consumer..." She said slightly darkly, glancing between the people, her gaze setting on that one dude she winked at. And which she walked over to, "Speaking of which..."

"Beignets, my dude! Don't mind if I do.." She reached towards his box (or whatever 'pastry carrier is lol') and then pulled back a bit. "Mind if I-?" With the question left hanging in the air -not even waiting for confirmation, she opened up the box (or again, whatever is lol) and reached forward, snatching one up. "Mmm~! Delicious! And I know a thing or two about good eatin'~" Shizu chimed in, flashing him a toothy grin. Where her teeth seemed to sharpen into fangs, looking like two serrated swords fit together like a puzzle. Or was that just a trick of the imagination? Said after popping one of the pastries in her mouth and savoring it in front of him -or really, all of them, she as nearly as loud and over-the-top as Aki was. With a swallow and lick of her lips, she snickered at Dimitri. "That was a joke. A dark, Fallen joke, don't mind it -Oh, mind if I -another? -Thanks, bro, 'preich'." She reached forward -again without any real confirmation- and grabbed a few more. She glanced beside her at the black-eyed girl who had been waiting the whole time, and gave her a smirk. Only to walk away from Dimitri nomming on them in delight. A satisfied look displayed on her lips underneath those cool glasses.

Annabella-Annaliese Angelova

Juju​

A few more agents arrived. This was becoming quite the gathering. There was an old man she recognized -Special Agent Roman. She wondered if he recognized her. Probably not. Another Fallen. This time with three arms and a big stature -and even worse -um- 'presence'. It was all Annabelle-Annaliese could do to refrain from wrinkling her pert nose.

'Anna' dipped her head to Emily. "That's quite alright. I understand. Doesn't bother me in the least. Call me what is easiest for you~"

A familiar voice spoke up. Though Annabella-Annaliese had already known she was there. Actually, she had known she was about to arrive, but that was neither here nor there.

"Ah, Fuyuko, darling!" The woman chimed in a friendly manner, giving her voice a hint of 'surprised' inflection, to sound -well, 'surprised'. As if she were, in fact, surprised. All the while, sort of turning towards her. "You're looking spiffy." Anna quipped, lips curling upward into a smirk. "I might have to decline, I'm afraid. Just got off the plane, I might need to find some place to unwind and relax for a bit. But there's plenty of fine people here, I'm sure one of them will join you. Though, I do regret it. I do enjoy our strolls."

She paused, hearing what they were all hearing. The loud greeting from a spirited agent. Anna knew that this woman was arriving beforehand, what she didn't expect was how loud she was going to be. Though, she might've guessed.

Anna couldn't help but speak up to her. "Oh, Shizu, you know me. And was that all really necessary?"

Shizu stopped and turned, with a chuckle, she swallowed her food. "I know, sweetcheeks." She finished licking her fingers. "Sure was! Gotta break the tension. Gotta let them all know the pecking order around here."

Anna frowned ever so slightly. Shizu's laisse-faire attitude always did throw her off a bit. "It's Anna-"

"I know, I know -- Anna."

"Hm, yes. What does all that even mean?"

"You know. Let them know they can relax and stuff. All that stuffy business gets in the way. Makes people nervous." She was wiping her hands off on her jacket. When she saw 'a face' from Anna, she paused. Though really Anna's face hadn't changed much at all. "What? I got a spare. Don't mind this, I always take an effort to look great, and you know it."

"Hm."

"But back to what I was saying. Everyone needs a to relax a little. So I come in greeting them like that to lighten the mood. It's more fun that way! Right? You know, before lighten the mood, before we go kill stuff. What do you always say? 'There's always work to be done.'"

"M~." She softly hummed, a small smile on her lips.

Shizu smirked, too. "Sorry Anny, I was just playin'."

Seeing as how Anna seemed to accept that, Shizu grinned once again and waved her hand casually. "Cool. See ya around."

With that, their interaction over. Shizu strolled away, saying as she walked along, "Boy, they really called in the Brigade, this time, huh?! Guess summin's really goin' on. Since they need me."

Anna's 'gaze' lingered on Shizu's back for just a moment longer, boring into it. Then she looked back towards Fuyuko. You know what? She was feeling a bit more relaxed. Maybe she'd join her friend on that walk after all. "Oh, that was just Shizu," Anna said to Fuyuko. "Don't mind her. She likes to stir the pot a bit. She's -um- harmless. Really."

Anna knew how wrong that was the moment she said it. And it wasn't like Anna to lie. But, she said it all the same. That was a Fallen she was at least familiar with.

 

[Cresion Breezes]

Interactions: Emily Zhang ( RedArmyShogun ), Isaac Martin ( Stros ), Felipe Fortuno ( Solirus )​

The room was getting quite lively as more members poured in, there were more than a dozen agents now. Alessio somewhat understood why he was dispatched here after scanning the room as what seemed like abrupt chaos was roaring out. Emily Zhang likely wouldn't have been able to handle just everyone herself during combat dispatches, but by the looks of the people around it seemed like no one could handle the entire bunch at once, in or out of combat. The jumpy blue-haired girl flung herself across the room before the other young woman she was..."harassing" could react because...now of the agents who just reported in brought snacks. Alessio chuckled a bit while catching a few loose leaves from the other tactical leader's dossier, he quickly looked at them casually while leaning his weapon and himself back on a wall. He remembers how exciting it was to take a ride in a helicopter when he first started barely into adulthood, but now it's making him rather sleepy. It was a sign of aging, he thought, though the documents did show that there were several members of the team that was considerably older than him, so maybe he shouldn't be thinking that way.

"Lively bunch, huh?" Alessio commented casually as he shuffled the papers into a neat small stack and returned them to their original place. "I'm not too worried though, it seems like they're getting along just fine, least they aren't capable of sharing some sweets." He nodded towards the agents and senior agents that began acting like school children the moment snacks got involved, he couldn't blame them though, SWORD just did things differently (and although he was rather hesitant to admit it, also more interestingly) than the Vatican.

"Hmm..." After looking around the room Alessio did notice there were a few quiet individuals, he wasn't too concerned, after all, he was almost one of them as well, but the few things he saw on the documentation did worry him slightly about personality clashes between various agents. "Perhaps that was a slip of the tongue, I am always a bit concerned when they organize garrison members into MTFs, many, including my fellow brothers and sisters, did not adjust well to it." Alessio tapped the table half-heartedly as he quietly voiced some concerns to Emily, before pausing both his action and words.

"Ah, I apologize for my doubt, il mietitore. I fully intend to trust your ability to control the situation. I shall be around, if you would be in want or need of any support." He gave a nod to the dark-haired woman and returned the weapon to his back, walking away from the table and to the other agents who entered the room afterward.

Deep breaths now. It's not many people.

"Greetings, Special Agent Martin. I see that you are not keen on...mingling with the youngsters." There were only a few people around and it didn't really count as "public", but Alessio did feel a sense of tingling nervousness when speaking up, so much so that his accent slipped more into the Italian side than Americana English. "Va bene, it is rather rowdy in here. But I hope that does not sully your impression of us, I am T.L Alessio Angelerio, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"And you, signore?" Out of the corner of his eye Alessio noticed another man who haven't spoken, not even an introduction of name and rank since he showed up. Although SWORD was not a military nor religious institution with rigorous formalities, the lack of basic politesse was a rather troubling sign. "May I ask for your name and rank, it must have been difficult to speak up in this...commozione."

 

[Solirus]

Felipe Fortuno

Interactions: Cresion Breezes
Mentions: SirDerpingtonIV ​

It was surprising that more agents were turning up. Felipe imagined that even with a plane, he'd be by far the latest to arrive, but he was pleasantly proven wrong. What wasn't pleasant however was the commotion that had built up and amplified as Agent Dimitri pulled out a bag of sweets.

Felipe looked back at his notes, flipping between pages where he had kept names of agents alongside a small sentence describing them. Some of these people he'd already learnt about due to their higher ranks and more apparent notoriety. However in this meeting there also appeared some new faces which he had not written anything about, the most clear of these examples was Ogre, from smell alone Felipe wrote down a simple sentence: Asquerosa, y potencialmente extremadamente problematica.

Spoiler: Translations

Disgusting, and potentially extremely problematic

Before he could continue checking and revising his notes, Alessio approached him. "Felipe Fortuno, agente senior. Non devi preoccuparti per me, stavo solo controllando i miei appunti mentre c'era tutto questo trambusto." Even if he didn't know Alessio was Italian, his accent and tendency to fill out sentences with Italian words made it clear enough. He thought perhaps if he spoke in Italian it'd make it easier to continue a conversation.

Spoiler: Translation

"Felipe Fortuno, senior agent. You don't have to worry about me, I was just checking my notes while all this commotion was going on."

"Comunque, visto che stiamo ancora aspettando altre persone. Cosa ne pensi delle persone riunite oggi? Sei nervoso per qualcuno di loro?" Felipe asked Alessio hoping to at least start some discussion while the commotion died down and the rest arrived.

Spoiler: Translation

"Anyway, since we are still waiting for other people. What do you think of the people gathered today? Are you nervous about any of them?"

 

[RedArmyShogun]

S.W.O.R.D. Camp Miller's Hill
Emily Zhang - Irina Nikitovna
​

Reaching up to her headset, Emily gave a bit of a frown, a confused look playing over her features for a brief bit. "You what? It shouldn't be a problem no. Will I be getting him back? Hmm... Not words I like hearing, boss. Alright, yeah later, we'll make do, we always do." With that her attention shifts to Seymore as she jerks her right thumb to the large office building over her right shoulder. "You're wanted for elsewhere. Reassigned. Effective immediately." Waiting for him to accept the orders her attention was soon drawn elsewhere, chiefly by the old man in the tourist trap shirt. He seemed to know who she was, and who he was, well, you would have to be blind or deaf to not know him.


"Sergeant. Not a ranking we use but one you have earned. Welcome. Reaper or Zhang is fine, even Emily, though I guess we should make use of our family names to be somewhat official. Though Elder in this case, I would not blame you if it were taken as an insult."

No sooner than that was done a very unique specimen thudded across the way, having got in by a means that would no doubt anger security. Curious that she no longer thought of herself as human. "There is no work just yet. Wrangling the cats so to speak." Noting her rough way of being, it would be best to avoid placing her with some of them. She was unnerving in some regard.

Next was Felipe Fortuno next to arrive, and he seemed to wish to outdo them all, parachuting in. The Tower was going to be pissed about that, never mind if Security turned up. They were already making work for her and they weren't even her responsibility till just now. Letting out a slow exhale she would deal with that later.

Next was one of the brand-new recruits, Dimitri Saint Jeanne. His height wasn't a typo on the report. It just might keep him alive in all honesty, but it was not worth mentioning. As he also addressed her with a salute in a manner, with the typical behavior of a new recruit. "At ease. I'll give you the same speech I did the previous ones once you all are here. And Beignets? Ah, they remind me of fried dumplings... Well, no, that's what they are. Mayb-"

Before she could get finished, Aki squeezed Irina in a hug and then fucked off, climbing atop the giant before leaping off like a squirrel to beg for the food that Dimitri had brought.

"The hell are you doing you fucking shit?!" Did Irina scream out, going for a knife at her side, she glared, swiping at Aki just as she jumped off, muttering curses in Russian to herself, she put the knife away and went back to resting, eying over a few of them as she did so, her thoughts kept to herself.

At the exact same time, Fuyuko Shimizu, another new recruit, she seemed rather calm and more comfortable here than the other two had. Interesting. She also knew Anna and the two were on friendly terms. It would not be a bad idea to pair them up. Next was Isaac Martin. He was a garrison guard, well former one with what struck her as problem features. If he had to be with any of the Fallen, things could turn south real fast. Still, they needed numbers. She had heard of him however, his fanaticism as some would turn it and desire for revenge led to him making one hell of a name for the Former British Empire. The trek across the Pond was not so great. Still his accent did hang about. Nodding at his greeting, she watches as a figure known to her did show up.

Michiru Kuiiru Shizu, The Consumer. Or so she introduced herself. But her purpose and work were as ill-omened as her own. They bared her from promotion high up as the Reaper had been promoted, though another part of that was her personality. If Zhang had wanted them to me less formal, this girl pretty much ditched it past a point she would consider good for work. Still, it wasn't anything to raise a fuss about. "You get around a bit. I'm unsure if they expect anything or this all ties into the rotational system. Honestly I expect it to be something they'll do away with eventually or stretch the time out more for. Still, both of us being here has people talking."

With that said, Alessio seemed to have misgivings about the Garrisons having personnel reassigned. She didn't disagree. "We make do with what we can. The MTF's deal with problems the Garrisons cannot. We've lost more than a few men, though our shared co-operation seems to be opening doors quickly." It was then that he took notice of their one actual Garrison turned MTF... And he seemed to have the same misgivings, though given his own nature, Alessio had cause to be worried, though it now started leaking into and fragmenting his speech as he tried to strike up a conversation with Felipe. Commendable, though now both were speaking in Italian, given the roots it and spanish shared she was able to understand bits and pieces, but it was annoying in a manner. Closing the folder, she was tired of waiting for the last. Provided they turned up, they could catch up later.

"Well, most of us are here. I know all of you and most of you seem to of me. Unless you all wish to continue this meet and greet out here, I would lead you all to our common office space. While I may be in command, the nature of our team dictates that we operate in smaller units. Thus I have little interest in micromanaging you all. So long as your reports are filed on time or audio recordings are made that function well enough to be reports, then we should have no problems."

Looking at Martin and then Irina directly, she continues, "I will tolerate no infighting. If you have problems with one another, I suggest a friendly boxing match in the gym or a friendly spar out back behind the fuel farm.

While I will ideally bring you all back alive, we know the work we signed up for. And to repeat, be at ease. I don't have any interest in exchanging salutes outside of here. I won't put up with insubordination, but this is not West Point. Nor are most of us from the Military. In case most of you didn't know, Introductions for myself were kindly made by our Cleaner friend. You may call me, Agent Zhang, Zhang or Reaper, Emily once you've earned it."

With that Irina shoots a hand up and gets to her feet. "Mikhaleva Irina Nikitovna, Irina Nikitovna. Call me Irina, other names I've earned or go by are Krasnaya, Upyr-6, Ira, Crimson Devil. Upyr-6 is the most common when I was with GRU. All I want is to get to those offices or out of this damn sun. If we have a meet and greet make it fucking fast. Sir." Flashing her fangs, she then ads on, "As to why I am, take a guess. Upyr is Russian for Vampire if you are still confused."

Interactions: Everyone currently present.

 

[Juju]

Thalia_Neko SirDerpingtonIV EmperorsChosen
To someone who had first met Anna, hearing a blind woman compliment the appearance of clothes would come as a bit of a shock. Fuyuko herself had also been caught off guard during their first meeting, but by now she had become used to the peculiarities.

"Oh my. Thank you!" She said with a lighthearted chuckle at the compliment, a ripple of mischief in her voice, "Mother always said girls should wear their pretty things at every opportunity. They don't get to wear them forever! Soon I shall be an old crone in her kosode…"

She sighed in mock wistfulness. At Anna’s decline of her offer Fuyuko simply smiled and nodded in understanding, “Another time, perhaps! There will be many fine days to come, I am sure.”

It seemed that Fuyuko was not the last to join, as pretty soon the bombastic Shizu approached. She recognized the first words as Japanese, however the dialect was hard to follow. Fuyuko ran into the same problem when trying to speak in her native dialect to others, which led to a deal of embarrassment and confusion in the past. In a way, she was thankful that English was the primary language of SWORD. Although she was far from mastering it, at least it didn’t bring up conversations about where she was from.

“The Consumer…?” Fuyuko muttered quietly, head tilted quizzically. She wasn’t entirely sure how being a ‘shopper’ became a title, or an ominous one at that, but she supposed the well-dressed lady played the part rather well. The true meaning was lost in translation.

A part of Fuyuko's heart broke when she witnessed the woman wipe her hands on such a finely tailored jacket, but she did well to keep her grievances to herself. Otherwise she would be insisting on washing the suit at once, along with the clothes of the towering fallen everyone seemed to be glaring at. If anything, Fuyuko felt horrible for the woman’s state of hygiene. Instead of disgust, she felt only pity.

“Ah, it is no mind at all~,” Fuyuko waved nonchalantly at Anna with a light chuckle, “Shizu seems nice. I’m happy to have her here.”

Hands clasped together, Fuyuko took a moment to look over all who were assembled, from the brooding ‘vampire’ to the old man in the ‘I NYC’ shirt. Grinning, she said, “My, my. What a promising team!”

She meant those words, yet a part of her was worried. Mixing so many fallen in with a human squad usually did not end well. Old scars led to hatred, and those ill feelings more often than not put a wedge between co-operation…or worse. Fuyuko did not hold it against them, however. Often she wondered if she too would have a very different outlook if the SWORD agent who recruited her had been a human.

Seedlings were easier nipped than weeds, so Fuyuko took it upon herself to fake an ignorance to the hostile glances being sent towards Ogre. The short priestess had to tilt her head back to see Ogre’s face, but that only made her smile wider. “Look at you! So tall! Ah, if only I could be too… I could have finished my chores in minutes and spent the rest of the day slacking off...”

She paused, hand held thoughtfully under her chin.

“Hmm…did you go hunting recently?” Fuyuko inspected the dirt and debris on Ogre’s feet and clothes. There was a distinct smell of demon blood, one that stuck out from the usual filth to the observant. “Hmm… it must have been some big game. Say, perhaps you’d like to go on that walk later? You could bring your friend too.”

Fuyuko nodded towards the hyperactive Aki, who had just recently climbed up Ogre like a jungle gym.

 

[seasonedcat]

through the chaos, another van pulled into the meeting place, noticeably later than the others. This fact even the driver knew, who was quite annoyed at this fact, having to be called in on his off day after one of the Australian agents had missed the first car, that conveniently was set up so the two new agents could go together. As the car pulled in, Djalu jumped out, barely giving the car time to come to a full stop.

Dajlu stretched his limbs with loud pops, his joints all thanking him after the long journey here. Currently, he was wearing a 3 sizes too big, hot pink I NY shirt that hung off his left shoulder loosely, along with a pair of ripped black jeans and combat boots. Under his shirt, he had a long-sleeve-ripped fishnet that really put the whole outfit together. Though, of course, the highlight of the outfit was the multiple shopping bags filled with many souvenirs. In fact, despite the many bags, only one large kit bag on his back seemed to be brought beforehand.

as he walked towards the group, he gave a little wave, a large smile spreading over his features, "ello' mates, how are we all doing today?" he announced cheerfully, his accent thick on his tongue. This was actually his first time leaving Australia, and he was practically bouncing with excitement. Adjusting the many bags, he observed the group, his smile never dropping, "So, where exactly am I supposed to check in here? Not sure what exactly I am supposed to do," he offered with a light chuckle as he spoke to anyone willing to listen.
mentions: anyone there

 

[RedArmyShogun]

S.W.O.R.D. Camp Miller's Hill
Emily Zhang - Irina Nikitovna
​

And with the arrival of the last one, things could finally get moving. This was everyone, unless any sudden surprises turned up, like her losing one recruit before they even began. Some conversations were being carried out here and there, some seemed keen to get a move on and others seemed keen to get on with it all, to do a mission, to answer a call. She didn't much blame them, but still, things needed to progress onwards. Looking at the clock on her cellphone, time was moving on and so unfortunately was their day.

"Alright, Listen up, that's Djalu, feel free to repeat what I said, or I'll tell them again later."

Tucking the folders under her left arm, she continues, sweeping her right hand to large office building. "We are on the 2nd floor Room 12, West Wing. We share the building with a few more Units and departments, mostly record keeping and the like. Be there within the next 30 minutes. You'll find your personal effects in boxes, the office ones that is. Your living quarters have had things moved in but not positioned, personal effects will contain an envelope of where you'll be staying as well as a key for the room. Don't lose it. Hell, don't take it with you till the workday is done. I'll have your duty roster drawn up soon, and we'll likely change that up a time or two till we find who meshes well."

There were the new people, so they deserved a bit of a longer explanation; "Unless a major threat has been found, we tend to operate in teams of four to five, adjust as the situation allows. Minus my office, desks are first come first serve, we each get a work PC, a desk obviously and office chairs. The armory for our group is also inside of the office. It's a common room, has a workstation with a link to records, space for a water cooler, coffee maker, you know the drill. So, get to know one another, or get on over to the office. I'm hoping it's a slow day but never know."

With that, Emily gave a wave, heading off for the office without making the effort to know the rest, though it seemed she was extremely busy with the new arrangements. A few minutes later she was inside and, on a bulletin board were a few notices, but most importantly to them all was a simple list, of team composition.

Element A Lead Angelerio A. Members: Fortuno F, Ogre, Evans D.
Element B, Lead Liuyang H. Members: Angelova A-A, Shimizu F, Kiyoko A, Nikitovna I.
Element C, Lead Zhang E. Members:Elder R, Martin I, Shizu MK, Jeanne D.​

Writing in the names in Military and Law Enforcement fashion, she wouldn't care if they went by a title or first names in the field, and she was already expecting backlash.
For her part, Irina immediately left, wanting into the shade and airconditioned climate of the office, and to take the best seat of course. Taking the desk closest to the door, she would have one more right next to her and two behind, the desks were arranged in clusters of four against the wall, with a split office leading to the main office for their leader and a bathroom being outside just around the corner. The armory as promised was at the back of the common office and she could see her AK sitting pretty. Some other weapons were there too.

Still, this list assignment, it was a little grating. Clenching her teeth she sit about sitting up her desk space, including personal effects of her own, first was a military formation of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder with a relaxed atmosphere about them, another photo of herself doing a back flip hatchet throw, an Orthodox Cross and a nesting doll of past Russian Leaders. There was also a picture of a man with his hand resting on the left shoulder in a military uniform, while she was in casual clothing with an eye for functionality rather than fashion.

Interactions: Everyone currently present.

 

[BFabulous]

Dimitri released his salute on Emily's command and his body was slightly less stiff than before. Her tone was calming yet firm to Dimitri,"Oh, um...Yes ma'am. Just a cultural thang, it's just fried dough just like a dumblin-"The young agent actually didn't notice Irina screaming but did notice the blue blur approaching him.

Dimitri's body was already stiff but instantly became frigid as Aki, in his opinion, almost tackled him for a beignet, but it could have just been her speed that caught him completely off guard. he released a sharp gasp when his eyes finally caught up with her. From his perspective, she was next to him begging for a beignet within seconds of him speaking,"Uh...W-w-wow y-y-your f-fast...," He was obviously stunned but snapped back when he realized she was asking for one of his treats,"Oh! Uh...Here! Wipe your hands first, s-sorry." Dimitri pulled out a pack of hand wipes and handed them to her. Dimitri lifted the crate to meet Aki's eye level as he opened it,"I-I-I didn't know if anyone had any allergies, s-so I made a variety....Um...There are regular beignets, which just have powdered sugar, lavender vanilla bean, chocolate filled, strawberry lemon, blueberry, pumpkin, sweet potato, baked coconut, and then the ones at the bottom were created with a tad bit of liquor. I-I-I don't think we should have 'em right now..." As he was giving the list to Aki a woman dressed in a suit & tie ripped directly from a Men in Black movie winked at him causing him to flinch and lose focus.

Almost immediately the woman made her way over to Dimitri to ask for a beignet,"Y-y-yes!" Dimitri went to pull out his wipes once more, but before he could her hand had already reached in a grabbed one. Dimitri's body froze in shock as his head slowly turned to her,"Where have your hands been?" His words were barely audible and the fact his face didn't move from his shocked expression didn't help either. Dimitri never thought he was a germaphobe but when it came to food he was always hypervigilant about cleanliness. before the young man could recollect his thoughts properly the woman had already reached back in to grab more and mentioned she was a fallen, which sent him into a fearful spiral mixed with a bit more of shock. Dimitri's body slowly recoiled in fear as his mind ran rampant with different ideas of what Shizu could've meant.

WHATDIDSHEMEANBYTHAT!DOESSHEEATPEOPLE!WHYDIDIAGREETOTHIS!ISHOULDRUNAWAY!AHHH SHE'S GONNA EAT ME IF I SAY SOMETHING! I HOPE I TASTE DISGUSTING......AHHHH I DON'T WANNA TASTE LIKE ANYTHING!WHATIFTHEYSPLITMEUP!?AHHHH! I DON'T WANNA BE A BLOOD BAG OR A LATE MISSION MEAL!

As soon as Emily finished her explanation, Dimitri began to creep away, still fearful of the terrifying image he created of Shizu, plus the thought of Irina draining him dry if she just gets thirsty. Ironically, he could tell Aki was a fallen just by her eyes although he wasn't as fearful of her in comparison to Shizu or Irina. Dimitri took the first chance to leave by following directly behind Emily. As soon as he was away from the others, he took a quick breath to sort out his thoughts. He could feel his heart attempting to jump out of his chest and the only thing he could think about outside of his fear for the fallen is how would he even be able to function on the field. With another deep breath resolved himself to face them with a smile and not to judge them based on his fears, even if he has to piss himself before he was able to speak to himself. Dimitri made his way up to the office and just randomly took a seat at one of the desks. Placing his beignets on the desk, the young man flopped down on the desk and stuffed his mouth with a beignet.

RedArmyShogun Thalia_Neko EmperorsChosen

 

[jmann]

Roman Elder
Special Agent

Roman nodded along as people arrived, immediately clocking the kid known as Djalu, an Aussie boy. Roman never expected another Australian to be part of the same operations centre as him, he could only hope they were in the same team as well. The kid didn't look old enough to be an officer, though the horns gave him away as a Fallen conscript. The others he immediately clocked were the near-three metre fiend with three arms, the blind swordswoman Roman had heard of once or twice, and the volatile Russian vampire shrouded in rumour and infamy. From what Roman had heard, Irina was a ruthlessly effective vampire and one of the youngest special agents in service.

At the final instructions, Roman prepared to look for the living quarters until he saw a tiny American boy sputtering like a dying car engine and slinking off towards the offices. The kid had introduced himself to Zhang as Agent Jeanne. Roman could immediately recognise the anxiety that ravaged Jeanne. He had seen a number of young men come through the army having lied through their psych tests to get on the field only to find they were wildly unfit emotionally for the struggles.

"I'll see you guys later, yeah?" Roman jogged off around the group, giving the towering Fallen a wide berth. He followed Jeanne up to the offices and finally caught up in their office.
Roman kneeled down beside where the kid had sat with his pastries.
"Hey, mate, how ya going?" Roman reached out to shake his hand, "Listen, mate, I know what you're going through. I don't know how many times you've been around the block but it gets pretty fuckin stressful, yeah? Make sure you're taking things easy. If you want, we'll go for a run after knock-off today. How does that sound?"

Roman stood and looked around the room again to see Zhang having written up their squad listings. Roman had been unsurprisingly placed under the leadership of Zhang and, to his disappointment, would not be serving alongside Djalu. There was an upside though in the form of Jeanne being with him. At least this way he could keep a close eye on the kid.

---

Interactions: BFabulous