❝ ── WASTELAND, BABY !

[vaermina]

ＲＯＬＡＮＤ ＹＡＮＥＺxxx
I.xcis malex II.x33 years oldx III. an inr tactical intelligence officer & sniper


indentthere was nothing to be seen for miles out in the wasteland.
indentthe metropolis that is the capital seems so contemporary compared to the rest of the country. to those who spend their whole lives living within the walls of washington, the sight of the wasteland may come across as quite the shock. the country is devoid of bright color apart from the characteristic shades of sorrel, slate and flaxen. the impeccable green lawns and glassy lakes found across the capital are nothing more but a dream for the wasteland, for every plant and tree out here is dead and all bodies of water poisoned by radiation. you could drive for miles upon miles and nothing will change. dismantled neighborhoods from the pre-war era will remain sweltering and decaying in the heat, rusty corpses of old vehicles sitting undisturbed on highways, lifeless trees overlooking the nests of savage wild creatures without so much as a budge from the wind. every so often you may stumble upon the occasional quaint wastelander settlement or bustling town but all their municipalities are abject compared to the capital city. and the thing is, it doesn't have to be that way. wastelanders don't have to live in filth and transgression. should the general population become more receptive to conclave influence, he was sure that the process of attempting to catapult their society back to pre-war standards could be achieved far quicker than any of them realize. there is hope for a better future. the country doesn't have to stay this way forever. however, the conclave's goals only continue to be hindered by the small acts of insurrection initiated by the rebellion, and the general incredulity most citizens harbor towards the government. distrust towards the ruling body has always been common in functioning societies, even before the nukes dropped. nobody trusts politicians and, admittedly, you'd be right not doing so.
indentstill, that doesn't mean anarchy is the answer. to roland, the country can only reach a certain peak of performance before it ultimately crumbles apart if there is no order on a national scale. tainted-bloods do not receive the worthy amount of education to even dictate themselves, nevertheless any sort of hierachy on a grand compass. how could any of them be entrusted to self-govern when most of them can't even read and write? the population can never be trusted on its own to make the right choice, and that logic goes back centuries ago to when alexander hamilton wrote the federalist papers. the founding fathers had implemented plenty of fail-safes such as the electoral college because they had been wary that the citizenry could be swayed or manipulated into putting their faith into the wrong candidate. tyranny, dictatorship, fascism; ideologies that could easily seep into the soil of the united states and poison the country as a whole if carried out correctly. the founding fathers had been certain that the electoral college could prevent such from happening. the men who created this country were wary of the uncultivated minds of the general population; if anything, the way wastelanders act today comes as no surprise. they're distrustful of anything they cannot understand. granted, the tensions surrounding blood purity and alleged elitism don't exactly help with anything, too. he knew that the conclave's delivery could be far more gentle, but it's not like tainted-bloods have been receptive to any of their approaches thus far.
indentthe gps was leading them down a dirt road that branched off from the compound. he could hear the crunch of gravel underneath the vehicle's tires as they lumbered along. jazmín's quip was beginning to look like a real possibility. one pot-hole and roland was a goner. on the other hand, deedee kept a fair distance ahead of them. she would bolt along the road before veering off into the grass, occasionally sniffing what must be the remnants of a scent trail before barreling towards the road again. whatever lone stick lay around was immediately picked up and tossed aside by the canine after a minute or two of aggressive chewing. he watched her for a moment before his attention turned to jazmín. "hey, no backseat driving over there. i don't get distracted and go off route; i simply find a more efficient and less time-consuming course. there's a difference." the thought of roland and jazmín being terminated from the taskforce on the first day had no right being that hilarious. surely, even they couldn't screw up that badly? it's not like the scenery of the wasteland could distract them, anyway. like jazmín so sarcastically commented, it's not like there's anything impressive to gawk at. when the world was thrown into a nuclear apocalypse, it spared no hesitance to completely obliterate any sort of uniqueness that could be found in certain regions of the united states. "first, it's the backseat driving and now it's the sleeping on the job. i don't think i'm on the one who risks us being terminated over here." he teased her. he was assuming the checkpoint would be a certain number of feet beyond the walls of fort themus. it was far too time-consuming for them to stop at the actual base - no doubt a cesspool of chaos right now - to gather information. a checkpoint for information relay is swift, effective and tactful. and just like he thought, the bright glow of a turquoise arrow on the screen was enough to confirm they were heading in the right direction. the dirt road they were following was no doubt somehow connected to a series of trails leading to other military bases in the region, but it's easy to get lost in the wasteland when everything looks the same. it's not exactly uncommon for entire cavalries to go missing in the wasteland because they lost their way. to be honest, that's one of the few advantages wastelanders will always have over conclave soldiers. they know this land like the back of their hands; guerilla warfare has an interesting way of gaining leverage over the united states military, no matter what century it is.
indentjazmín's dutiful tinkering with the vehicle's built-in holoprojector initiated a robotic explanation. roland was silent as he kept his eyes glued to the road ahead, a few brief moments passing before the holoprojector displayed the static image of a man clad in a simple uniform. his brief introduction revealed himself to be captain sutemell, one of the base commanders at the themus-1 outpost. like his companion, roland offered a brief nod in greeting. the captain did not hesitate to dive right into it. pull over before the first gate's security posting... information transmission... specifications... the man could not help but tense slightly when he felt beau suddenly shift on his shoulder. the sand-cat has been relatively quiet thus far, something that isn't unusual for him given his meek nature. his signature resting spot is usually on top of one of roland's pauldrons, although it's not uncommon for the sand-cat to sometimes retreat to jazmín's shoulders when he wanted a change of scenery. soraya's retreat to the middle console effectively piqued his interest, though. a squeak sounded from the creature as he suddenly rose to his full height, navigating his away around roland's neck in order to try and climb down his armor to reach soraya. much like the woman next to him, roland felt a flash of irritation at the sand-cat's venture. "you-" he shook his arm as beau attempted to climb his way down. a squeal sounded from the sand-cat as he lost his balance, narrowly avoiding a plummet to the floorboard when he grabbed a hold of one of roland's rerebraces with his front paws. the two officers struggling to control their sand-cats was more or less an embarrassing display, no matter how unwilling captain sutemell is to comment on it. for a few seconds, beau was hanging on to dear life before roland briefly took his other hand off the steering wheel to grab him. he dropped the sand-cat onto his lap, eliciting a squeak of annoyance from the small animal. pain in the ass. luckily, captain sutemell's review was brief and through, going over not only the brief details of what to expect but neighboring points of interest. he and jazmín both shared a look at the mention of arcadia. lovely. nowadays, large wastelander cities are a cesspool of antipathy. but what else is new? roland has since become accustomed to the tension surrounding the conclave and the general population, although in recent years it has grown to become almost crippling.
indentcaptain sutemell's report was concluded by a brief farewell between himself and those in the vehicle before the holoprojector flickered off. jazmín spared no hesitation to comment on the conversation. roland sighed at her inquiry. "at this point, i'm not even fazed by it. multiple wastelander cities are suffering from that sort of climate right now." the ever increasing tensions between tainted-bloods and the conclave never fails to rise to new heights. he supposed the bickering between politicians in capitol hill certainly doesn't help with that, considering none of them can agree on any sort of legislation to try and soften the blows made under conclave leadership. it was hilarious, really, how even total nuclear annihilation world-wide is not enough to change the quarrelsome nature that makes up the political scene. politicians will never do what's right by the masses, and that's just how it is. is it unfortunate? of course but anyone who suspects lawmakers to be made of pure intentions are foolish. they'll never back down in an argument and agree with the opposition if it goes against their party's nature, even if said opposition makes a morally sound point. it was ridiculous. congress's inability to get anything done in a timely manner as well as agree on important legislation that could help the government in the long run has only solidified his disdain for it all. politicians have the power to change the world and the livelihood of millions but they just... don't. that's why roland always knew his career path was destined for the military, even during the period of uncertainty he felt in his youth when it came to choosing a reasonable vocation.
indentthe man couldn't help but give jazmín the side-eye when he noticed she was staring at him. it looked similar to the way deedee would peer at people from the corner of her eyes when she was lying down and noticed them approaching her. beau remained perched on his lap, staring intently at jazmín and soraya. before he could say anything, she commented on the sharpclaw business from earlier this morning. he couldn't help the snort of amusement that escaped him, all while barely registering the holoprojector's monotonic announcement. "i never thought i'd see the day where one of us would become emulous over a dead reptile. anyway, it's not much of a competition, darling. i can lug you around all day long over my shoulder; i can't much do that with a two ton animal. although i can imagine any sharpclaw will never do nearly as much talking as you do." he teased her, reaching over to briefly squeeze one of her hands with his own before it was back on the steering wheel. to be completely honest, though, jazmín does talk a lot but he's long since grown used to it. roland's pensive nature does not help when it comes to susceptibility for random bouts of irritation when people rambled for too long, although their many years together has allowed roland to grow familiar with jazmín's talkative nature, as she's probably grown used to his more impersonal ways, as well. to others, it may look like a liverish match but their capability to understand the other's limits as well as general boundaries and feelings helps keep their relationship strong.
indentthe themus outpost was on them before they knew it. it was a military base of a much lesser scale; not one for massive traffic but instead, dedicated to specific tasks and situations. upon approaching the gates, he immediately slowed down although the bustling chaos surrounding the outpost was hard to miss. the base's grounds were teeming with soldiers and personnel, some clad in power armor, others in simple uniforms. most were running about, skittering off to their own vehicles, some standing in a rigid line of order as they waited for orders from their superiors. as roland pressed a button to allow the windows of their car to roll down, they were greeted by the sound of men and women shouting orders to each other, the roar of engines accompanying such as well as the clanging of weapons as soldiers fished for their guns. upon leaning forward in his seat, roland even noticed a helicopter was circling the outpost from a reasonable height up in the sky, the outcry of its propellers enough to alert the entire wasteland of the mayhem happening at themus. "this is already a dumpster fire and nothing has even happened yet." roland commented sourly, watching as several soldiers trotted past their vehicle with assault rifles in hand. deedee had stopped next to the car, ears plastered against her head at the commotion around them. as per the captain's instructions, roland had pulled over before the security posting that sat outside the first gates. he couldn't even imagine trying to get through the courtyard of the outpost without accidentally running somebody over.
indentluckily for them, they did not have to endure the bedlam for long. captain sutemell was waiting for them outside of the gates. he was dressed in a cookie cutter uniform, a sleek navy green garb decorated with a small assemble of badges and stripes. several soldiers stood behind him in power armor, each holding a lofty silver machine gun. the man wasted no time in approaching their car, greeting them with a brief yet respectful salute. "officer seco, officer yáñez," the captain greeted them. he stood outside the driver's seat, peering into their vehicle from the open window. his soldiers followed after them, although roland couldn't help but note that two of them slowly lowered their guns into the grass so they could approach the vehicle, opening up the backdoors to peer inside of the car's makeshift vault. they were most likely making sure the car was properly stocked. he was sure jazmín had done that prior to leaving the other base, but it was only protocol that all vehicles are inspected upon arriving. "i am afraid i must be curt with my report. we have just received word from director rhys himself that the president's cabinet - specifically the secretary of defense - is urging all taskforce members a swift deployment, so i cannot keep you here for long on executive orders. i will forward stats and miniscule details to your holoprojector as soon as you leave this outpost, but i have compiled a brief exposition for the time being in terms of specifications. around eleven this morning, one of our base sergeants and his troops opened fire on several rebels who had breached our computer database laboratory in the west wing at the early hours of the morning. we believe they had managed to infiltrate the base several days prior to this incident by ambushing a patrol of conclave soldiers several miles off arcadia and stealing their armor as a way to effectively slip inside; a convoy found those men about fifteen minutes ago in a ditch, stripped of their power armor. sergeant tuilker and his men believe that their gunfire injured these rebels before they could effectively flee the base from the right entrance, so we have strong belief that they couldn't have gone far without perishing from their wounds. we have already sent out several vehicles to inspect and secure the area of which the rebels are believed to be located; however, official investigation will not begin until you two arrive at the scene."
indent"mhm. and what did these men and women take from the laboratory, if i may ask?"
indent"upon a recount of our inventory, we believe they took several files of convoy routes, records of holoprojector conversations between bases in the area and, curiously enough, the coroner report of the former director of national intelligence, melanie garcia. director rhys has forwarded to us that he has received orders from a higher body that the coroner report is by far the most important file they stole from themus. it was in the process of being moved from the capital to fort nightsworth in the dixon wasteland for proper storage due to nightsworth's extensive file library. we are unsure why exactly the rebels took this report; they may have snagged it on a whim, thought it was something else they were looking for, we're not clear on that yet. we are hoping that you and your taskforce can retrieve that tape as soon as possible. it seems that a lot of higher personnel are in distress of its taking."
indentroland glanced at jazmín. this whole situation has already made itself out to be... well, bizarre. you hear about rebels breaching bases all the time to try and steal files they deem important, but a coroner report? that's a first. as far as roland knew, director garcia had died of natural causes not too long ago. so why would that be a subject of interest for the elusive rebellion? risking their lives for something like that? it did not make much sense to roland. he supposed the vehement need for the tape's safe return makes sense, too. if any sort of personal information is stored on that file regarding some of director garcia's feats in office, it could allow the rebels to gain an upper hand in what is going on in the president's cabinet. still, a coroner report? out of all things? roland was tempted to probe, but they couldn't waste anymore time here at the outpost. if director rhys is getting bombarded by other members of the executive branch because of the report's disappearance, they need to get to the scene as soon as possible. admittedly, it does put some pressure on them to know that some people such as the secretary of defense were already notified and jumping on this situation not even an hour after it occurred but when does this job not come with that sort of pressure?
indentcaptain sutemell cleared his throat. "i will forward more information to your holoprojector concerning the amount of rebels we believe were involved and other stats that may help with the investigation. i am afraid i cannot keep you for any longer, for there is a specific time that you are requested to be at the scene. hopefully, the report i send to you will be a bit more inclusive and detail-orientated than what i am able to give you at this time on such short notice. do you have any questions for me? i am happy to clear up any sort of confusion before you head to the scene."

[vaermina]

ＣＯＮＳＴＡＮＣＥ ＡＤＬＥＲxxx
I.xdemigirlx II.x29 years oldx III. a rebel-affiliated entertainer known as dahlia


indentthe life of a rebel is full of danger and apprehension. granted, it's the type of life one can willingly choose to endure but that doesn't make it any less minacious. constance and edwin have since grown used to the uncertainty that stalks them at every turn. and with every passing year, the conclave only continues to amplify their fight against the rebellion. acts of violence on those who are suspected to be rebels is exaggerated to new extremes to spread the government's message to the rest of the population. do you really want to help the rebellion? alright, we hope both you, your family and your entire village enjoy a gruesome demise. high-ranking conclave officials are notorious for destroying entire settlements and brutalizing wastelanders on a mere suspicion of rebel affiliation. it's the type of behavior that has installed a sense of paranoia in the general public. nobody wants to have anything to do with the rebellion if it means risking the safety of not only their families but their neighbors, too. the conclave has not reached the level of avant-garde it currently holds by having fools in charge. no, they prey on the imbalanced power dynamic they share with the citizenry. they may have difficulty squashing the rebellion directly due to the group's underground workings but they were intelligent enough to prey on other footholdings that could have possibly helped the rebellion's growth in recent years, and that included support from the general population. her mother once told her that if leaders cannot rule through love, they rule through fear and more often than not, it gets the job done. constance and edwin had practically signed up for this. they knew as well as anyone that this life of theirs could easily end up with them rotting in prison or dumped on the side of the road with a bullet in their heads. no amount of careful planning such as what they're doing right now guarantees absolute success. nothing is set in stone when you're a rebel. in fact, it was a miracle that they've lasted this long doing what they're doing. not many others who once worked for the rebellion could say the same. edwin's agreement with her plans only further solidified the fact they try and calculate every one of their moves, too. in this line of work, one minor slip-up can cost you your life and they haven't gotten this far by running on a whim. while liz rode off on horseback to survey the battlefield ahead, constance could not help but rub the back of her neck tentatively. "whatever it is, it's bound to make our lives a living hell once word gets out to other conclave bases of the break-in. every inch of the wasteland from here to odawa is going to be crawling with soldiers and officers."
indentliz's report confirmed that arcadia was coming up fast. constance did not process edwin's teasing because they were already racing to change out of their formal wear. no, they weren't going to undress in front of the entire crew but they definitely needed to take off their assortment of immoderate jewelry, as well as don something over their dress. constance unclipped the jeweled choker from around their throat before tossing it one of the baskets nearby, quickly doing the same for the medley of bracelets around their wrists. they proceeded to undo the straps of their heels before kicking them off, replacing them with sandals before reaching over to grab a marmalade and cream-colored poncho to pull over their head. constance could feel the wagon come to a halt as a voice shouted outside the tarp to slow down. despite the fact they've experienced this situation dozens of times, it never made it any less apprehensive. there was always the threat of a soldier finding something that could possibly incriminate them or suddenly feeling an ounce of suspicion towards their group and holding them all for questioning. constance's skin never failed to crawl when the caravan was searched, and nagging anxiety always tried to convince them that the soldiers could smell their fear from a mile away. constance looked up when one of the soldiers spoke from outside the makeshift door. edwin was quick to respond, most likely attempting to take the reins of the situation before danny could. that's probably a good idea. either way, they've done this long enough that edwin knew what to do and how to speak to the soldiers in a way that kept their ever so volatile tempers at bay. they'll be cleared through the checkpoint in a hot minute. they briefly placed their hand on edwin's shoulder. "be careful," they warned, hand slipping from his shoulder as the man exited the wagon.
indentconstance rose to her feet as the soldiers began their dull inspection. she glanced at the others in the wagon before she clamored her way to the front of the caravan. pulling back the curtains that separated the front seat from the inside, arcadia looked just about as she expected it would. surrounded by tall, iron shack fencing, the city's innards were hidden from sight. several dirt paths met at a fork in the road that branched off into one singular strip that led to arcadia's front gate. each path was packed with wastelanders. some stood drearily on foot, others perched atop horses and some clustered inside the walls of rotten wagons. they stood rigid in a straight line as they were checked and cleared by conclave soldiers. some of them looked to be travelling merchants, others families attempting to enter the city and some perhaps lone farmers. the lines were so long they were still a good distance away from the main gates. honestly, constance wouldn't even be surprised if the soldiers had decided to go down the lines and clear people through themselves rather than wait for each individual party to reach a certain spot for inspection. it made the process quicker. given the fact arcadia is the only city within miles that boasts a considerable sized market, it was no surprise it was near bursting in capacity. nobody looked to be very jovial right now, either. the air stunk of cattle and sweat, pierced by the wails of infants and the bickering of random wastelanders. mothers reached out to snatch their children back into their arms before they could accidentally tumble into the soldiers who prowled along the sides of the road. other conclave servicemen were gingerly poking through a variety of belongings that sat in carriages and carts. the toll booth had been set up directly in front of the gates of the city, where several officers surveyed the entering parties and determined how much caps it would cost for them to pass on through.
indentone of the caravan's musicians, nick, had slunk to the front seat after edwin left the wagon to deal with the soldiers. the teenager was observing the crowd warily as constance wiggled their way between him and danny. "what's shakin' bacon?"
indentnick gave them a look. "stop right now."
indent"what? oh come on, don't tell me sixteen is the age where teenagers begin to feel embarrassed by their elders in public."
indent"i'm pretty sure that phase starts at at-least thirteen," danny interjected beside them. "speaking of bacon, i'm starving. hey, any of you folk know of any good food stalls or grills in arcadia?" he raised his voice so the parties surrounding them could hear. unsurprisingly, the only responses he got were a few suspicious looks and scoffs. danny scowled. "jesus christ. where's that classic southern hospitality gone? back in my day, folks down here in the dixon wasteland would bond over delicacies. now, you can't even ask a question without someone trying to stab you in the throat. damn conclave, they're turning everyone against each other."
indentnick sighed, resting his elbow on the arm of the driver's seat. "i think it's more along the lines of the fact they just don't want to be bothered by some crazy old guy with dementia while they're getting shaken down by soldiers."
indent"dementia?" danny chortled. "i don't have dementia!"
indent"that's just the way he acts, sweetheart. no diseases involved. anyway, nick is right. i don't think we're really going to get any help directions wise while we're at the checkpoint. everyone's nerves are frayed. arcadia is a big city; there's definitely someplace that offers grub."
indentluckily for danny, it didn't take very long for the caravan to begin moving again. their brief interrogation at the toll went by quickly, as well. the soldiers had done a brisk inspection of the wagons, finding nothing that could incriminate the group of their true exertions. not that constance thought they would find anything in the first place. they haven't flown under the radar for this long by being sloppy. working in the shadows is the only way the rebellion could ever hope to gain leverage over the conclave. they did not have the numbers, resources or technology to combat them head-on. they've only lasted this long by lurking underground. constance worried that the destruction of fort snow and whatever the hell they were stealing from themus would jeopardize that, though. of course, constance is not naïve as in they thought violence was not the answer. you can't fight fire with, well, nothing. the government has no qualms initiating destruction on the rebellion so it's only reasonable they fight back tooth and claw. however, they don't agree with the excessive use of it. how could they try and push their message onto the public if they act just like the conclave? granted, they're not going around destroying settlements and gentrifying entire regions but spending all their time doing nothing but committing violence isn't going to get them anywhere. the debate of just exactly how they should combat their oppressors has been a long standing issue in the rebellion. some believed that if they act like the government, wastelanders would grow to fear and resent them just like they do with the conclave. others conclude that if they don't retaliate in the only language the conclave understands, they'll never be taken seriously.
indentfor a wastelander city, arcadia is a bustling cesspool for economy and social activity. established around the ruins of a conclave airship, its central location and vibrant market attracts citizens from all corners of the dixon wasteland. constructed on sandy slopes that only grow steeper the further you travel into the city, dirty pavement had been laid to establish makeshift pathways that snaked throughout the city, dividing destroyed aircrafts that doubled as residencies and sweltering shacks that had been built to accommodate businesses. most of the aircrafts were too small to host bars and whatnot, so they were only really used by wastelanders as housing. what really made arcadia such a sight, though, is the ruins of its namesake, a former airship navigated by the conclave. a lot of the airship's structures had been destroyed when the vessel first crashed. the flight deck - once suspended below arcadia's primary structure and utilized to house multiple smaller aircrafts for quick deployment and docking - had been destroyed upon impact, leaving only the command and main deck in-tact. it was obvious upon first glance that arcadia's ruins had been tampered with to look, well, more homely during construction of the city. pieces of iron ruin and debris had been used to help construct buildings across town. the ship's command deck - a nerve center once used to oversee the operations of the ship - had broken off from the rest of the ship, and now sat a comfortable distance away from the chaos of the streets. renovated and built upon but still remaining delicately in-tact with iron walls and a ceiling laden with stuck-out pipes and wiring, it was now designated as the official office for arcadia's mayor. once the heart and soul of the airship, the main deck stood tall on the city's highest slope. it was divided into three distinct levels; the lower level had once been used for storage, but had been transformed by the city's residents into a bustling flea market. vendors owned their own stalls to sell a variety of merchandise and wares. the central level boasted a medical clinic of some sort's - most likely owned by an amateur medic with not much experience under their belt - as well as a mess hall where residents could take any meals they bought and sit down to eat.
indentthe upper level had most likely been used as living quarters back when the airship was in flight, but has since been renovated into a shabby sleeping area of sorts where those who cannot afford a semi-decent room at an inn could go and sleep on some dirty mattress instead. a good portion of the ship's gastight metal envelope had been destroyed during the crash, and whatever remained has long since rotted away underneath the blistering wasteland sun. most of the plating was gone, leaving only the framework's skeleton although it has since broken away from the decks, collapsing on one of the city's many hills. a set of stairs that had been lying forsaken somewhere admist the carnage had also been moved to connect the main deck to the ground, providing easy passageway off of the structure and back onto solid ground. the main deck had once belonged to a ship of tremendous power, but the infestation of wastelanders and the construction of the city has transformed it into a rather congenial and unsophisticated structure. christmas lights had been draped above sidewalks and pathways throughout arcadia. they were powered by the city's select few rusty generators, although everyone is more than aware of the fact that said machines were barely hanging on by a thread. they don't have advanced technology here, neverless any sort of complicated circuits to power an entire city. graffiti had been drawn on the sides of some buildings and along the city's fencing, although posters of the conclave attempting to recruit for their military had been slapped on nearly every structure in sight.
indentconstance couldn't help but let her eyes wander as they entered the city. it was swarming with wastelanders. a young boy stood on a box in front of the community notice board, waving about a newspaper and yelling whatever sort of incredulous headline they had stamped on the front. crowds flocked the roads, men and women pushing their way past one another and mothers holding onto the hands of their children. farmers attempted to direct their noisy cattle through the sea of bodies as others tried to steer through their carriages up the slopes. the stench of the city has become even more amplified now that they were inside the walls. is the smell because of arcadia itself or those who lurked in its alleyways? anyone who was born and raised in the wasteland could sense there was a certain familial atmosphere, but it was tainted in apprehension and paranoia. figures. arcadia is a notorious hotspot for wastelander and conclave hostility. the city is one of only a dozen or so large settlements across the country that the government has tempted to insert their dominance over, but found themselves battled by its residents' stubbornness and disdain for high level order. there have been numerous instances where soldiers would violently clash in public with some of the city's inhabitants. the conclave attempts to enforce taxes, laws and other such abnormalities upon a typically ungovernable city and wonders why they're met with such rebuttal all the time. even now as the caravan lumbered along, she could see soldiers standing outside of businesses and shacks, guns held firmly in their hands as they stood at their assigned posts. some soldiers could be found strolling the streets in pairs, others sitting at tables outside of bars. it did not take a genius to detect the disgust and aversion the residents of arcadia felt for said soldiers. they practically wandered off their normal routes just to avoid interacting with them. children who were garbed in rags and playing in the dirt were quick to scramble off whenever they'd detect soldiers rounding a corner.
indentconstance looked over their shoulder at edwin, grabbing a hold of the pouch of caps as it was tossed to them. "honestly, i'm not sure. they could be in the city already since they said they were going to faciliate a quick escape but we might have arrived before them. whether or not we've arrived, like, an hour before they will or just ten minutes i'm not sure. i guess we'll find out." they commented, ignoring danny's protesting at edwin's comment. eventually, the caravan came to a halt. unfortunately for them, the exact area of which they'll meet their colleges is open for interpretation. they had no way of keeping tabs on the other rebels in terms of their location, and where exactly they could be at this very moment. hell, they could have initiated a swift escape from themus and already beat them to arcadia. they could have been held up somehow, and could be a mile or two away from the city. admittedly, constance couldn't help but feel irritated at how this was planned but they knew that the rebels did not want to possibly carry anything on them that could incriminate their ragtag company or other members of the rebellion, should they be captured by the conclave. one leak of information could cripple an entire leg of the revolution. secrecy amongst the faction is encouraged for a reason.
indentconstance and edwin should have known that their crew would be unable to handle such a climactic wait time.
indentbarely five minutes had passed since edwin's comment before nick complained. "man, i'm starving. can't we get something to eat while we're here?"
indent"what about the snack bag? i thought i packed that thing up to the brim for you guys three days ago."
indent"yeah, but danny and mikey ate it all yesterday," pipped malacai, a twelve year old who was far too mature and sagacious for his age. he was sitting on one of the extended planks.
indentdanny huffed. "well maybe we wouldn't have ate them all if the damn packages weren't so small. why are bags of chips two percent chip and ninety eight percent air? we should be blaming the villainous system of capitalism, not a few old hungry bastards."
indentconstance sighed. the thing about traveling with their company is that there is no air of professionalism. granted, constance wouldn't want to be subjected to that sort of stoicism, anyway, but it was amusing how they all genuinely acted like kin. if it's not the arguing and bickering, it was the complaining and retorting. with half of their company being made up of younger folk, too, it was no surprise they were subjected to this. from inside the wagon, constance could hear the sound of a muffled yell, followed by the high-pitched shriek of a sand-cat. she watched as one of the creatures went flying pass the open door, having been tossed through the air like shoes flying off of swinging feet. a few seconds later, mikey stumbled out of the wagon, nearly tripping over his own feet and catapulting into the side of liz's horse. "hey, hey, hey!" the old man said to nobody in particular. "what's with all this noise out here? has the class war started yet?" he was silent for a moment before he scratched his head, taking a quick look of the city's surroundings. "say, we're not in dodger city, right? 'cause the broad who owns one of the bars there hates my guts. nearly threw me through a window the last time i was there."
indentof course he has no idea what's going on. what does one expect from mikey davis? a former conman, he was something of a pet project for constance. they had met him several years in the neon strip of the otherwise destroyed las vegas, his skull avoiding a narrow crushing underneath the boot of a conclave soldier due to a scheme gone wrong. that's how the man had been making a living before he joined their crew; creating complex systematic plans to rid both conclave personnel and wastelanders of their valuables. the company had struck a deal with mikey that they wouldn't throw him back to the wolves if he helped them with a rebel-based mission in the strip. he's been with them ever since. honestly, constance isn't sure why they've kept him around for so long. much like danny, he's a source of entertainment but lacks any sort of stage talent. he's definitely better suited for the life of a hustler. his time with them has gradually - and probably against his will, to be honest - shifted the targets of his schemes to just solely conclave personnel, though. a lot of his schematics have helped them scavenge enough caps to feed the company during periods when they could not find suitable work at bases, too, which is probably the only reason he's been with them for so long. constance is a firm believer that most people - save for those heavily affiliated with the conclave's ideologies - are capable of change. mikey is proof of that. admittedly, though, he acts a bit too much like danny for comfort. if it's not his quick-witted nature getting him into trouble, it's the fact he keeps trying to romance one of the group's performers, jennifer. last time he tried it, constance woke up from her nap in the wagon to see him fall through the door, face-planting onto the hard ground outside; a consequence of attempting to cozy up to a woman as steely as jennifer.
indent"where has your head been the past few weeks? we're in the dixon wasteland, not new california. specifically arcadia. do you see a stadium anywhere that might indicate we're in dodger city?"
indentmikey took a quick glance around. "touché. anyway, i've heard that the moonshine here in arcadia is to die for. how about it, folks?" he addressed the crew, throwing his hands in the air. "a round on me! erm, wait... crap, i happened to lo- erm, misplace my wallet a few days ago. fairfax, you payin'?"
indent"no."
indent"excellent!" mikey did a double take when he registered fairfax's response. "god da- what does it take for a man to get a drink around here? i know we're waiting for some people - yada yada - but can't we stop for a moment and stock up on some good ole' liquid courage before we go around saving the world?"
indentfrom the driver's seat, danny nodded. "i agree!"
indent"of course you would-"
indenthe interrupted her again. "i mean, come on, we've just performed in like, what, three bases the past week? and we've hardly stocked up on anything since our last trip to a market! i say we get a quick bite to eat while we wait for these people to show up. don't look at me like that! plus, you guys have to remember we can't leave the city in a craze once these people show up. we have to take our time so we don't look suspicious. they'll definitely be onto us if we're trying to leave impatiently." some murmurs of agreement sounded from the crew, specifically the youngsters at the mention of getting something to eat.
indentmikey pointed at danny, nodding vigorously. "a fair point, my balding friend. and since our beloved treasurer here has no interest in feeding us poor folk, we'll need to come up with another plan. okay, here's what i'm thinking. when we go into the nearest bar, i want you all to applaud me on my heroic acts of war. mention anything you think sounds worthy of a free shot. these people hate the conclave, so preferably any feats that have to do with screwing over the government. oh! mention how i survived an encounter with the enigmatic and fearsome captain octavius elnen. that'll definitely land us some drinks on the house."
indent"yeah, the story of some bum in a stained jacket and beanie surviving an encounter with an elite commando captain who's abilities to duel wield plasma swords have been said to rival even that of conclave generals sounds totally believable," malacai commented matter-of-factly.
indentmikey threw his hands in the hair. "okay! maybe i'm reaching a bit there. okay, new plan of how we're gonna get some extra caps. edwin! you violinist folk have nimble fingers. i'm gonna need you to snatch some tomatoes from one of these stalls. i'm gonna make some fake blood and act like i've been run over by a wagon-"
indent"jesus christ! okay," constance rose to her feet, jumping from her seat on the wagon. "look over there; there's a noodle stand operating out of that shack. it's close enough where you won't be too far from the caravan, if the others arrive within the next few minutes. that stand might have some rotgut or something cheap for you guys to drink. the bowls of noodles are probably cheap, as well." she headed over to mikey with the cap pouch, although before he could reach over to excitedly snatch whatever morsels of wealth she was giving to him, she did an abrupt u-turn and headed to khalil instead. "actually? here, you take the caps and go with them. make sure everyone gets something to eat, and that mikey and danny only get one glass of beer. i don't want them hammered when we're trying to leave the city."
indentwith khalil at the group's head, they set off. danny was quick to lower the reins of the caravan, following nick off of the driver's seat as they joined the rest of the group. some stayed with the wagon, although a majority of the younger performers were quick to head off to the noodle stand. constance stashed the pouch of caps again as liz spoke, still sitting atop her horse. she addressed both constance and edwin. "you remember that second entrance they were working on in the back of the city, last time we were here? i was just looking past the remnants of the airship during mikey's banter and i think it's open, which means our lovely associates coulda came in through that way instead. why don't you two go that way and check it out, see if they possibly entered the city through there? as much as danny and mikey annoy the hell out of me, they're right when it comes to how we should handle leaving city borders. it might be too suspicious if the soldiers who cleared us through the first entrance see us leaving the city in not only a rush but only twenty minutes after we entered. i think the second entrance might be worth checking out. if our associates happen to arrive while you two are gone, we'll pack everyone up and head your way, rather than send someone rushing to fetch you. that would probably attract a lot of unwanted attention from soldiers, considering they all seem to be on high alert right now."

[vaell]

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxaviation warrant officer two. | conclave military. | tagged: kai.
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indent"oh, yes. we all know how your mother has such a fondness for androids and the military and whatnot. really an inspiration to the masses." to say she spoke with sarcasm alone would be an understatement. it was of course hard for her to get a complete grasp of kai's situation and how exhausting it must feel to be constantly criticized for choosing to do what you loved, given her own position. sure, her parents bore no fondness over her low ranking, but they weren't up in arms over the fact she was specializing within the air force. in fact, in the parekh household that sort of military career, well..it was kind of just family tradition at this point. they were known for being heavily involved within that particular branch. how could they not be, with her father at the head of an airship. if anything, it was hard to live up to her family name. painstakingly hard, especially when her younger brother was somehow outshining her in almost every possible aspect. but still. tradition hadn't been what made her pick her career. it may have had a defining role in her bias toward aircraft, all things considered, but at the end of the day, she was genuinely interested in aviation regardless of outside forces. though she was sure if she hadn't gone into the specific direction which she had, then perhaps there may have been some quarrels between her and her parents and whatnot. which was exactly how kai's involvement with androids was. quarrelsome. no, more than that. if it irked anyone in particular, just like he so joked, it was his mother. in mina's eyes, it was one thing to try and make your child live out your expectations, and a whole other to attempt to rebuke the path they choose to take. if she had to be honest, kai's work with androids was incredibly fascinating. it was the sort of field she was always curious about, even despite her complete lack of knowledge when it came to the subject of the droids. hence why she could never fully wrap her mind around the woman's thoughts. besides, technological advancement was the sort of field constantly shifting, ever changing. there's always some sort of exploration leading to being on the brink of the discovery of something great. androids were going to forever hold a prominent place in society, regardless of the era. their uses would likely expand and so would their capabilities. to be involved in that field was to be involved in an endless list of future endeavours.
indentat the sudden fleeting touch of his skin grazing her face, fingers brushing a strand or two of hair aside, she strangely felt the need to draw away under his gaze. and no, not from him, but rather from what he would make of her. in a self-conscious manner, she couldn't keep her eyes from flickering between his face and the floorboards of the vehicle. though kai was most certainly the last person in the entire capital whom would judge her, that often comforting thought alone couldn't wholly dissipate all of her creeping humiliation. she didn't want to be a wreck, nor did she have any sort of wish to subject others - least of all kai - to her self-indulgent misery. and quite plainly, that's what it was. she had latched onto one terrible feeling, that of envy, and had allowed it to lead her down a rabbit hole of brief yet raw anguish. but, then again..what was life if you were going to hide all of your misfortunes behind some mask, a lie? to live in such a way would not even be living at all. so perhaps she could not hide the remnants of her pitiful breakdown only moments earlier. and perhaps that was okay. mina hesitantly made to fully meet his eyes, looking over to kai whom was now stretching himself over the middle console. she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as his thumb swept beneath her lower lashes, effectively removing the remaining smudges of mascara to which she had not tended to herself. "really? i had no idea," she replied in mock surprise, a small smile growing upon her lips at the relief his playful comment elicited. her appreciation for kai's ability to keep things light-hearted, even despite taking notice of some sort of tension, was beyond words. she wasn't so sure she had the guts to even explain what had made her upset, after all. more often than not, it was hard coming to terms with her own behavior. but if it were one thing about her and kai, it was that they could easily recognize suffering in the other. they had seen it a multitude of times in different shades. even subtle shifts in their features had become distinct. considering the two've been close since childhood, it would be hard not to. and while she had noted something amiss in her boyfriend when she first entered the vehicle - and even now while it lingered - she still reasoned to find it much simpler, much more of a comfort just to simply be there for him, should he need it. just as he had chose to do for her. it was more than likely that in his situation, his hell spawn of a mother with her countless criticisms had played some role or other in what may have transpired earlier in the day, especially considering his brief mention of her just moments earlier. and hey, she had enough knowledge and first hand witnessing of the damn lady to make that sort of an opinion of her. her distaste wasn't one without grounds.
indentmina, rather instinctively, had already placed a hand upon the passenger side handle of the car before kai made to pull away from the curb, and just as startlingly as she had anticipated. she couldn't help but glance over to him skeptically. "please tell me you actually shoulder-checked this time, or at least looked in the rearview mirror-" past her face flung his phone, unceremoniously landing at her feet. mina's words died off on her tongue at the sight. she glanced down to his phone, which had been flung from the cupholder, past her face, and was now resting at her feet. well, that was no surprise. "dammit, kai." with a sigh that only someone accustomed to this sort of thing happening, she leaned forward to stretch an arm out to pluck the device from where it had landed, and once in her hands, she warily made to set it back into the cupholder from which it came. probably not the best idea, considering they were more than likely to make a handful more of sharp turns and also yet endure whatever the hell else might just come out of kai's very focused driving. something interesting about being a passenger in his car was the fact that you never knew if you would make it out alive from the trip. no, like, seriously. she was so used to it, though, that in a way you can begin to think of it as kind of exhilarating, being on the brink of death at all times. you know, just the usual. but regardless, their trip to capitol hill wouldn't be a long one, assuming traffic wouldn't become horrendous given the time of day. thus they were at a much less likely chance of getting into some freak collision, so she supposed that was an upside. mina turned her eyes toward the moving landscape they passed, using a finger to press down a button which in turn automatically rolled down the passenger side window. idly, she let her arm rest upon the now open space, feeling the passing wind against her knuckles. the open hood of the convertible allowed for that same breeze to lightly run through her ebony locks as well. it wasn't long she stayed observing, though - at his reply, her head swivelled back to meet his own gaze. now this was curious.
indent"huh. i mean, at least he gave you something, right? rebels, as vague as it is..well we gotta take what we get, no? being errand-runners and all." though she tried to make light of it, her tongue once again betrayed her and, if anything, ended up making her words come off a bit more rigid than intended. it was true that if it weren't for kai's brother having dropped a crumb of knowledge upon him and kai having relayed it to her just now, she would likely have gone a long while without knowing what was seriously up. and still, neither of them had an actual idea of what rebels and a base entailed of. not much could be inferred from that statement in general. and truthfully she would not have believed any sort of rebels would have enough stomach to even try to near a conclave base, heavily armed and fortified as they were. so to be honest, she kind of found the two words being put in the same sentence a bit hard to digest. but before she could speculate further, however, kai spoke up again. she tried not to frown as he went on to state the fact he didn't really care that mateo had sent him to do his work for him while he dealt with some sort of vague emergency. it was pretty lame, that dumping of tasks onto others. she herself hadn't completely been aware of it, not until ishaan's promotion had seemingly magnified her own dreary situation. being of little to no importance within the ranks of the military, that is. and the problem was that once you start to notice these small acts of disregard, you then start to become all too hyperaware of the superiority that people like herself and kai as well as just about anyone ranking below the officer position had to endure. be it the dismissive tone of a superior or frequently being brushed off for just simply holding the rank of a warrant officer, they were often subject to performing trivial tasks that other high ranking officers couldn't be bothered with doing. and like kai had mentioned, such as was now. in fact she was more than sure the whole notion of bossing people around was probably becoming some sort of a joke between the higher-ups, utilizing others to do their crap, if it wasn't already. and unfortunately for her and kai, they had no other choice than to go with the flow, or risk losing what little they had. a demotion would send either of them into the pits of nobodies within the conclave military, and this, she knew.
indentat his next comment, mina raised her eyebrows. his mother again. it was becoming a bit more obvious that perhaps she had truly set kai off somehow today, just as she had suspected. perhaps for any person to have heard his frankly peculiar statement, they would likely expect a sort of disturbed look to have dawned upon her features, no matter how innocent and in passing he had spoke of a desire to murder his own mother. something should have plagued her expression. but there was nothing of the sort on mina's face. she had to bring her hand to her mouth, which was now growing with a smile, to keep from straight up folding over in laughter. mina had no choice but to tear her gaze away from kai as he lifted a hand, the sight enough to make her begin to crack up. he looked as though he was trying to reiterate the fact he was truly kidding. against the backside of her hand she let out a slightly stifled laugh. she managed to look to kai from the corner of her eye now, still fighting the urge to completely delve into a fit of laughter. "hey," she started between a chuckle, "if you somehow resist the urge to go on some murder spree, i will seriously be impressed," as morbid as the topic was, she was well used to kai making these sort of jokes and oddly enough she entertained them for whatever reason. and perhaps well beyond the need in which she should. "and i'm not endorsing plain out murder...buuut maybe you could do me a small little favor and take out my dearest little brother while you're at it? two birds one stone type of thing, you know, if they ever happen to coincidentally be in the same place at the same time. just food for thought." obviously, she was joking. though it was little tempting to imagine life without her brother - and oh, it would definitely be much better, she was sure - she knew he was going to plague her life till the end. he would be an everliving testament to her disappointing career, her shortcomings, and the core of which her pain resided. but if she really reflected on it, though, what would it even matter if he did die? how could something such a vital component to your very being be erased by a mere death? the thought was actually a bit absurd. and sad, considering she had been buying into it for just a brief moment. in fact, things would probably get considerably worse should ishaan somehow pass, her parents grief and her own lack of accomplishment likely enough to drive the entire parekh family to insanity and a plummet down the social ladder. and she would much rather take her current situation over that. at least right now, life was predictable, it was unchanging. even if every day was just another form of personal hell, it was still nothing she didn't expect already.
indentluckily for both of them, they needn't linger on what passing macabre thoughts they had just so happened to have indulged in, for her own joke was able to move them along from that spiralling path. how they were able to jump from one starkly different topic to another was a mystery. she looked to him with a small tilt in her head, her lips lightly tugging upward into a small smile upon his words. when his hand sought out to tickle her, she instinctively leaned to the right, toward the door, back pressing against the corner of the seat and the door in a natural reaction to evade him. of course, his tickling was enough to elicit a small fit of laughter from her as she attempted to lightly swat his hand away. "rock creek park? hmm, yeah, i dunno. i think i'd have to check my schedule.." meaning to sound rather transfixed in thought, she pretended to mentally check off a list, bringing her hand to her chin in a manner of great consideration. mina looked off into the distance contemplatively as she did so, but of course, despite entertaining his teasing, she was unable to keep the same smile on her lips from tightening. after a brief moment of exaggerated thought, she turned to kai with a decisive grin. "actually, you know what? i think you're just in luck, mr loukanis. seems like i got time for some nice sight-seeing at rock creek with you. always something interesting interesting there, it's true." she slowly adjusted back into her seat, recovering from having pinned herself against the corner of the door and seat. still, she made sure to warily eye him as she did so, just incase. once comfortable again, she then rested her elbow upon the middle console, meaning to take his free hand in hers. she slowly intertwined their fingers together, the cold metallic surface of his rings touching her skin. "but really," mina looked to him from a slightly downcast gaze, a smile dangling on the side of her lips. "the begging can come later. i'd rather we not get lowered into the ground by the end of the day, if possible." something about the notion of them slipping off afterwards, as though teenagers messing about, was tantalizing. it would probably be a lie to say that the thought of entirely skipping out on firstly heading to the capitol building all together hadn't fleetingly crossed her mind in that moment. the temptation of suggesting such was one hard to resist, especially given their titillating banter. but now that they weren't far from the capitol building, it was probably better they didn't change route or just straight up start making out outside the premises. not that she would have had a complaint about that. mina lightly squeezed his hand with hers, then reluctantly she unlaced her fingers from his own, that same hand now pointing a finger at the wheel. "and a good starting point would also mean two hands on the wheel," mina snorted, then slightly brought her hands up to press against the air in a defensive way. "sorry! just trying to be a good influence. what can i say?"
indentlucky for the pair, traffic thus far hadn't been absolutely dreadful even despite the slight pick up of the hour. the neighbourhood now around them was largely residential, indicating they were upon capitol hill. a change in scenery was always welcome, for it was refreshing to be out of her house, as empty as it happened to be at this time of the day with her parents and brother at their respective workplaces. but even with or without her family occupying the space, there was no denying the many ways her house somehow managed to feel restrictive even while she was alone. that, and the very notion of her being the only person in her household to actually be home was enough to make her feel useless. at least with her and kai actually heading out to do something for his brother, she wasn't aimlessly milling about her residence. so in that way perhaps irksome errands could be considered tolerable. mina's gaze was directed onto the streets they passed by as kai continued to drive. "you know what? i don't even mind covering mateo's ass, doing his little chore for him. it's such a beautiful day." she paused, features then falling into something of uncertainty. she was still observing atmosphere of the city, so her expression having wavered likely would not be one that kai could pick up. her musing, however, gave enough away. "well. that or it's just the fact that anywhere is more bearable than home. i'm not even sure." she more or less muttered the latter part of her sentence, but the remark was still comprehensible. it was always like this, hours free of feeling suffocated, and then you had to return to it all again. it was miserable. but for now, at least, they were still within those freeing moments of the day, and soon they would be able to pull over to a metered street parking space within a few blocks of the library of congress. parking near the capitol was generally pretty limited already, so they would have a good chance securing a spot near the library.
indentprogressively nearing the building, it was not before long that the grounds of the capitol building would stretch out before them, either. consisting of an arrangement of lawns, streets, drives, walkways as well as planting areas, the grandeur of the building and its components were incomparable to anything, not even the most affluential neighbourhoods. marble terraces lined the north, west, and south sides of the building, and a few monumental sculptures were located upon the lawn as well as the east facade. these were commemorated to the select few who could be considered war heroes within their military. the massive militarism of the conclave was a notion prevalent in more ways than one, and the capitol was not exempt from this. you could catch the sight of two raised conclave flags standing out starkly against the sky, too, a light breeze likely fluttering the material of each. they were elevated from flagpoles situated at the base of the dome. the capital itself was rebuilt to be a nearly picture perfect remodel of its pre-war image, and this notion had been executed flawlessly aside from a few additions and whatnot. though, in general, there was something about the entire perimeter which admittedly did attract her, like a call to her name did it bring her forth. it was more than likely the air of significance which emanated from the very structure and its surroundings which was at the root of her gravitation toward the place. really, though, just about anything with such an allure was hard to not be mesmerized by. that, she reasoned. plus, like kai had earlier mentioned, it was great to feel like a pompous douche sometimes. just a little something to lift the spirits.
indentshe turned to him with a seemingly renewed spirit when they had finally come upon a street with a space or two free of vehicles to park at. her melancholic comment made only moments prior didn't seem to hang around for long, just as it often were with mina. saying things in passing, moving along. "whew. we actually made it here in one piece. guess mrs. loukanis wont have your darling head for ruining your car after all," she reached over to affectionately adjust the collar of his shirt, slightly leaning into the middle console. "but i also think i might've spoke too soon, considering you still have to park.." mina laughed, allowing her hand to slide down his shoulder whilst silently appreciating the muscles beneath his shirt, her hand gradually coming to lightly rest upon his arm. "and by the way, i'm pretty sure you almost ran a red, like, three times. key word: almost. this is the same kai loukanis i so know and love, right?" she raised a brow inquisitively before breaking into yet another smile. god, it was so strange to think she had already experienced so much genuine emotion within only the last twenty or so minutes she had been in company with kai. the sensation of such ebullience was like a weight being lifted from your chest. she always felt lighter when she was with him. "not saying you'd normally completely break traffic laws..but, well, yeah. you would."

[vaell]

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxinr tactical intel. officer / covert ops. taskforce. | conclave military. | tagged: roland.
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indenta small smile touched jazmín's lips as she felt his hand meet hers for a brief moment. "oh, that's great news. you know, i was actually getting a little worried there for a second, roland, dear. so i guess this must be a new milestone in our relationship. sharpclaws? psshh. nah, not a problem for us." she couldn't help the small chuckle which escaped from her as she noted his own amusement over their conversation. like he had so commented, to think they were debating over the role of a deceased reptile as it pertained to their relationship was rather comical. jazmín shook her head with mirth. "but, alright, alright. i'll take your word for it, for real, mr. i'm-so-tall. don't lie, though; i know you love my oh-so charming and irresistible chatter." to say the pair had their differences when it came to aspects of explicit communication would be an understatement. with roland being generally more reticent than she, jazmín was in comparison, a loquacious individual. by nature, she bore an eagerness to simply - and often, overly - communicate, which likely did make their relationship seem to outsiders perhaps as though they are not the best suited for one another. at this point, she was pretty good at talking his ear off and she had to admit, he deserved some sort of round of applause, all things considered. with such a manner as his own, it was impressive how well he was able to adapt to her, and she to him. there had definitely been some considerable adjusting to be had when it came to the other. jazmín could recall years prior how she had once found a degree of difficulty in working alongside roland upon occasion. it's true. it didn't take her long to learn that his few utterances of an 'mhm' was often a pretty good indication that you were blabbering on. in that way, he had, without perhaps even knowing it, helped her take some control back into her life, well before they had even founded a intimate relationship. oversharing was a problem she faced - and brutally - mostly during her twenties, the same said time wherein they did encounter the other now and then. and not the sort of oversharing of deeply secret personal information, but rather the kind where your mind is running so incredibly fast that you must verbally compete with it, having no choice but to spew whatever you're thinking to not only satisfy yourself but eradicate the lack of noise. it's the sort of thing you tend to do as a result of being in the company of people who weren't really there. much of her desire to actively communicate was that of an attempt to reach out for some sort of a connection, albeit unconsciously. that had always been something which had afflicted her throughout the years of her life, the desire to present with someone. perhaps it still was, and she wasn't so freed from her mind as she so believed. but, needless to say, jazmín was pretty sure she could still recall some pretty interesting moments they had shared during certain missions in the past. their relationship had been one of a learning curve, and she was grateful for it - or rather, the man himself. often she found that she could pick up quite a bit from roland, not only then but now; ways in which she could no doubt improve to be a better person. so, in summary, no - the opposite could be true of them clashing. they had time to grow accustomed to their particular dispositions, no matter how tentative at first, and rather than letting their differences infringe on their ability to maintain a stable relationship, she felt that what differences they brought to the table rather strengthened their bond instead. and when it came to roland especially, as someone who could do much without the rambles of small talk, she couldn't help but find humor in their dynamic, too.
indentsoraya already had her sights transfixed on the themus outpost by the time jazmín herself got a better look of the base. the sand-cat dutifully remained in her lap, seemingly temporarily having learnt from her light chastisement only earlier, though her large ears perked forward in curiosity. given the mayhem that was before them, she couldn't blame the little creature. though only having descended upon the gates, the fervor of what had transpired at themus was upon clear display, much unlike than fort sancus II, with its deceptively placid housing of military officials. outside the base soldiers made to receive instruction from their superiors, while others purposefully strode through the grounds with some intent or other of where they were headed. the bustling atmosphere was only magnified when roland made to roll down the bulletproof windows of the vehicle, the relative quietude from within the frames of the armored unit shattered almost immediately. mainly was the sound of a helicopter above the outpost the most prevalent amid the cacophonous jumble of both orders being shouted and weapons being taken up. jazmín's brows furrowed as she observed the preparations of soldiers unfurling before them. it was disconcerting, the lengths of turmoil at which this incident seemed to have caused. any rebel initiated attack was one that the conclave readily made to put out - but yet still, this was much more calamity than she had so initially expected. next to her, roland voiced her very thoughts. she threw a brief glance in his direction. "you could say that again," she muttered in agreement. a dumpster fire indeed.
indentbefore the first gates lay the security posting in which they made to approach, just as captain sutemell had so instructed. the man they had made contact with over their holoprojector awaited them, this time not a static image, but in the flesh, donning the familiar navy green uniform of which his rank prescribed. behind him, several soldiers clad in power armor. upon the sight of their car, he and his escorts promptly made their way toward the vehicle. the man paid them a salute once he stood before the open window, once again giving them a brief greeting. she in turn gave him a small nod of acknowledgement from where she sat. she only briefly noticed the separation of two of his armored companions, guns set into the grass in order to be able to approach the vehicle and give its interior a quick inspection. what they would find inside - spare technologies and weapons, notebooks and folders, and containers consisting of tools ranging from disposable gloves to measuring devices; all crucial parts of a proper investigation - which she knew would be satisfiable in terms of dissecting what assets they bore. jazmín's attention was caught once more by the mention of director rhys. she wondered if he had gotten the same distress transmission she had at the exact moment or not. the two had been in a short meeting before she and roland both were thrown head first into the sudden incident at themus, their conversation having obviously come to a halt on a rather abrupt note. she continued to listen to captain sutemell as he went on to divulge to them a brief exposition on the recounting of what had transpired at themus. finally, the two would no longer be left completely in the dark. it was rare - before joining the covert operations taskforce, that is - to be thrown into a situation without having at least some sort of grasp of what was going on. but then again, she supposed thats what made the force so distinctive. having no background knowledge was a pain, though it made the taskforce members adaptable and tested their readiness. the captain informed them that the breach had been one in themus' computer database laboratories, as executed by several rebels. they had received fire from a base sergeant and his troops. how they had even managed to even do it? well, an inference was made that the base had been infiltrated only days prior to this particular incident, as a convoy found a patrol of conclave soldiers left in a ditch and without their power armor, leading to the notion that the rebels likely ambushed said patrol to blend in and thus slip within themus without notice. the same base sergeant, sergeant tuilker, along with his men, were sure that their gunfire was fatal enough to cause the escaping rebels to be unable to make their proper extraction from the right entrance of the base. jazmín made to put all these pieces together in her mind, a sort of mental layout of what information had just been presented to them being formed in the hopes that some of this information may be of assistance to them in the future.
indentto bring to an end his short explanation, the captain concluded with informing them that official investigation would commence once they arrived at the scene, while currently the area of the incident was likely being secured. it was one thing that rebels had managed to slip past the defences of a major conclave base, and another that whatever they had sought out seemed to be of high priority, as was made clear by the bustling environment of the themus outpost. as roland inquired about what exactly had been stolen, she shifted her gaze back to the captain, also curious of his response. at first, convoy routes, holoprojector data - all things considered, scores for the rebels, but not of what seemed to be this tantamount of importance to elicit such a reaction from their military and higher authorities - and then, there it was. they had taken ahold of the late director garcia's coroner report, which as told by captain sutemell, was perplexingly the most important out of all of which had been taken, considering he had mentioned that superiors to director rhys himself were fidgeting at its loss. it could have been taken on a whim, like he had said - but either way, that meant little to them. what mattered most was retrieving the file. she couldn't help but exchange roland's glance. if the rebels had meant to secure the coroner report, with the intent of somehow utilizing the personal information stored in it, the question was why. if you look at it in the grand scheme of things, there were a lot more documents of importance that they likely could have snagged from the laboratory, had they wanted it. it was curious, to say the least. but nonetheless, the weight of its return had been set upon the shoulders of the taskforce, and delivered with enough urgency to make a person start to feel under pressure, had that not already been the case. it was hard not to let her progressively growing discomfort show; and for what purpose did it appear, she couldn't name a proper reason. all she could reason was that it simply came down to the fact that she just hadn't shook the feeling of perturbation since they left fort sancus II. yes, it was their first official mission within the taskforce, but it had been awhile since she had even felt this particular way. it was like reliving the nervousness that accompanied her first days within the intelligence agency. so, just like a new recruit working alongside strangers in an unfamiliar setting, she made to train her gaze on the captain as he spoke again, reminding them of his intent to forward information to them via holoprojector. it was all she could do from keeping her attention from trailing away, really. and not in an intentionally rude manner, of course - it was just that her mouth was beginning to go dry and-
indent"yes, one," she promptly succeeded the man's final statement, the abruptness of her words likely able to be passed off as an attempt to manage their time efficiently, "considering the involvement of the executive branch..should we note any particular directives to be taken into account should the coroner report be, in the worst case scenario, expected to have a prolonged absence from our clutches?"
indentthe captain clasped his hands in front of his body, likely in a sort of discomfort at the mention of the file being somewhere out in the world for an unclear amount of time. she didn't blame him. who knew what restlessness that could bring upon those most of all awaiting its safe return. "as far as i know, taskforce members still maintain jurisdiction over the flow of the investigation..however, i suppose there has been a bit of an exception. it's been made clear, should that be the case, that security in the immediate region, including cities and settlements, should be immediately put under a tight restraint. this would inhibit flow of transportation and thus hopefully gain us some advantage in time over those coming and going, and ultimately in identifying with whom the file could be located with. but again, like you said, officer, that is the worst case scenario. let us hope it does not come to that."
indentshe nodded lightly. "of course. and even may we encounter such an obstacle, it's return is inevitable, regardless. that i can assure you. thank you for your time, captain sutemell."
indent"and i thank you, officers. i don't doubt you will be successful. if that is all, then i wish you a fast securement of the file. the conclave prevails."
indent"the conclave prevails," she echoed his words, tone much more subdued than his own, watching as the man gave them a final salute before turning from the vehicle, the soldiers at his back following in suit. jazmín only shifted in her seat, falling into silence and briefly remaining there as they made to pull away from the gates of the outpost, their gps once more alit with a new path glowing of turquoise. the dirt road they embarked upon branched off from the small base and stretched out in the waste, though luckily this time, their path to the marked off scene of the incident would be considerably a quicker trip than it had been to arrive from fort sancus II. she didn't mind soraya too much when she made to slowly, if not warily, maneuver herself off from jazmín's lap and across the middle console, more interested in both roland and beau than with she. the sand-cat nimbly slipped beneath roland's arm and into his lap, greeting the fellow sand-cat situated there with a chirp once face-to-face. the holoprojector gave a small beep, an array of information flickering into life before them. what appeared was the extra stats regarding the incident which had been forwarded onto their device with little delay. the first string of words which caught her eye was the amount of rebels being involved in the incident. reaching forward, she pressed a single button, then another to access the file. it loaded in to give them a report as told by sergeant tuilker and his men, being the ones to have engaged with the rebels, though for what she was interested in, she only need to narrow in on two words: six individuals. she glanced to roland. "looks like we got a proper bodycount. six." a huff of exasperation. "and to think a coroner's report is giving us all this pain. why am i not entirely surprised?" jazmín shook her head with a small chuckle as her eyes set upon the wasteland. just so timely, an all too familiar robotic tone then rung out again, once more reminding them of what they both were already well aware of.
indent"...PROCESSING TIME ELAPSED. PROCESSED. ARRIVAL TIME IS EXPECTED TO BE ON SCHEDULE. PLEASE ENSURE THAT THE NAVIGATIONAL DEVICE IS REFERRED TO WITH DILIGENCE AND DO NOT STRAY FROM THE PRESCRIBED ROUTE.."
indentas the announcement droned on, she found herself preoccupied in how they would go about the situation as to not only recover what they had lost, but perhaps gain some sort of information upon the rebels themselves. there was a chance of identification, although in terms of the rebellion's hidden operations, the chances were slim. she supposed none of them would be so foolish to have updated any sort of identification within a settlement or city they may have resided in before joining that sad excuse of a cause, let alone allow it to remain public had they done it in the first place. so perhaps fingerprints could be a complete waste of time, or they could subject someone else to carrying out that task. if things went smoothly, then they wouldn't be under the pressure of some man-hunt, of course, and then they could take all the indulgences they pleased. though if this mission turned out to be a bit more challenging than they may have expected, then she knew they wouldn't have much time to linger about the scene itself should the report be completely missing from the vicinity. and like the response captain sutemell had given to them during their holoprojector conversation, arcadia, as the nearest city, would be the most reasonable option to first conduct information of the files whereabouts. where that journey may take them, she could hardly say, though hopefully not to the point where she was wishing she were back in her office than out in the wasteland. jazmín looked from the bleak terrain outside the passenger window then toward their gps, eyeing the arrow's progression on the map which indicated they were narrowing in on the designated location. she noted that not far off in the distance, the right entrance of the themus base could be spotted, distantly looming across from the now-taped off perimeter, the stark yellow of the barricade taped to small posts standing out against the wilted grass rooted in the dry earth below. the area was cordoned off just in time for their arrival. she found herself leaning forward to get a better view of just what they were approaching. "DESTINATION REACHED...TERMINATING GPS SEQUENCE UNTIL SYSTEM IS REBOOTED. ARRIVAL TIME: MARKED AS PRESENT. CORRESPONDENCE WITH EXPECTED ARRIVAL TIME: MET. SATISFACTIONS MET. SYSTEM BOOTING DOWN." and with that, the monotonic voice blipped out of existence, signalling they had pulled over at the right place. at the outskirts of the taped perimeter were several other parked vehicles, having been the ones to secure and inspect the area. down from the road, and into the ditch, the color red starkly stood out against the otherwise unchanging color scheme of the land. with an indifference, her eyes followed the trail down to the lifeless bodies of the rebels as the car pulled over near the immediate scene. it was in their hopes that one of these bodies had the coroner report stashed on their person. it would make their lives a whole lot easier, that was for sure. she glanced to roland, peeling her gaze from the six corpses. "guess it's safe to say they didn't succeed in their attempt to flee after all. what a shame. looks like tuilker's count of rebels involved stands as correct, though. no one got away. you know what that means? it might just be our lucky day, roland. now, how exactly do we plan to celebrate?" she flashed him a grin, tilting her head in contemplation as she jokingly went on to get ahead of herself. "if you ask me, i'm thinking this will be proper cause for a drink or two. although it pains me to think that if we weren't stationed in the dixon wasteland, we could've thought of something a bit more classy than sitting about our offices. like, i don't know, going to some fancy restaurant. help set the mood or whatnot." jazmín shrugged. "in any case, the report should be here, given that not a single one of them managed to escape." in the case of which another rebel outside of their count had taken it off their hands, however, she was confident that they had the proper tracking technologies in order to secure the files safe return.
indenther hands, which had been simply resting upon the sides of her helmet, now lifted the piece of armor up and into the crook of her arm as she made to open the passenger door of the armored unit with her other hand. as soon as she did so, the pungent scent of death which hung in the air struck her like a slap to the face, a foul enough smell to cause her nose to wrinkle at the odour emanating from the staling bodies. however, it wasn't enough to make her pause in her tracks. she stepped firstly down onto the narrow running board fitted beneath the door, the soles of her boots soon making contact with the crumbling ground beneath her as she hopped down from the narrow step. outside the confines of the vehicle, the low buzz of flies attracted to the decaying bodies sounded out amidst the relative quiet of the waste. jazmín paused where she stood, turning on her heel to peer back into the vehicle and look upon roland as she realized she was without soraya's usual weight on her shoulder. she raised her eyebrows in amusement at the sight of him and the sand-cats. "huh. guess you're stuck with the little pest for a bit. what can i say, my love? enjoy!" without awaiting his response, she made to step from his immediate line of sight, closing the door behind her with a light shove before then rounding about on the backside of the vehicle to firstly locate deedee. she didn't spare much of a second glance toward the dead rebels just a few feet down in the ditch, reasoning they would spend the next few moments examining them anyway.
indentas she turned the corner to catch sight of the canine alongside the vehicle, jazmín couldn't help but approach her with a quickened step, making sure she firstly spotted her so she wouldn't be surprised by her presence, before subsequently making to crouch down to be of level with her. jazmín set her helmet onto the dirt path for a brief moment, then ran her gloved fingers through the sides of the canine's furry face with a grin. "heya, girl! miss me?" her tone was so affectionate that it was actually hard to imagine she were right beside a complete crime scene. "not too long of a trip, huh?" she gave deedee a final pat on the head before she rose back up, picking up her helmet as she did so, and taking a step around the edge of the vehicle to meet the backside of the car. jazmín threw a glance toward the canine should she want to follow. she opened up the backdoors of the armored vehicle, revealing the makeshift vault within. using a hand to clutch the side of the frame in order to fully elevate herself within, she stepped on up to the floorboards. the first thing she did was open up one of the compartments lining the interior, fishing within the cabinet to retrieve a small notebook attached with a pen. the cover was worn from use and the pages within had the remnants of ripped out pages as well as long past jot notes from previous missions. she then wasted no time in slipping her helmet on in order to pick up a kit stocked of diverse tools should they require the extensive examination of bodies. it was equipped with various forensic supplies, ranging from magnifying glasses to measuring tools. the hope was that they could find the coroner report, pluck it out from wherever it was stowed away, and secure it within the case. now looking through the world in the familiar tint of her visor, everything managed to feel a lot less personal that way. it was like you were detached from yourself, something rather helpful when it came to heading off to assess dead bodies. that, and the chamber stowed away much of the smell developing from the state of the dead rebels. what she lastly snatched up was a portable holoprojector, briefly dialling a few buttons to sync its data with the armored units and thus of what information they had received regarding the incident. should they need to alert the surrounding areas of a security lockdown, it was better to have one on her person anyway. jazmín's eyes briefly roved over the rest of the space, as if to think of anything else she may require, then turned to hop down from the insides of the vehicle, notebook and case in hand, holoprojector clipped to her pistol holster. in case roland wanted to retrieve something she may have not, such as perhaps another notebook or a firearm, she had left the backdoors to hang wide open. jazmín stepped a few paces to the edge of the crumbling path and ducked beneath the tape, shoving it above her head so that she could pass through.
indentshe looked down into the ditch from where she stood, eyeing the scene before her. about six dead, as she had already previously noted, and they were clad in similar garb, each individual bearing the same glass-eyed look as the other, confirming their fates. it was an ugly sight, but nothing new. jazmín stepped forward, wasting no time to then slowly descend down from the side of the road, the sound of blood beneath her boots hardly to be given a second thought. as she emerged down from the incline of the ditch and into the midst of the group of bodies, she made sure to step around the sprawled limbs before setting down the case in an empty patch of ground beside her. she unclipped the pen from its page and flipped open the notebook to a clean slate, touching pen to paper. the ink glided across the page as she marked down the number '6'. beneath the notebook in her hand, she could spot at her feet a woman shot cleanly in the abdomen, as indicated by the soaked fabric of her vest. jazmín's eyes wandered to her face, a smear of blood running directly across her features all the way from her temples to chin. she slowly lowered the notebook, interest piqued enough not to await roland first, and made to kneel down beside the body, hovering over the woman and her wound. she didn't have to get all close and personal with this corpse - her holoprojector could easily scan the body more thoroughly than any human could manage, but still, she wanted to be entirely sure, and not waste the opportunity to do some hands on work even if it was just to report an initial inspection of the body. at this short of a distance, the scent of gore attempted to creep beneath the frame of her helmet. she only observed the woman closer, noting what she was wearing; just like the rest of the rebels, a dark-colored vest and trousers. the notebook she held was steadily lowered into a lightly bloodied patch of grass, her hands now free to poke about what the woman may have been carrying. unlike traditional pre-war investigations, the need to keep evidence and bodies tampered with at a minimal wasn't as necessary in this exact situation. besides, it wasn't the rebels being dead in which they particularly cared about. jazmín drew open the fabric of the vest, exposing a shirt soaked of blood. from what she could guess, the wound had been perforated, a bullet having entered and exited her body. it was impressive she had even managed to make it this far. the insides of her vest were lined with panels of pouches, though none of them seemed to be filled with any objects. regardless, she unceremoniously fished through the pockets, coming up with nothing once, then, twice, and then again before she moved to the opposite side, repeating the process thoroughly. nothing. her lips drew into a thin line of an already growing vexation beneath her helmet. the shirt the woman donned beneath her outer layer held no indications of having any sort of pockets, hidden or not. she noted this as she moved about the material of the vest to further inspect for any hidden seams. when she was positive there was no trace of anything to be carried on her torso region, she gave a considerable shove to her shoulder in order turn her onto her side and then ultimately her front. she lifted the backside of the vest in order to check for anymore potentially hidden compartments, but nothing again. when she looked to the area surrounding the woman, running a hand across the top of the blades of grass should she have dropped the file, she came up with the same: nothing. the only thing she was rewarded with was the blood upon her hands. jazmín drew back onto the toes of her boots, plucking her notebook from where it had been set down. like with her shin guards, it had been tainted with traces of blood. a small sigh of exasperation escaped from her lips. it would definitely have been a lot less dirtying of a task had she just resorted to her holoprojector. jazmín glanced across the rather barren land, the black tint of her visor shielding her eyes from the suns rays. the bodies were only growing more putrid with the heat of the day, having been out here for who knows how long already. looking back down to her notebook, she flipped the page back open, taking note that the vests - if they were all the same - had a uniform four inner pockets. it was useful to note this incase a deeper examination were required - likely to be carried out by those below them, but still, giving some information was a courtesy in this workforce. if they could note some alteration in the design, perhaps with the guidance of a holoprojector they may find that a rebel could have stowed the file away somewhere a bit more hidden.
indentother lower personnel had noted their arrival, having finished taping off the final boundaries of the scene. it wasn't much up to them to inquire about the actual investigation, so the lower-ranks kept their distance. jazmín cast a glance back up to the dirt path where the armored unit was parked. she and roland needed to first search for the coroner's report, and then tend to what was left after they had secured the file, as it had been made pretty clear that obtaining the file was more important than doing a damn cadaver report on some otherwise expendable rebels. and although she had taken the liberty of searching one of the bodies already, it was still far too early to become frantic over the files potential disappearance. their top priority was to go through a quick inspection, considering those attending the scene could be directed to fully examine the bodies should the need arise that these rebels were not in possession of the coroner's report, and if she and roland were then required to allocate their attention elsewhere than this particular area. that is, should they string together what exactly could have been the cause of the possible disappearance of the file. the first place her mind went would be some sort of intervention with those not directly involved in the infiltration of the base. perhaps they had headed this way in particular as a result of some pre-planned rendezvous point in the hopes one of their colleagues would be able to take the coroner's report from them, even despite their wounds. it was hard to say. all she could do was hope that the file was here. jazmín got up from beside the womans body, finally unclasping her holoprojector from her pistol holster to hold it in her rather bloodied palm out before the body after having designated the search to be of the material that the file was primarily made up of; silicon. a blue ray of light emerged from the device, and the projection ran down from the top of her head to the bottom of the woman's boots, slowly analyzing what substances may be detected on her. the device paused, then reassessed her again before the light blinked out. "DETECTION OF SILICON: NO TRACES TO BE FOUND." pleased, she stepped a foot back. both she and roland would be able to easily filter through the bodies if they didn't proceed to inspect them with their own hands like how jazmín just had. this time, before proceeding, she expectantly looked to the road once more.

[vaermina]

ＶＡＬＥＮＴＩＮＡ ＫＡＬＡＪＩＡＮxxx
I.xcis femalex II.x26 years oldx III. a wastelander


indentunfortunately for valentina and julian, the sight of the massacred rebels is going to be the least gruesome thing they see today.
indentvalentina had no idea what to make of the slaughter, or the enigmatic tape she had shoved inside of her pocket. everything was happening too fast. first, they stumbled upon what they assumed were some wastelanders who had been slaughtered in a common conclave-soldier-gone-trigger-happy scenario and then it suddenly morphed into a tale of rebels, breached bases and a mysterious stolen tape. you hear stories in bars and friendly roadside campfires of the daring feats committed by rebels but to witness it? that was something else entirely. those men and women died to obtain this coroner report. and for what? what made it so special? why did they invade a heavily armed conclave fort to steal something as insignificant as the report of a woman who died of natural causes? none of this made sense to valentina. sure, she could imagine stealing something like a delivery truck full of rapid-fire weapons or a bunch of files containing the locations of conclave warehouses might be useful but this? there had to be some underlying details to this situation that she and her cousin had no idea about. she refused to believe that there wasn't something inherently sinister about this report; why else would the rebels risk their lives to retrieve it? granted, valentina had no idea what would be so inculpating about this report that the rebels just had to get their hands on it but... well, she didn't know. this was insane! revolutionaries striking back at their oppressors, freeing prisoners, stealing technology and weapons from government convoys to match the conclave's fury, working underground to avoid detection and yet instead of going for anything useful after sneaking into a base, they steal a coroner report. it doesn't make sense! no, they were definitely missing some key background information to this whole thing; not that the rebels themselves could fill them in, given the fact none of them had survived.
indentjulian's rambling was not helping the situation. she had expected her cousin to burst sooner or later. the mention of the tape caused her to reach inside of her pocket, hand curling around the object almost defensively. truly, it would be smart of them to toss it into the grass and be on their merry way. wastelanders who are suspected of being involved in the rebellion - even if they aren't exactly initiate rebels themselves - usually end up suffering a grim fate. those who do not seek out the rebellion themselves usually want nothing to do with the group. risking your entire family and settlement to fight the national government who will always be a step ahead of the citizenry due to their advancements in technology and culture? it doesn't sound very appealing, no. valentina hated the conclave as much as the next wastelander but she knew how ill-fated the fight against the government can be. "there's writing on the back of it. i think it's a coroner report regarding the death of that one director lady, melanie garcia. you know, that woman the town criers were talking about for weeks back in december? anyway, there has to be some sort of background information about this tape that we don't know about. i don't think rebels would endure a risky mission and break into a highly guarded fort to steal the nearest thing in sight on a whim." she couldn't help but feel a flicker of annoyance at her cousin's rambling. she punched him in the shoulder, light enough to not harm him but strong enough to try and pull him back down to earth. "god, you're not even an official rebel and you already can't take the pressure, you big dork," she snorted. given their situation, it was reasonable to be apprehensive but valentina was trying to keep her head. granted, she felt like she was always doing that whenever she and julian ran into a problem but now, it was more important than ever. they can't afford to freak out right now. they were heading to a city teeming with conclave personnel. they'd garner a lot of negative attention if they went about acting like they have something to hide. well, they do but they can't make it obvious. they haven't survived this long out in the wasteland by testing their luck. "look, we just need to keep our heads and just focus on getting into the city without causing any trouble right now. if we throw the tape out now, it'll be close enough to the city that arcadia's residents would be put under scrutiny and, erm, i don't think that'd be the best thing to do. i don't know, we could always find somewhere on the turnpike to ditch it... or something..." she sounded uncertain. did she want to get rid of the tape? she didn't know. it'd be the most reasonable thing to do but people had died to retrieve this report. they had risked their lives for the cause. that man had given the tape to her and julian, urged them to take it to his peers. did they really want to disrespect a dead man's last wishes? "i don't know. we'll figure it out once we're past the toll."
indentarcadia was coming up on them fast. valentina felt unease begin to climb up her spine as julian urged mars to a halt, the two cousins claiming a spot in line behind a rowdy family in a wagon. she peered over his shoulder to skim their surroundings, eyes trailing the rusty shack fencing that protected the city. despite the fact they don't live inside of its walls, arcadia is a welcoming sight. sure, the city is home to a peculiar crowd and more often than not, it's a cesspool of class warfare but she liked the unsophisticated charm it possesses. if they weren't traveling to arcadia to do business in its market, they were browsing the endless list of jobs and work posted on the community notice board. sometimes, someone was looking to hire a hunter for a few caps to collect some animal heads for them. other times, farmers would travel to arcadia to post a notice declaring they're looking for an exterminator to get rid of some vermin terrorizing their land at night. when they can't earn enough caps to keep themselves afloat solely through hunting, valentina and julian would commit themselves to completing these odd little mercenary jobs for some income. a lot of people travel to the city for work. a part of her wondered if that was the reason why there were so many people waiting to enter arcadia this afternoon. it's no secret that wastelander cities across the countries are slowly filling to the brim. it's always been dangerous to live beyond the protection of tall walls and city security, but the increasing instability of rural life has led many families to take up residence in municipalities. you don't have to worry about bandit or animal attacks when you live in arcadia. the conclave's ever increasing encroachment upon the wasteland has also jeopardized the pastoral homefront. she's heard plenty of stories from ranchers over the past few months of conclave personnel chasing wastelanders off of their properties and out of their settlements to pave way for new forts, outposts and warehouses. it's only reasonable for said displaced citizens to retreat to the protection of nearby cities, but with the populations growing and the city's staying about the same in terms of residencies and size, it's a recipe for near disaster. she's heard that dodger city in new california is already having such troubles with overcrowding, and a lot of the 'undesirables' such as ghouls, dregs and outcasts were being pushed out to make way for the new.
indent"yeah, i've got it here. this line is huge, though so i think we may be sitting here for a while before we're searched and passed through." she reached across mars' flank to stuff her hand in one of the saddle bags, reaching about for the purse of whatever small amount of caps they have remaining. as soon as they pass through this toll, they're not going to have enough caps to even buy themselves a pint of beer. this doe better sell or else we're screwed. once valentina found the pouch, she leaned back up in the saddle. the woman couldn't help but note that the disorderly family ahead of them had suddenly gone quiet. no, they went silent. the pack of screaming kids who had been running around the wagon and serving as an irritable ambience into valentina and julian's conversation had been abruptly pulled inside the carriage. in fact, most of the families surrounding them had suddenly grown trepidatious. some groups had piled themselves into their wagons, others breaking off conversations with their neighbors to stiffly mount their horses. a few wastelanders had veered their horses out of line entirely to return to wherever they came from. valentina's eyes narrowed. "something's about to happen and i have a feeling it's just gonna make our day worse," she mumbled to julian, voice low to match the sudden hush of the crowd. the quick movement of a fleeting shadow from above drew her attention to the sky. sailing a few yards above their head was a large bird - a blood eagle, by the looks of it - and its shrieks drowned out the remaining noise coming from the crowd. gideon squeaked in alarm when he heard the bird of prey, all while nestling himself even deeper into the saddle bag. the bird briefly circled above the wastelanders before it finally landed on top of an old lamp post near the gates of the city, claret-colored eyes glaring down at the crowd. most wastelanders come to realize at a young age that the presence of a blood eagle is similar to the biblical suspicions of bats representing hellish evil. it's true that you can spot wild ones out in the wasteland, but a blood eagle being anywhere near a conclave infestation is a bloody omen.
indentthe sound of a commotion at the front of the line drew her attention. without warning, a party of soldiers had suddenly barged their way into the crowd, cutting off a particular group of wastelanders from the rest of those standing in queue. those who weren't apart of said group were roughly pushed backwards, some falling against their neighbors and others spiraling into their wagons, causing both crop and merchandise to tumble onto the ground. the group that was being rounded up by the soldiers had to be at-least a party of two dozen, if not a little less. it looked to consist mainly of families with children, couples both old and young and some solitary wastelanders to boot. valentina peered over julian's shoulder in a cynical manner. what the hell is going on? they've witnessed soldiers pulling people out of lines before but this? it was downright bizarre, even for the conclave. the soldiers flanked the group of wastelanders on every side, practically forcing them to huddle together to avoid the gun barrels pointed in their direction. some of them had planted themselves between the group and the rest of the wastelanders in line, acting as a barrier of some sorts to keep the two separated. complaints and protests sounded from some of the bold ones in line. let 'em go, they didn't do nothin' wrong! pure-blood scum! ay, what're you doin' that for? what's with the hold up? a part of valentina was tempted to join in, but she knew better than to do something so idiotic. the tape was still in her pocket. if she and julian were snatched off of mars and dragged off by a couple of soldiers for a private interrogation due to public defiance, they'd search her and find the stolen report on her person. they'd be killed on the spot. it's always such a hard spot to find yourself wedged into; as a wastelander, you feel an intense desire to defend others like yourself from the inhumane jaws of the conclave. however, there's always an underlying instinct to protect yourself and your kin, an innate aspiration to survive. the government has grown more and more comfortable utilizing violence if it means getting their message across. they are the predators and people like valentina and julian are the prey. the conclave and its followers have no qualms bleeding them out.
indentthe blood eagle took flight from its position atop the lamppost. the creature dived towards a wooden platform that had been built off of a protruding hill that bordered the side of arcadia's entrance. it was meant to be an observation point of some sorts, a place where soldiers could stand to observe or address the crowd of wastelanders attempting to enter the city. the blood eagle let out another shriek as it landed upon an armored man's shoulder. he had appeared on the platform during the brief scuffle between the soldiers and those in line. the blood eagle was obviously drawn to him, and the bird's descent from the lamppost and onto the platform had garnered the attention of wastelanders in the queue. it certainly drew valentina's attention. the man was unlike any conclave soldier she's seen before. the man wore no power armor; instead, he had donned some sort of sleek sable-colored panoply that reflected the bleak rays of the sun. a cape was attached to one of his pauldrons, draped across his shoulder and hanging across his back. an array of colored badges and metals were attached to his breastplate. the man looked to be far older than the average soldier. with greying hair, dark skin and a grimace that almost appeared like it were carved onto his lips, valentina could tell he was no enlisted soldier. standing on the platform behind him were also several soldiers, dressed in similar sleek armor. unlike the man, though, they wore helms that covered their heads, with visors that glowed bright red. a hushed silence fell upon the crowd once more, broken only by the occasional wails of an infant or barking of a stray dog.
indentthe stranger observed the crowd for a few moments before he spoke, his strong voice echoing across the lines. "i am general cosimo amabele. i am the commanding officer of the shadow squad." he paused for a second before he clasped his hands behind his back. "i have been made aware in recent months that many of you out here have begun to call me the crusader." a wave of noise sounded from the wastelanders when he spoke of the nickname, although it died as quick as it came. "i am also aware that not many of you have seen conclave officials of such high ranking before. truthfully, i did not expect to find myself here today. i was on a flight from new california to the commonwealth to attend the upcoming inauguration dinner of president morgan when i received a rather... unexpected call about a recent rebel conflict i've been looking into. now, i do know that there has been a breach in a nearby conclave fort by a group of self-proclaimed revolutionaries, but that is not why i am here. our esteemed taskforces have already been deployed to deal with the situation, and i am confident in their abilities to retrieve what has been stolen by the rebel scum." valentina couldn't help but stiffen at the mention of a nearby breach. could the people who broke into that base be the same people we found on the side of the road? it couldn't be a coincidence. no, it couldn't be. there has to be something about this coroner report that contains damaging information about the conclave. sure, everyone knows how vile the government is but valentina doubted that any of them know just how deep such tenebrosity truly goes. if taskforces had been instructed to go after the rebels, that means they'll soon come to realize the tape is missing and had been taken off of one of the bodies by someone else. now, valentina had no idea what sort of skillsets or cunning these taskforces possess but anyone with a brain can make conclude that any person stationed in a task group means business.
indentgeneral amabele began to pace back and forth. "many of you admire the rebellion. many of you despise the conclave. i know of the hatred most of you possess for your government; i know how most of you commend the rebels for their feats. and i must ask, feats of what, exactly? treason? sedition? as far as my knowledge extends, i have not seen rebels out in the wasteland fighting against the true evil that threatens our democracy. i am sure that most of you have seen your fair share of bandits, cultists, criminals and other undesirables target virtuous and hard-working citizens of our society. it is not the rebellion who protects you from these abominable creatures. no, they do not risk their lives everyday to keep cities such as arcadia safe from being overrun by vile men and women. people who would have no qualms breaking down your doors and stringing you up for the buzzards to pick clean. instead of respecting those who put their lives on the line everyday to try and return this country to pre-war society, you wastelanders fight us tooth and nail, do everything you can to resist order and structure. one of my colleagues, general loukanis, has been stationed in the upper commonwealth for years now holding back the ever growing legions of the bandit king so that clan of criminals cannot somehow find their way here and destroy your docile city." he fell silent for a few moments. "within time, you will see that what we are trying to do with this country will benefit everyone as a whole. nevertheless, i am here because i have been tracking a group of wastelanders for months who once lived in the settlement of yellow springs in new california. before they fled their town in foresight of conclave-enacted consequences, several of the families in the village were using their homes as safe houses for rebels. there are also several rebels who have made quite a ruckus for the conclave, rebels who i have been searching for for months now. one of them took something very valuable to me. i believe one of their stops had been yellow springs." it was almost like a wave of eyes moved to the group that had been cut off from the rest of the wastelanders earlier. general amabele turned to face the lot, gaze practically burning with repugnance. "i am giving you one chance and one chance only. spare your families and tell me the names of those who aided the rebel scum." he was met with silence. the people in the group did not utter one word. they looked at one another, shared knowing glances, perhaps mumbled something to their partners but nobody revealed what the general wanted to know. valentina knew they wouldn't, but a part of her almost wished they did for she could already feel a change in the atmosphere. every wastelander knows what that change feels like. a quickening sense of dread, the invisible embodiment of death beginning to draw near. refusing to submit to the conclave in terms of revealing information about the elusive rebellion has one outcome and one outcome only, no matter how hard the government puts on a jurist front. no, you don't get arrested and put on trial like the residents of the capital believe. typically, those who resist the conclave's attempts to swindle information out of them regarding the rebels are rooted in their stubbornness. and, unfortunately for them, such situations only end in murder.
indentwhen there was no response, general amabele's jaw clenched. he nodded slowly. "i see. once more, you people have chosen to latch onto false hope rather than reason." he stopped pacing. "in regards to those who reside in the dixon wasteland, recent laws have been passed that citizens suspected of aiding the rebellion are at risk for possible arrest and imprisonment due to such heavy treasonous activity around here. however, such laws have yet to be substituted for the region of new california and its residents. and as the commanding officer of a commando legion who is normally stationed there, i have been given orders by my superiors that i am in full right to enact whatever punishment i see fit on those who are suspected affiliates of the rebellion, but refuse to comply with law enforcement. it is such a... shame, that the residents of yellow springs were so uncooperative to the point where the situation grew violent and out of control, resulting in mass casualties. we did everything we could to try and deescalate the situation, but the damage is done." his attention flickered to the soldiers who surrounded the yellow springs residents. the general gave them a nod.
indentwithout warning, the soldiers began to fire into the crowd. for a moment, valentina thought they were directing their bullets at the line, hence her sudden grabbing of julian's arm as if she were ready to catapult the two of them onto the ground. the soldier's targets were only those in the group separated from the rest of the wastelanders. and unfortunately for those apart of the yellow springs community, none of them stood a chance. it took only a few mere minutes before they were all mowed down. some of them tried to break through the line of soldiers and escape; parents attempted to shield their children from the line of fire. their efforts were fruitless and their screams didn't last long. none of the wastelanders in line had moved a muscle to help. what could they do? try and wrangle with a soldier, end up dead themselves? even those who have weapons on their person like valentina and julian did not have the skills to defeat a conclave soldier. in this reality, those who try to play hero end up perishing alongside the victims. it's never easy to watch such senseless violence but this is their lives. sure, they don't readily submit to the conclave but their attempts to rebel end in death. as to be suspected, a wave of noise had emerged from the bystanders in queue. children were wailing into their mother's bosoms, wastelanders attempting to calm down their horses as the equines struggled to remain tranquil from the loud noises.
indentgeneral amabele's voice somehow managed to triumphant over the bedlam, briefly quieting the rowdy wastelanders. for someone who just initiated the mass murder of over a dozen people, he appeared apathetic. "heed my warning and heed it well. you live your disconsolate lives the way you do only because we allow it. the conclave has attempted to make peace with the citizens of arcadia for years now; yet, you all remain ungrateful and even allow traitors of the government to walk along your city streets. for the safety of your spouses, of your parents, of your children...i recommend you begin making concord with your government. you will begin heeding to conclave law and authority, or you there will be consequences. the next time i find out this city is allowing rebel affiliates to enter its walls will be the last, for i will return with my commando corps and burn every shack and homestead in this city to the ground. you wastelanders are so intent to label your government as villains, so i recommend you tread carefully and do not trigger any events to make that assumption come to life." that was it. the man finally left the platform, followed closely by the soldiers in black. the crowd burst into chaos again but valentina was hardly paying attention to everyone around them. her eyes had remained glued to the dead wastelanders near the gates the entire time. soldiers had slowly begun to drag the corpses out of the way as conclave personnel began to hesitantly resume their duties. a bunch of wastelanders get brutally murdered and nobody bats an eye. nobody cares! valentina has seen her fair share of conclave power being abused but this? nobody cared! no government personnel had bothered to step in. nobody had bothered to do what's right. perhaps those of lower ranking were frightened. maybe if they attempted to go against orders, they'd suffer wrath, too. that's just what the conclave does, right? spread fear like poison amongst not only the general population but its own members? those of high status and power such as general amabele can massacre and destroy anyone they want, and nothing gets done about it because people like the general are the law. who cares if only a few wastelanders die? the conclave doesn't care about them. they only want them to submit, become complacent to their rule so there's no opposition as they attempt to carve the country into their twisted image of an ideal society. valentina already knew what that society would look like. it'd look like how they live now, with the wealthy, influential and educated at the top and everyone else drowning at the bottom.
indenteventually, valentina and julian were cleared through the checkpoint and toll. she was forced to give up their remaining caps so they could pass the toll without trouble. the officer barely searched their saddle bags, seemingly too occupied with thoughts of the massacre that just occurred moments earlier. valentina couldn't blame them. upon entering the city, she wasn't feeling too enthused, either. those inside arcadia seemed relatively unperturbed, completely oblivious to the murder that just occurred outside its gates. in order to reach the market, they'd have to wade through the crowd, which meant that someone would have to get off of mars and grab the reins to lead him up the street. since julian was the one sitting forefront, valentina unmounted the stallion so she could take the reins and guide them to the market. they came to arcadia to sell the doe; no matter how disturbing that scene was, they couldn't forget what they came here for. they needed the caps desperately. yet valentina couldn't shake what they just saw. she's witnessed death so much that at this point, she wasn't shocked. she felt numb to it at this point, unable to conjure any sort of extreme horror at what she had witnessed. was she disgusted? was she angry? helpless? yeah.
indentas valentina walked, she began to talk, careful to keep her voice low enough that any nearby soldiers couldn't hear but also audible enough so her cousin wasn't just listening to incoherent mumbling. "this is ridiculous, julian. absolutely ridiculous. i mean, we've both seen our fair share of wastelanders beaten and shot by conclave officers for little to no reason at all, but that? mowing down an entire towns worth of people when there was no evidence apart from speculation they were helping out rebels? half of the people in that group were family folk and too young or old to be involved in any of that! a handful of people killed because one or two of them had decided to help out the revolution. and that man - that general - finding loopholes to justify murder on that scale. that general followed them all the way here from new california. he tracked them down like they were nothing but vermin, had all those settlers shot because they wouldn't give him what he wanted right there and then. he didn't even bother to arrest them, take them to some sort of prison for interrogation. i mean, yeah, we all know that's usually the outcome of these type of situations but- god, this is never going to end. none of this is ever going to end unless there's some sort of real change." valentina had no idea where she was getting at. she just needed to rant. she needed to get her fury out somehow because she was just angry. she was tired of the injustice, tired of the corruption and abuse of power. she was tired of witnessing innocents murdered for no viable reason and being unable to do anything about it without worrying she might be killed next. a part of her has always commended the rebellion, sure but until now, she had never really understood why they decided to fight the conclave when the government has every possible high ground over them. their cause is admirable but what can they do against a government that's far more technologically and scientifically advanced than them? honestly, it felt like she was having some sort of epiphany right now. those rebels had died for the cause but the cause is so much deeper than any ordinary wastelander realizes. they had died trying to commit some sort of heist because they were fighting for a better future. a future without a tyrannical government, a future where innocents weren't brutally murdered on mere suspicion. a future where everyone is seen as equal, where the wealthy and elite aren't sitting comfortably at the top while the less fortunate fight amongst each other at the bottom for scraps. valentina has always wondered if there could be more to this life than just struggling everyday to survive; a part of her was beginning to think that such a concept isn't possible as long as the conclave keeps getting away with what their doing. the government doesn't care for the so-called 'tainted-bloods'. general amabele would not be held responsible for his wrongdoings because his superiors and colleagues would only agree with his bloody methods. there's more people out there like him. and within time, those people would become replaced by the same type of bastards, if not even more evil people looking to spread destruction across the wasteland. she knew that the general most likely killed those people in such a gruesome and public manner to push the conclave's message that anyone found aiding the rebellion would only suffer a similar fate. exaggerated and extreme violence during these situations is not uncommon for the government. but they couldn't keep living like this. and it was only a matter of time before she and julian met some sort of grisly end because of the government. she looked at her cousin. "what are you thinking right now?"

[vaermina]

ＫＡＩＲＯＳ 'ＫＡＩ' ＬＯＵＫＡＮＩＳxxx
I.xcis malex II.x23 years oldx III. an android deployment & utilization warrant 2 officer


indent"i mean, a car has a front and rear bumper for a reason, right?" the couple's humor is definitely a bit peculiar. anyone with an ounce of empathy might find their jokes perhaps a bit too gruesome. in fact, it was downright concerning considering they were joking about murdering their own family members. who cares? it's just a bunch of dark humor. he said that but did he really mean it? sure... yeah... totally. deep down, kai is well aware of the fact that the two of them eliminating the people in their lives through barbaric means isn't going to heal them in the long run, even if said people are the source of their woes. if anything, it'd just make their lives plummet even further. still, it was a nice thought. kai has always been obsessed with the thought of freedom and perhaps in another reality, he was able to achieve it. hell, he probably would have already made his getaway and vanished from conclave society if they weren't living in the remnants of a nuclear apocalypse. like most capital residents, kai wouldn't last a week living in the wasteland. if bandits or mutated predators didn't get to him first, wastelanders would pull him apart limb by limb just because of who his father is. his attention flickered briefly from the road and to his girlfriend at the sight of her false pondering. "oh, well, i'm so glad to hear that. i just know that you're always so busy. you know, us warrant officers are looked upon so highly because of our fierce work ethic. really, i think we deserve to be recognized as the pillars of the military considering you and i hardly see each other because we're oh so industrious." kai's attention returned to the road. he was only partially joking. truly, warrant officers tend to find themselves burdened with not only their own duties but the small tasks and errands of their superiors. technically, warrant officers outrank the entire third tier of enlisted soldiers. they're experts in their designated fields, advisors to not only those of higher status but those of lower ranking, as well. they provide instruction, discipline and guidance in the technical field. perhaps warrant officers in pre-war society had been treated with a high degree of respect, but you don't necessarily see that anymore. sure, they don't suffer any grief from enlisted soldiers but the same can't be said for commissioned officers. most of them are not self-effacing creatures, and will generally burden their subordinates with lesser tasks they can't be bothered with. militarism has embedded itself so deeply within conclave society that, generally, the lower you are on the hierarchy the less kind your treatment grows. when you're apart of upper society, too, you're expected to uphold your family name through your title. some of the treatment kai and mina receive from their families can be contributed to such poisonous culture. it's why their parents expect so much from them.
indentmina grabbed his free hand. it was a simple gesture but somewhat unexpected, considering his line of sight had returned back to the road. his first instinct was to pull away. it was a fleeting feeling, one that has practically become ingrained inside his brain as a response to sudden contact. his body has long since registered the lingering effects of physical trauma, to the point where even if he was unable to recall instances of past harm, his body has yet to forget. of course, he trusted mina with his life but sometimes his reactions ran on pure impulse, a deep-rooted response to what his brain would briefly register as a source of potential harm. at times, it doesn't matter who it is. he'd just feel a brief yet sometimes overwhelming sensation of distress, like something were about to happen and before he knew it he'd end up with a bruise or a bloody nose. mina did not hold his hand for long, though, and the brief squeeze she gave was enough to soothe his sudden jumpiness. despite the brief sensation of wariness he felt, he forced a smile at her comment. "what, is it national backseat driving day or somethin? we haven't crashed yet." kai placed his hand back on the steering wheel. he was quick to rest it on the arm of the driver's seat again when she looked away to watch the passing scenery. her comprehensible mutter did not go unnoticed. and honestly, he had to agree. anything is better than being stuck in the house nowadays. he only knew about as much of mina's home life as she divulges to him, but he was sure it was no picnic being stuck in a household having to constantly hear praise directed at your younger sibling and none at yourself. kai's situation is nowhere near close to that; it was hellish for different reasons. he just wished it was different. maybe mina would be happier if she had endured a career like her brother's so far, rising in the ranks with him and not stuck below him while he only continued to climb higher. maybe her parents would have been more receptive towards her, if that were the case. who knows? when it came to kai, he would have needed to be born into an entirely different family for anything to feel slightly better in his own home life.
indentcapitol hill is one of the most impressive sights to be found in the capital. the sublime capitol building sat on the origin point for the district's four quadrants, overlooking the landscaped park of the national mall. to be completely honest, you'd never would have suspected these grounds were scorched by radiation and fire because the buildings of the capital complex and monuments such as the lincoln memorial and the washington monument. the lincoln memorial reflecting pool - a long and rather massive rectangular pond that made up most of the national mall's landscape - glimmered indigo underneath the winter sun. the pool was lined by a variety of leaning trees that overlooked walking paths. the washington monument stood proud at the summit of the pool, its point practically touching the pale sky like end of a stone spear. unsurprisingly, the national mall was teeming with visitors. with parking as limited as it is, they'll have to park near the library of congress. great. he hated parallel parking. their discovery of a few free parking spaces is a miracle, though. just like pre-war society, capitol hill and the national mall is a thriving economic destination. you'd be lucky not to end up in a fist fight with someone over a parking spot. mina's comments as well as her touch drew his attention again as he slowed down on an upcoming parking space. he resisted the urge to breathe funny when her hand slid down his shoulder, coming to rest upon his arm. her brief mention of a red light caused him to frown, quickly glancing over his shoulder as if he could magically see all the traffic lights they've passed since leaving mina's street. "you say almost running a red light, i say that a yellow light means i have a fifty percent chance of making it if i just step on the gas a little harder. and don't act like you're so concerned about traffic laws over there, ms. parekh, when you keep on distracting your driver by touching him. you wanna kiss me so badly, huh?" he teased her. she was right about his nonchalance concerning driver's safety. it was a surprise he hasn't been pulled over and arrested yet for breaking obvious traffic laws. luckily, kai managed to park fairly decently for one who usually flails at the prospect of trying to nail superb parking in a metered space. after turning off the engine and pulling the keys out of the ignition, he gently removed mina's hand from his arm so he could reach behind him in the backseat to retrieve the file for general alarie. it was sealed so he had no idea what sort of information could be inside of it. it was probably something people like kai and mina wouldn't be able to understand, anyway; inclusive commissioned officer business. he unbuckled his seatbelt. "let's get this over with."
indentthe united states capitol visitor center is a massive underground addition to the capital complex. it serves as a gathering point for tourists, as well as an expansion space for congress and where one goes to check in should they have any official business with government officials. it's located below the east front of the capitol, with a balcony level entrance, the emancipation hall as the second level and a third level restricted for congressional offices and meeting rooms. kai's hand was quick to find mina's when they neared the entrance to the visitor center. unsurprisingly, there was quite the crowd to be found flocking both outside the entrance's doors and inside the chamber. the emancipation hall is the main hall of the visitor center, where guests could either check in for their tours or wait in line to talk to a desk clerk. the exhibition hall - located a few chambers north west of the main hall - is where one goes if they yearn to see artifacts and various old treasures of the country's history. it contained documents in glass cases, interactive touch-screens, sealed antiques and an eleven foot high tactile polyurethane model of the capitol dome. there were several alcoves that branched off of the exhibition hall, each containing large television screens where visitors could watch live footage of the house and senate floor proceedings. on the south and north end of the emancipation hall sat two gift shops, as well as an impressive-sized food court. kai's gaze roamed their surroundings as he and mina fell in with the crowd. the emancipation hall itself was a fairly polished and opulent chamber. the floors and walls were lined with dark beige travertine, smoothed down for an exceptionally varnished look. a lot of the walls were covered in pictures, historical paintings that had been preserved in vaults before the nukes dropped. large oval lamps hung from the ceiling, although two rather sizeable skylights gave the hall plenty of natural light, anyway. stanchions divided the crowd into lines. nestled between two staircases that led up into the capitol building was a nearly twenty foot statue of the conclave's founder, wilder morgan. it had replaced the previous statue of freedom, a bronze sculpture that was destroyed when the bombs dropped. tall pillars stood a few feet in front of the stairs, fronted by smaller statues of not only historical figures but war heroes of the conclave military. the couple found themselves standing in queue to meet with a receptionist.
indentfor such a crowded line, it moved surprisingly fast. before they knew it, they were at the front of the procession. they had entered a small room built off to the side of the staircases, where several receptionists sat at mahogany-colored desks with glass barriers between themselves and the visitors. some of the clerks were men and women, humans of flesh and bone. others, however, were striders, one of the oldest generations of androids that were utilized by the government to fill small office positions. they're rather harrowing to look at, with their iron skeletons and anthropoid eyes. luckily for kai and mina, they were directed by one of the center's workers to step in front of a desk with a human clerk. he let go of mina's hand as they came up to the desk. the woman peered at them from the top of her glasses, clearing her throat so she could be heard over the center's intercom that blasted some sort of monotone educational voice describing the various sights and purposes of the capitol building. "how may i help you two today?" she asked, digits already snaking forward to graze her computer's keyboard.
indent"my brother, brigider general mateo loukanis, was supposed to come in today and deliver this file to general alar-"
indentthe woman interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence. "oh, yes! your brother called us about an hour ago, said that his younger brother and a possible companion would be arriving to deliver general alarie's files instead. the general has already sent one of his assistants to lead you to his office, as he has paperwork that must be delivered back to your brother. josephine!" she called over her shoulder. a woman who had been sitting rather impatiently in a chair behind the desks jumped to her feet. "here, the two of you must be registered in our system before you enter the capitol, as well as wear tags identifying yourselves..."
indentthe woman, josephine, who revealed herself as one of general alarie's interns whenever he was at the capitol complex, was quick to guide them out of the visitor center. apart from making a coy inquiry about kai's eldest brother, she hardly spoke to the couple as they followed her up one of the staircases and further into the capitol building. kai couldn't say he was surprised by her interest in mateo's daily affairs. it's become rather common for both women and the occasional man to show peculiar engrossment in mateo, despite the fact he's a happily married man with two children. it's not exactly rocket science to figure out why considering mateo has such a pleasant personality. his looks probably have something to do with it, too. he's become so used to it that he no longer found it as irritating as he did when he was younger. kai has grown familiar with people not even realizing there's a fourth loukanis brother. mateo is a well-known brigidar general, philip the austere deputy director of the federal bureau of intelligence, xander a new hollywood actor who's fame only continues to grow as he's booked for more roles and kai... well, he was just a warrant officer. of course, he can't relate to mina's plight when it comes to being overshadowed by a younger sibling but he can certainly relate to being forgotten entirely due to a brother's success. it's probably why kai has a tendency to latch onto whoever shows him an ounce of appreciation. if he's not being ignored or hardly acknowledged by his superiors, the only attention he does receive is negative. kai leaned closer to mina as they walked. "if i somehow find a way to regress in my career and become an intern, kill me. just take me out for ice cream or something and when i'm all happy and dopey just shoot me in the back of the head or something like that one scene in of mice and men. speaking of ice cream, we should go to the food court after this."
indentthe capitol building is divided into several floors. the ground floor consists of committee rooms and various offices that prominent congressional officers occupy during their hours of working. most of these areas are cut off from the general public. visitors only really have access to the hall of columns, the brumidi corridors and the old supreme court chamber. before the war, people were able to visit the elusive crypt underneath the rotunda but the war had caused the vault to collapse. the second floor holds the chambers of the house of representatives and the senate, as well as the rotunda itself and the national statuary hall. his mother's office as well as several other congress leaders also reside on this floor. those who wish to watch the proceedings of congress when said bodies are in session can visit the galleries of the third floor. unfortunately for those visiting the capitol today, congress was not in session. kai knew that from personal experience considering his mother was home right now. it certainly explained the lack of crowding further into the building, though. josephine was walking so fast that the couple really didn't have any time to stop and sight see, but then again they were pretty much just staying on the ground floor; most exhibits and artwork one can view can be found in the rotunda. judging by the route the intern was taking, she was leading them to the offices of commissioned officers. a wing of the capitol building constructed several years after the conclave was founded, it was built to encroach into the u.s botanic garden, which had been cut back quite tremendously to give leeway to the offices. the extension is unique as unlike the congressional office buildings - who were apart of the capitol complex but not directly connected to the capitol building itself - the offices of commissioned officers allows those inside easy access to the capitol. upon first thought, it might seem strange that military leaders have swifter passage to the building than those in congress themselves but, really, it's no surprise at all with the conclave being so heavy on militarism and painting a heroic picture of those who head the industry. not to mention, public opinion of politicians has soured over the years. the military is heralded as pioneers who brave the wasteland and fight enemies to make the country a better place; congress has become known as nothing more than a bunch of bickering fools who can't make up their minds. unbeknownst to kai and those living directly underneath the conclave's thumb, that's exactly the type of image the top dogs were going for. trust, loyalty and admiration towards the military despite the unnecessary blood they shed in reality.
indenteventually, kai and mina were urged to a stop outside of what, presumably, was the office of general roman alarie. his door was one of the first chambers in the office wing. the further they had traveled into the capitol, the more strict security grew. kai had noticed the amount of guards - android and human - increased every hall they passed. he even caught some glimpses of military bots, curled in on themselves as they sat in silent wait for some sort of attack. josephine gave the door a light knock, to which she opened at the admittance of a voice inside. he couldn't quite catch what she said, but the quick bat of her hand to summon the couple forth caused kai to shuffle forward awkwardly so he and his girlfriend could slide past the intern and enter the office.
indentgeneral alarie's office was a rather large chamber. a dark, walnut-colored bookcase with a glass barrier protecting the books inside lined the entire left-handed wall of the room. it was paralleled by a sizeable arched window that overlooked the remains of the botanic gardens. in fact, most of the office's wall space was covered in bookcases, shelves or storage of some kind; most of it was probably used to store valuable information pertaining to general alarie's career and duties. a fireplace had been built against the far upper wall of the chamber, located directly behind a large mahogany desk. its plinths, overmantel, pilasters and hearth were composed of cracked red bricks. there were several mannequins in glass cases that displayed sets of armor that were no doubt former wear belonging to fallen foe of general alarie. the office obviously belonged to someone of military blood. if it's not the various paintings or pictures along the walls that showcase the epic feats of a military career, it was the various animal heads mounted on wooden plaques or a weapon or two scattered around the room. in front of the large window sat a blood eagle, perched on a wooden bird stand. you could tell the creature was asleep judging by the way its head was tucked into its wings, small chirps wafting from its chest as it slept. general alarie himself was standing in front of his desk. true to his ranking, he wore standard general attire. he had donned a sleek black coat that fell to about mid-thigh, with trousers and knee-high boots to match. yellow stripes had been sewn meticulously above the cuffs of his sleeves; gold buttons fashioned the jacket shut, along with adorning the various pockets found on the piece of clothing. one of the pockets held his name tag. there were more than a dozen different types of badges and medals on his breast, each one signifying some sort of elite qualification he's earned throughout his many years in the commando corps. kai recognized some of the badges, particularly those his own father had received for astounding marksmanship in certain weapons or military leadership skills. the lapel of general alarie's coat had been undone to reveal a stark black tie and white collar of another dress shirt underneath. the hat that corresponded with the rest of his outfit had been tossed onto the desk. general alarie is not exactly a man of domineering height, but he makes up for it by having a wider build than most. he was on the older side, being some years older than their own parents. he is simply a commanding general of a commando legion, but general alarie's family name as well as prestigious career has landed him as perhaps one of the most well-known figures in the military. other generals respect him as if he were their superior, despite the fact he possesses the same power as them. and, to be fair, none of the other generals in the united states military have personal connections with president morgan's family. not many other high-ranking officials have connections and control in other military branches, as well. general alarie is a pleasant man, with a personality so versatile he can practically fit himself into any conversation. he was agreeable and fair, something you don't often see in military generals. being so involved in upper class society, too, general alarie is well-acquainted with many families.
indentthe older man had turned around to face them as kai and mina entered the office. it appeared like he had just prepared himself a bowl of tobacco to smoke. "ah! the two people i was hoping would walk through that door. thank you, josephine. i appreciate your help." the woman gave him a curt nod before she stepped outside, closing the door behind her. general alarie spoke again, leaning against his desk. "it is always a treat to see our romeo montague and juliet capulet. to be honest, i am quite surprised to see you two bold enough to stroll into the capitol complex together when your fathers have returned to the capital for the upcoming inauguration dinner, although i suppose you two have nothing to worry about since they might go for each other's throats rather than yours. anyhow, i reckon it was quite crowded in the visitor center today?" he motioned with his hand for the file kai had in his hand. "you two are welcome to sit, if you'd like, although i have a feeling you won't be staying for long. young people can only entertain an elder's whims for so long."
indentwith a quick glance at his girlfriend, kai stepped forward to hand the folder to the general. to be quite honest, he was feeling antsy in the older man's presence, hence why he remained standing. "as crowded as any other day, sir. i'm not quite sure what's so entertaining about watching a bunch of old men and women argue over basic human rights, though." he couldn't help but reply in a blunt manner.
indentthe smile of someone who was feeling regaled grew on general alarie's lips. "i am not one to so earnestly criticize our politicians but i cannot find fault in your words." he went around his desk to retrieve what kai presumed was the file he was supposed to deliver back to mateo. "deliver this to your brother as soon as you can. i was quite disappointed to hear he wasn't going to be accompanying the two of you, too. he is good company, but perhaps a bit too empathetic towards those living in the wasteland. the tainted-bloods don't appreciate that sort of kindness. their version of hospitality is shipping conclave personnel back to the capital with no heads upon their shoulders." the man handed kai the folder before he cleared his throat. "i am sure the two of you have grown exasperated with the conversation constantly revolving around your siblings. sometimes, it's a worthy conversation." he glanced at mina. "your brother's promotion will no doubt benefit your family's standing amongst the air force as a whole. however, i won't dive too deep into it. i'm sure you caught a glimpse of me when i stopped by your family's residence a few weeks ago to give my personal congratulations. but the cycle does get boring after a while. the achievers always getting the praise and attention. wouldn't you agree?"
indentagree? kai was just surprised this conversation was happening. he was so used to having files tossed at him and told to get out by high ranking officials he was stunned general alarie was taking the time to actually engage in a conversation with them. to be fair, it was in his character. general alarie has a reputation for being modest and well-spoken. he appeared rather careful to not dwell on the subject of kai and mina's brothers for very long, too, which also stuck out to him. did he somehow sense their bitterness? it's human nature to oftentimes feel jealous of the success of others when you yourself are struggling to succeed, but general alarie is well-acquainted with both of their families. he's been around them since they were children. he's seen the interactions and relationships they have with their brothers during the many parties, gatherings and even simple visits he'd make to their estates. it wouldn't be far-fetched for him to purposely evade topics that might somehow cause the couple to grow irritable. the fact he appeared genuinely interested in their company right now, too, made kai feel wary and appreciated. he didn't realize how nice it felt to be asked for his opinions on something by someone higher ranking them him, nevertheless an adult with any sort of power. he has become used to being silenced, yet general alarie seemed interested in gouging his opinion on a subject.
indentkai had shuffled back over to mina. "i think so, too. everyone seems to follow a cookie cutter career, too; it just feels like the same achievements are being praised over and over again, yet little progress is getting made out in the wasteland concerning conclave encroachment and law. they never nurture those who actually have potential to make real change." he sounded pensive, although perhaps a still a little bit cynical over general alarie's intentions. kai has a lot of thoughts about this sort of thing - something he's more than comfortable sharing with his girlfriend - but considering general alarie is new territory entirely, he was holding off on everything he truly wanted to say. the older man has a good temperament but what if kai said something that offended him? this is not the first time he's had a conversation like this with the general. sometimes, when he was visiting the loukanis household, he'd engage him in insightful conversation that always took kai by surprise. he was never truly honest with the man, no, but it was always interesting.
indentgeneral alarie nodded slowly. "a good take. truly. that's one of the reasons why i'm not tossing the two of you to your deaths at the hands of your parents for hanging out together. the feud between your families is one that is sadly common in conclave society but absolutely ridiculous, as well. we do not get anything done by smothering our youth or battling amongst ourselves for titles." he drew on his cigar pipe for a brief moment before he looked at the warrant officers again. "now, before i let you two of you run off to do god knows what, i expect you'll be tagging along with your families to the upcoming inauguration dinner?"
indent"yeah, but i'm pretty sure it's only because we have no choice. why do you ask, sir?"
indentluckily for kai, his bluntness did not seem to annoy the general. "hmm. well, the state of your family's recent feud and how it impacts the relationship the two of you have - oh, don't look so surprised, your relationship has become well-known - has led me to ponder on a possible proposition for you two. as i'm sure you're aware, your families battle has become quite the talk of the town and, to be honest, has begun to affect us generals considering both of your fathers are my colleagues. i asked my intern to lead you two to my office, rather than just let her give you the file herself back in the visitor center, because i want to help the two of you. of course, i would need to run my plans by your parents and i'm still working out the details with your superiors but i believe it would be something that you help the two of you begin to move forward in your careers. with your brothers continuing to climb their way up, i figured you two would begin to want to do the same and i doubt staying in your current states with your current commanding officers is going to get you anywhere. it is obvious that the two of you need a catalyst, and i am always open to helping our youth - the future of this government - succeed in their careers. not everyone has the pleasure of being a military progidy, and there's no shame admitting when you need help moving forward. it would most likely be something entirely different than your current routine. what do you two think of that? do you think a change of direction in what you focus on in your current ranking will help you move forward, rather than stay stuck where you are right now? if so, perhaps i could convince your parents to allow the two of you to sit with me for a while at the inauguration dinner so we can discuss certain proposals and your feelings about it before you run off to do your own thing. i do hope you see my integrity concerning this, as well. i am not talking to the two of you right now to try and set you up for some sort of future failure or something."

[vaell]

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xxxxxxxxxxxxentertainer / stage name 'floyd'. | the rebellion. aka 'vuledo'. | tagged: constance.
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indentto constance's response, edwin in turn gave a light nod of his head. given the fact they had no direct line of communication with their colleagues, it wasn't like they could just hit them up and ask them where exactly they were at right about now. for all they knew, their fellow rebels could have - and hopefully had, by now - slipped into the vast city of arcadia and were making to look out for he and constance's crew. or, on the contrary, they could be a mile or two away from the city, held up by the toll at the gates of the city, or rather the ever growing line to gain entry within the municipality. in this current season, as well as time of day, the amount of people coming and going from the bustling core of arcadia was practically uncountable. whether to set up a stall and sell their wares, or to head to the largest market within the proximity of this very region of the dixon wasteland, everyone had somewhere to be. it was evident in the way that business was so conducted here; one thing he made as a general remark of the atmosphere was that nobody here seemed to like wasting their time. and that was great, in edwin's opinion. he neither liked to waste time, and especially not now, when he was growing restless already and it hadn't even been five minutes into their settling down. anyone could notice it, for edwin wasn't one to conceal such nerves. in his lap, his hands idly fidgeted, almost nervously rubbing his fingers across his knuckles. though indeed performers do require a level of composure when it comes to being directly on stage, this was a different sort of nervousness. and much unlike the stage fright many people often experience, he was more so concerned about where exactly things would go should their expected band of rebels never show, rather than if he would let down an audience. it would be hard to reason leaving the city without having them in company - because, well, what if, somehow, the group had been delayed beyond control, and upon this lengthy time having passed, constance and him, along with their crew, depart the city. it was protocol, should things be seemingly awry - as in, an unreasonable amount of time has passed - that they could then assume something had happened. and not something good, at that. to think that they could miss them by a minute, though, while they were on their way out of arcadia? no, no - he chastised himself. if he could for once look at things through a much more positive lens, then perhaps he wouldn't be so on edge all the time. though being self aware was a step in that direction, at least. he couldn't help it. realistically, there was no way he could put aside any doubts in his mind - and to deny that he had them in the first place would be even worse. besides, like constance had said, it was unclear whether or not they were a hour well ahead of their arrival, or just a mere ten minutes. all they could do was simply wait. and that, he had to grow comfortable with.
indentedwin brought his gaze from where it had grown to be fixated near his feet to look over at nick as he gave a grumble of irritation over the matter of food. yes, he had advised danny not to make any peculiar stops at some vendor whom might just end up swindling them of all their well earned caps, but he honestly wasn't surprised by the comment. if anything could be said of he and constance's crew, it was that they most definitely should not be made to sit about and wait. he shook his head at the exchange between constance and nick, most especially over his claim that danny and mikey had consumed all of their snacks the day prior. good lord. and he often tried not to be the one to hog the bag, 'cause man, if he was found with the snacks for over five minutes, it was game over. he was going to get absolutely jumped by someone for allegedly taking too much food. but of course when danny and mikey do it, everything's alright. well, sort of. there was still some disgruntlement over it, clearly, but they hadn't been attacked for doing it, had they now? damn tyrants. they knew exactly what they were doing! edwin glanced to danny as he then made to try and defend himself, causing edwin to shake his head. he about expected as much from the older man, and the sad part was, he wasn't even wrong about the whole two percent chip ninety eight percent air statement. still, he and mikey were greedy bastards sometimes, so he couldn't completely excuse it. amusedly, he leaned back where he sat, sinking his back into the plush cushion behind him. there wasn't much a dull moment in their company, not even when the stakes were this high. and he was pretty sure that both he and constance preferred it this way. if it weren't for the spunk that their group brought to the table, something always constantly happening, it might not have been so easy to distract himself from his unease.
indentbut sometimes edwin did speak too soon.
indentoutside their wagon, a yell sounded out, closely followed by the unmistakeable yelp of a sand-cat. he shot a glance first to constance, a look of wariness - mostly because only a few others within their group could he pinpoint to whatever was going on outside the walls of their caravan - before movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. his eyes quickly shifted to the open door of the caravan, and there did he catch a short glimpse of a sand-cat tossed forward as if from some catapult. edwin couldn't stifle the groan which escaped his lips. perhaps a little peace and quiet would be nice for once after all. especially considering they, or he, at least, didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves. when he saw the perpetrator behind all the ruckus outside, he couldn't say he was entirely shocked, though. mikey davis attempting to get his balance was a sight and a half, all right, narrowly missing liz's horse in the process. this image alone was enough to set off instant alarms in edwin's mind. mikey was a lot to take in on his own, but when he was paired with danny? well, if it weren't already clear from their ability to consume all the snacks they had, things were about to get considerably more unstable. "oh, no.." he mumbled, a hand already having begun pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation at the sight of the older man who had seemingly decided on articulating whatever words popped into his mind first. the fact he had the audacity to ask whether they were in dodger city or not was not unlike mikey at all, hence the reason why edwin chose to keep to himself at that ridiculous comment. beside him, karelsa had already shifted her attention away from the boisterous man, too used to this particular sort of situation to even entertain it. she didn't much prefer the noise regardless, which did set her off from a few of the more prominent members of their crew. she mostly kept to herself if she could. the girl drew out a few folded pieces of stained manuscript paper, aged from years of prior use of those before her, and began to review her annotations on the pages.
indentwhile mikey was very similar to danny in the sense that he didn't possess any particularly unique stage talent, being a former conman his schemes did come in handy when they were needing to procure caps for days in which their company were lacking in bookings at conclave bases. plus, he also was blessed with the impeccable ability of being bothersome to those around him, not to forget. the exchange between mikey and constance had quickly transpired into him proclaiming arcadia was home to the best moonshine, or more literally, in his words, moonshine to die for. edwin's hand soon ran across his face in a rather exasperated manner over the older man's eagerness, going on to attempt to tug fairfax into the conversation since he was accountable for their finances out in the waste. edwin himself didn't even need to take a look at fairfax's face in order to know how he would reply to mikey.
indentapparently, the other man hadn't expected it, though, for it took him a moment to properly register fairfax's rather curt response. he let out a chuckle beneath his breath at mikey's next statement, unable to resist making his own comment over the matter. "uh-huh, we're just waiting on 'some people', he says. that's all." from the front of the caravan, danny finally piped up. that didn't take long. he and constance both seemed to share the same reaction over his sudden interest in their conversation, but the man was quick to try and reason with them before they could either even say another word. as danny spoke, edwin tried not to purse his lips over his argument. he wasn't entirely wrong; they had exerted themselves throughout these past weeks in order to rack up some more caps by the time the themus break-in was to occur. truthfully, even the fleeting mention of their diligence as of late was enough to make edwin feel a sense of exhaustion all over again. he wasn't so sure he could stand - let alone stomach - bringing himself to produce the notes of the conclave's anthem again in the next week. they had been performing at some high-capacity bases as of late, and no, nothing huge like a major fort, but hosting considerably large enough of an audience to garner them another few caps extra than a usual run at a smaller outpost. often, these sort of crowds pretty much expected the anthem to play out at some point so that they could get all patriotic with one another and whatnot. despite this, however, he was more than proud of their small band and how well they had worked through the pressure - and the ongoing pressure, too. that, and like danny mentioned, being able to endure their lack-of pitstops at markets thanks to their cramped schedule. various murmurs of agreement to danny's speech sounded out amongst their crew, his declaring that they should head over to the market to pick up something to eat - while also trying to make it clear that he wasn't without reason; that being they should try not to look like they were rushing in and out of the city - seemingly a popular opinion of many. edwin himself honestly couldn't much argue with that. he had a point, to an extent. he did note that mikey was none too slow to express his own profound agreement over danny's words, probably thinking more about downing some spirits than heading over to some humble vendor's stall for some local fare. since fairfax had denied them the pleasure, though, now mikey was to propose his own plan. this was something edwin was not exactly looking forward to hearing.
indentas the man dove straight into his absolutely genius plan, edwin could only eye mikey skeptically before his eyes shifted to constance, sort of in a 'i'm not the only one hearing this, right?' way. he was pretty sure he'd done that like, fifty times already today, and at least three of those times alone could be attributed to the span of mikey's ramblings to the group inside the caravan. and that wasn't even a record. even karelsa had paused in her revising to look up at mikey with her face scrunched up in doubtfulness, seemingly mirroring malacai's rather blunt response to his attempt at getting some free shots at the closest bar in the vicinity. "definitely a reach." karelsa commented lightly, eyes already averted back down to the sheet of music in her hands once more. edwin tried not to snort over their small rebuttals to mikey's grand idea of acting as some famed hero who went up against a damn elite commando captain and somehow survived against the use of dual plasma swords. those things were deadly, and that much was about anything that anyone needed to know. within the rebellion, there are few who can handle the weapons at a master level, one of those people in particular being captain declan waters. the man not only could wield plasma swords skillfully but he also boasted an impressive collection from having come into ownership of them via collecting the swords off bodies of conclave personnel. that was the only way to become in possession of them, anyway, if you weren't apart of the conclave of course. the weapons are utilized and produced by the conclave, though unlike most armaments, a special care is put into place when crafting plasma swords. they are usually specially engineered to suit one individual's needs, hence the different mechanical designs as well as appearance configurations such as the color of the glowing blade. in that way, they could be compared to as being similar to power armor. in terms of armor, well; the more distinctive, the more you can recognize just how important of a bastard that person is to the conclave. or, rather, how important they made themselves out to be in the conclave military. it wasn't like they were irreplaceable or something. there's always someone who can take the spot of another, regardless of who you are. he doubted the grounds on which the conclave truly cared for the deaths of their higher ranking officers, perhaps only mourning the loss of a completely brainwashed individual, more than willing to commit forever and thus die for their cause. mourning of the individual, though? perhaps by their family, friends. but it was strange, in that way, how he was more than sure that they all possessed this mindset of feeling like they mattered to the conclave. or maybe they didn't. he would never truly know, he supposed. but it was more than likely the entirety of their military felt important themselves, like they weren't some cogs working for a bigger machine. and personally? he wasn't so sure how he felt about the idea of captain waters having been well learned in the art of plasma swords.
indentand maybe it wasn't just him specifically - though the man was notoriously violent - but rather he was wary of anyone who could hold a weapon capable of cutting through most materials with an unnerving amount of ease, be it flesh or steel. no one should have access to something so sinisterly designed, something so inherently brutal procured almost solely to further terrorize those with whom the conclave choose to inflict their rage upon. it was disturbing to think that they had the technologies to create these instruments of destruction, too. who knew what else they were developing behind hidden curtains, be it in conclave weaponry vaults or laboratories. and, well, it was probably better he not entertain those ideas right about now. "i've gotta say, i'm with malacai and karelsa on this one. look man, i don't doubt you, but let's be realistic. you, surviving octavius elnen? really? yeah, no. sorry mikey." he snorted in amusement, offering the man an apologetic half-shrug before he went on to propose a new idea, this time with edwin at the forefront. he tilted his head in both amusement and mock consideration of mikey's suggestion. he had to admit, the mental picture of mikey faking some tragic incident while he snatched up some tomatoes from the nearby stalls while everyone was transfixed on the older man was pretty comical. but before he could reply, constance jumped in to interrupt them, and to be honest, he was thankful for that. at least someone was going to try and offer a proper remedy to their affliction, because clearly any one of mikey's suggestions were going to result in a fifty percent chance of them getting caught for being absolute fools and then, best case scenario, getting chased off by some vendor. as constance went on to mention the noodle stand, he nodded, observing the expressions of those within the caravan, everyone seeming to perk up at the notion of actually getting some food without any antics involved, courtesy of mikey. edwin eyed constance as they made to hand mikey some caps from the pouch, a little nervously, yes, but he wasn't surprised when they turned on their heel last second to, upon a better judgement, give khalil responsibility of their funds. now he was able to shake some tenseness off. still, there was the possibility danny and mikey would outright go too far with their eagerness to drink, but at least they were in good hands now, and rather than having mikey be the one to administer the group and allegedly hold people - including himself - accountable, they had khalil to trust.
indentwith the group of those who wished to tag along with khalil heading off to enjoy some food at the noodle stand, not a large percent of their company was left at the caravan. edwin had also especially noted that danny almost immediately made to join mikey. those two, regardless of the situation, were trouble, and honestly it was better to just act like he weren't associated with either of them, not unless they desperately needed their asses saved from pissing off the wrong person or something. karelsa had stayed comfortably where she had been at his side, probably preferring not to get mixed up in any tomfoolery, regardless of the food involved. she was an fascinating girl - having lost her family to bandits at a considerably young age, she found their crew to be just as much as family as her parents had ever been to her. like a lot of the younger members of the crew now, she had grown up around the older members of the group. he couldn't remember a moment where she wasn't invested in fine-tuning her playing skills in regards to the piano, either. perhaps if the disparity between the opportunities the conclaves 'pure bloods' received versus the so-called 'tainted bloods' and 'half bloods', then he was more than sure she had the potential to be a pianist appreciated amongst the country. it wasn't often you came across someone so dedicated to their craft, after all. but regardless, being a great pianist and being a wastelander were two things that did not need to be separated from the other. it was more than unfortunate that the mentality of blood purity was an ideal that the conclave would likely never be willing to let go. no, they wouldn't want a wastelander to blemish the higher rankings of their military, nor their vision for the future of popular media figures, would they?
indentas liz then spoke, edwin looked over to her, and at her mention of the second entrance, he couldn't help but nod in recalling their last trip to arcadia. the city had been undergoing the addition of a second entrance to its walls, and that was the last time their crew had been here. now, though, with a considerable amount of time having elapsed from their last venture within the walls of the bustling city, its renovations had apparently been fulfilled. well, he was glad that liz had taken notice of something useful during the entire round of shenanigans which had just transpired just moments ago. and she was right, after all. danny and mikey did have some truth in their statements. the second entrance could prove to be a valuable method of getting out of the city undetected, considering they had not came into contact with the particular set of soldiers stationed there. anything they could do to lay low and minimize any suspicions cast upon them and their party was something worthwhile checking out. that, and maybe their associates had entered the city from that entrance. "that sounds like a damn good idea, liz," he glanced to constance. "besides, it would be better if our colleagues made contact with us first, rather than us with them. save us risking our necks because of suspicious behavior. so maybe if they are just past the airship, they'll spot us, should they have come in that way already." beside him, the younger girl shifted in her seat, looking to constance, edwin and liz curiously. she had definitely been eavesdropping while pretending to be preoccupied with what was in her lap. her hands began to slowly fold the papers into their well-worn creases as she spoke, as if already preparing herself to accompany the two of them. "wait, i'm coming with." she then stated rather matter-of-factly, focused on stuffing the papers into the contents of her personal pouch. after a split-second, though, she paused, then looked back up to constance and edwin. a brief moment passed before she made to backtrack her sudden declaration. "well, only if you guys want me to, i mean. but i don't think i can stand sitting here all day..plus, it's not like i wanted to see what mikey and danny would be getting themselves into. ugh. please." edwin playfully nudged the girl's shoulder. "of course you can. and i don't blame you. maybe we can head over to the stalls after we check out the second entrance. that way we can save ourselves the pain of danny and mikey but still get some food." now at this, karelsa smiled and gave a firm nod. "i like the way that sounds."
indent"great. i guess now's a better time than any, then, you two," edwin slowly rose from where he was sitting, stretching his limbs so used to sitting about the caravan the past while. he carefully step past those occupying seats within, throwing a final glance over to liz as he made to exit the wagon, then to the remaining few members who stayed behind. "thanks, liz. we'll see you all in a bit. try not to get into too much trouble, please." he put a hand on the frame of the open door and stepped down from the caravan, his dress shoes making contact with the ground below. edwin couldn't help but look into the thick of the city, his attention caught by the shouting of merchants trying to sell their commodities which lined the streets full of various stalls offering wide ranges of goods. people passed by, while others inspected whatever may have piqued their interest, perhaps hoping to strike a deal with a merchant whose prices were far beyond reason. behind him, karelsa too emerged from the caravan, leaving her belongings back inside. she paused as she descended down from the floorboards, realizing edwin hadn't scooped any caps from the pouch, and tossed a glance back over her shoulder. "wait, constance! don't forget to bring some caps for us to get some food or something on the way back!" her smile practically beamed through her voice. he himself smiled at her cheerful demeanor. she had always been something akin to a younger sister to him, and shared no less of that bond to he and constance. "now that, we don't want to forget. speaking of which, you think they're selling some string here, constance? i seriously gotta restring my violin sometime before next month," he looked into the open door of the wagon, then let out a sigh as he set his sights upon the inner workings of the city once more. "kinda feel like i'm gonna get scammed if i even try, though, not gonna lie. man, i really should just stick to my finds at enterprise hall. those bastards are always selling at reasonable prices." edwin was pretty much mumbling to himself at this point, though karelsa still laughed as she approached him. "yeah, you're totally gonna get scammed. just sayin'. look at what you're wearing!"
indenthe raised a brow at her. "what, can't i wear a suit without getting labelled as some uppity member of society whose loaded with caps?"
indent"no."
indenthe paused for a brief moment, narrowing his eyes at her. "fair enough."
indentwhen constance joined the two of them, karelsa was quick to make to their side, practically hooking her arm around theirs. "oh my god, constance! i forgot to tell you! speaking of clothes, well, when i was watching your performance earlier, my jaw dropped! the dress, the jewelry? on top of all that talent?! you always have the most stunning wardrobe. this guy over here thinks he's the ceo of fashion, but meanwhile you exist. come on, edwin!" he rolled his eyes at the girl and her flattering to his best friend. "damn, uncalled for. okay, okay, before you both start dragging my entire wardrobe, i'm just gonna stop you right there. let's get our asses over to the entrance already, or else i'll have to start dragging you both there." now it was the younger girl's turn to playfully roll her eyes. "fine. only 'cause i don't want to see you try and bring us over there." edwin shook his head at this, tucking a hand into the pocket of his dark blazer before he begun to head off with or without the two bozos, beginning to make his way down the road of the city. he made sure to sift through the coming and goings of people carefully. with him ahead of the pair by a few steps, karelsa stuck by constance's side, whether or not they liked it. though the girl was notably more reserved than a large portion of their company, she had a rather outgoing side given the right people. and those people, most of all, tended to be edwin and constance, and probably because she spent the most time hovering around them. it didn't mean she was withdrawn to the rest of the group, it was just a matter of differing bonds. karelsa looked up to constance with a smile as they passed beneath some colorful canopies strung over the narrow street they now passed through. they were traversing through the outskirts of the marketplace, she having kept her arm hooked in constance's own as they stepped a few paces just behind the violinist. ahead of them, edwin listened to the sound of merchants beckoning people to come and get a whiff of their goods, no lack of noise filling the air around them. beneath the voices, the faint noise of a radio hummed, playing a familiar song to wastelander ears. someone must have a radio at their stall. he observed the baskets set around multiple stalls as he passed by, some of dismantled parts from perhaps long aged conclave technology, some other vendors bearing hanging containers filled with various different trinkets, handmade from local materials. some had more questionable wares, claims of selling sharpclaw teeth, or the skulls of various creatures. he had noted they were probably just the skulls of mongrels being passed off as some deadly beast. it took a discerning eye to make a judgement on whether or not you were looking at genuine pieces of items, sometimes. some vendors made even more bizarre claims with their more peculiar assets, vials of alleged dagon blood, you name it. and for the usage of these items, well, for who knows what someone would desire these sorts of things for. every now and then a pair of conclave soldiers would pass by and garner a considerable amount of dirty looks from those hanging about the street. he was pretty sure he had seen someone spit at their feet in disgust, though behind their backs, of course.
indentkarelsa couldn't help but scrunch her nose at some particular sightings on display in the market, though it wasn't for long she had to do so, for they had broken out of the crowd and skimmed around the remnants of the airship after a turn. the street had been brief, but it had been humming with life. karelsa sighed. "now i really can't wait to head over to the noodle stand..all these smells are making me hungry," she mumbled to constance. the fragrance of earthly fare hung in the air, admittedly making edwin a bit hungry, too. as they headed past the airship, edwin slowed down a bit, falling back into step beside the duo. "check it out, you two. that spiffy new entrance we've been waiting to see." he nodded his head in the direction of the gateway, slightly obscured from their position in a crowd, but likely manned by a set of conclave guards. that was a given. "i'd say it's best we head out this way. different faces, they won't recognize us even if we do want to get out of here in a hurry." he made sure to keep his voice down, ensuring that their conversation was accessible only to the three of them. the group slowed down in pace as the entrance grew in closer vicinity to them. upon their closer position, edwin could observe that this entrance had the ability process a decent amount more travellers through, considering it boasted two gates. with that, though, meant more conclave soldiers were posted here to manage the toll. "hm. looks like arcadia really is trying to maximize the activity within the city," he shot a glance past their shoulders warily, then looked back to constance. around here, conclave soldiers in pairs did patrol the outskirts of the inner walls of the city. and, you could never be sure. "i say it's still our best bet. but, what do you think? we could stick around for a little bit longer, see if anyone makes themselves known.." he scratched the back of his head. they wouldn't want to loiter, staring at the damn gateways like they had no way out or something for much longer. and that in and of itself was the problem. they could only hope their colleagues spotted them, if they were really around. "..or we could get some food?" karelsa offered, looking from constance and edwin. "yeah. maybe we'll catch up with the idiots hanging around the noodle stand."
indentedwin turned to constance more singularly as karelsa then peered toward the gateways to examine them on her accords from where they stood at a reasonable distance. his voice was still considerably hushed. "seriously, though, please don't tell me i'm the only one who feels like we've already been here too long. i just, i don't know, constance. it's all fun and games right now, but when nobody shows?"

[vaell]

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa wastelander / future rebel. | unaffiliated. | tagged: valentina.
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indentalthough his mind was racing, and valentina was surely growing exasperated over his rambling by the minute, he did try to absorb much of what his cousin had to say. as used to his outbursts as she was, she skillfully took a hold of the situation and tried to break it down for him. it was a good thing that the pair had her stability, because unlike himself, valentina often kept a cool head, which usually steered the two into a much better approach than what julian would opt to take in his haste. he both acknowledged this and admired his cousin for it, even if he would never outright admit it to her. with his eyes now on the road before them, her words elicited a faint nod from him when she mentioned that director, the one they'd been hearing about weeks ago. melanie garcia? he remembered. it was hard not to when she was the main headline for the town criers to spew about. she must have passed sometime back in december..and now, they somehow had their hands on her coroners report. valentina had definitely ought to be right; the rebels being in possession of this file was no mistake. granted, the whole situation was rather peculiar. he knew just as well as she did that there was no damn way this was simply just some lame coroner report. there had to be some other information stored on there, something of value hidden away in the contents of the tape, perhaps. like his cousin said, the rebels wouldn't just opt to get past the walls of a high security base only to take some random piece of intelligence and flee. or at least he hoped not. that wouldn't make the rebels very much smart, in his opinion. still, he commended them silently for the guts it must have taken to head into that fort regardless of intent. his train of thought was briefly disturbed when valentina punched his shoulder. he blinked. if her intent was to try and pull him back to earth, then it had worked. "ow," julian grumbled beneath his breath, admittedly a little bit delayed in response, rolling his eyes at her next comment. he did want to make some retort but she spoke once more before he could. he subsequently frowned in response to her reasoning regarding what their plan of action would be, and what the two should do with the tape. the thought hadn't really even crossed his mind, that they could potentially endanger others in dropping it off this close to aradia, as he was genuinely more so thinking about their own survival. it was a mindset most wastelanders adopted as a consequence of their situations, but essentially causing a whole city of people unreasonable grief was out of the question. they would be the two bastards who got away while others were put to questioning in their attempt to flee danger if they did that. so ditching the file now wasn't an option, not at this point, when they were nearing the walls of the city. if they ditched it here, those who call arcadia home would definitely be put under a lot of conclave scrutiny. he firmly nodded his head, settling on their holding of the tape until they could perhaps ditch it elsewhere, if they did decide to rid themselves of it. "okay, okay, yes. i agree. well, sort of." he paused, but before his cousin could smack him again he made to sure quickly interject, "kidding. seriously though, i guess we don't really even have much of a choice." he had not missed the flicker of uncertainty in her words, either. julian felt a bit better knowing his cousin was perhaps just as conflicted as he was, no matter how well she may conceal her own worries rather than let them run amuck like how he often did. it was only reasonable that they were both unsure whether or not to keep the file or discard of it, considering both of those options had some serious implications associated with them. neither was much better than the other, although he had to admit, he was a bit more inclined to disposing of the report than to keeping it, and that was for reasons of self-preservation alone. looking at the bigger picture of it all, though, he wasn't sure where to stand.
indentpersonally, though, he had been on edge since the very moment he witnessed the massacre at the side of the road, and drawing to a close on arcadia's entrance only heightened his paranoia. he had definitely been joking about how people seeking to enter the city would be require to be searched by some conclave personnel, but now it was beginning to feel like a potential reality, thanks to the mounting nervousness that came with even being in the same proximity of a conclave member right about now. he felt unnecessarily guilty in the presence of the toll, as if he and valentina were truly apart of this huge scheme the rebellion was hosting. in a way, they were technically associated with the rebels now, but it wasn't like the rebels themselves even knew they existed, for crying out loud! they had gotten themselves into this mess by accident, not on purpose. they hadn't signed up to be a part of this at all. so, for the sake of everything good, he hoped beyond measure that extra security precautions to gain entry would not be the case today. he kept his hands lightly placed upon mars' reigns, checking out the length of the line as they made to take their spot behind a family inside a wagon. he couldn't say that he ever felt as nervous waiting to get into the city in his life than he did now. the two never had a reason to feel guilty of anything before - they frequented the bustling city often, and for various instances. often, like now, they would sell what they could from their hunting trips. they usually profited, too, considering the dense amount of visitors and residents within the walls of arcadia. there was always something someone was looking for, after all. however, on days where they needed to make ends meet, the two of them would check out the community notice board, see if there's any job opportunities they could take up. and often, there was. he and valentina, they were pretty good at what they did, if he could be so modest to say. arcadia was the prime location for their income, both for signing themselves up for some work in return for caps, as well as selling their own scores. as valentina assured him she had the caps, he nodded. the line to get into arcadia was definitely plentiful today, and the two cousins wouldn't be moved through the gateway right away. not only would their financial situation begin to run low as a result of simply getting past the toll, but also if they didn't manage to attract any buyers for that doe valentina had secured from her hunting trip, then they would need to consider heading to the concession stand. for once, the idea of scraping the bottom of their caps wasn't exactly at the forefront of his mind, though. how could it be, when he was trying to focus on not looking as suspicious as he felt? all around them, everyone else seemed so normal, the family in front of them rowdy, even. the one thought getting him through this waiting to get through and into the city was the fact that those ahead of them were more likely to draw attention to themselves than he and valentina, who were much more quiet in comparison.
indentjulian slightly turned to look over his shoulder at his cousin, about to start groaning about how slow this damned line was going, getting perhaps a single syllable of a word out before he realized his voice was way too loud amidst the group waiting to get in. he shut his opened jaw, cutting himself off. what the hell? slowly, julian shifted his attention forward, toward the gateway of the city, without offering valentina much of an explanation. the family in front of them had fallen into a sudden quiet, and since they accounted for most of the background noise, it made sense why his own mumblings felt magnified. julian felt his fingers curl around mars' reigns uneasily as the loud children before them were abruptly swooped back into the insides of their carriage. what was the source of this sudden quiet which had taken not only the family before them, but most of those surrounding the two, he had not a clue. his mind instinctively, and rightfully so, went straightaway to the conclave. he swallowed thickly. this was it. he and valentina were at the end of the line. they were caught, they were found out and the conclave knew and this was going to be the end of their lives, all because they plucked a coroners report off some dead bodies of people who just happened to be rebels-
indenthis heart began to hammer in his chest, blood pounding loud in his ears. his hands were growing clammy upon mars' reigns. he didn't dare look back to valentina when she spoke, as hushed as the rest of the crowd now. or really, he couldn't. he felt paralyzed, like he was plastered to look forward and bear whatever hell was going to come down upon them. he didn't want to even mention how this was so obviously their doom, because she herself hadn't commented on it. oh, lord. she knew. were they that much of criminals in the eyes of the conclave now, that they were going to be publicly executed in front of this unassuming crowd or something? his eyes darted from the obscured view he had of the toll to the sky, where the cries of a blood eagle shrieked out. now, he didn't want to get much more ahead of himself, but if he and and valentina were truly the reason for this sudden interruption to the usual humdrum of life, well then, they were quite frankly screwed. a blood eagle is the very opposite of what you would want to see should you be in the midst of the conclave, such as they were now. the bird sailed on graceful wings, drawing to a halt its circling of the wastelanders at a lamp post situated at the gates of the city. like gideon, morris had sunk into the depths of the saddlebag when his ears caught the shriek of the blood eagle. julian eyed the creature as it eyed them. the silence, as fragile as it was, didn't last long. it was shattered all at once as something seemed to be going on at the very front of the line. he let out a very, very shaky breath. of course he didn't wish the conclave upon anyone, but surely he and valentina were safe, then, if they were targeting someone else? god, that sounded cruel, but it was true. he hated himself for thinking like this, but it's not his fault he almost saw his life flash before his eyes just moments prior. he stiffened in the saddle, trying not to show too much unease for mars' sake of course, but naturally it was hard not to react at the sight of soldiers suddenly pushing themselves through the crowd. their movements were purposeful, and it wasn't long before a certain group was isolated from the rest of the line awaiting entry. he could only watch the chaos ensue as those wastelanders closest to that particular group were pushed back with considerable force. various different wares fell to the ground, while said people were stumbling to either get back up or retain their balance as they were forced to separate from that group. his mouth had formed into a thin line. he wanted to look away, but he couldn't. those rounded up by the conclave seemed to be rather random, or at least in julian's eyes. families with children, some couples and other solo wastelanders. he wasn't sure how the party was even interconnected to one another, let alone why this was happening. his head turned to the side, slight enough to display to valentina his growingly troubled expression. he wanted to say something, but he really couldn't find the strength to muster any stupid comment right about now. he didn't want to get them involved somehow by testing the conclave's patience just about now, either.
indentwith the group having no choice but to look into the barrels of guns pointed towards them and urging them further into a tighter space to huddle with each other, his brows furrowed together in uncertainty. it wasn't unusual for people to be yanked out of the line every now and then, but having a whole group of soldiers pinning these people together was considerably out of the ordinary. dread crept up his spine. he wasn't so sure he wanted to know exactly where this was going, for right now, things were looking rather bleak for those within the circle. they were removed from the rest of the line with some soldiers standing as barricade to that group and the rest of the lineup. while valentina and julian kept to themselves - considering they really didn't want to get themselves under any scrutiny, it was a wise choice - other people weren't so easily accepting of the disruption. a good few voiced their opinions, some insults directed at the conclave personnel thrown here and there, while some others urged to know what the hell the holdup was, as well as cries for the soldiers to let them go. he admittedly did want to join in with the more non-compliant people in this group, but his own fears kept him struck down in place. there was no way in hell he was going to say anything. the soldiers seemed like they'd love to shoot a bullet through the head of any one of them, given their aggressive body language. what the hell was going on, though!? he still had no damn idea, other than the fact things were appearing relatively ominous right now. another screech sounded out from the bird, though this time it had flown from where it had been perched atop the lamppost, and was now over at a wooden platform, intended to be an observation point; where the blood eagle had landed was atop the armored shoulder of a man standing at that platform. like the rest of the crowd, he couldn't help but look up at the man and the creature. where else could one look?
indenthe squinted in order to try and get better look at the man. he, unlike the usual enlisted soldier, did not don the familiar power armor that he was so used to seeing conclave soldiers wear. no, this man was no average soldier stationed out in the wasteland at a superiors biddings. he noted that the man instead boasted a sleek set of armor, an astounding assortment of badges and metals attached to his breastplate. clearly, he must be of a degree of importance to the conclave, given these recognitions of achievement. a cape hung across the shoulder opposite from the decorated portion of his breastplate, the midday breeze lightly nudging the lower ends of the fabric. the man himself was considerably older than most soldiers one could assume to encounter in their day to day toils, too. his face was set in a grimace as he stood there looking upon the crowd. as much as his presence was demanding their attention, julian couldn't help but note that standing parallel to each side of the man were several soldiers, clad in armor similarly designed as his own, though their faces were entirely masked by helmets sporting glowing red visors. it was uncomfortably quiet, like they were all waiting for something to happen, but they weren't sure what. the unfamiliar man atop the platform, as his gaze roved over the crowd, didn't seem to much care that he was building an atmosphere of suspense amongst the wastelanders. when his voice finally rang out amongst the reverberating silence, julian stiffened. the man was a general. general cosimo amabele, to be exact - and no, he had never heard of that name before. it wasn't often that they came across high ranking officers in the conclave, hence why the sight of armor that wasn't the typical set you'd find on any enlisted soldier had immediately caught his eye. now, he had no idea about this shadow squad, though with a name as such, he was pretty sure they meant some serious business. so why exactly was he here, dealing with a bunch of wastelanders, when he would probably much prefer to be attending something of more import?
indentwell, the crusader, as was what the man had become aptly nicknamed as such by wastelanders, went on to divulge his circumstances here at arcadia. those in the crowd recognized this nickname more so than his actual name, so the mention he gave of it elicited murmurs to rise from most of those in the line-up before they quickly fell back into a hushed state as he went on to continue what his presence meant to them. general amabele allegedly didn't expect to see himself here today, addressing a crowd of exhausted, impatient wastelanders, just as much as they did not expect him. while julian could care less about the damn upcoming inauguration dinner of the president, what did pique his interest was the mention of a rebel conflict, and not necessarily in a good way. if he and valentina's conclusions were accurate..then..? he was pretty sure his mouth was running dry, or maybe it had been for awhile now. he tried not to avert his gaze from the elevated surface the man stood upon - not like he would necessarily notice julian at all - but something about looking away, he felt, would trigger the idea that he was guilty. behind his shoulder, he was more than sure that valentina was feeling similarly as him without even needing to look back at her. the general's mentions of a breach in a nearby fort caused more dread to creep up his spine. he was pretty sure they'd plucked the tape off those bodies not far from a base at all..and now some taskforce was deployed to deal with the matter. the sound of that was much more than concerning to him - they'd never been a pair to need to outright evade the law, or more specifically, the conclave, and if his connotations associated with taskforces stood correct, then they were going to be sought after. they had no ties to the rebellion, but they had the piece of information they had gone after; the conclave wouldn't bat an eye at shooting them point blank should the file be found on their person, and this was one thing he knew. and how would they even plead their case? 'oh sorry, i just happened to have this on me, you can have it back if you want'. no. that wasn't the reality of the situation, not at all.
indentunfortunately for them, this speech wasn't seeming to go anywhere in a positive direction, or not from what he could discern of it, at least. with the mention of how many wastelanders despised the conclave while praising the rebellion, julian couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled on him like a layer of dust from a decades old unused sofa. why the hell were people rounded up for this speech? there was some point to be made, clearly, but a massacre at the gates of arcadia? he honestly doubted it, even if the conclave was known for it's brutality. there was no way in hell they would want to do that right now, while conflicts were so high, right? it would only further the hostility that those living in and visiting arcadia bore for the conclave. now, it was no surprise when he went on to try and argue his point that the conclave were the ones out in the wasteland fighting against bandits, cultists, all assortments of criminals and creatures which threaten the lives of wastelanders on a daily basis. it was more than a gentle reminder that the rebellion were not the ones protecting them from undesirables, it was the conclave. it was more than a scare tactic, it was downright manipulative. then came the shift in his point making. now it was his turn to degrade wasteanders, as if he hadn't just contemplated why the conclave was despised by those out in the wasteland. they didn't have the luxuries of capital residents, and the bastards were more than aware of that, too. he personally had no desire to pay respect to the same people who choose to brutalize the people they allegedly protect, and why should he? of course, the general didn't see it that way. the mention of the bandit king was yet another stab at how much protection the conclave offered the residents of the wasteland, how helpless and exposed they were without their army and advanced technologies, yet again. his pause in speech, as brief as it were, resonated, as if to emphasize his point. his next mention, that so beloved statement the conclave loved to offer, that within time they would see their positive effects upon the wasteland and how much their efforts benefit everyone. it was hard not to let the disagreement he felt show on his features, though he had been keeping a tight hold on his appearance since the moment he knew they couldn't take the risk of looking anywhere near suspicious, so luckily it wasn't too hard to fend off his strong wave of feelings toward the man's speech.
indentthe general finally came to his reasoning as to why he was present here today, after that lengthy time building up to it, probably hoping to stir some emotions within the crowd. by now, he knew that he and valentina were definitely not the ones that the conclave was going after, considering they were on the outside of the encircled group, but still, his chest lightened with a bit of relief over the fact they were truly out of the clear. for those within the circle, though, he did not feel any better. these people, they had fled their home of yellow springs in new california, probably hoping to find refuge in the city of arcadia. he stiffened. they had fled the town in order to evade the conclave's consequences for hosting rebels. no, nothing good could come out of this, he realized. they had gotten away without punishment, and there was always one way or another that you would have to pay when it came to the conclave. besides, this man was looking for something of interest that he personally seemed to want back. that made matters even worse. his eyes flickered over the group in question, feeling something much deeper than being absolutely petrified for their very lives. was this going to be some sort of demonstration, where they take them all aside and deal with them somewhere, using the group as a display of insubordination to the rest of them? he glanced back toward general amabele as he then spoke again, this time looking upon the group with something greater than revulsion. his voice rang out loud and clear, his declaration that they would be spared should they tell him the names of those aiding the rebels, though, in response, getting nothing from the encircled group. julian looked back to them, past the conclave soldiers surrounding them, and to their exchanged glances. he felt a bead of sweat forming at his brow. he wasn't even being accused of anything but he knew the looks and brief murmurs they gave each other. he recognized it. the general was not getting the information he wanted today. julian felt the silence from the group grow into something that was in and of itself loud, speaking volumes for their decision not to divulge information to him. he desperately wanted them to give up some sort of information, for the guns pointed straight at them sealed their fates almost irrevocably. on the other hand, he had this feeling that they would shoot regardless. wastelander lives didn't amount to much to the conclave, even if they liked to claim that they did. no, to them, a few dead civilians meant nothing - and it was just as grimy as the conclave to shoot people after giving up information. their silence no doubt signalled a complete shift in atmosphere, their stubbornness to betraying their beliefs would be a battle that the conclave would likely not win. and he knew exactly how this would end. the capital residents would never know of such atrocities being committed out in the wasteland; no, they believed wastelanders were actually arrested and put on trial rather than being executed immediately for struggling against the conclave's orders. unfortunately, they didn't live in this perfectly humane world which they seemed to fabricate for not only themselves but others living out in the wasteland.
indentwarily, he turned his attention back to the general, unsure where he should keep his gaze trained at this point. his pacing on the platform had ceased. his mention of the passing of a recent law made julian grow more uneasy. those suspected of being associated with the rebellion were at a risk of potentially being arrested or imprisoned, but in new california, this law was not yet active. oh, god. was this going to be some attempt to bypass the laws of the dixon wasteland? general amabele went on to confirm julian's suspicions, essentially. he, being normally stationed in new california, was given the green light to enact whatever punishment he deemed fit to those who may be suspected to be involved with the rebellion, but resist law enforcement. julian really couldn't help but narrow his eyes over the fact the man had mentioned just how the situation would be described; the residents of yellow springs being so uncooperative that the situation escalated to violence, and thus mass casualties - and best of all, the conclave had done everything in their power to try and deescalate the situation. it was all a horribly painted lie, that just about anyone could eat up. and that was the problem. he furrowed his brows. the general looked to the soldiers encircling the group. then, he gave a nod.
indentsheer, raw panic surged through his limbs. his heart lurched as the sound of gunfire sounded out, and instinctively, his hand had flung back to take a hold of valentina's forearm, which had also sought to grab his own arm. the two both were just about ready to hit the ground flat in order to try and avoid what they could only assume was going to be their own deaths. he was half-ducked down on an unsteady mars, the abrupt shooting more than enough to cause their horse to respond in a degree of panic, as well. he had taken a firm grip of the reigns with his free hand. julian felt his breath was unsteady, his exhalations shaky, his inhalations unable to take in enough air as he realized in fact the bullets had not gone toward them at all. his gaze was firmly set on the ground below them, and to peel it back up to where the gunfire had been truly directed, his stomach dropped yet again, but this time, with horror. his hand clapped his mouth, and he quite indeed made to retch at the sight of the bullet-riddled bodies of the yellow springs residents, their bodies limp on the ground. the soldiers had not targeted anyone but those within the encircled group. those remaining few tried to either escape the barricade the soldiers had made of themselves, or try and shield their family from their line of fire. their screams of terror died out at the sound of another round of bullets being unleashed upon the last few members. he had thought that what they seen earlier, those bodies dead in the ditch as being the most disturbing thing they would see all day, but no, he was totally wrong. if he could amplify his feelings of nausea from that particular encounter with the dead rebels, then it would be tenfold now. and the most disturbing part of it all, was that neither he nor valentina nor anyone else in the line up had bothered in trying to intervene. conclave personnel at the premises didn't move an inch, either. they had all stayed where they were as entire families and people were sentenced to their deaths. julian most especially felt paralyzed by horror. yes, he and his cousin did have weapons on them, but two shotguns against their power armor and their own weaponry? it was a match that they would easily lose. it was frustrating to be in this sort of a situation, one where they were so helpless that they could not help their own, and if they tried to, they would face the very same fate as they just had. with his mind most definitely elsewhere right now, he almost unconsciously tried to calm mars' nerves and bring the horse to a sense of peace, not feeling fully present himself. he was more like in a haze than anything. the cries of children sounded out amongst the variety of noises coming from those in line, others trying to keep their horses steady just as they. as hectic as it had all transpired to be, one voice among it all reigned over the rest, and general amabele's address was enough to silence the wastelanders once more.
indenthe looked up at the man in the same disgust which he had earlier displayed toward them. the man's indifference to the ordeal wasn't even the slightest surprising, either. and what a warning this had been. taking the lives of others just to prove a point that they could have made by giving those people fair trial. but no, he once more wanted to play on the power dynamic between the conclave and the wastelanders. back to that statement, back to the wastelanders only being able to do what they were doing now because the conclave allowed it. it was nothing short of a threat. and whatever claims he made of them trying to make peace with the citizens of arcadia were futile because of the sort of displays the conclave put on, just as they had done now. why would anyone want to have peace with people who were massacring others for their own benefit? the general warned them to take caution, to be more conscientious of their decisions from here onward, if not for their sakes, then for their families. make peace with the conclave. for if they didn't, there would be consequences. his last few words felt more like an ominous promise than anything; should he find any more rebel activity going on in arcadia, he would come back and destroy the entire inhabitations of this city and ensure nothing remained. how he could ask of them not to label the government as villains, and yet continued to intimidate wastelanders by threatening their security and cities by destroying them, which they were capable of doing, worst of all, was a mystery to him. it was all a manipulation of the mind. the conclave oppresses those out in the wasteland, the wastelanders subsequently resist their tyranny, and then they pay for that. it was a vicious cycle, one that was inescapable. and with that, the general was done. he turned and made from the platform, the soldiers which surrounded him having closely fallen into step behind him. the crowd was left to their own accords, and now they descended into that same chaos as they had only moment prior. at the gates of the city, the corpses were slowly beginning to be dragged away, the soldiers leaving a crimson trail in their wake. conclave personnel had hesitantly gone back to resuming their duties at the toll, ready to process the queue through. the sight was unnerving. to think they were all able to get back to their regular routines after that happened..nobody really cared. nobody ever cared about a few wastelander lives. what the hell, right? if it's not your ass on the line, then why would you care. to be fair, though, the lower ranking conclave members were likely fearful of meeting their own punishment, should they so desire to try and step in. but that was just it. this fear that the conclave cultivated was like a plague, it found its way into everyones thoughts and nestled there in wait, whether or not you were apart of the conclave or not. that much was evident. while government personnel could have and should have stepped in, they hadn't. but he knew they didn't want their asses on the line. nobody did. that's why so many people went out like the flame of a candle, without so much a protest or intervention from onlookers. it was this cruel world they had perpetuated for their own and for wastelanders. even just then was an example of those above the conclave law. the general had been given the rights to enact such a massacre despite the laws in the dixon wasteland differing from that in new california. the society that the conclave so desired was one of staggering disparity, and it was only to be achieved through forcing those in opposition into complete submission, regardless of what force it takes to do so. and life would be no different than now. the so-called 'pure-bloods' at the top of the rungs, educated, wealthy, prominent families thriving while everyone else was damned to suffer.
indentthe two cousins shortly gained entry within the city of arcadia, past the checkpoint and the toll. they had to surrender their remaining caps, which was in and of itself concerning. they had to hope this doe would fetch them a decent amount of caps. gideon and morris were still sunk into the depths of their saddle bags, which had been only half-heartedly searched by the officer stationed at the toll. given the circumstances, he could understand why. his own mind was still much elsewhere right about now, too. getting past the walls of the city wasn't as relieving as it should have been, either, for those within hardly appeared to show any signs of distress. the slaughter outside the confines of the city went unnoticed, leaving the insides of the city to be oblivious as to the grim events which had just transpired. he couldn't bring himself to match the lively energy of the city, not after what he had just seen, so he was thankful when valentina had made to unmount mars and take the reigns to lead them through the bustling crowds and into the thick of the market. the fact that they had to continue going about their day all routinely after witnessing that, too, was rather disturbing. but there was nothing they could do. they needed those caps regardless, and they weren't going to change their plans now. and no matter how many times one had to endure witnessing gruesome horrors as enacted by the conclave, julian was never able to go entirely unperturbed. death was, regardless of its nature, always associated to memories he would much rather not confront. yes, he was used to murder. but that didn't mean he didn't react rather negatively when faced with it. valentina walked on beside mars, keeping a grip of the reigns as they weaved their way in through the masses. finally, one of them spoke. they hadn't since they first got in queue to get into the city. and yet while he was dying to dish out whatever he was thinking, at the same time, his thoughts ran dry on his tongue.
indentfrom his position atop mars, he was still able to pick up her relatively hushed tone even despite the rowdy atmosphere they were in the midst of due to their close proximity. julian had already began to find himself nodding furiously as she herself began to unravel and articulate her own thoughts; they had seen a lot of conclave misconduct, it was true, but this? they had no evidence, no grounds on which they even could have justified shooting all of those people. it was all based on accusations, and all they had for it was the conclave's word. she was entirely right. plus, it seemed he wasn't the only one who picked up on the general's efforts to try and find some loopholes to sentence those people to death. she had as well. now, it was no surprise he did that - who would check him, after all? he didn't need to consult the law, didn't need to bat an eye as he made to track down wastelanders only to have them shot by soldiers acting as a firing squad. valentina's brief rant had paralleled his own thoughts about the matter. this was a never ending cycle, not unless some real change somehow occurred. it was easy to feel hopeless when all the odds seemed to be stacked against you, too. just like how they were unable to help those unjustly murdered at the gates of the city. they would have gotten themselves an instant death wish had they tried anything, any futile attempt to step in would have been shut down. that's perhaps why the rebellion resonated so deeply with the majority of wastelanders - they were doing something, behind the scenes, mostly, but still. at least they were trying, and they must be making some sort of progress if the conclave hadn't absolutely obliterated them by now, right? there was always a part of him which questioned their motives, of course, for it was hard to process why anyone would sign up for such an unfair battle against the government, far more technologically superior than what the rebels must possess. but..their belief was so strong, their hope, their desire to do something against the government, that they were willing to die for it. those people they had come across back on the way to arcadia, those people knew what they were taking on, and yet, they did it anyway. it took more than just guts to do that, it took some damn hardened courage. they wanted a better future, and they were doing something about it. and that file that they had? it was probably more important than they could ever comprehend right about now. he took a glance ahead of him, up at the street they headed through as it gave way into a larger expanse of space, teeming with people seeking to buy or sell, or who knows what. julian worked his jaw as they passed a group of people bartering with each other. the community notice board stood just ahead, its surface filled with papers upon papers pinned to its surface. it was best to stop by there first, should they find someone seeking a doe in particular. if their luck could get any worse, they may just be eating mudpies for dinner like valentina had so mentioned earlier. he shared a glance with his cousin, unable to hide the despondency he still felt despite his reassurances that maybe the two of them could make a difference somehow. "honestly? i don't even know, val," he made sure to maintain a reasonably hushed tone as he addressed his cousin. after all, you never know what agendas people around here may have. "but one's things for certain..the tape. we gotta do something with it, get it back to where it was intended to go, you know?" as in, the rebels, but he couldn't exactly say that out loud now, could he? he eyed valentina warily for a moment, curious to know how she was feeling about the tape now, too. had what they seen influenced her opinion as well? "i mean, dammit, how many more people are we going to see die? tens, hundreds, thousands? we already have it on us, right, so we might as well try and do something, even if it's the one thing we can ever contribute to changing this screwed up world.." if they couldn't do something outright, they may was well try and help out behind the scenes. and if they already had the tape, they didn't have to go into a fort to risk their necks for it. the hardest part was over. or so he thought. right now, it didn't quite feel like they were actively being pursued, after all, in the midst of all these other people. they had made it past the toll of the city, despite seeing a whole massacre of people, and weren't questioned or anything. if they were so secure right now, they should try to find that so-called elusive freedom trail. if they got some considerable caps from this doe, too, they could head back to their settlement to prepare for the trek, first. but again, this was just what he was thinking. if his cousin had some genuine reasoning as to why they shouldn't keep the file, then he would listen to her. he did sometimes make some rather rash decisions, and this could be one of them. hopefully not, though.
indentthe pair had approached the community notice board with time. he leaned slightly forward in mars' saddle, trying to get a better look from his position atop the horse. he knew right away in which section to look, too, for they frequented arcadia so often. his hand reached forward to lift some papers layered atop each other, these ones of seeking certain creatures or their specific limbs or hides or whatnot, unlike the listings for jobs they often searched through. he narrowed his eyes. mongrels, shriekers..already it was hard not to be growing impatient, given the circumstances from this entire day beginning to pile on top of each other, but he couldn't help but snort at the one paper outlining a buyers desire for like, a horde of bulbdogs. "heh. bulbdog army. look at this, val," he smacked his cousins shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding the paper up for her to see. he kept it raised from the board where it was pinned in all its glory, the words scrawled on there as a search for the creatures. he tried to refrain from cackling and looking like some maniac, though admittedly it was hard not to chuckle. julian then looked to her for a moment to see her reaction, then all at once decided it was probably best he properly focus so valentina didn't decide to jump him in the middle of the market for being an idiot. "on a second thought, actually, who cares? couldn't be me." julian added, immediately resuming his work to filter through a few more of the posted pages, leafing through various buyers offers of caps for whatever they desired, though no flyers were looking in particular for the meat, hide or even limbs a doe could offer. it was painful trying to find a match and right now was no exception. "really?" he muttered. surely someone would be interested, no? the notice board not only catered to mercenary sort of jobs and advertisements of selling and buying wares and what not, but also of warnings for the spotting of certain creatures, or even of androids. he couldn't really care so much about all that right now though. most of the information he was looking at now hadn't remarkably changed since the past few days, anyway. upon no luck of finding any interested buyers, he exasperatedly drew his hand back from the papers and ran a hand across his face and grumbled something incoherent before looking to valentina, slightly vexed. "man," he drew the emphasis on this singular word, "this is looking a lot like we're going to have to go to that bastard running the concession stand, see if we can even get any caps for this stupid thing." in arcadia's market, there was always the option of hitting up the concession stand to try and get some value of caps for your wares. the man running the stall goes by zio, and he more often than not, tries to sell you short of what you deserve in return for what you're offering. though on days like these, especially today, where the two of them were beyond exhausted from never catching a break between the file and the conclave, it was more easier to head on over to zio rather than try to rifle through every single advertisement on the board meticulously. "might not get much, but at this rate, who the hell cares. we're barely gonna be getting by if we don't get something for this doe. and if we know zio, we know we are gonna be getting the damn bare minimum. yay." it was more than anything a last resort. something about this entire trip was beginning to feel like they needed to be in a rush, and for what particular reason, other than the file weighing in their possession, he wasn't sure. the two cousins didn't spend much time loitering at the notice board, and instead sought to head over to zio's stall. the man had established himself in arcadia as the prime dealer for exchanging wares for caps and then reselling them to an interested buyer. he most definitely made more than what he offered others. sure, it made the work easier for them in terms of getting stuff off their hands that no one else seemed to want, but painfully less rewarding in terms of what finances they received. so, yeah, no, he wasn't entirely looking forward to this encounter.
indenttoday was no exception to the busy core that was the city of arcadia. it seemed its population grew vaster by the day, in fact. which made sense, considering a lot of wastelanders were beginning to seek refuge in municipalities, the raised walls and the protection offered within more desirable than being exposed to the elements of the waste. their trip to zio's stall was short, though, and luckily for them, he had just finished dealing with his previous seller. and here it came. as soon as he set eyes upon the two cousins, the older man, his hair peppered with gray a reminder of his aging, let his mouth fall open with recognition of the two of them. "well, if it ain't my two best hunters!" he exclaimed, and julian had to suppress rolling his eyes. they were well acquainted with the older man, but he was sometimes a bit too overbearing for his tastes, considering he basically scammed them all the time. that, and he probably called everyone his best hunters. oh well. on his counter sat the body of a mongrel. when he noticed julian observing the creature, he swept it away to to the back of his stall, where the rest of the goods he acquired were stowed. the man walked back to them slowly, simultaneously rubbing his gloved hands on his leather work apron from what blood he may have dirtied himself with from handling the creature. "so? what you got for me today, you two?" zio grinned, slightly peering past julian's shoulder to try and get a look at what they may be transporting via mars.

[vaermina]

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I.xcis malex II.x33 years oldx III. an inr tactical intelligence officer & sniper


indentroland could not help but allow his fingers to graze his jawline in a pondering manner as their conversation with the captain came to a close. he had no idea what to feel about this. rebels finding a way to breach conclave bases and steal files is nothing new. they've been doing it for years, with the rate of success slowly shifting into a downward slope as conclave technology and security grew more advanced. the rebellion works in the shadows, never stepping into the open field. they survive only because they rely on secrecy and covertness to keep their operations from being discovered and destroyed by the conclave. naturally, you would expect them to steal files concerning the location of warehouses, the shipments of weapons, diagrams of weapon models... but a coroner report? it doesn't make any sense. he was sure there was more to this story that he and jazmín were not hearing but it's not their jobs to go nosing around for information that does not benefit the mission as a whole. why people higher than even director rhys in the conclave hierarchy are practically clawing for this file is none of their concern. when you're an officer or soldier of the conclave military, you're expected to do what you're told without question. the affairs and ambitions of your superiors is none of your concern. the way the wheel works is that everyone must do their part for it to remain moving. captain sutemell knew this better than anyone for he answered jazmín's question punctually. tight restrain. it was necessary but it would make their jobs far more difficult if such a situation were to occur. not only would they be dealing with a runaway tape but a plethora of disgruntled wastelanders who would be none too happy to have had their day interrupted by a conclave-initiated lockdown. with tensions already running high between residents of the dixon wasteland and the government, it would be an absolutely hellish experience. however, roland and jazmín have not gotten as far as they have in their careers by acting perfunctory. they will do whatever is required of them. besides, roland has long since established certain expectations for himself that he always aimed to achieve. he had no intentions of backing down from a challenge, especially if said challenge involves the ludicrous actions of a few lousy rebels. perhaps that's just the mentality of a sniper. before he was promoted to the taskforce, roland had been apart of an infantry squad that consisted exclusively of squad advanced marksmen. they would spend weeks at a time tracking fast-moving targets, supporting primary combat operations across the country by eliminating individual targets that could be a threat to singular battalions or the conclave as a whole. if there's anything his time as a marksmen taught him, it's that rebels like to move fast and in order to catch them, you have to be willing to get your boots muddy.
indentthey departed from the outpost upon vague dismissal from captain sutemell. their gps altered their course to their final destination. he became vaguely aware of soraya's presence as the sand-cat ducked underneath his arm and crawled into his lap, eliciting a squeak of salutation from beau. roland stole a glance at the holoprojector as the file containing information about the case flickered into view. six rebels. "to be honest, i'm surprised these breaches keep on happening. you'd think that they'd grow to alter these bases and make them impenetrable after what happened to fort snow." was roland being too critical? he is more than aware of the fact that the conclave really has no concrete confirmation of the rebellion's exact size nor how deep its operations extend, but it was ridiculous that rebels had been able to even access a computer database laboratory in the first place. captain sutemell told them that the rebels had infiltrated themus by donning the power armor of several dead soldiers. why were their identities not checked by security upon arriving at the gates? they must have spent a few days inside of the base, getting a feel of the land and what rooms contained what inside of the fort. did they not take off their helmets during those few days? had they stayed inside their suits of power armor to avoid garnering suspicion? he had a lot of questions with no cogent answers. while it's true that the rebellion is nowhere near as advanced as the conclave, they can't afford to consistently let their guard down. the self-proclaimed revolutionaries have death wishes; they'll gladly risk their lives breaching forts to obtain information they deem valuable to their cause. roland felt that the top dogs have become so comfortable with their positions of wealth and power they fail to take anything seriously if it does not personally threaten them. the rebels steal a coroner report and now they're jumping to their feet? admittedly, the conclave has a bad habit of letting potential threats simmer until it reaches a boiling point. roland sometimes felt even himself slipping into a nonchalant state of mind. it's easy to become cozy when you think you're untouchable. of course, ordinary wastelanders can hardly put a dent in the conclave's side but the rebellion is a different story. who knows how much technology and weapons they've stolen from the government the past few decades?
indenteventually, their short ride to the designated area came to a close.
indent"DESTINATION REACHED...TERMINATING GPS SEQUENCE UNTIL SYSTEM IS REBOOTED. ARRIVAL TIME: MARKED AS PRESENT. CORRESPONDENCE WITH EXPECTED ARRIVAL TIME: MET. SATISFACTIONS MET. SYSTEM BOOTING DOWN."
indentthe armored vehicle slowly came to a stop. roland allowed his eyes to briefly inspect the area of interest. small posts had been jammed into the dry earth to create some sort of staunch perimeter around the gruesome scene, bordered by several parked cars driven by those who had first arrived to inspect and secure the area. said soldiers and officers were standing a good few feet away from the actual scene itself, for they had no jurisdiction to investigate anything themselves. splotches of red stood out amidst the stalks of decaying grass. several bodies lay motionless on the ground, lying in what looked like a shallow ditch. dried pools of blood had formed underneath them, attracting the pesky presence of flies and other insects. six bodies, just like the report said. none of them had managed to escape. figures. when captain sutemell mentioned that the rebels engaged in brief gunfire with themus soldiers, he knew that they couldn't have gotten away unscathed. there is hardly any sort of vegetation, rocks or plausible cover out here in the dixon wasteland for one to hide behind should someone open fire on them; it made sense that the rebels had been relatively easy targets as they fled into the waste. if anything, he was surprised they had managed to get this far before succumbing to their injuries. the group had collapsed several feet from an old pre-war interstate. roland peeled his eyes from the scene before them to listen to jazmín's quip. "fancy restaurant, huh? well, if you're craving a lavish dining experience, we could always head over to arcadia after this. we could have some boiled mole rat and seasoned mongrel broil, paired off with some rotgut. nothing but the best for my queen." obviously, he was joking. roland isn't going to sit here and lie and say he's never tried wastelander cuisines before. sometimes, he and his old marksmen companions would find themselves dining on strange meal concoctions created by wastelanders in their cities while they were tracking targets. are their meals edible? yes. are they good? not particularly. he watched as jazmín proceeded to open up the passenger door, carefully climbing out of the vehicle to descend onto the the ground. he raised a brow when she pointed out his newfound companions. fortunately for his girlfriend, soraya's earlier approach meant that, for the time being, the sand-cat was out of her hair. and was now a pest roland has to deal with. great. before he could protest, jazmín closed the door. roland scowled before he glanced down at the sand-cats, who met his gaze with curious eyes. rats. after making sure the vehicle's engine was turned off, roland opened up his door. he allowed both beau and soraya to climb up onto his shoulder pads before he carefully maneuvered himself out of the car. much like jazmín, he was instantly greeted by the foul stench of death. combined with the wasteland's ever present heat, it was a repugnant smell. they have to survey this scene, and they have to do it fast. the wasteland is unpredictable as in the smell of the corpses and their blood might attract predators, and roland did not feel like having to go up against some sort of massive beast with a taste for human flesh. with the sand-cats balanced precariously on his shoulders, roland retrieved his helmet from the car. he carefully slid it atop his head, a click resounding seconds after.
indentroland slipped past jazmín to access the makeshift vault of the vehicle as she herself began to approach the scene. he resisted the urge to grab soraya from his shoulder and toss the creature at the retreating woman. jazmín had grabbed several items from one of the vault's compartments, with such being a notebook, a portable holoprojector and an examination kit. roland carefully slipped his rifle from its position across his back to drape it across the floor of the vault. it needed a reload. while sniper rifles are certainly a deadly weapon, they're pretty much useless in close combat. they're meant to be used for long-range kills. sure, you can still injure someone up close but the naturally long build of the weapon and slow reload process makes it difficult to effectively utilize them up close. shotguns, pistols and even assault rifles are better for that. long-range weapons have always been roland's go-to, though. while roland's size gives him an obvious advantage over smaller opponents, it also hinders him. if he can't find a way to overpower someone, they can easily wear him out. he doesn't have to worry about that if he's covering someone from the top of a building. his preferred weapon is a 7.62mm springfield armory m21 bolt-action sniping rifle with match grade upgrades - hollowing out the wood, fiberglass-seated receiver, various trigger mechanisms and optics. the rifle's match grade status means it has been fine-tuned by a professional conclave military gunsmith to ensure the highest possible accuracy, reliability and damage. carefully, roland opened up the bolt of the rifle and flipped the three position safety to the middle so he could open the bolt. he took several cartridges from one of the vault's compartments, pressing them down into the magazine. he proceeded to close the bolt so it was back on full safe. it doesn't hurt to be prepared. you never know what sort of ambush you could be walking into when you're out in the wasteland. he made sure to grab one of the inspection kits while he was at it, too along with an unused notebook. roland preferred to log his information electronically but it wouldn't hurt to do it manually, as well.
indentafter roland slammed the back doors shut, he approached the taped area. he stepped over the yellow tape that made up the area's perimeter. jazmín had already begun to inspect one of the corpses. there were six of them in total; three men and three women. upon first impressions, it looked like the rebels had perished from multiple fatal gunshot wounds. sergeant tuilker and his men had made quick work of them. roland was surprised the rebels had even managed to get this far. fortunately for the conclave, though, their demises ensured a quick retrieval of the valuable coroner report.
indentroland decided to begin inspecting some of the bodies close to the road. he passed jazmín and deedee, who had followed the woman from the vehicle and sat back on her haunches to watch her work. there were two men lying a few feet from the rusty guard rail that bordered the edge of the highway. one was lying on his back, the other sprawled on his stomach. roland approached the rebel who had collapsed face forward into the dirt. flies were buzzing nonchalantly around his corpse. i'm so glad i have a helmet on right now. it shielded him from a considerably great deal of unpleasant smells. these rebels must have been lying under the afternoon sun for over an hour now. roland slowly lowered himself down to inspect the body. he grabbed the man's wrist, quickly rolling him onto his back in order to get a better look of him. the rebel's eyes stared blankly into the sky, a once bright gaze having died out into sudden dullness. a now dried stream of blood had formed from the corner of his lips. eyes trained on the rebel's face, roland reached for his holoprojector. despite bringing a notebook to the scene, it was easier to log information electronically. the notebook can easily be ruined, and his superiors can access his logs no matter where they're at. "male, late twenties to early thirties. cause of death appears to be complications concerning gunshot wounds to the chest, possibly hemothorax and pulmonary contusion." he mumbled to himself, logging in the information. like his companions, the man wore a dark-colored vest. it was unzipped, revealing a bloodied white shirt underneath. how curious. roland has noticed over the years that rebels don't really seem to have any sort of distinguished uniforms, although the vest has grown to become a staple in their wardrobes. a gloved hand reached out to carefully filter along the surface of the vest, seeking to find any possible open seams that might indicate a hidden pouch. the inside of the vest is lined with pockets itself, but would a rebel really store something as valuable as a stolen file in such an obvious place? a quick inspection revealed that there were no false sutures. the pockets inside the vest were also hollow, devoid of the file. damn it. roland proceeded to check pockets and other linings he could see on the man's trousers, even going as far as to remove the rebel's boots to see if the file was stored in there. with the sand-cats still perched on his shoulders, roland reached to pull a small knife out from his belt. he used the sharp blade of the weapon to cut into the midsole and heels of the rebel's shoes. while it might look strange for others to witness, it's a standard procedure for conclave personnel to cut into the bottom of shoes owned by rebels when they were looking for something on their person. the rebellion has grown increasingly clever on where they hide their stolen objects, and that could include small lesions and pockets inside their shoes for something as small as a tape. unfortunately for roland, his search came up empty. he couldn't help but scowl as he rose to his feet, now towering over the man's corpse. okay, time to see if i missed anything. reaching for his holoprojector again, he held out the device. after clicking one of the buttons on the side, a blue light suddenly flickered downward, encasing the man's corpse in a blue glow. slowly, it scanned him from the soles of his feet to the hairs on his head. it did this several times before it flickered off. a few seconds passed before a monotone voice sounded from the holoprojector.
indent"DETECTION OF SILICON: NO TRACES TO BE FOUND."
indentno file to be found on this guy. a few feet away, jazmín's inspection of a female rebel came out the same. two down, four to go.
indentanother rebel was lying a few feet away from roland. he was the closest to the road and, unlike his companions, was lying on his back. the last one to die, perhaps? an official time of death for these men and women will need to be conducted by a forensic expert, but roland had a feeling they all perished from their wounds within a relatively short period of time. they had sustained their injuries while escaping the base together; they must have died minutes apart from one another. still, the man by the road appeared to be lying in a far more comfortable position than the others, like he had managed to flip himself onto his back before finally succumbing to his injuries. roland approached the man in curious caution, his eyes protected from the harsh rays of the sun by his helmet's visors. "male, late thirties to early forties. cause of death appears to be complications arising from a single fatal gunshot wound in the chest." roland wiped off a smear of blood that had gotten onto his holoprojector before he lowered himself into the grass. he was surprised to see that the man's eyelids were closed. interesting. it's not exactly uncommon to find corpses with closed eyelids. a person's body will relax right before they die, followed by rigor mortis. this relaxation can cause a person's eyes to remain open after they pass. if someone dies in their sleep, their eyelids will remain closed; it all just depends on the circumstances surrounding the person's passing. still, he couldn't help but make a small note of that. his attention slowly moved to the man's vest. the article of clothing was parted, as if someone had reached inside of it to grab something. a quick inspection revealed that the man's pockets were empty. something about this one isn't right. no, something was off. could the body have been tampered with? it's not uncommon for bandits to often pick apart corpses and scavenge what they could off of them. hell, even ordinary tainted-bloods have been known to do that. he was sure that if those who secured the scene thought that bandits or anyone else had mass ransacked the rebels' bodies, they would have been notified. roland proceeded to avert his attention to the rebel's trousers.
indentsomething in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
indenta few centimeters from the man's foot laid a file. its pale beige surface practically blended in with the grass, hence why roland hadn't noticed it earlier. his heart lurched as he reached forward to grab it. unsurprisingly, the file was covered in blood and dirt. he wasted no time in opening the file. if this was it, their mis-
indentit was empty.
indentwhat?
indentroland frowned. there was no tape inside the folder. the tape's pocket - once acting as a sort of holder for the report itself - was empty. quickly, he stored the folder underneath his belt in order to paw around in the grass. did the tape fall out of the folder? was it lying somewhere in the grass? a quick scan from his holoprojector in the nearby shrubs came out negative. it's not here. why is it not here? where is it? roland clamored to his feet again. he found the folder that had once contained the tape but there was no tape to be found. someone must have took it. where else could it be? true to the sergeant's report, there were six rebels. six dead men and women. nobody had escaped the conflict alive. so who could have run off with the tape? had this been some sort of rendezvous point for the rebels? did they manage to make it here and give the report to someone else before eventually succumbing to their wounds while the other person fled with the tape? the more he thought about it, the more that looked like a possibility. surely, the rebels had known that their mission could have ended in their demises. it would be ridiculous for the six of them to think they could have escaped unscathed and able to deliver the tape to god knows where on their own. no, a rendezvous point is a clever idea. someone had taken the tape from this man's body and fled the scene before the conclave arrived to secure the area. honestly, they should have realized something like this would happen. while most rebel escapades end in death, the rebellion has not evaded mass destruction all these years by being careless in their raids. this had to be all planned out. and unfortunately for roland and jazmín, this meant their search is far from over. not only were there more rebels involved in this whole scheme than the original six, those said rebels have possession of the coroner report. the one file they were so strongly urged to retrieve is still at bay. where did the other rebels flee to? they couldn't have gone far.
indentroland began to dig in the inspection kit he brought from the vehicle. he found a small thermographic camera lying between a roll of tape and a pack of surgical scissors. it was portable, a type of device that was around before the nukes hit but has been improved and tinkered with over the past few decades. with the conclave's ever increasing advances in technology, it can detect the outlines of footprints made within the span of a few hours. before the war, such detection had been impossible. covered feet would never show up clearly. nowadays, it's not like that. both human footsteps and the paws of animals can be spotted clearly. thank god for that. the thermal camera was able to pick up several footprints with ease. it wasn't even a couple footprints, either. there were dozens of footprints surrounding not only the dead rebel but his companions, as well as a trail of prints leading up from the side of the highway. roland followed the tracks up the slope of the ditch, stepping over the rotten foundations of a guard rail so he was standing on the edge of the highway. the footprints ended abruptly once they neared the asphalt. judging by the sheer amount of footprints as well as the varying sizes, it can be reasoned there were at-least two of them. you bastards. were they heading to arcadia? it looked that way. they were obviously utilizing some sort of mount, too, hence the quick getaway. why on earth they would head to a populated city swarming in conclave soldiers while harboring such a valuable possession made no sense, either but maybe they want them to think that way. who would think to look for rebels in the heart of a conclave infested city? it made perfect sense, despite the danger surrounding it.
indenthe looked to jazmín, who was still investigating the group of corpses down in the ditch. their sand-cats were still perched on his shoulder, beau swiping playfully at soraya's hanging tail every so often. roland reached up to press a button to activate his com-link. "channel 43-b."
indenta few beeps sounded from the skeleton of his helmet, followed by a brief noise of static. after thirty seconds, a robotic voice announced his success in joining the channel.
indenta voice greeted him with cool indifference on the other end. "officer yáñez. i assume you have updates for me regarding your taskforce's retrieval of the coroner report?"
indentthe voice belonged to their taskforce's overseer, a man who's operations were purely tactical. as his title suggests, he oversees the taskforce's duties and missions, acting as not only a guide and quest-giver but as the middle man between the members of the taskforce and the higher ups. roland cleared his throat, having mostly been mumbling to himself the past few minutes or so. "sir, we are investigating the corpses of the rebels at the scene and i have reason to believe this ditch was a rendezvous point for the rebels. there were two other people here before conclave personnel arrived to secure the area. they took the tape; all that is left is the report's folder."
indent"are you sure the tape is not somewhere in that area? what is your reasonings that it was taken off of one of the bodies by someone else?"
indent"one of the rebel's bodies has been tampered with. i scanned the area surrounding this rebel to see if the tape happened to fall out somewhere in the grass and it came out negative. there are footprints that lead from this man's body and back up towards the road. none of the soldiers at the scene have stepped close to the rebels; they've merely secured the surrounding area and blocked off the ditch with tape. none of the rebels survived their wounds, either so there must have been people waiting in the ditch for them. two people, to be exact; they're probably other rebels who were waiting to help get the original six out of the area. i have reason to suspect these said people have fled to arcadia with the tape."
indentthere was a long pause on the other end. roland was beginning to think he might have lost connection with the channel until the overseer spoke again, sounding reasonably disturbed. "if the report has truly been taken from the scene of interest, it is absolutely paramount that it is sought after and returned to themus. i will have to contact higher figureheads to figure out what exact plan the taskforce should take from here onwards, considering our thought was that the report was on one of the rebels' bodies. you and officer seco will travel to arcadia to investigate the possibility of the two rebels with the tape entering the city boundaries. in the meantime, i will contact our personnel in the city and institute a lockdown. if those rebels did enter arcadia with the tape, they won't be leaving the city alive."
indent"yes, sir. is there any specific information pertaining to arcadia that we must know about beforehand?"
indent"details about this city and its current climate should be stored in several files on your vehicle's holoprojector. the city is run by a mayor; i encourage the two of you to speak with him. there are two dominion agents in the city, too; ambassadors hattie girensky and zyair asfour. as i'm sure you know already, the two of them conduct arcadia's propaganda and recruitment campaigns. the two of them might have information about rebel activity in or surrounding the city. i will contact you and your fellow officer once i have received a detailed plan of how this investigation will proceed, should the file remain out of our grasps beyond arcadia. the conclave prevails."
indent"confirmed. the conclave prevails," roland echoed, taking his imaginary leave from the channel. he sighed. great. so, the two rebels who retrieved the tape from their companions have fled to arcadia. its the largest wastelander city for miles. it's quite possibly the largest wastelander settlement in the dixon wasteland. it would be impossible to search every person from head to toe looking for the tape. that's why the lockdown would benefit them greatly. while it is true that saddle bags, wagons and other such cargo is often checked by conclave personnel before parties can enter the city, wastelanders themselves don't get patted down. not unless there's a reason for the conclave to do so. when a lockdown is initiated, every wastelander who enters or leaves the city must be searched thoroughly by an officer. those who live in the city and who are not deemed essential workers - people selling their wares, those working at bars or taverns - must return to their homes or areas of residency. visitors are instructed to immediately leave the city to be inspected at checkpoints for any incriminating items. lockdowns are only enacted during emergencies such as now. roland was sure that if the rebels weren't thwarted at the checkpoints, he and jazmín would be able to catch onto them. sure, it was irritating that this so-called easy mission has now grown considerably more difficult but it did put them up to the test to see if they're worthy enough to be on this taskforce. roland and jazmín certainly weren't going to disappoint their superiors. if rebels truly had retrieved the tape from their brethren to flee to god knows where, they won't remain on the run for long. besides, the dominion agents could be useful to them. the enclave dominion is an enigmatic group in of itself, really, to the point where even members of the conclave are unsure of the group's activity. their secrecy and rumors surrounding their involvement in assassinations doesn’t help. roland knew that they initiate, control and oversee government propaganda. ambassadors of the agency can be found in every large wastelander settlement, often there to gouge public opinion concerning the conclave. in some instances, they may shift the tide of how wastelanders feel towards certain subjects by discreet tactics. their agents are easily recognizable by their distinctive robes, as well as their wiry and guileful expressions. he wouldn't be surprised if those two agents were the ones pulling the strings behind arcadia's local government, manipulating the mayor into pushing pro-conclave agendas onto his citizenry. nothing tends to stay secret from dominion agents for very long, too, which is why members of the conclave tend to be wary of agents. if suspected rebels are in the city, they would know about it.
indentroland stepped over the guard rail. he made his way down into the ditch again, approaching jazmín as she continued to inspect the bodies. having kept the empty folder on his person, he handed it to her. "i found this empty folder lying next to one of the rebel's. their body had been tampered with; there must have been at-least two other rebels here in this ditch waiting for them to return from themus." he nodded to the body that lay close to the road. "i'm guessing this was some sort of rendezvous spot, and the two suspects were waiting for our six to arrive to help them flee the area. they took the report out of the folder and scampered over to arcadia. the overseer advised us to travel to the city and scout it out, see what we can dig up over there while he contacts the higher up in the agency to gouge what our next course of action should be. so, how do you feel about a night on the town?"

[vaell]

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxaviation warrant officer two. | conclave military. | tagged: kai.
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indentmina snorted. kai's attempts to reason with her about his tendency to neglect proper traffic safety were nothing less than what she'd expect from her boyfriend. to be honest, she wasn't even a stickler for these sorts of things herself, just as he had so mentioned, but she couldn't help but poke fun at him for it. she was pretty sure the two of them had lived through so many near-death experiences when it came to driving places - and that wasn't even an exaggeration - that it was hard to have any real worries. plus, admittedly, he was right, being all over him didn't particularly help improve his driving at all, though that didn't entirely stop her, did it? "hey, don't flatter yourself so soon, kai," her mouth quirked with a smile. "could this be projecting? maybe it's you who wants to kiss me, hm?" as much as she could playfully deflect from him all she wanted, he wasn't entirely wrong. was it strange to want to be with your lover while dropping off some important government file? well, sure. mina didn't entirely care for what felt right or wrong, though, not with kai. and for as much as they joked about his questionable driving skills, he had luckily managed to park pretty decently in the metered space. that is, without scraping the curb or another car. as he went on to turn off the engine of the vehicle and lean behind him to retrieve the file sitting in the backseat, she unbuckled her seatbelt from where it had been secured across her chest. mina couldn't help but eye the document as he brought it up to the front with him, even despite the fact that it was entirely sealed off, the information which it contained being tightly secured. she didn't want to say she was curious, but she was. those sorts of things, documents or files or anything had become something of interest to her, and solely because she wanted in on whatever was going on around her, regardless of people perhaps being unaware she was even seeing said information. something about it was so tempting, the idea of seeing something you really shouldn't be. but there was no way into the file, for if they broke its seal, they and mateo would be in deep trouble. plus, she would sound more than strange if she suggested they take a look inside of it. a struggle against her own impulses were constantly churning in her mind, especially lately given ishaan's deployment, and this was no exception for that. she had done something similar earlier today, even. she had gone through her brothers belongings, which she really had no place to do, especially considering all of the stuff she had looked at was probably confidential. multiple photos of diagrams and data were in the camera roll of her phone right now. whatever. if having some understanding of what the hell was going on in the upper tiers of the military gave her some peace of mind, then so what? who could deny her that one small pleasure. she was sure everyone had a desire to be included in things, so how was this any different? and while yes, warrant officers outranked an entire tier of enlisted soldiers and were often consulted for advising their superiors and subordinates, they still didn't have access to very much. most of the time they were handed trivial tasks and errands from those outranking them, and at the off chance they did get insight into some more serious conclave matters, it was fleeting. not enough to satisfy mina, at least, not while her brother was cooped up in some office attending to things that mattered more than anything she could be doing.
indentshe thought that, maybe if she somehow had a grasp of some current situation or other, then she could more smoothly blend into her families daily lives. it was obvious why they her younger brother garnered more attention than she did, and mina could realize this. it was why she wanted to be apart of their conversations, at the bare minimum. and granted, she and kai weren't at the bottom of the military food chain, either, of course; enlisted soldiers took that place for them. commissioned officers were more often than not the ones making their lives feel like an aimless hell. being subjected to doing their work for them frequently - and not the type that you would want to be doing, not in the field or anything - was enough to drive just about anyone mad. the toxic culture surrounding upper conclave society could be reflective of this. if you weren't living up to your family name, then the chances are, you're disappointing somebody or another; and in the military, your rank defines you. militarism is a notion deep rooted into conclave society, and your treatment as an individual can be almost solely attributed to what rank you possess. the lower you stand on the rung, generally, the less kindly you'll be treated; and that, they both knew all too well. her desire to uncover the information within the file was almost absolved immediately as kai turned back to her, though. her eyes shifted up from the file and back to his own, and in turn to his words, she gave him a firm, resolute nod.
indentthe capitol visitor center more than double the footprint of the capitol building complex, its three underground levels being that of a balcony level entrance, the emancipation hall level, and a third restricted level for congressional offices and meeting rooms. outside the entrances doors and within the chamber, people came and went about their business, just as as she and kai now hand-in-hand were. the couple had found themselves entering the the main hall of the center, the emancipation hall, where visitors could find themselves dining in the food court or perusing the gift shops. mina silently admired the interior design of the building. it was hard not to. the entirety of the expanse was lit up by two large skylights, surrounded by shimmering pools of water and seating on the roof deck, allowing visitors an optimal view of the capitol dome. the amount of natural lighting from the skylights washing over the hall could easily act as the only light source, however large oval lamps too hung from the ceiling. the walls, varnished travertine, showcased various historical painting and pictures which had lasted through preservation in the vaults prior to the nukes dropping. more eye catching, however, was the sizeable statue of wilder morgan, grandly set between two staircases. the founder of the conclave was not the only statue, though, even if his was the most demanding; several other statues stood at pillars situated before the stairs, made up of both historical figures as well as conclave war heroes. the entire chamber was polished and refined, its opulence not lost upon her even as they made to head aside and stand in line, awaiting to face a receptionist. given the longer queue, you'd think their processing would take awhile, but truthfully it was no surprise that the line moved quickly, being the often populated space that was the visitor center. crowds of people were received here daily. as the line before them progressively shortened, the two passed through from the main chamber of the hall to a smaller room branching off past the staircases. there, she could now spot the receptionists tending to visitors standing at the opposing side of their desks, separated by glass barriers. some of the receptionists were human, others were striders. the designs of these androids weren't so pleasing to the eye, admittedly, but she supposed if they did their job properly, then whatever. the two of them, though, wouldn't be dealing with an android today; as they came to the front of the queue, a worker standing aside directed them toward a human clerk. as kai's hand slipped from hers, she tucked her own hands into the pockets of her jacket, stepping forward to the desk alongside her boyfriend. the woman awaiting them was ready to promptly receive them.
indentwhen kai went on to state their business, the woman's abrupt interruption elicited a humored huff of air to escape beneath mina's breath. he didn't even need to have finished his sentence for her to immediately spring to action, recalling how his brother, mateo, had called the center not too long ago to alert them of her and kai coming over to drop the file off. good old mateo. and of course, general alarie was more than ready for their visit, probably already having one of his assistants ready to escort them to his office. and this was indeed the case. the clerk, now aware of their purpose of visiting the capitol, took no delay in calling over a woman named josephine, whom immediately rose at the mention of her name. mina lightly nodded as she listened to the clerk continue to then explain to them that they would need to be registered into the system and tagged with identification first. this process hardly took any time. after a few moments of tapping about on the computer and handing both of them name tags, the whole process was swift. following their identifications within the system, they could join the woman awaiting to take them to general alarie's office, who went on to lead them from the reception room and back into the main chamber, their next journey to be taken up the stairs of the building. alarie's intern, as she turned out to be, didn't say much to them, aside from making a single inquiry regarding mateo. she knew it couldn't be helped, there was no malice to it; it was more common than not for people to forget the fourth loukanis of the brood, as well as the elder parekh daughter. getting used to being in someone's shadow was something that came surprisingly easy, too. or at least that's how it seemed. it was easier not to struggle against it. besides, her parents always did say, if it bothers you so much, then do something about it. and that was easy to say from an outsiders point of view, someone in the role of the oppressor rather than the victim. she was trying. had been for the past year. it was one thing or another, always, though. as a warrant officer in the aviation field, she had to train to pilot in various weather conditions as well as begin to get a grasp on increasingly advanced combat flight maneuvers. most often, though, she was subjected to copiloting the transport of troops and personnel wherever they may be needed, usually in training operations or to cities in close proximity to the capital. pre-war, warrant officers did have a much more significant role within the military, but after the nukes dropped, things were bound to change, and the military hierarchy was no exception. aviation warrant officers were often vital in providing combat support to fellow troops or branches of the military to either disrupt or destroy an enemy force, and they often engaged in conducting intelligence. state-of-the-art aircrafts were more than capable of completing aerial reconnaissance and surveillance to gain intel, such as perhaps taking photos behind enemy lines, too. but now, at the height of her career all she could say the most exciting thing she'd done was, again, transporting goods, and executing simulations of battle rich environments. more often than not, mina wasn't even the main pilot in the cockpit, and that was simply because her stats in training had been shifting into a staggeringly low downward curve compared to that of her peers. she admittedly wasn't as focused as she should have been the past six months, but again, it was hard to keep up her somewhat decent records while suffering with her own personal problems. besides, flying is something that demands your full attention, and if she couldn't at least dedicate that to her craft, then she wouldn't see herself progressing anytime soon.
indentas kai leaned in to comment on how much worse being an intern would be, she tried not to chuckle for the sake of hoping that the woman ahead of them wouldn't catch on that they were joking about her own position. her eyes shifted to look to him with no lack of amusement. "food does sound pretty good right about now," she admitted. "and luckily for both of us, i won't be needing to enact some dramatic scene from of mice and men this time around. although it's starting to feel like a wonder we aren't assisting some dying old bastards already. guess we're doing pretty good for ourselves, all things considered." mina teased, looking back down the chamber as they progressed through the capitol building. though bearing several different floors, the ground floor was one that housed an array of both committee rooms and offices for congressional officers to occupy during the time they spent working, though these sections were mainly cut off from the general public. visitors were left with the access to the brumidi corridors, the old supreme court chamber, and the hall of columns. the second floor was the one which held the chamber of the house of representatives and the senate; congress was not in session as of now, however, which offered an explanation as to why the amount of people grew less dense as they traversed further in the building. mina made to sure to keep up a solid pace alongside kai so that josephine wouldn't up and leave them behind at her own quick steps, as purposeful as her strides were. given that, they didn't really have time to observe much around them, even if they were only staying on the ground floor. alarie's intern dutifully led them both through the wing of the capitol building designated for the offices of commissioned officers, the expansion being one that had consumed a lot of the u.s botanic garden's own space in order to prioritize the space needed for this particular section of the building. those whom inhabited these offices had direct access to the capitol, which differed from the congressional office buildings. militarism is a highly valued notion within conclave society, and you could see it just about anywhere, the capitol building and it's perks towards commissioned officers being one of but many examples. she had noted that each hall they passed through, the amount of security had slowly began to grow increasingly more noticeable, that with guards both human and android becoming a much more prevalent presence throughout. it made sense that the further they ventured, the more security would be ramped up. she hadn't totally expected to catch the glimpse of some military bots hanging about, rather eerily lying in wait for some unknown threat, but again, it made sense. their passage through the office wing wasn't a long one, though, as general alarie's door appeared to be the among the firsts of the chamber, josephine pausing at his presumed door and giving a light knocking on the surface of his door. when a voice within sounded out, the woman ushered them on forward to step within. mina and kai both slipped past her, and into general alarie's office.
indentupon first glimpse of the insides of the general's office, she tried not to become too lost in the pristine atmosphere within rather than the man who awaited them, but it was hard not to admire the space. an arched window let in a lovely glow of natural lighting from outside, and it's view was that of the much cut back botanic gardens. whatever was left of it was still quite beautiful to look upon, either way, home to many different plants ranging from roses to orchids. a blood eagle sat perched before the large window, basking in the beams of sunlight in its sleeping state, wings tucked comfortably into its feathery body. the walls of the room were almost entirely lined with bookcases, filled with who-knows-what sort of undisclosed information. a much larger bookcase sat parallel to the window, a glass barrier between the books within to protect them, which took up most of the left-hand wall of the room. behind the man's desk sat an impressive fireplace composed of cracked red bricks, built against the far upper wall. this room was not just elegant in manner, though, it was also a reminder of his achievement. multiple sets of armor could be spotted on mannequins in the room, boasts of foes he had likely brought down over his years. not only this but he also had more than plenty paintings on the free spaces of the walls which displayed in all its glory the wealths of his career in the conclave military, alongside wooden plaques of animal heads or weapons decorating whatever remainders of the room were available. it wasn't for long that one could observe the room, however, not while the general was standing at the front of his desk. he unsurprisingly donned that attire of his position, a sleek fit for such a high ranking, its dark colors contrasting the sewn yellow accents of the garments. on his chest were plastered an impressive array of badges and medals of high qualifications. she couldn't recognize as many as she could on her father with his own consisting mainly of airforce recognition, though she knew general alarie's were tantamount to his considerable achievements within the military outside of the aviation branch. he was a few years older than both she and kai's own parents, though immensely both respected and recognized as a result of a mixture of his family name and his prominent career. though a commanding general of a commando legion, he was able to command deep-rooted respect from his fellow generals, as if he somehow outranked them. he had more than enough ties in the upper class society, too, being familiar with many families, as well as having connections with president morgan's family; that in and of itself was to be be given reverence, as not many people could say that they had that privilege. upon their entry, the general turned to observe just who had entered his office. the pairs presence was one that alarie seemed relatively glad to be seeing, though probably only because they had something for him.
indentwhen he dismissed his intern from the room, the man subsequently took no delay in addressing mina and kai, and as usual, his words elicited the slight tug of the corner of her mouth. romeo and juliet. a fitting allusion. at least the man had a point, though; their parents would be more likely to be seething at the sights of each other rather than going after either of them two. to be frank, she didn't really care if they did, either. it's not like their almost childish grudges could do anything to make their public images somehow become even more intertwined with onlooker gossip than they had already began to be. she gave a small nod in return to the man upon his brief questioning of the visitor center. the queue to see a clerk was definitely a pain in the ass but it was expected. mina shared a glance with kai following general alarie's invitation for them to take a seat. since kai did not step forward to indulge that wish, she herself stayed standing at his side, considering they were likely to depart sooner than later anyway. kai promptly handed the folder to alarie, and she watched as it passed from his hands to the generals own. her boyfriend's own reply to the man's inquiry elicited a light nod from mina. as blunt as he were, it was true. if that was your only way to pass the time, watching old men and women bicker over fundamental rights, then you ought to be concerned for yourself. besides, it was enough to hear arguing at home; why would she want to hear even more than she had to, and over such trivial matters? interestingly enough, though, it seemed that general alarie had taken a similar perspective to the matter as she had so inwardly reflected at the same time. she watched as he made to take up the file intended to be delivered back to mateo. though mina was relatively fond of the older man - given his agreeable personality, it was hard not to be - there was something about his next statements that piqued her interest, and she wasn't so sure whether that be in an apprehensive manner or in a curious one. though he mentioned he was disappointed not to see kai's brother hand him the file himself, his fleeting comment on the man's perspective of wastelanders was mainly what had caught her attention. a bit off-handed, it felt, but she brushed it off. it was just an observation, and though she didn't particularly know the depths of which mateo's alleged empathy went, she was sure it was nothing too much. besides, how could one feel such a way towards people who, like alarie mentioned, would rather see conclave personnel dead than accept what help they could offer out in the wasteland. as a member of upper conclave society, with little to no exposure out in the waste, it only made sense that mina thought this way. she hardly had direct, hands-on experiences day-to-day out in the wasteland and ultimately couldn't even control her own personal opinion over the matter when people such as the general referred to wastelanders with such negative connotations all the time. so, yes. he was right. they didn't deserve kindness if that was the way they wished to resist the conclave. alarie handed the file to kai.
indentat the mention of their siblings, she couldn't help but immediately become a bit apprehensive, if not already irritated. her features didn't betray her, though. she faced him placidly when he glanced to her. he was mentioning how exasperated they must be of them always being the center point of conversations, and yet, here he was, about to do the same. she could feel that same tiresome amount of half-hearted replies already beginning to form in her mind. 'oh, yes. ishaan does deserve it' or 'he worked very hard, yes' or maybe to spice things up a bit, a 'he's really thriving in his new position, its true'. sadly, she was more than ready to be addressing this. it was a topic that somehow always came up, regardless of how starkly different the main focus of a conversation may be. in a way, she was pretty sure that she and kai were just magnets to those sorts of questions; after all, its what happens when you have such successful kin. mina again found herself nodding. a part of her maybe didn't want to admit the fact he was right, but her younger brother's position definitely did improve her families standing as a whole within the airforce, even if it didn't necessarily serve to necessarily benefit her as an individual. in that way, it was honestly probably worse having such a prominent name while being stuck in the lower pits of the military's social ladder. mina could recall having seeing alarie weeks prior at her residence, yes, as he had come over to personally congratulate ishaan's achievements and whatnot. mostly she unconsciously repressed that day, along with any other where she felt nothing but a mere shadow behind her families towering attainments.
indentit was only that his next words threw her completely for a loop. he had addressed it. a man of his standing had acknowledged something incomprehensible to - or mostly just ignored by - most people in upper conclave society, and he had gone past the surface-level niceties that he was required to dole out to them in doing so. to be honest, she was at a bit of a loss for words, although not in a necessarily bad way. she wanted to be careful how she went about this topic, however, even if he was willing to segue into it. he was still a general, still a man superior to them, and he didn't have to care about what challenges they may be facing in their lives. but she did jump at the opportunity regardless. it was easy to, when you were deprived of such guidance from authority figures, where more often than not, they simply shut her or kai's opinions down. he hadn't done that yet. so both wary and curious, she went on to answer him after a brief moment."well..yes, i do. i think a lot of the hard work being cultivated within the military goes under-praised as whole, unfortunately. and that is something more daunting than anything to address." the general didn't react beyond offering her a nod, didn't reveal any outward disagreement to her statement. she was gladdened by this. "such fundamental shortcomings are always difficult to address, it's true." beside her, kai had joined in the fold as well, expressing his own agreement over their conversation. he was right, too. everyone did seem to follow a basic cookie cutter career, never straying much from the baselines. which was exactly why nothing was progressing out in the wasteland as it could have the potential to in regards to conclave law and expansion. even despite his agreement, though, no doubt kai also felt that this was a bit of a peculiar situation. they weren't exactly used to expressing their own thoughts or ideas in the presence of someone who outranked them, and it was a bit tricky to go about it when you had the bare minimum of experience in doing so. the whole topic seemed fragile, like something that could easily break at any given moment. she just wasn't sure when. it didn't really matter how the general presented himself, either; they needed to be heedful of how they worded things. general alarie's next response to kai elicited a slight tilt in the head from mina, if more so for her continually growing curiosity than anything else. again, he was commenting on their families feud and how that is not so rare of an affair in conclave society, which genuinely was perplexing mina. he seemed to express some sort of an opinion on the matter, at least, albeit his words seeming carefully selected. this was delicate territory, indeed, and she was mainly sure that was because these sorts of things were just the way life operated in upper conclave society. nobody really wanted to question it, because either you were prospering or you were the one suffering, and while one didn't care, the other had no say. a puff of smoke shrouded the man as he drew on his cigar pipe before looking back to them once more.
indentmina gave a short 'yeah' in unison with kai's own following alarie's questioning of their attendance at the inauguration dinner. she wasn't even so sure how to feel about that whole event, either. if it weren't for kai being there she may just have wanted to starting tearing her hair out over the thought of how horrendously long the dinner would've been alongside her family alone. his next words, however, caught her attention once more, even though she had flashed him a brief look of something similar to disbelief when he mentioned their so-called well-known relationship, nose momentarily scrunching. what was a bit more important than that, though, was his passing mention of how their families petty disagreements against each other had begun to have an impact on his on workspace. oh, great. somehow even their feuds impeded on more than just social situations. since he worked with both of their fathers, it was no surprise he was so aware of these things amidst the general rank. mina suppressed her own dismay at the whole situation. she was lucky her family hadn't been so high-strung about the loukanis' lately, but that came and went in waves since ishaan's promotion. the general also went on to reveal to them why exactly they had been physically invited within his office. he definitely could have just sent josephine to fetch the file and return it to him, rather than go through the trouble of having the couple come and meet with him. but strangely enough, he..wanted to help them? what? that was his intents? now this, she wasn't so sure what to make of. at this point, she was willing to happily accept any alleged help, of course, but what did it entail of, she wondered? he mentioned that it was still in the works, and his apparent plans would need to be ran by their parents and superiors first and foremost, but that he figured this opportunity would be something more than beneficial for both she and kai. mina couldn't help but sneak a glance in her boyfriend's direction. moving forward in their careers? she had began to lose hope on that, but right now, she tried desperately not to cling to what hope she could glean off his words. it was better not to be disappointed, anyway; but, regardless, she nodded along as she listened to the general. the man made the clear point that he was always a supporter of conclave youth; and that sometimes, all you need is one person to help start you down that path of great achievement. his words somehow made her feel like perhaps it wasn't so impossible to redeem herself despite it all. besides, prodigies were not so scarce a thing anymore, either. plus, it would make a better story if you had to climb your way up to where you wanted to be, rather than have it handed to you on a silver platter, she thought. and who cares if you had a rough start to your career? she personally felt it mattered more where you end up than where you may have began.
indentthe general's singular statement that this could mean a complete shift in their current routines was enough to keep mina hooked onto his words. anything was better than now, and she could nearly guarantee that. hell, being deployed someplace in the wasteland isn't even looking so bad right about now. escaping the thick of the capital would definitely a shell-shock for them, but she didn't so much consider that right about now. any worries one may have about such a change were easily thrown out the window when you were like a starving dog. and if she needed anymore reason to agree with his proposals, then his affirmations that he was, in fact, being genuine, helped spur her forward in her agreement. it was kind of like he had expected the two to be somewhat skeptical, and they had every right to be, anyway. the fact that he could acknowledge that, though, was what made his promises so tempting. if she was honest, she should have considered it more, perhaps reflected on it for a brief moment more, but no. she was deprived, starving, clawing at any remains she could get for some place that was not down. anything, even a singular rank promotion, which had been denied to her in the past year, would be exactly what she needed right about now. and plus, humans need boosts to their egos. she hadn't had one in quite some time. she again briefly glanced to kai. it was like they were stuck in some deep, dark hole and alarie was the one offering them his hand from above ground to help them get out. what other chance did they have to take?
indent"that is a sizeable offer, sir. thank you. especially since there's no driving incentive for you to do such a thing for us," she felt as close to a genuine smile as she could growing on her lips, "i know i would be more than grateful if you happened to somehow convince my parents, as well. i'm sure if you mention the prospect of some new career opportunity, then they'd jump on it right away regardless." truthfully, she wanted to expand on what she meant by that, but she restrained herself from doing so. now was not the time to start unnecessarily unpacking her problems. it was just, to her, her family didn't really even notice she was there..did they? and well, if they really did, they had a pretty messed up way of showing it, if that was somehow neglecting your child, then alright. in more blunt terms, she was pretty sure they'd sign her off to be deployed just about anywhere in any region without so much batting an eye, as long as it meant she would stop being a blemish on the parekh name in such plain sight. however, her passing mention of her parents in a slightly less than positive tone didn't seem to have much an affect on general alarie as she feared it may have. "i'm glad to hear you're open to it. as much as it may prove to be diving headfirst into another world, no doubt quite different than what you're both used to right now, i don't doubt your abilities to own up to the task. you are both more than promising. and, i'm sure both your parents will be receptive to such an invitation, at the least." it was nice to not feel either pressured into agreeing with his proposal for them nor feel like he was doubting the likelihoods of them thriving in that sort of a new environment. their entire conversation with alarie thus far had felt nothing more than just entirely, wholly neutral. there was some joy to take in that, too, considering that for once left them with some decision making to do in their own lives. the way he worded it, it was like they were the ones making this choice to better themselves. and that's surely how it was already feeling to her. the man drew on his cigar pipe once more. "i know i must have piqued your curiosities to some extent, so let me offer you this. some opportunities have made themselves known, particularly out west - and, don't fret at that - it's good exposure for the both of you to get under your belt. comfort, familiarity. it only makes us grow complacent with what we currently have. however, i don't want to stall you both too much longer. the inauguration dinner would give us the right amount of time to further discuss such plans. i do appreciate you both taking the time to stop by. and to think, if today's events may have differed, our paths may not have so crossed. opportunity lies in the moment, we just need to seize it. josephine?" he paused, awaiting the woman to hear him before she tentatively drew open the door of his office, peering within from where she had been waiting outside. "would you be so kind to escort these two back through to the ground floor? i believe we've come to a conclusion of our lovely visit." his intern gave him a nod from where she stood, fully opening his office door as he made to step around to take a seat at his desk. "thank you both, again. i do hope we shall be in company when the inauguration dinner comes around."
indent"thank you, sir. i must admit, i do look forward to it."
indentthe prospect of this almost unknown opportunity was one that had definitely gripped mina. she was more than curious to hear what specific proposals he had in mind, and just how they would come to feel about them. but, that was in the future. and for once, things were perhaps beginning to look up. not wanting to keep his intern waiting much longer, the pair said their final goodbyes to general alarie and were swept away from his office, josephine closing the door behind them as they departed, then taking lead ahead of them once again. as they passed through the halls, still heavy with security, she could not help but prod kai for his own take on general alarie's willingness to even give them light of day, slightly leaning closer in step beside him. "first off, i'm still taking you up on that food court offer. second off, what the hell just happened?" she really didn't know how to word how she felt right now. the whole situation was just overall a strange experience that she was trying to make sense of, and processing the situation didn't even feel entirely real. it had been more than awhile since she had heard perhaps any good news regarding her career, so maybe she was growing slightly giddy over it, even if it was out of the blue. so, yes, it was great, but don't get her wrong, it was also so unfamiliar to her, these basic and further kindnesses he displayed. josephine dutifully led the couple back from the wing housing the offices of commissioned officers and into the general expanse of the ground floor. since they had no other business to be conducted within the capitol building, she had led them back through to the capitol's visitor center, bidding them farewell at the top of the staircase from which they had originally came. mina briefly gave her thanks to the woman before she took leave, and descended down the stairs alongside kai. the place they were most interested in heading was situated on the south and north ends of the emancipation hall, past both of the gift shops. she casually slipped a hand out from where it had been resting in her coat pocket to seek out kai's hand, briefly brush her fingers against his knuckles before she slowly took his hand in hers. the pair passed through the emancipation hall, that once again refined, opulent chamber, and down to the north end of the hall, toward the impressively sized food court which awaited them. mina glanced to kai. now that they were entirely out of josephine's range, and alarie's, at that, they didn't have to hold off from what thoughts they may have. "being stationed out in the waste? that's new. can't say i'm against it, though. you?"
indentthe food court looked like it could house about five hundred and some people, no doubt. as they emerged through the main entrance, she could note that the space was definitely beginning to flock with people, too, given the time of day. more than enough tables were still for the taking, though. some tables had four seats, while the smaller ones offered two. the space was brightly lit up by overhead lights and bars lining the roof of the complex. against the walls of the room stood various vendors, refrigerated drinks such as bottles of water and bottled juices nestled in coolers between them. at each queue, stanchions kept the lines for ordering food organized. the first stop mina intended to make was to grab a drink, so she didn't take much time in heading over toward one of the coolers, briefly dropping her hand from kai's in order to slide open the glass door of the merchandising refrigerator. "hm.." mina looked upon the selection of refreshment available, debating what she was in the mood for before she snaked a hand into the cooler to decisively pick up a bottle of acai berry juice. in case kai wanted anything, she held open the sliding door briefly before closing it shut once more. she would pay for the drink once they made it to the front of the line in which they would no doubt be waiting in for a moment or two. and so, the pair then made their way into one of the various queues, this one only with a person or two ahead of them, which in turn gave them some time to contemplate what they wanted to order. from where they stood, they could also assess what exactly was on the menu for today. during legislative session, the choices of food served tend to be more varied, though by no means did that suggest they had less to choose from. mina's eyes roved over one of the electronic screens sitting above the heads of the employees taking peoples orders, the white text bold against the blue background. displayed was the usual sort of fare you'd expect to find at a location prime for so many visitors; grill, features, bbq items, subs, soups, snacks and deserts, as well as salads among other things. the listed items directly corresponded with their prices, too, which could be seen across the opposite side of the screen. she looked to kai after a passing moment, expression jokingly wary. "before you suggest anything, i should let you know we are definitely not sharing fries or something. if i recall the last time we tried to share some food, i was cheated of my fair share. also known as i got less than half." she snorted, looking back up to the menu, eyeing the sub section in particular. to be honest, she probably scammed kai of his portions more often than he did her, but that was irrelevant. she scanned the different toppings included on each, one description down the list catching her attention. assortments of meat paired with provolone cheese, banana peppers and red onion with italian dressing? sign her up. "i think i'm gonna get a toasted sub. hot italian. what are you thinking?"
indentit didn't take long for the pair to move up in the line after a short while. they were able to approach a man ready to take their orders at the cash register. mina set the bottled juice on the counter so that he could ring it in, making sure to order that sub as well. the man informed her of her total, and mina nodded. as he presented the chip and pin machine, she brought out her phone to tap her payment digitally against the screen of the machine. as it processed, she shook her head to his mention of a receipt, picked her drink up and gave some room for kai to fulfill his own orders next. although they were continuing to go on about their day, it was difficult not to replay their conversation with alarie in the back of her mind. now that she knew they were being given some sort of an offer regarding their careers, she wanted to know what exactly he had in mind. of course she was grateful for the offer in and of itself, but after giving them a small crumb of what was potentially to come, she was more than ready for the time they would hopefully spend with in his company at the inauguration dinner. all they could really do was speculate, which was hard given their lack of intel within the military's extended affairs, particularly out in the odawa desert. she could really only pinpoint a select few missions that were to be held out there, but that didn't necessarily mean they were going to be involved in high scales operations. when kai finished his own orders and they stepped out of the line, the two could resume their pondering. "hey, so? back to general alarie. something out west, for us? i mean, seriously, i don't think anyone, a general, especially, has ever offered something like that to some warrant officers. sure, help the youth or whatever, but this could mean some serious change for us if we like what we hear. although we're probably just going to be working some standard security shifts, maybe dealing with some bandit activity or something out there-" she paused momentarily. "or wait. imagine if we had the chance to deal with the odawa syndicate. they're like, the most prominent faction out there, are they not? maybe the amount of rouses they're causing could be flaring up again. now that sort of involvement would make for a great addition to our resumes." it was an addicting notion to think of; working on something that actually made a difference and mattered. but she wouldn't get up in arms if that wasn't the case. any opportunity is better than nothing. "i mean..don't get me wrong, i'd still take that crappy security work over nothing, 'cause it's actually better than what we're currently dealing with. but you get the idea."