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by vaell » Thu Apr 22, 2021 5:28 pm
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxinr tactical intel. officer / covert ops. taskforce. | conclave military. | tagged: roland.
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indentnot far from where jazmín was standing, the sound of roland's own holoprojector confirmed that they already had two rebels in the clear, void of the file on their person, which left only four more to undergo their inspection. she glanced down to the open contents of her notebook, a few notes having been scrawled down earlier pertaining to the woman's condition. though it was ultimately more convenient to log the information into her holoprojector's database, she had made a habit of manually transcribing her investigations prior to relaying it onto any devices. arguably some efficiency was at stake, but that didn't so much sway her to stray from her usual ways. it was mostly so that she wouldn't have to go back in on recordings to alter them in lieu of new information. but, as far as she was concerned, this woman didn't have the coroner's report stashed on her, and so in her hand, jazmín's gloved thumb pushed down on a button belonging to her holoprojector. it commenced an audio recording sequence after a small beep of confirmation. in the case that one of their superiors required immediate access to what information they had collected from the scene, recording the data in the form of logs was the most accessible way of allowing for that to happen. so, she raised the piece of technology near her mouth as she eyed the woman's slack face at her feet, voice dropped to a lowered tone in order to speak into the device. "female. approximately late twenties to early thirties. appears to have suffered from a perforated gunshot wound to the chest region. body search came up negative; holoprojector confirmation reports 0 silicon traces present. authorized as cleared." with another push of a button, she concluded the recording, successfully storing it onto the devices drive. she threw a glance toward deedee, who had been dutifully watching her since having followed jazmín down into the ditch and from the armored unit. she then looked back towards the dead rebels. with what had probably been about an hour of these bodies laying about accumulating a progressively growing stench of death, she had no doubt that some creatures lurking the wasteland may catch onto the scent and grow curious, perhaps pursue it. hence why it was best she and roland worked quickly, otherwise they may find themselves in a bit of a predicament, even given the reinforcements present alongside them. so thus, she sidestepped around the woman's body, plucked out a small knife from the contents of the inspection kit, and came to a pause before another rebel only a few feet away. she clipped her holoprojector onto her pistol holster for the time being, and proceeded to lower herself down to the man's level. his adornment was no surprise; it was becoming a theme for the rebels to wear such garments, and for what purpose, she wasn't sure. while it definitely sent to the conclave a message of their solidarity, of their attempted rise against the government, she could not help but ponder, would it not be more effective to construct these attacks to appear unsynchronized, with no correlation? that way, some of their strikes at the conclave could be perhaps passed off as something executed by another wasteland faction. or was it that they fully wanted the conclave to know the ways in which they were appearing to be an organized group of members launching purposeful attacks? again, it was hard to pinpoint their motives, though the debate was definitely one to be had in the future.
indentshe produced the switchblade knife she had taken moments prior, flicking the blade open to create a slit in the midsole and heel of the mans boots. this time, she was going through a bottom to top sweep of the body. when searching rebels in particular, a great deal of care ought to be taken, and for their purposes, that meant ensuring they had no hidden compartments or stitches on their attire or other. the craftiness the rebellion often employed was one that the conclave had promptly responded to, and in that, employing certain measures to be taken when investigating bodies. this was one of them. and yet still, she came up with nothing. undeterred by this, however, she shut the blade back into its protective handle and tucked it away into a concealed compartment of her holster, hands returning to thoroughly pat down his trousers, considerably vigorous in her search. no protrusions could be found from any of the pockets, nor did the clothes seem to differ in design from the woman she had just examined moments before. jazmín's lips pressed together in concentration as she continued to work toward the man's upper body, opening the folds of his vest to expose the shirt beneath his seemingly identical garment. much like his companion, this man appeared to suffer from a bullet wound to the chest. her eyes wandered to his face. on his lips sat dried blood, and down his chin, the same. at his torso, it looked like he had coughed up a considerable amount of the fluid directly onto his chest, the sporadic splatters enough of an indication if not for the red having seeped from his mouth. curiously, her hands traversed to his chest cavity, prodding the bloodied area for the entry of the bullet. her eyes narrowed through the black tint of her visor. judging by the position the bullet hit him and the otherwise telltale signs apparent in his death, it was likely the man had suffered a bullet through the lung. pneumothorax. with the likely cause of his death having been retrieved, she made a quick jot-note of such where her notebook sat by her side and returned to inspect the interior linings of his vest. she thoroughly vetted the panels which compromised the sides of the garment, just as she had so done to the rebel prior to him, and made to turn the man's body onto his chest once she came up with nothing of intrigue. searching the back portion of the vest was to no avail either. dammit. jazmín shifted her weight back onto her heels once more, working her jaw as she looked upon the man's body. idly she wiped what blood had gotten on her hands onto her thigh guards. it was better that she remind herself it was too early in their investigation to just yet get discouraged. after all, this was only body number two from her count, separate from roland's. her hand found its way back to unclipping her holoprojector from where it had been attached to her holster, and in a singular movement she both rose to her feet and launched the scanning system. that same blue light flickered down onto the man's body, a robotic scan running up and down the rebel several times before the device could pinpoint an accurate reading of the levels of material the body hosted. she could only watch, trying to bide herself from growing any sorts of impatient. a moment passed, the blue light having paused at the top of the man's head, and then it subsequently blipped out of existence. she looked down to the device in her held out hand. though she had been thorough in her search and nothing had come up, a part of her still hoped that a familiar monotonic voice would declare to her their victory this very instant, that the coroner's report was on his person. but, no, that wasn't the case.
indent"DETECTION OF SILICON: NO TRACES TO BE FOUND."
indentwith a grumble of irritation, she went on to log what she had observed of the man's condition into her holoprojector, initiating the audio recording sequence to occur. "male. approximately early to mid thirties. likely to have endured pneumothorax as a result of a gunshot, most probable cause of death. body search came up negative; holoprojector confirmed no traces of silicon are present. authorized as cleared." jazmín pressed down on a button and the recording came to an end. it was hard not to suppress the growing vexation that had begun to make itself evident through her efforts. maybe it was because she had expected to find something by now, or roland to have, but yet they were still empty handed so far. what appeared to be a easy task for the more than qualified members of the taskforce was beginning to become something a bit more challenging. the more bodies they cleared, the more chances they had on narrowing in on the coroner's report, and yet in a bit of a paradox, the closer they grew, the less likely it felt they would find anything at all. she stowed her holoprojector away once again, backtracking so that she could examine the final body that was laying in the ditch. curious as to how roland was making out, she looked up toward the side of the road where he, sand-cats still perched contentedly atop his shoulders, seemed to be logging information on one of the bodies he'd just finished examining. from this observation alone, it seemed his progress was very similar to her own thus far, which again, could be a very good or a very bad thing. with a huff, her gaze settled back toward the rebel at her feet. flies dotted the woman's body, just as they had the other two, attracted to their progressively decaying states. jazmín sank back down to get a closer inspection of what she was dealing with this time around. she firstly jotted down the woman's suspected age range in her notebook. around late twenties to early thirties, she could infer. she set her notebook down beside her into a withering patch of grass and leaned over the body from where she was crouched, reaching for the blade she had tucked away. her motion to bring the blade out of a compartment of her holster faltered when she caught a glimpse of roland nearing her in her peripheral vision, though. with her attention having been caught by him, she paused, glancing over in his direction. did he find something, perhaps? their valuable coroner's report? or did he just require her to check something out? jazmín slowly made to rise from where she had been level with the dead body in order to face him as he approached, but before she could ask what he intended, he produced a folder and handed it over to her. if she had any hope of anything being within, his words immediately squashed those beliefs. he took no time in telling her how he had found it next to a tampered body, and had then come to the conclusion that at least two rebel-affiliated associates must have been expecting this bands' arrival from themus. admittedly taken somewhat aback, all she could muster was a "what?" before she in turn opened up the contents of the folder. where the coroner's report should have been stored, there was nothing. it was gone. truly. she looked at the folder dumbly for a split second before she glanced back up to roland, expressionless gaze meeting expressionless gaze. though she had been pondering the likelihood of a rendezvous point for the rebels, she didn't expect him to exactly confirm her suspicions in this way. he however continued to inform her that he'd already been dished out some advising from their taskforce overseer, whom suggested the pair head over to arcadia while he figured out a sure plan of action and consulted those superior to him. jazmín lightly nodded along as he spoke. she wasn't so much surprised of their circumstances as she was disappointed. it just meant that they would have to work on this case for a bit longer than they had originally anticipated, which was fine, of course, but a quick recovery of the coroners report would have been ideal. time sensitivity was a bit of a pressing matter, even harder to ignore when those holding positions within the executive branch were growing restless over the file's disappearance. though in the long run, all that really mattered was that they retrieve it, she supposed.
indentjazmín shook her head in amusement over his final comment, a brief smile reaching her lips from beneath her helmet. "psh. i guess i may end up having no option but to entertain your menu of arcadian delights, yáñez," she lightly pressed the empty folder against roland's breastplate in a means for him to take it back, then brushed passed him in order to retrieve the inspection kit that she had left open only a few feet away. she reached for the switchblade in her holster as she knelt down to strap the knife into its designated slot against one of the interior linings of the kit, throwing a glance over her shoulder to roland as she did so. "good thing you found the file so soon, otherwise our chances of apprehending those criminals would probably be beyond deplorable." securing the blade within the kit, she doubly stacked her notebook on top of the cases contents, bringing down the lid of the container to buckle it shut. she turned to roland once she got back to her feet, inspection kit in hand. around the outer edges of the perimeter, a few soldiers had directed their attention toward the pair, likely having noticed a slight shift in their activity. it was probably best that they clear the scene up as fast as they possibly could - for various reasons - and that would need to start immediately. already she had felt a newfound urgency prodding her, and before she knew it, she had set the investigation kit at roland's feet. "here, if you don't mind. we'd be better prepared if you stowed everything back into the armored unit while i make sure this area gets cleared up." without so much waiting for his own agreement over the matter, jazmín made to head over toward the boundaries of the tape which cordoned off the area of intrigue, where several vehicles were parked outside the perimeter and soldiers in power armor awaited further instruction. her eyes made a quick rove over those standing about as she passed through the ditch, ensuring to direct her path over toward the first ranked soldier she could spot. he wasn't hard to find. the man, whom unlike the two enlisted soldiers hanging about him, donned a sleek, simple garb only elevating not him much above his peers as a warrant officer, fifth ranking as signified by the small array of medals attached to his chest. he stood at the front of one of the armored units, hands clasped behind his back, engaged in conversation with the two around him. "you," at the sound of her address, the man's attention was caught and he instantly turned to face jazmín. upon recognition, he quickly enacted the appropriate salute as befitted her own position, snapping into proper acknowledgement. "there's been an update in the case. order some of your men to begin loading these bodies into vehicles, stat. we're going to need them transported to forensics at fort sancus for an in-depth assessment of their circumstances of death, preferably within the next hour. officer yáñez and i are headed to arcadia, so i hoped this matter could be properly handled by you. or am i wrong?" she paused, barely letting the man react before she snapped him into a sudden flight of action, "why aren't you moving already, warrant officer!?"
indentthe severity of her tone effectively got the point across, the man having leapt into action, giving an 'aye, officer!' before he turned to locate his soldiers hosted near the backend of the vehicle, immediately shouting orders as she had so instructed. it was crucial that these bodies were delivered to the nearest major fort; which so happened to be themus, yes, though she figured that it was best to send them back over to fort sancus in terms of security, given themus' recent break-in. and plus, she and roland could then easily contact and access the forensic experts at their current home base. back at fort sancus, a forensic team would be able to perform laboratory analysis in order to pinpoint the rebels' times of death, confirm their suffered injuries, or further collect and analyze any specific evidence they may deem worthy of pursuing. given that this was a high priority case, she was sure there were potentially some items of interest worth examining. it seemed time was against everyones side; they needed to be mindful of the carnage attracting undesirables, as well as ensure a timely transportation to fort sancus. jazmín leaned a hand against the armored units hood, the now-clamorous environment around her not enough to hinder her in her efforts, however, her opposite hand activating her com-link as various soldiers made their way toward the premises of the scene. "channel 43-b." a few processing beeps sounded within the chamber of her helmet, submerging her next into a moment of static noise until a monotonic voice confirmed she had successfully joined the channel. surely things were going to start to become even more chaotic in the upper rankings of the taskforce soon, though it was best she inform their overseer now of her intents.
indent"officer seco." she was positive the man receiving her was hoping anything she had to say wasn't some development in the case which would further ensnare them even if his voice transmitted as indifferent. luckily for them both, though, it wasn't that.
indent]"sir. the rebel bodies are being transported back to fort sancus for forensic examination, likely to arrive within the hour. one armored unit, under a warrant officer's command."
indent"excellent. i'll have officials stationed at the gates of fort sancus notified of the transportation party's arrival. the conclave prevails."
indentshe nodded despite the fact that he could not see it. "confirmed. the conclave prevails." and with that, jazmín set off, back across the ditch and past the soldiers beginning to cast the rebels into body bags to soon be carried into a vehicle. the thought of the six reeking bodies all piled together in one small, crammed space was enough to make anyone repulsed, even if they were encased in body bags, but at least they were all mainly shielded from such scents thanks to their helmets. the warrant officer five of this division awaited the bodies at the open backside of the armored unit. she stepped past those attending to the bodies, who had no choice but to give a brief acknowledgement of her presence before they immediately dove back into their work, and finally ascended back up to the side of the road, where roland would likely be awaiting her. she stepped over the guard rail, passing deedee with a small pat on her head before opening up the passenger side of the armored unit. she clambered up and into the vehicle, grabbing ahold of the side of the door. once situated, she drew her helmet off and almost immediately did a double-take at the sand-cats still upon his shoulders. "i have no idea how i can take you seriously with them sitting there- here, soraya," she beckoned for the creature, who turned reluctantly to jazmín. obviously the critter would much prefer to spend time looking at the world from her vantage point alongside beau, but still, she did obey albeit hesitantly. soraya maneuvered herself from roland's arm and hopped back toward jazmín's lap. if a creature was capable of such things, she was pretty sure it wouldn't be long before the sand-cat began gazing longingly toward roland's direction. very dramatic. "wonderful," she glanced back to roland. "now, we wouldn't want the night to go to waste, would we?"
indentin the eyes of someone who had been brought up in the capital, arcadia was nothing to look at, not in the slightest - if anything, it's mere presence posed to be an eyesore. she knew that at best, it was overcrowded, for one, and the streets, like most municipalities, were often littered with unscrupulous individuals. the sheer capacity of the place was overflowing and yet more and more seemed to flock to inhabit the city. of course, one would not assume as much at the current state of arcadia; the lockdown order had gone into effect, thus driving most residents back into their homes and out of the usually bustling streets. those whom weren't registered residents, however - a majority of the city's actual density - were to be directed toward designated checkpoints. one could hope that these sorts of procedures would roll out smoothly, though with the unruliness of the wastelanders, such a thing was never guaranteed. roland and jazmín had promptly received entry into the now-panicking city; luckily for them, though, most people still out on the streets would mean to avoid them like the plague. or so she suspected. within the city, they had been able to progress throughout almost undisturbed, after all. whenever she had glanced out the window, she was met with the shut doors of residencies or establishments, sometimes even caught glimpses of soldiers ensuring a smooth procession down a street or two. she idly pulled up some details about the city and its current climate stored in several files on the vehicle's holoprojector every now and then for them to consider. travelling through the residential sector of the city effectively sped up their journey to the location they were most interested in: the mayor's office. as the elected head of the city, davin finnall had not kept his position as such by constantly rubbing shoulders with the conclave. the city council of arcadia was mainly compromised of tainted bloods, and this was one of the many ways in which the government made it appear as though the wastelanders had some ounce of say, of control. again, propaganda and lies to manipulate their own narrative. the conclave controlled any municipality, their presence in any given city was to be expected, and it was clear who obeyed who. and yet still mayor finnall was a fickle old man. his installment as mayor was no doubt great for the tainted bloods, as he most probably did have their genuine concerns in mind. it was too bad none of that really mattered, though.
indentlocated past the majority of residencies, the mayor's office was positioned within a moderately quaint building, one of the few housings in arcadia which had been purposefully constructed. made up of faded red terracotta brick, its charm seemed to draw in on it's surroundings, not much sticking out in the usual color palette of the wasteland. a two-door entrance was framed by white beams which accented the buildings roof. it was clearly a building which had been supplemented for the mayor and had not been some prior standing piece of junk, like the parts of a ship having been renovated into housing as you may frequently spot in arcadia. they had parked the armored unit in the closest available space, though they were about a block or two lengths away from the building yet. outside the vehicle, she was fully helmeted once again. jazmín glanced up the street, towards where the older man had just in time seemed to have emerged from the doors of the building; he must've assumed he would be contacted following the sudden initiation of the lockdown. to think that their suspects were most definitely somewhere here made her anticipation levels rise. they would be locked in now, unable to escape without being checked thoroughly first. and they would most definitely have the file turn up on their person should that event occur. jazmín fell in step beside roland as they began to close the gap between them and the mayor's office. this street was not entirely devoid of any ruckus either, however. at the side of the street's main pathway, several conclave soldiers wrestled to keep civilians in line, likely trying to direct them toward an appropriate checkpoint. despite holding firearms, many of the lot of wastelanders being guided had no problems throwing whatever possible insults they could, struggling against the orders being prescribed to them. naturally she did not glance by as they passed such a group, though it didn't take long for she and roland to have been noted by the group of tainted bloods, effectively shifting their attention towards them once they had been spotted. out in the wasteland, it's not often tainted bloods see variations of power armor, which was likely what had piqued their interest. and not necessarily in the best of ways, either.
indent"ay, bastards!" a man lunged forward as best as he could in the arms of a soldier already restraining his further movement, "damn pureblood scum! i know you hear me!" as he did so, jazmín did not falter in her path. he of course tried to get into their faces as much as he could from where he was held back, struggling against the soldier keeping him from doing such. a few other shouts of hostility piped up from the seemingly rebellious group, some snickering at the man's mocking, and closest to them someone generously spat at she and roland’s feet as they passed. soraya's ears flattened at the growing amount of noise, the sand-cat decidedly maneuvering herself around jazmín's neck to sit atop her opposite shoulder, the one not directly exposed to the group of wastelanders beside them. the soldiers attempting to keep the group in check toward the checkpoint destination tried to urge them forward once again, but they were much too focused on the pair. she felt it was hard not to take a gander at someone throwing some insults your way; though skillfully, she kept her gaze trained forward and only briefly looked to the man from the corner of her eye. what she saw, there, in his gaze? something harboring an emotion deeper than hatred. in the wastelander's eyes were an intensity, and an almost animalistic expression of abhorrence was contorting his features tightly together as he spat whatever he continued to direct toward them. she wasn't so much paying attention to his continued growls of contempt, his words and everything else going on becoming something of a blurred background noise. the animosity he embodied, the sheer enmity rolling off the man in waves if his expression and words did not say it all; it was in that split instant she realized how clear it was that he didn't need to know them to feel this level of loathing, to bear it and make it known. the thought made her jaw tick. certainly he did want them dead, would do it if he could. that was alright; many people surely did. and yet having someone express their thoughts of such, to have to silently listen to such things being yelled to your face? her eyes averted themselves back forward and down the street. the pair continued striding past the moderately filled procession, and back down at the front of the group that same man yelled down toward them, more sure of himself in the wake of eliciting no response from her. "yeah, that's what i thought! you ain't welcome in our city, you pieces of shi-"
indentshe didn't need to look back to know the butt of a rifle struck him square in the jaw. she heard the cry reverberate off the walls of the surrounding structures. likely some of his teeth were knocked out. the action in and of itself was so deafening to the group that the snickering around the man had abruptly cut off following a few more aggressive shouts from the soldiers, spurring the group onward toward their destination.
indentjazmín snuck a glance towards roland even though they couldn't exactly read either of their own expressions. the silent tilt of her helmet would be enough anyway. no wastelander city is ever so initially predisposed to welcoming conclave members with open arms, though truly arcadia had seemed to turn into a different kind of beast. no wonder more laws needed to be cracked down around here. those reports of unsettlement in this city didn't exactly undersell themselves, she supposed. obviously, it wasn't uncommon to garner that sort of a reaction from the masses, either. though directly facing such a pure, spine-chilling look of resentment was admittedly enough to make anyone a tad perturbed. saying that it didn't matter because he was a tainted blood would also be a lie. for someone to feel that certain a way about a stranger? hell, they hadn't even done anything and they were targets of jeering crowds of wastelanders. these people weren't only proud, they were quite bold, too. those soldiers surrounding them donned power armor and were fully equipped with weapons that could instantly put an end to their lives, and yet still, they didn't mind risking their necks. this rise of insurgency against conclave officials within wastelander cities was a result of the tensions which had grown between the government and its people, no doubt. yet, again, she must ask what they did to deserve it. they were seeking out wanted criminals, rebels, to apprehend them because of their possession of the file - a government file, which had been stolen, by the way - and yet still, they were the ones being demonized? they were doing a service to not only the conclave but to the people, as well, by ensuring these miscreants don't stay out in the public to create more unrest and distrust toward the conclave. something about it felt personal when it shouldn't have.
indentthere was nothing particularly interesting about the streets of arcadia, besides its unrestful crowds. she and roland were currently relatively removed from the large market the city hosted, which made things a lot more bearable in her opinion, even if they were the targets of taunts. who knows how much more elevated the reactions of wastelanders may had been should they have been even more so in the public eye. luckily, they soon came to approach the office from such a walk that felt much longer than it had truly taken. the mayor stepped forward a few paces to meet them, hands clasped neatly behind his back. at his back stood two local law enforcement officers, dressed in garb similar to that of a conclave official working a toll. nothing too remarkable, just a trim fitted uniform. they had their hands idly placed on automatic rifles slung on across their chests. the man they so sought after, though, wore a modest black suit, his white collared shirt matched with a tie visible through the unbuttoned top quarter of his jacket. he had to briefly refer to their medals before he made a proper judgement of just who he was dealing with.
indent"officers! may i say it is a delight to see you both here in arcadia today," if she didn't know any better, she'd assume he'd also eyed up their armor for a brief moment before continuing, "i knew i was expecting someone to come around, y'know, given the lockdown of the city 'n all. though i gotta say, i am a bit curious as to what you two exactly deem to ask of me. is the lockdown not enough?"
indentshe didn't want to say she was exasperated already, but he was tempting her. after their encounter only moments prior, every odd comment seemed a bit off putting, too, especially coming from his like. "mayor finnall. yes, apologies for the rude interruption and all, but you know the law. unfortunately your city is likely to be harboring criminals whom've got their hands on something substantially important to the conclave. so you see the necessity of it all." his head tilted in amusement as she spoke, a grin starting to widen across his features upon her words. "oh, yes, i do," a deep rumble of a laugh escaped the man's lips momentarily, "no, no, don't you worry about it, 'cause i get it, i get it. we don't support any of that in arcadia, no."
indentit was a good thing he couldn't see her face right about now. "mm. well, then, i'm sure you'd be eager to help fill us in on some missing gaps of information. we're looking for two suspects, they're transporting a very small object of importance; they're likely seeking exit from the city. your men should have been notified of keeping track of such when searching those coming and going..have you anything to inform us of that could potentially benefit our case?" he visibly considered this question for a moment, lips pursed in pondering. "i see, i see," he mumbled. his hand motioned at his side to dismiss his guards to head back to their positions at the entrance of the building a few feet behind them so that they wouldn’t have so much an audience. "look, officers. sounds awfully familiar, someone bringing up something or other about a pair tryna get out not too long ago, actually." oh, this was great. she felt her growing annoyance abide for a moment, purely at the mention that their targets may have been spotted. "thing is, you're both able-bodied, more than capable, and with such fine armor and weaponry..well, come on, now. if you could lend me a hand with something, then, maybe we could come to some sort of agreement, and what i may have to say is all yours for the taking." her jaw nearly dropped at the audacity. what he was suggesting was some sort of under the table dealing, a kind of tradeoff for whatever information he or his men may be in possession of. they weren’t some kind of mercenaries who did the dirty works of others whenever someone deemed it fit that they do so - no, they were esteemed members of the conclave. the silence that passed over jazmín seemed to be one that the mayor did not mind, perhaps one that he expected. “look, i get it. this problem ain’t so much as one-sided as you believe, though. we had a small aerial ship, conclave, of course, carrying supplies in when it crashed just the other night! ended up near the outskirts of town, y’know, just about east of the main gates. ‘n look, we gotta got those supplies, but the thing is, there’s some damn ghouls stalking the area now!” the mayor gave a huff of irritation, looking back and forth between the two. “forgive me if i’m wrong, but ain’t you both skilled enough to handle those bastards? i mean, ay, no shame in it if you can’t. just means that pretty armor is all for show, huh?” jazmín stifled an audible scoff at his continued displays of boldness. what made him so sure they would play along with his stupid little jokes? they could shoot him dead for all they cared, have a replacement for him within seconds. the only thing was, well, he had potential information. that in and of itself deterred their ability to shoot him on sight. if they did that, they would be putting the mission at risk of losing an advantage they could have easily gained - and for what, just killing some ghouls? hell, that wasn’t so hard, and most certainly not above their skill level to take on. it was more so something that stalled their time, and yet what choice did they really have? they could risk losing some valuable information because they chose not to just rid that perimeter of the ghouls, or they could just get it over with. he knew the game he was playing, and that much jazmín could gather. ass-hole. it would be a tradeoff if they agreed. their riddance of the ghouls, and his information. then, afterward, they would be able to seek out the dominion agents situated within the city, surely. dealing with the ghouls wouldn’t be that hard, anyway.
indenthesitantly, she sought to look toward roland, not entirely caring what the man before them made of her firstly seeking him out. the mayor was toying with them shamelessly. nothing about it was inherently harmful, though it did strangely feel like some sort of leverage he held over them. she didn't want to listen to this fool, and yet they were put in such a position that it made it nearly impossible to rid of him without risking losing some information. sure, the enclave representatives stationed within arcadia would likely know of rebel activity if there was any, more so than the damn mayor, even - but right now, they had to place their bets on what they could. man, they were lacking some wiggle room right about now. she mumbled a quick 'excuse us' to the mayor and nudged roland aside, only a few paces away so that they could discuss things out of his range momentarily. the man only watched in something akin to amusement as they shuffled away. as soon as they were a reasonable distance away, she paused in her tracks, not stepping away from the short distance they shared between each other as she had lightly prodded him forward, instead keeping rather huddled. although her closeness in proximity to him could be attributed to making sure their conversation wouldn't be one the mayor could so easily drop in on, it was admittedly more so for her own sense of ease. sure, there was a bit of a concupiscent tension on her end, but mostly she simply sought his own presence. "grimy bastard. who the hell does he think we are?" jazmín hissed, looking up to roland. she had some inkling of what he himself may make of this situation. "talk to me. you think this is worth getting our so-called 'pretty armor' dirty for?" she questioned sarcastically. "and i don't like playing these games, don't get me wrong, but if he's holding something off from us, something potentially crucial..i mean, at least ghouls are easy game.."
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vaell
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by vaell » Sat May 01, 2021 4:34 pm
ＪＵＬＩＡＮ ＭＯＲＥＮＯ.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa wastelander / future rebel. | unaffiliated. | tagged: valentina.
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indentthe two cousins - as much as they didn't want to be dealing with zio right about now - really had no other choice if they wanted to get some caps in their pockets. julian stepped aside to allow valentina to present the doe to the older man, his cousin setting it onto the stained countertop of his stall. evidently, she'd executed a precise shot in bringing the creature down, leaving its pelt in a near perfect condition through the careful use of an arrow. he glanced at valentina, already skeptical as to what was going to transpire in their conversation with zio, then looked toward the man behind the counter. from where he stood, zio observed the doe before him, a growing doubtfulness beginning to shadow his features. it was no surprise that right off the bat he didn't appear to be that impressed with their offer, which was a solid indicator of the fact that he wasn't going to be wanting to entertain a high price for the doe today. crap. what did julian expect, though? if his earlier prediction of this whole ordeal going roughly rather than smoothly wasn't already a telling sign, then the older man's apprehensive body language as he scrutinized the creature was. who was he kidding, though? when did zio want to fully pay people for their wares? he couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the man's next words. he was offering them a measly fifteen caps? what the hell? genuinely appalled by the offer, julian's face scrunched up in distaste. beside him, valentina reacted quickly, mirroring his own outrage. she slammed zio's offer pretty quickly, arguing that the doe had to be at-least worth forty. she was right, too, and zio knew it damn well. with the pair having sold their wares at the marketplace for so long, they had a better understanding than most new travellers as to what brings in what sort of demand. besides, selling here at arcadia accounted for the majority of their livelihood. both he and valentina had more than enough experience under their belt and were seasoned in bartering for reasonable prices; they weren't as dumb or naive as many vendors liked to presume their buyers are. of course, though, zio was quick to steer the conversation toward how forty caps was a price allegedly much too high for this doe. julian huffed in exasperation just from watching the back and forth between the older man and his cousin. so far, the entirety of this conversation would be proof enough for anybody to realize just how horrible of a person zio really was. he had a knack for offering unreasonably low prices and julian was pretty sure most of the time his crappy reasoning for why he did so fooled a considerable amount of people, no doubt. otherwise, he wouldn't have such a prominent establishment - or rather such a well-known disposition, either.
indentwhen valentina gave a retort back to zio's own argument, julian found himself nodding along with her words in agreement. they would be risking their own lives if they wanted to fetch some of those mutated bastards the older man was so referring to; and did they look like they were going to do that, just to appease what he considered in-demand? out here, somebody was always looking for something in particular. in the brief moment of silence after zio's next statement, at this point he couldn't resist throwing his two-cents in, interjecting to hopefully further bolster their own argument. "come on, zio, it's not like we're strolling around here with better weapons than the damn conclave, man. plus, non-mutated creatures are still in pretty decent demand last time i checked, even if people would prefer our lovely doe to have a rainbow pelt and three more heads. but i guess you somehow adhere to different standards than the rest of arcadia, huh?" besides, valentina had a point; the doe could serve many different purposes, be it that it's head end up on a plaque, or its pelt is harvested. if zio couldn't recognize that as a reasonable investment, then he wasn't sure what to tell the man. julian then exchanged a glance with valentina, their patience with the notorious vendor both seeming to be running thin already and they really had only just begun trying to convince him into properly rewarding them for the doe. it was a matter of either giving in to the man's own demands, or to keep pushing him to see if he'd be the one to give in to them. the latter was usually harder to achieve, considering how stubborn zio was, doubled with how unwilling he tended to be when it came to adjusting his rates. the problem was, the older man was their best bet at any source of caps right about now - and all things considered, they would want to be getting back to laurel oaks as soon as possible if they were to take into consideration the statements general amabele made outside the gates of the city. however, on the other hand, this was a deal that was depressingly unfair, and they hadn't entered the city just to get the bare minimum of caps possible, did they? with zio preaching market demand and whatnot, it was hard not to feel like the man had no grasp of the commitment required when hunting creatures out in the wasteland. yes, at times he did make reasonable offers, but it all depended on the influx of buyer demand as he so liked to note. but if zio wanted to see some mutated beasts show up on his counter, then why didn't he get his own equipment and gear to go track some terrors down? huh? oh, probably because, in order to successfully hunt and trap such a beast, you needed to ensure you were properly stocked and prepared to do such. you don't just go hunting some deadly creature on a whim. though zio would never realize that, would he, just comfortably working his stall and underselling his customers' wares.
indentjulian shifted his attention towards the saddlebags mounted on mars' sides for a moment, reaching a hand over to draw the flap slightly open to peek within and see how morris might be faring. within the depths of the bag, he spotted the sand-cat peering up to him with curious eyes, his ears turned forward alertedly. he snorted to himself at the sight and dropped the flap, the creature giving a small squeak from where he was sunk in the bottom of the saddlebag. julian felt it was better off valentina take control of the situation with zio right now anyway considering the fact she tended to be better at dealing with these sorts of situations. sometimes his own bartering wasn't always fruitful - not to get into details, but julian himself tended to get either turned away from vendors because he wouldn't let up, or he would give up right away. some days, though, he came across as pretty persuasive. there was no telling with him, hence why it was useful to have a co-partner in managing such attempts at deal-making. when he turned back to his cousin and zio, however, he noticed valentina's line of sight briefly wandered past zio himself; but as soon as he caught this, she had leaned forward against the counter of his stall. something in her demeanor seemed to shift as she idly toyed with one of the doe's hooves. what the hell was he missing here? if her altered change in approaching this situation wasn't a telling sign enough, he could only assume she seemed to know something he didn't, that much must be for certain given the fact she wasn't completely going off on zio right about now. what he didn't expect to be the words coming from valentina next, though, was the mention of bliss. immediately julian raised a brow at this, taking another step or two toward the counter as well now, his curiosity most definitely piqued. when he looked to zio, he was surprised to see the man had become slightly uncomfortable. my god. had she just caught zio red-handed?..dealing in bliss? julian's eyes flickered to his cousin as she rhetorically inquired about the length of years a person'd be put in federal prison for being caught possessing bliss. he gave a somber nod for effect, going along with her and pointedly eyeing the older man as he did so. it's not like they were lying, either - a long sentence like that in prison? a man like him would get eaten up. it was pretty hilarious seeing him so tense for once, though. it looked like valentina was making progress in turning the tables after all. now, where exactly had she spotted the bliss?..no idiot would just leave it out in the open for other people to see, and he'd hope that even zio wouldn't be that dumb but-
indentjulian tried not to balk at the sight beyond zio's shoulder. he had various different goods piled up against the back wall, as well as the recently acquired mongrel he'd received - but, tucked on the shelves below that creature, various boxes and baskets harboring who-knows-what kind of trinkets..one in particular hosting much different supplies than the rest. oh wow. oh, wow. that was a whole damn stash of bliss. and while it wasn't necessarily being flaunted right in the open, it might as well be for any prying eyes. so zio was more of a fool than julian could have ever imagined, huh? the incriminating evidence in that particular box, a part of the red blanket covering strewn just haphazardly enough that medical insignias, bright and bold yellow, could be made out. he quickly returned his attention back to zio as the man then gave them a scowl. he was in no position to play dumb for very long, and that was just the truth. the fact that zio had gotten his grubby hands on some bliss and was likely selling it to make some more money under the table honestly made him even more annoyed at the older man. he couldn't bother to offer them a reasonable amount of caps, and he was implicating himself with underground affairs? sheesh, man. bliss, meant to treat higher levels of pain and commonly utilized for such in conclave society, was a substance that could cripple just about anybody, be it soldier or regular citizen. as allegedly troublesome as it is, it's just best to stay away from it and what potential recreational or debilitating uses it may have. the stuff held a high demand, though, which was apart of what made it so appealing to sellers, obviously. though again, if someone was caught possessing bliss outside the conclave..? it wasn't good news. confiscation immediately followed by apprehension of the owner. which was exactly how valentina had gotten zio to start squirming.
indentas his cousin spoke up again, he gave a few 'oh yeah-s' in order to reinforce her point as she basically went on to threaten the older man. he honestly wanted to see zio shaking in his boots. to hell with being courteous and trying to be civil. it was full-fledged blackmail war now, and ironically they were using the authorities as a way to make him even more nervous. valentina glanced over her shoulder, and he followed her gaze toward the soldiers across the street, seemingly having ordered some drinks at an outdoor bar. julian shifted his attention back to zio, whose face had paled at the mere suggestion of them reporting him to the conclave. it was honestly hard not to laugh, but somehow julian managed to suppress his fleeting satisfaction in the man's suffering. his cousins gesture toward the soldiers had spurred the older man to quickly interject into whatever she was going on to say. he raised his brows at the zio's proclamations of defeat. now this was a moment he wished he could forever engrave in his mind. or put on a tape or something, like that stupid coroner's report. whatever the case, they had gotten the notoriously stubborn bastard to give in! and yes, they had been a bit brutal about it..but he deserved it almost entirely. of the amount of times the man had grossly scammed others in his entire life, this was not even surmountable to some form of equal payback for such, though for now it would have to suffice. julian finally let a snicker escape from him as he watched zio make to transport the doe to the back of his stall. valentina took a firm stance behind her demand of sixty caps for the doe, and reasonably so - an extra fee to keep the pair from turning him in to the nearest conclave soldiers. still, even with the threat of his life on the line, zio's first response was to be flabbergasted by such a demand. sure, sure she did increase the price a lofty amount which was a little shaky when it came to the older man's standards, but again, they could screw him over beyond measure. hence why he finally decided to accept their request, even despite the fact that julian could tell how much it was truly making him irritated to have surrended to them. the pair handled these sorts of affairs pretty well - bartering, that is - and believe it or not, it's not like most of the time they were out in arcadia threatening to expose people of their stashed chems. they had just managed to get lucky this time with valentina spotting the bliss and all. remarkably enough, in this moment they were probably the luckiest they were going to be all day.
indentsoon, zio had gone to collect the amount of caps he had due for them from a strongbox, and returned to hand them their considerable compensation. much in contrast to the older man, the pair of cousins each had a grin on their faces, valentine's final jab at the zio leaving the older man to scurry to the back of his stall. julian and valentina had successfully secured their pouch filled with a well-earned sixty caps, and now, they could get the hell out of this marketplace. he followed closely after valentina and mars as they departed from the queue, the next person in line approaching the counter now. once they stepped back into the busy expanse of the marketplace, he fell in step beside valentina, glancing over to her, his grin only continuing to tighten on his face upon her words. "dude, hell yeah it did. i mean, that was impressive, i'm not even gonna lie. and maddock blackrose!? zio nearly looked like he was going to pass out at the mere mention alone. seriously, that old bastard deserved it all. he screwed over a good majority of this city who knows how many times, anyway. he could do good getting scared every now and then." rightfully so, neither of them held much pity for zio and his affairs. you'd think that being so popular within the arcadian marketplace, he'd try to be a bit more cautious. but at the same time? it wasn't even the most shocking thing they'd witnessed today, and it was still zio he was talking about here, after all. "we definitely scored pretty good this time around. but imagine if you hadn't noticed his chems in the first place! we'd probably have had to have taken his crappy offer then, and then we'd be out of luck for sure. and the doe was in perfectly good condition, nothing he could even complain about, or at least make us aware of, other than the fact it doesn't look strange. like, the hell? he does deserved to get exposed for that, not even gonna lie here." julian snorted. at least they would have some sort of leverage of zio for the time-being, even if they'd already threatened him once. around them, the marketplace's usual stream of people didn't slow down, its streets with no lack of either sellers or buyers strolling about. beside him, valentina spoke up again, seemingly to suggest where they should head off to - until she was abruptly interrupted by the sound of arcadia's city-wide intercoms blaring to life.
indent"ATTENTION, RESIDENTS AND VISITORS OF ARCADIA. AN AUTHORIATIVE LOCKDOWN HAS BEEN INITIATED OVER THE MUNICIPILIATY OF ARCADIA BY INSTRUCTION OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. ALL RESIDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO THEIR REGISTERED RESIDENCIES AND AWAIT INSPECTION AND QUESTIONING BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS; ESSENTIAL WORKERS ARE INSTRUCTED TO REMAIN AT THEIR WORKPLACES. THOSE WHO ARE VISITING THE CITY AND ARE NOT REGISTERED RESIDENTS MUST LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. EACH PARTY WILL BE THOROUGHLY QUESTIONED AND PATTED DOWN UPON DEPARTING CITY WALLS. DO NOT PANIC; KEEP CALM AS YOU ARE DIRECTED TO EITHER YOUR RESIDENCIES OR THE DESIGNATED CHECKPOINTS."
indentdespite the advisement that those within the city should remain calm, that was the very last thing that julian could do as he turned to valentina with an expression of sheer dread, eyes widened at the words being broadcasted to the arcadian population. all around them, a sudden burst of chaos ensued; and of course they just so happened to be in the thick of the city. instinctively, he grabbed ahold of his cousin arm and pretty much meant to spur her and mars forward through the now-surging crowds. the only problem was, he didn't know where the hell they were going to go. the city had all of a sudden become a sort of prison. they couldn't get out - according to the announcement, everyone leaving arcadia will be patted down and thoroughly questioned. they had the damn coroner's report on them, and if they got caught with that? who knows what would happen to them. most likely execution for being assumed rebels. crap. not only that, though, but there was big chance they were a potential cause for this lockdown in the first place, since that general had mentioned a task-force being deployed and- "we gotta get the hell out of the market, this is probably the first place that conclave soldiers are gonna fasten down on!" he looked over his shoulder at val all the while attempting to shove his way past those just as eager as them to get to some form of relative safety. in the heat of the moment, some people were checked sideways and stumbled into some hanging baskets or small bins of wares, which then toppled out onto the street before them, the vendor obviously in distress over the loss of their goods but also wanting to flee. julian didn't slow down in his urgency even despite this. in fact, everyone else panicking made him feel even more on edge. sure, they weren't for certain the file was why they were entering a lockdown..what even constituted lockdowns again? usually situations deemed dangerous, such as mobs in the streets or city-wide violence, perhaps bandit attacks, or suspected rebel activity. he could only reflect on the general's previous words again: they had something that the conclave wanted. would they go so far as to track them down like nothing but prey?
indenthe felt his throat tighten as they burst through the edge of the marketplace, entering a newly flooded street. they couldn't do much but go with the flow of the people as they made to disperse from the streets, though this was definitely not so bad as being in the depths of the marketplace, since most residents had by now taken to their homes. as the two cousins attempted to continue forward, just outside the airship now, julian paused in his tracks, looked around wildly, then whipped around to fully face valentina. "what now!?" he exclaimed, his tone subdued to a mixture of trying to be heard above the shouting around them while being simultaneously lowered to keep their intents of evading the lockdown under wraps, "we can't get past the toll..and we can't stay here, or we'll be directed to a queue.." he frantically turned forward once more, scanning their surroundings. conclave soldiers would be filtering in here any minute now. if they had no option..they'd just have to find someone who did, right? it's not like anyone here was going to be trying to turning people in to the authorities, either. it wasn't even naive to say that, either; sure, you should be wary of others, but most wastelanders held a sense of community with one another, some loyalties shared even if you didn't otherwise know the other person. it was just the way things were out here. their solidarity was one thing that the conclave could not bring down, not even with force. so, he narrowed his eyes; from what he could see from here, mostly people on foot..but..there! he spotted what seemed to be three people about ready to step into a carava which sat temporarily stationary nearby the airship. the caravan boasted a second wagon, he noted, which suggested they were perhaps moving wares around. there seemed no other viable options nearby, either. he swallowed thickly. there was no way they wouldn't be able to fit in there, get smuggled in somehow, he reassured himself. no damn way. now, with a new rush of determination, he exhaled sharply. it was hard to say whether or not valentina would be in approval of such a split second decision, such a risk to be taken, though if she wanted to protest, he'd be ready for that earful later, once they were on their way out of here. "okay, okay, listen to me. see that caravan over there?" he gave a small nod in the direction of where the caravan in question was situated across from where they stood. "..we don't got time to argue about this...so we're doing this, convincing them to get us the hell out of here. if that tape is found on us, we're goners." and with that, he urged valentina forward once again with a tug on her sleeve, leaving no time to take into account her own reaction over the matter. he just hoped he was making the right decision for once. the worst that could happen would be them getting turned down. whatever, they'd find a different way out then. "uh, hey, by the way, it's never too early to start praying that that good old wastelander hospitality still exists!" he called over the ruckus.
indentas they hurried forward, he broke off from valentina and mars' sides as they approached the caravan, julian now waving a hand toward whomever was standing in the frame of the door. "wait, wait!" he called, half out of breath from managing his way past people scurrying in front of him. the man within had turned his head in julian's direction as if making a double-take, seemingly having heard his plea, though not entirely sure if he was being addressed or not. julian came to a halt in front of the entrance of the caravan, which seemed like it was just about to be closed. impulsively, he set a hand on the frame of the wagon's entrance, looking up toward the man nearly pulling it shut. a look of surprise dawned on the man's face, and a bit of confusion, too. julian noted that he donned some regular everyday attire, nothing more notable than their own wear. he then put that same hand out in front of him to hopefully pause the man from shutting the door on them, as he so seemed like he wished to do. "no, no, please. listen, we got enough caps to pay you guys back- do you have room for another two, and, well, the towing of a horse?" he glanced over his shoulder at valentina and mars. "and when i say us joining you..i mean, to go by undetected through the toll, if you will.." he internally winced at his plea. he knew this wasn't the greatest idea, a tad unthought out on his end, but what other choice did they have? they would be fed to the wolves either way if they decided to just stand about or head over to the gates themselves. they had to try something. if they were caught with the tape, they would get caught almost instantly once searched by a soldier, regardless of the intent of the lockdown. he doubted that these travellers would even inquire why they were seeking refuge, either. it's just a normalcy not to ask; it's not like it's their business, even if they were technically potentially risking their necks for smuggling them. there could be a whole plethora of reasons, but they had caps to offer, if they really wanted them. though it pained him that they had just acquired their new payment, it would be even worse to see themselves heavily interrogated by the conclave and most likely meet their own ends in the next hour. "here, val, you got the pouch, right!? come on, man, please!"
indentfrom where he stood, he could get a glimpse of some of the insides of the caravan, spotting a few people seated nearest to the entrance. interestingly enough, not a small group - and he didn't seem to have caught those three who'd been standing outside the wagon before, either. a man donning a suit, a woman in a poncho, if he recalled correctly, their third being a younger girl. his eyes flickered to the second wagon attached to the main caravan. there was no way that he and valentina couldn't find somewhere within there to hide, even if the space would prove to be rather cramped, what did they care of it? they just needed to survive and get the hell out of here before their settlement was crawling with conclave soldiers; laurel oaks wasn't far from the gruesome scene they had witnessed, the massacre of rebels. they would need to grab whatever they could from their home before tackling the notion of this so-called freedom trail. he glanced over his shoulder at valentina hesitantly. he really wasn't sure what she was making of this, but she would hopefully understand his thought process, even if they ended up having to resort to looking elsewhere for aid.
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vaell
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by vaell » Sat May 01, 2021 4:35 pm
xxxＥＤＷＩＮ ＡＬＢＲＥＣＨＴ.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxentertainer / stage name 'floyd'. | the rebellion. aka 'vuledo'. | tagged: constance.
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indentedwin rubbed the back of his neck nervously as constance spoke, his gaze still settled upon the newly manned gateway, watching as the processions made their way in and out of the city. "would've made things a lot simpler if they'd already been here, that's for sure," he commented dryly. it was hard being in the dark like this, but it was one of the many challenges posed to the members of the rebellion. the underground organization couldn't risk somehow being intercepted by the conclave or anyone else for that matter, which was apart of why they possessed the bare minimum of information to scrape by with on such high risk missions. besides, if things happened to go south, that way potential torture tactics employed by the government wouldn't make someone croak and ruin the entirety of a plan, or worse, expose one of their outposts. his eyes flickered back to his colleague as they spoke once again, her attempts at reasoning for the rebels not having revealed themselves trailing off in a somewhat pessimistic manner. so he wasn't the only one who was growing more unsure by the hour. all the violinist could do was mumble a 'maybe..' in return, himself feeling no more confident than constance themselves expressed. they weren't wrong; the lines outside the city were growing longer by the hour, the rebels could be held up..but yet? nothing seemed to be going as planned whatsoever, or not at least in his mind. he'd expected them to not be here longer than perhaps thirty minutes, though they were well past that estimation. finally, constance broke their unsure silence, offering a temporary solution. he nodded lightly. "that works. besides, we don't wanna hang around here too long i suppose. imagine we got questioned. just appreciating the newly established architecture, officers." he snorted. might as well try to make some light of their situation. "but man, village cross, though...place is kinda creepy. like for real. and i know damn well i'm not the only one who thinks so. honestly it was probably the ghost stories the last time we were there. but that's besides the point. going there without our themus colleagues? even scarier."
indentthe ruined town of village cross was a location often utilized by the rebellion as sort of resting or regrouping point. it was at no capacity to be considered a full-fledged outpost, of course, but it was regarded as relatively safe from the clutches of the conclave due not only to the potential creatures lurking about there, but also because of it's isolated whereabouts. to be honest, though, it wasn't even a comforting sight to see, nor was it comfortable in any other aspects, in edwin's opinion. besides the fact that the abandoned chapel was pretty much falling into itself, its nearby grounds were notorious for the amounts of feral ghouls situated there. but, comfort aside, it was the prime location for them to reconvene their communications with the rebellion after escorting the themus group out of arcadia. yet, it was seeming more likely than ever that they would turn up there all alone, just them and their company, given the fact they hadn't made contact with their colleagues yet. their superiors would definitely recognize this as a major blow, too. it was a bleak thought, but balancing realism and optimism was something hard to do in this trade, after all. not far from the pair, karelsa's attention didn't remain upon the new addition to the city for so long, and soon enough she turned back to them after satisfying her momentary curiosity. she glanced from edwin and constance, perhaps wondering what was going through their minds right about now, quickly perking up at the the start of constance's sentence. she had been pretty intent on heading over to the noodle stand, so it was no surprise when a grin drew upon the teenager's face.
indentin a split second, edwin watched karelsa's expression fall into a look of surprise, her head whipping around toward the source of the unexpected announcement blaring out, constance's own words being abruptly cut off by the intercoms.
indent"ATTENTION, RESIDENTS AND VISITORS OF ARCADIA. AN AUTHORIATIVE LOCKDOWN HAS BEEN INITIATED OVER THE MUNICIPILIATY OF ARCADIA BY INSTRUCTION OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. ALL RESIDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO THEIR REGISTERED RESIDENCIES AND AWAIT INSPECTION AND QUESTIONING BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS; ESSENTIAL WORKERS ARE INSTRUCTED TO REMAIN AT THEIR WORKPLACES. THOSE WHO ARE VISITING THE CITY AND ARE NOT REGISTERED RESIDENTS MUST LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. EACH PARTY WILL BE THOROUGHLY QUESTIONED AND PATTED DOWN UPON DEPARTING CITY WALLS. DO NOT PANIC; KEEP CALM AS YOU ARE DIRECTED TO EITHER YOUR RESIDENCIES OR THE DESIGNATED CHECKPOINTS. DO NOT PANIC; KEEP CALM AS YOU ARE-"
indentif the atmosphere of a city could suddenly flip in on itself, then this would be it. arcadia's pleasant charm, it's large array of both visitors and inhabitants usually minding their own business in an easygoing manner, usually something pleasant to edwin, suddenly became overwhelming, much too frenzied, like a sudden rush had gone over the masses. like everyone knew exactly just what to do the moment that announcement blared out from the city-wide intercoms. the moderately crowded expanse had been cut back to well over half the capacity following the announcement. those who resided in arcadia were quick to disappear into the relative safety of their own homes, free from potential terror aside from the questioning that would commence at their doors. others were not so fortunate to do the same, and rather than slipping off from the crowds, they instead grew panicked. many crowds dispersed, those previously browsing wares at vendors no longer interested, those selling speedily trying to collect what of their belongings they could before scrambling off themselves. all of this urgency could be pinned to the fact everyone was well aware that conclave soldiers would begin to seep in following the news of a lockdown. edwin himself barely had time to even comprehend the situation before he knew that the three of them were simply just trying to stay together. he held onto both karelsa and constance as best he could in wake of the sudden crowds of people they were being trapped between. karelsa let out a gasp as other wastelanders rushed past them, someone bumping into constance's shoulder as they surged past. "my god!" he exclaimed above the ruckus. in every spot he looked he was met with mayhem, and the trio was stuck in the middle of it all.
indentthe shouting and waving of someone trying to get through the crowd with a large cart just caught his attention, and before he could react, edwin could only stare down the cart as it practically hurtled toward them. his breath caught in his throat. it all happened so quickly. he could safely say he didn't want to get trampled today, and luckily for both him and karelsa, constance just narrowly tugged the two out of the cart's path. he let out a sharp exhale, taking a moment to regain his balance from the encounter, karelsa clinging onto the two of them as closely as she could. his heart hammered in his ears. conclave soldiers had now begun to filter into the streets, trying to aid in creating smooth processions. it was a bit late for that, admittedly. the chaos had struck and was now ensuing, and he was nervous their efforts would turn out to be more of the violent type. it wasn't often you found conclave soldiers to be exactly patient with wastelanders, and not in these scenarios. they would practically lunge at any opportunity just to perform some act of horror, he was pretty sure. they were never below that. edwin's gaze darted about, trying to make sense of everything that was going on - they had barely had any time to even react. the lockdown itself was one of the first things his mind questioned. why had it been initiated? various differing circumstances called for the lockdown of a city or town, usually potential bandit attacks, or city-wide violence, or anything that could potentially harm citizens..
indentedwin was already frozen in place and yet he still managed to tense at his realization.
indentsuspected rebel activity also happened to be included under the umbrella of potential reasonings for such a lockdown to be put into place. and that only meant one thing.
indentbefore he could even react, constance, now pulling him and karelsa forward, must have realized the same thing just before he did. quickly the trio delved into the furthered mayhem of the streets. some wares from nearby baskets had been bumped by the hasty masses and spilled out across the trail before them. edwin tried to keep up with the woman as they shouldered their way through the other people in the streets, whom were no less pushy in return. "yeah, you can say that again!" he called out to constance, trying to take most of the brunt of the crowd for the teenager beside him as they tried to manage their way back to the caravan. he could only imagine what had went down at the noodle stand. all he could do was hope that at least someone managed to keep a cool head, and preferably not listen to mikey nor danny in the heat of the moment. their group was considerably closer to the caravan, though, and were likely to already have headed there not long before he and constance and karelsa would soon arrive. this lockdown, it somehow was not just a bad thing, and he couldn't help but relish in that one factor of it all. it meant that their colleagues at themus had truly escaped from the base, and that constance was probably right! they'd probably taken a detour because something came up - and that didn't even matter! they had their hands on the information they wanted. they had successfully gotten it, and now the conclave was panicking. such a lockdown would've only been announced if the government was certain that they had lost the rebels, and they must have suspected arcadia to be the first place they would flee to. ha! those stupid bastards, they were completely and utterly on the wrong track! and while now wasn't exactly the time to be taking satisfaction in the conclave's loss, it was hard not to keep that thought tucked in the back of his mind as something positive which came out of this whole ordeal. more pressingly to be dealt with was their fate; what they needed to do was get their asses over to village cross sooner than later.
indentas they pushed through the crowd, the trio got a brief moment of relief as they emerged at the end of the somewhat narrow street and into the main expanse before the airship. he hadn't even realized he'd begun to grow out of breath, both as a mixture of adrenaline and their efforts to even get here. while he and constance seemed to know this lockdown indicated half of a win for them, karelsa didn't seem to register it as such. her gaze darted frantically before them, hoping to see the familiarity of the caravan as they embraced the tide of people once more. unfortunately, it wasn't so easy to comfort someone when you were just trying to make it alive through the city. he tried to get a better view of their surroundings, tilting his chin upward to peer above some of the heads he could. they found themselves ducking into the nearest street beside the airship, about where they'd left their band. it was hard to pinpoint where was where in such chaos, but even then, this was exactly where they'd left off..so where the hell was their-
indent"hey, you lot happen to need a ride?" edwin turned at the sound of a voice behind them, urging both constance karelsa to do the same. what he was met with was the open door of the caravan, fairfax holding the entrance open for them as he stood in the opening, looking down at them with a raised eyebrow. just so timely, as if being their damn guardian angels or something, their band had appeared. "well? get your asses in here already!" with that, he took no time to scurry on over toward their caravan alongside constance and karelsa, the trio hopping up and into the wagon as fairfax stepped back to allow them some space. edwin himself immediately crashed into the nearest seating available, his hands rubbing his face vigorously. the varied assortments of chatter within were blocked out by his relief. between his fingers, he assessed just whom was in their company. danny no doubt was once again their lovely chauffeur, probably going to use this whole situation as some future story of his, how he'd managed to get them out of arcadia and all that. besides him, though, he and karelsa and constance and fairfax were also accounted for. malacai..nick..mikey..the list went on. with a sigh, he dragged his hands down his face and crossed his arms as he leaned back into his seat. karelsa had taken up a spot next to constance, wringing her hands in her lap. she hadn't said much throughout the entire situation, and though they'd all endured their fair shares of conclave scares, it was hard not feel some bad for her. she slowly looked up from her hands, finally breaking the silence. "..what about the rebels coming from themus?" she asked quietly. "if we're gonna have to leave here..then..village cross?"
indenta few curious murmurs sounded out upon karelsa's inquiry. not far from the back of the wagon, he could hear mikey let out of a brief chuckle of amusement. "village cross!? now come on, why didn't anybody tell me we'd be heading over there?
indent"i mean..we're in arcadia. it's pretty much standard protocol." malacai remarked.
indentthe older man raised his brows. "yeah, well, it's not easy to memorize every damn outpost we got, y'know. but forget that, that's besides the point. that place is crazy. beyond haunted."
indentkarelsa's attention was caught by this. she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "..what do you mean, haunted?"
indentedwin couldn't help but roll his eyes at their conversation. things were only going to get considerably more strange from here on in, now that mikey had mentioned it. "aw, come on karelsa, don't fall for mikey's bullcrap. he's just toying with you, that place is definitely n-"
indent"it is. by the way, that's rich coming from you, mr. edwin-scared-of-just-about-anything-albrecht. if i recall correctly, it was pitch dark out. some creaking in the boards, you know, the usual. i don't know how the hell, but somebody just entering the damn basement was enough for you to jump." throughout mikey's speech, edwin shook his head in denial. "no, no, no..that's not how it went at all, mikey, and you know it. you and danny were conjuring up some freaky ass stories, and of course we were all listening intently, like the dedicated audience we are. pretty sure i wasn't the only one freaked out by the fact that oil lamp you were holding, also known as one of our only sources of light, went out and danny yelled. so, yes, when nick came down into the basement, i freaked out, and rightfully so!" he looked to constance. "come on, back me up here. they were being terrors that night."
indentmikey dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "yada-yada, man! all i hear are some excuses. now, if you will, miss karelsa..that place is teeming with some sort of wicked spiritual energy, i'm telling you. if edwin himself here isn't proof of that, and constance by association, well th-"
indent"mikey!" edwin hissed. the girl looked between the two, unsure what to make of the whole situation. she didn't seem to appear more nervous than she had before, nor did she seem at any more ease. "alright, alright! fine. guess i'll just lie to her then. it ain't haunted. there you go!" mikey grumbled incoherently beneath his breath before edwin decidedly cleared his throat in an attempt to recourse their conversation back on track. "alright then..now, back to the question karelsa initially raised, and one danny should be reminded of, considering we need to get there in one piece," he threw a glance toward the drivers seat and at thus at the man's back. "village cross," he emphasized clearly, "is exactly where we're headed. it's no coincidence this lockdown is happening..the conclave is riled up over the break-in, and our friends got away with it! that's a victory, my friends," some hushed cheers of excitement or exchanged glances of satisfaction filled the wagon as he so announced this. "and we're almost there, we just gotta get the hell out of here. fairfax, you mind throwing me the caps? might need some handy on our trip there, just in case." the man produced the pouch at the mention, tossing it from his hands to edwin's own across the caravan. "great! and now to our esteemed driver." he went on to open up the pouch, produce how many caps he expected they may require should anything come up with a road toll or otherwise, and handed them to danny for him to stow away in a pocket. the remainder of their caps he returned back to fairfax, then sank back down into his prior seating once more. fairfax then made to swing the door of the caravan shut..only something made him pause. edwin eyed their treasurer and the still-open door, the sound of a voice loudly enunciated enough from the outside of their walls enough to make him straighten up in his seat. slowly, he glanced over to constance, his brows knitting in confusion. for a brief moment, he sat there trying to make out what exactly - or who, rather - was trying to get their attention. his hands in his lap, he gestured toward the entrance of their caravan, suggesting that constance should go check out what the ruckus might be with him.
indentedwin made his way from the front of the caravan to where fairfax stood rather stilly before whomever was addressing him. "what's up, man? oh what the hell-" the performer shifted his gaze to look upon not one, but two people standing outside their caravan, a horse in their company as well. "what's the deal here?" he dropped his voice to ask fairfax, who slowly lowered his hand from the door. "uh, well, i think they're asking about passage through the gates of the city.." at that, edwin immediately glanced to constance, curious as to what she might think. "they offered caps, even." edwin shook his head. "no, no, no..that's not that necessary," he looked back to the man directly standing in the entrance way. he spotted the sheen of sweat upon his brow, their disheveled appearances. they had no doubt braved the crowds just as the three of them had earlier. "look, i'm sure you both need those caps just as much as we need our own. as for getting a quick lift from us.." he pursed his lips. their group wasn't going to be caught for holding any sort of incriminating objects that may link them to the rebellion, not in the caravan, nor on their persons, so to be fair, it wasn't like they would be risking either of these two individuals' lives. that, and it was much out of their way to be helping someone out here. besides, the announcement came as a surprise to most people, after all. and besides the fact that the exit out of the city often had a small fee, probably raised now, he didn't want to dig into their reasonings too much. probably like most, they just needed to get out of here. he stepped closer to constance in order to gain her insight on the situation. "what do you think, should we take 'em in, just to get past the toll? maybe our smuggling skills won't go to waste today, after all." he couldn't help but snort. naturally, the two tended to aid who they could, when they could. it wouldn't be the first time they had smuggled some people out, people who they hardly knew, uninvolved in the rebellion. he and constance knew the struggles that was life in the wasteland; they lived it themselves. and whatever reasons these two must have, then they were likely legitimate and would quickly part ways with them after getting out of the city. the second wagon attached to their caravan hosted a large compartment beneath it, initially meant for the holding of a drum set, though repurposed as a means to move people in and out of cities and whatnot. they had the space available, considering how their initial plans with the rebels coming from themus fell through. they were a larger group, too, more than just two people, so this was nothing hard for them to take on. edwin looked back to the pair outside the caravan. "
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by vaell » Mon May 03, 2021 10:42 am
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxaviation warrant officer two. | conclave military. | tagged: kai.
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indentas kai spoke, mina made to unwrap the sub she had ordered, pulling away the thin paper concealment to reveal a sliced in half sub. as much as she didn't want to outwardly overwhelm him with her own enthusiasm, she couldn't help the earnest smile tugging at her lips as he spoke of the syndicate. mina was very much someone who clung to the hopes of what could be, regardless of how possible it were that those very hopes would not come to fruition. call it a problem distinguishing for-certain events or just simply an overly hopeful attitude, she was considerably moved by alarie's offer to them, and kai's words only made her interest further piqued by what the next few months of their lives may hold for them. his mention of the black hand elicited a small nod from her as she looked back up to him. general alarie being on the case of the syndicate would definitely line up with what prior knowledge they had of the man's affairs. he had dealt with the black hand out in the dixon wasteland -- and that was putting it kindly. like her boyfriend so said, the man had destroyed them, earning the ordeal to be widely coined as the massacre of valdosta, perhaps one of the most horrific conclave-wastelander encounters as of late. the entirety of a reconstructed town? obliterated, gone, like it had never been rebuilt in the first place, people hung out for pecking, the frames of buildings hardly left standing. it was an extermination as much as it was a warning, one that had been long overdue. many factions out in the wasteland proved to be nuisances for the conclave in the last years, and in her perspective, these sorts of acts of power against such organizations weren't necessarily unjustified, even despite the severity of it all. stealing conclave weapons, machineries? come on. those sorts of offenses didn't go without punishment, not for anyone, especially if you were apart of a notable faction. although perhaps the message the conclave put forth was one a bit harsh, how else would anyone learn? if the odawa syndicate truly was the next fly to be squashed by the conclave, then that meant there was a possibility her and kai would be in the midst of that mayhem -- which was genuinely a riveting thought. she herself hadn't exactly been assigned to a moderately high-case assignment, not this year, at-least, and facing some actual problems out in the wasteland would be a hell of a change, and a good one, at that. besides, what good was casually piloting around the commonwealth if you were never going to get a taste of the actual conflicts out in the desert, anyway? the syndicate, even with their numbers considerably fewer than the conclave, still posed a threat to the world the government was trying to create. the organization's motivations are primarily considered with religion and pushing a pre-war narrative, even to the point of expelling anything they deem unnatural, such as ghouls. what a ridiculous notion. nothing would ever be the same after the nukes dropped, but some people apparently just couldn't accept that. there was no going back to the prior state that the country must have had once, and this she was certain of. plus, most organizations led through the belief of religion as its sole focus were, in mina's mind, usually quite suspect. you may as well brand yourself some sort of a cult at that point; indoctrinating people into believing that the president and those who follow him are playing god in order to try and gain your own means of control over the masses. if the syndicate group somehow believed that their own approaches were somehow more reasonable than the conclave's, considering the fact that by disapproving of android creation they were effectively holding back the potential of technological advancement of society, then the syndicate was comprised of fools. the massacre of valdosta should be warning enough for the next faction that tries to progressively bolden their efforts against the conclave, but it was never as simple as one would think; if that were the case, then the conclave wouldn't be having continual problems with such organizations. as effective as these sorts of displays are, they're never the end-all be-all solution.
indentshe was glad she wasn't the only one who wasn't entirely wary of the general's offer, though. as kai said himself, who the hell cared if they were working some security shift out in the desert? at the least, they were doing something, and they would be outside the usual familiarity and hum-drum of the capital. if they were, however, going to be doing a bit more than just working security, being involved in the takedown of the syndicate itself would be enough to hopefully kickstart their careers forward once again. that would be no small feat, and surely they would see the rank of commissioned officers within the near future, give or take a few years, or even a few months. being stuck within the middle tier of the conclave military was horrendous, and what the general may propose to them could end up being their key to getting out, especially if the syndicate is involved. besides, if general alarie had taken down the black hand in the time period of a damn day, then it was unlikely that the syndicate would last much longer, then. so perhaps it was like a quick gateway into the next ranking, if this situation ended up being another like valdosta. "true," she commented, lifting one half of her sub up to take a quick bite from it. mm. yeah, the found here was pretty decent. across from her, she noticed that kai had fallen into a momentary silence before he spoke up again, this time around coming off a bit more hesitant. she lowered the sub back down onto the wrapping she'd early taken it out of, curiously looking at her boyfriend. now, he begun to take a bit of a difference stance as to what he first approached the situation with, diverging from her own thoughts. while he then went on to express what concerns he had over the matter, while also acknowledging that he had posed them a potentially grand opportunity, she listened carefully. admittedly, these sorts of thoughts had been pushed to the backside of mina's mind in the bliss of the moment, which made her glad that he was in fact bringing up how this was slightly suspicious. now that she thought about it, what did he want from them, anyway? there was no way this would just be a free offer, like some warrant officer speed-run to the next rank or something. that sort of thing didn't really exist in the conclave military, as far as she knew. but again, she'd never been exposed to anyone particularly showing any kind of genuine interest in her career like that, so maybe he was just being kind, knowing their families and what not..? but again, why them? and especially why them if they weren't even hosted under the same division as he, let alone not having sights on the commando corps? kai did try and offer a reasonable explanation to this, as though trying to make sense of his own concerns over the ordeal, being that general alarie had helped other enlisted officers before - which made their earlier encounter with the general, for mina, a bit less strange, then - and that he had mentioned earlier how he was aware of their families recent feuding. as kai continued to basically pour out to her his developing thought process over the matter, mina pursed her lips. given kai's take on it all, she looked at things from a bit less of a one-dimensional perspective now. her sudden optimism over the situation had indeed clouded her better judgement, and that was for sure, considering how he appeared to be a bit more put off by the general's offer than she had ever vocalized.
indentmina had caught onto kai's almost uncomfortable body language as he tried to conclude his own thoughts with an air of unsureness. he had gone from being doubtful of the general's intents, now to something a bit more understanding; kind of the opposite to her own train of thought now. sure, she was still quite relatively enthralled with the prospect of serving out in the wasteland and whatnot, but she did need to take a step back from those emotions. the woman clung to any sort of hope -- false or not, and had the tendency to focus on that one aspect of a situation alone. that was perhaps why most things came as a utter disappointment to her. admittedly, she was glad that kai had expressed his opinions so openly, even if she had been coming off a bit enthusiastic with it all. she considered his earlier words carefully, trying to put some pieces together in his mind as he seemed to draw back in on himself. mina gave a slight tilt of her head as she witnessed him go on to essentially apologize with a short mumble, back-tracking on what he had just said earlier. it didn't take long for him to try and move on from that particular subject of conversation either. mina tried not to frown at this. she found herself even a bit caught off guard by his last inquiry. "..my parents?" she echoed, a tad half-heartedly, like she were a bit distracted. "honestly? i think they'd sign me off to go just about anywhere in the damn country, without even needing to know the details. out of sight, out of mind, right? and then hopefully i'd make some name for myself while i'm at it, too. so, yeah, i think they'll be good with it. can't imagine a protest there." even trying to put a bit of a lighter spin on things didn't exactly cause mina to fully carry on from how kai had felt just moments prior. she knew him long enough by now to perceive his shift in demeanor. did he think that she would go off on him for being a bit wary of the man, just because she herself was excited about the offer? if that was the case, it was far from the truth. mina was often thankful for kai's own insights, even if they usually shared very much of the same opinions, this time around being a little bit different. if anything, her dismissal of any suspicions of alarie only exemplified how eager she was to receive some form of help from just about any authority figure -- so much to the point where she disregarded what potential problems could arise from doing such. her hand idly picked at the corner of the paper plastered onto her bottle of juice, gaze averted to the drink during her own brief moment of silence. a second passed, and then she cleared her throat. "i think you have a point, though. you know, about the strangeness of this all. it's unexpected, and sure it's good news, but that doesn't make it any less out of the blue. and, kai?" her eyes flickered back toward him. his own gaze was focused upon the seafood before him. "you definitely don't sound insane. i mean, i'm pretty positive it's kind of insane not to think about his motivations behind this, if i'm being honest. when i think about it now, it seems like some classic kind of set-up where we get some sort of offer that ultimately crushes our hopes. kinda feels that way with most things, i guess, no?" she drew her hand toward the cap of the bottle, unscrewing it in order to take a quick sip of the liquid. the rich berry favor hit her tongue before she drew the drink away from her lips. "i don't know, all i'm saying is, i see what you mean, trust me, i do. and you even bringing that up shifts my perspective about this situation; and yes, in a good way. hopefully what we hear at the inauguration dinner will be a bit more concrete, though, like you said. for now it's probably best we just stay pretty..well, neutral about it all. avoid possible letdown, yeah?" she set down the acai juice back onto the table.
indentwhile alarie hadn't particularly proved himself to be a dishonest character, that didn't mean he didn't have the capacity to be one. evidently, they would just have to wait and see what his offer was all about. sure, he didn't have a reason to go back on his proposal, either, come the inauguration dinner, but you'd be surprised how deceptive some people were in the rungs of upperclass society. that's why this entire situation was just straight up confusing. usually, someone wanted something -- nothing was done out of pure generosity for another, not from her experience. why would you offer when you could not take? maybe that's why they were both so surprised by the man in general. he was naturally easy to get along with, this was true, and yet she didn't expect him to ever go out of his way just to help some warrant officers out, let alone acknowledge their struggle and the struggle in which many found themselves in at this stage of their career. mina wished she knew his reasonings, apart from his supposed desire to help out conclave youth. it was important to invest in what would compromise of the future military, yes, but still. if their families and their bickering were posing to be irritants both outside of the workplace and within, then did he perhaps see this as some sort of a solution, or at-least something to ease up the problems between their respective families? she didn't see how it could be one, exactly. maybe just to lessen the wound of the loukanis 'loss' to the parekhs, help her and kai gain better footing in a higher position and thus ease up the tension between their families somehow. who the hell knows. whatever the case, these sorts of trivial issues between families weren't always that easily solvable nor were they short-standing. mina knew it from seeing it multitudes of times, anyway, the length of grudges and such. people here thrived off gossip and what assumptions they could make of others. essentially, drama was good, or at-least up until the point it began to impede in the workplace, she supposed. whatever the case, be it the general wanting to try and calm things down, or maybe just seeing some form of potential in them both, they would never really know for certain. she looked to kai again.
indent"but i mean, i don't think we can have a full answer as to how we should feel, either, and i think that's okay. you know me, though, kai. what you say matters to me. hell, you're like the one person who usually has some useful insight into a situation. and don't even try to say that you planted some seed of suspicion in my head now, either, like that's a bad thing. if we both just eagerly accepted what he said without much more of a concern, then we would be fooled by every sucker out there. so, yeah, i appreciate it, 'cause i nearly fell into that delusional trap of hopefulness, y'know, the type where you pretty much ignore the possibilities of something being off." putting their thoughts together like this to get a full picture of what was going on with alarie deemed to be actually quite effective, as far as mina was concerned. still, having seen kai struggle in expressing his true opinions over the matter evoked some feelings of trouble in her. plainly put, it was uncomfortable seeing him uncomfortable. she liked to think he wouldn't turn on his own thoughts and try to downplay them, not with her at-least, but some things aren't so easy to overcome, and she understood that completely. most of all, she didn't want him to think she would dismiss what he had to say, and hopefully she had in-fact reassured him in some form that she wouldn't do that to him. she didn't want kai to ever think that she would bash him for his own opinions, because if anything, they often helped her make clarity of situations, just like how they had done so now. skepticism was good in moderation, as was enthusiasm. they could both be balanced out in a person, and that was exactly what she herself hoped to now practice. they had every right to be wary of general alarie, anyway. it's not like he was extremely close to them, like a childhood friend or confidant or something. he was involved with a lot of conclave upperclass society and the respective prominent families falling under that umbrella, but that alone didn't make him trustworthy. what she would trust, then, would be his actions, not so much his words. once he actually solidified his proposal to them, gave them some more information, and assuming they liked what they heard, then he would act on his word. what he was saying meant nothing right now, not really. but, if they were truly stationed out in the desert soon, then he would have earned some trust from mina. aside from that, though, he was standing pretty middle of the line to her. mina took another bite of the italian sub. "what about you, though? how do you think your parents will feel?"
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by vaell » Fri May 07, 2021 3:01 pm
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxinr tactical intel. officer / covert ops. taskforce. | conclave military. | tagged: roland.
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indentroland definitely wasn't wrong for wanting to put the mayor in his place. it was already bold enough for the man to dare and address them so informally, like they were his peers on some level, much less try and talk them into doing some side task for him in exchange for what he claimed to be sensitive information. all things considered, it was unwise for the mayor to even make an attempt at playing games with the pair, especially keeping in mind that this mission's urgency in retrieving the file had slowly climbed upward into a high-stakes assignment. plus, the bastard knew that, too; if the lockdown alone wasn't enough to signify the importance of the capture of those rebels with their hands on the files, then she didn't know what was. jazmín sighed sharply. the situation at hand was ugly. if mayor finnall hadn't attempted in trying to persuade them into going after those ghouls, then they wouldn't be facing the predicament of choosing whether or not the man should live. it was frustrating, and if anything, reflective on the nature of tainted-bloods; the mayor was treating them like they were his own soldiers to dispose of at any given time he wished, or like they were some hired guns who worked in exchange for knowledge, which should, by the way, be freely handed to them without a protest. he was simply asking for more than what he was capable of ordering. seems like an inability to distinguish between structures of government and military rankings were beyond tainted-blood comprehension after all. even the ones in charge can't discern when they've overstepped a dangerous boundary. maybe roland was right, and the best solution to this matter would be a bullet lodged between his eyes.
indentupon the mayor's sudden exclamation, though, she cast a wary glance toward the man who stood not far from where the pair had shuffled aside. ambassador asfour? she looked back to roland, who already had his sights set well past her. jazmín hesitated, then slowly made to follow his gaze, turning around to face who could be none other than the just mentioned dominion agent. the man was mounted atop a large stallion donning protective armor, a small flag protruding from across it's cupper indicative of the enclave dominion's colors and sigil. the enclave has always been something of a perplexing matter; their organization gave them immediate superiority in command over even the highest rankings of the conclave military, despite the fact the enclave is an entity separate from the conclave. she exchanged a tense glance with roland before she looked upon the agent once again. even though dominion agents are known to be ambassadors in wastelander cities, representative of the governments interests and heavily involved in influence among wastelander society, the list you can procure of what exactly the enclave carries out on a day-to-day basis would be slim, nearly empty. they're dedicated to propaganda management, that much is for certain, keeping check on military campaigns and government affairs, too, but aside from that, the organization is rather shadowy. despite this, though, it is expected that those within the enclave's rankings receive the highest degree of respect from those within the conclave military, and that dominion agents should be enabled to carry out their tasks as need be, without question from them. encounters with dominion agents most frequently occur in wastelander cities, at most, though; they don't lurk about forts or impose themselves onto the military. they're considered transcended from the ordinary affairs of what a conclave officer may have to endure in their career, simply put. she watched as the man came to a halt, the soldier beside him promptly taking the reigns from him as he made to dismount the horse, the agent firstly making to address the two of them rather than mayor finnall. lockdowns are interesting, alright. even more so when the mayor of the damn city is trying to set up some bargain for his own benefit. agent asfour's inquiry elicited a light nod from jazmín, though, which was starkly contrasted by the mayor's next statement. she looked toward the mayor in disbelief. hold on, what the hell did he just say? did he really just try and interject before they could even possibly contradict what he wanted them to do for him-
indentroland's own disagreement over the man's claim was a fruitless one, for he barely had the chance to vocalize his denial. the agent before them observed the pair in a bemused manner over their so-called 'decision' to help out the mayor. she had to bite back the complaints that hovered atop her tongue as the man went on to effectively sentence them to carrying out the mayor's task for him. the damn bastard really was going to get what he wanted, wasn't he? at-least with her features hidden the dominion agent wouldn't have to witness the flurry of emotions that had just ranged across her face. sure, the task was doable, and she wasn't beyond rejective of it, but still. that tainted-blood's means of getting them to do it for him only progressively soured her distaste for him. now they had no other choice but to bow to his whims, unknowing to agent asfour, of course, and exterminate those ghouls. yes, the agent was right; they didn't have much else to do in the mean time of awaiting an alert of the file being found on someone trying to exit the city, though it didn't make this task any less tedious. irritably, she observed the mayor from the corner of her eye. he must be beyond himself right about now, getting to order them around indirectly. his information better be worth the trouble they were going through to simply retrieve it from him, because if not, then what would this all be? a flex of his unapparent sway or power? a small jab back at the conclave, in his own demeaning way? these thoughts alone were already beginning to cause some vexation to fester in her mind. but, it's not like it was in their hands to decide in helping the mayor or not now. she glanced to roland before he explicitly asserted that they would handle it as agent asfour had so suggested they do. the agent in return flashed them both a grin, one that held no particular warmth in it.
indentjazmín lightly nodded along as he explained that the mayor would give them coordinates, and that he himself would handle speaking to their overseer for them; and of course, as a side note, they would get any alerts on files appearance if it so came up. and with that efficient rollout of directions, the dominion agent turned to briskly pass the mayor and head up the stairs of the mayor's office. mayor finnall warily looked past his shoulder to ensure the agent had disappeared within the building before he even beckoned one of his men forward. the man handed him a small piece of paper, which was then held out to her and roland. she narrowed her eyes at the smile that emerged upon his face. yeah, funny. he only ensnared them into doing his bidding, that's all. and a small break from rebel-hunting? really? she didn't particularly categorize hunting some ghouls as a break of any-sorts. in fact, as much as they were simply awaiting the file to turn up, it seemed like a waste of their time, like they could be focusing their attention elsewhere. that's what it felt like, at least. there truly wasn't much more they could do, but the feeling lingered nonetheless. roland took the paper from the man's hand none too gently, and went on to make it pretty clear that they weren't about to tolerate some crappy excuse of intel. he was right, too. if the mayor thought he was getting himself sort of deal, utilizing conclave officers for the time-being, and having nothing in return for them? well, he would then be unpleasantly surprised. really, the mayor could preach being an honest man all he wanted, too. it made no difference to her. 'honest men' usually turn up dead all the time. but mayor finnall couldn't resist further rubbing his victory into their faces, it seemed.
indent"are you kidding me?" she grumbled beneath her breath at the mayor's comment, inaudibly enough that he wouldn't point it out, too. they'd take what they wanted from those supply crates with much less than his permission. he then gave them a final smile before taking his own leave, his men following in suit as he turned his back on them to enter the building. she looked to roland as he held the paper out in front of him. soraya perked up at the sight, curiously eyeing the paper from where she was positioned atop her shoulder. for someone who hadn't been entirely against the idea of quickly offing some ghouls, jazmín had taken a much more clear stance in the reluctancy of doing this now that she had no choice. it was all because of the mayor. it didn't matter what agent asfour commanded, it was still because of the man's false words. whatever. roland's words were to be heeded; they shouldn't try to get on a dominion agent's bad side and take his orders lightly. "that, i do know," she replied in a mildly knowing fashion regarding his scars before reaching forward to lightly tilt the paper he held in her own direction in order to take a gander at the information he had listed there. after a brief moment, her hand dropped back to her side. " today must be our lucky day. ghoul-hunting now, as so indirectly ordered of us to do by a so prestigious, cunning and politically adept man! what's next?..i'm not even sure i want to know." soraya peered toward beau, who was also still perched atop roland's shoulder, and let out a small squeak toward the other sand-cat. "anyway, let's get this the hell over with..what are the chances finnall's going to be making up some lame ass story to feed us in the meantime?"
indentjazmín fell in step beside roland as they made to head back down the street, the same one which had just been filled with jeers directed toward them earlier, back until they returned a few blocks down to where the armored unit was parked. as soon as they had returned within the walls of the vehicle, she drew her helmet off and made to click a button on the vehicle's holoprojector as soon as the armored unit was started once again, enabling the gps screen to reappear. jazmín took another glance at the paper they had been given, and dutifully punched in the given latitude and longitude of coordinates that the mayor had provided them into their gps. as soon as she pressed the final letter, a momentary pause passed before the system made to reroute their pathway toward the designated spot. she herself examined the whereabouts of this crashed ship. it looked to be east of city's walls, hanging about the outskirts of arcadia just detached from the city.
indentjazmín eyed the wreckage warily. they were expecting a hoard of ghouls to be terrorizing the perimeter and yet they had only thus far been greeted with an ominous silence and an utter lack-of said ghouls - ones hanging about the exterior of the rust-colored cargo ship, at least - for if they weren't out in the open, they then must be crawling about inside the damaged structure of the ship, within the bay at the back of the aircraft used for transporting the supplies. one of her hands slowly drifted upward to lightly settle upon the grip of a pistol strapped to her thigh. she glanced to roland skeptically before carefully taking a few steps towards the aircraft, keeping her gaze situated just past in the ship incase anything attempted to make itself known and rush them. she'd already given soraya time to hop off her shoulder to instead wait atop the hood of the armored unit while they properly investigate the crash. the fuselage of the cargo ship looked like it was nearly about to collapse in on itself, leaving the upper half of the vessel including the cockpit mostly in-tact, the lower half likely in a similar condition where it housed a bay used to store any cargo. such a damage to the main body effectively divided up the ship into two separate parts, just barely connected. she and roland only could view the radome of the cockpit from the position in which they stood directly across from the craft, though from here she could still spot a supply crate or two having split onto the ground at the far end of the ship. that meant the insides of the ship were exposed, then. the ghouls must be attracted to whatever the crates were carrying, if they weren't hovering around the rest of the aircraft. it was also evident that the crash had occurred the day before, too, considering that the ship wasn't exactly giving off fresh waves of smoke or anything. it's singed lower body was telling enough, though, where it must have skid on the earth's hard surface. it'd been brought down with a considerable force, but how? it only came to her now that they hadn't pondered this very question. she'd assumed technical difficulties, the pilot possibly being a droid given that there was no mention of a human having been at the helm during the incident, but..?
indentas to not disturb whatever may be lurking about, she followed alongside roland to silently close the gap between where they stood before the hood of their vehicle to the very front of the supply ship. jazmín pressed her back against the side frame of the ship's nose which was just elevated above the ground. her hand firmly curled around the handle of one of her pistols this time, like she were sure they would be greeted with the ghouls as soon as they rounded on the backside of the craft. the only real two reasonings as to why they weren't out in the open could be that the the ghouls had either fled the area - which was unlikely, though, given their nature - or, they were all crammed up in there, just waiting to be exterminated. it definitely made work easier for them, either way. a moment passed, and yet another moment of silence. she cocked her head to look at the man beside her, giving a light nod to him before tentatively stepping around one side of the ship, carefully stalking alongside its broken structure. it was a moderately sized cargo ship, one that definitely carried a considerable load. it's insides must be teeming with ghouls. though at the same time, the eerie quiet suggested otherwise. normally, one would expect to be able to make out some rummaging or creaking from within the vessel, but there was nothing.
indentshe pressed herself closer to the aircraft as she approached the lower half of the ship where the cargo bay was located, drawing out a singular pistol and cocking it, keeping a finger hovering upon the trigger. she eyed the objects scattered at her feet, a supply crate strewn not too far from the backside of the aircraft. mainly, it looked like some items to sustain the city council, requested items that weren't exactly necessary to survival; more so requested indulgences from the capital, if she had to guess. surely, though, within the ship itself there was more supply for the general population, too. she stepped past what seemed to be something of a new hollywood magazine, stalking closer to where they would soon make quick work of these ghouls. what was a bit strange, though, was the fact the supply crates about the area didn't seem to have been attempted to be looted. sure, ghouls are irritants and whatnot, but they weren't the worst thing you'd find out in the wasteland. she eyed a semi-damaged crate from where it was toppled over only a few feet away. along its splintered side read 'commonwealth' in bold white lettering. it looked like it had simply dropped out of the bay, likely from the entrance at the back being open. nothing seemed to be exactly tampered with.
indentjazmín was glad that they both had their comms activated, though. it made it a bit easier to keep their voices down. she came to a halt at the corner of the ship, placing her free hand against the frame of the aircraft, head turned toward where they would soon emerge to. "..okay..clearing corner in three.."
indentanother brief two seconds passed, and she turned the corner, levelling her gun to be readily aimed toward the bay; though what they would be greeted with was not going to be so expected.
indentshe was harshly taken aback by what was within.
indentalmost instantly, she set eyes upon the very opposite of a group of ghouls. inside the ship, the supply crates were reigned by two large beasts, mutated mixtures between an eagle and a big cat; griffins. soft ebony fringed plumes covered the wings of the beasts, where were tucked in closely to their bodies in what seemed to be a semi-restive state, talons each sunk into the crate in which they were perched. a dark furry mane covered the upper-half of the seemingly dozing creatures, their tails idly flicking back and forth. their feathers were just slightly distinguishable enough in color to mark them as opposing sexes. the two were basically huddled next to each other, too. she couldn't tear her eyes from the display before her, not even to glance at roland, nor could she draw up the ability to comment on it. the beasts donned hooked beaks as well, and aside from what feather and fur they possessed, the rest of their bodies were covered in bare, exposed skin. a sudden coldness coursed through her veins at the sight of the two mating griffins, eerily passive in demeanor, and the very opposite of what the beasts were like. known for being highly aggressive beyond reason, it was no wonder they had been the cause of this aircraft's crash -- and were now lounging about the wares within like some royalty. even worse, their hostility would be tenfold given the fact they were seemed to be mating. dread settled in her stomach. the griffins' boldness in being so seemingly passive right now, though, was probably because they were probably the biggest threat in this exact area, and they knew it. so before she could even become livid about how screwed up it was that the mayor probably was well aware of the griffins occupying the supply ship, she was firstly already thrown into a staggering wave of shock.
indentjazmín stepped backward in disbelief, the back of her heel happening to hit a loose keg of booze familiar to the capital, sending it tumbling backwards to hit the crate from where it had come from.
indentshe almost instantaneously froze where she was now standing. did not move. did not dare to do a thing, for that same feeing of dread intensified, struck her as she stared into the innards of the aircraft, unable to do anything but listen to the metal barrel making contact with the wooden crate in a rather unpleasant manner behind her.oh no. the two griffins, sitting at ease in their mostly restful state, almost immediately shot up at the noise. their towering structures suddenly took up the enormity of the space, wings furiously flapping open as they each let out a respectively high-pierced shriek, whipping their heads toward the open expanse outside the aircraft, where she were certainly exposed; and as soon as they caught sight of the source of the disturbance, everything happened within seconds. both griffins grappled over top the crates in a flurry of talon and feathers, practically lunging forward out of their confined space. jazmín simultaneously reacted, though she was rather the one retreating, nearly stumbling backwards before she took on something more of a sprint to get any sort of distance between her and the griffins. one in particular sought after her rather adamantly, using the momentum of its wings to propel itself forward from its jump from within the innards of the ship. jazmín threw a hurried glance over her shoulder, practically blindly firing a shot off in the general direction of the griffin, which pretty obviously, was not very effective. panicked, she made an attempt to duck for some semblance of cover behind the nearest crate.
indentrather than actually being able to get behind the crate in time, though, she felt a blow strike her in the back, the griffin seemingly having gained enough momentum to have struck her with it's taloned feet. she consequently lurched forward at the shove, colliding into the crate. the hard surface of the container struck her body, and though evidently her armor absorbed most of the impact, she still took a moment to recover, feeling much of her breath being momentarily stolen away by the sudden impact. she gasped for some air, helmet pressed sideways against the crate, pushing her palms against the planks. the scent of metal hitting her nostrils soon followed, likely having gained a nosebleed from the impact. instinctively, she braced herself for another attack, clearly in an exposed enough position, and flipped herself so that her back was against the height of the crate instead. even with her weapon positioned in the case she could get a shot on the creature, however, it already had launched forward once again to grapple a pair of its talons into the space between her breastplate and pauldrons, pressing her further against the crate, the other talon clamping onto a vambrace of the hand she held her pistol in, subduing most functionality of which she could extend her arm. obviously the first thing she did was draw out her second pistol from its holstered position.
indentshe pulled the trigger directly aimed toward the upper region of the beast; a bullet shot through flesh, buried into its furry mane. surprised, the griffin let out a cry of pain, recoiling at the sudden shot. she would be fine, after all.
indentwrong.
indentthe creature had been preoccupied with the wound for a split few seconds before it had came back down onto her in a determined enragement upon being provoked. before she knew it, the griffin had pinpointed the fact it must first disable her own armaments, and in one fell swoop the pistol had been knocked from her hands, clattering to her side. the plunging of talons into hardly protected hands would cause anybody to drop the gun, after all. so thus she was pinned all over again. griffins had a durability to them; they would not be knocked out by just one singular blow, which made them a highly capable and dangerous pest. jazmín, despite her rather restrained position, sought to keep a fairly level-head. it would certainly not be a good time to panic. the griffin was a massive beast in stature and in mass, so naturally, she struggled against its grip, trying to pry herself out of the griffin's clutches. she could feel her back being driven against the reinforced vertical-length plank of the crate. its contents must be rather heavy, given the fact it was unbudging against the forces piled against it. however, with what wits she had about her, she simultaneously reached at her belt with an arm that wasn't completely subdued in order to grasp for just about any blade she might have on her person. if she weren't donning power armor, she’d certainly be long dead by now. the beasts are no strangers to gutting humans. she could hear the unpleasant sound of the griffins talons fumbling and scratching against the metal of her armor even from within the chamber of her helmet, trying to seek passageway into flesh. jazmín's breath hitched as she felt around for some sort of blade, only vaguely aware of the repairs she would no doubt have to make after this encounter. of course one of her forearms were pretty much pinned to the box, making it nearly impossible to even try and draw up the remaining pistol now idle in her hand. once she found something, though, the hilt of a switchblade, she didn't hesitate to drive it up and into the muscle of one of the griffin's legs, particularly the one latched onto her vambrace. the creature let out a screech of both agony and surprise, flapping its wings in a rather provoked manner, causing a small gust of sand to be stirred up from the severe beat of its wings. she grunted, twisting the blade further until she caused the intensity of it's grip to finally begin to falter. unfortunately further harming the beast only made it more hostile; though with what advantage she had managed to get, one set of talon's withdrawing from her body as a result of the switchblade, she grasped the pistol in her now-free hand and directed a shot straight at it's shoulder, engulfed by a fluffy mane. the creature screeched, again in a pained manner, and in turn delivered a final force upon jazmín before releasing her, struck by the bullet she had lodged in it's body. the downward motion of it's talon effectively and finally tore between the space in the armor between her pauldron and breastplate, momentarily entering her skin before they were gone in another split second.
indentshe watched as the creature, similarly to she, took a moment to process the shock in the injury, letting out a piercing cry in her direction before retreating atop the aircraft as best it could. jazmín let out a shuddering breath, reaching down to grasp the pistol which she had been disarmed of and securing it back at her thigh. without turning her back on the griffin, she sought refuge behind the opposite side of the crate, shuffling around the corner before consequently slumping down against it. she barely had time to register the tearing of flesh when she had taken a small victory in stowing the creature off for now. she cursed aloud at the sudden sear of pain enveloping the space between her pauldron and breastplate, close to the shoulder. lucky for the beast, it wasn't the hardest task to get its talons lodged within her armor, especially considering they were the griffin's main weapon to be utilized. the back of her head leaned against the crate as she gritted her teeth, eyes tightened shut in an attempt to process the pain. a rather vulgar curse escaped from her lips as she took in the excruciating feeling of the newly formed wound. she pressed her free hand, also having been inflicted with some scratches courtesy of the griffin, against the slightly torn portion of her pauldron, shoving her fingers within the exposed space to try and pause the bleeding that had no doubt already begun. her laborious breathing was done so through clamped teeth. how roland was faring, she had no clue. which probably wasn't a good thing. after all, she had just ticked off one of the griffins. sure she'd gotten a shot in, but at what expense?
indent"roland?" she ground out his name as best she could, hoping to stifle much of any pain from her voice. she'd come to the conclusion it was better not to bring too much attention to what slash she'd received from the griffin; they didn't need to become preoccupied with the severity of an injury right about now, considering it was probably nothing. "please tell me you're managing," she shifted against the crate, body seizing at the movement of muscles in her shoulder region. holy hell. she couldn't exactly let her guard down, either. even if she was hidden behind a moderately-sized supply crate, it's not like she was wholly protected or anything. she shifted her gaze down to her shoulder. hopefully later she could just disinfect it, stitch it up, then bandage it if wasn't too deep a laceration, be on her way about it. the thought didn't cure any of her current discomfort, though. she hissed inaudibly beneath her breath at the stinging, eyes threatening to burn with tears. she had royally messed up, to be honest; if they hadn't been awakened, it was likely they could've had an advantage over the creatures with them not having been not entirely alert. although, again, she wasn't so sure. perhaps they would have reacted the same to her and roland's presence, darting awake in a matter of seconds with or without the clattering of the keg. regardless, things felt considerably terrible right about now. she didn't really have anything nearby to keep the wound from bleeding, either, though hopefully it wouldn't infringe on her too much more beyond this initial rush of pain. all she could do was try and bear it out for the time being, considering the fact the griffins were evidently not dead; or at-least, that she knew of. she was only vaguely aware of the blood drying down her lip, a light trail of crimson leading down from her nose, the unavoidable path of a tear or two having consummated with the buildup of sweat and blood on her face as well. jazmín firmly placed a hand against the ground, and another against the crate, attempting to prop herself upward into a semi-crouched position, rather than one as vulnerable as merely sitting. her muscles ached in protest, particularly sore from where she'd hit the crate's walls aside from the obvious gash upon her shoulder. she adjusted her grip on her pistol, curiously peeking from the side of where she was hidden behind the crate. upon the aircraft, the distress of the griffin she had shot was making itself known. she narrowed her eyes, positioning her pistol to also peer out from the side of the crate, discreetly pointed upward toward the beast. it would take more than just a shot or two to fully bring the griffins down, too, that much was obvious. "look, i got eyes on one, top of aircraft. it's been shot twice. we're gonna have to take them out before they get become even more territorial.." she let out a huff of frustration, irritation now beginning to set in with the enormity of their situation. "and griffins? mating griffins? how the hell could anybody mistake that for some damn ghouls!? the bastard knew what he was getting us into, roland!" she couldn't much control the sharpness that had begun to edge into her tone. the amount of things going inherently wrong thus far today were truthfully beginning to overflow like from a boiling pressure cooker, most especially in a situation like this.
indentstill, it wasn't an excuse to go ahead and begin to lash out. "forget it," she half-mumbled, still eyeing the disturbed griffin atop the lower half of the ship. "...and i know i screwed up and put our asses on the line, for the record." her voice shifted to something a bit more somber. at this ranking, could you afford to mess up like that? she had basically begun to dig their graves for them at this point. yeah, it was surprising to see the two griffins in the bay, but the lack of control she seemed to harness over herself was pitiful in and of itself. jazmín was generally an individual who possessed, or seemed to, at-least, a careful approach to the world. she had been startled by griffins, who at that point hadn't even done anything, and lent her and roland to a much more gruelling shootout with the beasts. as much as they couldn't control being deceived in the first place, she still had considerably slipped up.
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