MaxWar
King
What? 2 updates in 24 hours? And they are lengthy and a good read!
Yeah, this guy is berserk!
Hammer and Steel
- Thread starter Tycho
- Start date
Yeah, this guy is berserk!
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,240
What? 2 updates in 24 hours? And they are lengthy and a good read!
Yeah, this guy is berserk!
Thank you fellows, and now that the worst part of my education around this time of the year is over, I can write even moar now
.
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,240
Li Chang, the Revolutionary part 2
At the Icy Maw of the World
Days went by as Li spent his time in the back of the massive truck moving northward, sitting in the steel belly of the great best as they slowly cantered northward to an unknown destination. Verarde did his best to try and keep spirits up through a variety of methods, most of which involved the projection of movies from his tablet onto the wall of the truck. Soundproofed walls prevented any internal noise from getting outside, so they were free to watch as many action movies as they wanted as Samuel drove them northward. Li wished that he could get out and walk around just a tad bit; it was extremely uncomfortable here but the men and women of the Grey Dawn had forbidden it on the grounds that they might be unknowingly spotted by an informant for the government and tracked to a secret base to wherever they were supposed to be going to.
Close to the end of their journey, Li started speaking with Verarde as the others slept, weapons by their sides and ready to get up at a moment's notice. He had some questions for the mysterious fellow, and he was interested in having them answered.
"Verarde? You aren't busy at the moment are you?"
Verarde snapped his eyes up from the tablet, smiling as he did so. "Can I help you Li?"
"Yeah. Would enjoy it if I had some questions answered."
"I'd probably be saying the same if I was in your position. Go ahead and ask away."
"Who are the members of the Grey Dawn?"
Verarde laughed softly at that. "Might have mentioned it before, but we are a more idealistic of the Black Marchers if that's a way of metaphorically speaking of course. In truth, we are mostly are own people, and we have our own agendas. We seek to better the State, improving it through any means necessary... our current system of governance of this nation is flawed inherently after all, you've seen it no doubt."
"It's not flawed! It just needs reworking."
"That's what they say about poison gas as well, did you know that? The government and poison gas are a good analogy; they slowly choke you to death while stealing and siphoning your life away. The difference is poison gas kills you quickly; the State is content to act as a parasite for you, feeding off of what you do for it while providing nothing in return."
"How is it flawed then? Can you tell me that, hmmm?"
"It's flawed in the way that the men and women of the government work for themselves and essentially no one else. You are one exception Mr. Li, and we are glad to see that that there are still good men in this world, despite some people's best efforts..."
"You mean the assassins? How long has something like that been going on?"
"Quite awhile. They have been silencing people that try to speak out in many different facets of life. Government members, corporate heads, all the way down to proletariats and what not. Ever wondered why there are so many mysterious accidents that go on?"
You could hear the wheels of the truck as they traveled across the bumpy road, getting rockier as they went on. "You see? Many wonder why these young minds mysteriously died of heart attacks and strokes and cardiac arrest or jumped out of buildings or off of bridges... you have your answer right in front of you."
Li did. It was not what he had been hoping for.
"So how much longer is it until we reach our destination then?"
"Not much longer at all."
"You are joking aren't you?" Li was wrapped up in furs and jackets, yet he was still highly cold. Standing right where he was looking upon this site, he could not believe it. "This is unreal... we came this far north in just five days?"
"Four and a half." Verarde cracked a smile. "These are the northernmost points of the continent my friend, where the winds from the coldest seas and Frostmor Ocean meet and combine."
"You are not serious."
"Deadly serious, my friend. These are just the tip of the icy mountains; they get taller as we go farther along the peninsula to Ice Crown Heights and the Frozen Sky Fortress. The Grey Dawn is untouchable at this point."
"But... how did you get all the material, the goods? How has the government not stopped anything about this?"
"They can't touch us up here." Verarde smiled. "We'll give you the grand tour tomorrow."
At the Icy Maw of the World
Days went by as Li spent his time in the back of the massive truck moving northward, sitting in the steel belly of the great best as they slowly cantered northward to an unknown destination. Verarde did his best to try and keep spirits up through a variety of methods, most of which involved the projection of movies from his tablet onto the wall of the truck. Soundproofed walls prevented any internal noise from getting outside, so they were free to watch as many action movies as they wanted as Samuel drove them northward. Li wished that he could get out and walk around just a tad bit; it was extremely uncomfortable here but the men and women of the Grey Dawn had forbidden it on the grounds that they might be unknowingly spotted by an informant for the government and tracked to a secret base to wherever they were supposed to be going to.
Close to the end of their journey, Li started speaking with Verarde as the others slept, weapons by their sides and ready to get up at a moment's notice. He had some questions for the mysterious fellow, and he was interested in having them answered.
"Verarde? You aren't busy at the moment are you?"
Verarde snapped his eyes up from the tablet, smiling as he did so. "Can I help you Li?"
"Yeah. Would enjoy it if I had some questions answered."
"I'd probably be saying the same if I was in your position. Go ahead and ask away."
"Who are the members of the Grey Dawn?"
Verarde laughed softly at that. "Might have mentioned it before, but we are a more idealistic of the Black Marchers if that's a way of metaphorically speaking of course. In truth, we are mostly are own people, and we have our own agendas. We seek to better the State, improving it through any means necessary... our current system of governance of this nation is flawed inherently after all, you've seen it no doubt."
"It's not flawed! It just needs reworking."
"That's what they say about poison gas as well, did you know that? The government and poison gas are a good analogy; they slowly choke you to death while stealing and siphoning your life away. The difference is poison gas kills you quickly; the State is content to act as a parasite for you, feeding off of what you do for it while providing nothing in return."
"How is it flawed then? Can you tell me that, hmmm?"
"It's flawed in the way that the men and women of the government work for themselves and essentially no one else. You are one exception Mr. Li, and we are glad to see that that there are still good men in this world, despite some people's best efforts..."
"You mean the assassins? How long has something like that been going on?"
"Quite awhile. They have been silencing people that try to speak out in many different facets of life. Government members, corporate heads, all the way down to proletariats and what not. Ever wondered why there are so many mysterious accidents that go on?"
You could hear the wheels of the truck as they traveled across the bumpy road, getting rockier as they went on. "You see? Many wonder why these young minds mysteriously died of heart attacks and strokes and cardiac arrest or jumped out of buildings or off of bridges... you have your answer right in front of you."
Li did. It was not what he had been hoping for.
"So how much longer is it until we reach our destination then?"
"Not much longer at all."
"You are joking aren't you?" Li was wrapped up in furs and jackets, yet he was still highly cold. Standing right where he was looking upon this site, he could not believe it. "This is unreal... we came this far north in just five days?"
"Four and a half." Verarde cracked a smile. "These are the northernmost points of the continent my friend, where the winds from the coldest seas and Frostmor Ocean meet and combine."
Spoiler :
"You are not serious."
"Deadly serious, my friend. These are just the tip of the icy mountains; they get taller as we go farther along the peninsula to Ice Crown Heights and the Frozen Sky Fortress. The Grey Dawn is untouchable at this point."
"But... how did you get all the material, the goods? How has the government not stopped anything about this?"
"They can't touch us up here." Verarde smiled. "We'll give you the grand tour tomorrow."
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
Slight typo:
Otherwise, good update! I enjoy reading about myself.
Otherwise, good update! I enjoy reading about myself.
Tomorrow's Dawn
Heroes Never Die
First, a reference to ponies and then
all this snow and craggy peaks!
It's like you know everything I love!
all this snow and craggy peaks!
It's like you know everything I love!
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
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- 3,240
thanks Dawn! I hope you enjoy tonight's segment if my headache goes down just a tad bit.
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,240
Li Chang, the Revolutionary part 3
Tours, Offers, and Waffles
Li was going to ask how such they were going to travel through these mountains to the farthest point North, until Verarde took them to a tiny shack by the shores of a mostly frozen over lake. The mountains of high North, majestic and powerful, loomed over the landscape and cast their long, icy shadows down onto the valley floor where Li and the men and women of the Grey Dawn were located at presently. One by one, they went into the tiny shack barely big enough for all of them and waited while Verarde entered an extremely long code.
The floor of the shack slid back to reveal metal steps leading down into the Earth, lights glowing faintly alongside of them at certain points. Verarde led all of them into this area, not carrying a flashlight with him. He didn't need to; as they went down the corridor, more lights flickered on ahead of them and cast warm, soft light onto the metal hallway that they traveled down. "Dear god, this is rather... impressive." The men and women of the Grey Dawn grinned and chuckled at that, while Verarde cracked a large grin and said "You haven't seen the most impressive thing about our underground base yet my friend."
Indeed, what was up ahead managed to take Li's breath away; a giant and massive train junction, an underground station of sorts that spanned almost seven hundred feet down into the deeper parts of the rocky earth where dozens of train tracks wound their way to and fro to go a hodgepodge of different directions. A giant flag of what appeared to be the Grey Dawn with thirteen stars arrayed in a circle around a giant hammer and sword, and the flag of America before it had been changed to it's standard black, red, and black tricolor. A monument, carved out of solid granite of a Chinese man looking skywards and lifting his hands into the air was front and center, stretching from the very bottom of the crater-mine shaft-rail junction to tower and loom over everything.
From here, you could see much of the workings of the Grey Dawn unfolding below. People moved to board trains loaded down with cargo and sometimes passengers going on too their destination further into this massive complex that the Grey Dawn had organized here in the mountains and what appeared to be just outside of the mountains in the valley. Most of the cargo was food stuff and electronic equipment, but intact helicopters, artillery, boxes marked "weaponry", and others marked "danger, high explosives" were loaded onto the trains and went their way deeper into the mountain section of the complex. Building material, with thousands of tons of rock, concrete mix, brick and mortar, steel beams, and other equipment were sent in deeper into the mountain part, obviously part of some major building project. Smelting equipment and factory items were also being sent in deeper into the mountain to do god knows what deeper inside of there.
"How..."
"Organized by the Grey Dawn nearly fifty years ago, though the monument is rather recent as a commemoration of one of our heroes. Let's get going shall we?"
They practically had to drag Li deeper on into the rail junction to board a train that would take them into the complex. All that time, Li felt like his lower jaw had fallen off and felt the need to try and pick up the pieces of brain matter that were no doubt raining down onto the walkways behind him.
"So can you at least tell me how you managed to build up this entire place and what not?" Li was drumming his fingers on the passenger car's seat, tap tap tap tap tap, a maddening tempo that went through his head. He still couldn't believe all that was passing by outside of his windows.
"The Commander was going to tell you that in person as soon as we get there... unless you would prefer it now?" Verarde sipped on a drink handily provided by a staff worker on the train. All the members of the Grey Dawn seemed to know each other by name and sight, without name tags of course.
"Please do so. Not a whole lot of answers about this place that I know."
"Very well then."
Verarde leaned back in his seat as the other members of the Grey Dawn pretty much did their own things. "The Grey Dawn was created about seventy years ago after we started to learn some of the more... unpleasant truths about our ruling government. Namely the torture, the killings, the mass killings, the mass torture killings, and the horrid fines we had if we parked our cars in no parking zones accidentally. It came to a head though when the head of our, I guess you would call it a rebel group, small society saw his family murdered in cold blood by State assassins for fear of them being un-loyal to the government and the entire regime pretty much."
"So, this man started to gather up people. A few here and there at first, then large villages and towns started to come underneath his banner. Mostly in the north though, we've always had a strong toehold in the north, the Black Marchers in the South, and the Rising Sun Separatists in the East. Our leader was the head of a massive construction company, and found elements within his company that was loyal to him and continued to expand those elements and siphon them off bit by bit up here to the north to build an impregnable series of fortresses that the Grey Dawn could use if our activities went against the government. Over the course of twenty years, he created this massive train junction and three large forts; the Frost Crown, the Guns of Highmount, and the Winterhelm Overwatch on the sea."
"Fifty or so years ago, he was caught doing this and was taken to Washington into a torture dungeon, and never came back out. Already, State assassins were enrout to people who had shown public signs of acceptance of what the Grey Dawn was doing. Several thousand people died, and many others came up here with us underground. This facility that you are seeing here is not just a military installation, it's a network of spread out cities, factories, and whatever else is needed in an urban setting. Granted though, we are kind of sealed off from the world."
"Why hasn't the government bombed most of these places to the foundations though? By the sounds of it, our government seems more then a little trigger happy."
"Oh they have tried. The big thing is, even if they use some of their experimental high altitude, low orbit bombers, our flak and anti aircraft artillery can still reach out and hit them, not to mention our multiple surface to air batteries that we have hear and there. They haven't really tried to do anything large scale since about five years ago, and we knocked dozens out of the sky. And before you say anything about how impossible one thousand foot high artillery guns is, consider this; an artillery expert by the name of Professor Taurus who came from some sort of offshoot of England managed to figure out how to lob shells up that high and slam them into anything up there."
"If you have all this technology, why are we still here then? Why haven't you gone out into the field and bested the American military?"
"Because the military has about five million or so active soldiers, not to mention another five to ten million that they can call up at any time. Quite frankly, in a massive engagement with the full weight of the American military, we'd hold out and probably slaughter more than half of them in combat, but they would break through eventually. The big thing is though that the government has weighed the opinion on whether or not sending millions of soldiers to their deaths is a good thing. And thankfully for us at the very least, they decided that the financial, political, and public fallout would topple them more quickly than us."
"More quickly? So you are actively working against the State?"
Verarde narrowed his eyes at him and adopted that serious look once again. "We were."
"So what happened?"
"Our best and brightest commander got a bunker buster dropped on him. The ten thousand pound bomb that was detected on seismographs twenty miles away."
"Who?"
"Lai Zhou. You know him, right?"
"Yes." Li's voice was cold. "He was my uncle."
Verarde cracked a small smile. "We know."
"Is that why you brought me here? Because my uncle was simply one crazy man trying to change the world by murdering people who didn't deserve to die?"
Verarde's smile died off of his face so fast that you could have blinked and missed the transition. "You think people in Washington didn't deserve to die? You think that the collateral damage that Sorou inflicted was intended as a high score? I knew the man myself long ago, he was sane enough that what he did was incredibly chilling when I saw it. He did what he did, and lots of people were killed yes. But I ask you this, was the killing of one hundred and ten thousand Parliament members and assorted governmental members who had for years used their positions of power to abuse it in the most hideous ways possible? You think that Ming Tian, the assassin who has been killing governmental members left and right and exposing their crimes believes that the men that protected these people and allowed them to run unchecked did not deserve to die?"
Li was silent. "Most people say no one deserves to die... but it takes a whole lot of compassion and handwaving the truth aside to allow you to forgive someone when their crimes are so many."
"How do you know?"
"I've been in that position a few times. It's easier to forgive people with bullets than to forgive them with your heart."
Time: 11:30 AM, Washington Standard Time
Location: Broken Fang Fortress, Northern Mountains
"Here we stand Li, on the edge of the world." Verarde and the rest of the Grey Dawn members were wrapped up in as many layers as Li was, but still the wind cut through all of it. Up close to twenty thousand feet above sea level, the bottom of the Broken Fang Fortress was the highest military position in the world, and one of the more heavily armed ones as well. Massive artillery guns whose caliber was larger than probably the number of feet in a football field were encased in giant concrete fortifications to protect them, their long snouts peering out. Guards patrolled the stone and steel walkways here and there, threading their way up to the tallest point, the Iron Fang that clawed at the sky with a savage force nearly twenty four thousand feet above sea level.
The vista that spread out before them was beautiful and unearthly; fanged rocks and steep cliffs went down in jagged patterns down the mountains to descend below into the choppy seas that thrashed the rocks with savage force. They were up so high, you could see some clouds below you that would be bringing blizzards with you, and some clouds higher still that blotted out the sun into an overcast die which added to a thick fog layer present already.
"It's beautiful I must say. Those artillery guns really work?"
"Yep. Black Sun manufactured, eight hundred and fifty millimeters each of them. Shock absorbers and what not added on to them, plus some powerful alloys that prevent the gun barrels from wearing out every twelve shots or so."
"Mmmm." A slight pause. "Sorry about earlier Verarde."
"It's alright. You are still entitled to your opinions." Verarde and his fellow soldiers turned around. "Now let's go below to the Commander. Waffles are waiting for you, as well as the helm of the coming Revolution my friend."
Tours, Offers, and Waffles
Li was going to ask how such they were going to travel through these mountains to the farthest point North, until Verarde took them to a tiny shack by the shores of a mostly frozen over lake. The mountains of high North, majestic and powerful, loomed over the landscape and cast their long, icy shadows down onto the valley floor where Li and the men and women of the Grey Dawn were located at presently. One by one, they went into the tiny shack barely big enough for all of them and waited while Verarde entered an extremely long code.
The floor of the shack slid back to reveal metal steps leading down into the Earth, lights glowing faintly alongside of them at certain points. Verarde led all of them into this area, not carrying a flashlight with him. He didn't need to; as they went down the corridor, more lights flickered on ahead of them and cast warm, soft light onto the metal hallway that they traveled down. "Dear god, this is rather... impressive." The men and women of the Grey Dawn grinned and chuckled at that, while Verarde cracked a large grin and said "You haven't seen the most impressive thing about our underground base yet my friend."
Indeed, what was up ahead managed to take Li's breath away; a giant and massive train junction, an underground station of sorts that spanned almost seven hundred feet down into the deeper parts of the rocky earth where dozens of train tracks wound their way to and fro to go a hodgepodge of different directions. A giant flag of what appeared to be the Grey Dawn with thirteen stars arrayed in a circle around a giant hammer and sword, and the flag of America before it had been changed to it's standard black, red, and black tricolor. A monument, carved out of solid granite of a Chinese man looking skywards and lifting his hands into the air was front and center, stretching from the very bottom of the crater-mine shaft-rail junction to tower and loom over everything.
From here, you could see much of the workings of the Grey Dawn unfolding below. People moved to board trains loaded down with cargo and sometimes passengers going on too their destination further into this massive complex that the Grey Dawn had organized here in the mountains and what appeared to be just outside of the mountains in the valley. Most of the cargo was food stuff and electronic equipment, but intact helicopters, artillery, boxes marked "weaponry", and others marked "danger, high explosives" were loaded onto the trains and went their way deeper into the mountain section of the complex. Building material, with thousands of tons of rock, concrete mix, brick and mortar, steel beams, and other equipment were sent in deeper into the mountain part, obviously part of some major building project. Smelting equipment and factory items were also being sent in deeper into the mountain to do god knows what deeper inside of there.
"How..."
"Organized by the Grey Dawn nearly fifty years ago, though the monument is rather recent as a commemoration of one of our heroes. Let's get going shall we?"
They practically had to drag Li deeper on into the rail junction to board a train that would take them into the complex. All that time, Li felt like his lower jaw had fallen off and felt the need to try and pick up the pieces of brain matter that were no doubt raining down onto the walkways behind him.
"So can you at least tell me how you managed to build up this entire place and what not?" Li was drumming his fingers on the passenger car's seat, tap tap tap tap tap, a maddening tempo that went through his head. He still couldn't believe all that was passing by outside of his windows.
"The Commander was going to tell you that in person as soon as we get there... unless you would prefer it now?" Verarde sipped on a drink handily provided by a staff worker on the train. All the members of the Grey Dawn seemed to know each other by name and sight, without name tags of course.
"Please do so. Not a whole lot of answers about this place that I know."
"Very well then."
Verarde leaned back in his seat as the other members of the Grey Dawn pretty much did their own things. "The Grey Dawn was created about seventy years ago after we started to learn some of the more... unpleasant truths about our ruling government. Namely the torture, the killings, the mass killings, the mass torture killings, and the horrid fines we had if we parked our cars in no parking zones accidentally. It came to a head though when the head of our, I guess you would call it a rebel group, small society saw his family murdered in cold blood by State assassins for fear of them being un-loyal to the government and the entire regime pretty much."
"So, this man started to gather up people. A few here and there at first, then large villages and towns started to come underneath his banner. Mostly in the north though, we've always had a strong toehold in the north, the Black Marchers in the South, and the Rising Sun Separatists in the East. Our leader was the head of a massive construction company, and found elements within his company that was loyal to him and continued to expand those elements and siphon them off bit by bit up here to the north to build an impregnable series of fortresses that the Grey Dawn could use if our activities went against the government. Over the course of twenty years, he created this massive train junction and three large forts; the Frost Crown, the Guns of Highmount, and the Winterhelm Overwatch on the sea."
"Fifty or so years ago, he was caught doing this and was taken to Washington into a torture dungeon, and never came back out. Already, State assassins were enrout to people who had shown public signs of acceptance of what the Grey Dawn was doing. Several thousand people died, and many others came up here with us underground. This facility that you are seeing here is not just a military installation, it's a network of spread out cities, factories, and whatever else is needed in an urban setting. Granted though, we are kind of sealed off from the world."
"Why hasn't the government bombed most of these places to the foundations though? By the sounds of it, our government seems more then a little trigger happy."
"Oh they have tried. The big thing is, even if they use some of their experimental high altitude, low orbit bombers, our flak and anti aircraft artillery can still reach out and hit them, not to mention our multiple surface to air batteries that we have hear and there. They haven't really tried to do anything large scale since about five years ago, and we knocked dozens out of the sky. And before you say anything about how impossible one thousand foot high artillery guns is, consider this; an artillery expert by the name of Professor Taurus who came from some sort of offshoot of England managed to figure out how to lob shells up that high and slam them into anything up there."
"If you have all this technology, why are we still here then? Why haven't you gone out into the field and bested the American military?"
"Because the military has about five million or so active soldiers, not to mention another five to ten million that they can call up at any time. Quite frankly, in a massive engagement with the full weight of the American military, we'd hold out and probably slaughter more than half of them in combat, but they would break through eventually. The big thing is though that the government has weighed the opinion on whether or not sending millions of soldiers to their deaths is a good thing. And thankfully for us at the very least, they decided that the financial, political, and public fallout would topple them more quickly than us."
"More quickly? So you are actively working against the State?"
Verarde narrowed his eyes at him and adopted that serious look once again. "We were."
"So what happened?"
"Our best and brightest commander got a bunker buster dropped on him. The ten thousand pound bomb that was detected on seismographs twenty miles away."
"Who?"
"Lai Zhou. You know him, right?"
"Yes." Li's voice was cold. "He was my uncle."
Verarde cracked a small smile. "We know."
"Is that why you brought me here? Because my uncle was simply one crazy man trying to change the world by murdering people who didn't deserve to die?"
Verarde's smile died off of his face so fast that you could have blinked and missed the transition. "You think people in Washington didn't deserve to die? You think that the collateral damage that Sorou inflicted was intended as a high score? I knew the man myself long ago, he was sane enough that what he did was incredibly chilling when I saw it. He did what he did, and lots of people were killed yes. But I ask you this, was the killing of one hundred and ten thousand Parliament members and assorted governmental members who had for years used their positions of power to abuse it in the most hideous ways possible? You think that Ming Tian, the assassin who has been killing governmental members left and right and exposing their crimes believes that the men that protected these people and allowed them to run unchecked did not deserve to die?"
Li was silent. "Most people say no one deserves to die... but it takes a whole lot of compassion and handwaving the truth aside to allow you to forgive someone when their crimes are so many."
"How do you know?"
"I've been in that position a few times. It's easier to forgive people with bullets than to forgive them with your heart."
Time: 11:30 AM, Washington Standard Time
Location: Broken Fang Fortress, Northern Mountains
"Here we stand Li, on the edge of the world." Verarde and the rest of the Grey Dawn members were wrapped up in as many layers as Li was, but still the wind cut through all of it. Up close to twenty thousand feet above sea level, the bottom of the Broken Fang Fortress was the highest military position in the world, and one of the more heavily armed ones as well. Massive artillery guns whose caliber was larger than probably the number of feet in a football field were encased in giant concrete fortifications to protect them, their long snouts peering out. Guards patrolled the stone and steel walkways here and there, threading their way up to the tallest point, the Iron Fang that clawed at the sky with a savage force nearly twenty four thousand feet above sea level.
The vista that spread out before them was beautiful and unearthly; fanged rocks and steep cliffs went down in jagged patterns down the mountains to descend below into the choppy seas that thrashed the rocks with savage force. They were up so high, you could see some clouds below you that would be bringing blizzards with you, and some clouds higher still that blotted out the sun into an overcast die which added to a thick fog layer present already.
"It's beautiful I must say. Those artillery guns really work?"
"Yep. Black Sun manufactured, eight hundred and fifty millimeters each of them. Shock absorbers and what not added on to them, plus some powerful alloys that prevent the gun barrels from wearing out every twelve shots or so."
"Mmmm." A slight pause. "Sorry about earlier Verarde."
"It's alright. You are still entitled to your opinions." Verarde and his fellow soldiers turned around. "Now let's go below to the Commander. Waffles are waiting for you, as well as the helm of the coming Revolution my friend."
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
Interesting...Epsilon likes pancakes...Li likes waffles...a bit of something there?
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,240
Yep. Like I've said before, I plan to try and interconnect every character in the fabric of my story. Astute readers may have noticed that an odd trait similar to that of some of the earlier time period chapters has shown up with an agent
.Also, hopefully the next couple of days work out as such: Vera, Epsilon & Cambridge, and once again the assassin Ming Tian.
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,240
November Detachment Summary:
Members:
Torrin:
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 180 pounds
Hair color: Dark brown
Eye color: Silver
Ethnicity: American-Russian
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Large facial scar along right cheek,
Smaller crescent moon scar on palm of left hand.
Detachment Hierarchy: Commander
Strengths: Expert level marksmanship, standard level of hand to hand combat, master level in terms of poison using.
Estimated Kill Count: 1,200
Confirmed Kill Count: 1,150
Notes: Was present at the New York Central Station riots and successfully put down more than sixty rioters when they broke through the barricade, awarded seven times for valor under fire. Known internally for the assassination of one of the few remaining members of the Roman royalty.
Kerrin:
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 160 pounds
Hair color: Silver
Eye color: Dark blue
Ethnicity: American-Slavic-Polish
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: None
Detachment Hierarchy: Second in command
Strengths: Master in sharpshooting with sniper rifles, poison, assassination techniques, and reconstruction. Novice at cooking.
Estimated Kill Count: >7,000
Confirmed Kill Count: 6,989
Notes: Perfectly calm and able, Kerrin is the best man for a job if you are breaking into something or need someone to talk and spill the beans. Was formerly one of the Torture Corps in the Verbenschwa before being transferred to his current unit. Kill count through the roof, mainly from his current assignments with the November Detachment.
Verla:
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 155 pounds
Hair color: Blonde
Eye color: Grey
Ethnicity: German-American
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Divorced
Significant Physical Attributes: None, other than the fact she looks almost like a full blooded German.
Detachment Hierarchy: Sniper
Strengths: Master level with sniper rifles and anti material weapons, expert at hand to hand combat, master at assassin level techniques. Expert with the use of swords and other bladed weapons, standard skill with more exotic weapons.
Estimated Kill Count: 750
Confirmed Kill Count: 750
Notes: The perfect sniper essentially, Verla has a 100% fatality record with her weapons, sometimes going out of her way to kill her enemies. She fully recovers evidence of what she has done so that every kill will be attributed to her name.
Masgard:
Height: 6' 8"
Weight: 250 pounds
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Silver
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Broad shoulders and large hands, built like a football linebacker.
Detachment Hierarchy: Heavy Weapons User:
Strengths: Expert at heavy weapons use, expert level with explosives and detonators, master level with long range explosive weapons. Expert at hand to hand and melee combat.
Estimated Kill Count: >800
Confirmed Kill Count: 467
Notes: The heavy weapons user for November Detachment, Masgard can use and wield a variety of chainguns, missile launchers, and other assorted weapons similar to that. Formerly a Verbenschwa soldier before joining November Detachment.
Malcolm:
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 200 pounds
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Due to excessive use of the Red Spice, his eyes have turned red.
Ethnicity: English-Canadian
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Red eyes, large scar across neck
Detachment Hierarchy: Soldier
Strengths: Master at physical combat, standard skill level with bladed weapons, expert at parkour and urban chases, also an expert sniper
Estimated Kill Count: 459
Confirmed Kill Count: 311
Notes: Excessive user of the Red Spice, consumes somewhere in the range of fifty to one hundred packets a day, most likely an addict to the Red Spice. Expert at doing wall climbing, running, and other chasing techniques to take down a target.
Victor:
Height: 6'
Weight: 176 pounds
Hair color: Dark Brown
Eye color: Green
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Large amount of scarring along left and right arms from a factory explosion in London, missing the pinky finger on his left hand.
Detachment Hierarchy: Medic
Strengths: Master at emergency medical care, stablization, shock treatment. Expert level with pistols and small arms weapons to defend himself.
Estimated Kill Count: 23
Confirmed Kill Count: 23
Notes: One of the few members of November Detachment who is not a completely trained killer, Victor is used for his medical abilities to stabilize targets that have been taken down or that have attempted suicide to avoid capture. Relatively calm and stealthy person, formerly a medic army in the army before joining November Detachment.
Raine:
Height: 6' 7"
Weight: 186 pounds
Hair color: Dark Black
Eye color: Silver
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: None
Detachment Hierarchy: Small Arms Master
Strengths: Master at small arms and weapons including submachine guns and pistols, expert at hacking and cracking into protected electronic epuipment.
Estimated Kill Count: 500
Confirmed Kill Count: 432
Notes: Formerly a weapons manufacturer and magnate before his current assignment in November Detachment, no works as a full time assassin with November.
Bronson:
Height: 6'
Weight: 320 pounds
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Green
Ethnicity: British-American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Stout, muscular. Essentially like a stone wall.
Detachment Hierarchy: Stealth Recon
Strengths: Master at stealth and long range recon, standard level of skill with small arms weapons, expert at silenced weapons and stealth takedown tactics.
Estimated Kill Count: 345
Confirmed Kill Count: 300
Notes: Expert at stealth recon and a variety of other tactics.
Koenig:
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 190 pounds
Hair color: Grey
Eye color: Grey
Ethnicity: German-American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Significant Physical Attributes: None
Detachment Hierarchy: Soldier
Strengths: CLASSIFIED
Notes: CLASSIFIED
Keffelseig:
ERROR 404 DOSSIER NOT FOUND
Limun:
ERROR 404 DOSSIER NOT FOUND
"Lot of good that does us." Cambridge muttered as he looked over the tablet's data. "Not a whole lot on them at all, whatsoever."
Yulai was driving the car that he, Cambridge, Epsilon, and Delta were in. Theta, Nova, and Oxford had gone their ways to enjoy some leave time before they went on their first assignment with Bloody November Squadron. "Did you expect a whole lot on them?"
"Not a biography, but a little bit more than what we have right here." Cambridge frowned. "Not nearly enough data on all of them, mostly just physical specifics and whatnot. Not a single word of course whey they are called Bloody November Squadron by the rest of us agents."
"Surprise, surprise." Yulai gripped the wheel hard. "Did you expect anything different?"
"Nope, but I expected them to at least acknowledge what they did after all. With a name like that and a fair portion of them with Verbenschwa history... this is a recipe for disaster after all. They report back to the Verbenschwa High Command even though by technical order they are agents themselves. This is quite honestly a load of rubbish in all honesty."
"I know Cambridge, but there's not a whole lot we can do. The agents are off in a bad position, we should have been in Washington on the Day of Flames to at least try to stop what had happened. Snowbell got in the way though, and because of her, we are were we are at the moment. Doing this and that while the Agent High Command is forced to react and try to reform since most of our leadership was nicely tucked up against Parliament's arse that day, trying to break through into the doors to rescue Parliament members. Verbenschwa? Don't make me laugh; those little bastards were already pulling out assets to try and protect their own holdings. The lot of them should be hanged over water and used for target practice."
"I know. We lost, what, forty percent of the active agents during that day?"
"About thirty eight percent really. Still a substantial amount. But the Chekra got it worse of course; closer to ninety percent casualties with them as they tried to move in and resecure Parliament. They failed of course, that crazy bastard that did all of this had planned out for every eventuality."
Silence in the car for a few moments. Epsilon rumbled from the back seat at one point, "Whose up for some pancakes? I'm starving and the last meal I had was just some charred omlette, courtesy of Delta."
Delta glared at the other man, but he said nothing, smoothing his black hair out. Yulai turned off of the main highway in Washington to go to a rest stop that had a sign proudly displayed reading, "World's Best Pancakes!"
"I hope you are paying Epsilon."
Cambridge picked at his meal of pancakes, instead preferring to watch the traffic going by outside the window. He had his sunglasses on, no need to make people uncomfortable with his gold eye and his red eye, and like the others he was dressed in civilian clothing. Yulai was doing much the same, messing with his tablet here and there as he looked up countless records of people dead and what not. Delta mutely scarfed down his pancakes and had ordered whiskey in the morning, something that was probably called for given the fact that they had failed to stop Snowbell before she escaped into the mountains further. Epsilon on the other hand was enjoying himself; chocolate chip pancakes with pads of butter spread across them as maple syrup waterfalls trickled down the sides slowly and sweetly, the big man cut them up and had bit after bit of them, with some blueberry muffins and a half a pot of black coffee thrown in for good measure.
The diner was clean and nice, rather unlike the one that Epsilon had been in when he murdered the staff and burned the establishment to the ground. Few other customers were here, and most of the staff were content to busy themselves behind the counters. A television mounted on a black plastic arm extending out of the wall broadcast State News Network, where they were reporting more victims of Ming Tian found in a house near San Francisco. Cambridge darkly sipped on his coffee as he watched that. What has this world come to when members of the State slaughter each other over ideological differences?
The Black Marchers also made an special appearance, with news of them recruiting hundreds of proletariats working in factories across the southern side of the nation, bringing them into the fold. The State News Network denounced them, but it looked rather shoddy given the fact that many of the patrons of the bar clapped and cheered when it was announced that the Black Marchers were supporting Ming Tian's actions against the government. It was bad when people stayed quiet when the Black Marchers attacked the government and the Army, but when they actively recruited average people into their ranks to join them in their paramilitary force, and people cheered for them, you knew that whatever vestige of power you had before was fading fast. The government still wasn't probably paying attention though.
Twenty minutes later they were driving again, a five minute trip to Cambridge's house so that he could see his family again. Yulai leaned out the window and looked Cambridge dead in the eyes before he spoke. "You remember the offer Cambridge. Take it."
"I'll figure something else out first Yulai."
Yulai shrugged. "Have it your way." The car drove away onto it's next destination, as Cambridge shrugged and turned to his house.
It was a beautiful one in a homely sort of way. Brick facade, tiled roofing, a chimeny with smoke billowing out into the cool December air. His wife had already put the decorations up, with some help from the children no doubt. Cambridge smiled at that. Always a faithful wife.
He knocked on the oaken door heavily, looking at the time as he did so. Still three hours before noon time, so that meant about twenty seven hours before he had to go back to the agent staging area and prepare to move out with the rest of the Detachment.
The door creaked open and a tired woman entered the field of view. She gasped and smiled at the man standing on the front of her house.
"Honey, what I have to say is very important, extremely important that you follow it to a t." Cambridge had his hands steepled and rubbed his nose gently. His wife was beside of him, her hands on the table as she looked at the whorls and swirls of the wood. "I need you to leave Washington and head somewhere safe."
"But... what about the children?"
"They need to go with you as well, you and the kids, they need to go with you. It's not safe in Washington at the moment."
"What, with the bombings and all?"
"Especially with the bombings hon. I need you to leave as soon as possible, and don't talk to anyone who says that they know me unless they know my full name. Do you understand?"
She nodded meekly. "This is very important. This is a life or death matter. Head north, or to Rome, or to Berlin, or even to London, somewhere that isn't in the State. Keep yourself safe and whatnot, I'll send my paychecks to you to keep you and the kids comfortable."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Positive. This needs to be done. The air and climate of the State is changing, something big will happen soon and I don't want any of you to be hurt by it's represcussions." He reached for his wife's hand and gripped it gently. "Go get the kids' from their friend's house and tell them that it's time to come home. Tell them that you are going to be taking a long trip."
His wife nodded.
Five minutes later, she left the home, driving in the grey car that they owned off to fetch the kids. Cambridge busied himself by packing up some gear, reloading this and that, generally readying himself for tomorrow.
A large series of knocks came on the door. His wife wasn't supposed to be home yet... there was still another ten minutes or so until she returned.
Another long series of knocks.
Cambridge crept quietly down the stairs, pistol in one hand, another hand on a knife. Better to always be prepared then to not be.
More knocks. A voice shouted out now. "Cambridge! It's me, Yulai!"
What did he want? Holstering his pistol, Cambridge opened the door.
He was greeted by a dozen gunshots.
A silver coin was flipped up into the air to land on his body. "Dawn breaks over the world my friend, the dawn that shall spell the death of a nation when tomorrow breaks. Enjoy yourself." Two figures walked away from the door, heavy boots tramping on the sidewalk.
Reaching weakly for his tablet, Cambridge dialed up Yulai. "What is it?"
"Come... quickly. I've been... shot."
The last thing he saw before he passed out was all those pretty Christmas lights, how nice they looked as they and the rest of the world turned red.
Members:
Torrin:
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 180 pounds
Hair color: Dark brown
Eye color: Silver
Ethnicity: American-Russian
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Large facial scar along right cheek,
Smaller crescent moon scar on palm of left hand.
Detachment Hierarchy: Commander
Strengths: Expert level marksmanship, standard level of hand to hand combat, master level in terms of poison using.
Estimated Kill Count: 1,200
Confirmed Kill Count: 1,150
Notes: Was present at the New York Central Station riots and successfully put down more than sixty rioters when they broke through the barricade, awarded seven times for valor under fire. Known internally for the assassination of one of the few remaining members of the Roman royalty.
Kerrin:
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 160 pounds
Hair color: Silver
Eye color: Dark blue
Ethnicity: American-Slavic-Polish
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: None
Detachment Hierarchy: Second in command
Strengths: Master in sharpshooting with sniper rifles, poison, assassination techniques, and reconstruction. Novice at cooking.
Estimated Kill Count: >7,000
Confirmed Kill Count: 6,989
Notes: Perfectly calm and able, Kerrin is the best man for a job if you are breaking into something or need someone to talk and spill the beans. Was formerly one of the Torture Corps in the Verbenschwa before being transferred to his current unit. Kill count through the roof, mainly from his current assignments with the November Detachment.
Verla:
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 155 pounds
Hair color: Blonde
Eye color: Grey
Ethnicity: German-American
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Divorced
Significant Physical Attributes: None, other than the fact she looks almost like a full blooded German.
Detachment Hierarchy: Sniper
Strengths: Master level with sniper rifles and anti material weapons, expert at hand to hand combat, master at assassin level techniques. Expert with the use of swords and other bladed weapons, standard skill with more exotic weapons.
Estimated Kill Count: 750
Confirmed Kill Count: 750
Notes: The perfect sniper essentially, Verla has a 100% fatality record with her weapons, sometimes going out of her way to kill her enemies. She fully recovers evidence of what she has done so that every kill will be attributed to her name.
Masgard:
Height: 6' 8"
Weight: 250 pounds
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Silver
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Broad shoulders and large hands, built like a football linebacker.
Detachment Hierarchy: Heavy Weapons User:
Strengths: Expert at heavy weapons use, expert level with explosives and detonators, master level with long range explosive weapons. Expert at hand to hand and melee combat.
Estimated Kill Count: >800
Confirmed Kill Count: 467
Notes: The heavy weapons user for November Detachment, Masgard can use and wield a variety of chainguns, missile launchers, and other assorted weapons similar to that. Formerly a Verbenschwa soldier before joining November Detachment.
Malcolm:
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 200 pounds
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Due to excessive use of the Red Spice, his eyes have turned red.
Ethnicity: English-Canadian
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Red eyes, large scar across neck
Detachment Hierarchy: Soldier
Strengths: Master at physical combat, standard skill level with bladed weapons, expert at parkour and urban chases, also an expert sniper
Estimated Kill Count: 459
Confirmed Kill Count: 311
Notes: Excessive user of the Red Spice, consumes somewhere in the range of fifty to one hundred packets a day, most likely an addict to the Red Spice. Expert at doing wall climbing, running, and other chasing techniques to take down a target.
Victor:
Height: 6'
Weight: 176 pounds
Hair color: Dark Brown
Eye color: Green
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Large amount of scarring along left and right arms from a factory explosion in London, missing the pinky finger on his left hand.
Detachment Hierarchy: Medic
Strengths: Master at emergency medical care, stablization, shock treatment. Expert level with pistols and small arms weapons to defend himself.
Estimated Kill Count: 23
Confirmed Kill Count: 23
Notes: One of the few members of November Detachment who is not a completely trained killer, Victor is used for his medical abilities to stabilize targets that have been taken down or that have attempted suicide to avoid capture. Relatively calm and stealthy person, formerly a medic army in the army before joining November Detachment.
Raine:
Height: 6' 7"
Weight: 186 pounds
Hair color: Dark Black
Eye color: Silver
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: None
Detachment Hierarchy: Small Arms Master
Strengths: Master at small arms and weapons including submachine guns and pistols, expert at hacking and cracking into protected electronic epuipment.
Estimated Kill Count: 500
Confirmed Kill Count: 432
Notes: Formerly a weapons manufacturer and magnate before his current assignment in November Detachment, no works as a full time assassin with November.
Bronson:
Height: 6'
Weight: 320 pounds
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Green
Ethnicity: British-American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Significant Physical Attributes: Stout, muscular. Essentially like a stone wall.
Detachment Hierarchy: Stealth Recon
Strengths: Master at stealth and long range recon, standard level of skill with small arms weapons, expert at silenced weapons and stealth takedown tactics.
Estimated Kill Count: 345
Confirmed Kill Count: 300
Notes: Expert at stealth recon and a variety of other tactics.
Koenig:
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 190 pounds
Hair color: Grey
Eye color: Grey
Ethnicity: German-American
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Significant Physical Attributes: None
Detachment Hierarchy: Soldier
Strengths: CLASSIFIED
Notes: CLASSIFIED
Keffelseig:
ERROR 404 DOSSIER NOT FOUND
Limun:
ERROR 404 DOSSIER NOT FOUND
"Lot of good that does us." Cambridge muttered as he looked over the tablet's data. "Not a whole lot on them at all, whatsoever."
Yulai was driving the car that he, Cambridge, Epsilon, and Delta were in. Theta, Nova, and Oxford had gone their ways to enjoy some leave time before they went on their first assignment with Bloody November Squadron. "Did you expect a whole lot on them?"
"Not a biography, but a little bit more than what we have right here." Cambridge frowned. "Not nearly enough data on all of them, mostly just physical specifics and whatnot. Not a single word of course whey they are called Bloody November Squadron by the rest of us agents."
"Surprise, surprise." Yulai gripped the wheel hard. "Did you expect anything different?"
"Nope, but I expected them to at least acknowledge what they did after all. With a name like that and a fair portion of them with Verbenschwa history... this is a recipe for disaster after all. They report back to the Verbenschwa High Command even though by technical order they are agents themselves. This is quite honestly a load of rubbish in all honesty."
"I know Cambridge, but there's not a whole lot we can do. The agents are off in a bad position, we should have been in Washington on the Day of Flames to at least try to stop what had happened. Snowbell got in the way though, and because of her, we are were we are at the moment. Doing this and that while the Agent High Command is forced to react and try to reform since most of our leadership was nicely tucked up against Parliament's arse that day, trying to break through into the doors to rescue Parliament members. Verbenschwa? Don't make me laugh; those little bastards were already pulling out assets to try and protect their own holdings. The lot of them should be hanged over water and used for target practice."
"I know. We lost, what, forty percent of the active agents during that day?"
"About thirty eight percent really. Still a substantial amount. But the Chekra got it worse of course; closer to ninety percent casualties with them as they tried to move in and resecure Parliament. They failed of course, that crazy bastard that did all of this had planned out for every eventuality."
Silence in the car for a few moments. Epsilon rumbled from the back seat at one point, "Whose up for some pancakes? I'm starving and the last meal I had was just some charred omlette, courtesy of Delta."
Delta glared at the other man, but he said nothing, smoothing his black hair out. Yulai turned off of the main highway in Washington to go to a rest stop that had a sign proudly displayed reading, "World's Best Pancakes!"
"I hope you are paying Epsilon."
Cambridge picked at his meal of pancakes, instead preferring to watch the traffic going by outside the window. He had his sunglasses on, no need to make people uncomfortable with his gold eye and his red eye, and like the others he was dressed in civilian clothing. Yulai was doing much the same, messing with his tablet here and there as he looked up countless records of people dead and what not. Delta mutely scarfed down his pancakes and had ordered whiskey in the morning, something that was probably called for given the fact that they had failed to stop Snowbell before she escaped into the mountains further. Epsilon on the other hand was enjoying himself; chocolate chip pancakes with pads of butter spread across them as maple syrup waterfalls trickled down the sides slowly and sweetly, the big man cut them up and had bit after bit of them, with some blueberry muffins and a half a pot of black coffee thrown in for good measure.
The diner was clean and nice, rather unlike the one that Epsilon had been in when he murdered the staff and burned the establishment to the ground. Few other customers were here, and most of the staff were content to busy themselves behind the counters. A television mounted on a black plastic arm extending out of the wall broadcast State News Network, where they were reporting more victims of Ming Tian found in a house near San Francisco. Cambridge darkly sipped on his coffee as he watched that. What has this world come to when members of the State slaughter each other over ideological differences?
The Black Marchers also made an special appearance, with news of them recruiting hundreds of proletariats working in factories across the southern side of the nation, bringing them into the fold. The State News Network denounced them, but it looked rather shoddy given the fact that many of the patrons of the bar clapped and cheered when it was announced that the Black Marchers were supporting Ming Tian's actions against the government. It was bad when people stayed quiet when the Black Marchers attacked the government and the Army, but when they actively recruited average people into their ranks to join them in their paramilitary force, and people cheered for them, you knew that whatever vestige of power you had before was fading fast. The government still wasn't probably paying attention though.
Twenty minutes later they were driving again, a five minute trip to Cambridge's house so that he could see his family again. Yulai leaned out the window and looked Cambridge dead in the eyes before he spoke. "You remember the offer Cambridge. Take it."
"I'll figure something else out first Yulai."
Yulai shrugged. "Have it your way." The car drove away onto it's next destination, as Cambridge shrugged and turned to his house.
It was a beautiful one in a homely sort of way. Brick facade, tiled roofing, a chimeny with smoke billowing out into the cool December air. His wife had already put the decorations up, with some help from the children no doubt. Cambridge smiled at that. Always a faithful wife.
He knocked on the oaken door heavily, looking at the time as he did so. Still three hours before noon time, so that meant about twenty seven hours before he had to go back to the agent staging area and prepare to move out with the rest of the Detachment.
The door creaked open and a tired woman entered the field of view. She gasped and smiled at the man standing on the front of her house.
"Honey, what I have to say is very important, extremely important that you follow it to a t." Cambridge had his hands steepled and rubbed his nose gently. His wife was beside of him, her hands on the table as she looked at the whorls and swirls of the wood. "I need you to leave Washington and head somewhere safe."
"But... what about the children?"
"They need to go with you as well, you and the kids, they need to go with you. It's not safe in Washington at the moment."
"What, with the bombings and all?"
"Especially with the bombings hon. I need you to leave as soon as possible, and don't talk to anyone who says that they know me unless they know my full name. Do you understand?"
She nodded meekly. "This is very important. This is a life or death matter. Head north, or to Rome, or to Berlin, or even to London, somewhere that isn't in the State. Keep yourself safe and whatnot, I'll send my paychecks to you to keep you and the kids comfortable."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Positive. This needs to be done. The air and climate of the State is changing, something big will happen soon and I don't want any of you to be hurt by it's represcussions." He reached for his wife's hand and gripped it gently. "Go get the kids' from their friend's house and tell them that it's time to come home. Tell them that you are going to be taking a long trip."
His wife nodded.
Five minutes later, she left the home, driving in the grey car that they owned off to fetch the kids. Cambridge busied himself by packing up some gear, reloading this and that, generally readying himself for tomorrow.
A large series of knocks came on the door. His wife wasn't supposed to be home yet... there was still another ten minutes or so until she returned.
Another long series of knocks.
Cambridge crept quietly down the stairs, pistol in one hand, another hand on a knife. Better to always be prepared then to not be.
More knocks. A voice shouted out now. "Cambridge! It's me, Yulai!"
What did he want? Holstering his pistol, Cambridge opened the door.
He was greeted by a dozen gunshots.
A silver coin was flipped up into the air to land on his body. "Dawn breaks over the world my friend, the dawn that shall spell the death of a nation when tomorrow breaks. Enjoy yourself." Two figures walked away from the door, heavy boots tramping on the sidewalk.
Reaching weakly for his tablet, Cambridge dialed up Yulai. "What is it?"
"Come... quickly. I've been... shot."
The last thing he saw before he passed out was all those pretty Christmas lights, how nice they looked as they and the rest of the world turned red.
hoplitejoe
Top fun-poster
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,470
505 is the highest ever confirmed kill count.
Just saying
Just saying
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,240
Yep, but these aren't exactly normal soldiers now are they? They also count civilian casualties in the kill count. So in the case where they were doing "riot control" plenty of people must have died. They weren't using nonlethal stuff on this end, nope. The State gives each of it's soldiers explosive, flammable, and plenty of other special ammunition that isn't exactly people friendly. The State is brutal indeed. 
For one example that I have here, one of the most major riots occurred about twelve years before Cambridge and Epsilon's time when a fair portion of workers rose up and tried to assault government complexes. November Detachment was deployed, and they had their bullets marked specially. Each body recovered was added to their count, and there were plenty of casualties recorded. Not only that, but November wasn't exactly doing nothing when Lai Chang was around doing whatever he was doing.
For one example that I have here, one of the most major riots occurred about twelve years before Cambridge and Epsilon's time when a fair portion of workers rose up and tried to assault government complexes. November Detachment was deployed, and they had their bullets marked specially. Each body recovered was added to their count, and there were plenty of casualties recorded. Not only that, but November wasn't exactly doing nothing when Lai Chang was around doing whatever he was doing.
SamSniped
DJ Goodboye
Good updates. First off, I approve of the way Epsilon like his pancakes
Also, I can't wait to see more of the C&E storyline...though from the looks of it the C and & parts may be gone soon! "eek:
Also, I can't wait to see more of the C&E storyline...though from the looks of it the C and & parts may be gone soon! "eek:
Tycho
AFK Forum Warrior
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,240
Vera the Brave, part 2
Charting a new Course
"Isn't this impressive?" Vera stood at the top of the hillock, wrapped up in leathers and furs. A cold winter wind was in the air, but the storm clouds were bringing wet and warm moisture to this area; soon the rains would fall and the world would lap up the water greedily to allow the plants to grow and to continue the cycle forever more. Evidence of some sort of cattle that had passed through this area was quite evident in the fact that there was plenty of dirt and loose gravel, almost no grass, and large amounts of remnants that were rather unpleasant but still showed evidence of the cattle herd passing through this way.
Vera's adjutant was muttering to himself and looking at the maps. "According to these, we are drawing steadily and further south to the nation of England by my reckoning, though I may be off. We don't actually know the location of the English capital, merely what their explorers have told us previously."
"We are also heading in the direction of Germany, correct?"
The adjutant nodded. "To the southwest is the nation of Deutschland. They have built their capital of Berlin there, and it is said that dark clouds gather 'round the fortress to accentuate that vile environment that pervades the air around that bastion of a hell city."
Nicholas snorted at that. The brute of a man didn't appear to be intelligent, but he had a mind as sharp as his teeth, and was not afraid to shout his opinion to the world. "Berlin is about as much as a bastion hell city as Washington is, even Constantinople or this city of London that they speak of. Hold your tongue adjutant, for such matters and opinions are not to be expressed by you. You follow, you do not lead."
The adjutant had the wise mind to not try and provoke the bigger man. Something like that would not have help provided by Vera to the victim, and everyone knew what happened to the last adjutant... clawed apart by wolves. Of course Nicholas hadn't killed that one because the former adjutant knew his lot in life and followed it to the letter. That wouldn't help the current adjutant though if he opened his mouth.
The adjutant meekly nodded his head and turned back to his maps and pretended to look busy. Vera continued to look down on the valleys below, so peaceful and beautiful in a strange sort of way, even with the storm clouds sweeping this direction. "We shall make camp here tonight scouts, we need an overlook of the valley."
Most of the scouts muttered at that. On this hillock they would have no protection from the storm if it broke over their heads, and the winds would be sharp and biting. Most of them wanted to go down onto the valley floor in hopes that the valley would shield them from the rains and wind that would cut like a knife through their clothing. But Vera's tactical mind worked as such; if you had the high ground, you kept the high ground at no matter the cost. She was not extremely interested in having herself killed by wildlands people just because they wanted a little bit of protection for the night.
People settled into the camp for the night, calm and blissful for the most part. Gambling rings for dice and stones were set up, and you could hear the off duty scouts cheering and shouting if they were winning or losing respectively. Most gambled over small little things, a bit of silver here or there or maybe some copper pieces. Others gambled for furs and other assorted things that would keep them warm and cozy that night. Fires were lit and spits had been set up so that the hunters that returned with the day's catch of wild boars and some rabbits could set their goods down and watch them be roasted and glazed. Others brought in wild berries and what not to supplement their diet, and cornbread was a common sight around the camp fires. Even alcohol was present against Vera's better judgement, but it made the scouts happier and therefore made them a better group of people in terms of morale.
Vera herself poured over the maps and other papyrus scrolls, looking at this or that. What could they do when they got to London? Were would they head after that? She was supremely interested in finding the "frozen southern shores" as some English wanderers called it, the mystical southern shores wrapped up in ice and frozen ground... it would be an interesting sight as they most you ever saw of the ocean around America was close to nothing. The men though might not like it... tales of massive wolves and bears that preyed upon possible meals along the southern shore were common and well linked. That would a problem, but it would also solve any possible food dilemmas if they could bring down bears-
There was a small noise, so imperceptible that if Vera's mind had not been wandering away from her work, she would have missed it. It was the sound of a deeply sinister thing.
Another throaty chuckle filled the tent as the braziers filled with flaming coals guttered and wavered. This one was long, soft, and full of malicious might the likes of which you could not imagine unless you were there. Carefully, Vera drew out here sword and laid it on the makeshift wooden table in front of her... better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry after all.
Another throaty chuckle, this one closer as a haze seemed to move from the tent flaps towards Vera. Vera maintained an extremely calm demeanor and mood. If there was anything supernatural in this tent, she would see if it could be cut down by her father's russet sword. She had always wanted to try it out on such a thing... now would be the perfect time if something was really there.
"Thinking about trying to stop me?"
The voice that spoke to her was an oddly soothing one, a seductively calming one that crawled into your mind and made you weak and lethargic. The haze wavered slightly, and coalesced into a black shape, formless as a cloud and roiling as if it was a pot of boiling water. "I see and I know all. Do you not know what I am, little woman? Do you not know what sort of thing I am? Or has that pale witch that infects the mind of your people not told you yet?" A mirthless laugh trailed after it as a white grin full of sharp teeth split open the form's face.
"I'm afraid that you have the wrong person, demon. Now begone before the gods smite you back to hell where you belong." She gripped the sword as she said so.
Chuckling the demon's form lifted up two misshapen arms up into the air. "I think not woman. Even your precious gods if they did exist could not stop what I am. But you don't know that do you? No matter, maybe the pale witch could tell you... but she was rather silent for your ancestors, maybe I've had a stroke of luck for once in my existence and she is gone for good... but I digress. You don't even know your crimes do you?"
"I have committed no crimes demon."
"That is what you think... but then again, you don't know very much about your ancestor's do you?" A change in the demon's voice now. "Your father was rather a bold man, killing his brother in his throne room after what Harison had done to better your little nation... a pity that Harison had to die, so much promise that was there for him.
"But that does not matter at this point, for the legion marches on. We will do what we must so that what we do may continue. Be at peace for now woman, for one day your creations and your legacy will turn to ash and burn. Remember that well..."
"I will remember today when I tear you apart in the seven hells demon. There will be no place for you to hide there, neither there, nor on Earth, nor in the halls of the Creator himself. I will find you and tear you apart."
"Who knows? You may get that chance sooner than you think... for when the call sounds over the world, you will answer it no matter what. Remember that little woman. Then we will see if you have the skill, the courage, and the determination to strike us down once you learn all that will be told to you..."
The formless cloud shifted slightly and lurched, the smoke and boiling form of it collapsing into a single point before disappearing entirely, leaving not a thing behind.
Vera's face was one of blank boredom. If that demon thought it could best her, there was another thing coming... but maps had to be made, charts needed to be consulted and a course to London had to be made... Vera turned back to her work, scratching out a symbol into the paper that meant something only to her.
Charting a new Course
"Isn't this impressive?" Vera stood at the top of the hillock, wrapped up in leathers and furs. A cold winter wind was in the air, but the storm clouds were bringing wet and warm moisture to this area; soon the rains would fall and the world would lap up the water greedily to allow the plants to grow and to continue the cycle forever more. Evidence of some sort of cattle that had passed through this area was quite evident in the fact that there was plenty of dirt and loose gravel, almost no grass, and large amounts of remnants that were rather unpleasant but still showed evidence of the cattle herd passing through this way.
Vera's adjutant was muttering to himself and looking at the maps. "According to these, we are drawing steadily and further south to the nation of England by my reckoning, though I may be off. We don't actually know the location of the English capital, merely what their explorers have told us previously."
"We are also heading in the direction of Germany, correct?"
The adjutant nodded. "To the southwest is the nation of Deutschland. They have built their capital of Berlin there, and it is said that dark clouds gather 'round the fortress to accentuate that vile environment that pervades the air around that bastion of a hell city."
Nicholas snorted at that. The brute of a man didn't appear to be intelligent, but he had a mind as sharp as his teeth, and was not afraid to shout his opinion to the world. "Berlin is about as much as a bastion hell city as Washington is, even Constantinople or this city of London that they speak of. Hold your tongue adjutant, for such matters and opinions are not to be expressed by you. You follow, you do not lead."
The adjutant had the wise mind to not try and provoke the bigger man. Something like that would not have help provided by Vera to the victim, and everyone knew what happened to the last adjutant... clawed apart by wolves. Of course Nicholas hadn't killed that one because the former adjutant knew his lot in life and followed it to the letter. That wouldn't help the current adjutant though if he opened his mouth.
The adjutant meekly nodded his head and turned back to his maps and pretended to look busy. Vera continued to look down on the valleys below, so peaceful and beautiful in a strange sort of way, even with the storm clouds sweeping this direction. "We shall make camp here tonight scouts, we need an overlook of the valley."
Most of the scouts muttered at that. On this hillock they would have no protection from the storm if it broke over their heads, and the winds would be sharp and biting. Most of them wanted to go down onto the valley floor in hopes that the valley would shield them from the rains and wind that would cut like a knife through their clothing. But Vera's tactical mind worked as such; if you had the high ground, you kept the high ground at no matter the cost. She was not extremely interested in having herself killed by wildlands people just because they wanted a little bit of protection for the night.
People settled into the camp for the night, calm and blissful for the most part. Gambling rings for dice and stones were set up, and you could hear the off duty scouts cheering and shouting if they were winning or losing respectively. Most gambled over small little things, a bit of silver here or there or maybe some copper pieces. Others gambled for furs and other assorted things that would keep them warm and cozy that night. Fires were lit and spits had been set up so that the hunters that returned with the day's catch of wild boars and some rabbits could set their goods down and watch them be roasted and glazed. Others brought in wild berries and what not to supplement their diet, and cornbread was a common sight around the camp fires. Even alcohol was present against Vera's better judgement, but it made the scouts happier and therefore made them a better group of people in terms of morale.
Vera herself poured over the maps and other papyrus scrolls, looking at this or that. What could they do when they got to London? Were would they head after that? She was supremely interested in finding the "frozen southern shores" as some English wanderers called it, the mystical southern shores wrapped up in ice and frozen ground... it would be an interesting sight as they most you ever saw of the ocean around America was close to nothing. The men though might not like it... tales of massive wolves and bears that preyed upon possible meals along the southern shore were common and well linked. That would a problem, but it would also solve any possible food dilemmas if they could bring down bears-
There was a small noise, so imperceptible that if Vera's mind had not been wandering away from her work, she would have missed it. It was the sound of a deeply sinister thing.
Another throaty chuckle filled the tent as the braziers filled with flaming coals guttered and wavered. This one was long, soft, and full of malicious might the likes of which you could not imagine unless you were there. Carefully, Vera drew out here sword and laid it on the makeshift wooden table in front of her... better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry after all.
Another throaty chuckle, this one closer as a haze seemed to move from the tent flaps towards Vera. Vera maintained an extremely calm demeanor and mood. If there was anything supernatural in this tent, she would see if it could be cut down by her father's russet sword. She had always wanted to try it out on such a thing... now would be the perfect time if something was really there.
"Thinking about trying to stop me?"
The voice that spoke to her was an oddly soothing one, a seductively calming one that crawled into your mind and made you weak and lethargic. The haze wavered slightly, and coalesced into a black shape, formless as a cloud and roiling as if it was a pot of boiling water. "I see and I know all. Do you not know what I am, little woman? Do you not know what sort of thing I am? Or has that pale witch that infects the mind of your people not told you yet?" A mirthless laugh trailed after it as a white grin full of sharp teeth split open the form's face.
"I'm afraid that you have the wrong person, demon. Now begone before the gods smite you back to hell where you belong." She gripped the sword as she said so.
Chuckling the demon's form lifted up two misshapen arms up into the air. "I think not woman. Even your precious gods if they did exist could not stop what I am. But you don't know that do you? No matter, maybe the pale witch could tell you... but she was rather silent for your ancestors, maybe I've had a stroke of luck for once in my existence and she is gone for good... but I digress. You don't even know your crimes do you?"
"I have committed no crimes demon."
"That is what you think... but then again, you don't know very much about your ancestor's do you?" A change in the demon's voice now. "Your father was rather a bold man, killing his brother in his throne room after what Harison had done to better your little nation... a pity that Harison had to die, so much promise that was there for him.
"But that does not matter at this point, for the legion marches on. We will do what we must so that what we do may continue. Be at peace for now woman, for one day your creations and your legacy will turn to ash and burn. Remember that well..."
"I will remember today when I tear you apart in the seven hells demon. There will be no place for you to hide there, neither there, nor on Earth, nor in the halls of the Creator himself. I will find you and tear you apart."
"Who knows? You may get that chance sooner than you think... for when the call sounds over the world, you will answer it no matter what. Remember that little woman. Then we will see if you have the skill, the courage, and the determination to strike us down once you learn all that will be told to you..."
The formless cloud shifted slightly and lurched, the smoke and boiling form of it collapsing into a single point before disappearing entirely, leaving not a thing behind.
Vera's face was one of blank boredom. If that demon thought it could best her, there was another thing coming... but maps had to be made, charts needed to be consulted and a course to London had to be made... Vera turned back to her work, scratching out a symbol into the paper that meant something only to her.
