Walking directly towards the girl Oliver bumps past Bond and mechanically stops, standing directly in front of him and just a couple paces away from the girl. Staring almost balefully downward towards the girl, he raises one mechanical limb, his left one, with full authority, hand in an open palm directly in front of her face. Raising his voice box's volume to the max, he announces out, "Your request for an autograph is denied as this is both the improper time and you have offered less than the stipulated amount of funds. If you would like an autograph, please join the line opening at 23:30 and ending at 23:59 with the required 1 million Ahn for the entry fee, and the requisite 2 million Ahn for the autograph itself. As an employee of this company, however, it is advised that you also bring identification for a 5% discount. Thank you."
What in the hell, Taney thought as she leaned to the side, past the hand that was in her face, and stared at the armored man with furrowed brows. The fairy on her shoulder followed the shipgirl, though they gave Oliver a glare that came off as "cute" rather than deliberating. She had been tense when he approached her unprovoked but what he had said had instead made her confused. And annoyed. The cutter gently placed her hand on Oliver's wrist, careful to not wring out more power out of her boilers than needed. No need to unnecessarily break the poor schmuck's arm for first impressions.
"
Respectfully, sir, fuck off," Taney groused as she lightly pushed Oliver's hand off to the side. "
Don't know what kind of currency an Ahn is, but asking for some few millions for all of that smells like pure bullshit."
The fairy on her shoulder blew a raspberry at the City native, before flipping him the bird with her tiny hand. Taney could hear similar jeers within her hull from the rest of her crew. She rolled her eyes but a faint smirk formed on her face. Being the ship, Taney knew damn well of the times some of her own crewmembers would get suckered into crappy transactions or deals. The woes of young and excited enlisted men being unleashed into a foreign and, in their perspective, exotic land. Made it easy for merchants and enterprising individuals to entrap them with all kinds of goods and services.
Though admittedly, Oliver was at least direct and honest with the bullshit they spewed out of their armored noggin. That, the cutter-turned-human can give to him.
She then made herself known to the group, stating her name and status. The machine knew about what used to be the United States Coast Guard. It had been pumped with knowledge about every nations army and government to know who it was fighting in the Great War, well, supposed to. It never saw any action on the battlements. The creature of steel watched Taney point her rather large gun away, rather interested in it. It made note to ask about it sooner or later.
V1 was smart, but it wasn't knowledgeable about social clues, but something told it now was a good time to also introduce itself. "AH, APOLOGIES. I AM MODEL VERSION-1, THE ONLY OF MY KIND TO BE PRODUCED. BUT IF YOU MAY, CALL ME 'V1'." V1's robotic voice rung out, still very much outdated for its complexity of its mechanisms and processors. It finally wiped the metallic blood off its fingers and onto its legs, and then pointed at its blue chest plate.
It's attention then turned to what Taney said to be her crew member behind the rest of the group, hurry towards them shouting out to them. Apparently, they wanted an autograph from the suited man. It's head slowly turned to him, who referred to himself as James Bond, trying to analyze him and how he was of importance for people to want an autograph.
Hey hey hey hey, said one of Taney's sailors inside her, alerting her one of the other persons of interest in the group. The cutter flicked her eyes over to the blue robot, noting the worn skeletal frame and the glowing yellow mono-eye of their head. She did not miss the blood that was on its fingers, now smeared all over its legs in a vain attempt to clean themselves up. Then the robot spoke.
"
... nice to meet you?" Taney could only say, more than bit taken aback by the hilariously familiar and primitive text-to-speech method that V1 employed. She glanced at the blood smears on their legs, then to the massive handgun on their hips, and to the well-worn armor plates across its frame. Taney ended off with a mumble as she glanced back at Oliver. "
Of all the people to introduce themselves, it had to be the bloodstained Terminator in blue..."
It's not every day you find a version of a US warship that's dressed like a Japanese school girl. "One moment, Oliver," Bond interrupted the cyborg upon finishing the terms required for a autograph. "Much as I appreciate your.... business vernacular. Given the situation we find ourselves, particularly of Miss Taney, I see no reason why we cannot have this transaction be paid for in other services. Such as joining our little crew of misfits to 'pay off' the debt." Bond gave a little smirk to Taney, before winking to her and grabbing the pen and paper.
"United States Coast Guard... Either your parents set you up on that career path when naming you, or... may I presume you to be the historical ship of the US Navy?" Bond asked, handing her back the paper with both his signature, and a note underneath:
'James Bond,
On her Majesty's Secret Service.'
"And before you ask; yes, I am The James Bond." He clarified, although not because Taney thought he was actually Moore, but because he had heard there was 'another' Bond somewhere in all this madness. (Wonder which one...)
"
Heeeeey!"
Before anyone could say anything, the fairy crewmember quickly yanked the paper out of Taney's hand and disappeared back into the shipgirl's body. It wasn't hard to miss how quick the paper turned from human-sized to fairy-sized, though Taney gave it barely any thought. The cutter could hear the commotion within her as the sailor was swarmed by other movie aficionados, eager to glance at the signature. The shipgirl sighed and turned her attention back to Mr. Bond.
"
Appreciate it, sir... though-" Taney didn't miss
how the suited man clarified who he is, or the emphasis he placed on being
the James Bond. Like he assuredly knows he is the character and not one of the actors that played him. She glanced at the other colorful characters in the group as she continued. "
-never mind, sir, I'll ask you later."
"
And to answer your question, yessir. Right on the money," Taney said. "
Though I wouldn't make the mistake of lumping me in with the Navy. Sure, we fall under their command in wartime, but we're still Coasties riding off the Squids' budget at the end of day."
The cutter most certainly not grumble the last part of her sentence out in bitterness, nosiree. Even if she did remember the clusterfuck post-WWII as America scaled back from their wartime stance and economy; and the absolute gutting the Coast Guard suffered as wartime ranks were revoked and budget ran tight for the organization.
As Bond goes to grab the paper from the girl, Oliver, who seems to be confusing him with a past client, stops him by putting one respectful hand on Bond's shoulder.
"Mr. Bond, under Gyeren Studio company guideline S.15(2.11)(c)(i), of which was reviewed by the Öufi Association and agree-"
Yeah, nah, get out of the drivers seat, I'm next.
What. Stop! What is the meaning of this!
You're gonna bog us down on this fucking hill and embarrass us dumbass, MOVE OVER.
Suddenly, Oliver's head twitches again, albeit much more violently this time around before staring back into Bond's face. His posture immediately slumps forward as he does so, his hand quickly morphing into a hasty thumbs up as he says in a reedy voice, "Nah, I'm just uh, just uh, fucking with you man, that's a good idea, ha ha ha... wait reedy?" He paused, as he realizes that yes, he has in fact changed his vocalizer's settings unconsciously, again. "no I don't sound fucki- Uh, I mean." He turns back to Bond, then the girl, then back to Bond. "I'm just- gonna go now, uhhhhh sorry lady about the rules stuff, just a bout of deja vu or whatever." Awkwardly, he sidles away back to his previous position next to the team's captain, albeit at a much more respectful distance from the lady.
"
You need some help, man," Taney responded as she watched the armored man awkwardly slide away, a look of concern on her face. She wasn't a stranger to weird people - Captain Bowman made sure of that, the Ahab-wannabe - but the way he acted weird left her disturbed. "
I've seen snow sniffers act more normally than whatever the hell that was."
Truth be told, she almost moved to give first aid to Oliver once his head started to twitch violently. For a moment, Coast Guard cutter thought he was suffering a stroke or something. Then just as quick as it came, he recovered and talked like nothing happen - albeit, the tone of his voice was more awkward; stilted and unsure like an enlisted sailor caught with a local girl in his bunk. Taney sighed and made note of the aberrant behavior, should it happen again.
"Must... act soon. War is... here."
She had to gasp between her sentences, as the pain of several days and nights of screaming and shouting returned with every word.
"We cannot be stuck... in an unrelated battle."
Chika was right, they had spent too long here and the day was getting shorter. The sun was beginning to set, and who knew what sort of creatures lurked out in this wilderness during the night. The church seemed like a possible location to camp in, but the decision would have to be a group one. It wasn't too far from where they were along the hilltop, maybe two to three dozen paces across, with a pathway leading straight towards it. And it seemed they would be met by someone already waiting there.
Of course, of all the people to remind everyone of situation at hand, it had to be the creepy lady in some weird ancient Japanese warrior getup, including the mask that gave Taney the heebie jeebies. Shaking her head, she surveyed the land around the group, making sure her crew made note of some of the landmarks around them. Of note were the several tall trees with golden leaves, a massive castle at sat on elevated terrain, and some other land features that didn't look too out of place for a fantasy world.
"
Definitely not in Kansas," Taney mumbled to herself. Oh, what she would do to see the depressing urban hellscape that was Baltimore again. For all its troubles, at least it wasn't like whatever the fuck is going on here or with this group.
When the group finally began to move, Bond was first to head for the church. Varre, so far, hadn't steered them wrong, and if he said there were 'scattered' in this world, then finding them would be useful in rescuing de Wiart. And sure enough, the figure standing before the entrance to the ruins of the church didn't appear to fit this world.
"Blessings of the nine be upon you!" The old man called out to the group, waving at them with a cheerful expression. "I figured such magic like that didn't belong in this world. Yet, by your arrival, I doubt you ended up stranded on this world like the rest of us by a bombardment of light. I am Jauffre, Grandmaster of an ancient order on my world. My fellow scattered have taken refuge inside this church, and you are more than welcome to join us for the night."
With that, he waved and grinned.
"Hey there~. Name's Xander. If you're new to this world, congratulations—you just found the weirdest hostel this side of the Lands between!"
He stepped aside, directing his hand at the wide stone doorway behind him. "There's room inside. It's not fancy, but we've got blankets, food that mostly won't poison you, and a roof that only leaks when it rains really hard."
Xander was acknowledging them casually, turning back to the entrance of the church while glancing over his shoulder. "Come on, I'll show you in! No need to camp under the stars if you don't have to."
The church inside was dim and lit by salvaged lanterns and a few magical glyphs that had been etched into the stone walls. Cots were lined carefully on one side, crates full of salvaged supplies on the other. In the middle was a large table, its surface covered with scattered maps, old weapons, and steaming bowls of something that smelled mostly like stew—if you didn't ask too many questions.
Surrounding the table in the center of the church were seven men. Five were dressed in plated armor exactly like Jauffre's, while the sixth wore a vibrant yellow and beige uniform, like something a prince would wear on the combat field. As the group entered and came into view under the lantern lights, he quickly made his approach.
"Well, well! Should've known all that ruckus was caused by newbies!"
"Oh, thank God," The seventh man, who looked to be around Claude's age, sighed in relief, "I was worried that big tree knight finally had enough of us loitering around his property."
"They aren't as new as they appear, it seems," Jauffre corrected the younger men, "they are new arrivals. But came through different means than us."
"Ohhhh, so you're after Godrick then, yeah?" Claude correctly guessed.
"What? How can you tell?" Henry asked.
"Because if they didn't arrive here like we did, then they must have come through that World Stone Godrick's always lording over. Try as he might, he's not exactly very clever in hiding the fact that he has a way out of this realm. Usually has his cultists march along the roads from his castle so they know the 'promised land' they're fighting to defend for him. And they look even more out of place than the rest of you do."
"Then how did they get outside the castle? He surely doesn't have that much control over the stone, does he?"
"Probably not, but he could probably control where 'uninvited guests' land when coming through the other side. I'm guessing the Tree Knight was meant to stop you. Though, from what we saw, seems he underestimated your strength. That'll make breaking into his home all the more satisfying.~"
"Ahem," Jauffre interrupted, "our guests would like to know if there is room here for the night."
"Oh, of course! Apologies for the rudeness," Henry corrected, bowing before the team, "I am Henry of Skalitz, liege to Lord Radzig."
"And I am Claude, heir to House Riegen of the Leicester Alliance. A pleasure to make your acquaintances." Unlike Henry, Claude remained relaxed, even putting his hands behind his head as he introduced himself, and giving a flirtatious wink to Jill.
For a second, Taney thought they had finally ran into more of the locals of this land. The masked weirdo in white was not exactly a stellar first impression of the people here. His parting words already gave her so many red flags it might as well been Pearl Harbor's mined entryway back then. But the way the people they met talked, it seems they ran into more dimensionally-displaced people - the "Scattered" as the white-masked definitely-not-a-serial-killer had said earlier.
The guy in green - Xander - felt familiar but Taney couldn't really chalk up as to why. Back when she was still a spirit of her steel hull, she wasn't exactly confined to the ship like most would assume. The cutter hardly understood the mechanics of it, but it did mean a ship spirit could explore a location around its steel hull. Which meant for the better couple decades Taney spent as a museum ship, she wasn't entirely out of the loop when it came to the news or ever shifting culture in the country or world. Granted, she was still dependent on whatever media the humans were consuming at the time, but Taney was confident it put her ahead of the curve compared to some others - namely the shipgirls that were sunk or scrapped back in the 40s and 50s.
As the group approached the church that was apparently shelter and refuge for people like them, Taney discreetly had a landing party form up in within her hull. Some of them were sailors from the magazine, a handful were ones that could be spared from the various working parties, and the senior rank that led the party was mount captain of her sole 5-inch gun. All in all, it was roughly about 20 or so fairies armed with a smorgasbord of rifles - M16A1s with their short 20-round magazines, a few vintage M1 Garands, a M37 Ithaca in the hands of the senior petty officer. It wasn't necessary for there to be a landing party, but Taney wanted to make sure the property was really secure.
"
Hey! Hey, hey, hey..."
The cutter didn't really care if anyone caught sight of a bunch of noisy fairy sailors hopping out of her pockets, carrying equally tiny firearms as they scurried about like rodents. There was a bunch of "
Heys" thrown around as her landing party of fairy crewmembers hit the ground. The armed group of dungaree-clad fairies gathered up, received their orders from just a single "Hey" from the senior petty officer that led them, and split up into groups that moved to secure the perimeter of the property.
"
Don't mind my crew, they're just here to make sure things are safe," Taney said to the group without skipping a beat.
Other than Xander, the other men that greeted the group were what Taney had imagined the rest of the locals would look. Jauffre looked like the stereotypical old grizzled warrior, all he lacked was an eyepatch to go with his weathered visage and balding head; though, the segmented plate armor reminded Taney more of the ancient Romans than a medieval knight. Claude, well, it wasn't hard to dismiss his claims as a noble heir with how glided his clothes were - his demeanor wasn't foreign though, as Taney rolled her eyes at the man's flirting with Jill. Henry was the most grounded with his gear looking more historical than the other men, though that was the extent to Taney's intuition.
Not like a ship made in the 1930s and served America faithfully for most of the 20th century would really know shit about historical arms and armor. She hardly had decent knowledge of naval history and ships as it is.
The spirits within Chika wanted to go on a rampage, but this wouldn't be the first time she had been among a large amount of allied warriors. She had methods of keeping them from starting trouble. She looked at the people seemingly in charge of this... sanctuary of sorts. The yellow one looked inexperienced, but given the strangeness in recent times, perhaps that was just a facade. The other two seemed more familiar than Chika wished to admit. They held themselves like knights, and wore armor similar to the faction her world had. They were different, of course. These two seemed smaller than the warriors she has fought. More akin to the builds of the foot soldiers, but given that they stood out, perhaps their experience and skill made up for the lack of toned muscle.
No one had introduced themselves yet, despite the greeting these men had given. After taking a moment to calm herself, Chika spoke in kind.
"I am... Kobayashi Chika..."
Again, of all the people to start introductions, it had to the Japanese warrior lady that looked like she was ready to lop some poor soul's head at a moment's notice. Well, if she was going to start this round of giving names...
Before Taney could say anything however-
Girania
"And I!"
Girania rapidly swapped between her job stones, showing a small spectacle of her power over healing, elemental, and dark magic with a mere motion of her hand pulsing with the aspected aether of each. She clutched that hand into a fist, and conjured her book to momentarily summon Titan, Garuda, and Ifrit in their Primal forms.
"...am Girania Agdyne! Adventurer among adventurers! Foe of Eikons, and Wielder of their terrible destructive powers! Defender of those scorned by the well-off! Friend of the Fae, and knowledgeable healer! Tell me what you need of me, potential client. For the right price, I will solve your problems, no matter what they.... might be- I completely forgot I wasn't talking to a customer."
Girania calmed herself down and returned to being a Scholar.
"My apologies. I've gotten so used to greeting clients with displays of power, it's become something of a habit to do that."
-that happened.
"
Whaaaat the fuck was that, girl," Taney asked, more than a little disturbed at seeing what only could've creatures that crawled out of Satan's asshole at night. She could feel the alarm from her crew as they recovered from the sights. Taney glanced back to see her landing party pitter patter their way inside in a cacophony of "
Heys!", their hackles raised and rifles up.
Furiously gesturing them to calm down, before one of them drilled a hole somewhere there shouldn't be a hole, the shipgirl turned her attention back to the matter on hand.
"
No seriously, what the fuck was all of that," Taney asked Girania, making vague hand gestures. "
Are you trying to give people a heart attack or some shit?"
"
Hey!" shouted one of the landing crew fairies, in what most assuredly was not a polite tone. Taney shot said enlisted fairy a look. "
Hey?"
"
You're lucky no one can't understand you except me," Taney groused. She glanced back at Girania, then back at the group at wide. Remembering that they were supposed to be introducing themselves, the cutter sighed and cleared her throat. "
... Coast Guard Cutter Taney, just call me Taney if you find that a handful. Don't mind the little people over there, those are my crew."
