Future Age: Descendants ~IC~

[Winter]

~"Solum adiuvat"~
(Only the brave)​

'Click'

Eternity, the grand city at the heart of the modern world. A sprawling urban jungle where the dreams of the effervescent youth die young, swallowed whole by the lie laying beneath the facade. It draws you in with promise of a future among the sparkling lights, though the sweet reality is you might only ever view them from a distant horizon through an imaginary pane of invisible glass separating you from the dream, the beautiful lie.

"Are you listening?" The deep male voice shook her from her thoughts causing her to press a finger to her ear, eyes of crimson drifting away from the horizon of lights to look inward towards the dull grey of Delta Nova, a poor distract that skirted Iridum, one of the richer districts that inhabited most of Eternities casinos and leisure facilities. Delta Nova was used primarily as a travel nexus, a place where people stopped off shortly before making their way into the adjacent districts, of course people did live here... if you could even call them people anymore.

"No" she responded bluntly, the other end of the connection falling silent before the voice continued, ignoring her attitude, "I have a mission for you. We need you to make contact with S8 and make your way to the coordinates uploaded to your PDA. You'll standby for further orders once you arrive" Mai hadn't expected much more, leaning herself back against a rail which ran the perimeter of the courtyard that looked out in the direction of Iridium. Delta Nova was a busy district and crowds moved past in a current of human bodies as they made efforts to pass through quickly, as if staying longer than was necessary would cause a terrible fate to befall them.

"Is that all?" The white haired girl replied, once again there was a pause on the other end before the voice eventually responded, "Solum Adiuvat Mai".

'Click'

Alone again with naught but the electrical buzz of a poorly kept neon sign from the building to her left accompanied with the endless march of people's footsteps as they passed her by without so much as a curious glance. Rain fell from above, adding to the urban depression of the run down district, barely even policed by the WGA, but then again that might not have been a bad thing... at least not for her anyway. Mai exhaled a small breath, a fading white cloud pluming in front of her as she pulled her jacket around her a little more and stepped into the crowd current, quickly stepping to match the pace of it as she filtered between the people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

---/// Connecting \\\---

---/// Link Established \\\---

---/// Requesting Encryption Key \\\---

---/// Key Confirmed 8/8 \\\---

Linked: Allen, Zadok
Linked: Dezso, Jason
Linked: Khunalki, Sierra
Linked: Unknown, Sven
Linked: Hanlon, Heidryn
Linked: Unknown, Tertius
Linked: Weitzmann, Adelina
Linked: Unknown, Iris

---/// Uploading Coordinates \\\---

---/// Additional Information \\\---

You are to make your way to Mediera Prospect where you will rendezvous with a Serenity Operator. The coordinates attached will ensure your arrival at the correct location, look for Sector 8. You will arrive at the coordinates at precisely 21:45, the operator will not wait for you if you are late. The operator will have further information for you upon arrival, good luck and see you soon.

---/// Connection Terminated \\\---

~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

 

[Arcadius]

It was a rainy night, though stating that, even for oneself, was getting oxymoronic at this point. The humongous amount of heat, generated by the metropolis, rose and clashed with the naturally colder air climate of the surrounding countryside, creating a night constrant cycle of precipitation. As such, people started to take rainy days as norm and consider dry ones a thing worth noting or discussing. To Heidryn, it seemed like the city eternally wept over itself, a sense of collective genius loci, projected by creatures willingly locked into this cramped cage of concrete and steel.

The beep of the burner phone broke the morose atmosphere of the moment. Hanlon quickly skirted the text that appeared on the screen. When he was sure he had the data memorized well enough, he pulled out the battery of the phone (after all, batteries did not grow on trees and there was little value in disposing them) and placed what remained of the device into a small plastic tub, filled with clear liquid. The liquid was an acid with name longer than he bothered to remember, but he did recall it would dissolve the phone in roughly half the time it would take to dissolve the tub itself. He put a lid on the tub, made sure it fitted snuggly, and placed the whole thing into a grimy take-away food box. On his way to the location, he'd remember to throw it away in a random dumpser.

It was 21:43 when he arrived at the location, driving a dumpster truck. He got out of the driver's cabin and leaned against the side of the vehicle. Lethargically, he pulled out a small silver cigarette case and lit himself a cigarillo. Aye. Just another employee of the Eternity's sanitation department, slacking on the job now that those bastards upstairs added night shifts. Sure sir, we know there's a manpower shortage. No sir, we will do it pro bono, for our beloved city. No sir, we will not demand lubrication while the upper management collectivelly fucks our asses, he mused as he watched the alleyway. This promised to be fun. He wondered how the glorious freedom fighters will look when they realize their getaway vehicle is a dumpster truck. And then later, of course.

 

[Grothnor]

Eternity, Mediera Prospect, Sector 8
Several minutes before contact

A trenchcoated man stepped into the alley, dressed not uncommonly for a gang enforcer or bodyguard, though the blatantly cybernetic eye and facial scars did set him apart from most muscle of the area. Tertius felt odd dressed as he was, but his Serenity contact had assured him that such an appearance was passable for people of Mediera Prospect. He vaguely worried that the rain would ruin how his hair had been prepared, but apparently whatever chemical treatment it was given allowed it to retain its shape. A quick scan of Sector 8 revealed no one of note. Apparently, he was the first to arrive. He looked around and took in the sights, gazing at the dazzling neon in the distance. The city gave him a sense of awe, that even through all he was, there was much more out there, simply unknown, ready to be seen, experienced, learned, fought and defeated. The corner of his lips quirked into a faint smile.

"Seriously screw this place."
The city was always so damn bright, even in the lowest districts that neon lighting was almost blinding especially after an especially comfortable nap. Though Sven knew he was just complaining because he was tired, he got up and heard the same sounds he did every day, watching the same people get into fights over the silliest things, and seeing the same messages playing on the screens from the WG. Even with him inserting a little chaos here and there the mundane repetition never seemed to cease, that was more than likely why he was making his way to sector 8 of all places to meet with a Serenity operator. He had dressed in a simple hood and a pair of baggy pants shoving his hands into his pockets and with a lowered head made his way to the meeting place. A bit of grime rested on his face and a mix of irritation and sleepiness adorned his face as he seemed to glare with his half lidded eyes as he walked. It was pretty clear he was a resident of the slums from first glance, a few rips and tears in his clothes along with mud that was basically a permanent stain now. Reaching up he adjusted the pair of blue sunglasses on his face causing them to light up slightly for a brief moment. Multiple screens formed in front of him invisible to the eyes of the people passing him, his hand moving up and casually moving the screens to the side as rows of information ran down them, his fingers pushing one screen out of the way to observe another. He more than likely looked a little crazy randomly poking at the air but he was accustomed to the stares at this point. After a few moments he sighed and hit a button on the glasses, the accessory slinking back behind his head forming into two earpieces which drowned out the low hum of civilization.
"…yes let's meet when it's raining of all things."
Behind Sven there were an extra pair of footsteps and it almost seemed like a figure was following behind him at a two person distance, a faint silhouette forming in the rain, though it seemed to fade in and out of existence.

"This better not be a trick and I end up getting stabbed in this damn alley," Sven said making it to the meeting place.
He stopped immediately his eye resting on a man in the alley, taking a look around he noticed no one was else was around at the moment. His eyes moved to the man and reaching up he removed his hood his generally spiky red hair pressing against his neck due to the rain, he arched a brow at the stranger as he switched off his music, his eyes moving to the trench coat. He couldn't just ask if he was a Serenity agent, if it was a WGA or some spy he'd get shot on the spot.
"…you're not a flasher are you?" Sven asked his hazel eyes narrowing at him.

"A what?" Tertius turned to the man who broke him from his reverie, faintly confused. A quick surface scan suggested he may be a individual of note, possibly the Serenity contact... if he or she had decided to arrive a few minutes early, so he dismissed that option. That left an enemy agent or a fellow Serenity operator. "I'm just admiring the view." He decided for a diplomatic approach, hoping not to give anything away.

Sven took a casual step back glancing behind him at a possible escape route, he saw a few movies with weird endings that started like this. He couldn't exactly leave the area as the contact was supposed to meet them here, and the message made it clear they weren't going to wait for them. However meeting with a Serenity agent didn't exactly excuse the real troubles of stranger danger. Clearing his throat he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his hoody deciding to just keep a fair distance from the man.

"Uh huh…you scan me and then admire the view huh. Listen I'm not into guys…and I'm pretty sure if I was I could do better."
He mumbled the last part to himself averting his eyes for a moment before looking back at the man.
"I'm here on business so just…stay over there," Sven said leaning against the wall.
He opened his eyes for a moment and glanced to his left before closing his eyes again.
"Fair warning I keep firewalls around me so keep any deep scanning to yourself, I might accidentally fry something if you decide to undress me with your eyes."

"Excus- what?" Tertius was thrown off by the man's assumptions. He frowned, "I'm just waiting for a… friend." He searched for the right word and inwardly agonized over his potential slip of the tongue, before awkwardly stepping away from the conversation which had ended before he even realized it. He followed suit, folded his arms and leaned against a wall with an awning above to cover him from the rain, even though he was already soaking wet. Ignoring his dampness, he closed his eye and let his cybernetic one passively search the area for anything of note: a dead drop, new arrivals, whatever stood out, but so far, only the man did. Physically, he seemed no threat, but his comments suggested he may be able to hack him, so he drew up a brief firing solution in his head, just in case.

"I highly doubt you have friend's good sir but there's no reason two guys can't awkwardly stand in an alleyway and pretend the other doesn't exists…which I'm going to start doing right now."
Sven leaned against the wall and with a small sigh closed his eyes, how long was this agent going to take, and what were they going to do if random people just decided to stay in the alley. Sven reached up and pulled his hood back over his head not having any real protection from the rain and taking a moment to think about it, the two were randomly in the same place at the same time. He was also being very…defensive about his reason for being here. Being a sick pervert was a possibility but there was a good chance they were on the same side as well.
"Hey Flasher," Sven said looking in his direction. "Is your friend a peaceful sort? You know the serene type or do I gotta worry about getting jumped."
That was a shot in the dark but at the very least he didn't say it out right, now he'd either think he was weird and miss the cue or this guy was really a supposed comrade in arms.

"I wouldn't know," Tertius said truthfully without opening his eye, but focusing his cybernetic on him, "We've never met, but I know that I am." He thought for a moment about his phrasing, before realizing the potential subtext behind the words. "I suppose he, or she, would be as well," he added without breaking his verbal stride, for once.

Sven reached up and squeezed the bridge of his nose at the man's words, so he was just a terrible friend who was a potential flasher that was going to make his day so much easier. Though he noticed that he defended himself against his earlier allegations against his character, Sven stared at the stranger with half open eyes not about to believe the strangers words, standing in a alley in the rain dressed in a trench coat and scanning strangers, that screamed pervert. However noticing his words seemed to shift slightly he turned his attention forward again and sighed a little, he hated saying it but this man was probably on his side.
"I see that's good to hear, I prefer my evenings to be rather tranquil, a bit of serenity in your daily life is good now and then."
Sven covered his mouth as a small yawn escaped from him, he should have gotten a bit more sleep last night, pulling out a small rectangular pad he started fiddling with it deciding to lose himself in technology to pass the time.

"Indeed." Tertius relaxed, comfortable that this man was not an enemy, if only for the moment. The pair sat in silence for hardly a minute more before a dumpster truck pulled into the alley, drawing the attention of the two. It seemed as if they were no longer alone.

 

[Capt. Blu]

"So are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, you're a valuable member here too you know. And what if this is a trap!?"

"This is the chance to make a difference on a much greater scale! Listen, I know this sounds like a hit or miss, but I can't just ignore this opportunity. Besides, I'm not going to be gone forever."

Jason Dezso had left the Ivory Skulls base around an hour ago. He stood on a high rooftop, staring at the GPS on his watch. The rain continued to pour, but he didn't seem too phased by it.

21:40

"I can make it." The man grinned to himself and looked at his watch. A small holographic timer hovered over his arm and he set it. "Peace of cake." Jason crouched down to a runner's position and waited until the timer let off a faint 'ping!' The moment it sounded, he was off. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, barely making some jumps thanks to the rain.

The second ping told him that Sector 8 was just another rooftop away- or at least the next alley he would have jumped over. The distance between the alley floor and the rooftop was several stories high, but that didn't seem to phase him considering he jumped anyway. It took some maneuvering and grabbing a fire escape for him to make a clean landing on his feet.

"HA! New rec-" Jason's voice caught in his throat when he realized there were others standing around in the alleyway. Surprise turned into more of reluctance. "Aw man, if this is a trap I'm gonna owe like three people money."

He didn't look like much, especially not now considering he was in a hoodie that wasn't doing a good job of keeping him dry and some plain pants. To be fair, he looked like a regular citizen off the street. The only 'odd' thing about him was that under the hoodie there was an 'X' shape on his back, no doubt his escrima sticks.

Jason wasn't exactly sure how to approach the situation, unaware if there was a protocol or greeting he missed in the message. So instead of trying to be cryptic, not that he was capable, he adjusted the glove on his hand and waved. "Uh, hullo?" He checked the time.

21:44

Well he wasn't late.

He debated whether or not he should ask the random strangers in the alley about the Serenity meetup but… Three people… Looking around expectantly… All they needed was a sign saying 'We're Right Here'. Three was a crowd after all. Of course, Jason did like his life enough not to chance it so quickly. Instead he looked around for a moment, spotting the painted 'SECTOR 8' on a nearby garage door. "Uh huh. Well, don't let me interrupt your little- whatever this is. I'll just be on my way." He made his way to the garage door only to stand there for a few moments.

"It's locked."

 

[Eastwood]

Zadok awoke to knocking on his door, which is precisely what you don't want to hear when you have been on the run for a decade. He had occupied this small, cheap, apartment for quite some time, always staying one step ahead of the authorities. The knocking grew louder.

"Mr Allen! We just want to talk!" He didn't believe them, of course. Luckily, he was prepared for this scenario. Quickly changing out of his pajamas and into a more practical and less noticeable plain yellow shirt and khaki pants. Once he was done, as quietly as he could, he reached into his bedside table and pulled out his pistol, quickly attaching a silencer to the end. He crept to the door and turned on the black-screened monitor next to it. Two law enforcement officers flickered in grainy footage on the screen, standing on the other side, one man and one woman, both still with their guns in their holsters.

Odd, I'd thought they'd send more...

"Armor-piercing." He whispered into the small microphone embedded in the butt of the gun. A click confirmed his order as the gun silently rearranged itself.

"Whatdya want?!" Zadok barked out in a guttural tone, whilst placing the tip of his pistol against the door, right where their heads would be. "Ain't got no Allen here!"

"We're the police, open this do-" Before the man could finish his sentence, Zadok pulled the trigger twice, killing both officers instantly without making a sound louder than a polite cough. Before they fell, he swung open the door and pulled them in, closing and locking the door behind them. Zadok stared down at the two corpses and their growing blood pool and simply sighed. After stuffing his pajamas into his bug out bag, now empty of cash and only holds his clothes, ammo, and only one small gold bar for emergencies, he elected to take the fire escape. As he descended down into the street level, his communicator chirped.

Serenity... And they want me... Ugh

Zadok Allen had more bigger things to worry about than the resistance organization, even with knowledge that his parent organization had ties to the group. But, seeing as he no longer had any options, and was most likely wanted for murder, he picked up his suitcase and found his way to the nearest transit point.

He arrived right after Jason did, although he did not look like he belonged. Zadok had showed up, stinking of cheap whiskey and vodka, the latter of which he still had a half a bottle's worth in his hand. His clothes, that were clean just this morning, had stains all down the front, and his immaculately trimmed beard was ruffled and yellow streaks running from his mouth. He stumbled to the group and surveyed them all, this effort disguised by his bloodshot wandering eyes. He raised the bottle to his lips and took a sip that looks like a swig and said, slurring.

"Didst I ever tellsh you about dem spash aliens?"

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Sitting in one of the numerous safe houses that were removed from the Registry and "borrowed" from the Citizens dime, Adelina swirls a small glass of whiskey in her hands. A drink or two, even if in the middle of the day never hurt anything, plus she was no longer enlisted, regulations be damned.

"A glass to Hetz, Wang, Miguel, may you know a brighter landscape than this and to our wounded brothers." Downing the glass on a somber note, she didn't much like being along, but she knew better than to test her luck hanging around with the rank and file rebels day-to-day. Though not all of them were that bad, better people than most of the WGA higher ups at least.

"Heh, speak of the Devil.." Being distracted from her drink, it seemed Serenity had work for her, more training and drills? Answering the phone with a low growl, the former WGA Sergeant awaits what would be told to her in brief. Judging by the message this was something other than a milk run or teaching some civies to shoot.

"21:45 huh...bit late, making a girl walk out on her own alone, heh."

Gathering her weapons and armor, the former shock trooper throws a brown sack like travelers cloak over herself. Brown and a bit draby, it was a form of destitute that he been around for millennia. Her Combat boots with armored platting just peered out from the bottom, with her blonde hair and face visible, here and there subtly folds in the fabric hid weapons and gear. Normally she would risk walking about in her normal attire, but there and now with this message, was better safe than sorry.

Plus she had to walk..

Along the way, Adelina see's a very peculiar sight while traveling the back alleys and slums. A little girl in a dress, just walking about like she owned the place and had nothing to fear. Which in a manner she didn't; Iris.

Walking behind the girl in stealth, Adelina ponders drawing her knife to scare the piss out of the poor girl as a neighborhood safety lesson, but thinks better of it. Laying a hand on the girls hand she ruffles her hair a bit, before reaching the free one over and in front, with a couple pieces of Candy. While she knew this girl wasn't as old as she seemed, she still had a bit of a soft spot for her and kids in general.

"Hiya squirt. Lucky I actually have candy and not a van. So you got called out too huh?"

Maybe the fact an ambush was ahead didn't bother her, or the girl somehow knew to sense others. She had those little robots of hers too wherever the hell they were..

 

[Izurich]

"In time, dear, you will open their eyes..."​

A few levels below ground level, topped by a seemingly abandoned house in the lower districts and right under the nose of the World Arms Government, was one of the many safehouses operated by the rebel group only known as 'Serenity'. This particular bunker was outfitted with some of the best equipment the group managed to salvage, acquired through illegal channels, or donated by sympathizers. Unofficially titled 'Conduit' after one of its only three occupants, the safehouse was a major asset to the rebels, housing arguably the only Sentient Supercomputer in Serenity.

In the central chamber of the bunker, surrounded by computers, cables, and patrolling small aerial drones, was a stasis tank around two meters in height. Past its thick bulletproof glass surface was the submerged figure of a petite girl with long greenish hair swaying in the liquid solution, cables connected to the back of her neck and along her spine. Her eyes were closed, seemingly asleep. However, she was anything but.

"Coordinates Received. Operatives assigned for the Mission:

• 
  
  • Zadok Allen
  • Jason Dezso
  • Sierra Khunalki
  • Sven
  • Heidryn
  • Tertius
  • Adelina Weitzmann
  • Iris

Rendezvous Point: Sector 8, Mediera Prospect
Time of Arrival: 21:45

......

Acknowledged.

Conduit releasing in order to physically participate in the Mission."

Slowly, the girl's eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of dimly glowing green pupils. With hissing sounds combined with flowing liquid, the solution in the stasis tank was drained out, stored into the reservoir. The girl's feet made contact with the tank's floor as the cables detached themselves from her back, retracting into the tank's ceiling, and finally, the glass surface slid up, allowing her to step out.

"Hey there, Iris, called for a mission, huh?" A brunette woman wearing a white lab coat was already waiting for her, holding a towel as she approached the shorter female, drying her bare body and hair of the water-like liquid, "As usual, I've already prepared your clothes."

"Thank you, Miss Corrina," Iris nodded, giving the older woman a small smile, "I assume you have received the details of the assignment."

"Well... technically, yes, they didn't give us any further details. A list of operatives, you included, a rendezvous point and a time of arrival, that's it. Ah, I'm sure you already know, the information passed through you before we received it anyway." Corrina chuckled as she finished scrubbing Iris clean, though Iris looked the same as when the Professor gave her to Serenity a few years ago, she was still fond of her, like a daughter she never had.

"I see, that is true." The green-haired girl confirmed, soft hands taking the prepared outfit, a simple white dress, sandals, and a sun hat of matching color. The outfit was deliberately styled for her to blend in with the civilians, rarely would someone suspect a young girl wearing a casual dress to be a threat as opposed if she wore a full military outfit and carry weapons. She finished putting them on then checked her own status through pop-up displays in vision, the collar-like device around her neck beeping with a small green light, "I am good to go, what about my equipment, Miss?"

"Ah yes, Justin should be done prepping them," The scientist smiled, "He's in the garage. Want me to take you there?"

"It's fine, Miss." Iris shook her head briefly, "I will be heading out now."

"Okay, Iris, and uh... be careful, you hear?"

"I will, thank you." With those final words, she left the reactor room, heading into the garage where she'd set up her equipment and then exit the safehouse.

---

Eternity... though the city looked dazzling with a myriad of neon glow, the night sky was like a television... tuned to a dead channel. The juxtapose perfectly symbolizing the extreme segregation between the rich and the poor, the privileged and the outcasts, rulers and slaves. An utter corruption of the noble principles of the city's founding fathers.

Iris walked through the downtrodden alleys of the lower districts, her footsteps light and dainty, paying no mind to the occasional drunk or addict slumping against the walls. Her petite figure escorted by a quartet of aerial drones hovering around her above her shoulders. Connected directly to the girl's mind, the drones were like extensions of her limbs, their twin gatlings, and micro-rockets ever at the ready to defend their queen from danger at a moment's notice.

With such loyal guards, it was no wonder that no one dared to make a move on her... except for one dauntless Raptor. "Oh, Adelina." Iris greeted the fellow green-eyed woman with her back still facing the soldier though if Adelina looked slightly above, two of her drones were facing her, the small girl 'saw' her through them. "H-hey... Miss Corrina just dried them for me..." She protested at the unwanted hair ruffles, her cheeks pouting slightly. Then again, with the rain still trickling, one must wonder what difference it'd make.

"Heh... thank you," However, the trooper made up for her transgressions by offering sugary treats, they never failed. "Mmm..." Holding a candy in her mouth, Iris looked up at Adelina, "Yes, along with the others. We should be there soon." It went without saying that they'd stick together now like they had done a couple of times in the past. Now with the dreaded Storm around, arguably a deadlier factor than even the drones, only the most suicidal of thug would try anything.

---

Moments later, the duo arrived in Sector 8 of Mediera Prospect. Other operatives have likely gotten there before them, they were all just laying low, as she should too, "Operatives, this is Conduit," Iris 'spoke' directly through the earpieces of the Operatives (if they wore one) gathered in Sector 8, accessing the encrypted voice channel with her mind, "Have any of you made contact with the designated Serenity Operator yet?" Whether they answered or not, she hoped the so-called operator would contact them sooner than later.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

​

Glancing about at those who had gathered, she thought better of the stunt she had in mind earlier. Well in part, here they all were in a dark alley cut off from the view of others, most distrustful of one another, and all here likely for the same purpose. Or so she thought, the homeless man seemed out of place, provided that was what he really was. Something about his baring told her otherwise. If he wasn't a rebel she would be highly surprised, surprisingly fit for an old homeless man. Next to catch her eye was the Garbage man, sniffing the air around him and she had a general idea of who he was. Judgement had prior made use of garbage trucks for transportation purposes a time or two. No one ever questioned it, and the lack of horrid shit smell of a normal one wasn't present.


Tapping the side of her cloak, the unmistakable sound of gunmetal reverberating could be heard, parting the cloak slightly it was all but confirmed as a twelve gauge shotgun partly stock out from below. "Hiya guys and bums. Name's Adelina Weitzmann, Rank Sergeant, Ade, Stormie and Raptor to friends, the last thing you'll hear and see to enemies. I like liquor, conversations with kids and the elderly, long walks by the beach and shooting people. I don't cook very well though." Giving a wide grin, the cloaked figure smiles, lifting her right hand up to uncover her face, showcasing a bulletproof tactical mask on her head, with a wild set of tribal tattoos on her arm being briefly visible from beneath the fabric of the cloak.

"The Runt and me are with Serenity, I assume most of the rest of you are too, especially you by the door. Ya'll can keep playing dumb and worrying, but I can tell yah if it were a trap the WGA would be here already and shooting. Now if some of you aren't Serenity, I recommend you get down, hands on top your head and you'll live to tell the tale. Try running and you won't be leaving here alive. So if any of yah are still ready to shit your pants or yell spy, well let's dance. Death comes for us all and a small chuckle and lie while walking off from here isn't going to get Justice smiling and saying;

"Oh my mistake may I take your hat sir?"

She says in a mocking tone.


"If you're in the wrong place and wrong time, well that's just how the cookie crumbles. Death comes for us all and I can tell you right now the WGA swoops down in here, then you all are rebels."


Speaking confidently and to the fact, the woman keeps her hand near the shotgun, waiting to see if she was correct on them all. In part it was confidence born of her NCO days, of accepting death, on the other, it was first hand experience, she knew full well the WGA wouldn't be carrying out a little spy mission, when it could just kill them all and print them as rebels in the news paper. A fact she wouldn't mention is that she knew this first hand. Either way the dice was cast and it was one hell of an introduction if she did say so herself.

 

[Mizos]

Sven enjoyed the silence that had fallen between the two of them, they more than likely stood out being two men standing in an alley while it was raining but he stopped caring about that. His hands moved on his pad making adjustments to the necessary, trying to connect to camera's in the area to view approaching people, the basics when stuck in one place for a long time. A part of him was still a little bothered about meeting with Serenity, he knew their work sure, but he was surprised to get a message himself. He did do odd jobs so he supposed getting a message from Serenity wasn't too surprising, but it was more of a concern about what they knew. If they knew him as the odd jobs man then he was fine with that, anything else and they officially had a problem.


Just as he was about to hit the enter button and observe the block he heard footsteps nearby his eyes moving to a drunk old man approaching, he took a casual step away from him at the comment of aliens deciding not to engage him, he turned away from him only to see a young man approaching, with strange colored hair. He was about to ignore him as well and go back to his pad when two more people approached, he blinked a few times at the two before reaching up and squeezing the bridge of his nose. Not because of the crowd but because of this lady's words, since he wasn't on any open channels he had also missed the girl's message as well so that didn't help any first impressions.

"You…are the most annoying armed person I have met today," Sven said to the woman, whose name was apparently Adelina. "I hate everything you like, except the beach and liquor but alcoholism is hardly something to bond over."

Sven shrugged and lowered his pad since they were apparently being upfront.

"I do thank you for breaking the tension however it was getting annoy… wait kid why are you wearing that of all things in the rain…are you touched in the head or something? I feel like you should be stalking cornfields or staring at the sun. Doesn't matter I guess, we got a drunk looking for aliens, the pervert in the trench coat, that reject cartoon character with the weird hair over there trying to open a random locked door, an old man loving asshole with a shotgun, that trash guy with the weird face and an extremely judgmental observer, I guess you don't stand out that much in a sea of freaks."

Sven turned back to his pad and continued messing with it.

"Oh right I'm Sven only right to respond properly to an introduction, it may look like I'm ignoring you but don't take it offensively I know forming words is hard for you so I'll pretend to be invested. Please continue talking."

 

[Arcadius]

He bit on the cigarillo filter and popped the flavor capsule. Soon enough, the inhaled smoke tasted of blueberries and menthol. Or at least it said so on the package. Someone sometime somwehere decided that the chemical conoction seeping into the smake flowing through the filter was how real menthol and blueberries tasted. He wanted to stop smoking anyway, but the lifestyle of a fugitive terrorist combantant living undercover just did not left one with extra mental fortitude necessary to decide which one was the last one. Maybe life was always ready to light you a new first one too…

People were starting to show up, in addition to the two clowns having what appeared to be rehersal of a comedy sketch of questionable quality. Maybe one of those avant-garde pieces, which always struggled to hide their vulgar mediocrity and shallow tendency behind random outrage, confusion and dissonance. He had to give it to the hobo, though. There was an underlining tone of quick but not hasty order behind the general disqusting mess the man was. The clothes were dirty but not ruined, frayed and used enough, the beard definitelly seen quite a concerted effort before it was ruined, and the man's skin has seen some rough times, but not the careless, nihilistic ruinage of living on the street and giving up on life. Overall, it would fool on efor maybe five to ten seconds, which was at least three more than anyone would spare to look on something like that.

The plastic action figure toy soldier and whatever monster the little girl was were full of promise too. Whatever was worthy of noting, the woman did the work herself; another in long and proud line of people who were promoted up and up, just to get them out of the way and let the actual competent people fight and die in peace, but then make their damnedest to get back into combat anyway. Indeed the last person for the enemy to see, the sort of hyper-aggressive wanker who had to see the light being snuffed out of their eyes, a physical validation for the scared, fragile thing inside that animated them. The fucker who simply always had to get shitfaced at the bar and cause trouble, because a minute spend not projecting outwards would murder them by their own hand.

And as for the little one, he pulled the emergency brake on his train of thought just in time. He has seen enough to not want to ponder what kind of thing she was. Talking on radio without moving her lips was enough to bring back the memories for days. Sometimes, life lit a whole packet at once, just for shit and giggles.

"Call me Handsome," he answered. Wanton vain verbosity was worthless waste of words. Passive balls-to-the-face aggressivity could be archieved with just single sentence as well.

 

[SilentxChaos]

Fuck, shit, fuck. Sierra swerved and weaved through the streets of a district she'd never been to before now. She glanced at her phone. 21:43.

"Damnit!" She was easily four minutes out from Sector 8. She adjusted her stance on her hoverboard and gave it a boost. She rocketed through at the speed of a motorbike and probably would get arrested if she wizzed by a WGA officer, and certainly threatened crashing every time she took a turn. The rain was cold and she was already soak to the bone. Her right shoulder and left arm ached where metal met flesh, as it did when she was cold, but they paled to the sharp pain of every breath she breathed; the black bruises that threatened to swell her left eye shut and the cut on her lip that had clotted by now but she still tasted blood in her mouth. Along with stained boxing bandages still wrapped around her gloves, clothes caked in mud, Sierra was a poor sight and in any other time or place her mood be a storm.

Instead, Sierra was on top of the world.

She flew to Serenity's meet point from an underground fighting tournament. The last fight had been brutal, her versus a tin-can giant who had replaced everything but the most important bits of his body with prostheses. The punch he landed on Sierra's face was equivalent to a flying sack of hammers. She could have been in trouble, but whoever wanted his life savings to give him metal limbs did a piss-poor job and used low quality materials. Also, the tin-can neglected to replace the most important bits. Sierra grinned savagely as she reminisced the look on his and the crowd's faces when she landed the crushing blow to his lower regions. She'd walked away with enough money to feed her family and, maybe, finally, pay off the last of their debts.

We could be free, she thought. She knew that was a lie, of course, or she would never bother with Serenity. But in a monetary sense, things could change. The Khunalki's could work back up again, to where they had been 6 years ago. Sierra smiled to herself as she turned the corner too fast.

In a brief glance, Sierra saw a total of eight silhouettes standing in the dark alleyway, and a garage with big black letters dictating it as Sector 8. She then twisted her hoverboard to try compensating for her speed, but as she scaled the wall she nicked a pipe and went flying.

Sierra yelled,"WATCH OUT!", arms pinwheeling, as she flew head overs heels and crashed right into a boy with spiky black hair. They tumbled in a heap of limbs, the hoverboard skittering after them. When they finally came to a hault, Sierra was on the bottom, her entire body screaming in protest.

"Spiky...you're crushing...my pelvis," she wheezed.

 

[Winter]

The rain continued to fall as each member of the group turned up, some even arriving mere minutes before the Serenity Operator was due to arrive. The alley itself despite a lack of functioning lights was dimly lit by the glow of a city district on the other side of an expanse of water, a beautiful site but a reminder of the very obvious differences between the districts. Sector 8 belonged to Mediera Prospect, which wasn't a pleasant place for anyone to live, even the various gangs that pretty much ran the place wished they were some place else. Even the WGA barley had a presence there, which was likely a reason why Serenity used it.

[glow= red]21.45pm[/glow]

The time was now, though the alley remained empty save for the group which had been asked to come together at the specified location. Nothing but the sounds of the rain striking metal shutters and shallow puddles eroded into the uneven concrete floor beneath their feet. Cold air blew it from the mouth of the alley, carrying moisture from the expanse of water that separated Mediera Prospect from the district of light on the other side. One could almost wonder if this was some kind of hoax, or worse some kind of trick to arrest would be terrorists in the eyes of the government.

A clap of thunder rolled in an angry boom above their heads after the sky split for a mere moment with light, causing the alley to become illuminated entirely within that moment. The Sector 8 garage door suddenly whirred to life as the console beside it lit up, a small anime girl appearing on the screen with a friendly smile as she kissed her hand towards anyone looking upon it. Words began to run along the screen before pistons fired up from behind the door, light flickering and barely working from above to light up the space in front of it as the door lifted.

A young girl with pure hair of white tied into a neat bun walked out form under it, red eyes and a hardened expression. She wore what appeared to be black combat attire with a black jacket over the top. On her back appeared to be a large silver case hanging upon her shoulder by a strap, though it didn't appear to impeded her at all which likely meant it was made form lightweight materials. The girl looked between each of them without much of an expression before giving a nod, "Good, you all turned up" she commented.

Standing to the side she motioned for them to come into the garage before suddenly stopping. "Wait!" her tone was strict and commanding in that moment as her brow furrowed, walking herself around Sierra before looking up and down the alley to check if anyone was there. She exhaled before pulling out her side arm, aiming it towards Adelina's head and pulling the trigger. The silenced weapon spat a lead bullet viciously as the hammer struck the shell casing. The alley was once again illuminated by the weather and Mai cast her gaze down onto the body of a WGA scout, his body materializing from his cloak field.

Without a word Mai sank to a knee and reached her hand for a spot on the officers helmet, pulling out a small device before crushing it in her fingers. She would then drag the body inside and close the garage door behind them. "A scout, nothing to worry about... he was likely suspicious due to 'Hang Ten' over there making her not so quiet entrance" she said, motioning to Sierra with a nod of her head. She pressed a hand to her ear, having a small device of her own which lit up a blue LED as she touched it. "Sector 8 is compromised. Strike it" she turned to the group, "Follow".

It was probably clear from the start that she didn't want to be here, not even from her words or tone but more so in the fact she didn't even care to ask what their names were. She lead them down into the basement of the attached building, dragging a seemingly large and heavy crate to the side to reveal a crawlspace in the wall. Nothing you would need to go prone for, but you'd need to crouch low if you wanted to get through it. "We follow this into the sewer, make our way to Candles Market and from there we head north past the checkpoint till we reach the Annex, should be relatively safe after that".

The white haired girl crouched through the hole and motioned with a hand for them to join her. She'd wait for them all on the other side before setting a small silver block on the ground, presumably to collapse the space after they leave. Once the charge was set she'd walk past them again and lead them further on into the sewer. "While we have a quiet minute, I want to make some things clear" she didn't look at anyone as she walked, checking around corners carefully as she moved between the long, foul smelling tunnels. Rats skittered up and down them as water leaked from above, falling into steams that made shallow rivers.

"If you have questions, ask now or wait till we reach the Annex. Do what I say when I say it, if we miss our window and fail the checkpoint we're all dead. If that's a problem, you're free to part ways at Candles Market" Mai looked up through one of the grates casting light into the tunnels from above, feet treading on them every few seconds as they passed under it. "My name is Mai Tashigi, in case you have something you need to tell me" she finished as they rounded into the next tunnel. This would be their chance to ask questions before they reached the market, they would need to be on their toes from that point on.

 

[Capt. Blu]

Soon enough, a whole group of people showed up. He had long forgotten about the garage door, not wanting to break the locks just yet and turned his attention to what the woman with the child had to say. She sure was making herself sound like the 'head honcho' or trying to at least.

He was quiet for a second before letting out an audible laugh, quickly covering his mouth. Sure the standoff was a lot more serious than it needed to be, but by the introduction itself she was obviously not the contact they were looking for. So, this 'Ade lady' was just another person called like the rest of them. "That's all big, tough talk and all, but a simple hello would have done just fine!" He didn't make any effort to approach her but he did continue snickering and gave a mock salute.

"Name's JD. Nice to meet you Ade. Though probably nicer to meet these guys because they didn't randomly threaten to shoot me. Not the best introduction, but we'll have time to work on that later."

Jason's nose scrunched up when Sven spoke, mainly because of a particular 'insult'. "Wait, why am I the reject cartoon character? The girl kid's hair is literally green-!"

He perked up at the sound of someone yelling to 'watch out', but before he had time to react, the wind was knocked right out of him. There was tumbling and then a tangle of limbs for a moment before he realized he was staring up at the stars. JD groaned for a moment, pushing hair back. "Stars are spinning more than usual tonight?"

The voice under him made JD scramble to his feet, near effortlessly pulling the person up with him. "Sorry about- wait, you hit me why am I apologizing?" He shook his head, shaking water at his 'attacker'- if that was even possible in the rain. "You know, learning how to brake would be a real good trick." He offered a toothy grin and shook the hand he was still holding. "JD, nice of you to drop in. Looks like you're just in time to join the party-" He paused, tilting his head a bit. "Then again, looks like you've just left a fun party." He looked over the woman's bruises only for his attention to turn once more when the rattling of the garage door became louder than the group in the alley. He tensed at first, more ready for a fight than flight. But when the lady that appeared spoke, he sighed in relief.

"I knew we were supposed to be indoors. Gonna end up getting sick standing around in the rain or something." He mumbled more to himself before tugging his hood down. By the way the mysterious woman carried herself, JD could only assume she was 'the guy'. The guy that contacted them or at least the guy that was supposed to collect them. Either way, he was eager to get out of the rain so he didn't hesitate to hurry towards the garage, only to skid to an abrupt halt as the same woman shot Ade in the head. "Oh- that's not good."

Acting on instinct, he quickly distanced himself, falling by Sierra's side once more. The realization of what happened only furthered his tension, now more weary of them being tracked. However, that didn't stop him from commenting, "Guess it was definitely nicer to meet the other guys." It wasn't very long before the group of strangers were now following another stranger to what Jason could only believe was safety. 'Or a trap but I guess it's a 50/50 chance there.'

He was no stranger to the sewers, having used them many times to escape watchful WGA eyes or to simply escape from trouble that the Ivory Skulls caused. And yet as much as he had been in them, the smell was still horrid. But Jason tried not to get too caught up in that and focused on what the white-haired lady had to say.

"No one's really good at formal introductions are they?" Was the only comment Jason had to offer while Mai went on a strict 'do what I say, when I say, as I say' spill. "Sounds pretty straight forward. Follow Mai, don't die." Save for the passing grates, it was relatively dark in the sewers. He would have provided some form of light source, but decided against it. They were travelling inconspicuously and by the looks of it, so far, no one was having trouble following Mai. "In hindsight, don't you think your friends in Serenity could have, I dunno, maybe mentioned that this was a group effort to save the weird suspicions and awkward standing around?"

 

[Mizos]

Though he did comment on paying some attention to the conversations he faded in and out of the conversations, only raising his head from the device occasionally, once to make sure he wasn't in the trajectory of the loud girl who had also appeared, and once more to gaze over at the bright district across the river. His eyes seemed to narrow slightly at it before he sighed and went back to fiddling with his screen deciding to avoid cringing at the Reject's horrible puns.
"How can you have so much energy?" he mumbled flicking up on the screen.
However when the garage started making noises his attention was drawn to it immediately, his gaze landing on the screen as he watched the door open shortly afterwards someone walking out of it, checking the time the meetup time had come and sure enough there was a strange person who stood out almost as much as they did.

"Huh the Reject actually knew where'd the guy come from, guess he's not as stupid as I thought," Sven said putting the device away and turning to the man. "To answer your question by the way Reject, it's your attitude, the kid's weird sure but at least she stayed quiet."
When she pulled a gun out Sven eyes narrowed but seeing it aimed at the gun happy one he looked back at her only to see a scout fall to the ground shortly afterwards, he stared at the body for a moment shoving his hands back in his pockets.
"Hm," was the only response he gave to the situation.
They had been there for a few minutes and one of them had already drawn the attention of the WGA, Sven reached up and squeezed the bridge of his nose, this seemed to become more and more of a bad idea the longer he stayed here. He remained still for a moment before sighing as the little voice in his head told him it would be a good idea to keep moving.
Walking over to the body he pushed it onto it's back with his foot and leaning down took the gloves off the guy's hands shoving them in his pocket before turning and following the agent.
"Sheesh the flasher might be the only sane one among us, maybe that 'Handsome' guy too they at least minded their business and look almost normal," Sven commented following after the agent. "Good to know this dude's bossy and rude, here I thought we wouldn't get along."

Following someone through a crevice and into a sewer wasn't on his list of things to do today, but meeting Serenity also wasn't on his schedule so he supposed he should be a bit more open minded about things. Except the others he was going to make an effort to be as close minded as possible. Landing in the sludge he stared down at his submerge shoes for a moment rubbing the back of his neck before continuing forward, to say this was the first time he had to tread such waters would be a lie, sewers were an easy shortcut and a simple way of getting just close enough to a signal to mess with it without being in sight. Surprisingly enough for how depressed people seemed to be in some part of the slums they rarely paid attention to what was right below their feet with their heads always looking down. Sven made an effort to trail behind the group not really liking the idea of having anyone standing behind him, he yawned a bit as they walked his eyes moving to Mai as he went on again like a hated boss at an office firm, he really hoped he'd just get assigned a place away from people, present ones included and get right to work.
"I'd get used to it Reject," Sven said to the weird haired ones comment. "No need to be polite here after all, as dude here has made quite clear."
Sven said this motioning to Mai to make his point known who he was talking about since there were plenty of rude ones among them hismelf included.
"Long as the assignment is discussed at this site I have no questions," Sven said shrugging. "Oh well I do have one, are you just naturally unpleasant, it's okay if you are it's actually preferred. I like blunt guys with the personality of a sunburned Marsupial, makes conversation easier."

 

[RedArmyShogun]

​

"Hey! That's conversations with Old people, human conversation something you don't get I bet yah lil' Four Eyed fu-" Having her attention broken by the man calling himself Handsome, the only person that likely ever said that to him was his mother. Those two were people to not protect from a flank attack. "Just great a nerd and a Gentleman of refined tastes." Saying the last bit with an acid tone she watches with a blank expression as an accident barrels it's way into them, literally.

Taking her steam out and attention on the previous pair, the one as Jason spoke up, while a bit of a smart ass, he was the sort she liked. The ones that were bound to end up serving in a unit and often would get a nickname sooner or later. "Well, well, someone here must have never heard, I'm a Sergeant, not an Officer, reminds me of the joke of the little boy playing with shit at a base-"

Before she can finish however, yet another bit of Rebel Madness, fell in her lap, and this one with a gun leveling right for her face... Reacting in an instant with her Shock Trooper training kicking in, her heart pumps faster, beating all it's might as her left hand flips her visor down and her right brings the shotgun up by the pistol grip one handed, the deft and subtle movements of aiming catches her attention, turning with the aim, Adelina completes her combat turn, weapon at the ready, aiming down iron sights as a Scout materializes from nothing before her. Readying the weapon to fire, she quickly safeties it, putting it back under her makeshift disguise. Turning to the young girl, this one hand earned her respect, most junior officers tended to be useless, but this one just dropped a nasty surprise at pinpoint range. Keeping her armored mask down, she would lift it again later, giving a simple and curt reply to the woman's orders. "Ma'am Yes Ma'am. About that helmet..."

Watching the smaller girl retrieve the chip, she had obviously done this before. "Huh, well never mind, you know what you're about." Watching as her officer dragged the body off, she was slightly miffed with it, that was a job for grunts, not good officers, but least she was willing to pull her weight, had most of the WGA been like that they all would not be in this mess. Watching as the girl ordered them into the next building and onwards down some sort of crazy tunnel, one she had seen before. At least this time no one was hiding in it to shoot her.

Hearing the girl, or rather Mai's introduction, the way she kept going though the shithole on point worried her, Adelina rather doubted this unit would survive if she bit the dust. As if to confirm her thoughts, the next two immediate questions confirmed her opinions on that score and her already less than favorable view on the rebel she had pegged as a Nerd. glaring at him angrily from beneath the mask.

"Stow that shit before I--, actually yes Ma'am, I have a question, how would you like to be addressed? And if you don't mind, can I take point on these corners, I can stop a few more bullets than you and come out alive. Plus I trust myself with it more than some of the others... And just what sort of mission is this.. This is a rather assorted mixed back of nuts you got here, I don't know if it's a suicide op or a mission of some great importance to some Colonel drinking a nice cup of tea in an air-conditioned office."

 

[Eastwood]

During all this posturing and gun pointing, Zadok meanwhile... Had found a wall to sit against and now looking like he was asleep. He slept through most of the instructions, only mumbling drunkenly to himself when the garage door opened. Once the shot rang out, he awoke with a start, mumbling deliriously to himself. To really sell the image, he took swig of the vodka and stood up.

Despite his half-drunken state, he was still able to comprehend what was in front of him, including a dead scout. He wondered how no one else was able to see it but her, despite having no visible visual augmentations. He decided to chalk it up to blind luck, that the officer deliberately shot at the loud soldier and ended up hitting a scout, and was just too embarrassed to admit it.

He followed the group, keeping pace and still muttering to himself quietly. Zadok had no questions and seemed willing to follow his new boss.

 

[Arcadius]

As it would turn out, sudden murder of an enemy scout broke ice better than insulting a mutually hated coworker. The parted garage door offered light and absence of rain. It was indeed sad that this was all that was needed in this city to make a place homely. The dead body would quite possibly not linger around for too long. The city welcomed one and all to its slaverish bosom, including things not entirely human, which, however, were not afraid to compensate their lack of humanity by physically averaging the human content of their bodies. Or such was the urban legend. It was probably nonsense, but the city seemed to consume all, body and soul.

The Serenity seemed to be like a rot or some sort of insect parasite, burrowing deep into the flesh and bowels of the metropolis, to feed themselves on the refused and insufficient, to hide from the immunity system where it could not properly go. Perhaps, perhaps one day, the larvae would chew their way to the surface and maybe return the true colour to the world.

Or for all they knew, they'll all be swimming chin down in the sewage come morning.

"Well, we all have seen you shoot a person in cold blood, yet followed you to real estate equivalent of a rape van. I think we all went past the point of no return," he answered to Mei. "Suffice to say, I'd rather if someone less trigger happy took the point. I had my fair share of ripped eardrums due to gunshots in closed space. The meeting location has already been compromised, the situation is shitty enough as it is."

 

[Winter]

Mai remained silent as each member of the group asked their question, much to her surprised given that most people she were asked to retrieve favored silence over conversation. Honestly it was a nice change of pace, even if some of the responses were snarky or otherwise filled with a degree of sarcasm. The white haired girl furrowed her brow, red eyes trained on the tunnels with the predatory focus of an attack hound. "Leaving out that information was intentional" she replied without looking to Jason, deciding to elaborate after moving into the next tunnel. "It was a means to test your responses to limited information. Had you been a WGA spy, you'd have known it'd be a group gathering in Sector 8, therefore your response to the information upon your arrival and realization of the situation would be off, and we'd be able to monitor that".

Despite that Serenity was essentially a militia full of men and women most of whom had no military training, those within it were revered for their tactical approach. Perhaps it was also why the WGA had a zero tolerance towards them, given the threat they posed. The next question came from the one called Sven and from the looks of it he'd already endeavored to make unhealthy relationships within the group. "I don't trust any of you further then I could physically throw you and until we reach headquarters where we'll ascertain your correct identities, you'll have to forgive the attitude I'll display against those who could potentially jam a knife in my back or put a bullet in my head" she eyed Sven for a moment as she spoke. Given their situation and the life the Lieutenant lead, she wasn't being that unreasonable.

They had all been waling through the foul smelling maze for almost thirty minutes now, markings on the wall detailing tunnels that they should and shouldn't go down. Eventually they came to a junction that split in three directions, two tunnels had markings next to them which had markings on the wall next to them depicting a skull with a red cross through it. The third had a skull with a blue ring around it, presumably meaning it was safe. Mai slowed at this junction, allowing them a moment to gather themselves as she pulled back her sleeve and checked a watch which ticked away. Adelina approached her next, the woman whom had once been their enemy before defecting over to their side. A lot of discussion was had about having her join up but ultimately a majority vote lead to Adelina being contacted. Mai could appreciate her offer, inclining her head slightly in a half nod in response.

"I appreciate the offer, but you don't know where we're going, besides this group is my mission to ensure you all make it safely to headquarters. If you're soaking bullets then I'm failing my duty, which'll really piss me off..." for perhaps the first time since meeting the group, the Serenity Operator cracked an amused smile. "As for being addressed, formally Serenity refers to me by rank and last name; Lieutenant Tashigi, but frankly it's quicker to shout Mai when we're under fire and every second counts. I'd rather save those seconds than have my ego tickled" she gave a light shrug before once again checking her wrist watch, looking towards the tunnel entrances. After about five more minutes a hollow boom sounded in the distance and a gust of foul air exhaled towards them from the far left tunnel, "Let's move".

Mai didn't explain what had happened and why they waited, but whatever it was had been what Mai was waiting for, had they continued, they would all have perished. The end to this maze was in sight now, which gave just enough time for Mai to respond to the last question. "If this is already too much for you, then feel free to bail... I'm not keeping you here and I'm certainly not your babysitter" she said, regarding Hanlon for a moment. He had a point, the situation was indeed shitty and she wouldn't blame anyone from holding up their hands and walking away. But she didn't have that option and wasn't going to be chasing after anyone through rat infested tunnels, most of which would sooner kill you than let you traverse them freely. Up ahead was a dead end with a steel integrated ladder to the surface.

"Above is our insertion into Candles Market. You'll have a short period of time to gather any provisions you think you might need. It's a long walk from here past the checkpoint to the Annex so I suggest you take a minute" and with that she turned and gripped the ladder, using a hand to throw her case more comfortably behind her as she climbed. Once at the top she pushed up the metal cover, albeit with a bit of a struggle before pulling herself up and out of the sewer. She'd wait at the top and help the rest of them out, holding the cover before gently lowering it back down to cover their tracks. The group would find themselves in an alley just off from the market, an eroded forgotten place which looked to be apart of the districts initial construction, left to rot when the area had been renovated to include the market itself.

Mai walked a little off from the group, heading towards several large garbage bins before pulling out a black holdall bag and bringing it back to the group, dropping it in front of them. "Take one each, you'll need it" she commented before pulling back the zipper. Inside one might have expected guns, armor or maybe even some kind of explosives. None of those were in the bag, for it was full of umbrellas. "The market is an over watched area, which means there's a concentration of drones in the area on the look out for people like us. Luckily for us it's raining, which means we have the perfect excuse for the perfect disguise" she took one for herself and waited for them to do the same, putting hers up before leading them off once again towards the entrance to Candles Market.

The market was busy, full of buyers and sellers from all over the district and even those that neighbored it. Candles Market was one of the largest markets in Eternity, named due to the cover of beautiful candles that hung high overhead. Just about anything and everything could be bought and sold here, even weapons providing you had the right licences and paperwork. The WGA operated in this area and patrols were never too far away as they moved in and between the endless isles of wares. Drones floated by overhead, glowering orange eyes looking down over the sea of black umbrellas in an attempt to identify threats which reported directly to local WGA units. It was imperative that they not be spotted or arouse suspicion, lest they get caught.

Mai had explained to them that it was important they keep eyes on her so they don't get lost. However if they wanted to make some purchases before moving on, they were to meet her on the far side of the market near a bar called the Nyiri Desert, identifiable by it's huge yellow neon sign with an advertisement underneath which read: 'Feeling the heat? clench your thirst here!'. Mai would be waiting outside just off from the entrance, she had nothing she needed to purchase and given they were ahead of schedule she allowed a small amount of time fort them to get anything they might need. The next stop would be the Annex past the WGA checkpoint, the part of the mission she was dreading.

 

[Capt. Blu]

JD seemingly ignored Sven's quip on his personality, a little preoccupied at the time anyway. However the small jabs with the new 'nickname' he was given, did catch Jason's attention. With a coy smile, he spoke up "Sveeeen, right? You look pretty smart! But how can I tell if you can't even remember my name! I made it easy for you too! It's only two letters, J.D. C'mon buddy, ya gotta keep up!"

When his question was answered, he gave a simple shrug. "Yeah sure that sounds fair to me." He seemed fairly content with answer. They continued wading through the sewers and just when Jason didn't think it couldn't get any worse, the group got a full blast of foul smelling air sent their way. "Blech." was the only sound Jason managed to make as he covered his nose and mouth with his sleeves. Towards Mai's comment, he chuckled. "I mean, I agree with Handsome here, but can we just collectively bail out the sewers? I'd rather not smell like a street rat the moment we're greeted by our new… employers." Fortunately his prayers were answered not that long after as he watched Mai lead them out the sewer. He waited for a few of them to climb up before climbing out himself.

JD started to become a bit more thankful that it was raining, as it helped wash off some- if not most of the sewage scent. While Mai was explaining the 'mission', he was passing umbrellas around before grabbing his own. "So keep up or meet you at the desert- dessert(?) bar. Easy enough." For the most part, JD had decided to follow Mai through the market taking in the sights and sounds. It wasn't hard spotting that white mop of hair- except when umbrellas were covering the way so he didn't need to be on high alert. Plus, he was decidedly eager to get to this Serenity base and see how they operated so he figured the faster they got through the quicker they'd get to where they needed to be. He had his weapons attached to his back so he saw no need to buy the ones being offered, plus he didn't have the proper registrations for it anyway.

That, however, didn't last too long as he got distracted by a food vendor. He glanced over at Mai who was still walking and then back at the vendor. "Well… Can't work on an empty stomach." What started as a simple snack stop turned into him buying snacks for the road as well as a small backpack to carry it all in.

"Alright she said… on the far side. Right." JD was almost positive he'd be able to find Mai and the others again. It was too bad there weren't any higher places to scout from. It would have made things a lot easier. As he looked up to inspect it, he noticed a drone flying over him and lifted his umbrella once more. Right. Surveillance… ah well. 'Now what was that dessert bar called again?'

 

[SilentxChaos]

"Hang Ten?" Sierra screwed up her face. She was still trying to figure out if the girl with the hair and eyes of a ghost was making a jab at her, when she led the group to a tunnel in the sewers. "Don't tell me Serenity's in the sewers." She remarked to the group in general.

Despite her dramatic entrance, Sierra remained relatively quiet as they followed Ghost-Hair. She brought up the rear with the old man next to her. He mumbled under his breath and had a queer look about him. She leaned in, trying to decipher what he was saying. After a few seconds, she gave up, and instead wondered how many times he was dropped on the head as a kid. Eventually, Sierra turned to her body and take stock of the damage. She held on to what drug addicts must feel in their hazy high but physical exhaustion was settling in. Her face was one fat ache and her breath hitched, hinting at bruised ribs. Her arms felt heavy. She lagged behind, occasionally whispering a fluent curse of hurt, mimicking Zadok.

Sierra spoke up for the first time when Hanlon complained, adding to Ghost-Hair's statement, "Hey, we all signed up. Do hear us complaining? You might as well have the balls to see where it goes."

When they came to the ladder, Sierra climbed last. She first leveraged her hoverboard by taking one end in her hand and holding the other out, fingers pointing to the sky. She balanced the board, and then threw it. It zipped out of the manhole, passing inches from Mai's face. Yet as it flipped through the air, it slowed in descent, flowing like a feather, and landing on the ground with a soft clunk. Sierra followed up quickly, giving the operator a rueful smile. "Sorry about that, Mai." It was hard to tell if she meant it or not.

"Umbrellas?" Sierra exclaimed, pulling one out, "Cool!"

She immediately opened it and gave it a twirl. She sighed with content as the umbrella rested over her head. "It's as dry as I'd imagined."

They reached the Candle Market, to which Sierra ogled. She never been out of her own district, except once, and suddenly wondered if her family noticed her absence. Man, Mom's not going to be happy when I get home. Sierra sighed. Once Mai released them, Sierra spent some time wandering the stalls. She decided to purchase some tough jerky, realizing she hadn't eaten all day, and cheap painkillers for her injuries. First back to Mai, Sierra plopped on the ground next to her, seemingly oblivious to how cold and wet it was, and positioned the umbrella in crook of her arm while rummaging through the pack she had been carrying with her. Sierra chomped on the jerky while unwrapping boxing bandages from her hands. Then, starting with her thumb, she curled each finger into a fist. She uncurled them, made a fist twice, splayed her fingers and wiggled them. She repeated the process with her other hand. Satisfied, she scrunched the bandages together and threw them in her backpack. She then took out a pair of gauntlets. They were made of hard leather and layered with with scaled armor made of dull iron. The scales looked too sharp to be simple ornaments or to be wholly meant for protection. But closer inspection revealed they'd been used before; little scratches marred the dull metal, and some scales had nicks on their edges. Sierra fixed them onto her arms and went through the same flexing process again.

Sierra hooked her hover board onto her pack- something she didn't want to stop and do during their journey through the sewers- and shouldered it back on. Once she settled, she finished off her jerky. Sierra looked up when JD appeared and waved. "Hey Spiky. Sorry about earlier, hope nothing's broken."