ғ ᴇ ᴀ ʀ ʟ ᴇ s s - ᴀ ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ 「ɪɴ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ」

[Valor]

A Roleplay by Valor
Co-GM(s): @ERode @Click This

---

0 7 0 0
B L A C K S I T E - Z E R O T H I R T Y
​

The room was dark, sewage water at ankle level as small traces of light pierced into the room above. At the end of the room, several shadowy figures moved in the darkness, distorted outlines which a more superstitious person could have mistaken for ghosts. Slowly, the figures emerged from their otherworldly form, revealing themselves in the small pockets of light that glowed amidst the darkness.

"This is Crusader team to Godfather. We've located the archival node. Minimal resistance encountered. Proceeding with mission."

The figures were none other than the elite, Ronin Special Warfare Extraction Group, a unit tasked with raiding classified BLACKSITES left behind by the Ecclesians to gather information on the ORACLE Project. With their weapons carefully covering each exit, the team quickly moved to secure their objective - the archival node. FOXTROT pushed upwards, quickly scanning the object for explosive devices before flashing a signal behind him.

"Glitch!"

From the shadows emerged another of their team, a younger NOAH with a special affinity for technology. Able to hack into the archival nodes at record speed, the young boy had become an important tool for the team. The NOAH made his way to the control circuit, quickly plugging his personal datapad into the system.

"Two minutes and we're out."

"Make it one minute, kid."

"These are very complex computer systems, sir. Very old, very redundant."

"Yeah? Now you've got thirty seconds."

As the boy continued to fiddle with his personal device, a young woman with violet hair emerged from the shadows. Seemingly out of place among the special warfare operators, her gaze turned towards the men around her.

"There's something wrong with this... this facility was poorly guarded." She remarked softly.

FOXTROT turned towards ECHO, his rifle still pointed off into the distance. "Think it's a trap?"

"I... I'm not sure. I just have... wait... someone's coming..."

The operators turned their attention down the hall, where the sound of boots clattering against concrete reverberated through the tunnel. "Not picking anything up on thermals, FOX." One of the operators whispered from the other side of the room. Although each of them were equipped with thermal night vision that they had acquired from the enemy, FOX had an incredibly bad feeling about this.

Suddenly, a shot reverberated through the tunnel, a pink streak of light glancing inches past FOX and crashing against one of the men behind him. Painting the floor red in the man's blood, the soldiers took no hesitation in firing down the corridor.

"This is Crusader team, we're engaged! Contact unknown! Crusader seven is do-"

Another streak of light pierced the man's skull, shorting his message. Where the fuck was it all coming from? FOX and the rest of the operators held down their triggers, unleashing a torrent of automatic fire down the hallway. As the team opened fire on the unknown contact, FOX watched as the situation around him quickly devolved into shit.

"You finished, kid?!" FOX growled, ignoring the constant chatter from command to provide them a sitrep.

"Just a moment... okay, we're good. We're good! I've got it on this-" The boy held up a portable data device, reaching out towards FOX. As FOX took the device into his hand, another glance of light crashed against the young boy, dropping the lifeless NOAH into the sewage beneath him.

"Shit! Get down, ECHO!" FOX pushed the violet-haired woman to the ground, watching as his team was quickly thinned out one by one.

As she hit the ground, she clenched her hands into fists, "I... I don't understand! They shouldn't be able to see us! You should be invisible!" She cried, placing her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the violence around her.

"This is FOXTROT, mission is fucked! I repeat, mission is ABSOLUTELY fucked!"

It wasn't long until the entire team had been killed, the bodies of nearly a dozen elite operators scattered among the sewage, their blood painting the murky water a crimson red. "Get out of here!" FOX shouted as he fired his rifle helplessly in the direction of the incoming fire. He knew that it was time to die with the rest of his team. Instead of fleeing, however, ECHO suddenly jumped up and threw herself atop him.

ECHO's blood stained his combat shirt as the couple fell into the murky water, the woman's arms still wrapped around him. Stunned, FOX grabbed the girl, trying to press his hand into the massive wound that had formed on her chest. It was no use, there was simply too much blood to stop the bleeding now.

"No! NO! Why?! WHY?!" Tears formed in the wells of his eyes. Why wouldn't she save herself?

"You're going to be alright! It's... it's not that bad!" He cried, knowing full well that she was going to die soon.

With what little life she had left, a small smile creased across the young woman's lips. "I'm sorry..." She cooed, placing her palm on Ziegler's face one last time. "It was fun, my FOX." A tear rolled down her cheek as she shut her eyes, the once energetic young girl coming to pass from the world of the living.

Cradling ECHO in his arms, Jonathan rose to his knees. "So this is it, huh?" He smiled, closing his eyes as he felt the iron barrel press against the back of his head.

They had become F E A R L E S S.
​

---

1 4 0 0
A F T E R L I F E
​

The room was busy, with dozens of figures enjoying drinks at the bar. One would certainly have difficulty seeing past the facade of the busy tavern. The room slowly began to die down as the young bartender stepped away from the bar, turning the dangling sign on the front door to the "CLOSED" side before bolting the door shut. As the room fell silent, each of the figures in the room stared at one another, before turning their attention back to the bartender.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice." The woman began, "The name's Jill, but you'll refer to me as STINGRAY." Navigating herself back behind the bar, she turned her attention to the men and women that were dispersed in the room. "I trust everyone has had time to read their folders? Good. You've been called here for a special operation, one that is of the utmost importance."

She tapped her fingers on the counter top, hoping that she had not served too many drinks to her new team. "You've been hand selected by myself. This mission will be incredibly dangerous. Anybody who is not willing to place their life on the line should walk out now." She paused for a moment, watching as no figures moved from their seats.

"Good. I suppose you are all FEARLESS." She noted before continuing. "I'll leave it to your commander to explain the details, then:"

Stepping from behind was a well-dressed man in a neatly fitted military uniform, "Commodore Gillian, Resistance Commander, code-name GODFATHER. Now listen up kids, I only want to explain this once."

"We'll be splitting up into four teams. König will lead first squad, Konstantin will lead second squad, with Hamilton on third and Magna on fourth. The objective is to secure a high-value target. Code named - PACKAGE"

The Commodore then opened his manila folder, turning to the first page which had a map of the area of operation. Waiting for the people in the room to open their own folders, he made sure everyone was following along.

"Second squad will move first at 1700, securing a five story parking structure on Citadel Square. Liikanen, AURATTA, Stafford and Konstantin will take a dozen RONIN to set up an on site command post. This building was selected because it provides an overwatch position for you to provide support fire from. The building will allow you to cover each objective from 600 meters away. You will need to plan out an escape route as response forces will probably hit your position first and hardest."

"First squad will move to the adjacent street and enjoy a cup of coffee at the cafe across the road. Once second squad reports in, they will assault the nearby compound where the target is held and search for our lost PACKAGE. König, Staudinger, Victoria and Lionheart will take another six RONIN to secure our PACKAGE. We expect minimal resistance on the way in. Getting out will be the hard part." The Commodore paused for a moment, "Oh yeah, they might have electronic lock systems. Take Yo-Yo boy with you in case you need help."

"Third squad is Aresia, Whyte, Hamilton and Mendox. You will be infiltrating a nearby compound across from the parking structure and securing an IMPERATOR-CLASS Armored Personnel Carrier. The compound is heavily guarded, so you will need to use infiltration tactics in order to sneak your way in. Don't get your asses stuck in a prolonged firefight, we need you in and out ASAP. Once you have secured the APC, you will either drive to support second squad, or move to pickup first squad if they are already outside and ready."

"Fourth squad is Magna and Tia, you're covering our escape route. As soon as the APC is in motion, you are to protect it at all costs as it moves between objectives. Tia will lead the APC to our garage safehouse on the West side of the city, while Magna will ensure the enemy loses sight of the objective."

The Commodore crossed his arms behind his back, allowing all of this information to sink in for a moment. "This is the largest operation we've ever performed. It will get messy, I assure you. Once the PACKAGE has been secured, you will be responsible for securing your own escapes. We cannot provide safe houses for everyone, so it will be up to many of you to find ways in order to disappear. Is that understood?"

"Good. Now, I will leave the exact details of how you complete your objectives to your team leaders. I would take a moment to get acquainted, but I want everyone moving ASAP. Dismissed and God speed, everyone."​

---

​

 

[Mook-LandStrider]

Rabbit seated directly in her lap she kept her hands on its leggs so it couldn't get up on the table and it soon learned to keep itself firmly planted in its location. Glancing around Victoria exhaled eyes shutting she took direct control over the rabbit causing it to twitch several times before its eyes began to glow a blue much akin to Victoria's own eyes. The rabbit leaned forward and unlike its normal twitchy movements seemed as elegant as Victoria herself. Its stubby paws tried to grab the folder before Victoria herself opened it. Eyes scanning over it as their leader spoke she lowered the folder to look around the room before raising it back up in front of the rabbit.

Feet moving constantly it was obvious she was anxious. Anxiety came naturally to the girl... or perhaps unnaturally, she had never found out. Either way she tried to control her tapping but soon fell out of touch with it as she became full ingrained in what was being told to them. Coming to the point of coffee and a cafe the girl looked up and opened her own eyes. She felt everyone around but, once more closed them not believe they would get to enjoy a treat before they went in. Maybe it would calm her nerves to drink several cups of pure caffeine... or maybe it would make it worse.

Listening to the rest of the briefing her mind soon fell on how to escape if things truly fell into pieces. She wasn't worried about getting out but hiding following the events. Thinking over where she had been living for years she thought of a suitable location. But, it was... a little disgusting. Clenching her fist a tinge of fear sparked through her system making the rabbit twitch with the surge of emotional input. Taking back control after a short relaxation period she used the creature to look around at those she was to be sent with. The Veteran, The Shady Veteran... The Electronic Guru and... him. Gazing over at the most enigmatic of the group Victoria's gaze seemed to pierce him but her facial features showed no ill intent. In fact, they seemed almost welcoming... or maybe even a tinge scared.

It was no secret the girl detested violence. Having been spurred into things more than once she found that acting with others was one way for her to be sure she could keep up. She had the two veterans leading the team she was with as well as two of her brothers. Relief washed over her knowing she had something to fall back on if her powers decided to backfire on her. Taking a long minute following their dismissal she seemed to sit clutching the rabbit she had in her lap to the point where even the rabbit was getting uncomfortable. Struggling to get free the blue glow from its eyes was gone but, Victoria didn't let go for another minute. Popping free Victoria sighed and stood up. There was no room for sentimental feelings or fear at this point. She was here for a reason.

Despite all this soon she was surrounded by every rabbit that had come into reality recently. Looking around and feeling all the eyes on her she felt for once uncomfortable among them all. "Stop staring." She mumbled out before all their heads spun un-naturally around 180* to face outward. "Find someone to help. There is a lot to do before hand. Don't just stand there... Please." She asked them kindly. The rabbits all clapped their hands together at once before laughing and dispersing in a flurry of motion. Seeking out individuals which could use help they didn't seem to be causing issues at all and were helping move different objects around.​

 

[Bismarck]

Andre sat with his mug in front of him, sipping throughout the entire evening. He drank very lightly, watching everything pass by. He knew what was going on, and he'd fallen into his usual jovial state. He wanted to raise morale as high as he could for his dear men and women.Song and joke left his lips freely, mostly old folk songs of heroes that many had never heard of. Tales of great heroes that never existed, and jokes of everything that was relevant to lives of the many people all around him. And yet the tall, brute of a man never cleared more than a mug of his stiff drink. There was no point to get drunk, or even slightly buzzed before the start of an important mission.​

Soon the bolt was thrown, and the door locked. Slowly the tall man reached for his pistol, he always had a small level of discomfort when the door was shut. He didn't like being caged in, so it put him on edge. However as he finished looking over his folder, he simply adjusted his uniform. It was an aged set of Cleric Camouflage, however the markings were changed out to FEARLESS symbols. The pattern was very much city oriented, focusing mostly on grays, blacks, and a hint of white. It was almost the equal to a black version of Multi-cam, and to match the set he wore a dark black beret. His old face smirking a bit as he looked at who he was put in charge of that day. He could very much enjoy working with them all, so he held no complaints.

Soon though he was standing up and at attention, his own arm raising to a salute as Godfather began the briefing. However the old man took his seat shortly after, settling in to hear each and every instruction. The mention of sitting a coffee shop almost bringing a hint of anger, before he was told it would only be a short stop, before kicking his way into to secure the package. Oh how glorious it would be to be on the team securing the package! Front line action was his favorite, and it always gave him an excuse to browse the armory for weapons more suited for mass slaughter, than his personal shotgun. So he was quite happy as the briefing finished, and he was set about to gather his squad.

"Victoria, Ji Yun, Arata, and Angsar meet me in the armory. We'll get our equipment, and a few long coats to hide under." As Andre finished his statement, he walked toward the room in the back of the Afterlife, that housed many of the weapons the group had come to use over the years. In passing he slipped Angsar a pack of a cigarettes, the man's personal favorite brand, with a small wink. He hated the other veteran, however he also had to work with him, and everyday tried to give a hint of a friendship. Along with the back of cigarettes, was a single .45acp bullet. For Andre, he always took a single round from the magazine in his pistol, and gave it to a team member. Not because they could use it, but because it symbolized trust. That single bullet could mean life or death for him, and so could the assistance of his teammates. So he left it as a sign of goodwill, and good intention, his sign of trust.

Entering the armory, Andre began to sort through the weapons, pulling out a few briefcases, and slipping on his own personal black trench coat, he kept in a locker within the room. He was almost like a quartermaster, he was always in here fixing weaponry, so he kept a locker for himself here as well. Laying out the five brief cases, he only told his squad they could bring weapons that fit inside the briefcase, or could be safely hidden under their trench coats.

His own large frame, picked out a very nice AK-74M, with a folding stock, since most every model had one. Pressing the release, he folded the hinge in, and hung it by the sling over his shoulder, letting it slip under his arm in the trench coat. He began to grab several magazines for the rifle, all thirty rounds, and each one finding a place on a set of pouches on the side and rear of his belt. He had taken at least ten magazines, 300 rounds ready for use. Along with a few flash bangs, and a pair of grenades. It was the absolute limit of his belt, so he didn't try to push it, he couldn't risk the extra weight. Andre also rigged up some room for pouches under his jacket to hold some more ammunition, it was a set of suspenders with more ammo pouches on it. The old man managed to fit an additional set of two 100 round magazines for when things became really hectic.

The final step of course was to fill his briefcase. He was a walking juggernaut under his jacket, however he couldn't bring armor. So instead, he set his combat vest in the brief case, and it held even more ammo. The front having ten more magazine pouches, which were filled with thirty round magazines for his wonderful AK-74m. Along with that were more grenades, a set of tools, his combat knife, and his pistol. He relied on his single firearm completely, however he did pick up an MG3, and wrapped several 200 round belts of ammunition over the body, and barrel. Looking at the rabbits, he set it down, "Carry this to team two, tell them to have it waiting for me when I exit the building, or to send it in with a few of your rabbits if we get pinned down."

Soon after Andre began to fill up Victoria's suitcase, picking out another weapon. This time he settled on another weapon, giving a smirk, he took a grenade launcher, an old M79 Thumper, and broke it apart into two halves. The man shoved a large belt of grenades over the weapon. The weapon would suit his purposes well, after all if they were going to encounter such heavy resistance, he would need the massive power of a 40mm grenade launcher to help suppress large groups of clerics, and it was known as a highly accurate weapon. Along with the grenade launcher, the tall man grabbed a suppressor for his weapon, screwing the massive item to the barrel of his AK-74m, some stealth was always nice, even if it only helped to make it a little harder to locate him. Besides, he knew it would help appease old Angsar.

 

[★Under The Stars★]

Auratta was most certainly one of the most excited to be accepted into this mission. She definitely knew it was a mission from the manila folder. She didn't look inside too much, but from her small peek inside of it, it was full of information regarding a particular area of the city. Schematics for buildings, distance measurements, as well as expected areas where objects of interest were to be held. Auratta turned on her Elegance, only to Tame, to get a read of the street as they held their meeting. Someone walking in or listening in on their meeting would do them no good.

Auratta listened intently as Godfather explained the entirety of their situation. All the while, she was quietly watching the street out of the corner of her eye. So much as a person who seemed too suspicious and she would tip off the whole room that someone was watching them. Since she had the ability to see objects outside of her field of vision, she developed a complex that other people could have the possibility to use the same ability. She, as said before, followed the Commander's explanation to a T. She was to team up with other support soldiers and run their impromptu command post for the mission. The Commander also let that team know that they'd probably be hit the first and hit the hardest.

A challenge, is it? Looks like I'll be put in a trusted position with some other experienced soldiers. There's a good chance we won't be able to support the other teams if they respond as quickly as we seem to think they might. Looks like Team 3 might need to be part of our escape route. However, that isn't up to me. I'll have to ask Team 3 and the leader of my team if that would be the best course of action. Auratta took a breath. We may have to play it by ear despite.

As the Commander exited, Auratta saluted until he told them that they were dismissed. Auratta quickly moved toward Katherine Konstantin, code-name Empress, with manila folder in hand. She opened the folder and began to inspect the documents provided to them with more scrutiny. She turned off her Elegance by this point, since she did not seem to suspect anyone of watching their location currently. "Hello everyone. I'm sure everyone is aware of who each of us is, but as a formality, I am Auratta, code-name Ire. I believe the securing of the complex will be the easiest part of our job, but the exit will be difficult. I believe addressing that first is of utmost importance." Everyone seems to be moving to get their things together at a quick pace. We move out in 3 hours, but it seems the Commander wants us ready as soon as humanly possible.​

 

[Rax Rosetta]

What was likely unsurprising was the cigarrette smoke drifting from a corner table, where an old hand, figuratively mind you, sat and reviewed what had gone through his head as he read the manilla dossier prior to the proper briefing here. Large scale operation, securing a package, he was part of the proper infiltration and front line operations team. Building schematics, not much detail on the PACKAGE, typical cloak and dagger. Well, barring if a certain someone was put onto his team and, if said person was, he'd pretty much be knowing for certain that they would be going loud. Mostly because the man had no sense of subtlety. Useful for when things went loud, and not a moment before. Unlike some jokers and jovial types, he was keeping to his corner, surprisingly not drinking for once. They were getting ready for a job, he wasn't going to be drunk for a job. Afterwords? Fair game, doubly so since he would have likely had to put up with folks he didn't want to during said job.

Sure enough, after the bar was emptied of non exclusive patrons, to say it subtly, and the bolt thrown, some people got uneasy. Ansgar was not one of them, since if they seriously wanted to kill the lot of them,. there were better ways to do it than lock the entirety of them in one room. He'd been in more cramped spots before, hiding out for dear life, anyways, so this hardly bothered him at all. Sure enough, Ms. STINGRAY as she preferred waltzed out from behind the bar, a rare treat indeed, before giving her brief bit on making sure everyone here was indeed FEARLESS. Joke or not, hardy har har. Not out loud, mind you, but a mental sort of thing. Of course that wouldn't be all that was going on, oh no, one of their glorious higher ups had to waltz in and appeared to be the one giving the brief properly. What a rare treat indeed, and he took a long drag on his coffin nail and listened.

That damn glory boy was leading his squad, which meant infiltration was going to boil down to kick the door in and start shooting the place up and working towards the objective. Great, there went the likely main reason he was part of that team, at all, all due to some thick headed ex-cleric that didn't know subtlety if it slapped him across the face. Bring a combat heavy set of arrows then, he mentally noted, as the man continued on their objectives. Get in, alongside six other RONIN present, grab this PACKAGE, and get it to the APC. APC implied it was either large enough to require such a thing, or was a person of such high value that it would require such an overt method of transport to get to its point of holding. Which meant a hornets nest of Clerics would be all over the place. Perfect, he hadn't gotten to slot some Clerics in far too long, lately its been stealth and recon missions, with the odd assassination when the opportunity arised. This would be a good change of pace, even with Glory Boy at the helm...

With the briefing done, Ansgar was on his feet, stubbing out his smoke and making his way for the armory, grabbing his coat and not forgetting the pack of smokes that Andre tried to slip him. The man knew his brand, it wasn't a secret, but it didn't change how the two felt about each other. If they weren't focused on a job, they were often at each others throats if they had to interact outside of work. Mostly because of Ansgar, really, he gave the man no slack at all. Yet glory boy went and kept passing him smokes, like it would magically smooth things over after so many years of it not smoothing things over. Saved him the time and effort to lift smokes from run down shops, at least. The .45 round that Andre left, well, he was tempted to throw it into a bin, but he begrudgingly pocketed the thing. It might be necessary and, as tempting as it would be to leave Andre to die after going one short in a magazine, the powers that be would be livid with him if they figured it out.

Ansgar knew damn well what the round meant, as far as Andre was concerned, and as he entered the armory, pulling his long coat on, he glanced at the man as he was arming out. Unsurprisingly, he was packing an assault rifle this time. Damn guns, too loud and too noisy for his tastes or purposes. But he did make a very notable gesture. "Oi, Sergeant." The man would have a chance to see Ansgar before he threw the .45 round back towards the man who had left it at his table. It was a game, at times, the ex Cleric would keep making attempts at offering olive branches and such, and the street rat would burn them without delay. "Be careful where you leave your toys laying around, might get lost or worse." Ansgar grabbed a metal suitcase, only one, it was all he needed, before going over to his gear locker. He had the lock replaced after Andre took over since he flat out refused to let the man touch his kit, ever, and was willing and able to spend the time maintaining his own gear when needed.

First, the compound bow. He smirked as he pulled a few key points and folded it into a third of its size, more then able to fit into the suitcase, alongside a quiver of arrows. The quiver was designed to not just lose arrows when tumbling and such, and it would take an actual, intentional tug to pull one free. Not enough to slow him down, but enough to not lose arrows. The quiver held twenty arrows, alongside one rack clipped to the bow, making twenty five arrows total. Twenty of those were split between broadheads for unarmored, and the modernized bodkins for body armor. The last five? Two explosive, two incendiary, and one of his personal favorites. Those, upon impact, released razor wire that uncoiled rapidly, from the pressure of being stuffed into a pressurized tube, and effectively turned a target's insides into paste. Gruesome, cruel, and a miserable way to die. Needless to say, he saved that one for special targets.

Next into the suitcase was his blade, not the blade mind you, he had that on him at all times. No, this one was a collapsible mono blade, single edged, designed for compact carrying and effective use. Ansgar had to admit, the thing made him happy. It had more reach than the balisong but, unlike it, was less nimble. It was not a knife though, so it was a fair trade off. He'd gone and carved up quite a few Clerics and Ecclesians with the thing, so he knew what it was capable of. Seeing the amount of firepower being packed, however, he had to consider if he ran out of arrows. Rolling his eyes, he closed the suitcase. He didn't like using firearms and, sure, while he was passable with them, it was nothing compared to most Ronin. So he didn't bother wasting the space, instead sitting back and lighting a smoke, much to the annoyance of Andre no doubt, while waiting for the rest of them to be ready. He glanced at one of the rabbits as it hopped by, and rolled his eyes, ignoring it. He had no need for the thing, so he wasn't going to waste his time with it.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Erja Liikanen - Team 2

Erja keeping to herself during the bulk of the early gathering had only had some water to drink, suspicious of this many people being gathered at once. Having looked over the information folders, the sniper had learned a few things extra than she knew before. Noting the absence of Fox team, she ponders inquiring about it, but is quickly derailed once Stingray brought in the commander. Eye's narrowing into thin slits it was hard to tell if it was curiosity or if she were looking down on the rest.

As the Commodore goes on with his briefing, Erja recalls the names on her team. The doc, the NOAH sniper, and the trap master. While the sniper had a few opinions, she was not the team leader, and unless she seen a major fuck up, they would stay that way. What sort of Commander Katherine "Empress" would be was beyond Erja's knowledge. After all a few more soldiers would soon fall, that was reward enough.

Half tempted to ask what this package was, she knew better than to actually do so, if Team 1 couldn't get the Package out then there was no way Team 2 would be able to. Team 3 would have a bit of a Dicey situation and 4 could end up in trouble.

Returning her mind to the situation at hand, the fact they were being given 12 men was telling enough.. The Parking deck would be a citadel..or a graveyard.. More of the situation, and how the building was laid out would decide where she would perch and snipe, that and her orders of course.

Grunting in a form of greeting, she approaches Auratta and Katherine. Upon the formers suggestion, she can't help but crack a grin from beneath the blackened steel, she didn't much trust what amounted to fresh recruits giving combat pointers, she seen enough Cleric's killed by following such. "Who said taking it would be the problem..? Why do you think we were given more men than the attack team? That parking deck will be pounded hard once the Clerics come to storm.. And they'll come once me or you start picking them off for the other teams.." With narrowed eye slits, the next part elicits a shrug in response. As far as she was concerned she believed the parking decks primary purpose would be as a temporary fortress.

"We may have to split up, and if we are under siege how we escape could be left to the wind... Sewers and Alleys might prove more useful depending on how it looks. We'll also need to cover the Bullet Magnet, Team one gets to ride in luxury likely, we are meant to be first in, last out. Worry about how we get out when we see what the area is like, then always have two or three more routes.." While she thought it, she didn't bother adding;

With the importance being placed on the package we all likely aren't expected to come back alive. And that Bullet Magnet can only hold so many people..While her words seemed to ooze hostility, the tone was rather calm, if not tinged with a hint of tiredness.

Turning her gaze to Katherine Erja studies the woman for a brief instant before tilting her head side to side. "Erja Liikanen. White Death the Ecclesian's call me. What are your orders... Ma'am?"

As if taking a pause to consider protocol, Erja would follow the instructions given to herself... well unless she felt they were in blunder, such as taking the Roof of the parking deck to offer fire from, rather than the 3rd and 4th where the shadows would conceal her movement. Overall she rarely worked with a team and was far more used to being an Assassin, in terms of tactical knowledge she had a bit but ultimately teamwork eluded her, and unless Kathrine asked for opinions, Erja planned to watch out for herself, and if it came to it, Karin, given her importance to the cause.. As to the rest.. "Hehe" Fingering her PTRS rifle strap, her SVD resting comfortably upon her back, with an earie silence Erja waits to see what would come next.

 

[ERode]

He didn't like anything at all about this mission, but as always, there was never an option to say 'no', was there? Out of all the people within the AFTERLIFE, only Arata's resolve was lacking, only his determination was wavering, and if he was the only individual here who stood up to back out of the death sentence that laid within a manila folder, he'd no doubt be hated by every other person in the room.

They were calm, after all, already at peace with themselves and the fact that they could be in pieces in within the next four hours. Had they noticed it yet? That, for a highly important mission that required the best of the best, certain 'legendary' figures within FEARLESS were missing. Arata's inkstone eyes flickered from one face to another, never fully catching their eyes. Echo, the NOAH who was a walking cloaking system, was not there. Foxtrot, one of the top RONINs within the rebellion, was not there. Valkyrie, someone who was literally Arata except better in every way, was not there.

Was it because this mission was so dangerous that they had to pick the best of the expendables? Or was it because this mission was so dangerous that the best of the best had already failed? Or was it because this mission was so dangerous that it even gave those people pause? Were the individuals here just planning on signing a suicide pact for the glory of the rebellion?

In the back of the room, the young boy chewed on his thumbnail, a thousand different futures flashing in his mind. How many people were going to die? How many people was he going to kill? Should he just run? Those same eyes flickered onto Backdrop, as impeccable as always. Was this going to be the day she betrayed them? It was the perfect opportunity, wasn't it? A highly dangerous mission could easily mask a backstab or twenty…but she wasn't in the same team as him, if nothing else.

Should he warn the third team about it? Arata's right foot began to tap anxiously.

No, if he was wrong, he'd be the untrustworthy one. And would they even heed the words of a mere NOAH like himself, when everyone KNEW he was a paranoid wreck on the inside? Useless useless useless. That same foot began to grind against the wooden floor of the pub. Others were making preparations to leave now, arming themselves, finishing their last meals, wishing each other luck, imagining their escape routes, and here he still was, sitting there, hesitating like a waste of oxygen.

He let out a deep breath, before downing the last bits of his long-cold hot chocolate. He should get moving, before anyone not-

She had noticed. Blind as she was, those uncanny blue eyes of hers locked onto his the moment he lifted up his face, and Arata suddenly felt a chill rush down his spine. Instinctively, his hand reached out to the ether, prepared to grasp at something that shouldn't exist, but he stopped himself in time. Why was the White Wych looking at him? Why was she looking through him? Did she see his weakness? His doubts? Was she trying to deceive him with that gaze of hers? His heart pounded. Why was she LOOKING at him?!

But his own terrified stare elicited no answer from her, not that he expected it to begin with. She wasn't a mind reader, after all, just a NOAH that could summon colossal titans of steel that wielded weaponry from another timeline.

Kill her before she can summon them then.

The booming voice of Sarge broke that tense exchange though, Arata relieved that he had a reason to look away. Following the muscled man into the armory, he listened blankly to the veteran's instructions, before quarantining himself to an unoccupied corner. There was no reason for him to bring a weapon, no reason for him to bring a suitcase, no reason for him to wear a trench coat. But he did regardless, pulling a long beige coat over his thin body, before tossing some small gun and some clips of ammo into a metal suitcase. It was meaningless, really. He didn't even have the skills necessary to shoot a gun and hit something.

Sarge was their leader though, and everyone knew what leaders did to disobedient soldiers.

So he packed the bare minimum of useless trash, did his best to ignore the presence of those eerie rabbit freaks, and wished he could melt into the wall or become a potted plant.

There were three hours to go, and Arata already felt like vomiting.

 

[Tsu]

Ji Yun stood in a corner of the bar--his head gently bobbing to the beat of the EDM music flowing from the headset wrapped around his head. He was in somewhat of a foul mood having been summoned from his room, and the incessant chattering which trickled alongside his music did little to help his overall temperament. With a flick of his finger, he spun the volume control to max and let his focus drift into the realm of his imagination. Perhaps in his younger years, he might have remained cognitive of his surroundings, but with an archive of data for each resistance member, he had little reason to doubt anyone's alliances...at least for today.

Inevitably, the social commotion died down at the commencement of the meeting, but even then, Ji Yun remained unfocused towards the briefing. He didn't need STRINGRAY or GODFATHER to tell him the current plan since local information was rarely withheld from his data mine. Truthfully, he was slightly irked with his team assignment. Not only was he tasked alongside of Staudinger and Victoria, but he also failed to understand the purpose behind employing his power against electronic locks.
Literally any hacker in our organization can undo a lock just as effectively as I.
As the thought crossed his mind, his mood only seemed to worsen to which a heavy sigh escaped his lips in response. Nonetheless, he quickly shook his head in an attempt to clear his muddled mind. There was no point in getting upset so early in the mission. There was nothing he could do to change the assignment, and there was no point in endangering his comrades out of personal misery.
If this is what the highers truly want, then I suppose...At least Andre is lead.

Working alongside of Staudinger and Victoria was going to be a challenge in its own right, but a solid leadership would at least provide them with a foundation for success. If anything, the largest, potential detriment to their team was the lack of prior interaction between himself and the others. Only Andre was somewhat aware of his elegance's hefty con, and he wasn't sure he trusted his vulnerable body in the hands of the others. Another sigh escaped his lips, but this time he didn't have time to ponder grief as an order to mobilize was subsequently announced. Ji Yun watched as each member of his team departed towards the armory; however, it wasn't until they were a sizable distance forward that he finally pushed himself off of the wall and began lazily trailing in follow.

Again, he soon himself propped against a wall as he watched his comrades and their personal antics. Unlike for Andre, there was nothing in this room that he required for himself. The cloak on his back, the servers on his waist, and the yo-yos stored within their compartments were more than enough to be successful in the mission. If anything, equipping him with weapons from the armoury was more likely to endanger the success of the mission rather than prove beneficial to their goal.

The first member of the team to catch his hidden eye was the diminutive teen who huddled in the corner parallel to his wall. The NOAH's anxiety was almost palpable, and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to trigger such a degenerative state of being. If his information was correct, Arata was gifted with a capable elegance that he prayed wasn't wasted on an absolute coward. Of course, it didn't help to see the child immediately pale as if he were on the verge on vomiting.
Christ, why do we employee such fragile personalities for our cause.
Ji Yun couldn't resist the negative thought from crossing his mind, but rather than willingly fall victim to its poison, he chose to address the problem with some half-assed advice.

"We are all capable allies in FEARLESS. If you have lost hope before we have even begun...Well, I don't need to tell you what I presume you already know."

Truthfully, Ji Yun cared less whether or not his advice was truly helpful. If the NOAH was incapable of developing a backbone, then he was destined to perish as a casualty of war. The missions were already difficult enough to survive--they didn't need obvious dead-weight to increase the struggle.
Speaking of dead weight though...
Ji Yun's attention immediately turned towards a collection of bunnies that were huddled around a metal case. For once, there was a decent number spawned into the world, but this in of itself was a factor to trigger worry. Ji Yun drifted his eyes over to their source who, for now, seemed to be of sound body and mind.
Who knows how long that might last...

If Arata were to be a coward and Victoria were to become unstable, then all that was left, combat wise, was Andre and Staudinger....humans. He meant no offense in perusing such a thought, but the truth was nonetheless laid before him. His elegance was useless in combat, and were they to lose the other two, then the team was effectively three humans with fancy weapons. Gradually, Ji Yun began to slide down the wall until he inevitably collapsed onto the ground with a sudden sense of anxiety.

"You know...on second thought...I think I might join you in your pity party."

Threes hours to go...
It was gonna be a long day...Too long...

 

[Izurich]

A few levels underneath AFTERLIFE's main cafe, accessible only by a single unassuming elevator set up to look like just another section of the wall, was a subterranean tech-lab set up for one of FEARLESS' key cyber-security personnel. Holographic projections were all over the medium-sized room, made rather cramped by the various mainframes, personal computers, cables, and miscellaneous objects around. There was an office chair, a single bed, and a plastic table among the machinery. Said chair was occupied by one Katherine Konstantin, a SERAPHIM of the FEARLESS.

The petite teenager was typing away, working on a project, a cup of warm black coffee was set up within easy reach of her right arm. Emerald irises reflected the myriad of codes displayed on the holo-screen in front of her. "This version should be harder to trace... but not quite ready for deployment yet." Usually, she'd ask for Ji-Yun to stream the files, see any imperfections, but the Netrunner wasn't available at the moment. Oh... a notification from Stingray. A field mission, huh? Going as far as to make her a squad leader, this was most probably important. Well, it looked like a briefing would be underway in a few minutes.

Karin stretched, stood up, then picked up her coffee mug. She turned, making her way towards the lab's only entrance. As she did, crimson red lights shone from the dim corners of the room. One by one, three canine-shaped drones joined her, obediently accompanying their master. One on each of her sides and one flanking her. Unlike real dogs, they didn't pant and instead, the movement of gears and mechanical joints signaled their presence.
---
Some time later, the lab-coated girl sat on a stool among the other FEARLESS personnel, her mechanical canine trio sitting on their behinds a few feet away from here. She listened to Stingray's little welcoming speech. Her green eyes blinked once as the pink-haired woman concluded herself with a pun.

Karin took a sip from her coffee, then put the cup down as Godfather clearly wanted their full attention, especially since she was one of the squad coordinators. "Four teams, I see..." She examined the assigned leaders. "Sarge, probably assault squad. Miss Hamilton, infiltration. Magna, extraction." She analyzed their likely roles before the folders were opened and briefing continued.

Her predictions weren't far off as she carefully read over the folder's contents. The map, the teams' roles, and members of each team. For the 2nd squad, her team, her main mission was providing fire support. "Clerics and Paladins will come for us after they figure out where we are." So that's why they were assigned with the most RONINs. The biggest challenge wasn't getting in, but escaping.

Largest operation... yeah, because even the best members of FEARLESS went FUBAR. She was quite disturbed at this development when she found out through the FEARLESS network that they were either KIA or MIA. What was in that 'PACKAGE' anyway? Was it really worth it sending so many resources? It better be as she didn't prefer to waste unnecessary manpower on a wild goose chase.
---
Alright, time to mingle with her squad... the high-value members first, then the rest, she didn't want to speak to fifteen people at the same time, the chance of misinformation was unacceptable. The short girl gestured over for Auratta, Erja, and Ade to gather with her around a table, her folder laid on the wooden surface. "Yes, we do." She addressed Auratta's introduction, "We'll be addressing each other through our code-names during the mission, as usual."

"You are correct, Erja," Karin nodded, "Our challenge lies in the exit, not the entrance. The covering fire task itself is most likely satisfactory factoring your skills and experience." She put her hand near her chin, "When exiting, we will not fight our way through level by level, escape through jumping off the ledge is preferable. As such, prepare your grappling hooks. Then, locate the nearest manhole to escape into the sewers as first priority. If not possible, the alleys. Those are our only two viable options without improvising."

"Alright, I will split our team into four sub-squads." She opened up her portable computer, a holographic display projected above the table then she began typing away."Coordinator, Empress. Squad Alpha will be composed of eight riflemen. Squad Beta, a pair of field medics. I will address these members later. For now, listen carefully, yes, that means you too, Ade." The green-eyed girl gave a rather annoyed look at the masked figure. "You will be the leader of Squad Gamma, composed of yourself and two saboteurs. You are in charge by virtue of your skill and talents. You are responsible to strategically place traps and hazards on each level of the parking lot. Don't give disappointing results."

"Last one is Squad Delta, the sniper team." She turned towards Erja and Auretta, "You are the marksman, Erja, while Auretta, you are the spotter and also backup marksman should situations escalate. I trust you don't mind having a companion, do you? I am aware you prefer to work independently, but considering the importance of this mission and your value in FEARLESS, survival should be one of the top priorities."

The Seraphim tapped a few buttons on her display, "I've sent the squad details to each of your personal devices in case your memory fails you." Karin concluded, "I shall now go address the rest of the team if no questions are asked. Will that be all?"

 

[Astoria]

\\ Juniper Hamilton
\\ Team III

A glint of light bounced off the crystal glass that Juniper held up to her mouth. A small sliver of the golden spirit remained as the raven-haired girl's eyes flicked across the contents of an open folder. It was always imperative to get the details correct off of anything she read, and by the time she had set the nearly finished drink down, she'd read the mission briefing three times over. Swiveling the amber liquid, she contemplated fetching another before she unceremoniously downed it and set the glass aside. After all, Juniper wasn't too enthusiastic about today's mission and the grand scale it was to be conducted with.

The mission itself, she had no issue with. While she normally found her duty in pure intelligence work, with FEARLESS always short of trained professionals, Juniper had no issue taking on field duties as well. After all, she intended to finish out a career on the ground, had circumstances not seen her elsewhere. No; it was the liability on the other side of the bar, just past the jolly old Andre that she had found herself relating with more than ever.

The former intelligence officer had been picked to lead a team to infiltrate the compound adjacent to the mission target. The task called for stealth and discretion, and by all means, two of three out of her team of three were a veritable boon to have as subordinates. Whyte, the greenest member of the team, seemed to have an uncanny talent for the job, and Mendox, while being a tad off-putting engendered the very role of a spy. But the third simply made the red-eyed seraphim shake her head in frustration.

Aresia, simply put, was more fit in the core assault team. Loud, uncontrollable, and stupendously cocky, Juniper counted her among the more unreliable of the NOAH under their organization. Being shunted into the role of an discrete infiltrator, the composition was tricky at best. Juniper would normally have raised an objection, but the time for that had long passed.

She couldn't help but to wonder if their mission was jeopardized from the beginning.

With how unpredictable the Chaos Witch was in a sneaky environment, Juniper would actually have preferred just Whyte and Mendox in a three man team. A fresh cigarette fidgeted nervously in the hands of the otherwise composed girl. Catching herself, she returned the smoke to the pocket of her navy blue windbreaker that she wore over her vest and shirt, straightening the jacket as she did so. There was no sense in getting tilted, she would soon have a team to lead.

The briefing proper began soon after. Being a mission of larger import, it was little surprise that commander Gillian was conducting the briefing. While keenly aware of her own mission tasks, glancing over the assembled taskforce, she realized the assembled amounted to more or less the B-team of their organization. Juniper wasn't the only one who knew what happened, but for anybody with a keen eye, the absence of certain key players in the operation stuck out like a sore thumb regardless. Among the other members of the FEARLESS intelligence community, the news of the botched mission from earlier in the day had been spreading like wildfire. ECHO and FOXTROT were amongst those missing. Closely acquainted with them, it would be terrible if they didn't survive. She let out a brief sigh. There wasn't any sense in over analyzing it now. If they didn't turn up later, then she'd be worried enough to actually look into it.

As the briefing finished, the raven-haired girl stood up, gathering the manila folder's contents back into a neat pile. Meeting Andre's eyes for a moment, she gave him a wry smile and a nod before calling out to her own team members, her eyes scanning through the crowd to find the faces of her ragtag four man team.

"Alright, Rubel, Nomine, and… Aresia, we're going to have a little chat in the armory. Get your stuff together and meet me there in five minutes. After that you're free to chill, kit up, or have a smoke, but be back here by 1700 hours."

Juniper really needed another drink. Too bad she needed to be sober too.

 

[Jakers]

​

The notice had been short. Too short, almost. But, despite the fact she was draped in some spotty pajamas, Tia had made it here on time.

Her body was slouched over the bar, a puckered mouth gripping a straw that was connected to a multicolored drink, the cheery NOAH, despite being a little grouchy that she had to cancel Mixuki's first daily polishing session to get here on time, looked especially excitable and bouncy today. It'd been a while since she'd had a big mission outside of deliveries, looking for survivors on the field of war, or minor-scale sabotage missions. But what was more exciting was the fact that she was sitting alongside some of the most iconic - and powerful - members within FEARLESS.

'...Boy oh boy. Now here's a lineup of people,' Tia thought idly, a relaxed smile across her lips as she drew circles on the bar counter with little pools of spilled whiskey. 'whoever assembled this team really, really wanted to ruin the govs' day. I just feel sorry for the poor buggers that have to control this crazy lineup; some of these people are, 'unstable', to say the least. Looks like it could either be a total success, or an absolute flop...'

Looking up and snapping to a more attentive pose as the Commander entered the room, Tia listened intently as he gave them the brief. As her name was mentioned and her role was given to her, Tia beamed. Escorting the APC was something she was more than capable of with good ol' Mixuki. It was pretty much the perfect job for her.

"Hehe, caaan do~." Tia replied in a singsong voice, giving a pleasured sigh as slurped down a non-alcoholic cocktail with multiple straws. Usually she'd be grouchy at the fact she couldn't have something alcoholic due to mission-related reasons, but Jill sure knew how to whip up something tasty, alcoholic or not. Getting up to her feet, she offered a salute to the Commander as he began to finish the brief. Only lowering her salute when dismissed, Tia had a little look around. hands in the pockets of her pajama bottoms.

It was certainly a questionable collection of some of the most iconic members within FEARLESS. Good ol' Sarge was already armed to the teeth, getting straight into the position of command he deserved, with Ansgar trying to getting on his nerves as usual. Arata already looked like he was about to piss his pants, mostly thanks to the shenanigans of Vic's little demon rabbits. Those things truly were little bastards, but Tia put up with their existence only for Victoria's sake. Karin was being infuriatingly intelligent as always, and that was just the half of what was going on.

Flicking back the mousy blond ponytail that was trailing down her side, Tia looked to her short and only team member in this mission. She was fine with being under people's command, but she was especially fine with taking this dude's orders. Of all the NOAHs, from what she'd heard, he was one she personally trusted the very most. His calm presence was appreciated within a room of quite wild individuals.

"Well, just the two of us, huh? I can get behind that. I dunno if you know me outside of an occasional bit of small talk, but I've definitely heard a lot about you and that nanopaste. Nifty stuff," Tia extended an open palm in front of her, "the names's Tia if you didn't know already; pleasure to be working under your orders~! Start with a high-five?" Tia offered, wiggling her palm in front of Magna. Whether he accepted this offer or crushed her hopes and dreams, either way, Tia waved an arm in Juniper's direction to grab her attention once she was finished briefing her team of misfits.

"Oh, Juniper? Mind if me and the young'un squad up with you as well for a bit? We'll basically be going to the same area when we get to work, only we'll be waiting outside for your call. I just, uh..." Tia gestured to her rather embarrassing pajamas, laughing a little, "just need a sec to get out of these. When we get to the armory, I wanna know where you want us to be positioned, exactly when to reveal ourselves; all of that jazz, because I need to get the missus ready for the occasion. Sound good?"

 

[Skyswimsky]

An... infiltration mission? What? The Chaos Witch was clearly confused. As if it wasn't enough she was teamed up with a bunch of weak humans it was also for a task that went against her own nature itself. Just... what did those higher-ups think? Were they drunk? No. For such an apparent important mission they surely had their reasons to do so.

Aresia annoyingly clicked her tongue as she let the facts slowly sicker in that got revealed in their meeting. This was bad. Really, really bad. If not for the fact that she generally felt fucking awesome right now the Chaos Witch was pretty sure she needed to hurt someone... or something. Like those annoying bunnies.

Still, the red-eye couldn't do much but accept it. "Screw it..." She murmured to herself. That she had to take commands from a snobby bitch like Juniper wasn't even the problem. No, what kept bugging her was the mere fact of being all sneaky. Clearly, she needed some good meditation before their mission started. For now, however, the NOAH simply went to the Armory just as her 'boss' instructed.

 

[Astros]

"You look like you could use another drink." Came a voice from a dining table. The voice had a casual air as if it were any other Saturday at AFTERLIFE. It's owner was a man dressed in black and who was a stranger if not for his tone and matching green eyes. He chuckled after said remark and was looking in Juniper's direction. His face, resting in the palm of his left hand was marked with black strands of hair that stuck to it as if dipped in tar. He adorned a soft smile as he added "Likely need to polish off a bottle or two when the dust settles."

______________________________________________________________________________​

Only listening loosely to the briefing, Rubel had followed along solely to show his attention. Casually flipping over the pages and photographs, they had already been processed and filed away into his long-term memory. Left to lazily scan the room, the meeting ended no sooner than it had started and he remained seated while the others left for the armory. Having prepared in advance, he was geared and alert from a days rest. His regular fatigues noticeably missing aside from a short waterproof cloak draped over his torso.

The topic of his mind was the package and assaulting the compound. Wondering at the contents and how the infiltration team would manage with the Chaos Witch, his thoughts were interrupted by one of Victoria's knitted rabbits. Waddling over to him it gave a quizzical stare before he motioned it toward his lap. Hopping up he pet the abominable creature, making its ears tilt forward with each motion.

Button eyes focusing on his hand like a cat, the rabbit traced its every motion until it ceased and the gaze returned to its owner. Given a smile it seemed to understand and took a seat. Scanning the room it looked down to the black metal suitcase near Rubel's feet before shifting focus to Juniper at the sound of his voice.

 

[Villamvihar]

As usual, Ade Stafford had appeared without warning or much fanfare, seemingly slipping out of the shadows just a couple of minutes before the meeting started. By that time, the more ordinary patrons of Afterlife had left the premises, but it did not prevent several FEARLESS members from jumping in their seats or eyeing Ade suspiciously as the masked indiviual appeared out of nowhere in their peripheral vision. They were only slightly relieved when they found out that it was one of their own, with most throwing suspicious glance after suspicious glance at Ade. But they did not care. As far as the unrowdy chemist was concerned, this price was more than worth the anonymity along with the benefits that their suit provided. There was no worrying about most environmental hazards or chemical weapons with it on.

At least people had the decency to leave the masked person alone. Ade honestly appreciated that, because they were not in the mood for pre-mission shenanigans at the moment. A part of them would have rather abandoned this operation. It had much too high stakes for them, which meant that it would likely not afford them the freedom they were used to and craved. Seriously, was it too difficult to grant them the ability to tie their own shoes without supervision? ODIN was so much better about that. Order only meant that New Ecclesia could pinpoint flaws in the system and use it to crush every member of the resistance. Fortunately for Ade, the briefing started soon enough, leaving them no time to ponder how they could loosen the shackles which would be inevitably tied around their ankles.

It was probably for the best. Every damn moment of the briefing only served to make their feet even colder, talking about high importance, four teams, covering fire... All the bullshit precision work that Ade was not suited for at all. They honestly considered just raising their hand when they were asked if they were afraid, but the part of them which knew they would not be able to do this alone held them back. Then that part was completely defeated when it was announced that Konstantin would be leading the squad they were to be a part of, which might as well have been a form of betrayal. Did Ade really have to be assigned to the anti-fun creepy little girl who could not take a joke? Seriously, those shoes were old anyways and the stilts would have suited her just fine. There was no need to get upset and get a safe for her shoes that could only be opened with two tons of military explosives!

Ade had to work to restrain themselves to behave at least passably as they walked towards the group, maintining a passable body language while making rude faces underneath their mask and occasionally muttering a silent curse. They really were not looking forward to working with Konstantin; pale little bugger had a stick so far up her arse about efficiency and numbers that it was a surprise she was not being used as a flagpole. Auratta also gave them the creeps with that blank stare of hers and it was a small mercy that Erja would probably not disturb Ade during the mission. They were a little unnerving as well, because fuck, why did Ade have to be the one who got assigned to the team of emotionless automata? They were like the bloody, no-good loading bots at the warehouses, or even worse, a traffic light! No soul, no sense, just doing shit always according to regulations and red tape, the hell was that like?

Pouring their anxiety into an endless stream of silent insults towards their team-mates that no one heard, Ade took a deep breath and joined the conversation when they felt most of their bad mood disippate.

"Ade Stafford. Faceless. The one who'll blow the entire building up if necessary." Their voice was clear and easy to understand, but the gas mask distorted it to such an extent that it was difficult to tell if it was masculine or feminine. They introduce themselves like Aratta had requested, then listened to the arguements. So silly. Why were they worrying about escape? Then of course, the little cyberdevil of a girl had to step in and had to subtly reprimand Ade despite them having done nothing that would have warrented such an action. And this time, they could not resist a jovial insult.

"What, Santa not bring you any gifts this christmas?" Ade let a small pause settle over the group so what they said would sink into everyone's brains. "Just give me a floor plan, two hours and those two saboteurs. I'll make sure everyone who gives chase ends up being charred sawdust." Oh yes. Ade got some rather interesting and dangerous results in their experiments last week. It was as good of a time as any to give it a try, mix it up with some of the old stuff that worked and turn it into a New Ecclesia murder machine. Now if only they could come up with a way to set it up so that it did not melt the assets of FEARLESS, that would be optimal.

 

[Valor]

1 7 0 0
A F T E R L I F E

The room was tense as the assembled group of Resistance fighters were left to plan, equip and prepare themselves for the inevitable engagement that was soon to ensue. By the looks of things, it became quickly apparent to the Commodore that the group they had brought together could be described as rag tag at best. He noticed many of the key members' dissatisfaction with the mission, understanding that this was not how they normally ran combat operations. Lacking a proper leadership system, it was clear that many of the figures in the room were more than dissatisfied with the delegation of command roles among the group.

While these little signs of doubt spelled out disaster before the operation had even begun, the Commodore had his hands tied. The PACKAGE had information that could potentially change the entire power balance of the war... and time was not something the Resistance had on their side. Command needed the PACKAGE, as it had the possibility of saving countless lives in the future. It was simply a risk that needed to be undertaken.

As the clock struck 1700 hours, the Commodore watched as the squads slowly left the tavern, some using the back entrance and others dispersing themselves at random times as to avoid drawing too much attention to the establishment. Although morale seemed to be incredibly low, the mission was now officially underway. As soon as everyone had left the building, the AFTERLIFE quickly prepared itself to act as a command center for the forces, setting up radio communications equipment, radars and drawing up maps to visualize the situation that would unfold before them. All of the Resistance was watching... and if a plan like this were to fail, it may spell doom for FEARLESS' ability to operate as a cohesive unit in the future.

The plan had to succeed.

"This is GODFATHER to all units. We will be advising and controlling communications throughout the mission. Team leaders should report in prior to executing important movements."

After a brief delay, a second voice would appear over the radio.

"This is STINGRAY, please be advised we have several units on standby in the event of an emergency. We cannot effectively deploy these units unless we are kept updated on the situation."

-----

First Squad would deploy to the north, where many middle class citizens of Valhalla roamed the streets - unaware of the danger that was soon to come. The denizens of the city merely roamed past the trench-coat clad Resistance members without much of a second thought, though if they had seen what weapons some of them packed underneath, they may have been thrown into a mass hysteria.

Running through the area was a large, two way street consisting of multiple lanes of traffic. At 1700 hours, this area was heavily congested by traffic, the rush hour time may constrain movement of the Armored Personnel Carrier if things got hairy. Changing the point of extraction may prove to be a bad idea as well at this point of the operation.

To the left of the road, was a small coffee shop, a quaint little place that did not seem to attract many customers. It's large, open windows would give a good view across the street, allowing them to see the traffic patterns, crosswalk and of course, their objective.

Their objective was a small military complex, one that looked hardly any different from the dozens of military complexes scattered across the city. A sturdy chain link fence that surrounded its borders, along with nearly a dozen armed CLERICs patrolling in clear view of the window. There were many methods of access - either go in guns blazing, or attempt to sneak in using alternative means. While only a dozen guards were patrolling the exterior, it wouldn't be a surprise to find many more inside.

----

On Citadel Square, things were beginning to quickly heat up. Although the RONIN and the rest of the team had weapons concealed in metal briefcases, the inability to effectively hide a .50 caliber Anti-Material Rifle by Auratta and Liikanen proved to immediately cause issues in the stealth department. As they approached the five story parking complex, alarmed citizens immediately began to disperse from the area, some dialing for emergency response teams immediately.

The five story parking complex was a perfect position to fortify from. The roads around the building creating large, open killzones for the defenders to fire down at. With only one entrance on the south side of the building, it would be difficult for the attackers to get in with a well-prepared defensive plan. The many open holes of a parking structure along with an easily accessible rooftop would allow snipers to fire from a large number of positions, their angle completely unrestricted and each of the objective buildings in clear view from their position.

The parking structure was guarded by nothing more than two security guards, who were already abandoning their position after calling emergency response numbers. Sirens could be heard wailing in the distance.

----

Third Squad's objective was the CLERIC Special Operations Base, a highly defended establishment that appeared the most well defended of all of the objectives. Two dozen armed guards patrolled a set of chain link fences topped by barbed wire, and it seemed like it would be extremely difficult to force themselves inside. Past the fences and barbed wire, one could see into the parking lot, where a large number of armored vehicles were parked, including a TEMPLAR Class Main Battle Tank.

In the event of an emergency, it seemed like these vehicles would cause a huge problem for the rest of the squads, and the TEMPLAR Tank was the only vehicle in the immediate area that could destroy one of the Armored Personnel Carriers.

As the squad made their approach, the guards at the front turned their attention to a red, armored truck that appeared at the entrance to the building. Without much difficulty, the armored truck which ferried supplies to and from military bases was allowed into the building.

Across the street, another red armored truck sat in open view, with two, uniformed security guards hunched over and attempting to replace a flat tire.

----

"This is GODFATHER to Fourth Squad, be advised that Second Squad has already triggered local response forces. Either assist third squad in retrieving the APC, or help Second Squad establish their position. I leave it up to you."

Once third squad had successfully retrieved the APC, they would need somebody with knowledge of the city roads to lead them in the correct direction. Either Tia with her ability to effectively navigate down streets or Magna with his ability to see his surroundings from his mech would certainly be useful.​

 

[Mook-LandStrider]

Following closely within the middle of her group Victoria ran her hand through her hair more times than she could count. She was obviously disabled or looked anxious. Either way, she looked disabled. Getting to the Cafe she found and seat and immediately her feet began to tap but was instantly silenced when a person dropped a menu in front of her. She looked down at where she heard it land but didn't even bother looking at it. Pulling on her sweat shirt she didn't even try to read it or... attempt to make it seem like she could read. "Uhm... House Special with a Baguette please." She answered softly. Her voice almost ethereal and causing a light mist to escape her mouth.

Wrapped up in her own mind she was feel anxious to say the least. Fear swept over her but she kept herself contained and in her own mind the best she could. The only signs of her feelings for the situation where the precise and rhythmic tapping of song after song. When her food finally arrived she managed to arrange it in a pattern that made it possible for her to actually eat it without the assistance of the rabbits. Hand cupping a small creature began to form before it walked forward and up Victoria's arm. Quickly climbing her shoulder and nestling itself between the crook of her breasts she closed her eyes and could see at least decently enough from her tiny construct.

Not caring how her team mates viewed her situation she didn't even give them a glance as she missed her face the first time when trying to eat the baguette. If the government was watching, Victoria was looking more disabled by the minute. Finally the second attempt touched down and she bit off a piece of the baguette before putting it down. Figuring out the distance in her head every move following seemed precise and following the same pattern. Drinking her Tea slowly she leaned back letting her white hair cascade back over the chair. "There sounds to be a vast amount of traffic. It would be wise to suggest that our resident director gets up close to one of the signs and changes the traffic patterns when things get rough. It may prove... enjoyable, profitable and maybe even alittle funny." Victoria chided out before returning to her silence. Going back to eating she relished in the first food she had eaten in days. Anxiety drove her to eat and... it isn't like she could eat much anyway.

"I shall leave the ideas to the rest of you. My inability to see makes it hard for me to really give you rational ideas on how to do this. The best I could say is that perhaps it would be wise to find a way inside through enjoyable means. The louder the entrance the faster they shall scream wolf. I mean, I enjoy parties and all but this is one surprise I would rather give our little boy when he is ready. He may cease up early and die on us from fright. He is a frail little boy." Victoria continued on. Looking over at the other two Noah's Victoria managed a smile "What gifts did you bring for the party?" She asked keeping in tune with her banter.​

 

[Jakers]

Laying low for now, Tia kept undercover within the confines of an abandoned alleyway, not too far away from Team 3's position. Here was a good place for her to keep in contact whilst she waited to escort the APC. Going along to help Team 3 would just compromise their whole objective, as she certainly didn't do things quiet, and she needed to make sure she was here and ready to move. Her motorcycle helmet under one arm, Tia by now had kitted up with her usual weaponry and body armour. Mixuki, as usual, was waiting in the garage to be 'summoned'.

Still, sitting around like this was certainly making her itchy for some action. Lighting a smoke and wincing in disgust as she breathed in the fumes, Tia was quick to listen in on her orders from 'GODFATHER'. Smiling slightly as she heard his orders, Tia was relieved she'd be able go and give someone a hand whilst she waited to escort the APC. Any time she could improve a mission's success, even if slightly, was time of the most valuable kind to her.

"Copy that," Tia relayed as GODFATHER finished his orders. Tossing away her cigarette and stomping it into the floor, Tia looked across to Magna, or communicated to him via radio depending on if he'd followed her position or not, "Magna, you hearing sirens in the distance? Second squad's probably already setting up. I've got time to give them a hand with holding that place down." Tia informed. Whether Magna wanted to come with or not was up to him, as they seemed pretty free to help where they'd be the most useful whilst waiting.

Tia switched her communications to team two. Hopefully she could get in contact with Karin; she always seemed to know what to do, and wouldn't hesitate to tell Tia if her idea was kind of bad.
"This is Tia to second squad. Hearing sirens big time over there," Tia began, holding the radio to her mouth, "if you're getting swarmed, I can back you up with a 'strafing run' on your command, just tell me which angle to hit em' from. Flanking them like that should distract them and buy you some time. Over."

As she waited for a response, Tia looked at the jet-black motorcycle helmet between her two hands for a moment, before slipping the the reinforced helm over her head, the black visor obscuring her face completely, her mousy blond ponytail sticking out from underneath it. Looking behind her to confirm nobody aside from Magna was near this location, clicking a finger with a gloved hand, Tia whispered the command:
"Mixuki. To me."

Out of thin air, her shining onyx steed materialized in front of her at her master's command. Polished to perfection. Sleek and beautiful, yet armoured and battle-hardy. Fixed with bulletproof tires and heavy armour plating particularly around the fuel tank, the true speed of the Blackbird Ultra was comprimised, but it barely mattered. The thing could still gallop across the tarmac lands like a bullet, and Tia couldn't ask for a better ride. Stroking the nose of the motorcycle as if it were a horse, the Blackbird stood in proud silence at the affection of her owner.

"Easy, girl. You'll get to stretch those legs soon," Tia softly cooed. Releasing it, she communicated with Magna once more, "I don't know how fast that exosuit of yours can move, but if you want to come with me to give Team Two a hand as well, you're welcome to hitch a ride. I can drop you off where you're comfortable hitting the govs' from swiftly and pick you up if you need it," Tia gave an invisible wink under the deep black visor of the helmet. "Consider it an honour~."

 

[Bismarck]

Andre stood taking his order, smiling, putting up his usual fake act when he was out and about, "Oh what a pleasure to meet you! Yes, yes, I finally got cleared to move out of my old district. My new job location is much closer now. And the home, lovely, my daughter will surely appreciate it." He explained to the cashier who was asking him about his rather heavy looking briefcases. To make things worse he had to point out his daughter, luckily he managed to catch Victoria as she actually managed to get her food into her mouth. A few compliments were said, but nothing out of the ordinary as Andre had his coffee sent to the table with Victoria, since his hands were too full to carry it.

Approaching his seat, he sat down, and let his two briefcases rest. He needed to calculate things. Only a dozen guards, give or take, but surely the compound had more inside. However his chances at stealth were low. Victoria happened to be blind, Lionheart while small was too nervous, Angsar and Ji Yun seemed the only bet they had. Even worse though Ji Yun had very little combat experience, and his Elegance left him incapacitated until he was able to come out of it all. So Andre knew he was best to get ready for combat. Slowly he tapped his fingers on the table as he drank. Mentally thinking over every single move he was going to make.

He needed first to stage something to empty out the cafe, without alerting Clerics. He didn't want innocents injured during the ensuing crossfire. Secondly he needed a way to shut down computer systems that could send out massive alerts from the base, thankfully he had Ji Yun to stop all of the damn computers, so no one would ever know beyond the inside of that base, what was going on. And finally, he just had to breach the front gate.

With his plan laid out so easily, Andre smiled, and stood up. Coming over his small radio, he reported into command, "I will be clearing the cafe, as Netrunner disables the network of the stronghold. Once all innocents are clear, I will take the base by storm." Andre reported in to his commanders. However he soon relayed the information of his rather odd sounding plan to his teammates spread throughout the cafe. Making sure to do it quickly, but just slow enough to make it look like he was simply striking up random conversations with people around him. No reason to give up his disguise just yet.

"Victoria, I want you to stay close to Ji Yun the whole time. You'll both be behind myself, Arata, and Angsar. Ji Yun, I'm going to approach the counter, and make a bomb threat. Once I do the staff will push the rest of the patrons out, as they'll say they are closing up. During this time I need you to get into the network, and knock out as many important systems as possible in that Cleric Stronghold." Pausing, Andre took another sip of his coffee. He stood up with a sigh, looking over the next part of his plan, as he looked up at the counter. "Ji Yun, go to the bathroom. Lionheart while all this commotion is going on, I need you to play the valiant knight, and protect our blind princess. Angsar, you'll need to help me up front, and keep the staff in line, just verbal threats, and the occasional physical motion. While I change into my combat outfit."

Andre finished speaking, and stood up from the table, "Mission starts now, hustle." The tall man remarked, as he picked up his two briefcases, and approached the counter. He called over the cashier, and smiled brightly at her, not wanting to cause alarm. He leaned in, wanting to ask her something private. However the giant of a man whispered into her ear, "I have a bomb set to explode with the touch of a button on my palm. You will not say a word, or scream, or I'll kill us all, and all the men and women in this cafe, even the children. You're going to inform the other staff, and with them you will close the cafe up, only letting myself, and those few stay." Andre explained, pointing out his squad members. Gesturing for Angsar to come up. He wouldn't start changing until the cafe was cleared, which it seemed was going to be rather quickly, with the threat of a bomb on site, being enough motivation for the staff members to clear the place out. As that finished up, Andre opened his first brief case, and shed his massive trench coat. Quickly he adjusted his set up, and put on his plate carrier. The two drum magazines that were on his torso before, were refastened to his vest, instead of his suspenders. A 30 round magazine found itself loaded into the AK-74, and the bolt racked back to chamber the first round.

"Not a damn word, I hear even a siren, I'll detonate it." Andre reminded, as he pulled out his other briefcase. Draping the grenade belt over his shoulder, he smirked a bit, as he put together the two halves of his M79 Thumper. Finally he reported into command, "Once Ji Yun finishes his hacking, the mission will be ready to go. The door will swing open rather easy today. Expect little resistance, they'll be black, and Tango Uniform within 10 minutes at most." With that out of the way, Andre loaded a HE 40mm shell into the launcher, and sighted it in quickly, to be able to fire from across the street into the compound door. It was a guess at best, but he doubted he'd miss. And even if he did, the explosion would still likely break the door open if it was within a few feet.

"Spider, Mac, Tux, Fire, Goblin, and Escha, just be ready to follow my lead. Once that gate goes down, we're storming in. If it looks like a Cleric, it needs to be killed. Mac, watch the Rocket Launcher will you. I don't want that fired indoors." Andre remarked, giving the last of his team their orders. Their only job was to support Andre and the rest of the FEARLESS. Mostly protect Jin Yu, and Victoria, to the two weakest of the squad. "Lionheart, once we reach the gate, I want you up front with myself, and Angsar. The rest of you, just keep Ji Yun, and Victoria breathing."

 

[Izurich]

"I am 100% sure Santa doesn't exist, Ade." Karin answered plainly as she went over the mission documents again, not even looking at the ambiguously-gendered person. "Very well, I've transferred the structure's blueprints to you and I will relay command of the saboteurs to you after I brief them." The black-haired girl closed her display, "You can prepare your kit for the mission ahead, see you in three hours." then she left to attend to the rest of the team.

Empress huffed, blinking her green irises as they narrowed ever so slightly, recalling the extra notes given to her as a squad leader. "For your eyes only... Team 2 will act as a decoy to take the pressure off the other teams." Relaying this information to the squad would no doubt demoralize them, thus reducing combat performance and efficiency. She was completely on-board with Command to deliberately withhold the information.
---
**A little over 3 hours later**

With the rest of the Squads on the move, Karin, Ade, Erja, Auratta, and the others moved into the five-story parking lot. One way in, one way out, perfect for Ade and her team of saboteurs to set up booby traps. The top deck would serve as an excellent spot for Ade and Auratta to cover all four cardinal directions. As for the bait part... "It should be any moment soon..."

There they had it, the snipers' rifles attracted attention, a deliberate 'screw up', but some of the RONINs became quite restless. "Stay focused, we would be discovered sooner or later anyway. Quickly, head to the building." She increased her pace, her small frame keeping up with the rest of the combat-trained soldiers with the help of her Exo-suit, something she made herself using stolen NEW ECCLESIA tech. As she did, her drones, previously concealed as automated wheeled briefcases, assembled themselves. The pack of mechanines then obediently followed the Empress.

A radio transmission came from NOAH Tia of 2nd Squad, Karin made a mental nod, just as planned. "This is Empress. We heard the sirens, Tia. Affirmative, we will call for back-up when it is necessary. For now, focus on your main task. Over." She then addressed her own team of fifteen people, excluding herself.

"Delta Squad, go to the top deck and set up firing positions, ASAP." She commanded, "Alpha squad, take positions on the fourth floor. Beta Squad, stand by with Alpha Squad and keep us updated on orders from Command." She huffed, then turned towards Ade and her two saboteurs.

"Gamma squad, due to this development, acquire one or two CLERIC hostages before setting up the traps." Karin fiddled with her compact personal computer, "My UAV, Garuda, has located an isolated small patrol of three CLERICS near the vicinity, bring them here, alive. I've relayed to you their locations." She stopped shortly before entering the building, "Go take Achilles and Cyril with you." Two of her drones turned then took positions beside Ade, "I've temporarily authorized your voice into their systems, they should follow your commands, Faceless. Now then, go, time is of the essence."

 

[Rax Rosetta]

​

Ansgar had made his way to the cafe in his own time, having avoided traveling alongside the other people in his squad. It was probably going to go against any of his talents or abilities, really. He was an assassin and an infiltrator, nice ways to put serial killer with a sense of subtle approaches, and he was not going to appreciate the fact that things were going to be loud, noisy, innefficient and generally needlessly complicated. Along the way he ditched the trench coat, since having ALL FOUR of them marching into a cafe with similar coats was beyond idiotic. Besides, he didn't need it to conceal his kit, since other than his mono knife and the hilt of his collapsable sword while he ditched the coat out of sight going into his pocket, all that was left in the suitcase was his bow. And considering how he dressed? Hell, he didn't need it to convince someone he was just some businessman. Sure enough, the rest of his team had not ditched the coats if they had them to begin with yet, and he sat at the table, after exchanging brisk, no nonsense dialogue with the clerk.

She wouldn't have much time to consider his rudeness, written off as some idle backhanded insult from the well dressed man. Sitting with nothing but a coffee, Ansgar said not a word as Andre ran through his plan and how things would go according to him. Again. The man, shockingly, had no sense of subtle movings at all and it was a small miracle the ex cleric even considered the fact that communications would be a problem. Small miracle, that, and as the man finished rattling off his plan, the former street rat rolled his eyes, only visible to the assembled party, and palmed the hilt to his blade. "Fine, you daft son of a bitch. We'll do it your way, since those two are useless for my way, and another solo party wouldn't cut it this time." Shocking, not at all, that Ansgar cared for the plan as much as the Ecclesians likely cared for what was about to kick their door down, shooting and screaming like barbarians. He preferred his personal style of quieter work, more pride to take in it really, watching the target gurgling on their own blood, shocked that their perfect defenses failed them.

When Andre kicked the plan in, Ansgar was on his feet at the motion, a flick of his wrist sending the blade into its full length, a feral grin growing on Razor's face. He wasn't Ansgar anymore, oh no, he was back into his old persona. The one that had stalked the streets, murdering anyone even remotely connected to Clerics or Ecclesia in general. With the same feral grin as he squared off with the staff, after the place was closed down and he was holding down the fort, he spoke in an offhand tone, oddly calm despite the fact of what he was saying. "You know, I haven't gotten to slot some people in awhile, hand gets a bit twitchy without bleeding someone dry, y'know? So, by all means, make a go for something stupid. I hate drawing this without blooding it, its a damn waste really." Of course they wouldn't give him a reason, they were too damn scared for that really. Soon enough Sergeant had come back, kitted out like a one man army. Typical, really, and with him there, he popped his suitcase open, slinging the quiver across his back with his bow, the five specialist arrows loaded on the bow's rack.


"Don't got a bone of subtlety in you, do you? I say we come back later and slot these pricks. They saw us after all." Of course he would want to come back later and kill anyone who had laid eyes on them. Hell, he might do it regardless of how anyone else felt about it. Someone had to clean up after this damn oaf's stomping about and general messiness. However, once the mission kicked off he would properly prepare his bow, meaning actually hold it with an arrow at the ready. Probably one of the ones that was good for punching through armor, was a safer option. Doubly safer than going in without an arrow ready at all, really, that was just dumb. He was fast, but fast enough to draw on someone with a gun? He wouldn't try his luck if he didn't have to. Save that for when this mission inevitably goes to shit.​