RP: Elysia Elysia Novus - Day 5 "Wheatfield"

The suburban area Nathaniel Kygra's team had just entered carried a simple nickname. "The Maze." It wasn't as catchy as "the City," but it was accurate.

Coasting along in the APC, Kygra's team could see the outskirts of the Maze, which was comprised of many small buildings -- none larger than six stories high -- of a stonewashed stucco with a tall, heavy marble wall outside of it. Though the sky was overcast that day, the grass fields on either side of the path to the Maze's gate were as green as any summer day. The fields weren't entirely empty, as a few shepards tended to their snowy white flocks of "sheep," but all things considered, the Maze was very serene.

The APC could barely fit along the main drag of the Maze. It wasn't as if the streets were bustling with people; roads were just narrow and buildings were put close together. There were a few people milling about along the road, and an open-air market was a few hundred meters ahead. But otherwise, nothing -- it was quiet, kind of sleepy even. Blinds and wooden shutters were occasionally open, but usually they were shut.

The Maze was a bedroom community for the main city. However, it wasn't that way by chance or through uncontrolled growth. It was planned that way from the start, and was the last one of its type to be built. Later communities were more advanced, which made the cost of living in the Maze affordable. However, that meant the hours worked by people in the community were not all the same -- some had evening jobs, others worked in the early morning hours. Not everyone was available at once.

The APC glided to a halt about 50 meters from the open air market, which, while not dreary, certainly didn't inspire a desire to shop. "Everyone out," the APC driver said.

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Michael jumped out of the APC, He kept the Atromos Rifle he was carrying close to his body with the stock close up to his cheek and the barrel at a 45 degree angle, so that if anything went wrong he could bring the weapon up and fire it faster.

He looked at the buildings around him, he frowned sightly seeing that no one was out side. It was a great day but the streets were empty. This gave him a sense of unease. He stayed there waiting for the others to get out of the APC, keeping an eye out for anything else that seemed out of the ordinary.

He knew that things could turn from good to bad in seconds so he kept a close eye on everything around him. Looking for any small movements that might give away a hiding Nepleslian or a rioting civilian.

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The few pedestrians wandering around on the streets saw the armed soldier exit the APC, and all instinctively began to slowly move away, not daring to make any sudden movements. Armed troops usually meant trouble, and no one wanted to be around here now that trouble had arrived.

Michael could see a few shoppers in the open-air market, off in the distance. They most likely have not spotted him yet.

A young Elysian peered out from a second story window, and stared at Michael’s rifle. An Elysian Plebian woman, presumably the boy’s mother, quickly pulled him away from the window.

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"Put the rifle down, soldier," the APC's navigator said out the side window. "This ain't the war zone quite yet."

The driver, however, rubbed his hands together nervously. "I hate the shanty towns. Can't trust people here."

"Gotta," the navigator replied, snorting. "We're not here to kill them, after all."

The only movement now on the road came from a pair of men, each with purple bandanas tied around their right arm, walking toward them. They weren't armed, and were dressed in standard Plebian fare otherwise. They didn't talk, though.

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Michael frowned up at the driver. Before speaking.

..."Sir I would take your advice but I think it is unfeasible, we are in territory were enemies could be hiding I would think it would be wise to be ready to return fire if necessary, Im not trying to undermine you or anything but unless you order me to lower my weapon I will keep it at the ready."...

Michael saw the advancing Plebians and was immediately suspicious. Who were they? And why the hell were they wearing purple arm bands. The arm bands didn’t necessarily scream enemy but they were close. He continues to wait for all to exit the APC before moving off to secure the perimeter. Keeping an eye on the Plebians.

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The driver looked at his counterpart, then shrugged. The navigator grasped his helmet, grimacing for a moment, then looked at Michael again.

"What do you think I just gave you, soldier? Put the rifle down." The idea they were in enemy territory made the navigator want to crack his helmet over the soldier's (unhelmeted) skull. This wasn't Yamatai; this was home. There was no sense scaring anyone more than they had to.

The Plebians continued to approach, but a little slower than before.

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Michael looked over to the navigator obviously he had mistaken him for the Driver..

"Yes sir."

Michael lowered the rifle, but it was still at the ready, he didn’t plan on being caught in a fire fight off guard if anything went wrong.

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Meanwhile, in the open air market 50 meters away, a few of the shoppers have spotted the APC. The voices from the tense conversation between Michael and those inside the vehicle had carried far in the quiet streets of the Maze.

The shoppers who noticed the APC did not immediately leave. After all, the vehicle was still a good distance away, and they still needed food for the dining room table. Most however, made mental notes to not head toward that general direction when they leave the market.

Among the shoppers was a young Elysian girl. A Plebian, she wore a simple red dress, and had two small, gray wings on her back. The dress was patched in several places, but clean. Like many Elysians, she had white hair and blue eyes, which allowed her to blend in easily among her peers.

It appeared that the girl was done with her shopping. She carried a basket that was laden with fruits and vegetables. As she turned to leave, she saw the nervous glances from the other shoppers and then spotted the APC. Slowly and discreetly, she reached into a pocket on her dress, and pulled out a small spyglass. Carefully balancing her basket on one arm, she raised the spyglass to her eyes with her free hand, and took a good look at the vehicle, and the armed Elysian soldier standing beside it.

“Hmm,” she commented. She pocketed the spyglass and began walking in the opposite direction, out of the market and away from the APC.

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"Wow... This place is emptier than the barracks..." Evanael commented dryly to himself as he stepped out beside Michael. Unlike his comrade, Evan's gun was hanging by way of a strap from his shoulder, easily in reach, but no so obvious. Evan had wanted to tinker with the scope and see if he could make it a bit more to his liking for pin point shots.

With a soft sigh he lifted his head and looked around, walking up to the front of the APC and scanning the area, looking for a good point to watch from. He'd need height if he were to do any shooting. Like Schuyler, he was a sniper, not a 'blast you all to pieces' person.

"Michael..." He paused and pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it back to Michael, the bright red cloth flashing in the light. "You're on point when we get going, and make sure you wear your shirt," he said, going back to looking for vantage points.

[Yangfan: edited for spelling and grammar.]

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Schuyler too scrambled out of the APC, weapon in a ready position in case this turned out to be more than a humble little town.

He decided that everything was safe enough to sling the weapon, and move to an observation post on the side of the APC.

Schuyler unholstered his side arm, checked that it was in fact armed and ready, checked the sights, and reholstered it. He then checked his rifle, sighting the opposite way of the advancing plebians, looking at a stop sign. Everything was clear as it needed to be.

"True statement." He said as he heard Evanael commenting a couple yards away.

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The men with purple bandannas on their arms had passed the Elysian troopers by without so much as a glance. Shoppers started to be a bit more active after they'd left.

"You guys basically need to make your way to your rendezvous point, which is about a kilometer in the town. Don't blow anything up along the way, and you'll find a contact there, or you're supposed to. So don't fuck it up."

With that, the APC went into reverse and out the other way.

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Nathaniel stepped a few feet away when the APC drove backwards and looked at the passing group. He couldn’t remember a group wearing purple armbands from the time he was still a civilian. Nor did his father ever told him about a group like that. Though seeing the people on the market being more active when they were out of sight he became curious about them. they were most likely, a newly formed grouping. But even then they appeared to be feared by the commonwealth here. If so, wouldn’t that mean his father had been approached by them at some time? But why wasn’t he told about this?

“Okay, Micheal you take point, Evaneal you take the rear. The rest of you will stay at the center and the flanks. You’re not allowed to aim your rifle at a civilian unless fired upon. I don’t want mistakes due to bad trigger discipline. Let this be clear to all of you. And for the record. Don’t go exploring out of yourself you will most likely bump into one of the gangs around here. And they aren’t that friendly against unfamiliar faces, let alone the military.”

With that he checked the Atromos he still carried since he arrived at the base. One thing was certain. A lot of innocent blood would be shed this mission.

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Aetius chose a spot along the side of the column where he could quickly dive for cover, and just as soon return it...if the need arose.

He too had noticed that the men had caused quite a disturbance as they walked through the area. He wondered what it was all about...Mafioso, or just a local gang. One thing was sure, if he never knew, it wouldnt bother him. He had enough problems as it was, without adding any more.

He checked his weapon again, and kept it at a low ready.

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Michael looked over at his commanding officer.

"Um sir not to make you angry but what direction are we going to be heading? If I am to take point it would be more effective If I knew were we were headed.."

He looked at the civilians with the armbands that had already passed not sure of there intent.

"Sir requesting permission to question those two civilians that have the purple arm bands."

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Evan put an hand on Michael's shoulder, "Permission denied soldier," and turned Michael in the right direction. He took the red shirt and made a bandanna of it, tying it around the soldier's neck. "There..." with a cocky grin specifically for Michael, he gave him a push. "Walk in the direction you're facing and we wont have a problem..." With an encouraging nudge and pat to Michael's shoulder, Evanael stalked to the back of the line and set to studying the town.

[Yangfan: edited for spelling and grammar.]

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With the team now marching towards the end of the street Nathaniel looked left and right in order to see if he saw some familiar faces. However the strange thing was that none of the people he knew gave strange signals. Most of them waved a bit when he walked past but none of them actually did something else. He had the feeling something or somebody was watching them. The streets even though crowded didn’t gave them much chance to hide. Your opponent won’t limit itself in destruction caused by their actions! This part of the conversation of his superior officer kept echoing in his head. Could it be that the targets would try to take them out here? He kept quiet and kept an eye out for any suspicious movement both from the people on the side of the street and on other locations.

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== CUT SCENE ==

Scene: Somewhere among the apartment buildings.

The large ID-SOL walked at a leisurely pace, with his green satchel slung casually over one shoulder. He wore sunglasses, a large white T-shirt, and jeans, and looked just like a bored tourist.

The few Elysian Plebeians who passed him kept their heads down and avoided eye contact.

“Ex… excuse me, mister.”

Larry looked down at the young Elysian girl that addressed him. She carried a basket full of foodstuffs, and appeared to be quite out of breath. “You okay, little girl?”

“Yea… yeah. Just let me catch my breath, sir…” The girl paused to take several deep breaths. “Ha… that’s better. I ran that last few blocks… Soldiers are coming.”

The ID-SOL’s face darkened. “How many?”

“I saw one,” answered the girl, patting away some dirt on her red dress. “They had a giant metal car with them. There were probably a few more in there.”

Larry nodded. He retrieved something from one of his pant’s pockets and pressed it into the girl’s open hand. “My thanks.”

The girl looked down at the two gold coins in her hand.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have an Aureas card. Those things are too easy to track,” said Larry.

“This is fine, sir,” replied the girl as she pocketed the gold coins. “I have to get these groceries to my mother now.”

The ID-SOL smiled amicably. “Well, if you find the time to file another report, you’ll be handsomely rewarded.”

“Thank you, sir.” The girl curtsied and walked away.

Larry continued on his original course, now at a brisk walking pace.

== END CUT SCENE ==

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The group continued forward until they had reached the edge of the open air market. The few shoppers who remained eyed the soldiers with some discomfort. The vendors remained calm and stayed put. From looking at them, Nathaniel and his men could tell that the vendors held out some vague hope that the soldiers would buy their wares.

Without approaching them and taking a closer look, it was hard to tell exactly what each vendor was selling.

From his mission briefing, Nathaniel knew that the group had to make their way through the market, continue down the street, and find the cafe where their informant was to meet them.

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Each purple bandana stuck out of the crowd. There were a few of them, but the people they were attached to were ... normal. Nothing about them specifically stuck out.

The informant they were waiting for was dressed unlike anyone else. He had on horribly flashy clothes, long robes of reds and purples and blacks -- most certainly not the kind a typical Plebian would wear. But he was not typical; his two bodyguards merely confirmed that.

The man and his guards sat at the edge of the cafe, which was on the rim of the only wide-open courtyard in the city. It was a circular courtyard, perhaps 200 meters in diameter, with a three-stories tall fountain in the center. The floor of the courtyard was some kind of granite-like stone.

The strange Plebian man was impatient. Where were they?

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Schuyler took some slight cover at the edge of the market as he walked, close to the rest of the file. He was not looking to be caught with his proverbial pants down, should something begin to happen. This may be "friendly" teritory, but they were here for a reason. It sure wasnt a parade.

"Something just doesnt seem right about this whole thing...." He muttered under his breath "Something just doesnt agree with me."

He moved his weapon from a low carry, to a low ready, and checked the ammo counter out of habit.

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== CUT SCENE ==

Larry walked past seemingly endless blocks of apartment buildings. His large, square face carried a worried expression.

All he saw were residential buildings. Only a few stores and clinics here and there broke the monotony. Where were the military targets? Where were the political targets, for that matter? A barracks, a prison, or a police station would be perfect. A courthouse, or a town hall would be okay. Even a fire station would do. Those people knew the risks when they signed up.

Of course, Larry didn't really care about these Elysians, or so he convinced himself. Attacking a defenseless civilian target would simply go against his warrior code. A man had to believe in something, didn't he?

Of course, his employers held no such scruples. Larry was sure that they had scruples, their own code. It was just that they didn't particularly care about the moral implications of bombing civilians. And that was okay with Larry, since he wasn't interested in imposing his beliefs on others. It would've involved too much talking.

Larry stopped for a moment to wipe some sweat off of his brow. The day was heating up. He looked around for a place that might sell beverages. There was no need to panic. Who had heard of a town without a police station? He'd find one eventually.

== END CUT SCENE ==

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Nathaniel and his squad moved further into the maze. At this point he noticed that the further they went the less comfortable he felt. He looked left and right as he felt something or someone was watching every move they made.

If what he thought was true then the Nepleslians had won some loyalty from the local populace. All it took in these regions was a quick mouth and a bit of money to sway the people. Even though the local currency was easy to track the plebeians wouldn’t hesitate to accept foreign money.

As they made the last corner before they would get on the courtyard his hearth raced like crazy. Something wasn’t. “Be on your guard people. Things might get ugly, fast.” He checked the cartridge as quick as he was able to do and slammed it back into place and removed the safety. He knew the others would have to wait for his orders to do that but if one of them misfired he would be blamed for it. “Cross your fingers that Michael isn’t going to shoot civvies.”

Micheal as awful loudmouthed as he was kept his mouth shut for the time being.

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Once in a while, a few Elysians wearing purple bandannas on their arms would walk pass the soldiers. Most other civilians avoided Nathaniel and his men like the plague.

Soon, Nathaniel could see the cafe down the street, and it looked like they were going to make it there without incident. The 1 km walk had been a good warm-up exercise, at least.

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The man in the robes looked up from the brewed tea in his small cup. He looked over toward another Plebian who appeared as plain as the rest, and had on no measure of purple.

He saw Nathaniel and his group. He looked back to the robed man and nodded. A look of relief seemed to collapse the robed Plebian.

He stood and waaaaved to the soldiers, trying to get their attention.

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Evanael caught sight of the man trying to be noticed and lifted his rifle and gently tapped Nathaniel on the shoulder with the barrel of it. Once he'd caught Nathaniel's attention he nodded towards the man who was trying to get their attention.

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The man waved more, grunting as he saw the soldiers look at him stupidly. He expected no less from the Army, but he continued to stand, his robes making him like a real-life waypoint marker.

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Schuyler too looked at the man, but quizzically, not stupidly. He wondered what the man was there for, and why he was trying to get their attention. It was either to guide them into, or away from trouble, but which?

Only time would tell it seemed.

Schuyler knelt down next to a solid looking piece of wood, good enough he hoped for at least one shot worth of cover.

This entire mission had him on his edge, but he wasnt about to let something that hadnt even manifested break him completely.

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== CUT SCENE ==

Larry stopped to examine the building in front of him. He clutched a piece of fruit in his hand. The fruit had a straw stuck in it, from which Larry took an occasional sip.

The large, ornate building was obviously not a residential one. Tall windows revealed brightly lit office space inside. Several armed Elysian Plebeians idled about in front of the building, chatting with each other. Another one stood guard near the entrance. Large, plastic letters hanged over the entrance, but the Latin script meant little to Larry. He recognized the Elysian emblem, though.

Larry, having made up his mind, discarded the husk of the fruit into a trash can nearby. Taking one last look at the armed Elysians to make sure that he wasn’t being followed, Larry walked down the street for another half-block before ducking into a side alley.

== END CUT SCENE ==

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One of the man's bodyguard's approached the group. He led them to the man.

"For heaven's sake," he said when all had arrived outside the waist-high fence lining the cafe's own little chunk of the courtyard. "You'd think I was wearing camoflauge or something. You're the soldiers assigned to find the fugitives, correct?"

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"I know a little bit about what they're doing, and where they've been." The informant put on a crafty smile at this point, deciding to ignore Nathaniel's insulting of his beautiful wardrobe. Why should he have to put up with that from a mere fresh recruit? Because he wasn't military, he knew, but it pained his heart. "And I know a little bit about the Lilla, as well."

Lilla, purple, whatever. He just wanted to see how this arrogant military rat went about the conversation before he gave them information. Let them sweat a little.

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Evanael stepped up behind Nathan, keeping an eye out for anything going on. He was as nervous as hell and he could feel something was going down somewhere in the city. "Nathan..." He murmured, not even half trying to attract the man's attention. He twitched his wings nervously, very much wanting the ability to fly.

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Schuyler too had an odd feeling but couldnt quite place it. He chalked it up to first time jitters, and tried to push it out of his mind and focus on the task at hand. Which for the moment was sit in the same spot, and hope to hell that nothing started shooting at him.

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