RP: Neshaten [Kingdom Fall] - Assignment 1 "Offworlders"

[club24]

RP Date

YE 45

RP Location

Nesha Prime - Kester

Kingdom Fall Territory
Kester Base - Omega

Felonia stood on a small balcony of the third level of Kester Base: Omega, she wasn't permitted any higher in the building for predictably vague reasons so this was the only place she could go to look out over the grounds. Despite the starry night-sky above them the air in the cave was starting to smell musty and the illusion was flickering in her mind, it was a nice touch considering they didn't get to go outside to the surface often, but still had shortcomings with the groups secretive nature.

Still, the red furred laibe was glad the engineer and architect who thought up the idea were given the go-ahead, makes the place feel a little more homely. As Felonia cast her gaze down, following the burning trail of tail-lights leaving the base she noticed the pair she'd been waiting for were on their way and turned to head downstairs to meet them.

----

The day prior, initiates Zoya Ja'lani and Leru DePosk'ya had been retrieved from the Kester FOB in the mountain and told they were being assigned to active status along with a transfer to Kester Base: Omega. A commandeered and slightly modified Growler had been waiting when the pair exited the FOB barracks to drive them across the continent. While the two may have seen each other during training and lessons if they hadn't spoken much before they now had a good several hours together in the back of an armoured vehicle to talk as much or as little as they liked, along with reading a briefing package each of them were handed.

INITIATE ASSIGNMENT BRIEFING
Initiates are to be immediately reassigned to Kester Base: Omega and into the control of;

Member: Felonia Macherati
Rank: Gun
Role: Infiltrator

Full debriefing to be provided on arrival.

Assignment Overview
A POI under surveillance has been flagged for infiltration and information gathering ASAP, this location is believed to house some form of experimental technology and possibly communication technology that can pierce the Shade Field system implemented around Nesha Prime several years ago.

This POI has been given designation Thauriel - 1

Expected light security, no confirmation of Anti-Terror units onsite from surveillance so far, no confirmation of naval presence also.

Death of Royall Loyalists is permitted when tactically feasable.

END OF ASSIGNMENT BRIEFING

----

As the Growler pulls up beside a barracks building the rear doors are pulled open by the smiling face of Felonia who Zoya and Leru would recognise as one of their initiate leaders, Red from 2 years ago at the Kester training FOB.

"Evening, who's up for a little cloak and dagger?"

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

KOB

Felonia was greeted almost immediately by the nearly ballistically propelled wet rag hurtling at her face with all the speed of a particularly irate leaf on the wind; The heavy choleric smell of rubbing alcohol in the air even as it was deftly dodged. Several small, gloved fingers slowly-methodically wrapped around the doorframe as the gaunt and worn face of Zoya Ji'lani peered out with the wide-eyed and penetrating gaze from her baggy and sleep deprived stare that could just about strip paint with prolonged exposure.

"You." The word dripped with the quiet incredulity of the judge before sentencing as the diminutive and frail frame of the prepubescent Daur stood on the skidguard of the vehicle and only took her eyes off of Felonia to peer down as the ground and the dirt it contained as she, almost as if testing the water, gripped the frame of the vehicle and lowered one shining leather boot of her Youth Corps uniform she currently wore as if afraid she would sink into it.

Both feet planted on the ground she cleared her through haughtily and turned her adorable ire back to Felonia.

"Miss Macherati!" She accused with exaggerated finger-pointing. "You have the gall to abandon us for an entire year and pass your responsibilities onto mere initiates?!" Zoya spoke in the royal 'we' as she harumphed at her former dorm manager and supervisor her mother had stashed her away with for a period of time.

"Why did you not write? Why was Misha not brought as well; You know we need her to help us brush our hair, why is this place such-" She droned on in near hysteria, not blinking even once as her eyes grew wider and wider as she began counting on each gloved finger until she ran out.

"You did not so much as seek to congratulate us on our promotion to gun." She reprimanded, Felonia likely aware that no such promotion had taken place and had likely been Zoya self-promoting her inflated importance even as Zoya changed topics continuously. "You can make it up to us by helping Gio with our luggage and helping us brush our hair later."

By the cramped drive on the way and the early stages of puberty, Zoya had become an increasing handful in the year since Felonia last saw the oddity that was Zoya Ji'lani as the diminutive daur began fraying at the hems of her blouse' cut in frustration.

 

[SirSkully]

Giovyn snickered quietly to himself as Zoya did her best impression of a pocket-sized commissar, assaulting poor Felonia with all sorts of cruel and unusual forms of psychological warfare, it was almost enough to make the former tanker forget that this was all taking place in the hidden HQ belonging to a group of violent political extremists - one he was among the ranks of.

"I won't say no to some help," he shot back with a little nod, voice a few octaves deeper than one might expect from the Daur's boyish features and fluffy mop of blonde hair, Giovyn moved to wipe his hands off on the slightly grease-stained workpants he was bearing, suspenders and belt adorned with a few small pouches, black compression shirt hugging the former-tanker's athletic chest and svelte waist.

"Whose bags are whose?" the blonde Daur continued, lightly muscled arms visibly tensing and flexing as the closest bits of loose luggage were retrieved, it now becoming apparent how much shorter Zoya was compared to him. The kit was barking like she was among the tallest of Laibes~

 

[club24]

KF Base: Omega

Felonia couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at seeing one of her old pupils, deftly sidestepping the cleaning rag as Zoya emerged from the prowler, begin to shake her head at the wild claims made by the initiate. The laibe locked eyes with Giovyn as he came into view for a brief moment, sizing him up to see how the new initiate. Since he hadn’t been one of her batches in previous years the woman was trying to get as much info on his person as possible.

”Well, Zoya, to start with, I didn’t abandon you, i was reassigned from training, and clearly you were still strong enough to succeed. Due to location I couldn’t keep in touch, and Misha… I’m not sure where she ended up.”

Felonia gave the smartly dressed daur a brief hair ruffle as she walked over and assisted Giovyn with unpacking the luckage.

”I believe that one is a wonderful little gift to me from the bosses, the other two should be labelled but otherwise just see which one has our dear princess' tiara in it Giovyn." The red-furred laibe tutted casually without seeming to notice the small nuclear explosion known as Zoya beside her getting herself all worked up. "There should be one more coming..." Felonia mused more to herself than the other two before shrugging and turning back to Zoya.

"Now, we both know you're not a Gun rank yet so lets not outgrow those boots before your first assignment hmm? If you don't cause any trouble while we get you settled in then maybe I'll consider helping you brush your hair, sound like a deal?" The laibe stood back up closing the doors of the armoured truck after the ex-tanker hopped out and banging the side several times before the driver restarted the powerful lunebaren reactor and sped off towards the motor-pool. Turning back to the two initiates in front of her their leader picked up her 'secret gift bags' and made for the door, flicking her head at the other two to follow her inside.

----

The dorm room given to the duo was modest if not lacking a little in creature comforts, the barracks were constructed as a main common area with doors along the outside leading to short halls with anywhere from 2 - 6 bedrooms attached for each group of initiates. The common area included a floating kitchen (in the sense it was not up against a wall) area for basic meal prep, several couches around a large display with an attached media terminal and even several games consoles. As well as several tables and chairs sets that could be used in whatever way the initiates saw fit, the pair if attentive could see there were enough chairs to seat a completely full barracks building at one time. This particular barracks was named "Gruy'ena" after the aquatic spider-like creature found on the planet, hunting with speed and stealth and possessing a deadly poison. There were a total of 6 doors leading to the living spaces, 3 either side of the large commons area, Felonia led the two daur over to a door with the number 3 on it and opened it to reveal a short hallway with a door either side and one more at the very end with stairs beside it leading to a further 3 rooms in the same layout below them.

"Well gang, this is where you will be staying, claim whatever room you want they should all be more or less the same-"

Felonia was interrupted by another laibe rushing in at that moment, turning to face him with her head slightly cocked to the side.

"Miss Macherati, your third initiate has just arrived at the gate and is being processed, would you like him sent here or..?" The whitish-grey fur of the newcomer seemed to tense up and flatten slightly, he was sure he'd been told what to do and was preparing for the oncoming storm from the Gun at having to ask again.

Felonia sighed and flashed him a dagger filled look before clicking her tongue. "Yes, please have the driver deliver him to the barracks, then make yourself useful and go run the endurance course with Blue's group until you can beat all of his initiates. I hear there was quite a few ex-navy in that one so I hope you like running." The Red group leader eyed him sideways until the other laibe took the hint and left to go join his punishment, speaking into a radio of the way out the door saying something about sending the last initiate to Gruy'ena.

"Well, now that's done, please get settled while I go welcome our third member, as I said pick any room you like. I'll be back in a tick."

----

Kol'ya had been escorted via commandeered Prowler to the Kester Base like the others, sitting in the back of the armoured vehicle with briefing pack and luggage.

"Alright kid, looks like the boss wants you at the barracks, good luck." The gate guards spoke briefly with the driver, the three daur exchanging laughs before the vehicle was moving once again towards the Gruy'ena barracks.

The driver looked back at the black furred laibe gladiator and sized him up with a chuckle.

"Y'know, you look like you could fight off a whole unit by yourself, which is probably a good thing considering who's group your joining. I hear that Gun is one of the most ruthless, just, don't tell her I said any of this" The shorter orange daur focused on the road as they pulled up beside the barracks.

Felonia stepped outside to greet the newest arrival.

"Evening Kol'ya, glad to have you on-board, head in to room 3 with the others and I'll be back shortly, please let the others know to unpack and be ready in the commons in 20 minutes, I have a short errand to run."

 

[iaincarter]

Kingdom Fall Territory
Nesher Prime
Kester Base - Omega

Kysh'ma'kri Kol'ya was no stranger to that time of tense anticipation that preceded every battle and while entering the training program at the Kester Base might not seem to be such, the laibe knew better. Oh, certainly, on the surface it bore little resemblance to the gory violence of the illegal fighting pits Kol'ya was oh-so acquainted with, but that was only if one took such things at face value. Fortunately, Kol'ya never took things at face value. No, this was to be a different kind of battle, where the former gladiator was not so much trying to cut down an opponent as he was fighting for acceptance and a cause. Somehow though, Kol'ya expected there would be just as much gore and violence as he had enjoyed in the fighting pits.

There had been little conversation with the others inside the Prowler, which honestly suited Kol'ya just fine. He was not a shukaren of many words, preferring instead to let his actions speak for themselves. Besides, it never ceased to amuse the former gladiator how intimidating some people found his silence to be. Supposedly there was something disquieting about a six and a half feet tall slab of scarred muscle that did nothing but silently stare at you with his pitiless yellow eyes. Naturally, Kol'ya had used this to his advantage ever since he had learned of it.

His quiet contemplation came to an end as the driver spoke to the gate guards. With a decisive snort, Kol'ya grabbed a hold of his duffel and stood up, having to bend his body to prevent crushing his ears against the armoured roof of the hover vehicle. Clearly, whoever designed the Prowler had not accounted for the taller amongst the laibe. Which probably meant the designer was one of the more vertically-challenged daur or my'leke. Honestly, Kol'ya wouldn't be surprised if that particular design decision was made as some kind of power move to make the weaker species of the Neshaten feel better about themselves.

"Ruthless is good." He grunted out in response to the driver's commentary, but offered no further explanation. Clearly the daur wouldn't get it. Kol'ya moved to the doors at the rear of the compartment and threw a quick "Thanks for the ride." over his shoulder before punching out of the Prowler and jumping down to the ground. Slinging his duffel over his shoulders, leaving his hands free to defend himself should someone desire to attack, Kol'ya straightened out his belt and loincloth before quickly focused upon the red-furred laibe as he was addressed.

"Gun." The black-furred laibe inclined his head in response and made his way into the building, tensing just in case the Gun's talk of an errand was a rouse to cause the former gladiator to drop his guard as prelude to an attack. When no attack came, Kol'ya chuckled and continued his walk, wondering just how many potential ambushes would pass unrealised before his vigilance would be rewarded.

Room 3

It had proven quite simple to locate the indicated room, the obvious numeral '3' on the door from the common room having been something of a giveaway. He stood just inside the hallway leading to what he presumed were the bedrooms and called out loudly. "Gun Macherati orders us to unpack and be in the commons in nineteen minutes." With the orders thus relayed, the laibe set a fifteen minute alarm on his communicator and began walking towards the stairs. Kol'ya would make the smart choice and pick the room furthest from the entry point. Not only would it mean extra exercise from taking the stairs when going to and from, but it would also give him extra reaction time should someone assault the occupants of Room 3.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Barracks

Still frantically trying to smooth her hair under protest the entire way, Zoya made it clear to Felonia her usual displeasures ranging from everything from chipped paint, to a flickering bulb, to mud tracks and the early signs of black mold.

Also, just as adamantly that she was, in fact, a Gun, and that Felonia would have known that had she been there instead of focussing on 'lesser priorities'.

upon reaching the barracks she was quick to take the first room from the entrance. For no other reason than it would let her know every time a person walked past. Her luggage was dedicated and stacked with the perfect organization she pulled out an unnecessary amount of door chains, latch bolts, and the latches for a slat bar that would be installed later when she accommodated the proper tools to ensure everything was completely level and installed perfectly.

From there she started an immediate circuit of the dorms and its accomodations.

The seats had fur on them.
There was dust on the back of one of the monitors.
The surface cleaner under the sink and island had no disinfectant properties and was just glorified scented water with content.
There was a gap in the caulking under three surfaces.
There were dead flies in the back of a cabinet.
Clear stains where some had audaciously not used coasters.
There were skid marks on the floor.
Nothing had been mopped.
The floor tiles are misaligned, triggering an overwhelming sense of discomfort and unease.
The barracks' entrance sign is slightly crooked,
The doormat is not centered, resulting in an irresistible need to adjust it precisely.
The dorm room numbers are unevenly spaced,
The beds are not made with perfect hospital corners,
Misaligned floor tiles
Crooked entrance signs
Unevenly spaced dorm room numbers.
Closet shelves at different heights,
Hangers not facing the same direction,
Fingerprints on doorknobs,
Crooked posters on the walls,
Uneven lighting fixtures,
Footsteps creating irregular patterns,
Shower tiles with water spots and grime,
Water temperature knobs lacking symmetry,
Non-parallel towel racks,
Soap dispensers of different sizes,
Ventilation grilles with varying patterns and obvious black mold
Desks in the study area not equidistant from each other,
Chairs not pushed in at the same angle,
Trash cans not lined up precisely and with clearly untied drawstrings on the bags,
Groupings of personal belongings not neatly organized inside their rooms
Shoes by the entrance not arranged neatly,
Cutlery in the kitchen not in order and just thrown in a drawer haphazardly,

Zoya had a lot of work to do...

And then- AND THEN! There was another grunt trampling their way into the barracks while dragging and scuffing their feet.

"Do not raise your voice in the dorms!" Zoya raised her voice, clearly agitated by the declaration of a non-even number as an arbitrary time limit as if it was clearly meant to spite her. She had too much of her work cut out for her already and now she needed to add bearing and discipline to her subordinates.

And of course this new one was a Laibe; Always rude and uncouth and never dedicating proper time to personal grooming and just getting their fur everywhere. She would set him straight later. For now, thought. She had to arrange their living arrangements from being such a mess.

 

[club24]

Gruy'ena
The personal dorms within room 3 were clearly a cut and paste job when being designed, nothing too complex or fancy to keep costs low and assembly time fast but not so dreary as to mimic a prison or slum.

Each initate had a bed with a small side-table in one corner, perfectly sized for a communicator, headwear, or other small personal effect. A dimmable reading lamp was included in the headboard, while they had a predisposition to nocturnal living a little extra light always helped illuminate the finer details. There was a tall dresser with accompanying chest of drawers across from the bed with enough space between them to walk the length of the room, while there was a fine layer of dust to Zoya’s horror it was clear the rooms hadn’t been empty for an extensive period. Finally at the far end of the room facing towards the bed and clothing repositories was a writing desk equipped with an infotainment terminal.

Everything was the same shade of grey mixed with brown, except for a small teacup in each room, and no teacup shared a colour with another. Zoya received a red cup, Giovyn was greeted with yellow, and Kol’ya found his white.

——

Felonia had made her way back to the leaders barracks to stow her mystery package and send a brief message off to the Sword rank member currently running the Kester base, the three initiates had all arrived more or less on-time and they should be ready to go on the first assignment in a matter of hours. Before heading back to meet with her team the red furred laibe decided to grab her nicest brush on the way out, she was sure to be in for a scolding otherwise and chuckled to herself on the walk back.

Gruy’ena - Commons

As if a bright red shadow had slipped inside, Felonia made her way silently into the commons of the barracks, avoiding giving away her return to see who was on time. Making her way across the room she found a a chair and moved it infront of the couches, sitting down and facing the rest of the room.

”Alrighty gang, Im going to go over the facilities of this base and outline the ground rules and expectations, you all should have gotten the same preliminary briefing package so we’ll go over that at the end as that assignment will be commencing in a few hours. If anyone has any questions fire away now.”

 

[iaincarter]

Gruy'ena - Dorm 3

Kol'ya snorted to himself at the hypocrite yelling back at him. It wasn't any fur off his pelt if she chose to disregard the Gun's orders and he was neither subordinate or commander amongst this group so it wasn't his place to care what they did. He'd passed the orders on, so his tail was in the clear. The Laibe also paid no attention to the reprimand, although it would be entertaining to see how the unknown individual managed to enforce that declaration. Regardless, it was time to stake out his own room.

Heading down the stairs at the end of the short corridor, Kol'ya crossed the space below to investigate the two rooms furthest from the commons. Knowing that he preferred to sleep on his right side, Kol'ya chose the room on his left as it would allow him to face the door when laying in bed. That way, when someone tried to break down his door in the night, he would be able to react more quickly to the intrusion. Nodding to himself, Kol'ya entered his chosen room, leaving the door open to better hear if one of his new dorm-mates decided to try sneaking up on him.

Noticing that he now had just over thirteen minutes to complete his task, the tall Laibe set about unpacking his meagre possessions. The three spare loincloths went into the chest of drawers along with his back-up belt. His clothes taken care of Kol'ya turned to retrieving his weapons from the duffel, starting with the seta'sis sword that he had taken for himself after its former owner came down with a sudden onset and quite terminal case of 'had-his-throat-ripped-out' in the pit. To the victor goes the spoils, after all.

The Laibe gave the weapon a quick, but thorough, inspection before nodding to himself and sliding the sword into the quick-release sheath attached to the baldric. Next came a pair of combat knives, curved to better be held with a reverse grip. These were Kol'ya's up-close-and-personal weapons of choice and slid into the holsters dangling from each side of his belt. Finally, he extracted a set of small knives that were actually marketed as being for daur usage, but that Kol'ya had found excellent use for as throwing knives. These slid into concealed sheaths in his belt to hide their presence from prying eyes.

His duffel now emptied, Kol'ya placed it in the dresser. Feeling much less naked now his weapons were properly attached and within reach, the Laibe looked at his communicator just in time to cancel the alarm as it finished counting down to zero. He took one last look around the grey and brown room, taking particular note of the white teacup and wondering what its purpose might be being present in his room instead of the commons. Kol'ya shrugged as he left his room. It would either be explained or it wouldn't. The Laibe certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over a misplaced teacup.

Gruy'ena - Commons

By the time he had returned to the commons, Kol'ya estimated that he had used eighteen of the twenty minutes that had been allocated by the Gun. Sweeping his eyes across the room for the best vantage spots, the Laibe set his eyes on the floating kitchen. If he took up post at the end of the cabinets, he could lean on them in such a way as to appear casual, but be capable of unleashing any of his weapons at a moments notice. It should also allow him to keep everyone else in his line of sight. Decision made, Kol'ya moved to his chosen position.

The former gladiator didn't have to wait for very long before the Gun returned and sat herself. He nodded in recognition of her intentions, but shook his head at the mention of any questions. He was sure the Gun would tell him anything he needed to know and he could always ask later if something came up.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Commons

Zoya existed in a constant state of being both seen and unseen at seemingly all times as before she was not in the commons but with the sound of a thud of elbow upon laminate one might suddenly perceive that she now was in the commons as from whence there was not a very Zoya-like form now crawled out from the interior of a cabinet space with cliche duster in hand and a very non-white now rag in the other as she got up onto her feet and bounded uncaring to a counter space to start removing things and cleaning out crumbs and dead bugs from the back corners.

Gone was her youth corps uniform, the transition having been made in startling alacrity as within the turn of a head had anyone been there to have seen it the uniform was already neatly folded without ruining a single crease and the boots still shining with fresh wax as she now wore a very conservative pair of brown youth-fashion overalls that ended in a short mid-thigh cut with traditional button clasps over the shoulders with a white sleeveless top with a V-neck cut.

An assortment of bracelets; Matching colors opposite each wrist, and a few rings on each hand made contrast to a set of white flat ankle running shoes without socks and a single bracelet chain on one ankle with no seeming significance.

From the neck down she looked like the young pre-teen that she was ready for a day in the park or set for a picnic or playdate with girlfriends. But then the hollow, obsessive and piercing eyes, tight lips set in a frown, and her pale skin was more reminiscent of an overworked mid-40s salarywoman as she bounded past Feliona without so much as a glance to kick the upturned corner of a shag carpet flat and then move onto something else.

Despite her mania and hyperfixation Felonia would know of Zoyas hyperawareness of her surroundings. She would hear and take in everything with computer-like precision and file it away in her almost photographic memory she had to dissimilate as she worked.

Someone could throw a hundred marbles in the air with her back turned and not only would she know the moment they hit the floor but after colleting them all could put every marble back in the exact spot one had just been moved from and even the exact marble if it had a different pattern from the rest.

As for questions, she also had none of any importance that would not be in the already several-page and growing report she was filing mentally for later with her own inquiries and necessary changes and requisitions she would give to Felonia later on.

 

[SirSkully]

Commons

Giovyn had done his best to keep his fluffy head down and not involve himself too much in all the arguments going in in the dormitories, opting to go the seen but unheard route for now as his own few personal effects were arranged. The former-tanker had little to his name before coming here and opted to only bring the essentials, that being everything he could fit on his person or into a duffle bag. A holstered last-gen sidearm and a sheathed blade were affixed to the back of his belt before the blonde brought out a black overcoat with slightly chewed up shoulders and cuffs, it being slightly oversized for the lithe man implied he maybe wasn't it's original owner, but it helped bring some personal comfort to the drab hallways they were bound to.

Giovyn's blonde tail poked out the back of his overcoat through a little slit, slowly swaying side to side as he fell into place alongside the others, a perfect middle ground between the diminutive Zoya and the towering Kol'ya.

"Nothing from me yet, ma'am," he shot back, feet planted at shoulder's width with his thumbs hooked into his webbed belt, given the percentage of the population who were ex-military that sort of stance wasn't really something the Daur had put any effort into trying to switch off yet.

 

[club24]

Gruy'ena - Commons

Felonia gave a small nod of her own as each of her initiates signaled no questions for now, she appreciated their decisions whether it was them wanting to wait until afterwards or out of politeness it would help get the initial fluff and guff out of the way quickly. The red furred laibe had been sitting with her left leg crossed over the right and now with a short clearing of her throat she swapped legs and leaned forwards to address the trio.

"As you may be aware from your time during initiation, each facility operated by Kingdom Fall has a few basic similarities and Omega is no different. There are several barracks, when not working on an assignment or in a mandatory event you're all free to socialise amongst the other members and barracks commons are free for all to use. We also have a large training space with both an indoor arena which can be configured for any number of training events and a field outside which is open for recreational use when there's no training scheduled."

The young Gun looked over the faces of her group for any signs of confusion or misunderstanding so far, though if any had been there she would have been quite surprised they made it this far without such common information. Content that everyone was paying attention Felonia continued.

"Meals are served in the kitchen, the common dining area is currently being rebuilt so feel free to eat in the barracks or anywhere that's out of the way, garage is near the main entrance, big building with a few large spotlights out the front and massive sliding doors you would have passed on your way in. Whenever you go off-site on an assignment report there for transport, and in very special cases a personal vehicle if the task calls for it. Finally, central tall building is command and myself along with any other Gun or Sword rank members have rooms there, you can speak to us whenever we're not in the planning room but try not to wander around command too much unaccompanied until you've gotten to know the other higher ups here a little better or they may interrogate you."

Felonia stood up and grabbed the common room's control deck and switched on the TV behind the chair she'd been sitting in, sliding it out the way to avoid blocking the display, smoothing down her pants and shirt she plugged a small drive into the display which prompted an immediate message to flash up "Secure Drive Acknowledged" before opening into their assignment briefing.

----

"Ok initiates, now it's time for us to get into the good stuff, take some notes if you need to just make sure you don't bring them when we head out, I know its not a possibility we like to think about but with Division 5 cracking down on us and the Kingdom trying to enlist foreign technologies and species more each day we can't risk any of you possessing more information than required when in the field. If you're ever in a position where capture is all but certain, the Founders expect you to do whatever is necessary to prevent the Royals from obtaining information."

Every member of Kingdom Fall had heard this before, sadly not all their members were devoted enough to actually see the expectation through, either being too afraid to pull their own trigger or eventually cracking under interrogation at the hands of the resourceful and corrupted members of the Royal Government agencies.

"With that morbid note out of the way, if you each have read through the pre-briefing packs on the way to Omega Base you'll know your first task is intel gathering on a site we suspect to be a listening and transmission post of some kind at the edge of the jungle a couple of hours from here. The four of us will be inserting via low-profile civilian vehicle at Zone A and moving on foot from there through the dense foliage." Felonia gestured towards some long range photos of the small building and its surrounding areas, sadly the organisation hadn't yet acquired a satellite so aerial photography was not a luxury at their disposal yet.



"Now our info on this place has been collected over the last couple of months but the most recent report was a week ago so we don't know what the exact conditions will be when arriving, in the time we've monitored it there has been very little traffic coming and going and no signs of heavily armed personnel or armoured vehicles. We also haven't confirmed if the Navy or Division 5 is operating near this location so we'll be assuming they are aware of its existence at the very least and may also be monitoring activity at the site. If any show up while we're there the assignment is to be halted immediately as there will be no support if discovered or engaged by trained Loyalist scum, information is the only objective but we've been given permission to use any means to ensure said information is brought to base."

"Giovyn and myself will be taking the lead as trained Infiltrators, Kol'ya I want you to stay with Zoya behind us and protect her if anything goes wrong, as the Concealer of our group, Zoya, you will be given a high-resolution micro-camera to try and get any images you can of people spotted there as well as other important info that can tell us more about the facility and who's behind its operation, this makes you priority one if we need to get out in a hurry."

Felonia stopped her presentation to size up each of the initiates having explained their roles to them, while the Gun had only worked with Zoya personally the reports from her comrades regarding Giovyn and Kol'ya held them in high regard in their own fields of expertise. The laibe's tail twitched as she mentally recalled each of their reports and she visualised them returning victorious! Felonia shook her head to clear the daydream from her mind and re-focus on the Neshaten in-front of her with a deep breath.

"Now is the time if you want anything clarified or have any questions about our assignment, we're scheduled to be at the motorpool in 2 hours for transportation, the driver will hide the vehicle at Zone A for our ride home but we won't have any comms to them or each other while inside to be as undetectable as possible, so make sure you know the plan for getting inside now, we'll discuss our search pattern when we make it through the front door as we haven't had anyone attempt entry until now."

 

[iaincarter]

Gruy'ena - Commons

Kol'ya wanted to sigh as Gun Felonia started out with the basics. Obviously the pretty Laibe shared his concerns over the daur's inability to find their way around without a constant guide. Or, the Laibe supposed doubtfully, she could just be being thorough and going over everything. Then again, she HAD mentioned that they could seek out the other initiates... Oh, wow, yeah, he had really mistaken her motives. Clearly she wanted them to seek out, subvert and otherwise dominate the other groups so no-one would doubt that her team were the best. So, not just a pretty face after all, but a cunning strategist too!

The warrior really wanted to snort at the thought of being captured by the enemy and interrogated. Oh, Kol'ya was fairly certain even he could be broken, after all the former gladiator was intimately familiar with pain and how it could control your reactions. Heck, he'd used that very tactic against bigger, stronger opponents - cut them small, cut them often. Let the frustration and pain dominate their mind until they have no thought left but your death. Then they were but puppets on your strings, ready to dance to your tune until the time came to watch the light fade from their eyes as you bathed in their lifeblood. So no, the laibe would have no issue doing what was necessary. In fact, if things got that bleak, he'd make sure to secure his team's silence before ensuring his own.

Shaking off such thoughts, pleasurable distraction although they might be, Kol'ya focused in on Gun Felonia's briefing as she showed them the information on the target. Nothing looked particularly different from what had been in the briefing packs. Sounded like a pretty basic task - take a vaguely-stealthy walk in the jungle, inspect a pyramid-like building that might or might not be important. Of course, things got a little spicier with the promise of division or naval interest in the location. Maybe there would be the chance to spill some enemy blood on the mission? Heck, retrieving the information 'by any means necessary' was basically just a way of saying 'kill them all so no-one can stop you' without upsetting those of a delicate constitution. Hah, like Kol'ya would fret over bathing his blades and claws in the hot lifeblood of his enemies.

Wait, what? No, no, no, clearly he had misheard that. There was no way, just NO way that Gun Felonia had just benched Kol'ya by assigning him babysitting duties on the Princess. Nuh-uh. Oh, she really wasn't joking. The laibe felt a horrible sting of betrayal at that - had he somehow offended the red-furred laibe? Thinking back over their conversations, Kol'ya couldn't think of anything he had said that could be considered sufficiently offensive to warrant such cruel and unusual punishment. The warrior began winding up to explain to the Gun how she had clearly made a mistake, when her next words gave him pause.

So, the Princess was the priority extraction, huh. Ohhh. Maybe the Gun hadn't lost her mind after all. Clearly, as the excellent physical specimen that he was, Kol'ya would be the best candidate to throw the princess over his shoulder and run her out of the combat zone. The black-furred laibe couldn't help the satisfied smirk that formed on his face at the thought of the daur being carried along like so much baggage. Okay, so his assignment was not in fact a punishment, but an opportunity to have some fun at the Princess' expense. Kol'ya was really starting to understand just how much he had underestimate Gun Felonia's deviousness!

Now, did he have any questions that needed answering. Hmm, now that he thought about it... "When things go wrong. How long do we wait at Zone A before leaving stragglers behind? If left behind, where do we go instead?" Now, that wasn't to say that Kol'ya expected things to go wrong, he just knew how the universe worked and wanted to be prepared for if it all went horribly wrong.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Commons

Zoya harumphed before shoving a hand in the open lip of the satchel none of them seemed to have noticed until that very moment despite its black hemp-fabric being starke against her dress. There was some rummaging through a clear amount of personal items before she pulled out a foreign-made gunmetal-gray faded pistol out, the words
"Little Killer" embossed on the fixed slide visible as she flagged Kol'ya as she drew it and pointed it straight up with arm her at a ninety degree angle.

With her finger on the trigger and the button safety clearly off she was not as impressive as she looked not that Zoya could recognize that.

"We can handle ourselves!" Zoya continued in the royal-we, making it confusing as to if she was speaking about herself or including Kol'ya. "And we're really good at shooting things!" Zoyas lips pulled into a self-satisfied smirk recalling the rules drilled into her at target practice lessons in the previous bases armorer:

The first rule of gun safety is to have fun. The second rule is to always keep your finger on the trigger and the safety off so you can shoot faster. The Third rule is to aim at women, small animals, and children.

It was wise of Felonia to give her half the squad subordinate to her fellow Gun. With two Guns on the mission, it was impossible to fail!

 

[club24]

Felonia watched the subtle facial expressions from Kol'ya ending with that smirk while wearing her own poker-face, she knew a fraction of what this boy's mind was like from their brief interactions and the info gathered on him prior to initiation so she hoped he wasn't getting the wrong idea. At least he seemed content with whatever it was about her briefing that had him worried earlier. With a nod she answered the other Laibe's question.

"Waiting for other members of the team is at your discretion, and should be decided upon based on circumstances. For example, if there are Agents, Operators, or even ship's personnel swarming the area and you haven't been in contact with anyone for some time you need to decide if you have information or items of significance to Kingdom Fall that absolutely need to be returned, or if you have something of ours that must never fall into loyalist hands. I expect you to do anything within your power to achieve that outcome."

Felonia paused and flashed a grin of her own, one Kol'ya had likely seen in the eyes of those opponents who knew they had the battle won before it started, the smile of a predator. "That being said, if we're not getting chased down by the entire Navy 30 minutes give or take should be enough time to determine if the rest of us are coming back."

Composing herself once more the Gun watched the utter lack of safety demonstrated by Zoya with a shake of her head, she hoped that gun wasn't loaded at least, and Zoya for all her attitude and quirks was no klutz so she didn't think they were in much danger. "While I'm sure you can, please try not to flag your teammates before we've even had to defend ourselves, I'm counting on all of you to work together on this and ideally mesh while we're on the job. Won't be long before the bosses start giving us more complex assignments y'know."

Satisfied there was nothing else to go over for the moment Felonia clapped her hands together and hopped off the chair, returning it before heading for the door.

"See you in a couple hours gang, you'll know the ride when you see it." With a wave over her shoulder their leader disappeared as quickly as she so often appeared.

-----

Kester Base: Omega
Vehicle Garage
2200

As each of the initiates made their way over to the garage they would see a myriad of vehicles, many having modifications made or maintenance performed, some were powered up to tested both the reactors and their power outputs. While there wasn't any locked gates or separate buildings it was clear the bays the furthest to the rear were reserved for captured vehicles, with several of Kirinov Automotive's finest Division 5 spec Prowler and Chasers lining the wall. As well as a huge object towering above the rest under a large waterproof tarpaulin sheet, though the barrel of a heavy machine-gun poked through the top with the artificial light glinting off its worn surface.

Moving further into the garage building the initiates got some sideways looks from a few of the mechanic staff, mostly older Daur, they seemed to be sizing up the newcomers to figure out what they were doing unaccompanied in their workshop. Flipping up a welding mask a particularly sharp looking Daur with ash-white fur approached the group after moving out from behind some kind of armoured spaceship looking object with a quizzical expression.

"You Macherati's lot then?" With a welding torch resting on his shoulder the Daur looked them over now that he was up close and nodded to himself, happy enough without needing their answer that his assumption was correct.

"Alright follow me, don't touch any of the tools if you'd like to maintain the functionality of your wrists and ankles, The boys in here don't take kindly to their things being moved around, or going missing."

The nameless ghostly fox led the small group over to a secluded bay near the main vehicles entrances where their leader was having a discussion with yet another technician standing beside what looked like a large space-fighter. The vehicle appeared to use the same kind of anti-grav Lunebaren reactor propulsion most Neshaten ground craft used but with the addition of combustion thrusters at the rear and a forward facing pair of energy weapons of some kind.

Stamped across its sides was the name: "Bloody Revolution"

 

[iaincarter]

Kester Base: Omega
Vehicle Garage
2200

Kol'ya had used the time between the briefing and departure wisely. The Laibe had headed out from the commons, walking the base and memorising the lay of the land. He'd decided to keep Gun Macherati's advice in mind during his explorations and had therefore steered clear of the central command building. It had taken quite a chunk of that time to fight down the urge to throttle the tiny daur who had thought waving a live weapon in his face was a good idea. Normally he'd have been only too willing to educate the Princess, but the Gun had been insistent on them acting like a team. Ah well, he'd keep a mental tally of owed-beatings on the off-chance the future led him to the opportunity to deliver them.

It hadn't taken long to prepare for the mission. It wasn't like Kol'ya had a lot of gear to prep, after all. After sharpening and oiling the various blades secured around his person, the Laibe had headed towards the garage. He was curious as to the available vehicles provided by Kingdom Fall, plus there was that teasing line from the Gun about 'knowing the vehicle when you see it'. Kol'ya looked around the garage with undisguised interest, admiring some of the vehicles present and just wondering why anyone would design some of the others. The fighter was also very interested in what the huge vehicle was that sat beneath the tarpaulin sheet. Some kind of tank, maybe?

With the initiates re-assembled, they headed deeper into the vehicle garage and were soon intercepted. Kol'ya found himself highly amused with the ash-white daur's promise of violence, no matter how appropriate he believed it to be. Combined with the Princess' earlier actions, the Laibe wondered if inanely threatening those larger than themselves was some kind of defensive technique for the smaller Shukaren species. There was probably some evolutionary explanation, not that Kol'ya cared. As long as they didn't try to carry through on their threats, they could continue amusing him to their heart's content.

The fighter decided that Gun Macherati had been correct. He did know her vehicle when he spotted it because, much like its owner, it was sleek, red and oh-so glorious. Kol'ya nodded at the presence of the energy weapons, it would not be smart to be out in the field in an unarmed vehicle, after all. The Laibe also approved of the proud display of the vehicle's name across its sides. If you had to win the hearts and minds of the people, so they could learn to overthrow the tyrants holding them down, this was the sort of vehicle you wanted to be seen doing it from.

"Nice ride." Kol'ya growled out with a nod. He also approved of the way it showed an innate understanding that the only route to victory for Kingdom Fall was going to be over the mountain of dead corpses that they would leave behind.

 

[Nini]

Ike’shia still believed this whole thing was rather ironic. Working for the (maybe, she was still contemplating that scenario) terrorists that killed your family? Not fun. But she wasn’t exactly a fan of government anyways, and organizations in general just weren’t her thing. So she thought it would be fun to take them down a notch. After all, it was nice to see anarchy and chaos. Which, coming from a girl who lived in luxury up until…she honestly couldn’t remember. She couldn’t not remember. But then again, trauma has mysterious ways of creeping up on you at unsuspecting moments.

So it was like this that she found herself reading a message from…god knows who, telling her to get down to the garage. Normally, Ike’shia wasn’t inclined to operate under mystery orders, but terrorists seemed to operate in mysterious ways. They also had a bad habit of not revealing their identity. Real bad habit. Ike’shia was secretly hoping they would be able to break it.

The barely-adult Daur ducked her head further into her hoodie as she entered the bloody place. Of course, the first thing she saw had to be gaudy. With its maroon and shadow spaceship design that screamed utter wealth. “Great.” She looked around at the other initiates with no expression at all. “Ike’shia. Surname not needed.”

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Already quite literally shaking with excitement the sickly daur that was Zoya half hopped her way down the cooridors and had not even noticed grease and spill spots on the crete flooring of the bay right up until the moment she saw it.

Zoya may be young. May be excentric and ecstatic at times and easily riled but the moment she saw it...

Not even Zoya could get over how much more on the nose gaudy it had become since the last time she had seen Filis grav it dropped her temperment like a stone into a bucket.

Her head turning slightly to he gun as if expecting her to say at any moment this was an obvious joke Zoya scrunched up her brow and quirked as lip in disgust.

"Why is it red?" She demanded, that fact alone disturbing her more than the cliche naming scheme or anything else about it.

"Red reflection on gloss shows up marginally more on laser and radar-based speed sensors only behind yellow. It should be a matte color like black or gray."

 

[SirSkully]

"Messages have gotta be loud for people to hear them I guess," Giovyn shrugged, standing beside Zoya with more of an expression of awe than anything else, it had been a hot moment since the tanker-fox had gotten to sit in anything with such a large footprint. He wandered around the crimson craft, tail swinging faster and faster with every few wags, the blonde fur of his ears standing on end with barely contained excitement at the prospect.

Giovyn took a few hurried steps over towards the white-furred welder, eyes full of stars as he started babbling out questions related to the Bloody Revolution's lift drives and weapon specs.

 

[club24]

Bloody Revolution Vehicle Bay

Felonia poked her head out from within the vehicle when she heard the initiates speaking outside along with an arm to wave to the group, which seemed to have expanded since she last saw them. Opening the cockpit fully the middle section raised up and slid down across the front glass segment allowing access to a surprisingly spacious area behind the pilot and copilot seats with various seating and other sensor stations that looked to be unused. The gun hopped up onto the front wing of the craft and frowned slightly.

"Ok, who's the new one, I didn't think anyone else had been assigned to me for this job." Felonia jumped down gracefully and made a hand gesture towards a tall grey furred laibe who had wandered over dressed in some kind of leathers with a fancy looking helmet tucked under one arm, with a nod to the Gun he climbed into Bloody Revolution and the reactor hummed to life, a slight glow emanating from the rear and propulsion devices.

Hearing the newest initiates name Felonia tapped her chin while sizing up the daur, she suspected due to the nature of the assignment being undertaken the other Guns wanted as many new blood involved to give them some easy field experience. Checking her communicator Felonia noticed a new ping from her Sword instructing of the addition to her crew, although it was only sent to her as they'd all arrived, perfect timing as always from higher up.

Snapping back to her more relaxed, cheery demeanor the red furred laibe looked around once again.

"Thank you Kol'ya, at least someone appreciates my taste. As for the red it is my vehicle Zoya, and I like to colour match so everybody knows it! Ike'shia was it? Welcome to Gruy'ena barracks, since it looks like the boss has moved you last minute I'll organise some of the logistics guys to get your stuff moved to the commons while we're out on Assignment. It'll be waiting for you when we get back."
While Felonia spoke with their latest addition, the mechanic Daur who led them over was inundated with Giovyn's questions for a moment before he managed to make sense of a few things and showed off the hidden lift drives to the tanker, clearly very impressed with them as he explained they'd been modified by him to give a boost when going fully airborne as well. Described as a sort of "bounce effect" to help kick it into vertical movement.

"Well, here's the deal guys. There is apparently someone onsite who's been doing no communication recon the last couple of days so that we have current info when we arrive, I'll be up front with the pilot keeping tabs on our government and cop friends to make sure we aren't on their radar. All of you hang out in the back, should be some camera and sensor feeds to watch if you're interested otherwise it'll be a pretty quiet ride. Just to briefly repeat the process for Ike'shea, we'll be dropped off a short walk from our target which is an unknown structure with suspected links to both Division 5 and the Shade Field Network that makes it so hard for us to run goods in and out of the planet. Once we walk to the site our job is to get in and find out as much as possible, take pictures, copy documents ect, lethal force against loyalists is authorised."

The unnamed pilot stuck a hand out of the opened cokpit in thumbs up as he gunned the engines a few times, the low roar audible behind Felonia's little speech before she turned back and flashed her own affirmative signal. Turning back to the group she waved them in behind her while climbing back up onto the front wings and into the exposed cockpit before taking her seat up front.

-----


After all climbing aboard the cockpit resealed and the sleek craft lifted off the ground, pulling out of its bay slowly and through the main garage exit headed for the edge of Omega Base where they were waved through the gates.


Once out in the open the Bloody Revolution gunned it towards the building designated Thauriel 1 by Kingdom Fall's intel teams, skimming above the surface of the wide open fields outside of Kester with the jungle and mountains previously seeming so far away now rushing to meet them. The small craft was faster than anything the initiates had likely ever seen, if they looked hard enough there was several signs within pointing to it likely having been stolen by Felonia, a fact even Zoya hadn't been told despite knowing the Gun for several years since she was first sent to do her part for the Kingdom. A name here and there and some surface marks and damage in several spots with what could have once been marks from a needle gun.

After about an hour the craft takes flight properly with little warning from the two Laibe up front, a few objects clatter about but with a low ascension angle it wouldn't be enough to cause any real trouble, through the large glass cockpit and several cameras the occupants could see they were clearing a small mountain range with the ocean to one side of them twinkling from the light of a moon. While airborne the pilot flicked several switches after which a hum began in the background and the cockpit glass started to shimmer.

"-Cloaking engaged, external communications disabled-"

An electronic voice spoke throughout the interior as the red craft became invisible and several communication and navigation systems were shut down, outside the Bloody Revolution the sky began to shimmer as well before the planet's Shade Field engaged, a not uncommon occurrence these days as the Kingdom supposedly "perfected" the system in preparation to run for weeks or even months at a time. The sky turned an inky black, no light could penetrate the field and nothing from the surface reflected off of it, it was like staring into an empty part of space that seemed to creep down and engulf the whole world, seeping into every corner as the temperature began its slow descent for the night.

The jungle beneath them seemed to be swallowed up as well, save for the faintest outline illuminatd by the lights of Kester behind them, and within several minutes the beacon ahead of them that was their target, without being in the air it would have been impossible to see. The small pyramid-like structure slowly came into view with several lights in and around it giving clarity back to its surroundings. Without a word the craft then descended down to land in a small clearing, the cockpit hissing open and letting the lightless sky creep inside with its icy cold fingers chilling each of the Kingdom Fall members almost instantly.
"Righto, should be about 10 minutes until we meet up with the informant on the ground, the ship will stay cloaked but this location will be sent to your communicators. So lets get moving everyone!"
-----

After a fairly uneventful walk besides some bugs and mad the group made it to the small hidden camp containing one Ana’stasia who had been stuck keeping an eye on the structure for the last couple of days. A small tent tarp had been stretched between several trees to create a roof of sorts with the infiltrator’s listening equipment and long-range cameras stashed neatly in their enviro-cases. The group pulled up for a rest at the small camp before Felonia called them in to discuss the initial entry.

”Ok so, target is close by, oh by the way everyone this is Ana’stasia who’s been keeping our intel updated from here. So, we’ll enter through the main doors on the front as so far they’re the only doors we’ve seen. Keep your eyes peeled for security measures, cameras and sensors and the like. I’ll let our new member fill you in on what they’ve seen from being stationed here.”

Ana'stasia - at 5'1", rather tall for a female Daur, and rather attractive, with a cream-colored athletic-yet-lithe form - nodded her head and flicked her tail (both of which were covered in cerulean fur) in the traditional Neshaten greetings, then in a very soft tone said, "Salutations, everyone. Ehm, as Gun Felonia so graciously stated, I am, uhm, Initiate Ana'stasia, and, ah, the following is what intelligence I have gleaned from observing the facility.

Firstly, there are cameras - whose precise capabilities I unfortunately am not aware of, s-sorry - located on the main entrance and the corners of each wall. There are also a pair of cameras located on poles on the facility grounds. I can sketch out their likely observation arcs, though I neglected to bring any paper or writing utensils, my bad...

Secondly, three elite guards likely belonging to the Shukara Volunteer Navy have started patrolling in the last two hours, which coincides almost exactly with the activation of the shade field. The guards currently patrol alone, as I've been o-observing them since they emerged from the facility, and they have patrol patterns that, uh, physically overlay every ten minutes. They are equipped with, ehm... 'nasty' looking assault weapons, for want of a better term, and wear a model of body armor I am not familiar with.

Thirdly, based upon my observations I have deduced that past the main entrance lies a foyer and an office. The second floor has a security room and several offices. I'm also fairly certain that some of the rooms with windows have cameras looking out of said windows, though I, uhm, was unable to verify their presence or lack thereof. Apologies...

Fourthly, there is definitely a hidden entrance located somewhere, as I have witnessed individuals - that I never saw entering the facility - leaving through the main entrance. Lastly, I have not, uhm, observed any evidence indicating that Division Five is present, but the presence of the aforementioned elite SVN guards suggests that there may be a high-ranking officer or Shipmaster somewhere inside the facility.

And that, ehm, is all of the information I was able to, uh, observe. If anyone has any q-questions, I would be more then happy to answer them. Gun Felonia?"

Felonia nodded along after returning the infiltrator's greeting, it was nice to see some members of their slightly organised group still respected some tradition. The info they had gathered was impressive for such a short time, the Gun would need to remind herself to watch out if Ana'stasia was ever lurking around. Listening to the mention of armoured and well equipped SNV brought a scowl to the Laibe's face, no one had said they would be involved let alone a shipmaster, half of the team had never even been in a fight as far as she knew and going up against a Neshaten with that level of training one on one would be suicide. Regardless they had a job to do, it just might need to be a little more stealthy than she had hoped now.

"Right, original plan remains the same, we'll just have to deal with the guards beforehand or risk them walking in behind us I suppose. Teams will be Kol'ya, Zoya, and Giovyn. Ana'stasia and Ike'shia you two are with me. We'll stay close by for now and aim to either take out the guards then security room or alternatively if someone is able to get inside first and shutoff the camera's that would be mighty helpful. We'll move up to the edge of the treeline to maintain cover and identify a way in, lets roll crew!"

With that, Felonia unsheathed a knife and began moving quietly towards the light trickling through the foliage coming from the structure, before long the small band of assorted foxes had reached the edge of the jungle clearing hiding the pyramid and could see everything pointed out by Ana'stasia's info. Knowing where to look had come in handy and allowed them all to see the camera's were stationary in a nice turn of fate but they were still wide angle lenses. Without getting closer if would be hard to tell if the guards had points where they weren't in camera range but given the low light level there was a chance the effective range of the devices had been lowered.



It was finally time for these initiates to be put to the test.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Neshaten
Definitely Not An XCOM Blacksite

Ana’stasia - clad in a Photon Stealth Suit that was tight in all of the right places - was the first to speak up, her demeanor (and current staring contest with the ground in front of her) clearly indicating that she really wasn’t fond of doing such a thing. “Ehm, would you, uhm, like me to lead the way to a location where the camera’s blind spots and the guard’s patrol routes intersect, G-Gun?”