Z
Zack
Osman City Marketplace
Midnight
The cool night air blew through the streets of the local market. A myriad of tables with simple tents covering them from the elements. At this time of night the street was empty, and no one was attending their shops. There was a lone figure standing in the center of the market. It was the unmistakable shape of an Elysian Hikael Power Armor.
Cyrus and Raphael walked together as the neared the market. Cyrus nodded to Raph and Raph took of landing on one of the tall building overlooking the market. He drew his rifle and activated the chameleon effect on his armor. It would be nearly impossible to see him. Cyrus walked down the main road towards the lone figure. He pulled his revolvers from his hip and held both of them in the air. "You the one I am supposed to meet?" He asked slowly walking forward. He scanned the figure. "Nice armor... How'd you get it?" He asked still holding his revolvers in the air.
The armored man turned towards Cyrus. "You must be Cyrus. You can call me Aaron." The figure said. "I borrowed this from a friend. He crashed here when I was a child. I spent my life trying to unite this world." He sighed. "I didn't want to kill my own people but the government forced my hand. You saw my army fighting the government when you arrived. We were fighting for democracy. The people deserve a say. The Osmans disagreed."
Cyrus nodded. "So we have another Elysian on the planet..." He said absent mindedly. He listened to Aaron placing his weapons back in their holsters. "An worthy cause to be sure." He shrugged. "We just so happened to show up at the wrong time and place." He said stopping.
Aaron nodded slowly. "At first I was angry, and I wanted to fight back. Your entrance did kill some of my men, But I decided to wait and see what happened before taking action, especially considering your overwhelming firepower. I wanted to see if it was worth fighting." He paused a moment. "I saw your people start to rebuild. The fire was my fault by the way. It was a hard choice, but I thought burning the government powder stores would distract them."
Cyrus shook his head. "Nice idea but poorly executed" He said with disdain. "You could have at least tried to warn the people closer to the powder stores." He said crossing his arms. "And if you would remember, our men tried to stop the fight before it started." Cyrus sighed and held out a hand. "Enough, now I am just getting mad. Why am I here Aaron?"
The man in the Hikael power armor nodded slowly. "I made some mistakes, I admit. Hopefully you are here to keep Uso from killing me if I surrender. I want to help. I've seen what you're doing and I think it's in the best interests of this world that you succeed. I fear your leader may not be the most trustworthy person. This is why I contacted you."
"She doesn't know about this." He said moving his hands to his helmet. "In the spirit of good faith Aaron. Take off that helmet. Let us talk face to face." He said removing his helmet. His eye glowing a bright blue, contrasting his dark red natural one.
Aaron reached up to his helmet slowly. "Since we're alone, I will. Before I do, I will say this. If I die, some information.."
"About Uso will leak... Yeah yeah. I wouldn't jeopardize my paycheck. I am a merc after all." He said rolling his eye. "Mine is off if you had a sniper I would be dead. Come on."
He pulled off his helmet , revealing a young man with blonde hair darkened by a black dye with purple tint. Some sort of silver compound. He had blue eyes and a goatee, which was also dyed with the strange substance. "A sniper? We don't have weapons that are accurate enough to kill from very far away."
"Doesn't matter... You could have had someone close enough to shoot me. But we are off track. You want an alliance between Ragnarok and your resistance correct?" Cyrus said looking to Aaron.
Aaron nodded. "That is mostly correct. I don't want you to fight Uso or anything. We can't offer you enough for that, we have nothing valuable. I am offering to devote my time, knowledge, and what little resources I have to helping you govern this planet. There are many citizens who support me in some of the smaller villages. If I join you they will follow." He replied to the question.
"An interesting idea..."Cyrus said stroking his chin. "Make getting infrastructure up faster if we had the people's help. Plus we can stop fighting against each other and get ready for the others to find us." Cyrus said. "But how do I know your people won't jump at the first opportunity to kill me, Raphael, or Uso?"
Aaron thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to prove his intention was pure. "Their's someone I care about very much Her name is Celest." He stopped. "I don't know if this is a good idea or not. I can't guarantee the actions of other people. But if you know where Celest is, you have a threat to use in case I think about having anyone killed."
Cyrus held a hand up, signaling him to stop. "That is not needed." He said looking down at the man. "I have my own girl I care for very much. I would never put her in danger. If you feel the same way about your girl, that I do about mine then I would ask you to not put her in harms way. I don't know her or where she is so don't tell me." He said walking up and holding out an armored glove. "We have a deal, with some very strict restrictions." He said with a very stern look.
The rebel leader smiled. "Thank you." He said with a sigh of relief. The other man's stern look made him take an involuntary step back. He moved forward and shook Cyrus's hand. "What restrictions would that be? And who's Raphael? The Elysian in your group?"
Cyrus nodded. "Correct. He is Uso's right hand man, but the kid has a good heart. Took care of the young princess until her relatives could be located. And yes restrictions." He said taking a step back. "One, you will not do anything to jeopardize my men, my girl, or me. Two, You are only allowed in areas that I allow you in. Get caught outside of those areas I will have you shot on sight. Three, you don't question Uso. Do that and you die. Not by me, she would do it herself, then she would kill me." He looked to the man. "Am I understood?"
Listening carefully, Aaron nodded silently a few times after each condition. "That sounds fair. I think I would require the same if I were in your place. As for Uso, I understand. I have heard she is someone to fear. I will follow your rules. If I do, you can convince Uso to let me live?" He asked cautiously.
"Considering that I am the one with the army here she has no choice but to listen. Plus two of my personal guard will accompany you at all times while in the palace." He smiled. "Plus her right hand man used to be my subordinate so he is on our side as well." He added.
"You mentioned the princess. Is she okay? I heard a rumor someone had taken her. I didn't know any of her relatives survived." Aaron asked curiously. "I also heard your guy Raphael was kidnapped by some raiders. I assure you we had nothing to do with that. I hope you killed those bastards."
Cyrus smiled. "Yes, he was kidnapped And I made sure that they paid the consequences. The sex slaver Twek is dead by my mens hands." He said. His face turned very serious for a moment. "Yes, the girl has family still alive. By the way I have thought of a fourth rule. The prince and princess are off limits. Only I know where the girl is and I am keeping that a secret. Understood?" He asked pointing a metal finger at the man.
The other man nodded. "I wasn't a fan of their parents, but I wouldn't harm children intentionally. I am relieved to hear they survived, and I will speak no more of them. There are things out there worse than Uso, so if I have to help her to protect this world I will. As long as they are safe I don't care where they are." He said earnestly. "Thank you for giving me a chance to help. I think the first thing to do is restore order. How will we get in touch with you after I tell my contacts of our alliance?"
Cyrus nodded and smiled. He pulled a small square device. A large red button sat in the center. "This device is a locator beacon. When you press that button it will signal me that you are ready to move on our alliance." He said tossing the device to him. "It was a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Aaron." He said turning and waving
Aaron looked at the device in his hand suspiciously for a moment. He shrugged and looked back at Cyrus. "I was hoping for a communication device, but this will do. I'm glad to be a part of this effort in any case. It shouldn't take more than a few days to get things rolling." He put his helmet back on. "Hope I'm not making a huge mistake.." The man said before waving and flying off in the other direction, seeming to have a bit of trouble controlling the armor in the air. A couple times he nearly crashed before he was finally too far away to see.
Midnight
The cool night air blew through the streets of the local market. A myriad of tables with simple tents covering them from the elements. At this time of night the street was empty, and no one was attending their shops. There was a lone figure standing in the center of the market. It was the unmistakable shape of an Elysian Hikael Power Armor.
Cyrus and Raphael walked together as the neared the market. Cyrus nodded to Raph and Raph took of landing on one of the tall building overlooking the market. He drew his rifle and activated the chameleon effect on his armor. It would be nearly impossible to see him. Cyrus walked down the main road towards the lone figure. He pulled his revolvers from his hip and held both of them in the air. "You the one I am supposed to meet?" He asked slowly walking forward. He scanned the figure. "Nice armor... How'd you get it?" He asked still holding his revolvers in the air.
The armored man turned towards Cyrus. "You must be Cyrus. You can call me Aaron." The figure said. "I borrowed this from a friend. He crashed here when I was a child. I spent my life trying to unite this world." He sighed. "I didn't want to kill my own people but the government forced my hand. You saw my army fighting the government when you arrived. We were fighting for democracy. The people deserve a say. The Osmans disagreed."
Cyrus nodded. "So we have another Elysian on the planet..." He said absent mindedly. He listened to Aaron placing his weapons back in their holsters. "An worthy cause to be sure." He shrugged. "We just so happened to show up at the wrong time and place." He said stopping.
Aaron nodded slowly. "At first I was angry, and I wanted to fight back. Your entrance did kill some of my men, But I decided to wait and see what happened before taking action, especially considering your overwhelming firepower. I wanted to see if it was worth fighting." He paused a moment. "I saw your people start to rebuild. The fire was my fault by the way. It was a hard choice, but I thought burning the government powder stores would distract them."
Cyrus shook his head. "Nice idea but poorly executed" He said with disdain. "You could have at least tried to warn the people closer to the powder stores." He said crossing his arms. "And if you would remember, our men tried to stop the fight before it started." Cyrus sighed and held out a hand. "Enough, now I am just getting mad. Why am I here Aaron?"
The man in the Hikael power armor nodded slowly. "I made some mistakes, I admit. Hopefully you are here to keep Uso from killing me if I surrender. I want to help. I've seen what you're doing and I think it's in the best interests of this world that you succeed. I fear your leader may not be the most trustworthy person. This is why I contacted you."
"She doesn't know about this." He said moving his hands to his helmet. "In the spirit of good faith Aaron. Take off that helmet. Let us talk face to face." He said removing his helmet. His eye glowing a bright blue, contrasting his dark red natural one.
Aaron reached up to his helmet slowly. "Since we're alone, I will. Before I do, I will say this. If I die, some information.."
"About Uso will leak... Yeah yeah. I wouldn't jeopardize my paycheck. I am a merc after all." He said rolling his eye. "Mine is off if you had a sniper I would be dead. Come on."
He pulled off his helmet , revealing a young man with blonde hair darkened by a black dye with purple tint. Some sort of silver compound. He had blue eyes and a goatee, which was also dyed with the strange substance. "A sniper? We don't have weapons that are accurate enough to kill from very far away."
"Doesn't matter... You could have had someone close enough to shoot me. But we are off track. You want an alliance between Ragnarok and your resistance correct?" Cyrus said looking to Aaron.
Aaron nodded. "That is mostly correct. I don't want you to fight Uso or anything. We can't offer you enough for that, we have nothing valuable. I am offering to devote my time, knowledge, and what little resources I have to helping you govern this planet. There are many citizens who support me in some of the smaller villages. If I join you they will follow." He replied to the question.
"An interesting idea..."Cyrus said stroking his chin. "Make getting infrastructure up faster if we had the people's help. Plus we can stop fighting against each other and get ready for the others to find us." Cyrus said. "But how do I know your people won't jump at the first opportunity to kill me, Raphael, or Uso?"
Aaron thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to prove his intention was pure. "Their's someone I care about very much Her name is Celest." He stopped. "I don't know if this is a good idea or not. I can't guarantee the actions of other people. But if you know where Celest is, you have a threat to use in case I think about having anyone killed."
Cyrus held a hand up, signaling him to stop. "That is not needed." He said looking down at the man. "I have my own girl I care for very much. I would never put her in danger. If you feel the same way about your girl, that I do about mine then I would ask you to not put her in harms way. I don't know her or where she is so don't tell me." He said walking up and holding out an armored glove. "We have a deal, with some very strict restrictions." He said with a very stern look.
The rebel leader smiled. "Thank you." He said with a sigh of relief. The other man's stern look made him take an involuntary step back. He moved forward and shook Cyrus's hand. "What restrictions would that be? And who's Raphael? The Elysian in your group?"
Cyrus nodded. "Correct. He is Uso's right hand man, but the kid has a good heart. Took care of the young princess until her relatives could be located. And yes restrictions." He said taking a step back. "One, you will not do anything to jeopardize my men, my girl, or me. Two, You are only allowed in areas that I allow you in. Get caught outside of those areas I will have you shot on sight. Three, you don't question Uso. Do that and you die. Not by me, she would do it herself, then she would kill me." He looked to the man. "Am I understood?"
Listening carefully, Aaron nodded silently a few times after each condition. "That sounds fair. I think I would require the same if I were in your place. As for Uso, I understand. I have heard she is someone to fear. I will follow your rules. If I do, you can convince Uso to let me live?" He asked cautiously.
"Considering that I am the one with the army here she has no choice but to listen. Plus two of my personal guard will accompany you at all times while in the palace." He smiled. "Plus her right hand man used to be my subordinate so he is on our side as well." He added.
"You mentioned the princess. Is she okay? I heard a rumor someone had taken her. I didn't know any of her relatives survived." Aaron asked curiously. "I also heard your guy Raphael was kidnapped by some raiders. I assure you we had nothing to do with that. I hope you killed those bastards."
Cyrus smiled. "Yes, he was kidnapped And I made sure that they paid the consequences. The sex slaver Twek is dead by my mens hands." He said. His face turned very serious for a moment. "Yes, the girl has family still alive. By the way I have thought of a fourth rule. The prince and princess are off limits. Only I know where the girl is and I am keeping that a secret. Understood?" He asked pointing a metal finger at the man.
The other man nodded. "I wasn't a fan of their parents, but I wouldn't harm children intentionally. I am relieved to hear they survived, and I will speak no more of them. There are things out there worse than Uso, so if I have to help her to protect this world I will. As long as they are safe I don't care where they are." He said earnestly. "Thank you for giving me a chance to help. I think the first thing to do is restore order. How will we get in touch with you after I tell my contacts of our alliance?"
Cyrus nodded and smiled. He pulled a small square device. A large red button sat in the center. "This device is a locator beacon. When you press that button it will signal me that you are ready to move on our alliance." He said tossing the device to him. "It was a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Aaron." He said turning and waving
Aaron looked at the device in his hand suspiciously for a moment. He shrugged and looked back at Cyrus. "I was hoping for a communication device, but this will do. I'm glad to be a part of this effort in any case. It shouldn't take more than a few days to get things rolling." He put his helmet back on. "Hope I'm not making a huge mistake.." The man said before waving and flying off in the other direction, seeming to have a bit of trouble controlling the armor in the air. A couple times he nearly crashed before he was finally too far away to see.