RP: 4th Fleet (NSN) [Mission 1.2] Wazu’s Seven

The NSS Asp had transported the remainder of the marines to Malaise, dropping them off at a military base in the main city where transport was waiting for them.

A half track would take Wazu's group to the footsteps of the Ice Queen Casino. There it would wait idle while the mission was carried out.

Phaedra was being transported via chopper, which was staying at a distance from the ice queen so she could fly out on her own. The ceiling of the administrative tower of the Ice Queen had a single door which led down into the facility, and a single camera watching the door. Next to it was the building’s atmosphere control system, an intake that was sucking in air and heating it up to distribute it throughout the building. A small ledge was all that separated the ceiling from the plunge straight down to the glass dome that housed the casino area.

“Phaedra, get into position and get eyes on our advance team.” Wazu said, using his datapad to relay the message to the team’s sniper. He then cracked the door to the transport. “Alright, lets try not to agitate them anymore than need be.”

Wazu then got out of the transport, walking up to the front entrance with the help of his cane.

---

“Ooooh shit.” One of the guards said, seeing the transport drive up and the first of the passengers get out. “Call the boss and get some extra guards down here.” He would then turn towards Wazu.

“HOW BOUT YOU JUST STAY RIGHT THERE!” He shouted.

“Not looking for a fight here,” Wazu responded, “Just want to talk to your boss.”

“Yeah, fool us once shame on us. Fool us twice…” The guards were already reaching for their machine pistols, taking aim at Wazu and the transport.

“Hey… What if the boss wants to see them?” One of the guards asked.

---

Inside of the casino, things were still ‘normal’ with the exception of six extra guards entering through the door to the administration building and running towards the front door.

Avel stepped out of the half track and was right behind Wazu. She was unarmed, partly because her weapons were going to be taken away the minute they stepped inside but mostly because she had smashed her rifle in a blind rage.

Like some of the others, Avel had come up with her own ideas for concealable weaponry. The garrote wire was now woven into the sleeve of her uniform and could be removed at a moments notice.

She had also forwent the treated gloves and instead went for a small can of perfume that sprayed a concentrated solution of Chloroform that could render a man unconscious in seconds. She also had a regular can just in case she had keep up appearances.

She had also brought a few sticks of lipstick which were actually made from RX33.

Naomi grinned.

"Your wish is my command, dearest lady," she said, reaching out with a hand to accept Harm's own, gently tugging the woman close. Looking a moment at Laura, she smiled lightly as she doused her cigarette quickly in a nearby ash tray set on the table's edge.

"Try not to get lost on the way back," she said. "C'mon, babe."

Leading the disguised Neko mercenary gently to the dance floor, Naomi used her shades to cover up the fact that her eyes were scanning and keeping an eye out for guards. As about six more of them came in, and began pelting to the front doorways, she slowed down to avoid getting in their way.

"More guards." It was a seemingly casual observation. "What does that make it now? A couple dozen? You think somebody's been naughty?"

Not really expecting any reply, she slowed to a halt, watching the two ladies already grinding and gyrating away like crazy.

"They seem to be having fun," she said, removing her shades and tucking them away in her coat. "D'you want to lead off, or should I?"

Matteo behind Wazu as well. His personal opinion of this particular group wasn't very high, even though they were more powerful than his prior syndicate; though larger, quality was very, very much lacking. The raising of the guns and the loud mouthing off...yes, no discipline at all. On the other hand, to which group did Matteo belong to now? Yes, the man culd relax a little and be a tad unprofessional. He forced himself not to smile, but still whispered to Avel out of the corner of his mouth despite the...mess that had happened earlier. "They're not exactly on the bright side huh?"

The garrotte in his belt and inactive whiskey flask weighed down on Matteo. Soon enough, they'd get to work.

Cedric watched the man: laughing where appropriate at his little joke. He refrained from commenting on the "broads", however; instead opting for a nod and grunt of agreement. Holding the offered cup lightly, Cedric had moved it to his lips, and was ready to take a sip just as six more guards came rushing in to the room. They were all heading to the front door . . . which meant that Wazu and the others were probably causing trouble. Suddenly the remote detonator in his pocket weighed seven or eight times heavier as he watched the guards. The chemicals on his gloves would be nearly useless if people started shooting. He just hoped that the others were setting up that RX-33 like planned.

They would probably need it.

Cedric looked back to the bartender and quickly worked on paying for the drink. He then paid the man as he stood up.

"Thank you, friend." He told him.

Turning around, Cedric started heading for Harm once again. He did his best to walk at a casual pace: hoping nobody (the guards, especially) would notice that he realized something was wrong. Once on the dance floor, Cedric tried to grab Harm's attention by tapping her on the shoulder lightly.

"Harm: we've got trouble." He whispered, "What's the plan?"

The guards would talk amongst themselves, getting on their radios to talk with the higher ups. Wazu, Matteo, and Avel were left out in the cold while the Black Syndicate tried to decide if they were even willing to talk with them.

---

Meanwhile on the inside of the Casino, Harm was letting Naomi lead her onto the dance floor. The disguised neko relying on Nepleslian hands and ears to make her look like one of them, her green hair and purple eyes still on full display.

“This place has gambling, alcohol, and beds to rent for the night,” Harm said, watching the extra guards head to the front doors of the building. “So I’m certain someone’s getting naughty.”

Harm then moved in closer, pressing up against Naomi as her attention turned to the tanned woman in the red dress, “Well, you’re the one wearing the pants.” She said, putting her head on Naomi’s shoulder, “… and I’m just here waiting for you to take me.”

Then Cedric showed up, asking what the plan was. “We chill…” Harm said, “Keep having a look around the area and wait for Phaedra to drop us a line. If they are here then she should be watching over us soon.

We should be getting ready to thin out the guards if things do get out of hand, but in the mean time try to enjoy yourself. We’re supposed to be here for a diplomatic meeting. Hell, buy one of those raver chicks a drink and try to get lucky.”

---

Eventually, the guards at the door would receive a decision from higher up. They had been joined by six more ID-Sols dressed in suits with bald heads, sunglasses, and .45 pistols attached to their hips.

Unlike the guards, these suits moved with an air of professionalism about them. “You three, this way.” One of them said, opening one of the doors for the marines. “My name is Ray, I am in charge of security here. Now if you’ll please remove any personal items you may have on you, weapons, datapads, jewelry, shoes, belts, and your cane. They will be returned to you when you leave.

The Boss will see you, but be warned that any hostilities will be met with lethal force.”


Wazu would reluctantly comply, his leg already hurting as he gave up the cane and began removing the objects they had requested, placing them in a tray that was on the tables the guards were using to store their sensor rods. Wazu’s belt, datapad, cane, shoes, a bottle of Droksin pills, and his rank pins ended up separated from his person, but this wasn’t enough for the guards who proceeded to do a pat down check to make sure.

“This one’s clean,” A guard said, waiting for the others to step forward for their search.

Cedric just nodded at Harm's reply. Truth be told, his sole organic eye betrayed his shock to her rather calm reaction to the whole situation. Of course, it could have been that he was still relatively green compared to most other Marines, but regardless of why: it caught him off-guard that she could be so casual. Still, they had a mission, and Cedric needed blast-caps set. If they didn't get those aforementioned blast-caps in place . . . well, the explosives planted would be no help to anybody should things start going south. That was not something that Cedric wanted to happen so soon after recieving his promotion to the rank of Private First Class.

"Alright, but we just have one minor problem." Cedric continued, "I don't have any blasting caps. Even if I did: I wouldn't know where you all planted the explosives."

He glanced around, then set his eyes on the girls dancing. Fine . . . he would try to "chill". Even if it meant that he had to enter a type of environment he wasn't used to. The club scene, that is.

"I'll let you ladies get to that." Cedric told them.

He headed back to the bar and indicated the girl in the tank top and pants, as well as her dancing partner. He looked to the bartender from before with what he thought would come across as a somewhat sly grin, while leaning against the bar.

"Could you get those two ladies some drinks." He glanced their direction, "Just tell them it's on me."

Phaedra, clad in her combat armor, dropped the fastrope from the chopper and quickly slid down to the tower below. As soon as she landed, she leapt up and hid behind cover while the chopper left the immediate vicinity. Phaedra drew her suppressed Sv-SSHG-01a and crept along the rooftop, ensuring that she was hidden from the camera above the maintenance door. Seeing that the way was clear, she quickly made her way to the edge of the tower overlooking the glass dome.

Phaedra unslung the DSR-01 from her shoulder, opened up the bipod and then set it up on the floor. She removed the large rifle case from her back, opened it, and then began to assemble the W3301. Once completed, Phaedra locked the bipod into place and then took up a prone position behind the weapon. She powered up the weapon and laid out the weapon's magazines within reach.

"Wolf to infiltration team. Repeat, this is Wolf to infiltration team. I have eyes on the casino floor," whispered Phaedra.

She gripped the weapon, placed one of the microphone's earpieces into her ear, and activated the laser microphone to begin surveillance.

Laura took the card and watched Harm and Naomi saunter off to the dance floor. She shrugged. It didn't matter to her what they did, as long as it seemed in character. Acting was something she could do, though not as brilliantly as her medical work.

Now where would be the best place at the bar to plant the explosive... Laura spied Cedric hanging out there. Maybe if she planted it on him and made sure he was in the area? In the end, she decided against it. The man was slow, but not quite to the level of stupid. Though, he came close. Anyone who tinkered with explosives for a living needed a sanity check.

Suddenly, Cedric left his drinking hole for the dance floor. Odd, Laura thought, the man didn't seem like the dancing type. But this was her perfect chance to infiltrate the bar without the neanderthal there.

Card in hand, Laura strode up to the bar, making sure her hips and breasts were the centers of attention for the male patrons. Part of Laura was unhappy that these techniques that Harm had taught her would only be useful for this one mission. There weren't any men in the squad who seemed able to meet her standards... It was lonely at the top - the price of all geniuses, Laura lamented.

"So, I'm thirsty and I hear you make some mean drinks. Give me something strong, with a little bit of a fruity taste. My friend's paying," Laura said, flashing a smile to the bartender. Unseen to him or any of the other patrons, she brushed the residue off the card and smeared it underneath the countertop.

With her assignment complete, Laura now intended to make use of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sample every expensive cocktail possible.

When the group was asked to remove all their belongings Avel complied for the most part. She handed over her lipstick and perfume but the garrote wire stayed where it was. For all they knew, it was just part of her uniform.

Avel then noticed that they had taken Wazu's cane and not returned it. Normally she would have shrugged it off but the man had a permanent injury for crying out loud. Plus he was a famous admiral who even had a nebula named after him.

"It's just a walking cane." Avel said to the guard who had spoken. "He needs that for his messed up leg."

@Avel/Matteo

“It is alright,” Wazu told Avel, “I’ll live and I’m sure they want to be thorough with their search.”

Ray, of course, had no intention of letting him have the cane or anything else that could possibly be used as a weapon. He would leave Avel with only a simple explanation, “It could be a weapon.”

One Avel had been scanned and frisked it was Matteo’s turn, with the guards taking everything they could off of him, even checking for earpieces or other electronics that might have been hidden. The guards would then sweep Wazu with an EMP pistol, just to make sure they got everything.

“Alright, you three will follow me closely. Leaving my sight will be considered a hostile action.” Ray explained, quickly leading the group out of the Casino area and into the administration building. Suited guards would flank them on all sides to ensure they didn’t go anywhere but exactly where the syndicate wanted them to. Ray would guide them into an elevator which would take them up near the top floor of the building. “Try and keep track of where we are,” Wazu said, “Just in case we need to get out of here quickly.”

Here, the messy cubicle maze of the administration building was replaced with a very orderly and pleasant looking hotel room with a bald headed man in a suit sitting at a desk on the far end, two guards flanking him on either side with three chairs set out infront of the desk,

“Have a seat,” He said, as Ray stood aside so the three could move into the lush room, leaving the rest of the guards in the lift which was sent back down. The entire room was filled with artwork, glass windows surrounded the entire area and there were enough priceless artifacts to really cement this man’s position as a possible villain for the next Phalanx Phillip movie.

The elevator was operated by a keycard, as was an emergency exit staircase. A fire alarm level was behind the main desk, and various pillars and couches filled out the room, creating the occasional piece of cover if a gunfight were to break out.

“Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have you all killed?” He asked, with Ray pulling out his .45 as he stood behind the group, cocking it to load one into the chamber.

---
@ Laura

“Right then little missy… Normally the ‘kick’ drinks and the fruity drinks don’t mix to well…. But I’ll see what I can do for you.” The bartender said with a smile as he reached under the counter to get his mixing cup, and began pouring in a variety of liquids from the various colored bottles on the wall. He put in some ice, gave it a shake, then strained the liquid out into a cocktail glass.

“Candy Cleaner,” He said, “One O’ them marines had me mix this up a while back for his gal. She wanted to try the cleaning alcohol but he was worried it was a bit to strong so this has a bit of fruit juice and rum in it.”

---
@ Phaedra/Naomi/Cedric

Harm was less than thrilled with this news from Cedric, but hopefully they wouldn’t need to blow the top off this casino. As she danced with Naomi she would reach into her clutch and turn on her datapad, relaying her position to Phaedra as well as turning on a bug so that she could be heard.

“Glad you could make it Phaedra,” Harm said, “Lots of guards by the front door, and plenty more running around the casino floor. We lost sight of Wazu when they entered the administration building which puts them right below you somewhere. You don’t happen to have eyes on them do you?”

At the same time she began creating a few blasting caps for Cedric in the palm of her hand, pooling up some blood from her body and letting the nanomachines do their thing. “Would you mind telling Cedric I’ve got his blasting caps?” She added, hoping Phaedra could help her out.

---
@ Phaedra

Snow would occasionally drift by Phaedra, her laser mic picking up the trance beats put out by the power armored DJ, as well as a lot of white noise, though if she moved it around she could focus on specific conversations. The guards by the door, for example, were getting tired of having to check people for weapons, longing for the days when they could just shoot people and get away with it.

Wazu, Matteo, and Avel were only a few stories below her, but since they were directly below she wouldn’t be able to see them, or even know which floor they were on.

---
@ Cedric


The bartender was currently focused on Laura, but he had sent the drinks over like Cedric requested, earning him the attention of the black haired woman in the red dress. She’d slowly slink away from the dance floor, moving through the crowd towards the bar. It was only then that Cedric would get his first good look at her face, tanned skin, long black hair, and lean facial features that he should be familiar with.

“Thanks for the drink,” Fhion said, “I was a bit worried we got off on the wrong foot the first time we met but that was business I guess.” She would take a sip of the drink as she leaned against the bar near Cedric, giving him an oh so insincere smile, “So how have things been? Getting any close to catching those squids?”

Cedric smiled a little as purchasing the drinks seemed to attract the attention of the girl in a red dress. He figured that Harm was right. As long as nothing went wrong, he might as well relax, and enjoy the opportunity to spend ridiculous amounts of cash. He turned to watch the approaching woman: leaning his back against the bar. As she drew closer, his smile remained. Then when she spoke, he quirked a brow at her question. Who was she?

"Lady: I'm pretty sure we've never met before." Cedric chuckled lightly, "At least not that I know of."

“Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have you all killed?”

"Because we aren't the real enemy here." Avel said, fully aware that what she heard behind her was the sound of a gun being loaded. "We're here to propose a mutually beneficial alliance so we can deal with the NMX smuggling operations."

"I should also point out that if you kill us you'll also have the IPG investigating our disappearance and our last recorded position was this place."

Drink in hand, Laura sniffed it. A slightly fragrant, citrus smell. She smiled, "This won't be my last one of the night." First she took a sip, tasting the drink. It had quite a kick and then some. But Laura definitely liked the flavor the bartender had added to it.

As a trained medic, she knew exactly what alcohol in large quantities did to the brain. She'd been told what would happen when she consumed too much alcohol. But she'd never experienced it. So tonight, despite being on duty, Laura planned to experience what it would be like drunk.

A few gulps later, she placed the empty glass down. Still smiling, she looked to the bartender. "Now that I'm warmed up, whip up something of your choice."

Matteo sighed. Without his belt, the man was now reduced to holding his pants up with his hands. He handed the piece of leather over to the nearest guard, and gave a disapproving shake of the head. Taking someone's belt was just messed up. Not as messed up as taking Wazu's cane, but still messed up. There wasn't anything Matteo could do about it though, and he just settled for stuffing both hands into his pockets. So long as he made sure the pants didn't sag, they wouldn't notice the garrote underneath wound about his underpants' belt. 'Just one more damned thing to worry about.'

And then Avel spoke out of turn. Did he say something, and risk making it worse? Matteo decided 'yes'. He was that annoyed. "Wazu is the one in charge, not you Sitkeas." He looked at the older man. "Sir?"

@ Laura

“HA!” The bartender said, laughing as he watched her down the potent drink. “Still looking for something stronger?” He asked as he picked up the green bottle once more, pouring some of the liquid into a glass spoon large enough to hold a single shot of alcohol, He then added a small amount of powder, and then getting out a small metal container, filling a tray with a freezing cold liquid nitrogen before dunking the shotglass in for a few seconds. He would then pull it out and hand the chilled spoon to her. Contained on it was a small crystallized mass of liquid. “It’s an Ice Queen,” He explained proudly, “It’ll sting going down, has a light minty taste, and it’ll make your breath look like fog for a minute or so.”

---

@ Cedric

“Well… that was a huge fucking disappointment.” Fhion said, downing her drink entirely before tapping the bartender for another. “I was so psyched for the ‘I’m gonna destroy you’ speech.” She quickly downed the second drink, before continuing her rant, “I go through all the trouble of smuggling this body here, laying out the plan, and putting the pieces in place to make sure it works and all I get from you is ‘duuuuuh, who er yoou?’

Higaflan? You blew up my facility, I blew a ship full of people you tried to steal from me?”

The angered villain in training set her glass back down on the countertop, straightening up as she moved on to the more important part of the conversation. She put her arm around Cedric and leaned in so she could have a little privacy in her conversation.

“This is one of those ‘I’m going to have a lot of fun getting payback’ type situations. I know very well I can’t kill you, they’ll just bring you back in a new body, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cause pain. The whole ‘gutting you like a pig’ thing will really make up for you breaking my toys earlier.

And be sure to relay my message to your boss this time. He’ll save a lot more lives cutting a deal with the NMX than he will be fighting us. Nepleslia is a lost cause but he can still save ‘new nepleslia’…”

With that she quickly moved into Cedric from in front, pulling him in for a one armed hug as her right hand jabbed a knife towards his stomach.

---

@ Avel and Matteo

Wazu waited for his subordinates to finish before speaking up. He didn’t like to be the one that made the threats himself. “We’re here to offer you a deal, help us with the NMX and we’ll help you with your businesses. I know you still have a large hand in smuggling operations and we know the NMX are likely using some of the same people you know to bring in supplies and equipment.” Wazu explained.

Their boss looked less than pleased, “Do you even comprehend the losses we’ve taken because of you?! What could you possibly offer that would *BLAM*” A somewhat surprised look on the syndicate boss’s face was replaced with a bloody splatter.

*BLAM*
*BLAM*
Before the Marines could even turn around the two guards standing next to him met a similar end, the tops of their heads exploding. Ray’s gun was still smoking as he took aim at Wazu’s shoulder from behind, the admiral nearly deaf from the three close range shots. In the second since the shooting started Wazu had so far only managed to stand up before receiving a round through the right shoulder, pushing him forward down onto the desk as Ray took a step backwards, turning his gun towards Matteo.

When Avel thought about it, this was a really stupid plan. Wazu was largely responsible for the Black Syndicates fall from power when he wasted their leaders. So of course their renaming members would be extremely sore at their presence. If it was her, she would have skipped the pleasantries and had them shot on sight.

Then again these people didn't seem too bright judging by the glass ceiling and the rooftops that were visible all around them. An assassins dream come true.

"If the ones responsible for ruining your life suddenly showed up asking for help, what would be the most likely response? Fucking stupid." She thought to herself.

The second Ray had started shooting Avel had sprung into action. The man had turned his attention to Matteo, most likely believing him to be the greater threat since she was a 'defenseless' woman. A mistake she intended to make him pay for with his life.

Taking a step back and grabbing the metal rings on her sleeve, Avel tore out the garrote wire in one fluid motion. She would then waste no time in stepping up behind Ray and wrapping the thin metal wire around his neck, then pulling with everything she had. Hopefully she would take his head off.

Cedric's rather curious smile began to fade as Fhion continued. He was still leaning on the bar, but his smile became a thin line. So this was the woman who had tried to destroy their ship on his first ever mission? She looked a lot different when she wasn't trying to actively kill, capture, or destroy his fellow Marines. Admittedly, his thoughts had originally been more focused on just how to word the recommendation to Wazu that Laura not be promoted (that woman had the wrong kind of attitude, in his opinion), but now his focuse was solely on the murderous woman in front of him.

Despite his expression, he still did take pleasure in her reaction when she realized he didn't remember until now.

When it came to her knife, the Squid made the mistake of alerting him.

While simply stabbing at him as she walked up might have been better, now he knew something as coming, and instantly went in to action when she pulled him in to the hug. He cared little for the condition of his hand: clamping tightly for her own, or if that didn't work then he would simply stop the blade using his hand as necessary. Better a hand than his life, right? While doing that he would attempt to head-butt her in the nose with his own forehead (though nobody wins in a head-butt, right?). He just prayed that would get her away from him.

Self-preservation at it's finest.

“Glad you could make it Phaedra. Lots of guards by the front door, and plenty more running around the casino floor. We lost sight of Wazu when they entered the administration building which puts them right below you somewhere. You don’t happen to have eyes on them do you?”

"Negative. Lost visual. I don't like this."

“Would you mind telling Cedric I’ve got his blasting caps?” Harm added.

"Cedric. This is Wolf. Harm has the blasting caps you require."

Phaedra had to resist the impulse to peer over the side of the tower to see if she could locate Wazu's team. She was supposed to be covering everyone. How can she do that if the Admiral goes somewhere she can't see?

"Admiral, this is Wolf. I have lost visual on you, repeat, I have lost your visual. What is your status, over."

The bad feeling that raised the hairs on the back of her neck wouldn't go away.

Phaedra brought her scope back over to Cedric's location, where he and another woman were getting rather close. And then something set off warning sirens in her mind.

"Isn't that...?" thought Phaedra, thinking of one of the people they rescued from the prison camp. She loaded a magazine of Guided Anti-Tank rounds into the W3301, and that was when she saw the woman give Cedric and awkward, one-handed hug. Cedric seemed to flinch, and then headbutted the woman in the face.

"Cedric!" said Phaedra. She felt powerless. Here she was, supposed to be the squad's guardian angel, and Cedric was being attacked. How desperately she wanted to pull the trigger, to blow that woman to pieces and protect her comrade. But it was possible the security guards would actually do their job and break up the fight. If she fired now, the game would be up and she would put everyone's lives at risk.

Cursing under her breath, Phaedra began noting the location of all of the security guards, possible escape routes, and firing lanes to aid in their escape.

"Dammit Cedric, stay alive!" she thought.

Instinct. As the first shot rang out, Matteo's instinct was to look out for the most important person in the room; himself. It wasn't his fault, really. He'd been working alone for most of his adult life, so it was no surprise that he turned, identified the shooter, crouched and dove to the side. Right into the now wounded Wazu. The ex-hitman found himself over the Admiral. Sense came back to Matteo as he remembered just why he was there in the first place; to keep this very same man alive.

He grabbed Wazu by the back of the collar and dragged him behind the syndicate boss's table, one hand putting pressure on the wound while the other searched the sitting corpse for a weapon.