You arrived separately, and quietly, causing no more disturbance than was necessary to order your drinks, and find your seats. It's a lowly lit place, with clear air, and the faint smell of beer soaked into the unvarnished tables - but it'll more than do for your meeting. Which is a good thing, because this is where your contact in the World Court informed you that you were to report for your briefing, and you've no way now to ask to be briefed anywhere else. It's not unheard of for IRIO Agents to meet their handlers in places like this - or indeed, for the very same agents to meet the villains they handle themselves here - but it's by far less common to find yourself meeting someone so high up like this.

So high up, you weren't even told who to look for, or what their name is.

All you were told was that some time between 10:15 and 10:20, an agent of the IRIO would go to the bar and order a cocktail. If the cocktail was green, you were to then get up, and follow them out to one of the back rooms.

If the cocktail was amber, you were to remain in place.

If it was red... be ready for a fight, and await direct orders from that agent.

The time is 10:13 now. Prepare thyself, Agents of the Court.



Lt. Daniel Hunt ran a hand through his hair, and glanced over his shoulder at the other man - his superior, Andius Ponta. The back room they'd found for the meeting was one of the larger ones available at this particular venue, and all but guaranteed to be impenetrable to the Agents of the Heavens' Eyes - specifically because The Sun Sailor was one of the lesser known IRIO hideouts and safehouses, built for exactly this purpose, and kept secret specifically to enable the IRIO to effectively police the World Court itself, in the event of splinter factions making power grabs. Which was, of course, exactly what was happening.

Blasted Heavens' Eyes. A rabid pack of fanatical zealots, the whole lot of them. A week ago, Daniel had almost found himself suspended for getting into a fistfight with one of their inquisitors who had started asking too many questions. It'd been a good fight too, until the bastard pulled a knife, and Dan broke his arm in reply.

His only regret was that the wound would heal.

"Daniel, sit down, for God's sake you're even making me nervous." The General huffed, sipping gingerly at a tumbler of iced ginonade - a rough and haphazard combination of cheap gin, lemon juice, and a bitter tasting tonic water. The General claimed that expensive liquors never settled right with him, hence the poor quality of the gin. 'Better a headache in the morning, than being a floral liqueur drinking wimp in the night' he always said. Daniel had come to accept that sentiment - though he preferred rum.

"We ought to be nervous, sir. What we're doing could see us executed."

"What, preventing war?"

"Acting behind the Heaven's Twits' back, sir. They consider that which their eyes cannot perceive to be heresy."

"They consider all sorts of tripe to be heresy."

Daniel gave him a brief scowl.

"They're dangerous."

"So is gin. Come, you have a few minutes left. Sit."

Before Daniel could sit, however, the door burst open - and Dan's hand went to the grip of his pistol, scaring the life out of the young spy who had come to give her report.

"I- oh shit, what- sorry, sir, I- ah, arse." She stuttered as she found herself pushed back against a wall reflexively.

"Daniel, put her down. Lucy, you ought to knock. Now what have you to report?"

Daniel let her go, nodded his apologies, and refastened his pistol holster as she stepped forward, saluted, and gave a detailed account of the comings and goings in the bar for the past hour.

"In summary, sir, all of the assets known to have entered Solace in the last month, or to have been here beforehand, are now present in the bar and lounge. Their disposition makes it clear enough that they're awaiting our signal - and moreover, there does not appear to be a single Heavens' Eyes agent within the premises."

"How sure are you?"

"Damn sure, sir." She gave a little grin, flicking dirty blonde hair out of her eyes, her posture collapsing from a smart salute to a more casual one, her hands on her hips.

"Superb. Green light, then, Daniel. Lucy, go find your room in the inn down the road and try to get some sleep. The second watch will take over in three minutes, to the second, and at that point you can go and order, Daniel. Remember to make sure they all see the colour."

"Yes sir."

And so the plan was in motion.

Cole was sitting in one of the booths, next to the window, fogged up from the warmth of the inside and the cool of the out. He had arrived exactly 23 minutes ago. And, instead of watching the bar itself, he was looking down at his journal, occasionally taking notes. Or so it appeared. In actuality, just barely peeking out of his left sleeve was a mirror - which he was using to keep an eye on the bartender. It was less obvious than just watching the bar. Glancing around, he took a sip of his coffee, trying to identify other agents, but recognising no-one. There were many of them who were potentials, many who seemed unique.

Adrion didn't like this one bit. He was one of the youngest in the bars, which wasn't a problem in itself, but it quite obviously highlighted him out of the crowds--and that was not good.

A bow and the quivers were stuck tightly to his back, his four small knifes attached to his sides and the insides, and even a smoke bomb for a quick escape, yet the tinniest sense of comfort in them was rock-bottoms. This area was too small, its tightness and bitter smell of piss closed in on Adrion, making him even more nervous than he was. Never good in buildings he was, always gotta stay moving, looking, searching.

Many firearms, that was for one. Surprisingly a huge amount of young people, which stuck Adrion as odd. Bars were for old men and soldiers, yet most of what he saw here were a bunch of fragile looking things. Tougher than him probably, yet still fragile all the same. He could easily spot most of the new comers, as all of them, all of us, stuck out like a rotten thumb. The question on every sane persons mind however, was whether they were allies or enemies.

Adrion hoped for allies, he never had much of those. Enemies on the other hand, he has had more than his fill of. He was indeed trained in short combat, but he was only trained against a single combatant, not a possibility of 10. The light would probably be green or purple, as red would go against the purpose of this gathering. Except if this was another one of Master's tests.

Adrion stood vigilant in the cold corner, his senses taking in all there was in to take in without them being a hindrance; the weapons, the bodies, the faces, the clothes, that pretty woman over there, all equally important. Especially the least harmless and cute ones. Yes of course...It's the cute ones. Always the cute ones. Gotta keep an eye on them!

"Come on Kat, seriously. You can't really think that torture and pain is the only way to go about things. You do stealth right? That means you have to handle at least some situations without making people scream. I know you're capable of it, we're done enough contracts to prove that first hand. So what's with this crazy idea of your's?" Ariah spoke out to Kat who was sitting across from him at of the pubs many booths. This wasn't actually an odd sight to see the two 'discussing' their different views on how contracts should be carried out or how their choice of removing hostiles was so different. To be honest some days it was a miracle they still worked together especially with how different they were.

Despite it all though and through their idle conversation Ariah was keeping an eye out. They were brought here to this city and pub for a specific reason and their conversation helped them to blend in as just another bunch of mercenaries, waiting for the signal in secret. Thankfully the pub didn't look to busy which meant that if anything crazy did happen there at least wouldn't be too many issues with the local populous.

Still, anticipating a fight Ariah was armed, keeping his sword belts strapped to his waist, with Slugger strapped to his left thigh, hidden under his current wind cloak, just in case somebody started to take offense to his level of armament. Yet in his line of business and with how current events were going it never paid to be unprepared.

While talking and chatting with Kat, he made sure to keep an open eye around the establishment, using his already rather active and vivid bodily movements to hide some subtle looks around the room for a few things. The first being the signal, the second an assailants, and third being any smoking hot beauties. After all he was a man and this was a pub and while he did see a few who were clearly quiet attractive, things just seemed so calm and quiet. That of course gave Ariah a little bit of an edge. Mostly because the saying, 'calm before the storm' was only made because it held value and truth to it's name.

"Come on! That happened only once! That punch should have broken his Larynx!" Ekaterine said, protesting.
"How could I possibly know that he had a freaking silver choker on his neck? Who uses a choker? Was he a freaking dog or something?" Kat said, still annoyed by what happened.

The situation they were discussing happened in one of their contracts. Ekaterine was ready to kill her target, but just cutting his throat was no fun. Breaking his larynx instead, was a good starting point. The only thing she wasn't expecting was that her target was using a silver choker, stopping her trench knife and making her target scream with pain, alerting everyone nearby. What happened next was a real mess... Maybe Ariah was still mad about that?

"And what do you mean by that? I don't let them scream... most of the times... After all, taking down my mark and letting the guards wondering what the hell happened is one of the things that make it so fun. I mean, do you remember the news the day after that contract we took? The guy that I punched to death in his own bedroom, with thugs guarding him just outside of it? That was hilarious! I literally beat the hell out of that guy and they didn't even noticed!" she said, laughing.

"Anyways, that was only bad luck... They're all so confident about their "tight security measures"... It is always amusing to see their expressions when they see me. And don't be so grumpy. Our target is dead, we are still alive, everything is good, isn't it?" Ekaterine said, remembering her target's expression, a mix of anger, fear and surprise.

Ariah was extremely different from her, so much that it was almost a miracle that they get along so well. He didn't approved of Kat's tactics and techniques sometimes, but he was a very nice help to have. After so many contracts they completed together, Kat would trust her life on him easily, that what made both of them so dangerous as a pair. They trusted each other completely. Call it the "bond" that two people form after going into the battlefield together so many times. Kat had her quirks, so did Ariah, but both of them were undeniably effective on their jobs. Kat was a hunter. She stalked her prey, chasing it without it knowing, pounced on it, disabling and killing her target before he could even react, disappearing as fast as she came.

Ariah was fast... Very fast. If there was someone who could jump in the middle of a shootout and survive, that someone was him thanks to his speed and reflexes. In a straight line, he was unmatched in speed. Precise and lethal, there were few people who could face him in close quarters.
That what made them trust each other almost blindly. They knew what each other was capable of.

The pub wasn't that bad, in fact, it was a pretty nice place. It was relaxing. The low light, the smell of beer and alcohol. But they weren't there to have fun. They were called there by someone. Kat might look distracted, as she sat on the cabin sipping her drink and chatting with Ariah, but she was in fact keeping an eye out for the signal that their contractor would make.
Differently from Ariah, Ekaterine didn't even try to hide her rifle and her dagger, instead walking with them like she would normally. Sure, the rifle drew a lot of attention by being so unique from the others, but she didn't care about it. Mercenaries weren't that uncommon around those parts of the city, and it was only natural to see some mercenaries carrying custom equipment.

"Hey Ariah," Ekaterine called him, taking a sip on her drink.
"Sometimes I wonder... War is the natural state of the human race, its nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be frowned upon. It existed since the dawn of the humanity, and it will exist until its end. As long as there are two humans alive on anywhere in the world, there will be war. This is an undeniable truth, otherwise we wouldn't have a job, isn't that right?" she said laughing.

"The endless creativity we have to constantly innovate the battlefield, creating even more powerful weapons and ingenious tactics and strategies... The battlefield is a living thing, constantly moving, constantly changing. That is what makes it beautiful, interesting and amusing." she said, taking another sip of her drink.

"Do you like the nature? It is beautiful isn't it? Nature itself is nothing more than a big battlefield. Animals constantly kill and fight with each other in order to survive. Even knowing that, the fact that the nature is something beautiful is undeniable, am I right?
Then why is it wrong to enjoy killing? The act of killing is not "unnatural", no... it is exactly what it makes things go forward. It is this killing, this fight, this competition that selects only the stronger, most intelligent and most adaptable beings to survive. This is what allows every living being to evolve. Its only natural selection." she said, looking to him inquisitively.

"So... is it really that wrong to see the act of killing as something natural? Even enjoying it? We are only contributing to the natural selection. We are allowing us as a race to grow and evolve, both physically and mentally." she asked with a smile.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that! Seriously! Did you really think that I was only a mindless, ruthless, psychopath killer?" she said, disappointed.
"Never judge a book by its cover... I might even be a fine lady underneath the mask that I use." she said with a feline smile, making a noble pose.
"Nah... I don't think that would be possible, would it?" she said, laughing as she drank the rest of her drink in one go, putting it down on the table with a loud noise.
"Even though, I'm still a woman, Ariah. There are many aspects of my personality you still don't know. That's why we women make such fine infiltrators. What we may lack in strength comparing to a man, we more than make it up by being cunning, secretive and intelligent."
"Now stop looking at me like an idiot with that surprised look, or I'll hit you." she said, clenching her fist.

@Deos Morran

Without warning, but not very suddenly, the door to the back rooms swung open; Daniel and the other agent, Lucy, staggered out, feigning tipsiness convincingly.

"Same time next week, handsome." She slurred quietly, pecking him on the cheek as she turned to leave, almost falling over in the process.

"Only if you can hold you liquor better by then, hot stuff." He chuckled, before turning drunkenly to the bar, and sidling up to it.

"Don't you think you've had enough?"

"Ah come on, John. I'm just getting started. Gimme the green one, please?"

The bartender frowned at him for a moment, pausing from polishing a glass that had already been polished more than enough when he started. Reluctantly, he sighed and grabbed his shaker.

"Fine. Last order for you - and this is a pub, not a brothel. Try to avoid screwing that floozy in my conference room any more, y'hear?" He shook his head as he began to add liquor and liqueur to the shaker - a shot of Gunnar's Export Strength gin, a shot of cheap vodka, a dash of citrus bitters, and half a shot of bright green lime syrup - before topping it up with a sour, sugary soda mixture.

"Ah go on, hit it with the good stuff, will you?"

The bartender sighed again, sighing being one of his most regular activities when dealing with drunks, and held the shaker up to a small tap in the wall at the back of the bar. For just a second, he turned the tap on, and a few drops of something thick trickled into the cup - which immediately lit up a far brighter colour of green.

"You keep drinking like this, you'll fall off the edge of Solace before you even wake up, you dumb shit." The bartender huffed as he slammed the lid on the shaker, gave it a nice, hard shake - including a frivolous twirl in the middle - and strained it into a glass of ice.

Bright - borderline fluorescent - green.

"Cheers, Mike." Daniel flashed the barman a wink, before slipping him a note of currency, and raising the glass to the rest of the bar.

"And here's to you, arse holes!" He laughed at the lot of them, before turned back to the rear of the bar, and heading into the back rooms again, gingerly sipping his drink. If all went well, he'd be followed shortly by a team of mercenaries.

First time in his life that had been a good thing.

Frowning at the noise the couple had made, Cole looked back down at his journal. Of course there would be drunks. He had forgotten how deep some people would get into their alcohol. He touched his mug, only to find that his coffee was now cold. Clicking his tongue in frustration, he took another note in his journal.
"And here's to you, arse holes!" someone shouted.
Cole stiffened. In his mirror, he could see quite clearly, that the man held in his hand a bright green drink. That was the signal. He was to follow. Unsure of what to do just yet, he glanced around the bar, to see if anyone else would follow him into the back room.

"One time! One time is all it takes! You seem to forget the absolute shootout that came from that 'one time'! And who cares about the choker! People are weird, you know that. And yes, I am still upset about it." Ariah commented knowing full well what Kat was thinking in terms of this topic. It always went to the same place, Ariah being upset about that one time Kat's sadistic tendencies got him shot in the ass. Truth be told he probably would never let that go...

Then came the story he could never forget. Mostly because of how many times she reminded him of it. It must have been her favorite of all time as he heard it in vivid detail damn near daily. Maybe he visibly rolled his eyes, maybe not. Really it was arbitrary at this point because she knew damn well that he knew this story by heart.

One thing that could be said though was that despite all of their bickering and through their seemingly polar opposite views on everything, Ariah was dedicated to Kat just as he knew she was dedicated to him. They've just been through too much to have it any other way.

Then she started talking philosophy and how war was natural. "I think we disagree. War isn't a part of the world. It's just that inside everybody is a little voice that wants to lash out. Doesn't mean that all of us gravitate to war and that our natural state is war. Deep down inside I know we have hate and a need to fight, but we also have that same need to be happy and find peace. After all if our natural state was to kill each other then how can we love and be happy? True war happens and so does killing, but if I was to just shoot somebody at random here it wouldn't be seen as normal or natural. I would have upset the peace and deep down inside that sense of happiness would go against that action. That's why I do this job, because while I fight and kill I strive for that goal. That one day we can all be happy and at peace with the world around us. I mean if I get paid along the way that's no skin of my back, but still."

As Ariah continued to listen to her though the conversation started to change for the crazy. He knew that Kat was a little off but as she went about talking on her views and morals of killing his face contorted and shifted to one of almost quizzical wonder and sheer shock. One may think he'd have grown accustom to her special brand of psycho but after hearing her philosophy to her madness it was almost like watching a train wreck. He just didn't know how to respond to it. Upon her finishing though he had something to add, "It's not that I think you're a mindless, ruthless, psychopathic killer. It's that I think you're a very thought out, ruthless, psychopathic killer. Which I'm not sure is that much better... but hey, take what you get right?"

Then came the gender politics, yet before he could form a response on that thin ice, a stranger came in and dropped the signal, getting a green cocktail and making it quiet known before heading away just like their vague and cryptic orders had said. Dropping the conversation rather abruptly he nudged Kat with a gentle poke before subtly gesturing towards the man with the green drink and nodding. They had their order, their signal, and now their next step. The only thing left was to wait a minute before Ariah stood up and started to casually walk after the stranger, making his way through the door to see what adventure waited for him on the other side.

Aura loved to people watch, it always brought with it new insights and fun stories. Bars were, she had found, great places to people watch as drunk people often made for the butt of the funniest jokes. It was because of this she sat in a corner, watching over the bar's denizens, sipping at a water and yet still giggling like a drunk as she thought of all the new material she was getting from this. Some of the bar's denizens, well most really, were quite wary of the short, giggly girl with a rifle in the corner, most assuming she was a tipsy mercenary who probably had an itchy trigger finger. Not that she could blame them, one's natural assumption would never be that the armed girl wouldn't hurt a fly until she had to. Aura was always a little disappointing that people didn't approach her with her rifle, she loved to talk after all, but she understood completely. After all, she figured she'd never want to approach a random armed person, even if said person was short and quite cute, if Aura did say so herself!

Looking around, it didn't take Aura long to notice that several of these people looked quite scary. Some were big and muscular, quite the contrast to Aura's own diminutive height. Others had obvious weapons that would be much better in the confined quarters of the bar than Aura's scoped rifle. Some were just...off, though in a way Aura couldn't easily identify. In the end, she supposed it didn't matter much either way, after all as long as she didn't cause any trouble surely none of them would give her any. "After all, if you treet people pine, you can make new fronds" The passing thought made Aura giggle again, after all tree puns were her favorite jokes of all. She wasn't really sure why, it wasn't like punny wordplay was part of her upbringing, so she just assumed that she was that way for no great reason. It was an assumption she worked on for most of her traits, up to and including her physical appearance.

"And here's to you, arse holes!"

Her eyes were drawn to the loud, raucous declaration and she spotted the man prcolaiming it, much taller than her ("But isn't everyone?") who seemed well groomed. However, the big thing that drew her attention was his nearly neon-green cocktail, the signal for her to follow the man back to hear about the job. As the man walked to the back, Aura deftly got to her feet and, with a spring in her step, began to follow behind after the claiming her rifle from its spot beside her. Slinging it about her shoulder, she began walking after the man with a smile and a skip, resisting the urge to hum as she went. She was told that mad her seem very stereotypical, and Aura didn't care for that. She wanted to always be judged for herself, not the 'type' she seemed to fit. With a carefree glance over her shoulder, she wondered if anyone else was going to follow as well. With a shrug, she turned her head back and continued on her way, thinking with a mental grin "I'll tree them in a minute, right now I need to go meet up with that man so I can axe him my questions about the job!"

Seeing the red-headed girl stand up, her eyes on the man's back, Cole flipped his journal closed. To any without significant information, they might have thought that the dragon-haired girl was simply following to become a new conquest - another 'floozy'. Were it not for her inane giggling that had clearly carried across the room, and the rifle she carried with clear signs of use, he'd have thought that, too.
"May whatever gods there are keep us from harm." he muttered. "This needs to be worth staying in the city for, or I swear I'm cutting our ties and getting on the next ship to the Red League."
He returned his mug to the bartender with a nod, and then moved towards the back doors. With luck, there would be others with the same intention.

"I see you are still as boring as always... You can't deny that getting away from that shootout alive was a thrilling and exhilarating experience." she said to him after hearing his answer. "Its our job. We might as well enjoy doing it, right? After all,' If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life'"

"Still, we are an irrefutable proof of what I just said. We survived. Facing death so many times made us stronger, faster, smarter, craftier..."
"Random violence isn't natural, I agree with you about that. The human nature itself is constantly at war: violence and peace. The wish of controlling everything and the fear of being controlled themselves..."
"Light can't exist without darkness. That is the same for war and peace. Without one, the other doesn't exist. Priests, monks and others like them pray for peace, am I right? They do whatever they can to maintain and promove peace and harmony. Maybe that makes me a priest of death, war and violence?" she said, provoking him.

As soon as she finished talking, a very lousy and seemingly drunk man started yelling with a very weird green drink on his hand.
"And here's to you, arse holes!" the man said, before turning back to the back of the bar.

"Yeah, yeah... I noticed. By the way he did that signal, we might not be the only ones here, keep an eye out for others." Ekaterine whispered, getting up together with Ariah after he nudged her.
"That signal wasn't very subtle, was it?" she said with a chuckle, going where the loud man went.
"We should talk like this again. Its so fun to provoke you!" she said with a playful expression.
"Don't be so grumpy about that! I promise I'll reward you for that shootout." she said winking to him with a mischievous smile, provoking him.

While they were following the mysterious man, Ekaterine couldn't help herself but wonder what were they being contacted for. Being contacted like that, using signals and in an overly secretive way wasn't that uncommon. In fact, some of their most interesting and fun contracts were done in similar circumstances. She couldn't hope but think what awaited for her behind the bar. Which eccentric personality was the one contracting them that time.

As she was almost entering the room, she looked back for a second, only to confirm what she was already suspecting.
"Apparently, our "friends" are here as well..." she whispered, discreetly nudging Ariah.
"The Elf and the tiny woman, do you see them?"

The elf looked almost like a noble or a scholar of some sorts with his fancy, formal clothes and his lack of muscles...
The dryad on the other hand, wore common, peasant clothes. Diminutive and with a very delicate appearance, with short, maple red hair, she certainly didn't look like a mercenary, nor anyone who could actually take care of herself (mostly thanks to her appearance and the fact that she was giggling like a child).
Standing out like a sore thumb, a scoped rifle rested in a sling on the girl's back.

"Alright, so I managed to secure the last of the fuel we need for the journey- Lucy said she'd check it out on her way back; I got some of the boys loading up the last of the cargo and- oh." The messy blond head of hair attached to the bulky young man with cigarette and clipboard in hand looked up from his conversation with General Ponta as Daniel returned into the room, his tipsy step fading as soon as the door shut behind him.

"You should consider a career in theatre if the whole spy thing doesn't work out." Sam remarked with an amused chuckle between drags of his cigarette, allowing himself a shallow jab at Daniel before the rest of the crew he had assembled followed him in.

Leaning back in his chair, Samuel helped himself to a glass of gin as he propped his grime-caked boots on top of the fairly expensive conference table. Compared to the general sitting next to him, Sam was a much more down to earth sight. He had left most of his equipment on the ship already, the only thing he brought with him to the table was the solid piece of machinery that was his old navy sidearm, and he clutched at the glass tumbler like he would a mug of cheap beer.

Downing the gin in a single gulp without even a slight twinge to his face, he rather carelessly plopped the glass back onto the table. He typically wasn't one to sit in on the details of the missions the IRIO typically sent him on. He was more of a go-with-the-flow kind of person- most of the time, his job was to fly the airship and keep it running until Daniel or Lucy got back from whatever black book work they did.

Sam still didn't quite get what they were doing this time around, though then again he never did. In the year he had spent working with the IRIO, Sam never really questioned the things they had him do. He didn't like getting into politics, and he sure as hell didn't like those stuffy old codgers that made up the Heavens' Eyes, so if he could stick it to them, and get a hefty paycheck while doing so, that was good enough for him. Of course, Sam, unlike Lucy, Daniel, or the General, wasn't on salary, and relied on various freelance missions such as this one to pay the bills.

"So, who we got this time around?" Sam wondered allowed, his question targeted towards both of his superiors in the room.

Adrion has been keeping a very fine watch. He noticed many tactical targets, such as sexy blond with quite the impressive weaponry on her, a lovely women with short hair and an exciting look on her face (whom Adrion could have sworn was casually chatting about butchering humans) and another blond with impressive legs, which seemed incredibly suspicious. Two hot blondes in the same forsaken bar, at the same time? Such an oddity requires further scrutiny!

It was then that Adrion saw all of the odd balls of the bar stand up, following some drunken man. The hell are these people doing? Then Adrion saw her. His spine flexed, sending delirious quivers throughout Adrion's skin. His hair stood up, his hands nearly reaching for his knifes. In the line of creeps that tailed behind the drunken man and his accomplice, as well as the odd blond, a dubious woman followed, a cozy smile upon her unacceptability adorable face. Such a short and minuscule life form one could not possibly taken in for a killer-- a thief of purpose and joy--yet her rifle stood tall and loaded, ready to open holes with the click of it's trigger. The short strands of her auburn hair radiated a foreign and odd sense of safety, as if such a woman could not possibly hurt a fly which is exactly what she wants. So defenseless and full of opening, no doubt to lower the guard even further. Such a vile being! How low could this thing possibly get? Adrion's training kicked into gear, his Masters instructions echoing in the back of his head as he followed the group.

Let bulls run you over Adrion, but do not, under any circumstances, let a threatening target out of eyesight.

He did not. He followed closely behind her, studying her every move and breath, his hands casually floating over his knifes. He gave a short bow to the bartender, a man who was kind enough to sell Adrion quite a bit of alcohol without noticing he was a minor.

...but what of the targets which bare fangs? No sharp claws or an intricate system of muscles covering their skins? Those small and fluffy looking things in the middle of one of the most perilous forests? Those Adrion, are the most treacherous.

"A collection of freelancers with no public affiliation to the IRIO, Mr. Thomas." The General mused, sipping his drink, "They're good at what they do, though. Hopefully they can all be good at that as a team."

"Yes. We've got a lot riding on this." Daniel flexed, and clicked his neck, as he moved to stand just behind and to the right of the General's chair. "Why thank you, Samuel. I'll consider taking singing lessons too." He smirked, as the door opened and their new operatives filed in.

Once everyone was seated, the General stood up and spoke.

"Good evening, all. My name is Andius Ponta, and I am the head of the International Relations and Intelligence Office - or the IRIO, for short. This is my lieutenant and personal aide, Daniel Hunt, and that-" He said, pointing at Samuel, "- is Sam Thomas, our primary pilot and aeronautics technician - though I'm told you greasers prefer the term mechanic - for this run."

Gently, he placed his drink down on the table, and retrieved from his pocket a thin, folded piece of paper. Laying it out on the table, it was revealed to be a comprehensive geopolitical map of the Eversky. The city of Solace was a light blue, the Red League was coloured in red, naturally, the Oakheart Sovereignty was white, with a gold crest in the middle of their territory, and the Dominion was a steely grey. Between each nation, colour coded arrows represented their general disposition to the others - and to the World Court itself.

"This map," The General stabbed at it with his finger, "tells us one very important thing."

"The Eversky is about to be plunged into a vast and bloody war, if we don't do something - and bloody quick too, I say."

The General sat back, and nodded to Daniel, who stepped forward with his hands behind his back, and a cold, logical expression fixed firmly on his face.

"The political situation in the Iron Dominion is a troubling one. The current Prime Minister is becoming increasingly unpopular thanks to the policy of relentlessly testing the other two nations' aerial defense networks, and subsequently disturbing the peace in the Dominion, as well as rapid industrialisation of the rockfields to the east of the Dominion. The opposition called her out on this, and she's had several popular opposition politicians imprisoned as a result - which has only made the situation worse for them. Our emissaries and agents within Industry house, plus a close monitoring of the local media, has resulted in our firm belief that the PM is more than willing to start a war in order to postpone the oncoming general election, and give her party more time to win back the working classes. We need to stop that from happening."

"Furthermore, while the Oakheart Sovereignty is in a state of relative peace, the King is growing older, and remains unmarried. Ralen Pinestock is turning 53 in a few months, and is beginning to feel the discontent of his people at his marital status. He contacted us personally a while ago to ask the IRIO for advice - though why he thought a bunch of spies would know anything about the politics of love honestly beats me. It is possible, though, that some elements of the Oakheart nobility are subtly working against him, to install a married, more stable king - despite the fact that the Sovereignty has never seen better years on account of just how superb a leader Pinestock is. What's worse, the noble most likely to be voted in by the Sovereign Council - their strange, nobles only pseudoparliament - is a complete xenophobe, and warmonger. The Sovereignty will be the second stop."

"The Red League is... actually rather stable. There is nothing overtly threatening to the stability of the Eversky to be found there - but IRIO and Red League intelligence operatives have been sending cryptic messages lately, and we might as well send some people to check it out before this is over."

The General cleared his throat, and stood up, about half a foot shorter than Daniel.

"But of course, that hardly explains why we're not using our own resources to deal with this - after all, such a sensitive situation is usually kept behind the locked doors of the IRIO."

He paused for a moment, surveying the operatives before him.

"Well, it's because of those Heavens' Eyes nutjobs. I hate to admit it, but we've been half forced out of our own occupations by those hyper religious psychopaths, and for some reason they're not particularly interested in cooperating with us, or in preventing the war on their own. If I thought a decent force of my own agents could get through the IRIO web, I'd send them instead - especially since I can't even really afford to pay you, at least not enough to make it worth a job like this."

"But make no mistake, without your influence, the Eversky will be consumed by a bloody and savage war, which will see the deaths of potentially as many as millions of innocents, more than have ever been taken by the fiery hand of war in our history. I don't know you, and if you aren't willing to help us with this without guarantee of high pay you ought to leave - but know that this is your chance to make a mark on the history of this world, and that this is your chance to finally work for something more than money."

"Are you in?"

Cole looked around at the assembled people. From the looks of things, he was the only non-combatant of the group. That meant, without a doubt, that the General and the Lieutenant were both expecting to come across some sort of conflict. People would die. Maybe Cole would die. But, the IRIO had asked for him, meaning that they believed he was able to assist the mission.
He looked down at the map. He looked at the golden crest that lay in the center of his homeland. His mother would want him to help. He wanted to help. If he didn't, and the mission, for whatever reason, failed, he'd have to bear the guilt of millions of lives on his shoulders.
The weight of the revolver inside his coat seemed to grow. He had sworn his oath. Inaction may well be as good as pulling the trigger himself.
"I'm with you."

Ariah made his paces through the room and upon finding the table established with documents, maps, and of course chairs arranged to invite him closer did such. Walking over to the table he took a seat canted to the right of the old man at the head of it. Sure this was all weird, even for a world of weird, but there seemed to be a solid method to their madness. Then as the rest of the band flowed in through the door their madness was made known. A recap of the local political situation on all sides proved that they had at least managed to do their homework. Followed by a rather shady and underhanded way for why independent contractors were brought into the loop.

All in all it was a rather lack-luster and poor sounding job from an opportunist's view. Yet this kind of thing was exactly what Ariah fought for. While the conversation between Kat and himself only moments ago had been on this very thing. Fighting for an ideal of peace at any cost in a world where it almost seems contradictory. In fact one would even say that these men had stolen his very thoughts and ideals for their own use. Even if the pay wasn't going to be breaking any banks, it wouldn't matter to Ariah, "From the view of a mercenary I'd be mad to join this. But from the standing of an idealist I can't stress how much I'd like to make this change. Count me in!" He spoke out cheerily, ready to begin this fight for peace.

On the topic of Kat however. Well she didn't particularly tag along with his ideals and of course many different ones. To Ariah, her answer may not come as easy, yet no matter what her answer was he'd still drag her along by the ankles if he needed. This was a worthy mission and one that she needed to join him on.

Shortly after entering the room, Ekaterine gave a quick look at the others on the room. It was indeed a collection of freelancers, and nothing more. Many different people, with different fields of expertise. Only by looking Ekaterine could say that making them work as a "team" would be something... interesting to watch.

"Good evening, all. My name is Andius Ponta, and I am the head of the International Relations and Intelligence Office - or the IRIO.."

"IRIO, huh?" Ekaterine thought to herself with a smirk. People used to say that even their secrets had secrets. Their influence was notable, with many contacts and spies... If something interesting happened anywhere, they probably already knew everything about it.

"The Eversky is about to be plunged into a vast and bloody war, if we don't do something - and bloody quick too, I say."

"That's what I was saying earlier about humans and war..." she whispered with a treacherous smile to Ariah, implying that she warned him.

"The political situation in the Iron Dominion is a troubling one. The current Prime Minister is..."
"Come on... Go directly to the point... Politics are utterly boring and pointless... It basically boils down to a couple of fat and lazy nobles discussing on how to control others better and maintain themselves on power..." she thought to herself, rolling her eyes, visibly annoyed when Andius started talking about politics... She didn't had neither the interest nor the patience to those type of things...

"But of course, that hardly explains why we're not using our own resources to deal with this - after all, such a sensitive situation is usually kept behind the locked doors of the IRIO."
"Ooh~ Now we are getting on the interesting part." To have cornered IRIO like that, it should be one hell of a problem. Kat wondered what, or who had the power to do such thing.

"Well, it's because of those Heavens' nutjobs." And there it was her answer... Another famous name to anyone working with espionage, sabotage & such.

The Heavens' Eyes. They were called "fanatical cult" and other things. But the fact that they were a very secretive, and powerful, very, very powerful group was undeniable. Extending their claws over almost all the nations, IRIO was right in dealing with them with utmost care.
Ekaterine would not lie. She was very, very interested about the Heavens' Eyes and IRIO. To someone like Ekaterine, whom secrets were not only a dagger, but also a shield and a merchandise, she would benefit greatly from knowing some of their secrets.

"Are you in?" he made the final question.

"Blood will be spilled regardless of the result of this mission. The only difference is how much blood, and from whom." she said with a treacherous smile.

"This will be very, very interesting... You can count me in." she said with a chuckle. Her dark grin was practically yelling that she was planning something.

"About the money, don't worry about that. Money is not the only currency I accept. And something says that both IRIO and the Heavens' Eyes have plenty of that currency to give me."
"I'm sure that you know about both my and Ariah's backgrounds and abilities by now. I'm looking forward to what we might stumble upon on our little mission."
"Ekaterine Volkov, at your service."

Aura didn't like serious situations, it was just part of how she was. Peace was, truly, the best, and she loved nothing more than to share a giggle with her friends. But this was definitely, one hundred percent serious, and Aura didn't know how to reply. She began fidgeting with her rifle strap, trying to think of some way to lighten the mood, but nothing came to her mind that seemed appropriate. However, she knew exactly what her answer was going to be, and all it took to decide was to remember gazing up from the top limbs of her tree, at the endless sky above her. She'd give everything to keep those skies from becoming a place of sadness, a place of bloodshed and war, and to protect the forests, the rivers, suddenly she was in a position to make each and every living thing her charge, hers to protect, and Aura could hardly turn that down. She gave the general a smile and brought her hand up into a poor facsimile of a salute, saying "Yessir! I may not be the best I can be yet, but I'll give it my all! Just you watch, we'll stop the war!" The girl was now practically overflowing with excitement, ready to go and do her part to save the world!

Sam made a point of gauging the response of the others as Daniel and the General spoke. The two of them always insisted on using such a flowery turn of phrase that sounded like they had a stick up their own asses and were taking themselves too seriously. In fact, everyone in the room- with the exception of the half-elf, looked to be a mercenary- or a freelancer, whichever term they preferred. From looking at the receipt for his cut of the advance pay they'd shared with him, Sam doubted many of them would be joining on with the mission- the pay was low by most standards.

The mission was fairly important, Sam concluded as he listened to Daniel. While he didn't care much about the politics of the other two nations, his siblings had subtly expressed their discomfort with the current Prime Minister's increasingly aggressive political policies. The factories they worked at had been getting increasingly large requisition orders for more airship parts- some smaller airships being built from the ground up within the factory itself. There was also talk of conscription policies becoming more strict, with there being some talk of taking entire towns worth of men into the armed forces at any moment. Of course, most of the aristocrats wouldn't be forced to serve- a few would probably take the roles as officers for glory, leaving the common man to die in droves in foreign skies.

That fact alone solidified Sam's resolve in the IRIO's mission, though it wasn't like Sam had much choice in the matter, being a contractor and all. It was the responses of the others that surprised Sam the most.

Two of the Mercenaries were obviously pair- at least in regards to their profession. The male, was young- around Sam's age probably. He was also enthusiastic, and a self-proclaimed idealist. He hadn't been in the mercenary business long- couldn't have been. Most mercenaries were an older, gruffer bunch; they needed to be to survive. The young and enthusiastic ones were always had more of a spring to their movements sure, but they always took off more than they could handle. The oldest mercenaries were the ones lucky and skilled enough to get through their younger phase intact. The woman of the pair was a much more dangerous prospect. She looked the look, and talked the talk of a killer, one that was probably fairly good at it. The idea of someone like that on his ship was a little nerve wracking, but he supposed it was better having her on his side than not.

The half-elf was another interesting pick. He seemed a good enough sort of folk, if a bit stuffy. He seemed a well-to-do sort of fellow, and was probably well educated, and was unique in the fact that he was so plain, that in comparison to the others, he actually stood out.

The one with the red hair had an endearing look to her, with a pretty, round face and bright eyes- not to mention her upbeat voice; but the ornamentally inscribed and battleworn rifle looked like it had seen a fairly large amount of use.

"Jeezus General, you sure know how to pick 'em." Sam remarked with a slight grin as he snubbed out his cigarette on the table's ashtray.

"Yes I damn well do, son. Now, I'm past due to be leaving. Lt. Hunt will finish the briefing, and then Mr. Thomas will fill you in regarding your mode of transport. Cheerio, folks - and don't forget, the peace of the Eversky is resting on your shoulders." The General gave them a wink, and heaved himself to his feet, his old bones practically creaking.

As he made his way to the door, Daniel stepped into his place.

"Alright, listen closely, the plan has remained relatively fluid to compensate for any leaks in our network, but we can reveal the rough gist of things. Samuel, you know most of this already, but you might as well listen in too." Daniel produced a pencil from his shirt pocket, and pointed with it to the city of Solace, on the map on the table,

"From here, our first port of call will be the Iron Dominion, for obvious reasons. There's a rough game plan in place already for how we deal with their situation," He continued, glancing at Sam, "but it remains hypothetical for now, and is subject to change. To get there, we're going to take the southerly current towards the Red League, and then drop down into a lower level of the Luft, and essentially double back on ourselves, to make use of a rarely travelled path, and avoid detection by anyone who already knows our mission."

"We're set to stop here, here, and here, but that could easily change - as I said, the plan is fluid." He enunciated, pointing to three separate small islands, only two of which were labelled as inhabited.

"From there, we're likely to move on the Oakheart Sovereignty, but that'll mean a brief period of travel without the use of the Upper Luft, as there does not exist a jetstream either stable enough or long enough to get us continuously from A to B, here."

"That naturally makes the Red League our final phase in this little venture. Our plan for that part of this mission is not presently formulated. We shall make it up on the fly - erm, no pun intended." Daniel furrowed his brows at the genuinely unintentional pun.

"Sam? Care to tell us about the mode of travel we'll be using?"