[center] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6d/bc/37/6dbc37fd6456d8f08f26b3e5bc9f2538.gif[/img][/center] [hr] [color=cyan]"Ah, say it ain't so. I was just starting to enjoy this little vacation."[/color] Gerard sighed as the others began to filter out of the truck. Morden went to move and aid Val- they all more or less knew each other's Astral Reducer dosages by heart, Gerard's magic was more for damages of the flesh, which they had surprisingly sustained very little of. Gerard swung himself out of the back of the truck, glad to be out of the stuffy back and breathed in the cool air. Looking up at the sky now, no one would've been able to guess that a ship was up there shelling the crap out of them no more than a few minutes ago. It was like it had up and vanished. [color=cyan]"Whatever those things were, they're gone now."[/color] he muttered. Much like Silje, one of the first things Gerard did was check if the ship made any news, or if anyone else had caught a sighting of it- which shouldn't have been difficult given it's size, but both WARDENs disappointingly found nothing on social media or news. Either truly no one had seen anything, or Rassvet censor nets were already hard at work. [color=cyan]"What [I]I'm[/i] curious about,"[/color] Gerard called out to the group, [color=cyan]"Is why princess here crashed here of all places. The peace talks weren't set to happen until tomorrow- and even flying we're a good few days west of Orestia. That's a pretty far distance to fall."[/color] [color=coral]"We never made it to the Rassvet border."[/color] The princess replied, also stepping out of the back of the truck, watchful eyes prevented her from straying too far away, so she made do with sitting on the truck's bumper, hands running through her hair to shake off untold amounts of dust. [color=coral]"We were about an hour or so away from the border before we ran into a mist storm. We were only in the storm for a few minutes. When we came out we were- wherever here is, it was dark, and then we were attacked moments later."[/color] [color=cyan]"I've heard of mist storms displacing objects- chairs, wallets, keys, but a whole ass ship?"[/color] Gerard couldn't help but chuckle out of the sheer absurdity of such a thing, [color=cyan]"I've never heard of such a thing."[/color] He sighed but nodded as Justice told him to call it in. Looked like their vacation might end up being cut short after all- great. They' d only just pooled up a bunch of money for this sort of thing anyway, and it's not like Rassvet paid trainees much either. As Gerard walked a short ways away to make the call, the Vangar princess turned to Justice to address her and the rest of the Barghests milling around the truck. [color=coral]"With all the chaos and running, I hadn't thanked you properly yet."[/color] Collette said before giving them a short bow, [color=coral]So thank you, I don't think I would've survived the night if you all hadn't come along." "I'm guessing you all already know who I am, but for the sake of formalities, my name is Collette van Skymning. I was [I]supposed[/i] to be arriving in Orestia to facilitate peace talks between Vangar and Rassvet. For whatever that's worth."[/color] [color=cyan]" -no I don't know what they are, that's why I called them unknown entities."[/color] Gerard's voice carried through the relatively still air, frustration apparent in his tone. [color=cyan]"No sir, we didn't take secure lines with us when we left- we weren't expecting to get into combat some hundred miles or so inside the border. Yes sir. Yes sir. But- Yes sir."[/color] Returning back to the group, Gerard sighed and shrugged his shoulders. [color=cyan]"Well, no one whose worth a damn is awake right now, but I managed to get on the line with Lieutenant Setzer, the training company XO. He said he's going to report to relevant parties ASAP, for now we're to hold fast and lay low."[/color] Glancing down at the rest stop a few miles down, Gerard shrugged. [color=cyan]" Can we a least lay low with four walls and beds? Rest stop looks like it has a garage, and this junk heap isn't gonna last much longer without some repairs."[/color]