[IC] The Depths of Deception

[Muttonhawk]

The next few seconds turned into a mix of trying desperately not to look surprised or to crack up laughing as Rareth showed off her own abilities, all for Shuo to come by and mention that he had decided that the salutes weren't necessary. Uncertain whether Shuo was playing a trick, Shiva slowly brought her hand down from a salute and stepped around to the refrigerator where Rareth had checked on her seacrawlers. "Aheh, ah, okay sir- I mean... Yunyu? Er, nevermind." Shiva shook her head and slid the tray out of the refrigerator and onto the bench. The six seacrawlers lay in two rows, now a bit less offensive to the nose. "Rareth...theheh!" Shiva was still struggling to keep her laughing in check, as she tapped a finger against the air in front of her, "I did warn you, but I will let you know next time if I can. That is a very impressive ability you have there. No wonder for your specialisation."

Shiva leaned one elbow on the kitchen bench and took one of the seacrawlers with her other hand. Damn it that Rothian woman just gets scarier. "Now, er, Yunyu," Shiva would have to get used to calling him that, "I was rather inebriated last night, I found these in the Downtown night markets with Ashley, and I can't say I remember exactly where I found them, sorry to say." She brought the seacrawler to her mouth and bit out a chunk with a loud series of chitinous snaps and crackles. It was as if she was eating glass. The shell wasn't the best part, however, it was the soft and meaty underbelly. Shiva spoke through her mouthful, "I'm not sure...if the vendor was completely legal, either. These were fresh though." Shiva paused her chewing and looked up at Shuo's eyes. They were expressing more feeling that she had seen as yet, and that feeling was hunger. Her eyes glanced to one side for a split second, then she swallowed. "...Do you want one?" She asked slowly and cautiously.

[Balmung1100]

"Oh well, but I'll say one thing...If I found out that we're being manipulated by corrupt politicians, I can't guarantee that some modified nitro glycerin won't find its way into their wine." Bit said ending his statement by pantomiming an explosion.

He meant it too, assassinations weren't really his forte, that didn't mean he couldn't do it though.

"What's that you're drinking anyway?" Bit asked.

[Lightbox]

August sat on a park bench swinging his legs while eating an ice cream, his sort of behavior probably made him look like a big kid to others as they walked but he didn't care. He hadn't managed to get much sleep and had been pacing around his room a lot the last night due to worrying about the mission. Ashley's words had kind of sunk in a little too much over the two weeks especially now, what if it was true, what if he was just there to be a fall guy. It made him heavily doubt not only why he was sent there but also his abilities, if he was only there to take the blame then did that mean he didn't have any other merits? Was he just some average guy who managed to get lucky with the media?

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, he knew he could fight well, he'd killed enough famous bounty's to know that. He was unsure of what their mission would be and knew nothing of what they'd have to do which worried him a hell of a lot more than whether he was a scapegoat or not. After he finished his ice cream he wiped his mouth and sat there for a few minutes deep in thought before deciding to just ignore everything and see how the meeting was. Today was the day after all. He lept off the bench and shoving his hands in his pockets he headed back to the building with the questionable design choices.

Upon entering the suite he saw bit and coin were chatting he quickly dropped the worried look off his face and smiled cheerily as he approached them "Hey guys, today's the day right? How are you both feeling about it?"

[EliteCommander]

Rareth took a seat on a nearby couch to relax while she waited for her breakfast. Hopefully, her breakfast would make her less likely to vomit than Shiva's. Rareth still found it interesting that the two Masulu had elected to take different rooms. Perhaps it was intentional, and Shiva was meant to help gather information on others in the team, away from Shuo, who might be considered a superior. Or, perhaps she simply did not want to spend her off time with her commanding officer. That also seemed to be a reasonable assumption. Either way, Rareth had not had reason to speak very much to Shuo, while she had gotten to know Shiva at least a bit better.

"The ability is nice, but as Shuo said, it has its downsides. In more...hazardous situations, you have to be acutely aware of your surroundings at all times, and you have to be ready to react in an instant. When you can be anywhere at any time, you have to start approaching situations differently. Spaces become a lot less linear once you learn how to use teleportation properly. That might be something worth teaching the rest of you. We're going to be working together after all, so it would be best if we are all aware of how we can use each other's abilities, whether that be teleporting, healing, or cooking up seafood foul enough to make your opponent vomit." Rareth commented with a laugh.

[baskets]

Coin had to take a moment to register that Bit did not know what coffee was. "Well, uh... This is called coffee. It's..." Coin drifted off. She'd never had to explain coffee before. "It's got this stuff called caffeine and humans use it to wake up in the morning. It can be kind of addictive, and I guess you could say I'm an addict," Coin grinned awkwardly. "I'm pretty used to drinking a cup every morning. I don't exactly function properly without it," Coin explained as well as she could. "Most people like to put something in it to sweeten it because it's so bitter, but I like it black, or without sweeteners."

As August walked in, Coin tossed him a quick wave. "We were just talking about it actually. I was trying to be positive about it, but it's impossible to ignore the intense political pressure on Pax, Bit pointed out." She sighed, taking another sip of her coffee. "Hopefully we'll be able to operate undisturbed. Unlikely, but l'm an optimist," Coin shrugged. She peered into her coffee mug, noticing it was almost empty. She downed the rest of the coffee in a single gulp. "In any case, I'm going to be taking everything we're told today with a grain of salt. Politicians are assholes."

[cqbexpt]

Shuo looked at Shiva and for a split second froze in his logic. He almost pushed out a half baked word from his mouth in an attempt to express thanks. Instead he managed to spin the noise that would have been into a proper word. "Yes, I would....very much like..one." He said just barely able to contain the first bit of excitement he had in many years. He picked the crustacean up with his thumb and middle most finger and brought it to his mouth. The smell, oh the smell grew with intensity as he moved it closer to his mouth. When his sharp front teeth finally scrapped across the top of the shell he grew with anticipation. He began biting into the shell cracking it with the force of his jaw he almost had a violent flashback. It was almost like reliving part of the war with every layer of flavor that touched his taste receivers. As he finished his first bite he breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, his eyes blinking slowly as well. He almost saw it....the red grass of the planet before it was attacked.

Shuo looked down to Shiva once more after swallowing his first bite, making sure to savor the entire flavor the best he could."Thank you.....for this..really." Shuo continued eating while he thought about what Rareth had just said. Turning over to the now sitting Rothain Shuo remembered something . "I saw a human awhile back trying to escape a cell using his teleport end up in the middle of a table. It was a bit funny, though I'm sure you have had much more practice with it then he did." Shuo then continued eating the crawler rather slowly until he finally consumed the last bit of the creature. Shuo nodded his head in agreement with the food even though it was rather dead at this point.

"Well then, I believe we are leaving soon for the meeting. Seeing as how I have not dressed properly yet I will meet you two again apon our departure. See you then." Shuo said as he made his way to the door. He disliked taking things from anyone that under him as he felt it was rather rude. But that was very much a special exception and he could live with that. He opened the suite door and crossed back to the other side of the hall and entered his suite again. There was noone in it and it seemed rather lifeless compared to the other suites. But he honestly didn't mind at all. Just as he finished that thought his stomach sent out a wave of pain that it was still hungry. He decided to head over to the fridge and grab out some fish that he had picked up the day before. After preparing it he ate it raw with his hands. Considering that it was cloned fish it was nearly disease free and what ones their were in it Masulu immune systems had long ago accommodated for. He did hope that they were not sent on a long range deployment that would require them to be somewhere for several months. Those were usually grunt deployments. And from what he had seen....none of these people were that.

[Muttonhawk]

What transpired caused Shiva to stand up straighter and observe Shuo with a confused fascination. Not only were his words muddled and conflicted, his reaction to eating the seacrawler he picked out was so exaggerated it almost seemed as if Shiva's cooking had sent him to paradise. Shiva had one eyebrow raised so intensely that it almost hurt to hold it there. The seacrawlers were fantastic hangover cures, but surely Shiva hadn't prepared them that well, right? Mostly to distract herself, she took another bite of her own, taking out another third of the seacrawler. Nope, they weren't anything special. When Shuo thanked her more profusely that she expected, Shiva glanced around the bench in front of her, gathering herself again and belying the fact that she was staring again, then frowned and motioned with her free hand. "You are very welcome." She replied, her voice inflecting high near the end of the sentence.

Thankfully the episode was short lived as Shuo's tone took a turn for the more casual in responding to Rareth. Shiva comfortably crossed her arms and was able to lean back and smile again. Eating the last of the seacrawler she held, she played off Rareth's comment about the food. When Shuo said his farewells, Shiva raised a hand and threw him a friendly, "See you." When the door closed, Shiva's mouth curled into a smile and her eyes narrowed. "Rareth, I think I have just found the weakness of my commanding officer. The dolt must have eaten these as a juvenile or something."

With that, Shiva leaned on the bench again and resumed eating the rest of the seacrawlers. Within a few minutes, her headache had disappeared and her mind was fresh again. After breakfast, she wasted no time in donning her military fatigues. She doubted she would be getting thrown into a theatre straight after the briefing, but there were no ceremonies she was aware of.

[EliteCommander]

Rareth gave a laugh in response to Shiva. "Hmm, how lucky you are. I wish I could find something like that for my superior. Influencing him is like trying to change the speed of light. I suppose that's a good thing, though, given his position. I've never met a Rothian that knows more about both tactics and diplomacy than he. He is just as comfortable around politics as he is a battlefield. Considering how different those two are, that is quite an achievement. One of them is filled with fronts, trickery, attacks and defenses of all sort, forcing those involved to both witness and carry out acts that no living being should ever have to face, and the other is a battlefield."

By the time Rareth's breakfast finished, Shiva went off to get dressed while Rareth ate and made small talk with the others in the suite, who were just waking up. Eventually, about an hour passed and they were getting close enough to the time of the meeting to start heading over. Rareth stood up from her place in the living room, then gave a glance to Shiva. "I think it's about time to go, but you know, we should talk a bit more when we get a chance. We can invite Ashley as well for drinks, I'm sure that couldn't go wrong." She commented as she headed to the door.

[Lightbox]

August laughed at coins response "Haha I wouldn't have thought that the assembly would put together some secretive team just to let politicians interfere in it. Though this is pax after all who knows what political irritations the Assembly is planning haha." August began leaning against a wall and his smile wavered and lessened "To be honest I've never been part of any official teams, I'm used to working alone and well being separate from everything else. I don't know what to expect from this mission and I don't know if I'll be able to function well as part of a team, I'm just a lone bounty hunter after all; Never really been much of a team player but uhh I guess we'll see what the assembly needs from us soon enough" He then realised that his carefree persona had shattered a bit and quickly began beaming from ear to ear again to rectify that "Haha listen to me sit here and whittle on about nothing, you guys feeling nervous about this? Political hatred aside"

[Kyelin]

As the conversation drew on, Opus carefully made notes in his mind, and attempted to connect the dots and gather as much intel as possible. Socializing and conversing were not entirely unlike planning a hit on a well guarded target: You observe their mannerisms, learn their habits and background, and watch intently for any lapses in the wall every individual builds, to see who they truly are. While most would consider such a dim view on a sentient's psyche to be cold or even offensive, it was not entirely the Agent's fault. It was simply how he lived, and a major reason he, unlike so many others in SpecOps outfits, had long outlived the average 'Operational' lifespan.

The female Rothian mentioned her skill set, and let out a ever-so-quiet muffled 'heh' at the mention of infiltration. They're not all just guns and brawn, Opus thought to himself. It was of particular interest to him her mention of Rahn'Masser, and how it was classified to them. Interesting... So this could perhaps be a defensive operation? What could the mighty Rothians be wary of, to forge a multi-species crew lead by a defender of Rohtian-kind? Opus was beginning to very much enjoy being a part of this task force, and had to force himself quiet before he got too carried away.

And, of course, The Masulu's: An interesting breed, Opus could not help but recall a very critical Consillium sanctioned 'political discouragement' campaign he had been part of early in his career. Their leaders always trying to preserve face, and letting others do the dirty work, the agent still admired their resolve and battlefield mastery of tactics the Sovereignty had honed over many centuries of advance and sheer military might. Such a force, both Masulu and Tempu members alike, were always a pleasure to work with. Made for good distractions, while a Dirophyd snuck away and silently dealt with the issue. A medic was useful, but possibly not nearly as useful as ArmSpecWar veterans, also whom Opus had worked with early on.

The talk soon, however, became droll, and Opus excused himself from their company as a service bot arrived with his requested items. "It was a pleasure to get to know you all. I must, unfortunately, retire... I have some minor suit repair and maintenance to attend to. A good night to you all, comrades."

---

2 Days later, Concord Southern Gardens
Opus had kept to himself most of the time spent at the Concord, occupying himself with training in the nearby Security Barracks (And made a few fight gamblers a tad wealthier), fine tuning his gear when he could get access to it (and sufficient privacy to remove his suit), and just generally exploring the local area. The agent hadn't had two days off in a while, and found himself at a loss, with no objective to complete, or orders to follow. There was no formal SpecOps training for how to deal with such circumstances, so it seemed he would simply have to occupy himself for the time being.

The sun had just started rising, and the agent carefully noted the many high branches of the trees, the meticulously placed shrub patterns of dozens of exotic and alien plant life, scanning and observing where potential threats could possibly choose to hide in ambush. Not that he expected trouble... Just passing time. There was not much for Opus to do, and he simply needed some sort of way to pass the time. It didn't help he was an early riser, as well.

[Muttonhawk]

Shiva gave a chuckle at Rareth's analogy, but didn't really want to talk politics. That was a subject of which she was particularly disenfranchised.

There was another hour that went by where Shiva decided to use the suite's facilities to read the news, occasionally responding to Rareth and her other roommates where called upon. She was mostly flicking through with curiosity at the different kinds of news that were reported on Pax, but also an angle that wasn't so deliberately skewed by Capitulum propaganda. It was refreshing to not have to take that grain of salt while reading through. As it turned out, there wasn't much that interested Shiva apart from issues already ongoing. It appeared that the channel she was reading through was mostly domestic news.

Soon enough, it was time for Shiva to stand up and head off. "Yes, of course," Shiva responded almost automatically. Once she processed what Rareth had said, she wanted to hit herself, but figured she wouldn't really be able to avoid her if she tried while in this team. She would just have to ignore the fact that Rareth was scary and hard to read. "Heh, well, I would be partial to drinks, but if I was any indication, Ashley is probably still purging the toxins from her body as we speak. We may have to wake her up ourselves if she hasn't handled herself already." Shiva craned her head down and spoke as if Rareth didn't know, even though with her years she probably did, "Human metabolism doesn't quite hold enough hydration to get over alcohol as Masulus do."

Shiva followed Rareth out of the door to the common area. She wasn't sure if they had to head up as a group or just head to the room on their own, but she didn't really feel like waiting.

[Balmung1100]

"Nervous?" Bit asked. "Nah, I've worked with glitching nuclear armaments before. If politicians made me nervous, I wouldn't still be alive."

Bit sighed as he opened the oven and grabbed the bowl of Searat. The sweet smell of its contents quickly permeated the room and mixed with the smell of 'coffee'. The resulting smell was not too bad, but the smell of just one or the other would have been preferable.

"I'd be lying if I told you that I wouldn't want to take my weapons to the meeting though, if for nothing else than to make those pencil pushers watch what they say."

[Hailfire]

Ashley took a deep, stabilising breath as she approached the assembly building, putting on the mirrored aviators she was so fond of with knuckle padded gloves as though concealment and the ability to punch unhindered might somehow be able to extract her from this complicated and uncomfortable situation she had placed herself in. Today's choice of fashion was form fitting black business suit jacket and trousers (or pants as certain oddballs in the universe seemed to call them) with the white shirt collar turned up and the top few buttons undone albeit not far enough to expose cleavage, Ashley wanted to look as though she meant business today not as though she wanted to sleep her way to the top of a company. As Ashley stepped through the doors of the assembly she ran her hands through the bleached blonde, rough, tough tomboyish hair she had refused to change for some politics mumbo-jumbo and almost superstitiously fondled the dogtags she had on clear display as a necklace. This whole situation had Ashley on edge to the point she'd hidden her handgun in a dead drop point not far from buildings entrance in case things went ugly, she hated politicians and had avoided any kind of fixed military employment as though her life had depended on it for years now and almost turned back as the lift binged to take her up towards a briefing that could end that run of freedom. Instead she cracked her knuckles and stepped into the lift, ascending up to the team residences moments later.

Ashley strode out of the lift with any fear she felt masked by a bravado front Ashley had near mastered over the years although, in honesty, she hadn't been this nervous for much longer. "Nervous?" She exclaimed. "Nah, I eat politicians like I eat cereal." She continued before realising she was perhaps overdoing it and that actually the analogy was pretty poor anyway, she barely ate cereal.

"Uh... How're you guys anyway?" she said with a flashy grin, keen to move on and trying to distract from the throbbing alcohol induced headache she had incurred from the night before.

[Lightbox]

August turned his head to see ashley enter through their suites door and respond to them "Do you plan to put milk on them then?" he said laughing at her analogy "We should probably all head to the common room at somepoint soon, i would expect that to be a good meeting point for all the different suites and its big enough for the whole group to stand around awkardly in haha"

[Fatal Error 1337]

Srath entered the far dorm, grabbing an enriched protein and vitamin shake he'd made before leaving. He drank the bitter creamy liquid as he made his way into his room, tapping his computer screen when he saw an alert blinking on the screen. Opening the alert it displayed the time and location of the briefing that was only a couple hours away.

He dressed in his military fatigues after getting cleaned up and finishing off his drink. Seeing as the briefing wasn't too far off, he decided waiting for the others in the common room would be the best idea.

'And getting a little reading done couldn't hurt.' He thought, grabbing his data pad before making his way out.

[Balmung1100]

"Probably a good idea."Bit said in response to August. He quickly glanced to the bowl he was holding and, for the sake of time, quickly slurped the contents out of it.

"I'm sure the others have already gotten the same idea."

[Lightbox]

"Yeah I'm gonna head there now, i'll see you guys when you're ready" he said beaming as he then left the suite and headed to the main common area and then noticed shiva and rareth had arrived there, he then approached them smiling and giving a little wave "Morning guys!"

[cqbexpt]

Shuo finished putting his dress uniform together and gave himself a quick look in the mirror. Everything seemed in place, from his rather dead expression to the cuff links he was wearing. His rank was proudly displayed on his shoulder and chest, he also carried the insignia of ArmSpecWar. He gave the burn marks that came up to just above his collar one last look. He never understood what act of Shen made him survive that grenade, and he probably never would. He made his way to the door of his room and opened it again to the lifeless suite he had been living in. He drew a slow breath to signal his disatisfaction with the current arrangement. Though it was nice that he didn't have to deal with anyone it was however, a double edged sword. He walked through the suite and opened the door to find the others already gathering.

"Well we should get on with this then." Shuo said in a rather neutral tone making sure to not give any hint to his opinion of what they were about to do.

[Fatal Error 1337]

Srath entered to see that most of their group had already arrived.

"Good Morning." he said more to the room than anyone particular.

Despite everyone's outward cheeriness or neutrality in some cases, Srath could almost feel an slight undertone of anxiety. Did they know some thing he didn't? Or was this more just general paranoia that seemed to afflict the majority of Black-ops types that made up a majority their group. Deciding it was the later he forwent reading to socialize with his soon-to-be team and try to get to know them a little better. As he'd neglected to do so as much as he should have over the last coupe days.

[Muttonhawk]

To each August and the other quiet Rothian, Srath, Shiva raised her hand. "Good morning," she wished them both in a tone upbeat enough to completely defy the hungover state she was in a few hours ago. For the times that August and Shiva crossed paths, he seemed to be a reasonable individual, if always tripping over himself. It was only recently that Shiva found out that he was something of a celebrated mercenary, a term she believed was an oxymoron until she saw the magazine covers. More than anything it was confusing, but she played it off as a cultural difference. Srath, on the other hand, seemed to either not be there or was completely withdrawn. Not in a bad way though, he didn't seem particularly unhappy or suspicious by the looks, not that Shiva was any good at reading Rothians. Srath was just distant. It came as a surprise that he would be wishing them good morning at all.

When Shuo emerged, Shiva froze like a deer in headlights. He was in his dress uniform, which meant that Shiva was probably meant to be in hers. Shiva felt a familiar sensation of her ears closing in preparation for being chewed out, but then there was nothing. Short of a passing comment, Shuo didn't look like he cared at all. That was a relief. A very unfamiliar relief, but a relief all the same.

"So...how are everyone in the other suites this morning?" Shiva asked.