[IC] Equivalent exchange

[KoL]

A few hours ago, at the chlorine smelling halls of Laboratory 4 on Central City...

Two army officers walked through the halls while trying their best to hold their breath because of the strong smell of the disinfectant used to clean the biological research facility. One of them, carried a tan envelope containing a commission expedited directly by the High Command to this facility's commanding officer.

After a short walk they would reach their destination, the hardwood doors of the office of the soldier known as 'The Amestrian Vampire' for both her ruthlessness and signature alchemy, Emillia B. Krowitz.

"Sir, are you sure these orders are right? Why would the Command send a biological researcher on a mission such as that?" The one carrying the envelope, who was easily distinguishable as a short haired, blond, young woman, asked.

"Are you questioning the Command's orders, sergeant?" The other one, who was a half bald, gray haired man, way in to his fifties answered in a curt, and very gruff way.

"No, sir!" The woman replied hastily while standing at attention.

"Then knock at the door." The man shouted, just before the door was opened from inside, revealing Emillia's displeased expression. Surely, this would be a very bad day for both of them...

Present time, aboard a train, bound to East City...

"This seems to be the perfect opportunity to further the Stone's research, since I seem to be the highest ranked officer of the task force." Emillia said to herself as she reviewed the commission details. Simply put, they had to quell a rebel cell that was based on the eastern territories, though there seems to be a few layers of truth to be unearthed about this group, which turns obvious why they tasked one of the army's most infamous torturers to this job.

"Though I may have to deal with that iron headed fool, at East City, which gives me a migraine just from the mere thought of it." She said, referencing the Commander of the Eastern Territories, Brigadier General Basque Grand, a man that Emilia loathed.

"Anyway, it about time I checked on the other alchemists, to see if I'll have any problematic ones to deal with." Emilia then, straightened her uniform, after finishing her 'meal' and exited her cabin to meet with the other alchemists. She left behind the pale body of the young sergeant from before, which she would later dump at the nearest station saying that the woman had died from anemic shock.

[The Narrator]

As Charles set foot in the wagon of the train where they were supposed to meet only one person was already there. He already knew what to expect after he read the briefing, but seeing a person who was regarded almost universally as a psychopath as the highest ranking officer on this mission wasn't exactly pleasant.
"Mam.", he greeted her and did a salute, "My name is Charles Walenburg, we served together in Ishbal. I believe we met during the attack on that ishvalen monastery."
Charles remembered that battle full well. He did not know exactly why she was even at that battle, or on this mission for that matter, since she is a researcher but he remembered her. When she showed up he was no longer the most hated or most feared person in the company. He had doupts however that she remembered him. Except for his looks and alchemy Charles was no particularly memorable person.
He just hoped that none of the other alchemists was very keen on trading war stories as he sat down...

[KoL]

Emilia arrived at the designated meeting wagon before any of the other alchemists and found her place at the briefing table after ordering a servant to bring a bottle of the best brandy they had on the restaurant car. When Charles arrived she was standing by the window, staring at the landscape absentmindedly while savoring the exquisite drink, until he introduced himself...

The smallish woman, who didn't looked past her late teens, retributed the salute just as she met Charles' gaze with her impregnable facade, before saying "At ease, major. The official briefing won't begin until we rendezvous with general Basque Grand at East City. This is just a social gathering between fellow Estate Alchemists, so please enjoy yourself." Emilia motioned to the drink that lay on a side table before turning to the windows once more and continuing "Of course I recall that operation. You must be the Corrosive Alchemist, right? Thanks to your valiant efforts we were able to capture their holy man alive and get the crucial information we were after. Many Amestrian lives were saved because of you, if you wish, I could arrange for you to receive a medal for that."

Independent of Charles' answer to her offer, Emilia would do a brief pause before acknowledging it and then say "As soon as the others arrive, we will have lunch together, the presence is not optional. However, you can ask for anything within the menu, since I arranged for us to have a personal chef for the day." Without saying another word, Emilia turned to the landscape again and remained silent until the other alchemists arrived.

[dndragons]

Valorie looked at herself in the mirror of the train station restroom while adjusting her collar. When she woke for the day she of course didn’t think she would be getting an envelope and then the quick briefing she had to go through. Giving herself a moment she made sure her uniform was proper and then even looked over herself for a moment. This was both to try and make sure she could give a good first impression while also giving her a moment to assure herself. A simple time to undo her nerves that being given a mission in such a manner could rouse. “Just another day at the office.” She told her reflection to put the matter to bed. With a quick turn she walked directly out of the door and made her way past the steam engine. Turing her head to it she took a quick examination out of appreciation for the massive beast that would pull her towards the east. It was only brief as she turned back forward to make her way inside one train cabin that would connect to the one they would be staying in for the duration of the ride.

Upon entering Valorie couldn’t help but scan both figures quickly once before putting her feet together and offering a salute due to the outranking alchemist before her. “Major Falkner reporting in, Ma’am.” Standing at attention for now to not insult the Colonel before her she only could think over their appearances. It didn’t take her mind long to at least remember the names of the two alchemists standing in front of her. Faces like those, either bandaged or simply as unique as Emilia weren’t easily lost from memory. She didn’t know them well besides their names and titles as she didn’t end up in the same areas during the Ishvalen extermination consistently. Due to their appearances and names Valorie felt like this mission was going to more important than she even thought to start, though she didn’t show it on her face.

[Undying Curiosity]

In one of the cabins of the train a waiter approached with a cloth in on hand and a plate of food in the other. With a quick observation it was clear that the food was going to the man and his wife who sat near the one end of the cabin. William, whom was spectating the waiter, stood and intercepted him. He scribbled on a small chalk board at miraculous speeds and held it for the waiter to read, the sign read"I was just walking over to em, I'll just take the food with me" William waited until the servers eyes met his and he smiled. His conniving little plan worked and the server handed over the steak and mashed potatoes. William held his smile, waiting for the server to turn around. The exact moment he did, William broke out into a fast walk towards the train cabin where he was supposed to meat the other alchemists. All could have been made easier if William had decided to just pay for some food, but he didn't want to have to pay a ridiculous price for something like mashed potatoes and steak.

The cabin door opened in front of him, standing within were three people. One was a girl, a young one, wearing the military uniform standing by the window. The other was a man, Slightly taller than the others. He was heavily bandaged on his arms and head, making it difficult to make out his features. The third girl was standing there, saluting to the others. A salute usually doesn't last for more than a few seconds, so he speculated that she'd arrived around the same time he did. Unlike her, however, William didn't salute. It may be a very large gesture of recognition, But William wasn't going to salute to anyone, unless it was rightfully due. In his eyes, it wasn't.

With a mouth full of steak he looked at the lot, then moved his eyes to his chalkboard where he erased the last thing he wrote and began fresh. He held up the chalkboard,"Morning." It read.

[agentmanatee]

Gresham Law had had a shitty morning, and it was rapidly turning into a shitty day. Upon waking not only was he told that he was being sent back east, it was apparently a trip to kill more people. Gresham had no wish to ever see the east again, he'd had his fill, but he couldn't say no... he was a state alchemist after all. So now he was entering a train car soon to be bound for the east, and he had missed brekfast.

As he entered the car, he saw 1 person he knew well, 2 people he knew through reputation, and one man he had never seen in his life. He decided to greet the one he knew first, the daughter of an old friend, one Valorie Falkner. He had been friends with her father before the war and had served with both of them throughout, he hadn't known she'she'd be there... they had spoken much since the war and he wasn't certain of her opinion of him, "Hello Valorie, it's been awhile. Didn't realise you'd be here... tell me how have you been?
Gresham wasn't exactly an Adept conversationalist, so his clumsy attempt at small talk was honestly his best try.

[KoL]

The first alchemist to arrive after Charles was another woman, much taller and with a feminine figure the likes of which Emilia would never develop, saluting, she introduced herself as Falkner.

Emilia couldn't honestly say that she recalled the woman from anywhere, though it wasn't impossible they have met before that at any of the many formal meeting the Estate Alchemists were obliged to take part. Nevertheless, she retributed the salute before saying "At ease, major. Like I said to major Walenburg earlier, this isn't a formal briefing, just a meeting to reinforce our camaraderie. You can help yourself to the drinks, if you wish, while we wait for the others."

Seconds later, the two remaining members of their task force who would be on this train arrived, though they displayed far less respect for the protocol than Emilia would like, thus she said "Gentlemen, while I must stress that this isn't a formal meeting, the military protocol should be followed at all times, without exception. Order is what makes us, Amestrians, into the superior species of this land, thus we should always cater to it. I'll let it slide this time, but you should feel relieved that I'm not General Basque Grand, since he's much more ruthless when it comes to maintaining order."

Emili then sat at the table and beckoned the other alchemists to follow her "Today's lunch is courtesy of the High Command, you can ask for whatever you wish from the menu. Now, how about we start our introductions?" She poured another glass of brandy for herself, but didn't drank it before saying "I'm Colonel Emilia B. Krowitz, known as the Blood Rose Alchemist. Those of you who served at Ishval might have heard plenty of stories about me, but in the end, all that I do is a vital job very few are willing burden themselves with. My expertise is bio-alchemy, but I'm also a qualified field medic in case any of you gets harmed during duty. I hope we can cooperate and become true comrades-at-arms after this mission ends." After finishing her introduction, Emilia took a sip of the brandy and motioned for the next one to follow her.

[dndragons]

Valorie dropped her salute at the word of the colonel and relaxed her pose to standing steady with her arms held behind her back casually. “Thank you, Ma’am.” she responded in kind. Her first impression of Emilia was positive for now as it seemed the colonel could create a proper feeling of authority. Still, the bandaged man was making Valorie curious even if she knew it was impolite to try and discern why he would need the bandages as well as who he may be as a person himself. These thoughts were cut short by the introduction of William. She couldn’t recall who he was, and nor did she care for the way he entered much like Emilia. Respect for command, after all, made a military function properly. If everyone took their own initiative strategies and plans would fall apart, not that there is never a situation to argue or challenge an order. Those situations you simply hope to not come across. He also was using a chalkboard, and couldn’t help but think as to how this mission play out with someone who seemingly may be mute.

Gresham produced a different reaction though as Valorie missed his lack of order as she went through the moment of recognizing him. While Valorie wished to respond, and even opened her mouth slightly to do so she was cut short by Emilia’s voice and her response to the two men. Valorie raised an eyebrow for the moment that Emilia mentioned order making Amestians into the superior species. For now though, Valorie would take that as Emilia’s pride for her country rather than anything extreme. Taking a glance afterwards to the man she knew she said nodded once to at least single her recognition, but also as a way to say if he wishes to talk it will need to come a bit later after their meeting is done. After Emilia motioned, Valorie would sit at the closest seat on the table. She didn’t take any drinks for herself as of the moment and found her hands weaved together resting below but not touching her chin. With the words that Emilia was a medic Valorie felt a bit surprised. Amestrian alchemy and healing properties weren’t usually connected, but Valorie had read once about the supposed healing powers of Alchehestry. With that Valorie concluded it wasn’t too farfetched that someone may have figured out how to use Alchemy in the medical field.

A few seconds after Emilia finished Valorie started her introduction. “I guess I shall go next, I am Major Valorie E. Falkner, the Quicksilver alchemist. I specialize in metal alchemy.” The back of her hands showed tattooed alchemy circles like many alchemists would aim to do with either a glove or tattoo themselves. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” She added at the end as her head rested on her hands not to listen to whoever would speak next. Valorie could have said something about her father if they didn’t know her directly, but she rejected that idea the moment it came to her mind.

[agentmanatee]

Gresham sighed at the fact he was unable to immediately talk to Valorie, but he had ignored military protocol. So he turned to the Blood rose and snapped off a stiff salute,"Terribly sorry Colonel I forgot myself, Major Gresham Law reporting for duty", and then moved to sit down.

After Emilia and Valorie had spoken he decided it was his turn, "I am Gresham Law, the Armored blood alchemist, though unlike the colonel I'm no medic. I'm much better known for killing people,specifically many Ishvalans with my liquid-based alchemy" as he finished Gresham remembered the town he was infamous for exterminating alone... maybe they knew him from that... but he certainly hoped that was not the case.

He grabbed a glass and poured himself some brandy, listening to the others introduce themselves.

[The Narrator]

Charles was pleasantly surprised by the friendly greetings from Emilia. Perhaps her reputation was an exaggeration? Most of the stories about Charles were also highly exaggerated. He should have waited before judging her. "Thank you mam, I just did my commands.", he answered to her compliment.
Just after he said those words a rather good-looking young alchemist entered. She saluted the Colonel, in contrast to the alchemist who entered after that. He carried some food with him and wrote his pretty informal greetings on a chalkboard. Perhaps he was mute? Charles remembered hearing about a mute young alchemist, though he couldn't put a name to it.
After that Gresham Law entered. Charles knew him since they fought in the same unit for a short time. Still they never really talked. He also forgot his salute.
After Emilia introduced herself it made some sense to Charles, she was a bio-alchemist and medic. He heard about research into medical alchemy, that must be the reason for her to be here.
The young woman was specialized in metals, a useful addition to the team. Gresham used liquid based alchemy, but Charles already knew that, his introduction made Charles roll with his eyes, that pride for killing people was something he never had.

"My name is Charles Walenburg, i am the corrosive alchemist. I specialize in the transmutation of acids.", he did not feel as more of a introduction was necessary...

[Undying Curiosity]

William listened tentatively to the other alchemist introduce themselves. Out of the four others who stood before him, only one stood out, naturally. Emilia B. Krowitz, the Blood Rose Alchemist. From what William knew about her she is a researcher (researching what, william couldn't say), she is a higher ranked officer than he was, she has skill in medical alchemy (which is rare) and she wields a very dangerous Alchemy. William's interest was peaked by her, but he wasn't sure if it was in a good way. Even though she was a higher ranked officer, William didn't feel like she should be treated any differently than how he would treat another state alchemist. William observed her for a moment. She looked young, almost to young to be a colonel, but her looks didn't necessarily mean anything. The more William thought about it, the more he started to stress, he decided to just leave it and get on with this trip.

thoughts and speculations were flowing through his head as he processed the information given to him by his fellow alchemists. He took into account the Corrosive Alchemist, thinking of how deadly of a team they could make. But he didn't leave out Gresham or Valorie, each person he thought about gave him ideas. Sadly, however, the wave of information about his peers stopped and it was his turn to introduce himself. William had almost forgot that that's what they were doing in the first place, introducing each other. William didn't wast anytime introducing himself to the other. He erased his chalkboard and wrote on it. In bold, thick letters, so everyone could see, he wrote,"My name is William Campbell" he watched closely at everyone eyes, making sure to lower the board at the appropriate time. William decided he wanted to change things up a little bit. Seeing as William was the only person who could safely use his alchemy on the train, he did. The air shrieked as he preformed his alchemy, turning the plate in his hand half into water and half into sand. The water instantly saturated the sand, leaving a small glob of goopy, runny sand dripping between his scrawny fingers. After a few seconds he scribbled on his board again,"I make quicksand. Anywhere." William left it at that. A feeling of satisfaction hit him like a wave when he came to the realization that all this introductory stuff was over with. Now, he could finally sit down and relax till the east.

[KoL]

After the introductions were due and their lunch was over the train was already far away from Central City. Emilia dismissed the gathered alchemists, though she requested that Valorie meet up with her later that evening, in Emilia's personal cabin. The Blood Rose Alchemist had acquired an interest on Valorie, since female State Alchemists were a very rare breed and most of them worked on labs, just like Emilia. A war alchemist like Valorie too rare and Emilia wouldn't lose the chance to study her better.

Other than Valorie, the only other to trigger Emilia's interest was Charles, the Corrosive Alchemist, after fighting alongside him on a one-off operation, Emilia knew that his knowledge and skill were vast. Though, she also noticed that he lacked the guts required to harvest the true fruits of his lifetime work, which would make it hard for her to convince him of helping her in the Stone research. As a matter of fact, all the other alchemists looked like the type who would oppose such an experiment even if it was to be executed on members of an inferior sub-species, or criminals, like the ones of the rebellious cell they were sent to exterminate.

"Well, when the time comes, I'll see what I'll do about them..." Emilia said to herself as she went to deal with the sergeant's body and inspect a car whose access was allowed only to her, since it contained lab material that she would need on their mission and Emilia wasn't keen on letting other alchemists pry on her personal researches.

[dndragons]

Valorie didn’t request anything to eat and only sipped on a glass of tea for the duration of the lunch. She had new nerves to deal with that the tea helped with. Not because she was requested by Emilia, rather she didn’t expect Gresham to be here. What was there to say to him after all? It was a pleasure to know he was still alive and doing well, it was also reminding her of her father. Valorie didn’t go out of her way to talk to him over the previous three years after the conflict. In this case, she would rather talk to Emilia than Gresham, however she nodded earlier because she knew she needed to talk to him at some point as they are on a train as fellow alchemists on a mission. Avoiding him would only be trouble for both of them and of harm to their task.

She wasn’t the one who would need to approach however, as she would be reading a small book at the table when the lunch was over. Humming to herself quietly while doing so. The book was likely one most haven’t heard of, and was simply a short story. It may be her last chance for a while due to the mission to enjoy turning the page after all. Valorie seemingly stopped examining the other alchemists and didn’t care to approach and learn more for now. They weren’t enemies after all, so she didn’t need to jump into concerning herself with them, though she was more than happy to talk if asked to.

[agentmanatee]

Gresham sat, looking out the window on the train car. His eyes moved along as the countryside passed rapidly by. He dragged his eyes off the swiftly moving countryside and turned to look at Valorie as she read her book. It truly did feel like an eternity since he had seen her, the last time he had seen Valorie was the formal funeral of her fsther shortly after the war, and he hadn't spoken to her then either. It had seemed like a bad time, after all she only knew Gresham through her father and shared missions during the war.

But now things were different, now they were a part of a unit again and he needed to clear the air. And he truly was interested in her life after the war, see if she handled it better than he. He put his empty glass down on the window seal he had been gazing out of and stood up, approaching Valorie and tapping her on the shoulder before he spoke, "Mind I'd I take a seat?". Assuming she said yes, Gresham sat down and put a half hearted smile on his face, "So, assuming we are not interrupted again, tell me, how have you been since we last met? I believe it was your father's funeral?" Gresham truly was an awkward conversationalist, and as he sat listening to Valorie's answer his smile dropped, his face returning to a neutral, tired look. Although his hair was neat his scraggly unkempt shadow of a beard spoke of how truly tired the man was, along with the tired look in his eyes.

As Valorie finished Gresham would nod, then meet her eyes with a rather serious gaze, "Well, in truth I have something a bit more substantial to say than just "how are you"... back in Ishval... well I was there when your fathe-" suddenly the side of the train car exploded, cutting Gresham's sentence short. Anyone standing would have been knocked down, as well as everyone sitting at the table.

Before the smoke had even cleared, three men jumped into the now half destroyed car, speaking loudly and drswing swords. However, most likely, the alchemists were temporarily deafened and disoriented by the blast in such a confined space, who would get up first to confront them?

[Undying Curiosity]

William was sitting in a booth in the train, waiting to arrive at the destination. It had been a while since he last been on a train for so long, but as he waited he remembered just how boring it was. He recalled the last time he needed to travel on a train this long, he was heading west to visit an old friend of his. Unlike his last trip, however, he didn't exactly want to go east. This was just one of the many downsides of being a state alchemist, and the more he thought about it the more he accepted it. William leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hoping that he would fall asleep and wake up when they arrived. It took very little time before he started floating in and out of consciousness. Every time William fell asleep, a bump in the train made it self apparent and woke him back up.

He decided falling asleep was never going to happen, so he pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. He opened the window closest to him to let the air vent out as he enjoyed his smoke. This satisfying feeling didn't last long. Barely half way through his cigarette and explosion interrupted the peace. It sent him flying out of his booth and into the next one across the aisle. He looked up at the massive hole in the train, but so much smoke made it hard to see. His vision was blurred and his ears were ringing, making it all that much harder to comprehend what was happening.

William tried to stand up, but his hand slipped of the table his was using for support and he fell back down, making the head trauma hurt more. William didn't want to feel completely useless so he drew a transmutation circle on his chalkboard to the best of his abilities. he slammed his hand down on it and preformed his quicksand alchemy. A ring of quicksand formed around the helpless William, in the case that something or someone came to him, they would be stuck and unable to do anything.

All he could do was wait until he came to his senses, and came up with a strategy.

[The Narrator]

Charles was reading his research notes, thinking about them and about alchemy formulas and equations. He always did that if he wanted to keep his mind of something, like this mission at the moment. Perhaps he could get one of the other alchemists for some scientific discussion later? It might be interesting. He looked out of the window, did he see something? Charles looked back at his notes, not giving it any more thought.

He did not mind the long trip, as it gave him time to think. He just put his notes back in his pockets as he heard a deafening noise. Charles was thrown against the wall of the train, feeling a hard pain in his arm, perhaps he was broken. He could not hear a thing and when he opened his eyes he saw that William was suddenly in his booth performing a transmutation. Charles jumped away as the ground around William transformed into quicksand.

"Watch out with your alchemy! I am right behind you!", Charles screamed barely hearing his own voice.

[dndragons]

Valorie blinked once before turning her head around to see that Gresham had approached her. She mustered up a fake but convincing smile to say “Not at all,” and watching take his a seat. While she tried to hide the feeling, it was definitely awkward to talk to Gresham after the war and her father’s death. It also wasn’t helped by the fact he brought up the funeral within his first sentence of talking to her. However, she kept her calm for now and remained nice outwardly, after all she tried to remain confident and kind on the outside, yet she still didn’t approach people on her own often besides for her job. “That would be correct.” She responded before looking away slightly downward. “Three years ago, I’ve seen you walk around a few times, but never had the chance to really say hi.” It was a pretty easy lie to see through, and from the fact that he was able to see the silent Valorie during the funeral who didn’t even cry during it he probably would understand. “It’s nice to see you thought, despite the circumstances, as well as know you are still kicking it.” She added at the end looking back at him with a more genuine smile. She didn’t need to have someone else dead in her life.

Valorie couldn’t help but see his tired look, but she didn’t want to probe him already after three years. It was during this examination though that she would be caught up in the explosion of the train car while Gresham spoke. She flew back in her chair and had to flip it off her moments later while coughing in the smoke. Her ears rung, and she felt some blood dripping down from her forehead along with pain in her hip.“What the hell!?” she said as she looked up and say the three men. This was when combat instinct took over. Already she understood that she couldn’t use the metal on the floor of the car to attack, for the hole in the wall and the missing section of the floor already left the car to compromised to risk more structural damage while everyone was still on it. However, the roof and the wall behind her were fair game for a few spots of metal. Her palm pressed flat on the wall behind her before the sound and signature light of alchemy lit through the smoke. Part of the ceiling receded even more as she drew metal from the wall which formed three straightforward spikes directly at the center of the mass for the three men. One spike each, and her other hand would press against the wall as well to form her own saber to use in self-defense.

[KoL]

Emilia was reading some research notes on her mobile laboratory, when the train was shaken by a violent explosion coming from the front cars and almost fell from the chair she was sitting in, thankfully all of her materials were correctly stored thus the damage was minimal and easily repairable with a basic application of elementary alchemy.

"I doubt a mechanical failure would cause such an explosion." Emilia thought, while exiting the laboratory car in time to see some shadowy figures boarding the stopped train "Rebels, or just train thieves? It doesn't matter anyway." She said while drawing a pistol and combat knife, which were her preferred method of self defense, since her alchemy wasn't suited for combat.

Once she arrived at the car were the explosion happened, Emilia noticed the characteristic light of a transmutation and concluded that this was where some, or all, of the other State Alchemists were. She slid the door open carefully while using the side of the car as cover, before shouting "For the crimes of terrorism and attacking State Alchemists, I, Colonel Emilia B. Krowitz, am ordering you to surrender immediately. Non compliance to this order will result in your summary execution." With that said, Emilia stood by the door side, with her weapons on the ready, waiting for the terrorists next action.