Conscripts

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

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Without ever confirming the result of the cannon strafing run, the six planes already banked away from their target once they unloaded their payload. Normally, radar would do the job whether or not he was dead, but this was just a person, so the squadron would have to rely on ground visual reports. And besides, if they ended up not doing much, well tough luck, they would not risk being slammed with some bullshit magic while they are wondering.

And what do you know, they kept throwing more at them.

Giant monster. Yes, a giant monster, or what appeared more like golem made of earthly materials, towered over the soldiers down on the ground, formed and marched. Anyone caught under their initialization were presumed dead. A presumed death that made the airborne squadron breathe reliefs that they chose the sky as their home. But if that wasn't enough, another threat would sprung up after that golem. A volcano. Or one that looked similar to it. A much worse threat than that golem could ever be. Hell, if these were not to be stopped, they would likely threaten the existence of not only Lingayen, but probably the entire Philippines peninsula, maybe even South East Asia.

"Man, they really want to destroy this land huh?" Cuong said, as his plane levelled out, allowing him to survey the battlefield clearly. "Comrades, better get your thermal settings up. This is gonna be hot."

"It's a desperate move. They know they're losing." Nikolay said with a glare down the volcano. If they couldn't have the place, then they destroy it. Literal monsters. It's the same behavior everywhere.

The more important question is: would they be able to do anything about it? The squadron had been defiant in opposing the Chinese NAs, but for A-ranks like these, they're probably out of their leagues. But that was what defined them. Their ability to go toe-to-toe with the Noble Arms user even without those magical weapons themselves weren't without merit, and even without being able to do much, they could still contribute to the battlefield. Especially after the broadcast from that unknown source.

"She really is holding that golem back." The female pilot of the squadron, Thu, looked in awe as the giant golem was held back, singlehandedly too. But the volcano might need more assistance. Not long after, another transmission from a woman named Regina Meitner, requesting support for the assault on the volcano. There will be no retreating now.

[+]

"Confirm. This is Senior Lieutenant Hoang Van Cuong of Lotus Squadron. I assume you are on the beach, Mrs Meitner. Then take your comrades to the northern side of the volcano. Let the lava flow to the beach." Cuong spoke back over the intercomm to whoever could hear them. "Along with every able bodied personnel. We will wrap around to the western side to poke over there."

He cut off the transmissions, but his copilot still had words to deliver. "Comrades, be careful of the heat coming out. If you are unable to punch through yourself, let us know." Nikolay said with a rather thick Russian accent.

The rest of Lotus didn't need further orders. They immediately merged with Cuong's plane in a 'V' shaped formation, flying far away from the volcano to the hills before making a sharp turn back towards the volcano. There, the six planes appeared to slow down, and the planes cycled around and reshaped the formation into a circle. They flew as tight as possible, knowing intuitively that their armament might not be enough to pierce through the volcano individually.

"All missiles switched to unguided mode." Nikolay declared. "Do you think they'll feel the pain?"

"We will see. Open fire, avenge this land."

A calm announcement to a furious missile barrage. While it was by no means numerous like the Chinese ground rockets, steady streams of rockets barrelled in from a group of six aircraft, pummeling the ground on the side of the man-made volcano. Each aircraft took only a few seconds interval before another rocket jumped and roared beneath their wings. All of which covering a relatively narrow area on the volcano.

After around twenty seconds of cloud painting and fireworks, the jets all of a sudden roared their afterburners, rapidly approached the volcano, fired a few more missiles as they neared the craters, before climbing straight upward. The first wave of attack had hit, but even then might not be enough. They would hit those craters again close and personal. The azure planes then spreaded out like blooming petals before diving back down, each craft delivering as much payload as they could, with whatever weapons they still had at their disposals, onto the craters. When they were physically impossible to continue firing without plunging their entire plane into the ground would they level out and distance themselves from the volcano.

@MagusDream

Delta End

Floyd "Flemma" Cloute

---

"Urgh." Flemma was not liking where this was going. Well, at least there's nothing inside that building for an ambush. From what it looked like, it was just an elevator. Flemma only barely glanced at what the buttons do, as he focused more on his mates who were basically already incapacitated. How on earth were they expecting to fight anything if they were like this. The elevator is too small for a one-trip, they could chill outside then.

The green-haired man touched Milton on his shoulders with the cold metal blunt of his blade, "My friends, you can wait outside for now." He sternly but kindly asked, as he looked outside to his fellow agents, gesturing his head for volunteers. "Come on now. Any daredevils?"

If their plan was to act fast, then some of them better step up to it. He hoped that given the so-called quality of the agents that the agency was bragging about, his fellow colleagues could make a quick decision on this.

@AThousandCurses

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

_{Locations: Vikena Estate's -> Guesthouse -> Athletic Arena
Interactions: Fritz @JJ Doe, Leo @Helo, Mina @Tae}

---

John and Fritz's collab

John wasn't exactly in a rush to get back, so it was a pleasant surprise to have ran into Count Hendrix in the courtyard whom he had met the day before. He gladly lingered around to chat with him and Delilah, who was a delightful conversation partner as well. John accepted a cookie from the Count, didn't notice anything strange until he excused himself. That was when Count Hendrix asked him.

“In your professional opinion, is it medically possible to determine if someone is or has been under the influence of magic?”

That stopped him in his tracks, but he didn't look back just yet. He looked down on the dirt beneath him first, then up to the sky, before slowly turning to face the Count.

"Why do you need to know that, Count Hendrix?"

"There's no need for formalities. Please, call me whatever." the Count's sentence came to an abrupt halt. He blinked slowly at the space between him and John as his fingers touched his throat. When he put his smile back on, for a faction of a second John saw a hint of sadness. "Anything that makes you comfortable."

"Forgive me for answering a question with another question, Dr. Williamson," the Count stepped closer to John, "but are you aware of the incident that happened after the ball involving the royal children and a few party guests last night?"

John rubbed his temple at the mention. "Yes, I am aware of that. Quite a mess for us to handle."

It was a big ruckus amongst the guests and even some in the public caught wind of it. In fact the reason why he was to go back was because of a meeting with the royal physicians, which certainly would involve this incident.

"Have you had the chance to examine them or speak with them about what happened?"

"No, not really, but my colleagues would. I certainly would want to know what happened."

Fritz nodded, “I see.” His gaze wondered to the ground, eyebrows stitched together, and he rubbed his chin. “Unfortunately, I don’t know myself.” He was silent for a moment before he exhaled deeply. “And neither do they.” The Count returned his gaze back to John, who leaned his head slightly in response. “If and when you or your colleagues ask what the royal children and their guests remember, they likely won’t be able to give anyone a satisfying answer. Not purely because they don’t want to, but because they can’t. All of them. Can’t. Remember.”

The Count waited for what he said to sink in before continuing, “of course the memory loss could’ve been caused by intoxication, drugs, or trauma, physical or emotional... but for all of them to not have any memory of what happened during this afterparty simultaneously feels... unnatural, intentional... magical, even.”

“If this group amnesia is magical in origin, I fear what else might’ve been done to them.” Nothing in his tone or demeanor suggested that Count Hendrix’s worry was disingenuous. He was undoubtedly concerned, however, John’s gut feeling told him that there was something more to it. “Which is why I asked you whether it is medically possible to find out if someone is or has been under the influence of magic.”

John pondered this for a moment. A long moment in fact that it sowed the seed of doubt in Fritz whether or not he actually was wondering the science, or he was carefully choosing his answers.

"Well..." John leaned onto the fence. "It's theoretically possible. If magic can create substances that can react with the overworldly elements, and nothing else does, then yes, you have a definitive way of detecting magic influence." His tone of voice initially was rather neutral, showing no clear bias or ulterior motive. But his next statement was less so. "But then, if anyone has that kind of knowledge, do you think they would stand well in this climate?"

It felt less of a warning, but more of sympathy.

Fritz’s face lit up as he listened to John. He seemed excited and intrigued by the prospect, like a child promised a day of a grand adventure. Then John watched that light be snuffed out from the Count as soon as he asked, “if anyone has that kind of knowledge, do you think they would stand well in this climate?” He wore the same smile and to the less observant nothing had changed in Fritz's demeanor. To John, however, he saw the void behind those black eyes. Not a single emotion resided in them. Either because Fritz was actively killing them as they arose or because John delivered the final blow to that dreamy child. “You’d be surprised,” he said in an even voice.

After a beat, he spoke. “You’ve been studying this?” His intonation suggested that it wasn’t truly a question.

John's lifted an eyebrow. He knew exactly where this was leading. Even Delilah was looking a bit uncomfortable at the atmosphere between the two. But the doctor did not flinch at the dubious question. "No." Almost naturally, he replied. "It's a theory, or if I were to be scientific a hypothesis. Everything leaves a trace behind that could be found. That's how we do blood test to detect cancer and diabetes." The corner of his lips moved up a bit, forming a smile. "It's a game of detective that saves lives."

His answer was not anything special. It is a relatively healthy mindset that a scientist would have, and what a usual non-academic might find compelling. But his calm and serene response to such a question could also come off as a bit unusual, unnerving even. This did not feel like the same kind doctor the Count had met with the Duke the day before.

Fritz studied John, then nodded as if he understood what John was trying to avoid saying, before a more familiar expression returned. “Oh my! I’m not accusing you of witchcraft, good doctor! The last time I checked medicine is considered a scientific study.” He covered his mouth and looked around their surrounding, “unless… that is no longer the case? Have we reverted back to the era when science was regarded as black magic?”

He looked at Delilah and John apologetically, “I’m terribly sorry if I scared either of you.” The Count bowed to both of them, his hand over his heart. “I simply wanted to know if it is possible to detect magic through scientific means… without having to resort to using fire to fight fire.”

“And if there is…” he added, “I will not hesitate to support the research.” Fritz shot John a meaningful look.

The serene smile did not go away. John tilted his head slightly to the other side, his eyes matched Fritz's direction as the latter looked around. "I hope not." He simply said.

"It is a valid concern, you're not to worry." John gave a reassuring reply to Fritz, but inside he knew that whatever he said here would not have changed what Fritz may have thought about him. That sudden defensiveness was certainly a peculiar response that the doctor did not ignore.

"It's a pleasure to know I have your backing, Fritz." John gave the Count a light appreciative bow. "Have a great day my friend. You as well Miss Delilah."

John turned around and made his departure. All in all, he was happy with the conversation. He got new information, he learnt more about the friendly Count, and uncovered things he ought to look into. Or rather who to look into.

Hidden Power

After the conversation with Count Hendrix, John left the Vikena estate to head back straight to the guesthouses, where the majority of the royal physicians had gathered up. It was supposed to be a usual meeting every business trip they had, counting any issues, requests from their masters or any miscellaneous suggestions from the members, and if it were up to John it'd mostly be about that incident that happened last night regarding all the Varian nobles that went missing and proceeded to come back completely wasted. Lots of meaningless reports, but it's the life of a royal physician. He sighed internally as he arrived at the guesthouse. While this work was much less stressful, sometimes John wished he was back on the field as an Institute commissioner given the shenanigans he had to deal with here.

As the door to the meeting room, a large room reserved by the guesthouse servants just for this purpose, swung opened, John noticed everyone or almost everyone had arrived, and they all turned his eyes on him as he arrived. He was taken a bit aback by the sudden attention, but held back his curiosity for now as he took the empty seat. Once he was seated, the Surgeon Dentist looked at him.

"Glad to see you here, Dr. Williamson." He said, surprising John by the formality. Despite being like two to three ranks above the totem pole compared to him, the Surgeon Dentist had always been an informal person, always on first name basis with everyone. Thus his mind quickly pivoted to him being the subject of the meeting. Was it the incident at the park this morning? But it was too early for the members to know anything about it, and besides why would it matter in this meeting anyway?

"Thank you for your duty to this commission. We will begin with the unexpected incident that occurred last night." The Surgeon Dentist spoke, half glancing to his paper. "Four Varian nobles, whom are Lord and Lady Smithwood, Lord Ravenwood and Lady Lesdeman went missing after the ball, as well as multiple members of the Caesonian and Alidasht royal family. We don't know much details yet, as Caesonian officials are keeping things quiet for unaffiliated outsiders, so we cannot be sure what exactly happened at that time aside from that it is a party." He gazed over to the other members in the meeting room, some standing and some sitting at the long table before looking back at his paper, this time more intently. "What we know for sure is that all members returned all with degrees of alcohol intoxication. All of which I hope is no major issue for everyone?"

By everyone he meant the physicians assigned to the four noblemen and women, glancing at each person, expecting an answer. Having talked with Thea just a moment ago, John spoke up first. "No, there is no immediate danger of alcohol poisoning for Lady Smithwood. We will continue to monitor the situation over the next couple of days, but chances are she will be fine."

The Surgeon Dentist nodded at the report before turning eyes over to the others, who also reported things along the same line. A somewhat satisfied breathe was given before he continued. "Good, that is potentially one less thing to worry about. However..." But that breathe was exchanged for a worrisome sigh. "Those involved also could not remember the events of last night after the ball either."

Confusing looks were exchanged across the room. Could not remember last night? "Just those four or everyone" Someone asked.

"Everyone. Every single person." Was replied

John had a blank stare at that revelation. Fritz was indeed speaking the truth, which threw back to the conversation with him. Indeed, one person having amnesia from alcohol brain damage is a possibility, but everyone having amnesia is definitely suspicious. Other memory related diseases and conditions are either impossible for these people or too conditional to affect that many people at once. Magic would indeed be a possible or even likely scenario. What was on John's mind at the same time was a concern. If this were indeed true, it's a dangerous precedent. Who would even attempt this? On various monarchs instead.

"It is information that I think everyone ought to keep in mind and investigate." The Surgeon Dentist concluded, which John agreed. "For our other major news, both Prince Felix and Princess Beatrice had decided to return to Varian along with our majesties. They will be departing this evening."

Already? John was curious to why they didn't bother with this. And whether or not the prince had anything to do with Thea earlier. But just from impression alone, he clearly does...

"As a result, I, Dr. Hunter, Dr. Snow and Dr. Juna along with their staff would be accompanying them back," These three were the chief physicians allowed to treat the Varian monarchs. After several reforms by the queen, only select few individuals were allowed to have these special privileges, and they were the cream of the Varian medicinal prowess so naturally they were allowed in. But by that, the royal physicians corp in Caesonia would be significantly downsized, and most importantly, these guys were also the most senior council members of the Institute. So if they were to leave, another council member would have to take charge. His eyes immediately shift over to Dr. Zinchenko, the physician for Princess Sadie, and also a fellow council member, thinking she would be taking over the role. "Thus, I will entrust Dr. Williamson with managing our Royal Physicians here."

He immediately swung his eyes around back to the Surgeon Dentist, who wore a small smile on him, as if to say he was serious. Why though? He was not council member, and yet he was in charge of the physicians for as long as they stayed there. Over people like Zinchenko, who surprisingly looked like she expected this outcome.

"Dr. Williamson have had lengthy experience in personnel, resource and crisis management. I am certain he can take on this responsibility well." As everyone's eyes were directed upon John, the new acting head gave a firm nod for reassurance. "Doctor, if you have any concern or requests, just send us a letter and we will provide as much support as we can."

Something suddenly clicked in John's head as he said that. That must've been why he was assigned the role. He doubted there are no others who are just as or more qualified to manage people, resource and crisis, but he doubted if there are anyone who had dealt with the stuff that he did.

"Is there any questions or doubts you have in mind?" The Surgeon Dentist asked John, to which he simply shook his head. "If not, then good luck. Meeting adjourned."

---

Now that he was the acting head of the royal physicians, it wasn't just these doctors that he could manage, but also partly the Institute's resources and influences as well. It is not well-known knowledge to anyone who hadn't lived in Varian for a time, but the Institute of Science is not just a social club of scholars and scientists, but is a functioning part of the government, and whose influence can sway even the king and queen into action. It's an interesting role to be in for sure, and he was no strangers to it.

After the meeting adjourned, John stayed behind for a bit to discuss the transition with the Surgeon Dentist, who had given him quite a bit of paperwork to go through. But as that too was concluded, he was met with someone outside the guesthouse. He looked more of a servant, and John was proven right as the man approached him, introduced himself and informed John about the situation. Apparently Mina was with Leo at the athletic arena, fainted afterwards and was convulsing, and he was needed. Him being needed was a little bit redundant, as John already felt his stomach sink when Mina was involved.

He hopped onto the first carriage with the servant and headed towards the arena. Once arrived, he let the servant took charge as he led the doctor to where the two were at. Mina seemed to be back up on her feet now, which was a good sign, but it had not wiped the subtle worries off his face just yet.

"Lord Smithwood, Lady Blackwood." He nodded to the two of them instead of bowing. "I'm informed of the situation. We should get back to the guest house." He told both of them calmly. That is where the doctors are, and the most convenient to check things up. "How are you feeling, Mina?" He whispered, inadvertently informally, as he held her upper arm, noting her particularly pale face. He then turned over to Leo sternly. "Can you tell me what happened?"

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

John & Thea

_{Location: Vikena Estate's Billiard Room}

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”I appreciate it, really.” John nodded. Seeing how she was much more restrained, willing to admit her fault, and willing to talk, it gave him a little bit of hope. ”Can we…” He gestured to the maid of the estate. Without John finishing his request, the maid stepped aside and let the two into the currently empty billiard room. Thea had taken one more glance at Charlotte before slowly following John into the room.

John waited for Thea to enter before closing the door, but stood right close by the door as he began. ”Well, health-wise, you look ok, so no need for a follow up for today’s canceled appointment.” He said, glancing at her briefly. Aside from swollen eyes from crying, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, giving him a breeze of relief. ”Until the next time you drink too much.”

”Mainly though,” He sighed, looked down on the floor for a brief second with his hand on the back of his head. ”While this might sound like something your mother would tell me to do…trust me, I wanted this out of my own volition.” He said, hoping to clear out any misconception she would have about what comes next, but he knew he could only go so far. He was really banking on her sincerity, or that he thought she would, here. ”I notice you’ve been drinking a lot recently. A lot more than what I’m used to you doing.” He leaned onto the wall with his hand on his wrist. ”Do you want to talk a bit about it? Doesn’t have to be now.”

Thea felt her jaw clench some as he made his assessment, unsure why she initially felt irritation about it. It was good she looked good health-wise, wasn’t it? That irritation was quickly forgotten, however, as his next words hit her. Her gaze fell to the floor, finding it hard to make eye contact with him now and hadn’t realized her arms moved to wrap around herself uncomfortably. She immediately thought of last night, of her drunken confession to Felix, then to today and the letter. She felt panic trying to sink its claws into her, but she tried to fight it off.

”I-I don’t know what you mean, you…” She began as she shifted uncomfortably, but trailed off as she realized something he said. He was asking this out of his own volition? Did he actually care about her wellbeing? The thought brought an odd feeling of warmth to her chest which only served to confuse her more. Could she actually speak to him about it? What if? ”I’ll only end up scaring you off as well…” Her words came out as quiet as a mouse, betraying just how broken she felt as tears now slipped down her nose once more and hit the floor.

John kept silent. The droplet did not escape him, but he pretended he didn’t see it. He let a moment pass, carefully choosing his words, considering and reconsidering. In the end, he shrugged his shoulders lightly. ”Yeah I might be scared…” He replied. ”But it’s whatever. I’ll stick around anyway.”

In a way, it is true. His impulses would say Thea’s not scary to appease her, but people did scare him in many ways. Many ways. But what is important is that his feelings don’t matter here. ”It’s not easy. I might not know how to help you specifically even, and you may not know it either.” John sighed. ”But I’d like to see you better. Not cause that’s what your mother told me, but I believe you’re a nice person at the end of the day.”

Not that he believed, but he knew. He had heard the stories. And he cared about it, more than he professionally should, and quite sadly more than the people around her who should have. Her goddamned brother, the duchess, hell even the prince.

His words caught Thea off guard and her eyes shot up to look at him, the shock there evident. Did he mean that? Would he actually stick around even if her problems scared him? Could she actually trust him? She studied him for a long moment, mind whirling as she went back and forth on what to say. What would she tell him? What could she tell him? ”I don’t know if I was ever a nice person, but sometimes I…” She paused, trying to work out her words in order to express things properly. ”Sometimes I truly miss who I was, the one who people turned to for comfort. The girl who everyone always saw as kind and sweet and loving. I miss her…” She paused again, brows furrowing as she thought about this.

But I also hate her.” The truth in this confession felt like a weight being lifted off of her, but also like a stab to the gut. ”That girl hid a lot behind those things and so I’m glad she’s dead and gone, but now I don’t know who I am and no one else seems to either. Who am I supposed to be, John? Because no matter who I try to be, I’m never good enough and I’m tired.” Tears fell freely now and she no longer made an attempt to hide them. This was her, this was the girl who had been beaten down and broken for years and now didn’t know how to pick up the pieces and put them back together.

”I don’t know exactly.” John glanced away for a moment. ”Because I feel like if I say something, it would just be the same kind of pressure that others have put you under.”

‘You are subservient to us.’

‘You are a nobody.’

‘This is why nobody likes scientists like you. They think with a bit of knowledge, they can talk back to us.’

”You said you miss being a kind, sweet and loving girl, but glad that part of you is past you. You’re ok with getting rid of that, is it that you’re living someone else’s image of you then…” John said, and he was about to open his lips to say something but quickly sealed it shut. ‘Or the image of your family’ was what he was going to say. He observed this in her brother Leo too. Living to preserve the veneer and prestige of a dysfunctional family. But saying that might be too much.

Why was she glad that part of her was gone? Thea opened her mouth, but nothing came out for a moment as she thought about what would be proper to say. Then it hit her, even now she was thinking of what was proper to say. ”It’s because that version of me was a lie. I chose to appear happy to keep others from worrying about me. I had to appear that way to keep my mother from having more stress. I had to act like everything was okay to protect Leo. I had to convince everyone I was fine so my father-” She cut herself off there, mouth quickly shutting as she took a deep breath to calm herself as she was getting worked up.

”Appearances mean everything to my family. Go fix your make up. Hide your crazy and act like a lady. You’ve got to keep it together even when you’re falling apart. These were things I was taught from little on, but how much can one take before they snap? This is what I was feeling underneath all of that.” She let out a sigh and looked down, ashamed of herself and who she was.

So now she was swinging to the exact opposite. He wasn’t sure how much of her drinking was actually her being herself, or was it her trying to prove that to herself. Regardless, hearing her confession about her family, despite him already knowing this, only made him angry. Despite his initial positivity towards the duchess, the more he learned about her, her husband and her relationship with her two children, the more he could tolerate her behavior. This was abuse, and family images were no justification.

”I don’t blame you snapping at all, really.” He replied. ”It sucks being royalty.”

He crossed his arms and rubbed his cheek a little. ”You know what, are you free later in the evening? I’ll take you out to a restaurant. None of that obnoxious medical stuff. Just the two of us, chilling, enjoying some good food.”

His next words hit Thea’s ears and she slowly looked back up to John, blinking a little in surprise. ”I…Actually I’d like that very much. Thank you.” She finally said, a small and genuine smile actually lighting up her face now. She hadn’t realized it, but perhaps this was exactly what she’d needed.

”Alright, sounds good~” John replied ecstatically. He was expecting a worse outcome to the talk, but it actually turned out pretty well. ”I’ll be available around 8. From then, I can’t tell you what to do, but try to avoid reading the news or public gatherings. I went to one this morning, and…well…” He burst out a chuckle and a headshake as he remembered what happened. ”They aren’t the best people, let's just say. I’m pretty sure you have better people you want to hang out with as well.” He leaned his head in a gesture towards the door. Charlotte’s a good person. You can tell a lot about her from her worst moments.

”Well, I have someone I need to meet in a bit, so I better get going.” John checked his pocket watch, before looking back at Thea. ”Thanks for hearing me out today.”

Thea’s brow furrowed a little, but the smile remained as she looked at him questioningly. ”Well you’re going to have to tell me about what happened at dinner tonight because now I’m far too curious. I promise I’ll be ready by 8.” She began moving back towards the door, but paused when she was next to him. Before he could protest, Thea threw her arms around him in a hug. ”No, thank you John. Thank you for actually caring and helping me, even though I’m often a bitch.” Just as quickly as she hugged him, she let go and gave him one more smile before heading back out to where Charlotte was.

He was a bit taken aback by the hug, but gave her a bright comforting smile. It felt good helping someone. ”You’re very welcome…” He left that along with a pat in the arm as she went. He’d follow her to Charlotte, but to excuse himself and make his departure from the Vikena estate.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

_{Locations: Vikena Estate's Drawing Room
Interactions: Charlotte @princess, Devan @Prosaic, Thea @Tae}

---

The chill-day quickly got complicated, as someone else showed up at Charlotte's place. The one person John least expected, and probably vice-versa from her end. She was in no better condition than from what he saw her yesterday. She immediately tried to back off but Charlotte quickly went after her. John put down his cup of tea and stood up from the sofa as Charlotte was reassuring Thea not to worry over him. He also approached the two ladies over at the door, but slowly and more composed.

"Sorry if the situation gets a little complicated." He raised his hand to steer away from any indication of aggression. A very brief glance at Thea was already enough to him he shouldn't escalate any further. "I was supposed to check up on her this morning, but I have to cancel our appointment due to a scheduling conflict." He lied straight up, but Charlotte wouldn't know that. Only Thea knows, but would she be honest to admit that it was her who cancelled it despite being right after a major hangover? This wasn't the first time he warned that it could have consequences, so she knew.

"Is it alright if we can talk for a few minutes?" He said to Thea softly, giving her a sympathetic look. "I promise you it would be quick, then I'll leave you alone." He was hopeful that she would, but he was giving her a way out if things didn't go as planned. The last thing that she needed was to be pressured right in front of her friend. To Charlotte though, he thought she might find it a little untimely for him to be talking to her about the doctor's appointment during this moment of distress, so he gave her a reassuring but rather ambiguous response. "Don't worry, I know."

Delta End

Floyd "Flemma" Cloute

---

Geez...he hadn't been this shaken up since the time he was fighting atop that amusement park contraption. Flemma only just met that guy a few minutes ago, but he should stay the heck away from the wheels, for everybody's sake. They arrived safe though, but not necessarily stealthily either. If WIZARD hadn't already known about the team's arrival, then this reckless display would definitely do, so if anything, they should get ready to catch anyone from getting away from the building...though from the looks of it, it doesn't look like there's a lot of ways to go.

Ignoring the low low possibility that the restaurant owner was a poor sod who either could not afford or was too stupid to get a better restaurant location, this was basically a setup. No windows, frugal decorations, no culinary indications, a plain 'totally not suspicious' sign that reads 'Restaurant'? You'd be a fool to believe that this was supposed to be an actual place for a cheap dine-in trip. His teammates might have known that already, but regardless, they wanted in, and they wanted in fast.

"Whoa whoa, hol' up." Flemma quickly called out for the orc as the big guy basically was going ahead on his own without really letting anyone to chime in on his ingenious plan. Others would join later to weigh in their plans, which were all possible before, "Well, I normally would hate to charge into unknown territory that we don't know tinge of what's inside." He sighed as he caught up with his crew, being the first in the transport and also the last one out. "But considering we did all that before coming up with a plan, yeah I agree with the dude here. Gotta be fast."

Flemma reached behind his back and unsheathed his sword in preparation for the upcoming fight. Having no right hand, he rested the blunt side of the sword on his shoulder instead.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

_{Locations: Sorian Park -> Vikena Estate's Drawing Room
Interactions: Charlotte @princess, Devan @Prosaic, Lorenzo @FunnyGuy}

---

"I'm not surprised by that actually, even if not for what I saw earlier." John gave an amused grin as he rested his cheek on his hand. "I've interacted with many of these personalities. They're often scary until you learn the venom." The doctor said rather casually, unaware of his peculiar word choices would make him come off. But he was partly right. Snakes are the slim lethal predator until the prey is immune to their poison. John might seem like a doormat to the people who were willing to walk over him, but he could read them fairly well himself.

While the topic of marriage was still in the air, John felt a tug within himself upon hearing both of them lamenting being arranged. He was not exactly in their shoes, since thankfully his parent didn't care much about it. At least not yet. But still, that feeling where your worth as a human being is what kind of prestige you can bring was just...messed up. "Marriage is such a tool nowadays." He replied to Charlotte, shrugging. "I met a colleague while in the fields that's getting married to this older woman who he hasn't even met once. He's younger than I am. All 'cause she's from a noble household so he could have the prospect of advancement."

If John were to be honest though, no one really liked that guy anyway. He had this massively inflated ego of being born in a noble house but not being born into a household that held any sort of power, so he always felt the need to prove himself, or rather give off the veneer of importance. Regardless, his parents were the main driver for this kind of nonsense, not him.

He finished his cup of tea before requesting a refill. As the maid was fulfilling that request, he glanced over to Devan, or rather the newspaper that she just gave him. "Caesonia News is such a waste of a dead tree everyday." He commented, rolling his eyes, remembering reading the same exact garbage that the man was reading this morning.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

_{Locations: Sorian Park -> Vikena Estate's Drawing Room
Interactions: Charlotte @princess, Devan @Prosaic, Lorenzo @FunnyGuy}

---

Being gladly invited over to the estate, John found himself quite well-settled in the comfort of the estate. He was more used to the lab or the more communal-styled housing for Varian public servants, but this too was fine. After all, he was quite an adaptable guy. And he needed a bit of rest too from chaos. He was still quite tired from last night, and so he sank almost completely into the red sofa. "Yeah, I dreamt of fighting wolves when I was a kid, and I kinda got the wish." John let out a laugh as he joked back. A rather peasant joke, but he was peasantry, technically, so eh.

Upon being introduced to her cousin, the good doctor gently bowed to Devan. "A pleasure to meet you. I haven't had the opportunity to meet both of you properly, so it's nice to finally sit down and have a bit of a chat." And some tea as well. He'd have enough of the waffles, so a nice delicate tea was the only thing he had. He'd give the maid a nice little thank you as she finished pouring the cup of tea for him. He sprinkled on his cup a bit of tea before swirling the spoon; shielded the cup with his hand as he blew the tea to cool it down a little.

Charlotte asked about his experience the night before, but she asked Devan first, so John glanced over to the man with a curious smile. Once he answered, the doctor gladly continued the conversation in a seamless manner. "It was fun, overall. The night was fairly chaotic, as our royals...well...they get a little rowdy." He shrugged his hands. He ignored the whole situation with Count Damien and all that. "I get quite a dance experience with the Shehzadis, that's for sure. Layla, the eldest one, that's...oooh boy." He chuckled, taking a sip of tea. "We didn't talk much, but she's a great dancer. Perhaps a little daunting at first, but certainly a fascinating personality. I hope to talk to her again at some point."

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

---

"Whoa whoa." The calm-headed pilot of the Vietnamese squadron gave out a slight bit of uneasiness as he pulled on the yoke and the warplane immediately swirled to dodge the incoming missiles and flaks. Despite the repeated training for these types of armaments, the relentless attack of the Chinese fleet felt a little bit too much if they were to proceed. They did notice particular patterns in both armaments as the squadron was toeing around the range of the carrier strike group.

"We could go through here." Nikolay said, explosions shook the yoke of his entrusted warplane. "There is a noticeable interval in the missile fire there."

"We'll still need to dodge at least another barrage of their nonsense. Is it worth the attacking chances though?" A female pilot commented.

"Weapon check." Cuong ordered. The pilots reported back a few seconds later. The temporary head of the squadron furrowed his brows at what he heard. "We could take down a couple of frigates if we pile up, or damage their carrier. But it's a heavy heavy risk."

"Also, make this as you will comrade, but I heard from some ground forces that there were attacks upon the carriers earlier in the fight, but they appeared to have already fixed that minutes later." The same voice warned. "I don't know the details, but they seem to be able to shrug off some damage pretty easily."

"Ok no then." Cuong quickly decided. This was the Chinese grand opening to a new theatre, and it was not anything new or flashy. Cuong suspected that the PLA was also deploying the same kind of show over in the Philippines as well, but against a more uncoordinated defenders this time. In that case, it simply would just be a waste.

After a couple of rounds just flipping and dodging the Chinese firepower from a relatively safe distance, the six Vietnamese planes backed off and headed back to shore, bringing back with them all 12 aircraft intact, but also not much done aside from wasting the attention of the Chinese fleet. The Chinese seemed to have relied almost solely on the Noble Arms to make progress on the beach, seeing the catastrophic destruction they caused, and to their chagrin, the squadron was not really in a position to attack the guy. They didn't really have the weapons specifically for the task of sniping an individual off the face of the planet. However, given the relatively lack of objectives for them to do, and the fact that these weren't aces for nothing...

"How would you feel if we attack that asshole on the beach instead?" Nikolay said over to his copilot.

"Uh, not good?" Cuong responded. "But given the hedgehog that is the Chinese fleet, I'd take that guy any day."

"That's all I need to hear!" Nikolay stepped over onto the comm and announced. "Alrighty comrades. We will attack that guy fighting on the beach earlier."

"What? Are you serious?" The female pilot spoke again.

"Yes, we are doing the funny run. Lotus 3, you have bombs right?" Cuong asked, to an affirmative response. "Then you go high. Everyone else, ready the cannons and spread out."

The lack of dedicated weaponry hasn't really stopped them before.

One SU-30 perked its nose up and ascended, meanwhile the other five burst out of formation like a blooming flower, approaching the shore all in different directions. Once visibility over the Chinese Noble Arms master was clear, they slowed down a little, before a message was broadcast.

"This is Lotus Squadron. We will soon commence an attack on the target at sector D1. Stay out of his position."

As soon as the broadcast stopped, all aircraft turned simultaneously towards the spearman on the beach, the one SU-30 diving down on his visually estimated position. Very soon, multiple ear-splitting noises of automatic cannon fire rattled the air, stacking on top of one another creating a long chain of auricle-menace, as the sands surrounding Huo Ren burst up in columns. Once the shooting stopped, two explosions reinvigorated the sand column.

Delta End

Floyd "Flemma" Cloute

---

His amusement over the fellow's flustering soon shifted over to the dynamic between him and an apparent talking doll. A small body but quite a character. Her explanation also was very on-point and straightforward, unlike the hundreds of lines that no one would bother reading on the associated instruction manual. And thankfully, despite being behind on the technological front, he wasn't that out-of-date; after all he did grow up in the fast-lanes. It took some refreshers, but he figured it out relatively quickly with the doll's instructions.

"Ah it works, thank you thank you. Flemma graciously said, having activated both the PDA and headphones. He put one of them in his pocket and the other over his head, with quite cleverness using only his left hand, before returning the greeting with a nod with the hand on his chest. "A pleasure to meet you both. What's your lady's name, if you don't mind?" He said. "I'm Floyd. Floyd Cloute, but you can call me Flemma." Knowing the rather strange name the green-haired man quickly followed up. "It's an alias from my old job. They call me that too often that I kinda got used to it. Floyd works too if that's a little awkward."

Now that he had some free time, Flemma took a quick glance at his new coworker. Quite a young lad they got for the spot. As far as he could tell, guys like these weren't uncommon, which was strange, considering the relative importance of the job. But hey, young talents were always welcome. They didn't have any shortages of surprises, hell even terror for the relatively experienced fighter like he was.

"So, I assume I can address you as Mr. Milton. How do you end up here with this diverse band of crime fighters?"

@AThousandCurses