@Old Amsterdam I believe my CS is finished if you'd like to take a look over the History now :D
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Finished.
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UAG Space
Lepta Colony #2, Lepta System
All traffic to and from Lepta Colony #2 had been halted by order of the system Governor and no ships were to leave their relative positions from when the order had been given, which left hundreds of small civilian ships still in the black of the void, waiting for whatever was happening to end so they could get back to their work. The only ships allowed to move were the small contingent of ANF that had already been present in the system, which sat still just off the starboard side of the station.
Ambassador Quintus Mons made good time down the main thoroughfare of Lepta 2, mainly due to the lack of any cars on the road thanks to the curfew that had been implemented by the colony officials, and only had to stop at three heavily armed checkpoints on the way to the meeting room that had been hastily thrown together in a side office of the Colonial Shipping Administration Offices next to the #4 hangar of the station.
As the caravan neared the Shipping Administrations Entrance they passed a group of four Goliath tanks, all of which were facing their turrets at the building itself. Ambassador Mons pulled at the tie around his neck, his eyes setting slightly purple as he worried about all the extra precautions. Upon entrance to the buildings internal parking lot, the Ambassador was dropped off at the doors and quickly ushered away by a group of AGF Marines, five total, clad in black armor with weapons that seemed to be bristling with too many addons, “Isn’t this a llittle excessive Marine?” the Ambassador stammered out as the Marines led him to the meeting room at a brisk pace.
“Just following orders Sir. Never know what these alien bastards might really be planning.” responded one of the Marines that was walking ahead of him.
“Right…” the Ambassador replied. It was obvious that the Council didn’t trust the Commonwealth, but it was the Ambassador's job to ensure that everything went smoothly, and with this many guns in play… He would be hard pressed to maintain an air of calm and calculated diplomacy with any race, let alone the Commonwealth.
RNCS Anna Karenina approached Lepta Colony #2 at approximately 70% of maximum decceleration. She was an older Reliant-class battlecruiser, one of the first built, and she was due for retrofitting any day now, but she was still a capable ship. Using a battlecruiser as a diplomatic envoy ship might have seemed oddly aggressive to others, but it was a perfectly acceptable--even normal--practice for the Commonwealth, which had been known to conduct literal gunboat diplomacy before.
Anderson Ribbentrop watched the pinpoint of the UAG station--highlighted by a holographic overlay--grow larger through the window of his quarters. Few enough people on any military vessel got a window, and as a former navy man himself, Ribbentrop appreciated the luxury. By long precedent, civilians were not allowed on the bridge, even senior diplomat civilians. But Captain Wellesley had been kind enough to provide a visual link to the ship's nerve center, which was displayed on Ribbentrop's desk holo-plot.
"They've put a complete halt on all civilian traffic Anderson," Wellesley said over the link. "It's eerie. Strangely enough, I'm only picking up a few military vessels, nothing heavier than a light cruiser. That's not enough to stop us from leaving the system if things get hairy, by the way," he added, in a vague attempt to sound reassuring.
Ribbentrop had figured that much; he'd commanded one of the Reliant-class' precursors back in the day, and while exact capabilities had changed, he still knew how a Commonwealth battlcruiser would stack up against such a light picket force. Of course if they stayed and fought, the UAG ships would destroy them soon enough, suffering heavy losses of their own. But if Anna Karenina decided she was leaving, it was doubtful the light ships would have enough firepower to stop her.
But he decided to humour the younger Vit'azny. "Really Arthur? They still have the numerical advantage."
"Oh absolutely. But if we went to maximum military acceleration and full defensive fire on the railgun batteries, it's doubtful they could get through before we cleared the gravity well and made the transit to slipspace. The Reliants are a lot more survivable than the old Ramparts you know, mostly because of changes to the grav-emitters and the...."
Ribbentrop let Wellesley educate him on the exact technical specifications of the ship, happy enough to listen and occasionally comment, letting the conversation fill the time as they approached the station.
Soon enough, Ribbentrop, two hulking szitzu marines and a single Su'urtugal were on their way over to the Artanin station in an assault shuttle. Again, an apparently odd choice, but Anna Karenina didn't actually have any unarmed small craft aside from her courier boats, and those would not fit anything more than their pilot. The shuttle landed without incident, the hatch opened, and the marines stepped out to check the area. They were greeted by a mass of black clad soldiers, far outnumbering Ribbentrop's escort. The vit'azny diplomat followed the marines out of the shuttle, and the Su'urtugal brought up the rear. One of the marines turned to Ribbentrop. "Some advice; try not to piss them off. I don't think even scaly back there can get you out of here if you do."
Ribbentrop smiled. "Noted Corporal. When have vit'azny diplomats ever pissed anyone off?"
The marine slumped his shoulders comically. "We're screwed."
Ribbentrop laughed, then led the way forward.
Ambassador Mons paced the meeting room impatiently. They had sent a message for a diplomatic meeting on Lepta 2 just three days before, and hadn’t expected a reply so quickly, or a fully armed Battlecruiser to be in system just as fast. The military and the local government weren’t prepared. He wasn’t prepared, he had barely had anytime to read up on the Commonwealth and it’s different species, “Szitzu are covered in fur and large.” he said to himself as he paced, “Vit’azny have pointed ears and squished faces, usually in charge,” his words grew quicker and his breath a bit more hoarse, “and then there's the scaled ones that no one knows what they do.” his eyes were tinting from purple to a light brown as the gravity of his predicament began to set in on him.
“Ambassador. The envoys are aboard, four total. Three combat and the Diplomat. One minute.” came the cool and collected voice of the Marine that was standing at the door.
Mons shot a look his way, the color in his eyes fading to a normal clear tint, “Thank you Marine.” he said as he took his place two meters back from the double doors that led into the meeting room. He took a sip from the glass of water on the table, straightened his suit a little, and clasped his hands in front of his waist to wait for the envoys.
The Marine to Mons’s front pulled open the doors effortlessly, and in strode three AGF Marines who quickly spread out in the room, behind them, were the envoys.
Ambassador Mons eyes remained clear as raised his hand toward the Vit’azny at the head of the group, “Ambassador Quintus Mons, Designated Representative for the United Artanin Governments for the duration of this meeting, it is my pleasure to host you. If only we could have both brought less guns.” he said, his words resounded confidence and his perfectly still hand did not betray the great fear that was welling in his stomach as he began to study the soldiers behind the Vit’azny diplomat.
Ribbentrop gave a faint smile as his in ear translator relayed the message, though he wasn't sure the ambassador would understand the expression given the nature of Artanese physiology. He bowed slightly. "Sir Anderson Ribbentrop, representing her Imperial Majesty's Government, the Lord Chancellor of the Commonwealth, and her Imperial Majesty herself. Thank you for your hospitatlity; it is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance. As for the guns, I like to think they help us understand eachother's intentions. In fact I was quite impressed by the tanks."
"Fear" the alien thought pushed itself into Ribbentrops mind. Years of discipline stopped him from looking over his shoulder at the Su'urtugal behind him, but his eyes shifted that way. The yanissan special operatives were capable psintegrae, among other things. The marines were there as a cover really; if things went south, the frighteningly effective Su'urtugal would be responsible for getting the diplomat out. Against the kind of firepower the Artanins had assembled though, even the Su'urtugal's formidable skillset would probably not be enough.
Ribbentrop had been quite strict in his orders; read surface emotions only. No poking around in their thoughts, no intruding on their privacy, nothing to upset the UAG representative. He brought his eyes back to the Artanese ambassador. If the man was afraid, he was doing an excellent job concealing it. That, or he was a psintegrat himself, and was projecting false emotions. Good to know he was afraid, but whether he was afraid of Ribbentrop's escort, the battlecruiser outside, or the Commonwealth in general was hard to say. Possibly all three. The first two represented rather immediate threats, while the Commonwealth in general could certainly be intimidating to an emerging galactic power.
Still, what to do with that fear was a delicate question, and it depended on the nature of the Ambassador. He might be the kind of man to quail and acquiesce to demands when pressured, or he might be the kind of man to clam up and have Ribbentrop removed from the station. Best to play it safe. Ribbentrop took a seat and reclined in it slightly, trying to appear relaxed. "I'm hardly an expert, but they look very capable," he said casually, in reference to the tanks.
Mons put his hand down to his side and, like any good diplomat, returned the others bow. An odd act, but not unheard of amongst different cultures within the UAG so it was easy enough to return it. He took a seat across from the Vit’azny, his eyes flashed orange for a moment as Ribbentrop brought up the tanks, but quickly faded back to their clear tint.
Mons leaned over and took a folder from the briefcase that was placed next to his seat. He lightly placed it on the table and opened the front cover, “Sir Ribbentrop, I apologize for calling you out here so abruptly. But it has come to the attention of the UAG that there are violations of our sovereign space taking place.” as he spoke he pulled out some pictures and slid them across the table to Ribbentrop, he felt the act was odd, but the UAG wasn’t sure if the Commonwealth would be able to easily merge their file holding devices and be able to use them so the smarter linguists back on Salus decided it’d be easier to have material images, Mons was inclined to agree.
“There have been two instances to date of these construction projects beginning, one of which is almost complete the other has just begun.” the images that were now in front of Ribbentrop were optical photos of the large N.A.C. stations, complete and obviously operating one and one that was no more than scaffolding and materials, “we are aware that this company, the Ninth Amaranthine Circuit as it is known, is a company that is chartered from within the Commonwealth.”
He leaned slightly back, echoing his guests demeanor as he continued, “As a chartered company from within the Commonwealth, it is our understanding that you should be able to have the N.A.C. cease all building operations immediately and cede the stations to the UAG as they are unlawfully violating our space.” he leaned forward a bit, his eyes narrowing and the color shifting to a slightly green hue, “This is the reason for this meeting today.” he stated with a smile.
Ribbentrop frowned as he looked at the photos and listened to Mons. He carefully considered his next words. "I had heard rumours," he admitted, "but this is the first concrete evidence I've seen of such intrusions." Technically not a lie; confirmation of the NAC's activities had come from the NAC itself via a midlevel bureaucrat a few days before Ribbentrop left, but that confirmation had not included anything so concrete as photographs. "This is most concerning, but I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding of sorts. The NAC does indeed have a division incorporated and liscensed in the Commonwealth, but the company itself comes from elsewhere, somewhere to the galactic southeast. Their board of directors and primary headquarters are not in the Commonwealth, and the division that does operate within our borders is seperate from whichever is operating in the UAG's space."
He paused for a moment. "However, the Commonwealth division of the NAC does have knowledge of their counterpart's operations here. They insist they were given authority to begin operations in your space by someone at least claiming to represent your government. Whether or not this is true is debatable, but the real problem is we cannot legally censure or otherwise punish the our division of the NAC for what another division is doing in the sovereign space of a foreign nation. Frankly, we also have very little incentive to do so. The NAC is providing jobs and growth to our economy. Sanctions or other formal actions would hurt us as badly as them."
"Now, hypothetically, if the NAC were illegaly violating the sovereignty of a member of the Commonwealth, immediate, forceful action would be taken to rectify the situation. But that is not the nature of the situation here, so I'm afraid I can offer little more than to act as a mediator in resolving your government's disputes with the NAC." Ribbentrop took a sip of water, his throat parched after all that talking.
Mons nodded along politely as Ribbentrop spoke, being sure to allow his eyes to show his interest in the diplomats words as they turned a light orange. His interest piqued as Ribbentrop spoke of the N.A.C. not actually being an originally Commonwealth based company, “Is that so.” Mons said quietly as Ribbentrop continued to speak.
Then came the news that the Ambassador was hoping wouldn’t have been brought up. The fact that the NAC that was building within the UAG was not the same one that was incorporated into the Commonwealth, and even then if it had been the Commonwealth wouldn’t have been willing to move against it in favor of not hurting their own economy, ‘A reasonable outlook.’ Mons thought in his mind, were the tables turned and the UAG were reliant on a company for economic growth they likely wouldn’t move to punish it either. “That is most unfortunate Sir Ribbentrop…” he began before the diplomat finished with what seemed to be an informal offer of integration into the Commonwealth.
The Ambassadors eyes flashed light red for a moment as the words of Ribbentrop caught him off guard. He sat a bit straighter in his seat and was sure to double check that the recorder was on before even thinking about his response. He sat for a moment, mulling over his choices before he idly flipped through the rest of the documents in the folder in front of him to buy himself some time. He breathed out slowly before looking back up to Ribbentrop.
“Hypothetically speaking of course, it would be expected that a nation would take forceful action against a foreign entity infringing upon its sovereign territory. But Sir, I’, inclined to believe that the Council will not allow the actual unlawful construction to begin. As such it seems that even your mediation will likely be unnecessary, although I would appreciate to keep the line between us open in case it is needed.” he said happily.
With the simple stuff out of the way Mons leaned forward, his eyes changing to a darker orange, the intense interest of his next question being shown as to signal to Ribbentrop that he was very serious about the topic, a fact that even a low functioning Artanin would have understood although Mons was still unsure if the Commonwealth had gotten so far as to decode the colors of their eyes. “Sir Ribbentrop, for the record of course, it would seem that your hypothetical situation may have been more than it seemed. Were you trying to suggest that integration would solve this problem, or were you simply offering an example Sir?”
Ribbentrop thought carefully about his next words. He again fought the urge to look back over his shoulder. "Intrigued. Cautious. Mixed." Well that wasn't much help. Perhaps he should've authorized the Su'urtugal to poke further. But no, such an intrusion would be too obvious, even to someone unfamiliar with psionics. There was no mistaking the feel of an alien mind making contact with your own, and that would've shut down talks pretty much immediately.
Ribbentrop shrugged slightly. "The Commonwealth is open to all. Membership has its burdens and its benefits. The process in the past has generally involved fairly lengthy negotiations, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the Commonwealth who regrets their decision." Again, technically not a lie. It would literally be hard to find anyone in the Commonwealth who would openly talk about such a thing, because most of them were dead, imprisoned, or too cautious to openly express their opinion.
"Consider my hypothetical situation a...point of conversation for your government." That was as official as Ribbentrop was willing to make it.
Mons remained focused on Ribbentrop as he spoke, even if he couldn’t understand what he said before it was translated through his ear piece, it made everything the robotic voice was saying feel so much more legitimate than it came across. “Sir Ribbentrop, I appreciate the idea, but I’m sure as you seem to already be aware that this a decision far larger than I should be able to make alone even if I have been given full Diplomatic freedoms.” he nodded his head slowly, “But I will be sure to personally inform the Council of these happenings, I imagine it will be indeed quite that talking point for a while to come.”
He took a sip of water from his glass before closing the folder and sliding it to Ribbentrop, “Everything in the folder is for you to take.” he said politely before standing, “Now I do believe that I have gotten everything I need from this to consider it a successful meeting. The Council will be most pleased.” he said, his eyes a mellow yellow to signal his pleasure with the talks but mostly thanks to the feeling of that relief began to soak through him, “I look forward to further talks in the future. Should I expect that you will continue to be the Ambassador to the UAG?” he asked curiously.
"I too am glad of the course of this discussion. I expect I shall continue to represent the Commonwealth here in the UAG, should you call on us again." Ribbentrop picked up the folder. "In the meantime, I shall of course present your evidence of the NAC's actions to her Imperial Majesty's government. Perhaps formal action against them shall indeed become necessary. Good day Ambassador."
Mons watched as Ribbentrop and his guards left. Only once the doors were shut did he undo the tie around his neck and let out a long sigh of relief, beginning to breath faster than he had the entire meeting. The Marine at the door turned in his direction, ready to offer assistance if needed but Mons waved him away, "I'm okay Marine, just need a minute, politics too is a form of combat the stakes are just as high." he said trying to let the Marine know that he had it under control.
"Sir?" the Marine asked inquisitively.
He steadied his breath and took a drink from the glass at the table. Standing up tall once more he looked to the Marine, "My slip ups here may only be in words, but there very well may be Artanins dying in the future because of a mistake I make. It's rather stressful. Now," he motioned to the only Artanin assistant in the room that had made himself scarce in the corner, "Get me a line to the Council, they're going to want to hear about this immediately."
Lepta Colony #2, Lepta System
All traffic to and from Lepta Colony #2 had been halted by order of the system Governor and no ships were to leave their relative positions from when the order had been given, which left hundreds of small civilian ships still in the black of the void, waiting for whatever was happening to end so they could get back to their work. The only ships allowed to move were the small contingent of ANF that had already been present in the system, which sat still just off the starboard side of the station.
Ambassador Quintus Mons made good time down the main thoroughfare of Lepta 2, mainly due to the lack of any cars on the road thanks to the curfew that had been implemented by the colony officials, and only had to stop at three heavily armed checkpoints on the way to the meeting room that had been hastily thrown together in a side office of the Colonial Shipping Administration Offices next to the #4 hangar of the station.
As the caravan neared the Shipping Administrations Entrance they passed a group of four Goliath tanks, all of which were facing their turrets at the building itself. Ambassador Mons pulled at the tie around his neck, his eyes setting slightly purple as he worried about all the extra precautions. Upon entrance to the buildings internal parking lot, the Ambassador was dropped off at the doors and quickly ushered away by a group of AGF Marines, five total, clad in black armor with weapons that seemed to be bristling with too many addons, “Isn’t this a llittle excessive Marine?” the Ambassador stammered out as the Marines led him to the meeting room at a brisk pace.
“Just following orders Sir. Never know what these alien bastards might really be planning.” responded one of the Marines that was walking ahead of him.
“Right…” the Ambassador replied. It was obvious that the Council didn’t trust the Commonwealth, but it was the Ambassador's job to ensure that everything went smoothly, and with this many guns in play… He would be hard pressed to maintain an air of calm and calculated diplomacy with any race, let alone the Commonwealth.
RNCS Anna Karenina approached Lepta Colony #2 at approximately 70% of maximum decceleration. She was an older Reliant-class battlecruiser, one of the first built, and she was due for retrofitting any day now, but she was still a capable ship. Using a battlecruiser as a diplomatic envoy ship might have seemed oddly aggressive to others, but it was a perfectly acceptable--even normal--practice for the Commonwealth, which had been known to conduct literal gunboat diplomacy before.
Anderson Ribbentrop watched the pinpoint of the UAG station--highlighted by a holographic overlay--grow larger through the window of his quarters. Few enough people on any military vessel got a window, and as a former navy man himself, Ribbentrop appreciated the luxury. By long precedent, civilians were not allowed on the bridge, even senior diplomat civilians. But Captain Wellesley had been kind enough to provide a visual link to the ship's nerve center, which was displayed on Ribbentrop's desk holo-plot.
"They've put a complete halt on all civilian traffic Anderson," Wellesley said over the link. "It's eerie. Strangely enough, I'm only picking up a few military vessels, nothing heavier than a light cruiser. That's not enough to stop us from leaving the system if things get hairy, by the way," he added, in a vague attempt to sound reassuring.
Ribbentrop had figured that much; he'd commanded one of the Reliant-class' precursors back in the day, and while exact capabilities had changed, he still knew how a Commonwealth battlcruiser would stack up against such a light picket force. Of course if they stayed and fought, the UAG ships would destroy them soon enough, suffering heavy losses of their own. But if Anna Karenina decided she was leaving, it was doubtful the light ships would have enough firepower to stop her.
But he decided to humour the younger Vit'azny. "Really Arthur? They still have the numerical advantage."
"Oh absolutely. But if we went to maximum military acceleration and full defensive fire on the railgun batteries, it's doubtful they could get through before we cleared the gravity well and made the transit to slipspace. The Reliants are a lot more survivable than the old Ramparts you know, mostly because of changes to the grav-emitters and the...."
Ribbentrop let Wellesley educate him on the exact technical specifications of the ship, happy enough to listen and occasionally comment, letting the conversation fill the time as they approached the station.
Soon enough, Ribbentrop, two hulking szitzu marines and a single Su'urtugal were on their way over to the Artanin station in an assault shuttle. Again, an apparently odd choice, but Anna Karenina didn't actually have any unarmed small craft aside from her courier boats, and those would not fit anything more than their pilot. The shuttle landed without incident, the hatch opened, and the marines stepped out to check the area. They were greeted by a mass of black clad soldiers, far outnumbering Ribbentrop's escort. The vit'azny diplomat followed the marines out of the shuttle, and the Su'urtugal brought up the rear. One of the marines turned to Ribbentrop. "Some advice; try not to piss them off. I don't think even scaly back there can get you out of here if you do."
Ribbentrop smiled. "Noted Corporal. When have vit'azny diplomats ever pissed anyone off?"
The marine slumped his shoulders comically. "We're screwed."
Ribbentrop laughed, then led the way forward.
Ambassador Mons paced the meeting room impatiently. They had sent a message for a diplomatic meeting on Lepta 2 just three days before, and hadn’t expected a reply so quickly, or a fully armed Battlecruiser to be in system just as fast. The military and the local government weren’t prepared. He wasn’t prepared, he had barely had anytime to read up on the Commonwealth and it’s different species, “Szitzu are covered in fur and large.” he said to himself as he paced, “Vit’azny have pointed ears and squished faces, usually in charge,” his words grew quicker and his breath a bit more hoarse, “and then there's the scaled ones that no one knows what they do.” his eyes were tinting from purple to a light brown as the gravity of his predicament began to set in on him.
“Ambassador. The envoys are aboard, four total. Three combat and the Diplomat. One minute.” came the cool and collected voice of the Marine that was standing at the door.
Mons shot a look his way, the color in his eyes fading to a normal clear tint, “Thank you Marine.” he said as he took his place two meters back from the double doors that led into the meeting room. He took a sip from the glass of water on the table, straightened his suit a little, and clasped his hands in front of his waist to wait for the envoys.
The Marine to Mons’s front pulled open the doors effortlessly, and in strode three AGF Marines who quickly spread out in the room, behind them, were the envoys.
Ambassador Mons eyes remained clear as raised his hand toward the Vit’azny at the head of the group, “Ambassador Quintus Mons, Designated Representative for the United Artanin Governments for the duration of this meeting, it is my pleasure to host you. If only we could have both brought less guns.” he said, his words resounded confidence and his perfectly still hand did not betray the great fear that was welling in his stomach as he began to study the soldiers behind the Vit’azny diplomat.
Ribbentrop gave a faint smile as his in ear translator relayed the message, though he wasn't sure the ambassador would understand the expression given the nature of Artanese physiology. He bowed slightly. "Sir Anderson Ribbentrop, representing her Imperial Majesty's Government, the Lord Chancellor of the Commonwealth, and her Imperial Majesty herself. Thank you for your hospitatlity; it is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance. As for the guns, I like to think they help us understand eachother's intentions. In fact I was quite impressed by the tanks."
"Fear" the alien thought pushed itself into Ribbentrops mind. Years of discipline stopped him from looking over his shoulder at the Su'urtugal behind him, but his eyes shifted that way. The yanissan special operatives were capable psintegrae, among other things. The marines were there as a cover really; if things went south, the frighteningly effective Su'urtugal would be responsible for getting the diplomat out. Against the kind of firepower the Artanins had assembled though, even the Su'urtugal's formidable skillset would probably not be enough.
Ribbentrop had been quite strict in his orders; read surface emotions only. No poking around in their thoughts, no intruding on their privacy, nothing to upset the UAG representative. He brought his eyes back to the Artanese ambassador. If the man was afraid, he was doing an excellent job concealing it. That, or he was a psintegrat himself, and was projecting false emotions. Good to know he was afraid, but whether he was afraid of Ribbentrop's escort, the battlecruiser outside, or the Commonwealth in general was hard to say. Possibly all three. The first two represented rather immediate threats, while the Commonwealth in general could certainly be intimidating to an emerging galactic power.
Still, what to do with that fear was a delicate question, and it depended on the nature of the Ambassador. He might be the kind of man to quail and acquiesce to demands when pressured, or he might be the kind of man to clam up and have Ribbentrop removed from the station. Best to play it safe. Ribbentrop took a seat and reclined in it slightly, trying to appear relaxed. "I'm hardly an expert, but they look very capable," he said casually, in reference to the tanks.
Mons put his hand down to his side and, like any good diplomat, returned the others bow. An odd act, but not unheard of amongst different cultures within the UAG so it was easy enough to return it. He took a seat across from the Vit’azny, his eyes flashed orange for a moment as Ribbentrop brought up the tanks, but quickly faded back to their clear tint.
Mons leaned over and took a folder from the briefcase that was placed next to his seat. He lightly placed it on the table and opened the front cover, “Sir Ribbentrop, I apologize for calling you out here so abruptly. But it has come to the attention of the UAG that there are violations of our sovereign space taking place.” as he spoke he pulled out some pictures and slid them across the table to Ribbentrop, he felt the act was odd, but the UAG wasn’t sure if the Commonwealth would be able to easily merge their file holding devices and be able to use them so the smarter linguists back on Salus decided it’d be easier to have material images, Mons was inclined to agree.
“There have been two instances to date of these construction projects beginning, one of which is almost complete the other has just begun.” the images that were now in front of Ribbentrop were optical photos of the large N.A.C. stations, complete and obviously operating one and one that was no more than scaffolding and materials, “we are aware that this company, the Ninth Amaranthine Circuit as it is known, is a company that is chartered from within the Commonwealth.”
He leaned slightly back, echoing his guests demeanor as he continued, “As a chartered company from within the Commonwealth, it is our understanding that you should be able to have the N.A.C. cease all building operations immediately and cede the stations to the UAG as they are unlawfully violating our space.” he leaned forward a bit, his eyes narrowing and the color shifting to a slightly green hue, “This is the reason for this meeting today.” he stated with a smile.
Ribbentrop frowned as he looked at the photos and listened to Mons. He carefully considered his next words. "I had heard rumours," he admitted, "but this is the first concrete evidence I've seen of such intrusions." Technically not a lie; confirmation of the NAC's activities had come from the NAC itself via a midlevel bureaucrat a few days before Ribbentrop left, but that confirmation had not included anything so concrete as photographs. "This is most concerning, but I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding of sorts. The NAC does indeed have a division incorporated and liscensed in the Commonwealth, but the company itself comes from elsewhere, somewhere to the galactic southeast. Their board of directors and primary headquarters are not in the Commonwealth, and the division that does operate within our borders is seperate from whichever is operating in the UAG's space."
He paused for a moment. "However, the Commonwealth division of the NAC does have knowledge of their counterpart's operations here. They insist they were given authority to begin operations in your space by someone at least claiming to represent your government. Whether or not this is true is debatable, but the real problem is we cannot legally censure or otherwise punish the our division of the NAC for what another division is doing in the sovereign space of a foreign nation. Frankly, we also have very little incentive to do so. The NAC is providing jobs and growth to our economy. Sanctions or other formal actions would hurt us as badly as them."
"Now, hypothetically, if the NAC were illegaly violating the sovereignty of a member of the Commonwealth, immediate, forceful action would be taken to rectify the situation. But that is not the nature of the situation here, so I'm afraid I can offer little more than to act as a mediator in resolving your government's disputes with the NAC." Ribbentrop took a sip of water, his throat parched after all that talking.
Mons nodded along politely as Ribbentrop spoke, being sure to allow his eyes to show his interest in the diplomats words as they turned a light orange. His interest piqued as Ribbentrop spoke of the N.A.C. not actually being an originally Commonwealth based company, “Is that so.” Mons said quietly as Ribbentrop continued to speak.
Then came the news that the Ambassador was hoping wouldn’t have been brought up. The fact that the NAC that was building within the UAG was not the same one that was incorporated into the Commonwealth, and even then if it had been the Commonwealth wouldn’t have been willing to move against it in favor of not hurting their own economy, ‘A reasonable outlook.’ Mons thought in his mind, were the tables turned and the UAG were reliant on a company for economic growth they likely wouldn’t move to punish it either. “That is most unfortunate Sir Ribbentrop…” he began before the diplomat finished with what seemed to be an informal offer of integration into the Commonwealth.
The Ambassadors eyes flashed light red for a moment as the words of Ribbentrop caught him off guard. He sat a bit straighter in his seat and was sure to double check that the recorder was on before even thinking about his response. He sat for a moment, mulling over his choices before he idly flipped through the rest of the documents in the folder in front of him to buy himself some time. He breathed out slowly before looking back up to Ribbentrop.
“Hypothetically speaking of course, it would be expected that a nation would take forceful action against a foreign entity infringing upon its sovereign territory. But Sir, I’, inclined to believe that the Council will not allow the actual unlawful construction to begin. As such it seems that even your mediation will likely be unnecessary, although I would appreciate to keep the line between us open in case it is needed.” he said happily.
With the simple stuff out of the way Mons leaned forward, his eyes changing to a darker orange, the intense interest of his next question being shown as to signal to Ribbentrop that he was very serious about the topic, a fact that even a low functioning Artanin would have understood although Mons was still unsure if the Commonwealth had gotten so far as to decode the colors of their eyes. “Sir Ribbentrop, for the record of course, it would seem that your hypothetical situation may have been more than it seemed. Were you trying to suggest that integration would solve this problem, or were you simply offering an example Sir?”
Ribbentrop thought carefully about his next words. He again fought the urge to look back over his shoulder. "Intrigued. Cautious. Mixed." Well that wasn't much help. Perhaps he should've authorized the Su'urtugal to poke further. But no, such an intrusion would be too obvious, even to someone unfamiliar with psionics. There was no mistaking the feel of an alien mind making contact with your own, and that would've shut down talks pretty much immediately.
Ribbentrop shrugged slightly. "The Commonwealth is open to all. Membership has its burdens and its benefits. The process in the past has generally involved fairly lengthy negotiations, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the Commonwealth who regrets their decision." Again, technically not a lie. It would literally be hard to find anyone in the Commonwealth who would openly talk about such a thing, because most of them were dead, imprisoned, or too cautious to openly express their opinion.
"Consider my hypothetical situation a...point of conversation for your government." That was as official as Ribbentrop was willing to make it.
Mons remained focused on Ribbentrop as he spoke, even if he couldn’t understand what he said before it was translated through his ear piece, it made everything the robotic voice was saying feel so much more legitimate than it came across. “Sir Ribbentrop, I appreciate the idea, but I’m sure as you seem to already be aware that this a decision far larger than I should be able to make alone even if I have been given full Diplomatic freedoms.” he nodded his head slowly, “But I will be sure to personally inform the Council of these happenings, I imagine it will be indeed quite that talking point for a while to come.”
He took a sip of water from his glass before closing the folder and sliding it to Ribbentrop, “Everything in the folder is for you to take.” he said politely before standing, “Now I do believe that I have gotten everything I need from this to consider it a successful meeting. The Council will be most pleased.” he said, his eyes a mellow yellow to signal his pleasure with the talks but mostly thanks to the feeling of that relief began to soak through him, “I look forward to further talks in the future. Should I expect that you will continue to be the Ambassador to the UAG?” he asked curiously.
"I too am glad of the course of this discussion. I expect I shall continue to represent the Commonwealth here in the UAG, should you call on us again." Ribbentrop picked up the folder. "In the meantime, I shall of course present your evidence of the NAC's actions to her Imperial Majesty's government. Perhaps formal action against them shall indeed become necessary. Good day Ambassador."
Mons watched as Ribbentrop and his guards left. Only once the doors were shut did he undo the tie around his neck and let out a long sigh of relief, beginning to breath faster than he had the entire meeting. The Marine at the door turned in his direction, ready to offer assistance if needed but Mons waved him away, "I'm okay Marine, just need a minute, politics too is a form of combat the stakes are just as high." he said trying to let the Marine know that he had it under control.
"Sir?" the Marine asked inquisitively.
He steadied his breath and took a drink from the glass at the table. Standing up tall once more he looked to the Marine, "My slip ups here may only be in words, but there very well may be Artanins dying in the future because of a mistake I make. It's rather stressful. Now," he motioned to the only Artanin assistant in the room that had made himself scarce in the corner, "Get me a line to the Council, they're going to want to hear about this immediately."
@LetMeDoStuff Grant is easily the smartest of the group, if anyone would come up with the plan of what to do now it'd be him! Have more confidence in Grant he deserves that much!
Emil Burton
Somewhere Near the Breach, Trost District
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Around him Trost burned. The fires that were tearing through some of the buildings closer to the breach were getting out of hand, and the air was full of a steady stream of ash and ember, had it not been for the earlier rain it could have been surmised that much of Trost proper would have been ablaze. Emil watched blankly as embers fell around him, their warm orange glow snuffing out the moment they touched the wet tiles of the rooftop he was on, each embers life was fickle, easily stomped out by the forces of nature. Emil thought there was a cruel beauty in the delicacy of something with such destructive potential as an ember, as if there were a parallel between them and the lives of the soldiers of Trost. Each theoretically had the potential to wreak havoc amongst the Titans, but they were as easily snuffed out as an ember on the wet ground.
Emil found himself rising to his feet, he tapped the gas canisters at his sides and sighed, they were too low to make it up the wall if he used them to get to it. He could run his way to the wall, although he had little doubt that he would end up a small morsel for the Titans if he tried to run along the streets in order to conserve gas and climb the wall. He turned back toward the Headquarters building, it was far. But he could make it even using his gas, maybe he'd have to run the last block or so, but it could be done. But his hopes were dashed when he noticed the distant silhouettes of larger titans beginning to work their way toward the headquarters building, converging on it. 'There must still be soldiers trapped inside it to garner such attention from the Titans...' he thought as he tried to reassess his options.
The wall was simply to far a run on the ground, and if he used his gas he wouldn't be able to scale it. Headquarters was doable if he were careful and avoided any fights, but even then he wouldn't have enough gas to make it onto the building which left him at the mercy of the small horde of Titans around the area that was ever growing in size.
Emil let the blades from his handles clatter to the tiles at his feet before he slotted a fresh set into place, "Guess this is it then." he said to himself quietly, his demeanor oddly calm for the current situation, he began to walk toward the group of Titans that was devouring Helen below him. He was gripping the handles so tightly that his knuckles were beginning to turn bone white. He counted six. Two 3 metter titans, two four meter titans, a 2 meter titan, and a 6 meter titan. The one with it's hand on the roof was the six meter Titan, close enough that Emil was confident he could take it out by simply jumping off the roof, then he'd have to move for the next closest one, a four meter class. He'd die after that. He was sure of it, but at least he avenge Helen at least a little, everyone else had been avenged. It would only be fair.
He took a deep breath, his hands trembling now as he did. He hadn't wanted this. He'd have been happy living his life on the streets of Wall Rose, dirty and hungry. But he wouldn't be dying right here, right now in Trost to fight an enemy that humanity would never win against. He cursed the judge that had set him up to this, decided his fate for him, placed him where he was now.
He was about to jump onto the six meter Titan when there was a flash of bright light from behind him. He turned quickly to look in its direction but caught no sight of what caused it. Behind him the Titans turned to investigate the light as well, the six meter Titan finally taking notice of Emil as it did. Emil heard the Titan move its hand from its resting place on the edge of the building and instinctively dove forward away from the edge that he stood at, the Titan's hand slamming into the roof where he had just been in a shower of dust and shattered clay tiles. He pulled himself away on his hands and knees until he was confident the Titan couldn't reach him, it's hand blindly reaching at the top of the roof in hopes of snagging another meal.
He turned back in the direction that the flash had originated from, only now to spot a red flare arching high into the sky, "A retreat order..." he said aloud, stunned at the fact that the soldiers were still organized enough to communicate after what seemed to have been a defeat that resulted in the slaughter of most of the forces deployed in the Middle and Vanguards.
He began to run for the other edge of the building, his feet carrying him with a new, vague sense of hope that he could still get out of this. Still survive and live his life as he wanted. Not die to the hands of the inhuman monsters that threatened him here.
He leapt from the building and shot a hook for the bell tower that he had used to land on the roof originally. He swung around the tower and began to make his way toward the origin point of the red flare. Moving quickly and trying not to use much gas, Emil found himself passing the street that his squad had been wiped out at when he saw a girl standing in a large puddle of blood.
Without thinking Emil changed his direction and fell down to the ground landing at a run. He approached the girl from behind, her twin tails and cadet uniform keeping him confused as he ran up. As he passed an intersection he came face to face with a ten meter titan that had been sitting, concealed behind the buildings. It lazily looked his way and began to stand to come after him. Not willing to die anymore he fired his hooks as he ran, aiming for about halfway up the buildings on either side of the road and reeled himself in so that he would run right into the cadet ahead of him.
Emil slammed into the girl and hugged her tight as they shot up into the air, she screamed and began to beat at his arms, the blades of her gear getting uncomfortably close to his face as she did so. Emil aimed for a roof top and set them down, both of them coming apart as they rolled across the wet tiles of the building. He shot up to his feet and ran for the girl, "Helen?! Helen I thought you had died..." he said astounded at her survival, the images of the other cadet being eaten by the group coming vividly to his mind.
"I don't... I thought I was dead..." she said to Emil as she knelt on the roof, her eyes looking directly at Emil but seeming to stare past him at the same time. She shook her head and looked back in the direction of the ten meter Titan that was lumbering toward them, passing the spot where the squad had met its fate. "I thought everyone was dead... To that Abnormal that almost got me, it was so close but Lauren saved me, and then it got her instead." she said, her eyes blankly watching the Titan as it approached.
Emil knelt down and placed a hand on Helen's shoulder, "Hey look we have to get moving, we'll figure out what happened later, but for now we have to go." he said as he lifted her up to her feet and walked to the edge of the building, "We head for that tower," he pointed his blade at the tower that had been the source of the smoke signal, "if we make it there should be more soldiers there, we can make it out of this if we have a bigger group." he feigned confidence as he spoke to her. A larger group meant more chances of survival, but only at the loss of members of the group.
Helen nodded her head at Emil as he spoke, still seeming to focus on something past him before the two stood and shot off for the tower.
As they neared they noticed a few more lone cadets carefully making their way as well although they were too far off to make out or communicate with. But the sense that they were doomed began to wane as they saw more cadets making their way toward the Headquarters. Emil shot his hooks for the top of the tower, the whir of his wires filled his ears as he reeled up to the top of the tower and crested the edge to land on his feet atop the flat roof with Helen following quickly behind, confirmed by the sound of her landing. He looked around the group and noticed Connor "Conn--", and the cadet in front of him, "Lauren!" he yelled as he pushed past a cadet he didn't recognize and grabbed the girl pulling her into a hug, "How." was all he said as he hugged the taller cadet.
Capital of the United Artanin Governments, Council Hall - Falerii City, Salus, Pictor System
There was a loud bang on the wood of the Council table followed closely behind by a gruff and obviously irritated voice, "There's enough to worry about without going on Minister Gallus's witch hunts for possible infiltrators from the damn NAC! There's no way that one of those... things," the Minister sneered, "could possibly have infiltrated the UAG, have you even seen the things? They're see through for God's sake!" Minister Petasius, the First Representative of the planet Tellus, exclaimed from across the table as he pointedly shook a finger at the younger Minister Gallus from Lucina. There was a low rumble of agreement from some of the more right leaning Ministers as the others shook their heads in silent disagreement or whispered to their planets partner Ministers.
"Minster Petasius please, this is a place of calm deliberation not bickering, we are the Council of Ministers of the UAG. Do our people not count on us to calmly choose the proper path for their futures?" Minister Papus of Vesta and the oldest Minister on the Council, calmly spoke to his fellows. There were more mutterings of agreement and support which were quickly cut short by Minister Petasius.
He snarled in the direction of the far older Artanin, distaste for the Minister clear in the way his eyes shifted color to a deep red, "Minister Papus, frankly your words are no longer required in this Council, you bring nothing but your self proclaimed wise words and offer no such solutions to any of our matters." he paused and took a drink from the small glass of water in front of him, "How exactly you manged to get reelected to the Council is beyond me, but I'm glad it can't possibly happen again, perhaps the next First Minister of Vesta will be more helpful then the current one." Petasius stated to the First Minister of Vesta.
"Minister Petasius that is quite enough!" the voice of the Prime Minister rung out from behind the Council table, "I may not be anything more than a figure head in this Government, but we are all aware that I am granted some measure of power, one of which is the removal of a Minister from the Council. If this continues..." at this point Prime Minister Aulus, a seasoned political veteran who had governed the planet of Fides for four years and served twice on the Council of Ministers, was at Minister Petasius' side. He leaned down to the level of the three vestibular intakes at the Ministers side, "Do not make me even consider using that power, Minister Petasius." with his show over he ambled back to the chair to the side of the Council table and took his seat.
Minister Petasius, although hiding the fact rather well in his expression, was betrayed by his eyes as they turned to a lighter hue of red signalling his embarrassment to the rest of the Ministers, "Understood Mister Prime Minister." he stated before leaning back in his chair and seeming to end his part in the debate.
Minister Gallus cleared his throat from across the table and signaled to an aide that had been standing close to the door of the chamber. The aide quickly went about the table, handing out a packet of some thirty pages of information to each of the Ministers at the table and the Prime Minister at his own seat. "Thank you Prime Minister." he said as he stood and gave a nod to Aulus, "Now if you will direct your attention to the packet in front of you, in it is everything we know about the NAC. We've received word from Captain Horatius of the UNF Penance an Ardent class Frigate on patrol in the Libitina system," he turned to the third page of the packet while in the middle of the table a holo-image of the system sprung to life, "if you will take notice of the golden triangle orbiting L2-1B, that is the Penance, the purple circle," the holomap zoomed in on a purple circle surrounded by smaller purple diamonds, "orbiting L7-2A is what is believed to be another of the Ninth Amaranthine Circuit's stations. The second of it's kind now in our sovereign space."
There were a few concerned voices around the council table but the majority of the Ministers remained silent, their eyes reading through the contents of the packet. "This packet contains the telemetry and scan reports from the Penance, composition of the fleet around the station as well as other data sets for the system are included. But the most important part you will find in the last six pages." Minister Gallus turned to the premarked page in the packet, "Appendix C if you all would be so kind." the young Minister gave his fellow Councilmen time to navigate to the page before continuing.
"What exactly are we looking at here Minister Gallus?" Minister Valeria of the planet Fons asked.
Minister Gallus turned to his fellow Minister with a smile on his face, obviously elated that someone had asked the obvious question. "This, First Minister Valeria, is the ANF Patrol assignments for the system of Libitina. As you can see, there were regular patrols twice every month until six and a half months ago, at which point the schedule was changed to once every six months. Why, you may be wondering?" Gallus asked, the question rhetorical as he was obviously going to provide the answer, "No one knows, that is the answer. There isn't one, the schedule was changed but there is nothing to indicate who did it or why." Gallus said as he motioned to the information on the paper.
"That's all well and good Minister, but I don't see the correlation. So the schedule changed and someone forgot to sign their name. That doesn't mean anything." Minister Petasius chimed in from his seat as he lazily read over the contents of the packet.
Minister Gallus let out a small laugh, "Minister, please, that is all we need to open an investigation. I simply need the budget allocation and a vote of confidence from the Council and we will be able to track down exactly who changed it and get the answers we need. It is completely possible that the ANF High Command has a NAC sympathizer or has been infiltrated in order for this to have happened beneath our chins."
"Preposterous, no Artanin would ever give themselves over to such a repulsive and distrustful race as those Printed People." came Petasius once more as he stood from his chair, "When this hearing is over send an aide to get me. I won't have anymore of this foolish talk, there are more important things to tend to then a ghost infiltrator. We need to take decisive military action against this clear violation of our sovereignty, not skulk in the shadows of ANF Head Quarters for what could be months!" with that Petasius stormed out of the Council Chamber, the double doors closing quietly behind them thanks to their design.
"All in favor of providing the Intelligence Committee, and in extension the Comprehensive Investigative Service the required funds and jurisdiction to conduct a thorough investigation of ANF Head Quarters, please raise your hands." said Minister Gallus in a friendly tone. Around him all but two hands were raised at the table. "So it is voted. The Intelligence Committee will receive its funding and be granted all jurisdiction to enact its investigation to the fullest.
Metis Base - Minerva, Sullis System
In the distance of Heavy Weapons Range 3 an old, hole filled tank, shot sparks and fire as a new hole of molten metal and ceramics was left in it side. The resounding crack followed close behind the fireworks display as the sound of the projectile caught up. At the far end of the range, nearly three kilometers away, an AZAZEL Mobile Armor rose from it's kneeling position, the barrel of the gauss cannon in it's hands still smoking as it did.
"Lieutenant, great shot, but you were slightly off the mark. Is there a problem on your end, because we're reading all data-sets as green." came the voice of Tech Sergeant Iulia over the comms, her displeasure in the current test evident in the way she spoke.
Lieutenant Decimus, a seasoned test pilot for AGF Mobile Armors pressed on his forehead as the voice of Iulia chewed into his thoughts. "Nothing that I can tell from my end Tech Sergeant, it's possible that alignment maintenance on the cannon was off by a fraction of a degree. That'd explain the wander on the round." he said as he ran a quick diagnostic test on the AZAZEL unit just to be sure.
There was a short sigh over the comms to which Decimus rolled his eyes, all comms in the UAG Armed Forces required that you knowingly key the mic to prevent any accidental chatter, which meant that Tech Sergeant Iulia had purposely sighed over comms to express her displeasure with his performance. "Tech Sergeant my AZAZEL diagnostics are showing green as well, it's got to be something related to the gun."
"Understood Sir, bring the gun back to the depot and we'll get right on it." came the Tech Sergeants reply.
Decimus keyed up the mic, "Roger that Sergeant." he said as his AZAZEL rose from its position and made a hundred and eighty degree turn now facing away from the range. The short walk to the test depot was the most peaceful moment of the day, as Iulias didn't seem to bother him whenever he was doing something as mundane as moving the unit, but god forbid he's off on a three kilometer shot by even a twentieth of a degree and she's breathing down his neck like a hungry Ingrit in the deserts of Vesta.
The mobile armor came to a halt in a specially designed scaffolding designed to be able to allow access to every inch of a mobile armor for repairs as well as any sort of refit that would be needed. Decimus flipped a switch, the a bright green light illuminating the cockpit a second later as the clamps that held the AZAZEL in place clanged into place. With another flip of a switch and a quick key punch, the back end of the cockpit opened up and Decimus's chair spun in place allowing him to climb out onto the platform provided by the scaffold.
He was met by his chief mechanic, Corporal Nona who saluted the Lieutenant with a smile, "If the boys and I didn't know any better we'd say you two have slept together." Nona said witha shit eating grin plastered across her face.
Decimus returned the salute and waved the Corporal away, "Yeah yeah, just get her prepped for another test Corporal."
Corporal Nona dropped her salute and turned on her heel as she began to bark orders to the rest of the mechanic crew. Sure it was just a test, and not even a field test at that, but the maintenance of a Mobile Armor was no joke. You miss one simple thing and you may soon have a cascade of problems on your hands, it was why Decimus was grateful for Nona and her team. They were dedicated, knew what they were doing and could fix anything even if they didn't have the part with their combined grit and determination.
Decimus made his way down the stairs that led off the platform and made his way back to the front of his AZAZEL. He was greeted by Tech Sergeant Iulias as she poured over some fast scrolling text on her datapad, she didn't salute. Ahead of them a large cargo mech was carrying away the Gauss Cannon to its own separate set of scaffolding where the tech types would be able to pour over all its parts and internal systems with a fine toothed comb. "Any ETA on when it'll be ready for another shot?" Decimus asked as he watched the mech carry it away.
"Tomorrow at the earliest, if it's really just a simple adjustment error. We still need to check that it's not something else. I'd give it two days." the Tech Sergeant grumbled, her eyes a light red with irritation at the current issue.
"I take it you don't need me then. I'll be in my rack." with that Decimus made his way through the depot and out the back to a one story converted supply building that had been turned into a temporary barracks for the test crew. Decimus pulled open the door and entered the building, determined to catch some sleep before the Tech Sergeant was breathing down his neck once more.
Emil Burton
Left Flank, Trost District
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Still a bit in shock that he had managed to take down a titan, Emil was slow to reply to Lauren's reassurance, "Yeah... Yeah thanks." he spoke softly to the girl before she began to call out orders once more. Snapped back into the present by Lauren, Emil focused on the two titans coming up the street. They were taller than the first one, and closely packed, 'Things must not be going well in the Vanguard if the numbers keep increasing.' Emil thought to himself as Lauren leapt from the rooftop and sped away.
Taking the longer way around, Emil began moving along the rooftops so as to be behind the titan once Lauren finally had it distracted enough. Using his gas to leap across gaps in the rooftops Emil was making good time getting into position and had yet to even fire a hook when he noticed that Lauren had the titan paying full attention to her and Helen was making good on her end as well. Giving a nod to Russell who was running along the rooftop opposite of Emil, the younger boy jumped off the roof and landed his hooks in the titan they had been assigned, heading in for the kill. With Russell on the move and already on his way to his titan, Emil jumped from the building and shot a hook for the shoulder of his titan that was clearly focused on Lauren.
The whir of his wire being reeled in and the hiss of his gas filled his ears as he closed the gap with his titan, and then Lauren just left, flying past him as fast as she could. Surprised by her sudden leaving Emil lost focus on his titan and watched the girl fly off before the whir of his wires reminded him of just what he was currently doing. Emil turned his head back to the titan to find that it was beginning to turn around to follow Lauren as she flew off. His original hit botched Emil hit his gas hard and released his hook sending himself forward toward the titan. As he flew through the air he shot another hook for the side of the titans face, landing it cleanly in hits jaw and reeled in. He flew on a path that sent him past the titans nape in a parallel fashion, all he had to do was extend his blades out to his right and the kill would be secured.
In the blink of an eye Emil shot past the titan, leaving a spray of blood behind him where the titans nape used to be. Confident that he had finished off the titan he planted a hook in a tall building to his left and careened around the side of it in a wide arc. With a touch of gas and a hook placed into a watch tower nearby Emil shot up over the buildings and back towards where he had come from.
Now facing the direction that Lauren had traveled, Emil was stunned to find both Helen and Russell engaged with a large titan. There was a large swathe of blood on the ground beneath the titan and Lauren was no where to be found, "No..." he said aloud as he pressed the gas and shot off toward the larger titan. As he closed the distance he watched as both Helen and Russel shot about randomly around the titan, barely managing to dodge its hands as they did. He planted a hook in a building and landed on the roof shattering a few of the sun baked tiles as he took off running to assist them. Russel planted a hook in a building to the left of the titan, his wire just above the titans arm and began to fly up when the titan raised its arm to try and intercept him, everything would have been fine were it not for the placement of his wire which became tangled on the titans forearm and was rendered useless to Russell, serving as nothing more than a death trap to the boy.
Helen screamed as Russel waved his blades at the titan who was now holding his arm above his head as to place the immobilized Russell square in front of his face. It lifted its arm up faster than normal, sending Russell up into the air in a moment of weightlessness before it clapped both of its hands together on the boy, obscuring him from view. Emil found himself stood still on the roof as he watched inhuman amounts of blood seem to pour from the titans hands before it began to rub them together which was followed by it shoving the contents of its palms that used to be Russell into its mouth. He stared blankly as it swallowed what was once a cadet and seemed to smile contently for all to see. Helen was screaming louder now, something about where everyone had gone and how this couldn't be happening.
She took off down the road heading toward the breach, flying close to the ground as she tried to put distance between herself and the titan that had just eaten Russell. Emil continued to watch, still stuck in place and gawking at the massive amount of blood beneath the titan ahead of him.
"Helen! Helen come back!"
Emil turned his head in surprise to watch Lauchlan, their designated look-out, go flying past him and toward the titan that had just killed Russell as he chased after Helen. The boy seemed to be disregarding the large titan in favor of focusing on his speed and catching up to his teammate who seemed to have lost her sense. "Don't... It's too late..." Emil let out in a raspy voice that he could barely hear himself.
Lauchlan was almost past the titan without it even seeming to notice him when it suddenly and quickly turned his way, the speed of its movements were obviously not that of a normal titan, "Abnormal!" Emil called out, finally finding his voice and his strength as Lauchlan was just moments away from disaster. He pressed his triggers down and shot his hooks out toward the building across the road and pulled himself into the air, at the halfway point of the road he released his hooks and twisted his body to be facing down the road toward the abnormal. He hooked the buildings on both sides of the road and shot off for the abnormal titan.
Lauchlan screamed in horror as the titan reached out for him and managed to snag the boys leg as he tried to go past with a loud pop as something broke in the boys body. The screaming ended abruptly after the pop as Lauchlan's body hung limp from one leg in the abnormals hand, his blades dangling below him as they were let go by his powerless hands. Emil raced toward the abnormal as fast as he could, but watched as it simply threw Lauchlan into the air and caught him on his fall with his mouth like a dog catching a scrap of food. aware of what he was about to get mixed up in, Emil swallowed the massive amount of fear that was bursting forth from him and landed a hook past the abnormal titans leg and shot himself under it as he reached his blades out to cut the titans ankle apart.
As he flew past he released his hook and smashed into the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a complete stop. Getting to his feet as quickly as he could he turned to witness the abnormal titan still standing and now limping in his direction, "GOD DAMNIT" Emil yelled as he shot a hook to the right side of the titans chest and hit the gas. He flew up toawrds the titan, which brought its hands out just as fast to meet him to which Emil responded by spinning himself and managing to take off two of the titans fingers causing it to reel back slightly.
His window open He stopped reeling in the wire and simply hit the gas, falling like a pendulum beneath the titans arm pit and then back up over its back. He planted his unused hook in the nape of the titans neck and released the other before reeling in with the help of gas to slash at the meat of the titan. A spray of the titans blood shot out into Emil's face, blinding him as the titan fell to the ground with Emil attached. The impact wasn't too bad, as there was a large amount of titan acting as a shock absorber beneath him but nonetheless it hurt. Emil feverishly wiped at his eyes as he kneelt atop the abnormal's now steaming carcass. He felt the blood on his face begin to dissipate and was finally able to open his eyes enough to see as he began to hear the foot falls of what had to have been at least a dozen more titans.
He stood up and used his gear to place himself on a building to his left. With his new vantage point he stared down the road in the direction that Helen had taken off in but was unable to find any sign of her. Reluctantly he stepped from the rooftop and took off to find her.
"Helen! Helen where the fuck did you go!" he yelled as he flew along, now at least five blocks from their original position and he had yet to see any sign of the younger girl. He looked ahead as Wall Rose began to loom higher above him, he was getting into the area that had once been part of the Vanguard and had yet to see a single living person, only what was left of them. To avoid a 12 meter class titan Emil detoured around a clock tower and landed on a rooftop, sprinting across it to save gas he noticed the hand of a relatively small titan resting on the tiles at the end of the building. He slowed to a crawl and carefully made his way to the edge of the building only to reel back and vomit as his mind registered the group of three to five meter titans that were feasting on the mangled innards of the body of a girl clad in the remains of a cadet uniform with twin-tails covered in her own blood.
Being sure to pull himself far enough away from the edge that none of the titans could reach him, Emil continued to vomit as his mind ran through everything that had just happened. He raised himself up to a kneeling position on the rooftop. Around him Trost was in chaos, fires were tearing through areas closer to the breach, there were the obvious signs of lost fights versus titans everywhere he looked as blood and pieces of people lay haphazardly strewn about the area around him, titans were everywhere and he could see larger ones making their way toward the left flank, and he was now the only survivor of his squad, "I'm all alone..." he said quietly to himself as he dropped his worn out blades to his sides and simply stared at the titans hand just meters ahead of him as it rested on the rooftop.
Emil Burton
Left Flank, Trost District
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"You're unusually chatty, Emil."
Her words seemed to ring in his ears as he stood, the oddity of his chattiness wasn't lost on him and he already knew why. Just as the other two cadets showed their fear through frightened faces and hopeless words, he showed it by talking. "Nerves." he said in response as he stared off down their block. The thuds were becoming ever more evident as time went by, and he could now see a small amount of fighting over the rooftops although he was admittedly a bit too short to see the majority of it, but even what he could see didn't seem good. Larger titans were constantly showing up, and the Garrison forces ahead seemed to be dwindling by the second.
"Fuck." Emil cursed aloud as the titan rounded the corner of the buildings ahead. It seemed to be smiling at them, its jaw seemingly open more than was usual for a titan and showing a twisted horror of a smile as the titan lumbered down the road. 'Eight meters, with a distraction it should be easy enough...' Emil though to himself as he drew two blades from his gear. To his right Lauren shot off moving directly for the titan. It turned its head ever so slightly and settled its gaze on her reaching out like a toddler reaching for a toy. Emil watched for a brief moment, as Lauren headed directly for it and the titan responded in kind by reaching out to where Lauren would no doubt be if she continued on her path.
"Decoys are not supposed to die to do their jobs..." Emil said to himself as he leapt from the roof top and sent his hooks ahead. They landed in buildings on either side of the road and with a press of his triggers he reeled himself forward before releasing the hooks and hitting on the gas. As he shot ahead he watched as Lauren suddenly changed directions surprising both the titan and himself, with a clever move inbetween the lumbering giants legs and then back out. Emil watched as the Titan fell, it's ankles cut away and no longer able to support it's own weight. Out in front of it was Lauren, caked in the titans blood and now yelling orders to the other two cadets. In the heat of the moment Emil hadn't even noticed the sound of the other titans approaching, somewhere he was sure he was glad to not be alone in this.
As he began to fall he shot another two hooks out in front of himself, lodging solidly in the buildings to his left and right and just slightly before the titans head. He shot by over the top of Lauren and reeled himself in while using his gas to gain even more speed. In front of him was the odd face of the titan, the monster that they had been taught for the last three years how to kill, the enemy. And then it looked at him. Flying right for its face Emil found himself suddenly terrified as the titans twisted smile turned into a wide open mouth, ready to catch him as he flew right for the opening. He turned his head back and found Lauren beneath him, she was counting on him to be able to do this, and the three farther back were too.
He turned back to the titan ahead, now just a few meters away and reeled in his hooks sending himself flying upwards into the sky and out of the way of the titans gaping mouth. He released his hooks as he flew past and shot into the air, he twisted around as he went up and flipped himself over so he was facing down and back in the direction that he had come from. The titan seemed to have immediately lost interest in Emil after he had left its line of sight and had went back to crawling toward Lauren in the brief moments since he had shot up. He gritted his teeth and gripped the handles of his blades so hard you could have seen the bone beneath his skin before firing both of his hooks directly into the titans upper-back just below the nape.
With a burst of gas Emil rapidly closed the distance with the titans weak point. He shot his legs out in front of himself and braced for the impact of hitting the titan. With a solid thud Emil landed on the titan and brought his blades across the titans nape using the energy from his fall to bring the blades cleanly through the skin of the monster beneath his feet.
The titan slammed into the ground as it suddenly found itself hit from behind by an object with a fair bit of force behind it. The impact of the titan with the ground sent up smoke and a small amount of debris around the body of the titan, which was quickly followed by the steam of the corpse dissipating into nothing.
Emil stood atop the titans neck. He stared at the cut across the back of the titan, unsure if he had truly just done it or it had been some other cadet named Emil that he just happened to be living through. He jumped off the titan and shot a hook back towards Lauren and flew over to the building that they had started on landing with a bit of a stumble. His legs ached from the impact, and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. Emil turned back to the corpse of the titan in the road, the heavy steam billowing off of it obstructing the view of the rest of the block rather well. "I did it...." he said to himself as if to reassure himself that he had succeeded.
He raised a blade into the sky and yelled to Lauren, "I think I pissed myself!"
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