MrCellophane

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

The Commissar
Front Landing - Tavern Ground Level

My Hider

Lifting his prow-fronted helm and looking beyond Severina, the Outsider considers the wisdom and mercy of resisting the call to violence that was the Commissar’s continued obstinacy. He has spent too long in isolation, some distant part of him breathes. Too long having every whim obeyed and desired fulfilled. This was not the Threshold City, and this woman was not one of his subjects.

He did his best to bear these facts in mind in the face of waning patience, and cast his mind instead to the practical considerations that Gabriela, for whatever her flight had meant, remained within. He did not hear the sound of raised voices, nor did his hackles raise at some sense of danger most metas invoked when channeling their misbegotten abilities.

Roen sensed nothing untoward at all, and felt within his armour only the distasteful sense that he was wasting time and running the risk of losing his prey. He exhaled, the sound filtering out of his helmet with vague electronic distortion that was unable to mask his impatience. But for whatever it was worth, he did not lunge headlong into a fit of violence that so marked his typically choleric disposition. He chose instead the path of the sage, and lowered the menacing threat of his lightning-wreathed claws.

They snarled and spat while he flexed his fingers and shut down their power fields, rendering each scything blade nothing more sinister than wickedly sharp talons. They rasped again when he scissored them at his side, excising some measure of his disquiet and unhappiness in the sound and movement of an idle fidget. If this woman wanted discourse, then he would oblige her - so long as he was sure Gabriela remained within, and was not rallying support from those souls inside. It would not be the first time he has walked into ambushes laid so clumsily.

Tilting his head back down to pay the Commissar the virtue of his only slightly divided attention, the Outsider frowns within his devil’s helm. ”She is my ward,” he says, in complete and utter honesty. But the inflection in his words carry other meanings, some more terrible than others. He may as well have called her property, an unruly daughter, or his wife. In truth, the runaway princess was all of these things, and more. Shifting his weight and the muted growl of active warplate, the Outsider sets his free hand on a cocked hip, an incongruous pose if there ever was one for such an armoured monstrosity.

”And she is more dangerous than I could ever hope to be.” Raising his right hand and sweeping his talons in an all-encompassing gesture, the Outsider indicates the tavern, the lands around them, even the world itself. ”She is the worst degree of monster: she will take your life, and you will love her for it. She has brought Gods and Kings to their knees; she has brought nations to ruin; she destroyed our world, and she has killed uncounted millions.” Curling his talons into a loose fist, the Outsider points one substantial claw at the Commissar. ”She means everything to me, and I would see her spirited away before calamity strikes.” A pause; a question hanging in the air.

”You fear me because I am in the warshape,” he comments, softening his words. ”But evil does not come up to you with claws and horns. It comes with a pretty face and shadows at her heels.”

Leaning away and withdrawing with a sweep of his mantle, the Outsider turns his profile towards the Commissar and gestures flippantly with his talons, indicating the tavern and all those within. ”Five minutes. You have five minutes to bring her to me, unharmed and intact. I see now that if I chase, I will doubtless be confronted by yet more gentle hearts. And she becomes so intractable when she sees me fight to kill. Bring her here, and we will leave in peace.”

@Roen

Despite the considerable unease she still felt, Raine deactivated the power field of her saber and sheathed it once more. As Roen's answer (and subsequant demand) filtered through, she continued to pace by the door.

So, if what the knight was saying was true, then this 'ward' was just as dangerous as the many followers of the Ruinous Powers she had crossed blades with during the Bales Stars Crusade. And not purely speaking from a combative sense, either - the Sighted of her time had infiltrated many stratas on many worlds she fought on, preying on the insecurities of others and the desires of those underclass humans to better themselves at all costs.

Thus, it would be agreeable with Severina if this woman was to be apprehended.

"How do I know, sir," she raised the question with Roen. "If what you say is true? For all I know, your hunt and your ... 'ward' might not be all they appear."

Even so, the Commissar knew that either end of the spectrum of possibilities would carry grave consequence if she did not act.

"Would that I have had the rest of the 11th Antarii on hand." she mulled aloud to Roen. "I'dve been able to flush your quarry out far more effectively and out into the open where she could be apprehended. As is, your deadline and the presence of far too many innocents would not permit me to do so."

Her hand never straying from 'Penance's' holster, Severina finally stood off to one side of the door, nodding in agreement. "Very well. I'll do what I can to flush this woman out. With any luck, persuasion alone would be capable of seeing us both outside. But if you hear the sound of bolt-fire or battle within, do not waste time. Enter quick and get you both gone as soon as you can."

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

(Respnding to @Roen)

The Commissar
Front Landing - Tavern Ground Level

Behind the rim of her peaked hat, Severina scowled as the knight sealed himself within his plate armour and advanced towards the now-blocked door, stopping short a few paces from her. The armour Roen bore looked both like, and unlike, that of one of the post-human brothers of of the fabled Adeptus Astartes. the infamous Space Marines of her time; the icons and exact shaping of said plate, however, were clear give-aways she was dealing with a foreigner, even as she heard a slight whine of some power-source in the armour's systems spooling up.

"You’re in my way.”

The Commissar made no immediate move to stand aside, unimpressed by the voice that came from (apparently) a vox-mic built in Roen's helm, or by the subsequant, theatrical show of Roen activating and testing his vambrace-mounted talons. Her free hand slipped to the bolt-pistol at her side, ready to draw and fire if the need eventuated.

"Think carefully on your choice. If you choose to fight, if you choose war, it is a path you will not be able to turn from once the first step is taken. It carries with it a terrible price."

"Move aside. I won’t ask you again.”

The Commissar, for the briefest of moments, hestitated with Roen's threat of violence hanging in the air. She carefully weighed up her response, trying to see through the mental trees of choice and consequence she had now embarked on.

First: if she gave way and allowed Roen passage. It was clear that Roen would do anything to recover this 'Gabriela', though whether it meant custody for her, death or capture out of sheer enamourment, Raine could not tell. If she did allow the knight to go after her, what was to stop Roen from visiting violence on his quarry? Or - should any patron inside make the same choice Severina did and waylay him - would more people, unaware of why Roen was in hot pursuit of this woman, get themselves in his way to potenially be cut down by Roen?

Second: if Raine opted to stand her ground. The Commissar's professional pride scoffed at backing down in the face of this man. A Commissar was expected to cleave to the highest standard and ideal of what the Imperium of Man was; part of that was to never shirk, cower or run from a clear threat. Further, Roen's arms and armament were not to be taken purely at face, and Raine did not have anything to go on regarding Roen's capabilities. If she did stay in place, if Roen's attempt to bypass her forced the pair to come to blows, Severina was not confident that Roen would not be able to best her ... at least, not without the risk of fatal injury.

She was - no matter her arms, no matter her armour or refractor field, not even her own well of faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind - only human. But she had chosen this path. To waver now would invite disgracing her ideals and invite further harm to others. Yet to fight would attract the fatal attention of the fates.

So, despite the insulting insinuation Roen threw at her that a veteran of the Commissariat didn't know the depths and horrors of war, Severina paced before the door. She kept her eyes firmly locked on Roen, looking for the slightest movement to disembowl or slash at her with his murderous weapons, as she chose a third path to resolve this deadlock:

"Do not mistake me for some glory-hound or naive girl playing at war, sir." Severina stated flatly to Roen, steel lining every sylable as her boots clunked against the verandah. "I may not have whatever life or life-span you have, but I have known war as well. Its horrors, the corruption among Man it brings out and the lives of so many I've seen die under my command, or the few I've had to end for failing their duty."

She took a breath, fact now established, before stopping again before the door.

"This woman I've seen you with." she finally questioned, meeting Roen's crimson visor with her grey, war-weary eyes. "Who is she to you? And does she represent a danger to everyone inside?"

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Roen @Blesses Blight @Fancy Party

The Commissar
Front Landing - Tavern Ground Level

It has often been said within the ranks of the Imperial Guard that Commissars tend to shoot the heretic first, two dozen of their own men next and only then start asking the 'who's', 'why's' and 'wherefor's'. While she admitted that the repuration among the Commissariat is - all too often - well-earned, Severina knew that experience had taught her otherwise.

Instead, as the clearly-uncomfortable exchange between the woman and the knightly figure went on as if she and Salvador were made of glass, she watched, she listened and she waited.

Severina watched as Roen and the clearly-uncomfortable Gabriela entrwined in an unequal, unwarranted embrace of emotions; moreso the hand that tried, futilely, to prise the armoured gauntlet from the back of the woman's head.

Raine listened intently as the two shared snippets of their shared pasts, of the woman's loss and the knight's apparently-long chase after this 'Gabriela' for ... For what?

And as Gabriela fled back inside the tavern - clearly in distress and not wanting to be in the presence of her former lover-turned-hunter ... the Commissar knew what she had to do.

Straightening herself fro the outside wall she had been leaning on as the door was slammed shut on iron hinges, Raine placed herself in harm's way before Roen, should he make an attempt to barge into the bar after his estranged lover. A glove drew 'Everfall' from the scabbard at her belt, her thumb activating the power blade's generator with a noticible whine. Held at her side in a wide, ready stance, the sparks and the faint blue-white light from the field surrouding the blade fell on the aquila on Raine's gorget, as well as revealed the cold, barely-restrained anger she now beheld the Knight as she readied herself to take further action.

Like the archangel that barred humanity's path back into Eden, the message Raine was sending could not be clearer: 'Leave her ... Or face the God-Emperor's Judgement'.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Once again, @Roen, you continue to impress. Well done on another excellently-written post!

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Roen @Blesses Blight @Fancy Party

The Commissar
Front Landing - Tavern Ground Level

Finally emerging onto the tavern's front landing, Severina backed herself against part of the outer wall nearest to the doorframe and leaned against it wearily. The moonlight trickling from above played on the woman's cuirass - the refractor field built into her gorget barely emitting a registrable hum - and the winged skull that fronted her peaked cap. Otherwise, the woman's form was swathed in her commissar's greatcoat, blotting out any other colour that might be immediately registrable in the dark.

A quick glance at the scene before her made Severina realise that she'd stumbled on something she should not. She recognised one of the men - Salvador - as the father figure she'd seen playing with his daughter earlier that night; strangely, though, the girl was nowhere to be seen. However, she had no idea who the other woman was, nor the unusual, clearly capable of threat, knightly figure that appeared to be confronting the others.

A glove slipped to 'Penance', holstered at her belt, in case the situation deteriorated. But, for now, Raine made no threatening move of her own. She was in no mood to die tonight because she launched herself into a fight she couldn't get out of.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Quick post done - SLIGHTLY behind schedule; thank you, work!

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

The Commissar
Main Tavern Floor - The Tavern

Raine awoke in her chair with a start, her scabbered painfully clattering against her leg. With a groan, the brunette-haired officer winced, clutching at the area for a few seconds, allowing both her senses to return and for the pain to subside.

Once she was sure she was fully lucid again, the took up the glass she had partaken of - seemingly hours earlier - and frowned.

"Throne of Terra; empty!" Severina cursed, banging the glass back down on the side table. "I shouldn't even be imbibing amsac whle off-duty! What's the ..." Biting down any further complaints, the Commissar gathered herself and got her cap straightened once again.

Once she was sure she was somewhat presentable - by Commissariat standards, anyway - Severina started for the tavern's front door, intending to get some fresh air before any thoughts of return crossed her mind.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Sorry for the sudden drop out I experienced over the past week, guys. My work went into a slump the past couple of weeks nd I only just got in enough pay today to settle my bills.

I'm going to have Raine say hello to Sal and Ruka - if they otherwise aren't engaged - but is there anyone else here looking for someone to bounce a few interactions off someone? I know Commissars have a reputation for being scarey, trigger-happy NKVD wanna-bes, but they're human beings too. :D

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Next post with Severina coming up shortly. She'll talk to the father-and-daughter duo in due corse ... But she has some hard stuff to knock back first.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Commissar Raine
Main Tavern Floor

Despite being somewhat miffed at Krin's flat dismissal of the Commissar's remark, Severina left the aquilas where they were and, in a trice, poured herself a glass of amsac. Drink in hand, she found herself a recently-vacated table close to - and facing away from - to the roaring hearth and took a seat, drawing the brim of her peaked cap low as she took a seat, crossing her jackbooted legs in the process and letting her sword rest against her thigh as she took a brief sip.

Occupied though she had been earlier, there were a few among the tavern's patrons tonight that had caught the studious Commissar's attention. There were multiple questions running through her mind over each of them, but without being able to establish who's who and what they were here for, Severina couldn't take action of her own. And as much as she hated and knew that a Commissar's black-and-white dogma would never fit for any situation she'd encountered across her career, one question remained prominant in her mind as beneath her cap's brim, her grey eyes lingering on one patron after another like a patient hawk:

'Ally of conveniance ... or foe fit only for destruction?'