Genesis Crisis: Resurgence IC

Roadside Café
- James -

James seemed to shrink back under the cold look Lisa shot towards him. It seemed like he had hit a nerve. Well, of course he hoped it would never come to that. He just had to believe that they would succeed as long as they worked together.

James went back to eating his sandwich. Seeing Lisa quite often around campus, he was mostly up to date on her activities.

“How are you holding up, Luke?” he asked, remembering that he had looked quite sad after receiving a phone call.

He checked his watch. They were still several hours behind the last known Redcape location and it would probably take them quite a few hours to catch up, especially if it kept moving. He hoped that the Bio band would stay intact for long enough. Otherwise this would become a wild goose chase.

The next chance he got, he would pay, so they could resume their journey.

---------------------------------------

Truck
- Lenka -

Lenka’s blue eyes watched him closely when he answered. She knew he was uncomfortable once she had asked the questions. He displayed the same signs James did when you put him in front of large groups of strangers. However, having learned with her brother that it was okay to push the boundaries sometimes, she would apply the same principle to Marcus.

For now she let the topic drop as they chose a place to eat. Lenka looked at the menu and pouted. Nothing here really appealed to her, so after taking forever to decide, in the end she chose a salad.

Once they had ordered, she focused on Marcus and their previous conversation once again. Her eyes narrowed. “So…what strain do you have? Or is it more than one strain?” she asked once more. “How did it activate? Why haven’t you practiced with it. I know the University has facilities for that.”

She twirled her blonde hair around her finger. There was pure curiosity in her eyes. “How do you even know your strain will be useful on this quest?”

---------------------------------------

Old Guard Headquarter
- Ehlana -

Ehlana looked up from her map and directed her glance at Belo. Her expression became thoughtful. Alexei was right.

“No, I probably wouldn’t behave like this if we were in Arusia,” she admitted. “However, we’re not in Arusia.” She hadn’t actively realized that she was behaving differently until Alexei pointed it out. So far she didn’t consider it a problem as long as she kept focus of the mission.

Maybe it was the constant stress of being in this foreign environment or maybe it was something else. However comfortable she felt here, deep down she could still feel the deep rooted superstition towards all unnatural things in Kaddath.

“Don’t worry about me,” Ehlana added. “The mission will always come first. And if I waver, hopefully you’ll be there to remind me,” she said with a half-smile. Suddenly she was glad Alexei was here. His calm and focused demeanor would help keep all of them grounded.

“Let’s go after Belo,” she agreed and followed Alexei. “We have some catching up to do.”

---------------------------------------

Arusia
- Kurik -

“Mhh…” Kurik commented and glanced at the screen. “I’m glad to hear everything worked according to the way it was planned.”

Kurik chuckled at the information that the Old Guard called again. “Of course,” he said, “They need to make sure we know how important they are. These archaic structures can be a pain sometimes.”

After a thoughtful pause, his eyes narrowed and he added, “Hopefully that doesn’t mean there are problems.”

From a military standpoint, it was quite risky to send a group of agents into so called enemy territory, giving them only limited contact possibilities. He would be surprised if everything went by smoothly.

Roadside Café
Luke Jaron

"uh? oh.... uh.... Fine, I think..?" Said Luke not much of conviction in his voice, "I mean, it's a new experience..." Luke closed his lips quickly as he realized he was going to slip up like last time.

He remembered the time he had with Mark; how he accidentally told Mark about his past experience with the army and the legion... Even with such past, Mark just smirked and said to Luke; 'Don't worry, Luke. I am going to be an army officer and I am going to make sure, you don't need to use your strain at all. You just keep on going to the path that you think it's right.'

It's Ironic that Luke had to use his strain because of Mark. "So, you three were Aegis right? I'm curious, where did you find the motivation to fight vigilantly? I saw it many times... I mean, heard many times of the clash between Aegis, Empire and Legion. It did not sound like you guys had any advantage against the old empire nor Legion..." Luke asked with curiosity and of course, wishing to learn little more about them.


----------------------
Old Guard Headquarter
Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

Belobog had his lips tightly closed, he was not so sure why he was acting all fired up. Did the new environment troubled him so? Or was the desire of his home, The Arusian Empire, to be here grew too strong for him to handle.

Belobog took out a chewing gum and put it into his mouth; he chewed it as if he was chewing that old geezer that had commented about their mission so far. "That bastard..." He muttered quietly. Then he sighed, he was starting to miss the routine life he had in the military; over there he did not need to think too much, he did not need to feel much and he did not need to report much.

However, he did not dislike the new environment. It made him more motivated to devote himself to the cause of Arusian Empire. That old guy was annoying him, and his demeanor irritated him to the point of wanting him to shoot the man in cold blood, but he knew too well. The Arusian Empire needed that guys knowledge.

Belobog let out long sigh. "For Arusian Empire." He said in firm voice, "The mission comes first and my life, second." He added, "I will show this pests who they are really messing with." Belobog eyes were firmed, looked composed and determined.

The vehicle was ready, and he waited for his companions; with his generic faint smile on his face. "Let's hunt this pests quickly." Said Belo, to his companions who were just making out to the vehicle area.

Restaurant

James was preoccupied talking to Luke, so she swiped his wallet to go pay. She immediately regretted that decision when the cashier cocked his head, as though trying to place why she looked familiar. She hastily handed off the money and returned, just as Luke was asking about their days on the run.

"It's nothing romantic," she said, shrugging. "We were just a bunch of scared kids on the run. But things got to the point where we could keep running or face things head-on, and we decided to make a stand."

She thought of that little seaside cottage, and the grave nearby. No one understood just how much they'd sacrificed in all that.

"We should get going," she said after a pause. "Don't want that thing to get too far ahead of us."

-------------------------

Arusia

Maxim smiled wanly at Kurik's concern.

"No experiment is without its unforseen variables," he said, tucking his hands into his labcoat. "Well deal with them."

"I'm glad to hear you're not perturbed."

Lord Commander Farrington appeared on the screen, lines etched with concern on his brow.

"Ah, Commander," Maxim said lightly. "What can I do for you then?"

Farrington's gaze flickered to Kurik for a moment, then back to Maxim.

"Your agents made a blunder. They picked the wrong location for an attack, and now Aegis is involved."

Roadside Café - Police Cruiser
- James -

James nodded. Yes, he understood that this must be pretty overwhelming for Luke and he was surprised himself that he seemed to handle everything so casually.

Then Rise returned from paying the bill and James got up as well. "She is right," James added. "We didn't really know what we were doing. Hopefully things will be different now."

He refused to let his thoughts linger in the past events and instead focused in the now.

They left the café and returned to the cruiser. James got behind the wheel and re-activated the on board monitor to show the tracking of the Bio band.

"It looks like we're still a few hours behind it," he said. The espresso uad woken him up for a bit, but he knew that some time soon someone else would need to take over the wheel.

Truck

Despite the fact that he didn't enjoy the line of questioning, Marcus couldn't help but grin a little at Lenka's enthusiasm. She was like a dog with a bone.

He sighed and looked at the counter, where his burrito and her salad would be when they were ready. "I've got the Kaja strain. As far as I know, that's all." Marcus shifted his attention to the counter again when the attendant called out their order number.

After retrieving their food and sitting it on the table, he continued. "The university is equipped for training, but I didn't want to get used to-" Marcus suddenly cut off his own train of thought. How much did he really want to tell her? Lenka was almost too easy to talk to, and his recent sessions with Lisa told him that sharing his past could be a draining experience.

"Let's just say that I've not always had it easy in life, and if you don't get used to having things, you miss them less when they're gone. So, until I'd made my decision about keeping my strain, I didn't want to practice with it too much."

He took a bite of his burrito, and for a few minutes, they ate in silence. "I'm not sure how useful I'll be, but I could ask you the same question. Do you have any combat experience that I don't know about?"

-------------------------------------------------

Police Cruiser

Lisa regarded Luke for a moment while Rise and James spoke up. He wasn't that much different in age than they had been back then. Had things really changed so much in a few short years?

"If you'd asked me back then, I'd have said it was desperation that drove us to do what we did." She said as they climbed back into the cruiser. "But now, looking back, I think what really made the difference was hope. There were times when it was elusive, but we always had it. The people of this country always had it. We just had to remind them that they were capable of acting on it."

Arusia
- Kurik -

Kurik watched as Lord Farrington appeared on the screen. He inclined his head politely. Not because he felt much respect for him, but more because he knew it was important to follow certain rules. Especially the Old Guard loved to uphold these archaic structures.

"I'm sure they are capable of fixing it," he whispered to Maxim. Aegis had not been the focal point of the briefings, because they were considered inactive.

They would need to check in with the Arusian agents soon.

------------------------------

Truck
- Lenka -

Lenka poked around her salad, listening to Marcus. Most of it was just casual explanation, however she still wasn't sure she understood his reasoning.

She had just finished her meal, when he asked about her own capabilities.

"Mh..," she replied, "No, I don't have any combat experience aside from the basic training at the University."

She pointed her fork at him. "However, my brother and his girlfriend are putting themselves in danger and even if I can just contribute a little bit, I will."

Police Cruiser
Luke Jaron

"I see..." Luke looked at Lisa's direction as she mentions about the desperation, and then he smiled faintly as she summarized it clearly for him of what made them keep on going. "Hope...That's something I could use right now to make my life little brighter." He commented, and then as he climbed back to the cruise, Luke said to James as he was concerned about getting him to drive for the entire journey. "James, if you don't mind, I could drive the rest of the journey from here. I used to drive for pretty far distances before..." He spoke as he looked at Rise for her support so that James could take a rest from the driving. "You guys had been on the front for too long, take a rest at the back and let me handle this. It's the least I could do."

Grand Council Chambers

Jax shifted uncomfortable in his seat, wondering how this meeting would turn out. Keynes and Raidon had arrived and were now waiting patiently for the High General to arrive. Neither seemed to have any idea why they were there. It was going to be a rude surprise when they found out.

On the plus side, Kokonoe seemed to be on board with his plans. She seemed quite intrigued with the opportunity to study Redcapes. It certainly didn't hurt that she also took it as an opportunity to work against Serena.

Alina entered the chamber. The three of them stood, then sat once Alina had taken her place in the High General's chair.

--------------------------------------------------

Arusia

Maxim inclined his head toward Kurik when he whispered, but gave no response. He was watching Farrington intently.

"I understand your concerns, Commander," Maxim said, giving a polite nod. "Rest assured, I will look into the matter personally."

Farrington's lips twisted in an unpleasant smile.

"See that you do. We are preparing things on our end, and we can't afford any liabilities."

"Undestood," Maxim replied. With that, the transmission ended.

Maxim sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, this is unexpected. We'll need to get in touch with our agents then, yes?"

Maxim moved over to the controls and began to type. After several moments, the faces of the Arusian agents appeared.

"I've received a communication from our Kaddathian allies," Maxim said, "I dare say they've spoken to you as well?"

--------------------------------------------------

Agents' Vehicle

Alexei snorted at Maxim's question and removed the cig from his mouth.

"Yes, we had the pleasure of their hospitality," he said. "We're on our way to pursue this 'Aegis' group. Any chance of getting information on them?"

"Of course," Maxim replied. "I'll send it to you shortly."

Alexei glanced at his companions, wondering if they had anything to say while the researcher was on the line.

[OOC: I'm skipping Aegis at the moment. I think we'll jump ahead to them finding a place to sleep for the night so the Arusian agents can catch up.]

Truck

"Basic training is better than nothing." Marcus responded as he finished off his burrito. "And I don't doubt your motivations. It's just better that we both know what the other is capable of before we get into any sort of pinch. Wouldn't you agree?"

Crushing the foil his food had been wrapped in, Marcus leaned back in his chair. "Aside from the basic training, I've taken a few of the advanced hand to hand courses. I could probably show you one or two tricks you don't know, but most of the things they taught are muscle memory. So, they can't be picked up quickly." Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to get into close quarters with her though. Something in her eyes told him that Lenka was stronger than she appeared, but compared to his muscular frame, she seemed very breakable.

"In any case, we'd better get back on the road. Wouldn't want to fall too far behind." He tossed the foil ball at the trash can, and it hit the edge before bouncing completely over the target. Marcus clicked his teeth and crossed the room to bend over place it into the can. Way to look lame...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Council Chambers

"Please." Alina waved to the standing men as she entered the room. "There's no need for formalities among us. Although if you can all maintain that level of composure for the duration of the meeting, I'll be highly impressed."

She wearily dropped into her own seat and let her head fall against the back, taking a deep breath. "For starters, thank you all for coming. This was short notice, even by administration standards."


"In the interest of transparency, considering my recent request, I've asked Raidon to join in on this meeting." She nodded to him.

"Since all of you are already aware of the personnel file labeled 'Project Aegis' on record, there will be less to explain. Let me begin by stating that, as of this morning, the entire roster of members has been moved to active military status. That includes you, Keynes, as acting commander of the project. After our meeting is completed, I expect that you'll want to get in touch with one of the members currently on-site to be briefed on the local situation. I don't anticipate you needing to leave the capital, but I would prefer you stay on top of things."

Keynes' eyebrows had been steadily rising higher with every word, but after he realized she was giving him an order, he nodded, taking a moment to fix his expression. "Of course. I'll get ahold of them when we're done here."

"Good." Alina turned to Jax, motioning that the floor was his. "If you'll be so kind as to lay out the current situation, including anything that has transpired since our conversation this morning."

Police Cruiser
- James -

“Sure,” James replied and pulled over. “That would be great. Thanks.”

He switched places with Luke and climbed into the back. “Just follow the blinking light,” he said and pointed at the screen.

James leaned back in his seat and pulled his hood up. They would still be driving for a few hours, at least until it became dark. He pulled out his phone and looked at the dark screen. Shortly he wondered if they should check in with Jax before the night ended.

-----------------------------------

Truck
- Lenka -

Lenka shrugged and took her bag when Marcus got up. “I’ll be fine,” she waved off, hoping she wouldn’t actually have to enter any combat situations.

She followed Marcus out, shaking her head in amusement when he missed the trash can with his wrapper. They got back to the truck and Lenka climbed onto the passenger seat. Grabbing the tablet, she checked once again the location of the Bio band.

“You know, the others probably stopped for food as well and will have to stop again in a few hours to get some sleep,” she said and twirled her blonde hair. “Unless of course my brother is in charge. He would probably go on until he caught up. Good thing Rise and the others are with him.”

After a pause, she added "Are you okay to keep driving?"

-----------------------------------

Agents’ Vehicle
- Ehlana -

Ehlana was driving and only glanced at the screen for a second when Maxim appeared on it. Getting more intel about the Aegis group would be a big help. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kurik was in the room as well.

“Is there also a way we can track them properly?” she asked the researcher and Kurik. “We’re flying a little blind here.” She disliked having not enough information. Being underprepared could lead to them taking a big risk.

-----------------------------------

Arusia
- Kurik -

Kurik chuckled slightly when Maxim didn’t seem very concerned. “I’d say they are pretty upset,” he said calmly. “But yes, better get in touch with the others.”

As soon as he had spoken the words, Maxim had already established the connection with the Arusian agents.

“I will compile the information as soon as possible,” he remarked in the background. “Do realize, the information may be a little outdated, but we will try to gain additional info.” Maybe he would need to pressure some more information out of their allies.

“As for tracking…,” he said thoughtful and paused. “Do you know what vehicle they have?”

Police Cruiser
Luke Jaron

"Sweet." Said Luke as he got himself comfortable with the front seat. Luke nodded and carefully listen to James instruction of how to navigate the way. "Just follow the blinking light, got it." Said Luke confidently and the cruise went its way smoothly as well.

Luke smiled faintly, remembering his first drive. He had to ran away with a jeep and that drive was not smooth as this one, but he had been practicing and it payed off. The situation had led Luke to master driving skills and riding skills. This was, however, his first time driving a four wheeled machine with others inside.

Two years ago, the drive with the purpose was lonely, cold and hopeless. But, right now, even though he had worries for his friend Mark, Luke felt confident, warm and hopeful.

'Wait for us, Mark.' Thought Luke, 'We will bring you back.'

----------------------------------------------

Agents’ Vehicle
Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

"They told us they are in police cruiser." Said Belo, and he curled his lips, crossing his arms. "Just curious, Kurik. Have you fought them before? Are they good?" He asked, curious if Kurik had encountered them before.

Grand Council Chambers

"Good." Alina turned to Jax, motioning that the floor was his. "If you'll be so kind as to lay out the current situation, including anything that has transpired since our conversation this morning."

Jax nodded, looking more confident than he felt. This is when he would find out if his gamble was a big payoff or a big mistake.

"You may have heard," he said, nodding at the others. "that another Redcape attack happened yesterday - at one of Rise's concerts. This is the first one to ever be confirmed, and by a huge audience to boot. Rise and James were caught up in it and fought the Redcape off."

He paused a moment, coming to the tricky part.

"The Gemnity Police Force detained them for questioning. When I found out, I asked them to look into the situation and try to apprehend the Redcape. Being involved in the situation and able to maneuver more... expediently than we might be able to, I thought they could be a valuable asset. They agreed. By now, they should have picked up Lisa and Alex as well."

Raidon said nothing, but Jax could feel the other man's gaze boring into him.

"The attack confirmed a few things," he went on. "The Redcapes are former humans. We don't know why, but something is forcing them to change. If Kokonoe can study one of them, we might be able to figure out how it's happening and who's doing it."

--------------------------------------------------

Agents en route

Alexei nodded to Kurik through the small monitor in their vehicle.

"Any information will helpful, outdated or not," he said. Alexei reclined back in his chair, puffing at his cig. He was interested to hear Kurik's thoughts on this Aegis group as well.

Arusia
- Kurik -

Kurik shook his head. "No, I have never met them personally, nor have I fought them," he explained.

"By the time my unit was deployed, it was already determined that Aegis was not the main enemy. We were focused on the Legion forces at the eastern border of Kaddath."

He paused and inclined his head. "However, I can tell you, that they moved from a group of run-away students to a determined force with a goal in a very short time."

Kurik pulled up a screen and accessed a folder with the information he had compiled in the past two years. "Don't underestimate them, but I will try and make sure you get their updated military service records as quickly as I can."

After another short pause, he added. "Sorry, I don't know if I can help with the tracking remotely." Accessing any network in Kaddath was almost impossible while in Arusia. The agents would need to find a local source for that.

Truck

"I think I'll be fine for a while yet." Marcus said as he slid into the driver's seat. Truthfully, he was somewhat afraid that if he went for too long without driving at this point, he might have to take a moment to remember how. Probably best not to let that happen.

As he put the truck into gear and got back onto the road, Marcus wondered, not for the first time, what had led him to where he was now. "So, I don't think I'd met your brother before this morning." He said, making sure to keep the truck pointed down the road that led them further out of town. "Actually, it hadn't even occurred to me that you might have a sibling. Is he the only one, or are there more of you?"

Maybe this line of conversation would be better. At least, he could get to know his traveling companion a little bit better before they had to worry about finding a place to sleep for the night.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Council Chambers

Keynes leaned forward in his chair, giving Jax a long look. "I feel like you're leaving something out. How did you figure out the Redcapes are former humans? What made the connection?"

"We can't be one hundred percent certain that we've discovered the cause." Alina responded, a grim look on her face. "But, all of the assumed first victims of the original Redcapes, as well as the assumed first victim of this one, were magic users."


"If that knowledge goes public, it could fuel the same kind of riots that we haven't seen since the fall of Legion. Not to mention, after our recent council discussion, some of the members are looking for any ammunition they can find. Until we know more about the Redcapes, I don't want any administration decisions to be pushed ahead by fear of what we don't understand. It's our job to make educated decisions that will help the general public, not scare them into locking themselves in their homes."

"Right..." Keynes leaned back into his seat, looking slightly pale. "That's a valid point."

Alina nodded and turned her attention to Raidon. "I'm offering absolute transparency here." She began with a sad smile. "But I do ask that you offer the same respect. What are you thinking, Raidon? Is this something we can diffuse without having to alert the public, or am I sitting on a time bomb here?"

Agents’ Vehicle
Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

"Maybe we could track down the Redcape instead?" Said Belobog, "If I remember correctly, you told us that strain users in Kaddath wore some kind of bracelet that allows military to track them down..." He added thoughtfully, "Is that possible?" Belobog asked them in hopeful manner.

Grand Council Chambers

Jax was hoping not bring up the one member of the Redcape search party who was not a member of Aegis. Reactivating them was a questionable move, but getting a civilian involved was worse. Then again, which of them wouldn't have gone off in search of one of their loved ones that had been transformed - with or without the Army's say?

"The victim of the Redcape attack was with a friend," Jax said, looking at Keynes. "He witnessed the transformation firsthand and provided the information that led us to the discovery of the strain commonality in the victims. There should be video feed of it as well. The police are working with Rise's manager to get a hold of the footage. There might be something there that people in the crowd would have missed."

Raidon had been silent throughout the meeting. When Alina addressed him, he closed his eyes for a few moments before speaking.

"This is a very delicate situation, to be sure," he said quietly. "If information regarding the connection between all the Redcape victims were to become public knowledge, anti-strain sentiments could completely tip the scale. As protectors of the peace, we want to avoid that if possible."

He took a deep breath, weighing his words.

"However, in the effort of transparency, I don't think we can avoid informing the Grand Council. The longer this is kept quiet, the greater the repercussions when it comes out. We are trying to move away from this empire's past, after all."

Jax shifted uncomfortably. Raidon was right. It was a pain to deal with the Council and Serena Winters, but trying to act above the law - no matter how well-meaning - was always a start down a dangerous road.

"I would try to emphasize the need to have made quick decision when you do. That might make certain members more... agreeable," he added helpfully to Jax, who smiled.

--------------------------------------------------
Agents’ Vehicle

Alexei contemplated Belo's suggestion, puffing thoughtfully on his cig.

"If this Aegis group is following the Redcape, that must be the way they're doing it," he said. "Worth a try, at least."

Maxim nodded to them through the screen.

"Kurik will send you the information on Aegis shortly. In the meantime, I'll contact our informants to see if we can get you the tracking details on the bio bands."

Alexei nodded, and the transmission ended.

"Aegis..." he mused. "This should get more interesting."

--------------------------------------------------

Arusia

Once they were done speaking to the agents, Maxim waited as Kurik got to work collecting the information on Aegis.

Maxim was beginning to rethink his stance. Perhaps it would be more advantageous to observe things closer to hand in case situations like these arose. Placing themselves closer to their enemies and their unscrupulous allies could be problematic, but that could hardly be helped. Who knew - being in close proximity to the Old Guard could work to their advantage when the final stages of the plan came to fruition.

"Kurik," he said, speaking up after a long silence. "How would you feel about moving our operations to Kaddath?"

Truck
- Lenka -

Lenka was looking out the window, watching the light of the sky change from a brighter blue into a darker color mixed in with red and purple from the sun that slowly began to disappear.

When Marcus mentioned her brother, she sighed. He would probably be angry. And she knew he just tried to keep her safe. Maybe that’s why she had decided to follow them anyway. She didn’t like it when someone tried to tell her what to do, especially when danger was involved. A smile played around her lips and she thought back warmly at all the situations similar to this. James was her big brother after all, he probably couldn’t help it.

“He’s graduating this year, so he’s not really around campus this much anymore,” she explained. Suddenly she sat up straight. “Oh no, the graduation ceremony is supposed to be in two weeks,” she said, sounding agitated. “Hopefully we can make it back by then.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

--------------------------------

Arusia
- Kurik -

Kurik now focused more on the computer than on the actual conversation. The transmission ended and he looked up. Maxim was lost deep in thought it appeared, so Kurik continued to compile all the information he could find on Aegis.

Maxim’s question surprised him and he stopped. “Mh…,” he made a contemplative sound. It would indeed be better if they had someone else over there that could coordinate with their allies and avoid these kinds of incidents.

“I think it would be advantageous to have you over there and help with the communication,” he finally said. “But are you sure, it’s a good idea in the eyes of the Council to take me as well?” Kurik asked. There were several problems attached to that notion and he doubted the leaders of Arusia would appreciated if their informant left. He remembered the lengthy process from the last time he had left for only a limited number of days to contact the Old Guard. And this time it would probably be longer.

“I don’t know how sympathetic they would be to me leaving…” he trailed off. Of course he wanted to go. He could probably a better help there than any of the Arusians. He knew the people of Kaddath. He knew the lay of the land and there was still a few people who knew he wasn’t dead and were sympathetic to his cause.

Truck

It was impossible to miss Lenka's sigh before she spoke. Had he picked another bad topic? For someone who seemed so carefree, he was beginning to think she was just really good at hiding her worries from others. Or maybe he was imagining things, he thought after glancing over at the wistful smile on her face.

"I don't see any reason why we wouldn't be back in time for graduation." Marcus responded, scanning the road signs for somewhere to stay the night.

His features gave away nothing when she asked if he had any siblings, but he wasn't entirely sure how to answer the question. So, he stalled. "Can you see if there are any hotels nearby on the data pad? We should probably be calling it a night soon."

While she messed with the device, he pictured some of the faces from his childhood. "I don't have any siblings by birth." Marcus finally said. "Growing up in foster care, there were a lot of other kids around though. Some of us learned to treat the others like brothers and sisters. We figured if no one else could claim us, we might as well claim each other."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Council Chambers

Alina frowned at Raidon's response, but she couldn't say he was wrong. In fact, it was probably the response she would have offered, had this situation arisen during the previous administration.

"Very well. Keynes, I want you in contact with them tonight, and I expect a status report on my desk, first thing tomorrow morning."

"Consider it done." Keynes grumbled, pushing himself from his chair. "Is that all?"

"Not quite." Alina reached up to massage the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "At least two of the council members are out of town tomorrow. So, we'll hold off on an emergency meeting until the following day, when everyone can attend. I'll make sure they're all aware that attendance is mandatory. In the meantime, I would ask that no one else be informed of this discussion."


"I understand that might not be the best approach." She turned a sad smile in Raidon's direction. "However, I don't want the council members to start forming theories based on bits and pieces of information. Until we're all gathered to hear the entire story, I feel it's best that fragments of it not be allowed to muddle the truth."

Arusia

Maxim smiled as Kurik expressed his doubts about his involvement. They were valid points, to be sure. It had taken some effort to allow Kurik to leave for the first time when they had engaged in negotiations with the Old Guard. An indefinite leave of absence would be even more difficult.

This time, however, he would be with Maxim. And that changed a lot of things.

"You leave that to me," Maxim said, patting his shoulder. "I think it would be best if you prepared your things to leave for morning - just in case."

Maxim left the lab and strode down the hallway. Arusia had no set leader like in Kaddath, but that didn't mean no one was standing behind the curtain. And Maxim had done a lot of work to take that place.

Now, an even greater opportunity was afforded to him - and Arusia. If heads had to roll - metaphorically or literally - to achieve that, then so be it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Council Chambers

Raidon silently contemplated Alina a moment, then nodded.

"Agreed. Discretion needs to temper transparency."

He stood up, bowed, and left behind Keynes. Jax watched them go until the door closed behind them.

"Well, that could have gone a lot worse," he mused. He walked up to Alina, massaging gently at her shoulders.

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

[OOC: I think everything's wrapped up then except for Lenka and Marcus. We can bring Aegis back in the meantime to wrap them up as well, whenever you guys are ready.]

Truck
- Lenka -

Lenka was surprised to hear that Marcus had been in foster care. She sensed there was more to his story than he had told her now and she made a mental note to ask more about it later. However, she felt it was wrong to press the issue now. This situation, in the truck, searching for some place to sleep, was not ideal for personal questions that could require a lengthy explanation.

Her fingers fiddled with the data pad and she looked at the screen, drawing her eyebrows together. “There’s a few places around,” she finally said. Tilting the data pad, she then looked out the window to try and find any points for orientation. “I think you have to turn left at the next intersection.”

There was not a lot of confidence in her voice, but as they approached the intersection, the sign for a hotel became visible to the left. Lenka breathed a sigh of relief. “It looks nice, let’s stop there,” she said determined obviously not allowing for any objections.

Grand Council Chambers

"Define 'okay'." Alina groaned, sinking back into her chair while Jax massaged her shoulders. "I'm beginning to think the word has a different meaning than it might have a few days or even a few hours ago."

He was right though. The meeting had gone better than expected. Now, they had one full day to get things together before presenting it all to the council. Unfortunately, Alina was going to need several hours of that day for sleep. She'd been burning the candle at both ends for too long already. Any more, and she might crash out in the middle of the day.

"As magical as that feels, I don't think it would be good for my neck if I fell asleep in this chair." She said, reaching up to playfully swat aside Jax's hands. "Let's go home, so I can sleep in a real bed."

Truck

"Works for me." Marcus said, taking the left. For some reason, he was glad she'd been right about which direction it was. Something so trivial shouldn't have mattered, but she'd sounded hesitant, and that wasn't a word he had commonly associated with Lenka before. Of course, it was also useful that she know how to navigate. It would make the trip easier on them both.

"So." Marcus began, sounding slightly hesitant himself now. "I don't know what the going rates are on lodging, but I'm pretty sure I don't have enough cash on me for two rooms. If you'd like, I can sleep in the truck..." He let the words trail off. No sense in asking how she felt about sharing a room. If he felt this awkward thinking about it. Odds were good she'd feel even more awkward talking about it.

Still, the idea of sleeping on the bench seat with the odor of stale pizza surrounding him wasn't very appealing...

Bunk House

Keynes took a long drag of his cigarette as he sat down at his desk. He'd given them up when Millie was born, but kept a pack of them stashed in the house for rough nights. Tonight, he'd probably need three or four.

Blowing out a cloud of smoke, he tapped the ashes off into an empty cup and reached for his communicator. After a few seconds of hovering over Kokonoe's number, he switched the dialer to James' instead and opened the line of communication. Business before pleasure...

"I'd say good evening." Keynes started when James appeared on the screen. "But it's been anything but."

He gave the man a moment to respond, but after that got straight to business. "Alina pushed the Aegis Project to active military duty. So, you've just been promoted to staff sergeant. What's the current status of all members."

Hotel
- Lenka -

Lenka looked at him surprised when he brought up the money matter.

“What?” she asked confused. “No, of course you’re not sleeping in the truck. I don’t expect you to pay for my room,” she said, her voice firm. “And if you need more money, just say so. I dragged you into this after all.”

They left the truck and entered the hotel, which upon closer inspection was not as fancy as it had looked from afar. Lenka confidently walked up to the counter. “Two single rooms for one night, please,” she said, giving the receptionist a bright smile. The receptionist handed her a few sheets of paper to fill out and Lenka pushed one over to Marcus to fill out.

“Have a nice stay,” the receptionist handed her two keys after they returned the paperwork and Lenka had laid down her credit card.

She noticed Marcus glance and gave him a wink. “Lunch is on you tomorrow,” she said and tossed him one of the keys.

------------------------------

Hotel
- James -

James sat on the couch and stared out the window when suddenly his phone buzzed. For the sake of keeping everyone closely together, they had opted to get a sort of suite or rather apartment with a few bedrooms for tonight and James was still lounging in the designated living room.

He easily recognized the number. “Keynes,” he greeted him when the older man appeared on the screen. “Still good to see you again.” He sighed when he heard the news. No matter how hard he tried, he seemed unable to escape his military career.

“Well, Rise is of course here,” he said, refusing to fall into a military jargon. “At the University we picked up Lisa, but we were unable to find Alex. Neither Lisa nor me have seen him in a while. Maybe you can try and locate him?”

James ruffled through his hair and rubbed his eyes. “Also, we have Luke Jaron with us. His friend, Mark Redwind, was the one transformed, so he is hopefully providing valuable insight. Luke is a first year student at the University,” James explained. “My sister Lenka was with us, but I left her at the University.”

He leaned back. “Should I get the others? Or do you need any other info?”

OOC: The others are welcome to be around and chip in, I just felt it was easier to get the bulk of the information out in one go.

Hotel
Luke Jaron

Luke opened his own data pad, the only thing he had managed to bring it with himself. he opened his music application. He started beat of the drum and guitar...

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Luke sighed as he finished his song. One of the only song that Mark did not really comment on the lyrics and perhaps this was Mark's favorite song among the one's that Luke had sang in front of him.

Luke fall to his bed, wondering if he should let his parents know what he got himself into. Then again, he was scared to burden his family once again.

"I will get you back, Mark. I will get you back." Luke whispered to himself.

Hotel

Rise yawned from her place on the summer, having long given up with brushing her hair. The only reason she was still out here instead of in bed was because James was still up.

When James' phone buzzed, Rise revived somewhat, looking interestedly up at him as he answered. At the name "Keynes" she sat up properly and scooted over beside him.

"Keynes, you bastard," she chirped into the speaker. "if you'd been at my concert like a good friend, you'd be here with us right now!"

Hotel
-Marcus-

Marcus blinked as Lenka exited the truck and made her way across the parking lot. Dealing with this girl was like constant culture shock. He had no idea how her mind worked, but it definitely wasn't linear.

Realizing that he'd been sitting for several seconds in quite contemplation while Lenka disappeared from view, Marcus cursed under his breath and got out of the truck.

By the time he'd caught up with her, she was already sliding her card across the desk to pay for the rooms. Hearing her joke about him paying for lunch helped his conscience a little, but he still sighed as he filled out the paperwork.

"I'd say lunch and dinner are on me tomorrow." He grumbled, only halfway teasingly, as he reached out to catch the key to his room. Still, it didn't feel right to be in a bad mood about it.

"Thanks." Marcus said, doing his best to smile. He wasn't sure how well he pulled it off though.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bunk House

"You have no idea how much I'd rather be there instead of here." Keynes grumbled. He gave Rise a wave and a smile though. "Things have gone to crap here with this situation, and I think it's going to get much worse before it gets any better."

He turned away from the communicator and scribbled down some notes for his report before turning back to the screen. "I'll make sure Luke is added to the unit roster, and I'll try to track down Alex tomorrow. Even if he's not with you guys, he needs to be aware of what's going on."

Taking another long drag of his cigarette, he frowned at James. "I'd also like to check in on your sister. She'd be able to offer an eye witness account of the incident, which is something we haven't had up until this point."


"Would you be okay with that?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hotel
-Lisa-

Lisa flopped back onto her bed, taking a few moments to stare up at the ceiling. In the background, she could hear music playing, and James was talking to someone, but she couldn't tell who. Speaking of which, she couldn't really afford to put her call off any longer.

After taking a deep breath, Lisa pulled the communicator from her pocket and pulled up Arya's name. With a long exhale, she pushed the button to open the link.

"Hey, sis." Lisa said as Arya's face popped into view. "Don't kill me, but I have to tell you something."

She waited a few seconds before relaying the basic information about their mission and the reason she had chosen to go along, but Lisa avoided giving out specific details. No need to worry her sister unnecessarily...