Spirit Operations Unit Leviathan (L3 | Open | SF/Fantasy)

[Venom3001]

"Headsets," Damien reminded them pointedly, handing several of them off. "Other car is on its way. Have fun." He turned and left for his operations center with an apologetic shrug to Doctor Miles.

"I'll drive," Leon volunteered, cutting off further delays.

Headsets obtained, they were on the road in a matter of seconds, distributed roughly evenly between the two cars. Damien gave them the lowdown from base - the extraction target wasn't in any immediate danger but might behave unpredictably; the usual precautions were to be taken. No trouble expected but hell if they weren't to be ready for it. They headed at a reasonable pace to their destination, free to talk as they went.  

[NativeForeigner]

Briar was glad that Dr. Schraeder expressed continued interest. Ignorant of Rachel's counting, she collected her headset and took a seat next to Dr. Shraeder. Once settled, she began to explain every detail of the MAC, smiling proudly the entire time. She went over how the railgun system worked, the enchantments she put into it, the physics behind it, and every other detail she could think of. Briar even went so far as to deconstruct the weapon as best she could in the limited space to show Dr. Shraeder the inner workings. By the end of their trip Dr. Shraeder would likely know quite a bit about the MAC.

It was a great way for Briar to settle her nerves before the mission.

*

Richard opted to wait for the next car. He was a little put off by Rachel's counting; not only was she treating everyone like children, but she also failed to realize that they would require two cars - all the rushing in the world wouldn't change the fact that half the team would still be waiting for another car to become available. She may have thought she was taking charge, but Richard thought she was simply making a fool of herself. Regardless, he held his tongue. Her work off the field was respectable enough that she still deserved some degree of respect.

He adjusted his headset, tested it, and patiently waited for the second car to show up. Once it did, he climbed into the passenger seat and rode in silence, only speaking when spoken to.  

[umbraja]

Rachel seethed quietly as she drove the lead car toward the extraction point. She'd not missed the team's reaction but she wasn't about to apologize for or even regret it. They were acting like children so she would treat them as such and this reaction was only more proof of their own immaturity. An adult wouldn't be offended by something that needed to be done. An adult wouldn't have needed to be counted down. They knew this was a mission. Most of them were acting like it was a real mission. Eamon himself had mentioned lives on the line. And they were all just standing around - chatting like a bunch of irresponsible teenagers.

Also, her threat hadn't been an oversight in numbers. Of course so many people couldn't fit in one car but anyone not in this car was going to get left behind by her at the end of it. If someone stepped in to drive the second car then good for them but she'd already told them twice nicely to get into the cars so they could do their jobs. She wasn't going to wait for them to take their own initiative. One car was plenty for a simple extraction - which is what she'd been considering this thing all along.  

[Isa-sama]

Clarissa sat in the back not really saying a word after giving Strings the potion. Now, she may not have been the best at telling when someone was angry, but she did learn what could cause someone to be mad.

She didn't disapprove of Dr. Miles' count down; in fact, she was glad someone had taken the initiative in doing it. Clarissa had utilized it herself when she was head of the Brewery. She got the results she wanted out of the assistants which mattered a lot when they were on tight schedules. Of course, after watching Strings' reaction, she had a feeling not many (or rather no one) felt the same.

Instead of smiling comfortingly or attempting to talk to the others, she remained quiet. If the two women were alike in any way, Dr. Miles probably wouldn't appreciate sympathy nor an attempt to stand up for her (especially on the way to an extraction). They had a job to do; the best way to show her approval of the Doctor was to be professional while on the mission. Confident and intelligent. Bonus point to you, doctor.  

[Venom3001]

The team drove to the location in utter, awkward, silence that felt like it dragged on for days, and found it to be an abandoned building. The boarded windows were traced in graffiti and the state of the neighborhood spoke of poverty. More mundane persons would be unnerved to be there after dark, as it was. It wouldn't be wholly irrational to be unnerved to be there in daylight, for that matter. It was probably why SOUL had selected that location. Why they had waited to send them until nightfall was perhaps another question. Maybe SOUL had only been contacted recently.

That there was a man sitting on the steps, half hidden in a long trench coat and wide brimmed hat, idly smoking a cigarette and obviously waiting for them, did not help this impression. But then, they were out to pick someone up, so it could only be assumed he was that someone. This impression was further reinforced when he stood up as the car slowed to a stop in front of him.

Well, either it was him... or whomever they'd be sent for had been killed and replaced by this, but what were the chances of that, right?

Holding the cigarette in his lips the man lifted his hands in surrender as he walked toward the lead car. "Don't know what the brass told ya," an almost familiar (for some) voice spoke slowly around the smoking cig, "But I'd appreciate if you not freak out."

Rachel's eyes went wide and her shoulders twitched at the voice. She recognized it immediately, had half recognized him just from the way he walked toward the cars. The cigarette had thrown her off a little but the voice - she knew that voice, no need to actually see his face. The external microphones had more than enough fidelity to make that unnecessary. "Nikoli Median Bedier," she said his full name in exactly the way a woman usually does, meaning trouble, and he just lifted his face with a slightly wry grin in answer. She would know that grin anywhere, even missing the scar that used to run down his chin. It was indeed the once dead tracker, not so dead now, and Rachel had precedence to believe it this time. With Uso confirmed back from the dead along with a handful of others in other bases, Rachel had been hoping for this moment.

Almost immediately the doctor kicked open her door and jumped down from the passenger seat to take the few steps needed to close the distance to him, scolding as she did. "Where the hell have you been?"

Niko just held his hands up a little higher, defensively now as he took a slight step back from her continued scolding, but didn't argue with her - only smiled.

"What do you think you're doing out here at night. Smoking," Rachel snapped at him for it and snatched the cigarette away with a huff. "It's been a week what have you been doing out here, chasing your tail?"

That got a flat look out of him and a slow shake of his head then quiet reason, "Don't think this is a proper briefing room, Doc."

Rachel's eye twitched at the reminder then she glanced around quickly before turning on a spiked heel with a huff to stalk back to the car. "Get in," she commanded on the way. "I hope you enjoy the lab's identity confirmation as much as Mr. Uso did." She sneered as she climbed in herself and, after a brief grin and moment to watch her get in, he followed without question or comment, climbing in to take a seat in the back with the others. A headset was waiting for him in his seat.

The external microphones of both cars had made their conversation quite public to all of those present.  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

Uso couldn't help but smirk now that there was a second individual alive and breathing to corroborate his claims. Now he had something interesting to talk about- well, more accurately the brawler had someone with a more interesting opinion and relation to a very intriguing topic.

"So, what'd you think of the Terminal?" he asked, getting straight down to business. "And where did you go?" the second question was far more enticing.  

[Ivaylo_Sai]

Rachel started the car as she grumbled into her headset to the other car, "We got him. Heading back to base now." Then she glared back at the others in the rear view and warned lowly, "Protocol requires debriefing."

Niko just smiled wryly with a slight tip of his hat for the warning then turned an amused look to Uso. "Enlightening," he drawled with a glance over the others to see who was there and how they reacted. It wasn't that much a surprise that at least one other had been to the Terminal. The way the dispatch had not freaked out and Rachel's calm (for Rachel) reaction to seeing him made that obvious. Uso's question only confirmed which one had gone. Niko couldn't help the curiosity so asked in return, "You?" to any of them that cared to answer.  

[Venom3001]

Rachel was sitting in the front seat while Niko was kicking in the back seat as Niko made his mind up as to which seat he could take. The second he sat, they began driving.

At base, Damien waited until he could stop laughing then said, "You're all cleared to hear whatever he has to say regarding debriefing, since I just got word that we're going to put your team on this Terminal business. We can record his information from here and save everyone's time. Debrief on the go and the like."  

[umbraja]

That news got another grumble from Rachel and a roll of her eyes as she drove the car back towards base. Inwardly she was a torn mess of emotions but the only one she let show was irritation. At Damien's contradiction of her orders she gave the road a glare then twitched a slight shake of her head and glanced to the back in the rear view again. "Fine. I can psychoanalyse and drive at the same time," she half sneered then asked her question again. "So, where the hell have you been?"  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

"********' fun, man," was Uso's answer. "It was like the Wild West with magic. But I digress." He threw a fancy accent on that last sentence, like one would expect to hear from a psychiatrist with a seven-digit income. It came complete with a deep and significant sight before he fell into silence and began staring out the window. While playing disinterested and bored, Jake was keying into every word Nikolai uttered.  

[Ivaylo_Sai]

Niko smirked at Uso's answer. Energetic kid. Then he gave Rachel another wry grin and half shrugged, "Here and there. Around," he drawled vaguely. He was still a bit amped from the demon rush so considerably more lively than usual. The new body, not yet ravaged by the addiction, only made the whole situation more amusing - made him capable of actually feeling amused. So he toyed with them a bit, giving Rachel just enough time to give him a threatening look before he continued. "Took some time in the Terminal itself," he started a bit more specifically. "Clarified a few boundaries, rules, mechanics. Then I took an assist in the Dreamweave and tried the blue phantom thing," he glanced to Uso briefly. The boy had to at least know about phantoms and didn't seem the type to hold that information back. When no one pushed him for an explanation he went on.

"Suppose you know the basics. Well, it didn't go so well for me. Got hopelessly lost in a nasty web. Host got mauled," Niko gave Rachel a wicked grin. "Giant spiders," he half purred, grinning wider when the car jerked subtly as Rachel flinched for it. He gave her a moment to visualize that before going on. "Tossed me back to the Terminal. Had to wait around a bit for another blue to open up. Found one in the Twenties. Took care of that. Came back to find it'd been almost a week," he shrugged. "Didn't seem more than a day but the first Host said the Weave messed with time. Was lucky to get back close as I did." He paused to watch them a moment, hesitated slightly but Rachel's eyes narrowed. She knew he was holding back so he continued.

"Did manage to track down the ******** - black phantom that killed me. Us?" he gave Uso a glance. "Some sort of military officer for a demonic empire in one of the shards. Took a few crossbow bolts for it," he rubbed his shoulder slightly then shook his head. "Suggest no one tries Empyrea."  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

Uso nodded when Nikolai mentioned their deaths, biding his time. At the news that their killer was already dead, he sighed with quiet disappointment. Jake had hoped to slay the b*****d and now there was no chance of even a rematch. Lame.

This Empyrea, though, sounded like an interesting place. It had also been an option, if he recalled rightly, and so he prayed it would be available to him in the future as well. "Sounds like a nice play to vacay," Uso chimed in. "I'll have to visit some time." His smirk returned, pleased with how casually he could talk about death and travel on the space-time continuum with total seriousness (which in Jake's world means utterly insulting its seriousness with as many jibes as possible). He was about to criticize Nikolai lightly for his failure to protect his host, but his mind was already a step further, considering the implications of his success. This was far more interesting and immediately interrupted the prior train of thought. "So, what vast piece of wisdom did they impart to you, hm? I can absorb pure energy and turn it against my foes." The smirk became a grin. "Fire, lightning, you name it, it's mine."  

[Ivaylo_Sai]

Niko had arched an eyebrow at mention of vacationing in Empyrea. He'd shaken his head and was about to correct the boy when Uso's question interrupted. He hesitated briefly with a wary glance to Rachel who was watching perhaps a little too closely while driving. He was unfortunately aware of the doctor's interest in Demoncraft and how she liked to express that interest - with elaborate and often invasive testing. There was no way around it though, he'd gone to a lot of trouble for this so no point in hiding it.

"Nothing fancy," he rolled a shrug, "Bit of stealth. Something I wouldn't go to Empyrea without. Even then it's a good way to get killed." He brought the conversation back to caution, hoping to distract Rachel with a fuller report. "They know about Illuminated and aren't welcoming of strangers. The place is run by demons. Not like the ones here. Demons in the other fragments are different. Not as powerful but cautious, intelligent. Makes em more powerful in a lot of ways - specially when they got armies of other demons and Illuminated workin for em. They don't go down easy. Wasn't able to even get close to ********, just track him down. Would take a full squad with some serious stealth and power to get past the gates of the entry point. You go into Empyrea alone you'll be spending a coin real quick. An those things don't grow on trees. Neither do assists. Could be weeks waiting for a chance. An then you risk getting perma dead. Die as a phantom, die for real. It's not something you should take lightly. Even if you do survive the demon there's nothin sayin your Host isn't gonna take a stab at ya once you got your body back and once yer out of coins yer stuck in the Terminal. Lots of things to go wrong."  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

Uso snorted derisively. "Sure, some of them are smart, but plenty of them are stupid. My first demon fight was in the Frontier, and he was a moron." He interrupted himself with a chuckle. "And so corny. He monologued and... and yeah, he was retarded. It's a wonder he lived as long as he did."  

[Ivaylo_Sai]

Niko arched an eyebrow at that and considered a while, wondering how much Uso was just bullshitting and how much was true then comparing that with what he knew of the fragments. It was only logical that each could have a different nature of demons - just as they had different people and cultures. He decided not to argue with the boy and just nodded, "You were lucky. The demons I saw were not corny or stupid. They were dangerous. Both fights were hunts and I was the prey. These demons rule their worlds. There's a lot more to them than we thought. It's connected. The demons, the Terminal, Illuminated, the 'fragments' all of it."