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Byakko took a step foreward and nodded towards Cerpin and Tevini, uncurling her arms as she moved. She rested them on her hips, then spoke up; voice firm, and full of conviction. "The Initiative reaching space is still a far off goal; but it's one that I hope to one day obtain. Our capabilities would massively increase if we were able to reclaim our old base. The groundwork for that starts now." Byakko's unnervingly even gaze never stopped shifting from face to face.

"The military's progress in space exploration benefit us as well. While the technology isn't as readily available as it was during the construction of the space elevators, it is still obtainable. You'll be infiltrating both sides of the military effort; the building crews on the ground, as well as the the space crews combing through the ships."

"Those of you who decide to head out on the space missions, you will be reporting to Stryke. Our information signals that the abandoned base on the moon is still standing, but we don't know it's exact location. However," She paused for moment, fingers curling into her sides. "There's a possibility that the ruined military ships still hold coordinates for the rebel ones involved in the last glub. They're obviously also in ruins, and it's without a doubt a stretch, but there might be some way to reclaim data on the base. Your goal is to retrieve anything you can regarding the rebel ships, while also destroying any copies that may fall into military hands." She took a deep breath, gesturing to the greenblood sitting behind her.

"Ground crew trolls, Rasali will be in charge of managing you and the materials you gather. Your job is straightforward enough- take whatever supplies you can, and don't get caught. This is a prime opportunity to gain access to technology otherwise inaccessible. There may be another opportunity to edit military records, although it won't be nearly as easy to access those areas. Aprife has the data on that. Stay on your toes for opportunities. And on the note of records- be sure to remain consistent with your disguises now that we're returning to similar sites with documented activity. We can't afford slip ups."

Byakko folded her arms neatly over her chest, returning to her post at the centre. "Remember: you're still building a base right now for Salamire. This will allow us to pave the way for a more meaningful path. We aren't just fighting to survive and protect; we're fighting for our ideals. We can't lose sight of that." It was, however, much easier to make people fight by giving them something to protect. "I know you all won't squander the opportunity."

"Now-" Byakko cleared her throat, clapping her hands once. "The floor is open to questions."


Feel free to speak up! If you haven't entered you're welcome to do so after, or feel free to make your intro post implying that your troll has already done so.

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

“Why thank you~!” Autumn leaned back in her chair, looking pleased by the attention. The purpleblood always knew what to say. His question made her laugh however. “Wouldn't you like to know?” she teased, poking her tongue out between her teeth. Cerpin should have known better. Autumn dressed to look fabulous, not to impress. Any further conversation would have to wait though. As Byakko stood at the podium, the room fell into silence.

Autumn listened with rapt attention as the mutantblood leader launched into a speech, outlining the recent events and their current dilemma. Cerpin followed up her announcement with his own, and then Tevini spoke up a moment later. The prospects were exciting but also... worrying. Byakko's closing words did nothing to quell her unease. They did give her an idea however.

Hopping up from her seat, Autumn looked to Byakko for permission to speak. “It's not really a question per se, but...” She turned her gaze to the rest of the room. “If it's funding we're short on, I could organise a charity performance. 'Pledge to Join the Stars'...! Or something catchy like that. We could then funnel a percentage of the donations back to the initiative.”

Right before the meeting got serious, Wander at least got to laugh a little at her froggy friend's puppet antics. Sonnie was good, Poe was good... Wander could cling to them in these trying times, and so basically did as Byakko spoke. So they had to sneak in and steal stuff. Wander had never taken things before, and the military was scary! Going right in their midst... Could she do that? Could she really even do that? She couldn't even remember to use a fake name when she met Tsarzi at Bloodfest!

But if her friends were there... Poe, Sonnie, Cynril... Wait, Cynril shouldn't go! He was a mutant! That'd be super unsafe! Even Bloodfest hadn't been safe, just for his nerves, and this was the military. Wander could swear she saw him among the trolls here. He couldn't actually be getting involved, could he? If he was, she'd definitely have to go too to make sure he'd be okay. Even if Wander screwed up, it wasn't a crime for her to be alive, at least.

Jeez, this was all so stressful. She held onto Poe's and Sonnie's hands. She swallowed and looked at them both in the eyes, one then the other. Her good green friends... "A-are y-you still g-g-gonna go? I-I can't d-do this b-b-by myself..."

Keionx Rutace

"I shall have to remember it." she said to Eyzaak.

Tevini's slip up made her flinch inwardly. It was something to work with her on. Coordination, after all, was very important.

She listened to the commotions as she took her repast, noting where everyone was. There was Ephias... and Etsali. Etsali... she had to talk to her at some point, but she really, really, really didn't want to. She certainly didn't want to get Ephias in the middle of whatever the thief would try to pull, because she would try something even if Keionx came to her bearing gifts and peace offerings. That was just who she was, the underhanded sneak...

No. Later. In private. They would do things in a grown up way. If she could ever really grow up.

Keionx looked away, alert to another voice. Is that Vremea? Keionx turned around to confirm that, indeed, it was. She smiled. It was alway nice to see Vremea come through the door, safe and sound and happy. She was someone to live up to.

Soon, Kei became aware of the lull. A glance at the crowd told her that people were taking seats. Keionx preferred to stand, discretely, to the side. For the sake of her drink, she told herself. Nothing to do with the spotlight... which was, definitely, firmly on the leader.

Things would get hard in Salamire? There was a lack of resources? Well, they would adapt, and Kei would help them. It was her duty and honor to do so. The question was, how could she help?

Cerpin and Tevini, her students, stood up, and Keionx gave him a gesture of approval. Go him! Go Tevini! Their bravery in standing in front of a crowd was already making her proud, but the initiative they were showing... even prouder. Now if Tevini could hold her own in a fight, Keionx would happily declare herself worthy of being an official trainer of warriors. That would be a feat, but not impossible.

Mmmm... but the actual content of what they were saying... It was a little beyond Keionx. A moon base? Materials for a spaceship? She hit things and protected people, that was what she did. But she'd try, for her students and for the greater good, to find this stuff for them.

Hmmm... but the children on the ground...

The question thus became, was her shield needed more than her sword? Would her ingenuity be needed more than her brawn? Which would help the initiative more? Which would help the people she cared about more?

It would not be the question she asked, however.

Keionx raised a hand and waited to be achknowledged - a politeness she'd picked up in the swamp, and very against her nature. "Wilt there be fair and reliable communications?" she asked, "Methinks 'twould be of advantage to communicate with each other through some private means, while seeking information and supplies?" She remembered how important her radio had been during the battle of Old Hemisect, and it would be important here, too, she felt.

Sonnie shook his head with determination. "I gotta," he said, holding a hand to his chest. He wanted to make Salamire so much better, so much more. His friends, his family, they deserved all of that and more.

His sock puppet perked up to eye height of Wander. It nudged her playfully. "Perk up, buttercup! You know I'd never leave you." It nuzzled in, button eyes pressing into her cheek. Sonnie gave a small smile, and looked up at Poe.

"Are you gonna go too?" He asked him, biting his lip. "... Are you gonna go to space?"

"That is a fantastic idea, Autumn, and I support it a hundred percent." Cerpin pointed at the winged seraph, giving her a grin. It was nice to see the kid coming into her own and making her way out into the rest of Alternia. Even a rebel like her could become a star and maybe, someday, change the world.

"You've got that new venue, right? I could help with labor and fees to spruce it up in time. I know it's kind of a short deadline." They had to get all of this set up before people got launched into space which meant they'd have to bust their asses. The purpleblood was already going over ideas in his head on how to support the young star.

"We could take a page out of Dazzle's book and sell some merch too. What do you think?" It would have to be simple but it was doable. That ought to attract some attention. He knew from looking over some of his numbers as a sponsor that Autumn had attracted a lot of attention from fans. They were bound to sell like hotcakes.

Green Minuet

The corners of Byakko's lips twitched faintly into an upturn when Autumn spoke up. It threatened to break out into an actual smile- but she controlled herself- when Cerpin spoke up on his own accord and lent his support. She nodded fondly, mostly to herself, in the background.

"Funds are always something we could use more of." Byakko stated frankly, swiveling at the hips in the winged troll's direction. The Initiative was never 'well off'. "Autumn, I'm impressed. Sounds like you two are onto something- I like to see initiative from our members. If you need any further assistance, you know where to find me." They received a final nod of firm approval.

Keionx was the next to speak up. "Good question," arms unfolding, they fell loosely to her sides. "We have no connection between space and ground crews, at least while the space crews are on their missions." She pointed up. "As far as the intel Aprife collected indicated, the squadrons in space will have no direct communication with one another, or anyone else aside from military dispatch. They're mostly relying on written reports. That technology has yet to be reclaimed, although it's surely just a matter of time at this rate."

Her arms lifted to gesture behind her at two of the seated trolls. "However, I will be in contact on a regular basis with both Rasali and Stryke. We will be able to relay any information to one another, or pass off messages to other trolls within their sections and back at Salamire. You should be reporting any important findings to them."

"As for ground to ground communication, we're just going to have to rely on old fashioned methods. Meet up and pass notes, use coded messages- just use the highest level of discretion possible. Most of the equipment we have now for communication, like our walkie talkies, would probably end up drawing attention." Byakko tapped her foot, thoughtful. "We'll also have a safe house to make supply drops at, where you'll be able to reconnect. But if you have any ideas on how to build a communications network, I'd love to hear them."

She paused a moment, scanning the crowd to see if anyone else looked like they wanted to speak up. When it seemed like she had addressed everyone for the moment, Akko shifted her weight to one leg, and once again crossed her arms. Her posture hardened. "Do not allow the government propaganda deter you from the fact that joining the space exploration means signing up to scour the dilapidated remains of our species. We don't know exactly what's up there- those not battle ready should remain on Alternia and help with the efforts on planet." Her eyes lingered on the many round, youthful faces in the room. "While both missions are dangerous on their own merit, at least we know what we're dealing with on ground. Resource collecting is still our primary objective."

"Are we sure there's no more questions? Now is not the time to be shy."

Green Minuet

DraconicFeline

Yamashii

everyone tbh

Another infiltration mission. Cool, awesome, great. Luxara let Byakko's criticisms roll off her back. They'd do better this time. No biggie. Maybe she could get the Tunnel Snakes together for it. That could be fun. Tunnel Snakes: In Space. And, Rasali was getting a job in this gig. Very proud of her. Baby brigade, too, grown up and finding their place in the initiative and contributing. Weren't they small, like, yesterday? Wow. Good stuff.

After listening quietly, her own arms folded, Luxara's arm shot up after an interesting note from Byakko.

"Question here! So, you don't know what's up there, but we should be ready to fight. I gotta know, what do you think might be up there? What makes you think we should be ready for anything up there? Besides, you know, generally needing to. I'm curious." If Byakko was talking about bodies, could she be implying...?