[Nexus] Remnant III

[Gullara]

[Outside]

"Theft was it?" One of the guards replies. A man in his late thirties more or less. He has an easygoing air about him. "Sorry, mate, can't do much about theft. Unfortunately if we went after everyone who nicked something from someone, we'd be overworked as all hell. You can give us some info about it, though, and we can keep an eye out. Can't promise anything more than that, though."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside

"They broke through a number of magical and mundane locks and wards until they reached our walk-in freezers. They stole a weapon with a powerful enchantment, a ring of poison resistance and one of our communication orbs from the body of Reverend Narahar the Twice Martyred, which we are storing there until we can afford the necessary materials to ressurect him. The weapon is a sickle, with a yew handle and a black iron blade; it speeds the wielder up whenever it draws blood. The ring is made of unicorn ivory, and set with an amethyst. The communication orb is red glass, and can be any size from a marble to a human head. He also broke into the armoury, but I don't think he managed to remove any of the weapons awaiting their wielders from the room. I am willing to offer an award for the return of the weapon; the rest can be replaced rather easily." Terrowin hopes that they will at least publicise the theft.

[Gullara]

[Outside]

"Right then. I'll put a notice up myself and with any luck someone will see it. Sorry that I can't do any more than that." The man replies.

[happyturtle]

Head Office

Delisle rubs the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off the looming headache as she heads for her office. It isn't much use. The headaches start every morning, and are generally in full force by lunchtime, and there isn't much she can do about it except suck it up. Because somebody has to do this **** job.

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

When Alice walks into the office, she'll hear a familiar chuckle from behind the desk. "Now there is a look that I'm too familiar with. Used to see that in the mirror all morning." Vas says, grinning from ear to ear.

Alice might be shocked to see her for several reasons. First, she didn't announce she was coming back. Second, Vasquez's hair is much longer than it used to be. Instead of the crew-cut she kept, it's now down past her shoulders. Even so, she apparently doesn't dye it as the gray she's developed from the stress has stuck with the dark brown. And finally, it seems Vasquez has finally chosen to wear a skirt instead of pants with her uniform as her legs are up on the desk, showing off her quite dark tan.

[happyturtle]

Head Office

Delisle just stares for a moment.

And then snarls. "You goddamned bitch! You couldn't have come back one ****ing week earlier to be here for the thrice-damned drow dance!"

Delisle doesn't normally swear. Or lose her temper at all, really.

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

The cursing just makes Vas grin more. "Sorry, but all last week we were a bit tied up." She says, winking before getting up and trying to give Alice a hug. "I hope you're alright at least. You and Sue ought to take a vacation too. Especially after filling in for me."

[happyturtle]

Head Office

It looks like Alice is about to start swearing again, but then she sinks into a chair and pulls out the whiskey from the secret stash.

"Okay, okay. Tell me all about it, and don't leave out a single detail, you hear me?"

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

Vasquez grins once more and sits back down before going over all the dirty little details with Alice, probably more than she expected, and even though she's smiling happily at the end, she sighs and pats her stomach. "There was a price to it though. I ended up with fifteen or twenty extra pounds of useless body tissue." The Commander says in disgust.

[happyturtle]

Head Office

"I'm sure Jake and Gus don't consider it 'useless'," Alice says, who carries enough extra weight to be considered voluptuous. "You look good with a few curves."

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

"Maybe, but I'm supposed to be a soldier, remember? How can I storm the walls if I have to lug around more of me?" She says in obvious distaste before shuddering. "I can already feel the jiggling..."

[happyturtle]

The Office

Alice flings her jacket at Vasquez, laughing. "Shut up, you cow! Do you know how many favours you owe me right now? Can you even begin to guess?"

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

Vasquez laughs as well before settling down and relaxing with a long happy sigh. "Quite a few I imagine." She admits before looking Alice square in the eyes. "But there wasn't a better way to test my eventual replacement." The Commander says, all amusement gone from her voice.

[happyturtle]

Head Office

Alice's face gets a look of horror. "No. No way. You keep looking, and looking hard, because I am NOT the person for this job. I won't take it."

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

"Alice, was there ever any doubt in your mind as to who'd succeed me when my time came?" She asks gently. "It's not like there's many other possibilities and you're the best at it. Hell, you practically run half the place as it is. Besides, I'm not planning to retire for a long time, so unless something goes utterly horribly terribly wrong, you won't have to worry."

[happyturtle]

Head Office

"Point of order one: You're younger than me, so I should be retiring before you do. Point of order two: You're supposed to be immortal. That's what that soul pact was all about. Point of order three:" At this point, Alice looks at Vasquez with a desperate expression. "Please, please, please start looking for and training someone else."

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

"Point One: Maybe you are, but I definitely feel ancient. Two, it didn't make me Immortal. It just safeguards our souls. Third..." Vasquez's expression softens and she gets up to head to the window and lean against it to relax. "If you really wish that, then I'll respect it. Just help me choose someone then."

[happyturtle]

Head Office

"Are you retiring then?" Delisle asks, dreading the answer. "You're the one who holds this city together."

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

Vasquez snorts at the thought of retirement. "No. They'll probably have to pry apart my cold, perma-deaded fingers." She admits with a small shrug and smile before shaking her head. "Keep the city together? Nah. More like keeping a troublesome child with a rocket launcher from pointing the wrong end in the wrong direction and killing itself. "

[happyturtle]

Head Office

"Thank all the gods." Alice says fervently, with a sigh of relief. "Damn you, Vas, you had me worried!"

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

"Still, I need to have some plan on hand just in case I don't last." Vas admits before leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes with a long sigh. "Gods that was a good vacation." She mumbles, smiling as she remembers.

[happyturtle]

Head Office

Alice hesitates before saying, "Well, there's Vyrn.... He's capable, but the first problem is that people mistrust him, and the second problem is that he actually wants the job. Could we even be sure he wouldn't try to arrange for an early succession?"

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

"**** no." Vas says instantly. "I don't want him even in Remnant in any official manner. No one trusts him, let alone me. I was involved in the coup against him, remember?" She asks, shaking her head. "And even if he's ambitious, he's not stupid. There's no way he'd try to arrange another coup, especially since we have public approval. More than he had at any rate."

[happyturtle]

Vas's Office

"I know you were, Vas," Delisle says. She hadn't been involved in any part of the coup on either side. She'd been working behind a desk on purchase orders for Mortal Coil, and next thing she knew, they were answering to General Noir. "He's just the person I leaned on the heaviest while you were away."

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

Vasquez gives a small sigh. "I'd rather not have an outsider anyway. I...well, it's hard enough to trust anyone's motives, let alone someone who hasn't been with us since the start."

[happyturtle]

Head Office

"Most of the people who've been with us since the start are too smart to want the job." Delisle points out.

[UncleWolf]

Head Office

"I suppose I could always stick Hicks with it. Not like he does any real work around here." Vasquez ponders jokingly. "I really could, but I'm sure he'd find some way out of it." She admits before sighing. "I guess the best way to do it would be to adopt a child and raise them to do it when they gro..." She starts, letting her voice die off after a moment as she reaches up to stroke her chin in thought, looking through the wall to where Jefferies name plate is. "That's not too bad of an idea I suppose. Think we ought to take in some orphans and start a Youth Officer's program?" She asks.

[Murkus]

[Rec Center]

Corporal 'Teq' Vraal sits low against a wall, mandibles clamped around the rim of his fourth bottled water. His expression is remote as he recovers from his little run. While his people don't sweat, and it is hard to tell when they grow tired, the Vraal become dehydrated easily. It's this time after a run that he takes to survey his men.

There were four of them - less than he was used to, more like a fire-team than any sort've squad - and they were green as green could be. Skez more literally, being of the lizard-folk. He'd fought before, that was certain, but Teq doubted there was any formal military training involved. He had some things going for him.

Then there was Jacqueline Anne Wicker, a short, stocky human with a taste for violence. Personally, he preferred not having women on-squad - they tended to lack in strength and stamina. But Jacqueline - or Anne, as she seemed to prefer - could shoot as good as the rest, and had a savagery about her that Teq admired. They weren't waging a ground-war in some foreign nation here - stamina wasn't what he needed to begin with. Smarts, skill. Anne was not lacking in that department.

After her came Qeet Lae'sin, as queer a creature as Teq had ever seen. That was saying something. Qeet was of middling height, if you're comparing him to a human, and muscular in excess. His skin was a pinkish purple, like one big living bruise. His nose-mouth was all one system, far as Teq could tell, with a slit in the face for combined sniffing and chewing. Two big, dark eyes peered out at the world inscrutably. There were no ears or hair to speak of, but his build was otherwise humanoid. Someone had told Teq that he'd only met the most basic requirements: holds a gun? Check. Speaks Common? Check. Follows orders? Check and double check. Followed em' best out've the bunch, in fact - a quality that Teq never found basic at all. He liked Qeet.

Finally there was Eddy Borges, their other token human. There were an abundance of the small pink folk in Remnant it seemed. While the Vraal might revere the old humans as their pure, xeno-phobic ancestors, Teq had always found them soft and inferior. There was nothing wrong with the towering, armored bodies they'd evolved for themselves - Eddy was a testament to that. The smart-mouthed bugger was skinny as a reed, a bit tall for his own frame, with quick eyes and slow hands. Remnant thought he had merit because of his mechanical prowess - he used to be on Geoff's motor pool before someone got tired of his crap and attached him to Teq's squad as a 'combat engineer'.

The four of them sat together, chattering back and forth. Eddy was arguing with Qeet again about how best to fix the rear thruster on Teq's ship. Skez was showing Anne how to strip one of their new rifles. They were just... talking. Laughing, now and then. But whenever they noticed Teq watching, everyone would drop what they were doing and look busy. Every time. Even off-duty, they were worried what he might think. That made him feel good. Like a proper soldier for once.

They knew him as Vul. It was the name he'd used for years, as his birth name was still a liability. Even so, it was... unfortunate to hear these men that trusted Teq call him a name that wasn't his. He'd gained their respect, and every time he saw it manifest, he felt a pang of guilt for his deception. Gods, the consequences if they knew. That was why he didn't go to them. Why he didn't talk or laugh. Being trusted hurt a bit too much.

And so Teq sits alone, crushing another plastic bottle in his huge fingers.

"What you think he's watchin' us for?" Eddy asked the others, all eyes on Corporal Vul.

"Probly figurin' how to kill you without the sergeant finding out," Skez rumbled. Anne smirked to herself.

"Nah, Skez, that can't be it. Sergeant would give 'im a bloody medal."

They all had a laugh at that. Even Eddy. Teq laid his head back so that he might close his eyes and shut them out.

[happyturtle]

Vas's Office

"A Youth Officers program sounds good, but I don't think you should count on finding your replacement there." Alice says. "I know Jefferies would love it. And then Lottie would want to join if Jefferies does, but she'd probably hate it. She's very much into girlie things. It's a mystery that the girls get along so well."

[Zefir]

[Rec Center]

And thats a good moment for Tovpir, the giant stone scorpion to return to Remnant. He shrugs off the diry on his back. He had to dig around to follow another creature, but obviously lost track of it.

He enters the Rec Center. Two NPC soldier turn away from the scorpion, maybe in fear or of other reasons Tovpir don't knows. As he notice the scene with Vul, he assumes he found someone to tak to. At least he seems to get nothing but scorn and derision from the other guys.

"Hey!" Tovpir says as he comes closer to Vul.