[Nexus] Altaran Irregulars HQ/IAV Sanctuary

[Arkhosia]

[Spire Entrance]

"One second."

The guard activates his commlink after a bit of fiddling. "Spire Doorman seeking the Emissary, yes about the kidnapping, wait, what?" Then he looks back up at Akmenos. "...Uh, she says she'll be right out to meet you."

And indeed, if the paladin waits, out comes Emissary N'alae herself, in the same old uniform as always. With a pistol of some variety holstered.

"Tell me everything you know," she states. It isn't a request, going by the tone.

The girl's name is Makaria Edros, an 18 year old tiefling warlock. She's my sister, and no, I was unaware until now of her whereabouts in the Nexus.
Akmenos replies.

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance]

"Do you have any idea where she or her associate might be? Or any means of tracking her?" N'alae asks. "Trying to track someone down after a teleport is...difficult, to say the least."

[Arkhosia]

[Spire Entrance]

"Do you have any idea where she or her associate might be? Or any means of tracking her?" N'alae asks. "Trying to track someone down after a teleport is...difficult, to say the least."

Yes. I have a ring she made for me for my 18th birthday. It should still have an imprint of her.

Akmenos hands N'alae the ring. it's rather simple.

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance]

N'alae holds the ring between her gloved fingers, "Metaphysical imprints? Not our specialty, but I'm sure I can find somebody. Unless you happen to be capable of helping with that part as well?"

[Arkhosia]

[Spire Entrance]

N'alae holds the ring between her gloved fingers, "Metaphysical imprints? Not our specialty, but I'm sure I can find somebody. Unless you happen to be capable of helping with that part as well?"

Fraid not, miss.
Akmenos replies.

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance]

N'alae squints at the ring for a moment longer before her gaze turns back to Akmenos. "Do you believe she would respond if she believed you were in danger?" Uh.

"No, that is not a threat." Oh, okay. "But it is an idea, if you feel cooperative enough to try."

[Arkhosia]

[Spire Entrance]

N'alae squints at the ring for a moment longer before her gaze turns back to Akmenos. "Do you believe she would respond if she believed you were in danger?" Uh.

"No, that is not a threat." Oh, okay. "But it is an idea, if you feel cooperative enough to try."

No. We had a... falling out, so to speak. We're enemies now.
Akmenos replies.

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance]

"Then would she seek the opportunity to kill you if an apparent opportunity arose? Hate is as powerful a motivator as any." N'alae has way too many ideas involving this kind of trick.

It's probably kinda unsettling.

[Arkhosia]

[Spire Entrance]

"Then would she seek the opportunity to kill you if an apparent opportunity arose? Hate is as powerful a motivator as any." N'alae has way too many ideas involving this kind of trick.

It's probably kinda unsettling.

I don't know. She's tried in the past, but that was more out of desperation. I'm a paladin, you see.
Akmenos is slightly disturbed by that fact.

[Deathkeeper]

Conference room

In an extremely late response, Nick nods at the speech and salutes when appropriate. He's always been trained not to talk during ceremony.

[Rebonack]

[Emergency Line]

Boy has this thing been ringing off the hook today.

As one might imagine folks are concerned about the friggin' sun freezing in the apex of the sky and gradually going dark. Most calls have been asking if the Irregulars are aware of it (yes, they are), though a not at all inconsiderable minority are offering their opinion on what's causing the problem.

Everything from demon lords to gnomes stealing pieces of the sun.

There's even one crazy who insists that the sun is running out of power due to the abuse of daylight savings time.

In all, its a mess. And that makes it difficult to sift out useful information from the nonsense.

Later in the day reports of horrible icy mantis-like monsters begin popping up.

[Sable Spire Front Gates]

A fellow in a rather priestly looking cassock that looks to have been modified to function as a badass longcoat approaches! If this guy isn't a vampire hunter of some kind I'll eat my hat.

As he nears he'll offer a nod to the guards.

"My name is Siegfried Moritz, I'm an Inquisitor of Ixeon, Immortal of the sun. I was hoping I might be able to shed some light on the-" he waves toward the darkening heavenly body. "-present situation."

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance 1]

"I see. I'll be sure to contact you again if I have need of you. If your aid proves helpful to the kidnappers' capture, we will put out a notice for you to come get your money," N'alae says, before turning and heading back into the building.

Funnily enough, the kidnapping part seems to have been resolved already.

Although that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to drop charges.

[Spire Entrance 2]

Later...

"Please be helpful and not another panicking civvie..." is one guard's first reaction. The other one sighs.

"Look, we've been getting 'help' from all sorts of panicky civilians, so try to keep it coherent and give us a reason to take you more seriously than the claims it's the Next Coming of the Blue Death Cat or something."

[Rebonack]

[Spire Entrance 2]

This time, it's personal!

Or something.

"This has happened before, though it was years ago. Before the old Acronymian Empire was ever founded," the Inquisitor replies simply. "The sun is being strangled by a being known as Llymic. The more powerful it becomes, the more light it dims. Eventually, even artificial sources of light will be snuffed out."

Which is really bad.

"I know it was beaten before and sealed somewhere inside this City, but neither I nor my order are aware of the precise location. Llymic will begin sending out infectious spawn. Blue crystalline creatures. I'm hoping that with sufficient surveillance it'll be possible to track them back to their source and put Llymic down for good."

And just to drive the point home!

"I have some pictures I took of that whole nightmare. If you need proof I can provide it."

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance 2 Or Maybe Just Spire Entrance Since That Other One Is Finished]

"Then provide it. We can't chase after everything people keep spouting or we'll be running around like headless chickens," Guard Two says.

Guard One is quiet. Probably just silently thanking whatever deity he worships for this one not panicking.

[Halae]

[Backup Airfield]

"If you wish, we can keep it here and you can use the barracks you woke up in," N'alae suggests. "Would that suffice?"

[Backup Airfield]

"It would, yes," Marley says, "Would someone mind showing me where I'll be staying then?"

[Rebonack]

[Spire Entrance]

Siegfried reaches into his coat and pulls out a manila envelope full of pictures detailing what happened when Llymic and Atropus laid waste to the Nexus some time in the past.

Suffice to say things look bad in said pictures. The unnatural darkness, the nasty crystal monsters, and plenty of undead shambling around just to add a bit of extra fun.

"The Nexus was hit by two world-ending demons at once. Praise the sun we've only dealing with one this time."

Those nasty world ending demons.

While the guards are looking at the pictures Siegfried's phone rings!

*beep!*

"Hello, Sunder. Any luck?"

A pause.

"Good. I'm speaking with some fine professionals at the Irregular's base at the moment. Do you have a location? Hopefully we'll be able to get some official help."

A pause. Then the phone warbles as a map location Inside is sent.

"Alright. Sit tight and don't do anything stupid. I should have an answer soon."

A pause.

"How could I forget? Stay safe, old friend."

*boop!*

Siegfried glances up at the two guards. "An associate of mine has narrowed down the search for us. She already destroyed one of Llymic's spawn. If they're out creeping around that means people are already dying. We need to get a lid on this as quickly as possible."

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance]

"Where? We can get people out there but we're not goddamned omniscient," Guard One interjects.

[Rebonack]

[Spire Entrance]

Siegfried makes a calm down motion with his hands. "I just wanted to make sure you believed me before dumping all the information on you. My friend made the sighting in one of the residential red zones, Lascastle Road."

He offers his phone with the map information to the guards.

Well then!

You know what that means?

That means it's time to murder some monsters!

Yay!

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance]

Presumably this can be concluded. A transport with a group of infantry aboard will be going along to investigate. Siegfried's even invited to come on the transport if he wants.

[Backup Airfield]

"Back where you got up, then. Simple enough," N'alae points out.

And that's probably it for that one.

[Halae]

[Backup Airfield]

"Right," Marley says, turning to leave, "Take care of that thing, it's important. And expensive."

[At A Later Time]

Marley will have been walking around the base (Though staying away from areas that are off-limits) wearing the clothes she was given as comfortably as possible. given her stature and frame, whatever shirt and pants were given to her are likely too large, so she's stuck wearing a shirt that's baggy on her and pants she had to belt up at the top to keep them from falling down constantly. Those around may notice that she twitches oddly now and then, or reaches up to her shoulders to rub them. Phantom pains.

Though, eventually she'll seek N'alae out again, "I'm bored. Is there anything you can get me to do?" Of course, she's too small for most hard work, and all her combat training is with the mech she come in inside. Likely why she wasn't put to work faster.

[Darkcomet]

[At A Much Later Time - Spire Conference Room]

Sometime after the Llymic-derived doom and death, Commander Altaran calls the Irregular command crew to the Conference Room, far off of any kind of schedule.

But they all show. Some probably wish they hadn't (the Major in particular looks rather ill, though she is sober, wonder why).

As for Vyrn himself, he seems positively pale.

"I apologize for the unannounced meeting, but we have a far bigger problem than schedule disruptions."

He pushes a few buttons on a remote in his hand, and the holoprojector in the center of the table projects an image taken from the Irregulars' satellite feeds. An image of war. Engineer Cross jolts up in his seat as he sees it, already knowing who they are.

"There is an invasion in progress right now, and I know who they are. The invaders are the Chimera Syndicate, so named for its composition of many different 'business' organizations that together act as a single nation, and they will not stop at one city. They want it all, just as they wanted the whole of the Altaran Dominion. This is not a petty attack on a single city. They will take over all else, until we have no choice but to capitulate. If the Empire still stood, we would be in a much better position, but all of our forces are concentrated in this city. If we're going to stop them, we have to go on the attack. A file on Syndicate technology and tactics will be forwarded to all of you."

"Sir, with all due respect, how are you certain? A diplomatic solution may not be im-"

"He's certain because we lived it, Emissary. There is no negotiation, only trickery and deception," Cross emphatically states, interrupting N'alae.

"Why do I feel like I've heard this before?"

"Enough. I do not expect you to like the prospect of this war, but I will expect it to be fought. Major, step up flight training for the pilots, and resume work on the Hunter Project. Chief Engineer, make sure our networks are secure and run the sabotage drills again. Emissary, prepare Contingency Two-Three-Seven-Nine. I will begin contacting our...allies, such as they are. Any other objections?"

"Only to the de-tox I had to take to keep myself from showing up drunk, sir."

"It's time we settled the score."

"...Could be worse."

No outright objections arise.

"Good. Our overall plan is..."

[UncleWolf]

Entrance to The Spire

The guards might see a Remnant dressed in a bright white and purple dress uniform. Oddly, he still wears a half-helmet, making the top half of his face unsee-able behind his opaque faceplate. The man appears unarmed except for a small engineering hammer at his right hip and walks with the grace of a dancer, simply flowing through the crowds and street to get to the entrance where he looks at the guards. He lacks a name tag and any other sort of identification except for the patch representing Remnant, but once he's near the guards, he speaks up. "Hicks. Your boss is expecting me."

[Darkcomet]

[Spire Entrance->Lift]

"You're expected," one of the guards states...and the door immediately slides open.

Huh. It's N'alae. How odd.

"I'll take this from here. Follow me." She waves for Hicks to follow her. Probably to the conference room or something.

There's a lift ride involved. Assuming Hicks follows and all, N'alae sets it to go to the appropriate level without a word. But after it starts, she stops the lift.

Odd.

"What is Remnant's opinion of Commander Altaran and Watchtower Oracle DC's views on the Chimera Syndicate?" She abruptly asks, with no leadup to it whatsoever. She seems a bit...skeptical.

[UncleWolf]

Lift

Hicks gives the slightest of smiles at the question before answering. "Remnant's opinion is that anyone who arrives and sets Vyrn on edge so badly so quickly, is someone we all should be concerned about. He isn't exactly the easiest person to scare."

[Darkcomet]

[Lift]

N'alae frowns. "I don't disagree about the threat, but the circumstances are...unsettling. And given the background of it all, which I am sure you have extrapolated by now, he might not be the most rational of leaders in this particular conflict. That said, it's entirely likely that the Syndicate views our respective organizations as continuations of the Altaran Dominion, so they are as likely to have that issue as the Commander is. Which is, perhaps, the worst part. If neither side breaks, this war could drag on for a very long time, fueled by old grudges on both sides." She seems to have put some thought into this. "I'll try to make sure the Commander stays sane, but I'm sure Remnant will want to keep the possible issue in mind when making strategic decisions in this conflict."

[UncleWolf]

Lift

"That's already been taken into account." Hicks admits after a bit. "As loathe as we are to do it, we're ready to take command if Vyrn becomes...compromised. And I will tell him such. This is bigger than he is and if he oversteps things, there will be issues. So I suppose I have a question for you as well." He says before looking at her from behind his helm.

"Do we have your support if such happens? We will attempt to do such peacefully, and then non-lethally, but we can't afford to hold back for long."

[Darkcomet]

[Lift]

That question gets a tilt of the head and a raised eyebrow, followed by...another question. "Can I ask the same of you if Vasquez's grudge against him becomes a problem? The questions have the same answer," N'alae rather cryptically says.

There are way too many grudges flying around here.

[UncleWolf]

Lift

"Of course." Hicks answers instantly. "We already have safeguards in place and she knows it. What do you think the Praetorian Guard is?" He asks, still smiling slightly. "Your own organization needs such."

[Arkhosia]

Entrance

Valia Dusk stands here in her usual Riot Gear armor minus that gas mask helmet, Ebony on her back.

[Darkcomet]

[Lift->Conference Room]

"I'll be sure to make a note of that," N'alae replies, not really offering any opinion on it. She then reactivates the lift, which arrives at its destination floor shortly.

Assuming he continues following, they will reach the conference room in due time. Vyrn is inside, as are the rest of the Irregular command staff.

"Take your seat. I will be sharing the intelligence we have on the Syndicate's forces here," Vyrn says.

[Spire Entrance]

"You know, when we're at war, it's not the best idea to hang around military installations with armor and weaponry when you're an unidentified civilian," one of the guards states, hand on his pistol. The other one here is just as ready. "Care to tell us why you're here?"