Return to Paradise - RPLOG
Participants
Date
8/10/2017
Log
Camped at the entrance to the highway is a human male dressed in overalls, and despite Zephyr giving the call for agents, the man is wearing a Promethian illuminated helmet. He leans against the cab of what looks like a salvaged blue pickup truck and trailer, quite a few panels of it looking like they were eaten through by nanites. As everyone gathers he speaks: "For those who haven't seen me before I'm Smithson and I'll be driving you out to the town of Paradise. Rumor has it that we may have left some salvage and some of the armor plating behind." He then looks to those who were with him the last time he went out. "Any questions?"
Ebreus glides down to the familiar sight of Smithson and his truck, taking note from the air of the agents who appear to be aproaching from the ground. He lands next to the truck in time to hear Smithson introduce himself. He says, "Hi Smithson, glad to be working with you again and thanks for the timely save last time." He then looks around to the gathering agents and adjusts his hight a bit shorter since they are about to be leaving the bubble.
A trip to the highway was nothing less than usual. However, for Mokou as she stepped out onto the path towards that truck, twas anything but usual. Her normal attire gone in exchange for what almost seemed a bulky chemsuit, swaddling her in its matte-blackened grey finish. Upon her back a large metalic box of sorts, a dismal blackish sludge seeming to move through a nozzle by its side. Her steps were heavy, and her smile bleak as she looked up to the human lad in the truck. "Of... course. Glad to be... of help. Questions... No. Nothing for now. Just need... want this to be done and over with." She reached up, scratching at that iron collar sitting upon her throat, a small chuckle given in turn... "Hopefully will be better than the... other parts to this."
Anbessa lets out alight hum as he steps up as well, hand grasping his bow that's carried over his shoulder as he steps up alongside the other agents, glancing over and back at the others who are approaching as well. Though he quickly returns attention to Smithson to nod his head. "Nice to meetcha, I'm Anbessa." The black haired human introducing himself, silver eyes glancing over the others curiously to spot any familiar faces... And he does indeed spot a few, blinking and smiling to Mokou with a small smirk, though he does pause to look over her outfit that makes the human tilt his head a bit. Certainly a new look, and not one he has seen before... Oh well. Though as he stands there, he takes a few moments to fiddle with the straps of his rather hefty looking riot armor. Either this is his first run out with his armor, or he is still adjusting it, though it does look like it fits his body well, alongside he seems to be geared up with some kind've polearm and a bow with a quiver full of arrows.
Pelle flutters over to the meeting place and lands, she looks around and gives a wave to the ones she knows "hello Smithson thanks for last time" she says and shifts to a bigger form and gives ebreus a hug " and hello ebreus" she says and looks at the ones that arrive after her
she is covered in a jumpsuit with an armord west over her torso and reinforced bits to her jumpsuit that the west isn't covering on her back she has her bow and her rocket launcher on her waist she has her chainsaw strapped to it and a small knife with a quiver with a few arrows and around 3 rockets in it the quiver seems to be made specially to carry rockets and over her west is around 3 grenades and a pistol with a 3 mags to it
It was a glorious day, just past noon, with clear skies and a faint wind. The sun shined down upon the earth, feeding it with life sustaining warmth, giving everyone a final glimpse of good weather before winter inevitably rolls in. Indeed, it was a glorious day, a glorious day to take a risk, a wonderful time to be alive and set out to change the world. Onward! Onward to adventure!
Such was the mood of a very jovial jackal as he bounds through the air, his super jump nanomagic carrying him far with every leap! His feet strike the earth with tremendous force, his weight substantial, yet not enough to crack the ground. To feel the wind in his onyx mane, to face the dangers of the outside world, such were the things that made his day... excellent.
T'was time to leave the bubble again, and this time he came armed with an arsenal much different than what he once used. Where he had a chainsword now the canine carried a flamethrower. His submachine gun had long since been substituted by a laser rifle, a pistol of intricate design and function graced his belt, and a dagger laced with the most potent of poisons lay concealed somewhere among his attire.
The jackal seemed a touch different than his usual self, though not from his attire but because of a very distinct new feature his recently upgraded form came equipped with. His right arm was fully metallic, covered by sheets of armor and guarded by a sturdy metal shoulderguard, fingers capped with steel and a pair of lethal looking claws nesting retracted within the synthetic-looking extremity. Where fabric once covered everything on that arm below the shoulder, now nothing resided, likely so as to not restrict its functionality.
His left eye stared intently, focused and ready for anything that may come, while his right was missing entirely! It was replaced by a circular metallic apparatus, a deep crimson lens faintly glowing in place of the missing organ, the cold steel connecting it to his flesh, or rather replacing said flesh rounding his scalp and reaching back all the way to the rear of his head.
*THUD* The jackal lands after his final leap, his fall sudden and loud, shockwave kicking up a bit of dust around him. He rises from a slight kneel and dusts himself off, glances around the crowd and flashes a toothy smile. "Gentlemen!" he greets with a cheery yip, his piercing gaze and red lens focusing on the various faces around, as though he was... scanning... "Hey Eb." he greets his friend, then moves in to wrap his arms around a very well armored fennec fox in what appeared to be a chem suit! He lifts her up and squeezes her for a moment, even though the pack on her back took most of the pressure, then releases her back down onto the ground, "Never thought I'd see you in one of these, but it's nice you're well prepared!" he chirrups happily to her, then averts his eyes towards the human in the group. "Nice duds, bud." he fingerbangs at the man, referencing his riot armor. It was of decent make and covered his body well, after all! Finally, he turns to Pelle, the adorable little mutant now an adorable little puffin... well, for a moment, it seems. "Glad to see you too, Pelle." the canine greets with a mirthful chuckle, and glances over towards Smithson. "Heya Smith! Long time no see! How's the old bird doing?" he asks and pats the hood of their transport.
"Pellie!" comes a cheerful calling from above, followed shortly afterwards by a tiny pink pony pegasus tackle-hugging the gargoyle sentinel. Firecracker gives hir a full-body embrace before releasing and looking around to the rest of the group. "Hiya other peoples, too!" she greets them all with a wave of a foreleg as she rises up to a hover. "I'm Firecracker! What're your names?" After a moment of recognition and a couple of blinks accompanying it as she looks around to the group, she continues, "Oh wait! I'm the last one here! I knew I shouldn't've stopped for snacks on the way!... Hehehe naaah, I definitely shoulda stopped for snacks on the way!" With that, she pulls a flower out of her mane with a forehoof and pops the head into her mouth, chewing on the petals while the stem pokes out from her lips.
With no questions, everyone is ushered into the seats or onto the back of the truck to get going. The trip to Paradise is uneventful, and the town itself looks just as abandoned as the last time a crew was sent here. Smithson pulls the truck into the parking lot of a diner, the scene of the attack a few weeks prior. The remains of that day are still here, untouched. the bodies of soldiers are still about, now rotting where they lay, and the diner was blown halfway open, but thankfully what fires there were didn't spread to the rest of the town. The truck that is supposed to hold the remaining armor plating is still there, laying on its side, in the middle of the area.
Firecracker happily hops into the truck to sit on whatever person's head or lap or whatever i available for the ride. Then when the truck leaves the bubble, her Distributed Nanomagic activates almost instantly, providing nanitey goodness for everyone nearby!
Ebreus climbs onto the back of the truck and welcomes Otto to join him there, "Hey Otto, nice tech... I wonder do they cybernetics help or hinder those Hulk-jumps?" he says. Once everyone is in the truck and they're under way he says, "Okay everyone let's not repeat last time. For those not there what happened was we encountered the Children of Tahoe and in our hurry took a non-optimal opening attack. Things went very bad from there out. So you see anything vaugely Tahoe related relay it to the rest of the group and we'll act as a group."
As they roll past the edge of the bubble his jaw moves as he is about to ask a question but feeling Fires familiar Distribution bubble go up he instead says, "Thanks Fire." He chats calmly with his compatriots for the ride then as they aproach the town he begins to scan it visually... after a few moments he telepathically relays to everyone, 'I feel we are being watched. Keep on alert.'
Mokou spent a few moments simply breathing, looking to the others whom showed up, looking out with an inquisitive gaze to those whom arrived. The vulpine lad Ebreus was already there, not quite stern, but commanding in presence. An arm wrapped about Otto for a moment, a soft smile running across her maw for but an instant. "Heya, and... thanks. Just want to get this on and over with... Got this to ah... help. After all.. wouldn't want to be caught in some of the splash..." Settling down upon the ground, a soft smile played at her lips as she hustled into the truck. The rest were familiar of some sort. Anbessa, the rabbit lad giving a wink back that made her blush... Pelle, familiar in their peculiarity, and Fire. Double what Pelle was, yet all to... Was that a Daisy?
A short time passed there, the lass slowly shufflilng upon her feet within the truck, trying to never stay in one spot too long... never to bring too heavy an influence where she was. Eyes roamed, a few small smiles offered back to those who glanced to her, fingers running by the inside of her suit, running along sharp ends, more than a few needles catching her gloves. Ebreus's words caught to her, the lass simply nodding. Soon though, the truck stopped, the lass snapping her gaze up. To the sides she watched... eyes widening. "Shoot... Going to be that way hmm?" She did not take her eyes from the building, a soft wince upon her maw as she spoke, "Hey... Ebreus? You know what you said about taking an unoptimal opening attack? Well... Looks like there are... maybe a dozen out there already..."
Outside of an initial yelp of surprise from the overly dramatic entrance of Otto, the human only really gave them a short glare in annoyance before sighing and standing back straight, though seeing a certain flying pony fly into the area makes Anbessa pause and watch em' in surprise before he waves back to her. "Hi Firecracker! I think we went on a mission together before." He notes, though he momentarily pauses and glances down over himself. "Albiet... When I was a rabbit. And when you were flyin' around Ixchel." He chuckles after that, though otherwise just sighs and climbs onto the truck, letting Firecracker land on his head if she so chose.
When they arrived, the human rather quickly felt on edge as he saw the rotted corpses, grimicing a bit at the sight. "Yeesh... No time for a clean up crew I assume..." Joking aside, as soon as he is off of the truck, he is eagerly getting his bow at the ready and getting an arrow out of his quiver as he glances about. Looking to Ebreus, then to Mokou, the human already seems quite on edge. "Well, lets hope things go better this time, huh?" Anbessa chuckles lightly, though then returns his attention to their surroundings. He's never been to this place, and it shows on his face, curiosity drawing his gaze around until he looks towards the truck. "That truck knocked over from last time, or was it always like that?"
Pelle sits on the opposite side of where ebreus sits down and looks to fire "hello Firecracker long time no see" she says and goes to examins her equipment and seams to get hold up into that for the moment she gets the message form ebreus she looks up and around not spotting anything out of the ordinary for her "so wats the plan?" she asks looking at the rest
Otto had been outside the bubble so many times now that the feeling of nausea in the absence of the server's signal was like a gust of wind to him. He'd primed his weapons and armor to function just as well within the bubble as they did out, and filled in the holes by means of the supernatural. He tended to his armaments during the trip, ensuring his laser rifle was primed with a charged battery, sharpening his dagger and adjusting his claws such so they fit perfectly, ready for gutting those accursed Tahoe bastards should they interfere once more.
The trip was uneventful... no ambushes or traps, no excitement, but then again was that not a blessing? Memories of the lives lost during an ambush on route to their target flood the canine's head, images of soldiers slaughtered in their prime during the assault... It made one shudder and keep an extra sharp eye out for danger... and that is exactly what Otto did.
He had climbed into the front passenger seat, much like he always did whenever they had Smithson to drive them around. Soon enough, their trip had concluded... and the scene before them unfolded. Corpses, rotting away and returning to the earth from which they came, souls lost to achieve someone bigger's dream, it was absolutely disgusting, and the scents wafting about nearly forced Otto's lunch out. His sniffer was sensitive, so he tried not to breathe in too deeply. He hears his beloved fennec's voice and nods, then raises a finger and interjects. "Armed with Solar Rifles... Not a dozen... possibly twenty... they can see us." he warns with a hushed tone "They're watching us..." he adds, and fires a serious gaze around the various members of his team, before climbing out of the truck. "There's someone in there, two bodies I am detecting, I doubt it's Tahoe fucks, I'll go have a look."
The jackal carefully moves in to examine the overturned truck and the bodies found within, his rifle in his hands, primed and ready to burn a hole in the first thing that looks threatening enough. With his weapon raised, he takes care not to draw any attention, and moves in to examine the contents. Hopefully the armor plating was still there.
The ride over was uneventful enough, unless you count Firecracker humming various jaunty tunes throughout the trip as eventful, then it was full of events, and jaunty tunes! "What's a Tahoe-related thing look like?" she asks in regards to Ebreus's warning, "Cause how'm I s'posedta say when I see what I saw when I dunno what thing I see is s'posedta be sawed?"
Once the truck starts pulling up at the diner, Firecracker pushes her face up against the windshield and goes, "Ooooooo! More food! Yay! And there sure are a lotta sleepy people out here!" she comments, looking from one dead body to the next. "But there's a whole buncha not sleepy peoples too! Oh, and they're hiding!" She turns around back to the group and says with a smile, "I didn't know we were gunna get food and play games! Yay!" Not one to miss out on any funtimes, the puny pegasus hops onto Otto's head as he exits, riding along and bouncing in place with glee as she keeps watch for the people hiding from their seeking!
Before Ebreus makes it to the truck, the ambushers reveal themselves. Just shy of thirty humanoids in full armor with what looks like directed energy rifles, aiming at the group from every window, roof, and cover surrounding where the group stopped. They all came out of hiding at the same time, like a perfectly choreographed team. None of them attack for some reason, like they are waiting for something else. That something else comes soon enough, another humanoid in armor stepping out of the back of the flipped truck the group was sent to salvage from. This person stands like a leader, their armor marked somewhat differently then the others.
From behind the leader a black rabbit woman steps out as well, wearing a more ergonomic version of their armor with no helmet. The woman seems a bit unhappy.
Ebreus imediently facepalms when he hears a dozen of them, three is bad enough. He takes a breath and stays in the truck as Otto clarifies twenty of them... and apparently all with Solar Rifles. He telepathically replies, 'Twenty, all with rifles? Guess they sent a strike force after their salvage team didn't return.' He watches from Smithsons truck as Otto aproaches them... keeping his 40mm grenade launcher ready to rain hell on the building and the Children of Tahoe should they make any agressive move on Otto. He relays to the group, 'Be ready to bombard the building if they try anything on Otto.'
Mokou leered out into the dim view of the street, the noxious stench of the dead filling her nose, suffocating in her throat. Her eyes did not fall to the corpses, but to the ones who still yet lived... even just beyond her vision. An ear flicked at her jackal as they corrected her, the voice sounding out and offering a better note, a more clear aproximation of whom they could be dealing with. Her jaw was clenched, her eyes deadset as she moved to leer out, watching for those who didn't reveal themselves...
At least, until they did. Suddenly, she found herself wishing they hadn't... A thirty armed force with weapons trained upon them, and a rabbit. Mokou's eyes went wide... a disgustingly familiar rabbit. Their clothes were darker, their armor familiar, and their fur... different than before. She whispered down into her comms none the less. "That's the rabbit we didn't save. From the canyon with the sniper. Where I defied you Ebreus. Think it's not Tahoe now?" A snarl was set at her lips, her memory flicking back as she moved towards the door, nudging it open to step out. Better to be killed where under the sun met you than in a truck with nothing but steel about. Besides... Something wasn't adding up.
Anbessa's mouth falls open as before Otto and Firecracker could move forward, a whole massive group of armed people step into view, all taking aim at them, his mouth closing again with his teeth gritting as he mumbles, something about 'typical...' before he glances towards Ebreus and Otto. He takes a moment to sigh and take a breath, a visible shiver passing him before he braces his feet a bit more against the ground, seemingly prepping himself a bit mentally if this happens to go bad. Who will break the silence, with words or weaponry first? Though his attention does momentarily pass over the rabbit woman, him quirking an eyebrow. Cute, if she wasn't seemingly apart of the group that was all aiming weaponry at them. One hell of an ambush to be literally parked in the middle of...
Pelle upon seeing all of the people go out of hiding she activates her vanishing nanomagic and quietly makes her way to the building behind the two in front of Otto and fire, she opens the door and enters and makes her way to one of the Tahoe people and ready her knife ready to strike them down the moment a message to strike them or if the Tahoe person she is looking at does something
The jackal's rifle instantly locks onto the first thing he sees, a rabbit clad in black fur, her expression bemused and her stance stoic, solid and sure. His finger danced over the trigger, but... one, two, three... four... five... ten... twenty... thirty... good grief. They'd just been ambushed. spoof The jackal's rifle instantly locks onto the first thing he sees, the large imposing figure that appeared to lead this squadron, and a rabbit clad in black fur, her expression bemused and her armor baring similar markings to the rest. His finger danced over the trigger, but... one, two, three... four... five... ten... twenty... thirty... good grief. They'd just been ambushed.
Focus, breathe... you don't know who this person is or what she wants... but if she's with the Tahoe fucks, well... things looked bad, very very bad. Standing tall and sure, stoic in the face of impending peril, Otto keeps his rifle aimed directly at the one in command, and barks out loudly "What is the meaning of this? Who are you? What do you want?" His single lens-covered eye peered through the sights of his firearm, stance unmoving, unshaken, certain... If they were to fight a platoon, then so be it, but, Mokou... No. No no no... the jackal didn't want to risk her getting hurt, especially outside the bubble, not in her condition, not ever! "...my name is Otto, serial number 1206, active Zephyrian operative, we are merely scavanging... Let..." his eyes widen once he feels Pelle's presence and usage of nanomagic, his teeth clenching up and body tensing as he wonders what the little mutant is trying to do. He didn't want to provoke these people unless it was unavoidable... and it may have just become exactly that...
"Found you!" Firecracker chirps out happily as the group pops out suddenly. "Oh, and you! And you! And you, and you, and you andyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyou!" she points a forehoof out to each person she sees as she spins in a little circle before looking down to Otto and stagewhispering loud enough for plenty of people nearby to hear, "These guys are really REALLY bad at Hide and Seek."
Pelle would find that the second they reached the door to the far building, it opened in front of them, two of the riflemen aiming through the opening to where Pelle is standing at the doorway. They don't fire, but it is obvious they know exactly where Pelle is.
Meanwhile, the humanoid starts to speak, their speach sounding androgynous from some voice synthesizer: "Welcome Units of Zephyr. No doubt you have received the information we have left behind in your town of Fairhaven, so you should know of us as the Children of Tahoe. We have set you up with false rumors fed into your organization because an injustice has occured. Thirty six days ago three of our units, designated Fair Three, Fair Two, and Fair Four, were murdered by your operatives while comencing a salvage mission. We have brought you here under false pretences so that Zephyr will pay for their transgressions. How do you plead?"
Ebreus upon seeing Pelle detected and Carson and Luna stepping out of the truck he steps out of his own truck as he telepathically says to Firecracker and Pelle 'Can you make them think they're surrounded?' He then aproached them and says, "Carson, Luna, for your violations of article four, section two of the Geneva Conventions, sighned and rattified by the United States Federal Government and still applying in their formor territory I am placing both of you under arrest!"
Ebreus telepathies to Otto and Mokou, 'Roll with it.'
Mokou slowly stepped forward, a sigh falling from her lips as she slowly stepped to the side by Ebreus. A grim smile upon her maw as her ears twitched, pulling sharply back as she looked to the Vulpine there. Her tail twitched and her smile was strained, but she held her hand fimrly by her sides. Her voice was a smooth as silk, and cut like sandpaper, "Ebreus... Dearie... Our very bones are infected with something that goes against the letter and intent of the Geneva Convention. Was used against unarmed civilians, and murdered thousands in an instant." A smile sharp as a knife was offered back, gesturing towards the ensamble laser-weilding mercs. "From that incident, we now have situations and people, such as myself, whom their living and breathing goes against that code. We have people whom use weapons beyond the alloted caliber daily, yourself using explosives even to this point in time... On people."
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but a woman made to listen to idiotic prattling was damn close enough. So with a half turn, she glanced back to the leader. To that Rabbit in Bleak as Black Fur. Carson. "Now... dearie... If we were to assent to said charges, as an appropriate stand in which we are not... Would you not also have to accept the charges for the dozen dead just behind us, for those whom were killed upon the highway when we first heard of this armory, and for those of whom you caused harm and panic, many of whom were not in their right mind, from those fogs?" A smile without a hint of give was offered. "If you want to play Judge, Trial, and Jury among your own people, very well. But if you want to play that with us? We will do the same."
Anbessa's eyebrows furrow as he glances over the synthesizer speaking person, a glower crossing his face as he listens, grumbling a bit beneath his breath. Though he keeps bow and arrow in hand, his body is otherwise still as he listens... Though he blinks in confusion as he hears Ebreus speak, the human's combat ready stance faltering momentarily as the urge for his palm to meet his face grows. By Ixchel, what matter of insanity has he been dragged into...? Listening to Mokou, Anbessa's eyebrows furrow as he listens, staying quiet himself. As much as he'd like to quip up about how he wasn't apart of the original team... Safe to assume association is guilty enough.
The jackal lowers his rifle, and casts a glance towards Pelle. It was clear that the little gargoyle's plan had not succeeded, and with so many rifles aimed directly at them, Otto felt it best to just... play along, unless a fight to the death was unavoidable. Upon hearing Ebreus' claims, Otto's eyes widened and he visibly fought the urge to slap his forehead. There were thirty high-powered energy beams aimed at their heads and he wanted the jackal to just ROLL WITH IT? This was rediculous, and god bless the little fennec, she'd calmly sliced Ebreus' claims apart like a slab of meat in a blender.
His gaze wanders back towards his team as he recalls the events, their mission to retrieve the armor plating had lead them to murder agents of an opposing faction... and he'd done some of the killings personally. Perhaps there was a way to secure some sort of deal, a way to appease without the need for bloodshed. He didn't even care about the armor plating any more... they were literally at knife's edge.
He turns back towards the leader and makes a plight, "The smaller lass here, the pony perched upon my head and the human in RIOT armor were not involved with the deaths of your people, nor are they agents of Zephyr. They are bystanders caught at the wrong place and at the wrong time. I appeal to whatever humanity you might have left to release them, and we may work out some sort of consolation for your lost men. Our organization is wealthy beyond imagining. Even I can supply you material compensation worth millions, if you'll have that." his voice calm and steady as he does his best to keep his nerve, a task not so trivial with thirty weapons aimed straight at them.
Pelle thinks as she stands up when the two Tahoe people stand in front of her, she waves her hands a bit in front of the two, not touching them and not making sound with her hands after a bit she stops and quietly sits down and thinks for a bit more before she throws a rock she picks up with the side of the building hoping to get them to follow it instead
"Hmmmm..." Firecracker ponders, tapping her chin in thought, "Nope! Never heard of ya before! Unless ya count when Ebbie said to watch for Tahoe-related thingies..." She suddenly perks up, turning towards Ebreus and waving a foreleg towards him, then pointing to the two leaders. "Oh yeah! Hey! I found onea those thingies you said to look for, Ebbie! Right here!" Turning back to the leaders, she sits up tall on Otto's head and answers. "I usually plead like this!" She then folds her ears back, pushes out her lower lip in a pout, and shines wide, puppy-dog eyes towards the two of them. "And is it like really hot out here or just you?" she asks, dropping her pleading face and squirming in place a bit upon Otto's head.
Over by Pelle, the people watching at the door don't move, just aimed at where Pelle is but doing nothing, not even a response to the thrown rock. The leader in armor, Carson, does not speak while Ebreus Mokou, Otto, and Firecracker talk to them. Once they are done, Carson replies: "The corruption of mental data is an unfortunate side effect of the Tahoe connection proccess we are trying to correct and is not a chemical reaction. And we do not hold any Units accountable that do not belong to Zephyr. But what we have brought you here for is a balancing of actions, not resources." From one of the buildings walks a female black panther, wearing normal clothes instead of armor but still holding an energy rile. The panther woman looks very unhappy. "Zephyr killed three of my husbands, but I'll settle with just one of you."
Ebreus takes a breath as Mokou imediently countradicts him in front of the very same hostiles as last time. Closes his eyes and orders his thoughts before saying, "Hello again Fair One." He then looks back to Carson, Luna, and then Fair One, "If you intend to press us into your legal system, fine. I would ask first if a determination has been made of the cause of death of your three husbands."
Mokou took a long moment to simply breath, brushing her hand by her sides as she let a sigh fall from her lips. Of course. Not so much an execution, but a judgement call. The fennec simply shook her head, a small smile rising to her maw. "Ebreus... They've already decided it was our fault. Collectivistic thought means that each one believes that." She smiled lightly up to the panther lass, a sad smile rising. "You want justice, fine. Take one of the dozens of our dead that you have caused. You insist upon one more though. Why. So it can be at your hand?" She stepped to the side, flicking her tail to he side as she paused... Where were her words. "So you can watch them fall, and know it is justice. Is that what you want?" Another step closer, the lass letting the spray nozzle connected to the side of her metal tank fall limply to her side. "Fine. Convincing you otherwise would take us convincing all of you... and were someone to do that to my own? Would be an impossible task... So pick... Snuff out the light of another, so they can hold that same grudge and hate... or stop. Hate us. Despise us. Curse us with every breath you take. But death will only devolve further. The more that are lost, the more that will fight."
Anbessa blinks and looks over towards Otto as he speaks, staring at him for a moment before he returns attention back forward, seeming a bit surprised by them dismissing blame from him and Firecracker. Well, proved him wrong at least, but his stance doesn't loosen up as he looks towards Ebreus again, raising an eyebrow before looking back at the panther. Though he does listen quietly to Mokou, wishing he could say something as well, but he really couldn't say much without possibly hurting the group's chances. He has little understanding of what is going on, after all... But he can at least be ready for if things get messy.
Pelle thinks for a moment wondering what she can do to get them from looking where she is and as the time use uses thinking it seems they found where it was a last-ditch effort to throw them of herself she uses Reproduction Nanomagic to throw her voice to behind them saying in a whisper "well they seems to be distracted still with that" she looks at them hoping they will bite
The jackal sighs deeply as his eyes peer at the panther. He lets off an exasperated sigh and runs his glance back to Ebreus, just to make sure his fennec fox is okay. A dirty glance is not needed as his friend simply takes a breath and gets himself under control. Good. Flashing Mokou a faint smile, his gaze returns his gaze to the leader, and lets it wander back to the panther in question.
There was a lot to be said about personal loss, and Otto deeply empathized with what she'd gone through. He himself had been robbed of two people he so deeply cared for over his years, and the wounds of that loss, they lingered... Even so, they remained much the same, while Otto strives to grow as a person, and as he grew, those wounds felt smaller and less significant...
The canine holsters his rifle and breathes a deep sigh, then takes a breath... closes his eyes and focuses... calms himself as best he can, before opening them back up. "I can see you are not beyond reason." the jackal speaks directly to the leader. "I am Zephyrian, but my loyalties with that organization are faint. I do not agree with many of their methods, and have been working to resign from duty with them. This is, ofcourse, irrelevant. The state of things is as it stands, I am Zephyrian, but the vast majority of my team are not."
It was at that time that Mokou delivers her speech, the jackal's expression turning from calm to horrified once she draws their attention and puts herself in the line of fire with her sharp words. The truth was worth telling, it always is, but her sharp tongue had drawn their crosshairs, and that simply made the jackal's fur stand on end. He thinks for a few moments, then locks eyes upon the panther and approaches her. "What my colleague says is true, you've shed much blood on this day, the people who lie dead here may well have all had families to take care of... how do you think they will feel?" Otto gestures towards the many bodies lining the ground "But riddle me this, would snuffing one of us out make it all better? Would it bring back the dead? Would it undo the harm?" he glances down towards Mokou for a moment, then locks eyes with the black feline "...I've lost people I've loved as well. The wounds linger, but time has helped numb the pain. Perhaps we were reckless during our clash, I will not deny that..." his glance wanders back over towards Pelle and Ebreus, before returning to the feline "...but there need not be any more bloodshed. I appeal to your rationality, understand that another death will not undo what's been done. It would only cause more pain. Is this what you want?" he asks her, peering right into her eyes "I beg of you, understand my plight, and let us go." the jackal then falls to his knees, picks Firecracker up off of his head and places her upon Mokou's own. "...and if not, you may exact your vengeance upon me, if it means you shall spare my colleagues." he adds with a heavy tone, determination welling within his gaze as he tucks his hands behind his back and awaits her judgment.
"Inspirational speech about how hurting people is bad and it's not gunna make ya feel any better even though ya think it will because those people are gone and nothing's gunna bring em back and hurting other people will just make other people wanna hurt more people which will make more people wanna hurt more more people and more people get hurt and hurting is bad and feeling bad is bad but bad feeling is better than bad hurting and hurting bad bad hurt bad bad!" Firecracker explains/rambles to the group, making complete and total sense in her own mind though perhaps not many others. "Besides, do ya really wanna hurt a pretty face like this?" she asks, hopping off Mokou's head to land back on Otto's before lying down on her belly and pointing down to his face while she makes a puppydog face of her own, the same seen just a short while ago when she demonstrated her 'pleading face'.
The people aiming at Pelle don't move from watching hir, and another one of the armored humaniods can be heard behind then checking the noise. Looks like they won't be fooled. As for the rest of the group, Fair One lowers her weapon. She doesn't say anything, but turns around and walks back to the building she came from. The black rabbit woman sighs, looking a lot calmer. She does seem to be showing the most emotion of anyone from the Tahoe group. She speaks: "Thank goodness that's over. Tahoe, are we done here now? Please?" Tahoe looks to the rabbit woman, and then turns to leave. One by one the ambushers start to leave their posts.
Ebreus bites his toung, litterally, when Mokou undermines him for the third time to the same hostiles. He holds position, tense, as Mokou makes her speach and if anything grows more tense as it appears to be unconvincing... though he does make mental note of Carsons words that they won't hold non-Zephyr agents responsible and appear to accept the Convention but reject the accusation their gas is a violation of it.
He forces himself to breath slowly as the seconds tick by and Otto makes a speech. The situation being as tense as it is the strangeness of Otto negotiating for their lives doesn't occur to him. He holds his breath as his closest friend offers his own life if the speaches were unconvinving.
He exhales as the Children of Tahoe... and apparently Luna, her still appearing to be an individual, depart from the location of their ambush with the impassioned speaches appearing to have worked. He begins to breath regularly. A second or so later he glances over to Mokou, the glance imediently becoming a momentary glare, then turns his attention to the Children of Tahoe and continues to watch them leave.
Mokou stood there resolute as a statue. Not because they had begun to leave, but rather as she was trying not to breath. The air was tense, she could feel it. An irritated sensation running up her spine. This was not what she wanted to have here. Not this tense waiting of her heart wanting to break, of her eyes lingering and focussing upon that gun pointed downward... before they began to leave. A tense breath fell from her maw, the lass hanging where she stood. "... Finally," she sighed... simply waiting. There will be time enough for the fallout... later.
Anbessa couldn't help but let out a reliefed sigh as the Tahoe begin to leave and wander off, the human's grasp on his bow finally loosening as he lets his tense stance fade away. "Thank goodness..." He mutters lightly, shaking his head before looking over towards Otto and smiling. "Well, gotta admit, you got some balls between yer legs, so gotta give you that. Good work." The human notes, chuckling lightly as he scratches behind his head, seeming to finally relax a little bit. "Though, now what're we going to do? If the salvage that we were called for ain't around, what're we going to do? Just go back empty handed?" He points out the minor predicament now that their lives aren't in danger at the moment anymore, glancing over towards the flipped truck with a light hum. Though still seeing some of the Tahoe are still around, he still watches them carefully. As he learned once before, the leaders may decide one thing, but the underlings can sometimes decide on another, so the human watches the remaining Tahoe go with his bow and arrow in hand, but not drawn.
Pelle drops her vanishing nanomagic and steps to the side and placing her knife back into her belt and steps to the side, she signals than to just go "well you have your orders now so go I won't stop any of you" she says with her hands over her head away from her weapons hoping they will just go
Was... was it over? What was happening? Where did the feline go? Where were they all going? Wait... wait... hold up, wait... it worked? It, it actually worked? Did... Otto felt dizzy, his knees weak and his palms sweaty. He breathes a deep sigh and remains still while the Tahoe forces move off.
He blinks a few times and just... pauses, there on his knees... "Thank.... Odin..." he sighs out, then flops forward, falling onto his chest, his muzzle pointing straight forward against the ground. A few more moments would pass before he gets it together and tries to rise from the ground, his attire dirty and dusty from the collapse.
Unsteadily does the male rise to his feet, draws a deep breath and flashes a smile... that turns into a laugh, a truly jovial chuckle that goes on for the better part of a minute, before going silent. His gaze wanders down towards Mokou, and he leans over to wrap one arm around her back, the other behind the cleft of her knees, sweeping her clean off her feet.
Carrying the little vulpine away, the jackal counts his blessings and holds her tightly, trembling a little from the aftermath. True, a bullet to the head would not have put him down, but then again once he came back as a phoenix, odds were the Tahoe would have just... killed him again... permanently.
"Th-thanks..." he answers the human "Ch-check the truck... someone, I... I need a minute."
"Wowie, those guys don't know howta play Hide and Seek like at all!" Firecracker giggles from atop Otto's head, still squirming in place a bit and fluttering her wings at her sides while Otto flops to the ground. "Oh hey! We're done playing? Do we win the armor thingies we're s'posedta get?" she asks, looking around to the group and all their rather dismal expressions. "Huh, you guys look like you could all use some spaghetti!" she comments before hopping off the jackal's head to fly the last few yards over to the overturned truck and take a look inside.
The Children of Tahoe continue to leave, just two watching over the black rabbit woman who is still standing in front of the truck. Once Carson is out of earshot, she steps a bit forward to speak, but keeps her distance from Ebreus. "Thank the Moon no one got killed. I have set up so some of the armor is still in the truck for you to take home with you. But for Moon's sake don't ever let anyone near Paradise or Tahoe again. Tensions are high enough as it is." She then steps around to hand Anbessa a note, then runs off to join the rest of her crew.
Ebreus makes a curious expression as Otto colapses then looks over to Anbessa and says, "This was an ambush, they sent us here. Not Zephyr." He shrugs when Firecracker checks anyway and almost grins... wether it is from the stress getting to him, or actual amusement he doesn't even know when Luna tells them there is actually armor for them. Once she and her escourts leave he sighs then a second or so later begins to growl as he turns around and begins to walk after Otto and Mokou. "Why the fuck do you keep doing this?!" he shouts at Mokou.
For a few moments, Mokou lingered there, eyes watching the lass set up there as she slowly shook her head. The fennec paused for a moment, trying to offer a sad smile back to the rabbit lass. Wide ears flicked, rolling those faint words running about in her mind as she all but whispered back, "Can't confirm... but I will... put in a word with the Prometheans... Try to set up a no-go zone. Will... will try to... Do what I can." A few moments passed there, the lass offering a saddened smile back to the lass... before she was swept up! Held and swept off her feet, the lass firmly nosing Otto's cheeks, a soft kiss placed upon his neck. "I'm glad you... are... alive." Shifting in that grasp, she only managed to wriggle upon to the ground, wrapping an arm around his hip, trying to support what she could before the shouting began.
A sigh fell from her maw as she turned, gazing back up to the taller lad, those mocha brown orbs settling into a level glare. A snarl at her lips as she spoke... "Easy dearie..." A twitch of her eye, a step closer and she shook her head. "Because /you/ are treating the world as though nothing changed. You are... trying to enforce laws that don't even exist anymore!" She snarled back stepping forward with a sharp step, pointing upward for a moment, "YOU... YOU don't even listen! Come on, Wake up! Smell the apocolypse dearie! This... This is the world now. At least the world we're in now. And besides..." Her lips fell into a sneer as she shook her head. "You want to enforce rules you break. Talk about picking and choosing..."
Anbessa perks up as he is approached by the bunny woman, tilting his head a bit as he watches her curiously. A lot more relaxed now, the human nods his head in response to her request as he smiles. "I'll try my best to. Would be for the best for all of us." Though as he is handed a note, he blinks, shouldering his bow to take the note, watching the bunny woman run off after her group. Tilting his head, he looks down and reads the note before blinking, then smiling a bit before pocketing the note. Watching the bunny leave, the human chuckles a little bit before looking towards the truck and padding over to the truck, eager to get to grabbing the armor in the back. Woo, some actual loot to take home and get paid for! Though hearing Ebreus, the human calls over his shoulder as he inspects the pieces. "Yeah, but Zephyr were the ones who asked for agents to come to do this. Zephyr is just lucky there is at least some salvage, but they still had us literally dropped off in an ambush." He points out before hefting one of the armor pieces up with a grunt. Though with Mokou yelling at Ebreus, the human cannot help but snicker beneath his breath as he smiles at the fennec while he carefully loads up the truck with the parts.
Pelle looks the bonny woman live with her guards and shakes her head before going to the truck to grab an armor plate and carry it over to Ebreus and Mokou "so can the two of you stop arguing and get to helping with the armor plates?" she asks before waking to the truck with the armor plate
The jackal blinks a few times as the exchange is made, he was still trembling a little, but this? He wasn't having any of this... His paw reaches into his pocket and he pulls out a flask, downs a hearty chug and lets off a subtle *uurp* The power gator wasn't much, but... at least the bitter taste put him back in order a little. Furrowing his brow, the jackal clenches his fists and produces a sharp whistle to draw his demonic vulpine friend's attention, then shakes his head and cracks his natural fist's knuckles against the cybernetic one's palm, sending a clear signal that the hellish fox would be wise to just back down.
"These things are HEEAAAAAVY!" Firecracker's voice can be heard from inside the back of the truck as she strains with one of the metal plates. With her teeny tiny size, it's pretty obvious she's going to get nowhere as she holds the end of one in her teeth and uses all four legs to "walk" backwards in place. Really, she's just wiggling her booty behind her while her wings flap in vain.
With the Children of Tahoe gone now, everyone strong enough can pick out all the armor plates out of the flipped military truck. Smithson is relieved as well, staying slient the whole time in the truck. Once all the remaining plates are loaded up and tied down, the truck makes its way back to Fairhaven, reporting back to Zephyer and the Promethians what has transpired.
