[b][u][center]Sector Zero Golden Merc Training Grounds[/b][/u][/center] [center][youtube]Jyd7stkHVyI[/youtube][/center] The crowd that had gathered began to sway ever so slightly as the peaceful serenade instilled a conflicting sense of hope and yearning within their souls. Eyes closed and minds relaxed, Julian's lutar taking the front of all that sounded within the manmade forest. Accompanied by the steadily running lake waters, his song echoed throughout the central camp, where everyone decided it was time for a break. Julian, himself, stood propped against a light post, his face half-veiled by the smoke he blew upward. A joint lay on his lips and his eyelids blanketed most of his eyes. The sweet taste of serenity, long forgotten by most of the audience, had been recalled for just a moment - a moment that they all were relentless to let slip away again into the sea of reality. Julian opened his eyes and sighed, dousing his joint and tossing it into a nearby trash bin. He pushed off the light post and strapped his lutar to the holster on his back. The crowd began to cheer softly, and even the faces of the more resilient, stern mercenaries were replaced with smiles of gratitude and appreciation. Julian smiled and nodded back before turning to the three audience members closest to him, a petite, young girl (no older than 12), a tall, well-built swordsman, and a rather old looking librarian wielding nothing but a cane. "Right, then. Back to training?" he said with a smile. The young girl nodded with a bright expression, causing Julian to laugh. "I meant combat, training yulie. I told you, you won't be fighting the big baddies any time soon, ye?" as the herb still ran through his system, he spoke in a thicker, tropical accent. The girl frowned, "That's not fair, I keep telling you guys but you don't listen! Why do I have powers if I can't use them?" This time, the old man responded, "Young woman, I tell you with your well being in my best interest, that our kind are best left in the back of the battle, coming to aid those in retreat." Julian nodded and added on to his response, "Mr. Ivor here is right. You've been blessed with the power to heal, yulie! That's one of the most amazing powers we could possibly ask for! And as the head of this squad, I will see to it that you don't get harmed in the slightest. You're the most important, ye?" The girl nodded, "So are any of the other squads doin' any spirit training?" she asked, to which Julian nodded, "I'm sure Hector's headed over to them right now. Go find him and he'll take yah there, and be careful, ye?" The girl nodded happily and departed, leaving Julian and the two men behind. "Mr. Ivor, you understood her role in all this, correct?" he said as he gestured towards the remaining squad. "Correct. I shall only bring in her in for emergencies, and for no longer than thirty seconds." Julian nodded and then turned to the bigger man, who had remained silent, "Rocky? I'm just asking to make sure..." Rocky stood at 6'7", an ex-captain of the Sovereign Guard. He was the perfect example of a prison brute, as he had been in lock down prior to the apocalypse, though the Golden Mercenaries let it pass after thorough screening of his stability. He sighed and nodded, "Tank for the girl. I gotcha' Jules." Julian then raised a brow and tilted his head to the side, to which Rocky sighed once more before stating, "...and leaving enough space for you to slip out in your smoke form." Julian nodded, "Right then. Now let's see what we'd do were the enemy to get in our faces..." --- [center] [b][u]Sector Zero Golden Mercenary Briefing Room[/b][/u] [/center] Ishigo leaned against the wall in his usual spot, observing the gathering of the main squad of Golden Mercenaries. Hector leaned over the central table, watching as the technician besides him fidgeted with a mobile communicator. "If this works, hermano..." he then whistled as he shook his head. "Hector's gonna order us all pizza," said another golden mercenary jokingly, causing the whole squad to laugh along with Hector. "Ay puto, I heard your mom makes a mean pasta. Haven't tried it since the last time I was over," he said with a wink, causing the rest of the squad to respond with their own additive hype and laughter. "AERITUS!" exclaimed the techician, causing everyone to fall silent. "It... it..." the man could barely finish speaking before Hector leaned in curiously, "It what?! Speak up!" Before he could respond, the communicator beeped twice and sparked slightly as the sound of static emit from its speakers. Within the static, in broken fragments, came the voice of a man. [quote] "-peat, 2.2., I repeat code 2.- .... - terday when-...... -teves....-peat 2.2, if any respo-.... -check all records, reca-.... -set frequencies to alpha 3-.... -wait, is that a-.... - VICTOR! I TH-.... COME LOOK, THE LIGHT IS FLAS-...." [/quote] Hector's eyes widened and he pat the technician on the back, "CLEAN IT UP! I WANT TO HEAR THIS, C'MON RAPIDO, RAPIDO!" The technician flinched and began tinkering away as fast as he could, slowly eliminating the static to reveal more coherent speech. [quote] "Where? What light, hermano? I don't see n- OH SHIT! Ai, hermano, you did it! Get 'em on, get them to listen in, they..."[/quote] Hector quickly swiped the communicator and began speaking into it, "Victor? Is this Victor Esteves speaking?! Come in, COME IN! Do you read? This is Golden Mercenary Captain Hector Es-" Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Victor's smooth, familiar voice, "I know who you are lil brother. How yah been?" --- [b][u][center]Guard Tower, Sector A[/b][/u][/center] *yawn* Kisheto stretched out his arms as he sat up. After rubbing his eyes to let his eyelids open without struggle, he looked around and immediately flinched. It was the first time he had awoken in a guard tower to find someone else up there with him. As his memory returned, he then chuckled, recalling the events leading up to his current setting. He got up and peered over the ledge of the "crow's nest" structure that he and Arianna had chose to hide in. "It's clear," he said aloud, but to no avail as Arianna remained asleep. "Wow... don't smart people usually wake up early? Get the worm and all?" he chuckled to himself and shook his head as he realized he was foolishly speaking to himself. [i]Man, I must seem so silly,[/i] he thought as he walked over to Arianna, [i]...never really was smooth with the girls, anyway.[/i] He stretched one last time before kneeling beside Arianna and reaching to nudge her awake. However, before he could make contact, he felt some sort of force holding him back ever so slightly. It was a brief moment in which he thought to himself, "[i]No, she should rest and regain her spirit[/i]." But in reality, he had no idea what this impulse meant or why it had occurred in the first place. Ignoring the subconscious disturbance, he reached over and gently shook Arianna by the shoulder while speaking in a soft tone, "Ay... wake up, princess. We haven't escaped yet."