[h3]Ashlands, Unknown Location[/h3] A long, high-pitched howl cut through the chill morning air somewhere to the north. Cyrus Fox lay on his bed, brown eyes set squarely on the rust on his ceiling whilst the gears in his mind turned. Coyotes weren't that uncommon in this part of the Ash. You could often hear their songs echoing across the rocks. That was not a coyote. The young man pulled himself up onto his feet and grabbed the pair of jeans from the floor of his 'house', the skeleton of an old bus that had decades ago come to make a final resting place of the small depression, sat between two high outcrops. He peered out from the windows into the orange sky and caught sight of a large shadow darting down the pathway, disappearing behind some bristly shrubs along the side of it. Cyrus frowned. Looked like he had company. A few moments later, Cyrus opened the bus door. The hinges were stiff from year of dereliction, and he had to lean a fair bit of weight into it to move the thing. The rusted metal swung aside to reveal none other than his younger sister. The sister he had last seen three years ago when she'd taken off on course for Liberty. The sister he'd been pretty sure was either dead or assimilated. The sister he'd long ago given up on. She wasn't alone either. SHe stood sheepishly before the entrance, and in her arms she was carrying a child. Probably about four or five years of age. Cyrus stood there for a long moment, unsure exactly how to react to this. In the end, it was Dinah, the not-dead sister, who broke the silence. She tossed her head to throw a few strands of hair from her face, and gave an awkward, lop-sided smile like a three year absence was about the same as spilling cranberry juice on his couch. [color=f9ad81]"Hey uh, this is kind of a long story and I swear it all checks out in the end but...I kinda need your help to break into Liberty. Also this is Jimmy. He's not my kid or anything. Honestly it all makes sense. It's just...kinda complicated."[/color] Another long silence, before Cyrus finally sighed, rubbing his eyes. [color=82ca9d]"It's way too early for this shit. You better come in." [/color] [color=f9ad81]"Hey, language, there's a kid present."[/color] [color=82ca9d]"My bus, my rules."[/color] [hr] [h3] Erubesco, The Citadel [/h3] Cadriel didn't really like people placing their hands on her without her say so. Particularly since the day a certain Knight Commander had tried to stab her. But that was a long story. As such, as soon as the serf felt a hand on her shoulder she instinctively pulled away, her mild sense of alarm pushing back his psychic enquiry. As such only a few things would flash up in Sairan's mind. [i] Cadriel, or someone very much like her, but devoid of scars and stitches, stood before a full length mirror, adjusting a Knight's uniform and badge for a scout regiment. Large, speckled wings were tucked in behind her shoulders. -- An empty conscript room. Cadriel crouched down beside the bed, on which lay a clearly badly injured Commander Botrelle, covered in cuts and gashes. The serf was taping some gauze over when looked like letters carved into the woman's skin with a knife, whilst speaking. "I don't know...guess I'm just a better person than you huh?"[/i] Caddie meanwhile had moved away to stand with her back against the wall, waiting until she was needed. Very little that came up surprised her, even if they did shock the ginger knight and the new Commander. The only thing odd was most Commanders were a little bit more subtle about the horrible things they got up to...ones like.. Commander Green. She didn't recall seeing him come in. Perhaps she'd been there already. It was a tiny bit unsettling. The Commander sat at the table, dressed in a neat white labcoat and a set of opaque grey gloves. White hair, youthful face, and the eyes of some kind of carnivorous reptile. Caddie gave him a wide berth. [b][color=c4df9b]"Thank you Commander Botrelle, much appreciated. And Commander Lovette, welcome to The Citadel. I hope you find the visit inspiring."[/color] [/b] Green smiled a little, a smile that never seemed to quite reach his eyes. [b][color=c4df9b] "Now, in regards to Medical Research. Most of you will be aware that one of my best qualified alchemists has been signed off as 'Missing in Action' as of last week, having received the last communication from her two weeks previous. Most unfortunate. With this in mind I will be beginning interviews for a replacement in the coming weeks. It's relatively non-urgent currently as the present staff are more than capable of keeping up with the routine tasks, however with Citadel plans to recommence the Red Queen project in the near future I feel it would be prudent to be well-prepared. If there are any recommendations for the position they would be much appreciated. On that note the potential resumption of Red Queen will mean that I'd be requesting that a few of the routine testing tasks be passed on to a couple of alchemists in other departments for a few weeks, given the current staffing shortage here. Drug trial and the like, nothing considerable. If there are any objections in that regard please do let me know before I submit any requests to the Viceroy. "[/color][/b] KOra, for her own part in the meeting, had been sitting drinking coffee and doodling pictures of bears with swords on her notebook. Right up until the point one of the Alchemists started casually talking about killing test subjects. The pen scratched on the paper as the Knight's head shot up. When Green had finished, she lifted one hand. [color=f26522]"Uh, question...what the fuck? There's an Alchemist that's casually offing serfs and nobody is bothered? What kind if sick fucks are you hiring here?"[/color] her gaze moved to Botrelle in particular. She was her friend after all, and she'd like to imagine that Lulu was not completely at ease with killing prisoners and serfs by the score in the name of scientific research.