Payam barely had any time to react at all. Before he could justify himself or even defend himself, he was already pinned to the ground by some cyborg. The voice he heard appeared familiar, but at this point he couldn't tell who was threatening him. He was short on options in this situation. Either this guy knew Jarred and was covering for him or Jarred had been comprosmised and these people had taken up residence here. If the latter was true, then he would fail. However, the former seemed more likely. Jarred wasn't someone to be taken out so easily and it made no sense for someone else to simply take up residence in his house. The townsfolk would never allow it. He had no other option but take the gamble.

"My name is Payam. I've been commanded by His Majesty, King Havkar to speak with Jarred Greaves. There is something I need to give him." He said, grunting as his neck began to ache due to the awkward and uncomfortable position he had been forced into. As he spoke, the necklace he had slipped out from his shirt and softly clinged as it hit the floor below him.

"Payam?" Jarred said, trying to remember the name. After a moment another hand grabbed Payam under the shoulder as the other hand left his head and did the same, lifting him up off the ground before turning him around to face him. This put his face in a more direct path of the sonar pulses Jarred used to see, giving him a clearer view of his face. It was....even so faintly familiar. Last time he has seen a boy named Payam, his was a young Delni child. Now he could not see the color, just the shape of the person before him. He had to think back to the boy's father to get some semblance of familiarity. There he could recognize some features that were similar, but he wasn't convinced yet. 

Payam would see a large cyborg man, though to him he may even look like a fully functioning android, starting him down. The clothes he wore were ragged and loose fitting, and he still had his gas mask on. There were blood stains on his clothes, somewhat recent too, a couple bullet marks here and there from rounds that hit and glanced off. A robotic hand reached towards him and lifted the small necklace that hung around his neck, the pendant on it in the palm of his metallic hand. He was silent for a while as he dropped it, letting it hang from Payam's neck once more. He slowly walked to the kitchen, and silently took a glass and filled it with water. "I....will be honest with you.... I prayed every day that I would never have to see that trinket you carry.... young Payam...." He walked over to the young man and handed him the water. "Auberi.... It's alright. It's an old friend." He turned back to Payam. "Take a seat and make yourself comfortable....It seems we have much to discuss."

Auberi watched everything, drawing his revolver and stiletto as Jarred pinned the man. Once Jarred ceased hostilities, Auberi took off his jacket and set his weapons down before ushering everyone inside and locking the door behind him. "Kiimi needs me. I will be back." He drew some of the medicine and diluted it properly into the syringe. Then, he left the room and entered Kiimi's room. "It is alright. We had a small confrontation with an unexpected guest. Turns out he is fine. Are you ready for your medicine?"

He walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge of it, careful to sweep his hair to the side so it splayed out on the bed rather than be stuck under him. His free hand gently gripped Kiimi's shoulder, and he smiled warmly at the girl with rouge colored lips.

Kiimi took a deep breath and nodded, "So Papa made it home. That is a relief..... I was worried this time. Something.... just feels off today." She said as she fingered at her necklace. It was an odd thing, but she liked it, even if the pendant on it was broken in half before she even got it. "I hope everything is okay, we normally don't receive visitors.....I am ready," she added with a small weak smile.

Payam sighed in relief as Jarred handed him the glass of water. For a moment, he was afraid Jarred would kill him. Walking across the living room, he sat down on one of the couches and downed the glass of water in one go. Ever since he left Valkner, he hadn't eaten anything.

"I thought you should know. Delivering this pendant to you was his last order. But, he never explained what it meant. Or why he sent me to you."

Jarred sat down in a desk chair, a simple and half broken one, but it still held, surprisingly. Jarred reached up and grabbed his gas mask and pulled it off, revealing his true face. "....It means two things.... first," he started as he shrugged off his jacket, revealing his mechanical body, "it means that Prince Valkner isn't safe." He then popped open a compartment in his left pectoral. Inside were assorted rods with luminescent liquids in them, some blue, some yellow. He pulled a yellow one out. "Second," he connected the tip of the vial to a port on the side of hos neck, the fluid in the vial draining into his body. He looked up to Payam and held up the vial to him, giving it a little shake, "compatability agent for my nerves," he said as he tossed it into a waste bin. "Second, it means I need to make myself even more scarce, unless Valkner somehow dies as well...."

Jarred shook his head, "hmmm, maybe I should cross the border, good clean air might do Kiimi some good," he seemed to ponder on his own.

Jarred was more machine than man. His cybernetics appeared crude, but somehow they still kept him alive. Seeing him stick a glass vial by the side of his neck made Payam cringe a little. Mentioning Valkner drew Payam back to the most important thing at that moment, ensuring Valkner's safety. 

"He won't die. If we-" Before Payam could continue, he heard the music from a nearby radio stop as it was replaced by a fanfare of patriotic music. This was followed by the sound of the radio hosts' voice.

[i]"Ladies and gentlemen. The Parliament of Leinstein has come into session. Please stay tuned for a message from Chancellor Stefan von Vasseldorf"[/i]

"The Chancellor?" Payam said confused, setting down the empty glass on a nearby table as he approached the radio, turning up the volume. "He was supposed to he in Huzuzar with the Prince. What is he doing in the capital?"

The radio broadcast continued, 

[i]"I have been informed that Captain Harold Foltz of the Royal Guard already has the King in custody. I can assure all of you, that he will be tried by a court and severely punished to the fullest extend of the law. As for his bodyguard, General Balthasar von Horgen has been assigned to apprehend this Delni traitor."[/i] There was a short pause, before the Chancellor continued. [i]Given these extraordinary circumstances and the lack of any available heir, as Chancellor I propose to this Chamber that we begin a vote to officialize the reign of Her Majesty, Queen Deborah.[/i] Once again, the Parliament erupted in shouting and arguing but the broadcast was cut short, replacing it with the voice of the usual radio host. 
[i]"We'll provide updates as they become available, ladies and gentlemen. For now, please enjoy our scheduled programming."[/i]

"They're framing us for murder." Said Payam, running his hand across his hair. "I've got to go back. Rescue him before they decide to hang him."

"Shit excuse for a royal guard, you're no captain as long as I'm around you talking head" Jarred spat, if he could, as he stood up. "Growing up, Hakvar wasn't the strongest brute. Don't get me wrong, he could hold his own, but he was more of a thinker, and it seems even now he is three steps in front of the others. Hakvar knew Deborah was going to take control, but she needed to have something done about Valkner. I thought she would try to have him hand over the kingdom someway, though it seems she is trying to set it up for him to be executed. Dead men don't talk after all. That pendant you brought to me was a signal."

"A signal, that I hope you will keep out of sight or lock it away, either or. Anyway, I will have to let the others know. We are going to need a ship... a good one. I'll check the docks in the morning. Till then, I guess you can get comfortable." He walked over to Kiimi's door and rapped on it with his knuckles. "Auberi, Kiimi, .... I'd like you to meet someone."

"You think you can storm that castle and take Valkner back by force in our own, kid?" Jarred snapped back at Payam. "And once we have him, then what? We try running away on land? We will be dead for sure, and the prince along with us for trying to escape judgement..... No, we need air power and heavy guns once we break him out if we want to escape. The man who reacts with emotion finds his way to the grave much faster than the one who plans ahead."

Payam stood in the hallway for a moment, thinking about his options. "I'll use my contacts. We can sneak him out of the city. I can't just sit around and wait."

Auberi had finished giving Kiimi her injectiona nd had barely finished wrapping her arm with gauze before Jarred was at the door. The urgent tone got Auberi to surge up from the bed as he went to the door and swung it open. "I assume our guest is more than just a coffee friend." He had caught a little of the radio, his face etched with a mixture of annoyance and grim knowledge of how these things tended to play out.

Jarred turned to Auberi, noticing his disposition, and could already tell he was about as thrilled ad he was. "That's right... This is Payam, Valkner's bodyguard. He was sent here from the late king.... for me. I suppose it is time I came clean. Eighteen years ago, I had went into hiding after having severe injuries. The reason was so that I could fake my own death and keep watch in case anything happened to the kingdom. My full title, is Captain Jarred Greaves of the Royal Gaurd. King Havkar's former bodyguard." He then turned to Payam, "and if you want Valkner to live you had better take my advice and wait for a ship before you get yourself [i]and[/i] the prince killed. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR? I will strap you down myself if I have to...."

Kiimi silently came to the doorway as well, seeing Payam for the first time, though she wasn't paying as much attention to him with what Jarred just said. "You are leaving out again..." she said, more of a statment than a question.

Despite Jarred's warning, Payam was hellbent and focused on what only mattered to him at the moment. Getting to Valkner and ensuring his safety. At that very moment, he was completely unaware that he was putting himself, the Prince and the others in danger. Regardless of the concequences, he sprinted to the door. The more time they wasted in this town, the more time Deborah and her goons had to extract whatever they could from the Prince and then kill him once they were done. He needed to prevent it at all costs. Even if it cost his life or those of others in the process. In this very moment, neither of those things mattered…

Auberi went from zero to one hundred with the practiced ease only a spy or guerilla could. In a blur of skirt and blond hair, he was already between Payam and the door. One rouge smirk later and Payam found five pain pressure points struck and himself in an armbar on the ground. "Im faster than I look, mon cheri."

He looked at Jarred and Kiimi. "Id suggest finding that ship swiftly. Ill tap my contacts for location info. Kiimi...we may need you to help. It will be dangerous, darling."

Despite his taller and stronger build, Payam was on the ground in the blink of an eye. He was so focused on his own thoughts he failed to even react. By the time he noticed, his arm was being twisted behind his back and his face was against the floor, along with the rest of his body. 

"Let go!" He demanded, struggling against an arm bar which he knew could easily dislocate his arm or break it.

"Ah, strapping you down it is then,"Jarred said as he walked over to Payam. He turned to Kiimi, whose eyes were wide and she seemed a bit startled looking between the three of them. "It's alright, baby girl, just a bit of a conflicting viewpoint. Mind getting my straps from the tool room?"

Kiimi nodded at them and went off to get the said straps, meanwhile Jarred knelt beside Payam, the crackling voice sounding like a low growl as he spoke. "Now you listen here and you listen well. Don't you think I want to charge in there as soon as possible and save him as well? Do you think I'm so callous that I don't feel the pain of losing the one man I could call a brother? That I am eager to drag my daughter into what could possibly cost us our lives? For the late king's sake have some damn faith in his decisions. You can't just charge into this, boy, or else your worst nightmares are guaranteed. We won't be getting a second chance if we fail." It was then that Kiimi returned with some straps, timidly handing them to Jarred. "Ah, thanks, pumpkin." He turned back to Payam and started tying him up."Auberi, help me out here..," he mentioned to him for a moment to help in securing some of the straps and then went back to Payam. "Whether that convinced you or not, though, I can't trust you until you calm down, so rest here a bit and clear your head. I'll get started on supper, Kiimi, you may want to pack some things just in case."

As he finished, he looked to Auberi. "Can I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?" Once they were inside he seemed to be rather disturbed about something considering his pacing before finally talking. "What do you think?" he asked him about the situation in general. "I know I should go, but I can't stand the thought of taking Kiimi out there with me. I know she has practiced shooting, but she has never killed before... and I..." He stopped himself before admitting that he wasn't sure he would be able to protect her efficiently on the field. "I just have a feeling that I will be gone longer than one of my little 'errands' this time..."

Meanwhile Kiimi sat in an armchair and watched Payam with a slight curious expression that betrayed a girl teeming with questions, but she had the tact not to just explode and start asking rapid fire questions.

Payam sat there, still breathing heavy from the brief scuffle. He stared at the floor for a few minutes, before picking up on Kiimi's stare.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." He said, glancing up at Kiimi.

"Hmm!" Kiimi hummed, startled that she was caught starting and spacing out in thought. Her cheeks turned quite noticeably red due to her nearly pure white skin, much like the lines under her eyes, "O-oh, no...i-it's...I'm sorry papa was so rough, he really is a kind person," she said as she looked away from Payam. "I'm....I'm still trying to take in what was said. Both here and on the radio. If things are how they sound....I'm worried..."

"No need to worry. We'll get everything we need and go on a daring rescue." He said, chuckling softly. "After all, it's my job to make sure the Prince is safe." 

As he spoke with her, Payam took a moment to watch her features and body movements. Something was off about her, but he couldn't tell what. By the tone of her skin she could be Flingardian or Leinsteiner. Perhaps someone from the capital? Another thing that caught his eye was the necklace she was wearing. If only he could look at it closer. It seemed familiar.

"How brave," she  playfully said with a weak smile, though, when she noticed him staring fora a while, she shifted around uncomfortably, figiting with the necklace as if by habit when she was uncomfortable.

Before Payam could ask anything else, his attention was turned toward one of the windows. The window then shattered as a smoke canister was shot into the room hitting the wall nearest to Kiimi bursting into a cloud of noxious steam. Before they could act, another canister was shot through the kitchen window.

Amid the unfolding chaos, Payam dropped to the floor as the steam rose into the air swirling around the living room and kitching with the breeze coming in from outside.

By instinct, Auberi dropped to the floor, dragging Jarred down with him. He crawled along, holding his breath. His experience led him to memorize where his possessions were at all times, so he got to his gas mask without issue. He barely got it on and sealed before running out of breath. He took a few deep breaths of fresher air before attaching an air tank for even fresher air. Then, he grabbed his jacket, stashing his stiletto and revolver.

His last move was to grab his shotgun. From there, he moved crouched low to try and find Kiimi. Payam was an afterthought at this point. "I swear, if they so much as put a hair out of place..."

Payam managed to grab his pocket knife hidden on his waist. Holding his breath, he attempted to cut the leather binds around his wrists. It was harder than he imagined. The leather was rough and well-made making the blade of his small pocket knife nearly useless against it. A few moments after the canisters were fired inside, whoever was attacking them began firing into the house. Bullets pierced through the wooden walls nearly missing the occupants inside a few times.

As quick as the attack began it seemed to end. Abruptly, the gunfire was gone replaced by an eerie silence and the hissing of the steam canisters as their reserves ran out. The silence was broken by a female voice that Payam seemed to instantly recognize. 

"Payam! If you're in there. We've got to go. More of them are coming!" She said, her voice becoming louder as she approached the house.

"Katheryna?" He murmured, finally taking a chance to breathe. Coughing, he attempted to get on his feet as the steam around them dissipated.

Kiimi, caught by surprise wasn't able to avoid breathing in the gas and had quickly fallen to the ground. Her lungs felt like they were on fire as she started coughing. Whenever she triednto see what was going on, it felt like there was a stabbing pain in her eyes. She started to caught up blood, her frail lungs reacting strongly to the gas, and her eyes teared up, making them crimson as well.

Jarred, on the other hand, wasn't phased by the gas at all, and quickly moved in to grab Kiimi and move her to her room, putting her air mask and tank on. When he turned towards where the shots were fired from, the only feeling he had was rage. Jarred picked up Payam by the arm, his sword blade extending out and smoothly cutting the binding for him before he was unceremoniously let go. Jarred then grabbed his jacket from the chair and put it on as he slowly walked to the front door.

Un fortunate for anyone that was calling out to him, Payam was not the first one out of the house. Jarred landed a kick on the door thatsent it crashing out into the street with much force, and then he walked out slowly, inspecting the scene, and itching to kill someone.

Outside, it looked like a battlefield. Several soldiers were strewn about on the sand, bleeding from bullet holes to their heads or chest. The armor they were wearing was what stood out to Jarred. They wore crimson red outfits made in silk, along with headscarfs and clockwork enhancements.

Payam followed Jarred out a few moments later, scanning the scene as well. "Katheryna? Where are you!?" He shouted, receiving only silence in response. Looking down at the bodies, he immediately recognized them. 
"Tal-Karans." He said in a bitter tone walking farther into the beach looking around.

Kiimi continued to cough, muffled by the gas mask. "Th-the gas....I couldn't-" she coughed a few more times, trying to focus on taking deep breaths of fresh air in the tank. "Couldn't get away fast enough. Auberi, it burns," she whimpered. She coughed a few more times before trying to speak some more. "I-I don't understand, what is going on?"

"What the hell is this, Payam!?" Jarred yelled out, holding up one of the bodies to him. "Why the hell are Tal-Karans following you? How did you not know you were being tailed?" He threw the body on the ground and looked for any other threats. Get inside and help get ready or keep guard, we are headed to the docks, and you are coming with us....NOW!" he shouted as he was walking toward the house, not hearing Payam make any movements as fast as he would have liked.

It didn't take Jarred long to return to Kiimi's room. He started going through her room and pulling things from drawers and closets, packing for her. "How is she doing, Auberi, will she be alright?" he asked, a mix of worry and unvented rage noticeable in his tone.

"You were too late." Said Payam, as Jarred dissapeared back into the house. Emerging from behind the house, Katheryna, wearing a cloak along with Leinsteiner battle armor and a repeater rifle walked up to him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come any sooner." She replied, hoisting the rifle around her back. "Who are your friends?" 

"Jarred Greaves." He said, crouching over one of the Tal-Karan corpses. Before she could reply to that, he interrupted. "No, I don't know why the King sent me to fetch for him. He seems to have changed a lot after all these years. His priorities have shifted too." Going over the Tal-Karan soldier's armor, he found a familiar tattoo in his arm though he kept silent about it.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she crouched next to him. "How are you holding up?" 

"Doesn't matter. We're heading out to find an air ship. I imagine Jarred will take us to Lakavia. It's the only place where we can have a chance of finding one before they-" He paused for a moment, sighing as he stood up.

"We'll find him." Katheryna reassured him, rising to her feet as well. "I'll come with you." 

"What about your father?" He asked.

"Too late for any regrets now. I'm as much a fugitive as you are."

Auberi listened to her quietly and simply focused on his work. He injected some painkillers into her to help ease some of teh burning pain. Then, he put a small bottle of pure oxygen on her mask line to help her clear out her lungs. By the time he finished initial treatments, Jarred came into the room to check on Kiimi. "She will be alright. Her frailty isn't doing her any favors, but her body is strong enough to recover and not be permanently harmed by this. It will make her miserable for a few hours, but I gave her some painkillers to make it more tolerable."

As he explained to Jarred, he began to deftly braid his hair before tying most of it back with a red bandanna, leaving some spare hair at the front for aesthetic attractiveness. "She can be moved and travel safely. It is best if we enact the plan. You focus on your job. I will take care of Kiimi. She is, after all, my patient."

Outside, Payam saw several boats coming toward the beach. It seemed like the Tal-Karans had come all the way here by ship.

"Kath, go to my car. Wait for me there." 
Said Payam, getting a nod from Katheryna who ran in the opposite direction. Payam entered the house, looking for Jarred. 

"Jarred! We've got to go! More of them are coming!"

"Dammit," Jarred cursed. "Alright, let's grab everything we need, we are headed to Lakavia for a ship. Go on and get Kiimi to Payam's vehicle, I'll be right there."

Jarred moved to a celler in the hous and dropped down, when he came back up he had a pack on full of supplies and tools for himself as well as a few posessions, his bug out bag. Strapped to him, were a number of large ten round magazines for an even larger rifle he slung on his shoulder. For most people the rifle would be operated and carried by a two man team, but he held the 20mm anti matarial rifle with ease. "Alright, lets load up and get out of here, this place is gonna blow in about 15 minutes." While he was saying that though, he also grabbed some of Kiimi's belongings that he knew she would miss if it was gone, as well as her own gear, putting it in another bag and over his left shoulder.

Payam ran ahead, heading toward his car. Once there, he went inside sitting next to Katheryna who was in the passenger's seat. Turning it on, he drove all the way to the house, stopping right in front.

Once everyone was in the car, Jarred would hop into the car but stay at the ready with his rifle, if any enemy vehicles showed up deployed by the ships, the 20mm should be enough to shut down the engine when hit.

With everyone inside, the car took off. Driving down the narrow town roads as townsfolk stared at them surprised. As they left the town, they drive down a paved road that led directly to the Rivaravian border. Looking at the mirror, he spotted several Tal-Karans on motorcycles approaching them.

"More of them. Behind us." Shouted Payam as Katheryna leaned out the passenger window with her sniper rifle, opening fire on the pursuers.

"Huh, you're new," Jarred said to the new girl as he rotated the bolt back on the heavy rifle. "Remind me to catch your name when we stop." He watched as one of her shots hit a motorcyclist off his bike. "Heh," he chuckled before leveling his rifle. When it fired, it sounded as if a cannon went off, noticably shaking the car a bit. It hit one of the bikes, ripping through the engine and the gas tank causing a mild explosion.  It wasn't long after that that an even bigger explosion was heard, and smoke could be seen coming from the house. "Huh....a little earlier than I expected."

"That should keep them off our back for a while." Payam commented, as an explosion rang out where the town Mohberg. As he spoke, two of the motorcycles went up ahead driving alongside the car. The drivers then jumped off, landing on the car's roof and hood. One of them, pulled out a tool that broke the glass in the back of the car. Then, he reached in with his metallical arm, reaching for Kiimi who was sitting in the middke. The one in front was struggling to grab onto the hood but seemed determined to break the windshield. 

"Kath, take the wheel." Payam said to Katheryna, who looked at him confused. Before she could even accept he opened the door on the driver's side climbing onto the roof of the car. Kath held on to a smaller steering wheel on her side. 

"What in Dawn's name is he thinking!?" Katheryna cursed as she tried to keep the car stable.

Auberi had his shotgun out and was essentially acting as a guard for the vehicle itself. One of the men made an attempt for Kiimi. That bad idea was soon punctuated with Auberi blowing his mechanical arm off at the elbow and then leaning out the window and removing his head with a well placed shot of buckshot.

The man on the hood got an almost worse fate as the doctor fired the last 4 shots of his shotgun into the man, placing each one in a spot that would make him slowly bleed out and die of infection. Once back inside the car, Auberi frowned. "Sometimes, it is best to let someone slowly learn their lesson."

The last of the Tal-Karans caught up with the car and hopped on the roof. Judging by his mask and sword, Payam knew right away that this was their commander. Cursing in Tal-Karan, the Commander lunged at Payam, knocking him down into the roof of the car. The two fought as the Commander tried to choke Payam out. In the struggle, Payam was able to pulls out a dagger from his coat and stab the commander who recoiled back nearly falling off the car. Drawing his sword, the Commander kept on fighting, clashing with Payam's dagger which had extended to the size of a short sword. A brief duel began as the two clashed swords and struck each other repeatedly, both of them seemingly equally matched.

Kiimi yelled out when the man grabbed her and triedbro pull her from the car. She flinched as Auberi opened fire on the man, wincing when he took a shot to the face. She still had traces of a cough, and the excitement of the moment wasn't helping her recover, but it couldn't be helped, she just tried to keep her head down and out of the way.

The occupants inside the car could hear Payam fighting the Commander on the roof above. Abruptly, the Commander managed to shove Payam onto the hood of the car and then lunged at him with the intent to kill him on the spot. Before he could land, Payam got out of the way making crash against the hood and slip off into the dirt road rolling away into the distance. 

The car continued on it's way as Payam made his way back into the driver's seat. By then, they had crossed the border into Rivaravia.