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A car pulls over in front of the Royal Palace. The palace is a majestic building, constructed with the finest materials and designed to fit the royal family's wishes. It was situated along the coast, away from the bustling city of Leinstinburg. For centuries, the palace was the centerpiece of a great compound which served as a fortress to protect the royal family should the city be attacked. The fortress, built in the shape of a star, was protected by dozens of royal guardsmen. Dressed in red and armed with the most modern equipment, these soldiers were tasked with protecting the royal family with their lives. A young man, tall in stature with black hair and tan skin steps out of the vehicle. In contrast to the other guards, he wore a grey sweater and matching pants. Stepping up to the door, he is let in by one of the guards who leads him into a great entry hall. Ascending a set stairs he continues deeper into the mansion until they reach a set of double doors. The guard opens them and allows the new arrival inside. Closing the door behind him, he is left alone inside of a large bedroom. Across the room, laying in bed is the King of Leinstein, Havkar von Leinsteinburg.

"Payam." The old man calls to the young man, who takes a deep breath as he approaches the bed. Standing by the bedside he proceeds to bow. Havkar waves his pale hand. "That's not necessary." Said Havkar, with a smile on his face. "We don't have long."

"Sire?" Asked Payam, looking concerned. "What do you mean?"

Before he could answer, Havkar began coughing, wheezing as he tried to compose himself. Payam swallowed a knot forming in his throat. The man laying on that bed was a shadow of his former self. A man who once commanded respect across the nation had been reduced to a pale and frail sickly old man. The man he looked up since he was a child, had been reduced to nothing.

"Payam, please listen. We don't have much time. Take this," Reaching for his neck, Havkar took off his necklace and handed it over to Payam. "Greaves will know what it means."

The King placed on Payam's palm, closing his hand tightly. "Hurry. The Kingdom is at stake."

Payam nodded, taking a deep breath while attempting to compose himself. "Sire. Y-you are like a father to me. If there is anything I can do to help-"

Havkar interrupted him, smiling confidently. "No, it's too late for me. But not for you and my son. You two still have a chance, don't waste it on an old man like myself. I've done all I came here to do. It's your turn now."

Even in his last moments, the King managed to pull that smile and inspire confidence on Payam. Giving the King a short bow, Payam headed for the door but he stopped as Havkar called out to him. He turned around to face him.

"Yes, sire?"

"My son, Valkner, he looks up to you. No matter what he says, he needs you and you need him. Take care of each other."

"I will." Replied Payam, as he opened the door and dashed back to his car. Once inside, he took a good look at the necklace. It was half a triangle with an owl with its wings spread to the side made in silver. The other half of the necklace was missing. There was something carved on the triangle, but Payam couldn't figure out what it said. Placing the necklace around his neck and tucking into his shirt, he turned on the car and sped off into the distance. Payam hoped he could find Jarred Greaves in time. The entire fate of Leinstein was at stake.

Payam's drive took him several hours. The hours felt like an eternity to him, however. He couldn't get Valkner, the King's son and the person he is sworn to protect out of his head. When the King asked for him, he left immediately. Though, he came to regret it immediately. The Prince was on a trip to the Emirate of Huzuzar to discuss a trade agreement involving vast quantities of fuel and water in exchange for steel. Leaving the Prince with the Royal Guardsmen was the last he ever wanted to do. But the King's word went over his and the Prince's. Ever since they grew closer, Payam found it harder and harder to leave his side. That reminded him of the last thing the King told him. That Valkner looked up to him. Did he know?

His string of thoughts were interrupted by a radio broadcast. The man on the radio went over the daily news and then, his tone became somber as he announced an update on the King. King Havkar had been missing from the public eye for many weeks. Rumors were flying around regarding the King's health and his ability to rule. Parliament was finding it hard to prevent a vote to force an abdication in favor of the younger Valkner.

"It is my duty to announce the death of His Majesty, King Havkar. A nation mourns the sudden passing of one of its best. The Speaker of the Parliament has announced an extraordinary session to make preparations to crown His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Valkner. This station will provide updates as the become available. Said the radio host, as the station's regular music began to play right after. Hearing the news, Payam felt a knot forming in his throat. He cursed out loud, shifting the gears of the car, forcing it to go faster.

A few more hours later, he arrived to the town of Mohberg. It was a fishing town near the west coast of Leinstein. Well-known for its river fish and proximity to the Rivaravian border. The town was inhabited by a close community of Rivaravians and Leinsteiners. It was also known to protect and accept Outcasts, despite their reputation. Driving down its streets, he saw several fishermen getting ready to head out to the river early in the morning. Some of the townsfolk were already heading to the local pub and inn. Others stopped in their tracks spotting the rare sight of a city car rolling through their old cobblestone streets. Payam's car stopped near the pier close to a small neighborhood of houses located by the beach. He took a moment to take in the fresh early morning breeze coming from the sea. Payam walked toward the houses, stopping at the first one which was closest to the pier. Stepping up to the door, he knocked three times.

"Jarred? It's me." There was a short pause as Payam took a deep breath. "Open the door. I need to talk to you."

It had been some time since Payam spoke with Jarred. He hoped the man still remembered him.

Inside the home, Auberi was preparing Kiimi's medication. His fingers worked their way through the motions as if he had done them a million times before. Once set up, he needed to wait for it to reduce down enough to be diluted. The reduction would take time, so he went to his bag and changed into some fresh clothes. He had to smooth out the skirt some as it had accumulated a few fold lines, but the blouse was still in good shape. To anyone who didn't know him, he would just look like a blond woman with flowing locks of hair almost down to their knees.

Then, he went back to check on the reduction. It was going well, but he could prep something small for breakfast in the meantime. Before he could, though, a knock at the door drew his attention. He heard a voice on the other side talking as if it knew Jarred. Suspicion arose immediately as Auberi knew Jarred was still expected to arrive back from a mission and his contacts knew that. A quick move led to his jacket being tossed on, concealing his revolver in the inner breast and his stiletto opposite the gun. He carefully opened the door and hailed the guest. "I am sorry, but Jarred is out currently. Can I please have your name and purpose of the visit? I will be glad to inform him once he is home again."

Two oil leaks... a cracked rib manifold... an air leak on the left leg... Jarred sighed. Not terrible, There were plenty of spare parts at home. Jarred had a slight limp as he walked down the street on the way back home from an 'errand' of sorts. He had caught word of a few vagrants thinking about joining together to put the outcasts in the area under their thumb. Jarred had found out by picking up on their radio signal, and met with Auberi in person to ask him to watch Kiimi for a while. That was a week ago. During that week, Jarred had done his fair share of spying and learning about this upcoming group, and when he thought it was the right time, he cleared them out. Some got a few lucky shots in, but the damage was superficial. Now all Jarred wanted was to return home and make sure Kiimi was doing well.

One could imagine how thrilled he was to notice a person standing at his door, asking for him by his real name instead of one of the many random aliases he made up over time. From the corner of Auberi's vision, he may notice the rapid movement of Jarred launching himself into the sky with his pneumatic legs. It was high enough to even jump over his small home. He had to adjust for the leak in his left leg, but it wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with before, and still landed accurately where he wanted to on both legs. The ground would shake a bit as he landed despite the pneumatic legs absorbing most the shock.and a large mechanical hand would grab the back of Payam's skull, his hand locking back against his sword bracer, the sloth through his palm to his backhand lining up perfectly to the opening for the pneumatic blade stored in his arm. He looked to Auberi, and nodded towards Kiimi's room, a sign for him to watch over her while he dealt with....whoever this was. Jarred pushed him through the doorway and into the foyer, leading him by the and on his head.

"On your knees," a metallic voice said in a low tone. The voice sounded like it came from a radio speaker. He would then kick behind the knees on Payam to force him on his knees, and then push down to make his face touch the floor. "You heard the lady, start talkin' before you get a splitting headache... Who are you, and what do you want?" The last time Payam had seen Jarred, Jarred was an old man, about the king's age, and Payam was just a small boy. Whatever was holding him down was large and obviously mechanical in nature.

---

Kiimi coughed a bit as she waited for Auberi to return. The door to her room didn't face the foyer, so she wasn't sure what the commotion was, she just knew Auberi had went to the door. She sat in her bed with her legs crossed and a book in her lap. Quietly, she called from the room. "A-Auberi? Is everything all right?"

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.

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

"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 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." There was a short pause, before the Chancellor continued. 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. 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.
"We'll provide updates as they become available, ladies and gentlemen. For now, please enjoy our scheduled programming."

"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 and 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.

Lakavia is a city situated on the banks of the Lakavia river. Well-known for its large lake and even larger aerodrome, the city-state is one of the more cosmopolitan regions of the Confederation of Rivaravia. Compared to other city-states, Lakavia was one of the largest, having a population of over 1.6 million people. The most well-known feature of the city is its large aerodrome situated on the outskirts of the city near the coast. The Lakavia Aerodrome is the largest in Rivaravia, housing several dozen airships. Alongside its large aerodrome, Lakavia became the center of airship production and maintenance in Rivaravia. For anyone wanting to hire the best airship captains or otherwise purchase their own, Lakavia was the place to go.

“I swear, if these valves don’t fit I’m going to strangle that mechanic,” a deep voice grumbled from within the chaotic nest of brass pipes.

“Hal, If they don’t fit, I might just level his shop,” Jac replied, doing his best to angle the lantern so his engineer could see what he was doing. It was rare that the Libertas’ boilers were cool enough to work on and being at dock was one of those times. Unfortunately, parts for the Amperan frigate were hard to come by this far west, the other side of the world from the shipyards that built her. It didn’t help that there was no standard for airship construction.

“I think I got it,” the engineer rumbled, his prosthetic arm hissing as he released his grip, “blow a test tank Capn, make sure it holds.”

“Got it,” Jac nodded, placing the lantern on the ground and walking over to a connection point where a young woman was already connecting a tank of pressurized gas.

“Thanks Anna,” he nodded and motioned for her to continue. She pulled a release lever and the tank hissed as gas poured into the pipe system. Pipes rumbled as they were suddenly pressurized, the entire engine shaking as though angry its rest was disturbed. A few moments later a release valve near the top of the stack blew with a high pitched whistle.

“Looks good here Cap’n,” Hal called from where he lay within the pipe works.

“Need any more help?” Jac called back.

“We’re good, should have the engine back together in an hour if you need it.”
“Alright, don’t take too much time rubbing your pipe,” the captain replied, earning a snort from within the engine. After using a rag to try and clean the oil from his hands, and likely only spreading it around more, Jac climbed the steep staircase from the engine room to the main hall of the AC-244 frigate he called home. Some of the crew was on leave still, but most had returned, exhausting their pay and eager for the next job. Metal clanked under his feet as he made his way down the hallway, pushing open the door to the small bridge.

The mooring tower dominated the view out the front of the large windows, obscured slightly by the bow sprites and fore turret. Beyond that muddy grass and other ships stretched as far as the eye could see.

“Beatrix!” Jac called over his shoulder as he pulled a small book from a shelf near the control wheel, “damnit, Beatrix! Did you find us work?”

Beatrix's quarters on Jac's frigate might not be the most luxurious and they definitely were much more... compact than the one she had in her home, but still they were indeed quite cozy. Despite his snarky personality, he was still a good guy. Surprisingly, he had agreed to Beatrix's demands of having a good place for her to stay and thus she ended up with one of the best quarters of the frigate.

Since they had stopped to change some valves and fix something in the ship that Beatrix both didn't know what nor she cared, she was simply maintaining her equipment in her room. After cleaning her armor and checking her weapon and ammo, she was leisurely brushing her hair as she listened the echoes of Jac and the engineer's voices, threatening to strangle and leveling his shop if the valve didn't fit. Having fiercely refused to help with fixing the ship, under the pretense that 'if oil spills in her hair it would take her half a day to clean it', she was mostly left to do whatever she wanted by Jac... Or at least that was what she thought, having forgotten that she had asked something of her before she went inside.

"Noisy, as usual." Beatrix said to herself, with a sigh and a hint of amusement in her voice. It was, in some ways, quite refreshing to be around people like Jac and the rest of his crew, as they were notably less... 'strict' than the people back at Legio Ater Ferris.
With a rumble that resonated through the ship, she could feel the vibrations of the engine shaking as it was turned on. A high pitched whistle indicated that whatever repair they were making was succesful, much to the mechanic's luck, which had both his neck and his shop saved. Coincidentally, she had finished maintaining her armor, which was on display on an armor stand on the corner of her room. Putting the hairbrush on top of her bed, she looked at her reflection on the mirror. Wearing a beautiful, black, gothic lolita style dress. Her hair, which was carefully braided in two pigtails gave her quite an adorable appearance.

Just as she got out to see how Jac was doing, she heard his angry voice calling her name. Calmly walking towards him, she found him with his hands completely dirty with oil, reading a small book near the control wheel.

"I did hear you the first time, you know... There's no need to shout!" she said, rolling her eyes as she walked towards him.

"Work? You mean... a contract?" Beatrix asked, raising an eyebrow as she stopped nearby Jac, confused.

"Was I supposed to?" Beatrix asked, waving her hair as she tilted her head. Her confusion was clearly not just her being bratty though, it was clear thanks to her expression and her voice that she honestly didn't remember him having asked her to do so.

Without looking up Jac pointed to a board on the back wall of the bridge which normally indicated who was on which shift. While at port he used it to delegate various jobs that needed to get done while docked. Next to Beatrix’s name Jac had written ‘find contract’ with the grease pen tied to the board. Most of the crew had similar short jobs listed.

“You didn’t check the shift board?” Jac asked, finishing marking down the repairs in the ship’s log. He closed the book, replaced the pen’s cap and returned both to their shelf.

“Well, lucky for you I’m free now,” he continued with a sigh, finally turning to face the young woman with a snarky grin on his face, “so I hope you got your shopping in, because it’s time to put your… preparations to the test.”

Nothing quite pulled interested parties like a good-looking woman which, though Jac would never admit, Beatrix was. That’s why he often gave her that job while they were between contracts. Between that and her combat skills she was a good member of the crew, though at times he had to remind himself of that.

Looking to the board that Jac pointed at, Beatrix indeed saw her name, together what what she was supposed to do written right next to it. It didn't help that she didn't have a habit of looking at the board herself.

"Oh... It is indeed there." Beatrix said, shrugging.

She was surprised to notice though that Jac didn't give her a long sermon or scolding for having forgotten her task, nor did he said anything about her wearing a dress, going as far as to even offering to go with her in search of a job. In fact, he seemed to be strangely satisfied that she was wearing nice clothes.

"I honestly thought you were about to scold me and give me a sermon." she said, with a chuckle.

"Good looks do attract stares. Lucky for you though, I'm here." Beatrix said with a smug look on his face and a chuckle.

Truth be told, the initial reason for her to wear her dress instead of her armor wasn't to attract stares and help to find a contract like she claimed to Jac, but simply because it was undeniably more comfortable than her armor and she was still a girl. She enjoyed looking pretty when she wasn't working.

“If I did chew you out again, would it help?” Jac asked with a raised eyebrow. Wiping his hands once more on his pants before grabbing his jacket from where it lay next to the wheel, he made for the door leading from the bridge to the main deck. Normally the door was closed in flight, but they tended to leave it open while the ship was moored to let some air through.

“Better to use you as bait. Just hope we find a good job or I’ll have you helping Hal clean the oil system,” Jac chuckled, in a decent mood despite the lack of work currently. Normally he was rather solemn between jobs, seemed like every other day that the bank was sending him telegrams reminding him of the money he still owed on the Libertas, but with nearly everything on board working for the first time in recent memory he figured he could enjoy the relaxation before it all went downhill again.

Turns out the feeling didn’t last long, the moment he climbed down the ladder from the ship’s deck to the ground a messenger on a bike pulled up.

“Mr. Bashford?” The man asked.

“Depends on who sent the telegram,” Jac said with only a slight groan.

“Says ‘Federal Reserve of Amperta’ sir.”

“Then no, Mr. Bashford isn’t here right now. In fact, you may have the wrong ship as there is no Jac Bashford on this ship.”

"I do like the nice Jac that doesn't scold me much more though..." Beatrix replied to Jac when he asked if it would help if he scolded her. Normally, Beatrix knew how solemn Jac was between jobs so it was a rather nice surprise to see him in such a good mood.

As she followed him outside the bridge, on the way to the main deck though, she heard quite a worrying sentence from Jac... If they didn't find a job even when using Beatrix as a bait, he would have her help Hal to clean the oil system. Something that Beatrix would definitely hate. Despite it being followed by a chuckle, Beatrix didn't doubt at all that he would really do it in case they didn't find a job.

"What?! The Oil System? Do you know how much time it would take for me to clean the oil stains from my dress and clean my hair? Almost an entire day!! I just finished brushing my hair too!" Beatrix said, clearly unsatisfied.

"Ugh... I hope we find a job..." she said with a heavy sigh as she followed him to the ladder in order to get out of the ship.

"Don't you dare to look up by the way..." she said as she got down the stairs, holding her dress near her body with her free hand.

When they got down though, much to Beatrix's dismay, a messenger on a bike pulled up asking for Mr. Bashford. While it seemed to be something quite trivial, she would learn by the short exchange of words between both man that it would completely ruin Jac's good mood for the day. While she knew Jac's general background, lots of things were still a secret for her. What the Federal Reserve of Amperta could possibly want with Jac was one of them.

"The Federal Reserve?" Beatrix repeated in a low tone.

"I can hand him the telegram if you don't mind. " she said, walking towards the messenger. The tone of her voice and how she walked made it clear that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

The messenger glanced between Jac and Beatrix for a moment before shrugging and handing over the letter before hopping back on his steamcycle and peeling away, already pulling another letter from his bag.

“Fine,” Jac snatched the letter from Beatrix before she could open it, shoving it into a jacket pocket, continuing in a grumble, “so much for being able to claim we didn’t get it. You better put that full day of brushing to use then and find us a good job.”

“Well Ma’dam,” Jac said sweeping out an arm with a mock bow for added effect to allow Beatrix to go first, “do try to avoid flirting with the creeps.”

"Yes, yes. Take that down." Said Deborah, gesturing at a pair of workers who were standing on a platform taking down several paintings from the walls of the throne room. It was one of the many paintings depicting several war heroes, kings, princes, and honored ministers of parliament. This particular painting, the largest of the bunch depicted the late King. Carefully, the workers descended down the platform carrying the painting with them.

"Where should we take it, My Lady?" Asked one of the workers, a young man of Delni origin.

"To the basement of course. Put a blanket over it or something. Just get it out of my sight." Replied the Queen, avoiding eye contact with the worker who simply nodded and along with the other worker carried the painting off the throne room.

Sighing, she walked over to the throne passing her fingers along the silver finish of the throne. She then proceeded to sit down, getting comfortable in the black phelt cushions that decorated the seat and back.

"What do you think, Lennart?" She asked, looking over to her bodyguard who was standing just a few feet away from her. "It fits me, no?"

Lennart has been observing the workers removing the assumed priceless items of the throne room. A waste it would be to see such things stored... he thought to himself as he sniffs lightly from the small amount of dust being dispersed from the untouched regions of the throne room, however small. He’s been tasked by his natural King to protect the Queen and so he shall.

He responds lightly to his Queen, ”Quite, your highness. It’s regalcy and charm suite you greatly.”

"Of course, I-" Before she could finish hee thought, the great doors at the end of the room opened. Entering the room was the Supreme Commander of the Leinsteiner Armed Forces Balthasar von Horgen. The general was middle aged, of tall stature and a medium build. He wore his formal uniform, carrying his cap under his arm. His face was covered in scars along with a pair of small screws at either side of his forehead. The most prominent feature were his extensive cybernetics. A pair of metallic looking tubes extended from a small tank attached to his belt upwards toward his nose, providing him with oxygen. Every step he took echoed along the mostly empty hall.

Walking alongside him was Harold Foltz, a younger man in his early 30's wearing the crimson colors of the Royal Guard. Foltz was an acquaintance of Pirhonen's. They had met through their shared duty of protecting the Queen. While Pirhonen was tasked with protecting the Queen, Foltz was the Captain of the Royal Guard tasked with protecting the royal family as a whole. Every now and then, the two would share a drink at the barracks or simply make small talk on their rare breaks.

"Your Highness." Balthasar said as he approached the throne, giving the Queen a bow along with Foltz who did the same. "The problematic Parliamentarians have been dispatched. I've ensured that all them will vote to hand the crown over to you."
"Good." She replied, laying back on the throne and placing her arms on the arms rests. "What about Valkner?"

"Nothing yet. So far, he has refused to sign the confession." As Balthasar spoke about the Prince, his forehead became stressed, then he grabbed his cap and firmly gripped it between his hands in front of him.

"He's a child. How hard can it be to beat a confession out of him!?" She shouted, pointing at the General. "You are the best this nation had to offer yet it you are bested by some kid." Glaring at Foltz, she continued scolding Horgen. "Tell your men to work over-time. I want a confession by the end of tomorrow. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Highness. If I may, Madam?"

"Yes?"

Horgen glanced at Pirhonen before continuing. "Perhaps we should transport him to the Mountain Peak. Our best agents work at the facility. They will be able to extract a confession sooner than the men at the City Prison."

"Go ahead. But I need a confession as soon as possible." She sighed, standing up from her throne. "Dismissed, General."

Bowing, he spun around and walked out of the room. The Queen did the same, going ahead through a side door. When Lennart went to follow her, she raised her hand. "I have private business to attend to. You are dismissed until I call for you." Before he could answer, she opened the side door and slammed it behind her. Slowly, he heard her ascend up a spiral staircase that was behind the door, her steps becoming more faint as she walked away.
Foltz walked over to Pirhonnen, stretching his arm out for a handshake.
"How have you been?" He asked.

Pirhonen watched the transmission carefully, glancing back at Horgen after he had glanced at Pirhonen, then to Foltz, smirking a little. He silently resented such backhanded measure to ensure a crown, but what must be done must be done, he supposes.

When his charge leaves, he only has time to open his mouth for a goodbye before she is gone. Foltz walks up to him,

Lennart smiles lightly, firmly shaking Foltz’s hand, ”I’ve been good, Captain. Standing here next to the Queen has been an exhilarating experience for me, I don’t think anything could top it.” Pirhonen chuckles lightly, ”Sorry, her highness has been removing paintings and various other things to storage, a waste if you ask me. Those works of art would be perfect inside a museum.”

Foltz looked around, and gestured for Pirhonnen to follow him. "Let's take a walk outside. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Pirhonen nods, running his hand through his short brown hair, his helmet was hanging off the back of his body armor via a neck strap but the uniform jacket was padding the burgonet from clanking around. He slings his semi-automatic rifle around his shoulders as it was originally sitting stock to ground facing up in resting position. ”Yes, sir.” Pirhonen nods and is ready to follow.

Foltz leads him into the palace gardens, with a great view of the sea beyond. He was silent for a moment, staring out into the distance. Then, he continued walking stopping by a marble railing that separated the beach from the palace.

"What do you know about the King's death?"

Pirhonen cocked an eye, wondering why Foltz brought it up, ”Well, he was...murdered, wasn’t he?”

"What do you think?" He asked, still staring into the endless sea beyond. Standing there, Foltz gripped the railing with both of his hands, leaning into it.

Pirhonen tried to read Foltz as he leans into the railing, it seemed such a question was hanging on Foltz mind, ”Well, it’s a shame the King has died, but he had been gone from prying eyes for quite some time...I was able to see him during this time. He seemed down with a cold or a fever or something...Valkner also doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to murder his father...but that’s been proven wrong before...what about you, Captain?”

There was a moment of silence, then Foltz turned his head to look at Pirhonnen. "The Prince is being framed." He said, sounding as if that was a weight off his shoulders.

Lennart blinks a couple times processing what the Captain had just said, ”He’s being framed?” Lennart steps a little closer to Foltz, speaking his sentence in a hushed tone. ”By who?”

"I don't know. Too many people are benefitting from his death. The General, von Horgen, the Chancellor, and the Queen. But I know the Prince. I know it wasn't him." He sighed, fiddling with his wedding ring on his left hand. "The Queen wants him to sign a confession. She won't allow me to open a proper investigation. I didn't even have enough time to look over the body. This whole thing reeks, but I can't tell who's behind it."

”I see.,” Lennart says before leaning on the railing too, ”Well how is the General benefiting?”

"The King wanted to shrink the Armed Forces. The General is a veteran of the war and has always believed that the War should have gone on for longer. I've heard from his aides that he has always despised His Majesty." There was no hesitation in Holtz' voice. "Not to mention, he blamed him for his daughter turning on him."

”Hmph. So they all have motive. I assume the Queen barring your investigation is what tipped you off something might be up?”

"Yes." He replied, fidling with his wedding ring again. "There's something wrong with all this. And I want to get to the bottom of it. The people deserve it and the Prince deserves it."

”Of course,” Lennart says, pushing off the railing lightly, cracking his own neck, ”My orders are, however, to protect the Queen but she did dismiss me. I’m not going to lie, Captain, this is piquing my interest as well. What do you have in mind?” As he finishes, Pirhonen opens a side pocket in his uniform jacket, splitting the red jacket pocket and then opening a second pocket. He pulls out a small rectangular block with a rotating lid. Inside he pulls out what looks like a cigarette, then packs it down into a second compartment in the wooden block. He pulls it back up, takes a lighter from his pants pocket, and lights the pipe. He blows some vapor from his mouth when he exhales.

"I trust you. But you are also close the Queen. If she lets anything slip, I need you to let me know. As for the Chancellor and the General, I'll take care of those. For now, whatever we do, we have to keep everything under wraps. Otherwise, we might as well join the Sultanate."

Before he could continue on, Pirhonnen and Foltz heard a familiar voice call out to Lennart

"Pirhonnen!" Shouted General Von Horgen, who was standing several feet away. "I've a job for you."

Foltz lightly patted his back. "Be careful. I'll contact you again soon." He said, before walking away.

"Pirhonnen! I haven't got all day!" Shouted the General, sounding impatient.

Pirhonen nods as Foltz speaks, finishing off the pipe, he blows through it and ash comes out the front. He aims it at a spot of grass or sand—whichever is closer. He puts the whole apparatus up as Horgen calls out to him.

”Yes, sir.” Pirhonen says as Foltz walks away. He quickly turns on his heels and lightly jogs up to the General.

”Yes, sir?”

"Pack up travel supplies. You're coming with me to Mountain Peak." He said, crossing his arms as he spoke.

Pirhonen salutes the General, ”Yes, sir. I’ll grab my gear.” He makes note of the General’s current demeanor and body language, probably nothing out of the ordinary for the General’s disposition. I’ have plenty of time to possibly prod the General on the way up... he thinks to himself. He waits to be dismissed.

"Meet me at Sahberg Station." Seeing Pirhonnen stand there made the General's snow white eyebrows furrow. "What are you waiting for? Get going!"
Sahberg station was one of the military train stations located outside the city. Most likely, the General wanted Pirhonnen to accompany the Prince to Mountain Peak.

Pirhonen salutes once again before leaving really only wanting that last piece of info on where to go. He returns to the barracks and kits himself back out for the trip, packing his supplies in his backpack or on his person. He rips a small piece of paper out of a drawing notebook of his and writes: ”P accompany Gen, Sahberg to MP, suspecting royal charge” He folds the paper a few times and writes, “Foltz” on the front. It’s a risk but worth it. He finds the Captain’s bunk/room and puts the note under his pillow or if the Captain has a room, slips it under the door into the room. He then quickly makes his way to the station, smoking another pipe load on the way over. He checks his rifle and his service pistol also. He tests his helmet which was of burgonet design: the helmet was capable of being hermetically sealed like a gas mask because the front folding part was actually a mask as well. He arrives at the station approximately 15 minutes early.

Unlike other times, the station was completely empty. No guards, no soldiers, nothing. The only thing present at the station was Pirhonnen and the train which seemed empty as well. Perhaps Foltz was right. All this seemed highly irregular.

Pirhonen did think it rather odd. He eyed up and down the train and around the yard. If it weren’t for daytime, the station would probably be dead silent. He walks up to the train and tries to enter it.

Every single door Pirhonnen tried to open were either locked or simply wouldn't budge. As he tried the doors he heard a door open on the far side of the platform. Leading a group of soldiers was the General himself. He was flanked by two members of his infamous Blackguard, behind them were a squad of what appeared to be Tal-Karan soldiers. In the center of the squad, being held by his arms was the Prince, who had his hands bound by handcuffs and his eyes bound and mouth gagged. It was odd seeing Valkner without opulent clothes, instead he was wearing a simple old white shirt and trousers both of which were stained with dried blood. The Prince himself looked worse for wear as the group approached Pirhonnen. Now that he was closer, he spotted fresh bruises and cuts on his face and forearm. Not to mention, he was thinner than usual.

"Good. You're here early." Said Horgen, as he gestured for the Tal-Karans to take the Prince into one of the train cars. The Blackguards opened the car with a key and dissapeared as they went inside the prisoner transport car.
"Listen to me carefully. You are going to get in that car with Valkner and you will not let him out of your sight until you reach Mountain Peak. Once you arrive, hand him over to the Warden and return. Any questions?"

As they spoke, more Tal-Karan soldiers arrived, boarding the passenger cars behind the prisoner transport car which was at the very front of the relatively short train.

”Yes, sir if you don’t mind. Why are there so many Tal-Karan soldiers here? I’d expect our men to be escorting the Prince.”
Pirhonen makes note of how many Tal-Karans there are getting on the train. This could be an interesting opportunity...
The only thing that bothers him is that he may not have brought enough bullets for said opportunity.

"The Queen hired them. I hate the idea as much as you do. Nothing either of us can do about it. Anything else?"
He seemed irritated with the question. But his demeanor barely changed.

”No sir, Thank you.” He saluted to the General before turning and heading onto the train. He boards the prisoner train, taking in his surroundings. He pulls that same dugout from his pocket and begins packing the pipe again.

The prisoner car was fairly spacious. It had a small cabin on one side with a bed, and a small desk. Then, on the far side at the very end there was a cage door with metal bars. The walls were lined with loops to tie prisoners with sitting down. Lennart saw as the Tal-Karans practically dragged the Prince inside, attsching his cuffs to one of the metal loops, forcing his arms above his head. Before leaving, one of the soldiers kicked Valkner in the stomach making him groan and cough as the Tal-Karans laughed. Turning around, they closed the gate, locking it with a key. Then, one of the Tal-Karans handed the key over to Lennart.

"Sei ga'hda, Leinsteiner." He said as he tossed the keys toward Lennart walking to the adjacent passenger car.

Lennart catches the keys, holding them to his chest as he watches the Tal-Karans leave. He waits a few moments after they leave before moving. He looks around the car, taking a hit off his pipe. He walks up to the bars and taps on them to try to get the Prince’s attention.

It takes him a moment or two to raise his head up toward the noise, but he does. He mumbles something over his gag, but it's so faint Lennart can't understand it.

”Prince? I will speak quickly,” He gives a quick bow to the Prince out of respect then continues quietly, ”I know you are being framed for your father’s murder. A friend of mine is working to find out who’s plan it was to frame you. When we start moving I’ll drop your binds but in case the Tel-Karans get smart I have to leave you in the cell while I work out what needs to be done...so please, stay strong your highness.”

Lennart couldn't see it, but the otherwise dead sunken eyes of the Prince lit up with just a bit of hope under the blindfold. He nodded weakly in response.

One of the Tal-Karans peeked inside the car, whistling to get Lennarts attention.

"Oi! Ger bai, Leinsteiner." He said, gesturing at the car in front.

Lennart turns quickly his pipe still in his mouth. He pulls on the pipe as he walks forward, nodding. He blows the ash out into a trash bin and moves to the front car. If need be, of course, he has clearance to remain in the prisoner car—maybe even keep the Tel-Karans from coming in.

The Tal-Karan closed the door, locking it from the outside. He then entered the passenger car. It was more open and decorated than the prisoner car and was filled with Tal-Karan soldiers. There were at least 15 of them in here. Lennart walked all the way to the end of the car, spotting an older Tal-Karan with a green headscarf.

"You Leinsteiner? One with Prince?" He asked as the train began to move.

”Yes, I am. And you?” Pirhonen disliked Tal-Karans as much as the next guy but put up a front for them. The train started shuffling around as he began talking to the man so he moved to sit down but realized he still had his pack and his rifle. He took a seat for the time being and slung his pack on the ground, he sat his rifle on the ground facing up like normal. It was loaded, of course. 20 rounds. He began packing another round in his pipe as the men may continue talking.

"Me. I'm Vanu. These. My men." He said, taking a puff from his own pipe. "You too tense, Leinsteiner. This job easy. You and I. Friends?" The man smiled, clearly seeming to be under the influence of some kind of narcotic.

Lennart smirks, shrugging his shoulders to loosen the tension, he offers his cigarette pipe to the man, ”Friends.” Lennart figures some brownie points with the Tal-Karans might go a long way for whatever lies ahead.

After about four hours on the road, Payam, Katheryan, Kiimi, Jarred and Auberi finally reached Lakavia. Entering the city proper, the car headed toward the Aerodrome. After some time in traffic, they reached a parking lot adjacent to the Aerodrome.

"Kath?" Payam turned to look at Katheryne. "Take my car and go back to the capital."

She looked at him and then briefly glance back toward Jarred, Kiimi and Auberi. "What about you guys?"

"We'll be fine. I'll contact you once we make it there."

Kath sighed, begrudgingly agreeing. "Fine."

Jarred sar on top of the back trunk, watching for anything behind them the entire trip. His legs were crossed with one elbow resting on his knee and the other arm holding into the large antimaterial rifle that rested on his shoulder. When they parked, Jarred hopped off and 'streatched his gears' as he put it. He watched Payam's exchange with the girl. He decided to wait on questioning him about it, for whem they had time to sit and plan, till then, they needed an airship. "When your ready Payam, we need to secure a ship. The faster the better."

He walked to the car and leaned to the windownto Auberi and Kiimi. Kiimi was asleep with her head resting on Auberi's shoulder, her breathing had returned to normal and seemed fine now.

“I’m not saying those six inch guns don’t come in handy,” Jac said as he and Beatrix walked across the aerodrome, pointing at another ship at a mooring tower, “but who really needs that much firepower? The bigger guns just weigh you down, I’d rather outrun anything our seven pounders can’t handle.

“Besides, have you seen how much those guns cost? Frankly I’m happy we got to keep four of those .55-inch AA gun mounts… though the cost of ammo when we use them is painful,” Jac finished with a grumble, the crinkling of the letter in his pocket reminding him of exactly how much he owed still. He was certain it was magic how the bank continued to locate him every time they made port and sent him a ‘payment due’ reminder. With any luck they’d have a contract and be on the move before the bank got impatient, he was mostly caught up on payments, which is why he’d been able to afford many of the repairs. But he always tried to be vague about how much exactly they owed, last thing he needed was his crew deserting because they thought their next payment would be sucked up by the bank.

“Anyways,” Jac said as they approached the edge of the Aerodrome field, “where do you want to start? Local bar? Harbormasters? Or just side of the street in that dress?”

"We could try searching the bar too if you acted like you were with me in order to avoid any harassment and me breaking someone's nose... But you are still covered in oil and grease! I'm definitely not letting you touch me like this. Hmpf!" Beatrix said, looking to Jac and making sure he wouldn't get her hair or dress dirty.

"That said, It shouldn't be that hard... I suppose anyone looking for a ship, assuming they don't have a specific one in mind or any contacts, will probably try going to the harbormaster's office for some information. On our way there if we see anyone who definitely doesn't look like they belong here, much like myself, the chances they might be searching for a ship are quite good." Beatrix completed, with a smug smile as if her logic was simply perfect.

Almost as if Beatrix was foreseeing the future with her words, as soon as she finished saying that and quickly scanned the surroundings, a very... interesting figure called her attention.

"See? I am always right." Beatrix said to Jac, smugly as she pointed towards a tall, strange man carrying an impossibly big anti-material rifle and covered in metal. Definitely not something you would see everyday. The man in question had just gotten out of a car and was leaning on the window, talking to someone inside.

"We should wait a little bit before talking to him... Or else we're just going to look like weirdos, interrupting him out of nowhere and asking if he is looking for a ship." Beatrix finished, looking to Jac and awaiting his decision.

“I’m not that bad,” Jac grumbled looking down at his hands, he’d gotten most of it off earlier. If she’d mentioned it earlier, he could have cleaned up more. Though he really didn’t have any clothing as fancy as her dress.

Looking up as Beatrix pointed out the metal man with a big gun, “they look like trouble… trouble means big risk… and big rewards. But I don’t see how someone with that big a weapon just hanging around wouldn’t already have a ship lined up.”

Kiimi started to wake up, hearing Jarred's voice talk to Payam. She leaned up to see where they were and was instantly fascinated by the industrial town. She had never seen airships before, and now there were so many! She got out a bit excitedly to see them fly in and out of port, trying to keep herself calm all the while, but she couldn't hold back the smile. "Papa, they are all so amazing! Are we really going to fly on one?"

Content with Kiimi's apparent health, he nodded, placing his free hand on his hip. "Yep, we sure are, but it won't be a pleasure cruise. Once we get in the air and out of here, I will have to explain to everyone what is going on. I see all that gas has worked its way out of your system, are you feeling better?"

Kiimi nodded, "I am feeling great, the air here is already better than back at home, I wonder how it is in the countryside here." She said with a smile before looking around. Her smile seemed to quickly fade however as she saw the people. Many moving past where they were stared at them. Jarred was quite noticeable, but her... when they went from Jareed to her, their faces turned from surprise to mixes of panic and disgust, some going so far as to hasten their pace and cover their mouths with a handkerchief. Some even had hateful glares, wondering how any outcast would dare come into town and spread their filth. Kiimi quickly felt uncomfortable in and looked down. "M-may I...have my mask please..."
Jarred sighed, if he could give these people an evil eye he would. He got out her mask and overwear that she would normally wear out in public to cover herself. "No problem, little one, here you go...," he said as he reached to her bag of stuff that he prepared for her and handed her the gear. She solemnly put it on, mask and all, and stood close to Jarred. Jarred placed a hand on her shoulder. "Oi, you see that ship right there?"

"Mhmm," she quietly replied, slowly looking up to it.

"Its an AC-244," he said pointing up to it in the docks, "a light scouting vessel. It should be perfect for what we need. How would you like to ride on one of the fastest models of ships around, eh?"

Kiimi seemed to shift around a bit exitedly as she looked up to it. "I-I think it will be fun, to stand at the front and just feel the wind...I would like that a lot."

"Then it's decided! Now we just have to run up there and see if we can catch the captain," Jarred said.

Auberi had kept still as a statue to prevent waking Kiimi. For some reason, she always seemed to spend her sleeping time on his shoulder or with her head on his lap. He didn't mind. The company was quite nice. He simply stayed patiently still, legs crossed and one arm wrapped securely around her torso.

Arriving in town, Jarred started to chat with Payam, causing Kiimi to wake up. Auberi took the opportunity to slip out of the car adn stretch his legs. He smoothed out his skirt and blouse before checking his braid, making sure it still looked nice. He then looked back at the two. "Yes, well, we should be prepared to stick out. We all look odd for an aerodome. I imagine the captain may already know about our presence."

His eyes scanned every person nearby, eventually locking onto Beatrix. She was almost even odder looking than they were. She was by a grease monkey of a man, so it was likely she knew the man somehow, but her attention to detail and fashion was similar to Auberi's so she was well heeled and probably pedigreed.

"Not that bad for someone who just crawled out of a frigate's engines, yes... But for everyone else? Yes, it is pretty bad." Beatrix replied to Jac, with a discreet, cute laugh.

It took a short while until the metal man finished speaking with whoever was inside the car. A moment later, a woman came out of the car accompanied by an adorable little girl, who seemed to be just ecstatic by seeing so many ships together. It was quite apparent though that the girl was an outcast, not only to Jac and Beatrix, but to most other folk as well, who immediately started to show obvious discomfort and even disgust, making the smile that was on that poor girl's face quickly go away as she asked for a mask. It was a shame really, but there was nothing Beatrix could do. Even though it was already proved that the illness was simply contamination by the chemicals and not a contagious disease, most of the outcasts were still treated extremely poorly.

"Hm~ You were right... He already has a ship in mind. Apparently, it's ours!" Beatrix said, raising an eyebrow to Jac, in a clear 'I told you I was right, didn't you' expression.

Despite having looked to the ship that was pretty much behind them, the metal man didn't seem to notice them, much to Beatrix's surprise, since it was really easy to spot her in the aerodrome. Surprisingly enough, the one who noticed her was the woman instead, making eye contact with her and Jac.

With a cute wave of her hand and an adorable smile towards the strange group, Beatrix turned to Jac before she started walking towards them.

"Come on, don't get left behind. They're definitely searching for someone... And I do have a small suspicion that this someone might be you." Beatrix said as she started walking towards the group.

“Just be careful,” Jac said stepping quickly to catch up to Beatrix, “more than a little nervous meeting with someone that well armed.”

He said the last while nodding towards the man carrying a frighteningly large rifle. While Jac had been Navy and not Army he knew an anti-material gun when he saw it. While the Libertas was lightly armored for an airship the main hull was likely able to repel shots from that weapon, however the balloon, windows and like couldn’t.

“Please tell me you at least have some weapon on you,” Jac added glancing her up and down out of the side of one eye. While he didn’t have his sword with him, being a bit too obvious for walking through town, his revolver was in a hip holster that blended in well with his leather jacket. Discreet enough to avoid sticking out, but still visible to make anyone looking for a fight think twice.

“Hail!” Jac called out as they got closer to the odd group, fixing a friendly smile on his face and waving one hand to the group, “if I might ask, what is your interest in yon frigate?”

Auberi was the first to react to the two approaching. He stepped forward and gave a nice smile. "Well, we are looking to hire a fast ship for a bit of a surprise party on some friends of ours. It involves a lot of lively dancing and a few people going home afterwards." His joking and veiled description of an assault rescue mission was effective, but it was far from his true intention.

Rather than spout out a plan loudly, he instead stepped up close to Jac, though visibly making sure not to be close enough to get any grease on him. "True talk is a rescue mission with high risks and a life or death situation that will determine the course of history. So, you and the beautiful noblelady in, or are you a bit too skittish for a bit of a fight?"

Payam stepped up, adjusting the duffle bag over his shoulder.
"We are willing to pay four times your usual fee." He said, giving a nod to Auberi.

"Weapons? Of course no! It would be rather rude to approach a possible client wielding a weapon, wouldn't it?" Beatrix said with a wink and a mischievous smile to Jac as she approached the group together with him.

Jac was the first one to speak, as in the Libertas' captain and the one who basically would either accept or reject a possible contract. Despite his dirty clothes and all the oil stains, he was still the captain, after all.
Replying to his greeting the woman was straight to the point. They were looking for a fast ship for what appeared to be some type of assault rescue mission, judging by the veiled description she gave.

The woman's description of said mission though did spark Beatrix's interest... A high risk, rescue mission that could determine the course of history... Just as Jac had said previously, such an... unusual group meant high risk and equally high rewards. She didn't know whether the woman was exaggerating or the mission really had such high stakes. Nonetheless, it would be interesting.

Beatrix couldn't help noticing though that despite the woman having stepped closer to Jac to tell him the plan, she was careful enough to not get any grease or oil on her.

"Not that bad, right?" Beatrix whispered to Jac, repeating his previous words with a mischievous smirk and a giggle.

"Beatrix Corvus. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Beatrix said, with an elegant, ladylike curtsy and a mischievous smile. She wondered if they knew who she was due to her surname. Even if they didn't, it would only make the surprise even better later.

"And you are?" She continued, looking to the group and expecting an introduction.

Two Ampertans. If that is what it took to get the Prince back, then so be it. Personally, Payam never trusted Ampertans. They were renowned mercenaries, and were quick to betray their Cordorian masters at the first sign of trouble. They could talk all they wanted about democracy, but it wouldn't do anything for their reputation.

"I'm Hassan. Nice to meet you both." Said Payam with a friendly smile, giving out an alias he has used previously. While the others could risk using their real names, he couldn't. For the two Ampertans, Payam looked like typical Delni. Tan skin, jet black hair, and brown eyes. He was unusually tall however.

Jarred set the stock of the weapon on the ground as he watched Auberi negotiate a contract. Odds were, Auberi would be better at this than he was when it came to striking a deal. He would have raised an eyebrow at Payam if he could, as he used a made up name. He nodded to the two Ampertans, "My name is Jarred," he said as he introduced himself, "and this is my daughter, Kiimi." He said holding his arm you her as she took a step forward.

She gave a small bow wit her hands clasped in front of her, her features now hidden behind a hood and mask. "I-its a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the muffled voice said.

"If we can manage it, time is of the essence. The sooner we can take of the better. If you accept, I will give you the explicit details of the contract in the air, and a better introduction than just first names and aliases," he said looking to to Payam. "Anyone involved in this mission deserves full disclosure once they are in." He then turned back to Jac, "But I would be vary wary about betraying my trust," he said directly to the captain. "That being said, the pay previously offered will be a down payment, however the completion pay will be enough to spoil even your crew's grandchildren....What say you?"

“Ground Rescue and air escape? That’s a tall order for any crew,” Jac said, leaning back and trying to keep up the act of not being the captain until he knew what these people want. Beatrix almost ruined it, but no one seemed to recognize her name. What did break his act was the amount being offered by this Jarred, enough to handle the crew’s grandchildren? Either this man had no idea how much a ship costs or he was really desperate. Judging by his equipment, the massive rifle clearly visible over his shoulder, he at least seemed to know what he was talking about. Either that or he was a well equipped and funded idiot. While Jaco wasn’t one to turn down money, the offer seemed almost… too good, his skepticism kicking in hard.

“I’m hesitant to agree to a contract without knowing the details,” replied Jac slowly, any pretense of him being just a crew gone, “and I’d need proof of your ability to pay. Trust goes both ways, and anyone offering that much money is either desperate or trying to scam me. I’m sure you understand, I’ve got to look out for my crew.

“As for your… requirements, the Libertas is the fastest civilian ship in the sky, ignoring small racing yachts,” Jac admitted, nodding to an example of such. Compared to his own ship the yacht was tiny, being effectively an engine with a balloon and as small of a crew section as possible, with no weapons or armament, “Beatrix handles the ground side operations, you’d have to talk with her about that.

“Assuming you are on the level, I’m Jaco Bashford,” the Ampertan man said with a slight bow of his head, “Captain of the Libertas.”

"Then let me clear the waters a bit by saying this.," he opened is jacket, revealing his robotic torso, as he opened a compartment at his side, close to where a liver would have been. from it he pulled a sack out, full of the precious gems and tossed it to the captain. Jarred was sure he could chase him down if needed. "Open it, see for yourself. Take two gems for your down payment to prep you and your crew among whatever else you need, the rest is what you earn should you complete this mission. I trust you will distribute it fairly. Jarred stepped close and lowered his voice, holding out his mechanical hand to the man. "Allow me to formally introduce at least myself before the others... I am Jarred Greaves, Previous Captain of His Majesty Havkar's Royal Guard and bodyguard to one of the remaining heirs to the throne. I am requesting your service in fulfilling my duties given to me by the late king." He stepped back a bit, his 'gaze' unwavering even for a moment as he spoke up. "Are you with me?"

Beatrix politely nodded as the rest, or at least some of them introduced themselves. She noticed though that unlike the metal man, Jarred and his daughter, Kiimi, who was quite obviously an Outcast, the two who seemed to be more 'normal' amongst the group were the woman and the pretty boy called Hassan.

Jarred didn't seem to be that polite on the greeting though. Clearly stating that they would only give them a better introduction only when or if they accepted the job, he went to great distance in order to try to verify how trustworthy Jac and Beatrix were, even resorting to a veiled threat in case they betrayed him. While outside Beatrix was merely listening with the same adorable expression she had when she presented herself, inside she couldn't help but only become even more suspicious about the man. He seemed to be too... desperate maybe? The payment was also rather suspicious. It was almost too good of an offer to believe. Before she could say anything about that though, Jac seemed to have the same thoughts as Beatrix had, revealed by his next words.

"I believe I have already introduced myself." Beatrix said, waving towards Jarred, after Jac finished talking, introduced himself as the captain and mentioned her name, as the one who would handle the ground side operations.

What Jarred showed them next made Beatrix raise an eyebrow, looking at the man. Opening his jacket and revealing a full robotic torso, he pulled a sack out of it, filled to the brim with precious gems of the highest quality. The type of gems that would be really difficult to both find and sell. As he introduced himself better, the possible origins of said gems became a bit more clearer. The man was the previous captain of Havkar's Royal Guard, and bodyguard to one of the remaining heirs to the throne. The entire situation was really strange to Beatrix. If he had such a position, why were he resorting to mercenaries instead of using what the royal army had to offer? Not only that but he was both talking and acting like a fugitive, given the urgency on his voice and being extremely careful with information about his group.

Once again voicing her own thoughts, Jac proceeded to note almost the same exact things she was thinking, but despite that, he still seemed to accept the contract, asking her to take them back to the ship and get it ready to depart.

"As long as I don't need to touch any grease or oil, I can certainly do it." Beatrix said, nodding towards Jac before he walked away to the port facilities.

"Feel free to call me just Beatrix." she said, in a polite tone and posture, looking to the group until her eyes stopped on Kiimi, for whom she gave a smile, waving her hands and tilting her head in a rather cute way before she resumed talking with Jarred and the others.

"There are still a few things to be done before we leave, but it shouldn't take long. Until then you can take a look inside the ship and get yourselves comfortable. Should we go then?" Beatrix said as she started leading the way to the ship.

The second she turned away though, she couldn't help but let out a very discreet and almost imperceptible, smirk. That entire situation... Only two possible alternatives came up to her mind. They were either preparing themselves to try and stop a coup d'etat or... perform one...

"I wonder if our dear Captain thought about all this before accepting the contract or if he was blinded by the amount of money offered..." she thought to herself. Either way, what the woman had said to them before wasn't wrong. If they were doing what Beatrix thought they were doing, they would undeniably affect the course of history…

As they approached the entrance to the Aerodrome building Beatrix, who was leading the group spotted a small squad of what she figured were Tal-Karans. The headscarfs, dyed in a blood red along with the marked armor gave them away almost immediately. Unlucky for her new employers, one of them decided to glance at them. For a moment, the man stared at the group and then narrowed his eyes. Tapping one of his squadmates on the shoulder they all turned around.

"Habak tük! Leinsteiner bęl!" One of them yelled, drawing a pistol from his belt and opening fire as the rest of the squad scattered running for cover. The people standing around the building ran for their lives while some drew their own guns on the Tal-Karans.

Payam only had a split second to react, grabbing Beatrix who was nearly struck by one of the shots toward cover. Both of them fell to the ground behind a concrete pillar.

"Didn't think they'd follow us all the way here." Payam murmured, loading his repeater rifle.

Auberi had disappeared into a nearby crowd as introductions were made. To anyone outside of Jarred and Kiimi, it would seem odd. To the other two, that was a normal Auberi thing to do when something important caught his attention. The thing that got him into guerilla mode was a highly suspicious man attempting to watch them in plain clothes. The trap slipped behind him and silently pickpocketed him, finding a Tal-Karan medallion. The next thing in the man's pocket was a stiletto between the ribs to silence him.

Then, shooting started. Auberi used the panicked crowd to his advantage and ducked through them, coming out behind cover on the left flank of the firing Tal-Karan. He drew his revolver and took aim, firing at the throat of what seemed to be the most decorated of the group.

Beatrix had just enough time to notice that there was something wrong as she saw the squad of Tal-Karans when they opened fire after yelling something about Leinsteiners. Having avoided a shot thanks to that Hassan boy, who grabbed Beatrix and pushed her down and using a concrete wall as a cover.

Even before Beatrix said anything, the terrifying death stare she gave to both Hassan and the rest of the group was enough to send a shiver run down their spines.

"My DRESS! Look what you just DID! It will take me a good while to clean it now. Also..." Beatrix said, almost shouting at Hassan with a terrifying stare.

"You were being CHASED by Tal-Karans and said NOTHING?!" she said, looking to the rest of the group. Her anger was clear to everyone there.

Despite how she was feeling, her scolding could wait until they were safe. Scanning her surroundings, she noticed that they weren't really that far from the Libertas. If they could find anything to cause a distraction, they could run back to the ship…

"Since I wasn't expecting being SHOT at, I left my weapon and all my equipment back on the ship. I even came all dressed up!" Beatrix said, complaining.

"I swear... If I see a single hole or tear on this dress when we're finished with this..." she continued, in a clear threat not only to Hassan, but to Jarred as well.

"I need a gun. Quickly. The Libertas isn't that far away. We can use the pillars as covers to make our way to the ship. Some type of distraction would be good too." Beatrix finished as she scanned her surroundings. With experienced eyes, she quickly tried to formulate the safest path, by using any type of cover possible for them to reach the ship while searching for anything that could be used as a distraction.

At that moment, the party noticed that Beatrix had completely changed, going from a slightly bratty, noble princess to someone who knew very well what she was doing in a battlefield or in any conflict situation.

"Jarred, you are the one carrying the biggest gun around, I suppose you wouldn't happen to be carrying some smoke grenades somewhere with you, would you?" Beatrix asked.

Payam reached into his coat, giving her a pistol. Unlike the revolvers she had seen before, this one had a particular design that included some kind of slider along with magazines. It was ornately decorated with swirling Delni designs made in gold.

"Here." He gestured at the slider part with his hand. "Just pull that back when you change magazines." A bullet whized past as Payam spoke, making him flinch slightly as concrete dust flew by.

"I thought we had killed these bastards back in Mohburg!" Jarred shouted as he used his body to shield Kiimi, round deflecting off of his body. He picked up the girl in a bear hug and jumped into cover setting her down next to Payam and Beatrix. "No smokes, but we won't need them...I'll be back," he said in a fairly irritated tone. This time, when he jumped, the concreate ground cracked and broke underneath him as he launched forward, putting his one-hundred and nine pound rifle on his left shoulder. He jumped right into the middle of the Tal Karans, grabbing on by the head much like he did Payam if he was watching. He used the man as a bullet sponge for a split second before a blade went through his skull, ending his suffering quickly. He dropped the heavy rifle and threw the body to the ground as the blade retracted. His right hamd dropped to his holstered shotgun, but while he was reaching, he heldnout his left hand, which the finger strightened perfectly before a five round salvo of 9mm slammed into another mercenary. It was smooth and percise, a merc ran up behind Jarred, and aimed perfectly without turning around Jarred fired two shells of buckshot taking out another two men. As for the remaining men, he drew a .45 from his right armpit and gunned down any stragglers trying to run, hostering his shotgun and cutting down any man foolish enough to still charge him.

Meanwhile Kimmi was curled up in a ball next to Beatrix and Payam too scared to move, her hands over her head. Soom, the gunfire from the Tal Karans where Jarred would become eerily silent.

Payam nodded, taking position by the front door as Beatrix led the group away toward the Libertas. Outside, he heard two vehicles pull up. Storming through the door, another squad of Tal-Karan mercenaries pushed into into the building. One by one, Payam shot each of them with his repeater, hitting the first inside in the stomach and the second one near the neck. Another two charged inside, wielding shields and machine guns forcing Payam to retreat behind a nearby counter. As bullets flew by his head, he reached into his duffle bag for a magazine to reload his rifle. As he did, he heard the distinct clink of a grenade hit the desk he was hiding behind. By the time he heard it the grenade exploded sending shrapnel and debris everywhere.

The explosion made Payam fly against a nearby wall, crashing against it and falling to the floor. At that moment, Payam laid on the floor, confused as to what had happened. Everything around him was spinning and he couldn't hear anything but a high pitched ringing in his ears. He tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond.

The bridge of the Libertas was normally quiet while the ship was at port, only a few people passing through as they went about their business. By the time Jac came storming in a handful of crew had gathered around the radio to try and figure out what was going on outside.

After hearing the gun fire Jac had doubled back to the Aerodrome, not wanting to be far from his ship if a fight was breaking out. Upon spotting a group of foreign mercenaries firing upon several figures, one of which was clearly wearing a gothic style dress, several connections were made in his mind quite quickly. He instantly recognized Beatrix, he didn’t know anyone else who dressed like that. While he wasn’t as confident about the others, catching only fleeting glimpses he figured it was the group they’d spoken with. As more vehicles pulled up to the terminal with additional heavily armed figures disembarking the story told by Jarred became quite a bit more believable.

In either case he couldn’t well leave one of his crew to die, so he quickly made up his mind. Forgetting about getting the gems appraised he raced towards a side entrance for the Aerodrome. His barreling through ‘employee only’ sections was ignored since whatever employees that may have been present had either fled or hid when the shooting started. And, in short order, he made it to his ship.

“Hal, is the engine together?” Jac barked at the engineer who had joined the crew to listen to the radio.

“Mostly just have to-,” the burly engineer started.

“Start it, finish whatever you need to and light the boiler” interrupted Jac, continuing with an explanation, “Beatrix is caught in that fire fight.”

“I told her she should get that cute thigh holster,” Nef, the ship’s radio operator replied in mild shock, the engineer’s heavy footsteps already racing down the metal hallway to the engine room.

“Who all is still in town?” Jac asked, taking his place behind the control wheel, racing through pre-flight procedures.

“Alfred, Marco and Stefan were still at that sailor’s bar,” Nef replied smartly, looking up as she thought, “and I think Anna was out shopping.”

“Get messages to them,” said Jac, reaching up with one hand to start cranking an alarm, the crooning drone of the repurposed air raid alarm filled the airship drawing more crew to the bridge.

“I need the port fourteens manned,” the captain continued as confused heads poked into the bridge, Nef already pulling her headset on and reaching for the telegraph on the desk in front of her, “limber and load the front seven as well after you release the moorings.”

While they clearly hadn’t heard the gunfire from the lower decks Jac’s commanding voice spurred them to motion. It didn’t take long for them to unclamp from the mooring tower and cast off any other lines holding the airship in place. Jac heard the distant rumble of the ship’s boiler coming to life. It would still be several minutes before they had enough pressure for any real power, but a feral grin crossed Jac’s face as he realized there was still some steam in the tanks, enough for a single burst to the props. He pulled the throttle into reverse, feeling the gears engage despite their reluctance.

A flip of a small lever engaged the pipes leading to the propellers, what little steam pressure remained surged through the small engines, forcing them to spin for just a moment. But that moment was just long enough to cause the Libertas to begin drifting backwards.

“Set ballast for ground level,” he barked as the ship cleared the dock, he could see several other ships slowly spurring into motion, likely hoping to escape from the firefight. But he was the only one headed downwards, and a quick glance confirmed that the boarding ladder on the bow was still down. As soon as the ship began dropping, he flipped open a pipe that led to the anti-air guns and yelled into it, “the group entering the terminal is firing on Beatrix, let them know the aerodrome is closed due to the emergency.”

As he finished the airship shuddered as the keel ground into the grass that made up the middle of the aerodrome.

Auberi had taken a flank, so he could provide some cover with his revolver as they moved towards the ship. Once they got close enough, he slipped out of the fight again, searching for a new avenue of approach. He switched to a more silent approach, grabbing his stiletto and a set of brass knuckles.

As he scanned for a new opening, he heard an explosion. "Grenades...in an aerodrome, damn idiots." He muttered under his breath as he swiftly went into the front door behind the fresh group of mercs. Before a new wave could approach, he darted up behind one of the shielded foes, stunning him with a brass knuckled punch to the kidney. He then did one of the cruelest things one could do. He grabbed the pins of every grenade he could and pulled them, sprinting away and diving behind some nearby cover and covering his ears.

"Well, looks like our escort came to pick us up, how nice," Jarred said as he holstered his .45. It was just after that when he heard another vehicle pull up, more men pouring out of it. "How many people do they have?" He quickly went and grabbed his 20mm from the ground, checking to see if it was still loaded by habit, even though he put a fresh mag in before arriving here. Did these guys really want to die that badly? They hadn't even injured anyone yet, but they had already lost a whole squad here and more on the road. He turned to Beatrix who called to him. "Go ahead and get Kiimi to the ship, I'll be there soon, don't worry about me."

Though, it was on that note that a grenade had gone off. Jarred spun around to see Payam on the ground next to a broken toppled desk. "PAYAM!" he shouted as he made his way to him. Jarred took a position in front of the boy, taking fire from the machine guns that would have shred Payam had he not made it in time. He leveled his rifle just as he saw a flash of a skirt dive into cover close to his targets. "What the hell," and then there were more grenades going off as the left shield bearer exploded. Jarred chuckled as he realized who it was he saw and trained his sights on the other shield bearer, now distraught from his comrade being erased from existence. In that moment however, three 20mm rounds ripped through his shield, dropping the man, dead before he hit the ground. Jarred picked up Payam and rushed for the ship. instead of using the ladder he jumped to the deck in a single bound, setting Payam and his rifle down in the process. He had hoped to see Beatrix and Kiimi already topside, but either way he would soon be jumping down to make sure everyone in his group were on the ship. If Kiimi and Beatrix were on the ship, he would go find Auberi, if they weren't he would pick kiimi and Beatrix up like he did Payam so they wouldn't have to climb a ladder in open combat, and then go to find Auberi, picking off any stragglers should there be any.

With Hassan covering her back, Beatrix ran as fast as she could together with Kiimi towards the ship, turning back from time to time and taking a few shots in order to help Hassan even if a little bit. Her priority at that moment was taking the unarmed civilian to safety. With the arrival of reinforcements, this time with shields and shields and machine guns, the situation was getting more and more dangerous. There was no use to turn back and shoot at their shields, the best thing Beatrix could do right now was simply try to get to the ship as fast as she could.

As she ran towards the ship, a worrying sound made her hesitate for a moment. The unmistakable sound of an explosion echoed through the now empty Aerodrome hall. Looking back just in moment to see Hassan flying behind a pillar, she knew that he was struck by the explosion. Before she could even react though, a chain of explosions rang through the hall, this time coming from where the Tal-Karans with a shield were. Despite that, she knew that there would be more reinforcements in mere seconds, she had to use that small interval between the next wave of Tal-Karans arrived to take Kiimi to safety. Stopping for Hassan at that moment would only threaten not only her life, but Kiimi, who was an unarmed civilian as well.

Fortunately for Hassan... or better, Payam as it became evident by Jarred's scream, the metal man was already running to rescue him. Despite all the chaos though, Beatrix did notice how they lied or omitted information to her not only regarding Payam's name, but a lot of other things as well.

Looking towards the middle of the Aerodrome, she saw a familiar boarding ladder waiting for them. It was the Libertas.

"Do not stop, keep running!" Beatrix shouted towards Kiimi, pointing towards the boarding ladder. The girl was scared and nervous, so much that she couldn't help but to trip as she ran. Thankfully, since Beatrix was with her she was able to regain her footing without slowing down her pace.

"Up the ladder! Do not look back and climb as fast as you can. Once on the ship go inside and do not get out!" Beatrix said towards Kiimi as they stopped nearby the boarding ladder.

While the girl climbed, Beatrix stood behind, shooting at the reinforcements which rushed towards them, forcing them to take cover behind the ones with shields. When Kiimi finally got to the ship, Beatrix had to crouch behind a pillar when a shot almost hit her, passing only a few centimeters away from her waist.

"Shit..." she cursed as she pulled the slide, checking the magazine and how many shots were left. Much to her dismay, there were only 3 shots left... In the distance, Beatrix could see the Tal-Karans rushing towards them, using their shields to protect those who carried machine guns and other heavier weapons. Getting out of the cover, Beatrix took aim and shot one of the shield bearers in the knee, making them fall on the ground and expose the machine gunner just behind them, who was quickly downed by two quick shots to the chest.

Putting the now empty pistol under the folds of her dress, she rushed towards the ladder, climbing it as fast as she could.

"Kiimi, go inside the ship! Do not come out, no matter what happens!" Beatrix shouted as she ran towards her quarters in order to wear her armor and get her equipment.

"Damnit," Jac grumbled, "damnit damnit DAMNIT!"

"Fine, Go!" he said, releasing her as the 14mm twin mount aa gun on the side of the ship began firing, it's staccato bangs overwhelming the smaller gunfire below, "we'll have to pick up the remaining crew on leave outside the city somewhere."

Kiimi tried best as she could to get up the ladder, finally making it over, she listened to Beatrix and made her way inside through a door. Her cough had returned from being too active, paired with her heightened heartrate, adrenaline, and heavy breathing, she was coughing up some blood again, but it wasn't as serious as with the gas, she would be fine. She did however, have to take off her mask, coughing into a headkerchief instead, which was colored a dark brown to hide the blood spots in between cleanings. She sat next to a crate, the sounds of explosions and gunfire keeping her on edge as she sat there afraid that one of them might not come back...

Jarred was back on the ground cutting through enemies until he saw Auberi climb back up, injured but still pushing. "Dammit," he cursed as he pulled his sword out of a machine gunner, taking his gun and keeping reinforcements heads down as he moved to the ship. What he didn't notice in the chaos was a .50 bmg sighting in on him before it cracked one off. It tore through the plating on his left leg, shutting down the pneumatics and causing him to hit the ground hard. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! I only have one replacement part for that!" Jarred angrily shouted as he pulled a 45/70 lever action from his back holster, single handedly spinning the gun to cock the lever before aiming it directly where the shot came from and firing, using his other hand to get up. The shot went through the man's scope and landed a headshot. Jarred could still use both legs fine, but when he ran up to the side of the ship and went to jump, even all the power of the right leg only barely made him able to grab the edge of the rail, pulling himself up and over onto the deck, landing next to Payam on his back before getting back up and checking on the boy.

Jarred saw that Payam was bleeding from a deep gash on the back of his head. Part of his coat was splattered with his own blood. That same white coat was also stained with several black spots from shrapnel had become stuck in it. As for Payam himself, he seemed confused. Even as Jarred looked at him, Payam stared back as if he didn't recognize him.

"Hey, KID! Hold your self together!" Jarred yelled. "Shit," he cursed again as his blade came out, sheering part of the long cloth on Payam's clothes and using part of it for gauze and then another to bandage his head. "C'mon, stay with me, don't go to sleep, its just a few scrapes here and there kid, you are gonna be alright. Auberi! What's your status? Kid took a grenade over here..." He loked back to auberi, one of the lamps Jarred used as fake eyes was shot out. "Hey kid, talk to me here, it can be anything, just talk to me."

All Jarred got was incoherent murmuring in Payam's native language. Every now and then he heard something he could understand, but not much. After a few tries, Jarred was able to make out something even if it was faint.

"I think the King knew..." He said.

"The King knew? Knew what, Payam? You are doing great just keep it up. Stay with me, boy" Jarred tried desperately to keep his attention until a medic could arrive. Shouldn't they have one on this ship? Auberi was injured as well and he couldn't very well let him bleed out trying to save another, then they would both be dead. Jarred had some medical know how, but he no longer had the precision to operate after he converted himself, not the tools.

"That he did... He was wiser than I will ever be, he knew he would need someone outside the palace all those years ago, that's one of the reasons I left...," Jarred paused as he remembered leaving the castle, still wrapped in bandages from wounds he had taken in a recent fight, but strong enough to carry out his final orders to him as Captain of the Royal Guard. He shook his head. "Look, we are going to make everything right again, but you got to hold on so you can see it for yourself, do you hear me? You aren't meant to fall here, you have much farther to go."

Jac watched desperately as more people he didn’t know climbed up onto the deck of his ship. Beatrix was gone, presumably changing, and until someone told him otherwise he didn’t know if they had everything, not having had the forethought to count the people in Jarrad’s group before leaving. Nef was tapping away on her telegraph, presumably lodging messages in the town for his remaining crew. Jac was about to grab someone else, the sound of bullets striking the side of the ship getting worryingly loud, when he heard the unmistakable sound of a .50 cal going off. Small arms couldn’t do much, but a fifty could do some serious damage to the lightly armed frigate.

“Screw this,” he grumbled, seeing Jarred climbing onto the deck and crawling over to another one of his group.

“Set ballast for five hundred feet,” Jac shouted orders, not willing to risk his ship and crew for a group that likely lied to them, “rig ship for flight.”

It wasn’t long before the ship lurched upwards, climbing rapidly directly upwards, cutting off a couple smaller ships that were leaving the aerodrome at a more normal pace. The sounds of gunfire were immediately replaced with the roaring of the wind and the groaning of the ship as it was forced into action. Seeing the pressure gauge slowly climbing Jac pushed the throttle forwards, the propellers spinning to life, slowly pushing the airship away from the chaos that remained in the aerodrome.

“You people had better have a damn good explanation for this!” Jac roared at the nearest person he didn’t recognize.

He didn't seem to catch everything, but it at least kept him awake and talking. "I miss him. I just want to see him again." Payam's speech went back to jumbled and incoherent Delni, in between sentences Jarred could only make out the Prince's name.

"You will, you just gotta hang on... Auberi, when you can, get him stabilized." He said as he stood up, shaking his head. He looked at the captain, "I will get an explanation to you as soon as everyone is taken care of," he said sternly, "do you not have any doctors of your own on this ship?"

After a moment of glaring at the other man, Jac turned to the array of closed communication tubes next to him, flipping one open, seemingly at random he shouted into it, "Medic to the bridge... damnit Robert, get up here!"

Underneath his coat, Payam was wearing a sleeveless shirt. From the looks of it, the shrapnel had become lodged in the coat alone. However, the strikes had produced bruises all over. With closer inspection of his right arm, Auberi noticed a strange symbol tattooed on the underside of his forearm. Under the large symbol featuring sharp shapes and swirling accents were several inscriptions in Delni.

A few seconds after Kiimi ran to Jarred, the group heard the lout noise of one of the metal doors leading to the personal quarters of the ship being slammed quite violently, followed by the metallic sounds of steps echoing through the ships corridors.

Coming from the same way Kiimi, Beatrix arrived, looking to the ongoing scene with a cold and harsh stare. It was almost unbelievable that she was the same girl who had such a cute, princess like aura from a while ago. Completely clad in a full set of dark steel armor, decorated with red cloth and wielding both a shield and a quite exotic, unorthodox weapon. Those looking at her could only feel the intimidating aura the girl had and wonder how much weight all that equipment had combined. Even with all that equipment though, the girl was moving around almost as if she was wearing the same dress she was earlier.

To those who knew even a little bit about Amperta and the mercenary companies from there, would immediately realize who exactly Beatrix was, if they didn't already know due to her last name. The unmistakable dark steel armor, the signature symbol of the Legio Ater Ferris, one of the deadliest and ruthlessly effective mercenary group in Amperta.
While Payam seemed to be in quite a grave state, the others were relatively unscathed, other than Jarred, whom had obvious bullet holes on a few parts of his metal body. The woman from before had appeared again and now was treating, or at least trying to treat Payam.

"You owe us many explanations." Beatrix said with a cold tone.

"This could have resulted, or better... can result in the death of some of us, since there are still some of the crew on the city. Not only that but you pretty much forced us to work with you. Now that the Tal-Karans saw us aiding your group, there is no turning back. For whoever is the one who sent them after you all, they now believe we're working with you. You dragged us to whatever mess you got yourselves into!" Beatrix continued, clear by the tone of her voice that she didn't like that situation.

"You both lied and omitted critical information from us. Anything to say?" She asked, with an authoritative voice as she slammed the end of her axe-shotgun on the ground, making a loud noise.
"Oh, should I start then?" Beatrix asked, looking to the group after a moment of silence when nobody answered her.

"To stop a coup d'état or perform one? Which one of those?" she asked, with an ice cold, death stare towards Jarred.

"Not only this, but who exactly is Hassan, or I should say Payam?" she asked, looking towards the unconscious man.

The second she gave a better look at him though, her eyes went wide as they met with the symbol on Payam's arm, making her immediately point the shotgun-axe at Jarred.

"Explain yourselves, NOW! Who really are you? What are you doing here?" she demanded to know, her voice going from cold and authoritative to straight out threatening, a clear change of attitude after she looked at Payam, her eyes carefully scanning every single movement made by Jarred and the women, who were the only members left of that group that were still capable of combat.

To those who were still in shock after seeing that cute, spoiled little princess in full combat gear, the scene and her tone of voice was more than enough to make them realize that Beatrix wasn't just a pretty face. She knew very well what she was doing and she wouldn't hesitate not even for a moment in killing someone.

Jarred ended up looking for Jac and Beatrix to tell them how his talk with Payam went. He knew the bridge should be the best place to find the captain so it was most likely the best place to start. He made his way up to the bridge and came upon the door, giving a few knocks instead of just barging in. "Captain Jac, Jarred. I've finished talking with Payam."

Kiimi was standing as close to the large glass windows as she could. When she turned to see who it was that came in, she seemed surprised. "Payam? I had a thought for a moment that you might have been Papa.... I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk with him yet, though.... I know I should...," she said before she paused for a while, staring off into the clouds. She then remembered how injured Payam was when she quickly turned back to him,"Are you... feeling better? You probably shouldn't be moving around too much, you were seriously injured." She did have a look of worry as she looked him over.

"I appreciate your concern, My Lady." He said, giving her a small bow. Physically, he looked much better. He had changed into a pair of new clothes and he looked more alert. Though, under all that he appeared preocupied. It was faint, but a careful look at his body language and expressions would reveal it.
"But, I'm doing much better. How about you?"

"I'm uh.... doing okay... I think?" She replied in more of a questioning tone. "So much of what I thought I had know had been wiped away in just the matter of a day. Then it was replaced with gunfire and a bloodline I never knew I had.... and I'm not sure I want. It's all just... a little sudden." She stayed looking to the sky, soaking in every moment of the view.

Payam walked over to Kiimi, stopping right next to her. He took a moment to look out into the sky. Taking in the rare sight of a clear blue sky.
"So it is true, then?" He asked, glancing at Kiimi. If it was... if she was truly King Havkar's daughter. Then it would explain everything.

Kiimi shifted uncomfortably for a moment, "I'm... not sure. But my pendant did match the one the king sent you with. And I don't believe Papa would lie about such a thing. It just feels so unreal, like I'm in a dream I can't wake from." She then turned to Payam before continuing once more. "I also hate the fact that anybody is suffering just because of who I am. Its unbearable to think people are being killed because of it, me being here puts everyone at danger and I am just now realizing that. I'm... worried. For everyone else."

Payam chuckled softly. If only she knew how much she and her brother had in common. Why didn't he notice all this before?
"Your brother would have said the same thing. Took King Havkar several weeks to convince him to accept me as his Royal Bodyguard." He said, recalling fond memories from his teenage years. There it was again. That ache in his chest. His smile faded as soon as he felt that. "In the end though. That's why people like Jarred and I are here for. To make sure you're safe. It's risky, but in the end we do it either because it's our duty or because we care. Sometimes-" He paused for a moment, glancing at the sky before returning to Kiimi "-sometimes it's both."

"I've never seen that side of Papa before today... I knew he got into fights on sone of his, well, what he called 'errands', but it was because he said that it wasn't the best areas to go to. He would come back wounded or a part broken all the time. Slowly, over the years, his organs started to fail and things needed replacing until he became what he is now. Auberi would take care of me while he was gone or would be out getting special parts for Papa. I wonder if Auberi ever knew too..." Kiimi sighed and put her back against the wall under the window and sat down on the floor, her legs folded to the side. "So....what was the king like? And my brother, you said he is a lot like me?"

Payam mimicked Kiimi, sitting down beside her. Though, he sat down with his legs crossed.
"Your father, King Havkar. He was a man of principle, a masterful strategist and politician. It always seemed like he was one step ahead of everyone. Demanding at times, but you knew it was because he cared. A true man of the people and the right person that we needed to lead Leinstein through the War."
Payam said everything with a smile on his face. His eyes seemed to wander off into the distance as he reminisced on the good memories of the past. Though, he seemed to have completely forgotten that Kiimi had asked about Valkner too.

Kiimi nodded. She wasn't sure what she was looking for in the questions, as if she was trying to fulfill some sort of curiosity but not satisfied with the outcome. There was another question she wanted to ask, but she didn't know if she should, as she felt it might undermine their efforts, but she couldn't help but think such efforts were wasted on her, who always seemed so sickly and feeble. What kind of princess is that? Even less a queen if they couldn't save Valkner... Her face still had tell tale signs of being troubled about it.

"Thanks, that helps..." Kiimi stated. Being able to talk with someone helped sort her racing thoughts. She did wonder why he didn't answer about Valkner though. In fact, For someone that was his bodygaurd, he didn't seem to mention him a lot. Maybe he served him out of just 'duty', as he mentioned earlier. "Are... you and Valkner, um...not on good terms?" she asked innocently. "You don't talk much about him..."

"I-I..." Payam stuttered, chuckling to himself as he tried to fix the misunderstanding. "It's not like that. We-we're fine. I just..." He sighed, letting go of whatever was bothering him.
"When we met for the first time, I was supposed to befriend him and then kill him when I had gained his trust. As I got to know him, I continued to miss my chances to accomplish my mission. I-I just couldn't go through with it. For the first time, I had repeatedly failed to take out a target." He took a deep breath, before continuing. "I then realized I just couldn't go through with it. Before they left Delni, I admitted everything to him and your father. How I was part of the Assassins Guild, and what my mission was. I was expecting to be killed on the spot, but your father instead gave me a chance. I pledged to protect the Prince. To give my life for him if I had to in exchange for clemency. He accepted. From then on, Valkner became my purpose and my meaning. For the first time, I had some kind of direction. Your brother and I grew closer after that..."

Payam trailed off for a moment, growing silent. He felt a knot form on his throat then, followed by that same aching feeling on his chest. "I apologize, My Lady. I-I didn't mean to reminisce out loud. Your brother and I are very close. It's... difficult to talk about him."

"N-no, its fine, I don't mind listening. And please," Kiimi continued with a warm smile, "you don't have to be so formal... I'm still just an outcast girl from Mohburg, just call me Kiimi." The less 'princes stuff the better rigt now, especially when she still is trying to wrap her mind around the subject. "If you don't want to talk about him, I understand.... Its hard to talk about people while you are worried about them, wondering if you will see them again," she said, thinking of all the times she worried of Jarred would ever be back.

"So.... my mother then...," Kiimi left it as an open statement, making the connection that it was her mother that very well may have started all of this, and even was the one who wanted to cast her aside.

"Your mother." He paused for a moment, sighing. "Well. The King and Deborah, they married for political reasons. It was to ensure that Cordoria and Leinstein never went to war again. You father told me once that he tried his best to make things work between them, but she hated him. Out of all the things he was able to figure out throughout his years he was never able to get through to his own wife. Even when she despised him, he loved her and tried his best to accomodate her wishes. Eventually, they had a son together. Your brother. Then, tragedy struck. Or at least, that was the official story. I can't tell how she knows you survived your birth, but somehow she's found out. I suppose she wants the throne to herself. Never pretended to know the political machinations of Atmosian nobles..."

Payam sighed, looking at Kiimi for a moment. If only things would have turned out differently. But, perhaps all this suffering and death was worth something. Havkar had to be right.

"Kiimi. No matter what happens, I want you to know that I'll do anything to get your brother back and reunite you two. You deserve that, at least."

Kiimi nodded, as if confirming her suspicions about her mother. As for his promise, while she was interested in meeting her new found brother, she was also quite nervous about it. How would he react to the idea? What would he think of her? Would he see her as some infectious disease like other richer people, or would he welcome her? In her own mind, she thought it may be somewhere between the two, if not for her being an outcast then probably just because their separation would make them mutually distant to one another.

Kiimi looked to Payam once more. "Payam.... thank you for stopping by. I know it may not have been planned for you to come talk with me, but... I'm glad you did," she said as she stood up. "I'm going to go find Auberi and lie down for a little while, I'm starting to feel a bit light headed. You take care of yourself, you are still recovering after all," she said with a wink and then a mini courtesy before leaving.

Jarred rotated the wheel to the bridge and pushed his way through, closing it behind himself as he walked in. "The boy is clean, his story checks out, but if he tries anything, I won't hesitate to put him down. As for the prison, are we closing in? You should see a set of train tracks leading towards a large prison facility. Big, bleak, ugly, and plenty of places to defend from or quell riots within. I can't see too far out from this ship, so you will have to let me know what you see," he said to Jac. "If you notice any trains heading towards the prison instead of Leinstien, let me know. That could be our target in transit, but you will need to use a spyglass to check for enemies in the cars. With any luck, we can intercept them before they even get to the prison."

It just so happened as Jarred was describing this, a train did just come into view, almost exactly how he described, headed in the direction of the prison. "A number of trade ships come through here, so we shouldn't look too out of place.... well.... until we close in that is...," Jarred mentioned, still unaware of the train on the tracks.

Before Jac could even reply to Jarred, they both heard the metal door leading into the bridge open. Stepping inside was Payam, who was now wearing a more appropriate combat attire. He then ran up to the viewing port, looking out to the mountains below.

"I think I know where Valkner is. We've got a chance to get to him before he's sent to Mountain Peak." He said, using one of the observation telescopes that looked out from the viewing port to the ground. The Delni bodyguard barely elaborated on what he was talking about. At that moment, his focus was to get to the Prince. No matter what.

Jac’s day had started well enough, ship was fixed up, crew was paid, all they needed was a job. Now they had a job and Jac wasn’t sure if it was a good one or not. The pay was supposed to be good, if those gems were worth as much as the metal man said they were but getting involved in geopolitics like this might be so dangerous no amount of money could even it out. At least it hadn’t been too hard thus far.

They’d crossed the border into Leinstien earlier in the day, without permission or a flight plan. But crossing borders illegally was old hat for the Libertas, at worst that would result in fines. Approaching a maximum security prison, on the other hand, would be worse than a slap on the wrist. The prison were the leaders of a coup were planning to imprison the only threat to their rule could likely be deadly. Which is why Jac was using every trick he knew to avoid being spotted, they’d avoided all major towns and shipping routes before descending to barely a thousand feet above the ground once night fell. All external lights were off, any rooms with windows that couldn’t be covered were also unlit. The bridge itself was bathed in a dim red light instead of the normal bright incandescent, it was possible to read the displays under the light, but the chances of being spotted from below were effectively zero.

“Two degrees to port,” Jac was saying, watching the line of lights from the rail line below them for navigation. The DRI was decent for finding their way around but it was best when paired with some manner of external assistance. So far they’d been proceeding by following the tracks while taking constant sightings of nearby ‘mountain peaks’ to compare with navigational charts. Jac half snorted to himself when he learned they considered these mountains.

“Aye, captain,” the helmsman nodded, nudging the wheel while watching his compass.

Naturally Jarred and Payam took that moment to barge into the bridge. Jac glanced over at the metal man, suppressing his confusion about his ‘inability to see beyond the ship.’ He didn’t seem to have normal eyes but surely, he could still see? Or maybe whatever clockwork passed for his eyes simply weren’t effective in the dark. Hal, the ship’s engineer, had a pneumatic arm that acted up in odd ways.

“I’d much rather hit a train instead of a prison,” Jac agreed, squinting into the darkness at the distant lights of the train, “but if your man isn’t on that train then surprise will be gone. We should easily be able to catch that train, no way some rail car is going to out run my ship, but information on this rail line is minimal. Would be dangerous for us to pull up alongside, might be best to get ahead of the train and take out a bridge with the forward turret. Try and force them to stop.

“Or,” Jac continued after a moment, “a couple good shots could decouple the engine and train, make it coast to a stop. Either way we’ll have to be fast or we’ll be swimming in Leinstien fighters.”

"I like it. A train would be much easier to take on. We can separate the the prisoner car from the passenger car, board the train, take out any remaining forces, and then pullbthe emergancy break in the car. Should be easy to extract then,"Jarred sgreed. He turned to Payam eho seemed to slip in and rush to a telescope. "Oi, you see anything, kid?"

"That train down there." He said, gesturing at the telescopte he had just used. "It's the only military train that goes to and from Mountain Peak. The insignia are all correct. They must have him in there."

Payam turned, thinking for a moment. Neither Jac's nor Jarred's plan would work.
"None of your plans are going to work." He said, sounding a bit irritated. Desperation, coupled with an increasing adrenaline rush was starting to get to him. "That train is designed to defend against attacks from airships. And, the tracks have been reinforced and protected against sabotage. We'll have to take the direct route and attack the train itself. Drop into the carts and search them. It's the only way we can do this."

The plan sounded like suicide. Get in close to the train and then board it? It sounded mad, but even in Payam's altered state he could make use of his excellent memory. Out of all the plans suggested, his had the highest chance of success. No, it was the one that was going to succeed.

“So…” Jac said slowly, looking across the darkened bridge at the strange young man, “you want me to fly an airship, in the dark, alongside a speeding train while you climb down a rope ladder? You realize that if the train suddenly enters a tunnel, or passes through some trees, or goes around a corner, you’ll end up an unpleasant stain somewhere right?”

"It's worth the risk." He said, replying in a quick fashion putting into doubt whether he was acting on impulse or he was actually telling the truth.

“Your funeral,” Jac said after a moment with a shrug, moving to take the helm from the crewman who had been manning it, “all crew to combat stations, prepare for rough winds ahead, only fire if fired upon.”

A chorus of ‘aye captains’ echoed around the bridge as an alarm buzzed a couple times to put the rest of the ship on alert. Jac positioned himself just to one side of the helm where he could see the instruments easier, as well as reach some additional controls that controlled the ship’s airbreaks and elevators. Neither was super useful in day to day operation, but in combat the ability to suddenly slow down or temporarily gain/lose altitude could be important.

“Engines all ahead flank,” Jac ordered, the ship surging forward after a moment to catch up with the train.

Already wearing her armor and ready for the battle, Beatrix was nearby Jac, watching him operate the ship as they got closer to the train. This time, she was prepared, unlike the Aerodrome and she would definitely repay the Tal-Karans for what they did to her dress. They wouldn't have the same luck as her dress to have someone to sew them back together though.

"The only one we need to bring back alive is this Valkner, right?" Beatrix asked, to Jac with a rather dangerous smirk on her face.

"Jarred and Payam will probably need some... distraction, am I correct?" Beatrix asked. By now, Jac would already know where this was going.

"On the contrary, I'll be part of the distraction myself. Payam and I will drop at the front of the train, at the engine next to where the prisoner cars are. I will work on stopping the train and then making my way through the train, clearing out combatants while Payam secures the Prince till it is safe to transfer him to the ship. However, if you drop in on the back and engage first, it will give us more time as they are alerted to you, and I can meet you in the middle, takong them from behind," Jarred replied, giving Beatrix's proposal serious thought. He nodded to her, it would be with a smirk of approval, if he still had a face.

Auberi let the frontliners make their plan before stepping forward. "This plan is very much an all out assault. What would you like or need me to do? As you know, I am far more of a flanker than assaulter." He winked at Beatrix. "Though, I do like the plan of leaving no witnesses, mon tendre." He drew his stiletto and began essentially playing with it, doing small flourishes. It was mostly to keep his hands occupied as he waited for an objective he was suited for.

"I'll go grab my things. The faster we do this, the faster we can rescue the Prince and get him to safety."

Payam didn't even wait for anyone to agree on the plan. To him, all that mattered was that he was going to have an opening to get the Prince back to safety. The two of them had been apart for way too long and Payam was growing increasingly anxious. He felt that he was neglecting his duty to the Prince and failing on his promise.

“All engines ahead two thirds,” Jac barked an order, somehow managing to command the ship while swinging it over the moving train, in the dark. As they got closer to the ground the ship began to judder in the more turbulent ground winds. His right hand was constantly moving the wheel back and forth minute amounts in response to shifts only he could feel, occasionally he would move it further as the ship seemed to sway to one side in a sudden crosswind or as the train turned.

He did all this while watching a crewman on the bow who had tied herself to the safety railing, leaning against the bow sprite and holding a flag in each hand. Something about how she moved the flags told him where they were above the train. The only other movement out the bridge window was the boxy metal turret hanging from the upper bow sprite as it wheeled around to point down at the train. For whatever reason Jarred didn’t want to use the 7-pounder breach loaded rifled cannon to disable the train’s engine. Making this whole operation that much more difficult for Jac. But he didn’t plan to have the main gun of the ship just sit around and do nothing, if things did go loud and the train had anti-air capability, seven pounds of high explosive would quickly put an end to that before the ship or its crew was threatened.

His left hand held the elevator controls, trying desperately to keep the ship steady even as he ordered ballast reduced so the ship descended even closer to the train. Finally, his right foot rested on a large pedal sticking from the ground that controlled the airbreaks, he was constantly feathering them to keep even with the train. The Libertas was much faster than the vehicle stuck on the ground below them, but it also had a harder time maintaining one speed.

"One advice, Jarred... If you keep making your strategies centered in you acting like a suicidal superman, you will have a very short life." Beatrix said after she heard Jarred's plan. She didn't know if it was arrogance or simply self-destructive behavior but she knew that his plan wasn't really that good. Judging by Auberi's words, he also seemed to recognize the flaws on Jarred's plan.

"We will need two teams, as I mentioned previously. One distraction team and an extraction one. Payam and Auberi will be on the Extraction team, as you two seem to be more fit for this type of job. Me and Mr. suicidal superman will be the distraction team. We will enter first and create a distraction. As much noise, chaos and mayhem as possible. Payam and Auberi will enter the train soon after, using the confusion to silently make their way to where our target is and extract them in silence if possible." Beatrix said, explaining the plan with a surprisingly serious and authoritative voice.

"It would be smart to keep an eye on Payam, Auberi." Beatrix said in a low voice, looking to Auberi after Payam got out earlier, not even caring to hear the plan.

"There is no more time to argue about the plan. If something goes wrong with the rescue Auberi, send us a signal and either me or Jarred will go to you in order to secure a safe path to..." Beatrix continued explaining until she was interrupted by Jac.

Before she could continue, Jac, in the middle of driving the ship mentioned that he would prefer her to stay aboard to provide 'security'... For reasons unknown to Beatrix. They were on a fast frigate and had a good amount of weapons on board. Anyone foolish enough to follow the ground team would be killed on the spot. Beatrix didn't try to hide the fact that she was extremely annoyed by the fact that no one was hearing the strategist...

"What...? You want me to stay behind to provide... security? Why would you keep the best frontline you guys have behind?" Beatrix asked, on the verge of exploding.

"You know what... I give up. I am trying to make sure this mission will succeed, but you are all TOO EAGER to throw yourselves in there and just shoot everything that moves. What a great plan. There's surely no way it won't work, right?!" Beatrix said, visibly angry.

"I don't know why I am even trying. Jarred's death won't be something that will surprise me after seeing his own apparent desire to kill himself with his bravados." she finished, leaning on a wall, without any intention to actually going down to the train anymore.

Auberi was about the only one to listen intently to Beatrix. It was a more solid plan, so he figured it would be good. However, no one else took heed of her. After he near explosion, he walked over to her and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I will make sure this gets done. Even if they just throw themselves in, I will get the prince out as first priority. I am sorry no one else was listening, mon cheri." He left her with a small peck on the cheek, his rouge lipstick leaving a very small lip mark on her cheek.

He then took the first move and slipped out of the ship, lightly landing on the top of the train. He flattened himself on the roof, moving cautiously to prevent the inner boxcars from registering any noises he made. Jarred would see to the noise, Auberi to getting the prince out safely.

When Auberi dropped down on the car behind the engine he encountered Payam who was already there. The Delni bodyguard was laying prone on top of the roof.

It wasn't a surprise to anyone in the room that Beatrix was, at least, annoyed with the situation. Now of all times, wasn't the time to provoke her in any way or form.

"Beatrix. Not now, Jac. I'm not in the mood for that." Beatrix said, looking to Jac, after realizing that he had called her 'Bea', which for her, was him trying to mess with her.

"Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable!" Beatrix said to herself, slamming the end of her shield on the ground with an audible sound as she let go of it, resting it against the wall.

While Auberi's words were a bit reassuring, she wasn't expecting Auberi to come closer and give her a small kiss on the cheek so suddenly.

"Hey! W-what?" Beatrix exclaimed, surprised and not knowing how to react to Auberi's actions. No matter how much Beatrix thought about it, the only conclusion she was able to reach was how confusing was dealing with Auberi... He had told her that he was in fact straight, but more and more she could only see him almost as a girl friend, of the type who would try on dresses together, paint nails and talk about girly things…

"It's better that you do... Such a dumb 'plan'..." Beatrix replied, looking away as she cleaned the lip mark on her cheek, obviously not knowing how to react to what happened.

As Auberi left though, Jarred looked to her, talking to her in a way she could only describe as provoking her.

"Don't test me, Jarred. I am not in a mood for such thing." Beatrix said, almost hissing to him.

"Don't think I'll go down there to gather your pieces if something goes wrong." She finished.

"Hmm, alright then, guess I'll be the lone distraction at the tail end of the train, and hope thy don't fall back on top of our friends up front. Pity, I expected.... a bit more. Guess I'm to be whatever this 'suicidal superman' is, I guess. Can't say I wouldn't have appreciated another, but maybe it's for the better," Jarred said as he walked to exit the bridge and head out.

When he reached the outside, Jarred took a look at the ladder. The ship seemed to expertly be just enough feet below the train to not be too big of a problem to drop off from the ladder. Jarred's dilemma, was that the ladder didn't look like it could hold him as well at this speed. He may cause too much drag and, and from the looks of the type of ladder, it would disconnect it it seemed to be snagged. So, he did what only seemed rational. He went to the bow and looked down. Right below them was the train, nearly perfectly aligned. Jarred lined himself up with the train, crunched a few roundabout numbers in his head for trajectory and leaned over the side. At just the right time as he leaned over, body aimed at the train, feet against the side of the ship, his pneumatic legs shot off, sending him like a bullet to the rear most car. He landed on the top with a loud thud, anyone inside would have heard the heavy metal man make contact with the roof. To anyone inside, they would see a silhouette drop to the rear door before it slid open.

A large mechanical man would then come through the door, shotgun drawn and aimed as he surveyed everyone inside, that is.... if there was anyone left. "What the hell...", Jarred managed to say as he saw a room full of dead Tal Karans. From the looks of it, they died of a steam based weapon, the steam still floating around in the room. While keeping his weapon raised and looking for other threats, he reached for the emergency brake in the car and pulled it. The train started trembling a bit as it suddenly began losing momentum.

"They're all down!" a crewman called form the bow, waving towards the bridge.

"About damn time," Jac grumbled, pulling the ship away from the track and signaling for the ship to be set for a higher, safer altitude. He made a note in the back of his mind to go speak with Beatrix afterwards to apologize for keeping her out of the fight. Right now he had more important things to do, like stay close enough to the train so they could see a pickup signal while being far enough away to avoid any AA fire when Jarred and payam ended up kicking that hornets nest

"Finally." He said, sighing and glancing at Auberi. "This train has three prison boxcars including this one. Two of them are decoys with traps."

Auberi nodded silently and moved to the upper hatch of the first car. "Then, let us get to it. I will open this and you survey the inside for traps. If it seems alright, we proceed in carefully in case of pressure plates or trip lines. Is that a sufficient plan?" He looked at Payam, giving him a look of pure professionalism.

"Yeah, let's get to it."

Payam crawled over to the hatch, unlocking it and opening it. Looking inside, he spotted a small cabin on one side and a cage on the other. As soon as he saw the person behind the bars, the Delni bodyguard rushed inside jumping inside.

The floor below made a loud metallic sound as he landed. Drawing his rifle he runned over to the cell. Payam dropping down into the car made enough noise to wake Lennart up, who was inside the cabin on the other side of the car.

Lennart shot up quickly, hearing the commotion in the cabin. He quietly slid off the wall stretch pulling his 45 from his abdomen holster. He doesn’t bother grabbing anything yet. He opens the door, holding it up as he rounds the door. He points it at Payam as he stands there but doesn’t recognize Payam from the rear.

”Step away from the cell.” he says cooly.

Auberi followed Payam calmly, seeming to fall into the persona of a cold, hardened operator. He landed far more silently than the assassin given his career in espionage. Upon seeing the confrontation, he drew his shotgun and levelled it at Lennart. "I'd rather not have to use this, mon malheureux ami. How about you let us do our job and you get to leave with your life?" As he spoke this, Auberi had moved closer to some objects he could use as cover. He was far less tunnelvisioned than Payam, so he could at least be the one to try and establish control.

"Payam?" Lennart asked mostly to himself. He holstered his pistol letting out a light sigh. "Funny meeting you here. I was wondering if anyone would come for the Prince." Lennart turns to Auberi, "My name is Lennart Pirhonen, I'm a royal guard in charge with protecting the Prince. You see, his arms are unshackled from the wall. There's little I've been able to do. Since you seem more coherent, who sent you? What do you know?" Lennart slowly walks up to the door leading to the other car opening a peep hole and inspecting the next car through the small door window if possible.

When Lennart looked into the car, he saw a gruesome sight. Every single person on the other side was dead. The Tal-Karans were all laying in different positions across the passenger car. By the light mist still floating about inside, he could tell they had been killed by steam.

While Lennart spoke, Payam managed to open the cell door and get to the Prince. Using a small tool kit he carried on his person, he managed to take off Valkner's shackles. Gently he removed the Prince's gag and then gave him a hug which the Prince returned.

"Don't worry, we're going to get you out of here." Said Payam, as he helped Valkner to his feet. Carefully, the two stepped onto the narrow hallway of the prison car.

"We should go. Now." Payam said, directing himself toward Auberi.

Lennart nodded as Valker and Payam spoke. He began gathering his gear: dugout, pipe, helmet, rucksack. He tore a small piece of paper from a notepad on his cabin desk and writes "L+P+V" on the paper. He folds the paper and writes the letter F on one side. Maybe Foltz will get it somehow. He puts his helmet on hermetically sealing his head from the environment with a light hiss. Lennart flips a small switch on the face plate and the eye holes begin glowing red. He chambers his gunrifle, "Ready." He says.

The prince falling into unresponsiveness was not expected by Auberi, but he was prepared for something like that. He took out a syringe and stabbed it right into Valkner's heart. The syringe contained epinephrine, also known as an adrenaline shot. The medication should keep the prince going and conscious until they could get up to the ship and get a proper medical diagnosis. "That's all we have time for. We need to get back on the ship. Speed is necessary."

He made a strong leap, grabbing hold of the hatch they opened and acrobatically flipping up onto the roof. He then laid on the roof and reached down to offer an arm to the next one coming up. "Let's go, we have a schedule to keep and a mother to destroy."

Payam felt like arguing with Auberi over his decision. But seeing the Prince again brought a clarity to his mind he had lacked over the past few weeks. If the Prince was going to come out of this alive, he needed to trust the people who were helping him, even if he thought their actions were questionable. He didn'y say anything.

When Auberi climbed up the hatch, he almost dragged the Prince there. Valkner was slow, he could remember everything going to black just a moment ago. Now, everything just felt fast. He was dizzy, but didn't feel as tired as before. Looking up, he saw Auberi reaching down to grab him. He reached up, grabbing Auberi's hand as Payam helped him up to the roof of the train car.

"Lennart. You go on next, I'll cover you." He said, looking toward both entrances of the car to make sure that they weren't ambushed.

”Okay!” Exclaimed Lennart as he pulled himself up on the roof, tossing his backpack up beforehand. It’s rather weighted so it doesnt blow away. He climbs up with Auberi’s help and slings his backpack back on, gunblade hanging from his shoulder. He suddenly remembered something: ”The Tal-Karans! They’re dead. They were killed by steam.” He said this pointing to the cabins ahead, ”The other train cars are full of them but I don’t expect anything different...we need to get out of here.”

As Jarred moved on to the next car, he heard a loud bang on the roof of the car in front. Before he could go investigate, the door leading to it was blown open. Emerging from the entrance were what he knew were Blackguard soldiers. However, their armor had been updated along with their weapons. They had tightly sealed gas masks and armor that appeared to be made of leather and reinforced with metal. Seeing Jarred, they drew metallic batons which lit up with electricity as they charged toward Jarred.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the train near the engine Payam climbed up to the roof the car with the help of Auberi and Lennart. As the train slowed down, he saw the Libertas in the distance drawing closer. At the same time, he saw another airship approaching behind them. It was a much larger combat airship, one he recognized.

"Oh no. We have to get to the Libertas. Now." Said Payam, as he helped Valkner to his feet while the train came to a complete stop.

Lennart saw Payam look up, and he saw the same thing. It wasn't something he wanted to see while they were in such a vulnerable position. Right after, he saw several soldiers parachuting toward the train. They were coming in fast with some landing on top of the train cars at the very back of the train.

”Well, didn’t think I’d be firing on my own men, but:” Lennart unslings his gunrifle, ”You guys secure a place for the Libertas to pick us up,” He pulls the slide on his rifle and puts his recon skills to work. He crouches down and begins shooting at the Blackguards. While his rifle and ammo are a little dated, they still pack enough punch for this range of combat.

Lennart managed to hit one of the few descending Blackguards, making him crash into the nearby forest. The rest however managed to land just a few cars away from them. Once the Blackguards had them in their sights theh charged, running across every car toward them. Seeing them coming, Payam settled Valkner on the floor near him along with his rifle. He then looked at Lennart as the Blackguards approached.

"Time to prove your worth." He said, drawing a Delni style dagger from his belt.

"Likewise." Lennart says ejecting his magazine into a small pouch. He presses a button on his rifle causing the stock to fold out a light hand guard. He pulls the rifle forward and the double sided blade now becomes something similar to a bastard sword.

Lennart and Payam defended against two Blackguards while the rest headed to the cars at the back. They each focused on one of them, drawing stun batons and redying themselves. One of them launched a grappling hook at Payam grabbing one of his legs and making him fall over. He used this to try and get a strike on Payam. The Delni countered by stabbing the Blackguard in the thigh right through his armor spilling blood on Payam and making the Blackguard fall over. The two struggled on the ground a bit until the Blackguard managed to hit Payam with his stun baton.

Meanwhile, the other Blackguard went for Lennart, swinging at him with his stun baton.

Lennart managed to dodge a few blows from the blackguard back and forth. He parried one hit and kicked the Blackguard in the stomach, but it wasn't enough. The guard got inside Lennart's swing and smacked him on the chest with a Ting! Lennart dropped his gunrifle on the flat roof of the train and engaged him in hand to hand combat. The blackguard was confused for a second why Lennart didn't respond to the hit, but now he knows: Lennart's recon armor has a light metal sheet inside to stop things from crushing his chest, similar to a steeltoe boot, however, the leather armor, paired with the metal plate, insulated Lennart from the blow. He elbowed him in the mask, took the guard's right arm under his shoulder and in one swoop snapped his elbow at the joint bringing all 200 lbs of Lennart down on that singular joint. After breaking the guard's arm, he lets him fall to the ground.

The Blackguard shouted under his mask, but got back on his feet, this time brandishing a Steam grenade. As soon as he managed to get up, the face of his helmet exploded splattering blood and bits of the Blackguard's brain over Lennart's armor. The man fell to the ground dropping his steam grenade beside him, rolling harmlessly off the roof and into the forest below. Nearby, Payam managed to kill the other Blackguard too. Looking behind them, both Payam and Lennart saw Valkner who was sitting up and holding Payam's rifle.

“Unknown ship off Stern!” a call echoed down one of the voice pipes into the bridge, “looks like a capitol ship!”

“Damnit,” Jac swore, following a string of more colorful words as he considered his options. His descriptive rant ended as he started giving orders, “All ahead full MEP, activate all smoke generators, and all hands prepare to receive boarders!”

The Libertas surged forward under the Military Emergency Power while Jac threw it into a hard turn, the ship groaning in protest. Smoke first puffed, then began billowing out from various small ports along the sides of the ship forming a large cloud to try and obscure their movements. Between the dark and smoke it was likely very hard to see the fast frigate.

“All Engines Halt,” Jac ordered as he threw the wheel the other way, the ship straightening up only to turn the other way, doubling back on itself to keep the thickest parts of the smoke between them and the enemy ship, “Blow ballast tanks, set for ground plus fifty feet, drop land anchor on my mark.”

Elsewhere on the ship he could hear gunfire but would have to trust that to Beatrix. While Jac had been planning to apologize to her for holding her back, he suddenly felt completely justified and, in fact, glad he had done so. Without her it was even odds they would lose the ship. Not that Jac was planning to make it easy for them. The bottom seemed to fall out from under the ship as the ballast tanks blew, deflating rapidly as helium was vented.
.

With the Libertas in a cloud of smoke and now almost falling, it was all Jac could hope that the ground team would be quick on the uptake and get aboard before the smoke dispersed. One good hit from any real capitol ship would quickly put an end to everyone, something the main turret gunners understood as they held their fire. The small and outdated 7 pounder cannons were pop guns compared to what modern ship of the line had, all it would do is give their position away.

The altimeter plummeted as Jac watched closely, hoping the person manning the ballast controls was good enough for this, admittedly rather crazy, maneuver.

As soon as the Libertas descended and stopped right above the train, its radio operator received a transmission request from the approaching battleship. Whoever was on the other line, demanded to speak to the captain.

“Drop land anchor!” Jac shouted as the Libertas ground to a halt in its decent, it felt like he suddenly weighed far more than normal. That feeling ended soon enough as they leveled off, only for the ship to jerk hard to one side as the land anchor caught a tree or something. Without prompting one crewman kicked the rope ladder off the side before diving for cover from the gunfire zipping either way.

“Radio?” he looked up in mild shock, they had people boarding the ship and they wanted to talk? Unfortunately, he was in no mood to talk, not that they needed to know that.

“Pass it around!” Jac ordered, the radio operator smiling as she handed the handheld to the man at the engine controls.

“Engineering,” he spoke into the radio, “how can I help you?”

"This is General Balthasar von Horgen. I will give your captain and his crew one chance to get out of this alive. Hand over the Outcast girl to the Blackguard and I will order them to stand down. I won't ask twice."

Said the commander of the Leinstein ship, his voice sounding distorted over the radio.

While Beatrix was in silence, it was incredibly obvious to everyone due to how unquiet she was and the heavy aura emanating from her as she simply stood by, leaning on the corner of the room that she wasn't satisfied at all due to the recent events. That said... She was starting to get bored, not only just to Jac's dismay, but pretty much everyone who was nearby too. When the warning was given of a unknown ship approaching the Libertas and enemies boarding either using magnets or parachutes, despite the grim situation they were in, it would mean that they would be able to work without having to deal with Beatrix's terrible mood and her cold, piercing gaze towards them.

"Great! I really needed something to help me calm down..." she said to herself, grabbing her shield and her axe-shotgun. Those who were nearby when she said those words and walked away could only feel bad for the ones whom she would be against...

As the blackguards parachuted down the back of the ship, Beatrix's heavy steps echoed through the Libertas' corridors as she went to the back of the ship to intercept the intruders. Just the moment she arrived, she saw the first blackground touching down. While he was still taking off his parachute, Beatrix rushed towards him, greeting the intruder with a crushing shield bash and pointing her axe-shotgun towards him as he fell to the ground.

"Hello... And good bye." Beatrix said, pressing the trigger.

The noise coming from her axe-shotgun and was loud enough to echo through the entire ship as the flechette ammo exploded against the blackguard's gas mask. Even though they wore reinforced leather armor, it was highly unlikely it would be able to stop a flechette round from Beatrix's weapon, both due to it's caliber and the type of ammo she was using. Even knowing that, Beatrix purposely aimed towards his head, turning it into a grim mess, only partially hidden by the shredded remains of his gas mask.

Auberi made sure everyone was up on the roof and ready to go. He had managed to avoid notice for teh most part. Once the ladder came down and the others made it up, he began the trek. He had gone into another car while the firefight went on and "procured" some explosives. He rigged them on the car below the ladder and then scrambled up it. About four seconds after he reached the ship, about twenty grenades would end that train car's existence to prevent any from trying to climb the ladder.

While Jarred was checking the cars to see if they were all clear, the doors suddenly blew open, two soldiers rushing in. Upon seeing Jarred, they seemed to instinctively reach for shock batons instead of conventional weapons. Charging in for a melee. Now, if Jarred were any old rust bucket, this may pose enough of a threat to catch him off guard. However, it more or les reminded him of the days as a human, the shock batons being this day's sword.

"Shit..." Jarred cursed as he fired off both barrels into one of the advancing blackguard to slow him down. The armor, unfortunately did its job to save his life, for now. As for the second man, Jarred had to choke down on his shotgun so that he was only holding it by the wood grip so as not to have the electricity travel to him when he moved to parry. When the man went to bring the baton down on him, Jarred swung up to parry, the heavier weight of the shotgun and Jarred's mechanical strength, easily knocked the baton from his hand. The man wouldn't have time to react as Jarred returned with a devastating kick to the sternum with his pneumatic leg. The armor wasn't table to stop the force of the kick, its speed and strength traumatizing as bones were crushed and organs were pierced by bone and the metal plates meant to protect the man as he went flying down the cart and back out the door, slamming hard against the other car's door with a sickening crack, only to rebound and fall under the train between the cars. One could say he was lucky the train wasn't moving if t hadn't been that he was dead before he hit the tracks.

"You bastard!" screamed the other man as he lunged with a thrust towards Jarred with his baton. Jarred aimed his left hand at the man's knee and fired the five shot salvo from his hand once more into the man's leg, making him stumble. In tha same movement, Jarred sidestepped the man and raised his right arm quickly, his sword coming out of his right arm as it severed the man's arm, the baton clattering to the ground. Jarred used the momentum of the sidestep to get behind the man, grabbing him by the neck with his left hand and then running him through the back with his blade. He would then turn the blade inside him and rip it through the man's body to the side and letting him fall to the floor. the blood pooling in the floor of the train rapidly. Jarred quickly scavenged the man's communication gear and one of the shock batons as he quickly made for the top of the train to check on the others. When he put the headset around his neck he heard something that made his nerves freeze. "Frinnia located, moving to extract," a voice chimed in on the radio. "Copy that, Tal Karans eliminated and moving in to capture Vaulkner, but we are taking casualties," another responded.

"K-KIIMI!" Jarred roared as he jumped from the door and up to the top of the train. He holsted his gun and dropped the baton that he was originally planning on holding onto as he made a mad sprint to get back to the Libertas. Jarred could see Auberi, Payam, Vaulkner, and someone else escaping to the ship, being chased by four more blackguard. Jarred, in mid sprint along the top of the train, pulled out his 45-70 rifle and opened fire, taking two down buy surprise with two shots to the back each, their armor no match for the heavy and powerful calibur. Though powerful, Jarred reholstered the weapon as it only held four shots. Te other two turned to face their new attacker, drawing shock batons as well, ready to face down Jarred. Jarred, however, was hell bent on getting back to the ship, and slammed into the two men. One man fell off the train while the other was crushed and dragged under Jarred's momentum on the top of the train. Jarred made it through, but it didn't come without consequence. The batons still made contact and staggaring him momentarily, his systems faltering for a moment and making him fall onto the train top with a blackgaurd beneath him. As he regained footing, he tried to get up to the ship before they were able to pull away. It was just in time too, because oddly enough, not even half a second after he leapt to grab the lowest rung of the ladder, an explosion went off, toppling the train car and totaling it. Jarred yelled up to Auberi at the top. "AUBERI, GET TO KIIMI!"

---
Kiimi woke to the sound of gunfire, starteled that fighting had started without being told, however, what else was odd was that some of the gunfire sounded closeby. Kiimi rushed to lock her door with a chair and then dug into her supplies. She pulled a rfle from a case and made sure it was loaded. She then checked to make sure her revolver was loaded as well. Her hands were nearvous as she looked over her weapons, never having to oad it with the intent of maybe having to kill someone. She backed to the corner of her bed, which was also the corner of the room and stayed there for what felt like ages where she just watched the door and clutched her rifle with bated breath. It felt like an eternity had passed though it was just a few minutes. At one point, it sounded like the gunfire had stopped when she heard doors being slammed open. She gripped her rifle hard when something hit her door. The man on the other side could be heard making a radio call, "Frinnia located, moving to extract." It was a blackguard that had snuck on board the ship.

The door then burst open, toppling the chair to the side as the black guard forced is way in. The man quickly made his way to Kiimi, who vocally screamed out as she flinched and fired. The round hit the man in the side, the speed of the round doing well against the armor though, not the best. The man cursed as he closed the gap and grabbed the rifle from her. He then threw a punch which hit her in the cheek, making her lose the rest of her frail grip on her rifle. The man then struggled slightly with her as she tried to fend him off from dragging her away. Kiimi, wildly kicked at him yelling at him o leave her alone. One of the kicks landed on the man's fresh bullet wound, making him release is grip, giving Kiimi the opening to reach for her revolver she set on the besdide table and shoot at the man, striking him in various places, some in the armor, but one in the neck, which pu the man down on her floor quickly bleeding out. Kiimi's left side of her face was bruised from the strike, her eyes tearing up from the ecperience as she shrunk to the corner of the room again with her gun in hand, shaking and traumatized. She was terrified of what just happened as she started to cry, struggling to keep in in yet failing. The experience of her first kill tearing at her and the fear of the moment overcoming her. tears turned to coughing, which only started to make things worse. She tried to calm herself down, her heart was beating quite fast, she tried to hide her face from the gruesome site by drawing her knees up and folding her arms around the top of her knees and covering her face. "I-I can't do this anymore, this is all just too much," she cried out, "I...I just can't..."

Over the gunfire Jac managed to catch the crewman at the top of the rope ladder signaling that everyone was coming, a point that was punctuated by the distant crump of an explosion below the ship. Jac signaled for the land anchor to be cut while reaching for his own radio handheld.

“Ready the bends,” Jac ordered to the man at the ballast station as the anchor line fell away.

“Well Mr. Balthasar, that’s an interesting offer,” Jac said into the mic while carefully watching where the ladder was attached as the first person made it onto the deck, gunfire echoing down the hallways. Jac noted with a smirk the deep boom of Beatrix’s shotgun as he continued, “I’m not sure what you want with some random outcast girl, but it is rather hard to think right now-.”

Jac paused to make his point, holding down the mic as he quick drew his revolver and fired two shots into the still closed bridge door. The gun’s report echoing through the bridge and, with any luck, over the radio. Everyone in the bridge flinched but the thick bulkhead door was more than capable of stopping even the heavy .40 cal rounds. More importantly another figure climbed up the ladder onto the deck.

“This is the Captain by the way, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he continued as a third person crawled onto the deck, “and I must say, while your little ship is quite scary, I’m not a huge fan of anyone threatening my crew. So, out of professional courtesy, I should recommend you take a more friendly approach next time.”

The crewman on the front bridge signaled there was one more person coming up, apparently, they’d picked up two new people instead of just one. Great, Jac thought, a problem for later.
.

“As a navy veteran I should also point out that, while battleships are intimidating, they lack the speed and agility to interdict other airships. It would have been better to send down a couple smaller escorts while keeping your big guns at altitude to provide cover,” the final form crawled onto the deck, the rifle making it clear the last one up was Jarred, “what I’m trying to say is… Bye!”

With a nod the ballast operator through the helium tanks wide open, almost instantly filling all four altitude pouches to full. The Libertas jumped like a spooked cat, Jac struggling to stay on his feet as they rocketed skyward. It felt like he was being slammed into the ground, the altimeter spinning too fast to read. Gunfire across the ship faltered to be replaced with the rushing of air and groaning of metal. Jac felt his ears popping rapidly and knew he, and the rest of the crew, would suffer for pulling this maneuver. But it was better than waiting under the guns of that battleship.

From the outside the Libertas took to the sky, flying from the smoke cloud like a balloon lost by a small child. In seconds they flew past five thousand feet, the ballast operator having to vent some of the Helium so the expanding gasses didn’t rupture the pouches.

“I hate that maneuver!” someone groaned as the ship began to level out at ten thousand feet.

“All ahead full,” Jac ordered quickly as soon as the force pressing him into the floor let up, “and someone deal with the last of these roaches!”

With any luck many of the blackguard had lost their footing from the sudden jump in altitude, either falling off the ship altogether or hitting something that disabled them long enough for the crew to deal with them. Jac simply hoped that there weren’t any deaths in his crew, but these were the elite of Lienstine so he didn’t honestly believe they could escape unscratched.
.

As that thought passed through his mind, he felt his anger rising, they’d fallen directly into a navy ambush and been boarded. If Beatrix had been on the ground, they may have all died. All for these damn royals. Someone was going to get the chewing out of their lives, but that would have to wait till they were clear.

when Jarred made it on deck, he bolted straight in the direction of Kiimi's room, straight by Auberi, despite him getting there first. When he got to her room, he instantly went to attack the body out of sheer instinct, stopping himself as he quickly realized he was dead. He looked up to find Kiimi still curled in the corner. He audibly breathed a sigh of relief as his sword withdrew. He dragged the body from the room, tossing him into the hall as he entered.

"Kiimi..," he called to her, When she looked up, Jarred had to quell the instant rage he felt when he saw a black eye forming around her good eye. He stepped inside and sat next to her. Kiimi didn't say anything as she dropped her weapon and nearly jumped to embrace him, burying her face in his metal chest as she sobbed. Jarred held her close and patted her on the back. "Shhhh, It's alrigt my child, I am here now, it's alright...."

"Papa....I don't know....if I can keep doing this...,"Kiimi said quietly wiith a wavering voice.

Jarred sat for a moment, going over the past day in his head before slowly shaking his head. "No... I don't think we should... The prince is free once more... I think we are done...," he said. Jarred helped free the prince, but in doing so, he had now put Kiimi through more danger than ever, and thought he had lost her for a moment. No, he couldn't keep going like this. The kingdoms problems seemed to melt away fromhis mind as he thought of the girl he saw as his own daughter. 'Would you be disappointed in me, old friend?' he wondered to himself when thinking of Havkar, 'or would you do the same to try to save the ones you loved? If you are watching right now....I am sorry... We can't keep this up... not like this...,' he finished his thoughts to himself.