[center][color=cyan][h2]Gerard Biserus[/h2][/color][/center]

[color=cyan]"It wasn't me this time."[/color] Galahad insisted as Morden hopped out of the back of the truck, Val not far behind him. The truck itself lifted considerably, now that Morden's weight was no longer dragging it down to earth. The two took stock of the current situation, finding it better to hurl comments from a slight distance away rather than be right up next to Justice as she handed the old Marshall her papers. [color=cyan]"I don't think they like us much."[/color] Gerard commented idly, leaning towards the larger man with a faux conspiratorial glance. [color=cyan]"And here I thought people had respect for the military."[/color]

Gerard watched with an amused glance as Val more or less returned to the proverbial scene of the crime, apparently unaware of what had just happened. Not that any of them made any moves to explain that to her- At least for Gerard's part, he was rather curious if things would spiral even more out of control. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately depending on the person, no more shenanigans were to happen, at least for the moment. The cashier, already sheet white and didn't offer much in the terms of words [color=f26522]"F-four Gil."[/color]

[color=khaki]"Tourism... Uh huh..."[/color] the old timer grunted as he flipped through the folder of papers Justice provided to him. He didn't necessarily seem convinced, but at the very least, his hand left its proximity to his pistol when his eyes confirmed that he had not just run up on a squad of AWOL WARDENs. He glanced up briefly when Kalina cut in with a bit of a snort. [color=khaki]"Oh they've certainly been through- up and passed on by without much a care. Don't think Rupert and his fellas were too keen on chasing after them. 'Sides, any more people leave, and we won't be much of a town anymore."

"Well, looks like everything checks out. Sorry for the hold up, not a lot of us 'round these parts, so we gotta be bit cautious when folk start throwing magic around."[/color] the old marshall finally concluded after a few minutes of pouring over documents, handing them back to Justice as he waved off the backup on the water tower. [color=khaki]"Safe to assume ya'll be passing us by come the morn? Careful on your way up north, bullet sharks been tearin' up the ground by the 'forest."[/color][hr]
[hider=Earlier that day]
[center][img]http://orig07.deviantart.net/7646/f/2013/094/e/6/airship_by_terrylh-d60ffmw.jpg[/img]
[sub][h3][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klPZIGQcrHA]Sarabande[/url][/h3][/sub][/center]
[indent][i]IAF Envoy-class Cruiser Palatine[/i]
[i]The Same Day[/i][/indent]
[hr]

The fluttering flag of the Imperial Air Force danced amongst the heavens. A shock of black and red emblazoned with the roaring gryphons - the symbol of House Skymning: Rulers of Vangar. The flag itself was worn and the colors were beginning to fade, a few centuries old at this point, squatting atop of the upper rigging of the Palatine, marking it as the flagship of the Vangar Diplomatic Fleet. The winds themselves were thick, loaded with thick smoke and ash rising from the paralyzed battlefields that seemed to be not but misshapen clumps of green and brown far below them. 

Colette Van Skymning of House Skymning stood on the observation deck in deep thought. Behind her was the vast expanse that the was the Vangar Empire, an empire forged by the blood and sacrifices of her ancestors before her. It was a land of prosperity and order, where crime was punished with a clenched iron fist but where everyone from the lowest of peasants to the highest members of the nobility had enough to eat upon their tables. Ahead of her was the unknown, the Kingdom of Rassvet. A land of great industry, ingenuity but also one of isolation and seclusion. If the historic books she had read in the palace library were to be believed, it was a land of corruption and greed. Where the nobility dominated their politics to keep the lower classes repressed and below them in rank. A land where the military and nobility ran unchecked. A strange land where children as young as ten were taken away from their lives and families to be turned into killing machines. 

So why did the notion of the place excite her so much? Perhaps it was really as simple as experiencing the unknown. 

Many back home and in the military certainly didn't want her to be here. One thing her critics claimed was undeniably true: she was young and inexperienced, the only conformation she needed for that was to look at her reflection cast in the glass panes of the observation deck. Having turned twenty years of age just a few months prior, a young woman looked back at her. Hair dark hair fell in waves down to her waist, green eyes bright and filled with something between young naiveté and determination. The cutting image of her mother- or so she was told to believe. She knew not the rigors and troubles of rule and politics like her father or her older siblings knew. She may of had the best education and training by some of the brightest minds in the Empire but she didn't have the experience, the foresight to do something with it. 

The sound of swishing fabric brought her out of her reverie and back into the present. She turned her head to watch as a lone figure made his way towards her. Hair grey in color and perhaps a bit longer than typical military regulations, a thick mustache and beard that would've been just as common on a lumberjack. He walked a decided level of purpose about him soft footfalls echoing across the empty chamber. Albriech Bernhardt, some time ago he was a general and war hero of the whole of the Empire. He retired some twenty years back, serving in a less prominent role as a tutor to the Emperor's children as a favor to his childhood friend. 'Uncle' Albriech was a permanent fixture of Colette's life and he had always been her favorite tutor. It was upon her request, not her father's for him to accompany her to Rassvet.

[color=lightgray]"There you are milady. The Captain has been looking for you everywhere."[/color] Albriech explained as he closed the distance standing next to her gaze focused intently on the horizon. [color=lightgray]"I should of figured that you would be here. You always did favor the views from up here."[/color]

[color=coral]"Yes. My apologies Uncle, I just needed to find somewhere quiet to think. I wasn't really feeling up to being followed around by the whole retinue."[/color] She explained, voice tired.

[color=lightgray]"Something troubling you then?"[/color]

[color=coral]"I just wonder if I'm doing the right thing."[/color] Colette responded producing a slow nod of agreement from the older man.

[color=lightgray]"The terrible affliction that comes with being in a position of authority. As it were. I thought the young miss was certain of her position regarding our current matters in Rassvet."[/color] Albriech reminded her. It was true- since the war's one year anniversary she had been one of the more prolific voices for peace.

[color=coral]"I am certain... I just don't know what it means for our home. Wasn't it you that always told me that war was a necessity needed to fuel the Empire?"[/color] She asked looking towards the older man. In return Albriech gave a small smile as he stroked his beard seemingly in deep thought.

[color=lightgray]"Those are words of a younger man, but might I propose to you the words of an older man?"[/color] He offered, [color=lightgray]"It behooves a leader to do all within their power to ensure the continued prosperity and well being of every man and women beneath them."[/color]

[color=coral]"Who said that?"[/color]

[color=lightgray]"Well myself of course."[/color] Albriech chuckled loudly, obviously quite pleased with himself as he placed a hand upon Colette's shoulder. [color=lightgray]"True nobility means to have your focus placed upon the well being of the citizenry. This war has produced nothing but bloodshed for no gains to speak of. Lives, resources, effort- all wasted. All in pursuit of resources we don't even know if Rassvet still has. While some may not like the idea of peace, it may truly be the best course we have available."[/color] 

[color=coral]"Even so, all we have done to the people of Rassvet is destroy their towns and set their fields ablaze. The idea of them reconciling with us so easily- I just feel like we're being set up for failure."[/color]   

[color=lightgray]"And so it is your job to do what the others can not. An easy task? No. But one that can we be accomplished? I certainly believe so."[/color] 

[color=coral]"You make it sound so easy Uncle."[/color]

[color=lightgray]"Like most things. Anyway, before I forget, Captain Rekks desires to go over the security detail one last time. I understand why your father trusts him so much, but can the man ever be persistent."[/color]
[/hider]
[hr][center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/dce438d80bd104063575bf01fe012b21/tumblr_ncvhmias4T1t5c6u6o1_500.gif[/img][hr][/center]
Initial troubles aside, eventually the WARDENs were left to their own business, now free of encroaching Marshalls.

The Cloudgazer, witnessing its first bit of business in weeks- if not months probably, opened up most of the floor for them- a quartet of two bed flats, all next door to each other, though the Barghest squad had set up most of their kit in the empty parking lot, with a small portable etherium-powered fire pit, a gas grill and a collection of collapsible stools, beer cases of varying fullness, and procured cushions for seating areas. The truck sat nearby, corralling the flickering light, doors open and engine idling as music spilled out of the radio inside and over their makeshift camp. The faint smell of charcoal and lighter fluid mixed with the savory smells of meat as food roasted on the grill, and the golden afternoon sun had given way to the blue and purple of the evening sky and a cool, early autumn breeze that wasn't quite biting but just enough to warrant a jacket or sweater. 

[color=cyan]"I'm telling you- they were [i]so[/i] fucking mad!"[/color] Gerard laughed, firelight reflecting off his glasses as he sat around the pit, in the midst of retelling a story from one of their training days. He took another swig of his beer before continuing. [color=cyan]"Not because Morden busted through the bunker wall, but because he busted through the walls of both the team locker rooms and the [i]instructor's observation post[/i] on his way there. Shoulda seen the look on their faces- Its miracle we weren't disqualified."[/color] 

Pushing himself up to his feet, Gerard crunched the can in his hands and launched the resulting disk across the parking lot, the bit of tin clattering against the side of a trash bin, along with another some half-dozen crushed cans from earlier that night. He blinked in surprise for a moment- not entirely sure why as he felt something akin to a chill run over him. A split second later the truck and etherium fire pit shut off before flickering back to life a moment later. Lights in the motel and around in the town flickered off and on again in a strange wave before stabilizing. 

Gerard was about to make a snarky remark about how broken down the town was before he saw it- before they all saw it. Nearly impossible for anyone to miss, as out of a thick layer of cloud above them fell a massive fireball. The members of Barghast squad could clearly see that it was not a magical fireball or meteor, but rather an airship falling out of the sky. The airship was huge- bigger than any Rassvet warship. The colors of the ship were hard to make out- its flag scorched and unrecognizable as everything around it was painted orange and grey by trailing fire and smoke, but it certainly seemed like a civilian liner rather than a warship, if its smooth shapes and angles, and large, probably formerly white balloon was any indication. That being said, it was rather hard to see the entire silhouette of the ship, its back half was all but missing and its sides appeared to have been peppered with holes- likely of the cannon variety- and its belly belched fire and smoke. 

Passing overhead, Gerard craned his neck as he watched the massive airship continue its fiery arc across the sky, pieces of wreckage, debris, and even a few parachutes and what appeared to be escape pods broke away from it. In the relative silence of the still night, even from a far distance they could hear the echoing screams of people as they burned alive or fell off the ship- or both. The airship was rapidly losing altitude and continued to shed large chunks of itself before it smashed into the petrified badlands some dozen miles from them. 

They could still see the glow of the fire and smoke from behind the craggy rocks and stone features- which glowed brighter for a moment before the ground rumbled and a explosion erupted from the location of the wreckage, the ground beneath Sapple Springs rumbling as the ship’s Mist Reactor went critical and failed.

[color=cyan]“That didn't look like one of ours.”[/color] Gerard murmured as he pulled out his phone, his brow furrowing as he noticed that there was no signal- not even emergency lines. The radiating mist from the explosion was probably fucking with their signal- that, or something particularly sinister was afoot. [color=cyan]"Think I saw a pod or two deploy parachutes before they got too low."[/color]