Chiro

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

Mexican Restaurant, Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 10:15 AM, UTC+8

Henri had, for the most part, focused on his meal. A lot was happening both within the restaurant and at the television screen informing of the latest happenings in the world, especially with the US and their "New Roosevelt" having gained a renewed interest in the rest of the world.

And he had to admit, the Americans coming in were certainly a colorful bunch.

First there was the Liberator. While Arms-Masters have been compared to super-heroes ever since they appeared, Liberator took it to a whole new level. Uniform, presentation, everything. While the origin of his Noble Arm was classified (no surprise there), Henri guessed it must have been his patriotic spirit, considering how strong its America theme was. In other words a hero inside and outside.

Henri had a feeling Liberator was a product of a project similar to Laelaps. He was just too... Fitting, to have become an Arms-Master on his own. He should know. He had been fighting besides and against Arms-Masters long enough to know how random Noble Arms could be.

On the opposite side there was Baalphegor. Literally called the Archdevil of the Free Market, few knew for sure why she had customers. Some say she was the most honest capitalist on Earth, respectable in its own right. Others claim its the sheer refuge in audacity that protects her. And to be fair, someone who looks and acts like the Devil in real life is hard to believe. Henri himself couldn't help but chuckle a bit. She even smelled of sulfur.

Henri himself leaned more towards audacity. Baalphegor had the same feeling of planning as the Liberator did, only in the opposite direction. Lex Luthor and Lucifer in the same package.

"Well, whatever the case, I'll keep my eyes open" Henri thought aloud as he swallowed another quesadilla. Liberator and Baalphegor, the light and darkness of the USA. Both worth keeping an eye on.

And ear.

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 9:21 AM, UTC+8

Henri sighed in relief. He had considered touching the Boar with Leonidas, but had come to second thoughts after realizing said touch might, instead of stabilizing her, erase her completely.

Leonidas was powerful, but enigmatic.

Luckily Myron had a more practical solution. Not a permanent one, but at least stable.

”So what now?” she asked the task force as she checked her former before leaving Myron to deal with it. She would then turn to everyone else as she got reintroduced as a veteran.

@Digmata

"Good question." Henri agreed with Christina "That assassin wasn't part of the planned schedule. Or at least I hope she wasn't."

"Speaking of." He continued, "Chinese intelligence should know us by reputation at this point. For them to send a single soldier against well-known Zodiac killers I can imagine three reasons. One, they're desperate. Two, soldiers are being eliminated in preparation for an internal coup. Or three, there's a reserve of Arms-Masters ready to replace the lost Zodiacs. The first two would be advantageous to us. The third means the worst is still ahead."

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

[quote=@Chiro]

Henri

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 9:20 AM, UTC+8

"What the!?" Henri exclaimed in shock as the bullets just... Disappeared as they met Feng.

"Mr. Janessens, use your Shield! The Pig of the Zodiac is glowing like that because she turned her body through pure magical energy, which in turn is because she has absorbed Avatars of the Virtues and Superbia!"

The Crown Prince had thrust his Noble Arm (a spear) into the ground, and it was glowing; some sort of analysis power was at work?

@Letter Bee

"I uhh... Yes, Sire." The sergeant stammered after the order and information provided.

Henri knew best not to hesitate. If he had heard the Prince, then so had Feng. And while the Zodiac was busy, she was getting stronger fast, as she absorbed opponents.

Henri pulled out Leonidas, and luckily it didn't cause the Mirage Space to rip apart or similar, as he had feared. Not only that, but there was a perfect opening. Putting Leonidas in front of him, Henri charged at the Boar with confidence. He could curse his earlier foolishness later, once Zodiac was dealt with.

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 9:20 AM, UTC+8

Gosh, Henri hated the Mirage Space. Now, it had its uses, but Henri himself didn't want to risk using Leonidas, or at least Fighting in Shade. And to add insult to injury, the Boar's shield seemed to have some anti-NA properties of its own, and she was using them with impunity.

This time, however, Henri wasn't so helpless. He had learned a couple of things fighting the zodiac. Most notably, he hadn't seen a single helmet on their heads.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" He thought to himself as he loaded his gun. "Fool me thrice, screw you."

Now, there was no guarantee that this Boar fellow would be as an easy target as the previous ones. Not only she must have heard of the defeats of his cohorts, including the one Henri sniped before. That plus Henri had only a pistol this time, and Feng had a shield. But if all else failed, the shooting would hopefully offer a distraction long enough for another soldier to take a change and deal with the Boar.

As the meteor began to fall, Henri knew he couldn't dilly dally anymore. So he took aim at the Boar's exposed head and fired.

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

Intermission Five - Aftermath of Victory

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 8:30 AM, UTC+8

Henri sighed, listening to the speech.

"Politics, politics, politics..." He whispered to himself.

He had barely survived being shot and nearly drowning. The Arms-Master could still feel the phantom pains from the place bullet had lodged in, even though it had been removed.

Henri had pretty much recovered at that point, his movements and battle skills having returned to pretty much normal. Although one thing bothered him.

An experience he had should have traumatized him. Or he supposed there was no guarantee of a soldier losing one's guts. Still, Henri was taking everything much better than he expected. Was there something mentally wrong in him... Or could it be because of his Noble-Arm?

Not that far-fetched, actually. Many Arms-Masters, Task Force Obsidian included, were very young, de jure child soldiers, and they too seemed to take things surprisingly in stride. This would require further study.

But first...

"I owe you my life, and should the circumstances permit it, I will seek to pay it back."

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

Mirage Space - 12/28/2022, 5: 29, UTC+8

Henri allowed himself a sigh of relief, as Christina activated Mirage Space for return journey. Although the mission was far from over, the knowledge that this part had succeeded in its goals was a relief.

However, that relief was quickly shattered as a message came through radio.

“Obsidian, imminent threat from your own Arms! Sergeant Janssens, you are unaffected – neutralise that antiquarian, now!”

@Nimbus

"Son of a-" Henri exclaimed at the realization and turned around.

It is said that when all you have is a hammer, everything will start to look like a nail. Many arms-masters had that same problem. If you have a weapon attached to your… Existence 24/7, you start seeing it as an end all solution.

Due to the anti-NA nature of Leonidas, Henri didn't dare to utilize it in the Mirage Space like all the others. Never would he had thought it would end up being a blessing in disguise. Wu Shufen, also known as Monkey, had followed Task Force Obsidian into Christina's Mirage Space and was rapidly copying the powers of each member of the task force.

Henri did what he could think of doing at that moment and dodged to the left. The sergeant wore armor at the center of his mass, but that the bullets could pierce. In fact, the pain in his right thigh told that at least one shot had hit a mark.

When Henri hit the ground on his side, he took his pistol from the holster and through the pain fired at Shufen's direction.

As Mirage space disappeared from sight and Henri's sight began spinning, he hoped he had made at least some damage to the monkey.

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

La Trinidad de Manila Academy(Reminiscing)

Then he turned towards Callie, Henri, and Nil, glancing at them long enough to let them know one ear of his' was paying attention to their conversation, and walked towards the three before adding, "You know, Henri, I've done my own digging, and I must say, a Noble Arm that is oriented towards negating other Noble Arms? If this were the 'old days', the Disablers - My old group - would be considering you as a grudging ally."

His eyes then glinted as he continued, "I made mistakes in their service. Remember what motivated those mistakes, no, atrocities. No one is immune from the urge to participate in the cycle of oppression and revenge - I say this not out of scorn, but out of concern."

@Letter Bee

Henri thought about Myron's words. The Disablers, an anti-Arms Master extremist Group using guerilla tactics against their enemies.

"You know" he finally said, "I'd want to say I am not like that. But to be honest, I cannot say for sure."

Henri looked at his arm. He didn't activate Leonidas, but nonetheless brushed his fingers through the air, like the shield's ghost was there.

"Noble Arm symbolizes the Arms Master's character and desires. I'm not sure an anti-NA can exist without a certain level of antipathy towards other Arms or their Masters. I mean, I don't exactly hate Arms Masters, but I've always had reservation towards them. Might be why Leonidas is a shield, rather than a sword or bow"

Henri couldn't help but sigh. "Rich coming from me, I know. Still, sometimes I wonder if Noble Arms wouldn't trust each other either, if they could think. Whatever the case, I'll keep my eyes open, in front of the mirror, or otherwise."

That was a good question, was there a reason to come to this table specifically? Unsure.
There was something about the familiar faces? Or what Callie asked before? No, she wouldn’t have dodged if she wanted to get spilled with soda.

Taking a step back, what brings her here? The answer was rather simple.
”Food.” Nil answered rather bluntly and proceeded to stare at the other two Arms Masters on their chair, and Myron too once he walked in.

She had no idea what this talk about Disbablers was all about.

@Gerlando

Henri chuckled a bit, "Yeah, good point. Cafeteria is a cafeteria, in the end."

BRP Jose Rizal (Present)

Henri returned from his thoughts, still chuckling. Those were some nice times back in Manila, but it was time to return to the here and now. He listened intently, as the Admiral told of the plans.

It was a good strategy, a well-thought one. Of course, nothing was ever fool-proof, with men being what they were. But that didn't mean Henri was demoralized. Far from it. He had gotten out of nasty situations before, and this was no different.

Time to talk operations.

"If I use my Mirage Space, I could carry everyone in this room and some more. My Noble Arm is limited by time, volume and indiscrimination, not body count." she answered to Callie as she keeps an ear to the planning of the operation.

"But if we use that, we would need to move quickly. I cannot hold the Mirage Space and stay outside for long, it's like keeping a bottle of water raised. Easy at first, then it gets tiring the longer it took."

@Digmata

"Worth a try, at least" Henri added to the conversation, "Bernardino gives me and a chosen number of regular soldiers a lift and Lidmann opens a portal. Once on Guangdong we are released and I activate Leonidas. Then comes the hard part. Once Fighting in Shade is active, there's 30 second period to neutralize Cao Bao and secure our position on the deck."

Henri considered the next move. "Of course, that is only the first part. Assuming the decapitation succeeds, what next? Do we evacuate back to Jose Rizal, or try and seize Guangdong?"

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

La Trinidad de Manila Academy

<Snipped quote by Chiro>

“It’s the humidity.” A figure in army fatigues practically fell into the seat beside Oskar, pallid face and messy blonde hair quickly following and a bowl of arroz caldo thunking onto the table in front of her. “Wish I’d spent more time in the South-West as a kid, I’d have been used to it already, but as is… Didn’t take too long to acclimatise.”

She spared a glance towards Henri, wan smile crossing her face below her half-lidded eyes. “Not going by rank, then, Sergeant? And give the guy a break, he’s barely arrived.” She plunged her spoon into the dish, then turned towards the newcomer, extending a hand to shake. “Caroline, Lidmann, but please just call me ‘Callie’. ‘Caroline’’s what the brass and my mum should call me, and, ideally, not another soul.”

“Speaking of…” Callie lifted the spoon, now heaped with rice broth and chicken, and pointed it at Henri vaguely accusatorially before withdrawing it to beside her mouth. “We’ve barely talked since Lingayen. What brings a Belgian with a Greek NA from an EU spec ops unit to the other side of the world?” she asked – followed by practically inhaling the mouthful and shivering with pleasure, then going for another. “Mmmph… God, that’s good. Anyway – spill.”

@Nimbus

"Yeah, well, it is increasingly hard to follow the full protocols of the military. Especially with teens as superior officers" Henri said, swallowed another piece of stew, and continued, "As for how I got here, I, like the rest of the Laelaps Unit, was supposed to handle internal affairs within EU. There's a lot of politicians, businessmen and the like with suspected Downward Descent connections. However, with Russia and China taking an aggressive stance, we had to change policy Realpolitik. So, I was sent here to represent EU."

Spill, it went through Nil’s mind for a couple seconds, then decided to just do it, as if it was a command and splashed her drink on Callie’s bowl, although getting some on Callie herself too.

With her other hand Nil waved casually. ”Spill.”

@Gerlando

Callie sagged. “God, Nil, please don’t scare a girl like that. I’m tired as is.” She plastered the half-smile onto her face again, then reached over to ruffle her hair. “Old gang’s all here, though. That’s nice. You getting on okay?”

@Nimbus

"Whoa!" Henri exclaimed, was lucky to avoid having any liquids gotten on him.

He noticed at the side eye Myron talking to a man he couldn't remember the name of right now, but the looks of Myron, the man's presence wasn't welcomed.

However, it wasn't his place to interfere unless ordered to, so he returned to the conversations. Callie's interaction with... Nil was certainly a close one. Henri didn't know much about the Arms Master, despite having worked together. Then again, Nil was a general enigma, excluding Danish seemingly being her mother tongue.

Callie's comment did cause Henri to look at Nil closely. She didn't seem to be in a bad condition, but upcoming missions would be stressful.

As Callie dodged the splash last second, Nil just stood there, a little shocked by the sudden movement, but perhaps she shouldn’t be.

The Old gang probably meaning the ones from Lingayen, although missing Sophist… he didn’t end up well.

”Yes.”
Her response came pretty bluntly and without a hint of a follow up, though for those who know Nil it would be clear it’s not because of lack of interest, rather her train of thought ended there.
At least until someone says something to keep the conversation going.

@Gerlando

"So...Nil" Henri said, pondering what to say. "What brings you here?... To this table, I mean."

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Oskar watched as the weapon turned man did his thing, and if he was being honest, he was a little disappointed. He knew logically that not all powers were flashy and obvious, but he had still been expecting something to happen as the director tapped Cristina's weapon with their own. Oskar shooed those thoughts away as the Director recapped were each of them were going. A slight frown formed at the edges of his mouth as he heard it'd be only the two of them going on the rescue mission. That would make things much trickier.

As they were dismissed Oskar decided to finally get himself some food as he had skipped breakfast this morning. He quickly grabbed a large plate of something labeled Sisig, he had no idea what it was other than a large amount of delicious meat. He turned around and saw a few of his new squad mates had decided to get some food as well. He stood there for a few moments mulling over the idea of striking up a conversation.

He usually wasn't the chatty type, but he had to at least build up a bit of repour with his new team members. Even so he decided to approach the brown-haired Belgian man who'd sat by himself. If he remembered right his name was Henri. He tried to temp down the scowl that was a permanent fixture on his face as he sat across from the other man.

"Hello, I am Oskar. Figured I'd introduce myself and get the awkwardness of the first real meeting out of the way while I had the chance." He said as he offered a hand to Henri. "I figured I'd start with the stragglers as I'm not much of a social person."

@Goblininamech

[quote=@Chiro]

Henri

La Trinidad de Manila Academy

Henri was mostly focused on eating, though occasionally he looked around him. It was then that another fellow appeared at the table. A soldier himself.

"You and me both, pal." Henri replied and shook Oskar's hand,"I'm not much of a conversationalist myself, either. Henri, Henri Janssens."

While they were both military men, this didn't feel like the time of going for ranks. Besides, Arms-Masters here were relatively casual outside of battle.

"So, what do you think of the Philippines?" Henri asked, hoping to ease the mood. "Personally, the sights are beautiful, but this heat really gets to me."

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Henri

La Trinidad de Manila Academy

Henri watched as Director did his thing. He had to admit, it was an impressive feat. Now, while he admitted to have occasionally hoped for another power, Henri decided to keep his own. Leonidas, for all of its limits, was Still a rarity as far as NA powers went, and wasn't worth sacrificing. That plus, weird as it sounded, Henri had, in his own way, grown fond of the shield.

Listening to the choices made, Henri pondered whether or not the undecided would go for the rescue mission. Battles needed more men, but he wasn't sure if two would be enough for the other job. Now, there were Arms Masters, who could perform missions single-handedly, but they were very rare, and nothing was guaranteed in the unpredictable event of combat.

As the briefing ended, Henri rose up and gave a salute. Noble Arm or no Noble Arm, the director deserved the respect of a soldier.

"Might as well check, what sort of lunch they have" Thought Henri to himself as he left for cafeteria.

The food available was certainly diverse. A lot more than what was available in schools back in Belgium, when Henri was a kid. He couldn't say, if it was michelin level stuff, though. Henri had never been much of a gourmet.

Finally Henri ended up in front of something the text next to it referred to as Metsado. Certainly looked tasty, so Henri shrugged and decided to take some.

Having settled down, Henri saw shadows moving close by. He prepared to advance, but it looked like there wasn't trouble yet. Henri nonetheless kept an eye on the situation, as he began his meal.