Dyelli Beybi

Empire of the Clouds

"I wouldn't just yet," Max replied before Zoe had a chance to, "We've got people unloading the gold on behalf of your Government - transferring it to a Mittelandische vault where its a bit safer. They'll all be under foot at this point."

"Why don't we bring everyone up here instead," Zoe suggested, looking progressively more embarrassed as she spoke, "Then we can explain the errr... 'little surprise' I've sprung on everyone."

"Dressing up and pretending to be nobody in particular?" Max gave a chuckle, "Thought that was the Hasikos family's favourite sport?" He left the question as rhetorical though, not waiting for a reply, "I'll have my man get messages delivered to your merry band of scallywags. I must get going to supervise this gold transfer... but it has been a joy to see you cousin. And I mean that both as Max and as the Crown Prince. Come for dinner at the Schloss Eisenwald tonight. Just something casual... 8pm... oh yes, and I'll assign some of my Guard to your person."

"I will be there," Zoe confirmed, "Provided the guards let them in."

"I'll tell them to be on the lookout for a mad woman claiming to be Royalty," Max assured her, "Your Highness... I will see you this evening."

"Your Highness," Zoe rose as he left, though the moment Max was gone, she dropped back onto the couch with an exaggerated groan, "That is not going to be casual. What he means by that is only six courses. I do not fancy telling everyone else from the ship. I was quite liking my life there. I expect some of them will get a bit weird," she subjected Aden to a thoughtful study, lips pursed, "I hope you won't."

Smoke and Steel

Coralie D'Amboise: The Battle of Katalani, 10:00am

Through the lens of her spyglass, Coralie could see the pikes advancing around her troops at the farmyard, threatening to cut them off. There was no other batallia but her own, able to plug the gap and keep the route to and from the farmyard open... she snapped the glass shut, leaning down from her saddle to speak to the Iktani Major, "Give the order to bring us up along the road to protect the rear of our troops at the farmhouse."

He nodded and a few moments later the sound of drums and pipes signalled the advance. Coralie dismounted, tossing her reigns to an aide as she fell in with her guard.

She wasn't sure if it had been a cunning move on the part of her enemies, or pure bad luck, but as they advanced, the Red pike formation turned, angling back towards Coralie's musketeers. Her troops got a good volley off, ripping through the front rank, but other troopers stepped in to fill the place and the unit kept moving forward.

"Hold 4 feet from the ditch!" she called to her men, realising that hand-to-hand combat was inevitable and wanting to be sure that the pike formation would not simply push them off the battlefield. Ensuring the ground where they met was broken enough to mean the pikemen couldn't hold their rigid formation.

They reached the ditch, the first line hopping down, pikes discarded and swords drawn, "Fire at will!" Coralie called.

She drew her pistol, firing at a man scrambling up, out of the ditch. The ball struck the ground a few inches from his arm. Coralie cursed, tossing the pistol aside and drawing a second as the man rushed towards her. The second shot struck him in the middle of the chest and he tumbled forward, though by then more were surging over the wall.

Sporadic fire picked off a few of the assaulters but then they were upon the Iktani. Sword clashed with sword. Screams of the wounded and dying rent the air.

Another man came at Coralie, slashing down at her chest with a broadsword. She took the blow on her breastpiece, not bothering to try to block but instead lunging forward with her own sword. The Red soldier's sword glanced off her chest, but her own thrust struck true and he staggered back, bleeding from a deep stab to the chest. The exchange of blows knocked the air out of her and she staggered back a pace, though there was no time to worry about that as a fresh wave clambered up over the ditch.

The fighting seemed to go on forever. The man on her right was cut down. She held the line until her arm ached and she felt barely strong enough to stand up. There was a brief lull as the enemy regrouped. Someone tugged at her sleeve, urging her to cycle back, and she did, falling back a few paces, taking a few moments to catch her breath.

On all sides, canon and musket roared, filling the battlefield with hazy acrid smoke. At one point a rider appeared next to her, "General Assinger requests that you join him!" the rider called.

Coralie shook her head, "I am with my guard." She called up to him. Perhaps it was pig-headed of her, but she was a Captain first and foremost. It felt... wrong to sit at the back.

"General Assinger suggests that the enemy know that as well, which is why they are so determined," the rider called back.

But Coralie was not to be deterred. She shook her head again, "I'll fall back with the guard, when the opportunity arises."

It didn't for some time. Coralie reloaded one pistol, the other had been lost in the fighting, and rotated back into the line, although people tried to stop her. She shot a big Inburian with a beard, injured another with a deep gash to his forearm. The enemy regrouped, charged again, but her Guard stood firm and after what seemed an eternity, she saw the enemy resolve wavering. They seemed unwilling to cross the ditch. A few looked around. A few began to run, then the whole body did.

Coralie was too exhausted to do anything but sit down on the edge of the ditch, surrounded by the dead, dying and wounded. She could see many of the blue coats of her guards amongst the dead, though they had given a good account of themselves. A very good account.

As the smoke cleared the clip-clop of approaching horses caused Coralie to turn around. Assinger was there with his runners and her horse, led by the reigns, "Your Majesty," he greeted, lifting his hat formally before adding in a dry tone, "You'll need to stop doing this. You're going to get yourself killed."

"I can hold my own," Coralie replied, tired.

"I have no doubt of that, but in the chaos of battle, all it takes is one stray bullet," Assinger pointed out, he dropped out of his saddle, moving to sit next to Coralie. Around them the smoke was clearing from the battlefield. Her lines had held firm. "Viryarus has been sighted. The Reds are fleeing, but they won't get far - his cavalry will cut them to ribbons. Also, Colonel Zeller reported that his Cavalry drove the red Cavalry off the field and fell upon their baggage train. We took a significant prisoner."

Coralie turned, a smile breaking, "No... don't tell me..."

Assinger nodded, "We got her. For all intents and purposes your rule South of Inbur is unchallenged."

"Alive?" Coralie queried. A nod from Assinger, "Oh good... make sure she's treated well. She'll come in handy if we need to face the sister."

Katalani was a decisive battle. The Red Army of just under 19,000 had been crushed, with 2,238 counted dead on the field, and a further 7,706 captured, according to Coralie's records. Others were ridden down by the Imperials in the pursuit, though Coralie's troops kept no record of the numbers. There were still enough Red soldiers to reform, but in the chaos, Coralie's cavalry had captured Ariana as they ransacked her camp though her senior leaders were otherwise unaccounted for. On her own side, Coralie had lost a mere 675 soldiers. Coralie was now the undisputed ruler South of Inbur itself.

Empire of the Clouds

Philazoea (Zoe)

...

"... I.... I never....I hadn't seen my work up close before that. They were just doing their job." A ragged breath as his eyes began to water.

He tried not to cry. Especially in front of a girl. Especially if that girl was Zoe. But it was like ripping off a band aid.

"But I made it personal. Killed a whole section because they killed one friend. Left a brother and sister dying on a mountain because I couldn't figure out what to do...." A sob as he buried his head in his hands.

@Terrans

Wordlessly, Zoe leaned over, resting her head against Aden's shoulder. It was the sort of gesture that might have raised a few eyebrows in public, but here, alone nobody was to know. She didn't try to say anything or offer any words of consolation about something she didn't really understand, just sat there... and probably would have stayed for longer were it not for a knock on the door that saw her leap to her feet in alarm.

A moment later someone opened the door from the outside - A Mittelandische soldier in a blue uniform that was far too crisp and clean for someone who had been rotated from the front, "His Highness, Prince Maximilian of the Western Marches," the man announced, and a moment later a particularly tall man with an unruly mop of blonde hair and a thick moustache over his upper lip strode into the room.

He was over six foot, handsome and slim. He wore a similar blue uniform though with a stiff, high red and gold collar with three large silver stars on either side. Over the top of this he wore a slightly battered long brown leather coat. He looked like a soldier and one who took his job seriously.

Zoe looked up at him apprehensively. He looked at her for a long moment, stepping forward to pick her up in a quite unregal bear hug which his guard studiously ignored, "Cousin!" he boomed in fluent Inburian, "I knew if any one of the Emperor's children would make a successful break for it it would be you."

"Put me down!" Zoe protested, though it was mixed with relieved laughter. She had, it seemed, genuinely feared he wouldn't recognise her.

But he did put her down, leaving her pouting and rubbing her ribs, "Our cousin is remarkably gifted and getting out of things," Max added, addressing Aden directly, "Just about anything; dinner parties, Royal engagements, second storey windows."

"Ahhh..." Zoe seemed a bit flustered, Max's informality had taken her off guard. She glanced across at Aden, realising he had been taken into a family moment, a level of informality that was unusual for outsiders to see, "Ahh, Max," she said, deciding to continue in the same tone, addressing the Prince by his first name, "May I present my dear friend Aden Robertson, who was one of the ones who protected me on my trip here."

"Another Ardellian?" he remarked in surprise, "Unless that name's Brendahlandische... though I'm willing to be Ardellian." There was a brief pause before he added, more seriously, "Well cousin, I am glad you made it here, truly. You are welcome to stay in Mitteland as long as you want, though no doubt your Parliament will want you at the Grendell."

"MY parliament?" Zoe raised an eyebrow, a look of alarm crossing her face.

"Well... yes," Max chuckled, "Oh don't tell me you haven't figured it out! You're the Princess-Regent."

Zoe gave an exaggerated groan, dropping back on the sofa, "Me?" she groaned again, staring up at the ceiling, "Out of interest though... does that mean that that airship out there belongs to me?"

"To the Inburian crown," Max countered, "Which happens to be yours, at least temporarily. You really didn't pay much attention to your tutors did you?"

She nodded, deciding not to answer the question and insted glancing across at Aden, a slight smirk forming, "Well that's good to know."

Paradise Lost

Velia Larci

Well if you want a pool, why don't we cut the top off an old cargo container, jury rig a ladder up the side and fill it full of water?" Velia suggested, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Of course, someone will need to figure out a way to drain the darned thing and push it back into waste water if it starts to get dirty."

"Not me of course!" she added with a self-deprecating laugh, "I'm just the comms officer!"

She took a sip from her drink, "It would also give some people something to do for a little while, which I'm sure some folks would appreciate."

@PrinceAlexus

In The Black (A Clean-Up Crew RP)

Obsidian Dynamics Research Facility
Utah
Security Room
...

Three were the typical large shouldered, skull cracker look of private corporate security. Too much time in the gym and not enough time at the firing range. The fourth had sharp angular features and fair hair that had been styled before the events of the day had left it coated in grime and matted to her skull. A name tap and security badge proclaimed her as one of their VIP's; Head of Security Ava Wiberg.

The four came to a jumbling stop near the security room. Not seeming to mind the guns pointed at them; a testament to whatever had occurred that they preferred the company of armed strangers.

Head of Security Wiberg, looked on the trio of Acheron shooters with a mixture of relief and disbelief.

"Are you three the only extraction team?" Her gaze taking in the dead tech-zombies and Fabio taking a selfie with said tech zombies. Her grip readjusting on her shotgun. "You are the extraction team right?"

An edge to her words.

@Terrans

"Bella donna," Fabio declared smoothly, before anyone else had a chance to get a word in, "We are all the extraction team that you need!"

"Though there are others," he conceded, "Entering and working their way through the compound from different directions."

He took another glance down at the dead zombies. They didn't seem to be about to get up again, "Perhaps you can tell us what happened to these people? Perhaps that is not allowed. The most important thing is that bullets seem to stop them and they appear to be very dead indeed at this point. I hope that all my assumptions are correct. Sì?"

In The Black (A Clean-Up Crew RP)

Fabio

...

The hall still now. Except now it smelled of cordite, coppery blood and some new foul smelling mixture that obviously emanated from the corpses. Their rapidly spreading gore not red but a dark brown that seemed too thick to be regular blood.

But other then the smell (that only affected those without gas masks) the hall was now seemingly safe.

@Terrans

"Cover me," Fabio muttered, grimacing slightly at the smell. He cautiously approached the nearest zombie, prodding it with his boot to make sure it was dead, before reaching into his pocket for his phone.

He turned side on, snapping a couple of quick selfies of himself posed over the corpse, giving his best 'Blue Steel' pose, "I'm going to call this one 'taking out the trash'," he explained as he pocketed his phone, "The ladies love a man of action."

"Now..." he paused, stepping back to keep an eye on the bodies which he didn't quite trust were entirely dead, "What was it we were supposed to be doing again?"

Graveyard Orbit

”Captain” James Castleton

“Allow me to humbly offer my support and services to your escapade miss.” Castleton strode forward to stop before the plumber-turned-convict. “While only human I believe I will at least be able to look out of my depth and thus illicit pity for our cause.”

He did pause to kneel by the ground and scoop up a few handfuls of dirt. Rubbing the grit onto his hand and over his face to make his appearance more battered, and hopefully, sympathetic.

@Terrans

"Looks like its just you and me... Jay-mess". the translators couldn't hide Neri's difficulty with the unfamiliar name, "Though I'll save the dirt until I've got some clothes to dirty as well."

She paused, glancing at the rest of the group, "Don't kill each other while I'm gone!" she called. There was a ragon. There were random aliens she'd never seen before. The odds of a lethal misunderstanding were actually reasonably high, she mused. Not that she could focus on that right now. She had the immediate personal problem of needing to swipe clothes off a line without anyone noticing. Then there was the issue of getting clothing donations for everyone...

"We will be back as soon as we can," she assured them, beckoning for James to follow her as she began walking towards town. There would be some outlying homesteads to steal clothes from, she hoped.

Graveyard Orbit

@Bingelly@Pragia12

To no surprise, Larce raised his hand when the vote for a dishonest approach was called.

“You know, I've actually tried the tax inspector ruse before. Ended up with full access to their books and everything. Unfortunately the discrepancies I found were the result of city officials skimming from the top. Triggered a full scale investigation into their finances and a massive restructure. Had to bail before I drew anymore attention, but they did offer me a treasury position before I left. Benefits would have been nice, but I don't think I could have made the hours work.”

@Awesomoman64

When the call for the 'dishonesty' went out, Neri's hand went up as well. She gave a short laugh at Larce's talk about being a tax inspector, which was about the moment she noticed the ragon and began slowly backing away, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the creature which was talking to the skeleton in the spacesuit. Out here there probably wasn't a real chance of outrunning it. Where could she run to? But she could potentially run faster than someone else.

The others didn't seem as worried as they should, but some of them were humans and probably had no idea what they were looking at.

The distraction was enough to set aside any thoughts of making a smart comment in response to Vaehach's outburst. In truth his plan was the simplest, "OK...we're going with what the old soldier says," she said hurriedly, her voice lower than before, "I'm a good candidate to go ahead and ask for some donations. If what he said is right about this world, I'm going to look like a friendly face. Dhasath tend to look after other dhasath... who wants to come with me? I'll take the first two hands up."

She was not going to stay out here waiting for someone else to come back with clothes when there was a, potentially, hungry ragon amongst them...

Graveyard Orbit

In order to make the call for a vote easier than trying to discern it from the posts, and given not everyone is on the discord, can I suggest you just react to this OOC post?

Thumbs up for honest
Laugh for dishonesty

Graveyard Orbit

Neri

"Alright hold up!" Neri held her arms out wide, signaling for those following behind to stop.

"Obviously the best plan is for me to pretend I'm a Government Tax Inspector sent to check the Mayor's books. I find some discrepancies and we then use the money I demand in back taxes to purchase clothes and other essential supplies. Couldn't be easier," she raised an eyebrow just in case someone had missed the sarcasm in her tone.

"It seems that we're at a crossroads," she said, lowering her arms back to her sides, "Either we communally decide we're going to go in honestly and see what reaction we get, or we try for a dishonest solution of one form or another... steal clothes or ask for donations or whatever. If we try to do both, we'll end up undermining each other. Honest dealers will make the town aware there are convicts in the neighborhood while anyone trying a criminal solution will undermine the credibility of the honest folk."

"So, lets vote on it now. I'll ask for hands up for those wanting to stroll in honestly. Then in a moment I'll ask for a show of hands for those favouring theft or grifting," she paused for a moment, "Alright, those in favour of honesty, raise your hands" ...