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"'Course the Augs flare up today, just enough to wake me up..." Weiland Voss had already been awake for nearly an hour before the time he was told a Lotus rep would be coming to fetch him, the dermal plates had been itching and aching to the point of rousing him from his slumber early. Nothing bad enough to warrant any use of Lupus, thankfully, but enough to keep him from going to sleep again. Fittingly, he altered the alarm on his PDA to be slightly earlier, to ensure he was properly dressed instead of opening the door half naked like some sort of Corp Sec thug. Granted, he was already dressed barring his greatcoat, which strictly speaking wasn't necessary, but given that he would likely be tasked with heading out straight away after the contract was confirmed, it paid well to be ready for anything. As part of that constant prep work, he was using this time before he needed to be ready to meet the higher ups for contract discussions to do routine maintenance on his weapons. The revolver had been first, and outside of regular cleaning and maintenance, was quick. The shotgun, however, took focus and a lot longer, though it was all muscle memory so it gave him time to think.

Weiland suspected he was here in response to the bombing that recently occurred, and given how sudden his call to arms was, likely a panicked move. Or someone had their hands tied and needed assets to work outside their jurisdiction. Considering who he was likely to be meeting with, given what little information he could gather before being packed up and shipped out here, though in nicer terms of course, odds were he was in this for deniable operations. Something goes south in a hurry, Lotus can claim he was rogue or otherwise not involved officially. Typical business, far as he had gathered in his post military career leading up to this point, and it made enough sense that he took no offense to it. Reassembling his shotgun and slinging it onto his back, he thumbed the alarm on his PDA before it had buzzed more than once. It was time to finish getting ready, though that mostly involved grabbing his great coat, layered material that also helped conceal anything he had from a casual glance from the sides or rear, and throw it on. Good thing too, since the sound of an artificial door buzzer sounded just as he finished straightening his coat out, and with that he opened the door as he finished affixing the buckles on his right arm brace.

Weiland, being only 5'10" himself, left him having to glance slightly upwards to meet the eyes of the woman sent to collect him. Rumors among the Lotus Corp Sec at the main building was that this was one Sam Hélios, and outside of the various unflattering remarks and chatter about her, he was able to glean a few useful things. Unique magical gifts, skilled hand to hand, one of the more senior, and powerful, people at Lotus Corp, at least here in Lotus City. A quick up and down glance, something that a trained eye would recognize as sizing them up in a threat evaluation manner (instead of the likely far more common lecherous manner), confirmed she was indeed here for purely business, and could more than likely handle herself in a hostile situation, at least in hand to hand. Sure enough, the slight appearance of the tattoo also confirmed her identity. Extending his hand for a brief, firm handshake, his tone was decidedly neutral, accent giving away his place of birth being within Germany. Keeping his gaze level with hers, Weiland presented himself as a professional first and foremost, as first impressions were key and, often times, hard to erase.

"Frau Hélios, I presume? Corp Sec was rather chatty about you during my stay. Not all of it flattering, though you likely are aware of that." Weiland still used snippets of German, even when speaking other languages, an old habit of his, though in this case he could have said Ms. and, by most common standards, conveyed the exact same thing. Before falling in step rather easily, matching his pace to hers with practiced ease, following her lead but not overtaking in stride, or letting himself lag behind. He'd worked with his fair share of women in the German Army, and often found them easy to work with, at least the professional ones. Then again, gender did not make a lick of difference there, considering there were men who just wanted easy rides as well and tried to get by without putting due effort in. Such was life, but he refocused his thoughts both to any remarks that Frau Hélios might have responded with, and to the meeting with one Victor Hélios. Weiland was no stranger to family following in each other's footsteps, though he had quite earnestly abandoned his family lineage of scholars and scientists in favor of his own path, business was quickly focused on, something Weiland could work with just fine.

"Yes, news was rather lively in discussions about the incident." Weiland kept his response rather neutral and brief, not making Victor wait on any sort of long winded babbling or needless conjecture to continue speaking on the matter that had brought Weiland to Lotus City. Once inside the small office, Weiland would remain standing, an old habit since he had not been invited to sit, and a hold over from military life that remained. Arms linked behind his back, he looked almost statuesque in nature, the sub dermal plates preventing the usual rise and fall of his chest in breathing, space having been allocated during surgery for that, so he almost looked mechanical at times. He was to operate in the Slums, track down the information brokers and do what was necessary to figure out who had sold the information, as well as who executed the terror attack itself. Do what he had to with the Brokers, lethal force being authorized as well. Frau Hélios would be accompanying him as a liason back to Lotus, which was unforseen, if Weiland was to be honest. He was then asked if he accepted the contract, and a rare rise of the corner of his mouth, indicative of a smile, appeared on his face.

"Well, Herr Hélios, it would be rather foolish of me to come out all this way with the intent to tell you I refuse." Victor's disappointment in not being able to actually do anything had been apparent, meaning that it was likely he would be given broad tolerance in his choice of means when it came to executing orders and operations. Weiland could work with that, and his concern with Sam being present was not in her capability, but in her potential notoriety. Should she be recognized, she could be pinned as part of Lotus and, by extension, his own actions pinned to Lotus. Officially, of course, it could be explained away, but it was a concern of note all the same. Now, if Sam was not a public figure outside of the chatter in Corp Sec, it would not be nearly as much of a problem.

"Point me in the right direction, Herr Hélios, and I will get to work right away. It will take time to dig up the right names, and have the right discussions, so the sooner started, the better. I presume that any information you have on these brokers already will be available for further study?" That, and his sub dermal plates were still aching, which he didn't let show, but it was an irritant all the same. This was going to be a long job, and a stiff drink and a good thump on the plate in the right place were sorely needed. But this was his business persona, focused on the task at hand. Normally he was kept on as muscle and intimidation, but he wasn't an idiot, far from it, so an investigation with bursts of potential violence was perfectly within the realm of his capabilities.
I can certainly dig the opening post, sure as sure. Expect a post from me sometime tomorrow, as it is a touch late for me right now.
@wrecca Did you want to flesh out our characters working relationship prior to story start in the meantime?
Gerard Voss


The response was odd, given that it sounded like agreement but did not readily respond in a manner that was generally accepted. Rather than pursue it, he instead chose to focus on the Longcaster that was partially disassembled on the bench. Right now he was cleaning off the parts that had gotten dirty during the trip, since he didn't readily have the parts to seriously upgrade right now. He did speak on the matter of the keeping hands busy, order and pace, and the like. "Aye, I reckon you make a fair point. Tools and a task make for an excellent means of passing time." His gaze was focused on the Longcaster, though the use of his full name had not passed unnoticed. Outside of knowing a single name, Kaite, Gerard knew next to nothing about this fellow here besides talent with the piano, possibly tailoring, and little else. He was not fond of being in situations that he knew ever so little about, at least in a way that he couldn't go digging up more information and experiment in figuring it out. Though he was quick to ask after him and the weapon he was working on, and he chuckled, lifting up the frame for a better view briefly.

"Custom build, one of my longest lasting projects. Takes ambient mana in the air, and charges into a shot capable of reaching out farther than a bow or crossbow, most builds of them at any rate. Currently, it needs some routine maintenance and further planning on design." The explanation on function and design philosophy would take quite some time longer, but he gave a brief overview of it as he started putting it back together, having cleaned the parts. "To make it very brief, the barrel capacitor gathers mana from the surroundings, forming a cohesive round, and flinging it out a set distance. This wheel lock mechanism controls the range, and can outrange most crossbows or longbows of average make, in my experience. By far slower than those two, but I have plans to fix that..." Those plans involved more barrels, like his Shortcaster, or other modifications to the charging mana crystals in the barrel itself.

At this point, a rather loud roar pierced the room, echoing from its original source, and Gerard snapped his head up, looking in the direction of the noise. A curious expression, equal parts recognition and irritation, as he deftly finished putting together his Longcaster and rising to his feet. He slung it over his shoulder and sighed, irritation now growing apparent on his face. "And that likely needs investigating. Of course it does. You coming along, Kaite?"

@Lumiere
Gerard Voss


Upon arriving at Wanderneir, Gerard had very quickly gone his own way, considering he had reached the city and no further business was to be done with either of them. He would have to find a tavern, a few hours of sleep, and then make for the market district early enough to start figuring out the local climate on magitech, which was his specialty, as well as start putting feelers out in regards to general work. He would have hated to come this far out of his way, through a swamp, just to find absolutely nothing worth doing and be left with little more than wasted coin and departing for other places. Again. Though once dawn came around, after a few hours worth of sleep, he departed the tavern with barely a thought towards food. Sure, he had grabbed some bread rations before he departed the tavern with his meager belongings, and he made his way to the market district just as others were rousting themselves.

What Gerard would discover was irksome at best, and outright hazardous at worst. Not only was magic distrusted and generally frowned upon, which would extend to the magitech he was constantly working and improving on, but recent events had left an even more sour taste than usual. Sprites were ravaging the streets at night, agitated by gods knows what, and a curfew was routinely enforced now to prevent needless deaths. Well, the curfew he had caught wind of arriving as late as he did, but the why to it was sort of glossed over. Fortunate for him, and to an extent Kay and Kaite, that no such spirits had harassed them upon their own arrival so late into the night. Of course, his own attempts to look into this would have to wait until nightfall. As such, he departed from the markets with more information, though a lack of work or interest in magitech would mean that turning a profit here would be difficult without seeking out the nobility, which was never a good prospect.

"Yes, this Wanderneir is turning out to be ever so interesting in terms of business thus far. Blasted magiphobes. Though these sprites intrigue enough that I should at least look into it tonight..." Gerard was muttering under his breath, barely audible even if one was to stand right next to him. Staying to investigate tonight meant he would not likely be departing anytime soon, so he should find another tavern that he would be staying until the evening at. Perhaps find a quite corner to do some maintenance and experimentation on his weapons, probably the Longcaster. He had this sinking feeling that he would be far better off keeping his Shortcaster ready and close at hand. While he had not openly wielded magic, or hinted as such, his tools had gotten strange looks, so trouble might be coming his way, whether he liked it or not.

The sound of foreign music certainly caught Gerard's ear as he passed a tavern, and while he initially did not intend to stop, the encounter with that strange foreigner overnight was too much coincidence to simply ignore. Sure enough, upon entering and seeing the morning rush, they were being kept entertained by an old piano in the corner being played by that fellow Kaite. It seemed he had cleaned himself up rather nicely and found a tailor as well, or perhaps did his own stitchwork. Ordering a light breakfast, since a bread ration was hardly fitting if he was going to not be doing any involved work, he instead chose to claim a table near the piano, giving the curious tones a listen as he rested the Longcaster on the table and, in between bites of food once it arrived, began disassembling and doing repairs and maintenance first. The music reminded him of bards that had traveled south, though outside of a general direction, he had little to pin the music to, culture wise. He did speak idly, tone neutral and almost distracted, to the man as he played. Gerard was still unaware that Kaite was a construct as he did not look that closely for details in form or function. "Well, someone knows how to clean themselves up, don't they?"

@Lumiere
@wrecca Yeah, going with an ex military route (Did time in the German Army and covers most of his augs), before getting picked by Lotus and moved around from place to place as needed. So, other than the name of the Corporation he works for, it won't really change, let alone hurt, the character concept I had in mind. Could make for some interesting moments too, given his complete and utter lack of magic.
@wrecca I originally had went with Delta since, as you can probably see, Weiland has quite a few augments that he has had installed over the years, so striking up a deal with the lead corporation in the field of Augs made sense. He could, without any loss of character, be working for Lotus instead, which would create the opportunity for brainstorming dealings between the two prior to the start of the RP.
And I ended up missing more than intended because of Soulcalibur VI and Hat in Time (Because those two games have anything in common). I had no problem with either skipping out of the swamp or not, I'll read IC and try to get myself caught up.
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