Lennon79

Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

I'm around, here and there. This ridiculous heatwave has been making it hard to post though, which is my excuse for inactivity.

Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

Sergeant Harald, Gallian Militia

The Sergeant couldn't help but lean back slightly as MacDonald gave his spiel, caught off guard by the speech. It wasn't as though he disagreed with tub-thumping patriotism per se, but... Harald's main goal was survival for himself and the troops under his command; if he managed to help win the war in the process, then great, but if not... well, there were always openings for skilled hands in the Europan far north, where Darscens were more tolerated. He kept his peace though, not wanting to appear unpatriotic. A few of the others spoke their mind too, perhaps a sign that the training had broken some of the ice in Squad 4. Harald nodded confidently and was about to answer when a shot rang out in the nearby woods; Bons, now driving the APC at a decent clip, threw the brakes on in panic. There was a complicated moment involving the back door swinging open, the Sergeant loosing his footing to spill out onto the dirt road and the butt of a rifle landing in a sensitive spot between his legs. Harald's vision whitened for an instant and by the time he dragged himself upright, Hunt and Sykora had vanished. 'Fuck, shit, cunt...' He swore vehemently under his breathe but pulled himself together in time to get some orders yelled. 'Everybody out! Secure the perimetre, move it!' As the squad milled about in confusion, the two errant soldiers returned... with a prisoner?

Maybe it was the sudden stop or maybe the aching pain in his two veg, but Harald was mightily pissed off when Hunt reported in. 'Very fucking well Private, but the next time you run off on your own, I'll fucking 'ave y-'. He caught himself, a little late. '... There will be consequences. It could have been a trap for Valk's sake, you could have run into a firing squad. Or worse, gotten captured and then the squad, the Regiment, the whole damn operation would be compromised!' Harald again caught himself, realising how pointlessly angry he was getting. 'Just... just don't do it again. Wait for backup and orders next time, both of you.' He gave Sykora a meaningful glare to reinforce the point. 'Now then... Squad 11, right?' He looked the girl up and down, eyes lingering on the sword at her hip. Why did everyone seem seem to have a damn sword nowadays? He had worked hard to ignore the elephant in the room, but Kyo's sword (if it could even be called that; the damn thing was a piece of sharpened sheet metal) had already been an unneeded complication in the squad's line up. He felt a glimmer of pity for Squad 11's former commander, wondering if they too had felt his pain. Regardless, there were more important issues at hand. 'In summary, we lost a squad to ambush in these woods?' He nodded back to where they had came, his brow furrowing. 'Private Durandal, yes? Did you have a chance to collect dogtags? Any details on the forces that attacked you? Can you remember where?' His blood was still up from the anger, but a certain coldly professional part of him reminded Harald of his obligations. Their mission was to secure a route to Vasel and a route with Imperial patrols setting up ambushes was by no means secure. He turned to the others as Durandal got her story straight and growled, 'Get kitted up, weapons and ammunition only. Lancers and drivers will secure the APC; the rest of us have a patrol to kill.'

Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum [7/10 Slots]

Duncan walked in silence for a while, digesting Rachel's words. So far she had said little to convince him of her loyalties, but on the other hand her conduct hadn't tripped any mental alarms bells. If she was a SeeD, then he would peg her as Trabian or perhaps trained in the field; Galbadian SeeDs were notorious for their information security and Balamb had Head Instructor Corvo breathing down everyone's necks. The IDs were good though, even down to wear and tear on the papers to make them look used. There wasn't much choice, but trusting her was the best bet. 'My thanks, Caithlyn..? I'm sure you know what business we're on, our partners were very thorough with their, uh... research.' The SeeD walked with a casual swagger, subtly watching a pair of DC citizens as they passed. Once out of earshot, his tone turned more professional. 'So then. Patrols. Aside form the one ahead, how many have you mapped between here and Imperial Heights? For the record, Duncan and Eika. We'll have a proper introduction later.' Increased security had been expected, but a single incident would have disastrous consequences for the plan; in hindsight perhaps he should have gone with Syrus, just to keep him from doing anything daft... 'I'd like to reach the rendezvous before the others, to make sure everything is prepared. Could you take us there, safest route?'

---

It didn't take long for the three of them to reach the Heights, though there had been a few tense moments with overzealous patrolmen. Mansion 47 was a particularly large and opulent building, set aside as all in the road were in its own little cul-de-sac. For Duncan, it was not a welcome sight. Still haven't fixed the facade then... he thought dryly, desperate for any distraction from the meeting ahead. They approached the outer gate, manned by an elderly and very bored looking Galbadian soldier. He was sitting on an old deck chair and tabbing through random videos on a tablet, giving the impression of one who has worked a very dull job for a very long time. 'Papers.', the guard wheezed athsmatically. After a long and rather hostile silence, he looked up. 'I said show me your- Wait.... Nah. Naaaaaah. You's ain't who I think you is, are ya?' Taking a deep, bracing breath to clear away the irritation, Duncan nodded stiffly. 'Just open the damn gate old man. I want to get this over with...' The soldier cackled, leering with his one good eye from one visitor to the next. 'Never thought you'd bring a girl home boy, let alone two! You sly fucker, you...' Despite the ribbing tone, the soldier keyed the gate controls. 'He's waiting for ya. Conference room.' Duncan strode passed, ignoring him with every fibre of his being. As they approached the main entrance he slowed and turned to address the others. 'No prizes for guessing, but this is the Lerwick Estate. In my defence, none of this was my idea.' He grimaced awkwardly. 'My father is... well... Don't take him at face value. No matter how charming he seems, do not lower your guard around him.' He didn't go into details, partly out of shame and partly because listing the crimes of Field Marshal Constantine Lerwick would take far too long. With a final strained sigh, he thumbed the genetic thumb panel and the door swung open. An amiable voice called out from within. 'Duncan, you little rascal you!' Suppressing a deep shudder, he led the way in to the conference room.

Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum [7/10 Slots]

I'll hopefully post tomorrow and leave a few more days for you guys to enjoy the city.
... Which means posting.

Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum [7/10 Slots]

Anyone else planning to post?

Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

I'll post either tomorrow or Wednesday, so if anyone else wants to get a word in, now's the time.

Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

Having a sudden on the fly mission redirect is the kind of thing I had planned for this mission, so I'm quite pleased to see a chance appear so naturally. However, I would like to see more posts from more people before anything else happens. While I appreciate that not everyone has much to do in this situation, no major actions will take place unless everyone is on the same page.

Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

The shot was fired an hour down the road from the base in an APC going a good 45mph, far enough away from the base to be considered part of the battlefield between Randgriz and Vasel. Squad 11 could have been part of the outer patrols of the base, but nevertheless were sufficiently far from Breda to be a viable target for Imperial attack. To clarify, the road north leads through wooded areas with no urban development and only a few hamlets dotted around; perfect ground to ambush a patrol.

As for retrieving the lance, standard operating procedure for locating an ambush survivor would include securing the immediate area and radioing for reinforcements to secure the ambush site. In the circumstances, reinforcements are unlikely since the regiment is still organising for the march north, so the squad has two options; accepted the loss of the lance and leave the fate (and dogtags) of their comrades unknown, or proceed to secure the area with the resources on hand. Harald is more likely to choose the latter, especially since they have about a week to secure the avenue to Vasel; they're in no real rush to hit Le Haye Sainte.

If the majority of players wish to go hunting, then a'hunting we shall go.

Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

There's no strict post order, just remember to be reasonable. No long chains with just two people posting together, that's what collabs are for.
But yeah, post away.

Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

Well, I say Belgium because of the Dutch/Belgian names and architecture. Poland was hit right at the beginning of the war, whereas the Low Countries were invaded after, like Gallia. Plus windmills. Lots and lots of windmills XD