Radiant and
Medivac were Operators of the Haynek Institure of Research and aboard the VTOL desginated Raven Two. They were part of an investigation of the strange presence of Originium in a remote village in Kazimierz called Riventor. There were three teams on the operation but originally, there was only supposed to be one team that did not include either of them but a last minute change by Mr. Haynek himself saw the addition of two more teams.
They departed from the institute's mobile base once it reached Kazimierz. The base would soon move away, however, since there was business elsewhere. Fortunately, the VTOLs would keep close by. Once they have delivered the teams, they would refit and refuel at a nearby Kazimierz city and wait there until the teams request extraction.
"
It's a freaking storm out here!"
The three VTOLs, however, were caught in a bad storm that seemingly came out of nowhere. Despite the attempts to avoid it, Raven Two and the other aircraft entered extremely turbulent weather. The VTOL violently rocked back and forth, forcing the team to buckle up on their seats. Alarms blared as the pilots could be heard still attempting to evade the storm.
"
It's following us!"
That was the last line heard when communications to the other VTOLs were broken. The doors to the aircraft suddenly opened as well as the doors to the cockpit. The team then watched as their two pilots jump out of the VTOL, without their parachutes, to their apparent deaths. The situation was so unbelievable that the team took a few moments to process what just happened.
The team leader, a Liberi man with short brown hair, ordered an immediate evacuation while he tries to keep the aircraft flying as much as possible. Parachutes were issued to the Operators and
Radiant and
Medivac were the first to exit, besides the suicidal pilots.
The thick clouds of the storm meant they never saw their VTOL or if anyone else jumped.
The two landed into the thick woods that surround Riventor. Fortunately, they were in the shallow parts of the forest and nearby the two houses north of Riventor. One was clearly burned down though, its charred remains could be seen as the Operators descended.
Medivac and
Radiant landed safely to the forest floor. They could see the burned house past the dead trees and within a few steps, they would emerge from the woods. Upon discarding their parachutes and gathering their bearings, they could start moving and begin their next course of action.
If they approach the burned down house, they would see
a fair-skinned Kuranta woman with brown hair sitting on the burned house's porch, or what remained of it. She wore the clothes of an average rural villager and she sat there hugging her shoulders, rocking back and forth. "
Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire..." She repeated endlessly.
-
Radiant brushed off the leaves and branches hanging onto her head on shoulders. She began to unfasten the parachute straps, turning her head in the direction of Medivac. “Hey Medivac, you holding up? That was quite a turbulent fall wasn’t it? You aren’t hurt anywhere right? Wouldn’t want you to break a bone on your fall and pretend nothing happened.”
Medivac. Radiant had undertaken several operations with him in the past. It was of course, a professional relationship. Medivac’s expertise lied in working in places where lots of people gathered, providing relief for places like mobile cities, clinics, refuge camps, and disaster zones. As a combat operator, Radiant ensured the safety of Medivac’s team.
She had seen his work firsthand. Over several operations, she came to the conclusion that Medivac was a stubborn man, steadfast in his ideals. That old man held a heart of gold. Always selfless. Always willing to make the sacrifice for the greater good to the point where his own well being didn’t matter. It bordered on fanatical. If the position to be a Saint of Karlan was opened, Radiant had no doubts he’d be perfect for the job. But this desire to protect others to the point where his own safety came second, now that was something she took issue with. How would you continue to protect others if you just threw yourself over and over to the fire? Why did he appear to be so callous over his own life?
She wondered at times how Medivac came to be this way. But she decided not to delve into Medivac’s past. We all have our own demons she remembered thinking to herself. Perhaps this is the answer he came up with.
“Hey come on Medivac! You saw that those houses earlier right? We should check there first, then see if we can make our way to the main village! If there are survivors from the crash, that’s probably where they will head towards too!”
Medivac stood slowly as he stretched and brushed away the debris. "I'm fine kid, Let's get a move on yea?" He unstrapped the ballistic shield from the backpack it had been hanging off. He was wearing his normal gear, a kevlar vest coupled with shoulder and kneepads hidden behind the knee length black leather coat that was a hell of a lot heavier than it looked. He slid a small chip out of a reinforced pocket, sliding it home into the metal frame that surrounded the back of his head. He winced as the HUD blinked into life just outside of his natural field of view. "Exactly what I was thinking, projected crash site paired with what I myself would do places them in that area. Then again my tech is old, so no guarantee on any of that." He grumbled as he leaned heavily on his right leg and began moving.
Radiant was a face Medivac remembered, he remembered all the operators who he thought might provide a problem in the field. It was nothing against her as a person though, not by far.. he just worried a lot. He worried for everybody on his team, and right now it took everything he had not to try and sprint in the direction of the falling VTOL. He would make sure, like he always did, that Radiant got out of this alive. As the burnt house came into direct view, the small map hidden away in the corner of his vision updated from a rough blueprint to display the buildings in sight, and their vague condition. He made a beeline for the woman as soon as he saw her, motioning for Radiant to keep an eye out. One woman, alone and mumbling to herself, it could mean more than just an injured civilian. "Ma'am, are you alright? Let's move you away from that building in case something tries to collapse alright?" His voice was loud but smooth, cutting through the din with a calm and practiced tone that was reminiscent of a doctor instead of a soldier.
Radiant watched as Medivac attended to the woman. She's a gibbering mess, she thought to herself. Best let the doctor handle it and calm her down. Radiant then turned her attention to the surrounding area, her left hand resting on the hilt of her blade, ready to unsheathe it at a moment's notice.
-
"Ma'am, are you alright? Let's move you away from that building in case something tries to collapse alright?"
The woman paid no attention to
Medivac, still rocking back and forth and uttering her mantra. ""
Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire..." Since they were close now,
Radiant and
Medivac saw that the mad woman had a shiny key with her. With both hands, she held it just above her knees and stared at it as she rocked and uttered her phrase.
The key appeared too fancy to belong to her. Should
Radiant or
Medivac attempt to take it, they would find that the woman's grip on it was strong. Extraordinarily strong that neither
Radiant or
Medivac or both of them could take it by force. Extreme measures must be used to take the key from her.
Not much was left of the burned house save for its charred remains. The next point of interest was the house next to it. A very strong odor of poultry and chickens and droppings emanated from it. The two Operators could hear the bawks and the clucks of the chickens apparently living there.
*SLAM*
A door swung open and out came a small boy with a violin followed by an angry Kuranta woman who yelled at the former. The boy fled from the mansion and hid below a ruined farm tractor nearby. The woman did not chase and instead, went back into the house.
Medivac and
Radiant were too far from the commotion though to see anyone in detail though.
-
After confirming her surroundings presented no danger to them, Radiant made her way back to Medivac. As the woman continued her mad mantra, she knelt in front of the woman to observe. Rocking herself back and forth, it appeared her body was shrinking away. Her hands gripped tightly around a key, so tightly that she a trickle of blood dripped down her hands. The woman’s gaze focused only at her hands.
Radiant stood up and sighed.
“Yea, I’ll probably be holding my key like that if my house burned down. She looks catatonic Medivac, you have a plan for nut cases like this?”Medivac shook his head and glared briefly at Radiant.
“Please have a bit of tact for a woman who has lost everything.” Nut case? Seriously? Medivac avoided eye contact as he stood, looking up at the burnt building.
“I’m not a psychiatrist. I can’t help her. Luckily, the building doesn’t seem terribly unstable. In a situation like this, it would be easier to help them by doing our mission. We should move on." He figured that at this point, focusing on one individual person would not be as product as completing their task. If any sort of general peace was restored professionals could arrive to focus on the less physically dangerous tasks that they were here for.
Radiant chuckled at her admonishment.
“Yea yea, sorry for the lack of tack. I’ll remember it next time. As for where we should go, there was another house I saw not far from here.” Radiant looked back at the catatonic woman.
“We could bring her too and leave her with her neighbors. Just leaving her here don’t feel right.”“I’m shocked, you do say some sensible things from time to time. Very well, bring her along. I trust your oni strength will be enough to carry her?” Medivac replied.
“Shouldn’t be an issue,” Radiant said with a grin. She approached the woman and placed her arms under her knees and around her back and lifted her up. The woman curled up like a clam and held her hands very closely to her chest.
"Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire...""No struggling? Huh, you're more cooperative than I thought miss."Further beyond, on the other side of the burned house was a much larger house. The faint sound of a chicken's clucks could be heard from it. A very strong odor of poultry and chickens and droppings emanated from it. The two Operators could hear the bawks and the clucks of the chickens apparently living there.
*SLAM*
A door swung open and out came a small boy with a violin followed by an angry Kuranta woman who yelled at the former. The boy fled from the mansion and hid below a ruined farm tractor nearby. The woman did not chase and instead, went back into the house.
Medivac and Radiant were too far from the commotion though to see anyone in detail though.
“Seems like someone is throwing a tantrum,” Radiant quipped,
“Looks like a farmstead. Let’s drop her off and see if we can gather any information here!”Medivac nodded in agreement. He took the lead and Radiant followed close behind. Finally at the house’s door. Medivac firmly knocked at the door three times.
-
"
Ah! Wisp, wait! Be careful!" Wu and Ibon sprinted after
Will-O-Wisp towards the two houses in the northern outskirts of Riventor. They soon got to the house that reeked of chickens only to find two people there knocking on its front door.
Meanwhile,
Medivac had knocked on the house's door with
Radiant carrying the mad woman clutching a key. The door was unanswered when a Vulpo girl arrived and met them. "
Wisp, hold on! We shouldn't separate!" A male Feline with a shield followed after her alongside a Liberi girl.
"
Ah, sorry about this, Mister and Miss. We're just..." Wu was about to apologize to
Radiant and
Medivac when he realized they didn't exactly look like the locals. In fact, they were familiar to him. "
Wait a second, you're Haynek Institure Operators. Yeah, you're part of the research operation." He smile was wide. "
Thank goodness, there are more survivors. Err, who's that girl you're carrying?"
Radiant was delighted at the sight of some familiar faces. There were other Haynek operators that survived that freak storm!
"Oh man, you guys are a sight for sore eyes! It's good to know that others survived that freak storm! Me and Medivac were the only ones who bailed out of Raven Two. Didn't see anyone else jump off. As for the girl, we found her like this on that burned house over there," Radiant gestured with the flick of her head.
The woman Radiant carried continued her mantra.
"Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire... Destroy the fire...""Ah don't mind her. Just a bit of trauma. Aha ha ha...We're trying to find a place for her to stay, better than leaving her out alone. There's someone inside this house but they haven't answered out knocks. Didn't we also see someone else leave the house Medivac?"" Radiant chuckled nervously.
The old gentleman nodded.
"Yes, I believe I saw the figure run towards the tractors. Perhaps we can go ask them to let us in? But more pressingly, have you met anyone else from the Institute?""
...W-Where's Dragonheart?" Ibon said as she searched around for the Operator. Indeed, it appeared that
Will-O-Wisp's landing partner was suddenly missing.
"
Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT! Not again!" Wu furiously kicked some dirt. "
This is why we shouldn't separate!"
"Calm yourself Wu! They shouldn't be far. You were all together just recently correct? Then they shouldn't be too far. Double back and search the area," Medivac said calmly.
"What will you two be doing in the meantime? Aren't you going to help us search?" Ibon asked.
"We will," Medivac replied.
"But as you can see, we have a civilian to take care of. Once she's in safe hands, we'll join you. Radiant, the master of this house does not appear to want to speak to us. Let's see if they can be helpful,"he motioned towards the tractors.
"Sure thing.""Then a talk is in order. Wu, Ibon, and Will-o-Wisp, let's meet back at this location, say within half an hour or so? We'll be right behind you shortly."And so Radiant and Medivac headed towards the boy hiding beneath the ruined tractor.
-
Radiant rubbed her nose. "Hey Medivac, that house earlier kind of reeked badly of chickens didn't it? It's as if there's chickens being held in there in massive numbers. I grew up in a farm and let me tell you, the smell never gets that strong. That's gotta be a lot of chickens inside."
"If that's what you're experience tells you, I shudder to think what inside might looked like," Medivac quipped, stopping at the tractor. As soon as they arrived, a scared and raspy male voice greeted them. "I-it's not my f-fault! I know it doesn't s-sound, t-too great... My v-violin... it's, it's a bit... broken. I w-on't play a-anymore... S-sorry... Um, sir and ma'am? H-have you b-been in that hut? The Chicken Lady's h-hut? You're not afraid of h-her? Y-you're b-brave!"
The person was still under the tractor, his features hidden. "And... H-have you seen h-her? The Pretty Lady? S-she's... the most beautiful lady in the w-world! I w-watch her through the cracks in the window. S-she ch-changes when I watch her... g-gets more beautiful. I p-play for her... I want her to be h-happy... Because s-she doesn't seem to be... The Chicken L-lady locked her in that r-room... She... she keeps her there! She envies her! She won't allow anyone to s-see her... E-even me! I t-tried to r-r-release her... But the Chicken Lady! She ch-chased me off! S-she always does!"
Medivac knelt down and placed a firm hand on the young man's shoulder. "Sir, I am Medivac from the Haynek Institute and I am here to help. In order to do that, I require your assistance. Now, I want you to take deep breaths, ok? Deep breathes. Breathe in, breathe out. Good, good. Are you feeling a bit better? Calmed your nerves? Are you hurt anywhere? What is your name? Do you live close by?"
Radiant glanced back at the house and turned her attention to the young man. From what the young man said, it appeared that two people were inside the house and one of them may have been held inside against her will. Judging by the looks of this poor lad, this Chicken Lady seemed to be unpleasant. Very unpleasant. Still, perhaps this Chicken Lady had a good reason to keep this Pretty Lady locked in her room?
I hate to jump to conclusions but more often than not, the ones keeping someone locked up are tend to be on the wrong she thought to herself.
Radiant flexed her right arm at the young man. "Good sir, I assure you we are the two bravest individuals you'll see today," she said trying to reassure the young man. "Can you tell us more about this Chicken Lady and Pretty Lady? Were you kicked out trying to play a song for someone dear to you?"
Medivac stood up after the young man calmed himself a bit and pulled Radiant aside. "Remember, we still have to look for a missing operator. That is priority. Then we need to link up with the others and perform our mission. What concerning now is that it looks like we can't just leave the girl inside the house. This...Chicken Lady seems problematic. Perhaps we can convince the young man to take the girl in. We can double back here if time permits," he said with a whisper.
Xaltwind
