Tank O The Lake

Myriad Reality

long time. Sorry I've been away. Was on vacation.

@darkred

let me know if you need any help with our scene!

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Tank O The Lake>

*The two of us equip the earmuffs, and I speak up to test their properties*
I don't imagine you can hear me?

@Legend

*Naomi points to her earmuffs and shakes her head.*

*The vessel taxis up to the runway, which stretches on for what has to be at least a few miles. There's a dull, low whine of engines as the aircraft accelerates, then, with a jolt, lifts off the ground. It ascends at a nearly 45-degree angle for a few minutes, and then, without warning, the engines cut to a piercing roar, even through the earmuffs. In an instant, everyone is pressed back hard into their seats as the aircraft breaks the sound barrier, climbing higher, higher, until all outside sound fades away and the engines cut off. Suddenly, the pull of gravity can no longer be felt.*

*Naomi removes her earmuffs and presses a button overhead.*

NAOMI: Check this out.

*The hull panel beside the group turns transparent, showing the dark, gray and brown surface of a poisoned Earth fading slowly into the distance behind them. The lights of huge cities can be seen glimmering through the smoke clouds, and the seas are black as ash.*

*The flight attendant bot reappears.*

ROBOT: Hello! Welcome aboard Cooperative Starlines Flight 1010, and thank you for choosing our first-class accommodations suite! Could I interest you in a snack, or would you like to browse our drinks menu?

*Screens descend on robotic arms to come to rest before each person, displaying food and drinks menus, music, movies, all those premium airline accommodations.*

Myriad Reality

hey

@darkred

yeah?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Tank O The Lake>

*Buckles in with a raised eyebrow*
Mimosas you say? I've never been a woman to deny good hospitality.

@Legend

NAOMI: In my opinion, the last good mimosa in this universe was served in a Cuban cantina in Tampa in 2048. After that, the oranges were kind of dick-all; they got all tough and mealy when the climate heated up. Now it's too cold to grow 'em anywhere, so they make it all synth. That's all any food is nowadays, y'know? It's hydroponic or shipped in from the colony farms if you're lucky; most people just get all these chemicals, and they mix them up and sorta just convince them that they're supposed to be food.

*Without warning, the vessel detaches from the boarding gantry with a hiss. Naomi's ears pop as the cabin pressurizes. She reaches into a compartment under the seat and retrieves a set of earmuffs, donning them.*

NAOMI: Put these on. It gets really loud on the way up.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Tank O The Lake>

*I frowned.

"Ex altera rerum condicione sum, imperator. * ( I am from a alternative city much like yours.) You and your soldiers wear very familiar armor like the soldiers under my command. You even know the terms Legionary and barbaroi*

He doesn't flinch at rifles held to him.

“You say Legio CLV. One hundred and fifty-five?” A faint exhale through the nose. “Then your Empire stands larger than mine ever did."

Impressive, your Legion lasted all the way up to one hundred and fifty-five.*

@darkred

*I consider this for a moment. Then, I clench my fist, and the rifles lower.*

- Perhaps you are correct, so I will spare you. Until you have proven your loyalties, however... you will remain in our sight.

*I reach for my mask and unlock it with a hiss of air. Pulling it up, I reveal my face, a young, but stoic-looking man with golden hair that falls in curling waves over my face. I pull back my hood and salute.*

- Pilus Gaius Halcius Aureva, at your service. Indeed, our empire is great; we number nine billion souls across thirty settled worlds in the Vale of Man, in the service of Aven and Emperor alike.

*I cock my head and rest my cheek in my palm.*

- Tell me, Centurion Titus. What is this "Rome" to you?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Tank O The Lake>

What better way to go undercover than undercover in style? Let's do it.

@Etcetera

*The process of boarding isn't too far from getting on an airline; unfortunately, there isn't enough time to visit the stores, though, given the prices of everything here, maybe that's for the best. Soon, the three have found their seats aboard Union Airlines Flight 101. The seats all face front and are incredibly cushy; they cradle the body at all points, presumably to shield against the acceleration. A robotic flight attendant moves slowly down the aisle, looking down at the three.*

ANDROID: Please fasten your harness and stow all carry-on luggage in the overhead bins. Thank you!

NAOMI: Bougie, ain't it? This is executive flight. Only the finest in mimosas and synth-steaks, and we'll be in Hong Kong in two hours.

Myriad Reality

Sorry, Tank.

Maybe hopefully i can still convince Harrick Marius isn't a spy?

@darkred

You can certainly convince him; he's just confused because you look very similar to a Varroi soldier, but you're claiming to belong to a unit that doesn't exist in the Varroi military. He'll likely understand once he gets that you're from a parallel reality; the Varroi deal with those on occasion.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Tank O The Lake>

*I hold my hand up, fist on my chest. A clear Roman Salute. My voice carries the authority of drilled formations and battlefield command.

Marius: Amicus sum. Centurio Marius Titus, Legio XIV Gemina. (I'm friendly, I'm Centurion Marius Titus, 14th Legion of Rome, Gemina.)

*Eyes the men* If there's a Rome still here, then I stand ready to serve it. Under what standard do you march?

@darkred

*I don't return the salute, eyeing Marius warily.*

- Legio XIV is Avaerii, not... Gemina, and we are of Legio CLV, Alchemist's Cohort. And... Rome? Whoever heard of a city called Rome?

*I raise a hand, and a dozen rifles train themselves on Marius.*

- I don't believe you are a Varroi, Marius Titus. I believe you are a spy, sent by the Laughing God to confound us. And spies die, Marius Titus.

Myriad Reality

Would Harrick know Latin, or is Varric a new form of Latin, just curious

@darkred

Varroi is their world's version of Latin. Varro is their Rome.

Halcius isn't actually Roman. He hails from the Empire of Varro, which exists in a fantasy realm separate from Earth, which is very similar to Rome, but considerably more technologically advanced and with a very powerful grasp of magic, particularly artifice and alchemy.

Myriad Reality

* Falls through a portal only to find himself not in Rome, not the good one or even the corrupted one, but instead lands on a strange planet, lost in time*
Ubi sum?
*Carries a gladius, shield and an out-of-place gun*

@darkred

*The world he lands in is quiet, dark. A city glows in the far distance behind a forest of dead trees. The ground is blasted and gray, and there's a peculiar iron taste in the air. A slow, dark, burbling river runs towards the city, ash-filled and sludgy. This land is poisoned, that much is clear to see.*

HALCIUS: Siste! Amica? (Halt! Friendly?)

*The men stalking through the trees towards Marius are clad in suits of red and silver armor resembling that worn by Marius' comrades, but more covering, sheathing them from head to toe in polished steel. Each man carries a rifle and a shortsword, their faces hidden behind stoic metal masks.*

HALCIUS (in Varroi): You don't look like a true legionary, but you surely aren't one of the barbaroi here. Who are you?