The Aquila and the Rising Sun--The Imperium of Man Comes to Gensokyo

— Brother Martin nodded gravely, aware of the inherent ludicrosity of the situation. —

—The old stormtrooper explained the smile rule, in as deadpan a manner as he could muster. —

This time, Zee did giggle at the young vampire's antics. "I see you haven't changed," she said as she rose from her seat and moved to kneel at her prone husband's side. "How have you been, Flandre? Did you miss us?"

Isaiah's expression was the definition of amusement.

"I see. So, I'm assuming this young man..." A pause to give Drake a hearty slap on the back, to which he responded by stumbling forward. "...has been dragged into Arcturus's merry band, correct? Don't answer that. If you're ever going to take him into Gensokyo proper, then keep an eye on him, okay? I don't want one of the more junior members of the Imperial Guard disappearing."

"You... you can't be serious, can you?" said Drake, who was seriously considering jumping ship at the nearest opportunity.

"Of course not! Obviously they don't give you a sense of humour upon joining nowadays. To be perfectly honest, though, I want him" Graille jabbed a finger in Corollianus's direction. "to watch out for you. The last thing we need is for someone to get hurt because he was fooling around and couldn't get serious."

Flandre climbed off of Arcturus and helped him up to his feet. She hadn't changed much over the years, like her sister. She worse a red sun dress with her familiar pink hat. She crossed her arms and said "Its been boring. The stupid sun doesn't let us out most of the day and everyone is asleep when its gone. Its almost as bad as the stupid rain." Flandre sat down next to her sister and smiled though. "I missed you guys." She said.

—Corrolianus smoothly saluted. —

"I'll look after him, Commissar. Probably needs to see Umbra Villa and the Oni."

"Fine, but don't let him get into a drinking match with them... or at least, stop him before he gets too sloshed to think properly. Looks like he needs a character building exercise anyway." Graille's eyes lit up as a question struck him. "What're your names, anyway?"

"Drake Lycetta." stated Drake with slight trepidation. Oni? Are those another type of Gensokyo abhuman?

"Nice name there. Commissar-General Isaiah Graille's my name, and managing the local PDF's my game! ...On second thoughts, I should probably work on that." Graille winked.

"It's good to see you too, mistress."

Zee returned to her chair and sat down, smiling. She meant every word she said; it was indeed wonderful to see her old friends and charges again, and it brought the vampiric Living Saint no small amount of pride to see how well they'd turned out.

—The woman steps forward to address the Captain with a smoothness of motion that suggests an intimate familiarity with the giant suit of armor. It's a little uncanny, in fact, just how right she seems to be in the armor, like she was made for it rather than the other way around. Even the shape of her face seems to faintly echo that of the helmet Brother Martin holds.—

Everything that Brother Martin has told you is true. I have yes to give myself a name yet, sir, having just been born, but my purpose, as the embodiment of this armor's machine spirit, is just the same as yours and that of your men. I was made to serve the Emperor, and that is what I wish to continue doing.

edited 4th Jan '11 11:13:58 AM by Zudak

Arcturus sits back down as though nothing had happened.

"Yes, it really is... Now, before we move on to business, you said you had news, Remilia?"

A few seconds pass before the Captain replies.

"You wish to serve, as one of us? There is no such thing a female Space Marine, but you really are simply an embodiment of this armour's machine spirit, I would find it easier to accept. Only one way to find out. I have a few other questions, but for now, Brother Martin, hand me that helmet."

— Brother Martin obediently does so. —

"Staff Sergeant Corrolianus Anestor, of the 521st Cadian Stormtroopers, sir."

"Well, Staff Sergeant Anestor, are you going to go to Umbra Villa now, or are you going to wait for Arcturus to wrap up here?"

"Well, here's to prove whether or not you really are this suit of armour."

In an almost comical fashion, Orwell taps the helmet on the 'cheek' before he begins violently shaking it around, even spinning it around his finger a few times.

Dizzy yet? That is, if you even can feel nausea.

—The woman begins to look a bit pale—

Yes, I can indeed feel that, sir.

edited 4th Jan '11 11:56:52 AM by Zudak

Trogg is delighted by the sight of Flandre. He shouts "Herro pretty-wingy chillun!" to her.

"Knowing the Inquisitor, they won't be done for hours. I'll take him down there through the transit I heard about."

"Alright then, but don't take too long... Emperor knows that Arcturus will have your heads on a plate if you aren't back in time. See you later!" Graille began waving as he shoved Drake forward a few meters toward Corollianus, almost causing the unfortunate soldier to have an impromptu make-out session with the dirt.

Oh yes, the news. First and foremost: there have been more disappearances. Villagers, monks and soldiers are still going missing after going off in the dark, walking through the thickest part of the forest or taking old mountain-paths. And they were all Human. As you already know, it's still possible that this is the work of solitary Youkai, and more such Youkai have been Exterminated after your departure. But obviously, the Humans are not too pleased when it keeps happening, due to the peace they were promised. They hope for salvation now that lady Hijiri is back in office, and the Imperial Officers keep their fingers crossed.

She sipped her tea, awaiting Arcturus' response.

— The stormtrooper yanked Drake to his feet, scuffing the dirt off his regimental markings. —

"C'mon, we've a got a train to catch."

"A train? This place has a train?" Drake looked around... and didn't see anything that suggested any major rail network. "Huh, they must have hid it pretty well..."

— Corollianus stepped over to a console off the paved road, inserting a key card into a slot. The pylons which had been silently looming over them all activated with a whine, energy crackling about their peaks; with a series of loud clanks, rails slid out from gaps in the structures, connecting amid more crackles of energy, extending off into the distance, out of sight behind the Manse. A great whistle is heard, and a sleek, black train coach bearing the seal of the Inquisition raced out, grinding to a stop above the two soldiers heads; there is a flash of green light, and a stairwell materialises, leading up to the now open doors of the coach. —

"That's how the Inquisition travels here, kid."

The Captain, who was in retrospect being kind of a jerk, doesn't stop spinning the helmet.

"What, are you sure? Where's your constitution? I thought you were a Marine? Alright, I'll stop now."

He suddenly stops the spinning motion, keeping the helmet completely still.

"Alright, so I can attest to that you are, indeed, linked to the armour. I shall not outright deny the possibility that you are its spirit any longer, either. But are you one of us? What is our creed? What makes you worthy of the title of Steel Judicator?"

Not mentioning the fact that the armour was centuries old and had most definitely seen its share of battle was a deliberate act on the captain's part. If this youkai was what it claimed to be, it would have no problems remembering battles of old.

"So the youkai are still causing problems... That would cause some friction with several parties. I shall be happy to see lady Hijiri back in office, she is most competent. We might even have to go out there ourselves, if it gets particularly bad. How much luck have the Incident Resolvers had in dealing with the problem? Speaking of Resolvers... I don't believe we ever met Reimu's descendants."

"Hey, that's pretty cool!" Drake temporarily forgot his troubles and almost threw himself into the train with a gleeful expression.

"Destination?" Asked a slightly disinterested voice at the front of the train car. There stood a pale looking girl with short blond hair wearing a brown and blue dress. Her green eyes seemed to glow slightly as she looked to Drake with a raised eyebrow. "New guy?" Parsee asked him.

—Behind Drake, Corollianus nods silently.—

"Uh... yeah." Drake's newfound energy seemed to come to a grinding halt. "I think we're meant to go to Umbra Villa... I'm... er... Drake Lycetta..."

He kicked himself for not remembering his rank, but that was soon forgotten as he noticed the slight glow in her eyes. What's going on?