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

Parsee looked to Corollianus and then back at Drake. She turned to the controls and pulled a few levers and pushed a few buttons. She smiled a bit and said to Drake "I....do not envy you." She hit a final switch and the train took off.

Flandre looked to up Trogg and tilted her head curiously. "Is that one of those Ogryn I've heard about?" She asked.

"Herro. Me am Trogg. Me am a mightyfine Ogryn."

edited 4th Jan '11 1:43:00 PM by Daionusthe23rd

Well, like I said, there have been some successful bouts of Extermination. Flandre and I went out one night together with Sakuya and got a pair of them. They refused a Spell Card Duel, so they were...taken care of.

The Vampire smiles a fanged smile.

But unfortunately, Incident Resolvers can only do so much. Extermination has always been a makeshift solution, after all. I hear Marisa has been hunting for big Youkai-chieftains that might be stirring up trouble, with varying degrees of luck.

She sipped her tea.

You've met Reiko, I think, but she was probably still small at the time. Human children grow so fast...you should visit the Hakurei Shrine while you're here.

Although I have only now become conscious, sir, it felt... not like being born or created so much as simply remembering the fact of my own existence. I can remember every battle I ever fought in. The Marine who wore me before I was given to Martin fought in the Battle of Bhava-Agra, a hundred and fifty years ago. As I remembered it, Martin's link to me caused him, too, to have visions of that fight. As for our creed, sir...

—She takes the helmet from the Captain, and without flinching digs the finger of her gauntlet into its cheek, gouging a shallow groove into its surface. From the corresponding wound that opens instantly on her face flows not blood, but oil.—

Steel without, steel within, sir.

Drake held onto the nearest support as the train started moving, and although her single statement piqued his curiousity, he didn't dare investigate any further; after all, she was the one at the controls of this thing.

Arcturus empties his cup. Even if he hadn't visually changed much over the course of the years, his eyes had an older feeling about them, and his features seemed to have simply hardened instead of having withered away. His hair seemed to have taken on a somewhat lighter shade, too, but it was nearly beyond notice.

"That was indeed an Ogryn, Flandre."

He clears his throat.

"Please go find the others, Trogg."

He turns back to Remilia.

"We really should, it has been way too long, and getting reacquinted with the Hakureis have been on my priority list for quite some time now. Hell, given the chance, we'd visit all our old friends, but work comes first should something require our attentions. Anyway, I hope Byakuren can come up with a solution to the youkai-murders. If it goes on, tempers might flare. So, are the three of you willing to come with us on our next job, whenever that may be?"

The Judicator Captain nods, satisfied for the moment. The power fist fizzles to silence.

"Indeed. I shall have to bring this up with the Chapter Master. Until then, Brother Martin shall be accompanying you at all times. Now be off with you, I have paperwork to fill out and a Chapter Master with which to discuss this strange business with."

edited 4th Jan '11 2:20:47 PM by l3wt

"Okay." Says Trogg, "Me go now." He then left the mansion to find the rest of the team.

Yes, sir.

—She salutes him, and turns to leave—

The young vampire considered it for a while, then nodded.

It has been some time since our last mission, and I have been feeling restless lately. I will go, as long as Flandre wants to. What do you say, Flan?

Remilia turned to her sister, smiling.

edited 4th Jan '11 2:37:36 PM by Lemurian

Flandre threw her arms up into the air. "Yeah! Lets go places! I'm tired to staying home all day!" She shouted happily. She sprung up from her seat and raced to the door, only to stop and wait for the others.

After a while the train started to go down through a tunnel into the ground. The darkness didn't seem to be a problem for Parsee at all as she continued to regulate the train. Once they got close enough she started to pull back on the speed and apply the breaks.

edited 4th Jan '11 3:16:23 PM by Oni-Lord

Drake almost fell over again as the train decelerated, distracted as he was by the darkness outside.

"...Ugh..."

— From his kitbag, Corollianus pulled his helmet, putting it on and sealing it in place with a hiss, the red optical sensors coming online. —

"That's better. We'll be in view of the City in a couple minutes, kid."

The train came to a complete stop soon enough with a hiss. Parsee pulled a leaver and opened a door, revealing the bright and exuberant Underground City with the Palace of Earth Spirits behind it. "Welcome to Umbra Villa newbie. Also known as the Underground City." Parsee said.

— The stormtrooper looked out on the city, nodding.—

-"It's as nice and rustic still as they told me. Heh. Now look over there."-

—He pointed off to their left, and beheld the complex known as Umbra Villa, like a great light-grey ziggurat, various courtyards and training courses in evidence, floodlights keeping it all illuminated. Above the complex was the immense, circular metal "door" in the cavern ceiling, engineered to let ships in directly, and to lock tight during invasions, a giant green aquila painted on. In one of the yards, horned figures in uniform can be seen, going about their rounds, the Oni. —

-"You're gonna meet, talk, and maybe fight alongside those abhumans, kid. No ifs or buts about it."-

— He chuckled as the last he saw before they disembarked was an Oni tearing apart a test dummy with her bare hands. —

Zee brought a hand up to her chin, her elegant brows creasing slightly in thought as she considered Remilia's words. From the sound of things, this Youkai was adept at moving around unseen and avoiding notice; if it had gone to ground, then the odds of the Incident Resolvers managing to apprehend it were slim, and she and her husband might be forced to lend the investigation a hand.

Still, at least it wasn't all bad news; the Living Saint was pleased to hear that Lady Hijiri was back in office. Memories of a time shortly after the conclusion of the Gensokyoan Crusade came to her, recollections of her time as an assistant to the governess during her first term of office. those had been somewhat trying for the angelic vampire, serving as an intermediary between various aspects of the Youkai population and Imperial representatives, but she couldn't complain; Byakuren had been a just and fair leader, and only rarely had Zee found herself overworked during Hijiri's term as governess.

When her husband broached the subject of having the Scarlet sisters join them on their next mission, Zee could not help but smile at Flandre's enthusiasm; the youthful vampire's cheer and exuberance were infectious. Still, even though their acceptance of Arcturus' offer pleased the Living Saint, she found her gaze shifting to the soul member of their party who had elected to remain silent for most of the conversation.

"And what about you, Sakuya?" she inquired, a note of concern evident in her voice. "Would you come with us as well?"

The maid didn't even pause in refilling Remilia's cup.

But of course.

You should know by now that I go nowhere without Sakuya, Zee.

The silver-haired maid had experienced her share of adventures with Arcturus and his Inquisitorial retinue over the last century, after she had managed to arrange with the Kriegers how to keep the Scarlet Devil Mansion clean and tidy. Like Arcturus, she also had the Imperial Juvenant treatment to thank for looking younger than she was, though in her case she looked to be somewhere in her twenties.

After failing to find the rest of his team and getting lost (twice), Trogg finds himself waiting at the entrance of he mansion. He occupies his time by crushing a hapless rock he found while wandering the courtyard into powder.

Arcturus stands up.

"Excellent. No use sitting around, then. Corollianus and Lycetta have already moved on to Umbra Villa, shall we join them, or did we have a different destination in mind?"

The Captain waits until the blast door closes behind the two Marines, then he reaches for the hololith table controls. He pushes the button that would connect him to the Chapter Master.

"My Lord, this is Brother-Captain Orwell. We have a... situation."

Drake simply allowed the scene to soak in. He had to admit that these "Oni" were quite impressive - perhaps he could grow to like Gensokyo abhumans...

"So, what do we do first, tinhead?" Drake gently rapped Corollianus's helmet for emphasis.

Zee nodded and stood as well. Though she didn't show it, the Living Saint was concerned for the maid; the two of them had worked together for many years, both as Remilia's servants and as agents of the Inquisition, and if nothing else she considered herself to be Sakuya's friend, even if she wasn't certain if the latter reciprocated her overtures of friendship.

The fact that Sakuya had answered her question immediately, without consideration, gave Zee pause. Of late, the maid had been throwing herself into her work as if to avoid something, and the Living Saint had a fairly good idea what that was. Still, she wouldn't be so crass as to bring that subject up with the mistress and her husband present; Zee would speak to her alone, if the opportunity presented itself.

The Ancient City? What are we going to do there?

Hearing that her mistress would be leaving soon, Sakuya started cleaning up the tea-set, though she left the bowl of cookies for Flandre.

Drake and Corollianus would notice that amongst the Oni was a smaller one, one that looked like a little girl. She had long orange hair that was held together by a shackle at the end. She had chains coming off of her wrists and two huge horns coming out of her head. She seemed to sway a lot as she walked and took a swig from a gourd on her hip.

edited 5th Jan '11 10:48:41 AM by Oni-Lord

Arcturus opens his mouth as if to speak, then he hesitates, closing it again.

Then he looks away, scratching his neck with some degree of awkwardness.

"...I must be growing senile. All I remember is that they wanted to go there for some reason. Perhaps Corollianus is just looking for a drink and wants to jerk Drake about by introducing him to the Oni. Doesn't really matter, if it was anything important, I'd have remembered it. They've been nagging me about shore leave for some time now anyway. In any case, we're not leaving at once, the ship needs refueling and restocking. So, we have some time to kill, unless something urgent comes up. Have there been any recognizable patterns to the youkai attacks, since you mentioned them being so frequent as of late? We might just look into it."

Wark

edited 5th Jan '11 10:41:48 AM by Colonial1.1

— The stormtrooper waved off the young soldier, then sketched a salute towards the girl.—

-"Got a new kid to see you, ma'am."-

—The great craggy face of Chapter Master Zolomon materialised, expression grave. His deep, rumbling voice filled the chamber.—

Explain what has befallen our Fortress, Brother Captain.