Six Degrees of Freedom

If Ravage felt at all bothered by the nasty looks given to him in return, he didn't show it. He merely notes "I look at everyone while I am waiting. It is my function. And better than idling" to Adrian.

THE PAST

"I'm not sure what wine will do to you because I'm unfamiliar with your biology, but you can try it if you want."

THE NOW

Gil is still sipping wine, completely bored with whats going on right now.

edited 4th Jun '15 1:06:17 PM by PhilosopherStones

The Castle

Adrian shrugged. "If you say so. In the meanwhile, I do believe we actually have work now. Best not to waste any time."

The two guards understood this to mean that the members of the Atlas Fleet were moving out, and they quickly stepped to the side. While their firearms were significantly less "black plastic" than the Prime Minister's guards, they still looked at least somewhat professional.

"Follow us. We will take you to where the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence will be meeting with you," said one guard, again in fluent Torgovlyan. Adrian quickly repeated the knowledge to anyone who would need it before they set out.

The castle was ornate and exquisite. There were a fair amount of guards - if anyone was to be believed, this was, after all, the center of power for the Stanistanian government - but most of the people currently assembled were simply regular people at desk jobs (with a few smatterings of two-piece suits).

As the guards led them through the castle they passed many points of interest - several different meetings rooms, what appeared to be an armory, and a massive senate, among various other important-yet-boring rooms that were an essential part of governacy.

Marcia is amazed and awestruck by all of the sights in the castle. Then again, when is she not amazed by all these new things?

Emily looks around with an outward air of detached professionalism. Inwardly, however, she's just as awestruck as Marcia. The palace was very beautiful, and even though she had read many things about human culture and architecture, had never really seen any in real life, until now.

edited 6th Jun '15 10:44:29 PM by Tojin

Seth clapped a bit.

"Quite the impressive place. Better than anything back home."

He looked around at the majestic building, secretly dumbstruck at its beauty.

"... Well, damn, thassa lot of a bling around here." Jake remarked as he walked alongside the group, taking in the sights the palace had to offer.

"What do you think the job will be about, anyways?"

Ravage merely marched through after the rest of his supposed compatriots. The attempts made towards some form of class by these organics was a bit amusing, but ultimately irrelevant.

"No military ruler hires mercenaries if they have an interest in mere parade."

The Castle

Eventually, however, everyone reached a door with what appeared to be a metal detector and several other guards. The guards that were escorting them engaged in a short conversation in Torgovlya; after a few moments, the red light on the metal detector shut off and everyone was ushered through.

The detector did not go off; most likely it was shut down for their passing through.

From here on in everything became utilarian again. This was no longer the public face of the castle. This was the behind-the-scenes - and while it wasn't exactly very interesting, military organizations didn't need to be.

After a few more minutes of movement they emerged in a massive room◊ containing a circular table. Directly above it was a projection of the planet they were on; on the screens were various views of the different continents and military assets on all of them.

Klaudjis was standing in the room, along with another man who looked much younger, primarily because he actually had a head of hair.

"Oh! You came! Excellent. I was worried that you would not, but now that you have, let's get down to business, shall we?" He motioned to the far younger individual in the room. "This is Gvidas Broz, the Stanistanian Minister of Defense."

Where Klaudjis, whether or not it was a farce, seemed relatively jovial, Gvidas did not. He was clearly a man of business. "So you are the mercenaries that our Prime Minister found walking into our country? You should feel lucky - such massive fleets of fighters are usually pirates, and are typically intercepted by air forces."

"There is no need for this," stated Klaudjis. "We can argue about what I do later. What matters is that you have a job for them, and they need work."

Marcia quietly sat at the table and curiously looked at the screens of the continents and the projection of the planet. Fortunately, she was called to attention by Gvidas. She just listened to the two men talking. If she spoke up, it could possibly lead to a disaster in PR.

edited 7th Jun '15 11:13:48 AM by josh6243

"Oh neat. You guys have a hologram," Silas noted smiling behind his mask.

Ravage doesn't bother with sitting upon a chair and instead leans on the table and stares forward, appraising the two men there. After doing some research, i.e. judging body posture and tone, he still believed that Klaudjis was potentially the more dangerous man there. War was no place for a jovial attitude unless you were a Decepticon, and his unusual confidence in these unknown entities was...worrisome.

Gvidas, however, was more upfront about his disapproval. The Decepticon can appreciate some well-deserved hostility, and even the thinly-veiled attempt at a threat served to merely amuse Ravage. By all accounts, the general was younger man was right in his assessment about how lucky they were. Of course, anyone this up forward about their hostility is much easier to ravage, so Ravage was not worried. If a feline robot could smirk, he would be doing so right now.

The War Room (no fighting)

There was relative quiet as Gvidas inspected those who had come before him. They were a motley crew, for certain, but one that could definitely work in his favor if he played things out right.

"You are all here, as our Prime Minister has said, because I have a job for you. And indeed I do. While this is unrelated to the war effort your performance will directly affect whether or not we can send you on more dangerous missions - and, as such, the supplies you have been promised."

The hologram zoomed in on a small frontier town. "This is the town of Gorod. It has a slight issue, in that the "kebabs" - pests local to this planet, named because they are very edible - have decided to besiege it."

Another hologram popped up, showing something that might be familiar◊... though, given who these people are, most likely not at all. "While the kebabs do not have much in the way of real air power or tactics, they make up for it - there can be tens of thousands in a swarm, and each of them carries a powerful directed-energy weapon we are still in the process of studying."

"You will head there, supported by one of our fighter wings, and remove kebab."

Gil finally looks up from his drink.

"Waitwaitwait. You mean you willingly eat intelligent life?! What kind of sickos are you?"

Marcia quietly listened to the explanation of their current mission. When Marcia heard that these edible kebabs are a race of winged arachnid people, Marcia is just as disgusted as Gilgamesh, but for a different reason. Why would the people of Stanistan eat the people of the disease-ridden Insect tribe? Why can't the people of Stanistan eat cattle, chicken, pigs, or sheep like the normal Warrior or Spellcaster tribes?

"V-very well...", said Marcia. "I will um r-remove kebab for St-stanistan."

edited 8th Jun '15 4:39:51 PM by josh6243

Emily is also rather squicked out by Klaudijs' admission that they eat insects, but tries not to show it. She's also slightly confused; that "remove kebab" thing sounds familiar...

Eh, probably nothing. "I am also ready to remove some kebabs."

Jake stayed silent for now as he listened to Gvidas and Klaudjis' explanation before finally piping up.

"So, they just got sheer numbers, huh... Sounds simple enough this far, what's the catch?" he asked.

Kirby had been grumpy as they entered the palace. He didn't know why this wine stuff was so special - it was just bad-tasting grape juice! But he perked up at the mention of the kebabs. Delicasy? That was a fancy word for delicious! He'd eaten a lot of bugs that weren't that tasty, but if everybody loved these kebab things...

"Kirby will go eat all the kebabs!" He said happily, twirling around.

"Well, kebabs are something entirely different back where I'm from..."

No, he did not want to ruin the picture of the grilled, spitted meat with that of a bug.

The War Room ([INSERT DR. STRANGELOVE REFERENCE HERE])

As soon as Klaudjis let Gvidas speak, he sincerely regretted it. He immediately stepped into the Minister of Defense's way before he could backpedal any farther, looking at Gilgamesh. "We do not. Unfortunately, I can say little more for the citizens of frontier towns like Gorod - who, unfortunately, do not like being policed much. I would bar their consumption if it wouldn't spark another revolt. We've had enough of those."

"Well, shit then... Seriously though, what else do we know about them?" Jake asked again, raising an eyebrow.

Gil "Hmmphs" and turns away, flourishing his cape.

"Spineless leader. Very well, I'll shall get rid of this infestation. Come Kirby."

He starts to walk out of the room.

"We... we could take out supply lines, cripple their war effort and force them into a position where peace is more applicable a option," Silas suggested.

The War Room

Gvidas took that moment to reassert himself. Electing to ignore Gilgamesh's comment, he first addressed Jake.

"Their weapons are extremely powerful. We have reason to believe they are neutronic - they work through blasting atoms off of you, much like sandpaper wearing down wood. They seem to have peerless flight control, though they are weak to the weaponry of starfighters."

"You will be co-ordinating with Sokol Squadron and Zvezda Squadron. Both are made of Fishbed fighters, as anything above their grade is too important to squander as of yet."

He then turned to Silas. "Unfortunately, it is not they we are at war with. The kebabs are... they are an annoyance, yes, but just that. We often send fighter squadrons in need of experience - like yours - against them."

The War Room

Despite being ready for this mission, Marcia continues to listen to the briefing. If she missed anything during this meeting, her life could be in peril.