Meeting at the Dark Yggdrasil, pt. 1
The Aveh Desert
Upon your first step out of Dazil, you find yourself on the edge of Aveh's vast,
fearful desert. Hot, dry winds blow thin waves of sand, dusting the skies and
searing and stinging your skin with every move. The south of Drazil
stands to the north, but the desert seems to expand off infinitely to every
direction- , , , , , , and .
Contents:
Ryuenuske
Tifa
Dan
Daphens (Gear)
Crescens
The Sandcruiser - (JNK) Yggdrasil
An Important Sign (Type 'look sign' to read!)
The meeting actually wasn't that far over with, when she had left. The flight?
It went amazingly quickly, going by information so graciously provided from
various contacts along the way-- but finding the /actual/ location of Kislev's
Yggdrasil...? That's a nightmare in itself. Kaori looks about in the cockpit
seat, muttering a bit and turning on a thermal sensor-- a machine that big has
to have a signature more red than blood. To others in the air, monitoring the
skies and Gear activity...? It's one that's not from Aveh, nor Solaris... the
machine settles, though, and the cockpit cracks open to permit her to peer out
the cockpit with a set of binnoculars... "... where the hell could this thing
be...?" the pilot mutters to herself, brushing her bangs back behind one ear.
Adjusting the focus more, indeed, it's a major pain to get a good 360-degree
swoop of the area surrounding...
Sitting atop of said Yggdrasil as it slowly drives under the view of the gear,
Tifa is really not doing much while the Ygg meanders about autopilot. She's in
full disguise, with the exception of her eyepatch, but that's because it gets
tiring to wear after a while. What could they do next? What should their next
move be? These thoughts plague her all the while she relaxes. She shouldn't
have to relax like this, she needs something to do. She looks up into the sky,
and pauses. Is that...a Shevite gear?
Indeed, it surely is. The hatch closing again, the pilot of the machine
settles back into her seat and begins unto a mild hover over the sand-- this is
gonna suck later, though, considering how non-desert-efficent the machine is.
The weather isn't too much of a bother as of late, either-- her last experience
in this area allowed her to prepare for things more suitably. The Gear does,
however, draw closer and closer to the Kislevi ship as it goes, but it /is/ hard
to decide what the intent of it is, considering the riot shield and rather large
gun held in it's grasp.
The threat may not be as apparent as it seems...to Dan, anyway. All -he- can
see is desert...desert...desert...dig site...desert...Gear? Erf? On closer
inspection (from a dangerously precarious vantage point on the edge of a
railing) he can make out some sort of gun, and a shield. Suddenly he brightens.
Maybe the gear is from Solaris! And maybe he'll get to see them fight each
other. It never even occurs to him that this might be a bad thing. After all,
Doc Uzuki trusts these people, and Doc Uzuki is never wrong. They can't lose,
not the legendary Yggdrasil. The Solarians are pathetic next to the Pirates.
They don't have a chance! Even if this particular person isn't really from
Solaris.
Ryuenuske walks through the desert, looking a bit hot, especially with all
that fur...
Tifa thinks about this for a moment. "The Shevites wouldn't betray us, I
trust it," she mutters to herself. She steps back, and calls to everyone on
deck to clear a spot for the gear to land. Starting to step back herself, she
calls a reminder in case some hadn't heard her. She's going to give this gear a
chance, since she has faith that the Shevite's wouldn't betray them.
Descent... descent... descent... yes, there that ship is! Daphens swoops low
and extends both legs forward, the great mammoth of a machine landing with a
heavy thud. Sparks inadvertenly spray in it's wake as it settles to a stop a
distance away from the conn-tower at the main entrance, and slowly, it opens...
the shield-bearing hand lowers a bit to below the cockpit, and one can see a
shaded silhouette leap down into the hand, then down to the inner curve of the
shield to 'surf' to the deck, landing in a bit of a crouch. Slowly emerging,
Kaori settles her hands on her hips-- the black jacket and gloves must make this
hellishly hot, considering the climate-- and her voice rings out. "I'm looking
for the Captain of this vessel!" she shouts, her accent thick and definately
Shevvite. One most likely wouldn't be able to ascertain her true height 'til
they drew close, either...
...What in the hell? The Gear just landed...and they aren't doing anything
about it? A person got out! It's...a woman...and she's giving orders to nobody
in particular. The captain? Isn't it that guy Bart? Dan doesn't really
know...but he doesn't like this woman. Her accent, however, is distinctly one he
remembers. Shevat. At this, Dan relaxes. She must be here to take me back. Bart
came through, after all. What a relief! He's going to get out of this boring
desert and back into the flying city, where Dan can marvel at the Gears and the
technology for the rest of his life. Or, at least, live in a cool climate for a
while.
Ryuenuske walks further up into the area, drawing closer to the ship that had
moved from the previous city he was in before. That odd felow in the gear said
it wasn't going anywhere, but it did and he ended up chasing after it. He looks
up at the side of the hull and cratches the side of his head, thinking He ponders a bit longer and then nods
to himself He
takes a deep breath and calls over the side of the ship "Hey! Anyone mind
throwing a rope over the side so I can climb up?" He stands in plain views, his
fox-like tail moving about behind him "Or are ya ganna ignore me like ya did for
the past several miles?"
Tifa walks slowly up to Kaori as she calls for the captain. Her voice soft,
but stern, as she replies, "That would be me. You are Shevite, correct? What
is it, you need?" This woman's rather...commanding tone kind of disturbs Tifa,
but she's very good at keeping calm. Except when she's acting. Her ears catch
another voice as well, and she turns around to blink, turning back quickly prior
and telling Kaori, "Excuse me a moment." She orders a couple of people to go
investigate who it is, and only lower the ladder if it's percieved to be
harmless. Then, turning back to Kaori and gathering her eyepatch from a pocket
in her vest, she replies, "Sorry about that."
Bowing her head a bit, Kaori offering an attempt at a smile. But-- time to
get right down to business. Running on a tight time-frame, they are... "Is
there a place we can talk alone?" she asks, looking about almost warily. The
eyepatch is also regarded with a bit of curiosity... but from the way she's
speaking, she seems not to be here to pick Dan up... at least, at a glance. The
tone of her voice is a bit softer now, though there /is/ a detectable hint of
urgency, in both it and her eyes.
The two are talking now, and ignoring Dan. Well, that's alright really,
because Dan isn't going to waste his energy going over there and initiating any
kind of conversation. No, he'l wait for them over here. Besides, this is the
best place to look at...er...um...the woman's Gear! Yep, Dan is studying it now,
intently, trying to make it look like he wants to be doing this. He thinks he's
seen this Gear before in Shevat, but he has no real idea. It's looking at them
in the moment that interests him. The weapons interest him too, possibly more.
That is that, as Dan is completely absorbed in the Gear now, not paying any
attention to anything else.
Ryuenuske sighs as he is eventually et on board, climbing a rope ladder to the
deck. He looks out of breath and tired "Finally..." He whipes his forehead and
then looks at Tifa, standing there and looking on the the gear at the other side
of the ship where Kaori stands. He scratches the back of his head and then looks
a bit embarassed "Guess I caught you at a bad time... Are you the captain
though?"
Tifa puts the patch on, and nods at Kaori, before turning to Ryuenuske and Dan
and clearing her throat, "...Yeah, actually you did," comes a rather convincing
baritone almost exactly like Bart's own. "Whelp, if you need me, i'll talk to
you later if you don't mind. I need to talk with this lady." She looks to Dan
for a moment, and tells him, "Be patient, ok? I'm gonna ask about Shevat for
you," before she gestures towards the ladder. "Let's head to the Gun Room, it
should be empty there."
Ask about Shevat for a kid...? Hey, that little squirt looks familiar... ah
well, forget it. Giving a sharp nod, Kaori pops the clasps of her jacket and
sheds it rather liberally, tucking it under one arm. Oddly enough, her gloves
don't come off-- and snug fabric sleeves run from the wrists to just above her
elbows-- despite the tanktop giving her a bit of exposure, no skin whatsoever
shows of her forearms and hands... "Lead the way, Captain." she says, attempting
to seem rather laid-back about the situation. If only she really /could/ be...
Dark Ygg, Gun Room
As you enter this room, you are taken aback for a moment at the sheer spendor
of this area. Lined in floor tiles resembling marble, this entire area has a
noticeable aura of beauty and class. From here, you see a beautiful silver
leading down, the Room, and Lawson's own . An
elaborate leads out.
Contents:
Tifa
Kaori
A mildly pleasant air is brought about in this room... one that ends up verily
slightly countered with the buisness-like attitude the Shevvite woman brings...
pausing in wait, however, to see which way the good Captain will lead her next,
Kaori takes a moment to survey the Gun Room with an amount of appreciation-- not
often one gets to see places like this... on the surface, anyway. "A
magnificent vessel, Captain..." she remarks, her head drifting in a nod. She
normally wouldn't be this formal, but ... there's times you have to suck up your
pride and go.
As she walks in the room with Kaori, Tifa turns her head to the Shevite and
nods slowly. "Thank you, Miss," she says, returning to her normal voice. "I'm
sorry about the activity out there, but here we can speak in private as you
want," she walks over to one of the tables and pulls out a chair for them both,
"If you'd like to sit, please, be my guest." Then she sits in one of them. Her
expression becomes a bit more serious as she looks to Kaori, "I take it Shevat
desires something of us? Oh, and how is Yui?"
Nodding her head, she seats herself at the table and flicks her bangs behind
her ear. "She's well... in fact, I'm working for her right now." she adds, head
bowed. "We need the help of your ship, Captain... I can understand completely
if you don't wish to become involved in the matter, but..." Dipping one hand
into her jacket, a series of folded papers are removed and placed on the table.
"We're currently entering into 'negociations' with Nisan. We wish to realign
them to a neutral state-- we're looking to take Fort Jasper. Our agents are
already working in Nisan to prepare a meeting with the Holy Mother that we can
isolate her from the Yggdrasil. What we need is support on that front..." Kaori
says, rifling through to find a map.
Tifa blinks, slowly taking the papers and unfolding them. "...Negotiations to
bring Nisan to neutral and take Fort Jasper?" she looks at the papers for a
moment. "...Support on that front? What exactly do you want us to do?" she
puts them down for a moment, not scanning them just yet. "If you wish us to
directly confront the Yggdrasil to draw them from Nisan, we'll need to find some
way to occupy their attention, somehow."
Indicating on the map, she taps a finger on a point marked K.Ygg (Kislev
Yggdrasil). "We would need the ship to locate itself to this area..." she says,
"... so that we can prevent the Yggdrasil from entering Nisan's area. We
thought we would need a distraction to pull them away from Nisan, that is
correct..." Tapping on a small 'x' nearby the Dark Yggdrasil's location on the
map, she continues. "I would station myself here... if at all possible, I'll
attempt to draw their attention, by gunfire or, with your nation's humble
indulgances, Kislev Gears that we could perhaps pass off as a surveilance squad.
We're counting on that they'll see this as Aveh and Nisan plotting-- and that
would give them a reason to pull out, try to stop the squad before they can get
back to a communication range." Tapping on a red circle more in a central
location of the map... "We'd like to try to draw the Yggdrasil out this far.
It's a longshot, but if we /can/ get them out here, then this ship would be able
to swoop between and act like a blocker. If they surface, then I could attempt
to take out their communications array on the conn tower." So... this means she
plans on hanging around? Of course, with permission of the Captain.
Tifa hrms, her expression becoming thoughtful. "...if we're to barricade the
way to Nisan like that, this means eventually they might attack our ship. I
hope that's a last resort- one of the conditions we agreed to on getting this
ship happens to be not using it in direct confrontation with the Yggdrasil. I
would absolutely hate to have only gears defending this ship. Is there any
other support you could give us?"
"Unfortunately, our resources are stressed. We could provide Gears and
perhaps a scant few other defenses, but we can't use too much. If this goes to
plan, then we will hopefully have convinced the Holy Mother to realign her
nation before major conflict could begin. We have an agent in Aveh working to
keep ourselves a step ahead of Gebler, in the event that they decide to show up.
If anything, I hate to say, we would be using this ship as bait for the
Yggdrasil." Looking to one side for a moment, Kaori shuffles one foot on the
floor and returns face to Tifa. "With your permission, of course, I'd like to
be here in person to help deal with things if direct combat is brought about.
The Yggdrasil itself would likely not want to start a ship-to-ship battle, and I
could use Daphens to assist with the combat."
Tifa thinks for a moment, "I certainly hope it wouldn't start a ship-to-ship
fight, unless Queen Zephyr is actually authorizing us to use this ship in combat
with it," looking the map over for a scant moment, she taps her finger on the
table lightly. Looking up at Kaori, she responds to what she had said, "I would
really appreciate your assistance, Miss...," she clears her throat, "What was
your name? I don't think I quite caught it."
"I'm sure she wouldn't want to put the lives of your crew in danger,
Captain... which means we'll have to exert the extra effort to ensure it
doesn't happen. But, this would be a great favor to us..." Blinking, she
brings one hand up to her mouth for a moment with a bit of an embarassed look.
"I apologize! How rude of me... I am Kaori Scihevnhein, part of Her Majesty's
Gear-base military defenses..." she says, bowing her head a bit.
Tifa nods slowly. Her tone becomes much friendlier when she says, "It's a
pleasure to meet you, Miss Scihevnhein," she calms a bit, looking embarrassed
herself, "I'm just as rude, i'm sorry. I am Tifa Marabat," she smiles rather
nervously, but quickly gets back on the subject, which brings back a more
serious tone in her voice. "...with all this effort to ensure it, I certainly
don't think I could refuse. I will do you this favor, if only for a chance to
cause problems for the other Yggdrasil."
Ah, what else to do at this juncture but... smile? Kaori nods and arranges
the papers a bit, "Thank you, very much... If you would like to look through
these, then, Captain Marabat, do so at your leisure. After I report in, I'll
need Daphens transported into your hangar, if that's possible." she says,
nodding a bit. Check the rifle, see if there's any work she could do on the
machine... all that nice, fun stuff. "We will, of course, be in close
communication with Aphel Aura, so you would have little cause to worry about
being updated on the situation." she says, leaning back in the chair a little
bit.
Tifa takes the papers, nodding slowly. "Of course, of course. You're free to
place your gear in the hangar as you like," she replies with a smile. "There's
one favor i'd like to ask of you in return, though," she tilts her head a little
bit. "It's about that young boy outside, he said Yui is her guardian. If at
all possible, could you verify that with her and bring him home when you
report?"
Blinking curiously, she thinks back... ... the boy... Oh! The boy? "That
little kid...? Of course. I'll ask when I call in." Kaori shuffles up to her
feet and pushes her chair back in, straightening her jacket and straightening up
to her full height. "I'll be on my way to take care of that now, then... if
you'll excuse me, Captain..." she says, nodding her head again. There's much to
talk about, much to report... much to prepare for. Hopefully, it all goes to
plan...
Tifa stands, "Thank you! I appreciate this favor. I hope to see an update
soon. When the Holy Mother is in place, just give me the word and i'll move to
the designated spot right away!"