Futuristic HAVEN (Closed)

[ManicMuse]

HAVEN ​

In the year 2020, the world turned its eyes to the skies. Humankind was faced with an event that threatened the future of Earth it's self. Several comets were on a direct course for Earth. The world's most advanced programs and companies came together to carry out plans, to eradicate the threat. To everyone's astonishment, the comets seemed to have intelligence. Even the ability to evade attempts to destroy them before entering the worlds outer atmosphere. Finally, in Earth's last hour, Genesis became the saving grace of mankind; when they released a new weapon with nanotechnology, able to safely capture this rogue threat. For Genesis, destroying such a rare find was unthinkable.


Trillions of dollars were poured into creating a space center on the moon. There they could experiment on the organisms without fear of contaminating earth, or so they thought.


Six years after the successful capture of the organism, a catastrophic event occurred on the lunar surface. The aggressive nature of the plant like organism was made clear. The globe structure of the space center was dotted with various plants, which had been spliced with the alien organism. At the point of failure, all of the plants became hostile and grew at mind boggling rates, sending their root systems deep into the moon's crust. The roots grew at such an astonishing rate, that the sheer force split the moon, fracturing it into pieces. Much of the moon stayed in place, more or less, small asteroids from the event burst out in every direction. Using the rubble from the fracturing of the moon, the alien organisms and rubble came raining down to earth.


Billions of lives were lost in the years that followed. It was not the impact of the dozens of comets across the world that created the most destruction. No, it was the organisms themselves, which survived entry. It only took a few months for the organisms to adapt. Then the reports started to pour in from around the already crippled world. Something was happening to the flora and fauna around the contamination sites. They were mutating, growing contiguous and mobile. After that everything collapsed, it was the beginning of the end. Massive creatures ripped through cities as people fled for their lives, with no where to go.


In the United States, United Kingdom, China and Japan, branches of Genesis had already taken steps. Having the foresight few had and almost a decades head start. Taking all the intel they had gathered over the years, as the destruction began, Genesis began finalizing their Havens. Four massive bowl like structures were built. Gigantic walls, with built in structures for living quarters within. They towered over skyscrapers and were put into place, as raw resources were loaded into each bowl like city. Pure seeds were acquired from the last uncontaminated regions and apocalypse bunkers. As Genesis prepared and gathered, governments and armies all fell in the years of battles between humankind and the creatures now named, Origins.


Then finally, as the last of the power grids and colony holds were collapsing, a call was put out that any and all survivors must come to the Havens for salvation. Once people started to flood into the compounds, they finished the construction of their last defense systems and sealed all but one hanger to the outside in each Haven. The tips of the walls were topped with a rounded force field to protect the uncontaminated plant life within each city, so it would not cross breed with the pollen of the contaminated Origin plants outside the Havens.




CURRENT HAVEN

The U.S. Haven has now been standing for 20 years and people have forgotten the true horror of Origins; the havoc they wreaked. The reality of the threat dimmed and washed way into memory. Conspiracy theories circulate that the government has exaggerating the threat. Some feel that dangers beyond Haven have dissipated in the 20 years that have passed since the Haven was created. Whispers of speculation, suggest that Genesis is keeping the people out of the outside world for the sake of control and for their own sick experiment.


Drones, bots and primitive robots are not an uncommon sight with in Haven. Genesis keeps the most advanced tech for themselves and their peacekeepers. Some rumors suggest that Genesis is on the verge of creating cyborgs with prosthetic bodies, to which people's very minds would be uploaded into. However, such a feat would be difficult without access to more resources. It would not be unheard of for Genesis personal to have access to the few nanobots they have left. Though, should that level of tech fall into the hands of a common resident and they were caught, that could be grounds for expulsion into the outside jungles.


Average citizens of Haven may receive cybernetic implants, in fact, such a thing is encouraged, so long you can pay the credits required. Due to the delicate nature of the surgeries, surgical robotic systems are used to perform the procedures. This makes them quick and offers a faster healing time, especially for those that use Cymalt. Still in the back alleyways and less than respectable corners and nooks of Havens, the butchery of surgery without robotic systems still takes place. However, they are much less successful and often lead to poor cybernetic implants and awful scarring. Not to mention the parts such parties use, are normally second hand and self retrieved. Peacekeepers nor Genesis support such upgrades and severely punish those practicing such things, if they catch them.

• People of higher class live higher up in the city in penthouses on the upper floors of tall buildings, the lower the class you are the closer you live to the ground.

• In order to enter certain areas of the city you need to present your hand print for identification (i.e. no lower class people in upper class areas).

• Sometimes people will have illegal laser surgery to get their handprints to match that of a particular upper class citizen in order to get access to restricted areas.

• Many upper class citizens employ people of lower class as servants, which is one of the few ways they can legally get access to upper class-only areas.

• The main mode of transportation is through a series of underground tubes below the city. You grab hold of a hand hold, step onto a small platform, and it it shoots you through a small dark tunnel until you emerge at your destination.

• Sometimes people disappear during transport, potentially due to criminals hiding in their own tunnels and abducting people

• The buildings are crowded close together, meaning the ground level consists mostly of narrow alleys between buildings winding into a convoluted maze of sorts.

• Due to the danger of the ground level, many females/feminine people masquerade as being male/masculine when going outside in order to avoid trouble. Large bulky coats have become a universal necessity for people of slender build

• Controversially, people of upper class tend to wear extremely form-fitting attire, and instead have servants to protect them when on the ground level. These servants are specially hired and contracted to have an excess of cyborg parts installed in order to make them the ideal bodyguards

• A single cyborg eye is a fashion trend, along with cyborg hair.

• If there are any homeless children they will often be taken in by families renting an apartment together. If they are not taken in, they tend to disappear off the streets. Nobody knows where they go.

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[ManicMuse]

SCENE ONE

Foreword​

"An awkward hush always seems to take over, when an elder speaks of the outside world from before. It has only been twenty three years, but it might as well be a hundred. Old tech and stories of it in the outside world are considered ancient taboo, a world lost to time and the wilds. The newer generations only know of the world inside these walls, inside their Haven, living in squalor or splendor. Few can change their fates here, but that does not stop some from trying. Some people whisper of the world now, beyond the walls. However, such thinking is dangerous, in the eyes of those that lead. Keep your head down, keep your eyes on your work. Do not ask questions about that which does not concern you. Don't go seeking what lives in the darkness below the city and just maybe, you will survive long enough to live a good life here in Haven."

It was like any other day in Haven. A Tuesday morning at 4 in the A.M. on February 2, with only the lights of the street signage illuminating the streets on the lower levels. Half way up, the sky scraper like structure, that was the walls of Haven glowed. The interior corridors were softly lit with energy efficient, stylish built in lighting fixtures. Pockets of fog hung in air from about mid-way up the wall and on wards. It was an interesting side effect of living in your own little bubble city, creating its own weather effects. The misty gloomy pockets of moisture meant only one thing to those that paid attention to those sorts of things, rain. The clock lazily rolled over to 4:02 and a soft clicking followed by the bubbling of pressure in the pipes above, could be heard. Then from the very top of the structure, metal arms extended out with little sprinkler heads spaced out across them every ten feet. There was another moment of gurgling and fizzling before finally the sprinkler heads sprang to life. What appeared to be torrential down pour, was only a moderate rain fall by the time it cascade down into the lower city. Within moments of the tapping of rain upon tin and plastic roof tops, the streets were inhabited by people dragging buckets and small indoor potted plants into the streets, to collect the rain.

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[ManicMuse]

Rico (Recall)

location : Bed > Diner

State of being: Tired


Nearby: No one important just Leo.

CHARACTER SHEET

There was a pounding at the door, which caused a set of toes sticking out from a grey set of sheets to wiggle. The rest of the body silhouetted beneath a simple sheet, showed no signs of life. Another forceful knock on the door was this time accompanied by a voice of an older man that clearly smoked too much, "Pose, woman get up! You got my spices in there. They need this rain. Damn it. Get up you lazy-"


His words got cut off by a sharp thump from inside the room. The lifeless body had rolled just enough to land on the floor with a hard thud. After a moment of low muttering and a snarl, the door finally opened a crack. Revealing a very exhausted woman with smeared grease across one cheek, wearing a brown racer back tank top and wrapped in the sheet. Glaring through the crack with her one natural eye, it was clear she had not had much sleep.


"I was on a job until two. Rent was paid yesterday and I have not hurt anyone, yet , so what in the hell do you want at this ungodly hour?" A lazy yawn escaped, causing Rico to use her forearm cloaked in the sheet to cover her mouth.


A chuckle escaped Leo's lips, while he lit up a smoke and offered an exhale into the door crack. Rico did not smoke anymore these days but he knew she appreciated a second hand puff from time to time. "It's raining. Can you move my babies out onto the window box so they can get a drink? Hmm, for me?"


Rico inhaled slowly, taking in the bitter sweet aroma of the smoke before giving a nod and closing the door on Leo. "Fine, but I am not singing to them," she called through the door dropping the sheet and shifting her attention to plants sitting on the desk across from her bed. Heading toward the window that sat above the desk, a misstep caused her to trip over a box of ammo. With nothing solid around to break the fall, Rico smacked into the ground flat as a pancake and laid there for a moment staring at the disaster area, that was her room. A groan of discomfort rumbled in her chest. This was going to be a long day, she could feel it.


An hour later, Rico was showered and dressed for the day. There was little point in attempting to go back to sleep after the window was open. It let in the light and sounds of the city and Rico was a light sleeper to begin with. Having a bit of credits left over from a job, she opted to try out eating breakfast for once. There was a swanky joint about two levels up, near the gates for the higher level checkpoint. It was going to cost way too many credits but the caffeine boost would be worth it.


A short lift ride later, Rico slipped into the tiny cafe and took a seat. She could already feel eyes upon her, as her long dark gray trench coat leaked water onto the floor beneath her chair. Everyone else in the cafe was dry, meaning they were wall dwellers. 'Rich Bastards.'


'I wonder if they would scream if I yelled, BOO,' the idea dancing in her mind for a moment.


Before Rico could test the idea, a girl appeared beside her table. Wearing a uniform reminiscent of a maid outfit in creamy white and tan. The waitress offered up a warm smile. Pulling a transparent tablet from the front pocket of her apron and tapping it, to bring a soft blue tint signaling it was on. She spoke in an overly sweet tone that instantly made Rico's head throb, "Welcome to Sheppard's, are you ready to order miss?"


Rico suddenly felt very old, staring up at a girl that could not be even eighteen years of age, yet. Clearing her throat, she nodded, "Ya, just a coffee and cinnamon cloud."


The girl nodded and happily clicked away on her little tablet, asking several follow up questions about the food, to which Rico answered as quickly as possible to get the girl to vanish. Once the girl disappeared to go help other customers, Rico pulled out a small tablet of her own. This one was bordered in black and had a tinted back, to keep prying eyes from seeing the confidential information. After a moment, Rico was connect to the wifi and then to the market place. It was time to find a new job. Hopefully, today the boards would offer up something interesting.

 

[Sludgemouth]

Niko

location : Office then diner.


State of being: Administrative

Nearby: Rico, possibly

@'s: N/A

It was two minutes past too goddamned early in the morning and Niko sat pouring over reports, prelims and action requests. There were several incidents that had the company's attention and at least one of them was going to require investigative action, and he was going to be the one to decide what was going to be the best allocation of resources and man-power. Which basically meant that based on what he recommended to his superiors, would dictate what case he was going to be assigned to.

"There really is nothing better than getting to choose your favorite flavor of dog ass..." He muttered to himself.

Having been quite fed up with staring at printouts and briefing statements, Niko decided that it would be in his best interests to grab himself some coffee prior to the bulk of the office staff arriving for the day. He hit the streets in a red flannel shirt and some beat up sneakers, an old ball cap protecting his head from the rain. The walkways were empty and hopefully Shep's was too; Niko had an odd relationship with his beloved caffeine dispensory, he really liked their coffee, but he wasn't so much of a fan of their patrons. Niko reached the shop's doors, and removed his hat, shaking the water off of it. He plopped down at a booth and waved to the nearest server.

"Colombian dark, please. Go ahead and gimme the whole carafe too, pretty sure i'm gonna need it."

Shep's wasn't as dead as he liked it, but having a booth to himself didn't sit too badly with Niko, and the copious amounts of coffee he was about to ingest seemed to raise his spirits a little.

 

[Zaltusinel]

Fangyre Endo Khaimera

Location: Hosptial > (Stop at Diner) Home

State of being: Frustration

Nearby: Niko, Rico.

@'s: Sludgemouth

View attachment 333425

Alexia Voltsvaugen Khaimera

Location: Hosptial > (Stop at Diner) Home

State of being: Spooked, "Ugh"

Nearby: Niko, Rico.

@'s: Sludgemouth

View attachment 333432

Chromatic Blade​

"What you cannot foresee is nothing in weight. Foresight and its comrades only weigh you down. Stone in this world cannot be written on in surety."

-Fangyre- ​

Two ticks after four, two ticks birthed from hell by Satan himself. Blood was phucked, convulsions, and insatiable laughter shook Alexia and concerned only Fang. This happened before, and like the rest, the medical staff was pressed to end the madness. The IV's, scanners and restraints were broken or displaced with fluids everywhere. Even in constant battle with Death himself, Icarus proved bluntly as easy to deal with as cuddling a noxious cactus without dying. However, his spurt of strength relieved medical professionals by proving his motor functions and energy levels were higher. His overall condition moved from weak to decent. With Mr. and Mrs. Khaimera away to their duties, Alexia and Fangyre showed to be Icarus's only company with added loving support.

His hand reached out to Fang, slowly moving to never disturb the cords. With haste, a physical reply up to the elbow was made. "Fang? Don't get too crazy out there."

"My feet haven't the thought to brush aside that door." Fang pressed his forehead against Icarus's chest, "Saving you shall be done, it is my destiny. My life shall willingly be your salvation. Know that, my beloved brother."

Icarus rolled his eyes, with a little chuckle bouncing on his lips, "Wordy motherfucker. Did you absorb all of Shakespeare's plays or something?"

"I'm surprised you know who Shakespeare is."

"Input from fraternal triplet sister not needed. Let me guide you Icarus to the observation room in your hospital chambers." Reaching under the bicep, sliding to the elbow, and with some extra support, Icarus laid over Fangyre's shoulders. Alexia plucked cords as chicken feathers, giggling as she spread glitter over her brothers. Icarus stuck his tongue out at her.

"I probably could kick your ass even now."

"Oh please dipshit. Bring it. Fang atn' gonna let you do shit." A swift swipe of a cord and Alexi tumbled onto the massive amount of pillows in the nearest corner. A swift face palm and Icarus carried away into the large window room high up. Fangyre laid beside him, relaxing muscles and observing the rain. Alexia pressed her back against the seat of the couch and let her feet hang out the back. "So...its raining."

"Shush. I haven't seen my brosky in a week. Let us have our broment." Her hand waved off, with her hair waterfalling over the edge.
☼☼☼☼

"Fang, aren't you going to take the family car? You know we're a little far from home."

His eyes glowed slightly, "Caffeine is required, extremely under frustration induced by familial sickness. Accompany me, sister."

Alexia moaned, letting her boots sink in the rain as Fang led her to a diner on the ground. Her hands generated distrust. Her eyes directed it to Fang with his so called knowledge of the surface. Either way, she followed him down some blocks into a diner where he quietly entered, sat on a stool near the booths, and awaited service. Alexia, at first, hesitated with joining him. His eyes were not amused, scanning the diner for anything. His coat glimmered slightly in the light, giving him an uneasy vibe. His hands moved precisely, letting him stack every object in reach in a tower of perfect balance. With nothing else to do and with her brother chilling the place to subzero, strolled over to a booth and sat down.

"So, whats hanging? Clearly, you must be having a better time than me or him." A point the Fangyre. It was somewhat likely most of the diner knew who he was. How they react to his appearance was anyone's guess.

 

[Sludgemouth]

Niko

location : diner.


State of being: wot?

Nearby: Rico, Alexis, Fang

Zaltusinel

Niko didn't say anything to the stranger in front him,at first. Instead opting to finish his coffee while he evaluated his visitor. He calmly set his empty mug in front of him and poured himself another cup, and slid the extra mug he'd been given across the table to the girl, passing his carafe to he as he did.

"Did babushka never tell you not to talk to strangers?" Niko asked, not quite smiling. He then looked at the booth behind his visitor...then at the booth behind him, both were empty. As he turned back to face he wore a cocky smirk.

"Place is crowded as shit today isn't it? So what's a nice young lady like you doing harassing a decrepit old man like myself? I never hurt anyone I promise."

Niko was beginning to think that his shabby disguise needed improvement, or maybe it worked too well. He wasn't entirely sure.

 

[Graysilver264]

Mitchel Maaskant
State of being: Content
Nearby: No one (in the lower regions of the city)



Mitchel already was in his garden when the rain started, 'well at least I don`t have to water them anymore' he said to no one. 'It seems like we have some free time on our hands', again "we" meant just Mitchel. He walked up to his 40 cm fence, stepped over it and turned around to check his garden and home one more time. It was a nice garden with exotic plants, people were often suspicious about plants nowadays, especially Mitchel`s plants since he had bred them to be stronger, more nutricious and to have healing properties. Behind these foreign plants stood his home, a one story self made igloo of clay, which housed his kitchen and a sleeping mat. Another hut stood next to it, here he would experiment with his plants and who knows what else. Mitchel`s gaze went back to his plants one more time and then he turned around, took his planter wagon with supplies and walked on.

His cart was stacked with purple artichokes, huge eggplants and square grapes as he strolled through the poorest parts of the city. Arhttps://www.rpnation.com/threads/haven. Around him people were staring at him and his cart with that familiar hungry look on their face. Mitchel took one of his trosses of grapes and gave it to a woman with way too long hair, who was wearing a large potato sack with holes in it as a way too short and probably too cold dress. The woman looked thankful and Mitchel knew that he had done well, even though he had made a lot of people jealous, but he had to make a living as well.

It was the same story as every day in the city. Out of the garden, walk all the way through the street until you can only go left, take the second street to the right and follow the sounds of people talking to the left. That is where it got interesting. Mitchel loved the market for the variety of people in it and he loved it even more for how the market people loved to buy exotic ingredients to sell. The market was situated in a neighborhood with a higher standing than where Mitchel lived and here people did not know of the rumors of him going out of the haven.

Mitchel looked around and saw what people from high parts of the city would see on their tablets (which he despized). People were offering jobs and commercial goods and some were offering food and ingredients. Mitchel went to where he always went, to his favourite saleswoman: 'Bianca' Mitchel smiled 'How is the market today?'
Around Mitchel people were squirming past each other through the masses to get a glimpse of what the stands were selling today. 'Well busy enough to make a living, I see that you have brought some of your goods today, the usual price I assume?'
Usually people would haggle on the market, but Mitchel and Bianca had known each other long enough that they always ended up at the same prize. 'Of course, I shall fill your stand for you and then I will be on my way. I would like this pumpkin as well' He held it up and Bianca nodded. Then after the stand was filled with his goods, he bade Bianca goodbye and was of to the next stand, Mitchel would be in the market until around 6 o`clock and then head back, if nothing weird would happen today.

 

[ManicMuse]

Rico (Recall)

location : Small diner cafe near upper level check point

State of being: Enjoying food


Nearby: Some middle aged guy getting pestered by some young punks.

@: Sludgemouth Zaltusinel

CHARACTER SHEET

​

The quiet cafe grew lively in the moments after Rico placed her order. Busy scrolling through new listings, she had not noticed the man that had sat in a booth across from her tiny table.

Once the young waitress sat the heated roll and coffee down on the table; Rico finally bothered to peer up from the screen. Her processor was still running through the details of the various jobs as she gave the girl a nod of appreciation and took note of the man settled in a booth, across the way, just as he got a visitor.

Sizing up the older male and his apperant new friend they did not seem to be aquanities. The sight of the other boy who was referenced to by the girl caused Rico to sigh and roll her head attempting to release built up tension in her neck. Rico had her suspicions that the two brats were looking for trouble. It was too damn early in the morning to deal with troublemakers. Luckily for her, they were not currently her problem. They appeared to be around her age but Rico never had assosicated with people her own age. Her landlord always told her she just had an old soul. Rico felt she was just an anti-social hard ass.

"Kids these days," her voice was horse. Digging into her food, she kept a wary eye on the pair of what appeared to be siblings. Something about them unsettled her and it was not just their manners or lack there of.

Turning her attention back to the tablet Rico's mouth contorted into a frown looking over all the missing people notifications that were clogging the pages. It was not there presence that caused her look of distain, though. It was the fact that she was watching them being removed by the moderators of the market. Everyday people would post about loved ones going missing and every day the posts would be removed once a Peacekeeper had filed a report. A report, as if that was going to help find the sorry sods. She could not help but suspect that if she were to go missing her name would not even make it into a report. There would be no one to miss her after all.

Seeing a new posting pop up, Rico paused half way through her gooy cinnamon treat. Reading over the details, Rico rolled her eyes before selecting 'accept.'

Some uppity higher level needed someone to hold their hand to ride the tub across town for some meeting. They were always the worst to deal with but at least it paid well.

The pick up was not for another four hours. Rico had no doubt that the pampered a-hole was likely still fast a sleep and had some poor assistant get up at the crack of dawn to make the posting.

Dimming the screen, Rico stuffed the device back into her jacket pocket and reached for her hip before giving a groan loud enough for the other's to take notice of. She had left her gun back in her room. Despite handing the blasted thing, the wall dwellers always liked it when you had hardware to show off.

Throwing her head back in annoyed anguish, she shoved another bite of the roll into her mouth, chewing it like a horse. This meant another trip back out in the rain when she had only just dried off. At least the food was good. It was a shame she could not afford this kind of stuff all the time.

 

[ManicMuse]

Haven is a harsh city. While those that live high up over the rest may feel they are not impacted by the misfortunes of the less fortunate, they are sorely mistaken. Servants in even the highest corridors now whisper about the tunnels below. Something is down there. Everyone has their own speculation or story to tell but no one really has any answers. Media and public sites like the VMP, virtual market place are scrubbed clean of any mention of the issue. However, that does not stop those that live below from gossiping and demanding answers. Parents of missing children stand on street corners begging any passerby for answers or closure. Yet the fact remains, the subway system is still the safest way to travel. With many sections of the city's lower streets controlled by gangs and drug lords, it is nearly impossible for one to travel any reasonable distance beyond a few blocks without using the tube. That is why, today at 8:50 AM you will find yourself on that Platform, waiting for a train. Curious, how it can be the simplest events that change our world forever. Unknown

Spoiler: Tag

Zaltusinel
Sludgemouth
mulled
Sir Basilisk
ManicMuse
Caragia
Dano

 

[Graysilver264]

Mitchel Maaskant ------------------------------------Justin van der Weiden
State of being: Spreading rumors-----------------State of being: rushed
Place: lower city market-----------------------------Place: Nearing the tube
--------------------------------------


Mitchel was walking with his mouth open, staring at the sky in order to catch some of the rain in his mouth. When he had enough he looked around the busy market and back at his cart, where only 2 sacks of fruit were laying. The market had been so busy that by the time he had done one round, Bianca`s stand was almost empty. Mitchel wondered where all of this excitement came from. ‘investigation time’ said Mitchel`s curious mind through his watery mouth with a little bitter aftertaste from the artificial rain.

With different eyes Mitchel walked around the market square, now he heard the gossip people seemed to love. “did you hear about the tubes?” “I hear there was a monster at least 5 metres tall” “that does not even fit in the tubes dumbhead”.
Yeah gossip wasn`t the same as the intellectual conversations Mitchel was used to. Mitchel saw what he always saw, the posters of missing people, being rapidly replaced by those peacekeepers. This was a dubious thing since peacekeepers did not care about poor people, just about the money. Looking for people was not worth much in coin nowadays. Mitchel had a feeling these people were probably lost forever.

Now Mitchel started to notice the pleads of people around the streets. “Please find my baby” and “My husband has been gone for 2 days, he might still be alive, please help him”. Mitchel was pained by hearing this injustice, how could these freaking “peacekeepers” not do anything about this. We need some real men to help us. As if send by a god, three people wearing jackets with the sign of the new militia walked by. One of them with a very familiar face. “Justin! Did you join the army of the people?” Mitchel smiled as this was exactly what Justin would do after hearing more than one plea. Mitchel and Justin had been friends for all of their lives and never did either of them change characteristics. Justin was one of the few people that did not mind Mitchel`s affinity for plants and the only one to not mind because he trusted Mitchel himself. “I am going to investigate the tube, I think something is wrong there”, Justin told him. His friends had questionable looks on their faces, but it was obvious that Justin had earned enough respect to choose what he told who. Mitchel, the perceptive of the two, had already linked the missing people and the monster in the tube and looked into Justin`s eyes a bit too long. It was Justin`s turn to understand that Mitchel knew what he was doing. Without a word Mitchel tossed him his last bags of rejuvenating fruits. They both nodded and the three men were on their way. “One more thing!”, Mitchel called after him, “make sure to bring me some loot to investigate”.

“Seems like I have found my men in not so shiny armor”, Mitchel told himself. “It is time for some crowd control”. Mitchel turned around and vowed to plant some positive seeds about the militia. Arriving at Bianca`s stand he told her, “This is important, tell anyone in for a talk about the recent rumors how the militia will fix it”. This message would be repeated 5 times over all of his regular customers and with that Mitchel placed all trust in his friend to succeed in his investigation.

 

[Caragia]

Iris "Quinn" Tetrick

location : Sheppards Cafe


State of being: Hungry, but content and focused

Nearby: Rico, Niko, Alexis, Fang

@'s: ManicMuse , Sludgemouth , Zaltusinel

CHARACTER SHEET​

Ring…ring...ring….

A hand snaked out of the covers to tap the COMM device set on the bedside table. “Hello?” Came a groggy feminine voice. An unruly head curly and brown mess slid out from under the covers. The girl yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat up.

The face of an older bronze-skinned woman blipped onto the COMM-screen. “Iris, dear, please do get up. The Andersens’ gala is tonight and we need to rehearse,” said the woman.

“Well, good morning to you too, Mom,” Iris replied. “And stop calling me Iris. You know I go by Quinn now.” She frowned, still not fully awake yet, as she looked to the corner of the COMM screen to see what time it was. Quinn groaned and sighed when she noticed that it was still quite early. Her mother had always been an early riser. She no doubt had been up at the crack of dawn.

Quinn returned her gaze to her mother. “I’ll be over in a couple hours. Give me some time to at least eat, caffeinate, and gather my stuff. I was up late last night coming up with a new song I wanted to try,” she finished her sentence with another yawn.

“Oh, alright. Be at the venue for dress rehearsal as soon as you’re finished…and I love you Jelly Bean,” Valencia replied with an stern yet endearing smile.

“I love you too Mom. See you later.” Quinn smiled at her mother and waved before ending the call. She then flopped back onto the bed with a huff, closing her eyes to listen to the rain. She loved it when it rained, for it drowned out the sounds of the city all the while making music with each droplet. Quinn breathed deep as she listened. I had better get up before I fall back to sleep. I’ll make myself late.

With another yawn, Quinn sat up and stretched. Next, she got up, made her bed, and set about getting herself ready for the day. A forty-five minutes later she was dressed in jeans, sneakers and her favorite key lime green long sleeved shirt—her jacket draped over her arm. Her hair, once unruly, was damp from the shower and slightly tamed. Quinn walked over to her ‘studio’, which was no more than a keyboard, small desk & chair, tablet and sheet music. She grabbed her tote that was laying up against the desk and filled it with the music and tablet.

I had better hurry if I want breakfast and some of that awesome coffee at Sheppard’s, Quinn thought as she looked down at her watch. It had been over an hour since she had awoken so she didn’t have much time left. Quickly, she snatched up her bag and was out the door in minutes. She ran to the nearest tube that ended up outside the little café. Quinn exited and ran through the rain and was inside the restaurant’s doors. The girl looked around and noticed an older gruff of a gentleman seated with some youths. She also noticed another woman seated at one of the stray tables.

“Quinn! Come on in shuga! You go ahead and sit down and I’ll get your usual.” A waitress had passed by with an empty tray.

”Thanks Gina,” the young woman replied with a beaming smile. She walked over to her favorite booth by the window and sat as she divulged herself of her jacket. The woman then pulled out her tablet, music, and the pair of earbuds she always kept in her bag. Soon she was working away humming out the notes on the sheet music while she waited for her food.

 

[Zaltusinel]

Fangyre Endo Khaimera

Location: Diner > Home

State of being: Frustration

Nearby: Niko, Rico.

@'s: Sludgemouth

View attachment 337524

Alexia Voltsvaugen Khaimera

Location: Diner > Home

State of being: Spooked, "Ugh"

Nearby: Niko, Rico.

@'s: Sludgemouth

View attachment 337523

Chromatic Blade -Part Two-​

Lea chuckled before the man, "Ah, I don't expect you to. Not like there's much use to it anyway." She turned her head to her brother, "You ordering coffee or what?"

Fangyre nodded, his stare glistened as the waitress dropped the coffee in front of him. His hand reached for the cup and gulped before standing. Afterall, he only came for such. His head turned to her as he slid into the booth with her.

Lea poured only a little from the carafe, watching some patrons walk out of the diner with fear in their eyes. She only shook her head. "This is my brother, Fangyre. I'd imagine you have heard of him unless there is severe dis-jointure between you and modern rumors. What you get?" Her hand reached out to her brother's, gripping tightly.

Fang reached into his pocket and mixed some powder into his coffee. He bit his lip as he whispered, "Antoccino Expresso." Lea nodded. Fangyre's eyes rolled down to a small panel on his right forearm. Lighting up on eye contact, it unlocked and displayed various readings. Fangyre pressed a couple buttons before he relocked the screen. "Suspicious subject, what may be your formal identity sir?" Lea eyed him as she whipped out her phone and called their car. It would be a moment or two before it would reach them.

 

[Sludgemouth]

Niko

location : diner.


State of being: guarded

Nearby: Rico, Alexis, Fang, Quinn

Zaltusinel

Niko thought for a second, a pensive look flashed across his face. "Khaimera, yeah... Didn't think a municipal worker like me warranted such important company." He said before taking a sip. "It's Colombian dark roast, by the way. Liquid kidney damage, great way to keep it together during union meetings." This was already shaping up to be the weirdest day Niko ever had and he wasn't even assigned to an investigation yet. Niko shook his head bad omens... what's more the wealthy Fangyre was one of those types to run everyone's face through the Haven registry it seemed.

"Name's Andre Nikoladze, you know you could have just asked my name, makin' an old man like me nervous with that 'suspicious person' business." He replied, smiling and secretly glad he'd verified his cover identification in the registry earlier in the week.

 

[Zaltusinel]

Fangyre Endo Khaimera

Location: Diner > Home > The Tube

State of being: Frustration

Nearby: Niko, Quinn, Justin.

@'s: Sludgemouth Graysilver264

View attachment 337524

Alexia Voltsvaugen Khaimera

Location: Diner > Home

State of being: Spooked, "Ugh"

Nearby: Niko, Quinn.

@'s: Sludgemouth

View attachment 337523

[Used some lyrics]

Fangyre nodded, "The registry is not of my concern. My control modules do not connect to it. My sister lies in key with the infernal database." Fang sipped his Antoccino quietly. His gloved hands moved precisely and quickly. His eyes scanned the diner. "The morning blind still harbors the crowd here. Or maybe the illogical nature of legend prevents fear from slipping into their throats. But, such accidental. I do not wish to be feared, but it has helped me as a puppet." His nightshade coat ghosted around him, as the shine faded. Reaching into his chest pocket, an old-timey styled pocket watch tickered in his hand. A hue of ghastly navy with energy lances of disease green caressed by Victorian design. So carefully made that a machine would break at the sight of its perfection. The chain made of obsidian and titanium as darkness and light melding at the universe's end. As the top crashes out, the tickering is amplified. Clicking as Fangyre moves gears within the pocket watch. On the top lies characters or letters of a language forgotten, they form the shape of a ghost with two glowing eyes. With every glance, the letters would adopt every ghastly color. Fang looked up, to his sister, then back to his pocket watch. He clicked a couple more times before closing the watch. A bird flew past the window of the diner, perching on the lamppost of the street. The eyes held no color, only sensors.

"I'm sorry to daunt you. My work is ever expanding."

Lea shook her head, her eyes closed as she breathes. Her hand reaches for her brother's. Fang twitches as she leans into him, letting her hair drip over his body. Her mouth gaped before she mouthed "Born of graves and left below. Painted ashes, painted snow. When the dark awakens. Fires of our last hope are getting low." She looked up to her brother, "I've wondered, even though my life has had little time outside the Haven. Isn't Humanity growing cold and dark in here?"

"Maybe...," Fangyre adjusted his collar, "Time speaks few, yet much. Icarus must be saved, or the darkness will convince me to release the infernal on this Haven." A vehicle; black, four-door Sudan approached the door behind them. Fangyre rose and lifted Lea as a Vampire. "We must be off. Our time is dark with our sun hollow of our fading sun. Good luck finding the dark souls out there sir." A little wink followed.

Lea smiled and blew a kiss as she left the diner.
»»»╪

The highway wasn't crowded, the gangs ensured that. As they entered the major streets, Lea whispered swiftly. "You've been talking about a Chromatic blade lately, what's that about?"

Fangyre muttered before he returned back, "Needed for my strength, those who dwell here know of sciences the above fail to comprehend. I must learn their secrets. However, a star has approached for this pursuit. Disappearances have become more relevant. Maybe I can eliminate and assimilate this threat to us with my quest to save my dear Icarus. His wings are steady now, but they will fail. I will go there sister and study this threat. The Chromatic blade will be my smite and my companion will be my faithful Gravedigger."

Lea nodded, "Okay, do come back."

"A worry for my targets sister." As the Sudan pulled before the tower, Lea elegantly tip-toed out of the car. Her hair covered her face as she entered the tower with her ID. Fangyre followed until he turned right into the tower. Riding the elevator directly to his end of the top floor, he correctly passed the four layers of security into his workshop. Layers of machinery and testing sites. He petted some of his "creations" before releasing Gravedigger. A ghoulish machine with a spiked spine. Its head resembled the hood of Death, yet the body resembled that of a Seraphim who was a raccoon. Small wings used as weapons instead of flight. The metal rang of a nightshade color, as most night is conducted in operations.

"Come my trash panda, painted ashes await." In the corner of the workshop, he unsheathed the Chromatic blade. The blade hissed as the core of the blade hummed. Fangyre squeezed the hilt tightly, setting the blade to energize with red energy. Underneath the coat, Fangyre wore a webbing of conductive armor. Thin and discreet. Reaching for his rifle gauntlet for his left hand, fitting snug over his glove. His rifle aimed carefully, yet somewhat slow. As he exited the workshop, he concealed his face with the glow similar to his pocket watch and the darkness of his hood.

He swiftly exited through the personal elevator at the back of the tower. His feet stepped onto the street. Members of a local gang looked to him as he walked to them. Running as little children. He minded not with them, walking into the subway. Gravedigger skulked in the shadows, following its master as a primitive tiger. As Fangyre moved in the subway, the crowd stepped back slightly. Some whispered, rumors surely started. As the train stopped, Gravedigger hopped on top. Fangyre stepped inside.

One man spoke, "He's going to the tube?"

Fangyre giggled, "An exorcist fights monsters well."

 

[Graysilver264]

All around buildings were just so, new. Justin looked around and saw houses, homes he would never be able to afford. As the three militiamen came closer to the tubes and to higher parts of the city, the scenery would change as well. Even though they were still allowed in these parts, they would never come here, since life accupied them too much to be touring about these parts. Justin noticed there were more schools, bars, even concert halls. In Justin`s mind, he knew that these people must have been spoiled. ‘these people probably do not even have any problems’.


Meanwhile, two people Justin knew had had a lot of problems throughout their lives were behind them recounting the new ones they had gained. They were gossiping about what they were about to do. One of them was, apart from wet from the surrogate rain, a scrawny man at most he had been struggling with hunger all of his life. When his brother went missing, he had gathered all of his courage to go on this mission with Justin. The other man had wanted glory, like Justin did. This man had a little larger build and had been a street fighter as well. He had lost a fight against Justin once and therefor trusted him. This man trusted a lot of people.


Their useless squabbling goes on for so long that eventually Justin has one option left. To notice the useless gibberish. For one more moment his mind wondered whether he had become British, the other he actually listened. The two were talking about the monsters again. They had been doing so for the whole journey so far, so it was no surprise. Yet Justin knew the dangers of sowing each other up this tight. “Guys don`t chicken out on me”, he snapped. From which the only remark was some snap back, which Justin quickly turned to generic chicken sounds in his head.


After five minutes, the generous bloke that Justin thought he was by now tried one more time. The street fighter was speaking: “Bock bock bock, Bawgaaaack”, which Justin then translated into: “the monster probably has enormous legs”. The scrawny man answered: “He could trample us with its size”.


Then a miracle happened. Even before Justin had to turn the sounds back to “Bucuuuck” a giant actual foot stamped on the ground. Without looking back Justin knew from the short yelp and the quick succession of feet that the two were running away. He also now was certain that the two were actual chickens. Turning his attention back to the mega mecha in front of him, he could be nothing but impressed. As a train drove by they easily jumped on it and inside of it. Justin was not one to be easily impressed and tried the same trick. He quickly learned by missing the opening on his first try, which resulted in the coming together of the ground with his face. He stood up and tried again this time running before he jumped. He remembered the rythim of the openings rushing by and jumped on instinct. He smacked to the ground again, this time he landed a bit harder, against a train wall. “I will sit here for a while”.

 

[Zaltusinel]

Fangyre Endo Khaimera

Location: Train to The Tube

State of being: Interested

Nearby: Justin.

@'s: Graysilver264

View attachment 337524

Chromatic Blade Part 3
​

Fangyre rode in silence on the train, his hood and weapon silenced those on the train. There were a couple of men on the train, all they looked off were of scared cats in water. The train had booths facing one another with splattered seats when booths would fail to fit. The booths on this train were green and leather. Their interior was covered in advertising and public safety notices that it became numbing if looked at too long. The train had screens for Windows that displayed the news or a low end television show. The doors opened quickly and shut like a step mother's love, one man caught some week ago. Almost losing his arm.

The train ran on an AI system or a driver. This time it seemed AI as the door shut consistently and harder. Fangyre had been standing beside it the entire time. No one would board, at least that was his usual on the metro system. However, today was an oddity. Icarus seemed to improve, strange people at the café, and now a man was jumping directly into the train. He seemed younger, Fang appreciated that. At least someone else had the audicity to adventure. Closing in on his appearance, Fang smiled. His eyes closed in on the black haired adventurer. Interested in the sigil on his arm, Fang dashed to him and left out his hand for him.

"Comrades of different roads still return at the cries of the fallen. I see you have armaments, intend to contest this monster with me and my Gravedigger?"

On que, Gravedigger hopped in on the next door opening. Skulking beside it's master. Fangyre scanned the surroundings with swift.

"Oh excuse moi, they hail me as Fangyre. What be your calling card?"

Regardless of the man's decision to kill the time on the train, Fang adjusted his rifle gauntlet with its sights and magazine. The movements were swift as he pursued conversation.

 

[Caragia]

Iris "Quinn" Tetrick

Location: Sheppards Cafe > Terminal>Valenica & Benjamin's home studio.


State of being: Hunger sated, happy her song was accepted, and excited for the gala performance

Nearby: None

@'s: Zaltusinel

CHARACTER SHEET​

“Here you go, Quinn, the Shep Special, eggs over easy,” Gina said as she produced a plate with two fried eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, and wheat toast. Quinn looked up to see the waitress and her food. “Thanks! I’m famished!” She set her work aside and began to dig in.

Gina smiled with a twinkle in her eye before turning around and disappeared into the kitchen. Moments later, she returned to Quinn’s table with a bowl, coffee cup, and a carafe. The waitress set the bowl of cheese grits down and said, “The grits are on the house.” Gina then laid the cup down and poured the coffee. “It’s a thank you for singing at my daughter’s party last week. I know your schedule is busy, what with being the Siren of Haven.” Gina grinned widely with appreciation.

Quinn’s eyes grew wide in surprise at the unexpected gift and looked up at the waitress, smiling. “You didn’t have to do this!” Quinn reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her left ear. She smiled as she continued. “It was nothing. I’m glad Sophia liked it!” Quinn reached for the mug and sipped. “Mmmm,” she said as she closed her eyes in bliss. “Thanks again, Gina.”

The waitress smiled, set the carafe down on the table, and walked over to the counter. Quinn savored her food before looking out up to see the two youths she’d saw earlier leave. They looked familiar. I may have seen them at a past gig. She shrugged and resumed eating while she studied her sheet music.

Twenty minutes later, she had finished her meal. Quinn lifted her wrist to look at her watch. ”I’d better get going! I really am going to be late!" She quickly packed her things away, gulped down the last of her coffee, and walked up to the counter. Quinn quickly paid her bill, making sure to leave a sizable tip, and was soon out the door. She ran down the street to the nearest entrance to the terminal. It was a good thing, her parents’ house was only the next station over. Quinn ran down the stairs and was soon standing on the platform waiting for the train. She readjusted her bag and put her earbuds into her ears--music soon flowing into her ears.

 

[ManicMuse]

Rico (Recall)

location : Diner > Market place

State of being: Seeking frilly umbrella


Nearby: Several strangers > Crowds of strangers and shop keepers

@:

CHARACTER SHEET

While the other's of the cafe arrived and left, Rico finished up her meal and paid the credits due. Just as Rico was reluctantly pulling on her jacket, I soft light flashed in the corner of her vision. Directing her vision toward the light, the notification opened through her optic implants interface. A confirmation notification of a temporary pass for upper levels. The notice was followed up with a small message from her employer for the day, "Do not be late. Bring an umbrella."

"Great. Better stop by the market first."

Rico shrugged into her jacket, gave one last glance around the cafe and ducked out the door. The rain still had not stopped. It appeared it might be scheduled until late morning. Rico rarely bothered to look at the weather reports.

Heading out into the market place, Rico wandered past the various stalls. Scanning them for a blasted umbrella. Part of her hoped to find a very frilly one that would make the client refuse to use it. Then a few blocks in, she spotted it. A stall with various umbrellas. Strolling up to it, she watched as other's scrambled to purchase the suddenly high demand item. Rico on the other hand, took her time looking over the varying options. After noticing a powder pink parasol, she moved in to check the price tag, 25 C.

​

Rico scoffed at the price tag and shifted over to a plain clear one for only 5 C. The entertainment was not worth the heavy price tag. After grabbing one off the top of the pile, Rico held out her mechanical arm and exposed the wrist for the credits to be deducted with a quick scan and confirmation of the charge.

With that out of the way, Rico stepped back from the booth and sprung open the umbrella. Now turning around, she began to weave her way through the morning crowd, heading back to her room where she'd left her gun.

 

[Zaltusinel]

Alexia Voltsvaugen Khaimera

Location: Home > Gala

State of being: Seeking to Hire a Singer

Nearby: Quinn.

@'s: Caragia

View attachment 337523

Family Gathering... Great
​

Lea laid on the bubbly couch, paying homage to her phone while she waited for her time to leave home as well. Her room was full of mixed images; posters of guys, posters of MLP, an entire collection of Crusader's gear, Icarus's favorite boxing gloves given as a reminder of him for her, and a bookshelf full of accounting textbooks. Her life consisted of activity constantly. Before Icarus's illness, the only time she ever saw her brothers were at dinner or sparring. Lea became the distant sister that subconsciously was always jealous of the relationship between Fang and Icarus. Her little girl habits were setting up kid's cameras in their room, spying on them while they slept. Her favorite thing to ask Icarus's friends was what Icarus loves to eat, to do, and anything casual to know. Lea to this day couldn't tell you the birthday of her brothers. Hell, she's missed almost every birthday. Last "Winter", Lea powered through an "Internship" with her father. While a boon for her career, she never came home for the entire internship. When all three are at home, Fang and Icarus are off doing strange things. Sometimes inside of Fang's workshop testing gear or trading skills such as shooting and swordplay in the sparring arena. Icarus and Fang still share a bed at thirty years old, or would. Mostly because marriage is arranged and the brothers could hardly be separate. Isolation by their class pitted the two to steel friendship even though otherwise they would be rivals. As they all say, it is how you grow, not the soil you root.

So for Lea, she searched for months to find a way to bring herself into their life. Stranger of a sister seeking the willing love of her brothers. A sort of predicament that most fail to have. Her phone rang in a one week notice for the family reunion. Which for the Khaimera's consisted of themselves and all the way to third cousins. So it wouldn't be mobbed. Taking place at the local Cathedral, to satisfy her mother's gothic crave. A glorious place to sing. So...Lea hatched an idea.

'Isn't the Gala tonight? Supposedly, there will be good singers. While the winner likely won't be of worth as I've heard the money talks more. However, it's not like I can't tell.' She thought.

In a previous time, Lea learned to sing. While it wasn't her forte, it helped her see the beauty in the voice. Understand the diamond from a great big pile of shit. Which sometimes gets a career. So instinctively, she runs out of the tower in her elegant dress. White folding into a sunrise orange, with rose petal shapes. Her hair glittered in gold, lips doused in purple lipstick, and hands adorned in golden lockets. Her Limo would take her to the front entrance where she would likely meet some of the singers herself.

 

[Graysilver264]

Around this time of the day, the market would slowly be drained of its people. There was work to go back to for most poor people and housemen and wives had to go home to prepare dinner. Mitchel on the other hand had a lot of spare energy for this day, he did not have to work on his garden today and his cooking was very efficient, although an art in every way *click*. Mitchel wondered, “should I do something crazy today?”. He did not know what, but if there was a chance do change something it must be today, he just felt it. “Heck” He decided to go look for a sign, he did so on a sign *click*. A big wooden pole with posters on it for every event in this part of the city.


Some parties which Mitchel did not like, movies which Mitchel did not have money for and some fancy stuff. One seemingly the most fancy of this day, a gala with life music and.. food. Mitchel thought about that for a moment *click*. Would rich people actually like his produce? They would like the young vibe it gives its consumers and a chance on a longer life would stick as well. Rich people loved themselves. *click* Mitchel looked at the source of the constant clicking sound. There was one of those rich people, for his standards at least. But this one was doing actual work and she was a girl, which helped for Mitchel. Girls were easier to talk to. This exemplar was hanging posters from the gala on the forum. This was his que, “an interesting party huh?”. Mitchel did not mean to downgrade the gala to a party, but he did and the girl stared at him for it. Mitchel chuckled, recognizing his mistake, “let me be clear for once in my life, I saw there was food and as a farmer that interests me”. The girls expression changed radically.


“That is amazing, I was ordered to go look for people to provide for food. A farmer is a little unconventional, but it might be.. interesting.” The girl was staring at Mitchel with bigger eyes and a bright smile on top of that.

“allright, all right I will show you my produce’, Mitchel answered as if he was not the proudest man in the world right now.

‘great I would love to see your crops’, Mitchel took this remark as a bad seduction technique as he thought all women were seducing 90% of their time. He nodded since he was biologically inclined to agree. In fact, he was biologically inclined to anything he was inclined to.



The rounded the last corner and Mitchel`s home was to be seen at the end of this street. As if it would be the final destination of the whole world. While in fact it was just the final destination of the city. The outer physical wall was behind his home, looming over it with its magnificent size. The girl could only notice how ‘cute’ his home would look. Mitchel would shrug of the remark with a simple ‘I try to keep it practical’ and a polite smile down to the girl. “Sorry we had to walk, but we have finally arrived at my humble abode.” The girl already knew it was from the rural design of it. From the short time she had been in the poor quarter, Mitchel had explained a lot about it, now Mitchel was explaining again while he loaded his cart. ‘see these fruits are cubical since it enables us to transport it easier. See? They stack up perfectly. Before the whole heavy cart was full with food for 50 people at least, he had told the benefits of each of the ingredients and how he would prepare them for this night. The girl listened politely but then she excused herself, since she had more things to do. Mitchel almost said goodbye but then remembered, “Wait, I don`t know where to go and I can not go to the rich parts of the city alone. Would you please join me?” The girl laughed, 'meet me in front of the train station'




UPDATE

Every muscle in his body hurt as, with loudible strain Mitchel put down the last crate with ingredients. He was lucky that one of the servants had helped him, otherwise he would have never been able to get his stand in front of the stove. It was forbidden to take his cart with him into the concert hall, so Mitchel had to build up from scratch.

Inside the hall were several cooking stations with diverse luxerious foods. Mitchel only hoped the girl from earlier on the day had not lied to him about rich people liking his food. He had prepared for a situation like this by bringing basic taco ingredients to put his weirdly shaped fruits in. As he filled the oven and prepared his fruits and vegetables, he watched the working crowd. Everyone was still busy making the last preperations before the concert would start. Here people seemed to be a lot less afraid of the rumors from the poor quarters. Mitchel shrugged, 'I guess it is safer here.'

 

[Cinderlily]

Cadence (Cade) Lupei
Location: Genesis labs> Diner
State of being: Grouchy
Nearby: No one

Cade had just finished her last patrol. Her shift was about to end. She looked at the watch on her left wrist, 8:50 AM, just ten more minutes. They were sure to be excruciating. She sighed and ran her flesh hand along the metallic wall of the facility. The brightness of the fluorescent lights had once bothered her eyes but after several years of working here she had gotten used to the glare. On her left side her cybernetic arm swung back and forth at her side, it brushed against the gun strapped to her hip, jostling it ever so slightly. She hadn't used it once in almost five years of working here. God how she wanted to just shoot something. Cade clicked her tongue in annoyance. Two scientists in white lab coats walked past her. They nodded in greeting, she ignored them. She glared venomously until they were out of her sight. She needed someone to vent her foul mood out on. Which some might say was a bit unfair since Cadence Lupei was constantly in a foul mood.
"Good morning, Cadence," a familiar, too chirpy voice called out from behind her.
Cade groaned. God, just the fucking person she'd been trying to avoid. For the past eleven hours and fifty minutes she'd done just fine. But now, with the finish line just in sight, he'd found her.
"Good morning, Dr Wilde," she just about spat.
He had caught up to her now. Darcy Wilde a thirty six year old geneticist. All angles, impossibly long limbs and smiles he was the person she hated most in the entire facility. The reason? Because he just wouldn't leave her alone! He was almost criminally nice.
"Nice day isn't it? Raining and everything. What a treat."
It was too early to be positive. She didn't answer him. She continued walking down the hall. He followed.
"It's been a while since I've seen you. How have you been?"
It had been a while. She made a point of avoiding him.
"I'm terrible. I haven't slept in fourteen hours, my feet are killing me and apparently I'm going home in a downpour."
Dr Wilde's face fell, "I- I..."
The com in Cade's ear buzzed. She immediately responded.
"Please tell me there's been a break in."
If she didn't get to shoot someone it might end up being Dr Darcy Wilde with a bullet between his emerald green eyes.
"Negative," came the reply on the other end, her second in command. "It's time for you to sign out."
Thank God!
"Good enough. Bye."
She removed the earpiece. "My shift just ended," she told the doctor, coldly.
She spun around and walked away, barely hearing his.
"O-okay, bye then."

Before returning home for some much needed sleep, Cade stopped outside a diner she walked past regularly on her way home but had never been to. The smells coming from inside always had her salivating. For some reason that morning, spurred on by the grumbling of her stomach, she decided to enter. It was about 9:20 AM so people were just starting to come in for the breakfast run. She still managed to find an empty booth. Cade dropped into the chair heavily and sighed. It was so soft and comfy. A waitress was by her side a minute later, ready to take her order.
"I'll have a coffee, no milk or sugar, and a cheese omelette," she told the cheerful girl.
"Coming up," the girl said before spinning away.
Cade dropped her head into her palms, fingers massaging her temples underneath her wet black hair. How were people so energetic this early in the morning?

 

[Sludgemouth]

Niko

location : them tunnels


State of being: Jedak

Nearby: probably some drug addict

@ N/A

With his coffee finished and all of the weird that he was able to tolerate, Niko beat a hasty retreat back to the office. In the locker room he changed out
of his street duds and put in something more appropriate for bureau settings, a white button down, black tie, and slacks. In the briefing room Niko was surrounded by similarly (read: the same) dressed personnel seated around a large wooden table. Niko took his seat by the door and began organizing his reports he'd typed up earlier. The low murmur of the briefing room dropped off as the branch chief entered and called a start to the meeting. Various personnel took their turns discussing logistics, clearance renewals, and financial reports. Finally it came time for Niko to say his piece, he remained seated, and spoke speaking calmly.

"So there's been some rumblings about money laundering and gang activity in the south side block, Clancey's team hasn't found anything concrete yet but they seem confident that there onto something. Then there's a request in for some of us to make a showing over at the big gala happening on the upper levels. Fairly high-pri, but we're going to need some special access waivers issued so pers is gonna' need to get on that." Niko paused for a nice big sigh before continuing with the last part. "And lastly there's been yet another missing person, making a grand total of five for this month, this one's a little more than some John Doe too. Also something not in report format. I had a run in with the Khaimera siblings today... an interesting pair those two, I kinda' got the heebies from them we might want to go ahead and get eyes on Maxim. I don't care what the company itself is up to, but my gut tells me there's some shit up with them twins." Niko passed his paperwork over to the chief and waited for his sentencing, there was no good option as the only case that wasn't guaranteed to suck already had a team on it. After a short silence the chief spoke up. "Niko, you've probably figured it out already but I'm going to need you to head down to the old subway tunnels, these disappearances can't go unanswered, I want report of your findings as soon as they become available." With that the chief called the meeting adjourned and the various investigators and workers filed out. As Niko made his way to the exit he was pulled aside by the chief. "Regarding Maxim and the Khaimeras we will not be harassing them in any capacity. They're one of our biggest investors and I am not about to have a conflict of interest. Furthermore, under no circumstances are you to have any further dealings with those siblings, and for god's sake do not let them know you're an investigator. You have your orders, I expect nothing less than what you've always provided us." With that the chief let him go.

Another change of clothes and a trip to the armory later and Niko was down in in the old maintenance tunnels. He'd opted for a more clandestine loadout, forgoing any kind of slum dweller disguise and packing low light optics and a hefty revolver. Niko made his way methodically through the tunnels, searching each and every sign of habitation he came across.

 

[Graysilver264]

Justin Zaltusinel
His view was still vague from how hard he had bumped his head against the train`s floor. He internally cursed the speed at which the train AI worked. Justin had no time to get his bearings as some guy in front of him started talking about weird things. Something about the cries of the fallen, did someone die? Justin did not know. The man continued making a remark about him wearing arms as if he was a soldier. Did he look like one? Then he asked if he would hunt a monster, Justin did not know whether the monster was real yet, he just wanted to find the missing people. Justin could not further his thinking about this vague man, because after the man was done rambling for some seconds his monstrous mecha jumped into the speeding train as well. It did so with a lot more grace than Justin could. Justin looked at it with wide eyes and instantly focussed from the shock. He saw the robot who almost did not fit in the transport, this must be a strong thing. He could never gauge its strength because he did not see a lot of mechanic beings in the poor quarters.

Justin had a feeling this man, whoever he was, liked tough people since he was apparently searching for a monster. So he started his tough guy act, took the man`s hand and stood up, if a little stiffly from the fall he just made. He was glad that he had a hand to help him up since standing was a bit hard and made him dizzy diffusing him from his act a moment. He continued, ‘my name is Justin, I am a soldier without an army since recently. You might argue I never had a real army at all’ he said scratching his head. Apparently the mecha made him a little nervous. He closed his eyes ‘stop thinking’ he thought for himself. He immediately straightened and breathed deeply. ‘Me and my “army” had been looking for the monster, yes’, there was no reason to argue here that the monster was just gossip. ‘and yes I do wear my sword even though I am not a soldier. Arrest me right? I will probably defeat this monster before you and your robot will’. Justin looked at the robot again. ‘allthough, I did just lose my army, perhaps it is time to build it up again’. It felt like Justin`s time to reach out, so he proposed a handshake by thrusting his open palm forward as the train was slowing down.

 

[ManicMuse]

Knock Knock
A little before eight, the sprinklers from high above, on the wall began to lose pressure. Coming to a trickle, the mechanical arms retracted, signaling the end of the watering cycle. While the sun had risen outside the great walls, over an hour prior, it only now began to peek in over the massive walls. The peaks of the city glistened in the light, as the human traffic below still swarmed in the shadows.

Many commuters were funneling in and out of the subways system, that ran in a massive circle beneath the ground level of the city. Young and old gathered on cold concrete platforms, awaiting for the 8 o'clock train to pull in and unload.

A young child with dirty blonde hair stood beside one of the pillars. Her voice carried through the terminal with undertones that suggested her voice was synthesized.

Spoiler: SONG

Advertisements projected off screens and hanging from the ceiling, flooded every angle of the terminal. With all the chatter and visual stimulation, it was easy for the singing child to be quickly forgotten when her voice stopped.

>>><<<


Beyond the grand walls, in the jungles that surrounded the city, a flock of birds took flight. The soil and stone of the ground gave away to small quakes. Soon all manner of creature in the wilds beyond the city began to run, scramble and crawl away from a massive pod of trees which rippled with movement.

The sensitive equipment within Haven picked up on the tremors moments before they could be felt. The sentinel bots perched upon the peaks of the walls, whizzed along their tracks, heading toward the direction of the disturbance. The militia and police were alerted via silent alarms to their personal devices. As tactical teams were being mobilized, the trumpeting quakes of footfalls came rippling through Haven. A bellowing roar of a creature ripped through the forest just a few hundred yards from Haven's protective wall.

Analysts and squad commanders, waited with bated breath. When the first thundering blow to the outer wall came, shock waves rippled through the city. First visuals of the creature streamed to the main command center. Analysts frantically scoped out the creature, working to determine its threat level. Within moments a consensus was made and broadcasted to all military personal.

Category 5

Catastrophic damage, area killer.

A warning broadcasted across every personal and public device, "Warning! A Category 5 creature has engaged the compound. Seek cover. Do not attempt to interfere with Military operations. Marshall Law Is Now In Effect."​

Images of the massive creature followed the broadcast.

Chaos erupted throughout the city. People surged this way and that in the underground terminal. One partially harsh impact shook the city so violently that rumble came tumbling down in the underground passage way. Lost in panic, no one noticed the young girl who had gone missing moments before, emerging from a back passage way to the abandoned tunnels, screaming creatures had tried to take her. Fresh blood seeped from a small gash on her head.



The nine o'clock train came barreling into the station. The doors of the train burst open, causing more bodies to flood in. No where was safe. Images of the creature continued to stream live on the screens, as the first counter strikes made contact.

 

[Graysilver264]

Mitchel whistled a tune he did not even know. Apparantly a girl had wanted to escort him to the gala this evening. With the first four hours of this day he had spent two on the markets and two on his farm in order to tend his produce. It was always very relaxing to remove weeds from plants as it required precision. It was a mindful experience in all, a word Mitchel used to make clear that he wished to not be disturbed.

~WARNING:

Mitchel damaged a leaf of spinach. 'damn'

A Category 5 creature has engaged the compound. Seek cover. Do not attempt to interfere with Military operations. Marshall Law Is Now In Effect.~

'damn', Mitchel knew what this meant and at the same time he did not. The rack tag loudspeakers continued conveying the message, annoying Mitchel`s senses as he collected his thoughts. He knew that creatures outside of the compound could become aggressive, but he had never actually seen a category 5 one. Military operations? This was dangerous. This was an opportunity. Mitchel acted quickly and gathered some rejuvenation fruits (5) and a pair (2) of his new strengthening ones. He put them in his cubical backpack. The backpack was simple and beaten down, the only thing in good shape was the first aid kit. Mitchel had limited knowledge of medicine, but he could stop the most dangerous wounds.

The earth shook in fury. Mitchel fell to the ground as vision became blurry, or did it just move too quickly. Mitchel knew his natural disasters and this was an earthquake. It did not last long, which meant that an external being had made this earthquake. Category 5 threads could either be big in numbers, dangerous from poison or agility, or massive beasts. This was a freaking huge one, with some sense of intelligence if it knew to attack the compound. 'It has begun' Mitchel repeated what he had gathered from the behaviour of other animals. Mitchel stood up with his face in stoicism, he would fall a lot more times today.

Mitchel started his way through the streets, the poor quarters were almost completely deserted. This would have been a beautiful morning walk, if not for the continue barrage of smaller earthquakes ruining the tranquillity. People obviously realised that the rich quarters would be safer, with military focused on protecting the rich.

The whole streets were empty, except from the people who were incapable of walking. Mitchel knew he could not safe all of these people if hostile creatures would attack them, so he left most of them to their fate. He had helped most of these people before, but this was out of Mitchel`s grasp. It pained him to leave them there on the ground. The cries of these people reached his ears. It felt like he was hit by a sledgehammer continually. The impact increasing with each cry for help. He had taken his usual route, which was a mistake. To his left lay the woman from yesterday, the woman who he had helped with some grapes. The woman recognized him, 'Mitchel, please help me'. The calling of his name made him look down, straight into her eyes. He cracked, a tear rolling down his cheek. He felt helpless. He did not have help to get him out of this situation, they did not either. They were the same. Mitchel crouched down, 'I will help you', he said as he was crying. The woman wiped away his tears, 'don`t cry, we all have to be strong some times and this is a great time for you to shine. You are always so kind to help us through times of hunger. The monster will not be interested in attacking the poor quarters, just leave us and make some real impact.'

Mitchel kept crying as he walked away, 'thank you', someone believed in him. A walk became a run, through the streets, the markets and increasingly north, trying to reach more dangerous sites, the subways would be flooded by people fleeing, he had to support the wall. He had left weakness and one of his Strengthening apples in the poor quarters. He had gained courage, a mild kind, but courage and a goal. To protect life and be as kind as he had been for a while. But something was gnawing at him, what did the creature want? It was his to find out. Today the peoples view towards nature would change, it was his goal to make it a positive change.

The sun had not yet risen over the wall, but a big shape could be seen as Mitchel approached it. 'damn'.