The Thelotian Might (Faction Mission)

[Yuri Thade]

Yuri looked over at Agent Kademan and said, "What are you expecting me to say, Agent Kademan? It sounds like these people have already made up their mind. They see that the ends justified the means, and slaughtering hundreds of innocents, and a religious head that many Thelotians worship, just to get to a few that humiliated them and all to 'claimed' a territory.”

Yuri was doing his best in working a possible way of avoiding Holy Father dying. While Agent Kademan might have had his own reason to make Yuri trying to stop him, but what powers did he have?

“Is there not even the possibility of sending in scouts or some sort of surveillance? “ Yuri asked.

[Capt. Hood]

Capt. Hood seemingly ignored everyone else's comments in order to turn his focus his attention on Yuri. The man seemingly wanted to save Numen's life but was now also claiming to want to sen in scouts. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose as if something was causing him stress, before he took a few steps towards Thade.

"I'm sorry, are you in your own, little, religious world over here? Is this conversation going straight over your head? Yes. There is a possibility of sending in scouts or surveillance, but this is a big district, and that process alone could take hours if not days, hours and days which could result in the death of Holy Father Numen and that is most certainly the worst possible scenario within this situation."

He took a deep breath.

"Does that answer your question?"

[Icos El-Elron]

The General found his feet and pulled himself up, "That'll be enough! Minno, I demand that you control your men." The General was infuriated, if he hadn't taken a deep breath to calm himself he might have continued yelling. "We move in within two hours. You'll have the final plans within the hour. For now, however, I do not need everyone here. With the exception of Presidential Guards Hood and Elray I want everyone out of the tent!"

Icos gave a simple nod and stood up along with everyone else. It was a difficult decision to make and truthfully he was glad it wasn't one he had to make but he wasn't entirely sure if the RIGHT decision had been made. Either way, the consequences would be seen later... now it was merely a matter as to how it all ended. What truly was the Empire's place in all of this? While currently staying neutral the Empire's first goal was to have a Thelotian government that was loyal to them, if the Rebels swore fealty to the Empress than nobody back in Megálo would care if they overthrew this democratic government and replaced it with another tyrant.  Of course this government wasn't free of blood - slaughtering the old Zoi tribes and outlawing mana was a choice that was still causing them problems.

Ridding his mind of those thoughts Icos found himself walking back to his car. Not intending to leave just yet but merely deciding his next move.

[Lawrence 'The Law' Kademan]

"Doesn't answer my question - where are the morals?!" Lawrence's last outburst at Hood's response to Yuri had barely left his mouth when the General's yells echoed loud and well overpowered his own voice. Lawrence shrank back into the few Overwatch agents that had piled into the tent with him originally, nothing but a scowl on his face as they were ordered out.

Lawrence tugged at his coat collar, standing there yet even after they were told to go and trying to do some deep breathing of his own to keep from shouting back. Feeling a nudge at his elbow by one of the other agents he huffed loudly and with a quick nod, stormed out though it didn't stop him from grumbling the entire time once they got outside.

"Stupid Presidental Guard and their stupid superior paycheques. It's common sense, right?" he moved in close to Agent Andriano and tried to keep his voice down as much as he could as he ranted, "the Rebels are the threat that destroys our city so the response is to destroy the city that they're destroying? What kind of an asshole makes that kind of decision and thinks that's right? What's the point of having a police force that gets bought by gangs, what's the point of Overwatch and the Guard if we're just going to intentionally fuck everything up? And furthermore...!"

That was when Lawrence caught the glimpse of Icos having left the tent as well, suddenly realizing it wasn't only Overwatch (and Yuri) who were told to get lost. With that in mind he suddenly slapped Andriano on the arm and pointed to Icos.

"Hahahaa, look at that, he got the boot, too! Ain't so great being an Imperial now, huh?!" it was a small pleasure, but anything that would lighten his mood a bit was needed, "...do you think he'll notice the coffee on his car?"

Though while Lawrence would have wanted to stand and watch the Imperial from afar he found himself already straying away from his own group already and in mid-sentence to follow Icos instead. He didn't really know what to open up with, and as such he rested his hands half in his pockets till the other man's attention could be pulled away from whatever he was doing. Maybe also grumbling as far as Lawrence knew.

[Icos El-Elron]

Agent Andriano saw his career ending in flames when Lawrence spoke up and all he wanted to do right now was hide in a corner. His embarrassment turned to annoyance and the large man merely crossed his arms and did his best to ignore Lawrence's presence. "If he does we'll just chalk it up to another important person you've pissed off."

Icos caught the glimpse of Lawrence out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards the Overwatch agent and gave a sarcastic smirk, "That was a nice speech in there. It seemed like something I might have said in one of those films." They may have been on friendlier terms but Icos still couldn't help taking a swipe at the man. Sometimes he reminded him of himself, perhaps a type of person he would have been if he hadn't been sent to the Imperial Marines. That probably annoyed him the most when he thought about it.

Perhaps feeling like that swipe was a bit out of place and even unjust given the circumstances, Icos decided he should be a bit friendlier. "Pretty tense situation though, huh?"

[Lawrence 'The Law' Kademan]

"Pfft, I don't need your crappy movies to say what's on my mind," Lawrence half told the truth there, a lot of his 'perfect justice' seeking lines and beliefs really did come from movie heroes and action movies like the ones Icos as a character was in. However much of an arrogant jerk Lawrence was he was fueled and influenced greatly by 'the heroes'. His hands slid out of his pockets and hung by his sides as Icos had continued, to say that the situation was 'tense' was something that was probably pretty accurate. Lawrence looked a bit troubled though as he stared at the Ellusian man.

"Yeah, it kind of is. Kind of really unfortunate that people like that make the call," he grouched, pretty sure that Icos wasn't the person he should tell any of that to but didn't really care, "and you sure didn't have much more to say to it. I kinda thought you had some kind of...y'know, sway to things like that."

Maybe that wasn't the best way to describe it. As far as he was concerned, the Ellusians - especially the Imperials - just kind of got away going about their business in Thelotia. Sure the Thelotians didn't really like it, but somehow the idea that it was Icos admittedly had given Lawrence a least a modicum of hope that the situation just moments ago could have changed. He wasn't about to admit he kind of felt a bit crushed.

[Icos El-Elron]

"There is no right decision when it comes to things like that..." Icos couldn't help but feel sorry for Lawrence. The man looked like his spirit had been crushed by what he witnessed. "We all make decisions every day hoping it turns out for the best."

Icos would have preferred the scouting mission that was initially agreed upon. At the very least they could have mapped out positions of the rebels to help lower civilian causalities, but the belief was that any scouting mission would take far too long. "The Empire tries to let their colonies run themselves. We can guide them but we can't hold their hands. Besides, it wasn't my place to tell them it was a wrong or right decision." Not many of those Thelotians had seen warfare like he had, with the exception of those who had fought against the Zoi Confederacy twenty years ago or the Land of the Independent forty years ago (the general at least would have been young enough to serve), those people saw fighting that Icos couldn't dream of.

"Whatever happens will happen. And hopefully it'll end for the best."

[Lawrence 'The Law' Kademan]

It wasn't right in Lawrence's mind, of course. Even what Icos had said right then, where wise and true and came from proper experience, wasn't right. For that moment the day seemed to get just a bit darker for the Overwatch agent as he spoke to what he had thought might have been the one person who really understood him, it was more awkward to realize it wasn't true.

"How can you say that? Of course there's a right decision," Lawrence said in disbelief, "and the right decision isn't to willingly, potentially, hurt families living in those neighbourhoods. We do our best for the best possible outcome for everyone, not just because it's the most convenient. Could you imagine the people who have family living there? Who fights for those people? 'Cause their government isn't."

Whether he intended it that way or not, the pain was more audible then at the mention of the government when Lawrence had said it. Being part of these government agencies and operations meant so much to him because he had such a romantic view of it, when the police simply weren't enough for the people in need they had a hand stronger to help them. A responsible government protected its people, a responsive government answered the call, a good and just government sought fair answers. They were supposed to be heroes when needed, not part of the problem. To know that his work at the end of the day only fueled the issue gave Lawrence a kick in the gut and a slap in the face with a fist full of reality.

'Wasn't his place to tell them what's right or wrong. What the hell kind of bullshit is that? And they made movies about you?!'

"You used to be cool," Lawrence threw in suddenly, before he even knew he wanted to say anything more at all.

[Icos El-Elron]

"What would that right decision have been?" Icos plunged his hands into his coat jacket and wrapped his hand around a box of small mint candies (quieting smoking after getting home was difficult, replacing candies for cigarettes helped). He pulled out the small case and shook some of the small colorful candies out into his hand. "Let me explain to you how each decision would have ended."

He popped a couple of them into his mouth and turned towards Lawrence, "Mint?" He offered from his open hand before continuing to speak, "First scenario; you go in there in force to root out your enemies. You tear them from their defenses and kill them in the most brutal fashion. Well the next morning the sun rises and you realize that there are an awful lot of kids in the streets dead. So second scenario; you go in, scout around and spot where those Rebels are, aye? So you and the military boys go trotting in there and wipe them out without much of a fuss. The morning comes and you realize that there are an awful lot of kids dead in the streets." 

"Because in the end you're still just fighting kids. Kids who were deemed criminals and terrorists for who they were." He took one more step to Lawrence and put a hand on his shoulder, "Now I guarantee this is what's going to happen - you may not care at first or perhaps you'll break down in tears right away, but soon you'll realize that this is war and heroes are just stories made up to get more kids to fight. So you'll shrug it off and stop caring because tomorrow you'll kill some more. That or you'll be killed."

Icos lifted his hand from Lawrence's shoulder and gave him a weak smile, "There are no right decisions."

[Lawrence 'The Law' Kademan]

No, no, he was wrong. Lawrence was very young when mana use became outlawed and its users criminals, but he grew up knowing a world that saw those people as yes, terrorists. In his own defense the Rebels were no better, they certainly were no heroes of their own they were just angry people who sought to solve their issues with violence and kidnapping major figureheads in the city state. How did that solve anything? Maybe if the Rebels had actually done something that Lawrence could see as respectful he'd have a different view on it but they didn't. They were killers, they were dangerous, and they certainly wouldn't waste a single moment to put a bullet into him just because he had an interest in keeping the peace - that meant he had no choice but to take them on as an enemy.

But despite the wise words of the Imperial, Lawrence wouldn't and couldn't accept it. The thought of it angered him more and a part of it was because he knew Icos was actually right, at the end of the day wasn't it funny how both sides were the same where Lawrence grew up with one view pressed upon him a lot of the Rebels did, too. They were each the same, raised to fight each other.

Lawrence tensed under Icos's hand. He wouldn't accept this as an answer, it didn't matter how true the words were Lawrence wasn't going to allow it and his own inner conflict upset him more than the actual situation did in the end. The dark-haired man shook himself free from Icos's hand on his shoulder and with a soured look turned away from him he said, defeated, "Whatever, man."

He knew the movies weren't real, he knew the stories were exaggerated to suspend all belief but some of it had to come from something real, didn't it? Icos El-Elron was probably the closest thing to that and even that to Lawrence proved to be a whole sham. This guy wasn't the cool hero, he was barely the guy he recognized from all of the Thelotian magazines that hyped him up. Were they all wrong or was he this whole time? No matter the case, he felt betrayed somehow and he didn't know where to properly place the blame - society, media, his mother, himself, so Icos got it instead.

[Kri]

Within the occupied section of the district...

Kri had just really come to terms with the fact that they weren't all going to die thanks to the attack on the district. They'd actually taken some ground and held it, which was a big step forwards, it meant that people would steadily start to lose faith in The Government depending entirely on how long they could hold this ground and if they could grab any more. For all intents and purposes, The Rebellion had kind of shifted from simply being a rebellion to being on the verge of becoming a revolution. Kri smirked as he contemplated the idea of finally getting his own back, but that smile soon faded as he realized that Katori wasn't here to share it with him... As he walked through the streets, he looked up to the sky, using the large metal gauntlet on his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight, he wondered if Kat was perhaps doing the same. He missed her, which was weird for him, he never missed anyone.

Still, he didn't have time to think on that, no doubt The Government would be launching a counter-attack soon and Kri needed to make sure that everyone was ready. He had already called the two Anarchists, Krazny and Aetius, to a room which they had designated as their war room. The Anarchists were weird in that none of them were obligated to follow orders, and that was evident in the way they fought. The two who Kri endearingly referred to as The Anarchist's 'Commanders' were nothing as such, they were more advisers, offering advice and suggestions to The Anarchist's, but never truly commanding them. Sometimes the Anarchist's ignored their advice, and had apparently swiftly learned that the two knew what they were doing. Ataxía was the only one he'd seen The Anarchist's follow wholeheartedly and he could understand why, that man was terrifying...

Stepping into the war room, the two were already there, looking as menacing as ever. Kri had seen these two fight now and it unnerved him to have done so... It's not every day you see a man coat himself in dragon-like armour made of fire, and it wasn't something that was swiftly forgotten... Kri took his position around a map that had been set up and tried to scrub some dirt off his face, unsuccessfully...

"Alright, Guys!" He started with an eager smile. "We've got a counter-attack coming, what do you think about it?"

[Krazny; The Wyvern]

Krazny had his back against the wall when Kri entered. He didn’t know an awful lot about this guy, but in the absence of Katori and with Konig not exactly being the spritely young man he once was, he seemed to have taken the mantle of The Rebellion’s Field Commander. Seemed a bit off to him, the guy was only young, which in turn seemed a bit off when Krazny remembered that he himself was very young. It was funny how that worked out, wasn’t it? Only an hour or so earlier he’d been parading through these streets, swords drawn, cutting his way through The Government’s forces. They could have perhaps pushed further out of the district, but having received word of the arrival of Captain Hood, most of those who were acting as leaders decided it best to halt their advance and settle for what they had.

Despite having earlier been thinking of Kri’s inexperience, Krazny was not fooled by Hood’s youth, that man had a natural talent for tactics and a nose for predicting his opponent’s every move. Never would The Níssian make a move without planning it in advance, not against a man like Captain Hood, who was yet to lose a battle in which he was in command.

Krazny took up his own position around the map as Kri asked about the counter-attack, which earned a chuckle from The Wyvern as he looked across at Aetius.

“Do you hear this one? ‘What do we think about it?’ He asks. Well, The Government forces are now being led by Captain Hood, which means they will be significantly more ruthless, well commanded and operating on a strong mixture of fear and respect… Something we Anarchists know well…” He muttered the latter end of the sentence. Any Anarchist who said they didn’t fear Ataxía was lying.

“On top of all that, he’s smart and knows that Numen is their main objective here. As soon as he finds out that Numen is not here, the gloves will come off and we’ll be butchered.” He pointed to the map. “Probably, they’ll leave us an exit to escape through and have an ambush lying in wait there. I’d say our best bet is to stop them finding out if we have Numen or not…” He looked across at Aetius.

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

[Aetius Dux]

Aetius was an older man and had a great deal of military background. Of course when he served there was always an assurance that he worked for the strongest military in the world and that even in the most desperate situations they could still call for reinforcements, but fighting in the streets of Thelotia was a completely different story. Indeed he had switched roles from his previous job of uprooting rebels and that meant entirely new tactics had to be adopted. Aetius was keenly aware of what happened when faced with a superior, well led force.

"You've spoken my very thoughts, Nissian." Aetius grumbled out in his thick Ellusian accent. "I imagine they're itching to move in by now. Every minute we hold these streets is an insult to their government." To be truthful Aetius knew holding the streets was a impossible mission but he had been hoping to hold them long enough so that the Empire would be called in to help Thelotia. Nothing would have been a greater insult to the Thelotian government than having to call in their Imperial overlords to do the dirty work. Indeed not only would have that weakened the government's standing the Imperials might have established direct control over the city's government, making peace talks an actual option. That would never happen, if the reports they were getting were to be believed than the Thelotians had assembled a mighty host of professional soldiers that far outnumbered their own. It was now a matter of making them bleed as long as they could before vanishing out into the night.

"I imagine they'll swarm the streets, maybe leaving one end open or with a skeleton force that'll bait us to try and break through. They'll have a larger force in waiting to ambush us there, no doubt. So now we need to figure out where they're coming from and how we can make them bleed the most."

[Hana Redfern]

The squeak of her soles was the only sound bouncing through the halls as she walked. Breath coming in and out only silently quieter and the swish of her hair swung behind her in time with her feet. She moved fast and kept time, feet touching the floor was if she was sliding on ice. Her eyes were narrowed as the locked on the war room's door down the hall, like a hunter seeing it's prey she moved singularly for that.  Hana didn't know if she came on behalf of the Rebels or the Anarchists but she came with one sentence and one sentence only on her lips to speak and the rest to sit and listen.

She felt rather light and bare, her sword having not been made recently and her belt was empty of her weapons. Besides the tiny tranquilizer pistol she carried hidden inside her boot she was left without any other external help. Nonetheless she felt only fully prepared and alert, even if she did not expect going into that room with guns blazing and fists flying her way, it was still a good idea to be ready on a moment's notice.

 With her palms outstretched she pushed the doors open, revealing a room with three men. She recognized Kri right off the bat and Aetius seemed like a familiar face, however she didn't care to recall very much of him. The third man was a mystery, one she did not care to question at the moment. She turned and looked at Kri, planted in her stomach with the stiffest back possible. After a quick nod of a hello she crossed the room and took a chair. Clearing her throat she address the group. "The Thelotians are on the move." She spoke frankly and clasped her hands on the surface of the table, her narrowed, curious eyes met with pair as if to confirm they heard her. 

[Aetius Dux]

When the door opened and the blonde stepped through a thick smell of burning wood and the almost sweet, stomach turning smell of death followed. It was a smell that had been prevalent among the occupied streets of the Adynamos District and everybody reeked of it.  Aetius turned around to face the girl, a thin almost innocent looking woman who was betrayed by hereyes that showed only of a coolness and dark quality. Hana was the name Aetius had heard his soldiers whisper as she walked by, and judging by how much damage she had done to the Thelotians, she was someone to be feared.

"Already?" Aetius muttered under his breath as Hana warned the small group of the impending attack. Filling his lungs with the stench filled air, he readied himself to once again take command of their ragtag rebels. "Which streets are they advancing towards?" Aetius asked, taking a step to the side and motioning for the map that laid across the table.