ABS FIESTA REDUX

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Author Topic: ABS FIESTA REDUX  (Read 1210414 times)

After circling for a long time, Kobalt is granted clearance to land at Zentragothora International, Arx Cypristar fish apparently having sustained a minor bombardment during the attack which left its runways inoperable. As you roll along the taxiway, you see the Indomitus descending between two of the airport terminals. Deep hull breaches caused by heavy plasma still glow dimly around the edges, the superstructure has been reduced to a jagged mess of twisted supports, and the two large ventilation intakes to the front are illuminated in a fierce golden-orange by fires burning within. And yet still it functions well enough to make a controlled touchdown, after which it is swarmed by emergency vehicles to assist in damage control efforts and extracting casualties. The sight of the Indomitus and the other remaining airships coming in for a landing is the last thing most people remember of the night, as what follows is a blur of taxiing some more, disembarking in a large hangar, boarding a smoke-spewing bench-seat canvas truck, and drifting in and out of sleep as you ride to your new temporary home.

It is now five days after the Battle of Zentragothora. Bell, Ellie, Jaakko, and Ash wake up in an Gothic barracks; and Lorens and Ajka in the infirmary. Information about the direction the war has taken since the destruction of the Aesthian fleet has been impossible to come across, bar the predictable propaganda spin on events, and despite being issued the same grey uniforms as everyone else none of the Aesthians feel like they belong here yet. Not speaking the local language is a big part of it, and the aggressively inquisitorial debriefing didn't help either. The officer running the show seemed to be of the mindset that he was meant to interrogate Aesthian prisoners rather than receive a simple after-action report. On the bright side, all the base personnel know just who you are by now, and the awkward few days of being harassed for your IDs and talked down to by paranoid soldiers is behind you. Fresh in everyone's minds (except Ajka) are the offers they were made by the Imperium- They can continue to serve in the Imperial Air Force with a parcel of land (20 hectares) and half a million Aurei as incentive to stay in the country, or they can just accept the money and land without continuing to serve, or they can take five grand and the next plane ticket to Malanta. All of them were encouraged to continue serving.

Bell, Ellie, Jaakko, Ash, and Yamashiro are in the Barracks.
Lorens, Ajka, Musashi, Nagato, and Xiaomei are in the infirmary.
Tippy, Markus, Hilbert, and Walter were never found by search and rescue, though the latter two shouldn't be surprising.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2018, 08:13:13 PM by Qwepir »

The five days since the battle have significant gaps in Jaakko’s memory. He had slept off his amphetamine exhaustion, but the gravity of the last week had left him without restful sleep. He was perpetually worn out, wearing a ghastly and deeply sad face as he silently mourned Tippy and the rest of his squadron. His squadron, who he had lead astray from Aesthia to defect and die. And though the majority of his squadmates were killed, he had somehow survived them. Great guilt followed Jaakko’s footsteps. The responsibility of what he’d just done found him just as the call of leadership did at Tocatlan in what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Jaakko had eaten very little and said much less. During his interrogations, he was morose and displayed a poverty of speech in front of his interrogator. When offered the thanks of the Imperium, he thought of it as pittance and remained withdrawn.

The war seemed so much easier earlier on. A chapter of his life had closed on him. The reality that it was set in stone was overwhelming.

His future was much less certain, it seemed opaque.

Jaakko was now essentially a stateless person.

It was the only thing that Jaakko could think about when he had any energy, when his mind wasn’t blank, almost catatonic and his chest awash with grief, mournfulness, and despair. He hated the Imperium, both in principle and for all the trouble they’d caused him up until this point. Aesthia would be even less hospitable, to grossly understate it. They would arrest him the minute he set foot home, and kill him, and if they didn’t, he would never be welcome in his home country anyway. The ticket to Malanta was the most enticing deal, and perhaps Mercana would grant him asylum- but perhaps they wouldn’t. They were, at worst, complacent with Aesthia’s nuclear attack. He didn’t know, and couldn’t count on it that Mercana would be welcoming or supportive. But Kintharia...

Jaakko figures it would perhaps be his best way. If Kintharia was willing to aid the Imperials in destroying an Aesthian strike force, they would never extradite him to Aesthia, and perhaps he could find elements that would support him...

It would be making a deal with the Gods. He could perhaps trade one curse for another. It was material on par with Aesthia’s greatest tragic mythological tales, but Jaakko has to ask, and he decided he would get his answer straight from the horse’s mouth.

Jaakko gets up, and heads for the infirmary.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2018, 09:12:53 PM by Mr. Hurricane »

Intent on visiting the infirmary himself, Ash catches up to Jaakko in the hallway.

"Yo, Maj'!," Ash calls out, defiantly upbeat in light of what transpired over the last several days. He jogs up to his side before switching to a more mild tone of voice, "[Care to talk?]"

Jaakko looks at Ash with weary eyes.

"[What about?]" he asks flatly.

Intent on visiting the infirmary himself, Ash catches up to Jaakko in the hallway.
"Yo, Maj'!," Ash calls out, defiantly upbeat in light of what transpired over the last several days. He jogs up to his side before switching to a more mild tone of voice, "[Care to talk?]"
Jaakko looks at Ash with weary eyes.
"[What about?]" he asks flatly.
Every bed in the infirmary is occupied. Other than the nameless faceless imps, Musashi, Xiaomei, Nagato, and Ajka are all present.
-Musashi is still under heavy sedation recovering from what will definitely be a career-ending spinal injury.
-Xiaomei's right leg is in a splint, having been accidentally shot in the shin by a nervous Imperial Guard grunt after ejecting from her craft.
-Nagato's legs are both broken, a result of her chute becoming tangled upon ejection and subjecting her to a very hard landing.
-Ajka's torso, upper arms, and part of her head is wrapped in bandages, having barely survived the severe burns and blood loss that came with her narrow escape. Dozens of pieces of shrapnel embedded in her back mean her days flying are over.

"[Have you decided where to go from here?]," Ash asks plainly as the two walk through the doorway, confident in having masked the conversation behind the language barrier, "[Lorens and I have a few people we can reach out to, and we were wondering if you needed to find a place to stay.]"

Jaakko stares ahead for a moment. He contemplates his words.

"[I'm thinking about going to Kintharia. I don't plan on staying here,]" he replies.

"[What about you two?]" he asks a few moments later.

Lorens tilts his head at the commotion to find Ash and Jaakko and forces his hand up in a waving gesture.

"[We plan on settling down somewhere outside of Mercana,]" Ash smiles and waves back, "[Probably Kintharia. We have a relative on our dad's side of the family there who might help.]"

The look on Jaakko's face eases a bit.

"[I did not want to go to Mercana because I still don't know if they were complacent with Aesthia's nuclear attack. I-] uh,"

He looks at the floor and tries to find the words.

"[I was going to ask Xiaomei... what the KZG could offer... if they could take me to Kintharia,]"

Jaakko waves to Lorens, and makes eye contact with for only a moment before looking away.

"[I think they could help me.]"

"[I was going to ask Xiaomei... what the KZG could offer... if they could take me to Kintharia,]"
Jaakko waves to Lorens, and makes eye contact with for only a moment before looking away.
"[I think they could help me.]"
Xiaomei stops staring out a window and glances at the three of you.

Bell just watches Jaakko and the others leave the barracks, and sits there for a few minutes before heading out herself. After reaching the infirmary, she heads over to check on Raiden and the others.



Ellie takes a seat next to Ajka's bed.

"Hey Captain, I thought you were a goner there," she remarks, pulling her chair up a bit closer. "I'm glad you made it, though."

Ellie takes a seat next to Ajka's bed.

"Hey Captain, I thought you were a goner there," she remarks, pulling her chair up a bit closer. "I'm glad you made it, though."

She turns over to face Ellie, grimacing as her muscles contract and slacken around the jagged pieces of metal in her back. She tries to put on a relaxed face, forcing out a faint smile, but the beads of sweat condensing on the un-bandaged parts of her face and her faint, weak voice give her true condition away.

"Thank you. And the rest of your unit."

She stops a little to catch her breath, wondering what to say next.

"At the end there, I didn't think we were going to be able to do it."

"[I think they could help me.]"

Xiaomei stops staring out a window and glances at the three of you.

"[I see. Well, if you change your mind, the offer's still open,]" Ash briefly eyes Xiaomei, "[And, not that I don't trust Raiden, but if you end up going with them, just make sure you watch yourself,]" He utters quietly.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2018, 11:21:02 PM by NoZoner »

"At the end there, I didn't think we were going to be able to do it."

"That victory didn't come for free, but I guess you don't need anyone to tell you that." Ellie tenses up, crossing her arms and tightening her grip on her sleeves.

"..It's kind of hard to believe that only six of us made it."

"[I know, but-]" Jaakko stutters.

"[It's more than just a place to stay, it's a new future, I suppose. I know what I'm doing, but I think I can trade... This curse for another one, I think. I'll let you know. If you're going to Kintharia as well, I'm sure I won't be far.]"

Jaakko looks back at Xiaomei, then between Lorens and Ash.

"[Excuse me,]" he says.

Jaakko approaches Xiaomei.

"Xiaomei, I had-"

He stops. Jaakko felt shame for being awfully abrasive to the Kintharians at times in the past, and now they were one of the few, or rather, one of the only things that had remained mostly the same from before his world was shaken up so violently.

He forces himself to look Xiaomei in the eye.

"How are you?" he asks quietly.