[ADV] Retaliation

[Poetic Ghost]

"Do not lie to me."

“Yes, I was there.” Hale reached for his chest, and began to fumble with a small medal pinned to his breast. “I was a Lieutenant then... I was respected by my minors. We knew that the battle against the Kavarians would be difficult, but we knew not the full extent of the bloodshed...” Hale pulled the medal from his chest, and held it in his palm. A small, shiny six-sided star. It was a symbol of calm in the heat of battle. “I got this after once we got back to Lupine space, ‘a symbol of bravery’... heh.”

“But that’s behind me now, Skriviks. I hold no animosity against you. I hope you feel the same.”

- - -

The airlock door slowly pressurized as Anden and his companions readied to enter Neo-Tokyo.

Anden turned back to his group. “Okay, I’ve... never been here before, but we should be able to navigate pretty easily... at least I think.”

Then, as if to punctuate his sentence, the doors split and opened. Instantly, the smell of fresh air and good food. Anden took a moment to take in the smells through his nose, and exhaled slowly from between his lips. “So... groceries...”



“I guess we landed in the right sector, looks like...”

On the large neon screen, a message flashed by in Japanese characters, accompanied by the Aurelian Basic words; - OLD TOKYO - Anden raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s not Kyoto... but I haven’t seen anything too disgusting yet, so this is okay.” He shrugged. “That place looks alright.” Anden pointed at the sign for a nearby grocery mart.

- - -

- Above Neo-Tokyo -

- Begin Transmission -

”Admiral Vetas, this is UCF Vasilias, we’ve tracked the energy source to the Nihon Sector, but there appears to be no sign of a vessel... wait, Admiral, it appears we’re having some issues with our commu-“



- Transmission End -

- - -

After a few minutes of grocery madness, Anden, Skriviks and Chellis emerged from the supermart, arms full of groceries.

“... and that’s how I lost my medical licence-” Anden concluded, before stopping in the middle of the street. He began to look around the street. It seemed that everyone else was staring into the sky, “what are they looking at?”

Anden turned his eyes to the sky, just as an explosion lit up the night sky. At first, he thought it was some sort of orbital-firework. But then the wreckage began to fall...

They were being attacked.

[Someguy500]

Farris appeared behind the three wearing the same waistcoat-based look he had onboard, having spent the last few minutes fully ready and within his rights to fuck about and waste time. Unfortunately, he only got halfway through loosely tagging along with the grocery crew before just looking at hats when The World Stopped Moving. Well, more accurately, Everyone On The World Stopped Moving. Honestly, it was more of Everyone Was Staring At The Sky While Something Exploded. Just minor details, to be fair.

He stepped out of the same 'mart the rest had in order to see what was going on. Looking up, it wasn't hard to see what was happening. With a few plastic bags of synthmeat in one hand and no hat in the other, Farris was quick to vocalize his dread. With a grim look on his face and a sigh escaping his mouth, he proclaimed,

"But we just got here!"

Maybe dread wasn't the right word.

[Annasiel]

"That is a most curious use for a broom handle in a medical procedure," Chellis replied to Anden, her trandemark monotone almost coming across as cheerful. Their brief jaunt to the surface had proven relaxing. At least, once she realized there weren't imperial assassins concealed in every shadow waiting to take her head.

Anden was much less of a meekling than she had first assumed, and even Farris' overplayed demeanor was beginning to grow on her. For the first time in a year, she felt safe. Relaxed. At ease.

Boom.

The explosion tore into her nerves. Unlike some, she didn't first think of fireworks. War was fresh in her mind, and her eyes immediately darted to the skyline in search of incoming munitions. Bright lights drew her attention further upward, mouth falling agape at the sight of the falling orbital debris. As the other onlookers began to catch on to the situation, the streets turned bitter with fear and apprehension, churning her stomach and curling her fingers into fists.

"If that is a vessel, many have died," she managed to say around the block in her throat.

[Quirbles]

The trip to Neo-Tokyo was spent in silence for the young Kavarian, a bitter frown casted upon his face as he pondered over the lupine commander's words.

I hold no animosity against you. As if he was looking for Amarok's validation. Be it intentional on Hale's side or not, Skriviks took the canine's apology personally; and the showing off of his "medal of bravery" did not ease the tension between the two. No doubt it was earned through the slaughter of his fellow Kavarians, pinned upon his chest by the same people who had caused the destruction of his people. He felt patronized, and lied to. But he could not blame Amarok himself; after all, Skriviks had fought against the lupine and human forces without a second thought. The Kavarians, however, were now a near-extinct race. He was the last of his kind.

The collection of food for the crew was as boring as Skriviks had expected it to be. He was mildly interested in the various selections of sustenance that were labeled on the shop's various shelves, but curiosity gave way to disgust once the group had reached a cold expanse of frigid meats. Kaavri's natives were herbivores by nature, as well as choice; given that the Ether gas [or Carbon Dioxide, as it was called elsewhere] was the main source of energy for Kavarians, they had little need to eat anything else. To kill an animal for sport was one thing; to skin it and to consume its flesh... simply barbaric. Needless to say, he refrained from selecting anything for himself besides what looked to be like native vegetation on Kaavri... though that was impossible.

Skriviks, having possessed multiple arms and hands, was more or less subjugated into carrying most of the grocery bags for the four of them; however, he actively protested being anywhere near the animal meats. The Kavarian ducked to exit the store's doorway and embraced the night air, exhaling heavily as his lungs flooded with vital Ether. He had largely tuned out the conversation that the others were concerning themselves with, instead focusing on the bright neon lights and ambient sound of the city. Despite his restrained dislike of the humans, he could not help but be reminded of Varasi, his home city on Kaavri. The knife of homesickness twisted within his heart.

His attention was drawn away from the bright neon and towards the sky, where a fire brighter than any light in the city raged above them. Skriviks mind flashed to a dark place only for a second before instinct kicked in, dropping the grocery bags and making his way towards their small ship. He turned to look at the other three.

"We go to safety. Or help survivors." The Kavarian barked, the necessity of haste in the situation overriding his need to formulate a complete sentence. He looked back to the falling debris, the flames of earthbound wreckage reflecting off of his lustrous helmet.