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In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Thread started on: Jun 13th, 2007, 2:11pm » |
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The white leather sofa protested with a loud hiss as Jay fell into it like a dead weight, his eyes closed but his mind racing. Outside it was dark, the sun having set hours before over Talos Island, turning the water of the docks a burnt orange before night had fallen.
He unbuttoned his casual white shirt, pulling it to one side exposing his bare torso and placed a hand over the bruise on his ribs, a reminder of a lucky punch from a drunken university student that evening. In his other hand he held a cut glass tumbler, half filled with the rich amber colour of Tennessee whisky.
Saffron, he thought to himself, as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, fighting a sudden fatigue. Where the hell are ya, darlin’. He closed his eyes, and thought back to the morning’s wasted effort.
The Militia HQ - Monitoring room
9:47 am
His morning had been spent sitting at a computer in The Militia’s monitoring room. After running checks on all The Militia PDD locators, he was convinced they were all working properly and that malfunction of Saffron’s device was possible, but unlikely. Even the signal from Pulse-Man’s PDD was being received, albeit with interference, and that was broadcasting from the Shadow-Shard.
She’s gotta be somewhere…with someone…, Jay thought as he started reviewing Saffron’s personnel file and remarks, fuelling himself on dispenser coffee and Oreo cookies;
Name: Saffron Mackenzie
Registered Alias: The Amber Banshee
Gender: Female
DoB: 04/08/1988
Age: 18
The rest of the file had gone on to list her life as The Amber Banshee, and the various contacts and missions she had undertaken. Jay spent his time making notes and cross referencing when he found a mention of another person or organisation which might offer some clue as to Saffron’s whereabouts.
“Her father disappeared and she’s been tracking him all this time” Jay murmured to himself, absently chewing on his pen as he read from the screen. “Possible Council involvement; although unproven.”
Jay thought back to the events of just days earlier, when following the rescue of Dr Philo from The Council, the building had been detonated, seemingly in an attempt to kill his team. Jay had remember that Saffron had been on a crusade to destroy The Council for a while, when her leads had suggested they held him, but evidently these leads had proven false.
“Ravenblade, cousin, mutant; Current whereabouts: unknown. Last known contact with The Amber Banshee: January 2007, unspecific date…. An’ she ain’t bin seen with him fer months. Great, no leads there…” Jay said bitterly, as he scrolled down through the reams of text.
“Dark Rose Tara – Former best friend; Current whereabouts: unknown. Last known contact with The Amber Banshee: unknown. Dammit!” Jay threw his pen across the monitoring room, and slapped a hand into the plate of cookies, sending it crashing into wall, narrowly missing the giant display monitor. He put his head into his hands, and gritted his teeth, emitting a growl of pure frustration.
There’s so much ‘bout Amber on here an’ next ta nothin’ about Saffron! He thought to himself, getting up from the computer desk and throwing his useless notes, the product of several wasted hours, in to the wastepaper bin. Saffron had never spoken much about her life outside of The Militia, and Jay had never really pried, but suddenly that had seemed like a mistake. Her personnel files had been filled with her exploits as The Amber Banshee, but little of personal life, seemingly regarded in the file as her lesser life.
He sighed to himself and opened his eyes, his mind back in his empty apartment, the rain starting to hammer at the dark world outside his window. Taking a sip from the tumbler, he runs his hand over the purple area over his ribs, thinking back on the wasted effort that followed later that afternoon. Having struck a wall with finding leads in Amber’s files, Jay had decided to use the afternoon to pursue other avenues of enquiry, and intrude on Saffron’s academic life.
He looked at the keys which sat on the low table next to his buzzing laptop. The keys would open the door to Saffron’s apartment on the floor below, allowing him entry. He had been tempted to open that door and search her room several times over the past week, but had resisted. Not ‘til ah know there’s no other way, he thought to himself, getting up to refill his glass. If ah gotta invade her privacy, then ah gotta be sure she’s in trouble. Right now, she might be okay.
He poured the whisky into his glass and drank a large mouthful. Who the hell are yer tryin’ to convice, Jay?, he thought, as the liquer burnt his throat and warmed his stomach. Becoming aware once again of the ache in his ribs he thought back to that afternoon, and the Paragon University campus.
<to be continued>
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Pious
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #1 on: Jun 14th, 2007, 05:57am » |
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A blur of short blonde hair and a blue school uniform raced through the alleyway, vaulting over a nearby fence. With her hi-tech inline skates, Altair Stevens, better known as Barbwire could race above 60km/h effectively covering a mile in a minute and half. She sped through the streets of Founders Falls, vaulting and somersaulting over obstacles until she reached Wayne Towers.
Dismounting from her jet-powered skates, she strolled through the glass doors in bright white socks and headed for the entrance point which lead down to the Militia headquarters.
"Afternoon Anna" Altair said politely, upon entering the base.
"Good to see you again Altair. Its been a while" came the computer's response.
"Yeah. Listen, I have to get back home as soon as possible so I'm going to make this quick. Need to get my character up to level 32 tonight" said Altair.
"Continue" said Anna, her voice echoing through the rooms with no distinct direction.
"I've done my best to locate Amber; here's my report. Who do I hand it to?"
"Leave the documents on the conference table Altair, I'll run through it"
"Thank you" she replied, rushing back out of the base, just as a smartly dressed hologram of Anna emerged. It scanned over the typed fonts of the document, recording the text and images Altair had provided.
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My characters are Codename (aka Barbwire), The Priest (aka Pious), Dragonfly and Pistol.
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Amber
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #2 on: Jun 14th, 2007, 06:06am » |
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Steam rose from the cup of tea that had been placed in front of Dante while he sat in the pleasantly decorated living room. The house in Founder’s Falls was a nice size, well furnished and in a good position. Clearly Saffron’s father had earned enough in the chemical industry to afford to keep his family comfortably. His host, Katherine Mackenzie was amiable enough and shared many similarities with her daughter.
“It’s very kind of you to come and visit,” said Mrs Mackenzie as she sat opposite from him. “Are all tutors at the university as diligent in looking after their students?”
Dante gave her his best warm smile. He had told her that he was tutoring Saffron in the art of the piano which was, admittedly, entirely true. However she seemed to think that this was a university course rather than private tuition. It suited his purpose for her to think this so he made no attempt to correct her.
“Saffron is one of my more dedicated students,” he replied. “When she has been unable to attend, she has been kind enough to inform me. Therefore when she misses her class for two weeks with no explanation I felt that I should establish why. I thought that perhaps she had taken a holiday of some sort.”
Mrs Mackenzie shook her head. “No, the last time she went on vacation was before Christmas,” she stated. “Said that she wanted to go and trace our family roots. It is odd, she’s normally so good about that sort of thing. Maybe I will give her a call later on.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Dante interjected. “Young teenage girls are often caught up in their many pursuits. I expect she may have simply forgotten.” He smiled again, attempting to reassure her. She would find out about her daughter’s absence soon enough but for now she should at least remain calm. He hoped that by the time she discovered that her daughter was gone, they would have found her safe and well.
“Perhaps you’re right,” replied Mrs Mackenzie. “She does try to do so many things. I sometimes wonder if there’s two of her.”
Minutes later, Dante left the Mackenzie residence, smiling sweetly to Mrs Mackenzie who seemed quite taken with her daughter’s tutor and his charm. As the door closed, Dante turned his back on her. His smile vanished, replaced with the stern façade that he always wore. As he rose into the skies, shadows enveloping him, he took out the small cellphone that he had been issued to transmit information back to Anna at the base. As uncomfortable as he was with the technological apparition, it made sense to collate all the gathered information in one place. He just didn’t like that one place to be an unthinking golem.
“Amber’s mother knows nothing,” he stated coldly. Closing the phone, a cold chill ran down his spine. As each source was checked, it became more and more apparent that Saffron’s absence was not planned. Which in his experience, could only mean bad things.
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Pious
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #3 on: Jun 15th, 2007, 05:52am » |
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Last week, I volunteered to investigate the status of fellow Militia member the Amber Banshee. Using the resources available to me, I have been able to trace the Amber Banshee's movements across the past three months. I have included captured CCTV footage and noted events around the Amber Banshee, however in this report I will only be focusing on events deemed relevant to her recent disappearance.
11.04.07:17:05
On Wednesday the eleventh April, a package was delivered to the Militia addressed to the Amber Banshee. It passed the weapons search and was securely delivered to Amber. Inside, was a message; "leave me alone" presumably from a character Amber was investigating. Included in this package was a severed hand encased in some sort of metal glove. This piece of evidence is currently in the evidence freezer with a note from Amber to 'test later'. I would strongly suggest following up on this, tests on this hand could give us its owner, a new lead into our investigation.
14.4.07:17:49
The following days, Amber visited several locations across Paragon City, possibly following up on leads into the murder of Nightsparrow.
19.4.07:18:35
Days later, the Amber Banshee was back in the Militia headquarters reading an email sent to her personal laptop. It seemed unethical to break into her apartment to retrieve this laptop, so instead I rendevoued with the one other person present with the Amber Banshee that day: Dragonfly.
Dragonfly informed me that Amber had been making anonymous contacts in a solo investigation into the death of Nightsparrow. We both agreed that retrieving the information on Amber's laptop would bring key leads to this investigation. Dragonfly assured me she had contacts in the CIA who could isolate any information sent via the Internet to and fro the Militia headquarters that day. She is yet to get back to me. Personally, I think its about time we set aside ethics and raided Amber's apartment, but thats just me.
31.05.07:20:07
According to CCTV surveillances, and satellite navigation, the Amber Banshee last visited a location in Kings Row, two weeks ago. There is footage of her entering, but even today, she has not exited that premises. Note that it was on this night that her Data Device communications lost signal, its safe to assume she either went underground or teleported away. She would have to be in a transmission-free location for her signal to have died. She could be anywhere. Personally, I think the next step is to raid the warehouse in Kings Row with a forensics team. There has to be clues as to Amber's disappearances in that building.
Proposed plan of action:
+ Raid the Amber Banshee's apartment and retrieve the laptop, look for clues.
+ Raid the abandoned building in Kings Row, look for clues.
+ Run tests on the severed hand, look for clues.
+ Talk to Dragonfly about the CIA files on the Amber Banshee's email conversations.
Altair Stevens - Barbwire
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My characters are Codename (aka Barbwire), The Priest (aka Pious), Dragonfly and Pistol.
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Coile
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #4 on: Jun 17th, 2007, 1:13pm » |
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(( Takes place during the night and very early morning of 15.6.2007 ))
The Man from Marrakech, the Magician and the Angel of Love -
a true tale of thunder and lightning
The entrance looked inconspicious enough. The zoom in Coile's helmet revealed nothing worrisome but he had been in this game long enough not to take safety for granted. Especially the safety of others. In this case there was no margin for errors at all. Love Angel crouched beside him on the roof and squinted her eyes. It was dark and without hightened senses or technological luminary enhancers it was impossible to make out more than the rough shape of the doorway. "What do you see?", she asked.
"Just a door. If this is Marocco's hideout we can count on it being boobytrapped, mined and secured with counterwhatever. Let's be careful, okays?" Angel pulled a fake annoyed face. "That's my line, silly." She peered through the darkness. "Should we circle around, or go through the roof as we did with that Crey building in Eden?" The answer was pretty much what she expected. "Nah, when we go in we'll be noticed anyways so we can just as well bust through the front door."
Angel sighed. At least there was a plan even if it was just a nudge better than going and knocking on the door. "Thunder and lightning then.", she said smiling as she popped an arrow shaft from a wrist loader and screwed a flash tip on it. Coile looked up at the starclear nightsky. "Where?" The blond haired girl had to giggle. "Silly! I meant you blast the door down and I shoot a flashbang arrow in."
"Oh! Because my battlecry is thunderstruck?" She resisted the urge to shake her head at the question. At times his innocent simplicity was sweet, at times it borderlined irritating. She could not quite say into which category this would fall. "Yes.", she replied. Coile in his power armour rose to stand. "Okays. that door will never know what hit it." He kept a small pause. "Because soon it will be in splinters the size of a toothpick, and because doors never know what hits them." Then the repulsorlifts in the boots countered gravity's pull and he hung in the air.
They had been on the hunt for four hours now and soon the dawn would start breaking through. It had involved asking a few guys some questions, comparing notes to whatever was in Freedom Corp and HeroCorp files and a few lucky guesses. All the intelligence and information pointed now to this dock storage hall in Independence Port. What grated Coile was that this place was no more than four buildings away from the place where he had originally found Steel Guard's close combat powersuits. Finally it was time to bring the fight to the doorstep of Hand of Andros.
Deep inside Coile longed for the familiar feel of energy gathering inside him before it found a release through his hands. Now he had to settle on the suit doing all that for him. An indicator slithered up telling how big a wallop the blast would pack. This was no time to pull any punches. The indicator hit red. Then bright red. Just before an alarm went off the leader of Silent Tempest hit the switch and a compact front of energy shot from the gloves. Fifteen meters away the door was ripped from the hinges and disappeared to inside the house. It was followed with no delay at all by an arrow. A searingly bright light shone for a fraction of a second from the doorway, sealed windows and every minuscule crack that there was on the walls.
Both Coile and Love Angel darted through the air at the doorway the armoured man taking point. Once inside he was ready to blast any threatening force but there was only a single man with hands over his eyes. Just to be sure Coile drove into the man shoulder first ramming him against the wall. Angel landed beside them, bow ready. The downed man whined and coughed.
Love Angel kneeled beside him and put her hand on the man's neck. "You didn't need to be that rough you know." Coile looked downwards at the man who did not seem to be too badly off. "He could've recovered and pull a gun. I have armour, you do not. Now he poses no threat." There was no real need to argue over the matter as nothing would be gained from it. The man gasped and rose to sit against the wall. "What do you want?"
Love Angel spoke softly. "We want to find Mr. Marocco. If you know where he is, please tell us. It is important and our friend is in danger. There doesn't have to be any more roughness than there already was." She threw a glare at Coile. "Just tell us what you know."
The man stared at her with disbelieving eyes. There were no threats or coercion. The girl was just making a request. He considered the options. If he was beaten, he'd tell everything before long. He glanced quickly at the armoured suit standing right beside him. What did he really owe to anyone? A paycheck was no reason to get a broken arm or worse. Somehow the kindness in the girl's voice got to him. He wanted to cooperate. "He's downstairs."
"Thank you.", said Love Angel. "Have you done anything bad for him? Killed anyone? Hurt anyone?" For reasons that escaped him the man told the truth. "I'm just paid to guard this place. Last week I yelled at some kids who played on the yard." He heard his own voice to go on. "I'm sorry." Love Angel smiled. "Oh, then it's ok. You can leave." She made a point of looking at Coile meaningfully for a second. "As fast as you can."
The man sprung to his feet and ran out of the door as if the whole of Circle of Thorns was on his heels. Angel yelled after him. "And get a decent job!" Coile looked around. "Hey, quiet down." The girl scoffed. "Yes, that is important because the door crashing in didn't make enough noise to alert everyone in here." It was impossible to tell if the man was smiling the least or not as his face was hidden under the helmet. "Point taken.", he just said.
No staircase was leading underground which only meant that there was likely to be a hidden trapdoor. They hovered above the floor and search the whole place twice. Nothing. Angel sighed. "I can't believe he would have lied." Her companion grunted. "What I like about you, for one, is your optimism, but sometimes people just don't work that way." Before Angel could protest Coile suddenly lifted his hand. "Wait. Shoot a flash arrow at the ceiling." Then he flew up almost to the ceiling himself. Angel prepared another flashbang and smiled. She could sense that Coile had a plan. An event like that did not come along all that often but when such a thing happened it made her warm inside. In those moments he was a leader. If only he would believe more in himself. She did as asked and shot the arrow.
A second time the spacious room bathed in a chemical light. From his vantage point Coile pointed at a single crate. "I bet it's under that." Both convened by the large wooden box and Angel cast a curious eye. "How do you know?"
"There's all sort of filters and stuff in these goggles." He tapped on his helmet. "I figured alternating them all rapidly would maybe make one useful and right here there's way less dust on the floor than anyplace else." Love Angel smiled happily. "That was smart thinking." Armoured shoulders lifted upwards. Coile had never found the perfect way to accept a compliment.
Drawing a deep breath he pressed his shoulder against the crate and pushed. No effect. He tried again. Again the results were so slim they could have slipped through a crack between realities. Angel looked around. "Where was the dustless area?"
"We're standing on it."
She took his gloved hand and lead the way to the other side. Then as a half-joke she pushed the crate herself and sent it sliding away and revealing a sizeable hole in the floor. Concrete stairs were leading down. With unspoken pact Coile again assumed point and walked down. Briefly he wondered if his teammate had worked out how they both were vulnerable, armour or not. Mr. Marocco was reputed to be an expert in powersuits and he had provided Coile with his current wear to begin with. If he wanted to take the Silent Tempest leader out of the game he had all the chances for it.
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- Coile, Silent Tempest
"You can't blast through blast doors." -Dawn
"There we just have to agree to disagree." -Doctor Temporis
"If you do that it will be the worst decision you made since a month." -Sword of Truth
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Coile
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #5 on: Jun 17th, 2007, 1:14pm » |
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At the bottom there was a workshop of sorts. Powersuit parts and tools were lying all around the place. Love Angel followed right behind her friend with a blunt, rubber tip arrow ready. However there was no need for it, nor the concerns. They found Mr. Marocco sitting in a reclining chair and smoking a cigar. He observed them seemingly calmly as they came around a corner and then closed in. "Unexpected to see you here, Coile. Is your suit not working right? You only needed to give me a call."
The pair stopped in front of Mr. Marocco's desk. "I did try to call you. Said your number was not available." Coile looked down at the man who tapped ash off of his cigar. Mr. Marocco was a thin man with black moustache and matching hair on top of which was a traditional fez. He was wearing a white shirt and a black velvet vest. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the room.
"I merely wished to work in peace tonight.", the man from Hand of Andros remarked. He was trying to be casual but it proved to be a mistake as his desk would soon find out. Coile was having a particularly short fuse right now and just one hefty, gauntleted smack later the table lay in two halves. Another energy load coagulated in the glove and one swing sent the bigger half of the desk flying. It crashed with the wall violently and with much noise. Coile grabbed Mr. Marocco by his jacket yanking him up. "Amber Banshee. Spill."
Love Angel kept looking at both men. Coile was being unusually aggressive as the situation was a non-combat one. Last time he had gone overboard he had been subjected to drugs from his suit. His current suit came from this same man that they had come to find here. She kept her bow ready and quickly and discreetly prepared also another arrow. This one housed an EMP tip. Even if Coile's suit was shielded a direct hit should knock it out.
The colour on Mr. Marocco's face had lost some of its hue. He was more nervous than he was letting on. "Who is this man you speak of?", he said and cast a quick glance at Angel. perhaps noticing what she was doing. Then all air was punched out of him as Coile threw him at his chair which toppled over. Just as the man from Marrakech was scampering to his feet pneumatic fingers grabbed him again. The voice was mangled by the helmet but the lack of warmth was still evident. "Amber Banshee is my friend and you sent her after Charisma! Why? We had a deal, for sky goddess' sake! I keep your hide safe and you point me at them when they raise their heads!"
With effort Mr. Marocco turned his head only to see a glove that was loaded and bristling with enough energy to bust through sheetrock. Wincing he glanced at the girl who had a gentle look to her. She had worry on her face but did not look like she would interfere. He spoke. "She came after me. I did not want her involved. Her own fault. Charisma has tried to kill me for weeks. I set a trap. It failed."
Coile pushed his captive to the ground roughly. "You were supposed to call me and not send unwitting people after monsters. Why her and not me?" Mr. Marocco rolled to his side. "Because it was a long shot. I doubted the success. She was expendable. You have Thomas's suit, you have bigger motive to capture Charisma and Michel Sanders. More efficient this way."
The casualness towards a human life stung inside Love Angel's chest. There was anger in her voice. "What? You sent a girl into a trap because you thought she was expendable? It's you who is the monster here! Well now we caught you and you will spend some time in prison thinking of what you have done!"
A laughter was an unexpected response. "I think not, girl. You will let me go." Angel scoffed. "We won't, be sure of that, mister!" The man rose to his kneels. "Oh, I think you find yourself to be mistaken. Is that not right Coile? You will let me go."
Love Angel looked at her armourclad leader questioningly. After a long while there was an answer that made the blood in her veins feel like ice. "We'll let you go." She could just gape for a moment, and then exclaimed. "What?"
The man picked up the fez that had fallen down and chuckled. "We have a pact. He protects me. There is nothing that you can do about it." He got to his feet. "You need me, to find these women."
For a moment the girl with bow and arrow looked like she might knock both men out but suddenly the anger and frustration waned. A voice was talking into her ear, directly from inside the armoured helmet and over a team channel. "I only promised to protect him from Charisma and Michel. When we have them also he will go down. And I want him at large still. He sent Amber to a trap. His turn to be a bait."
Taking a step closer Coile came to stand right next to Mr. Marocco and spoke with a level, dispassionate voice. "New rules. I want more information. I want to know who all are in Hand of Andros, in case I am unaware of one or two guys. I want to know how and where to reach them, back when you all still talked to each other. I want your best guess at where Charisma is and where she's taken Amber. I want your best guess about where Michel is. I want full co-operation and any information that I might ask for. Otherwise I can't do my blazing job." The helmet came almost into contact with the man's head. "I'm not unreasonable. I want that information as soon as possible and by Sunday night the latest. Make it good, make it complete."
Coile lifted his hand and pointed at the other man's nose with a finger threateningly. "And don't even think of running. We found you now, we can find you again. And if I have to do that I'll bring the Silent Tempest, that's my friends, and the Militia, that's Amber's friends, with me. You would not like that."
He had picked up a few things from Sword of Truth. In these situations it never paid to indulge in a conversation. He had said what he was going to and that was the cue to leave. Two days was enough for this isolated man from Hand of Andros to come to the conclusion that his best shot at surviving lied in spilling the beans. Enough to consider what information he should reveal, and then make a sensible presentation out of it. And yet not enough time to vanish. In truth two days was many times over what was needed for a disappearing act as Angel pointed out just as soon as they were out of the den.
"We had some luck and three month's worth of data from your workplace about this area. If he wants to go hiding we can't find him as easily again."
"Don't worry. I have a trick or two up my sleeve." His reassuring grin had no effect since no one could see it.
"Oh, ok then.", Angel smiled. "My magician prince."
Quietly Coile wondered how long it would take Angel to deduce that his mighty trick up his sleeve was in fact a simple tracer, one of the perks of his job over at HeroCorp. No matter. A magician never revealed his tricks.
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- Coile, Silent Tempest
"You can't blast through blast doors." -Dawn
"There we just have to agree to disagree." -Doctor Temporis
"If you do that it will be the worst decision you made since a month." -Sword of Truth
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #6 on: Jun 18th, 2007, 2:14pm » |
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((This follows on from the earlier Crimson Archer posting))
He poured the whisky into his glass and drank a large mouthful. Who the hell are yer tryin’ to convice, Jay?, he thought, as the liquer burnt his throat and warmed his stomach. Becoming aware once again of the ache in his ribs he thought back to that afternoon, and the Paragon University campus.
Paragon University – Steel Canyon Campus
14:23pm
Jay arrived at the university campus as the sun cleared the tops of the buildings, warming the courtyard outside the admissions building. This was the campus where Saffron Mackenzie took most of her classes. At least as far as he knew this was the campus, The Militia’s information on her time here was sketchy at best. He looked around the place, and watched the students. Jay was nearly 30, and felt out of place. He had never had any education beyond middle school, having left when his mother died and never returned. He shrugged aside his discomfort and covered it up with sunglasses.
He walked into the main building and up to the information & registration desk. This had better be the right place, he thought as he removed his sunglasses and smiled at the woman behind the desk. A few minutes later and he was making his way down a long corridor inside the same building, doors leading into tutor’s offices on both sides. The admission clerk had been charmed by Jay’s smile and accent, and provided him with Saffron’s Anthology lecturer’s name, as well as his office number and a copy of Saffron’s timetable.
Jay knocked on the door before opening it, and was assailed by the smell of tobacco. A man, appearing to be in his late thirties, was partially leaning out of a small window, exhaling smoke into the breeze. He looked round surprised, waving his hand to expel the smoke haze in a reflex gesture.
“Professor Jacobson?” Jay asked, stepping into the room, and closing the door behind him. “Ah’m sorry to interrupt your break.” He nodded towards the foil ashtray on the window ledge.
“I’m sorry, but who are you, sir?” Graham Jacobson walked round the edge of his desk, and settled himself on the edge, crossing his arms. Despite his initial shock, he now looked composed; secure in his little kingdom.
“Ah’m Jay Reynolds, an’ ah hope you can spare me a couple o’minutes to speak about Saffron Mackenzie.” Jay leant his back against the door, crossing his ankles.
“Jay Reynolds? The Crimson Archer? What has our Saffron to do with you?” His face betrayed a little shock now, his mind obviously racing about what Saffron could be involved in.
Great. He reads the papers, Jay thought sourly. “Nothin’ like that. Ah’m also Saffron’s landlord, an’ she ain’t bin back to her apartment in over a week. Ah was hopin’ ya might have seen her around campus, or have some idea where she might be?”
The man opposite seemed to relax. “I’m sorry, Mr Reynolds, but Saffron has not been in my class for some time now. One moment…” He stood up off the desk, and walked round to the far side. Picking up a battered leather briefcase, he started leafing through the contents. Jay took a moment to look over the anthropology professor’s office, as he searched. Books, papers and unmarked boxes crammed every surface. A yellowing skull, obviously real, sat on his desk next to a battered name plate which missed the “N” from Jacobson. The whole room smelled of old paper and tobacco. Probably not unlike the professor himself, Jay thought.
“Ahhh… here it is. The last months attendance records.” Professor Jacobson take a few moments to flick through the folded sheets of paper, making notes on a pad next to his phone. “I’m sorry, Mr Reynolds, but Saffron has been in any lectures during the past two weeks. In fact I’m afraid there’s a note here from the University Dean. Saffron has been missing from all her responsibilities at the university, and not for the first time.” He looks up from the pad. “I’m sorry to say that he feels her position as a student here is starting to become untenable.”
“Okay Prof… Thanks for yer help.” Jay turned to leave, deflated.
“Have you spoken to Karen Marshall?” Professor Jacobson said to jay’s back as he was about to leave the office. Jay turned his head back. “Who?”
“Karen Marshall. She was Saffron’s room mate, if I remember correctly. They were both doing the same course. Nice girl; pretty. Shorter than Saffron. Black hair; has gone a bit gothic recently that girl. I’m not sure how close they were, but she might know where Saffron has gone, if it was planned, I mean. I’m afraid I can’t really help anymore than that.” He shrugs.
“Thanks Professor, it’s a start.” Jay smiled and left, closing the door behind him.
He pulled the timetable from his back pocket and paused to look at it. The time now was allocated to lecture hall 5, which according to the map on the back of the time table, wasn’t far and the lecture was due to finish in a few minutes. Jay set off down the corridor at a jog.
Karen Marshall was easy to spot even amongst the crowd of students who flowed from the emptying lecture hall. She had a sunny presence which was at odds with her appearance. A nest of black hair, dark eye make-up framing large eyes and a smile that shone like the Sun. She reminded Jay of an anime character.
Jay walked around the thinning students until he reached Karen’s group of friends.
“Excuse me. Karen Marshall? Ah’m Jay Reynolds. Ah’m a friend of Saffron Mackenzie’s. Can we talk a moment?”
Karen looked him up and down, gum chewed noisily in her mouth. “Umm..sure!” she grinned.
They stepped off to one side of her group. Karen cocked her head to one side, inquiringly. “So what’s up with Banshee?” she asked.
Jay was taken aback. “Ah’m sorry; what?” He stammered.
“You know, Saffron! You said you were a friend? You’ve heard her sing, right?”
Jay was relieved. She had meant Saffron’s singing. “Yeah, fine sett’a lungs that girl. Ah’m sorry Karen, but ah’m in a hurry. Have ya seen Saffron at all in the past couple o’weeks?”
Karen visibly sagged. “No, I’m sorry I haven’t. I was kinda hoping you might have had something to tell me when you mentioned her just then. She mentioned you, ya know; when she was moving out. I kinda thought you guys might’a had a thing for a while.” She winked.
Jay smiled and shook his head. “No, nothin’ like that, Karen. Do you know anyone else who Saff might’ve told if she was goin’ away?”
Karen bit her lower lip as she thought. ”The only other person mighta been Alan. He runs the student bar where Saff used to sing, but she missed her spot the last couple of weeks… I know, I waited for her. He’s kinda pissed with her for that, actually.” She shouldered her black canvas bag, shrugging it into a comfortable position, both hands on the strap. “We can go speak to him if you like? Just in case?”
“Sure, why not.” Jay said softly, feeling no great hope. Just a sinking feeling in his stomach.
The student bar was also a dead end. Alan had seen nothing of Saffron, and though he was a little concerned by Jay’s questioning, he was also annoyed that he’d had to get another singer in to cover for her. Guy’s got a thing fer her, Jay thought to himself when he’d finished speaking to Alan. Karen had excused herself after that, but Jay had chosen to hang around and ask questions of the students coming in that evening. Again, no leads, but one jock had taken exception to Jay questioning his friends and had sucker punched him to the ribs. A quick brawl, and an intervention by security later, Jay found himself sitting in a gutter in Steel Canyon nursing some painful bruises.
Jay rubbed the sore area on his ribs, and took another slug of the whisky in his tumbler. All in all, a wasted day, he thought sourly, feeling the whisky add a sense of maudlin to his already foul mood.
“You Have Mail,” the laptop announced to the room in a simulated female voice.
Jay pulled his laptop towards himself and clicked the message to read it. The young woman known as Barb Wire had finished her interrogation of local surveillance satellites and The Militia’s artificial intelligence, Anna, had forwarded the results to Jay. He read them quickly, his face becoming a scowl of concern.
“DAMMIT SAFFRON!” he shouted to the empty room and rain drenched night, snatching up the keys from the table and moved with purpose and urgency out of his apartment door.
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #7 on: Jun 18th, 2007, 2:32pm » |
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((A debriefing at The Militia base follows on from the above events. All the information revealed during that meeting can be found here.))
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #8 on: Jun 20th, 2007, 3:22pm » |
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((Following the Debriefing, a semi private encounter takes place, with additional information being revealed which relates to the search for Amber Banshee. All the information revealed during that encounter can be found here.))
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| « Last Edit: Jun 20th, 2007, 3:25pm by » |
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Coile
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #9 on: Jun 23rd, 2007, 08:57am » |
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EMAIL MESSAGE
From: Coile
To: Crimson Archer
I attended your meeting last week's Friday. Now it is a week later, Saturday. I have yet to receive any kind of update or even a summary of other information provided in the meeting. Is this deliberate, or just an oversight?
Not that I am surprised. No co-operation attempt with Militia ever has worked.
Silent Tempest is conducting its own investigations. Let me at least know if you locate Amber so that we know to concentrate on other matters.
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- Coile, Silent Tempest
"You can't blast through blast doors." -Dawn
"There we just have to agree to disagree." -Doctor Temporis
"If you do that it will be the worst decision you made since a month." -Sword of Truth
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #10 on: Jun 23rd, 2007, 11:20am » |
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EMAIL MESSAGE
To: Kraft, Andre
From: Reynolds, Jamie
Subject: Amber Banshee
Priority: High
Andre,
Please accept my apologies for not updating you soon. The demands on my time recently with so many investigations ongoing, including Amber's disappearance, has not permitted me much opportunity for correspondence.
Our own investigation has largely stalled. Dante Carver, our resident mage and magic expert, felt he had found possible contact who may have been able to find Amber's location. The information given by the contact seemed to back this up, but she stopped short of revealing Amber's location, only that she was alive. How trustworthy this contact, or her information is, remains to be seen, although I am still hopeful that she will yet prove of some use.
Investigations are continuing.
On a different note, I believe you were also friends with Lady Cobra. I have recently learnt that her resignation note from The Militia was written under duress, and she may be being held by her estranged husband. If you, or any of your members, have any information on this man in addition to our own, then it would prove useful in securing Cobra's return.
Masked Angel is still missing, although a vague lead has recent presented itself. I mention this in case the SIlent Tempest has had any dealings with a group known as the TLF. Again, if so, then pooling any information may help to find this young woman.
I still hold a hope that our groups may be able to work together, even if reservations of both sides make any formal coalition unlikely.
Regards,
Jay Reynolds.
The Crimson Archer
Field Commander
The Militia
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Coile
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #11 on: Jun 24th, 2007, 08:39am » |
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EMAIL MESSAGE
To: Reynolds, Jamie
From: Kraft, Andre
Subject: Re: Amber Banshee
Our group is trying to find these people: Sparks Blackbeard, Magnus Strong, Nightingale. I think each was an ally to my father. If we can get each to tell us what they know about Charisma and Michel Sanders we can maybe piece together enough to find them, or someone called Voice of Ontario.
If there was more infos presented in the meeting after I had to leave I might benefit from knowing that stuff.
I met an old friend of Cobra's. If I'd know more about the husband I could maybe help with this. I owe her that I try my best. She and Mel were really close. I would need to know all that Militia knows of Cobra's last known whereabouts. Again, me and my group would need stuff from your gang. I came to your meeting on invitation and told what I had found out. Maybe you could pay the visit back this Monday night?
I know Masked Angel. Well I met her once. Me, her and a few others closed down a Crey cloning tank facility soe two weeks ago, or so. TLF I haven't heard about. What do the letters mean? Do you have intel about them? Members, agenda, operations?
Oh, by the by, I didn't know you're a bigshot in Militia. Field commander and all. One of our Nadias is our field commander, in case you didn't know. She's the clone one going still by the name Sword of Truth. ...ok, I'm derailing. I was going to propose that you and me sit down one day real soon and compare notes without any ballast about who belongs to which group. How about it?
- Andre Kraft, Coile, leader of Silent Tempest
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- Coile, Silent Tempest
"You can't blast through blast doors." -Dawn
"There we just have to agree to disagree." -Doctor Temporis
"If you do that it will be the worst decision you made since a month." -Sword of Truth
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #12 on: Jun 25th, 2007, 03:51am » |
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EMAIL MESSAGE
To: Kraft, Andre
From: Reynolds, Jamie
Subject: Re:Re:Amber Banshee
Priority: Normal
Andre,
Thank you for your reply. If you can send me details of your meeting then I will make an effort to attend and share what information The Militia has regarding Amber's disappearance.
I am hesitant about simply forwarding any information via email, considering both the nature of the enemy who may have Amber and your own connection to them. Perhaps disemination of information, and mutual trust, are two things which can be discussed amongst the more pressing matters?
Regards,
Jay Reynolds
&etc.
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Amber
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Controlling the altisis...
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #13 on: Jun 25th, 2007, 10:03am » |
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03:17 Monday 25/06/07
The clock by the bed stated that it was three in the morning. But time means very little to these people. Appearing in the centre of the room with a tiny flash, Dryadora peered around the room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. She sniffed disapprovingly, the smell of plastic and steel filling her nose. She was a long way from home and the lack of greenery disturbed her. Spotting her quarry on the far side of the room, she closed in.
The man was fast asleep, his long hair scattered across the pillow. He seemed to be sleeping fitfully, memories refusing to let his mind rest. It mattered not a jot to Dryadora. She leapt on the bed, straddling her victim.
“Wake up dullard!” she yelled.
Jay woke up with a start. Upon seeing the tiny Fey sat on top of him, he frowned in both confusion and anger.
“What’re ya doin’ here?” he demanded, remembering the chaos that her meddling had caused, “I oughta kill you for the other night.”
Dryadora just grinned, seemingly happy with her mischief.
“You wanted to know where your friend was,” she said. “I know where Shadowsong is. Do you?”
Jay growled in frustration. He was barely aware but clearly in no mood to play games. “Tell me where she is,” he managed, “before I pull your wings off!”
Dryadora pouted. Clearly this dullard was going to be like all the rest, no fun. She jumped off the bed and knelt down next to him. She looked gravely serious, leaning in close to him. Jay leaned closer, hoping that this time she would spill. Instead she reached out swiftly and slapped him hard on the forehead.
“Ha ha!” she laughed, skipping away from the bed as he made a grab for her. “Good luck finding her dullard, remember I’ll be back for that third wish soon! Oh, and don’t go alone. Byeee!”
If Jay had had any thoughts of catching her, they vanished as swiftly as she did, a blink of light announcing her departure. He collapsed back onto the bed, angry at being woken and frustrated by that stupid girl’s concept of a game. She didn’t seem to realise that lives were at stake. He was about to curse all Fey and their kind when he realised that he knew. Instantly. He could almost see the cell where Amber sat, starving and cold, the sudden knowledge of her location implanted in his brain.
It was enough to rouse him immediately and begin to assemble the team, regardless of the time. He was so busy getting his things together, he completely forgot about Dryadora’s third wish…
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"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup..."
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Re: In Pursuit of Amber - A Hand of Andros story
« Reply #14 on: Jun 27th, 2007, 07:02am » |
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Jay pulled on his archer's jacket, the leather and armoured plates creaking and claking loudly as he shrugged it into place. The Militia comms unit on the seat of the white leather sofa beeped urgently as it sent a priority call to the recipent on the screen.
"Come on, dammit. Answer!" Jay said through gritted teeth, as he rolled his shoulders to settle the heavy jacket into place.
A somewhat drowsy voice answered after a long time. "Yes?"
"Dante. It's Jay. Ah need ya to answer me a question right now." the Archer said urgently, his voice slightly muffled as he dragged his red hood over his head.
"I take it this must be an emergency? One would presume so at this hour," came the reply.
"Your dryad's been here." In the quiet pause that followed the sound of creaking leather as Jay tightened the buckles of his armoured jacket seemed overly loud.
"The child?" said Dante. "Unusual for one to come so far from her normal environs. She must like you. I take it she came for her third boon?"
"She's done somethin' to me, Dante," Jay said urgently, ignoring the question. "Ah can see Saffron. When ah close my eyes, ah can see our girl..."
Jay thought back to Dryadora smaking him in the forehead, the area still itching like a nettle rash. "It's like ah know where she is, like ah can remember it... but ah gotta know if she's jus' messin' with me again. If this is jus' another game"
"Hmm," came the response. "One would suspect that she has granted you a vision. The Fey often chose to speak in dreams and metaphors so it's no surprise that she would do so. Can you extrapolate where young Saffron is being held from the vision?"
"Ah don't know..." Jay draws in his breath, closing his eyes. He can see Saffron; dirty, bloodied, in a cold and dark cell. He can smell the rank air and feel the roughness of the walls under his fingertips. "Yeah, ah think so... but is it real, Dante?" There is a hint of hope in Jay's voice, and a terrible weight of expectation.
"Real?" There is a pause as Dante considers the question. "The Fey were often known for their trickery. They would use humans for fun and pleasure hence why our friend led us a merry chase the other night. However their word was also their bond. It is unlikely that she is lying."
Jay starts to tremble. He nervously pulls at his beard, and picks up the Militia comms unit. "Can ah trust what ah see, Dante?," he said quietly, "What ah feel?"
"If it was another spiritual being, I would be suspect," came the reply. "But Fey do not lie when bound to an oath such as she extracted from you. I would say that this is the best lead we have had yet and we cannot afford to waste it." There is a tension in his voice as he spoke, an almost tangible feeling of anticipation. It was almost time...
Jay shook his head. It hardly seemed possible after so many false leads and dead ends that a resolution would come so quickly. "Ah need ya to check, Dante. Be sure... Ah mean 100%!" There was steel in the Archer's quietly intense voice.
"
"I shall see what I can find," Dante replied. "But from my dealings with the Fey in the past, I feel confident that we can trust this vision. I am only concerned that she did not ask for her third boon before gifting you."
"Ah don't care right now, Dante. Ah'll deal with that as an' when... right now, ah gotta go. Gotta get outta here, run the city an' think."
Jay reached for the control on the wall and opened the skylight in the ceiling, letting the night into the room. In the still the apartment was quiet, only the soft sound of rain against the glass of the skylight broke the silence. Jay spoke quietly, breaking the silence, his voice filled an unspoken relief. "Thank you, Dante"
"Good night Archer, and enjoy your run," came the reply and the connection went dead.
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