2017-11-24: Developments
- Log: Developments
- Cast: Kahm Yugh, Elhaym van Houten, Loren Voss
- Where: November City - Hotel Renais
- Date: November 24th 2017
- Summary: Kahm and Loren meet with Elly in private to explain to her the full weight of the threat of the mysterious man known only as 'Ra'.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
The Hotel Renais was an already-familiar locale for Kahm, having politely threatened one Cassidy Cain in it's attached bar no more than a day ago. That Lieutenant van Houten was also staying here made it doubly convenient as a base of operations, provided they could secure proper privacy-the lobby and bar were hardly the appropriate venues for the words he had to share with the redheaded junior officer.
Kahm will be the last of three to tread upstairs, keeping an occasional eye turned behind him for any followers or coincidental human traffic. Elly might have noticed at this point that newly promoted Major (that fact he was able to share over a phosphate, at least) had a more finely honed edge to his personality than their last meeting. It wasn't just the fact of being in the field; whatever happened had given Kahm reason to be wary, even in November's relatively remote location from most of the continent's key powers.
The man slightly adjusts his hat, and then nods at the other two. "All clear. We can proceed."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly van Houten had no idea that Kahm had been here to make time with harlots and wastrels, but she would, perhaps, not be surprised.
She herself seems... calmer? might be the simplest way to put it. Relaxed. Maybe she did have a talent for field work or maybe she has just been too much of a first-class special snowflake that being a civilian and wearing her own clothes made up for a lot.
Elly doesn't say anything as she opens the door, glancing at the other two and tilting her head inside. Within...
It's pretty cramped, and there is a local brand of perfume which will probably give Loren a screaming olfactory flashback. However, in this case, it's a small bottle on the dresser table. It's a one-bed hotel room, which means seating is one desk, one chair, and the bed itself. There is a window that admits some sunlight and has been left partially uncurtained, so that a sunbeam can rest on a 'leather valise' that is actually a 'solar charge maintainer for a tablet.'
The place has been generally kept up. Clothing and personal effects have been stowed. The main points of local compromise is a small cluster of surface cosmetics and a paper bag from a music store, from which a small metal flute sticks up.
Elly moves to open the 'valise' and fiddle inside of it. A noise not quite like a seashore in the middle distance insinuates into the room. The white noise is not enough to muffle reasonably peaceful conversation... if you're in the room.
Elly closes the curtain and turns crisply to render a salute once she sees the door is shut. "Major," she states, "Lieutenant. I'm glad to see you both. Are there new developments...?"
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Loren, too, has been in this hotel before, numerous times.
And knows, beyond doubt, that this is a favored destination for the influx of Drifters wending their way out west. While that has its advantages -- no one is going to blink twice about them -- it has its disadvantages, including the presence of people more than willing to listen in on business that isn't of their concern.
So they need somewhere more private than the bar, the cafe, or even the downstairs.
Kahm's not the only one keeping a careful eye; as suspicious as always, the 'medical student' is also watching for anything more than normal interest levels before he heads on upstairs before the Major follows.
He doesn't say anything. He only nods, attention flitting across the hallway as they head towards Elly's room, as if in search of something.
In contrast to Elly, he seems significantly less at ease.
...Unease that only grows afresh as he catches wind of a particularly pungent perfume the moment he enters and pulls a face. With some difficulty, he manages to regain some semblence of self-control, though he does still inch towards the window side of the cramped quarters.
If he makes eye contact with Elly at any point, it will be just to silently ask in a glance, 'why'.
But other than that, there's probably not much else he can judge her about, this time.
"Lieutenant," he finally says, once the white noise device is up and running. Not a bad idea, that one. And he sort of half-shrugs. "I suppose you could say that," Loren says, lifting a hand to readjust his glasses.
'Not good developments', to judge by his tone of voice, and the implications in prior conversation.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm will enter the room behind Loren, closing the door behind him. There's no denying the space was cramped for three people, but beggars couldn't be choosers in this kind of environment. It was still comparatively roomy compared to your average gear cockpit, at least.
Unlike Loren, the Major doesn't suffer as pronounced a reaction to the mid-grade perfume permeating the place, the slight twitch in his nostrils being the only tell. Beyond that, he seemed to take the rest of the Lieutenant's decor in with relative approval: That being, he did not frown or say anything about it.
His return salute is prompt, even with the curtain closed. "There's been a troubling development." Kahm said, following on Loren's tone. "You're already aware of the attack on Bledavik, I trust, and the Prime Minister's resulting pronouncement. The intelligence you delivered played in important role in allowing the Commander to build an effective response plan."
That didn't really have anything to do with the Major was about go into, but maybe it was his way of front-loading bad news. "Shortly after that, I located a rogue ether user i'd been searching for over the last few weeks. Unusual calling card, several and other drifter-based rumors surrounding him. I lead a standard squad to pacify him, but it didn't go as planned."
While Kahm speaks, he unfolds a square piece of paper (the 'burn after reading' sort) he'd been carrying in his coat pocket and hands it over to Elly. It's a copy of the same general report Kahm had issued in Bledavik, detailing the events of his encounter with the individual known as 'Azazel'.
He'll go on while she has the opportunity to skim. "He turned out to be a rogue operative, one of our very own apostates. We're here because he managed to steal a field computer before escaping, and had at least a window of 60 minutes to access Class 3 information and above before we were able to remotely terminate the connection. All of our field operations-including yours, may have been exposed in that time."
There was a quiet sheen to the Major's blue eyes as they moved between both of the younger officers. "You and Lieutenant Voss are particularly at risk, given your proximity to myself. He has the motive and ability to pursue embedded agents on his own...though I feel reasonably certain he's not anywhere near November at the moment, I can't guarantee it."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly returns Loren's look with faint confusion. Why should she not? There would be some kind of dialogue here about extra equipment slots or something, were matters less grave.
They are plenty grave on their own. "If you need to sit, please don't hesitate," she says to Loren, perhaps out of concern for his still-recent horse-based misadventures. "I don't mind if you use the shower, either, once we've finished the updates..."
Then. Elly nods once in acknowledgement, before reaching towards the paper, taking it, and turning it over in her hands to browse over, slowly frowning even as Kahm speaks. "An apostate...? Do you have experience with him, sir?"
She moves to perck on the foot of the bed, flipping through the flimsy printouts. Her brow furrows. "Oh, no..." She must have gotten to the casualties section.
"Do you know anything about 'Azazel', sir? I've never heard of anything like these ether abilities..."
She flips to the fine page, squints, blinks, leans slightly closer, and then says, "... Sir, are you certain this is the correct readout...? These parameters remind me of Kelvena more than anyone..."
Oh no, Elly thinks, before glancing at Loren with minor concern.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Maybe he's just particularly sensitive to certain smells. Even over here, he'd swear that she's been drenching the room in the stuff. It's strong, it's terrible, and it might cling to him about as long as Seraphita's glitter had.
...It's a long story.
"It's fine," is his somewhat clipped response as she attempts to reach out... only to be rebuffed. He even shakes his head. He's apparently intent on remaining standing.
This has absolutely nothing to do with him being new to horseback riding and having ridden quite a long way today.
His gaze flickers over at the paper as Kahm produces it. But otherwise, he's remaining quite silent and rather still as the Major explains.
It's quite the situation they're in: even should 'Azazel' continue to target the odd surface-dwelling civilian, his intent and purpose remain unknown.
Save that he's not here to make friends, at least.
"He's been known to have targeted several Drifters in recent months. Likely, he's been preying on the native surface-dwellers as well," he says, giving voice to these ruminations, which he'd mentioned to Kahm before. "It's possible that should he continue to do so, we may buy ourselves time to consider countermaneuvers, but so long as his location and movements remain unknown, we're at a disadvantage. We don't even know who he was."
Or, at least, he doesn't know who 'Azazel' was.
Kahm then mentions that of operatives, the two of them are likely targets for one reason. This is not new information to Loren.
Still, he ever-so-slightly stands up that much straighter.
His actual thoughts run something along the track of, Wonderful. I'm going to die, aren't I.
Until he catches Elly's gaze turned his way, and a rather questioning look meets hers.
What's she worried about?
The fact that it could be him hasn't begun to cross his mind.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm stays standing. Like Loren, all that time on a horse has made being on his feet feel like something of a luxury. "I didn't know him, no. But I may have left an...impression, for lack of a better term."
From anyone else, it might have sounded like a gloat. But it's plain from the severe expression of Kahm's face that he takes not even an ounce pride in the victory the report ascribes to him. "The way he fought with a sword though...I've seen something like the technique before."
Kahm parts the curtains just enough for a sliver of light to enter the room. "This isn't in the report." He said, peering through the gap at the street below before drawing the silken drapery over it again. "But I've heard rumors of units that fight with a style like his. I don't know what they're called, but they're some type of black ops. Internal dissidence, assassination, regime changes....even the Commander would find them well beyond his reach, I suspect."
"I'm still working on confirming the details, but his name is Ra. At least, that's what he gave to a drifter woman I've been following the case with." Kahm muttered, his mood briefly soured further in reflecting on Cassidy Cain (with their luck, she was Elly's next-door neighbor). "I've sent some calls in to Bledavik, but it will take a while for them to investigate, if they find anything at all. I'm relying on the Lieutenant Commander to work a miracle."
The subject of ether output brings an incline of his head. "It sounds strange on paper, doesn't it? But feeling it defies description. His etheric output felt like had the assistance of a gear's ether machine, but we were on foot. By all rights, his brain should have cooked itself trying to invoke that level of power. It was...blasphemous, like a self-sustaining reaction, escalating with no end in sight."
"I don't know how much I really hurt him." Kahm admits, following Loren's explanation, "But my hope is that he has wounds to heal, and that he'll spend his time seeking easier prey until he's recovered. Even so, I don't want to leave things to chance-I think it would be best if you traveled with us for a time, Lieutenant. Your assignment notwithstanding."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The perfume Elly got wasn't anything terribly exotic. There's some jasmine notes and when she didn't over-do it due to a mixture of nose blindness and unfamiliarity with -lamb- aerosol systems, it isn't even that uncomplimentary. Of course, in close quarters, it lingers.
"When you say 'preying,' how literally do you mean? ... I suppose that's a strange thing to ask," Elly says, looking up from her reports. "But this sounds like it's something more than an apostate trying to survive as a bandit..."
The sword style information makes her frown. "Ra," she says, quietly, as if to commit the word to memory.
The frown stays on her face. "... Could that be the literal case? If he'd recovered an ether amplifier, or found one in ruins, it would be possible to transport it with a horse drawn wagon. Of course, staying attuned... He'd have to remain rather close. But if he was able to disguise it..."
The speculations fade as Elly look down at the paper.
"... Do you intend to hunt him down, sir?" she asks.
To herself, she thinks: Power like this... he would beat Kelvena flat out, even if Kelvena might kill him in an area attack, despite his illusions. He could kill Dominia. I don't know about Seraphita, or Tolone's scanner implants.
If they couldn't defeat someone like this, I could never...
... unless...
She changes the mental gear. "I doubt I'd cause much tension with my contacts... as you can see, I'm not on their ship and I don't believe it's expected in the region for some time, either."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"It doesn't seem as if he gained anything from the assaults, to judge by the survivors' stories." He's ended up by chance speaking to a couple of them by now. Loren inclines his head to the left a touch, as if considering this. "It would be somewhat difficult to follow up, but I would check for disappearances and deaths in the region. Likely, they'd be blamed on bandits." He closes his eyes briefly, as if in a grimace. "Hmph. There's too much lawless behavior on the surface. It makes investigations like this a pain."
Kahm voices an off-the-record rumor.
This, Loren hasn't heard before.
"...What?"
Kahm has his full attention now.
He's briefly thrown by this bit of information -- sure, there have been rumors, he'd be surprised if there wasn't a group like that in use, somewhere along the line, but to hear that it's rather likely they're up against someone like that is...
Loren takes a slow breath, then squares his shoulders.
"It would... explain why he hasn't been put down yet," he says, a little flatly. Oh good.
He's definitely going to die, he thinks, staring into the middle distance.
Just a name. Just a name and a hunch. 'Ra'. Black ops, assassination work. "Likely not the name he used before."
His gaze again flickers towards the papers in Elly's hands. He'd seen the numbers previously. It shouldn't be possible without someone frying themselves alive, to say nothing of the form of the output, but...
Suffice to say, the medical officer has seen some very unusual manifestations of ether of late.
Still, that level...
Glancing down towards the floor, as if in thought -- and indeed, he is, much of it decidedly pessimistic in nature -- Loren crosses his arms over his chest. Briefly, he closes his eyes.
"Disguise it... It's possible. However." He lifts a hand to push his glasses up his nose. "I'm not as familiar with biomechanical enhancement beyond the baseline." To wit: he can do some basic repairs on certain enhancements and their points of attachment, but his focus was trauma, not cybernetics. "...But is it at all possible he has been altered? An actual Gear circuit is without question impossible," it's a size problem, "But something similar to that, on a more compact scale... Can that be ruled out?"
It's far from standard upgrades, possibly beyond even the more experimental set installed on some soldiers/test subjects. But with this level of secrecy and subterfuge likely involved already...
He glances over at Elly. This is not news to him either, but he still thinks it:
Something along the lines of, 'oh good, we'll get to travel with her, likely while hunting down someone with ether output off the charts. This is going to go so well.'
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
"It's not a matter of survival, Lieutenant." Kahm says to Elly. "You're trying to think about this from a logical perspective, but trust me when I tell you that the man is deranged. Based on the stories of other who've encountered him and my own battle, he's obsessed with learning the color of another's soul, if they're real or not. It may be a byproduct of his ability-so lost in his own illusions that he can no longer distinguish them from reality...or perhaps he refuses to acknowledge the distinction at all."
Unrestrained power and madness. The Major knew them well for close bedfellows.
He'll hear Loren and Elly both put forward ideas to account for Azazel's bizarred etheric output, nodding his head on thought. "Both options are withing the realm of possibility. He did appear to have 'something' with him, like a familiar or pet of some sort. I can't really describe it in any meaningful manner other than an amorphous shadow, able to change it's shape and dimensions. It could've been something like an amplifier, masked by his ability."
But then, it would be difficult to travel with something like that, and it would be counter-intuitive to bring it into battle where it could be damaged. "Enhancement is another angle i'd been considering, but it would well beyond the scope of anything i'm familiar with. We can't rule it out, but...that's the Ministry of Science. If they had something to do with him, they'll be more interested in covering it up than providing assistance. We need to keep this within Gebler, for now."
Hopefully, the point Kahm was trying to make was getting across, that these were dangerous questions to be asking, even with Azazel on the loose. Doctor Gerune might be their ace in the pocket in that respect, but Kahm had already reached out to the old man on this matter. He'd just have to see what he said.
Finally, there's the lingering question: Will Kahm go after him?
"Right now, our priority is to investigate some other issues going on in the west. Commands wants a better understanding of what's been happening out here after the incident with the statue in Bledavik, and there's belief that some other incidents may be related. We need to know more about Azazel before making another move against him, and make sure all our embedded agents are aware in the meantime. But yes..." Kahm said, and his face grew set with determination.
"When we're ready, I will personally attend to him."
But until then, they needed to operate as a unit. "If it doesn't threaten your status, then I see no reason to defer. Lieutenant Voss and I will retire to our quarters, but i'll secure a horse and travel gear for if you don't have any already. Our story will be that we learned of your background in geology over drinks and asked to come along to assist with some surveys we're making throughout the region. It should fit well enough, as far as covers go."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly breathes in through her nose. Breathes out through her lips. Her eyes close for a moment.
"... Could it be something 'They' did?" Contextually, of course, this could only be one place - a certain location guarded relentlessly by a massive Gear and the power of Aphel Aura. You can't put anything past people like that. Even Etrenank isn't out of touch with the surface...
She glances at Loren for a moment, sees his look, doesn't look long. Kahm is safer to look at.
"Do you have confirmation that he accessed anything...? Or is the concern the possibility of local files? I can't speculate on his motives..."
Then she's given instructions. "Understood," she says with a nod. "I haven't acquired any, unfortunately. But, I'll be prepared within two hours. Do you need any local routing advice, sir?"
Elly's eyes flick towards Loren again, this time more sheepishly. Apologetic, almost. The reason is unclear, even to her.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Or it could be 'Them'. Compromised an agent, altered them somehow. Loren appears to consider this in silence, once again cocking his head slightly to one side. What he thinks about this, he doesn't say.
They've already had one encounter with a Shevati. Their hand is at work on the surface...
Instead, his shoulders stiffen as Kahm says they should keep this within Gebler alone.
Loren again fidgets with his glasses, but his gaze has shifted away from Kahm, off towards the far wall. "...There's no easy way to confirm that, however, so that's only speculation." The Major doesn't have to hint at it any more than he already does. This has taken a rather suddenly dangerous course conversationally, and suffice to say, there are some things not worth the danger inherent discussing them.
Particularly not when you can't really know who will have your back and who will leave you to hang, so to speak.
"There isn't much to gain on speculation alone. Regardless of the reason, he's a threat."
After which, Loren settles again into a slightly pensive silence. It's all things he's heard already in some form or another. They're investigating things personally out this way based on several reports in the region about disturbances, 'Azazel' aside.
"There's also been further alleged 'Wels' sightings," he adds, finally unfolding his arms. "Nothing concrete at this time, however. Drifters apparently have eliminated several clusters in abandoned towns," he adds, dodging around the subject of Araxa.
Which it, and its explosion, is on him, given he was coordinating that time.
...She'll be ready that quickly?
His expression takes a slightly flattened, resigned cast. Of course, he should have expected this stop-off might not last long. He'll have to ride that horse again sooner than he had thought.
Though he briefly meets the odd look Elly casts his way -- met with a slightly raised eyebrow -- he says nothing more.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
"...Hard to say, but we definitely encountered one of 'them' in Bledavik. But I'm in agreement with Lieutenant Voss-we've stretched the usefulness of speculation to its limit."
It was, perhaps, Kahm's most polite way of keeping them on track. He didn't want to venture too far down the road of Shevite conspiracy theories (there were enough of them back home!).
"We don't have any confirmation he accessed our files, but the opportunity was there. It's not impossible we're wringing our hands over nothing...but i'd rather be cautious." Kahm said, dipping his chin at Elly's prompt response to direction. "Our first task is to investigate rumors of an 'eruption of light' that occurred near the border of the desert and the disputed territories. It's a day's ride or so here, but we'll be relying on the time you've had here to guide us."
If Elly was familiar with the area Kahm was talking about, she'd probably be able to guess that this route was going to take them to Wayside village.
"From there, we'll make a stop at El Pazzo to re-supply and pick up any intel the Black Ties have gained in the area, then look into some of those Wels sighting Lieutenant Voss mentioned, provided nothing else diverts us."
There was always a good chance something would, these days.
"If there's nothing else, I'll see you both in two hours time."