2018-01-24: Lost and Found
- Log: Lost and Found
- Cast: Loren Voss, Kahm Yugh
- Where:Gunsmoke Desert
- Date: January 24th 2018
- Summary: Some say you can't appreciate the size of the desert without crossing it yourself. Loren receives exactly that opportunity in the aftermath of the incident under Wayside. Fortunately, his absence hasn't gone unnoticed.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
There have been better days.
Theoretically, getting out of Wayside should have been easy.
It wasn't. Not with a decided lack of communication channels and particularly not with the small amount of funds he had. 'Had' being the key message here, this far out from the date of the mission.
In essence he had been stuck attempting to either return to Bledavik (harder than one would think via caravan/on foot with not much money to your name) or to return a charge to his tablet.
Eventually a miracle occured. What he had nearly written off as a dead tablet had with much trial and error gotten a enough of a charge from the sunlight to power on and -- far more importantly -- a signal.
Of course, as with any case of 'divine' intervention, there's just one catch:
It finally happens in the middle of nowhere, somewhere after the point where he's long since run out of money, late in the afternoon in a stretch of the desert with not much to speak of except rocks and cactuses.
"Oh, now you work," he sighs aloud, not certain whether to laugh at this or collapse against the rock he's using as shelter from the sun.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm had been looking for Loren, and was somewhat concerned he could not find him-particularly after the Lieutenant had managed to submit one of the more bizarre reports Kahm had read in the past year.
Having spent the last few days in November City, the Major had been checking in with spies deployed throughout the region and managing a bit of triangulation based on Loren's last check-in and his testimony to try and sort out the area he likely had to be in. It wasn't impossible he could've run into further trouble on the road, but Kahm was fairly sure the Lieutenant could handle himself...unless he was still injured.
And Azazel was still out there.
The Major rode out into the Gunsmoke Desert at the morning's crow, giving El Pazzo a wide berth in his trek (things may have gone 'well' with Kent, but he'd prefer not to see the Ties for a while all the same), and finding some headway when one of the assets he had monitoring Wayside reported someone matching the Lieutenant's description. That gave a relatively likely path of interception, presuming the Lieutenant kept to the roads.
So when Loren's miracle happens in a completely inconvenient place, it's not as hopeless as it might seem. While the signal has no hope of reaching one of Solaris's major reception nodes, Kahm gets a ping some reps away and adjusts his course. It'll be another hour or so before the Major's familiar visage comes riding up to the Loren on his steed, rearing the beast up some few feet from the younger man.
"Lieutenant." Kahm says, looking the officer up and down. As to be expected, he's in his usual drifter-friendly attire. "You seem to have had a rough time of it, lately."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Getting the report out had been a trick unto itself, and had taken with it the last of the charge. At the time, he'd still thought it was a minor set back and that reporting in was priority. After that, well... there wasn't much left to do but deal with the situation.
Theoretically, if he can get to the next town over and try to see if there was any way at all to get onto a caravan... at least he can get to an Aveh army depot the town after that if he remembers right, and from there he should be able to get back. But this presumes a number of things work in his favor. This was probably his first mistake.
Azazel was a factor he had been trying very hard not to think too long about. The wound might be healed -- and he has to trust to hope for now that he's not made any errors reconnecting tissues and organs -- but he's far from operating at capacity.
...And even if he were, it might not make any difference. He's tried not to think about it but he has thought about it.
But now that the tablet's running again he can...
...well it's not going to do him any good out here. He doubts anyone's going to catch it.
The hoofbeats -- when they come -- are unexpected. At first, he thinks it's trouble.
The expression he makes when he recognizes the rider is probably rather akin to stunned. This is too much for a coincidence. Was the Major looking for...
He shakes his head as if at the very thought of it, lifting a hand to readjust his glasses... which aren't there. Somewhat awkwardly, he lets his hand drop.
Loren has looked better. Though -- fortunately, considering the Solarian combat armor he'd been using -- he had 'obtained' a change of clothing (plus ensuring that said armor was well-buried (and no one can bury anything better than someone with earth ether affinity)) out on the road, it's clear he's been traveling on foot for some time; the road-dust he's gathered is considerable. The sunburn he's picked up (despite attempts to avoid it) also suggests it's been a bit of a trek.
"...You could say that, sir," he says, finally, as he looks away. Then pauses and asks: "Did the report go through?"
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm isn't concerned about the status of Loren's equipment or its erstwhile security-the Major trusts that he had the resources and know-how to appropriately dispose of it in the field per protocol or enough sense to report it if he had lost something. He scanned the Lieutenant over with one eye and nodded to the question. "Yes, I read it earlier. Quite a bit more colorful than your usual reporting, but it's also what brought me out here to find you. Get on." Kahm said, gesturing to the backsaddle he'd fitted his horse with. His tone suggested he was somewhat in a hurry.
However they settled that, the Major turned his steed about and set on a course roughly aligned with November City, urging the mount to a speed that suggested he'd like to get there before sundown. "While you were indisposed, the Black Ties took a staue for themselves. Dinoginos." He said, unable keep some of the iron out of his voice, "Lieutenant Van Houten was embedded with the group of drifters that tried to retrieve it, and....frankly, the situation was a mess. The statue wound up destroyed, and the Lieutenant hasn't checked in since. I've already spoken with Kent."
Again, the Major's tone gave some impression of how that conversation must have went, but he doesn't speak further on the topic, his eyes forward on the road.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
More... 'colorful'? He blinks, once again raising a hand to push his glasses up and once more -- awkwardly -- finding they're not there. "...If further clarification is required," he starts to say, before Kahm indicates he's not all all interested in hanging around in the desert for a chat.
Loren hesitates. He's not able to hesitate long. Kahm's tone of voice suggests there isn't much room for argument, not unless Loren wants to walk the rest of the way back.
At least this horse seems better behaved than that hellsteed he'd ridden, the one that he's sure awaits him back in November, that he's positive he won't be able to exchange for a different horse.
...As it was with Seraphita, riding horseback with another person is... awkward. Though he doesn't have time to dwell on that long.
"They... what?"
They took one of those statues? Hadn't orders been...
"And of course it broke. Wonderful..." he mutters, glancing away and grimacing.
Oh, but they're not done yet. "Van Houten's missing in action? Do you think she's been unable to report in, or hasn't reported in?"
Tone says everything for the matter with Kent. Frankly, Loren might be surprised to learn that the man's still alive.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
"Right now, I don't know." Kahm said, and it was clear that he considered this state of affairs far worse than either of the scenarios Loren presents. "It's not impossible her tablet was lost or damaged. Either way, once we've got you back to November i'll be setting out to locate her as well. There are a few potential leads."
He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to fine, but he suspected that the Lieutenant may have panicked. The stress of her deployment was already an unstable enough situation, added to the unexpected battle with the Ties....
The Major stifled a sigh. He'd been entrusted with overseeing drifter activities throughout western Ignas, but this week he felt more like he was playing babysitter in one factor to another. Ironically, Seraphita had become the team member who least needed minding.
"Kent and the Ties will have a chance to make up for their failure." He said after a period of silent riding. "They'll be assisting with our efforts to investigate the current situation in Krosse. Speaking of which, Krosse is where you'll be headed next after you've had a day or two to recuperate and collect yourself. Once I've determined Lieutenant Van Houten's status, i'll rendezvous with you there."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Or that. The reality that no one really has a good idea of what's become of Van Houten or what she's doing.
Or what she intends, for that matter.
She pushed him in the depths of Hadal. She had been trying to kill him.
But he couldn't bring it up. Not then and certainly not now. Whatever she might do, Van Houten is the golden child...
Loren grits his teeth, shoulders hunching. He takes a breath, holds it, releases it.
"Once more unto the breach... They certainly keep you busy, sir."
While he'd definitely failed -- considerably, as the ship was certainly not destroyed, an unknown being had been loosed, and he might have had a security breach thanks to the Hounds that rescued him -- to think that his failure had been buried by the failures of others was a little bit...
...Honestly, he's not sure how he should feel about this. Faint relief? Dismay, that other people have caused this much disruption?
As before, he doesn't have room to linger on it long.
So Kent's not dead, runs his first thought.
The second is some mild consternation that he won't have the time to check in with medical (though to be honest, he's noticed no problems).
The third is vocalized, as the mental equivalent of a record scratch ensues. "...'In Krosse'? What's happened in Krosse?"
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
"Ah, right. You likely haven't had the opportunity to hear." Kahm said, steering his steed to the side somewhat to avoid a caravan that had been stymied by a broken axel. With night oncoming it wasn't the best of situations, but he had no time to don the visage of a helpful samaritan. Instead, the unfortunate traders eat the dust in the wake as the black-suited rider and his charge sped on into the evening.
"King Kronos closed Krosse's borders in a manner not unlike the Prime Minister, save that instead of targeting the Guard he's elected to keep all non-citizens out." The Major said, knitting his brow against what continued to be a complex situation to resolve. "That alone is a substantial divergence from the playbook, but it's only part of the story. Our resources in the country have confirmed that any non-citizens are being detained by the royal guard for questioning and, interestingly, not turning up afterwards. The King has grown more isolated and paranoid, and citizens are complaining of inability to sleep and nightmares."
It's slight, but the first signs of November City's borders show on the horizon, just between the land and the setting sun. They're likely still an hour's ride out.
"Some of our own local agents have failed to check in, which isn't a good sign....and there've been further reports of malevolence in the countryside. It's not certain, but we could be looking at another Timney or Wehaca on our hands.....and another statue." Kahm stated, his hands gripping the reins tightly, "Between Wayside and Dinoginos, failures have been accumulating. We need to get on top of this one and defuse the situation before it grows out of control."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"Ah." Of course, Loren voices to himself alone. You were an idiot if you thought for a second that the world would stop turning simply because you were out of contact.
He spares a glance, but only a glance, for the beleagured caravan as they pass. Another day, another situation, perhaps he would have lent a hand -- assuming it weren't equally pressing -- but at this time and in this country, there's no time for it. They'll just have to eat dust.
If they weren't on horseback and if he had a hand to spare, Loren might have pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"So they're doing something out of turn, without precedent, with unknown reasoning and unknown influences." He doesn't sigh, but he might as well have -- the gap between his words probably conveys the same sentiment. "Please correct me if any of this is incorrect, sir. ...And there's reason to believe either a statue or another spread of Malevolence may be at play. What has command said regarding it?"
A rise in nightmares.
Distantly, dully, his headache starts to return.
Silence reigns on Loren's part. Failures have been accumulating, haven't they.
"They have, sir. I..."
What good would apologies be, he thinks to himself with sudden force. There's only one way to make up for it that matters.
"I'll proceed to Krosse once I've recovered. Sir, what is recommended for bypassing their security measures?"
Please say it isn't 'don't get caught', he thinks to himself.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm sighed. "Command is concerned about the situation, but as usual resources are thin. They're more concerned about maintaining Aveh's defensive posture against Kislev and preparing a strike against metal demons. Whatever's going in Krosse can't be allowed to interrupt that...hence why the matter falls to us."
In other words, they were who was available. Kahm makes no effort to remind Loren of his particular failure but nor does he try to soften it, his silence over the Lieutenant's uncertainty a keening reminder of the Major's focus on moving forward rather than dwelling on what already happened.
At the younger officer's next question, the man's lips curled up in an unseen (since Loren was behind him) smile. "Some good news there. We're not being cast into this completely on our own. Forged papers and identities will be supplied in November, though I suggest reserving them only for use when crossing the border. I've gone by enough fake names on the surface for my tastes."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
So in other words, situation normal, as screwed up as usual, runs Loren's private assessment on the matter. Well. The front is a major concern, and that's not even taking into account Shevat's potential movements, or the more existential threat of the Metal Demons, and all this with the shadow of Elru still hanging heavy over the military...
So what he does say is, "...Understood. I'll review the reports once I have a steady signal."
To be fair, Loren doesn't expect such from the Major -- and would be somewhat offended if he had. He has his pride, and it's bruised enough as it is between the black mark he can't shake as long as he draws breath and far more recent losses.
"Thank goodness for small favors, I suppose," he says more than a little flatly, then this time goes as far as to sigh out a short breath. "...Noted. It becomes difficult to keep one's stories straight after a while, or so I understand."
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Some time passes, and November looms before them. True to Kahm's aim, they'll reach town just before sundown. The horse is going to need some time after being run this hard, so the Major must be planning to pursue Lieutenant Van Houten by other means.
"Oh, and you won't be going to Krosse alone. The Todds will intercept you en route."