Cornerian Mercenaries

[Shmibli7]

"No." Said Jasper to Bohdan. " Give him an extra eye." He turned away from the would - be assassin and walked towards Elizabeth and Korben. 

"You realize that this  we have to move. " Jasper says to Elizabeth. To where I have no clue,  we can't stay in Corneria City.  Any suggestions? "

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor, his smile still plastered onto his face, approached the shooter, the name "JASPER" etched onto his forehead. Blood flowed from the name, as well as his neck wound. Choking on his own blood, the shooter begged for mercy. "P-please," he gurgled. "I have a daughter." Sandor gave him the evil eye, and placed the barrel of his blaster pistol against his head.

"Then you should have went home," said Sandor, "and hugged her and gave her kisses and told her that you love her and watched television and made arts and crafts with her. But no, you placed the money before your family. At least you had a family! One that may have even loved you, perhaps!" Sandor cocked his blaster. "Good bye, Daddy." Sandor then shot the would-be assassin dead. Holstering his blaster, he knelt down and looted the shooter. Sandor found his wallet, and opened it, revealing a picture which showed the shooter, another man, and a little girl. He recognized the other man and the girl from an earlier photo he saw when looting a dead guard's body when they infiltrated that base a few days earlier. Sandor then connected two and two together, and determined that that guard and this shooter were married: he remembered taking a ring off of the guard. Sandor scanned the shooter's hands, and found a ring on the shooter's left hand. Sandor collapsed into a sitting position, and gripped the photo with his two hands. He looked to the dead shooter's face, the distinct blank stare of death looking at the ceiling. Sandor closed the corpse's eyes, and placed the photo in the shooter's hands. He packed the wallet into his pocket. "Atya," he said, grabbing Bohdan's attention, "can you give this man the RoD?" Sandor referenced the Rite of Death, a religious ritual in Ogniemism where a priest says a blessing and makes a holy sign to a recently deceased person, so that they may find peace in Heaven.

"Very well," Bohdan replied. He then fell to one knee, and hovered his right hand over the shooter's face. He muttered a blessing in Ruthenian, an ancient language currently used by the Ruthenian Empire: it vaguely sounded Earthlike, Eastern European. Bohdan then made a gesture over the shooter's face: three vertical, parallel lines. He then stood back up. Sandor nodded his head in approval, and stood up as well.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth answered Jasper's question. "We've got a ship," she said. "She's small. Called the Szabla. We've got her docked in the spaceport in Ctesiphon, in the Autonomous Republic of Parthia, just a few hundred klicks from here. She's safe: not many people know about her."

Edited July 10, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Shmibli7]

"How many do you  by "not many? " Jasper asks.

Meanwhile Sev went around the bar assessing the damage. The place was wrecked. The walls were riddled with holes. Broken glass and wood were strewn about. He sighs and goes back behind the bar and attaches his submachine gun to a heavy-duty magnet on the underside of it. He also checks the drawer and cashbox respectively as he hid a heavy barreled .48 caliber Cornerian army pistol in the drawer and a twelve millimeter subcompact handgun in the cashbox. After finding that neither of them were stolenduring the comotion, he gives a small smile of contentment.

"You know what, I don't care how many people know about the ship. We need to get out of here." Jasper says. 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Agreed," concurred Elizabeth. She then nodded to Korben: it was time to go.

"Yes, we must leave," added Bohdan. "This place has been compromised." Bohdan, Elizabeth, and Korben headed for the exit. Sandor, however, stole a glance of Jolene, and eyed her.

"Hey you!" he shouted at the woman. "You wanna make some money?!"

[Shmibli7]

Jasper gave Sandor his death stare. "You want to pay her? Our accounts are frozen, Sandor. We have no money. I was going to explain that to Bohdan before those guys busted in."

He looks at Sev. 

"Sev, you're our eyes on Corneria. Anything anyone in the Cornerian government says about us, you tell me, you hear me?"

Sev gives Jasper an offhand wave to which Jasper shrugs.

"If she wants in, she's working for free." Jasper says.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene got up and brushed herself off, excusing herself as she returned to the outside of the bar. "Sorry, guys, but this job does not show a lot of promise for me. It's a little too high-stakes for my taste. And no pay on top of that? It'd have to be something pretty special."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor was not at all foiled by the woman's refusal. In fact, he thought of it a stalling maneuver. He then darted his vision between Bohdan and the woman. "You can have him!" he said, pointing to Bohdan, who was visibly confused. "And... a lotta money."

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene raised a brow ever so slightly at the dragon, who seemed equally confused. "And where exactly is this copious amount of money coming from? Besides, I don't think your friend is too keen on extra company." She motioned to the very grouchy Jasper.

[Shmibli7]

Jasper looks at her, then rolls his eyes and walks out of the bar. "You guys want to live past the next few hours, follow me. If not, stay in there talking about payment methods."

In all honesty, Sandor probably did have money. He never asked about what his colleagues' prior economic standing was. However, he had gotten his full of drama and was not in a good mood after being freshly shot at.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Woman," began Sandor, taking out a roll of bills which in total added up to 1000 credits, "down payment..." He waved the roll at her. "You get much, much more if you finish the job with us. Wanna join?" He motioned the others to leave with Jasper. Reluctantly, Bohdan called over Elizabeth and Korben and together, they followed Jasper out.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene's mouth dropped open, and her heart felt like it had fallen out of her rump. She had never seen that much money physically together like that. She snatched up the roll and quickly thumbed through it to verify he wasn't blowing hot air. Sure enough, one thousand. She pocketed the money. "All right, you've got yourself a deal. I'm Jolene," She held out her hand to him, "Jolene Wilder. Can I run home and grab a few things first?"

Maybe she was crazy for taking on a job like this, but how could she refuse that hefty pay?

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor shook Jolene's hand. "I'm Sandor Kalocsai," he said. "You can call me Alex. Come, Miss Wilder. Let's go get your shit. We'll rendezvous with the others at our ship."

[Shmibli7]

"Good." Jasper said. "Now we can get some gears turning."

"Um, now where is this ship of yours?" He asked Elizabeth.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Oh, my God..." uttered Elizabeth, slappiong the right side of her face with her right hand, frustrated that he so easily forgot the details of the location of the Szabla. "It's in Ctesiphon. Ctesiphon is in Parthia. Parthia is an autonomous republic found in the deserts of the southeastern continent of Corneria. Do you understand?" She spoke slowly.

[Shmibli7]

"Do you want to be abused by your employer?" He asked, turning around. "Remember that once we kill Nichols I'm the one dealing out credits. Let me make something clear, I can fire every last one of you and counterfeit credits to buy my own ship and hire a new group of mercs. Get fresh with me one more time and I will."

He turns around and keeps walking. 

"Now, let's go."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Yes, sir," said Elizabeth, saluting with her middle finger protruding prominently. Bohdan rolled his eyes.

"Will we take public transit, or shall we go in our own vehicles?" asked Bohdan.

Meanwhile, Korben's head was on a swivel. His vigilance was heightened to a level of paranoia after the bar shootout. What was in that alley, behind that car, around that corner, in those shadows? An assassin? He turned on thermal imaging on his sunglasses, and scanned the area around the group as they continued walking.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Shmibli7]

"Our own, of course." Jasper says, walking into his beat up sports car.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Right," replied Bohdan, approaching his massive Aventador. Elizabeth then went to her Shelby GTO, and Korben to his Mercedes Benz Silver-Lightning. "We will follow you, or shall you follow us to our ship?"

[Shmibli7]

"Lead the way, Bodhan." He says, starting the ignition.

He pulls out. All the while thinking of a next move.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Bohdan started the ignition to his massive sports car, the fusion engine roaring to life. Designed on Earth, manufactured in Ruthenia. His back rubbed against the leather seat, and the leather itself began to squeak. Shifting the gears into drive, he began to speed off down the street, with Elizabeth and Korben in tow. Bohdan expected Jasper to at least keep up with him. The drive to Ctesiphon would be long, despite the high speeds that could be achieved on the Cornerian Planetary Highway. The screech of the tires and screaming of the engines echoed down the avenue, ricocheting off of the glass panes of the buildings flanking the well-lit road. Neon signs graced every building. Some were advertisements. Some were store signs. Others were government posters. Holograms with more advertisements and government announcements adorned the sidewalk.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene led Sandor out to her lone motorbike. "I'm afraid you'll have to ride backsies." she raised a brow at the off-kilter teen, "Is that going to be a problem?"

She walked over to the seat and popped a hatch to lift it and reveal a secret compartment where her helmet resided. She folded her ears flat against her skull and pulled the helmet over her head. "I don't have an extra helmet, but I promise I'm a responsible driver."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Alrighty then," said Sandor, approaching the motorcycle, which was a little big for him. "I'll be fine, asszony (woman/miss). Follow the sports cars." He hopped on behind Jolene, and wrapped his arms around her waist, grasping his hands together on stomach.

[Shmibli7]

Jasper leans back as he rides, watching closely to the back of the car in front of him. Ordinarily, he would have breezed by the other vehicles, but he didn't know how to get to the ship so he drove at a speed that was mind numbingly slow for a man like himself. He thought about how much the flashy cars the other members of his group cost. Jasper wasn't much of a car person, his beat up Lotus was fine with him and, until it went up in flames, he wouldn't buy another. Once they killed Nichols, he had better things to do with his money. He wondered if he would settle down afterwards and came to the conclusion that he would only do it if he lived the lifestyle of a playboy. Parties, mansions, champagne, and possible scuffles with the mob. It would be everything he enjoyed.

By the time they were within miles of the ship he decided that he would leave Corneria and settle on an island in Aquas where he would build his mansion and become an underboss in the local organised crime ring.

[Zaphyr Stone]

"I need to make a quick stop to grab my things first." she reminded him, "So you'll need to give me directions."

Revving up the bike, she set off quickly down the road. They zoomed past tall dilapidated buildings, the streetlights whirring past in a strobe effect. Jolene slowed to a stop and turned into the parking lot of an apartment complex. Finding an open spot, she pulled out the kickstand and pulled off her helmet.

"You can come in, just don't touch anything." she said finally, letting him hop off first before dismounting and storing her helmet.

She led him down the walkway, up to the building and up the stairs to her door. She unlocked it, opened it and stepped in, searching through the dark for the light switch and flicking it.

The apartment was simply but tastefully decorated, the home of someone who wasn't around often. Jolene kept a mindful eye on Sandor as she gathered a small collection. A medical kit restocked with supplies, ammunition for her sidearm, a wristband communicator, and a book.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor, while Jolene was searching her apartment for her effects, elected to sit down on her sofa. Its brown leathery look gave the impression that it was seldom used. Sandor sat down, pulling out his knife from a scabbard hidden underneath his v-neck at the waist. Sighing with a slight shudder, he extended his left forearm, an arm that bore healed scars: scars inflicted from a knife. As his quaking hand holding the knife approached his feathered skin, Sandor glanced to see Jolene turning towards him. He hurriedly put down his forearm and backed the knife-wielding hand away. He then pretended to simply examine his knife.

"Are we going yet, asszony?" he asked.