MISSION: SALT THE EARTH

[initiatesnpc]

Date & Time: October 17 - October 23
Location: Southwest Russia, 1223 CE
Characters: ALL; tag yourselves in
Summary: The Initiative sends all of the Transports on a mission to fight troops of the Golden Horde.
Warnings: war, violence, npc death (notify a mod if there's cause to add a particular warning!)

It is a warm day when the Transports arrive, a breeze blowing and sparse clouds in the sky. Before them is an expanse of flat land interspersed with some short, rolling hills. There are sparse trees, but for the most part it is grassland. It would be ideal for farming, but has not been utilized as such yet. Several miles in the distance is a small town, and the troops of the Golden Horde have made their camp just outside of it. There are about a thousand soldiers present, and the mission is simple: send a message that this land cannot be claimed. They will do this by defeating these warriors who are feared throughout the medieval world. They will then punctuate this statement by ensuring that this land cannot be farmed for centuries.

It is a small expanse of land that the Initiative has their eyes on, no more than ten miles in diameter. But for some reason, they have deemed it to be of a deep strategic importance.

The Transports arrive in the early morning, escorted by several Initiative officers, whose presence is meant primarily to keep things organized while the actual battle is to be left to the Transports. Under the guidance of these Initiative officers, the first order of business for the Transports is to set up a camp of their own. The battle will commence in the late afternoon, six hours after their initial arrival.

The battle will take place halfway between each side's respective camps. Many of the Mongolians will fall in combat. On the fifth day, the remaining soldiers will retreat, surrendering the area. Once the region has been secured, the second portion of the mission will commense, in which the Initiative will oversee the dispersement of a chemical agent over the land to ensure that no crops may be grown there. It will be harmless to all humans and animal life, and some weeds may even be able to take root, but the grain farming that would have otherwise taken place on this land will not be able to be undertaken. The land outside of this ten mile radius will be unharmed, but this small region will be barren, seen as cursed when the legend of the defeat of the soldiers of the Golden Horde is passed on.

A week after the mission's commencement, the Transports will be sent back to Exsilium. Their mission will have been a success. But the fallout of it will remain to be seen...

Comments

[Open!]

[studieswaitressing]

[Mystique is just outside of the main camp, doing what appears to be walking on her hands. She's taken the liberty of dressing herself in what's more or less a skin-tight suit, darker in colour than her skin. No need to give them all away by doing something stupid like sticking out like a sore thumb, after all.

She bends herself slowly back, trying to control her back-bridge landing -- and then she starts going faster, trying to curl herself into a tighter ball so that she can throw herself into a few faster flips. The more she builds up momentum, the more confident she gets -- right up until someone notices her, of course. There's a reason she's out here by herself!]

Re: [Open!]

[mach_n_roll]

[There's no way Sonic can see that from up top and NOT investigate. While she saunters by upside-down, Sonic zips nearby and leans on a tree, silently watching her for a moment. Then...]

So when were ya gonna tell me you were an acrobat too?

[studieswaitressing]

[She bounces up to her feet surprisingly quickly, even with how fast she was moving a few seconds ago.]

...hey, I can't tell you everything about me. My name's Mystique, not 'Obvious girl'.

[mach_n_roll]

Good point. [He zips closer, stopping with perfect control over his own inertia.] So is that what you use when you fight? Acrobatics? From what I can tell, you learned the same way I did!

[studieswaitressing]

[She shrugs her shoulders.]

Something like that, I guess. I haven't had to use a lot of it yet.

[She's really only been in one big battle, okay, but don't tell anyone.]

You taught yourself how to do that, too?

[bittertears]

[Alice, for the moment, just watches. The fact that the woman is blue doesn't really surprise her much anymore, it's more the sight of what she's oing that's caught her attention.

Certainly Alice could never even begin to be that flexible.]

[studieswaitressing]

[Once she figures out someone is watching her, she half-stumbles -- but manages to barely keep her balance. She flashes the girl a slight grin.]

Something I can help you out with?

[bittertears]

Oh, I apologize for the intrusion. I simply couldn't help but watch.

You're quite nimble!

[studieswaitressing]

[At least the girl is apologetic.]

Hey, don't worry about it. I've been trying to practice a little each day so I get better.

It's only part natural talent, I promise.

Hey ;)

[feel_nevermore]

[Raven studies her silently for a bit. When she eventually notices her standing a few feet away from her, Raven gives her a nod in greeting.]

You remind me of someone back home.

[Granted said someone isn't someone Raven particularly likes. Quite the opposite. But she doesn't mean it that way. She's only referring to her acrobat skills here.]

O hello there

[studieswaitressing]

Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

[At least Raven waits until Mystique catches sight of her -- it makes it less disastrous for Mystique. She nods in return, though, and takes a few steps toward the girl.]

:D

[feel_nevermore]

If it's the only thing you two have in common, then it's not a bad thing.

And as far as I can tell, it is.

[studieswaitressing]

Well, good to know. You didn't get along with my acrobatic counterpart?

[She's guessing it wasn't because he was blue, because this girl is grey and that -- doesn't seem that much different, in some ways.]

[strategic_guile]

[Blaine has been wandering around camp whenever things got boring in the food tent, which is quite a bit. He stands off a distance so he doesn't disturb her... practice. It's pretty damn amazing how flexible she is. Not just flexible but precise, and he says so when she directs a very distracting set of yellow eyes on him.]

Very skillful. How many years of training?

[studieswaitressing]

[She blinks, startled, and half-stumbles before she straightens up. She's got to get better at figuring out when other people are approaching.]

Not that many, actually. A little over one.

[The Initiative's implant is definitely helping her learning curve.]

[strategic_guile]

[Half-smile and holds up a hand] Sorry for that. I was trying not to make you fall over while... flipping around like a badass.

[Cus really, bad ass. He knows two people that flexible and neither are THAT malleable. Whistles] That is really good for a year. You must've had good balance before.

[studieswaitressing]

[Flattery will get you everywhere with Mystique, Blaine, especially because you seem to not be gawking at the blueness just yet.]

Trust me, I've fallen down enough that one more time isn't really going to be that big a deal.

[goneonenight]

[Yoruichi is just out in search of whatever privacy she can find--it's wearing on her to be around so many people in close quarters, so she takes whatever chance she can to stretch her legs.]

[Both the blue skin and the dexterity catch her attention, and she pauses, watching with interest; flexibility and agility were a good part of her own training, after all. But she hangs back so as not to disturb the other woman--if she'd rather train uninterrupted, Yoruichi will simply make her greetings and be on her way.]

[studieswaitressing]

[She does eventually realize that she's being watched, and since she's feeling a little bit sweaty (even mutants run out of steam eventually, after all) she heads over toward the other woman with a slight smile and a tilt of her head.]

I guess when I go home I can trade waitressing in for joining the circus.

[goneonenight]

[Yoruichi snickers, giving a relaxed smile of her own]

Hey, it might be worth it for the chance to travel.

[healplz]

[ ohdamn, Ashraf is kinda impressed. Usually it's just the bard and dancer guilds that have people moving like that.

He'll just be over here off to the side, leaned against a tree and alternating between watching her and enjoying the show, and glancing back toward the bulk of the camp to be sure it hasn't... caught on fire or anything, yet. ]

[studieswaitressing]

[She eventually notices that he's there, but she continues to move around for a little while. Totally not because she's trying to show off, or anything.]

...hey. Did they bring everyone on for this mission?

[healplz]

[ He glances over to be adressed, suddenly a little embarrassed that he'd been watching without having said hello. That might fall into the bounds of impolite, actually. ]

So it seems. [ A smile, to make up for any mishap. ] You're very talented.

[asinine]

[ your audience is a douchebag you know pretty well by now. for what it's worth, he isn't in your way nor doing something anything overly distracting :| ]

Pretty sure the local circus would let you audition even on a Sunday.

[ there's nothing cruel in his tone; he's actually impressed enough to be interested, even if he doesn't say as much. the fact that he's stopped to watch, as opposed to letting her continue with her own business as he carries on with his, should speak for itself -- there's plenty of blood on his jacket from the fight, though, indicating that y e p, instead of going back to his tent, he chose to look for you. ]

[studieswaitressing]

[It's okay, Wesley, she understands that you're the more exciting, entertaining version of her brother in that you'll both look in on her but only one of you will be covered in blood while doing it.

She turns to face him and once she spots the blood, the brief concern is evident on her face. If he was injured, she reasons, he'd probably say something about it...right?

She squints at him.]

Come to check up on me?