open log » ❝ mission oo1 briefing ❞

[initiates]

Date & Time: 04.04.3312
Location: Training Gymnasium in the Initiative Hold.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: Everyone is summoned to a briefing and training, pre-mission for the very first mission.
Warnings: None.

There would come a demanding ping on every netbook at once. An urgent call to arms, a request for each and every transport to return to the Initiative Hold immediately. If ignored, the ping would continue until it reached its full volume -- overtaking the senses only until its owner complied, deafening in its insistence. At the Hold, there were several more Initiative attendees to rush each and every transport into a large training gymnasium previously unseen by all residents of the island of Exsilium. The auditorium was massive -- its walls whitewashed, its ceiling patterned with dim, purple ambient lighting.

There was a stage set up near the very back of the large room. A man, stern and young-looking, stood in the center of the stage and held a microphone in front of his pursed lips. Behind the stage was a set of time travel plates more populated than even the arrival room -- there had to be at least forty-five plates, all attended by a member of the Initiative, who stood beside the plate in wait and with a distant expression. Only once all of the transports were successfully congregated into their auditorium, did the astringent, black-haired man begin to speak. "This is a briefing," he began, his voice equally authoritative and matching the expression of great urgency on his angular features. "Tomorrow, we begin our very first mission. A mission into the past.

You will be sent to the year 115 CE, in the midst of a turmoil between the Romans and an Assyrian village. It is in both ours and imperatively your own best interest to help defend this village, and to send the Romans retreating to their own homes. You absolutely must comply with this mission. Not only for yourselves, but for your families at home in their own worlds. For all of us.

You will have twenty-four hours from this time to utilise this gymnasium. You will find an array of weaponry at your disposal, and will have access to your own chosen weapon. Use them. Train fiercely, as you have no choice in this initial mission to pick a different path. You all must fight. After your twenty-four hours of practise, you will be given your cloaking devices -- they will make you untraceable to the native people to the time in which you find yourself. Do not, under any circumstances, remove your cloaking device. It will not only be detrimental to you, but to your friends and your colleagues here, as well as your friends and family in their home worlds.

You will be summoned back from whatever your whereabouts at the success of your mission. Should you die during your mission, you will be summoned immediately and brought into the Initiative Infirmary and you will be healed. Do not die. Do not turn your back on your colleagues and your friends. Remain vigilant. The imperative nature of the success of your mission will be made clear upon your return to this world. There is nothing more that we can give than our word.

Finally, I will be coming with you. I will be your mentor and your guide during our mission and I will do my utmost to keep you safe, prepared, trained and informed. Slowly, our world here in Exsilium will become less and less enshrouded in mystery. Slowly, we are able to reveal our true selves, and with it we hope we will gain a much-needed trust. We do not withhold information easily, and it comes to us at a great cost. Thank you, everyone, and let your sessions begin!"

Comments

[feel_nevermore]

Raven came to lean against the wall next to him.

"Why so preoccupied, Jason?"

[notthatjason]

Jason looked up. Raven was good, he almost hadn't notice her come up to join him. He glanced back down at his arm and shrugged, "A lot of things. I know Rome, it's in my blood you could say. This is a ridiculous first mission for several reasons and one of them is there is no way this band of transports, even with another 24 hours of training, can take on a Legion of trained soldiers." The power of Rome was legendary and there was a reason they had conquered so much of Europe and into Asia. They were a powerful army and even if it was just one village they were defending he had doubts that a collective like this could turn back a Legion.

He hesitated and then added, "Plus, I feel like I'm betraying my own home by being asked to fight against Rome. I suppose I should have realized this might happen but honestly it hadn't crossed my mind. I should have thought of it, but even if I had what good would it have done?"

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the girl, "What about you? Not interested in getting in a little more training?"

[feel_nevermore]

"If I told you I thought I could take on a whole legion alone, you'd probably think I'm pretentious then, right?" And still, what were the odds a legion of human soldiers could defeat a half-demon who could fly, raise protective shields and heal herself?

"You used to live in Rome? Were you a soldier too?" She kept silent for a moment. "There are many ways to win a war. If you know those people, maybe you could talk with them, negotiate and convince them to surrender. I don't intend to kill anyone myself. And I won't. But if they fight me, they'll probably end up badly injured."

She looked back at him and shrugged. "I've been sparring with a few people. But you know, finding allies is also part of being prepared." And yes, she meant him.

[notthatjason]

"A little bit...maybe. But I haven't exactly seen you go all out." Who knew what kind of powers these people possessed. He'd learned some, but there had been a lot of new Transports lately so he hadn't gotten around to investigating everyone's powers or seeing them fight.

He shrugged, "More or less. It was called New Rome. It may be hard to believe but Rome didn't completely vanish after its fall. Some members of the legion survived and carried on Jupiter's will to continue the legacy. Right now there's a small encampment and city in California called Camp Jupiter...that's where I'm from. I was a soldier, the praetor of the legion actually." He wasn't sure how easily Raven would accept it, but he was being truthful. It wasn't like he could MAKE this stuff up.

Raven had a point. Wars were not always won with brute force or even numbers. He nodded, "I was thinking of something along those lines. I have the mark of Rome," he held out his arm and showed her the tattoo there: SPQR, 12 lines, and the eagle, "Not to mention I might carry some weight if I can get them to accept that I am the son of Jupiter." That wouldn't be difficult either, given that he WAS the son of Jupiter and had the abilities to prove it. "It's just a matter of getting enough people to AGREE to this plan. I don't want to let the transports down either."

He nodded, "I hope I've made enough allies here. Although a few more never hurt." He smiled at Raven. He knew where she was going with this.

[feel_nevermore]

"And I can assure you that you don't want to." She smirked a bit as she said that, although she was being perfectly serious.

Why wouldn't she believe it? He was from a different world, an alternative universe in which things had evolved differently. That was part of the memories she had kept from that weird place she'd been to before being brought here. Anyway she listened and tried to focus on what was relevant to the matter at hand. "You're a roman commanding officer and Jupiter's son. So you're basically a god or a demi-god, right?"

She looked at the tattoo. Raven knew latin so she did know what SPQR and the eagle meant. The twelve lines were a little more obscure but she could try to guess. "Do those lines indicate your position of praetor?"

And after pondering the issue he had raised for a bit. "You should send a message over the network to let all the transports know about your plan. I can't guarantee everyone would accept to follow you. But it's certainly worth a try."

She nodded. "More allies never hurt, no."

[notthatjason]

He shrugged, "I survived seeing the true form of Ju--Hera." Granted that had been a miracle in and of itself and probably had something to do with Piper being there to pull him back from death or something. Either way, he was glad that he HADN'T bit the dust just because he hadn't turned away in time.

Jason was more relieved at the fact that Raven wasn't calling him insane. It was the main reason he didn't go around talking about it much. It was bad enough that the adults here gave him looks of judgement, as if they didn't believe he could handle himself in battle. He didn't need people giving him looks like he was insane either. "Demi-god. My mother was a mortal. And the lines indicate how many years I've been serving in the Legion. I didn't make praetor until a few years ago." If Raven did the math she would realize he'd been at Camp Jupiter and a part of the Legion since he was about 4. This didn't seem to bother Jason at all however.

"Do you think I should ask for back-up before taking this up with our supposed mentor?" He jerked his head towards the stage where they had been addressed.

[feel_nevermore]

"Whereas regular humans normally wouldn't, I presume."

"Twelve years. That's quite a lot. Especially if you're as young as you look like you are." Maybe demi-gods aged slower than humans. It was the first one she met one after all.

"I think it would be a good idea, yes."

[notthatjason]

"Actually nobody should. Even Hera was surprised I was still alive."

He nodded, "16. Juno came to...collect me when I was about two, or so I was told, because she was pissed at her husband. Long story short I've been at Camp Jupiter for most of my life." Until recently anyway, but that wasn't important right now.

"I'll make a post then. See who I can get on board." He paused and then asked, "So, aside from being to take down a whole army supposedly...how good are you at diplomacy?"

[feel_nevermore]

"Hell has no fury like a woman scorned," Raven commented casually.

"Diplomacy?" She pondered this for a moment. "Depends what's at stake and who I'm dealing with, I guess." She could understand things and people pretty well. But she was not the most patient type.

[notthatjason]

Jason could understand that. He didn't consider himself the diplomatic type USUALLY, but he WAS a leader for his Camp and Legion which meant he had to take on jobs like that. Plus, his skill at this was going to determine the fate of the world and if the Greek halfbloods could get along with the Romans...this could be cake compared to that, or so he hoped.

"Well, in this case you'd be dealing with Romans and I guess, according to the people we're working with, our worlds are at stake. I just don't think fighting is our only option here but maybe I'm trying to be optimistic because I DON'T want to fight the Romans."

[feel_nevermore]

"No one can make you," Raven answered quietly. "But in the end, you might have to choose your side." She just wanted to make sure he wouldn't end up doing something inconsiderate. She believed Jason was a bit like them, the Titans. And she'd rather have Jason as an ally than as an enemy.

"I'm sorry this first mission has to be so hard on you." And she was sincere where she said that.

[notthatjason]

He was quiet for a bit. "It would be a difficult choice. But in the end I have to return to this place in order to get home and I have to work with all the Transports. We may not all trust each other yet, but I'm not going to turn on you all either. This is the place I was recruited to and somehow fighting my ancestors is going to save home? Then that's what I'll have to do. I can always just ease my own conscience by fighting defense for the village and not killing anyone. I won't sabotage the mission though."

He'd prefer if they could reach a compromise but he knew that might not be possible. He didn't want Raven to think he might betray everyone either. A traitor was one of the biggest sins for a Roman soldier and he just had to tell himself that as long as he wasn't going against Leo, Piper, Reyna, or any of the others then he was doing the right thing.

Jason shook his head, "Thanks. It's okay though, my life has never been easy and with time travel involved I suppose I should have seen something like this coming." After all, Rome had been a major power for a LONG time.