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

[implying]

[ The same ambiguity occurs to him -- but it also occurs to him that both versions are true. So he just nods, agreeable as ever. ]

Oh, no. It was more a matter of skulking about in the right places. [ He finally drops his gaze plainly and clearly to her, smiling. ] And how was the disturbance, then? Did I miss anything interesting?

[ex_bandai157]

Unhappy?

[ He raises his eyebrows a little as he asks, as if it's kind of ridiculous to consider, but he also doesn't look at her as he asks that so. ]

[implying]

[ Man. How come his planet didn't get any space exploration... Starting to feel a little cheated, here. ]

You must have the most fascinating stories. What does it take to convince you to part with a few of them?

[ex_bandai157]

[ That punch has him retreating backwards to get out of range, watching for Kotetsu's next move. ]

[healplz]

[ Well, she has a point there. And it's a little comforting, so he'll take it. But to more serious things... ]

You'll be among those fighting, I take it.

[healplz]

[ aw no. :c It's basically impossible here not to reach over and ruffle Mahdi's hair gently. ]

You won't be useless. You assitance will be valuable and appreciated, I feel sure of it.

[trustycrowbar]

I didn't tell the whole thing, because after that it gets complicated.

[Wait, NOW it gets complicated?]

I could have been traveling I suppose. Going somewhere at four-fifths the speed of light and letting relativity do the dirty work, but I think the most practical explanation was that I was taken off xen and out of space and time completely and just... held there for a while. God knows it felt that way.

When I came back, it was twenty years later and everything had changed but me.

[ex_bandai157]

What we can do next, of course.

[ex_bandai157]

What's done here is already done.

[bittertears]

It's a bit... difficult for me to explain properly. The way I look now isn't my usual apperance, but it's certainly better suited for fighting, which is exactly what the Initiative wants from us.

[ex_bandai157]

That's possible. Were you on the last mission?

[healplz]

[ Wryly: ] I feel certain that by the end of all this, my magic reserves will thank you.

[kingdom_of_song]

Another song, this one swirling around the battlefield, driving men and women away, and he stood with his world glazed over, not understanding. It wasn't affecting Swann himself.

But there was another song, just for him, and it ordered his feet to move. The sound had it's own magic, and it resonated with his own power. The hair stood up on his skin, making goosepimples.

Leaving the carnage behind, he made his way up to join her, though he was still quite dazed and hollow-eyed, guitar hanging from it's strap and his left hand wrapped tight around the neck. The fingertips on his right hand were bleeding.

[ex_bandai157]

[ He doesn't notice her at first, so her voice earns a sharp look and an immediate tensing from days on the battlefield, but then his head catches up with him and he realizes this must be another transport (just soon enough, as he'd started to reach for his Hundred Power on instinct). Their appearance makes him miss his own Hero suit, especially with how useful it would've been during this battle. ]

It's certainly not as straightforward as they would have us believe.

[sacrificar]

It was a signal that Halibel had acknowledged, using Sonido to make her way to his location.

She appeared in an instant, her eyes fixated on the man in front on her. This one had fought and won against Zommari. A skilled fighter, intelligent and disciplined as well. She had been aware of his presence, and no doubt he noticed the same. Initially, she had chosen to simply observe, and watch.

It seemed as though that particular stance was now at an end.

"Shinigami." Remarked the arrancar, taking a few steps toward him.

[ex_bandai157]

[ He just doesn't address that, especially since time is short on his powers. In fact - three, two, one, and they're gone, leaving him frowning and moving faster in case someone tries to take advantage of this. ]

By the way, thank you.

[bittertears]

As was often the case, Alice was unfamiliar with the some of the terminology being used. Though she would try her best to learn it, there was simply no quick and easy way to get over a barrier emerging not only from different time periods, but different races and civilizations altogether.

She watched the demonstration with interest, surprised at how quickly it had all happened. "I can certainly see how it would be. Are you the only one who favors such methods of weapon storage?"

[failtsuninari]

Well...not exactly. It's kind of strange to explain.

[Tenjou notices the change in Kotetsu's technique. That burst of power he witnessed earlier from what he could tell was limited by time. While they just have only met, Tenjou would keep an eye out for him. He continues to use his powers to push back more forces, making sure neither of them don't get exhausted too early.]

[wrexy]

You're a fool if you got that from our orders. [A gruff grumble. He's digging through the corpse's armor, but not finding anything interesting.] I don't care what kind of bleeding heart you have. Just finish the job.

[onemoredeath]

Oh he knew that, but if there was one thing about Takegami that was he only did things to please himself. Besides, he had enough blood for the past few days. He wiped his knife clean and took a moment to loosen the body's belt. The gold decorations or prancing horses were worth scraping the muck off of it.

"I suppose the usefulness depends on who you speak to. Some seem to have felt that they are far more useful than others."

[wrexy]

You used science. Now I'm really convinced. [Nope, doesn't sound convinced at all. Hrrf.] Fine. Do it.

[onemoredeath]

[ Well. That was a bit strange. He blinked at the light and then frowned, flexing his hands. The coils rasped together, fine silvery mesh made from a deadly wire that could cut through flesh and bone like butter. That they hurt him he had never given it any though despite the concern in her voice. ]

I can. I have before.

[trustycrowbar]

Gordon? Rebuffing Samus' lovely sense of curiosity and refusing her company when the alternative is going back to work getting tea and squishing spiders for the other scientists? He would have to be an idiot to do that.

"Seems they have an analogue no matter where you go. Small comfort isn't it? Usually preferred coffee myself; I found I got in considerably less trouble with it."

He glances back to her as she moves, his gaze falling at her hand. Christ, what is he, eight years old? He's seriously debating the benefits and risks of hand-holding, now. Well... what's the worst that could happen? She punches him with a few thousand PSI of pressure, that's what. But hey, he's got the suit on, so there's that much...

"...Samus?" There are questions hidden in that word, but he is seriously Not Good With Words when it comes to this sort of thing so he leaves them implied. The context becomes a little more clear when she slips a gloved hand over and into her gauntleted one.

[goldfoot]

Yes. Not as a soldier. [She is short and tense with her words.] Your role. Are you to fight?

[strategic_guile]

"Yeah, each little ripple was made in a forge with a hammer," and he could appreciate that. The sweat and hard work it must have taken to do it. It was a different thing than the labs he almost went into when he was younger. It was more hands-on than the assassin-for-hire jobs he took after graduation, too. "I'm not sure the people at home would appreciate it though. They'd just see the imperfections and whine about the lack of quality." He smiles and shakes his head, leaning down to break a finger so he could get to a ring fastened around a stiff finger. For some reason there were a lot of rings around here.