Cille's War Burst: S3

[15:06] <@Oxford> The plume of black smoke recedes into the horizon until it looks no bigger than trickle of oil down a loose engine-cap. Cille can see the research base approaching below, strangely devoid of activity. A single klaxxon blares tunelessly into the clear blue sky.
[15:11] <Cille_Lund> Well, it did take her a while to get back. Any sane researcher probably wouldn't be outside at this point. ...Hm. She did get that plane good and proper, but as she approaches, she checks for other vehicles. She's gotten this far, she's not going to let anyone ESCAPE if she can help it. She'd never hear the end of it from Marupol!
[15:12] <Cille_Lund> Maybe get tied up, but considering the business...that might be hard. And the people here are likely not deserving. Or, you know, shooting her. With a gun. At least planes have a buffer of excessive metal for the poor folk using them! Infantry or guards aren't as lucky.
[15:14] <@Oxford> The hangar doors are closed, and the runway is clear of other aircraft. On the opposite end of the base is a small motorpool with a single grey military truck parked sideways across the spaces, as though left there in a hurry.
[15:17] <Cille_Lund> Good, no more planes. ...A truck, though. Cille checks her magic-radar, on the chance that it has uninvited pendant users (or perhaps something equally deserving of excessive caution)! If there's no reading, there's not much harm in a quick examination without thinking about it too hard. If she thinks too hard, she'll give people in there more time to do...whatever it is they're doing! Which is bad. This is a BAD place.
[15:21] <@Oxford> She slows down enough to get a look inside the cab, and both seats appear empty. The body of the truck has a common canvas-covered bed, like a gypsy's wagon, that prevents her from seeing the cargo.
[15:25] <Cille_Lund> Well, if there's no one in there, then...FIRST examine the cargo. Can't see it due to a covering? RIP IT OFF. Just canvas. Shouldn't be hard. Ain't got time to be subtle. If there's cargo here, it's bound to be interesting!
[15:29] <@Oxford> Cille's magical strength rips the canvas from the metal hoops supporting it in one big sheet, like a magician that just made something disappear. Or appear, in this case: The truck is filled with loosely-stacked wooden crates, labelled in Novgoraadi script.
[15:32] <Cille_Lund> Rats, her lack of ability to read Novgoraadi script shall continue to be her downfall. ...That is, unless she can read that. She had been practicing a little! ...If she can't, her patience will nearly run dry. Just take the top off one of the boxes and see if she cares! If not, it'll be onto bigger, better things.
[15:36] <@Oxford> She recognizes all the letters, at least, but it's an acronym she doesn't recognize. The top of the crate rips off, leaving the nails that held it shut bent or broken off. Inside appear to be several binders full of poor-quality paper in a size that seems odd to her.
[15:40] <Cille_Lund> ...Research notes of some sort, most likely. This is important. And...it might be important enough for them to try destroying as opposed to letting it fall into enemy hands. These shouldn't be--well, they likely SHOULD be destroyed, but they're also likely the holders of very important information. Also, the vehicle might allow someone to escape inside, and they'd do it WITH the notes. This thing isn't allowed to move, and it isn't allowed to be destroyed. ...Put a shield around it! Good plan.
[15:40] * Cille_Lund proceeds to try to do this!
[15:53] <@Oxford> The shield shimmers into being, a hemisphere visible mostly by the way it distorts the light. It might not stand up to sustained fire, but it'll stop anyone from casually wandering into it.
[15:54] <Cille_Lund> ...Good enough. It'd keep scientists out, at least. And soldiers...might value shooting her more than running away. Now, onto more important things! Storming the base! Find the vulnerable parts deep within, and blast them into bits!
[15:55] * Cille_Lund actually goes and does this! Aim for the center! If there's something fragile and important looking, it's generally going to be blown up from a safe distance!
[16:00] <@Oxford> Besides the hangar, the base consists of two plain-looking buildings. The first looks like it might be mixed-use office and factory space, with windows on one side and high, blank walls on the other. The second could be a dormitory or barracks, and is slightly smaller. There is also a water tower, a small mechanic's shop by the motor pool, and a guard tower.
[16:06] <Cille_Lund> ...Before she combs through the non-mobile specifics, she has to get at the non-mobile offensive structures. People aren't of as much concern, for the time being. ...Except, you know, guards...but, perhaps she should focus on destroying the place FIRST. Since it's awful. Terrible. Evil. And the important things look to be...the first. Office and factory space. It's where the production stuff seems to happen, so going there and having fun should end the production!
[16:07] * Cille_Lund goes there! To have...fun! And by fun, she means 'full power, total destruction', of course!
[16:13] <Cille_Lund> FULL POWER, TOTAL DESTRUCTION! Just...charge the factory! Break down the high wall! With any luck, the wall might fall down on their side, which should cause some extra fun!
[16:19] <@Oxford> Attacking a building is somewhat of a new experience for Cille. While most aircraft, even heavy bombers, are made of a thin layer of metal, a building can be built much heavy, from steel beams and cement blocks. She charges in at full speed for a ramming attack, only to bounce clumsily against the high wall, leaving some cinderblocks crumbling at the point of impact.
[16:20] <@Oxford> A second strike knocks the hole through, but it's only about a metre and a half wide. From the edge of the crater, Cille can see down into the factory part of the building, to where the floor is littered with heavy equipment.
[16:23] <Cille_Lund> ...Uh...yeah, the...the second one d-did the trick! Learning is the first...step! ...Heavy equipment, though. Obviously, this isn't being used for anything good. And she's little interest in using the base herself. It's the land where they make PEOPLE BOMBS. Everything here isn't sacred. Get to work. On the off chance she's driven off, she'd like to see them recover from her...better assault that won't be bad!
[16:25] <Cille_Lund> Get out her sword, and tear some awful gashes through these hunks! This should be more like what she's used to!
[16:25] <Cille_Lund> Only they don't move. T-that should make it easier!
[16:28] <@Oxford> Indeed, the equipment gives way a little bit more like she'd predict. It only takes a few swipes on each machine to render it inoperable - they don't need to be destroyed utterly to make them useless for their purpose. After a few minutes, the factory floor is covered in hewn steel and scraps.
[16:30] <Cille_Lund> Good, good. Even if this operation is a failure, it will at least not be a complete failure. Production ceasing for a long while should do wonders! From here, heading to the office side of things should involve less obstacles, and since it's so close...onward! Maybe the people in the offices will have heard the noise, and they can just surrender ahead of time. Or, you know, be armed and potentially dangerous. Potentially.
[16:31] <Cille_Lund> ...That is, if they're IN the offices. Otherwise, well, who knows?
[16:34] <@Oxford> The offices seem to overlook the factory, with four floors of windows that look into plain beige hallways. The lights are off inside, and there isn't any movement. From where she is, Cille can enter on any floor she chooses, through the windows there.
[16:37] <Cille_Lund> The top floor would probably be considered the safest, since it's the furthest away from the ground. And humans, we're all ground dwelling things. That live on the ground.
[16:37] <Cille_Lund> Let's see how naive the workers are. To the top floor!
[16:42] <@Oxford> The glass shatters effortlessly as Cille floats into the hallway. There is a row of doors, presumably into the offices, running the length of the hallway, and some sort of lounge at the far end. A fancy electric coffee thermos is visible in the darkness, on-switch glowing like a single red eye.
[16:48] <Cille_Lund> ...Huh. People here must be getting paid nicely for this. ...Which, means that the people here...might not ALL be as compliant as they'd like. Perhaps some don't understand the nature of their work. ...But those that don't understand what they're doing that can be the most dangerous. Perhaps all she'll be able to do is strike fear into the hearts of those inside, so that they might rethink their line of work. Or, perhaps they ARE in fact aware, and should all die. Well, who knows. Maybe they're not in there at all and she shouldn't think so damned hard about it. Let's look inside the lounge! It's probably one of the bigger rooms, and would thus more easily hold those that wish to hide.
[16:49] <Cille_Lund> Coffee? She's pretty awake right now, thank you. This is no time for a coffee break.
[16:51] <@Oxford> The lounge is deeper than the hallway, and correspondingly darker. As her eyes adjust, Cille can see mugs set around the table with the coffee still in them. One of the folding metal chairs is flipped over on its back. Whoever was in here left in a hurry.
[16:52] <@Oxford> On the far wall, Cille can see a cork bulletin board, and to the right of that a metal door next to it. She can't read the sign, but the 'stairs' pictograph is universal.
[16:55] <Cille_Lund> Of course, if you're upstairs, you can't run away. They're not that dumb, then! Then...they're going downstairs! If the trail is hot, perhaps she might find them if she goes down the normal, human way. Otherwise, it's an excuse to stay in a hurry and comb the office grounds. Open the door! ...Hopefully it's that easy!
[16:57] <@Oxford> The door leads to a barren cement staircase. A long central shaft lets her see straight down to the bottom of the stairwell, with the railing twisting down into the darkness.
[17:00] <Cille_Lund> Cille...if she can work herself through the shaft, decides that stairs are for squares! Allows for faster transport, and makes it a deal easier to look down to see if she can see anyone.
[17:01] <@Oxford> As she floats down the stairwell, she doesn't see anyone else on the steps. The landing on the ground floor has two doors: one back onto the factory, and one into the bottom level of the office building.
[17:04] <Cille_Lund> What sort of nutjob would go back into the factory after that mess? ...Open the door anyway just to see if the person IS a nutjob AND she's hot on their trail. If there's no one obviously there, just open the door to the office building and go from there!
[17:07] <@Oxford> As she opens the door, she hears a collective intake of breath from a dozen or more people. The room she enters is a lounge, similar in size and shape to the one she just left. The only difference is that this one is packed with people.
[17:14] <Cille_Lund> So...they hid on the bottom floor, then! Strange, but OK. She gives them a good, cold, and disapproving stare...and attempts communication, first in Cimbrian. "If anyone here would happen to know Cimbrian, speak up." And then in Albaean. "Failing that, if anyone happens to know Albaean, speak up."
[17:18] <@Oxford> When she opens her mouth, the moment of indecision is suddenly broken. Half of the people in the room immediately bolt down the hallway behind them, while the the rest do some combination of shout, cower, and try to hide. Cille is just launching into her Albaean when one of them, a big man with a grey beard and a striped sweater, charges her with a breadknife.
[17:19] <Cille_Lund> ...Is this how it's going to be? Fiiiine. Be flighty. Run, and make way for a hunting instinct.
[17:21] <Cille_Lund> She sticks with Albaean. "Or, attempt to be violent, and see how far that gets you." She does not attack the man attacking her, but instead makes an effort to seal off whence she came. Barriers!
[17:25] <Cille_Lund> Said same barriers come to her own defense against the knifetoting man!
[17:26] <@Oxford> The knife springs from his hand as it makes contact with her invisible barrier, clattering across the floor and getting lost in a darkened corner. The man is thrown backwards with equal force, landing against the edge of the overturned table with a wet crunch. He lays still.
[17:32] <Cille_Lund> She continues in Albaean, moving to intercept the runners while addressing anyone that can even hear her, full well knowing that no one fits these criteria. Wasted breath, but at least it's in good faith! "Try to get him medical treatment. With any luck, that wasn't entirely fatal." Maybe at some point these people might be able to be reasoned with. After all, the only thing still working here would be people, and they can hardly flee on foot.
[17:33] <Cille_Lund> Hopefully there's another door between those people and more space, and only one. It should make sealing the area easier!
[17:35] <Cille_Lund> Cilleing.
[17:36] <@Oxford> They're certainly willing to try, though. The lounge opens directly onto the hallway, and those nearest it have already fled out of sight down the corridor. This hall has fewer doors, and a wider area of desks where some of the offices were on the upper floor. Moving past the people still in the room fast enough to catch those running is a non-trivial task. At least, without hurting them it is.
[17:46] <Cille_Lund> Tch. Does she have to play bumper cars? ...She'd rather not, honestly. And she can't figure a way to do it without smashing people...aside from being careful. The most she can do is just do her best to NOT knock them aside as she goes! She speaks to no one in particular in Cimbrian! "Get out of the way!"
[17:48] <Cille_Lund> "She says get out of the way!" "So she doesn't have to mow ya." "She'd prefer not to!" "But she will if she has ta." ...And the voices talk in Albaean. Are they being helpful for a change? ...Helpful, but with an odd inflection.
[18:12] <@Oxford> For their part, the Novgoraadis seem to be trying to get out of her way too, but the cramped lounge makes it just as difficult for them. Eventually they end up pushed aside, and Cille makes it to the hallway, but she can see the door on the opposite end - the one painted bright red - swinging shut behind at least one escapee.
[18:20] <Cille_Lund> These people are really going for it, huh? Or...at least whoever got through. There are way too much folk here that seem to be working class. What a pain. ...Another checkpoint, hopefully. HEAD TOWARDS THE RED DOOR. Go through, seal it shut behind her, and hope that no one takes any awkward paths out, that would make things easier for her! Cille (and the voices) talk with the language they did last! "There had to be at least one, huh?" "People don't like making things easy!" "I mean if they did, it wouldn't be as fun, but--" "We're supposed to be acting less like jerks, remember?" "Right, right."
[18:24] <@Oxford> Cille flies through the red door, hitting the pushbar with her shoulder and tumbling through. Outside, three escapees have each turned different directions, running either across the field toward the dormitory or toward the corners of the factory. Two are women, and the third an older man.
[18:27] <Cille_Lund> Older people are better at science. The problem here is science! Keeping her priorities, she does not pursue the women, less because they're women, and more because they're not old. Stick with the man! And maybe stick it to the man!
[18:29] <@Oxford> She catches up to him easily, stopping him before he's gone halfway to the corner. He slumps against the wall and shouts, "Odota! I surrender!" The part she can understand is in Albaean.
[18:33] <Cille_Lund> At last, someone that speaks in real, more easily understood words! She changes to Albaean, and speaks with a calmer tone. "Is that Albaean of yours fluent? I would ask you something."
[18:36] <@Oxford> "Fluent enough," the man says, with a shrug. He holds his hands up, a little uncertain as to whether that's expected of him or not. He isn't as old as Cille thought initially; perhaps only in his 40s, but with thinning, dark gray hair and round glasses.
[18:41] <Cille_Lund> She doesn't stop him. "Good. Then I ask...do you know what is going on in this godsforsaken hellhole? Do they know what's going on in this godsforsaken hellhole?" She gestures to the place they came from. "Your fate won't change depending on your answer to me. Hopefully, not much will be getting done here anytime soon anyway."
[18:44] <@Oxford> He shakes his head, but his eyes stay fixed on Cille. "I don't know what you are talking about," he says. "Please, be more clear."
[18:48] <Cille_Lund> She tries to be quick about this. "I've seen what's gone on here. What I imagine was a pendant user quite like myself was thrown in this place, powerless to resist. And inside this place, I had seen bombshells, with no payload but a helmet and a small seat. Our magic is very potent."
[18:51] <Cille_Lund> "In the plane that had taken off, and has landed with quite the bang, many of these--" Her thoughts had wandered to that person. ...She starts making connections, and she doesn't like them at all, but she refuses to fully acknowledge them for her own safety. "--...things were present. On a bomber, guarded by a pendant user that did not seem herself, one quite berserk."
[18:53] <Cille_Lund> She pauses to see if he can add two and two together.
[18:55] <@Oxford> "You destroyed the last shipment? I still don't understand. If you want the device, there may still be working prototypes, but all the ones we made have been shipped out." He shakes his head again. "Please, talk so that I can understand you."
[19:01] <Cille_Lund> Not being properly understood...can come to some usefulness. His assumptions glean some insight, which is nice! Seems to be too...snivveling to cooperate, though, but information is always nice. Worth a shot. "These devices. What do they do." It's more of a demand to know than it is a question to find out!
[19:02] <@Oxford> "They're bombs, of course. They explode."
[19:03] <Cille_Lund> "They explode with pendant users in them. Is that something you understand?!" "Hey, don't lose your temper!" "He might start to cower!"
[19:08] <@Oxford> He looks confused again. "You're saying we should make a bomb that doesn't kill people?"
[19:15] <Cille_Lund> She groans in irritation, as it's pretty much all she can muster at that. "What I'm saying is that the moment someone decided to make the payload a prisoner, they've officially gone too far. And what if they ran out of prisoners? They wouldn't be against using your own. They all have spares. And if I'm right, apparently mind control isn't too far either."
[19:17] <@Oxford> "Okay," he agrees, nodding and watching her hands very, very carefully. "Okay. Okay."
[19:22] <Cille_Lund> Her hands are, in fact, trembling a bit. Mostly in fury. "I'd ask you to try to explain this to the lot inside there. I only know bits and pieces of Nov. And if at the end of this, you somehow get a hold of your superiors, tell them that this sort of thing is not going to go as unnoticed as they'd like."
[19:24] <@Oxford> "Okay," he says again, still nodding. "Okay. I'll talk to them. No problem."
[19:26] <Cille_Lund> "Then, go back to where the others are. Go quickly, I'm a busy person." She watches him carefully!
[19:28] <@Oxford> He runs back toward the red door. As he goes, he keeps checking over his shoulder to see if she's still watching him. The engineer is mid-check when he runs into the barrier she placed earlier, and he lets out a surprised shout as he falls to the ground.
[19:31] <Cille_Lund> "I couldn't exactly let them scatter more." She attempts to make the barrier stop for a moment, hopefully only for a duration so she can reinstate it without issue. "Proceed."
[19:31] <Cille_Lund> "...Whether they care too much or not isn't relevent. I might only ask that they know."
[19:33] <@Oxford> He steps inside quickly once it's clear the barrier has lifted, and seems relieved to put something physical between himself and Cille. With him back inside, the rest of the base is dead quiet. Even the klaxxon has stopped.
[19:34] <Cille_Lund> Hopefully those two women haven't ran into a perilous situation. That'd sort of go against what she's doing. That said, so as long as the message has a CHANCE to get out, and most of the harmless fleshies are firmly tucked away, she's fine.
[19:35] <Cille_Lund> ...Alright, factory equipment, check, noncombatants, check...
[19:37] <Cille_Lund> ...The dorm/barracks area, then. She's gotta get everything! The enemy can't exactly be left with weapons. They'd use those to shoot people! That won't do.
[19:40] <Cille_Lund> ...They'd probably use them to shoot HER. Sadly, unless she'd like to get shot, there's not too much she can do to stop that unless they realize the futility of trying to shoot her. She's confident that such a thing would be futile, though, so no reason to slow down!
[19:43] <@Oxford> The front door of the dormitory is a double door, solid wood. It disintegrates into splinters with a gesture from Cille, and she walks through without breaking stride. The building she finds herself in has a desk up front and stairs leading up behind it, with living quarters in wings to both sides.
[19:47] <Cille_Lund> ...Fragile doors. ...She's gotta comb this place good. Find out where everyone's hiding, and pray they don't all kill themselves in foolishness!
[19:48] <Cille_Lund> ...To the left first, then!
[20:04] <Cille_Lund> To the left, to the left. To the right to the right! One hop this time? Cille is being pretty through in her search for anything of merit, or anyone of merit. Considering her location, she's mostly looking for the latter. What enemies she finds, she crushes. Sometimes to death, sometimes to submission, where they join the others. For her effort, some goods, and destroyed guns! And less dead people than there could be, though there's likely a casualty or two.
[20:05] <Cille_Lund> ...Or plenty. Who knows!
[20:06] <Cille_Lund> ...With that done...she sincerely hopes that the thoughts wiggling in the back of her head aren't true. So, she checks on the hangar she had once snuck inside, to see if there's...anything, really. Anything at all. Bombshells, girls, planes, soldiers...
[20:07] <Cille_Lund> ...Why'd she make this her last destination anyway? It would seem like a good first. ...She's learning, OK? Give her a break!
[20:09] <Cille_Lund> ...OK, a good second. Those machines had to go.
[20:12] <@Oxford> The hangar is the building closest to the ridgeline where Vladko and Marupol had their surveillance set up. Cille can't see them, but they may be able to see her. The door on the side of the hangar is unlocked.
[20:13] <@Oxford> The door opens slowly, a sliver of light spreading from the crack until it covers the whole floor.
[20:14] <Cille_Lund> Cille might only hope that the whole floor is not entirely bare! Sure, the weapons would be gone, yet, but...she's been everywhere else by now, so...
[20:16] <@Oxford> The plane that had been in the hangar is gone, obviously. So too are the stacks of bombs that Cille found the last time she was here. It seems as though the man she interrogated was telling the truth: all the bombs that were made have already been shipped out.
[20:18] <Cille_Lund> "...Nothing here." She tries to look harder! If there's no one HERE, then...there's no one here.
[20:18] <Cille_Lund> And if there's no one here, that...look harder! Don't fall into this until AFTER you're sure!
[20:20] <Cille_Lund> ...At least one person? One? Somewhere?
[20:21] <Cille_Lund> She's been everywhere else!
[20:23] <@Oxford> She looks through the hangar, cautiously scanning each nook and cranny for unseen foes. She doesn't see any, but her eye is drawn to what looks like a small room set off in the corner of the hangar. It looks like an office, or perhaps a small locker-room, just big enough for the ground crew to use.
[20:25] <Cille_Lund> ...There! ...That was harder to find than expected. Surely, someone might be here. ...Honestly, at this point, she'd welcome an enemy. So as long as it breaks her chain of thought right now. What an AWFUL chain of thought right now. ...Just head in. Carefully, now!
[20:30] <@Oxford> The door is made of cheap particle board, and is already unlatched. Inside is a single swivel chair behind a desk, and across from that a wooden bench. There's a curtain with a toilet behind it, half pulled back, on the other side.
[20:47] <Cille_Lund> And now...no, no one could hide here...but, check anyway. Behind the desk, behind the curtain. There can't be, but...but there should be!
[20:50] <@Oxford> After a thorough search...still nothing. There isn't a single person in the hangar, let alone the sort of person she's looking for.
[20:52] <Cille_Lund> ...No one. So...that really was, wasn't it? She totally killed the person she'd been wanting to save. Called her awful things, too.
[20:52] <@Oxford> In frustration, she sits down hard in the swivel chair, and suddenly a folded piece of paper sitting on the desk catches her eye. There is something intentional about it: folded neatly, signed in careful cursive handwriting.
[20:54] <Cille_Lund> ...A good place to melt down, indeed. The spinning makes the world feel better. Better, of course, means 'literally any sensation other than her own thoughts'. ...So, she DOES notice the paper at some point...handwriting. Elaborate handwriting. ...A glutton for her own mental punishment, she must be. There's something to keep it going, after all. Let's have a read.
[20:57] <Cille_Lund> ...If she can read it, anyway.
[20:58] <Cille_Lund> If it's in Nov, well, she can always demand Vladko read it and put off thinking about this entirely until she sees him again! That'd be safer. ...But if it's readable, well, safety is for people that aren't curious.
[20:59] <@Oxford> Strangely enough, it's written in Albaean. One can only wonder as to why - perhaps to prevent it from being read by the ground crew? Or because the recipient was Albaean?
[21:01] <Cille_Lund> Perhaps it was simply written by an Albaean. Surely, then the recipient would likely be Albaean by default. But of course, simply doing it to obscure things might make sense too. At the least, it lets her be able to read such things!
[21:01] <Cille_Lund> ...Which may be a good or bad thing for her very aching heart, tugging her in ways out of her control!
[21:06] <@Oxford> "Dear Father," it begins simply, "I've finally learned where you are. Be at peace. I will be with you soon." The short note is signed: Kultaseni. There is a small, wet smudge over the signature.
[21:12] <Cille_Lund> ...To write such a thing in such a place...she knew. They all must have known. Why wouldn't they have known? ...Had they given up like she had, once? Must the world remain in such a depressing state? Where people fling themselves into a war fought by powers that seek naught but more power of their own, by such means that even those of their own countries would give pause and question their actions if they had actually known?
[21:13] <Cille_Lund> Anarchy would be better than that, and she's sure that it would be awful, since it would result in a war for power's sake alone, and everyone would get stepped on. But at least they'd have a better idea that they were getting stepped on, not being blinded by things like patriotism.
[21:15] <Cille_Lund> ...What is clear though, was that some people in Novgoraad need to die some very painful deaths. She's not sure who they are, she's not sure where they are, but she will find them, and they will die, if only to make up for the loss of innocent life that could have been avoided with just a little bit more thinking, and an emergency plane landing.
[21:16] <Cille_Lund> Just...fill the void with something else. Like hate for specific individuals she doesn't know!
[21:17] <Cille_Lund> And with that (unhealthy) mindset, she goes off to see if she can find Vladko or Marupol. ...She fucked up, yeah, but...mission accomplished? Maybe?
[21:17] <Cille_Lund> It's a personal failing, but she's used to that by now. At least she's allowed to stab the other people at fault.
[21:18] <@Oxford> /session