Session VIII

"The call of the fox."

Players Involved: Lokar

Return to Ascension Isle: Legacy

Jonas' day isn't going any better, when Jonas hears the first distant explosion. He throws back a drink and runs to the west-facing balcony of his house for a look. He can see a haze of smoke rising from Ward 6, and can now hear the distant rattle-pop of gunfire.

"Shit. . . Please tell me she didn't do it. . ."

Jonas switches on the panoptic mirror. It's usually not broadcasting these days, but maybe. He waits impatiently for it to warm up and he pours himself another whiskey. The picture clears, as Jonas checks the channels (all 6 of them! Such choice!) and there's a public announcement: "All residents of Endus District are to remain in their homes until the disturbance is contained." A Priestess in the white and blue colours of Liah is saying. "Residents of the Tellen and Coreve districts may continue as normal. It is your Chosen duty to report anything suspicious to your local constables."

Another channel is an unfiltered feed from a clearly excited News Psyche, ". . .recording a morality report on the aptly named Rose Way, when suddenly we heard an explosion from over there!" Jonas can see black clouds rising from where she's pointing, and there are armoured cars pulled up across the street, and for a second he thinks he can see Alice, in front of a large golden building, hands on her hips, talking to a cluster of Constables on the steps and then the picture swings away.

Jonas takes a swig, and flips channels. There is a spark between his finger and the dial and suddenly on Channel 6 he's hearing voices, although there's no picture. He can recognize one of them immediately. It's the Lord General Marianne, so clear she might be in the room beside him.

". . .Ahead of schedule, but within bounds." The Lord General is saying. "We will let the situation progress, and render any assistance Du Blessed requests."

Another voice comes through, male, tinnier and distorted, as if coming through a teletex rather than a direct telepathic connection. "Sir, is that wise? We could end up fighting our own mercenaries."

"Du Blessed will never ask, Cordinal. But we must keep up appearances." Saint Just says. "In any event, after Tremscare I have directed our friends to conduct operations away from the city for the time being. Even Du Blessed can handle a few Reds without assistance."

"Acknowledged, Lord General." The other voice says, and then the mimetic shifts and the transmission is lost in a heterodyning thrum of static.

". . . Interesting. . ." Jonas murmurs. "You're smarter then you look Saint-Just."

Jonas wonders just how his mirror can pick up a (presumably secure) Crusader teletex transmission. The mirror is back to the news, with the Psyche in Ward 6 breathlessly reporting on the fighting around her, but he can't make out much from that save a bunch of cops firing wildly up at the buildings. ". . .Here comes the 'dyne, we have them now! Go get them! WOOOOOO!" The shadow of an arthrodyne swoops low, bolts of light spitting from its nose, blasting the side of a hotel and sending masonry and glass into the air.

Jonas looks for information on the neighbouring Wards. Another priestess is reading from a strip of paper. "All House Cadet forces of Wards 5, 6, and 7 are ordered to report for duty to assist local Constabulary and Crusade forces." Jonas makes a decision.

"Zikzax, get my bike ready. I'm heading to Ward 7."

"Would yu like the walking out undershirt as well, m'Lord?" The Kobold shakes out Jonas' bulletproof vest. "It might rrain."

"Yes. Capital idea." Jonas opens a desk drawer and takes out a pistol, some ammo. . . and a silver mask.

The Unity District is all gleaming manor houses and well kept tree line through fares, lined with upscale gated communities. Jonas roars through its empty streets, his trench coat flapping behind him, and his face half hidden behind riding goggles. There are several gates to each of the Wards. The main highways, the rail lines, the maintenance lines, and the cargo roads. Jonas turns onto the maintenance lines and guns it onto a narrow underpass, intermittently lit, and hung with a bunch of new heavy cabling. Recent work it looks like.

Short of the Ward 7 gate a constabulary checkpoint halts him briefly, but Jonas bluffs his way through easily, dropping Lady Aeternia's name. The gendarmes only have orders to stop people coming into the Unity District, not leaving. They wave him through with a warning that many of the police block-houses on the other side have already been abandoned or overrun.

Jonas races through the streets of Ward 7 without incident. For all the Constable's fears this section of the streets looks deserted, although he catches several faces peeking out at him through curtains and shutters. He can hear the distant pop of occasional gunfire as he pulls up to the old arcology on Yojimbo. The complex is made of rows of green houses and large warehouses, with a the squat central grey cylinder of a transmutation factorum. It seemed like a good place to hole up, and after the city's reconstruction the whole place was out of business anyway. Jonas rolls up to the front gate, where the watchman waves him to stop at a barrier. "Sure is cold for Aries." he says, using the code phrase. "The 10th is always the coldest day of the year." Jonas responds. "Brrr, not this year, boss." Says the sentry, and then raises the barrier. "They're waiting for you in the Factorum."

The Factorum is a heavily shielded industrial transmutation plant. Jonas can see men and women in civilian clothes moving about with purpose as he enters, leaving his bike and pulling off his helmet and gloves. Several nod as they see him, "'Day sir," But no salutes. Jonas nods in return and heads for the command center on the upper level. There's a map on the table, with lots of little flags on it.

"What's the Sit-Rep?"

"Sir, good to see you." Major Russ Clove his ops officer, and Major Victoria Valdian, his intel officer are there.

"Majors." Jonas goes to look at the map.

"Cordinal." Valdian brushes away some papers and goes to briefing mode. "It's the Red Brigades sir. At approximately 0840 this morning they struck targets across Ward 6, starting with the Ward Station House. Bombs and small arms, although they've also been using rockets and heavier weapons."

Jonas nods

She points. "At the same time, our informants have been reporting riots in the District 5 and 7 slums, beginning this morning, when the Pols were informed that the breakfast ration had been cut in response to *last* night's assassination attempt on the Baroness Samelrand."

"Citizens." Jonas corrects.

"Sorry sir, citizens." She says. "We know that Constabulary forces have withdrawn to the inner city in Ward 7, and Lentithe is mustering its forces around their holdings at Junon."

"How bad is it here?"

"Not as bad as Ward 6." Says Clove. "Yet. The Constabulary ran like jackrabbits, and the citizens in the outer city seem content to rampage through the slums for now."

"Scouts are reporting that agitators are trying to rile them up for a march on the inner city though." Says Valdian. "There's a lot of talk about looting the noble's graineries and markets."

Jonas looks at the map and sees another cluster of red flags massing in the area of the Ward 5 market.

"Hm. Any other news about Ward 5?"

"Less sir, but not good. Satlac's OP to watch the 13th reports that he's seen them gathering arms, and he's heard word the Constables are pulling back to the Central market." Valdian points to a cluster of red flags. "The riots seem to be down in Tonberry for now, but if its the same situation as here, then there'll be agitators trying to get them to move on the inner city as well." She frowns. "We heard over the open command telex that Du Blessed has ordered Sentonius Cadet forces to Little Wutai to maintain orders."

"Sounds like Stevan has his hands full." Jonas wonders how his old friend is doing.

"It'll be a disaster." Russ shakes his head. "Sentonius has little better than singlesticks. The people we've seen have everything up to Anti-Clare rockets. Lady Samelrand checked in from Zeta Ward, and said they'd even managed to come up with enough money to hire a professional gunman. That Rafaelan, the one they call Fate's Hand." He chuckles. "Seems like Alice and her are a pair - apparently they had a chat - must have been like scorpions mating. Anyway, Alice says this assassin might be amenable to working for us."

"Someone's pushing this, Cordinal." Says Valdian, "And pushing hard. Bets are on the Reds, but if it's them, then they've suddenly come into a large amount of funds and weapons, - and certainly not from the General Staff."

Jonas strokes his chin. "There is a secret hand in all this..."

The two majors look at him questioningly.

"Saint-Just." Jonas says. "She's trying to keep Du-Blessed occupied."

"What, really sir?" Valdian adjusts her glasses in surprise. "I know reports are they hate each other, but our assessment was always that the crisis would force the Crusade factions together. If they're actually working at cross purposes that could significantly advance the timetable."

"We'll have to let the General Staff know." Says Russ. "If we can ever regain contact with the covert bastards." He looks up from the table at Jonas. "How'd you find this out sir?"

"Let's say I found myself... An inside source." Jonas taps the side of his nose.

House Sentonius survived the war, but was nearly annihilated in the aftermath for the humiliations it inflicted upon the armies of the Chosen Leliel. The other two Chosen, Liah and Auriel ultimately talked down their fellow, and in her mercy (or the other Chosen's warped senses of humour) Leliel allowed Sentonius to survive in her service. House Sentonius is known for being given all the most humiliating tasks within the Enduscare Occupation Zone, and along with its surviving cadet family of Var-Vistus, has title over Epsilon Ward in the Enduscare Occupation District. They're demillitarized and little more that community police. And the map makes clear that Du Blessed is parking them in front of the rioters. An easy sacrifice.

"The wild card." Says Valdian, "Is the 13th." No one here ever calls them a Legion. "But if the Reds have enough money to buy Fate's Hand, they probably have enough to purchase Catarian for a day, so long as they don't ask him to stick his neck out too far."

Jonas makes his decision. "If we allow the riots to go unchecked in Ward 5 the Crusaders will eventually level the place. If we can get in there and stop them the Sentonius will probably look upon us favorably and we can perhaps work out an aragement similar to what we have here. As for the 13th. . . They were our comrades during the war. Whatever happen to them afterwards we owe it to them and ourselves to save them from what's about to happen."

His officers nod.

"I've got 'A' Group assembled," Says Clove. A Group is 25 men. "But It'll take time to move the boys to Ward 5. We can skirt the city outer wall. . . or we can blow those access passes we've been hoarding and go through the Unity District."

Jonas shakes his head. "Unity route is too risky, I barely got through on my way in. How long will it take to get First Company together?"

"The entire company? We could have the boys together in another hour, but we couldn't get to Ward 5 before noon at the earliest." Russ frowns. "It might be over before then. Sergeant Satlac is gung ho to intervene, but he doesn't have the moxie to stop all this with just a half squad.

Sergeant Satlac is the man Jonas has observing the 13th in Ward 5. He's one of the Legion's best men, but he's not originally from the Legio X. He has a Legio XIII tattoo, although he doesn't talk about it. The 13th called itself Lucky 13, and had a reputation as being a bunch of troublemakers. Played hard and fought hard. It was considered one of the original Legions. But those in the city calling themselves the 13th now are well armed gangsters at best.

"Alright have Satlac and his troops hold and wait for us, he'll be our point man when we arrive." Jonas looks over to Valdian. "And get in contact with Fate's Hand and have her meet us there."

"And where are you going, Jonas?" Asks Russ.

"I'm going into Ward 5 with A Group."

Jonas dispatches a runner to inform Lady Aeternia of the situation, with advice for how to resolve the riots peacefully, then heads over to where A Group, 1st Company is mustering, led by the taciturn Lieutenant Alti Lind.

"First to the fight again, Cordinal." Says Alti. "A Group, all ready." Jonas can't tell whether she's excited, annoyed, or anything in between.

"Cheer up Lind." Jonas says. "I hear the market has great early-bird deals."

The toothpick she's always chewing on is her only expression, swinging up at the corner of her mouth.

"There we go. :)"

Lind raises an interesting possibility (she never calls them plans). The old maintenance monorail south of the graveyard was just repaired and workers are using it to move materials between sections of wall. She suggests commandeering one of their flats, and taking the line as a high speed shortcut into Ward 5. "It may fail horribly sir, and we could all die. Or be left without power over the Zeta camps." She says. "Truly any number of things could go wrong." She shifts the toothpick over to the right side. It's just Lind being Lind. She's got something against optimism.

Jonas decides to go with her "possibility," and A Group mounts up onto a pair of ratty old steam trucks and set off, heading for the Graveyard. Riding in the passenger seat of the first truck beside Lind Jonas can see the construction scaffolding as they approach. And also the barricades. The trucks drive around the first few, but increasingly the barricades are manned, and the legionaries can hear a dull roar of the slums alive over the sound of the truck's chuffing. Finally several elves with rickety makeshift rifles wave them to a stop.

Jonas gets out.

"Where the hell you think you're going, an' who you with anyway?" The elven leader shifts his gun menacingly, although not pointing it at Jonas.

"Maintence tunnels." Jonas says. He can see pillars of smoke behind the barricade, and hear the dull roar of the mob.

"Aint no one building anything right now. You and yours turn ysselves around." The Elf says.

"Wait! Listen to him speak, he aint no Prole, he's a LORD!" Someone else yells from behind a bandit hankerchief. "Bet he's worth silver, too!"

Jonas raises a hand. "Listen, I don't want any trouble and neither do you. I am Lord, I am Jonas Flavius. Does that name ring a bell?"

"I don't know any Lords!" Snarks someone in the back. But the guy in front's gun wavers. "Well I do." He says "Jonas Flavius? The Cordinal? Yeah, I heard of you. They say you're one of the good ones."

"Thank you." Jonas says. "Humans and Fey haven't had the best of relations but a better world can be made without the Crusaders where man and Fey can work together. If you let me and my associates through I won't forget this favor."

"Yeah, well, I dunno about working together, but I figure I can let you go your way, for now." He waves an arm, and a battered tram is pushed out of the way, to let you pass.

"What is your name son?" Jonas asks.

"We aint friends, Cordinal." The Elf says, "But you can call me Doss." He waves the humans through.

Lind has been leaning with her arms over the steering wheel of the truck, head resting on the back of her hands, almost as if dozing. "They could be just leading us deeper into a trap." She fires the engine up, and moves the little convoy further in. It isn't a trap, and A Group rolls into the abandoned construction site without further incident.

There's machinery all over the place, a lot of it tossed and looted. There's several large piles of copper cabling, and a large crane fallen on its side. And there's the excavated access to the old tube lines. A small train of open topped rail cars is sitting on it, loaded with construction material The men quickly throw it our and load in several large kit bags, while Lind checks the power. The men pile in, then Lind, on the OK's from her squad leaders, applies power. "It might explode at any time, Sir. I hear electrocution is a painful way to die."

The train rattles forward, picking up speed. Lights flash past at irregular intervals, but otherwise it's just a dark tunnel ahead. After several long minutes on the rattling, shaking train a light grows ahead. The men pull on balaclavas. "Time to get into character" Jonas says, and slips on his silver mask. Lind slides a mask with a snarling demon over her faceplate. Jonas doubts she's shown anything so expressive on her real face in her life. "That's a good look on you Lind."

The train glides to a stop in the open air of Palmer Parade, in another construction site. There's the smell of smoke heavy in the air, and Jonas can head indistinct but loud megaphones. With a deep thrumming sound an Arthrodyne passes several hundred meters overhead, circling but otherwise doing nothing. Jonas looks around for Sgt Satlac.

A stocky man with arms as thick as his legs emerges from behind a nearby tractor. He's wearing a turtleneck sweater, with a bag thrown diagonally across his back, and hands like mallets. That's Satlac. "Cordinal," he nods in greeting. "Figured you'd come personal." Lind and her men offload while Satlac gives Jonas a quick rundown.

"There's a good 10,000 or more Citizens, all riled up by the Reds. They're marching on Little Wutai. Plan to loot the markets there then move on to Central. Gathering more as they go." He says, furrowing the frozen sand of the construction site with a large combat knife as he draws a map in the sand.

"Then here" Stab. "There's about 200 Sentonius drawn up to hold the market. And HERE-" Another line, "Is the 13th, drawn up behind them, sneaky like, at the old Lookout."

"Finally," he stabs the Central market, "Here's the 522nd. Gods damned "Leliel Ascends" itself. All shaken out in battle order and ready to rumble - and you know the 522nd never shies from beating on the unabled. But they just sitting there." He points up at the circling Arthrodynes. "Just waiting."

Jonas nods. "Have you IDed the ringleaders?"

"We seen a few. Well equipped, and in telex too. They coordinating."

"The 13th isn't there to assist Sentonius." Says Lind.

"Not a chance," Snorts Satlac. "No fucking chance. Way I see it they're blocking the roads north. No one gets out of Wutai, and that includes Sentonius."

"I know." Jonas says. "They are going to drive the mob there and then the 13th will open fire, causing a riot and then the 522nd will step in after the Sentonius get killed."

"Makes a dirty sort of sense, Cordinal." Satlac agrees. "See, people in this ward actually kinda like old Marcel Sentonius, when they're thinking properly. I fugure Du Blessed wants to remove the competition. Sentonius and Arhyna are way too cozy for her liking, and you know how she feels 'bout traitors."

Jonas cracks his knuckles. "So we just need to disperse the mob peacefully before they get down there."

Satlac nods, as if that's totally a sane option. Lind's face is probably expressionless under her mask, but Jonas can see a little tent in the fabric where the toothpick is being chewed up and down.

Jonas looks at Satlac's sand map and picks out the open Palmer Parade area as the spot. A wide open area surrounded by housing stacks. A good place for the rabble rousers to stop and rally the mob before proceeding on.

An open topped truck is making its way to Palmer Parade ahead of the masses. It's got a driver, and a group of about a dozen reds with SMGs and rifles hanging off the back, and a bunch of large etheric loudspeakers attached to it. Due to burning barricades on the main streets, it has to swing into a side alley to loop around to the parade square.

Suddenly a dumpster crashes in front of it, swung out by Sgt Satlac, wearing one of the 10ths remaining exoskeletons. The truck skids to a halt, the 1st squad is all over them, bursting from the buildings and shouting down the Reds as 2nd squad covers the end of the alley for any interference. There's a shot as someone fires a pistol, then a crack as someone is butstroked in the face, followed by the thud of a boot and then a red rolling on the ground, and then they're all bound, with hoods over their heads.

"Excellent work Lind, Satlac."

"Functional vehicle," Says Lind. Looking it over. "Running high on RPMs though. Gutter fuel. Probably a fire hazard."

One of Satlacs scouts trots up. "We got the Reds secured it the boiler room below the corner shop sir. We'll keep an eye on them until you can be back to pick them up."

"Very well, now to break up this crowd."

A Group disperses into overwatch positions around the north end of the Parade, where a massive raised stage is set up. People are flowing into the huge space already, displacing the existing shanty town of tents from its normal homeless residents. Jonas takes a couple of deep breaths he hasn't seen a crowd this big since the days of the Republic.

<< Squad One, set >> << Two Set >> << Support Set>>

<< All squads set, Trickster. >> Lind says, over the tacnet.

The crowd is still spilling into the square - it's a lot more than 10,000 now - as Jonas steps up on the huge stone stage, wearing the dress overcoat of a Republic Cordinal, and a silver mask marked with the red paint of a foxhead. The Reds have obligingly wired the whole area with Amplification Praxi. There's even a couple of huge Mirrors behind him, so they can see him in the back. People continue to stream into the parade. Angry people in rags and patches. People who just five years ago would have been citizens of the republic, living very different lives.

A few agitators within the crowd are yelling with megaphones, until the megaphones go silent. Support squad is behind and above the stage in the old council building, steadily frying their praxis with a long range microwaver. Unless any of them are proper Thaumatechs, they're not gonna be able to get them going again. FZZZZT, FZZZT, FZZZT. Sergeant Satlac has a blanket thrown over himself and has camped like a hobo near the stage. He's the only close security Jonas has.

"People of Viminal!" Jonas shouts over the murmur, using the old Republican name for the ward. "Lend me your ears! Once there was a noble dream, the dream of our fair Republic! A Republic where men and women sought and found a better life, a life filled with wonders Arth had never seen before and a life free from the Chosen. We suffered greatly for this dream but that dream will be born again one day! A restored, nay, a NEW Republic one built upon traditions from before but better and more enlightened!"

"It will not be an easy road ahead but one with a worthy goal at the end. However, what was to happen here today was not the path to this future. Today, across what the Chosen call the Endruscare fires rage. Fires set by the Red Brigades, but they offer only false hope!"

"The Reds are not the saviors we hope for but merely dupes, puppets being played along in some sinister game of the Crusaders! I know you are mad and I understand you are hungry in a very real way but this is not the answer! House Sentonious suffers as much as you do! They suffer so that the Chosen do not further punish you! Remember all the good things about old Marcel remember all the good he has done for you, Citizens, he deserves the respect from the people of Viminal, not your violence!"

"If you leave this place with anger in your hearts then only more pain and suffering will come from it and you will do exactly what the Crusaders want! Do you want that? Do you want to become the dupes of the Crusaders? No of course you do! So I ask you, Citizens of Viminal, to make the hardest choice you’d had in a long time. Go home. Hug your children and you parents and wait. For the time will come when the Crusade will fall and we shall create a New Republic!"

Jonas voice booms out over the parade ground. There is a murmuring from among the crowd. Some indistinct voices yell, and a few Reds advance, waving weapons. <<2, move now, 1 hold>> Squad 2 emerges in front of Jonas, in full battledress of soldiers of the Legions. The Reds halt.

The Arthrodyne overhead doesn't however, it turns, its optics flashing, then noses over, guns swiveling into line. . .

Jonas stands tall and proud in his uniform

. . . <<Support, engaging>>

A Spike missile shrieks out. It spirals briefly, and Jonas for a moment thinks it's a bad round, and is going to go wild, but then it takes up the track and races for the Arthrodyne. The black flying beetle sees it coming and pulls up to evade, but the missile swerves after it, drawing a smoky trail and impacts into its carapace. WHOMP! The Arthrodyne takes the hit and staggers in the air, its gun firing. The bolt misses, exploding into the stage behind Jonas.

Jonas stands upright at parade rest with his dress coat flapping wildly in the blast behind him.

Trailing smoke the Arthrodyne staggers overhead falling down behind the buildings. The crowd is scattering. The Reds look daggers at the Legion troops, but there's only about 50 of them left in the square, and they're backing up. A couple of brave souls try to exhort them forward, but the Comrades aren't having it, and they begin backing up as well. Jonas looks down at them. "I suggest you boys go home and rethink things. I am right you know, you are being played for dupes."

(epic die rolls follow)

They lower their weapons. And then from the edge of the square suddenly there is singing. It's someone singing the anthem of the Republic. More voices join in: ". . .To our course we all are sealed, til all who walk, tread Elysian fields. . ."

Jonas raises his voice. "You can fight for a better future. Join Legio X."

Jonas and his men displace out of the square, moving tactically up to Little Wutai, or trying to, except for the growing trail of militia following them. Jonas can also see clusters of men in ratty coats with carbines and SMGs filing into the street ahead. They're wearing red armbands, with a black fist eblazoned on them.

"General!" One calls. It's a woman with her hair swept back under a tweed cap. "You aren't going to leave, are you. You're going to fight the Enders. If you are. . . If you are. . . we want to come with you." There are murmurs of assent.

"Yes." Jonas says. "Are you willing to join the Legio?"

She hesitates. "I was in the 21st." A man in the group says. "I remember when we sent the Crux running with their tail between their legs. Before the Chosen came." He raises his voice. "But now there's no more Chosen. If there's still a Legion, hell YES I'll join!"

There is a ragged cry of assent from the group.

"There is, welcome. Legio X welcomes you all!"

Up ahead at little Wutai a rather grim looking Stevan Var-Vistus is standing with a thin line of patrol cars drawn across the deserted main avenue. Behind him is a line of Sentonius militia armed with riot shields and clubs. Dispersing his troops into back alleys, Jonas moves around them, to bypass and converge on where the 13th Legion is waiting.

Catarian, the leader of the 13th, is sitting in an abandoned tea shop with several of his officers, as the terrified proprietor serves them. His men are deployed on the roads further south, waiting for sight of the rioters to move up. "What's keeping them?" Catarian checks a large overly ornate gold pocketwatch. He has a thin pencil mustache and his hair in oiled ringlets, and wears a well cut coat and pants in a vaguely military style, but without insignia. "You'd think with all those drummers they could at least keep pace."

Observing from a rooftop Jonas recognizes the man. He's Carik Malkaritus. He joined the republic military, but was cashiered before the war for corruption. Got back in on house connections as a Legate just before the War, when they were taking everyone, but clearly survived.

Catarian - Carik, checks his watch again. "This is tedious. I have a mind to just order the men to start shooting Var Vistus and his lambs now. Does it really matter how they get their massacre?"

"I won't recommend that Malkaritus."

They leap to their feet as Jonas and Satlac enter the tea house.

"Stevan is a friend of mine and I would be very. . . displeased if something happened to him." Jonas looks down at them with distaste. "Carik Malkaritus. A thief who thinks himself a Cordinal."

"How the fuck - " Guns rattle out, ZENTek pulse rifles. Satlac drops the blanket to reveal a ZEN Tek Straker, a massive beam spitter.

"Try it." Says Satlac, clearly with the drop on them. "Try me."

Catarians three officers look back and forth

"I am the Fox." Jonas says, "The 13th was a good Legio. Not the best and definitely not the kind you'd want on parade but they were good troops who fought well. They did the right thing during Nightfall, holding the rearguard to allow civilians to escape. . . An act you sully like their name when you turned to a life of crime."

Jonas is speaking to the men behind Catarian with geninue concern but in the tone of a disapproving parent. "The 13th saved alot of lives that day. What happened to you?"

"Not a word from any of you." Says Catarian. "Fox, or whoever you are. You're not going to shoot. You're all caught up in the memory of a dead republic. And you have your rules. Rules that got us all killed. Well, now there are new rules. *I* saved the 13th, and *I* defend Ward 5, and I do it with my own rules."

"Please." Jonas says. "I figured out your little plan the moment I arrived here. You should've stuck to skimming the books Malkaritus."

"Then maybe you should know that I have powerful friends." Catarian snaps. "Powerful friends who won't be happy that you're interfering."

Jonas shakes his head. "You think you have friends but you're just a pawn. A pawn of the Crusaders. When they are done with you they'll just knock you down."

"That," Catarian hisses. "Is a base and false accusation."

"You don't have to take silver from the hands of our enemies." Jonas says, talking past Catarian to his officers. Still young men, they couldn't have been more than cadets during the Repulic. "You can be the men you once were. You can be heroes."

"Heroes." Snarls Catarian. "Let me show you what happens to heroes!"

And he draws his gun.

Energy blasts rip through the confines of the little tea house. Satlac's straker makes a stuttering hum and bolts ripple through the air, flashing against an energy field surrounding Catarian. Sparks spray across the wall behind him, detonating several china plates and a nodding cat, and scorching the checkered floor tiles behind him.

Catarian's pistol comes up and makes a high pitched SNAP. The energy bolt slams into Jonas' chest and throws him back into a table. From a rooftop one of A Group's snipers fires. The armour piercing round slams into the energy field and punches through, striking Catarian in the head with its leftover energy, spinning him around. He sprawls on the ground as Satlac steps forward, covering the others with the Straker. "No. No moving. Lt, Trickster is down. Medic, and fast."

"For... The... Republic... I'm sorry Hazel..."

Jonas floats in a painful haze. He hears shouts, and another gunshot, and the proprietor whimpering behind the counter as the Straker fires again, blowing tables and windows to molten fragments as the 13th men fire wild pulse shots as they withdraw. And then his people are there. 10th and concerned Reds - 10th Auxilliaries - and there's an animated discussion, and then he's being bandaged and carried on a stretcher. He blacks out for a moment.

He's in a room somewhere, and then Stevan Var-Vistus is looking down at him. "-Don't care who you are, you're Legion, good enough for me. We'll get a priestess for your Cordinal, but ours has been evacuated, you'll have to hang on while we locate-"

There is a flash of red at the window. A billowing cape, and a woman's voice, teasing. "A priestess? Now wouldn't that just spoil the mood." A young woman in wide brimmed red hat with a black eye mask underneath is looking down at him. "Besides, we shouldn't risk any chosen maids around this sly fox."

A hand touches Jonas' arm where the clothing has been burned away. A Praxis glows. And a voice whispers. "You saved me a lot of trouble today, Mr. Cordinal. Consider this a small repayment. Except the day's not over yet, and this isn't really my scene. I'm just moonlighting."

Jonas feels the pain receding. "Wh... Who are you?"

"Now now! Artemis Crimesene, doesn't kiss and tell, even with heroes." She smiles mischievously down at him, with full red lips beneath her mask. Then leans in and gives him a kiss on the lips. "Well, she doesn't tell, anyway!"

"For luck!" And then there's a flash of red Praxis and she's a storm of spiralling ribbons of red in the air, and gone out the window.

Jonas is feeling a little flustered, "Who was that strange girl?"

"She's a criminal," Says Lind, standing somewhere beside him. "And you're a peace officer." She says to Stevan Var-Vistus. You could almost think there was accusation in her voice, she looks back at Jonas, the toothpick canting down. "And *you* have a reputation to maintain."

"Well whoever she is, she saved my life." Jonas winces, prodding at the tender skin of the now healed burn on his chest. "Sorry about the mess Var-Vistus."

"Artemis Crimsene," Says Var Vistus, "The lady burglar. Seems you masks have a thing going. Who am I to interfere." He shrugs. "Besides, we have bigger problems on our hands, and you're not going to like this. . ."

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