Slavegear - Part 3

(Radiance)
Radiances raises an eyebrow at seeing Harlequin. Then directs his attention to Wyvern and Moon

"Right now we have a general location of where she is, but aside from that, all I can say is that her guards seem to only have basic training. Twi, Elisabeth, and I took them down easily enough." Radiance is about to add more when a slight look of realization appears on his face, he turns to Johan "Johan, when you lived under Pricilla what was her security like? Was it more for keeping you and the other bat ponies in line or actual defense?"

Rain looks to Twilight, "shes here to look for information on slavegear as her and her... "Master"" she says the word with disgust, "they are working tward the same goals as us. Find slavegear, put a stop to mirek." she draws her bow and holds it innone hand at the ready just in case anyone who had nefarious deeds were to sneak up on them.

After Radiance's question, Harlequin visibly shivered and turned away. You notice a pair of batpony wings on her back.

Johan slowly released a sad smile and quietly said: "...keep us in line?... there was no need to keep us in line, I'm afraid... no point" he slowly looked down:
"...you know how the saying goes, right?... when a young elephant is brought to the circus, he is tied to a pole. The elephant is young and small, he tries to escape, tries to pull at the rope, but the pole its tied to, is too strong. He cannot escape.

He tries to, over and over again. Day after day. Until one day.. he finally breaks.. and looses his hope. He learns the pole and the rope cannot be broken. He learns that there is no point in trying.

And then, years later, when the elephant has grown big and strong, he stands still, next to the pole, and doesn't try to run, even though the pole now is so tiny compared to him, and the rope would never hold him in place....

He learned.. that there was no point in escape... so he doesn't... even when he is given a chance..." Johan's sad smile began to fade and he turned away.




Without saying a word, Harlequin walked off away from the group and stopped on a good fifteen meters away from you. You can only see her back, but it seems she's looking up at the sky, her arms crossed.


Kaylee's expression became grim, uneasy. She slowly drifted closer to you and quietly whispered:
"...back in the navy... I heard rumors from Nyx... I heard that, sometimes, powerful or influential people would kidnap batpony children, and bring them out of the country, to train them as their personal guards...

If some bastard from Artemis, kidnapped a batpony child, then brainwashed her for years, drilling into her skull that she is a 'Weapon'... training her for combat, day after day.. what would happen to her, when she grew up-"



"BE SILENT" Harlequin suddenly barked, turning around. She was standing on a good fifteen meters away, her expression hidden behind her mask, but even then you could tell she was pissed. For the first time, you notice her demeanor become uncomfortably threatening:

"If that was your attempt at a whisper, I suggest you try harder, Kaylee Brown" Harlequin hissed through gritted teeth:
"If you desire my cooperation, you will never talk about me again. And I urge you to keep your mouth shut, about things you do not understand or know nothing about"



Kaylee involuntarily took a step back, regret and sadness reflecting over her face.

Harlequin turned away again.

After the outburst, Twilight lowered her finger, her gaze still on Harlequin, not trusting her.

"I suppose now is not the time or place for these kind of conversations. We do have an objective to finish. If we ever meet after this, perhaps your confession can be used to expose these crimes and officially seal these slavers away."

The fallen princess then turns to the rest of the group. "What kind of deal were you able to make with her?"

"Kaylee talk to twilight." Rain sighs and makes her way over, "Harle..." she says softly her voice coming out in a way the group had never heard before she walks over to the checker suited being, "Harle..." she says softer as she steps beside her, "...I... Have heard of such Rumors as well... Possibly seen them happen back in nyx..."

she glances over at the masked mare her Rainy blue eyes falling onto her, "...why do you do this?" she asks, "...I know nothing about you... Yet... The way you reacted back there... Your not doing this willingly are you?" she put it a bit more bluntly then Kaylee.

Harlequin slightly raised her hands and looked at her open palms:

"..you don't.. understand... It doesn't matter what I want, or how I feel. I can't change what I am... Its just life.
It doesn't matter where I was born, or how I came to be in Artemis. In the end, I became a Weapon. There's nothing I can do about that now.

I was trained to fight, every day of my life. I was trained to observe. To spy. To kill. I led a violent life. And one day, it will end violently.
Fighting is all I'm good for.


I'm no good at anything else. I never trained for it. I never had a chance to lead a different life, and even if I had a chance, I wouldn't know how to be anything other than a weapon.

This is my place in the world. I didn't choose it, but I have no choice but to accept it now. Fighting against fate is futile. It will only lead to misery and pain. All I can do is accept it.


This is just how life is. We can't change the world. No matter how hard we try"


She collected her palms into fists, then slowly lowered her hands and looked at you. You get the feeling that she released a sad smile:

"...I must seem like that silly elephant to you. Able to run, but choosing not to. Not realizing my potential.
The truth is, life is more complicated than that. There's no point in running, because even if I did, I would only become a weapon to somebody else. Because its the only thing I know how to do. Its all I'm good for.


You.. were a soldier once. You answered to your commander and you followed his orders, fighting for his cause, every time he sent you to battle. In that regard.. we're not so different.. you and I.."


She slowly looked down: "...I.. hope.. you understand my position now...
You may believe that what happened to me was unfair... but that is life... and I can't change what they've turned me into...

I can't change fate..." Harlequin looked away.












Kaylee looked at Twilight and sighed: "Harlequin provided us with classified files, that can potentially prove our innocence.
During the Slavegear incident, no one believed we were mind controlled, because that technology didn't exist.

Harlequin found evidence that it did, and it existed for a while.
There was a scientist who lived in Nyx, during its occupation. He was one of the Masters.
It seems that in his twisted mind, he decided to create technology to mind control his slaves, to put them fully under his command.

He developed this technology in his lab, under his mansion in Nyx. Some time after, his mansion exploded in a freak accident, apparently caused by a gas leak. He died and all his research burned down with him.

In truth, it seems Marek and his Vampire Unit, attacked the mansion, stole the mind control research, then killed the scientist and blew up his lab. By doing so, they completely covered their tracks and made the world oblivious to the existence of mind control.

That's why no one knew that mind control existed.

Harlequin managed to acquire files, proving that it did. She already gave them to us, in exchange for information on Slavegear. She's trying to find the robot as well and we've told everything we knew about it. The medical trucks and their escape.

Harlequin agreed to speak with her.. Artemis employer.. so he will acquire the camera footage of the city, that we needed to find out where the trucks went.


From what she told us, she seems focused on finding the robot, and she agreed to cooperate with us to speed up the process"

"Sooooo, what do we do next? You know, after the whole invading a mansion and arresting someone thing?" she looked at the others and blinked, still listening on on Harlequin's conversation.

Twilight seemed skeptical of the deal, throwing distrustful glances at the masked assassin. She turned back to Kaylee to reply.

"I suppose that's fair. Swapping out information to support eachother. But why would she want to prove our innocence? Hmmm..."

~Let's stay silent about the mind control. I'm pretty sure there are some forbidden spells that can do the same. But this seems a little too convinient, that their best assassin would betray the trust of her employers, knowing full well she's going to be punished if they find out. We need to know more.~

She looks towards the building, trying to think of something. "It's a good thing that those who are better at infiltration came here. I'm unskilled at deactivating alarms and shutting everything off will draw attention. I can restrain the guards and Priscilla with some spells though, long enough for the arrest. Sadly not without keeping a low profile."

Rain returns the slight smile, "yeah... I guess your right..." she closes her eyes and sighs, "im a veteran now... Though i couldnt just leave military life. I positioned myself over in nyx and stood up for the people that lived there. Telling off corrupt cops and abusive military, even sometimes engaging in combat." she looks back into the distance, "you and i have these skills and neither of us want them to go to waste. Harle, you dont need to change to make a life of your own, you can still kill, be a weapon, and fight but you can make a change on your own... Its all about what you do." she looks to Harle and sighs her eyes scanning her. She speaks again, sorrow in her voice, "I want to help... Theres nobody ive wanted to help more because i see what you are." she shakes her head, "you dont want to listen to me ramble..." she huffs.

Velvet_horse wrote:Twilight seemed skeptical of the deal, throwing distrustful glances at the masked assassin. She turned back to Kaylee to reply.

"I suppose that's fair. Swapping out information to support eachother. But why would she want to prove our innocence? Hmmm..."

~Let's stay silent about the mind control. I'm pretty sure there are some forbidden spells that can do the same. But this seems a little too convinient, that their best assassin would betray the trust of her employers, knowing full well she's going to be punished if they find out. We need to know more.~

She looks towards the building, trying to think of something. "It's a good thing that those who are better at infiltration came here. I'm unskilled at deactivating alarms and shutting everything off will draw attention. I can restrain the guards and Priscilla with some spells though, long enough for the arrest. Sadly not without keeping a low profile."

"I can deal with any locks we might encounter" Lord Wyvern says "I need to get in some practice again anyway, if the padlock at the train station was anything to go by..."

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Tarmikos)


"I understand" Dr. Zarovee nodded with a small smile: "I'm glad to hear that you feel an improvement"

He smiled and slowly extended his hand toward the two chairs, standing nearby:

"Why don't we have a seat" he nodded to you:

"Tarmikos, I need you to know that my door is always open. If you ever need any help, or if you need someone to talk to, I will be here for you" he smiled:



"... a lot of things happened in the past few days. Even much more for you. You jumped from the Mirror Incident, straight into another ordeal.

If you don't mind, I wanted to hear your thoughts on what happened. If there's anything that's been bothering you, anything you'd want to talk about right now, I will be here to listen"
He released a small, encouraging smile.

(Tarmikos)
"I don't really feel like discussing the events with the mirror and my downward spiral into a potential villain. I'm still trying to mentally process it for myself, and even though I don't think it will happen. I'd like to not risk relapsing." Tarmikos glanced at the floor for a moment" Instead, I want your opinion on a theory I've been mulling around in my mind.

Since learning of the two things that Marek needs to enact is mind control. I'm wondering why Marek hasn't poisoned the world's water supply and just started controlling the population through some kind of radio broadcast. It would be easy for him to just order the world government and its armies to all commit suicide."

(Everyone)


Harlequin quietly watched Rain, for a very long time. The tension in her muscles slowly faded away and Harlequin quietly spoke:
"...Rain... thank you for saying those things... No one ever cared about how I feel...
But.. now.. its seems that..." she looked at you. You get the feeling that she's smiling:

"...thank you"

She slightly turned and looked at the night sky:

"......... so.. you're saying that... you went to Nyx and stood up for people there... because you wanted to?... not because you were ordered you to?...

It.. must be a wonderful feeling... being able to choose your own path..."

She sighed and looked away: "...Come on, we're wasting time. Marek won't be waiting around for us..."






Harlequin turned to the rest of the group and looked at everyone:

"...we should finish here quickly. I'll fly up and infiltrate from the roof. If you infiltrate from the ground level as well, we can box in our target.
If someone wishes to infiltrate through the roof as well, please follow me.." her batpony wings unfolded to a massive size and she zoomed into the air, without making a sound. Moving silently, like a shadow.


Kaylee looked up and quietly said: "She seems eager.." she looked at everyone and nodded:

"Alright, lets move out. Elisabeth, Johan, go in from the ground. I'll go from the roof.

After we arrest our target, we'll head back to the country of Nyx. An unknown group keeps attacking Artemis civilians there and Marek was sighed in Nyx's capital city.
The situation in Nyx is about to blow up at any moment. We need to go back there and defuse the tensions, before it goes worse"

She looked at Twilight: "It seems that Harlequins employer authorized her to trade information with us. Our info on Slavegear, in exchange for her info on mind control.
If her employer is from Artemis, it would make sense for him to want to hunt down the robot. It burned down an Artemis city after all.
Still.. its best to be careful.. until we know exactly who Harlequins employer is.

Alright, lets head out" She unfolded her wings and flew up into the air as well.

(Tarmikos)


"Well.. that would certainly be a frightening thought" Dr. Zarovee released a small, relaxing smile:
"Unfortunately for Marek, something like that would never work.

The substance used for mind control is extremely toxic. It must be administered directly into the blood stream, in a very precise amount. Too little of it, and the patient will only experience nausea. Too much of it, and the patient will die.

The amount of substance injected into the bloodstream, has to be calculated individually for each patient, as a function of his body weight.
On top of that, the patient needs to have an installed Neurochip, and hardly anyone in the Union government has one.
Neurochips are commonly used by soldiers and heavy gear construction workers, that have to use one Slavegear based machine or other.


But I don't believe Marek would even get that far in his plan.



You see, the mind control substance has a distinct yellowish - green color. Mixing it into the water supply would be noticed in seconds" Dr. Zarovee smiled:

"Not to mention, people would start complaining about yellow water in their kitchen tap.
Please, try not to worry about it. Councilor Mercer assured me that her best are attempting to track down Marek as we speak"

// Hey everyone, sorry for the long delay in updates. The past week was really hellish and the work in the hospital became a bit overwhelming.
Fortunately I've finally completed that research project I had to do for college, so I have a lot more breathing room now.

I should be back to regular rp posting, starting today =)

She approached the front of the house slowly by foot, since she had no wings. She looked over the place as she did so, trying to calculate escape routes.

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought.

~It seems our top priority is to stop making the situation in Nyx escalate any further. But how do we do that? We need more facts and information. Information we will have to retrieve from Harlequin. That's not going to be an easy task. She'll beat any of us in close combat and the element of surprise helps her against ranged attacks as well. I guess we will have to trust her. Maybe this operation will prove as a good point for that.

She gives a glance at her back, then frowns a bit. She finally realized that the robe she wore to boost her defenses sadly had no hole in the back for her wings. She turns around looking comically disgruntled.

"What a time for such a discovery. Guess I'm on the ground."

She makes her way to the place, quietly and inconspicious.

Johan began to tiptoe behind Twilight. He seems nervous.

Elisabeth walked next to Moon, methodically scanning the surroundings.

As you look around the villas exterior, you notice three different entrances. A large, main one. And two smaller entrances, near the villas garden.

The entire first floor was filled with large windows. Most seem dark, but you do notice a faint light coming from somewhere deeper inside the house.
You hear muffled voices through the windows. It seems there are several people inside, somewhere deep inside the villa.

The villas surrounding area seems clear though.


Elisabeth scanned the area with a slight frown.

Johan is peeking at the area, from behind Twilight's shoulder.

"Side doors are often less guarded, I suggest we go in there" she whispered to the others "it'll also attract less attention on the whole."

"Copy that" Elisabeth whispered. Silently approaching the nearest side door, she leaned against the wall, just next to the door and nodded to you.
She seems ready to attack, in case something comes through it.

She approached the door and checked to see if it was unlocked. If not, she hoped she would be able to break the lock.

Rain flys up with Harle, her bow drawn and an arrow knocked, "im ready..."

MoonDusts wrote:"Side doors are often less guarded, I suggest we go in there" she whispered to the others "it'll also attract less attention on the whole."

"Unless they anticipated that we'd think that, and laid traps and ambushes at the side doors too..." Lord Wyvern points out.

(Radiance)
Radiance followed the group on the ground taking a stance beside the door opposite of Elisabeth. He placed a hand on it focusing on the muffled voices inside.

"Let me see if I can hear what they're talking about before we move in" Radiance whispered

The side door appears to be locked. You notice some sort of alarm system hooked into its door frame.

As you attempt to listen in to the voices inside, you pick up that there are at least three people inside. They're talking in what seem to be quiet and calm voices. The villa appears to be too large however, and the people inside the house, located too far in. You can't seem to pick up the exact words of their conversations.


Elisabeth quietly pointed at the alarm system inside the door frame and whispered:

"We have to disable this, before we go in. Can you guys give it a shot? My knowledge in this area is extremely rusty.. at best..."

"...Elisabeth, why do you even know how disable alarms in the first place.." Johan quietly called: "You're a nurse.."

"This again!" Elisabeth hissed under her breath: "I told you to drop it didn't I?"

Johan became spooked and hid behind Twilight again.







Harlequin flew through the air with grace and silence. Her wings barely made any noise, as she adjusted her flight trajectory and softly landed on the villas roof.
She took a moment to scan the area, then moved toward a nearby sky window and began tinkering with it.

You notice a small and complicated looking lock pick, fall out of her sleeve and she began doing something to the window.

Kaylee landed a few meters away from her, with considerably more noise. She looked around in mild shame, as her wings loudly folded on her back:
"...sorry" Kaylee quietly mumbled: "..I haven't done this sort of thing in a while"


"..its fine..." Harlequin whispered back: "Unless the room below us is filled with spec ops, waiting in ambush, I doubt anyone heard you" Her delivery was a little deadpan. Its unclear if she was joking or being serious.


After a moment, Harlequin whispered: "Rain, I'm about to open the window. Cover me in case someone starts shooting at us from below, after the window is open"

// Hey guys, I wanted to organize another Cards Against Humanity game for this Saturday evening, England time.
Please let me know around which time you're free, so we can pick an hour where everyone can make it.

Hope to see you there =D