Aberrant: 200X - [Gods of War] Gods Playground [Complete]

[z-The Morrigan]

Vyse Elites, outside Douala, Cameroon

"I had drinks with Einherjar." Ford looked up at Tavon Brun, frowning at the man. The boy's dark face was creased in a proud smile, as it had been since his eruption last week. It had catapulted the illiterate Cameroon native into a new world, one where he didn't eat in the mess with the other men but in the main building with the upper level staff.

Vyse looked up at the new nova with a polite, "You don't say." Ford could see Vyse's dismissive attitude, but Tavon was smiling guilelessly as he took his seat at the oak table. Miner watched him quietly, while Carl Hatchins was smirking at him.

Ford sighed and decided to humor the poor kid. It wasn't Tavon's fault that he was a poor rural kid who Vyse had sweet-talked into joining Vyse Elites before anyone else had a chance to recruit him. Tavon would learn in time, but for now, he was a hick-kid who found himself in the big leagues. "So, Tavon, where you'd meet Einherjar?"

"At the bar in Douala," Tavon said, his white teeth flashing as he took his first bite. "This is very good!" The young man smiled wider, taking a bigger forkful. He was honest and sincere in his enthusiasm, which Ford knew couldn't last.

"At the L'abreuvoir?" Vyse asked, naming their favorite bar to frequent, on the rare times they senior staff had drinks together. He was also looking up from his meal for the first time. The leader of the mercenary company now looked interested, perhaps even intense.

"Yes," Tavon said, looking pleased. "We shared a drink and he gave me advice once I told him I was an elite."

"What kind of advice?" Vyse asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Just tactics advice," Tavon said. "Very good stuff. He is very good man."

"I see," Vyse said, rising from his seat. "When was this?"

"This morning, why?" Tavon asked.

Vyse said nothing; he merely left, his expression pensive.

[Eingar]

"Another, Monsieur L'Einherjar?"

"Sure." Ein replied in a lazy tone, holding out his tall glass for a refill. Giving him a wide smile that contained equal parts awe and interest, the mocha-skinned young woman poured from the bottle, her hip brushing his shoulder as she leaned over him slowly, making sure that the handsome, blue-eyed blond man was taking note of the way she filled out her skirt and blouse.

"Anouk! There are other customers, girl!" An older man with a creased ebony face shouted from the bar. His daughter jumped, blushing deep red under her light brown face, and moved away hurriedly. Some of the other afternoon regulars laughed into their drinks and Ein smiled, casting a glance at the bar and nodding in understanding. No good fathers wanted their charming and beautiful daughters (and to good fathers, all their daughters are charming and beautiful) to get too comfortable flirting with dangerous, famous men.

The big Eli- sorry, ex-Elite was loafing by the large open window at the back of L'abreuvoir, dressed like a tourist in khaki shorts, sandals and a colourful tropical patterned shirt hanging open over his muscular torso. The garb did little to disguise his nature, though. Even with his feet up on the wooden rail, a glass of dark rum in his hand, and a pair of sunglasses over his glowing blue eyes, Einherjar looked like what he was - a warrior between wars.

He'd talked to the Vyse elite, Tavon. A boy, really. Excited at his novahood, unaware of what real opportunities awaited him if he'd just search the OpNet for job listings for novas. Ein liked him in an abstract sense - he was naive but not willfully ignorant, he knew that he didn't know much, and looked to learn.

And unless he got real training, he'd be quantum-fodder in his first nova-scale engagement.

This then was how Vyse operated, treating his nova resources as valuable but expendable. And what of The Morrigan? Was she like Tavon, a barely-literate tricked into this life? Or was she more than that? Einherjar didn't know, but he'd heard the whispers flying around, both physically and on the radio waves. People knew he was here, knew he was staying at this bar and drinking like a bum at a loose end. If Vyse wanted novas, he'd be coming to see him soon.

Or if he suspected a trick, which was possible, then Einherjar might be getting a visit from the deadly Morrigan.

[z-The Morrigan]

Vyse had time to think on the drive into Douala. It was the largest city in Cameroon, the closest one could come to civilization, as far as the Dutchman was concerned. It's proximity to the ocean meant it wasn't a cesspool of heat like so much of Africa was. Today, he wished his compound was a bit further away, if only to give him more time to consider his options.

Hatchins drove, allowing the pale man to focus on his thoughts. The driver was good and again Vyse regretted that Ford had taken such offense to the man. Fortunately, Hatchins would be hard to replace which gave him time. Perhaps Ford could be dissuaded from his stance.

The far more pressing concern was Einherjar. The situation was delicate. The nova might be at loose ends, but was he desperate enough yet to fall in with another company. Vyse knew he was no DeVries, but men like Einherjar didn't go to the civilized world and get desk jobs. Most elite companies wouldn't want to piss off DeVries by employing him, but Vyse was willing to take that risk. He needed to get more novas in his company; the Morrigan's uses were limited and Tavon was green. Einherjar would set him ahead of schedule. Now how to convince him to sign up?

He wouldn't be like Tavon, willing to sign any contract. No, the Norse nova would have to be courted rather than plucked like over-ripe fruit. Vyse nodded to himself as Carl Hatchins pulled up in front of the L'abreuvoir. "Thank you, Carl," Vyse murmured. "Wait here."

"You got it, boss," Carl said, nodding. He was a smart man; he knew what this meant for Vyse's company.

The slim Dutchman paused to make sure his clothing was straight before stepping inside. There wasn't much to be done for the sweat; the first thing a white man did in Africa was sweat. The interior of the bar was cool, pleasantly dim and sweet with the smell of alcohol. Vyse stepped to the bar and waved the owner over. The barkeep came over, looking peeved. "My usual," Vyse ordered, "and as long as I'm at that table, keep the drinks coming, understood? My tab."

The man nodded, caught between hope that Vyse would get Einherjar out of his bar and away from his daughter and glad for the nova's appetite for rum. He poured Vyse's drink, scotch on the rocks. The Dutchman picked up the drink and went to Einherjar's table. "May I have a moment of your time?" he asked the ex-Elite, staring down at him with none of the anxiety he felt. "My name is Jan Vyse, and I have a proposition for you."

[Eingar]

"Hmm?" Einherjar looked up over his shades at the man, noting the pallor unusual in one who lived in Africa and matching the face to the file he'd read. Of course, no sign of recognition was in those eyes, seeing he'd already recognised Vyse on his entry to the bar. He shrugged easily, gesturing for Vyse to take a seat as he tossed back the contents of his glass as though it were water rather than strong liquor. To him, of course, it was.

"I'm in a quiescent mood, so why not?" he rumbled with a faint grin. Then the bartender came over and refilled the glass, and Einherjar looked askance at Vyse.

"My tab." Vyse said firmly, taking the proffered chair.

"In that case, you can have two moments." Einherjar said expansively, offering Vyse a large hand. The man shook it, smiling a little.

"Thanks, but I'm hoping this will only need one." He leaned forward, his voice dropping to 'covert business' levels. "I want to hire you. Permanently, or at least as permanent as an ongoing contract gets."

"You couldn't afford me." Einherjar chuckled with good-natured arrogance. "No offense, but have you any idea what it would cost to have me work for you full time?"

"No offense, but do you think any other agency is going to hire you? You made DeVries look bad on the world stage. Word is that they are majorly pissed off at you now, to the tune of seven figures-"

"Eight." Einherjar interjected. Vyse waved that off.

"Fine, yes. Eight figures. And so far, no-one's called you, have they? No-one wants to risk angering the big DV." Vyse watched his words sink in and smiled, sitting back. "Nobody except me." Time for a little bravado. "Fuck DeVries, frankly. They set the standard, sure, but there's room for other fish in the pond too."

"What sort of work do you have in mind?" Ein asked, all business now. He looked a little ruffled, Vyse thought. Good - a man's pride was a good way to manipulate him.

"Whatever pays. To be fair, when people hear you're with us, Vyse Elites will have to form a waiting list. For one thing, we've an exclusivity deal to the Cameroon government. If they want elites or any type of mercs, they come to us. There's others too, a British mineral concern and some Ukrainian mining companies who contract solely from Vyse for their baseline security in hostile climes." Vyse studied the big nova, picturing the impact he'd have on business and unable to help smiling at the thought. "We'll only take... twenty percent of the fee."

"Five." Ein said immediately. Vyse shook his head.

"Sorry, but we need to be realistic here. Fifteen."

"Ten."

"Deal." Vyse held out his hand, and the large elite paused, then took it and shook it firmly.

"Deal." He downed the rum in his hand and laughed. "I was getting bored of semi-retirement anyway. So, what's your operation look like?"

[z-The Morrigan]

Vyse Elites Compound, Cameroon

The drive back to the compound was only about fifteen minutes, but the last five was through a double-rut in deep jungle. Einherjar rested in the back seat next to Vyse as he and the driver kept up a light banter. He noticed that they'd declined to really talk about the complex; probably letting him see it before he made assumptions. They did detail some of the missions they had done in the past; it was pretty standard. Vyse had a very distinct hierarchy: professionals and grunts. The grunts lived, trained and ate in the barracks while the professional got a private residence, access to the cafeteria and gym.

The jungle stopped suddenly, revealing the sun again. Einherjar's first impression was underwhelming; after DeVries, it was a small complex. There appeared to be a main building in the center of the clearing. Barracks stood to the left, with dark-faced men coming and going. More men drilled in the fields to the right and left. Behind and to the left the main building, there was something that Einherjar guessed was the medical facilities, based on what he remembered of the satellite pictures. Like all hospitals the world over, it had a massive red cross painted on the roof. It was an impressive building and had clearly been built with hopes of expansion. Further behind that appeared to be individual houses, closer to the tree line and with some decorative shrubbery for privacy. It was the activity to the right and behind the central building that really caught his attention. A new building was going up, something that he didn't remember from the pictures.

Carl stopped in front of the central building; a waiting man slipped into the seat and drove the Jeep away as they walked inside. "Let's start here for the tour," Vyse said, as they entered a lobby. A pretty African girl was working the phones; she smiled when she saw Einherjar and he knew he wouldn't be short on company. From the lobby, he was shown the offices, which Vyse pointed out he'd never have to deal with in any real way. "This is where we do our work so you can do yours," Vyse said, smirking. The back half of the first level was a parking garage; the rest of the building was dedicated to meeting rooms and classrooms.

Next he was walked to the building Vyse promised would be his; there was no rent on the building and the big ex-Elite elite nodded as he looked at the space. It wasn't as grand as his last residence, but it was comfortable with several amenities, such as central air, a furnished and stocked kitchen and a Jacuzzi. It was easy to see why someone like Tavon would be impressed by living in a place like this, if all he'd known was the barracks and then some African village.

Einherjar didn't have to ask about the new facility; Vyse and Hatchins walked him over to that building. "This is our new nova training facility," Vyse said, his voice proud. "I started construction on it after the Morrigan's first engagement." He went on to list the features that would be installed; it was standard but the best that could be bought on the market. Standing in the bright sun, Vyse squinted at Einherjar and asked, "Any questions?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The compound was always quieter when Vyse was gone. Ford wasn't sure why this was, since Vyse rarely bothered him anyway. But that was always the way it felt when Ford knew he was gone. The big American was stretched out at his desk, his feet propped up on the desk. One eye was on the camera overlooking the Morrigan's cage, but most of his focus was on the laptop on his legs. The Morrigan's hormone levels were way off and he couldn't figure out why. He drew blood every week and tested her for abnormalities.

Sighing, he pulled up last week's numbers and found that everything elevated this week had been slightly elevated last week. So it's a trend. Kicking his feet off the desk, he stood and walked over to the sunken cage which now housed the feral nova. The Morrigan shifted as he stood over her, glaring up at him. Things had changed since her first 'mission'. She no longer looked at him as if begging for help. Ford couldn't see anything human in her eyes anymore. "Hi," he said softly, earning a snarl.

Sighing, he sent a signal to her collar that released a blended dose of various sedatives into her bloodstream. The Morrigan jumped at the sting of the vitrium needle but within seconds she was sagging to the floor. Ford counted to twenty to be sure she was down; his predecessor had "resigned" fatally when he had entered her cage before she was fully sedated.

Twenty minutes later, she was strapped down to the gurney; Ford first refilled the ampoule he'd just emptied and double-checked to be sure the other two were filled with sedative as well. He never wanted her loose without sedatives in her collar. Two more blood samples later, Ford had confirmed his previous findings.

The sudden sound of retching brought Ford's head up. "What the--!" The Morrigan was vomiting, even while unconscious. "Fuck!" Leaping into motion, Ford slammed into the gurney, knocking it onto the side. Leaping over it, he worked to clear her airway of vomit. When she was breathing normally again, he sat heavily on the floor, his hands shaking. "What's wrong with you, sweetie? Think, Ford, think -- hCG, Progesterone, Oestrogen, Relaxin, Prolactin, vomiting-- what are those symptoms of in novas?"

Where she human, he'd know what was wrong.

"Impossible," he whispered, but he had to be sure. Wait, it was possible but if so -- no, no speculation. He had to be sure before he reached any conclusions. He collapsed the gurney's legs, rolled it back onto its back and raised it again. Then he pushed the Morrigan over to the ultrasound machine.

Ten minutes later he was sure. "Oh, god . . . and I've been pumping you full of all kinds of crap." Those drugs would cause serious complications, possibly even death for the baby. Worse, there was only one possible father; only one man who'd had sex with Morrigan in the time she'd been here. "Fuck!"

He was quiet for a long moment. Ford knew what he had to do. His brown eyes were still troubled as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'm so, so sorry. I've done some shitty things to you, but this is the worst," he whispered, then went to prep for the procedure.

[Eingar]

The big Elite (and even though he wasn't DeVries anymore, somehow the upper-case 'E' still seemed appropriate to both Hatchins and Vyse) looked around the compound with a professional eye, then looked at the training facility. From what Vyse said, it was actually very impressive for someone who didn't have the resources and brain-trust of Utopia or DeVries. He nodded slowly, as though in approval.

"You've got a good operation here." he told Vyse frankly. "The training facility in particular is a excellent move. Most elite agencies expect Utopia's Rashoud facilities to take care of powers-training, and then think a few days of boot-camp style living will turn a nova into an elite." He nodded again as he looked around. "Place is orderly too. Reminds me of Windhoek, in spirit if not in appearance." Vyse smiled widely, pleased at the bluntly-spoken approval. He wasn't trying to be like DeVries... yet. But to have one of the better Elites from the DeVries stable look around and compare his compound favorably to the legendary DVNTS training center added to his pride.

"We try." he said as he got his smile under control and resumed his game face. "So, are you in?" he pressed. Einherjar's faintly-glowing blue eyes fixed on his face over the sunglasses.

"I want in on tactical and operational planning with any ops you want me part of. You want me to work for you, then you get the benefit of my opinion." he began matter-of-factly. "You're a savvy man, and well aware that you're not just hiring quantum-powered muscle, so I don't expect that to be a problem for you." An eyebrow quirked upwards questioningly, and Vyse nodded on reflex. "No operational surprises, no need-to-know bollocks or treating me like a grunt. Play those games with me and I walk. I don't have to tolerate that."

"I get that." Vyse said with a nod. "You're a professional and we'll treat you like one."

"Good." Ein grinned expansively. "In return, at your request I'll help train your elites and baseline crews in counter-quantum warfare, both low and high-intensity. I'll help plan, set up and execute anything from a covert operation to a full-scale war for you. I have some connections outside DeVries where we can obtain some blacktech for battlefield use if you want to make use of them. And, of course, I'll fight for you." He tilted his head at Vyse.

"And you get ten percent of whatever I make. What do you think, Mr Vyse?"

[z-The Morrigan]

"I think it's a very good deal for both of us," Vyse said, smiling broadly. "Blacktech, tactical advice and you, Einherjar. I'd be a fool to say no.

"Let's write up the contract. Any additional riders beyond what you've mentioned?" They walked back to the office, still talking deals and details. Hatchins disappeared not long after they got there, leaving after welcoming Einherjar to Vyse's warmly. Three hours later, the contract was hammered out to everyone's satisfaction and Vyse and Einherjar had put their signatures to it. They each got copies and Vyse walked Einherjar back to his house.

The path between the houses was festooned with flowers and pollen rained down on them as they walked. "I am very pleased that you have joined us, Einherjar. I know it will mean much to Tavon. The young man admires you greatly. Speaking of, when will you start training with Tavon?"

"Tomorrow, if the lad is up to it," Einherjar said, noting the singular mention.

Vyse smiled. "Help the young man pick a nova name, will you? He's so worried about getting a good one that he's nearly paralyzed with indecision."

"What of the Morrigan?" Einherjar asked.

"Adele's a true Jekyll and Hyde, I'm afraid," Vyse said wryly. "She loses all control of herself and berserks when she's not dormed down. The poor girl hates her powers and they'd land her in Bahrain, if someone wasn't helping her with control. Right now, Ford -- our doctor -- is pursuing a chemical means of offering her some control, but for now, she remains unable to fight with any finesse."
 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ford sank into his chair and stripped off his gloves, feeling wretched. His stomach was a single hard knot; it hadn't hurt this much since he'd had vodka on an empty stomach followed by a dozen donuts. He had thought then he might die. Now he rather just wished he'd die.

But that'd leave the Morrigan alone. Ford sighed and rested his forehead on the desk. Though he'd grown a conscious late in the game, he had one nonetheless. And he was sure he was the only person here who saw the Morri as something more than a living quantum weapon.

"Ford." The doctor's head came up as he heard Hatchins' voice.

"What the fuck do you want?" Ford asked, rising and moving to a cabinet. As unobtrusively as he could, he palmed a scalpel, deciding he'd start carrying one all the time. Hatchins' threat was still clear in his mind as he turned to face the man, his heart thudding.

"Just wanted to see if anyone had told you the news," Hatchins said casually. His head tilted slightly. "Why's there blood on your sleeve? Get too close to the bloody terror and get nicked?"

"Broke a vial of blood," Ford lied. "What news?"

"We have a new nova. Einherjar."

Ford's eyes narrowed. "Why would a former Elite sign on with us?"

"Because Vyse's operation is small but good," Hatchins replied, strolling around the room. "Because Einherjar is desperate for money. That'll teach him to go soft for the natives." His path took him to the Morrigan's cage and he stopped to stare down at her. A second later, a flash of red told Ford that she had just lashed out at the rapist. The vitrium stopped her attack; though Ford couldn't see her, he could hear her making her grumbling noises. Hatchins smirked and blew her a kiss.

"Get out," Ford said, as another flash of red and a hollow thud signaled that the Morrigan was still trying to get the asshole in his lab. "I don't care who's signed on here. My concern is only if he gets hurt and I have to patch him."

"Hurt?" Hatchins snorted, ignoring the non-stop attacks aimed at him. "The man's a virtual god. Don't worry if a real man makes you quake in your panties -- Einherjar probably won't ever need your services."

"Like I treat real men now," Ford grunted. Hatchins' eyes jerked toward him, their dark depths filling with a glare. "Most of the grunts aren't old enough to vote back home and the rest of them are, well, like you. Have to sedate a woman to get her in bed."

Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything, Ford considered as Hatchins turned toward him. Ford had thought his heartrate was accelerated before; now he learned that it was nothing as it pushed to a new speed. His mouth was suddenly dry and he couldn't even feel the scalpel he clutched in his hand. Suddenly Hatchins smiled. "Things are going to change around here, Ford. With Einherjar around, we have a new star on the team. The Morrigan is only moderately useful, the way she is. And since she was the reason you were given so much slack -- better shape up, Ford. There's a new sheriff in town."

"And you're still just a helicopter pilot." Ford's comeback wasn't that brilliant but it was very true. "You act like hot shit, but when it comes down to it, you're just a guy with some skills. Replaceable skills. We both are. Now, get the hell out of my lab. You're disturbing the Morrigan."

[Eingar]

Some time later...

It was evening, the sky a dark blue colour that became reddish purple towards the western horizon. Einherjar sat cross-legged on the rear verandah of his new home, staring out over the dusty yard whilst the night-blooming flowers filled the air with their scent. The big Elite was stripped to the waist, his hands resting on his knees as he meditated on the day's events. So far, everything had been falling into place.

Vyse had been evasive about the Morrigan. Einherjar didn't buy the line more than superficially - The Morrigan's name was Adele and she had serious control issues was about as far as he was willing to grant as true. Why would a girl who hated her powers, who went into uncontrollable blood rages and butchered entire villages, be here in an elite company? And why wasn't she dangerous to keep around? The obvious answer was simple - the 'chemical means of control' was probably drugging into insensibility. When the Morrigan was dormed, she was zonked out, and then they simply woke her up and dropped her into a place when they wanted a slaughter.

Oh, he didn't doubt that Vyse would like the Morrigan actually being able to control her rages - it would make her more useful. But nor was the man shy about making use of her to do work that some real elites would balk at. The Morrigan- 'Adele' -was being used, that much was obvious. But was it willingly, in exchange for protection from Bahrain or some similar facility? Or was she being duped or coerced somehow?

The atmosphere at dinner had been celebratory, Vyse's people all eager to welcome the new hire - well, almost all. Ford, the doctor, had been there, but his manner had been subdued in comparison to the others, and once he'd done eating he'd left to head back to the base hospital, obviously preoccupied.

Ein thought that had been interesting.

This setup and organisation had potential. He would need professionals at his back for what he had planned, trained men with decent equipment. He was on a time-scale, though. He'd have to feel out the merc company and get a reading on the men and women who manned it. Even being a nova, there were limits to the miracles he could perform, and unless there was a glaring opportunity to stage a little mini-coup the process could take weeks, even months. He didn't have that long, realistically. He needed to move soon, to capitalise on his popularity and ride the wave of global opinion.

That was likely the only way he could afford to takeover one of the potentially richest bits of real-estate in the world without T2M or others coming down on him like a hammer. For certain, DeVries and the Chinese would fight to maintain the status quo in the Congo, and other foreign interests would likewise seek to interfere.

The plan was solid enough around the connections: take over Vyse Elites. Hook up with the Congolese Freedom Front, providing them with both nova muscle and professional military cadre for training, and thus get the American interests backing him as well as a lot of popular support locally. Form an alliance with the TDR, bringing their intellectual-class power base into the mixture. And finally, form a new government.

Of course, the connections were where the devil lurked, in the details. Actually pulling off his coup on this base. Actually getting the CFF to listen to him (which they probably would, but still), then getting the TDR and CFF to work together properly. And then insuring that the new government brought about real, positive change for this country, which by rights should be one of the wealthiest in the world, with nothing more than a nova-class brain and force of personality.

He liked Africa. That was what it boiled down to. He liked the beauty, the savagery, the people, the sunrises. He'd bestrode this continent for years now from battle to battle, an avatar of war and conquest in the name of others who scarce deserved to rule. And somewhere along the way, his contempt for most of his employers and for the couch-potatoes who got vicarious thrills from watching his exploits had become a deep, restless urge to build something better, to become something more than a hireling. He was getting bored of fighting petty brushfire wars and killing for money. Now he was going to employ his talent for conflict towards something greater. This, then, was going to be his roll of the dice.

Glory everlasting, or a beautiful death.

"You might as well come out. I heard you approach, and can hear you breathing." he rumbled in an amused voice. There was a light footstep from the right and a petite woman in khakis, a bottle dangling from one hand and some glasses in the other, stepped out from behind a blossom-laden tree.

"I couldn't help but notice we were neighbours." the woman said with a smile, waving at the house that lay the direction she'd come. It was the pilot, Miner, her attitude equal parts lust and nerves as she paused by the tree, watching as the softly-glowing eyes turned her way.

"We are." Einherjar smiled a little. He'd spoken some to her at dinner, bitched with her about DeVries and made her laugh when describing his caustic opinion of the skills of the Elite who'd gotten her fired. "You need to borrow a cup of sugar?"

"Oh, maybe later." Miner said boldly, approaching with a faint sway to her hips and a frank look in her eyes as they ran over Einherjar's torso. "I was thinking I'd be neighbourly, drop round and have a drink. Y'know, an informal housewarming."

"It would have to be informal." he told her with a grin, the deep, level tone of his voice causing all sorts of harmonics to run straight down Brittany Miner's spine and into her groin. "I'm hardly dressed for company." The woman chuckled, setting the bottle and glasses on a table as she reached the top of the shallow steps onto the verandah.

"Well, I can't go around feeling overdressed." she smirked, peeling off her shirt and the tank-top underneath it with smooth haste before dropping them onto the floor and stepping right up to the still-sitting Elite. She looked down at him and smiled as his eyes ran over her body, then slowly crouched and eased herself onto his lap in an almost-catlike fashion. His hands clasped her waist as she draped her arms over the broad shoulders and sighed lustily. "God, but it's going to be good to have a man about the place for a change."

"You need to swap a couple of words around there." Ein rumbled, smiling slyly as Miner cast a questioning glance at him. "I'll let you think about that for a bit." he told her, pulling her close enough that their bodies pressed together, the contact making Miner purr and squirm a little to rub her sensitive flesh against his chest.

Then Einherjar kissed her, and she forgot about his last words until much later.

[z-The Morrigan]

The Morrigan grumbled and growled in her pit. Ford was keeping an eye on her, watching for any ill effects from today's procedure. She had been subdued and seemed sore earlier, but that had passed before dinner.

Thoughts of dinner turned Ford's mind back to their new guest. Einherjar was a merc, an ex-Elite and generally not the kind of man he'd considered trusting with the Morrigan's safety. Whoever he got her to had to protect her and keep her safe, not lock her up "for her own safety". Were that not the case, he'd just call Addis Abba and get Utopia down here. But they'd declare her dangerous and dump her in Bahrain.

And the trouble was, they were right. Morri was violent, little better than an animal. Well, she was now. Before her first "mission", she'd been more sad than savage. Now she lashed out at anyone who came near her. Ford was afraid that she'd cracked; that her memories from her berserk had permanently deranged her.

That would be one more crime he'd committed against her; one more injustice he'd have to repay, somehow. Ford had to save her.

"Break it down into manageable," he muttered, mulling it over in his head as he puzzled over the pieces. He needed to get the word out about Morri to someone who would help her, preferably without getting himself killed.

That stopped him a moment. Was he willing to get himself killed to save her? Deep in his heart, Ford knew he wasn't. "That's why I won't be the one to save you," he whispered to the figure on the screen. Because she wasn't aware that she was being watched, the Morrigan was sitting on the floor, playing with the hardcover book Ford had left for her. It couldn't be said that she was reading it; she was turning it over and over in her hands, as if she knew there were something more to it but she couldn't figure out what. Suddenly, she snarled with anger and threw the book across her cage, leaving it bent-paged on the floor.

Ford sighed, feeling pained. A moment later, he shook off his melancholy. If he didn't like this, he should change it. "Alright, so what do I have?" The American-trained doctor clicked his pen, but didn't write anything down. These would probably be dangerous notes to leave around. "I know no one here will help, and I don't know anyone outside who would be both willing and able." He had a brief thought to put up a post on the 'Ask a Nova!' forum, but surely Utopia would be keeping an eye on that, too. He had no resources, no one to ask for help.

Unless he could buy Einherjar.

"Your pocketbook has never been that deep," he muttered, scowling.

Something was nagging at him. Ford opened up his opnet browser and did a search on the man. He didn't follow the news much, being preoccupied with his own concerns. He'd always ignored the nova news with kind of a disdain barely coating the pure jealousy so he'd only vaguely heard why Einherjar had cut ties with DeVies. And when he was done reading up on the ex-Elite's recent history, Ford sat back in awe. "Whoa."

He wasn't thinking as he rose from his chair and left the building. All he knew was that he had a chance now, where before, he had nothing. Moving with purpose, he headed for Einherjar's hut. He hoped it wasn't too late; he didn't want to wake the man. However, within seconds arriving, he realized that Einherjar wasn't asleep -- and from the voice Ford could hear, neither was Miner. Aw, fuck. Guess I wait for morning-

Hands caught him from behind -- large, hard hands that grabbed his mouth and hair. Ford struggled, but realized two things quickly: Hatchins was as strong as he looked and Ford had forgotten his scalpel in his haste. "Relax," Hatchins whispered in his ear. "Vyse says I can't kill you yet. But I'm gonna have some fun with you. Don't worry, I'll leave your pretty face alone."
 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The first week was instructive for Einherjar. He learned much about the people he was dealing with at Vyse's, particularly on the senior staff. The senior staff was all the trained, white workers and the novas; no one else had made that cut. The grunts and the officers were easy to read; they loved him and Tavon. They respected Vyse, but Einherjar and Tavon were the novas, the walking weapons. Tavon had been one of them; Einherjar had saved people just like their mothers, fathers and friends.

Tavon was naive and inoffensive, quick to smile and happy to be a nova now. He loved to talk about his family and the money he was sending back to them, but more importantly, Einherjar easily earned his trust. The young man also wore his emotions on his sleeve; Einherjar could see the admiration that he'd earned from the Cameroon native.

Miner was a perfect mercenary; she looked out for herself first, second and last. Einherjar may have enjoyed her company, but he knew that her loyalty would be to whomever bought it.

Helms was a solid man. As the computer technician, he preferred to work in absolutes and he preferred to get his task and be allowed to do it. Like Miner, he'd work for whomever was paying, but he wasn't as militant about it as she was. Einherjar could see Miner kill someone for money; Helms wasn't that ruthless.

The helicopter pilot on the other hand was trouble. Hatchins was in this business because it gave him power: he was a bully. Einherjar had figured that out the first day, and nothing he saw changed that opinion. Hatchins was a good brown-noser and tried to play friendly with Einherjar, just as he did with Vyse.

Vyse was as cold and ruthless as Miner, as sadistic as Hatchins. He lacked the need to push others around, saving his cruelty for when it was merited for punishment or reward. He was smart and calculating; his blind spot was his ambition. Einherjar was sure he could lure him over a cliff if there was a big enough prize in it for him.

Ford was the only unknown left; he isolated himself, holding himself away from the others as much as he pushed them away. For the first half-week, Einherjar didn't even see the man at all. When he finally showed up for lunch on the fourth day, he was clearly injured. The pinky of his left hand was splinted, and Ford moved stiffly and with clear pain. He bluntly refused to answer questions about his injuries -- which neither Vyse nor Hatchins asked about. Instead, he ate and left, much as he had the first night.

He asked Miner about him, during pillow talk. The woman was a source of information. "Ford? He's a coward."

"Is that it? Nothing about his skills as a doctor?" Einherjar asked as he lazily traced the curve of her hip with his fingers.

"He's good at it. Brilliant with chemicals," Miner said, shrugging. "He's developed something that works like Mox but isn't. Utopia would have a cow if they knew what he's come up with."

"How'd Vyse find him?"

"Idiot slept with a patient during his residency," Miner snorted. "He never got his license and wound up working cheap clinics in cheap countries to make money. All that potential, wasted because he couldn't keep his cock in his pants. Vyse lured him with money and the rest is history."

[Eingar]

Chemicals. Einherjar mused silently, his eyes on the lazily turning ceiling fan. Beside him Miner slept deeply, exhausted and smelling of him, her lips curved in a smile. Ein liked her - didn't trust her an inch, but liked her. She was a good pilot, and a professional who didn't try to dress up or romanticise her life. She was a merc, so she risked her life and ended others for money. She liked men in her bed, so she sought out the most promising good time and went after it with gusto. No fool, she'd spent three nights this week in his bed, and those because she wasn't scheduled to be up early. It was a rare baseline who could keep up sexually with any nova, let alone the more physical examples. The morning after their first time together, Miner had barely been able to move without wincing. Ein had had to carry her to the shower, which he did with much good-natured teasing, then given her a rub-down. That had surprised the hell out of her, he remembered.

"I don't usually get the VIP treatment." she'd said with a smirk, though her brown eyes were curious as she'd watched his big hands knead her tired muscles.

"Consider it a perk." he'd answered affably, provoking a laugh from her, her gaze becoming a little more heated as she studied him.

"A perk, the man says. I'm fucking hoarse this morning, and I feel like I just partied with the entire Dallas Cowboys team." she'd said with quiet awe.

"First time with a nova, then." he'd said. Miner nodded, then shrugged.

"Not for want of trying." she'd said without much rancor, rolling over under his direction so he could do the backs of her legs. "Mmmm. But most nova guys don't look at the help. Let alone screw them into a screaming sweaty mess, then wash them and massage them the morning after." She'd grinned over her shoulder at him then. "Hell, normal guys don't do that. A girl might think you're smitten- OW!" She had yelped, more from surprise than pain, as he slapped her ass. "Bastard!"

He smiled remembering that. The petite woman was a firecracker in the sack, hungry and inventive. His taking care of her had a three-layered motive: to keep her coming back to his bed, an end in itself, which in turn would enable him to learn more of Vyse's people and practices, and finally the possible (though by no means certain) influencing of her loyalty. That was a sketchy prospect, but what the hell - it gave him a fun side-project. And it wasn't as though Brittany Miner was objecting.

So.... Chemicals. Something like Mox but isn't, something that Utopia would shut down and confiscate. A random element, one that might be used against me. And might be used to contain a feral nova. His mind flashed onto Ford's injuries. Inflicted by the Morrigan? Or by someone else. Probably not an out-of-control nova: he'd be hurt worse. Trouble in paradise.

He rolled out of bed and walked to the window, looking out over the compound in the pre-dawn light. Miner didn't so much as stir: her heartbeat and breathing one of a woman in the sleep of deep, satiated exhaustion. Einherjar's eyes rested on the hospital building, where a few lights still burned. Ford would be there, more than likely. Scuttlebutt had it that the man barely used his own house except to shower and change clothes. If any time would be a good one, it was now.

He dressed swiftly, his eufiber shaping into simple khaki fatigue shirt and pants, and checking once more on the sleeping woman with senses keener than an animal's, he slipped out of the house and walked across to the hospital. The compound was mostly asleep, guard shifts at their posts and patrols walking the grounds with dogs, but he nodded to these as he passed and they, recognising him immediately, didn't challenge him. He entered the hospital and stood for a moment or two in the entryway, his enhanced hearing listening out for conversation, movement, or any other signs of activity that might lead him to Ford.

Deciding on a probable direction, he started off that way.

[z-The Morrigan]

Einherjar passed several rooms before finding anyone; a few men were here, resting from training accidents or battle. Einherjar recognized all of them. Those who were awake smiled and waved at him; he stopped to talk briefly with them, keeping his voice low. No one asked what he was doing there. They wouldn't question him like that.

Finally, he found where he wanted to be; Ford's office. The door was unlocked and the lights out. Einherjar flipped on the switch and found a large room which appeared to be an exam room. It was empty but a buzzer was on the far wall next to another door. A sign in French and English asked him to press the button for the doctor. Einherjar tested the door, found it was locked and pressed his ear to it. He didn't hear anything, so he pressed the button. At the edge of his hearing, though several doors, he heard a phone ringing.
 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ford jerked awake, sitting on the stairs that lead down to the Morrigan's cage. He had fallen asleep while talking to the wild woman, not that she could understand. She'd beat on the vitrium for a while, then settled across the room, grumbling. Now, however, she was just on the other side of the door, staring at him. She was so close, he could see the whites of her eyes behind the red glow.

For a moment, they watched one another through the glass. Ford had this weird feeling that she somehow understood their new kinship; that she felt a connection to him through their secret shame. He reached out a hand toward her; she started a little but held her ground. Smiling a little, Ford pressed his hand to the barrier, willing her silently to copy him.

The phone buzzing shattered the spell and the Morrigan disappeared into a red blur. She slowed only after doing several circuits of the cage, ending on the far side, hissing and spitting at the noise. "Damn it," Ford growled, fumbling the vibrating phone out of his pocket. "What?"

"It's Einherjar. I'm in your office. I wanted to speak with you."

Ford inhaled sharply. The memories of what Hatchins had done to him, the pain he'd inflicted, where dredged up again at Einherjar's words. The sadist had been very clear: speak to Einherjar about anything that Vyse didn't want mentioned to the ex-Elite, and there would be more pain.

"Doctor?"

"Sorry, just woke up. I'll be in my office soon." Hanging up, Ford went to the coffee maker and poured a cup, wincing at the bitter taste and cold nastiness. Still, it was energy and he needed it. Turning, he walked through the three doors between his lab and his office, passing through rooms with their specialized equipment for the work he did on quantum medicine. When he entered his office, he gave Einherjar a flat smile. "So what can I do for you?" he asked, leaning against the exam table. "I doubt you need a physical."

[Eingar]

"You're right." Einherjar replied, noting the flat smile and the nervous withdrawal in the man's posture. Ford did not want him here, was in fact uncomfortable around him. He gazed levelly at the doctor, studying the way the man stood, where his eyes wandered. Though not as gifted as some novas were at reading people, Einherjar was no slouch by baseline standards. Ford was afraid and defensive. Einherjar didn't know whether that was a sign of guilt, or something else. He thought about the injuries he'd seen on the doctor at dinner a couple of days ago. Injuries that may well have been man-made. Glowing blue eyes narrowed slightly: Einherjar weighing up how much time he had to cajole the doctor. Not much, he decided.

"I'm here to see the Morrigan." he said in a calm, forceful tone, his eyes boring into Ford's. "I want to know under what conditions she's being kept here, and how they match up with my suspicions." Ford couldn't meet that stare, couldn't dream of saying 'No'. His massive arms folded over his chest, inhumanly handsome features in an imposing mask, and the ice of his eyes carrying the force of his (considerable) personality, Einherjar was not merely frightening in the way that Hatchins or Vyse could be and were. Their threats and ability to do Ford harm seemed very far away right now with him filling the room.

"You..." Ford's voice failed him as he tried to meet Einherjar's gaze. "You didn't come here just to find work, did you?" he whispered, hope and terror mixing in his breast. Was he here to kill the Morrigan? Or take her to Utopia? Did he want her for himself?

"Don't... Don't hurt her anymore." Ford heard himself saying, as though from a long distance away. "You've got to..." he stopped, afraid to even speak his mind to the Nordic warrior staring at him with diamond hard eyes. He dropped his gaze to the floor, shivering. "...you can't hurt her anymore... " he said in a small voice, trying not to cry.

Einherjar blinked slowly, his small nod of satisfaction unseen by Ford. The man radiated 'between a rock and a hard place', combining pressure and guilt with tiredness and fear. The big elite stepped forward silently, the movement causing Ford to flinch before a gentle hand landed on his shoulder and gripped there, a reassurance. He looked up at Einherjar, his expression taking on a hopeful cast under the fear and guilt writ large on his features.

"Show me." Einherjar told him with gentle firmness, no trace of wrath or judgement in his gaze. "And tell me all of it."

Click to reveal..

Ein used Awe-Inspiring and Disconcerting (passive effect only) to sway Ford.

Spending 2 qp to activate Premonition for the scene also

[z-The Morrigan]

"I don't know where Vyse found her." Ford walked back through the equipment rooms a different man. He felt lighter, filled with purpose. His plans had all come to nothing; Einherjar had walked into his life and done what Ford had wanted to do for a long time. Or at least, that was the hope. "I came in about four months ago. My job was to pick up where my predecessor had left off -- developing a berserker drug and then a sedative to bring her down."

"She wasn't berserk to start?" Einherjar asked. Again, there was no recrimination or judgment in his eyes but Ford flinched anyway.

Ford swallowed. "No, she was just . . . sad. When she first came. She's truly feral now, since her first mission. She'll attack you, if you go in her cage."

"Cage?" Einherjar rumbled, but Ford opened the door to his lab and the nova saw for himself. A large oval was set in the floor of the room, capped by a vitrium ceiling and ringed by vitrium on the walls and floors. The cage was thirty feet wide and twenty long; it was a good sized living space, had it been a studio apartment with amenities. A toilet and shower stood at the far end of the area; a pallet was against another wall and objects, like toys and books, were scattered around the cage. It looked like a child lived here, but there was nothing childlike about the dark form crouched in the middle. Einherjar's first impression was of a malevolent form, crouched with inhumanly red eyes. Then that impression passed and he saw that she was a naked girl, barely old enough to drive. Her skin was dark, but she clearly wasn't pure central or south African. Someone had shaved her hair short, but that shorn hairstyle couldn't hide her inhuman beauty. A single silver collar around her neck was clearly not just for ornamentation; Einherjar could see that there were a couple of small devices attached to it.

"The collar is a combination of shock and sedative, to prevent her from escaping, should she make it out of the cage," Ford explaining, walking to the edge and looking down at her. Her teeth pulled back from her lips in a silent snarl. "The cage has ventilation and running water. She doesn't seem to be able to attune her clothing, so Vyse ordered me to stop trying to keep her covered. I perform basic blood draws on her -- but I'm guessing you don't want to know all of that."

"I want to know everything."

Ford swallowed. "You can't release her. She'd get thrown in Bahrain for sure." Einherjar said nothing and the man continued, "When I came, the last doctor had been -- I don't know everything, but I suspect he was abusing her. It seemed pretty standard and everyone refers to her as a thing rather than a person. She wouldn't speak to me so I have no idea what happened before, and the doctor didn't keep good notes. I know that Hatchins was coming in here and sedating her for sex."

"Rape," Einherjar rumbled.

Ford set his jaw and forced a moment of calm before saying, "Yes. Rape." He swallowed and continued, "We sedate her, put her in a box and Miner drops her over the battlefield. Then I remotely sedate her again when we're ready to collect her. Hatchins and I use the copter to get to her and restrain her before she regains consciousness. Once a week, I test her blood for various things and perform a physical. I try to give her things to do but before she just huddled in a corner; now she doesn't seem to even know what they are." Ford's guilt was apparent as he said, "The combination of Mox with the various drugs we use on her has probably degenerated her memory. It's like the Crush kid, but instead of getting taken in by people who are caring for her, she's getting treated like a living weapon by mercenaries."

"Is that all?" Einherjar asked after a moment.

Ford looked down, his expression telling the nova that it wasn't all. "She was briefly pregnant," he whispered, as if someone could hear him talking. "That's so rare in a nova. I haven't told Vyse. I was afraid of what he might do about it. How he might make money off that."

[Eingar]

He stared down at the girl in the cage, his frosty grey eyes unreadable as his expression as inside, Einherjar coldly considered what to do now. He had uncovered the secret of the Morrigan, but Ford was right - Utopia would only make her worse and shut her up in another cage. Maybe the Teragen would help her, but they'd help her to become one of them, not to become what she consciously chose to be. Is this what I had in mind? he asked himself as he met the glowing red eyes of the feral killer in the pit without flinching. Is this, too, my responsibility?

Yes. Because if not me, then who?

"I want that collar off her." he told Ford as he circled the vitrium cell, the Morrigan turning to follow the big man's movements with watchful hostility. He saw the signs there of abuse, the posture torn between aggression and wariness. She'd learned fear and hate at the hands of men.

"But she's uncontrollable without it." Ford protested. "I'm serious. She's a killer."

"Aren't we all." Einherjar said quietly, studying the animalistic girl. He looked over at Ford. "So she'll need to learn to control herself again. Which she won't, as long as others are doing it for her. Seal the doors into this place and get me spare collar." As Ford hustled, Einherjar walked down into the pit and sat before the heavy Vitrium door, folding his legs Indian-style and watching the Morrigan calmly. She snarled and grumbled, her lean frame vibrating with the urge to attack. Ein didn't move, just waited as Ford, the lab now locked again, brought him a collar.

"Here. It's got no charge or chemicals. Look, Vyse-" the doctor began.

"Is not in charge here." Einherjar said very simply. He'd already done a hyperhearing-based check for bugs and cameras in the room - There were none, save the video cameras on the tripods around the pit. Still, he kept one ear on the local radiowaves for any mention of his or the Morrigan's names, and the other on the doors beyond the lab. Ideally, he wanted Vyse to be the one surprised, not the other way around. It was fair to say that Vyse relied on intimidation and cruelty to keep his doctor in line: where would Ford go, after all? He was no nova to just fly away. He wouldn't release the Morrigan, because she'd likely gut him in a heartbeat and Ford liked being alive. Vyse's cage was one of fear, but to Einherjar it may as well have been made of fog. He took the collar from Ford, noting that it had no power cell, and grabbing the man gently, placed it around his neck.

"What're you-?"

"Shush." Einherjar rumbled, watching the Morrigan as she rose on her haunches, watching with interest and snarling slightly. He smiled a little and nodded. "Now go out of her sight, then come back to me after a minute." he told the doctor. Bemused, Ford did as he was told. When he returned, Einherjar motioned him to sit, then reached over and carefully tore the collar open, his strength making it look easy. He watched the Morrigan throughout, seeing if there was any hint of recognition of his purpose there as he crumpled the collar up in his hands, then threw it on the floor to one side in a clear 'casting away' gesture. Then he patted Ford on the shoulder. "I want you to go out of sight again. Put another collar on, then come back in five minutes. I want to see if she'll learn this."

"Why not just sedate her to take the collar off?" Ford asked, getting to his feet.

"Because she needs to be ready. She's been broken to the collar, and now must be weaned off it." Einherjar explained in a low tone. "Go on now."

He went back to watching the Morrigan, who was watching him now with an attentive air. He pointed at the ruined collar on the floor, then at her before leaning forward and placing a large hand against the vitrium panel of the door. The Morrigan snarled savagely, reflexively, but didn't move, glowing red eyes meeting glowing blue in wary curiousity at this strange man who didn't smell of aggression or fear.

"I don't know if you can understand me." he told her in a soft tone, his deep voice a gentle rumble, his expression somber. "But I am going to help you be free."

[z-The Morrigan]

She'd been aware of him since the door opened. His scent was different; at first she growled because of the male-musk, the scent of a healthy male. They were threats to her, making her sleep when she needed to fight or making the silver snake around her neck bite her. But this male was different. The male called Ford was made excited by this man, and not the bad way Hatch Ins made him feel. Ford was like her; he smelled hurt and trapped all the time. But now he smelled of something else. The Morrigan didn't know what he smelled like, because she related scents to her own experiences. She couldn't remember feeling hope and she didn't know what it smelled like.

Her first look at him made her more wary, but it also made her curious. He was like her, which meant that he might be stronger than her and not need the sleeping or the biting snake. His eyes glowed, blue in comparison to her own blood red but he was pale, like all her oppressors.

She watched him, her eyes tracking him as he took a seat outside the cage. She didn't trust how calm and relaxed he was; he didn't fear her like the others. She was pretty sure that meant she should fear him and she pretended to ignore him for a moment, picking up one of the soft animal-things Ford had brought.

Then he pulled the collar off Ford and her attempted deceit stopped. The slim mocha-skinned girl crept toward the door, her red eyes wide and intent. She moved on all fours, walking as gracefully as any quadruped. He was trying to tell her something, that much she understood. But what? Her head tilted as she struggled to understand, straining to connect the pieces.

Ford returned with a collar and knelt next to the blue-eyed male. Again, the male tore the collar from him. The Morrigan moved, sitting down before Ein, mimicking his position. Then she grasped the collar and pulled on it.

"Morri!" Ford shouted. "Don't-"

The collar bit her again, locking her body into spasms. Her body was ravaged by jolts of pain; when the bites passed, she was lying on the floor, shivering. Rage filled her -- frustration churned through her like a living creature. Growling, she dragged herself to her feet and jolted into motion, racing around the interior of her cage. As always, she circled helplessly; blood leaked from her pores as she vented her rage.

To the men watching, she was little more than a red blur. When she stopped, she was covered in dripping blood. Einherjar watched calmly as she screamed, wordlessly announcing her aggravation. "Get another collar, and tell me how to disarm it," Einherjar instructed Ford. "Don't come back until she's calm."

It took time, but the Morrigan came back to the door and sat before it. The blood had faded, disappearing with quantum "magic" before Einherjar's eyes. Drawing her teeth back in a snarl, she stabbed a pointing finger at the wrecked collar, her expression furious. Ford slipped back down the stairs and sat with his back to Einherjar. "You have to open the panel on the back. There are three buttons," he instructed. "Press the middle button inside while squeezing the sides at the same time. Then tap the first button twice. That will disarm it."

Einherjar nodded and went through the motions. Then he ripped the collar off again and tossed it to the floor, pointing to it before her. He pressed his hand against the vitrium -- and was rewarded when she pointed at the collar, at him and then her hand slapped against the panel. She still looked pissed, but she seemed to get that she couldn't get the collar off, but he could.

[Eingar]

Einherjar smiled faintly, nodding to the Morrigan. Then he removed his hand from the vitrium and looked at Ford. "How does the cage open? Maglock?"

"Partly controlled from the station there." Ford nodded. "It's been set up so it needs two to operate the lock - one there and one at the door. It prevents... Well, I told Vyse it'd lower the chance of accidental escape." He didn't need to say the real reason why - it meant Hatchins or others couldn't get into the cage without his cooperation. Einherjar nodded approvingly, that simple gesture filling the doctor with a warm sense of accomplishment.

"Get ready to open it." he said, standing up slowly and looking into the cage. The Morrigan growled softly, a puzzled warning sound as she backed up into a watchful, feral crouch. Ford looked askance at him.

"She'll attack you. Try to kill you." he protested. Einherjar didn't move his eyes from Morrigan, didn't break contact as he answered.

"Maybe she will. Maybe she'll succeed." he said quietly, his tone soft as he addressed the girl directly. "But if you do that, Morrigan, you'll never be free. If you understand that, then this will go just fine. You'll be just fine."

"You're cra-" Ford stopped as Einherjar looked briefly at him. There was no harshness to the expression, no anger. Nothing but a mild disappointed exasperation that was as unsettling as Hatchin's worst threats. 'You're wasting my time', that expression said.

It was only for a moment, but that was enough. Ford swallowed his protests and hastened to the control console for the cage functions. "I hope you know what you're doing." he muttered. Of course, the big mercenary heard him.

"So do I." he said lightly as a buzz heralded the unfastening of the lock. He reached out for the handle, eyes on the slender form vibrating with tension in the cage's center. "Be smart, Morrigan." he told her in a gentle tone. "Don't spend your whole life in the cage. Think past it. Trust me." He kept talking to her in that voice as he slowly opened the cage door and slipped inside.

The Morrigan didn't move, but he could tell she was torn unbearably between the urge to flee and attack. Her voice rose in a snarling whine as he shut the cage door behind him, the magnetic lock re-engaging with another buzz. Her snarl took on a shrieking timbre as he stepped away from the door, not moving towards her but circling away from the exit. Einherjar judged he had at most thirty seconds before she attacked, but his movements were calm and deliberate as he slowly sat cross-legged on the floor once more. The Morrigan's snarl died away to a puzzled grumble as the big man with the blond hair, his softly glowing eyes never leaving hers, raised a hand palm out and seemed to press it against the air, as though the cell wall was still between them.

Ford held his breath. The Morrigan teetered between reason and instinct. And Einherjar felt the earth below him and the air around him as he looked into the face of possible death, and was at peace with himself.

[z-The Morrigan]

The thirty seconds passed, and with them, the puzzled grumble. The Morrigan stared at the male, shaking with reaction. She wanted to strike -- he was too close! She feared that he would make the bad noises and hurt her inside, like Hatch Ins. He was powerful, like her; he might do it without the dulling effects of the snake's bite.

But the moments passed and she remained awake, and he remained still. Puzzled, she circled behind him, relaxing when he didn't move. Creeping forward, she sniffed the air around him, daring finally to crouch just behind him and hold her nose inches from him. When he permitted that without reacting, the Morrigan reached out her hand. Watching on the cameras, Ford felt his eyebrows rise.

Einherjar smiled a little as her fingers brushed his khaki shirt; she gave him a slight push and then hopped back, watching warily. He let her move him a little, judging her strength to be enhanced with quantum, but less enhanced than his own. A moment later, she stepped forward and repeated it with stronger shove. He swayed a little but otherwise didn't move, displaying infinite patience.

The Morrigan tilted her head, still standing over him. Reaching out, she picked up a few strands of his hair, so different from her own. Surprised by its softness -- relative to hers -- and emboldened by his passiveness, she picked up a bigger handful and let it trickle between her fingers. Watching the golden strands fall through the air for a moment, her expression relaxed further.

With a surge of will, the pores of her right arm began to bleed, spilling blood down her arm to her hand. Instead of dropping to the floor, the blood pooled in her palm and shaped itself into a long, thin knife. The teen nova placed the point against Einherjar's back, watching as the muscles tensed at the sudden sharpness. The eufiber split, and the male rumbled, "No."

Morri leapt back, eyes wide. She'd heard that word before. She knew it was meant to make something stop. Frowning a little, she walked around to the front of the male. Glowing blue eyes met hers, his expression utterly composed. Her red eyes narrowed at him as she remembered what he'd done earlier with Ford's collars.

Sitting in front of him, she folded her legs together and pointed at crumpled collar, then at him and finally pressed her hand to his -- for a moment. Fear of being grabbed overwhelmed her and she snatched her hand back quickly. He didn't move, watching her calmly. Irritation settled in as she realized he wasn't going to do what she wanted until she touched him for longer. Snarling, she got to her feet and paced around the cage. But she walked instead of racing and she only made one circuit before returning. Sitting cross-legged again, she pointed at the collar and then at him and touched her hand to his again. She left it there a bit longer, before fear got the better and she snatched her hand back. Still, he waited for her, watching her while smelling only calm. She tried again, pointing as she had before and touching her hand to his. She lasted longer before she jerked back, trying to overcome her fear of him again and again. Einherjar waited and finally was rewarded with the firm press of a dark hand to his that stayed without trembling.

[Eingar]

"Good." he said to her gently, then slowly pointed at her collar and crooked a finger, leaving his other hand pressed against hers. The Morrigan glared at him and lowered her hand, plainly thinking it over. Einherjar didn't rush her, lowering his own hands to rest on his knees and waiting the red glow of her eyes. The Morrigan glared at the ruins of the collar, remembering where the big yellow-hair man had taken something out of the silver snake so it couldn't bite. It was at the back. She would have to turn her back on the big yellow-hair man. Or bend her head so he could get at the snake. Neither appealed to the wild creature.

She snarled softly and jumped to her feet, agitated but not enraged, circling the edges of the cage and keeping her pensive gaze on Einherjar. He didn't move, merely watched her calmly as she passed within his field of view, the rest of the time appearing to just wait. Why wasn't he scared? Or nervous? Was the big yellow-hair man so strong that he had no fear at all? The Morrigan wanted that strength, without knowing consciously it was what she wanted. She wanted to be free of the snake, which to her embodied her fear. The snake stung her and made her sleepy. It obeyed the commands of the men like Hatch Ins to make her helpless. The big yellow-hair man was like her but didn't wear a silver snake. He must have taken it off. And now he wanted to take hers off.

Einherjar watched as the girl came back and sat before him once more, her expression one of plaintive wariness. Jerkily, she raised a palm to the air and pushed it towards him, her eyes searching his face for understanding. He smiled and raised his own hand, pressing it against hers. Their eyes locked, but there was no contest of wills so much as a comprehension that passed between them. Ford held his breath, quietly amazed at what he was seeing.

"Yes." Ein told her softly. The Morrigan relaxed a little, residual wariness still in her gaze. The big yellow-hair man understood. Now to see if he would hurt her or not. She slowly turned, feeling vulnerable and frightened, a snarl fighting to get out of her young throat as she presented her back to him. It was unbearable, this simply act of trust. Any minute now the snake would sting her, and she would be hurt inside by this big man...

Einherjar's hands were deft and sure, opening the panel as Ford had shown him, then pressing on the middle button and squeezing gently but firmly on the sides before tapping the first button twice. The red light faded from the mechanism, and Einherjar pinched the collar between his thumbs and forefingers and gently tore it open, letting it fall forwards into The Morrigan's lap.

"There. Good." he said quietly to the back of the shaved head, lowering his hands to his knees once more. "No more collar."

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri barely heard him. She was too surprised that the snake was actually off her neck. It had been a constant in her life for as long as she could remember. It looked so innocent lying across her legs. She hadn't believed that he'd actually remove it from her. She'd thought it was a trick; she couldn't believe that anyone would take the snake away. She reached up and touched her neck, her hands tracing over skin that was free again.

Twisting, she peered suspiciously at the man still sitting behind her. Einherjar tried not to laugh, but the look of grim distrust was almost comically expressed on such a young face. A slight chuckle eased out of him, which made her blink. She didn't seem to trust the sound. "No," she grumbled uncertainly.

"No, I can't laugh when you make faces?" Einherjar asked, bemused at her first word.

"No." The girl rose and the ex-Elite's smile went back to the calm, patient expression. The collar clattered to the ground, forgotten as blood started to pour down her arm again. Einherjar's expression betrayed no fear as a long, curved sword of blood formed in her hand. It also betrayed no relief when she turned to the door of the cage and slammed the point of the blade into it instead of him. As Einherjar watched, she began to doggedly slice at the housing of the lock, trying to break out.

[Eingar]

"No." Came Einherjar's voice from behind her, sternly filling the vitrium cell. Immediately she spun and snarled. She'd known it was a trick. He wasn't going to let her out of the glass box. He was going to hurt her now! The red curved blade waved threateningly in the air; she was free of the snake now, and he might be stronger, but she would hurt him...

He was still just sitting there.

The snarl fell to a grumble. The Morrigan turned back to the lock and raised her sword to start slicing again-

"No." Again the word had the weight of command. Not a harsh, snapping command like Hatch Ins or others used. The Morrigan didn't have a word for this sort of voice, just like she didn't have words for most of what she'd experienced since the big yellow-hair man had stepped into the room. It was frustrating.

She screamed this time as she spun back at him. He wasn't moving to stop her, he was just saying the stop word like he expected her to listen and sitting where he had been, watching her with an expectant expression. She didn't want to be told 'No'. She wanted to be out of the glass box! The scream fell to a snarl and then to a warning grumble as she started to turn back to the door-

"No." Again, a calm mixture of force and gentleness in the voice.

This time the scream was a shriek that echoed around the cell. Ford had never heard the like, even when The Morrigan had been in her berserk state. It wasn't a scream of bloodlust so much as one of inhuman frustration. The Morrigan blurred into activity as she tore about the cell, upsetting her bedding, throwing toys left and right, and slashing at the walls. The whole time she shrieked like the storm wind through treetops, the red-tinged blur of her movements beautiful and terrible to behold as that storm. The red cyclone circled Einherjar once, twice, then one last time, picking up momentum before arrowing straight towards him. She would hurt him now, stop him saying the stop word to her in a way that she didn't know how to deal with. Once he was hurt, the big yellow-hair man wouldn't be able to say the "No" word, which somehow made her want to stop in her chest and yet didn't force her to stop in her head. He wasn't moving to fight her, it would be so easy. He was just sitting there on the floor with his back to her like a stupid person, the only thing he was doing was raising his hand to the air in front of him, palm outwards-

The Morrigan's sword passed through Einherjar's chest to the left of the heart before she even could register the raised hand, the red tip springing from his breast coated with the big elite's own vital fluid. Ein gritted his teeth, feeling the pain of the wound and tasting his own blood in his mouth as a grunt was forced from him by the power of the blow. It was a bad wound, the blade having carved through his naturally tougher, quantum enhanced frame like a knife through butter.

The Morrigan withdrew her blade slowly, her shrieking having become a querulous grumbling whine. She smelled the man's blood on her and smelled his pain, but he hadn't screamed or fought back. Ein took a rattling breath and straightened up, forcing just enough quantum to the wound to stop the internal bleeding before his lungs filled with blood as he coughed and spat some to the side. Once more, he raised his hand to the air before him, waiting.

Click to reveal..

Ein's badly hurt: for narrative purposes he's on five health levels after a little Regen

[z-The Morrigan]

The man taking her blow without fighting triggered something in the feral; a blood-washed memory of a mother and daughter. They hadn't fought either. They had held each other and died -- from her blade. The Morrigan stood shaking, torn by the memory that had finally broken her mind as that was now tied to the man who was sitting there. The drugs weren't washing through her system anymore; she was as clear-headed as she got. Nothing had driven her to stab someone just sitting there, nothing except her own frustration.

Her sword splashed to the floor as the nova crouched, wrapping her arms around her legs. "No," she moaned, though it wasn't clear what she was protesting. The Morrigan looked at him with sad, red eyes; then she rose and turned her back to him, crouching again. Einherjar went back to waiting -- and hurting. Her blood-weapons were vicious.

She couldn't even say why she was sad. The recollections of her lost life were too far gone to connect to the image of her own mother. All she knew was that hurting the big man hadn't helped at all. He'd just taken it; he'd just bled and it hadn't helped.

The Morrigan sat in silence for a long time. Without rising, she shuffled around in a circle so she was facing Einherjar. He waited as red eyes studied him. Then she slowly slid forward until she was in front of him. She didn't understand what was happening, or what she was feeling. All she knew was that attacking hadn't helped and the male wasn't going to lower his hand. Her legs folded again as she dropped into a sitting position and she stared at him mournfully; then, miracles of miracles, she lifted her hand and pressed it to his, her eyes lost and confused.

[Eingar]

He met her gaze and smiled. Gently and slowly, very slowly - giving her a chance to pull away if she wished - he shifted his hand slightly and clasped hers. The Morrigan tensed a little, but the big man's hand was gentle despite it's size, despite the rough pads of the callouses there. He brought their linked hands down a little, shifting the grip a little more so they were holding hands more normally, sitting facing one another. Ein took a deep breath, wincing a little as he let the wound heal fully now, the edges pulling together and the cells reknitting. He squeezed the small hand in his softly, a reassuring human contact.

"Yes." he told her, looking at her hand in his and back up at her again with deliberate motions. His mind flashed to the Crush kid, as Ford called him: Alex "Sunshine" Andrews. Was the Morrigan a tabula rasa, or so badly brain damaged by the drugs and torment that she might as well be? Either way, he wasn't going to turn away from her. He knew his reasons: She needed help. It would be dishonorable to abandon her. His wife had been pregnant with a daughter when she'd been killed all those years ago. Einherjar was ruthless with himself regarding his motives for any action: he knew his own mind and heart. The Morrigan was not his daughter, but she was someones. Maybe that someone was dead, but for whatever reason right now the Morrigan needed a guardian. Smiling once more he slowly stood, drawing her up to stand with him, her wild features gazing up at him still tinged with sad confusion and wariness, though less of the latter.

"Ein." he told her, indicating himself with his free hand, then showing her the healed wound in his chest through the rent in the eufiber shirt, wincing theatrically then smiling. "It hurt. But I'm okay now." he told her, speaking clearly, and then pointing at her. "Are you okay now?" He remembered what Ford called her. "Morri. Are you okay now, Morri?"

[z-The Morrigan]

The Morrigan blinked up at "Eyen", unsure what to do. She couldn't remember anyone treating her this way. Her emotional responses were not geared toward reacting toward compassion and gentleness. A male touching her and not hurting her was even more unnerving. Only because he'd put the snake to sleep could she tolerate his hand in hers. Worse, he was speaking to her. She might know "No" but so much of what he said was lost to her. "Eyen," she tried once and pointed uncertainly at him, looking unsure until he nodded an assurance at her.

"Are you okay, Morri?" he asked, sighing a little internally when he saw the confusion in her expression. He touched his healed wound once again and stated clearly, "Ein okay." Then he pointed at her and asked, "Morri okay?"

Okay was good then. Eyen had been hurt; now he wasn't and he was okay. Some of the confusion faded from her features. Her vocabulary expanded again, incorporating another new word. It was one more way for her to connect to the world -- a world that was changing into one that she actually wanted to participate in.

"Morri," she repeated, tilting her head before looking over his shoulder at the watching Ford. She had heard Ford make those noises at her before, when he'd spoken to her. The man who had been her only ally until Eyen was smiling. She'd only seen him make that expression at her and never quite that one. He looked like -- Morri didn't have words for it. He seemed to shine to her. His expression was okay. It was very, very okay.

Morri looked back at Eyen and nodded. It was a jerky gesture but sincere. It was impossible for the feral to be anything other than sincere. Her emotions were clear on her face, in contrast to her self-appointed guardian, who never showed what was in his heart.

The feral had a sudden flash of comprehension; hope flared in her eyes as she turned to look at the door. Suddenly, she pointed at the door, then at Eyen and held her hand up in the air. The intense look in her eyes was almost painful; she was communicating her need to get out of the cage, but she wasn't mindlessly attacking the door again.

[Eingar]

"Yes." Ein nodded at her somberly, then clasped her hand in his. "Morri stay with Ein." he told her in a gentle no-nonsense tone. "No run. Ein help." He hoped he was getting through. She wasn't an animal, after all, just a nova reduced almost to an animal state. If she did try to bolt, and he tried to hang onto her, she might lash out at him again. He tried to keep his perceptions attuned to her, tried to read her posture and tension so that, hopefully, he could head off any panicked or impulsive actions with a gentle 'No'.

The big warrior reflected that this was a challenge as deadly serious as any he'd undertaken. If he lost control of the Morrigan, if she lost control of herself, then men would die who didn't deserve to. Of course, there'd be some who died that did deserve to as well. He had need of most of the men and women outside this room, so on the whole it'd be good if the Morrigan stayed by his side.

"Let's go, Morri." he said, lowering their joined hands and moving to the door. Time for the gamble, then. He looked out through the vitrium at Ford and nodded to the man. "Open up."

"Jesus." Ford breathed, half-awed and half-terrified at the sight of Morri hand in hand with the elite. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Einherjar said levelly. Morri, picking up on some subtext of the exchange, looked up at him, then at Ford and echoed the big man's tone. "Yes."

The buzzer sounded and Ein felt Morri's tension reach the vibrating point as he reached for the catch and opened the door slowly, stepping out and holding the door open for the girl whose hand gripped his with what would have been bone-breaking strength for a baseline. She sprang out after him and away from the cage like a wild thing, only his firm grip on her hand keeping the feral nova from putting more immediate distance between her and her hated former home.

"Slowly now." Ein said to her, trying to communicate by tone as much as words. He kept his deep voice reassuring as he led her briskly up from the pit. "You're out of there. It's okay. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you." Making sure he had her attention, he gently let go of her hand and smiled faintly. "Morri okay?"

[z-The Morrigan]

She’d trusted him to remove the snake and he had. Then she’d asked him to open the door and he had. In a short span of time, he had entered her life and changed everything. When he released her hand, she almost ran. Her foot actually lifted off the floor for a second before she realized she had nowhere to go. Where was better than next to Eyen? He removed snakes and opened doors and didn’t hurt her. “Morri okay.” How could she not be okay?

Ford was grinning at her, making her a touch nervous. He looked like he wanted or expected something, and Morri wasn’t sure what that was. “Oh, hey, I think I know step two,” Ford said, turning toward the cabinet. Opening the doors and pulling out a couple of bundles of clothing. “I know they’re mine, but it’s what I’ve got for now.” He unfolded the shirt and shorts, revealing a gray t-shirt and white boxer shorts.

He handed them to the girl and stepped back. Morri looked at them and then up at Eyen. The big man had to smile ruefully at the lost look in her eyes. “I was afraid of this,” Ford sighed. “She’s lost many of her basic social skills. Including clothing.”

“There’s one way to fix this,” Einherjar announced. His clothing altered subtly to resemble the clothing that Morri held, in form, at least. Then he stripped off his shirt and shorts, revealing his own set of boxers. Einherjar then picked up the shorts he’d just dropped, shook them out and slowly pulled them on. Morri watched him closely, as closely as any lover had. But her gaze was without the discerning edge of lust he usually saw when a woman watched him put on or remove clothing. “Now you,” he said, his voice holding no order. This was up to her; he wouldn’t force this issue. Though truth be told, he’d like to get her in some clothing; not only would it differentiate him from Vyse further, but he’d feel better if the teen wasn’t running around naked.

To the two men watching, it took the girl painfully long to figure out the shorts. Even after they were on, they wouldn’t stay until Ford found a bit of cord and Einherjar carefully secured the shorts. “So far, so good,” Ford observed as Morri looked down at her new clothing.

Einherjar nodded and scooped up his shirt. Again, he pulled it on slowly, showing her each step. Morri watched him carefully and attempted to copy him, getting both of her arms inside the shirt. Then she seemed confused. “Here, let me-” Ford started, reaching for her.

“For-” Einherjar’s warning died on his lips. The ex-Elite got to see her speed and strength as Morri growled and leapt back, the shirt ripping as she freed her arms. A knife of blood was already in her hand as she darted forward, toward Ford’s reaching arm. Einherjar had believed himself to be quick to react but he barely caught her arm in time. She spun on him and for a moment, he thought she would attack him. But she’d stopped and he released her, watching as she took several steps back from him. “No,” he said, wondering if he’d undone all his work in his protective reaction. “Ford wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

Now Ford staggered backwards, tripping and hitting the desk. The pale-faced man winced as he barely caught himself before hitting the floor. “Sorry,” he gasped. “I have another shirt.”

“Do you want to try again, Morri?” Einherjar asked, as if she wasn’t standing there warily, knife in hand. After a moment, she lifted her hand, as if pressing it against the vitrium again. Einherjar pressed his hand to hers and she relaxed, her knife dropping to the floor. Apparently, the hand motion was a restart for the girl; an emotional reset now. Einherjar could think of worse things to possess when dealing with such a turbulent being.

It took two more tries and Ford didn’t help them, hanging back and making no attempt to touch her again. The leniency she gave Einherjar to enter her personal space clearly didn’t extend to Ford. But by the end of the trial, Morri was dressed in shirt and shorts way too large for her skinny frame. It was an improvement, however slight.

For a moment, the feral just stared down or touched her clothing. She couldn’t say why, but she felt safer now. The clothing wasn’t very strong; it wasn’t actually protective. But Morri felt better wearing it. Without prompting, she looked up at Einherjar and announced, “Morri okay. Eyen okay?”

[Eingar]

"Ein is okay." he nodded, breaking out in a smile. Morri blinked at the expression and shifted from one foot to the other, uncertain for a moment. There was nothing cruel or timid or reserved about Eyen's smile. It was an expansive expression of approval, a large-than-life smile for her, and the Morrigan was not at all used to such expressed warmth of emotion. It made her feel strange, protected and empowered at the same time, as though she could do anything simply because Eyen was okay and was smiling and nodding at her. Slowly, she smiled back, some half-remembered fragmentary muscle reflex telling her that this was the right thing to do when you felt this way. Then her expression lapsed into confusion as she felt her cheeks with her hands, looking astonished as Eyen chuckled. She glared at him.

"No." she said, pointing at him and scowling.

"No?" he asked. "Not allowed to laugh?"

"No." she repeated, again with that stubborn tilt to her jaw.

"Morri's smile is good." he told her, pointing to his own smile then at her face. He resisted the urge to baby talk her - it wouldn't help her develop. One could keep speech simple without resorting to that, he felt sure. The Morrigan's expression changed once more as she pondered that. Morri's smile is good was another new concept.

"Vyse is going to shit bricks." Ford said quietly, but not quietly enough. The Morrigan heard him and growled, half-crouching as a blood-formed sword once more appeared from her hand. Ein shot Ford a warning look as Morri glowered, looking about the place as though the name had conjured the man himself.

"He's not here." Einherjar said to both of them, then to Ford: "Nor will he be a factor for much longer." The smile was gone now, and the large nova's ominously calm tone left little question what he meant by that as he turned to Morrigan and raised a palm to her. "Morri. Look at me."

"Vyse." the girl growled through clenched teeth and swiped at the air. "Hatch Ins" Another red blur as she slashed at another imagined face. She looked at Eyen - he'd freed her from the snake and opened the door. She trusted him. Would he try to stop her hurting those men? Would he say 'No'? She didn't want him to, didn't want Eyen to say No to that. Her expression wavered between truculence and pleading. "Vyse. Hatch Ins." she said, pointing at the exit with the slick red sword. Then she pressed her free palm to his, her expression sad and angry.

"Yes." Ein nodded soberly, seeing her expression change to curiousity and hope then. "Yes. We will deal with Vyse and Hatchins, Morri. Ein and Morri, together. We will get Vyse and Hatchins."

"She's just a girl!" Ford protested. "You've freed her from that collar and cage. I thought you'd free her from killing. We should run - it'd be easy."

"Easy, but wrong." Ein told him mildly, his eyes still on Morri. "What they did is wrong. They put Morri in a cage she's not going to be free of until they're dead. She's not a girl anymore, Ford. She's what they made her: a destroying goddess. And like all good gods, she has to overcome her makers to move beyond them and be a girl again."

"It's murder!" Ford almost shouted. Morri looked at him and growled.

"No." Einherjar said implacably. "It's justice. Morri?" he called her attention back to him and held up one finger, his other hand still pressed against hers. "Only Vyse." A second finger was raised. "Only Hatchins. Understand? Don't kill anyone else." He slapped a hand against his chest, cold eyes boring into hers. "Ein will take care of the others." Morri paused, working out his intention, and slowly, very slowly nodded. Ein gently took her hand in his.

"We'll find them now." he said softly. "We'll go slowly, Morri. Quiet. No noise, no letting them hear us. Come with me, okay?" Gently, he drew her with him towards the door.

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri had never tried to be silent before. She’d never had the need. The two moved swiftly through the clinic; Eyen leading her with his great loping stride. Morri trotted to keep up with him, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She instinctively slowed and checked the corners, even after Eyen had done so.

The doors out of the clinic loomed before them; Morri slowed when she saw the shadows of the night pressing against the windows. Eyen slowed, peered out and cracked the door; after a long moment, he smiled at her and gently tugged her out into the darkness. The feral nova followed him for a few steps; then she pulled her hand free and stopped, staring into the darkness.

Her memories of being outside were dim and vague; Morri stared into the vault of the heavens and her jaw dropped open. She was barely aware of Eyen pausing beside her, his glowing eyes watching the darkness for danger. Still, he had to grin when she whispered, “Eyen!” and pointed straight up. Above them, Africa’s nighttime glory spread across the sky, the thousand suns glowing like pinpricks in the velvet night.

“Yes?” he asked softly. Wordlessly, she pointed again, her eyes and mouth wide with wonder. Even in the dark, he could see the question in her eyes. “Stars,” Einherjar told her, feeling an echo of the wonder in her expression.

“Stars.” He saw her smile a second time and she didn’t seem to react as badly to it. Then the smile was gone and she insisted, “Vyse. Hatch Ins.” He heard rather than saw her slash at the darkness with her hard liquid sword.

“Yes,” he answered, reaching down to take her hand again and lead her through the night.

For Morri, the outdoors was a wonder. Her shattered memories of a place like this were muddled with a dream of a world without drugs, cages or fences, and her heart was light as she trotted complacently next to the big ex-Elite. Occasionally, he would pull her off the path, teaching her how to shield her eyes so that they wouldn’t be pinpoints in the darkness. They waited, crouched together, as the men passed by. Morri watched them without mercy in her gaze; they were not Eyen and therefore suspect. And Eyen was hiding from them.

When the men passed, the two novas crept forward. The stars were swallowed by a canopy of trees as they entered the residential areas. Here, Eyen moved faster, knowing that there were few places to hide and hoping to get to his house before they were spotted. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long path to his door and Morri was ushered inside.

She’d known the clinic and remembered nothing else. The furnished, comfortable house was alien to her and the feral stared with wide eyes. Eyen didn’t pause and Morri snaked after him, afraid to be left in a strange place alone. At the bedroom, Eyen walked to the bed and snatched up his sword. It was like hers, but silver instead of red and apparently existed without him! That was the most bizarre thing she’d seen yet. Hesitantly, Morri stuck to his side but paused when she saw the bedding was occupied. The female smelled of herself and Eyen, but she also smelled of the loud buzzing box that came before the long fall. This was no Vyse, but that scent was tied into a memory of slaughter so terrible her young mind had splintered rather than face it. Morri snarled, in shock as much as anything.

“No,” Eyen told her firmly, watching her closely. Holding up one finger, he murmured, “Hatch Ins.” His other finger came up. “Vyse. Remember?”

The female stirred and the room burned with sudden light. “Oh fuck,” the female whispered. Morri could now smell fear and she snarled louder, exalting in the reversed roles. Morri smelled of anger and victory; the female of fear and loss. “Einherjar, is that the Morrigan?”

[Eingar]

"Oh, so you've met?" Einherjar said with calm amusement as Miner backed up against the headboard, her fear flooding the room to both novas, though the Morrigan's nose was the more sensitive. Morri circled the bed slowly, moving to the side the woman was on.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Brittany Miner whispered as she saw the blood sword. "You were after her the whole time. You bastard." Ein laughed at that, shaking his head.

"Not quite. I was curious about Morri, but I had other reasons too." he paused and held up a hand towards the girl with the resonant growl and the glowing red eyes. "Morri." The growl subsided to a faint grumble and the girl hopped easily over the large bed, clearing it with a single lightfooted bound to stand beside Einherjar again. She looked at buzzing box woman, then at Eyen questioningly. He shook his head slightly, and the Morrigan grumbled, but she pressed her hand to his gently.

"Oh my god." Miner said. "How the hell did you do that?" Ein turned his gaze on her, and though he didn't possess the feral short fuse quality of the Morrigan, that stare was infinitely worse. Miner felt weighed, measured and found wanting, and it was terrifying.

"I treated her with consideration." he said in a dreadfully calm tone, taking Morri's hand in a reassuring grasp. "Just as I treated you." He smiled then. "Though the context was different. But now we come to the point where you, Brittany, need to make a choice." He set the point of his massive sword on the ground and rested one hand on the pommel.

"You can stay here and work for me now. Same or better pay, same perks." he grinned crookedly. "The job will doubtless differ, but change is part of living, isn't it?" The words were casually spoken, but Miner felt her blood turn to ice in her veins.

"And you'll kill me if I say no?" she ventured bravely, proud of the steadiness of her voice.

"No." Ein shook his head. "No. If you don't want to work for me, you can go and find a new boss. Because Vyse won't be in a position to employ you anymore." He grinned widely. "Or anyone, for that matter." Morri snarled softly, as though in agreement, though she was simply reacting to the name. "I will kill you if you side with Vyse in any way, though. That goes without saying."

Miner looked at the handsome features smiling easily down at her. She'd known Einherjar was a dangerous man. That was a large chunk of his appeal for her. He was well-known for being a ruthless combatant who'd never lost an engagement. The recent stories of his controlling the weather and killing an entire brigade of the Congolese army added to that aura of dangerous violence around him. And yet...

And yet he'd helped those refugees. He'd freed the Morrigan and she came to him and held his hand willingly like a tame lioness. He'd bathed and massaged her own aches away. She saw the two Eins there, both of them, and was confused. She was used to men being badasses or wimps, soft or hard. She knew, without examining it closely, that if she stayed on Ein meant every word. He'd continue to pay her, to employ her as a pilot, which she loved more than anything, and continue to share his bed with her as the mood took them both.

He'd also kill her in less time than it took an eye to blink if she went against him. She didn't know whether to find that frightening or arousing. Feeling her heart thud in her chest, flooding her body with hormones, she realised that it was both. She realised that she didn't want to go against him. Not for a pallid bloodless fuck like Vyse or a raping sonofabitch like Hatchins. Of course, Ein had already figured on that: Smart and ruthless though he was, Vyse didn't inspire real loyalty, and it was that simple fact that made Einherjar's coup possible.

"Fuck." she murmured, looking up at him, then smiling shakily. "Okay. I'll be a good girl and sleep in."

"I've got a better idea." Ein told her. "Get up and get dressed. Bring your sidearm too." He saw her hesitate and grinned. "You want to get in on the executive action, Miner? Or do you want to be an operator your whole life? I'm going to need lieutenants I can trust to run this show." She blinked at him in astonishment, then practically jumped out of bed and started pulling on her clothes. Morri watched her distrustfully, then looked at Eyen. She wasn't sure that she liked the way the woman smelled of him. Or the way he smelled of her, for that matter. But the woman was also afraid of Eyen. He'd scared her with his words, then said something that had made her excited and had driven back the fear while leaving it still there in the background.

"Yes. She's with us now." Ein told the watchful glowing red eyes, then pointed at Miner. "Miner is okay. Aren't you, Miner?"

"Says the man holding the loaded Morrigan." Miner quipped. "Yes, I'm okay." Surprisingly, she did feel okay. Something about Einherjar had that effect, making one feel as though they were diving headlong into madness but it was okay, because he was leading them.

"Good." Einherjar said, Morri tailing along behind him as he walked over to the cupboard at the other end of the room and opening it up. His eufiber shifted and reconfigured into the curious combination of fur-lined mesh mail and arctic-pattern camoflage, causing Morri to blink and peer at the stuff closely, sniffing at it. It smelled different to her clothes. Ein lifted out his harness, the axe in place in it's sheath, and strapped it on before sliding his sword into place across his back. The BFG he left - it would be overkill at best.

"Vyse. Hatch Ins." Morri tugged at his sleeve, her expression plaintive and impatient.

"Yes." Ein nodded, then motioned to Miner as he took Morri's hand. "Fall in. We're going after Vyse first. Keep an eye out and move with us."

[z-The Morrigan]

Miner shakily snatched up her sidearm and followed Einherjar and the Morrigan into the dark. The irony of that statement would have made her laugh, had she not been a professional. She still wasn’t sure what she was doing, really, but this felt right. She’d followed Vyse for his money but she’d never followed him. She followed Einherjar because he was a leader; he had the Morrigan eating out of his hand, practically, and that was something that Miner had never thought to see.

Outside, the Morrigan released her sword and dropped to all fours, gracefully balancing on the balls of her feet as well her hands. As the two watched, she trotted down the path, sniffing the ground. Miner looked at Einherjar but he merely watched the slim girl. Every four feet or so, the feral paused to take a bigger breath, and when she reached the first intersection of paths, she spent a good five minutes testing the scents. Then those red eyes swung up to the two watching people. “Got him?” Ein asked.

The scents on the path were many, but to Morri they were threads as clear as strings laid before her. Ford, Hatch Ins and ones she had no name for were laid out before her. But she ignored them, her attention focused on finding one thread – and when she did, a growl rumbled in her throat. “Vyse,” Morri hissed and it was a curse more than a word. With a wave of her hand she started down a path, still keeping up that graceful four-limbed walk, head bent over the path.

“Morri.” Eyen’s voice halted her, calling her back to him. The feral grumbled, but she straightened and returned to his side, her red eyes looking up at him somberly. “Stay close,” he instructed. She wasn’t sure what that meant and told him so with her eyes. “Close.” He repeated the word as he pointed to the ground next to him.

“Haven’t taught her to heel yet?” Miner asked with wry humor. Something about the way she said that, something about her tone, made Morri feel upset, like she was doing something wrong.

“No more than I’ve taught you,” Einherjar said with a slight grin. His tone made her feel better and she moved to where he was pointing. “Close,” he repeated, then put a hand on her shoulder. The touch made her flinch a little; men touching her shoulders were bad-

-shoved her through the door by that iron grip on her shoulder, saying something in mixed languages-

-wanted bad things. “Hafu pussy,” Morri whispered, baring her teeth. The flash of memory faded, leaving her only words that hurt her. She wasn't sure how; she didn’t remember what followed the words – yet.

“What did she just say?” Miner asked.

Einherjar frowned. It had sounded like something Asian and the English word was clear, but now was not the time. “Nothing,” he said easily, leaving the hand on her. He could feel her tremble, but she wasn’t pushing him away. Suddenly, she lifted her hand, trembling a little. Her eyes sought reassurance from her rescuer and he pressed his other hand to hers. It calmed her and he felt the shivers pass. He took a step and drew her gently with him, repeating, “Close.”

“Close,” she repeated.

“And now she heels. You have a way with the women, Ein,” Miner said.

The ex-Elite grinned in a way that wasn’t completely pleasant. “Morri, close but find Vyse.” It took two more false starts, but she got the idea, traveling on all-fours next to Einherjar. Again, they avoided the guards routinely patrolling the grounds, sticking to shadows. Morri didn’t head for his cottage but for the main building, slowing only when she couldn’t get closer without stepping into the quartz lighting that surrounded the building. There was nowhere to hide; they would have to cross the open ground.

“Close,” Einherjar said and stepped forward. Morri straightened and followed, blood running down her arm to collect into a smaller version of Eyen’s sword.

“That’s creepy,” Miner murmured and Morri silently snarled at her. She felt exposed as they walked for the door, remaining close to Eyen as ordered.

[Eingar]

Ein was listening, but not to Miner's muttered commentary. He heard the faint crunch of dirt on the other side of the building as a couple of guards walked their beat. He heard two voices inside the offices talking quietly as an electric kettle boiled. Vyse's office and conference room was on the second floor.

"We're going in now." he told both ladies. "No killing anyone except Vyse." he cautioned Morri, who nodded and held up one finger.

"Only Vyse." she repeated, then held up another. "Only Hatch Ins." Einherjar smiled grimly and nodded.

"Good." he told her, then started across the lit ground at a fast walk, long legs eating up the distance in moments. Morri flowed alongside him and Miner hurried to keep up, her pistol held low and casting wary glances behind and to the sides.

The two novas paused at the door for just a second as Einherjar cocked his head, then slipped inside, moving with stealth only a nova could match with Morri tailing him half a step behind. Miner came after, closing the door silently and looking around to see Einherjar standing just outside the break room and listening to the two mercenaries inside as they discussed soccer, Cameroon being almost as mad about the game as the Brits and Italians. Morri growled softly at the sounds of male voices, but stuck close to Ein as he passed by the room and moved on down the corridor, Miner bringing up the rear.

"Aren't you going to deal with them?" Miner murmured quietly as they got to the end of the hall, nodding back in the direction of the break room.

"No need." Ein said back. "By the time they get up there, it'll be over and they'll be given the same choice you were." Miner considered this and shrugged, nodding. The Morrigan was vibrating now, a faint keening noise coming from the back of her throat as she smelled how near Vyse was. "Close, Morri." Ein told her gently. Morri shot him a plaintive look, clearly wanting nothing more than to rush up the stairs and kill Vyse. "Almost there." he told her in a low voice, hoping that the reassurance and patience in his tone would rub off. "Don't rush the stalk."

"Close." Morri snarled softly, and Ein nodded before starting up the stairs, Morri and Miner right beside him. He stopped outside the wood-grained door to Vyse's office and paused, listening and hearing the pale man's voice as he spoke to someone on the phone: a business call, from the sounds of it. He held up one hand to the other two and continued to listen for a moment or two longer, then smiled as he heard Vyse hang up.

"Go." he told Morri as he opened the door for her. It was locked, but muscles capable of shattering granite were more than a match for a heavy lock. There wasn't even any resistance at all before the lock snapped and the door swung inwards on Vyse's office. The Morrigan could see the pallid face of the man responsible for her torment look up in surprise, the irritation at the interruption giving way to shock as he saw the red eyes glowering at him from across the threshold.

[z-The Morrigan]

So many moments in Morri’s remembered life came down to this moment. She’d wanted this so much in the long, dark nights in her cell. She’d known that Vyse was the one who could free her, if only he would. The fact that he wouldn’t only fueled her rage at him. But until Eyen, she hadn’t dared to believe that it would happen.

As soon as she saw Vyse, in the open and unprotected, she gave a shrill, blood-curling scream. Miner flinched at the noise; Einherjar was expecting something like this and his face was impassive as the shriek tore through the air. Throughout the building, he heard people reacting to the sound, but that was unimportant. The matters of true importance were occurring in the room, in a burst of speed unlike any he’d ever seen.

Morri crossed the room in a blink, leaping on top of the desk with an easy hop. Another push of her lean legs landed her squarely on the back of Vyse’s chair. He didn’t have the chance to turn before the chair started to tip backwards. Morri’s weight shifted forward, leading two-handed with her sword. The blood-red blade caught Vyse in the back, thrusting him forward and into the desk. The desk itself was scored with the blade as it buried itself into the wood. Morri caught her fall with a carefully placed foot on the desk, placing most of her weight there. Only a fraction of her mass remained on the back of the chair as she loomed over Vyse, snarling like an animal.

“Wait!” he barked, his normally composed face drawn with pain. Einherjar wasn’t sure the man would survive this blow, but it wasn’t uncommon for even the dying to hold out hope for a reprieve. “Morrigan, I can tell you who you are!”

Morri was clearly unimpressed, or perhaps she didn’t understand. The sword in her hands split into two and the feral nova launched a flurry of attacks, rabbit-stabbing Vyse with her swords so rapidly that it was just a blur to the watching Miner. Vyse didn’t get a chance to try to bargain anymore; within seconds, he was dead. That didn’t stop Morri from completing her fury of blows. As his body slumped fully into death, the girl screamed again. The death hadn’t released her fury; it had fanned her hate and was gone too soon, leaving her wired and ready for more. There was a target nearby and Morri turned hate-filled eyes on Miner.

The woman had been watching Morri closely; she was pretty decent at reading people and she saw the thoughts in the nova’s murderous gaze. “Ein-”

Morri was right in front of her; Miner tried to get her gun up, but she was going to be way too slow. Even Einherjar was scrambling to catch the enraged nova. But Miner was wrong; Einherjar wasn’t trying to catch Morri. All he did was step between the two females as Morri struck. For the second time, her blades spilled the warrior’s blood; Miner shrieked in fear as the wide back suddenly in front of her was pierced with two blades.

“No,” Einherjar rasped as Morri stared up at him, aghast. Her rage was burned away and the swords fell into liquid, dripping down his shirt-front. “Only Vyse,” he said sternly, hiding the pain as best he could. It faded as he summoned his quantum to heal himself, even as he reminded her, “Only Hatchins.”

“Eyen,” she moaned, shaking. Then she turned from him and crouched, putting her arms around her legs.

Turning, he saw Miner jerking with reaction, shock making her twitch uneasily. “Give her a moment,” he advised.

“You… you don’t really have control of her, do you?” Miner gasped.

“I only started to ask her to control herself tonight,” Einherjar pointed out. He knelt next to the shaking form and put a gentle hand on her shorn head. The gesture was unlike any she’d received from anyone here, and there was no bad reaction from her as she struggled with her own nature. “She’s doing well, considering.” He straightened and drew his sword. “Look sharp. We have guards coming.”

[Eingar]

"Crap." Miner swore as the thunder of booted feet heralded the guards arrival at the foot of the stairs, rifles at the ready. They gaped as Einherjar stepped to the top of the stairwell, his blue-white anima springing to life and eyes blazing as he looked down upon them, the massive sword held easily in one hand.

"Hold fast!" he barked, the command whipcracking through the air like a bolt of lightning. The nine men at the base of the stairs stared as he started down the steps, his sword resting on his shoulder and an aura of absolute confidence surrounding him like a second anima.

Click to reveal.. (Intimidation roll vs baseline mercs)

Activating Awe-Inspiring 1qp for the scene

Roll: [10, 3, 8, 3, 9, 7, 6, 2, 10, 6, ...iring = 7 succs

Mercs Willpower roll (average) Roll: [7, 3, 4, 4, 3]. Total Successes: 1.

"Vyse isn't in charge anymore." he told them, stopping a few steps up from the bottom and bringing the sword off his shoulder to rest point first on the step below him with an audible *clink* that made the men flinch. None of them had even seen the sword move, and they realised that the big elite could just have easily swept it through them all with as much ease. He grinned like a pirate, charming and dangerous. "The company's under new management, lads. Care to stay on?"

They looked at each other, then at the godlike figure before them, then at one another again before one cleared his throat. "Un- Under you?"

"Yes." Einherjar said with a wry grin. "Unless you think you'd be better suited to being in charge, of course?" he suggested with a glint in his softly glowing eyes. The man shook his head hastily, and Ein nodded. "Good then. Go forth, you buggers, and tell people that I'm in bloody charge now-" he thumped his bloodstained chest. "-and anyone that doesn't like it can leave tout suite, right? And they can leave on sodding foot, because the company's vehicles belong to...?"

"You?" one man ventured.

"Good lad." Ein grinned, then grabbed the nearest man gently but firmly by one shoulder and pulled him close. "And also tell them that the Morrigan is out of her cage and she is under my damn protection. Stay out of her way, and anyone interfering with her better hope she kills them, because otherwise I'll do it, and I'll take my fucking time. Now get going to the comms room and use the damn radios. Don't get any funny ideas, because I'll be listening." He pointed a finger at another luckless man, who jumped to attention. "At ease, son. You and he get your arses to the gate and tell them that Hatchins is not to leave. Kneecap the worthless bastard if you have to, but I want him living or I'll know why from those responsible. You're in charge of the gate until I say otherwise. You, take him and get to the airstrip and lock it down. Hatchins is a pilot and I don't want his filthy hands on any of my planes or choppers, got that? You two stand guard at the entrance to this building, and you two guard this stairwell. Nobody except me comes up here or touches anything in Vyse's office." He swept his piercing gaze over them all. "Chop-fucking-chop, gentlemen. Radios squawking, gate sealed, airstrip sealed. Anyone gives you any grief, you tell me on this." he grabbed a walkie talkie from one of the men "And I'll be along to rip their teeth out through their arsehole. Now GO!"

Click to reveal.. (Command Roll)

Roll: [9, 2, 5, 8, 7, 2, 6] + mega [3]. Total Successes: 3 + 2 for Awe-Inspiring = 5 succs

The men scattered, six heading out of the building whilst another starting to speak hurriedly on his radio, letting the guard patrols know the situation as he headed to the comms room. The last two took up station at the foot of the stairs, gripping their rifles purposefully. Ein grinned and headed back up the steps to where Miner was watching, torn between awe of him and fear of the Morrigan, who was still curled up hugging her knees.

"Hold this." Ein said, passing the radio off to Miner as he stepped round to crouch in front of Morri, gently resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Morri. It's okay now."

"Eyen." Morri moaned, pointing at the blood on his chest. "Morri... Eyen." She reached out and tried to wipe the blood away from his clothing, moaning miserably as she got it on her hands.

"Shhh... Hush." Ein murmured, gently catching her hands in his and holding them. "I understand. I'm okay." He held her hands for a moment longer, locking gazes with the wild thing and smiling before releasing her. "You didn't mean it. Morri is okay." He placed a hand to her face slowly and gently, cupping the side of her shorn head. "Ein is okay. And Miner got a scare."

"Miner shit her pants." the pilot muttered with a nervous laugh. "Jesus. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I always know what I'm doing." Einherjar said with a smile, his eyes still on Morri's face. "I don't always know what I'll have to do next, though."

"Amen to that." Miner said, her heart rate coming down some more. She stepped into the large office and collapsed into one of the conference chairs, not looking at the red ruin of a man sprawled across the desk on the other side of the room. She shot Einherjar a wry look. "So, what are you doing next?"

"Waiting for a bit." he said, listening to the chatter on the guard radio as well as any other signals in the vicinity. "Five minutes should be enough for people to get the word and make their minds up. And then we'll know if we're going to have to kill our way to the next target."

"You're kidding, right?" Miner said with a laugh. "You think anyone in this base will go against you?"

"We'll find out soon enough." Einherjar said calmly, continuing to soothe the Morrigan.

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri’s shivers slowed but her sorrow wasn’t gone. She felt hollow after killing Vyse; it had been too easy. The feral couldn’t conceptualize the idea that the man should have suffered for what he’d done; it was too complex. He should have died; he was dead. It should have been that simple, like when she touched Eyen’s hand; a benediction that washed away her fears. But this was no benediction, just a hollow certainty that something was missing.

In her emotionally overwrought state, she couldn’t understand that killing Vyse a hundred times wouldn’t sate her lust for his blood. It wouldn’t help her know that it wasn’t his blood she’d wanted; it was to be free of the pain he’d inflicted on her. “Eyen,” she whispered, struggling to grasp the feelings that couldn’t be expressed, even to herself.

“It’s alright,” he told her. His big hand was soothing, the calloused skin rough but not unpleasant. No one had ever touched her without hurting her; even Ford had stung her when she’d been sleepy from the snake. There was more here, too; more to do or say. She could feel it but again she had no way to ask for it or even talk about the lack. Even if she had known that she wanted a hug, she might not have been able to tolerate it, even one from Eyen.

“Einherjar.” Another voice from behind her had her spinning and coming to her feet. It was another male, one who smelled healthy and vibrant. Tavon stopped at the sight of the snarling girl.

“Morri,” Einherjar called and the snarls subsided as she turned to look at him. His hand was up and with a shiver of unease she went to his side and pressed her dark palm to his pale one.

“Einherjar, what is happening?” Tavon asked. “I have heard you are taking over… Did you kill Vyse?”

The ex-Elite didn’t ask how Tavon had gotten around the guards; the boy was a teleporter and had probably appeared in the hallway outside. “I am taking over the company,” he said, clasping Morri’s hand in his own. Tavon blinked a little; he’d heard the stories and seen Morri in action before. It only took a few moments to explain what had happened to her; what conditions Vyse had kept Morri in, the chemicals and the cage and the rapes. Tavon looked disgusted and distraught by the time that Einherjar had finished speaking.

“I had no idea,” Tavon said, his fists clenched tight. Einherjar didn’t doubt the boy. Tavon was young and wanted to be a good man, a hero. He hadn’t understood the kind of company he had kept.

“Einherjar,” the radio squawked, the speaker talking in French. “One of the jeeps is gone, and so is Hatchins and some of the men.”

“I gave orders that he was not to go,” Einherjar said, his voice as cold as a glacier. Morri shivered under his touch, her red eyes darting up to his, worry shining with her normal red glow. “Morri is okay,” he assured, “its other buggers that are going to be eating through their ass.”

“Hatchins was already gone before the takeover started!” the voice protested, fear making his tongue rapid.

Einherjar’s jaw set in a hard line. “Find him,” he ordered.

“There is the brothel,” Miner said suddenly. “He likes to go there. I’d forgotten about it.”

Einherjar’s eyes narrowed. “What is this place?”

“Vyse has a small place about five miles from here where he keeps women as a reward for men who have performed well,” Miner said casually. “I’m a little surprised that Tavon was never taken out there after he erupted.”

“I have a fiancé,” Tavon said, grinning a little. “I am not interested in other women.”

Einherjar looked at Morri. She was still watching him, his hand holding her cheek. “Hatchins,” he told her. “We need to move. Are you okay?”

She wasn’t, but she wanted to kill Hatchins. Maybe his death would close the hollow in her chest. “No okay. Hatch Ins.”

“So are we go or not?” Miner asked.

[Eingar]

"We're going." Einherjar said. "Morri and I. Tavon, you help Miner lock this place down. Miner knows the drill, you back her up." Tavon nodded affirmatively. "Make sure everyone knows that they'll be getting paid still, and no-one but you two is allowed in this office. Where's this brothel?" Miner told him, and he nodded. "Come on, Morri."

They moved fast, heading down and out of the building. There were rubberneckers outside asking questions of the guards he'd posted on the doors, but they melted away as the grim-faced elite strode out of the building with a snarling Morrigan at his side.

"Miner and Tavon are in charge until I get back." he told the watchers as he passed through the hastily-made gap in the crowd. With no further explanation than that he turned to Morri. "I'm going to fly. You're fast enough to keep up on the ground. Follow me, okay?" Morri looked at him uncomprehendingly, so Ein lifted a foot off the ground, a glowing aurora of blue-white light shifting and swirling around his frame. Morri blinked and shifted a step or two back. Einherjar smiled at her, then pointed to the east, the direction of the brothel.

"Hatchins." he said, then lifted off a bit higher and drifted that direction. "Follow me, Morri. Let's get Hatchins." She got the idea now, jogging along beneath the drifting elite, looking up at him. He smiled down at her.

"Okay, let's go fast now." he said as they reached the edge of the compound. He sped up to 60, then 100 miles per hour, seeing Morri flowing along beneath him with ease. She switched between two and four legs as the terrain made convenient, mainly sticking to four. He ratcheted the speed up to 200 miles per hour, and the Morrigan had no trouble keeping pace. At that speed, it was barely minutes before Ein spotted the brothel buildings from the air. He swooped in to land before them, the Morrigan there practically on his heels and growling as she smelled the fresh scent of Hatchins nearby. Ein glanced around, seeing a couple of Vyse jeeps and hearing the sounds of music, laughter and sex inside. He looked at Morri.

"Morri, you wait here." he told her firmly, pointing at the ground where she stood. "I will bring you Hatchins. Do not go in there." he pointed at the brothel. "You don't need to go in there."

"Hatch Ins!" Morri snarled, that awful tension back in her slim shoulders and arms as she started to form a blood weapon. She didn't want to wait. Didn't want to delay getting Hatch Ins.

"Morri." Eyen's voice was insistent. "Wait here. That place is not good for you." He didn't want the girl seeing the inside of a brothel, and he also didn't want the fox in a henhouse scenario that might - make that probably would- develop. He held a hand up to her in what was fast becoming a habit, Morri pressing her hand to his and visibly calming. "I will be back, with Hatchins. You wait. Hide there." he pointed at the bushes.

He took a couple of steps back, nodding to her as she shifted, but then turned to flow over to the hiding spot he'd pointed out to her. "I'll be back with Hatchins." he repeated. With that he turned and strode rapidly into the brothel.

The high-class fleshpots of Hong Kong or Havana it wasn't. The girls in the lounge area were pretty and fairly clean, but the place had a seedy air rather than the rarified decadence Ein preferred in his knocking-shops. That would have to change if he kept the place open. Another thing to review. Having R&R available for his men was important, but he wasn't going to use indentured servants or permit abuse of any of his staff. Doubtless a man like Hatchins would enjoy the feeling of having women under his power, and Einherjar wondered if there'd been any 'accidents' here. Probably. Vyse wouldn't care, and the women would likely have no say. That was going to change. A large African man with a shaved head stepped forwards, smiling at the sight of the famous elite.

"Mister Einherjar, this is-" he started in French, but Ein cut him off.

"Hatchins." he said, turning a frosty gaze on the man. "Where is he?" The pimp blinked and hesitated, and Ein casually reached out and lifted him off the floor with one large hand around his neck. "Hatchins. Now." The words were calmly spoken, but still a threat.

"Third room... on the left... that way!" the man gasped. Ein dropped him and moved down the corridor the man had motioned towards. He heard whimpers of pain and the slap of flesh on flesh, and felt anger start to roil within him. He didn't bother with knocking.

The heavy soundproofed door exploded inwards in fragments and splinters under the force of Ein's 'tap'. Hatchins was behind a girl maybe a year older than Morri, choking her with a belt as he fucked her. As Einherjar stepped into the room, the bulky pilot turned with an outraged look in his eyes that froze to sudden fear as he realised who it was that had interrupted his pleasures.

"What the fuck?!" he blustered on reflex, scrambling away from the woman and reaching for his pistol. Ein took two quick steps and backhanded the man with a fraction of his strength, sending Hatchins into the wall hard enough to dent the plaster. He slumped to the floor, groaning, as Ein loosened the belt from around the girl's neck to let her breathe. As she gasped for air, the blond giant reached down and grabbed Hatchins by his hair, lifting him from the ground bodily. He screamed.

"You've got a visitor, Hatchins." Einherjar told him over his hollering as he dragged the naked man out of the room and down the corridor, heedless of the other mercs who'd come out of their rooms at the ruckus.

"Ahhh.. shit... what the fuck is this?!" Hatchins demanded.

"Your visitor is the Morrigan. She's eager to see you."

"The Morrigan? Ohshitohshitohshit. Let me go!!"

"No." Ein said easily as he carried Hatchins outside. "She's got something to say to you." He released his hold on the man's hair and grabbed him by the back of the neck before hurling him out into the dirt parking lot. Hatchins cried out as he hit the ground and rolled, and Ein heard a click behind him.

"Don't be fucking stupid." he told the gunman behind him without bothering to turn around. The mercenary blanched at the tone in the nova's voice. "Anyone fires a shot, and I'll feed them their own bollocks."

[z-The Morrigan]

“What are you doing?” another mercenary asked Einherjar. The question was respectful enough but there was uneasiness in his tone that made him wonder if Hatchins wasn’t the only one who had some accidents here.

“Someone needs to speak to Hatchins,” Einherjar said coldly. “I’m here to facilitate the conversation.” He looked at the man with ice in his gaze. “Are there other conversations that need to be facilitated?”

The man didn’t answer him; his dark skin had gone gray and Ein turned to see the fruits of his labor. Hatchins had painfully risen to his feet and was unaware of the red dots of light creeping toward him. Morri was frightening just as standing around glaring at something; when she moved forward with that loose-boned grace, she was terrifying.

Hatchins saw the look on the watching mens’ faces. He turned but Morri was already in motion. A single leap closed the remaining distance between them, the naked man tumbling to the ground under her. She had manifested a knife with her devastating rapidity, jamming it into his shoulder. At first, Einherjar thought she’d missed a more vital area, but his adopted feral didn’t attack again. Instaed, she sat on Hatchins’s chest.

“Want some more?” he grunted at her with a crude smile. But the stink of fear was clear to both the novas. The man swung his arm up in the air, attempting to clock her in the side of the head. With disdainful ease, the red-eyed monster caught his arm. Blood began to pool on her face; Einherjar’s eyebrows rose a little as her face twisted. The young, lovely features elongated into sickening proportions; her red eyes seemed to be doorways into the Pit.

Hatchins stared up her, his gaze going slack. Then he started to scream. It was a terrible, agonizing sound – not that Einherjar was moved for the man. Instead he watched as Hatchins struggled to escape the petite nova’s grasp, screaming incoherently. Prevented from running, he clawed at the merciless demon on top of him. She ignored him, staring at him with that evil face. When he couldn’t affect her to facilitate escape, he tore at his own arms and face, trying anything to free himself. The smell of piss and feces filled the air as the man voided himself in his fear.

After five minutes of watching him scream as she growled at him, one of the mercenaries asked, “Are… Shouldn’t you put him out of his misery?”

“I wouldn’t piss on him if he were on fire,” Einherjar grumbled. “He’s earned this and more. She decides when he’s done.”

Morri seemed disinclined to end him. Instead, she seemed to be taking pleasure in Hatchins’s terrified flailings. Ten minutes after that, the man’s scream cut short and he seemed to be having some kind of trouble. He was having trouble breathing; Morri responded by leaning forward and pressing her hand against his throat. Rising onto her toes, she pressed her full weight into his larynx. With a final rattle of breath, he went limp.

“She scared him to death,” one of the men whispered, his voice shaking with fear.

Morri stood, shaking her head. The blood that had been dripping down her inhuman features was shaken loose and arced away into the darkness. Einherjar held up his hand and she trotted over to press her palm to his. “Morri okay?”

Red eyes stared up at him, almost heartbreakingly somber. “Morri okay,” she repeated after a long silence.

Click to reveal..

Attack:

[Carver] 9:09 pm: Mega last 3:

Carver *rolls* 13d10: 4+3+2+9+6+9+4+6+2+4+1+4+3: 57

[Carver] 9:10 pm: Bleh.

[Carver] 9:10 pm: Good enough, though.

Carver *rolls* 9d10: 5+1+5+9+7+10+5+5+9: 56

4 levels Lethal damage

Face of Terror, +3 sux

[Carver] 9:05 pm: Mega last:

Carver *rolls* 7d10: 5+8+8+2+9+4+10: 46

Carver claps.

[Malachite] 9:05 pm: Nice.

Appearance + Intimidation: 6 sux on the roll, 9 total. I dun think she broke him.

[Eingar]

"Good." Einherjar replied with a small, grim smile on his face and an approving nod as he took her hand in his, his blue eyes meeting her red ones. "You needed to do that. Now he can't hurt you any more, even in your head."

"Jesus." one of the mercenaries behind him said. "Vyse is going to-"

"Vyse is no longer in charge." Einherjar said, turning to regard the four men in the doorway and the frightened female faces beyond them. "I am." He looked each of them in the eye as he spoke. "I'm choosing to believe, for now, that none of you are like Hatchins. That you're good professional warriors of fortune. If you are, then be back on base for the morning. Where's the pimp that runs this place?" The frightened looking man stepped forward at the snap of command in Ein's voice.

"M'sieu?"

"This place will close for a week, then reopen. In that week, every one of your girls will be checked over by our doctor and each of them will be asked whether they wish to stay on. Any that are too young, like the kid Hatchins was abusing, will be looked after and removed from active duty in this house. None of them will be abused, all of them will get a large share of the money they make starting from the reopening. They will get weekly checkups to ensure that there is no abuse, drugs or disease in this brothel." He fixed the man with a cold stare. "You can advertise for fresh girls, letting them know the new conditions. Any newbies get the same screening before they start. I also want the place spruced up and cleaned. My troops are going to need happy, healthy R&R, not indentured miserable women. Got all that?" The man nodded, shifting from foot to foot. "Good." Einherjar turned to leave, Morri in tow.

They walked away past the body of Hatchins with it's terror-distorted features. As they reached the treeline Ein looked at Morri and smiled again. "It's a nice night." he told her. "Would you like to fly?" Morri looked at Eyen curiously. Morri couldn't fly like Eyen, and she said so.

"Morri no fly."

"On my back." he said mildly. "I could carry you, you hang onto my back." He motioned to his back, and Morri's eyes widened. She looked dubious, then shook her head.

"No." she said earnestly. "No fly."

"Okay." Ein smiled at her. "Follow me like before then?" Morri nodded, relieved that Eyen wasn't going to force the issue. Some nagging part of her wondered what it might be like, but that was lost beneath the instinctive distrust of the unknown and of getting too close to anyone, even Eyen.

"Okay." Morri said, then watched as Eyen glowed blue and white and rose into the sky before streaking off to the west. She raced after him, the two novas moving at close to the speed of sound over and through the jungle respectively. Ein didn't hold back, testing the Morrigan to see if she could keep up, which she didn't have much trouble doing at all. The red glow of her eyes was a crimson streak through the clearings below as she kept pace with him, and she flowed up and over the fence as Ein landed in the base's main parking lot, streaking to a stop right by him.

"Good run." he grinned at her. Morri smiled back and offered her hand, which Ein duly pressed his palm against. "Stay close. We've got some work to do, okay?"

"Okay." Morri nodded, and trotted alongside Eyen as he strode towards the headquarters building. He went right in past the guards, who nodded, then headed upstairs to the office, hearing low voices talking. Sure enough, Miner and Tavon were there, going over the paper files from Vyse's safe.

"Anything interesting?" Ein asked them as he unslung his weapons and leaned them against the wall next to a couch, collapsing into it with a sigh. Miner shrugged and nodded.

"Plenty. All of his investors, who I guess are our investors now. Bank account numbers for the Cayman Islands - Vyse wasn't above feathering his own nest. Guess that's all yours now. The joys of nameless accounts." She grinned at him, and he smiled back. The desk was still bloodstained and scarred from Morri's blades, but Vyse's body had been removed.

"We're going to need a trustworthy money man." he said after a moment's thought. "I want all that money sunk back into this company. We're getting an upgrade. Tavon, get me Ford, would you? I've got some real doctoring work for him now that he's not having to drug Morri 24/7." Tavon grinned and blinked out of existence, and Einherjar poured himself some of the scotch that Vyse kept on hand. Morri wrinkled her nose at the smell of the stuff, but Ein simply knocked back a large glass like it was water, and sighed appreciatively and refilled it. Tavon reappeared with a slightly ruffled Ford in tow, and Einherjar motioned for all of them to relax.

"Take seats, people. We've got some planning to do. First order of business: the matter of my command staff." He grinned at the three of them. "Any ideas?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Unknown to Ein at that moment, a heavily scarred badassed Japanese man was making enquiries in town. Unknown to both Ein and Kazuo, a beautiful-beyond-compare woman was currently landing on the overheated tarmac at Cameroon's major international airport, on a mission to save a life and a soul, respectively. Or maybe it was the other way around: Ausrine wasn't heavily into introspection when she was trying to stop Kazuo killing/getting killed...

[Kazuo]

'I'll be waiting for you at these coordinates: 3.939675,9.844844. Come alone.

-KK'

Einherjar read the brief message once more and, satisfied it was fixed in his memory, shredded the scrap of paper it had been scribbled on and tossed the remains. "So what's that, then?", asked Miner, who'd delivered it to him as it had come to her, unread. She was trying to hide her curiosity and, admittedly, doing a decent job of it.

To her disappointment, Einherjar ignored her question, instead saying only, "Get me a map of the area, would you?" His voice made it clear that he wasn't actually asking, if the deadly seriousness of his arctic blue eyes hadn't already done so, and the pilot left with a roll of her own eyes to go and find him what he'd asked her for. The big Elite turned towards his new shadow and said, "Morri. I have to go somewhere for a little while and I'm going to need you to wait here for me."

"No", Morri said. She was squatting on her haunches in a nearby office chair, and had been for most of the morning already, staring down everyone who came to speak with their new boss - her guardian spirit - with a look of blatant mistrust and hostility. Most of the unfortunate recipients of her glowing red gaze found this to be an uncomfortable and cold-sweat-inducing experience at best. Ein found it amusing.

He hoped that Morri would one day figure out what chairs were for, but for the time being she seemed to view them as just a raised portion of the floor and treated them as such. Still, while the squatting position she'd been maintaining for the past few hours didn't look all that comfortable to him, it certainly didn't seem to bother the young feral at all, so Einherjar had no plans on giving her 'sitting lessons'. He had enough to worry about, anyway. Like her stubbornness and insecurity.

"Morri", he began again.

"No", repeated the girl, cutting him off before he could even finish saying her name.

The powerful Elite just gazed at her patiently, his unperturbed expression winning his argument for him faster than any words he might conjure. Looking steadily less intractable as the moments ticked past, Morri finally let out a whining growl and said, "Morri can keep up with Eyen. No stay. Go."

"I know you can keep up, Morri", Ein answered with an encouraging smile, "and I'm glad you want to come, but I still need you to wait for me here. There's someone I have to go and meet by myself." The dark-skinned youth looked at her savior with evident curiosity and her savior returned that gaze with unflinching seriousness. "Do you understand, Morri?", he asked her, "It's important that I do this alone. Important to me."

"Alone?", asked the Morrigan, her tone filled with wariness as though she suspected a trap in Einherjar's words. The poor girl seemed to struggle with some complex thought or emotion (probably both) before finally blurting out, "Alone isn't okay! Eyen's not okay!"

Despite this, Einherjar understood what his new ward meant and quickly replied, "You're right. Eyen's not okay alone, Morri. And that's why I'm going to hurry back to you just as quickly as I can, but I need to know that you'll wait for me here."

The blond giant extended one of his enormous, strong hands towards Morri, open palm first, and asked her, "Can you do that for me, Morri? Can you be okay alone, so that Eyen can be okay alone?"

The young feral averted her eyes and stared over her knees at the floor with a sulky expression on her face and a pout to her lip, but her childlike innocence could do nothing to hide the pride she felt that Einherjar was relying on her to be strong for both of them. Ein had to stifle a grin of amusement when the girl finally turned her blood red eyes back to his and, with a look of exaggerated seriousness, placed her much smaller and more delicate hand against his and declared, "Morri's okay alone. For Eyen."

Einherjar smiled back at her with genuine pleasure and held his hand against hers for a moment longer. "Thank you, Morri", he said, "I'll be back."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Douala, Cameroon, coordinates: 3.939675,9.844844

Kazuo Kanai lay in the grass in the middle of an empty clearing in the jungle and waited. And waited.

After a while he lifted his head up from off of his hands, which he'd been using as a makeshift pillow, and propped himself up on one elbow. He pulled his other hand across so that he could view the watch on his wrist and scowled at what he saw. "Sheeit", he muttered, "most boringest plan ever..."

Grunting with aches, pains and effort that his hyper-vital nova body didn't feel, Kazuo pulled himself off of his grass bed and stood up. He pulled a pack of Lucky 7's from his pocket, selected a cigarette from within, and lit it up.

And went back to scowling at his watch. And waiting.

[Eingar]

Geared up and garbed for war, a blue-white streak arrowed through the air roughly five thousand feet up, less than noticeable against the sun-scorched sky as Einherjar observed the GPS locator on his wrist and pondered his options.

He knew what Kazuo Kanai wanted - the 20 million on his head that Anna DeVries (word had it) had posted. He'd received that information from two sources: La Perra, who had no love for the cocky Kurusu, and Amanda Wu, who was protecting her investment and would doubtless add the tidbit to Ein's tab. It was also a certainty that Ausrine was in the country by now and making a beeline for Kazuo's intended target, namely Ein himself, in an attempt to head off her volatile and morally-flexible partner. Ein grinned - he'd never been so popular - but before Ausrine could put herself between Kanai and himself the challenge had been issued. And would therefore be met.

His reasons for flying out solo to meet the dangerous Kurusu? Three in number, and two were very simple indeed. Firstly, Einherjar didn't back down from a straight challenge. That wasn't just DeVries hype. He literally could not resist the chance to pit himself against a dangerous opponent without a serious effort of will. It was a self-acknowledged weakness, this need to spit in Death's eye, but one he was happy to live with. Or die with, as the case may be today, for Kazuo was no pushover. Which brought Ein to his second uncomplicated reason, namely the 'gunslinger' syndrome. Who was better? Who was luckier? Who would walk away and who would be scraped up and mourned (or not)? Einherjar knew that he was good, and that his rankings were an inaccurate reflection of his true power due mainly to his not sharing the full extent of his bag of tricks with DeVries. Kazuo was another of the same stripe, whose public profile didn't tell the whole story. So there were unknown quantities on both sides. The GPS beeped as he arrived at the coordinates, and the big Elite (yes, he still considered himself as having the 'E', because if DeVries didn't like it they could come and strip it from his cold hands) grinned fiercely as he peered down at the distant ground.

Ein's reputation for having a warrior code was misleading, mainly due to the preconceived notions many had that 'code of honor' meant he'd fight like some chivalrous knight. He didn't. He fought to win by any means short of the deliberate killing or endangering of non-combatants. A clean fight was for the practice mat: war was all about bringing hell to the opposition.

His aura flared slightly as he activated the sheathing energies of his forcefield, then checked the GPS once more. A grim smile graced his forbidding features, and then he was streaking groundwards at a speed slightly less than twice the speed of sound. The ground resolved itself rapidly to his enhanced sight, and he saw a single figure in the middle of a grassy field. Like a thunderbolt, Einherjar made straight for the stocky figure of Kazuo 'Kurusu' Kanai.

Click to reveal..

1 qp for enhanced Initiative, 2 qp spent for Hyperflight, 3 QP to activate Enhanced Movement.

2 QP to activate FF:

Forcefield roll] Roll: [9, 10, 8, 4, 2, 7, 7] + mega [1, 10, 10]. Total Successes: 11.

11 succs + 5 Quantum = + 27 soak

Soak now = 41 Bashing / 37 Lethal

21 quantum pool left.

Einherjar *rolls* 1d10: 1+20: 21

[Einherjar] 12:37 am: heheh. I suck

Einherjar Initiative 21

Kazuo Initiative 35

[Kazuo]

Meanwhile, down on the ground below, Kazuo watched as Einherjar streaked down on him from above, like blue fire from heaven, and a smile much like his opponent's appeared on his own face.

Kazuo had counted on Ein's much-vaunted code of honor when he'd challenged the man, and had fully expected him to show up guns blazing. If Kazuo was going to be honest with himself (which he was, occasionally), he'd say that he actually liked Einherjar - more than that, he respected the man. But even so, the guy was such a total 'Modern Warrior' and shit, which made him sorta predictable when you got right down to it.

Kazuo smirked and took a drag on his cig and blew the smoke out while he waited.

Still, it wasn't like Kazuo really had any right to talk smack about Ein (not that that would stop him, mind you); there was a reason that Kazuo'd challenged Einherjar to this 'Dual at High Noon' cliche, after all, and it wasn't because it was a tactically sound plan either. See, the thing was: Kazuo had no code of honor. None. At all. If Ein had tried this shit on Kazuo, the schmuck would've probably gotten his throat slit with a carbon-fiber scrag by a scarred, warping Japanese assassin. Kazuo doesn't give a fuck, that's how he does. Or something.

But - lack of codes or fuck-giving aside - he did have some ideas of what he thought of as 'right' and stuff he considered to be 'wrong'. And one of the things Kazuo definitely thought of as wrong was dragging kids into the middle of a nova-class war. See, Kazuo'd done a little scouting, and he'd noticed something: that compound he'd found Einherjar at had kids on it - or at least one, anyway. And it was a girl, to boot. Kazuo didn't give a rat's ass if the girl was or was not a nova, as far as he was concerned there was no way that he was going to try and take out Anna DeVries' least-favorite Elite while there was some fuckin' teenage girl following the guy around.

So here he was, standing in the middle of a motherfuckin' field in the middle of a motherfuckin' jungle, waiting for one big goddamn motherfucker to smite his ass like an angry god. Good times.

Kazuo waited until Einherjar was more or less on top of him and then, moving far too quickly for any baseline eye to follow, his hand whipped around behind him and came back around with a pistol in his grip. The scarred Japanese Elite pointed, aimed, and fired three times in the space of a very rapid eyeblink, aiming with inhuman precision at the spot immediately between his opponent's ice-blue eyes.

Then he braced himself for impact!

Click to reveal.. (Combat Actions)

Taking 5 Actions; 3 shots with his Pistol; 1 Dodge; 1 Throw Attack. Penalties, with Multitasking, are -2, -3, -3, -4, -4. I'm also saying that the first two shots are being made at further than the pistol's Medium Range (50m), adding a +2 Diff penalty to the shots.

Pistol Shots:

1) Roll: [5, 7, 1, 10, 6, 10, 1, 5] + mega [2, 6, 9, 1, 4]. Total Successes: 5.. Damage: [25L] + 4L + (2-Ein's defense sux)L.

2) Roll: [5, 9, 2, 8, 8, 10, 5] + mega [1, 2, 10, 1, 2]. Total Successes: 7. Damage: [25L] + 4L + (4-Ein's defense sux)L.

3) Roll: [9, 1, 2, 7, 7, 5, 4] + mega [4, 7, 6, 8, 6]. Total Successes: 7. Damage: [25L] + 4L + (6-Ein's defense sux)L.

Probably all Ping damage, assuming he doesn't dodge 'em, but what the hey!

Dodge:

Roll: [10, 8, 7, 3, 10, 8] + mega [7, 6, 6, 4, 3]. Total Successes: 7. The dice have liked me so far...

Throw:

Roll: [6, 9, 10, 3, 2, 1] + mega [1, 9, 7, 6, 4]. Total Successes: 6. That Maneuver has a +1 Diff penalty on it, so 5 net. Damage: [10B] + (16B), and Ein suffers automatic Knockdown (if hit). Again, just Ping at this point, but it'll probably result in a much exciting-to-read fight, so I'm fine with that.

Click to reveal.. (OOC Stuff)

Tactics Roll:

[Centimane] 7:38 pm: Last two megas, then

Centimane *rolls* 10d10: 6+4+2+5+4+6+5+6+10+4: 52

[Centimane] 7:39 pm: Thank goodness for that 10, I guess..

This nets him 3 successes on his Tactics Roll, which adds +3 to his Initiative in combat

Activating Combat Awareness:

[Centimane] 7:39 pm: And again

[Wyrd] 7:39 pm: 3 succ. Good for you.

Centimane *rolls* 10d10: 9+9+1+1+8+7+4+10+2+6: 57

Success. With this activated, Kazuo's penalties for fighting multiple opponents is cut in half, his opponents gain no bonus dice for Flank and Rear attacks, he gains +3 dice on Awareness rolls to spot Ambushes, and +3 to his Initiative. Also, it was activated for the scene, costing 3qp.

Initiative Roll:

[Centimane] 7:39 pm: Ok then, so....

Centimane *rolls* 1d10: 6+26: 32

So, first off, I miscalculated initially and told Ein wrong (hence the difference between my stated init here and what his post says) - it is 32, not 35 - I was counting his Tactical Prodigy enhancement twice!

Force Field Roll:

Roll: [9, 4, 6, 9, 8, 6] + mega [10, 6, 9, 4]. Total Successes: 8. (8*2) + 5 = 21 soak. Current Soak Total: 35B/30L. Not as good as Ein's roll, but I will accept it nonetheless!

Multitasking Roll:

Roll: [4, 7, 8, 5, 2] + mega [7, 5]. Total Successes: 4.

Current QP Total:

Deductions: 3qp for Combat Awareness plus 2qp for Force Field and 1qp for Multitasking.

Total: 24qp.

[Eingar]

He felt the impacts like punches, the bullets bruising the bronzed skin of his face as he streaked in on his target. Kazuo's inhuman accuracy was renowned, and Einherjar wasn't surprised that the attacks hurt, but even as the Japanese man whirled to the side, Einherjar corrected his course by the microfraction necessary to correct, one huge fist drawing back as crackling frostrime lined his hands, lightning dancing across the knuckles.

Kazuo was likewise unsurprised that his bullets hadn't even drawn blood, though his swift eye noted the welts they'd raised on the big Elite. What he hadn't expected was the punch that came as fast as a bullet itself as Einherjar swerved to keep up with his evasion.

Fuckin' OWWWWW....

The impact was like a steam-sledgehammer with a bad attitude, on crack. Kazuo felt the cold and the lightning bite at him, the elemental energies cutting through his defensive field backed up by the speed and strength of that hit. Sparks flashed across his teeth and in his hair, and his jaw spasmed so suddenly he bit his tongue as Ein's fist smote him full square in the chest, freeze-burning and zapping him and sending Kurusu sailing through the air. As he hit the ground Einherjar landed ten feet away, drawing sword and axe and putting both through a practiced spin so fast they sang.

"I got your message." the ice-eyed giant rumbled laconically as the aura spread from his hands and started to play over his weapons.

Click to reveal..

Centimane *rolls* 3d10: 9+6+9: 24

2 Lethal from Ping damage, spending 1 qp to convert to Bashing

Durability roll Roll: [] + mega [9, 5, 4]. Total Successes: 2.

2 Bashing

Ein's turn:Spending 3 qp to activate Claws,

18 qp left

Hyperspeed Strike, spending 1 WP Roll: [3, 7, 7, 9, 2, 3, 6, 2, 2] + mega [9, 10, 8]. Total Successes: 10. + 1 for WP = 11

4 net succs

AP effect: -8 to Kazuo's soak leaves 22 Lethal

Total damage: 15 Auto + 5 Str + 1 Claws + 2 Strike + 3 speed bonus + 3 extra hit succs = 15L + 14d10L

Net damage after soak

7d10L

Damage : Roll: [7, 10, 5, 3, 8, 6, 6]. Total Successes: 3.

3 Lethal to Kazuo

Burning effect: Kaz will take 1 die of Ping damage next round as the frosty lightning continues to burn.

Spending 2 qp to heal the bashing.

16 qp left