The Way Forward; A GATE RP [IC] [OPEN]

[British Prussia]

Graves watched the dwarf pass out. Well, that solved one problem. Now for the other. She walked around and gave Blake a rather hard stare. She didn't like playing these fuck-fuck games, and had a low tolerance for bullshit. Despite him making a lot of sense about the dwarf, she knew it was all situational. She looked over to the Lieutenant, whom she did not salute due to being on a combat deployment in a foreign land.

"Sir, it's my duty to inform you that when I took that soldier into the field hospital, one of the orderlies reported seeing a certain soldier in a dress uniform steal some anesthesia."

He frowned. "Well then, this is quite the situation." He looked back at the dwarf, who was out cold, and sighed. "Son, one medical practitioner to another, do you honestly think it was a good idea giving a dose of...what looks to be morphine, to an anatomically different race that we, as of late, know little of?" He was legitimately getting pissed, this was stupidity, the kind that got people killed. "As for the problem of security, why don't you bring that up to the Major when you personally report to him how you "procured" a dose of potent anesthetic and administered it to a patient who was obviously uninjured and most likely unwilling, even if he did understand what you injected him with, which I doubt he did." He held up a hand and poked his head out and called over for a medic. "And corporal, that's an order corporal, one I will be fallowing up on, you are dismissed to do just that."

He turned to the women and nodded at her, the red in his face returning. "THank you fro reporting this to me."

"This is a field hospital. Above all it's first purpose is aid. You should know that. Do you tend to your paperwork first before administering care? As you can see everything here is under control. Nobody's bleeding to death here. I suppose you would've let the dwarf run about amock until more men..." Blake looked at Graves. "So what was it, stabbed or shot?" "What experience do you actually have here? What makes you think you're more qualified to take over without being at all briefed about the security situation? Oh sure, let's not listen to the special forces. And no, I didn't give him morphine, I'm not an amateur, I gave him Propofol. Something I've administered to many a dying soldier in the field. But if you want me to report to the Major, I shall."

[British Prussia]

Graves watched the dwarf pass out. Well, that solved one problem. Now for the other. She walked around and gave Blake a rather hard stare. She didn't like playing these fuck-fuck games, and had a low tolerance for bullshit. Despite him making a lot of sense about the dwarf, she knew it was all situational. She looked over to the Lieutenant, whom she did not salute due to being on a combat deployment in a foreign land.

"Sir, it's my duty to inform you that when I took that soldier into the field hospital, one of the orderlies reported seeing a certain soldier in a dress uniform steal some anesthesia."

Nana, curious as always noted that there were people joining in the tent. She got excited, and swooped back in, her small body lightly landing before another burst of fire morphed her wings into hands. She looked cheerfully at everyone and repeated what she'd been told when she first showed up!
Once again, in a perfect rendition of Blakes voice, she spoke to the others! "This is fantastic. I claim you for Her Majesty and New Zealand. I shall call you Biscuits. Biscoctus Avem." But she didn't have any of the red and yellow pellets to throw at them. Well, dirt should work, She kneeled down and scooped up a hand full of dirt, and repeated herself. "This is fantastic. I claim you for Her Majesty and New Zealand. I shall call you Biscuits. Biscoctus Avem." Before tossing the dirt at the standing woman and repeated herself for the person in the white coat.

"Biscuits! You're back! Everybody, this is Biscuits. A marvellous new species of bird that I alone have discovered." Blake's mood and expression instantly changed as he took some of the Dwarf's water and fruits on his bedside table. "I've decided to adopt it and learn more about it so that once we're able to break comms silence back at home, I can present it to the world! Furthermore she'd be worth her weight in gold for the positive PR and propaganda. What do you think of it as a Company mascot?" Blake cut some of the fruits with his knife and poured water on a dish. "Here you go Biscuits some fruits? Water? I'm sorry I've run out of M&M's but they're bad for you. Come on, don't be afraid!"

[Parcia]

"This is a field hospital. Above all it's first purpose is aid. You should know that. Do you tend to your paperwork first before administering care? As you can see everything here is under control. Nobody's bleeding to death here. I suppose you would've let the dwarf run about amock until more men..." Blake looked at Graves. "So what was it, stabbed or shot?" "What experience do you actually have here? What makes you think you're more qualified to take over without being at all briefed about the security situation? Oh sure, let's not listen to the special forces. And no, I didn't give him morphine, I'm not an amateur, I gave him Propofol. Something I've administered to many a dying soldier in the field. But if you want me to report to the Major, I shall."

He snapped his head back to the man. "Are you...by god, you must really be a jack ass, aren't you." He brought up his hand and firmly face palmed him self. "First off, corporal, it matters not were you are, if the...man was causing trouble, you call over the nearest MP and they will do as their job dictates. Second off, corporal, do not look to corporal Graves in anger for simply doing her duty. Third, you say your not an armature, corporal, but from the view point of an officer, a fellow special forces operator, and an actual fucking doctor, your actions were pretty damn amateurish." He had been counting the off on his fingers, steadily getting more and more pissed off as he went and it was showing. "Now, you are going to report to the major he events of the last 25 minuets, but corporal Graves here, if she is not currently doing anything else, will accompany you to make sure you do so, is that understood?"

[Bentus]

Osira
UN Camp, Alnus Hill
Medical Station

---

"Oh, and by the way. Charlie dies at the end of the book. It's actually quite a sad conclusion. He ends up smashed to a pulp and turned into chocolate. Moral of the story: read better books."

Osira’s brow furrowed at the dwarf, the anger in her chest increasingly rising with every word that flowed from the creature’s foul mouth. He asserted that the elves treated everyone as beneath them, when it was the dwarves who blindly acted as if nature and Her creations were naught but resources to be exploited and consumed. He spoke proudly of his people’s ability to flatten the towering mountains – sculptures of the World crafted over generations – with the hubris of wanton destruction. And he claimed a desire to enlighten himself with the knowledge of Earth, when his stubborn focus on only certain types of knowledge proved his blindness to its truest value.

And on top of all that, he had tried to spoil the ending of her book.

She opened her mouth to retort, but suddenly Blake moved beside the dwarf – a thin glass needle in his hand. Osira’s eyes widened as the human plunged the device into Haapsalu’s arm, a liquid seeming to flow from it into the stocky creature. Before she could ask what was going on, Graves – one of the female Earthers – and the soldier that had first captured her entered into the room and began yelling at the Corporal. Osira struggled to follow the quick, aggressive English as the Earthers conversed, her head turning to each individual in turn as they spoke even if she failed to grasp the words.

“I was just lending aid to Osira, I was able to help her find her Taldani and ensure her speedy recover so she get home.” Blake spoke calmly and deliberately, allowing for Osira to easily follow his sentence. “Isn’t that right Miss Yamasee?” The girl’s expression flashed in momentary surprise at the question directed to her, having no desire to wander into the midst of what appeared to be an argument among the foreigners.

Are they talking about trying to find my Taldani? Blake did offer to help earlier, maybe Graves and the Doctor are trying to stop him from searching for it.

“Yes. Blake is trying to help me – I have to find my sapling, it is important.” Osira nodded as she spoke, trying to convince the other humans to side with the Corporal. She returned the man’s smile, hoping he knew how much she appreciated his actions. It was nice to know that the Earthers were capable of kindness and care, a fact that gave her hope for the future.

Before either of the Earthers could respond however, a gust of wind blew in through the tent entrance, revealing a sight that caused Osira's jaw to drop.

"This is fantastic. I claim you for Her Majesty and New Zealand. I shall call you Biscuits. Biscoctus Avem."

The shock in the girl's features only increased as the Phoenix spoke, in English of all things! She hadn't heard of a confirmed Pheonix sighting in years, the creatures being presumed by some to have become entirely extinct as civilization encroached upon their habitats. Osira couldn't help but run her gaze over the creature's form, unable to hide her curiosity at its feathered limbs, the bright colours reminiscent of the vibrant flames that had moments ago announced its presence. Turning to Blake, Osira could hardly hide the amazement and awe in her voice.

"Sir Blake, is this Pheonix yours?" Perhaps they were common back on Earth. Such a thought was incredible! "Where did you find it?"

[Zjaum]

Okoya groaned as she got up. It took immense amounts of strength to lift her tired body off the ground. She looked around, both to make sure that no one was hurt and to see where Mr. Argyrix was. She was both relieved as no one around her was hurt and panicked as she couldn't see Haapsalu anywhere. She fretted to think that she had thrown him far enough to pass over the wall, but she needed to make sure. She called out for Haapsalu and inquired of the soldiers around the area.

"Haapsalu? I heard he got a concussion." Okoya began to panic more.

"Yeah, the dwarf? I saw him get tossed over the wall!"

"I saw someone take him to the hospital."

Okoya ran, in leaps and bounds over the tents and walls, towards the medic camp. She saw a large commotion and a number of concerned, sometimes shouting foreign soldiers. She panicked a little further. She crouched down to see a number of people: the elf, the flashbang guy, a medic or two, some girl she'd never seen before, and a few other soldiers. "Hello? Where is Haapsalu?"

She looked closer to see the dwarf slumped over in one of the beds, noiseless and motionless (as far as she could tell). Okoya reached the maximum amount of panic, trying her best not to faint. "Mr. Argyrix! Can you hear me?" She stretched the hospital tent opening out to twice its size to get a better look, making a large tear on the top and nearly tearing the entire tent cover from its structure.

"Sir Blake, is this Pheonix yours?" Perhaps they were common back on Earth. Such a thought was incredible! "Where did you find it?"

Haapsalu muttered to himself as he came to, his eyes still closed. What was the elf talking about; they were all exterminated by dwarves and men, or at least so he had heard. Their feathers were too valuable, but while the dwarves dutifully managed to maintain the Phoenix population like all sorts of gaming creatures, the Empire just couldn't help but intrude on the sport and hunt them all to extinction. A phoenix would surely be worth its weight in gold!

He opened his eyes and twisted around to see a crowd of six people at his bedside: three foreigners and three locals, including Okoya and some girl he hadn't seen before. The foreigners had small amounts of dirt on them, and the ones that weren't bickering looked completely distraught. He sighed. His mind was too tired for inquisitions at this point, although he could presume that the new girl was probably the aforementioned phoenix. He stretched his arms before speaking up. "Good day, everyone. Would-"

"[In Zjaumit] Mr. Argyrix! You're alive! I'm so sorry for tossing you over the wall! I'll never do it again! Please forgive me!"

"...[In Zjaumit] Would someone mind... [In English] would someone mind telling me what happened? I was talking about... talking about how I hate elves. I missed something, didn't I?" He hadn't touched alcohol in a century, but this feeling felt very reminiscent of a drunken stupor. He hoped he wouldn't say something stupid in the next few minutes.

[British Prussia]

He snapped his head back to the man. "Are you...by god, you must really be a jack ass, aren't you." He brought up his hand and firmly face palmed him self. "First off, corporal, it matters not were you are, if the...man was causing trouble, you call over the nearest MP and they will do as their job dictates. Second off, corporal, do not look to corporal Graves in anger for simply doing her duty. Third, you say your not an armature, corporal, but from the view point of an officer, a fellow special forces operator, and an actual fucking doctor, your actions were pretty damn amateurish." He had been counting the off on his fingers, steadily getting more and more pissed off as he went and it was showing. "Now, you are going to report to the major he events of the last 25 minuets, but corporal Graves here, if she is not currently doing anything else, will accompany you to make sure you do so, is that understood?"

Sensing the giant's footsteps, Blake eased off the officer. He was proven right when Pairs opened up the tent flaps You can't bloody separate the two can you? I just hope she doesn't tear down the tent. The dwarf it seemed was still fighting the Propofol, being easily aroused by the female giant's shouts. It seems Blake had underestimated Dwarven resistance to it, though he had given him slightly more of a dose a human would require. Still, Propofol required more anaesthetics to pair with it for the victim patient to remain asleep. "Yes, you were saying how much you hated Elves, you looked like you were about to get physical with Osira because you considered her inferior. But you're feeling better now, right? You bear no grudge with the fact that Osira is an Elf or whatever who has access to books that you yourself don't, right?"

Addressing the officer, Blake conceded. He'd have to take this up with the Major himself. "If that's your decision." Bloody Yanks. No wonder they messed up Iraq. "Sir." Blake nudged Graves, "Might as way make our way to the front. Here's hoping no more bodies pile up."

Before leaving the tent, Blake checked on Osira. "Well, since nobody seems to own Biscuits, I've decided to adopt and take care of it. A beautiful bird like this out in the wild would just get hunted down, hehe. I just spotted it wandering about the base and it approached me. I suppose I'll leave Biscuits here with you. Make sure to feed it well. Fruits, apparently, is ideal." Blake thought for a moment. "Since I'm meeting with the Major, is there anything else you wish me to bring to his attention?"

[Malshan]

Back at the front gates...

Ranger had been standing back, regarding the proceedings with a wary look on his face. He kept his bow at a ready position, poised to bring it back up and start shooting at a second's notice. But he was altogether too aware of the presence of his Goddess at the back of his mind. A more earthly mind might interpret the presence to be a figure of authority holding a rolled up newspaper over a dog's head. Ranger's mind interpreted it to be altogether more sinister, and he sighed and bowed to her authority. The wolfman put the spear-like ammunition back into his quiver hanging from a baldric and shouldered the bow.

Ranger waited, watching the metal beast mother and its seemingly human pups, then twitched his ears in annoyance as one otherworlder shouted "WHO?" in Imperial.

The Apostle stood straight, towering over all others there, save the giant. Standing at 9 feet tall, he almost topped the vehicles as well. Ranger bowed, surprisingly formal for one who spent his time hidden from polite society. When he stood back up, he spoke in Imperial. "Apostle to...Goddess of the Forest. Wareharun...my master. Name...Ranger. Who art thou? Where...thy masters?"

[Vahltunskhja]

Sergeant Césaire Jean-Pierre Arsenault
UN Basecamp - Alnus Hill
Outside the camp gates

"I didn't catch much of that. Did you?" Arsenault glanced over at a Swedish private looking down the sights of his Ak 5. The man offered him a shrug, and Césaire turned back to the massive wolf. His ear for Imperial was worst than he thought, but maybe part of it could be chalked up to some kind of local dialect in the Wolf's speech. Not that he held it against the newcomer; a wolf being able to talk in the first place was enough to impress him. And there were some Newfoundlanders back home that he'd had trouble understanding at first.

What he had managed to catch was a bit confusing. Goddess... forest... and a name. It also seemed to be asking who they were and something involving "where" - if the Sergeant had to guess, they were wondering where they'd come from.

Feeling a bit like an awkward silence was starting to develop, Césaire stood up from his crouch and held his rifle in a more relaxed grip before trying his hand at applying two weeks worth of Imperial language classes. "Er... < We mean come in peace! We came through the Gate. >" He glanced over at Sherianna, silently hoping she'd give him a hand. Hell, he'd met a giant and that turned out alright, how different could a massive wolf creature that had just been sparring with a necromancer be?

[Zjaum]

"Yes, you were saying how much you hated Elves, you looked like you were about to get physical with Osira because you considered her inferior. But you're feeling better now, right? You bear no grudge with the fact that Osira is an Elf or whatever who has access to books that you yourself don't, right?"

Haapsalu was still mildly catatonic. "Oh, yes, yes, I hate 'em aaaallll... Wait, Osira is an elf? I knew it all along! Bloody elf. Why does, why does she get all the books?"

Haapsalu slumped over to face Okoya. "And another thing. There aren't any good holes around here. We need to make a big hole."


Okoya smiled. Why yes, that sounded like a great idea! A second base, one big enough for any newcomers from the foreign world, or foreigners from the Empire. It will be well fortified, and it beats studying English any day of the week. "Yes, sir! We should get right on it when you are ready and well!" She lowered the tent flaps, avoiding the Corporal Blake as she backed up to go survey the terrain.


Haapsalu paused to reflect. This fluid was both an alcohol and a truth serum; how quaint. Regardless, he was still under its spell. He slumped over to the tent entrance. "I'm still want that water, Blake!" Over to Osira. "And what the hell is a Taldani, anyway?" Over to the other humans. "Killjoy, Doctor Man, how do I get me those bookssss..."

[The Tophat Empire]

Back at the front gates...

Ranger had been standing back, regarding the proceedings with a wary look on his face. He kept his bow at a ready position, poised to bring it back up and start shooting at a second's notice. But he was altogether too aware of the presence of his Goddess at the back of his mind. A more earthly mind might interpret the presence to be a figure of authority holding a rolled up newspaper over a dog's head. Ranger's mind interpreted it to be altogether more sinister, and he sighed and bowed to her authority. The wolfman put the spear-like ammunition back into his quiver hanging from a baldric and shouldered the bow.

Ranger waited, watching the metal beast mother and its seemingly human pups, then twitched his ears in annoyance as one otherworlder shouted "WHO?" in Imperial.

The Apostle stood straight, towering over all others there, save the giant. Standing at 9 feet tall, he almost topped the vehicles as well. Ranger bowed, surprisingly formal for one who spent his time hidden from polite society. When he stood back up, he spoke in Imperial. "Apostle to...Goddess of the Forest. Wareharun...my master. Name...Ranger. Who art thou? Where...thy masters?"

April 14th | 11XX hours
Day 14 of Operation Forward Unto Dawn
UN FOB, Alnus Hill, Special Region

---

Wiking had moved up with sergeant, and looked over the situation. The tension had been think to cut with a sword when he had first arrived. But as the litch had seemed to come to terms with the massive wolf it eased up, just a bit. Wiking listened intently as the massive wolf create spoke, his imperial was not the worst out of the bunch, but by no means good. He tried his best to remember the words and what they meant. A few seconds passed, before wiking rose from his keeled position behind the Galten.

Wiking took one step forward, as he did he spoke into the radio "Sergeant Major, if our visitor does something stupid, fill him full of holes. and secure the gate, quietly. Out". The AK4 that he and the HQ platoon had been issued with for some reason resting in this two arms. Ready to brought up should it be needed. He thought that he had understood the core of the wolfs message. He was Ranger, and he was woundering who they where, and who lead them. Wiking walked a few more meters towards the two natives. He looked at the litch, and then on the wolf man.

"I command. Name, Wiking. Rank, Major" he had a few phrases nailed down into his head, they where simple and child like, and the prenoiceation would likely send chills of horror down anyone that spoke the language spine. He slowly shouldered his AK4 and brought out the small lexicon-phrase booklet that all the solders had been given after the reinforcements had arrived. He turned a few pages before reading a phrase in arguably even worse Imperial; "We are from the other side of the gate. We act under the banner of the UN" he flipped another page before adding in "What is the meaning of this".

He then switched his gaze towards Sherianna, and spoke in English "Lady Sherianna , I am sorry, but i ask for your help as a translator once again." before again looking back on the wolf man. Wiking stood in a relaxed pose, but anyone with keen eyes and knew what to look for could see that his hand was ready to draw his handgun from it's leg holster, as he stood there, the zipper on his rig not even fully zipped. Revealing the grey ballistic vest underneath.

[Malshan]

Ranger watched and listened as this new breed of human walked forward and spoke garbled Imperial, catching only a few words in odd places. The human that spoke jabbered out a few lines, speaking far too quickly and in too formal a dialect for Ranger to understand. The wolfman had spent some time attempting to keep his language abilities up to date, but it seemed that the language had evolved once more.

As it was, a foreign word stood out amongst the rest. It sounded odd in the human's voice, almost like "King". An oddly presumptuous word seemingly intended as a name, to be sure. But these were new creatures and their conventions were...different, to say the absolute least.

Another sound stood out, this one a question of sorts. Asking for what sounded like Ranger's purpose in his approach to the base. Ranger cocked his head and swiveled his ears, then gestured to the land around them. He spoke again, relying on a rather...archaic form of Imperial which he was more familiar with. "Would thou'st know that thy beasts spoil't upon bless't land?" He paused, jaw opening and closing as he struggled to string together his next line. "Thou'st tread upon land bless't by Wareharun. Ranger...queries thy purpose...seekest thy..." He paused again, trying to think of the correct word.

The silence as he thought grew, lasting several seconds as he pondered. The language of the Forest moved far more slowly than that of these humans. Even the humans that Ranger was familiar with spoke as though they were in a hurry.

"Seekest thy..." Ranger growled in frustration, diplomacy and formal speech escaping him.

Instead, Ranger knelt, resting on his knees while he unshouldered his pack. Drawing a line in the grass, Ranger spoke softly and slowly, a green aura creeping up his arms and suffusing the fur on his face with light. The ground trembled gently as the grasses grew and the ground rose, following the upward motion of his arms, forming a table of sorts. Moss grew on the surface, providing a clean top.

Ranger peered at the human, then gestured to the table. "Seekest thy..." He gestured again, then reached into his bag, unconcerned by the firearms pointed at him. The wolfman laid a spread out on the table, berries, a bowl that he filled from a wineskin, and several strips of dried meats. Ranger lifted the bowl to his muzzle, lapping at the liquid a few times before setting it down on "King's" side of the table.

[Zjaum]

Haapsalu noted the silence that came from his request. Perhaps his English was wrong? No, it couldn't be; he was right most of the time. Perhaps the truth serum distorted his language? Wasn't much of a truth serum; they wouldn't be able to get anything out of him!

Regardless, Haapsalu found that he wanted to get out of this hospital, so he got up and stumbled out of the tent. He promptly face-planted onto the ground and sturggled to get up for a full minute, but slowly he regained his balance and made his way out towards the edge of the camp. Something happened there, and he thought it would be nice to know what the hell happened.

Before he could make it there, though, he was grabbed by Okoya, who startled Haapsalu with how excited and fast her Zjaumit was. "Ah, you are up, sir! Look, I have made a layout for a new base! I drew a layout for an embassy, and for a company headquarters, and for larger living quarters, and everything! Best of all: it will all be underground! Please, sir, you must come and see!"

Haapsalu raised his hand in protest before Okoya grabbed him and took him to the opposite boundary of the base. Haapsalu was disappointed that he didn't get to see the action but pleasantly surprised by the view. Laid out before him was a massive layout of the future base in the form of a Golden Rectangle. The room corners were marked by uprooted, upside-down tree stumps. The whole layout was very detailed, but one problem remained.

"Okoya, the soil here is damp and soft. How the heck are you planning on building the base underground without the roof collapsing?"

"Well, sir, I figured that you would be able to find a way to hold the structure up, seeing as you've dealt with harder obstacles in the past!"

Well, yes, but back then he employed hundreds of dwarves. "If we plan on doing this, we're going to need the help of the foreigners. I need you to go and recruit as many of them as possible."