Living The Life. (MT Closed Look At OOC)

[United World Order]

Sturmburg was one of several cities in The United World Order. The city it'self was surrounded by a large forest named 'The Sturmburg Ardennes" a now seeming to be haven for criminal and radicals that would want to harm the United World Order's civilized population. The city itself was something of Ordernite engineering and a masterpiece to the civilized industrial world they inhabited. Even from a far you could gaze at a distance at the Sturmburg skyline which towering skyscrapers and buildings were. The nortorious Factory Block 88 which was the industrial heartland of the city which streched through most of the north of the city which was owned by corporations. Corporational freedom was important in The United World Order. The city itself was something to be hold with it's vast amount of buildings of variety and people of which most who haden't been in the United World Order could interact with. Although with the Paramilitary like police roaming the streets and with hooligans hiding in every alley or abandoned building waiting to cause someone trouble. Could This Be Living The Life To A Foreigner..?

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=199333

[Sedikal]

Gyan was walking to his small appartment in the southern part of sturmburg. He had just gotten off work from his gun smithing job in block 88. He had a tipical soldiers look, the buzz cut and what not. He wore a black long sleeved shirt and blue jeans. The jeans were scruffy and full of stains from the lubricating oil he used fricuantly when making guns. He carried himself with an arrogance and always stood up straight. He's cheats was pushed out a bit and the shirt showed off his muscles a bit, he was muscular but wasn't buff by any means. As he walked down the street he felt pride in the fact that he had a hand in making the rifles and pistols the polices were using. He makes it to his home and walks in, he makes his way up 3 flights of stares and makes it to the door of his appartment. He puts in the key and opens the door. The appartment was fairly bland with the only thing standing out was a futon bed/couch, a small tv, and the flag of the national socialist party of Sedikal hung on the wall.

He goes to his refrigerator and pulls out a bottled drink. He smacks the cap of the bottle on the edge of the counter and the cap goes flying off. He takes a long first sip and he plops down in his futon and turns on the TV.

[Ossoria]

By the goddess, I hate mornings.

Gunnery Sergeant Enora Kelly (Ret) rolled over in bed and cracked an eye open and gave the blaring alarm clock a glare that could have caused it to spontaneously explode, the kind of look that could only be learned by having served in the Army. After a few moments she smacked the noisy device into silence and swung out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before walking to her kitchen and set a pot of coffee to brew as she took a quick shower. Unlike most women back home, and she assumed here as well, Enora didn't bother with primping herself in the morning, a habit that she had left long ago when she joined the Ossorian Royal Army at the tender age of 17. It helped that she kept her red hair cut in a short military style, which saved several minutes from her morning routine that would otherwise need to be devoted to drying it. By the time she was showered and dressed, the coffee had just finished.

As an officer of the Office of Diplomatic Security (Division 2), it was similar to her Army uniform, but decidedly civilian make, despite the handful of badges that she had been entitled to continue wearing, such as her rank insignia and her Recon badge, both of which put her in a class above the majority of the other ODS agents, as well as making her one of the higher 'ranked' officers in the small force, despite being relatively new to the Office. On her belt was her service pistol, a 5.7-mm semi-automatic, which usually only saw use in the practice range.

She ran through her schedule for the day as she downed the coffee and a few bites of breakfast. First was the shift change, which was both boring and simple, then the first of several patrols around the Consulate, then she would wait inside the security office until her next patrol. Lather, rinse, repeat, until her shift was relieved. Stop by a few shops on her way back to the apartment. Dinner. Find something to do until she fell asleep. On the plus side of things, after almost three weeks on 'active' duty, she was about due for a week of leave, during which she had no idea what she would do, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

Only one thing left to do before she left for work, oddly enough involving the contents of a closet that Enora had never divined the true intended use of. Certainly it wasn't what she was using it for, but that didn't matter much to her. She opened the door to reveal a small shrine to the Goddess Osrai, the matron deity of the Ossorian people. It was a habit of hers to say a short prayer asking for Osrai's guidance and protection before setting out every morning, an almost universal practice among the Ossorians. That done, Enora left the apartment, locks the door, and walked the three blocks to the Consulate.

[United World Order]

Gyan

A van pulled up infront of the apartment which one of the factory workers lived in. The black colored exterior with white block letters labeled "FACTORY BLOC ADMINISTRATION". Three men went inside the apartment as they went up three flights of stairs and towards the door which was where Factory Worker "Gyan" lived. They would give him a deadline to pack up his stuff and be ready for transport, those that didn't follow the deadline would have there door knocked down by men of the FBA dressing in black having assault rifles. They came to the door as one of them the middle man knocked polietly knocked on the door as they waited for the person inside to open the door so they could deliver his notice that he had to pack up or else.


Enora Kelly

People passed her by as she made her usual walk towards the Consulate which lied right across from a small pub which every night they're would be drunk Ordernites roaming the street waiting for there ride home or walking which would leave them to be stopped by police. Cars passed by in the street as snow was lightly falling it was getting more chill in the mornings as September had rolled around and winter was starting to kick in. People in coats and jackets of all kinds, Sturmburg Police Vehicles rolling by either being Styker Armoured Vehicles or simple Crown Victoria modeled cars. Around the corner however was a different story, a man was simply leaning against a telephone pole smoking a ciggerate with earphones on listening to powermetal band named "Pyramaze".

Another man was with him having a brown jacket on and a bald head which his hoodie was off and his breaths could be seen in the chilly morning. The man in the jacket removed a baggie of sorts containing a green leafy substance which was mostly marajuana as his friend the man leaning across the telephone pole looked at it as they begun producing joints to share to pass the time waiting for something. However what they didn't know was that a Sturmburg Police patrol unit was comming.

[Sedikal]

Gyan had finished his drink and was watching some Sedik news about the trial of coprol Šuliiik who was being chafed with 10,000 counts of murder and was also to be tried as a war criminal.

"glad I gave that life up." he said with a blank expression on his face. He remembered Šuliiik when he was just a Sargent during the first Sedikal civil war.

Gyan hears the knocking on the door. He makes his way quickly to his room were he had three guns. An older SKS, and Remington 700 rifle, and a .45 pistol. As he had had run ins with criminals in the area he wanted to make sure he had a gun on him so he could protect himself if need be. He grabs the .46 pistol and walks to the door. He opens the door as far as I could go with the chain lock still in and he hid the gun behind the door. He saw three men dressed in black and had see Similer men around block 88.

"can I help you?" he asked in a deep suspicious voice.

[Ossoria]

Enora Kelly

As Enora walked down the street, she took little notice of the cold, as it got colder, sooner, and for longer in her native Ossoria than this place. Likewise, she took little notice of the "police" vehicles as they rolled past, such sights being common on the military bases she had been assigned to. Certainly, her uniform attracted a certain degree of interest, but she brushed that aside as well. So long as the drunks at the pub near the Consulate kept their distance and didn't touch her or her officers, then they were ignored. If they did, however, the Ossorians usually restrained them until the next police patrol passed by, which wasn't a very lengthy wait. Still, she checked her watch and increased her pace slightly.

[United World Order]

Gyan

"Your factory worker, Gyan?" the middle man asked as he stood there. "Factory Block 88 requires it's workers to live in the designated living zone within Factory block 88. Im hear to inform you, you have 48 hours to pack your needs and wait for a transport from your work to pick up you and your belongings you decided to bring" he finished as another one on his left spoke.

"Not compling with the fourty eight hour notice can result in more disciplinary action being taken" the man spoke as the middle man spoke once more.

"Any questions or concerns, Mr. Gyan?"


Enora Kelly

A Sturmburg Patrol Unit soon saw the pair and the illegal substances they contained as the vehicle came to a halt and a SPU Officer approached the two. One of the men was scared half to death by the officer comming behind him, as he forced him to drop the joint and being pressed agaisnt the wall along with his smoking companion. A Third officer stood near the patrol car with a nightstick in hand wearing a facemask which was traditional in the cold conditions. His eyes following Enora as she walked with a pace by the scene of the arrest, followed by some yelling by the officers in German and one of the suspects being beaten and then tossed in a second patrol car with his companion as they soon left the area. Another day near the Consulate, nothing unsusal to most that lived around these parts..

[Sedikal]

Gyan quitly put the pistol on a end table next to the door with the gun still out of sight. He closes to door and undid the chain lock and opened the door all the way with the national socialist party of Sedikal flag in full view of the three men. He looks at them with a fuck off kind of look in his eyes.

"sounds like a shitty deal but I will comply. Is there any thing I can bring into the living quarters?" he's eyes had the same look.

He had lived in that appartment for three years and they were just going to kick him out? He thought but Gyan had heard the story's of people that didn't comply with the government and Gyan didn't feel like being another statistic.

[Eireann Fae]

Alexandra rises at her usual hour - noonish - and stretches to awaken her tired joints. She crawls out of bed, shivering slightly as her body loses the protection of the sheets, and crosses the room to open the curtain. Being four stories up, she's not likely to be noticed by many on the streets - not that she has any particular discomfort with her own bare body, but she'd rather not have an annoyed face be the first thing she sees in the morning. Smiling in the sunlight, the girl eyes the elegant diplomatic office building across the street, wondering if she could go see about opening an Embassy there. She had no such official mission, but as one of the top ranking ambassadors for Eireann Fae, she technically had the authority. 'If they're friendly enough,' she thinks to herself, 'I'll try and open relations. For now, let's see what these people are up to.'

Her gaze falls to the street, where she sees a woman with very short hair in a civilian security uniform walking along, probably on her way to protect some foreign dignitary or other. 'I wonder if her firm requires that look, or if it's personal choice,' the girl thinks, idly fingering her own waist-length raven-black hair. Her pleasant smile turns to a slight frown as she spies the local police force harassing some poor guys in an alley across the way. From what she could tell, their only crime was hanging about in a dark alley, but perhaps she missed something. Judging by the vehicles they used, the local police force was not something she cared to encounter.

Shrugging, the girl turns and takes a seat at one of few pieces of furniture in her small flat, a small table with only a pair of chairs. Taking some small bit of ʂœnöſœn-Inſinzœ^†, she breaks the pleasant-smelling herb down with her fingers, preferring to touch the plant rather than use scissors or a grinder as others might do. Finished with this task, she lines a fresh, moist cut of tobacco leaf with a solid two grams of the pungent dark herb, and rolls it into a fine cigar.

Alexandra places a large easel near the window overlooking the diplomatic building and secures a stretch of canvas, one metre wide and half that tall, and places out some charcoal of varying tips. Holding the freshly-lit blunt in her left hand, she takes up a charcoal pencil in her right and starts sketching out the building in rough detail. An hour later, the blunt put out forty-five minutes previously, half-smoked, she steps back to admire her finished piece. "This ought to do," she says aloud, breaking the silence in her flat for the first time since awaking. Task complete, she turns to the small wardrobe at the foot of her bed.

All lace and leather within, it's not overly difficult for the teenager to find something nice to wear. She settles on a black leather corset with matching boots and a lacy skirt of a deep purple hue. Lastly, she slips on a simple necklace, hanging from which is a small black leather pouch that contains some of her herb, her refillable wind-proof lighter, and a couple of rolled up tobacco leaves. After securing her half-smoked blunt snugly behind her ear, the girl grabs her drawing and heads out the door.

Planning to take advantage of the subject of her drawing - not to mention her mastery of several different languages - Alexandra posts up several metres from the front gate of the diplomatic building, peddling her ware to passing delegates in whatever language she thought they'd understand. "A fine memento for your visit, only fifty USD! No finer depiction of this fine building can be found elsewhere in the city, I promise you that!"

^† Translation 'Aromatic Dreams', a particularly potent strain of cannabis Alex grows back home. For a more thorough description (and a previous use in a diplomatic environment), see this post :)

[Ossoria]

Enora had paid little more than cursory attention to the police action on her route to the Consulate; it wasn't her country, and she had no authority outside the Consulate grounds, her person, and any persons she was currently charged with protecting. So she had done nothing and put the matter out of her mind.

Once she reached the Consulate, she reported to the Senior Agent in charge of her shift (he didn't have a rank because he had not served in the military prior to joining the ODS, unlike most of the agents at the Consulate), who briefed her on what to expect for the next several hours. In short, there wasn't anything major on her shift schedule, nor were there any expected visitors to the Conaulate scheduled. There was still an asylum-seeker living in a small barracks-esc room inside the Consulate, but nothing could be done with him until the people in the Humanitarian Aid Service could decide if his situation warranted granting him asylum in Ossoria. Edora's patrol would have her checking in on him periodically, but aside from that, she didn't have much contact with him yet.

After her briefing, Enora walked around the perimeter of the Consulate grounds, made sure everything was in order, and made sure that the flag wasn't unduly damaged before she moved inside. Here, her patrol was fairly strait-forward: check on the VIPs inside and then take a post in the Security Room for a while and then repeat the patrol with a different pattern.

About an hour into her shift, one of the gate guards radioed in; apparently a civilian was outside the Consulate making a ruckus. Enora sighed, they got these kind of people every few days, and it was her job as Senior-Enough-Agent-to-have-to-deal-with-these-matters-but-not-a-Senior-Enough-Agent-to-have-a-desk. "Copy that. Private Airth, please show me the main gate."

"Right away, Gunny," the private said, bringing the requested camera feed to the main monitor. Enora didn't see anything too far out of the ordinary, so she decided against bringing backup, though the outer guards would be there if she encountered any 'snags'.

"You have the room, Private, don't kill the system while i'm out and if I catch you playing that bloody game on my computer again I will have you run laps around the grounds until you can't walk straight."

"Yes, Gunny!" came the response, followed by a chuckled "hardass". The ODS wasn't as strict as the military, but that didn't stop the agents from having replicated its institutional culture.

Enora straightened her uniform and fixed her beret before exiting the building to confront the woman she had seen on the video feed.

Completely unsure of what language she spoke best, Enora tried the local dialect first, "Excuse me, ma'am, do you have business here?"

[United World Order]

Gyan

"You can bring clothes, your uniform and the basic nessecities." The middle man said as they stood there taking notice of the flag. "Well, we'll see you in fourty eight hours, Mr. Gyan" he finished as the trio walked away. Most of the notices were as simple as that for new workers that lived not where they were suppose too. Fourty Eight Hours.. Tick Tock.


Alexandria

Alexandria and her paintings had gathered some interested buyers. They lined up in the sidewalk with money in hand waiting to buy one of her paintings. Untill one of the consulate guards came out approaching Alexandria as they quickly walked away as if the consulate was a cop or something else. A trio of men were about down the street one had his left arm covered in tattos wearing a sweater as the others wore jackets. The man with the sweater was ineed of some cash and had a kitchen knife stashed in his pocket, his two cronies would assist him in trying to subdue her into being robbed. They waited and watched for her to leave so they could follow.

[Hurun]

David was middle aged man of 32 years of age. He was a medium sized build with carpenter sized arms and barrel like chest. He was not a quite man nor a loud one. He preferred to live his life peacefully, with as little trouble as possible. That's why he had set up a small florist shop, only three hundred square feet, on the edge of the industry districts. Yes it was quit loud and noisy there with the factors and whatnot like them. But he enjoyed his life so far.

It was leagues better than back home so far. Hurun spent allot of money on the police and they were almost full blown brutes. But here he could just move along in a manner that suited him. His shops had some roses, always a classic, carnations, and other flowers, he even did weddings and other ceremony's from time to time. David just lived.

He was currently a renter of a one bedroom one bath apartment on the outer edge of the city. One were out of his front window he could see the forest and smell it's beautiful smells.

David was happy.

[Sedikal]

Gyan closes the door and picks up the .45 he had planed on using.

"should gas used it." he said obviously pissed off at the currant events. He walks back into his room and unchambered the loaded round and took out the magazine. He then started to put his closes and bed sheets into a black trash bag. Only his three guns, his blanket, and a pillow. He then sat down on his bed and he started to take his guns apart, he put the pieces into separate bags. And now the last thing to do is to fold and pack his flag. After he carefully folds the flag in a triangle he tightly wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it separate from the rest of his belongings.

He then realizes that he needs to go get some food for dinner so he pulls out his old Sedik military uniform.

It had his Rank showing him as a Second lieutenant in the Sedik army. It also had his unit patch and a Sedik national army insignia on it as well.

Second lieutenant insignia

Unite patch of the 11th Sedik ground brigade

Insignia of the Sedik national army

He then takes all the pieces of his .45 pistol and puts it back together and afterwards he loaded it and even chambered a round. He hide it in the jacket of his Sedik tactical combat ACU. Once all that is finished he walks out locked the door and flew down the stares. The cold are hit him hard but the military clothing helped keep him warm, he started to walk to a small store that took him past a large diplomatic building there he saw some man making a fool of himself in front of the front gate.

"dumb ass." said Gyan as he got closer.

[Eireann Fae]

Alexandra is momentarily startled by the official-sounding voice demanding to know her 'business'. The girl rolls her eyes as she sees that it's merely the private security officer she'd noticed on the street earlier. Relieved that it's not one of the local police unit, she forces a smile at the stern woman and gestures to her art.

"I did have business here, 'til you scared away my customers. Now it seems you have to buy one of my pieces. You owe me that much, at least." Out the corner of her eye, Alex spies a few shady-looking characters keeping watch on her. 'They wouldn't dare,' she thinks, keeping her attention on the security guard. 'Not in front of the consulate...'

[Ossoria]

She's essentially loitering in front of the Consulate and somehow she claims that it's my fault? She's either brave, crazy, or stupid, thought Enora with an arched eyebrow. The woman certainly had guts, making such assertions of an Ossorian security agent (military training notwithstanding) on the very doorstep of the Ossorian Consulate, of all places in this city.

However, she felt uneasy about the situation, sensing that something was not as it should be, that there was a 'snag' in the situation that she had not yet nailed down. So she shrugged and pretended to look at the various artworks that she had no intention of actually buying, and instead focused on surreptitiously scanning the crowd to pinpoint the source of her unease.

She quickly noticed that three men were not moving like most of the rest of the people on the street. More to the point, they hastily averted their gaze when she turned her head to get a better look at them. There was little doubt in Enora's mind; she had located the snag. Now there was the question of what to do about it, which was rather more difficult than simply identifying the problem. They were off the Consulate's grounds, but only barely so. But for Enora, they may as well have been on the other side of the planet for all that she could do about them.

There was, however, possibly a way for her to either draw them into her realm of authority, which meant that she could then apprehend or neutralize them completely under the protection of her status, or they would leave, which was a less-permanent solution to the present problem, but that didn't matter in light of the current situation.

She returned her attention to the woman, "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me; if you want to continue selling these items on our doorstep, you need to obtain permission from the Consul and the Chief of Security. If you'll come inside, I can arrange that you meet with them immediately." Of course there were a hundred things that could go wrong with this stunt, including the Consul flatly refusing to meet with the woman merely to show that he could be a hardass politician, but all of those concerns were secondary to her primary objective: to ensure the security of the Consulate at all costs.

[United World Order]

Alexandria

The three men then began walking down the street seemingly towards the lady. They knew the security guard had spotted them but would just do a pass by and just try to scare her. They continued walking as they approached the lady and the security guard for a pass by a Sturmburg Patrol Unit stopped parking on the curb as one of the Officers exited the vehicle and stopped the three just feet away. Another officer joined the first one as they took the one with the sweater and put him agaisnt the car as they patted him down and found the kitchen knife. The officer took the knife and turned the man to face him and put the knife to his throat threating to slit his throat only to scare him as the other officer laughed. The other two were told to move along as they soon left the scene, one of the officers was observing the two ladies near the Consulate as he was obviously checking out Alexandra as the man that had the knife was kneed in the gut and thrown down onto the sidewalk before being kicked several times.

"Tragen Sie keine Messer wieder oder lassen Sie mich sehen Sie hier oder sonst!" the officer shouted as the man got up and was allowed to run away. The officer checking out Alexandra quickly snapped out of his day dream as he got back in his patrol car and they soon drove away. As they drove away a guy walks out of the pub staggering a bit on the sidewalk obviously drunk. As the drunk fellow begins to try and stagger his way home as cars pass by and so did people.

[Sedikal]

Gyan saw the police beating the man and was half tempted to pull out his gun and shoot the cops but didn't as he knew he would get screwed over in the court. He notices a young women whom he had walked passed many times in his time living here but all he knew was that here name was Alexandria. As he is staring at alexandria for just a little he bumps into a stubbling man. The collision knocks Gyan and the man to the ground. Guam gets up a brushes his hands down his ACU's to get the snow of it. He then goes to see it the man was ok.

[Eireann Fae]

'Ma'am', thinks Alexandra, a look of consternation gracing her features for a second or three. 'I'm not even old enough to vote in most nations, and she's calling me ma'am? Dinosaur bitch...' Not saying any of this aloud, the words she does vocalise are notably more diplomatic. "With all due respect, ma'am, I am, as you so noted, on your 'doorstep'. This side of the threshold belongs to Sturmburg, the other side belongs to you and yours. If I need anyone's permission to-hey!"

It is at this point that the local police force got their piece of action. Alexandra felt a little relieved that they were dealing with the shady-looking guys that had been watching her, but simultaneously worried about how they went about it. She had seen tough regimes before - her native land was one such example - but it had been a long time, and seeing it again was troubling. She frowns at the officer wielding the knife, scarcely noticing the other one checking her out. She bites her tongue as the officer knees her would-be assailant, and it's all she can do to stop from jumping at the dirty cop as he kicks the poor guy while he's down.

"Arschlöcher!" she calls out at the departing police vehicle. "Wachsen einige Hoden!^†" Alexandra shakes her head and turns her attention back to the security guard. "Is that why you were asking me to go inside?" She can scarce believe that someone in this city could be so caring. Then again, the woman is a foreigner... "To protect me?"

^† Translation Assholes! Grow some balls!

[Ossoria]

Enora registered the young woman's annoyance at her continued use of 'ma'am' to address her, but put it out of mind. In the Ossorian military, it was standard protocol to address any civilians with 'sir' or 'ma'am' when on duty or in uniform, a reflection of the soldier's duty to their country, and by extension, to those people who they had sworn to risk everything to defend. The practice had carried over to the Office of Diplomatic Security with the targeted recruitment of ex-servicemen by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

She watched impassively as the three thugs approached and were subsequently driven off by the police. Enora made a radio call after the scene had cleared, "Ceithre gníomhairí níos mó a sheoladh chuig an mbealach isteach tosaigh.*" The order was instantly acknowledged by the private she had left in the security room.

As she waited for her order to be carried out, Enora turned back to the young woman. "In response to your question, ma'am, that was partly my reason for asking you inside. After spending a few years in the Army and Special Forces, you tend get a feeling for when things are not as they appear. Since you, as a foreign civilian, were the only logical target, I decided that it would be most expedient to remove you from the situation to either diffuse it or to force their hand and allow me to take direct action against a possible threat to the Consulate. In short, it is my duty.

"However, I was also being completely serious about why I asked you to come inside; if you want to continue doing business on our doorstep, then you will need to ask permission from the Consul and the Chief of Security. This is because your activities here pose a potential security risk to the Consulate, such as the little event we have just witnessed with the thugs, and may impede access to people with actual business with the Consulate, such as an Ossorian citizen-abroad in some kind of trouble or a sanctioned diplomatic event. That is why it is our business, ma'am."

The four agents she had requested had subsequently appeared, and she directed them to take up positions on the corners of the building and at the point halfway between the corner and the entrance itself. Hopefully the increased presence would deter any more thugs today. The day was already shaping up to be more interesting than she had originally intended, and she wanted to minimize the chances that were under her influence.

Enora then turned back to the woman, "Ma'am, if you would come with me," she repeated.

* Send four more agents to the front entrance.

[United World Order]

Gyan

The drunken man had collected himself as he rose back up staggering slightly but regained his overall composure. "Ich bin ganz in Ordnung nicht darum kümmern" he said with slurred speech before leaning agaisnt the wall of the bar and sitting down. People walked past as others from the pub went in and others left. Meanwhile down the street there was yelling it seemed as it got louder and louder as what the cause of the noise was more clear now. A two line formation of men in camoflauged fatigues weilding G36 Assault rifles with brandished bayonets marched up the street as there commanding officer a tall muscular man wearing a red beret holding a sharp saber sword in his right walking to the side of the formation yelling orders as they continued to march. Cars had parked off to the side as people started to become interested and begun to watch as they marched by with there boots hitting the ground with every step.

"Links, rechts, links, rechts!" the commanding officer yelled periodicly.

[Sedikal]

Gyan looked suspiciously at the matching men.
"why would they be marching down the streets with loaded assault rifles?" he thought to himself

He turns and extends his hand so he could help the drunken man back up. After helping him up Gyan walks to to a small store. He walks around a bit a buys 2lbs of green beans, a pound of carrots, half a pound of pinto beans, a pound and a half of potatos, and some stuff to make beef broth. He paided the resoective amount of money and was on his way back home. As he was walking he passed the marching men againe and he also passed Alexandria as well. Gyan had heard from some friends at the shop that she need a roommate but she looked busy so he would ask her later.

[Tavok]

Unable to sleep thanks to his jet-lag, Tomas lay awake in the hotel bedroom at 5 in the morning. As he stared out his window, he had a vague feeling that he had made a mistake in accepting the job here. It wasn't the impressive night skyline, as, filled with brightly-lit towers of glass and steel, it was not unlike what one might see back in Tyyrik. Based on the view alone, he could even deceive himself into thinking he was still back home. Indeed, it was something intangible that unnerved him about this place. He had noticed it as he was driven from the airport a couple hours earlier. Something about the air, or the way people carried themselves... An almost palpable feeling of despair and gloom in this city oppressed all his other senses. It was nothing like Tyyrik, which to him felt so free and happy.

Still, he knew that there were sound, logical reasons for him to be here. The UWOs lax labor laws and business-friendliness made it an excellent place to business, perhaps behind only Tavok itself and a few other economic powerhouses in the region. It was only natural that Aravex Global, the investment bank Tomas worked for, should have a branch there. Just as it was only natural that Tomas ought to have been promoted to manager of it, as he had been just a week earlier. This affirmation of his own self-importance comforted him and allowed him to sneak in a few vital hours of sleep before his 8:30 alarm jolted him awake once more.

[Eireann Fae]

Alexandra rolls her eyes before glaring petulantly at the overly strict security officer. She still disagrees that anybody on the far side of the gate has any jurisdiction at all on this side of it. "Feicfidh mé dul, ach amháin chun ligean d'fhostóir a fhios i gcás go díreach a leagan ar a bhfreagrachtaí.^†" The girl gathers up her drawings and, without waiting for her 'escort' to lead the way or give the signal, stomps through the gate and into the consulate building proper.


^† Translation I'll go, but only to let your employer know where exactly his responsibilities lay.