She was at a different cafe this time, one a roman soldier she'd been chatting up had recommended. Or at least it sounded like a recommendation in between slurred Latin. They really had a terrible ear for Rusinan accents though, she'd been posing as a refugee from the Asgari zone in the north. Woe is her with nowhere warm to stay. It was working wonders. They liked to chat too, nothing too important though she did commend them on that. She had noticed lash scars on the backs of one or two of the soldiers so that'd explain it but when plied with liquor and a gentle nudge here and a wink there they'd talk about a lot. About home or their posting here. Very little of a sensitive matter again the lashes again she presumed. One thing she'd learned last night however, one thing she'd found very difficult to keep her composure for. There was an Iryllian fleet, it'd rocked up a few days ago apparently and was now sitting there a few hundred miles north of the island.
This was her ticket out of here.
Off this blasted rock filled with god damn barbarians and war criminals. An issue remained however, which was contact. She had basically nothing now since the flight from Balthazaar, she'd checked back on the embassy building, a dry cleaners now. Too her knowledge there weren't any safe houses in the city. She needed a radio set. She wasn't about too break into a Roman military base and although some of the dudes she'd slept with had been sweet, they had very anachronistic views in certain places. No, she'd need to find a civilian set, a radio station would be monitored but... There's gotta be a weirdo with a set somewhere. Didn't need much, hell, she vaguely remembered the Morse emergency signal. wouldn't even need much for that. Just the right frequency... She'd need to ask around but her excuse of being from the north only really worked on the Romans. Asgari would recognise an Iryllian accent like that and she didn't sound much like a Harrenite. Maybe, just maybe seeing if someone she knew from the flotilla could get her access somewhere. That'd be a long shot and they all thought she was dead anyway...
The Smuggler
Things just really weren't going her way were they?
After escaping all the bombing, attacks, raiders and all manner of nasty things. Seeing a mushroom cloud rise in the distance Valentina was very much done with this island. Or so she thought, until she found a whole bunch of Myraxians on it. This was just great, she'd mad a particular point of not seeing any Myraxians since Rygan. They made her twitchy, nervous. Well, not quite as bad as the Valari but that seemed like a universal thing rather than just her. Emily Hall, her identity, lost all her documents in a fire bombing in northern Harren. Seemed to pass fairly well. Got her through the refugee checkpoints well enough. Into a work gang well enough. Working for a section of very grumpy looking Myraxian pioneers putting up the shed she was now bunked in with a hundred others. She'd complained at one point, which had amounted to "Fuck you pay me" she'd gotten a good few cheers from the goblins in her work gang. The Myraxian had told her to shut up if she liked getting food. One or two native insults may or may not have slipped out at this. and she noticed the Sergeant whispering and glancing her way when talking to his superior. Maybe it was her Paranoia, but she swore that there were more guards watching after that, watching her specifically.
She struck up her concerns with the seemingly sympathetic goblins, a memorable pair had been part of the merc company in Prokopois, Zahaak and Yavus. They really didn't like the Roman Asgari combo on the island. She talked about her exploits before this place had gone to shit, they'd nodded along and smiled. "Back to Aurum then ey?" They'd asked. "Anywhere but here." She replied. And so, they schemed long into the night.
The Admiral
A few days passed. No word from the consulate. No word from anyone. Commodore Patchriyev had reported... A lot of shipping. Roman and Asgari. Great, two active combatants. He'd circled around the island. Too the south? Worse news. Myraxians and Valari. What on earth had been going on here? Atmospherics indicated a detonation of a nuclear device and a lot of fallout in the air as well as... Unknown particulates. Not chemical, or nuclear apparently. But biological. The records of this island show'd exactly zero abnormalities. So what was all the fuss?
After a few days Admiral Naumann was getting what he thought to be a pretty good picture. The tin pot dictator Balthazar had some rebel problems. That had apparently been over the news nets a bit. According to the diplomatic corps reports Kathrin had survived a rebel attack on the consulate, assisting Balthazar with an emergency monetary fund. However, both Rome and Asgareth had stuck their fingers in the pie, assisting Balthazars flotilla back onto the mainland. Reports from Kathrin had been steady roughly up until... Ah, yes. Balthazar's assassination by Myraxians. Missing, presumed dead. Interestingly enough however the Myraxians never claimed the assassination. They didn't deny it either. All the hullabaloo was coming from the Roman camp who'd gone and set up a seemingly more pliant puppet in the tin pot dictators stead. Politicking and power play. Business as usual. No mention however of an Iryllian diplomat showing up in any reports. No kills claimed, no exposure. In fact if it wasn't for Kathrin's reports very few people would know she'd ever been there.
Then, something else developed.
He'd retired to his quarters, examining the print out on his desk which read:
Claim: Representative of Gautima (Current Premier of the Hegemony)
Officially, considering our status as a Roman Puppet, the Hegemony is your enemy. Unofficially, the Romans have been nothing but a bane towards all Harrenians. Is there anything we can offer you to, get involved, on our mainland?
To, replace, our Roman overlords.
- UNKNOWN
He had to be very careful in measuring his response, he was an admiral yes, but no diplomat.
A detailed report on the current situation is required before any action is taken.
1. What is the status of the Iryllian Consulate to the Hegemony
2. What active foreign nations are operating on this island and in what strength.
3. What do you have to offer.
- Admiral Alexander Naumann, Iryllian 10th Fleet
He nodded, seemingly happy with his response. Shortly after sending it however, his first officer stuck his head into his office, "Sir, an additional transmission."
"What is it?"
"It's from the Myraxians sir."
"What?"
"Yessir, I'll leave the transcript here."
Sent via Myraxian built system
no go away.
- UNKNOWN