ACES: Episode 1 “Come Out and Play” [IC]

[Veshay]

21 SEPTEMBER, 1995
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
HAMNATH, NAOMI

Naomi went through the easy motions of grabbing her equipment: an HK USP-9 that had been tinkered with back and forth, a small bag full of necessities, personal belongings, and a powerful mechanical staff by the name of an AK4. More loyal than her late-husband for sure, the gun had been gifted to her by her father as a coming-of-age gift in her village. Besides, it would begin the mark of extremely good training.

She wasn't much for minor conversations, but her ears pricked up at the fact that the Nigerian had absolutely no jacket to speak of; snow would begin to meet her homeland at this time, let alone the hills and valleys of the Dinaric Alps. She threw a dark-green shawl over her BDUs, and grabbed an extra scarf out from her locker.

Walking over to the parking lot with a pace as silent as the cold air itself, the 5’3 woman picked out Alister among the crowd.

“Corvain.” she called. “Catch.”

She got out of her bag and threw two small packets towards the man as she walked closer to him. “Heat warmers. Stick these under your gloves in your palm and get used your handling. You’ll be surprised how quickly having cold fingers messes with your firing. Same goes for your nose and your senses, as I’m sure you found out; cold is quiet, and we can’t have your sniffling or nosebleed compromising things. Let me wrap this around your head proper so it won’t move.”

“Does anyone else need anything for this cold before we depart?”

[Monfrox]

The Company Commander watched as all of the team members filed out of the room and went off to gear up. A few seconds later a woman appeared standing next to her, as if she had suddenly materialized. She had on the same uniform as everyone else, but she had already gotten her kit together. An FN FNC with a shortened barrel hung off to her side, equipped with a 4 power scope and a suppressor. Her LBV was worn tight on an old soft kevlar vest that had been painted black. A drop-leg holster hanging off her web belt contained an FN Browning Hi-Power with a threaded barrel for a detachable suppressor. A small scrim scarf was wrapped around her neck with a patrol cap on her head, and a one-ear patrol headset over that. Her face was lined with thick, black paint. Her leather gloved hands flexed and checked her collar and other minute gear adjustments.

"So, what do you think?" Willow asked her.

"I think Sieglinde gives you too much trouble." The woman replied.

Sieglinde laughed. "Oh, Frau Van Isterdael. I've been giving Commander Barnes trouble since ze 40's. Such a zing has become habit." Willow looked over. "But no, I'm talking about the team."

"I think they're a bit green in some areas, but that can all be ironed out. Hopefully along with the necessity for teamwork."

"I think so too. They're all nervous to some degree."

"Who isn't?"

"Alessandra..."

The woman turned to Willow. "Mm?"

"Just make sure they don't do something stupid."

Alessandra Van Isterdael nodded and headed out to go meet the team in the parking lot. As she did, another woman came by and passed through the wall to enter the room as she narrowly avoided colliding with Diamond 1-3's team leader. The new woman was also dressed in the same uniform for ACES operators, but she had different weaponry. A Howa Type 89 Paratrooper rifle that had been modified with a shorter barrel and handguard and added suppressor was over her shoulder. Her form turned corporeal as she cleared the wall and approached Willow, who was shedding her M65 parka and laying it on the table. She ruffled her hair and tugged at her collar, brushing her fingers over the Ace of Spades tattoo on her neck briefly.

"The team's ready, ma'am." The woman said in a strict tone.

"Thank you, Yukiko. I'm gonna get my gear ready and then we'll get one of the jeeps."

"May I inquire as to our objective, ma'am?"

"QRF, Yukiko. Hopefully we won't be needed, though. That'd be embarrassing."

"Ahhh...the new team."

"Yep. If they don't need us, that's all the better. We'll probably head out again after I give them their debrief, depending on what they find."

"Yes, ma'am."

Willow looked at the patch on her BDU blouse's shoulder. A spade with the number 1 in white inside of it; the emblem of her team, the highest team in the suits. She headed out of the office with Yukiko in tow.

"Let's get some food. They'll have a while to get into position."

Disc 1, Track 01 - Up the Sleeve
On the outside, Alessandra Van Isterdael found herself standing at the doorway. She was invisible to the naked eye. A light mage from Lodge Belgica who could bend it to her whim, who had served with Barnes on several missions in the late 80's, and came highly recommended for her position: The Ace of Diamonds. She was also in charge of heading up training programs for ACES's contractors that needed a little more help to get up to speed. She never interacted much with the recruits, but when she walked onto the training grounds she struck fear into even the instructors. Now she was leading Diamond 1-3 and letting someone else take over for her back in Greenland.

The team leader approached the rest of the group outside in the parking lot, perfectly concealed by her manipulation of the light. When she was about ten feet away, she let the light manipulation fade to reveal herself. Her boots tread slowly across the pavement. She took in the team's gear choice, her eyes resting on Liam and his RPG for a bit longer than the others. Willow's words rang again in her head. She looked back to see the kitsune currently giving their British Army vet a hard time and whistled sharply at the pair to get their attention like she did in training.

"Get your gear together. Make sure you double-check everything because we won't becoming back until we're done." She said, looking to Liam. "And you wanna drag that thing around with you on a recon mission? Who do you think you are, Colonel Matrix? And you," She pointed out the resident Nigerian. "You forget your parka in your room? You're shaking enough to make your gear rattle. It's only gonna get colder as the night comes so unless you wanna do without, you better go grab it and fast." Her accent was unmistakably French sounding, but she would floor anyone who told her so. She was a Belgian, not a Frenchwoman. "Everyone else, make sure your radio is set to channel 7. Frequencies are pre-programmed by our techs as well with encryption in case any of you were wondering. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'll be your team leader. You may have met me before back home on base, or seen me around. Consider this my formal introduction."

Alessandra held her hand out and a deck of cards suddenly appeared in it. She went to shuffling them leisurely. "To you, I am must "Team Lead" or "TL". Make it through this and I may yet share my name with you. You may hear me be referred to over the radio as Alpha Delta. That is also my callsign. Would our resident Kistune be so kind as to take off the top card, show it to everyone, and then put it back?" She put the deck in one hand and held it out.

[Wolfenium]

Duncan Knox, Diamond 1-3
September 21st, 1995 // Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina

---

It took a moment for Duncan to decipher Liam's accent, but it came down to having not fought the supernatural, and hoping not to fight one and hoping to live through their mission. Duncan wasn't really surprised with the answer. Having experience fighting the paranormal/supernatural would be an asset but not strictly required from what he gathered. Duncan could sympathize with Liam's hope of not encountering and having to fight the supernatural. After all, they were here to find whatever supernatural third party was at play here. Living would be a nice side bonus too.

Then answered Estella, he was pleasantly surprised that despite her nervousness in the briefing room, she had experience combating the paranormal. Perhaps it was some kind of cultural difference but she had a look of annoyance on her face as she answered, if just for a moment. It was funny to think of some old order of monster hunters as deeming guns as avant-garde despite its existence, though he supposed technology, not even just weapons tech had really skyrocketed in the past century. There was a gap of 63 years between the first ever flight of planes and the moon landing. It had taken humanity over two hundred years to evolve from matchlocks to flintlocks, and from there another two hundred to get to revolvers. In that time he supposed it would have been more effective to just use their natural magical abilities and the ever reliable slab of metal that was the sword. So to the monster hunting scene as an effective hunting implement, he supposed it was quite new. But hey, those were the times and times were changing rapidly.

Hopefully Estella's background wouldn't screw her chances of survival today. Arcane and monster hunting arts were great but he had no idea how effective it would be against conventional human enemies and bullets. A thought came to him, hopefully if she hadn't already, she could handle killing other people. There was a level of disconnect behind killing a fully evolved werewolf or a vampire than a normal human being. There was a very real chance they'd kill some Serbs during their operation. "So... on the point of honour, is there some kind of... well... honour system between hunters and the monsters? Or is it more of a personal honour system?"

Aleister spoke up next, replying in the negative. "Hah, I know what you mean with the Biafran guy. There was this one Ranger I knew, saved my ass when we were in Panama, an absolute behemoth, probably could have easily been a professional basketball player with his height. Anyways, that's a nice segue into your question. Yeah, back in Panama my guys were assigned to cover the Rangers as they hunted the supernatural supporters of the CDF. Mostly just containment, maintain a perimeter while the Rangers go in and kill everyone. We mop up stragglers, mostly ghouls and fledglings, and those trying to escape the Rangers. A nice, easy mission for those not use to the supernatural."

Duncan paused to think about if he should continue the story, but it was public record and it was before he was a Ranger himself. He was fairly certain it didn't break his NDA. Plus story time was always a nice ice breaker. Better than them standing there awkwardly trying to make forced conversation.

"Now my first combat experience with vampires was in a pool. If you're familiar with Vampires, they're like cats. They hate the water, but there's an exception to every rule. The Rangers clear out their target but are missing one so we're ordered to help them search for the last blood sucker. I decide to check the pool and lo and behold there she is. Now luckily my buddy is there to call for help because she immediately bolts up and drags me into the pool trying to choke me out. Now if any of you have experience fighting underwater, it's not fun, or easy when you're not trained for it, or when a vampire with superhuman strength is trying to choke you out. I got one shot off with my Beretta but she didn't even flinch. Chamber was flooded after the first shot so I went for the knife but I couldn't get nearly enough strength of momentum for it to be effective. After what feels like eternity fighting this psycho underwater, Brains, that massive Ranger from before dives into the water with his silver commando knife and just goes hard. The pool was filled with dark crimson, I don't know what Brains did after the first swing but damned if he didn't save my ass. Hauled a headless corpse out of the water and then staked her." Duncan paused and unsheathed his own silvered commando knife. "After that mission I went and got myself my own silvered knife and put in my papers to join the Rangers. From there, I enter things I cannot confirm nor deny." Duncan allowed himself a tiny tiny smile at his own dumb half joke. It wasn't the most awe inspiring tale of heroism, more of a tale of how curiosity almost killed the cat and how he almost died.

Thinking about the vampires, he wondered if they were fighting some. Vampires were usually incredibly competitive and territorial, it was never confirmed but back in Panama, he was pretty sure they were able to take the vampires because the other clans let them. Here? What did the local supernatural population have to say if some foreign vampire group just up and took over Sarajevo? If it was werewolves then he wished he packed some Wolfsbane, just like his scent blocker for vampires, it would only work on the young rookies but it would be something. Then there was the potential for a group of mages to have moved in. A well trained group of mages hired by the Serbs could easily make a platoon disappear. Could be witches to. They'd just have to wait and see.

Pursing her lips a bit, Estella simply answered, "the latter." She did not seem to take kindly to any suggestion of honour on the part of the inhuman, though she refrained from elaborating on that, not while those who fit inside her definition of 'monster' was within earshot. Still, she explained in a slight melancholy, "guns take a lot less time to master, that a child can kill a trained swordsman with a well-placed shot. Such weapons are an insult to the skill and dedication put in by successive generations of knights. But that's why the world belongs to mundanes like yourself now. We're obsolete."

Before she could continue, however, the knight could hear a grim Romance accent behind her. The time for chatter was over. It was time to meet their team leader.

The Company Commander watched as all of the team members filed out of the room and went off to gear up. A few seconds later a woman appeared standing next to her, as if she had suddenly materialized. She had on the same uniform as everyone else, but she had already gotten her kit together. An FN FNC with a shortened barrel hung off to her side, equipped with a 4 power scope and a suppressor. Her LBV was worn tight on an old soft kevlar vest that had been painted black. A drop-leg holster hanging off her web belt contained an FN Browning Hi-Power with a threaded barrel for a detachable suppressor. A small scrim scarf was wrapped around her neck with a patrol cap on her head, and a one-ear patrol headset over that. Her face was lined with thick, black paint. Her leather gloved hands flexed and checked her collar and other minute gear adjustments.

"So, what do you think?" Willow asked her.

"I think Sieglinde gives you too much trouble." The woman replied.

Sieglinde laughed. "Oh, Frau Van Isterdael. I've been giving Commander Barnes trouble since ze 40's. Such a zing has become habit." Willow looked over. "But no, I'm talking about the team."

"I think they're a bit green in some areas, but that can all be ironed out. Hopefully along with the necessity for teamwork."

"I think so too. They're all nervous to some degree."

"Who isn't?"

"Alessandra..."

The woman turned to Willow. "Mm?"

"Just make sure they don't do something stupid."

Alessandra Van Isterdael nodded and headed out to go meet the team in the parking lot. As she did, another woman came by and passed through the wall to enter the room as she narrowly avoided colliding with Diamond 1-3's team leader. The new woman was also dressed in the same uniform for ACES operators, but she had different weaponry. A Howa Type 89 Paratrooper rifle that had been modified with a shorter barrel and handguard and added suppressor was over her shoulder. Her form turned corporeal as she cleared the wall and approached Willow, who was shedding her M65 parka and laying it on the table. She ruffled her hair and tugged at her collar, brushing her fingers over the Ace of Spades tattoo on her neck briefly.

"The team's ready, ma'am." The woman said in a strict tone.

"Thank you, Yukiko. I'm gonna get my gear ready and then we'll get one of the jeeps."

"May I inquire as to our objective, ma'am?"

"QRF, Yukiko. Hopefully we won't be needed, though. That'd be embarrassing."

"Ahhh...the new team."

"Yep. If they don't need us, that's all the better. We'll probably head out again after I give them their debrief, depending on what they find."

"Yes, ma'am."

Willow looked at the patch on her BDU blouse's shoulder. A spade with the number 1 in white inside of it; the emblem of her team, the highest team in the suits. She headed out of the office with Yukiko in tow.

"Let's get some food. They'll have a while to get into position."

Disc 1, Track 01 - Up the Sleeve
On the outside, Alessandra Van Isterdael found herself standing at the doorway. She was invisible to the naked eye. A light mage from Lodge Belgica who could bend it to her whim, who had served with Barnes on several missions in the late 80's, and came highly recommended for her position: The Ace of Diamonds. She was also in charge of heading up training programs for ACES's contractors that needed a little more help to get up to speed. She never interacted much with the recruits, but when she walked onto the training grounds she struck fear into even the instructors. Now she was leading Diamond 1-3 and letting someone else take over for her back in Greenland.

The team leader approached the rest of the group outside in the parking lot, perfectly concealed by her manipulation of the light. When she was about ten feet away, she let the light manipulation fade to reveal herself. Her boots tread slowly across the pavement. She took in the team's gear choice, her eyes resting on Liam and his RPG for a bit longer than the others. Willow's words rang again in her head. She looked back to see the kitsune currently giving their British Army vet a hard time and whistled sharply at the pair to get their attention like she did in training.

"Get your gear together. Make sure you double-check everything because we won't becoming back until we're done." She said, looking to Liam. "And you wanna drag that thing around with you on a recon mission? Who do you think you are, Colonel Matrix? And you," She pointed out the resident Nigerian. "You forget your parka in your room? You're shaking enough to make your gear rattle. It's only gonna get colder as the night comes so unless you wanna do without, you better go grab it and fast." Her accent was unmistakably French sounding, but she would floor anyone who told her so. She was a Belgian, not a Frenchwoman. "Everyone else, make sure your radio is set to channel 7. Frequencies are pre-programmed by our techs as well with encryption in case any of you were wondering. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'll be your team leader. You may have met me before back home on base, or seen me around. Consider this my formal introduction."

Alessandra held her hand out and a deck of cards suddenly appeared in it. She went to shuffling them leisurely. "To you, I am must "Team Lead" or "TL". Make it through this and I may yet share my name with you. You may hear me be referred to over the radio as Alpha Delta. That is also my callsign. Would our resident Kistune be so kind as to take off the top card, show it to everyone, and then put it back?" She put the deck in one hand and held it out.

Brief and no-nonsense, the team leader felt like someone the serious knight can get behind. Without a word, she quietly checked her pack and radio as told, ever a dutiful knight. The lack of name did felt a bit out of place, however. Then again, she could hardly fault the commander for doing so. It was unlikely all of them would make it back.

[Bolslania]

Akulov Timofey "Tima" Antonovich
Sept.21 1995
Visoko
Diamond 1-3

---

Akulov straightened up as their team leader came on to the parking lot, speaking in an accent that Akulov had learned to be Belgian. She commented on Liam's RPG, it appeared he wasn't going to catch a break about that, and criticized Aleister for his lack of winter gear. No-nonsense and to the point, while Akulov had no experience working with women, and certainly not taking orders from them, he liked this woman's style.

He pulled out his radio and set the frequency as their TL shuffled the cards, telling Kyoko - who had been harassing Cion- to draw the top card. Akulov raised an eyebrow as he checked over his gear.

[Xing]

Looking at Kyoko again, "Might I ask how you feel about the rest of our teammates?" Pointing to the rest of the team with his head. "Quite the team we got here and apparently one thinking we need an RPG for this mission. Hopefully, we will not need it if everything goes smoothly for our first mission working together."

"Would our resident Kistune be so kind as to take off the top card, show it to everyone, and then put it back?" She put the deck in one hand and held it out.

While Cion was distracted looking over their teammates one last time, a devilish smile spread across Kyoko's face for a brief moment. Still got it. She thought to herself, proud that she's still even able to catch trained soldiers off guard.

"Well it definitely is an odd assortment." She said once his attention was back upon her. "The RPG definitely is an odd touch on a scouting dispatch, but I get the feeling we'll-" Her words were halted by a sharp whistle in her direction. She cocked her head sideways, the rest of her body still facing Cion preventing her "prey" from slipping away. Upon seeing that the source of the whistle was their Team Lead for the mission, she whipped back to Cion, lightly tapped him on the nose with her finger, and spun back around at attention.

She listened to their team lead go through her blunt briefing format, going down the line and critiquing everyone's gear choices. Kyoko double checked her own radio channel when the TL mentioned it, ensuring she wasn't going to be talking to dead air, or worse. Then she was taken a bit off guard at being asked to draw a card from the deck that the TL was holding. This was hardly the time for some cheap parlor trick, and especially not on the one person amongst them that had the magical ability to manipulate that card into whichever one she wanted. One of Kyoko's ears drooped in her confusion, but she walked over to the TL and pulled the top card from the deck. The Queen of Diamonds. She turned away and showed the card to the rest of the squad before laying it back down on the deck. She tapped it one last time with her middle finger, and gave her TL a barely visible smirk. She wouldn't dare use her magic on a commanding officer, but that wouldn't stop her from playing a harmless mind game of her own.

Once she was done, she took a step back from the woman and returned to her position of attention.

[Monfrox]

Alessandra went about reshuffling the deck. In her early years, she had been a magician. Working under the table from her status as a light mage to make some ends meet. It wasn't until later in her adult life did she end up in the 2nd Commando Battalion of the Belgian Special Forces. Now she was here in Bosnia helping to do some good. She was getting flashbacks to Rwanda, though. Last thing she wanted was for the same shit to happen here, even though most of it was out of the company's hands. They were here to keep it from getting even worse.

"You will not know my name, but I think we're all entitled to a little reminiscing. Isn't that right, Mr. Knox? 75th Rangers, Panama? No wait, that was Somalia. You were working with the Rangers in Panama. Heard about op that from the Company Commander. Don't tell her I told you that. Mr. Antonovich? Quite an interesting life you've led. I'm sure the French were rather taken with a Russian strongman in their Foreign Legion. Spent some time in the Gulf, I heard too. Also was told about that op. Words travel fast, and even faster with rumors. And yet sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. Mr. Corvain? Tsk tsk. Lot of travel, but not all of it good. I better not hear any squabbling between you, Mr. Deyne, and Mr. McGallaghan. Fate had you all meet in Ireland but none of you lost your lives. Don't think this to be a rematch setup. Ms. Hamnath, our resident Estonian enigma. Quite a quiet life you've led. Wonder what the Jokers said to get you here. Ms. Imboden, you seem to be stuck in your ways. Many other houses have seen modernization. That doesn't mean giving up on traditions in the process. Perhaps a chance at real modern combat will let you see. Ms. Ka'ahumanu, you seem a bit bitter. But your time in the US Navy did teach you a lot, and you'll be able to learn more still around us. Don't worry, it's just like the Commander said: You won't be stuck in the Diamonds forever. And Ms. Yoshioka..."

Alessandra stopped shuffling the deck very abruptly as her eyes found the kitsune's.

"Idle hands are the devil's tools, I see. And your hands have been idle for a very long time in Japan. Some of your people have thought the same way, it seems. I'm sure you'll find a few friends to keep busy with, and out of trouble."

Her session over, she moved on to get through much of this rather quickly.

"I know you've all heard the long-winded spiels, but allow me to refresh your memory. We are not mercenaries. We are not just 'guns for hire'. We have a job to do. A job that places us above all other callings. Remember that while you are here. I've preceded many others in this company, but there are a few who cam before me." Her hand waved over the deck, and it shrunk to just four cards. "We have a lot of departments, but our combat unit's hierarchy is absolute." She turned them over to reveal the Ace of Spades, King of Hearts, Queen of Clubs, and Jack of Diamonds. "Those who have higher positions are given face cards as titles. These contractors have skills and abilities that are far beyond the average contractor. Why am I telling you this? Because to you, these are your Majors. Your Colonels. Your Captains. They hold rank depending on their title. It's a bit unorthodox, I must admit. But the Company Commander formed this outfit and she wanted it this way." Her hands waved again and the deck became full again. "And as always in the game of suits, you must be mindful about showing your hand too early, playing close to your chest, and keeping a good poker face." Her fingers deftly drew the top card off the deck and flipped it to Kyoko. "Is this your card?"

When Kyoko responded in the negative, her eyes narrowed. "Correct. It's mine." She said placing it face up on the deck to show that it was the Ace of Diamonds. "And I proved myself just as you all will. So while I am your team leader, I am also your unit leader. Make this an opportunity to impress me and show me you have as much a right to be here as I do. Understand? Ka'ahumanu, Yoshioka, Corvain, Deyne will be Team 1, Imboden, McGallaghan, Antonovich, Hamnath will be Team 2. Knox, you'll be with me. I need someone who's not afraid to reach out and touch someone at long distances. I hope you all remember the ROE, so move it out." She turned to Kyoko one last time. "Oh, Ms. Yoshioka. You have something in your ear." Alessandra said, pointing to the Queen of Diamonds stuck in her tuft. But it would not last, as the deck itself was an illusion of light, and it disappeared into thin air as the team lead pulled her carbine off her shoulder and racked the charging handle.

[Remnants of Exilvania]

21. September 1995
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Visoko

So their aptly named team leader TL just casually appeared out of nowhere, giving all of the mundanes and first and foremost Liam a stark reminder that they had signed up to combat primarily paranormal threats...alongside what could be laid out as paranormal threats.

She was french, of course, if the accent was anything to go by. And like the consistently grumpy and depressed frenchmen she seemed to have little patience though at least a sliver of humour. Liam had no clue who a Colonel Matrix was, let alone what so the reference flew over his head. However, even if she gave no direct order, he understood that she was essentially telling him to drop the RPG. A shame though given the odd looks he had so far received, nothing he didn't expect. Still, they might as well have gone in unarmed, as all the weapons were essentially a last resort.

With a shrug he turned and and put his arm across Aleister's shoulders, saying:

"Alright den, let's 'ead back, get you somet'eng right and proper to wear while I lose some weight. Be back in a minute Tee El."

They should return roughly by the time Alessandra had finished her little speech, Liam waiting in the locker rooms for Aleister in case he got swallowed by his locker or his newfound cold weather gear. Either way, just in time to catch on about the teams Alessandra was assigning them to, Liam finally getting some names to the faces he had been chatting with. So the Russian was Antonovich? Grand, the man had a certain air of professionalism to him without being too stuck up about it so he was sure they'd get along alright. The two women were a differeent question and Liam hadn't managed to interact with them yet but he was sure they'd make it work.

He'd give Aleister one last pat on the shoulder, accompanied by a:

"Looks like this is w'ere we part ways hr at least teams fhr now. Good luck."

, before joining his own team, notably lacking an RPG and 3 warheads on his back.

[Xing]

"Ka'ahumanu, Yoshioka, Corvain, Deyne will be Team 1, Imboden, McGallaghan, Antonovich, Hamnath will be Team 2. Knox, you'll be with me. I need someone who's not afraid to reach out and touch someone at long distances. I hope you all remember the ROE, so move it out." She turned to Kyoko one last time. "Oh, Ms. Yoshioka. You have something in your ear." Alessandra said, pointing to the Queen of Diamonds stuck in her tuft. But it would not last, as the deck itself was an illusion of light, and it disappeared into thin air as the team lead pulled her carbine off her shoulder and racked the charging handle.

As the card disapparated, Kyoko flicked her ear as if shaking off the magic trick that the TL volunteered her for. Playing a trick on a kitsune was ballsy, and Kyoko wouldn't soon forget it. Maybe one day the time would come that she could get away with some harmless revenge, but that day was one that was far from her first real day on the job.

Having been given their team assignments for the op, Kyoko was lucky that the one person she had engaged with so far was also on her team. The other two she knew nothing about, but so long as they didn't have a problem with her she wouldn't have a problem with them. Whether positively or negatively, people always tended to have a strong opinion of kitsunes. And even if her teammates did have an aversion to foxes, well that just made the game more fun. Kyoko dismissed herself from the TL and returned to Cion. She was sure the others would find them soon enough, so for now at least she could continue getting acquainted with him... or toy with him a bit more. Whichever came first really.

"So it looks like we'll be spending more time together on this op than we thought." She said, her approach much less sneaky this time around. "It also looks like we won't have to worry about any unfortunate mishaps with an RPG either."

[Wolfenium]

"...Ms. Imboden, you seem to be stuck in your ways. Many other houses have seen modernization. That doesn't mean giving up on traditions in the process. Perhaps a chance at real modern combat will let you see."

-snip-

Ka'ahumanu, Yoshioka, Corvain, Deyne will be Team 1, Imboden, McGallaghan, Antonovich, Hamnath will be Team 2. Knox, you'll be with me. I need someone who's not afraid to reach out and touch someone at long distances. I hope you all remember the ROE, so move it out."

Estella's eye twitched as the woman addressed her. It was clear she would much rather not have the commander leak personal information in the open, however cryptic that was. But again, she held her tongue in a sullen look as she finished her brief. She knew she was acting too soon to judge, but even so, that minor quip had soured her opinion of her commander considerably. She could only hope she was wrong this once.

As for her team, she could not really say how she felt about any of them. The two men, at the minimum, seemed to have gotten themselves acquainted for a bit, but otherwise, there was not much for her to base her judgement on besides their lack of experience with combating the supernatural. Naomi, however, was a different story.

Covering her mouth and nose with the back of her hand for a bit, the knight tried to block out a heavy 'stench' in the air. It was noxious, grassy, the stench of the untamed forests. But it was not physical in nature, just as the 'stench' from the fox demon was. Whereas Kyoko's powers, when not hidden, made her aura intoxicating and perfume-esque, Naomi's reeked of wild vegetation, emblematic of her pagan witchcraft. Before long, the knight withdraw her hand again, trying to keep her face from contorting with discomfort as she tried to avoid offending her. Sadly, this was easier said than done, as she squinted a bit on reflex.

"I... guess we're working together then," she uttered, her eyes shifting between the three as she got ready to move out. She was hardly sure if her rapier was going to be necessary if there was ever a fight, but at the bare minimum, she still had her carbine.

[Bolslania]

Akulov Timofey "Tima" Antonovich
Sept 21, 1995
Visoko
Diamond 1-3
Team 2

---

Akulov watched as the cards disappeared from their TL's hands. It appeared every woman on this team was supernatural. In speaking of, Estella had a rapier hanging from her hip. Akulov had some concerns about the odd weapon choices. At least Estella had a carbine, whereas Liam was left with a small Vz.65 Scorpion as his only firearm.

"I guess so" He said in response to Estella's comment. There was the other woman, Hamnath. She hadn't said a word this entire time, and she was another one of those pagan witches, similar to Estella. Hamnath was as well armed as Akulov was, showing that she wasnt as stuck in tradition and the past.

[Helidan]

Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aleister Latimus Corvain
Aleister caught the scarf and immediately put it on, followed by the heat warmers. However, before he could even thank Naomi, he was immediately chewed out by the team leader for not having his parka. Aleister inwardly punched himself. How could he have forgotten it? Maybe he was beginning to slip. After following Liam, who had been told to lose the RPG, and equipping his parka, Aleister learned he would be with the fox-woman, the Hawaiian, and the man with the coin. Aleister grinned slightly at the TL pulling a card out of Kyoko's ear, but the smile stayed on his face a little longer as he imagined the fox-woman in combat. Although Aleister was by no means bloodthirsty, he enjoyed studying new forms of combat, and while he doubted that Kyoko was about to charge the enemy head-on, he was interested to see an actual supernatural creature fight. Aleister then turned to his fellow teammates, his gaze falling on Cion. He looked familiar, but Aleister was not sure if he had served with the man when he worked for the British in Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, Aleister walked over to him and stuck out his hand. "Seems will be on the same side once again. I am unsure if we served together, but I know anyone who survived Northern Ireland is quite capable. I will be happy to fight alongside you."

[Theyra]

September 21st, 1995
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Visoko
Cion Deyne

So this is our team leader, straight to the point, and even did a small trick on Yoshioka. Some unintentional payback on the trick Yoshioka just used on him. Cion smiled, he liked her. Her accent, though, sounded French but not. Maybe it is something else like Belgian? Not that Cion is going to ask her about it, he knows better. People outside the isles tend to assume his accent is English. Granted, most people have probably never heard a Manx accent before, and so far. No one has tried to place his accent, so that is good.

Switching his radio to the right channel and got a look at his teammates. "Yeah, I guess we are Kyoko, and no one likes random explosions." Responding to her while looking at Nani and Aleister. A fellow islander and, from what Cion remembers, a plain mercenary. Making Cion wonder how he got into this group since their sole purpose is to combat supernatural threats and not for profit. Maybe Aleister just has the skillset they wanted nothing more.

Which when said mercenary came over to introduce himself and stuck out his hand. Cion reached out and firmly shook his hand. "I did not know you serve in Northern Ireland, and nice to serve along with you too." So he served in Northern Ireland, eh. Cion thought, he does not remember serving with a mercenary but, maybe he just forgot or something. Though it does bring up the question of what Aleister did in Northern Ireland, that will be for another time. They have a mission to do, and he has to work with these people. Not that he is complaining or has a problem with his teammates.

[Vacif]

Duncan Knox, Diamond 1-3
September 21st, 1995 // Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina

---

The Team Lead wasted no time with small talk and introductions. Duncan set the radio to channel 7 as instructed and put the radio back in its spot. Like everyone else had begun to do, he too double checked his equipment. Nothing seemed to be missing. He had his reconnaissance gear, his comms gear, his guns and ammo, clothes on his back, food and water. With that, he shook his gear to do a sound check. It was nice and quiet. Equipment and straps were taped down, liquid containers filled to the brim and everything was properly and firmly fastened/packed.

Duncan wasn't too sure where the TL was from. The accent sounded like one of the romance languages, but if he mistook one of them for another, he could get an earful. He'd gotten people's ethnicity wrong in the past and he'd gotten shit for it before. He really wasn't eager to repeat those mistakes with his current boss. She was using a shortened FNC, which could be a big clue to her background. Typically people stuck with firearms from their background, but as seen with Cion, well he wasn't walking around with an SA80. At the end of the day he supposed it didn't really matter. She was definitely military, some kind of magic user at it. Her little card trick probably did wonders at parties. He wondered what else she could do with that power?

What caught Duncan's next interest was the instructor's voice. it wasn't what she sounded like that interested him, it was what she was saying. Specifically about people's pasts. He didn't know very much at all about those around him, so a little peak behind the curtains. Aleister being in Ireland was interesting. 'What was he doing there?' He wondered in passing.

Knox appreciated the small speech (if it could be called that) for their reason for being here. It kind of reassured him of his choice with joining up with ACES. They weren't some company out to make money. This was an NGO with hierarchy and structure and a defined and tangible goal. The team was split into three and he was glad to see the two former enemies separated. However Liam had gone from over geared to under geared. A gun was a gun and Liam still had his Škorpion but that wouldn't do too much good at a long range engagement. He supposed that's where the rest of his team came in if the TL didn't send him back to the locker room to borrow an M16 or something. It was like how he relied on the rest of the team to do the close quarters battle stuff. He sure as hell wasn't room clearing with an SR-25. Being assigned to an Ace definitely put the fire under their collective asses. Working with the Ace specifically definitely put some more agency to his movements and gave him a sense of anxiety he hadn't had since first going to Ranger school.

[Xing]

Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aleister Latimus Corvain
Aleister caught the scarf and immediately put it on, followed by the heat warmers. However, before he could even thank Naomi, he was immediately chewed out by the team leader for not having his parka. Aleister inwardly punched himself. How could he have forgotten it? Maybe he was beginning to slip. After following Liam, who had been told to lose the RPG, and equipping his parka, Aleister learned he would be with the fox-woman, the Hawaiian, and the man with the coin. Aleister grinned slightly at the TL pulling a card out of Kyoko's ear, but the smile stayed on his face a little longer as he imagined the fox-woman in combat. Although Aleister was by no means bloodthirsty, he enjoyed studying new forms of combat, and while he doubted that Kyoko was about to charge the enemy head-on, he was interested to see an actual supernatural creature fight. Aleister then turned to his fellow teammates, his gaze falling on Cion. He looked familiar, but Aleister was not sure if he had served with the man when he worked for the British in Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, Aleister walked over to him and stuck out his hand. "Seems will be on the same side once again. I am unsure if we served together, but I know anyone who survived Northern Ireland is quite capable. I will be happy to fight alongside you."

With Cion not seeming as interested in talking to her this time around, Kyoko shifted her attention to her other teammate that was subtly eyeing her up. She could sense that there wasn't any hostility behind his glances, but rather a seeming curiosity. Perhaps this was the first time he'd ever encountered a kitsune. He seemed like he was more experienced than a lot of others on the team, but it was still possible. It definitely was interesting that the two gentlemen on her team seemed like they might have known each other though.

"My my, I didn't know there were people on the team that served together." Kyoko said, chiming in. Her ears perked up and tail gently swayed back and forth as a bit of an embellishment for her curious teammate. Whether he took the bait or no didn't matter too much to her, but at this point she felt that it was another opportunity to mess with her teammates that she couldn't pass up. Outside of her teasing, she knew that she couldn't miss this opportunity to get to know more of the team.

"Kyoko Yoshioka." She extended a hand to the man to shake. "I must say you seem like you've got a lot more experience than some of the rest of us here."

[Bolslania]

Akulov Timofey "Tima" Yurievich
Sept. 21, 1995
Visoko
Diamond 1-3, Team 2

---

There was some chatter among the Contractors as they got organized in to their teams, for the most part, the members of Team 2 had already been standing near each other so there was little movement apart from Liam joining them, short an RPG.

He looked around at each of his team members

"Well, not much use in standing around is there. We should probably get moving" He said, his breath pluming in the cold air.

[Helidan]

Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aleister Latimus Corvain
Aleister caught the scarf and immediately put it on, followed by the heat warmers. However, before he could even thank Naomi, he was immediately chewed out by the team leader for not having his parka. Aleister inwardly punched himself. How could he have forgotten it? Maybe he was beginning to slip. After following Liam, who had been told to lose the RPG, and equipping his parka, Aleister learned he would be with the fox-woman, the Hawaiian, and the man with the coin. Aleister grinned slightly at the TL pulling a card out of Kyoko's ear, but the smile stayed on his face a little longer as he imagined the fox-woman in combat. Although Aleister was by no means bloodthirsty, he enjoyed studying new forms of combat, and while he doubted that Kyoko was about to charge the enemy head-on, he was interested to see an actual supernatural creature fight. Aleister then turned to his fellow teammates, his gaze falling on Cion. He looked familiar, but Aleister was not sure if he had served with the man when he worked for the British in Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, Aleister walked over to him and stuck out his hand. "Seems will be on the same side once again. I am unsure if we served together, but I know anyone who survived Northern Ireland is quite capable. I will be happy to fight alongside you."

With Cion not seeming as interested in talking to her this time around, Kyoko shifted her attention to her other teammate that was subtly eyeing her up. She could sense that there wasn't any hostility behind his glances, but rather a seeming curiosity. Perhaps this was the first time he'd ever encountered a kitsune. He seemed like he was more experienced than a lot of others on the team, but it was still possible. It definitely was interesting that the two gentlemen on her team seemed like they might have known each other though.

"My my, I didn't know there were people on the team that served together." Kyoko said, chiming in. Her ears perked up and tail gently swayed back and forth as a bit of an embellishment for her curious teammate. Whether he took the bait or no didn't matter too much to her, but at this point she felt that it was another opportunity to mess with her teammates that she couldn't pass up. Outside of her teasing, she knew that she couldn't miss this opportunity to get to know more of the team.

"Kyoko Yoshioka." She extended a hand to the man to shake. "I must say you seem like you've got a lot more experience than some of the rest of us here."

Aleister shook the kitsune's hand firmly. "Aye, I suspect I do. I will be honest, I was surprised by the age of most of our comrades. I had expected more people along the age of Mr. Knox over there," Aleister pointed at Duncan to illustrate his point, "but yes, I have fought most my life. Where I come from, those of us who survived the chaos had to fight, as there was nothing else we knew how to do." Aleister grew quiet, remembering those horrific years fighting for his native Nigeria during the Civil War. The atrocities. He shook his head. "Ah, but we have a mission to do. When you two are ready, we should move out."
Though outwardly Aleister was showing no fact that the memory of his adolescence bothered him, but inside he was shaken slightly. An image appeared in his mind, a shimmering shade in the shape of a man, the uniform of a British soldier barely visible.
"Pull yourself together, Aleister. You're on a mission. Fall apart and cry and scream when the enemies dead and you're warm in bed."
The shade waited for Aleister to nod slightly before disappearing into the depths of his subconscious.

[Theyra]

snip

"Wait a moment there Aleister." Cion held up his hand to signal him to stop. "You are forgetting our fourth, Ka'ahumanu there." Cion pointed towards where Ka'ahumanu was standing. All he knew about Ka'ahumanu is that she is an American and from Hawaii. That is it and since she is here, that means she has to have some combat experience or at least not a rookie. Still, he is going to see firsthand how his team will do and function. They are not rookies any of them, that definitely goes for Aleister out of any of the group. So if anything does happen, Cion is sure that nothing too bad will happen.

Either way, Cion made his way over to Nani and introduced himself to her. Smiling and speaking with a Manx accent, "Hey there, I am Cion and it looks like we will be on a team together." Offering his hand to her, "so you ready to see what is out there?"

[Monfrox]

Alessandra moved the team out with a wave of her hand and they were on their way. Much of the preceding terrain was mainly forest, and it was getting very dark. She cracked a red chemlight and slipped it into a small container that had a hole cut in it, where in she attached it to her belt. It fit snugly inside the cylinder and allowed the light to be noticed if anyone was behind her, but not from the sides or front.

"Spread out. Maintain intervals. It's mostly forest from here on but we have three villages on the way in for the first leg of the trip. Anyone brush up on their Bosnian? If not, I suggest we keep our distance on the villages. We'll be crossing into Serbian territory as well so keep your eye out for patrols. And if anyone has any trouble finding me, let me know."

The sun had set, but a dull light still permeated through the trees as they reached the edge of the forest and proceeded in. The night had come swiftly as it does in the early fall. It was getting to the point where the human eye could not easily discern whether to go into night-vision or not, which was the perfect time for an infiltration. Willow was unsure if the enemy was equipped with night-vision or not but if there were indeed supernaturals in their ranks, they might not need them. With that in mind, she emphasized this time where there was only just enough light to see the sun but not around the area be a prime infiltration opportunity. Plus they had AN/PVS-7s and Alessandra's command over light, so there would be little question about the team's ability to traverse the darkness.

The first stop was the village of Vrela after a half-hour ruck through groups of wooded areas that Alessandra had plotted in advance to mask the team's approach. A small group of houses along open roads that looked more like trails. It was rather scenic, but they weren't here to sight-see and the time of the beautiful sunset had already passed. Up in the distance around the village were a couple of vehicles that had their headlights on. They were gathered around the houses but their engines were on, and soon enough they revved up and drove off.

"Keep moving. They haven't spotted us." Alessandra said over the radio. "Get eyes on the houses and tell me what's happening."

She couldn't see it from here, but there were a few lights still on and sounds of women crying, clutching the sleeves of their husbands or kneeling on the floorboards and sobbing. The men all looked very old and were obviously past their prime. Many of them stayed inside, trying to console the others.

[Bolslania]

Akulov Timofey "Tima" Antonovich
Sept.21 1995
Visoko
Diamond 1-3

---

Akulov detached himself from his concealment once the TL told them to keep moving after the trucks passed by. Who knew who they belonged to. They could be Serbians, Croations, Bosnians, hell, they could even be the guys they were out here looking for.

Willow gave the order to advance and report on the activity in a little Bosnian village. Typical of the Carpathians, there was very little in the way of concealment besides boulders that he would have to dash between to advance. Luckily for him it was getting dark, so that added to his ability to sneak up on the village.

He darted quickly across the road, FAMAS held by the carrying handle in one hand to keep it from rattling against the rest of his gear, before dropping in a ditch on the other side of the road. Checking back to make sure the rest of Diamond 1-3 was with him and he wasn't running way ahead*. He exited the ditch and made his way to a cluster of rocks, which he knelt behind. From here he could see some lights on in the village. Looks like there was someone home.

He couldn't see any movement in the village. He decided to hold tight and wait. Observation and patience was a key factor in operations like these.

* Im going to assume that others are indeed moving up

[Vacif]

Duncan Knox, Diamond 1-3
September 21st, 1995 // Vrela Outskirts, Bosnia and Herzegovina

---

The mission was now underway. Duncan moved swiftly and quietly without his nods on, letting his eyes adjust naturally to the darkness until it was necessary for the night vision. The team spaced out evenly as they approached the small village. Unlike a lot of towns in the former Yugoslavia, this town was still quite inhabited. As they neared, a small convoy of vehicles soon drove off.

TL ordered them forward, to get eyes on. Duncan crept around the surrounding brush, finding himself a semi-decent vantage point of Vrela. He didn't have a night vision scope so he couldn't quite see too much outside of the lit areas. Most homes were unlit and had their curtains drawn. What he saw were mostly older aged people. What he didn't see were the young people, military aged males. This late into the war, it wasn't surprising. For the sake of these people he'd hoped they were just turned in for the night. But Knox wasn't going to put his money on wishful thinking.

Knox nestled himself between some rocks and uprooted some shrubbery to break up his silhouette. Optimally he would have worn some kind of dark blue over coat for the best camouflage in the dark but he didn't have one. Meanwhile with the shrubbery, it wasn't meant to be a full on ghillie suit, but just enough to make sure he didn't silhouette himself against the rocks and his surroundings. He deployed his bipod and watched the team advance into the village proper. "I've got a view of the village. Can't see much activity."

[Xing]

"Keep moving. They haven't spotted us." Alessandra said over the radio. "Get eyes on the houses and tell me what's happening."

She couldn't see it from here, but there were a few lights still on and sounds of women crying, clutching the sleeves of their husbands or kneeling on the floorboards and sobbing. The men all looked very old and were obviously past their prime. Many of them stayed inside, trying to console the others.

"Yes Ma'am. I'm going to see if I can get a closer look in something a bit more... inconspicuous." Kyoko replied over the radio. She passed behind a tree away from her team, and on the other side emerged a seemingly average red fox. The only difference being a fairly hidden earpiece resting in it's ear. "Just keep me covered, and please don't shoot the fox."

In her new vulpine form, Kyoko trotted down towards the village. She made sure to stick to trees, ravines and other natural cover as she approached to avoid being out in the open. Even if people wouldn't think as much of a fox wandering about, one wandering out in the open would still be enough to get someone's attention. Another constant concern was to stay clear of any chicken coops or houses that showed signs of having a dog. The last thing she needed was an overzealous farmer or canine to cut her career short. As she snuck further into the village itself, Kyoko confirmed Duncan's initial observation. There weren't too many people outside on the streets. From what she could see from her diminutive vantage point, inside the houses there seemed to be everyone but the able bodied men and they all seemed to be distraught. With her limited knowledge it was hard for Kyoko to really figure out the circumstances, but perhaps they were being taken away as some sort of forced recruitment by the vehicles that they just saw leave.

Kyoko avoided venturing much farther than a few houses in, just in case she needed to make a quick exit. As she looked around though, there didn't seem to be much of a hostile presence in the village. With neither her nor overwatch being able to see anything, that meant they were either damn good at hiding or had a bit of mystical assistance. Not wanting to overstay her welcome the fox slinked back out of the village, avoiding returning directly to the squad and opting to return to the treeline about 100 meters away from their position. Once safely back in the woods she spoke over the radio again.

"It looks like all of the men in the village are missing. All that seems to be left in the houses looks to be women, children, and the elderly." Kyoko reported quietly into the radio. "Now that those vehicles are all gone, the village SEEMS to be devoid of hostile presence. So either they're gone or they're taking extra measures to stay hidden."

[Remnants of Exilvania]

21. September 1995
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Vrela

It was dark, cold and miserable. And it was only bound to get more miserable as they trudged through the Bosnian forests, the darkness around them slowly getting ever thicker. Not Liam would be one to complain...no complain wouldn't do him any good. Besides, the darkness was their friend in this mission. At least untill they found whatever had been taking care of the Bosnian patrols. If it was supernatural then there was a high chance that they'd end up being the one hindered by the darkness. Oh, of course they had some of those fancy night vision goggles but he really didn't want to compare just how well they worked in comparison to something that had a wholly different form of sight.

Eventually they came to a village...or well, what probably passed as a village in these parts. Liam would've called it a hamlet, given the small number of houses dotted around the countryside like splotches of ink on paper. However, it wasn't what had caught his attention but rather the much more easily visible headlights of a bunch of vehicles standing over there. He could hear the sound of their engines all the way over here, a boon of the relative silence of the night. Luckily those guys didn't dwell and left soon after...not that Liam liked them having been there in the first place and if interpreted the actions of the locals correctly, neither had they.

A chill ran down his spine as his mind made an all too horrible connection. They hadn't heard anything but this didn't have to mean anything. And there had been plenty of horrid news coming out of the Balkans as of late. In fact, the realization almost distracted him from Kyoko's little stunt...but only almost as he questioned over the radio:

"...fox?"

It took a while till she was back on the radio from...well...whatever she had been doing. And of course she brought news that only confirmed the budding concerns he had. Still, he had to be sure so he asked:

"Not dat deir leave matters as we're supposed to avoid dese villagers. But...uh...did you happen to see hr smell anyt'eng...dead? Because this situation just reeks av...well..."

He didn't continue. He didn't think he would have to for the others to get the picture...unless they hadn't heard anything about the Balkans before.

[Veshay]

Naomi finally managed a smile at the comments. The bickering between the two women was entertaining at best, but Naomi once again did not speak. Her smile and her hair in the wind was all the woman’s movements. It was ‘do not speak unless spoken to’ for her. No moving unless told to.

As a pawn should.

She moved up with the others, her feet made barely a whisper as it packed the snow under her, and moved her eyes down at the truck swinging by to keep their reflection out of any would-be telescopes. Those trucks were leaving. She moved out more to let the trees give her cover; the scent of terpenes filled her nose. Fir trees. How the needles always managed to stick to her clothes. There wouldn’t be too much cover, but the nighttime had cast the world in it’s own blanket. It would have to be enough.

The wailing struck her curiosity as her eyes adjusted to the dark.

The synapses struck as McGallaghan talked more.

“Old women.. Their sons sent to death camps, perhaps? The ones unable to work left behind..?” she thought. She radioed Alessandra, her accent sticking through.

“Alpha Delta, a confirmation on those vehicles; were they large enough to hold human cargo?”

[Theyra]

September 21st, 1995
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vrela Outskirts
Cion Deyne

So far, so good, Cion thought as he quietly through the dark and cold woods. He was keeping himself low as the darkness covered their approach to the village while staying close to his team. No sign of patrols or anything of the sort. A good thing, though someone could always be hiding somewhere.

It was certainly a sight, seeing Kyoko turn into a red fox. He has never seen a kitsune in action before. Almost thought her pink hair would have carried over. But the only thing that did was her earpiece. Either way, an excellent way to recon the village since who would raise the alarm over a fox. It makes him wonder what else their supernaturals can do.

After that, Cion found a good spot to kneel down and brought out his pair of binoculars with night vision. Turning on the night vision setting and got a look around. As his teammates said, all of the men have been taken from the village, and now that the trucks are gone. Cion could not see anything that would stand out as a threat. Maybe taking the men as new recruits, and perhaps the coast is clear? Three is always the chance that a supernatural is hiding somewhere. And hopefully not werewolves but, he got the right ammo this time around.

Getting on his radio, "I can not see anything of note through my night vision binoculars at the moment." Still, he stayed glued on his binoculars, keeping a close eye on the village just in case something changes.

[Wolfenium]

The trek through the rugged mountains hardly felt alien to the paladin. Perhaps it felt too close for comfort for her, a grim reminder of the Andean home she once resided in. Here too laid hidden dangers, from the treacherous environment to malevolent figures in the night. It was also a grim reminder of her harrowing experience in her last days there, as her feet resisted the reflex to run.

Hiding amongst the woods, it was fairly hard for Estella to adopt to the patient nature of modern covert operations. Going against her instincts to investigate the lamentations of mothers and daughters in the villages was not as easy as she had assumed, even though tales of yore had long warned paladins like herself not to leap in for damsels in distress at first sight, not the least since they may be black-hearted villains in disguise. Whatever calamity befell its residents would probably never be known to her. In any case, that too may be a trap by whatever these Serbians had planned.

"Nothing on my side," she whispered on the radio chatter, her eyes shifting at the transformed fox, "we can't be certain of the villagers' loyalties. They could be Serbians. The men taken may have been draftees for their paramilitaries. It's not as if their families are any happier to see their sons die out there."