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Post by Yuffie Kisaragi on Aug 7, 2011 16:54:50 GMT -5
Rumors were a funny thing. Talk about a legendary warrior, who took down a Sorceress for the future lost within the distant lands of Zanarkand, then hear that he's a mercenary is enough for any self respecting Resistance Leader to run off to Zanarkand. Captain Amalia sat aboard the Shiva, her hazel eyes softly examining the three Resistance members who skillfully piloted her ship. She knew her chances of finding the mercenary was slim to none, but she was desperate. Oh so desperate. She could count the remaining members of the resistance on her hands, and she was the most skilled of them all.
So this mercenary was all important to her efforts. Thanks to a recent donation from one of her mysterious benefactors, she had more then enough money to hire almost any mercenary. Now all she needed to do was to find him.
The Shiva came to a grinding halt. Amalia rose to her feet, her eyebrows raised in question. "Why did we stop?" She inquired one of the pilots.
"The area in front of us is Jagd, and we do not have the proper sky stoone to forge on ahead!" The man quickly responded, eager to please the leader of the Resistance. But his response only made Amalia let out a sigh of frustration. Jagd were a pain in the arse. "Fine, prepare one of the cargo ships. I will lead a small ground expedition." She quickly commanded as she turned to leave.
"Ma'am, is this mercenary really worth it?"
"We need all the help we can get."
Ten minutes later one of the bulky Dalmascan carriers descended to the ground. Amalia and the two Resistance members with her were fully equipped, weary of the dangers that lurked in the snowy wasteland. The Lost Queen held the Dawn Shard to her chest, praying that it would see her through this expedition. With a soft thud, the cargo ship landed. The hulking piece of metal slightly sunk into the snow, causing a small clamor of alarm from the pilot.
Ignoring her rambling resistance member, Amalia opened the door and stepped out. The snow crunched beneath her feet as her body shivered. The Desert's Rose wasn't used to such cold temperatures. Her hazel eyes scanned as her teeth clattered. She really hoped that she would find this mercenary soon.
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Post by squall on Aug 7, 2011 18:08:51 GMT -5
It was a deceptively simple matter for the SeeD to blatantly ignore the chill of the Northern Crater as he emerged from the dim tunnel, blinking as his eyes adjusted from the darkness to the blinding white of sunlight glinting off the ice and snow that was forever encircling the area. The only clue that Squall felt the temperature, which happened to be below zero Celsius, and as such somewhere around twenty-five or twenty-six Fahrenheit, if he had his conversions correct (not that it mattered), was a slight line of gooseflesh up the side of his neck.
His fur collar ruffled slightly as the air pressure changed, freer here than in the oddly windy tunnel, and he hefted his gunblade onto his shoulder as he came to a stop, hearing the rumble of airships in the distance.
Only a single ship crested the top of the bordering glacier, halting and lowering to the ground to produce several indistinguishable figures. Only watching, impassively standing out of the way as was proper for a mercenary, Squall watched the proceedings of these people with unreadable steel-blue eyes. There's nothing to see here, he thought to himself. Unless they've heard about what's underground here. Which is probably unlikely, as there were no signs of life down there... What are they after?
The three figures (most obviously the one in the center) seemed to be looking for something, from their body language. Squall was a good few hundred yards away, but their shifting and turning indicated a canvassing of the area.
He was aware he stuck out like a sore thumb in the white-blue of the arctic landscape, but the SeeD made no move to approach the individuals, pointedly ignoring the fact that they may be his only way out. Squall did not socialize well.
... But if they were here for him (they didn't look to be Balamb SeeD, but they could have heard about him and be out to hire him), that was a different story. And in this story, the first question was who knew I was here, and left me here?
A deceptively calm stature belied the teen's thoughts as he stood still with the discipline of a soldier, the metal of his weapon growing colder, slung across his shoulders as it was.
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Post by Yuffie Kisaragi on Aug 7, 2011 19:07:56 GMT -5
It was cold. Really cold. The Dalmascan troops were used to near hundred degree weather, year round. As such the ice cold weather did not suit them. The trio quickly made a much better plan then walking on foot. They scurried back into the cruiser and slowly made their way across the winter wasteland. The heat in their airrship cranked up all the way. It didn't take them long to spot Squall. He was a black dot on the other wise bleak landscape.
Seemingly in response the Airship roared to life. The airship shot forward at full speed, snowing being tossed up into the air by the twin glossier engines. The giant hunk of metal came to a screeching stop only a few yards away from Squall. The thing turned to it's side, in a attempt to slow it down so it wouldn't flatten the potential mercenary. The manuever was successful but instead of crashing into the teenager, the ship sent a wave of snow hurtling towards him.
Within seconds the door on the side popped open. Amalia stuck her head out, looking for the black dot they saw earlier. The heat flowed out of the airship, melting some of the snow near the large metal door. It was like they were trying to recreate a desert in their. "Hello, is anyone there?" Amalia called out, not seeing anyone at first.
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Post by squall on Aug 10, 2011 11:44:40 GMT -5
Apparently they didn't know how to drive.
Seeing that the three-manned airship showed no signs of halting as it barreled straight toward him, in the interest of self-preservation, Squall quickly backtracked towards the tunnel, using the wide and breezy mouth of the stone path as a shield to avoid the wave of snow kicked up by the fishtailing ship.
Idiots. The thought was sharp, and accompanied by the rolling of eyes on his part.
Some of the loose-packed snow that had been unceremoniously scraped off of the permafrost as whoever was driving showcased their incompetence melted slightly as the door opened, accompanied by a woman's call.
What, do they have the heat on to over a hundred in there?
"Who are you?" was the only response he gave, sufficiently loud enough to carry and yet a combination of bored, monotone, and gruff. The universe was out to get him if his way out was with these people.
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Post by Yuffie Kisaragi on Aug 14, 2011 19:36:01 GMT -5
In general tunnels are dark and damp places. Captain Amalia struggled to see the mercenary huddled within the cave. Her eyes squinted as she tried to find the person she was talking too. After a few seconds of searching for the voice's owner, the rebel leader gave up and turned back to her allies within the heated airship. Both men barely had enough armor on to protect their bodies, their flesh was well tanned. Including the seemingly unending flasks of water that hung from the walls it wasn't hard to figure out that this trio was from some dry and arid area. Probably a desert.
The trio spent a few seconds chatting with each other. Wondering what to do. Their was a voice but no body. It wasn't that unusual, but the resistance leader learned not to trust strange voices coming from a cavern a long time ago. After deciding amongst themselves what to do Amalia turned back to the cave entrance. "I am Captain Amalia, leader of the Archadian Resistance and owner of the Shiva." She called out to the who ever was the cavern. "We are looking for a mercenary, rumored to be traveling within these lands. Would you know of him?" She was honest, but she didn't want to tell him everything. Not that she was looking for a skilled warrior to lead her front lines. Or that she didn't even know who the mercenary was.
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Post by squall on Aug 17, 2011 10:02:33 GMT -5
"I am Captain Amalia, leader of the Archadian Resistance and owner of the Shiva. We are looking for a mercenary, rumored to be traveling within these lands. Would you know of him?"
Squall shook his head, not in a refusal to answer but as he realized that the response confirmed a few things. One, there was some way that someone knew he was here, someone that knew he was a SeeD - mercenary, the two were nearly one and the same - and left him down there. Two, they were looking to hire him, based on intel that they'd received that wasn't detailed enough to connect his face to his name or his profession.
Whoever their informant is, he's an amateur, if that. It's not like SeeD keeps their alumni list a secret. But I haven't heard of this Archadia that they're either resisting or are fighting for - their introduction was very detailed. Given that I have no idea where I am now, does that mean... I'm in a different world?
Like it or not, these people are both pitching an offer and giving me a way out. I can't turn them down.
The brunette paced his way out of the wide cavern, back out into the snow, fixing the desert-hailers with an unreadable look (one that, if one were to know Squall personally, could be coined as "You've got me over a barrel"). "Squall Leonhart. SeeD. Mercenary."
Let's hope I don't die of dehydration where they come from, after all.
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Post by Yuffie Kisaragi on Aug 18, 2011 10:57:22 GMT -5
Wow this kid was a let down. Ashe's disappointment was clearly painted on her face. She was excepting some one older, and someone who looked like they could life their own gunblade. Well the kid wasn't a lot more then skin and bones, but Amalia had a feeling she could easily push him aside. But he said he was from SeeD. That had to mean something, even if the Resistance Captain had no idea what SeeD was. It just sounded important.
The women took a quick glance of the landscape. One of her hands held above her eyes to shield them from the sun. Her hazel eyes were desperate to find anyone else. Seeing no one she turned back to Squall. She barely suppressed her sigh of disappointment. This guy was it, she was really hoping for someone that was more impressive.
Amalia took a few steps back, giving Squall plenty of room to board the small carrier. "I am interested in your services," She bluntly said. One of the more immature Resistance members gave out a childish giggle, which was soon met with Ashe's furious glare. After the man drew silent Amalia turned back to Squall. "If you like, you may come back to the Shiva with us where we can discuss the contract and pay." She sighed as her eyes gazed the landscape once again. "If you refuse, we can take you back to Rabanastre. Even if she is currently under Arachadian occupation I am sure the Royal City is much more fitting for a boy like you."
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