Alexandria
**MISSION DAY — 4:25 PM.**
*One week following the first expedition.*
*Five minutes before the mercenaries are scheduled to arrive.*

The once-shabby perimeter that encompassed the contact point of the suspended superstructure — the *Vektet* — now existed as a vastly bolstered iteration of its former self. Where once was temporary tents, where privately-hired construction workers and soldiers alike flowed in-and-out with little-to-no coordination, now existed more permanent, tidy, and organized structures, each specialized towards their particular and chiefly important tasks towards the containment, analysis, and exploration of the *Vektet.* Temporarily-hired soldiers had lessened in number, and each had been replaced with what was essentially a private and heavily-trained miniature military sustained by *Odysseus* Corp., each boasting only the latest and greatest armaments available to ground-based infantry. *Suspiciously* High-quality equipment, and equipment that certainly could not be so readily purchased by a private, enigmatic, and utterly history-less company as *Odysseus* Corp.

...The whole operation smelled of something shifty, and perhaps something quite illegal. Nonetheless, there *Odysseus* Corp. Was, at the ready, and exquisitely so. Security was tight as ever, and fortifications about the Ground Gate had only grown in strength and in complexity. Such thoroughness could only lead one to question — *Why hire mercenaries?*
Karen
*`'Cause of twats like you,`*
*`I'm having the worst migraine of my entire life.`*

Kirch side-eyed the two individuals opposite herself, stood in an enclosure near the front-gate of the perimeter about the *Vektet* While still maintaining a reasonable distance from the superstructure itself. She could hardly curb her urge to frown, her lips tugging subtly downward, as she could only barely force them into a less-than-pleased expression of stifled anger, which she could not afford to openly demonstrate. Raising a brow, the red-haired woman stroked a finger across her chin and then across the scar that ran its length along her eye, her finger and right hand ascending up the front of her face, before finally clasping each of her temples. Withwhat the extreme stress the inconvenience and displeasure she had of hosting these two guests was, it wasn't hard to see why her head was fucking *Pounding.*

*"Conclusively,"* She spoke, heavily stressing that word as she lowered her right hand. 

*Conclusively.* This sentence would end their *Prolonged and unwanted stay.* She squinted, pausing a beat-and-a-half following the statement, and only continued after it had significant time to settle in.

"—we are agreeable towards the Fourth's terms, so long as you ensure your. *Associates.* In the Sixth. Do not cause us. *Any. More.* ***Incidents.**"*

*`Cunts.`*

"I've been able to restructure the organization and framework of the perimeter crew due to your patron organization's *Generous donations.* But, in all truth, we are incapable of signing off on any long-term contract of cooperation with you and your..."

...She paused, her head slightly tilting over her shoulder, as she peered toward the cracked-open doorway behind herself.

"..."
"Until we secure a foothold in the *Vektet,* It's quite impossible for us to actually agree to the terms you've proposed."
"Does that make sense? Ma'am? *Sir?*"
Evan
"You can drop the *Ma'am,* Mrs. Kirch. Really, just Gen is fine."

Gen gave an amiable, if artificial, smile, her eyes closed as she nodded toward the associate-representative of *Odysseus* Corp. Opposite herself. Gen, unlike the woman opposite her, was incredibly familiar with the Art of the Deal, and was not so rash nor so fickle to let her emotions control her outward appearance. She could almost chuckle, slightly, at the subtle anger she saw on display within Kirch's way of speak; such was why she left her with that glancing remark, one which only would prolong their talk, and one which poked at a sore spot in Kirch's character. It extended far beyond just teasing — it was a statement expertly calculated, solely for the purpose of *Angering her.*

Why?

*It was funny.*
Karen
"It's *Ms.* Kirch, *Thank you.* Now. I have business to attend to. *If you'd be excused."*
***`Piece of shit.`***

She grit her teeth.
Helen
```cs


The towering figure of the wolven-monster clad in fine, professional apparel — stood just beside Gen, and also opposite Kirch — stared down at his associate with somewhat judgmental eyes, scorning her purposeful souring of the two's relations. Revered as he was for the finessed conducting of negotiations and communication, he, as a Director, was somewhat disturbed at his own associate's lack of self-control. Shaking his head, ever-so-slightly, he grumbled in silence, and raised his right hand, speaking:

```cs
 ᴅɪꜱᴍɪꜱꜱᴇᴅ. ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ꜱᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʀ."```

So as he commanded, she departed.

```cs
 ɪᴍᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ᴏʀɢᴀɴɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴍᴜꜱᴛ ʙᴇ... ʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴛʜᴀɴ ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀᴀʙʟᴇ. ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛᴇꜱ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀʏ, ᴄᴏɴꜱɪᴅᴇʀɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀꜰꜰɪʟɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ... ᴘᴇᴄᴜʟɪᴀʀ ᴀʟʟɪᴇꜱ."

 ꜱᴇᴇᴍꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ ʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴅᴇꜱɪʀᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛᴇʀ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴠɪᴛʏ, ɪɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ᴀ ꜱʜᴀᴍᴇ."

 ʀᴇꜱᴛ ᴀꜱꜱᴜʀᴇᴅ. ɪ, ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟʟʏ, ꜱᴡᴇᴀʀ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴍᴇʟɪᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴠɪᴛʏ."

 ᴍʏ ʜᴏɴᴏʀ."

 ᴛʜᴇɴ. ꜰᴀʀᴇᴡᴇʟʟ."```
_ _

He spoke honorably, and genuinely so, yet his speech was lacking of the personal warmth which he so delicately disguised it to appear to have. Fondly did he speak of such concepts as interconnectivity, and he did genuinely wish for the two organizations to have smooth, efficient relations, but *Efficient* Was all it was. That 'personal tenderness', that 'warmth', was no more than a façade, one made to create the appearance that he actually cared for an *Individual,* Rather than a greater, mutually-operating conglomerate *Whole.*

Nonetheless, thus concluded the two's strung-out attempts at diplomacy. Between *Odysseus* Corp., and...

*Well, considering what watching eyes were set on him, he was not at liberty to say.*

Katzu stepped from the facility, and progressed toward the gate, where Gen waited. The soldiers surrounded the barrier between the perimeter and the outside world, as if on-guard and at-the-ready for... Something. Someone? Or, perhaps a whole group of individuals?
Alexandria
**MISSION DAY — 4:30 PM.**
*The scheduled time for the mercenaries to arrive.*
Karen
*`Shit. This is awkward.`*

...Though she dismissed the two from the office, Kirch would have no choice but to follow shortly behind both Katzu and Gen, not only to see them out of the front gate, but also to *Let in the damned mercenaries which they had scheduled for this time-slot.* This type of bullshit, *Exactly this type of bullshit,* Was why she had such a potent migraine. *First, an unscheduled visit from that runt called Doberman, secondly, an unscheduled visit from the Fourth, and third, just to top it all off, the two damn meetings overlapped.*

*"Ugh."*

Stepping toward the gate, she gave a single hand-motion, shaking her head with a slight frown. She hadn't the energy to even yell out to the surrounding soldiers to open the thing up, and instead simply gave two, lazy motions, before folding her arms and staring at the gate.

***CREAK***

**...So the gate began to open, revealing to the mercenaries the sight of the new inner facility which surrounded the Vektet.**
Helen
Katzu, delicate as he was with diplomatic operations, and being seen in public, would simply bow his head — and Gen's, slightly pushing her forward as so to indicate she should do likewise — before pacing briskly beyond the mercenaries, toward a discreetly-parked vehicle some distance from the facility, itself. An odd encounter; one doesn't typically see a monster of such stature every day.

And neither did one get to catch a glimpse of the rare item on his and his companion's left wrist — silver bracelets, each with some sort of digital interface installed into them.
Odd indeed.
Karen
Arms folded, eyes squinted, and her right foot tapping against the pavement, Kirch glared at the mercenaries grouped up at the front gate, wordlessly tilting her head, so to **Wordlessly invite them into the facility.** Stood at a height of 185cm, the woman would, after a brief glance and confirmation of each of their individual identities, turn her back on them, slowly striding away, in the hopes that she wouldn't even have to speak to them in order for them to follow her.

*`...Oh, yeah.`*
*`Some of these guys were probably on the first expedition team, huh...?`*
*`...Well. Not my problem.`*
*`They'll see him when they see him.`*
Edward
*The sound of a motorcycle echoed through the streets as what seems to be a biker came into the perimeter. He saw Kirch and Katzu as he brakes infront of him the biker gets off as he looks at them.*
Carla
Although the woman was expecting, The Rook appears a few seconds late it seems — a cascade of white petals descending from the sky. The most, it would be just discarded remains of flower, but to the trained eye, it would be apparent that this flower is that of *Ipomoea alba*, more commonly known as *Moonflower*. An elegant entrance for someone *Very* Unrefined as he.

From the whirlwind emerges the hulking form of The Rook, clad in all of his armor and helmet adorned. Although worried under his mask and out of sight from anyone nearby, he closes his eyes and takes a long breath as he recalls the events of the last week and how much of a frenzy everything was with Tabby the tabaxi out of commission So beat up and laced with magicka from the inside of this place that she had to be temporarily removed from the headquarters and quarantined.

Hence why... He was sent, of course.

The Rook stumbles forward, catching his balance after 2 steps — with the amount of weight behind him, it's absurd that he even managed that much — *Gosh, I do not like that kind of travel...* He burps aloud, a small, quiet one, but still audible. *It makes me feel sick...*

He shakes off the momentary stomach bug as the moonflower petals simply... Dissipate behind him. Watching through his bulky helmet, he sees... Some kind of metal dog screech to a halt as the rider dismounts, stepping back in an odd sense of sheer "What-the-fuck-is-that???" Of course, The Rook would never swear. Never.

So, instead he waves a still taken-aback hello, looking back to Kirch as she... *Where is she going?* The Rook, in his infinite wisdom, decides to quickly follow behind, moving deceptively quick to catch up. And surely, he asks the question on everyone's mind when he asks."Where are we going?" To the guide lady.
Philip
``*'Well it's about fuckin' time.'``*

Being denied entry into the Vetket one week prior certainly soured Kuouo Aiche Dee's plans to continue exploring the expansive superstructure — And for what? To fancy up their perimeter headquarters? They could've done this on their own time — And in all honesty, he felt as if he could've snuck past the armed denizens that guarded the superstructure to *Some* Degree... Then again, it probably wouldn't have been too smart; one slip up, and he'd have more holes in him than swiss cheese.

*``'Not to mention, the paychecks are pretty nice...'``*

Still, it brought the bandit to an internalized question, *``'Who the hell are these guys? Where the fuck do they get the money to get all this shit anyways?'``* ... Not that it really mattered, but it was still odd. The perimeter was surely integrating itself into Balfour's coventry for it was no longer just a temporary set-up to quickly explore the Vektet — There were now sturdy buildings in place of the tents that stood there one week ago, and the militia guarding the perimeter looked far more competent. 

*Oddyseus Corp. Had plans for the Vektet, and it couldn't solely be for exploration. Not with the amount of money being poured into it.* 

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

But that wasn't for the bandit to continue mulling over, for the goat's long awaited 4:30 alarm finally screamed at him that it was time after a long, long week. Plenty of time for the denizens of the Vektet to react to the news of their doings on the first floor. A change that the bandit knew held a beyond enormous significance to the ark. He took a deep breath... And broke into a confident smile, turning the wall he was lounging back on for the past two and a half hours and approaching the gate, where two individuals, a human and — *Oh, hey!* — a monster are seen hastily taking their leave from the perimeter.

```fix
"Heeyyyy — Oh, shit, well see ya fuckin' later I guess."```

The bandit raised an eyebrow before shrugging, not taking notice to the futuristic bracelets hugging their wrists. It would've certainly interested the bandit, had he gotten the chance to see them. Regardless, he looked to his left, where the beheamoth in Tabby's place had *Just* Arrived. Funny, for it seemed that he too suffered from the same teleportation sickness the bandit has. He snickered a bit before looking to his right. Certainly a stanger he hadn't seen before, looking like the most American man in a Japanese video game if he had ever seen one. Though, his motorcycle most definitely caught the bandit's eye. The handlebars, the chain-like chasis, the ear-bleeding revving of its engine almost made the bandit envious. *Almost.*

Finally, in front of him standing in identical height was a woman with strawberry red dangling down to her shoulders. Having stood behind the gate before it opened, the bandit knew she most likely wasn't going to accompany them to the Vektet. Hell, if her body anything, it didn't feel like she wanted to be here *Period*. Wordlessly, she turned her back, expecting the group that had accumulated so far to follow in her footsteps — The Rook, of course, was hopelessly clueless to where she was leading them.

```fix
"Ya remember that tent ye so carelessly stood in front of last time? We're goin' there t' enter the Vektet. Ya know, so y'can continue Tabby's job of, well... Whatever the fuck she was doin' when she was there."```

Kuouo shrugged, following Kirch and swiveling around, walking backwards to continue talking to the enormous knight as he shoved his paws into his pockets.

```fix
"... Erm, speakin' of. Did she ever happen t' like... Tell ya what she was doin' there? All I know is that whatever the hell she did pissed the hell out of Vaazva — Wait you dunno who that is. Well anyways, she musta done somethin' real bad to piss 'im off that bad."```
Edward
"Are you guys the mercenaries?"

*He got off and looked at them, eyeing them. He didn't seem like a mercenary. Yet, there was an ominous aura coming off him, like there was more to him than meets the eye.*