Continued from: A Blind Eye

It only took a few minutes to arrive at the building housing Mr Talanov's condo. By then, Hood had donned the jacket and coat again, so when they were let out by Koloman, he wasn't flashing a high-caliber revolver around for all to see. Not that there were many on the streets at so late an hour, but appearances were everything.

Koloman wished the pair a good night, and the Pervaya car pulled away in short order, disappearing into the night. Hood offered his arm and led the way in, passing by the pair of doormen who let them in without any issue. The building was not terribly unlike the one they had left, save that this was the sort that the rich and powerful considered more...modest.

Mr Talanov's suite wasn't the top floor penthouse. That was not what he required of the place. A few minutes later he opened the door to the room that had been lent to him for the night. The foyer led directly to a well appointed living room in earth tones and rich woods.

He took her coat and hung it properly, then his own, before making his way to the well stocked bar to pour a drink. "I think this is a bit more your style. The closest place I have to here smells like gun oil. Big surprise, right? Not often I actually try to cash in on an employer's good graces, but you're worth the headache I'm going to get when the boss chews me out tomorrow."

Jensen hid a yawn behind his hand. It was late afternoon, but he'd been awake less than an hour. He'd overslept the alarm that should have seen him arrive to the cafe on time. Instead, he'd scrambled about John's loft like a frantic college student and barely had time to shower before running out the door. The building doorman jumped none too pleased from the path of an extremely apologetic Jensen, who was more of a blurred blaze of an unbuttoned coat and flapping scarf.

Somehow, he made it to the cafe in the nick of time. God bless the Moscow metro system for operating with military precision. Once he gained his bearings after falling in the door, he realized nothing had changed about the place. It was on the same stop as where he hailed the bus that carried him to his old forklift job. Around the corner was a decent food market, too. The Tulskaya metro stop just shy of the third ring road in southern Moscow had some fantastic food carts, and his stomach rumbled just thinking about his usual fare on the way to work. One pirozhki stand in particular sold these individually sized baked buns stuffed with meats, mushrooms, rice and onions to die for, and were easy to eat and walk at the same time. On a cold winter's day like today, a steamy hot breakfast sounded fantastic. Tony probably was less enamored with them than Jensen, but when Jensen bought a biscuit from the counter, his stomach ached for pirozhki.

He went ahead and also purchased two cups of coffee for himself and Tony, who had been kind enough to meet him here, and was the reason Jensen hurried to arrive on time. His mother always said punctuality meant being early, but she would cringe to see her son arriving at the stroke of the clock as he had today.

Impolite as it appeared, he kept his coat on while seated. Not because he wanted to be prepared for the event of a quick getaway, but because the shop was rather drafty. The recent cold plunge seeped around the old windows and blew in his face every time the door opened.

Jensen was pushing disheveled hair from his eyes and nursing a creamy cup of coffee when he finally caught his breath at a table.


Edited by Jensen James, Jan 27 2014, 05:20 PM.

"Why do you watch this dribble, Ascendancy? You never gave the media much thought before."

Nikolai shifted his gaze from yet another report on Amira's death to the man that currently kept his company, Rameshwar Singh, and for about the tenth time, Nik considered asking the Privilege to leave. If the man had even an inkling of the Ascendancy's displeasure, he would trip over himself to get out the door. The problem was Nik wasn't sure whether he wanted to be alone or simply left alone. The Privileges were the closest things he had to friends - above ground anyway - but Nikolai was not ignorant. He knew their allegiance was purchased. Everything has a price, he thought bitterly. At least it simplified the world.

The grimace must have translated because the Privilege shifted in his seat. Otherwise he held his gaze. This man could stare down a charging bull without so much as a flinch. In fact, he had once. Half the man's skull had been caved in during the incident, though you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the man's thick, black hair. Yet he was uncomfortable around Nikolai. Nik almost smiled at the reaction.

"These people spurn reason,"
he began. The interview was muted, but it was obvious the witness standing on the mosque steps was pointing out where he'd found the linen-shrouded body. "They want to turn back the wheel and live in the cesspool of the dark ages,"
he seethed.

He shook his head and looked to the ceiling. The aircraft was spacious, but despite warm walls, the interior could not fool him. He was trapped between the distant planet below and the eternal horizon above.

The Privilege replied, voice steady, "Will you release the Dominance if asked?"

Nikolai barely took a moment, "If I thought all they wanted was release from the Custody, I would consider it."
Then he shook his head, staring at the screen. The interview was over only to be replaced by the video of the murderers taken for arraignment. "But these people will never be content until this Hasan is what I am."
Disgust curled the back of his tongue. Even if the man was a brother-god, he could never be what Nikolai was. Nobody could.

The Privilege perked to the edged of his seat, hands folded on his lap. "What of this conference, then? You go to seek peace?"

His chest did not tighten; nor his stomach sink. He thought back to when he first saw the news of Amira's murder and he knew what must be done. In his mind, casualties blurred with sacrifice for the greater good. Nikolai would teach them what it meant to justify the honorable slaughter of a beloved innocent.

But he didnt answer the question. Instead, he signaled for the aid in the next room. A moment later, the young man entered.

"Get me General Grigori Devdas from MILSTAR command. Tell him I want an update on the SPACE-TRACK situation."


The aid nodded and the Privilege took his leave likely with his own guess for the Ascendancy's plan. He was likely to be wrong. Afterward, when the General was put through, Nikolai was already standing, hands tucked casually behind his back and in complete control of the anger billowing across his thoughts.

"Ascendancy,"
the General greeted. "I have an update for you."
Devdas was a slender man with broad shoulders that suited the gray and gold Custody Air Force uniform. Among his many accolades which were prominently pinned to the front of his uniform, the four-star general was the current commander of the Air Force's space agency: MILSTAR. It operated on defensive budgets rather than on research and so gave them more money and greater applicability. Nobody cared about Mars, especially Nikolai, but high-altitude rocketry and satellite weaponry on the other hand.

Prior to his current position, Devdas served in numerous states of leadership throughout Custody services. He was also an aeronautical engineer and an accomplished upper-atmospheric pilot.

He continued with his update of the situation as officially stated in the record. "In the past few hours STAR-TRACK Situational Awareness has begun monitoring an anomaly roughly two million kilometers from our atmosphere. We have been in contact with DARPA with the US-DOD. They are now aware of the anomaly, and I can confirm they have been in contact with Beijing for corroborating evidence."


Nikolai nodded thoughtfully, "And the anomaly will be ready as scheduled?"


The General straightened his posture, if that was even possible. "By current trajectory, will be ready at 2300 hours the night before."
The man was proud of the accomplishment. As well he should be.

Nikolai's consideration approved. "Very good, General. I want regular updates sent to my office every two hours until then."


"Of course, Ascendancy."
The General saluted. The screen returned to the muted coverage of Amira's murder.

Nik crossed to the window and looked out. A field of white clouds rolled beneath the plane, but unfurled above was the endless sky. An opaque crescent of the moon hung sentineled with the heavenly dusk. By week's end, the same peaceful horizon would rain fiery comets. The Atharim, Trano, Hasan: they should know not to push him too far, but Amira's murder was the last straw. Let them slaughter one another, but blame him for their butchery?

They sought God's favor.

It was time for God's answer.

It looks like another one is in the books. Anyone open for a thread?

Autumn (late) 2045.

<small>Related to a post in A Blind Eye</small>


Long into the night did Armande contemplate the Ascendancy's message.

He lost count how many times he replayed the video. Eager and straining for reinterpretation.

However, every time the ouroboros showed itself, Armande's stomach turned sick, but he made himself memorize its shape until the scars grew bright behind otherwise disbelieving eyes. Nikolai Brandon was once Atharim, but under who's reign? Where were the records of his initiation?

Sleep did not come that night. Nor the following day. He locked himself deep in this office, and rose only to savor a drink of water across parched lips. Everything upon which his task was built must be newly critiqued. It was like Michelangelo redesigning all of Saint Peter's just before the last stone was laid.

When he finally emerged, he was pale from the lack of sleep and drawn from the dizzying search for knowledge.

"I must go to the Vatican," he sent out the order to his staff and departed in preparation for the journey. In the meantime, he ordered an immediate stand-down of all Atharim against the Ascendancy until the truth of these matters became clear.

They were all in grave danger.

The hot new quiz floating around the book of faces lately is asking which star wars character you are.

Well, we decided to fill out the quiz as if our characters were answering! Let us know who you get! And what you think about the choice.

To start off.....


Nikolai Brandon is....


... YODA!



HELL yes! Nik is old and wise, indeed indeed, but whether he uses his power for good or for ill remains to be seen. Maybe if we give him another 850 years.



And just to make things extra fun. I am personally...

...THE EMPEROR!



And this one is accurate in ways that are a little bit disturbing.


So go take the quiz and let us know who you get!

Star Wars quiz

Just a suggestion, can we move the current date/time for the rpg someplace we can see while logged in.

Thanks in advance.

The past few months had been trying to say the least. The first few days were nothing but a blurred memory. And the days after weren't much better. To say Aria's faith had been shaken was not a misnomer, she wasn't sure the direction of her life was going to take. The business of the city was something Aria still wasn't completely used to. Her little apartment above the old book shop was barely adequate enough to get a good night sleep.

The couple upstairs was constantly fighting, their anger seeped into Aria's dreams and would wake her with a pounding heart and fury nearly as bad, the only solution was to drown herself into the solace of a water covered grave. Or so it felt at times. She really didn't want to kill herself, but the pain of it all was getting to her. The solitude of the Vatican city's Historical society buildings were something Aria never thought she would ever miss. She never even contemplated the need for that basement room shielded from the world, and now she longed for a quiet night.

But even worse was what they did when they weren't fighting. Their passion (and their noisy love making) was louder than their anger. It woke Aria in a flush and embarrassed by the things that entered her mind. But worse was that she could never touch another like that even if she did so in her dreams. The one fleeting moment of the possibility with a man raged through her body. One little kiss and Aria felt the mental barrier shatter and all she felt was him. Aria had collapsed from that one touch, and the boy had never returned her affection again. Though Aria suspected it was no fault of his, Father Dimitri strictness increased after that, that was when even he stopped touching Aria and use the confounded stick he had sent with her.

Aria sighed. The couple above had started their fighting again, early. She slipped out the door and started walking. It was cold. Snow falling from the sky as it did in the winter months. Aria thought it was a bit early to see the snow fall, at least in the Vatican City, but she was not there any longer. The solace of the churches near by were plagued with the same emotions of her apartment. She walked for hours until she saw Novodevichy Monastery. The river side view and the historical impact of the place drew her to it.

The buildings themselves told stories but that was not the final draw, once upon the grounds Aria felt at peace, as if she had been seeking the holy land the whole time. It was not quiet per-say, but the emotions surrounding her were the most pleasant she had had in the last few months.

The graveyard was one of the finest attractions the monastery had, and it was also one of the quietest places Aria knew. The dead don't feel anything - she hoped. Aria slowly walked through the rows, glancing at each marker and studying it. What had the person been like? Why had they died? Questions she couldn't answer and their emotions did not reveal. It was pleasant.


Edited by Aria, Jan 17 2014, 01:23 PM.

It appears we are having issues with the wiki (if anyone ever notices something just let me know and i'll take a look as soon as I can)

I have notified my provider that there is an issue. My assumption is a service has stalled (as it has in many cases of other sites I host at the same location). If this becomes a repeated problem the I will see what has to be done.

Please just let me know if there are any issues at all no matter if you think it's just you having issues.

I'll keep you posted on what happens here.