Darzul
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Post by Darzul on Apr 3, 2010 20:14:39 GMT -6
Etrah: 2:45 PM, M13D16, 8008 AV Haven: 9:45 UA, M8D13, 4078 I
The cab stopped outside the front gate of the base. Darzul and Taka emerged from the vehicle, and the gates opened. Darzul strode purposefully toward the command center, ushering Taka along with him as he went.
"Welcome back, sir," one of the guards on patrol said as Darzul passed him.
"Have private Riskan and captain Apek report to my office ASAP," he told the guard as he walked into his office with Taka.
"Yes, sir," the guard replied.
"Take a seat," Darzul said to Taka, gesturing to a chair within his office.
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Post by rilkan on Apr 4, 2010 22:30:24 GMT -6
Taka moved to the seat, careful to stay out of the way of the guard as he rushed out of the office. The cab ride to the base and the walk to Darzul's office had allowed him to calm down and collect himself somewhat, although he still had trouble shaking Jeremy's image from his head.
Glancing up at Darzul, Taka couldn't help but wonder what had caused the reaction the man had upon seeing the...mess...in the alleyway. Jeremy's body was a gruesome sight, to be sure, but he himself had reacted with shock, not nausea. Something told him Darzul Vorca wasn't the type to be bothered by something to minor as a dismembered corpse, but he kept his thoughts to himself for the time being.
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Darzul
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Post by Darzul on Apr 4, 2010 22:40:52 GMT -6
Darzul sat in the chair behind his desk, swiftly plucked a brandy bottle and a rocks glass from his desk drawer. He poured two fingers of brandy into the glass, and downed it with a single gulp.
As he brought the glass back down onto the desk with a heavy clunk, Darzul looked at Taka. "Okay, I'm waiting on your brother and a captain in the army to arrive before I explain why I went to all this trouble to find you," he said. "But I want you to do me a favor, Taka."
"Don't mention what we saw in that alleyway. It probably won't mean anything to Maku, but if we don't breach this to Onnie carefully it could cause a panic. So let me explain what was in the alley once they arrive. Do you understand?"
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Post by rilkan on Apr 5, 2010 21:38:42 GMT -6
Taka nodded. He was more than happy to let Darzul run this show, considering he was injured and in unfamiliar surroundings, recovering from the shock of seeing a former housemate's partially dismembered corpse, all with no clue why Vorca had wanted to speak to him so badly in the first place.
Yeah, Taka had no trouble agreeing to let Darzul do the talking.
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Darzul
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Post by Darzul on Apr 5, 2010 23:11:16 GMT -6
Darzul nodded. "Alright, good," he said.
Two knocks were heard at the door to the office, and Apek opened the door, saluting. "You sent for me, sir?" Apek quickly said.
"Take a seat, Onnie," Darzul said, gesturing to a second chair, nearby where Taka sat. "That reminds me, Taka Riskan, meet captain Onthinor Apek," Darzul said. "Onnie, this is private Riskan's brother."
"We've met," Apek said. "Well, more or less. I was there at the hospital. How are you, Taka?" Apek asked, offering a hand to shake.
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Post by rilkan on Apr 6, 2010 21:25:38 GMT -6
Taka turned to face Captain Apek as he entered the room, but he found himself again at a loss for words as he recognized the man who had arrested his brother.
He managed to mumble something along the lines of 'can't complain' in response to Apek's greeting, but he couldn't find the words to say anything else.
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Maku
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Post by Maku on Apr 6, 2010 21:41:03 GMT -6
Maku gave a short knock at the door before stepping into the office. He'd been nervous when the messenger had found him, telling him that General Vorca wanted to speak with him as soon as possible. He'd feared they'd found out about what had really happened at the hospital.
As he looked around, he took note of Darzul, seated at his desk, and Apek, standing and shaking hands to...Taka?! As he closed the door behind him, Maku felt his nervousness change to an annoyed kind of anger, and as he moved to stand behind Taka's seat, it showed in his expression.
Sparing Taka only a nod for a greeting, Maku turned his attention to the seated General. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
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Darzul
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Post by Darzul on Apr 6, 2010 21:59:34 GMT -6
"Take a seat, fellas," Darzul said, pointing to a pair of chairs near where Taka sat. He then pulled three more glasses out of his drawer, and poured two fingers of brandy into each before refilling his own glass. "Help yourselves," he said, sipping from his glass.
Apek promptly grabbed one of the glasses from the desk, and sat back in his chair, taking a small sip from it.
"Okay, now, on to business," Darzul said. "Onnie, I brought you here because I know you have strong feelings about the procedure, and I wanted to hear your opinion."
"Thank you, sir," Apek replied. "I appreciate it."
He looked at Taka. "Taka, you're here because of your gift. I understand you have a knack for healing others, and while that's always useful, it will prove especially so under these circumstances."
Darzul's eyes met Maku's last. "And private Riskan, you're here largely as a courtesy. We're here talking to your brother about his potential involvement, and I thought it'd be prudent if you were around for that discussion."
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Maku
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Post by Maku on Apr 6, 2010 22:08:07 GMT -6
Maku took a seat next to his brother as Darzul poured the drinks. As he offered, he held his hand up.
"Thanks, but we don't drink.", said the twins in unison. The two glanced at each other momentarily, each mirroring the other's expression of mildly amused surprise before looking back to Darzul.
Taka leaned forward in his chair, forcing himself past his speechlessness. "What circumstances are we talking about?"
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Darzul
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Post by Darzul on Apr 6, 2010 22:37:35 GMT -6
"Good question," Darzul replied. "A long time ago, back when the captain and myself were in the Reyone Army, they discovered that latent abilities within people without them could be expressed. Using a combination of hormone therapy and careful exposure to certain types of radiation, people without powers could be made into Uniques."
"But it isn't as simple as it sounds," Apek interjected. "The vast majority of powers are accompanied by a series of secondary abilities that allow the user to tolerate and utilize their powers. The Reyone Army's procedure only activated the base power, and left the secondary ones latent. Without them, the powers were fatal to their users. Sometimes it took a few days, sometimes they barely gained the ability before the subject died."
"He's right," Darzul admitted. "Their system was fundamentally flawed. I was their first test subject, and my latent power was regeneration. Since regeneration, by its nature, doesn't need anything else to work, I came out the other end perfectly fine. They figured that meant it worked, and they sent a lot of other people through. But without the supporting abilities, the base powers were all too destructive. The project finally ended when a soldier whose latent base power was energy casting caused an explosion, destroying the lab."
"Where I get confused," Apek interjected, "is what's gonna be different between the Reyone Army and Vorcan Army processes."
"Another good question," Darzul said. "There are two major differences. In the RA process, the hormone and radiation therapy went on for about a week before the activating burst, an influx of radiation that took the abilities stimulated in the week past and fully activated them. The VA process, by contrast, will continue the therapy for another week before the burst, giving the secondary powers more time to awake."
"The other difference," Darzul continued, "involves myself and Taka. I've found that soldiers given a transfusion of my own blood, as opposed to someone without a healing factor, recovered faster, more fully, and survived more serious injury. Using my blood as a 'healing potion' of sorts, as well as the longer therapy time, makes the procedure survivable, depending on the nature and potency of the ability given."
"That's where you come in," Darzul said to Taka. "If the transfusion isn't enough to curtail the physical toll, I'll need you to pick up the slack with your ability. Once the burst is completed, the power should stabilize. It's in mid-burst that I'm worried."
"So, what do you say, Taka?" Darzul finally asked. "Would you be willing to provide an extra safeguard in the process?"
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Maku
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Post by Maku on Apr 6, 2010 23:03:48 GMT -6
Taka listened, then glanced over at Maku. He didn't have issue with it himself, but he could tell Maku was really bothered by the way this was all going. In all likelihood, his brother had listened more critically than he himself had, and if questions were to be asked, Maku would be the one to ask them.
Maku caught Taka's look, nodding slightly. Knowing Taka, he'd listened with his heart, not his head, and doing whatever he could to help someone else not only survive, but maybe live a better, more secure life? Of course Taka would want to say yes. His younger brother had never hesitated to help anyone, regardless of the circumstances, and Maku had long ago learned to pick up the slack where critical thought was concerned.
However, there was nothing he could say. Having narrowly escaped a repeat trip through boot camp the day before, Maku didn't think he could get away with half the things he wanted to say. Darzul had made it clear he wasn't needed here, that he had been called in because Vorca had thought it polite.
"This one's your call, Taka..." Maku said quietly. Not that I'm at all happy about that..., he added in his mind.
Taka raised an eyebrow at Maku's lack of concerns. It wasn't like his brother to keep his mouth shut if he was worried about something, and Taka could tell from his expression that he was worried about a lot. Turning back to Darzul, Taka bit his lip, trying to think like Maku would, but it was a viewpoint he just couldn't grasp.
Sighing, he decided to follow his gut. "I'll do it...but Maku has to be there, or the deal's off."
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Darzul
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Post by Darzul on Apr 6, 2010 23:19:38 GMT -6
"Agreed," Darzul said without hesitation.
"Now, there are two ways we can go about this," he continued. "One, we can simply hire you on as a civilian contractor. You come in, do your job, the Vorcan Army compensates you, and you go on your way."
"The other option," Darzul continued, "is enlistment. You'll draw a steady paycheck, as well as recieve training, room and board, hot meals, and play a part in the rebuilding of Thoncir for the foreseeable future. We wouldn't pay you as much for the act itself, but we would be paying you consistently once you got out of basic."
"We could always use a good medic," Darzul added. "And by your very nature, you'd be one of the best. Whaddya say?"
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Maku
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Post by Maku on Apr 7, 2010 22:11:44 GMT -6
Taka hesitated, trying to weigh his options. On the one hand, he wasn't sure he was cut out for the military. On the other, Darzul made a good point about his potential as a medic. All things considered...
"You'll hire him as a civilian, and he walks when the job's done," Maku said, cutting Taka off before he could give the matter enough thought to decide to join up. He'd held his tongue before, but he couldn't keep quiet about this. He hadn't changed his mind about Taka's involvement with the military, and he didn't have any plans to.
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Darzul
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Post by Darzul on Apr 7, 2010 22:22:46 GMT -6
"Hey, watch your damn mouth, private," Apek sternly retorted.
Darzul looked at Maku, and raised an eyebrow. "You got balls, kid. No denying that." Darzul then nodded. "Alright, Taka, we're gonna hire you on temporarily. I have my orders," he added as he glanced at Maku, his voice filled with mildly amused sarcasm.
He looked back at Taka. "How does 500 coins sound?"
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Maku
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Post by Maku on Apr 7, 2010 22:53:09 GMT -6
Taka stared at Maku with disbelief, and he planned to have a talk with his brother once they got out of this office. Then he picked up on Darzul's offer, and his jaw dropped. "Five...five hundred??" He was stunned. He'd left home with barely 15 coins in his pocket, and most of those were gone by the time he and Maku had reached the City. He'd lived off of Old Sarah's charity ever since, and the thought of having 500 coin all to himself? He was floored.
"That...that sounds great! We've got a deal!" Taka said enthusiastically.
Maku didn't say another word. He knew his outburst might get him in more serious trouble later, but he wasn't giving his brother up to the Vorcan Army. His own path had led him here, and he felt it was where he needed to be. But Taka? His brother could do better, and he knew it.
Maku momentarily comforted himself with the realization that he could well have slaughtered Darzul and Apek both several times over, if his circumstances had been different. He hadn't killed anything since destroying Shard, and his powers had waned somewhat since, but he knew he could do it again. The problem would be neutralizing Darzul, but Maku figured if he took out the head completely enough, he'd stay down at least long enough to take out Apek, and then--
Maku came back to himself with a start. Suddenly, all he wanted was to get out of this meeting, the sooner the better. He wasn't worried about losing control, not after one admittedly vivid fantasy. But that fantasy had brought him closer to an enjoyable kill than he'd been in months, and that alone made him nervous.
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