Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Lutetia City: The Den

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko

The Aschen individual would likely take note that no one in the room seemed to be speaking the same language as him, and most didn't seem to be paying him any mind as they conversed among themselves in the local Queran tongue.

The atmosphere of the bar was rugged and gritty, and the presence of a well-dressed foreigner was more or less disregarded by most.

It was revving up to be a busy night though, and already the pool tables where full, while others where engaging in drinking games at the dart boards.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Saarai

"You might be barkin' up the wrong tree, man." Arya said to the Aschen man, taking her random drink from the bartender. "These folks don't talk like you and me. You gonna need to learn the tongue or hire a translator." She told him, taking her time to get a better look at him.

She recognized the insignia on his armband. PKs showing up anywhere meant it wasn't a courtesy call, something bad was going to happen to someone at some point. Maybe it had already happened.

It wasn't Arya's business though. Nah, she was on her way out of the door and back to Westeria City soon.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lialore

Brendan waved nonchalantly after Julienne and Marc, making a ‘ch’ sound at the uncrafty exit they’d made. He frowned and gave his mess of facial hair a scratch on coming to the bar and ordering his drink, immersed in his wondering where Desmond had got to. The glass hit the table the moment the door swung open. He picked up his drink, took a slurp of the froth, before hearing the gabble from the foreigner that caught his attention.

The first thing that caught his eye when he turned was that briefcase. Two thick eyebrows travelled up his forehead, positioning themselves under some questioning wrinkles that his expression had created. Very fancy. Very offic-

What was that he’d said?
He tried to replay his words, but a woman soon confirmed his suspicions by speaking to the newcomer in that dreadful language he had laboured over for years upon years now; and he still only spoke it mediocrely.

The posh bloke’s speech was barely decipherable to Brendan. It seemed so distorted by that accent.

“I do” he piped up in response to the woman. He hadn’t been focused enough to catch exactly what the man had been saying. He’d dawdled close enough, pint glass in hand, to offer them a toothy grin.

“What were ye’ sayin’?” - his own Iverian accent was probably only going to up the difficulty of this conversation.

 

[Tiko]

as written by barney_fife

There were in fact two Aschen individuals in the bar. The PK officer standing near the door, and the Tauron gentleman that had done the talking.

The PK Goon remained quiet, eyes scanning the bar with a pervasive vigilance. Arya's response though caught the young Tauron's eye, and he approached almost immediately.

As he made his way over to Arya, he beckoned Brendan to join him as well, while he offered his reply to the woman.

"Maybe I am, maybe i'm not; you sure fit the description, ma'am. You take the video of what happened that night?" The man asked, sitting down and leaning slightly on the briefcase.

"My name is Kyros Constantine and I work for the Aschen Empire's Ministry of Information." He said, looking to Brendan, then back to Arya. "On the night in question a young man who was part of the Emperor's navy got into an altercation with some people here. I understand a video was taken. The Emperor himself has instructed me to pay generously in cash for the device containing the video, No one's in trouble here. We're just tying up some loose ends."

 

[Tiko]

as written by Saarai

"You real late, man." Arya told Kyros, "It's already circulatin' on the net by now." She said, turning her attention to the man again now that he was closer. "But, yeah, I took the video. It'll be there for when you want to discipline your boy or press charges against the other guy." Bones continued.

"Assumin' you're gonna do something about your boy and not just try to assassinate the other guy. I know how y'all like to get busy." She said to Kyros, leaning her body against the bar.

She pointed to him, turning her eyes on Brendan. "This dude here is askin' about the fight that went down the other day. One of the locals and a Aschen guy got into a scrap. Throwin' paws."

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lialore

This time, he paid close attention. It took quite the effort to follow what they were saying, but he was pretty sure he’d got all of it. With special confirmation thanks to the woman’s summary. It all sounded a bit too fancy and official and important for him. He still occasionally eyed the briefcase as though it was some super laser space gun.

“Just paws, eh?” He smiled some at the woman. “Sometimes knives, glasses, fine whisky… then there’s the big teeth and the big claws. Howling if we're feelin' dramatic.”

But his relay of the incident did ring some bells. He was fairly certain they were referring to the fight in which his brother had been involved. Brendan had tried not to look startled at the mention of assassinations. He had no idea who these people were, or what they could do. And neither had Desmond - or so he assumed. But he always had been the reckless one.

“I heard about it” he said evenly, growing more serious and trying to remain casual. “That still gettin’ caught up in things? I thought it was just another bar brawl. We get that a lot, y’know, never causes any big trouble really.”

His seemingly innocent comments were prying for more information.

 

[Tiko]

as written by barney_fife

The Tauron man offered up a frown at the mention that the video had already been posted online, something that only confirmed the man's suspicions as to the Emperor's apparent demeanor when he contacted the Ministry of Information.

"I see." He said, relaxing some in his seat. "I don't think you quite understand the Pandora's box you've opened up by uploading that video, nor do I think you care. Of course it's nothing a few paid shills, a lawsuit, and a couple copyright claims can't solve." Kyros explained, making a face.

"How the Imperial Navy chooses to handle disciplinary procedures in light of this video will be fitting within the protocol and regulations of Naval Administrative Code and Imperial Law." He said, a fairly cut and dry Ministry of Information statement. "I can't comment on what discipline, if any, the Rear Admiral will receive." Kyros added, picking up a glass of water that was given to him.

"As for the others involved, I can't comment; what happens to the other individual in the fight will be up to the Ministry of Law, more than likely it will be handled discreetly once this video incident has been taken care of."

It was a lot of careful talk, carefully executed statements and sentences coming from a skilled practitioner of propaganda.

"Officially the Ministry of Information condemns taking the video, as they are essentially a threat to the security of the Empire. I would ask you use more discretion when videotaping Imperial officers. I mean... could you imagine what would happen if the Aschen public saw this video? Fortunately the Emperor has already decreed viewing it heretical, and censored our Media." Kyros added, of course it was common knowledge that the Internet, and the media in the Aschen Empire was heavily controlled, anything the Emperor found distasteful was censored, and those who managed to circumvent internet blocks would find themselves executed for Heresy.

"But I digress... the man in question assaulted the Emperor's Son, so no doubt there will be severe repercussions in store."

 

[Tiko]

as written by Saarai

"I ain't no Aschen citizen, homie. It don't matter to me what happens if your people see it, or what you do to the boy that fought your guy. I don't care about you condemning my video, my friends seen it, their friends seen it, everybody seen it. Copyright would make it my property, I recorded it on my phone in my off time in a public place." Arya said to Kyros.

"And," She began, "I work for the Invictus. You think we ain't got lawyers? You think we ain't got money? I may not control it, but I'm on salary and I'm paid good just for being around. Imagine if we focused on something, or someone, trying to strong arm our people?" The woman continued.

"Bro, you best focus on the battle you're gonna win, not the one you're gonna lose."

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lialore

Brendan found himself frowning. This bloke sound like a complete nut-job to him. ‘I ain’t no Aschen citizen’ seemed to sum up a lot of what he was currently feeling, and he found himself nodding along to the woman’s words without having much of a clue what she was actually talking about. He probably looked an idiot, but he was still stuck in Kyros’ speech. And he gulped. So, these people didn’t seem to appreciate the concept of ‘our roof, our rules’.

“Wait, wait” he held up a hand and tried to keep the disbelief away from his expression. “Severe repercussions?”

Brendan couldn’t care less about the footage or much about the true nature of the brawl at this particular moment. Pray, he hoped Desmond had grasped the real context of his situation and had made some smart decisions. Wishful thinking indeed; knowing his brother.

 

[Tiko]

as written by barney_fife

"Never said you were, nor did I imply it. But the Invictus and the Imperial Government have history, no doubt this'll just be another notch in a long list of reasons the Empire has against the Invictus." Kyros explained.

He shifted in his seat, offering Arya a frown.

"I can certainly think the Invictus would have better things to do other than condone a course that would lead to a conflict with the Empire. But I'm only speculating." Kyros laughed. "I'm just a suit that works for the Ministry of Information. And I know that they don't like your video, I can't speak to McGregor or the Empire as far as actions to be taken."

"Besides, I can't really picture the Invictus taking on the Empire and coming out on top, frankly you'd get your shit pushed in if the chips really hit the table." Kyros added, shaking his head before he answered Brendan's question.

"I can only speculate as to your friend's fate, the Empire may do nothing, or they may hunt him down and capture him to stand for execution, it's up to the Ministry of Law."

 

[Tiko]

as written by Saarai

"I don't give a damn. You don't pay me, you don't hire me. I get along fine, so do the rest of us, whether you like us or not." Arya told the man, taking a moment to have a drink. "I know the others would fight you on this, because I would. I joined up because they were all about freedom, independence. That's something your government doesn't get." Bones said, pointing a finger at Kyros.

"Talkin' 'bout us gettin' our shit pushed in like this? You all couldn't even break our stride when guns were involved. That kind of delusional superiority complex y'all got ain't been working well for you." The former Ranger said, "Just deal with the dude you came here for, I've got a drink that's better company than you are right now."

Arya held her drink up towards Kyros, offering him a two-fingered salute with her free hand.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lialore

Brendan visibly paled. On the closest surface sat his drink, unfinished. He had completely zoned out.

He came back to his senses when he caught sight of the woman’s rude gesture. His lips pressed together into a stressed line. If his brother could be executed for punching up on of them, maybe she’d be getting a good hiding for that.

“I…” Brendan huffed out some of his tension. He had to see if he could find him. With a pat, he checked that he had his car keys, glanced around the bar then started making for the exit, obliviously rude and without a care for the two strangers.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko

It was well on into the the night and last call had already come and gone, but The Den oft had a night life of its own well after the place closed up to the public.

This night in particular was revving up to be a rowdy one, and Desmond in particular was already well on the way to being thoroughly intoxicated, and on more than just alcohol.

His sleeve was rolled up and Julienne had finished administering a tourniquet while he threw back a glass of hard liquor.

The 50 ml syringe she uncapped was likely enough to drop a horse given the cocktail of narcotics that it took to overpower Desmond's metabolism.

She slowed drawing the milky white concoction at around 20ml as Desmond threw back a second shot.

"Thirty," he told her as the the alcohol burned down his throat.

Julienne raised her eye. "You're insane, you know that right?"

He grinned at that one. "An' you're not?"

"Your funeral," she chuckled as she turned his arm over to administer the cocktail of drugs.

The stuff hit his system hard and he gave his head a shake as Julienne grabbed his arm to steady him.

"At least sit your dumb ass down," she told him.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Knosis

The night was quiet, and Chloe looked like the dead walking. Many cases she investigated were never pretty, but tonight had been particularly hard as she had found a young girl that had been killed brutally. The images still haunted her mind, and there was no way she could sleep now.

She needed a drink. Hell, she needed way more, but the drink was a good place to start. She knew she wasn't particularly welcomed at The Den, especially without Desmond, but it was the only place she could think that could be open this late in the evening. And the best place to find familiar company.

Walking in slowly, she raised her haunted gaze to see who was around. They hovered over Desmond for a moment, but then to Julienne and decided the better of interrupting the pair in whatever they were up to. So instead she just decided to settle at the bar alone.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko

"'m fine," Desmond answered.

His legs disagreed though, and Julienne had to all but physically deposit him into the chair. He took her hands in his own and pulled her down onto it with him.

"Just gran'," he told her.

"You're high as a fucking kite is what you are," Julienne told him with a snort.

She caught notice of Chloe entering and her mood soured, but rather than coming over, Chloe headed to the bar. Still, her presence was a vexing one. The bitch was dangerous as far as Julienne was concerned, never mind her ties to the Ardelean Society. Baron's orders on the matter had been clear though.

Though, there were other ways to get rid of her.

Straddling a rather intoxicated Desmond had its potential and Julienne nuzzled at his throat before her lips found his own, growling lowly at him.

Rather than discourage Julienne, the intoxicated Desmond seemed more than receptive to Julienne's advances as his hands found her hips.

"Gods you smell good, Chloe," Desmond murmured.

His words were met with a stunned silence before Julienne's anger erupted forth.

"How fucking dense are you," she spat. "Why the fuck are you wasting all your time with that fucking cunt? She's Ardelean for fucks sake."

Desmond blinked up at her, seemingly confused as to what had just transpired. He pinched at his brow with one hand, and tried to work through the drug induced haze, but frankly all he could think about at the moment was the sensation of bliss that warmed his body. He closed his eyes and rolled his head back a bit, and the the room swam with the movement of it. It was a pleasant swimming sensation though, like floating... and drifting...

"Come to your fucking senses, Desmond," Julienne spat as she got up.

She grabbed her coat as if to depart, but she had words for Chloe first and she headed for the bar rather than the door.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Knosis

Chloe watched the tasteless display of affection from Julienne from the corner of her eye, her brow furrowed. Something riled in Chloe, something savage and green. Why, though? Desmond was just her friend, and there was nothing between them. Still, she turned away to focus on the beer that had been handed to her.

It wasn't until she heard Julienne spatting at Desmond did she pay attention again, turning around to see the commotion only to find a very angry woman storm towards her. At this, Chloe couldn't help but feel the corners of her lips curl in satisfaction that things with Desmond didn't seem to go on as planned for Julienne. Though, it probably meant death to push the werewolf, Chloe cocked an eyebrow. "And what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Script

Snow was seated at the bar with his phone out and a tumbler of whiskey on the counter beside him. Now and then he cast a dubious glance over towards Desmond and Julienne, but their antics were nothing out of the ordinary and didn't hold his attention for long. Every few minutes the phone buzzed with a new message and he turned his focus back to its screen, his fingers dancing over the keypad to send a reply.

Julienne's outburst drew his attention only for a moment, having interrupted his flow of thought whist typing. He raised an eyebrow in her direction, but his gaze didn't linger there for more than a moment before he went back to texting.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko and Knosis

Julienne's intended words never found breath as Chloe's flippant demeanor sparked a more physical reaction from the volatile werewolf. Julienne's eyes became a swirl of wolfish amber as she brought her fist around to impact the side of Chloe's jaw.

Chloe had expected it. Julienne's fist crunched straight into the red-head's jaw. Normally, someone would be dazed after a hit like that, but Chloe wanted Julienne to throw the first punch. Green sparks flared in Chloe's hues and she flung herself forward, aiming to catch the other female by the middle to knock her to the floor in a snarling fury. Her aim was to pin the werewolf down.

It wasn't often someone got the better of Julienne in a brawl, but she hadn't anticipated the swiftness of Chloe's retaliation. Chloe was on her before Julienne even hit the ground. With a fistful of her shirt in Chloe's hand, and a vicious strike to her face, Julienne's head snapped to the side before she managed to get her arms up. With one hand she grabbed onto Chloe's wrist to wrench her to the side, while her other hand pushed against Chloe's chest to roll them both over to reverse the pin.

As the fight broke out, it drew some looks, but no one seemed overly inclined to breaking it up.

"Heh, looks like Julienne got more than she bargained for with that one," Bastien remarked with amusement from the pool tables where he had been talking with Marc.

Marc scowled a bit as he took note of the situation, but it was no secret that Julienne had been favoring his bed rather heavily lately.

Baron himself seemed disinclined to interfering either from where he was seated at his usual table by the dingy window. His mood was still maintaining a somewhat sour note between the situation with Ragenard, and the loss of Jesse. Jeanne had offered a distraction from the matters at hand, but the day was nearing when action would need to be taken. He'd had his contacts scouring the streets for sign or word of where the Scions were holding Jesse, but Rowan had kept a solid lid on the situation.

He took a drag on his cigarette as he watched the scuffle before offering only a simple instruction.

"Make sure they don't kill each other," he told Snow who seemed closest to the situation.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Script

Snow looked up from his phone at Baron with a raised eyebrow. Getting between the two women, considering the ferocity of their brawl, was hardly an inviting prospect. It would probably end up being painful.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. His eyes wandered over to where Desmond was splayed out in drug-induced bliss.

There were certainly more worthwhile things to kill over, he thought with a small chuckle.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Knosis and Tiko

Chloe growled as the two of them flipped to where Julienne was on top. Thinking quickly, Chloe wrapped her legs around Julienne's and spread them so the woman would lose balance and fall forward, either having to headbutt Chloe, or catch herself on the floor. As anticipated, as Julienne fell forward she drove her head down and towards Chloe's face.

Chloe reached out with her free hand and grabbed a fist full of Julienne's hair as Julienne tried to headbutt and wrenched as hard as she could to the side. Julienne was already off balance, the hopes was that it would throw the woman off herself.

The bar kept Chloe from knocking Julienne too far off balance, but as they sat up each trying to gain the upper hand over the other, Julienne did find her back pinned to the bar as the two of them grappled for a pin. With no clear upper hand, she managed to get her foot up between them to shove Chloe backwards towards the table and chairs at her back.

"Heh, the girl's got moves," Bastien remarked as he kept half an eye on the scrap from the pool tables.

Marc snorted. "Twenty dollars says Julienne takes her."

"Make it fifty, and you've got a bet," Bastien answered with a grin.