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+--- Thread: Scimitar Stories: Christmas At Ground Zero (/showthread.php?tid=5553)
Scimitar Stories: Christmas At Ground Zero - OpMegs - 01-20-2011
Christmas was no different in the Rogue Isles than anywhere else, really.
There
was perhaps a greater degree of crime by burgeoning supervillains to
finance their own holiday gift giving, but this just meant that the
crime rate remained steady, while the funds went to different suppliers.
Renegade snowmen ambushing people out of packages were actually a
refreshingly mundane change compared to Arachnos flier raids, Wailer
hordes, Snake burrows, or any of a dozen other ways one could be
injured, killed, or mutated. In the end, the Rogue Isles endured, and
its population hunkered down for the new addition to blow over.
For
Nao, however, the walk into the local Arachnos precinct wasn’t
particularly threatening, even if the Destined One’s right to muck about
didn’t give her some protection. Madigan’s reasons had been her own for
enrolling the young Scimitar in Arachnos’ ground combat forces under a
fake identity, but these days Nao could see the advantages. Operative
Juliet Zhang had access to Arachnos that Kumi Scimitar did not...and the
training had hardened her to the brutal requirements of her real job.
For
now, though, she was enjoying the perks. Wolf Spiders perked up as she
entered, her emerald and gold armor indicating her identity as one of
the elite among their number. It was more than a badge of status; it was
a demonstration that the soldier in question had survived the
initiations set by the sub-set of elite Arachnos troopers that had
already attained their own custom gear. And woe betide any who attempted
to do so unauthorized. Nao ignored the looks for the most part,
concentrating on projecting the proper lack of fear and disdain for
those lower on the food chain than her needed for her role. If any of
the Spiders here scented blood, they’d be on her in a moment. The
retractable claws built into her gauntlets twitched slightly at the
thought.
“Ah,
Operative Zhang,” the quartermaster said as she approached him. “Your
order wasn’t hard to acquire once we received those scanners you managed
to ‘persuade’ Crey to part with. There’s only a few forms to fill out
and everything will be handled.”
“Excellent,
Worthington,” Nao said, taking the clipboard and signing her name and
ID code to it before handing it back. “Was there any resistance?”“Some,
ma’am, but nothing we weren’t able to deal with,” the Wolf Spider said
with a smirk. “The crate is completely sealed and isolated. Until you
open it, nothing’s getting in or out.”
Nao nodded, taking hold of the cart with the large armored crate on it. “Thank you. The fee will be wired to the account.”“Yes, ma’am,” Worthington replied, but Nao’s attention was already elsewhere.
After all, Christmas was nearly here, and there was no way anyone was going to be able to top this.
***
Mickey
was a small time operator. And though this particular job hadn’t been
exceptionally difficult to arrange, as he’d been acting primarily as a
go between, the Family had standards that they adhered to. Tradition and
blood were thicker than money, and thus it was without a trace of irony
that he uttered the typical line completely in fitting with the
cliche’. “You’ve got the money?”
“Of
course,” Galatea said, managing to fit a considerable amount of “are
you really asking me that question?” into two words with only slight
intonation and a raised eyebrow.
“...right,
of course you’ve got the money,” the fence said, thrown off balance by
her complete lack of intimidation. The chick was a Destined One, sure,
but they were a dime a dozen. The Family was big. You’d expect that
there’d be somethng from this little no-name he’d barely heard of. “Well, we got the merchandise then.”“I’m
to be assured it’s authentic?” she asked, her crimson eyes sharpening
as they focused on the small Family operator. “The last time that a
Family nobody like yourself thought he could bully me, he died bleeding
out on the floor. Or has Tommy Fingers been dead so long that I need to
make a new example to encourage proper cooperation?”
The
words were delivered with no malice, threat, or anger. It was a
chilling statement of fact and evaluation that made Mickey certain that
this woman would kill him where he stood if she thought that he was
stiffing her. Abruptly, he found himself reciting his old childhood
Catholic prayers in hopes of not voiding his bowels. “Y-yeah! I checked
it out m’self when I got it from the Whispered Hand. You wanted it, I
got it for ya, no problem!”
Galatea
pinned the Family fence to his chair like a butterfly on a card for a
few moments more before releasing him, pulling up a case and opening it
to reveal several large bundles of large denomination bills. Shutting
it, she slid it across the table.
Mickey,
not wanting to press his new lease on life, snapped his fingers
somewhat shakily, as a pair of muscular mooks brought out a large bag
between them, setting it on the floor. Galatea examined it for a moment
without moving, before nodding. Mickey managed to nod back, not letting
his breath out until the dark haired woman walked out the door, bag over
one shoulder. “Bloody God,” he muttered. “That gal ain’t got blood.
She’s got anti-freeze.”
***
Madigan
was, for once, feeling fairly secure in her day. Christmas had not
caused any massive inconveniences for her, all of her operatives were
now back out of Praetoria without incident, and the new additions to
their number, Ice and Caduceus, had been judged eminently reliable by
Robin and Nena’s independent verification. Even Nena seemed to be more
bright eyed and bushy tailed after that business a few months ago, a
situation that Madigan attributed to her new acquisition, a red haired
young bruiser by the code name of Lithium Cell. Even if she hadn’t been
useful, her bringing Madigan into contact with Battery Acid, who’d gone
looking for her “protege’”, had certainly accelerated Madigan’s own
plans to rely less on Crey resources. All in all, a fairly pleasant
holiday from the early days of chaos, fire, and blood that had marked
her hammering the Scimitars into a reliable unit.
Her
first clue should’ve been the size of the present. Nena slid a rather
sizable gift out from under the tree, the tag saying it was from
Galatea. The young telepath ripped into the gift with abandon, flipping
the lid off, and squealing with glee as the box fell apart and Madigan’s
heart stopped in her chest.
Inside
was a muscular female figure, creatively clad in nothing but a simple
red ribbon looped several times so as to conceal anything and also act
as a source of restraint against movement. White hair and facial
features confirmed themselves with Madigan’s memory even as Nena babbled
an enthusiastic thanks to Galatea. The dark haired woman nodded, before
leaning down by Madigan’s shoulder. “A
duplicate, caught by assassins trying to frame the real Hanagawa for
crimes she hadn’t committed. I purchased her on the chance that having
one of her own would keep Nena from causing problems in the future.
Also, Hanagawa saw her run through by Silent Blade, so she is presumed
dead.”
Madigan blinked, glancing over at her second in command, before her mind began working through what she’d said. The plan was
workable. Nena wans’t interested in physical backup, just physical fun,
and this one was unlikely to attract any attention, given everyone,
including her possible handlers, thought she’d died in her last
confrontation. It was a well-thought through plan that covered their
weaknesses. Just the sort of thing that Galatea would think of. Of
course.
Madigan’s
slowly calming state of mind was interrupted by a small salvo of curses
from nearby, which drew her eye to Nao, Robin, and Jen. The three
Scimitars looked up at her, before abruptly going silent.
“Girls? What is it?” Madigan asked, wary.
Robin and Nao remained silent, before Jen perked up, somewhat comically indignant. “It’s just....Miss Galatea stole our idea!”
“What?”
Madigan said, her mind drawing the obvious conclusion, but her sense of
justice in this world wanting to rail against the concept that this had
happened a little still.
Robin
pressed a button on her PDA while Nao slid a card through a crate with a
bow on it, and Jen snipped the rope on a particularly large, lumpy
sack.
Three similarly decorated and identical Sachie Hanagawas sat in the interiors of all three gifts.
Nena’s
eyes watered up slightly as she looked around, before turning back to
her sisters. “You guys! This is the best Christmas ever!”
Madigan just put a hand to her face, even as Galatea handed her a bottle of aspirin.
It was going to be a long New Year.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
- Star Ranger4 - 01-20-2011
*SNERK* Well, thats one way to deal with all the PHAILCLONES out there!
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children
- ECSNorway - 01-20-2011
*basks in appreciation of the bounty of Sachie-ness*
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
- Valles - 01-21-2011
Nice to see this finally seeing the light of day, Ops. I'm particularly pleased to see Nao 'getting out and about', so to speak. I don't play her as much as I wish I did.
For those who've been wondering, I did know about and approve of this ahead of time. By my count, Nena has received for Christmas:
- Clone Sachie (Redside clone arc)
- Dimension-lost Sachie (Blueside clone arc)
- Mysterious Origin Sachie (Blueside 50 alignment mission)
- Nemesis Sachie (just what it says on the tin)
Thus leaving at large Original Sachie and Praetorian Sachie.
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
- Bob Schroeck - 01-21-2011
Don't forget the Mirror-Universe Sachie, the one with the beard.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- ECSNorway - 01-21-2011
Mirror-Universe Sachie does not have a beard. She has /minions/ for that.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
- Sweno - 01-23-2011
good to know all those Sachies are going to be given good homes
and as a side note: Do the minions have epic beards like this?
(not sure if it's epic win or epic fail, I just know it's epic)
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
- OpMegs - 01-24-2011
Nah, if Alternate!Sachie had a beard, it'd be her husband Tony.
*rimshot*
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
- dark seraph - 01-25-2011
*sits down and reads*
yeah.... Nena really rubs me the wrong way at times.
I feel sorry for the clones, I get the impression most of them will be dead in a few months, but then, they were kidnapped for present.
.... which makes me think that Dib and his Blades a little more saner/nicer than the Scimitars.
...
okay, that just made this even creepier.
Good work OM.
- OpMegs - 01-25-2011
dark seraph Wrote:I feel sorry for the clones, I get the impression most of them will be dead in a few months, but then, they were kidnapped for present.Hardly. That'd be wasteful, and Madigan doesn't tolerate waste. Regardless of their origins, and the fact that they're not *as* good as the original Sachie, each has at least a respectable level of imitating her skill. She's a bit stricken by the concept of the REAL Sachie figuring out her previous situation due to this, but eventually, Madigan will find advantages to be made of it. That's what she does. Nena, by contrast....has been maturing, some. It's not mentioned here because it wasn't precisely relevant, but she has been working with Battery Acid on Madigan's orders, in an attempt to mature her some. A "younger" Nena would've just tired of her toys and thrown them away, but Nena now will keep them around. They're not entirely people to her yet, but the Sachies are in no danger of being discarded.
Also, respectively, this is a second lease on life.
Nemesis Sachie: demolished by some random hero or Sachie herself.
Hero Morality Mish Sachie: Killed by Silent Blade
Villain Clone Arc Sachie: Hunted by anyone that doesn't know she *isn't* the same as Sachie, and tries to take advantage of her brief moment of "letting her guard down".
Hero Clone Arc Sachie: Heroic sacrifice to keep the portal to Praetoria closed.
All of them *should* be dead, but aren't, due to various reasons. It depends on whether you consider working under Nena and the Scimitars to be worse than being dead.
Quote:.... which makes me think that Dib and his Blades a little more saner/nicer than the Scimitars.Well, put bluntly, yes. Regardless of their being Rogues, the Scimitars are still villains. They aren't going to See The Light and join the side of good. They have no reason to. They're strong, and capable of handling themselves. They don't need protection. This doesn't necessarily make them the blackest pit of evil. They're just selfish. Also, sanity is a very variable concept. The craziest of them is Jen, and she's just an addict, not insane. Galatea is willing to kill someone, but that makes her an assassin, not insane. Nena regards a very small proportion of the world population as people that it's worth giving a damn about their opinion, but that makes her narrow minded, not insane. And Madigan is a criminal mastermind, and very, scarily sane.
Are they insane for treating other people as things? I don't know, what does that make someone who makes hundreds of mass bred killing machines shaped like people and sends them off to die? The Sachies will be treated with respect as people, given they are people. They were just drafted, in a sense. And none of them will really want to leave. Yes, Nena took away their choice in the matter, but this means that instead of being dead, as mentioned above, they're loyally dedicated to a rather enthusiastic if scatter brained lover, covered by Madigan's own net of "you mess with mine, we mess with yours", and are even being trained further to develop their skills at assassination and other talents so they'll be valuable employees. They'll be paid, housed, and fed for nothing more than being willing to work with Madigan. The only reason this could be seen as a bad thing is the fact they had no choice in the initial interview. But does that inherently taint the entire thing? Or do the pros outweigh the cons in a place like the Rogue Isles where they could have simply been Vahzilok fodder or Snake chow?
In the end, the Scimitars are villains, and their motivations and personalities are inherently "I get what I can take from the world, because the world never gave me anything." This is selfish. This is, probably, evil. But in the end, they're villains. If they weren't, they'd be over in Paragon and Sabres.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
- dark seraph - 01-26-2011
wow, didn't expect such a reply, but it dose give me great insite to the smilaritys and diffrences between the Scimitars and the Baldes, the sane coment can be thrown out the window.
but I see the major diffrence between the Blades and Scimitars (besides numbers
), Dib treats the baldes well, gives them jobs, homes and all that, but he is still slightly paranoid, so if any of the Blades acted like the example you gave for the Scimitarts, he would stand them down, see if it could be fixed. If not, depending how extream it is... if it's an adiciton, a hard detox... if it's something like Nena... I doubt Dib could risk something like that in his operation, so a bullet in the brain.But this also gives me some story ideas for down the track as well, and makes me relaise I actuly need to write some more for Dib, if only to set some facts straight
- Bob Schroeck - 01-26-2011
Quote:ScimitartsThat was probably accidental, but damn if I don't think someone in the Rogue Isles isn't already calling them that. (Quietly, privately, in very isolated locations where they can't be overheard.)
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
- dark seraph - 01-26-2011
Bob Schroeck Wrote:and this kiddies is why DS shouldn't post before he has his morning mug o coffeeQuote:ScimitartsThat was probably accidental, but damn if I don't think someone in the Rogue Isles isn't already calling them that. (Quietly, privately, in very isolated locations where they can't be overheard.)