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Post by lucius on Dec 12, 2009 19:56:03 GMT -5
Overhead the loud screech of the monorail sliding along its tracks added to the noises that surrounded the Tokyo Settlement. Car horns beeped at one another and the streets were abnormally crowded and chatty. Standing on a particular sidewalk facing in the direction of the Viceroy's Palace was Lucius, who seemed to be lost in his own, isolated dimension of thought. Just looking upon the building reminded Lucius of his purpose in life and of the rare feeling of hatred that lay dormant deep within his heart.
Samuel... your death will not be in vain, he thought solemnly. Passersby looked at Lucius in confusion, taking a moment to see what he was gazing at. When they noticed it was just the Viceroy's administrative palace, they shrugged their shoulders and resumed their business.
Suddenly, Lucius' spacing out was interrupted by disturbing laughter and grunting. He turned to his left and his eyes fell upon a well-dressed, mustached, burly looking man. He was facing a wall of a nearby administrative building. Leaning along that building in what seemed to be an uncomfortable position was a beat-up looking man. In Britannian terms, an Eleven. Lucius' eyes squinted in disgust and he sighed. Taking a few deep breaths through his nostrils in order to sooth himself, he calmly walked over in the direction of dispute. Such a site of discrimination was unfortunately common in the Areas, as it had been over a century before.
"Ha! You dirty Eleven! Look at you! You and your kind are in the exact same place as you were a century ago! Isn't that one hell of a funny joke or what!? Ha ha ha!"
The Eleven cringed with mix feelings of pain, fear, and submission. There was no way, legally nor physically, that he could resist the Britannian. His eyes filled with despair and tears as he realized the futility of clinging to past dreams. He looked down at the ground with his teary eyes, water dropping from them and hitting the ground, staining it with sadness. The Britannian continued to laugh contently at the spectacle. No one on the streets intervened.
Suddenly, the ground that the Eleven had been looking upon became darker as a shadow loomed over it. The Eleven looked up to see Lucius, who bore a warm and reassuring smile on his face. He slowly extended an arm out to the Eleven, who merely looked at him in awe and bewilderment.
"Are you okay? Please, allow me to help you up," Lucius requested politely, waiting for the Eleven to grasp his hand. The beat up man did so, and Lucius gently pulled him up from the wall. The Britannian stopped laughing.
"Hey, what do you think you're--"
After pulling the Eleven to his feet, Lucius reaching into his right pocket and pulled out his wallet. Taking out an equivalent of fifty dollars, he placed the money in the Eleven's hand. The Britannian stared in extreme confusion, which turned to anger as his face reddened. The Eleven's tears stopped surfacing, but his eyes widened and he felt as if he was dreaming. Was a Britannian really giving him money? Was that truly possible?
"Please, take it. Use it as you desire."
The Eleven simply nodded. He looked at Lucius, at the abusive Britannian, then back at Lucius. Beaming with a huge grin, he darted away, heading down the street back in the direction of home, which Lucius assumed was one of the impoverished ghettos.
Lucius watched the man run away in happiness, himself satisfied. The Britannian continued to yell at him, though Lucius ignored his rabble. He began walking back down the street, leaving the other man fuming yet unable to do anything rash in public.
"If only I had a true method of fighting back. If only there was some way I could bring peace quickly and not be doomed to wait for it."
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Post by aleksei on Dec 12, 2009 20:06:27 GMT -5
Aleksei looked up at the Viceroy's Administrative Palace with his arms crossed he had a look of slight disgust on his face. It was the very image of improper use of power. He glanced down when he heard the commotion going on nearby it seemed a Britannian was abusing a poor Eleven he shook his head and sighed he felt slight pity for the Eleven. He had no means of defending himself not in a place like this where the very person beating him could have him killed in an instant.
Aleksei was tempted to pull out his .45 handgun from it holster right now and shoot the Britannian dead. He was already notorious enough already killing one Britannian would mean nothing. But he stopped when he saw another Britannian help the Eleven he shrugged and began to walk toward the angered Britannian.
"Perhaps you should try fighting someone who fights back and then you can call yourself superior to him" Aleksei said.
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Post by lucius on Dec 12, 2009 20:25:57 GMT -5
"Perhaps you should try fighting someone who fights back and then you can call yourself superior to him."
"Hm? What's this?" Lucius spoke to himself out loud, turning back to face the Britannian once more. He noticed that a new man had appeared, and he directly reprimanded the abuser. With a smirk on his face, Lucius casually returned to the quarrel. As he was walking, the angry Brit was responding to Aleksei.
"Tch, why you--" the man's hands curled into fists as he fought with himself to control his rage. It seemed that it was a losing battle. Veins protruded near the man's temple, and the bigot was about to lunge at Aleksei at any moment. However, he saw a glint of force and power in his eyes, and he relaxed a bit. The man's face was still red and flustered.
"Fine. That piece of shit Eleven doesn't deserve my attention. I'll be going now." The last words of the man were spent trying to save face as he left, a little afraid of Aleksei. By the time the dispute was over, Lucius had returned to the site. He now stood on Aleksei's right, watching the Britannian take his leave.
"I would never have expected another person to assume my stance. Especially not here in the Tokyo Settlement. You have my thanks," Lucius said, turning to look at Aleksei.
"If I may introduce myself, I am Lucius Elizar Cantor. Although I am a Britannian, I align myself with justice. It is a shame to see such sights on the streets, and even worse to know that they are common occurrences."
Lucius extended his hand forward to Aleksei, politely anticipating a handshake and a response.
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Post by aleksei on Dec 13, 2009 5:05:41 GMT -5
Aleksei shook Lucius's hand "a pleasure to meet you I am Aleksei Sevchenko" Aleksei said using his fake name he often did not talk to people or stay in one place for too long
"It is a shame that such things occur but we must learn to face these things in our own ways even though not all of them are socially acceptable" Aleksei said glancing at the retreating man
"He's afraid because he's encountered someone he can't step on and someone who is willing to stand up for another that is how you can help stop things like this you give them something greater to fear" Aleksei said
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Post by lucius on Dec 13, 2009 12:39:54 GMT -5
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Aleksei Sevchenko."
Lucius firmly shook Aleksei's hand, happy he had found someone with similar views to his own. At least, for first impressions.
"The pleasure is mine," he replied to Aleksei. Lucius was then silent as the Ukrainian spoke.
"It is a shame that such things occur, but we must learn to face these things in our own ways, even though not all of them are socially acceptable... He's afraid because he's encountered someone he can't step on and someone who is willing to stand up for another. That is how you can help stop things like this: you give them something greater to fear."
"Heh Heh, Fear, eh? Lucius replied, chuckling at Aleksei's response. His views an that subject were a little different, but not much. Lucius believed that force was necessary to bring about peace. In other words, it was required to use force against force. Lucius did not like to scare others, however, so he did not rely on fear. He did not want the new world to resemble that which it had replaced.
"It is true that fear is an effective method in combating injustice. Intimidation can keep nobles off the backs of the helpless. However, because of my own values, I personally do not like utilizing fear. Though I surely will not stop you if you use it for justice," Lucius commented, his tone more solemn than the cheerful feeling it had only a moment ago. "I do believe that force is certainly necessary. It need not be fearful; a simply demanding and powerful embodiment of force will suffice. People respect force as much as they fear... well, fear. And I do recognize that the two often go hand-in-hand."
Lucius paused for a moment to let his words sink in. He also watched the Britannian disappear into the sea of the crowd. Once his presence was truly gone, he turned back to Aleksei.
"If I may inquire, Mr. Sevchenko, what is it that you do for a living?"
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Post by aleksei on Dec 13, 2009 20:51:07 GMT -5
Aleksei listened to what Lucius had to say and smiled at his response. "What you say is very true Mr.Cantor I admit that sometimes fear is not always the most effective way of changing things and that sometimes a more forceful approach is necessary" Aleksei said raising his fist in emphasis
"As for what I do for a living I am a... Soldier in a certain sense" Aleksei said thinking back to his years as part of the Spetsnaz Guard Brigade in Russia
"Most of the fighting I do is for another purpose than the one we are currently speaking about" Aleksei said
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Post by lucius on Dec 13, 2009 21:54:39 GMT -5
"As for what I do for a living, I am a... soldier, in a certain sense."
In a certain sense. My, how vague and interesting. Before Lucius could comment, Aleksei continued with his answer. Lucius grinned with mild satisfaction as he listened to the man's words.
"Most of the fighting I do is for another purpose than the one we are currently speaking about."
Yes, he is certainly quite vague. I do hope it's not impolite to assume he is not a Britannian soldier. Well, in order not to make any incorrect judgments or mistakes, I will try to be upfront about my impressions without offending him.
Lucius looked at the face of the mysterious Aleksei, his own still grinning. He was pleased to run into this man, though he realized that the other was more reclusive and cautious compared to the more outgoing and kind Lucius.
"If I may, I would assume you are not a Britannian soldier? You do not need to answer me if you are not comfortable. Your status would seem that way because you do not harbor the same feelings that are custom to them. In other words, your recent actions are contradictory to that of a normal Britannian military man. But, if you were a soldier from another nation, I doubt you would tell me which. After all, you do not want such public things out in the open. But then that leads me to think even further into this. If you are a soldier from another nation, you could potentially be an enemy to Britannia."
Lucius took a moment to pause and take a breath before continuing. He kept a warm smile on his face to assure Aleksei that he was not interrogating him, but merely stating his impression. Lucius knew that, if Aleksei did work for another nation and was here secretly, he would not reveal it or would jeopardize his mission.
"Yet, if that were the case, I doubt you would make your beliefs so widely known," Lucius remarked, referring to the case earlier. "So, if you are indeed a soldier of sorts, I would guess you are not affiliated to Britannia. Ha ha, your obscurity is very interesting."
Lucius chuckled after he was finished speaking. He hoped he did not put Aleksei in an uneasy position. He was merely talking to him. In fact, if this man was indeed a soldier that had ties to anti-Britannian cells, Lucius was quite willing to rub shoulders with such people. He may be a kind-hearted, peace seeking, and noble man, but he would not be idle against Britannia's corruption and its encouragement of humanity's vileness.
Lucius waited for Aleksei's response, ready to pay keen attention to his body language and speech.
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Post by aleksei on Dec 14, 2009 23:12:34 GMT -5
Aleksei glanced at Lucius "Well you are an Intelligent one I am a former Spetsnaz from Russia I have done things that should make me an Enemy of Britannia however due to the fact that I am resigned from the service of the EU Supernationalist Army I have been forgiven for the things I had done" Aleksei said he was very persuasive and instinctivly gave Lucius a fake backround some of it was true but some of it wasn't
"And am I to assume that such a bright and noble person such as you is a normal person or is there more to you than meets the eye?" Aleksei asked
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Post by lucius on Dec 15, 2009 0:31:08 GMT -5
"Well, you are an Intelligent one. I am a former Spetsnaz from Russia. I have done things that should make me an Enemy of Britannia. However, due to the fact that I am resigned from the service of the EU Supernationalist Army, I have been forgiven for the things I had done."
Oh? He felt comfortable enough to tell me. If he has been forgiven, than it is understandable.
Lucius remained silently, politely and attentively listening to Aleksei.
"And am I to assume that such a bright and noble person such as you is a normal person, or is there more to you than meets the eye?"
Lucius laughed out a loud at this inquiry. His laugh was soft and cheery.
"Well, I am technically a normal citizen. I have no connections to the military. In fact, I am currently unemployed. I graduated recently from Ashford Academy, if that suffices for anything interesting."
Lucius' eyes squinted as if they sought to peer into Aleksei's very being. Lucius did not want to seem rude, but he was quite interested in the Russian. He wanted to know what could have been forgiven. Also, Lucius felt that there was an air around Aleksei. This air was not one of just mystery, but of conspiracy. Lucius just felt as if this man was not completely clean. This didn't mean that Lucius was alarmed. In fact, if Aleksei had found another avenue for anti-Britannian work, Lucius may have finally found his way to take his first step on the path to achieving his dream. Lucius decided to tempt Aleksei with an excerpt from his past.
"When I was still a student and Britannia had resumed its century old policies, my brother and a few other students went to the Viceroy's building to protest. They were all gunned down. It was a massacre. From that day onward, I have longed to achieve peace, and I recognized that the only way it would come about would be with force. In other words, to fight force, one must use force."
When Lucius was speaking, he had taken his eyes off of Aleksei. They were now open normally, gazing at the direction of the Viceroy's building. It was blocked partially by the figure of another skyscraper, but Lucius could never forget where that building was.
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Post by aleksei on Dec 15, 2009 4:04:37 GMT -5
Aleksei cast a side glance at Lucius and sighed "If your looking for a resistance cell you've got the wrong person I'm not a revolutionary or a freedom fighter if that is what your looking for" Aleksei said crossing his arms and looking up at the building
"Your brother...it takes alot of bravery to try to achieve peace the way he did" Aleksei said part of him respected people who tried to find a peaceful way to end wars but it always ended bad for them
Aleksei decided to give Lucius something true from his past "I was born in the Ukraine and was recruited into the army when I was 14 I deserted and came home. my sister Dasha was killed during the war between the EU supernationalist army and Britannia while my sister Tanya whithered away from sickness" Aleksei said ending his small excerpt into his life
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Post by lucius on Dec 15, 2009 17:18:08 GMT -5
"If you're looking for a resistance cell, you've got the wrong person. I'm not a revolutionary or a freedom fighter, if that is what you're looking for."
"Oh, no, I did not mean to pressure you or make such hints. Forgive me," Lucius said quickly, bowing his head respectfully. He was grinning while he spoke, though he always seemed to be happy. Or at least politely joyous. He resumed his silent listening when Aleksei continued speaking. Lucius returned to glance at the Viceroy's palace while he spoke, as if he was reflecting on both of their pasts and tragedies.
"Your brother... it takes alot of bravery to try to achieve peace the way he did. I was born in the Ukraine and was recruited into the army. When I was 14, I deserted and came home. My sister Dasha was killed during the war between the EU supernationalist army and Britannia while my sister Tanya whithered away from sickness."
Lucius paused and admitting silence to come between them. His immediately faded with Aleksei's comments. His face now bore a look of stern sadness. Without looking at Aleksei, he opened his mouth to speak after a moment of gloomy reflection.
"I'm sorry. Truly, we have both suffered through unfortunate experiences. I have further come to realize just how universal pain is."
Lucius sighed.
Will it ever end?
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Post by setsuna on Dec 15, 2009 17:48:27 GMT -5
Aurora was walking down the streets. She had eyes and ears everywhere... and Area 11 was no exception. Wraiths had notified her of Aleksei's presence in the Tokyo Settlement again. Normally she would have ordered the Wraiths to dispose of him on sight, but there was something about the international terrorist that made Aurora curious. The attack on the Irkalla facility in Tokyo was too reckless... it was clear to her Aleksei didn't really mean for it to succeed. It had to be a test... and that was just the sort of thing she would have done. It was interesting to be, for once, on the other side of a test.
Aurora seemed alone, but this was never the case. Wraiths and Sentinels had secured the perimeter discretely. While other people in her position would have sent a representative, Aurora preferred to do things personally. Sure she had plenty of people able and willing, but that wasn't how she did business... or anything else for that matter.
Aurora was wearing a strapless long dark purple dress with a slit on her right leg up to her hip. She had a black belt around her waist, her usual sunglasses on her face, and short-heeled shoes. She carried with her a closed parasol, her every step accompanied by a natural sway of her hips. She was truly like a super-model in every sense of the word... which comes to no surprise as Irkalla's fashion department is world-renown.
Aurora walked close to the two men, taking off her sunglasses, "Aleksei, my good old friend, fancy seeing you here!" she exclaimed, followed by her usual seductive purr of a chuckle. She looked at Lucius, raising her brows as she smiled at him, "Oh! I do apologize. I hope I'm not interrupting anything..." Aurora offered her hand to Lucius, "Aurora Gallows. And who might you be, handsome gentleman?"
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Post by aleksei on Dec 15, 2009 22:57:58 GMT -5
Aleksei was slightly suprised to see Aurora approach him "Oh hello Aurora I'm suprised as well to see you here" Aleksei said smiling he really was happy to finally be able to meet Aurora in person
"This young gentlemen is Lucius Cantor I believe he is a graduate from Ashford Academy we were just sharing a few things about ourselves" Aleksei said
"Lucius this is Aurora she is the CEO of Irkalla Corporation as you probably know" Aleksei said he glanced around a bit no doubt Aurora would have some sort of defense set up in case he tried anything from what he has learned from the woman she was always well prepared
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Post by lucius on Dec 15, 2009 23:45:27 GMT -5
"Aleksei, my good old friend, fancy seeing you here!"
"Hm?"
Lucius was surprised to see a lady heading toward them. It appeared she knew Aleksei. Lucius could not recognize who she was, and thus she was a stranger. Lucius was always kind to strangers.
"Oh! I do apologize. I hope I'm not interrupting anything..." Aurora offered her hand to Lucius, "Aurora Gallows. And who might you be, handsome gentleman?"
"This young gentlemen is Lucius Cantor. I believe he is a graduate from Ashford Academy. We were just sharing a few things about ourselves."
"Indeed," Lucius said, smiling once more and nodding in agreement. Before he could do anything, Aleksei proceeded to introduce the fine lady.
"Lucius, this is Aurora. She is the CEO of Irkalla Corporation, as you probably know."
"Oh!? I was not aware. Forgive me, and it is a pleasure to meet you," Lucius said to Aurora after introductions were done. He gracefully took her extended hand with his right. But, instead of a handshake, he lightly kissed the back of her hand. This was not unusual; Lucius' courtesy was just as renown as his manners.
"I am quite surprised to be talking to such an important and influential person," he stated, his eyes looking into Aurora's. Without her sunglasses, they could exchange eye contact.
"I am quite interested to learn: when did you both meet?"
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Post by setsuna on Dec 16, 2009 0:04:07 GMT -5
Aurora's smile widened as Lucius kissed the back of her hand, which was just the action she was hoping for. She covered her mouth gently as she giggled with delight, "Influential? I sure hope I am. This world needs so much help." she was charmed by his manners. She offered her usual flirtatious smile, looking back into his eyes. Aurora was a master of business relations, as well as a rather honest person. Sure she hid the military department of Irkalla from the world... but she didn't lie when she said she wanted to make the world better. Her vision was a world without war. However, that vision was far from accomplished, and until then, as they say, 'when in rome...'
Aurora smirked at Aleksei as Lucius asked how they met, "Let's just say our first meeting was a truly memorable one. Aleksei here made quite an impression on me from the get-go." she chuckled, winking to Aleksei playfully.
The Sentinels overlooking the perimeter were well hidden, though Aleksei, being who he was, probably spotted at least two of them hidden behind tinted windows in nearby buildings, armed with sniper rifles. The Wraiths?... well, any 'civilian' in the area could be a potential Wraith, ready to attack with surgical precision.
Aurora, however, was truly relaxed and carefree at the moment... which was rather usual of her, "By the way, Aleksei, dear, I do want to schedule a formal meeting with you if at all possible. I know you are a busy man, but I'm sure we can arrange something that will fit both our schedules." she smiled seductively, her eyes then turning to Lucius, "So, Mr. Cantor... Ashford Academy graduate? How fascinating! I have never met a graduate from Ashford. Come to think of it... I've never even visited the prestigious school. I tend to aim my attention towards the unfortunate. I highly doubt Ashford needs any donations from me." she giggled.
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