Chapter 9 & 10 Intermission 5

[Ray of Meep]

Co-authored by: Ray of Meep (GM), Acewing13, ArsenicJohn, Ikate Keda Studios, TheCountryWarrior

2320, Early May

Earth, Sicily, Catania Spaceport

The Lancers waited outside fence that separated the runways and landing pads from the spaceport's station itself. They were standing on artificial extension of the island, covered by black ashphalt. A plain of it extended past of fences, past aerospace traffic control, before rather abruptly ending at the sea, which carried further to the horizon, kissing the sky, deep and light blue.

Ulrike was in a light green dress that barely went past the knees, with a thin, white jacket over it, along with a summer hat. She also wore a necklace with red tinted gems. Between the more-extensive-than-average makeup, which was frankly non-existent most of the time, and the careful blend of colors of her attire, Ulrike was clearly trying to impress someone. A Falcon Century emerged from the clouds with a roar, the reverse torch descending towards one of the pads with a brilliant blue flame at its bottom. Ulrike's datawatch buzzed correspondingly. "That's ours." She notified the team. "Time to head inside."

Juan perhaps was less dressed up, not so much from a lack of care but of a lack of much fancy clothing at all, though he'd made an effort to clean himself up. He'd been waiting a long time for this, or at the very least it felt like a long time. If only he'd managed to fix that problem before today, it would be perfect. The time never came, he never had the chance, as much as he wanted to, to really prepare the way for Joan yet. There was still something he had to do. But that wasn't important today. He followed Ulrike inside the building, his mind set on what he intended to do.

Bee wasn't as stressed as her two longest colleagues, so didn't spend as much time worrying about her appearance. Still, there was someone to show off to, so she wasn't in her perferred sweatshirt and joggers. Instead, she was dressed in a knee-length bright blue dress, with a modest neckline contrasting an open-back. "Almost like they've been missing someone, huh?" she asked Sera, looking over her shoulder as she followed Ulrike.

Sera smiled and nodded. “It’s been a fast two weeks for me as a new hire, but it must have felt like forever for Ulrike and Juan.” She said quietly. She wore a simple flowery dress that ended a little below her knees and pink flip flops. Hannibal followed beside her with his tail flat, ice blue eyes watching dutifully for any dangers.

--------------------------------

The station itself was a simple arch extruded forward, complex webs of support crawling up the ceiling and walls that was meant to look vaguely aesthetically pleasing. Out from the gates poured a steady stream of people from all walks of life, a few space-borne, who walked with crutches. Ulrike watched the passerby's one by one, unconsciously gripping one wrist with the other hand with her gaze attentive.

Finally, a blonde, pale man walked forward, pushing along a tall brown haired woman in a wheel chair. He was wearing a nice collared shirt, while the woman was wearing a simpler but more comfortable jacket. When Ulrike spotted the two, she silently walked forward with a brisk pace. Nodding to Joan quickly, Ulrike then descended on her husband, a mouth on mouth kiss that was perhaps too much public display of affection.

Juan barely had time to be amused that he and Ulrike had the same idea, but if anything it was encouragement, and it meant she couldn't tell him off for unprofessionalism. He had beelined directly for Joan, ignoring Ulrike and Eber's embrace as he reached his woman, leaned down, placed a hand on the back of her head, and kissed her, sparing no thought for the public. The public could go screw itself, for the first time in a while he felt slightly more at ease with the world, as broken as it was. He didn't feel like breaking the kiss off just yet. Just a few more second, he thought.

"Das enough Juan," Joan finally whispered, lightly wheeling herself backwards a little. "Gonna take a bit'o geh'in used ta, but ah'm figurin dis chair out somefing or ovah. Ah 'ope da dusties didn't treat ya poorly," She said, starting to actually push herself slowly down the hall of the port. "Dere 'aving a time wif everyfing goin on..." She frowned.

Juan was sad to leave the kiss behind, but they needed to stop eventually or nothing would get done. He walked beside her, one hand on a handle in case she asked him to push her. "They're good kids, I love them. They're processing this, same as us, maybe a bit better than me." He frowned, the mood soured. It would have been inevitable anyway, it just would have been nice to put it off for a while. "I hate your mother by the way," he added, rolling his eyes.

"She's a cunt," Joan sighed. "But she's bettah den da alternatives," She added, continuing to look about. "She'll treat em lightyears beh'ah den she did me, da's for sure," She continued.

"She's not making a good impression despite that." He shrugged. "Or maybe she hates me, which is entirely plausible." His hand fell to her shoulder, lightly caressing down her arm, it had almost become natural to him to touch her like that, and he had missed the feeling of closeness.

Beatrix smiled at the paired off couples, especially the one that she'd helped ship into being. That was a fun, if somewhat stressful few months, she thought, well, before the whole shit show with her ex, but that worked out at the end. Seeing Joan and Juan coming, she walked up and gave the other woman a hug. "Great to have you around again," she said, with a chuckle. "Only been a few weeks, but you'd think it was longer by some people's reactions."

"Ello Bee," Joan said, giving the woman a tighter hug. "You would fink dat, wouldn'cha?" She asked, sitting back in her chair a little. "Been quite da trip gitten used ta dis chair. Poked meself about wif a stick on da ship. 'ere, not as easy ta do dat.

Standing back a few feet while Bee and Joan caught up, Sera felt awkward. She didn’t really know any of the crew as well as they all knew each other. She wore a simple dress with comfortable pink flip flop sandals. The fact that most of them were in relationships didn’t help any. She didn’t know how to act around Joan so she gave her a polite smile.

“Good to see you down here on Earth. Juan’s been moody, maybe your presence will help him lighten up.” Sera said.

 

[Ray of Meep]

" 'es always moody," Joan smiled, looking up at Juan. "An ah dun fink ah've given 'im any reasons not ta be in da recent past," She said, looking at Sera. "Ah dun fink ah'll be da magic bullet dat fixes 'im up, but ah'll give 'er a shot ta try in smoove 'im out."

Once Ulrike was done smooching Eberhard, she looked back at the group and announced with a smile. "Let's head back to the headquarters. Derek's been preparing a welcome back lunch!"

As the group walked forward back to the shuttles though, Ulrike quickly turned reserved, staying in the back of the group with her husband. "I'm glad you and Joan are back. Today's the first time I've seen Juan smile in a while. I'm worried about him." She remarked in a low voice, but loud enough for the group to hear. "I hope his mental state will improve within the next three days."

"The next three days..." Eberhard thought out loud. He walked with a slight limp, occassionally losing his balance, the result of Earth's seemingly infinite environment overwhelming his senses, along with its ample gravity. "Iran, right?"

Ulrike nodded. Eberhard then asked. "And he hasn't gone to Rome yet."

Ulrike shook her head. "Not sure he will, now that Joan's back."

Juan was listening, try as might to avoid the truth. He knew what he had to do, and now that Joan was back it was paramount he went through with it. God, he must be crazy, he thought, thinking this in any way was the right thing to do. But it was the only thing that made sense to him. He'd find a shrink afterward if he had to. Besides, Iran was a problem anyway, he might not even get a chance. Right now he could try to be happy. He looked back down to Joan, returning her smile with one of his own. "Hey, you're my magic bullet, alright?" He held her shoulder, shrugging. "I'm just hard to put down is all. I'll smooth myself out eventually, now that I've got you back."

Bee walked slightly behind Joan and Juan, still enjoying the lovey-dovey atmosphere. Something Eberhard said stuck out and brought her out of her idle thoughts. "Wait, what about Iran?" she asked, slowing down her walk until she was even with the Germans.

"Afghanistan is feeling emboldened to declare independence against the AU right now." Eberhard explained. "Its extremists are seeping into its neighbors' territories, including Iran. We're getting sent there preemptively."

"Ahh, fun," Beatrix said, frowning as she thought that over. "Well, so long as we're not going into Afghanistan itself. No one has a good track record at dealing with insurgents there."

Sera was relieved she hadn’t said the wrong thing. Her steps slowed until she fell behind to Bee and the Graus. She hooked her arm around Bee’s and took her hand. Looking up at her and smiling, she pressed in close and put her head against Bee’s shoulder. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment, but she didn’t try to move away. It didn’t seem to occur to her that they were talking about something serious.

Joan sighed, once the talk of work was brought back up, turning to pay attention to literally anything else when she saw Beatrix and the new girl being all cuddly. She blinked, looking at Beatrix for a second, then back at Sera. Her attention finally settled on Beatrix. "Oi!" She said, waving her finger between the two. "So, ah set up a time ta git a shag wif ya, and ya lock me in a fuckin room wif Juan 'ere. Now ah see ah'm gone a week, in ya are being all dovey wif da new girl? Yer da one 'oo said ya wan'ed ta sleep wif me!"

"They knew each other for like a week before it started, which is impressive." Juan shook his head, head still looking forward to make sure the path was still clear. "And hey!" He looked down to Joan with a faux hurt smile, "you act as if I was the lesser option! You wound me madam. I like to think I'm quite the kisser."

"You were busy with Juan," Bee said, smiling as she turned and kissed the top of Sera's head, then leaned her cheek against the other woman's head. "If you want to settle the rain check, then I'm good to go. Though I think Juan might object if I go first."

"Oh you can fuck off wif worryin bout 'im," Joan rolled her eyes. " e'd probably only huff if ya said 'e couldn' watch 'e would," She said, waving a hand dismissively at Juan. "Dun even lie bout dat," She said to Juan. "Ah'm not blind, ah caught yer eye lingerin' a few moments longer in a few choice places," She added, smiling a little.

Juan's smile faltered, and he looked back to the path ahead. "Yeah, once upon a time. Then I managed to get in with you," he smiled again, "so why in hell would I need her?" He shoved a thumb back towards Bee. "And I'm not just watching if it ever gets that far. I don't 'just watch'. I'm not Bee's beta ass lawyer toy."

Sera’s eyes widened and she giggled at Bee. “You’re in high demand, aren’t you, Beatrix? I guess they have good taste.” She said, shrugging. “I’m not against having another person involved, but I’m not sure about two more.”

"The man doth protest too much, methinks," Beatrix said, rolling her eyes before turning her focus back on Sera. "I'll let you set the pace," she said, rubbing their clasped hands against the fabric of her dress.

Ulrike and Eberhard gave a look to each other. Ulrike's face was difficult, but Eberhard was trying to hide a smirk. "Bee, did you tell Mr. Cross about... this?" He asked lightly, his finger making a circle around her and Sera.

"Let's just say this isn't the first time I brought someone home?" Bee said with a chuckle. "Of course, that's up to you whether you want to come, Sera. He's fun, but if you're not into that, no problem."

 

[Ray of Meep]

Hannibal walked on the opposite side of Sera. He whined at Sera and she looked over at him. “Aww, don’t be jealous. More belly rubs with two of us.” She said, trying to convince him. The dog huffed and pushed his head into her other hand. She rubbed his head, scratching behind his ears. He seemed appeased, for now.

Sera blinked and shrugged. “I would have to meet him first, I think. I’m sure he’s cute if you picked him.” She said, flashing Bee a grin.

"I'll show you some pictures when we get back to base," Beatrix said, returning the smile. "And maybe Hannibal will return my affection too, if I'm around more."

Ulrike went red, while Eberhard burst out laughing, grabbing unwanted attention from passerby. "Yeah, just make sure to tell the lawyer who saved Joan's children that he's getting competition from the new girl and a dog! Oh man," He wiped a tear from his eye, "It's good to be back."

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The lunch back at the headquarters was fried sandwiches, Ulrike's recipe, with mushroom fries on the side, a Derek special. The entire team was sitting, some more permanently than others, in the kitchen area, finishing up their meals. At this point Eberhard changed into more comfortable attire, a simple white T-shirt and some exercise pants.

Juan hadn't changed as his outfit had been mostly casual as is. He sat now by Joan for lunch, though an astute observer would realize he hadn't left her side for some time now, and since she'd returned he's seemed far happier than the days before.

Joan however was tense, focusing on her food while Luna sat across from her. While Joan was firmly focused on eating, her gaze almost capable of double frying her meal, Luna was staring through Joan, lost in space it seemed. The only real indication that she was even alive was the fact her chest moved up and down slowly. The seating chart was poorly executed, and even Joan struggled to come up with a valid complaint given her quiet demeanor.

Bee sat hip to hip with Sera, her left arm wrapping around the other woman's waist while finishing off her fries with her free hand. "So, what do you think?" she asked, looking between Sera and the datapad with a couple of pictures of Julian.

Hannibal had finished eating long before the humans and sat in the corner watching everyone. Sera snagged a fry from Bee’s plate and looked at Bee’s datapad while chewing, tapping through the pictures. She was unable to hide her surprise. “Hmm, doesn’t look like the type of man I would picture you with. You must have a more emotional connection. I admit to being envious.” Sera answered after swallowing her fry.

“He has a boyish charm, I suppose. Could be fun.” She admitted, giving Bee a conspiratorial wink. “I still want to meet him. As long as he’s a good guy and we get along, I should have no objections.”

"He'll be delighted to meet you, I'm sure," Beatrix said, smiling as she leaned in and kissed the other woman's cheek. "Though I think I want you to myself for at least a little while."

Ulrike stood up, putting away both hers and Eberhard's dishes into the dishwasher. Her husband followed, circling the table to first give Hannibal a good, hefty scratch around the neck. The large pup let out a content whimper as he addressed the team. "Juan, Beatrix, care to go out on a walk? Sera..." He eyed the stone faced Aos Si druid, "... and Luna can come too. Probably should."

Juan's generally chipper demeanor faltered, as he guessed at what this meeting would entail. The Grau's knew about his mission, to an extent, the mission he'd assigned himself. If Joan wasn't invited he'd have to tell her himself at some point, though before or after was the question in his mind. Before seemed the obvious choice, he held no secrets from her but those that were so far in the past that he too had forgotten most of them. Granted, that was mostly his fault. What if she tried to stop him? No, the worry was that she could quite easily stop him, for her he'd have stopped in his tracks at any time. His smile was gone, replaced by what could be described as a placeholder expression, just something neutral instead of the content he'd felt seconds before.

He stood up, giving a shrug, taking the plates he'd used to the sink. "You're the boss, boss. I go where you tell me to go, for the most part."

"A walk sounds good," Bee said, standing up and stacking her and Sera's plates. "Are you finished, Joan?"

"Ah'll be fine," Joan said to Beatrix, giving her a faint smile. "Ah could use a nap anyway. Gravi'y makes rolling bout 'arder," she said simply, pushing herself back from the table. "Ah'll see e'ryone when dey comes back. Feel free tah join me if ya 'ave time," she added, looking at Juan before rolling out.

"Nothing sounds more appealing love." He gave a smile, watching her roll out. When she was gone, the smile fell too.

Once she was gone, Luna finally blinked. It was slow, deliberate, and far too convenient in its timing, as her head turned to everyone else. "Oh..." She said, seeming a little surprised everyone was there. "Are we doing something?"

"Yeah, we're all going on a walk," Bee said, taking the rest of the plates to the sink. "Ready to go?"

 

[Ray of Meep]

Sera looked disappointed and a little confused. She picked up on something in the way Juan reacted and figured it would be a good idea to keep her mouth shut. Rising from her seat, she nodded. “Ready. Hannibal, let’s go walk.” She said. The big dog was up immediately, standing by the door with his tail wagging. Sera walked over to the door and opened it, holding it for the others.

While it was at noon, in early May in the 24th century, closing in on summer, the relatively high altitude in the Sicilian countryside made the temperature comfortable to light jackets and short sleeves alike. Eberhard still walked with a slight limp, careful in his steps, but he was whistling, and in a generally pleasant mood. After walking out towards the outskirts of the headquarters for a few minutes and into the mountanious countryside, he began to speak.

"Derek, Jami and I are getting sent to North Africa to help with matters there. Ulrike's going to take care of things on the homefront with Joan." He eyed the team. "You four will be going to Iran by yourselves."

"So, what in particular are we going to be doing?" Beatrix asked, frowning as she considered the prospect of being relatively isolated in a foreign country.

"Suppressing extremist rebellions, basically. Details will change by the time you arrive." Eberhard explained. "The turmoil from AU's Afghanistan is spilling out." He then sighed. "Centuries of work in jeopordy by fucking robots... These are going to be stressful times. I need you all in peak physical---" Eberhard eyed Juan. "---and mental condition. You have three days to make peace where there's still peace."

Luna was silent for a moment, then she shrugged her shoulders dismissively, turning to Eberhard. "You seem in a rather cheerful mood," She said, looking out towards the base. "I wonder what has caused that."

Bee blinked a few times and looked at the elf-turned Chongwu. "Maybe cause he's back with Ulrike?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

Juan stared at Eberhard, frowning. "Three days is barely enough to get anything done." His fists clenched, his gaze steely. It was an interesting change from the kitchen, so content to this. "I don't even know if I should go through with it. Whether I should leave well enough alone or do what I want to. And this is hardly the place to talk about it."

Eberhard looked apologetic. "I wish I could give you more time, but those are the terms of our contract. Whatever you need to do, you might need to grab the next shuttle this afternoon."

Sera watched Hannibal while he sniffed at the nearby smells and poked around the vicinity. She looked up at Eberhard in surprise, matching Bee’s frown. As the new person she didn’t feel confident enough to protest, sighing instead. She kept quiet until she caught the look on Juan’s face. “Do you… need someone to come with you, to help get these things done faster?” She asked. Though she had no idea what exactly he needed to get done, she knew the look in his eyes from personal experience, and the carefully chosen words all but confirmed it.

Juan was silent, looking over the team with hesitation. He frowned, speaking softly, as if trying to keep a secret even as he spoke it. "I need to do something, something I should have done years ago." He clenched his fists with such an anger, but only half of it met his eyes. "Something I really should have spoken to Joan first about, just to tell her but if I'm going through with it I'll have to tell her anyway." He sighed. "I need to kill a man. Or I'll never feel safe with Joan here on this godforsaken war-ridden hellscape of a planet."

Sera looked to Bee, Luna and Eberhard. “Well, I don’t see why we can’t tag along. Luna might not want to, though. If something goes sideways you might need backup. We are supposed to watch each other’s backs.” She said, shrugging. “If it will make one of us safer, it makes all of us safer.”

Luna looked at Juan, then shrugged. "I won't kill them, or take part in that aspect," She said, looking up at the sky. "I could help you find them however. I seem to be good at talking to people..." She said lazily, almost if she was only half way paying attention.

"Alright, where are we going then?" Bee asked, looking between Eberhard and Juan. "Hope there's at least time to change."

Juan looked to Eberhard once more. "You said this afternoon yeah? The best shuttle to catch?" He looked over those present, face stony, stubborn. "We'll catch the afternoon shuttle to Rome. No one has to go any farther than they're comfortable with. I'm the only one that can't quit now." He shrugged. "Unless I get talked out of it."

"Wait, Rome? Please tell me we'll have time to do some sight seeing?" Beatrix asked, clasping her hands together in excitement.

With a sigh, Juan looked over to Bee. "I don't know. This is literally a revenge quest with a timer on it, I barely have time to inform my lover about this insane plot."

"Make the most out of it." Eberhard took out his datapad and threw a data package at Juan's. "I just sent you his last known location. Ulrike and I will stay behind to pack up your things for you." He nodded.

[Joan and Juan talk]

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[Ray of Meep]

A few hours later.

Rome Arcology

The ancient Colosseum stood strong and tall, fully repaired with white limestone, watching over the rest of the renewed, ancient city. The evening sun basked the entire area with soft, warm light, as pedestrians and cyclists wandered the old streets under an atmosphere of respect and curiosity. Milennia ago, this very location was the birthplace of many modern ideals, foundations of society as mankind ventured across the stars, carrying their heritage with them.

Unfortunatley, before the near complete environmental collapse of Earth, Rome was mired by pragmatic necessity, as exemplified by the cannabalism of the Colosseum's original materials. Now, even after rennovation efforts, a mushed, glass donut shape of an arcology surrounded the ancient city, bulldozing through the surrounding hills and crossing the Tiber River twice.

The three Lancers arrived in the arcology from the southeast corridor, via a high speed railway that threaded through the Italian penninsula, from Sicilian Syracuse to Naples to Rome to Florence and beyond.

"Do you think they made their arcology a look-a-like of the Colosseum on purpose?" Bee asked, looking around the place over her newly aquired sunglasses.

"I am pretty sure," Luna said, taking a haul off one of the dwindling smokes. "They built this on purpose, yes," She continued, looking around. "I mean... It would be hard to build something this big by accident."

Beatrix paused and tilted her head to the side as she considered the other woman's response. "I mean, yeah, I suppose," she said, sighing as she pulled out her datapad. "Any idea on where to start looking for the target, Bandit?"

Juan's eyes were alert, walking through the crowds with his datapad out, moving from watching the crowds to checking the info. "Bottom floor of a hotel, the lower level of the arcology. Given his line of work I'm sure it suits him just fine. Also means when we waste his ass people won't give as much of a fuck, as long as we get out, hide our faces, maybe kill the cameras. If there are any." He spoke with an angry cadence, each step seeming to be both purposeful and on a small scale, hard to make. He flipped the datapad, sending the location to the two of them. "This gets done quickly, we probably shouldn't stick around for sightseeing."

The sight was all too familiar to Juan. Like the Madridians, the Romans seemed to have sweeped their problems under the rug, literally. The basement levels of the arcology had LED light panels overhead that simulated day night cycles, but decades of disrepair left some of them permanently turned off, leaving an impression that the whole underworld of the arcology feel like a broken computer simulation. Under the fractured glow of the false sky, in between large, steel pillars that held up the rest of the arcology, ancient buildings, some built over a century ago, hugged the support structures, the walls of the underworld.

The streets were dotted adult merchants and children. Juan could tell too few of the adults were selling any food that wouldn't give a digestive problem, any goods that wouldn't either immediately break in a person's hand or give them a skin rash. There were too many children trying to sell or buy drugs, or worse. Finally, of course, too many, both adult and child, were looking at the three like hungry lions at plump gazelles.

There was the occassional pair of armed guards wearing face plates and wielding light rifles who walked the streets. They didn't soothe Juan though; they were just there to make sure no one tried to blow up the support structures. Another pair made his stomach churn: a man and a woman, each wearing a non-threatening grey coats and a brown satchel over their shoulders, badges hanging off their necks. They were talking to one of the street vendors with polite smiles. Social workers. They'll likely quit after year, or worse, die to some thug.

Their hearts were probably filled with love for the little people, minds alight with ideas for social change, protecting the poor people in the ghetto. Pipe dreams. They don't want to be saved. Someone lives down here long enough, unless something... drastic happens, they look down on outside help. Condescening, they think it. One hand moved towards his stomach, as if about to clutch at it as the despair almost reached his eyes, but he bottled it up, tossed it aside. He just hoped to God these two quit. Please God let them quit, before they don't have a chance to get out. He steeled himself, and spoke up again. "Watch pockets, don't brush past anyone or you will get robbed, and follow me. I know how these places work, on a level that... well I know what to do. Try not to look like a fish out of water."

"I am a dog woman," Luna said, continuing her relaxed, almost bored pace. "This one doesn't know the meaning of poor on an intimate level and looks like model," She said, looking at Beatrix. She then looked over Juan stepping up to walk beside him. "You look concerned, but also like you are about to do something, and we are about to head into a hotel that is... A known criminal den?" She half asked, but Juan could tell she was being purely rhetorical, as she usually was. "If you would like, I can talk to the people in the hotel. I just need to know what I'm looking for," She said, now smoking a regular cigarette.

Bee had gotten more and more quiet as the group had gone deeper into the arcology. When Luna called her out on her affluence, she opened her mouth to quip back, but another look around their surroundings shut her up again. "What the fuck are we doing," she muttered, shaking her head. "How can this exist?" Sighing, she looked between her colleagues and said, "I'm in favor for whatever gets this done faster."

"There are clearly too many of you," Luna said simply, before turning and looking at Beatrix. "Would you not rather slower and less shooting?" She added curiously.

"Shooting requires less thinking," Bee replied with a shrug.

"A little thinking might be good for you Beatrix," Luna said, turning back to focus on what was ahead of them.

"More shooting makes more noise, and less thinking means the work is sloppy. There will be the right amount of shooting, and the right amount of thinking." They knew the right hotel, his last location, but talking their way in was a different matter. Actually, it may be easier with Luna there. "Luna, when we enter, could you inquire about a Jackson Reaid? We're looking for him. If he's there, I'll handle the rest."

"I can handle it up to the door," Luna said simply. "Though, do you think it might be good for us to enter seperately? If anyone recognizes you it might spell trouble," She said. "And I would rather not get shot."

 

[Ray of Meep]

"No one should recognize me, I've never been here before." He sighed, nodding. "It's been years. You go in yourself, ideally you can return to us, but if not contact us if you learn anything. Then I'll do my thing."

The establishment the group arrived in front of was an ancient, utilitarian structure: a box made of steel and concrete, a smattering of glass windows, physical letters pasted above the main entrance that spelled out the hotel's name in Italian with the old paint flaking off, then a neon sign hanging off one of the corners of the structure that read "Hotel" in Italian. Luna headed in while Juan and Beatrix waited outside. Almost immediatley, Juan could feel hungry eyes focus on him and his companion.

Juan's pistol was tucked behind him in the small of his back, a spot that was familar to him, if not used recently. He'd used to live in such a place as this, dirty, poor, and occasionally violent. Some might wonder if it felt like home. No, it felt like a prison, one he'd escaped. His eyes moved about, scanning for threats from the myriad lowlives around them. He was large, powerful, and worse case scenario, he was strapped. He spoke quietly to Bee, his eyes not leaving their surroundings. "Eyes up. They think we look tasty, and potentially richer than they are. Just being here we've got targets on our backs."

"Almost wish they would try something," Beatrix said, popping her knuckles as she surveyed their surroundings. "Dealing with a couple of ruffians would be a nice change of pace."

"Maybe. But that would draw attention, and we need to keep a low profile until the jobs done. Then we just need to get to the next shuttle and fuck off. This goes well, I'll have one less thorn in my side and we get to go..." he sighed, "Fight in fucking Iraq again. I hate this planet."

"Iran, but close enough," Bee said with a small smile. "We'll go over the differences later."

"The differences are one is slightly to the side geographically. I'm sure they'd argue otherwise, but that's about it. Nothing but death over there, has been the same for centuries." Juan growled under his breath, still keeping watch. "Part of the reason I left was so I didn't get wrapped up in something hopeless like that again. And here we are. Right where I left off, doing a bit better for myself."

The historian in Beatrix died a little bit when Juan sweeped the complexity of the Middle East under the proverbial rug, but she just took a deep breath and said, "We'll deal with it, one way or another."

"Like that went so well last time," Juan muttered, the grip on his own crossed arms tightening. His face was stoney, his knuckles clamped around his arms, his arms crossed over his chest. There was on edge, and then there was Juan. There was something more, something under being uneasy with the situation, there was a general uncomfort to his stance. He hated it here. He probably hated a lot right now. "One way or another something bad will happen, I just need to make sure it happens to the other guys."

"Sounds like an old WWII quote," Bee replied, glancing over at Juan. "You don't win a war by dying for your country, you do it by making the enemy die for his. Always a good plan, if you ask me."

"I wasn't intending to be philosophical," Juan sighed. "Just angry. Guess that's how that works though." After a moment of breathing, he looked to her with a strangely sad face. "Why are you in this line of work? I've probably asked before, but why?"

"Oh, you know," she said, with a shrug as she kept an eye out for idiots. "The sterotypical boredom of a trust-fund baby who didn't get excited enough in the ER and liked to shoot guns."

He sighed, looking at her strangely, as if disappointed in her answer. "Really? Adrenaline junky? That's your vice? Alright. What about now? You're still sticking with it, why?"

"Half of it is the same stuff, having a lot of fun being a merc," Beatrix said with a smile. "Then there's feeling somewhat responsible for keeping you guys alive when we go on a mission, feeling like we're making more of an impact than I would by myself, et cetera. Did I mention how fun the job is?"

He shrugged, jaw set angrily as he looked around still. Angry at no one in particular, or angry at himself. "It's losing it's charm for me. Real fast."

~~~ Meanwhile ~~~

The interior space, the lounge itself, reaked of human drugs, with faint whiffs of blood and semen in the mix. It was dimly lit, worn out, stained couches pressing the walls, a whithering potted plant in the corner, an old painting hanging on one side and a cracked monitor on the other displaying a conspiracy theory show, with the human host on screen angrily ranting on of evidence for a 5th dimensional god. Behind the counter at the end of the lounge was a pale, scrawny man, leaning into a rolley chair, chewing something between his teeth as he stared at his datapad.

Luna was very slow in looking around as she walked in. She deliberately kmept herself a little off balance as she walked, and gave the man a lazy smile as she approached the main desk. "Hello, I am looking for someone and was told I could find him here," She said, looking at the man behind the desk for the first part of the sentence, but her head started to drift as she looked around. "A Mr. Jackson Reaid? I was hoping you would be kind enough to help me," She added. Her pacing was dazed, and she kept herself looking slow and distracted.

The scrawny man looked up and his eyes widened. Clearly, this was a man who's never seen a Chongwu in person, much less an alien druid trapped in their corresponding canine form. "And who do you happen to be?" He spit a black clump of tar out of his mouth into a trashbin next to him.

Luna didn't show any sign of revulsion from the action, leaning forward to rest on the counter. She was wearing about the same amount of clothes she usually did, which was not a lot. If she was hiding a weapon, she was being very creative in it's placement. "My name is Luna," She said, as if asking a question. "But that is an odd question. Who is someone really? Who you are changes based on who looks at you," She sighed, scratching her neck a little. "To one person I may be a friend, to another I may be an enemy I do not know. Some may even see me as a lover, it is quite a journey finding out who you are to everyone else," She said softly, keeping her smile loose as she turned her eyes back to the scrawny man behind the counter. "What I want to do is far more important, and that is talk," She said simply.

 

[Ray of Meep]

The man blinked twice, then smirked and licked his lips. He looked at Luna, his steady gaze betraying calculations behind his eyes. Perhaps he assessed that she was drugged, exploitable. "So, you want to talk? How about you come behind the counter? Then we can talk." He stood up and opened the little plastic gate.

Luna smiled. "Are... You Jackson Reiad?" She asked, taking a step and balancing on one foot for a moment as if trying to stop herself from falling over, giggling a little as she did.

"No sweetie, I'm not." The man chuckled and stepped closer to Luna, within uncomfortable touching distance. "If you spend enough time with me though I might just tell you."

"You can tell me anything," Luna whispered, using this as an opportunity to fall into the man, touching his face. She had him. "If you tell me where he is... I'll be prettier..." She whispered. "You want me to be prettier, right?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Of course." The man whispered, one hand going for the back of Luna's neck, the other tugging at her top, revealing more of her cleavage.

"Then tell me where he is," She said, using a small little bit of magic. Next thing he knew, she was an elf in his arms, tan skin over a toned body, her markings turning into painted lines across her form, still giving him a lazy smile, her blue eyes glittering slightly. "And I'll take you from this mundane world into a land of bliss my sweet..."

"Oh ho ho..." He dragged Luna forward into him, pulling at her top further, flashing her for him. The man then tried to foprcefully kiss her and Luna, keeping up her disoriented facade, moved just enough that he missed.

"I cannot give myself too you," She said, weaving just a little more magic into everything, slowly constricting his view so it could only focus on her, the edges of his vision closing into a blurred fog, "Without getting what I need. To do so would be a curse..." She said softly, pushing herself into him quite seductively. "Do you not know the rules of the elves?"

"Fine, fine..." Entranced, the man yielded. "Beta," He spoke to no one in particular, but the datapad on his desk lit up. "Give me everything on Jackson Reaid." The man then slid it over to Luna. "There. Now can we make love, my dear?"

"Certainly," Luna said, before she brought her hand up with unnatural speed, cracking the man under the jaw only a little harder than necessary to put him out silently, being sure to catch his body and pull him behind the counter. "Sorry, but I find you revolting," Luna said to him, as if he were listening. "Though, feel free to do whatever you please in your mind," She added, quickly sitting down and taking the Datapad and fixing her shirt so her breasts weren't hanging out.

She looked at the CCTV computer, wiggling the mouse as the Datapad pulled up whatever information it was pulling up, only to be blocked by a screen asking for a password. She frowned a little, before looking to the left of the archaic monitor, seeing a little post-it note. It read "Password" and under it was the word... Password... Trying her luck, she punched it in, and it let her into the CCTV! "What a strange way of keeping your computer systems secured," She sighed, quickly going through and stopping the CCTV recording, then deleting the last 20 minutes of the recording for every camera in the building.

"Right," She said, pulling her datapad out and calling Juan. "Hello, I just wanted to let you know I got everything we needed, deleted the security footage, and incapacitated the guard. You can come in now?" She asked rhetorically, hanging up before she got a response and going back to looking over what information the Datapad was giving her.

Juan's datapad vibrated, his eyes going down to view the information offered. The call was brief, and was his cue to go in. "Follow me, I don't want to leave you in the streets alone. I wouldn't want to leave anyone in these streets alone." He entered the hotel, looking over to see Luna standing at the desk. "Good work. Know where he is?"

"Nope," Luna said, swiping through the datapad. "I know what he looks like, as well as what his friend looks like however," She said, turning the pad around to show him a nice shot of both of their faces. "Run that through your computers, and I'm sure you'll be able to use the city wide camera network to find him or his friend."

"Damn. Nothing's ever easy. May I?" He held a hand out for the datapad, and presumably took it from her with permission. "I really didn't want to call mom and dad, but uh." He called Eber, nabbing the information from the datapad and sending it. "Boss, I need facial recognition on this guy, and his address. I need this boss. Please."

While everyone else was busy finding their target, Bee went into trauma medic mode and checked on the guy that Luna had knocked out. Once she'd confirmed that he was breathing, she rolled him over into the recovery position. "I'd help you more, but I got a sneaking suspicion you were giving Luna a hard time," she muttered to herself.

"We're on it, Bandit." Eberhard replied through the comms with the sound of shifting clothes. Ulrike's voice came from the background. "Tell him he ruined the mood."

"Not going to happen, woman." He replied in a muffled voice. "Alright, give me just a minute..."

Meanwhile, the man Luna knocked out seemed to be okay. A chipped tooth, cuts in his gums, nothing dental care wouldn't fix. Then again, could this guy even afford dental care?

"... Alright. Uhh, damn, Bandit, you're not going like this. The guy Jackson left with? Ben Dreyfus, known merc captain who primarily works with local extremist groups. Guess where his current operations are?"

For a breif second Juan dared to smile, just a little. "Don't make me guess Cassanova, you have something to get back to and I need to get this done so I can get back to something similar." And like that the smile faded. "Let's get this done. Current base this city? That is what local means after all."

"No. Iran." Eberhard replied grimly.

"Oh goody. Well if he's in this city, can we kill two birds with one stone? Any idea where he hangs? I'm not leaving until the job is done."

"You don't understand, the timestamp Luna sent me is dated two days ago. I can contact Rome's police force to confirm, but I'm almost certain they headed off to the Middle East. I don't know why Dreyfus would pick up a guy like Jackson, but you might not be the only one who got lifted out of poverty through military work."

Juan didn't speak for a second, eyes fixed on the nearest wall. Damnit. Jackson wasn't here, the motherfucker bailed like he always did. Military was easy to get mixed up in, paid well if you didn't mind killing people. Contractors like Jackson were easy to come by, good ones less so. Jackson was a good one, if memory and reality were still caught up. When he finally spoke he sounded like he was seething with anger. "Thanks boss. Go fuck your wife." He shut the comms off, looked down to this asshole's datapad, and snarled.

"Motherfucker's gone. He ran to Iran with one Ben Dreyfus, merc that likes to play with extremists. Damnit. DAMNIT!" He roared, suddenly throwing the hotel attendant's datapad to the floor. He lifted his boot and slammed it down on the device, crushing it under his heel. "Wastes of oxygen. Wasted atoms. Just like this entire undergroud hellhole and every single one like it." He put his datapad away, seething, entire body tensed with anger, rage even. "I hate this planet. I never should have come back."

His face was a mask of rage as he looked to the ladies, softening only when he looked at them in turn. This wasn't a good look for him, but it was better than bottling it all up again. "This was a wasted trip. I'm sorry I dragged you out here. We're taking the next shuttle home."

He stepped out of the hotel, wating for them with his arms crossed, fingers tapping rapidly on his biceps as all this pent up energy needed some way to free itself but he couldn't act out here.

Luna remained relatively unphased as Juan had his outburst, before letting out a sigh. "Well... Now I feel bad for hitting him," She said, pushing the attendant with her foot a little. "Well, I feel bad for the whole situation, but that was unavoidable," She said, getting up. "I can't wait to get back to base to pester Ulrike about everything," She said, smiling at Beatrix as she pulled a cigarette out of the pocket of her shorts and lit it. "Shall we follow our irate comrade?" she asked, getting up and walking to follow after Juan.

"It's times like these that I'm really glad I didn't become a psychologist," Bee said, shaking her head as she followed her teammates out of the hotel.

 

[Ray of Meep]

-----------------------------

A few hours later

By the time the three Lancers returned to their base, it was already well past midnight. They could feel lasers painting their shuttle before recognition codes were exchanged that verified they weren't intruders.

Ulrike, Eberhard, and Joan were waiting in the kitchen. Ulrike was in pajamas, while Eberhard was in a shirt and trousers, and Joan was in (a wheel chair) a loose fitting robe that did well to cover her up. They had cups of tea in front of them on the central table.

"So... what do you plan on doing now?" Eberhard asked the group, but the question was clearly aimed at Juan.

Juan looked at the three of them with an implacable expression, something between anger, exhaustion, and disappointment. He walked up and took a cup of tea, sniffing it to feel if it was too hot, and confirming it wasn't he took the tea back like a shot of whiskey. He sighed, placing the cup on the table. "I'm gonna do the job you pay me to do, until I have another chance. But first I'm going to bed so I can feel good and rested for the hellscape we're about to head into, facefirst."

"Ah'll come wif ya," Joan said, pushing herself back from the table and wheeling herself around the table to follow Juan to bed.

"Sleep sounds good," Bee said, picking up her own teacup. "Hopefully it'll do us all some good."

Juan sighed, and for the first time in a few hours, smiled. "Joan, you're magnificent." He walked up to trod beside her, huffing quickly. "God I needed your presence, and look at you, here you are. My lifesaver." When they'd gotten a bit away from the others, he smiled and placed a hand on the handle of the chair. He would much rather hang around her than go hunting for terrorists in Iran. Terrorists weren't nearly as attractive as the woman at his side. "Care for a push? Let me help you cutie, just for the short walk."

Joan had a look on her face when Juan offered to give her a push. It looked like she was going to bite, but it switched to a smile. "Ah'm a big girl Juan," She said kindly. "I apprecia'e da offah dough. Maybe aftah a bit."

With a nod, Juan leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "I only offer so you can't scold me later, cover my bases like that." He walked beside her to their room, opening the door for her, and damnit he intended to either nap and enjoy his time, or enjoy his time regardless.

Luna stood there as people started to leave the room, before looking at Ulrike and Eberhard with a strange smile, her blue eyes glittering. "I hope you two had more fun than we did today," She said, walking over to a cupboard and starting to make herself some of her own tea.

Ulrike and Eberhard gave a look at each other. Eberhard was the first to smirk and admit, "Yes, we did enjoy our time."

"That's good," Luna said, stirring her cup of tea. "I hope neither of you used my tea..."

"Of course we didn't." Eberhard gave an uneasy chuckle.

Luna held her look as she took a sip of her drink. "I don't have enough to share right now, but the bag felt lighter. I'll have to see if I can figure out why," She said simply, putting her stuff away.

"Look, after that day you gave me a cup, I'm not touching your tea ever again." Ulrike threw up her hands.

"Convenient," Luna said, holding her cup in both hands. "I'm shocked you had such a reaction. Children from my village would drink this. Maybe it's a human thing," She asked, more to herself than anything.