Sieurs, Dames et Inconnus

[Ryummel]

[font=agency fb]The colonel checked the transmission record for last time...

[color=#FFFFFF]"Colonel, we have arrived... Colonel?" Giroux didn't feel like answering to the APC driver. He was feeling stressful, irritated, willing to return back to his normal duties. Indeed, he never expected that 'baby-sitting' a Sirian would be that annoying. "Fourty-fifth apartment, right?" Giroux asked. "Eh, oui Colonel. Just walk down this street and you'll find René and Abel guarding the place. Contact me if you ne--" Giroux left the APC before the driver could finish the sentence. Definitely, this wasn't a good day for the colonel.

He took a brief look to the dossier containing all the information gathered at the moment from the Sirian. He scanned the picture taken in the docking customs. 'Could fit the stereotype of rich young lady: Complaining the whole day about Junkers? Sure' He thought to himself. Once he reached the 45th apartment in the Rue Antoine Arnauld, he looked around the place and found Rene and Abel in the opposite pavement, behind a few hovercars. "Anything to report?" Giroux asked. "She didn't move from her apartment in these last two days, colonel. Everything should be clear." They saluted the colonel and went back to their positions.

Knocked at the door, ringbell... No response. Giroux sighed deeply and opened the door with the access card. "I don't care even if she's taking a shower". The apartment was quiet, not a single noise heard except for Giroux' footsteps. "Bonjour...?" No response. He looked around the bedroom, the bathroom, every place... Nothing. But there was something that caught the attention of Giroux placed on the mahogany table, in the living room. A pyramid shaped object, completely black with what seem to be engravings on the sides, however the room light was too dim to see well. He stepped closer. For what felt like a brief moment he saw something inside of it, he could not hear the sounds outside, not even his own breath and heartbeat. The unsettling silence was broken as a loud hovercar passed nearby outside the window, snapping Giroux out of the trance. He stood there for a little while but nothing happened.

Giroux left the apartment and moved quickly towards the two undercover operatives. "There's nobody in the apartment, messieurs." He said in a very annoyed tone. The two men began to apologize and wonder how it could happen while Giroux was making great efforts to contain his anger. "Pe-Perhaps in the market... That place is always a magnet for tourists and... We could comb the area once we rep--" "Don't dare to report this or I swear you'll be assigned to the Carcassonne next week. Move to the market main gateways and make sure she isn't leave the area."

Half an hour later, the APC arrived at the market outskirts. Wearing civilian outfit and picture in hand, Giroux asked every vendor about the woman in the picture. "Apologies, didn't see her." The answer he expected from the majority. He contacted the two operatives, no sight of the Sirian. He decided to end his search around the few restaurants around the market area, since it was mid day. This time the answers of the people were more precise, until a waiter of one of the restaurants could finally point her sitting in a table 20 meters away. Giroux sighed and thanked the waiter. Then, he approached the table and took a seat in front of the young lady.

"I told you to keep a low profile in that Junker spaceport and you almost scared one of my Sous-Lieutenants, then, we give you an excellent apartment here at Nevers so you wouldn't have to complain about those noisy Junkers and you decide to vanish. You're not making things easy, mademoiselle." He said in a forced calm tone. Then, he took a deep breath. "Oui, I'm the colonel you met in Lorraine space, Aubert Giroux."

---

[Emissary]

Contemplating on what to do and when to expect the visitors Anje decided it was best to take a walk around. Nevers fit the description of top class resort, even in times like these with conflicts sprawling all across the Sirius there had to be places where one would be able to go and for a while forget about all that everyday hassle. With all the work done and so much ahead she thought she deserved to rest for a little while and Nevers seem perfect for such opportunity.

The central marketplace. Traders, merchants, customers, a buzzing hive always full of people and countless offers, whether it be goods or information, and for a right price almost anything can be sold and bought. Quietly melding with the crowd Anje bypassed two bored types at the entrance, no doubt assigned to keep an eye on her. She imagined what if Giroux would catch them daydreaming like that, wouldn't be a nice sight.

Back a while ago she remembered a conversation with an old smuggler from Gallia who once served royal navy, he couldn't stop talking about wonderful meals served in luxurious restaurants at Nevers. Remembering this Anje thought it would be an excellent moment to see if smugglers' lengthy, verbosely descriptive and very appetizing tale was true.

But the enjoyable moment quickly ended as a man entered the restaurant. Colonel Giroux, he seemed tired, exhausted.

Giroux approached the table, sat down in front.

"I told you to keep a low profile in that Junker spaceport and you almost scared one of my Sous-Lieutenants, then, we give you an excellent apartment here at Nevers so you wouldn't have to complain about those noisy Junkers and you decide to vanish. You're not making things easy, mademoiselle." He said in a forced calm tone. Then, he took a deep breath. [color=white]"Oui, I'm the colonel you met in Lorraine space, Aubert Giroux."

"All in a day's work, colonel. A pleasure to meet you finally face to face." - Anje pretended like nothing happened. Giroux wanted to reply but caught himself before a would-be regrettable remark could make out. "No doubt you have been busy, meanwhile I have decided to take a look around, enjoying hospitality of your people. Nevers has a reputation, a place where people go to enjoy the life. This is certainly better than walking around the gloomy space station, unable to sleep with all those machines constantly clanking and humming. Wondering how that place still manages to hold up and if it's going to fall apart any moment. I appreciate the change."

A waiter appeared out of nowhere with two glasses of wine and put them in front of Giroux and Anje, he quietly disappeared the next moment.

"As for your Sous-Lieutenant. I think his name was Rene. It wasn't my intention to scare him but to his credit he performed his duties well given the unusual situation."

Giroux looked down on the glass near him. 'Has to be something redeeming for this day...'

[Alley]

Kate was sitting at a table in the restaurant, two tables far from Anje. She was dressed with a long roselike white dress and a white, black bordered straw hat hiding her eyes. The advantage with such dresses is that you can hide many things under them. A plasma SMG was attached on her left leg, and six plasma cells hidden in her heels. But Kate liked precision and silence, and there is nothing better than a good old bunch of combat knives, which were attached on her right leg.

Everything was quiet, untill a man entered the restaurant, and sat in front of Anje. She had a small idea of who it could be, idea confirmed when she heard [color=#FFFFFF]"I'm the colonel you met in Lorraine space, Aubert Giroux.". But it was still a man of the Royal Navy, a potential threat to Anje. Kate kept her gaze at Aubert, ready to grab a knife and throw it at him at the slightest sign of hostility. Everything was going well so far, although things could change very quickly, like all time.

---

Alley was right.

[Ryummel]

Giroux kept staring at the reddish liquid. His mind was away, trying to find any excuse to release the stress which had been overwhelming him since the first day he was assigned to this 'special task', blaming the day he decided to perform a patrol around the minefield in Lorraine. "Merci for the detail... I guess you found the best way to make me stop complaining and change my mind. I have noticed how you always manage to do that. Oui, I must admit you are a true diplomat, but I really expected you telling me your name, at least." Giroux said while he took a brief look to his surroundings.

He realized that he was completely alone. In case something went wrong, there wouldn't be any backup. The two operatives would still be in the main entrance of the market area, and Giroux refused to take the earpiece the APC pilot offered him. This made Giroux feel nervous, so he had to take another a deep breath before continuing. The efforts he was making to stay calm were tremendous. [color=#FFFFFF]"Anyways, I'm glad to see you find Nevers a comfortable place. Both the Navy and the Police can perfectly contain the rebel forces from launching any attack to the orbit, so we can ensure the tourism activity during these hard times."

He grasped the wine glass by the stem, staring at the red liquid for a few seconds. "Since you have been able to sleep properly and we can't tolerate spending unnecessary time on this issue... We can resume our talk right here. The talk we had near Tonnerre's orbit seemed to be revealing, but I still can't fit the pieces: Technology we never saw, you looking for the wonders across this universe..."

---

[Emissary]

[font=Agency FB]"...but I really expected you telling me your name, at least"

[color=#C9F]"Why such formality? You already know my name. Angela Corino, or simply Anje."

Normally Giroux would have an requested extensive dossier through the intelligence bureau prior to meeting, but that would have raised too many unwanted questions in this particular case and draw unnecessary attention to the other units. Not to mention the subject is a sirian, and a strange one at that. It is unlikely that their report would contain anything of value, if anything at all. Giroux kept analyzing Anje's behavior and strange speech while struggling with an intense and growing headache. Ever since she appeared in Gallia she let lose not one bit of information about herself, her goal or her employers. The only thing that Giroux did know was that she was gathering information. What else does she know? Whom does she work for? Just what the heck are those "associates" of hers anyway? So many questions. He didn't like the game she played, not a single bit. All this walking all around subjects, avoiding direct answers. It irritated him.

"...and yes, looking for wonders of the universe. Where things aren't what they should be. Existing against calculated models, places where theories cannot explain their origins. Forgotten wonders, once puzzling keen minds, sources of heated academic debates and bold theories, but now only names and old legends are all that seemed to be left. Boring stuff to the majority as life goes on and more important things tend to occupy the minds of the masses. The age of exploration dawns and all that is left are territorial disputes between rivaling powers." - she paused for a moment, seeing as Giroux was struggling with his ever growing headache. "My associates are taking a great deal of interest in such places that I mentioned. We know some are right here in Gallia, you and me were at one such place already. All they would like is to see those places. Just that. A simple request. I'm quite sure there'll be something you might be interested in to compensate for the mild discomfort of our presence."

Anje finished her glass of wine while Giroux was trying to get a hold of his thoughts, questions passing by, so many of them. Before he could finish saying his first one Anje interrupted him: "You are too tired, colonel, have a good rest. We'll talk tomorrow. Contact me when you'll have the time and feeling better."

Right after Anje left, she signaled to Kate to follow her in shadow-step.

The colonel left soon after, he called for a Royal transport to head home. The answers will wait until tomorrow. By then the reports of her ship scans should be complete, also those wizkids at central might have something from the hidden cams installed in her apartments. The only thought left occupying his mind... what was that "thing" he found in there?

[Ryummel]

[font=agency fb]"Beep! Beep! Beep...!" The constant sound of the alarm clock made Giroux to grab it and throw it violently against the wall. He got up from the bed and swallowed a few antidepressant pills. It was time to get back to work, this time checking the video/audio recordings in Angela’s apartment. He sighed deeply and stepped out of his personal room in Avallon Station.

“Colonel!” A lieutenant saluted Giroux when he entered the Counter-Intelligence Division chamber [color=#CCCCCC]“Here you have the data drive containing every minute of what happened in that house in the last three days.” Giroux just nodded at the lieutenant and picked up the data drive located on nearby table. Then, he connected it to one of the computers. “Lieutenant, wait outside.” He ordered. The recordings were strictly classified, only Giroux could take the first look and then, report it to the Marechal. He’d prefer somebody else doing this job, but orders were orders, and there wasn’t any other alternative to the Royal Navy for Giroux. ‘This mess will end soon, I know, I know…’.

He rewound the video recordings a few times, scanning every movement of Anje in the living room. As soon as Anje arrived to the apartment, she placed the pyramid shaped object on the mahogany table. Giroux frowned and rewound that part again. A decorative element? Probably.

The video reached the part where Anje sneaked out of her apartment. ‘Bunch of inepts, why didn’t the operatives notice her…?’ Giroux watched himself stepping into the apartment, registering the place. He shivered when he saw the part where he stared at the pyramidal object and didn’t move for a minute, like being in a trance. Giroux rewound that part again. He suddenly began to feel uncomfortable and paused the video. ‘What an idiocy, I think that day I forgot the pills…’. He resumed the video and jumped to the part where Anje came back from the meeting they had in the market. She sat in the coach in front of the mahogany table and stared at the pyramidal object.

Giroux sighed deeply when 15 minutes passed without Anje doing anything else, just staring at the object. Minute 19:09, 25:45, 49:23… nothing changed. ‘It must be a loop, come on, don’t tell me it’s been corrupted… Damn machines…’ He thought to himself. He rebooted the computer, and connected the data drive again, but he could watch the same scene. This time he watched the whole part. Now he was sure it wasn’t a loop, because from time to time Anje scratched her hair and looked briefly around the room, before looking back at the strange object. Giroux felt a shiver down his spine and suddenly he didn't feel irritated. This time he felt curious about what was going on with Angela, something was wrong, something that nobody could explain. Why meditating in front of that object? Why did Giroux feel in a trance when he stared at it? He took the data drive with him. It was time to report to the Grande Marechal.

---

[Alley]

[font=agency fb]She watched Anje leave the restaurant, and kept her gaze at Aubert untill he left too. Everything is going well so far, she thought. But it was obvious that the colonel was worried about the lack of informations, and sometimes people do stupid things to satisfy their curiosity.

Kate left the restaurant a few minutes after the royal transport departed. The view was amazing in the street, and those who never came on Nevers before could spend hours contemplating the scenery. But work, is work. Half an hour later, she arrived in the zone Anje's apartment was located. There was a back street next to the apartment building, that wasn't being watched by the Counter Espionnage agents. She hid behind a few dumpsters, and took off her dress and equipment. She moved several trash bags, looking for something, untill she found her sealed medium sized black box. After entering the code, the box unlocked in a small beep, revealing her spectre armor. This new armor acted like a second skin, so lightweight but so impressive at the same time. The armor gave her the shape of a man, and the vocoder changing her voice into a male one. It was the perfect disguise, for a yet to be perfect spectre. She put on her helmet, activating the display on the holo-screen in front of her eyes.

Kate put the dress and unnecessary equipment inside the box, before closing it again, and hiding it under the trash bags. She looked at the building, wondering how to reach Anje's apartment. After searching in her bag, she found the two adhesive palm extensions, and clipped them on her suit hands. She bagan to climb the building using the adhesive, and reached the bathroom window of Anje's apartment. The windows was left open, Kate thought Anje may have thought she would use a such complicated manner to reach her. Once inside, she cautiously opened the door, incase she would have a guest. All she found was Anje, sitting in front of the pyramid, staring at it. Kate approached her, the vocoder still on.

[color=#FFCC33]"Hey. What's new ?" she said, on a friendly tone.

---

Alley was right.

[Exile]

Planet Nevers, Martinique, Estate of the Grande Marechal. 14:00 SGM.


"...I don't give two damns if he's a loving father or not. Crime like that will not go unpunished Colonel, see to it that he gets his due, or I'll be forced to take other measures. Report to me when you're done. Albert, what's next? "

[color=#000000]"Colonel Giroux is here to see you, Madame. Concerning ope-"

"I know, I know. Send him in."

[color=#000000]"Very good, madame."



LaCroix stepped away from the fireplace and walked over to her desk. There were papers lying all over it, some marked Classified, others normal reports, and yet others of a more personal nature. She sat down in a rather large bureau chair and lit up a cigarette. Only after this did Albert open up the massive wooden doors to her office, granting entrance to the Colonel. She does like her image.

The Colonel stepped through the massive wooden doorway and into her office. Normally when people first came in there they were surprised, stunned perhaps by the extravagant, massive office the Grande Marechal spent most of her desk time in. Not the Colonel. He was here to do a job, not admire the sights. He walked up unto the Grande Marechal's desk and then stopped. He saluted proudly before speaking.

"Mon Grande Marechal, the status reports as ordered." he spoke.

"Excellent, Giroux. This'd better be some good news, or I'll have to take other measures. His majesty is getting... Impatient. "
She placed her cigarette in the ashtray and took the folder from the hands of Grioux. The Colonel stood there for several minutes as the Grande Marechal closely read every word in his report. "This disc?", she asked. "Video only of the bugged apartment in which we are currently housing the subject."

The Grande Marechal took the disc out of the folder and inserted it into a slot in the wall. A rather large projector came down from the ceiling and then projected the image onto the wall. "Play".

Several moments passed as she carefully viewed every second of the video recording. There was one thing that stood out in the whole room. Whether it was a Sirrian thing or something else, it had to be investigated.
"The Object on the table. I want to know more about it. I want to know what would cause a person and one of my Colonels to freeze for such a long period of time. Again Giroux, I want to know who she is, who she works for and what her exact reason for being here is. "Wonders of the universe". Sirrian bullcrap. Get me stone solid answers. I've arranged for certain.. Measures to be taken for your next meeting with this Anje. I've placed her ship is under twenty four hour surveillance, along side this I have arranged for twelve marines to aid you in your.. Investigation. Should she continue this vague cryptic oracle crap, bring her in. We'll get her to talk here. Dismissed. "

With that as orders, Giroux saluted and made his way out of the massive office. Back to work.

---

[Ryummel]

[font=agency fb]"Noir Deux in position." "[color=#FFFF99]Noir Quattre here, I have the entrance completely covered." "Blanc Trois and Blanc Un got the main windows on sight." "Blanc Deux didn't report any movement coming from the safe house, she must be there..." The endless chain of voice messages made Giroux to turn off his comms device. He was losing his patience, but this time he would go straight to the point, no matter how many tricks would Anje use to hassle him. Solid answers, that is.

A Lieutenant approached Giroux as he left the APC which just stopped two streets away from Anje's house. "Colonel, we have cut all the traffic within a 1 kilometer perimeter from that apartment. Every unit is already positioned and watching every movement coming from the place, if there would be any." Giroux didn't seem to be paying attention to the Lieutenant. He looked absorbed, like 3 light years away. Actually, the only thing he had in the head now was the pyramid-shaped object he found on that table. "I'm proceeding to the safe house in 1 minute. Every unit will remain alert, I don't want to look for that Sirian around the market again." He finally said. Then, he walked through the streets which seperated him from the apartment.

Giroux glanced at both sides of the streets before taking the security card from one of the ballistic vest's pockets and opening the door of the apartment. "Bonsoir...? I hope it's not too late for..." He cut the sentence, waiting for any response coming from Anje. There was none. "Hello...?" Giroux repeated for last time. No response. Following his instinct, he stepped into the living room, hoping he'd find the pyramidal object there. As soon as he entered the room, he found Anje standing next to the huge window, silent. And the most important thing for Giroux, the artifact was still there.

"I guess it's time to tell me what's going on here, especially with that brick you got here on your table. I'm running out of time and my superiors are getting impatient. We can clear this right here and right now politely or I could just take alternative -and harsh- measures. Let's see what you can tell me about 'wonders of universe' now, d'accord?"

---

[Shazbot11]

[font=Agency FB]A soft knocking came at the heavy, wooden door of the Grand Marechal's office. She had just sat down at her desk again, and let out a rather audible sigh; as they always say, she thought, "no rest for the wicked"....

"Oui, what's the matter? Come in, and be quick about it."

The door knob turned, and Blaise peeked his head in.

[color=#99FF99]"Ma Grand Marechal, there are a few things that may be of interest to you. If you have a moment, that is..."

She eyed the bottom of a wine bottle at the edge of the doorway; it was only the wine that saved Blaise from a 10-minute lecture about her workload. Two quartz wineglasses were set on her desktop, and she motioned for him to enter.

"Roussette de Savoie, I think you'll enjoy it." Blaise uncorked the bottle and filled both glasses before taking a seat in front of her desk.

LaCroix took a long sip from her glass before setting it back down. "I always do, Mersenne. Now that you've successfully bribed me for my time, what did you wish to speak about?"

Blaise retrieved a datapad from his coat and slid it across the desk top. "The first report from the Naval Research Institute, concerning the shipment of what the Sirians call 'artifacts' from the messieurs of the IND."

The Grand Marechal picked up the datapad and read through it, her head resting on her left hand while her right hand tapped on the pad's surface. After a minute that seemed like an eternity, she looked up to Blaise.

"And? As much as I enjoy some quality literature, tell me what they found."

"Nothing beyond the superficial, ma Grand Marechal. They've determined they're composed of a synthetic crystalline lattice with alternating facets in a ratio of 1 to 1.618. SEM analysis of the surface details displayed an uncannily-precise structure with a margin of error less that 0.001%, despite the supposed age of each item. Emission tests have determined that they're inert; as far as the institute is concerned, they're nothing more than elegant rocks."

Blaise took a sip from his own glass as the Grand Marechal stared back at the datapad, and sighed; he knew long beforehand that this was precisely what she didn't want to hear.

"Somehow, I feel as though we've been stiffed..."

"Concerning the Sirians, I wouldn't put it beyond them. Regardless...all may not be lost just yet. I've read some of the debriefings from monsieur Giroux, and his new 'friend'. Perhaps she can make heads or tails of these so-called rocks."

"He's already busy playing chauffeur, and it would be nice if she actually stayed in her residence..."

LaCroix lit a cigarette for herself, breathing in deep before exhaling a pillar of blue-gray smoke that suffused the air above her.

"Options are always good, ma Grand Marechal. We should use this option before she makes herself scarce."

Blaise emptied his glass before standing up, and nodding to LaCroix. She returned the nod, and poured another glass of wine for herself. Blaise was already gone by the time she set the bottle back down.

---

Maybe some day, they'll see a hero is just a man who knows he's free.