Divine Confessor's Story

The lighting dimmed a bit, but didn't resume it's full blue from the opening of the evening. By the doors of Hotel Zafiro, the staff looked at each other. They began to let people filter in and out, on orders from the top. Complimentary beverages began to be dispersed through the crowd, of anything they requested that the hotel was equipped to provide.

The Confessor made a face, the insolence of this one. "Those who aid enemies of the Empire are to forfeit their lives." The confessor said cryptically, smoothing the creases in his suit, he regarded Shaunie with a bit more focus. "So if you've seen her recently, it would behoove you to share those details with me, if you value your continued existence." The confessor was straight to the point, but he appeared unarmed, though as he folded his hands in front of him, the brief flash of some unusual looking bracer revealed itself.

"Out with it." The Confessor insisted.

Haruka approached, a bit more daringly now, this day had become one of the worst and she was ready to put an end to it. This man in the suit, well, if the room wasn't easy enough to read, talking about the empire made it blatantly obvious. Aschen. Why did they want this woman? That doesn't matter to her. She was having a bad day, and this woman was at the root of everything. She moved towards the man, her hands behind her back playing it a bit coy.

"Oh wOooOw, why are you harassing this poor ma- Oh! Her? I've seen that b- woman before! Oh my gosh, is she a criminal..? Oh my, where was she..." she suddenly blurted out, a faux surprise in her voice, before she clicked her tongue, before she just dropped the facade completely, a bitterness in her voice, "honestly, she's caused nothing but misery for me and everyone I've met until now, I don't care who you work for, I don't care what you do to her. The fact I had a psionic event with her makes me feel... gross, soOoOo... I bumped into her on the way in from the checkpoint, she was headed towards the docks, that way before the lockdown by the way, so chances are... she's booked it. You guys can track ships, right? Tch, silly me, of course you can. It may have been around the time you were first arriving. And if you think for a moment I'm making this all up, read my face when I say this."

She moved beside Shaunie and the Confessor so her face was in clear view, wrinkled up into the ever so human look of: I'm sick of this shit.

"I have no love for this woman, and if she has done anything to my brother, I'll hunt her down myself," she said in a low and shaky voice. "And the fact she's made me feel that, makes me hate her more."

Shaunie's eyebrows climbed into his scalp as he listened to Haruka. He moved aside a small step to let Haruka have the full floor of the conversation, nudged aside again as she seemed to get quite worked up there now didn't she. Damn, this Carmen lady really seemed to be rubbing everyone the wrong way.

He winced when Haruka lowered her voice and continued to spit hate. Damn. Just, damn - oh! Two and two clicked together. So this weasel lady was the other weasel dude's relative. They were all on a private tour earlier, weren't they? Shaunie delicately cleared his throat.

"She was in Club 47," he said to the Aschen, "seems she's gone now," and shrugged. He moved an inch closer to Haruka. The dude got what he wanted.

A staff attendant approached the group of three with a silver tray. Atop the tray were a few bottles of water, and a card that read "Anything else, just ask".

Volare walked out of his special door and found himself in a busy lobby. Many people were rushing around, looking worried. It was the first time he had seen so many people in one place. He held Eques close and tried to find someone to ask what was going on.

Shaunie grabbed a bottle of water and took a large side step away from Haruka and the Aschen dude. Nope, that was enough of that for one day! He opened the bottle and quickly chugged the water down.

He wasn't looking where he was going and almost walked right into a guy holding an adorable cat- Volare.

"Ack, my bad!" Shaunie popped the lid back on the bottle and apologized as he regained his balance.

Volare knew that he should say something when Shaunie apologized, but since he hadn't talked to people for a long time, he couldn't remember what he should say in this situation. He stared at Shaunie for a moment, then realized that the silence was becoming awkward. His face turned red, and he looked away. Finally, he replied, 'I'm sorry; I forgot what to say when people apologize. You're the first person I've talked to in a long time.

After venting to the confessor, Haruka's stress level had started to drop and the adrenaline rush had faded, leaving her with just a strange sense of unease about the entire ordeal. She leaned over and grabbed a bottle of water and began to chug it, but not before giving a "thank you," to the attendant. It was exactly what she needed right now.

While in the midst of sipping her drink and beginning to calm down, Haruka caught in her peripheral a glimpse of something unusual: a door, seemingly detached from any frame, standing alone in the middle of nowhere. She quickly turned her head to get a better look, her cheeks still puffed with water. She simply quietly stared at this point, watching as there was a near collision between the young man from earlier and one with a cat just appeared out of a... nowhere door?

She swallowed and quietly shuffled over, effectively distracted by what she wasn't sure was real or a stress-induced hallucination.

"You have served the Empire well, Xeno, and you shall be rewarded for your vigilance." The Confessor replied to Haruka as his expression darkened, and a wicked grin crossed his face while he brought his communicator to his lips to issue his order. "This is Laird, the subject fled by ship, she is most likely no longer here, I'll be returning to the Esteem." He slid the communicator back into the hidden chest pocket of his suit jacket, and he nodded with a smile.

Swiftly turning away, he pulled back his sleeve to reveal an alien looking, almost insectoid gauntlet made from interlocking hexagonal plates. He keyed something into the display on his gauntlet, and tugged the suit jacket back over it. In an instant, he seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"Ah well, if you're looking to meet people this seems to be a good place. A little chaotic right now," Shaunie said to Volare, taking a half step to the side to welcome Haruka into their conversation bubble. The doors to Hotel Zafiro were reopening, the attendants thanking everyone who rushed out and welcoming those who rushed in.

"Looks like you made it just in time to not get caught in any crossfires," Shaunie smiled at Volare, then glanced back to where the Aschen guy was asking questions - only to see he had apparently disappeared into thin air. Weird. Today was weird.

"Anyway uh, I'm Shaunie," He said to Volare and Haruka, finding his manners somewhere in the confusion of watching a person disappear.

"Is everyone here for the Grand Opening?"

Jack darts in, looking mildly annoyed. He had gotten in just before the doors closed, but had been mobbed by such a huge amount of people he couldn't really do anything until it subsided. Over the heads of the group, however, he spies Haruka, and quickly darts over when the crush disperses.
He stops running and slows down abruptly when he gets closer, awkwardly pushing his hair back as he notices the other people there. "Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt," he says quickly and rather quietly to Haruka. "What's the situation? What was up with that confessor? Did you tell him anything?"
Fuck, I guess I missed out. Damn it.
He realizes in a spare moment that his gun is completely unconcealed, and hurriedly shoves his hand in his jacket pocket to cover it.
I'm looking like a total rube, jeez. Need to get my act together. He visibly straightens, then reaches up and turns back on his glasses just in time for a notification that says RIOT Agent Jack Donovan - Please Report. Failure to do so will result in administration of Compound 411. Time Left: 01s
"Oh, shit."
He flinches as a dose from a patch on his arm is activated, administering a dose of a steroid.
He freezes in place for a moment before quickly walking away, holding up a single finger as he turns around, signaling one second before disappearing deeper into the hotel.

Volare felt pleased by how friendly Shaunie and Haruka were towards him. "It seems like I can make some friends here," he thought. He introduced himself, saying, "This is Volare, and this little fellow is Eques," as he pointed to the orange tabby cat in his arms.

As he turned to look at Haruka, he was immediately drawn to her appearance. "Her hair looks so soft, and she's covered in soft fur, just like Eques!" he thought to himself. However, his attention quickly returned to Shaunie as he overheard Shaunie mention something about a grand opening.

Volare asked Shaunie, "What exactly is a grand opening?"

"Nice to meet you, Volare," Shaunie smiled at Volare and then grinned at the orange tabby cat.

"Why, hello there, Eques!" He tentatively held a hand out to pet the cat, sliding Haruka a wink. How cool was this? Dude just walked around with a cat.

"Oh, uh," What was a Grand Opening? "A Grand Opening, you know. The first day a business is accepting customers, or letting anyone through the door that doesn't work there. This hotel is pretty state of the art. There's another Grand Opening of a Club that happened across Starwind Plaza. Club 47. Pretty hip spot," Shaunie said to Volare.

"Hey, you see the Clu-?" He turned to ask Haruka - and noticed Jack. What... where did this guy come from? Did he just...did he just glitch? Ok, that was odd.

Volare felt elated that Shaunie had greeted Eques as well, as Eques was like family to him. Eques possessed a unique psychological ability that consistently helped Volare maintain a sense of calm. Additionally, she had the power to send him messages telepathically, if she desired. Volare had always wanted to know if Eques' abilities also work on other people, and he believed that Shaunie could be the perfect person for the test. He decided that once they got to know each other better, he would reveal more about Eques and ask Shaunie to explore her unique abilities.

After Shaunie explained the grand opening, Volare gestured towards him and the others, inquiring, "So, are all of you here for the grand opening?" It was then that Volare's attention was drawn to a newcomer named Jack, who seemed to have just arrived. Volare couldn't help but be intrigued by Jack's appearance, as he appeared to be cloaked in darkness, making him stand out amidst the crowd.

Shaunie's grin turned to a frown as Haruka was clearly perplexed.

"Yeah," He responded to Volare, he was here for the grand opening, "I'm with the ah, the press."
Then, to Haruka, "All good?"

He glanced after Jack, a pit forming again in his gut. Did this have to do with the Aschen?

Jack stops for a moment, gathering himself, before turning back around and walking back.
"Hey, uh, sorry. Feel kind of ill. Op-mandated stimulants always kind of did that to me, real sorry for the, uh, yeah. We still investigating this thing? Looks like security's on it, but, uh, I'm up for it still."
His face is visibly pale, and he looks ill, so he pulls down his glasses to cover most of his face. "Yeah, uh, it's like smelling salts but weird, nothing you did. Turned off the visor, y'know," he reaches up and taps it, "TOC didn't like that."
He pauses for a moment before continuing. "Yeah, uh, I'm going to go throw up before the worst hits, hopefully they didn't roid rage me or anything. I'll see you 'round, be right back, yeah, yeah."
He glances over at Shaunie, then at Volare, and is about to leave, then momentarily pauses, looking at Eques. "Uh, can I, uh... may I pet your cat?" He asks, looking mildly nervous.

Volare glanced at Haruka and noticed that she was blushing. "Oh no, can she read my mind, just like Eques?" Volare thought, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Volare stammered, his cheeks turning a shade of pink. "Sorry, Haruka," he began, " I didn't mean to make it awkward. I just think you're really cool, and, I like you" Volare felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him as he admitted, "I like you," to a stranger.

Volare was taken aback when Jack asked to pet Eques. Subconsciously, he held the cat tighter against his chest and took a cautious half step back. "No," Volare replied defensively, his eyes darting between Jack and Eques. He could see a hurt expression on Jack's face, which made him feel a pang of regret for his reaction.

After a moment of hesitation, Volare turned to Eques and asked the cat telepathically, "What do you think, Eques?" Eques, in response, gently licked Volare's hand as a way of calming him down and conveyed telepathically, "Jack is fine. He's not harmful; he just likes me."

Taking a deep breath and feeling somewhat reassured by Eques' message, Volare turned back to Jack, slowly inching closer, though he couldn't completely shake his nervousness.

Bolea Nuurk spotted Shaunie across the lobby and immediately wibbled on over. The blue jelly creature was quaking with excitement!

Not really the good kind, but also the good kind.

"Shau! Shau!" She called to him, seeming oblivious to everyone around him, "Get the camera! There's been a murder!"

Shaunie Macadden winced at the word "murder", his face melting into a sheepish smile aimed at Volare, Haruka, and Jack.

"Sorry, er," Shaunie said to his new company, then turned to look at Bolea. Did she have to say it like that?

"Sure, ah," OK, so it was time to work, again, already. He sighed and said, "'Scuse me, um," and then receded back into the crowd towards the Gallery. This most certainly probably had something to do with the Aschen guy, didn't it.