Mada 'Alexis' Mykrul's Story

A short hum precedes the arrival of a woman at a nearby intersection in a blur-pop of halted motion seen by Yuri in the distance behind Arkaan. Bright red eyes turn to look over at the two framed by a porcelain complexion full of wide eyed curiosity. Furs despite the heat she doesn't seem much to mind though the clothing had thickness like leather with none of the shine or creak as she walked closer. Adorning her shoulder was a newly added insignia of the Imperium of Man but no indication of a rank. She walked quite quickly toward the shop

A youthful voice piped up from Alexis who's blur slips in the space between blinks up to the door, "Extradimensional manifolds? neat! Those are expensive. Please excuse me but Guardsman, do you know if they sell airbows in there? Stubber ammo just goes inert and I already melted the immaterium out of a force weapon but I guess we're kinda anathema to it."

She smiled, " I'm Alexis. Since Sybil's busy I'm hoping humankind mechanicus stuff has options."

"Expensive? I wouldn't call it that since I was born with it. Also, I don't believe we have met. My name is Yuri Himura, it's nice to meet you Alexis. This man here is helping me with weaponry so I think he might be able to help you as well."

She just smiled and twirled a pencil in her left hand. She had kept the pencil legitimately up her sleeve and just decided to spin it around because she needed something to fiddle with.

It was shaping up to just be one of those days for Arkaan. He barely caught Yuri's explanation due to the extremely sudden appearance of the other woman. What little he did, didn't help too much; The Imperium's opinion of Abberents was almost as low as that of witches, or xenos, or heretics, or..The new-newcomer's abrupt question jogged him back to reality, and he gave her a bow as well.

The sigil of Man on her shoulder drew his attention like a burning beacon, however. The only logical conclusion he allowed himself to leap to being that she was of the Cult Mechanicus.

"Well.." began the Guard, an almost forgone sense of dread sinking in behind his cheery exterior. "This fine shop isn't much for Imperial fare, I fear. After...Well, it is understandable to say the least." There was no way he wasn't going to be executed for all this later, he just knew it somehow.

Turning back towards Yuri, and the shop itself, he took a long, proud stride towards the entrance, motioning them both inside. "I do believe they have a Machinery in the back, come! I'm sure we can do something for your needs while I help the young woman, my Lady Techpriest."

In truth he'd never seen a Techpriest quite like this, or one that was a woman to begin with, but that was largely due to how horrifically unsettling they were. Something about their eagerness to replace even a good, healthy limb with a cyberprosthesis.

Alexis looked at him eyes watching his own with a raising brow and a hesitant hand full of sympathy and a lot of information, "Well we're not quite tech priests but it's close. While Humankind's darker will might result the Immaterium, the Fallen Emperor's will made Myrkul's Vein and thereby Myrkul's wellspring. We were separated from the line of the Emperor due to a traitor serving Aetherkind. I guess you call them C'tan? Well Myrkul took the Mada's gene-seed created by the Fallen Emperor and forged us to His design from the wellspring to purify mankind. We're immune to the warp. We reconnected with the current incarnation of the Living Emperor several months ago after breaking free. The black robed Jinhai in Wing City are Myrkul's version of tech priests since we lost all of our technical creators but they're not... dogmatic. The tech priests are really more inventive though."

Porcelain skin and red lips squirmed to think of a charitable descriptor as she walked in to look around, "I grew up with Jinhai and they're creepy to humans I guess but... not... eying your glutes creepy. If you need an arm and we have an untainted donor you can get a new arm put on as enhanced as we can alter them right now. Since you have rank you could even ask a Librarian order a Jinhai servitor from Myrkul's Vein to your Apothecary. Myrkul made its own Administratum from Jinhai's psi-seed to keep track of requisitions for our resources."

She patted him on the shoulder and looked at him bright red eyed, "I do hear they're really... violent in the Inquisition about taint but that's the back of the Emperor's hand. Our hands are His that foster and cleanse human souls. I can tell you aren't tainted I don't need to abuse you to find out. There's just not that many of us so the Inquisition is necessary."

The fur-lined shoulders shrugged and made a whacking motion with a disassembled stock before looking at it, "My sister Plinth even took the taint out of her first chaos marine the other day you know. He's doing litanies 'til the Living Emperor has a look at him. The Inquisition can wait until we have His utmost word on the man's service history. We're not just going to erase a good clean Astartes, if all we need are tech priests to fix his carapace, just on their say-so."

She showed her pearly teeth to the both of them, "I collate for Myrkul's Vein so I guess I'm a little wordy, sorry!"

As the three entered it was set up they saw, like that of the typical gun range and store, but it didnt cater to just guns, but bows, and other ranged weapons of choice. A single woman, tall for her age was on the range itself, using a rather ornate seemingly self built bow of mechanical design. The arrows she was using were 44 inch long things a inch and a half thick.

It made sense for her to use such large arrows for her bow, a normal arrow would have shattered when the bowstring was released. But each shot found its target in a barrel of concrete, of course each shot chipped off a good chunk of the target. Burying the arrow deep into the meter thick barrel of cement.

As the door open the amber eyed woman turned towards it. Ah customers, ever since Issac had let on his vacation, Asaca had kept the store for him. Turning from the range she hit a release button on her bow, the spines folded neatly as it folded to be held on her belt neatly and not in the way, infact if they didnt know she was just shooting the thing down the range they'd think it was part of her belt by look alone. "May I help you ?" she asked the threesome

"Talk about overkill," Yuri said as she saw the bow and the ballista bolts being fired. She pulled the shitty lump of scrap that used to be a shotgun out of her sleeve.

"I'm looking for some guns. I got this thing to replace, and I'd like to get two others."

Yuri simply twirled the useless heap of metal in her hand as if it were a baton and she was back cheerleading in high school. She was glancing around the place as well, while she absentmindedly played with the lump of scrap.

Arkaan made his way directly to the counter next to Yuri, trying his best to process the massive amoint of information Alexis had given him. It felt a little rude not to reapond to the "Myrkul priest", whatever that was, but it was well beyond his paygrade. Mentally shaking off the image of those deep red eyes the Guardsmen slapped a massive, gnarled hand onto the counter. "Ah, أخت Asaca! It does me well to see you so hard at work."

Arkaan cast a quick glance around at the various racks, and shelfs stuffed to bursting with a plethora of weaponry. He'd been here a few times recently, but not enough to have a true sense of their stock, let alone a memorized list.

"Hmmmm..So many to choose from..Oh! Before I forget," he turned back towards Alexis, careful to avoid eye contact. "Stubber ammo, correct my Lady?"

Alexis blurred between displays with small popping noises then turned around to Asaca, "Hi! I'm Mada Alexis. I'm looking for an airbow. I need something sturdy and inflexible without too many small mechanical parts since I tend to melt electronics and ammunition. Heard I could get airbows here!"

She eyed the barrel with the arrow then blur-pops near Yuri, "She's really good with a bow though I don't think I'm anywhere near strong enough to pull those things. These are artillery not winches, yeah?"

The arms of her matte jacket pulled back it revealed shine of some woven metal shifting through her skin. The faint glow of edges arcing down toward bone. Spots in the patterns aped language in various languages if one looked long enough though it preferred a particular language of the Imperium now. Curled leafy letters formed in languages she knew the frequent one an ornately decorated Low Gothic, "Messorem"

She nodded at Arkaan wiggling an arm to put her coat back in place, "I can try some but I'll need insensitive munitions or the bullets won't fire after I shift once. I'm not like the immaterium biomancers when I use speed if the propellant isn't already really stable it will be after. Same with batteries... and electronics."

A long breath of frustration she looked down with dangling arms, "Turns out I impose so much stability I can't even own a flashlight."

Asaca had to smile, Seeing the remains of a shotgun that had seen far too much use to be even resembling of a shotgun in its own right she had to wonder briefly exactly what type it was, it looked like a 12gage but she wasnt sure, Issac was more versed on firearms. "I think we have something that can suit your needs" She said to Yuri nodding towards a nearby asile of the gunrange store. It was like a armory in the Matrix, the shelves were well stocked. "If you see anything you liker, just holler, I'm not exactly a professional when it comes to firearms so I cant exactly give suggestions"

When the other turned to her asking about airbows, or any kind of bow Asaca smiled anew, a happier smile Finally. someone who spoke her language! She nodded "Airbows, longbows, compound bows, crossbows, blowguns, you name it we got it. if we dont have it we can try to get it for you. Are you in the market for anything inparticular or is it a grab bag wherein a set draw weight will suffice ?"

She nodded in greeting to Arkaan in greeting "Master Arkaan, I wasnt expecting the Desert Raiders so soon, Are you and the Raiders in need of anything ?" The last time she had seen the Desert Raiders was the first time she had met Arkaan during a raid gone sideways in the worse possible way, had she not shown up with her beautifully timed arrow to the braincase of the creature at the time Arkaan and his squadmates would have been lost to the nine hells entirely.

Yuri marched her way over to the shelves of guns and looked around.

"Lesse....I need a good shotty....maybe a sniper.....and something a little more unconven-"

It was then she spotted the Neopup-20, a grenade launcher. She snatched it right away and set it on the counter. She then went about grabbing several cases of explosive ammo and incendiary ammo for it, setting it there as well. Yuri then wandered off to go look at the shotguns.

"Hmm...I like pump-action...those are fun.... Something with a wider spread....hmmm"

She took out her phone and using the mobile hotspot she has, she looked up some info on guns. Eventually she found a type of shotgun she liked and went about searching for it, the Weatherby PA-08. She eventually did find it, grabbed it and set it down next to the Neopup-20.

"Now for the fun gun...."

She would just walk around, browsing the snipers for a while.

Still leaning against the counter Arkaan offered a detached shrug, although he couldn't hide his wry smile. "Just me today sister, my squad has much to do, and less time to do it in." Casting another quick glance around, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of awe. He always did here. Even the holy field-armouries of the Cult Mechanicus couldn't hold a candle to all the makes, and models On Target provided, although to give voice to such a feeling would be blasphemy.

"I was hoping for a little time on the range, actually. All this construction work has me feeling like a Forge Worker, not a soldier, but! I seem to have found those in need, instead." The Guard jerked his thumb towards the women he entered with. With as little free time as he had these days part of him just wanted to leave them to their own devices, or even rush them through. But such actions would be shameful, and in the end did the Emperor not reward good deeds?

The "Mada's" hyperactivity, and speed didn't help ease that notion. Have before had he seen something of that nature, and it disturbed him greatly. He opted to simply ignore that aspect of Alexis entirely. When she popped in beside him though he once again nearly lept straight out of his smock. By the Emperor, just what have I fallen into..

Continuing his conversation with Asaca, he kicked around Alexis' need for simplistic ammo. None came to mind however. "We hope to have the settlement finished soon, though. And the first moisture catcher has been completed this last week. Progress is good.." His attention drifted as Yuri made her way to a rack of designated marksmen rifles. Even among Tallarns Arkaan was an excellent shot, besting even his commander in competition much to his own chagrin. Not letting the vainglorious blowhard win was why a man of his skill had been stuck as a sergeant for a decade. "If you'll excuse me, sister Asaca. Perhaps you can aid the Lady Tech Priest for me, though?"

Three long bounding strides, and he was just behind Yuri. Already stroking his thick beard in contemplation.

"So, a fellow marksmen, eh? Or woman in this case." He chuckled. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

Alexis smiled at Arkaan as he passed her to Asaca, "Thanks Arkaan! If you're building stuff for the Living Emperor the Jinhai aren't far away. The small ones are safe it's the big ones that raised the Living Emperor that melt you humankind."

There three quiet shoofs of air to move to Asaca, one quite close to Arkaan, and a hard object gingerly stuffed into one of Arkaan's pockets. A 100 carat cognizance crystal the currency of materialization to Myrkul's servitors. It had its own thought harmonic rendered audible this close to the mind of a humankind. A lingering pitched almost-speech likely similar to an Athaan given the Tallaran's culture. It did not whisper like the immaterium the wellspring of Myrkul more a mirror of humankind. Milky lucent patterns colored its surface was lukewarm neither taking nor supplying heat. The psimass quite sealed to itself.

She looked at Asaca extending a hand from her hip with a thwip of air, "Nice to meet you! Well I need something compact. I'm not that strong and I heard they had airbows. Fires like a rifle but with no electronic parts!"

She pumped her hand back and forth with a whirr of air, "If I could draw a longbow back I'd probably break it. The metal bolt munitions I might be able to imbue!"

The sound of high powered explosives drifted through Issac's ears over the sound of his Jeep's engine. Seemed like his neighbors were making a nuisance of themselves once more... Oh well that's what he got for letting anyone within 25 miles of his compound... With dust trailing behind his wake the man drove leisurely down the dirt road that lead back to the range... to his home.

Pulling up to the car port on the edge of the store issac eyed the shop, it was still standing, so that was something.
Eyeing the range he saw Asaca was still about, judging by the projectiles she called arrows resting in a target down range.
She'd been interrupted--- his gaze trailed to the dirt in front of the doorway.Man's combat boot, heavy and large that made its way from the road, A set of woman's boots... simply started. A landing of sorts? Portal maybe. And a second set of smaller boots...but the dust trailed from the steps like it had been flung with force... Running wouldn't have caused that--least not in any speed he'd seen anyone run.

Not hearing the sounds of combat he assumed whom ever had come with no ill intent.

The gruff old man entered the gun store. An olive drab rifle bag slung over his shoulder next to an A.L.I.C.E pack that reeked of wood fire smoke. His White button up-shirt, the sleeves rolled up passed the elbow, was tucked into a pair of Dark tan fatigue style pants, A belt held a holstered pistol firmly against Issac's side. But for all his gear and hard features the man emanated a sense of ease... or possibly control.

The marksmen smiled, his blue eyes scanning the room as he gave a wave to familiar faces. " Asaca. Arkaan." He shot Arkaan a stout nod before moving passed the store at a comfortable pace.

Spying the new comers Issac gave the typical merchant smile. " Afternoon folks, if Asaca hasn't already I'll be out to assist you in just a moment." His voices was pleasant , what ever had been pestering the man before his vacation clearly wasn't on his mind anymore and those that knew him would likely notice this.

"Well... Yea kinda. I'm looking for a good bolt action sniper. I figure since I'm here I'll see what this place has."

Yuri would grab a gun she sees, looks down the scope or just down the barrel if no scope was present. She felt the trigger, checked for moving parts, etc.

It was then she noticed this new guy showed up. Yuri turned to face him.

"Hey there whatsyourface! I'd say a name but I don't know it. Mine's Yuri."

Ever the gregarious sort Alexis' red eyes looked over at Issac as she filed through the almanac looking for the man's face. An errant Administratum gave her a land deed copy. Owner then? What luck! The red eyes changed location in short order to look on where he'd gone off to with a soft sspok of air as manipulated space quietly hissed behind her as it returned to normal.

The blur replaced itself back in front of Asaca, "He seems nice! I'm open to suggestions but the airbow seemed like something I couldn't siphon and sturdy enough I couldn't break it so easy. I mean even I had a crossbow or something when I moved the bolt would fly off."

Her finger tapped her chin unreasonably fast as she pondered, "I guess I might end up squirting the bolt out the front of the airbow but I don't like to run backwards."

Life for Alexis was a stream of long silences between bursts of endless noise. Her world writ as a single moment as her body followed a line thrown across reality to a destination then lit into motion. The Almanac was what she read in that in-between. Though this silence was broken at the end with an explosion of endless dry chatter pelting the back of her mind. Sometimes it was an obstacle she hadn't planned for like on the way back from the outskirts of wing city after repeatedly hitting tumbleweeds. The conversations among servitors among citizens having conversations made it hard sometimes to remember to avoid landing headfirst.

Now that she'd gotten back into wing city it was hard to pick out one thing to pay attention to. Idly picking out burred seeds from her clothing and brushing off the dust from her hair. Though she'd gotten better at sorting through new happenings around the city and doing other things at the same time. Everything was different all the time here besides the people scheming about something everywhere. A constant undercurrent boiling anger into her thoughts or the faint glyph phasing into language surrounding her from somewhere else in her attention. Other times the Almanac leaked from lies she saw in advertisements on the walls as a faint outpour of paragraphs and translucent visuals.

If she sat still and focused she could listen to the other people heard by servitors that she otherwise couldn't quite pick out. A closing of her red eyes while on a bench in wing city and the world both gained and lost immensity. Amid the relative quiet of her closed eyes conversations near servitors went on undiminished by distance. Near to every table and looking with her mind's eye as memories of incongruent images and text servitors observed pours past. There were always many sobbing stories from the wing city hospital to read but she wanted something cheerful to try and sell to the humans. Some whisper that marked her place among the endless noise. Others passing complaints about ashen or the TNG's failing health. Something for later. Then a conversation among two bosses about some soiree at a new restaurant. New? No, new to them maybe in a recommendation from one to another. Too something? The servitor had passed that source by.

Alexis opened all eyes to the world again as the red eyes squinted at the flood of information. A deep breath reached down to pick up a book in her mind that was not in her life. Though she seemed to others to read and flip through an absent libram while wincing in emotion at some visualized screaming someone she had to push away. It took some time to sift through the almanac to find out which servitor heard what she'd found. A careful examination of potentials surrounding the memory of those voices she heard within the almanac. Climbing between the web of knowledge that tethered itself to branches in her brain.

Though she couldn't use a computer to look through the city for news articles and reviews. Alexis burnt out electronics rapidly and had to find the written word. Critics tended to yell loudly and that's how she found a snippet of an article from some lady. Idle watching between frozen moment between trash cans around newsstands for an hour until finding magazines. A quiet look over someone's shoulder to read a cell phone as they browsed a site. The trips along a single predetermined tether of reality left little but bootprints but left no sound.

The high ranking humankind talked differently than the everyday drone she heard and that sort of information stood out. Though to her several weeks of searching as she walks on thin strands of the basal layer. Alexis bounced from spot to spot across the city over the day searching for the magazine it came from. Though the well-to-do seemed a common thread with the ones looking at that particular blog. Alexis had been picked up and thrown out several times and couldn't well take someone on the basal layer with her. Nearly broke her nose on a forcefield she'd not realized was there trying to follow a thread past it. Instead, she remembered Bristol and that did seem about his sort of company. A turn and a consideration of her path to get there cast a thread to bristol's office. In the middle of dropping his coffee by the time she exits the thread. Bristol seemed a little put-off but answered her questions all the same. Contacts! Alexis would have to get more of those. He knew what she was talking about.

After peppering him with questions for an hour cast a thread in small shards on the way there. Though she had to make a small stop to Sybil's Lamentation Forge. Unfamiliar with either locale the last thing she wanted to do is hit a curb while on the way there then fling herself off a ledge. Just because motes in her body healed her quickly that didn't make a broken leg any less inconvenient. Under market took a bit and Sybil had to guide her there but it was a good stop to make. Everything for the Mada is made by forge master Sybil.

One really couldn't buy anything without credits so Alexis pretty much had to start with Sybil if she wanted something. Even clothes which were nearly worn through after a decade of wear, relative to Alexis's last real week at least, so at least Bristol gave her something new to wear. Other Mada didn't seem to care about joining human society but Sybil had an awareness of it. Probably more as her awareness of big daddy Emperor but that nearly got her hit with a hammer. Alexis didn't give Sybil time for percussive objections before picking up one of the smaller cognizance vaults in her forge and leaving with it. As she left the basal thread having absconded giggles in midair. Hurled forward feet over heels after tripping over a rat outside her labyrinth managed to skid hips first a bit. Then stood up to rub her sore bottom and brush off the dust.

She could hear Sybil from the walls commenting acridly, "It's a good thing you landed on your well-padded end and not your thick skull. Don't break that."

A throng of short stitches later footprints traced into existence from the labyrinth to the door of the restaurant. A small cylinder in her pale hands. They were flexible on payment. What she'd heard said they used some sort of magic cook? Alexis' eyes cooled from electric blue to their normal red as she looked about. The tattoo of her Falx writ in raised black bumps shone by the coat sleeves settling down. The new coat was clean, a nice fur and suede, her pants a robust leather but well assembled. Bristol had style at least though she wasn't sure where he got the women's clothes. Maybe more the rich swarthy boy met more ladies than she knew! Though her thoughts were scattered looking over the interior. All the things she could write an actual missive that humans could read! They one she'd read the reviews of sounded picky. The servitors were so... regular in their construction. This place had style and even artwork. A lot like the Imperial buildings but a little less violent.

"I oughta charge the thing," Said the thin Mada distractedly as she turned the vents of the small grey cylinder of cognizance vault within her hands.

Focused on charging the vault angular mica patterns layered inside served as anchor points as threads pour inside to stitch together. Entirely unaware of a doorman she may have flashed in front of at the front door. Expecting a foyer she'd stopped in the middle of the entrance. The black vault wrapped around her torso humms as the empty vessel fills with a weightless fluid. Amassed raw magical energy climbs in between a growing tangle of potentials anchored to its walls. Stable enough Sybyl said it more resembled a synthetic ley node. Seconds later she figured a mage should recognize what it was for. It held a pretty good quantity though she felt it was like trying to breathe for someone else. The warmth from her body and personal vault poured inside. A faint distortion around her pale hands and arms they vibrated the small vault in place. Her vest replacing the warmth that the small vest removed from her.

Larc strode/floated to the other side of the table and took a seat in a practiced smooth motion. He pulled the seat out and the seat would magically pull back in, perfectly catching him in just the right position. His Staff of Ygg would float over to his right side, changing colors once more to a brighter beige cinderwood color. Clearly intrigued, it would would look as if it was swinging in a small motion from side to side. Larc would look steal a glance at his Staff of Ygg before shifting his gaze back to his guest.

"Hello my esteemed guest - Miss Yan. I can only guess the reason you have been coming here is because you can afford to enjoy our food daily! I would be honored, only except my staff members informed me that they have not managed to satisfy your palate. Disappointing to say the least. I take great bride in my abilities." Larc would began. His waiters would have flanked the table by now, two on each side. One of them would have placed the dragon styled chalice on the table already. The liquid inside would be red, with a layer of froth at the top that would appear to be sprinkled with flecks of gold, upon closer inspection however, one would notice that the entire top level of froth was actually shifting with swirls of lively gold. Like a golden snake in the liquor.

"I decided that I would see for myself all the things I need to know. The truth of my esteemed customers continued presence and request for a Di Grun, the capabilities of judgment towards my food, and whether I need to shut down my services for an intervention. I will not tolerate poor service." He finished. It would be clear through the extremely toothy smile and the measured tone that his expression showed his exact feelings of amusement and pride. A scary expression it would be too. Di Grun's were all born with a mask of darkness over there faces, the only thing visible would be yellow orbs for eyes and sharp pointed teeth that would show when smiling. Through magic, they morphed their fangs to look like normal teeth, but there was one in the family did who not mask his. Larcierge Di Grun was unfiltered among his family and kin.

The little dragon on the chalice, as if on cue, would slither further atop the chalice and aim its snout to the sky. It would blow a 3 foot flame upwards. The flame would be green in color, giving off a very infectiously calming and overwhelmingly invigorating area of effect, instead of the heat of normal. It would surprise everyone, including the waiters.

Larcierge would smile even wider however.

The fruit in its mouth would shine and even brighter green, sparkling and glowing, before being dropped in the drink by the little dragon. To which the dragon would maneuver back down towards the bottom of the chalice. It would inhale once more, then breath a gentle chilling breath of blue mist to cool the bottom of the chalice, keeping the optimum temperature where its supposed to be.

"Before I answer any questions about the famous legendary Sleeping Dragon of Ancient China, nor inquiries of intent/desires any further, please...let us have you drink. I shall indulge with you out of respect. As one should." Tierge said, and one of the waiters will place a chalice made of beautiful black obsidian. It would also look like glass, similar to the one Yu Yan would have. The same waiter will pour a brown liquid that one could assume was a small batch special. Larc would move when Miss Yan moved to sip.

Of course, he and all the staff noticed the man appearing through doors suddenly, but the table had his full attention. Someone would greet the customer withing seconds.

An impeccable dressed staff woman appear next to Alexis, greeting her with a big smile.

"Hello ma'am, how may I seat you today? We have a couple of seats in the common area, we have two in the VIP section and one private room viewing of Kitchen 2 available. The private room comes with a surcharge. But there will be a dedicated team making your food, and you get an exclusive menu of the original dishes curated by the Chef of the Week."