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 Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:40 pm
Zil sat quietly in a wagon packed full with people. They were going to be sold as slaves. Zil played the part of one of them to be able to sneak into Ander easily. 's**t. Where is that boy?', he thought angrily to himself, grumbling. 'He was last seen around the borders of Ander. Not too bad considering the boy originated from there. But we'll have a big advantage in the war once we've secured him on our side. Shouldn't be too hard... But considering that we've rescued him from pirates and brought him back to Norra only for the cycle to be repeated... This is too much! Isn't there another way?!'
Zil kept his head down, remembering that Norra was having a border war with Ander this very moment. He should've been there. He should be assisting in the war! But no... Instead he's off to Ander to go look for a stray boy with particularly efficient technological designs. He sighed as the wagon moved along, nearing its destination.
Win was in a lonely part of Hannon, surrounded by thieves and killers while her wagon just sat there unprotected. Even so, she didn't appear very worried. After all, the people around knew who she was and dared not approach. "Now where should I go next, ei chap? It's kinda getting boring on this side of the fence", she said to a traveling merchant that happened to station himself near her.
"Have you tried slave trading?" he asked. "It's very profitable and exciting, Miss Win"
"Slave trade?! No way! That blasted trading of human beings with hearts and minds to other people who are still just people but think themselves some kind of gods?! Leave me out of it! I have no wish to take part in such hateful activities" she finished, crossing her arms and looking away in disgust.
A few street bums and gang members sitting across the street heard her. One of them began to say, "Oh! But our hearts are already a slave to your every whim!" The others laughed and cheered, clapping and wolf-whistling.
"Oh! Boys~ Don't say it like that! I might just round you all up and sell you to Don Jack" Win said in a joking and flirtatious way.
The smiles on the men's faces disappeared and they packed up, parting ways. Knowing Win's temperament, they weren't sure if she would actually try so might as well get up and go now.
Win giggled to herself. "Right! I should get going", she said to her merchant friend.
"Take care, Miss Win. I hope we can cross paths on the road again" the merchant said, waving her goodbye.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:16 pm
((Hmm. Where to start. In the sky I suppose.))
Victor was on a Gunther airship that was doing its routine patrol for any invaders or sky pirates. Victor was hoping to be transferred to the battlefront soon, but according to his orders, that wouldn't be for a few more days unless an emergency happened. He was getting rather bored and they hadn't caught many people to interrogate. Hopefully something would come up soon.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:21 pm
"Lord Hector!" A voice called. It was one of Hector's sergeants running in the room with alarm.
"What is it?" Hector asked, rubbing her head while waiting for John to return.
"A group of slave traders has appeared on camp and is trying to sell goods." The sergeant replied.
"Morons!" Hector yelled, quickly getting up to go see what was happening. The laws concerning slaves were very strict in Ander, and it was illegal for soldiers to buy slaves while working. Hector ran out, to see a group heckling her soldiers to buy people, and she grimaced when she saw the condition of the people inside. A few of the people were sick and skinny from poor nutrition. She especially noted a mother and child in the corner, shivering as if they were scared. Of course, Hector's soldiers knew the laws, and they were upset to see people in such a state as well. "What's going on." She demanded to the merchant in charge.
"Nothing much. Just business." he replied. Hector said nothing for a moment and narrowed her eyes.
"Let me see your merchant's pass." Hector demanded.
"Pass?" He asked.
"Yes. This is Ander territory. I want to see your pass." She replied. Hesitantly, the merchant pulled out his pass and gave it to her. "... you do realize that this is not a slave trading pass. I'm going to have to confiscate all of your goods." She replied.
"What?! You can't!" he yelled with alarm.
"You should be thanking me. I can have you put in prison for life for illegal action since you were heckling my working soldiers. You should know that it's illegal for a soldier on the job to make transactions concerning slaves." She replied. "Now keys." She demanded.
"No! These are-" He began to argue when several soldiers started moving to prevent him from escaping. he slowly handed her the keys and she let out all of the slaves.
She released them from their shackles and closed the empty door. "Now get out of here." She demanded, tossing him the keys.
"Y-yes sir." the merchant said, as the group of them quickly mounted their wagons an left.
Hector let out a sigh and went towards the group of people. "Alright, these people are under custody of the government. I'd like them cleaned, clothed, fed, and escorted to the nearest office to be examined." She yelled. At that, her men began to cheer enthusiastically. She then looked towards the sick and also the mother with her child and smiled kindly towards them.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:54 pm
Zil sighed. Another hassle, it seemed. Of the slaves, Zil appeared to be the healthiest one, his muscles still lean although he was gaining some years on him. "Thank you so much, kind sir", he said, trying to act more his age than he normally does.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:58 pm
"Ah, it's no problem. I'm sure any decent commander here would do the same." She replied, looking him over. "You must have been captured pretty recently. You're in very good shape. Are you a mercenary?" She asked.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:01 pm
"Until recently" Zil said to the commander with a smile. He just hoped he doesn't catch onto what Zil was really trying to do, or else things might just go awry for him on this mission. "It's rough... This day and age. Free men get caught, gagged and sold as slaves. You'll never know who's who anymore. Isn't that right?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:09 pm
"I know... for our fellow men to be treated in such a way is horrible. I don't see how other countries can do it so thoughtlessly. I suppose when you get a big country like Norra and you don't want to be responsible for the people living on the land you stole, it becomes normal and you become lethargic towards it. Not every country they took over has the fortune of having mountains to escape too like our ancestors did." She sighed with bitterness. "Anyway, our offices handle such matters. If you were free and grabbed, they can pull up the records so that you can go home. If not, you can get citizenship here as a free person." She told him.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:18 pm
Zil had never been in conversation with a high-ranking Ander officer but frankly, he was impressed by his way of thinking. He was personally not a fan of slavery even though it helped build and maintain his own country but hearing the words of this Ander commander was a different philosophy altogether than he was used to. He hesitated a little but continued, "You... Free captured slaves?", he asked. In Norra, it was quite frowned upon and rare did incidents like that happened, especially not done by the army or the government.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:31 pm
"Yeah." She replied. "Judging from my visits with Gunther and Hannon, slaves in Ander are more like hired workers that we pay with clothing, food, and shelter rather then money. The slave rights laws set down by the previous king say if one can't take proper care of their slaves, the slaves will be taken away and given citizenship. Also, after a slave becomes a certain age and has given at least 10 years of service to the owner, the owner is obligated by law to take care of them until they die. It's also common to free slaves when we no longer need them." She shrugged as if it was nothing new to her. "I remember mentioning it to the King of Hannon once and he threw a fit." She chuckled. "Maybe it's because I grew up here, but to me it's not that big of a deal."
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:53 pm
"I see" Zil replied. 'On second thought, an Ander citizenship sounds nice', he thought to himself. "Well, I guess they're calling me. You seem like a good man. Take care of yourself out there"
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:57 pm
 ⓣ ⓗ ⓔ ✪ ⓣ ⓦ ⓘ ⓝ ⓢ
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ "Lenny! Lenny!!" Luka scrambled to follow his sister, his bear-like size lumbering after her as she power walked down the small and narrow hall. "We've just gotten hired!" He pined, his deep voice hinting how tired he was. He rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble there as he watched his sister strut briskly away. Alas, she arrived at a heavy iron door, opening it without knocking as she quickly spotted the lieutenant.
"Ah, Lieutenant, may I have a word?" She murmured quietly, Svetlana appearing rather composed than herself moments prior. Her colorful eyes watched Victor for a moment before she stepped forward, not bothering with his reply. "We've been hired by your government to aid under your command, since manpower seems to be something this country is missing," she stated, almost sarcastically despite how placid her face looked at the moment. She put a hand on her hip, giving him a thuggish look now. "And I will respect you as I see fit and will follow the regulations, but the uniforms...really..." She paused here, her face twitching with slight irritation.
"Come on, Lenny~ The dress code isn't such a biggie~" He mused, striding in with his arms in his pockets. His hunkering body had to duck a little to fit through the doorway. He looked up, looking at Victor a little surprised. This didn't seem to be the best timing. Svetlana looked back at Victor more directly. "They all match! They're all unisexed!" While usually very docile, Svetlana disliked this.
Luka covered her mouth then, laughing it off a little. "Sorry. As twins, we have problems with matching out clothes..." He pulled Svetlana away a little, who struggled under his bear-like grip.
"But really, how do you manage this? I mean, all these buttons. It's very...constricting," Luka commented. For a man his size, finding a jacket was difficult for him. So it felt sort of tight on his chest and arms. He rolled his shoulders a little before chuckling, letting Svetlana go. She gasped for breath, giving her brother a glare before bowing in front of Victor. "Sorry for my outburst, Lieutenant. I'll return to my duties," she murmured and walked out of the room. Luka watched her go, sighing a little with a smile and a shake of his head before looking at Victor with a cheeky look.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:00 pm
"You too. Be careful. And if you don't mind, watch out for the sick mother for me." She told him before turning and going back to work.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:05 pm
Victor gripped his pen with irritation when they barged in without knocking. He stood up and walked over once the two finished yammering. "It is customary to knock, especially when speaking to your superiors. I expect you to remember this next time. I do not like being barged in on. As for the uniforms, yes you have to wear them. I don't want to hear any complaints. As for the size, you'll have to take that up with the uniform tailor. I'm sure they can make adjustments. Now do you plan on bothering me for no reason again?" he stated in an obviously exasperated tone. The lieutenant had been busy with files and letters.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:13 pm
"I will. Oh! I don't believe I've caught your name" Zil turned back to Hector. It was not that he would remember it but the information might help sometime. "So I may have the pleasure of knowing the benefactor who helped us"
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:23 pm
Hector stopped in her tracks and turned back towards him. "My name? It's Hector Thunderbird." she told him. Some of the slaves looked with surprise and awe at being saved by someone so famous. She clearly lived up to the name and rumors, too. Who didn't know of her? She was one of the prominent commanders in pushing back Norra. Though she hadn't been in command for long, the damage she did to Norra was more then any commander managed to do in almost 500 years. She was an eyesore, and a source of fear to country leaders. She was at the top of Norra's hit list.
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