New Life [open]

[Jin Caron]

Jin set down his bags once he got off of the ferry and turned around, thanking the captain and paying him the rest of the transportation fee. He then proceeded to pick up his bag and sling it to his back and walk into the heart of town. Though he had been to the outer planets on many occasions, this had been the first time he had done so without a commotion or a gunfight. His first plan was to go and get himself some plain clothes since he had only one of the many formal and semi-formal clothing provided by his father back in Osiris and since most people were not living the life of luxury, he would definitely receive unnecessary attention. After a bit of walking, he entered a clothing store and picked out a few jeans, a dozen or so shirts and a jacket in case things got cold wherever he was headed. After that, Jin went to a pawn shop and sold some luxuries he had brought with him to sell for some extra money and bought some ammunition for his pistol as well, then proceeded to the nearest inn.

"Ni hao, I would like one room for the night please." Jin requested sliding the money to the bartender, who looked him over and simply nodded, taking the money and throwing him the keys to the room. "Second floor, third room to the left." the man said. Thanking him, Jin walked up the creaky stairs to his assigned room and set down his bags, changed his clothes and then went back down to the bar to get a drink. There really wasn't much to do right now since it was getting late and for the past few weeks, Jin had spent time in a ship out of the core planets, which was already hard enough to do due to the massive amount of fighting going near the border of the core planets. With enough luck though, Jin had found a transport ferry taking passengers out of the core planets to the outer planets. And now here he was in Jiangyin with no job, no connections, and definitely not friends as of now, especially due to his relation with the Alliance.

After taking some time to recuperate, Jin walked down the stairs and sat down at the bar. "What's yer poison?" the bartender asked Jin. He sighed and shrugged, "Anything strong." The bartender took out a glass with ice and filled it with whiskey. As he was about to put the bottle back, he saw that Jin seemed very tired and decided not to put it away, placing it in front of Jin. "Half price for the bottle. You look like you'll need it." the man said as he walked away and Jin thanked him. He took a gulp of the drink and closed his eyes, putting the glass to his forehead calming his head with the cold glass. He needed to find a job or ship soon, else he was definitely bound to run out of money very soon. Jin definitely couldn't keep running around planet to planet staying at inns, and it wouldn't do much to stay in one place and get a home since the Alliance was no doubt searching for traitors such as himself within the planets. Giving up on trying to make a plan, he finished his glass and refilled it, placing it against his head again. "This'll be a long year..." Jin muttered under his breath, contemplating whether it really was a great idea to jump into the outer planets with no connections whatsoever.

[kyliegrasan]

So this is what Kylie got for being brave during the Reaver attack on the Esteem: she now found herself on a top secret covert black-op on Jiangyin trying to capture Jin Caron, a former Alliance officer suspected of trading Alliance data to the militias. She couldn't help but think that Amaia somehow had her hand in this as well.

She and the rest of the team found themselves dressed as militia members, with Kylie wearing a black beanie, a brown camo jacket and a green camo pants. Officially they weren't there. Everything Alliance had been stripped from them and able marines weren't allowed to come on the mission simply because they had Alliance tattoos. They also carried confiscated weapons instead of Alliance issued ones and of course, no dogtags. Every precaution was taken so that the Alliance could deny any involvement.

Being dressed like militia members had one advantage though, they could move around without raising any suspisions. As far as anyone knew, they were just another militiagroup like there were thirteen in a dozen on Jiangyin since the Uprising.

Their search for Major Caron had brought them to a settlement, and an advance party had confirmed that he had checked in to an hotel nearby.

Rather than to assault the hotel and blow their cover, they had come up with a plan to delicately take the hotel without anyone knowing what was going on. That is to say, Amaia had come up with that plan, and the rest had to follow. But they needed to find out where exactly Major Caron was in the hotel, and needed someone who didn't had Alliance written all over it. The choice of course, fell on Kylie, who was 'lucky' enough to get the task.

She felt nervous walking down the streets of the settlement, not knowing what to do if someone exposed her. All the way from the alley to where her squad was to the hotel she had to control her breathing, and the tremble in her hands. Strangely enough, she felt a lot better when she entered the hotel, probably because she knew there was only one person inside who was able to shoot her.

She walked past the desk and into a bar on the first floor of the hotel, and immediately found who she was looking for. The guy wasn't paying any attention to her yet, and Kylie hoped it would stay that way. She walked over to the toilets and went inside. As soon as she was inside, she made sure she was alone and opened up her comms.

"Bravo Six, Bravo One. Come in, over." Kylie said.

"Bravo One, Bravo Six. Have you found the target?" The voice crackled through the comm.

"I have a positive ID on target. Please advise, over." Kylie responded.

"Copy that Bravo One." The person on the other side answered. "Standby."

Kylie was getting anxious to get out of there. Find and identify the target, that was the task Amaia had given her. Nothing more, nothing less. The fact that they put her on standby was making her nervous. As she waited, she listened carefully to make sure no one came in the restrooms.

"Bravo One, new orders." The voice crackled once more. "TL needs you to make contact with target and confirm it's really him. Over."

Her new order made Kylie's heart beat in her throat. Make contact? Was Amaia gone crazy? This was probably one of her ideas to have more fun. Kylie sighed. Why could things never go the easy way? But she wasn't too fond of court martial so rather than objecting she decided to go along with it.

"Copy that Bravo Six." Kylie reluctantly answered. "Please advise on COA, over."

"Bravo One, you're to take target into custody as team breaches the hotel." The voice crackled back. "Then keep him detained until we get to you."

Kylie debated whether or not Amaia had faith in her skills, or if this was just her teasing Kylie just for the heck of it. Now all of a sudden she had to arrest the guy and keep him there until the team got to them.

"Understood." Kylie responded. "Over and out."

Kylie closed down the comms and put it away in her camo coat. She sighed heavily and took a deep breath before walking out the door again.

"I'm gonna get you for this Amaia..." Kylie muttered.

She walked out the restrooms and toward the bar. She put the rifle off her back and sat a few stools away from Caron. Apparently people were used to seeing militia come in and out so no one really paid any attention to her.

The bartender walked over to her and look at her with a bit of contempt. Kylie noticed it and got a bit scared. She sure hoped he wasn't on to her.

"Evenin' there, lil' lady." The bartender said. "Say, ain't ya a lil' too young t'be carryin' that there rifle?"

For a few milliseconds, Kylie thought on what to say next. Did this guy knew she was not really militia? Should she pull out her gun here and now and call in back-up? Or was he just making a remark about her age, and would everything be shiny if she'd just answer him?

She thought about where she was, and came to the conclusion that she was on a backwater borderworld, where things tended to be a little rougher than on Persephone and the people a little less civilized. Answering the man in her usual polite manner would no doubt raise suspisions, especially with Caron, who was only sitting a few feet away. No, she needed to pretend she was rugged and rough, just like the rest of the militia.

Kylie looked at the man for a moment with a sharp look, one that told him she didn't appreciated the way he talked to her.

"I'm old enough ta cut yer balls off and feed them to ya." Kylie responded. "Now why don't you stop askin' stupid questions and get me a gorram beer!"

Kylie surprised herself a bit. Out of nowhere she started talking with a border accent. She realized now she had to keep that up, if she didn't want to raise any suspisions. The bartender was surprised too, and backed off the moment Kylie stopped talking.

He turned around and got a bottle of beer out of a fridge and put it in front of Kylie. She looked at it and took a drink from it, hiding the fact that it was bitter and that she didn't like it one bit.

"Good." Kylie said. "This one's on the house, y'hear? Now go on, get!"

The bartender just left, he was no doubt intimidated by Kylie's display. Kylie didn't feel quite at peace with herself, but at the same time felt pleased with herself that she was able to do what she just did.

But she wondered whether or not Caron had noticed, and if he had noticed her enough to start talking to her...

[Jin Caron]

Jin heard a commotion coming beside him. It seemed a girl who seemed to be a member of the local militia yelled at the bartender. But something bothered him about the girl. If she was local militia, the bartender should've known or heard of her. At the same time it could have simply been because she was a new member. He downed his drink and shrugged off the feeling, it was probably paranoia getting the better of him making him think something was up. This was the outer planets, there was no doubt going to be new recruits into the militia, especially with most of the browncoats out fighting the Alliance for every inch of space.

After finishing a few glasses, Jin called over the bartender, handing him enough to pay for the three glasses and gave back the bottle. "Thanks for the drink, I'd rather not get drunk though." Jin explained and the bartender nodded as he put the drink away. "So you goin' to be stayin' around for long?" the bartender asked as he washed Jin's glass. "Not expecting to, then again, I'm not expecting much right now.." he said as he took a glance over to the girl who had made the commotion before. He then looked behind his shoulder and saw a few men eying the girl. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see Alliance soldiers glancing looks at women or even taking them forcefully so it didn't not take Jin by surprise, but the way they were looking at her didn't seem like it was out of pleasure but scrutinizingly...

Deciding he should mind his own business, he stood up and thanked the bartender again, stood up and headed for the hotel exit. There was a lot of things he had to get done and he shouldn't stay in one place too long. "Wei!" someone shouted from in the bar addressing Jin just as he reached the door. Turning around he saw a man wearing a brown coat looking right at him. At this point the bar became noticeably quieter. Jin realized that the man was an independence soldier and it wouldn't do good for him to get into a fight with him neither verbal nor physical so he prayed that the man did not realize him as being an alliance soldier.

The man now stood up and walked over to him. "Reckon you be a new man on this beautiful rock, eh?" Jin simply nodded, staying quiet as he looked the man straight in the eyes. The independent soldier had eyes of experience in battle and wouldn't be hesitant to shoot if required. It was also the eyes of a cocky man, yet it didn't seem like the man was looking for a fight luckily. The man scoffed as he looked back at his men and spun back, punching Jin the face. "Looks like I was wrong.." Jin muttered under his breath so softly no one else heard him. Standing up, the man took him by his shirt and pushed Jin up against a wall. "Look here gou shi, there should be some dah bien-hwa in your attitude. We don't like new people. You gotta learn your place here, dong ma?" the man asked. Jin looked at the man in the eyes and realized that if he continued to ask like himself, chances are a fight will start. Something he didn't want. He already began with a bumpy relationship with his first conversation with an independent, it wasn't really going too well... "Dong ma." Jin answered as the man let him down. Immediately it seemed the place calmed down as the man chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Good, we've an understanding. Now go scurry along and clean yourself up. You look horrible, ma-shong!" the man said, shoving Jin towards the bathroom.

Jin walked off to the bathroom and cleaned off the blood on his bottom lip and sighed. "Well that went awesome.." Once cleaned off Jin decided it was too late to go get some necessities, so he sat back down at the bar right next to the militia girl and called over the bartender. "Do you have anything to eat?" Jin asked and the bartender nodded as he handed him a plate of food and gave him his glass again with the same whiskey. "You gonna finish that this time kid?" the bartender asked chuckling as he walked off to take care of other customers. Jin allowed himself to slip a small smile and nodded. Pouring himself another glass, he gulp down a third of the cup of whiskey, wincing slightly as the alcohol touched the cut on his lip. Taking a look over at the girl he could see that she was indeed a fighter by the look of her rough hands. Either that or she was an engineer, or hard laborer, but considering she held her own against others in a sharp manner it didn't seem that way especially since she had a rifle on her. Jin contemplated on talking to the girl, but then held his tongue as he decided it probably wouldn't do him any good remembering how she acted to the bartender..

[kyliegrasan]

Kylie contemplated on what to do when Caron left the bar and went outside. She knew that if she'd lose him right here and now, there'd be hell to pay.

She got up and walked after him, but didn't follow Caron as he walked outside. Instead, she stood inside of a small alcove near the the entrance to the bar and waited a while.

Her carefulness paid off apparently. Caron hadn't been outside for a minute before a rugged soldier looking type started talking to him, and banged him against a wall. This guy obviously meant business.

She wasn't about to let Caron get killed, the mission was to take him alive for interrogation, so she unlocked the button of her pistol holster and held her right hand ready to pull the pistol out.

Fortunately, things didn't escalate and it appeared that Caron was able to talk his way out of his predicament. Kylie had yet to pull a gun on a real person, Reavers not included, and wasn't anxious to do so either. She hoped to get through the mission without having to shoot anyone, let alone kill someone.

When Caron suddenly came back towards the hotel, Kylie quickly re-entered the bar and walked back to her barstool and sat on it once again. For all the rest of the people inside cared, she was just a militia member eyeing a suspicious character like Caron, who seemed to attract a lot of attention to himself. For someone who was here to sell Alliance data to the militia, they sure didn't seem to like him too much.

When Caron came back inside the bar, he sat down on his stool again, and ordered his drink back, and a bit to eat. The bartender made a remark about him finishing it this time and then walked off again.

Kylie figured there was no time like now to start talking to Caron, and keep him talking until Amaia and the rest of the squad breached the hotel. Maybe if she got him talking and had a conversation, he'd let his guard down, giving her the element of surprise when she'd have to pull a gun on him and keep him detained.

She knew she had to keep the tough border girl act up. She came from Persephone, which was a border planet, yet it was a bit more civilized. Luckily she had interacted with enough border types back home to know how one would act.

She turned to Caron and faked a smile. She was going to act like she was the rugged local militia type talking to the newbie.

"First time on the border huh?" Kylie asked. "Ya got 'core planet' written all over ya. So what, y'on a vacation or somethin'? 'Cus this ain't no holiday resort kid."

[Jin Caron]

Jin looked over to the militia girl and chuckled. "I guess you can call this a permanent vacation." Jin explained as he continued to eat. "Not the friendliest place I see, but I didn't expect to be greeted with a warm welcome anyway." he took a bite out of his food and then a gulp of his whiskey. The girl seemed to be oddly interested in him, maybe all outer planet girls acted this way though. There really was no way of telling, since he was a soldier all his life, he never encountered anyone from the outer planet without killing or being killed; there was no such thing as having a talk for each other..

As he continued to eat, he heard some movement behind him and took a glance to see a three men standing up and walking towards them. They were bulky men who had rifles slung on their back and a pistol at their side. Watching them walk over to him, he decided it would be best to ignore them until spoken to, so he continued to eat. He heard the men getting closer and barely couldn't hear what they were saying. Finally the movement stopped and he heard three snaps as the men unstrapped the holsters for their gun.

"Wei! Lady-girl!" the supposed leader of the group of men said to Jin's surprise. He looked over to the lady. "Why you carryin' ya piece 'round like it you town? What branch you workin' wit? You with Amene over in downtown? Or Yoma in uptown?" the man asked. It finally hit Jin that the man must have been the leader of this area's branch of the local militia. After a lot of thought, he decided to continue to eat, but listen into the conversation growing to learn more about the outer planets if not to learn about this girl. But just in case, Jin decided to unlatch the restraint on his pistol in his holster should things get rough, though still debating on which side he would take should there be a firefight that he had to get involved in.

Finishing his food, Jin slowly sipped at his drink as every stayed quiet and awaited the lady's response. He honestly hoped that she had an explanation for this since he didn't want to get involved, especially in the killing of local militia, since that would quickly lead to him having to run far, far away and most likely becoming the target of many people in the outer planets.

[kyliegrasan]

Busted. Kylie didn't expect any militia members to come and ask her what branch she was in. She contemplated on what to do. Was she able to call for back-up? No, the three militia members would grab her before she even had a chance to reach for her comms. Shoot them? That would certainly stir up things, given the fact she would be able to shoot an actual human being. If she'd just aim her weapon, she'd blow her cover and that of everyone else. Or maybe she should just surrender? No, that wasn't an option either. There was no telling what the militia would do to her, and no one would come to rescue her; to the Alliance and the rest of the 'Verse she would be M.I.A.

There was only one thing she could do: bluff her way out, like she bluffed herself out of the situation with the bartender. Only now she had to go against three armed guys. There was a possibility two that the branches they named didn't even exist, so answering them wasn't an option.

Instead, she decided to play the whole girls-carrying-rifles card. Hopefully that would make them back off.

Kylie got off the stool and at the same time she took the rifle off her back. She took it in her hands and cocked it.

"Okay, now listen'ere ya dumb sonsabitches." Kylie answered the militia men. "I ain't no lady and I ain't no one's girl, y'hear? What, y'think just 'cause I'm a girl I'm not allowed ta carry a rifle and play with the big boys?"

Kylie paused for a second. Obviously the militia men had expected someone more compliant to their question.

"I bet you dumb peckerheads think women belong at home behind the stove right?" Kylie asked. "Figures. Now why don't ya just get on outta 'ere and mind yer own damn biz. Or else I'ma get real mad and I'ma put this 'ere rifle so far up yer buttpuckers you'll be suckin' m'barrel 'til christmas!"

[Jin Caron]

The three militia men were definitely caught off guard by the sudden reaction, but they weren't scared. In fact, the second the girl took out her rifle, they also took out their own rifles and people began to scurry, many of them leaving the bar or putting their hands to their own pistol. Jin could see this was going to get rough no matter what the outcome.. "Now look here, I asked you a simple question." the leader growled, "What branch are you from? You think I give a rat's pi goo that you a girl? Hell, you just another hand in the fight." the leader now raised his rifle to her head and so did the other two men.

Jin had to think fast. Either he could help the girl take the men out and risk either or both of them getting killed plus lowering the chances that the outer planet people would ever be too happy with him around, or find a way out of this. At this point it seemed that the girl wasn't affiliated with the militia and was a bounty hunter or a wannabe fighter. If it was the former, Jin was in much trouble since there was a chance the Alliance had hired her to capture or kill him, but if it was the former she didn't deserve to be in this situation to die. Either way, the girl would most likely get shot if he didn't do something.

Spinning around and standing up, Jin faced the three men, one of which aimed their rifle right at his gut. "I'm sorry, this is my adopted sister. She don't know better you've to understand.. She just wanna fight for the cause but she don't got no permission from our paps. She mean no harm and if you must, I'ma willin' to take a shot in her name." Jin explained and in almost a blink of an eye, the leader whipped out his pistol and shot Jin on his left shoulder, causing him to fall back into the counter from the force of the bullet. Falling to the ground, Jin held himself up with his right arm on a bar stool and looked up at the man.

"Keep your mei mei in check! Dong ma?!" the leader shouted as he and his men walked out of the bar, grumbling about how incompetent the youth were. Standing up, the bartender placed and first aid kit down in front of Jin on the bar table and proceeded to walk around the counter to help tend to his wounds, but Jin stopped him and kindly refused the help. "I can tend to my own wounds, thank you for the offer though." If Jin began to show signs of needing help for the smallest of things, it would seem that he would be an easy target and he would have an even harder time out in the outer planets. He stood up and opened the first aid kit and simply bandaged up the wound for now, hoping to go see a doctor about it later since the bullet was still lodged in his body. Grimacing, he sat down on his barstool yet again and took the whiskey bottle, pouring half of the remaining contents on his wound, gritting his teeth to keep from shouting in pain.

Putting down the bottle, he looked over to the girl and was glad to see she was still there and not hurt, at least not physically. Spinning to face the counter, Jin poured himself another glass and downed it before looking back at the girl. "You alright?" He knew that the girl was obviously not a part of the local militia now since it seemed the men knew nothing at all about her. Had she been a recruit of the militia, she probably would have given a straight forward answer and given them the branch she was with. But seeing as how she didn't, Jin came to the conclusion that she was either a bounty hunter or a free lancer. Either of which was definitely someone dangerous to get involved with in his situation, but he decided that it was morally right to help the girl out. And plus, he did stop anyone from getting killed which to Jin was a victory.

[kyliegrasan]

Man, the border sure was tough. And now it was Caron who took a shot for her. She felt ashamed of herself, after all she was there to bring him in. Capture him for what certainly would result in interrogation, and knowing Amaia it wouldn't just be asking questions.

She looked at the man lying down in front of her, bleeding because of her. And she was going to thank him by subdueing him and leaving him at the mercy of the Alliance Marines.

But what else could she do? If she disobeyed her orders there would be court martial. She was inclined to tell him why she was there and let him go, but there really was nowhere to run to for him, especially now that he was wounded.

But now shots were fired, and it would only be a matter of seconds before the rest of her squad would breach the hotel. The least she could do was make sure no further harm would come to Caron.

She gently pushed him further to the floor until he was completely down. This way, he wouldn't risk getting put down by a Marine with an itchy trigger finger.

"Get down." Kylie said. "Get. Down."

Then all they could do was wait. Wait for the first teargas of flashbang grenade would be thrown in.

[Jin Caron]

Jin heard the gunshots and cursed his bad luck under his breath as he barely heard the girl tell him to get down. He was pushed to the ground and realized by the tone of the girl's voice and her calm actions that she had expected this to happen. As he laid down on the ground, he thought of exactly what the possibilities were. From everything he could figure out about the girl, the most likely thing was that she was either a freelancer, or a bounty hunter. Yet the one thing that confused him was that if she was a bounty hunter, she would have easily taken out the three men before harassing her. If she was a freelancer, then why was she helping him out? Things didn't add up too well, but he couldn't really thinking too straight with the whole fact that there were bullets flying everywhere and the assailants were getting closer...

"Care to explain what's going on?" Jin asked the girl since she seemed to know more about what was happening then him. "Are you with them?" Jin indicated at the people who were attacking the town. There was no telling who or what was the target right now. He didn't have intel like he usually would in a fight or mission. He didn't have backup, and right now the only armor or weaponry he had was his clothes and his gun. And the only person he could trust the most in this situation has a rifle and might just be a member of whoever was attacking the town. Jin felt lost, confused and most of all frustrated that he couldn't help in any way.

[amaia]

Amaia sat in the control room set up not a block away. She wanted to go in, to be part of the whole thing, but Alliance brass insisted she stay back to control everything. She wasn't sure if it was the intention, but she felt like a caged dog, a wild predator being forced onto a leash and into domestication.

But she tried to make the best of it. It was a chance for Kylie to show her ability, it was a chance to show the Alliance she could command worth a damn, and it was a chance to give the Esteem new life and a new mission.

Amaia looked at the various screens showing the camera feeds from around the hotel. She was a little jealous of Kylie, but there wasn't much to be done.

"Ma'am, we got new orders from the brass." Amaia looked at the combat controller on the radio with the Alliance command. "They want our agent to take the target, they think it'll be lower key."

"Impossible," Amaia said, but the radio operator gave a face that told her it was non-negotiable. Amaia shook her head. "Fine, give the order."

Amaia could hear the surprise in Kylie's response, as well as her nervousness. It was a stupid order. She knew it. Amaia knew it. Only the higher ups seemed to lack the intellectual regard to realize it.

As she listened to more of the conflict in the hotel, Amaia could hear it slowly going downhill. Kylie was good, but she didn't have any cards up her sleeve. It was making Amaia uncomfortable. Finally, she looked at the controller who was acting as her second-in-command. "Lieutenant, take command for me." she ordered before hopping up and grabbing her brown trenchcoat. The Lieutenant tried to protest, but Amaia was gone before he could say more than a few unheeded words.

She sprinted up the road towards the hotel, putting a radio earpiece in her ear as she did. That's when things went from bad to worse; through the earpiece she heard on the radio the dreaded phrase: "All units, shots fired. Green light tactical."

Amaia didn't trust the tactical teams - they were good, but Amaia's own agent looked like the bad guys, and she didn't want any accidents.

A troop transport flew overhead and started hovering over the hotel. Soldiers started to fastrope out. Amaia sprinted harder, drawing the two pistols underneath her coat as she ran.

Two tactical teams appeared from the alley as she got to the front door. The team leaders both looked at her as she stopped by the entrance. "Come on, boys, I don't pay you to watch me. Just watch your shots. And let's nix the gas, shall we?" The team leaders nodded, and a moment later, the doors were open and flashbangs were in. They detonated, and the teams rushed in, Amaia right with them.

While the teams started to clear the building, Amaia ran for Kylie, who had the suspect on the ground. Amaia knelt down next to the two.

"Mr. Caron," she started, putting one of her pistols into his side, "You're coming with me or dying in this hotel, and considering how interesting things are getting in here, I'd make that decision quickly."

She looked at Kylie and smiled. "Hi," she said succinctly. A militia soldier behind her raised his rifle to shoot at the tactical team. Amaia took quick aim and fired a single shot, hitting the soldier in the head and dropping him.

She pressed the second pistol into Caron's side a little harder. "Time's a wastin', Caron. You coming with me and my friend here or should I just put you down right now and save us all the trouble?"

[Jin Caron]

After the flashbang exploded, Jin looked up and only saw a lady mouthing words, but he could basically tell out what she was saying considering the Alliance soldiers right behind her walking in guns blazing. Sighing, Jin nodded to the woman and lightly pushing the gun away from his side. He took his gun and shot the independents in their arms, leaving them unable to return fire on the alliance who stopped firing once they saw their targets were incapacitated. "You couldn't have been more subtle?" Jin muttered as his hearing came back slowly. "Those men didn't have to die. There were more strategically sound method of getting me you know." he stood up and unloaded his pistol, letting the rounds clatter onto the ground, then handed the pistol to the woman grip first. He then proceeded to also hand her his knife grip first. "That's all the weapons on me. There's no need to hurt these people anymore. Lets get this over with, whatever you guys intend to do with me.." Jin muttered as he waited for her to lead the way.

Once his disorientation seized, he waited for the woman to lead the way to the alliance ship or wherever they were headed. There wasn't much Jin could do, only to stop more needless bloodshed. When in the army, Jin only killed as much as ordered or was necessary. He knew that though the Alliance was fighting the Independents, in the future there was no certainty that they would not be fighting on the same side against another enemy, whether it be reavers, or a sentient alien species, or another faction that may rise up in the future. He then realized he would probably be cuffed, so he put his hands behind his back and turned to the nearest alliance soldier, who took out cuffs and restrained him. "Shall we go then?" Jin stated calmly.

[kyliegrasan]

Caron was incredibly cooperative and Kylie couldn't help but wonder why. They were there to take him back to the core, to incarcerate him, probably for life, yet he didn't put up a fight at all.

She was starting to wonder whether or not they had the right guy. Or maybe Caron just knew that the gig was up, and that resistance would be futile.

Slightly confused, Kylie gave Amaia a look that said 'what the hell's going on', before taking out her earpiece and putting it in.

"Bravo Six Actual, Bravo Six." Kylie called. "Package secure, ready for pick-up."

"Copy that Bravo Six." The command post responded. "We... oh no!!!"

Almost simultaneously Kylie could hear a loud explosion coming from down the street. It didn't take her long to figure out that the command post had been overrun and destroyed.

"The command post... they..." Kylie stuttered to Amaia. "They're dead..."

[Jin Caron]

Jin looked over to the lower ranked girl as she told them that their forward command post had been overrun. That meant that there were a lot of militia in these parts. Though he wanted to join the independent and help fight the Alliance, he wanted to help his fellow Alliance soldiers, even if he was retired and on the run from them or not. He watched as the alliance soldiers took cover in the hotel, slowly falling one by one. Both sides of the war were dying, just because of him. He looked around to see if there was any way of going around the resistance or even flanking them if it was necessary that they had to reach the forward post.

Jin looked over to the woman in charge and saw such determination and fervor in her eyes. She was a great soldier there was no doubt of it from the look in her eyes, but whether she was a good leader was still up in the air for Jin. He took a step closer to the woman and looked over at the fighting. "I'd like to help you guys get out of here." Jin told the woman. He was sure she would think he would try to escape and Jin didn't blame her considering anyone else in his situation would do so. "If you need me to, I'll keep my hands cuffed in front of me if you don't trust me." Jin knew the woman might have a plan, but she also must know that he was a competent fighter if they were planning to come in guns blazing to get to him so hoped that she understood that she could use all the help she could get to get out of here with less Alliance casualties.

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ooc: wow, that took me so long to write for some reason.. hahaha

[amaia]

Amaia looked about the lobby of the hotel. It was quiet for now, but they were about to be overrun.

Amaia reached up and trigger the earpiece's radio. "Bravo six six to all units, we are full weapons free. Units outside the hotel get to rendezvous point delta for immediate evac. Artemis Flight, what's your status?"

"Artemis one here, we're on station above the hotel," came the reply from the airship some floors above.

A second pilot added in, "Artemis Two, preparing to move to rendezvous Delta."

"Copy Artemis One, hold station. Artemis Two belay that order and get to the hotel. Lay down suppression fire on any militia that try and get to us or assault Artemis One."

"Two copies. All weapons free?" Amaia looked at her captive and at Kylie. She wanted to say yes, to permit Artemis Two to open up with rockets and guns, but...she knew that, if nothing else, such rampant destruction would only serve to make her people uncomfortable with the collateral damage.

"Guns only unless absolutely necessary," Amaia said. "Six six out."

Amaia then stood up, grabbing Caron by the arm as she did. "Listen up!" she shouted over the room. The tactical teams all looked at her. "Artemis one is our extraction. Five flights of stairs stand between home and this hellhole. So up the stairs, marines, and don't let anyone stand in our way!"

"Oorah!" came the unified cry from the marines before the team leaders started to order their men up the stairs. Amaia looked at Kylie and Caron.

"I'm gonna give you the distinct honor of not being cuffed so you can get up those stairs faster, but if you try anything I don't approve of, I will leave your body here for the militia to find." Amaia gestured to the nearest stairwell. "Lieutenant Grasan, you're on point. Caron center, I'll head up the rear. Now let's go."

[Jin Caron]

Upon having his cuffs removed, Jin rubbed his wrists and then nodded to the woman's orders. He took his position in the center of the line and ran behind Lieutenant Grasan and watched for any militias. As they continued up the stairs, the echoes of the firefight became quieter as the rest of the team started to follow along as well. Lieutenant Grasan reached the top floor and jogged towards the door taking barely enough time to check the intersecting halls. As they proceeded down the hall, Jin noticed that it was all too quiet on the floor. He had expect some militia to make it into the fifth floor through the windows from adjacent buildings, but then again the Alliance did have two ships in the air providing cover.

Just as Lieutenant Grasan and Jin turned the corner they saw the door leading to the roof, but the Lieutenant did not notice the tripwire set up at the first intersection. Moving quickly, Jin ran up and grabbed the Lieutenant's arm and pulled him back just before he tripped on the trap. "Lieutenant, watch your step. We might be almost there, but that doesn't mean we're safe. Don't ever let your guard down in the field." Jin whispered to him as he seized to try and get free from his grip as he realized that Jin was right. Kneeling down, Jin carefully unwired the trap and set it aside, taking the grenade that was wired to be the explosive trap and handed it to the Lieutenant. "There are bound to be some militia up here, keep an eye at the shadows." Jin commented as they continued down the hall again.

50 meters away from the door, there a sudden explosion from behind a door just in front of Lieutenant Grasan. The blast sent the door into the hall, splintering on the adjacent wall and out of the room half a dozen militia poured into the hall. Grabbing the Lieutenant, Jin threw himself and the Lieutenant into the nearest intersecting hall out of gunfire. Rolling onto his feet, he helped Lieutenant back onto his feet and patted his back. "Return fire!" Jin shouted over the gunfire at the dazed Lieutenant. Unarmed, Jin simply stayed in cover as the firefight ensued. It seemed even though he wasn't part of the Alliance nor the Independent, someone still wanted to kill him. And not even just him, but those around him...