Children of Ruin: Preparation

Loktar half-stood, half-kneeled over the outcropping of rubble, the smooth, worn grips of his rifle in his rough hands. The muzzle of the rifle was propped up by the edge of the outcropping, and Loktar had done what he could to conceal it; he hoped that the dawn light wouldn't reflect the lenses of the weapon's scope, giving his position away.

He had no particular target, nothing in particular to watch for; he had only been here for two hours, but none of the various people milling about the building three blocks away and four stories down had given any indication that they were more important than their peers, and Loktar had no interest in breaking cover to take down a simple grunt. They needed disorientation among the Cult guards, and a random member struck dead suddenly would not be enough - it had to be someone in their leadership.

"Come on, you dirty bastards." He muttered in thick, gravelly Ronkan. "Give me something to shoot."

-----

"You are improving." Ian said softly. Li's arms entrapped his own, her tail wrapped around one of his legs. He quickly shifted his foot, and with newfound leverage, managed to somehow flip the small woman over his head and onto the ground before him, his open palm at her throat before the dust had risen. "But still not good enough."

He smiled, and helped her to her feet, as Dalaris watched nearby, perched on an outcropping of rubble. "That is some absurd stuff." The bard said, his mouth a smile of disbelief.

Ian shook his head. "These are basic maneuvers. My master would make short work of me."

"Still, though, that's some... good work, I guess." Dalaris insisted.

"The arts martial may be inborn to the lunari," Li said, dusting herself off, "but you have surpassed what we are intuitively capable of."

Ian only shrugged.

"Enough praise. We all have our own gifts: Dalaris, I can no more conjure up magic than walk on air; Li, you have forgotten more of the machines of our world than I have ever bothered to learn." He nodded, as though that was the end of the matter. "Our morning exercise is complete. Let us go to the others, and see if they are ready for what awaits us."

The other two nodded their agreement, Dalaris hopping to his feet. The three headed for their camp, in the bowels of the ruined building.

-----

"So you sailed with the Blackjack?"

The moogle and clavat were seated across a fire from each other, which had been kept low to keep the smoke to a minimum. They were nestled in the corner of one of the basement levels of an abandoned building, several blocks away from what seemed to be the center of the Cult's activities in the city. While the others were out training or watching, Memphis and Tethysia had stayed behind - Tethysia to calm her mind and attune herself to the timeline of the world, and Memphis to keep her company.

The clavat nodded. "Oh yeah, totally. I hadn't tol' y'all 'bout it b'fore? I coulda swore I did."

Tethysia shook her head. "No, you haven't mentioned it, that I can remember."

"Well, I did. There ain't much more ta say'n that, aither. We did all the kinds a thangs y'all think of when y'all think a th' 'jack. She was a good ship, an' I was sad ta hafta say goo'bye to 'er, bu' I had some more pressin' thangs goin' on elsewhere."

"Like what?"

"Family thangs." Memphis said shortly, and shook her head. "I don' wan'a talk 'bout it. Bad times, an' such. 'fore all this," She motioned idly with a hand, "but bad things, sure 'nough." She nodded.

Tethysia pondered this, then nodded slowly. "I suppose, if you want it to be left alone, then I'll leave it be."

"Thank ye."

There was a long pause, the only sound the crackling of the fire.

"So... got yer min' all figgered out, an' such?"

Tethysia nodded, smiling. "Oh yes, I'm good. I've allocated as much quintessence from the world timeline as I can, which... unfortunately isn't much, but it'll hopefully be enough to help us get through the rift."

There was a thumping sound coming from above them, and the sound of a loose door creaking open.

"That'll be the others." The moogle said, and hurriedly began gathering up her things. "Come on, Memphis, let's get our things together, so we're ready."

-----

"The plan." Ian said, once the three had seated themselves and Memphis and Tethysia finished packing their meager gear. While they had worked, Ian and Li had sketched a rough diagram of the surrounding city in a dusted-over part of the floor.

The other four nodded.

"Memphis is to head up to Loktar's position. The rest of us accompany Li to the Takuro and Milan, and ride up to this point," He pushed his finger into the dust on the map, "where I will give a signal to Memphis." He looked at the clavat.

"Green flag means y'all are good ta go." She said. "Yellow flag means y'all want me ta tell Loktar ta wait, an' red flag means y'all ran inta trouble."

Ian nodded. "Correct. If we give a yellow flag, we will send another signal within two minutes. If we give no signal, act as if we had given a red.

"If all is well, then Loktar will choose a target. Memphis will send us a signal when he has selected one." He looked to Dalaris.

"Blue flag means... he's found a leader, because nobles are blue-blooded. Brown flag means he's going to shoot a normal guy, because brown is like the ground. Gray flag means he's shooting a vehicle to try to blow it up, because the Takuro is gray."

Ian nodded. "Correct. Once Memphis has given us a signal, we return a signal to indicate our readiness - same colors as the first signal we send.

"Loktar is to count to three once the message is relayed. On three, he shoots his target. If he loses it, Memphis sends a..." He looked to Memphis once more.

"Yellow flag."

"Correct, yellow flag. Yellow flag to the Takuro means..." He looked to Dalaris.

The bard thought for a moment.

"No good, we are already moving." Li said with a sigh.

"Yellow flag from Memphis means Loktar lost his target." He said. "I know it, I just..." He shook his head.

Ian placed a hand on the bard's shoulder. "There is going to be little room for error here, my spellcasting friend. If we move before Loktar has brought attention to himself, we will be cut down rather quickly."

Dalaris nodded. "I know, I know. Yellow means lost target. I've got it."

Ian cocked his head at him, then removed his grip. "I do not mean to be harsh, Dalaris. But one false step will be the end of us. No matter how formidable our skills, we are no match for power armor.

"Once Loktar has taken his shot, we move in. Li leads the way on Milan, while I will drive the Takuro."

Li leaned her head back, and looked askance at him. "Are you sure?"

Ian nodded. "It is not a moogle design, and so Tethysia is too short. Dalaris wields the power of Magic, and we cannot risk his abilities interfering with the vehicle. There is no other choice."

"I know that," Li said, "but can you drive?"

He shrugged, and smiled slightly. "It has been many years since I last put foot to pedal, but I am confident that my meager skill will be sufficient.

"The Cultists know that they will be unable to retaliate against a sniper from their position, and so will send a patrol to take him out. Loktar's position has but one reliable entry-point," He pointed it out on the map, "and so the Cultists will take this route." He drew a line in the dust.

"Meanwhile, Milan and the Takuro will take this route to this point," He indicated a different part of the map, "at which point Li will leave us to draw attention from Loktar and Memphis. Those in the Takuro will drive the vehicle as far as we can into the building, then exit and begin searching the premises.

"As we enter the building, Memphis will send us one last signal..." He looked to Dalaris.

"Green means they are on their way with no trouble. Yellow means they're in trouble, but it's nothing they can't handle. Red means we need to help." Dalaris ended this with a triumphant nod.

Memphis smiled slightly. "Glad ya got et all worked ou', hun."

"Once we are inside, we have split into two groups: Team A, consisting of myself, Dalaris, and Tethysia, and Team B, consisting of Li, Memphis, and Loktar.

"Team A's goal is to seek out the temporal rift hidden somewhere within the complex. Of this group, I will take point, Dalaris will take rear."

"So long as I have some quintessence left," Tethysia spoke softly, "I should be able to sense the rift, once we get close."

Ian nodded. "Team B's goal is to come in after Team A, seal the entrance, and provide rear guard to Team A, ensuring that no Cultists can sneak up on us.

"Once we have found the rift, Dalaris will use his abilities to make a sound at a specific frequency, to which Li has already tuned Milan's audio sensors."

"If you make the noise, and we're within five miles or so, we should be able to pick it up." Li said, nodding.

"And we are certain that there is no chance of resistance to this?" Ian asked, looking to Tethysia.

The moogle nodded. "The effect Dalaris will produce is magically-created, yes, but the sound itself is not magical. Milan will be able to pick it up without difficulty."

"Provided we are in range." Li said. "But that should not be a problem... the range on the band is rather large, right?"

Ian nodded. "Yes. Loktar said that it was an older shortwave band, used by the Coldlands military for local operation."

"You remember that I can't actually make a real noise, right, on it?" Dalaris asked, leaning forward. "It's just going to come across as static..."

Li nodded. "Yes, but it will be weird static. Milan is already configured. Ursus isn't too bright, but he can figure that much out."

Dalaris raised an eyebrow. "Ursus? Who is that?"

Li smiled slightly, but the smile was tinged with sadness. "Long story." She said slowly. "An old friend, who..."

Ian shook his head. "Some things are best left unsaid. We all lost something when the world moved on. Let it be."

Dalaris tilted his head, then held up his hands, leaning back once more. "Alright, fine. One day, though, you folks need to explain to me what's going on."

"Once Team B gets the signal, they are to join Team A, who will be holding position at the rift. Once all members are present and accounted for, we go through it.

"Leave no one behind. Even if one of us falls, do not leave the fallen to the Cult. We may be able to find a priest in the other time."

Ian looked at each of the others in turn. "That is the plan. Do we all have an understanding?"

Four heads nodded in relative unison.

Ian stood, and the others followed suit. "Then let us begin."