open ♔ shield base arrival // knights socialization

[refurbished]

bloody city - sam tinnesz

WHO || The Knights & agents of SHIELD
WHAT || The Knights arrive at the Las Vegas facility...
WHERE || SHIELD HQ (The Harbor), a desert location near Las Vegas, NV
WHEN || March 2018
HOW || Actionspam

The acting Heads of the Knighthood - Hasmed and Solace - have made a decision that is not easy for many. Given the terrible state of everything happening in America, they've decided to relocate operations entirely to the States, and have secured a facility vaguely near Las Vegas: agreeing to work alongside the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization to find a way to take down Blade. It is certainly possible, with the grim missions that lie before them, that many, or all, of the Knights may never return. Reactions to the announcement are certain to be strong, but it's time to choose what they will bring with them to their new life - and for some, to decide if it's a journey they can bring themselves to take.

Most of the facility is underground, and the Knights are each granted badges that will act as keycards to get them into the barracks area that has been sequestered for them in its own building (called the Enclave), as well as to access the other rooms that are open to their use. It is more or less similar to this, but scaled up in size to account for the larger numbers of people housed on base. There are separate buildings on the base compound for the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (The Sanctuary) and for those members of Hellsing (The Bulwark) who have relocated as well. The entire compound itself is referred to collectively as "The Harbor". Peter Fargason will continue to run training drills daily, attempting to mold the Knights into a more efficient combat unit, and Hasmed, Solace, Koraith, Dovan, and Lis'sa will continue to assign missions to members of the Knighthood, ostensibly aimed towards slowing the tide of monsters and evil doers heading to Los Angeles and protecting Shadowkind in America from the "war on Shadowkind" being waged by the American government, as non-humans are being rounded up as potential threats to the country. Hasmed and Solace have assumed joint leadership of the Knighthood, and appointed no Dragon's Claw to replace either the deceased Sir Bancroft or the now gone rogue Sir Chessing.

Gone is the eclectic decor of the castle rooms, replaced by a much more uniform look to each assigned barracks, which, unfortunately, sleep two to a room because of restraints on space. Feel free to sign up for a roommate on the thread on this post. In fact, everything here is much more polished, state of the art, and modern, which is a jarring change from the castle. How well people adjust may depend on quite a few factors... but for now, they are free to attempt settling in.

[ This is the social log for anything while the Knights relocate to Las Vegas ]

On this post:

Roommate Assignments
Roomie Sign-Up
Phil Coulson | Welcome
Skye | Tech support, Bulwark, Research, Apologies
Gwen | Enclave public areas, Training w/Hellsing, Wildcard
Kenzi | Enclave, Training, Wildcard
Darcy | Bio Engineering & Research, Wildcard
Avaleen | OTA
Sawyer | Enclave, Wildcard
Frankie | Hangar, Technology Room, Have a Beer, Wildcard
Topher | Technology Room, Wildcard
Malina | Scenarios
Rosario | Scenarios
Paige | Training w/Hellsing, the Track, Wildcard
Kali | Training, Elsewhere
Caroline | Training, Common Rooms
Andrew | Technology Room, Rec Room
Barry | Training Room, Various
Cora | Outside, Training, Hangar
Jane | Technology Room, Laboratory, Research, Training
Dimitri | Training
Bo | Training
Lois | Training Room, Common Areas, Various
David L. | Training Room, Various
Kate | Shooting Range, Rec Area
Sweets | In Session
Lila | Shooting Range, Kitchen, Rec Room, Outside
Rory | Training Sessions
Laurel | Various
Hasmed | Various
Toby | Kitchen, Outside
Sark | Training, Wildcard
Integra (w/Alucard) | Training
Edain | Various + closed to Ella
Carol | Training, Hangar, Rec Room
Deadpool | All your Base, Vegas baby!!
Cordelia | Rec Room
Jordan | Enclave various
Ward | Daily routine
Thea | Various
Riggs | Enclave
Jo | Lost
Tony | Sanctuary (w/Coulson), Enclave lab, various

Comments

[daredtobelieve]

[Time for some walking and talking.]

I couldn't agree more. This director of theirs... Coulson. He seems to play his cards close to the chest. And as much as I respect the leadership we are currently under, I'm not sure Hasmed or Solace are really the ones to convince him to be more forthcoming. [Gotta hope Koraith is in the room where it happens.]

[gwenbloodycooper]

Hasmed and Solace? Really? [ As usual she manages to say so much with so little, just from her tone of voice.

Look... Gwen was Squired to Tia when she first joined the Knights. She'd be surprised if anyone really didn't know where her true loyalties lay. ]

Do you really think we'd be in the hands of a group who put a mole in our organisation if not for the leadership we're currently under? [ I mean. Point? ] And from what I've seen of that Coulson?

[ She actually, needs a moment because if that can of worms gets opened then we might be in for a right Welsh rant. ]

[daredtobelieve]

[Helen does her best to contain her amused smirk at Gwen's blunt opinions on the circumstances, but the slightest trace shows through.]

Yes, well- there are ways to make the best of a bad situation. [She turns a corner to keep them moving, doing her best to map their path in her mind as they go. She's not necessarily going to SAY that she thinks she or Gwen or both should worm their way into SHIELD to see what's going on with them, but... she may be thinking it very hard.]

[gwenbloodycooper]

[ She at least picks up enough in Helen's words and tone, to know she's getting at something but the what will a require a conversation that can't be overheard. (Sense Motive 31) ]

The only good thing about this place is the location. [ She glances in the direction of the exit and nods. ] Come on, the tour can wait. I don't know about you but I've been cooped up down here for too long already.

[daredtobelieve]

[Helen nods, following Gwen to the exit. There's some amount of relief that comes along with the decision. This feels closer to what they've always been- a friendship built on getting shit done. Once they're outside and have put a bit of distance between themselves and the Enclave, she pulls out the tracker/transponder thing they issued everyone. She keeps her tone light for now, still unsure of what capabilities they have to listen in.]

We mustn't lose this while we're out. I remember that much from our welcome briefing. I've been meaning to ask another member of the Hoard if they know the full capabilities of this device. [Can it listen in? She's unsure and wants Gwen to remain careful just in case.]

[gwenbloodycooper]

[ She could admit there was some relief in it for her as well. A reminder that the Helen she'd always known still existed, that perhaps whatever madness had come over her in the past, was simply that? Something she needed to do, to get out of her system and be reminded of what really mattered. ]

I had a bit of a chat with that Coulson, bloke. [ I'm sure you can imagine how well that went, Helen. ] Supposedly they're only capable of tracking. Monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D. of course.

[ That in and of itself is enough for Gwen. It means they can see exactly where they send teams, can make moves using the information they gather from them, that could put the lives of their people at risk. ]

[daredtobelieve]

Yes, he seems rather interested in combining our efforts, as it were. He mentioned working with the section heads to allocate resources and share intelligence regarding missions. There's something to be said about having an ally in these dark times, but I fear they're taking advantage of our unfortunate situation. [She glances at Gwen and shakes her head, laughing lightly.] I hate being so cynical about it all, but the last thing we need is to be caught unaware.

[gwenbloodycooper]

[ That earns a huff and a shake of her head. ]

Bollocks. [ She had far less reservations about being cynical, clearly. ] Their Government and if I've learned anything it's that they'll always put their own concerns ahead of everyone else. Especially us. We're not people to them. We're assets.

You should hear the way that Director of theirs, speaks.

[daredtobelieve]

[Helen's conversation didn't leave her feeling quite so prickly, but given her recent bout of poor decisions, she won't be defending anyone to Gwen.]

That's part of why I'd like to delve a little deeper into this SHIELD. They're keeping us at arms length, though, it seems.

[gwenbloodycooper]

You noticed that too. [ Lips pressed into a line as every grievance she has, earned or otherwise, runs on repeat in her mind. ]

It just feels... wrong. All of it. I'm not saying we can do this alone but, did we really need to bring in Hellsing and move into an underground bunker of a secret organisation who, until not that long ago, had ties to Nazis?!

[daredtobelieve]

I have a feeling that playing along will give us more opportunities to gain trust, and hopefully more information. I spoke with Director Coulson briefly and he seemed interested in my research on Shadowkind. Perhaps if I keep pushing along that track, I can gain access to more of their own research and gain some insight on just what their goals truly are.

If we use our experience as a means to pique their curiosity, maybe they'll let something slip. You've certainly got a tale of two that could grab their attention.

[gwenbloodycooper]

Of course, he is. [ Interested. Gwen rolling her eyes at that. ] It's a place to start, I suppose. I'd rather know who we're getting into bed with before things can get too out of hand.

[ There had been enough of that lately, what with this whole, Agents of Hell business that frankly? Gwen wasn't sure she believed. She didn't doubt they were agents of something, but Hell? It would be easier to think that such things weren't possible, even sensing what she had during that girls resurrection. ]

What? [ Dragging her head out of those twisting thoughts. ] You think I should talk aliens with Coulson?

[ She blows a piece of hair out of her face, considering that a moment before conceding. ]

I'm not sure he'd buy it. I might have... made my feelings a little too clear.

[daredtobelieve]

I could lay the groundwork for you, if you'd like. Bring up your areas of expertise and let him know that he should come to you if they have any interest in similar matters.

[It feels much more like working together than they've done in quite some time. And to be honest, she's missed it. The two of them have a great deal in common, but also compliment each other's strengths in many ways.]

[gwenbloodycooper]

[ Gwen would be, far more pleased about all of this if it didn't somehow involve her having to pretend to want to give Coulson the time of day. ]

That... could work. [ A begrudging admission but Gwen could at least see the sense in all of this. She didn't like S.H.I.E.L.D. She didn't trust them, their methods and she really didn't know what they stood for. If they were all going to be stuck dealing with them... better to know the Devil ahead of time for a change. ]

Alright. It's worth a shot. I won't be entirely sorry if it doesn't work but, if they come to me I'll make it work. Somehow.

[daredtobelieve]

Good, glad to have at least the beginnings of a plan forming. I'll approach him in the next few days and let you know if anything interesting comes up. [She pauses] Or we could just make plans to have lunch, say Friday? It might do us some good to get into the city for a bit. And less chance of prying eyes.

[gwenbloodycooper]

No promises. Especially if you want me to be nice to that Director. They might be fine personally but there's something about them.

[ Funny how she forgets that she used to feel the exact same way about Torchwood. She'd argue that was different and at least Torchwood didn't do half of what S.H.I.E.L.D. had.

And if they did they just would have retconned people. It's fine. ]

Vegas? [ She could not look or sound more Welsh than she does right now. ] You know it figures that I'd finally escape London and end up here.

[ Does anyone really see Gwen Cooper as a Vegas kind of person. ]

The lemonade is flat. [ Had to be said. ] But... a bit of distance from this place couldn't hurt.

[ She was always going to say yes, Helen. She just had to bitch some more first. ]

[daredtobelieve]

[Helen is quite used to Gwen's fiery temperament, and in fact finds a comfort in the conversation. It feels more like the old days than things have in some time.]

We'll avoid the lemonade. [She says with a teasing smile.] I'll look up some restaurants and make a reservation.