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

[refurbished]

I'm hoping that Hasmed and Solace will be reasonable in the first place. It isn't as if we don't have evidence to share.

[hacker]

A Knight who took their oaths is a Knight who took their oaths. They protect each other.

[refurbished]

[ he considers that for a quiet moment, very aware of the power of organizational loyalty ] It’s not the first time they’ve had vipers in the nest. But it might be difficult to convince them not to simply handle the threat internally, even if they are willing to listen. [ that clearly doesn’t sit great with him, but his primary concern is that the threat ward poses is neutralized, whoever ends up doing it. whether he trusts the knights to do so or not, however, is another question. ]

[hacker]

It's our nest too.

[ She hates this metaphor, actually. ]

And he's done a lot worse to us than he's done to them.

[ Actually, Skye's thinking there's a ... definite possibility that he actually wants to try and take advantage of this second chance the Knights are giving him. So because she feels that way, she doubles down on her Anti-Ward propaganda. Better for protecting herself from getting hurt again. ]

[refurbished]

[ he’s let his anger over all the garbage that grant ward has brought to their lives, and the personal levels of insult and injury, break his cool before. right now, he’s keeping it impressively in check with an incredible will save, but it might appear a little too detached on the subject for skye’s liking.

it’s not. he just doesn’t want to let the man continue to win by getting under his skin and driving him to lose his ability to assess the situation clearly. ]

Something I plan to make very clear. If they value this alliance, they might see it as in their best interests to not withhold him from us.

[hacker]

It's the end of the world.

[ this she offers to coulson differently than she has as a justification to others. to him, she makes it a warning and a statement of regret. ]

You really think they won't wait for you to blink?

[refurbished]

I think they'll find that S.H.I.E.L.D. has more of a backbone than that. I don't intend to let that psychopath run rampant on base, even if it risks compromising our alliance.

But you know them better than I do. How do you expect they'll react?

[hacker]

Knights don't answer to anyone. SHIELD has.

[ To her, it's that simple. The Knights are more Rising Tide than SHIELD -- they have noble values, sure, but they're also anarchists on some level. They don't belong to any country. The only person they ever answered to was Wynn. If he were here, maybe he'd be reasonable, but Solace and Hasmed are unknowns. ]

And Hasmed and Solace don't seem to share Wynnefalshond's leadership style.

[refurbished]

[ 'has' being an operative word here. whatever SHIELD once was, all that has changed quite a bit - especially in terms of who they answer to. but he understands the concern, perhaps all the better for it.

either way, her response doesn't quite answer the question. which is, in itself, an answer ]

Maybe it's a good thing then, that their Knights are giving us some leverage in response.

I have something you need to hear.

[hacker]

What's that?

[ She narrows her gaze a little, concerned and uneasy about the ominous presentation but nonetheless open to it. She trusts Coulson implicitly. ]

[refurbished]

[ he moves to his desk, and with a few quick movements of his hand on the screen that's built into it, pulls up a clip of a surveillance recording from one of the public areas in the enclave.

this clip.

he's just going to

not say anything until she responds. but he's definitely monitoring her reaction. ]

[hacker]

[ shit.

one fire after another.

there's a definite moment where she looks emotionally affected by what malina has to say about her, but training with may has made it so that skye can suppress it quickly. there's the practical side to deal with first. ]

Is it here?

[refurbished]

It isn't. It's being studied in a lab on another continent, specifically.

[hacker]

Good.

[ They can't steal it then. That'd blow this powderkeg pretty severely--what a breach of trust. After a moment's hesitation to swallow it, though, Skye looks at Coulson and frowns. ]

... SHIELD has what they need from it. They've had years to study the engine. Maybe it's time to give it back.

[refurbished]

[ he studies her for a second, as if making sure that's what she really wants, not just what she thinks he wants her to say, before nodding ] Agreed.

But I think it might be worth framing as an exchange. Peter Quill, by all reports, is a human who has been exposed to alien technology for the greater part of his lifespan. If he'd agree to let us take some readings, we might be able to confirm whether there or aren't detrimental effects on human physiology from doing so, information that could be vital to our own agents if we wind up integrating more discovered tech into our own operations.

That's not even scratching the surface of the information he might be able to provide about alien civilizations.

[hacker]

Whoa, hold on.

[ Skye throws her hands up. ]

No one's experimenting on Peter.

[refurbished]

Submitting to a few voluntary scans or even DNA tests is hardly the same as experimenting.

[hacker]

If it's harmless, then it should be voluntary. Not a parking fee for the ship parts we stole.

[ 'Reclaimed.' Whatever. Skye is feeling very icky about the whole idea of turning her friend into a science project, even if he's not really her friend right now. This is exactly the sketchy kind of thing she'd been afraid of SHIELD doing before she'd joined. ]

Give the parts back. Then ask.

[refurbished]

[ technically he illegally parked ] Harmless for him, but important for our people. We're talking about something that could potentially save the lives of agents in our own organization. There's a good chance that the moment Quill has his ship, he'll leave, taking that opportunity with him. Do you really think we can count on his good will, after everything?

[hacker]

If he's not going to give us goodwill, then it's not on us to just take it.

[ She doesn't like this 'better not to ask because then they might say no' mindset. ]

SHIELD isn't entitled to study him just because he exists. We need to build positive relationships.

[refurbished]

[ probably not the time to mention they could just scan him in his sleep and he'd never be the wiser ]




Fair enough. [ if she expected him to protest more, she wrong. but he felt it was worth pointing out. ] I expect Sir Harvey to come to me, after what they discussed. I'll work on getting the parts sent here.

[hacker]

Hey.

[ She draws closer -- quieter, personal. It occurs to her only now that she has won this fight for Acting like Human Beings that ... Coulson must have a reason to push it. ]

After what happened to Garrett ... You're not ... [ She searches him. ]

[refurbished]

[ no i'm sure it's 100% professional, zero personal interest, why do you ask 8|

either way, he has an amazing poker face ] It's nothing to worry about. [ probably ]

[hacker]

Right.

[ she doesn't quite buy it, but she wants to. so she lets it go. she nods briefly. ]

Uh, same. [ after all they'd pumped her full of that garbage too. ] Guess we're just ... lucky.

[refurbished]

[ ]

I'll handle Quill. [ he's not going to push it again or ... keep this uncomfortable conversation for either of them up, since she clearly gets it now, and if that changes her view on things eventually, then he knows she'll tell him. no need to push. ] And talk to the Knights about Ward. Let me know if you'd prefer to be present for that.