andres ♔ but what he told me last night lays on me like lead

[affianced]

♬ dear ophelia - abney park

WHO || Buffy, Myri, Finnick, Spike, Kat, Gar, Archer, Des, Rafael, Fred Jr., Vi, Rocket, Lara, Dimitris  [Closed]
WHAT || A diplomatic mission to Andres Isle goes about as successfully as one would guess
WHERE || Andres Isle
WHEN || August 15th  [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Even the briefing for this mission went well, with Wynn walking in on Dragon's Claw Jack Chessing macking on Sir Gar, in direct violation of his vows of, er, abstinence, both romantically and physically.   Following the briefing, and the team's attempts to make Wynn see reason in the face of Jack's resignation, they gathered up a large amount of weapons of all kinds into their private plane and took off for Andres Isle.  

Upon arrival, they found the island did not match up to their expectations.  Instead of fields of torture, they found themselves in a very upscale part of the city, full of affluent manor houses close to the palace.   They spun a cover story upon learning about a party there, using Finnick's celebrity on Andres to get access to the festivities.  

Inside, they met Dimitris Sarandis, Prime Minister of Andres Isle, who invited them to stay for the party, which was being thrown in honor of Countess Lara Tamon, who had helped Jack, Spike and Myri escape from their torment on the Isle.  They took the opportunity to chat up the local aristocracy, picking up the vibe that most of them had either benefited from Dimitris' rise to power, or were too afraid to stand up to him.  Spike talked to the Marquesse de Lyons, and learned that her son, Percy, had been a friend of the late Prince's, and had died shortly after voicing his belief that Sarandis had framed the Andres family in order to seize power.   Archer was shocked to find his manservant Woodhouse employed at the palace, and extra annoyed to learn that he didn't remember him.  For once, Archer found a reason to care about liberating the Andresians... if not purely for selfish reasons.

The party itself was to announce the breaking of the betrothal that had long stood between Lara and the late Prince, even after his death, a blemish on the reputation of the Tamon family that Sarandis sought to rectify by arranging a new betrothal: between Lara and her childhood friend, Lord Michael de Collines (aka Michael Collins).  Neither of them seemed particularly thrilled about the arrangement.  Lara managed to sneak a message to Myri to meet her that night under the bridge.

Following the announcement, the gang went to speak to Sarandis in private and find out his demands for the safe return of Sir Thomas Bancroft.  He wasted no time in making clear his position - he painted the Knight's vigilante attitude towards policing the world as the ultimate evil, and warned that no more Knights would set foot on Andres, lest they be killed.  He also demanded that Wynn himself bring the artifact Excalibur to the island to give to him - so that Dimitris could behead Wynn in exchange for Thomas' life.  The demands were met with outrage by the Knights, and in the face of their fear that Thomas was not even still alive, Sarandis agreed to let one of them stay the night to speak with the Dragon's Claw.   He specified that Kat be the one to stay, and despite protests, she agreed, and convinced Gar to let her stay.  

The other Knights headed back into town, where Gar, Fred Jr., and Vi headed to the nearby hotel to wait to hear from Kat, and be ready in case they should need to reach the palace quickly.  The others headed to the bridge across the river, where they met with Lara and her friend Lord Dana Green, another of her childhood friends.  They explained the situation on the Isle, and how many of the younger generation wished to see things returned to the way they'd been before, but the challenges they faced in doing so seemed almost insurmountable to them.  Lara expressed her fears that toppling Sarandis' rule would only wind up putting Andres in an even worse position.  They also related how Dimitris had created programs and taxes that had basically banished Shadowkind to the other side of the river and left them all but destitute, all while pumping more and more money into the coffers of the rich, particularly those serving on his Parliament.   She secured the Knights' promise to help in every way they could, and Myri asked her to show the way back into the woods where she'd found them before.

Finnick, Archer, and Rafael crossed the bridge into the Shadow village to do some recon, and spoke with a local tavern owner/dwarf who related that people down here were turning up missing more and more often - likely to feed Dimitris' experiments in the woods.  They seemed largely disheartened, but could potentially be talked into fighting if giving the means to do so.

In the woods, the others ran across a strange talking raccoon named Rocket, who was running for his life from a beholder, which the party managed to take down.  They discovered that Rocket had escaped from captivity in Dimitris' labs, and he was none too happy at the prospect of going back, even to show them where it was.  They argued briefly over the best course of action - whether the break out would be the best or worse time to try to make their way into the lab, particularly given that Dimitris had Kat as well now. 

Comments

[beatupgrass]

[Don't lie. Even you are entranced by the magic that is a raccoon with a machine gun too. As all people are.

And thus did Rocket find himself a dark secluded corner under the bridge to hide in. He blends into the shadows. He is the night. Except for you know, the fucking half-shredded orange jumpsuit he's wearing. Shush. He cants his head. (Listen 33- I guess he can hear the sounds of GUNFIRE), since the DC was 20 on top of the bridge.]

It's like they actually wanna get themselves killed.

[andresian]

Who's supposed to save Andres if we all throw ourselves in the line of fire and get mowed down for it?

[beatupgrass]

Someone with half a brain and a decent plan?

[He's not volunteering, but, you know, plans. They help.] I busted out of a prison that almost nobody's gotten out of and assumin' I don't get caught before this night's over, that proves beatin' Sarandis at his own game ain't impossible.

[He looks like he's having a crisis of conscience. Or a hairball. Or both. Pragmatic little shithead though he is, the only reason anyone is out there right now is because of him. It does not do wonders for his newly formed sense of guilt.

Then again, they were jackasses to him. So it's a toss-up on whether he's that sympathetic. It's less about failboat and more about the general facts. This is happening because of him. People are getting hurt and it's his fault. And he is just not 100% of a dick enough to not feel bad about it, but he has enough self-preservation to not fight a losing battle. It's not the time or the place for that.]

Not gettin' a lot of other people killed in the crossfire's the hard part.

[loyaliste]

That's what we're trying to do. If it were easier, we'd have made a move ages ago. But our friend tried that, and was murdered for it. Sarandis is smart - we have to be five steps ahead of him if we intend to get anywhere.

[beatupgrass]

It's never taken me two months to bust out of a prison before. Even I'll give the bastard some props for that. He's got flaws though. I bet he don't get them lily-white hands of his dirty for nothin' if he thinks it might tarnish his pristine rep.

[Raccoons shouldn't smirk. Raccoon faces are not physically built for smirking. But Rocket looks damned proud of himself.] You just gotta catch 'em doin' somethin' he can't bullshit his way out of.

[He glances up at the bridge.] If hangin' around me don't get you killed too.

[loyaliste]

It's a risk we're willing to take.

The problem is that most of those who have any authority on this island were in Dimitris' pocket before he took over. He made all the right promises, lined all the right coffers, so that his 'Parliament' was full of yes-men who will look the other way in regards to a lot of dirty business.

[beatupgrass]

[He snorts derisively. Yeah, yeah. He doesn't wanna be responsible for other people's deaths, okay. RIP Saal. And Groot. Even though he got better.]

I don't know how they do things in a fancy place like this, but where I'm from if you want somethin' done to spite the other guy, you make better promises and send more cash under the table.

[He even does the universal sign for ALL THE MONEY.] Stop thinkin' like a fancy rich boy and think more like a criminal.

[andresian]

It's not as if we have much experience with the latter.

[beatupgrass]

[He looks them over and... okay yeah. You are definitely sad rich boys who have no game whatsoever. Siigh. Okay. He stands up. Let him coonsplain you a thing.]

Sarandis has got this whole island wrapped around his little princess pinkie 'cause he's got all the power, right? Everybody either likes him or they're afraid of him- people like that like havin' control over everything. As soon as he ain't got control, people start doubtin'. When people start doubtin', you can get 'em to do anything you want 'cause everyone wants to bet on the guy who looks like he's got all his shit together.

Start small- little things. Steal a few measly trinkets from Sarandis's buddies and I dunno. Fence 'em. Or toss 'em in the ocean. It's your revolution. [He waves a paw dismissively. He's pretty sure there's no way to fence anything on Andres, but he would get fucking creative if it were him.] Screw with 'em. Make 'em feel unsafe. And make damn sure they got no idea where the hell it's all comin' from. They'll get ticked at 'em eventually. After that, you can just keep buildin' on crackin' his little operation bit by bit until it crumbles around him.

[loyaliste]

That could take years. And in the meantime we let people like you keep suffering? We can't do that anymore. We've done it long enough. [ he shoots dana an almost accusatory look ]

[beatupgrass]

Well, you can't just break in to that facility and let his prisoners go. Like I said, most of 'em wouldn't even make it out, even if you could get past the guards to get at them. And unless you plan to stay in that village over there and stake out every house, there's no way to know who he's gonna take or when. Face it, kid. You're a few years too late for an expedient way to end this.

[He looks at Dana too. It's apparently his fault. We blame you, Dana.]

[andresian]

The people need something to believe in, someone to believe in, that can make Andres better than it is now. That has more to offer them. No one here fits that bill.

[beatupgrass]

Heroes don't just magically fall from the sky. [He wanders over to the edge of the river in a pathetic attempt to get nature crud out of his fur. Somehow even that isn't even entirely raccoonish. He's just... very good at pretending to be people, okay.] If you want something to happen, you make it happen or- [He fumbles to figure out what to say next, realizes he has no idea what to say next, growls, and gives the water a good hard kick. Fuck you, river.] Screw it. I don't usually do the big fancy speeches that get everyone all worked up and inspired. That was Quill's thing.

[He plops down at the edge of the river. The very picture of raccoon misery.]

[loyaliste]

Who's Quill?

[beatupgrass]

[how do you explain peter quill?

Peter Quill is flawless.

I hear his Sony Walkman is insured for $1,000,000 units.

I hear he does spaceship commercials on Xandar.

One time he met the Nova Corps and they told him he was an a-hole.

He killed Ronan the Accuser with an infinity stone. And it was awesome.]

Just the biggest idiot in the freakin' galaxy.

[it almost sounds like a tragic endearment...]

[andresian]

One you take advice from?

[beatupgrass]

When you've only got so many friends, even a d'asted idiot's better than nothin' at all. And he always knew what he was doing-stupid or not.

[fuck you both. you're making him feel his own feelings. he's so alone.]

[loyaliste]

I'm sure he'll be glad to hear from you, once you get off the island, at least.

[beatupgrass]

[rather than respond to that like someone with a mature and reasonable understanding of emotions, rocket just growls in agitation. HE HAS NO FRIENDS. CHECK YOUR NATIVE PRIVILEGE.

ANYWAY. He's just gonna... use this quiet time to see if he can hear lara coming back or the battle winding down over there or something. (Listen uh... i think 29 IT'S A HIGH NUMBER OKAY).)

[affianced]

[ eventually his ears perk up as he hears the sound of someone coming. the others notice him listening to something and tense, watching the darkness carefully, but it's lara who emerges, a green cloak in her hand. ] I hope this will do.

[beatupgrass]

[THANK YOU, LARIUS. Rocket gets back to his feet and pulls on the cloak... and unless she stole it from a FETUS or a guy the size of a... normal person, let's assume a 12 disguise is enough to consider him suitably covered.]

I think I can work with this. [and then awkwardly because what are manners.] Thanks.

[loyaliste]

Even if he's disguised, they're going to ask who he is if he comes with you to the airfield. You might be better off distracting them so he can sneak past.

[beatupgrass]

[rocket peers out from under his hood, looking at lara like "huh."]

Yeah, they'd probably find her attractive.

[so. fucking. casual.]

[affianced]

[ michael snerks at that, and lara cuts him a glare ] Not that kind of distraction.

[beatupgrass]

[look in rocket's defense, he's been in prison a lot.]

If it gets 'em to look the other way while I sneak in, I don't care what kinda distraction it is.