briefing ♔ i will never know myself until i do this on my own

[wynn]

This is War- 30 Seconds to Mars

WHO || Wynn,  Jack, Hasmed, Lis'sa, Dovan, Solace, Koraith, Christos, Tia, Nessa, Grant, Buffy, Myri, Finnick, Spike,  Gar, Archer, Des, Fred Jr., Dumage, Mark, Alainn, Zero, Colin, Lan, Eric, Val'drin, Risa,  Anastacia, Faith O., Max R., Belle, Kadir, Edain, Sydney, Zatanna, Aurelius, Jaina, Erky, Davin,  Riddick, Jordan, Henry, Leia, Willow, Kate, Allison, Francesca, Bo, Han, Aedan, Rocket, Drax, Nathan, Maxwell, Sam, Faith L., Cora, Dimitri, Alanna, Jaime, Klaus, Gus, Andrew, Stiles, Lydia, Gold, Jackson, Adam, Miles, Penelope, David, Derek, Andie, Kali, Cara, Nels, Taradiddle, Abigail, Astrid, Bambi, Frankie, Rose, Helen, Alaric, Alice, Lissa, Alex, Emma F., Cordelia, Zoe,  Sebastian, Malina, Alcide, Phineas, Fiona, Arthur, Faye, Mars, Kate, Lila,  Jameson, Felicity, Thoster, Adi, Brantley, Hook, Emma, Eleven, Alisha, Will, Dean, Grimrot     [Closed]
WHAT || Andres War Briefing
WHERE || Knights HQ, Round Table Room
WHEN || September 19th [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, please call dibs in the dibs plurk!

On the eve of battle, an impressive array of Knights gathers in the Round Table room of the castle.  The usually cavernous room seems tightly packed with this many bodies, and places at the Table are reserved for Wynn, the Section Heads, all those who have had any hand in the Talisman mission, including New York, and Christos, but who's going to argue with him, really.  The air buzzes with a mixture of impending dread and on some fronts, excitement.  It's hard to deny that there are those in the room who have wanted to make a move on Andres for years.

Wynn waits for the appointed hour, before nodding for the doors to be sealed and calling the meeting to order.  

"Before we begin, I'd like to thank each and every one of you, many who have traveled an extensive distance at a moment's notice to join us here today.  I understand that many of you have little idea what you have agreed to, but I hope that before the end of this meeting, you will come to understand what we are doing, and why it must be done.

Andres' Isle has been held under the sway of the man who calls himself their "Prime Minister" for nearly a decade.  In these ten years, he has turned what was once an idyllic country steeped in tradition into a tightly controlled fascist nation disguised as representative of its people.  

Andres is far from the only country to fall to such a fate over the course of history, and it has never been the prerogative of this Knighthood to enforce our own personal vision of some sort of world order onto any nation.  We are protectors of justice, and our enemy has always been both that which comes from the darkest depths of Shadow, and intolerance and prejudice that stems from this world. 

But Dimitris Sarandis has proven to be an exception, an embodiment of all the ideals we stand against, who has aspired to systematize the kind of violence and hatred that threatens the welfare of countless innocents under his rule.  He has used his position to exploit Shadowkind on the island to the point of conducting torturous experiments on them, designed to help him accomplish his goal of forcibly enslaving non-humans, so that they may serve what he sees as the superior race of homo sapiens.  

As if this were not enough, Dimitris knows of our existence, and wishes to tear down our organization, understanding that we pose a threat to all he seeks to accomplish.  To this end, he has conspired against us, kidnapped members of our organization and subjected them to brutal and vile torture, and attempted to blackmail us through detaining Sir Thomas Bancroft and now Sir Samcelot, into complying with his whims - to leave his regime alone entirely, to turn over our most ancient, powerful artifact, and for me to submit to death at his hand.  

Killing Dimitris alone will not stop the system he has created, and will not help free the people of Andres.  Most citizens of the country remain innocent, terrified into compliance, or completely ignorant of what Sarandis does behind closed doors.  These people deserve our help, and the only way to do so is to show them the evil that lurks at the heart of their government, gain their support in uprooting that evil, and assist them in stabilizing their country thereafter.   

To do this, we will need to go beyond the usual parameters of our missions, with a militant, strategic push into the island designed to seize the castle, and take down Sarandis' rule."   He pauses there, letting that sink in.  "What I will not stand for is a callous attitude towards the innocents who we seek to protect on the Island, during this insurgency.  Their safety will be paramount to our operation, and as such, speed is important to what we will be accomplishing.  Dimitris expects retaliation, but he also underestimates our tactics.  As such, rather than attacking the castle with an army, you will be deployed about the Island in a number of small teams, each with an objective that will help us cut off Dimitris from contact with his supporters, secure Sir Bancroft and Sir Samcelot's safety, free those who are imprisoned, and confront Sarandis, taking the castle in the process.

Details of these individual operations not withstanding, I imagine there are some questions.  I open the floor to you to speak."

Comments

[slay]

Great.

[ Nodding, she takes one step backwards, then turns to actually look where she's going and lead the way. Considering her extravaganza with going way overboard this morning, there's bound to be stuff still out around the kitchen. ]

Not to dig my fingers in open wounds here or anything, but ... That stuff your brother was saying. [ She glances back at Sam. ] It sounded crazy. [ There's an implied "right?" in there. Actually seeing Lucifer? His brother being Lucifer? What ?? ]

[familybusiness]

[He follows after her, walking slowly because his stride is...way bigger than hers.]

No, it's fine. [She had to listen to all that crazy, he owes her what little explanation he can give.] Tell me about it. I can't tell you he's wrong, though. I wasn't kidding about the whole alternate dimension thing.

[It's the explanation Wynn gave him, but he continues.]

I came through the Veil a few months ago. Dean's been here his whole life and, judging by looking at him? He's older here.

[slay]

So, when he mentioned Lucifer ... He really did mean in this world.

[ Gulp. Double gulp. Like 100 oz. big gulp. ]

You should be careful. I mean, pissed off and panicked isn't a great way to get a lot of information from somebody, but it sounded bad. [ They should probably find out more about what happened to ... the Sam that Dean was talking about. ] If something happened, that means they could be out for you, too. And trust me: an Archdevil's bad side is the last place you want to be.

[familybusiness]

Yeah, I think so.

[Actual Satan. A w e s o m e.]

I guess I hadn't actually thought about that yet.

[Wow, that couldn't be more foreboding and ominous and awful.]

The last thing I want to do is bring something like that here. We've got enough problems as it is.

[Even if it's the safest place for him if that's the case.]

[slay]

Would it make you feel better or worse if I said they're ... kind of already here? No bringing required.

[ Thanks, Obama Des. She pushes open the kitchen door, cringing a bit like whoops drops that bomb. ]

[familybusiness]

[Eyebrow raise.]

Let me guess. It's the one you mentioned that you've met?

[Not just met, but here. No wonder she didn't tell Dean.]

[slay]

It's complicated, and not really my problem to talk about. But ... We've run into Mephistopheles before. She's got a yen for one of our allies, and if Lucifer's as interested in you as your brother makes it sound ... [ She shrugs. ] It's just that eyes are kinda on us already. The more we can find out about what happened to alternate-you, the better we can protect you from whatever he wants. Or ... it. Any word on the whole devil gender thing?

[familybusiness]

Well I guess we'll have to hope that either news doesn't travel fast or they're not close friends.

[But he and Dean have never been that lucky, so...knowing them Lucifer and Mephistopheles are best buds or something.]

It's going to be hard to get anything out of my brother if he thinks I'm lying.

[slay]

[ ahahhahahahah ahhahahha hahah ]

Maybe once we're back from Andres with a win under our belt, his attitude will shape up and he'll realize how lucky he is that you're here, and alive, and ... [ She stops in the middle of cutting out a piece of brownie, brow furrowing as she looks him over. ] Really tall.

[familybusiness]

I think you underestimate Dean's ability to stubborn.

[At least he manages a bit of humor, and her comment makes him laugh briefly again.]

Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. No, neither of my parents were giants. Or yetis.

[This is a question he's been asked.]

Is the fact that you managed to throw my brother into a wall something I shouldn't mention?

[Because that was also a thing that happened.]

[slay]

Well, as far as I can remember, neither of my parents were circus performers, dinosaurs, or superheroes.

[ So who knows where she gets it from, huh? She sets the knife aside, smiling in a distracted way. She grabs a napkin and pulls a chunk of brownie out, handing it over and leaning against the counter. ]

It's just a ... thing. I don't really remember anything before the Veil, so explaining it's kinda hard. [ She shrugs one shoulder. ] Lately, people have been going with "Slayer." Sehanine went with "champion." I'm sticking with "Buffy."

[familybusiness]

[He takes the offered treat, holding it for a moment because talk is more important than dessert.]

Nothing at all?

[He wonders if that makes it easier or harder, since almost all of his memories are intact. Probably some from column a, some from b.]

Buffy it is. I like that better, anyway.

[slay]

Yeah? [ Her gaze fixes on his face, then she nods. Yeah, she'll stick with Buffy. ] I couldn't even remember my birthday. And, of course, no driver's license, or even an ID. I came through with an out-of-season sweater and a name. I was lucky the Knights found me.

[familybusiness]

[He just nods with her.]

Yeah.

[He breaks off a piece of the brownie with his fingers, putting it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully and, of course, swallowing before he speaks again.]

I can't even imagine. I thought I had it bad, and all I lost was big chunks of the last couple of days before I woke up in a Chicago alleyway.

[But it's not easy no matter how you get here, let's be honest. He won't...mention how there are some memories that he might not have minded forgetting, but that's not entirely true and she probably wouldn't take too kindly to it. He wouldn't want full amnesia and he wouldn't wish it on anyone else either.]

[slay]

I don’t think any of us have it worse than anyone else. I’m sure not everything I forgot was sunshine and rainbows.

[ She drops her head, picking at a spare napkin as she points out, ] Actually, I’m … sure it wasn’t. Lately, a few people from my world have cropped up, expecting me to recognize them. Scary what people will say when they expect you to have context.

[ Gesturing with the napkin to Sam, she nods to him. ]

You’d know, I guess.

[ She turns away, moving to grab some brownie for herself. ]

[familybusiness]

[The crooked smile that forms at that is bittersweet at best. It looks like she can commiserate with him even more than he might have thought, and it's something of a blessing that, while he wouldn't wish it on anyone, at least someone knows how he feels, if even a little bit.

He's spent the vast majority of his life feeling like no one understands.]

Yeah, I guess I would. I mean, I expected him to say a lot of things, to be suspicious. It's expected, given what we've seen, but that...

[He looks a little disturbed, lost in thought, sad.]

...I don't know what that was.

[slay]

Not about you.

[ She leans in a little, trying to catch his gaze with a reassuring smile. Whoever the Sam Winchester was that Dean was freaking out about? Not this one. This one was still here, still human, and seriously missing his brother. He doesn’t deserve self-loathing on top of that. ]

He’ll come around. He has to.

[familybusiness]

No, it was about me. There's not a whole lot that could get him worked up like that. Just because it's not me doesn't mean I didn't cause that.

[He showed up here, rocked Dean's world just as much as his own had been screwed with. Maybe that was wrong.

But what else should he have done?]

Yeah, we'll see. He needs to focus on the next couple of days. We both do, or it won't end up mattering.

[slay]

You’re not wrong.

[ She sighs. ]

Kind of a rough first mission. Family problems aside, how are you feeling about what’s coming?

[familybusiness]

I'm not exactly a stranger to life or death situations.

[If anything, it'll be good to have something to take his mind off everything else, now. It's not the first time the Winchesters have used a job as a distraction.]

I'm so used to just having to hunt down something and kill it. But here, we're just trying to save a bunch of people. I feel good about it.

[slay]

[ ahahahaha. hAHAHHhahahHAHha.

Not all of them.

Buffy’s gaze drops a level, and she turns away, staring at the opposite edge of the kitchen, searching for something. She’s been tasked, with the rest of her team, to stop Dimitris. That won’t come without a price. ]

Good. I hope you feel the same way when you come back.

[familybusiness]

[Yeah, whoops.]

Yeah, I do too, considering nothing ever seems to go the way it's planned.

[slay]

Especially not with this mission.

[ A small grimace accompanies the evaluation. ]

Which leg are you taking up, anyway? [ She turns back towards him once she trusts herself not to look too pained or distracted. ] Sorry, I … have this thing with paying attention, in that I don’t really do it well.

[familybusiness]

It was a lot of people to keep track of.

[And she hadn't know him from Adam, so he gets it.]

Big scale prison break. We're supposed to look for Sir Bancroft, the Dragon's Claw, while we're in there, too.

[slay]

Thomas. [ Her expression softens. It kills her, knowing that she should have stormed that prison while they'd had the chance and pulled him out two nights prior. Instead, they'd fled. ] It's—He's a friend. [ Another sad smile tugs at her mouth as she explains. ] There's someone else you should keep an eye out for two. My friend, Myri, Sarandis took her flywacket. Her familiar. It's like this ... dragon-y, cat-like thing. About yay big. [ She holds out her hands. ] With wings. I don't know if it's still in there, or somewhere else. But if you'd keep your eyes peeled ... [ She'd appreciate it. ]