SCION: CHAOSIUM! "Awakening"

[Shameless]

"Okay then, anything else you need from me?" Juno asked, abit perplexed by the sudden change of demeanor from Raiko.  

It was Tenchi who answered, his voice far more friendly than before.  "My sister had the right of it.   Don't worry too much about any of this though, be honest when the police question you.   Do not worry for your job, just cooperate and things will be alright.  Army takes care of its own."   With that he gave her a grin that had charmed many cameras, and nodded.  "Once things settle some, we'll talk again."

[Malachite]

Spoiler

"Nothing since he walked out of the desert from the north-west. If not for the IV, he may not have lasted long enough for you to get here," the Syrian refugee confirmed with a frown of deep concern. First thing she had tried when she had gotten a grasp on the situation in her sleep-deprived state was getting Rasheed, the camp's second most qualified (and more importantly male) medic, to try and get him to suck on a damp cloth to get any moisture into him, a trick that worked on even the most delicate or weakest of her patients. No joy, just more muttering and gibberish and that word over and over. It made the hair on her neck under her headscarf stand up. This was a man with something important to say, and not a lot of time to say it if his condition had it's way. Not today.

 

A thought struck Kamala, a feeling brewing since the Doctor had agreed to come despite the disaster that had had their Turkish guards so on edge all morning, "You had an idea about what this could be when we were talking over the phone, didn't you, Doctor? Something unusual even for here." 

 

Suruc, Turkey

 

Valentine frowned and motioned for Kamala to step aside with her to the most unoccupied part of the tent. She leaned in close to the midwife and spoke low, so her words would not carry. "What was described over the phone sounded like it might be radiation burns, but frankly so far I'm stumped. The burn pattern is odd and his temperature holding perfectly steady at 100 degrees is bizarre. I'm not sure what to think so far, but unless we can get him more coherent soon or drinking and eating, I'm not certain how much more help we can be beyond bandaging the burns and keeping him as comfortable as possible until this passes one way or another." She sighed and glanced around the tent, "I don't suppose anyone's been able to identify the language he's speaking, if it is one?" 

“No," Kamala shakes her head. Another medic who is nearby and overhears the whispers, “Sometimes it sounds Arabic, sometimes like Hebrew, but none of the words are words. One thing he keeps repeating is En’Gannokt but even that means nothing.”

"Could it be a name of a person or place?" Valentine mused. She moved back over to patient's side and said gently in Arabic, "Could you tell me about En'Gannokt?"

[Nina]

Suruc, Turkey

 

The man turns red rimmed eyes toward Valentine and she sees pain and sorrow in them. The feeling of emotion that hits her is almost palpable, he starts gibbering again. Kamala and the other medic move closer to observe. 

 

Suddenly the gibberish turns to English as if a lightbulb has gone off. "... not, for I suffer at the pleasure of my God. Valentine Adama, Kamala Jamil, go to En'gannnokt, the Guardian will show you the way." He reaches up and grabs Valentines wrist, 'For me fear not, for I suffer at the pleasure of my God. Valentine Adama, Kamala Jamil, go to En'gannnokt, the Guardian will show you the way."

 

[Nina]

Blackwind Technologies Dock and Receiving Yard, Port of Los Angeles, California 

 

Tenci's phone rang at that moment, he pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Akerson. "Excuse me a moment Miss Reyes," he said then stepped away

 

"Hello."

 

"Tenchi! Hell of a night huh. I just got the message from Matt about a situation down there. Why don't you fill me in and we'll see if we can't come up with a working solution."

 

 

 

Spoiler

Akerson  

 

[Exile_Jeane]

4 hours ago, SCION STORYTELLER said:

The man turns red rimmed eyes toward Valentine and she sees pain and sorrow in them. The feeling of emotion that hits her is almost palpable, he starts gibbering again. Kamala and the other medic move closer to observe. 

 

Suddenly the gibberish turns to English as if a lightbulb has gone off. "... not, for I suffer at the pleasure of my God. Valentine Adama, Kamala Jamil, go to En'gannnokt, the Guardian will show you the way." He reaches up and grabs Valentines wrist, 'For me fear not, for I suffer at the pleasure of my God. Valentine Adama, Kamala Jamil, go to En'gannnokt, the Guardian will show you the way."

 

 

*Suruc, Turkey*

 

...If this was what he had been gibbering for hours while they had been tending him, Kamala would have asked one of the camp's sturdy young men to be near by ages ago just in case. Her Ciwan had died fighting men who praised holy suffering, and such men were usually all too happy to spread the suffering around. The fanatics had called for fighters far and wide, and if this was one of theirs left over, his gibberish some tongue from Asia or Africa, however unlikely... The tension manifested in a hardening of her expression and a thinning of her lips before she could quite catch herself.

 

The secondary confusion as to why English now, why their names, and what was going on with, well, everything about a case that stumped Doctor Adama, fixed the frown in place as she fought against a lack of sleep. He was a patient first, a potential problem later. 

 

"How will we know the Guardian?" she made herself ask as gently as she could, prompting him to continue now that he'd, somehow, found his voice again. 

[Nina]

*Suruc, Turkey*

 

Karam, the medical assistant,  had been ready to grab incase the dying man got violent, but now at Kamala's question he shot her an awed stare.

 

"You understand this tongue?"

 

[Gabe OOC]

Ali frowned at Stacy’s words. The half-Lebanese man had always been very attuned to people, both in emotions and words, and hers… did not exactly ring false. That was to say, Stacy was only lying by omission. Of course, when it came to the phrase ‘compromising images,’ those words could cover a multitude of details and sins.

 

“Funny,” Ali commented, “the way everyone behaves around you, you’d think the images involved you, or something you got Jim involved in.” That was putting it mildly, given Loraine's earlier words. He raised an eyebrow. "Would you mind explaining why?"

[Nina]

Denver

 

Stacy's shoulders slumped but she nodded, "Close the door." Ali didn't move. "Please?"

 

He closed the door this time and leaned against it, "Well?"

 

"Okay, yes, There are pictures of me that I want to get but I do want to make sure that none of... the pictures... the two of us took together surface and get out. It might be embarrassing for his family."

[Malachite]

Spoiler

*Suruc, Turkey*

 

Karam, the medical assistant,  had been ready to grab incase the dying man got violent, but now at Kamala's question he shot her an awed stare.

 

"You understand this tongue?"

Suruc, Turkey

 

Valentine frowned at Karam in confusion. "He's speaking English now. . .?" She didn't spare that much attention for the assistant, though. "Can you tell us your name or where this En'gannokt is?" she added the questions to Kamala's as she dug a small card from the medkit she'd brought in with her and set it next to the man to see if the radiation strip lit up or not.  

 

[Shameless]

Tenchi sighed, Akerson just had that effect on him at times.  Sure they went way back, but there was just something off-putting about him.  His father had trusted him and called him a true friend, so when he died, the twins weren't ready to take things over, they left him in place.  
 

"Well the situation is that one of our security guards was on the ball tonight.  She noticed a boat where there shouldn't have been one, and called it in.  She and her supervisor did a preliminary investigation finding the gruesome remains of some drug runners.   They and their weapons were sliced up, but their product and ship is still here.  I want to know why it was at our docks in the first place.  We're in the process of getting law enforcement out here to charge of it, and following all the normal legal protocols."   
 

"It's probably gonna be a real mess when the press gets wind of all of this." he added, his voice showing his irritation.

[Nina]

Suruc, Turkey

 

Karam watched as Kamala and the American doctor talked to the man, they spoke English but to his ears what came from him was gibberish yet both women seemed to understand him whereas before no one had. Karam took a step back as the doctor produced a small strip of plastic or paper near the man’s body. Karam shook his head… a dying man speaks in tongues and two women, healers, understand him. Were they witches?

 

Valaentine watched as the strip tuned immediately tuned red, that cant be right it was fine when I opened it. She pulled out another and repeated the process checking that it was good before placing it near the man. Again, as soon as she set it down it turned red.

 

“Go to En’Gannokt, the guardian will show you the way.’ He kept repeating.

 

“Who is the Guardian? Where is En’gannockt,” Kamala asked again.

 

Karam shook away his superstition, “Kamala, there is a man here who is called the guardian.”

 

“A refugee?”

 

“No,” Karam shook his head, “he does not live in the camp. He is a suffi, he came here after the camp was set up, but he lives in the desert. People go to him, you know.”

 

----------------------

 

Blackwind Technologies Dock and Receiving Yard, Port of Los Angeles, California 

 

12 hours ago, Tenchi Shirahara said:

"It's probably gonna be a real mess when the press gets wind of all of this." he added, his voice showing his irritation.

 

“Not anything we really need Tenchi. Matt says the storm is pretty bad over there and that it’s doubtful anyone would have seen that boat come in. Seems to me it would be doubtful that anyone would see it go out either. Why don’t you and Raiko go back home and let Matt take care of this?

 

Okay?”

[Exile_Jeane]

5 hours ago, SCION STORYTELLER said:

Suruc, Turkey

 

Karam watched as Kamala and the American doctor talked to the man, they spoke English but to his ears what came from him was gibberish yet both women seemed to understand him whereas before no one had. Karam took a step back as the doctor produced a small strip of plastic or paper near the man’s body. Karam shook his head… a dying man speaks in tongues and two women, healers, understand him. Were they witches?

 

Valaentine watched as the strip tuned immediately tuned red, that cant be right it was fine when I opened it. She pulled out another and repeated the process checking that it was good before placing it near the man. Again, as soon as she set it down it turned red.

 

“Go to En’Gannokt, the guardian will show you the way.’ He kept repeating.

 

“Who is the Guardian? Where is En’gannockt,” Kamala asked again.

 

Karam shook away his superstition, “Kamala, there is a man here who is called the guardian.”

 

“A refugee?”

 

“No,” Karam shook his head, “he does not live in the camp. He is a suffi, he came here after the camp was set up, but he lives in the desert. People go to him, you know.”

 

*Suruc, Turkey*

 

"Ahh," Kamala exhaled with a hint of relief, deflating from her tension. Of course, the guardian would be a Suffi, one of those unusual few who focused on getting close to God in a world of all too mortal danger, as much part of the social glue as anyone. More importantly, they were very very unlikely to be involved with the violent fanatics, at least the ones of Turkish origin if half the jokes told about them were a quarter true. 

 

And then there was the... weirdness... of why Karam couldn't understand the man, the uncertainty in his eyes at their one-way conversation, the timing of the change with Doctor Adama's arrival. It spooked Kamala herself. If something impossible happened, then it clearly wasn't impossible anymore. Maybe it was the tiredness talking, but she wanted to know what was going on, bring some order out of this chaos. Order was the root of all good prosperity.

 

"God help me survive my own curiosity," she muttered in her native Kurdish before switching to English again, "Doctor? Unless you have a miracle in your bag, I suggest we track down the guardian. If something in the desert is making men sick, we need to discover what it is. He couldn't have walked far in his condition."

[Shameless]

Blackwind Technologies Dock and Receiving Yard, Port of Los Angeles, California 

Tenchi frowned darkly at that.   "People already know, Dwight.  Hiding this makes it seem like we did something wrong.   I think, and I speak for Raiko as well, that we go by the book on this. Much as the press will blow things out of proportion, the fact we didn't sweep this whole thing under the rug and make it "go away" will speak volumes to our company's character.   It's a short-term risk, sure, but there can be some long-term gains."

Tenchi and Raiko knew it was risky, either way from a business standpoint, but the two of them wanted to go forward acting honorably.  

[Kaoleth]

Raiko sighed when it became obvious who it was that was calling. She preferred not to deal with Ackerson when she could avoid it, and the man himself was generally content to let her and her team tinker away. He was old school, though. The company was all, and he wouldn't let something as simple as morals get in the way of protecting it. Or such was her read on him anyway. It was almost admirable, if she didn't find the idea horrifying. Their father had instilled a certain honor in the both of them, and they took pride in living by it.

 

She could imagine what the man was saying based off of the subtle tension about Tenchi and his half of the conversation, offering him a fierce scowl at the offer she could almost hear in her own head, giving a sharp nod at his own response. It would have been easy to let them sweep it away, but it was not right. At least with this, they would be able to stand tall at the end of things.

[Gabe OOC]

Unfortunately, Stacy's tells did not get any more or less clear as to her overall honesty. Ali sighed, not really wanting to intrude into his friend's personal laundry, but he really needed to clarify just what was going on here. Besides, the tickets still metaphorically scratched at the back of his mind. "Shot in the dark, but does this have anything to do with the pair of ski resort tickets Jim left addressed to me? He didn't like skiing, after all."

[Nina]

 

Blackwind Technologies Dock and Receiving Yard, Port of Los Angeles, California

 

The phone was silent for several second, then Tenchi heard a sigh, “You’re the man on the scene, I’ll trust your judgment, I just hope this doesn’t come back and bit us on the ass. Sure, we didn’t do anything wrong, but since when has that stopped the feds from sticking their nose in our business.

 

Anyway, I have an early day tomorrow, I’ll be back in LA day after, we’ll get together then. Tell your sister good night.”

Just like that the call ended.

 

-----------

Denver…

Now that came out of the blue, thought Stacy. “No… he didn’t like to ski.”  She smiled and gave a little laugh at a memory, “Matter of fact that’s kind of how we met.”

 

At Ali’s look of curiosity Stacy continued. “Last winter, I was working at this resort, and Jim had been coaxed into going on a ski trip there, by some of his friends from his work. Couple of them are here today. Anyway, He didn’t like skiing so while they were off on the slopes, he basically stayed in his room working remotely.” Stacy trailed off ,”Anyway that’s where we met, a place called the Snowfield resort, nice place quaint town.”

 

-------------

Suruç, Turkey…

 

The sick man lapsed back into incoherence and then seemed to settle into a deep sleep. At an inquiry form the two women about this Sufi, Karam agreed to show them where he was.

 

They went in Valentine’s Rover, Valentine driving and Karam in the passenger seat directing, Kamala was alone in the backseat. The drive through the camp was slow.

When establish the camp at Suruc had been built to house at most four to five thousand refugees, but at the height of the refugee crisis, over thirty thousand had occupied this expanse of desert, while the population had dropped with the opening of newer camps there were still over twenty thousand refugees in residence in the squalor of the manufactured city. There was no running water, it had to be trucked in daily, food was limited, there was little medical care and even less medical supplies, and with  ring of security keeping the refugees from spreading into the country, it was more prison than anything else.

 

The Rover left the camp and after some argument with the soldiers at the security gate, was allowed to continue on. From there it was not far, about a kilometer from the wire fence they left the road and traveled across country another few kilometers when Karam called for Valentine to stop.

 

“There you thin line of smoke, that is the Sufi’s fire. It would be best to proceed on foot so as not to disturb him.”

 

The three trudged the final few hundred meters to the Sufi’s camp. The camp occupied a small ancient oasis, with a few trees and a well. There was a young boy who tended the fire and the animals, a few goats, he also cooked for the holy man who sat in an open tent away from the fire and the well.

 

The boy said nothing to them as they came into the camp, he only watched them and when questioned  remained silent but pointed to the tent. In the tent sat an old frail nearly bald man with a long white beard. He too watched them approach with eyes that were clear and alert.

 

--------------------

 

 

 

 

 

[Nina]

It was a dismal morning, thought Try, as he walked across the street swinging a bag of donuts he had picked for his dad and Pete, the other mechanic at his dads’ shop, but then pretty much every morning in Detroit was dismal.

 

“Hey Pete, Donuts, where’s my dad,” He called out. Pete pulled his head out from under the hood of a Toyota sedan, and scratched his nose with w greasy finger, “Back in the office with a customer,” Pete jerked his thumb backwards at the office. “You’re late.”

 

Try put the bag of donuts on the Toyota’s fender ignoring Pete’s comment and went to the locker room to put on his overalls. As he was zipping up his work clothes his father called out to him, “Tryfon, you in there? Get out here I want you to meet someone.”

 

Try grimaced but headed out and came to a full stop when he pushed open the door.

 

She was tall at least five ten or eleven, jet black hair, with dark brown eyes that were almost black, and features that were exotic and beautiful.

 

“Try, this is Karlee Lightfeather, she’s looking for a mechanic.” And that is all his dad said before nodding at the woman and then walking away leaving Try to sink or swim.

 

Spoiler

Karlee Lightfeather  

 

[Veral]

Tryfon stretched himself up to his full height of 6'2", keeping his back ramrod straight in front of this unknown, striking woman. "Tryfon Burton.  Call me Try." He extended his hand toward her for a shake. After shaking her hand, Try said, "Dad said you were looking for a mechanic... what's the job? Diesel or Gas? Any design work as part of it? American or foreign? Truck or Car?" He shook his head, "Sorry 'bout all the questions."

 

Awaiting her answers, Tryfon's thoughts began to wander, 'I hope it's interesting, or at least gets my mind off shit. She sure is pretty. Hopefully this is a new beginning."

 

[Gabe OOC]

That actually made plenty of sense, fitting with Jim's workaholic personality. It didn't answer the mystery at all, and it provoked an entirely different mystery at hand. "So, honestly, you don't seem too bad." Ali observed, glancing at Stacy thoughtfully. "So why are everyone treating you like the proverbial leper?" Loraine being sure Stacy was the motivating factor behind Jim's pair of tickets, when it looked like she'd had no role to play - unless sort of commemoration was in the offing.

 

"I'm sorry if I'm prying, but my friend is dead, and for some perplexing reason he left the tickets behind for me. Loraine thought you were responsible for that." Ali shrugged. "Stupid thing for me to latch onto, but, well... grief is a funny thing. I promise whatever you say won't leave this room."

[Shameless]

Blackwind Technologies Dock and Receiving Yard, Port of Los Angeles, California

Tenchi nodded, and hung up the phone.   "I know some may do it your way, but that's not going to be our way."  He said quietly looking at Raiko, knowing it was a sentiment she shared.
 

He looked to Raiko. "Send Matt a message, reiterating that we're going to follow proper protocol, and call in law enforcement.   Let them do what they need to do what they need to do.   Akerson's got an early day, coming back to LA the day after tomorrow.   He wants to get together, so likely he's got something else planned."
 

He sighed, and looked to Juno.   "Cooperate with the police, because I can promise they'll want to question you."  He smiled, "As I said before, your job's safe.  My sister and I can at least guarantee that much."

[SalmonMax]

Juno gave Tenchi a quizzical look.

 

"Uh...yeah," she said. "I was always going to do that, because this job...don't get me wrong, it's not a bad job at all, but I'm not going to jail for it."

 

She then glanced around, verifying that no one but Tenchi and Raiko were in earshot and pushed a little more.

 

"So...you two really don't know what this was about? Because when I talk to the police, I'll have to tell them that our only suspect specifically told me to give you two a message. That's not going to look great."

Edited March 5, 2021 by SalmonMax

[Nina]

Detroit

 

Spoiler

16 hours ago, Tryfon Burton said:

Tryfon stretched himself up to his full height of 6'2", keeping his back ramrod straight in front of this unknown, striking woman. "Tryfon Burton.  Call me Try." He extended his hand toward her for a shake. After shaking her hand, Try said, "Dad said you were looking for a mechanic... what's the job? Diesel or Gas? Any design work as part of it? American or foreign? Truck or Car?" He shook his head, "Sorry 'bout all the questions."

 

Awaiting her answers, Tryfon's thoughts began to wander, 'I hope it's interesting, or at least gets my mind off shit. She sure is pretty. Hopefully this is a new beginning."

 

 

Karlee watched the young man as he preened, she couldn't help but smile a little, it was nice to know that she still had that effect on men half her age. At forty-six, Karlee wasn't old by todays standards, but sometimes she felt old, still her looks had not faded, merely matured, but she could still pass for a woman of thirty or even younger with the right makeup.

 

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Burton," she said extending her hand. After they shook he pulled out an I-Phone and flipped it around so he could see, then offered it to him. "I'll get right to the point. My brother was a car fanatic. he bought them and put them in his garage and only drove them sparingly. Most of his cars were collector things. I don't know anything about cars personally only how to drive them." 

 

Try took the phone and started scrolling through the dozens of cars all of them pristine and very rare. This is quite a collection ma'am." he flipped to the next but it wasn't a car, it was Karlee Lightfeather posing on a bed in very revealing lingerie.

 

"That is not even half of it. Now the point, my brother passed unexpectantly, and I being his only living relative have inherited all of these. My first impulse was to sell them, but I guess I am sentimental. So I have decided to keep them but I need someone to maintain them for when and if I do sell them. The job includes room and board as well as a generous salary. but before we get to that I need to know if you are interested and if your the man for the job.

 

Are you... intrested?"

[Nina]

Denver...

 

Why the fuck did she find this embarrassing, Stacy shook her head, "Okay we did meet at that resort, but not at the resort. Look I'm  sort of an exotic dancer, I work in clubs but I also do private functions, Parties, conventions, things. I was at the resort in that capacity and that's where I met Jim. Those guys out there, both of whom are married, were also there.

 

Jim and I started talking and we hit it off. Look I am no angel and yes I do things for money but That is not how it was with Jim, I liked spending time with him and him passing like that . It is devastating.

 

I'm here because while I don't live here in Denver we had a thing going on and there were pictures and videos exchanged. Neither of which need to see the light of day. And that is the truth and that is why I am here. I want to protect Jim. The worlds already seen me naked."

[Veral]

35 minutes ago, SCION STORYTELLER said:

Detroit

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Karlee watched the young man as he preened, she couldn't help but smile a little, it was nice to know that she still had that effect on men half her age. At forty-six, Karlee wasn't old by todays standards, but sometimes she felt old, still her looks had not faded, merely matured, but she could still pass for a woman of thirty or even younger with the right makeup.

 

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Burton," she said extending her hand. After they shook he pulled out an I-Phone and flipped it around so he could see, then offered it to him. "I'll get right to the point. My brother was a car fanatic. he bought them and put them in his garage and only drove them sparingly. Most of his cars were collector things. I don't know anything about cars personally only how to drive them." 

 

Try took the phone and started scrolling through the dozens of cars all of them pristine and very rare. This is quite a collection ma'am." he flipped to the next but it wasn't a car, it was Karlee Lightfeather posing on a bed in very revealing lingerie.

 

"That is not even half of it. Now the point, my brother passed unexpectantly, and I being his only living relative have inherited all of these. My first impulse was to sell them, but I guess I am sentimental. So I have decided to keep them but I need someone to maintain them for when and if I do sell them. The job includes room and board as well as a generous salary. but before we get to that I need to know if you are interested and if your the man for the job.

 

Are you... intrested?"

Tryfon blinked hard at the lingerie shot, but went back a photo and handed the phone back to Karlee.

 

"Would I be allowed to work on projects of my own? I wouldn't dare modify the cars in the collection, but I need to tinker with a car of my own from time to time. Also, where is this collection? I heard of many collectors with collections like this, but I don't think I've heard of your brother. Do these cars get driven? Are they show cars? I know better than to ask how he got them. If you can give me satisfactory answers, I'm in." Try took a deep breath.

 

He waited for the answers while pondering what led him to this opportunity of a lifetime. Try decided that he'd take the position even without the answers, but still wondered if she would let him know. 

[Nina]

Detroit...

 

Karlee took the phone and watched him while he asked his questions.

 

"What you do on your own time is your own. But I need to make sure your the man for the job." 

 

She looked down at the phone and scrolled, paused, her eyes cut up to look at Try, then she scrolled again. and handed the phone back.

 

It showed a 1968 Olds 442 Convertible which had seen better days, "That is my brothers last purchase, he bought it only a few days before his death. It is still in the former owners possession. If you want the job I want you to go and pick it up, and bring it back to me. Preferably with you driving it, but if you have to bring it in on a trailor that is acceptable. I will pay you ten thousand dollars up front plus any expenses you incur. If you can deliver the car in working order in seven days I will give you a double bonus."