Memorandum #003

Day 4,260, 17:15 • Published in Ireland Japan • by Violence Seth

Last Episode : Memorandum #002
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Subject: The Liberties Past Curfew


So here it goes... I've been working with Nastya, otherwise known by her more infamous moniker "Raven", for about three or four months now. She saved me from my "exile" on Muldoanich Isle, off the coast of Scotland. Since then she's been a true ally, comrade and just someone truly worthy of following. She brought me to her hideout and never asked for any sort of compensation, only offering me well paid jobs and insuring me that I could turn them down if I so wished. I wasn’t her captive and after everything that went down with Rasa Blank I sort of expected to be... But I digress...

I soon found out I couldn't refuse her, should something happen to her. I tried only the once to get "familiar" with her. We'd been in tight quarters for a bit too long on one of our missions and in fairness she is a rare, ferocious and undeniably attractive woman. She took my advances on almost like a chore and soon she was taking full control, denying any kissing. I was initially ecstatic until she pulled out her blade and pressed it close to my throat. She held the blade their until she was satisfied and then... Well anyways, afterwards as we got dressed she gave me a black eye for simply making eye contact with her. I've learned to only ask questions if it's a matter of life or death. It’s an unspoken rule when we’re out on missions. To put it plainly, she's not much of a conversationalist.

Ever since Dr. Andrews joined us I've had a companion, of sorts. We get along fine but he's also not too keen on "shooting the breeze" but he'll at least tolerate the occasional hypothetical or random speculation. Nastya won't even answer a knock knock joke. Tonight we were on a mission to find a Mr. Haruto Kobayashi somewhere in a Dublin Sector the Civs called "the Liberties". He had some fake I.D's for us. Apparently he was some middle-management type for gene WORLD. For reasons I've stated before I didn't bother asking why we were doing any of this and the three of us soon landed, late in the evening, on the Irish Army held Baldonnel Airstrip, just outside of Dublin alight a Civ Cargo plane we’d stowed away on. It was unusually hot and humid, particularly for Ireland. The Guards on duty weren't paying much attention as we stole away out of the airstrip and made our way into the hazy twilight on towards Dublin Town.


Dublin, Ireland
Day 4,260, 16.30 eRT

Night was closing in and we were in a part of town that the Civ engineers had long since given up on repairing because of the constant air raids and “training skirmishes”. Nastya led us as we dodged a mix of Irish and Turkish Military patrols. They were complaining about the heat casually with one another. They’d be ordered to “Simulate” a city battle within the coming days. It was surreal how normal that once seemed to me. I noticed that most of the Building Units were old pre-Sim War, all of them abandoned now. The old stone architecture was ornate and graceful and what gardens that had been cloistered by them where now overgrown with narrow trails. Some blocks still stood but most were in total ruin. “Pick up the pace Winters! Stop gawking at the scenery you idiot!” whisper-shouted Andrews. I plucked a Pear from a tree nearby and tossed it at his head. I missed by an inch thank G*d, the Pear was heavy.

It was an hour past curfew, the only law that seemed to be still enforced in this Sector so we made sure to keep out of sight. There weren’t many patrols but we weren’t taking any chances. Our tango, a Civ bar called “The Hooters Head” was hidden down a narrow lane and only the faintest light illuminating a newspaper pasted window above a steel door gave the place away. Andrews knocked three times followed by three quicker ones. The door creaked open and a voice in the dark hissed, “Quickly!”. It was one of the Civ Partisans led by a priest called The Quane, or something. Nastya had set up our meeting through him. Our handler was a frail, sickly looking old dude with a greasy comb over, dressed in a nicely tailored suit. Can’t remember his name... His lips were ashen though, the poor so and so was hooked on 4’s. Once he was finished sizing us up, he let us in, closing the steel door carefully behind him, leaving us in total darkness. I felt Nastya clutch my arm. He flicked on a torch and motioned for us to follow. We’d to crouch down as we were led down a long, narrow and dark flight of stairs.

The Hooters Head was basically a large candle lit basement, stuffed to the brim with drunken Civs. The smell was absolutely nauseating. As we entered, the Civs began murmuring among themselves, eyeing us up the same way as our handler did. Why can’t I remember his name!? I think it was Jack or James, something beginning with J… Hmm... Oh, where was I? *ahem* Raven had told us our contact would be wearing a tweed suit and that he was Japanese.

His name, or at least what he was known as was Haruto Kobayashi, a comptroller at gene WORLD’s Irish offices in Dun Laoghaire and bootlegger of I.D’s, Birth Certs and more nefarious items such as Type 4’s. We made an effort to keep our pistols hidden as we crammed through the crowd. Andrews spotted him, sitting at the bar leaning on a briefcase and sipping whiskey. He was talking with a pretty Civ girl, half his age. He had a sinful grin spread across his face. Raven nodded towards him and indicated Andrews and herself would scan the premises with a fist gesture. The low light made it difficult to see where I was going and the heat was steaming up my glasses. Still I managed to struggle my way through the crowd.

“Monsieur Kobayashi san?” I inquired. “No! For the last time I’ve no 4’s to sell, now fu-”. The moment of realization was hilarious, but I kept my composure. “Shall we move to a less conspicuous place? Management has arranged a table near the back.” I said with a slight smile. His face turned red and he nodded, gathering his briefcase from the bar and downing the last of his whiskey before following me. He turned to his young new acquaintance with a vacant look of despair. I saw both Raven and Andrews signaling the all clear, but I knew by their faces something was up. Andrews shifted his eyes towards the other end of the bar before following us. There was a Military type drinking alone.

Our handler, the J-Man explained to a group of Civ’s that we needed the corner booth. These Civ’s eventually complied but they did not look happy. They must have been some middling level of pathetic Gangster, they certainly weren’t Partisans. They grimaced and scowled at us as they deliberately took there time filing out. I was afraid Raven would lose her patience after one of them made a rude gesture with his fingers and tongue but I suppose that idiot wouldn’t even register with her. We packed in tight with Mr. Kobayashi san, with Andrews to his left and myself sat snugly to his right and an icy looking Nastya sat across the table.

“Let us make this quick, I must be ge-” Kobayashi san was interrupted by Raven raising her finger and placing it on her lips. She crossed her legs an leaned slightly back on her seat. “Is he looking our way, the guy at the end of the bar? The blondinka in black?” I peeped over, as did Andrews. He was indeed. He quickly looked back towards the bar. He’d noticed us noticing him, noticing us. “Yep.” said Andrews, placing his sidearm on the table. I could feel Kobayashi begin to tremble. “Goshawk?” I ventured. “No. They never send agents out alone.” Raven said flatly. “He must be somebody's man, sure look at him. Big blondie brickhouse, dressed head to toe in black. Could it be Rasa Blank?” said Andrews with almost a hint of excitement. “No, they’re gone man. Couldn’t be them.” I said, trying to sound calm and measured. If he was Rasa Blank I’d have to start drafting my will. “No. Even if Rasa Blank still exists they’d never have the resources to track us here… Either way, we'll find out later... You!” Raven jabbed a finger at Kobayashi. He gasped.

“Well with the new Comm-Link tracer and photo-biographic…” My mind began to drift as our guest rambled on with his sales pitch. I was staring at our stalker. He didn’t look like anyone I’d seen in Rasa Blank which was a relief but other than Goshawk, we were too underground for regular M.U’s to be snooping around, trying to capture us. Plus, it wasn’t like Goshawk would ever split a ransom. Our handler, the J-Man brought us a round of whiskeys, courtesy of The Quane’s Partisan’s. Was he one of them? Nah, he looked too foreign, he was probably from Scandinavia or Russia, definitely some place freezing cold. “So with the current market my hands are tied, 15,366cc. You won’t find a better deal." Andrews pulled out 10,000cc from inside his jacket and placed it on the table. Andrews wasn’t really paying attention either. “Kobayashi, do you see that man over there?” asked Andrews, pointing out Blondie. Kobayashi shook his head, his face was turning red again. “Is he one of your goons? You gonna try and pull a fast one on us? Have him take us out once you have our money?” said Andrews, stone faced. “No! I’ve never seen this man in my life, I swear it!” he bleated. “No. Gene may be a bit corrupt but they’re not monsters.” said Raven, seductively placing her hand on Kobayashi’s. “Yes! You’re right! We’d never do such a thing mademoiselle! Listen, I’ll take the 10,000, forget about the rest. Kobayashi reached for the money in front of Andrews. Andrews slammed his hand atop Kobayashi’s. “When’s the last time you saw us?” He seemed confused, but he figured it out quicker than most in fairness to him. “Oh, never!” Andrews released his hand and Kobayashi took an envelope out of his locked briefcase with our new gene WORLD I.D’s. They looked cool, if you turned them side to side they had a holographic effect.

Kobayashi skedaddled as fast as he could, barging his way into the mass of Civs towards the exit. “Let’s go for a walk.” Raven said after finishing her whiskey. “Let’s see if he follows us.” We paid our respects at the bar, thanking the J-Man for his hospitality and stood as close to Blondie as possible. “You don’t need a room for the night?” asked the J-Man, seeming a bit perplexed that we’d risk the curfew. “No, we are staying in the Bunker at St. Lukes.” said Andrews, almost comically loud. “Okay, no need to shout. I’m old, not deaf.” J-Man disappeared grumbling to himself into the gloomy room behind the bar. We turned to leave, glancing over at Blondie. He hadn’t budged.

We left the Hooters Head and waited for a bit to see if he was stupid enough to follow us straight away. He wasn’t. The night air was dense. Without the streetlights you could see the stars. After some stargazing we walked towards St. Lukes. Myself and Andrews peeled off into the side alleys and left Raven alone to wait near the Bunkers entrance. Sure enough, Blondie had decided to take a stroll. We let him pass by then moved carefully along. As he walked towards St. Luke’s we crept a safe distance behind him, our side arms drawn. Raven was to give her usual signal wolf whistle but as we lurked either side of the street I could see her casually talking with Blondie. I looked to Andrews but he just shrugged.

“It is fine! Orphan, Ratch, come out!” said Raven in a hushed shout. She was waving her arms but it was really hard to see in the dark, nevermind the fact I’m half blind anyway. I looked again to Andrews. He stood up, pistol aimed. “Say the words!” he shouted. Half the city probably heard that. I motioned for silence but he said it again even louder. “Cyka blyat! Ty tormozish'! Tikho! Quiet! You idiot!” hissed Raven. I could faintly make out both of them rubbing their foreheads. “Say the words!” demanded Andrews. Every M.P in the sector were about to converge here at any moment. “Cellar door. There Ratch, are you satisfied?” said Raven in a murderous tone. I could see the shadowy outline of Andrews slump down, holstering his gun.


“Okay, we don’t have much time.” Raven shot Andrews a withering look. “This is Comrade Artur Veski, he’s with E.L.F, the Eesti Vabadusvõim.” We both had never heard of them. “He’s one of Sander Sepps men, remember? Major Sepp?” We both nodded. I still didn’t know who they were but I wasn’t going to risk Raven’s temper. “Tell them what you’ve told me.” Raven walked away, clearly infuriated. Artur looked a bit panicked. “Okay, I’ll make this quick. Goshawk are getting weaker by the day. Petrov, you both know who Petrov is, yes?” We both nodded. “Petrov staged a coup and is now de facto in charge of all of Goshawks Operations. The guy is completely insane and his followers are dropping like flies. Two of their best units, Chance and Veritas have defected and are currently in hiding. Also, Rasa Blank are back out of hiding and they’re being led by Claire O’Malley. They’ve been supporting Father de Quanes Partisans and helping to defend their base at Liberty Hall.” I felt a deep, bottomless dread hearing those two words, Rasa Blank.

“So why are you telling us?” asked Andrews, trying to sound cool. “Because you idiot, this is our time to strike together. Amass our own army. Sepp is going to try and tear down Goshawk through Rasa Blank.” said Raven, her fists clenched. “Why Rasa Blank?” I asked, hoping for an answer that would have me light-years away from them. Artur interjected. “Rasa Blank are beloved by the Civs. Rumors of their exploits have been circulating on pirate radio, pamphlets, magazines, everywhere, despite Goshawks efforts to suppress it. If the Civs see Rasa Blanks banner raised above Goshawks maybe they will finally join in and help stop all of this.” He pointed around the dark, lifeless and shellacked street. “Thank you for relaying this information comrade. Please inform Major Sepp that I will locate Rasa Blank and inform Commander O’Malley of your mission objective. I’m sure she’ll be grateful for the support. Perhaps we’ll meet again on the battlefield.” Artur saluted us and then unceremoniously ran off into the night.

We managed to avoid the M.P’s, despite Andrews prior screaming fit and even after the ear wrenching screech of us opening the St. Luke’s Bunker doors. We climbed down the dank, slippery stairs and rummaged around for supplies in the creepy, wide open blackness of the common room. We rolled out some canvas for bedding and kept a field torch lit. Although we never tease her about it, Raven is scared of the dark. Before we fell asleep I had to ask.


“Nastya?”
“Yes?”
“Are we really going to join with Rasa Blank?”
“Who’s we?”
Andrews was already snoring.
“You don’t have to follow me around Winters, you’re not my servant”
“They left me to die and I ju-”
“You betrayed them, no?”
“Yeah, but I had.. It was for a go-”
“Maybe they’ve forgiven you? I heard that half of them are dead.”
“Hmm.”
“You can’t argue with the dead Lionel.”
“I suppose.”
“How about you come as my bodyguard?
“What?”
“Then they can’t hurt you.”
“Are you teasing me?”
“I’d never dare tease my bodyguard.”
“Hmm. Good night Nastya.”
“Sweet dreams Lionel.”

I stayed up awhile. I was worried. I liked the way things were, just the three of us. I stared over at Nastya. She looked so vulnerable in the soft light of the field torch, yet she was so fierce and strong. I’m afraid of Rasa Blank. I suppose we’re all afraid of something. Nastya is afraid of the dark.


Signing off,

Lionel Winters, Blind Unit