ARES:Gods of War

Homebound

Ark Rail Station

Captain Cutter and his escort of Spartans and Marines held onto the railings of the tram car as it began to slow its approach. He had caught a glimpse of the Ark as they passed through the opening of the last tunnel and he was a tad impressed by the sheer architectural brilliance he saw on display. Kelly, however, had been kind enough to provide them a detailed report on what in God's name the Ark was while on their way over and to say his trust in the Central Government to run things was low would be an understatement.

Especially with that little rat, Syuen, and her scruple-less behavior in regards to the Flood. The man had never seen a Spartan show any kind of anger before, but while Kelly was showing it openly through her accent changes, Jerome, Alice and Douglas seemed a little less vocal about it, their fury a muted, chilling one that had turned the last legs of this train ride into one of the most silent and tense ones the man had had to endure.

Stepping onto the platform, the man and his escort were greeted by a platoon of Nikkes in red bodysuits, armed with what looked to be light rail rifles. They peered through visors at the group, standing guard beside the tall man with a five o'clock shadow and messy hair that had come to greet them. Pulling at his cufflinks in what seemed to be a nervous tic, his officer cap under his arm, Chief Deputy Andersen nodded in greeting, "Captain Cutter."

"Chief Deputy Andersen," Cutter saluted, then extended a hand, "A pleasure."

Andersen looked at the hand, then gripped and shook as he wore a small, forlorn smile, "Wish it were under better circumstances. The Ark's going to hell in a handbasket lately, so if you and your staff will please follow me..." Yet, before they departed, the man looked to Kelly and spoke, "PO Kelly, thank you for bringing him here and letting me and Shifty know first thing."

"My pleasure, sir. These are Red Team, by the way," She motioned to Jerome, Douglas and Alice. She then told the man awkwardly, "They're not feeling very talkative today, honestly. And I don't blame'em."

"After what they must've heard from you..." The man nodded. He motioned for them to follow along as they and the escorting platoons of Nikkes and Marines moved on. Andersen asked, "Is the whole parasite issue true? I mean... This seems beyond even what she would usually pull. Yes, she's got no moral compass worth a damn in that head of hers, but still..."

"Yes. I have the footage in my helmet cam, sir..." The girl replied, "Trust me, sir... The Flood is nothing to scoff at. And the fact that little shit experimented with it is..." She then let out a sigh. Shaking her head, she chose not to continue the thought process lest she go on a full-on tirade like Daisy would have in the past. She wondered if Daisy would show up next, at some point.

Continuing the walk to the CG's building, the group entered, walked past the Nikke Secretary to whom Andersen said, "Take my calls... I'm gonna be busy again..." calmly. In Andersen's office, the man activated a transmitter and said, "Black Room protocol..." only for a young woman's voice to hum affirmatively. The computers flashed with warnings for a moment, before turning black and then returning to normal in the span of two seconds. He sighed deeply, then told everyone, "Apologies. Security measures are necessary nowadays."

"Take it something major's happening, sir?" Jerome inquired.

Andersen nodded, "People have strangely started going missing. Not just anyone, either," and he pulled up several images, turning his holocomputer around. Names to faces, the people disappearing were fairly vocal and supposedly competent members of the Central Government and Enikk's court. Andersen continued, adding, "We've lost a few Deputies and trainees with promising careers as well... Most of them only have a few things in common... Among them being a dislike for Missilis."