Jul 19 07:19:46 109 PA - Mid-Street Partial Magical Debrief

From Chronicles

Jul 19 07:19:46 109 PA.

MAIN STREET NORTH

As the sun is rising on Kingsdale, many people are heading to work, and Gabriel is no different. Having come from the west, he's making his way with pedestrian traffic south along Main Street, with a brown, moderately-sized dog at his side, her tail wagging happily. The street itself and the nearby sidewalks and greenbelts are like any other day.

Leonard could be heading to or from business at this early hour. For once, there is no paper cup in his hand to convey steaming stimulants into himself. An oversight that he could be on his way to correct.

Although there's quite a crowd, Gabriel happens to catch sight of Leonard, and adjusts his path just enough to take him in the other man's direction. Of course, there's no purpose of him trying to shout over the noise of the street. He shakes out his shoulders as he goes, tossing off the last remnants of tiredness and sleep that may have remained.

If Leonard notices Gabriel' approach, he neither avoids not moves to meet it. Of course, there's no reason for him to shout or push others aside to do either.

Although Gabriel might not have much business with the mage, he apparently has a little time before he needs to be at the office. Eight in the morning is a few minutes away. He makes his way gently through the crowd until he's close enough to Leonard to call out his name in a normal voice, and to add, "How're you doing?"

"Better than most," comes Leonard's reply without any surprise at the question. "And you? Have you found any more ...displeasing details to flee from lately?"

"Nope, I'm good, thanks," Gabriel replies, making no comment on fleeing. "Good to hear you're doing well. So what'd they sport, anyway? Smallpox? Plague? Let me guess, something more interesting, right?" After a brief hesitation, he adds only, "Everyone has their limit of displeasing details, don't they?"

Leonard smirks and shakes his head. "If you didn't like the mere thought, I doubt you really want to know the details. It was not a disease, however. Not in any conventional sense."

Gabriel nods his head vehemently. "Oh yes, I do. I would like to know exactly what it was that I was apparently hired to do." He opens up a palm to explain, "It's important to me, if you could say. In the future I might know better what to expect, and thus not.. let anyone down, if anyone thought such."

"My understanding was that we were all hired to protect the ambassador while he made his preparations," Leonard shrugs. "What those preparations were or how they were made was irrelevant. That he met an unfortunate end after those preparations was also beyond our task, though I was disappointed to see it happen."

Ignoring what he himself considers irrelevant chiding, Gabriel asks with some shock, "Dead? You saw him die? What, he took a laser to the face or or something?" The man shakes his head. "He looked... tougher than that."

Leonard chuckles and shakes his head. "No. Massed fire from rail guns, I think. There were a number of vehicles and powered armor that involved themselves." He now sighs, "Unfortunately, his aid was misconstrued and the warring forces both decided that he was the larger threat."

Gabriel pauses, a somewhat reticent look on his face. "How was his aid misconstrued, exactly? If they'd been waiting for him to show up, it seems to follow that they wouldn't have had jumpy trigger fingers. What kind of diplomats did they have there to greet him, anyway?"

"We helped to protect the nexus from the approaching Coalition assault," he begins, "And he later engaged their heavy scouts on behalf of Quebec. When the Quebecois forces finally arrived, they only engaged the CS forces briefly before turning on Tolkeen's envoy. It may have been a ruse the entire time," Leonard shrugs and is far from amused.

"A ruse on whose part? Free Quebec, or Tolkeen?" Gabriel pauses, thinking, then his brow scrunches a little. "Coalition assault? I was told that it was a simple logistics column that would have a screening force."

"Possibly both? I've no idea," Leonard waves his hand vaguely. "Screening force, assault force... whatever you want to call it, they fired on us. They also destroyed the ambassador and nearly all the forces he brought to bear."

"At least you guys got back safely," Gabriel opines. "I was happy to see that."

Leonard nods. "We did, though Valeriya did press her luck. Fortunately, she's talented enough to not get herself killed."

"I'm sure that she is. Quite the powerful woman, Valeriya," Gabriel says with a nod of his head. "In the end, I guess I was really irrelevant. If you, Valeriya, Sithik and the ambassador's mercenaries couldn't keep him alive, and barely escaped yourselves, one more rifle on the line probably wouldn't have meant much - no matter how much I'd like to have thought it would. Against an entire column, without so much as decent time to prepare an ambush or minefield? You were probably better off without me."

"We prepared an ambush for the initial scouts," a grin forms, "And they fell without much fuss. We didn't accompany the Ambassador against the larger force, though. We weren't required to, and he was courteous enough to pay us before he went off to make his demonstration. It was an entertaining sight, while it lasted."

"So... did you actually see the man die? His corpse on the ground?" The old soldier shakes his head. "Never trust that someone is dead unless you've confirmed it yourself." Gabriel looks up as the sun continues to climb. "I should probably be on my way, Leonard. Office will be opening soon, and it looks bad if the boss isn't there. Plus.. I like to be there to catch first news of the morning."