A Rustling, But More Than Bushes (MT/PMT)

"I can't authorise any meeting without knowing who I'm really talking to. I doubt they've got every bit of border covered. You say they're government sharp shooters. The only ones they've been taking down are those who are trying to smuggle in explosives. Now, I'm not sure what the truth is anymore. Until you come over here and talk to us directly, we can't help you."

In the city of Carbon:

"Well, we don't know anything about any launching attacks," Tiebald replies. "We're just here to keep order in the absence of a legal government."

"If you come with me," another man says, stepping out from behind a tree, "we can talk privately about these matters."

Tiebald seems deferential to the newcomer.

"I apologize for not showing myself earlier, but I had to verify that you were not here to do violence."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over the radio with A&A:
"You are incorrect, basically the entire border is covered. However, the truth is important enough that we will make our way through. I will leave my technician to give you the coordinates that I will be at at 0400 hours tomorrow. This should be enough time for us to utilize our military contacts and get me through. Getting back may be impossible."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Off the coast of the Americas, what looks like a derelict ship appears on radar. It's just below the surface, and is moving at about the same speed as the general current.

There is no contact.

(OOC: Did it go the long way around Africa or did it go through the Strait of Gibraltar? If Gibraltar, how did it slip through the Swiss Navy? It has a decent amount of traffic due to the importance of the Enclave Remnant nearby.)

Linda Lang smiles and says, "If we were here to do violence, we would have sent a larger force."

(OOC: I'm assuming it's passing by Nova Scotia, since Hew has a presence in that area.)

The Municipal Navy off the shore of Nova Scotia detect an unusual ship shaped object on radar, seemingly underwater. As a technician relays the results to the fleet admiral, the admiral remarks, "I've never seen anything like this. Too big to be a submarine, but it's underwater. If it was sinking, it would be on the ocean floor long ago. Give the vessel a warning. If they fail to respond, fire at will."

A warning on radio is then sent out to the vessel...

"Unidentified vessel. You are entering the territorial waters of the United Municipalities of North America. Identify yourself and your purpose or we will be forced to open fire."

(OOC: It likely originated in the Persian Gulf, so it almost certainly went around Africa.)

(OOC: OK. So, are you just waiting on Rut?)

(OOC: The latter. It's important that the rebels have an outlet, even if I do have to invent a way to cross the border to do it )

(OOC: Exactly where is it showing up on radar? 'Off the coast of the Americas is kind of vague. )

(OOC: Nova Scotia.)

(OOC: Are we in danger of having an in character post soon?)

After she finishes her statement, she says, "Well?"

(OOC: Err, I posted my IC post already :/)

(OOC: Waiting on an IC post from Rut. Now stop spammin' mah thread! )

The Legion does nothing about the vessel since Hew appears to be taking care of it, though they do send a message that states it appears to be going with the current. Might be a situation of either damage or derelict.

A&A responds in the positive. They'll provide protective fire if necessary. There will also be someone in the area to take whoever comes around in protective custody to get them to a meeting place nearby in a bunker.

In Carbon:
"We had to be sure," the newcomer says. He nods to the men with weapons, and they promptly disperse. It is now obvious that the streets are oddly quiet. This is a city, but few vehicles have passed, and few people are present.

"Follow me," he says. He then turns and begins walking away.

He reaches a large, brown building, glances around, then opens the door. He slips inside.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rould Tiebald, or at least, someone who is clearly Bismouthi, is at the coordinates at the prearranged time. He has a sidearm, but is otherwise unarmed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Off the coast of Nova Scotia:
"...chhhhhhtthhhhhhchchhhhhhhtttttt This is the CHHT -mark of the CHHHTTTT Bismouth Nav-CHHHHTTT. Repeat, DO NOT FI Chhhhhhhhchhhhhttthhhhhhchhchhhh..."

It goes on like this for a minute, then clears up a little.

"Chhhhhh...submari-chh-but were attacked by-chhh-damaged-chhhtt-nd are probably being followed-chhht. Can anyone-chhhhhhhhtt this? Chhhhhhttttt..."

Linda Lang and the others follow him inside.

The admiral frowns, and then broadcasts, "Unidentified vessel, we have detected your signal. You are permitted to dock at our port for immediate repair. If someone is following you, then we will deal with them. Can you hear us?"

They take the arrival to the nearby bunker. He's met by a young woman, though not in military dress. She's wearing slacks, a blouse, and a jacket. Her hair, which hangs down to the middle of her back, can only be described as fire red. She may not look like she's in the military, but there's something about her that makes it clear she's in charge at the bunker.

****************************************

The Legion keeps tabs on the situation going on with Hew, though they don't interfere. Not like they can really. They don't have a freakin Navy yet!

Inside, the man is crouched down over what looks like a body. He motions for silence and pulls out a sidearm.

Someone jumps out from behind an overturned desk with a submachine gun, but before he can fire, the man has four bullets in his chest and head.

"Sorry about that," he says, standing up. "I often get misguided assassination attempts like this."

He goes to the overturned desk and rights it. "I've called for a cleaning crew. What is it you wanted to discuss?"

He ushers them into what looks like an office space, and it has no dead bodies or assassins in it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I am Rould Tiebald," he says to the red-haired woman. He doesn't seem fazed by her air of authority. "There are important matters we must discuss. Such as the innocence of the rebellion as far as the attempts at terrorism."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Chhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-an hear you. w-chhhhht-try to come to th-chht-surface. Also, you will be in gr-chhht-anger for harboring u-chhht-IX THE DAMN RADI-chhhhhtt"

*BANG*

"Can you hear us?"

This is followed by the appearance of another submerged ship. This one is much deeper, and is moving far more quickly. It will probably overtake the other one at around the port.

The woman merely nods. "So I've heard." She waves her hand toward a table. "Please. Explain everything. If you convince me, then we will assist in any way possible." When she sits down, three military escorts move behind her.

At the same time the man who led them inside fired, a pair of the Special Forces troopers fired three shots on the would-be assassin, too. Considering their usage of Rhean energy weapons that can put out .50 round levels of damage in something the size of an MP5, that guy is very very dead.

They follow him into the office. Lang speaks, "We are here to investigate the truth behind these suicide attacks on three of our cities. If what the government of Bismouth says is true and a certain orthodox organization is behind it, we'd like to see if there's any way to resolve things without bloodshed."

The admiral frowns again, and says, "Yes, yes, we can hear you loud and clear. Now what's going on exactly? Who is pursuing you?"

This U-boat off Nova Scotia: "This is a non-government Bismouthi vessel fleeing the internal strife in Bismouth. Surely you've heard of it? The government has declared that no one is to leave, but there are rebels inside who would have us killed if we stayed. So they're pursuing us. Their intent is not to capture, but to destroy!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A&A: "There isn't all that much that I have to convince you with," he says. "The Biserv, or Bismouth Secret Service, is extremely good at covering its tracks. All I have is this."

He pulls out some sort of data chip.

"We snagged it from a government building we took over. It's blueprints. Blueprints of the buildings that were destroyed in Switzerland. Buildings that weren't destroyed in your nation, but were presumably the targets."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Carbon: "An interesting question. One to which you probably already have the answer," the man says as he sits behind his desk. He gestures towards some 7 feet away from himself. "If by 'orthodox group,' you mean us, the Bismouth revolutionaries, no, we are not responsible, and we are open to negotiation. I think you have already seen for yourself that we are not all that orthodox, nor have we tried to kill you once since you arrived."

With some hesitation, the admiral says, "Well, legally speaking you are refugees now, you are free to dock at our port. Although, yes, they may try to retaliate, I don't think they'd be so stupid as to act against a nation that could defeat them in war single-handedly. You aren't quite in the clear yet, but I feel we have a good idea. You will, however, be further questioned."

He then switches channels to the other submarine and says, "Bismouthi vessel, you have thirty seconds to identify your purpose and turn back from our waters. If you continue to follow the other vessel with intent to destroy, we will have no choice but to destroy your vessel."

Off the air, he then says grimly, "Ready the torpedoes. If we need to destroy the vessel, we will."

His crew then begins to do as he says...

"I will need more proof than that. For all I know, you are merely refraining from killing us in order to draw my government into a false sense of security."

The woman looks at the chip with a raised brow. "You're right. That's not much." She just sits there, looking at him impassively.