The Praetorians, a fantasy cop drama. (Game thread Started/CLOSED Prologue)

[Voidrunner]

"Well... you two look like you've been through a lot, in more ways than one."


"You're telling me, the shooter really didn't want to get caught, the clown fled down into the sewers in an effort to lose us. We already got the getaway driver but it would have been better to get the full set so you can probably guess that we chose to pursue him," Collin gestured at his filthy uniform. "It was worth it though, we got him in the end. Well, Draven got him, I really couldn't see much of what was going on down there and my head was getting messed up. On the down side, getting injured in the sewers of all places is a bit of health risk, so... we're probably about to drop dead." Collin sounded oddly unconcerned about this prospect.

"How'd your end of things go?" he asked, assuming it had been at least slightly less crazy than what he had been up to.

 

[Trasch17]

Sameera just stood next to Collin and let him do the talking.

"It was worth it though, we got him in the end. Well, Draven got him, I really couldn't see much of what was going on down there and my head was getting messed up. On the down side, getting injured in the sewers of all places is a bit of health risk, so... we're probably about to drop dead."

"Well, to be fair, your head got messed up by both the kin and me. Also the only ones who got injured were him and me. You look fine to me. Now, does anybody know where the showers are?"
She looked around searching.
"Oh and Mordecai? Could you take a look at this..." she pointed at the laceration on her forehead, "...and this..." she showed him her right hand, which was covered in many cuts, "...once I'm done showering?"

She walked off into the direction where she thought the showers were without waiting for his response.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"You're telling me, the shooter really didn't want to get caught... better to get the full set so you can probably guess that we chose to pursue him." Collin said as he gestured to his rather dirty uniform, and source of the smell. "It was worth it though... I really couldn't see much of what was going on... On the down side, getting injured in the sewers of all places is a bit of health risk, so... we're probably about to drop dead." He then added without the slightest hint of concern. "How'd your end of things go?"

"First off Collin, so long as you thoroughly clean yourself, and ensure that you seek medical attention for injuries sustained, then you should be fine." Mordecai said, advising the younger officer on proper care and treatment.

"As for how our end of things went, for the most part it went relatively smoothly. After calming the restaurant goers down, we set about getting a feel for the place and ascertaining the situation.

Whilst Rory here asked around for statements, I went to treat the wounded man at the back of the restaurant; who turned out to be a Shedder no less. You see, the bullets he was shot with, were made of silver, which meant if they remained in there, they would have likely killed him. With the assistance of some willing civilians and the proper tools, I was able to perform some basic surgery, and extract the bullets.

After the Shedder was rushed off to hospital, Rory and myself searched the back rooms of the restaurant, and discovered a hidden room that was being used by gangsters. By then the regular police had shown up, and in a way, showed us the door, taking over the scene. However, thanks to Rory here and his exceptional sense of smell, we followed a trail, but that somewhat went cold after reaching a crossroads. All in all, we have some pieces of the puzzle, but not a complete picture." Mordecai said with a small sigh at the end, still slightly annoyed that they didn't get any further.

"Oh and Mordecai? Could you take a look at this..." Sameera said pointing to a laceration on her head. "...and this..." then showed her right hand, covered in cuts. "...once I'm done showering?" Sameera then walked off before Mordecai could respond directly to her.

"Of course Miss Sameera, happy to help a fellow officer in need." Mordecai said politely before turning back to Collin and Rory.

"So long as I find out where the first aid room is; if I was to guess, it should be near the staff room."

 

[Terratina.]

Chris was glad to see that the others stopped their fighting, but sullen silence had replaced the arguing. Either way, it wasn't good. He entered the run-down building that was the headquarters of the Praetorians with the same solemn air, and a little disappointed that there weren't any charming little sandwiches to welcome him home, cheese or otherwise. Hunt had scurried off to probably write up a report. Chris, on the other hand, didn't have anything to do, so he stared at the badge they had given him, 'Should I give this up?' To be honest, he felt a little out of place along the Praetorians, and doubts were beginning to crack the hope he had. The hope that he could at least make a difference - things had been too slate in the country, both for him and his twin. Nevertheless, things in the city could reach that state of staleness if he simply lived off the wealth of the city Hemingrs. He didn't want that. So, Chris simply concluded that it had been a shitty first day and put the badge back on.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Ackerman marched out of her office at all the commotion to inspect what was going on.

"Recruit Vandar when someone wants to report in they usua- OH GODS!" She balked, cut short by the smell coming off of Collin and Sam. "What on - how did... I think we have some spare clothes in the back somewhere. She backed away, not quite sure what to do with the situation. "The rest of you, I want written reports on my desk ASAP!"

Twenty minutes or so later Mabel came out from the depths of the decrepit building with a pair of loose fitting shirts and trousers for the two sodden officers. It was the best she could do on short notice. "Now that you wont stink up the desks how about you get to using them."

Novak arrived soon enough, strolling in through the front door with a yawn and a stretch. He gave a cheery nod to those that had been in the car with him, seemingly happy to see them back. "There's my gang!" He cheered.

"You got my radio message?" Mabel called to him.

"You know I did, Ma'am." He corrected himself.

"Then get down to the holding cells and take a statement."

"One Talin youth, right?"

"That's right."

So off Novak went, down to the basement level to take care of his Talin charge.

"I'll be wanting the reports of who ever brought in the Talin kid even sooner than possible!" Ackerman looked over her collected recruits before stalking back to her office.

 

[Belmarc]

Rat fumbled with his hands for a moment, replicating what he had seen Archibald do with his glasses, only he was pushing up on empty air. He was more focused on wondering what it meant, the way he'd held his hand there, than actually looking over the list. He was having trouble reading it anyways, the handwriting was smaller and messier than the large, clean print of the newsstand. It was due to this that he took a moment to respond to Archibald, lost in other thoughts. "What?" he responded suddenly, caught off guard. Before Archibald could answer, it all clicked in his head. "Yes. No different than other things." Rat's cheeks flushed slightly at being taken unawares in such a compromising manner. "Need a scent." His eyes looked anywhere but at the human before him, his eyes locking on Cali and silently begging for help.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

"Need a scent.

Cali blinked. "Huh? Oh, right?" Let's see if we can find anything..." She began scanning the streets, hoping to find something, anything that would help them crack the case.

But the chances of that were looking pretty slim...

 

[Ruedyn]

Marc was always a fan of silence; awkward, sullen, it didn't really matter much to the Night Kin. He could compose his thoughts without anger clouding his vision or time working against him. Or he could think about street layout, memorize the faces he had seen, stuff he'd need for a report. It was almost in the blink of an eye he found himself at the HQ, and he was fine with that.

Jason immediately started on his report, while Chris went off to go relax, probably. It was a rough day for em all. In fact, Marc would've done the same if he hadn't heard the captain come out and ordered a report. Marc went to his desk and started typing, trying to word the thing well and remain entirely unbiased.

 

[Voidrunner]

Twenty minutes or so later Mabel came out from the depths of the decrepit building with a pair of loose fitting shirts and trousers for the two sodden officers. It was the best she could do on short notice. "Now that you wont stink up the desks how about you get to using them."

"Thanks!" said Collin in a voice far too cheerful for someone dripping in filth, "Didn't want to trek this slime all over the place, that sort of thing tends to leave a bad impression you know?" Collin waved to the returning Novak before disappearing to shower and change into a uniform that hadn't been dragged through a sewer. Unfortunately the spare uniform wasn't really made for someone of his stature, and when Collin returned he looked frankly ridiculous with his hair sopping wet, sleeves rolled back so he could use his hands and the legs of his trousers trailing on the ground nearly tripping him. Thankfully Collin didn't care whether he looked dignified or not, he had a report to get through pronto.

"Report time," he muttered to himself once he got to his desk, "now let me see..." Collin got around to writing his report, trying to avoid getting water on it and neglecting to mention the more ridiculous events that took place.

 

[Pappytech]

"Need a scent."

"Huh? Oh, right? Let's see if we can find anything..."

Archibald could only stare in stupefied surprise at the Warg and Talin as they began to look around, apparently looking for something that might have a scent on it. Had... Had they honestly not figured it out yet?

Well, if they were content to scrabble around helplessly like that, then let them. In the meantime, he would do his best to actually be productive.

Leaving his squadmates to their search, the officer strode away from the alley and the small crowd. After, of course, he got permission from the Mathers to reenter their home. Moving at a brisk walk, it was only a couple minutes before Archibald made it back to the small house, and from there it only took him a few more to locate his goal: Charlie's discarded collar.

A self-righteous smile fixed upon his lips, the man made his way back to the rest squads, the collar wrapped up in his pocket handkerchief. Once he was close enough, he tossed the article towards the Warg, and gave the mongrel a few quick instructions on what to do with it. "That's your target," Archibald said simply, nodding at the collar. "Not the cat or either of the Mathers, of course. Try to find the other scent on it, the one belonging to the Warg who imperson... the Warg who disguised himself as the cat for the past few days."

Archibald's smile stretched even further as he adjusted his glasses, a victorious glint in his eyes. "That's the thief."

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Cali watched Archibald approach looking rather smug, and bit back a response.

"Not the cat or either of the Mathers, of course. Try to find the other scent on it, the one belonging to the Warg who imperson... the Warg who disguised himself as the cat for the past few days. That's the thief."

Cali's mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to process this information. Finally, she spoke up. "That's all well and good, but do you think it will work?"

Privately she hoped it would, even if she would never hear the end of it from this guy...

 

[Pappytech]

"That's all well and good, but do you think it will work?"

"Frankly, I haven't the slightest," Archibald admitted, waving his hand as though to wipe the Talin's question out of the air. "Hunting was never one of my fortes, so I don't know for certain how long a scent remains intact upon a given place or item, especially one that another animal's been around for years.

"But," he continued, giving a noncommittal shrug, "even if it doesn't, the fact that the thief, or thieves, are using a Warg to infiltrate the victim's houses should be enough information to give the proper investigation a good start."

The officer gave another self-satisfied smirk. Unless his squadmates could come up with another feasible method of tracking down the rogue Warg, they would have no choice but to go along with this plan or admit that they were out of their depth, and pass it off to another squad. Either way, it would be a victory for him.

 

[Terratina.]

"I'll be wanting the reports of who ever brought in the Talin kid even sooner than possible!"

It looked like he couldn't escape it, so Chris simply sat down and typed up a short report. Well, it was only short because he, out the there, did the least in terms of work. Chris sighed, he would really have to work harder. Ackerman was in a bad mood and reading such a small report would probably worsen it. However, it wasn't like Chris cared if he'd be fired for a such a thing. Well, he would, but who fires an employee before he can even prove himself?

'It'll have to do, at least' Chris thought to himself as he made the final touches.

 

[Belmarc]

Rat fumbled with catching the wrapped up collar,the item bouncing out of his hands a few times before he finally held onto it firmly. He sighed in relief and gently unwrapped it, then removing the item from the handkerchief, he raised it to his nose and sniffed at it. He could recognize the scent of the Mather's and Charlie, which his nose was full of now, but was able to separate what he thought he was looking for from the rest. It was a little too familiar, and made him sick for home. City wargs were more like humans than country ones when it came to greetings and personal space. He pulled the collar away from his face and, closing his eyes, lifted his nose to try and find the same scent in the area. His two companions scents were there, plain as day, and the lingering scent of the crowd. Underneath it all, the regular traffic of the city, mostly humans. In between that, however, was the traffic of the animals given free roam. But now that he was searching for it, he noticed what he hadn't before. He cursed himself for not noticing right away. "Wargs." He shook his head. "Don't know how many, too mixed."

 

[EnigmaticSevens]

Rory lit one of his cigarettes and a smell like spice and cinnamon snaked its way through the precinct slowly but surely. Typically he couldn't care less about livening up the office with little homey touches. But this time, the impromptu incense was a must, hell, it was the only thing keeping him from dragging Colin and Sameera out back and burying them three feet deep. They were lovely people, and yes, they had bathed and changed, but it was going take at least two more deep scrubbings before the stench ceased nipping at Rory's nostrils. Typing up his report had been a nice distraction, a pity it hadn't lasted very long.

Shooting occurred at Old River Restaurant, 214 Alburton Ave.
Processed crime scene with the assistance of Constable Vasir.
Vasir stabilized the victim (shredder), I interviewed witnesses and searched premises for clues.
Conflict occurred in back room of restaurant with outlet to the back alley.
Four individuals in backroom, Shooter entered and assaulted known victim, the other individuals returned small arms fire and fled
After turning over scene to city officers, Vasir and I followed the trail of the three to its end. Too weak to pinpoint, dispersed at nearest crossroads.
Commendation for Constable Vasir's efforts to aid the victim, without his intervention the man would surely have died.

Alright, so it wasn't winning any prizes and might have skirted a few details, but it was simple and to the point. Rory suspected Ackerman might appreciate brevity once she was neck deep in paper work. Unfortunately, Rory's gracious act of concise reporting now meant that the only thing left to do was lounge about, and lounging about meant becoming all the more intimately acquainted with what Colin and Sameera had been wading through. He perked up slightly at the sound of furious typing, someone tucking away into their report with a somewhat unsettling sort of enthusiasm. Rory gave his rolling chair a little kick and slid across the aisle over to Jason's desk. He crossed his arms and draped himself casually across the back of his chair, cocking an eyebrow at the other warg. This close, the smell coming of the man was distinct and familiar, a black, black fire burning low, all the usual warning pheromones, the smell of almost violence, "Careful, mate, or that typewriter's liable to press charges. Rough day?"

 

[Trasch17]

After showering, Sameera changed into what seemed to be a mixup of several different uniforms. Just as she was about to sit down at her table, her stomach reminded her of something more urgent with an audible growl. She remembered a nearby bakery, that she saw on her way here and made her leave with an apologising gesture towards her colleagues.

A little later, Sameera came back with roughly a dozen sandwiches in her arms. Crumbs around her mouth proved, that she already ate at least one on her way back. She placed them on a vacant table, took one, sat down at her desk and began typing her report while eating another sandwich. Her report turned out short but she made sure to write everything important in it.

Once she was done, she took the pages and tacked them. Sameera then brought the report to the Captain's desk and left in search for a piece of cloth. After finding one in a broom closet, she sat down, this time on her table, unsheathed her sword and began cleaning and polishing the blade, just to keep herself busy. A strange smell reached her nose and she paused for a moment, looking for the source of it. It came from the cigarette in the redhead's mouth, who was with her in the car at the beginning of the patrol. Rory Red if she remembered correctly. She raised her eyebrows disapprovingly.
Sameera didn't like when someone was smoking inside.

 

[Dogmatic99]

That was one squad's reports in. The sewer chase was a little... well, extreme but that was Novak's problem. he took a risk sending rookies in like that, all because he needs to get some more exercise. That same sergeant came back to Ackerman's office shortly, with the results of his talk with the perp in holding in hand.

"They handled themselves well today." Mabel said without looking up from her growing pile of paperwork. "A little rough around the edges but they've got potential."

"What do you expect? I doubt half of them can even remember what the academy building looks like the slap-dash job that got made of them." Novak said in his usual grumble.

"That's where we come in."

"I suppose so." Novak absent mindedly leafed through the reports. "Called his fellow officer insane?" He looked up at Ackerman quizzically.

"Like I said... rough around the edges but all in all we had a good start to the day."

"Then you are going to love this." He said, handing her the talin's statement.

The two of them talked for a while and Novak came out of the office some time later. He'd neglected to tell the captain about the wealth of extra weapons the new recruits had admitted to having. Red and Draven might prove difficult to manage later down the line, he'd have to see about that somehow.

"Well done to everyone." he called out to the group he'd taken in the car. "B+ all round! And to Mr Vasir..." he placed a requisition form in front of Mordecai. "Captain's interested in your medical training, she wants a list of field supplies you think you'll need and she'll what she can lay her hands on. I wouldn't expect that to be the end of it." He moved off to claim his own desk. "stick it out the window, Red." He gestured to Rory and his cigarette. "You'll only get an earful if you don't."

And with that Novak got to work on his own, personnel report, it was down to him to get a read on these new recruits to see how they'd fit together. It looked like it could make for an interesting fit to say the least.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Careful, mate, or that typewriter's liable to press charges. Rough day?"

"Not really." Jason muttered darkly "I rough day would have been right up my alley. Let's call this one 'insufferable'."

He finished typing the last words, and pulled the page out of the top of the typewriter, more carefully than he might have done a minute earlier. His mood was deflating rapidly from rage to brooding. Jason personally didn't mind smoking, although he didn't do it himself; and honestly, even if he normally would, by now he was long past caring.

"Listen," he said to Red "When I'm done handing this over, I'll tell you all about it over a stiff drink." After that, Jason left his desk and went and knocked on the door to Captain Ackerman's office.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

After politely excusing himself from the group, Mordecai went off to write his after investigation report, which he noted everything. It wasn't long for others to have arrived as they sat down at desks to write their own reports. Soon as he was done, Mordecai went to hand in his report to Captain Ackerman, who appeared to be checking over some files when he entered. Afterwards, Mordecai went into the staff room, and retrieved the first aid kit that was there, remember that he was to examine Sameera's injuries.

A while later, and with everyone pretty much in the same room, Sergeant Novak soon entered the room.

"Well done to everyone." The Sergeant called out to everyone that was in the car with him. "B+ all round! And to Mr Vasir..." He then placed a requisition form that was on a light blue coloured paper. "Captain's interested in your medical training, she wants a list of field supplies you think you'll need and she'll what she can lay her hands on. I wouldn't expect that to be the end of it." Novak then told off Rory for smoking his cigarette.

"Interesting..." Mordecai said as he looked over the form, gently pushing the bottom of his goggles back into position. "Sergeant Novak, once I have tended to the injuries that Miss Draven sustained earlier, I shall begin formulating a list of what I shall be requiring; though the first item on the agenda should be a dedicated first aid room, it'll be useful having such a facility here at the precinct. There are some other things, but I'll need to talk to Captain Ackerman about those."

 

[Pappytech]

"Wargs. Don't know how many, too mixed."

As the mongrel spoke up, Archibald's victorious grin faded away, being replaced by a thin, contemplative line. An unknown number, eh? Though there was no evidence to suggest that all of them were working together, or would be at the same location, it would be safer to assume as much. And walking into a situation with an unknown number of possible thieves, crooks who would most likely be willing to attack and kill an officer of the law...

"You don't know how many there are?" Archibald glanced at his squadmates, his mind made up. They'd already gone far enough off course tonight. There was no need nor sense in continuing any further. "Then we're done here. Pack it up, we're going back to the precinct."

Nodding once at the Warg, the officer turned his eyes on the Talin. He didn't bother to keep the bite out of his voice. "I don't care how your 'heart' feels about it; there is no sense in walking unprepared into a den of thieves. At least, not unless you have a death wish."

His gaze hard as steel, Archibald glared at his squadmate, daring her to challenge his decision this time around. "We will report what happened to the Captain, ensure that the details get passed on, and will wait for the higher-ups decide how to handle the situation. Understood?"