Nightshift 26: Hallway between F and M Blocks

[haiiro_no_chou]

[From here.]

Still no sign of any patients or monsters, and no word from the radio man yet. Turning right, Rukia continued on around to the first M-Block.

Comments

[for_marian]

Leon was relieved when the tall woman who entered the hall did in fact turn out to be "Velsown-san." She really was amazingly tall for a woman, taller even than Mary had been, though she had a similar air of cool competence about her. Leon was clearly just going to have to resign himself to being shorter than almost everyone.

He bowed briefly in greeting and said, calmly, "I was not waiting long, Lady Jean." Had Gremio been there at that point he probably would have been surprised by Leon's politeness but Leon was much more likely to be considerate with women than with men, as long as they were well-bred and not as poorly behaved as his sister.

And as though the brief thought had summoned him, Gremio then appeared. "Gremio." Leon did not reassure Gremio that he had not delayed them unduly, of course. It wasn't his way to treat other men so courteously, unless they happened to be in a position of authority over him.

Gremio seemed in reasonably good cheer, though, despite the unpleasantness in the air. Which reminded Leon of his earlier wonderings, and he turned to Jean again to ask, "Is it always like this, at night, with the air so heavy and strange?"

[blazingsword]

"Yes," Jean replied. "But please, call me Jean." She was still wary of having her real name being used frequently, even if this wasn't in her homeworld, and places like Fuajarl and Adil Garden were nowhere to be found. Knowing an adilraid's real name was the key to sealing her. "You are Gremio, then?" There was the X-shaped scar he'd written about.

Then Leon asked a question, having to do with that strange heavy feeling. "I have only been here for a few days, but...no, this is unusual." And unpleasant, she thought.

At any rate, now that they were all here, she could brief them. "As Hitsugaya-taicho has written, we are to go up to the second floor and scout." She held up her map, now with a section for the second level, but with the left side largely blank, except for the MU rooms. "Once we are done, we can fill in the empty spaces and tell him what we have found. If any of you are not armed, then I ask you be doubly careful. There are creatures that come out, and it is unwise to face them empty-handed. However, since fighting is not our main objective tonight, we will be trying to avoid conflicts."

She folded up the map and tucked it back into her shirt. "Do you understand, or have any questions?"

[axe_of_oath]

"Jean, then," he amended. "My apologies. And yes, I am."

Ah, right, the creatures. Gremio had yet to see any of them for himself, but he'd heard enough from the other "patients" to know that they must have been quite formidable. That worried him a little. It wasn't as though he was completely defenseless; General Teo would never let any soldier in his unit go without basic training in hand-to-hand combat. But he hadn't had a reason to fight without his axe in so long. Still, it couldn't be helped, could it? He supposed all he could do was hope that tonight went mostly without incident. "No, ma'am," he said, shaking his head. "No questions."

[for_marian]

Leon shook his head, to indicate that he had no questions, either. "Lead the way, Lady Jean." As she was the only one who knew the way, Leon had to resist his natural instinct to take the lead himself--he had been a high-ranking officer for long enough that leadership came quite naturally to him.

He almost spoke up a second time, to say that he was not entirely unarmed, as some of his techniques should still work even without a weapon in his hand, but with the air feeling so strange and thick, he decided better of it--who knew what he was actually still capable of, in all this?

[blazingsword]

"Very well," Jean replied. "Keep close at all times, and make careful records of what you've seen upstairs tonight. I will fill in the map for Hitsugaya-taicho."

The radios clicked on, and Jean wondered if they should be looking in the basement, instead...but orders were orders. At least the basement would always be there.

She paused, remembering the post on the bulletin board about weapons. "If you can find any scrap metal as well, you may be able to ask some of the others to forge weapons. That is not a top priority, but if you find something, it is yours to keep."

"If we are ready," she said, "then we will depart now."

[blazingsword]

[taking everyone here]