*Taskmistress / Galahad



Welcome to TASK FORCE, I am Jocasta. Thank you for taking the time to come and meet with William. We apologize that he was not able to make the initial flight out and escort you here. William is just finishing up with the group that arrived before you … She said as the hangar doors opened again.

It’s ok Jocasta, I am here. Hello ladies, I was just finishing up with some oft he other members that had arrived earlier. I was not expecting them to have you here so quickly. He say as he approaches them.

After she spoke she stepped out of the vehicle following the man in charge. Dressed in all black ,armored catsuit . Her black hair long and straight though whether it was natural or not it was hard to tell. Her Amber eyes observed the area around her with only mild interest.

As the first of the taskforce veterans (veterans, at least, compared to Ali and her two fellow newbs) made his entrance, Alison's mouth had gaped just a little.     The scarlet behemoth called 'Bloodrager' wasn't anything like what she had expected...albeit she'd hadn't expected anything in particular.   

East European accent, to boot, she noted offhandedly.    Supposing that, maybe, there was a story there beyond simply a man or his family relocating in pursuit of a better life.  He was...different.    Like Lois, Ali was a little uneasy, for similar reasons, but she did her best not to display that, as well as not make assumptions based on appearance.     He certainly looked like he'd be hardcore badass in a fight, though.

"Yes,"  Ali whispered and nodded, in response to Lois' Thor comment.       "You could say."

Darkstar's entrance and more easy going demeanor were more on the reassuring side, but she didn't believe for a second those cuts were from shaving -- not unless he'd been drunk, which didn't seem the case.     She returned Lois' 'what about this guy-?' glance with a faintly arched, inconclusive brow.       She was nonplussed as Darkstar asked 'Rager' to 'fix him up.'

And then wholly stunned, gasping, as it appeared Bloodrager was going to pound Darkstar's head into jelly!      Without thinking, Alison rose from her seat --    super-swift, instantly she was no longer sitting, but levitating a half foot off the floor. Light burned brightly amidst the fingers of her right hand, for a moment.

She wasn't the only one ready to intervene, as Deedee literally went ape!         Trying to shield Lois and I --   aw, what a sweetie!

From her accelerated perspective, events appeared to be moving slowly --  and she had time to realize that Bloodrager wasn't harming Darkstar, but rather somehow healing him.     It was beyond mind-boggling, even compared to a girl becoming an ape.     A cat becoming an ape...

Alison regained her composure and her seat, as Mr. Naslund and Jacosta informed them.  She also spared a glance toward the newest arrival, a dark haired woman in an ebon, armored body suit.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:32, Wed 07 Nov 2018.

Hearing the ape, Bloodrager looked towards the new ladies, and saw a big hairy monster between them and where he was. He also caught a glimpse of something or someone moving very, very fast, with a brilliant glow, before Alison returned to her seat.

He kept pounding on Kevin, but watched the monster carefully. What was it doing here in their castle? Had someone summoned it? Perhaps it was a lunchbeast? Yes, that would be nice, a fresh meal, though the kitchen here was very good in his opinion. When someone who knew how to cook was doing the cooking. His cooking was... not so good, as he'd learned the hard way tasting what others had made. But than, none of the Blood Red Swordsmen units were built to intentionally be mundane craftsmen as such, not even Ring of Sword who at least had the fundamental principles of creation.


He listened to William and Jocasta, still (more casually) thumping on Darkstar unless told not to. Then he asked no one in particular, "Lunchbeast serving?" as if a gorilla in the room was perfectly normal.

Cassandra had been somewhat subdued on her pick-up. No length of time to prepare and put things to rest would have felt long enough at such short notice, and though drawing a sharp deadline had given her little time to reconsider her decision it had only served to delay that confrontation rather than offering resolution.

Maria Hill had been quite insistent on keeping her occupied throughout their portion of the flight together, and with the benefit of hindsight Cassie could only assume it had been because her best efforts at putting on a brave face still left something to be desired. She was altogether glad for the company. It had given her time to force a few of her more wayward pieces into something close to their proper place.

---

She regarded the new arrival with a measured disinterest. There was no reason to assume her meeting would be shared after all, and it was hardly her business to pry.

---

It was only when she came face to face with Jocasta that Cassandra truly began to piece things together. What she found herself walking into was far from some private interview or a tour meant to cater to her as an individual. It was a gathering of prospective candidates.

She couldn’t but feel just a mote concerned on properly regarding her mystery travelling companion. Director Hill had spoken of this meeting as something vaguely akin to a conference trip and Cassandra had dressed accordingly – black blazer atop a white dress shirt and dark pants – but in the company of a figure like this mysterious stranger she couldn’t quite be sure whether she was underdressed or overdressed for the occasion. If nothing else it told her with some certainty that this was far from a wholly military affair. She found it hard to believe any outfit would ever consider such an attire up to code.

Brushing such thoughts aside, she stepped out into the hangar as the outward picture of confidence.

“Director Hill was quite persuasive,” Cassandra returned warmly. She gave him a knowing look. “And I would assume she left it to you to explain the finer details of this arrangement.”

As Bloodrager punched him into health, Kevin noted the reactions of the others in the room and found himself pleased.  Aurora and Darwin were ready to act, but still followed William's direction.  Meanwhile, Mortis did not act, showing she correctly judged the situation as being one that her own abilities would only make worse.

"Okay, Bloodrager, stop.  I'm as all healed up as I'm gonna be right now," Kevin told him.

"Yeah, I probably should have warned you guys, but honestly, that was pretty much something you all had to see to believe," Kevin told the three as he turned to face them.  "So I guess it was lucky I was a little clumsy today."

"Anywho, figure we'll wait until the other two get here before we dive all the way into this stuff," Kevin told them.  "No sense going over it twice if we don't have to."

Obediently, the big, red barbarian stopped. "Okay. Eats lunchbeast?" he asked, either pointing towards the gorilla if Dee Dee was still in that form, or looking confused if she'd changed and now unsure of where the delicious monster had gone.

The fuck?  Who looks at a gorilla and sees a food animal? Kevin wondered.  Oh well.  Life with Bloodrager.   I better...

"No.  Noo, noo noo," Kevin said, moving between Bloodrager and the gorilla.  "Not a lunchbeast.  Friend.  That's Darwin.  She's a..."

Shit!  What-the-fuck did Andru call those guys?  Druish?  Drowids?  Wait-

"Druid.  Kind of.  She can change into different, um, beasts," Kevin told his reality-challenged team mate.  "But she's a person.  So we're not going to, you know, eat her, even if she sometimes looks.. edible.  Eating people is cannibalism and cannibalism is BAD."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:55, Thu 08 Nov 2018.

Lois was not prepared for 'punch healing', but she didn't intervene.  Dee Dee's gorilla form was less cute than the cat one, but Lois felt safer for it.  Alison was also up and ready for trouble.  Besides, William was present and didn't seem like one who'd tolerate a fight.  When things had settled down, Lois was able to see that the shaving injury had been removed by 'Red Thor'.  Truly there could be no more weirder powers present... right?

"Um, nice demonstration.  But please don't go surprising me... I have an unsafe ability that requires controlling.  Now, can we talk about living arrangements?  This base looks nice and secure, great for crashing in... but do we have the option to live outside too?  Some of us might like the best of both worlds. Dee Dee, do you want to go cat again?"

It was the best topic that Lois could think of at short notice.  She was just keen for the tour to begin (once everyone was here) and to end talk of cannibalism and other oddities.

(Ooc: ok gonna shorten this up for Williams part and the intro’s to avoid a slew of unnecessary posts.)

BIC: William came in behind the last 2 ladies, He excused himself on having to go over the speech again but in a way maybe this could bring up more questions the trio might have over looked.
William explained to Galahad and Taskmistress the reason for the group and why he had brought them here.

He made the introductions of everyone along with the current members. As Lois asked about the living arrangements Williams also explained that the team was free to make arrangements for living on base and away.

Jocasta brought up the layout of the Base onto the TV in the common area as a quick virtual tour and once they were done here they were free to take a first hand tour of the base.  (BTW POSTED THE LAYOUT IN GAME MAPS U)

Once he was done he asked Galahad and TaskMistress if they had any questions along with if anyone else had any new questions.

Taskmistress was cavalier about her joining and her condition. She was a proper mercenary. She also had some commentary about Laredo none of it positive. The fact Harbinger could survive bullets to the skull should have been in the file possessed by the Sniper. In the future that Sniper should be informed in advance they wouldn't want to make the same mistake twice.

Kevin actually chuckled a bit at Taskmistress's comments.  "That should have been in the file, huh?" he asked.  "I was the one who found her after your Sniper dude took his shot.  I saw the blood and brain matter.  She looked dead enough that I tried retrieve her symbiote.  It shocked the shit out of me when she got back up.  Here's the thing.  One of the main tasks for this Task Force is to get the information that goes into those files.  You know, stuff like demons are real.  And they come from Hell, which is also real.  Sure we're gonna try to nail down as much actionable intel as we can, but if you join this group, you need to realize that dealing with weird, unknown stuff is going to be a lot of what we do.  And if you can't handle that, you should go do something safe and predictable, like convoy guard duty in Taliban-held parts of Afghanistan."

"That said, she does raise a good point about money," Darkstar said to William.  "Where does our money come from and how reliable is that source.  If it's coming from SHIELD or something like it, that's an issue.  Whatever Director Hill told you, she answers to the World Security Council and they might want to get some return on the investments she's made into us.  And if she won't do that, they'll replace her with someone who will.  So, yeah, making sure that we're financially independent needs to be a thing we sort out soonish."

Kevin turned to the others.  "Yeah, this isn't SHIELD.  Hell, the Task Force isn't even in its infancy.  It's basically still a fetus.  But if you join up, you get to help determine how that fetus develops.  You get to help decided some of what we do and how we do it."

"I'll have to use rounds next time." she remarked tapping her temple. "Anni make a note to procure higher grade weapons if we confront the Harbinger again." she looked at Darkstar. "Artificial Assistant like Siri but with personality." she grinned.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:48, Thu 08 Nov 2018.

"Blood and brain matter," Kevin reminded Taskmistress as he suddenly realized that she was mostly likely the sniper in question.  "Your ammo worked fine.  It killed Harbinger.  It's just that Harbinger got better.  From death.  Figure with Harbinger you'll be better off using your words instead of your gun.  Your chances aren't super great with them, either.  But killing Harbinger will just mean that Harbinger will kill you back.  And hers will stick better than yours."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:46, Sun 18 Oct 2020.

William looked at Kevin and Taskmistress and interjected. We will have time to talk strategy and plans of actions later.  Let’s keep this as the initial meet and greet and get things settled. He said turning the attention back to the room.

Now as I said I have given you all my speech. Does anyone else have any questions?
And for those that are clear on what is expected do we count you in?
I promised there was nothing holding you here so if you do not feel you have a place here. We’ll bring you back to the Jet and you are free to leave. He told everyone.

Myself, Jocasta or Kevin are available to give you a tour. He said looking at Bloodrage. you can follow who you like Bloodrager or are free to go about your things.

Williams said suddenly wondering if he should let Bloodrager take lead of a tour and watch the outcome....

"I'd like to follow the weird guy. Not the team leader but what was it? Blood Ranger? Yeah I'll hang out with him. Jocasta just upload what I need to know to Anni." she walked over to Captain Punchy.

"Uhhh?" The big, red man was apparently perplexed, and his ring lit up brighter, the light emanating from the entire band now rather than just the rune. Emotion vanished from his expression and he asked Taskmistress impassively, "Formation of adventuring party intending? Where dungeon plans to raided?"

After tilting her head a moment she pointed to William. "Dungeon Master is still designing next campaign this is the time for character building recovery and stocking up on potions amd gear. Want to find the local tavern and grab some grub? We'll be back before the raid" she offered with a smile. There was a faint accent in her voice Eastern European. She offered her arm in a crook shape.

"William Naslund Dungeon Master is? I not shall be known this hence. Thank you, Taskmistress."

The big, red man politely accepted the arm, bending his own to roughly match as he understood the custom to be. He was not sure how the barbarian elements of this unit should engage in the civilized form of gentlemanly behavior, and could only hope that he did not make a faux passe with his/their limited grasp of Earth's ways.

"A tavern sounded delightful."

She looked over to the others. "Our friend and I are going to the Tavern to procure drink , food, and possible merriment. Anyone wishing to join feel free to come along. " she then looked to The Blood Ranger. "I think I know a place you'll love." she remarked as Anni provided her a list of locations that would be suitable.

"Only what Mortis asked -  are we allowed to have a living space off grounds, as well?  Well, and what is our time commitment, here?   Is this going to be like the army, up at sunrise for roll call, and all that?"     She surely hoped not.

"Are we on call, as needed, or are we more or less locked up here?"    she finally decided to ask bluntly.

Lois greeted the two other ladies when William introduced them, taking a liking to Cassie the most (but Taskmistress seemed OK as well).  She also took the time to memorize everyone's codenames and offer her own.  'Mortis' had been a name that her father had invented to hide his little assassination activities and using it for 'good' seemed appropriate for Lois.  In terms of living arrangements, Lois indicated that she desired a base room... but largely intended to live off site.  She foresaw that there would be times when going home wasn't convenient or desirable.

"Alison, Dee Dee, Cassie... any of you want to have a part time room mate?"

Otherwise Lois took a backseat for a little while as Taskmistress and Darkstar talked about the Laredo stuff.  She had to admit that both had good points about what they were saying.  However upon talk of death not sticking, Lois hoped that she wasn't going to be touted as a solution to that.

As for the offer to join Bloodrager and Taskmistress, Lois declined.

"A tavern does sound pretty tempting, but maybe next time?  I have a few things to ask William and stuff to organise."

Turning back to the man in charge, Lois got down to some important things.

"Can I make a phonecall, William?  My father will no doubt be worried and I don't want him causing anybody trouble.  I know he'll settle down once I tell him SHIELD has a file on me.  I was also wondering what sort of training is available to us.  Not getting shot and knowing how to do things in the field would be good... but what about out abilities?"

"My impression is that you'd make a really good roommate.   But, my preference is for having my own space, I must confess."   

Alison was essentially an outgoing introvert.    The personality type that others often mistook for an extrovert, but whom didn't truly feel like one.  She loved to go out, but only when she felt grounded, and prepared for it.   And this wasn't the time.   It really wasn't the time.    She was in over her head, here, and unashamed to admit it.   At least, to herself.

She wanted her last questions answered, wanted to take the tour, get situated, and then go off by herself and think. 

'You think too m...'    F--k *you*, dad!!

She likewise had a phone call to make, and hoped those would not be restricted.  Or eves dropped upon?   Would all their communications, emails and such, be monitored?     It wasn't hard to imagine.

William nodded at the question.Yes we do have all the necessities here but you can Live off site, and yea you are free to make a call. Once we know who is staying amd qho is going you will be given a comm badge for contacting each other. We have a range for weapons training and will set up part of the hangar as a gym/training ground. Some have unique abilities that could be hard to train but we will work with you to develop the specifica you need.

Being lucky enough to avoid the hands-on demonstration of Bloodrager’s talents, Cassandra’s first meeting with the others left her only mildly perturbed, and that was more thanks to the (apparently completely normal) presence of a large female gorilla than any of her other associates-to-be. That wasn’t to say that she was wholly unaffected by her first sight of the others. It went without saying that she gravitated more towards the more ‘normal’ members of the team than the crimson giant or the man who seemed inclined to wear a domino mask unironically. That the others besides seemed similarly new to Task Force only made that predilection all the more natural.

She remained fairly quiet throughout the session, more accruing questions than asking them. Certainly she was suitably courteous when it was her turn to speak, quite content to trade pleasantries and small talk, but for the time being it suited her to let the loud voices talk than seek a confrontation. Better to take a read of the room and hierarchy then let William fill her in on the fine details.

Truthfully very little of this was turning out as she had expected. Whether that was her own fault or a quite deliberate choice by the powers that be remained to be seen.

Making a point of tuning out whatever it was that Bloodrager and Taskmistress were going on about, Cassandra homed in on Lois’ open question.

“I'd have no problem with sharing space if it would help. It’s nothing that I’m not used to.”