Assassin's Creed: A Brotherhood Divided

[Aarah]

Vladimir was once again bewildered by the conversation between Noah and Alex. He couldn't see anything odd occurring visually, but Noah seemed to know what she was on about.

He waited to make sure that the man in glasses had registered his apology; he couldn't stomach giving him one again.

[Archer]

Cole stayed quiet, though he quickly glanced back and forth between Alex and Noah. So big guy isn't the only crazy one then... he thought.

[The SheoDovah]

"Now, that is just uncalled for, my dear comrade." Connor said as his eye twitched again and let out a deep calming breath. "And i do dislike being called a street rat as to me, it seems it is another variation of bum and i do not wish to unleash my anger upon you, Thedore. And yes, i am an expert at reading despite what my stature and common method of assassaination may imply." The large man told the puny man. "Now, shall we check on supper?"

[Rook]

The Mess Hall

Alex/Cole/Vladimir/Lana

Noah looked anxiously between three captives, obviously noting their silence. He coughed into the crook of his arm and turned to Vladimir, "Yes, well... It won't take long to fix, though it is an important part, you see. It hooks you up the Animus, allows your mind to relax and for the machine to begin exploring. The Helix uses a headset, and the Animus 1.28 used some sort of glass panel that visualized the DNA. Like I said earlier, the 2.0 is the most efficient option at the moment."

He got back on topic, laying a hand on Vladimir's shoulder, "No real harm done to the machine, anyway. I understand this is a lot to take in, and I don't blame you. Just don't try it again, okay?"

Connor

Theodore held his glare for a few seconds before giving the big man a bemused smile accompanied by raised eyebrows, "You go ahead, I have things to attend to."

And with that, the heckling Assassin turned on his heel and retreated from the room with not so much as a passing glance over his shoulder. With the spectacle over, the other Assassins returned to watching the TV feed and their own private conversations.

[The SheoDovah]

"Ah, i do enjoy these distractions, my dear brothers but alas, i must depart to check on the status of our meal and to see if it is worthy of our guests." Connor told his brothers in arms with a smile on his face and went to check on the status of the meal or beat up a templar spy. Oh, how he hated having his meals being interrupted by him having to kill a templar spy for doing their job. It always ruined the atmosphere but still, he hadn't had to do that since christmas.

[Aarah]

"Yes." Vladimir replied to Noah, to indicate that he wouldn't try anything again. The man's hand on his shoulder made him feel uncomfortable; had it been an ordinary situation, he would have shrugged or pushed it away.

Noah's words 'allow the machine to begin exploring' stuck in his mind; in sounded rather invasive. He didn't know anything about science or computers, and he felt rather disappointed at the news that the animus could easily be fixed. It sounded like he didn't do enough damage to take it out of action, though he had expected as much.

"I im....going to get some food." He informed the four standing there. He wasn't hungry at all, but obtaining sustenance wasn't his true attention.

Vladimir left the group and walked over to Malcolm at the food service area.

[Rook]

The Mess Hall

Connor/Vladimir

Malcom was busy sorting out plates as Connor approached, "Lentils or an egg- oh, it's you." When he looked up, he squinted appraisingly at the giant man, "Starting arguments, are you?"

He ignored Vladimir, having only enough willpower (or enthusiasm?) to concentrate on one person at a time.

[The SheoDovah]

"They are not arguments, my dear boy. Just an amusing way to pass the time and i do believe it did pass the time for both myself and Theodore. Now, i do find myself to be curious about the status of our meals for ourselves and our guests of honour. I also offer my assistance if you would like an extra pair of hands." Connor said to Malcom as he scratched his beard. "Or i can prepare the wine and sherry."

[Aarah]

Vladimir sighed as Connor droned on. He had thought that Malcom would be alone, once Lana had joined the others. Waiting for the conversation to end, he stared at the tall man impatiently.
Ay. How this man enjoys the sound of his own voice.

[Rook]

The Mess Hall

Connor/Vladimir

"I'm forty-five years old, boy." Maclolm bristled visibly, "And the food's the same as always: adequate, nothing more. If you're after caviar and filet-mignon, join the Templars. And don't call them 'our guests of honor', they're captives until they become Initiates. I'd appreciate it if everyone stopped sugarcoating things around here."

He gazed at Connor's imposing figure, "I don't need any wheat threshed, and I'm the only one I trust to make this crap edible. And get out of here with your talk of 'sherry', you're depressing me." Without waiting for Connor's answer, he spooned a serving of lentils, some lettuce, and a slice of banana onto a plate, thrusting it at him.

[The SheoDovah]

"And will most likely perish in their first fight if the bleeding effect fails to activate for them or if their ancestors were simple merchants." Connor remarked as his lunch was thrusted at him. "I say, did you just try to assasinate me via lunch? If so, that is a very poor way to do so." he joked before walking towards the animus chamber and spotted Vladimir. "Ah, mister Vladimir, i do hope you are finding our splendid lounge to your standards and i do apologise for ripping out some of your hair along with scaring you to death, It wasn't personally and i do hope there are no hard feelings about that." He said to the russian as he slowly took a bite out of the slice of banana.

[Aarah]

"No. No hard feelings at all." Vladimir responded to Connor, though the look on his face said something else. "Enjoy your meal." He smiled sarcastically and turned away from the man as he walked towards the animus chamber.

Glad that the giant had removed himself from the immediate area, Vladimir looked to Malcolm. He had enjoyed everything that the cook had said to Connor, and agreed with every word.

"Nice to know that someone else finds him as innoying as I do." He smirked slightly and leaned in closer. "And nice to hear someone telling this tale as it is....and not pretending that this is some fun dinner party that we hiv been invited to."

[Rook]

The Mess Hall

Vladimir

Malcolm muttered something about youngsters, adding in a few excellent curse words to his little rant.

"I find people who get in my face annoying too. And wash that grin off, it doesn't suit you." Malcolm replied gruffly, "I heard what you did to Noah's precious machine, so we're definitely not friends, not that we would be anyway. Now, I'd prefer to give you nothing, but will it be lentils or an egg?"

The cook frowned and put a hand up to his ear, before nodding and shouting across the hall, "Tuskin, De Flores! Report to the Rafiq's chambers."

[Hissien]

Lana

Lana groaned, what had they done now? She had not even eaten her lentils yet and now her charges had gotten her into trouble, she knew it. Either way, she thought cheekily. I'm stuck with them. she thought hopelessly. She headed to the Rafiq's chamber.

[The-Shadow-One]

Alex frowned. What was going on. "So.. you'll email me the info when I'm in the animus? Well if that's how you wanna play your info." She mumbled to herself, not actually hungry now she thought about it.

[The SheoDovah]

Connor was walking towards the Animus Chamber when the cook shouted the orders. He changed his course towards the Rafiq's chambers whilst slowly eating his lunch.

[Aarah]

The cook's demeanor certainly managed to wipe the grin from Vladimir's face. He was expecting him to be more amiable, but he might be able to win him over yet.

"Oh. You heard about that? Ivrybody in here seems to know ivrything. Is it that little gadjit in your ear? You git messages from the boss?" He looked casually but inquisitively at Malcolm.

"Besides. I hiv apologised for my mistake already. The min in glasses is hippy now."

The food bore no interest for Vladimir. He didn't know what time it was but his stomach was telling him it wasn't hungry.

[Rook]

Hidden:

I apologize again for the delay, I've just been juggling appointments and obligations and stuff, so I haven't had a lot of time to DM. On the up-side, the story will probably benefit from the refinement I've been doing in my head.

After Lana/Connor and Vladimir finish off their conversations and such, would you guys like a time-skip to later inside the Animus Chamber? This modern-day section has been going on longer than I anticipated and without too much event, and I'm sure you guys want the plot to start up for real.

Lana/Connor

The pair took a few turns around complex before arriving at the Rafiq's office. As they entered, they pushed open a single wooden door, on which the Assassin insignia had been crudely carved.

As Lana and Connor entered the room, they came upon Rafiq Zachary Beaumont sitting behind his desk. The mahogany desk was cluttered with papers and an overturned ashtray had spilled ashes and cigarette butts on the oriental rug, though he hadn't seemed to notice. Behind him was a large window overlooking the Animus Chamber. Beaumont was deep in what seemed to be a terse conversation with a woman, though they were cut off by the duo's entry.

The woman walked briskly towards them. Her grey hair was shaggy with little concern given to style, and her eyes were a of a dark brown color. Her eyebrows were thin, but they were set in a way which gave the appearance of constant anger. Her face was lined with age, and her skin was somewhat tanned, either from sun exposure or ethnicity, one could not tell. She wore a pair of faded jeans and a dark green T-shirt. She offered her hand to both of them in turn, and as she spoke, her voice was one which seemed to command (expect?) respect.

"I am Rachel Miles, a pleasure to meet you."

Alex/Cole

Noah allowed himself a nervous grin, "I don't want you to think I'm making you jump through hoops or otherwise jerking you around, but trust me, this way is better for both of us. Better for you, mostly."

Vladimir

"Yeah, but it's never anything important. I just send people up to the office every once in a while." Malcolm replied, "This is really the only room worth visiting, unless you want to sleep or train, so the Rafiq thought I'd be a good substitute for a PA system."

He laughed at the mention of Vladimir's 'apology', "Noah's a pushover: he just wants you three to like him. Me? I don't trust you. You got off easy today, and you didn't wreck the machine, which is a plus, but you're probably just waiting for a chance to stab us in the back. It's what I'd do, it's what most people would do, and I know it's what you want to do."

[The SheoDovah]

"The pleasure is ours, Madamn Miles." Connor said as he gave her a polite bow and knew that the tone commanded respect so he would have to be the gentleman and give it to her. "And good day to you, Rafiq. I do hope that our little show for the guests was up to the standards of our colleagues." He said to the man that he always reported to and respected him but did not envy the pressure he must have been under to keep this cell alive.

[Aarah]

The Mess Hall - Vladimir

Vladimir shrugged at the cook's comment on stabbing them in the back. The man was right, he would- given the chance.

"I'm not sure that those two would." He nodded his head over towards Alex and Cole. "They don't seem to care that they hiv been brought here. They are more concerned about how stylish the things they are wearing are." He huffed in disapproval and looked over at them.

The news that Noah was a push-over gave Vladimir food for thought; he may be able to exploit this trait later on.
Turning back to Malcolm, he looked at him for a moment. This man was certainly not a push-over and it was clear that he wouldn't be able to wrangle any gossip out of him.

Giving up on his interrogation plan, he rubbed his chin and sighed. "Well. I...hiv decided that I'm not hungry. I don't like lentils and eggs inyway."
He wafted his hand in dismissal of the food.

Leaning against the counter, Vladimir observed what everyone else in the room was doing. Lana and Connor had gone already. I wonder what the 'Rafiq' is talking to them about? Nothing good I expect. Probably telling them to try and get us to befriend them and...do whativer they want.

He looked curiously over at the assassins watching the television screen. Are they watching a programme, or some live feed from in the building?

Unless Malcolm had anything else to say to him, his curiosity would take him over to the couches to investigate.

Hidden:

Yikes, that became a long post.

Hidden:

I'm fine with a time-skip to when we return to the animus chamber.

[Hissien]

LAna

Lana took the woman's hand and returned the firmness of her handshake. "A pleasure to meet you Sra. Miles, I am Lana DeFlores." Lana said knowing that Rachel likely already knew her name. She smiled but knew that the pair were likely in trouble for the behavior of their captives/initiates.

[Rook]

The Office

Connor/Lana

Rachel Miles' tone turned chilly at Connor's question, "It was not a show. Should they have refused to yield even at bladepoint, we trusted you to do what was necessary. I'm still disappointed with the whole affair; very sloppily done on your part, Tuskin."

"Now, now, Mrs. Miles." the Rafiq sighed, "We're not here for a mission evaluation."

"Of course not, but there's always room for criticism." Rachel snapped, "But I'll get to the point: these Initiates will need someone to guide them. Someone who's proven themselves loyal and capable... as well as charismatic. Which is why, Sister, we've decided to place you in charge of these three and your Brother here. If you accept this offer, you'll be taking on the great responsibility of teaching them the wisdom of the Creed and bringing them to the strength of the Brotherhood. Are you ready to do this for us?"

The Mess Hall

Vladimir

Malcolm set his jaw and muttered something incomprehensible after Vladimir refused the food. However, he made no attempt to stop the prisoner, instead returning to his work.

As Vladimir approached the television, he noticed that the program had changed. Instead of a camera feed, the screen displayed a robed man rushing across a cobblestone street. In three quick moves, the man hopped from upended wagon to lampost to the ledge of a roof, pulling himself up and racing across the rooftop. The footage captured the beating of his heart, the sweat as it beaded and fell, the sound of the wind pushing past him, the spear clattering against his back.

Then without warning, the man leapt blindly from the rooftop, but as he fell, he twisted in mid-air. When he landed, it was not upon the ground, but upon two men dressed in red and brown doublets. His hidden blade bit into the neck of the man on his left, and he slammed the other man's face into the ground before finishing him off. Quick as a cat, the man hefted his spear and drove it through another man's back. As the leader of the now-deceased group turned with the beginning of a yelp, the hooded man lifted his right arm and flexed his wrist, shooting a thin blade at the other man. The projectile struck true, cutting off the leader's cry as the blade lodged itself in his throat. The leader collapsed with a gurgle. Smiling, the hooded figure turned over the corpse, breaking the chain and slipping a red cross into his belt. The footage ended as it focused on the man's face as he walked away silently from the scene, smiling the whole time.

[The SheoDovah]

"I will confess, my preformance does need fine tuning but i did scare Vlad and whilst i may not have slit his throat for refusing to yield, i may have elected to break his physical body before offering him one final chance to avoid the unpleasent nature of death. But alas, we will never get to find out if vlad would have refused my offer or if we have all underestimated him." Connor informed Rachael before Rasqif interrupted them. "I concur, if we never listen to criticism, we would risk ending up as short sighted fools that would sooner eliminate all criticism instead of learning from our mistakes and would never have a chance of gaining wisdom." He stated before the decision of making Lana the leader was revealed.

[Aarah]

The Mess Hall

Vladimir watched the robed man deftly taking out several men on the television screen. It was quite a performance. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and amusement, at the cat-like agility and skill of the man.

He looked at the others that were there watching the footage. "Is this some exaggerated film that is supposed to motivate you...assassins?"
He let out a puff of air, followed by a short laugh; mocking the nature of the footage and how over the top the man's abilities were made out to be.

[Rook]

The Mess Hall

Vladimir

The Assassins laughed with him. One of them, a red-haired, freckled woman, spoke up with a shrug, "This is what the Dublin cell has been sending us.I suppose they could be exaggerating it, but you'd be surprised what some people are capable of, provided they have the right 'constitution' for it."