The Rebellion discussion

Where the leaders of the Rendar Rebels come to plan.

Eponine waited in the room, her hair pulled up into a messy bun, looking over maps, plans, blue prints, analyzing everything, making sure everything was in order. This was her job. She had promised herself that she wouldn't let these people down, and for once she wished only to return to the shadows, where she had been unseen. She had been up working on this all night, and the bags under her eyes were the least of her worries. There were so many flaws in this plan, she could only address a few at a time without finding more. She needed rest, coffee, something to get her awake and attentive, or else she would fall asleep on her feet.

She was soon joined by Emma and William about a half hour after William's shift ended. They would have been sooner, but Emma had to pick something up from a stand so a detour was made. Once the two were safely inside the command room, Emma set the basket on the floor next to the door and removed her raggedy shawl, and clutched it to her chest. Her round eyes glanced about at the mess of paper on the round table in the center if the room. It made her left eye twitch just a little to see everything so unorganized. Eponine was such an organized person, unless she worked to long, then her neuro receptors just went BZZZT! and organized Eponine was no more.

"Eh hem...Eponine?" Emma prodded softly, resting a hand on her superior's shoulder.

William smiled at Emma's twitch. A weakness, not a major one, but one nevertheless. He nodded slightly at Eponine, his eyes looking at her figure a little too long. With a jolt of realization, William turned his attention to the table. He walked over to Eponine. "You alright there, Eponine?", he asked, finding a very convenient excuse to look at her.

Eponine mumbled something intangible at first, jumping a little with the touch from Emma. Then she looked up at them, catching William's eye for a moment. "Um... yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about the mess. I've just been up all night working on this. What time is it now?" she asked in return, moving to roll up maps, stash away papers and folders, putting them back in filing cabinets and boxes.

"Evening. 7:30. We'd have been back sooner, but we made a detour. No problem about the mess. It could be messier. Emma's just a neat freak. Finished?", William asked, sitting on the table.

"It seems like ever time I fix one thing, three more blaring errors pop up. I've been working at it for over 36 hours now," she said softly. She sighed, leaning back against the table, her arms wrapped around her waist, her eyes were near bloodshot as she looked up at him. She pulled the hair tie from her hair, smiling faintly.

William frowned. "36 hours? Eponine, you need to take a break. Actually a 8 hour sleep. Or maybe a 12 hour sleep. You need to stay healthy and alert, Eponine. You've been working while I was at work. Now you go have a break and I'll take over", he gently chided her. He resisted the urge to take her into his arms and hold her as she fell asleep. Instead, he turned his attention to Emma. "Something about the body?", he prodded.

Eponine yawned, about to fall asleep on her feet, but still forcing a small smile. "I've fine. I've stayed awake for longer, I just need some coffee, and to give my eyes a little break. I've almost got it. If I don't stop, I can get it," she yawned again. When he tried to get the other girl to reprimand her to, she just smiled.

"Well, then your body doesn't get sleep, your receptors start to fail, and it becomes more and more difficult to stay awake, and to concentrate, even if you do get coffee." Emma told her while she tapped at her brain, then wiggled her fingers, "Then parts of your motor skills start to become dysfunctional. First your cognitive thinking goes, which is why you've been working so long and felt like nothing is getting done. Then fine motor movement becomes extremely difficult, then you pass out. You could hit your head."

Emma rested a gentle hand on top of Eponine's head, "Head wounds bleed a lot you know, and it could go very wrong. Trust me, all you need is at least 7 hours of sleep."

Eponine sighed, moving to sit up on the table, her feet dangling, swinging slightly. "I'll be fine. I'll go to the barracks in another hour or so, once everyone else starts to head in," she said with a modest half smile. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

"Well..." Emma put the folder she had with her on the table and set her hand on it, "I performed an autopsy today, and found a few interesting things I thought the both of you would be interested in." She explained, then tapped the folder with her fingers, "It's just...the pictures are kind of...gruesome."

Eponine paled a little. She didn't do well with blood and gore. She didn't really move though, her eyes flicking up to his, waiting for him to make the next move, leaving the decision on how to proceed up to him. After all, he had brought Emma here. So he must think what she had to say was important. Plus, any information they could get would help. They couldn't do anything right now. They were just flying under the radar, biding their time. They needed to make sure they were ready to face a counter attack once they made their move.

William was now faced with a dilemma he didn't want. He knew Eponine didn't exactly like gruesome things, but on the other hand... it would help if she knew about it in case she picked up something he didn't. "Alright. We'll see them. If Eponine's okay with it, I mean", William said, glancing at Eponine.

Eponine locked her jaw and just nodded. Like she would say no. She never said no. She probably never would. She wouldn't stop them. It was her job as a leader to know all the information that she could, to make sure to consider each new development. She turned back to the file in Emma's hand, glad that her stomach was totally empty, so there was no chance of her tossing her cookies.

Emma glanced up at them then nodded and open the file, spreading the pictures over the table. She pointed to the first picture, which was of the person's foot. Among the clotted, dirt covered scratches, there was a tattoo - the symbol of the anti-rebellion (police).

"The first thing I found odd was the callouses. It's of someone who wears heavy boots, like combat boots, or police force boots, yet this person was barefoot most of the time. Secondly, the dirt. I know it's not exactly clean down here, but this dirt is also mixed with ash and several other things. Things that combined, could only be found on the path around the back of the city, and away from it. The path only WE are supposed to know about."

Emma looked up and gazed at William, "At first I thought it was a spy, or a turn coat, but then I found something else..."

another picture was revealed, and this time, it was rather disturbing, "I apologize for his...appearance, but there are several things important with his head."

Half of the person's head had been blown off, and much of the skin was burned and bruised.

"See how big of an impact this is?" she asked, running her finger over the impact spot, "Class A version of something with an explosive tip. Like an explosive arrow, or bullet."

"Arrow, you say?" she questioned for them with a shrug, then nodded, "It couldn't be a bullet." she told them, then showed a picture of the other side of his head, "No exit wound. It had to be an arrow. Mid-evil sounding, I know, but it had to be."

She slid a picture of the victim's neck on the surface, "Wood splinters." she said, pointing to the circled areas, "They're growing fungus as well, so we aren't talking about just any wood. It had to be old, really old."

"Doing alright, Eponine?" Emma asked gingerly to make sure she was able to handle it the graphic images.

William mulled over the possibilities, absorbing the information Emma was telling him. He looked closer at the picture Emma was showing him, squinting. "What do you make of it?", he asked Eponine.

Eponine was silent, her teeth still clamped shut. Isn't it ironic how the things you hate the most you can't stop looking at. Her stomach heaved and a wave of dizziness swept over her. She heard her name, they were asking her something, but she couldn't really hear them, and the floor was coming on mighty fast...

"Ah!" Emma cried out and caught her as she leaned her way, "Oh dear..." Emma said quietly and lowered Eponine down to the floor, "Raise her feet, William. She's pale."

William scrambled to do what Emma said. He felt his eyes drawn towards her face, pale, yet peaceful. He muttered,"Should have persisted. Should have made her go to sleep. This is all my fault"

Eponine slowly got her sense back about her, realizing the commotion she had caused. She looked around, a little dazed as she realized she was on the floor. "Don't worry, I am well," she said softly, forcing herself to smile a little, she felt fine now that she could breathe again, but she was getting the start of a mad headache. She carefully sat up, just trying to take some deep breaths and not look at the table.

Emma looked up at William as he fretted, then looked back down at Eponine. Why did he care for her so? Why could he not look at her the way he gazed at Eponine.

Well - she told herself- she's brave, beautiful, smart, courageous, a workaholic, everything you're not.

Emma's jealous an ad woeful thoughts were interrupted when Eponine, spoke. Emma smiled gently at her, "I suggest, as the head of medicine around her, that sleep would be particularly good for you."

Henrietta walked into the Command Room, tea in hand, and stopped short when she saw Eponine on the ground. She looked from William to Emma, not sure what to think.
"What happened here?" she asked bluntly just before seeing the pictures on the table. They were fairly gruesome, and Henrietta knew how much Eponine disliked gore. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Well, these are impressive."

"That's one why to put it," Eponine said softly, a semi sarcastic edge to her voice. She was tired, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to make it to her bunk without keeling over again. She put her head in her hands, pulling her knees in a little. "Will someone take me to my bunk? I think I just need to lay down for awhile. I can start working things through again in the morning, hopefully work through the remaining flaws."

Megan wrote: ""That's one why to put it," Eponine said softly, a semi sarcastic edge to her voice. She was tired, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to make it to her bunk without keeling over again. She..."

"I'll help you. And you're not going to start working through things again in the morning. You're going to sleep in and actually relax for once. I'll work through the flaws with the others. You've already worked hard enough", William said softly. He bent down, kneeling beside her.

Emma smoothed Eponine's hair back and nodded, "Yes, sleep would be best. I'll give you some melatonin if you want it. It induces rest."

She got back on her knees and looked up at William, "Shall I call Jim into here, or would you rather carry her."

Jim was the rebellion's gentle giant. Giant he as indeed! Almost seven feet tall and over 300 kilograms. He had broad shoulders, big hands and a very tall stature that screamed "giant" or "troll". But underneath the burly hair, he had soft blue eyes, and a warm smile. He is a little slow, but he makes up for it with his heart. His very personality was extremely clichè, but it couldn't be helped.

Emma looked over at Henrietta and smiled sweetly, "Hello." She said softly with a little wiggle of her fingers. "Eponine hasn't rested in a long time, that's all. She just got exhausted."

"I'll do it", William said, a little too firmly. He realized his tone immediately and apologized. "Sorry. It's just, Jim might be needed somewhere else more important" 'Besides, Jim won't handle her the way I will', he added silently.

Emma looked a tad hurt by the unintentional insult to her best friend, but smiled through the hurt an ad nodded, "Very well." She replied, and stood up, then smoothed her skirt down. Before he lifted Eponine, she filed the pictured back into the folder and closed it.

"I have a bed or two in the MW she can have. It's quiet in there, and Jim put new sheets on them this morning." Emma said, picking up her basket.

"Henrietta? Would you mind accompanying me? I have something for you that I bough today, that I think you will enjoy." Emma glanced at the tea in her superior's hand and smiled.

Henrietta smiled at her co-rebels. She liked her young rebel-mates. They were so passionate about what they were doing and they were smart.
She nodded to Emma. "I'm here all night." she said. She loved the graveyard shift. "Take care, Ponine." she added fondly. She glanced up at William, smiling to herself. Of course she knew that he liked her. It wasn't exactly a secret.

Eponine was surprised by the way Will picked her up. It caught her kind of off guard, but it wasn't bad. It was nice actually. Why was he being nice to her though? She had been desperately in love with one of his best friends, who had barely even batted and eyelash at her, was it possible that there could be something between her and Will. No, that was crazy. No one had ever really loved her. "Thank you guys," she said softly, still knowing all of them could hear. She relaxed a little, curling into his chest, hoping she wasn't to heavy for him.

((Will and Eponine to the bunks?))

William smiled. He would have cuddled her, but he didn't want to let her know. William knew perfectly well that she had loved his best friend, who had ignored her completely. He wasn't sure if she was still in love with him, so he felt the need to keep quiet about his feelings. "I'll be back", William called over his shoulder to Henrietta and Emma as he carried her to the bunks.

((Sure))

As soon as the door shut and they were on their way, Henrietta smirked and raised her eye brows. She opened her mouth to say something to Emma, but found that her young medical friend was still looking after William even though they were gone. Reading between the lines, Henrietta slurped her tea loudly.
"So, what happened to this bloke?" she said, motioning to the pictures on the table.
She took a final swig of her tea and examined the photos further.

"Not sure." Emma sighed, resting her hip on the table as she stared gloomily at the photos, "Well, I know WHAT happened, but not WHY. It has a million stories to it, and no witnesses. The weapons used for the damage seems impossible, out of date and very suspicious. The victim himself was found in a rarely visited place, and had I not been looking for sage, I wouldn't have come across him."

Emma sat down in a chair next to the table with her head in her hands, "I need help...but of course William and Eponine are no help when in the same room." Emma slapped a a hand over her mouth and shook her head, "I should not have said that...."

Henrietta laughed out loud at Emma's slip of words.
"No worries, girly." she said lightly, realizing that Emma perhaps was a little hurt by William's eagerness to drop everything and help Eponine. She bent down on the table next to her and rested on her forearms. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked gently. She didn't want to assume Emma wanted to talk about her obvious crush, but she also didn't want to assume that she didn't.

"There is nothing to say." Emma replied, picking up a picture and looked over it dismissively, "He's popular, not easily swayed, thoughtful, and confident. He's the Perseus of the rebellion. I'm like...his hand maid. Eponine is Persephone. Wanted by all."

Emma folded her arms and rested herself on the table, "It's alright, I suppose. They do work well together. I have someone who cares for me at least. Jim.
"

Emma smiled and stood up, "Anyways, I found an herb called jinsang, is it a tea herb?"

((do you mean ginseng? Cause if it's jinsang than no.))

Henrietta blinked once and took a breath, standing up on her own feet and putting her hands on her hips.
Henrietta gave her a surprised look and shook her head. " Really? Jim? Guess I'm way out of the loop." She scratched her head and sighed. "And yeah, ginseng is a tea thing. Usually drink it when I don't feel well."

((Auto correct....))

"Oh, no. I am more like a pet, or a sister to Jim, not a love interest." Emma clarified, then reached for her basket, "I found some, in the market down by where William works, and I supposed you could use it."

Henrietta nodded and accepted the gift. "Thanks Emma, I've always preferred fresh brewed."
Turning back to the photos, she took a few in her hands and looked at them, trying to make something of them. She had seen a few autopsies before, but only because she was well acquainted with most of the medical staff.
"So, what do you already know about this guy?" she asked.

Emma repeated what she had said before(post #16)

"So basically, I think it's not just rebellion vs city any more." Emma furrowed her brow and pointed to a small marking on the victim's hand, where there was a circle with an X inside of it, "There's a third queen in this chess match. I think the guy bit off more that he could handle, and was killed for it."

This troubled Henrietta more then she anticipated. "A third player, huh?" She stroked her chin in thought. She didn't want to admit it, but she had a terrible feeling that Emma was right. "And they have weapons and intel that we don't know about. Great."
She heaved a big breath once and plunked down in the only wheely chair in the room, resting her forehead in her hand. "Well at least that explains a few things."

Emma looked over at her with a worried expression, "Pardon me? What exactly does this explain?" Emma asked, leaning back in her blue plastic lawn chair. "Has something happened?"

Henrietta shook her head and sat forwards, placing her arms on her knees.
"Well, a couple of days ago I was scanning the network and I came across a couple of things that I wasn't sure about. Nothing bad, just traces of someone hacking in our system." she said. "Which may sound bad, but it isn't because the only thing we keep on those computers is communication stuff, and not important communications at that. Everything secret or important is kept on those USB harddrives and unplugged." She pointed to the small stack of terabyte harddrives under the desk.

Emma nodded and let out a small sigh of relief, "Well, that's something. Like I say, if you can encrypt it, someone else can hack it."

"Anyway, this also means that they have similar resources. For all we know, we have a bug, a mole, or a turn coat."

Henrietta hung her head. She had pushed these thoughts out of her head multiple times, not wanting them to be true. Now that someone was dead, she couldn't just ignore the possibility that they could be attacked from more then one front.
"Where would they be then?" she asked, talking to herself. "And what the hell do they want?" She rubbed her face, aggravated.

"Well, they can't be with our enemy, or they would have just joined us. There has to be something else, that we also face, but we have information on, which would explain the hacking traces." Emma pointed out.

Who or what did the Rebellion have contact with, that could be considered an enemy to someone else.

"Could it be a small group, bent on revenge on someone IN the Rebellion?"

Henrietta contemplated this. "Possibly. But we can't know for sure if Abrova has suffered any losses."
Sitting up suddenly, she swiveled in her chair and rolled up to one of the three make-shift computers. She hit the power button on the way. Ducking under the desk she rummaged through the stack of labelled harddrives until she found the one with the tag 'March 3285'. She plugged the USB connection in, logged into the computer, then turned back to face Emma.
"I'm going to write out all of the traces I found and see if I can find a connection. Would you mind getting Jamie? I think she's scheduled for this shift again." She paused. "Also, is this the same plan Eponine was working on yesterday?"

"As far as I know." Emma replied, getting to her feet, "I will try to be back soon." She said quickly, with with a swish of skirts, she was gone.

Before proceeding with her plan, Henrietta stood and picked up all of the autopsy photos to get a better look at Eponine's plan. It was intricate and left out no details. Doing the math in her head from when she saw Ponine come in to just now, she would have had to have been working on this plan for a solid 36 hours. Of course any average worker would have just left as is an slept but Henrietta knew that was not the case. Waiting for Emma to return with Jamie, she continued to scan over the blueprints.

((Hey if Jamie does decide to come in (it's cool either way) could she call Henrietta "Kink"? Thanks!))

Jamie walked in to see Henrietta studying something. "Whatcha got, Kink?" she asked as she walked over, glancing at the papers scattered about.