A Call of Necessity

[Subtleknifewielder]

[color="#000000"]Here, they would be met by a new individual, one Major Emmanuel Carter of the (officially) former Crimson Shield. This man was not a large man, by any means, standing only at five-foot six, and a medium build, but to judge him by his size would be a serious mistake.[/color]

[color="#000000"]"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. You have 15 more minutes to grab something to eat," he indicated the counters behind himself, on which lay, if not the most sumptious of feasts, fare that would be filling and would provide for their needs, "before you assemble on the parade grounds to be run through a series of evaluation tests. No, you will not be told what tests until the time comes to take them."[/color]

[color="#000000"]He performed an abrupt about-face, leaving the mess hall.[/color]

[Thomas Grimshaw]

The speaking portion of the meal consisted of a few spread out words of chatter, but mostly analysis, a kind of hunter/prey evaluation between the recruits. After the nutritious segue was ended, the group assembled on the parade ground in a straight line all facing the Major. Military discipline was not something Shane, or any of the recruits were unfamiliar with.


All the males excluding Shane had crew cuts. Two were ethnically Russian, four were ethnically Romani, one (Shane) was ethnically Serbian, and five were so mixed you couldn't quite tell what group held the most of their heritage. The women (all with short hair as well) were also amongst the mixed category with only gains to take from it on appearance side of things.

Though it might not appear obvious to the Australians, the fact that even one Romani was present was amazing. Under the reign of Pablo they had been the constant target of harassment and eventually ethnic cleansing. In order to defend against this they had taken over several islands and fortified them heavily. With a fair bit of negotiation and discussion from Thomas' side however, they now functioned as part of the territories of USET, however they were sovereign in most matters. They had chosen their own officials for all governmental functions, and they had been given certain leeway with their own systems and laws, to make the cultural transition easier. They still contributed to and were protected by the armed services of USET...but years and years of fending for themselves had made them wary, and not many of their ranks joined the conventional military.

For the most part, they contributed to the Antipodean Branches...and if things turned out well, their mens' presence in this new service could not only provide the assets of their own unique skills, but could aid the healing of the cultural rift between the ethnic groups in USET.

A silence set over the yard, as Shane started scanning for escape routes and weapons. If needed he could sprint flat out for a mile, so that left a lot of possibilities. He had no intention of running off, after all he had no place to go and no reason to do so. However, if things weren't as they seemed...well...Shane liked having a back up plan.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Thomas Grimshaw

[Subtleknifewielder]

Major Carter nodded approvingly. To a man and woman, they were prompt, and assembled in a straight line. They obviously were not unused to discipline, so he wouldn't have to start completely from scratch. And they had a Romani in their midst, too. That was interesting. he had been under the impression that such people, much like the Aborigines, even when not oppressed, preferred to stick to themselves. But if the man was here, he was no doubt a volunteer as the rest of them. He would be getting no treatment that was in any way better or worse than what the others received, and the same went for the women--The Australians had had an integrated army for some time, even before the unification with the Hanseatics.

He and the others were watched silently by two figures standing in the shadow of the barracks.

"Before you are given your first test, I will have you know this." As he spoke, he paced back and forth in front of the line, his hands clasped behind his back. You may all believe yourselves hardened veterens. But by the time I and my friends are done with you, I promise you [i]will[/i] look back on such memories with fondness compared to what you will experience here. If at any time you feel you cannot continue, you may withdraw from the training, and no one will think any less of you for it. If [i]I[/i] think you are unfit to continue, I will personally remove you. Any questions?"

He waited to answer any questions before continuing. (OOC: Insert any questions they might have here/OOC).

"Now, as motivation to do your absolute best on the tests, the two individuals who score the lowest will not receive any supper. Your first test will simply be to...run."

Their only warning that something was up was a hint of a miscievous grin before they all heard the loud [i]crack[/i] of a gunshot from behind them. "Get your legs moving, recruits!" a female voice declared--a voice owned by Michelle. If any bothered to glance behind, they would see that she stood about ten feet from them, holding a small sidearm in her hand. Any that did so, however, would find themselves yanked forward by Major Carter. "Get moving!"

Once everyone had started, he and Michelle would keep pace, haranguing and insulting anyone who showed the slightest sign of lagging behind.

[Thomas Grimshaw]

Carter seemed straightforward enough, but Shane saw the way he looked up and down the line, the way his eyes focused in on a point and snapped out to another rapidly. He also noticed the smile, only there for an instant, but it was present. He wondered if the good Major was a sadist, or something like it.

Upon hearing the word "run", Shane prepared himself.

Then came the gunshot.

One of the women jumped, but quickly took off sprinting, along with the rest of the group. At the moment the women jumped, Shane began his run, however he instinctively reached for his right hip and turned to return fire. Realizing he had no weapon he quickly pivoted and ran ahead to take the lead of the rest of the group.

The Russian caught up with him and matched pace, while the Romani grouped together behind them. These men in particular were used to forced marches, and the fact that they survived showed their will. They focused not on speed but maintaining a pace they could do all day, something they accomplished while managing to stay ahead of their trainers.

Aside from one woman who had matched pace with the Romani, the others were lagging behind. They managed to stay just ahead of Michelle, but it was likely that would not be enough, in Shane's mind anyway.

In between breaths, the Russian muttered something in his native language to Shane. Unfortunately he was without a mastery of the language, so he merely replied, "Sorry mate, I'm a mutt of the west and east of Europe, never made it that far into Asia," he was of course referring to his accent with his reference to the west, and his appearance with his mention of the east."

"Well then, I'm Vladmir, otherwise known as #203697, and your mark is showing, he gestured to Shane's left arm."

Shane shot a glance down and saw the three digit number needled into his skin was showing.

"I'm Shane, otherwise known as #407."

"Only three digits? Jesus...what did you do?"

"Literate and politically active parents, take a guess."

"You were in Almas?"

"Vosgi."

"Then you have the spider?"

"Among other things...yes."

"I'm the bear."

"Glad to meet you."

The exchange ended and the group continued trampling the concrete. They began to do laps, every now and then Shane would hear shouts of Michelle berating some of the women, and he would chuckle. When he took a glance back a little while after his conversation with his new comrade, he decided that in the dark she looked like one very angry ghost.

The exercise continued on for a while, and Shane began to tire, he pressed on using the pain as motivation. He set a goal for himself, to beat Michelle in every single test at the end of training.

[Subtleknifewielder]

"If you are quite finished socializing, recruits?!" Michelle shouted. To Vladmir and Shane, it might almost have sounde like she was yelling in their ear, though she was still at least ten feet behind them. If they hadn't been about to finish their conversation, her tone indicated she would have been quite willing to finish it for them.

They made no distinction between Romani and Russian, Man or woman...when it looked like two of the recruits might shortly drop from exhaustion, they were directed as one to turn back to the base. There they would find a table, on which were set twenty automatic rifles in a neat row, one for each of them.

"Your next test, recruits, is to strip these weapons down and re-assemble them as quickly as possible."

----

And in Darwin, Paco, who was in a moderately-lit, padded cell, would hear the door opening to see an orderly setting a tray of food on the floor. There was nothing on it requiring the use of eating utensils.

[Thomas Grimshaw]

"Was just discussing the atmospheric pressure changes ma'am, we're quite finished now!" Shane shouted back.

He turned back to see the reaction he elicited, that was to say, a grin on her face, a gun in her hand, and a shout in her throat,

"Get moving recruit!"

He obeyed, but as the running ended, he stepped out of place and walked straight back to Michelle, with Major Carter watching the entire way. Shane walked to within inches of Michelle's face, the only thing blocking him being her pistol stuck into his torso.

"If you aim a weapon at me under any circumstances, prepare to use it, Ma'am."

Shane's muscles tensed by the running and adrenaline, he prepped himself for a pistol whip, or even a gunshot from the direction of Michelle.

Instead, the stock of Carter's rifle caromed off of Shane's back. Despite trying to remain standing, he collapsed and his face dragged across the asphalt. He rebounded without stop and pushed off the terrain, ignoring the blood dripping from his face.

He chuckled and looked at Carter, "That's more like it, Major."

Carter merely pointed to a table with automatic rifles, IMI Galils, on them.

-----

Shane joined the recruits and they began the test. He of course, finished first, in under a minute and a half in fact. Normally he would have been under a minute, after all they had incidentally selected one of his favorite weapons, however the blow to the head and the pain was getting to him, though you could only imagine how through his confident facade. Vladmir finished soon after, chuckling to himself about Shane's little outburst.


The Romani, being more experienced with using Molotovs and mattocks, bolas and barbiturates, than conventional weaponry, had to acquaint themselves with the rifles. However, being intelligent and reasonably quick learners, they soon had the weapons reassembled without error.

The rest of the group had average times, not terrible, but certainly not exceptional. Silently they awaited command.

-----

Paco ate the food, still groggy from the sedatives. If he hadn't been so drugged he'd have tried to disturb the orderly, unfortunately it seemed there was no window for them to bear witness, unlike his previous habitat.

[Thomas Grimshaw]

(OOC: Subtle, this is for MU, she's taking over the wonderful role of Zhanna in the Diarchy.)

Meanwhile, in the hospital wing of Eire's "Spire", one Michael Christensen sat in the room that Thomas had shown to Anthony not two days ago. He sat in the same chair Thomas had used, and he simply watched Zhanna. He watched her breath in and out unconsciously, something he had always wondered about in reference to the subject of comas.

Today, there was not much wondering though. A lot of swearing, some shouting, a bit of drinking, very little sleeping, and almost some physical violence, but no wondering.

Michael sat and stared at Zhanna. He stared at her near lifeless body...


...and then she started to move.

[Madame Unicorn]

Opening her eyes gently, Zhanna looked around slowly. All she could see around her was white. White sheets, white walls. Where was she? Looking over to her left, Zhanna groaned as she lifted her hand gently.
?"
"Well, fancy seeing you here. Now could you tell me why I'm in here? And where is my Husband!?"

[Thomas Grimshaw]

"You were shot, twice. You're currently whacked out on so much morphine I'm surprised we didn't cause the coma. You've been out for just under a day. Thomas is currently dealing with a recent arrival of what seem to be cultists. He is...welcoming them, as well as discerning whether or not their leave will be expedited." Michael was caught halfway through relief, anguish, and surprise.


"Jesus Zhanna...I didn't think you were going to make it. Thomas will be ecstatic at least." He let a small smile crack his face.

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: Just confirming that I gave Grim the OK to RP my characters to this degree...after all, he asked me "what would they do if..."

IC: Carter stared, amused but hiding it well, as Shane turned to take the test.

"So, would you have used the weapon?" he asked his opposite. Michelle grinned.

"Just because our training is the same doesn't mean we lack the basic necessities. We draw a weapon, we intend to use it. However..." she pulled the trigger, but the only sound was the click of an empty chamber. "There was only the one bullet."

Carter almost laughed right there, but he managed to restrict himself to a small grin, clapping her on the shoulder before walking off to observe the various stages of disassembly the weapons were in.

He wasn't surprised to see Shane finished first, despite the pain he must be feeling from that hit. Once everyone was finished, he nodded once, informing them that the next test was marksmanship with various weapons, from sidearms on up to automatic weapons and sniper rifles. Starting with the weapons they had just field-stripped.

"You will be given one case of ammunition for each weapon, and it is up to you to make as many shots as possible count."

The range was literally right next to them, and there were several other soldiers out practicing, though it was unclear whether these were recruits themselves or regulars who were just getting a little practice in. They did, however, step aside when the Major asked them to make room for the foreigners.

----

"What's this, you sent an orderly in to feed him?!"

"Sir, he's still sedated."

"I don't care. That man is dangerous, and insane to boot. From now on, I want professional soldiers only to bring him his food."

"Yes, Sir!"

Once Paco was more lucid, he would receive a visit from Anthony, though the man was careful to stay across the cell from him to give himself time to react to any aggression. "So...you too know what it is like to descend into madness. Shall I tell you of my own experience?" he asked, seemingly casually.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Subtleknifewielder

[Madame Unicorn]

Zhanna smiled. She thought about her husband and missed him already. But she knew that as soon as their eyes met they would fall in love again. It's how things always happened.

"Mmm, Morphine.. No wonder I feel so good! But you say I was shot? I wonder why. Still, it's not like I can remember anything." Zhanna fell quiet and looked away from Michael.

"When do I get to get out of here.. You know I hate hospitals.. I'm more of a believer of getting better on the job, like we'd do in the old days..." She gently grabbed Michael's hand and looked at him with big lucid eyes, "Can you tell Thomas that I've woken up please? I miss him.."

A single tear ran down her face.

[Thomas Grimshaw]

Upon receiving their orders, the group moved to the firing range, tables with all sorts of weapons neatly organized per person.

The group took up one target per person, Vladmir took up a position next to Shane.

Quietly, he whispered, "How about we show them our lighter side?"

"What's that?"

"Musical talents."

"Let's."

With that the exercise began. Shane emptied his Beretta 92 handgun into the first target. Vladimir followed and they both did very well. The Romanis, more skilled in firing guns than maintaining them, also did well with their sidearms. The women did excellent, better in fact than Vladimir and Shane, although he had his wounds going for him.

It was not until they had passed through most all weapons and reached the semi-automatic versions of the Galil. Luckily for them, they had extended magazines. Once the targets were replaced...they began their show.

Amongst the incessant rapid fire from the others, Shane hoped their instructors would hear their gunfire distinctly, as it was in the pattern of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, about three and a half minutes in. Magazines empty and several perfect shots, Vladimir and Shane congratulated each other with slight nods.

"They played that at Vosgi?"

"All day every day."

"Almas too. They have no appreciation for art."

"Agreed."


That task done, the group turned to their instructors, and Shane thought that he and Vladimir may have had slight twinkles in their eyes.


------


Paco grinned at Anthony, if he hadn't been nearly strapped to the floor he would have charged.

"What did you lose old man? Your wife and child? Did you sell the shotgun that killed them? Make the bomb that blew up their car? Or did you ignore your mother's psychological breakdown, till she took a gun to the supermarket and blasted eight people? Tell me...WHAT HAVE YOU LOST?"

Then, Paco cackled manically, this was satisfying, company...especially when he could mock their feeble attempts at relating to what he was.

------

Michael sighed, "Yes, Morphine, the wonder-drug. As for your shooting, I don't know enough to say right now. But, we're both glad you're alright, we had doctors brought in from Australia. You remember Australia right? Karl recommended them as glowingly honorable."

Then the tear ran down her face, a slight moment of weakness in an otherwise Valkyrie-like woman.

"I'll tell Thomas alright. However, he's taken to moving without a cellphone, something about tracking and such. He'll be back soon I'm certain. You could settle and chat with me for a while, you'll be in observation for a while at least." Michael smiled.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Thomas Grimshaw

[Madame Unicorn]

Zhanna sighed.
"I know, He's always been paranoid like that. But you're here, and I do quite like talking to you. Besides, I hate being alone. And yes, I know I'll be in observation. It's not like I can go anywhere else now, can I?"

She wiped the tear back and smiled.

"This is only a minor setback, I'm sure we'll be fine," Zhanna looked at Michael, "But if you dont mind I'm going back to sleep..."

[Thomas Grimshaw]

"Yes...he did seem to develop that paranoia when doing the whole "double-agent" thing...but its certainly not getting any better." Michael chuckled despite the grim situation. He found no humor in the fact that the whole country seemed as if it might explode any minute. Not a revolution, no, just plain madness and anarchy instigated by fear. This fear had taken to Michael as well, he'd taken to carrying a firearm and wearing a light ballistic vest.

"Go back to sleep, I'll stay and...read some old magazines, drink cheap coffee, eat stale donuts. I'll wait for Thomas..."


----

About half an hour later, Thomas walked into the room, shutting the door behind him quietly. He noticed Michael and smiled, "Michael, dearest of all my friends," he used Shane's line, "how is she?" he gestured to the sleeping Zhanna.

"She woke up a bit earlier. I told I'd wait for you. Do you want me to wake her?"

"No...let her sleep. How long have you been here?"

"Since you left."

"Well, thank you for being a friend. Get something decent to eat, get some rest. I'll stay and wait for her."

"Alright, stay sane Thomas."

"Have I ever not?"

Michael stood, put a hand on Thomas' shoulder, and looked at him, "You know the answer to that question."

"Yes...I suppose I do."

With that, they said their good-byes and Thomas took up his position in the chair, staring at his beauty with awe and fear.

[Madame Unicorn]

As soon as Zhanna fell asleep she seemed to fall into a deep slumber. Whether it was from the Morphine, or the fact that she knew that she was in safe hands, she did not know. Either way, it was good to feel like this after having many a sleepless night for so long.

Slowly, after what seemed like an eternity, Zhanna stretched and half opened her eyes, groaning, "Michael.." Zhanna blinked and opened her eyes fully, fixating them on a point in the ceiling, before looking around the room. Letting her eyes fall on the door, the white fixtures, and her Husband.

Zhanna smiled and let her eyes fall upon Thomas's chiselled body, his slicked dark hair. Coughing, she sat up and held out her hand for Thomas to hold.

"Missed me honey?"

[Thomas Grimshaw]

(OOC:Work hard, Play hard is the rough English translation of that below.)


"Laboris gloria Ludi!" Thomas exclaimed.

He rose from the chair and embraced Zhanna. He held her lightly, as if she were a glass rod, and let her down slowly. He kissed her and then, after regaining some breath from the shock of her awakening, sat back in his chair.

"Yes, I missed you. You probably haven't been able to tell, what, coma and all, but I've been having a heart attack near every three minutes since yesterday." Thomas let his formality, his theatrics, his facade, slip and he melted.

"We've got a lot to talk about."

[Madame Unicorn]

Zhanna's face changed as soon as she saw Thomas. All the worry, anger, fear and negativity that she felt over the instability of the country melted away when she saw his reaction. She smiled timidly and looked intently at him.

"A heart attack nearly every three minutes since yesterday? That's not like you Thomas. If it's got something to do with me then.. Well in all of the six years that we've been together I haven't seen you get emotional, like this. What happened to me, and I don't know the full story; Must have really scared you."

Zhanna sighed and took Thomas's hand, gripping it hard.

"But we're here now. I'm apparently healthy, you seem to look okay. Everything will be fine. But please tell me what's going on."

[Thomas Grimshaw]

"I'm...I'm collapsing here Bon," he used a nickname he'd given her when he had made the mistake of confusing her Russian accent with French, "the blood the bullets the camps, it didn't matter then, because what we suffered we were going to repay ten fold. But this, this isn't even an armed revolution. Its just panic...we made too many promises that we couldn't keep as quick as they'd like. I just got out of a meeting with some wacky, Branch Davidian type offshoot of Christianity that believes we're all a dream."

Sweat ran down Thomas' face, soaking his palms, soaking his suit.

"They shot at us, at me, and hit you. The economy is becoming unsustainable, civil unrest. People don't understand that democracy, economic equality, stability, are goals to be achieved over time. We're busy just keeping the place afloat..."

Thomas sat back in his chair, "And I met one of Pablo's former wetwork guys, he's working for me now apparently. And, you'll never believe this, Paco killed someone [i]else[/i], with a freaking spoon! He's in Australia...now. God, if it wasn't for them, I don't know what I'd be doing right now."


Thomas groaned, stomach pains were getting to him. He doubled over, his head on the edge of Zhanna's bed. Finally, he looked up at her and said, "What do I do?"

[Madame Unicorn]

Zhanna ran her hand over her Husband's head. She could see that the country was in turmoil. But what were they to do?
"Thomas, it's not a question of I, but we. The people see me as a public figure and one of the leaders of their country, as well as you. We need to work something out. Together."

Zhanna lifted Thomas's head up and kissed his lips gently.

"We may need to make sure that the Australians can help us should the panic increase any further. Also, we should call upon the military to maintain the civil unrest and try to build up the economy again. That's all I can really think of at the moment. But I will help you. And we'll do this, together."

[Thomas Grimshaw]

"I just want to sleep. We'll do it...but we'll do it another day."

Thomas sighed and dabbed at his forehead with his sleeve. The reassuring words of his wife helped, but he looked like he'd just run the 100 mile sprint while drinking alcohol to "stay hydrated".

"Are you sure you feel okay? No aches or pains? The bullets are gone, and apparently the surgery went well. So just to be sure, there are no complications?"

[Madame Unicorn]

Pulling Thomas up onto the bed that was three times too big for her, Zhanna wrapped her arms around her Husband and laid down beside him, comfortable in his arms.

"Tom, I'm feeling okay, never better. No complications at all. But then again, we should wait until the doctors do their rounds. I feel awesome. We'll do this when you feel ready. And when I'm out of this hospital."

[Thomas Grimshaw]

"Or when we're on the upper floors of our little spire at least." Thomas sighed, every part of him ached. For a while he rested, absorbing the silence, the opportunity to repair his lining of resilience.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, sighed, and he went into his own figurative coma. He'd faced worse before, many many times...however time had made him soft. Living a double-life, and now making the weaker of those personas his only life, had chipped away at the machine he had once been. He now realized that he was no longer invincible.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Thomas Grimshaw

[Madame Unicorn]

Zhanna looked at Tom as he fell asleep, the lines of time creeping slowly over his face. They were not the strong young couple that could take on anything, anymore. They had responsibilities, and issues to deal with.. With a country to run. Revolution was hard, no matter what the state that the nation is in.

Zhanna fell into her own slumber, feeling that everything was going to get worse before it could get better.

[Subtleknifewielder]

Carter and Michelle both stood behind the firing line, sweeping their eyes back and forth between the recruits. Carter, not exactly a patron of the arts, was oblivious to the joke that was being played, though he wold have appreciated the humor if he had known.

Michelle, on the other hand, recognized exactly what those two troublemakers were doing, and despite herself, she cracked a smile.

"What's so funny?" Carter asked from his position next to her. "Don't you know an officer is supposed to have their humor removed before supervising boot camp?"

The Lillian did chuckle at this. "If you say so, you uncultured brute."

The Major took mock offense, pacing a hand over his heart. "You wound me, my fair lady. You wound me deeply."

her brown eyes rolled. "Yeah right. Anyway, in answer to your earlier question," she pointed a hand at Shane and Vladimir, who were currently squeezing off the last rounds in their clips, "they are using their weapons to play a portion of a classical piece of music. Specifically, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture."

This revelation caused the man to blink, before grinning widely himself. "Well, well, looks like we'll have our hands full with those two."

However, by the time the two recruits had turned to face their instructors, the masks of indifference were back in place, giving no indication they had detected the prank.

----

The next test, after a short rest period, would be unarmed combat, where the recruits would be pitted against each other as a means of assessing what they might know.

Shane would find himself paired off, first, with Vladimir, while the Romani would be testing each other, and the women would be fighting amongst themselves as well.

----

"Yes, I am quite sure you are the only one in the world who has experienced pain, my friend," Anthony mocked right back. "Nothing on this earth could compare to the anguish you suffer. Not even handing over the keys to the man who killed your wife and two sons, am I right? Or killing the man you thought responsible for your brother's death, only to find out he was innocent?"

"Or how about guilt, knowing how many innocent lives you are responsible for taking away? Seeing each one of their faces, from the first one at sixxteen?"

Anthony was silently thankful that these conversations wouldn't be recorded, and since the room was padded...no one else would overhear.

----

After Zhanna fell asleep, one of the doctors quietly entered the room, putting a hand on Thomas' shoulder to wake him...

[Thomas Grimshaw]

Shane dared not peek at the officers, he was bold but not stupid, one crack with the stock of a rifle was good enough for the day. Together, Vladimir and Shane merely enjoyed their little competition, although they masked their surprise when they found out that they had been out shot by the women.

"There's a reason they make better snipers." Vladimir interjected.

"I could think of several."

"Physiological, not psychological."

"I did say [i]several[/i] did I not?"

The two stifled a bit of laughter and were quickly shuffled along, with the rest of their compatriots, off to their next test.

----

Rested and ready, Vladimir and Shane met on the concrete. To what was expected to be the surprise of the officers, the two shook hands,

"Mobilis in mobili."

"That was Vosgi's motto?"

"Mine."

"Ah, morior invictus."

"Well met."

With that, the two began the fight. The fight began with a few fake-outs, Vlad landed a few blows to Shane's lower body, while Shane brought down a hammer fist onto Vlad's back. Quickly he retaliated with a headbutt and a trip, getting on top of Shane. Wasting no time in futile struggling, he repeatedly drove his fist into Vlad's sides, earning a blow to the face. Vlad made one mistake, believing his position gave him dominance.

Shane caught one of Vlad's fists and squeezed, pushing back the wrist. Vlad shouted in pain, giving Shane just enough room to slam his free hand into Vlad's temple. He was knocked off, Shane rolled free and knocked Vlad's feet from under him. He grabbed him by the throat and shouted,

"Submit!"

Vlad refused, he continually tightened his grip, slamming his other fist into Vlad's ribcage. Vlad kicked and clawed with everything he had, but he could not get free. Then, Shane cocked his head and noticed a look in Vlad's eye...he understood why he had chosen the motto...and what it meant to him.

Shane loosened his grip, and Vladimir took the opportunity to slam his fist into Shane's face. Shane was back on the ground, and in the position Vladimir had been.

Barely, he managed to choke out the words, "I...submit."

Vlad brought their heads together and whispered, "Thank you."

The rest of the fights went off without incident. The women were evenly matched, mostly winning via arm-bars and choke holds. As for the Romani, they enjoyed the fighting, as if it were a pleasant memory. In fact, one Romani after beating his opponent, even took on the other two, although he resorted to a bit of dirty fighting to win. It was clear they had no fighting system, merely one of pride and boasting. Shane and Vlad on the other hand used modified Krav Maga.

The test was not over yet...something Shane did not know.

----

Paco laughed at the man. "Pain? Irrelevant. Guilt? Irrelevant. BETRAYAL. IS NOT. IRRELEVANT."

After his moment of mockery ended, he chuckled, "Do you even know why I'm here?"

----

Thomas awoke startled, rather than holding Zhanna, he got up calmly. Then, in an instant, he grabbed the doctor by the tie and with his free hand grabbed a Bic Pen. He choked him with the tie and forced him into a human shield position, the pen being a secondary weapon at his throat.

He loosened his grip slightly on the man's larynx, "Who. Are. You?"

Edited February 24, 2010 by Thomas Grimshaw