Authority [Ashara]
Apr 19, 2015 20:34:15 GMT -5
Post by Artemis on Apr 19, 2015 20:34:15 GMT -5
Things had been slow enough at the Peacekeeper veterinary clinic, that it had left Max with an abundance of free time. Not that the military would let him use that time to study and bone up on his biology in preparation for the next batch of mutts the Capitol would invariably send him; apparently, Max's superior thought he needed to get reacquainted with grunt work.
Which was how Max found himself heading an investigation.
The only thing he knew so far was that the suspects, a man and woman, had been arrested and charged with the murder of the man's parents. It was his job to fill in the rest; how did they do it? How long had they planned this for? Had there been any warning signs before the murder? And, most importantly... why?
There was a reason Max had studied so hard to earn his commission as a veterinarian; this kind of grunt work, the kind that involved delving into the minds of the scum of society, only reinforced his increasingly negative opinion of other people.
Behind him, a platoon of 30 Peacekeepers marched in formation following Max's lead; as a captain, he was authorized to command as many as 250 troops, a company, but in this case that seemed like overkill even for the Peacekeepers. Ahead of them was an open-pit mine, one of only a few in District 2 which was better known for its mountain quarries. At the top of the pit, the wind was high as the rain fell, giving the illusion that it was raining horizontally; Max was clad in his service uniform and lacked a visored helmet to shield his face, but didn't do more than blink as the drops of water pattered against his face.
He looked utterly formidable in his white peaked cap with the brim pulled low over his eyes, black double-breasted raincoat with the collar up to keep out the rain, and glossy knee-high black boots. His rank insignia, a pair of silver bars, shone brightly on his collar and epaulettes in spite of the rain.
Beside him as he always was, Kaiser was just happy to be someplace other than Max's small office. Even with the wind and rain, the dog hardly seemed to notice the weather as his ears flicked this way and that, picking up the sounds of the quarry workers.
The foreman, stationed at the top in a makeshift shelter overlooking the pit, paled to see Max approach with his formation of Peacekeepers. Her gray hair was pulled into a tight bun under her hard hat, and though her expression remained neutral as she looked up from a blueprint to face him, Max saw her swallow.
"What can I do for you?" She asked evenly, squaring her shoulders.
Max glanced at the two men she'd been talking to, both of them bearing a rather notable resemblance to the foreman, before turning to her.
"I'm conducting an investigation." He said simply, pulling out a couple of photographs from his coat pocket. "Know these two?"
The foreman hesitated; it could only mean they looked familiar.
"Knew of 'em. Didn't know them personally." She replied gruffly.
Max narrowed his eyes, putting the pictures away.
"Right." He replied, sounding utterly unimpressed. "Shut down the quarry. Both of the suspects used to work here, and I'm not leaving until I get the information I came for."
The foreman didn't argue, despite that they both very well knew that shutting down the quarry for however long Max's investigation took would lengthen their workdays until they were caught up with the Capitol's quotas. It wasn't of any concern to him; the Capitol wanted its building materials, but it also wanted him to put away a pair of murderers.
Max descended the slopes of the pit with his formation, hearing the pneumatic hiss of heavy machinery powering down; in a pit mine this size, they were going to be here all day at least.
Which was how Max found himself heading an investigation.
The only thing he knew so far was that the suspects, a man and woman, had been arrested and charged with the murder of the man's parents. It was his job to fill in the rest; how did they do it? How long had they planned this for? Had there been any warning signs before the murder? And, most importantly... why?
There was a reason Max had studied so hard to earn his commission as a veterinarian; this kind of grunt work, the kind that involved delving into the minds of the scum of society, only reinforced his increasingly negative opinion of other people.
Behind him, a platoon of 30 Peacekeepers marched in formation following Max's lead; as a captain, he was authorized to command as many as 250 troops, a company, but in this case that seemed like overkill even for the Peacekeepers. Ahead of them was an open-pit mine, one of only a few in District 2 which was better known for its mountain quarries. At the top of the pit, the wind was high as the rain fell, giving the illusion that it was raining horizontally; Max was clad in his service uniform and lacked a visored helmet to shield his face, but didn't do more than blink as the drops of water pattered against his face.
He looked utterly formidable in his white peaked cap with the brim pulled low over his eyes, black double-breasted raincoat with the collar up to keep out the rain, and glossy knee-high black boots. His rank insignia, a pair of silver bars, shone brightly on his collar and epaulettes in spite of the rain.
Beside him as he always was, Kaiser was just happy to be someplace other than Max's small office. Even with the wind and rain, the dog hardly seemed to notice the weather as his ears flicked this way and that, picking up the sounds of the quarry workers.
The foreman, stationed at the top in a makeshift shelter overlooking the pit, paled to see Max approach with his formation of Peacekeepers. Her gray hair was pulled into a tight bun under her hard hat, and though her expression remained neutral as she looked up from a blueprint to face him, Max saw her swallow.
"What can I do for you?" She asked evenly, squaring her shoulders.
Max glanced at the two men she'd been talking to, both of them bearing a rather notable resemblance to the foreman, before turning to her.
"I'm conducting an investigation." He said simply, pulling out a couple of photographs from his coat pocket. "Know these two?"
The foreman hesitated; it could only mean they looked familiar.
"Knew of 'em. Didn't know them personally." She replied gruffly.
Max narrowed his eyes, putting the pictures away.
"Right." He replied, sounding utterly unimpressed. "Shut down the quarry. Both of the suspects used to work here, and I'm not leaving until I get the information I came for."
The foreman didn't argue, despite that they both very well knew that shutting down the quarry for however long Max's investigation took would lengthen their workdays until they were caught up with the Capitol's quotas. It wasn't of any concern to him; the Capitol wanted its building materials, but it also wanted him to put away a pair of murderers.
Max descended the slopes of the pit with his formation, hearing the pneumatic hiss of heavy machinery powering down; in a pit mine this size, they were going to be here all day at least.
45583a - Maximilian Stahl
ffffff - NPCs
e9c400 - Peacekeeper NPCs
8F81AB - Taylor Marquis
