Mid-Month Rolls

[Megami*]

When the cat's away, the mice will play... or so the saying goes. Naturally, the same was true of Danya's lackeys. Since the "Big Cheese" of SOTF had taken an impromptu vacation to travel back to his home, things at the base were getting pretty lax. For whatever reason, Mr. Danya had left his personal assistant, Dorian Pello, in charge of the runnings of SOTF, and for the past two days, that had meant that his more able-bodied underlings found themselves trying to keep things under control.

Still... dissent was forming in the ranks quickly, and talk of treason seemed to be at an all time high around the facility.

---

"But you know..." one full-geared soldier whispered quietly, "I'm starting to think it's just... not right. Why couldn't we use something else... someone else?"

"You know better than to question him, though," the other replied, his tone even more hushed, "You remember what happened to the others."

The first soldier sighed, rubbing the back of his head a bit.

"I know, I know... it's just... man, I've got a daughter the same age as those kids. I think it's just starting to get to me. I watch that footage and I see her out there getting raped, beaten, and killed."

"Oh come on," the other soldier assured him, "You know that'd never happen. It doesn't work that way."

"But what if it did?" his companion retorted.

"It's not gonna happen that way. Look at me, I've got a sixteen year old son too, doesn't stop me from doing my job."

The pep talk didn't seem to be working. Despite the fact that it was statistically impossible for the soldier's daughter to even be placed in Survival of the Fittest, the fact that they were using children nearly the same age was starting to bring his morale down. The same could be said of many soldiers throughout Danya's base. After all, it's hard to watch children being slaughtered on your own broadcasts and then go home and look your own child straight in the eye.

As the two men were talking quietly, another figure strode down the hallway... a large, imposing figure. He was one of the best, at least, that's what they said. The fact was, although he hadn't seen any sort of battle in nearly two years, he could've probably easily killed most of the "grunts" patrolling the base if he sat his mind to it. The figure's eyes moved to focus on the two grunts as he picked up part of their conversation.

The two were so submerged in their own thoughts that they didn't see him walk up behind them. He brushed a strand of his long, dark hair away from his face as he moved toward the two soldiers. For a moment, he simply stood there, absorbing the conversation that was taking place between the two men. Then, he placed his hand on the first man's shoulder.

"You sound like you're not too happy with your job, soldier," he muttered quietly, his face almost expressionless.

The soldier nearly froze as the man's voice rang out in the hallway. He immediately wheeled around, clearly a lot more nervous than before, as he stared at the figure standing before him.

"S-sir... Maverick, Sir!" he belted out nervously.

They all knew him as Maverick, but his real name was Mark Alura. For all intents and purposes, he was a veteran of the SOTF ACT. He'd been around since the beginning stages of the game, had been one of the most lethal competitors during the infamous Test Run 8, and had proven his loyalty to Danya and their cause time and time again. It was for good reason that the soldiers currently cowering before him were afraid.

"The walls around here have ears, you know," Maverick mused with a faint smirk, "I'd watch what you say in this base, especially when it's insubordinate."

"Y-yes sir!" the soldier sputtered out. Meanwhile, his friend had gone completely silent and was simply staring at Maverick, sure that something horrible was about to happen to the both of them.

"I'd suggest you get those thoughts out of your head," Maverick muttered once again, his eyes briefly making contact with the startled soldiers, "... Carry on."

It was several minutes after Maverick turned and walked away before either of the soldiers could find the will to function once again. It seemed they had lucked out. If some other member of the Arthro Taskforce had overheard their conversation, they might well have been killed for treason... or worse, thrown onto the island and forced to fend for themselves against the students they had helped to imprison. It was a constant thought in the back of every soldier's mind at the base.

With tension building up over the SOTF ACT, every day, that threat seemed all the more real to many of the base's occupants.

---

Mid-Month Rolls:
Jodene Zalack
Quincy Archer Bradley Armstrong
Lenny Priestly Jeff Marontate
Sean O'Cann Keiji Tanaka
Joe Gai

Five rolls. Five students marked to die. You guys should know how this works by now. You have three days to begin your death and five to complete it. If you require an extension, it must be approved by myself or another staffer. If you plan on using either a swap or hero card to save one of these characters, you must let us know as soon as possible. Once again, happy hunting!