Private Barracks/Imperial Condos Innovation More gears for The Machine

[Nicolas of Iron Pit]

Guillaume sat down by the desk.

The stoat almost instantly put his sharp claws to opening the few envelopes on the prepared desk in this empty, safe for few chairs, room in the basement. Each contained a Curriculum Vitae prepared by agents who are tasked with scouting our new talents or potential threads to ministry and recruit them. This time, in his bright-brown furred paws, there were six envelopes.

According to the procedures, he was not meant to know anything about the recruits before meeting them. It was meant to keep his mind free from opinions and favouritism. As such, this was the first time he actually could see who would he be dealing with.

It was after all the best time to do it, ten minutes before all the invited recruits were meant to come inside.

---

Rue awaited in the entrance for the six beasts that were meant to be evaluated today. The black fox, wearing long, loose pants and frilly blouse, very acutely stared at the watch. They knew that whoever won't be there by the agreed time, they will already fail their first assignment. Ministry cannot allow for failures to be a part of it.

The six beasts that were meant to come today were making Rue somewhat excited about the evaluation. They of course did it long ago already, on a different grounds, but it made no difference. The characters coming in were interesting to them. From petty criminals who sought to learn and former associates to foreigners and promising engineers. The letters were delivered by the agents who scouted them for a while now and Rue, being in charge of them, were the one who approved even giving them a chance. They were all either brilliant, capable or knew enough to find a place in the ministry... or to be a danger to The Plan.

Rue was especially curious to see them tackle their section of the trial. But of course, no beast would be able to tell that just looking at them and their passive expression..

Fixing their monocle, the black fox looked at their pocket watch. Five minutes left.

And here was coming the first candidate. Just as expected.

@SwifttailTheFox @Herman Lasichin @Elliot Berkshaw @Cryle @Adelina Laska @Kaii Nashirou

 

[Cryle]

Giddy. She hadn't expected this so soon. Was it the rescuing of the patents from that horrible, fateful party? Was it from Griblo running his mouth about the machine she'd made to press shapes into paper so blind beasts could read by feeling? Or did it go all the way back to that horrible, fateful event at the workshop she'd snuck into? Or did it go further back - had they been watching her sniffing about the warehouses in Magh all her life, watching her explore the Windthrift caves, watching her trying to watch them back...?

All of it, perhaps. Her whole life felt like it was leading to this moment. But that was illogical. Her interest in this Ministry was solely because of her missing sister... Her interest in the universe had nothing to do with all their terribly terrifying bureaucracy.

Perhaps it was fate. No doubt at some point, their paths would cross. Hers, a straight line. Theirs, a sine-wave zigzagging, overlapping, constantly disrupting her life... Too many probabilities to think about the future like that. Here and now, it was time. Her time.

She'd cleaned and washed her clothes, and carried her adventuring gear with her; whip, grappling rope, telescope, toolkit, stylish hat, impeccable ruffles all down her front, pineapple candies well-stocked, her favourite pencils sharpened, and a brand new journal to take notes in. And, of course, summons in paw - the letter that had woken her roommate, Korya, with a dignified, rat-pitched "Woohoo".

She'd mapped the way to the rendezvous point, but alas, her contact with the architectural depository had failed to procure anything for the building in question. And then told her never to ask for something like that again. So that was a little worrying. But not enough to take the pep from Cryle's step!

There was a black fox, checking a pocket watch... Cryle's peppy step slowed. She arrived in front of them.

"Rascallo," she said, and then tried to bow and salute at the same time.

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

The summons had been folded and unfolded so many times during the walk that the edges had begun to soften. Swifttail had not meant to do that. It was simply that every few streets he found himself checking the address again, just to make sure the letter had not somehow changed its mind between steps.

Ministry of Innovation.

Even now, standing before the entrance, it felt faintly unreal.

Not quite two years ago he had been sleeping beneath broken roofs in the Slups with little more than a borrowed hammer and a stubborn refusal to give up. Now he stood outside one of the Imperium’s most secretive ministries with a formal summons bearing a seal he had only ever seen from the outside.

Swift smoothed the letter once more and slipped it carefully back into his satchel.

The fox adjusted the strap over his shoulder, rubbed a faint smear of machine grease from his new pair of green overalls, and stepped inside.

The room was smaller than he expected.

A few chairs. A desk. Bare walls that seemed to swallow sound.

And it was already occupied.

His gaze first settled on the black fox standing with pocket watch in paw. Instinctively Swifttail straightened, the quiet discipline of naval habit settling into his posture.

Then his eyes drifted to the other figure.

The sharply dressed female rat.

For a moment his mind simply stared.

Then the memory snapped into place.

The Ministry workshop. The rat girl who had burst into what was meant to be a quiet outing between himself and Kaii. The frantic scramble of paws as armed guards descended upon them, and Mr. Pawminton offering her the chance to walk away with a naval commission instead of a death sentence.

Cryle.

Swift blinked once, faint surprise flickering across his expression.

What in blazes was she doing here too?

He almost greeted her out of reflex, but the rat had already stepped forward to address the waiting official. Interrupting now felt improper, so he held his tongue and moved quietly to the side of the room instead.

This was already far stranger than the letter had suggested.

His tail gave the faintest restless flick before settling again as he took one of the empty chairs along the wall.

For now, it seemed wiser to wait his turn.

And to see who else the Ministry had summoned.

 

[Herman Lasichin]

It took a few days for Herman Lasichin to adjust to life on land. He had just settled down on the black ship and gotten used to its beasts, when the expedition ended and he stepped out onto Vulpinsula for the second time, a stranger in a strange land once again. The next few days were heptic to put it lightly. His fellow numbersbeast Griblo Jankweed pointed him to a cheap apartment right on the edge between the slups and the docks, and he managed to convince the citizens office who he was with his diplomas from university, but he knew nothing else about Bully harbor. He would get lost every day, often finding himself in the labyrinth of slup alleys on his way to anywhere else. Herman thought he knew how bad Bully harbor was from the newspaper articles he translated for the Raven's hill times. The newsbringers here underestimated the situation incredibly, or just didn't find it necessary to go into details. Herman often had to pull out his dagger to scare off would be thieves or other bothers, and once he had to run and hide in a passage when a Sable seemed set on taking his anger at the world out on him.

It took him an hour when he was told it was only around 15 minutes, but finally Herman was at the Bouillabaisse post office. He had to yell to be heard over the screaching gulls, and the bobcat behind the counter had to go down into the archive room to fetch all the letters, but finally Herman had three envelopes in his hand, all from his homeland.

The first one was dated from only a few weeks after he climbed aboard the black ship, from an address he knew like the back of his paw. His family weren't going to be at rest without at least trying to get a word from him, and he felt terrible that he didn't arrange some way of letting them know he was alive and well during his journey. He had to write them back right away, if only to tell them he was alright. But first, he had to read it.

"Dearest Herman,

We all hope the Vulpine Imperium is treating you well. We miss you, and think about you every day. I know that you're going to be alright there and are probably already settled, but we all still worry a little, especially Lizzy and Cara, you know what they are like.

We all have so many questions, especially mom and dad. They want to know about Bully, and the docks, and what the imperium is like. What do you do? Are you safe? I try to keep them away from the newspapers since they just print the worst stuff about Vulpinsula in there, I really hope it's not as dangerous as they make it seem, none of us want you to get hurt.

We aren't the only ones who miss you. The Fizzidorfs and Longtails asked about you yesterday, and they told us they wish you the best. Professor Klen also wrote to us, even Linda came by to ask if we knew anything. It really wasn't as dire for you as you thought. You are a good weasel. Your tongue gets you into trouble, but it has gotten you out of it as well. Don't read this wrong Herman, I don't think you did wrong by going to Vulpinsula. Just know that you are always welcome to return here. We will always make sure you have a home to call yours. And, not that I think you don't know this, but we all love you. I do, Cara does, mom and dad do too. And don't you ever think otherwise.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Mari"

Herman was left stunned, just looking over his brother's handwriting. he wrote it months ago, who knows how much they must be worried now. He decided to immediately write a quick letter to them once he finished reading the other two.

The second one was from the Nieustrand correctional facility, and it was much more recent, only written a month ago. He expected this letter as well, but he was much more unsure of what it's contents would be. His eyes skimmed over the disclaimer that the communication with the inmate was recorded and could be used in a court of law, and began reading.

"Hallo Herman,

As you can tell the trial didn't go so well. They got us all behind bars for 6 months, and the prosecutor wanted to find you but you were smart and escaped when you could. But I can't talk much more about that. We are all alive, fur ruffled but nothing that a comb and a warm sunny day outside can't fix. Don't know if you follow local news at all, but it's getting bad. More of us are leaving for Vulpinsula, and honestly we are all thinking of joining you there. I know that most of us can barely introduce ourselves in Vulpinsulans but you can help us with that, whatever it's like over there it can't be worse than here.

Until we figure out the move, tell us how you're doing. I'm sure you got some great job there, just keep some positions open for us would you? Anything we should know before making the journey?

Stay safe and on high alert,

Dred"

Herman sighed. It could have been worse, but this still meant trouble. He had a lot to tell his misfit friends about the imperium, one of them being that it was much less kind than Varangland. They would never get away with the things they did in Raven's Hill if they did them in Bully Harbor. It was a different land, much different. He had to write a letter to them, the sooner the better, but it wasn't as urgent. Hopefully they wouldn't come before getting an answer from him.

Finally he saw the third one, and for a second thought he accidentally pulled up the first one again. No, it was a second letter from his family. Something about it worried him more than it perhaps should have. It was only from a week ago, they probably wanted to send another letter in case the first one got lost, but it could have also been something else. Maybe the situation changed, maybe they were in trouble?

"Dearest Herman,

I hope that you are just very busy, or that our first letter got lost, and that you aren't in trouble. We are good, but even more worried. We didn't hear from you in months.

Unfortunately, it's not all good here. Your dad has gotten very ill, his heart has gotten weak and he finds it hard to move much. The doctors here help him and they say he'll live for 5 or even 10 years more, but he's still weak and had to retire from his work. He says he has one last wish, to return to the Vulpine Imperium, to see it at least once more before he has to leave it behind forever. We are all worried Herman, for his health but also for going to the imperium. We don't wish to go against his wishes, but going on such a journey probably won't be good for his fragile body. What do you say, Herman? Are we too worried about it? Can you at least visit us, and paint dad a picture of Vulpinsula today? You have such an inspiring way with words, I am sure that you can make him experience what you did, and he'll be very thankful for it.

With love and best wishes from us all,

Mari"

Herman's mind was overwelmed. How could he possibly answer these letters? They were asking him for things he somehow didn't have after spending months in the imperium. He was still debating with himself if he made the right call, and the letters he got from home didn't make it any easier. How was he supposed to advise others?

And then, yet another letter came. This one was delivered by a well-dressed fox, with an emblem on his suit that matched the seal on the envelope.

"Mister Herman Lasichin?", the fox prompted, getting a quick nod from the worried Weasel, "Summons from the ministry of innovation.".

The letter was from right here, it was in Vulpinsulan, and it was short. Barely had any words in it. It was just what the fox said it was, it told him to come to the ministry of innovation headquarters the next day. It didn't go into more details, and Herman didn't get to ask any questions before the fox courier walked away and left him alone in front of the post office. Very different from the other letters he read, but that's what made it so ominous. His mind was hopelessly jumbled up now, it couldn't focus on any one thing without being distracted by a dozen others. He decided to focus on returning to his apartment, and try to focus tomorrow on the meeting at the ministry. When he finished that business, he could write responses to his family and friends.

--------

Herman Lasichin rushed into the waiting room of the ministry. He knew it was going to take him a while to find his way, and he was aiming to come at least 20 minutes early just in case, but the worst came to worst and he just barely came in on time, not that he let himself waste a beat by trying to find out what the time was. He panted as he made his way to a chair across from a platinum furred fox, and then took a look around him. He recognised Cryle right away, surprised for a split second that he would meet her again after such a short time, but then explaining her presence right away. She must have gotten a summons just like him, or maybe she even worked here. He had a feeling that the fox across from him was summoned and the black furred one was going to serve as their host, but he couldn't tell anything for certain. He looked up at the fox across from him, and decided to give him a light wave of the paw. He didn't want to interrupt Cryle's discussion with the host, but he also wanted to find out more about whatever predicament he was in, and the fox seemed a nice enough fellow to talk with.

 

[Elliot Berkshaw]

Elliot stared down at the neatly opened letter in his paw. Someone at the Ministry - it wasn’t stated from whom - wished to see him for something important.

The letter stated him by name, and a general summary was that as follows: Elliot was invited for a formal visit to the Harbour's branch office of Minolnn for full examination of his capacity and evaluation of his will to join Ministerial projects.

That sounded easy enough, right? All he had to do was walk into some fancy building, stand in front of someone while they went on and on about his “potential”, and maybe other things.

So, here he was, walking into a room with a well dressed stoat behind a desk in the near distance. There was a black fox standing nearby, presumably someone else important.

Some others were already there. Some beasts he recognized, others he didn’t, but his eyes were on the stoat behind the desk.

Elliot did his best to stand up straight, attempted to quell the quivering of his face whiskers, and he hoped his fur was nearly brushed and the clothes he wore looked decent.

The stoat was too far away to talk to them, so… “…Sir.” He addressed the black fox standing near the room’s entrance. “You wished to see me?”

 

[Adelina Laska]

Adelina gives Willow an affectionate squeeze on the arm and turns towards the building, hoping he won’t actually trouble himself to wait for her outside. Well, he had offered and she had tried to assure him that it wasn’t necessary but she hadn’t actually forbidden him and, truthfully, by the time they arrived she was grateful for his escort. She still hasn’t seen the ‘rough’ side of Bully Harbor that beasts seem so eager to protect her from but there is no doubt that his impressive presence had left them with more elbow room on the street.

And it’s reassuring to have a friend, even a new one, along on a day like this. A day that might set the course of her whole future. She still wasn’t sure what to expect from this Ministry of Innovation or what use they would have for her exactly but each hint she got about their role and importance here, and perhaps even overseas, made her more certain that she had to find out.


At the door she pauses to inspect the address plate a second time, her eye for architecture leaving her concerned that she has mistaken the entrance. This door seems more likely to elaborate into basement passageways than a grand reception hall. But no, the address for the meeting is quite specific.

As is the timing. She would have liked to arrive much earlier but, well, as it happens, neither she nor her escort actually know the streets of this city well enough to entirely avoid backtracking.

Straightening her coat, she withdraws her pocket watch, a basic, serviceable piece that her mother had found second hand for her a few years ago, to check the time. Her face falls. Not good. Only 7 minutes early! And actually, hadn't she forgotten to set it this— yesterday morning? It might be off by, well, not 7 whole minutes, but still; she’d best hurry!


Inside she puts on a brave face, a smile and a nod ready for any other beast that might note her entrance as she looks around, getting the lay of the land. Rested and groomed for the occasion she makes an even stronger impression than normal, especially with her new red jacket. Nerves give way to a sparkle of curiosity as she scans the assembled creatures. Finally, with an odd academic familiarity she angles to que behind the others still introducing themselves.

 

[Nicolas of Iron Pit]

The lasts beast to come, precisely on time, was Kaii. He at this point had gotten around to know enough about the Ministry to know they are precise and, not much unlike him, do not work with half-measured. If he was invited to the local building of Ministry for an examination at a specific time, it was already a first trial. As such he did his absolute best to come exactly into the building as the time of the meeting came. Entering the meeting place and having his first step into the room align with the outside bells, signalling that the hour of meeting has come.

His first reaction however was a smile. He sure tried to keep himself in the most optimal, neutral state to be ready for objective and efficient work, but how could not he smile upon seeing his brother. Kaii waved to Swifttail with a grin, also noticing Cryle, and giving her a short wave too. Elliot was here as well, meaning that a lot of Hide members were here, something he noted before turning attention to the black fox who was right now moving to the middle of the room.

---

Rue knew it could not be avoided to interact with some of the newcomers and as such they were ready to respond as they have arrived. The rat called Cryle Rascallo was a wildcard of the bunch, but one Rue couldn't miss on recruiting. She was born on Magh and as such observed for potential since she was but a pinkie. Her sister was after all taken for a Ministerial project so Rue knew enough about Rascallo's to gauge her as valuable. Especially as they were capable enough to break into secure building more than once. They were Rue's prime candidate for a more active role as a Savant.

"Miss Rascallo, you may be at ease, we are not military after all." They spoke before another beast have entered the place. Platinum fox. Mister Swifttail, an engineer from the Hide. A beast that already had to work with one of the finest engines that Ministry allowed to be seen by outsiders. He had experience and more importantly, grit. Despite apparent lack of education, Rue found his skills and affinity, combined with personality, to be valuable enough to offer a position. They already had been treated as Ministry contractor after all and had practical skills with a lot of engineering matters. Rue hoped they were right to risk giving a position somebeast that had leas than sufficient amount of education, but the Minister himself was also taken to the Ministry without prior education.

Weasel, that must've been Herman. He already held a degree in mathematics that Rue read from cover to cover. Impressed by the way he did mathematics. Rue was treating it more as a tool, but as somebeast with specialisation in patterns and natural affinity for them, Rue could fully understand Herman's genius, probably beyond what those Niceties professors could, considering his degree would qualify for something the Ministry would produce.

As he said nothing however, there was no need to give him anything but friendly nod. Rue wasn't going to waste time and the procedure was clear. Nothing was meant to be said that wasn't needed before the examination. That is when the mouse have entered. An oddity to some older members of the Ministry, but not to Rue who, due to operating mostly in the Harbour, seen more woodlanders than most and was very willing to take the best ones for the Plan. Elliot was mostly known to Rue from the files his father left at the Ministry before his early demise. While blood bonds were not something Ministry have considered when it came to recruitment, as merit was infinitely more valuable, Elliot had the potential, one that Rue hoped could be harnessed and forged into a new agent to serve for now increasing amount of excavations that Ministry was running.

"Mister Berkshaw, be patient please, all your questions will be answered soon." Then another fox have entered, one Rue already knew personally. They gave a quick wave to Adelina, out of affinity, and once more approved in his head the fact of her. Promising engineer who also wished to grow beyond what their country could offer. Rue was by all means interested to see how they will adapt to the very enclosed environment that Ministry had offered and hoped to see the greatness, in part also because it was their recruit from the moment they arrived to the Harbour and well, they wished to keep their resume as good as possible.

And then, exactly on time, the last fox have entered, Kaii Nashirou. Another promising engineer, Inventor and somebeast who was both also already a contractor from Ministry as well as somebeast who had already a few patents pending. Definitely a mind that was capable and worthy of being considered.

As he was entering the room, Rue moved towards the middle of the room. Standing in front of the desk behind which Guillaume was still reading through the provided Curriculums and turning to the beast who came to the summons. "Greetings to you all. My name is Rue and as a senior operative of the Ministry of Innovation, I do hope that my judgement in deciding who is worthy of coming here today is not misplaced. Today's recruitment shall be overseen by Mister Guilliame. You shall today be examined to define your mental capacity for problem solving. Something that we cannot find without any input from your end. For your first task, I ask you to get acquainted and then choose one partner with whom you shall continue for the rest of the examination. You are evaluated individually so there is no merit in choosing a beast with best resume. You have five minutes starting now." Rue finished with pulling out their timepiece and staring at it. Showing clearly that they will not explain anything further.

 

[Cryle]

Military, not military... did any of it really matter? They all had power to take a beast's life, to break families apart. All sanctioned by a government that more and more, Cryle was beginning to realize, did not know what any of its various paws seemed to be doing at any given time. Such was order. The moon need not know the motion of the tides to continue its orbit, and the planet need not care for the moon's doings so long as it kept its own path around the sun. And the whole system keeps spinning no matter what comets and star-rocks collide within it.

She simply nodded and stepped away, finding a wall to put her back to so that she could keep both eyes on the room. It was a natural gift of rats to be able to move each eye independently, but a failing of her genetics and the engineering of her glasses that meant she still had to keep both of them peering through the same forward-facing lenses.

She gave just the slightest of nods towards Herman, Swifttail, and Kaii - oh, she still needed to tell him about the adventure she had taken part of in his stead! Perhaps not now. In writing. It required time to consider properly. Thank you for letting me have your invitation, I was nearly murdered several times, I helped foil plans to steal some patents and many other riches, saw two beasts in a very private moment by accident, enjoyed several pineapple-flavoured dishes, and have accidentally created an alter-ego anti-hero character that I yearn to become once again for the thrill of her fearlessness and guile. It was a good start, but certain parts perhaps needed a more delicate appraisal before being put to paper. Or perhaps outright redaction.

The two beasts she didn't know, the lanky, yet short fox in a similar kind of crimson-grey* outfit as Cryle herself, and the much shorter ra - oh... a mouse. Hm. Hm.

More woodlanders getting involved in making things... as if they're trying to learn how to rise up and overthrow us...

What was that thought? Stupid thought. Cryle shook her head at herself, frowning.

Still, she found herself drawn to the mouse. His missing arm, in particular. There was something oddly comforting about it, and oddly terrifying, considering that she was now comparing this male woodlander mouse to, well... her own mother.

She nibbled her lip. Rodent was a rodent, right? And he was fascinating. And she was maybe taller? Or at least her hat was. It would be nice to be taller than somebeast for once.

Cryle glanced towards Herman, pensive, then at Kaii and Swifttail. Those two had seemed inseparable the moment she'd first laid eyes on them from outside a grimy window. That left Herman. The somewhat-familiar, or the fascinating?

She rocked back and forth on the heels of her boots, pondering the decision.


* Silly partially colour-blind rat.

 

[Adelina Laska]

A strange place in a strange land full of strange beasts. (Which is all quite wonderful!) And yet, familiar academic niceties seem in order just the same. (Which is a different kind of wonderful!)

Adelina steps forward with a slight bow, paws clasped at first and then opening to gauge her entrance into the space between the candidates, thick as it now is with their many assessing glances.

"Fank you, ah, Operative Rue. Hello colleagues! We musd be brief, I suppose. My name is Adaline Laska. I only jusd finished my schoolink at fe, ah, our Royal Academy in my homeland. I am new to fis city but it and fis Ministry came highly recommended and I dearly hope I can find a place to continue learnink and practicink the cuttink edge sciences here!"

Her accent is strong but not difficult and the enthusiasm and sincerity of her words would doubtless shine through regardless.

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail had only just settled into his seat when the last fox stepped through the doorway with the striking neatness of a beast who had measured his life by a timepiece.

Kaii.

Swift’s ears sprang up at once, and before he could help it his tail gave an eager wag against the side of the chair. Some of the tightness in his chest loosened on the spot. Gates, but that was a relief.

Of all the beasts the Ministry might have summoned into one room, he had only hoped for the wonderfully grounding sensation of seeing a familiar face he trusted.

He rose almost immediately and crossed the short distance to stand beside him, his expression brightening in a way it had not since he first stepped through the door.

"Kaii," he murmured, low enough not to interrupt the room at large, though the pleased note in his voice still slipped through easily enough. "Y’cut that one close."

His eyes flicked briefly toward the door, then back to the other fox, amusement and nerves mixing together behind them.

"Better t’ be five minutes early an’ ready for anythin’ than right on time an’ caught flat-pawed. That’s what I was always taught."

Then Rue moved to the middle of the room, and Swift’s attention shifted at once.

He listened closely, posture straightening again as the explanation came. Recruitment? Examination!? Problem solving!? Partners?

At that word his gaze slid sideways to Kaii, and he gave him the slightest knowing nod before looking forward once more. The Ministry had asked them to get acquainted first, after all. So Swift did what he always did when he found himself somewhere strange and important. He paid attention to the other beasts in the room with him.

Cryle had retreated to the wall, alert in that quick, twitchy way that seemed entirely her own, like some part of her was still expecting the room itself to turn hostile. The weasel, seated not far off, had already offered him a small wave earlier, which Swift now returned with a polite dip of his head and a faint, apologetic sort of smile, one that promised friendliness even if his attention had been pulled in three directions at once. And there was Elliot too, another face from the Hide, though one he knew less well than the others. Still, a ship made beasts familiar quickly, even when they had not yet shared much more than decks, duties, and passing sightings in the rhythm of the sea.

Then the newest voice in the room drew his ears forward.

Adelina.

Swift turned his attention politely toward the foreign fox as she introduced herself, his curiosity taking hold almost at once. There was no mistaking she came from elsewhere, not just in speech, but in manner too. Schooling abroad, cutting-edge sciences, a place here in the Ministry... she spoke with the kind of bright earnestness that made it hard not to listen.

And, if he were honest, Swift rather liked hearing different accents. It reminded him of the docks of Iskatyut in the warm months when beasts would sail in from all over the world to purchase the whale oil his village produced.

He glanced once to Kaii, then back toward Adelina, thoughtful and plainly intrigued.

For all the nerves that had knotted themselves around this summons, the shape of the room was beginning to settle now. Not into something simple, exactly, but something he could work with. Beasts to meet. Minds to weigh. A test already underway, even if the real one had not yet begun.

And for the first time since arriving, Swifttail no longer felt quite so much like a fox who had wandered in by mistake.

 

[Herman Lasichin]

Herman's eyes looked at the mouse, then at a fox, then at yet another fox. His head was already doing the count. Putting asside the ministry officials, there were three foxes, a rat, a mouse and a weasel. That made him noteably the only weasel, the only mustelid, and the only beast to not fit either among the foxes or among the rodents. In other words, he was a statistical outliar in a sample too small to even work as a simple example in a statistics textbook. Still though, he didn't like how unevenly distributed the species were, 3 foxes, and the one running this whole thing was a fox, were foxes really half of the Vulpine Imperium? he always thought it was distributed like his friend group was: 40% weasels, 20% ferrets, 20% roughed up bobcats and 20% foxes. It would be a good idea to ask somebody for the accurate numbers before he makes any more wrong assumptions.

Then right after the last fox came into the room, the black one, whom Herman named "the examiner" in his head, began telling them their first task. And it was...working in pairs. The fact nobody else found this thing absurd convinced Herman that asking "Sorry, is this a primary school?" wasn't the appropriate course of action. He unfortunately also remembered that there were 6 beasts in the room, so the tried and tested way of staying alone and waiting to be the odd one out wasn't going to work. That meant he needed to at least somewhat participate in this.

he looked between his options. The fox he nodded at quickly joined the newcoming one and whispered "Kaii", which meant they knew each other and wanted to go at this together. He looked towards Cryle, and found that he had the exact same option. Go with someone you already know, that was safe, right?

Well, some might think so. It was safe if you wanted to succeed in this task. Herman, however, wanted to avoid something much worse, dying from boredom, and safe was boring. He knew these sorts of tests very well, they weren't even real tests they were just there to get out those who weren't smart or obedient enough for whatever sort of position this is. Herman wasn't sure he wanted that sort of job to begin with, if he was going to be a beast of science he didn't want to play office politics or fight in interinstitutional wars, or interministerial rather in case of the imperium. That's why he decided against Cryle, against safety, and turned his attention to the two remaining options.

He could only make a few notes about the mouse. There was something contradictory about his presence here. He was young, looked foreign, and must have been pretty intelligent to have gotten invited here. How did someone like that already get their arm chopped off? Was it some kind of freak accident? Experiment gone wrong? Surely wherever he came from had big "Geen vingeren in de maschien" (Varangtaal for "no fingers in the machine") warning labels all over the place, even the crew of the black ship would routinely be told "no paws near saws" as if it were a protection charm. What other explanation did that leave though?

before he could ponder this more, his attention was turned to the talkative and outgoing vixen, the other option available to him. She was much less of an enigma, and he found that he had quite a few things in common with her. She did noteably keep details on her homeland a secret. He wondered why that would be the case, and if he should follow her lead. He was safe from Het Rechtagentieschap (The justice agencies) here, wasn't he? he wasn't sure enough of that fact to tell everyone about where he was from, except Apricity Prim, Cryle, Admiral Tox, and who knows how many crewbeasts that overheard his conversation. Eh, better start late than to never start at all.

"That sounds very interesting Adelina! I am herman Lasichin, my family is from here but I was born overseas, where I earned a magister's degree in mathematics and geometry for my work on approximations, and earned a tradesbeast's degree in language studies with focus on Vulpinsulan. I have also worked with Cryle Rascallo", herman pointed at the rat behind him, "we were colleagues on an expedition, where we both did research on the limited budgets we could obtain."

Did he go into to much detail regarding that? Obtain did sound legal enough, he didn't think that sentence could be used against him at court. And nobody can prove any of them knowingly lied in their books. Everyone from the captain down to every deckswab can vouch for them. The disciplin of the black ship in action. It was safe enough, and besides, this ministry was going to love what they had, they could arrange pardons if they really thought it was necessary.

Was it? Would they? Was he as safe as he thought?

 

[Elliot Berkshaw]

Elliot looked around the room. He recognized Swifttail, and Kaii, but he wasn’t too sure about the others. It seemed everyone had picked their partners, save him and… the rat.

So the mouse slowly strolled on over, trying to appear friendly and non threatening. “Hello. My name’s Elliot Berkshaw, and you are…?” He greeted with a small smile.

His missing arm had been “adjusted” during his travels on the Golden Hide. While it didn’t replace a real flesh and bone arm, it was better than nothing.

The metal arm could be adjusted at the elbow joint with his tail, while the paw and fingers could be either adjusted with his flesh paw or tail. It was placed in a sort of harness or strap like contraption that crossed his chest and was slung around his other shoulder. This harness was nestled against what remained of his flesh arm, and acted as a sort of “hook” for the metal arm. (Hope this makes sense visually)