[Cyrius]

Genbu is sexy.

[Ryotto]

Hi! I just moved here from the LOCKED asshat server called Odin...can I be welcomed here with open arms?? :3

[Cyrius]

Lol Holy shit Sup?

[Celerin]

welcomed I can see... with open arms, well that might be a stretch.

[Ryotto]

lol bitches... <3 you too I'll get you

[Celerin]

btw, your sig needs editing, we don't allow the odin schtick in here!

[Cyrius]

I don't understand why people don't post drama in the freaking DRAMA thread, gawd.

[Khiinroye]

Obviously so we can create drama about them posting drama somewhere else...thus ensuring an extra dose of drama, though not much.

And we don't want Asura drama, Bismark drama only please.

[Cyrius]

At this rate, any server's drama is welcome in this part of the forum.

[octoberasian]

Bismarck: Newcomers

Part 1. Gate 45

On a cold evening in the month of Garuda on a Firesday with the moon lit an intense red light upon its surface, the silhouette of an airship streaked across it from one end of the moon to the other. It quickly disappeared behind thick gray clouds as its altitude lowered over Jeuno. The destination of the sole airship that evening was the Bismarck International Dock in Port Jeuno. The Dock serves as the hub for airships arriving to and from various worlds. Citizens, tourists, including criminals, refugees and especially newcomers have passed through its arrivals gates with nothing more than a whisper or a say.

Bismarck was a quiet world, but not new to the troubles and sordid stories large corporations embroil themselves in. However, not many such stories happen on a daily basis or with a lack of veracity or volume as would occur this cold night.

But, onboard were two people moving from Asura accustomed to such stories and such drama that seemed to be almost a daily happening on their world. On Asura Flight 510, as it touched down upon the Sea of Shumeyo and maneuvered its way towards the Dock, a major event was about to arrive on Bismarck. A feeding frenzy of gossip and news stories was awaiting reporters at Arrivals Gate 45, anxiously waiting for them to walk pass those gates. The reporters were from the Vana'diel Press, the Jeuno Gazette, the Timbre Timbers Daily, the Republic Sentry News, and the d'Oraguille Connexion huddled around the gate like vultures awaiting a fresh meal. In their hands clutched close to them were pens, pencils, notepads, and unwieldy cameras large enough to fit a Galka's lower arm inside.

They were tipped off by informants on Asura about two questionable people arriving to Bismarck that night. To them it was news, and any news is good news to them as the lack of it has dulled many news reports in the past few years. The last major news to come across Bismarck was a few months back when the government cracked down on item counterfeiting, illegal for profit schemes, and various other white collar crimes. Many people named in the warrants led to the arrests of many corporate leaders and officers, as well as the break up and reformation of those corporations. Some made it unscathed, others did not.

Since then, news has died down a bit. Smaller corporations breaking up and reforming, and new ones being created were daily occurrences here. A lot of people have migrated off Bismarck to find a better life or a new start on other worlds since the arrests. Bismarck just went quiet and continued on its daily existence with nothing major ever happening.

Thus at Gate 45, the couple stepped off the airship and onto the dock. A young Hume man, holding a small suitcase in his right hand, turned to his left and looked at the wide panoramic window surrounding Gate 45. He could see the reporters peering through the window with wide eyes and twitchy fingers.

"For the sake of Altana, reporters?" he sighed dejectedly as he lowered his head towards the ground. "Why can't we be left alone? First Asura, now this."

"Hun, if we can't avoid them, we may as well deal with it. Compared to this, just remember it is nothing like it is on Asura," his girlfriend said attempting to comfort him with words.

Passengers from Flight 510 walked pass them with little notice. A few who recognized the couple sneered and shook their heads as they made their way towards the Arrivals Gate. Raimon and his girlfriend stood there waiting for the last passengers to walk ahead of them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gold spectacles, opened it and placed it on himself to cover his eyes. Though the dark shades would hide the flash of cameras or the eager eyes of reporters, it also added a sense of subtlety and mystery to his outer appearance.

Raimon with his left hand reached out for his girlfriend's right hand, and the two began a slow march towards Arrivals Gate 45. To the two it felt like a never-ending march, a last rite of passage or a final march towards their trial and execution. Behind them was Asura and ahead of them was Bismarck. The reporters to them looked more like executioners with rifles in their hands rather than cameras, pens, and pencils.

"Now, remember, whatever happened on Asura is history. Let's just make a fresh start here," Raimon assuring his girlfriend. "And, just continue walking pass the reporters and don't say anything."

"I know."

"Once this dies down, we can just continue on with our life as if nothing ever happened. Remember, this is Bismarck we're talking about. Major news here would be something like the Archduke tripping on a Pamama and spraining his ankle."

Raimon felt confident that tonight was a fresh start for him and his girlfriend. He looked at his girlfriend with worried eyes, but was immediately comforted by the smile that graced her face when she turned to him.

"Tonight will be different," he told himself in his head, clutching his girlfriend's hand close to him. "Tonight is a new beginning."




Part 2. Fire IV

As the couple stepped through the Arrivals Gate; reporters immediately surrounded them with a barrage of questions. Security guards from the Dock came to the couple's aid and began to make a path for them out of the Terminal.

"Is it true you stole from your company's accounts?" one reporter asked.

"Were you really involved in the breakup of your company on Asura?" another reporter asked as he tried to find a way in-between a security guard and himself.

"What do you have to say about the accusations made to you on Asura?" screamed one reporter behind Raimon as he walked passed.

"Raimon, what are your intentions on Bismarck now that you are here?" and another asked next to Raimon's girlfriend as she covered the left side of her face with her left hand.

The walk from the airship to the exit took an excruciating thirty minutes all due to the random questions and flashes in their face. They were front page news, a newborn celebrity for all of Bismarck to judge with scrutiny, and a long-forgotten entertainment.

When they approached the exit and stepped into the cold, Vana'diel night, the sounds of dozens of taxis and constant chatter of people around them drowned out the sounds of camera flashes and pointless questioning. At this moment, it was a sigh of relief, a brief respite from everything that was behind them. Raimon hailed for a taxi as security guards behind them prevented the reporters from breaching through the exit.

A yellow taxi pulled up alongside them at the curb, but the welcome respite gave way to a screeching sound coming from Raimon's left ear. It was a sudden flash of light that approached them quickly and rapidly. Raimon immediately jumped onto his girlfriend, pushing her backwards onto the ground. The flash of light was a fireball, an inferno from the sky that connected with the waiting taxi which now was a hunking piece of molten metal engulfed in flames.

"What. The. Fuck?" he uttered to himself.

"Raimon, what's going on?!" her girlfriend panicking and screaming at him.

"Calm down, let's hurry and get out of here."

Behind them, the reporters were now sitting on the ground of the Arrivals Terminal with gaping mouths and bewildered eyes. People around them scrambled every which way to get away from the chaos. A securtiy guard came to their aid and asked if they were alright. Raimon and his girlfriend nodded in assurance and got up.

"We should get you to safety until the police arrive," the security guard said as he tried to lead them back into the Terminal.

"No, no we're getting out of here now," Raimon hammered back.

"We need to get you to safety."

Raimon, ignoring the pleas of the security guard, hailed for another taxi but none came. However, he saw another taxi sitting ahead of them waiting for a person to enter with her luggage. He quickly pushed the arriving passenger aside who cursed and yelled at him while Raimon quickly claimed the taxi as some kind of prized monster.

He ushered his girlfriend to quickly get in with the only suitcase they were holding, leaving behind the other bags of luggage they brought with them.

As they both sat in the back of the taxi, Raimon with a hurried breath and a sound of fear and anxiousness stammered, "Get us out of here, quickly!"

"Where to?"

"Jeunoan Embassy Hotel in Lower Jeuno. Here, I'll give you 50000 Gil for your troubles."

To the taxi driver, his fee of 100 Gil per malm did not compare to that large amount for a one-way trip. His yellow taxi, small and diminutive to his large stature sputtered and struggled out of the Terminal. It may have been for the Galka's weight, but the taxi pressed forward with some effort.

"Wow, thank you," the Galkan cabbie driver said as he gladly accepted a fistful of five 10,000 Gil bills. "By the way, did you cause that flaming ruckus behind us?"

"Don't ask, just drive!"

"Jeunoan Embassy Hotel it is."

"Actually take us to the Marble Bridge Hotel in Upper Jeuno."

"Why is that hun?" his girlfriend asked turning to him.

"Damn reporters might be waiting for us at the Embassy."

The taxi sped away swerving in and out of the busy terminal, dodging cars and Chocobos alike. Within minutes, the burning inferno behind them was nothing more than a dimly lit street light far in the distance. Raimon held his girlfriend's hand to calm her nerves and they embraced each other in the back seat.

"Everything will be alright," he said holding her close to his side.

[Cyrius]

Awesome read lol, Should of included DERFthegalka somehow, since I'm more worried 'bout him on the server!

[rambus]

I miss bismarck, asura is like the pit of hell

[Ryotto]

I'll give you drama....rofl...just wait and see.

[octoberasian]

Part 3. Radio chatter

A scruff, deep voice loudly pierced out of the car speakers ecstatically, “Yo, yo, yo! This be your mo-fo-favo Galkars on all worlds, Derf! I bees tunin’ in from the bestest world out of all worlds—Shiva!”

“Oh god, you’re listening to this again?!” a young female voice complained as she sat and repositioned herself in the passenger-side seat. Her uneasiness and dislike with the broadcaster’s voice was evident in her body posture. She readjusted herself to a more comfortable sitting position leaning herself against the car door.

“Aselin, of course I am. Who doesn’t like Derf these days?” a young man replied in the driver’s seat, clearing his voice and driving calmly through Jeuno. “He is THE most popular radio jockey on all worlds from Alexander to Valefor.”

“What a group of people say can’t be representative of all worlds, and you know this, Leon,” sternly replying back hoping she was proving a point. Her head was turned in his direction only briefly then returned to leaning against the window staring out at the city lights of Lower Jeuno. The lights from the street lamps beamed and stroked their bright arms across the car and her pale face as it passed beneath them.

The night was quiet, motionless, even though dozens of cars sped to and from them. The two just got off their shift and were headed out to get something to eat before heading home.

“I can’t wait to see him this summer. He’s on a multi-world tour and Bismarck was chosen as the first place he’d visit.”

“I need to be off Bismarck by then,” Aselin said as she pulled out a pen and a small notepad out of the glove compartment. “Move. Off. Bismarck. Ok, done. This summer I’m going on a long vacation.”

“Ase! Don’t be ridiculous, it’s just Derf, a harmless Galka. What could possibly go wrong?”

“A lot of things,” she said as she looked to the ceiling of the car, and began counting with her fingers. “He’s been cited multiple times for inappropriate language on public airwaves; causing public disturbances on many occasions; and even insulting the leader of a well-known non-profit organization. Tell me again that nothing could possibly go wrong. I’d rather listen to GM Dave than him, and why can’t we listen to music?”

“Hell no, I’m not listening to that back-country hick music from Bastok.”

“It’s at least better than this! And, this is my car!”

“Well, when you drive it next time instead of me being your chauffeur, you can listen to whatever you want.”

At that moment, their CB radio came alive and overrode the sound from the speakers in their car, “Code 904 reported at the Bismarck International Dock. Emergency units are en route. All available units assist.”

“Code 904? Fire?” Leon asked as he turned his head briefly towards Aselin, who was looking at him as well in disbelief.

“Finally, first sign of action in months on this goddamn world,” Aselin excitedly exclaimed to herself. “Must be terrorists? Or, could it be angry Bismarckans protesting Derf’s future arrival in a month? Anyway, let’s head there immediately!”

“Hell no, must be something else more serious.”

Leon stopped the car at the Guide Point intersection in Lower Jeuno with his left turn signal light clicking on and off in the background. The click-clack of the turn signal switch gave way for a series of beeps that resonated inside the car as the dispatcher repeated its message on the CB radio again.

Beep. Pause. Beep-beep. Pause. Beeeep.

The beeping sound came from both Leon’s and Aselin’s pockets, mildly irritating but grabbing both of their attention. By the third loop, Aselin pulled it out of her right coat pocket and held it in her hand. The object was small, about the size of a small round hard candy. The small, pearl-like object was encased in a form-fitting foam and plastic construct that can be held in one’s ear. It also blinked a specific color of light and in the same pattern of the beeps it repeated.

“Is that the Department Linkpearl?”

“I’ll answer it,” Aselin said as she placed the small round object inside her right ear, which emitted a soft white color of light that stopped the moment she “answered” it.

Click.

“Aselin, Leon, I know you are on your way home, but we have an emergency,” a voice projected over the Linkpearl. The sound was from a rather old, raspy man’s voice, whose history and years can be heard in his tone and aural depth.

Click.

“Yes, a code 904, Leon and I are about to head that way right now,” replying back.

Click.

“Change of plans, you’re to head to Marble Bridge Hotel in Upper Jeuno, and ask for a couple with the names Raimon and Ayo,” replying back before he took a deep breath.

Click.

“Why is that, sir? Aren’t there any other investigators available tonight? We just had a long day, and I’m starving.”

Click.

“You’ll have to eat later, I’m sorry, but you two are the only ones immediately available, especially since your shifts just ended not too long ago. Just get there, no questions asked. We already have an agent on the way to the International Dock.”

Click.

“Ok, sir, 10-4. We’re on our way. You owe us dinner next time, ok?”

Click.

“Ok, over and out. But you’re paying!”

Click.

“Bastard,” grumbled Aselin in unison with her stomach.

“We’ll get something to eat afterwards.”

The Linkpearl went silent and Aselin placed it back in her right coat pocket.

“Raimon and Ayo, I remember the names of those two. Didn’t they have a very public trial on Asura before they decided to come to Bismarck?” Aselin curiously asked as she stared out the window again. “Whatever it is, they’re involved with that fire at the International Dock. At least it’s some action.”

“Yeah, I heard of those two a week back,” replied Leon as he turned on the sole police light inside, and turned the car west from the Guide Point in Lower Jeuno towards Upper Jeuno instead of East and back North towards the Dock. “Well, it looks like they’ll be the talk of the town on Bismarck for a few weeks.”

“Great! More useless radio chatter for the next few weeks, in other words,” Aselin complained as she changed stations on the radio and turned up the volume.

The twang and strum of a guitar chord hummed through the speakers as Derf faded into silence in the background.

“This is KBSK Country Radio, broadcasting from the home and heart in Bastok Markets tonight.”

“Hey!”

Aselin turned to him and gleefully stuck out her tongue at him.

“You listened to Derf throughout Lower Jeuno, thus my turn to listen to this through Upper Jeuno. It’s only fair you get to suffer, too.”

[Aralya]

Nice Octoberasian

[Mizango]

HAHA awesome.

GM Dave and Derf in the same story, that's a whole lot of win right there. Or fail, it would depend if you're more of a half empty or half full type of guy.

[Cyrius]

What happens if you're both?

[Khiinroye]

Then you just like to consider several sides to an argument before deciding. If you're using booze as the liquid and you see it as halfway to another glass, you might be an alcoholic.

[Cyrius]

Anyone been paying attention to WG shouts lately? lulz

[Ratatapa]

tell me more