Looking For Sturm

[littlebean]

Looking for Sturm

Everything about the stranger had been a secret, from their gender to their appearance to their intentions. Really for the sake of privacy everyone was entitled to have their gender kept a secret, and appearance if they chose. What kind of genitalia was hidden beneath the man or woman's trousers was none of his business, and asking would have been rude of him. The only reason he wanted to know who the person was, was out of curiosity, but he would never dare ask such a question out of fear of offending him or her. Whether or not the person was a man or woman didn't matter however, when it came to matters concerning this facility. Perhaps it was a bit too much, but since Kremnaes worked there he felt entitled to know what they were there for and why, all of it was necessary information to make sure the patient or guest followed the rules.

It was suspicious and un-nerving when the person refused to answer his question and left instead. How was he to know what the person was supposed to be doing, or where they were supposed to be or if they were even welcome there in the first place? Kremnaes didn't know, to his knowledge there was a bizarre human carrying about a weapon with a hidden agenda who couldn't answer his questions or simply refused to because they were lying.

At any rate, since the person turned around and left there was no way he could find out. Pursuing him was not an option, physically he was incapable of travelling at a speed faster than a brisk walk. Besides, with that sword he would rather have as much distance between the stranger and him as possible. Even if by some miracle he caught up to the stranger, there would be no way in telling if he or she was lying or not.

The plan changed. Kremnaes's feet squished and squelched at a quick walk into the direction of the library, where hopefully Sturm would be waiting with answers. Never would he dream of bothering Sturm in his studies, but in his panicked state he felt this matter deserved his attention, specifically his attention.

"Sturm?" When he arrived he was out of breath. "Sturm?" Abandoning his indoor voice he called out for Sturm between gasps. The library was too big to find him right away, he could be anywhere. It was a large room full of all kinds of books containing all sorts of information. Instead of being placed neatly on a shelf, they were piled up in huge mountains made of books. Slowly he walked around the library searching behind the piles of books looking for Sturm, if he found Sturm he imagined it would be behind one of those large book hills with his face buried in one of them, so he checked those first.

[Nayt]

"Kremnaes," the low, barely interested tone resounded.

There was a desk within the center of the circular room, a room fashioned quite similar to one (of admittedly larger scale than his own) he was quite familiar with--the Atrium in the fortress he once lived within and the organization he served. It would have been impressive, he had the time to keep everything organized. Alas, without the time to do much more than research in this office--this . . . study . . .--he left books, their use served and necessity since questionable, laying wherever he set them last.

Behind the desk sat the man, his face in a book just as Kremnaes suspected. The pages turned quickly and with rapid precession at times; he hadn't the time for excessive searching. At the moment, there was an experiment to run, and the current status of physics simply wasn't working for him. It needed to be altered, variables needed to be removed, or else he'd only find more failures in this next attempt.

"What is it?" He wasn't intentionally rude, but with his gruff voice and blunt way of speaking, he often came off as rude--or, at the very least, uninterested in discussion.

There was a bit of truth to that, too. Sturm was generally too preoccupied with his projects and research to converse for the sake of, and for the most part, everyone that worked with and for him knew and understood this. Some, like Usurii, understood, but that didn't mean they liked it. That, he figured, was something he'd have to attend to after his work was finished--after he could rest again.

[littlebean]

"What is it?"

Whenever Sturm spoke, it was very to the point. He didn't bother with formalities or any sort of false interest or politeness if he didn't feel it was necessary, and in the end he was probably not at all interested in the first place. He was a man busy with his studies, and had much more pressing matters to attend to that conforming to the social standard of what was and wasn't considered to be rude.

When Sturm addressed him in his tone, Kremnaes had to remember that. Instantly he drew back, feeling a rush of guilt for interrupting his studies along with the usual worry. Hopefully the issue he was about to bring up was worth his master's time. He was almost completely afraid to speak, and spent some time looking at his feet and fiddling with his slimey fingers. Sturm was almost in a literal sense, completely burried in books. Every book in this library, all of the tens of hundreds of them that were not on a shelf was his master's doing, he knew this for sure. Since he didn't have a lot of time, putting every single book back wasn't very important, and with the library in the state it was in, it would take way too long to re-organize all the books. Kremnaes would offer to help, he certainly had the patience for long monotonous tasks, but his gooey hands would damage the books.

"Uh....uh..."

He felt bad for bothering him now but it had to be done, if he didn't then he would have stopped him for nothing and it would be a waste. It took a moment for him to summon the courage to speak, but it came out eventually.

"Master, there was a human, claiming to have had a physical done by Usurii. First he said he was l-looking for you, but then he said he w-wanted to leave. He was armed too!" There was a bit of a pause, and his voice changed from frantic, to ashamed very quickly. " But.....he left before I could say anything. Are they actually a patient here? What should I do?....I'm sorry."

[Nayt]

Sturm didn't feel as if he had the time to monitor every person they went in and out of the place. It was bad enough that he had to keep tabs on Jonathan Lank there at first--but now the man was catatonic. It was the only way for him, really. His mind had been lost anyways; at best, he could be put to mindless work, maybe stand guard somewhere, ordered to let no one but a couple of particulars through. That would be effective guard duty, right there. In fact, it was something Sturm was considering. As it was, there didn't seem to be much point in keeping a mindless servant alive, considering the fact that said mindless servant had to be fed through a feeding tube, but could still put up a fight . . .

That was why he had eyes on the city. He didn't have the time to do it himself--but other Ersatzshad could for him, and if something imperative came up that required his attention, he'd be notified. That's how it had worked so far, at least; he didn't monitor the monitors, though, so he didn't know if they were actually following orders or not. Sturm just had to trust them, and he did.

The only person that had a physical today was Shin Shiden, though--but it wasn't Usurii who gave it. Maybe someone was mistaken, here. Sturm had been the one that gave Shin a physical. Had Usurii given anyone here a physical? No--that was impossible. Sturm was always there to oversee it if she did, and it was only for those scheduled to see him, to be used as guinea pigs for a bit of medical training he had been providing Usurii. He had only one scheduled appointment for the day, and that was Shin's.

"Can you tell me anything else about him? Such as . . . was he wearing a hooded coat?" Sturm asked without looking past the book. The question was imperative, and meant the difference between an emergency and a lack of concern.

[littlebean]

He didn't say it or show it, but Kremnaes felt incredibly guilty. Guilt is usually a feeling for people who have done some kind of wrong and Kremnaes really couldn't help but feel that the whole fiasco could have been prevented if he did something. This was all worry, he wasn't sure what it was he could do, but in the end he concluced that he should have done a better job. He should -know- who is and isn't scheduled for what and when, this was all negligence on his part as far as he was concerned. There were high standards, not for others but only for his level of performance, because he wanted so hard to please people out of fear of disappointing them and making them upset.

Which is exactly what was happening. Sturm didn't scold Kremnaes or outright say that he'd done wrong, but if Kremnaes was a little more capable he could have caught the stranger, if not for his speed. There was a bright side to all of this however. Even though he was slow, he did manage to get to Sturm on time. Now the situation could be dealt with properly. Having the stranger walk off was not the worst case scenario, the worst thing that could happen was if Kremnaes never made it to Sturm and nothing was done at all.

"Ha...."

He let out a sigh as his confidence was slowly starting to return. Being useful made him feel a lot better, he was glad to help, or at least hopefully he was doing more good than harm anyway. The eyes on his chest stopped staring at his feet but looked straight ahead. His feet weren't much to look at anyway.

"Y-yes they were actually. It was long black and had a sort of blue trim to it. I couldn't tell if they were a man or a woman because the hood covered the face. I couldn't tell I-im sorry."

[Nayt]

"Shin Shiden," replied Sturm.

That was no surprise, fortunately. It wasn't as if he was going to have to set out an alert and call all eyes on the city to get a handle on what was going on. He expected Shin to get up and leave after his discussion with Usurii. As Usurii had explained to him, it hadn't gone well.

"There is a special purpose for him. It is currently of no consequence, however--not until adequate preparations have been made. I am working on that as we speak," Sturm continued.

Which was going rather slow, unfortunately. At this rate, he was going to be fully researched by Utopian nightfall, and preparations would be done by tomorrow evening. That would not do, not if Shin left the city, which Usurii had suggested as a possibility. Sturm didn't feel comfortable asking Usurii to do anything more for or with Shin, regardless of his understanding that she could easily defend herself from him--he just didn't like putting her in any danger. Nonetheless, if Shin had left, intending to leave the City entirely, then he might have to take the chance, or perhaps require someone to track the azure enigma.

Then, he had an idea.

"If you're not currently busy, could you do me a favor?" Sturm finally set the book down to look upon Kremnaes. He could get some work done, yet . . .

[littlebean]

Shin Shiden. Even the name wasn't enough of a hint to what gender this Shin may be. There was no face, no obvious male or female form, no voice and now the name wasn't much help either. Of course, being a hermaphrodite Kremnaes really couldn't say much of anything, but even a slug like himself had some definite male and female features that could be pointed out. This Shin, this human creature was equally as bizarre to him as Kremnaes may seem bizarre to Shin. In fact one of the first few things that Shin met upon their encounter was "What are you?" and he felt the same way about Shin.

"Hm...." He pondered to himself, almost crossing his arms in front of his chest, but abandoned the action halfway through since it would block his vision. Instead they were placed on his hips in a much more feminine fashion. Sturm was as mysterious as they came, or at least compared to everyone else Kremnaes ever met which wasn't a whole lot. Secrets always worried him. A secret coming from Sturm shouldn't be too much of a cause for anxiety. If there was a special plan or purpose, there must be a good reason behind keeping it a secret.

Then, Sturm asked him if he could do him a favour. Secrets were one thing but Kremnaes had no idea he'd be involved with whatever was happening. He wasn't going to decline Sturm's request by all means, he worked for Sturm in a way he HAD to accept it. Not knowing what he was agreeing to was un-nerving, but this time he felt he had to, otherwise he would never agree to doing a favour without knowing first what it was.

"Y-yes of course I could. What will it be?"

[Nayt]

"Follow Shiden, keep an eye on him--keep him in this city. "Travel" with him if you must; in fact, I suggest that above all options. He would detect a stalker fairly quick. And, above all things, keep him out of Bricriu's territory. It's bad enough that Brenden brought Shiden here; the last thing I need is Silver's weapon falling into Bricriu's hands. I think, perhaps, that it was Brenden's intentions--but I've no proof, only a theory. That . . . isn't important, though, not right now. I just need someone capable of keeping him in our reach. And someone who can alert me if Shiden is either leaving the city, or may potentially affiliate himself with Bricriu."

Well . . . Kremnaes had said he was all right for it. Sturm didn't waste time--that was how he was, and how he functioned at all times, even before all of this. Likewise, he wasted no time in reaching into a desk drawer, plucking from it an extra "device" he had within. It was a small tan box, small enough to fit into one's pocket without being remotely noticeable, with an extending and retracting metal rod that came from the top. It also had a speaker within the middle, and three small, unlabeled dials beneath.

"You can keep in contact with this. On this set frequency, you'll reach me; I will always have this on me," Sturm stated as he lifted another such device from his pocket, "Care must be taken; Shiden is extremely cautious and his senses are well honed. But, as his supernatural capabilities are locked away, he is but an ordinary man with extraordinary skill. If necessary, you would be more than capable of defending yourself."

Sturm then lifted his book again. He didn't start reading yet, but he was going to soon enough--once Kremnaes understood what Sturm wanted from him.

"You already have access to our supplies in this facility. If you need to set up a route, feign destruction, or any of the sort, there are more than enough medical supplies, explosives, weapons, and the like."

[littlebean]

The yellow orange eyes on his chest widened, making his torso look incredibly surprised. His facial expressions were trying to maintain a calm and relaxed apprearance, but his body motion would easily give away how he was really feeling. His hands went from his hips, to his sides in an upright and stiff position, shaking as his knees were. Worry was sort of Kremnaes's default setting, but what he was experiencing now was nothing short of absolute panic.

What was being asked of him was a huge task and great responsibility, this was new to Kremnaes as usually he was assigned the smaller more simple tasks around the area. He could attend to patients, fetch this fetch that, relay messages here and about but he'd never been asked to accompany a dangerous human creature that was armed and dangerous. Sturm's reasons behind his assignment were a mystery to Kremnaes still. He had no idea what Silver's weapon was (probably the weapon the human was carrying, but still it wasn't safe to make assumptions) or who this Brenden person was or anything. Basically the first sentence that came out of Sturm's mouth was the most important. Find Shiden, keep him in the city. Somethings must have been going on without his knowing, because Kremnaes was so far clueless to the reasons, and in the end Sturm's reasons were unimportant, he was to do what he was told.

"Y-yes Sturm! I'll gladly do...yes I will! You can count on me I'll do this yep! Ahaha.." He took the communicator, but didn't place it in his pocket, because he didn't have any. The garments he wore were a sort of simple swimming shorts, becaue any other fabric may have been ruined by his mucus. Instead the device was going to be placed behind his mantle, a part of his anatomy that LOOKED like hair but really was sort of a weird muscle hanging from his head. Halfway through he stopped and simply held it, realizing that any contact with moisture might ruin the device, the one thing that made him feel safe in his assignment so far. Since he was allowed to help himself to the supplies in the facility he was going to get a little baggy to hold the device in, and definitely help himself to some kind of weapon.

"Yes Sturm, yes thank you for the device. I better start r-right away or else I'll lose him." He said this, leaving again at a speedy walk as fast as he could go. First he had to go collect the necessary supplies, and then he had to go find Shin.

[Nayt]

Part of Tyrian Sturm's mind questioned his actions here. Had he just made the biggest mistake of his career? Possibly, if this mistake could turn out costly. He didn't know, and failed to guess--or even care to guess. He had no doubt in his mind that Kremnaes could keep Shin in the city, and since that was the goal--for which, Kremnaes could use any means available to Sturm to achieve--who was he to complain?

Kremnaes wasn't a bad person; suggesting such would be an outright lie. In fact, he was reliable with what he did. Sturm could count on Kremnaes to do his original job, and to do it well. The job Sturm was giving him on the fly (which was even a bit of a stretch for Sturm; he would have likely given this job to the first person that entered his office--other than Usurii) was a bit out of Kremnaes's league, but that was fine. There was a bit of risk involved, but Tyrian didn't think Shin would outright kill anyone in this city, especially if he knew how many others would have him hanged for it. Shin was a dumb man, but he wasn't that dumb.

He didn't respond to Kremnaes nonetheless, and focused upon his research material, assuming that the Ersatzshad had left already, or was at least in the process of leaving. It wasn't a matter of rudeness or politeness, but time management. If Sturm didn't make the most of his time, especially now when everything was coming down to the wire, then he'd overshoot his goals, and the problems that would arise from that would effect much more than just a couple of people . . .