13660/SAVING SYMKARIA: Dawn in Aniana

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SAVING SYMKARIA: Dawn in Aniana
Date of Scene: 30 December 2022
Location: Sablinova Piactere, Aniana, Symkaria
Synopsis: The Avengers assemble to prevent all-out war!
Cast of Characters: Carol Danvers, Natasha Romanoff, Diana Prince, Clea, Karen Starr, Greer Grant, Robbie Reyes




Carol Danvers has posed:
The War in Symkaria had been dominating the news cycle for the last twelve hours, but the public was already showing signs of losing interest. President Luthor had refused to intervene on what was a struggle between two non-NATO powers, and so the war raged as the likes of Latveria and Belgriun looked on with hopes of picking at the remains. It's a brushfire conflict likely to go unchecked until it grows into a fully-fledged inferno, and that's why they needed the Avengers on the ground.

"Remember," Captain Marvel speaks into her communicator, flying ahead of the Quinjet that carries a contingent of Avengers over the snow-coated city of Aniana in Symkaria, "We're not here to take sides. We're here to stop this from escalating. The High Evolutionary's already on the U.N. watchlist and he's breaking a half-dozen treaties just bringing the Transian army outside their borders."

The glowing trail of red and blue adjusts course suddenly, swinging down low over the city.

"Fighting's thickest by the main square ... Sablinova Piactere. Put down there and we'll form a beach-head. Something tells me this isn't going to be cut and dry."

The Quinjet follows the command, and as they close in on the ground they'll see just what has Carol so perturbed. A great hulking vessel, almost like a mountain rendered in harsh geometric angles and clearly artificial, hangs suspended in the air. The winter fog curls around it, and it glows with an eerie red light from within.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
A conflict between Symkaria, a militarized state funded in part by mercenary work, and a country that included Wundagore Mountain and the secrets within had the potential to blow up extremely quickly. Due to outside intervention, and the amount of technology involved. What neither country had in size or standing forces was more than made up for in the toys and specialists they could bring to the table.

Natasha herself is there with a secondary priority in mind, of course. Securing whatever information or technology that she can for SHIELD. Given the possible weapons both countries might have.. Well.. There could be some very useful things to dig up. Natasha's in full weaponry kit and wiht whatever toys she can justify digging out of the armory to take wtih her. This will be dangerous and chaotic even by her standard of experiences.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana was here after getting recruited by Carol. An occasionally active member of the team for the past two years, Diana's hayday with the Avengers was from 2017 to 2020, and it's where she became a public known super hero figure around the world. Prior to that she'd been with the Justice League, but been reluctant to ever be a public figure... that all changed in the battle where Superman perished though.

Here and now, Diana is wearing a bodysuit not all that dissimilar from Carol's own, with golden trim across blues and reds, and a golden chest-adorned 'WW' logo. On her back is her sword and shield, and her hair is tied back in a tight braided ponytail.

She's aboard the Quinjet, mostly spending the ride standing up, holding on to one of the metal grab bars. When the Jet lowers, the Themysciran starts toward the ramp and descends it with graceful motions of her long legs in that all-covering bodysuit.

Once outside, Diana roams her eyes over the vista, and the huge ship in the air.

"You bring us to all the best places, Captain." Diana says in her thickly accented English over the team comms.

Clea has posed:
Clea is not a normal face to see on these sorts of missions, but the white haired woman is there and dressed in tougher looking materials than she usually is. Her hair is braided back given they are going into a situation that is currently escalating into a bigger one. Her number one concern is protecting the innocent that might be caught in this.

The second concern is stopping the situation with as little loss as possible. But this is a team and she's here to support them with whatever they need.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Never one to be caught dead riding in a Quinjet, Power Girl's presence isn't known until the alarms go off. Carol's IFF registers plainly enough, but the object approaching at Mach Ten doesn't register to the Quinjet for just long enough that it almost, just barely, seems like something bad.

    Then it slows down, and the profile catches up, and the blonde form of Power Girl has taken position below the jet itself, matching its speed.

    As it descends, so does she, twisting around it until when it lands, she slowly drifts down as if a feather, her boots touching down on the roof. Her hand comes up to her ear, and she speaks with a voice of stern discontent at the gathering armies.

    "I'm going to let Diana do the talking, but the moment a shot is fired, I'm going to have a real big problem. Someone should have been here twelve hours ago."

Greer Grant has posed:
An actual war zone, not someplace Tigra ever thought she'd be, and she's not exactly keen to be here now, even without the giant floating pseudo-mountain sort of thing, not to mention that the High Evolutionary might have a passing interest in her. "Think that helps with cellphone signals?" she murmurs of it, trying not to think about the ways this could go wrong. She's dressed, or not dressed, as usual for her, with the bikini and amulet, her steps silent as she steps out with Diana. Yes, let Diana do the talking. She favors this plan.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Reyes is also not a terribly common face around Avengers Mansion. He occasionally skulks through there on some personal errand or another; usually involving either the beast he calls his car, or the odd social call with Janet, of all people.

Other than that, he's normally only called in for firepower support; finesse -- like tact and diplomacy -- is really not his thing.

He steps off the quinjet outfitted in black armoured leather conformed to his lean frame from neck to toes, reinforced with heavier titanium alloy panels around his throat and wrists. The gloved fingers form sharp points not unlike claws at the tips, and his usual weapons -- the hellfire chains -- are currently absent. As is the demon who has a timeshare on the dark-haired young man's body.

He looks perfectly happy for someone else to do the talking while he tries to get some sense of what's actually going on here.

Carol Danvers has posed:
"Preaching to the choir, Power Girl. Let's just play the hand we're dealt. The High Evolutionary's been tight-lipped about his motivations," Carol explains into the comm, "But it's unsurprising. Nobody's even seen the man in three years. Transia might be part of the UN, but their new President's been beating the drum about the EU having a disregard for Eastern Europe and the Balkan States. It's a simple power move, but with Wundagore backing him he's got a real chance to run roughshod over the entire region. Not bad for a country with only twenty thousand people, huh?"

As she flies past the cockpit of the Quinjet, it's possible to briefly glimpse a change to her usual red and blue bodysuit. As well as the usual trimmings, she bears a pair of ornately-designed braces in a distinctly Themysciran pattern at her wrists. When she hears Diana over the comm she can't help but smile to herself for a moment before answering:

"I think I saw a charming little cafe a few blocks back. Dig it out from under the rubble and maybe we can have some klepe."

The main square of Aniana - the Sablinova Piactere - is one of the most architectually ornate and beautiful sights in Eastern Europe. Or it was until it became a warzone. Now, the Symkarian military have holed up in what was once the Grand Post Office while the forces of Transia seem to have established themselves on the opposite end of the square. When the Quinjet lands, they're out of the direct line of fire but they're certainly noticed by the gathered militiamen.

On the Transian side, what can only be described as a man with the head of a tiger and the body of a man mounts the barricade. He wears a military uniform, save that it is reinforced in places by shining armor reminiscent of plate mail. Strangely, he carries a sword which he holds aloft.

"Hold fire!" he roars, and at once the gathered Transian soldiers withdraw behind the barricade. The Symkarians continue to fire, but the knightly beast-man pays no mind to the bullets that fly about him. He turns his snarling features towards the Post Office, where a gaunt-faced Symkarian office peers out through one of the upper floor windows.

"Envoys enter the battlefield! We will hear them! But know that we Knights serve Wundagore in all things, and it is the will of the Citadel that we claim this land. For the good of all."

"Sounds like that's the concensus, princess," Carol says to Diana, landing alongside her, "Feel like playing peacemaker?"

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Well, there's a willingness to hear them out. At least a parley. Or neither side wants to shoot at an Amazon and all the reprecussions that entails. Natasha goes to speak to the comm <<Maintain a distance from one another so if they do open fire they can't catch us in a crossfire. Also don't attack them unless a general melee starts. We're here to be peacekeepers and try and de-escalate. A shot or two going off could mean tha tone of them is on edge rather than an intent to start fighting again. We want to bring this to a peaceful resolution.>>

That does not mean as far as she is concerned at beating up both sides. That won't help things at all. Natasha has read the files on the way there of what little ifnromation they have on the High Evolutionary, Transian politics.. And the latest of what they know the Symkarian military has.

She hasn't seen any signs of the Wild Pack onsite but there's also no signs of what thier last contract was. So if Silver Sable's on-site about to swoop in or the rest of her strike team.. Natasha is going out with her usual loadout, despite all the heavy arms she's brought with her. Those are for now tucked over into a shimmer-cloak over on her back. Essentially a mirror that would act as a chameleon mesh around it, warping light waves as well. So she would have the benefit of her guns but also not be seen carrying so many weapons with her while they went down to parley.

She's out in the open with the rest of the team. Reviewing in her mind diplomatic protocols, Transian politics, the state of the Symkarian military.. And everything else that she can from the files that might be of some use.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's eyes leave the visage of the battlefield, to look upon those others who have come with her here today. She offers a soft smile to Clea, and Robbie, before she turns to look at Nat and the arriving Carol. A soft smirk is paid to Carol's words... and she sends her gaze towads the shouting one calling for a ceasefire.

"Our greatest advantage in this, is that the vast majority of people wish for peace, even if their commanders wish otherwise..." Diana quietly says before she proceeds onward.

A moment's glance is given to Karen, but Karen is going to do what Karen's do...

One hand is raised, Diana's right. She signals the one who called for the cease fire. "On behalf of the Avengers, I am Diana Prince, ambassador of the Themysciran people, and I seek to see this hostility reach an end. It has gone quite far, and I believe it is in the best interest of everyone here now... that it go no further."

The Princess' voice carries far and wide, even amongst what chaos yet remains across the immediate war-torn area...

Clea has posed:
Clea can't really help it, she's always floating above the ground unless she puts effort into letting her feet touch said ground. The white haired woman has a slight halo of energy around her head, but it's nothing to be concerned about! She gives a look to the others that have been assembled and she waits to see what Diana will say as things get underway.

Once Diana has spoken, the white haired sorceress relaxes just a touch, her gloved hands come to rest in front of her gently and without aggression towards anyone. She didn't want to fight any of the people here. But she would if necessary.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen is... A statue. Behind the Avengers, the firing from the defending military rages on, and yet the attackers seem undisturbed. It's true, of course, that she's going to do what she's going to do: End this conflict without bloodshed. That's what Kal taught her. That's what she's spent decades doing.

    The best way, of course, is to talk- There's no violence in talking. Power Girl is fine with that. She's fine with that resolution. She just isn't Clark. People don't /talk/ with her like they do Superman. They don't respect her the same way. She's fine with that. It usually doesn't go well for them.

    "So far it seems like this is going swimmingly. Guys on the other side sound like they're crusaders trying to recapture the holy land."

Greer Grant has posed:
Tigra's tail flicks about her briskly, speaking to her unsettled state. Klepe? Isn't that seaweed? No, wait, she's thinking of something else. At least nobody shoots at them as they land, and while she keeps a separation from the others, she has to resist the urge to roll her eyes at Natasha's caution about not attacking.

She also has to resist rolling eyes and making a sarcastic comment in response to the tiger knight's comment about the good of all. There's clearly some folks for whom this isn't so good. Well, first step towards peace is understanding the other side. If anyone can help the two sides do that, it's Diana. In the meantime, Tigra divides her attention between looking and listening for obvious threats aimed their way, and looking the tiger-knight over curiously.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Well, of all the things Carol might have expected of the kid whom people referred to not terribly long ago as the youngest Avenger, diplomacy is hopefully not one of them. His temper's well known amongst most who've worked with him more than passingly. As, perhaps, is his demon's penchant for destruction. It's held in check for now; though control's always a risky proposition when dealing with such creatures.

When Diana gets up to speak, and he reflexively eases back slightly, continuing to watch the fraught negotiations with the patience of a keen-eyed hunter.

Carol Danvers has posed:
"She's good at this," Captain Marvel says partly to herself, and partly to the rest of the team nearby. Power Girl's mention of the crusaders causes her to turn her head slighly, keeping her voice low enough to not be heard of Diana as she explains.

"They're the Knights of Wundagore. We don't have a whole lot of information on them. General theory in the dossier is that they were made by the High Evolutionary to be some sort of replacement for humanity. Unusual for them to travel this far from Wundagore, though. This whole thing is ... strange. I'm just hoping Diana can talk them down."

As Diana speaks, there's a slight commotion from inside the Post Office. A short while later, a man in fatigues bearing the insignia of a Symkarian colonel steps out into the square. He's much more modern in terms of gear, sporting a sidearm at his hip and nothing in the way of fancy armor or bladed weapons. He approaches Diana at the same pace as the Knight from Wundagore, though the latter speaks first.

"I am Lord Tyger, commander of these forces. I have been given authority from the Citadel to treat with you in the name of the High Evolutionary. He commands that the people of Symkaria lay down their arms and accept Transian occupation. They will be treated fairly and there need be no more violence. If you wish to end these hostilities, you will comply."

Tyger makes a gesture towards the great, floating mountain that still hangs suspended above the city a handful of miles away.

"My Master watches you. Speak true."

Nearby, there's some scrabbling in the rubble at the northern end of the square. Heard only by the keenest of ears.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Not having the keenest of ears nor the hyper-senses of the others, Natasha Romanoff is not aware of those small scufflings. At the statement of Lord Tyger, Natasha goes to let out a small, self contained sigh that goes nowhere. If that is the stand then the talks will go nowhere. but still, hopefully the PRincess can negotiate a stand down of things and de-escalate it. As she goes to try and recall more on what little ifnormation they have on the Knights of Wundagore. SHIELD's files have even less than the Avengers do. And barely anything on the High Evolutionary.

Natasha stands in neutral stance. She's not quite a statue but she's barely moving either. So she's just almost fading into the background. But not outright evading or trying to go to ground. That's something that would alert the others. Instead she stands in a relaxed posture as she waits over for the negotiations to go.

She speaks quietly to the Avenger's comm-net <<Can anyone get a general technological evaluation of their weapons and eqiupment?>> She means that on both sides, but moreso the Wundagorian Knights. Maybe someone on Monitor Duty at the Mansion can get them some intelligence.

Diana Prince has posed:
The information relayed to her is given a slight nod from the Princess, before she sees the delegates stepping out to meet her. To the others on her team with her, Diana speaks softly. "Be on your guard fore nefarious actions, snipers, and otherwise..." She warns her teammates.

She approaches the leaders of the opposing factions and offers her right hand to them to shake their wrists, intentionally giving them the warrior's shake, her own wrists clad in her shining metal adornments.

"Firstly, I should say that whomever you are representing must understand that this approach..." Diana motions to the scars of war. "Is not the approach that will achieve anything that they might actually desire. Only through diplomacy, may we reach the true solutions for this conflict, and as a wise man once said... there are no winners in war."

"I urge that you take your hostile invading force and return it beyond the borders of this small nation. Once they have left, our parties can sit together, to devise the best compromises for everyone involved in this, before things can get worse than they already have become."

She does glance to that distant hovering vessel, before she looks back to the Lion.

"Take back your forces, and we can then come to some agreeable terms. Leave them here, and we will only find ourselves in troubled waters."

Clea has posed:
Clea's violet gaze goes from those that are speaking to the rubble that she hears the noise at. What was that? The woman moves effortlessly, yet not in an aggressive way. She heads towards the rubble that she hears being scrabbled upon. She doesn't seem to process that it might be a hostile.

She starts to look over the little ridge, "Is someone trapped?" the Faltine asks in her calm and ethereal tone. Hopefully they were just trapped...and not loading a rocket launcher.

Karen Starr has posed:
    There's no shortage of comments from Power Girl- who isn't trying to be overheard, mind- as the explanation of who they're squaring off against comes through the communicator. "Why is it that everyone's always trying to come up with a replacement for humanity? Why is humanity two-point-oh always so weird?"

    There is, though, a pointed silence. "Have we confirmed that the High Evolutionary isn't just a furry? You know, one of the really wealthy ones and this is just his way of getting commissions?"

    Her hand drops from her ear, and for a moment, she's desperately close to calling it as she sees it. "No," she tells herself, after a calming moment, "we don't /start/ the violence. We finish it. There will be plenty of time to punch this guy. Plenty of time. Just have to give peace a chance."

    'Try not to be the angry one' more or less sums up the advice Karen receives from the rest of the everybody on an almost daily basis.

Greer Grant has posed:
Problem with crusaders, Tigra thinks, is how poorly it goes for people on the other end of the crusade. To be fair, that's true in pretty much any war, crusaders just seem more willing to get up early in the morning and get a head start on the atrocities. And damned furries, always ruining things.

The tail's slowed somewhat, though still speaks to her unease and stress. She looks this way and then that way, tilts her head one way and then another, listening and looking. Hmm? A quiet sound, one that sounds like maybe it's trying to be quiet, which of course draws her curiosity. She's not the only one who hears it, she notices, and seeing Clea start that way, Tigra moves slowly in that direction as well, keeping a distance but better positioned to lend assistance if needed.

Carol Danvers has posed:
"You must understand that if the Avengers stand as allies of Symkaria, then we cannot afford to give ground," Lord Tyger explains to Diana, shaking his head almost sadly, "How likely is Transia to take our demands seriously with such a force acting in their name? We hold the advantage now, but we would need assurances if we were to surrender it willingly."

Meanwhile, the scrabbling in the rubble is investigated more closely. What was once a restaurant by the looks of it, before it was struck by one of the shell's from the floating fortress above the city. The roof, and several stories of masonry, have collapsed down. Beneath it all, there can indeed be heard several voices calling for help in the lative Symkarian dialect of Hungarian.

What complicates matters further is the way the rubble has fallen. It cannot simply be lifted away, but rather requires concentrated effort to move it in such a way that will not allow it to collapse back down on the people beneath.

"Not our place to debate the ethics of genetic experimentation," Captain Marvel tells Power Girl with a twinge of sadness in her voice, "But for what it's worth, you're right. As for weapons, Natasha, I did six months as chief of security for the embassy here back in the day. Symkaria's at a modern standard, but Transia is all over the place."

She turns her head towards Clea and the commotion before lifting her eyes to Tigra: "Diana's got this. Go see if you can help whoever's trapped under there."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff trusts the Princess to be able to resolve the situation, if there is any way possible. She clicks her tongue on her comm to reply to Carol <<Understood and appreciated>>. So as the word comes in of civilians trapped underneath the rubble, Natasha is heading towards there at a quick speed. That's something she can effectively assist with. She's moving to head on over towards the rubble, going to evaluate the exact placement of civilians, where the rubble is positioned.. And to start working on how to best clear it out and get people out without risking a further collapse.

She's switching over the optics of her helmet over to ultraviolet over infrared. In the chaos of a battlefield, looking for ehat signatures can be difficult. She's going to quickly start to try and check for stability points in the rubble to be able to help with digging or move to scramble between bits of rock. She calls out in Symkarian, "Help is on the way. Stay still. Stay calm." Then she goes to repeat it in Romanian. And then to each of the major languages over in the Balkans. "We'll get you out of there." That phrase, meant to be reassuring, also repeated in each language.

Diana Prince has posed:
Though Diana can hear the cries for help with her powerful senses, she came with a variety of very capable heroes, and she knows that they will tend to them in the immediate moment. For now, her eyes remain on the representitives that she's discussing with.

"With respect, we are not here as allies for either of your forces." She responds. "We are allies for only the innocent people caught up within this young war. We are allies to peace, to the cause of seeking a truce to violence. All of us, those who have come here today on behalf of the Avengers... we are capable warriors, yes, but we are not here to push war, we are here to see it ushered out from these lands. We need your help with this though, we need you to lay down arms, and to come to the proverbial table of finding compromises to this conflict. It behooves us as a global society to find better ways to solve our disputes, rather than rely upon death and dismay to lay our civilization to waste."

Diana pauses, for just a moment. "It's time to call for a cease fire for this battle, and to see to it that the aggression does not rise again..."

Will it work? Will the armies agree to put down arms and speak civily to one another for the betterment of their shared interests?

One can hope...

Clea has posed:
"We've got people that are stuck under here." Clea states over the comms to the others. And then others are enroute to help out. She is relieved by this and steps to the side when others come over. "I'm going to do something that will help while the rubble is being moved. It should guard against further cave ins or more people being caught beneath things that are heavy and could damage them." she states in the calm tone.

She's still floating above the ground as she starts to move her hands in intricate ways, the purple streaks of energy radiating from her hands and moving down and snaking through the collapse to fill in the null spaces and broker against them collapsing further.

Greer Grant has posed:
At Carol's word, Tigra scoots towards Clea in a mix of a jog and a run, trying to move quickly, but not alarmingly, especially with all the weapons and tension in the air. "May need some medics here, Widow," the tiger who's not a knight says as Nat offers reassurances in multiple languages.

"That's handy," Tigra says, taking Clea's work in stride and working her way down within the wreckage, starting to move rubble quickly, trying to clear a way for the victims as fast as possible. "This would normally be a job for a dog-person," she notes, hauling up a hefty mass of stone and lobbing it safely away. "I just want to be clear about that."

Carol Danvers has posed:
Lord Tyger appears to consider Diana's words for a long moment, one mailed fist rising up to stroke his furry chin. The Symkarian officer appears similarly reserved, arms crossed over his chest. It is Tyger who speaks next, however.

"We will not lay down our arms, for our oaths demand that we may only do so upon death. But we will withdraw from these lands, if the Transian people will entertain the words of our ambassador."

The Symkarian's brow furrows, glancing back over his shoulder to the rest of his detachment who are hunkered down in the Post Office. Finally, however, he nods and speaks with thickly-accented English: "We accept these terms."

That said, Lord Tyger steps back and bows deeply to the pair. As he turns, he is engulfed in a flash of argent light - disappearing. The same light sweeps through the battalion behind the barricade, all of them vanishing in a flash. Soon after, the distant report of gunfire has halted. The city is eerie and still, save for the wind rushing through it.

Carol takes a moment to stride forward, standing close alongside Diana and leaning sidelong to whisper something into her ear from the side of her mouth. Then she's turning back around to address the rest of the Avengers.

"Good work today, people! It's unfortunately rare that we get through one of these things without having to hurt somebody, and I'm proud of you all."

She watches as Clea, Tigra, and the Black Widow work to get the people out from beneath he rubble. Already, Carol is giving orders as she's accustomed to do.

"Okay! Let's set up triage over there. Widow, get on the horn with the Helicarrier and get some medical personnel shipped in. Once we've got these people squared away, we need to do a sweep of the city for wounded."

Diana Prince has posed:
When the Lord Tiger vanishes, taking with him the forces that he had here in the area, Diana releases a light exhale. She nods to the remaining representitive who came out of the post office, then listens to what Carol speaks quietly to her. She dips her chin in a soft nod, her hands at her sides, her right hand flexing her fingers within her fingerless gloves attached to her blue and red bodysuit.

"That could have gone far worse." She softly says to Carol before she turns and observes Clea's efforts with magic to find those in peril beneath the rubble.

Soon, Diana is helping move debris herself, utilizing her golden lasso to snare objects and hoist them away in to the sky, as there is much work yet to be done in this battle scarred town...

Clea has posed:
Clea's magic holds, helping them with the movement process as they go. Once she's satisfied that the magic is settled she starts to lift the stones with a whisper of words. It's one at a time, so it's just as fast as the others. Magic is always costly, but the lives of the people beneath them couldn't really be weighed against that.

Not from her view at least. She's quick to help if anyone slips or if anyone is running low on energy though, until the rescue is done.

Karen Starr has posed:
    As the hostilities start to dissipate, the Transian forces literally disappearing in a flash of light, Power Girl remains atop the jet. There is a moment of silence, before she speaks up.

    "Well. That was great. Happy we didn't have to fight for this, but I sure hope they remember that at the sound of an errant dropping of a /pin/ we can respond before it hits the ground." Having said that, Karen proves her point, ushering herself off into that initial sweep for wounded. She is, then, an impossible blur. Pink in tone, it takes ninety degree turns, flowing through the city.