MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON May 27, 2019 4:00:00 GMT

[attr="class","salempost"]he stands in this ruined city. it didn't fall to his hands, not really, but he'd be a liar if he said he hadn't helped a bit. he'd been behind a computer screen, rerouting calls and scrambling radio frequencies. first response time had been slow because of him.

and crux had taken great care to make sure he hadn't been interrupted. the greninja is a few paces behind him somewhere, hiding in the shadows of the closest building, watching him with unseen eyes. she does that most of the time, though it's more a product of their relationship than an action by salem's request.

still, he feels comforted that she has his back. he slowly makes his way to his rendezvous point. slateport had officially been taken months ago at this point, but still they're rebuilding, repurposing.

it won't be long before they expand.

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POSTED ON May 27, 2019 6:26:27 GMT

walking through the barren streets of slateport always fills him with a sense of regret. he hadn't had a hand in its downfall but he didn't try to stop it either. an innocent bystander, is what he tells himself. it's what he has to tell himself.

finn wears a disguise out of necessity. rocket are smarter than they look: they won't risk compromising his position in tv mauville just yet, not when there's more work to be done. he dreads it; dreads how he just waits for the phone to buzz with orders.

face mask, hoodie and baseball cap, finn approaches the rendezvous point a few minutes ahead of schedule. to his surprise, he's not the first one there.

"partner," he greets with nothing more than that. "the city's gone to shit. surprised rocket's still bothering. regardless, where should we start?"

@salem / mission!

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POSTED ON May 27, 2019 16:28:46 GMT

[attr="class","salempost"]he doesn't know very many of his colleagues. most of his duties can be fulfilled in an isolated room; once or twice he's required a bodyguard, but that hasn't been the norm since acquiring crux.

it's no surprise that his fellow rocket member wears some type of disguise. salem sports a hoodie of his own, but he doesn't bother to go the extra lengths. a pair of headphones rest against his collarbone, but his face is unmasked, recognizable.

crux watches from the shadows.

"i wanted to head to the shipyard, see if their systems were still up and running. having logs and records will be useful, especially if it means intercepting trade routes out on the water."

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POSTED ON May 29, 2019 16:06:15 GMT

the shipyard. he's briefly reminded of Malcolm Stone and the interview he did while still an intern. it wasn't that good of an interview but malcolm had been so welcoming that it made him feel at ease and more comfortable. perhaps that is where his interviewing abilities improved: from the confidence gained.

"the power's out but i'm sure you have a way around that." they've only just met but finn is generally a good judge of character, and the man standing in front of him looks as though he knows his way around technology. why else would anyone ask to go to the shipyard to see their systems.

finn gestures and starts walking. "it's this way. it should be empty. should. i don't really know what lurks there so be on your guard."

@salem / mission!

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POSTED ON May 29, 2019 20:57:51 GMT

[attr="class","salempost"]he waves a hand. "it won't be difficult to get it back on." in his formative years, back when life was simpler and he'd been the son of a fisherman, he'd been around his fare share of shipyards. he'd even visited slateport's, once or twice, though the visits had been brief. most trade usually was.

soft green eyes don't give way to the echo of nostalgia that he feels. he walks with shoulders slightly hunched, hands stuffed in his hoodie. he's not in tune enough with the pokemon to know where she is, but he knows crux is several paces behind them, more than likely jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

the clouds grow heavier as they walk and the threat of rain grows ever-present. salem draws his hood closer just in case the water starts to fall, and as they near the looming building that houses slateport's commercial ships, they pass by a group of other rocket grunts.

the group hold a civilian hostage; two of them have his arms restrained as they walk him down the street. salem's stomach twists, and yet he silently watches them go, head down.

"you're right. looks like it's down. there should be a generator around back. we'll head that way first."

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POSTED ON May 30, 2019 12:03:50 GMT

he grits his teeth and bites his tongue because that's all he can do. he feels powerless as they walk past a group of rocket grunts holding a civilian hostage. his natural instinct is to react, to pull out pokeballs and save that hostage. his hand even moves to his belt out of instinct but they soon past each other, eyes locking for a second and then nothing. it passes. like it always does.

it is a feeling he hates.

"mmm. okay."

it's a half-assed reply as he tilts his head back to look at the two grunts walking away. oh, it's just so tempting but he takes a deep breath and exhales, knowing that it'd do him more harm than good in the long run. one day, one day he won't be as powerless as he is right now.

the two keep walking and walking until they reach what appears to be the generators. thunder cracks as they approach and soon rain falls, beckoning for finn to draw his hood. the generator is shielded by a roof at least, so they stand under that. the tick tick tack tack of the metal roof does little to distract him.

"i'd be of more use but i know fuck all about this. i assume there's a power button, right? there has to be one."

@salem / mission!

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POSTED ON May 30, 2019 16:56:25 GMT

[attr="class","salempost"]it's a good look into his partner's nature when they pass by the group of other rockets. he's no idiot--he's sure that a percentage of rocket's force is made up of people in a similar situation as he--taken advantage of by the system, connected not by loyalty but by fear, or in salem's case, money.

he drops a pokeball from his pocket and it rolls to the ground, lazily opening to allow vali to emerge. he scoops the ball back up as he crouches down and assesses the generator. he chases a couple of wires, making sure they're in tact; a raindrop falls on his nose. he moves a bit more quickly, slender hands running over the machine.

finn is right. there is a power button, of course, but he gives it an experimental flick and nothing happens. if he had more time, he would break open the generator itself, but a couple more drops on his face tells him he doesn't have the luxury of time.

he stands, nodding towards vali, and then motions for finn to step back. "i think it just needs a jumpstart. vali can help, but..." he points to the pokemon's cracked ball on its tail. the flaaffy grunts; electricity pops and sizzles, sparking from the now-glowing blue orb.

he discharges and cries out in pain as the electricity snakes wrongly up his own body. still, the move works. some of the sparks land on the generator and it sputters, groaning to life. vali's tail droops, but his ears perk and he gives a toothy grin to salem, who approaches with a small potion bottle.

he scratches the pokemon behind his ears and closes some of the wounds on his back. then he stands, knowing full well his partner would prefer to stay out of his ball, and doesn't have the heart to put him back. "that should have done the trick," he says, pointing to the lights that were now flickering on inside the marina.

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POSTED ON May 31, 2019 16:35:35 GMT

finn watches like a curious pupper as salem gives the generator an experimental flick. he expects it to be like in the movies: one flick and suddenly the whole thing surges on and electricity returns. "wish i could help but the pokemon i brought aren't the most diverse. i don't think i even have an electric-type." he really does wish he could help.

flaaffy will save them. with a sudden discharge, the generator zaps back on in sync with a loud thunder that cracks overhead. it draws finn's attention but not enough to make him look up. the continuous downpour grows stronger and stronger, as evident by how loud the impacts are.

"did you do that too?"

a comment made in jest. off in the distance he can see the slow flickering of lights where there once was nothing. he nods. "it's over that way." and with that, finn starts leading them towards the marina.

there's a particular building he approaches. "this used to be the old shipyard master's office. there might be something useful here on his computer." the bottom of the warehouse is empty; all that's left are remnants of the past. he leads them up a flight of stairs to the second floor, to an office that overlooks the main area below.

a turn of the handle and the door swings open. he lets salem enter first, gesturing to where he remembers the computer is.

"seems like nothing's changed since i was last here."

@salem / mission!

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POSTED ON May 31, 2019 17:58:50 GMT

[attr="class","salempost"]"no, but i'm just glad it happened after we fixed up the generator," he says, almost as though he's oblivious to his partner's jest. he isn't. but still, he's careful not to get close to his coworkers. though he'd been as observant as possible without making it suspicious as they'd passed the group of rockets earlier, he still hasn't gone so far as to believe that his partner is a good person.

not that i am either, by any standards, he thinks sullenly.

the metal stairs creek as they go. that's the thing that gets him most about being in slateport--the silence. it's unnatural. regardless of how he feels about his companion, he's just glad he's not alone.

crux opts to join them at this point; she peers curiously through the door they'd just come in through and follows them up the stairs. salem waves a distracted hand towards her as he sits at the computer. "this is crux. she considers herself a bodyguard."

he smiles, despite himself, as he grabs the computer mouse. "i'd watch your pockets, however." he snorts then. "not even password protected..."

he grabs a flash drive from his pocket and plugs it into the computer. despite himself, he asks, "you said when you were last here? was that...before the invasion?"