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Week 28- Faith

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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:09 am

Parvati and Ace dropped a few miles out of the city, about a mile behind the Forest that still stood. she had her bag, though it only contained water, a few changes of clothes and a print out map of Jerusalem in case she got lost.

Once her feet touched soil she closed her eyes, She slowly switched off all the cybernetics that she could. This may not be her sacred place but it was a sacred place and she would not defile it, even in the slightest if she could help it. She adjusted her sari to ensure that she was properly covered and that the throw covered her hair. Before she started to walk she reached down and removed her shoes, dropping them into her bag. With that she started walking simply walking across the open ground towards the grove of trees that was the surviving forest.
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Post  Ace Nizky Sun Jul 29, 2012 12:27 pm

Ace watched Parvati as she completed her ritual. Ace wasn't a religious person but this pilgrimage seemed to mean a lot to Parvati, and if they were going to walk into Order territory it made sense to be as deferent to religion as possible. Ace didn't have any problems with religion, or with the Order, but they might have a problem with him, so Ace followed Pavarti's example. Most of his cybernetics were on standby in a low power state as it was but Ace turned the non essential ones off completely. He left his eyes on, but turned down their vision capability to that of a normal human. His small bag was full of equipment, ammo and nutritional supplies for a week. He had no idea what was available here and had planned just in case. His boots were designed to be easy to remove if the laces were cut, but difficult to get off otherwise and by the time they were off and stowed away Ace had fallen behind. Ace wasn't sure on the protocol of this sort of thing but it seemed like running to catch up wasn't a good idea, so barefooted and unsure Ace set off after Parvati, at a brisk walk, sure that he would catch up before long.
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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Sun Jul 29, 2012 1:20 pm

The ground sloped down gently at first and the area was largely open, a few trees were dotted around, the Order's management of the area had spared it from a lot of the devastation that the rest of the world had seen.

There were some abandoned buildings off to their right and a faint glimmer that indicated water behind them. Before them was a small valley that rose on the opposite side to them in a tree covered hill. Parvati's pace was not particularly fast but it ate up the ground, she had been used to walking, though rarely anywhere as beautiful as here, for a very long time.
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Post  HanJi Sun Jul 29, 2012 1:32 pm

Han stepped off the helicopter, dressed not in his usual powered death armour, but in a large, sturdy wind resistant cloak, with only his balisong, currently folded into a staff, visible on his person. He surveyed the area briefly while Pavarti centred herself.
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Post  Ace Nizky Sun Jul 29, 2012 8:19 pm

Ace was wearing what he usually wore with a few modifications. Apart from the fact that he had taken his boots off he was wearing his usual combat fatigues, having removed his flight suit when the copter landed. This time, however, the cold greys of their urban camouflage colouring had been replaced with a more rural pattern of browns and greens. He was still wearing his belt with its twin holsters but most of the poutches had been removed and Ace's usualy bulging pockets were much more streamlined as he had stored most of his equipment, not including a med kit, in his bag.

Ace struck a decent pace and it didn't take much time for him to catch up with Parvati whereupon he slowed his pace and kept time with her, his brisk walk turning into almost a fast march as he fell in. He didn’t say anything, not wanting to disturb her, but instead turned his thoughts inwards and contemplated the path that had brought him to this point.
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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Sun Jul 29, 2012 8:39 pm

The slightly mismatched trio made it across the valley in only a few minutes and started the rise into the forest. The deep emerald greens of the trees surrounded them as they began the climb. It was a quiet place well suited to the contemplation of pilgramage. It heartened Parvati that two of her colleagues had decided to walk with her, when they didn't have to.

The hill quickly became steep as they started to climb, the ground rough under their feet but still walkable despite the fact that the ground was hard and rocky in places.
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Post  Ace Nizky Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:22 pm

Ace was finding the rocky ground difficult. He was used to wearing boots, so much so that the skin under his feet was relatively smooth. The rocky ground was causing him havoc. If he could feel pain he might have a greater issue but his AI was screaming at him that this was very uncomfortable. Several times he registered that a rock had sliced the bottom of his foot open. It was not a pleasant experience, but that didn’t faze Ace. Even when he stumbled and sliced his arm open on a rock he just got back up and carried on regardless. It wasn’t a deep cut and besides he didn't feel the pain and he wouldn't bleed much, so this was just a minor inconvenience to him and he half believed at this point that such discomfort was part of the process. Like a good, well trained WF boy he persevered through adversity.
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Post  HanJi Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:21 am

The rough ground didn't faze Han in the slightest. His upbringing hadn't provided for shoes till he was taken in by the Ai-Jinn, and even then, his close combat training had been done barefoot. Consequently, his feet were like tough leather, and not prone to being opened up by rocks and the like. Still, it was a solid trek, and the midday sun didn't make it any easier. His face was one of introspection, as he went over the recent weeks in his head, silently assessing his mistakes and failures.
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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:26 am

The trio continued to climb and soon the land started to level out again as the reached the top of the hill. As they progressed the trees started to thin and some buildings became vaguely visable a small group of surprisingly modern silver buildings.

Parvati stopped as the wave of sadness hit her. It knocked the breath out of her and she felt its cold touch trickle down her spine and she shivered, unsure how much of this was due to the resonance of the place and how much was her own imagination.
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Post  Ace Nizky Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:09 pm

The sight of buildings was of some comfort to Ace. It wasn't until he left the forest that he realised the source of his discomfort wasn't really his cut up feet. He was born in a spire, raised in a spire and had spent most of his life in or around buildings. Even in the middle of the desert there was always a building somewhere in sight. The real wildlife, the preserved flora and the unspoiled nature felt wrong to him, so his heart lightened to see gleaming silver buildings, signs of people and human habitation. His relief was marred as Parvati gasped before him.

"Ms. Parvati? Are you alright?"
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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Fri Aug 03, 2012 5:25 pm

Parvati looked up at the ancient silver building, one that despite its futuristic appearance even the hard-liners of the Order had never even mooted removing. "Yad Vershem." She whispers almost to herself "I knew it was going to be hard but I never expected..."

"This is a place of remembrance and sorrow" She says in explanation to her companions "where one of the worst pre-Corp horrors is remembered, simply remembered as the holocaust." She considered going in, considered paying her respects to the ghosts and spirits that dwelt in that place. But uncertainty gnawed at her gut.

Indians, for their sins, had fought on both sides of that great and bloody War, they had had their reasons but still she could not enter in for had her forebears made that mistake, taken up with their enemies enemies, then to enter in there with the mask of friendship would be an egregious insult.

"If only I knew..." she says softly with a shake of her head "If only I knew."
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Post  HanJi Sat Aug 04, 2012 9:53 pm

"I'd take a minute if I were you Parvati. I've heard telepaths take time to adapt to the levels of psychic energy in the air around this town, particularly the devout like yourself." He sat down and closed his eyes as he began a simple calming meditation he had been taught in the Academy, designed to shield ones mind from the outside world and environment, usually for the purposes of resisting torture. In his mind he built a wall around his thoughts, brick by brick, each brick possessed of a memory or thought that gave him strength.

Standing back up, he said "Oh, and one other thing. I'd advise you don't look...up while you're in the city. The sky goes weird, trust me."
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Post  Ace Nizky Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:50 pm

"The sky? What's wrong with the sky" Said Ace as he immediately looked up. He liked the sky, the sky was his friend. Sometimes it tried to push him around or hit him with lightning and birds, but he always felt the safest when he was up in the air. It looked like this was a place for a rest, so Ace sat down beside the others and took a good look at the damage he had done to the bottom of his feet.
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Post  HanJi Sat Aug 04, 2012 11:05 pm

"Well, sometimes it's fine. Sometimes it's green, blue, or orange. That doesn't bother me. Sometimes Kung Fu Action Jesus is up there fighting buddha in a cage match. According to Sister Ruth, it's representative of the mood of the cities inhabitants, and even in the order there are factions, which can get rather...competitive."
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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:17 am

"Its not the city, at least not entirely." she says breathing slowly "Its this place. Yad Vershem. I... This was the reason I chose this approach." she admits "Rather than over the Mount of Olives."

"Here they remember a crime, a crime that killed millions." she says softly "The flame has never gone out. I just didn't expect... the pain and the sorrow that fill this place."

"I wish i could go in." she says softly. "regardless of the pain."
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Post  HanJi Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:21 am

"Well, if you want to go in, we can wait. If not, I suggest we get moving. We're burning daylight here, and this terrain doesn't make for an easy trek." Han brushed a small sharp pebble that had embedded itself in the toughened skin of his heel.
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Post  Ace Nizky Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:24 am

"That's right. I'm curious to see what's inside now. We'll go in with you, if you like. Or else we can carry on." Ace smiled warmly at Pavarti and got back to his feat. "You're the leader of this expedition, after all. We'll go where you go."
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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:35 am

"I can't." She says with pain in her heart "I... can't face the spirits in there." She looks away.

"At the time this happened, India was seeking its independence, they'd been under colonial rule for centuries by this point and they were trying for freedom. Great Britain who ruled Oppossed those who commited this crime and many indians fought against them under the British flag." She explains "But some didn't. The enemy of my enemy is my friend however repulsive he is."

"I don't know where my blood lies, I don't know what stain is on my line from this." she says softly "If I enter in there then in my Ignorance I might stain memories that deserve better."

"No," she sighs and straightens firming her resolve "We should press on." she says focusing her attention on the road ahead and pressing her body into movement.
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Post  HanJi Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:40 am

"As you wish." Han lifted himself up from the ground in one fluid motion. "It shouldn't be too long before we hit the outskirts of the city." He proceeded on for a short while before asking. "What did you mean by a stain in your line? I mean, I don't know who my ancestors were either, outside of the fact that they were either dead or awful parents to leave a kid out in Kowloon to die. But they're not part of me, and I'm not responsible for their failures. No matter what your ancestors might have done, those crimes aren't yours, are they?"
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Post  Ace Nizky Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:46 am

Ace also got to his feet, his curiosity overwhelmed by his concern for his friend.

"Is it because of reincarnation? Are you worried that in a past life you helped commit those atrocities? Because I don't think that's right. You are who you are, right? You wouldn't do these things, why should it matter if people in the past did?"
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Post  Parvati Comoros Sharma Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:00 am

"Partly" she admits "And partly because I would not want to offend what ever spirits and powers might be watching over this place." Parvati shakes her head. "Anyway..."

"We should press on." she says after a moments breath "Its pretty much just downhill along the roads from here." she says "And then we're into the city itself."
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Post  Ace Nizky Mon Aug 13, 2012 1:05 pm

This was clearly something that Ace should talk to Parvati about in the future. Ace has already decided to talk to as many people as possible about their faith. The memorial and ideas about the event was just one more thing to add to the list. From the top of the hill they could see the city spread out below them. A wave of nervousness and anxiousness washed over Ace suddenly and he stopped walking. He thought back to the things he had heard of the Order, how they hated technology and their constant in-fighting, but he steeled himself after a moment and pressed on.
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