Description: Fiolina takes a look at a village in the recently-conquered Thailand, and finds more than just Shadaloo troopers.
Thailand is a nice place, when it isn't taken over by rogue terrorist elements that have designs on the world. Right now, however, that isn't true, and as such, it's kind of a pit -- and a pit that Fio has taken it upon herself to examine as closely as possible, since it's in such a bad place right now. No one should have to live under a terrorist-general! At least, if they don't want to.
This brings her to a village in Thailand, one which -- like everywhere -- is under the 'protection' of Shadaloo. She moves carefully from alleyway to alleyway, trying to get as much information on the dismal state of the nation as she can... but she's green, and being green means sometimes, you leave yourself visible for just a little too long, at just the wrong time.
Branded a traitor to the Shadaloo organization, Sagat is on the run in his own country. Well... on the run isn't really the word for it. Sagat's not really running away. This is his homeland that Vega thinks he is taking over. Sagat's just trying to get away from Bangkok and away from the main Shadaloo Troop movements. The Mighty Thai Tiger is moving through this village as casual as any man can. Shadaloo Soldiers that happen to be here will either ignore his presence or act like they are. Everyone's been told to keep away from Sagat.
Fio knows a /little/ about Sagat; at the very least, she knows the man is powerful, and knows that he's proven himself in the ring a dozen times. She vaguely remembers something more -- from some Ikari report or another, maybe? -- but can't place it; she shrugs, and decides that if she's going to find out about the situation here, she may as well ask someone she's pretty sure is a native. Especially since he moves so casually through the village, and Shadaloo soldiers tend to keep their distance.
She leaps out of the alleyway, moving toward Sagat. It takes her a few seconds, but eventually she advances and matches her pace with his. "Excuse me," she says, "Can I talk to you a minute?" Her tone is friendly and warm, in spite of the fact that she's talking to one of the most dangerous men on the planet.
The Thai Legend spins around when he's approached and spoken to. Sagat is wearing a long trenchcoat and a fedora... his normal outside of the fighting arena attire. He glares down at Fiolina with a narrowed eye. His hands push further into the trenchcoat and he responds, "I was wondering when one of you would approach me..." Sagat says gruffly, "Why are the rest of your goon friends staying away? You draw the short straw?" He thinks she may be Shadaloo?
"Oh, um, uh..." Fio starts, wringing her hands a little; she's nervous -- this man has such power, and here she is talking to him. "I was... I was here alone -- I wanted to talk to you about, um... you know, stuff that's going on!" The young lady is, of course, purposefully vague for the sake of plausible deniability. Fiolina's voice quiets a little as she says, "I noticed all those guys were staying away from you, and I was wondering why..." The obvious answer of 'too much trouble' has crossed her mind, but that's not quite how terrorists work, she thinks. "... maybe we should get a little bit away from here?"
Sagat glares down at Fio. His glare and expression seems to communicate 'Huh?' to Fio. The Thai Legend then realizes that this person isn't one of the Shadaloo troops. She's not dressed like one or a Doll anyways! The expression drops and he looks away from her. His one-eyed gaze drifts towards the closest soldier, "They have orders to report my location, not attack me. I am too dangerous for them to handle." He looks down at her, "What are you doing in a warzone?"
"... that's kind of what I guessed," the young heiress-turned-soldier says, staying close to him. It's the safe option, after all. If they charge /her/, it might look like they're charging /him/, and then he'll explode them with chi powers, she thinks. "I'm with..." she pauses, considering just how much she should say, and finishes, "... a paramilitary group," with a whisper. "I'm trying to find out stuff about what's going on. Do you know anything? I mean... you live here, right?"
Sagat grunts an amused sounding grunt. The question posed to him by Fio seems to hit a cord with the massive Thai man. He looks away from her and starts his stride back up. The Thai Tiger pulls a hand out of his trenchcoat and waves a hand dismissively, "I know enough." He answers her cryptically, "And I am sorry, I don't think we exchanged names..."
"... Fiolina Germi," the young woman says quietly, with a nod. At the very least, she's forthcoming on that one. She shifts a little, and starts walking alongside him; he's distant, but doesn't seem like a bad guy. Perhaps spending time with the Ikaris has given her a positive predisposition to men with eyepatches. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
The Mighty Thai will stop his stride and turn his head to look at the young woman. He glares down at her, "Pleasure to meet me? You say that now, yes. I am possibly the reason why they-" Sagat pauses and sweeps his arm around him, "-are not shooting or attacking you." Rather cynical perspective, which is followed by a smirk. Sagat grunts, "The main fighting around Bangkok. Why are you here if you are with a paramilitary organization?"
"I want to find out a little more about what's going on -- than what the news is saying, first. You know, how they're armed, how well they're trained, how far they're spreading out... that kind of thing." The heiress seems almost embarassed by this approach to things; she's still kind of new to this. She's dealt with terrorist organizations before, but not on this scale. "What about you? If the troops are so scared of you, and you know you could handle them... why don't you fight back?"
That might have been the wrong question.
Sagat grits his teeth and looks away from Fio. He stares strait ahead and through his grit teeth, "Because not fighting them is amusing to me." This is a sarcastic response... as he swiftly turns his head to look at Fio, "I'm biding my time, Fiolina Germi. I know I can defeat any member of the terrorist organization at any given time. Wasting my time and energy on the drones... on the goons... accomplishes nothing." A pause and Sagat asks his own question, "If you had not run into me, what were you planning to do here?"
That's kind of a tricky question to answer without giving away too much. "Well... I think I might've tried to take on the forces here, if I found there were few enough that I could handle them," she says, her voice barely above a whisper as she looks into Sagat's eye. "I'm not a bad fighter myself..." She does have a certain tone to her muscles that says she can handle herself in a fight, and probably move at speeds well past those the rank and file could muster. "If it was too much, I would've tried to figure out how exactly they're armed and reported back."
Sagat keeps look at Fio. He looks past her and around her and then asks, "And you are here alone?" His head shakes, "I am unfamiliar with you. I keep my eyes on the various tournaments and leagues running right now. I do not think I have seen you in action. Are you a fighter?" The Thai Legend grunts and looks away. He sees a bunch of the Shadaloo soldiers gathering a few blocks away.
"I've been on Saturday Night Fight a couple of times, if that counts," she says, looking where Sagat looks and seeing those gathering Shadaloo men. "I'm still a little new to that, but I spent a lot of time in the UN peacekeeping forces before that." Fiolina seems like a weird fit for the UN military, but then, a lot of people are weird fits for their jobs -- Sagat, evidently, among them. "And you... you're the one who ran that tournament, back when I was in high school, aren't you...? Or am I wrong?"
The Muay Thai Legend nods his head, "I hosted the original World Warrior Tournament, yes." His keen eye keeps its gaze locked on the gathering soldiers. They are clearly gesturing towards the two of them as they speak amongst themselves. Sagat then asks her, "What fighting art do you practice? I assume you are a practicioner or something being in the SNFs."
"Special forces training -- it's a combination of high explosives, tonfa and hatchet techniques, and unarmed strikes." Talking about fighting, in this world where a fist says more than a gun to many men, is easy. "And you're a Muay Thai fighter -- yeah, I remember now." She gives a little smile to Sagat, and adds, "I wonder what they're saying about us."
"Special Forces." Sagat repeats. He bobs his head up and down, "Quite a versatile art. Changes from person to person. Makes it unpredictable." Sagat then raises a hand and starts to count off on his fingers, "I know of a good number of people who claim to have Special Forces training. They can be quite formidible." He looks from the group of soldiers to Fio. He laughs at her question, "Why they are talking about you, obviously. They're trying to I.D. you, I am sure of it. Going to report back that you are an affiliate of mine, no doubt."
That bears a little consideration. Fio doesn't know quite how to react to that at first, but eventually says, "If you're thinking about fighting the terrorist organization, I wouldn't mind being an affiliate of yours, sir." She tips her cap a little, and looks across the way again. "You are going to, right? You said you wouldn't waste your strength on the goon squad, but you are going to help out, right?" One hand strays behind her back as she keeps looking those soldiers over.
Sagat grunts in response, "Of course I am going to fight. This is my country." The Thai looks down at Fio again, "However if I were you, I would definately mind being an affiliate of mine." He points a meaty finger towards the group of soldiers, "Once we go our seperate ways, you're going to lose the protection my presence lends you. I.D.ing you means that they will seek you out at another time. You may be good enough to fight in the Saturday Night Fights, but how many of them at once can you take?"
Another question that requires careful thought. Fio considers it, and says, "... Two, three if I get really lucky. One at a time would be easier -- I could weave out of the way of their shots better that way." The young woman suspects Sagat's answer hovers around fifty-five, just from the look of him. She shifts a little, uneasily, saying, "... but I'll fight them if I have to." That last part seems more determined than the first part.
"And now it's if you have to?" Sagat asks Fio with a shake of his head. Sagat intones, "I thought you were here to fight the terrorist organization taking over my country? Now you'll fight them if you have to?" Sagat laughs and waves a hand, "I am just saying... now that they have seen you with me, your life is in danger." The Thai looks away, "How's that make you feel?"
Fio has never been the best at articulating herself at sane hours of the day. She doesn't even /get up/ until two in the afternoon; she has a hard time getting going until the late evening at best. "I meant... I'd fight all of them at once if it came to that. And -- I... think I'm okay with being a target, if I'm going to be." Bold words, at least -- and from the look in her eyes, she means them.
"If you think you can, than I suppose that's all that matters, hmmm?" The Thai Legend goes back to walking. He's heading for a building now. A small little shack. Sagat calls back to Fio as he walks towards the shack, "Good luck with your objectives. Oh, and be careful. Shadaloo can be quite tricky."
"Thank you, sir," Fio says, taking a few steps after him but ultimately letting the large man go. She'd certainly /like/ to maintain that protection, but right now, she thinks he might need some time alone. "... it might be a good time to get out of here, right?" she calls after him. If there's one thing she's good at, it's beating feet amid gunfire, and that's looking like it might be her only option.
Log created on 19:32:14 06/03/2007 by Fio, and last modified on 09:58:27 06/30/2007.