Story:The Merespem Civil Militia Division

1

Came out from Shym station heading south, im a few minutes late as they've been doing construction on so much of the center city since the war ended that getting a train on time is a miracle, I was lucky enough to not be affected too much personally, I was on a work trip in Agreement for much of the battle, doesn't mean the city isn't affected, every other surviving wall is riddles with impact craters or stains, the oldest town in the country reduced mostly to a bunch of rubble and corpses, when i returned it was like seeing an old friend bleeding out in the street, I can only imagine how terrible it must've been for people that have lived here for a lifetime. My apartment is a new build, a part of the Teren housing reforms for all the people that lost livelihoods in the war, its nice, maybe too nice, the concrete exterior really does not do it justice, compared to the ancient hovels of the old town atleast, people will still complain about it though, as if it was their right to live in a rundown building that should have been converted to a museum a century ago. On the walk up to my flat i have to pass a group of youngsters, probably just got out of school, they are listening to Mrael tapes on an old portable tape system, older than me even, there is tape keeping the battery compartment in place and the speaker sounds as if it was dropped down stairs for half a decade, this does not seem to bother the young men. The one closest to the system asks me for a cigarettes as I pass by, I have to root around my mess of a bag but i eventually find my pack and give him the last one, "its your lucky day, friend" i say as i give it to him, he responds with a simple "Uchek Kekiril" and our interaction ends. The elevator in our building stopped working last Yenso and the mechanic keeps getting into fights with the local Sumaasyl about payment so its been in this limbo of no progress getting done for like half the Uewen at this point, I don't mind the stairs since I only live on the fourth floor, which itself is only about halfway up the building, when the elevator first broke my elderly neighbor chose to look at the uranium lining and be happy about the extra exercise he'd be getting, my job is active enough to make it a slog after work but im sure if you are an office worker it could be beneficial. The stairway itself is clean bar a couple bits of graffiti, likely added by the teenagers downstairs. I eventually make it to my apartment at the end of the hall, my neighbor is complaining about Einru to his wife, who is notably not interested in politics as I open my door, he is a good man but has this problem where he believes his teenage years in the late Ywylin period were the greatest time to be alive, he was a royal executor during the revolution and loves to tell me war stories despite the fact he spent most of the time in Tinlea doing paperwork for the dead. I specifically have avoided telling him about my job cause I do not need a lecture from a living relic.

By the time i finish fumbling for my keys and enter my living room the two have moved onto talking about the Deysachini immigrant who lives in the floor below us, he spends a lot of time in the common areas so the old people know him quite well. One of the nicer things about these new apartments is the heating is much better, back when I lived in the Kelna old district I had to buy a new fan every few lerpoks. I unpack my work bag and start cooking my dinner; the cheapest brenya meat i could get at the butchers, it wasn't even labelled what cut it was, as a side im going to eat leftover soup from last nights dinner, since I don't feel like cooking anything else. I'm about halfway through cooking this mysterious brenya steak when I start to regret not spending a few more Đ on something even a little nice, its practically falling apart in the pan, the garlic seasoning seems to cut through it, by the time im done it looks like a puddle of stepped on meat. The taste isnt much better, the seasoning isn't enough to mask the fact that my poor cooking combined with an even poorer meat quality is not a recipe for success. As im going for my second bite, watching Neri fishing reruns on Television, my telephone rings, its in the kitchen so I get up, "Awit srekyen hore?" its work, something urgent enough to call me in at 9:45 after I had already gotten home, apparently something terrible has happened and they are waiting for me to get to the precinct before fully elaborating, so I put on my uniform coat, grab my bag and leave with the television still on. As Im rushing to leave the building I trip going down the stairs, luckily covering most of my head with my elbow, leaving a mark that im choosing to ignore for the time being. As i reach the entrance of the walk-up the teenagers and I exchange greetings again, id love to stay and chat to some delinquents but I have places to be.

On the walk down to Shym station an incredibly drunk man leaving a bar thanks me for my service, I dont respond. He continues yelling at me until im out of earshot, at Shym station again and because of the construction I now have to wait a few extra minutes before my wonderful steel chariot arrives, i buy a cheap packaged coffee drink from the vending machine without inspecting the bottle too much, I dont realize its Mersyeyn brew till i take a sip and almost throw up on the platform, the only other person at the station just stares at me while this happens, he approaches and asks me whats wrong as if he wasnt looking at me the whole time, I explain how much i hate the taste of mersyeyn, our conversation ends with me giving him the drink and deciding ill find some real coffee at work. The train pulls into the station, its one of the new Syarb series, incredibly similar to the Syacan series except the seats are a different color and they sometimes have wraps showcasing various aspects of Utlian culture, the pulling in now is undercoated. The seat color is actually a quite nice change, i never liked the brown seats and think teal fits Unlaunen a lot better. I do not take a seat because the precinct is only a few stops away, i notice they've changed the posters on the train, theres now one showcasing Kalami-Utlian solidarity and a bunch about how great the House of Light is, its funny remembering the old ones that said the same shit about Akaria and Akuta, atleast the kalami have good food, I always hated when someone would suggest eating at some akarian resturant and id have to look at the putrid colored walls they seem obsessed with, not only that, then id have to eat food that seems to be more of a punishment than a culinary innovation. Kalami food on the other hand is as good as Utlian food id say, they have some real geniuses working over there, id love to visit one day, see the beaches, would be nice to generally get out of the snow for once, its been a brutal Uyrin and some sun might fix all my problems. In-between the political propaganda posters is an ad for the new album from Hens Ureok, i dislike all the keym stuff and shes the worst of it, id take a thousand bum teenagers listening to Mrael over it anyday, I miss the day they showed ads for that stuff, it was only a few years but it was the best time for music in this country. After enough judging the train pulls into Uebha station, its noticeably older than a lot of the other stations in Merespem district, being close to the center city means they get renovated every decade or so but Uebha has been the same since 20 PC, I mean the bulletin board has a ratty piece of paper praising the democratization under Hia El, its practically like walking into the past. Uebha is also the only non-elevated station in central Unlaunen, which I appreciate since it means less stairs to walk up, whoever decided to build this city on a billion hills deserves to be tortured eternally.

I walk out onto Ereneop street and make my way to work, Unlaunen Militia Merespem Division, ranked 4th best station in Unlaunen during the audits last year. Number 2 if you exclude all the fake militia divisions in places that nobody lives in, no other city in this country would give a whole precinct to a place with 100 people but i guess they do things different here in Azznin. The precinct building is wonderful, im biased of course but ill always love its grand architecture, you can tell it used to be the city hall prior to the annexation of Merespem into Unlaunen proper, has a very rural vibe for a place so densely populated. Before i head to debrief whatever this horrible situation is, I go to the break room, it has a little kitchenette but nobody ever uses it since everybody would rather make meals at home, I open the shared fridge and luckily someone has left some coffee out, its labelled as being Ureste's so i dont feel bad about taking it and drinking it, i need it more than his lazy ass anyway, he sits at his desk and acts like being in the social work division is the most mentally taxing thing ever. On the way to my desk i run into Neseyret, she gives me the rundown on the situation at hand, 3 dead in a robbery gone wrong in north Merespem, I was called in cause the robbed business was Casean and im the only homicide detective in the militia division who can understand Caseic. At my desk i grab my gun, a Hyren Nebek, I was luckily enough to be approved a gun transfer as well when I moved from Orena to here, everybody here uses shoddy Utrey pistols, i gladly paid the fee to get our little emblem stamped on my Nebek so i could continue using it down here, the Merespem emblem is interesting, atleast comparded to the boring shield of Rebyuna, it has a marmot of some kind and hes wearing an Unlaunen civil militia jacket, its whimsical in a way more precicints should be, im lucky enough to work at one that isnt always serious, except for Ureste but i cant help how much he sucks, he was transferred here a couple lerpoks after me and is very prideful about being from the most dangerous district in Balmor, to me he just comes off as an idiot with a gun. The rest of my coworkers are fun to be around but he ruins almost any work event for me.

I grab a blank case file from my drawer and get to the garage, I dont own a car personally cause they are expensive and just lead to more trouble than its worth, I still have to have all the valid credentials and pass the tests because of work, our vehicles are as old as the station itself, I dont mind but in the colder months it can be uncomfortable driving without proper heating, our vehicles are assigned to us personally and mine is among the oldest models, meaning its less safe but also looks a lot better, i dont think a militia car should prioritize safety, they should be about getting places as fast as possible to respond to immediate threats, this opinion is not shared by the council since that one militiaman skewered himself a few years ago. One idiot has to ruin it for everybody. I turn the car on and start driving, the precinct is in central Merespem and this crime has happened in north Merespem, which is the wealthier part of town, atleast wealthier compared to the part I live in. The tapedeck in my service vehicle is broken so i have to listen to the radio, lots of orchestral Keral performances and Arke for me at work, its like a punishment, luckily the drive isnt too long and i make it to the scene before they start with the Ideokeo night showcase. There is already another 3 militiamen at the scene, only patrolmen though, no other detective to help me here. One of the patrolmen is a good friend of mine, Sm. Lyremen Utek, he has declined 3 promotions since i got transferred and is a terrible patrolman, geniunely abysmal at his job, they only try to promote him so they can get him out of the field and behind a desk, hes a good man though, they had him assigned as my trainerwhen i first got here, one of the first things he told me is that his favorite part of the job is getting to drive around the district and getting discounted meals from local restaurants. He debriefs me on the situation, barely anything is known because the owner only speaks a little Utyis, this part of Merespem is overwhelmingly Caseic so its not that uncommon, what is known is that there are 2 dead customers and 1 dead workers inside, i play rank to avoid talking to the other patrolmen and enter the building, its a fairly standard shop on the first floor of a rowhome, entirely normal for the country, on the salesfloor is the owner, visibly in a lot of distress, I struggle with these situations and im sure the three idiots talking about the best cut of grylbo meat outside isnt helping with his stress. I conduct a uniform interview with the man, he tells me that at 8:30 pm, two men wearing masks entered the store and demanded money, the teller was the owners son and speaks only a little more Utyis than his father, one of the robbers went around the store and tried to rob the customers of the store, leading to the other two corpses in the store, i walk outside and ask the patrolmen if they've gotten any forensics out here, they have not so i have to use the store phone and get the weird fellas out here, the rest of the precinct dont like them much cause they are frankly quite weird but they are fun to drink some eiyye with at work events. I continue with my interview and at this point the shop owner is outside and has calmed down a bit, being away from the corpses is probably helpful in that sense. He tells me that he has a camera set up on the outside of his store, i request to view the footage and he takes me to the back room, the camera and its system are old, practically taking up half a room in this relatively small building, the men are unidentifiable from a combination of bad quality and face coverings, something does stick out to me though.

One of the men has a tattoo on his hand with the symbol of a local gang, loosely associated with Lwyin-hermaed, this gives me a headache cause i really do not want to deal with that group, even beyond the criminal portion they are just smug and annoying, I thank the owner and leave the store, the patrolmen outside ask me for the story and i reluctantly tell them that its a lwyin-hermaed job, they seem unreasonably excited about it, a lot of patrolmen have this mindset that doing gang work, and specifically lwyin-hermaed jobs are the peak of militia work, its a kind of "shootouts are how i can earn my place in the deep!" ideology. I hate this mindset as someone who just likes to do his job and doesnt care about the violent aspect, which is humorous for a homicide detective, but you have to remember that usually I get to the scene long after the violence has concluded. I finish my case report in the car and leave the scene. On the way back to the station I feel that craving for a cigarettes, its part of my ritual to have one after every case i report on, so i stop at a convenience store on sebreka road, the same way I stop at almost every other day since its so close to the station, the man who works night shift has learned who i am and when i enter the familymart he likes to yell out like an old friend "ARYET MY FRIEND!" I quite like him, I havent learned his name but he knows the exact kind of cig I like and has started giving me a discount, the store itself has lackluster snack variety and is kind of decaying on the inside, its in a rough shape but its like how people dedicate themselves to a specific shrine, ive dedicated myself to this rundown shop. Hopefully it makes up for the fact I havent been to a shrine in a decade, if Azzta is watching he must be quite dissapointed in me, I get my usual, a pack of neresen cigs and a bag of salt and vinegar eyren, which is my favorite flavor of the chip, neresen are my favorite cig as well but since all cigs are owned by the province, all the brand name parts of it and packaging is just smoke and mirrors, all that money still goes to the same place, they just like to make it look like there's more variety than there is, i get into a conversation with my cashier friend as he checks me out "eventful day at work today friend?" "oh yeah, quite eventful, had to get called in on a special case tonight" our conversation drifts into politics and I feel like I learn quite a bit about the average Utlian ideology "yeah I like the Einru president, that Teren is strong, hes like Yyme, I dont like all this new House of Light stuff im in honest, I was fine with the Casean immigrants they make sense but all these Deysachini and their little exclaves in town are are just annoying, hopefully those Einru fellas get the sense to realize its Utlia first and Utlia only" I disagree but im not going to get into a fight with my newish friend so I just agree and leave the store. Im driving back to the station when the Ideokeo showcase hour starts, Im not supposed to smoke in my service vehicle but I dont care, helps me keep my mind off how terrible this music is when you arent a 20 year old from Orena.

Parking at the station I run into Ureste, also getting back from a different incident in north Mersepem, I try to avoid him but like the leech he is he latches onto me and accompanies me for my walk inside "Yeah it was a rough case man, wife is an ardey and husband is a recent mirroi devout, i didnt even know you could convert to mirroi, anyway they are getting in this big fight and he throws a tome at her, like not a normal book, you know the kind of Mirroi book im talking about, shes got this huge gash on her forehead, I was first on the scene so I had to defuse, luckily their neighbor called before it got too bad, howd your case go? hopefully nothing too taxing" I reluctantly explain the triple gang murder I just got back from "oh man I hope you're feeling alright, that stuff can ruin your day and Lwyin-Hermaed is nothing to scoff at either, good thing you have that special service weapon right, OH hey just letting we are decorating for Herk Bell Fest next week and it would be a great help if youd wanna help me and Nersey put up the festivities." By Azzta this man never shuts up, im going to help purely because I like Nersey, though i have no idea why shes friends with Ureste, the whole station seems to like him more than I think I could muster and they are mostly sane Utlians. Before heading back to my desk I submit a copy of the case report to the organizational department, we had to get a new copier last lerpok and I had to get used to the controls, im still not very good as it as i accidentally press the Mepa button and print close to a dozen copies of my report. The lady who works in organizing doesnt like me, shes a new hire who seems to think im cursed or something, she does the most to avoid me at all costs, I think I may have told her I dont go to the shrine twice a week or eat mor-crab during festivals or something, shes the kind of Azztanist that has issues with that stuff. Despite all this she runs the organizational department quite well, before she got here we had a guy with no idea how the Braia organization system worked so he tried to get us to swap to a color system where each case type had a color associated, everyone told him it was stupid and eventually he just stopped coming to work, he said he was going to the east ocean for something and then just never came back.

As im leaving the station i run into Ureste again "oh hey you live by Shym station right, mind if i tag-along? Im only one station before you we could talk about work and life and whatever" I agree as to not come off as rude. We begin the walk to Uebha station together and he starts the conversation "So did you hear about forensics and corpses?" "No what happened?" "They got hit with a heavy fine last audit for improper storage of morgue corpses, something about the temperature of the bodies was wrong, the bigger part of it was that they were mistagging cause of death from autopsies, I heard a few of the patrolmen say that with these new civil militia regulations their department head is probably getting detained soon, i personally hope they send him to LS1S, his whole department is full of freaks, I wish theyd keep that stuff in a seperate building so we could interact with them less" Ive never heard this man be negative about something like this so i cant help but laugh a little bit in response "Haha yeah those guys are a little weird, they have like their own accent you know." "i never thought about it like that but yeah they do talk like theyve been isolated in their morgue basment since Swyl was in power." For the first time in the two ueuwen since ive worked here i feel good talking to Ureste, maybe i just had to see a few dead Caseans to make his prescense feel like comfort. Our conversation about the lads in autopsy continues until we reach Uebha station and run into two incredibly well dressed men, clearly of wealth, they look at us with a kind of disgust I didn't know was possible, Ureste notices this and intentionally bothers the men "oh hello sir nobles we just got done keeping the city safe for people like you! you should thank us!" At first the men try to ignore him but after I laugh one of the noblemen turns to us quickly and snaps while his buddy tries to pull him back "You and the civil militia has done nothing good, Yyme Braia was a failed experiment this country needs to return to the democratic state of justice, the death of Swyl Shote was the worst thing to happen to this country since the revolution, you and your entire division should feel ashamed, if our family still had the military you would be executed" at this point Ureste is practically hysterical and im not far behind, the men trying to play rank and mention their blood like being a Shote is some kind of birthright that lets you command respect

Ureste and I eventually get tired fighting with the nobles after the train arrives, they purposefully board a different car to avoid us anyway, we spend the ride to his station laughing about politics and I find we actually share a lot of opinions about the state of the noble families in this country, its like Unlaunen is one of the last places they get proper respect so they tend to flock here. At his station I bid him farewell and go back to looking at the train, the one that picked us up has newspaper displays in every car, a photo of President Terent giving a speech in Tinlea is the big story, he said some stuff about Einru ideology and world progression into a new age, stuff that people like I guess, other stories include "man in Serees district caught with 32 churgs in illegal breeding operation" "new tsunami protection and alert system meant to minimize causalities in natural disasters officially begins testing in Unlaunen-Ut" that ones good for the people closer to the west but Merespem is in northeast Unlaunen, tsunamis arent as big a problem up here. Eventually i hear the wonderful "next stop is Shym station" and get up, the walk from station to home is quieter than usually, its the middle of the night so i it makes sense, doesnt help but make it feel lonely, even the bar i passed on the way is pretty much dead, just one dude sipping eiyye in there now, my apartment building sticks out like a sore thumb, its the only big block renewal one they build in this part of Merespem so inbetween the gabled rowhomes its like a monolith to Einru. The walkup is empty and the air is cold, no Mrael playing, just the hum of lightbulbs and the faint whispers of life happening beyond the wall. On the third floor I do run into one of the teenagers from earlier and he greets me with a "CIGARETTE MAN! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!" as i walk by, i talk to him for a moment, complimenting his taste in music before heading up to my room, my neighbor is outside his room and hes reading some book about Akarian history and ashe spies me, his smile quickly turns to a frown as he spies my uniform "Oh i didnt know you were one of them, a shame isnt it mate, i figured you were the smarter than that, no hard feelings though" he says, clearly meaning hard feelings, im too tired to fight with him about it so i just get into my apartment, unpack from work, i didnt forget to bring my gun home today, its a habit i picked up back in Orena, since there we werent allowed to bring weapons home, here its encouraged, ill never understand the tiny differences between precincts, even between individual districts its like whole other cultures. The tv is playing some tv-film adaptation of the third Adventures of Nyis book, I always liked that one so I eat my eyren while watching it, my puddle steak from earlier still sitting on the table, i decide ill deal with it in the morning, the bedrooms in this building are one of the few negatives of living in these new build blocks, the closet is too small and the bed is too low to the ground, something about traditional Utlian living in a modern shell, I just want to be comfortable tradition doesnt mean much to me in this case. Just before I get into bed i recieve a call, i sluggishly make my way back to the living are and answer "Awit srekyen hore?" its the morgue, they got the bodies registered back at the station, cause of death is gunshot, which i couldve told you. I return to my bed and after a slight struggle with it, fall asleep.

2

Its my day off now, my head hurts so i decide to head to the shops as a start to the morning. I need other things and its been some time since Ive been in central Unlaunen anyway so I get ready, my bathroom light flickers a little as I turn it on, its the dirtiest room in the apartment. There was a time in Orena where me and Junior Orbit Detective M. Sweyen got called to a run-down warehouse in our district of Kerkesetko, the caller was frantic, explained that they saw someone dragged into the warehouse and assumed it was a kidnapping or some other violent act waiting to happen, the precinct was short-staffed so the Investigatory department was called in to deal with it, we rush into the patrol car, drive through the streets of industrial decay from when Kerkesetko had coal and a reason to exist, make our way to the warehouse and unbeknownst to me or JOD Sweyen, we were on the border between Kerkesetko and Seberyeie, so the Active Response from Seberyeie's division also got called in, they arrive shortly after us, the lights in this warehouse barely work and flicker constantly, making it near impossible to see without a personal source of light, so these response guys walk into the pitch black, the light flickers for a second and they just see the outline of someone with a gun facing them and they fire haphazardly at the figure, killing the detective I was supposed to be training nearly instantly, I immediately began yelling back at them, mostly expletives and accusations of murder, we get into a huge argument and have to call both stations to log the incident, I know they had to fill out the mountain of paperwork that I did too because I know that the officer who shot her defended himself by saying that the different uniforms led them to believe we were gang affiliated, that officer would become the Dyelt Officer of Seberyeie within the next year, both precincts swept the incident under the rug and no consequences were ever dealt and Kerkestko would continue to be an industrial rathole. It was the main reason I chose to transfer to Unlaunen after doing pretty much my entire career in Orena, though on the official report I stated a desire to get some fresh air away from the dense city. I later found out that the incident that we were called to investigate was some music video being filmed.

Since then I haven't been too fond of flickering lights or Active Response teams, if you put me in charge that entire department would stop existing, promoting a patrolmen to Active Response just gives him a sense of power and a heightened stupidity in everyday interactions. I finish getting ready and put on my second best jacket, my first best jacket is my work uniform and I shouldn't be wearing that off duty. The building is lively today, the elderly people on my floor are coagulated in a corner by the window at the end of the hall, complaining about the teenage delinquents that have recently moved in. In the stairwell itself I run into one of those delinquents "Uchek cigg man happy Aracetnaara, its a beautiful start to the season" as infectious as his smile is, I had completely forgot today was the start of Aracet, its been such a cold Yenso I never thought it would end. The degenerate, who Ive now learned is named Netet has a cyals ball under his arm "yeah me and a few of the mates set up a cien in the courtyard, hopefully management dont yell at us for it" his smirking tells me otherwise. Its bright and the walk to Shym station is fairly crowded, in the late 40s PC the stretch of Haryk street between my apartment and the station went through a bit of urban renewalm mostly just the local sumaasyl voting to let city planners go wild with the shops and restaurants, this place used to be a fairly quiet part of Merespem, the oldest stuff was build prior to annexation into Unlaunen so its distinctly Merespem, the new stuff inhabiting these old buildings isnt bad, its a nice atmosphere but Azzta forgive me these people are annoying, all the restaurants that moved in seem to cater to the worst type of Tinlea faux-elite, the type of Utlian who thanks you for your service while asking you to kindly leave them alone, they want the civil militia to be strong but they never want to see proof of a working militia division. All the boutique stores that opened are also full of these peoples, shoppes that cater to them with promises of exotic trinkets from far-away islands to make you seem more worldly, a few of these stores got driven away when Einru built the concrete apartment block and brought in people like me and Netet, which I appreciated greatly. The biggest problem though is Shym station stays crowded constantly, northern district idiots in costume as tinlea elites rushing to eat Okriti food cooked by a Casean and act like they have reached the peak of knowledge about the archipelago. I grab a coffee from the vending machine in the station concourse, the platform is crowded as expected, luckily no construction delays for the morning though, the train arrives just after i reach my platform. The seats are all taken so Im forced to stand for the duration of the ride, I'm heading to the wonderfully modern district of Awelat, in north-eastern Unlaunen, it was build to be a big shopping district modeled after all the ones in Rebyuna and greater Orena, something that has been mostly unique to Orena, and moderately successful here, I never cared for the culture of it but they are incredibly convenient for errands. I get off at Meyyet station and am immediately hit with the grandeur of it, the large pedestrianized area, flyers and banners everywhere, advertisements pasted on every surface, alluring lights on every building, dense alleyways, in Orena i hated how over-the-top it all was but being here now I cant help but feel nostalgia for my home.

My first stop on the list of errands is the medicinal store, there's one in the closest row of shops to the station so I walk past a crowd of people and enter the store, its brighter than any building I have been in all Yenso, because of how medicinal business operate, you have to speak to a clerk and tell him your symptoms before receiving anything helpful, this would be fine if they didn't exclusively hire the meanest people in the city, the clerk today looks especially rude as i approach him, he has sunken eyes and the kind of face that screams 1st Firebomb lyet kill-count leader. "uh hi I have been having headaches-" before I can finish speaking he wordlessly walks into the back of the building and grabs a vial of liquid from a shelf, brings it back to the counter, sighs and says "3 dolare" Before Ive even finished paying hes gone back to looking at a newspaper. Next stop is the supermarket, which is just across the main pedestrian square, sandwiched between a luxury liarn/coat store and a place that sells shoes. The square itself is quite the beautiful place, there's a large statue of some Utyr i cant name in the middle of it. The supermarket feels larger than it is, the actual aisles are quite cramped but the store feels wide for this shopping center.

I need bread, a harausyyaro, some myloe fruit and carp, much like with cigs everything is branded as if its owned by some separate company despite all being owned by the Bureau of Agriculture and its food board, the different branding is supposed to help you differentiate between different types of a single product that may be sold, like the difference between a brenya steak with bone vs one without bone, my rebuttal to this is that i could just read the words on the package because I'm not illiterate. Im in the bakery section looking at pastries trying to see if they have eibto left when I hear a familiar voice "Aryet? Is that you!?" Letsek Hens is not just any member of the Unlaunen-Ut Sumaasyl, but the presiding speaker of it, we went to school together, all of primary school and then the first year of secondary school before I transferred to the junior officer program in Kelna, I haven't spoken to this man since i was fifteen years of age. "Uchek Letsek, hope all is well for you these days" "Cant believe I ran into you here, I mean its been about thirteen years since we last saw each-other, forget how Im doing how is another third of the Rebyuna buffoons bureau doing" the RBB was our circle of close friends, we used to skip school and steal bottles of alcohol from the trash receptacles in central Rebyuna, trying to find some bottles that weren't entirely empty of liquid. he continues "So did you ever graduate that program? I feel like I heard something about you working in Kerkestko, I would have already been down here by the time you got back to Orena though" At this point the two of us are fully blocking the pastry section of this supermarket "Yeah I graduated, did my job training, moved back to Orena, decided against working in my home district cause I'm an idiot who makes bad decisions, got hired up north, transferred here about 2 PC ago." "Oh man Im sure you saw the news, Im presiding speaker and now that its Aracet, Im about to officially announce my run for Masevi of Unlaunen, ha-ha don't tell anybody yet though" I completely forgot its municipal election season, I once watched this man steal Eiyye from a sleeping homeless man and now hes about to attempt to run for the highest position of power in the city. "So Aryet, do you remember Syeren, she moved to Rebyuna near the end of primary school and went to our secondary school, she used to hangout with us near the tail end of the RBBs existence, you were less active in the group since you spent all the time studying for the Militia Program but shes actually the reason I moved here, we got married after graduating, we would love to have you over for dinner later this lerpok!" This information should not make me feel the way it does, I never liked Syeren I found her an annoyance who constantly complained about us having fun, but I still feel a sense of dread. I try to ignore it and respond to him "I would greatly appreciate that, I work most days but I can always come in after work if need be, I live out in that new block apartment in Merespem, if you ever need to find me personally" "That sounds like a plan, ill be in contact, until then ill let you get on with your day, old friend" he writes his address down on a piece of branded stationary and leaves me with a "Thank you for your service detective Saaryu!" I grab the last harausyyaro and move on to the adjacent bread section of the bakery, most supermarkets in Utlia are 1 third packaged food, 1 third fresh fish and 1 third bakery, this one is half bakery, theres so much bread to choose from, I pick the same one I grab every time, Kelna-Dyeltuen, its a sourdough type and its the only bread I buy for myself. By the time i make my way to the fruit section of the store all the Myloe is gone, if I had known it was the start of Aracet prior to waking up this morning I could've predicted this, Herk Bell fest is in a week and people need myloe for ceremonies, I just wanted some for eating though. Last thing on the list is carp, lucky for me this is never out of stock, usually Im the only one who eats carp, everyone views it as gross and dirty but I love to thoughtfully grill and season a carp, its the perfect dinner in my opinion; as expected there is a full stock of carp at the fish desk, I get two uncut carp, its actually less expensive than getting any cuts cause you have to prepare the whole thing yourself, which I enjoy doing myself, its a kind of tedious process that I believe gives you a greater appreciation for the meal, you learn to really understand the fish's inner workings and the patience makes the dish itself taste better. As I'm leaving the supermarket I get hit with the realization that now I have to carry a bunch of fish and groceries around the next shops I visit, its too late now so might as well make it work but I cant help but feel judged for my bags.

Next stop is in a place called lightning-alley, the second alley down the main covered pedestrian street coming off of the Meyyet square, it is littered with Keym album and concert advertisements, people passing out fliers, clubs, general electric goods stores and what I'm here for, tapes, there is a tape seller around the midpoint of the alley so I have to pass by the people who get paid to harass others, for a second the thought crosses my mind that I should flash my badge at them but that just feels rude, not like I'm doing my job, I'm carrying bags of fish right now I'm obviously off duty. I do my best to ignore the promoters as I snake my way through the crowd, luckily the music store is fairly empty, Im looking for 10-30 TT Era Kepet, that when the genre peaked in my opinion, not commercially sadly, it never caught on and by 6 PC most of the bands had dried up, Kepet itself had a bit of a revival from 27 to 31 PC before those Balmor Yetkeo freaks killed it in its cradle, I have nothing against Nerota, I mean I do but I still enjoy it, it gets compared to Kepet a lot but they are incredibly different, people just see counter-cultural genres and feel the need to lump them together, Kepet was founded on violently abrasive instrumentation with pockets of melodic bliss, a sense of folklore and mystique behind every release, vocals that range from sounding like someone being murdered in Bal Forest to guy sounding like hes about to murder someone in Bal Forest. Dont get me wrong I like quite a bit of Nerota like Archek! and Slab-Head but I just find comparison with Kepet to be ignorant on all levels. Anyway like i said, store is empty except for maybe three or four patrons and the single worker, currently reading an old Paze issue. The store is large, the biggest tape dealer Ive seen in the entire city, its magnificent, two of the other patrons are crowding around the considerably large Arke section, one person is perusing non-tape memorabilia and the last is in front of a display, the sign is an unreadable font but I know the second I see the Hogmelter debut album its the Kepet section, some young woman is perusing so I politely wait for her to finish besides the rack, of course she notices me "Oh are you a Kepet fan? Dont meet many of them, especially this far south, this store has the best selection in Unlaunen though" shes smiling at me in a way that suggests no ill will "Yeah I picked up an appreciation up in Kelna, knew a guy who was obsessed with the atmospheric folklore bits, I mostly just liked the music though, never got too into the culture beyond a few local gigs, how do you know this is the best shop in Unlaunen though, do you have any idea how many tape dealers there are in this city" Im trying to come off kind of saracastic but inquistive but I think my tone of voice makes it seem more like coming off as rude and a Nremsy. She seems to take it well though in her response "Well ive been to almost all of them for promotional concerts, hopefully thats changing soon though" Azzta I apoligize for being a dickhead, "Oh are you a Kepet keralist, ohh wait actually you strike me as a low-lerouwa player, maybe even a percussionist they surprise you sometimes" she responds confused "Did you not see the fliers outside?" "No I ignored that guy" "Oh well Im an indepdendent Keym, Im playing what I think is my last show without a label here in about an hour, I have a meeting tommorow with Uchek records, going straight to the best roster if they accept me, what about you, are you a musician carp-man?" "Oh not anymore, I used to play in a Kepet band during my time in Kelna but I was only in the academy for 2 years, joys of specialized education means you get to shave a year off your expected finishing year, we were really small only played shows at rowhomes and community centers really, I was our electric keralist and I was terrible, kept the instrument through all my moves though" She has shifted her full attention from the tapes to our conversation by now, its nice to speak to someone whos not musically ignorant "The academy? which university did you go to up in Kelna?" oh boy "uhhh no, was the junior program at the Civil Militia academy, graduated and am now a detective over in Merespem, sorry to dissapoint, my job isnt very glamorous compared to yours" she seems geniunely quite supportive of the civil militia, rare for Unlaunen, where the half people just want the royal military police back and the other half are actual gang members "Well thats far more important than singing songs, if youd like to see me play I can put you on the guest list, its just down Meyyet at the Idemyet club." I dont like her genre of music but if I wasnt busy id probably watch just to support a fellow Ketpilit, I explain my errand situation to her and she seems a little dissapointed "Oh well we can just exchange information" she pulls out a piece of paper from her bag "write your district address and telephone number on this ill keep you in the know for my concerts" I dont really want to be called more but why not, I give her the completed information slip and she begins to walk away before turning back to me "One last thing, I noticed your Nerukfeyro jacket, that venue was incredible, sucks they had to tear it down for that university expansion" Neruk-Feyro was a music and art venue in the Rebyuna district of Orena that me and my friends in the RBB would frequent, we were familiar with the owner and before it shut down we got a bunch of merchandise related to the place, I was lucky enough to get the only jacket they had left, I was told they only ever made about 5 of them cause the cost of the "high-quality" material was too expensive.

I leave the store without buying anything, blaming this on the nice interaction I had, leaving the alley the mid-day chime plays, the walk out of the alley is uneventful but I have one more stop, not on Meyyet street though I have to head back to Shym station, so that is what I do, at this point in the day the crowds are at their peak and I would want to head home first anyway to put this food up before heading out for my last stop. On the train out of Meyyet I do not get a seat again and a child stares at me the entire time, at first i thought he was looking at the carp in the bag but after a minute I realized hes just making straight eye contact, he looked too old to get away with that if you ask me. The ride and my subsequent walk home are fairly boring, part of why I love these days off is I can see my apartment in its sunbasked glory, usually i work from sun up to sun down so the only times I get to see the light reflect the floral tile in my kitchen and hit the entire living area with a beautiful glow is on these days off, of which i only get two per lerpok, union standard is three days off per lerpok but the civil militia is a government institution and therefore under the COUR Azznin union, which sounds nice until you realize it just means every choice, descision, policy change and leadership statement has to appeal to the entire government of Azznin, so nothing gets down, hopefully Einru can gut some of this bureacrocy soon, maybe ill write a letter to that Heyel guy, he likes to give interviews and respond to the people, he might listen to me. After putting the groceries up I make my way to the common area of the apartment building, I almost never come in here cause its usually just the old people talking about the young people and the immigrants who find our low-grade recreational activities novel, and today is no different, my neighbor is sitting on a bench reading a Doreonya novel titled "La Rossan Women and their exotic methods" in plain view of the entire room, he gives me a look before going back to his, I assume highly engrossing story. There is that one Desyachini immigrant in the room today, marvelling at the food options at the little snack cafeteria. The walls are this weird light greenish wallpaper that is nowhere else in the building as far as im aware, I dont even know if the other blocks have it or if our management is just uniquely stupid, atleast its not peeling the bathroom wallpaper, I cant prove it but I would bet my place in The Deep that someone is urinating on the walls in the bathroom and ruining them in the process.

This time when I leave my apartment block I turn right further down east Haryk street instead of right towards Shym station, further down here is one of my favorite parts in Merespem, a generally quiet residential area with few supermarkets and essential shops, that is if you ignore the three story hobby shop in the middle of it, I am not a man with many hobbies, mostly because I cant due to my working all day. The store itself is massive, they advertise themselves as the largest hobby shop in Azznin but I'm fairly sure its true but I dont know how you would even quantifiy that measurement. The store interior is fairly cozy, its cramped but in a homely way, it kind of look like it used to be offices, it has that unique Utlian office carpet-tiling for flooring you dont see elsewhere, upon entering theres a helpful noticeboard of where items are, the first floor has gardening and other stuff that would be painful to carry down stairs, like anvils. The third floor has Doreonya novels and games, I got my copy of Sailors and Storms that I have still yet to play from there, I also think theyve started selling radios up there, lots of misc/more niche hobbies get up there. My destination is on the second floor, though I would love to get into gardening, dont really have space but maybe i can ask Netet if he wants to setup a communal garden and pretend building management allowed us to. On the second floor is where the model kits are, my personal moneysink, I started building them after moving back to Orena since Nimberely district pretty much invented it and my cousin who lived there would always bring me them as gifts growing up. There used to be a real rundown shop in Kerkesetko that im fairly sure was only stocking kits so I wouldnt figure out they were some kind of front. This specific visit I have nothing in mind, I walk around for a bit and eventually decide on a UT1b-Rurl scout tank. I have most of the scount tank series built already and this is one of the last few I need to complete it. The man at the counter is probably about a decade older than me, long brown hair and a beard, hes working on a model UT-85 as I approach. As he checks me out he lets me know of some of the new sets coming in next season, things like "Syetin Ur-A" and "Liamia Class Destroyer" kits, sounds interesting but I dont know if id be into building boats, I never cared for the water much, always found fishing more fun in concept. On the way out of the shop a patrolcar blaring the siren rushes down Haryk street, I recognize it as Sm. Byyei's, he left a nasty dent in the bumper after failing to park in the garage on the first day of having his new parking spot, its not bad enough to require maintenence so they just keep it busted.

Back at the apartment I postpone building the new model and instead choose to do case research, I still only have that hand tattoo as a guiding piece of information, luckily its quite good information, a symbol of the Oueien-Overduct, a street gang associated with Lwyin-Hermaed. They tend to be the guys Hermaed sends to do low level dirty jobs like robbery or murder or intimidation, things the real organized criminals dont want to be associated with. We have a mole in Oueien and the hand isnt a common place for gang tattoos, if i can get in contact with him finding the primary shooter should prove fairly simple. Im a bit shocked to be doing gang research in Merespem, Lwyin and its subsidiary gangs tend to bother the south-eastern districts, them being this far north is worrying, my main theory is that it has something to do with the immigrant population here, something to do with extortion and manipulation of local Caseic businesses being seen as easier than Utlian owned places that know better and might be armed. This expansion north could also be Lwyin testing the waters of Militia capability, if we come down hard enough then they know the Merespem division is gonna be a real roadblock on their conquest north, if we dont then it means they can continue to ramp up operations done up here.

After the research I decide to cook one of those carp I bought, the annoying thing about grilling anything on my stove is that only the back burner works, the front one broke after about a week of me living here so I have to fully extend my arm to cook anything, the carp turns out alright, slightly burnt but I like the taste enough of carp enough that the actual quality of cooking doesn't matter as much, I season it with some light Merriyem herbs that have been sitting in the cabinet for three seasons. Its dark out now, I decide to catch up on sleep for the long day I know is ahead of me tomorrow.