OOC:
Sorry I disappeared from off the face of the earth for so long everyone. I am back and kicking however, and I look forward to updating my page as much as possible and maybe even getting back into some desai roleplaying if that is still going.

[Voice Entry]

Hawkeye. This is Hughes. I need to meet with you at your soonest convenience. The park bench. Let me know asap. Thanks.

[/Voice Entry]

Well, hell. Hughes was not in a good mood. A fight had broken out in the Casino the other night between two dare-devil brothers which he certainly had no business interfering with. He'd done his job as a security monitor and reported the brewing tension, though it still stung that there had been nothing else he could do to quell the fight.

However, that was only a small matter encapsulated with what was really bothering him. MDEA was issuing an Immigration Double-Check in which everyone must be able to provide identification and passports. How the hell was he supposed to have a passport when the last thing he remembered was being shot and then waking up on a train in this new world he wanted nothing to do with!?! There was no way he could avoid the check. He was on their record as much as he hated being so, and he felt certain that under closer inspection it would come up that he was really dead in his own world. How was he supposed to explain that?

Hughes hadn't much faith in this MDEA considering what he'd been through thus far, and he was damn certain they wouldn't just send him home upon finding this news. He was practically tearing his hair out trying to find a way to keep this covered up. The only thing he could think of was to forge a passport, but how in hell was he supposed to do that when he'd still managed to make no good connections?! He had to think of something, fast, before they came to his door for that inspection.

To top it all off, some shit had gone down in the Red Light District that had MDEA on edge. He'd been given specific instructions to report any suspicious activity from the security monitors immediately and even been booked extra hours. Oh, how he just wanted to go home!

While Hughes had managed to make some connections within the Cordova district, such was relatively useless right now. Kyouya appeared to be someone skilled in information gathering and relations building, though as he'd just arrived in the area he was starting from scratch, just like Hughes.

The Amestrian soldier also had no idea why his world was closed off. These MDEA characters were very tight-lipped, and all he got when stopping at the Travel Agency was a bland 'no outbound trains to Amestris are available at this time'. Clearly, there was something more behind that, but Hughes had no way of finding out unless he managed to somehow build connections with the MDEA.

Such thoughts brought Hughes through a depressing circle of impossibility as he found himself wishing once again that he could go home. The monotony of staring at the security screens wasn't helping. He tried to pay attention to the people going in and out of the casino, but no one appeared particularly interesting...

Things finally appeared to be clearing up at the Starscape, and though Hughes was still not sure what exactly had transpired he wasn't really sure he wanted to find out. If that... woman he'd run into in the park was any indication of the details, the Information specialist was uncharacteristically uninterested in learning more.

For now, the grunge of his attire and the growl of his stomach led Hughes forward. He'd been here almost a week now, with no other clothing or food, and apparently being resurrected left one with no money either. The young men he'd helped in the park had been kind enough to offer him something to eat with them, but Kyouya had of course made it a point that he expected him to pay them back. He'd accepted the offer, but then struck off to stake out the Starscape, waiting for things to cool down.

He could have troubled Hawkeye for a place to stay until he'd found one for himself, but he didn't want to bother her unless he absolutely had to. As his luck would have it, things finally appeared in order as the MDEA authorities filtered in and out of the building and the lights indicating it was open flickered on.

The soldier struck forward, straightening himself out and entering the large building, making his way purposefully to the desk. A friendly conversation with the attendant brought him exactly what he was looking for-- a job in the Casino and a place to stay in the Hotel. After settling into his room, getting cleaned up, and ordering something to eat, Hughes put on his new work uniform and went down to the Casino where he was shown the security room.

Watching cameras... he thought, as they briefed him on his duties. Wonderful.. I wish I could call Roy. That'd make it easier to stay awake. With a heavy sigh, once he was alone in the room, Hughes settled into the chair and watched the screens before him while he thought about what he would do when he got back to Amestris.

[Voice entry]

Hawkeye! Where are-------beeeeeep-------thing's very-----bee--eep----Starscape. ----bee--ep---

Ah, friggen buttons! ---be-p-- There. Stupid contraption.. Where are you, Hawkeye? I don't know what's going on, but this hotel-casino you sent me to is not looking friendly.

[/Voice entry]

Hughes left his meeting with Hawkeye feeling refreshed. It helped that he had a plan and something to do. Getting this job in place and then waiting out information would prove productive enough and give him plenty of time to start thinking about how to handle the situation back home if when he made it back.

The Lieutenant Colonel approached the Starscape, which despite being well-lit held an eerily, ominous feel. As he drew closer, he could feel a headache starting to come on, and everything started to look foggy. What was going on?

He stopped midstride to the door as screeching feedback caught him completely off guard, the sound originating from the pocket where he'd stuffed all the paperwork MDEA had given him when going through customs. The soldier pulled out a small, glowing PDA and determined that it must be the communications device Hawkeye had mentioned. Hughes was trying desperately to cover his ears and find out how to turn off the device to stop the screeching.

The sound unceremoniously stopped, just as he could hear an even more disconcerting roar from within the building that seemed to shake the foundation and left the street in an eery silence. Too quiet. Too still. Something was very wrong. He could investigate, but he'd just as well prefer not to.

Hughes retrieved the PDA and started fumbling with the buttons, determined to figure out how to send a message to Hawkeye and see if she could suggest another location for him to work. He certainly didn't want to walk into that building.

Nervous, the uniformed newcomer managed to thumb a button which sent the device into a slew of scattered, half-finished voice entries, an incomprehensible mix of static, incomplete scentences, screams, and rather unfriendly background noises. The metallic recordings only served to increase his uneasiness and tension as Hughes managed to turn off the replay and found the spot where he could put in an entry himself.

Please feel free to leave your comments on characterization here. They are screened.

So here's the scoop.

I'm putting in an application to Desai and here's how I plan on having it play out---

Journals so far are pre-Hughes death (obviously), and once the application is accepted I will introduce him to the new world through... "wtf? How'd I end up here? Last I remember... I was shot.. Am I dead? No... I'm on a train. And this isn't Amestris... Now what?" And that's the gist of it. We can blame his being alive on the MDEA and work from there.

I figured it would only be polite to inform the other FMA role-players, so I'm posting this journal and noting them for their benefit, so look forward to the possibility of meeting good 'ole Maes Hughes in Desai! ^^