Old Scars, Chapter 3: Part 3.3

Page 65 Panel 1: Grem sees coming up onto a street corner a short time later a newsagent's shop called VK's. You can see a mix of locals- human and mecha- coming in and out of the front entrance.

GREM

The plus of crashing into a city- no shortage of tasty nibs!

Panel 2: We move to an action shot of him after he's taken a few steps inside. You can see an assortment of magazines and newspapers from throughout the country as well as the region as a whole. You can also see a little section with some sweets.

Panel 3: Slight close-up on him glancing at some of the headlines, which is split between the coming election and the ghost rockets in Oulu. He spots one of the newspapers with a section for English translation.

Panel 4: He picks up one of the English translated newspapers and starts reading for any new information.

GREM

(thought bubble) Four more rockets have landed since I left roughly a week ago. All with the same damage, and- thankfully- same small death toll. Except for the daft putz who walked inside "drawn to the promise of riches." How the hell do you not have a backup plan for the mystery freaky tree? Shite, I have a half dozen of 'em!

Panel 5: As the immortal Irishman is reading, we see the Cashier looking on with suspicion and curiosity at the new customer for whatever may come next.

GREM

(Cont., thought bubble) Speaking of which- these crowds they're talking about...gives me an idea how to get in once I reach Oulu.

Page 66

Panel 1: Same setting/layout as the last panel of the previous page. A couple of seconds later, we see them take a step to the right with the same suspicion and slight tension as that aforementioned panel.

CASHIER

(curious, to Grem; translated from Finnish) Can I help you, sir?

Panel 2: Grem looks up from the newspaper and notices them for the first time; a mix of worry and defensiveness on his face as he speaks.

GREM

Sorry, I--I don't speak Finnish. At least, all that well. Is it possible that you...?

T

(interjecting, Off-Panel; translated from Finnish) It's okay, Vera.

Panel 3: He looks over to the left as another worker by the name of T walks into view from the panel left direction, flashing a casual grin as they look over to the Cashier.

T

(Cont., to the Cashier) He knows Miriam. He's good people.

Panel 4: The Cashier's face softens upon hearing the sentence from the trusted source, returning to the task they were on before.

Caption

(Grem)

"Cheers for the assist, by the way."

Caption

(T)

"No worries..."

Caption

(Grem)

"I go by Grem, by the way."

Panel 5: Action shot of Grem and T chatting it up with each other on the other end of the store. You can see the newspaper resting underneath his left arm as he speaks.

GREM

(Cont., curious to T) How many languages you speak, outside of English?

T

(explanatory, to Grem) French and Swedish, a little bit Russian. I'm T.

GREM

(Bubble 2) Never met someone with a single letter for a name.

T

(Bubble 2) A product of Vera's birth father, years and years ago. Thought it was fitting since I have red hair and smell like ginger tea.

GREM

(Bubble 3) Huh...ya do! Brilliant to meet ya. How do you know Miriam and her org, if I may ask?

T

(Bubble 3) I'm a supporter of hers; helped in a few Resistance missions throughout eastern Europe during the war. Not to mention...

Panel 6: T opens up a console on their wrist, revealing a complex series of wires and circuits moving from left to right and back again.

GREM

(Off-Panel) You're a mecha.