Damirez
17-02-2008, 16:33
”Are you sure about this?” Jessica, the name given to her the moment she joined the order, asked one of her fellow trainees. ”This doesn’t sound like something that the supervisors would approve of!”
”Don’t be a spoilsport, Jess, it’s just a bit of innocent fun and quite a tradition for all classes that manage to pass the first level,” her enthusiastic comrade replied to her, ”It’s our free time after all, and after going through hell we deserve some recreation!”
Truth be told, they had no idea just what was expecting them after basic training, but rumours had it that hell had more than just one layer and that the initial training, already responsible for many of the Order recruits abandoning the path of the warrior were just the mouth of the inferno, harder trials awaiting those who managed to pass through it. Older recruits found it amusing to keep the ‘greens’ in the dark about what was coming after the short vacation and it was often a favourite activity of their to watch the first day of the second level of training.
”I don’t know Ralph, it just doesn’t sound right, what if we’re needed?” Jessica tried convincing the other recruit that it wasn’t such a bright idea after all.
”Oh, come on Jess, it’s tradition! We’re not going to be the first class to break it!” another of the Order wannabe interfered, Nagato, a guy almost as enthusiastic and adventurous as Ralph was, ”Besides, it makes for great training!” he added, making Ralph roll his eyes.
”Just like the last beer drinking contest you organized?” Jessica asked, sceptic about Nagato’s real intentions, his previous antecedents not exactly in favour of the man.
[I]”Come on Jess!” Ralph whined and Jessica’s resolution was finally broken.
”Alright already!”
It was an unofficial tradition, to travel on one of the isolated islands in the sea near the training compound and evade sighting by the natives. A game that the first level trainees liked to play and one that actually proved to be more useful than they realized, many of the natives having practice in picking up even the faintest clue that something was amiss. Initially this practice was done without arms and only with a knife and a bottle of water, but in time more and more equipment was added. The practice was not condoned by the higher ups of the Order, but given the powerful roots it had there was little in the way of preventive measures taken to stop it and as long as the recruits stood within the rules, there was no reason for the superior echelons to change that way of thinking.
”That’s a big island,” Ralph spoke as the boat carrying the twelve recruits reached its destination, a few hundred miles from the training facility.
”No kidding,” Henderson, another of the recruits replied sarcastically. He had seen Ralph through the hellish training regime but it was hard to believe that the same man who was working like a horse through those long weeks was the same grinning fool that he was seeing now. ’Has to be something in the air, has to be!’
Ignoring Henderson’s comment Ralph headed straight for the forest before stopping and admiring the sight nature was offering him. ”Well guys, think there’s any coconuts?” he asked, laughter ensuing at his question.
Usually, like it happened many time before, this was to be just another ‘field trip’ for the trainees in which they gathered some rather vital set of skills needed for further missions and in the same time have some fun, but something didn’t agree with the usual pattern, and just a few hours after the boat departed, leaving them effectively stranded on this island, one of them noticed a rather unusual sight.
”Guys, is that what I think it is?” he asked, pointing at a piece of metal, deeply lodged inside the bark of a tree. Another of them quickly checked the tree only to stop just short of pulling the shard of material out of the tree pointing out at a ravine visible from his new position.
”I think it is,” he answered, almost enthralled by what he was seeing, ”And there’s the baby bird that lost this feather.” The others were quick to follow his line of sight, realizing what the man was looking at, a crashed craft of some kind, by the looks of it quite a recent wreckage too as moss and plants had yet to establish their dominion over it.
”This isn’t right,” Jessica announce worriedly, ”There’s nobody around here with this kind of tech, and we’d know if someone was moving nifty gear around these parts!”
The others were obviously in agreement with her, but even as she was preparing to voice her disagreement with the whole affair, again, Ralph headed towards the ship before suddenly vanishing in the surrounding canopy. ”Ralph!” she yelled at him, more worried about her teammate than anything else at the moment, the others immediately getting their hands on the weapons that weren’t supposed to be in their possession.
”It’s OK! Ralph emerged from the bushes with a stick and some stones in his hands, using them as an impromptu trap detection system. ”It’s clear! You guys head down here too.”
Begrudgingly Jess and the others followed his lead and headed towards the wreckage of the VTOL, for this is what the vehicle was identified to be when one of them stopped to look worriedly at the last of them, a quiet recruit, now suddenly pale as he looked at the wreckage.
”Something wrong?” he asked, worried about his comrade.
”Kraven,” came the answer.
The vehicle was without a doubt a Kravenian VTOL, a very concerning fact for the fresh recruits and they started searching for clues regarding what could have possibly happened almost immediately. It was clear that their quiet teammate had unfortunate dealings in the past with the Kraven Corporation, but they were not ones to pry into his past and even if they were, the matter at hand had a whole different degree of interest for those involved.
”Twenty seven dead,” Nagato informed the others as he finished checking the bodies inside the craft. ”Dead in a tin…” he felt the need to add.
”Twenty seven?” Ralph’s usually calm and happy demeanour changed as he realized something.
”Ralph?” Jessica noticed the change.
”Standards of twenty eight, harness used, missing…” Ralph mumbled to himself whilst looking at various items in the wreckage, ”There’s one missing!”
”Don’t be a spoilsport, Jess, it’s just a bit of innocent fun and quite a tradition for all classes that manage to pass the first level,” her enthusiastic comrade replied to her, ”It’s our free time after all, and after going through hell we deserve some recreation!”
Truth be told, they had no idea just what was expecting them after basic training, but rumours had it that hell had more than just one layer and that the initial training, already responsible for many of the Order recruits abandoning the path of the warrior were just the mouth of the inferno, harder trials awaiting those who managed to pass through it. Older recruits found it amusing to keep the ‘greens’ in the dark about what was coming after the short vacation and it was often a favourite activity of their to watch the first day of the second level of training.
”I don’t know Ralph, it just doesn’t sound right, what if we’re needed?” Jessica tried convincing the other recruit that it wasn’t such a bright idea after all.
”Oh, come on Jess, it’s tradition! We’re not going to be the first class to break it!” another of the Order wannabe interfered, Nagato, a guy almost as enthusiastic and adventurous as Ralph was, ”Besides, it makes for great training!” he added, making Ralph roll his eyes.
”Just like the last beer drinking contest you organized?” Jessica asked, sceptic about Nagato’s real intentions, his previous antecedents not exactly in favour of the man.
[I]”Come on Jess!” Ralph whined and Jessica’s resolution was finally broken.
”Alright already!”
It was an unofficial tradition, to travel on one of the isolated islands in the sea near the training compound and evade sighting by the natives. A game that the first level trainees liked to play and one that actually proved to be more useful than they realized, many of the natives having practice in picking up even the faintest clue that something was amiss. Initially this practice was done without arms and only with a knife and a bottle of water, but in time more and more equipment was added. The practice was not condoned by the higher ups of the Order, but given the powerful roots it had there was little in the way of preventive measures taken to stop it and as long as the recruits stood within the rules, there was no reason for the superior echelons to change that way of thinking.
”That’s a big island,” Ralph spoke as the boat carrying the twelve recruits reached its destination, a few hundred miles from the training facility.
”No kidding,” Henderson, another of the recruits replied sarcastically. He had seen Ralph through the hellish training regime but it was hard to believe that the same man who was working like a horse through those long weeks was the same grinning fool that he was seeing now. ’Has to be something in the air, has to be!’
Ignoring Henderson’s comment Ralph headed straight for the forest before stopping and admiring the sight nature was offering him. ”Well guys, think there’s any coconuts?” he asked, laughter ensuing at his question.
Usually, like it happened many time before, this was to be just another ‘field trip’ for the trainees in which they gathered some rather vital set of skills needed for further missions and in the same time have some fun, but something didn’t agree with the usual pattern, and just a few hours after the boat departed, leaving them effectively stranded on this island, one of them noticed a rather unusual sight.
”Guys, is that what I think it is?” he asked, pointing at a piece of metal, deeply lodged inside the bark of a tree. Another of them quickly checked the tree only to stop just short of pulling the shard of material out of the tree pointing out at a ravine visible from his new position.
”I think it is,” he answered, almost enthralled by what he was seeing, ”And there’s the baby bird that lost this feather.” The others were quick to follow his line of sight, realizing what the man was looking at, a crashed craft of some kind, by the looks of it quite a recent wreckage too as moss and plants had yet to establish their dominion over it.
”This isn’t right,” Jessica announce worriedly, ”There’s nobody around here with this kind of tech, and we’d know if someone was moving nifty gear around these parts!”
The others were obviously in agreement with her, but even as she was preparing to voice her disagreement with the whole affair, again, Ralph headed towards the ship before suddenly vanishing in the surrounding canopy. ”Ralph!” she yelled at him, more worried about her teammate than anything else at the moment, the others immediately getting their hands on the weapons that weren’t supposed to be in their possession.
”It’s OK! Ralph emerged from the bushes with a stick and some stones in his hands, using them as an impromptu trap detection system. ”It’s clear! You guys head down here too.”
Begrudgingly Jess and the others followed his lead and headed towards the wreckage of the VTOL, for this is what the vehicle was identified to be when one of them stopped to look worriedly at the last of them, a quiet recruit, now suddenly pale as he looked at the wreckage.
”Something wrong?” he asked, worried about his comrade.
”Kraven,” came the answer.
The vehicle was without a doubt a Kravenian VTOL, a very concerning fact for the fresh recruits and they started searching for clues regarding what could have possibly happened almost immediately. It was clear that their quiet teammate had unfortunate dealings in the past with the Kraven Corporation, but they were not ones to pry into his past and even if they were, the matter at hand had a whole different degree of interest for those involved.
”Twenty seven dead,” Nagato informed the others as he finished checking the bodies inside the craft. ”Dead in a tin…” he felt the need to add.
”Twenty seven?” Ralph’s usually calm and happy demeanour changed as he realized something.
”Ralph?” Jessica noticed the change.
”Standards of twenty eight, harness used, missing…” Ralph mumbled to himself whilst looking at various items in the wreckage, ”There’s one missing!”