Entranced by the wild nature of the ocean, Eris's mind went blank. It would have been a peaceful moment if it weren't for the helicopter blades whirling above. Eris was sitting in the back of the helicopter, ignoring the small talk between the pilot and the other recruits, as she dug into her pocket searching for her phone. The co-pilot caught the motion when he looked back making eye contact with a recruit.
"We're still about twenty minutes out Ms." Without looking away from the screen in her lap, Eris thanked the man and took note of the time and date. 1:43 August 25, 2004. Taking a deep breath she turned to look back at the ocean, her face displaying a look of sorrow. Unknowingly, her right hand moved to grasp a necklace that wasn't there.
"You're not going to last long out here acting like a sad sack of shit, little girl." Eris felt her eyebrows furrow in response to the recruits words. Staying focused on the waves she shot back, "Well aren't you a charmer." Some of the men chuckled.
"He does have a point though," the pilot interjected. "It's bad enough that you're a woman, but feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to help you one bit." Eris wanted to get angry over the pilot's comment, but couldn't. After all, she was headed to an island full of bloodthirsty, money worshiping men who most likely didn't care for any emotional antics. If they thought she was moping about having to work under Volker, she'd make more enemies than allies.
"What is a woman doing here anyway?" One of the recruits asked.
Returning the phone to her pocket Eris looked to face the recruits. "I'm working for Volker as a technician of sorts."
"Of sorts? What the hell is that suppose to mean?" The co-pilot turned to face her. Her answer caught had peaked everyone's interests.
"Volker had me train in many different fields of modern technology. I studied networking, hacking, and even a little of electrical engineering. Since I never specialized, the only job title I can have is general technician." Eris could finally see land in the distance.
"I still don't see why they'd send a woman. You're going to be eaten alive." Eris smirked at the recruits comment. The others didn't say anything, but she knew they agreed with the guy that spoke up.
"Well I'll just have to toughen up then, won't I?"
Vaas's head itched. The recently acquired wound on his head had just been freshly dressed, so he didn't want to scratch it. Walking towards Hoyt, he chewed on the inside of his cheeks to distract himself from the infernal itch.
"What'd you call me down here for boss?" Vaas asked standing next to Hoyt. They were currently at the southern island's airfield. It was the islands's second main source of recruits after the docks. He was genuinely curious about what brought Hoyt here. Surely Hoyt had better things to do than make sure a couple of recruits landed safely. Hell, Vaas had better things to do at the moment. Coming down to the airfield took him away from building up his pirate army.
"Why to come and meet the new recruits of course." Hoyt smirked.
"Uh, not for nothing boss, but have you looked around recently?" Vaas asked motioning to the people around them. "The entire island is full of recruits. What's so special about a few more?" Hoyt laughed.
"That's a valid point Vaas. However, I'm waiting on one recruit in particular. I've invested a lot of time and money into their education." Vaas couldn't hide his confusion.
"Since when do mercs need training? What classes did he take, 'How to make your enemies shit themselves 101'?"
"This is why I like you Vaas, you amuse me." Hoyt grinned. "No, this recruit isn't a merc. She is more of a," Putting extra emphasis on the word she, Hoyt paused thinking of what to say," technical assistant."
Shocked, Vaas loudly questioned, "She?" Of all the people Hoyt could bring in, he choose a woman. Vaas could feel his smirk grow. He didn't think that Hoyt was interested in women's brains, but rather a different part of their anatomy. "Well this is going to be interesting." He thought to himself.
"Yes, she. I thought you'd want to meet her. After all, she's going to be working with you once we take the northern island. I believe she's about your age. Who knows," Hoyt smiled. "You two might just get along." Staring at Hoyt's face, Vaas wondered whether the man was implying something. A faint swishing noise grew into a violent whirl as the helicopter came into view.
It didn't take long for the chopper to land. Vaas couldn't help but look for the female. He'd be lying if he said she didn't interest him. She must be something special if she caught Hoyt's eye. Even though the aircraft was on the ground, he had a hard time finding her. Noticing that everyone had gotten out he assumed she was on the other side of the chopper. His suspicion turned out to be correct when she ducked under the tail wing and started heading towards Hoyt.
Hoyt was right, she looked about his age. It was obvious that she was an outsider from the color of her skin and the way her hair curled. She was as white as a clean batch of cocaine. Vaas wondered if her hair naturally curled into little ringlets or if she styled it that way. It was a golden brown color, almost dirty blonde. She wore a simple black tank top, forest print camouflage cargo pants, and black and white shoes. Their eyes met and into was as if he was looking into an abyss. Her dark blue eyes moved to the bandage on his head, before looking back to Hoyt.
"Welcome, to your new home." Hoyt said gesturing to the area around them.
"Thank you, Mr. Volker I presume," she said.
"It's boss to you now little Missy," She nodded and turned to Vaas.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Her smirk grew to match Vaas's. Hoyt laughed.
"This is Vaas Montenegro, he'll be in charge of the northern island once it's been liberated." Hoyt said.
"You haven't told us your name yet, señorita ." Vaas said.
"The boss already knows my name, but if you insist, it's Eris. Eris Hochsheid."
"Now," Hoyt clapped his hands together, "With the formalities out of the way, you should get settled in. Vaas you know the old concrete building next to my office." Vaas nodded. "Get the men to bring her things there and help her get situated in one of the rooms in the basement." Hoyt turned towards Eris. "You'll know which room we've prepared for you by looking for a gift on one of the beds. Stop by my office in four hours time, we have business to discuss. " And with that said, Hoyt left Eris and Vaas behind to attend to other business.
Thanks for giving my story a shot. Please keep in mind that Vaas isn't really his psychotically violent self yet since he just separated from the tribe recently and hasn't been taking enough cocaine for it to severely effect him yet. Don't worry, we'll see him change throughout the story.
Feel free to criticize.