hello again, this is inquisitor ryke. Firstly I have to say a huge thanks to my new story followers, I was shocked beyond measure when I got two follows in as many hours. This chapter will be a little short, but the next one will pick up the main plot arc, I promise.
have a pleasant read.
Chapter two: First day.
Alexia's heart seemed lodged immovably in her throat. Her first day on the job. The deep blue military uniform she now wore was extremely heavy, although, she had to admit it wasn't uncomfortable. Her footsteps echoed out through the corridors of western command, along with the rest of the military personnel in the building. She felt distinctly out of place here, among the steely eyed veterans, and the hotheaded young bloods. She didn't fit in with either group. Not really. Still, most looked at the silver chain of her pocket watch and her black fabric transmutation gloves with respect, deference even. Then it hit her. She was a state alchemist, the equivalent of a major. She simply outranked them.
Lieutenant colonel Carter's office was just up ahead. She gulped nervously. This would be interesting. She rounded the corner and came face to door with his office. The door was the same dark, varnished wood that seemed to dominate local architecture. It was sanded and varnished to a sheen. On the door was a simple sign, picked out in black letters on a white plaque. She withdrew the letter she had been told to give him, and held it delicately in one gloved hand. She rapped on the door, and waited a moment. The door opened smoothly, the hinges well maintained.
For a moment there was no one in the doorway. Alexia stepped forwards a moment, peering inwards.
A face suddenly swung round the doorway, big, dark eyes fixing her gaze. She stepped back suddenly, yelping. The face was that of a young man, with longish, messy black hair and irises the color of coal. His head was cocked to one side, almost horizontal. Alexia blew out a frustrated breath. Damn boy.
The strange boy spoke with a soft, pleasant voice. Like the whisper of wind through grass.
"Sorry, did I startle you?"
Alexia leveled a glare at him.
"I see..."
She closed her eyes a second and regained her composure. "I'm here to see lieutenant colonel carter."
The boy nodded, which looked quite strange with his head sideways. "He'll be here soon, do come in."
She nodded and stepped into the office. It wasn't like she had anything else she had been ordered to do, now was it?
The office was crisp, and clean. The furniture was the same ubiquitous dark timber, mixed with some amount of leather upholstery and polished metal. One wall was dominated by a huge chalkboard, with a tray of chalk pencils next to it. In the middle was a large table, divided into six segments, each with its own set of drawers and storage on the desktop. Three of the desks were populated. Two with neat stacks of documents, pens and ink. All laid out in neat rows, with military precision. The third desk was piled high with files and papers, all stacked and scattered haphazardly about the place. The desks had name plaques on them.
The two neat ones were labeled: sergeant Acker and lieutenant Fletcher and the messy desk was labeled as Cameron.
Alexia wasn't surprised in the slightest to see the strange boy seat himself at the messy desk, the one just labeled with Cameron, and begin to sift through papers, absently chewing on a piece of wood he picked up from the desk. A pencil, upon further inspection.
She sat down heavily in a spare seat. This wasn't going according to plan. She had planned to march in and hand the envelope to carter, quickly and smartly, so as to give a good impression. She had her speech all planned out. It was frustrating as hell.
She cast about in her pocket for her watch and span it absently around by its chain. The weight was reassuring, the way it tugged on her hand. It reminded her of why she was here, and how far she'd come.
Cameron looked up at her a moment, coal colored eyes searching.
"You're a state alchemist?"
Alexia let the pocket watch chain wrap around her finger, the watch itself slapping into her palm. She popped open the cover and checked the time. It seemed the smoke alchemist was late. Only by five minutes, but still.
She turned to look at Cameron. "Yeah, just got my appointment yesterday."
He nodded. "What title were you given?"
Alexia smiled. "The glass alchemist."
Cameron cocked his head again. "Why that title? Does it have something to do with you alchemy?"
Alexia nodded, pulling her transmutation gloves on. She picked up a discarded pen from the floor. It was smooth steel, but the ink vessel had been ruptured. She pushed her alchemical power through into the pen, feeling it change. The pen elongated and flattened into a triangular piece of glass, somewhat like the blade of a dagger.
She showed her work to Cameron. He nodded slowly.
"Interesting. Why glass? Why not transmute something stronger, like steel or rock?"
She scratched her ear absently.
"Transmuting glass does have advantages over steel or rock. For one thing it can be done significantly faster, which gives me an advantage in an alchemy fight. It's also lighter and sharper, so my projectiles are faster and more lethal." Alexia grinned. "And glass is stronger than you might think, I can make glass as strong as iron. Besides, you can't make lenses out of anything else."
Cameron sat still. His face was inscrutably blank, but his posture indicated a keen interest. Weird.
The door creaked and Alexia stood up abruptly. Two officers walked in through the door, one man and one woman. The man was medium height, with a solid, stocky build and square face. His hair was brown and close cropped. It looked like he hadn't shaved in a week. She was tall and slender, with angular features and short dark hair. Her uniform was impeccably pressed, cleaned and presented, a sharp contrast to her more rumpled counterpart.
Following them was a tall, slim man wearing a light beige coat that reached his knees. Under that he wore a black, button up shirt and slacks. His hair was medium length, and combed back across his scalp. The tell tail chain of a silver pocket-watch. Sebastian carter. The female soldier sat at the desk labeled with sergeant Acker, while her counterpart sat by the desk labeled lieutenant fletcher.
The Lieutenant colonel seemed to notice her suddenly, and turned to face her.
Alexia snapped a salute, just like she had been shown how to.
"Lieutenant Colonel Sir!"
"At ease." Sebastian said, his voice even, but commanding. "May I ask why you're here?"
Alexia produced the letter from the inside pocket of her uniform, handing it to the smoke alchemist. "I was ordered to give this to you sir, seal unbroken."
The lieutenant colonel raised his eyebrows and broke the seal, withdrawing a set of documents from inside. He walked slowly over to his desk, sitting down slowly. He started reading the documents. Alexia stood straight, hands clasped behind her back and shoulders set. The smoke alchemist raised his eyebrows suddenly, his expression almost amused.
"Well, glass alchemist, according to these orders you handed me, you are to serve as a member of my team for a minimum of three years. After this time you will have more options, but for three years you'll be in this office, working with us."
Alexia shuffled her feet slightly.
"Understood sir"
He gestured to the desk. "You can have the space next to Cameron."
She nodded and moved to sit at the desk.
The chair was comfortable, with a medium height padded back and leather cushioned seat. She had a sudden premonition that she was going to spend a lot of time in this seat.
The desk was a decent make. It had low partitions around it, and a small box for storing papers in. A small desk tidy held pens, stamps and pencils.
She checked all the drawers and found them empty, though she doubted they would stay that way for long.
She looked up at the other officers.
Sergeant Acker proffered her hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Hannah Acker, seems we'll be working together for a while."
Alexia shook her hand firmly.
The lieutenant offered his hand as well.
"Logan fletcher."
She shook his hand as well.
Cameron grabbed a sheaf of papers off the colonel and handed them to Alexia.
"These are requisition forms for your equipment, just read through all of them and sign where appropriate."
Alexia sat the stack down and picked up a pen. She absently transmuted the casing to glass as she read through the papers.
This was gonna be a long day.
