Best Laid Plans

A shining box of steel and glass cruised above the arid landscape. It wasn't a large ship but it was versatile. Seating was in rows of four with a wide aisle down the center all facing a rear cargo door. Today the cabin was filled with heavily armed teenagers, excited for their first day of school. A lone figure sat quietly in the back of the student transport, using the backward seating to shield him from the others. Ignoring all attempts the other kids made to strike up a conversation he even goes so far as to fane sleep, though some took longer than others to get the hint.

Adjusting his mask and hood the young man pulled the deep black cloak tighter around himself, huddling ever further into the shadow of his garments. Getting nervous he went through the mental check list in his head. For the last week he had been committing to memory all the steps he needed to accomplish to bring his plan to fruition. Failure was not something he wanted to dwell on.

Excitement among the youth pulled the young man from his musings. Many of the young passengers had gathered to one side of the bulkhead eyes wide as they came within sight of their final destination. Through the ships windows could be seen a massive stepped pyramid of polished black marble shining like a giant black pearl in a ocean of sand. The click of the ships PA system activating caught the young man's attention as the ships pilot prepared to address the juvenile passengers aboard his vessel.

"Everybody please take your seats. we will be setting down in just a moment, and then please stay seated as headmaster Umber will be coming aboard to address you before you depart the vessel".

With that every one made their way back to their seats all a buzz with the excitement of having long time hopes and dreams finally held within their grasp. Turning to make its final approach this airship of dreams promised all that and more to the young hunters. Sadly not all dreams turn out to be happy and some can even become nightmares.

The bulkhead door hissed open like the mouth of a great beast stretching wide to ingest a meal larger than normal. Stepping off the tarmac and into that great maw was a mountain of a man that filled the doorway with his commanding presence.

Covered head to toe in all black from his leather vest to the thick heeled boots that peeked out from his long pant legs. Even the man's shoulder length hair and beard, that extended halfway down his torso, were black as the night. As imposing as his visage, it was his eyes that haunted your dreams or rather the lack of eyes. Instead of bright circles of color, empty sockets stare back at you. The true disturbing thing was how even without the orbs it seemed that he could look directly into your soul. It was that stare that locked on the juvenile incognito.

The crooked finger made it clear that the young man was supposed to follow. How does that saying go about the best laid plans. Rising from his seat the youth followed the man out the door and around the corner. He had hardly taken three steps off the bulkhead ramp when the young man was startled to a halt as the larger man whirled on the kid jabbing a meaty finger into his chest.

" Using the Blanco name on your application, really? You do know the last of the Blanco family died out three years ago".

Getting called out this soon was not really part of the youths plan, but he might as well get it over with. "I planned to come see you as soon as possible but now works. First off for logistics reasons". Pulling a very large envelope from under his cloak, the youth extend it out to the other man.

"Inside you will find a full student application under my real name. I didn't want to graduate and not be able to get licensed because my transcripts are suspicious."

Reaching out to receive the packet the big man's scowl shifted. "If that is the case, why bother with a fake name?" He couldn't help wonder how this kid had made it across two continents without anyone knowing he was gone.

"Well the thing with that is, my mother has access to my financials. That is the reason that I had a lawyer set up a legal alias. With the new name, dad helped me to set up bank accounts and a scholarship fund to hide my spending. At this time, dad, my lawyer, and now you are the only ones that know my actual location and I would like to keep it that way if we can." The big man mearly nodded.

"Now, I know my irregular education didn't have any weapon shop class so I have been eating and sleeping armaments and dust application for the past six months under my father's instruction and I made this". From within his cloak the kid pulled a short wide blade and held it before him. It was a simple looking weapon about two feet in length and five inches wide. The blade did have an unusual horizontal segmented design along its length.

Taking the offered blade, headmaster Umber examined the weapon turning it over and flipping it in his hands he found it underwhelming. "Pretty to look at but I don't see any actuation knobs or dust storage, I am not about to send somebody unproven to take on the creatures of grim with nothing but an over sized dagger to protect themselves".

Holding forth the blade he was taken aback by the subtle laughter emanating from the youth. " Sir, my semblance manipulates sonic wavelengths. all of the functionaries are hidden. everything is internal. On the off chance that someone takes my weapon, they can't use all of its capabilities against me. Even the scabbard locks in place"

Seeing the skepticism on the headmasters face he reached out a hand holding it just above the handle. To the headmasters surprise the blade unfolded halving the width and more than doubling the length. "and it doesn't stop there sir". This time the blade collapsed to the ground into a bladed whip that lit ablaze. "The Idea was to balance speed and power with a little reach." As he says this even the blades grip begins to lengthen.

Umber was stunned, six months, the kid before him had studied, engineered, and built a device this complicated in six months. "And when I remove my hand, it will retract to its base form".

True to what he said, without the presence of his hand, the blade snapped back to its original shape. Handing the young man back his weapon, headmaster Umber could tell the kid had done his homework.

"I have the parts for a second one but the three millimeter screws I need are still..." The outward facing palm gave the boy pause. "Question Sir?"

Even though the kid had covered the requirements, there was still the most important thing the headmaster needed to know. "You have thirty seconds to tell me what made you decide to leave everything behind for a life of pain and heartache". The question was not unexpected but the lad still took a moment to chose his words carefully.

Reaching under his cloak the boy detached something from his belt and lobbed it in the headmasters direction. Snatching it from the air Umber turned his hand over surprised to find a child's toy. It was a small stuffed ursa doll and though it had been cleaned the stains across its face and spines was plain to see. "Her name was Luna."

A wave of whispers flooded the ships cabin. Nobody was quite sure what had just transpired outside but as the two returned the headmaster made it clear the delay was over. "Listen up. From this point on, you are grim chow. This is not your mommies sewing circle. Here we deal with life and death. There is no sugar coating here. Twenty-five percent of you will not live to see the age of thirty-five another twenty-eight percent will retire early due to injury. When all is said and done, only about three percent of you will live long enough to die of old age. Sooner or later almost all of us will have been a snack for the creatures of grim. We suffer that death so others can live and have a normal life. Hell, it is possible that some of you won't live to see tomorrow. This is the reality we live with as huntsmen. If you can't handle that, the door is behind me, get out".

Two kids got up and made their way to the door, looking around at those they were leaving behind, heads hung low in shame, as they exited. A couple seconds later a third jumped to her feet and ran out of the ship with tears falling in her wake. With a gesture from the big man the door closed again and the ship took to the air.