The port of Mythos was just as busy as you would expect any spaceport to be. Shuttles flew in and out of the hangars lining the huge open port, ferrying their cargos of people off to the jumpgate at the edge of the system and beyond. People moved through huge, packed crowds towards customs, towards family, towards the exit. Razorbacks and Mantis Cruisers darted between ships too large or too slow to keep up, and in the middle of it all, a massive bulk freighter hung suspended in the middle of the space that made up the port. And among all this controlled chaos, one girl was making her way to school.
Pyrrha Nikos expertly weaved her way through the crowded spaceport, the projections from her CORETECHS guiding her on the most optimal route to her destination. With a few gestures in the air, she dismissed the pathway and pulled up her internal clock. 5 segments until departure. Good, more than enough time to get where she needed to go, and then some. Deciding to take a moment's rest before what might be the most important day of her life, she deactivated her CORTECHS, and looked up at the upper half of the station spinning above her. There was the market, and the residential district… If she looked hard enough, she could probably see her home from here! Shaking herself out of her momentary reprieve, Pyrrha reactivated her guidance program, and continued to the shuttle bay. There would be more than enough time for relaxing once she was on the planet's surface.
Coming to the end of her CORTECH's projected path, Pyrrha found herself in front of a heavily guarded shuttle bay. Holding out her hand, Pyrrha sent her ID and visa to the guard in front of the gate. The man quickly pulled them up on his own display, scrutinizing her with a critical eye, before finally waving her through to the shuttle bay. Continuing on, Pyrrha could barely believe what was happening. The chance to walk on the surface of a planet was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even if that opportunity came with an assignment. She had been instructed to attend an institution called Beacon Academy under the guise of a champion tournament fighter, in order to learn more about the local population, and perhaps more importantly, the local wildlife. This was the part that made her nervous. She may have been a master combatant in her own right, (Years of deathmatches in OmReAthletics didn't lie) she had no experience in fighting non-human first encounter with these "Grimm" was bound to be interesting.
Pyrrha once again managed to shake herself free of her imagination as she came closer to the craft that would be taking her to the world below. The craft was thin and needle-like, made for maximum speed with minimum detection chance. The shuttle's sole purpose would be to enter the atmosphere, deposit her somewhere near enough to one of the surface cities to enter, and then take off again, all without being detected by any of the surface factions. Between the racial tensions between the two genotypes on the surface and the apparent shadow war between the governments and some unknown foe, the consequences of anyone learning of their existence could be catastrophic, truly ironic considering the fact that this world was the only one to survive the catastrophe. And don't even get her started on Atlas. If the truth of her origins got out there, it was possible some mad scientist would dissect her for her CORTECHS!
...OK, it wasn't that bad, but being discovered would still be bad.
Final countdown now. She would be away soon, headed down into the unknown. One last check before leaving, make sure she had everything. Weapons? Check! In that ridiculous "Meta shift" style of course. Too many moving parts for her taste, but she needed to blend in. Sidearm? Check! Really, why did no one on this planet carry a secondary? It seemed like a no-brainer to her. Rations? Check! She'd be able to eat better once she reached the academy, but until then, fungal chicken in artificial pineapple sauce! Oh joy! Emergency kit? Check! Various medical stims, and a dose of Vaccaro-Ibrahim Particles, for great injuries. Shield generator? Check! Every huntsman had an aura, after all. It wasn't a perfect substitute, but it would have to do. Finally, CORTECHS mod? Check! Once on the surface, she would be able to patch into their CCT system, as well as the Mesh, no "Scroll" required. Well, that was all. No more checks, no more distractions, and only 500 units until departure.
After managing to distract herself on her CORTECHS for the remaining time, she felt a small shutter as the shuttlecraft detached from it's docking points and rose into the departure lane. The small craft weaved and darted between the hulls of larger vessels until it hit open space. Wheeling around, the pilot afforded her one more view of Mythos, the great metal rings built around the hollowed out core of an asteroid, spinning silently through space, before turning and beginning the re-entry process. As the flames of atmospheric friction burned around the craft, she wondered what they looked like from the surface. Did anyone see them at all? Were they written off as just a shooting star or passing comet? Or did someone guess the truth of their existence? No matter, they were leveling out, and looking down, Pyrrha could see.. Was that what a forest looked like? So much green in one place! And rivers, so much fresh, drinkable water? The people down here truly had no idea how lucky they were, not to rely on daily rations. Bland daily rations. She didn't know what pineapple tasted like, but those rations certainly didn't get it right!
The shuttle set down in the middle of the forest. Pyrrha emerged, marveling at her surroundings. So much life, fresh air, and a sky that went up forever. So very different from life on the station. As the shuttle lifted off, she prepared for the long trek ahead of her. Three days to Beacon, and then an entrance exam. It would certainly be an adventure, if nothing else!
Well, let's see how this goes.
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