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Rated M for language and adult themes.


Twenty Years Before the Start of the Series:

"Specialist Ironwood!"

A man with a neatly groomed white beard dressed in a pristine, white winter uniform approached with his hands clasped behind his back. The man looked like he had seen better days, but he walked with strength that showed an impressive vitality. The eye patch over his right eye and the faded scars on his face were evidence that this man had seen his fair share of combat.

Specialist James Ironwood snapped to attention. He was dressed in a winter-grade Atlas military uniform. Around the young Special Operative, soldiers were moving about, carrying surveying equipment. Further back, there was an excavator that was digging through the snow.

"General Haze! Sir!" James saluted the older man.

General Thomas Haze, leader of the Atlas military and Headmaster of Atlas Academy, was a man who was admired, feared, and respected by his subordinates. There was a saying about being fearful of the old man in the profession where men die young, and General Haze was the embodiment of that old man. He was pushing seventy and he still had no desire to retire. He was the only man in Atlas' forces that had lived to see the Great War. Though he was only a child, he had seen the grand scale of death and destruction that the war brought. Back then, Atlas didn't exist; it was merely Mantle. With the Great War ending in the King of Vale's victory, the Huntsman Academies were established a few years later and Thomas Haze graduated as the top huntsman in the first graduating class of Atlas Academy. Haze served the Kingdom of Atlas for decades until he was chosen by the first Headmaster of Atlas Academy to succeed him. Inheriting the position of Headmaster also came with the responsibility of leading the military as well. For the last twenty-five years, he had served as both the Headmaster of Atlas Academy and the leader of the military. Though he wasn't ready to retire just yet, he knew he would have to one day. His youngest daughter, Cassandra, kept pestering him about how he needed to retire and enjoy his later years, but he hated sitting around doing nothing. He would have rather been around his soldiers and Huntsmen than sitting at home. The general saluted his young aid decamp.

"What's taking so damn long James? I thought I said I wanted that object recovered a week ago."

"Sir," replied James, "the blizzard paused the excavation and we had to deal with a minor avalanche that set us back even further."

The general grunted in annoyance before he looked behind James and observed the soldiers working in the snow. He could see the object in question. A glossy purple-colored metal that he had never seen before was jetting out of the snow. Whatever it was, James and his team discovered it while they were on patrol two weeks ago. When James returned to give his assessment of what he saw the general authorized James to organize a team to excavate the site, but as James said the blizzards and avalanches had set them back significantly. The winters in the mountains of Mantle were absolutely brutal.

"Double your efforts, James. We've wasted enough time and taxpayer Lien on this little project."

"Yes sir!"


One Week Later:

"What have you found Cassandra?" James glanced over at the woman in question. She stood at just under 5'6'', had blonde hair with brown eyes, looked to be in her 30s, and wore a white lab coat.

"That's Doctor Haze to you Specialist Ironwood," the woman shot him a glare, "I didn't spend eight years at Atlas University getting an MD and a Ph.D. for nothing."

Doctor Cassandra Haze, the deputy chief scientist for the Atlas military and youngest daughter of General Thomas Haze, was nothing short of a once-in-a-lifetime genius. Her gifted intelligence was identified from a young age, allowing her to bypass several grades in primary school. She graduated from Atlas University with distinction, having finished her undergraduate studies in only two years. She had double majored in Mathematics and Biology and afterward, she attended an accelerated medical program, earning her MD and a Ph.D. simultaneously. Her Doctoral Thesis for her Ph.D. opened a new field in the realm of biomechanical engineering. She and her mentor, Dr. Pietro Polendina, developed advanced prosthetics that would not only allow wounded soldiers and Huntsmen to regain mobility but allow them to be stronger than they were before. Specialist Ironwood was one of the first to benefit from Dr. Polendina's and Dr. Haze's work. When James was still a Huntsman in training in his second year at Atlas Academy, he suffered a terrible accident that left his entire right arm mangled and most of the right side of his torso heavily burned. His aura had been depleted and yet despite that fact, the young Huntsman went out of his way to save a wounded comrade from a group of Cenitaurs. He was successful at killing the Cenitaurs and saving the soldier, but not without having his arm and torso chewed up by the acid spit. James had been fortunate that Dr. Haze and Dr. Polendina had made those breakthroughs when they did because if they had not then his career as a soldier of Atlas would have been over.

"My apologies DOCTOR Haze," James made sure to emphasize the word doctor.

"Apology accepted," she replied, "and to answer your question, a lot."

The doctor brought a hologram that displayed what appeared to be a wrecked vessel, or at least what remained of one.

"It seems as though you and your team stumbled on some sort of vessel but determining exactly what kind is next to impossible considering how charred and damaged it is. The ice sheet surrounding it was at least seventy years old which means it was buried for a long time. Interestingly enough, it appears that it was part of something larger."

"Larger?" James looked a bit skeptical.

"Indeed," she replied, "but that's far from the most interesting thing we discovered."

"And what was the most interesting thing you discovered?"

Dr. Haze merely smiled. "Follow me please," she gestured for the 23-year-old to follow her.

Cassandra led them out of her office and down the white hall until they came to an elevator. Once they entered, she scanned her access badge on a reader that then glowed green. She typed in a code and the elevator began to descend. It continued to descend far below what would normally have been allowed. The elevator sounded with a 'ding' and the two exited. James found himself led through a maze of doors and hallways as they passed scientists and armed guards. A door opened for them and James found himself looking on with amazement. Dr. Haze smirked as she saw his reaction. James said nothing as he approached the containment area to get a better look. There was a holographic display that illustrated specific details. James found himself reading through them all.

"This…" he was lost in thought, "…this…is…"

"Incredible? Amazing? Groundbreaking?"

James merely nodded.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg too."

James glanced at her. "I want a fully detailed report ASAP. I don't want to leave General Haze wanting for information."

She laughed. "You act as though I don't know my own father."

James looked back to the containment area. The young Specialist found himself imagining the different possibilities that this discovery would lead to, completely unaware of the dark future that this discovery would lead to.


This chapter is to test the waters for interest. This story will continue regardless of interest. Please share your thoughts in the reviews section. For a more complete summary of this story check out my profile.