A Call to the Surface
The streets were crowed with humans and newmen's alike, with both groups of beings going about daily business. Though these genetically altered beings stood out from the humans due to several distinguishing features. Many of them were smaller then your average human. And generally speaking it was by a large margin. Not to mention that they are all extremely intelligent and beautiful beings. Another obvious feature of theirs was their ears. These seemed to resemble something of elven ears, only six or more inches longer and jutting out to the sides.
Priest sat silently and watched these two groups mingle and converse from an outside restaurant. His blue eyes gleamed in the light coming from the artificial horizon maker aboard the Pioneer 2 that towered thousands of feet overhead as well as all around. He wore a metallic headpiece that resembled a headband and helped push his blue-white hair up away from his eyes. His face was rough and handsome, with a small amount of facial hair visible even though he had shaved an hour prior.
A small android approached him with a tray and began to speak just as he heard his portable communicator go off. With a half-grin and completely ignoring the android, he reached with a gloved hand picked up the small metal object.
They just can't get enough of me, he thought, quite amused that even when they gave him off days, they still called him in for work.
Priest tapped a button and he saw Prophet's face appear. The dark haired Force user gave a twisted smile and lowered his head out of respect. Every time he saw Prophet, he couldn't help but look at the scar that cut diagonally from his left forehead, across his nose to his right cheek. What compelled him to gaze at the scar was not the scar itself. It was curiosity as to who or what gave it to him.
"And what do I owe to have such an honorable call?" Priest said sarcastically, but in reality he loved the job and everything about it. He was one of Holy Cross's best agents and every time something went awry, they would call him. It honored him to know that whenever Holy Cross ran into a snag, he would be the one to pull them out. It gave him a sense of accomplishment knowing that all his years of work and training were not in vain.
Prophet chuckled a little, but after a brief moment became very serious. "We lost contact with the team we sent down. It's some type of magnetic interference, no doubt. But we just want to be sure," he said sounding like the snake that he was.
Priest wasn't stupid. He had no love for the man but gave him respect. He also gave respect to his employer due to the fact they kept him extremely well paid. "What was the last known location of the team and who are the players?" he asked cutting the chitchat and getting down to business.
With a smile, Prophet narrowed his eyes showing the same feeling Priest had for him. "I see you stopped wearing civilian clothes all together and just stick with you're battle armor," he hissed in a cold reptilian voice.
Every moment Prophet stalled to make the small talk prolonged, Priest grew more and more tired of the game. "My time and my skills are both precious and in demand. Now you either tell me what I need to know or you can tell the man I will sit this one out because there are other opportunities waiting for me as well as people willing to pay for them," Priest snapped and soured the look on Prophet's face. A wave of satisfaction flowed through him knowing he ruined whatever fun Prophet was having.
Mina, grit her teeth as her attacker came in with an overhead attack. She barely got her Brand sword up to block it in time. As the two energy swords met, the man whipped his leg around and landed a clean shot to her gut sending her tumbling back.
The young newman Hunter caught herself before she fell to the ground. Her heavy black boots made an echo in the large empty room and seemed to bounce off the walls a hundred times over, with her ears picking up every last bit of it. The fishnet stockings she wore were in tatters. Her black and red corset-like top was rumpled and dirtied with dust and a few tears here and there. The matching shorts she wore were covered in the same whitish-brown dust that was kicked up during the scuffle, with the swordsmen now slowly circling her.
"Ugh," she whimpered out. The newman took several ragged breaths and hunched forward, barely managing to stay on her feet.
Her choker, which had a small white insignia in the center that revealed she was a Whitell badge holder, felt like it was compressing itself on her throat. She clutched her stomach with her gloved left hand while her right loosely held onto her blade that ever so slightly touched the gray tiled floor. Mina menacingly picked her head up so she could face her assailants while she tried to compose herself. "Is that all you got?" she managed to wheeze out as some stray strands of bright pink hair fell across her dark purple eyes. She watched as the four attackers formed up for a strike with a victorious smile stretching across their faces.
"Mina, you really have got to stop charging into things like this," another female newman called out from several feet behind her. She shook her head as she approached slowly, with a strange looking staff that was only about three feet long. There seemed to be a motherly aura about her even though she was younger then Mina.
She wore an extravagant purple and black coat. She also wore a large purple and black hat that had a large fluffy white ball at the top that hid her frosted white colored hair. The "skirt" she wore really wasn't much of a skirt at all. It had an opening in the front that made the black shorts she wore underneath visible. The "skirt" rested on her hips and then jutted out on all sides like a bell, so it would rarely touch her legs. The outfit was completed with the black stockings she wore that reached to her upper thighs as well as elevated shoes of matching color.
With a smile, the second newman narrowed her blue eyes that had light purple markings that resembled eyeliner and tilted her head to the side. Her ears were quiet visible as well as the three purple triangular shapes that lined the bottom of both her cheeks.
Without letting her guard down, Mina managed to get a few quick glances at Anri, her younger sister twirling her staff. "Well are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me teach these punks a lesson?" she asked as a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Immediately as Mina finished speaking, two of the attackers nearest Anri, made a charge for her and quickly closed the distance. Anri didn't flinch at all, but instead she raised and pointed her staff at the two charging men and closed her eyes. At the base of the staff, bluish-white energy particles began to form and spin up to the top of the rod.
Ice began forming on the tiled floor and the air above the slowly growing patch of ice turned to a light mist with icy particles floating to the ground. Without warning, the ice sped away from Anri and made it's way straight for her two attackers. One man took the blast of freezing cold air to his gut and lost his balance on the ice and slammed into the ground with sickening force. He never again stood from the tremendously lethal blast. The other swordsman was engulfed in a thin layer of ice and remained in the defensive stance he was using before the ice had enveloped him.
Mina, not wanting to waste the moment of opportunity, clutched her sword firmly in both hands and brought the heavy weapon over her head for a power attack on the nearest enemy to her. The swordsman raised his weapon up to meet hers and while she commenced the attack, the other remaining swordsman charged in with weapon ready. Mina been anticipating this and chambered her left leg across her body and executed a flawless sidekick to the charging man's head, while managing to hold the others mans sword in place with her own.
After the man she had kicked dropped to the ground and rolled out of sight, Mina brought her sword back and delivered a flurry of different combinations to her remaining opponent, all of which were blocked. Anri cried out a warning and Mina quickly turned her body to face the opposite direction and dropped to one knee while she brought her sword around and took a blind swipe at the air, that was only a moment ago behind her. Though she did not hit just air. There was a high-pitched scream and the man she had kicked only a moment before, collapsed hard to the ground, not getting up again.
Anri saw everything slow down to a crawl as Mina had dispatched the attacker behind her, but the last swordsman brought his eager weapon up and was in the process of bringing his blade towards her vulnerable sister. Without allowing another second to pass, she aimed her staff towards the swordsman and it set itself ablaze. The fire shot away from Anri in the blink of an eye and incinerated the man that was once standing behind Mina.
Mina shot a look behind her to see nothing remaining except a light coat of ash and smiled towards Anri. "Thanks. He woulda had me, I think," she said standing up slowly and made her way towards the man still frozen under the layer of ice.
With a laugh, Anri lowered her staff. "No, he definitely would have had you, if I hadn't saved your butt, again," she said with a large and affectionate smile consuming her entire face. She reached the frozen man before Mina did, and with a gentle push, the man toppled over and hit the floor, shattering into millions of fragments, some large and some small.
Before Mina had a chance to counter her younger sister's remark, the gray tiled room fell away and brought them back into the training room aboard the Pioneer 2. Both of the newman's took a glance around quickly before the lights in the twenty by twenty foot room lit up.
"That was easy. They keep getting easier and easier," Mina said triumphantly as she led the way out of the VR Training room. She couldn't help but smile as she saw the look on Anri's face.
"'Easier'? Are you crazy? You were about to lose, to four swordsmen on the easiest difficulty level. If I hadn't stepped in when I did, you would be singing a different tune," she shot back, but was smiling as well. "You really have to learn to be more careful, Mina," Anri said quickly changing to a serious voice. "The surface of Ragol is supposedly a dangerous place. Veteran hunters are going down to the surface and not returning," she whispered, with concern drawn all across her youthful features.
Mina stopped walking towards the door that would take them back to the VR Training Lobby. She turned to face Anri with a stern look of her own. "I know. But when I am allowed to go to the surface, I will become one of the greatest hunters the Pioneer has ever seen. I know I have a long way to go, but I can do this. It's something I have always wanted. It's something I have to do for you…for me," Mina said in a sincere voice and looked to the floor of the training room, feeling almost ashamed of what she had said.
Anri nodded to her sister with understanding. "You and me will both become the best, that's for sure. We just have to know when we are in over our heads," she said and continued after a long pause. "And I do have the means to get us to the surface," she said with a small smile building. She couldn't help but smile more when Mina looked up with a perplexed look. "I was granted authorization by Principle Tyrell. Apparently he wants even the rookies to go down and gain whatever experience they can so long as they stay in groups and if they are extremely careful," she said removing a small ID card and tossed it to her sister.
Mina's mouth dropped and a smile stretched across her face. "I don't believe this!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. She ran to her sister and gave her a loving embrace and held it for a few moments. "What would I do without you, Anri?" she asked in a playful yet serious tone.
"Obviously getting into a unimaginable amount of trouble," she replied, chuckling slightly knowing Mina was smiling too, even though she couldn't see it. She held onto her sister a moment longer before saying: "We better get going now, we have some packing to do if we are going to be hitting the surface anytime soon."
Mina gave an audible agreement and was still awestruck about the idea of actually being able to go to the surface. "Anri, you said we needed a group to go down, right? Well who is going besides you and me?" she asked trying think of anyone else they were close to that would go with them.
Anri's expression soured a little. "Well, I had to sign us up with another group of people. Neither of us know them, but no one that isn't at least a Level 15 Hunter is allowed down there alone. I am sure they are good people though," Anri said, trying her best to convince her sister.
At first, Mina didn't seem like she approved going to Ragol's surface with strangers, but the smile she had a moment before came back after a few seconds. "Well, so long as we get a majority of the loot and the most action, I won't complain," she said jokingly.
The two sisters let out a small laugh and made their way towards the door of the VR Training room. They would both finally be allowed to see the surface of Ragol. Of their new home…