Hoo boy, the steam is back in full motion. Now then, I said I'd fill this slot with something, but I'm still figuring that out. Well, let's get to the story. Enjoy~
In a darkened lab-office hybrid, a lone figure of pure white sat in the darkness, illuminated by the light near her microscope. A box of vials sat near, and she carefully watched a sample of blood under the microscope. Handwritten notes on the vials said things like, uncontaminated, contaminated inactive, contaminated active, mixed non-infected, mixed infected, and so on. The box itself had been broken open by force with the broken latch a clear sign of the person's tampering with it.
Several 'uncontaminated' vials sat opened and on their side, fully drained. The white woman took another one and popped it open, pulling it to her mouth and downing it in one go. A red streak of blood flowed down her chin and she shuttered in ecstasy. She then returned her gaze to the microscope and continued her observations.
"Amazing…" she said to herself as her red eyes stared down the microscope. "This is truly remarkable! What is Kal'tsit thinking, keeping this away from me?"
Notes were hastily jotted down, and a knock on the door which had its curtains drawn and an absent sign on the glass. The white figure froze and stared intently at the door for several heart pounding moments. The door handle began being fidgeted with, and she started moving the vials back into place rapidly. The knocking continued.
"Shit, shit, SHIT," the woman screamed in her mind as she hastily tried to clean up her mess quietly. The deadlock clicked to signify its unlocking, and the handle turned again. She held her breath and leaned back in her chair, staring wide-eyed with fear. Luckily, the chain-lock stopped. Her light was off, and she could feel a gaze scanning the corners it could see, checking for a sign of habitance.
The door then shut, and footsteps were heard. The white woman let her breath out and relaxed some.
A loud bang sounded, and the woman turned around just in time to see black, green-tinted spikes pierce her door with ease. Metallic creaking and snapping sounded as the door was ripped from its hinges and thrown to the other side of the room. The mystery woman in the dark peaked up from her chair's backrest to see an elongated flying creature made of black crystal-like material stand at the door. Soon after, another familiar figure walked in.
"O-oh h-hey boss…" she meekly muttered. The figure of Kal'tsit was blinded by the light from the hallway behind her, and even the unfortunate medic knew she was absolutely screwed. "W-What brings you to my office?"
Kal'tsit merely crossed her arms.
"Look, whatever it is you think I did, I didn't do it!" she yelled, bumping the table and leaving an empty vial to roll off and shatter. She looked back to Kal'tsit who was still staring at her, menacingly. An awkward smile born of fear donned her face as Kal'tsit inhaled sharply and quickly.
"Mon3ter, restrain her."
The spine dragon named Mon3ter growled happily and charged at the woman who had stolen the lynx's blood samples. A scream of bloody murder sounded from the office/lab along with several sounds of struggle which were slowly muffled out over time.
Like any week, Evan was sitting in Kal'tsit's office, going over his vitals as she continued to ask questions about his health and other such experiences. Currently, she was reviewing the clipboard containing his medical files on paper, staring at them with her cold gaze.
Today's tests were especially thorough since he would be traveling to Columbia soon. Hell, his arm was going to be sore for a couple of days since a good chunk of this clinic visit was getting vaccinations pumped into his arm.
"Personally, I'm against the idea of sending you to Columbia," Kal'tsit started out of nowhere after she licked her finger to separate a sheet. "I respect the wishes of Amiya, and even The Doctor, so I will leave with some advice. Under no circumstances should you so much as hint at being from another world or anywhere outside Terra. If you do so, you will put your safety at risk."
"How ominous," a sarcastic quip escaped Evan's lips. It was quiet, but Kal'tsit's sensitive ears twitched and her eyes rolled up to bore into him. "Sorry, that was inappropriate…"
"No, not at all. It would be unwise to ignore that advice, however, if you consider Ifrit's state of being. Rhine Lab is not kind to its test subjects in certain, unique, cases. You shouldn't have anything to worry about though. You will not only be traveling with combat operators, but you will also be joined by Saria in the negotiations."
Kal'tsit placed the clipboard down then walked to the medical cart she had Ansel bring into the office.
"For now, I need more blood samples. I want to see how your vitals compare before and after your trip. Apologies, but it will be a little more than usual."
After getting more of his circulatory fluid drained into small glass tubes, the visit was practically over.
"Please feel free to ignore any strange sounds or sights you might hear from Doctor Warfarin's Office."
"Alright, see you when I get back," he replied. That last sentence was strange though, and it made him mildly curious. Especially since he heard a loud thump from the room he was told to ignore. He shrugged and continued walking on, unaware of the fact that a very pale vampire was bound and gagged to a chair that had just fallen over.
Due to a fair volume of blood being drawn, he decided a visit to the cafeteria was in order. The last thing he wanted was to worsen his chances of getting anemia. Nothing of note happened, other than catching a glimpse of a group looking like they were going to vomit with one lone purple-haired girl with a staff looking incredibly confused at the sight. Nobody visited him, and he didn't see anybody he might have known. It wasn't anything other than expected since he had the day off to prepare for a roadtrip to Columbia. Everyone else was probably working.
That didn't mean he had nothing to do, however, since it turned out planning a roadtrip on Terra was a lot more complicated. Since one could be driving for a few days through uninhabited wasteland to get to a city that was capable of moving, an entire team usually spent an entire day planning before they left. Saria had sent the details of where to go and what to do, so all he had to do now was show up.
Walking to the area, he rounded a T intersection to get blindsided from behind. Stumbling forward, he had heard a lot of crashing behind him and turned around to see a catgirl with dark steely bluish hair with red dyed tips on her rear with tears starting to roll down her eyes. She swiftly got up and began bowing furiously.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't see where I was going, and….um….," she erratically stammered. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet which she pulled out a wad of cash from and held it out. "T-Take this, please forgive me!"
Just by eyeballing the cash, it was a sizably thick wad of rather large value LMD bills. How the hell had she fit that cash into her wallet?
"I don't want to take that much money. I'll just help you pick up," Evan declined while working on stacking some boxes.
"B-B-B-But-"
"No buts, it's not a big deal. I should have looked over the corner as well, so don't worry about it."
"T-Thank you very much...I don't deserve this..." the nervous cat thanked as she walked over, waiting for the last of the boxes to be stacked.
"What's your name?"
"M-M-My n-n-n-name? You want to know my name?" the catgirl asked, flushing somewhat while trying to look anywhere else. "My name is J-Jessica, I'm a Blacksteel Worldwide intern here at Rhodes Island as part of a training exchange program."
As far as Evan remembered, Blacksteel was a Security company of sorts from what Doctor Frewgar said. Looking at the cat, he noticed she had a pistol at her waist. Oddly enough, this was his first time seeing a gun on Terra. He decided to shrug it off, maybe the LGD just didn't use them or something? Regardless, she gave her name, he ought to give his.
"I'm Evan Carvey, Closure's intern."
Jessica suddenly stiffened and looked at him with wide eyes and very high eyebrows.
"Y-You're Evan? I-I'm actually part of your security detail. Oh, I'm so sorry for bumping into you."
He was starting to feel bad now, her incessant apologizing was really starting to get to him. With half her boxes, he turned around and made his way down the hallway.
"Well, let's not keep Saria waiting."
"Oh, y-yes, let's go!" Jessica panicked before trotting up to his side.
Thankfully, the garage wasn't much farther away, and some others were there. Of course, the only person Evan recognized was Saria, but the others were all new to him. In total, not including him, there were six people in the area.
There was a large jeep with an open trunk with supplies loaded into it, and Jessica moved to put her boxes and containers in. Once they were in, a brown-haired vulpo girl hugged Jessica from behind with a wide smile and eyes narrowed from the upturned lips. Jessica gave a brief 'eep' before visibly calming down then blushing. The vulpo girl giggled and didn't let go.
"It's been a while since we've gone on a mission together, hasn't it, a," the vulpo woman teased.
"Franka, please don't bother Jessica while she's working. Honestly," a woman with blue horns and a blue tail that glowed ever so slightly chastised.
Franka looked back to her partner and said, "Oh, I'm just having a little fun. Jessica's so adorable, is she not?" Franka replied while ruffling the feline's hair. "You can be such a stick in the mud sometimes, Liskarm."
Liskarm crossed her arms and gave a loud 'hmph' to show her disapproval to Franka. The vulpo relented and let go of Jessica who let out a sigh of relief to being released from her co-worker's clutches.
"And you must be Evan," Franka's smooth voice oozed. "My name is Franka, Blacksteel Operator. If there's anything you need, just let me know~."
The last sentence came out as she leaned forward and grinned suggestively at him. Evan felt his face warm up and he tried to look away, but she was yanked back by Liskarm.
"Franka, can you hold yourself back just a little bit for once?"
"Oh, you're no fun, I was just teasing him a little. Are you upset I'm not giving you enough attention?" Franka asked that last sentence with a very suggestive smirk and a pur. Liskarm closed her eyes and threw the vulpo off to the side. Franka herself didn't seem to give much rebuttal. She was giggling to herself in fact, and that's when Liskarm took a sharp breath.
"Apologies for my partner. My name is Liskarm, Blacksteel Operator and partner of Franka. We will be responsible for your safe transportation to Columbia alongside the other operators."
"Nice to meet you both. My name is Evan," the intern greeted while holding out his hand. Liskarm took it and she gave a firm shake. In fact, she overpowered his grip and movement entirely without so much as a move of her shoulder. If it weren't for the fact the riot shield gave away her role as a combatant, he would have just as well assumed she was normal.
After Liskarm and Franka introduced themselves, there was still two others he didn't know. One was a petite, short girl with long red hair with a spear strapped to her back as well as a guitar case slung over her shoulders. The other had purple hair and bull-like horns with a tremendously massive sword on her with a rack to match it seemed. She seemed to be holding the makeshift packaging that held the engine he was going to use as a presentation.
"Who are you two?"
"I'm Vigna," the redhead cheerfully stated. "Band enthusiast and guitarist. I may be Sarkaz, but I've spent most of my life in Columbia. I also know the best places for karaoke and music."
Once Vigna's introduction was done, the bull girl followed in with her own.
"Sideroca, Minos mercenary. I'm most experienced in bodyguarding and transport missions. I'll make sure we get to the meeting and back with minimal issues."
"Great to meet you both."
"I can't help but think this is an excuse."
"I told you, the lower systems need maintenance. I've got my hands tied fixing up systems I put in place."
"You're doing this to spite me, I know it."
"Noooo, why would I ever do that?" Closure asked sarcastically. "What, you think I engineered a catastrophic hydraulics failure so I wouldn't have to go to Columbia?"
"So that explains the recent inputs on your computer."
"What, how did you-?! Ok, just don't tell Kal'tsit...or Amiya...or anyone for that matter. Pretty please?"
"I see why Ptilopsis blackmailed you, and you're terrible at lying."
"Still how did you get into my program, much less look at the inputs?"
"You just told me, you greedy vampire."
"You don't play fair," Closure pouted. "Besides, this will be a valuable learning experience for you."
"Quit throwing me into the lion pit!"
"Oh quit being such a baby! You have Saria, and Liskarm, and Jessica! You're not lacking in people who know what they're doing in negotiations."
"I really can't wait until I graduate from being your intern."
"Then who's going to make me coffee?"
Evan pinched his nose and walked out, resigning to his defeat with Closure grinning in victory. That was until the intercom beeped and Amiya's voice sang through.
"Miss Closure, please report to the Control Center immediately. If you aren't here in the next ten minutes, we're automatically cutting all your funding for the next month."
The screaming was music to Evan's ears after walking out. The sound of a desperate vampire running like a maniac while swearing brought a smile back to his face. At least he wouldn't be starting today's roadtrip bitter.
It was still odd to think, only about a month in Rhodes Island and he was already setting out on a business venture. While from a certain standpoint, he could say he got along well with Closure, she really got on his nerves sometimes. She even had this weird concoction called a 'sanity potion' which she gave him when he was exhausted. Upon reading the thing, it was basically this world's version of caffeine pills, Five Hour Energy, or Monster. The only difference seemed to be it also used spices like mustard extract. He refused to take it and went to rest properly instead of breaking his soul for a vampire boss who was just plain lazy at times. That certainly hadn't helped his view of her when he caught her catnapping when she got tired.
With only his backpack left carrying the things that would keep him entertained and informed, Evan entered the garage to find everyone else already waiting. None seemed too surprised about Closure not joining them, and the decision to start the journey was unanimously agreed on. Within an hour of their first trek through the barren wastelands, Jessica had fallen asleep and slumped onto Liskarm's shoulder, Vigna was almost silently jamming out to tunes only she could hear, Sideroca's eyes were glued on the horizon, watching out for any signs of danger, and Franka was taking pictures of her fellow Blacksteel operators.
Evan was currently in the passenger's seat next to Saria, and he was reading a book. It was just a novel he never really got around to before, and was hoping his time on the plane would be filled by it. It did come in handy though, as he silently read the book. Having a quiet car ride wasn't too unpleasant.
His bad luck with whatever being ruled Terra's karma proved to despise him once again as Vigna's humming began picking up and she was practically bouncing in her seat, playing an imaginary guitar. At first he thought nothing of it until she started tapping her feet rapidly.
"Yeah, whoo!" Vigna shouted.
"Awawawawawaaaa!" Jessica stammered as she forced her head up and reached for her pistol, saliva from her drool flying off of her face. She wiped it after she had determined nothing was a threat.
"Well look at that, looks like you got a little drool on you, let's clean that up~" Franka cooed as she pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed Liskarm where Jessica had drooled, making the seemingly straightlaced Vouivre blush a little due to where Franka was wiping.
It didn't take long for Vigna to realize what she had done when she opened her eyes and all gazes fell on her. Her face flushed red and she looked down, fidgeting with her tail.
"Sorry about that. I got a little excited…" When no one responded, she pulled up her 'smartphone' and said, "I'll pick something a little calmer."
"We're...ok...there's nothing bad happening?" Jessica asked as though she was about to cry.
"Besides the interruption of your adorable sleeping face, nothing really," Franka cooed as she showed Jessica the photos she took.
"Muuuuuu…" the mercenary cat moaned as she buried her head into her hands. "How embarrassing…"
Liskarm just sighed and turned her gaze back out the window after rolling her eyes at her partner.
"I'm really sorry Jessica, I didn't know you were napping," Vigna apologized.
"It's fine...the sun felt so good, and…" Jessica struggled to form proper sentences while the parts of her face not covered deepened further towards crimson.
For some reason, Evan felt his lips curl up as a warm feeling set in his chest.
The next interruption came in the form of a low rumbling growl that was telltale of a stomach begging for food. When Evan looked to the source, he saw Sideroca holding her stomach with a tinge of pink on her cheeks. Almost as if on cue, the jeep began to slow to a stop.
"It's about time we have lunch. Everyone out, stretch your legs if you need to," Saria ordered, putting the vehicle into park and opening the door. After she did so, she walked around back and opened the trunk. Everyone else eagerly left the vehicle and began stretching, relieved to finally have blood flowing through their legs again. Sideroca on the other hand started doing an entire stretching routine that lasted all the way until the food containers and coolers were opened.
During this break time, and with barely a cloud in the sky, Evan used the opportunity to charge a device with the solar panel on his backpack.
"What is this?" Liskarm asked as she leaned in to look at the alien device. "Is it generating electricity?"
"Yeah, it's a solar panel. It turns sunlight into electrical current. Well, it can just turn light in general into electrical current, but it's designed to be in the open sun. The stinking thing can only charge at half the rate of a home outlet in full sun though."
"That's amazing, wouldn't it mean you don't need to haul originium dynamos when setting up a stage or something?" Vigna asked, drawn to the conversation.
"Oh they can be surprisingly cheap to produce, but they are only limited by sunlight availability. If you don't have enough light, you won't get sufficient energy."
"How does it convert sunlight into energy?" Liskarm inquired.
"Well…" Evan droned, trying to gather his thoughts. "I mean, it requires some understanding of Quantum Mechanics and Atomic Theory…but to simplify it, light can bump little particles called electrons, making them move. Moving electrons is what makes electrical current, so if you have enough light particles bumping into material you can push enough electrons around to make current flow."
"Do you know what he's talking about?" Franka asked Saria out loud.
"Barely," the white-haired vouivre responded. "If I'm not mistaken, my mentor said something about electrons being responsible for all chemical bonds. No one took him seriously on that, but you seem to know about it."
"He's right about electrons. Electrons are responsible for just about every chemical bond in nature. If you control the electromagnetic forces between atoms, you control their bonds."
"Where did you learn all this?" Liskarm asked with a raised eyebrow. Suddenly, Evan felt very claustrophobic as he noticed almost everyone's attention was on him and him alone. He also remembered what Kal'tsit said about Rhine Lab finding out he wasn't a denizen of Terra.
"For this mission, the fewer who know, the better. Perhaps we should talk about something else," Saria chimed to bring focus away from Evan's origins.
"Oh, I have a story. One time back in BSW, Liskarm was in the changing rooms-"
"Franka!"
"Oopsie~" Franka deflected while looking away innocently.
"Maybe...we should get going…" Jessica suggested.
"Oh, I want to drive," Franka eagerly volunteered.
"No, you may not drive, we have cargo on board."
"Then let me sit next to you?" Franka asked Liskarm with a devious grin and a wink.
"You sit in the back, away from me."
"Oh, you just suck," the vulpo woman complained while crossing her arms and pouting. This earned a very heavy groan of frustration from Liskarm at which Franka gave a soft giggle under her breath.
"I call shotgun!" Vigna declared.
Once they were all loaded back up, the afternoon ride had the jeep filled with tunes from Vigna's playlist and Evan found himself dosing off watching the landscape pass by. When his eyes next opened, the blue sky had shifted to a fiery orange and shadows stretched for miles across the wasteland. The reason for his waking up became clear as he felt his own inertia shift back to rest. Looking around, there was a large sheltering rock formation that Liskarm had parked next to, and the jeep was turned off.
"Is this a good spot Miss Saria?" Liskarm asked the squad leader.
"Yes, let's set up camp."
A journey through the vast empty wastelands most nomadic cities roamed required all necessary materials for not just spending a day in the car, but setting up a place to sleep out in the middle of nowhere. They had packed some wood, but only enough for one fire, and tents were also in the back. A total of five tents were erected around the firepit, one incredibly larger since it would be shared by the three Blacksteel operators.
Dinner itself was rather pleasant, with the seven of them sharing conversations and stories or listening to Vigna play songs on her guitar. Granted, bickering between Franka and Liskarm seemed to always be a constant even though they would be sharing a tent. When the time came, however, not a peep was heard from the Blacksteel tent for the entire night.
Well then, halfway there. When you don't have to stop for gas or traffic, I imagine a roadtrip across a wasteland might take shorter than usual. On another note, this story starts a good bit before the Chernobog incident in case it wasn't picked up. Patriot's running his campaign in not Siberia, and Reunion will start causing trouble in Chernobog soonish. I do have a plan to sideline Reunion thinking they can take out a prominent member of the world stage, but that isn't necessary until much later. Maybe a year in story time
In terms of Earth Guns vs Terra Guns, Terra likely wins out in power as they have the added benefit of arts integration. In cheapness and manufacturing though...Earth wins since our modern day guns use Nitrocellulose which isn't an entirely complicated thing to manufacture if memory is correct. I think it mostly comes about by soaking Cellulose in a solution of Nitric and Sulfuric acid. Yeah, Doctor Stone was right about the importance of those two chemicals in certain aspects. It's also known as flash-cotton.
If I think about it, Nitroglycerin could easily be an anti-Talulah weapon since her arts would only cause it to explode no matter what. It doesn't take much to blow that shit up. Heat is certainly reliable in doing so as well. Not a very complicated chemical for exploding it's just one of those chemicals that really does not want to exist. Though, something being anti-Talulah might not say much considering how OP she is portrayed to be.
Well, thanks for reading.