Welcome to Gaia! ::

707 had her arms crossed over her chest, not letting go due to the fact that she did not wish to flash the people around her. She couldn't relie on her hair to always hide her chest. Her gaze turned to the male who seemed to be in a laughing fit. It was interesting to watch. She could only guess that testosterone was getting to his head and that he was enjoying what was happening around him. The idea of going on a journey. The thrill of a future fight or even a kill. A small smirk appeared on her face when he said it was his turn to fallow them. "Our old home land is in the shinobie world. It's a land called Hidden Sand."

Mishra quickly nodded her head yes as a large smile appeared on her face. She loved ehr new home however nothing could ever place her love for first home land. Sure it was always filled with blood underneth the sand or bodies of random people who where forgotten but to her it was perfect. "Joachim your going to love it! It's brutal there and there is so much to learn plus you can force your body to fight in a differnt area where youll will end up getting use to harsh weather! Perfect for fighting males to grow up bring and strong like Cirus and Drago!" She said while throwing up her arms in to the air.

Both females could only glance at each other before nodding their heads 'yes' while looking back at Joachim. They both seemed to have an odd confidence over this. They walked next to each other, not daring to get in alone, and walked in to the portal to their next destination.



( OOC: With the portal do we still post in the Word Gate?)

Alice walked out of the tree-top hut that she lived in, looking around at the beautiful scenery of the world, not really giving a damn about it all but more for looking for a particular piece of machina that had gotten away from her. You see, Alice was an Al Bhed, a race of humans who are hated by most and masters of all things technological, however many of them no longer have a central home to commune to ever since the Guado attack back a years past. Of course, there are some Al Bhed who returned to see if they can rebuild Home after all that but lately they have been lounging about to scavenge for all the parts blown everywhere and buried underneath the ever shifting sand. How Home never became a mountain of sand at one point still boggles her but she figures that there must have been machina built specifically to shovel sand that builds up back into the desert. At least they were not Artificial Intelligences that could rebel for the oppression they receive but mindless drones programmed with instructions that they can never disobey unless something goes terribly wrong. Alice turned his head frantically this way and that before feeling something dripping on top of her head. Looking up, see smiled and laughed a little to see her precious little rabbit was hovering above her. "There you are B-Rabbit! I have been looking all over for you! Why did you run off to go there?" Alice asked with her usual innocent tone, smiling as her rabbit descended into her arms, cuddled in her breasts. The doll, aptly named Bloody Rabbit, looked up towards Alice with its sinister grin and said, "Have you ever wondered if there was another world out there aside from this one? That we are wasting your potential down here in this s**t hole when you can be creating things that no one has ever seen out somewhere where technology is a secondary commodity." Alice put a gloved hand to her cheek as she looked towards the sky, giving off a soft hum before looking down at the rabbit doll responding, "You think so? Maybe we should go look and see what we have been missing out then, B-Rabbit. Time to say good bye to this hobble and embrace a whole new world!" The rabbit did not say anything but nodded as Alice ran into the building to grab her backpack holding her equipment and mechanical pieces before running out of the hut again. As she started running through the docks to the boat that was docked, people watched, some waved, as she ran by them. She called her good byes to those who knew her while flipping off those she really did not like, mainly boys her age that she thought were disgusting. She ran onto the boat with glee as a man tried to stop her, epically failing as she merely tapped his shoulder after making him unbalanced and he fell off the boat and into the water. She then ran up some stairs onto a observation deck and leaned against the railing and looked back to Kilika Island as the boat started to move, slowly but gaining speed as time went on. About a day would pass before she would reach Luca, a quaint and rather large looking city that she had ever laid eyes on, almost as big as Home was from the stories of Al Bhed that she had ran into when she was young, She gazed at the hot air balloons flying above her, wondering why would they use those any more when they all have airships now a days that can HOVER! She sighed to herself and looked around the for the nearest scrap yard to see if she could out do these hot-balloon loving freaks and, lo and behold, she found out at the outskirts and several hours of searching. She paid them the several hundred gil she had saved up before scavenging for as many parts as they did not give a s**t about before getting to work. It was a long and strenuous task to build an air ship out of random parts you have found within a scrap yard but then again, there was enough machina parts to make do. In fact, she was able to create the cockpit in pretty much a day, amazing the people that owned the scrapyard she was building the ship in. The next day, she continued to work and completely finished the fuselage, only now needing the finish the wings and some electrical wiring to completely finish the job of creating an air ship though she knew that the damned thing was far from perfect. Whoopty doo. B-Rabbit did assist in a way by searching the scrap yard for potential parts but, lacking of hands, could not retrieve them for her so it was up to her to go and pick them up whenever he returned with the list typed into his AI memory. Alice awoke the next day and found there were several Al Bhed scavengers looking at her masterwork, even poking at it like they could rip things out of it for their own use. Alice did not appreciate this and so constructed a rifle rather quickly before firing it off into one of their feet. "Get the hell away from my ship you thieving bastards! Just because we are blood related does not mean you can take what you want from what I am building! Now get the hell out of here!" The others pulled their own weapons only to have them shot out of their hands by B-Rabbit who flew down from the rooftops, having watched all this go down while Alice was asleep. The Al Bhed reluctantly backed off, not wanting to get injured any further, one of them limping away after prying his foot from the spike that was the improvised bullet fired from the makeshift rifle. "Are you alright, my dear Alice," said the rabbit doll as it hovered around her, dripping blood like an umbrella would in a light rain. Alice looked at it and smiled. "Thanks to you B-Rabbit. Let us go and see if we can finish it before those idiots come back." The rest of the night was spent on constructing the air ship and as soon as day broke over the horizon, Alice turned the ignition on and felt the ship suddenly jolt into life. It was amazing how such a thing made from scrap can still be able to do this much. But enough marveling on trivialities, Alice pressed onwards and drove the air-based vehicle over the Mi'ihen Highroad looking down at all the people using the Hovers or huffing it by foot. What a mundane task that you would not see Alice do ever. She continued her flight over Mushroom Rock Road, flying over the battle field that took place in Operation Mi'ihen that ended in utter failure. If it was not for how weak the guns were in distracting Sin, their ultimate weapon would have been charged stronger to destroy Sin utterly. Damn that Sin to hell. She continued to fly over Mushroom Rock temple, observing the floating, magnetic rocks being held up by electricity that occasionally shot out of the temple itself. She waved out the window to the Al Bhed holed up in there, testing out new machina, and they waved back, one of them with blond and spiky hair wearing an eye patch. It would not be long before she was flying over the Moonflow, the single, largest river in all of Spira that grew Moonflower Lilies, fragrant flowers that attracts Pyre-flies that wander on their way to the Farplane. It was a quick flight over the Moonflow before landing in a clearing near Guadosalam, a tree grove where the Guado made their home. Alice knew of the dangers that the Thunder Plains presented if she were to go ahead without finding something to protect her vehicle from the lightning strikes that the Plains presented. After salvaging and spending the night, Alice returned to her ship and attached a device that would be able to catch the lightning and neutralize it through the rubber base while having a quick release so Alice would not have to touch it when she was through needing it. She took off and sped as fast as she could through the plains, lightning striking the make-shift rod a number of times before she started to fly over the Macalania Woods. In the distance, she could see the gaping hole that was Macalania Lake which actually was more an ice sheet that never defrosted after the water below sank in level. Where that water went, no one really knew but there was a shop being ran by some poor chap named O'aka XXIII who bought the establishment from Rin just before the lake collapsed. Poor chap. Alice continued to fly towards the Calm Lands, getting a sneak peak at Bevelle which had grown huge ever since Sin was defeated. She continued to fly over the Calm Lands, chocobo's running underneath her as she sped as fast as her air ship could take her before pulling up and over Mt. Gagazet, the home of the Ronso. The Ronso were a proud race of cat-like humaniods with horns growing from their heads who emphasizes that their horns and strength were their pride and if either were taken, they would rather be dead. They even believe that the mountain was alive! A silly notion but yet something they believe in so whatever. Soon, Alice was soaring over Zanarkand. A city of the dead that has been around for over a thousand years. Amazing how the structures were still there but that was not what she was looking for. She landed the craft in a clearing and pretty much gave it to a tourist. She would not be able to get it into the ruins so what was the point. As she entered the ruins, she thought about the reports of a portal appearing there that would transport people out of Spira and into an entirely new world all together and that notion was almost impossible to believe. She slipped by the swarms of fiends that were left unchecked and moved quickly past the remaining ruins where scavengers were trying to loot the place for all it got. Alice continued through the remainder of the ruins before reaching the Room of the Fayth and before her was indeed a portal. Alice and B-Rabbit looked at each other before nodding and then Alice, holding her AI friend in her arms, ran through the portal, being flung out into several universes before landing somewhere...

The heavy thumps of booted feet beat out a rapid cadence on corrugated steel gridwork, in counterpoint to the alarm klaxon blaring away. A group of five raced down the hallway, dressed in matte black body armor. There were no insignia or rank icons on any of their suits, no way to tell who the leader of the group was. One of the men near the back tucked his chin slightly against his shoulder, before speaking. "What's the status of the charges, Dancer?"

Nobody replied to his question, at least nobody that could be heard. But nonetheless a moment later he nodded. "You heard the lady, folks! Let's get the hell out of Dodge!" A chorus of affirmatives rang out, and the group began to move even faster down the hallway. At the next intersection, a sixth joined them, a wiry young woman carrying an empty satchel. The group stormed through a door and found themselves in an enclosed space, with a stairway leading up, circling around and around. They were currently underground, they'd have to go up several flights of stairs before reaching the ground level. The elevators had already been disabled when they first entered the facility, to prevent any rapid response from any security forces that were on-site.

The mission had been pretty straightforward. They had been sent to infiltrate a lab that was supposedly performing experiments in bioterrorism. Upon making their way inside, they already faced opposition, far more than should have been present at any ordinary medical lab. They had managed to take out the security forces without too much trouble; they had merely been hired guards and thugs, none of them had showed any sign of proper training. All the same, being spotted so soon into their infiltration had stepped up their timetable by an order of magnitude. They had to determine just what projects the lab was working on, and make a judgment call from there if they needed to level the place.

They kept it brusque, taking snapshots of screens, logs and tables full of odd equipment. None of it made sense to them, but none of them had any training in that field. It all looked suitably high-tech enough to be progressive, but there was no clear-cut proof of illegal experimentations. They would have to continue exploring to find out for sure. That was when they found the staircase. They had already disabled the elevator, but it hadn't shown any option for going down, that must have been hidden behind a false panel or something. Too late now. So they took the stairs, and made their way down and down and down. until they reached the lowest floor. Whatever the lab's secrets were, the worst would be there.

The bottom floor was largely unfinished, large stretches of it consisted of little more than planks of gridwork walkways suspended over roughly-carved pits that had yet to be filled in with cement and rebar. These were interspersed with slightly more complete hallways leading off to already-finished aspects of the floor. But they stayed on the main path, despite its unfinished decor. Even so, there were occasional signs that path was heavily used, occasional food wrappers on the floor or smudged handprints on the walls. When they found the first electronic lock, they knew that they had hit paydirt. Once Firefly had worked his electronic magic on the security pad, they continued into the lion's den. The rest of the floor was given over to an immense complex, large glass cylinders filled with a murky liquid and complex computers constantly processing numbers. There wasn't anybody monitoring the various stations, they must have already made their escape once the alarm went off. That wasn't good, without any witness to interrogate they would have to ascertain the lab's projects on their own.

So even though the alarm was still sounding, and more troops could rush in at any moment, they still had to stay and find out more. Dancer was sent to begin planting the charges to level the place. Whatever they found, the sheer amount of security the place boasted was proof enough that it would be enough to merit destruction. Meanwhile, Firefly began working on hacking the computers' security systems, fingers almost a blur as he penetrated several different firewalls. Even then, there was still more security, and he began cursing under his breath as he encountered a particularly robust specimen. Nobody else understood what he meant by 'exponential permutation' or 'kludge evolution' but it seemed serious. Finally he swore before stepping back, pulling a complicated gadget out of a pocket. It bristled with sensors and terminal jacks, and the screen glowed a bright green.

Grabbing his multitool he moved to the side of the computer, before working at the panel, finally managing to pry it free with a groan of stressed steel. Once he had access to the computer's innards, he extended a lead from his gadget and plugged it in. This method was riskier than cracking the systems normally, it exposed his own device to any security countermeasures that might still be present. As well, an intrusion that blatant might trigger even more fierce defenses, like a complete wipe, erasing everything on the computer, and with it, any chance of getting the proof they would need to defend their actions from their superiors.

Luckily, Firefly was skilled enough that he managed to avoid tripping any further alarms, and within moments he had managed to bulldoze his way through the active defenses to access the information they were after. He read in silence for a few moments, the screen moving past too fast for anyone else to keep up with. Finally he stopped, only to shake his head. "You're going to want to see this, boss..."

Wolf stepped forward, frowning as he read the page that was on the screen. The rest of the group had done the same, curious to see what had gotten such a rise out of Firefly. The document was thick with technobabble, but still possible to translate. And what they read there was enough to tell them that things were very serious indeed.

Wolf didn't say anything for a long moment, weighing options in his head. This was beyond their pay scale, and should have warranted something much stronger than a simple bombing. This should have been a complete black ops mission, not just a simple infiltrate and destroy. Did his superiors have any idea of what this project actually was, or were they as in the dark as he had been? He couldn't take that chance. "change in plans, people. We're still going to light this candle, but first we need to find a souvenir to take home with us." They had to find a sample of some kind, some actual physical proof of the experiments taking place, along with the electronic records. Something to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what was taking place.

With that determined, they began inspecting the lab in earnest, trying to find anything that seemed to give credence to what they had read, something that would help prove the intel was right. In the end, the only object that seemed to even marginally fit the bill was a small canister, only two feet long, sealed tight behind an impressive number of locks. It bore the biohazard and radioactive stickers of dangerous materials, but their Geiger counters didn't pick up on any dangerous levels of fallout. Wolf took custody of the sample himself, the better to protect his troops if it was somehow dangerous. Once Firefly had made a copy of the records, he wiped the system clean, and they prepared to leave. A murmured message to Dancer informed her to hurry up, and then they were off.

That brought them back to the present, making their escape from a sprawling lab complex set to blow, carrying a weapon of fearsome potential back to their superiors. They finally reached the ground floor, clearing the final landing and entering the lobby once more. There, they were forced to screech to a halt and seek cover, as the rest of the lab's security forces were waiting for them. The storm of gunfire began to eat away at the various pieces of cover they huddled behind, a constant stream of bullets that tore chips and fragments away from the lobby's furnishings.

Wolf knew that they didn't have much time left before the place began to blow; they couldn't afford to stick around any longer. Catching the eyes of everyone else in his team, he signed carefully, using the military shorthand symbols to tell everyone what to do. Leading the charge the moment he heard a lull in the firing; he got up and rushed forward, pulling his own semi-automatic rifle out before spraying the bullets back and forth in covering fire. He wasn't aiming specifically at anyone, instead he was laying down enough fire to make the enemy go into hiding. At least for long enough for his own forces to advance.

Everything was going as planned, his troops were almost in position to open fire themselves and tear open a hole in the enemy ranks. That was when he noticed the grenade. In that instant, time seemed to crawl to a halt. He knew that it was a shrapnel grenade, designed to send out countless flechettes of razor-sharp metal and glass when it detonated. An anti-personnel weapon, one that could be fatal, even to those wearing full body armor. It's yield was large enough that there wouldn't be time to fall back and seek cover. That only left one option. "Fire in the hole!" He rushed it, pouncing on the grenade an instant before it exploded. In that instant, he felt a flash of intense heat and sudden pressure, before everything went dark. He realized he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, and he was lying in a pool of liquid. His own blood? So that was what it felt like to die...

---------------

"Corporal? You with us?"

Koenig let out a low groan as he slowly came to. He took a moment to take stock of his situation before opening his eyes. He was alive, after all? He had to, he hurt too much to be dead. Had they somehow managed to patch him up? Finally, he opened his eyes, only to shut them again quickly as the sudden addition of light to his world left him temporarily blinded. Blinking tears rapidly out of his eyes, he tried to get them to adjust to the light enough to tell him where he was. He tried to sit up, but a hand held him down. He would have resisted, but he still felt weak, too weak. He finally adjusted to the light enough to recognize his surroundings. It only took a glance to realize he was in the base's med center. He'd been there multiple times before, but always in a visiting capacity. Before this, any injuries he'd gotten had always been minor enough to handle in the field, basic first aid. "What happened?"

One of the others, the one standing at the side of his bed, answered. They were a shorter man, boasting a surprisingly elaborate tattoo running from the jaw down his neck and under his rumpled uniform. They were Tanager, his comm specialist. In a voice that seemed far too lyrical for such a rough appearance, he explained what happened. "Well, when you did a dogpile on that grenade, it popped the canister you were carrying. Some kind of metal sludge came out, and..." He shrugged helplessly, before extending a hand holding a mirror.

Koenig looked at his reflection for a long moment, not understanding what he was seeing. He finally barked out a laugh. "Oh, I get it. One of you put spray paint on the mirror, decided to have a laugh at my expense. Not bad, not bad. But no funny moustache?"

"Sir, there's nothing on the mirror..."

"Well that can't be right, I look like an Oscar!" And it was true, the face that looked back at him from the mirror seemed to be coated with a thin layer of solid gold. It moved along with his lips as he spoke, it shifted with his eyelids when he blinked. And his eyes! They were blank, a solid red. No iris or pupil, just a solid splotch of bright red against his gold skin. He brought a hand up to his face, and sure enough it was coated in the same material. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger back and forth, but he could scarcely feel it. Whatever it was that was covering him, it wasn't very thick, but it was still solid enough to muffle his sense of touch.

After a long moment, he managed to calm down the screaming fit he'd restricted to the inside of his head, and trusted himself to speak without screaming. "Without any actual proof to bring back, what does that mean for the mission?" If he distracted himself enough with duty, maybe he could ignore his own problem for a few moments.

"But that's just it, there was proof." A new voice cut in from further away; it's owner stepped forward a moment later. An older man, he seemed to possess that same quiet confidence that was so common to larger men. He had a thick mane of hair that still possessed a hint of the red that it used to be, and his eyes were startlingly intense. He wore a plain but stylish suit, and closer inspection would reveal that it had been custom-made for his use. This was Armand Waering, their commanding officer and de facto leader of the entire organization.

Koenig saw Waering and instantly tried to stand at attention while laying down. He saluted, only to bite off a curse as his hand collided with his forehead. Between the added weight of the metal coating him, and the lack of tactile sensations, he'd moved it too far and clocked himself. Blinking past the stars in his eyes, he recovered quickly. "Sir!"

Waering waved down the salutes that everyone had thrown, silently telling them to be at ease. He stepped closer, approaching Koenig and picking up the clipboard at the bottom of his bed. He flipped through the pages crammed full of medical lingo and jargon, murmuring to himself as he did. Only after he'd fully perused the file did he return his gaze to Corporal Koenig. He maintained that level stare without blinking, and a moment of silent communication seemed to occur between the two men.

Heavily shifting himself to a sitting position, Koenig turned his own gaze to his soldiers, the men and women who had been a part of his unit for years. He knew them better than he knew his family, he knew they would die for him, just as he had thought he would have died for them. But now... "Could you give us a minute? It seems Waering needs to dress me down in private." He kept his tone light, but he had a cold sensation growing in his gut. Over the years, he'd learned to truth that feeling, and it was telling him that he wasn't going to like what happened next.

"Are you sure, sir?" This was Firefly, but it could have been any one of the others. They all wanted to stay, to lend their support if he needed it. But he just nodded, so they finally gave in and left, leaving the room suddenly much emptier than it had been.

"You have loyal troops." It was not a question. Waering knew the unit's history, as well as the backgrounds of each and every member. Indeed, it had been his decision for each soldier that was transferred into the unit. Sometimes his choices had caused some friction, but more often than not, the newcomer would mesh with the group and make them all the more stronger for it.

"Of course, sir. We're a family."

"Family's a powerful thing. But duty is just as important. And according to what our scientists and medics tell me, you won't be able to do yours because of what happened." Waering's voice wasn't warm, but neither was it cold. It was decidedly neutral, there was no emotion behind the comment.

"But sir, I feel fine! I can be back in the field today if you need me." He had a sinking feeling that he knew what was going to happen.

"I'm sorry, but it's just not a viable option. Your unit has always been a reconnaissance and demolitions specialist team. Your skills and health aren't in question, not in the slightest. But... this... You can't expect to go undercover and avoid detection looking like this."

Koenig wanted to shout, he wanted to yell and rail at what was being said. But he knew that Waering was right, and he knew that his removal would be what's best for his soldiers. They wouldn't be his anymore, and he could only hope that their new commanding officer could protect them. If not, then he'd be there. He sighed, pushing all of his frustration and tension out through his mouth in one great whoosh. "I suppose you're right, sir. But what then? Am I being discharged?" He'd lived his entire life in the military, to get cut loose would kill him as surely as a knife in the back or a bullet in the head.

"Discharge? You must be joking, Corporal. You're far too valuable to let go over something as little as this." Waering gestured with an open hand down at Koenig, an obvious enough indicator that he referred to the odd metal coating him. "No, we're just going to transfer you to a different department. You'll now be a part of Department Dier. Your new 'traits' won't be such a problem with them."

Koenig's eyes were slightly glazed as he tried to process what he'd just heard. Department Dier? He'd never even heard of them! There were only the three departments, Ein, Zwei and Drei; Public Safety, International Affairs and Research and Development. What could Dier be? But more important than that, what of his men? He shook his head, before he asked Waering. "What of my troops? Who will be in charge? I recommend promoting Dancer, she's been a good second in command for almost the entire time she's been in the unit."

"It won't be Dancer."

"Then how about Tanager? He's a bit rough around the edges, but I think he'll grow into command without too many issues."

"It won't be Tanager, either."

Koenig was beginning to get worried. Firefly was too much of a free spirit to be in command. Paragon liked his current role, simply following orders and letting someone else sort the aftermath out. That only left Hunter. But he... He shook his head again, there was no way that Hunter should ever have command, he was barely able to control himself, let alone others. "Then who, sir?"

"You are, Corporal. I'd have to be blind to not recognize how well your unit works together. Even if it means losing our best recon team, it should be worth it to keep you all together. Now, the medic will be by later today to give you a full work-up, try to play nice. And one last thing..." Waering's eyes glinted with barely suppressed amusement as he muttered one last comment to Koenig, whose eyes widened abruptly in shock at what he heard.

-----------------

Tanager glowered at the doorway, clenching a fist only to forcefully lower it once more. "We should be in there! If the Corp' getting chewed out for botching the mission!"

"Calm down. He told us to wait out here, we have to trust him to know what's best." Firefly chimed in, leaning against the opposite wall but no less anxious.

"I know, but-" Anything more that Tanager was going to say was cut off when they heard voices raised in anger from the room. It sounded like Koenig and Waering were really going at it! They all went instantly silent as they shamelessly eavesdropped.

"I don't care, sir, I'm not abandoning them! They're my troops, and I won't let you take them away!"

"Think about your position, soldier, you can be court-martialed for this! I'll have your stripes!"

"I don't care, sir! They're the best!"

"That's it, you'll be shipped out in the morning for Gagazett!"

Tanager and the rest gasped at this, shocked. Gagazett was the absolutely worst place to be sent to, it amounted to little more than punishment duty. It was a tiny research station that nonetheless needed to be protected. It suffered from horrible weather, too. Bitter cold and frequent blizzards, going there had cost more than one soldier their life. Koenig was being sent there because of this fiasco? They couldn't let that happen! They rushed inside, to plead his case. He may have ordered them out, but they couldn't just stand by and let this happen unopposed!

But when they piled into the room, what they saw confused them. Waering was standing next to Koenig's bed, and the two of them were watching the group rush in. Waering was grinning widely, while Koenig looked abashed. The answer was revealed a moment later when Waering addressed them. "Gotcha." He explained that he'd forced Koenig to play along, he'd wanted to have a little fun at their expense. And to consider it their punishment for trying to eavesdrop. After all, Koenig was certainly going to tell them everything that had happened anyways. With that, he took his leave, walking out of the room calmly, as if he hadn't just played a prank on his own soldiers.

Once Waering was out of sight, and hopefully earshot as well, Koenig's men turned as one to direct the full brunt of their irritation at him. How could he have done such a thing? That had been a cruel trick, and they'd only been worried about him! This they said, and plenty more besides, before he finally waved them silent. "I know, that wasn't very nice, but Waering insisted. The real news isn't nearly as bad. I hope."

"You hope? What do you mean by that? Sir." The last was added as an afterthought, due to the mild glare that Koenig had sent Hunter's way.

"Well, we're being transferred. I can't really be sent out on recon like this anymore, but our numbers are too good to break the unit up. I have to thank each and every one of you for that. I just hope I'm not dragging you all into something even worse than Gagazett..."

"Enough beating around the bush, just tell us already!" This was said in different forms by the entire group, and Koenig knew that he'd stretched out the tension as much as he'd be able to. So he gave in, and told them what their new assignment was. Working for Depertment Dier, a group that none of them had even heard of. That implied that they would still be operating covertly, to at least a certain extent. What avenue any future ops might take was unclear, but it was likely to be different. Different wasn't always good, though.

"Waering said that we'll be officially transferred Thursday at zero hundred hours. Until then, with no active duty, we're confined to base, but otherwise on leave. So live it up, we probably won't have another chance like this for years." Koenig didn't mention that he'd be busy over the next few days. He was responsible for all of the paperwork over the transfer. He had to attend a full course of physical therapy, to familiarize himself with his new coating. And he had an appointment with an entire team of medics and researchers later that same night for a full workup, to make sure that the gold stuff wasn't immediately harmful. He'd be busy, but by the time it was done, hopefully he'd be back in the saddle, and working at his usual level of efficiency. He expected they'd be given a mission almost immediately upon arriving at Dier, wherever that was.
[4037 x 2 = 8074 words out of ??? ]

Koenig groaned as he stretched, hearing his back pop several times in quick succession. He looked back at the simulator and shook his head. The thing was cramped, but otherwise it was an absolutely amazing piece of machinery. He had no idea how it worked, but it likely didn't matter. It somehow managed to create a fully immersive surrounding, making it seem like he was really in the command seat of the finished airship. He had rotated through the various positions, as had his soldiers. They each needed to be fully versed in any position, to handle any sort of personnel crisis that might arise when they were in the field. He would be the de facto commander, of course, but he was still training to handle everything else, just like the others were.

The only downside was that the immersive world was perhaps too real. He had noticed a bit of trouble returning to the real world, a slight haze in his vision that took several moments' blinking before it would finally go away. He'd talked to the others, and they had noticed the issue as well. It didn't seem to be causing any permanent damage, though, so they were content to ignore it for the moment. He wasn't so willing. If it got worse, he'd track Yanagi Uri down and find out if there were any harmful side effects from using the simulators. For now, he needed to get moving, actually return to the real world and coordinate moving with reaction. The simulators had taken that edge away, and his men had been especially clumsy after the first session. The problem was gradually lessening, but that made it no less of a concern.
[N/A(285/570) + 12,286 = 12,286 out of ??? ]

Koenig had finally gotten a real look at the ship. It had yet to be given a name, and he had had no luck trying to think of one. But all the same, it was a truly magnificent ship, the crews had done an outstanding job. He was now seated inside of it, doing a final performance checklist. If everything remained in the green, they would finally be setting out, taking flight in the maiden voyage of the newest airship that Spira could craft. They were all eager to finally be underway, but none of them was foolish enough to let that distract them from their role. So a steady stream of progress reports came through the small bone conduction mike set at his throat and behind his ear. He didn't need to look at the checklist or the manifest, he had long since memorized both. Instead, he focused on looking for the unexpected, something that might cause an error in the mission's preflight checklist. Finally, the last item was checked, and found to be working. He sent the command that powered up the engines to full capacity, and with a deep thrumming that seemed to send a vibration through the ship, it lifted off of the ground. He expertly plied the yoke, tilting the airship's nose up as it climbed higher into the air. They were not within the communication shroud of the HQ any longer, so he was out of effective communication range with Yanagi Uri. The last command she had given him was to try to capture or contain that energy source. Everything else was secondary; no cost was too great if it meant gaining access to that energy. He had only nodded and saluted. He had no intention of paying that final cost. Not for him, and not for his men. He would find another way, if it indeed came down to that option.
[N/A(318/636) + 12,286 = 12,286 out of ??? ]
Acquired Airship.

Koenig resumed the controls after Teufel asked him to. He punched in the coordinates for their destination, and let the ship handle the minor details itself. The path was straightforward, and the base was already programmed into the list of expected destinations. There wasn't much that he actually needed to do, and he suspected he was given control because Teufel just wanted to take a moment to regain her composure. If that was all that she had to do, after such an immense outpouring of energy... Then she would be an even more fearsome enemy than he had thought. It was a good thing that she seemed willing to negotiate, he didn't even want to think of what it would have taken to coerce her assistance.

It took over an hour to reach their destination, during which Teufel had likely drifted off for a certain stretch of time. But she hadn't been needed or disturbed, so there was no reason to remark on it. And when they finally began descending, she had woken up, sitting up alertly as she inspected her surroundings. When they had first emerged, the land had been l9ight forest and large stretches of grasslands. But now the grass had given way to a barren wilderness, an endless expanse of sand and cracked earth. It must have been unpleasantly hot during the summer months.

They finally touched down, the camouflaged doors retracting into their hidden recesses. The ship sank down into the darkness, before the interior lights exposed their new surroundings. They were in an immense hangar, immense enough that it dwarfed even the airship. Numerous pieces of machinery and vehicles were scattered around, the the center was clear and remained that way for just this occasion. The airship settled down with a gentle hiss, hydraulics balancing pressure as the landing clamps splayed out and deployed once more. The landing ramp followed suit. They were home.

Koenig pushed to his feet, and looked around as everyone else did the same. "Well, it looks like we made the trip successfully. Believe it or not, we're back home. Now without further ado, let us proceed with getting onto solid ground again. And once the brass shows up, we can get down to business." He led the way to the landing ramp, and the whole group marched down in quick succession. He and his soldiers led the way, with Teufel and Nyx following close behind.

When they finally reached the base of the ramp, Koenig was surprised to see an entire squad gathered to greet them. He'd known this mission was important, but an honor guard? They were even wielding some powerful looking firearms, of a model he'd never seen before. Behind them was the head of Section Dier, Dr. Wiley. A genius, supposedly, he was prone to moments of mania and some of his visions for the future were extremely worrying. But his tactical judgment was sound, and he'd advanced the cause by leaps and bounds. All the same, he'd always given off a bad feeling, something that made Koenig not trust him one bit. Now more than ever, his gut was telling him something had gone terribly wrong.

Just then, Teufel and Nyx began to descent the ramp, and he saw the Dr's eyes widen and glint with malevolence. Suddenly things fell into place, and he realized he'd been played for a patsy. It had never mattered if he had made any deal, the Dr. had no intention of honoring it. All he wanted was for the wielder of that energy to be brought here. Somehow, he had believed that he would be able to force the wielder of that energy to hand over the secret.

Koenig sighed, before turning back to give Teufel an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about this, I had no idea he had something like this in order... Please don't fight, I don't want you to get hurt..."

A moment later, the Dr. called out, his shrill voice grating slightly on the ears. "That's enough, Colonel. You've completed your purpose admirably, now please step aside." The Dr. fixed Teufel and Nyx with his intense gaze, looking them up and down. Mere slips of children, they were supposed to be the ones he'd wanted? How in the world had that happened? Well, no matter. How hard could it be to break two children? Whichever of the two it was, he'd get what he wanted. He always did. "Well, children. Just be on your best behavior, and we might let you leave after we've learned everything we need to know. Now, if you'll step this way, and surrender any weapons you might have..."
[777 + 6519 = 7296 out of ??? ]