Maku
Veteran
Chaos Embodied
Posts: 149
|
Post by Maku on Oct 27, 2009 2:08:12 GMT -6
By the time Maku had reached the Thonciri Militia Enlistment Center, he'd lost none of his determination. Short of finding some pirate or dragon's long-lost treasure horde, he really didn't have any options open to him. That is not to say, however, that his determination was not in danger of being overshadowed by his growing anxiety. His heart was pounding in his chest as he reached for the door with his good hand, and walked in.
The interior of the Enlistment Center was nothing extraordinary. Recruitment posters covered the walls, and a wide assortment of pamphlets, exactly like the one he'd picked up at the hospital, were arranged on the desk and the small tables that filled the space.
In a way, the place reminded him of a hospital waiting room, only there were no doctors to wait for, and the semi-cheery receptionist was replaced by a somewhat bored looking woman in her dress uniform. This woman eyed Maku keenly as the teen approached the desk, and, as calmly as he could, placed the card he'd gotten from Dr. Matheson on the desk in front of the officer.
"My name's Maku Riskan, I've been referred here from Thoncir General. I'm here to enlist."
|
|
Darzul
Veteran
General
Posts: 218
|
Post by Darzul on Oct 27, 2009 2:47:18 GMT -6
The sargeant looked up at Maku, then the card he carried. She then looked at the man again, and a slight shiver went down her spine. For reasons she couldn't explain, she was a bit skeptical. The last thing she wanted was for Darzul to be mad at her for inviting an man into the Vorcan Army, especially if he was only here for the medical plan. And if anyone would try to defraud the army in such a way, it would be Matheson.
"Okay," she said. She handed him a clipboard with an enlistment form, asking for basic information - height, weight, age, and so on. "Please fill this out. I'll be back in a moment."
The sargeant got up and left the enlistment office, and quickly walked toward the officers' club. She walked up to captain Onthinor Apek, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Sorry to bother you, captain," she said, "but a new recruit came in. He's in the enlistment office right now. I don't like the feeling he gives me, and..." she leaned a bit closer. "He was referred by Matheson," she said. "Quite frankly, he smells like a junkie. You're a good judge of character, sir, and I'd like for you to determine if he's here for painkillers or for the good of Thoncir."
Apek looked at her. "I'm glad you came to me, sargeant," he said, getting up off his barstool. He set his drink on the bar. "Let's head back, see how he's doing."
|
|
Maku
Veteran
Chaos Embodied
Posts: 149
|
Post by Maku on Oct 27, 2009 3:06:17 GMT -6
Maku nodded as he took the clipboard, waiting until the woman walked away to find a seat and start filling out the form. He found, however, that the clipboard simply slid around if he just used his right hand. With a grimace and a groan, he lifted his left arm up onto the table, setting it on the clipboard to serve as a weight. Satisfied that it would work without causing him too much pain, he quickly filled out as much of the form as he could.
He finished soon afterwards, somewhat surprised at the simplicity of the form, but he shrugged it off. Signing his name, he set the clipboard down on the table and leaned back in his chair. With slight alarm, he saw his left arm fall limply to his side, a sharp contrast to the way his right arm rested on the arm of the chair, fingers drumming impatiently. Looking to make sure the officer hadn't yet returned, Maku sighed, reaching over with his right hand and grasping his left wrist. A minute of awkward struggling later, he'd managed to slip his left hand into his left pocket. He hoped the movement of his leg when he walked would make his arm seem less severely crippled than it was.
Just as he settled back in the chair, he heard the door behind the desk open, and stood, albeit awkwardly, picking up the clipboard and walking back to the desk, just as the officer from before returned, followed by an older, stout male officer with almost shockingly red hair. Maku's anxiety jumped a few notches, but he hid it as best he could.
|
|
Darzul
Veteran
General
Posts: 218
|
Post by Darzul on Oct 27, 2009 3:17:23 GMT -6
Apek looked at the man. He looked like he could use a shower, change of clothes, and a decent meal. Probably homeless, Apek thought. However, the young man sitting before him seemed honest enough. Apek disagreed with the sargeant's gut feeling. The guy looked okay; a bit shady, Apek had to agree with that, but Darzul had often stated that barring a clear reason not to accept recruits, but a body in a uniform and let the Vorcan Army take care of the rest.
"Good to see you, Mr...Riskan," Apek said as he picked up the clipboard. Everything seemed to check out. "Okay, seems like everything's okay," he said, extending his left hand. "Welcome to the Vorcan Army."
|
|
Maku
Veteran
Chaos Embodied
Posts: 149
|
Post by Maku on Oct 27, 2009 13:47:47 GMT -6
Maku glanced at the man's apparel. He was dressed in fatigues, with little indication of rank, yet the woman officer hadn't said a word since they'd returned. He guessed this man to be of superior rank. How superior, he couldn't say, but it probably wasn't a good idea to ignore the man's handshake. He gave a sigh, and held his breath.
As he raised his left arm to shake the man's hand, he couldn't help but grimace. He tried his best to disguise it as a smile, but it was a pained one. Combined with the weak grip he managed for the handshake, he knew he'd lost his chance at hiding his arm.
|
|
Darzul
Veteran
General
Posts: 218
|
Post by Darzul on Oct 27, 2009 18:09:30 GMT -6
Apek noticed the pain Maku suffered as he shook hands, and the weakness in his handshake.
"I'm captain Onthinor Apek," he said. He looked at Maku's left arm. "That arm looks like it's seen better days, private Riskan. You mind telling me what happened to it?"
|
|
Maku
Veteran
Chaos Embodied
Posts: 149
|
Post by Maku on Oct 27, 2009 19:20:37 GMT -6
Maku flushed slightly at the questioning. At least this Apek didn't beat around the bush. Maku decided he liked the man. "I was hiking a few days back, got attacked by a group of thugs. Don't remember too much of it, to be honest. When I came to, an angel had taken care of the thugs and bandaged me up."
Maku dropped his arm to the side, flinching at the sudden shift in weight. "The arm's the reason Thoncir General referred me here. I don't have much, especially when PT comes into the picture."
Even as he said the words, Maku realized how they might sound to his new superior officer. God, I must sound like a homeless junkie to these people! "That is, sir, not to say my arm is my only reason for enlisting, sir. I've...done a lot of things I'm not proud of, sir. If serving this city and this army can help make up for any of it, sir, that's more than a good enough reason to enlist, sir."
|
|
Darzul
Veteran
General
Posts: 218
|
Post by Darzul on Oct 27, 2009 19:46:36 GMT -6
Apek nodded. "When General Vorca got the ball rolling on this little militia, he told me all were welcome. I was pretty skeptical; gangbangers, homeless people, civilians with no discipline, and I was supposed to give them an assault rifle, room and board, and the protection of the militia."
He smiled. "Five years and 4,500 recruits later, the Vorcan Army, as we've come to refer to it, is now the city's main police force, and has given more people in this city jobs than anyone else. The general was right; one in a hundred new recruits turn out unfit for the army, and the rest adjust well, and usually fairly quickly."
He looked at Maku. "I'll be honest, Riskan. You look like you could use a second chance. We specialize in those here. Sargeant Remta here will get you a set of fatigues and a Carbine. Your training starts tomorrow, as well as your physical therapy. There are two options, but we can discuss that later. Sargeant?" Apek said, looking at her but gesturing to Maku with his head.
Sargeant Remta saluted Apek as he left, than looked at Maku. "Okay, we can get you fatigues in the south barracks," Remta told him, gesturing toward the door. "Then, we'll head to the armory and get you a carbine and combat knife, see about a sidearm if there are enough to go around."
|
|
|
Post by Shard on Oct 27, 2009 19:48:02 GMT -6
Far above the city of Thoncir, Shard stood upon a circular platform of black crystal. Orbiting the platform in a sinister twinkling halo were thousands of razor-sharp crystal fragments. He knew Drixel was here. Everything he could sense told him Drixel was somewhere in the godforsaken city. Somehow, though, he couldn't pinpoint the angel's location. The fool must have some of that purified crystal on him, keeping me from tracking him any closer than this. Very clever, if he did it on purpose.
Even as he fumed over his thoughts, however, movement down below caught his eye. A little girl with a balloon skipped down the street, oblivious to the horror in the skies above her. Scanning the streets more carefully, Shard noticed the civilians were out-and-about, taking advantage of the warm coastal weather. A grin spread across his face. Oh well...if he won't show himself, perhaps the screams of this city will serve as adequate incentive.
His grin grew as the crystal platform lowered, fragmenting as it did until Shard stood upon the roof of a 2-story building, the new fragments adding to the cloud surrounding him. In the distance to his right, he could see a tall building with a red cross upon it. To his left, the buildings grew shorter until they met with a sprawling fenced-in complex. Hmmm...halfway between the healers and the killers...my my, this will be quite poetic, Drixel. For these people's sake, hope you come quick.
Letting out a low chuckle, Shard flung his arms out in a wide arc before him, scattering the crystal shards into 4 smaller clouds, each roughly the size of a compact car. 2 clouds descended into the streets on his left, and the other 2 mirrored the action on his right. With a twist of his wrists, the clouds flew down the streets, moving in a deadly dance as they threatened to shred anyone and anything that came in contact with them.
He closed his eyes, letting the crystal clouds guide his senses as they traveled. His chuckle grew to a maniacal laugh. I take back my anger, Drixel. I will still have your life, but not before I have some fun with these people.
|
|
|
Post by drixel on Oct 27, 2009 20:07:23 GMT -6
Drixel was looking around to see if he could spot maku. there were two things that did catch his eye. he noticed a little girl about 7 or 8 skipping down the street a balloon in one hand and in the other a ice cream cone. this drew a smile on his face.
the second shook him to his core. in the sky he saw a familiar sight. The dark crystals were in the sky and floating down to the city streets. he noticed they were moving in a way that would cut and kill anyone that got in the way.
he quickly turned to inor and with a stern voice said., "Inor we have a major problem. get any citizens to safety NOW!" Drixel flew as fast as he could toward the little girl who was still skipping down the road, not knowing the danger that was flying toward her. Drixel flew as fast as he could. he could see the massive cloud of crystals get closer and closer.
Drixel made a last stitch effort and scooped up the girl and flew out of the way just as the cloud zipped by. it was so close Drixel could hear the snipping and crunching made by the crystals. Drixel quickly landed looking over the girl to make sure no harm came to her. kicking down a near by door he told the girl to stay down and hide, and that its not safe outside. Drixel looked up to the sky and let out a loud shout. "SHARRRRD!!!!"
|
|
Maku
Veteran
Chaos Embodied
Posts: 149
|
Post by Maku on Oct 27, 2009 20:21:17 GMT -6
Maku saluted Capt. Apek along with Sergeant Remta as he left, very grateful that Remta had brought him in. Apek's words had done more than reassure him about his decision to enlist; they'd reassured him about himself, as well. That alone made this a very good day in Maku's book, even as he ignored a flare of pain from his shoulder.
Maku listened attentively to Remta's instructions, and the pair soon made their way to the south barracks. A few minutes later, Maku walked out of the barracks with a much-shorter haircut, clad in the snow-camo fatigues of the Vorcan Army. Part of him felt little else but pride. Pride, interrupted by the increasingly frequent flareups from this shoulder. He ignored these as best he could, especially when Sgt. Remta was around, but it was getting harder.
|
|
|
Post by Shard on Oct 27, 2009 20:27:50 GMT -6
Shard gave a barking laugh as he heard Drixel's scream from the direction of the hospital. Without moving, he kept the clouds moving, save the one Drixel had dodged. He stopped the cloud about 20 feet away from Drixel, and with great concentration, forced the crystals to vibrate like vocal cords, resulting in a gravelly, scratchy, unmistakable voice coming from the cloud.
"My my, it seems I've found you. Unfortunately, I'm not done with these people yet, old friend. Not by a long shot. And when I finally am finished with them, I'll come for you. Don't you worry, Drixel. I haven't forgotten how our last encounter ended. And I haven't forgiven you, either."
Breaking the vocal link, Shard formed a fist, and the cloud followed suit, shaping itself into a mostly-solid mass. With a swing of his arm, the mass flew towards Drixel, the front surface dotted with razor-sharp points.
|
|
|
Post by drixel on Oct 27, 2009 20:38:12 GMT -6
Drixel listened to the crystal mass speak, Drixel started to reach into his pouch when he noticed the mass form into a fist and punched him. this sent Drixel flying backwards a bit, as well as causing a few puncher wounds. Drixel stumbled to his feet shaking off the last attack.
"damn that hurt." he said softly. Drixel thought for a second. (there was nothing he could do about the crystal clouds and would rather put a stop to the controller. ) thinking that his attention would be on him and not the clouds.
Drixel took out the largest crystals he had in his bag. one he use to coat his whole body. another he held and shaped it into a large sword. Drixel took flight to get a better lay of the land and with any hope spot shard.
|
|
Darzul
Veteran
General
Posts: 218
|
Post by Darzul on Oct 27, 2009 20:40:52 GMT -6
Remta walked outside with Maku, already looking better with clean clothes and a haircut.
"The armory is across the street," she said, walking east. "The east barracks are right there," she said, pointing to a building north of them, "and the rec area's just west of it. The mess hall is next to the armory, just to the south," she continued. "So if you want a bite to eat you can head there after we pick up your equipment, and there are showers in the barracks-"
She paused, finally noticing that Maku looked uncomfortable. "You alright, private?" she asked, her concern genuine. His pain wasn't the imaginary bugs of some junkie hobo. He had been brutalized, and he wasn't the only one.
The army was doing a great job of cleaning up Thoncir, to the point where organized crime no longer had a noticeable presence, but there was always a group of thugs ready to beat on somebody for no good reason. It turned her stomach, and it was the main reason she had joined the army. She was glad Maku had the same opportunity.
|
|
Maku
Veteran
Chaos Embodied
Posts: 149
|
Post by Maku on Oct 27, 2009 20:50:38 GMT -6
Maku glanced up at the change in Sgt. Remta's tone, noting the concern evident on her face. He opened his mouth to answer, just as the pain flared again, stronger than before, and this flare lasted longer than any of the others. All he could do was stand there, his back arched and his mouth open in a silent scream. Then it passed, and he caught himself before he could fall flat on his face.
As he stood there, panting in a cold sweat, Maku's mind was racing. What the hell!? Even when I'd woken up right after I got hurt, it never hurt like this. What the hell is happening to me?!
He ran a shaky right hand over his face and through his shortened hair, standing on shaky legs. "I was going to say it's nothing, but I doubt either of us would believe me after that, Ma'am. Over the last few minutes, the pain's been flaring up. It's never done that before. The flare that just hit damn near knocked me off my feet."
Stretching out the muscles in his back with a groan, Maku kept himself tense, hoping to brace himself for the next flare. While the look on his face might, at the moment, have displayed discomfort, inside, Maku was terrified, and, in an irrational way, really pissed. "I'm fine for now, Ma'am. Let's keep going."
|
|