Thousands of fathoms beneath the surface, the great steel and glass spires of the Sanctum –headquarters of the illusive ‘Bloody Embrace’- glistened with faint white lights, shimmering in the murky waters that surrounded the academy on all sides. Reinforced with hyper-advanced technologies, the great mechanical towers withstood the immense water pressure with stoic ease, standing tall amidst the clusters of deep sea fish and underwater rock formations.
Sleek, cutting-edge submersibles zipped back and forth across the underwater campus, moving resources from one section of the sprawling academy to the other through specialised mechanical docks.
Wōden Tsuszó, Grand Assassin of the Bloody Embrace and headmaster of the Sanctum, sat in the darkness of his humongous library, a rare luxury in the digital age, the skeletal fingers of his mechanical left arm loosely clutching a glass of whiskey, from which he took occasional delicate sips. The only light which entered the room seeped in through the viewing window which allowed Wōden to survey the goings on of the academy from his spot at the tallest spire of the Sanctum, where he now sat; in a large leather chair place in front of the great pane of clear, molecularly reinforced, glass.
Vhul, the captain of Wōden’s personal guard, strode into the room, standing to attention a few feet behind the headmaster’s chair. Vhul was a giant of a man, with a dark skin and a cleanly shaven head, built like a bull on in its hind legs, clad from head-to-toe in reinforced black body armour, with an ornate power hammer –practically the size of a full-grown man- fastened to his muscular back. Wōden kept his back to the captain, watching a distant submersible move food between two of the lower-lying steel towers.
“The submarine has arrived, sir.” Vhul informed the headmaster in his deep, booming voice “The new batch of students have just touched down on Primum Dock”.
“Excellent.” Wōden’s voice was a soft whisper, so quiet that the captain had to strain to hear the headmaster speak. “You picked these ones out yourself, did you not, Vhul?”
“Yes, sir.” Vhul replied, his face an emotionless mask of stone “they seemed best suited to the task at hand.”
“Then this mission’s success rests on you, Captain, and the fate of our organization itself.” Whilst Vhul couldn’t see the smaller man’s face, he could hear the wicked grin that was sliding across his lips in the sneering tone of his voice “That’s quite the honour, wouldn’t you say so?”
“That it is, sir.” Vhul kept his voice devoid of emotion, gazing blankly at a nearby bookshelf.
“Do you feel honoured, Captain?” Wōden cooed softly.
“Yes, I do, Sir.”
“Say the words…Say ‘I feel honoured’.”
“I feel honoured, sir.”
Wōden gave a sharp laugh “Oh Vhul, you are amusing.”
“Will you be wanting to greet the new students, sir?” Vhul asked, after an uncomfortable silence had settled on the room.
“I doubt these one’s will make it past their first mission,” Wōden sneered “I think not. Send one of the older students to greet them. I’ll have a look at what’s left in the weeks to come.”
“As you wish, sir.” Vhul said plainly, before striding out of the room, and leaving the headmaster to watch the submersibles bob about the Sanctum through his great glass window.
*
Chantrea Tascroix had not been expecting visitors to her cramped little dorm room, so she got more than a bit of a shock when the thunderous pounding of a giant fist started wrapping against her steel door. Frizzy haired and without makeup, Chantrea sprang off of bed, closing down the holographic display that had been playing through her brain implant, and set about trying to fish something to wear out of her tiered sliding metal wardrobe.
“Just a second!” Chantrea hissed when the knocking continued, as she fought to get her underwear up over her chunky legs. The young woman had always began a big girl, but a fortnight without any assignments, coupled with snacking on whatever was easy and available, had resulted in a weight gain of a solid ten pounds, and a noticeably softer form. Chantrea squeezed herself into too-tight jeans which chaffed against her large thighs, and a sleeveless white t-shirt which exposed the lower roll of her soft midriff.
The young woman punched her security code into the holographic wall panel, her blast-proof steel door sliding open with a slick whoosh, revealing a ginormous, fully-armoured, black man with a hammer, which looked like it was made for squashing elephants, strapped to his back.
“Good morning, Captain.” Chantrea managed in her sweetest voice, leaning in the solid doorway with one hand, whilst fighting to pull her t-shirt down over her stomach with the other.
“Tascroix.” Chantrea couldn’t tell if Vhul hated her, or if he was just permanently fucked-off at the world. She decided it was probably a mixture of the two.
The young woman looked the giant man over “Can I offer you a slice of Mars Bar cheesecake?”
Vhul scowled at her “The headmaster wants you to brief the new arrivals.”
“Ooooo, did he ask for me by name?” Chantrea squealed sarcastically.
“Don’t push your luck, Tascroix.” Vhul growled “Get down to Primum Dock ASAP, and wear your uniform. I figure even you couldn’t cock this one up.” The captain gave Chantrea one last lingering scowl, before stomping back the way he came.
Probably got a wall to stare down the young woman mused inwardly.
*
“All right, new meat, listen up!” Chantrea barked, clambering on top of one of the supply crates so she could be seen amidst the large cluster of newcomers. A great metal submersible bobbed up and down at the end of Primum Dock, which the new arrivals had just filled off of. Chantrea was dressed in the standard issue uniform for female students of the Bloody Embrace; A long-sleeved black top with padded shoulders, divided into several reinforced segments, which flowed straight into a similarly structured skirt, black tights made from an extremely durable synthetic polymer fabric, knee-high black boots with a high-heeled compartment which stored a compactable harpy-knife, and slick utility belt which held a small capsule of pepper-spray and a collapsible blackjack truncheon. The young woman’s uniform had been made to fit a marginally smaller Chantrea, and hugged her plump form in a rather unflattering manner.
“I’m sure you’re all under the impression that you’re here because you’re special and gifted, but get that idea out of your head right now. In the Sanctum, you’re just another number in a sea of faces, so don’t expect any special treatment.” Chantrea’s eyes darted over the large group, taking in the figures who stood before her “The Bloody Embrace have something fancy planned for us, but you’ll have to make it past basic training if you want in. You’ve all been set up with temporary accommodation, your dorm rooms should have been sent through to your implants, which you’ll have half an hour to settle in to before we meet in the main hall for dinner. Once we’ve all eaten, you’ll be briefed on your first assignment. We like to keep things fast paced here.”
Chantrea took a deep breath “So, any questions..?”
