“Hmmmm…” Akio hummed noncommittedly. He had already decided he would not tell his parents. They would worry overly much. And might not believe him. I’ll have to think up of something good about what a ‘Hunter’s Club’ in a school might do…Something to do with temples, maybe exploring them, or some such. Could be believable enough I suppose. I hope. He frowned lightly in distaste when their club president let them know about the group activity they were to have in a park, however. They didn’t even know each other properly! And they were expected to work together to catch something? And a harmless something? It better not be an intangible spirit. Akio grimaced – he could imagine easily enough how this disturbingly sports-like event might progress. Maybe he could just test his powers on whatever it was they were supposed to catch from the side-lines.
He loitered around in the classroom, waiting for the most eager ones to leave. He couldn’t help gaping in surprise when the blond delinquent boy jumped out of the window. Jumped out of the window! AKio shook his head in disbelief, thinking to himself that this was the kind of thing he’d have to get used to soon. The supernatural not only existed but was now part of his life. He then turned to stare at a most excitable pair, Aiden and a cheerful girl Akio had pegged as an airhead. Akio had an inkling he should at least try to get along with everyone, but people like that…they were just- too much. Too loud, too intrusive, too friendly. As the kind of person who warmed up to others very slowly, the people who were so overtly sociable were the ones that, in his experience, were better avoided, at least in the beginning, while they searched for like-minded individuals to flock to and group up with. And after they had their own little popular clique, Akio could have his peace. Though how this would work inside of a club, where group activity and co-operation was expected, he couldn’t quite imagine. On that note, why had the club president said he would only watch? Did- did he need to do that to know how to lead them better? Or would he just take on the role of an examiner, assessing how they dealt with novel situations?
Akio sighed, and after gathering his belongings, quietly exited the club-room, avoiding being caught up by anyone seeking easy companionship. He was curious to see that the boy who had seemed just as solitary as himself, if not more, ran after the rambunctious pair. However, he did not change his mind on joining the group and went his own way instead. On the way to the Yume park, Akio made a short stop at a convenience store. He bought something small and cheap to snack on, a bottle of cool water, and a bundle of rope. The rope was the kind used for tying up tomatoes as they grew, to support them. While wandering the store, he figured he may as well buy something that might help in their task, and rope was the simple, affordable choice. After that, he ambled towards the Yume park, much less tense now that there was no pressure to socialize with anyone. And though there were plenty of people around, it wasn’t nearly as bad as being on any public transport in the rush hour would be. He enjoyed his walk to the park and happily strolled on the paved paths among the artfully arranged greenery. Akio eventually settled himself on a bench, in a shade, and wolfed down his snack, then sipped on the water slowly. Though he had had that delicious brownie earlier, it had only hungered him. The small pastry and the water he had bought, however, worked to energize him. Hopefully this chasing-something wasn’t an extreme enough activity to cause him to vomit. That would be- more than awkward.
Akio felt rather pleasant right now, and for a few minutes just observed the surroundings. He looked at how many other people there were, or if he could see any of his classmates around already. He then took out the bundle of rope he had purchased and searched for scissors in his pen case. Akio cut the rope free, then cut a short piece off of the bundle. With that done, he stored everything but the short cut-off rope piece in his bag. He had decided to play some cat’s cradle on his own to pass the time. The rope wasn’t nearly stretchy enough, not to mention he would have to tie the two loose ends together. As he was making a knot, though, an idea struck him. Akio untied the partial knot and concentrated on holding the two ends together just with his new telekinesis powers. It took a very intense focus to do what he wanted, especially once he began looping the rope around his fingers, trying to manipulate the thing into different shapes without letting the construction fall apart. It was challenging, and Akio became completely absorbed in his self-given task, without even noticing his preoccupation.
The suit is optimized for stealth, speed, and agility. The armour’s main features are its superb camouflage system and its sound absorption, the latter making any movement nearly silent. It has decent protection against blunt-type attacks and is resistant to environmental hazards to an extent. It’s most vulnerable to piercing and laser-based damage. It’s basically designed to help evasion, not take a severe beating. It is custom built to fit her specific Alori anatomy comfortably. The helmet specifically muffles sounds of certain amplitudes and frequencies which would otherwise be harmful to the naked ear, but doesn’t impede any other sounds.
A plasma powered, laser assisted pistol with an integrated silencer. Most effective at close to mid ranges, against unarmoured opponents. A close enough shot can cause notable damage to someone wearing a battle-suit or such, a bruise or even a bone break – an accurate enough shot to the neck might even kill a lightly armoured target.
A popular model of an assault rifle, commonly used by soldiers as well as mercenaries. Relies entirely on plasma but packs a punch. Has a longer range, faster rate of fire, and can more easily eat through protections compared to her pistol, but it isn’t as accurate. The weapon is prone to begin overheating if not given enough time to cool down between switching magazines.
Grenades: 3x smoke grenades, 1x stun grenade, 1x frag grenade, 1x incendiary grenade. She can carry 6 grenades on the belt of her battle suit at any time.
Abilities:
◊ Espionage: Skilled in obtaining information, whether by stealthily breaking into a secure location or simply blending amongst the legitimate personnel and common-folk of an establishment. Ileshra has experience locating, observing (or eavesdropping to), memorizing, and sometimes recording pertinent data. She can gain valuable insight even from seemingly mundane conversations or rumours. She is practiced in the art of tailing others inconspicuously and as such, is very sensitive to being tailed or observed in return. Ileshra is closely familiarized with the methods of ensuring secure communications with the desired party and can conceal as well as transfer the targeted information (or, in some cases, an object or a person) to a chosen destination – though such conveyance typically necessitates the assistance of allies.
◊ Military training: Experienced in CQC, knows how to disable, restrain, or kill targets. Has the know-how to competently use a variety of weapons. She is also capable of operating a Sword. Her combat style uses her speed, maneuverability, and agility to their utmost advantage, and when faced with an opponent she can either take them down swiftly or harass them long enough to find an opening (to kill them or to escape), depending on their capability. She is well-versed in evading attacks and using the opponent’s (physical) strength against them but isn’t suited to taking much of a beating. As such, she’s fully willing to use what some might perceive as trickery, underhandedness, and dirty fighting – anything that might gain her an advantage.
◊ Natural feline abilities: Ileshra is naturally agile and flexible and could have made for an excellent gymnast under different circumstances. She is a good climber, could probably fit into some unlikely locations, and can seemingly jump effortlessly, though greater heights and distances require a moment of preparation. Even if she were to fall from somewhere, she would twist her body mid-air and then make as safe of a landing as possible in the situation. Her senses, especially her sight, hearing, and smell, are much higher when compared to a human or even to a different type of Alori. In the direst of circumstances, she could use her claws and teeth as a weapon. She has what could be termed ‘night vision’ and as such can see very well in low-light conditions. However, she has a very limited ability to taste sweetness. She can shed or grow fur according to the environment’s temperature, but is best suited to colder climates, and would suffer in hotter, especially arid, climates. Though she has learned how to swim in controlled conditions, she is still instinctively afraid of being submerged into water and would most certainly panic if that were to happen unexpectedly. She strongly dislikes small confined spaces and loud noises. Her tail and pads (on her palms and feet) are some of the more vulnerable parts of her anatomy and she must take extra care to protect them.
Personality: Ileshra can perhaps be best characterized as a cynical individual, and is of the opinion that good intentions and holier-than-thou preachers can go screw themselves with a very sharp stick. She’s cautious and solitary, mainly because she considers trust and loyalty as lofty ideals that are unlikely to ever be applied in relation to her, however she might wish that were possible. What some might find surprising, however, is that she can get along with others just fine, especially if they don’t mind her occasional bitterness, resentment, and sarcasm. Ileshra also values co-operation, as she’s experienced its advantages, though she is very well aware that for it to have desirable results, at least a basic alignment towards a common goal is necessary. However, she’s rather got used to the fact that any allies she manages to find are temporary at best. Despite being considered a traitor by two governments, she is proud of herself and regrets no past actions. The best kinds of relationship with others in her opinion are the ones based on a mutual respect. It probably goes without saying that Ileshra highly values individual freedom (specifically, her own). With an accompanying strong sense of pragmatism, however, she is quite willing to be someone else’s subordinate, as long as they don’t cross her lines – and given how few she has, she doesn’t believe that to be too high of a requirement. In the recent years, she has acquired somewhat of a taste for engaging in daredevil behaviour.
Short bio: Either abandoned or orphaned since her birth – she’d never been able to find out which – Ileshra remembers being raised in what appeared to be a charity funded orphanage. There were numerous other children within the establishment, all Alori of various ages (the only ones above the age of majority the employees, for obvious reasons). It was a frequent occurrence that a child left the facility, presumably by being adopted, transferred elsewhere, or due to having run away onto the streets. At the beginning, Ileshra wondered at what the life of those who left might be like, but soon realized that such speculation was quite pointless. She also learned that while companionship was- useful, it was better not to treasure it, as one never knew when they might part with a friend only to never see or hear from them again.
From early on in her life, her time was almost wholly dedicated to being educated alongside the other children – though calling it training would be likely more accurate, as there were plans of initiating the capable young-lings to fill a very specific role. The children often learned in groups, though these were not necessarily homogeneous in age. Ileshra noticed that the children doing the worst were…transferred the soonest. Next, the mediocre ones were gone. Then begun a constantly on-going competition amongst the average ones, and those who managed to exceed their initial potential remained longer, though not always significantly longer. And they all struggled to remain in this specific facility, because it was special, and which orphan wouldn’t want to be special? After they managed to complete their basic education, sometime in their early to mid-teenage years, each child was adopted by a guardian or two, and the new family was shipped off either by itself or accompanying other travellers towards not only another planet, but an entirely different galaxy, under the purview of a different government. Ileshra was given a new name, and perhaps more importantly, new documents. She was now to be known as Tsivari Khastae, daughter to a pair of middle-aged Alori seeking to find a different life.
They settled in HBE’s residential sector, and so began Tsivari’s time of studying in a foreign world, within a new culture, for the first time facing the variety of existent races head on, and living under a different type of government. About a year after her arrival, she was contacted by an unknown Alori, who made her an exclusive one-time offer of initiating her as a spy for the UTF, something she had apparently been evaluated as being capable of. Desiring the feeling of importance and a connection with her homeland, even one as feeble as this one would be, Tsivari accepted. She suspected at least one of her new adoptive parents was part of the UTF intelligence service, though this wasn’t something she ever managed to confirm.
Either way, by the time she reached adulthood, she became well versed in espionage and was given the long-term mission to infiltrate HBE’s military, which she enrolled into straight away. Following this path, she was soon transferred into the Gawain system. She played the role of a loyal imperial soldier, accomplished her missions efficiently, passed along valuable (usually classified) information off to the UTF, and steadily secured her position as an individual trusted by the targeted HBE. Why, Tsivari figured in but a few years she’d be well within reach of an enticing high-security clearance position! And that would practically be a jackpot. She imagined the way to that goal would be paved with more of the same as reaching her current position had been. That is, she fully expected to further co-operate in subjugating, capturing, torturing or killing the empire’s enemies even when she personally wished them no ill will. Her work often included supressing riots and beating on encountered rebels (even and especially Alori ones) as well, a job she carried out even though she secretly found their open resistance admirable, if also incredibly foolish. She routinely betrayed imperial colleagues and superiors, all the while knowing they simply acted in accordance with their duty, just as she did – they simply happened to be on the opposite side.
Not to say that she lamented her lifestyle. It was all she knew. It was her one and only purpose in life. She well recognized she was but a simple pawn to her homeland, the information she provided valued, while she, as an individual, was not. There was no recognition in her line of work. No glory. Nonetheless, she was proud of what she did. As such, she never entertained the possibility of receiving a mission she would be unwilling to complete. Oh, how wrong she turned out to be. So very, very wrong. Tsivari received missive that a high-ranking military man from one of the other planets in the Gawain system, believed to possess some priceless information, travelled to Tristan for an extended duration. Her UTF allies ensured that her imperial superiors believed she had plenty of reason to head for that planet as well. And Tsivari did indeed relocate for the time being. However, the details of her mission indicated she was to procure that vital information by seducing the male. Apparently, he just so happened to have a penchant for a specific type of Alori girl. To say that Tsivari was shaken to her core with disgust was not an understatement. To become a pleasure toy – even if a temporary one – for a human? Why, the mere idea was repulsive to the point of blasphemy! And no, she no longer held any particularly strong discriminatory sentiment towards humans, but that did not mean she was willing to let herself be used by one in such a way.
So, apparently her loyalty did extend only so far. And within the expected time-frame in which she should have been working towards her goal…Tsivari decided to do something else. Something entirely crazy. Something that more than warranted keeping a suicide pill on her at all times. She worked to discover the existent rebels in Tristan, inflamed their anti-imperial sentiments, helped to recruit dissidents that might have otherwise stayed on the hedge, spread information that would entice this rebel force to act soon, and circulated strong unfavourable rumours about her target – rumours which were backed by compelling (faked and actual) evidence of his indecency. Tsivari procured a Sword and had it modified to increase its capabilities of long flights, speedy manoeuvring, and payed good money to have one of the best stealth cloaking technologies she could manage to obtain worked into it. She couldn’t be thankful enough for the several space missions she had been in, as they had required the participating soldiers to all acquaint themselves with at least the basics of operating a Sword. She had the small space vessel (and various other travelling necessities) shipped off to a leased, nondescript warehouse to a planet in the Lamorak system. A week or so before the riots, including the attack on her supposed target’s residence was set to begin, Tsivari made the final preparations to leave the Empire. She informed the UTF, she’d meet with her target on a Lamorak planet and indicated she might have to resign as a soldier to be successful in the seduction mission. Thus, when she handed in her resignation to the HBE, she was granted it easily enough. She travelled from Gawain to Lamorak, and two days before the riot on Tristan, left the planet and the Empire’s territory discretely in her Sword. She would have dearly loved to stay just a bit longer and watch the effects of her efforts first-hand, but alas, the risk was too great.
Still, watching the news-coverage of the event a few days later was the most fun she had ever had. One of the rebels even managed to severely injure her target-to-be! The thought of how the UTF would have to deal with this little diplomatic crisis sent her into a gleeful cackle even several months after the event. Indeed, a group of mainly Alori rebelling to the point that it could be called terrorism created quite the little conflict between HBE and UTF. As expected, however, UTF eventually revealed the main schemer behind that particular act of resistance to be one Tsivari Khastae. And certainly, her departure had been somewhat sudden and suspicious enough. Nor was Tsivari to be found where HBE might have expected her (or anywhere, for that matter). The HBE was first to set a bounty on Tsivari, and based on the amount, the Alori in question suspected the UTF had managed to convince the empire in one way or another that she had committed treason (which, to be fair, she had). Amusingly enough, UTF never revealed her original name (Ileshra Xanahir) in association with her appearance, understandably enough. They had barely managed to set their initial conflict upon HBE accusing them of terrorism, they could hardly afford to let it be known that the name (and identity of) Tsivari was anything but her true one. Of course, the UTF was more than happy to add to the bounty on Tsivari. And while she had to conceal her appearance and couldn’t stay in no one location for too long, she was more than happy to flaunt the name Ileshra, because she suspected that some Alori, at the very least, must have known of the connection. And if they gave chase, she didn’t hesitate to shoot them down. She still keeps that suicide pill, both as a morbid good luck charm, as well as due to an honest unwillingness to be ever captured alive.
The suit is optimized for stealth, speed, and agility. The armour’s main features are its superb camouflage system and its sound absorption, the latter making any movement nearly silent. It has decent protection against blunt-type attacks and is resistant to environmental hazards to an extent. It’s most vulnerable to piercing and laser-based damage. It’s basically designed to help evasion, not take a severe beating. It is custom built to fit her specific Alori anatomy comfortably. The helmet specifically muffles sounds of certain amplitudes and frequencies which would otherwise be harmful to the naked ear, but doesn’t impede any other sounds.
A plasma powered, laser assisted pistol with an integrated silencer. Most effective at close to mid ranges, against unarmoured opponents. A close enough shot can cause notable damage to someone wearing a battle-suit or such, a bruise or even a bone break – an accurate enough shot to the neck might even kill a lightly armoured target.
A popular model of an assault rifle, commonly used by soldiers as well as mercenaries. Relies entirely on plasma but packs a punch. Has a longer range, faster rate of fire, and can more easily eat through protections compared to her pistol, but it isn’t as accurate. The weapon is prone to begin overheating if not given enough time to cool down between switching magazines.
Grenades: 3x smoke grenades, 1x stun grenade, 1x frag grenade, 1x incendiary grenade. She can carry 6 grenades on the belt of her battle suit at any time.
Abilities:
◊ Espionage: Skilled in obtaining information, whether by stealthily breaking into a secure location or simply blending amongst the legitimate personnel and common-folk of an establishment. Ileshra has experience locating, observing (or eavesdropping to), memorizing, and sometimes recording pertinent data. She can gain valuable insight even from seemingly mundane conversations or rumours. She is practiced in the art of tailing others inconspicuously and as such, is very sensitive to being tailed or observed in return. Ileshra is closely familiarized with the methods of ensuring secure communications with the desired party and can conceal as well as transfer the targeted information (or, in some cases, an object or a person) to a chosen destination – though such conveyance typically necessitates the assistance of allies.
◊ Military training: Experienced in CQC, knows how to disable, restrain, or kill targets. Has the know-how to competently use a variety of weapons. She is also capable of operating a Sword. Her combat style uses her speed, maneuverability, and agility to their utmost advantage, and when faced with an opponent she can either take them down swiftly or harass them long enough to find an opening (to kill them or to escape), depending on their capability. She is well-versed in evading attacks and using the opponent’s (physical) strength against them but isn’t suited to taking much of a beating. As such, she’s fully willing to use what some might perceive as trickery, underhandedness, and dirty fighting – anything that might gain her an advantage.
◊ Natural feline abilities: Ileshra is naturally agile and flexible and could have made for an excellent gymnast under different circumstances. She is a good climber, could probably fit into some unlikely locations, and can seemingly jump effortlessly, though greater heights and distances require a moment of preparation. Even if she were to fall from somewhere, she would twist her body mid-air and then make as safe of a landing as possible in the situation. Her senses, especially her sight, hearing, and smell, are much higher when compared to a human or even to a different type of Alori. In the direst of circumstances, she could use her claws and teeth as a weapon. She has what could be termed ‘night vision’ and as such can see very well in low-light conditions. However, she has a very limited ability to taste sweetness. She can shed or grow fur according to the environment’s temperature, but is best suited to colder climates, and would suffer in hotter, especially arid, climates. Though she has learned how to swim in controlled conditions, she is still instinctively afraid of being submerged into water and would most certainly panic if that were to happen unexpectedly. She strongly dislikes small confined spaces and loud noises. Her tail and pads (on her palms and feet) are some of the more vulnerable parts of her anatomy and she must take extra care to protect them.
Personality: Ileshra can perhaps be best characterized as a cynical individual, and is of the opinion that good intentions and holier-than-thou preachers can go screw themselves with a very sharp stick. She’s cautious and solitary, mainly because she considers trust and loyalty as lofty ideals that are unlikely to ever be applied in relation to her, however she might wish that were possible. What some might find surprising, however, is that she can get along with others just fine, especially if they don’t mind her occasional bitterness, resentment, and sarcasm. Ileshra also values co-operation, as she’s experienced its advantages, though she is very well aware that for it to have desirable results, at least a basic alignment towards a common goal is necessary. However, she’s rather got used to the fact that any allies she manages to find are temporary at best. Despite being considered a traitor by two governments, she is proud of herself and regrets no past actions. The best kinds of relationship with others in her opinion are the ones based on a mutual respect. It probably goes without saying that Ileshra highly values individual freedom (specifically, her own). With an accompanying strong sense of pragmatism, however, she is quite willing to be someone else’s subordinate, as long as they don’t cross her lines – and given how few she has, she doesn’t believe that to be too high of a requirement. In the recent years, she has acquired somewhat of a taste for engaging in daredevil behaviour.
Short bio: Either abandoned or orphaned since her birth – she’d never been able to find out which – Ileshra remembers being raised in what appeared to be a charity funded orphanage. There were numerous other children within the establishment, all Alori of various ages (the only ones above the age of majority the employees, for obvious reasons). It was a frequent occurrence that a child left the facility, presumably by being adopted, transferred elsewhere, or due to having run away onto the streets. At the beginning, Ileshra wondered at what the life of those who left might be like, but soon realized that such speculation was quite pointless. She also learned that while companionship was- useful, it was better not to treasure it, as one never knew when they might part with a friend only to never see or hear from them again.
From early on in her life, her time was almost wholly dedicated to being educated alongside the other children – though calling it training would be likely more accurate, as there were plans of initiating the capable young-lings to fill a very specific role. The children often learned in groups, though these were not necessarily homogeneous in age. Ileshra noticed that the children doing the worst were…transferred the soonest. Next, the mediocre ones were gone. Then begun a constantly on-going competition amongst the average ones, and those who managed to exceed their initial potential remained longer, though not always significantly longer. And they all struggled to remain in this specific facility, because it was special, and which orphan wouldn’t want to be special? After they managed to complete their basic education, sometime in their early to mid-teenage years, each child was adopted by a guardian or two, and the new family was shipped off either by itself or accompanying other travellers towards not only another planet, but an entirely different galaxy, under the purview of a different government. Ileshra was given a new name, and perhaps more importantly, new documents. She was now to be known as Tsivari Khastae, daughter to a pair of middle-aged Alori seeking to find a different life.
They settled in HBE’s residential sector, and so began Tsivari’s time of studying in a foreign world, within a new culture, for the first time facing the variety of existent races head on, and living under a different type of government. About a year after her arrival, she was contacted by an unknown Alori, who made her an exclusive one-time offer of initiating her as a spy for the UTF, something she had apparently been evaluated as being capable of. Desiring the feeling of importance and a connection with her homeland, even one as feeble as this one would be, Tsivari accepted. She suspected at least one of her new adoptive parents was part of the UTF intelligence service, though this wasn’t something she ever managed to confirm.
Either way, by the time she reached adulthood, she became well versed in espionage and was given the long-term mission to infiltrate HBE’s military, which she enrolled into straight away. Following this path, she was soon transferred into the Gawain system. She played the role of a loyal imperial soldier, accomplished her missions efficiently, passed along valuable (usually classified) information off to the UTF, and steadily secured her position as an individual trusted by the targeted HBE. Why, Tsivari figured in but a few years she’d be well within reach of an enticing high-security clearance position! And that would practically be a jackpot. She imagined the way to that goal would be paved with more of the same as reaching her current position had been. That is, she fully expected to further co-operate in subjugating, capturing, torturing or killing the empire’s enemies even when she personally wished them no ill will. Her work often included supressing riots and beating on encountered rebels (even and especially Alori ones) as well, a job she carried out even though she secretly found their open resistance admirable, if also incredibly foolish. She routinely betrayed imperial colleagues and superiors, all the while knowing they simply acted in accordance with their duty, just as she did – they simply happened to be on the opposite side.
Not to say that she lamented her lifestyle. It was all she knew. It was her one and only purpose in life. She well recognized she was but a simple pawn to her homeland, the information she provided valued, while she, as an individual, was not. There was no recognition in her line of work. No glory. Nonetheless, she was proud of what she did. As such, she never entertained the possibility of receiving a mission she would be unwilling to complete. Oh, how wrong she turned out to be. So very, very wrong. Tsivari received missive that a high-ranking military man from one of the other planets in the Gawain system, believed to possess some priceless information, travelled to Tristan for an extended duration. Her UTF allies ensured that her imperial superiors believed she had plenty of reason to head for that planet as well. And Tsivari did indeed relocate for the time being. However, the details of her mission indicated she was to procure that vital information by seducing the male. Apparently, he just so happened to have a penchant for a specific type of Alori girl. To say that Tsivari was shaken to her core with disgust was not an understatement. To become a pleasure toy – even if a temporary one – for a human? Why, the mere idea was repulsive to the point of blasphemy! And no, she no longer held any particularly strong discriminatory sentiment towards humans, but that did not mean she was willing to let herself be used by one in such a way.
So, apparently her loyalty did extend only so far. And within the expected time-frame in which she should have been working towards her goal…Tsivari decided to do something else. Something entirely crazy. Something that more than warranted keeping a suicide pill on her at all times. She worked to discover the existent rebels in Tristan, inflamed their anti-imperial sentiments, helped to recruit dissidents that might have otherwise stayed on the hedge, spread information that would entice this rebel force to act soon, and circulated strong unfavourable rumours about her target – rumours which were backed by compelling (faked and actual) evidence of his indecency. Tsivari procured a Sword and had it modified to increase its capabilities of long flights, speedy manoeuvring, and payed good money to have one of the best stealth cloaking technologies she could manage to obtain worked into it. She couldn’t be thankful enough for the several space missions she had been in, as they had required the participating soldiers to all acquaint themselves with at least the basics of operating a Sword. She had the small space vessel (and various other travelling necessities) shipped off to a leased, nondescript warehouse to a planet in the Lamorak system. A week or so before the riots, including the attack on her supposed target’s residence was set to begin, Tsivari made the final preparations to leave the Empire. She informed the UTF, she’d meet with her target on a Lamorak planet and indicated she might have to resign as a soldier to be successful in the seduction mission. Thus, when she handed in her resignation to the HBE, she was granted it easily enough. She travelled from Gawain to Lamorak, and two days before the riot on Tristan, left the planet and the Empire’s territory discretely in her Sword. She would have dearly loved to stay just a bit longer and watch the effects of her efforts first-hand, but alas, the risk was too great.
Still, watching the news-coverage of the event a few days later was the most fun she had ever had. One of the rebels even managed to severely injure her target-to-be! The thought of how the UTF would have to deal with this little diplomatic crisis sent her into a gleeful cackle even several months after the event. Indeed, a group of mainly Alori rebelling to the point that it could be called terrorism created quite the little conflict between HBE and UTF. As expected, however, UTF eventually revealed the main schemer behind that particular act of resistance to be one Tsivari Khastae. And certainly, her departure had been somewhat sudden and suspicious enough. Nor was Tsivari to be found where HBE might have expected her (or anywhere, for that matter). The HBE was first to set a bounty on Tsivari, and based on the amount, the Alori in question suspected the UTF had managed to convince the empire in one way or another that she had committed treason (which, to be fair, she had). Amusingly enough, UTF never revealed her original name (Ileshra Xanahir) in association with her appearance, understandably enough. They had barely managed to set their initial conflict upon HBE accusing them of terrorism, they could hardly afford to let it be known that the name (and identity of) Tsivari was anything but her true one. Of course, the UTF was more than happy to add to the bounty on Tsivari. And while she had to conceal her appearance and couldn’t stay in no one location for too long, she was more than happy to flaunt the name Ileshra, because she suspected that some Alori, at the very least, must have known of the connection. And if they gave chase, she didn’t hesitate to shoot them down. She still keeps that suicide pill, both as a morbid good luck charm, as well as due to an honest unwillingness to be ever captured alive.
“Yes, we are well hidden. We will have to time our ambush very well to be effective, however,” Asteria whispered. “The goblins are still some distance away, but approaching steadily,” she commented quietly after squinting for a while and only making out their enemies’ torches. She then remembered the four poisoned bone needles were still on the ground, in plain sight. Leaving them so obviously in the open would only reveal that monsters were nearby. Cautiously and as silently as she managed, she climbed out of the hole, gathered the four bone needles by carefully wrapping her tail around their handles, handling them delicately so not to get poisoned herself, then took them into the hole, where she crouched back into a prone position. She placed the four poisoned bone needles to the side of the hole, where she could still easily reach them, but none of the Dire rats would accidentally step on them or something.
“Do you have any good idea what to do with these four poisoned needles? I made them beforehand, but…” she murmured trailing of. “A trap would be inefficient and too conspicuous, I believe. Perhaps if we could fashion ourselves a stinger as a scorpion might have,” she muttered doubtfully. She thought she had time enough to test her tail’s strength and flexibility, however. Asteria swung her tail from left to right, forward and backward. She checked whether the goblins had approached into what she’d consider danger zone and decided they had not yet. Crouched, she aimed her tail at the rear wall of the dug-out hole and smashed the appendage lengthwise into it. She assessed the damage to the wall and waited out the pain from purposefully battering a relatively vulnerable part of her anatomy at something solid. Then she brought her tail forwards in several quick attempts at a thrust, ‘attacking’ the empty air, only so she could feel how her tail responded to such a manipulation.
Akio watched in amazement Saito showed them the proof. His eyes had dancing lights in them and his ears were still suffering from the aftershocks of the loud thunder, but his mouth was slightly open in surprise, his eyes wide in wonder. Before the first student stood up to grab a talisman, he managed to snap his mouth shut, relaxing his posture so he could watch as one by one, the students were seduced by the promise of power. Not that he was any better, really. He curiously observed as students manifested various powers, some more obvious than others. The exception to this was the blonde delinquent teen who had already awakened his, and Akio realized that it must be some form of super strength, as evidenced by the male’s previous violent entrance. So that’s what he had meant when he said he used too much....
Still, Akio couldn’t help but notice that what the students unlocked were mere parlour tricks in comparison to what Saito had demonstrated. Presumably, they could train and grow this…ability – their president had mentioned something on that account, hadn’t he? Something about setting up a portal? Well, whatever it was, Akio was satisfied with all the answers the older teen had provided. He was quite wary of whatever they might face that they needed such supernatural abilities, but nonetheless stood up when then was less of a crowd and went to find hid talisman.
You inherited the ability of telekinesis from a long line of spiritualists, though the latest known users to manifest a similar talent that were also your direct relatives were your grand-grandparents. They even had a temple, though it passed from your family’s possession some decades ago. Despite that, you have been (un)lucky enough to receive this power. Use it well.
“And how could you possibly know something like this?” Akio asked Saito with a frown, waving the talisman in front of him to emphasize his point. “The work of your psychic too?” Without really waiting for an answer though, he pricked his left index finger with the provided needle, let the blood drop onto the talisman, and held the item to his chest. A very strange sensation, like experiencing an energy current beginning to run through him while also being subjected to an uncomfortable pressure from both the inside and outside of his body. The pain was most obvious in his head at first, though the thudding ache soon spread everywhere else. Eventually, it slowly began to dissipate, and Akio opened his eyes in relief. As soon as he set his gaze onto the talisman, it floated – floated! – into the air, then returned, as easily and lightly as if it were a feather, back to his palm. So that was a part of his new mind powers. Well. Alright then.
“What now then?” he once again turned to Saito with a question, though with more politeness than he had expressed on some of the previous occasions. “Is there something else for us to do today or are we done? Oh, and I’ve just remembered, but what are we supposed to tell our parents? Since this club is the only reason we’ve been invited to this school. And they’re not exactly supposed to know the truth, I’d imagine.”
Agreed. I'm perfectly happy making the spy. And I was actually hoping you might have something in store for the organization which was responsible for their training and sending them to the empire. Any details you have on that faction/agency I'll be happy to receive. There's also the decision of which sector of the empire they had been infiltrating. Their military? Security? Commerce?
I've been thinking of perhaps making a character for this, to add another member to the deckhands. What I've considered so far is a (Denar) former imperial soldier (perhaps combat medic) gone rogue for one reason or another. Another option I've thought of is a (Alori) spy who had been sent to infiltrate the empire by some sort of organization/faction but who had to flee both powers due to being 'compromised'. Might there be space for one such and does either sound viable?
“Thanks, but I've already made several bone needles. I've carried most of them over to Asura though.” Nonetheless, she looked over at the remaining bone material Ed had left behind. Perhaps with her new crafting skill, she’d even manage to turn one of those shard into a bone needle. She attempted to do so, once again utilizing the leftover poison pool to aid the process and potentially add the poison coating to the new bone weapons – some seemed to be shaping into something more closely resembling a shiv than a needle, though Asteria suspected she might once again be unable to sharpen them into a proper edge like a knife would have.
“Mud? Oh, well, fine, we have some time,” she said, in a whisper this time, as she had heard a pixie’s warning about the steadily approaching goblin enemies. She crawled out of the foxhole, nudged Mother Rat in the hopes she’d follow, went over to Ed’s mud pool, and rolled in it. Oh, her poor shiny coat. Hopefully the mud wouldn’t be too troublesome once it dried…After she was so 'camouflaged' she tried getting Mother Rat to dip into the mud pool as well, nudging her side once again and gesturing to the dirty puddle.
“I don’t know how much she understands, but I can probably get to mimic us. Hopefully that fox-hole is big enough for us. By the way, this ambush wasn’t so much of get to them before they get to us and stay hidden while we do so, but more of the wait-and-hide variety until they’re close enough that we can lunge at them in a surprise attack. Though perhaps both options appear equally risky,” she shrugged, then went back to her fox-hole. With her new level of the beast skill, she chose her sight to focus on, and gazed towards the entrance, trying to discern the goblins and their movements.
Akio swiftly finished eating the tasty treat that was the brownie, and, having worked up an appetite, was just sweeping the crumbs off the table to lick them up from his palm, when someone practically smashed the door open. Akio turned to stare at the newcomer, a delinquent looking boy who was much too careless and energetic for Akio’s taste. Saito reprimanded the seemingly violent teen as well, and Akio silently agreed with their president's action. Steadily, other members arrived one by one, and most of them appreciated that one girl’s brownies as much as he did. Unfortunately, as bad as names as Akio was, he didn’t quite remember most of those that introduced themselves. The only fellow club member that stood out to him was the most silent one, a boy who neither offered his name nor took a piece from the still available free food. Akio barely had time to offer the dark-haired dark-eyed boy a glance, when Saito began his introduction.
He started off by telling them that the weird beings they might have seen and the strange situations they have experienced were far from far-fetched figments of imagination. Akio nodded at this; he had never believed himself crazy, even if such lack of doubt was already a suspicious sign. “Everyone else said those things aren’t real,” he muttered quietly, mostly to himself, though anyone close enough might have heard that bit of rambling. Saito then went on with his speech, continuing with how some of these spirits or perhaps demons, were dangerous. And that everyone here was an individual chosen to…fight them. He spoke of power, preparations, training, and danger.
“You want to make us into soldiers!” Akio exclaimed almost as soon as Saito was done with his speech. His assertion wasn’t quite accusing, but it was full of disbelief. After his initial outburst, Akio simply listened to some of the other teens’ doubts and questions, then stated some of his own. “And assuming you are telling the truth, how did you find us if there are so few people like us,” Akio made air quotes at this, not entirely sure what Saito had meant besides being able to see weird things. Well, that, and possibly having some other supernatural abilities, according to the older teen.
“And were you the one who found us or are there also adults in on this? Because no offense but just getting a bunch of high-schoolers to fight…It sounds wildly fantastical and unlikely to do much good.” Then Akio contemplated what the (relatively) confirmed existence of those kind of things that he saw on occasion actually meant. “By the way,” he said, this time with an added hesitation. “Are there actual…other realms? Um, like, the demon world? Though if there’s that, aren’t there gods and benevolent spirits too? Don’t they take care of the things you want us to deal with?” he questioned curiously. And yeah, maybe Saito said that no one would think them crazy, but Akio had the suspicion he might appear that way to some of the others, because he was the one to just spout the craziest of suggestions, so far.
rabidbacon
PapaOso
CitrusArms
Xaltwind
Remram
ColdAtlas
princess
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KingofSerpents
