All posts by ShinJae

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #27

It had taken Guy’s crew years to get to this point.  To be potential employees, their fake identities had to be convincing and legitimate enough to pass through deep scrutiny.  To get their identities, they went so far as to move to separate cities for a few years.  Still, they coordinated their efforts to all be hired at this facility at about the same time.  And to get hired, they had to know enough about their roles to be chosen above other candidates.

He knew this heist wouldn’t be easy.  He knew it would take a long time.  What Guy didn’t realize was just how frustrating the wait was going to be.  After all this, everyone in the crew would want to get majorly paid.  Understandable, but at this stage they needed a coordinated effort to get something worth trading for their troubles.

He left Jailene’s desk getting looks from the other employees as he passed.  They smiled at him as he walked to the elevator.  Hopefully, they all assumed he was just one of the many guys “flirting” with Jailene.  He played the shy guy well enough but he wasn’t sure how much longer the team could hold this front.  How does Manna do it?

They needed a big score.  Quicker was better; Jailene was getting bored and clearly didn’t like being an office drone.  Guy knew that he had found something good, but was it good enough?

With limited communication, he only knew what Jailene was doing.  And with Jailene’s boss was talking to her probably about them.  There was a chance the leaders of this lab were finding reasons to be suspicious.  None of the crew would like the news, but they all may have to lay low for another few months.

At the end of his break, Guy reached the northern facility.  Now late, he needed to sprint to his particular post before it was too late.  He arrived at the station after about five minutes receiving the sight of another young lady.  She stood at the start of their patrol path disappointed.  The red-orange and light blue tiger striped lady was a contrast to Jailene.

“You’re late again,” Ailis Wen spoke in a serious disappointed voice.  She was always serious.  She could compare to Jailene’s beauty if she wasn’t so stuffy, “Talking to that red and blue tiger striped vixen again?”  She started walking along their patrol before Guy had a chance to catch his breath.

Guy hunched over and held his side for the first few minutes, barely managing to keep up.  Ailis was his partner on the patrol.  They were teamed early so that Guy could learn the specifics about the facility.  They were a good team as far as walking goes and had plenty of time to talk while walking around the northern facility.  Guy would ask how she knew where he was but it was no secret.  Word gets around a place like this quickly; much like middle school.

“She’s not a vixen.  She’s nice.”

Ailis giggled, “I’ll bet.  Don’t get too into talking to her,” she warned, “Heard she’s been talking to a bunch of guys.”

Guy took that warning, but not as it was intended.  Usually, it was good to have someone looking out for his romantic interests, but her words only made it more plain that he and his crew needed to slow things down.

Guy put up the front again pretending to be the love stricken young man, “Maybe, but it wouldn’t be fun without a little competition.”

#1 – Lost and Found #26 – Lost and Found #28

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #31

The group exited the ship and walked through the hanger.  The hanger’s halls were long and somewhat confusing but different colored lights lined the wall above everyone.  The lights lead the way out to the street.

Cyd, in a rush to see what was around the next corner, found his way to the front of the pack.  AD7 lagged behind GarDNAnge1 marveling at the technological wonders all around.  She barely managed to keep the group in her sight range.

Message boards appeared and disappeared on the walls as they passed.  When active, a message board was bright as any lighted sign.  When inactive, the wall that held the sign looked the same as any other part of the wall.  Confused, AD7 tapped the wall to make sure.  It felt like any other bit of concrete whether or not there was a message on the wall.  This only confused her more but she knew not to dwell on it or she would be left behind.

There were so many messages; AD7 couldn’t help but skim through some of them as she walked by.  Oddly enough, some of the stories were about her.  They celebrated her arrival and boasted in the new hope of their victory in the upcoming trails.

It was unusual being the topic of news but nothing about her situation was normal.  There was a whole operation dedicated to reviving her.  The fact that she was there to read the story was proof of the successful mission.  While she was happy that they found success, they had already made many magnificent things that she had only dreamed of.  Why did they need her?

After a few more turns through the hallways, GarDNAnge1 reached the exit with Cyd and AD7.  The team members walked into the city without caring for the wonderful sights.  This was their home.  Everything was perfectly normal for them.  To AD7, this all was brand new.

She stared wide eyed at the city, trying to take everything in.  The first thing she noticed was the city’s utter cleanliness.  There was not a speck of significant dirt, grime, or dust anywhere that was not acceptable.

There were small gardens lined with small flowers.  There was dirt in the gardens but that dirt was formed and shaped, stopping where the walkways began.  Buildings were covered with the same type of concrete that she saw in the hanger’s halls.  AD7 guessed they could also become the message boards she saw in the hanger.

The next thing AD7 saw were tall trees strewn throughout Sanity.  She naturally mistook the nearest one for an oddly shaped wall.  Instead, it was the thickest tree she had ever seen.  She tried to lift her head high enough to see the top.  She found herself bending backwards.  Long bridges connected the trees far above the city.  She could only guess they were for guards.

As AD7 looked up, she also noticed small droids flying above the city between the canopy and the city paths.  There were hundreds of them each with a bright light flying much faster than she could follow.  They were bright enough to provide light for the city; she could only guess that they had a second purpose.

“I like this,” Cyd spoke naturally as he walked over to AD7, “It’s like a hidden mystical-techno-ninja-sniper village.”

Interrupted, AD7 looked at the not-so-young man that seemed familiar with her, “I’m sorry?”

“Oh my mistake,” he said extending his hand, “My name is Cyd.  I worked at the Rejuvenation Center you stayed at.  I’ve seen you in stasis for so long.  It’s nice to see you up and about.”

“Yeah,” AD7 reluctantly agreed as she shook his hand.

“There you are,” Keyanna interrupted.  She and Tirzah returned from the group to retrieve the stragglers, “I thought I’d lost you.  This way.  Let me show you around the city.”

Keyanna lead AD7 left down the walkway while Tirzah walked with Cyd in the opposite direction.

#1 – Awakening #30 – Awakening #32

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #26

New Pine Bluff: Mountain Labs

A young couple has been talking in the filing office for quite the long while.  The tall young man speaks about the important projects he has been guarding.  The lady hangs on every word committing everything to memory.  She giggles and asks questions about the dangers if the secret project was used incorrectly.  Seeing that the ladies supervisor has caught them again, the young man writes something on a sheet of paper and gives it to the lady.  She smiles and puts it away.

The new secretary has worked in the office for almost a month now.  She’s been a very driven young lady.  She’s filed exceptionally fast; all of her typed work was on time or early.  Her only flaw is that she has gained the attention of about four of the young men that attended orientation with her.  Seeing this as a problem Erna Qiu, her supervisor, decides to have a word with her.

The larger, much older, pale blue woman stood at her office entrance staring down the young man as he walked away.  When he was finally gone she called to the secretary, “Jailene.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I need to speak with you.”

Jailene had a good idea what this was about.  She had been seen talking with the young men fairly often.  Often enough, the conversations were short but this guy had a bit more to say.

Jailene entered the office as politely as she knew how.

Erna however wanted this meeting to be the last they had on this topic.  “Close the door,” she ordered.  Once Jailene obeyed, Erna could say what was on her mind, “Jailene, you’ve done good work here.  However, I’ve noticed that you have been speaking with the young men a bit more than you have been working lately.  I understand your willingness to talk.  We all enjoy attention, but if you could speak with them on your breaks it would not interrupt the work you need to finish.”

“I finish everything on time.”

“Yes but think of what more you could do if you focused solely on the tasks.  When you are not on your breaks you are on our time.  The guards protect vital items here.  They need to focus on their tasks.  You work on your tasks.  Understand?”

Jailene stood staring at her supervisor with an expression of guilt but truly, she didn’t care.  It was all she could do not to leap over the woman’s desk and rip her head off.

This facade was getting to her.  She had to play the “employee of the month” but wasn’t sure how much longer she could take it.  She didn’t care for being any kind of secretary.  However, if her gang was going to make any kind of score here, she desperately needed to keep this job, for now.

The gang infiltrated the research lab without incident.  Orientation was easy.  Their jobs were easy.  There was no shortage of valuable projects in this place.

The problem was communication.  There were five of them at the research lab but they were all in different divisions.  They needed to coordinate their efforts to make a good score.  Handheld use could be easily tracked by their bosses.  So, the only way they could communicate safely was by going through Jailene.  With this new pressure, the amount she could talk to the gang was limited.  It would take that much longer to coordinate anything that was worth their time.

Looking at Erna, Jailene managed to mutter out, “Yes ma’am,” as she bowed.

Jailene walked back to her desk and sat.  Looking at the note Guy had wrote she memorized the combination to the door he was guarding.  When she was certain she knew it, she shredded the paper and went back to filing.

#1 – Lost and Found #25 – Lost and Found #27