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Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #29

Not far from where the Ganker’s trap was laid, a small pile of stolen equipment sat in a room with four Champions.  Two Champions, a male and a female, checked the equipment for any upgrades they could steal.  Another pair, the leader and his right hand lady studied a holographic image.  The team had used it to keep track of a fearsome quarry.  However, the trail was a continuous puzzle.

Shinsaku Yu sat at the desk in what was now his warrior’s garb, the most powerful armor picked from the stolen gear.  He was rather tall for a Crisho and not all of the pieces fit.  His gold skin peeked from beneath the helmet while a red patch of skin escaped for his right glove.  The armor didn’t look right on him, but it could easily be refitted.

The Champion they tracked had stood out as a tournament hopeful from the moment she stepped off the shuttle.  She looked utterly fearsome especially with that maul.  If anyone in RedBatty was going to win, this warrior could not be allowed to fight in the tournament.

“Now she’s going into the Casting Talent School,” Shinsaku stated while pointing at the miniature image on his desk.

It was a comment of utter confusion.  His companion Ione Zhang had watched the same image for the last hour.  She knew everything the mysterious warrior had done.  Their cloaked tracking droid had followed the target since she walked away from their alley.

Ione watched the image of the warrior entering the Caster Talent School.  Her orange skin and thin mahogany stripes shown through her tattered disguise.  “How do you know it’s a she?  He seemed quite strong to me.”

Shinsaku couldn’t help but glance at Ione.  She was an essential member of RedBatty, but she questioned just about everything he said.  Sometimes he wondered if he was really the leader of this team, “The warrior’s armor, particularly the belt, suggests a torso to leg ratio fitting that of a female.”

Whatever, smarty-pants… Ione couldn’t help but roll her eyes listening to Shinsaku’s intellectual dribble.  “Fine whatever, why is she going there,” Ione asked resigning to his logic.  She snapped her fingers with the dawn of inspiration, “She’s an enchanter.”

Ione had charmed the fearsome looking warrior just as they planned.  She guided the warrior directly towards the trap but it took a great deal of strength to get her moving.  If this was truly a lady, powerful strength enchants must be in play.

Shinsaku had pegged her for a Combatant Talent user.  That was the only explanation he could find for that heavy destructive weapon.  It was big enough to wreck someone with a single hit, the focus of the Combatant Talent Set.  But now she went into the Caster school?

“She has to be an enchantress,” Shinsaku was confident in that statement.  Enchanting skills were usually taught in the Casting Schools so that explained things well enough.  Ione was the most powerful enchantress he knew but this warrior shook off her charms.  That was only possible if this fighter had powerful enchants of her own.

While someone could be a Combatant and a Caster, there were only a few moves in the two sets that worked well together.  The other moves took too long to channel or were too weak to make a difference.  She had to be walking from school to school for a reason.

“Fine.  So, how are we going to get her,” Ione looked to Shinsaku.

Shinsaku had no immediate answer.  After a little though he spoke, “I don’t know.”  He stood and turned away from the image, “Keep watching her.  I’ll review the tapes for clues.  I could have sworn she was talking to herself earlier.”

#1 – Opportunity #28 – Opportunity #30

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #25

Metcalf awoke from the perfect rest.  She roused, completely refreshed from the couch.  If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn the cushions were massaging her while she slept.  She opened her eyes and took in the room, a completely new room.

Where am I?

It took a while to remember the events of the early morning.  The room was completely remodeled; again.  But the windows and the walls themselves didn’t lie.  She was still in Master Fu’s large apartment.  She had slept soundly well into the day.

Nope.  I was right. She thought as the cushions started to massage her again tempting her to fall back to sleep.  She jumped up to resist them and turned to see a humanoid robot very familiar to those that the higher level students fought for training.  Instead of the standard brown, this one was polished silver and unscratched.

To her great surprise it spoke, “Greetings Student Luo.  I am Tile,” it said pointing to itself, “I have been given instructions by Master Fu on what to do after you wake up.  Have you awoken?”

“Yeah,” Metcalf said not sure of what to make of this machine.  Was it here this whole time?  That’s a little eerie.

“Most excellent,” it continued with the most emotion that its mechanical voice could muster, “It is currently thirty seven minutes past hour thirteen.  Your friends are most likely looking to train with you.  However, there are some videos the mistress has asked me to show you before you left.  She has classes and preparations and apologizes for her absence.”

Tile walked her over to an empty space in the apartment.  It seemed the whole room may have been remodeled to make this space.  It was quite large and everything else was slightly packed closer.

As they reached the center of the area, the room went dark as a holographic image showed a gruesome scene.  With all the blood, it took a while for Metcalf to realize what the image was.  She backed away in horror as she noted that it was a bloody box of chopped Chisho body parts.

At her horror, Tile began speaking, “Master Fu noted your interest in stealth combat and wanted you to see this,” it pointed at the recording.  Once Metcalf found the strength to look at it again, Tile continued, “This was Blaze Chiu.  He was assigned in Romneya to bring us information concerning their possible disloyalty to the Heir of Sword.

“Though technically our ally, they took him as a spy and therefore an enemy.  After he was caught, Glory City denied all knowledge of his existence.  He was also brave enough not to say anything about his affiliation with our nation during his questioning.”

Questioning?  That’s what you call that?

The image shifted to tall grass and a pair of boots with.  Blood coming from inside the boots suggested that there were still feet inside of them.

Once the image was clear, Tile began again, “This agent was caught infiltrating the data base in Pine Hills.  They learned that he worked for us and attempted to barter for his safe return.  After receiving no offer, they dropped him off and left him for the wild life,” Tile pointed to the image, “This is how we found him.”

After a few more images, Tile got to the point, “These were great agents with years on the field.  This is what happened when they failed their missions.  There are hundreds of agents still on the field that remain active each with very delicate assignments.

“We won’t be able to teach you all of their techniques.  However, after the way you met Master Fu this morning, she thought it necessary to encourage you to train with utmost sincerity.  You are quite the capable student.  However, there is a limit to what you can learn in six months.  As you train, please remember to train with all you heart and review what you learn often.  It could save you from fates such as these.”

“Thank you Tile,” Metcalf looked at the image.  Those were fates she hoped to avoid.

“Have a good day Student Luo,” Tile said with a bow.

Metcalf bowed back and politely left the apartment.

#1 – Lost and Found #24 – Lost and Found #26

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #29

Tosca walked to her workstation pushing the sphere droid on the hand truck.  She smiled at the thought of a possible breakthrough.  The idea of an immobile but important droid was intriguing.  She only needed to find its function.

The possibilities were far from limited.  There were only a few things that immobile devices could do.  Many plans of various stimuli passed through her head.  The most difficult thing to do was pick which one to try first.

On her way to her workstation, she passed by many other interns working on projects.  They had little time to do more than glance at her as she passed.  They were far too entranced with their respective projects.

Gold and silver were promised to teams that found something marketable in their devices.  The more marketable the device, the more gold they would earn.  If they found a way to produce a weapon, they’d have a wondrous wealthy career ahead of them.

Tosca was still working with the same droid.  She had gotten no progress or money from it.  As they glanced at her, some of them had eyes wondering why she was still working with that same droid.  She had a brilliant mind but was making no money at all.

She sat the heavy droid at her station.  It was slightly easier to move than she remembered.  ‘I do feel a little stronger.’  No time for those thoughts.  She had theories to test.  Theories were fun to make but to test them; she had to put in some work.

—–

Above the Lost Jungle over city of Sanity:

After only a few hours of travel, ‘Stealth Phrygian’ had reached the canopy above Sanity.  The great city was in a secluded part of the world.  The founders of this city wanted to stay as far as they could from the faction wars and politics that plagued the rest of the world.  Only a relative few people knew how to get to the city.  Those people got really strong by training in Sanity.

The pilots signaled the final approach to the Tirzah.  In her office, she was still speaking with AD7 and Keyanna.  Eighty-Seven was still a prisoner in Rubin’s Trail.  They needed to free her.  Also, it may help AD7 get her life back.

“You know your helper more than anyone,” Tirzah reasoned, “What do you think she’ll do now that she’s awake?”

AD7 pondered a bit before speaking.   Her memory was still returning but she knew her helper for certain, “I think… I think she may try to follow my old orders again.”

During the conversation, Keyanna was brought up on AD7’s history.  AD7 left simple instructions for her helper.  She was to defend the wall from attackers and make defensive adjustments if necessary.  Those simple instructions started the crazy war.  Those instructions are what she would try to do again.  “But to do that, she’d have to escape,” Keyanna reasoned.

“The war started after you were…,” Tirzah paused looking for the most delicate wording.

“Blown up,” AD7 finished the thought with a shiver.  Understandably, she never wanted to go through that again.

“Yeah,” Tirzah said reluctantly before starting agian, “and since then, she led a gruesome war against a powerful army.  They were losing until they asked for Champions to help.”

There was another loud beep on Tirzah’s handheld signaling their landing.  “The planning will have to wait,” she said standing up, “We have to get you ready to help bust your friend out.”

#1 – Awakening #28 – Awakening #30