Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson ❯ Bridging ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Esperati Nero 
prelude to the entrance into the upper tiers.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.19.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 133 | Status: Completed
prelude to the entrance into the upper tiers.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.19.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 133 | Status: Completed
Eridde was about to drag Satin into the section of Sub-Zero known as the Hospital Wing. The medical center, biological research labs, wards and disease analysis cubicles were all stuck into that part of the big metal box. Satin was protesting as loudly, but not as loud as she probably would have. She was too curious as to the location of the hospital wing from the VR sims. She had no memories of coming here and only vague, morphine muddled ones of coming back out, usually in a wheelchair and still half dead.
"The following people should make their way to the Captain's office immediately."
The PA startled both of them into statues. It wasn't used very often. The only reason it ever went on was for emergencies when runners couldn't convey information fast enough. If the Captain was that desperate to find people, it must be some sort of emergency. Eridde stood still, but he didn't loosen his hold on Satin. Satin didn't notice her awkward position. She was too intent on the PA. She had a pretty good idea who was going to be wanted. Then came the names
"Field medic Pi. Technical units, Flippy and Gerbil. Versatile units, Panther and Redkite. Please report to the Captain's office immediately."
"Looks like you lucked out." Eridde released Satin and pushed her in the other direction.
"Looks like we're going to the upper tiers after all." Satin replied. Flippy, Pi, Geb, Eridde and herself were the initial team sent up to collect minute information in the upper tiers. Because they were the most skilled out of the younger initiates. They would do their jobs well and be the least suspicious. Out of them, Flippy was the oldest, somewhere in her mid-twenties. Pi was slightly older than Erride, who was in turn older than Satin and Geb. Satin and Geb were about the same age. They had gone to the same elementary school together, in fact. Because they were trained to think like adults with a profession to each of their personalities, they could easily survive in the upper world with only a few social difficulties. The best SS members were too anti-social and easily suspected, but the trainees don't even know what to do. Being the average joe really helped with this job.
Except Satin wasn't very social the last time she was up there.
None of them were openly social with the upper world. The reason they were selected was because they harbored a dislike for the careless actions of the upper tier inhabitants.
They were good actors. That's all.
"Wonder why there aren't any Quills coming with us." Eridde's long legs helped him cover distance much faster than the average man. Satin was jogging to keep up with him. "Cork would've been a good addition, being a big cryptologist and all."
"What am I? Chopped liver?" She glared at him. "I'm just as good as that midget at cryptology. Besides, his mouth is so big he'll give us away without a second thought."
"That 'midget' is four inches taller than you." Eridde laughed. "Stop being a hypocrite."
"Yeah, Satin. Stop being a hypocrite." Geb, Flippy and Pi suddenly appeared around the corner. "Hey guys."
"Yo, wassup?" Flippy smiled, flashing her perfect, pearl-white teeth at them. All the girls who cared about their appearances wanted to look at least somewhat like Flippy. "Gee, Satin. What happened to you? You're all cut up."
"It's a long story." Satin replied drily.
Eridde chuckled. "No it isnt'. A bomb dropped on the moor and you were dumb enough to go back into a burning house to retrieve a computer that was already backed up!"
"How was I supposed to know it was backed up? No body ever mentioned anything! Well... I saved a two thousand dollar laptop. It must be of some use."
Pi immediately gave Satin a hug. She was probably the second closest friend Satin had in Sub-Zero, with Eridde being the closest. Even if Satin looked like the youngest, Pi was the most childish and least serious out of all of them. If there was a blonde joke circulating, it was probably directed at her. Even then, all she'd do is laugh. Whether or not she realized it was an insult, she never mentioned. The blonde jokes weren't made to affect her. If she were really as dumb as they suggested, she wouldn't understand the insult. But if she wasn't an idiot, she'd probably brush off the insult and be on her way. Pi was very sharp. Her outward naivete was only a mask for her intellect. That was another reason why she was chosen to enter the upper tiers. No one would ever guess that someone like her could be a mastermind behind part of the first espionage undertaking against a main society. "In any case, It's nice to see you again."
"Nice to see you too, Pi." She smiled with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Did you get your paperwork?"
Pi broke away and exclaimed in false shock. "I did! You little rat, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Eridde grinned as well. "I believe you mean cuckoo. A gerbil is probably as close as we're going to get to a rat."
"Oh shush." Geb muttered. "The administrative offices are just up there. We should probably clamp a lid on it."
The administrative office was also known as the 'quiet zone'. Everything glistened with flawless steel and plastic. Every desk had a uniform worker, efficiently digging through their work like androids. Every shelf of papers and files were neat, not a single sheet out of place. There was no idle decoration, not even a personal picture or a bookmark. This was a world where nearly everything was in grayscale. The little group of visitors felt like scarlet macaws in a flock of ravens, out of place and nervous in unexplored territory. Except for the tapping of keyboards and the clicking of computer mice, everything was silent. If there were a hand-and-face clock here, its tick-tocking could probably be heard from fifty meters away. The only depiction of time were on computers and wrist watches.
Pi opened her mouth to ask Geb where exactly the Commander's office was, but she stopped herself quickly. She was too nervous to even whisper in this sector of Sub-Zero. Was there a rule against speaking without permission in the admin office? Flippy seemed to be the only person who knew exactly where she was going, but even she looked around the corners sometimes, her confusion hidden behind the affectation that she was merely admiring the colorless scenery. They were finally met by a bald man in a completely black ensemble. He wore a long black jacket unbuttoned, revealing a black t-shirt over his tightly muscled body. A utility belt was buckled snugly around his waist, looping through the waist band of a pair of black jeans. Even his boots were black. He beckoned to them to follow him. Seeing how they didn't know where anything was, following was the best chance they had. Following this man somehow gave them a heavy sense of doom. It was as if he was an executioner, leading them to their death.
The Commander's office was small and relatively similar to Axe's. However, it had several plasmascreened panels along the walls. The strange man had opened the door for them in silence, standing just outside of the soundproofed beureau, leaving the five unsure initiates in a neat row before the commander's steel desk. Satin was the only one who could meet the commander's eyes without looking away from the penetrating silver-gray orbs. She noted all of his features... Graying hair that used to be dark brown, tanned skin with the signs of heavy injuries and emerging creases, the solid muscles on every inch of his body not hidden by his long, dark green trenchcoat. The coat seemed like it suffered even more years than he did. It was tattering, but holding on to usefulness by its multiple threadbaring layers. His face held wisdom, but also cunning and discipline. He had the very same energy around him as perhaps some of history's greatest warriors... Alexander the Great, Achilles, Marcus Antonius, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington... mix them up and you have one face: the Commander of Sub-Zero.
His eyes seemed to focus on Satin, who refused to break her glance, as if it were a staring contest. He looked at her face thoroughly before he broke eye contact to expand his view on the entire group. Seemingly, the tension lessened when his gaze was less intense. A man to instill forboding with his eyes is a man to be reckoned. He spoke, his voice a rich tone, but hardened with countless years of suffering and difficult tasks. "You all should know why I called you here." He looked from one face to another... Flippy, Geb, Pi, Satin and Eridde, going down the line. Their faces said that they all knew what was going to happen. Their bodies said that they were as prepared as they can ever be. His eyes always stayed for a few precious moments longer on Satin. She was of special interest to him. Her face was defiant and fearless in his presence while none of the others could retain eye contact with him without a quick glance away. She stood steadfast like a statue, a completely soulless expression on her face.
Drawing a black folder from his desk, he gave it to Flippy, the obvious oldest of the group. She looked at it quizzically while he explained. "That is all you should need for your task. It includes addresses, directions, maps, credit cards, keys, contact information, identification, task overview and any miscellaneous applications. You can distribute them on the elevator. Gather your necessary belongings. Travel light. Your daily materials have already been provided. Please leave now. Departure is in fifteen minutes."
"Yessir!" The five voices sounded in quiet unison as they immediately filed out of the room. Flippy held the folder as protectively as a mother defends her precious child. That folder must have some pretty confidential stuff in there if he requested them to his office to receive it from him in person. The dorms for darts and field-work initiates were set close together. Satin and Eridde's rooms were back to back in different halls, with Pi's somewhere between the itinerary to and fro, with her entrance located on the main dorm hallway. Flippy and Geb were two halls down, four doors apart from each other on opposite sides of the hallway. None of them had very much to back. Pi was the first to emerge, wearing a long black coat and a pink scarf, carrying her usual backpack as well as a small, white purse. She waited out in the hall impatiently for her less prepared companions. Eridde and Geb came next, with Eridde a second before the tech. He carried a black and silver sports bag with four or five of his beloved guns, nearly ten of his blades and a few more personal items. He was also wearing a coat, his was a black trenchcoat with enough buckles and straps to make him look like someone from 'The Matrix' or something. He liked that jacket for its bullet-proof plates sewn between the layers of cloth. Geb wasn't wearing a coat, but he carried a laptop case and a tool case, filled with their respective occupants. Flippy carried her computer with her as well, and she wore a sweatshirt. The black folder was still in her hands, and she carried a medium sized backpack with, most probably, food inside it. Trust her to know the necessities.
"What's taking Satin so long?" Eridde muttered to no one in particular. They were all waiting around her door now, impatient for her to get a move on. Eridde began to recall that it was unusual for Satin to be slow. She was usually the first person in and out of a place, always prompt and prepared to do anything. She was the type that could roll out of bed at the knock of a door and be ready for combat in less than two minutes. That meant she wouldn't only feel ready, but also look like she had been awake and fired up the whole time. There were only a few occasions when she was slow. He hoped she wasn't falling ill.
It felt like a long time before Satin did show up. However, she wasn't carrying a giant bag of things like the others thought she would after spending so much time packing. Instead, she was wearing her only coat, which was black and reached her knees, and carried only two guns with a knife on her hips along with a small package that she hastily slipped into her coat pocket. The tiny bag on her back contained only her sketchbook, journal, pencils, erasers and her miniature laptop.
"What kept you if you were traveling this light?" Eridde asked her as they briskly wove through the corridors towards the non-vehicle elevators. Satin was carrying the least out of all of them. She didn't have many belongings to take with her, and she didn't really need much. Pi was a resourceful person, she would manage to find anything they need.
"I was looking for something." She replied hastily, picking up her pace. The elevators were secured in isolated rooms at various outer points of Sub-Zero. They were connected to the main Sub-Zero by nearly 800 meter long corridors. If a person were to infiltrate it without a password, it would be courting instantaneous death by crushing walls. No corpses have been found in any of the hallways... perhaps the defenses were stealthy enough that these precautions were unnecessary, although it is true to be better safe than sorry.
Pi, Flippy and Geb turned to look at her, almost jogging to match her grueling pace. Satin was the shortest of them, but she was also the fastest and most impatient. Flippy and Eridde were the only ones able to keep up with her without having to try. Geb and Pi were beginning to fall behind by a few paces. "What would that be?" Eridde asked curiously.
Satin shook her head. "I'll tell you later." [i]When we're out of this place. You people might as well know if we're going to be living in the same house.[/i] She thought as hard as she could, knowing Eridde could probably pick up her more distinct thoughts.
Neither Pi nor Satin liked elevators. They were small and cramped most of the time. Both of them suffered from several unreasonable forms of paranoia. Claustrophobia was among the ones they shared, as well as the fear of insects, spiders other creepy crawlies and any of their larvae. They leant against the side of the elevator side by side, glancing at each other from time to time to remind themselves that there were only them and three more people in this elevator. There was nothing to be afraid of. The ride up would take several minutes. They were so far below the earth's surface it took the same amount of time for them to reach Tier One as it did to get to the top of a sky scraper on a slow elevator.
Geb cleared his throat, trying to lessen the strange tension within their metal compartment. "So, eh, Flip. Why don't you brief us on the, er... thingy..."
Flippy opened the plastic folder to the first page and began to give a narration of her skimming. It wasn't very long or elaborate. "Basically, adapt to the lifestyle in the upper tiers and blend in as average citizens. Write down notes on the government broadcasts that we hear, uh... pick up any information concerning the environment given by the government. Then if possible, find ways to verify the information. Chances are they'll spew falsehoods all over the place. Relay all information down to Sub-Zero and be ready for any assasinations, investigations and miscellaneous outings. That is all." She flipped towards the middle, where there were several applications and forms, along with five seperate credit cards in an attached envelope. Flippy opened the envelope and distributed the cards to their respective owners. "Your pin numbers are listed on the back of the envelope, you can see them later. Geb and Satin are to be enrolled in highschool... tomorrow."
"WHAT?" Geb exclaimed as he was startled, "Why? Can't we work?"
"We need people to pick up on information in facilities adults can't reach. There aren't many adequate teaching facilities currently offering jobs, so you two will be enrolled in a private school. Lots of the rich people with power have their kids there. You can listen in for clues." Flippy replied nonchalantly before continuing on. "Pi and Eridde are already accepted into a prestigious university. They'll be going there tomorrow."
"Where are you going then?" Eridde asked Flippy, envious that she was probably going to be working.
"I get to have a job in the intercity crime investigation office. I'll be hacking and repairing for them mainly, but I'll also have a lot of field work. Good thing is usually, I only have to do the afternoon to evening shifts. That leaves me free to work in the morning and come back around ten o'clock to help you with the rest of your homework." She grinned. Like they needed any help... everything and anything they ever needed to know about math and english had already been taught to them as part of their initial training. History was just a matter of memorizing, the can deal with that. Chances are, they'll be done with work by the time she comes back.
"Lucky..." Eridde sighed, "The moment I get up there, I'm going to look for a part time job." He decided on the spot, "I'm not going to hear too much in that college anyway, so I'll go and get a job where I can listen in on some useful conversation."
"Like what?" Geb asked, unconvinced.
"Like... I'm sure I'll think of something." Eridde knew that he was admitting that he didn't have a clue where to start. Whatever. He could figure it out later. Just as he replied, the elevator clicked into place and opened. They found themselves staring at the interior of a janitor's closet in the lower level of a broken down garage. Satin was the first to exit. Step one into the surreality.
Author's Note: Really really sorry here to be posting so late! Erm... well, I don't have like... lots and lots of readers, I don't think... ^_^;; so I'm not quite sure who I'm apologizing to! Eh... yesh. Well. I ain't a good writer, so that doesn't really matter! XD hope those of you that do read are somewhat enjoying this... it's all really boring right now, but I'm sure I can tuck SOME action into this thing... somehow. I'll promise one within the next three chapters! I hope... shouldn't be making promises I can't keep O___O. Reviews are always luffed. Gimme your opinions on the story so far.Thanks!
~Esperati Nero
"The following people should make their way to the Captain's office immediately."
The PA startled both of them into statues. It wasn't used very often. The only reason it ever went on was for emergencies when runners couldn't convey information fast enough. If the Captain was that desperate to find people, it must be some sort of emergency. Eridde stood still, but he didn't loosen his hold on Satin. Satin didn't notice her awkward position. She was too intent on the PA. She had a pretty good idea who was going to be wanted. Then came the names
"Field medic Pi. Technical units, Flippy and Gerbil. Versatile units, Panther and Redkite. Please report to the Captain's office immediately."
"Looks like you lucked out." Eridde released Satin and pushed her in the other direction.
"Looks like we're going to the upper tiers after all." Satin replied. Flippy, Pi, Geb, Eridde and herself were the initial team sent up to collect minute information in the upper tiers. Because they were the most skilled out of the younger initiates. They would do their jobs well and be the least suspicious. Out of them, Flippy was the oldest, somewhere in her mid-twenties. Pi was slightly older than Erride, who was in turn older than Satin and Geb. Satin and Geb were about the same age. They had gone to the same elementary school together, in fact. Because they were trained to think like adults with a profession to each of their personalities, they could easily survive in the upper world with only a few social difficulties. The best SS members were too anti-social and easily suspected, but the trainees don't even know what to do. Being the average joe really helped with this job.
Except Satin wasn't very social the last time she was up there.
None of them were openly social with the upper world. The reason they were selected was because they harbored a dislike for the careless actions of the upper tier inhabitants.
They were good actors. That's all.
"Wonder why there aren't any Quills coming with us." Eridde's long legs helped him cover distance much faster than the average man. Satin was jogging to keep up with him. "Cork would've been a good addition, being a big cryptologist and all."
"What am I? Chopped liver?" She glared at him. "I'm just as good as that midget at cryptology. Besides, his mouth is so big he'll give us away without a second thought."
"That 'midget' is four inches taller than you." Eridde laughed. "Stop being a hypocrite."
"Yeah, Satin. Stop being a hypocrite." Geb, Flippy and Pi suddenly appeared around the corner. "Hey guys."
"Yo, wassup?" Flippy smiled, flashing her perfect, pearl-white teeth at them. All the girls who cared about their appearances wanted to look at least somewhat like Flippy. "Gee, Satin. What happened to you? You're all cut up."
"It's a long story." Satin replied drily.
Eridde chuckled. "No it isnt'. A bomb dropped on the moor and you were dumb enough to go back into a burning house to retrieve a computer that was already backed up!"
"How was I supposed to know it was backed up? No body ever mentioned anything! Well... I saved a two thousand dollar laptop. It must be of some use."
Pi immediately gave Satin a hug. She was probably the second closest friend Satin had in Sub-Zero, with Eridde being the closest. Even if Satin looked like the youngest, Pi was the most childish and least serious out of all of them. If there was a blonde joke circulating, it was probably directed at her. Even then, all she'd do is laugh. Whether or not she realized it was an insult, she never mentioned. The blonde jokes weren't made to affect her. If she were really as dumb as they suggested, she wouldn't understand the insult. But if she wasn't an idiot, she'd probably brush off the insult and be on her way. Pi was very sharp. Her outward naivete was only a mask for her intellect. That was another reason why she was chosen to enter the upper tiers. No one would ever guess that someone like her could be a mastermind behind part of the first espionage undertaking against a main society. "In any case, It's nice to see you again."
"Nice to see you too, Pi." She smiled with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Did you get your paperwork?"
Pi broke away and exclaimed in false shock. "I did! You little rat, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Eridde grinned as well. "I believe you mean cuckoo. A gerbil is probably as close as we're going to get to a rat."
"Oh shush." Geb muttered. "The administrative offices are just up there. We should probably clamp a lid on it."
The administrative office was also known as the 'quiet zone'. Everything glistened with flawless steel and plastic. Every desk had a uniform worker, efficiently digging through their work like androids. Every shelf of papers and files were neat, not a single sheet out of place. There was no idle decoration, not even a personal picture or a bookmark. This was a world where nearly everything was in grayscale. The little group of visitors felt like scarlet macaws in a flock of ravens, out of place and nervous in unexplored territory. Except for the tapping of keyboards and the clicking of computer mice, everything was silent. If there were a hand-and-face clock here, its tick-tocking could probably be heard from fifty meters away. The only depiction of time were on computers and wrist watches.
Pi opened her mouth to ask Geb where exactly the Commander's office was, but she stopped herself quickly. She was too nervous to even whisper in this sector of Sub-Zero. Was there a rule against speaking without permission in the admin office? Flippy seemed to be the only person who knew exactly where she was going, but even she looked around the corners sometimes, her confusion hidden behind the affectation that she was merely admiring the colorless scenery. They were finally met by a bald man in a completely black ensemble. He wore a long black jacket unbuttoned, revealing a black t-shirt over his tightly muscled body. A utility belt was buckled snugly around his waist, looping through the waist band of a pair of black jeans. Even his boots were black. He beckoned to them to follow him. Seeing how they didn't know where anything was, following was the best chance they had. Following this man somehow gave them a heavy sense of doom. It was as if he was an executioner, leading them to their death.
The Commander's office was small and relatively similar to Axe's. However, it had several plasmascreened panels along the walls. The strange man had opened the door for them in silence, standing just outside of the soundproofed beureau, leaving the five unsure initiates in a neat row before the commander's steel desk. Satin was the only one who could meet the commander's eyes without looking away from the penetrating silver-gray orbs. She noted all of his features... Graying hair that used to be dark brown, tanned skin with the signs of heavy injuries and emerging creases, the solid muscles on every inch of his body not hidden by his long, dark green trenchcoat. The coat seemed like it suffered even more years than he did. It was tattering, but holding on to usefulness by its multiple threadbaring layers. His face held wisdom, but also cunning and discipline. He had the very same energy around him as perhaps some of history's greatest warriors... Alexander the Great, Achilles, Marcus Antonius, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington... mix them up and you have one face: the Commander of Sub-Zero.
His eyes seemed to focus on Satin, who refused to break her glance, as if it were a staring contest. He looked at her face thoroughly before he broke eye contact to expand his view on the entire group. Seemingly, the tension lessened when his gaze was less intense. A man to instill forboding with his eyes is a man to be reckoned. He spoke, his voice a rich tone, but hardened with countless years of suffering and difficult tasks. "You all should know why I called you here." He looked from one face to another... Flippy, Geb, Pi, Satin and Eridde, going down the line. Their faces said that they all knew what was going to happen. Their bodies said that they were as prepared as they can ever be. His eyes always stayed for a few precious moments longer on Satin. She was of special interest to him. Her face was defiant and fearless in his presence while none of the others could retain eye contact with him without a quick glance away. She stood steadfast like a statue, a completely soulless expression on her face.
Drawing a black folder from his desk, he gave it to Flippy, the obvious oldest of the group. She looked at it quizzically while he explained. "That is all you should need for your task. It includes addresses, directions, maps, credit cards, keys, contact information, identification, task overview and any miscellaneous applications. You can distribute them on the elevator. Gather your necessary belongings. Travel light. Your daily materials have already been provided. Please leave now. Departure is in fifteen minutes."
"Yessir!" The five voices sounded in quiet unison as they immediately filed out of the room. Flippy held the folder as protectively as a mother defends her precious child. That folder must have some pretty confidential stuff in there if he requested them to his office to receive it from him in person. The dorms for darts and field-work initiates were set close together. Satin and Eridde's rooms were back to back in different halls, with Pi's somewhere between the itinerary to and fro, with her entrance located on the main dorm hallway. Flippy and Geb were two halls down, four doors apart from each other on opposite sides of the hallway. None of them had very much to back. Pi was the first to emerge, wearing a long black coat and a pink scarf, carrying her usual backpack as well as a small, white purse. She waited out in the hall impatiently for her less prepared companions. Eridde and Geb came next, with Eridde a second before the tech. He carried a black and silver sports bag with four or five of his beloved guns, nearly ten of his blades and a few more personal items. He was also wearing a coat, his was a black trenchcoat with enough buckles and straps to make him look like someone from 'The Matrix' or something. He liked that jacket for its bullet-proof plates sewn between the layers of cloth. Geb wasn't wearing a coat, but he carried a laptop case and a tool case, filled with their respective occupants. Flippy carried her computer with her as well, and she wore a sweatshirt. The black folder was still in her hands, and she carried a medium sized backpack with, most probably, food inside it. Trust her to know the necessities.
"What's taking Satin so long?" Eridde muttered to no one in particular. They were all waiting around her door now, impatient for her to get a move on. Eridde began to recall that it was unusual for Satin to be slow. She was usually the first person in and out of a place, always prompt and prepared to do anything. She was the type that could roll out of bed at the knock of a door and be ready for combat in less than two minutes. That meant she wouldn't only feel ready, but also look like she had been awake and fired up the whole time. There were only a few occasions when she was slow. He hoped she wasn't falling ill.
It felt like a long time before Satin did show up. However, she wasn't carrying a giant bag of things like the others thought she would after spending so much time packing. Instead, she was wearing her only coat, which was black and reached her knees, and carried only two guns with a knife on her hips along with a small package that she hastily slipped into her coat pocket. The tiny bag on her back contained only her sketchbook, journal, pencils, erasers and her miniature laptop.
"What kept you if you were traveling this light?" Eridde asked her as they briskly wove through the corridors towards the non-vehicle elevators. Satin was carrying the least out of all of them. She didn't have many belongings to take with her, and she didn't really need much. Pi was a resourceful person, she would manage to find anything they need.
"I was looking for something." She replied hastily, picking up her pace. The elevators were secured in isolated rooms at various outer points of Sub-Zero. They were connected to the main Sub-Zero by nearly 800 meter long corridors. If a person were to infiltrate it without a password, it would be courting instantaneous death by crushing walls. No corpses have been found in any of the hallways... perhaps the defenses were stealthy enough that these precautions were unnecessary, although it is true to be better safe than sorry.
Pi, Flippy and Geb turned to look at her, almost jogging to match her grueling pace. Satin was the shortest of them, but she was also the fastest and most impatient. Flippy and Eridde were the only ones able to keep up with her without having to try. Geb and Pi were beginning to fall behind by a few paces. "What would that be?" Eridde asked curiously.
Satin shook her head. "I'll tell you later." [i]When we're out of this place. You people might as well know if we're going to be living in the same house.[/i] She thought as hard as she could, knowing Eridde could probably pick up her more distinct thoughts.
Neither Pi nor Satin liked elevators. They were small and cramped most of the time. Both of them suffered from several unreasonable forms of paranoia. Claustrophobia was among the ones they shared, as well as the fear of insects, spiders other creepy crawlies and any of their larvae. They leant against the side of the elevator side by side, glancing at each other from time to time to remind themselves that there were only them and three more people in this elevator. There was nothing to be afraid of. The ride up would take several minutes. They were so far below the earth's surface it took the same amount of time for them to reach Tier One as it did to get to the top of a sky scraper on a slow elevator.
Geb cleared his throat, trying to lessen the strange tension within their metal compartment. "So, eh, Flip. Why don't you brief us on the, er... thingy..."
Flippy opened the plastic folder to the first page and began to give a narration of her skimming. It wasn't very long or elaborate. "Basically, adapt to the lifestyle in the upper tiers and blend in as average citizens. Write down notes on the government broadcasts that we hear, uh... pick up any information concerning the environment given by the government. Then if possible, find ways to verify the information. Chances are they'll spew falsehoods all over the place. Relay all information down to Sub-Zero and be ready for any assasinations, investigations and miscellaneous outings. That is all." She flipped towards the middle, where there were several applications and forms, along with five seperate credit cards in an attached envelope. Flippy opened the envelope and distributed the cards to their respective owners. "Your pin numbers are listed on the back of the envelope, you can see them later. Geb and Satin are to be enrolled in highschool... tomorrow."
"WHAT?" Geb exclaimed as he was startled, "Why? Can't we work?"
"We need people to pick up on information in facilities adults can't reach. There aren't many adequate teaching facilities currently offering jobs, so you two will be enrolled in a private school. Lots of the rich people with power have their kids there. You can listen in for clues." Flippy replied nonchalantly before continuing on. "Pi and Eridde are already accepted into a prestigious university. They'll be going there tomorrow."
"Where are you going then?" Eridde asked Flippy, envious that she was probably going to be working.
"I get to have a job in the intercity crime investigation office. I'll be hacking and repairing for them mainly, but I'll also have a lot of field work. Good thing is usually, I only have to do the afternoon to evening shifts. That leaves me free to work in the morning and come back around ten o'clock to help you with the rest of your homework." She grinned. Like they needed any help... everything and anything they ever needed to know about math and english had already been taught to them as part of their initial training. History was just a matter of memorizing, the can deal with that. Chances are, they'll be done with work by the time she comes back.
"Lucky..." Eridde sighed, "The moment I get up there, I'm going to look for a part time job." He decided on the spot, "I'm not going to hear too much in that college anyway, so I'll go and get a job where I can listen in on some useful conversation."
"Like what?" Geb asked, unconvinced.
"Like... I'm sure I'll think of something." Eridde knew that he was admitting that he didn't have a clue where to start. Whatever. He could figure it out later. Just as he replied, the elevator clicked into place and opened. They found themselves staring at the interior of a janitor's closet in the lower level of a broken down garage. Satin was the first to exit. Step one into the surreality.
Author's Note: Really really sorry here to be posting so late! Erm... well, I don't have like... lots and lots of readers, I don't think... ^_^;; so I'm not quite sure who I'm apologizing to! Eh... yesh. Well. I ain't a good writer, so that doesn't really matter! XD hope those of you that do read are somewhat enjoying this... it's all really boring right now, but I'm sure I can tuck SOME action into this thing... somehow. I'll promise one within the next three chapters! I hope... shouldn't be making promises I can't keep O___O. Reviews are always luffed. Gimme your opinions on the story so far.Thanks!
~Esperati Nero