Mark smiled as he neared the front of the customs line. After too long abroad, not of his own choosing, he was finally able to come home. He'd gotten a letter recently detailing his official reinstatement into the military. With it was the unofficial acknowledgment that he wasn't a terrorist or turncoat, a news article about his former commanding officer being brought up on charges for treason for blackmail and using his command for personal gain. Black mark on his record removed, he was once again able to return to the job that he felt most comfortable with. He had even been offered his CO's position and back pay. Nothing could go wrong now.
He was two back from the customs officer when a set of armed guards came in. They whispered something in the officer's ear as a third guard closed the doors in the back of the room. There weren't that many people left, just the usual mix of travelers you find, so what could they... No... He felt a weight in the pit of his stomach. This couldn't have been a trap could it? Say he was right and promise him his old life back as bait to catch him and try him?
He looked around frantically for something he could use as a weapon, trying to look as confused as the rest of the people here rather than frightened. His eyes caught sight of another passenger's hard cased baggage just as a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.
"Mr. Lonile." A voice whispered in his ear. "There's been a report of a dangerous viral outbreak in some sectors of Europa so we're shutting down the customs offices to try and prevent it from spreading." Mark relaxed slightly. "We don't want to cause a panic and some of these pilots are likely to cause trouble if we get too involved. We're about to make an announcement and we want you to try and keep these guys under control until things are fixed." Mark nodded slightly. "Oh, and welcome back General. It's nice to see you back safe." The hand squeezed his shoulder slightly and he heard the guard walk off to the front of the room.
~~
"Attention people! I have just been informed that there have been some reports of an outbreak in Europa. We don't wish to detain you any longer than we have to, but we have to keep the people here safe. So here's what we're going to do." The customs official looked around nervously. He hadn't really been trained to deal with this kind of trouble. "We're going to need a blood sample from each of you, which we'll process to find out if you are a carrier or ill with the virus in question. The good thing is that the test should only take about an hour to an hour and a half for all of you. The bad part is that during that time you will be... unable to leave or have any contact from the outside. We will be escorted down the hall to a holding room, it has couches and a set of bathrooms off it so you won't be too uncomfortable." He sighed. "And yes, I will be in there with you because of the chance that I myself have contracted said problem."
He looked around as the people from the health department arrived wearing hazmat suits and carrying a toolbox that was probably full of needles and vials. "Well... I'm first then."
Clint rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly as he stepped onto the customs line. Jen on the other hand, a bit eager to get into Guygalos to visit her favorite coffee shops, grinned with bright purple eyes at what she held in her hands. It appeared to be a map of the city with a bunch of hot spots circled in red metallic ink.
Clint was standing in front of Jen, with his arms crossed, and now sported a bored look on his face. An unlit cigarette was laying in between his two lips. He wore his traditional pilot's suit and dark red cloak going back. Black pants that allowed his legs to breath, and fancy, roughed up black pilot boots was his attire. Also, his hair was somewhat combed back, and shorter than usual. omgahaircut? Clint wasn't in the best of moods. He was a bit sleep deprived, and just wanted to find a cheap motel to crash for the rest of the day.
Jen was wearing a gray wool turtleneck Sweater Dress, and a black corduroy coat. Her black battle boots somehow went with her clothing. She tapped on the ground, her right foot impatiently, as she waited for the next person to move up. "Oh look, there was another cafe over in this sector. I can't believe I missed this." Jen said turning towards Clint a bit, but eyes still glued to the small map.
Clint looked up at the ceiling. He was trying to stay awake, and could care less about Jen's cafe's. "yup..." he said, with no interest. Jen herd this, and looked up at Clint a bit, feeling what he felt in the tone of his voice. She thought she'd cheer him up a bit.
"Hey, there's a motel around there. "
Clint looked down at Jen who'd been trying to keep a straight face. He could tell she was trying to cheer him up, but it was in vein, for he did not want to change his gloom.
Susumu was far in the back, leaned up against a wall. He sported a red and purple checkered buttoned shirt, and dark blue jeans. A set of Air plugs were in his ears at the time. The kid was in a trance, as he listened to his music, quietly, with his eyes closed.
Asuka, Chinatsu and Riley was doing other fun things in light town. The group was split in half, but still stood strong in spirit.
| QUOTE |
| "Attention people! I have just been informed that there have been some reports of an outbreak in Europa. We don't wish to detain you any longer than we have to, but we have to keep the people here safe. So here's what we're going to do." The customs official looked around nervously. He hadn't really been trained to deal with this kind of trouble. "We're going to need a blood sample from each of you, which we'll process to find out if you are a carrier or ill with the virus in question. The good thing is that the test should only take about an hour to an hour and a half for all of you. The bad part is that during that time you will be... unable to leave or have any contact from the outside. We will be escorted down the hall to a holding room, it has couches and a set of bathrooms off it so you won't be too uncomfortable." He sighed. "And yes, I will be in there with you because of the chance that I myself have contracted said problem." |
Jen looked up blankly to were the announcement came from. Clint dropped down to the floor and lit his cigarette. And Susumu stood in that same position, nodding his head a bit.
((There is no real post order here. If you have a story, feel free to be in the room and post it. I don't care who jumps in. Let's just have some fun.))
Being near the front of the line, Mark soon had the needle in his arm. He watched with a bemused expression as the vial began to fill. He wasn't afraid of needles, it was hard to when they'd saved your life a few times. It was just a bit different to see the blood leaving his body through a needle instead of coming in. "It must be hot in there." The hazmat suited technician nodded. "Hope you get out of there soon." The technician nodded more vigorously
When the vial filled, they crimped the tube and removed the needle. He got a bandage put on his arm and the guard waved him toward a room on the other side of the entrance way. "Through there. We'll send someone in when the tests are finished."
~~~~
It wasn't much. A few battered couches and a couple of water coolers were against one wall. The middle of the room was dominated by a long, well worn table with some old chairs surrounding it. From the look of it this was the break room for the customs officials. A few people were already in there scattered among the chairs. He smiled slightly and took a seat at the table himself.
He stretched and nodded to the man across from him. "Name's Mark, how are ya?"
The man shrugged. "Neil, and I'm fine I guess. Do you really believe this lock down stuff?" He was relatively young and a bit jumpy. Probably a tourist.
"Yeah, they're serious about it." He chuckled. "I've never seen them shut the gates down through here for anything else besides the war when the front moved too close."
"Wait, you fought in the war?" The youth said incredulously.
"You could say that. Technically I wasn't a main line soldier. My records are unclassified now so I guess there's no harm in telling you I was in Special Forces."
Neil's eyes widened slightly. "Are you being serious?"
He smiled. "Yeah. It wasn't all cloak and dagger stuff though. I think my favorite missions were the ones were they pretty much said 'go cause problems and don't get caught'. All we had to do is break laws around New Helic and be a general nuisance without getting caught. It diverted soldiers from bases that needed it more to serve as peacekeepers, made the fighting easier for our boys on the front..."
| QUOTE |
Mark read the letter slowly making sure he'd read it correctly. His brownish blond hair was around shoulder length and hung unbound. "They can't be serious? Can they?" He said tossing the letter to his partner, Drake.
Drake skimmed it over and nodded. "These are legitimate. You and I are heading in country without support for... ARE THEY SERIOUS?" The shorter man started laughing. "No zoids, no weapons or armour we can't carry in by backpack and no limits to requisitions beforehand. Besides, of course, the fact that we have to resemble civilians." Drake leaned against the wall, his finger tracing the page. "Our orders once we're there are to break any law we can think of without directly causing civilian harm, resist any attempt by the civilian police forces to restore order and, get this, take any chance to strike at targets of opportunity."
"I'm a soldier, not a criminal how can they expect me to do this?" Mark said as he thought through his options. There weren't that many, besides refusing the mission.
"Weeell, we're supposed to make it clear if asked that we are soldiers and we're given an expense account with 20k for anything we may need to get settled." He held up his hand as his friend stood up from his bunk. "Ah! Not finished." He pointed at the paper again. "The bonus for this mission is an additional 20k apiece and a week of guaranteed vacation if we don't get captured. You could take you're daughter's birthday off. She's turning five soon, right?"
"Yeah..." He shook his head, defeated. He could never pass up a chance to see his family. "Besides, we could use the money."
"Right then, let's get ready then." |
"Now, Drake decided he needed to bring a bullet proof vest and a broken down assault rifle with him. Don't know why since we weren't supposed to be getting into shootouts with the police. I was just going to bring my sidearm and this little toolkit I always bring with me but he insisted that I needed something bigger for shock value." His eyes were bright with mischief as he continued. "I'd never been interested in all this fancy weapons tech before, so I just grabbed something that looked scary. It was a six round hand held grenade launcher. Never expected to use the damn thing. The next day we were snuck across the border and we began our hike to New Helic City..."
(to be continued... Feel free to put your own stories up, I've got quite a few saved up myself. This one is relatively short so I'll take votes on what to do next. I've got a tale about an underground fighting ring that pits organoids against each other for fun, another about a prank war in the enlisted barracks, and one last one just about amusing incidents when learning to pilot)
