The Black Dirge [Sci-fi]

[yamikuronue]

[Imported from NodeBB]

[yamikuronue]

Obelisk Base was carved into the interior of an asteroid, hidden within the heavy metal interior so that their EMF readings won't leak out into space. This was good, as it was the home to Cell 6 of the Black Dirge, a notorious terrorist organization fighting to overthrow the government and instate one in which mutants ruled the "inferior" humans.

A group of which Sakuboshi Kimiko was now a member.

It had happened so fast. Every mutant's story began the same way: "I never thought it would happen to me". They had all been born and raised an ordinary human until something had happened. Typically, it was something horrific; almost always, it was something related to their eventual power. The Trigger Event, as it was called, was a sort of rebirth for some, and a death for others.

Sakuboshi had triggered only hours before she had been contacted. The Big Boss, who had not revealed his name to her, had appeared to her, offering her a choice -- one she knew would be fatal to decline. She had agreed to work for him, and he and his right-hand man had whisked her away, folding space to bring her directly from her home to a waiting starship.

And now, a few days later, she was here, ready to meet her new teammates.

The space folder, Keith, had explained how this all worked. She was to join a cell; she would have no further contact with the Big Boss unless she pleased him or failed him. She would only know her teammates, and her missions would be handed down through her team lead. She would be trained, and she would fight, and she would maybe die. She would never see her home again, not until the fight was over and the battle had been won.

The ship docked and the airlock clicked into place. What would her life be?

Tag https://what.thedailywtf.com/uid/141628">@Hitoshirenu-Shourai

[Hitoshirenu Shourai]

Kimiko's face is indifferent through most of this, though inside she is battling turmoil beyond even her own understanding. She used her new ability as though she knew it would happen, as if by instinct, which was far from how that incident should have happened, in her mind. But now she is here, surrounded by other people with incredible abilities all just wanting to live as themselves. She was no different.

"So this is where I'm going to live from now on...?" While it sounded like a question, it was more like a statement. She was nervous about it all but made sure not to let it show. All she could think about was her family and how she just wanted to be home, lazing about, watching TV and cuddling with her stuffed animals. She missed her mother. She missed her little sister. She missed feeling... safe. But that was how things went, and she had no means of doing anything but accepting it. Well, at least she had a little bit of comfort. She managed to grab Yukki, her stuffed bear she's had since a small child, which conveniently fit in her front pocket. She wordlessly reassured herself that things would be okay, mentally giving it a huge hug. She didn't notice she had actually started hugging it until she felt the stares. "Oh..." She blushed, and followed the rest of the group out.

[yamikuronue]

Keith lead the way across the airlock; the big, complex doors seemed imposing, almost forbidding as she waited for them to click into place. And then they were through, into a larger room with a front desk.

The reception area looked entirely incongruous next to the dull, metal machinery the airlock had provided. It wouldn't have looked out of place one bit if it was in the lobby of a major corporation's private space station: wood floors, a bamboo desk, light colors to provide the illusion of space. There was nobody at the desk; the wallscreen behind it was dark, abandoned. But the space was inviting nonetheless.

Keith lead the way past the desk, back into the station itself. Kimiko could hear the soft hiss of air recyclers, reminding her that this wasn't a planet with an ecosystem providing oxygen, but the equivalent of a space station. Unlike a space station, a stray bullet wouldn't doom them all; still, Keith wore a laser pistol to be safe. The lower power meant it was likely to bounce off metal instead of penetrating the hull of a ship such as the one they'd come in on.

The hallway seemed a bit bare compared to the front area: no pictures hung on the walls, no fake plants in the corner. Keith pushed open a swinging door, and without warning, the office look gave way to a more homey feel: half the room was sunken a few feet and carpeted, while the other half sported a runner to soften the wood sounds. The sunken area contained couches, a coffee table, a credit-operated snack machine, a pile of magazines. There were a few dents in the walls, and the coffee table was scuffed, showing signs of wear -- signs of being lived-in.

On the couch, a blue-haired, dainty boy lay, his attention entirely absorbed by the datapad he held above him, thumbs typing away. Before she could speak to him, another occupent of the room stepped forward, extending a hand for Kimiko to shake even as she addressed Keith.

"This the new kid?" The woman sported a long black ponytail, tied back with a red hair tie. She couldn't have been taller than 5'5,  but she managed to look imposing nonetheless, her grey eyes stern and cold.

[CalamityJade]

Emerging from a hallway on the other side of what looked like the commons area, a black-haired person in a tank top and shorts maid their way across and towards Keith. They looked mildly annoyed and were wearing black gloves with a dark red trim, which seemed to clash with the overall unbelievably casual look they had. "Does that mean the shuttle's here? Did they already take off any supplies and equipment?" It seemed like they had completely neglected to see either the woman or Kimiko. "They're supposed to have a new keyboard and a couple of solid states and I can't be expected to do anything without replacements to my kit."

[Hitoshirenu Shourai]

A hand has been presented to her. The hand belongs to a woman. Kimiko looks from the hand to its owner, then back. Oh, right, she's offering a hand shake. Right. Hesitantly, Kimiko reaches forth and shakes the woman's hand. "Sakuboshi Kimiko." She lead with her name, to make things simpler. She had questions, but none of which she felt like asking yet-- people were surely going to be telling her things of their own volition anyways, no need for her to complicate things with questions, at least not yet. So she just kinda stood there looking quite uncomfortable but keeping it together surprisingly well, looking around at all the stuff within view. The way she kept looking around though made it look like she was tired, or perhaps groggy, which is weird because in reality she was fully awake.

[yamikuronue]

"Sakuboshi?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. Judging by her face, the woman is of mixed heritage; apparently, however she was raised, she's used to Western style names. "Whatever. I'm sure big boss has a codename for you anyway. I'm Shinigami. Your room is this way."

She releases Kimiko's hand, heading for the hallway morden was coming out from. "This is Cordyceps." Shinigami had a firm rule: no more than three syllables for any underling, and four for the lead. Too hard to shout in a hurry. "That's Sigma," she adds, thumbing over her shoulder toward the couch.

Before Keith can answer Morden, Siegfried chimes in: "The solid states are on the manifest but not the keyboard."

"Thanks," says Keith dryly. "I'm sure the Boss will be glad to know you're so vigilant about our supplies."

[CalamityJade]

"What do you mean 'it's not on it'? It was supposed to be on the same shipping as the drives and I kinda need that if I don't want to get zapped every time I work." They turned their attention to Siegfried. "Unless someone 'corrected' it." Which was their way of saying that it seemed suspicious that something that had no bearing on Siegfried's work. "What am I supposed to do if we get an assignment and I still need a mechanical keyboard rather than those touchplates?"

[Hitoshirenu Shourai]

Kimiko slowly nods, and makes an effort to remember the names. She then realizes that the names are quickly fading from memory, so she pulls out a pen, pulls up her sleeve, and starts writing them on her arm. "Shi-chan... Cord-san... Sig-san..." she says this quietly as she writes it. She nods to herself, putting the pen away and her sleeve back down. She was not quick about this... perhaps she's just slow? Or really scatterbrained? Who knows?

She then realizes she's supposed to be following Shi-chan, so she makes sure NOT to trip as she follows after her.

[yamikuronue]

Keith sighs. "The keyboard's custom, and expensive. We left it off the manifest while we were travelling through pirate territory. No big deal."

Siegfried scowls. "I've been trying to get one of those for years," he points out.

Shinigami scowls, but says nothing, leading the way down the corridor. The hallway is very white, sterile, and clean, despite twisting in a few odd places to go around denser deposits in the asteroid. There are a series of doors along either side; after a few minutes, Shinigami stops at the one marked 6, opening it to reveal a small room with a bed, a desk, and a dresser. "This'll be yours."

There's a brand new datapad sitting in the middle of the desk; the desk has a dock in the center where she can dock the datapad to project the screen onto the wall behind it, and a thin keyboard sits beside the dock, waiting to be plugged in. Otherwise the room is pretty spartan.

"Drop your stuff, I'll give you the rest of the tour."

[Hitoshirenu Shourai]

"Drop... my stuff?" She didn't come with much, and looks rather upset to be parting with her belongings. Especially Yukki. She pulls the little bear out of her pocket and frowns, giving it a big hug before putting it on the bed next to the pillow. She then proceeds to empty out her pockets: Three pens (black, blue, and a purple gel pen), a pink paperclip, two hair ties, a ribbon, an unopened pack of gum, and a PEZ dispenser depicting a cute baby bird complete with extra fluffy feathers. Taking Shi-chan's words seriously, 'drop your stuff' echoing in her mind, she frowns and starts taking her clothes off...

[Rednaxela]

Kenji casually strolled into the common area, through the same hallway, but only after Shinigami and Kimiko has passed by it, kind of quietly sneaking behind them. Can talk to them after the tour finishes after all.

He was somewhat tall and a boyish looking, wearing ordinary though mildly baggy pants, a plain dark blue jacket. His somewhat lanky figure was slouching slightly, as his blue eyes scanned across the room around the room. With a hand on his messy black hair, Kenji sighed a little, now wasn't battle. Now wasn't time for worrying about proper posture to respond quickly. He finds himself considering Shinigami as he thinks this.

He'd started to feel like he was getting used to this place, and now someone new was showing up? Well, hopefully they wouldn't shift things around in the common area too much. In any case, he quietly waves to the others in the common area has he finds a place to sit.

He still found it odd to be called Marbles at times... but well, there could be more unfitting aliases.

[yamikuronue]

"Not the clothes!" Shinigami snaps, massaging her temples. "Where does he find these people..."

[Hitoshirenu Shourai]

"Oh... okay." She stops trying to take her clothes off, looking relieved and glances back at Yukki, but doesn't attempt to pick it back up. "That's all I have..." she sounds a bit sad when she says it.

[CalamityJade]

"Okay, that's grand and I'm sure it helps, but does that mean it's here or it isn't it. I'd be a lot easier to get any work done if I could stop working with voice text and actually get something done?"