Newcomers-05
Keith Lothal
Keith stared at the woman in front of him. She wore the same combat uniform as him, which had been delivered to him once he had arrived in Bangkok International Airport a couple hours ago. Whilst there, he had met the woman, who had arrived just a few hours earlier and had introduced herself as Riana. Not long afterwards, they had been transported out of the city to the middle of some random forest in an indiscreet sedan.
Now, he was currently waiting on the side with Riana. All around them, dozens of personnel moved about in a flurry of activity. In the middle of a forest.
"Team 5? Where's the crates?!"
"Nilson? Can you please just......"
"Hey! Here to collect the......"
They were all either in suits, combat gear similar to theirs, or wearing some white lab gear that resembled coats, but a lot more mobile, clearly meant for outdoor usage. In the center of all this was a large, cleared out area devoid of any trees and rocks, Within this area, was a bunch of equipment -ranging from crates and beams to what appeared to be massive, advanced cameras- being haphazardly set up, before being transported into the cave entrance.
Right. The cave entrance, or at least that was what Keith thought it to be. Not too far away from the site, was a gigantic crater that led to the underground, which Keith presumed was an entrance to the cave. From the way the crater was shaped, it looked as though it had been excavated to be a lot larger than the original entrance previously was. Probably through an ability or one of the tech gizmos the Cordiale liked to throw around here and there, Keith deduced. Cranes on the surrounding ground, alongside a helicopter hovering overhead, were being used to lower some of the heavier equipment down the crater and into the cave.
"Just great......"
Keith sighed. It was something he had repeatedly done after getting onto that damn plane in Central. Previously, as an intermediate-high clearance combat operative, he had seen some shit the Cordiale pulled off. One time, he had even seen the Cordiale deploy an entire, goddamn naval fleet, outfitted with sleek, futuristic turret and hull designs, in addition to some ludicrous cloaking technology that masked the form of the whole fleet. They had been sent out on a covert mission to take out some dangerous hydrokinetic Origin hiding in the Pacific Ocean, and he had accompanied them as a part of the mission, no thanks in part due to his own hydrokinetic abilities. Where the hell did they store a fleet like that?
Pulling himself back from reminiscence, he stared at the scene in the forest unfolding before his eyes. The mission back in the Pacific was the only thing in his book that trumped……this. And something in his gut told him he would be seeing stuff like this more often from now on.
"Haaaam......"
Standing besides him, Riana yawned again, for the eighth time, since the two had been left standing there an hour or so ago. The woman seemed so unperturbed by the sight unfolding before her eyes.
Over the past couple of hours, Keith had exchanged a few words with the woman. He turned his head to look at her once more. She appeared a lot younger than him, around the age bracket of 19-20 years old, despite only being a year younger than him at 25. With wavy, brown hair and pupils, a well-proportioned face with Western features, and a slim, modest figure, Keith would have thought the woman to be quite popular among her peers based on looks alone.
On looks alone, that was. The woman in question had a surprisingly aggressive personality, and was quick to complain or point out anything that didn’t fit with her well. Her and Keith, himself, had argued once during the sedan ride over her incessant complaints, ranging from a quick “Are we there yet?” to “What's taking so long, anyway?”, coupled along with the occasional mutter and groan. And now, the two of them had taken to simply tolerating each other silently, and very awkwardly.
As he was appraising Riana, the woman in question turned her head to look at him in return, with a very annoyed glare in her eyes. Parting her lips, she seemed poised to utter yet another complaint (Or threat, probably) towards him, until a sudden commotion drew both their attentions.
"Wait, is that-?"
"Who ordered another one of those here?!"
The two of them both turned their heads simultaneously towards the source of the commotion (They must both have been very sick of standing around, to have the same reaction like that). Not too far from them, another helicopter had landed nearby, the sound of its arrival having been muted by the other copter hovering above the crater in the distance. However, this new arrival was visually a lot smaller and compact. Clearly not meant for heavy-duty, as far as Keith could tell.
As the copter landed, its side doors jerked open, and a tall, male figure emerged. Clad in white and a pair of shades, the figure in question simply turned its head and inspected the surroundings, blatantly ignoring the glances they were receiving from the personnel moving all around them.
Besides him, Riana sharpened her eyes and let out a short whistle, as she pointed a finger to the unsuspecting man in white. She turned to face Keith once more.
“Whistle~ Now that's one hell of a guy. You think that's the hotshot who called us over here?”
Turning away her face again, she pursed her lips for a little while before continuing:
“Guess we'll both finally be seeing some real shit now, huh? ‘Bout time. Don't you agree? Mr. Tea?”
A hint of annoyance flashed across Keith’s face as he heard the woman clearly emphasising her last two words. Right. This woman had taken to calling him “Mr. Tea”, as soon as she discovered back in the sedan ride that the man in question was British. As if that was the only thing that came to her mind about his country.
Before he could retort, a man in glasses, wearing one of those white lab coats approached the two of them upfront.
Taking in both their appearances with a brief glance, the man looked down towards the clipboard he carried in his hands. He murmured something to himself in a low breath, before looking back up and addressing the two of them:
“Mr Lothal and Miss Brians, correct? I’d like to apologise for the…… ah… short wait. There were a few hiccups with the equipment deliveries that had to be resolved. I’ve been sent to retrieve you from this preliminary site. Please, follow me to the testing grounds. You’ll be briefed on your tasks by the supervisor whilst there.”
"I'll-"
Just as Brianna was about to respond, Keith held his hand up in front of her, giving her a gaze that clearly told her not to spew whatever retort had found its way to her mouth. The woman in question, turned to give Keith a nasty glare, which Keith in turn ignored. A brief second later, Riana yanked her face away from his direction, grumbling as she shuffled to follow the scientist (as Keith presumed), who had paid their spat no heed and was already proceeding to the distant crater. Sighing for the nth time -a number Keith no longer bothered keeping track of-, Keith moved to follow the two along to the crater.
Newcomers-05
Keith Lothal
Keith stared at the woman in front of him. She wore the same combat uniform as him, which had been delivered to him once he had arrived in Bangkok International Airport a couple hours ago. Whilst there, he had met the woman, who had arrived just a few hours earlier and had introduced herself as Riana. Not long afterwards, they had been transported out of the city to the middle of some random forest in an indiscreet sedan.
Now, he was currently waiting on the side with Riana. All around them, dozens of personnel moved about in a flurry of activity. In the middle of a forest.
"Team 5? Where's the crates?!"
"Nilson? Can you please just......"
"Hey! Here to collect the......"
They were all either in suits, combat gear similar to theirs, or wearing some white lab gear that resembled coats, but a lot more mobile, clearly meant for outdoor usage. In the center of all this was a large, cleared out area devoid of any trees and rocks, Within this area, was a bunch of equipment -ranging from crates and beams to what appeared to be massive, advanced cameras- being haphazardly set up, before being transported into the cave entrance.
Right. The cave entrance, or at least that was what Keith thought it to be. Not too far away from the site, was a gigantic crater that led to the underground, which Keith presumed was an entrance to the cave. From the way the crater was shaped, it looked as though it had been excavated to be a lot larger than the original entrance previously was. Probably through an ability or one of the tech gizmos the Cordiale liked to throw around here and there, Keith deduced. Cranes on the surrounding ground, alongside a helicopter hovering overhead, were being used to lower some of the heavier equipment down the crater and into the cave.
"Just great......"
Keith sighed. It was something he had repeatedly done after getting onto that damn plane in Central. Previously, as an intermediate-high clearance combat operative, he had seen some shit the Cordiale pulled off. One time, he had even seen the Cordiale deploy an entire, goddamn naval fleet, outfitted with sleek, futuristic turret and hull designs, in addition to some ludicrous cloaking technology that masked the form of the whole fleet. They had been sent out on a covert mission to take out some dangerous hydrokinetic Origin hiding in the Pacific Ocean, and he had accompanied them as a part of the mission, no thanks in part due to his own hydrokinetic abilities. Where the hell did they store a fleet like that?
Pulling himself back from reminiscence, he stared at the scene in the forest unfolding before his eyes. The mission back in the Pacific was the only thing in his book that trumped……this. And something in his gut told him he would be seeing stuff like this more often from now on.
"Haaaam......"
Standing besides him, Riana yawned again, for the eighth time, since the two had been left standing there an hour or so ago. The woman seemed so unperturbed by the sight unfolding before her eyes.
Over the past couple of hours, Keith had exchanged a few words with the woman. He turned his head to look at her once more. She appeared a lot younger than him, around the age bracket of 19-20 years old, despite only being a year younger than him at 25. With wavy, brown hair and pupils, a well-proportioned face with Western features, and a slim, modest figure, Keith would have thought the woman to be quite popular among her peers based on looks alone.
On looks alone, that was. The woman in question had a surprisingly aggressive personality, and was quick to complain or point out anything that didn’t fit with her well. Her and Keith, himself, had argued once during the sedan ride over her incessant complaints, ranging from a quick “Are we there yet?” to “What's taking so long, anyway?”, coupled along with the occasional mutter and groan. And now, the two of them had taken to simply tolerating each other silently, and very awkwardly.
As he was appraising Riana, the woman in question turned her head to look at him in return, with a very annoyed glare in her eyes. Parting her lips, she seemed poised to utter yet another complaint (Or threat, probably) towards him, until a sudden commotion drew both their attentions.
"Wait, is that-?"
"Who ordered another one of those here?!"
The two of them both turned their heads simultaneously towards the source of the commotion (They must both have been very sick of standing around, to have the same reaction like that). Not too far from them, another helicopter had landed nearby, the sound of its arrival having been muted by the other copter hovering above the crater in the distance. However, this new arrival was visually a lot smaller and compact. Clearly not meant for heavy-duty, as far as Keith could tell.
As the copter landed, its side doors jerked open, and a tall, male figure emerged. Clad in white and a pair of shades, the figure in question simply turned its head and inspected the surroundings, blatantly ignoring the glances they were receiving from the personnel moving all around them.
Besides him, Riana sharpened her eyes and let out a short whistle, as she pointed a finger to the unsuspecting man in white. She turned to face Keith once more.
“Whistle~ Now that's one hell of a guy. You think that's the hotshot who called us over here?”
Turning away her face again, she pursed her lips for a little while before continuing:
“Guess we'll both finally be seeing some real shit now, huh? ‘Bout time. Don't you agree? Mr. Tea?”
A hint of annoyance flashed across Keith’s face as he heard the woman clearly emphasising her last two words. Right. This woman had taken to calling him “Mr. Tea”, as soon as she discovered back in the sedan ride that the man in question was British. As if that was the only thing that came to her mind about his country.
Before he could retort, a man in glasses, wearing one of those white lab coats approached the two of them upfront.
Taking in both their appearances with a brief glance, the man looked down towards the clipboard he carried in his hands. He murmured something to himself in a low breath, before looking back up and addressing the two of them:
“Mr Lothal and Miss Brians, correct? I’d like to apologise for the…… ah… short wait. There were a few hiccups with the equipment deliveries that had to be resolved. I’ve been sent to retrieve you from this preliminary site. Please, follow me to the testing grounds. You’ll be briefed on your tasks by the supervisor whilst there.”
"I'll-"
Just as Brianna was about to respond, Keith held his hand up in front of her, giving her a gaze that clearly told her not to spew whatever retort had found its way to her mouth. The woman in question, turned to give Keith a nasty glare, which Keith in turn ignored. A brief second later, Riana yanked her face away from his direction, grumbling as she shuffled to follow the scientist (as Keith presumed), who had paid their spat no heed and was already proceeding to the distant crater. Sighing for the nth time -a number Keith no longer bothered keeping track of-, Keith moved to follow the two along to the crater.
