GHOST: EP1 - Birth of the Ghost

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

"BIRTH OF THE GHOST..."

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:450px;] [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:450px;][style=text-align:justify; font-family: arial; font-size:11px; color:#111; background-color:#fff; padding:30px;] It had worked… His vision… It was becoming apparent now. It was no longer a thought; a project on a drawing board but an actual thing… It wasn’t huge. They hadn’t accomplished anything spectacular but it was the start he needed. “Project SWORD” had given him the platform he needed and he could now see the potential of the recruits he had hired. Having searched long and hard, the Marine Captain had dedicated most of his life for this. Rather than climb the system for a more respected position, his vision involved leaving behind a legacy. A new generation of marines who would take down pirates through any means necessary. He sat up from his reclined position and placed his hands on his desk; interlinking them to for a platform for his chin to rest upon. His brows remained in a frown as they usually did; his olive skin illuminated by the dawning sun upon the start of its rise whilst his eyes were fixed upon the spot on the door, awaiting the call of his subordinate. For too long in his life he had witnessed marine’s, hungry for power but not using that power and drive for the better of the world but for their own selfish desires. It was time to give something back. It was time the marine’s fulfilled what was asked of them. It was time for a new generation to take charge and stamp their authority over the new influx of pirates that were been born since the War at Marineford two years ago. Even though the marines were victorious, the legacy that Whitebeard had left behind had been too strong. The appointment of Akainu as Fleet Admiral had been a positive but Aokiji stepping down was a huge loss as were the retirements of Garp and Sengoku. The marines required reformation from the grass-roots and the foundations set here at the Jreum Base were going to be a start for North Blue. Haunter was still in mid-thought when the knock on the door he was expecting arrived. “Captain… Captain Haunter….” The door opened up to a young marine male. He was tall, slim and held a clipboard in his hand. He didn’t have the appearance of one to command the battle-field but focus in his eyes showed glimpses of intelligence. “The recruits have assembled in the briefing room. It is time to address them with operation.” He informed Haunter before taking a stand in the center of the spacious office. “I have only invited those that you had rated 8 or above. The rest were dismissed for the academies.” The marine paused a moment to gather his words before mentioning, “I have made sure nobody else in the department knows about this mission apart from the supervising officer from HQ. He has given us permission to carry out ‘Operation Mountain Storm’. It looks like the Ghost Division is finally ready to take on the world." “Hold on to your horses’ son,” Haunter waved his hand, indicated the young marine was getting a little carried away. “We’re just getting started here cowboy so you better hold on to that saddle if you want to stay on. Ghost Division is exactly that… It’s a ghost… Nobody should know about it. Things should happen and folks should find out its happened but nobody should know who done it and when it was. Now it’s time we let these punks know what they’re getting themselves into.” Haunter took a few pacey strides and was upon the door before the marine even had the chance to turn. But turn he did eventually and struggled to keep up with the energetic captain. * * * * * The two arrived shortly into a room full of young marines, standing around; boasting about their last mission and what they had accomplished. Each one trying to convince the other, he had it worse. Haunter let a smirk escape his lips upon hearing one conversation involving battling a 90ft sea-king. The room began to grow quite all of a sudden as hushes spread from one corner to the other as they noticed the arrival of Haunter. By the time the division leader approached the podium, the whole room had assembled in formation, read for the brief to begin. “Now you’re all probably pleased with yourself right? Having accomplished the task that was handed to you? I bet y’all think you made the cut; you’re thinking you going to join the SWORD Division and go off in pairs to hunt down the bad guys… I’m afraid things ain’t all fairy-tale around here. None of you will be joining the SWORD Division.” There are gasps and whispers among the crowd of marines; looks of disappointment and concern appearing on the faces of the recruits. For a moment it seemed like someone would speak up but none dared stop Haunter mid-speech. Such intensity he held when he spoke. “Fear not, for you see… You have all been picked for something much greater. SWORD was just a project, a cover for what is really going to happen. Those that completed the mission to a sub-standard will be sent away to be trained up to become government soldiers, putting their lives to the service of the public. We… We’re going to be doing something completely different. We’re not going to be your average marine division that goes around keeping the peace, protecting a marine controlled island, drinking tea at a restaurant. No! We’re actually going to get things done. Now what I’m about to tell you now is of the highest confidentiality, its top secret. If you want out, you better walk out of that door right now because you’re never going to get this opportunity again.” Haunter waits a moment to make sure there isn’t anybody here with second thoughts. “What we have here is a secret organisation, authorised by the World Government. We will be sanctioned marines but we will be carrying out our own missions. Our job isn’t to capture marines and drag their asses out to Impel Down so they can spend eternity in a comfortable cell. Our job is to send those sons-of-devils to their daddy in hell. We don’t take any prisoners… unless it’s for interrogation purposes. If you’re all happy with that information I welcome you all to the Ghost Division.”

[/div][/td][/tr][tr][td][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, background-color:#111; font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; text-align:center; line-height:15px; color:#fff;]1070 WORDS | TAGGED: Haunter |Crew: GHOST Division[/td][/tr][/table]

made by cirrus

[/center]

[Deleted]

It was a cold, sunny day in the North Blue, the sun was rising and the birds started chirping. Snow had already hit the ground due to the rather cold temperature in the North Blue. The sky was illuminated into different colors due to the sun rising. It was a grunge of purple, yellow, orange and blue. It was a great day for some people. But it was a perfect day for the marines, a new era is about to engrave its way into history and the name of that era is the Ghost Era..Rebecca Brown, a young marine with great aspirations. Rebecca has wavy white hair that contrast with her chocolate brown eyes. Her white skin shined in the light of dawn and she wore the same old marine clothes but wore a distinctive marine hat. Rebecca was one of the marines with natural talent. Being a martial artist and taught in the ways of the Five Ancestors, she is very talented, cunning and smart. Rebecca has known to trick her opponents into doing her work with her pure charm and beauty. Rebecca's hometown was ruined by pirates that had attacked Karate Island. Many died, many lived. Due to the marines visiting the island and helping it prosper again, she decided to join the marines. She knew her father would want her to join the marines, she wanted to make her father proud. Rebecca has one sole goal, to show the world that women are equal to men.Despite being a marine for a mere year or so. Rebecca has shown great skill and ability and has impressed her captain. She is her captain's favorite pick to advance in life and Rebecca works hard to impress her captain.

A few days Rebecca was invited to a combat arena to test each marine that had showed great skill and ability in the past few years. Despite Rebecca being in the marines for only a year, she was invited by a name that everybody knows in the North Blue. It was a local household name. If you didn't know him, you must be knew to the North Blue, his name was Theodore Haunter, the leader of the S.W.O.R.D Division.

Rebecca had recently been invited to Jreum Island by Theodore Haunter where he had established the marine base of S.W.O.R.D. Rebecca had been given no reason as to why she was invited to the base. The only thing it said on the card was an invitation and the number nine. Rebecca presumed that the number meant something, Rebecca kept the invitation card in her left book pocket near her breasts.

Rebecca had recently been on duty on the snowy island of Yetine. It was home to a tribe of Longhands and she was investigating a robbery case.

Rebecca was on an average sized ship, not as big as ships that Commodore Smoker rode, but big enough to fit twenty or so people. Rebecca sat down in the kitchen on a wooden chair, sitting beside a lady and listened to the soup bubble as the cook cooked for the crew. Rebecca sipped some tea in a very delicate fashion.

"Are we almost at Jreum Island, Sasha?"

Sasha turned her gaze to Rebecca, Sasha was the navigator of the crew and eating some toast that the chef had made.

"We'll be there in around ten minutes, Rebecca."

Rebecca nodded and then demanded another glass of tea from the cook, her legs crossed each and other as she sat down and watched the sun rise ever so slowly. Rebecca stood up and walked out of the kitchen and over to the front of the ship. Jreum Island was in sight now. Rebecca had heard of Jreum Island and how half of it was a marine training base filled with marines that were in training for various divisions. Haunter was on that island and Rebecca was very excited, she was finally going to meet the man. Rebecca looked down at her shoes, thoughts buzzing around in her minds when she noticed a spot on her shoe.

Rebecca walked up to the shoe shiner of the crew and put on a cute face.

"Hey there.. Mind shining my shoe? Guarantee if you do your day will shine.."

The man looked up to the lady and looked amazed of how she looked. The man's mouth went wide open and he nodded very, very slowly, it looked as if he was confused. You would be amazed if a lady of her fashion walked up to you and had a cute face. The man shined her shoe very quickly and she patted him on his shoulder and slowly walked away. The man stared at her with awe as she walked away.

"All marines! Heads up! We're about to hit land!"

The navigator yelled out to all the crew and they all helped hoist the anchor onto the sea floor. Rebecca's eyes shined with excitement as she helped hoist the anchor, all the men stared at her and then a fat, old lady stood in front of them and demanded them to get back to work after the anchor was hoisted. The lady was the captain's mother and she was the most demanding person of the crew, demanding people to fetch her tea, give her a chair, write a letter for her, almost everything.

As soon as the ship had hit land, Rebecca was one of the first to jump off the ship. Rebecca took out the directions from her book pocket and followed the directions until she was at a large place, it was heavily guarded by marines. Rebecca was almost sure this was the place to go. The marines that guarded the door checked her invitation and let her proceed, they both caught a glimpse of her face and almost fell to the ground out of amazement.

Rebecca followed the instructions as to what room to go to and where it was. Rebecca followed until she met a large door, almost the size of the modern high-school gymnasium. Rebecca took a long deep breath, straightened her cap, straightened her marine uniform and walked in. All attention turned to her as she was one of the few marines to walk into the room. Rebecca smiled and then caught a glimpse of Haunter. He was a man that wore an eye-patch over his eye and was of a black descent. He wore a grayish drenchcoat and had almost no hair. Rebecca stayed standing as everybody else was. Around twenty minutes after she had entered the large room a large, loud clap erupted throughout the room and that gained everybody's attention.

“Now you’re all probably pleased with yourself right? Having accomplished the task that was handed to you? I bet y’all think you made the cut; you’re thinking you going to join the SWORD Division and go off in pairs to hunt down the bad guys… I’m afraid things ain’t all fairy-tale around here. None of you will be joining the SWORD Division.”

Rebecca made a smirk, she didn't want to join the S.W.O.R.D Division anyway. She had saw some of the marines from that division and they were absolutely pathetic. Rebecca awaited his next set of words, he wasn't going to invite these select few marines for nothing, was he?

“Fear not, for you see… You have all been picked for something much greater. SWORD was just a project, a cover for what is really going to happen. Those that completed the mission to a sub-standard will be sent away to be trained up to become government soldiers, putting their lives to the service of the public. We… We’re going to be doing something completely different. We’re not going to be your average marine division that goes around keeping the peace, protecting a marine controlled island, drinking tea at a restaurant. No! We’re actually going to get things done. Now what I’m about to tell you now is of the highest confidentiality, its top secret. If you want out, you better walk out of that door right now because you’re never going to get this opportunity again."

Rebecca let out a sly grin, a marine division that actually did work? Impressive. Rebecca was happy that she was going to be joining a more powerful division but was also sad that she was going to be leaving the boat she had sailed on for a year. Rebecca awaited Captain Haunter's next words.

“What we have here is a secret organisation, authorized by the World Government. We will be sanctioned marines but we will be carrying out our own missions. Our job is not to capture pirates and drag their asses out to Impel Down so they can spend eternity in a comfortable cell. Our job is to send those sons-of-devils to their daddy in hell. We don’t take any prisoners… unless it’s for interrogation purposes. If you’re all happy with that information I welcome you all to the Ghost Division.”

Rebecca grinned, the Ghost Division. Rebecca had a question, why was there a number written on her card, Rebecca knew that you had to speak up as a marine, if you had questions, ask, that is what she had learned, she raised her hand and then asked a question, tearing away from the group of marines.

"Sir Haunter, I am very proud to be a member of this organization but I have a question. When you had sent an invitation to all of us. What did the number written on it mean? I am sure it meant something and it wasn't a mistake on the cards. I would really like to know sir."

SPOILER: Click to show

In the third paragraph you had mentioned whoever was rated an eight or over was selected, please explain to Rebecca.

[Pagliacci]

Alexandros walked in the frigid cold as fresh snow fell on his shoulders, he wore a long brown winter coat, his civilian clothes, though not uniform it certainly was practical. He hated the cold; he wasn't use to it. Madonia was a Summer Island the sun beat down on everyones shoulders every day of the year, Alexandros hadn't seem his first snow falling until a year into Marine service.

He cursed his superiors under his breath, shipped from the grand line to the North Blue for vague reasoning, a squad transfer under a Captain Haunter, some working class hero from the backwater islands of the North Blue, he's probably seen more combat in his two years of service than Haunter has in his whole career. He popped the collar to his jacket and pulled his marine cap over his head and continued walking down the snow covered streets.

He reached a large fortress, the centrepiece to the island, covered in barbed wire fencing and watchtowers every ten feet; manned by Stone faced marines with loaded rifles.

He flashed his 'invitation' to the guards and they nodded him in, the main hall was packed with fellow marines chatting idly away, none of them looking like they've seen more than five years of service, more where pouring in from the doors, including a rather striking looking woman with long white hair who got the men flustered, 'idiots' he thought to himself.

He found a space at the back of the hall and leaned against the wall, taking off his wet jacket and carrying it over one shoulder and watched the podium as a one eyed man took to the stand and started a standard tough guy spiel,

[Navy] “What we have here is a secret organisation, authorised by the World Government. We will be sanctioned marines but we will be carrying out our own missions. Our job isn’t to capture marines and drag their asses out to Impel Down so they can spend eternity in a comfortable cell. Our job is to send those sons-of-devils to their daddy in hell. We don’t take any prisoners… unless it’s for interrogation purposes. If you’re all happy with that information I welcome you all to the Ghost Division.” [/Navy]

A hush fell over the crowd, the white haired girl asked something trivial, Alexandros wasn't paying attention, he was just thinking about how much pain these rookies were going to be in, how he will have to try and patch them up.

[Badman Zeek]

[black]

Inhale.

The crisp cool air filled his lungs, only to be regurgitated into the winter atmosphere as a puff of haze. It was different, this island known as Jreum. He'd known of it from questions he had asked to those of his former division back in Viktas of South Blue. From the responses he had gathered that Jreum was a Marine project in which three massive blocks was established above a forest of coral reefs. Each block acting as a platform was dedicated to a specific type of establishment. There was the most famous one and the largest of the three, the one which held the Marine base. While the remaining two were dedicated to residential living and a resort based establishment. Over the years the three blocks had seen a great deal of conflict between the White and Blues and the pirates.

Disembarking from a peculiar Marine vessel, Higure touched ground taking in the scenery of one of the anticipated residential areas. Unfortunately he wasn't here for recreational purpose and couldn't afford to waste any time enjoying the what was to be offered by the town. Instead he followed the main road that was said to lead directly towards the Marine base. Naturally his experiences as a Marine had shaped his behavior, causing Higure to absorb his surroundings in such a manner that he could determine his own whereabouts in relation to either the pier he arrived in or the beginning of the road from the town.

His always observing eyes were bouncing from left to right, picking out that which stood against the white of snow that blanketed the island.

Snow.

What a pleasant sight it was. Even the chilled temperature sat well with Higure, who was normally subjected to even harsher climates back on Viktas. He didn't even have to add any layers to his standard button down and navy pants.

Before he knew it Higure stood before a massive structure, lined with a perimeter of guard towers and Marine personnel at the main door. He flashed the invitation he'd been given after placing his transfer request. He joined the many who had also received an invitation. All rallied into a single room as an audience held before Theodore Haunter, the would be director of this new division they were to be a part of.

Higure listened taking note of Haunter's approach to addressing the crowd, he couldn't help but think of what kind of guy was really behind the bold face of the man. But weighing most on his mind was the thought of being a member of this Ghost division. The idea itself was something to look forward to, but would they really be allowed to take matters into their own hands in the manner Haunter suggested. In time it'd be revealed, for now Higure simply sat back with a smirk of his face pleased with the thought of seeing some more action.

[/black]

[Deleted]

Miles stepped off of the boat that he had been travelling on. He sighed, the cold air making the moisture in his breath visible. He looked from side to side, taking in his environment. Snow was falling all around him. Miles smirked ever so slightly. He had expected the Blues to be warmer than Treegap, but here snow was falling. Not really a great introduction to the Blues but Miles wasn't really complaining. At least he was out of the Grand Line for once. He had done quite a lot of missions in the past, but not one of them had taken him out of the Grand Line.

Out of habit, Miles took out his father's compass and opened the lid. Miles' face began to contort as the needle in the middle of the compass pointed in a single direction. He understood that Eternal Poses pointed in one direction, but his compass had continually moved about. Was this how compasses really worked? Miles tapped the compass, waiting for it to move. The compass needle did nothing, staying in the same spot. Miles looked at the compass for a while more, a confused and questioning look on his face. He simply shook his head and put the compass away. This was a question for another time.

Miles walked towards the Marine Base, seeming more fitting as a King's Castle than a Marine Base. He would show his invitation to the guards at the front and walked in.

Miles indulged himself in idle chatter with other marines. He had heard about great tales and feats from these marines. One person even fought a 90ft Sea King. Miles had no such great tales. He did have tales, just none as great as fighting Sea Kings or killing a Pirate Captain single-handedly. Eventually, Miles tired of the chatter and went off to the side, thinking to himself.

Soon after, two men walked into the room and the room fell into a hush. Miles looked in the direction of other's gazes. From the description he had heard before, one of the men was Captain Haunter. The other man? No idea. Miles listened to the man as he spoke in a powerful tone.

So, this group of Marines were not joining the SWORD Division. Hm...Miles shrugged to himself. As long as he travelled and could attain knowledge on the stars that he so coveted, what did it matter? Another voice spoke up, female this time. The other marines looked at her, as did Miles. A lot of the men seemed to stare at her with their jaws somewhat slack. He did not see the reason for their admiration. Yes, she may be beautiful, but she's nothing compared to the stars that glisten in the night.

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

"ENTER THE WHITE WOLF..."

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:450px;] [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:450px;][style=text-align:justify; font-family: arial; font-size:11px; color:#111; background-color:#fff; padding:30px;] OCCUPATION -Marine DIVISION - GHOST Rank - Jr. Grade Lieutenant CLASS - Class D

Haunter looked through the crowd, paying attention to those who were paying attention to him or were here just for the ride. One such recruit caught his attention, trying to chat up a sweet girl stood beside him. The brows on his forehead buried deeper into his skin as he scowled at the rookie marine, who paid no attention to him. It was however, another hopeful that diverted his attention with a well-directed question.

"Sir Haunter, I am very proud to be a member of this organization but I have a question. When you had sent an invitation to all of us. What did the number written on it mean? I am sure it meant something and it wasn't a mistake on the cards. I would really like to know sir."

Proud; a quality of all those linked to Ghost should carry… Pride and Honor! Haunter almost lost the question as he got caught up by the very first sentence she used. Then it suddenly occurred to him, she was talking about the numbers on the cards provided. “Ah yes, the numbers on the card; a very good question. These numbers represent your rating. Those with a minimum rating of 8 or higher were chosen baring a few exceptions here and there. Most of you were in the 8 category, a handful in the 9 and a few remarkable men in the 10. The report and ratings was produced by our Head of Logistics, Lieutenant Harvey with help from the scouting team.” [/b] Harvey steps forward and takes a bow as he is introduced by Haunter before returning to his position. “I hope that answers your question.”

His attention was caught once again by the same disrespectful marine with the shiny hair who was still busy distracting the young marine cadet. His mood turned from friendly to foul once again. “Oi you, what the f*** to you think this is? A f***ing social gathering? You think what I’m saying is not worth listening to? If you’ve got better things to do, why don’t you get the f*** outta here? I don’t want you standing around spoiling the minds of talented and worthy marines. I don’t even know how the f*** a worthless sh*t like you even made it in here?” [/b]

“Sorry boss, my bad… I was just asking my sweet cousin here if I her father was well. I hadn’t seen her in a while. I coincidently met her in here. Didn’t know if we would get another chance considering how dangerous being a part of this division can be sir. It won’t happen again.” Dante spoke in a calm and casual tone, with a hint of regret. It was completely faked but could fool even the smartest of people. “As for not listening to you, I have this remarkable ability of being able to eavesdrop whilst holding a conversation. Perhaps it’s the reason why I’ve been one of the few to be blessed with a 10 on my card.” A joyful smile escaped Dante’s lips. Saying this man was proud would be a huge understatement, this guy was as cocky as they came.

Haunter grew quite for a moment. Although he had picked up a great dislike for this rookie; the admiration box was also ticked. “You there, girl; is this cocky-ass son-of-an-ass-clown your cousin?” He suddenly asked the girl with the plaited hair. “I asked you a question girl, you better answer me swiftly and truthfully,” he followed on almost immediately which would cause most people to stumble on their reply. Ayumi however didn’t. She was too cheerful to let a foul-mouthed scary boss guy get her down. Besides, she had grew up in a world of love and hatred. She knew how to handle both.

“Sir, yes sir! He is the son of my father’s younger brother. We are both of the Xiaolan clan. Our family has a tradition of assigning one child from each family to enlist into the marines. The previous generation didn’t fare well and perished serving the seas. The two of us however are determined to prove ourselves. We will make you proud sir. I am sorry for my cousin’s disrespectful behaviour. I will keep him in line in the future…”

“Hmmm…” The reply was simple and rude but Haunter was impressed with both of their confidence. He would however have to keep an eye out for the cocky one, he smelt like trouble but of the interesting kind. “We are a professional unit. Make sure we I don’t see any disrespectful behaviour from any of you. My staff will be watching and reporting to me at all times. If you don’t have any more questions, I will now brief you with the mission at hand.” Haunter was about to start again when another hand shot up, taking up on Haunter’s offer.

KEY:
Purple = Rebecca
Navy = Haunter
Teal = Dante
Hot Pink = Ayumi


[/div][/td][/tr][tr][td][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, background-color:#111; font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; text-align:center; line-height:15px; color:#fff;]815 WORDS | TAGGED: Haunter, Rebecca |Crew: GHOST[/td][/tr][/table]

made by cirrus

[/center]

[Deleted]

"Fuck you bitch. Get the fuck out of my way, or you're going to have this fist in your stomach for dinner. Gurhurhur.~"

A large man, standing around eight feet and weighing in at over five hundred pounds. His whole body covered with armor, a well-built body but smelled like dead fish. It seems somebody hasn't taken a bath in quite some time. The man ate by himself in the cafeteria of the marine establishment. Ripping up meat with his teeth and then devouring the meat, then gulping down sake. This pattern continued for some time. The man took a look at his watch, he was early, there was still thirty minutes until the meeting, at least that is what his watch said. Who was this giant of a man you ask? His name, was Argo.

Argo "The Boulder" Lance. Hailing from Sedna Island in the North Blue. The reason why Argo's body was covered with armor from his toe to his head was because Sedna Island was tremendously cold and about the time when he left to join the marines, there was a war going on between pirates and natives to the village. Argo did not have a growth problem like Gigantisum, in-fact, doctors said his growth was natural. It was near the age of sixteen when Argo grew around ten to twelve inches. That is when people started to think he had growth problems. Argo is proud that he is that tall and thinks that his height gives him an extra advantage in battle.

Two minutes after, Argo had finished eating two whole chickens and five bottles of sake. Guess what? He was still not filled and was very much unsatisfied, his stomach could still hold a lot more chicken and sake. Argo stood up and walked over to the person who served food, Argo yelled at the man and demanded for food, slobber going everywhere. Argo screamed at the man, demanding more and more food each time.

"Give, me, motherfucking, food!"

Out of fear, the food server gave him all the chicken and bottles of sake he had at his hands and Argo devoured everything, piece by piece. Argo then sat down and rested on the bench he was sitting down, he slowly fell asleep. His head fell onto the table and his mouth wide open, drooling, he mumbled different names of meat in his sleep.

Back to the meeting.

“Ah yes, the numbers on the card; a very good question. These numbers represent your rating. Those with a minimum rating of 8 or higher were chosen baring a few exceptions here and there. Most of you were in the 8 category, a handful in the 9 and a few remarkable men in the 10. The report and ratings was produced by our Head of Logistics, Lieutenant Harvey with help from the scouting team.”


Harvey steps forward and takes a bow as he is introduced by Haunter before returning to his position.

“I hope that answers your question."


Rebecca bowed towards Haunter and Harvey. Putting her hand towards her forehead, a sign of respect. Rebecca was filled with pride, a bucket of pride and honor rushed through her veins, the sudden surge made her happy and a smile erupted onto her face. She had gotten a nine, Rebecca thought that was pretty impressive, Rebecca thought it might have been her look that caught Harvey's attention, but the day where she battled with different marines, she fought to the full of her ability. It was nice to see somebody here acknowledged her not by her look but by her ability.

Haunter seemed troubled to Rebecca, it seemed as if something caught his eye and he didn't look happy.

“Oi you, what the f*** to you think this is? A f***ing social gathering? You think what I’m saying is not worth listening to? If you’ve got better things to do, why don’t you get the f*** outta here? I don’t want you standing around spoiling the minds of talented and worthy marines. I don’t even know how the f*** a worthless sh*t like you even made it in here?”


Rebecca turned her gaze to meet a white-haired man talking to a pink-haired girl. Rebecca let out a sly grin, it was amusing to watch Haunter erupt into a volcano like that. But she thought it was also disrespectful that the white-haired man was talking while the senior, Haunter was talking.

“Sorry boss, my bad… I was just asking my sweet cousin here if I her father was well. I hadn’t seen her in a while. I coincidently met her in here. Didn’t know if we would get another chance considering how dangerous being a part of this division can be sir. It won’t happen again.”


“As for not listening to you, I have this remarkable ability of being able to eavesdrop whilst holding a conversation. Perhaps it’s the reason why I’ve been one of the few to be blessed with a 10 on my card.”


A joyful smile escaped Dante’s lips. Rebecca thought this guy was extremely cocky, the very cockiest.

Rebecca was confused, how could an idiot like that get a ten, Rebecca then shook the look off her face, if he got a ten and that from Harvey, he must have been impressive, more than cocky or rude.

Haunter grew quite for a moment. Although he had picked up a great dislike for this rookie; the admiration box was also ticked.

“You there, girl; is this cocky-ass son-of-an-ass-clown your cousin?”


He suddenly asked the girl with the plaited hair.

“I asked you a question girl, you better answer me swiftly and truthfully,”


The girl seemed very calm to Rebecca, she had strands of plaited her falling down onto her neck, pink and white hairs, yes, they have a resemblance, a real big resemblance, not. Not even in personality.

“Sir, yes sir! He is the son of my father’s younger brother. We are both of the Xiaolan clan. Our family has a tradition of assigning one child from each family to enlist into the marines. The previous generation didn’t fare well and perished serving the seas. The two of us however are determined to prove ourselves. We will make you proud sir. I am sorry for my cousin’s disrespectful behavior. I will keep him in line in the future…”


“Hmmm…”

Rebecca thought what Haunter was thinking, was he proud of their courage or was he angry about their behavior?

“We are a professional unit. Make sure we I don’t see any disrespectful behavior from any of you. My staff will be watching and reporting to me at all times. If you don’t have any more questions, I will now brief you with the mission at hand.”


Haunter was about to start again when another hand shot up, taking up on Haunter’s offer.

Now, let's head back to Argo.

The large man named Argo, Argo Lance, arose from his sleeping position and looked at his watch, he was still ten minutes early, Argo then looked at a clock, the clocks time and the watches time was different. Each separate by twenty minutes. Even though Argo was stupid, he wasn't stupid enough to think that a marine clock has the wrong time. He let out a roar and ran out of the building that he was sitting in. The food server let out a sigh of relief as he ran out of the building. Argo ran over to the marine establishment, the two guards outsides cautiously took their rifles out but Argo flashed his invitation just in time. The doors opened and he ran, he slipped over his own feet, making a thud on the ground and eventually a hole. He then got up but tripped again, he then finally got up for the last time and ran over to the room. While entering it he broke a bit of the entrance to the room and crashed into a few desks, each full with papers.

"Blargh! Am I late?! Sorry for the interruption sir! I am really sorry, my watch and the clock had different times. Blargh! Gurhurhurhur.~"

The man stood up, one finger in his nose, digging for gold in his nose and the other hand on his forehead, showing a sign of respect. The whole rooms gaze turned to him. All backed away and a loud group of whispers erupted.

[Pagliacci]

Alexandros scoffed slightly at the Captain as he blurted out curses like a bloody pirate at some of the crowd, showing off how Bold and Gun-Ho he was, pathetic, these were the kinds of Officers you gave a desk job to not keep around recruits, he'll get them all killed, Alexandros thought.

But what the Captain said before, about the numbers, this unsettled Alexandros. He quickly pulled the invitation out of his coat pocket and scanned it, '8'. He didn't want this to annoy him, but it did. If these bravado filled rookies got more than him something is definitely wrong with this system, maybe its that Pencil-pusher's bias that's to blame.

He dismissed the thought, it was very unprofessional to worry about being the brasses favourite, numbers won't mean a thing in the thick of battle, bravery will shrink and strength will be weaken, he's seen it too many times to have any doubt in the matter.

A morbidly obese man burst through into the hall, sweat pouring off him despite the bitter cold.

[maroon] "Blargh! Am I late?! Sorry for the interruption sir! I am really sorry, my watch and the clock had different times. Blargh! Gurhurhurhur.~" [/maroon].

The man was horrendously ill shapen, some horrific birth defect, barely in proportion, his legs will probably give way to his weight and he'll be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, five years maximum before that happens, his obeisity is horrendous, its a wonder that he hasn't already collapsed from a heart attack, arteries must be clogged to all hell. However was in charge and the time of accepting this made into the marines must have learnt health and safety from a Longarm Pirate, this man cannot possibly be fit for duty in any shape or form.
'Knowing my luck I'll be paired up with this guy and the ditz' Alexandros thought to himself.

[Badman Zeek]

[black]

Hmm...

What an interesting group of people there was gathered within one division Higure thought to himself. To start, the man in charge, Haunter appeared to have quite the temper when it came to how things were conducted. He was strict and seemed to have little tolerance for any who would make a mockery of the Marine name. An admirable quality, and one Higure felt one too many Marines were lacking. However all praise the Marine had found in Haunter had vanished the moment the man addressed one of the crowd for talking to a peer.

He was vulgar. He was raw.

But most of all he was the type who would speak down to a member of his division without the slightest hesitation or regard for common mannerisms when addressing an individual while others were present. Then again the certain individual was a silver haired Marine who had been talking to a woman he claimed to be his cousin, without giving the proper respect to the Captain, which warranted such public vulgarity. Regardless Higure's eyes tensed with slight disapproval of his new Captain, for he felt one of the most insulting actions one could impose upon him was to talk down to him as if he was nothing. A peeve that the young Marine had zero tolerance for no matter who the person was or what rank they held above him.

This single moment seemed to be a foreshadowing of a conflict between himself and Captan Huanter sometime down the road, but the thoughts on the matter were discarded as the question of what the numbers on each Marine's invitation were about was brought up by a young lady standing no more than four feet from Higure. As he had guessed it was a numerical system that gauged each of their skill levels, with only those scoring an eight or higher being accepted to join the Ghost Division. Without the slightest glance at his invitation Higure knew his score. How could he not, the image of a one and a zero had been memorized after reading through his invitation numerous times.

He had a perfect score, but unlike the gentleman that had been singled out earlier Higure wasn't as boastful enough to announce it to his peers. Especially in a manner that could possibly lower the morale of those who had receive a lower mark.

The time for the mission debriefing was arising but shortly after stating such a rather large and seemingly inhuman humanoid burst through the doors to the rear of the crowd, drawing the attention of many. The moment the man spoke and apologized however, Higure's attention returned to the man with the plan. He hadn't noticed until now but his heartbeat had picked up in pace as excitement flooded his emotions and thoughts of what their first mission would be created projections, formed from nothing more than his imagination and anticipation of the near future.

It would appear he had finally found a place for himself within the Marines.

[/black]

[Deleted]

Miles' eyes snapped away from the female who asked about the numbers on the cards. Haunter answered the woman, saying that the number on the card was a rating for the candidates. Wait. There was a number on the cards? Miles reached into his coat pocket for the card. Taking it out, Miles looked at the number on his card. Eight. Damn, Miles had hoped for at least a nine. Oh well, at least he wasn't one of "the few exceptions" and had actually earned his way here.

Miles began to put away the card back into his pocket as Haunter began to curse heavily. Miles' left eye began to twitch ever so slightly as he heard the obscenity come from Haunter's mouth. He restrained himself from shouting back at the man, gritting his teeth against one another. Miles let out a sigh of relief as Haunter stopped the cursing, the vulgar words passing away from him, but now a new problem had risen; A cocky marine.

Miles rubbed the bridge of his nose. As the shiny, white-haired man spoke more and more, Miles got a stronger and stronger impression that the man loved himself. He began to calm himself down. After all, at least this man wasn't shouting vulgar words.

Miles finally reached a state he was happy with when a large man burst through the doors, falling into several desks, all full of paper. The man apologised for being late and made an excuse that his watch and the marine clocks were different. He then made a gesture which just broke Miles' psyche; He placed his finger up his nose and began to "dig". Miles' left eye began to twitch uncontrollably after seeing this vulgar act. This day is just going swimmingly...

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

"THE MISSION BRIEFING..."

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:450px;] [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:450px;][style=text-align:justify; font-family: arial; font-size:11px; color:#111; background-color:#fff; padding:30px;] OCCUPATION -Marine DIVISION - GHOST Rank - Jr. Grade Lieutenant CLASS - Class D

Haunter was left less than amused and more than annoyed with the arrival of beast of a man who seemed to lack self-respect let alone respect for others. Haunter was beginning to question the ratings of these marines. They seemed to look more like misfits from where he stood. He took a swipe at Harvey using only his eyes. No words were ushered but Harvey understood. It was that obvious.

“The exception sir… He’s the exception. He scored a 7, just about but we could really use his strength. Put him under a good leader, somebody who would be able to put up with his nuisance and he will shine. Even the scouting team thought so.” Haunter said, advising and counselling his boss. Haunter didn’t say a word, just a nodded and looked back at the recruits, trying not to look at anyone in particular, completely ignoring the late entry.

Dante was almost in stitches from the laughter he was containing. This had become a joke. How could they let a clumsy f***er like Argo into this division? Not only was he not special branch marine material, he was filthy, unprofessional and unhealthy. He was a disgrace amongst marines. Dante had witnessed his strength during one of the training exercises and indeed he held an immense amount of power but these were delicate missions and having a weak link the squad could lead the failure of the whole team. Dante just hoped he didn’t end up with the dude. It would take a hell-of-a-lot of mental patience to keep himself from killing the guy, although it would be one awesome battle.

“Alright guys, time to brief the lot of you. The mission ahead is one that we must conduct well. The division will be split into three teams. There will be the Intelligence unit, the combat force and the infiltration unit. Each squad will be led by a chosen leader from amongst you; somebody who has the right skill-set and attitude to carry this task out to completion and make sure their squadrons duties are fulfilled. Each team must carry out their task efficiently and in timely fashion if we are to succeed. One step out of place could put the whole plan at risk.”

Haunter informed the crews, explaining well and true of the complication that lie ahead and how delicate the task at hand was. The look on his face would have given it away even if he had not spoken a word. Such was the intensity with which he spoke. Harvey then passes a sheet of paper along with name to Haunter. “Alright the units will be split as follows. The infiltration unit will be led by…” Haunter pauses a moment before looking toward the Dante who immediately knows it’s him; having already gone to the island under-cover and successfully making it out with two Rock Dragon Bandits for interrogation in the process. Haunter doesn’t look too sure and gives Harvey another look who simply shrugs his shoulders.

“The infiltration unit will be led by Remus Xiaolan Dante. His team will consist of his cousin Ayumi, Yuri and Higure. Your team’s role is probably the most difficult. You are to go undercover as normal citizens and infiltrate into the centre of the city. You will be provided with the supplies you need to plant explosives in and around any bandit base you find. From the information we have received, they have many located around the inner city and in the mountain areas.

Since we can’t defeat them in the mountain, considering the amount of traps and defence systems they will have in place, it’s safer to drive them out and bring them out to us. It will be like driving mice out of their holes with smoke.” Haunter compared the bandits to rodents before continuing. “Once you have detonated and caused havoc in the city and amongst the Bandits, you will then begin the counter attack by attacking the targets from within.

The Intelligence unit will be headed by Krasus. It will include Miles, Charlie and Lakrisha. Your role will be to assassinate the enemy by means of hiding and conquering them one at a time in a unit of four. You will relay any information you find of enemy numbers and location back to the main force that will engage the enemy on the battle front. You are to only engage in battles that you confident you can accomplish. Do not go gung ho up against 20 bandits with bazooka rifles. Remember, they may be better armed than you considering the number of arm dealers in the black market.

The rest of you will be part of the main unit. You will be on the main battle-field challenging the bandits in direct confrontation. You are the Combat Force. I will join you on the battle-field this one time as will a few of my lieutenants. Not Harvey, as he is far too important to lose his life on the front line but a few others. I will be working with my lieutenants and a few others on the right flank. The rest will be under orders from Rebecca.

I believe we have a medic amongst as well. Somebody going by the name of… Alexandros. Your role will involve keeping as many of your comrades alive and saving them from danger. That means you shoot the enemy first and then save the life. There is no point saving somebody and then getting shot in the process. Gather any and all other medics you can find that are in your unit and you may form a sub-division. I hope I’ve made myself clear. Each unit has been given a room to spend the night. You are to discuss your tactics during the day rest of the day. We head out tomorrow morning before news of this can leak out. If anybody asks, it’s just a training drill. Now off you go; the lot of you. I’ll see you bright and early. Meeting dismissed."


KEY:
Navy = Haunter


[/div][/td][/tr][tr][td][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, background-color:#111; font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; text-align:center; line-height:15px; color:#fff;]1005 WORDS | TAGGED: Miles, Alexandros, Rebecca |Crew: GHOST[/td][/tr][/table]

made by cirrus

[/center]

[Deleted]

“The exception sir… He’s the exception. He scored a 7, just about but we could really use his strength. Put him under a good leader, somebody who would be able to put up with his nuisance and he will shine. Even the scouting team thought so.”


Harvey told Haunter, eyeing out Argo, squinting, Argo stood there, an idiotic smile spread from one side of his cheek to another while picking for gold. Haunter simply nodded at Harvey and then turned his gaze back to the crowd of marines, many of them still backing away from Argo. Rebecca thought with her luck she'd probably be placed with Argo in some stupid team. He'd probably mess her up and get her demotions. But being a marine was about pride and dedication, not promotions. Rebecca turned her gaze slowly from Argo to Haunter, yawning.


“Alright guys, time to brief the lot of you. The mission ahead is one that we must conduct well. The division will be split into three teams. There will be the Intelligence unit, the combat force and the infiltration unit. Each squad will be led by a chosen leader from amongst you; somebody who has the right skill-set and attitude to carry this task out to completion and make sure their squadrons duties are fulfilled. Each team must carry out their task efficiently and in timely fashion if we are to succeed. One step out of place could put the whole plan at risk.”


"Yes sir!"


The whole crowd yelled out in respect, except Argo, Argo's finger finally left his nose and he was not really paying attention to Haunter, he was instead staring at a bag that contained a sandwich with ham, lettuce, bread and one burger. You could see the saliva pour out of Argo's mouth, he stared at it with intent, Rebecca assumed he would be trying to get that for dinner. A giant of a man he was, but also a giant idiot.

Rebecca hoped to be placed in the Combat Unit. She was a martial artist full of pride, she had a commanding personality towards herself and she was also a Devil Fruit user. She had eaten the Pishi Pishi no Mi months ago. Enabling her to crumble objects with her hands, it would take time for the crumble effect to take its tole though. Rebecca was the main spartan of the ship she had been on earlier. Her most major mission being on that ship was to bring back a civilian alive and finish a small gang off. It was a good experience, the training has finally paid. Rebecca simply could not be put into the Intelligence Unit, she was not smart enough and she was not quiet and stealthy enough to be placed in the Infiltration Unit.

The intensity in the room started to grow and Rebecca started to tense as she started to wonder which unit she would be placed in.

“Alright the units will be split as follows. The infiltration unit will be led by…”


Haunter paused for a moment, he turned his gaze to the crowd, the crowd turned their attention towards Haunter's sight, it seemed as if Dante was going to be the leader of the Infiltration Unit. Rebecca heard Dante brag earlier about the number on his card, he had recieved a respectable ten. Rebecca had recieved a nine, but that did not put her confidence level down. She still awaited Haunter's next words. Argo however approached the sandwich ever so slowly.

“The Infiltration Unit will be led by Remus Xiaolan Dante. His team will consist of his cousin Ayumi, Yuri and Higure. Your team’s role is probably the most difficult. You are to go undercover as normal citizens and infiltrate into the centre of the city. You will be provided with the supplies you need to plant explosives in and around any bandit base you find. From the information we have received, they have many located around the inner city and in the mountain areas."


Mountain areas, Rebecca immediately presumed they were heading for somewhere with high elevation, in the North Blue, Rebecca had heard of only one island that had a mountain on it. Its name was Shivre Mountain. The mountain was large itself, it was covered with snow everywhere and it was a very distant and cold land. Looks like they'll be fighting in the snow.

"Since we can’t defeat them in the mountain, considering the amount of traps and defense systems they will have in place, it’s safer to drive them out and bring them out to us. It will be like driving mice out of their holes with smoke.”

Haunter compared the bandits to rodents before continuing.

"Once you have detonated and caused havoc in the city and amongst the Bandits, you will then begin the counter attack by attacking the targets from within.


Rebecca let a sly grin out, her chances of being in the Combat Squad were greater now. Rebecca did think that the Infiltration Squad seemed pretty cool though. It would set bombs up everywhere and then counter attack, a pretty epic job. Rebecca wondered how successful they would be with planting the bombs. Would one of them be stupid and attack, or would they follow out the plan with ease and plant bombs everywhere. Only time will tell.

"The Intelligence unit will be headed by Krasus. It will include Miles, Charlie and Lakrisha. Your role will be to assassinate the enemy by means of hiding and conquering them one at a time in a unit of four. You will relay any information you find of enemy numbers and location back to the main force that will engage the enemy on the battle front. You are to only engage in battles that you're confident you can accomplish. Do not go gung ho up against 20 bandits with bazooka rifles. Remember, they may be better armed than you considering the number of arm dealers in the black market."

Assassination, not Rebecca's way of approaching things, she does not have the stealth to sneak in and cut somebody's throat off. She is the person that will risk their life on the battlefield and bring carnage.

"The rest of you will be part of the main unit. You will be on the main battle-field challenging the bandits in direct confrontation. You are the Combat Force. I will join you on the battle-field this one time as will a few of my lieutenants. Not Harvey, as he is far too important to lose his life on the front line but a few others. I will be working with my lieutenants and a few others on the right flank. The rest will be under orders from Rebecca."


A smile erupted onto Rebecca's face, she was chosen by Harvey to be the leader of the Combat Unit. What an honor, Rebecca bowed and lift her hand to her forehead in pride and excitement. The bad thing was Argo was paired up with Rebecca, she would have to handle his nonsense twenty four hours, seven days a week. But that would give Haunter more of a reason to look at her and maybe even give her an ever higher role. Rebecca would not let this chance go, time to kick some Shivre Mountain ass.

"I believe we have a medic amongst as well. Somebody going by the name of… Alexandros. Your role will involve keeping as many of your comrades alive and saving them from danger. That means you shoot the enemy first and then save the life. There is no point saving somebody and then getting shot in the process. Gather any and all other medics you can find that are in your unit and you may form a sub-division. I hope I have made myself clear. Each unit has been given a room to spend the night. You are to discuss your tactics during the day rest of the day. We head out tomorrow morning before news of this can leak out. If anybody asks, it’s just a training drill. Now off you go; the lot of you. I’ll see you bright and early. Meeting dismissed."


Alexandros, Rebecca knew who he was, Alexandros had dark tanned skin, small brown eyes and black unkempt hair tied into a short ponytail. He is fairly skinny in comparison to most of his fellow Marines. He wears standard Marine uniform but with a white sash around his left arm with a red cross on it to indicate his position as medic. He is slightly short sighted and requires a pair of rectangular glasses when reading or operating on a patient. Rebecca smiled at Alexandros and started to walk out of the meeting room.

Argo's gaze was still stuck to the sandwich, he stared intently and his mouth drooled. He heard footsteps and it seemed as if people were walking out of the room, Argo took his chance wisely and grabbed the sandwich and burger, he ran out of the room, pushing some marines aside. Rebecca sighed and let out a laugh, fellow marines turning their gaze to her and also laughing.

Time to kick some ass.

[Pagliacci]

Alexandros feigned a smile for, whom he could only assume was Miss Brown, he knew he wasn't leader material but surely a girl who's probably barely seen a year of service and full of optimism wasn't the best choice for a leader role, he let out a sigh of contempt for the Captains judgement, pulled his coat over his shoulders and brace himself for the outside winds.

He began to walk away from the building, his mind drifting to Brown and why she smiled at him, did she know him? Couldn't have operated on her, his patients tend not to smile at him after an operation. Perhaps she was from his home island of Madonia, no, skin was too fair, and he hadn't many friends on the island by the time he left.

The cold wind was more than Alexandros could stand, he dug into his coat jackets and produced a packet of cigarettes and a cheap brass lighter, it was bad for him he know, but so was Pneumonia, he pushed the cigarette between his teeth and light it with the lighter. His hands dug into his pockets once more and produced the invitation he looked it over a final time before setting fire to a corner of it with his lighter and letting it drift into the wind.
[white]'Eight...idiots...'[/white]

[Badman Zeek]

[black]

The moment they had all been waiting for had come to the surface. Higure's ears perked up in a sense, becoming more alert the moment Haunter announced that the divisions and members of each squad have been decided upon already. Even his eyes tensed up at the notice as if he'd be able to visually perceive Haunter's words as they were spoken. While he was aware that he was concentrating way too hard for someone who hadn't even uttered a word since he arrived.

Haunter led with stating who the members of the Infiltration unit would be. The leader would be the one known as Dante; the silver-haired cocky ass Marine who had also scored a ten. Under his command would be the woman he claimed to be his cousin, and last of all Higure himself, who nearly gave into the urge of arguing the matter. He shook his head freeing himself of the thoughts; understanding that, despite the first presentation there was something more to the man and that was why he had been assigned the lead role.

Perhaps it was for the best.

Higure already knew that he wouldn't fit the role considering his desire to have free will. Anything that any of the higher ups would've tried to impose upon him would've been met with an iron will that would not waver unless Higure desired such tasks or methods himself. Even though he wasn't in charge that fact would still remain. His objective in the mission ahead would be one fulfilled by his own methods. But he did have to admit the idea of blowing something up was quite appealing.

He was lost in his own mind up until Haunter had dismissed them, from which Higure made a silent departure. He now had the chance to embrace what the island had to offer, seeking the route that would bring him to the Resort Block where he would be spending the night at splurging on the season's festivities.

[/black]

[Deleted]

Miles' attention began to start lacking. This was becoming boring. Boring is at least better than watching people be idiotic or loving themselves. Miles attention began to spark up when he heard the word "exception". This is good news. The bumbling man was under the required number to enter. Haunter began to speak and Miles' attention snapped back to him, listening to what he had to say.

Miles began to sigh for humanity. The self loving, arrogant man was the head of the infiltration unit. It did make sense, him being a 10 and all but even knowing this, Miles sighed. It seemed that the bubbling idiot wasn't in the infiltration. Miles' guess was that he would be placed into the combat unit. He certainly wasn't sneaky, as evident by his entrance and he definitely wasn't smart. Miles could just tell by his mannerisms. Therefore, all that was left was the combat unit...at least, Miles hoped he wasn't in the intelligence unit. That would be disgraceful to everything intelligent.

Miles went back to listening to Haunter after thinking to himself for a while. It seems that he's in the Intelligence Unit. Miles smirks slightly as his name is called out. It makes sense as he doesn't really fit any of the other units. One problem with the Unit's plan was the fact that he would have to kill people. He wasn't an Assassin. Miles sighed and shrugged to himself. It seems that he'll have to try and get priority on getting information. As Haunter finished, Miles turned towards the exit and stopped, looking towards Haunter, thinking.

This is the first step to get close to the stars. He needs to be careful of his next step.

Miles walked towards Haunter and began to speak in a smooth and confidant voice; "I would like to formally request that I be moved from the Intelligence Unit to the Combat Unit, helping with the Medic Sub-Unit. I would be more useful to them rather than being some form of Assassin."