SWORD: CHAPTER ONE - A 'Jreum' Start!

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

Captain Haunter stood confident and didn't show any signs that he might be the slightest bit impressed so far. He was here to find the best of the best. He was looking for potential and he was willing to take only a few recruits on as long as those recruits would be willing to put their whole lives on the line for this cause and work harder than they possibly could. The vision Haunter had was one that would change the way piracy was working its way in the four blue's and as such would eventually change the world.

The two he had met earlier who had turned in the former marine turned petty pirate were there. One looked eager whilst the other looked comfortable yet laid-back in the surrounding. There were another two who seemed just as eager for they had all arrived early. It wasn't long before other potential recruits began to make their way down to the briefing room until there were more than enough to get this meeting going. Haunter appreciated the discipline of these soldiers. Despite the fact there were so many of them in the room, all standing before Haunter, not a single one spoke. There was silence in the room and that's just how Haunter liked it.

"Alright, I guess we can start now." Haunter finally broke the silence. "Now you all know why you're here and you know what the path lies ahead and I'm sure you are aware that only a handful of you will be selected for this project." The Commodore paused a moment walking across the front of the lines of promising marines who stood tall before him. He looked as many of them in the eye as he could to see how much determination and strength they carried.

"To win the chance to become part of this project, you must prove to me that you are capable of becoming the greatest in the world. Now I'm not expecting you to do great things now. I'm not expecting for you to be the strongest marines in the world but what I want to see is your strengths and how you use them in a real life situation." Haunter informed his subjects before continuing. "You will be tested in a real life situation. As you may or may not be aware of, Shivre Mountain is an Island in the North Blue nearby our base and the law-abiding citizens of this island are constantly terrorized by a group of rebellious youths known as the Rock Dragon Bandits. Now there numbers are close to 500 and they use stealth tactics to take their enemies down. Now taking on such a group is a hard task and it is near impossible to get rid off them without harming the city as a whole. You will be split into groups of two and your task is to each capture an important member of the Rock Dragon Bandits set-up so that we can learn more information about them and use it to take the group down."

"Let me warn you though, they will have eyes upon you as soon as you step foot on the island. Many marines have gone to that island and never returned. Be warned. This is by no means an easy task." Haunter made it pretty clear the dangers of the task they were to take on but he didn't tell them what he expected of them. Haunter had already sent a few of his trusted undercover agents to scout the island and watch the progress of these hopefuls as they plan to infiltrate and take apart this group of bandits.

Dante had decided he had already done with the 'making a good impression' and it was now time to take it easy. Dante kept his eyes and ears open. His eyes scouted through the rest of the competition, seeking out potential threats and targets. Making mental rivals in his mind whilst his ears picked up on all the information Haunter had to offer. Rael seemed to be really into all of this which would be useful however Dante was already conjuring up a plan on how to do this. It wasn't an easy task at hand but it was easily do-able using the right approach.

[Harusame]

Ryu ran straight to the S.W.O.R.D building. He heard they were choosing recruits today! He had sailed for a week from Lyneel. He had to go through Sea Kings,pirates and bandits.

Ryu wondered how this Commodore Haunter looked like. Was he a tall built man with good looks or just a man who paid his way to the top. Ryu accidentally bumped into some marines. They all stared at him. "Who are you!" They shouted. Ryu opened his mouth but none of the marines listened. They all ran straight at Ryu and screamed "Get him." Ryu then went serious. The first man came and did a hook. Ryu ducked and shouted "Sky Dragons Rising Fist!" The man flew up then flew down on the ground hard. Ryu then went for the second man. He just kicked him in the face really hard. Ryu then ran at the rest of the group "Sky Dragon Punching Assault!" Ryu punched people randomly back and forth. Teeth and blood went all over the road.

Ryu then stopped and looked at his doing. "Heh, I'm pretty good. Ryu said. Then his mind clicked.S.W.O.R.D." Ryu ran and ran until he was there. He then ran in and broke open the door "I'm here!!!"

[Armani]

((OOC: Sorry guys, just trying to keep this thread from dying...))

Cuomo felt a little uncertain about the description of the assignment. For one thing, there was a glaring lack of information for everything that had been said. Where they themselves supposed to identify leaders from peons themselves in this bandit gang? He didn't even know what a Rock Dragon bandit uniform looked like, or if they even had a uniform! And Cuomo didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried that they were sending them in as units of two against a group of over 500 men, particularly going against some of their leaders. It either meant that Haunter expected each one of them to be much stronger or more cunning than most of them, or they were weak in comparison to all the recruits. The former worried him a little bit more.

However, with as much time as Cuomo spent in his head thinking about everything the Commodore was saying, he did his best to stand straight and tall, looking as professional and determined as possible, though it might not have been enough; especially when Haunter stared directly at him for a second. As they locked eyes momentarily, the young marine could feel a waver coming in the presence of such an intense glare, however he willed himself to stare back. It was a stare that would show Haunter that if he wanted Cuomo to back down and cower, he would have to try harder than that to affect him. Nothing more to it than that, Cuomo simply stared back until he passed on.

But something odd about this meeting seemed to stir Cuomo up a little bit. After he was down with Haunter, the marine took notice of another marine, he looked a little higher rank than he, though it was obvious that the Commodore was still much higher in standings. It wasn't the rank that bothered him though. As he did his best to be professional in the face of his new superior, it generated an irate notion to see this one man acting casual and laid-back right in front of the Commodore. Though his head didn't move, his eyes did. They watched fervently as this stranger "took it easy". And the more he watched the lackadaisical form of this guy, the more and more he found himself irritated. Why did he think he was so special as to not bother with protocol and appearance. Maybe the Commodore was the kind of guy who didn't care. Nevertheless, it didn't help Cuomo get over the fact. And it would soon become glaringly obvious if something hadn't forcefully interrupted the meeting…

"I'm here!" Came a voice that followed the crash of a door broken from its hinges. In surprise, Cuomo's eyes widened even further at the serious lack of control of this person. However, Cuomo refused to budge from his straight and tall position of a proper Marine. It really wasn't his to be bothered by. He'd let the Commodore handle it however he saw fit. This would at least give the secret Noble a chance to see how he dealt with such circumstances and get a better feel for the man.

[thormundsson]

(OOC: Sorry about the absence fellas, been a murder getting into my work and I haven't had the energy for anything. But I'm back with a vengance now)

Rael felt a bit twitchy as the commodore explained the mission. They were going up against bandits and were to take them all out. Something at the back of his head shouted that this would be hard and dangerous and that he should take extra care. That side of him, whilst always there, hadn't been in power for a long time and he payed it no heed. The better half of his mind was working out how to maximize his kills and how to gain the most prestige.

He looked over at his friend and noted that he had gone over to his easy posture. It was another thing that Dante did, he really took these things calmly and didn't seem to worry about any of it. It was their little yin/yang thing that Rael seemed to be the serious part of the duo and knew to stay serious whilst Dante balanced Rael's somewhat loose grip on his anger. He had issues and he knew it himself. He would have been kicked out of the marines a lot sooner had Dante not kept him calm for some of the more precarious moments.

He noted that one of the other recruits was sending Dante a positively poisonous look, as if he was trying to blow him up with his stare. Dante hadn't noticed or at least seemed not to care but Rael didn't much like judgment towards his friend. He took a step forward in to the line of sight of the other recruit, sending him a look of his own. It was simple and direct: "You have a problem with him then you have a bigger problem with me"

As he finished his train of thought he noted that a young man had just come bursting in to the room, shouting something like "I'm here" or close to it. Rael turned around, facing the young man and his hand was already positioned at the hilt of his rapier. "Young man, I suggest you not keep us waiting in the future, it might cost some of us our lives if a part of this division is slacking"

[|The SHAKINATOR|]

Dante had watched the amateur marine rush through heedlessly, chuckling to himself whilst watching him make a fool out of himself.

"How do they end up letting fools like him into the profession. I might end up killing him should he make a mockery of us." Dante muttered under his breath, enough for Rael to here it. There seemed to be a rift between themselves and another individual who was piercing them with his eyes. It wasn't unusual for Dante to be stared at. After all, his presence was worthy of attention. "Lets leave him be Rael, we got bigger fish to fry."

The son-of-a-noble had a smirk on his face once the objective had been passed. "That is all you're getting from me. Here's a list of those individuals that are wanted on from the island. Your task is to bring one back alive, without creating trouble on the island. However, should the situation arise, we may have to call upon a larger force and go to war with the Rock Dragon Bandits." Haunter called out to them, once again informing them how critical the situation at hand was. "Now of you go, best of luck to all of you."

Dante tapped Rael on the shoulder, holding a list of names of the bandits in his hand, studying them carefully. "Oi, aren't they going to even give us a ship? Do we like get to keep the one we brought in? I was hoping to get a little help but it seems they've just thrown us into a dark room without light." Dante informed his partner. Rocking his head from left to right, Dante began to ponder how they should do this. "I'm thinking we go in under-cover, if you know what I mean. With a crew that size, recruitment into the organisation shouldn't be too much of a problem. And what better way to break them down than from the inside?" Dante always thought of the most exciting of plans for such situations. Perhaps it would be better to stay under wraps and keep low profiles but Dante wanted to create a high profile but for the right reasons. In this case, to become bandits themselves. "We'll have to change our get-up. Make sure to hit the shops as soon as we dock on Shivre Mountain."

Dante took another look back at the guy who had been staring at them earlier, just to get a quick glance, in case they ran into him again on the course of this task.

(OOC: Rael and I are heading off to Shivre Island. The rest of you can also do the same. If you wish to post in this thread one final time, go ahead.)