January 2nd, 2881
Central City, Italy
Rubicon RD Institute (Tourist Center)
3:10 PM
If there was a single drawback to returning to civilization after a life on the battlefield, returning to school had to be it. Many times, she had considered that facing a hail of bullets would have been preferable to a math exam, having to write essays, or - Heaven forbid! - prom.
But today... Wasn't that bad.
The visitor's center at RRDI was jam packed with students, giggling girls in white and navy uniforms clustered in small groups and cliques. The purpose of the day was a field trip from St. Cecilia's scuola media superiore, a private school catering to those in the UN whose duties often involved travel... although the assignments had been quickly forgotten as the head teacher slipped out for a drink.
Natalie Ortuz stood in the middle of it all. Her right arm was closed around a large plush of Jenny the Rubicund Jellyfish, and a hat adorning the facility's logo sat upon her head. Her other hand clutched a bag of assorted merchandise - shirts, books, coffee mug, some sort of novelty sparkling red tea - one of nearly everything in the shop. A thin smile of contentment was on her pale features, as she silently planned how to distribute them among her peers at SONG.
A distant boom interrupted her thoughts.
Artillery? No.
"...Is that... thunder?"
"Scary~"
"Was that in the forecast? I thought the snow was supposed to be light today..."
The girls chattered amongst one another as they looked out the windows, rain now starting to pour down on the city.
Natalie watched it as well, in pensive silence. Her arm squeezed the jellyfish just a little tighter, as a chill went up her spine.
Peace was such a fragile thing.
City Outskirts,
Altitude: Approx 18,000 meters
A thick carpet of clouds filled the sky, casting the otherwise bright winter's day into darkness.
Something vast. Ugly and bulbous, a grinning face with rows of broad, shining teeth, accompanied by a low, droning hum. But no such ship existed, not in all the world. It couldn't. Even if in the midst of the jamming storm it had generated, its shape had been discerned, none but a madman would think its ugliness to be anything more than a trick of the imagination.
Within the storm, there was the grinding and gnashing of metal, as a pair of impossibly vast doors swung open. Without even a moment to waste, two silhouettes were disgorged from the monster's innards, dropping out of the sky like meteors, three pairs of glowing eyes leering through the darkness as they descended towards the unsuspecting earth below...
Central City, Italy
Rubicon RD Institute (Tourist Center)
3:10 PM
If there was a single drawback to returning to civilization after a life on the battlefield, returning to school had to be it. Many times, she had considered that facing a hail of bullets would have been preferable to a math exam, having to write essays, or - Heaven forbid! - prom.
But today... Wasn't that bad.
The visitor's center at RRDI was jam packed with students, giggling girls in white and navy uniforms clustered in small groups and cliques. The purpose of the day was a field trip from St. Cecilia's scuola media superiore, a private school catering to those in the UN whose duties often involved travel... although the assignments had been quickly forgotten as the head teacher slipped out for a drink.
Natalie Ortuz stood in the middle of it all. Her right arm was closed around a large plush of Jenny the Rubicund Jellyfish, and a hat adorning the facility's logo sat upon her head. Her other hand clutched a bag of assorted merchandise - shirts, books, coffee mug, some sort of novelty sparkling red tea - one of nearly everything in the shop. A thin smile of contentment was on her pale features, as she silently planned how to distribute them among her peers at SONG.
A distant boom interrupted her thoughts.
Artillery? No.
"...Is that... thunder?"
"Scary~"
"Was that in the forecast? I thought the snow was supposed to be light today..."
The girls chattered amongst one another as they looked out the windows, rain now starting to pour down on the city.
Natalie watched it as well, in pensive silence. Her arm squeezed the jellyfish just a little tighter, as a chill went up her spine.
Peace was such a fragile thing.
City Outskirts,
Altitude: Approx 18,000 meters
A thick carpet of clouds filled the sky, casting the otherwise bright winter's day into darkness.
Something vast. Ugly and bulbous, a grinning face with rows of broad, shining teeth, accompanied by a low, droning hum. But no such ship existed, not in all the world. It couldn't. Even if in the midst of the jamming storm it had generated, its shape had been discerned, none but a madman would think its ugliness to be anything more than a trick of the imagination.
Within the storm, there was the grinding and gnashing of metal, as a pair of impossibly vast doors swung open. Without even a moment to waste, two silhouettes were disgorged from the monster's innards, dropping out of the sky like meteors, three pairs of glowing eyes leering through the darkness as they descended towards the unsuspecting earth below...
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