Papakolea Beach, Hawaii
Early Afternoon
Radiant sun. Cool, refreshing waves that lapped against one's feet invitingly. Not even the far-flung, Giant-Robot filled future had managed to diminish the jaw-dropping beauty one of the only four green sand beaches in the world - though at present, on account of the recent crisis plaguing the Directory, this particular beach was mostly depopulated...
…Mostly.
Under a purple-and-white striped umbrella, an elegant figure turned lazily on her deck chair, giving a sigh of content. Her long, lavender colored hair was still faintly wet from the ocean, matted against her ivory skin, clad in a designer two-piece swimsuit that was as high-budget as her own genetic makeup, down to the last errant hair and curve of her body. She rested on her side, head nestled in the crook of one arm as she stretched, giving a little sigh of contentment as one red eye lazily opened a crack, wincing slightly from the brightness of the sun.
Her lips parted slightly into a smile as she reached out, taking from a small stand a razor-thin tablet, which hummed to life obediently under the flick of her fingertips. Upon it was displayed a series of machines - each in a variety of shapes and sizes. The first one appeared like a man, clad in the skin of a beast - the second, summoned with an errant swipe, a horned demon, the third-
Blinking in surprise, she accepted the prompt, sitting up as she did so. At length, a dignified sounding voice came in over the tablet's speakers, loud and clear, saying politely:
"Ahem. Juliette?"
"Oui?" …Said one of the Directory's chief engineers, and recent appointee to Taskforce Upsilon, her faux-innocence soaked voice tinged with a French accent that was... uncommon, to say the least, in this part of the world - even in the age of a global ultrapower.
"I believe you're supposed to be on vacation."
Taking the device in both hands, she panned it about, giving the camera embedded into its frame the full tour of the surroundings.
"I am! See? Voila. Blue skies, golden sands..."
"...Then, what's this I hear about a demonstration hearing?"
The woman cupped her hand to her mouth, sheepishly - but behind the manicured nails lay only a sly smile.
"Quel genie! " She exclaimed; "You don't miss anything, do you?"
"I try not to make a habit of it, no."
"Something came up, I just had to see it for myself... A true bête curieuse."
With that, she flipped to the last page on the tablet's menu. It displayed a figure different from the rest - tall, lean, dark as night and all keen edges, like an obsidian raven given form. As she looked it over once more, her index finger traced her lips in anticipation, eyes practically sparkling.
"Is that so? Well... As long as you don't forget to rest, is all."
"I think that this one, this machine..." - She gave a smile to the camera, the kind that would have melted the heart of even the most resolute men of Earth -
"...Just might be exactly what we've been looking for."
Former Hickam Air Force Base
Directory Testing Ground
Late Afternoon
4:41PM
As the day dragged on, the sun began to settle behind the disused towers and hangars of Hickam Base's cracked, disused runways. The advent of the Armored Module had reshaped the concept of the military base as a whole, and as a consequence, what had formerly been a vital strategic point had now been mostly converted into a testing area for Mobile Weapons. A pair of Ladybird class transport ships were already parked on the runway, several hunched forms visible within their exposed innards as crews worked to bring the lumbering weapons within online.
Now sans swimsuit and clad in more fitting (if adapted for the hot weather) military clothing, Juliette's car trundled over the pavement, coming to a stop as the woman practically leapt from its confines, fully aware that she was running late. The latest arrivals, she knew, would be here any minute...
The ones that were anticipated most of all.
Early Afternoon
Radiant sun. Cool, refreshing waves that lapped against one's feet invitingly. Not even the far-flung, Giant-Robot filled future had managed to diminish the jaw-dropping beauty one of the only four green sand beaches in the world - though at present, on account of the recent crisis plaguing the Directory, this particular beach was mostly depopulated...
…Mostly.
Under a purple-and-white striped umbrella, an elegant figure turned lazily on her deck chair, giving a sigh of content. Her long, lavender colored hair was still faintly wet from the ocean, matted against her ivory skin, clad in a designer two-piece swimsuit that was as high-budget as her own genetic makeup, down to the last errant hair and curve of her body. She rested on her side, head nestled in the crook of one arm as she stretched, giving a little sigh of contentment as one red eye lazily opened a crack, wincing slightly from the brightness of the sun.
Her lips parted slightly into a smile as she reached out, taking from a small stand a razor-thin tablet, which hummed to life obediently under the flick of her fingertips. Upon it was displayed a series of machines - each in a variety of shapes and sizes. The first one appeared like a man, clad in the skin of a beast - the second, summoned with an errant swipe, a horned demon, the third-
CALL INCOMING
"Ahem. Juliette?"
"Oui?" …Said one of the Directory's chief engineers, and recent appointee to Taskforce Upsilon, her faux-innocence soaked voice tinged with a French accent that was... uncommon, to say the least, in this part of the world - even in the age of a global ultrapower.
"I believe you're supposed to be on vacation."
Taking the device in both hands, she panned it about, giving the camera embedded into its frame the full tour of the surroundings.
"I am! See? Voila. Blue skies, golden sands..."
"...Then, what's this I hear about a demonstration hearing?"
The woman cupped her hand to her mouth, sheepishly - but behind the manicured nails lay only a sly smile.
"Quel genie! " She exclaimed; "You don't miss anything, do you?"
"I try not to make a habit of it, no."
"Something came up, I just had to see it for myself... A true bête curieuse."
With that, she flipped to the last page on the tablet's menu. It displayed a figure different from the rest - tall, lean, dark as night and all keen edges, like an obsidian raven given form. As she looked it over once more, her index finger traced her lips in anticipation, eyes practically sparkling.
"Is that so? Well... As long as you don't forget to rest, is all."
"I think that this one, this machine..." - She gave a smile to the camera, the kind that would have melted the heart of even the most resolute men of Earth -
"...Just might be exactly what we've been looking for."
Former Hickam Air Force Base
Directory Testing Ground
Late Afternoon
4:41PM
As the day dragged on, the sun began to settle behind the disused towers and hangars of Hickam Base's cracked, disused runways. The advent of the Armored Module had reshaped the concept of the military base as a whole, and as a consequence, what had formerly been a vital strategic point had now been mostly converted into a testing area for Mobile Weapons. A pair of Ladybird class transport ships were already parked on the runway, several hunched forms visible within their exposed innards as crews worked to bring the lumbering weapons within online.
Now sans swimsuit and clad in more fitting (if adapted for the hot weather) military clothing, Juliette's car trundled over the pavement, coming to a stop as the woman practically leapt from its confines, fully aware that she was running late. The latest arrivals, she knew, would be here any minute...
The ones that were anticipated most of all.