November 14, 2012...
8:30 AM, REISS Headquarters. Danelburg, Azurea...
Noralie found herself walking across the familiar corridors of the REISS Headquarters, clad in her casual uniform with an ID that was clipped at the left chest pocket of her lighweight vest. She navigated her way across the maze-like interiors of the building, moving in a careful motion as to not bump against the other passing personnel.
She eventually reached guarded archway with a header screen above that displays the words ‘Research Labs Wing’. There’s a couple of armored security personnel standing attentively beside the entrance and for a moment, Noralie thought the guards will halt her on her tracks until she walked past them in a breeze as they remained still and motionless.
She treaded the long, silent hallway that exuded a bright ambiance, where an array of sliding doors are closed shut. According to the identification sheet at hand, she was supposed to meet her overseer at one of these labs. The question is which is which?
Moving from door to door, she eyed every header screens above each one. Eventually, she arrived at the ninth room, where the display reads 'Orion Lab'—her designated squad bloc. Noralie used her thumb to activate the scanner beside the doors, which scanned her fingerprint while letting out a series of faint beeps. With a soft slide, the doors opened, allowing her to enter.
Upon entering, she was greeted by a spacious and sterile environment with a faint whiff of pungent and musty odors that wafts through the air. The lab is decked by a range of equipments with tables, refrigerators for specimen storage, sinks, desks, and a variety of lab apparatus.
The room is almost devoid of any personnel, save for the woman seated at the desk across the room, who was wearing a white lab coat, her hair tied back in a neat ponytail while sporting a pair of round glasses. She's busy typing on the keyboard of her computer, barely noticing Noralie who's awkwardly standing there until the hiss of the closing doors caught her attention that made her head whip around.
"Ah, you must be Noralie," the woman smiled as she stood up, beckoning towards the extra seat infront of her desk. "Come in, come in."
Noralie trotted towards the woman's desk, but her gaze remained fixated to the curtained cubicle across room, where a silhouette appeared to be resting on what resembled a bed.
"I’ve been expecting you, recruit. How are you feeling?"
"Slightly nervous, ma'am." Noralie lowered her gaze down to the polished floor as she took a seat infront of the doctor.
"Oh, don't be. We don't bite here, you know." The doctor chuckled while gesturing Noralie to follow, "You may call me Dr. Christina, by the way. You may leave your belongings here for a while and come with me."
Noralie placed her satchel on the Dr. Christina's desk before trailing behind the doctor, who walked towards the nearby separate room of the lab. Passing through the doorway’s air curtains, they entered a somewhat cramped space divided into designated areas of different stations.
The room contains multiple sinks, equipped with foot-operated taps, as well as soap dispensers and hand sanitizers. There's a faint whir from the ventilation above that pouring what it seems to be filtered air across the room. The same adequate lighting from the lab also sheds illumination to the signages of instructions, fastened across the non-porous surfaces of the walls.
Dr. Christina headed towards a metal cabinet, which she yanked opened before selecting a pair of light blue surgical gowns, gloves, and surgical masks before handing a set to Noralie. "Are you ready for your first task?"
"I think so," said Noralie while inspecting the PPE's at hand.
The doctor beckoned her to wear the surgical attire, in which Noralie obliged. She proceeded to unbutton her lightweight vest and hanged it to the nearby coat holder, before putting on the surgical PPE infront of a reflective wall mirror.
Tying her hair into a tight ponytail, she secured a surgical mask over her mouth and nose, looping the elastic bands behind her ears. She then slipped the surgical gown atop her long-sleeve polo shirt, fastening it securely at the back, before pulling the pair of elastic gloves into her hands, gently adjusting them to make sure it fits her fingers one after the other.
She adjusted her glasses and flashed a thumbs up to Dr. Christina, who was also finished dressing up. With a silent nod, the doctor led the way out of the scrubing room and the two headed towards the curtain-draped cubicle.
Upon entering, Noralie's eyes widened by what she's seeing—a lurker-type phantom, lying on the operating table. There are no restraints binding its elongated limbs as it appeared to be motionless. Lifeless to be exact. Patches of its skin was torn, exposing the weaved sinews of muscles and tendons underneath.
Subtle traces of its former human self is somewhat recognizable despite the heavy distortion and deformity of its face. One of its arms still resembled that of human's, but the other is elongated, ending in bony fingers with long, sharp knife-like claws protruding in between. Its eyes are also devoid of any glow, and the black veins around its body lacks the pulsating yellow luminosity that are supposed to be there. This phantom has been long dead.
While Noralie marvels at the sight before her, Dr. Christina approached with a touchscreen tablet at hand.
"Interesting, isn't it?" She stated under her mask, "Orion Two brought this specimen yesterday and we're lucky to have it still intact."
"This is my first time seeing one up close," Noralie cautiously poked the lurker's sticky and slimy skin. "How did they kill this thing without damaging it entirely?"
"There are a variety of factors how. To kill a lurker, you usually need to completely decimate its body." The doctor replied, her eyes remained fixated on the tablet which she gave few taps. "Other attempts may merely disable its attacks, but encountering one that's dead and still intact is incredibly rare."
"Fascinating."
"It is. Now let's get started.” Looking up from her tablet, Dr. Christina instructed, "Kindly drag the trolley beside you, Noralie."
She nodded, pulling the trolley containing a collection of surgical tools closer to her.
"We are going to dissect it's biofilaments, the appendages responsible for assimilating and manipulating any organic matter." Dr. Christina continued, "With your specialization to phantom anatomy, I'm assuming you have a sufficient knowledge on what I am talking about."
"Yes, ma'am." Noralie adjusted her mask. "Biofilaments serves as the main tools of the lurker-type phantoms to transform flesh into however they want at will. These appendages are actually mutated version of their former's intestines."
"That is correct. Now take the sternum separator and pry open its abdominal-humeral fissure."
With a quick glance at the stool, Noralie paused for a moment to remember her phantomology lessons. Just like in the medical field, there are also tools specialized in operating phantom-related abscissions, which are somewhat similar to surgical equipments. Her mind eventually flashed in recognition, selecting a tool that resembles a chisel with rectangular blade that features a series of sharp teeth.
Approaching the phantom's limp body on the operating table, she carefully examined the long line that stretched from the creature's shoulder down to its lower stomach, compacted by teeth-like formations that resembles a zipper.
She positioned the sternum separator in the middle of the line and began prying it. The phantom's torso barely cracked open due to the tightness of the fissure but with Noralie’s effort, she managed to slowly disjoin it. As the fissure was successfully torn apart, a dark liquid began to drip on the surface of the table, and the two were hit by a musty, rotting smell emanated from the cavity that caused them to gag.
The inside of the phantom's chest cavity is now visible, but it’s missing the organs that of human's; the heart, lungs, and thymus seemed to dissolve into a pool of thin, small non-moving tendrils. The only organs recognizable are the esophagus and trachea that were still connected to its neck.
Noralie slid her gloved hand into the opening, her fingers probing the pool of moist tangle until coming into contact with something thick and soft. With widening eyes, she took them in a tight grip and yanked them out, revealing the three sticky tentacles that ended up with suction cups akin to those of sea lampreys.
Dr. Christina grabbed a pair of forceps, which she used to clear the small tendrils that obscured the vertebral column where the biofilaments were connected.
Noralie took a hold of a high-speed drill and activated it, filling the room with a loud whirring sound as she began to extract the part of the vertebrae. Setting the drilling tool back to the trolley, she carefully yanked the section out, along with the three main tentacles with thin tendrils coming along. She placed the extracted part on the metal tray that Dr. Christina held, and the doctor could be seen smiling beneath her mask.
"Great job, recruit." Dr. Christina placed down the metal tray to the nearby sink. "Such gentle and delicate hands are exactly what I need."
"Thank you, ma'am." Noralie sighed, Well that was easy...
"Go on now, you may change back into your regular uniform in the scrub room. I'll follow shortly."
Without further commentary, Noralie goes back to the scrub room. Her hands raised to her shoulder as she walk, careful as not to stain anything around her. After cleaning and shifting back to her more-comfortable service attire, she stayed at Dr. Christina's desk, who entered the scrubbing room after her.
After a few moments of waiting, the doctor finally emerged, draped by the same lab coat she was wearing earlier. Sauntering towards the nearby drawer behind her desk, she took a sleek green card which she handed over to Noralie.
"That will serve as the keycard to your equipment lockers aaaand specific doors of the headquarters which you are authorized in."
"Cool." Noralie examined the card for a moment, before slipping it into her pocket.
"Be careful not to lose it. Now, let's meet your squadmates."
Noralie flattened out her uniform and clutched her satchel with her arms before following the Dr. Christina as they exit from the laboratory.
Noralie took a mental note, trying to map out the way with her mind while hoping not to get lost here someday should she venture the building on her own as it's easy to get lost in the labyrinth-like interiors of the headquarters.
Together with the doctor, they reached the southwest section of the headquarters, where the Squads Division Wing was located. Its layout was similar to that of the Research Labs Wing, although it was more crowded and bears a darker ambiance as most of the illumination emanates from the glass pane windows that provides a view to the outside.
At the thirteenth door is a header screen, displaying the words 'Orion-13' in blue, bold lettering.
"Here we are." Dr. Christina pressed the scanner with her thumb and with a short beep, the doors smoothly slid open.
They entered an office-like environment, with faint humming coming from the air conditioning, and the sound of tapping keyboards echoed around the room.
There are a series tables on both sides of the room, decked by sleek computers that obscures the faces of the people occupying them. At the middle of the room is a wide well-polished central table, surrounded by ergonomic chairs with sleek projector fastened to the ceiling above, with an array of metal cabinets and bookshelves nearby.
Among these, a separate, lone cubicle sitting at the far-end corner caught Noralie's attention the most, washing her with a sudden and strange sense of familiarity.
Deja Vu?...
"Operative Schumacher, are you okay?" Dr. Christina pulled Noralie out of her reverie.
Noralie blinked for a moment, dumbfounded. "Uhh, I'm fine, ma'am. It's just my head is in the clouds."
"You see, it's normal for recruits to feel disoriented on their first day. Pretty normal reaction." The doctor chuckled, before gesturing her hand forward, "Shall we?"
Noralie nodded and together, the two proceeded to the center table, capturing the attention of the people in the room.
"Thirteen, to the table please!"
Her voice boomed across the quarters, carrying an authoritative tone, and at that cue, everyone stood from their desks and joined headed straight towards the table. There are about a total of four people, looking at Noralie with a nonchalant yet curious expression.
Dr. Christina gave everyone a moment to settle on their seats before continuing, "As you all know, the recruitment was just finished yesterday and the new batch of recruits were all assigned to their own designated squads…"
"...and I want to introduce to you the new specialist of the Orion Thirteen, Operative Noralie Schumacher."
Noralie slightly bowed her head, which was returned with a courteous nod by the squad. The two among them held her into warm, welcoming smiles, contrary to the short haired woman who remained reserved, and the man in a buzz cut who's just staring on the glossy surface of the table, deep into the nothingness.
"I am expecting a rapport and cooperation in this unit and I hope all of you maintain a pleasant environment to everyone." Dr. Christina turned her attention to Noralie, "Operative Schumacher, these people will be your squadmates throughout your purposeful journey with REISS. I would like to introduce you to Ilse Braun, our research analyst..."
She gestured to the petite blonde woman, who enthusiastically waved at Noralie.
"...there's our technical expert and squad representative, Gunther Fritzneumann..."
The man with a black wavy hair nodded with a smile under the stubbles of his beard.
"...our reconnaissance specialist, Carl Schmidt..."
The guy with a buzz cut yawned in disinterest, before recieving an elbow from Ilse, "Oof-, ah, oh hey."
"...and Juliane Bauer, the combat specialist..."
The short haired woman with a pale complexion winked, her gaze is filled with cool and boredom.
"...these people serve as squadmates throughout your REISS career as an operative, and helping hands to the phantom cases you will be investigating in the future." Dr. Christina pats Noralie's shoulder, "Welcome to REISS."
They spent the rest of the time on the further introduction of Noralie infront of the squad, until Dr. Christina barked at them back to their respective desks but getting Gunther to stay behind.
"You'll take care the rest of the introductory protocols, Fritzneumann. Make sure to familiarize our operative around her working environment."
Gunther stood from his seat, "I'll get myself to it, doc."
"Very well," the doctor slipped her hand in the pockets of her lab coat and gave Noralie a smile. "Until next time, recruit."
Noralie's eyes remained fixated to Dr. Christina as she walk out of the room, leaving her with Gunther by her side.
"How are you feeling?" Gunther stretched his neck.
"Fine, I guess." Noralie sighed.
"I'm sure you'll get along with everyone just fine. Come on, I'll show you your desk."
The two proceeded towards the row of desks at one side of the room, there's Ilse who was seated on her desk, filled by an assortment of cartoonish aesthetics with stickers featuring various cartoon and anime characters, and cute and fluffy animal plushy displays.
Beside her's is an empty, plain desk, decked only by a stack of papers and a computer monitor on its surface.
"Well, here it is." Gunther gestured towards it, "You have this fancy computer where you can review declassified files circulating around the REISS' database and a stable internet connection to fend off boredom. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Wow." Noralie approached it, her eyes concealing the sparkles of excitement as she traced her fingers along the edges of her office chair. "So this will be my workspace?"
"Yep. As you can see, it doesn't have anything fancy yet but you are allowed to decorate it however you wish as long as it adheres to the HQ's guidelines." Gunther rubbed his hands together. "Got any questions before I go?"
"Uhm, are there any other members of this squad? Or it's just us?"
"Yeah, it's only us. Actually, every squad has a limit of eight members each and since we have you aboard, that makes Orion Thirteen a six-member squad," Gunther shrugged. "Heck, most of the squads here only have four so we're lucky to have this many workforce in our unit."
"So there's still a demand for phantom combatants."
"Indeed. Few people will dare to enter this field. But hey, atleast we got what it takes, right?" Gunther chuckled as he playfully punch Noralie's shoulder.
Noralie smiled back, feeling the tense sensation she had alleviate, "Mm-hmm."
"Anyways, Squad Lead Walter and Co-Lead Leon are currently out. They're scouting this potential case these past few days and maybe we can get to work on it by tomorrow if we're lucky," Gunther shrugged. "For now, just tinker with this computer of yours for a bit and do whatever suits your fancy. I'll be right at my desk if you need me."
"Thanks!"
Gunther nodded and goes to his desk at the opposite side of the room which can be seen situated beside Juliane's.
Noralie eased into her white office chair, dragging it closer to the desk. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of childish excitement, feeling the same thrill she felt when receiving her first phone back in high school.
"Welcome to the club," Ilse remarked, her gaze fixed on the computer monitor."Do you live around here?"
"I just moved from Hemsberg." Noralie stated, "I'm currently staying in an apartment in Aurich a short ride from here."
"Aurich? Our house is around that area!"
"Oh, for real?"
"Yeah, I mean, we could hang out sometime," Ilse chuckled. "Anyways, what made you consider joining this high-risk and high-paying kind of job?"
"Many of my relatives from my father's side were operatives." Noralie answered, one of the stories her father once told her is how he was trained by Noralie's grandfather with the art of fighting that pushed his body to its limits. "It's more like a traditional rite, I suppose."
I wish you could train me too, papa…
"Oh, cool. You came from a family of natural-born fighters, huh?"
"The irony is that, I'm physically weak to become one." Noralie chuckled. A family of natural-born fighters, at the cost of their own lives…
Noralie noticed another desk beside her, with books and papers stacked around the surface that creates a chaotic landscape, with a trash bin that's overflowed with crumpled pieces of paper.
Carl, who was seated there, let out an audible sigh and rubbed his eyes, before directing his gaze towards Noralie. "Uhhh... so you're Noralie, huh? The new recruit? Name's Carl, by the way."
"Yeah, no crap, Carl." Ilse shifted her focus to Noralie. "You might want to check your inbox, there could me mails there that can get you started."
"Okay, thank you, Ilse." Noralie's eyes scanned the computer screen in front of her that displays the REISS' wyvern logo. With a quick movement of the mouse, a window screen with a wallpaper of the Azurean flag popped up.
The essential applications like 'Files', 'Inbox', 'Bin', and IceFox Browser were neatly arranged together at one side. She decided to ignore the other applications and clicked on the inbox's mail icon where she was greeted by unread messages, each with the headers 'Welcome', 'Introduction', 'About Us', and 'Orion'.
She read through them thoroughly, though her mind kept wandering as each content was a bit overwhelmingly long. After that, with basically nothing more to do rather than wait, she found herself working on sorting the stacks of paper laid before her making the hours of the day pass by like a blur.
9:18 PM...
As the night fell, the squad members in the room decided to return to their homes. The nighshifts started to fill the premises and strangely, no other personnel entered the common room of the Orion Thirteen for the night duty. Maybe there are a fewer operatives in the evening than it is in the day?
Noralie started to pack her things, only accompanied by Ilse who was just finished on combing her hair.
"I'll meet you at the exit, okay?" After slipping the straps of her backpack, Ilse then proceeded to walk out of the room.
Noralie was left there, accompanied now only by the humming from the lights. Her first day is totally not that engaging but atleast she made a new friend. That, in itself, is a rewarding experience. The thought puts a smile on her face.
When she was about to slip the strap of her satchel around her shoulder, the doors suddenly slid open. There's a young man who strode in, wearing a combat uniform accessorized by specialized combat gears. His focus was fixated to the clipboard he was holding until his steps took a sudden halt upon seeing Noralie.
Short dark brown hair, with fringes on each side and brown eyes, this person fits the description well of the identification sheet to Co-Leader Leon. The nametag on his combat vest further confirmed Noralie's guess— 'SECLEAD L. Flores'.
Noralie and Leon stood there, staring at each as if the time around them seemed to slow down, until Leon's voice broke the awkward silence.
"Of course," he mumbled. "You're the recruit, yes?"
"Yes, co-lead." Noralie's cheeks flushed and slowly lowered her gaze.
"It's past your shift, why are you still here?" Leon asked sharply.
"I-I'm actually about to head out, I just uhhm— gathered my things before I go." Noralie took a tight grip at the strap of her satchel. "I'm going now."
"M'kay. Take care." Leon stepped aside, allowing her to pass.
Leon waited for a moment until he made sure that Noralie was out of sight before letting out a deep breath that made him realize he was holding out.
What was that...
He sighed, and with a flick of his finger, he tapped his earpiece and spoke in a hushed voice, "Yes, I just arrived. I think the box is no longer here. Uh-huh, maybe it got transported? Yeah, I'll see what I can do…"
Outside the headquarters...
As Noralie walked towards the lobby's exit, she was greeted by Ilse. The two proceeded outside where they are embraced by the cool gust of the evening breeze, falling into a conversation as they plodded the concrete path bathed by the illumination from the lamp posts and the silvery moonlight.
The night continued its descent, draping the lands with its obscuring veils where creatures of the dark nestles, lurking and always watching.
