Terra: Chapter 3 and 4A Story by VeridianWolf
Situation:
Nichole
(Head
of the Eastern Inarian Police Force [eIPF]) Morning:
June 16 Location:
Eastern Inaria eIPF
HQ
Nichole was born in
Eastern Inaria. Ever since she was a puppy, she dreamed of becoming a police
officer. She dreamed of fighting crime, solving murders, and becoming a famous
investigator who saved the world with her research, discoveries, and police work.
When she entered her profession, she realized that police work wasn’t as
glamorous in the East as it was in the west (Eastern Inaria is usually quieter
and more crimeless than in Western and Central Inaria) so she moved to central
in order to “get more action”. A few years seeing a lot of death, violence, and
rape changed her. She returned to the east where she was offered the position
of the Head of the Eastern Inarian Police Force. As a result of all the
terrible things she had seen, Nichole became a hardened police superintendent
who rarely had fun. Instead, she always took her work seriously and worked
within her no-nonsense attitude. A few years ago, Nichole married an Inarian
Dragon. Nobody knew about that, and not much is still known about it.
It
all happened in the blink of an eye…. One day everything is normal and peaceful
and then the next everything goes to hell. Fluffy and the Viridians sent to
assist this investigation were sent back the same day they arrived to the
Bering Isles… apparently it ended up being a political mess, and Premier Nora
wanted to stay out of it. Nobody would have ever expected what would unfold the
next day. I went in to work early, as always, in order to get started on a
number of cases that I had, in my infinite knowledge, allowed to pile up over
the months. It was still dark when I left home, but the temperature was oddly
warm and still. Half-awake, I walked across the settlement where my husband and
I lived. I could see a whole bunch of other animals that either woke up as
early as I did, or were the nocturnal ones who were just about to go to sleep.
“Good morning Nicole!” I heard someone call out behind me. I ignored them. I
hate the candid attitude every animal has… as though everything in life is
perfect and nothing in the world could possible go awry. It had never been like
that before, every wolf… every animal used to rely on each other and take care
of each other. Now, everyone lives in his or her own little world… their animalal
little shell… and they hardly venture from it. “Good morning my a*s…” I growled
to myself and continued on. The HQ was built a long time ago by dragons… actually… a
lot of the shelters in Inaria, if not the world, were constructed by them. From
the great castles in Siberia to the Prime Minister’s Rise in the south, the
dragons constructed them all. Since we’ve hardly the ability to do such things,
we relied heavily on them for the construction of our buildings… that, as well
as intercontinental and domestic travel, since they can fly very fast and very
far. In return, we have overtaken their
land and only allow for a certain number of them to live on the mainland. The
rest were “relocated” to the Bering Isles, where thousands of dragons had to
share such a small place… thus causing the conflict that’s going on now. I sort
of pitied them… what a horrible thing for fellow creatures of Tirrora to do to
each other. I shrugged, “I guess that’s life.”
I climbed the marble stairs and before I could even reach the top I saw
a familiar figure sitting by one of the marble pillars. “You’re early today.”
He said. His voice was very quiet but powerful. He was sort of a messenger for
the Prime Minister herself. I’ve seen him twice before, each time he brought
with him tragic news. “There’s never any
rest for the wicked is there.” I replied quietly, “and what are you doing here
in little east Inaria? You’re a little far from your posh-a*s little circle in
Central.” His
facial expression didn’t change, “I came here because there’s something you
need to know, the Prime Minister Declared war on Chechnya last night in a
conference with Siberia.” Somehow the news kind of came to me as a surprise…
but then again didn’t…. if that makes any sense. “So we’re fighting a Territory
that’s… not technically a Territory anymore? Didn’t Siberia already rape and
pillage them?” The messenger shook his head, “That brings me to my next point,
Nichole. They’ve elected a new leader, some Incarnadian wolf-girl named
Paegan.” “What? You’re telling me that the Chechnyans elected an Incarnadian as
Alpha?” I questioned in disbelief, “That doesn’t seem right. They’re very acute
on who leads them; it just doesn’t make sense why they’d choose someone who’s
not of their own blood.” The messenger
shrugged, “Paegan already started hundreds of successful attacks against the
Siberian occupation… they’re being pushed out of Chechnya as we speak. I
suspect the Chechnyans elected her as leader because she’s getting s**t done.
She hasn’t even been in charge for more than twelve hours and already she’s
leading success campaigns like that.” I sighed, “Well if the Prime Minister
declared war over this, virtually overnight… you sure there’s not something
bigger behind this?” The messenger glanced around; probably trying to make sure
nobody was listening in on our conversation. “There are rumors of unrest going
on in Europia… the Veridian Intelligence Agency suspects that the organization
is finally making its move.” He said quietly, “They say that Demon himself is
leading an ever-growing group of rebel animals against their governments.”
“Which Territories are being targeted there?” I asked, interested in what he
was saying. “All of them.” He muttered back, “Except Britannia.” Out of the
corner of my eye, I could see my secretary coming up the stairs. “Oh,
good morning Mrs. Nichole…” She said happily, “Oh… I’m sorry… I mean…” Mikki,
my secretary, is a saber-tooth tiger from Britannia. Despite her past education
in one of the most prestigious schools, she is something like an idiot. She
tries to do everything right, which usually leads to her doing something
terribly wrong. I can never get rid of her though, if it’s one thing she could
do, it’s her job. “I’m in the middle of something.” I replied impassively,
“don’t you have work to do?” She smiled, “You’re right, sorry about that boss.”
She entered the building leaving the two of us alone once more. “Do you want to
come to my office, I’m sure it would be better for security purposes.” I said
quietly, “Pretty soon this place is going to be full of animals.” The Messenger
shook his head, “Actually I was just leaving.” He started toward the street,
“Oh, one more thing. Apparently, South Africa attacked the Kingdom of Alabast…
seems like those two are at war now as well.” I shook my head, “This war thing
is contagious now huh. Anything else I should know?” The messenger turned tail
and started walking away, “As soon as I get word, you’ll be the first to know.
Ah yes, and, if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep the Europia matter between us…
for now.” “Yeah no problem…” I replied as he walked off, “Wait! What should I
call you?” I cried out from a distance. “Agent zero,” He responded, “goodbye,
for now.” A
lot was going through my head regarding the conversation I had with this “agent
zero” guy. It seemed like everything went south just overnight. “Are you
thirsty Mrs. Nichole?” I heard Mikki ask from the room in front of my office,
“Do you want me to bring you some water?” I sighed quietly, “No, Mikki, please
leave me be for now.” My office was at the top floor of the HQ, it had a
beautiful view of East Inaria from the coast as far as the desert region. I
stared off for a long while thinking about what was to come. We weren’t too far
from the Chechnyan border… could war breakout here? I was deep in thought when
I heard my office door creak open. I turned around to see Fluffy standing
there. His hair and fur was in total disarray and he looked as though he hadn’t
gotten sleep for a while. “Doesn’t anyone knock anymore?” I glared, “Why do you
look like you just came back from the dead?” Fluffy took a seat in front of my
desk, “Cut
the crap Fluffy, this isn’t a game anymore. What are you going to do about
you’re little friend?” I questioned acutely, “You know how bad we’ll look
having a Chechnyan assassin running around here?!” Fluffy sighed and sat back,
“Give me a break Nichole, and let me handle it.” Fluffy is very hard-headed,
but he’s good at what he does. He was an assassin for the Inarian Intelligence
Agency (IIA) for a little while before he transferred here… and since then, he
always completed his missions without issue… or at least without bringing
trouble upon himself. He specializes in making my job a lot harder than it
should be, and most of the trouble he gets into usually fires back into my
face. “You said you’d handle it, but you haven’t done anything yet!” I growled.
“Oh my god you can’t be serious!” He fired back, “We’ve only been back together
since yesterday! What do you want me to do?!” We always get into fights like
this; I know that I could never win since he never likes to lose. So usually
I’m the one who has to defuse these situations. “It’s too early for this. I’ll
talk to you later about it.” I muttered looking through some papers on my desk.
“You can’t just shut me up like that! You’re being ridiculous!” Fluffy
continued. I glared up at him, “I noticed you have a lot of pink hair stuck in
your fur… it doesn’t seem to me like you’re doing anything to fix this
situation. Rather, it seems to me like you’re making things worse… and why is
your hair so messed up? What did you do last night, Fluffy?” He glared at me
and then walked away. “I
really love listening to you guys’ love-hate fights like that; I think it’s
really cute.” Mikki said entering my office with a bunch of papers. “Do you
want me to break those teeth off?” I muttered. She handed me the papers she
had, “No… I’m sorry.” “What is all
this?” I growled, “Where did all this come from?” Mikki shrugged, “I don’t
know… it was on my desk to put on your desk.”
I sighed. My days aren’t very exciting… usually we get a case about a murder
every now and then but mostly we get reports of predator/prey conflicts. A
couple of hours passed before the sun finally reached its spot in the clear
blue sky. The building, which used to be eerily quiet and empty, was now full
of life as everyone had come to work. Many of the animals that work there were
investigators and police officers of all different species and breeds so there
wasn’t a dull moment after everyone got there. I remained in my office reading
reports and enjoying the occasional chewing out I’d have to give to certain individuals.
“I cross-referenced everything I could but… I couldn’t come up with anything
suspicious…” One of them tried to explain to me regarding a recent case, “this
guy’s clean…” I glared at him, “Do it again.” He nodded disappointedly and
left. At the same time he had left, Fluffy returned, looking better than he did
earlier. “I hope you’re here to tell me you’ve gotten rid of that girl,
Fluffy.” I said eying him, “Don’t play with me.” Fluffy sighed, “Look, I’m
working on it. Quit pestering me on it and maybe I can make some progress.” I
nodded, “well I don’t have anything for you today, so you can take that time to
burn a couple of bridges then.” Fluffy rolled his eyes, “Whatever
Nichole.” The day was pretty much going
on like any other before the mysterious wolf known as “Agent Zero” returned to
my office. “Someone is here to see you, boss.” Mikki said approaching my desk.
“Let them in.” I replied glancing up. “Agent
Zero?” I asked surprised, “What are you doing back so soon? Don’t tell me
Veridia and Incarnadia are back at it.” He laughed, “No it’s a different matter
here. Well, someone wants to see you. It’s an important matter.” I narrowed my
eyes at him, “Well someone should
definitely get an appointment, as you can see, we are very busy at the moment.”
“It’s the Prime Minister, Premier Nora; she wants to see you as soon as
possible.” Agent zero said stoically. My ears dropped, “Wh-what?” He didn’t
repeat himself. Instead he glanced at the same picture on my desk that Fluffy
did earlier, “Hey, I didn’t know you married a dragon.” “What do you mean
Premier Nora wants to see me?! What the hell?!” I growled at him, “What did
that b*****d Fluffy get me into?! What is this about?!” Agent Zero shrugged,
“Look, I didn’t ask any questions. I’ve got my dragon out front, if you want to
fly with me back to the Capital.” I
didn’t have much of a choice. I was sort of freaking out on the inside… usually
the Prime Minister wants to meet up with superintendents such as myself only if
one of their animals really messes
up. “Mikki, put someone who’s not an idiot in charge.” I growled following
Agent Zero out of the building. On the way out, I could hear the animals
whispering amongst each other. “Oh my god… I heard she has to go see Premier
Nora…” One whispered to the other. “Damn… someone must have really fucked up
big time…” Another said. Outside, we boarded a massive dragon and took off for
the south. On the flight to the Capitol,
I couldn’t shake the feeling that this meeting had something to do with the
Chechnyan wolf-girl, Ebony, returning. “Don’t look so scared, I’m sure it’s
nothing” Agent Zero said breaking the silence, “Or are you afraid of flying?” I
shook my head, “I don’t mind flying. It’s not every day you get called to see
the Prime Minister ya’know… It’s like being called to the principal’s office in
grade school.”
Scarlette Day:
June 16 Location:
En route to Veridia Dragon
Flight 177
Note: Tirrora is three times the size of
Earth, so travel is important in the story. Since airplanes don’t exist, the
main mode of trans-oceanic travel by air is to fly via dragon. Dragons have the
ability to fly for days on end without rest making them a perfect mode of
transportation. Cabins are manufactured to hold passengers and then these
cabins are attached, to the belly of a dragon to be carried across the ocean or
land in the same manner as aircraft. Generally, aircraft are replaced by avian
animals. Buildings in the story are constructed by dragons, and other animals
that possess opposable thumbs. Since wolves, tigers, lions, bears, saber tooth
tigers, equines, or anything else of that likeness don’t have thumbs, major
structures like government buildings or hospitals are constructed by those who
do.
Kodiak Kodiak
was born in Central Veridia by himself in a rare litter of one. His mother
worked as a veterinarian and his father as a military officer. In a strange
twist of events, his parents moved to central Veridia leaving his older sister
to take care of him. His older sister, Kierra, was going to school to be a
veterinarian at that time so consequently, she to work extra to take care of
him. After Kodiak graduated hunting school, Red, Arko, and he went off to live
on their own (Which is pretty early for wolves their age at that time). Kierra
returned to Caniridia to finish school and eventually become the veterinarian
she worked so hard to become. He married Copper a few years later and settled
in Central Veridia. After a while, a group of wolves collected in that area
(Specifically: Red, Arko, Kodiak, Blue, Laika, Copper, Macross, Princess Nikki,
Shadow, and eventually others began to join the small group which hadn’t
official become a pack until later). Kodiak created the Central Veridian Pack
with twelve original members. The number continues to grow as of now. Princess
Nikki and Shadow call this pack home as well.
“What a waste of time…” I muttered
to myself as I stared out the window of the room. We had taken off a few hours
ago from Inaria’s international airport to return to Veridia. It was almost
like we had taken this whole trip for no reason. I glanced over at Kodiak, who
was sleeping soundly beside me. Our mission was to assist Inaria in an
investigation of the organization that was supposedly operating in Eastern
Inaria. Once we got there, that never happened. Instead, we got into it with a
couple of Fluffy’s personal stalkers. “Is there anything I can get for you
miss?” a flight attendant asked peeking into our room. I shook my head, “No
thanks.” The second part of our operation was last night, where we were sent to
Oceanica in order to make contact with the northern island where some of our
friends were. Nichole made it sound like we were in for a pretty important
operation… until once we landed there, we were turned away. Personally, I
wanted to sneak in and see what the big deal was all about… but the last thing
both Veridia and Inaria needed was an international incident against Oceanica,
of all places. I returned my stare toward the ocean we were flying above. Our
cabin was hooked below the belly of a massive dragon, whose massive wings
carried us across the vast Atlantic Ocean.
I felt my legs falling asleep, so I decided to take a stroll around. There were a few other animals on
board who were in the commons area talking about something like a war being
declared last night. “Yeah apparently Chechnya, Inaria, and Siberia are at war
as of last night.” One tiger said to another, “It happened just over night.” I
was confused. Weren’t we just there? Wasn’t everything fine just a few hours
ago? I crept in closer to listen to the conversation. “South Africa too, they
attacked the Kingdom of Alabast and now they’re at war as well.” The tiger
continued, “That, and the unrest going on in Europia… I think something is
going on here.” The others added input that I ignored. Once I felt the
conversation shift, I quickly returned to the room to wake Kodiak. When I
entered, I didn’t see him. “Where the…” I whispered to myself. Suddenly I felt
something like a cold blade poke at my back. “Don’t try anything stupid.” A
voice whispered very quietly from behind. It was a male who sounded so oddly
familiar. “Who the hell are you,” I growled, “What have you done to him…” “Shut
up and get in there.” The voice said quietly while at the same time pushing me
into the room. While inside, I tried to covertly get a look at the animal’s
face. I didn’t know who it was… but his voice… I knew it from somewhere. As
soon as I heard the door close I quickly turned around to see another wolf. He
had white fur and white eyes… something I had never seen before. “Who the hell…” I started before he
interrupted me. “What business do you have in Inaria, Scarlette?” He asked
quietly, “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” His voice was so familiar… but I
didn’t know his face from anywhere. “Who are you?!” I barked at him. He began
walking closer to me, “I was on cleanup for Lavender at the same time you were.
I can’t believe you don’t remember me… well, no matter. That’s all behind us
now isn’t it?” Suddenly, it came to me. Though I’ve never seen him before, he
was the one who was in charge of capturing prisoners for questioning during the
war between Veridia and Incarnadia… I never saw his face… but I heard his voice
many times while I was working under Lavender. “Who are you working for?” I
asked backing away, “Lavender is supposed to be dead by now.” The wolf threw
the knife across the room, “She’s not, and I’m not working under them anymore,
obviously.” I was confused, “Then what the hell are you doing here? What do you
want with me? What the hell did you do to Kodiak?!” He shook his head, “So many
questions… I’m here to warn you, Scarlette. You’re not the only one Lavender’s
investigators tried to kill off to keep quiet.” I felt the atmosphere change. I
expect him to try and kill me, but it seemed as though he actually wanted to
talk… “We should take this to a more discreet place… before your friend
returns.” He said walking toward the door. I followed him out of the cabin and
toward the door leading to the outside area. “You didn’t hurt him…
did you?” I asked nervously as we approached the exit, “I mean Kodiak… the
white wolf I’m here with… “Don’t worry; nobody needs to die today… not here
anyway.” He answered leaving the commons area and entering the outside one.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” He asked approaching the railing, “The fuselage were we
live is suspended on the belly of a huge dragon that carries animals across the
sea… travel sure has improved since I was a kid.” I followed him and looked
below at the ocean which we were crossing at a very fast pace. The sun was
intense, but the massive tail of the dragon shaded us from it. It felt nice to
get a breath of the fresh sea-air. “I didn’t know we could come out here.” I
said looking around, “This is only my second time flying on one of these.” The
wolf nodded, “You can. We’re not flying too high, so everything is fine.” We
were both quiet for a minute, only the sound of the wind against the dragon’s
wings and the ocean below made a sound. “I work for the KGB now, Siberia’s
Intelligence Agency.” The wolf finally said, “Call me Ivan.” I glanced up at
him, “That’s not really your name… is it?” He smiled, “It’s not really… but I
can’t go around being called what I used to… times are tough, and technically
I’m still being hunted by Vexis’s cleanup crew.” I nodded, “I figured as much.”
Ivan continued, “You’re really luck to be alive… I guess the same could be said
for all of us. I came here to tell you that Lavender’s madness is far from
over. She’s working with some serious animals now… I’m sure you’ve heard the
news.” “Do you think she has something to do with it? With the organization?” I
asked. “Very smart, I second guessed you.” Ivan continued, “Assuming you know
about the organization, we suspect she has ties with them now… she escaped
prison the night she was supposed to be executed.” Ivan glanced back, “We assumed she’d be in Siberia, or
Inaria… but nothing’s turned up… suddenly we get a sighting in Caniridia.
That’s why I’m here. Coincidentally, you’re here as well.” “So you think she’ll
try to kill us?” I asked, “Is that what you’re trying to warn me about?” Ivan
nodded, “Seeing as we’ve both joined different Intelligence agencies, it would
be bad for her to have animals like us in positions such as ours.” I nodded,
“Well okay… thanks… I guess.” Ivan turned and headed away, “Be careful,
Scarlette. If not, you may put yourself and your new family in danger.” As he
disappeared into the cabin, I couldn’t stop thinking about the last thing he
had said. It has been roughly six months since I agreed to work with Kodiak and
the Veridian Intelligence Agency… and I couldn’t have been more grateful to him
for saving me that night… ever since then I had very strong feelings towards
him… I glanced up to see him standing at the door. He appeared as though he had
just woken up. “There you are,” He smiled exiting the cabin, “Can you believe
they ran out of ice cream?” I laughed and shook my head, “You can’t be
serious.” He was just all around pleasant to be around. “I didn’t know we could
come out here.” He said looking around, “This is pretty cool.” I thought to
myself whether or not I should tell him about the discussion Ivan and I had.
“Hey have you heard about the war?” He finally said, “I think this was the quickest
flare up in Inarian history… or any history for that matter…” I decided to tell
him everything that Ivan had. He trusted me six months ago despite my dark
past… so I felt that I could trust him on such a matter as that. If it would,
in any way, threaten the pack where we lived, I felt that he should at least
know about it.
Ebony Night:
June 17 Location:
Eastern Inarian Settlement At
home
Ebony
was born in the capitol city of Chechnya. She was very smart but, along with
her friends, she would always get into trouble for things like skipping class
and fighting. She had always had a keen interest in working with secret
agencies as a sort of spy. When she tested for it, however, she failed.
Frustrated, she moved to Inaria and joined the Eastern Inarian Police Force
(eIPF). There, she was trained as an assassin and sent on many missions. She
was always successful in her objectives and, as a result, captured the focus of
the superintendent (Nichole was not yet the superintendent at that time). She
was eventually paired with Fluffy whose skills matched (she would say exceeded)
his. The two went on missions and ended up being the biggest success the eIPF
had ever seen. News
of Ebony’s success eventually traveled back to Chechnya where the same
officials who failed her on her initial test learned of her great success in
Inaria. They offered her the position she always wanted. Ebony, who was very
patriotic towards her territory, immediately took it. After working with Fluffy
for so long, she returned to Chechnya as an assassin/spy. Before she left, her
and Fluffy had dated for a bit and even planned to get married eventually.
Fluffy was devastated by her departure, but would eventually move on. Shortly
after an incident destroyed Chechnya’s central government and threw the
territory into anarchy, Ebony rounded up a group of her colleagues to try and
retake Chechnya from the Siberians, who had invaded under the impression that
they were “restoring democracy” to the region. She was labeled as a rogue
organization leader and many assassination attempts were made (Fifty seven to
be exact). She was never killed, however, because of her great skills and
knowledge. Instead, her pack would eventually suffer extreme losses until it
was only her and five others remaining. After Siberia had completely taken
over, Fluffy was sent to Chechnya with orders from Nichole to investigate and
possibly assassinate Ebony. Upon
further investigation, Fluffy realized that she had nothing to do with the
murder of a police agent (the murder of a female police agent possibly by Ebony
was the initial cause of the preliminary investigation as well as the
subsequent mission carried out by Fluffy) and convinced her to stop resisting
the Siberian invaders. Instead, he convinced her to return to Inaria to
continue working with him again. Ebony, aware that she couldn’t win and
convinced that her skills could be used elsewhere, agreed to return to Inaria
to work with Fluffy again. Deep down inside, she planned to return to her
territory to save it from Siberia’s rule.
“This
is bad…” I kept thinking to myself, “This is really, really baad.” I was dizzy
and so confused… everything happened so fast… before I realized it… he was
dead. I looked down at my blood soaked paws and over towards the guy I had
killed. He was wandering around the outside of my den while I was sleeping, so
naturally I assumed he was sent by someone… to kill me. I don’t remember
exactly what happened… but the next time I came to my senses I had already
killed him. Upon further investigation I realized that the wolf I had killed
was a part of Nichole’s investigation team… and a pretty important part of it. My
heart stopped for a second. The timing couldn’t have possibly been worse… the
day after Inaria and Chechnya went to war, a Chechnyan assassin kills an
Inarian investigator. “Oh god…” I whispered to myself. No one would believe me
if I told them the truth… that it was an accident… I didn’t know what to do.
After the initial shock and confusion wore off, I began thinking of ways I
could hide everything that happened… I lived in the center of a settlement that
was populated by nocturnal animals… so sneaking out at night with the body
would be hard to do. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, I heard the crack
of lightning and the slow downpour of rain. “D****t…” I muttered to myself
glancing outside of my den. Even though I hated the rain, it would work as the perfect cover. I
waited a while for the rain to get more intense before I dragged the agent’s
body onto my back and quietly headed towards the forest. I
couldn’t stop shivering out of fear… It’s not like I hadn’t ever killed anyone…
but something about this particular wolf had my stomach aching and my mind a
blur. At that moment I felt nothing but contempt for Nichole… the wolf I felt
was trying to sabotage everything I was working towards. “Everything was going
so well…” I growled to myself, “Before she stepped in and fucked EVERYTHING
up…” Thinking back, she probably planned
this all along. The rain had picked up so much that I could hardly see a few
feet in front of me. “Damn this Inarian weather…” I muttered to myself
continuing towards the river. After a few miles of treading through mud and wet
grass I reached the usually calm river which, because of the downpour, had
turned into a raging torrent of debris. Without second thought I dropped the
body into the river and, not even a few seconds later, it had disappeared. It
felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my mind. That river leads to the
underground caverns, so I doubt anyone would ever discover it. On the walk back
home I tried to think of what I’d do next. Should I tell Fluffy about what
happened? I didn’t think it was necessary. But if someone were to locate the
body of that agent who was supposed to be watching me, and I didn’t at least
tell fluffy about it… it would look suspicious. As
I approached my den, I noticed that the lights were on. “But I didn’t…” I
thought to myself. Suddenly, all kinds of thoughts rushed through my head.
“Have I been caught?” was the first thing that came to mind. I slowly crept to
the side of the door and peeked in to see Fluffy making himself comfortable. I
sighed one of relief and entered. “You almost scared the crap out of me…” I
said walking in, “I could have killed you y’know.” He smiled, “Well, you and I
both know that would never happen, after all, I am the best fighter out of the two of us.” I came close to him
expecting a kiss, but instead I got another shock. “Hey is that blood?” He
asked peering at my back, “What happened? Are you okay?” “S**t…” I muttered to
myself and quickly thought of a response. “Its fine I was… doing some late
night hunting…” I responded looking at the floor, “Little alicorn didn’t see me
coming…” He laughed, “Of course! Who would expect anything less than that from
you?” I laughed along with him just glad that I had dodged that one… “Fluffy, why does that girl hate me so much?”
I asked referring to Nichole. He stopped laughing a shrugged, “It’s not
personal, I don’t think… she’s just really serious when it comes to her job.” I
nodded. Deep down inside, I knew it was personal, or else she wouldn’t have
gone to such lengths to frame me for murder.
“But whatever, enough about Nichole you’re turning me off!” He
proclaimed proudly, “It’s raining outside and I love the smell of your wet
fur!” “Be quiet, you’ll wake the neighbors…” I said blushing, “are you trying
to get everyone pissed off at me?” He came closer until his muzzle was pushed
up against mine, “Maybe…” I felt his tail wrap around mine. Suddenly a bolt of
lightning cracked through the sky followed by a loud burst of thunder. In the
second the lightning had flashed, I could have sworn I saw the wolf I had
killed standing at the door.
Fiona Day:
June 18 Location:
Central Veridia Central
Veridian Pack
Fiona Fiona was born in Britannia. When
she was five years old, her mother died from cancer and her father was killed
in action as a police officer. She spent several years in a Britannian
orphanage and, five years later, she was adopted by an Incarnadian wolf. She moved to Incarnadia where her adopted
mother, father and sister lived. (Incarnadia at the time was under the rule of
Princess Lavender’s Father. They remained at war with Veridia at that time as
well. ) Fiona’s adopted mother worked in the Incarnadian government as a close
advisor to the king and her father was a high ranking officer in the military.
Their parents favored Fiona over Paegan, her sister, because Fiona was smarter
and rarely got into trouble. Paegan, on the other hand, did sort of poorly in
school and got into a lot of trouble. Since the actions of her children
reflected upon her greatly, Paegan and Fiona’s parents often would ignore
Paegan and would claim Fiona as her true daughter by birth rather than Paegan. Even though Paegan often acted as
if she didn’t care about her mother and father’s feelings towards her, she
secretly tried her best to outdo her sister. But to no avail. Feelings of
jealousy began to build and eventually sprouted into animosity to a point where
all she could think about was destroying her sister’s perfect life. She began
plotting to kill Fiona, in order to return to being the only child and,
hopefully, restoring her parents’ love for her. Paegan and her best friend,
Ashley, came up with a plan to murder Fiona. The plan was to ambush her in an
alleyway she used as a shortcut from school, stab her multiple times, and then
dump her body off of one of many sea cliffs on the coast. They would also
shatter some of her bones, to make it seem as though she was killed when she
fell off. Paegan wasn’t very smart in that
she wrote her plan down and left a lot of evidence that would prove her guilt.
On the day of execution, Paegan and Ashley were caught by their parents and the
Incarnadian police. Paegan’s parents would end up disowning her and abandoning
her in the Jagged Pass, a treacherous mountain trail separating Vitraia from
Caniridia. The temperature is always sub-zero and survival is nearly
impossible. Ashley’s parents were abusive, but not much else is known about
her. A few days after the incident, she was seen with scratch marks torn across
her face. Rumor has it, that her father was the cause. Fiona would eventually
return to Britannia to work in international relations. She then moved to
Veridia to work under Princess Nikki. She married Macross a few days later and
joined the Central Veridian Pack. Katiya Katiya was born in Eastern Siberia
to a poor family. Her parents sold her to the Chechnyan Assassin Academy when
she was five years old. There, all innocence was taken from her. She was
exposed to some of the most ruthless and violent things anyone could ever
imagine. The Chechnyan Assassin Academies were school-like academies that were
made to train strong assassins for government disposal. The schools were
extremely strict. If one tried to escape, he/she was executed in front of
everyone else, to make an example. If any of them showed any type of emotion,
they would be tortured. Katiya was brainwashed for years and had been taught to
kill for the Chechnyan Government from the age of five to about fourteen. In
her earlier days there, she made a friend named Victoria, a Chechnyan Wolf
female in the same class as her. Victoria had been sold there too and the two
got along very well. Katiya was very strong and she did her best to teach
Victoria, who wasn’t very strong at all, the basics. In the Chechnyan Assassin
Camps, the strongest member of the class is forced to fight and kill the
weakest members (in the first stage, the strongest kills one of the weakest. In
the second, they kill two, in the third they kill three and so on until only 10
remain.). Consequently, Katiya was pitted against her best friend, Victoria. In
the CAA, hesitation is strictly forbidden and is answered with death. However
when Katiya realized that her superiors wanted her to kill Victoria, she
hesitated. Rather than killing her on the spot, Katiya’s trainers tortured her
for seven days as punishment until she would kill her best friend. It took two
weeks of vicious torture before Katiya killed her best friend. After that day, Katiya hardly
spoke. She never made friends. Instead, she killed those she was ordered to and
did nothing more or less. She ended up graduating as one of the strongest
Chechnyan Assassins the CAAs had ever produced. She killed over 115 targets for
them so far. Eventually, the Chechnyan government fell apart. She continued to
work for her handler until she decided to kill him and do her own thing. The sun tore through the window of my den jerking me
awake. I tried to get up but Macross’s held me tighter every time I tired. I
sighed and laid back down. It has been a while since I joined the Central
Veridian Pack, it felt nice to belong somewhere despite everything that had
happened in my life so far. I glanced up at Macross, who was still asleep. He
snored loudly, and a sea of drool collected under his head. “Had I never joined
Kodiak’s pack, I never would’ve met him…” I smiled to myself and smacked him
awake. “Wake up you beast, you’re drowning me with your spit.” I growled at him
as he slowly awakened. “Huh….” He mumbled, “What happened?” I slipped out of
his grip and went to the entrance of our den, “You’re starting to snore again.”
I replied, “Do you want to go hunting?” He shook his head and laid back down,
“No, I think… I’ll get a little bit more sleep.” I sighed and walked out. Central
Veridia is nestled in the center of the Veridian forest which is very close to
the coast. It was a way prettier place than Britannia, where I was born, and
Incarnadia, where I was raised. Incarnadia had a lot of beautiful landscapes
similar to Veridia, except it snowed a lot there… and I hate the snow. I continued outward to the outskirts where the
Vitraian plains started. Here, a lot of the herbivores live. Apparently all the
pygmy alicorns were still asleep, because I didn’t see any of them where they
usually come out to graze. “Is it really this early?” I wondered out loud to
myself. “It is… kind of…” A voice replied. I quickly looked back, but no one was
there. “Who’s there?” I asked nervously. I didn’t recognize the voice. When I
turned around, there was nothing, “Who the hell are you?” Suddenly, I felt the
presence of something that appeared behind me. When
I turned to look, I saw an unfamiliar wolf girl smiling maniacally at me. “Paegan said it would be easy… but holy crap I
didn’t realize it’d be this easy!”
She growled and before I could say anything back she jumped at my throat. I
wasn’t able to react before her paws were wrapped around my neck and her claws
were digging into my throat. “Paegan sends her regards!” The wolf girl said
smiling insanely. I tried to struggle loose from her grip, but it was too much.
In an instant, the wolf girl’s grip was released when a quick white blur
tackled her off of. I glanced around to see another wolf pinning the other to
the ground. “What the hell…” I muttered to myself as I struggled to get up. “Katiya…What
are you…” The wolf girl grunted trying to look up at the other. The other wolf
was a very light shade of grey, with snow-white hair, and blue eyes. She had a
blank gaze that… I sort of recognized from somewhere. “Huh, I never guessed
you’d be here… of all places.” The other wolf girl muttered, still smiling,
“What a dream come true…” Katiya didn’t say anything. “What… who the hell are
you…” I asked confused at what just happened. “Paegan wants to kill you.” The
wolf girl replied immediately, “You know her, right? I mean… she is your sister and all….” I was
surprised to know hear her talk about Paegan. I was adopted by her mother when
I was five… technically making us sisters. But she never accepted it. As a
matter of fact, she hated me. “What...? How do you…” I began asking nervously,
“How do you know her…?” “She
sent me to kill you, dumbass.” She replied with a grin, “Or maybe you didn’t notice…
y’know, me trying to kill you.” She then glanced up at Katiya, “Can you get off
of me please? It’s getting hard to breathe with your fat a*s crushing my
windpipe.” Katiya didn’t say anything. “Anyways, your girlfriend may have
protected your sorry a*s now… but there will definitely be more assassins like
me. It would be best if you just gave yourself up and died.” The wolf girl
continued. “It would be a shame if your little pack-friends had to suffer
because of you… Macross, and Kodiak and…” Before she could finish, Katiya
quickly grabbed her muzzle and twisted her neck around, making an eerie sound
similar to a tree branch snapping. “Shut the hell up already.” Katiya muttered
releasing her grip on the now lifeless wolf girl. “You… killed her…” I whispered,
still shivering from the sound of her neck breaking. Katiya glanced over at me,
“She was sent to kill you, and like she said, there will be more.” I looked up
her. She still had the same blank expression she always had. “There can be
several of them.” She said observing the assassin she had just killed, “You’re
lucky I came in time.” “But why? Why did you save me?” I said quietly. “An
enemy of Paegan can’t be too bad, especially if you’re her sister.” She replied
walking away. “Wait! What do I do?!” I cried out after her. She stopped and
looked back, “It’s up to you. Essentially, you can stay and fight but your pack
would be in danger… or… you can go alone.” After that, she continued walking. I
was so confused. What was supposed to be a normal day turned out to be a
nightmare… just like that… “Didn’t she just say that she was here to protect
me…?” I whispered out loud to myself.
Case
File Day:
June 22 Location:
Incarnadian Center for Disease Control, Coastal District, Inc. Incarnadian Central Intelligence TOP SECRET The following information is for executive
eyes only. The current situation regarding a recent suspected biological
terrorist attack against Incarnadia two days ago is still unfolding; however
this case file will outline the events that have unfolded the past two days and
the government action following. This information is classified and can be
considered class A “For executive Eyes only”. Certain information has been
blacked out, as it is strictly for the president’s eyes only.
June 20
(10:30pm): A small
medical center in the southern Forest Edge District receives two patients
showing symptoms of an early onset of rabies. Here are the recorded symptoms: -Confusion -High Fever -Clouded Eyes - Dilated pupils -Twitching/ Involuntary actions. -Foaming at the mouth -Seizures -Suspected internal and external hemorrhaging Cont. The two patients were unable to
answer simple questions such as their age, name, or location. They were
diagnosed with Common Rabies by the local nurse and a treatment was deployed to
the region from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Capital City,
Incarnadia. (11:12pm): The two patients died from heart
failure, an unusually quick death for common rabies. Upon further
investigation, Patient number 1 had a very deep bite behind his neck. Patient
2, patient 1’s mate, was bitten by Patient 1 in the same location. The skin
around the bite marks had blackened an unusual symptom from common rabies.
Information was sent to the CDC for further investigation. (11:32pm): Twenty minutes later, thirteen more
districts in that area reported similar breakouts. The symptoms were all the
same as before. CDC was notified immediately. The Forest Edge District reported
the reanimation of the two patients who had been declared dead twenty minutes
ago. They reported that the two had come back to life in a zombified like
state. They reported that they were unable to speak clearly however the
following actions were reported: -The reanimated patients bit one of the nurses to death. -They were unable to see, however their sense of smell and
hearing remained unimpaired. -Patient 1 was captured, 2 was killed. No heartbeat was
reported in patient 1, body temperature was extremely low, and the specimen was
not breathing. Cont. The CDC and the Incarnadian government
were notified immediately. Sources from Caniridia and Antarceos reported the
disease as actually Rabies C-Strand Virus, the following is information
regarding the C-strand Virus recorded by Antarceos’s Medical Branch.
Antarceos Medical File Rabies (C-strand Virus)
BG Information: The
C-strand Virus is a genetically enhanced version of the Common Strand (A) of
Rabies. It is transmitted by body fluid contact (Saliva, Blood, Semen, etc.)
and is transferred from animal to animal (warm-blooded) most commonly by bites
but possible sexual contact with an infected. The Virus attacks the central
nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems causing death but eventual
reanimation. The virus works extremely quickly as death is reported only 1-3
hours after initial infection. Signs/Symptoms: Initial
Bite: Behavioral Changes,
Malaise, Headache, Fever, Acute Pain, Violent movements, Involuntary movements,
Coughing/Vomiting Blood, paralysis,
clouded eyes, dilated pupils, intense shivering, twitching/seizures, cardiac
arrest, death. Signs/Symptoms:
Initial Bite (Behavior change examples): Maniacal Laughing, growling, teeth
bearing, Cannibalism, excessive crying, paranoia, biting, Confusion. After Death: After
death, the specimen comes back to life in a “zombified state” characterized as
the reanimation and autonomy of an animal corpse however lacking sufficient
brain activity or vital function to be considered alive or capable of thought.
The reanimated corpse preys after living animals, attempting to bite and
consume the flesh. They do not appear to communicate with each other; however
cannibalism was recorded in a lot of infected, even before death. Reanimated
corpses usually die within three days (without a food source). Prevention: Don’t
get bitten by an infected. After death reanimation (Zombification) can be
prevented by destruction of the brain of the dead. Treatment: PtA-234
Strand F vaccination injected directly into the brain of an infected patient
(BEFORE) death successfully killed the Virus however permanent nerve and mental
problems may ensue and has been recorded. After the patient dies, it is not
possible to bring him/her back to “life”. The vaccine DOES NOT prevent future
exposure. (See prognosis) Prognosis: The PtA-234 Vaccine is 23%
successful in 100% restoring mental state of an infected patient assuming there
was little or no delay in treatment. After 10-20 minutes before treatment, the
success rate drops to 5-10%. After death, the treatment reaches 0%. Death of
untreated patients is 100%.
Cont. The C-strand
rabies was developed in our Laboratories during the reign of Princess Lavender.
All possible research and observations were destroyed; however an unknown
strand was smuggled out of the lab and sold to a prominent terrorist
organization known as “The
Inner Circle”.. The first outbreak was recorded in Caniridia some time
ago. The second was reported in Antarceos just a few days ago. (12am): The government issues a Territory emergency. CDC agents are deployed to
the fourteen districts with infect patients. Travel between these districts is
shut off in order to quarantine the virus and prevent further spread. Travel
between other Territories is also closed off to prevent Territorial transmission.
(3am): Citizens are urged to keep an eye on family members and/or pack mates for
the symptoms, if any are reported, to contact the health service immediately.
The death toll rises to 523 confirmed deaths. A natural acid is injected into
the brains of the dead patients in order to prevent zombification. June 21 (12pm
[Day 2]): The CDC announces that the virus had
been contained. The Executive Branch has an emergency meeting with Princess of
Veridia Nikki Flownne and the Prime Minister of Caniridia, Fang. A press
conference is held and matters are discussed to the public. (3:23pm [Day
2]): The bodies of the infected are disposed. Death toll
climbed to 1,223. 120 were infected but immediately and successfully and
treated. The executive branch calls for an investigation as to the whereabouts
of the initial infection. (6:37pm [Day 2]): Seventeen agents from
the Incarnadian Intelligence Agency (including myself) were deployed to the
Forest Edge District, the initial location of the viral outbreak. Upon
investigation of the initial two infected, the male (who was first infected)
appeared to have been injected with the virus. The injection location was his
left flank. The female, who had been infected second, was bitten by the male. It wasn’t possible for the
virus to have spread through the first two into the thousands of others. The
CDC suspects that the virus was dispersed through “sleeper agents” or enemy
agents who purposely inject the virus into random citizens hoping for it to
spread. We returned to The Capital with our findings.
(10:00pm [Day 2]): The virus was declared
eradicated. The Territory emergency was declared over.
***************UPDATED JUNE
22**************************** At 1300, a suspicious male wolf was arrested in one of the Districts that
had been infected. On his person were a four of hypodermic needles and a
strange vial of purplish-red fluid. Upon further investigation, the vials
contained blood infected with the C-strand Virus. The suspect was questioned.
The wolf, who is a male in his late twenties, is determined to be
Archechestrian. Intense questioning and information extraction methods produced
the following results: -
The attack was orchestrated by the
“The Inner Circle”. -
There were four sleeper agents who
were to carry out the attack. The mission was compromised when one of the cells
committed suicide, possibly out of pressure, and two others accidentally
infected themselves. The lone wolf infected fourteen citizens himself causing
the widespread outbreak that was successfully contained. -
He admitted to be an agent working in
the Archechestrian branch of the Inner Circle, whom he suggested would soon
wage ware on Vitraia.
Nichole Day:
June 20 Location:
Inarian Capital Executive
Government Campus
The flight took a little while but
Agent Zero and I finally reached the Inarian Capital. I had been summoned by
the Premier of Inaria, Nora… I still do not know why, but I suspected it had
something to do with Fluffy and the Chechnyan girl. “Nervous?” Agent Zero asked
as we headed up the stairs to the Premier’s office. “No.” I replied blankly,
“Let’s just get this over with.” We headed up a long flight of stairs and then
up more and more stairs. Her office was at the very top of a large building set
in the middle of the Executive Campus, where the Inarian government is housed.
We finally reached the top of the building where a large door separated us from
her. “Well this is as far as I go.” Agent Zero whispered to me turning around,
“good luck, okay?” I quickly turned to face him, “Wait, where the hell are you
going?” He ignored me and started down the stairs. I swallowed my nervousness
and entered the door. Nora’s office was a massive room that led to a huge
outdoor balcony. The balcony faced the Inarian Bay, which produced a beautiful
landscape. There were a bunch of statues of prominent past government officials
lined against the wall as well as expensive looking paintings. In the center of
the room was a large table, behind it was Premier Nora. She was a white wolf
with a black stripe trailing from the tip of her nose to her tail. She had
bright red eyes and very serious demeanor. “Mrs. Nichole?” She said quietly
looking up, “How was your flight?” “It was alright, your majesty.” I replied,
rendering the proper respect, “I apologize for taking so long to get here.” She
smiled, “The east coast is pretty far away, I’m surprised you got here this
fast. Please take a seat.” I walked closer to her and took a seat in front of
her desk. “As you may have already been told, Chechnya has declared war on us a
few days ago.” She began, “My military leaders have already mobilized the army,
and the air force is on standby. My main concern is the East, for now anyway,
because of how close Chechnya is to you. The Inarian Intelligence Agency as
well as the Secret Service and the Special Forces have requested that I base
them in the East in order to perform… special operations. I brought you here
because I have a special assignment for you, should you choose to accept it.” I
nodded, “Whatever you need.” She nodded, “I want to base these agencies in your
area. The military will be based in your village and on the Chechnyan-Inarian
border north of it. I observed your records and you have produced some
promising results regarding your police operations. I want to promote you to
Executive Supervisor for Eastern Secret Operations; pretty much you’ll oversee
the underground work of the Secret Services while I control the military
action.” My heart skipped a beat at what she had said. The position
she was prepared to put me in is one of the highest anyone in my field could
get to. I would be in direct command of some of Inaria’s deepest secrets and
I’d be under direct supervision of the Premier herself. Without second thought,
I accepted the position. “I’m glad to hear.” Premier Nora said handing me a
stack of papers titled “Top Secret”, “We will deploy a team of assassins for
your disposal, operations we will be undertaking include assassinations,
kidnappings, and the eventual topple of the Chechnyan government. You are free
to utilize your own agents for these operations, but please keep in mind that
these operations are strictly top secret… we don’t need ANYTHING like this
falling into enemy hands.” Right when she told me that, I immediately thought
of Ebony. If Nora knew that a Chechnyan assassin was operating right under my
nose… I don’t even want to think about the possible problems… “I understand.” I
replied. “Excellent, the security of Eastern will be in the paws of you and
your subordinates. The agency leaders are waiting for you in the conference
room.” Nora said standing up, “Good luck, Nichole.” I nodded and left the room
quickly. So many thoughts were crowding my head as I proceeded to the
conference room. Ebony could present so many problems to me now it was
unbelievable… I decided getting rid of her would be my number one priority. I
entered the conference room to see three animals waiting for me, each were the
head of the agencies I would be in charge of. The first was a Saber tooth Tiger
named Briggs. He is in charge of the Eastern branch of the Inarian Intelligence
Agency. The second was a tiger. His name was undisclosed, but I was told to
refer to him as Cell A. He was in charge of the federal Investigations committee.
The last was a female fox named Victoria, or Vikki for short. She was in charge
of assassination operations and “behind enemy lines” tactics. We met and spoke
for a little while before I decided it was time to return to the Center, in
order to get things started.
*****************************
TWO DAYS LATER ****************************
I climbed the stairs and walked into
the office building where I worked. The offices fell quiet as me and my
department leaders walked through. “Everybody, meeting in the auditorium, right
now!” I cried to everyone and proceeded there myself. I waited as the
auditorium filled with my workers as well as the newly arrived ones who were to
be working under me. I scanned the crowd looking for Fluffy and, if she had the
nerve to show up, Ebony. I saw him, sitting in the back half-sleep, but I
didn’t see her. A few minutes passed before everyone had settled down. “I
called you all here because there is some serious s**t about to take place
here.” I said standing up. The room fell from a dull roar to absolute silence.
“As you all should know, Chechnya has declared war on us, and there’s already
been a lot of fighting going on up north. The military’s main focus is going to
be in this area. So naturally, we’re going to be host to lot of government
agencies here for a while. That is what Premier Nora wanted to discuss with me.
Behind me are the department head which will head those departments. You will
show them the upmost respect and do as they say.” The room was filled with whispering
amongst the animals. “The key here is security. While we are switching from
police operations to Intelligence and military ones, I want everyone to be on
lookout for suspicious activities and animals. Don’t hesitate to stop and
question if you feel it’s necessary. Also, be sure you are practicing good
judgment… don’t make yourselves a target and don’t discuss secret information
outside of these walls. That is all.” The room was once again filled with
talking. “Fluffy I want to see you in my office.” I said walking passed him,
“Right now.” The upper floors were empty as
everyone was still on the lower decks discussing me little speech. I sat in my
office thinking of what to say and how to say it when Fluffy finally entered.
“Before you say anything I want you to understand something.” I quickly said
before he could sit down, “There is some serious stuff about to happen now. I
hold an important position now and the eIPF is in the government’s spotlight
now. There are a lot of important animals focusing on us, Fluffy.” He nodded.
Fluffy’s usual laid back and witty demeanor was gone. Now, he had a serious
one. “I want to talk to you about that girl. Ebony.” I continued, “I don’t
think I need to tell you how dangerous her being here is to our Territory’s security.
But I will anyway.” Before I could say anything, he quickly interrupted.
“You’ve been telling me this for days now… I’m telling you she not a freaking
threat!” He barked, “I thought you said you trusted my judgment?!” A few days
ago, when I originally sent him to spy on her, he actually brought her back… I
never trusted her. “Now that her territory is being rebuilt and is at war with
us, you can’t tell how she’ll react, Fluffy!” I replied angrily, “You may THINK you understand what’s going on in
that thick skull of hers, but you can’t! There’s no way you can know these
things!” I took a deep sigh, “There are a lot of government officials coming
down her now, Fluffy… we can’t afford
having her floating around here… especially now of all times.” Fluffy glared at
me, “So what? Now what do you want me to do?” I shook my head, “I want her the
f**k out of my life, out of my District and out of my goddamn territory. I told
you this already and you said you’d handle it, Fluffy. Don’t toy with me
Fluffy, I swear to god…” Fluffy sighed and got up, “Is that all?” I shook my
head, “No, sit down. I sent someone down there to keep an eye on her… but I
haven’t heard back from him. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that
would you?” Fluffy looked at me, surprised at what I had told him, “You sent
someone to spy one her?! What the f**k Nichole?!” I glared at him, “I don’t
have to explain myself to you nor will I. Answer the question Fluffy.” He shook
his head, “No, I wouldn’t.” I nodded, “Okay, that’s all I needed to know.”
© 2013 VeridianWolf |
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