"Dark Legion" - Ch. 3
Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2000 2:32 am
Tell me what you think.<br><br><!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br><br>CHAPTER 3:<br><br>        Jon stood on the balls of his feet, rocking slightly. He was ready to make one of his feet meet the throat of the person that was coming towards him. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> I may be older than most of these students, but I still have a few surprises up my sleeve.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, thought Jon.<br>        Jon let his muscles relax as the figure’s outline materialized into Joline, the young woman from the night before. Jon noted Joline’s eyes, they were a perfect blue, almost like the color of the sky. He also noticed how her shoulder length, blonde hair caught the evening sunlight. For the first time, Jon had noticed Joline.<br>        “Hello, sir. I noticed you were standing there, and I thought I would come over and say hello.”, was all she said.<br>        Jon tried to moderate his voice as he replied, “Hello. You are a sight for sore eyes.”<br>        “Thanks, I think.”, said Joline. “I am finished for the evening. Do you want to visit a local café?”<br>        “No, I did not sleep well last night. I think I will turn in early tonight.”, said Jon. “Besides, I have to prepare for my lecture tomorrow. Did you know that I was asked by the dean to teach one of your classes tomorrow?”<br>        “Yes, we all know. The dean made an announcement about half an hour ago. Most of us are excited to see you.”, replied Joline with a hint of a smile.<br>        “Thanks.”, Jon said. “Care to join me on my way to my sleeping quarters in the city?”<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Real smooth, there Jon. She’s probably thinking I just asked her to join me</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> at <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> my sleeping quarters.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, thought Jon wryly.<br><br>        “Sure.”, was all Joline said. Jon was a little surprised.<br><br>        They walked towards the school’s wall, oblivious to the people around them. They walked for some time, talking about military tactics, and what it was like for Jon to go to school here several years before. After leaving the school’s main gate, the two of them walked towards one of the local inns in the city. The Stooping Tull was its name. Though when Joline asked Jon if he knew what a Tull was, he said no. The two of them stopped in front of the inn.<br>        “I had a good conversation with you, Joline.”, said Jon, noticing her hair again. “Thanks.”<br>        “Any time.”, replied Joline with a smile.<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> She is gorgeous! Why am I suddenly thinking of her this way though?</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, thought Jon. Jon turned to go inside, then stopped suddenly and turned back to face Joline.<br>        “Joline, how old are you?”, asked Jon.<br>        “I am in my twenty ninth year.”, replied Joline. “How old are you, Jon?”<br>        “I have thirty two years.”, said Jon. He whispered, “It could work out.”<br>        “What’s that? Did you say something?”, asked Joline, looking suspiciously at Jon.<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> There I go again, opening my big mouth.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, thought Jon. “I was just remarking how close in years we are. It is nothing important.”<br>        “Well, in that case you won’t mind if I do this.”, she said.<br>        Jon was wondering what she meant by that, when he noticed that Joline was moving towards him. Jon almost stopped her, but she wasn’t threatening him. He took a quick breath as he felt Joline’s lips brush against his. The kiss was almost nothing, yet it touched every part of Jon’s being. The two of them stood there looking into each other’s eyes.<br>She was so beautiful at that moment. Her eyes were the most beautiful blue he had ever seen, like the waters off the coast of the town where he grew up. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> No, there is no comparison, not when they are the most beautiful blue I’ve ever seen.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, thought Jon. Joline did not stop him when he kissed her the most passionately he knew how.<br>When they finally stopped kissing, Jon noticed that everything was somehow less than what it was before, like life had somehow become pale in comparison to when they were kissing. He also noticed that he was near to out of breath, and so was Joline.<br>“That was... good.”, said Joline, a little out of breath still.<br>The two of them sat down on the walkway in front of the inn, looking up at the first stars and the green, late evening sky.<br>“A beautiful start.”, said Jon. He wasn’t sure if he meant the kiss or the night sky. He took it to mean both.<br>“Jon, I have had a good time, but you said that you have to do some work to prepare for tomorrow’s lecture. I will see you later.”, said Joline.<br>“You are right, I do have a lot of work to do.”, replied Jon. “I hope that we can do this again?”<br>“Yes, I would love to.”, said Joline with a smile. “How about tomorrow night?”<br>“I will see what I can do. After your lecture, I have to submit a report.”, Jon wearily said.<br>“Sounds good then. I will stop by here around 1800 hours. Goodnight.”, Joline said as she brushed another kiss against Jon’s lips. It was more of a parting kiss, but it still had that same energizing feel that made everything seem to come alive.<br>Joline left Jon bewildered, sitting on the walkway in front of the inn. He got up when she was out of sight, and walked another 200 meters down the street and crossed it. Jon knew he had been watched the last time that he was with Joline.<br><br>Jon went into a café and left through the rear entrance. He then walked along the service way for a hundred meters or so, the whole time watching his rear and the rooftops around him.<br>Then Jon went into the rear of the building he was staying at. He asked the innkeeper if anyone had stopped by looking for him. The innkeeper said no, there wasn’t anyone that had stopped by. Jon knew the innkeeper was a good man, he was a friend from when Jon studied at the school. The man was solid, Jon could trust him with his life and the life of anyone that Jon cared for. Jon thanked the man, then went downstairs to his room. The night was young and there were things to do; a report to finish, and a class to prepare for.<br><br><br>Jon woke at the first hint of light out side. He stood up to stretch, when he noticed that his dresser drawer was open. He had shut everything the night before. A sudden thought made the hairs on the back of Jon’s neck stand straight up. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Someone was in here while I was sleeping!</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>Jon looked around to see if anything else had been disturbed. He glanced at the door to his wash room when he noticed a message on his PDA. It was written on some sort of cloth, and stuffed into the cusp where the PDA met the elbow joint on his armor.<br><br>WE ARE ALWAYS WATCHING YOU.<br><br>The message made Jon look around very carefully. Jon’s heart was racing wildly as adrenaline brought his senses to full readiness. He thought hard for a moment. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> If anyone is still in my room, then they will see what I am doing. If they do that, then maybe I can perform some misinformation….</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>Jon grabbed his PDA and helmet. He activated his communications gear and set up an encrypted line with his current client.<br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><b> You are transmitting early. Why?</b><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, said a voice into Jon’s helmet.<br>“I am sending you an encrypted copy of the report, sir.”, Jon did not know who he was addressing, but figured a ‘sir’ would satisfy honor. Jon started typing on his PDA furiously, it was the true message that he wanted to send.<br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><b> I have received your transmission.</b><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, said the voice. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><b> I understand what you have said. I will relay the report to my senior.</b><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>“Thank you.”, said Jon as he killed the communications link. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> I hope this works.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>Jon had sent four messages: the preliminary report that he had been writing, the voice communication with the person on the other end, a special encrypted report of the encounter with the plasma barrel the other day, and an update that was not encrypted. There were only two people that had the key to the special encrypted report, and Jon was one of them. The other was the current Junsei of the Diamond Sword. The Diamond Sword was now aware of what was happening here. They would prepare for a strike, no matter what that report said. The ‘update’ that Jon had sent was for his watcher’s eyes and ears. They would not know what Jon had done until they commenced their assault on this world.<br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> I hope that works. Never before has so much depended on my cunning. I hope it works.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>Jon checked the lock on his door, noticed it was secure, and went to wash himself.<br><br>        After washing, and making sure his hair was the proper length of one centimeter on top, and bare skin on the sides, Jon went to ready his armor. He did a quick check of how presentable it looked, laying it on his bed. Jon had stowed it in a portable case for the trip to this world, and the armor looked good. He started to get into it, noting that it was much different than standing at an inventory station to receive his armor.<br>        First, he had to step into his boots and cuirass (shinguards), making sure that he did not fall over. Then he sat into the section that he called his trouser section, making sure that the armor bonded with his cuirass well. Next he lay down into his torso and upper arm sections, again making sure that the pieces that he had on at the moment fit well with what he was trying to slip into. Next Jon rolled to his side, got his feet under himself, and strained to bring himself upright. He did it, and was reminded of the fact that it was extremely difficult to put Hoplite armor on when it was unpowered. Next, Jon slipped his forearms into each respective section and then turned on his armor. The weight of his armor was taken off his frame as the armor started to support more of itself. Jon breathed a sigh of relief.<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Guess I can still do it.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, he thought. Suiting up in unpowered armor was one of the things that Jon had learned here at the school. One never knew when it would come in handy.<br>        Lastly, Jon grabbed his helmet. Once he put that on, Jon’s armor would be a self-contained environment. Jon walked over to a mirror to check that the seams on his armor were all sealed and in proper order. Jon did some stretches and jumped up and down a few times to make sure that he had everything in place. After that, Jon grabbed his blaster, plasma gun, and his disc launcher and attached them to his belt. Setting the components on, felt right. While thinking of this, Jon suddenly thought of an idea.<br>        Jon grabbed his ELF gun from his weapons and checked the charge, it was full. He then pulled the trigger to switch it on. Jon swept the room in large arcs as he backed into a corner. He was watching for the weapon to grab a cloaked target. Suddenly, the electron flux gun locked onto something. It was so sudden that Jon flinched. He looked at what it had grabbed and quickly turned it away when he saw that it was one of the light panels.<br>        <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> Ha ha. I’m jumping at the lights now!</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, thought Jon wryly. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><i> At least I can finish my sweep.</i><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>        Jon carefully avoided the light panels on his next sweep of his room. He was just reaching the opposite corner of his room when the beam suddenly caught on what looked like nothing. Jon was surprised, but he did not switch the device off. Suddenly, there was an armored shape standing not 5 meters from where Jon stood. Jon’s plasma gun was in his other hand very quickly.<br><br>------------------------------------------------------------<br><br> <p><br><center><img src=http://www.geocities.com/nesster/ashaman2.jpg><br><a href=http://www.lycaon.com/dtm>Dragon Talon Mercenary</a><br><a href=http://www.newfenecia.com>Citizen of New Fenecia</a><BR><a href=http://www.wheres.com/tribes/xmen/>Member of XMEN</a><br><a href=http://tribesforum.sierra.com/cgi-bin/t ... gin=>Tales of Battle</a><br>Have a nice day! :)<center></p><i></i>
