666 GE - Tenebrous HQ
How the fuck did it explode?!
No one saw it coming. The sensors, the bots, even the pirate channels were filled with incredulous reports. The frustrated man seemed to have aged a decade. On his HUD implant, various reports and data can be seen as he waves his finger around dismissing most of them.
L1 Sabotage update...
Jupiter dust shield...
Pluto extraction plan...
PLUTO EXPLOSION!? WHO COULD HAVE DONE IT! FROM PLANET TO DWARF TO JUST A ROCK!
The last one being a news report from that morning.
"Dr. Khan," A young woman reported as she approached the desk and swiped a finger to project some data onto the holo, showing the most recent scan of the aftermath. "There's indications of residues of Space-Time memoria at the site." She continues as she points to several locations in the scan. "What's the plan?" She asks quickly, with a glint in her eyes.
"Assemble the team, we have to find it. Set the Hand ..." Khan hesitates to add before shaking his head, sighing, "set the Hand to track down all suspects.
And no killing."
The woman smirks at the command and salutes before heading out. "They won't like it, but I'll see what I can do."
Huff huff huff huff....
Out of breath and thoroughly drained, Euri raises her right hand with a pained expression on her face and presses the "Cool Down" button on the holographic interface in front of her. The whirring of the treadmill becomes quieter as the conveyor belt slows to a walking pace. The soft lights rotating around the holographic track also slows down to indicate the current pace of walking.
Beep Beep Beep Beeeeeeeeeeep.
With that, the treadmill comes to a complete stop. Euri steps off, grabs a clean towel from a nearby rack to dab her sweat and heads towards her shower. She reaches down to press down on her right thigh, noting the tightness in her leg.
Only two more days. Almost there. I'll be number one.
Euri reaches down and presses on the buckle of her sweatsuit and it automatically loosens the fabric of her clothes before proceeding to retract into a fist sized ball. After placing the capsule onto the laundry track and the shower on the counter, she raises her slender legs and steps under the shower.
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As the violin begins to play, Euri closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, visibly relaxing her muscles. Water begins to fall from the ceiling above onto her long, vibrant blue hair. Feeling the fatigue washing away along with her sweat, she begins to gently clean herself starting with her hair.
Five minutes later, she presses on the "Dry" button and a gently warm breeze blows out of the grills to the side to blow away the water and dry her body.
Euri turns towards the mirror above the counter and flexes her biceps. Seeing the defined muscle lines, a satisfied smile widens on her face.
Perfect.
She grabs a light pink ball from the clean track, presses it against her stomach, and a soft pink set of pajamas deploys over her body in an instant.
Feeling re-energized, Euri walks towards the kitchen. On the surface screen of the kitchen island is a calendar with the day's date and time prominently displayed at the top.
Saturday, June 25, 673 GE | 1823 : 22
[Today]
TODO:
[x] - Run 10k
[x] - Study
[ ] - Beat PB in flight simulation.
There's only two more days left until the enlistment examination for the Central Military Academy, the 3rd most prestigious military academy of the Terra Alliance.
Every year, there are two examinations with each only accepting 500 of the over 10 million applicants. Each exam has 3 stages, a physical stage, a written exam, and finally, a flight simulation. The last stage is different depending on the department being applied to.
Seeing, the incomplete item on her to-do list, Euri closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, then opens her eyes again. This time, with a sharper gaze. She opens the fridge, takes out a protein mix, and downs the bottle in one go. With a determined breath, Euri strides to her worn-out simulator, a virtual reality device that allows its users to enter the Terra Alliance's virtual capital of Nova Terra, where the majority of humanity on Earth reside in their dreams.
Despite being a last-generation model from over 20 years ago, it had been in her family since release. Euri's father was a Master Mechanic and kept the device in pristine condition, a skill he passed down to Euri who kept the machine running after his passing.
Just like the machine, she also inherited her one-bedroom , 20 square meter condo located in New Vancouver, capital of the Rocky Archipelagoes. Though it isn't outfitted with the newest and greatest tech, it is more than sufficient for her needs. The city's modern automated drone services provide all the necessities for life from food delivery to medical emergencies while the maglev Skytrain system seamlessly connects all the islands in New Vancouver.
Euri runs her left hand over the faint words "TERRA-VR Mk.13," which were last repainted by her father, with a gentle smile.
"I'll make you proud dad. I'll go where you've always wanted to go and I'll bring you there with me; to Empyreon, Mom's home world."
Sitting down on the recliner, Euri glances at the Exam Invitation message on her HUD with a T-36:05:22 displayed under it. Taking one last look out the window towards the sunset over the boundless water, she lowers the headset over her head and leans backwards.
Logging in...
Welcome Back, Euridicia
