Post by Chris on Apr 29, 2007 14:22:06 GMT -5
The Omega Team
Episode 1.01
Team Spirit
Episode 1.01
Team Spirit
"I really wouldn't do that, Ermie." Atroupe pleaded sing-songingly, wringing her hands worriedly as she trotted after her team leader, who was definitely in a mood.
"For the last time, don't call me that," Ermadine said warningly, her powerful gait almost a march as she strode determinedly towards the Capricio's office, surely navigating through the hustle and bustle of her fellow Enforcers. She was sure he could figure some way to get her out of this. She steeled herself, ready to tell her senior enforcer in no uncertain terms that Desdamon would not be a part of her team.
"Seriously, what's the big deal anyway?" Atroupe said, trying to play it offhandedly. "I've met him, and he's not as bad as they say. And I bet that thing about him cheating is just a rumor."
"I don't want him on my team.'
"Ermadine, be reasonable. There's no way their going to let you form a team with only two members, and Desdamon -"
"I said I don't want him on my team." The finality in her voice was so resolute, so tangible that Atroupe thought she could have held it in her hands if she wanted to. Ermadine's sheet-white complexion and short stature and wispy blonde hair gave her an overall air of frailness. Ermadine, however, was anything but frail, and any misconceptions of frailty were quickly dispelled at the sound of her assured, very physical voice, which could hit you like a ton of bricks even if she was whispering. Intense was the word Atroupe thought suited her best. However, bitch was the word most likely to pop up in a sentence with her name in it.
Too bad for Ermadine that incessant was the word most likely to be paired with Atroupe's name.
"I'm telling you, Ermie, don't do this."
"Not my name."
"There's never been a team with less than three people."
"There's a first time for everything."
"They aren't going to make an exception. Ermie!" pleaded Atroupe, thrusting herself in front of the scrappy, stubborn wraith of a girl and gripping both her shoulders tightly, a last ditch effort to get Ermadine to listen to her. "This is serious. Don't rock the boat. We could get disbanded until next year."
"Not gonna happen," Ermadine insisted, trying to shrug off Atroupe's grip. She had the fourth highest average ever of the trainee program, and had even broken the record for the highest mark on the written portion of the final. There was no way they'd let her slip through their fingers.
"Yes, it could! It could happen!"
"But it won't."
"How can you be so stubborn?"
"Let go of me!" Ermadine slipped through Atroupe's bony fingers and darted past her towards Capricio's office door.
"Are you willing to put your entire career at risk just because you don't want to work with him?"
"Damn straight."
"And what about my career? Is that expendable too?"
That stopped her cold at the door. Ermadine whirled around at the door to look at the gangling Atroupe. A tower of fiery red hair, Atroupe's normally friendly face was pent up into the most earnest and reproachful she could muster, and she was screaming with her big, brown eyes for Ermadine not to step into that office. She had to admit she'd never considered what this could mean to Atroupe. Could she really do this to the only person who would work with her voluntarily?
For a second, Ermadine thought of just letting it all go.
And then she thought of Desdamon.
"I'm sorry, Atroupe," Ermadine apologized, and without a further second of hesitation, went into Capricio's office.
There was nothing left for Atroupe to do but sigh and wait, hoping for the best. She knew there was no way this could end well.
* * * * *
Senior Enforcer Capricio, as experienced as he was, had been expecting some fallout regarding the results of formation week as always. After all, once Enforcement teams were finalized, the persons in the team were stuck together for significant portions of their lives, and it was only natural that members of such teams would want to work with people they felt comfortable with. So he had come to expect and even sympathize with the few sour grapes every year who would complain about such-and-such being a member of their teams. In fact, it had been his idea to institute a formation week, to allow the team captains to choose their own members to ensure utmost compatibility. It was working out fabulously, and the amount of unsatisfied freshmen had significantly lessened in the 10 years it had been in place.
Nevertheless, there were always cases where somebody was unsatisfied, and he'd have to intervene. Sometimes there were an uneven number of freshmen who'd passed the exam, and he'd have to pull members from other teams to form new ones. Sometimes the academically-challenged freshmen (the 'scrapedogs' as Capricio called them) who'd barely gotten a pass would band together with such disastrous results that he'd have no choice but to put them on teams with a little more brainpower to pick up the slack. Sometimes team members simply couldn't stand each other to the point where their enmity got in the way of their work.
He knew it was such a case as the latter the second Ermadine startled him by storming into his office unannounced. He'd always known that it was just a matter of time until Ermadine would be trouble for him, and it looked like the time was now. "Senior Enforcer Capricio, sir, may I have a word?" Ermadine said firmly and determinedly in a seemingly formal voice that failed to hide the fight behind it. Capricio could already feel a headache coming on.
"Have a seat," Capricio groaned, making a gesture towards the chair in across from his desk, not once lifting his head from the stack of case reports in front of him. He could use being busy as an excuse should she prove to be as headstrong as she was reputed to be.
Ermadine had no intention of sitting down, however, and saw this as the go-ahead to voice her concerns. She wasted no time doing so. "Sir, I am dissatisfied with Desdamon as a member of team."
"I'm sorry, Ermadine, but formation week is over, and I have already finalized my selections."
"I beg you to reconsider, sir. I am absolutely certain that Desdamon will be a detriment to my team. His test results - "
"Nonsense," pish-poshed Capricio, batting away Ermadine's ridiculous defense like a mosquito. "He has performed acceptably on his examinations, and I'm sure he's capable and resourceful enough to be of merit."
"But sir, he's been subject to many disciplinary actions by various Senior Enforcers, including yourself, and I feel -"
"He has paid his dues for his insubordination."
"Nevertheless, I feel he is very likely to be similarly insubordinate in future, and I'm not sure that I have what it takes to keep him in line."
"Are you saying you're not up to the task of being his team leader?" Capricio teased, lifting his eyes just for a second to meet hers. He knew there was no way she would admit that there was something she couldn't do.
"What I'm saying, sir," Ermadine evaded, "is that perhaps someone with his penchant for trouble-making would be best suited for another team, one that wasn't already short-handed to boot."
Capricio rubbed his eyes, bowing his head down. He had to keep his wits about him; she was a smart one. "Perhaps, Ermadine, perhaps. But freshman Desdamon has had no transgressions for over six months, and I do not forsee that he is likely to be much of a problem now that he has graduated to an Enforcer."
"Sir-"
"Furthermore," Capricio continued, talking over her, "your exemplary marks on your finals have led me to believe that you are one of the most, if not the single most, capable freshman of the bunch, and though I sincerely doubt the possibility of him continuing to be unruly, I am hard-pressed to find anyone else more able to keep him under his control than you are in the event that he indeed proves to be belligerent. Am I mistaken?"
He had her there. Capricio fought the desire to smile at the defeated, forlorn and undeniably angry look on Ermadine's face as she struggled to find another excuse to get him off her team. "Is that all?"
Ermadine was silent for quite a while, and he was sure that she'd give up and just walk out any second now.
"What about the cheating?"
"Pardon me?"
"I have heard allegations that he cheated on the practical portion of the final examination, sir."
Capricio put down the case report in his hands and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he stared at Ermadine. What was she up to now? "I have heard no such allegations, Ermadine, but I assure you that they are baseless."
"I'm sorry, but I disagree." Ermadine swallowed, raising her chin higher in defiance. "A time of less than two minutes on the practical course without using magic from a student with previously unremarkable and mediocre grades is highly suspicious in my opinion. Sir."
"Well put. But suspicion aside, I do believe that Desdamon did indeed achieve such a feat without foul play, and there is no proof to support such an allegation."
"Which is why," Ermadine ventured, looking resolutely at Capricio, "I suggest that this matter be investigated by the IA."
"Internal Affairs?" a shocked Capricio stuttered, goosebumps breaking out all over his skin. What a manipulative .... bitch! She couldn't possibly be that desperate. "You would make a motion to involve the IA in this?"
"It's the right thing to do."
"Bullshit!" Capricio uttered through gritted teeth as he stood up suddenly, his chair creaking violently. He put his palms on his desk and leaned forward, silently seething through every pore. "What's really going on here, freshman? Why don't you want Desdamon on your team?"
"I told you before, sir."
"Don't play the fool with me," Capricio started pacing behind his desk, never daring his now smouldering grey eyes off Ermadine for a second. Although he had suspected she might be a problem, he'd never thought her capable of such scheming, such betrayal. He had underestimated just how driven she was to do everything her way. "There's got to be something else. What's your beef with him?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, sir." Ermadine said defiantly.
"Uh-huh. Sure, you don't." He knew what Ermadine was plotting. Although he knew that she knew it was very unlikely that Desdamon had cheated on the exam, the IA were very thorough in their investigation, and would not limit their investigation to merely determining whether he had cheated or not. It was very likely that they would look carefully at Desdamon's track record and recommend to the Chief Senior Enforcer that he be held back for another year, or even be relieved of duty, irregardless of whether he was innocent or not. "In any case, I would rather you didn't involve the IA in such a trivial matter."
"Thank you for the recommendation, sir, but I don't need your permission." Ermadine declared resolutely, unflinchingly meeting Capricio's eye with a faint air of defiance and superiority. He had to admit, she had balls. She was right; in the event that an Enforcer reasonably suspected a fellow Enforcer of unethical conduct, even an order from a superior Enforcer could not stop them from reporting to the IA.
But Capricio still had a card to play. Teams were not allowed to have less than 3 members, and if Desdamon was no longer a viable option for the final member of Ermadine's team, as Ermadine's senior enforcer, he had a choice to make: take a member from another team to add to hers, or disband them and send them back to the trainee program for another couple of years.
"Well, do what you have to do, young lady, but take note that in the event Desdamon is expelled from the Enforcement program, I will have no choice but to disband your team."
Now it was Ermadine's turn to be surprised, though she hid it well. "I'm sorry, sir?"
"You heard me. If they chuck Desdamon outta here, it's back to the training academy for you and your friend out there."
"Certainly you could -"
"Yes, I could. I could yank someone else from another team, or I could state a case to the revision committee to make an exception for your circumstance and allow you to be a team of two. But I'm telling you right now that I'll do no such thing, so like I said, do what you have to do."
"Are you threatening me, sir?"
"Call it whatever you want, freshman. Just call it on your way out of my office."
"But, sir," Ermadine pleaded, "certainly you wouldn't let my partner and I suffer for the indiscretions of a cheater."
"You know damn well that young man didn't cheat, and I refuse to be a puppet to your selfish whims," Capricio declared bluntly. "That's not the way Enforcers behave, and I won't stand for it. If you wanted to manipulate your way around the rules to get what you want, you should've been a lawyer. Now, I don't want to remand you back to the academy, but I also don't want you riding in here on your high horse thinking you can get anything you want just by dancing around protocol like some of the criminals you're supposed to be stopping. That's not what we're about here. So make your choice."
Ermadine glared at him for a second, her anger a palpable, terrifying figure in the room. For a second, Capricio prepared himself for the possibility that she might get physical. But after a while, she silently just turned on her heel and hastened to make tracks.
Capricio sighed, relieved. That girl was almost more trouble than she was worth. She was much more of a pain to him than she was making Desdamon out to be. Less than 10 minutes with her, and he felt exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to conjure up a bed and take a little siesta.
Unfortunately, there's no rest for the wicked or the weary.
"All available Enforcers, red alert, all available Enforcers, red alert. Massive explosive damage to Gorkaut Residential, cause unknown, request reinforcements immediately." His walkie crackled suddenly.
"Oh, what now?"
* * * * *
Amid the to-ing and fro-ing of the new Enforcers getting settled into the freshman wing, Atroupe sat silently a few yards away from Senior Enforcer Capricio's office, waiting for the repercussions of Ermadine's brashness. Because she was definitely certain that no matter what went on in there, there would be repercussions. Though she'd at first admired her team leader's pluck and sharp mind, Atroupe was quickly beginning to realize that these traits that worked to Ermadine's advantage as a trainee could be very irksome in an Enforcer.
"Stare at that door any harder and it'll burst into flame."
Atroupe tore her eyes away from the CE's office door long enough to roll her eyes at Malignam's smug countenance. Like some sort of living mannequin, Malignam was angular, wiry and stunningly handsome in an almost profoundly cardboard sort of way. A descendant from a long line of Enforcers, Malignam was poised to be the golden boy of his class until Ermadine made her way into the picture. He had made it his business to pry into Ermadine's life ever since he had discovered that he could not compete with her intelligence. Unfortunately, where he lacked in raw smarts he more than made up for with deep pockets, and a trust fund baby with friends in high places and a grudge made for one heck of a thorn in your side. "Malignam. Shouldn't you be polishing your teeth?" barbed Atroupe, pretending to shield her eyes from the most-definitely artificial glare of his veneers.
"Let me guess: short, blonde and snotty is throwing a tantrum over the finalized team formations." If smugness were a science, Malignam could very well be it's Stephen Hawking; smugness radiated from every twinkle in his eye, from every movement in his brow, from every dimple in his plastic smile. "I can't wait to see her cocky little face when Capricio kicks her outta there. What'd she do, blast the door down?" He chuckled at the very thought; it was so her style.
"After what I heard from the other guys in the showers, I wouldn't be throwing the word 'cocky' around were I you." It was Atroupe's turn to be smug, relishing the opportunity to hit the slimy Malignam below the belt (so to speak).
Malignam wasn't one to pull punches either, though. "Ha ha ha, funny girl. I hope you keep that sense of humor when your partner gets you remanded back to the training academy."
That certainly shut Atroupe up, although she tried to play it off as she scoffed and turned her attention back to the Capricio's door. She wished Malignam would just buzz off for once. Things were nerve-wracking enough with him piling on more tension. It had always been Atroupe's dream to be an Enforcer, and she had barely made it the first time around. If she had to go through the trainee program again, and this time with the stigma of being a repeater, she feared she might not be so lucky.
"Honestly, though, what did you ever see in her as a partner?" Malignam goaded, grabbing a seat next to Atroupe, trying to get a rise out of her. Normally blissfully unaware and unflappable to everything around her, Atroupe seemed a little more grounded today, a little more vulnerable. "I think picking her just because you look hotter standing next to her might end up costing you, yeah?"
Atroupe, very uncharacteristically, just kept her mouth shut, hoping Malignam's short attention span would get the best of him. He chuckled yet again. "It cracks me up to just picture you three in action: you, the ditz with cobwebs on your brain, Ermadine, the scarecrow with ice in her veins, and Desdamon, simian zoo escapee. All we need is a bar for all of you to walk into and we'd have ourselves a joke."
"Let me know when you get to the punch line," Atroupe snarled through gritted teeth, shaking her tiny, clenched fist at him, which only succeeded in making Malignam giggle even more.
"Ooh, fiesty. Does Scrappy Doo know about you? And by Scrappy Doo, I mean the teeny dog with the big attitude currently in Capricio's office."
"That's funny, 'cause I coulda sworn you were sitting right here."
Scalded, Malignam had already prepared to retort, but Atroupe was thankfully (or maybe not-so-thankfully) saved by Ermadine storming out of Capricio's office. She was practically a blur as she whizzed down the hallway in a tizzy of rage, and the Enforcers who knew her by reputation knew enough to stay the heck out of her way. Atroupe barely caught a glimpse of her as she flew by the pair of them, apparantly unaware they were even there, but the glimpse she caught of the flushed, stone face that streaked by was enough to send a clear message: Not. Happy. Atroupe quickly went after her, preparing for the worst.
"Somebody's got their knickers in a twist, eh?" Malignam tittered cheerfully, right at Atroupe's heels.
"Ermie, wait!" Atroupe called, now running to catch up. Ermadine was walking a blue streak, and even from behind she looked huffy and irritable. She even looked paler than normal. "Ermie!"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" boomed Ermadine, stopping suddenly, terrifying several onlookers and passersby, particularly a mousy, jumpy-looking guy who instinctively crouched down, huddled against the wall as if he'd just heard a gunshot. Considering the power of Ermadine's voice at the pinnacle of her anger, it was an honest mistake. She was so angry she hardly seemed able to breathe normally, gasping fitfully and gratingly.
"Alright, Ermadine, ok? I'm sorry. Just ... just calm down, ok?" Atroupe cooed tentatively, extending a pacifying hand to pat Ermadine on the shoulder, although part of just wanted to lose control. This outburst didn't bode well. "It's gonna be fine."
"No ... It ... Isn't," gasped Ermadine, convulsing with every ragged breath. "Why ... Why ... Why ..." She struggled to get the words out, unable to finish her question. It was definitely unnerving to behold.
"Because ... because ... because ... you're insane?" an incredulously happy Malignam suggested mockingly.
Glaring vehemently at Malignam, Ermadine tried to hold her breath as she cupped her left hand and pointed at it with her right. "Water," she uttered weakly, and instantly a glass of clear, cool water materialized in her cupped hand, which she swallowed down greedily. Almost instantaneously her spasm-like breathing normalized.
"There we go," sighed Atroupe sympathetically, still patting Ermadine awkwardly on her shoulder. "Are you ok?" Ermadine simply nodded. As she lifted her head up she noticed that Malignam had a strange look in his eye, and she remembered. She cursed herself for not being able to resist the water. Time to draw attention away from herself.
"Hey Ermie," Atroupe said curiously, also noticing something different about the petite blonde. "What-"
"Why are you doing this to me!" Ermadine bellowed. The water might have soothed her breathing, but she was anything but appeased.
"Excuse you?" ATroupe retorted, baffled.
"Not you, him!"
"Me?" Malignam's brows shot up in surprise. "As much as I'd like to be responsible for getting you canned, I'm afraid you give me too much credit."
"Don't pretend you didn't have a hand in this, you - you pompous spoiled dillweed!" Ermadine roared, jabbing an accusatory finger into Malignam's face like a knife. "You pathethic sore loser!"
"Ermadine-" Atroupe attempted to stop her, seeing the danger of the displeasure creeping slowly into Malignam's darkening face, but Ermadine was a force to be reckoned with, a runaway train. There was no stopping her.
"You think just because you stick that half-wit on my team that you'll outshine me? That they'll hand you the Alpha beat? Are you that near-sighted? Are you that petty? Are you that much of an a$$hole? Huh?"
"Ermie-"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Malignam leered icily.
"Screw you rich boy, ok?" vented Ermadine, completely unaware of the throngs of people who were now drawn to her ranting like spectators to a car wreck, unable to their eyes away from it. "You think I don't know you've been bribing people not to join my team?"
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"The hell I don't! You're just jealous and bitter because I beat you out for valedictorian, and now you're flashing cash to make things harder for me because you can't stand knowing that someone's better than you, because I made you look like a chump to your family because they were all top dogs around here!"
That definitely hit a nerve. Malignam's face became as hard as stone, and for the first time he seemed to notice other people overhearing these horrible things being said about him. He started stalking away, but Ermadine still didn't let up, letting her parting shots fly where they may.
"Well, I earned my right to be here, and I'll be damed if I let a filthy childish coward like you take it away from me! If you think just because you've saddled me with that stupid, lumbering, talentless ape you've got me, you're stupider than I thought you were!"
A horrendous, painfully awkward, stifling silence followed, hanging in the air as thick as syrup. Ermadine took a deep breath, smoothing her clothes down, and glared at everyone hanging around, jarring them back into motion. The collective sound of their walkies thankfully broke the silence.
"All Enforcer teams report to deployment area immediately," Capricio's weary voice demanded. "I repeat, all enforcer teams to deployment area immediately. We have a red alert on our hands. All enforcers to deployment area, red alert, red alert."
This had to be something big. Red alerts came around only once in a blue moon. That, coupled with the fact that they were gathering the teams en masse, spelled something big. Everything erupted into a flurry of motion as all the freshman, eager for what was destined to be a memorable first outage. "What are we waiting for?" said Ermadine half-heartedly, her voice a little hoarse from all the shouting.
"You mean we get to go too?"
"Duh!"
Atroupe sighed a huge, laughing sigh of relief. "Oh, my goodness. I thought for sure when I saw your face that Capricio tossed us out of here."
"They're not getting rid of me that easy," said Ermadine conspiratorially, and after a final calming breath ran down to the deployment area with Atroupe in tow, bolting to catch up to everyone.
Well, not quite everyone.
A significantly gangling young man was left all alone in the freshman wing, his face adorned with an expression of weary misery as he sat on the floor, his back against the wall.
It was Desdamon. And he had heard everything.
* * * * *
To be continued.
