Polstar. A city surrounded entirely by mountains but for one small opening on the northern side. No one knew why, but high winds circled around these mountains during the Summer and Autumn, making it impossible for any normal person and ship to fly during these times. However, inside this circle of mountains, it was always cool and calm, and everything was green and lush. When Winter and Spring came around, the wind outside would die down and there would always be a snow cloud covering Polstar, like a lid. Then everything inside would freeze over and the people living there would escape to their underground homes until everything above thawed out again. This was Polstar.
~*F*~
The six people walked through the
city streets of Polstar. Ven led the way while Konrad and Alameda
dragged Katrina and her partner along and Fable strolled behind,
gazing in wonder at the world around him. Ven led them to the Polstar
police where he stayed with the criminals to file a report while Ally
and Konrad hurried on to the place where they would meet Jin. They
told Fable to do whatever he liked, and ignored him as he decided to
follow, trying to keep himself hidden.
Soon, they reached a drab looking
factory where people were calling out to each other to inform and
instruct or to ask questions. As they entered, they saw even more
people running around and in the distance, standing with a notebook
in hand and barking at his subordinates, was a plump man with a thick
bunch of gray hair and a hearty voice.
“Jin!” Konrad called.
The man turned and when he saw the
two guests, he broke out in a grin and took Konrad by the hand with a
fierce grip. “Konny, my boy! There you are! Just in time, too, we
were just getting ready to head out.”
“Certainly, certainly, just tell us
about the situation,” Kon replied, grinning equally as big.
“Ah! Yes. About that, I must warn
you, we've got some tough opponents trying to get to this little
miracle. We've had several times where they killed several of my men
in the process of claiming their prize, and we only barely managed to
keep them from succeeding. We thought it would be safe here because
of the protection from the mountains, but our enemy has only made our
home into a trap. There's only one way out of here right now and
every time we try to step foot outside they kill us off. That's why
I'm relying on you to get that marvel out of here, safe and sound.”
“Where are we supposed to take it?”
Kon asked.
“Ah, to Sanlio, out in the dessert.
There's an underground facility there.”
“Sanlio? But that's nearly ten days
away by airship going at full speed with no stops!”
“I know. That's why I'm willing to
pay you as much as $20,000, plus another $10,000 for travel costs.”
“Just how valuable is this thing?”
Kon asked, amazed at the price.
“Hang on, I'll show you. Aw,
where'd she run off to now? Hey!” Jin barked at a few workers
nearby. “Any of you seen Miss Baird anywhere?” They all shook
their heads. “Man! That girl is gonna be the death of me. Follow
me.”
The three of them walked through the
building until they came to a small room with a bunch of stairs
leading up. “Miss Baird! Are you up there?” Jin called. Soon,
they saw a small face surrounded by deep, red hair peak over the side
of the staircase just above them. “Miss Baird, come on down here,
you know I told you not to go wondering off like that.” The girl
only blinked twice, let out a giant grin and then slid down the
banister until she slipped at the landing, letting out a small cry as
she fell face down on the ground.
“Ah, ouch,” the young girl spoke.
“Miss Baird, have you hurt
yourself?”
The girl only popped up, brushed
herself off and, with an inquisitive look, gazed at Alameda and
Konrad. “Who are these people, Mr. Jin?” she asked.
“They're my friends. They're going
to take you to a safe place.”
“Wha? Well, then,” here she held
out her hand. “My name is Carumati Baird. I'm terribly sorry. It
was nice knowing you while it lasted.”
“Miss Baird, don't say that! They
aren't going to die like the others. These people are stronger.
They've dealt with those types before.”
“Hmmm....” Carumati Baird pulled
out a small device from beneath the black cloak she was wearing and
seemed to scan them with it. Then she gazed at the little screen for
a moment before looking up and saying, “Oooh! You're a part of
GWANAN! The group with a notoriously awful name! Well in that case,
there wont be any problems!”
“Jin... you didn't tell us that the
cargo was a live girl....”
“Oh, I didn't? Huh, I thought I
mentioned that. No matter. You'll take her, wont you?”
“I don't know, Jin. This is
different. I don't know anything about handling a little girl.”
“But she's not a little girl. She's
fifteen years old and can easily take care of herself.”
“What? Fifteen! She looks like
she's twelve.”
“She's certainly a very unique
person, and extremely talented with computers and inventing things.
That's why Denov wants her so bad.”
“D-did you say Denov?” Ally Kat
asked, thunderstruck.
“That's right. Denov wants her for
some sort of club he was starting. Anyway, Miss Baird said no, and
she's been on the run from him ever since.”
“Ah, Carumati, may I ask why you
said no?” Ally asked.
“His hair was a weird color,” the
girl replied.
“You're hair is a weird color too,
kid,” Konrad mumbled. Alameda punched him in the side with her
elbow.
“Anyway, I'm glad you said no,
Carumati. But I hardly see weird color hair as a very good reason.”
“You don't think so?” Carumati
asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well....”
“Does it really matter? We've got a
job to do and we're on a tight schedule as well, aren't we? Aren't we
supposed to leave right at 10:24?” Konrad asked.
“Ah! That's right. At that time,
the winds around the entrance die down enough that you can fly at
full speed without harming your airship. Just remember, that the
enemy should be able to fly at full speed as well.”
“No worries, as long as we've got
Ven, there wont be any problems.”
“Alright then, Miss Baird, go get
your stuff ready and come meet us back at the front, okay?”
“Yes, sir!” Carumati Baird
saluted before cartwheeling across the floor and out the room.
“She reminds me of you, Ally,”
Konrad spoke, staring after the little girl.
“Heh. Except that girl doesn't have
the type of past that I did.”
“Say, whatever happened to that
girl's parents, anyway?”
“Ah, well her parents divorced and
she was living with her mother but her mother is a bit of a klutz and
incompetent. Her parenting skills are none, to say the least. So that
girl wanders around while her mother sits at home, trying to remember
something she's forgotten. Her father, on the other hand, is quite
the genius. Only he wants nothing to do with anything related to his
x-wife.”
“Yep, you were right Ally. Not near
as bad as you had it,” Konrad said.
“Ah! I didn't mean it that way, I
only meant....”
“I'm readyyyyy!” Carumati called,
lugging a giant bag with lots of sticks and wires sticking out
everywhere and carrying a giant computer strapped to her back. She
also wore these strange, purple tinted glasses on top of her head
with a gadget attached which looked like a circle with sticks poking
out.
“Carumati, what about your shoes?”
“Ah, they're in my bag. But there's
no need for them right now,” she said.
“Whatever. Let's just go get this
over with,” Konrad spoke.
So the three of them headed on
towards the police station where Ven was waiting, with Carumati Baird
constantly running ahead and running back like a little dog. This was
indeed the start of a new adventure.
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