Chapter 1 - 06: Protocol Class. Maybe.

"She probably pissed off at you getting a better assignment than she did or something," the rookies suggested to Kanya as they were sitting through the protocol lecture. "No accident could ever let you forget something as important as what this lecture is about, that we happen to be ignoring," they continued.

"They've been pounded in hundreds of times even before we get the our real assignments, let alone when you're actually in one," another commented.

"So where did you get posted?"

Kanya replied in a very unhappy manner, "The Kirkor."

"The Kirkor?! Isn't that one of those 'classified ships'?"

"Huh?" Kanya was puzzled.

"A classified ship is a ship whose every move is completely secret. The only exception is that the existence of the ship and its crew are confirmed. There are 29 of those, and they usually have a Gifted on the bridge. My brother's been trying to get on one of those for years. Apparently, it's impossible unless you're handpicked or something."

"Odd though why they placed you on this ship. The crew on the Meganet generally unclassify those movements anyway, since the only reason their really classified is to prevent assasinations of the Gifted. The Gifted don't really care much since they very much think that people should know where their ship is at anyway."

"The Kirkor isn't going to go anywhere near this medical vessel, not at least for another few months. It's on an expedition to visit the Arltian Alliance. That means you're stuck here with us at least two more months. That is, of course, unless Erse decides to steal you first before you can get to the Kirkor, but that's unlikely."

"The crew of her ship said that she hasn't added anyone new to the ship for a long time. She used to go on these recruitment sprees for her ship, picking up a crew member from every ship she ever came on."

Kanya just sat silent, as the others busy chatting suddenly felt a cold glare upon them. The lecturer was obviously displeased with the heated discussion that was going on at the rear of the class.

A Difference in the Writing

As you can very well see, I suddenly switched writing styles in the newest few instalments of the story. It's probably an effect of suddenly leaving writer's block. You might also have noticed loads of Magic posts again. I'm rethinking section 6 of chapter 1, so expect to have to wait a while before anything happens. (suddenly hit by writer's block. :( )

Crazy Idea: Eternal Charm

I actually made a version of this to put in the imaginary set I was making earlier. This is probably too powerful in its current form, while the part I put in the imaginary set was tad more toned down. The one in my set practically screams symmetry, with every cost from casting cost, equip cost and activation costs set to two mana. I recognise that as the better card, but I expect to tone down the casting cost to 1 eventually. I think that 6 mana to initially give a creature an ability permanently is probably too much, but 4 mana to be able to repeatedly do it is still sound.

But every card has a starting point in the idea path, and obviously, this is among them. Notably, it can be pretty ridiculous if you have the right mana at the right time for the right reason. And yes, I do mean it to not end at end of turn. While this could lead to eventual messes, I think it is fine as is for an imaginary card.

With that being said, I'm a big fan of artifact and equipment, so I expect to make artifacts that work without colored mana, but work splendidly when fed the right mana. In addition, I expect to pour ideas in about modifying a variety of crazy aspects while trying to keep the entire set coherent and inherently playable in Apprentice.

Magic Card: Simic Guildmage

What do I find so interesting about this fellow? Well, for starters, it's a 2 blue mana 2/2. To begin with, that is impressive. But why do I think this guy is powerful?

For starters, I highly appreciate the ability to use my enchantments like equipment with an instant equip cost. How would you like to block my potentially Moldervine Cloaked or even more deadly Wurmweaver Coiled 1/1? All I need is two mana to do it. Do you even know which ones to block? That 1/1 you let through might suddenly deal 10 damage.

The ability to move around stuff like Faith's Fetters among my opponent's creatures is also a grand advantage. Who wouldn't want to pay first and care about what you Fetter'ed later? The ability to move +1/+1 counters around is equally deadly with the presence of an Experiment Kraj. A sudden disfavourable existence can become madly favourable the moment you move Faith's Fetters and a +1/+1 counter onto it.

I'm now just talking about possibilities. I mean, after all, crazy plays, crazy risks and crazy outcomes equal to crazy fun (which is what Magic is all about).

Chapter 1 - 05: Rookies

At the Training VR (virtual reality) room, Kanya and Cassandra are warming up before the rookies come in. "This damn ship is so old, this is still called the VR room," Cassandra complained over the simulated communications line.

"At least the interior is of the ships of the current era," Kanya joked.

They had been chasing each other around an asteroid field when the two new rookies came in.

"So where's the instructor we're supposed to defeat today?" were the first words out of the confident duo.

"Get strapped in calibrate the devices to your liking. We'll begin as soon as you're ready." Cassandra's voice came out of a speaker nearby.

"No face to look at today? Did all the others warn you of imminent humiliation or something?"

"I'm busy training someone else now. Just get it and cut the crap."

Within the virtual asteroid field, Kanya was still hot on the tail of Cassandra's fighter. The other two had spawned within the field also. The radar display on the interior registered two new blips.

Cassandra immediately ordered: "It'll be the two of us against the two of you. Be prepared. All the ships have unlimited small projectiles - and no missiles, to closely simulate the standard loadout during most of the stuff you'll be doing on this ship."

"Affirmative," the duo replied in a more serious manner.

It didn't take long before the fighting began. Needless to say, the two rookies confidence was quickly shattered as their ships were decimated in one run by pure projectile fire. Apparently, their earlier instructors were pretty incompetent. Supposedly the reason why they ended up assigned to this ship anyway.

The rookies were another matter. It's supposed to be standard procedure to be just put on a random ship for to train them in protocol before being placed into their actual assignments. It just so happened that these were the top of their class. Unfortunately for them, Kanya and Cassandra were supposed to be the top in their field as well.

The horror show of their wings ripping apart, cockpits shattering, ships blowing up continued for about an hour before Cassandra called it quits. The rookies had improved considerably since the first run.

Then, they headed for the nearby pantry for a drink. Cassandra had obviously pulled the same thing she did with Kanya the previous day. Apparently, she was the 'cafeteria lady' as well.

It didn't take long before bonding (otherwise known as pointless conversation) occured. Cassandra was the leader for the entire fighter operations of the ship. That means she has a lot of tales (tall or short) to tell. Of course, nothing could possibly happen now. Travelling deep in Terran territory usually meant no trouble for a while. The Dekaten System happened to be among the central trading posts for the Terrans.

However, being a medical vessel, MV2904 is generally a prime target for sanctioned Arltian worlds or pirates for supplies. It was raided several times, but never again after Cassandra came onboard. The TRi, however, had little concern over these raids, since there rarely are any casualties from the raids. Of course, there usually aren't any important people on the ship either.

The first time in a decade that someone important would step onboard would be when Erse Arete walks aboard the ship. Kanya was, of course, oblivious to the significance of this event to the crew of the MV2904. The only Gifted in the entire TRi organisational structure coming aboard a relatively unknown ship.

The supply stop was coming soon. Kanya was pondering about the stuff he might find on the supply stop (induced from a conversation about the supply stop at a trading post) when Cassandra snapped him out of it. "Go follow those rookies to class. You're not exempt from emergency and military protocol. Follow them all day. I wasn't kidding about you having a long day yesterday. Today is a chock full of lectures since tomorrow is the supply stop. It's unlikely anyone will want to stay on the ship anyway since the trading post is a big one. We'll be stopping for a few days anyway - so all the classes got pushed to today."

Kanya showed an expression of the unpleasant day ahead of him, but of course, looked forward to the next few days, which would be filled with something less arduous than protocol lectures.