Chapter 3 : Ready Set . . . Galita!!!
It was definitely not the most inspiring speech Galita had ever heard. He remembered it like it was yesterday. Assessment before a mission was not unusual for the Director to issue. But such extensive examinations? It seemed overboard by the standards the Agency normally dealt. Four parts? And what was with Xvax’s body language? It provoked immense curiosity in Galita to even think the Director could be, what…. Afraid of something? Most unusual indeed.
Galita reveled in the qualifying rounds during the ensuing week. It was a chance to showcase his tremendous skills. As far as Dragonagi was concerned there was nothing that compared to the raw power contained in this sixteen year olds’ pokemon. He was one of the people described as a phenomenon in the theatre. The air positively sizzles with every command he gives to his loyal pokemon in battle. His just and true nature and transparent respect for his opponents has always put him in good stead with other agents, high ranked and otherwise. He wore a striking dark blue and black Dragonagi uniform that covered him from neck to foot. His spiky hair was a sharp silvery color. He was extremely popular amongst other agents for his cool ways and cool talk.
The following morning he quickly maneuvered through the mental examination placing sixth out of the ten that were competing for the mission. He recalled how easily Erinn beat everyone for first place with exactly 100 percent. Amazing! The test was difficult for him and the toughest part of the qualification process, as far as he was concerned. It was the lowest placing he received in that week. It went very up hill from there.
He vowed to try harder even if it killed him. He was going on this mission and that’s all there was to it. His results quickly went up when he blitzed the Obstacle course. The course was seriously hard core and required split second reflexes and quick thinking just to simply survive. It was like it was made for him. It was just the kind of action he needed after being couped up in the examination room for that four-hour test. Ugghh, how it dragged on! Galita couldn’t stand being stuck indoors for too long. He positively flew through it, placing second behind a triumphant Miguel, who teamed up with that Espeon, was unbeatable.
The Solo event was a particularly close and tough encounter where you had to work alone without the aid of pokemon to infiltrate a heavily guarded complex. It was a maze of different rooms, hallways and traps, and the goal was to steal a flag from the center chambre. The tricky part for Galita was that final chambre that was a giant room in itself with a small polished glass cabinet in the very centre of it containing the flag. 'I think Miguel polished that glass.' It was deliberately made almost impossible to achieve.
The place was crawling with guards but they were all on the ground with the flag so he approached the problem differently to everyone else. He filled the sprinkler piping on the roof with a highly acidic liquid he found from a barrel in an outside storage room earlier. Then he set off the fire detectors resulting in a stinging and in some cases almost blinding rainy mist falling upon those poor lads below. They really should have invested in some protective eye goggles or something. And just in case he missed some of them, he threw some precision placed smoke grenades around the flag podium perimeter. He successfully swung down on his flying fox style rope-gun and retrieved it, escaping in good time. And he only placed third for that exercise! Imagine what second (Erinn) and first placing (Valthor) did to do better. These guys were off the charts!
The last section of testing was certainly not easy and to win was an awesome accomplishment. Galita defeated Valthor in a stunning display of tactical and offensively perfect battling in the pokemon battle arena final. Galita wandered if the mission was going to be a pokemon tournament. It sure seemed that way. But all this other testing was making him wonder. Maybe it might be a little more complex than that.
All four qualifiers were to rest at night and the next morning, arrive at the briefing theatre for their mission details. Valthor was there first, followed by Erinn, Galita and Miguel. Director Xvax arrived on time and alone. His arriving without those noisy officials and executives behind him was an indication of the importance the meeting had. It was a priority mission briefing and no one other than those who needed to be there could hear what was said. Xvax looked very tired as he started.
“It’s good to see you all fresh and rested! Congratulations on qualifying for this mission. I had expected as much from you four.” They all puffed out their chests in pride as they sat in the swivel egg chairs. Commendations were always a welcome rarity. “You will be dispatched to Gedyn! There you will participate in the ‘Gedyn Star Pokemon Arena Tournament’! It’s rumored to be the biggest of its kind anywhere! We have been informed Code Gravity is intending on participating. At all costs you must not allow those misfits victory. The prize has been rumored to be a rare and beautiful pokemon. We are under the impression it will be a baby shiny Dratini, the little dragon. The trophy is also of immense value. When the Code Gravity team has been beaten, they will surely attempt to steal the Dratini and the trophy. Protect both at all costs. Ensure their safety and then await further instructions. Questions.” he prompted the excited foursome.
Erinn was first in to ask. “Director, Gedyn is far. The trip will be long and time consuming. How long do we have until the tournament begins and how do we register?”
“You have been registered to participate already. It starts in exactly three weeks from today. You’re expected to arrive at least one day in advance. You have time to dawdle Erinn. Don’t panic” he replied jovially, enjoying her intelligent question.
“When do we leave, Director?” asked Miguel curiously, trying to hide his excitement at finally leaving the Dragonagi compound. It had been about two months since his last field assignment and he was getting sick of polishing.
“Sunrise. Also, remember to stay anonymous for the journey. You’ve all been here long enough to respect the rules we have here. Remain a shadow, don’t interact unless absolutely necessary. Battle only when necessary. Avoid notice. If there's a problem, return a pokemon here at Dragonagi HQ with the new distress code word attached. Remember to be wary of Code Gravity. They are a ruthless organization, known for their petty crimes and mistreatment of pokemon. They will not be happy to know you are going so be careful.” He paused for further inquiries. “Nothing else? Dismissed.”
Xvax watched them all leave soberly. They were his very best. There was no doubting it. He wished there were another way. He hated concealing the truth from those people he genuinely liked. Sometimes his job was unbearable. At times like these it was just heart breaking.
|
|
