Holmcross Project (Year 1)

Chapter 1: Mission End

"H-04! A lovely day, isn't it?" A man said as he came out to swab the deck of the ship.

The person in question was a young man with pale-yellow skin standing at the railing of the ship. He had sandy-blond hair that reached to just past his shoulders and was dressed in a steel-gray jacket that zipped up to the middle of his neck and matching pants tucked into black combat boots. On his hands were black gloves with a black strap around the cuffs of his jacket to tighten it and on his arm was a silver patch in the shape of a shield that had [0-4] printed on it. The wind blew through his hair and he reached up a hand to brush a stray strand behind his ear before turning his violet eyes towards the sailor.

"Yes, it is." The man looked towards the deck-swabber, the pistol ARM at his side bumped against his hip as he turned. "And, it's alright to call me 'Luger', you know. I rarely go by my number unless I'm talking to a senior officer."

The man laughed. "Alright, I'm sorry. I'm still getting used to it, I suppose. Well then, Luger, are you glad to be going home?"

"This ship IS my home, but I am glad to be returning to Adlehyde. I have missed the castle and its library." Luger admitted.

"And the young princess, no doubt?" The man grinned. "You seem so fond of her."

"'Fond' isn't really something I can manage." Luger said, walking over to the door. "I do enjoy her company, though. She teaches me much about humans."

"Mmm...I bet you'll be saying differently in time." The man chuckled.

"Perhaps." Luger opened the door and walked inside, heading down the hallway.

"Hey, Luger." A teenager with short blue hair grinned, leaning against the wall. "Me and Springfield were gonna find Wesson and Nils, get some lunch. Join us?"

"You sure are acting rather relaxed, considering your blunder." Luger frowned. "Imagine what Jaivan will do when he hears, Colt."

"I did fine." Colt waved it off and walked down the hall with his hands tucked into his pockets. His red-haired companion followed quietly, a book in his hands.

Both teens had light skin, green eyes, boots and similarly green slacks with their white shirts and boots. Where they differed was the loose way in which Colt wore his matching jacket as well as the red headband and purple scarf he wore against uniform regulations. Springfield's small act of rebellion was to wear his cherry red hair in a long braid. Both their jackets bore a shield insignia on the sleeve reading [H-05] and [H-06] respectively.

"We'll see." Luger said, walking after them. "Where ARE the two troublemakers?"

"Oh, most likely making a mess of things trying to kill each other." Colt said, grinning. "Aren't they just adorable that way?"

"I'm pretty sure it's all Nils trying to kill Wesson for something minuscule." Springfield said, not looking up from his book. "Wesson doesn't really have the capacity to try to kill someone he's close to. He adores him too much, something we can't really comprehend."

"You're gonna hit someone." Colt remarked, and then quickly dodged as a blur of blue and green ran past him, slamming into Springfield. "Whoa!"

"Owww!" The blur had hit the ground, rubbing his head.

The boy had light blue hair in a ponytail just past his shoulders with bangs parted at the front and held in place by a green bandanna over the top of his head. He was wearing a smaller version of Colt and Springfield's green and white outfit with longer sleeves and a vest in place of the jacket as well as a pair of sturdy brown gloves. He didn't wear the shield-shaped insignia, but like the others he was wear dog-tags on a chain around his neck – his reading [H-08].