Malisahra

Zeek

Zeek nodded. "Noted. Alright then, everyone, I hope to get to know you better as the semester ensues." By this time, the group had arrived in front of their destination, a towering gothic-styled structure that stood out starkly.

"This is the Rashid Building. It may be hard to believe, but this doesn't even crack the top 10 biggest buildings on campus. Now, inside, the chancellor will want to say a few words to everyone. After that, you guys are regrouping at this entrance with me, and I'll give you a tour of this section of campus. Don't worry, we'll be done in time for your first classes of the day. Everything sticks to a quick schedule here at UA. Now, go on -- you guys need to get inside!"

Zeek shooed the kids through the gaping entrance and closed the door behind them before sighing. Teenagers are hard... Hopefully, I can get the to open up a bit more. I guess it's my own fault for taking the group of the most hesitant ones. Ah, well... this should be an adventure.

He pulled a small paperback out from the breast pocket of his robe, flipped to a page about two-thirds of the way through, adjusted his glasses, and began to read.

Joel

"Mission all wrapped up, boss. The stolen documents classified under R4 have been recovered, and the department is deliberating whether cerebral therapy will be necessary for the culprits. How is the business on your end? GTTP."

Joel looked over the message a final time before hitting the "Send" button. Ordinarily, such a message being sent through a cellular network would be remarkably stupid, but she didn't need to worry. Save for the communication network between the pharaoh and his ministers, her private line with Mr. Ibrahim was perhaps the most secure in the state. And even if someone had the intention of compromising its security, either of them would choose death without hesitation before giving up their phone.

Now all she could do was hope for another assignment. Based on Mr. Ibrahim's expression when he headed out, she just knew it was something good coming up. It'd been weeks since she'd gotten a chance to really go all out, and if Mr. Ibrahim had truly come across a max-rank mission like she suspected, he'd better be willing to share.

Event

"A letter ma'am, from the Pharaoh, concerning the defense minister's memo." A man in a white robe bowed slightly as the letter was taken from his hand. He kept his gaze down as the letter was read.

"Very well, prepare a car." A sharp voice said. "He requested an immediate departure?"

"I... I was not instructed to read the letter."

"Uh-huh." A pause. "Well then I'll have it done myself. You are dismissed minister."

"As you wish." The man released a breath and stepped out of the room.

....

"Come in!" An old, dark-skinned man sat behind the mahogany desk. He adjusted the placard in front of him. Minister Haldly, Alexandrian Branch. Things hadn't been ideal for the Alexandrian branch. Several classified documents had hit Haldly's desk in the past several days, school was starting and there was a long list of things that the RDF still had to answer for. Haldly had become more and more annoyed with his colleagues and that only amplified as the staff of the university had been hit with question after question about the damn Rec center. Why they couldn't just open the building back up and lock up a single room was a mystery to him. He had half a mind to contact protection, although how a bunch of military men would quell feelings about the safety of the school wasn't quite clear. He crumpled up a spare piece of paper on his desk in frustration.

The door opened slowly and an man with white hair and a grey suit stepped in the room, and softly closed the door behind him. "Good morning minister!" He said cheerfully, "I hope things have been treating you well."

"James." The man said plainly. "Why are you in my office?"

"Please," The man reached under his shirt and fished out a necklace holding a seamless metal disc, and turned it so the minister was staring at the flat side. "Just call me Davis." A bright flash enveloped the room.

....

"There was a break-in." Word had spread quickly. Someone had trashed the governor's room and made off with.... well nobody knew what, or why there was a break-in in the first place. Red looked up from her phone. Everyone was shooting out random speculations in the conspiracy group chat, but the facts were few and far between. How could a breach have happened without anyone at the door knowing? There were too many unknowns, but coupled with the arson attempt, there was certainly something up, or at worst just some damaging events unfortunately within days of each other. It couldn't have been that disrupting though. The University had sent out a message to all personnel that the club showcase was still a go and the freshmen would be in the main courtyard at 4. She picked up her phone and punched in a number. The investigation team certainly had some talking to do.

Ruby Vallance

"Hmm?" She slipped her phone into her pocket, having just sent a frantic text to Rick. "Oh, um... it's a long story."


Earlier...


Ruby was one of the first to walk into class. She was soon joined by a handful of students, and later the entire rest of the class, but the professor was nowhere to be found. Eventually an asian man in his mid-twenties slipped in and looked around.

"Are you professor Tillbur?" one of the students asked.

"Erm... no." Kirin smiled nervously and set down his satchel. "I'm Kirin, his assistant. I'm sure he'll be here soon." Despite his promises, they waited another twelve minutes with no sign of him. Some students anxiously watched the clock, while others mindlessly stared at their phones. There was no one to talk to, as the students in the other classes were well into their lectures. Eventually, Ruby raised her hand. "Question?" Kirin asked, pointing to her.

"Is it true that if the teacher isn't here in fifteen minutes we're legally allowed to leave?" The question caused some of her classmates to groan.

"Miss..." Kirin clutched his forehead. "This is a university. You're always legally allowed to leave."

"Oh..."

"I'm sure Professor Tillbur is just running late."

Mutters broke out amongst the classroom. Ideas such as "I wonder if something's happened to him," and "Do you think this is connected to that arson attempt?" permeated the air.

Finally, after some unnecessary panic the door swung open, and in came an unkempt man in his thirties whose hair was a chaotic bush and whose glasses obscured his face. "Morning, class..." he said with an astonishing lack of enthusiasm. "Welcome to History 101."

One student groaned and began to pack up his things. Others looked at one another, and there was a general sense of hesitation before Ruby finally blurted out "I thought this was Archaeology!"

"Eh...?" Professor Tillbur stared at the class. Kirin tapped his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. "...Oh. Right. Welcome to Introduction to Archaeology." Tillbur scratched his head and walked over to his desk, pulling at the drawers before realizing that they needed a key. As he patted himself in search of one, he muttered to his assistant, "...Uh, keep 'em busy for a few minutes."

Kirin sighed and stepped forward to face the class. "So. Archaeology!" he began with a clap. "The study of the past and the tangible marks it has left on the present. As you might imagine, you're here to learn about the procedures of a typical archaeological dig, the history of the science, the various acts and laws passed for its protection and regulation as well as some hands-on experience."

"You dig up junk and put it in bags," Tillbur curtly clarified, still fiddling with his desk.

"And... you write down exactly where you found it," Kirin continued, trying to salvage the topic. "Now who here has experience with archaeology? Any anthropology majors here? Don't be shy."

Ruby raised her hand and looked around, somewhat disheartened at the sight of an otherwise unresponsive classroom. "I'm working for Hera Katsaros over at the dig a few kilometers from here!"

"You know Miss Katsaros, do you?" Kirin raised his eyebrows. "That's nice to hear. You must be one of the 'student-volunteers' she had mentioned to me."

"Wow, you know my boss?"

A smile grew on Kirin's face. "You could say that."

"Kirin's giving her a boatload of money," Tillbur interrupted yet again. "Or so I've heard."

Kirin's face immediately went red. "I am funding the dig."

"Pff, yeah..." one of the students whispered, "I'm sure someone's getting their holes properly funded."

The assistant let out an annoyed sigh. "Anyway, funding is an important part of any dig, because the budget has to come from somewhere. Typically this takes the form of government grants. In our case, however, the money comes from Tahkata International Bank. Although these digs typically aren't for-profit operations, someone still has to get paid. You have educated workers with families to feed, site overseers and, of course, scientists with the know-how to carefully carbon-date any organic material you find. Perhaps second only to proper funding is attendance, in terms of importance to a successful dig. So I expect you all to be here for every class, and present for its..." As he scanned the class, he caught sight of the governor's office in the distance. Its windows flashed a blinding white for a split second, and he could almost sense a rumbling from it. "...entirety." He blinked for a second, and then suddenly grabbed his satchel. "If you'll excuse me for a moment..." he said, quickly leaving the room.

"Aha, found it!" Tillbur exclaimed, raising the proper key and opening the desk drawers. "Alright, class. Archaeology. You go out and hit the dirt with a shovel until you find something cool. Any questions?"

"Yeah, uh..." Ruby raised her hand again. "Where's Kirin going?"

"Who?"


Back to the present...


"So, to sum things up," she said to the boy who had approached her, "Someone tried to light the rec center on fire, my insane professor walked in like 20 minutes late, his assistant saw something out the window and suddenly ran out of the classroom, and now everyone's saying that the Governor's office got burglarized! What, do we have some crazy criminal running around? I'd watch for suspicious people if I were you."

Ruby Vallance

"Oh, at 2 o'clock? Sure, that's what I'm taking as well. Follow me, I've got a map." Sure that the situation would resolve itself, the two of them ventured across campus to their destination.

Ruby Vallance

—I MADE FRIENDS

—ONE OF THEM IS A HIGHSCHOOLER AND THE OTHER CAN’T TALK BUT I SAY IT COUNTS

Can you please stop typing in caps-lock?—

You’re hurting my eyes—

btw any idea what’s going on with the governor’s office?—

—no news yet >.>

—I think my boss is banging the bank representative

—just a hunch

—lol

I’m gonna be in the courtyard—

checking out the clubs—

—WAS THAT TODAY

yuuuup—

—I’LL BE THERE HOLD ON

Without a word, Ruby grabbed Akhim with one hand and Lori with the other and guided them towards the main courtyard.

Red

"Oh hey!" She looked up at the girl. "Anything you.... want to know about the club?" Red was unsure if the girl was interested or amused by the signage. She did her best to smile.

Red

"We're like a newspaper, but without the paper. Basically we're like a conspiracy club but we actually try to find things out. Big secrets, scandals, government activities, basically journalism of fun stuff." Red smiled, proud of her crappy explanation.