☇.T↺ THE BEG⇣NN⇣NG

Background Information:

In the nearby future, the fate of humanity seems to be coming to its end. Space colonization has failed with the emergence of new intergalactical powers, Earth's formation of an artificial planet had quickly collapsed from an unexpected black hole, and Earth's life forms are beginning to fade away from existence. There seems to be no hope.

Fortunately for humanity, there lies an alternative but its discovery will change the entire fate of the Earth and predict disasters to come. A scientist by the alias of Galileo had discovered a rare substance known as Ethium in the year 2005. An iridescent and translucent crystal, Ethium thrives in peace at Earth's last refugees, such as mountain ranges, sea-floors, extensive jungles, and even desert plains. Galileo has come across these crystals by chance on a hike through the Swiss Alps, accidentally stepping on this crystal and shattering it into fragments. Curious with this new substance he took back into his lab and discovered its rarity and usefulness. He deduced, with a handful of crystals, it could fuel a whole country for the next century. Excited with the prospect of Ethium, Galileo spent the remainder of his life dedicated in solving the mysteries of Ethium and developing a device that could convert its energy.

Thirteen years later, Galileo had finished his product and his research on Ethium. The product is rumored to be a small vessel in the shape of a crescent moon, where a tiny vial in between the crescent points contains Ethium crushed into a fine powder and can be activated by a push of a button. This vessel was known as the Luminere, a device capable of harnessing the light. But when he had secretly announced to the UN of his latest product, the countries began clamoring for his work and bribes ensued, for all they wanted was to harness this new power and emerge as the top. Even minority countries caught wind of this and began terrorist assaults to intimidate the other countries and force Galileo to surrender his research. But unable to deal with the pressure of these events, Galileo suddenly vanished off the face of the Earth and hide all his research to ten remote corners around the world. His last note to the UN instructed them to not recover any Ethium crystals, or even try recreating the Lumiere or else severe consequences will occur.

Current Plot:

The Luokia pirates are currently employed by the UN to seek Galileo's notes about the Ethium crystals. Each note has a certain riddle that uncovers the next hiding place of the other note. However, these notes are encrypted and other country organizations are out to find these notes as well. Agents are sent around the world to ambush, threaten, and kill these pirates. It is up to the Luokia pirates to recover these notes for the UN, create the Luminere, and decide whether or not to accept the reward or to steal the Luminere and Galileo's notes.

The plot begins in a slightly futuristic modern day where guns rule the world and mechanical airships dominate the skies. Down below on Earth, human civilizations are slowly dying out from famine, constant violence, and the little resources they have left. Only those with money, fame, and connections remain relatively unscathed by the world's horrors. Small nations have banded together under large organization titles, though the UN continues to be the largest, albeit their fragmented summits and stalemates in discussions.

The female and male diplomats of the now small confederate state of Hustana strolled up to the elevated docks of Rome's airship terminal. Their destination was a small air yacht titled "RAVEN", one of the most advanced and luxurious airships around, or so it may seem to be a "RAVEN" ship. Eugene flashed his certificate to the security guard and received a nod of approval to enter the premises. As a tip, Nizhouni stealthily dropped a few worthless Euros into the guard's pocket.

The Navajo Indian unlocked the ship's system by passing a hand over its holographic sensor and the automatic doors slid open. "Hullo? Anyone home?" Eugene called into the empty expanse of the ship, his presence starting up the ship's automatic lighting system. "We've got some fresh Italian bread and cold cuts here..." Meanwhile, Nizhouni disappeared down the corridor to relay the news to the second-in-command.

Coming in shortly after was the cook, Alex, who had recently bought provisions for their upcoming journey. On her way to the kitchen, she saw Eugene and called out, "Captain! You want something to eat?" Knowing that he would want something anyways, she started on making a sandwich with the bread and cold cuts they had on board. Within ten minutes, Alex had whipped up a sandwich that even a native born Italian chef would be jealous of. "Here you go, I knew you wanted one anyways." She said casually.

"Thanks, Alex. You're the absolute best." He proclaimed, digging into his sandwich. It was nice of their clients to recommend them that Italian bakery for breakfast since their meeting was so early. "Soh, anyfthung haften thish morphning whifle we weref oush? (So, anything happened this morning while we were out?)" Eugeue questioned with his mouth full of cold cuts and bread.

"Not much happened to be honest," Alex said as uncorked a bottle of wine, "Shopping for food is pretty boring." She poured a glass of vintage wine out for the captain, "Here's some wine to go with that sandwich."

"Phamks Alex." Eugene accepted the wine from her, swishing its contents gently in the glass before taking a sip. He smacked his lips at the delicious taste, relishing the tart taste of the wine complimenting his morning sandwich nicely. "At least, it's better than confronting officials. I'd think you'd hate to be in my shoes." He chuckled before taking another sip.

At that moment, Nizhouni stepped into the kitchen. She wordlessly slipped into the bar stool beside Eugene. "He's not happy with your rendezvous without him, Eugene." She muttered, jerking a thumb towards the large shadow of a man occupying the entrance. He loomed menacingly over the frame and a growl of annoyance could be heard.

Eugene plastered on a brave smile before pushing his leftover sandwich to Alex. "Alex dear, would you mind labeling this in the fridge for me? Emil has no patience to wait for me to finish breakfast." With that, he pranced out of the room into the hallway, leaving the two females behind.

Alex grudgingly picked up the half eaten sandwich, sour that Eugene didn't finish it. "Whatever, as long as you eat it later," She stormed out of the room to wrap it up and store it in the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, she proceeded to angrily put a sandwich into a refrigerator while cursing loudly.

As Alex was storming out, Johnny came in shirtless with a towel around his neck, beads of perspiration dripping from his body. Surprised at Alex's sudden retreat into the kitchen, he asked, "Nizhouni, what's up with Alex? Wait, I know, Eugene didn't finish his food again, right?" Wiping his sweat of his face, he saw the large man, asking, "Why's that guy on the ship?"

Nizhouni sighed at Alex's dramatic exit. She had wanted to at least grab something from the temperamental chef before she got off her high horses. "He's our new watchdog," she replied quietly, snatching an apple to munch on it thoughtfully. "Officials are getting freaked out that we might take advantage of their kindness, so they let loose a guardian to watch us. We tried shaking him off after the meeting, but he's found our ship." Taking another vicious bite into the apple, she wiped off the excessive juice with her sleeve. "How are the new weapon enhancements?"

Wiping his face again, Johnny replied brightly, "They're great, finished up just now. I've installed some extra armaments on the front and sides of the ship and I did some rewiring in the engine bay so now we go twenty percent faster. I didn't fiddle with any of the intricate stuff though, not yet." He looked pleased with his work, judging from the beaming smile he had when complimenting himself. Redirecting his attention to Nizhouni, he asked, "When do we set sail?"