Parallel: United Front

Chapter 15: The Return (2)

Kudan

Dome Cities. The magnificent invention created by humanity to survive in a new world cultivated to destroy it. These monstrous behemothian cities, the last bastions of humankind were protected by massive walls which could climb as high as six hundred meters tall, and were at least two hundred meters long.

Kudan's walls circled at about one hundred kilometers long, encompassing over seven hundred square kilometers of humanities finest within its firm embrace. In order to perform its job, the wall was lined with the latest in security technology, with everything from laser cannons to security personnel who took their job very seriously. Despite the seemingly monotonous nature of their job, the severity could not be understated.

All it took was one individual with a bad disease or illegal substance to bring down the integrity of the entire city.

On this day, forty-three years old Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) officer, Abdu Salim took a sip from his cup, eyes glowing with delight as the brown liquid trickled down his throat, slightly burning his throat on the way down. "Mm, indeed, nobody makes a cup of coffee like Bertha does," he praised as he set the cup on the table, flashing a smile at the middle aged Caucasian woman at the entrance straddling a high-powered rifle.

This heavily guarded location was one of the eight entrance points which all travelers entering Kudan were forced to pass through. Salim turned from the Caucasian woman to the Radi Augur waiting patiently by his desk to be checked through. As Salim waited for the system to confirm the lad's identity, he gave the young Radi a once over.

Dressed in a long overcoat and breeches reminiscent of antique movies, the green haired Radi winked at him, lips spread in a hearty grin. Curiously, this Radi had come in without a suit, yet had passed the Radiation screening which meant he could somehow survive in the Radiated zones without protection. He cast a glance at the screen, brows slightly raised at the information that came up.

Name: Dayle Butcher

Age: 23

Commissioned: July 23rd

Last Save: July 23rd at Augur Research & Development Institute (Main Plaza)

Last Recorded Level: 1

Last Recorded Faction: FireRain

Affiliates: Nina Raines, Arthur Yount

Salim checked again just to be sure, brows furrowed in thought, then looked at the date on his watch: July 27th it said. So, the kid had been gone for at most four days yet he could already survive in Radiation without a suit? There was definitely a story here. But, it was not his place to question how and where Augurs got their enhancements. As long as they did not endanger the city, Augurs were generally given a free pass.

"Your identity checks out," Salim said as he picked up a device resembling a barcode scanner. "I'm guessing it's your first time returning from a hunt, so I'll lay out some ground rules. Gauntlet."

Dayle complied, holding out his arm.

Salim grabbed the arm with his left, then squeezed the scanner's trigger with his right. As he examined the list of items on the holo-screen, he muttered, "First things you should note. Please visit our site for contrabands not permitted into the city at any costs. Cores obtained while in the field should not be brought out in public. Exposure of radiated cores to the public will result in massive fines or jail time. In that same vein, cores should only be sold to certified vendors. Any illegal transaction involving cores will result in jail time."