Initially the damage caused at the raid of Chiba Port was not as bad as officials had expected.
When the dust had settled around twelve hours after DRA Japan's Eclipse team had descended onto a carrier vessel loaded with dangerous criminals, class A drugs and the illegal smuggling of Lotus flower- a famous drug used to enhance a dragon riders power- the vessel was deemed to be dangerous and should have been escorted to port. In the event of the party refusing to retreat, only then could the team sink the vessel. Team E was told the target was asked for compliance, ultimately they ended up blowing the ship up...
"Killing ten men on board, destroying vital evidence and almost destroying two police helicopters who were pursuing the chase, causing dangerous bodily harm!" Paper hit wood as the daily newspaper slammed down on the meeting desk. Chester Sullivan sighed, looking up at the three individuals scattered throughout the overly big meeting room he'd just been promoted to. Their boss pushed his reading glasses back onto his dyed black hair, before he smacked the pages open and scoured the newspaper for the nth time that morning.
"Not to mention that once intelligent man over there decided to try one of the lotus flowers for himself, you absolute pretentious moron!" Chester wasn't one to go about shouting like a madman, usually he was the non-confrontational type. Today however, the tables had turned.
"It's not my fault, if you remember the DRA academies have always advised if you apprehend any lotus flower-" Vulcan spoke, quickly looking side to side for his comrades to help him out.
"Make sure it's the real thing!" The three riders roared in union, faced mixed with fatigue and frustration.
Chester Sullivan wasn't impressed.
Location: DRA headquarters, Seabase in Tokyo Bay
Time: 3:40pm
Team (inquiry meeting): E (Eclipse)
Status: Getting fired
Chester- physically seething at this point- with a mixed huff of disappointment and anger, threw the crumbled up newspaper down onto the mahogany wood. Eclipse crowded round to see the bold headline staring back up to them. They'd only been back from their mission twelve hours, ultimately it had also been the worst twelve hours of their lives. Vulcan, still the temporary leader of his comrades, scanned the headline that stuck out like a sore thumb. Everything felt like a fever dream, but reality had soon come crashing down as the same headline was repeated in words over the radio and on the breaking news.
So it was true after all.
ECLIPSE OVERSHADOWED BY THE SUN!
Top 500 Dragon group demoted due to destruction!
The bold lettering only added more pangs of guilt and shame to their mix of emotions, Chester's pacing only got more erratic. The group as a whole had never seen Chester get angry throughout the short while they'd been employed under him, yet the man stood physically seething before them now.
Eclipse used to rank 500th place worldwide on the official Dragon Rider ranks. As of this morning, they were no longer ranked at all. Positions stripped for now until the government and DRA global made a formal decision. Apparently, the destruction caused at Chiba had drawn the line at the government's patience. Reckless endangerment was not something they wanted to worry about every time the group Eclipse left base, they purely didn't have the time for it or the endless amount of Japanese Yen to repair the constant damage.
Chester Sullivan, their manager and on the higher panel of individuals at the DRA Japan, had only found out himself in the early hours this very morning. In fact the poor man had been awoken from his first good night's sleep in what seemed like forever. The company director of Japan had phoned him after the Japanese government themselves had contacted the director about their sudden decision. The rest of the higher government officials, the mayor of Tokyo and the director, as well as a team from the DRA, were all currently in a very important meeting discussing what steps were now to be taken.
"Don't tell Adonis" Vulcan didn't look up from the article, his eyes still scanning the words as he spoke. Taking in every detail, each word that had been printed onto paper. Taking in the facts before he objected or agreed.
"He already knows," Chester huffed, his head now in his hands as he continued to pace the perimeter of the room.
"Even if I didn't tell him, he'd surely know by now."
Adonis Cassidy. Captain of Eclipse. Signed under the DRA Japan for ten years, he was young when he started his intense training program with a group of boys his age and older. He'd been 16 when he'd got his dragon Fury. A perfect dragon rider in every way, destined for grandeur but forging his own path through his much lower ranking group. The infamous male was currently away on business, hence Vulcan's temporary leadership status.
"We're dead" Raiden leant back into his chair, slouching all the way down until he was practically falling off, eyes fixated on the ceiling. He knew how much Adonis had sacrificed for this team- he always warned them to behave when he was away. Raiden knew he'd be in for a good beating when his elder returned.
"How the hell did you all mess up this bad!" Chester still paced- this time though he retreated to his desk, pulling out his draw a bottle of scotch whiskey. Unscrewing the cap, the desperation of the man saw him swig it right from the bottle, the dark liquid disappearing before the group's eyes.
"We know things are dire when he hits the bottle" Raiden made his remark under his breath, not wanting another earful. However, his cockiness gained him an earful in the form of Ara giving him a slap round the back of the head. Hard. The sound of skin slapping metal (of Raiden's four piercings on his outer ear) echoed through the room. Ara's bangles chimed, a pleasant noise in the awkward air.
"Adonis left me in charge, I should be held responsible." Vulcan didn't need to show any emotion, his body language alone showed the guilt and frustration emitting from him. The man couldn't get angry- he had no right to. As much as he wanted to scream and shout and say they were innocent, they weren't. Between them, Eclipse had wracked up a more than a million yen bill in government property damage alone, that was only within the one year and eleventh month period they'd been together as Eclipse.
"Adonis is in Brazil, trying to get Fury and himself on the next carrier jet to Tokyo. None of us can do anything now except keep a low profile. I'm keeping him updated. I should get some news from the director within the next few hours on their decision" Chester had composed himself by now- his emergency bottle slipped back in the depths of his overflowing filing cabinet, never to be seen again (unless there was another crisis).
"Well actually scrap that- the Brazillain government wants Adonis out the country because he's being hounded too badly over your stupid mistakes!" Chester huffed at the group again, this time reaching for his coffee that had already gone stone cold.
"How did he take the news?" Vulcan had been avoiding the question all afternoon. Chester sighed, placing the cold coffee cup back down again.
"Not as bad as I thought, he's more worried about how you guys are handling it" Chester spoke quietly, hands clasped together and elbows on the table. All formities had gone out the window for the usually uptight boss today, the stress of the whole situation would surely turn him grey.
"Typical Adonis" Ara sighed, playing with the bangles on her wrists.
"I doubt he's not worried at all though, I know him of old" Vulcan said under his breath, Ara and Raiden heard him due to their exceptional hearing capabilities.
"Whether he makes it back or not tonight doesn't matter. He's got to be at the next press conference which will be held tomorrow, that'll ultimately be after the decision is made later today on whether you guys are disbanded or just put as a defence group rather than in the public eye."
Demoting dragon rider groups wasn't uncommon- Chester had been in the trade more than long enough to know it. Even much smaller incidents like public dating scandals had seen groups go under within hours, it was pure ludicrousness more than anything. Being a dragon rider under the DRA meant appearances mattered- not physical but rather attitudes and public persona. Even Chester knew he had to worry this time- public damage was usually to be expected but with his group's reputation, this would be a hard situation to get themselves out of. They had to look at the facts- this had really been a long time coming. Their damage history had wracked over three million Japanese Yen already- perhaps more. Someone was bound to get sick of them at some point, and it looked like it was the Japanese government who'd finally had enough.
He only prayed now that Adonis would get home safely so the whole situation could be sorted properly.
"All that work at the academy down the drain" Raiden was typically the one to be more doom and gloom, he huffed as he spoke.
"Well you shouldn't have been recklessly damaging and endangering then, should you! You lot are an exception, if you did this in any other country you would have been banned straight away-"
"That's actually not true- the American association is notorious for damage" Raiden butted in as Chester vented his frustration, their boss rubbing his temples as he listened.
"That's an exception then.'' Vulcan replied, opening up his laptop to start searching for recent news feeds. He didn't have the heart to turn on the news at the moment, he'd rather read the words than listen to the relentless hounding his group would have to endure until a decision was finally made.
"No no, I heard there was a big to do with the Spanish division, one of their groups is much like us, they apparently toppled a whole village once!" Ara joined in the conversation, waving her arms frantically, bangles chiming a sweet melody. Every country had more than one dragon rider group, all with their own perfections and flaws. But grasping at straws and trying to justify themselves was getting no one anywhere.
"Frankly, all of you are wrong. If you did that in the United Kingdom I'm pretty sure you'd be shipped out of London the same day."
Silence followed, heads spinning round, Chester only looking up with wide eyes.
A young woman stood within the open door, her green eyes piercing onto the group. She didn't even flinch as four pairs of eyes stared directly back, a mix of confusion, intrusion and guarding. The eyes however, were mainly focused on her waist- the two blades sheathed beside her.
"Who are you?" Raiden spoke calmly yet cautiously, looking at the young woman who'd just paraded through as if she owned the place. His arm had subconsciously spread out behind him, Ara grabbing his hand to let him know she was safe behind him.
"I'm guessing, thanks to your lovely display last night, Mr Sullivan forgot I was joining the troupe today!" The girl spoke enthusiastically yet with a hint of annoyance, arms folded as her gaze now struck the stricken boss directly at his chair.
"Oh fuck" Chester- who's mouth was now agape and moving like a fish- stared at the young woman with an embarrassment lurking in his eyes. The old man really had forgotten.
Raiden- being typical Raiden- started sniggering manically to himself. Ara being Ara took no time in removing her hand from his and rather clipping him round the ear for the second time that afternoon, her bangles clanking as metal rings met many piercings on his ears yet again.
"A new member?!" Vulcan rose to his feet, confusion plastered on his face. Guard up, eyes wondering and scanning the woman before him. He wasn't trusting on his own- Adonis being the most trusting out of the two. Raiden only stared, with Ara patiently waiting for someone to start talking.
The new girl raised a hand, "I'm Mitzi, Adonis originally thought of the plan to add an ice wielding dragon rider to your group as you still don't have one."
Vulcan's guard dropped slightly.
Raiden's didn't.
He never had one in the first place, and another thing he didn't have was a filter –
"You're British? The hell are you doing here of all places!"
Ara had opted to say nothing. She'd chosen only to observe, unlike her best friend who was currently hanging over his chair throwing ten questions like it was nothing.
"This was the best position going for me and Adonis reached out first. I couldn't refuse really, could I?" Her eyes were freezing in colour but warm in expression.
"Adonis reached out first?" Vulcan asked with intrigue, turning to the desk of the still blubbering Chester.
"Yes he did... I totally forgot..." Quick as lightning Chester was at his feet, scurrying round to their new teammate as she still stood by the door looking partly lost.
"Everyone, meet Mitzi Owen, new member of the once Eclipse group" Chester offered his hand, which Mitzi accepted and shook enthusiastically.
"I look forward to working with you all!" The young girl turned her attention to the group and bowed appropriately. Vulcan nodded appreciating her efforts. It looked like she'd got accustomed to etiquette before joining at least. A lot more compared to that of Raiden and Ara.
"Take a seat Mitzi, I'm just debating whether I should fire these idiots" Chester muttered as he returned to his perch at the other end of the room, Mitzi taking a seat at the complete opposite end. Formal introductions would have to wait, work was far too important at the moment.
"Back to business" Chester started, hands clasped in front of him on the table, eyes stern and locked on the group in front of him. It was time to get serious. His laptop was open beside him, a presentation of the incident open and now projected onto the wall behind him. Mitzi sat small, the other dragon riders waiting for the presentation to start flicking through.
"The position of the vessel blown up by Eclipse was just outside Chiba port park. It was headed towards the open sea- using the only route being Tokyo bay but it hadn't quite reached the Aqua-Line before you caught up and sunk the ship." Chester read out the facts clearly, a detailed map projected behind him. Mitzi followed closely, the poor girl only hearing about the incident as she'd flew into Tokyo this very morning, hours after it had happened.
"It was more towards Ichihara if I'm correct?" Vulcan piped up, Chester nodded.
"If you'd reached anywhere remotely near the Aqua-Line I'm pretty sure all of you would have lost your licences for good. The risk of public endangerment there would have been astronomical. That's probably the main reason for the temporary ban." Chester was to the point, highlighting every detail he knew well.
"But why! We were nowhere near Sodegaura, let alone the Aqua line! Why are we still being blamed for all of this!" Ara's palms pushed harshly at the mahogany, throwing her chair back violently as she stood up in protest. Chester, a sympathetic look in his eyes for the girl's pleas, only sighed.
"But on your comms there's no denying that Raiden was in pursuit. Ara and Vulcan, you both had to stop him, right?" Chester asked first. The trio's eyes all suddenly widened in sync, as if they'd all just had a lightbulb switch on in their heads. Vulcan especially had forgotten about that - it was a minor incident, something anyone in a team would forget about in minutes.
It was exactly what the government had needed to put a proper claim in against the destructive and reckless behaviour.
If the public ever found out - which they ultimately had - that one of their city's protectors had pursued and caused reckless endangerment, it would cause anyone to lose faith.
"The government have noted that as a risk in itself. If Raiden had kept chasing it instead of Ara taking over, you've got to put into perspective the potential dangers the public could have been in for. Not to mention Haneda International airport is nearby-"
"We get it, we were too close and we should have stopped." Vulcan spoke up, turning gaze to Raiden who'd now taken his seat on the floor, not visible to anyone sat around the table. In any other situation, Vulcan may have started chuckling to himself at the younger man's actions. But he knew Raiden sitting on the floor clearly symbolised the weight that now pressed itself onto his shoulders. The DRA were pinning the blame on him, even though Vulcan, Ara and Raiden himself knew he was doing what was right.
"If the ship went too far you know it would have passed straight by our front door. That's another reason the government are on our backs"
Tokyo Bay is pretty empty in terms of manmade structures. The Tokyo Aqua line was the only noticeable feature but even that disappeared down into a tunnel below the water half way across the actual bay. It was the only expressway to cross the bay, which in itself was a dangerous location to be. A busy shipping lane, as well as a busy flight path. The bridge itself connecting both the Chiba prefecture and the Kanagawa prefecture.
But however, mikes down the bay stands Kasagawa Island- home to the DRA Japan's headquarters. The whole island had been purposely remodelled and scaled to withstand the needs of the DRA. It had three runways- one for oncoming and outgoing dragon carrier, cargo and private aircraft . The other two were strictly for emergency military aircraft and dragons. It was like one well oiled machine- all the cogs working together simultaneously without error. There were shops, hotels and even homes on the island too- enough for the workers, executives and dragon riders themselves to live and work in harmony, enough to hold the outside world at public events and on open days. Self sustaining, and in a situation like this, a place to totally isolate one's self.
Chester signed, the PowerPoint behind him finally turning black. There was no more really to say. Facts were facts, and the government had enough evidence to make decisions about the groups future, which ultimately was what they were doing now.
"Surely Raiden deciding to pursue can't have possibly been the reason why they've done this?!" Ara was still in denial like the rest of them.
"No, not only that. The fact two helicopters- police helicopters- came down due to your dragons as well has raised issues and caused backlash. Anti police groups are loving that mistake." Chester grumbled.
"There's seriously anti police groups supporting our actions? This is ridiculous-" Raiden had finally returned to his seat, albeit not in the best mind frame, and that was about to crumble even more.
"RAIDEN, it may seem ridiculous but look at the evidence. To an outsider looking in you've almost killed your own folk- protectors of the city. You've almost caused anti police groups to rise up again. You pursued a vessel when told instructions not to. You know what happens when things go wrong- PEOPLE DIE." Chester had soon lost his cool again, standing up from his desk. This time not only targeting Raiden, but all of the group bar Mitzi.
"You know even smaller incidents have caused groups to go under. The overall reason now is because Eclipse have caused too much damage in such a short timespan. The government aren't going to keep paying or putting up with it-ultimately you're going to learn from your mistakes." Chester took a seat again, turning his laptop off and taking a look out of his offices window, the city looking like a painting as the sun started to set over Tokyo.
"Let's admit, it's taken them long enough" Vulcan sighed, also turning off his laptop and pulling the screen down with a click.
"It doesn't matter now, the main thing is we get Adonis back here and we plead our case, no matter what the decision-" Chester never got to finish his sentence, his phone lit up quickly as his ringtone sang violently throughout the room. Nobody moved, nobody said anything else. Chester accepted the call, quickly telling the caller to hold as he addressed the group for the last time today.
"That's enough for one day. All of you go and get some rest. Now." With one quick command and the flick of his wrist, Eclipse paid no time to stay seated. The original trio rose from their seats, Ara calling Mitzi up to follow her. Raiden was first out the door, paying no time to look behind him as he left. Ara straight on his tail with Mitzi, Vulcan was the last to leave.
The temporary and guilty leader turned to exchange one last look with Chester, who only shot him a certain look that Vulcan rarely got to see. Sympathy. Vulcan knew Chester had been in the trade longer than most, he knew what that meant more than the others even would.
The decision had finally been made.
.
.
.
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chapter 2, end.
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