Victoria Sheed's Story

Do not be so amazed, Lori. Do your work well as you do; that will suffice for me. Additionally, relax, Matthew. You do not need to take the test. You are not a Pokemon upon my last observation, done just now. Ongoing. I am pleased that you've fully used the resources we make available. It adds some familiarity between us already. I had my Secretary, Kelley, handle all the paperwork. I don't spend too much effort on it. Everything I need to keep tabs on concerning you are tabs already kept. We'll see you out of your state of living current.

Zoltan laughed once more.

Marahaha! If Lori is recommending you, then that is a valid vouch for I can accept. However, I will not have you begin unattended. General Sheed! Please, come forth!

Entering the room quickly, a young Trainer in model military-inspired garb stepped forward and briefly struck a pose invoking a familiar Z-shape, apparently a salute of some kind.

Sir...!

General Sheed, I am assigning our new Associate to your supervision. His name is Matthew Carpenter, though I am certain he prefers, "Matt." Ensure he does suitably; Lori speaks highly of him, and her opinions carry weight. I'll also leave his training and introduction to you as well. I will transfer Lori to your supervision, so he has a good friend to lean on while he learns.

Understood... I will make sure he succeeds.

She struck the odd Z-shaped pose once more briefly, then turned to Matt and Lori. Zoltan addressed Matt one more time.

Do not fail us, Matthew. You will be given all the opportunities you require, and all the tools you need, to succeed. Success and merit will be earned by you alone; no one else can do it for you. Work hard, and you will go far- marahahaha! Now go!

Victoria would have Lori and Matt follow her out of the room, and back down the stairs to the main hall. From there, she lead them both down a second set of stairs to an underground Training Area. Aside from having a small arena, there were also all sorts of devices and other items that were no doubt used as a part of work.

It was here that Matt and Lori got a good look at Victoria. She looked young, and couldn't be older than 14. She was shorter than them, but she had long blond hair, piercing red eyes, and a stoic look that nonetheless created a striking presence. Along her belt, four special Poke Balls resided, each with a unique design based on the Z-Force colors. The medallion she wore reflected the badge that indicated her rank of General and it had slots for a Keystone and a Z-Crystal, of which both were present. Lori would know the General rank was rare and awarded only to a select few. Only Secretaries enjoyed as much merit within the Z-Force as Generals did (Secretaries did the paperwork, while Generals did the fieldwork) and being made a General was exclusively Zoltan's choice; it could not be earned through doing the work or earning promotions.

Associate... You are new. I must assess your strength, so we shall do battle. Take your place at one end of the arena. The area for you to stand is marked. I will be looking at your potential, and this battle will tell me much of what I need to know...so do not hold back. I will work you fitting your performance, but Lord Zoltan is expectant. Winning or losing is of no importance here... I only wish to see your full strength.

Victoria then walked to one end of the arena and stood.

I will use a single Pokemon... Use a single one of yours. The most common battle you will encounter will be Single Battles.

Victoria was no-nonsense it seemed.

"Sorry, sir. I will keep my enthusiasm better contained next time. Do forgive my outburst."

Lori seemed fascinated with the General rank that Victoria had when she entered. She kept quiet and let everybody else talk, seeing it a bad idea to interject again. When led out of the room, she looked at Victoria better and was shocked to find her so young and to be a General. She did think on something she heard though, "My opinions carry weight enough that even Mr. Zoltan takes it into account? That's really cool! It'd be best to not betray that and let him down."

"Wow! You must be really strong to be handpicked to be a General! That's pretty neat! And your hair is really pretty too... O-Oops! Sorry, i-it slipped out."

After hearing that Matt would be battling she stepped out of the way so they'd have room to do so.

"Give her all you got, Matt!"

"I...I do prefer Double Battles, but I guess I can do a Single if you insist." Taking his stance in the indicated area, he took a deep breath. Lori and even Zoltan himself were confident that he could do well...he just had to convince the stupid part of his brain that.

"Okay! I've decided! Let's go, Bagon!"

A small dragon with an oversized cranial crest hit the field in front of Matt, letting out a high-pitched roar...more like a battle cry? It didn't seem very intimidating.

"Time to show me your power."

I see. That is your partner. You have at least one... That is a start.

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Matt is challenged by Z-Force General Victoria!

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Victoria, young as she was, still carried an authoritative air. Palming a Z-Ball, she looked at Matt and threw it forward with a cool air about her.

As we always do... Korios!

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Z-Force General Victoria sent out Pinsir!|0-----|

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The Stag Beetle Pokemon landed and closed its pincers a few times to show off before adopting a ready stance. It seemed particularly skilled.

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Go first... I shall see your strength firsthand.

"All right..." He gulped audibly. "Let's start with a Headbutt!"

Bagon stayed low to the ground, hopefully low enough that Pinsir couldn't reach down and scoop him up...and then charged forward with its head, toughened by many attempts to fly.

Curiously, Matt was also mimicking Bagon, getting into a crude approximation of a horse stance as if he was getting ready to jump in with his partner.

Lori giggles watching Matt. She always liked watching him mimic his partners, it was honestly kind of adorable. Lily bounced a little and made the motion too, cheering Bagon on.

"Go go!"

The match likely wasn't about knocking out the Pinsir. More likely about how Matt would go about to do so and how he thinks. He was being evaluated under the guise of a simple battle. All the more reason to keep his spirits up!

The Pinsir put its hands in front of itself as it caught the Bagon, attempting to resist the force of the Headbutt before lifting the little dragon, attempting to perform a Seismic Toss.

Victoria seemed intrigued by Matt taking up the stance he did.

"Bagon! Holy crap! Can you stand up after that?" With a pained grunt, the small dragon pulled itself to his feet, having suffered many similar impacts before while trying to fly.

"It's too dangerous to get close! Another hit like that and you're done! Try your Ember attack!"

Bagon hopped back and blew a stream of small flames at Pinsir, the same determined glint in his eyes from before. Matt's knees were visibly shaking from holding the stance, but he needed to stay strong not only for Bagon...but for himself as well!

Jay Null opens his comms, reaching out to the vessel he notices off his bow.

Is everything okay out there? Do you need a terrestrial assist?

he asked inquisitively.

Outside of orbit around the planet Terra.

A medium-sized ship, shaped like a triangle with a blunted end, moves slowly towards Terra and the space station above it. The shape and size of this ship may have been seen before, but this one in particular has never been witnessed by any Terran, or as a matter of fact, any species or beings besides the ones who had made it. If they were able to trace it's origins, then it would point to an unexplored area known generally as RA-619, and even more specifically the Glendathu system. The doesn't seem to be armed, and a scan for life would only turn up three humanoid beings.

The ship made no advances of any sort towards the planet or the station, and seemed to just be there. Watching. Peaceful, it seemed, and the crew had no intentions of attacking. But they were truly awestruck. In front of them was a culture, a sophisticated one, unseen to any of their people, and they didn't know how to feel about it. They were just awaiting orders at this point.

Jay Null shrugged and closed the comms. The traffic in the Terran orbital was bustling as usual, an economic boom brought on by the prolonged period of peace. Alas, he knew the endless waltz of history, and had work to do.

Tapping a few buttons on his console, he maneuvered down towards Wing City Spaceport, leaving a faint thruster trail in his wake.

Meteor appeared as a small flicker in the sky

Meteor zoomed out and away, a twinkle in the sky.

Professor G spotted the shooting star from his view out the station window, and gave an exasperated sigh.

What's this, another Gundam?

he opined, wondering if his cohorts thought the same.

Master O nodded in agreement.

Very well. I'll tell the others.

he said, before grabbing his coat from the rack and departing for the docking bay.

Meanwhile, a Gundam truly had breached the atmosphere and entered Terra's lower orbit, coming from Wing City. It was an old AEU-09 AEU Enact Space Type from long ago. As it ascended, it transformed into it's space-faring flight mode shape.

The name of the Gundam was Sol Senshi- and nobody was supposed to be operating it. It had been refurbished for unknown to the public purposes and locked down, hiding in plain sight in Wing City Spaceport.

Who was even operating it?

Whoever they were, they were certainly a criminal now.