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Description
Challenger Island looked tropical, nothing like the cool breezes and seasonal attitudes that Mistralton City brought. Carpo knew that well enough, but the prospect of being there for at least a year filled him with displeasure. It was not his choice either; Kamata had issued the order in a short note, requesting a member of their team spend an extended period on the island. Carpo, Thallus, Astraea and Eirene had drawn lots, and he had the shortest straw. Of course, as the de facto leader of GT Works he was obliged to report to their mentor and superior, but Kamata Koide was no-nonsense and didn't care much for anyone's weather sensitivity.

Carpo sighed as he looked around him. At least his boss was nice enough to lend his team the "airship". Large and intimidating, Kamata's personal airship was originally his personal transport but it was handed over to Carpo and his team a year ago, allowing GT Works to scan the world in an attempt to fulfil their primary objective.

He remembered the group's raison d'etre, their purpose - to find and capture members of Angelus, a GT Syndicate sub-group that almost succeeded in launching a coup d'etat against Kamata and his allies. Twelve long months had gone by and no major leads were ever found; he wondered if Kamata had lost sight of this objective.

Thallus adjusted his cap and signalled to Carpo as they approached. "Yo, furboy, we're about to land on Challenger Island."

He looked out one of the viewing screens as the runway on the south side of the island cleared all traffic for the descending airship. The tenure had not even begun and yet it was if the oncoming year felt like an eternity. Turn up the charm, he said to himself as he pulled his worries in and smiled with a sheepish grin, then looked back at Thallus.

"Oh jeez!" Thallus said, jumping back in surprise. "I wanna be a fly on the wall to see Boss K punch that smile off your face."

"I doubt he will," Carpo said, "after all, there's a lot more Carpo Salvaregina can offer than a mere smile."

---

The IPL HQ was a lot larger than even Carpo had thought, possessing of that property of some buildings to be larger inside than outside. The air conditioning was more than welcome, and reminded him of the fact that he had to buy summer clothes and ditch his fur jacket.

"I have an appointment with Admin Kamata," he said to the receptionist. He observed that she was far more interested in him than in carrying out his implied request. He coughed, knocking her out of her dreamy gaze; she hurried and contacted Kamata via her console.

"Yes, Alanna," came a flat voice from the other end.
"Sir, it's a... what was your name again," the receptionist said, failing to collect the detail.
"Carpo Salvaregina. He's expecting me," Carpo replied, maintaining his smile.
"Send him through, I'll be waiting," came the voice, followed by a termination of transmission.

Carpo travelled up the escalator, through a far hallway and arrived at a set of double doors. In a tiny placard on the side was written, in small and monospaced font:

KAMATA KOIDE
IPL SENIOR ADMIN

He tapped one of the doors and it slowly but effortlessly swung open. He peered inside before moving his whole body into the office, and gazed at the figure seated on the executive chair, looking at various graphs.

"Carpo reporting for duty, Boss," Carpo stated formally, bowing as he introduced himself. The smile would not go away now.
"Welcome to the IPL," Kamata replied, swinging his seat around to face Carpo. "I suppose GT Works picked you? Or did you pick yourself?"
"We had a vote, but I lost. Plus, it does them good to show them an example worth following."
This comment forced a half-smirk from Kamata. The dry wit never fails, Carpo thought to himself.
Carpo kept the momentum. "So why am I here for an extended stay? I thought we'd do you good by keeping all GT Syndicate-related activity away from this place."
Kamata shot him a knowing look. "That's… true in some sense. But considering the whole Sailcirc affair I wanted to make sure we've eliminated all trace of Angelus from the island."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"Well, what I want you to do is stay in the Challenger Chain and monitor the area for any Angelus members or splinter groups."
Carpo rubbed his chin. "But if you've got control of the Challenger Chain now, why do you need me?"
Kamata shrugged, as if bereft of an answer. "Thought the League could do with new blood."
He reached below his desk and handed Carpo a parcel. "In there you'll find your apartment key, your League card and membership kit. I've given you a fair stipend for any expenses you may incur during your stay. That's all you need, really."
Carpo lifted the lid and looked inside at the metallic tray card, reflecting the blue from the reflection of the monitors behind his employer. "Amazing," he said, " looks like I'm set. Brilliant!"
Kamata leaned forward on his desk. "It is, yes. Have fun, battle well. Go easy on my League."
Carpo widened his grin. "Hah! Hope your nurse can handle the influx."
He walked out of the office as Kamata sat puzzled, pondering Carpo's last line. As he descended to the ground floor, he double-checked the contents of the parcel. The stipend would likely more than exceed his current salary, and the apartment would in all likelihood contain some air-conditioning. As he passed the reception, he shot the receptionist a warm smile, causing her to swoon over her console. Turn up the charm, he thought to himself as he exited the IPL HQ.

"Day One," he said quietly as he made his way to his apartment.

Description
Challenger Island looked tropical, nothing like the cool breezes and seasonal attitudes that Mistralton City brought. Carpo knew that well enough, but the prospect of being there for at least a year filled him with displeasure. It was not his choice either; Kamata had issued the order in a short note, requesting a member of their team spend an extended period on the island. Carpo, Thallus, Astraea and Eirene had drawn lots, and he had the shortest straw. Of course, as the de facto leader of GT Works he was obliged to report to their mentor and superior, but Kamata Koide was no-nonsense and didn't care much for anyone's weather sensitivity.

Carpo sighed as he looked around him. At least his boss was nice enough to lend his team the "airship". Large and intimidating, Kamata's personal airship was originally his personal transport but it was handed over to Carpo and his team a year ago, allowing GT Works to scan the world in an attempt to fulfil their primary objective.

He remembered the group's raison d'etre, their purpose - to find and capture members of Angelus, a GT Syndicate sub-group that almost succeeded in launching a coup d'etat against Kamata and his allies. Twelve long months had gone by and no major leads were ever found; he wondered if Kamata had lost sight of this objective.

Thallus adjusted his cap and signalled to Carpo as they approached. "Yo, furboy, we're about to land on Challenger Island."

He looked out one of the viewing screens as the runway on the south side of the island cleared all traffic for the descending airship. The tenure had not even begun and yet it was if the oncoming year felt like an eternity. Turn up the charm, he said to himself as he pulled his worries in and smiled with a sheepish grin, then looked back at Thallus.

"Oh jeez!" Thallus said, jumping back in surprise. "I wanna be a fly on the wall to see Boss K punch that smile off your face."

"I doubt he will," Carpo said, "after all, there's a lot more Carpo Salvaregina can offer than a mere smile."

---

The IPL HQ was a lot larger than even Carpo had thought, possessing of that property of some buildings to be larger inside than outside. The air conditioning was more than welcome, and reminded him of the fact that he had to buy summer clothes and ditch his fur jacket.

"I have an appointment with Admin Kamata," he said to the receptionist. He observed that she was far more interested in him than in carrying out his implied request. He coughed, knocking her out of her dreamy gaze; she hurried and contacted Kamata via her console.

"Yes, Alanna," came a flat voice from the other end.
"Sir, it's a... what was your name again," the receptionist said, failing to collect the detail.
"Carpo Salvaregina. He's expecting me," Carpo replied, maintaining his smile.
"Send him through, I'll be waiting," came the voice, followed by a termination of transmission.

Carpo travelled up the escalator, through a far hallway and arrived at a set of double doors. In a tiny placard on the side was written, in small and monospaced font:

KAMATA KOIDE
IPL SENIOR ADMIN

He tapped one of the doors and it slowly but effortlessly swung open. He peered inside before moving his whole body into the office, and gazed at the figure seated on the executive chair, looking at various graphs.

"Carpo reporting for duty, Boss," Carpo stated formally, bowing as he introduced himself. The smile would not go away now.
"Welcome to the IPL," Kamata replied, swinging his seat around to face Carpo. "I suppose GT Works picked you? Or did you pick yourself?"
"We had a vote, but I lost. Plus, it does them good to show them an example worth following."
This comment forced a half-smirk from Kamata. The dry wit never fails, Carpo thought to himself.
Carpo kept the momentum. "So why am I here for an extended stay? I thought we'd do you good by keeping all GT Syndicate-related activity away from this place."
Kamata shot him a knowing look. "That's… true in some sense. But considering the whole Sailcirc affair I wanted to make sure we've eliminated all trace of Angelus from the island."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"Well, what I want you to do is stay in the Challenger Chain and monitor the area for any Angelus members or splinter groups."
Carpo rubbed his chin. "But if you've got control of the Challenger Chain now, why do you need me?"
Kamata shrugged, as if bereft of an answer. "Thought the League could do with new blood."
He reached below his desk and handed Carpo a parcel. "In there you'll find your apartment key, your League card and membership kit. I've given you a fair stipend for any expenses you may incur during your stay. That's all you need, really."
Carpo lifted the lid and looked inside at the metallic tray card, reflecting the blue from the reflection of the monitors behind his employer. "Amazing," he said, " looks like I'm set. Brilliant!"
Kamata leaned forward on his desk. "It is, yes. Have fun, battle well. Go easy on my League."
Carpo widened his grin. "Hah! Hope your nurse can handle the influx."
He walked out of the office as Kamata sat puzzled, pondering Carpo's last line. As he descended to the ground floor, he double-checked the contents of the parcel. The stipend would likely more than exceed his current salary, and the apartment would in all likelihood contain some air-conditioning. As he passed the reception, he shot the receptionist a warm smile, causing her to swoon over her console. Turn up the charm, he thought to himself as he exited the IPL HQ.

"Day One," he said quietly as he made his way to his apartment.