"Whoa..." Delaney gasps as she presses her face against the window of the transport ship.
The Los Angeles skyline slowly comes into view as the aircraft begins its descent and passes through a dense layer of smog. The squad watches in awe, shocked by the city's unimaginable scale. Skyscrapers as tall as mountains take up entire city blocks. Massive floating platforms with various buildings on top of them hover above the streets and shorter buildings. Thousands of unique flying machines weave their way through the vast maze of structures. The entire city glows as a sea of colorful lights scatter around the dense smoggy atmosphere.
The aircraft flies deeper into the heart of the city, eventually reaching a massive pyramid made of concrete and metal. It maneuvers around the massive fortress before docking at a large skyport protruding from the side of the building.
"It's even bigger than I imagined," Delaney mutters to herself.
As the aircraft finishes its landing, an automated message begins playing throughout the cabin: "Welcome to the Los Angeles District, Waypoint 1. The local time is 4:34 PM. It is currently 67°F with a slight chance of rain this evening. Please ensure you have all of your possessions before exiting the aircraft."
The squad takes a minute to gather their belongings before making their way toward the exit. When they make it to the door, they notice a tall middle-aged man with short brown hair standing on the edge of the docking platform as he gazes out over the city.
As the squad makes their way out of the aircraft, the man begins to speak, "So what do you guys think?"
"Huh?" Jasper questions while the squad approaches the man.
"The city, what do you guys think of it?" The man asks again.
Delaney skips a few steps ahead of the squad. "It's amazing!" she cheers as she reaches the edge of the platform and leans out over the city.
"Glad you like it," the man says with a smile as the rest of the squad makes it to the edge.
"And who are you exactly?" Jasper asks.
Delaney jabs him in the ribs with her elbow before angrily whispering, "Show some respect!".
"It's alright," the man chuckles before turning to finally face the squad, "My name is Sebastian and I am the Chief of this waypoint."
Shocked, Delaney immediately bows her head and sticks her hand out to the man, "Nice to meet you, sir, sorry for the disrespect, sir."
"Oh, come on, I told you not to worry about it, and please call me Sebastian," Sebastian says as he shakes Delaney's hand.
"So you're the one who recruited us then?" Jasper asks as he goes to shake Sebastian's hand.
"Yep," Sebastian says while shaking Brick and Becca's hands.
"How come we're the only squad here?" Brick asks.
Sebastian smiles, "You guys are the only squad I recruited."
"Seriously?" Delaney asks excitedly.
Sebastian nods, "Mhm."
"Why?" Jasper asks skeptically.
"Well, for starters, you guys stood out from the rest of your class, so you were my first pick." Sebastian's smile starts to fade. "The reason I didn't recruit more squads is because this Waypoint only has room for one more squad at the moment."
The squad looks around at one another as they realize just how fortunate they are.
"Ahh, there he is," Sebastian says as he looks behind the group and begins smiling again.
The squad turns around to see a young man with medium-length black and white two-toned hair walking toward them.
"Took you long enough," Sebastian says as the man joins the group. "Everyone, meet Liam, your new squad lead."
Delaney springs forward and sticks her hand out to Liam, "Nice to meet you, sir!"
Liam rolls his eyes. He ignores Delaney as he turns around and starts to walk away, "Come on. I gotta take you guys to your rooms."
"Sorry about him, he's had a rough week," Sebastian says to the squad as they follow behind Liam.
The group walks through the massive hangar and makes their way inside the Waypoint. They pass through the hangar doors and step out onto a walkway that wraps around the entire Waypoint and overlooks the main floor.
"Well, I have to get going now, but Liam will take good care of you guys from here on out. You guys start work tomorrow, so try to get some rest tonight. Good luck and Welcome to Waypoint 001." Sebastian says before parting ways with the squad.
The group looks out over the waypoint and sees hundreds of unique machines and vehicles of all sizes surrounding a massive platform in the middle of the main floor. The platform itself consists of multiple ramps leading up to a large mass of swirling iridescent energy. Dozens of high-tech turrets mounted on all sides of the platform sit with their sights set on the mass of swirling energy.
"Hurry up!" Liam yells from the other end of the hall.
The squad leaves the railing looking out over the main floor and starts walking down the hall.
"Dick," Jasper mutters under his breath as the group makes their way toward Liam.
"Takes one to know one," Delaney snickers before the squad reaches the end of the hall.
The group continues through the halls before eventually reaching a wall of elevators. Liam calls an elevator, and the group waits in silence. The elevator arrives, and the group piles inside before Liam presses the button for the 34th floor.
"So Liam, um, how long have you been a squad lead?" Delaney asks nervously.
"Not long," Liam responds bluntly.
"Cool, are we the first squad you're leading?" Delaney asks.
Liam irritably sighs, "No."
"Oh, um... why aren't you with them anymore?" Delaney hesitantly asks.
The elevator reaches the 34th floor, and Liam steps out. "No more questions," he says before making his way down the hall.
"Great Job," Jasper mutters as he steps into the hall.
Delaney rolls her eyes as the rest of the group steps out of the elevator. They walk down the hall until they eventually reach their rooms.
Liam motions toward the doors, "Pick your rooms and get settled in. Briefing for tomorrow's mission starts at 8 AM, don't be late." He says before retreating into his room nearby.
The squad eagerly peeks inside the different rooms before quickly realizing they are all the same.
"Well, I'll take this one, I guess," Delaney says as she steps into the room.
The rest of the group picks their rooms and takes some time to get settled in.
Delaney sets down her things and immediately runs over to the closed window. She inspects the blinds as she looks for a way to open them. Eventually, she figures it out and opens the blinds, revealing a view of the city center.
After admiring the view for a few minutes, she gets the desire to go outside and experience the city for herself. She leaves her room and goes to knock on her squamates' doors to see if they would like to join her.
When she leaves her room, she notices Becca and Brick already outside their rooms, looking out over the waypoint.
"You guys wanna go outside and explore the city?" Delaney asks.
"Sure!" Brick exclaims.
"I guess," Becca agrees nervously.
"Cool," Delaney says as she makes her way over to Jasper's door.
*Knock Knock Knock*
"Hey Jasper?" Delaney yells.
After a few moments of silence, she goes to knock on the door again.
*Knock Knock*
Jasper opens the door before Delaney can finish knocking, "What?"
"Wanna go explore the city with us?" Delaney asks again with a smile.
Jasper thinks about it for a moment, "Why not?"
The squad grabs some Cronus-branded hoodies from their new closets before making their way back toward the elevator.