'This is it', Dayn thought as the large Marine battleship dropped anchor outside the port. They had been sailing for about a week, give or take a day or two, as Dayn had lost count, to get here. The sun was high in the sky, the lack of a breeze made the day feel unusually hot, and Dayn's preferred dark clothing were not helping him stay cool. Dayn climbed down the ladder, settling into a small rowboat, which a young man, or boy really, was waiting in. Dayn was going in alone, the only one on the ship assigned to the smallish Dawn Island. He could see why. The island did not seem like it was big enough to have any major threats, which made a good first 'mission', so to speak, for Dayn.
The island itself seemed odd, as they had come close, Dayn noticed a huge semi circular wall that separated the only city from the rest of the island. The city was large, comparatively, taking up nearly one third of the island. The rest looked like it was mainly uninhabited by people, for the most part. There was decent variety to the island, as it had a mountain range surrounding most of the walled away city, and a forest claiming the other edges and extending outward a ways. Outside of that, the island looking pretty much flat, plains extending for miles, connecting both to the mountains and the forest, and touching the sea on the opposite end.
The city seemed to sport as much variety, Dayn noticed, as the boy rowed them closer to land. There appeared to be different areas, almost. There was a place elevated higher than the rest of the city, which Dayn assumed was for the 'rich' class of people. There was also different district looking places, like a market, and a residency area, among other things. The buildings were mainly made of stone, though in lower area's there were wooden and metal buildings. The lower area gave the impression it was home to the.. less fortunate residents.
Overall, the city gave Dayn the impression that class and ranking were very important, in the city. He hated people that made judgments based on wealth.. Partially because he was never 'rich', but he managed to get along alright. Maybe his Justice Coat would exclude him from some of the judgments, though he knew people who had been raised to judge others, like these people seemed to have been, would always be doing so. It was a life long habit, not one that one could just break.
Dayn jumped onto the pier when they got close enough. He turned sideways and nodded his thanks to the young marine who had rowed the small boat. Dayn looked out at the sea one last time, before facing the town again. This was the actual start of his new life, as a commissioned officer. The sun was beginning to glare off the water as it lowered in the clear sky. The stale smell of the city crept into Dayn's nose, starting to block out the scent of the sea. He thought momentarily of the path he had chosen, and where it had led him. Dayn turned back around with a slight shake of his head. There was no point pondering possible regrets now.
The townspeople had already started to take notice of him, a couple groups whispering frantically to each other, looking away as Dayn looked at them. It irked him slightly, but he did not show it, and ignored the fact he knew they were talking about him. He walked at a normal pace, though when he thought about the people watching him, walking suddenly felt awkward and unnatural. He was certainly not used to the attention he was now getting. No one approached him, and he was content to leave it at that, for the most part. The only problem was, he had absolutely no idea where the Marine Outpost on this Island was.
So, he wandered around the town. He could hear whispers ushered in low voices everywhere he went, everyone apparently finding him to be the most important new bit of gossip in their city. Granted, aside from his Justice coat, he probably did not look like much. Dayn was strong built, fairly tall, standing at six foot four inches, but he had never really been called 'good looking'. He weighed roughly 200 pounds, mainly all of it being muscle. He was not scarred, which was more of a testament to his lack of experience, though it could also be viewed as having great skill, though Dayn knew not to overestimate himself.
He carried a long staff looking object, bound in a large clothe to hide exactly what it was, though anyone with common sense could guess it was a weapon. Dayn wore a brown colored long sleeve jacket, that had several pockets which could be used to carry small items, though Dayn did not have anything in them for the time being. For his lower body, he preferred a loose fitting dark shaded denim pants. Dayn wore a pair of regular tan boots on his feet. He noticed that just his attire made him stick out like a sore thumb in this town.
Many of the women wore dresses, maybe not elegant ones they would wear to a party, but he did notice the vast majority wore one. The colors varied tremendously, as did the men's attire, though the men's clothes did not have such a similar pattern. It appeared men worked, and wore clothes pertaining to their jobs, such as a long sleeve and an apron for blacksmiths, suits on the business men, and a dozen other types of clothing were within sight, though it was beginning to get a little dark. The sun was beginning to set, and most of the people were or had already closed up shop and heading home.
Luckily, he found the Marine base before long. It was an impressively large building, made of stone. Inside, it looked almost like a palace or a mansion, there was so much space everywhere. There were elegant paintings on the walls here and there, with chandeliers on the ceiling of every room, and the wood floors appeared to have just been polished. He was greeted by an attractive looking woman, who wore a Marine shirt and hat, at the front desk. Dayn was told the Commander of the Marines stationed in Goa Kingdom was waiting for him, in his office on the 5th floor.
Dayn proceeded up the stairs, admiring the portraits and fancy looking dark blue carpet on his way. It was fancy even compared to the headquarters he had just come from. Dayn personally never cared for such decorations, though it was not bad to look upon from time to time. He doubted he would enjoy the cleanliness of this place for too much longer, but there would be other things to pay attention to, he hoped.
A large man and a woman were speaking in the hallway as Dayn reached the 5th floor. It was just as adorned as the rest of the building, which did not surprise Dayn at this point, he almost expected it to be even more-so, but it looked the same to him. Dayn waited patiently, as he suspected the woman to be the Commander. She wore a Justice coat, same as him, and in a far away place like this, he doubted there would be too many commissioned officers. There would be no point to having more than a few, as it would be a waste of resources, unless there was a war or something on the island.
"Two can play at that game, you little bitch." The large man said as he walked away. The man looked Dayn up and down, sizing him up, and grinned when they made eye contact, before walking away. 'Did that really just happen?' Dayn thought to himself. He did not think that people would have be trying to pick fights with Marines, least of all in their own Headquarters on the island. Maybe this wouldn't be as boring as he feared.
"Ensign Dayn, reporting in." Dayn said to the woman, who was now also looking at him. She had jet black hair that flowed halfway down her back, tied into a pony tail. She looked to have been the close winner of several battles, with a scar over her eye most men would kill to have. She had a shapely figure though, and probably was widely known to be very beautiful before she was scarred.
"You're late." she said with a huff. Her voice sounded more commanding than he expected. She was not new to leadership, which was a good sign.
"Late? For what..?" Dayn asked cautiously. It was not like he had a choice in how fast he arrived to Dawn Island, he was only along for the ride. And without an escort, he felt he found the right building in a fair amount of time.
Without answering, the female Commander turned and walked down the hall.
"Follow me." She walked straight to the last door in the hall way, entering and leaving it open for Dayn. Dayn followed her in, closing the door behind himself.
"I am Commander Nyda, in command of this sector of East Blue. You receive your orders from me, and me alone. That being said, you are to assist the people of Dawn Island. You have nearly free reign, but remember who you represent, as going overboard will have severe consequences. Keep that in mind. Dismissed." Dayn saluted his new commanding officer, and left the room.
This was the next stepping stone on his path to strength. He liked it, as he knew what he needed to do to get stronger, and could find ways to do both that and helping the citizens at the same time. This was turning out better than he had hoped for. Dayn couldn't wait to get started tomorrow.
Word Count: 1675
Exp: 1675
Beri: 887
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