First off, apologies for the four month delay. With that done, let's move on.
1. Out of the Fire[]
(Editor's note: The original introduction has been excised from this story at the request of a representative of Jason Gresham. It is believed that using references related to this world (aka the real world) to conflate with events related to the Maverick's world, (which features different continents and history) would not be accurate to the information pertaining the original log recorded by the original author (the aforementioned Mr. Gresham). The new and correct introduction will be placed here at a later date. The original intro has been moved to a separate article here.)
This is the true excerpt from the logbook of Jason Gresham. Fourth of May, year 20XX.
"I suppose it has been a while since I did one of these. The last time I did this was after I finished my Maverick training course last year. I'm not suppose to do these logs while I was rogue, but since the people who were after me are either dead or incarcerated and, I kid you not, their number 1 target has taken over their jobs... I can do whatever the Hell-Lord wants me to do! (And I've meet him, but I'll get into that later.) But before you ask me what is going on, I suppose it's time I reintroduce myself.
My name is Jason Gresham. Maverick Χ. Here are three things that you need to know about me:
- I don't know who my parents are. Of course, I have this bad habit of exaggerating to people who I don't like and an even worser habit of influencing those who I do wish to like. But that's changed now and I'm not the same person I once was before I was 18, so here's the truth: I know who my parents are (they were also Mavericks, the originals in fact!), it's that I may never meet them because they've left this planet after I was born. I don't know where they are now, but I hope they're proud of the person that I have become.
- To back up what official records state, I am not originally from Helmsley in New Avalon, I'm actually from Leigh City across the divide in Avalonia (seems odd I chose to move to another place named after my original home, but I didn't have much choice). Me and my dear Nika, we stowed away on a ship with gunrunners after we escaped from that awful orphanage we were raised in. Considering that the worser option was being a test tube subject for the Kitatcho Institute of Scientific Research like how my dad was (my mom just barely escaped from it because of grandma), this was the best option. At least I have birth parents, poor Nika doesn't, because she's the first synthetic human. All 100% original DNA she's got.
- And while it was true I became a Maverick, I was originally rejected because of my personal history, and supposedly that I was unworkable and not to be trusted. All that changed after I had this affair with some dinosaurs and mutants (interesting story, that. I'll tell you another time) and the heads realized that I was probably more easier to control if I was with them. Big mistake for them when I found out why I was originally rejected, so I decided to conform to their expectations just to mess with them. I still wasn't sure why they still let me be with them, but of course, that was before I left the organization and went back free-lancing. I should probably tell you I was already Maverick X (ecks), specifically X1 or X-Leader before they called me Maverick X (KHEE). To-may-to, To-ma-to, really. Nonetheless I am the original, so don't confuse me with any imposters.
With that out of the way, where to start...
I suppose I could tell you how my part of this story begins when I meet the Amazons, but just before that, some of my friends actually got involved much earlier. I'm talking about master Higashi and his four students. They're the last remnants of a clan of Martial Artists, Samurai and Assassins that were involved in the era of the warring states in the eastern realm of Ryushu who went in hiding after the wars ended and the emperor's powers were restored (and firearms were brought in as the new instruments of warfare). As time went on, the lost clan trained and bided, passing on their experience and skills to the next generation in the hopes that once again, they would return to war. Alas, with the world now in peace and their numbers faltered, they seem poised to extinction had fate not played one last hand."
Today, master Higashi resides in the glade alongside four other, younger warriors. Onimaru the Samurai. Amaya, Onimaru’s "sister" who uses shadow techniques as her form of combat, Yoshiro, Higashi’s apprentice, both experienced in the use of light-based ki, and Rumiko, a Kunoichi who is one of the last practitioners from the Sapphire Swallow shinobi guild. Their lives now grow uneasy as modern times have made their antiquated perception of the outside world more disturbing, in particular, Amaya, who never really was content with living in the Glade as she felt their days were numbered. She, like her "father" (i.e. Onimaru's father), wanted to leave the sanctuary of her upbringing, to see the world that she has always dreamed of with things like cars, television, the internet, luxuries that we often take for granted, but never cared about.
“I’m leaving this place now, and I mean it this time,” Amaya confessed one day. “Look, I’m going to ask Master Higashi once more if I can go outside of the sanctuary, just for a week or so…” “Just for a week or so? Pfft. Knowing you, you'd be out of the forest forever within the first moment." (That was Yoshiro, the apprentice. Hotheaded; confident, and sometimes brash with his words; Yoshi can have the mentality of an immature teenager at times, but mostly he's an okay sort of guy, just that you shouldn't pick a fight with him after a round of sake.) "No she won't, Amaya'll come back here when master Higashi calls for her, am I right?" (And that's Rumiko, she's just generally a nice girl overall. Even I can't lie to her indirectly because she's just that innocent.)
Amaya didn't know how to respond. Of course, Amaya had no intentions of returning even when she is hiding that fact from her fellows. But it's just not right that she should just walk off without something happening. Would she be better off not telling Higashi?
Only one person did not speak, Onimaru, as he had rightly predicted the conundrum that Amaya faces over her loyalty. With that in mind, Oni slipped out of the room (whilst the other three were now discussing whether informing Higashi of Amaya's plans would be an appropriate idea) and went to the one person he can always find answers from Higashi. The master, as expected, wasn't too happy about Amaya again. "What is it now, Onimaru?"
"It's Amaya." Oni reservedly replied.
"Does she plan on leaving the sanctuary again?" Onimaru nodded lightly. He was normally a man of few words.
Higashi sighed. After a pause which seemed timeless, he spoke solemnly "It is time we left anyway." Onimaru reacted rather surprisingly, and asked for a more certain response. "There comes a time wherein the summer, the youngling of birds must fly out of their mother's care in search of the bigger world... and I guess it is now where it's time where we should start moving on from our nest." Even during the darkest of times, Higashi always has a penchant for using analogy to make his points.
Onimaru understood what the sensei meant but still wanted clarity. "So what exactly are you planning on?"
The master directly replied "I plan on holding a council tomorrow on whether we should plan on leaving the grounds of the sanctuary. It may be sacrilegious for our forefathers, but this may be our only hope for survival."
The next morning, Yoshiro, Rumiko, and Higashi would be in for a bit of shock when they found out Amaya left again, after only just returning two weeks ago. "You promised me that you would tell her to attend the meeting!" an understandably fuming Higashi reprimanded to Onimaru. "What made her leave this time?" "Master, like I said earlier, she had already made up her mind last night before she left," came the apathetic response.
As it transpired earlier, it was Amaya who had told Onimaru of her departure beforehand this time, rather than to Higashi which is what she told Rumiko and Yoshiro.
It was dead in the middle of the night, yet Onimaru could receive that Amaya was messaging him with their unique code, to which they developed since their childhood. "Meet me at room. Stop."
"What is it you want to say?" Asked a tired Onimaru, who had arrived at her room. Amaya responded, "I'm leaving now, what more should I tell?" Onimaru saw Amaya's room behind her. It was immaculate without a trace of her simple belongings, which were all rolled up and packed into a well-worn burlap carryall, and the room's tatami floor had been swept clean of any dust or dirt with a reed broom, now resting on the wall. (Onimaru couldn't help notice that even though Amaya usually carries an air of defiance, in her heart, she also retained much of the discipline of their childhood.)
After walking towards the gate, Amaya had no choice but to mention something important to Onimaru, "I've got something to show you before I go. This." Amaya revealed from her satchel what appears to be the head of a green statuette. Onimaru immediately recognised it as the Jade Figurine, despite bearing little to no resemblance to an actual figure, as it was initially carved many centuries ago. Onimaru was shocked. "How in the eighteen hells did you manage to find that?" "Oh just strolled around and managed to find this in Higashi's cupboard." Onimaru was left starstruck as to how master Higashi had been so careless, but that thought would soon be disrupted as Amaya takes her leave. "Well, so long then."
Meanwhile, in the current time, Higashi had forced himself to maintain composure and start the meeting, in spite of last nights events. Both Rumiko and Yoshiro opted to leave the sanctuary to search for Amaya but Higashi shot down that idea, fearing the outside world was too risky due to their youth. Onimaru had no say in this, whether he'd liked to or not, because of what happened last night, but an argument soon broke out between him and Yoshiro, because of the latter's immaturity, which also culminated in Higashi being called out on for being old-fashioned and stubborn. In the end, both of those traits were to be erased, as Higashi has decided that they were to leave, in three days time.
They started packing. Every time they felt like they are ready, it seems that a new problem surfaced:
- Rumiko had weapons with limited inventory (poisoned Ninja Darts and Shuriken) so she initially had to scour all of the sanctuary's armories, but proved troublesome when she can't find enough Calthrops or Flash Powder. Onimaru (who is a qualified weaponsmith) advised that they can be improvised with chestnut husks and a mixture of ash, dirt, and grounded glass, respectively. He also suggested that Rumiko should start reusing her weapons instead of leaving them for children or treasure hunters to find.
- Onimaru himself was fine considering that he had only used the same two swords during his lifetime. However, he admitted that they were starting to become worn despite maintaining their condition as best as he could, and without the time or resources to forge new blades, he'll have to make do until he has the time to find or make a new pair.
- Yoshiro fights unarmed so he has no problems in weaponry. He did have a problem in deciding if he should bring the Scroll of Inner Focus or the Yellow Rock of Cowards. Higashi said that he should take both, just in case.
- Higashi also fights unarmed, but needed to find enough funds for food and other supplies (they can sleep outside fine). He managed to get just enough funds to cover them from here to the nearest city. Once at the city, they may need to take part time jobs to make ends meet.
For Yoshiro and Rumiko, the sanctuary their only home and world, and to now leave its safety for the great unknown provoked sentimentality which had been never felt before. Even Higashi could only mumble out a few words of farewell by the time he locked the main gates, despite being able to spell out words of encouragement minutes earlier. "My dear students. Today is a day that this generation and previous generations before have never encountered. We will step outside into the great unknown once again after our forefathers have first resided here. Do not look back to the past, but face forward to the future. You know our origins, and I believe that our time has come to adapt or perish (all the students, even Amaya, knows of their history, and we've already mentioned it earlier) because the emperor of our time is approaching, and we must serve to him (or possibly her, as Rumiko pointed out). I do not know when we may ever step into our home again, but I can promise you, our ancestors are smiling from the heavens above and will guide and protect us every step of our way."
Onimaru wasn't entirely focused on Higashi's speech (which went on much longer than what was actually written here), he was still piecing together the events of the last few days; first Amaya leaving, and now he and his fellows are also leaving? He knows that Higashi and their true goals were to stop Amaya from causing trouble along the way, and hopefully find her. He knows the outside world is completely alien to them unlike the time where their predecessors abandoned their ways of conventionality, and starts questioning himself if they can cope. Only time will tell if he may ever see his sister again.
Tsudzuku (To be continued...)
2. Approaching Deep Water[]
To the Mavericks, Jason had a reputation of a troublemaker, albeit a cunning one. All that was to be changed.
It was only just approaching noon when Jason started feeling the intoxicating effects of tiredness. This was evident by the strewn paper cups of coffee (three so far) and restacked magazines. Having become bored with surfing the internet and watching videos, he resorted to counting the time whilst getting some shut-eye; 30, 35... 45... 50... "Mr Gresham, No. 1 wishes to see you now." That was No. 1's secretary. Finally, at 12:55, Jason started stirring himself up as he lazily binned his cups and straightened up. "Right, Ms Carrie. Wish me luck." Even though his name meant danger around those areas, he still couldn't resist charming his ways into the Mavericks. "Good luck, Mr Gresham." Came the complimentary reply.
"You wish to see me, Mr Godfrey?" "Yes, take a seat." Jason took a brief glimpse of No. 1's office. Formal, but barren, is what Jason was expecting.
"Now normally you would not be considered for active service, but as times are desperate, we had no choice but to bring you in."
Jason's last encounter with No. 1, the chief of staffs and the Mavericks still etched in the back of his mind, after he had finished his Maverick training. It has not been a week after the course ended when Jason became assigned to the bench personnel. He has all the paperwork and the tenacity to kill in cold blood when necessary (which surprised the examiners as it had been a while since a cadet had been willing to do so), but he believed something was off for those people which prevented him from entering active service. Was it perhaps his free-spirited thinking, which clashed with the ever-present militarian mentality of the Mavericks, or the fact that he was far more capable of committing war casualties than expected. None of this really mattered, as is happened three months ago.
"Alright, give me the briefings." Jason curtly replied. The chief found the comment amusing.
"Straight to the point eh? That's right of you, no need for the little delaying chit-chat that we've encountered before. That's what we want from you here."
Jason gave no response, so No. 1 continued.
"Alright, here's your briefs. A few weeks ago, we had a goodwill ambassador of Babel's UGL who was reported dead by them. He had just flown in into an island inhibited by so-called "Amazons."
"Amazons? Like those of ancient times?"
"Yes, like those. Personally, I believe they're nothing but crackpots destined for the madhouse. We believe the ambassador was murdered by them as a show of aggression, but fortunately, they managed to retrieve his body before further chaos ensued."
"Any other signs of Amazonian activities?"
"Yes. We also believe that there had been several break-ins in several treasuries and museums, with the reported contents missing being of Amazonian craft, which had something to do with them. Otherwise, they have remained quiet, and I believe they're planning something much bigger than we can comprehend." A brief pause ensued. "Alright, now here are the most important questions." No. 1 started. "Since you're not an official Maverick, I would like to ask that you meet the following demands. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Jason promptly replied.
"Firstly. By representing the Mavericks, you are to behave in an unimpeachable and courteous manner in all your conducts, regardless when you're on duty or not. Failing to do so will result in a suspension of powers and you may be subjected to a disciplinary hearing. Do you wish to comply?
Jason thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I agree to the following."
"Secondly. You are, in all respect and dignity, to follow our orders regardless of whether you agree with them or not. Failing to do so will result in a suspension of powers and you may be subjected to a disciplinary hearing and/or a court-martial. Do you wish to comply?"
Jason thought hard. "Yes."
"And finally, you have been granted the permission to use lethal force when necessary, but only you must do so in self-defense or when the lives of others are at stake and there are justifiable claims to do so. You may not use your powers for your personal gains only. You may not escalate a scenario of combat unless forced to do so. And you may not reveal your true identity unless permission has been granted. Your personal and Maverick lives should be separated, and failing to adhere to these statements will result in a suspension of powers ad hoc. Do you wish to comply?"
Jason found a few faults that he had already broken, but that was before he had officially became a Maverick. Yes, he had used lethal force before, although justifiable or not. Yes, he has used his powers for his own purpose (and they had been unlawfully obtained, but nobody else knew of this yet), but for the benefit of his friends. And yes, there are some people who had known him personally as a freelancer Maverick/super-hero. All that has to be changed... for now.
"Yes."
No 1. smiled. "Welcome aboard, Jason. I declare you to be officially a Maverick."
Jason sighed, then shook hands with his new boss. It was a sense, an ecstatic one that rushed into him after the heavy weight inside his stomach elevated into nothingness. Perhaps he has finally found his purpose in life?
"It's an honor to be at the Maverick's service, sir." Came a quick-witted reply.
"Right then, I'll now send you off to the Armory and we'll get you a standard-issue transformation device. Have you ever transformed before?"
It was a question that Jason had expected to encounter, but not once had he fully prepared to answer it. He had transformed before, many times in fact, since he had obtained five of those transforming devices. He only has one of them now, since he gave the other four to separate keepers. Quite simply "Uh, no."
"Me neither, but you're about to find out." No. 1. was more suited to official deskwork and it had been a while since he had performed any fieldwork. "Ms Carrie, see that Master Gresham finds his way to the Quartermaster."
At last No. 1 can relax. That's one possible crisis averted for now, but what would his fellow colleagues say? He decided to walk down to the board room where the others were expecting him a few blocks away and has taken his seat. The officer of defense, No. 3 was there, and so were ten other unnamed officials. One of them, No. 3, started "Good job, Robert, that should keep him (Jason) down under our thumbs for now."
No. 1 replied to No. 3 "You bet, he would have stabbed me in the thumbs if he tried. So what do we do now?"
"Well, the best thing is that we keep an eye on Gresham and make sure he's not up to trouble, What do you guys think?"
All the other officials murmured in agreement.
Then No 2. the Head of Missions, who is technically the main honcho, but is on a different number due to security reasons, addressed the other: "Gentleman, that includes you, Godfrey, we must remind ourselves that this subject of ours is far more capable than the other Mavericks we are used to. We are possibly entering unknown territory once he is in active service. He is to be monitored at all costs; if he goes rogue, that's all our heads on the line."
No. 7 made a suggestion. "Assign Maverick Phi to monitor him. If I can remember, she is a childhood friend of his and has a long history with our subject. We can assign more Mavericks to him later, but she has to be one of them."
No. 2. accepted that suggestion without delay. No. 3 decided to ask. "Has our subject got an official Maverick name yet?"
No 1 coldly responded "He is to be called... Maverick Χ."
End.