[color=#FFFFFF]- Jakarta Orbital Colony, Deck B, Room 10
[font=Times New Roman][color=#99FFFF]The room 10 is usually closed and reserved for special occasions. When someone is awarded with an IMG Prize, a special ceremony takes place there.
It has around 60 chairs placed to look towards the back of the room, where there are 2 large screens and behind huge windows instead of a wall which show the exterior of Jakarta Colony. In the right and left walls there are several older awards, photos and videos.
As the room started filling with people, Guild Master Ogawa was sitting and having a discussion with a Libertonian, yet not even a Guild Member. However noone noticed that since Jakarta's population is significant enough which makes not everyone know each other.
When the time came, his discussion ended and the Libertonian left the room with one of the Guild Master's bodyguards. Takeshi Ogawa fixed his suit and stood up, going to the back of the room, in front of the screens. He looked briedly at the crowd and he located Mara Arin's position.
[color=#FFFFFF]" My fellow Guild Members, today we have the honor to award a person who has been a shining beacon for every recruit. She completed harsh and difficult assignments in the R&D Division with an unparalleled zeal and professionalism. "
Whispers started to rise since everyone made their own assumptions about who that recruit is. The Guild Master calmly but intensely was looking towards Mara Arin's position before he left a small smile and continued.
[color=#FFFFFF]" For all her contributions to the Guild, I would like to invite Miss Mara Arin to receive the Mark of the Paragon..! "
[color=#33CC00]Mr Ogawa said it would be some kind of ceremony. It's probably a welcoming party for new IMG members, as I've
been promoted at the same time he called me to Jakarta. I hope Jake will arrive as Marco can't come... he has to visit
his family when I'll be attending the ceremony. I wonder how I'll look...
*She puts the key into the door and they produce a sound when they unlock. She enters the room and closes the
door behind her. She takes a deep breath and enjoys the view. Just below the window she was looking through,
there is a double bed with deep blue sheets and lovely orange pillows. A sliding mirror double door wardrobe on her
left was as tall as the ceiling, but on the other side, opposite to the mirrors, was a beautiful green dress on an armor
stand. This kind of specially woven dress made in many layers, long sleeves, a tall collar and white markings was only
worn by the richest Kusari nobles. This dress was made just for her while she interviewed a lord in Tohoku and later
Kyushu, said to deflect blades due to string strength and pattern in which they are placed. There are three white,
long ellipse markings with two over each shoulder and one down the chest coming from the collar. After observing
the dress she looks down upon herself.*
I should choose my brassiere carefully, I don't want to look old and spent. They need to look big and firm else I might
miss an opportunity to get some funding or another research project. I can only thank Julia on letting me borrow
some of her makeup, else I'd look winked too...
*She takes a small bag which she opens and takes out some very lightly colored powder. She stood only half a feet
from the mirror and looked at her wrinkles. She is nearing her 50's. She carefully patted herself with the powder
until most wrinkles are masked after which she takes a bright red lipstick and puts it on. She bits both lips with her
teeth so the lipstick would spread evenly. She takes a look at her eyebrows. They were thin and almost colorless. She
takes a dark pen and fills them in, making them look more natural. Her eye lashes are far too few, so she puts a dark
mascara too. She neatly puts all the makeup back in the bag from which she took them and leaves it or her
nightstand. She then opens one of the big mirror doors of the wardrobe. Behind it are all kind of clothes including
the brassieres she was looking for*
I hope Jake won't be late. He never is, but I still have this irrational fear. I also shouldn't forget my silver brooch,
don't want to go there without it. I'm superstitious and people wonder how I can be a scientist. They have no idea
how irrational it can be to meet a Nomad...
*As she begins to dress up, from the underwear to the robe, she takes a look at the orange pillow. There was an
empty and a full vial behind it. She wonders when she'll meet with her unusual friend again. Is he even a friend? He
seems something less then that. Maybe a business partner would be a better word to describe him. When she put
on the heavy dress and attached a tall collar much like those worn by the high class renaissance Bretonians', she
makes sure she looks the best and takes a look in the huge mirror spanning over the whole wall. She happily smiles
to herself.*
I should get going. It's close to 21'o clock and I can't be late. Got my keys, got my... my brooch! It has to be here
somewhere... ha! I had no idea this dress had such a deep pocket. I wonder what else could be hidden in it. Jake
should be here any minute now. I better meet him in the corridor.
*She opens the door and exits the room, leaving an empty armor stand and a small closed bag of makeup on the
nightstand. When she locked the room, she put the keys in a deep pocket on the left side of her dress and pulled a
silver caduceus, a brooch she was given, out of it. She attached it carefully. While she was putting it on, she looked at
her white, pale fingers. There was no ring on any of them. She raises her head and smiles as she saw a man in a
uniform approaching.*
To be continued...
Mark of the Paragon
<div align="right">"For all her contributions to the Guild, with an unparalleled zeal and professionalism..." - Takeshi Ogawa</div>
Jake had spent most of the last day asleep in preparation for Mara's award ceremony. Having never been to any such event it made him nervous to see everyone treating it as if everything was a big deal, while he didn't see it himself. Although he had seen some of Mara's work and had even experienced some of her experiments firsthand, he would've found it more appropriate if her research was on display as opposed to just the handing-off of an award, so others could actually see what they were appreciating. He let the thought die going for a last minute inspection in the mirror.
His hair was matted down with a rather moist look about it, though it was very dry when touched, he didn't really like it, not that he had done it himself. The suit was also weird, Jake had never worn a coat and tie, finding it hot and uncomfortable, and he was hoping he'd never have to again. Every important event in his experience involved three people; his parents and himself. Having the last few days off, had made him jittery, but his watch indicated that he should've left his room a few minutes ago, so there was no time to put it to put that pent-up energy towards something productive.
Jake was surprised to find there wasn't a lot going on in the hallway outside his room or many of them in fact. For one reason or another he had been under the impression the entire guild would be attending, but realized that wouldn't be the case or everyone was already there. The thought of being stuck in a room with the entire guild put a lump in his throat, not that any of them would know him, as most people didn't, having been such a quiet guy.
Aside from overcoming his nerves, brief walk to Mara's quarters had remained uneventful, not that, that was something to be disappointed about. For a moment he realized he was nearly to her room and hadn't thought of anything intelligent to say, but it dawned on him that as much of her work as he had been around to see, she had been around to see just as many of his quirky mishaps, having nothing other than a simple 'congratulations' would hardly land him in any bad light. Ashe rounded the last corner Mara finally came into view. He wore a warm smile as he approached her, even from a distance it was easy for him to tell she put a lot of effort into getting ready.
He tried not to seem surprised while greeting her with a soft peck on the cheek. 'You look great.' He told her, and although his words were sincere, he felt a bit down on himself for not having anything a bit more original to tell her.
'Though, I think most of us will be a bit disappointed our favorite doctor is lacking her trademark lab coat.' In his attempt to keep the mood light, he remembered a saying that sarcasm was the lowest form of wit, but it was wit nonetheless.
*As Jake was coming closer she briefly broke the eye contact. Something was cooking in her head. They exchanged
the kisses after which she grabbed his hand gently and walked to deck B. She giggled at his remark and smiled*
Thanks Jake, it's great to see you again. I was thinking about how I should ask Mike to lend me his coat as that would
also turn a lot of heads. Let's get going, I don't want to be late.
*They picked up the speed while chatting and soon, they were on the right deck. They saw a few people moving and
entering a room with many chairs and a small podium. She picked up her dress and made a graceful run while still
holding Jake's hand. He was literally being pulled. There was a man in a suit with his hands crossed telling people
where to sit*
Jacob Walker and Mara Arin, we were invited by Mr Ogawa.
*Just as she finished speaking, she saw Takeshi and smiled at him, but he couldn't see it as he was talking to a
Libertonian. The man she was talking to then took her up the podium and gestured Jacob not to follow. She was
puzzled at first, but when she saw there was only one empty seat just a few chairs away from the Guild Master
himself she knew where this was going. The man then told her to take her seat and returned to Jacob. He made him
sit in the front row, which made him uncomfortable, but when their eyes met, they both calmed down. Once the
doors through which they entered closed, the voices became whispers and when the Guild Master stood up, silence
ensued. *
My fellow Guild Members, today we have the honor to award a person who has been a shining beacon for every
recruit. She completed harsh and difficult assignments in the R&D Division with an unparalleled zeal and
professionalism. For all her contributions to the Guild, I would like to present you our new Paragon, Mara Arin!
*People clapped. They were all looking at Mara. Jake was not surprised and gave her a warm smile. She stood up in
her fashionable dress and shook hands with Takeshi. He said a few congratulatory words and let her take the lectern.
Still being surprised by this event, she simply went on with the flow.*
Thank Mr Ogawa, thank you everyone. I appreciated giving me such a wonderful welcome, I really didn't expect this
would be so grand. Being the first one to receive such a high commendation makes me feel honored. I would like to
thank everyone that supported me in my research, most prominent people being Mr Walker who is here with us, Mr
Flanders, Mr Henderson from Dublin and Mr Rourke of Sea Trading. Without your support I would have never made
it so far. My heart and soul belong to the Guild, but some extra funding would go amiss. Thank you once again.
*She smiles and then turns to Takeshi...*
Mark of the Paragon
<div align="right">"For all her contributions to the Guild, with an unparalleled zeal and professionalism..." - Takeshi Ogawa</div>
Julia Morrow is sitting in one of the middle rows, watching the award ceremoy eagerly. She smiles at Mara, but she is aware that she would likely not see her or recognise her among the many faces here...
"Wow. Awesome! The Paragon..." she says astounded, when the Guildmaster names the award and starts clapping... she turns to her neighbour.
The rather stoic miner Tom Fuller, who looks at her with a slight grin: "Hey, I thought she was a transport captain... saw her in the fields... and such..."
Julia laughs and shakes her head: "Nono... she does research. She can do much more than just fly a ship... she has brains, whereas we just go for the simple tasks..." she shrugs, not seeming envious...
Tom grins back: "... hey, I dun't wanna have t'e work with mah head all the time..." he falls into his dialect, when talking to another worker. "... gives me head ache like hell..." he winks at Julia.
Julia rolls her eyes: "I am glad we have her. I heard she is a doctor as well. And she seems brave. Heard rumors she was deep in the Omicrons... and doing really dangerous stuff." and she waves to Mara, when she is looking their way.
Tom rolls his eyes now: "You are as excited as if ye got dat award thingie, dun't ye?" and Julia pokes him with her elbow... "... I am just happy for her! And now whut up, the people are already looking at us."
Tom just grins and shuts up after a: "Aye aye, Ma'am... miner shutting up!". He couldn't care less. He was a simple miner. No awards for him. And Julia had forced him basically to come her. And of course the free drinks and buffet had done their part to persuade him...
When Mara Arin finished her speech, Takeshi Ogawa moves towards the podium with confident steps. The Mark of the Paragon award was standing in the podium. Like the rest of the IMG awards, the process of creating them was secret but also unique - as were the people who received them -
The Guild Master took the award from the podium and approached Ms Arin. He gently placed it on her dress and then turned to the crowd to say the words which were said since the first.
[color=#FFFFFF]" First among equals, influencer and guider, I hereby present you our newest Paragon. "
Then the crowd stood up and intensely clapped and congratulated Mara Arin.