[Locke]

Episode 1 - Jack The Veteran.

Johyrz was bowing, down on one knee, his flame patterned scales shuddered along his body in excitement. He was crouched a metal disc, that through the use of holographic technology appeared to be floating through space, despite actually being a small part of the bridge in a much larger ship. His long, snakelike neck craned his heart shaped face upwards, yellow eyes impatient and framed with battle scars.

Stood before him was the Forty Second Fuhrer of the great War Planet Squadron, he had breathed new life into the army, famous for his flamboyant dress sense that completely mismatched his brutality. At this moment in time the Fuhrer had his salt and pepper coloured hair erected along his head in a Mohawk, complete with a thick moustache that twirled at the end, draped over the rippling muscle mass of his body was a thick fur coat, made from the pelt of a creature with a pelt like an Atlas. He was leaning against a great jewel encrusted staff, his eyes dancing as he watched the hologram project images of the planets he had conquered or simply eradicated under his reign.

"Did you know, my dear Johyrz, that I'm on track to be the top Fuhrer for making races extinct?" The Fuhrer purred.
"My lord!"
"And I couldn't have done that without you, and your terrifying curved blade..."
"My lord!!"

The Fuhrer's eyes fell directly on his second command, studying his hideous protrusions and deep scars, "And so, dearest Johyrz, what have you found for me, today?" The Fuhrer beckoned with a jewellery clad fist, granting Johyrz to stand upright, leaving him to tower over his leader as he stretched out his wings of dancing flame.

"They call it Earth, my Lord."
"And why this planet, my beloved?"
"Because it is the home of a unique power source."
"Do go on, darling."
"Faith!"
"Is the translator broken? Is that a word unique to your kind? What is 'faith'?"
"It is what you have crossed the galaxy to find my Lord, Magic. True, real, magic! Intangible, impossible and...unlimited!"
The Führer's crack like mouth twisted into a grin, "Interesting... I am sure you have sent a scout already, correct?"
"Gozu The Land Eater My Lord!"
"And?"
"I have not heard from him, My Lord."
"Then You have my blessing, scout ahead! Find out about your General, but most importantly get me that Magic..."
Johyrz saluted, one fist wrapped around his chest, another thrust straight up and stepped off the platform and fell through space...

Jack stood at the top of a mountain, despite the icy storm raging around him, he was dressed in shorts and a linen shirt, he was looking straight up at the sky, his eyes heavy and full of worry.
"So he comes already..." He muttered to himself, his fist clenching.

And then, as if on queue, the sky above him blackened, thunder clashed out as if the sky was screaming and then through a parting in the clouds a meteor dropped and smashed into the mountain before him, shaking the entire mountain and as the intense heat surged out snow quickly turned to steam and the environment was consumed by chaos. Still, Jack seemed unphased, focusing singularly on the burning mass before him.

He held out the sword he was clenching in his other hand, the blade was heavy looking, if not particularly large and the complex hilt and guard system made it appear he was less holding the sword and more that it was an extension of himself. He held the sword up directly before uttering the words, "Transform."

His body was consumed in a brilliant light, and just when it seemed the bright light would grow unbearable, the light faded and Jack had changed. Jack was now clad, head to foot, in armour. His face wrapped in a red helmet, where the front was mainly a visor shaped as if the visor was the gaping mouth of some great beast and it was patterned with an intricate gold trim. His body was a block of white, but draped over his shoulders was a heavy looking red trench coat with a pattern on the back like a chain link, the coat was trimmed once again with intricate golden patterns and complete with gold boots and gloves. The way the clothes gripped his body, revealed just how powerful his body was, in a way his loose fitting shirt and shorts didn't, muscles rippled with every movement.

Jack blasted forwards, his coat flapping behind him like a great pair of wings as the burning mass before him stretched out with the great beat of giant fire wings.
"Beacon Red, you chased me all the way here!" Johyrz roared.
"I would chase you to the very ends of time itself!" Jack screamed in defiance, bringing his heavy sword down against the aliens scales. In retaliation the scales began to hum and change, stretching and blurring together until Johyrz arm was now a long, curved and burning blade. With a blazing strike he threw Jack into the now boiling water around them.

"As much as I would love to kill you, Beacon, I know my Fuhrer would want to know that you have-"
"Gotten one step ahead of you!" Jack screamed, drawing the blaster from his belt, that looked somewhere between a six shooter and a sawnoff. He fired out a blast of red energy that Johyrz blocked, but with some effort. As the dust settled from the blast, he was already taking off into the sky. Jack didn't chase.

*

"This is really dramatic!" Nate grumbled, blowing his heavy blonde fringe out of his eyes. He was stood on top of a rooftop, the wind howled around his huge and exposed arms. From here he could practically see the entire city.
"They say Jack is a veteran, he's fought the War Planet Squadron up and down the universe!" His wide eyed brother, Max, responded, appearing behind him. He and Nate were similar and yet, almost entirely different. They both had blonde hair, but Nate's was almost golden and wavy while Max's was more a dirty blonde and deathly straight. Max was also smaller, both in height and build, as Nate was a towering, muscle bound force of nature of a man, despite being younger than Max. They were also dressed very differently, Nate - whether he wanted to admit it or not - was proud of his body, often choosing tight fitting garments that could show off his body, while Max hid his behind heavy jeans and big coats.

"I'm just more worried about how pissed he's gonna be when he finds out that the Master Council sent a bunch of rookies as his reinforcements." Dee said, from beneath his heavy blue hood. Dee was almost as tall as Nate, but at least three times leaner. Dee was just as powerful, but he had focused his body less as a weapon of raw power and more a weapon of pure agility. He may never be able to hit as hard, but he could hit ten times where he could only hit once. Besides his blue hoody he was hidden away in, he wore plain casual trousers and light running trainers.
"You're always such a party pooper, Dee." Elly said with an infectious grin. Elly was, simply put, gorgeous. She had huge dark eyes, thick, long dark hair and carried the subtle petite build that could be fiercely sexy or eye wateringly cute whenever she chose. Most importantly however, was that she was always deadly.

"A bunch of rookies, huh?"
The four of them span, to see Jack approaching them. His dark hair was dishevelled, his clothes torn and he looked hurt - not badly, but enough.

"My God, are you okay?" Nate said, running to his side, only to be swatted aside.
"If you worry over a few scratches like this, you aren't worthy reinforcements."
"Hey I'll have you know that-" Max began.
"That your mother and father were legendary Beacon Officers?" Jack cut in, "They may have passed their power on to you, but it isn't the weapon, it's the wielder."

Elly studied Jack with wide eyes, "He's so cool." Dee lightly tapped her arm, but he was smiling.
Jack didn't seem to notice, or care, as he walked to the centre of the roof and vanished. The four looked to one another, before Jack's head appeared without the rest of his body, "Please tell me you've at least had enough training to know what a Filter is?" and vanished again. This time the four followed.

*

Through the Filter they found themselves in a domed space, that appeared large simply because of how empty the space was. In the centre was a spiral staircase that lead upwards to where Jack slept and downwards to where Jack trained, the central space that they arrived in functioned as a living space with a small kitchen, a small bathroom and a small communal space separating them.

"My ship constantly orbits the planet, it's the easiest way to monitor the planet. Putting Filter's around the planet means I'm never stranded." Jack explained to the wide eyed rookies, "I rarely step in to human crimes, or natural disasters, as they are not what we are here for."
"No," Max cut in, "We are simply there to stop outside influences changing the trajectory of planetary life off of the course the Master Council has set."

At first Jack seemed annoyed, but his face then became neutral, "At least you guys know that much, maybe this time I wont get a bunch of heroes."
"This time?" Nate questioned.
For a second Jack's face was sad, but it quickly vanished, "They dump a lot of rookies on me, assuming that throwing them in the deep end is the best way to fine tune them, and that they are somehow invincible when placed alongside a veteran." He turned away from them, and added in a voice only loud enough for him to hear, "And how I wish that was the case."

"Welcome Home, Master."
The Four span, but Jack didn't react, as a battered robot stumbled into the room. It was so devoid of distinguishing features that that almost became its most distinguishing feature. It was basically just one big lump of metal, with a set of LED lights to denote emotions while speaking. Jack had already taken a seat, as the machine began to take care of Jack's injuries. Without his shirt, he exposed many a scar and some wounds that had been previously cared for, some of which had reopened.

"How long have you been fighting here?" Dee questioned, studying the Jack's injuries.
"Not long." Jack admitted, "But Johyrz's scouts are never something to be scoffed at, he sent out a small platoon of Virus and one of his most trusted generals - Gozu The Land Eater." he studied their silence and added a, "But I won, of course."
They let out a joint sigh.

"No, you rest easy." Jack added, "Because Johyrz will be back, and next time he wont be here to collect data..."