Action-Reaction

"Target is moving south along Hannesy Road, headed for the slum access chute."

Enforcer Sergeant Michael Sturmwold nodded to himself, pouring over the city map on his desk. He placed several small models on the map, indicating where he had set squads to be on guard. Yes, there was no way out. He would catch the bastard this time.

"Copy that. Lock the chute."

He leaned back in his chair, relaxing for the first time today. He pulled out a silver lighter and lit a cigar, taking a puff before picking the communications unit up again.

"Team Three, do you copy?"

Smoke swirled upward from his cigar, mingling with the thin curtain of smoke already hanging from the ceiling.

"Team Three?"

He chucked the cigar, and it flew through his open window, leaving a spiraling trail of smoke in it's wake.

"Team One! Two! Four! Is anyone there?"

"I'm here, Capt'n"

He heaved a sigh of relief.

"Right, did you lock the chute?"

"Negative Capt'n. I'm working on that now."

"Well hurry it up. He'll escape if you take too much longer!"

"Copy that. Here we go, the chute is locked."

Michael looked to his wall, where a large panel of lights monitored city transport services.

"…No it isn't. Try again."

"Oh, it's locked sir."

A massive explosion rocked the building, and he felt himself falling. The room seemed to spin around him, and he would have sworn he saw the sky fly by for a second. The figures from his map seemed to dance before his eyes as they spun wildly through the room. Flaming keepsakes tumbled about, igniting more and more of the room.
Then there was a crash, and he couldn't see.
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Welcome Valkyria, home of the Revolution. The world, a land dominated by feudal warlords wielding clockwork machines and steam powered weapons, has found in Valkyria both a beginning and an end. Valkyria in and of itself was an anomaly-- sick of the constant turmoil of the feudal wars, the world's top minds grouped together and established their own settlement, independent from all others. They were quickly brought under siege, but the weapons used by the warlords were practically antiques compared to the automations brought to bear by the scientists. They proved the power of the mind exceeds that of the body, and walled themselves in, refusing all diplomatic contacts. In search of stability, wave after wave of immigrants has come to them, and been graciously allowed to stay within their walls. This growing metropolis became known as Valkyria, a massive city ruled by the University Board. That was all nearly 200 years ago.

Twenty years ago, a professor at the Valkyrian Institute for Higher Learning (the University), Dr. Alfred Lochter, discovered a miraculous compound, a chemical that could be dissolved in water that would crystallize as the water was boiled. Here's the catch: This crystal contained more energy than was used to create it. Dr. Lochter described it as "a substance which seems to store the very essence of the universe," and he quickly distributed it to the other scientists, who rapidly put the crystals to use as power cells for their devices. Seeing as all previous limits on the size and complexity of steam powered devices had just been breached by this seemingly infinite power source, even more fanciful contraptions began springing up. The crystals proliferated within the city, but the manufacturing process was kept secret to the University staff.

Of course, the public is never content with progress, and began experimenting with the crystals on their own. It is unknown who was the first to discover the crystal's other unique trait-- they seemed to respond to the will of those in contact with them, allowing these individuals to draw upon and manipulate their power-- from a layman's perspective, magic. There's a catch though; the amount of power flowing through the body feels to the brain as if it had just become physically stronger, causing it to release huge amounts of endorphins. It's like Ecstasy-- it feels really, really good, and gets you hooked for life. Magic has become the drug of choice, particularly among the more affluent youth. There's no way to test for it's use, but a skilled practitioner can be more effective than a small army. Almost overnight, magically-boosted criminals were tearing through all the law enforcement the city had to offer.

The University immediately cracked down on crystal distribution, recalling all the crystals they could and limiting their further distribution to in-University projects. Of course, a small group of those outside the University had studied the crystals enough to derive a means of production on their own, and began their distribution-- turning a huge profit. University professors began focusing on military technology, creating new weapons and systems to combat the magical threat. Anti-magic fields, new armor alloys, even a rudimentary forcefield was developed, though it's energy consumption was so high that it's crystal would shatter within seconds of it being turned on. The discovery that the crystals shattered explosively when they are overexerted, however, played into another huge development-- crude guns were developed, using small crystals as fuel. Law enforcement became a paramilitary career, able to take almost any action they deemed necessary, and a legal system so blind to their actions that even the few actions outside their realm of authority were rarely denied to them. Even with all that power, they were barely able to combat the criminals that plague the city.

Meanwhile, the world outside Valkyria has fallen into absolute anarchy with these magic-using criminals plaguing the streets. Without the University's knowledge to aid them, governments around the globe were toppled as crystals spread into their territory. A few new leaders have risen to power, using magic to enforce their rule, but the rampant conflicts guarantee it'll be another decade or so before any real stability emerges. Seeing this as an opportunity, some members of the University Board are pushing to mobilize and conquer-- clearly, they are superior to the rest of the world, otherwise they wouldn't have withstood the sudden entrance of magic. They should lead the world, and lead it by force. They see fire as the only route to peace.

About three months ago, a new criminal made his presence known in Valkyria. Giving no name, he refers to himself only as the Catalyst, and has gathered quite a following among his fellow criminals. He has made a mockery of law enforcement, and racked up hundreds of civilian casualties even in his brief time. His motives are unknown, as well as anything about how he executes his crimes-- he seems to know what will happen hours before it actually happens, and any evidence vanishes before it can be analyzed.

We are a team assembled by the University to find this killer. Graduates, students, even professors are applying (or even being chosen against their will) for this mission, which is deemed to be of the utmost importance. To put it in the words of Headmaster Ulysses, "Valkyria has never been in danger as real as this."
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Final Note: This RP will have some mystery elements, but as far as the actual RPing is concerned, it will be fairly action/adventure. So, there's a mystery, but sleuthing around will be a relatively minor part of it.
Also, if you've read to this point, feel free (read: please do) give some comments on it, even if you can't/don't want to join. Comments and criticism help make me a better writer, and they also help me see where I'm going wrong.

I'm in.

I suggest you give this power crystals a proper name though so it makes it easier for us to reference them. I'm also curious as to how the magic actually works in this world. You mention that they use their bodies but what sorts of magic are they capable of doing? Is it anything they desire? Is it like a mage where they crystals and their bodies make them focus on specific types of magic?

I may have a few questions later. I just have to eat breakfast and read this through again with a clearer mind.

Yeah, I was planning on fleshing stuff out in the OOC. For example, you might have noticed that I haven't named the world yet.

Anyway, the crystals are kinda like batteries-- they store raw energy, that can be released into and shaped by the human body. Any crystal can hypothetically do anything, but most people are only capable of physical spells: fireballs, lightning strikes, general explosiveness. After all, that's the basic form of all energy. In order to weave energy into something more complex, they generally need experience or talent. So, it's hypothetically possible for anyone to cast any spell, but in reality most people aren't capable of more than general destruction. Otherwise we'd have all these druggies running about casting illusions and summoning shit, and I just didn't feel that the University would realistically stand a chance against that. >.>

Of Course I'm in Chain ... you know people are going to start thinking I'm a stalker....>.> *hides her team Chain shirt*

Welcome aboard, Copper.
Do we have any other takers? I'd feel better going to OOC with one more person, but I'll probably put an OOC up tomorrow morning if nobody else shows.

I'm in as long as you wait a little while for me to get my computer back in action, but either way I can roll with it.