OMARA hurried into the briefing room, the loose curls, that cascaded down her back, bouncing as she ran.
Her eyes widened when she saw two people, a man and a woman, inside.

The woman, who was already in the room, threw her arms up in frustration. "Omara, you're here too?
What is Arden playing at?"

The man beside her gently shook his head.
"Aoife, come on.
Let's give her a chance."

"Actually, I received an email from four of my students saying that they need to be excused from lessons.
I was hoping to get answers as to why", explained Omara.

Aoife's eyes widened, a flash of anger and surprise appearing in her blue and green eyes.
She turned to the man.
"Do you still think we should give her a chance?"

"Look, we know this–"

"–No, listen here, Calihan.
I knew this was a mistake!
She's been off the rails ever since–"

Aoife cut herself off when a brunette with an emotionless face sauntered into the briefing room.
Aoife glared at her, before folding her arms.

For the first time since arriving, the brunette showed a hint of emotion on her face.
It was unclear whether it was a nervous expression, or a sad one.

"I'm sorry I'm late.
I had to get the group together.
I... I really do appreciate you giving me a chance.
I won't let you down."

Aoife clenched her jaw.
"Well, we'll just have to see about that."

The brunette frowned, and Aoife's face softened a little.
"Well, go on then.
Spit it out, Agent Arden."

Agent Arden nodded, and she ran a hand through her sleek hair.
"Well, Head Guard Calihan, Head Guard Aoife... you said you would re-open Case 34675 if I could get a team together to train four new trainees. Pardon the dramatics, but...", she said, before gesturing to the door. "... here they are."

A tall young man, with a black, wool shirt, stepped into the room, a nervous smile on his face.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned, smiling when he saw a kind-faced young woman.

Aoife, Omara and Calihan just stood there— stunned.
The young woman grinned at them, but she quickly stopped when Agent Arden subtly dragged her finger near her neck.

Omara chuckled.
"Astra and Oren, really?
I mean, excellent choice, but they are your friends, Alessa."

Agent Arden nodded.
"Where else would I find people I can bribe into helping me?"

Calihan and Omara smiled at this, but Aoife glared at her, wiping the smile right off of Agent Arden's face.

"Um, actually...", started Astra, raising her hand. "... we were more than happy to help.
Not just because Alessa's our friend, but because we shouldn't have given up on the people of Agoraville in the first place."

It was as if all air had been sucked out of the room.
Everyone tensed up, and even Omara looked frightened at what Aoife would say.

"Agent Rivera", said Aoife.
"You know we wouldn't have refused to help if we hadn't lost so many of our agents."

Astra nodded.
"I know, Head Guard Aoife.
But we've trained our whole lives to look out for the little guy.
We've got this."

When Aoife looked away, Astra gestured to Agent Arden to move things along.

"Anyway, um, Astra and Oren will lead the fitness sessions.
For our combat sessions, we have Imelda and Finian."

A tanned young woman walked in, her perfectly formed curls swaying from side to side as her black platform boots tapped against the floor.
She had a thin layer of black eyeliner on her waterline.

Following closely behind was a tall, dark skinned young man, with eyes an intense dark brown colour.
His skin tight t-shirt emphasised his incredibly toned physique.

"The stars of the show have arrived", said Imelda, her low voice somehow highlighting the unmatched confidence she oozed.

"Hey, save some limelight for the rest of us", joked Astra.

Aoife, Calihan and Omara looked at each other, this time not immediately making a comment on Agent Arden's choice of agents.
After a long pause, they turned back to the agents.

"Well, I've got no complaints", said Omara.

Calihan nodded in agreement.
"Agreed.
They're highly skilled in combat.
I'd go as far as saying they're the best at combat we've ever had for agents their age."

Imelda smirked, attempting to give off an air of confidence, but even she seemed surprised at the high praise.

Finian, on the other hand, smiled warmly and nodded his head, to thank Calihan for the praise.

Agent Arden relaxed much more knowing that her superiors had confidence in this choice.
When Aoife just nodded her head, Agent Arden spoke again.

"And next we have our cyber training duo", said Agent Arden, gesturing to the door.

A short girl, with tanned skin and beautiful jet black hair, walked into the room, at a slow pace.
When she looked up, her eyes grew wide with fear, or intense nerves— it was hard to tell.

Aoife snorted in disbelief.
"And here it is!
Another prank from Agent Arden."

"Aoife...", Omara said, softly.

"No, no, I knew this would happen.
You want our youngest, most inexperienced graduate to–", started Aoife.

"–Aoife, that's enough!", hissed Calihan, startling the others.

Aoife clenched her jaw, but Calihan just glared at her, causing the woman to remain silent.

An older man, with tired eyes and fine lines on his face, stepped into the room, his presence immediately drawing everyone to him.

"With respect, Minerva here is the finest cyber agent I've ever worked with", said the man.

"Knox–", started Aoife.

"–You're right.
She is inexperienced.
But you chose to recruit her.
She didn't apply for this job, and has had no previous training.
Are you saying you're doubting your decision?"

It was unheard of to speak to your superiors in such a way, but Knox had been with the UAE for 21 years, starting from the age of 16.
He was a much-loved member of the team, and even the oldest members valued his opinion.

Knox glanced at Agent Arden, who found the confidence to stand up for Minerva.
"The fact that, at nineteen, she singlehandedly created an online security network for a local charity, and created the blueprints for the 'Freezum Ray'— the device that the UAE now swears by, shows she is more than capable."

Minerva looked down, clearly not used to being complimented.
She felt Knox move closer to her, and she looked up just enough to see his reassuring smile.

"So, yeah, she's only been with us for six months", said Agent Arden.
"But I've never met anyone as clever as her.
We need to pull out all the stops, do something totally different to even have a chance at winning this."

Calihan and Omara looked convinced, but Aoife was still hesitant.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Agent Arden called in the final two people— Eila and Caia.

Eila had tanned skin and brown hair that rested against her shoulders, the ends curving upwards slightly.
Her most defining features were her eyes though.
They were a dark brown, but they had honey coloured flecks in them, the flecks becoming more visible when she had a twinkle in her eyes.

Caia had blue eyes, but Eila would say she could see specs of green in her wife's eyes, and she'd say it was like she had small earths in her eyes.
Or, that she was an out-of-this-world creature that watched Earth from the outside.
An affectionate compliment that was more nauseating than loving, for Agent Arden and Imelda.

Caia interlaced her fingers with Eila's, and the pair confidently looked at Calihan, Aoife and Omara, like the power couple that they are.

"As you know, Eila is the only UAE member who was born in Agoraville. She knows the land better than everyone else here.
And Caia was the only UAE member that you trained to be a part of the non-agent team all those years ago.
Her advice to the trainees will be invaluable."

Calihan smiled.
"Hm.
Colour me impressed."

"It's mighty impressive, I'll say", added Omara.
"You've got a good bunch."

"And what about you?", asked Aoife, catching Agent Arden off guard.

"Me?"

"Yes.
You've been banned from field work for the last three years, Agent Arden.
You string together a team of your friends— a good team, but your friends nonetheless.
You want me to find four people willing to risk their lives for this?
Willing to trust agents that have never been trainers a day in their lives?
You want me to send four people to an early grave?"

Agent Arden's friends looked at each other, the tension between Aoife and Agent Arden suffocating them.

"I want you... to believe in me", she said.

Aoife scoffed, before folding her arms again.
"I don't trust you, Agent Arden.
Plain and simple.
You're not the agent you once were."

Agent Arden felt a sharp pain in her chest, Aoife's words cutting through her like a knife to the heart.

"I trust her", said a woman.

Everyone turned to see a young woman at the door.
She had a turban wrapped around her head, with designs in teal, emerald green and magenta.
She had thulian pink lipstick on.
She had a metal contraption around her right leg— like a large serpent bracelet for the legs.

"Agent Alami–", started Aoife, before correcting herself. "–Faizah.
You can't let your judgement be clouded by your friendship with Agent Arden."

"Friendship?
No, it's more than that.
Alessa's like my sister, ok?
We grew up together in this very building.
She's my best friend, Head Guard Aoife. Which is why my judgement matters the most."

Agent Arden smiled, though there was a pained expression in her eyes.
Faizah flashed her a quick grin, before turning back to Aoife.

"I know this mission is dangerous.
But Alessa put so much thought into this.
She really has chosen the best people.
I know you're still mad at her for... what happened to me.
But it wasn't her fault.
And she feels that guilt every day.
But she learned.
She's grown.
Please, you have to let her do this."

After a painfully long silence, Calihan spoke up.

"Well, I for one am sold on this", he said.

Omara nodded in agreement.
"Me too.
With this dream team, even I'd feel safe with my life in your hands."

Aoife rolled her eyes at what she saw as an exaggeration on Omara's part.
All eyes were on her though.
She scrutinised the team, her glare seemingly burning holes in their souls.

Aoife looked at Calihan and Omara, having what seemed like a full conversation through eye contact.

Aoife turned back to Agent Arden, glaring at her one final time before speaking.

"Your team will be selected team in two weeks time."

A stunned Agent Arden froze, though her mouth did open in disbelief.
Faizah tackled her into a hug, pulling Agent Arden out of her trance.

Around them, the other agents cheered and high fived.
Imelda hugged Finian, her loud and excited laugh making Finian smile. When they pulled away, he held her gaze for a moment longer than a regular look would be.

A charged energy rippled through the air as the pair refused to break eye contact.
After a few seconds more, Imelda cleared her throat, before lightly punching his arm in a jovial manner.

Omara and Calihan grinned, before heading for the door with Aoife.

"Wait, wait!", called out Agent Arden.

"Isn't two weeks too soon?
You know, to find the best people?"

Aoife looked down, but Agent Arden swore she saw her smirk, as if she knew something Agent Arden didn't.
"We started the selection process two months ago."

"Huh?"

Aoife gestured to Calihan.

"It seems like someone believed in you already."

___________

You've met the Trainer's Team!

Do any trainers stand out to you, or are there any you're intrigued to know more about?

Also, I'm so sorry for sounding like a broken record, but I've always been quite shy about promoting my work. But a friend once said that we should be making promoting our work and being excited to get more people to read it normal, because it is a normal thing.

So please try and spread the word about this applyfic! And when it comes to your own work, don't be afraid to tell more people about it, and to get more explosure for it.

That's what this platform is for. As long as you're not being mean to people, or forcing them, there's nothing wrong with it.

NAME PRONUNCIATION:

Aoife: Ee-fuh
Faizah: Figh-zah
Knox: Nox (silent 'K')

Just thought I'd add the pronunciation of these, because the name 'Aoife' doesn't look like how it'd be pronounced, which got me thinking that I should probably clarify it, and some of the others too.