SGTLEGENDKILLEЯ
Fate Twister (Redux Edition)
Act II Chapter II
"Fresh Start"
H.D. 10:25am September 9th, 2528
D'rok looked out beyond the bow of an aged ocean ferry. His stiffened against the railing as a gust of cool air breezed against him and the ship. His fist stayed clenched in the pockets of his heavy jacket. His body had grown conditioned to the harsh climate of the equator of the planet. The two were traveling as north as they could get with the money that D'rok and K'an had in their pockets after the Bloodfist incident. The truck that they had 'borrowed' from the Clan had been left on the southern ridge of the Ocean of Kar'un. From there the two had bought two ferry tickets to the northern city of Varo in the state of Zelso. The ferry was close to arrival to the city, the reflections of the suns bounced from the windows of a distant skyline. K'an soon joined D'rok's side near the railing.
"Do you think they will follow us?" K'an asked leaning closer.
"They might." D'rok paused "I think this far north is probably way beyond their influence."
"I hope your right, D'rok." K'an sighed.
A short while later the ferry began to slow into the docks of Varo. The harbor the ferry had passed through was busy and full of fishing and freight traffic. The two waited until the crew had secured the boat to the dock and lowered the ramp for the passengers to exit. The two left ahead of the small crowd that rode along on the ferry. Apparently this was a small crowd for such a trip, however D'rok had a feeling this was due to the season. The two soon approached a customs office. Inside the small window was a small female in a low tech, cloth body suit, with armor strapped to her body.
"Hello, miss." D'rok smiled to her, stepping forward to the window
The small female looked up from her computer terminal. "What can I help you with?"
"This is our first time visiting here. We are heading north to look for residence."
The female sighed. "Are you declaring refugee status?"
"I'm not sure, miss. Please explain." D'rok raised an eyebrow.
She pressed some buttons on her console. "Refugee from an unincorporated area or unpopular slash oppressive state."
"In that case, yes. Yes we are." D'rok answered.
"Alright. Let us start with some basics then. My assistant will take your friend into the other room to be interviewed, follow me." She stood and motioned toward a door.
D'rok stood from his chair and followed her into another office in which he was told to do.
"Alright." D'rok smiled as he sat.
"What is your name?" She asked, after sitting in the chair across the table.
"D'rok Tallaham." He answered.
"What is your age?"
"I am 27 years old"
She typed the information into her data-pad. "Where did you depart from, Tallaham?"
"My companion and I left a few days ago from an un-unionized zone near the equator of Sangheilos"
"And what section of the un-unionized zone was it in?" She placed a map up on the table.
D'rok looked down at the map and pointed at the general area in which he and K'an had worked. "Right around here." He paused "It was in Win'rok's operating region."
"Hmm, what skills do you possess?"
"Manual labor, personnel management…" D'rok paused "Communication and machine operation." He gave a short list.
"What events transpired to lead you to come to the great State of Zelso? We will be cross referencing your explanation with your companions."
"Both of us had quit our job. Since it not a friendly community we decided to travel north."
"Very well… Where were you born?"
"I was born on a slave ship that ran between the colonies."
"A slave ship? Do you remember its name?"
"No."
"Understood, what were your parent's names?"
"I do not remember them. I am an orphaned"
"Then where did your name come from, what happened to your parents?"
"My name was self-adopted from a village name near where I used to work." D'rok paused to look down. "And my parents? My father was a slave and my mother was a whore on the ships."
"When did they die, and how?" She asked.
"I do not know exactly"
"Sorry, these are just basic questions. How did you travel here? Again, we will cross-reference with your friend."
"We drove up from the equator to a town I believe was called Veno. From there we got onto the ferry."
"Alright, Mr. Tallaham, do you mind if we do some blood tests?" She placed the documents she was working on into a stack under the data-pad.
"Not at all, miss. Just direct me in what to do."
"Just follow the red line down the hall, hand them this" A strip of paper prints out of her data-pad, and she hands it to him. "After the process is approved, you will be sent to a holding room and then issued a temporary pass, in which you are required to find a job within a month. Only then will you be granted residency."
"Ok, thanks. Have a nice day." He smiled too her
D'rok took the print and stood with it. He began to head towards the doorway until he exited the room. He followed the appropriate directions to the appropriate office the bloodwork and records were finished in there and were mildly pain free. He then waited for K'an to finish up his line of questions and record making. Once K'an joined him they stepped out of the building and back into the street. As they stepped into the street, they stopped for a moment to find the signs that would point them towards the temporary housing facility.
"So that is it?" K'an asked as the pair began to walk.
"I guess." D'rok sighed.
"That was easy…"
"About time, too."
"About time for what?" K'an perked his head up as he looked over at D'rok.
"It's about time for something to work out for us."
"Well…" K'an thought. "It has been quite a long time I guess"
D'rok chuckled. "Exactly."
The two continued to walk along the aged concrete that lay as the harbor. They were passing a large port that housed a large damaged ship that floated in the quay. The ship was old, as if it had not been used in a very long time, and vegetation had begun to take over. Its hull had been cracked along the side and a bridge that lead into the crack. At the end of the pier it looked as if there was several vehicles together. This was most likely a club or a crime hangout as D'rok figured it. The two decided to leave it be and began to pass the water based cargo ship.
After a while the pair arrived at the temporary housing. There was, to their surprise, very few people around and inside of the housing complex. For what it was it seemed a bit regal for the purpose. The place was built like a five star hotel. Most of the housing complex was built on waxed floors and green colored fancy carpet. It was quite a step up from the shitty places that the workers were given in Tallaham. The two quickly got checked in and walked along the large empty halls as they headed for their room. The building was quite large and well heated, which was greatly appreciated as the long ferry ride to Varo was very windy and chilling. Soon the two found their room on the second floor, D'rok sliding a key card into the slot for it in the door. He then opened the door and took a step in before looking around. Again, the two quested the regal stature of the housing; perhaps they had been mistaken for more important people. It was in fact that they were directed here.
"Whoa…" K'an admired. "Who the fuck do these people think we are?"
"I don't know…" D'rok answered as he looked around at the high wellness of the luxurious room while taking a few more steps room.
K'an stepped in after D'rok had moved from the door and began to immediately check out whatever the room held inside. While D'rok had barely gotten to the middle of the living room of the place, K'an had already made it through the living room, the small kitchen area, the bedroom, and was now running the sink in the bathroom. A few moments later he stepped out of the bathroom to face D'rok. K'an stood leaning against the wall with his arms folded, in hand he held a decorative drinking glass filled one with water from the sink. He took a drink with his lower, secondary index finger held out.
"You see:" K'an began with a posh British impersonation. "When you're a member of the billionaire's club, you only drink your water from the finest glassware" One of his eyebrows were raised as he said this. In response to this D'rok just rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Ah yes…" K'an continued as he swirled the water in the glass. "…The common man stumbling on the fancy manners of the well-off class. This is Aster Clement; suffocating on your world as I see it." K'an chuckled before sipped again after pointing at D'rok in deep reference.
"Yeah? Ok, Varney" D'rok chuckled deeply.
"Oh, would you rather Larry The Cable Guy?" K'an asked laughing as he stood from the wall.
"No, please." D'rok sat into a chair and rubbed his eyes grudgingly. "I hate that fat redneck."
K'an laughed loudly at D'rok's answer and seemed to enjoy the quick spurt of references from their past Human life. K'an got D'rok a glass of water as he filled his own then joined him in the living room. For quite a while afterwards the two continued on the session of reminiscing on whatever they could remember. Sure, it had only been two years since they were Human, but that was enough as they had been working their existence away. The time conversing began to slow down as the humorous topics faded away.
"Hey… Hey D'rok?" K'an asked, resting back heavily in his chair.
"What?"
"Do you remember any concerts from back home?" K'an asked in a soft voice as his throat was beginning to sore from the constant laughing.
"Well..." D'rok looked up to the ceiling thoughtfully. "There was one…" He paused as he collected the details. "Dad took me to a concert in Las Vegas in the summer of 2001. I was only 11 at the time."
"Who played the show?" K'an asked smiling.
"If I remember correctly it was Pantera, Slayer, Morbid Angel, and Static - X… there was an opening act but I don't remember them too much…"
"Well?" K'an pressed.
"Hmm?" D'rok glanced over.
"How was it?"
"I don't really remember. I did like it though." D'rok answered softly.
"That is funny…" K'an chuckled before pausing awkwardly at the failed topic. "I am hungry…"
"Well, what are we going to do? We are out of money." D'rok pointed out.
"There was a restaurant thing down passed the lobby. We could check that out."
"Yeah... Maybe" D'rok stood "come on. Let's go."
K'an got up and happily follows D'rok downstairs. The two walked to the lobby and then into the restaurant. There were many booths open for staying and a few waitresses bopping around taking orders and delivering food. They were seated in a booth bye a middle aged waitress; she was several years older than them. She gave a smile and pulled out a little holographic note sheet to take the order.
"What can I get for you two gentlemen for drinks?" She asked politely.
"Water, please" D'rok answered and K'an gave a nod, he would have water too.
"Ok… Do you two know what you wish to order?" The waitress asked.
"Well…" D'rok chuckled "Anything cheap. We do not have hardly anything." He admitted to her.
"Oh? We cannot have you two travelers hungry can we? I will get you two orders of Vamna Hazal with sides of Alka. I will cover it." She smiled as she flipped her pad away.
"Thank you very much" D'rok smiled.
"Do not worry of it." She said as she began to walk away with a wave.
K'an's eyes watched the waitress as she walked passed D'rok and into the kitchen. A smile grew across his mandibles as he did. D'rok noticed what he was doing and gave a heavy sigh. K'an looked back to D'rok as the waitress disappeared behind the counter
"Are you kidding me?" D'rok raised an eyebrow as he called K'an out.
"What?"
"She covers our food and you stare at her ass?" D'rok asked to clarify quietly.
"She only covered our food because I am a sexy beast." K'an chuckled as he rubbed his neck.
"Pttf…" D'rok shook his head "Whatever, man." the two chuckled together at this. It was good to be on the good side of things again.
Soon the waitress returned with two large plates with their orders on them. She set them down on the table, telling them to enjoy it and to get her if they needed anything. The two plates had the orders of Vamna Hazal with a side of Akla, which was the Sangheili version of a patty melt with glorified buttered mash potatoes. The two quickly dug into the food. It was very good to they're hopes; the meat was dripping with fatty juices laced with delicious spices and the Akla was seasoned finely to create a flavorful brownish puree. Even the toast that the meat was held by was glazed with some butter that held a faint tint of a garlic-esc herb. As they finished their meals that they chomped away at the waitress returned.
"Here you two go." She said as she laid a 'paid' receipt on the table. "Have a nice stay and good luck doing whatever you will be doing." She smiled and went to return back to the restaurant's kitchen.
"Miss?" K'an called after the waiter, stopping her.
"Yes?" She asked with a smile.
"Can I get your number?"
D'rok face palmed.
H.D. 6:15am September 10th, 2528
D'rok had woken up a little bit ago as he always did. Six every morning is something that he had just happen to do since probably the first day of his 10th grade of high school. There really wasn't a big reason for it despite how useful it was for him through his entire adult life. He never figured it out passed it just being his biological clock. As soon as he had woken up he had gotten out of bed to do a basic routine of exercises; he used this daily to help himself to being well rounded in the physical sense.
D'rok stood from the floor of the living room and soon did a series of cool down stretches. After that he went into the small kitchen area to start making some coffee for K'an and himself. He threw the grounds into the filter compartment and pressed a few buttons, causing the coffee maker to give a happy 'good morning' beep before the sounds of coffee making began to fill the room. Soon K'an came out of the bedroom and went into the bathroom without closing the door. D'rok rolled his eyes and leaned forward into the counter that the coffee maker was creating the morning wonder that was coffee.
"So…" K'an started as he returned from the bathroom. "What is on the schedule today, commander?" he rubbed his side as he asked.
"We are going to go into the city and try to find some sort of work." D'rok sighed as he watched the coffee process continue.
"Oh goodie! I love to work!" K'an beamed.
"We need to start again, K'an."
"I know… I am just being a dick." K'an admitted.
"I figured." D'rok said softly as the coffee creation was almost complete. "Did you wash your hands?" D'rok looked over finally at K'an with a raised eyebrow.
"Did you wash your hands?" K'an mocked in a high pitched voice as he rolled his eyes. "No I did not, mom."
"That is commander mom to you!" The two gave a short burst into lowly laughter before they grew to a more serious tone.
"Where are we going to go exactly?" K'an decided to ask.
"We are going to go down to the lobby and see where the nearest bus line or train or taxi service is." D'rok began as he pulled the pot of coffee out of the maker just as it was finished. "Then we head into the city and look around for work."
"Do you know where to go for that?"
"Fuck no! K'an, you know that." D'rok poured the coffee into two cups. "It can't be that bad though. I hear that this place is huge with industry, so there has to be something."
"I guess…" K'an took one of the two cups of coffee and blew on it.
"We will finish this coffee pot off and then we will head out."
Soon the two had finished their coffee and were locked the door of their room as they left. They took a quick trip down several flights of stairs down to the lobby of the hotel-esc building. They asked a few questions to the nice ladies behind the check in desk and found that the Varo Public Transport made stops at the housing complexes. After a short wait besides the vehicle lane, a bus stopped near them; a display on the front and side of the transport read 'The Hub' as the destination. The bus looked like it belonged to the same line as the Type - 29 Shadow carriage. The notable difference was that the enclosed sides were wider than the military counterpart.
The two entered the vertically folding doors of the transit and took a seat awkwardly towards the rear of the bus. D'rok had inquired about paying for bus tickets and was informed that the all public transportation was covered through the city of Varo. D'rok sat quietly next to K'an and waited for the bus to start to move. The bus took off and continue its route and headed northwest to the slight outline of a city in the morning fog. The bus continued on downhill from the housing area and went over a river before taking a road that led into a tunnel. After traveling for some time in the well illuminated tunnel, the bus emerged into an underground hangar like room. A map on the inside of the bus lit up labeling this place as "The Hub".
The bus soon came to a stop and the two got out and found route map to find a bus that was going into the markets of Varo. After a brief fit of friendly arguing, the two found the appropriate bus and entered it. D'rok gave a quick sigh as yet another travel segment began with the bus accelerating into another tunnel. Columns of lights moved through the inside of the bus rapidly as the transport continued down the lengthy tunnel. It was not long before the vehicle lurched as the tunnel turned gently upward to the surface. Soon the vehicle lurched once again and slowed to a stop as it swiftly reached the surface. The two thanked the driver and got off.
The two looked around completely at all of the city view around them as they got onto the sidewalk. Above them beautiful skyscrapers soar above them in all directions. The air was surprisingly clean and easy to take in; the slight taint of salt in the breeze was noticeable from the distant sea. The still rising suns reflected off several of the buildings and shown light down across the street and down onto the large marketplace that sat nestled in between all of the buildings. The level of traffic was fairly low and there were not hardly anyone around on the street. Down the streets were misted lightly by the fog.
"Whoa…" K'an twitched slightly by the sight.
"I expected different." D'rok commented agape. "A lot different." In his mind, he was getting slight nostalgia of the Human city of Seattle, Washington.
"Wow! This… this is much better than Tallaham!" K'an said happily. "I like it already."
"Same… Let's go look for that work."
"Ok."
The two moved across the across the street, cautiously looking out for cars that might be traveling by. Despite there being hardly any foot traffic, it was tight maneuverability inside of the markets themselves. This was probably mostly in part that all of the vendors were packed tightly in close proximity to each other. The only fairly wide areas were the large lanes that ran parallel through the market area. Most of the vendors were closed and the ones that were not either just opening or sitting in front of their shop's with coffee and the morning newsletter. With the many vendors present there were a wide array of smells associated to each vendor. The smell of sea bound fish lingered heavily.
"How are we going to find work here?" K'an asked as he stepped over a small stream of some sort of liquid on the lane.
"We can ask around here. Later we will head to the industrial town." D'rok explained.
"Why not start at the industrial part of town first?"
"Between you and me, we just quit a two year industry job and I am not looking to get back into it."
"True…"
"There has to be something around here." D'rok muttered as he looked around.
As if on cue the sound of several crates of fish falling to the walkway rang out behind them. The two turned to see an old Sangheili male struggling to move the crates back onto a hand wagon near his vending tent. One of the crates had split open on the path and a layer of fish lay on the walk way.
"There." D'rok smirked. "Come on, K'an. Let's help." D'rok turned to the vendor and lead K'an to the man.
"Well hello there!" K'an greeted the man as he absent mindedly started picking up fish.
"W-what are you doing, youth?" The old Sangheili asked in reference to K'an just picking up his fish.
"We are just helping someone out quickly…" D'rok answered.
"Oh…well thank you youths. Here, I have an additional crate for those. It is right over here in my tent next to the hand wagon" The Sangheili said as he moved to get the mentioned crate.
"Well... this seems fishy" D'rok looked to K'an to see his comment was said to his own arm full of fish.
"Slow down, dumbass." D'rok chuckled. "You will scare the guy."
"You want to hold these fish?" K'an snapped playfully.
"No."
The aged male came out from behind his tent with a wooden crate. "Here…" He announced as he set it on the ground next to D'rok. "Put those things in here." He pointed down at the crate.
K'an dumped the fish into the fresh crate and then the three began to pick up all off the fish from the ground. Soon the crate was full and the fish problem had been dealt with. The two quickly found a place to clean their hands before returning to the aged Sangheili. With his fish contained the old male was sitting down with a writing utensil on a sheet of paper. The two went to him.
"Thank you too." The male looked up at them. "You don't see kindness like that hardly in this era."
"We were just doing what we would expect others would do if it was us." D'rok explained.
"Yeah… I would hate it if my fish just got everywhere like that." K'an said awkwardly.
"Yes… it is a huge annoyance." The Sangheili started. "I cannot lift the full crates like I could 15 years ago"
"That is alright" D'rok smiled as he leaned down to grab the full crate of fish. He then lifted it and set it easily onto the hand wagon on top of the others. "We all get old eventually… no offense."
"No offense taken…" The Sangheili groaned. "The hurting truth is but the truth." He paused for a moment. "Well… have a seat youths. Make yourself at peace. You have earned it." He motioned to a pair of nearby chairs.
The two sat down in the chairs and watched the old man for several quiet moments.
"So…" K'an muttered idly.
"What about you two?" The man suddenly asked. "Do you have names or should I call you Youth one and Youth Two?" he asked with a slight smile.
"I actually prefer to by Youth one point five, sir." K'an answered before D'rok could answer.
"Well then…" The male laughed "What are your names then?"
"My name is D'rok Tallaham and he is K'an Retmar." D'rok answered.
The male gave an 'hmm.' "My name is Voro' Tuyokee"
"It is nice to meet you, sir." D'rok smiled.
"Where are you two from?"
"I grew up on an off world ship and then worked many years for an assortment of companies as labor." D'rok answered.
"I just kind of bop around from place to place." K'an threw out with a slight shrug. "I met with him on our last job." He added.
"What happened to your last job?" Voro asked.
"Things…" D'rok paused for a brief moment. "Things fell through after we had some issues with the management."
"You two are refugees?" Voro gawked in a seemingly disgusted manner.
"Yeah... "D'rok took the brunt of the glare Voro was giving them. "We came here because we heard that this was the fairest place to head."
"I knew you two were southerners. I could hear it in your voices." Voro grimaced.
"Sir. We are some of the best workers you could find from where we came from. We are up here for the work besides the safety of your state." D'rok conned.
"And you came here to take our jobs from us?" Voro asked, getting rigid from the conversation.
"Sir we would like to live here…" D'rok sat straight to drive the point.
"Well…" Voro stopped for a moment to consider. "Pardon my aged points of view." He sighed. "Have you two found any work yet?"
"No we haven't" D'rok sighed.
"Do you have a problem with water and boats?" Voro suddenly asked.
"Me? No…" D'rok answered.
"I don't do boats" K'an grumbled.
"Very well… D'rok I think I might need a hand on my fishing boat." Voro titled his head slightly.
"Thank you sir!" D'rok smiled slightly at the sudden offer
"Also…" Voro turned his head to K'an "One of my drinking brothers claims that Arica Armories is always looking for workers. You should check that place out. It is on the other side of the city."
"...Um… Thanks" K'an looked unsure
"You to go off and explore the city. D'rok?"
"What?" He looked to Voro.
"Come back here around mid-evening. I have a place you can room yourself in if you need." Voro waved them off.
The two said their goodbyes then stood. The left the Voro and his fish as they briskly left the marketplace. They were not necessarily in a hurry, but rather just wanting to move on to the bus station that they had exited at earlier. K'an seemed less than thrilled for the time being.
"I was about ready for him to start breaking into old time stories with us when I said I didn't do fish." K'an snorted "Back in my day…" K'an started with the imitation of an elderly voice. "We ate fish right from the creek! We would stick it in our mouth and pull out the bones!"
D'rok chuckled.
"Back in my day…" K'an started yet again. "When we had to walk to the fishing pond we had to walk barefooted ten miles, uphill both ways, through five feet of snow, in a blizzard, during a heatwave and a drought, and we still never complained about it!" K'an exclaimed animatedly.
The two got onto one of the buses that pulled up to the bus stop just as they got there. This buss had two floors of seating, very similar to the likes of the iconic double decker buses of Great Britain. They decided to head to the rooftop seating so they could view the sights of the city.
"It doesn't even make sense!" K'an continued. "How in the hell can you walk to somewhere and back uphill both ways?!"
"Is this the kind of shit you keep yourself up at night with?" D'rok laughed.
"You bet your ass it is." K'an snorted again.
The two sat in the seats and the bus began to roll off deeper into the city.
