I have the dreaded writer's block for my other stories again, so I'm doing this one again since it helps me to clear my mind. It helps that there's already a planned out plot to this since I've gone over it so many times in my head. Now, enough with the rant, I own nothing, here's the next chappie.
Kaiten jumped down from platform to platform and finally landed right next to the transportation monorail and hopped into the last car just as it was pulling out of the boarding station. Luckily for him, he was also in the same car as Peni, so it seemed that luck was on his side for once. As they passed through what was seemingly the shopping district, he heard an announcement via the ship's intercoms, and a few seconds before that via the city's messages.
Attention aukuzion passengers the ship's announcer called after he had read the announcement Try blue, it's the new red. The passengers seemed to have seen this announcement on their head-sets and they pressed buttons on the sides of their head-sets that took any armor they had on them that was red, and turned it blue with a hologram system. Kaiten looked down at his own dusty red armor and it didn't change a bit. He shook off his thoughts and looked next to him.
The only thing standing between him and Peni was another 'bot between them. It was a female 'bot, clearly keizatuzua by the symbols on her legs. She had red horns and eyes the same color and her body was completely silver except for the heels of her boots, which were red like her horns. He could see the keizatuzua siren and badge sticking slightly out of compartments on her arms, though he didn't see any 'bot-mods if she had any. She kept on changing positions as she was apparently talking to someone via her head-piece. He had seen her red horns, heels, and lipstick turn from fiery red, to ice blue when they passed through the fashion district.
"I'm telling you, every holo-date I've been on so far has been a virtual disaster!" she said as she spoke to the person.
"What about the last one you went out with Nanukuzu? Umm, what'shisname, he seemed pretty nice from what I read about him on his profile." he heard the 'bot on the other end of the line say as he tried to pass behind the one next to him. This failed when she leaned back and blocked his path yet again.
"Who, Pubaze? Please, if he was any more into himself you wouldn't even be able to see his face! I'm serious, if I could just find one guy that isn't so self-centered-" Nanukuzu ranted on and on until Kaiten couldn't take it, he had to get to Peni, NOW! He reached over and tapped the keizatuzua on the shoulder.
"Miss, um, miss?" he said as he tapped her on the shoulder. He didn't mean to, but when his hand brushed her head-set, some of the radiation slipped from his hand to the device and short-circuted it.
"Hey! What in the-!" Nanukuzu yelled as her tiny electronic system fizzed out. Her eyes widened as her vision burred for a moment before refocusing on the city around her. Her eyes widened as the monorail blurred the industrious city around her. She started a bit when Kaiten popped in front of her.
"Excuse me, um, miss, Nanukuzu?" Kaiten started as he wave his hand in front of her.
"Umm, who are you?" she asked, surprised that he knew her name.
"My name's Kaiten." he said for what seemed to be one of the first times he'd said it, when indeed it was since he had only introduced himself a few times so far. "Umm, could I please get by?" he asked as he pointed to Peni and tried to show where he wanted to go.
"What? Oh! Oh, oh, sure, go ahead." Nanukuzu said as she moved back so he could get by. He thanked her and hopped onto the transport as the monorail stopped. Rebuto sped off without her or Veto realizing that Kaiten was clinging to the vehicle. Nanukuzu stepped off the monorail and looked out onto the lido-deck. "What! I didn't know we had a pool!" she cried out as she saw the city as if for the first time.
Meanwhile, Kaiten was still clinging to the transport with Peni on it, mildly surprised that the two driving it hadn't noticed his presence on their vehicle. It seemed to drive automatically on a directed line, giving the strange duo time to whisper to each other. Kaiten was still trying to hear what they were saying when the vehicle slowed gently to a stop. He looked up and saw they had stopped next to a desk with both a nizen and another spider-bot. They merely looked up at them and nodded. Kaiten waved at them as they passed by. The spider waved back and went back to what it was doing. It paused for a moment, before looking at its claw and repeating the motion.
Kaiten looked at the city below them as the glass elevator rose higher and higher, until it finally reached the top. The doors whooshed open and the transport slid smoothly into the room. WHen they entered he jumped off silently and stood in the shadows as he saw THE biggest spider he had seen so far. He had majestic silver armor and big ruby red eyes with spikes lining the top of his head. The trio in the room whispered to each other for a few moments, Kaiten heard something about A113, then Rebuto and Veto stepped back and saluted before exiting the room.
The big spider wandered over to where Kaiten was and Kaiten backed away slowly, then fell to the lower level when a hole opened up beneath him. The spider stuck his head down the hole and talked in a slow, deliberate voice.
"Captain, you are needed in the main room" then he pulled himself back up. Kaiten looked around the room and took in what he saw with widened eyes. The whole room was made of polished, smooth chrome. It was lined with elegant furniture, and what he recodnised as a small model of Irutubo on a desk. Next to him, he saw a sleeping form under a brown canvas. Just then, a beeping alarm went off and when the form sleepily tried to turn it off, it accidentally pressed a button on Kaiten's arm and caused the music Kaiten had recorded on it earlier to play, LOUDLY.
"All hands report!" the figure yelled as they started awake. Kaiten pressed the button on his comm. to stop the music and hid as the 'bot got off of their recharge platform and stood up. Kaiten recodnized her, as it was a female, to be a nizen, and a very imposing one at that. Her fierce amber eyes looked intimidating, even though bleary, and her lavended armor plating shone like the chrome in the room. Kaiten backed away from her and into the elevator, where she got in without noticing him and pressed the button to take her up to the main room.
When they got up to the floor, Kaiten slipped by her without her even noticing. Well, he wasn't sure if she even would notice anyways since she was so tired. The giant spider approached her and attempted to speak as she grabbed a canister of hot oil.
"Captain..." he began.
"Mm. Put it on the next data report." she mumbled. The doors opened and a group of 'bots walked in. The first was a keizatuzua, he was big, blue, and obviously tough looking. He had two sields on his arms and was at least three times as big as Kaiten himself. The next one was a tenuzai, he was white with silver optics and matching goggles. The third was a zobosubi, and the only female of the group. She was as big as the keizatuzua and had only one hand, as the other was replaced by a fire nozzle. The fourth and final 'bot was a zurasubo, he was as big as the other two. He was rust brown and obviously sporting a lot of heavy equipment in the carrier on his back.
"Morning everyone." the zarasubo said as he stretched out his servos.
"Ah, good morning Commander Ocuto" the tenuzai said as he grabbed a canister of oil for himself "Good morning to you two, Captain Poanudero, Chief Kabure, how are you both?" The keizatuzua and zobosubi just grunted and both set their hands on the same canister of oil.
"Hey, back off Poanudero, that's my canister, I got it first!" the zobosubi who was apparently Kabure said to Poandero.
"It's an oil canister, there's plenty more of them." Poanudero said without loosening his grip on the canister.
"Yeah, so why don't YOU get another one?" the two bickered back and forth, neither relenting in grip. Kaiten shook his head, amazed that two 'bots could get in such a heated argument over a simple canister of oil. Of course, he had always had all the food in the city to himself, so what did he know about these kinds of things? They continued to go at it until Captain Aria intervened.
"That's enough, the both of you. Now stop acting like two spoiled bot-tots who can't share, instead of the leaders of your tribes!" Aria said as she thrust another canister of oil at the two. Poanudero took it grudgingly as Kaitan watched in amazement. These 'bots were the tribe leaders? He had only seen past pictures of the old leaders, but none of the past leaders had ever been so big.
"Captain, you need to-" Verutetsu started before he was cut off.
"Protocol Verutetsu, first thing's first." the tenuzai said as he held up his hand. Kaiten picked up the faintest of aggravated hisses coming from the giant spider, and he could hear the drop of a single metal shaving from 20 miles away during a windstorm. Still, the spider retained his high posture and remained silent. The tribe leaders walked up to respective panels while the captain stood back and barked out quotes.
"Gateso, atmospheric pressure?"
"Unchanged" the tenuzai responded.
"Poanudero, speed limits and prison block numbers?"
"Unchanged ma'am" he responded.
"Kabure, smoke alarm functions and automatic dousing system?"
"Still functioning and ready to work" she responded.
"Commander Ocuto, how is the development of the new housing blocks coming along?" the Captain asked as she examined the screens in front of her.
"They're coming along just as plannes, though I wish it weren't." he whispered the last bit to himself so only Kaiten with his super-sensitive hearing could pick it up. Verutetsu, sensing a lull in the conversation, tried once again to cut into the conversation.
"Captain, I-" but he was interrupted yet again when she was shocked out of her early-morning stupor by the time on the screen.
"Twelve-thirty! Oh, why didn't anyone wake me sooner for the mornign announcements?" she rushed around to the camera near a keyboard in the room and turned on the camera. "Honestly, it's the one thing I have to do on this ship." she mumbled. She smiled to herself as she turned a dial and the light turned from late afternoon to morning in an instant. She turned on the camera and her face turned from serious to friendly in an instant. "Good afternoon Aukuzion passengers, this is your Captain Aria speaking. Let me see here, it is now th 7010th anniversary of our ten year cruise in space. Let us take a moment to appreciate what our forefathers did to get us where we are, a flourishing society in a comfortable enviroment for all. Now for our, erm" she stopped when she saw the flashing green button on the control panel. "Erm, what is that, that flshing light for? Verutetsu, wha-?" she was cut off before she could say any more.
"Captain, as I have been trying to say, one of the scouts has returned with a positive sample." the spider said as he walked deliberately to the smaller 'bots.
"Positive? But, none of the scouts ever come back positive, do they?" Ocuto asked as he turned to Poanudero and Kabure who both shrugged. For the first time they all looked at the transport in the center of the room. Kaiten sliently swung up to the ceiling from his hiding spot under the control panel. Verutetsu noticed the slight movement and looked, but thankfully he had other matters to attend to and shook off his suspicions to return to buisness. Kaiten quietly breathed a sigh of relief and got himself on top of a beam in the ceiling.
Verutetsu walked up to Penny on his stilted legs and pressed a few buttons. He pushed on her upstream port with the blunt curve of his claw and stepped back. Kaiten's eyes widened when what he had tried to do over the course of a few days was done in a nano. Peni was awake.