Sigma sat in the chair impatiently. It had taken long enough for the emergency technicians to get their arses to his office, and their examination of Vile proved to last for quite a while. Sigma was not in the mood.
He removed part of his cloak to check the time. 5:00. The examination had already taken about an hour and a half. Impatience was something that Sigma certainly wished he didn't have, but at that moment, he didn't care. He was just desperate to get Vile reassembled quiclky before the Hunters discovered his fortress's location. If that were possible.
A few minutes later, the doorknob turned. Sigma leaped out of his chair, almost tripping over in his excitement. A sleek, black-coated reploid with the Maverick symbol on his forehead walked out. He held some paper which were assorted neatly in his hands. He gave Sigma a smile from his mettalic face, followed by a salute.
"Master Sigma, we have all of our necessary infor-"
"JUST GET TO THE POINT! Can Vile be recovered?" Sigma yelled loudly.
The medical reploid, feeling a little intimidated and shocked at the same time, gave a small frown and spoke once again. "Well, yes, it is possible. He is going to certainly need new armor, and his shoulder cannon will need some work done on it. I'm not sure how long it will take to make full repairs."
Sigma smiled. "Excellent. I figure that his new Ride Armor has begun to be developed, like I asked?"
The black-coated relpoid gave a frown. "Umm... about that... well, it turns out that the materials necessary for creating a new Goliath have been scarce. The last time we had them in our possesion was when Doppler maintained this operation. The only people that have been known to have the necessary materials have been the Maverick Hunters."
Sigma's brain went abuzz again. The Maverick Hunters? Yes, I recall them using their Ride Armors against Doppler... it may be very risky to raid their labs, so we may need to use an experienced mercenary...
Sigma looked to the reploid, still standing by the doorway. "Thank you, M-24. Your business with me has concluded. You may return to your work..." He turned to walk out the door.
"I'm going to need a strong recruit for a job like this... the Maverick Hunters have to at least be penetrated long enough so that we can make a sneak invasion... but none of my mercenairies are that experienced.." Sigma muttered to himself. He continued this until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Yes? What is it?" Sigma turned to see Admiral Agile, one of the most respected X-Hunters, standing behind him. He gave his Master a salute.
"Master Sigma, we have hired some new mercenairies. They are highly skilled and will be of great help in achieveing our goal. If you would just allow me to escort you to the bottom floor..."
"The bottom?! I'm too worn out to travel all those flights of stairs, you idiot!" Sigma blared angrily. "Bring them to my chambers! I will meet them there! Now MOVE IT!!!"
Agile gave a quick salute. "Y-yes, Master Sigma!"
And with that, the purple X-Hunter dashed towards the left doorway.
Sigma's head was aching when he opened the door to his chambers. Yelling at his mentally challenged inferiors all day was certainly beginning to take its toll.
He began to nurse his swelled head while he sat down. Reploid designs unfortunatley had the ability to gain headaches and migranes, just for the sake of making them more humanlike. Sigma felt like sticking his giant Scythe-Saber through whoever came up with that bright idea. The less human, the better, he thought.
It only took a few minutes before Agile came running back into the room, tired and flustered. He raised his hand in salute once again. "Master Sigma, the new recruits for your army are now here. Let me bring them in... HEY!!! YOU GUYS CAN COME IN NOW!!!!!"
Sigma's headache got worse from Agile's loud, girlish scream. He quickly forgot about this when he saw three large figures walk in. From where he was seated, he could see a strange-looking plant man, a large stingray, and a purplish bat. It looked like sort of an awkward bunch, but Sigma was anxious to test their abilities. One of them could very well be the mercenary I'm looking for, Sigma thought to himself. He then examined them more carefully. Well, I know that I shouldn't be judging them by their appearance, but they all look like a band of freaks...
The Maverick leader stood up, cleared his robotic throat, and addressed the three. "All right, all three of you line up in a straight line in front of my desk. I will ask you to state your name and city of birth, and you will respond in a clear and orderly manner. I don't want any smart-asses in my squad, unless that smart-ass is me." Sigma took a firm stance of authority as the three Mavericks lined up as their new Master had ordered.
Sigma didn't waste any time. "You. State your name and place of birth."
The plant reploid took a firm stance. "Spike Rosered, Milford Connecticut."
Sigma shook his head. "No no no... I'll never remember a name like that. From now on, I'll call you... 'Sean'. Yes, that's perfect for you."
Spike displayed a face of disbelief. "Master Sigma... surely you don't mean to..."
"SILENCE! You will speak when only when you are told to!" Sigma shouted sternly. Though Spike's robotic veins flowed with rage, he managed to stay still and calm. Sigma then advanced to the stingray and asked the same question.
"Jet Stingray, Albuquerque New Mexico."
Sigma shook his head angrily once again. "Uh uh... won't work out, songfish..."
Jet raised a voice of protest. "Actually, it's sti-"
"Shut it! I don't need any more blabbering coming out of you three!" Sigma shook his finger in disgust at the three recruits. "Now... I'll call this 'stungroach' character... 'Chad'. Yes! That fits perfectly..." Sigma blabbered on. Jet was dumbfounded.
He finally reached the large purple bat. Instead of voicing the same command, he studied him with a look of puzzlement. "Have I seen you before? You look quite familiar."
Necrobat shook his tiny head. "No, Master Sigma! We've never met... I mean, I was created much further away from here... and I haven't been activated for that long... what would give you that idea, Master?"
Sigma shook it off. "Nevermind that. State your name and place of birth."
"Yes Master. Dark Necrobat, Tijuana Mexico."
Sigma thought he recalled something about that name, but he forgot about it. Instead, he scratched his bald head. "Well, here's another name that won't suffice... your name will be 'Juju' from now on."
Necrobat almost puked.
Sigma gave a stern scowl at the three as he returned to the front of the room. "Well, it seems that all is settled. You all will be put through some vigorous training daily, as it will be need in a state of energenc-"
Before Sigma could finish his lecture, the door to the chambers creaked open. Sigma, Agile, and the three Mavericks turned around in surprise. What they first saw was a slender silhouette holding both parts of the door open with two large fists. His black and white robotic body armor gleamed as he walked into the room. On his helmet were two thin green gems, held up by what looked like wings, with a translucent magenta visor covering his eyes. His combat boots were smooth and slightly indented. He had a sleek black arm cannon mounted on his left arm, and a small tuft of white hair dangling from the back of his head. His face was pressed with a smirk.
Everyone in the room was quite surprised, especially Sigma. He never was fond of bushy-haired idiots interrupting one of his intellectual lectures. "What the...? Who are you and what do you want???" Sigma asked with a strong sense of authority.
The mysterious reploid continued to smirk as he spoke. "I'm here to be apart of your great Maverick army, Master Sigma. I've passed through the necessary tests (all which were easy, may I add), and I'm totally qualified. The name's Dynamo."
Agile looked like a drunken hobo. "Now wait just a minute! I don't remember seeing you in any of our enlistment sessions. Why should we believe you?"
Dynamo's smug smile dissapeared. "Listen... I don't have any time to talk. I just know that I'm in this army, whether you like it or not."
Agile was furious. "How dare you! You can't just barge in here and-"
Before Agile could finish, Sigma raised a cloaked hand to silence him. "Admiral, don't worry. I'm curious to see what this 'recruit' can do... I'm going to allow his enlistment for the time being. Your duty is done for now, Agile. Go to your chambers and rest."
Livid but loyal, the fallen Admiral made his way to the exit, but not before giving Dynamo an angry stare.
As Agile shut the door loudly behind him, Dynamo measured up the three reploid recruits to his right. What weirdos, he thought. Why are idiots like these always accepted into the highest ranks? Well, no matter... I'm not here for partnerwork...
Sigma took a firm stance once again in front of the now-quartet. "Now, continuing my speech... you all will be put under a vigorous training session (yes, you too Dynamo) over the course of the next few months. I am glad to have recieved you four, because I have a plan that may require experienced mercenairies to carry out. Those mercenairies may consist of the four of you. It will involve an ingenious direct attack on the Maverick Hunters, which is currently Top Secret. So I don't want any of you blabbing to your 'buddies' about it. I'll find out about it somehow, and then you shall be marked as a traitor and face the consequences. Your loyalties are only to be to this army." He cleared his mechanical throat a bit. "Now, I believe everything is order. Our Sergeant at Arms, Serges, will escort you to your chambers for rest. You all need it for the following weeks."
Sigma clapped his hands twice and Serges walked into the room. "Follow me, please." He gave his master a salute and exited.
As the four began to depart, Dynamo gave a large hidden smile. I've gotten you all where I want you fools, he thought. My time will come soon enough....