Phantasy Star Online: Blue Requiem
By Ryuretsu
Chapter Three: The One Armed Man
Andres Domingo clenched his teeth as the pain shot through his arm. It was a horrendous feeling that felt as though it would never stop till the rest of him was gone. But this was how it always was, and after fifteen minutes the pain would subside.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, just as he predicted, the phantom pains in his missing left arm were gone. As it subsided, he laid back in his office chair and breathed out slowly. It seemed as though whenever something irregular or unfortunate happened, the pain from that incident so long ago from his past returned.
As their molecules reassembled themselves, Rouge and Daisuke slowly regained consciousness. Trips through the telepad always exhausted even the strongest hunter. But tiring as it may be, it was the fastest way to travel short distances.
As the two exhausted hunters walked out of the telepad energy field, two soldiers wearing the typical Pioneer II uniform confronted them. Giving a quick salute they offered to show them the way to their job supervisor. Nodding their heads, the two hunters followed them to their destination.
As the door to the telepad room slid opened and allowed them passage to the hall, the two hunters looked around in curiosity. The hallway was painted a coat of pure white and was endowed with natural lighting from a chain of windows on the walls. Each window, about roughly 4x3 feet, was spaced at least a meter between another and flooded the room with light.
As they walked through the hall following the guards, their feet, in a strange unintentional symphony, made a concerto of tapping noises. This musical display echoed throughout the hall as they passed through till it made its encore as the entered the small elevator at the end. Once on the elevator and once off they entered another hall and continued on their way. However, this floor wasn't so graciously lighted with Ragol's sun but by man made lighting instruments, leaving Daisuke and Rouge to presume they were now below ground.
After what seemed like a lifetime of endless hall wandering, the guards finally lead them to a large office. The guards gave a salute as the doors opened for the two hunters then courteously left them behind as they moved away to continue their normal jobs. With the guards' absence, the two hunters entered the office.
The room was about moderate in size and contained two large bookcases on both sides and a rather large desk in the center with four chairs in front of it. Behind this large desk sat a large man about in his late thirties, or early forties, performing what looked to be tedious paper work. However, with his professional looking long, slicked back, brown hair and a large mustache this man looked like he could be very intimidating with his large frame and tree trunks for biceps.
As the door shut behind the two hunters, the man looked up from his paper work and gave his two visitors a visual inspection. His eyes examining up and down the two hunters, it was quite obvious he was trying to calculate just how strong each one was. As he finished, the man stood up and gave them a satisfied smile as though they just passed some sort of test.
"Greetings my friends, you must be the two new hunters we requested?" he asked with polite smile; Rouge quickly nodded her head.
"Yes, that'd be us. Range-" started Rouge only to be interrupted by the man. "Yes, yes I know, Ranger Rouge and Hunter Daisuke, the guild has told me all about you two B ranks." He said.
"B Ranks.?" Rouge tried to ask but was quickly elbowed by Daisuke so as to remind her that they both were not supposed to actually be here. Rouge quickly shut up and asked the man for a briefing.
The man gave them both a somewhat quizzical look but just shook his head and continued, "My name is Andres Domingo, like you, I was a hunter. It was my recommendation to the Maxtor Organization that we hire people of your caliber to defend this settlement from the wilds of Ragol."
"Was a hunter?" asked Daisuke, "Did you get bored of the hunter life and just want to settle down?"
Domingo frowned and merely raised his left arm, or what was left of it; the elbow down was missing, "It was a long time ago, but after this happened I just couldn't afford to throw my life around anymore."
Daisuke rubbed his head confused, "Why didn't you get a mechanical replacement for your arm? The technology to do so has been around for well over fifty years and it is not a very expensive procedure."
Domingo looked down and gave a sigh, "Why? Well, I was young back then and losing this arm was what finally snapped me out of my dreamland and back into reality. When I was finally dragged back to the nearest town and was about to have the procedure to add a new arm, I just told them no. This was a sign for me to stop while I was ahead, so I decided to leave this sign as is to make sure I never tried to do something stupid. This little stump of an appendage of mine is a lesson to me and other knuckleheaded hunters out there."
Rouge gave him a skeptical look, "If hunters are just knuckleheads, then why'd you recommend for people like us to protect this place?"
Domingo looked up and stared at her, "Because I know just how determined people like you are to get both a piece of the action and the money. People like you will do what's needed to get the job done no matter how much it might endanger your lives."
At this time Domingo pushed his chair back and walked out from behind his desk and to the hunters. When he reached the two of them, he put his arm on Rouge's shoulder and then on Daisuke's.
"When I was a hunter, I met my share of 'bad' people, but out of those bad people I also met good people. Most of those people were hunters just trying to meet ends meet and support those most dear to them." He stopped and looked them both in the eye at this time, "Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all hunters are saints, there are plenty of cold hearted ogres for hunters out there."
He took his hand off of Daisuke's shoulder and took two steps back, "And, whenever I look at you people I always remember that life that I used to have. Even though most of those old memories from being a hunter were not always the most kindred, they're still precious to me. And even though I always remind myself that I should never go back to that life, I can still have my dreams."
Domingo sighed, "Anyway, sorry for rambling like that. I guess I should be more hospitable to you young people and get to the point right?"
Daisuke and Rouge said nothing; Domingo merely gave a quick smile and raised his good arm to the seats in front of his desk encouraging them to take one. The hunters nodded their heads in acknowledgment and quickly took a seat. As they pulled their chairs back and sat down, Domingo went back behind his desk and took back his chair.
"Anyway, let me inform you of our current situation. The Pioneer II's onboard government is currently funding and supplying the Maxtor Organization. And it's with that funding and supplies we've been instructed to construct the second colony to ever be built on Ragol. Thus far, the operation, though a little bumpy, has gone well. Our only major problem is that every few weeks or so, some of Ragol's savage wild life will stumble into our little operation and start going frantic and attacking workers. The soldiers issued to us by the government have indeed done well to push them back out, but their numbers are dwindling and their combat experience is even lower. So in order to protect this settlement we needed another source of protection."
At this point Domingo stopped talking for a second to reach for a glass of water on his desk, which he quickly lifted to his lips and drank thirstily. As he finished he saw the hunters eyeing him intently, "Oh? Are you two thirsty? Just ask if you are and I can see about getting you something?"
Rouge had a sheepish look on her face, she had accidentally skipped breakfast and was parched from her ride on the telepad, and watching Domingo drink his had made it only worse, "If you don't mind." she said quietly.
Domingo gave a chuckle, "Haha, don't worry about it young lady! You're only human and you need to eat and drink at some point in time don't you?" he turned his head to Daisuke, "I don't suppose you want one young man?"
Daisuke rubbed the back of his head, "Even though I can recycle foods and liquids into a usable source of energy, right now my reserves are fine. No thank you sir."
Domingo nodded his head and pushed a button on his desk and politely asked for his intern to have a glass of water delivered to them. With an enthusiastic 'Yes Sir' from a female voice, a small glass of water materialized on the desk. Domingo picked this up in his good hand and handed it to Rouge who thanked him and gulped it down quickly.
Domingo gave a spirited laugh as Rouge drank her water as though it were hard liquor then continued, "Well, as I was saying. When the issue of what we were to do for protection, I quickly recommended the idea of commissioning the Hunter's Guild to give us a few hunters to protect this small settlement. So far, excluding you two, they've sent us about three hunters."
Rouge wrinkled her nose, "Only three? With the price you're offering for this job, I'm surprised there isn't a line for it!"
Domingo gave another laugh, "Haha, yes if only it were so. Because the guild has been instructed to be rather shady about this operation, I'm betting the other hunters don't want to commit to a job being hosted by a group that's being so ambiguous and secretive. But it doesn't matter though, those three hunters have been doing wonders though. Each one of them is worth three to five normal soldiers, not to mention they complain half as much."
"Oh? Who are these hunters?" asked Daisuke curiously.
"After looking through both of your files, there is only one of these hunters that you personally should be familiar with Hunter Daisuke." Responded Domingo.
Daisuke gave him a curious look to which Domingo responded, "I believe you've met Ranger Sheena before? A very nice girl, I can't scarcely believe that she's in this business, but she's apparently very good at what she does."
Daisuke's optics opened wide, "Sheena.? But she's supposed to be. No. That can't be right."
"Don't worry about it too much young man," said Domingo, "just focus on the job at hand, which by the way, shouldn't be too hard. Just make sure we hold out for about three or four more months. By then we should have finished construction of our defense shell. At that time all we'll need are the soldiers from the Pioneer II and even then we'll only need them as a last resort."
Daisuke sighed, "Well if you say so."
Domingo gave a somewhat carefree shrug, then handed both of them two bulky manila envelopes, "Just take a look at the insides of these if you have any questions. They should have your card keys for your rooms as well as instructions and patrol routes for you as well as a detailed map of the settlement that's been finished so far."
The middle aged man stood up once again, and reached out his hand for a handshake from both hunters. The hunter duo stood up and reached their hands out and shook his. Domingo then walked them towards the door and told them that if they had any questions to feel free to come visit him and ask personally.
As Daisuke and Rouge left Andres Domingo's office and began the trek through the maze of hallways to their rooms, they talked.
"So what do you think?" asked Daisuke curiously.
Rouge gave a sigh, "I'm not quite sure what to think. This whole place seems a bit too. too." she stopped, not being able to find the words to describe what she felt.
"Well I'll tell you what I think, and it's about that Domingo character. What's so important about him and just why does he have such an amount of influence that they'd leave him in charge of military affairs down on this settlement?"
Rouge put both of her arms behind her head as she walked trying to stretch, "I dunno, you got me there. And doesn't it seem a little strange how well equipped this place is? Only very high officials on Pioneer II have minor teleportation devices that can just give them minor comforts such as beaming glasses of water. The amount it costs is just outrageous, you're defiantly right about his level of power being a bit suspicious."
As Daisuke began to talk again, Rouge walked up ahead by a few feet and turned around to face him while continuing her walk backwards, "Yes, it all seems a little too well-funded. Anyway, seeing as how we have separate rooms and patrol routes, all I can really say is watch your back; something about this place just bothers me."
Rouge gave a chuckle, "Hey, who do you think you're talking to? If anything were to come up I'd be able to see it coming a mile away. I practically have eyes in the back of my head y'know!" Boasted Rouge.
But just as she said this, another humanoid figure came out from around the corner only to be backed into by Rouge. Rouge, not suspecting something to suddenly prevent her from continuing, jumped towards Daisuke and spun around in an aerial 180 (to face what she just backed into) while making a startled 'eep' noise.
The humanoid, a rather tall African-American with a well-groomed Afro, wore a black version of the traditional Hunter's Guild uniform and sported a stylish pair of dark glasses. Judging from his facial expression, Daisuke guessed he was just as startled by the collision as Rouge was.
"Ah. Excuse me miss." started the hunter in a very surprised voice, it was quite obvious he was very unsure of what to do in this situation.
Rouge, whose heart was pounding from the sudden encounter, just nodded her head. Daisuke, who at this time had both his hands on the young woman's shoulders so as to catch her from colliding into him too, looked down at the red haired huntress, "Eyes in the back of your head, huh?" Rouge glared in reply.
The man, seeing the two section Ids on the two, gave a look of surprise, "Hey, you're the new hunters everyone's been talking about aren't ya?"
"Well, I'm not sure if we're the hunters everyone has been talking about, but we are hunters." Said Daisuke.
The man gave a slight a laugh, "Well, well, no need to be so modest good sir!" he said in a playfully mocking tone, "Anyway, I'm a hunter too! The name's Banrai and I've been here for a good two weeks or so I guess I could show ya the ropes if ya want."
Daisuke, pushing Rouge back to her feet, nodded his head and extended his arm out in a formal handshake. The hunter, Banrai, looked at his hand confused for a second, then grabbed Daisuke's extended arm with his right hand and yanked Daisuke over to him and gave the android a pat on the back with his other arm while curling his right hand's fingers with the android's. Daisuke, somewhat confused by the gesture, uncertainly patted Banrai's back in return. After about two seconds, Banrai broke the embrace and gave him a big, toothy grin.
Daisuke rubbed the back of his metallic head uncertainly as Banrai bent down on one knee and took Rouge's hand and gave it a light and gentle kiss. Rouge gave a girlish giggle, "Why it's the hunter version of Prince Charming" she cooed. Banrai gave a big laugh, "Yeah, some people call me that!" he laughed.
As Banrai stood back up, he quickly asked them their names. Daisuke introduced both himself and Rouge and asked if Banrai knew his way around the settlement yet.
"Oh yeah man, it may seem overwhelming at first with all of these look-alike hallways, but once you get outside to where they're starting construction, it's bit easier to get used to." He said.
"Would you mind showing us where our rooms are then giving us a tour?" asked Rouge. Banrai gave a chuckle and a wholehearted reply of 'Will do!' and quickly led them off to their individual rooms and then later on a tour.
After making a brief stop at both of their rooms, the two hunters went off with Banrai to take a tour of the settlement. It took their group about thirty minutes to finish off the tour of the basement floor where Domingo and their rooms lay. Once they finished that floor they took the elevator up and visited the ground floor. Banrai showed them the basic areas of the settlement that were for the workers and personal only, which wasn't much, mainly just a lounge/café area and a private restroom shut off from the colonists, who had actually already begun to start new lives down on the surface.
Once their tour of the facility, as Banrai called it, was finished they went over to the colonists region of the settlement. The colonists region of the settlement was heads and tails different from the settlement's 'facility'. Rather than being surrounded by cold steel as it was for the personal and all those above in the Pioneer II, they lived in quiet little domes out in the open air of the planet. Though they were not however just out in the open, about a mile away from the last dome house, a ring like barrier was being constructed around the colonists, caging them in with the facility.
"That metal ring they've started construction on now is the defense shell. Basically, its just a giant shield generator that will create a large energy shield around the whole settlement that should protect it from the wild little beasties of this planet." Explained Banrai as they passed by.
"But won't that block out the sun?" Rouge asked concerned, Banrai merely smiled at her. "Nah, the shield is transparent, you can see right through it, but uh. Don't try touching it. Anything that comes in contact with it will become a nice toasty barbecue wing."
"I. I'll keep that in mind." Said Daisuke, which just brought a laugh to Banrai. This hunter, Banrai, seemed to always be in good spirits. Even at the most minor things he would give out a big belly laugh and make it all the funnier.
"Well anyway, that's about it for the tour." Stated Banrai. "But y'know, I don't know 'bout you guys but I'm starving. Wanna grab some grub?"
At the mere mention of food, Rouge's stomach rolled over at least twice making a gurgling noise. Banrai heard this and let out another laugh, "Well then, I guess we should go get this little lady something to eat!"
Rouge gave an embarrassed look to Daisuke who merely gave her an android version of a smile. She sighed and followed after Banrai who already started walking off to the café back at the facility.
The doors to the café slide open with a whoosh of cold, air- conditioned air. After being in the hot outdoors of Ragol, the rush of cold felt good on Rouge's face and she quickly walked in following Banrai and followed by Daisuke.
"So is there any place you want to sit?" asked Banrai.
Rouge looked around and saw a booth by a window and pointed towards it, "Hey, that spot over there looks pretty nice." She said quickly
"Alrighty then, shall we?" asked Banrai with a quick 'after you' hand motion towards the booth.
But just as the group was about to take their place at the booth and prepare their order, a feminine yet mechanical voice called out to them.
"Hey! Hey! Die-skay!" the voice called out towards Daisuke.
Daisuke quickly whirled around on his heel and looked behind him to see a female android running up to him. The android, judging by her Redria Section ID and strong shoulders was probably a ranger class hunter. The android was about Rouge's height and had a pale set of blue gray skin. This exterior though was designed as though her smooth metallic skin was actually covered beneath a short-skirted dress. Her metallic skin of bluish gray went well with her dark blue or navy blue 'dress'. The face of the android had two, dark blue optics that glowed dimly in the lighting of the room.
"Die-skay! It's been so long!" exclaimed the android.
Daisuke said nothing and just stood there and stared at the female android in disbelief, Rouge and Banrai looked at him strangely. The female android cocked her head as if a different angle of him would show something to her that she hadn't noticed before.
"You ok Die-skay?" she said in a childish voice, extending the syllables of his name again. "You do remember me right, Die-skay?"
Daisuke's optics veered down in what we would be the equivalent of a face of anger, "Yes. How could I forget someone like you Sheena?" he asked angrily.
Sheena's optics flared in surprise, "Oh Die-skay, don't tell me you're STILL angry about that! It's your own fault for being such a wet blanket and not wanting to go with the crowd." She said in her childish voice.
It seemed to all those around them that the android, Sheena, was just playfully teasing him, but Daisuke seemed to take it very personally. "Sheena, after the stunt you pulled I never wanted to see you again!" All the while, Daisuke's voice began to rise angrily.
Sheena formed a fake looking, childish frown on her face, "Oh don't be that way Die-skay! I only wanted to have a little fun!" she pleaded with him.
By this time, Daisuke seemed to be beginning to lose his temper. Grabbing her by her throat with one hand and lifting her two feet into the air, he raised his other fist at her. "A little fun!? How is nearly killing three people fun!? That business was nothing but trouble from the start, yet you kept going with it! You didn't even care when Ashrem was killed! If you want to have fun, then don't do it at the cost of other people's lives!"
Sheena wriggled around in Daisuke's killer choke grip while Banrai and Rouge tugged and pleaded with him to let her down. Sheena, being an android and not needed air (so she spoke normally), continued to talk to Daisuke, aggravating him even more so, "Oh give it up Die-skay! I mean you are SUCH a scream, nobody liked Ashrem, it's better he's dead anyway!"
If possible, Daisuke's optics angled downward even more so, looking even angrier than before, "Why you-!" at this point the blue chrome android was about to launch his fist as hard and as fast as he could into Sheena's face when a strange alarm went off. Startled by the alarm, Daisuke quickly released Sheena from the choke grip and looked around.
"Hey, Banrai!? What is this?" asked a confused and startled Rouge.
Banrai grimaced and started to run off towards the door, "Monster raid! Get your weapons ready and run towards the defense shell I showed you before! If you're not quick about, the wild life might cause serious damage to both the settlement and it's colonist!"
Daisuke cursed quietly then glared at Sheena, "We'll finish this later!" he said as he ran off after Banrai. Sheena merely smirked at him as she followed him with her cold, mechanical eyes. Once the doors shut after Daisuke, she turned towards Rouge and examined her.
"So are you his girlfriend or something?" she asked Rouge coldly.
Rouge's cheeks turned redder than her hair, "What are you talking about!? Hey! Shouldn't you be going to the disturbance!?" She shot, only to be shrugged off by Sheena's shoulders, a quite obvious sign she didn't care. Frustrated, Rouge grabbed the android's wrist and ran out through the door with her, chasing after Banrai and Daisuke.
Chapter Three: The One Armed Man
Andres Domingo clenched his teeth as the pain shot through his arm. It was a horrendous feeling that felt as though it would never stop till the rest of him was gone. But this was how it always was, and after fifteen minutes the pain would subside.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, just as he predicted, the phantom pains in his missing left arm were gone. As it subsided, he laid back in his office chair and breathed out slowly. It seemed as though whenever something irregular or unfortunate happened, the pain from that incident so long ago from his past returned.
As their molecules reassembled themselves, Rouge and Daisuke slowly regained consciousness. Trips through the telepad always exhausted even the strongest hunter. But tiring as it may be, it was the fastest way to travel short distances.
As the two exhausted hunters walked out of the telepad energy field, two soldiers wearing the typical Pioneer II uniform confronted them. Giving a quick salute they offered to show them the way to their job supervisor. Nodding their heads, the two hunters followed them to their destination.
As the door to the telepad room slid opened and allowed them passage to the hall, the two hunters looked around in curiosity. The hallway was painted a coat of pure white and was endowed with natural lighting from a chain of windows on the walls. Each window, about roughly 4x3 feet, was spaced at least a meter between another and flooded the room with light.
As they walked through the hall following the guards, their feet, in a strange unintentional symphony, made a concerto of tapping noises. This musical display echoed throughout the hall as they passed through till it made its encore as the entered the small elevator at the end. Once on the elevator and once off they entered another hall and continued on their way. However, this floor wasn't so graciously lighted with Ragol's sun but by man made lighting instruments, leaving Daisuke and Rouge to presume they were now below ground.
After what seemed like a lifetime of endless hall wandering, the guards finally lead them to a large office. The guards gave a salute as the doors opened for the two hunters then courteously left them behind as they moved away to continue their normal jobs. With the guards' absence, the two hunters entered the office.
The room was about moderate in size and contained two large bookcases on both sides and a rather large desk in the center with four chairs in front of it. Behind this large desk sat a large man about in his late thirties, or early forties, performing what looked to be tedious paper work. However, with his professional looking long, slicked back, brown hair and a large mustache this man looked like he could be very intimidating with his large frame and tree trunks for biceps.
As the door shut behind the two hunters, the man looked up from his paper work and gave his two visitors a visual inspection. His eyes examining up and down the two hunters, it was quite obvious he was trying to calculate just how strong each one was. As he finished, the man stood up and gave them a satisfied smile as though they just passed some sort of test.
"Greetings my friends, you must be the two new hunters we requested?" he asked with polite smile; Rouge quickly nodded her head.
"Yes, that'd be us. Range-" started Rouge only to be interrupted by the man. "Yes, yes I know, Ranger Rouge and Hunter Daisuke, the guild has told me all about you two B ranks." He said.
"B Ranks.?" Rouge tried to ask but was quickly elbowed by Daisuke so as to remind her that they both were not supposed to actually be here. Rouge quickly shut up and asked the man for a briefing.
The man gave them both a somewhat quizzical look but just shook his head and continued, "My name is Andres Domingo, like you, I was a hunter. It was my recommendation to the Maxtor Organization that we hire people of your caliber to defend this settlement from the wilds of Ragol."
"Was a hunter?" asked Daisuke, "Did you get bored of the hunter life and just want to settle down?"
Domingo frowned and merely raised his left arm, or what was left of it; the elbow down was missing, "It was a long time ago, but after this happened I just couldn't afford to throw my life around anymore."
Daisuke rubbed his head confused, "Why didn't you get a mechanical replacement for your arm? The technology to do so has been around for well over fifty years and it is not a very expensive procedure."
Domingo looked down and gave a sigh, "Why? Well, I was young back then and losing this arm was what finally snapped me out of my dreamland and back into reality. When I was finally dragged back to the nearest town and was about to have the procedure to add a new arm, I just told them no. This was a sign for me to stop while I was ahead, so I decided to leave this sign as is to make sure I never tried to do something stupid. This little stump of an appendage of mine is a lesson to me and other knuckleheaded hunters out there."
Rouge gave him a skeptical look, "If hunters are just knuckleheads, then why'd you recommend for people like us to protect this place?"
Domingo looked up and stared at her, "Because I know just how determined people like you are to get both a piece of the action and the money. People like you will do what's needed to get the job done no matter how much it might endanger your lives."
At this time Domingo pushed his chair back and walked out from behind his desk and to the hunters. When he reached the two of them, he put his arm on Rouge's shoulder and then on Daisuke's.
"When I was a hunter, I met my share of 'bad' people, but out of those bad people I also met good people. Most of those people were hunters just trying to meet ends meet and support those most dear to them." He stopped and looked them both in the eye at this time, "Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all hunters are saints, there are plenty of cold hearted ogres for hunters out there."
He took his hand off of Daisuke's shoulder and took two steps back, "And, whenever I look at you people I always remember that life that I used to have. Even though most of those old memories from being a hunter were not always the most kindred, they're still precious to me. And even though I always remind myself that I should never go back to that life, I can still have my dreams."
Domingo sighed, "Anyway, sorry for rambling like that. I guess I should be more hospitable to you young people and get to the point right?"
Daisuke and Rouge said nothing; Domingo merely gave a quick smile and raised his good arm to the seats in front of his desk encouraging them to take one. The hunters nodded their heads in acknowledgment and quickly took a seat. As they pulled their chairs back and sat down, Domingo went back behind his desk and took back his chair.
"Anyway, let me inform you of our current situation. The Pioneer II's onboard government is currently funding and supplying the Maxtor Organization. And it's with that funding and supplies we've been instructed to construct the second colony to ever be built on Ragol. Thus far, the operation, though a little bumpy, has gone well. Our only major problem is that every few weeks or so, some of Ragol's savage wild life will stumble into our little operation and start going frantic and attacking workers. The soldiers issued to us by the government have indeed done well to push them back out, but their numbers are dwindling and their combat experience is even lower. So in order to protect this settlement we needed another source of protection."
At this point Domingo stopped talking for a second to reach for a glass of water on his desk, which he quickly lifted to his lips and drank thirstily. As he finished he saw the hunters eyeing him intently, "Oh? Are you two thirsty? Just ask if you are and I can see about getting you something?"
Rouge had a sheepish look on her face, she had accidentally skipped breakfast and was parched from her ride on the telepad, and watching Domingo drink his had made it only worse, "If you don't mind." she said quietly.
Domingo gave a chuckle, "Haha, don't worry about it young lady! You're only human and you need to eat and drink at some point in time don't you?" he turned his head to Daisuke, "I don't suppose you want one young man?"
Daisuke rubbed the back of his head, "Even though I can recycle foods and liquids into a usable source of energy, right now my reserves are fine. No thank you sir."
Domingo nodded his head and pushed a button on his desk and politely asked for his intern to have a glass of water delivered to them. With an enthusiastic 'Yes Sir' from a female voice, a small glass of water materialized on the desk. Domingo picked this up in his good hand and handed it to Rouge who thanked him and gulped it down quickly.
Domingo gave a spirited laugh as Rouge drank her water as though it were hard liquor then continued, "Well, as I was saying. When the issue of what we were to do for protection, I quickly recommended the idea of commissioning the Hunter's Guild to give us a few hunters to protect this small settlement. So far, excluding you two, they've sent us about three hunters."
Rouge wrinkled her nose, "Only three? With the price you're offering for this job, I'm surprised there isn't a line for it!"
Domingo gave another laugh, "Haha, yes if only it were so. Because the guild has been instructed to be rather shady about this operation, I'm betting the other hunters don't want to commit to a job being hosted by a group that's being so ambiguous and secretive. But it doesn't matter though, those three hunters have been doing wonders though. Each one of them is worth three to five normal soldiers, not to mention they complain half as much."
"Oh? Who are these hunters?" asked Daisuke curiously.
"After looking through both of your files, there is only one of these hunters that you personally should be familiar with Hunter Daisuke." Responded Domingo.
Daisuke gave him a curious look to which Domingo responded, "I believe you've met Ranger Sheena before? A very nice girl, I can't scarcely believe that she's in this business, but she's apparently very good at what she does."
Daisuke's optics opened wide, "Sheena.? But she's supposed to be. No. That can't be right."
"Don't worry about it too much young man," said Domingo, "just focus on the job at hand, which by the way, shouldn't be too hard. Just make sure we hold out for about three or four more months. By then we should have finished construction of our defense shell. At that time all we'll need are the soldiers from the Pioneer II and even then we'll only need them as a last resort."
Daisuke sighed, "Well if you say so."
Domingo gave a somewhat carefree shrug, then handed both of them two bulky manila envelopes, "Just take a look at the insides of these if you have any questions. They should have your card keys for your rooms as well as instructions and patrol routes for you as well as a detailed map of the settlement that's been finished so far."
The middle aged man stood up once again, and reached out his hand for a handshake from both hunters. The hunter duo stood up and reached their hands out and shook his. Domingo then walked them towards the door and told them that if they had any questions to feel free to come visit him and ask personally.
As Daisuke and Rouge left Andres Domingo's office and began the trek through the maze of hallways to their rooms, they talked.
"So what do you think?" asked Daisuke curiously.
Rouge gave a sigh, "I'm not quite sure what to think. This whole place seems a bit too. too." she stopped, not being able to find the words to describe what she felt.
"Well I'll tell you what I think, and it's about that Domingo character. What's so important about him and just why does he have such an amount of influence that they'd leave him in charge of military affairs down on this settlement?"
Rouge put both of her arms behind her head as she walked trying to stretch, "I dunno, you got me there. And doesn't it seem a little strange how well equipped this place is? Only very high officials on Pioneer II have minor teleportation devices that can just give them minor comforts such as beaming glasses of water. The amount it costs is just outrageous, you're defiantly right about his level of power being a bit suspicious."
As Daisuke began to talk again, Rouge walked up ahead by a few feet and turned around to face him while continuing her walk backwards, "Yes, it all seems a little too well-funded. Anyway, seeing as how we have separate rooms and patrol routes, all I can really say is watch your back; something about this place just bothers me."
Rouge gave a chuckle, "Hey, who do you think you're talking to? If anything were to come up I'd be able to see it coming a mile away. I practically have eyes in the back of my head y'know!" Boasted Rouge.
But just as she said this, another humanoid figure came out from around the corner only to be backed into by Rouge. Rouge, not suspecting something to suddenly prevent her from continuing, jumped towards Daisuke and spun around in an aerial 180 (to face what she just backed into) while making a startled 'eep' noise.
The humanoid, a rather tall African-American with a well-groomed Afro, wore a black version of the traditional Hunter's Guild uniform and sported a stylish pair of dark glasses. Judging from his facial expression, Daisuke guessed he was just as startled by the collision as Rouge was.
"Ah. Excuse me miss." started the hunter in a very surprised voice, it was quite obvious he was very unsure of what to do in this situation.
Rouge, whose heart was pounding from the sudden encounter, just nodded her head. Daisuke, who at this time had both his hands on the young woman's shoulders so as to catch her from colliding into him too, looked down at the red haired huntress, "Eyes in the back of your head, huh?" Rouge glared in reply.
The man, seeing the two section Ids on the two, gave a look of surprise, "Hey, you're the new hunters everyone's been talking about aren't ya?"
"Well, I'm not sure if we're the hunters everyone has been talking about, but we are hunters." Said Daisuke.
The man gave a slight a laugh, "Well, well, no need to be so modest good sir!" he said in a playfully mocking tone, "Anyway, I'm a hunter too! The name's Banrai and I've been here for a good two weeks or so I guess I could show ya the ropes if ya want."
Daisuke, pushing Rouge back to her feet, nodded his head and extended his arm out in a formal handshake. The hunter, Banrai, looked at his hand confused for a second, then grabbed Daisuke's extended arm with his right hand and yanked Daisuke over to him and gave the android a pat on the back with his other arm while curling his right hand's fingers with the android's. Daisuke, somewhat confused by the gesture, uncertainly patted Banrai's back in return. After about two seconds, Banrai broke the embrace and gave him a big, toothy grin.
Daisuke rubbed the back of his metallic head uncertainly as Banrai bent down on one knee and took Rouge's hand and gave it a light and gentle kiss. Rouge gave a girlish giggle, "Why it's the hunter version of Prince Charming" she cooed. Banrai gave a big laugh, "Yeah, some people call me that!" he laughed.
As Banrai stood back up, he quickly asked them their names. Daisuke introduced both himself and Rouge and asked if Banrai knew his way around the settlement yet.
"Oh yeah man, it may seem overwhelming at first with all of these look-alike hallways, but once you get outside to where they're starting construction, it's bit easier to get used to." He said.
"Would you mind showing us where our rooms are then giving us a tour?" asked Rouge. Banrai gave a chuckle and a wholehearted reply of 'Will do!' and quickly led them off to their individual rooms and then later on a tour.
After making a brief stop at both of their rooms, the two hunters went off with Banrai to take a tour of the settlement. It took their group about thirty minutes to finish off the tour of the basement floor where Domingo and their rooms lay. Once they finished that floor they took the elevator up and visited the ground floor. Banrai showed them the basic areas of the settlement that were for the workers and personal only, which wasn't much, mainly just a lounge/café area and a private restroom shut off from the colonists, who had actually already begun to start new lives down on the surface.
Once their tour of the facility, as Banrai called it, was finished they went over to the colonists region of the settlement. The colonists region of the settlement was heads and tails different from the settlement's 'facility'. Rather than being surrounded by cold steel as it was for the personal and all those above in the Pioneer II, they lived in quiet little domes out in the open air of the planet. Though they were not however just out in the open, about a mile away from the last dome house, a ring like barrier was being constructed around the colonists, caging them in with the facility.
"That metal ring they've started construction on now is the defense shell. Basically, its just a giant shield generator that will create a large energy shield around the whole settlement that should protect it from the wild little beasties of this planet." Explained Banrai as they passed by.
"But won't that block out the sun?" Rouge asked concerned, Banrai merely smiled at her. "Nah, the shield is transparent, you can see right through it, but uh. Don't try touching it. Anything that comes in contact with it will become a nice toasty barbecue wing."
"I. I'll keep that in mind." Said Daisuke, which just brought a laugh to Banrai. This hunter, Banrai, seemed to always be in good spirits. Even at the most minor things he would give out a big belly laugh and make it all the funnier.
"Well anyway, that's about it for the tour." Stated Banrai. "But y'know, I don't know 'bout you guys but I'm starving. Wanna grab some grub?"
At the mere mention of food, Rouge's stomach rolled over at least twice making a gurgling noise. Banrai heard this and let out another laugh, "Well then, I guess we should go get this little lady something to eat!"
Rouge gave an embarrassed look to Daisuke who merely gave her an android version of a smile. She sighed and followed after Banrai who already started walking off to the café back at the facility.
The doors to the café slide open with a whoosh of cold, air- conditioned air. After being in the hot outdoors of Ragol, the rush of cold felt good on Rouge's face and she quickly walked in following Banrai and followed by Daisuke.
"So is there any place you want to sit?" asked Banrai.
Rouge looked around and saw a booth by a window and pointed towards it, "Hey, that spot over there looks pretty nice." She said quickly
"Alrighty then, shall we?" asked Banrai with a quick 'after you' hand motion towards the booth.
But just as the group was about to take their place at the booth and prepare their order, a feminine yet mechanical voice called out to them.
"Hey! Hey! Die-skay!" the voice called out towards Daisuke.
Daisuke quickly whirled around on his heel and looked behind him to see a female android running up to him. The android, judging by her Redria Section ID and strong shoulders was probably a ranger class hunter. The android was about Rouge's height and had a pale set of blue gray skin. This exterior though was designed as though her smooth metallic skin was actually covered beneath a short-skirted dress. Her metallic skin of bluish gray went well with her dark blue or navy blue 'dress'. The face of the android had two, dark blue optics that glowed dimly in the lighting of the room.
"Die-skay! It's been so long!" exclaimed the android.
Daisuke said nothing and just stood there and stared at the female android in disbelief, Rouge and Banrai looked at him strangely. The female android cocked her head as if a different angle of him would show something to her that she hadn't noticed before.
"You ok Die-skay?" she said in a childish voice, extending the syllables of his name again. "You do remember me right, Die-skay?"
Daisuke's optics veered down in what we would be the equivalent of a face of anger, "Yes. How could I forget someone like you Sheena?" he asked angrily.
Sheena's optics flared in surprise, "Oh Die-skay, don't tell me you're STILL angry about that! It's your own fault for being such a wet blanket and not wanting to go with the crowd." She said in her childish voice.
It seemed to all those around them that the android, Sheena, was just playfully teasing him, but Daisuke seemed to take it very personally. "Sheena, after the stunt you pulled I never wanted to see you again!" All the while, Daisuke's voice began to rise angrily.
Sheena formed a fake looking, childish frown on her face, "Oh don't be that way Die-skay! I only wanted to have a little fun!" she pleaded with him.
By this time, Daisuke seemed to be beginning to lose his temper. Grabbing her by her throat with one hand and lifting her two feet into the air, he raised his other fist at her. "A little fun!? How is nearly killing three people fun!? That business was nothing but trouble from the start, yet you kept going with it! You didn't even care when Ashrem was killed! If you want to have fun, then don't do it at the cost of other people's lives!"
Sheena wriggled around in Daisuke's killer choke grip while Banrai and Rouge tugged and pleaded with him to let her down. Sheena, being an android and not needed air (so she spoke normally), continued to talk to Daisuke, aggravating him even more so, "Oh give it up Die-skay! I mean you are SUCH a scream, nobody liked Ashrem, it's better he's dead anyway!"
If possible, Daisuke's optics angled downward even more so, looking even angrier than before, "Why you-!" at this point the blue chrome android was about to launch his fist as hard and as fast as he could into Sheena's face when a strange alarm went off. Startled by the alarm, Daisuke quickly released Sheena from the choke grip and looked around.
"Hey, Banrai!? What is this?" asked a confused and startled Rouge.
Banrai grimaced and started to run off towards the door, "Monster raid! Get your weapons ready and run towards the defense shell I showed you before! If you're not quick about, the wild life might cause serious damage to both the settlement and it's colonist!"
Daisuke cursed quietly then glared at Sheena, "We'll finish this later!" he said as he ran off after Banrai. Sheena merely smirked at him as she followed him with her cold, mechanical eyes. Once the doors shut after Daisuke, she turned towards Rouge and examined her.
"So are you his girlfriend or something?" she asked Rouge coldly.
Rouge's cheeks turned redder than her hair, "What are you talking about!? Hey! Shouldn't you be going to the disturbance!?" She shot, only to be shrugged off by Sheena's shoulders, a quite obvious sign she didn't care. Frustrated, Rouge grabbed the android's wrist and ran out through the door with her, chasing after Banrai and Daisuke.