Chapter Four, Return to civilisation
Back in Hyde City a mob was growing angry. The commotion outside the night bars had got the local enforcement involved and their presence was harassing people. The 3 thugs had left the scene and retreated to the surface on the south side of town. It was there that they met up with other gangs and discussed starting a hunt for the lone ex-Omni-Pol unit.
This ex-Omni-Pol unit was currently wading his way through murky polluted swamp water with Lyra flying over the water as a bird. He had been impressed that she could still perform feats like that after such little practice. At the other side she reformed and sat down, waiting for him to reach her. He might have been at the other side by now if he could have remembered how to do it at that moment in time.
"Come on" Starcloud shouted at Diviant, who had yet another 20 meters of wading to do. He looked upwards. Vapour rising from the surface of the water made it impossible to see far from a low height, he could not see her or the other side. For a second, he panicked. Something slipped past his body under the surface. Starcloud wasn't paying attention to the water until suddenly the surface lit up and fire spread across the surface. A large snake threw itself upwards in pain as the fire engulfed it and Starcloud stood upright, desperately searching the surface for Diviant. He was underwater and out of her sight, short of one flare and swimming below the surface to avoid getting burnt. He came walked out of the water without saying a word.
"Was that really necessary?" she asked him.
He stopped walking and looked at her, mud sliding down his face.
"We're not far now, if you're careful we might just make it," he stated in a droll tone.
It was clear the attack had annoyed Diviant, wading through muck was bad enough, being attacked and having to get completely covered in the stuff was testing Diviant and it was clear that he was close to losing his cool. Starcloud decided to not put him under and further torment and said nothing. They continued through the forest.
When they reached the other side, a few hours later and when Diviant had relaxed enough to talk they reached the forest border not far from Hyde City and were met with a mystifying occurrence. The clouds had given way to the sunset that shone on the city's tall wooden and steel structures, giving them a golden glow. Despite the steel being far from clean and shiny, it absorbed the sunlight and appeared bright orange. The texture of the wood even from a distance was clear and gave Hyde City a look of elegance and class. The two of them crossed the grassy plain between the forest edge and the northeast entrance. In the few hours since the incident they had worked out a route back to the Omni-Tec capital. They would take a ship from Hyde City dock to the coastal resort of Ellypsiss and from there, head east along the continent coastline until they reached the settlement of Old Meyn where a transport line could take them to Stret East Bank. Once there it was a short walk to Omni-1.
They entered the city and Diviant insisted that he buy her better guns. The laser pistols she currently had were no match for traditional bullet and chamber guns.
"I set out looking for you with 200,000 credits, following you around the continent has cost me about 50,000, leaving us with 50,000 to get back and 100,000 spare. Until we get those BBIs back I think I would be best you travel with better protection than those toy pistols you've got there."
"Thanks, these things are falling apart."
"Don't thank me" Diviant exclaimed with a wink. "You're paying me back once we get to Omni-1"
"I suppose it's the thought that counts." She mumbled to herself.
They took a lift up to the higher level and came to a gun shop that Diviant had seen on his previous visit. The shop interior was small but brightly lit and well arranged. The room consisted of a counter that cut the room in half, guns of all types on the other side. A door at the back wall led to a storeroom of melee weapons and ammunition. They looked at several types of handgun but had a modest price range, meaning that Starcloud ended up frustrated at not being allowed to look at some of the more exotic weaponry on view. The shop owner took a third pair of pistols from off the wall and laid them on the counter along with two weighted magazines. Lyra took them up in her hands and held them out straight and still.
"They're heavier than I'm used to." She commented.
"Heavy and robust" replied the shop owner. "They'll last a long time if you look after them and take a beating too."
These guns were simple semi-automatics whereas Lyra's BBIs back in Omni-1 were customised so that they worked as sub-machine guns as well, allowing sweeps of fire rather than one shot firing. It was Lyra's familiarity with the weapons she used that made her a formidable opponent. The guns before her now would be restrictive in battle and mean that she would be limited by what she could do. It wasn't like it would matter anyway though, currently she was so out of shape that she probably couldn't pull off great movements she once could with ease.
"We'll take them," stated Diviant after letting Lyra handle them for a few minutes. He wasn't comfortable in Hyde City after the last visit ended in a public brawl.
"That'll be 78,000 please," requested the shop owner. "Be careful by the way young lady, that particular model has a tendency to heat up and the base of the chamber with excessive use, you wouldn't want to burn yourself now."
The man placed the guns in a small black suitcase along with 3 boxes of 50 bullets. Money was passed over to the man and change given back. They walked out of the shop and ceased the buzzing sound that started when the door opened. It was night now and with darkness came risk in built up areas.
"Want to go tonight or tomorrow morning dear?" asked Starcloud in a cheery mood, pleased with having new guns.
"I don't like this place," said Diviant. "I want to go now"
"Fine, the docks are on the west side of the city. We'd be better of staying on this level, less likely to find trouble on the way."
They set off along the bridgeways between the trunks of the towers, passing shops, cafes and bars where the bridgeway linked to a building's side and everywhere people. The nightlife of the city thrived as people working in the factories during the day would be encouraged to part with their money to the bars and restaurants at night. This way, Hyde City recycled its wealth, constantly developing and exporting goods, making it one of the fastest growing settlements on the western edge of the continent.
They arrived at the docks, a grown up version of the channels that network the inner city ground level. Here, a variety of passenger carriers and cargo ships docked up. Diviant and Starcloud found a ship that was set to leave at 10:00pm, an hour and a half from their current time. They sat down of one of the jetties where the smaller boats moored up and there they talked again into the night.
Back in Hyde City a mob was growing angry. The commotion outside the night bars had got the local enforcement involved and their presence was harassing people. The 3 thugs had left the scene and retreated to the surface on the south side of town. It was there that they met up with other gangs and discussed starting a hunt for the lone ex-Omni-Pol unit.
This ex-Omni-Pol unit was currently wading his way through murky polluted swamp water with Lyra flying over the water as a bird. He had been impressed that she could still perform feats like that after such little practice. At the other side she reformed and sat down, waiting for him to reach her. He might have been at the other side by now if he could have remembered how to do it at that moment in time.
"Come on" Starcloud shouted at Diviant, who had yet another 20 meters of wading to do. He looked upwards. Vapour rising from the surface of the water made it impossible to see far from a low height, he could not see her or the other side. For a second, he panicked. Something slipped past his body under the surface. Starcloud wasn't paying attention to the water until suddenly the surface lit up and fire spread across the surface. A large snake threw itself upwards in pain as the fire engulfed it and Starcloud stood upright, desperately searching the surface for Diviant. He was underwater and out of her sight, short of one flare and swimming below the surface to avoid getting burnt. He came walked out of the water without saying a word.
"Was that really necessary?" she asked him.
He stopped walking and looked at her, mud sliding down his face.
"We're not far now, if you're careful we might just make it," he stated in a droll tone.
It was clear the attack had annoyed Diviant, wading through muck was bad enough, being attacked and having to get completely covered in the stuff was testing Diviant and it was clear that he was close to losing his cool. Starcloud decided to not put him under and further torment and said nothing. They continued through the forest.
When they reached the other side, a few hours later and when Diviant had relaxed enough to talk they reached the forest border not far from Hyde City and were met with a mystifying occurrence. The clouds had given way to the sunset that shone on the city's tall wooden and steel structures, giving them a golden glow. Despite the steel being far from clean and shiny, it absorbed the sunlight and appeared bright orange. The texture of the wood even from a distance was clear and gave Hyde City a look of elegance and class. The two of them crossed the grassy plain between the forest edge and the northeast entrance. In the few hours since the incident they had worked out a route back to the Omni-Tec capital. They would take a ship from Hyde City dock to the coastal resort of Ellypsiss and from there, head east along the continent coastline until they reached the settlement of Old Meyn where a transport line could take them to Stret East Bank. Once there it was a short walk to Omni-1.
They entered the city and Diviant insisted that he buy her better guns. The laser pistols she currently had were no match for traditional bullet and chamber guns.
"I set out looking for you with 200,000 credits, following you around the continent has cost me about 50,000, leaving us with 50,000 to get back and 100,000 spare. Until we get those BBIs back I think I would be best you travel with better protection than those toy pistols you've got there."
"Thanks, these things are falling apart."
"Don't thank me" Diviant exclaimed with a wink. "You're paying me back once we get to Omni-1"
"I suppose it's the thought that counts." She mumbled to herself.
They took a lift up to the higher level and came to a gun shop that Diviant had seen on his previous visit. The shop interior was small but brightly lit and well arranged. The room consisted of a counter that cut the room in half, guns of all types on the other side. A door at the back wall led to a storeroom of melee weapons and ammunition. They looked at several types of handgun but had a modest price range, meaning that Starcloud ended up frustrated at not being allowed to look at some of the more exotic weaponry on view. The shop owner took a third pair of pistols from off the wall and laid them on the counter along with two weighted magazines. Lyra took them up in her hands and held them out straight and still.
"They're heavier than I'm used to." She commented.
"Heavy and robust" replied the shop owner. "They'll last a long time if you look after them and take a beating too."
These guns were simple semi-automatics whereas Lyra's BBIs back in Omni-1 were customised so that they worked as sub-machine guns as well, allowing sweeps of fire rather than one shot firing. It was Lyra's familiarity with the weapons she used that made her a formidable opponent. The guns before her now would be restrictive in battle and mean that she would be limited by what she could do. It wasn't like it would matter anyway though, currently she was so out of shape that she probably couldn't pull off great movements she once could with ease.
"We'll take them," stated Diviant after letting Lyra handle them for a few minutes. He wasn't comfortable in Hyde City after the last visit ended in a public brawl.
"That'll be 78,000 please," requested the shop owner. "Be careful by the way young lady, that particular model has a tendency to heat up and the base of the chamber with excessive use, you wouldn't want to burn yourself now."
The man placed the guns in a small black suitcase along with 3 boxes of 50 bullets. Money was passed over to the man and change given back. They walked out of the shop and ceased the buzzing sound that started when the door opened. It was night now and with darkness came risk in built up areas.
"Want to go tonight or tomorrow morning dear?" asked Starcloud in a cheery mood, pleased with having new guns.
"I don't like this place," said Diviant. "I want to go now"
"Fine, the docks are on the west side of the city. We'd be better of staying on this level, less likely to find trouble on the way."
They set off along the bridgeways between the trunks of the towers, passing shops, cafes and bars where the bridgeway linked to a building's side and everywhere people. The nightlife of the city thrived as people working in the factories during the day would be encouraged to part with their money to the bars and restaurants at night. This way, Hyde City recycled its wealth, constantly developing and exporting goods, making it one of the fastest growing settlements on the western edge of the continent.
They arrived at the docks, a grown up version of the channels that network the inner city ground level. Here, a variety of passenger carriers and cargo ships docked up. Diviant and Starcloud found a ship that was set to leave at 10:00pm, an hour and a half from their current time. They sat down of one of the jetties where the smaller boats moored up and there they talked again into the night.
