...The buster was fully arranged and a shot blasted through his metallic heart, rendering his whole life into a blur and ending it right there and then. Fortunately, Gamma managed to send one last distress signal to his troop to run with their tails between their legs.
With panic, they ran even faster then they were built to be. Before they could catch their breath, they found themselves weeping in front of a commander from Unit 17.
"Stop acting like babies you buncha rookies, I'm sure that commander Gamma is just pulling your legs," Sigma joked.
"Please sir, this is serious, we heard him scream like a lady with a cockroach in her basket!" A desperate rank B hunter prompted Sigma sophisticatedly.
"A lady you say? Hmmm... this is serious; As much as Gamma love to come up with the best pranks, he will never go to that extent with them. Rookie, give me any details related to this Maverick!"
His demands were a bit too much for the little 'ants in panic.' They mingled with no time to spare for a good few minutes until one reported to Sigma of their conclusion.
"Well?" The commander tapped his fingers in rhythm on his regularly polished titanium desk.
"Sir, we have absolutely no idea." He chattered without any break in between.
"What? Doesn't the operator brief every hunter on the Maverick's detail before every mission?" He shifted his volume almost too rapidly for the rookies' audio receptors to adapt to; and they all took a big step backwards, trying to be the closest to the exit in case of 'fire.' "Doesn't anyone have any idea?"
An almost inaudible voice squeaked from the herd of petrified sheep which seemed to be muted by tons of cotton.
"Speak up! If I have no idea of that Maverick, I will be sending my men on a suicide mission!" Sigma's boom toppled every single reploid in that troop.
"Sir, the Maverick has been hunted down with ease, Gamma did. He messaged us about finding a hunter which was sent there last week and was in the process of reviving him, Sir!" The inferior shouted on top of his voice but unlike Sigma's lion roar, his was filled with tears and it sounded more like crying for home while suffering in a boot camp. "After that, he sent us that final signal for us to seek a Maverick hunter with finer skills then he does."
"Finer skills?" A brave soul questioned his comrades' 'suicidal speech' with two equally jelly-soft eyes.
The rookie who was saving their delicate behinds burst nervously, "Better...higher...superior...whatever! Just get that Maverick before it gets me!"
"Silence! All of you! This is not the way which a Maverick hunter should be! We must be selfless, sacrificing, we must think of the ones we protect, the innocents that contributed to the rise of the Maverick hunters!" The lecture washed the bleating rookies from head to toe. Little did they notice the rookie from Sigma's unit who decided to eavesdrop on them, had been inspired by the words of his commander.
"Alright then, I shall face this powerful Maverick myself, since the only detail I got is that none of my hunters will be able to defeat it." Sigma marched out and detected his loyal follower scrambling to pretend that he was just passing by.
He smiled, "X, I apologize, I just can't bring you along on this mission, because, I cannot guarantee my own safe return. So if anything happens to me, promise me that you will ensure that every single Maverick gets a good kick in their shins." Sigma threw X a thumbs-up and a firm wink.
X wiped the sweat droplets excreted when he was mentally strangling him for being caught so easily and reaffirmed his noble commander that he can rest in peace if necessary. "Yes, Commander Sigma, but I have complete confident that you will return to lead us once more."
Sigma nodded felt encouraged and thoroughly surprised, 'I should help more rookies; they bring me the greatest joy at times like this.' Leaving the thought, Sigma pondered on how to deal with that Maverick.
X watched with an urge to be his commander's partner some day and learn the true values of being a Maverick hunter. Silently, X spoke to the fading image of commander Sigma, 'Please, he is a good man, let him live.'
Behind X, Gamma's troop collapsed on one another like a roman pillar. They were awing at how nice the furious commander treated his own unit. "Hey rookie! Commander Sigma really likes you; I think he sees potential in you. Lucky..." Another hunter whistled as he got in a suitable position, forgetting that he was squashing the smallest hunter at the lowest position until he groaned.
"You guys sure can 'cave in' in style! Having the smallest one at the bottom, hmm...who knows, he may be the strongest around." X played with the troop.
"Yeah, we practiced a lot," the heaviest among them giggled.
"GET OFF!!!" The tiny one soured.
"Stop fooling around! Especially you, rank B hunter!" A higher ranked hunter stormed from a distant. His chain of rifle bullets chuckled at the humiliation. His giant canon, which was mounted purposely on his right shoulders, just shot a cold gleam at the 'monkeys.' He was making his status clear to them by glaring down his nose---if he had one.
"Listen up! Commander Sigma is away from base and that makes me in charge of you monkeys. From now till the commander returns, you must address me as commander Vile! Now, I order you to patrol the south wing!" At once, none of them were still motionless but were already half way to their station.
X frowned secretly but a freezing hand grabbed his arm, "Watch it!" Vile hissed and left to frighten more rookies. Even with a mile of corridor between the two favourite hunters of Sigma, X could still feel the icy jabs pulsating upon his spine just like Vile was breathing down the back of his neck.