Trials of Beta
Chapter Six: Requiem for Lunehhy, Part One
The full realization that Lunehhy was gone didn't set in until much later. I guess adrenaline and anger made me numb to it at first, but after the battle with that worm thing, it hit me like a run away fright train. I can still remember the day when we first meet as vividly as if it were yesterday...
~*~*~*~*~*~
A full year has passed since Pioneer 2 had left Corel. It would be another six before the interstellar transport ship would reach Ragol.
But that wasn't on Beta's mind right now, he had more important things to worry about. Bracing himself for the impact as a giant winged insect body slammed him, Beta was knocked off his feet by the force of the attack. Damn! That came out of nowhere! He thought to himself, bringing his Cane up parallel to the hard stone floor beneath him and thrusting up with both hands, stopping the monster from trying to take a bite out of him. A long line of salvia dripped down from its mouth, and Beta ducked his head to the left, the acid hissing as it burned the ground where Beta's head was seconds. "Damn!"
He tucked his leg in to kick the monster off of it, but a Photon bullet rang out and slammed into the monster's hard chitin body. The heat from the energy bullet melted a hole in the insect's abdomen, killing the beast quickly while still causing it great pain. Beta kicked the corpse off of him as an unfamiliar voice called out to him.
"Hey Force... You okay?" Lunehhy had asked, resting the barrel of the Photon rifle on her shoulder. Behind her was an Android, red and white in color. Her blood red eyes seemed disinterested in the rookie Force.
The passageway where Beta had been ambushed by that bug was relatively narrow. It was an old structure, made out of stone and covered in a layer of dust. This was Beta's favorite area to train, the Temple. Although lately the lab has been programming stronger monsters into the VR System. Dusting himself off, Beta nodded. "I'm fine." He grinned behind his veil as he examined the human woman, "I didn't realize that there were other Hunters in here with me. Would you like to join me?"
"A rookie like you? Not likely." The HUcaseal responded, much to Beta's dismay.
"HK! That's not nice! Remember, we were all rookies at one time or another. Anyways, my name is Lunehhy and this is my best friend HK-55, and we would love to join forces with you." The red head said, smiling warmly.
Beta made a sweeping bow. "I am Beta Vander. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. And I am no rookie, I am a Rank A Force." He directed that last sentence at the android.
"Coulda fooled me. Lunehhy, I really don't have time to baby sit, why don't you have fun with the newbie, I'm gonna go up ahead to the Spaceship level. See you later." HK fuzzed and blinked out of existence, exiting the VR System. Lunehhy shook her head slowly. "Don't mind her, she can be a little rough around the edges, but deep down inside, she's a real sweetheart."
Beta shrugged. He didn't care much for the Android, nor did he appreciate being called a rookie. "Eh... No sweat off my back. Hey, thanks for teaming up with me, doing this is so much more fun with someone else, especially with someone as beautiful as you."
Lunehhy blushed abit behind her war paint. "I'm sure you say that to all the ladies. Come on, let's go bust up some monsters!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lunehhy couldn't have been more wrong about HK-55. She was anything but a sweetheart.
The beginning of our relationship wasn't much to look at. We'd go do the Temple level together a couple times a week, once we even ventured into the Spaceship level, but that's a story of embarrassment I'll save for another time. One would say we were simply hunting buddies, two young people who shared a common interest. We didn't talk much outside of the VR System. Shyness on my part, I suppose. But one night, four months after we first met, I worked up the courage to ask Lunehhy out for a drink...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Pacing back and forth in front of his bathroom mirror, Beta recited various lines, seeing which sounded the best, "Hey, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by and ask you out for a date... Erm... Drink... No no, she'll think I'm totally weird then, like I'm stalking her..." He rubbed his chin, his veil laying next the bathroom sink. He slicked back his hair with one hand, trying to see how the 'cool guy' approach looked, "Yo, hi! I was thinking that you and I could head on down to the local pub and get a couple drinks. So how about it baby? Er... NO! Gawd, I sound so ridiculous..." Rubbing his temples with both hands, Beta took a deep breath, then leaned forward, staring at himself in the mirror. "Okay... I'll just ask her, straight out. You can do this Beta. She'll say yeah, no sweat, no worries. Just, go to her place, knock on her door, and ask. No need to act fake or different, just be yourself..."
Splashing some water on his face, Beta grabbed the black veil and hooked it to his hat, covering the lower half of his face. Giving himself the once over and satisfied with what he saw, Beta left his apartment and took a transporter to the Section Blueful-a Apartments, where Lunehhy lived. He had found out where she lived via the directory service. He felt kinda bad about it, not having asked her first. But what was done was done, no use fussing over it after the fact.
Reaching up one hand, he rapped his knuckles on the metal alloy door of Lunehhy's apartment. A brief moment of silence, followed by Lunehhy's voice over the intercom. "Yes? Who is it?"
"It's me, Beta." He answered.
"Oh... Um, wait one second..." The door slide aside, revealing the red headed female, wearing a simple nightgown and sweatpants. Her hair was messy, and she was barefooted, "Um... I just woke up, don't pay any mind to what I look like. Anyways, what's up?"
Beta rubbed the back of his head, "I was wondering if you... Uh, w-would like to... To uh..." Oh crap! I'm choking up! Now she's gonna think I'm a total retard!
Lunehhy blushed, already figuring out what Beta wanted, and finishing his unfinished sentence. "To go on a date with you? Sure, I'd like that. Just give me a moment to make myself presentable, okay?"
She thumbed the close button, and the door slide shut. Beta was dumbfounded. Whoa... I just wanted to take her out for a drink, not a date... What luck! He grinned to himself, waiting patiently for Lunehhy. I wonder what's taking her so long? Hope she didn't stand me up... Or fall in the toilet... That'd suck...
It took about twenty minutes before Lunehhy returned, dressed in her usual black uniform. Her red hair fell to the middle of her back, straight and... Perfect. "Okay, I'm ready. So... Where we going?"
"Well... Er... I was thinking about just... Uh, you know... Just getting a drink at the pub." Beta hesitantly replied. His cheeks were a light hue of red, just more then slightly embarrassed about all this.
"Just get a drink?" She scoffed, "Aw come on, I got a better idea! Follow me!"
Without warning she grabbed Beta's hand and proceeded to drag him along behind her as she dashed down the hall towards the Transporter. Beta stumbled along, trying his best to keep pace with the excited Lunehhy. "Huh?! Whoa! Hey! Where we going?" He called out as Lunehhy keyed in their destination on the transporter Input device.
"You'll see. It's really cool!" She said, stepping onto the pad. Half an instant later, they were no longer in the apartment area, but now at the VR Facility.
"Huh? The VR Area? But..." He dropped his voice to a whisper, "Isn't this place off limits after hours?"
Lunehhy nodded her head. "Yeah. Exciting, isn't it? Come on, we're gonna sneak into the VR control room."
"Oh, we're..." Beta did a double take as his brain registered Lunehhy's words, "We're gonna do what?" He said as he followed Lunehhy. The other was catfooting her way along the wall, towards the door labeled "VR Control." The large transporter room was darkened, the lights off. Beta swear his footsteps on the hard metal floor underfoot could be heard throughout the entire ship.
"Ssssh! Keep it down, you wanna get us caught?" Lunehhy scolded the Force, trying to be as stealthy as she can. Man! This girl is nuts! Beta thought to himself, following Lunehhy's lead.
Placing her hand on the door opening mechanism, she frowned as it refused to open. "It's locked... It's never locked."
"Eh?" Beta gave her an odd look, "What do you mean it's never locked?"
"Just that," Lunehhy eyed the door carefully, "I do this all the time. And it's never been locked... Darn..." She snapped her fingers, "But don't worry..."
She then proceeded to gently probe the area around the mechanism, looking for something? With an 'Ah ha,' she swiftly punched a spot next to the mechanism, and the door chimed, opening. "See? I've got the knack..." She said to a bewildered Beta. Striding up the set of stairs immediate before them, the duo found themselves in the control center for the VR System. Here tech guys would program in various information for the VR System to emulate. It was also here that monster and weapon stats were stored. Lunehhy ignored most of the unpowered equipment, went straight to a computer console, and logged in.
"Have a seat, this'll take a moment to boot up and program." She said. So far Beta had let her lead the way, but he felt left in the dark for long enough.
"When are you going to tell me what you're doing? And... You do realize that we're breaking and entering, right?"
"Geez, be patient! And yes, I do realize that we're breaking the law, but all that'll happen is they'll slap us on our hand, tell us not to do it again, and smack us with a three thousand Meseta fine. I got like thirty hundred thousand Meseta in the bank that I don't even think about, so it's nothing really... And if you can't handle the bill, I'll cover for you... Heh heh heh, here we go." The VR System finished booting up, and Lunehhy's hands flew over the console, inputting commands.
Ye gods! What kind of girl IS Lunehhy? "You're insane, you know that?" Beta said.
"Or so I'm told. Heh heh heh..." She said with a smirk, "There! All done! Come on, to the VR Room." She stood quickly and went for the exit, motioning for Beta to follow, which he begrudgingly did.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The Pioneer 2 VR System is weird, to say the least. When most people think of VR, they think of Virtual Reality, like wearing a helmet over your head and such silliness like that. But the System on the Pioneer 2 is different. It creates a small, controlled pocket dimension, into which anything could be programmed. Yes, we do have that technology. This way, while everything in the VR System wasn't real, you were. However, you could be affected by anything in this pocket dimension. People have died before... I myself was once hurt pretty badly in the VR and was bedridden for a few days...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Finding themselves in the VR Room, which was just really a transporter pad at the end of a short hallway, Beta and Lunehhy stood in the center of the pad. "Okay... Three... Two... One... Now!"
The VR System activated, and Pioneer 2 fell away, being replaced by a rocky outcropping over looking a beach. The sun was just setting on the horizon of the beach, and the sea water was crashing up against the sheer cliff face. Beta felt his breath get taken away by the view. "Whoa..."
Lunehhy plopped herself down on the soft grass, staring out at the sea and the setting sun. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close. "This... This used to be my favorite place on Corel to sit and watch the sun set..." She didn't finish her sentence, but Beta didn't notice the hesitation in her voice.
"Yeah, I recognize this place... I once came here when I was a kid... Have you shown this to anyone else?" Asked Beta, sitting next to Lunehhy on the green grass. The air was slightly chilly, but not much so.
"No, not even HK has been here with me..." She said.
"Well... Why not? Aren't you and her like... Best friends or something?"
"We are... But... There are certain things you just can't do with an Android..." She said, casting a sidelong glance at Beta. And while the FOmar was rather dense, he wasn't stupid. Taking the initiative, he leaned in to kiss Lunehhy...