A/N: w00t! Finally got a review! And not just one, but two! Many thanks to both of you Try to spread word about this story, will you please? I want plenty more people to enjoy my own original Star Ocean tale.

Having crash-landed on the planet, Clyde is now faced with another problem before he has even officially begun his mission. Even if he manages to arrest/destroy Martin, how's he going to get home again?

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Chapter 2: Aquatic World

"…and then it shot us out of the sky and we managed to crash-land somewhat safely."

"An Enforcer? Are you sure Clyde? Those things haven't been seen in almost a hundred years."

"Seems that way. Cynthia said that the bio-signatures matched and the image we saw matched the database picture perfectly."

"Well… did it follow you down to the planet?"

"No sir. In fact, just before I got in contact with you, we scanned the space around Rainyv V again. Strangely enough, it wasn't there anymore."

"Strange indeed. Well, there's no time to worry about that now. Your top priority is to track down Martin and deal with him in an appropriate fashion. Once we're done with our own mission, we'll come back for you. Assuming you're done before we are, just hang tight till we get there. Understood?"

"Got it chief."

"Good luck Clyde. Chief, out."

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Clyde folded-up his compact communicator and slipped it back into one of his many inner jacket pockets. He sighed as he brought his hands to his face to rub it. The sound of the gently falling rain on the roof of his ship was relaxing, but the rain that was coming in through the busted frontal observation window plain annoyed him. Here he was with a busted ship and no way to get back home, save for a Federation rescue. Of course they would not only come to get him but also repair his ship as well, but it still bothered him to no end.

"Cynthia, damage report," he asked sadly. He was sure that he already knew the extent of the damage, but was hoping against hope that it was something that he could fix with a little patience. He wasn't counting on it, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

Cynthia said nothing as a few "clicks" and "whirrs" were heard in the background while she conducted the check. "Damage report: Structural damage is detected in 87 of the outer hull, as well as 42 in the inner hull. Engines 1, 3, and 4 were destroyed in the Enforcer attack and the crash finished off engine 2. Backup engines 1 and 2 are still functioning, but can only operate at 37 and 56 efficiency, respectively. All communication, navigation, and life support systems are non-functional as well, as is quantum torpedo launcher 2. However, quantum torpedo launcher 1 seems to have sustained only minor damage. All other weapon systems are offli-"

Clyde held up a hand. "Ugh, that's enough. I get the picture: we're screwed. The more damage I hear about, the more depressed I'll get."
Rolling his eyes, he kicked back in his chair and put his feet up on the sparking panel. "Well, at least the chair's still ok."

As if him just saying that was a curse, the chair immediately broke underneath him and sent him spilling over to the side into a small puddle of water that had formed inside the ship. He sighed as he let the right side of his face lay in the water.

"I was going to tell you about that Clyde, but you interrupted me," said Cynthia. "Are you sure you don't want to hear anything else?"

He wanted so badly to tell her off, but held back. Besides, he did have one more question. "What about our case with the AM nuke and all of our extra gear in it?"

More "clicks" and "whirrs". "It's currently lying just outside of the ship. No damage has been detected to either the contents of the case or the case itself, which isn't surprising, considering that it's made of Stellarium. The PGF locks are also in perfect working condition. Should you decide to leave it here, no one should be able to bother what's within."

He nodded, satisfied with her answer. At least all of his gear was okay. It could've been a lot worse than this. "Alright Cynthia, thanks. It's pointless to stay with the ship, so I want you to upload yourself into my quad-scanner. You're coming with me."

"Affirmative, Clyde," replied Cynthia. "One moment please."

The voice emanating from within the ship died and the sound of rain once again took over. Clyde got to his feet and stepped through the broken front window of his ship. Looking around, he spotted his crate that was carrying all of his extra gear. Still relieved, he walked over to it, opened the lock, and began rummaging through the crate as he determined what he should and shouldn't take on what now appeared to be a far more time consuming mission. After a minute of searching, he pulled out a fancy-looking backpack along with a small, metal case filled with gun parts for his Phase Gun. These parts could added to or taken away from the Phase Gun in order to transform it into various other energy weapons, such as a rifle or sub-machine gun.

From inside of his jacket, he could hear Cynthia say, "Upload complete."

From the crate, Clyde then pulled out a small and discreet looking headset. He set it in place and turned a small dial on the back of the earpiece. "Alright Cynthia. See if you can't find out where the nearest town or other significant landmark is. It's already getting dark, and with constant weather conditions like this, we won't get very far in the dead of night."

"One moment please," replied Cynthia.

Satisfied that he had everything he needed, Clyde closed the up the crate, put the gun case and a few other supplies in his pack, and slung it over his shoulders. He sighed. "I can already tell that this is gonna turn out to be a crappy mission."

Two beeps sounded in Clyde's earpiece. "Geographical analysis complete. There appears to be a settlement of some sort 6.2 kilometers south-east of our current position.

Clyde cocked an eyebrow. "6 kilos? In this weather? Are you sure that there's nothing closer than that?"

"Clyde, I'm offended that you think that I would make a mistake," answered Cynthia. "The chances of my making an error are 0.00019"

Clyde lowered his head. "Check again anyway, please."

A short pause, followed by two beeps. "Geographical data reconfirmed," said Cynthia. "The nearest settlement is 6.2 kilometers south-east of our current position. I'm sorry Clyde. The population of the entire planet is only 8 million. Did you really expect sprawling metropolis's?"

Clyde looked to the south-east as he grumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he began to walk toward the settlement Cynthia had mentioned. "Hmph. One would think that, with a name like Rainyv, I would've thought to bring a poncho or something. But no… I just had to fit those few extra grenades, didn't I? Feh. This job sucks."

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Hours later, Clyde finally reached the outskirts of what appeared to be a small mining village. Judging by the number of buildings in the town, the population couldn't have been any more than perhaps 300 people tops. Several simple looking peasants could be seen milling about as they went about their business. Some turned and stared as they watched Clyde pass by them but did little else. In the center of town, a number of playing children could be seen. They looked to be having a marvelous time as they happily splashed through puddles of both mud and water.

"Hmph. Wish I was having that much fun," said Clyde. He sighed and looked around for an inn. Seeing none in sight, he stopped a woman passing by and asked, "Excuse me ma'am, but would you be so kind as to point me to the nearest inn?"

She looked at him strangely for a moment and then pointed around a corner. "Just take a right up here and you'll see the inn, third building on the left. You can't miss it."

He nodded and flipped a single coin at her which she promptly caught. "Thank you for your time ma'am."

He proceeded to walk past her but didn't get very far before he heard the woman say, "Hey stranger! What is this?"

He turned back and smiled. "It's called a Fol. Take it to a jeweler. I'm sure they'll appreciate it." With that, he turned around the corner and walked toward the inn she had mentioned.

"Pardon me Clyde," said Cynthia through his earpiece, "But should you have done that?"

He shrugged. "It's just Fol. There's no sort of technology in it. On a UDP, the populace would just treat it as a precious metal or something. It's just like I told that lady: all they can really do is try to pawn it off to a jeweler or as a curiosity to, well, almost anybody. Don't worry about it."

"If you say so Clyde," said Cynthia as Clyde opened the door to the inn and walked inside.

A portly but gentle-looking man looked up from a book when he heard Clyde walk in. "Ah, welcome stranger! Can I interest you in a room for tonight?"

Clyde nodded. "Yes sir. However, I have a small problem."

The man tilted his head, somewhat puzzled. "What would that be, stranger?"

Clyde reached into his pocket. "I don't have any money to pay you with, but…" He fished out another Fol and tossed it to the innkeeper. "…I believe you can sell this for a fair amount. Will that work?"

The innkeeper put on a pair of glasses and examined the foreign coin. "Well I'll be. I ain't ever seen anything like this before. Where did you get it? It looks even more unique than those clothes you're wearing."

Clyde smiled and shrugged. "Long story. Will you take it?"

The portly man nodded. "Ah, yes sir! Wait here a moment." He happily pocketed the Fol and walked behind the counter. After a moment of searching, he tossed a key to Clyde. "Here. Room 6, 2nd floor."

Clyde nodded. "Thank you sir," said Clyde as he went upstairs.

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Clyde threw his pack on the bed and fell next to it, ignoring the fact that he was still soaked. "Bleh. Man I'm tired. All that rain really weakened me."

At this point, Cynthia decided to pipe up. "In retrospect, you really should've brought a water resistant coat of some sort."

Clyde glared down at his jacket. "Shut it, Cynthia." He let his eyes wonder about the room for a moment. It was a simple room, nothing like what he was used to. A bed and pillow filled with real feathers were the highlight, however. Although not made of the synthetic materials he was used to, it was extremely comfortable. A single window let natural light come through and two lanterns mounted on the wall allowed for illumination at night. In the corner was a small chest to store belongings in. Finally, there was a door that led to a small washroom, complete with a real bathtub. Yes, despite the simplicity of his room, he found it to be very comfortable and homey.

He closed his eyes as he stretched his limbs. "Hey Cynthia, can you get a fix on Martin's location?"

"Just a moment Clyde," said Cynthia as she began he search.

He took the quad-scanner out of his inner breast pocket and set it on the nightstand next to the bed. Standing up, he stretched again and began to undress, more than ready for a nice, warm bath.

The quad-scanner beeped twice as Cynthia's voice filled the room once again. "I'm sorry Clyde, but I can no longer detect Martin. He may be using a jammer of some sort."

"Hmph," grunted Clyde as he slid off his long headband. "He must've seen us crashing down to the planet. So much for the element of surprise."

"That may be," started Cynthia, "but it also means that he can't detect us anymore either. He may be more wary now, but he still doesn't know exactly where we are or when we are coming as long as he is using that jammer."

Clyde smirked. "Heh. That's the first bit of good news I've heard all day." He walked to the washroom door and looked back at his quad-scanner. "Now then, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a well-deserved bath. We'll get down to business tomorrow."

"Affirmative. Have fun, Clyde" said Cynthia.

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So ends chapter 2. Things don't seem to be as bad as they at first seemed. At least Clyde and Cynthia have a warm, dry place to stay now, eh? Anyways, please leave some reviews for me! Chapter 3 coming soon!