DICLAIMER: See previous chapters.
"…what is this again?"
Snake was leaning over his usual place behind the bar, his optical indicators (simulated pupils) were going over the letter I'd just handed to him. I was in my Hunters outfit, sipping my drink as he read.
"Special Assignment…I have some connections down in registry."
The android still didn't get it. He leaned up to look at me, his black plated face clashing with his green tinted shoulder plates.
"…you know how they're securing an area on Ragol? So our scientists can work a bit without monsters using them as dental floss?"
He made his neck tilt up and down, he could move like a human perfectly but he sometimes chose to act like an older robot.
"Well, we need guys to hang out on the perimeter and wipe anything that comes near. Take IDs, weapon checks, escort the scientists outside the area."
"…so you guys want security guards…"
I nodded, downing the last of my drink and setting the glass down on its side on the oak bar. The bar itself was near empty, I'd came in at a late hour after spending the day with Snipe down on Ragol. So while he wasn't busy I showed him the letter Terrel was sending selected Hunters.
"…the thing is, we don't really have enough volunteers to do nightshifts and dayshifts. So we're looking for androids in general to donate some time once in a while."
A more human-looking nod from my steel friend.
"You mean I could make my own hours..."
I nodded, leaning over to his side of the bar and refilling my glass from the tap.
"Your station would have a charger so it won't interfere with your other affairs."
Androids rigged their schedule around their charging time, they didn't set aside six hours to lay on a table or bed, more like stay near home for a while so they can use their charger while doing housework for a boss or while maintaining their own place.
"…sounds nice. So I can charge on the job…if I was capable of eating, would they provide donuts and coffee?"
…who programmed stand-up into this guy?
"…Snake, think about this. They give you some standard but nice weapons, pay you by the beat, and you'd get government worker benefits."
His lime-green eyes glowed brighter at the B-word.
"Benefits?"
I smirked into my stolen drink.
"…free appearance modifications, repair coverage, and if you need it they'll give you an apartment."
His simulated pupils made a little circle.
"…my home is any empty corner with an AC outlet, I'll pass."
I shrugged and kept on trying to convince him. Right as I went over the requirements another android kicked the door to unlock it and swaggered in. When the light hit it she was revealed as a pink and green RAcaseal with slightly longer hair, a jagged skirt and a face bent forcefully into a frown. Sarah, Snake's sister unit. She spoke up in a slightly scratchy voice simulator.
"Don't mind me, carry on."
She flipped over the bar just as her brother did and walked over to the empty cash register to look at the coins through the clear drawer, Snake looked at her backside then at me, signifying she was in one of those moods/modes and to keep talking.
"…eh, they're trying to keep a balance of Ranger and Hunter androids, so another HUcast wouldn't hurt."
He nodded as I paused to take out a cigarette and lit it with a lighter. Before I got it to my mouth two metal black/green fingers zipped over and stubbed it out. I sighed and tossed the butt into an ash tray.
"Why does an android care about what a human stuffs her lungs with?"
Snake didn't answer, he was scanning the letter for the third time. I looked over his hunched form at his sister, looking at herself in the mirrored wall behind the bar.
"Sarah, long time no see."
An electronic grumble.
"They rolled me off for stealing HUcaseal parts. Again."
…Sarah, had some programming issues. Constant angst, mood swings, behavior quirks, and the fact at certain times she hated her model type and dreamed of being a HUcaseal. I'm not sure why, exactly. She goes down to Ragol for missions, unlike her ship-dwelling brother.
In fact she holds a single record as a Ranger. Sarah here is probably one of the top ten Mechgun users on this colony. I'm seen her fire a single round and hit twenty freaks. Mechguns are ammo hogs, but she uses them as a kill-all weapon. But besides her mechguns, she relies on bladed weapons. A Ranger droid having that much accuracy but wanting to be a Hunter, how sickly ironic. She had amazing accuracy, but just wanted to use sabers and daggers.
"Well, someday you'll find a guy to modify you."
She sighed like a cartoon princess and went back to looking in the mirror, probably picturing herself as the less stereotypical Hunter droid female. I admit, I'd hate wearing a huge skirt and having hair like that too. By the time I looked back at Snake he was across the room, racking a nine ball game at a pool table. I walked over as he chalked up for the break.
"…so, you in?"
He set his cue on the table and started moving it back and forth, preparing to hit the white ball and shatter the diamond on the other side of the table.
"…tell 'em I'm in if they give me enough meseta to mod my appearance first, I'll need a new look if I'm going to be a badass bouncer instead of a drunk roller."
I laughed and turned to the door.
"Well, Ragol's a fun place…"
"If you get over the Rappy smell, yeah."
I laughed at his joke and walked out the door onto the street. About halfway home I stopped in mid-step outside a hair salon full of Newmans. Snake had never been to Ragol. How did he know how a Rappy smelled like burning rabbit feces on a hot day? I shook it off as I walked home and spent the night watching badly written movies and teaching my daughter how to tell how bad they are.
The next morning was a bore, I'll cut to around Noon.
I adjusted my Beam rifle trigger with one of my nails, usually a screwdriver is recommended but with nails like mine who needs one. I was sitting atop a tall, craggy boulder in a gigantic cavern with tunnels branching off in every direction. In fact the uneven ceiling was four feet over my head as I adjusted my gun sitting cross-legged. Next to me on my rocky perch was a black-clad RAmar with a helmet covering his entire head, a light blue visor indicating his line of vision. He was also adjusting a rifle, except a much more plain model than mine.
"…isn't modifying weaponry like this illegal?"
"…these triggers nearly amputate your finger, I think the Constitution has us covered."
He shrugged his plated shoulders and kept using a thin rock to twist the bolt near his trigger guard. Today we were just doing hired work, sit on this ideal sniper perch and nail any freak that walks by. We'd come early and set up camp atop this boulder thingy and were getting ready. Something odd, the monsters seem to have migration patterns. Right now this cavern was empty. But in fifteen minutes we'd have a steady stream of sharks coming in, like rush hour.
"'Kay, kid. Now, the pay for this is going like this. It doesn't matter who gets more kills, the meseta is going sixty-forty."
A filtered groan.
"…you're the only student I've had who complains that I give them more of a cut than I get…"
It was like pulling teeth with tweezers to get this guy to accept cash or other helpful items.
"Geez, a Hunter who doesn't like cash. You're a rare specimen, aren't you?"
He shrugged, his rifle spread out on his lap as we waited for our targets to come by. He was a fast student, it wouldn't be more than a year before he'd be near my level. But I went behind his back and scammed a contract stating he'll be my partner from then on, once he grows out of apprentice.
Right as I went to make a dirty joke the door of one tunnel slid open and a single purple Shark staggered in. I calmly raised my gun, shot it dead between the eyes then went back to using my nails to adjust the trigger. When another one walked in Snipe did the honors.
"…Snipe, you ever read the old news articles about these Caves?"
He shook his helmet/head as he waited for the door to open again.
"…so, you haven't heard the legend of De Rol Le?"
…another helmet-shake. I sighed and started doing my nails with a file I kept in my left boot lining.
"…basically, a giant worm thing escaped from a genetics lab and took over down here. Had to be a couple hundred feet long. Supposedly it injected chemicals into most of these freaks and was responsible for mutating most of Ragol's creatures."
Now he was looking at me attentively, his rifle still limply pointing at the closed door.
"…so, that thing is doing all this?"
I focused on my left pinkie as I told him the rest of the story.
"Well, it was. Actually a friend of mine was the one who killed it."
A blue visor-covered stare.
"…that Moon guy I always talk about. He got separated and ended up on a raft in a sewer. Long story short, he was the first to see the thing in person."
Snipe adjusted his rifle grip slightly.
"…and he killed it…by himself?"
Now my right middle finger.
"Yep. He took out a lot of the Boss freaks, actually. Sure, he had help but if he took out that worm on his own imagine what he could do to the others."
My prodigy went to question this but a few green sharks came through the door and he had to cap each one in the span of three seconds. I could have done it in two, the amateur. I was letting him cap these freaks because he needed to level up a bit. In fact his MAG was still bright yellow…
"…Kid, you haven't even fed that MAG, have ya?"
…it hadn't fully linked with him…it multiplied his stats by who knows how much when he just used the thing like he did, but why was he holding back another stat increase?
"…haven't had the time?"
I sighed. I had my own MAG drop a single Monomate onto the rock between us.
"…if you don't want to be a high powered freak of nature, at least do it for fashion sake…black, ice blue and yellow? In the same week, let alone the same oufit."
He didn't look at me, still poised with the sniper aimed at the doorway. The Mate sat there on the rock.
"…fine, let's do it the hard way."
I reached over, grabbed a hold of the hovering Apsaras and pulled it onto my lap. I picked up the Mate and touched it to the struggling robotic assistant, instantly the Mate disappeared and shot back over to above Snipe's shoulders. Snipe himself was staring, shocked.
"…you'll thank me later."
The Apsaras suddenly started spinning in place, both leveling up and adjusting to its new master. Its owner, meanwhile, dropped his gun and bent forward into a crouch, his breathing suddenly loud and deliberate from his filtered speaker.
"Yeah, hurts like hell, but the boost is worth it."
He was too busy trying to breathe to respond to my statement. He was panting a bit faster, now hunched over on his knees. I'm not sure how he didn't pass out, always figured he was a tough little guy.
I shrugged, showing no concern and turned with my rifle to peg a Shark. By the time I turned back it was all over. The Apsaras had gone from bright yellow to a brilliant shade of black as it floated loyally over Snipe, who was flat on his back on the rock perch, catching his breath.
"That's how my husband was after our honeymoon, shell-shocked…"
He grunted weakly to acknowledge my tacky humor.
"…so, how you feel?"
He slowly hunched back up into a sitting position.
"…you ever down a bit too much caffeine and feel like you could lift a couch?"
"…well, on my honeymoon…"
"…well, it feels like that."
I smirked over at my student as he looked at his gloved hands through his visor, flexing his fingers as if wondering if they had changed.
"A level 200 MAG on a new guy…it may feel a bit weird."
He nodded his helmet and went to pick up his dropped rifle. He got back into a firing position, shaking himself a bit like he was waking himself up. A minute of silence later he door opened and in walked in what appeared to be a huge Mantis. I whistled.
"…see the red coloring? That's a rare one, may take a couple dozen shots to kill."
I heard Snipe fire, and watched the giant bug fall over onto its side and stop moving.
"…or…you could do that…"
I had us drop down from the rock, run up to the corpse and take a picture of Snipe next to his first big kill. After it melted he picked up what was left of it, a couple of those blades it has for arms. A couple hours later we headed back for the warp gate and split the stuff we looted at a café. As we walked out to head our separate ways the ice cream schooner was on the corner surrounded by a group of kids. Needless to say we got in line.
"Mornin' Sir. I'll take my usual, not sure about my rookie here."
The retired, filthy rich Hunter who dedicated his life to bringing happiness to children and adults alike looked my armor-clad student from boot to visor. This guy knew everyone on this ship by the tone of their step. And their favorite flavor on which time of day.
"…well, strapping young buck ain't ya?"
He laughed at his old joke and got me my double scoop. But as I paid with my card and Snipe turned to walk off the old man tossed him something. Snipe spun on one heel and caught it with those MAG-jacked reflexes of his, now facing us again. He stood there before realizing he had't deflected a grenade and looked down to see what it was. It was a wrapped, chocolate ice cream bar with extra nuts.
"…every Hunter gets one after their first good Hunt…"
Snipe nodded after a few seconds, accepting the gift and loading it into his MAG to keep it cold. He'd probably eat it later at his home, after he peeled out of that armor. He then walked off and I smiled at the man, implying Snipe was still a fun guy.
"…well, I've seen a fine bunch of Hunters pass through for their honorary ice cream…but that was the first one to come back for seconds."
With a laugh and a turn he closed the side panel and the schooner took off to a different area of the ship. I stood there, watching it depart. Coming back for seconds…well, at least I'm not the only one who knows about this. I sighed, blew a lock of hair out of my cornea and started walking again. A few blocks of my strutting like a peacock and I was going up the elevator in Moon's complex.
I watched the floors tick by as I wondered about Moon's living situation. He had a very well sized, one bedroom apartment with full living room, kitchen and bathroom. Of course it seems smaller because every spare inch is filled with weaponry, either some Dagger he's modifying to twirl faster or some dust clod he found in the ruins that, if you removed the dirt and caked on molten rock, was actually a rare blade. Hunter, writer, housekeeper, and archeologist. No wonder he's so tired all the time. As I reached his floor and began looking for his number I remembered he'd talked about moving.
Well, not moving, more like upgrading. On this ship, you didn't move from one apartment into another identical apartment for the scenery. If you were of a higher rank as a Hunter, you got a good price on larger apartments. Or you could do it the hard way and actually go to college, get a job, and have a good life.
Moon's still pretty high up there, even with his off-time right now. They're still adding up the points from his work Pre-Falz. So far they're up to the fact he took on De Rol Le. A day later they sent him a discount coupon for a larger apartment. By the time they remember he killed the thing himself, he would have gotten moved out and in before he got an even bigger apartment offer. So he was waiting for things to stack up a bit before moving out.
I picked the lock on his door with one of my fancy nails and took a seat on his couch, helping myself to a bowl of jellybeans on the coffee table. After a few bites I realized the bowl was a clay one, painted with beautiful patterns, Moon must have stole it from the Ruins and used it as a candy dish. The TV was turned to a cult classic movie, the sound of a shower faucet coming from the closed bathroom door.
A few minutes later the door opened, he walked to his room in a towel, sighing as he noticed I'd dropped in again.
"Don't you ever knock?"
I shook my head, chewing jellybeans as he got dressed in his room and walked out in a baggy pair of worn cutoffs and an old tee shirt. He only wore civilian clothes when he was really worn out. He must be doing quests again, thank the stars.
"…see you're in your rehab outfit…long day?"
He groaned, falling down next to me on the couch. I guess that means he's starting to get work again. He started flipping channels like I wasn't there. I got up to go raid his kitchen, starting with the freezer. It was stocked with chocolate bars with nuts, Moon's secret love affair. I chuckled and helped myself to one, walking back out to take a seat on a gigantic monster skull he had on the floor near the couch. I think it was a thing from the Ruins, but I've never been a bone buff.
"So, any ideas on your next apartment? More wall space, shelves, a second bedroom so I could spend the night once without you lying in the bed next to me grumbling all night?"
I love torturing the little guy…then he pulled out the big zing, eyes not leaving the TV and finger not leaving the remote.
"…all I know is I'm getting a deadbolt, chain and fingerprint scanner on the front door…"