Chapter 4: New Friends
When Galactica and T-65 appeared on Pioneer 2, they headed for the Hunters' Guild to collect the reward. There were several people waiting there. Some were clients, including theirs. Others were hunters. Some were looking for jobs, while others were just lounging about. Galactica walked up to a short man wearing white pants and a blue shirt. "Here are the samples you requested," she said handing them over him.
"Thanks," he replied. "With these, I may be able to find out what caused that explosion. You can collect your Meseta at the guild counter." T- 65 stood in a corner waiting for Galactica to return with the money. When she came up to him, he was eager to learn what they earned.
"So, how much did we get?" he asked anxiously.
"He paid 700 Meseta. Here's your half," she said as she gave him his share. "Now let's go report to Mother." They then walked over to the shopping area, knowing that she would be there. They walked in as she was making a purchase.
"I'll take that Soul Assault," she said to the salesman.
"Are you sure?" he asked nervously. "I don't get many Forces around here that buy Mechguns."
"Oh, yes," Mina replied. "Now how much does it cost?"
"That'll be 11,000 Meseta," he replied. She gave him the money and he gave her the weapons. Then she noticed the two androids waiting for her in the corner. "Hi, kids," she said cheerfully. "So, how was it?"
"We were okay for the most part," said T-65.
"The area near Central Dome was a bit more challenging," said Galactica. "But, we had help."
"Oh really..." Mina said, somewhat intrigued. "Who was it?"
"We didn't catch their names," T-65 said, "but they were a HUcast and a HUcaseal. Their levels were somewhere in the teens."
"We were lucky that they helped us," admitted Galactica. "Otherwise, the battle would have been more difficult."
"I'll bet it was the Hildebears that gave you the most trouble, wasn't it?" she asked, surprising them.
"That's the same thing the HUcaseal said," T-65 said, putting his hand over his face.
"Well," Mina said as she began to exit the shopping area, "they are the strongest things I've seen in the Forest. It's strange that they, of all things, are so violent. The report said that they were very friendly."
"By the way," T-65 asked as he and his sister followed her out, "what does a Moon Atomizer do? I found it in the Forest."
"Hopefully you won't need it," Mina said turning toward them. "It revives a fallen teammate. In your case, save one, and use the rest as MAG food." Then a thought came to her. "I think that now is a good time to show you more items that you might run across. I'll let you see the ones in my inventory. She then led them over to the Check Room, which stored the tools and money of hunters. "Now, this is a Monofluid. It restores Technique ability. It won't be very useful to you..."
As she was explaining the various items to them, the door leading to the Ragol teleporter opened. Out of it came the aforementioned HUcaseal and HUcast, whom was carrying a spiky-haired Newman. He wore jester-like clothes along with platform shoes and a headband. Only FOnewms had fashion sense that was this bad.
"I'll take him to the hospital," said the HUcast. "You go get Chronos and the client.
"Right," she said as she ran toward the guild. When she ran in, she quickly spotted who she was looking for. Chronos was a tall man in blue and white robes who wore the headdress of a Force. He was a FOmar. The client was a Newman brunette wearing a blue blouse and purple skirt.
"Did you find him?" asked Chronos who just noticed her.
"Yes," she replied, "but he's pretty messed up. Miguel took him to the hospital. That's where you need to be."
"On my way!" Chronos said as he ran off to the hospital.
"That goes for you too, Ms. Ikana," she said, looking at the client.
"Oh no!" shrieked the client. She then ran to the same destination saying on her way out, "You can collect your reward at the counter, Anne." Meanwhile, Mina was just now explaining to the Rangers that a Star Atomizer heals everyone near the user.
Galactica then noticed a commotion going on near the hospital. "Mother, I don't mean to interrupt, but there seems to be something happening at the hospital," she said. Mina then noticed that there was an unusually large number of people there.
"Let see what all the ruckus is about," Mina said leading over to the hospital. Galactica and T-65 then saw a familiar HUcast. He was on the outer edge of the small crowd. He seemed focused on what was going on in the center of the crowd, which, thanks to his height, he could easily see.
"Hey," T-65 said getting his attention, "what's goin on?"
"We found who we were looking for," he replied flatly. "He's in critical condition. Right now, a friend of ours, a FOmar, is trying to assist the nurses. But it doesn't even look like the patient will make it into the hospital."
"Where's your partner?" T-65 asked.
"She doesn't handle these types of situations very well, if you know what I mean," he responded not taking his attention off of the scene before them. "She's in the Guild waiting for us." Soon many of the people started to sadly walk away. Then, Mina, Galactica, and T-65 could clearly see what was happening. The FOmar was kneeling alongside the client and her obviously dying friend.
"I'm sorry," the FOmar said with his eyes closed and his head down. "There is nothing I can do. I'll leave you two alone." He then got up and walked toward the HUcast.
"Castor...please... don't die!" sobbed Ikana. "You can't leave me."
"Ikana..." Castor managed to say. "I'm sorry...I made you cry. Goodbye." He breathed once more before he passed away. Meanwhile, the others had gone back to the Guild, unable to bare any more of the scene.
"So, are these the two who saved you from the Hildebears?" Mina asked, pointing to the HUcast and HUcaseal.
"Well I wouldn't say saved," said T-65 just as Galactica elbowed him. "Okay, okay."
"Yes it was them," Galactica said. The two people being spoken of were about to tell them it was no big deal, when suddenly Mina gave them a bear hug.
"Thank you so much for protecting my babies," Mina said.
"You're...welcome," the HUcast said uncomfortably.
"Yeah...it was...no problem," the HUcaseal choked.
"How can I ever repay you?" Mina asked still smothering them.
"Could you let us go?" they pleaded at the same time.
"Sorry, sorry," Mina said with a goofy grin as she released them. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength." Galactica and T-65 had learned that early on.
"Perhaps we should formally introduce ourselves," suggested Galactica. "My name is Galactica Chikara."
"I'm T-65 Chikara," the RAcast said proudly. "My first name comes from part of my serial number."
"And I am Minako Chikara," said the FOmarl, "but you may call me Mina."
"Okay..." said the HUcaseal hesitantly. "My name is Anne Yusta."
"My name is Miguel Azure," said the HUcast. "Guess why I got this paint job."
"Save it for later," said Anne.
"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood," argued Miguel. For the entire time, a certain FOmar had been very quiet. Mina decided that it was his turn to speak up.
"Excuse me," she said poking him.
"Huh?" he said snapping out of his deep thought. He had to look down at a rather steep angle to see her.
"It's your turn to introduce yourself, handsome," she teased causing him to blush.
"Oh, uh...sorry," he stammered. "My name is...uh..."
"Oh for crying out loud, Chronos!" said an agitated HUcaseal. "Get your mind out of the clouds."
"Yeah, that's it," he remembered. "I am Chronos Ranzo. Please excuse my rudeness. I was just thinking..."
"About what just happened a few minutes ago," she interrupted. "Just as you said, there wasn't anything else you could do. He was too far-gone. Now let's get off of this dreary topic. I'm willing to treat everyone here to lunch at the Ming Zoa Restaurant."
"Sounds good to me," said T-65.
"Too good," said Galactica suspiciously. "What's the catch, Mother?" That last word caught the new friends off-guard.
"Mother?!" said a very surprised HUcast. "But...you two are...androids and she's...ow!" he stopped as Anne kicked him in the leg.
"Miguel!" Chronos whispered harshly. "Don't be so rude."
"Oh that's alright," Mina said with a smile. "Most people find it strange to hear androids call me their mother. I'm the one who created them. I just decided to have them call me that."
"I'm not even gonna ask why she decided to do that," Miguel thought to himself. "Well anyway, what is the catch?"
"I'm only paying for the food, not the taxi that takes you there," she said with a smirk. "I'm going to use Ryuker to teleport there. See ya!" she said as she used said Technique to warp to the restaurant.
"I knew it," Galactica said to herself. "I'll go find a taxi, while you all get your money together."
"You guys are on your own on that one," said Chronos as he also used Ryuker to teleport."
"Sometimes, I really wish I could do that," said Anne as she headed for the Check Room to withdraw from her account.
When Galactica and T-65 appeared on Pioneer 2, they headed for the Hunters' Guild to collect the reward. There were several people waiting there. Some were clients, including theirs. Others were hunters. Some were looking for jobs, while others were just lounging about. Galactica walked up to a short man wearing white pants and a blue shirt. "Here are the samples you requested," she said handing them over him.
"Thanks," he replied. "With these, I may be able to find out what caused that explosion. You can collect your Meseta at the guild counter." T- 65 stood in a corner waiting for Galactica to return with the money. When she came up to him, he was eager to learn what they earned.
"So, how much did we get?" he asked anxiously.
"He paid 700 Meseta. Here's your half," she said as she gave him his share. "Now let's go report to Mother." They then walked over to the shopping area, knowing that she would be there. They walked in as she was making a purchase.
"I'll take that Soul Assault," she said to the salesman.
"Are you sure?" he asked nervously. "I don't get many Forces around here that buy Mechguns."
"Oh, yes," Mina replied. "Now how much does it cost?"
"That'll be 11,000 Meseta," he replied. She gave him the money and he gave her the weapons. Then she noticed the two androids waiting for her in the corner. "Hi, kids," she said cheerfully. "So, how was it?"
"We were okay for the most part," said T-65.
"The area near Central Dome was a bit more challenging," said Galactica. "But, we had help."
"Oh really..." Mina said, somewhat intrigued. "Who was it?"
"We didn't catch their names," T-65 said, "but they were a HUcast and a HUcaseal. Their levels were somewhere in the teens."
"We were lucky that they helped us," admitted Galactica. "Otherwise, the battle would have been more difficult."
"I'll bet it was the Hildebears that gave you the most trouble, wasn't it?" she asked, surprising them.
"That's the same thing the HUcaseal said," T-65 said, putting his hand over his face.
"Well," Mina said as she began to exit the shopping area, "they are the strongest things I've seen in the Forest. It's strange that they, of all things, are so violent. The report said that they were very friendly."
"By the way," T-65 asked as he and his sister followed her out, "what does a Moon Atomizer do? I found it in the Forest."
"Hopefully you won't need it," Mina said turning toward them. "It revives a fallen teammate. In your case, save one, and use the rest as MAG food." Then a thought came to her. "I think that now is a good time to show you more items that you might run across. I'll let you see the ones in my inventory. She then led them over to the Check Room, which stored the tools and money of hunters. "Now, this is a Monofluid. It restores Technique ability. It won't be very useful to you..."
As she was explaining the various items to them, the door leading to the Ragol teleporter opened. Out of it came the aforementioned HUcaseal and HUcast, whom was carrying a spiky-haired Newman. He wore jester-like clothes along with platform shoes and a headband. Only FOnewms had fashion sense that was this bad.
"I'll take him to the hospital," said the HUcast. "You go get Chronos and the client.
"Right," she said as she ran toward the guild. When she ran in, she quickly spotted who she was looking for. Chronos was a tall man in blue and white robes who wore the headdress of a Force. He was a FOmar. The client was a Newman brunette wearing a blue blouse and purple skirt.
"Did you find him?" asked Chronos who just noticed her.
"Yes," she replied, "but he's pretty messed up. Miguel took him to the hospital. That's where you need to be."
"On my way!" Chronos said as he ran off to the hospital.
"That goes for you too, Ms. Ikana," she said, looking at the client.
"Oh no!" shrieked the client. She then ran to the same destination saying on her way out, "You can collect your reward at the counter, Anne." Meanwhile, Mina was just now explaining to the Rangers that a Star Atomizer heals everyone near the user.
Galactica then noticed a commotion going on near the hospital. "Mother, I don't mean to interrupt, but there seems to be something happening at the hospital," she said. Mina then noticed that there was an unusually large number of people there.
"Let see what all the ruckus is about," Mina said leading over to the hospital. Galactica and T-65 then saw a familiar HUcast. He was on the outer edge of the small crowd. He seemed focused on what was going on in the center of the crowd, which, thanks to his height, he could easily see.
"Hey," T-65 said getting his attention, "what's goin on?"
"We found who we were looking for," he replied flatly. "He's in critical condition. Right now, a friend of ours, a FOmar, is trying to assist the nurses. But it doesn't even look like the patient will make it into the hospital."
"Where's your partner?" T-65 asked.
"She doesn't handle these types of situations very well, if you know what I mean," he responded not taking his attention off of the scene before them. "She's in the Guild waiting for us." Soon many of the people started to sadly walk away. Then, Mina, Galactica, and T-65 could clearly see what was happening. The FOmar was kneeling alongside the client and her obviously dying friend.
"I'm sorry," the FOmar said with his eyes closed and his head down. "There is nothing I can do. I'll leave you two alone." He then got up and walked toward the HUcast.
"Castor...please... don't die!" sobbed Ikana. "You can't leave me."
"Ikana..." Castor managed to say. "I'm sorry...I made you cry. Goodbye." He breathed once more before he passed away. Meanwhile, the others had gone back to the Guild, unable to bare any more of the scene.
"So, are these the two who saved you from the Hildebears?" Mina asked, pointing to the HUcast and HUcaseal.
"Well I wouldn't say saved," said T-65 just as Galactica elbowed him. "Okay, okay."
"Yes it was them," Galactica said. The two people being spoken of were about to tell them it was no big deal, when suddenly Mina gave them a bear hug.
"Thank you so much for protecting my babies," Mina said.
"You're...welcome," the HUcast said uncomfortably.
"Yeah...it was...no problem," the HUcaseal choked.
"How can I ever repay you?" Mina asked still smothering them.
"Could you let us go?" they pleaded at the same time.
"Sorry, sorry," Mina said with a goofy grin as she released them. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength." Galactica and T-65 had learned that early on.
"Perhaps we should formally introduce ourselves," suggested Galactica. "My name is Galactica Chikara."
"I'm T-65 Chikara," the RAcast said proudly. "My first name comes from part of my serial number."
"And I am Minako Chikara," said the FOmarl, "but you may call me Mina."
"Okay..." said the HUcaseal hesitantly. "My name is Anne Yusta."
"My name is Miguel Azure," said the HUcast. "Guess why I got this paint job."
"Save it for later," said Anne.
"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood," argued Miguel. For the entire time, a certain FOmar had been very quiet. Mina decided that it was his turn to speak up.
"Excuse me," she said poking him.
"Huh?" he said snapping out of his deep thought. He had to look down at a rather steep angle to see her.
"It's your turn to introduce yourself, handsome," she teased causing him to blush.
"Oh, uh...sorry," he stammered. "My name is...uh..."
"Oh for crying out loud, Chronos!" said an agitated HUcaseal. "Get your mind out of the clouds."
"Yeah, that's it," he remembered. "I am Chronos Ranzo. Please excuse my rudeness. I was just thinking..."
"About what just happened a few minutes ago," she interrupted. "Just as you said, there wasn't anything else you could do. He was too far-gone. Now let's get off of this dreary topic. I'm willing to treat everyone here to lunch at the Ming Zoa Restaurant."
"Sounds good to me," said T-65.
"Too good," said Galactica suspiciously. "What's the catch, Mother?" That last word caught the new friends off-guard.
"Mother?!" said a very surprised HUcast. "But...you two are...androids and she's...ow!" he stopped as Anne kicked him in the leg.
"Miguel!" Chronos whispered harshly. "Don't be so rude."
"Oh that's alright," Mina said with a smile. "Most people find it strange to hear androids call me their mother. I'm the one who created them. I just decided to have them call me that."
"I'm not even gonna ask why she decided to do that," Miguel thought to himself. "Well anyway, what is the catch?"
"I'm only paying for the food, not the taxi that takes you there," she said with a smirk. "I'm going to use Ryuker to teleport there. See ya!" she said as she used said Technique to warp to the restaurant.
"I knew it," Galactica said to herself. "I'll go find a taxi, while you all get your money together."
"You guys are on your own on that one," said Chronos as he also used Ryuker to teleport."
"Sometimes, I really wish I could do that," said Anne as she headed for the Check Room to withdraw from her account.
