Disclaimer: "Irregular Hunter X," to be released as "Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X" in the US, introduces a whole bunch of new backstory to the X series. This was written in complete ignorance of any new canon introduced by that game. All characters are property of Capcom, except for Scherzo, Nagane and Kappa, who are entirely my fault.
-o-o-o-
Trying to recall all that had happened since he had signed up and joined the Maverick Hunters made X's head spin. Dr. Cain chewing him out when he found out what his extremely valuable discovery had just done, a whirlwind tour of the base given by some young human, and basic training. He wasn't even sure if he had retained anything form that last bit ñ there had been a tall reploid who had yelled at him a lot, but he'd never been quite sure what the reploid had been shouting about. Then, this morning, he suddenly found himself with a summons to show up at training room C-4 for induction into the Tenth Unit.
It was 0750, according to his internal chronometer, and he had found training room C-4. He could hear the sound of a plasma cannon being discharged, punctuated by the occasional yell, coming through the door. X raised up a hand to knock on the door, and then hesitated. What if this wasn't the right place? He didn't see anyone else around. Well, there was only one way to find out. He knocked on the door. No answer. The sounds of combat from within continued. He knocked harder. "Hello? Is anyone in there?"
The door was jerked open by a very crabby looking reploid, wearing red armor and with the longest hair X had ever seen. "What?" the reploid snapped.
"Erm," X began, eyeing the reploid's glowing, fully charged arm cannon cautiously. "Um, is this the place for the Tenth Unit induction?"
"No. Now beat it, kid." The door slammed in X's face, and he heard the red-armored reploid mutter some very colorful phrases regarding lost rookies before the combat noises resumed.
Great, so he had come to the wrong place. Now what? X was trying to figure out his next course of action when he saw Scherzo, a rookie from his training group, skid around a corner, look confusedly up and down the hall, then smile and wave when he saw X. X waved back, and Scherzo jogged over.
"Hey, X. You get in the Tenth, too?"
"Yup."
"All right. I thought I was gonna be late, but I guess they haven't started yet, huh?"
"Actually, I don't know if this is even the right place," X said.
"Well, the sign says C-4, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, but there's this really cranky guy in there who told me to get lost."
"Geez, I hope he isn't our commander," Scherzo said.
They continued to wait, and several other rookies joined them outside training room C-4. It was now exactly 0800, according to X's internal chronometer, and there was still no sign of anyone in charge.
Finally, two minutes later, a reploid in gray armor came running down the hall. She came to a halt in front of the group of rookies. "You all here for the Tenth Unit induction?" she asked. There was a chorus of murmured assent. "Okay. Commander Kappa's been held up, but she should be here shortly. Meanwhile, I'll be going over the nuts and bolts of the Tenth Unit with you." She paused, and then looked at the assembled rookies. "What're you all waiting out here in the hall for?"
"There's someone in the training room, ma'am," Scherzo said.
"Oh?" The gray-armored reploid asked. "Well, we've got the room reserved. They're not with the Tenth, are they?"
"I'm not sure, ma'am," X said. "He has red armor and really, really long, blond hair."
The other reploid sighed, rolled her eyes, then did an about face. She pounded on the door. "Zero? Open up. It's Nagane."
"Beat it."
"Don't make me come in there and drag your ex-maverick ass out. Tenth Unit has this room reserved from 0800 to 1000."
"Yeah, well the Seventeenth says the Tenth can kiss its ex-maverick ass."
"Okay, that does it." Nagane shoved open the door. She stormed inside, and the rookies heard a low, angry conversation, then the sounds of a scuffle, which were cut off with a cry of, "Ow, hey, no touching the hair!"
The rookies were then treated to the sight of Nagane dragging Zero along by his ponytail out into the hallway. They cheered her as she rejoined the group and led them into the training room.
"Well, Lieutenant, I see you seem to have things perfectly under control," an amused alto voice said from the doorway.
"Commander Kappa," Nagane said, snapping to attention. The commander was wearing yellow-green combat armor, which showed the dents and scratches of several battles. A fringe of black hair stuck out from underneath her helmet.
X had been expecting some sort of drills or combat training because they were meeting in a simulation room, but all Commander Kappa did was talk. She talked about the Maverick Hunters, she talked about Sigma's announcement of rebellion the previous week, and she talked about the organization of the Tenth Unit. Each of the rookies was going to be assigned to a squad headed by one of the unit's lieutenants; X was under someone named Scar Rhinozorn.
After only about an hour, the rookies were dismissed. As they were leaving, the commander called out, "Recruit X? Stay back for a minute." Confused, X headed against the tide of exiting reploids.
"So, you're the famous Mega Man X," she said, after the last of the rookies had left and the door had shut. "Father of all reploids."
X didn't say anything. Why was she keeping him here?
She looked him over. "I always thought you'd be taller."
X tried to stand up straighter.
"Anyway," the commander continued, "You're part of the reason I was late this morning."
What did I do? X wondered. Aloud, he said, "I'm sorry about that, Commander."
"Oh, it's not your fault. Not directly, at any rate. It seems that due to your rather . . . unique status, there's a concern that if anything should happen to you as a Maverick Hunter, it'll be a PR nightmare for the organization."
"I don't mean to be a problem ñ"
"I know you don't. But as your commander, I'm the one responsible for making sure you stay in one piece. Not," she added, "that I don't have that responsibility towards every member of my unit. Still, I'm going to order you to attend some additional training sessions. I know that your rookie group was rushed through basic training ñ the idiot higher-ups seem to think that's the best way to deal with the personnel shortage we have after Sigma left with most of the Seventeenth and quite a few from other units as well." She rolled her eyes. "What it really means is that we get a bunch of rookies who hardly know how to hold a charge on their busters. Dangerous and stupid, that's what that is."
She flipped open a palm computer. "Scar would probably be best for this, since he's going to be your squad leader, but he's also going to be working with the rest of the unit's rookies, filling in on what you all missed in basic training. I'd like for you to have some one-on-one time, so. . ." She tapped a stylus on the screen, frowning. "You up for training at 0500 tomorrow?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. You'll be working with Nagane. She's not as experienced as Scar, and her methods can be a bit unorthodox, but she should be able to help you finish out the basics at least." She tapped a couple more places on the computer screen. "I've got training room B-6 reserved for you two."
"Thank you, Commander," X said.
She flipped the computer shut. "Just keep in mind that this is a war we're in here, and folks get hurt. Try not to be one of them. You're a very unique reploid, and it would be a great loss to us all if anything should happen to you. Not to mention," she added with a grin, "that Cain would probably have me decommissioned. Welcome to the Hunters, Recruit X. You're dismissed."
X left the training room, eager to start his first day as a full-fledged Maverick Hunter.
-o-o-o-
Author's Notes: This is the first time I've given OCs such a large part in a fic, so I'd love to hear what you thought of them. Of course, feedback of other varieties will be received with much glee and happiness as well. As usual, I'll do my best to reciprocate reviews.
This is theoretically going to be part of a series of shorts about various characters from the X series and their first days with the Maverick Hunters.