Author's Notes: Jessie and Jak got off on the wrong foot, but let's face it. Jessie is pretty rude, Jak is... Jak, and Daxter isn't helping. It's a match made in heaven... or hell. Take your pick. Thankfully, there will be some effort made to repair the relationship between the two, as Jessie takes them out for a... a test run, if you will. Plus, plenty of references to backstory, because everyone LOVES those. Note the sarcasm dripping from that word.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Jak and Daxter franchise. All of that goes to Naughty Dog.
"If you ever need someone to teach your kids some manners, the Unfilled are the best people for the job. The intense training they give their children, the rules and politeness they drill into them from an early age, make them the most polite and insufferable people around. I should know. My father was one, my brother is one, and I'm one." -Joker Mitchell, shortly before his marriage to Lucy Sagai
Jessie finished her report on the Stadium and watched Torn silently. She knew he was going to tell her something about this new mission, and she wanted to know all the details before she started training this guy.
"Jessie, the Shadow is very insistent you take care of showing Jak the ropes. He understands that, after that incident a year ago, you don't want any more missions, but you're too valuable not to help with the effort," he began. She sighed and stood up.
"I get it, I get it. But he gives me a weird feeling, and I've learned to trust my instincts. There's something... off about that guy," Jessie replied resignedly. It was her connection to the Ecolians and the Eco-sensitivity that arose from it that made her say that, though she also blamed the weird feeling, as well. Torn chuckled dryly.
"Damn right there is. But Kor recommended him, and that old geezer has never been wrong about new recruits. Just make sure they don't get in too much trouble. They've already proven they know what they're doing, but they're too reckless, and you're just the thing they need to get them under control. Think you can put up with the two until they're ready?" he responded, for once not the hard soldier he usually was. The young woman nodded and stood up, brushing a few pieces of lint off her pants.
"Of course I can. I'll babysit them if you want me to. What should we do first?" she said thoughtfully. Her commander grunted with dark amusement.
"Why don't you take Jak out to the Pumping Station and see how he handles himself in the field? It'll be easier if you know how he fights," he suggested. She shrugged and stood up.
"Fine. Message me if you have a mission for us," her reply came out respectfully, though the look in her eye was mutinous and, if Torn wasn't so important to the cause, she probably would have wanted to strangle him then and there. Hadn't he realized that she was doing the best she could as a spy in the Stadium? As the mechanic for all the hovers they used? As the source of most of their explosives for when they bombed non-populated areas? Wasn't it bad enough he had her only brother working with Vin on the Eco Grid and encrypting their communications, even though he might be arrested any day now?
Before she snapped and did something potentially violent to the commander of the Underground's forces, Jessie stalked from the room and out to her hover. The Black Orchid was untouched, probably because she had set the parking brake to it before Jak could drive away with it, and as she flipped the switch and climbed into the leather seat, the first thing on her mind was how much she actually wanted to be doing this. It had been ages since she had last done a real mission. Fixing zoomers while spying on Erol, delivering nitroglycerin, and keeping the weapons in top shape wasn't enough to satisfy that urge to fight back against the Baron's injustices.
"Damn it," she muttered, angry at the fact that she wasn't upset by Torn's insisting on her watching over a newbie. She gunned her racer forward, switched zones automatically, and began weaving through traffic to get to the Hip Hog.
Minutes later...
Jessie pulled up outside the saloon, parked the Orchid, and walked inside calmly. The Hip Hog was half full with those people who had decided to start drinking a little early, filling up the booths sporadically and looking at her with drunken curiosity as she went in. Most of them knew who she was. Hell, most of Haven City knew who she was. And if they didn't know her as Jessie the racer, they knew her as Jessie, Jinx's niece, and treated her as such.
The young woman's eyes roved across the saloon until they stopped on one booth. Jak was sitting on the edge, his back to her, and Daxter was sitting on the table across from him talking. This far away, she could get a good look at her new partners without worrying about the complications of an actual conversation. While the orange rat (were they called ottsels? She never could remember) seemed to be easygoing and casual about their new arrangement, his human ride was tense and wary, ready for any sort of fight. Smart, that. Haven City was a dangerous place. Of course, he seemed like he could take care of himself. How else could he have handled Torn's assignment to get into the Underground?
Shaking her head to clear it and get her mind back on track, Jessie walked across the room and slid into the seat next to Jak, firmly shoving him against the wall with her hip.
"Sorry I took so long. The report took longer than I expected," she said casually. Daxter looked at her curiously, and the young man shot her a resentful glare.
"What report?" the latter said grumpily. She shrugged and leaned back against the rough cushioning for the seat.
"The report on the situation in the Stadium. It's my and Jamie's job to keep an eye on Erol while he's there, and to make sure no one decides to rig the races. You'd be surprised by how much money is made gambling on the outcome of the bigger races," the young woman explained. He grunted in reply, thinking about something.
"Okay, let's get one thing straight, Jessie. I don't want you constantly complaining about my methods," Jak began, but she rolled her eyes and held up a finger.
"Before you start your attempt to soothe your bruised ego, let me tell you something. I'm just here to make sure you don't cause too much trouble. Taking out a few KG is okay in my book, but harming innocents or deliberately torturing a Guard is out of the question. I'm your superior officer, for now. If I tell you not to do something, you sure as hell better not do it. Now, I want to see you in action, and I figure the best place for that is the Pumping Station. You don't have clearance for the bazaar or the gardens, yet, so we can't go to the Mountain Temple or Haven Forest for the test run, and I don't feel like going into the sewers any more than necessary. Any objections?" Jessie ordered him quietly, keeping her voice low to dissuade potential eavesdroppers. The orange rat known as Daxter went up to the edge of the table and got into her face.
"Yeah. Why do we have to be watched over like a couple o' kids? I resent that!" he complained. She sighed and flicked his nose gently, making him stumble back a bit.
"I'll be the judge of that."
Jak growled unhappily and made her look at him.
"What's with that attitude? Aren't you supposed to be a bit nicer when you're asking someone to do something?" he said unpleasantly. The words struck a chord in her, one that had been left alone for two and a half years. It reminded the young woman of another young man, another member of the resistance, another time.
"If you want something, shouldn't you ask nicely?"
Mentally, she slapped herself. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about Kyle. Now was definitely not the time to be thinking about that two-faced, lying, son of a... Precursors, even now, he invaded her head.
Jessie scowled and turned away.
"Sorry. This is all just a bit sudden. I'm still getting used to being an active member again," she said quietly, her tone suddenly becoming more gentle than it had been before. The change startled the other two, even as she stood up and frowned down at him.
"Now get those lazy asses of yours out of that booth and come on. We've got a lot to do," Jessie said curtly before turning on her heel and walking out of the Hip Hog. Jak and Daxter shared a look, then followed her bemusedly.
"Nice job taking out those znorkle tooths."
Jessie's voice rang out a short distance behind Jak, making him smirk and turn to look at her. In her hands was a version of his Blaster mod, though it didn't have the traces of Yellow Eco that most weapons of its sort had. It was strange, but it certainly didn't make the young woman less of a powerful foe. If anything, she was more ruthless because she wasn't backed by Eco.
"Thanks," Jak replied, putting the Morph Gun onto his back. Daxter grinned at the strange-haired girl and waved.
"You're not too bad yourself, honey. Where'd a mechanic like you learn to shoot a gun like that?" the ottsel added flirtatiously. Jessie joined them and rolled her eyes.
"From my uncle. He works for Krew and usually handles sabotage and demolition," she explained, slinging the strap of the gun over her shoulder and brushing some hair out of her eyes. Jak's eyes narrowed at this. Was that why she hadn't seemed to mind the fact that he worked for Krew when they met earlier? She had family involved with the big man?
He nodded, then looked around the Pumping Station. Between the two of them, they had cleared the area of the usual infestation of amphibious monsters like the znorkle tooths and glubs, and the only sounds left were the machinery sending water into the city, the breeze in the plants, and the soft sounds of their breathing. Now all that was left was her "evaluation" and their return to the city.
"So, how'd I do?" the young man asked, raising one green eyebrow. The young woman who had been appointed his partner shrugged, shifting her weight from one leg to the next and folding her arms across her chest.
"Better than I expected. You pass. Now we need to wait until Torn gives us a mission. Give me your communicator," she said firmly, holding out her hand. Jak pulled it out and placed it in her waiting palm, then watched curiously as she did something to it and made it beep.
"There we go. My number is now in there. You need help for some reason, call. It goes two ways, so I'll be using it to tell you where to meet for missions and when," Jessie said, pulling out her own com-unit and inputting something. Probably his own number.
Her sudden shift from the earlier hostile attitude confused him again, and he made no effort to hide his suspicions.
"Jessie, why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" he asked, ignoring the urge to step closer to her. Things for him had been off ever since he met her. No, ever since he got out of the Fortress. The Dark Eco lurking inside of him had changed many things for Jak. He was no longer the sweet boy of Sandover Village, but a hardened young man with a vendetta and some anger issues. Weird feelings were nothing compared to what he had been through. Even if they involved an arguably attractive young woman who was stuck with him for a while.
"Because you deserve a chance. No one should be treated like dirt. I should know that, most of all. Me and my brother... we didn't exactly have an easy childhood. I know it doesn't look like it, but being Unfilled in this damn city, especially nowadays, is hard," she replied quietly, almost apologetically. The young woman drifted off into some sort of reverie, then shook her head and sighed.
"Anyways, come on. I'm pretty sure Torn has already come up with five new ways to torment us while we were gone, and I want some food before I do anything else. I haven't eaten in hours!" she said loudly, beginning to walk away and leave them behind. Jak and Daxter shared a look before following. Jessie was still something of an enigma to them, with her shifting moods and strange periods of reminiscence, but she was also their senior in terms of time in the Underground. Besides, their stomachs weren't going to argue with her order to come.
Shrugging at each other, the two boys walked after the young woman, hoping they might be able to get decent food in them before they had to go on another mission from hell. In that regard, they were united with Jessie against Torn's demonic tasks.
Author's Notes: No reviews, but that's okay. I'll still continue updating, even without feedback or comments. I'm not one of those selfish authors who withholds chapters because of lack of reviews. If I start something, I will finish it. No matter how long it takes.
Anyways, I'll see you next time! Please review!
Wild Cat 214, out!