Chapter 3: Arrival

Rico brushed a strand of her red hair out of her eyes, adjusting her glasses slightly as she walked down the pathway through the forest that led to the Residential Sector. The day had finally arrived. Pioneer 2 would reach Ragol after so many years. She would finally be able to see her father again…

Maybe father will take Hakuro's place… I hope he does… Hakuro is too much like the leaders on Coral. They desired for power after Photon energy was discovered and put our world in the sorry state it's in. And they did the same when that strange meteor arrived…

Rico tried to push the thought of the government's corruption out of her mind as her anger rose up inside of her. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about the incompetent government of her home world. There were more important things to do right now. Hakuro had ordered her to scout around the Residential Sector to see if any more wild animals were causing problems.

"I hate you, Dad!" Rico looked up as she heard a girl shouting from near one of the buildings. "Sit and rot in front of your microscopes and computers for all I care! I'm leaving!" Rico raised an eyebrow as she watched a young girl storming out of one of the buildings and taking off into the forest. A few seconds later, a tall and lanky man with long, disheveled brown hair and blue eyes, dressed in the uniform of a member of the Pioneer 1 Lab, came to the door. He only glanced in the direction the girl had left for a second, an indifferent look on his face, before pressing a button to close the door.

That was Ethan Sterling, that big-shot scientist in biogenetics. Why is his daughter so mad at him? I thought he was a decent guy from the bit I talked to him…

Rico was still wondering just what could have happened when her comm link crackled to life, Kyle's voice coming over it. "We've got reports of wolves out near the Residential Sector where you're patrolling. Care to check it out, Rico?"

"Sure thing. I saw a girl running in that direction."

Kyle sounded a bit worried. "Not good. Better find her fast. You have thirty minutes until Pioneer 2 arrives."

Rico pressed a button on her arm unit, then held out her right hand as light flowed into it. Her Red Saber materialized, its Photon blade humming softly. "Let's hope I can find her before the wolves do."

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Danielle was sitting with her back against a tree, her knees pulled up to her chin, strands of her brown hair falling over her blue eyes. She was crying softly, sadness and anger swirling around inside. She had felt this way so many times, and she hated it. Her dad never cared about her, never loved her. All she wanted was for him to be nice to her, to be proud of the things she did. But he was never proud, and he never cared. He hadn't even looked at her when she suggested that they go and watch the arrival of Pioneer 2. When he had instead said that she had to go with him to that island again in a few minutes, she had snapped on him. That was when she had stormed out of the house and ran into the forest, to an area where not much development had been going on.

"I hate him…. I hate him so much…." She whispered with a quivering voice. "When Mom comes, I'll never go back to him…. I never will." Danielle wiped away the tears, feeling a bit angry at herself for crying over this. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before… She should be used to something like this by now. Not a day went by when they didn't argue over something. Soon she wouldn't have to worry about it though. Pioneer 2 was arriving today. She would be free of that man and finally be with her mother again.

Danielle lifted her head slightly, hearing the slight rustle of leaves from the bushes nearby. She looked to her right, but nothing was there. It was probably just the wind, but it was odd that she didn't feel the breeze…

Another rustling of leaves reached her ears, this time to her left. Danielle quickly turned her head, her eyes widening as her gaze fell on a light brown-furred and grey-skinned Savage Wolf, its red eyes locking onto her. It let out a low growl, then lifted up its head and howled. Danielle could hear another growl from her right, a second Savage Wolf coming from the foliage. Fear rose up inside of her as she realized she had made a very stupid mistake. She had gone into one of the undeveloped areas where the animals roamed freely. Lately, they had all been told to be careful because of the increased violent outbursts, especially around this area…

They both slinked forward towards her, their paws padding softly on the grass, the sound lost beneath the rapid pounding of her heart. "N-No…" she whispered, her voice trembling as much as her body. The Savage Wolves growled again, tensing, their muscles rippling beneath their fur as they prepared to leap. "No!"

The first Savage Wolf leapt at her, teeth bared, saliva dripping from its mouth. A red Photon blade dug deep into its side, the energy searing through its flesh. The blade ripped out sideways, flinging away the Savage Wolf's corpse. The second wolf looked up, just as the blade dug into its neck, ending its life in one swift and fatal blow. Danielle looked up, still trembling in fear as a woman with red hair and blue highlights in her hair lowered the Photon saber. She was clad in a red and white hunter's uniform, a red ring on her left arm. Her red-colored eyes narrowed behind her glasses with frames of a matching color. Seconds passed before the woman relaxed and looked down at Danielle. "Are you okay?"

"Uh… y-yeah…." Danielle stammered, realizing with awe that this was Red Ring Rico, the famous hero herself. She chided herself for making such a stupid mistake as coming into this area while slowly getting to her feet. "Thank you."

Rico nodded, but she had a serious look on her face. "You should go back home. It's not safe out here."

Danielle thought about her father, and her anger pushed through her fear, all thoughts about the mistake she had just made vanishing. "I'm not going back. I hate that man."

Irritation appeared on Rico's face, but it quickly passed. "Would you rather die out here at the hands of these animals?" Danielle ignored her words, turning to face the tree she had been sitting against, starting to climb up it. "What're you doing? Are you even listening to me?"

Danielle looked down, her navy blue vest waving slightly in the gentle breeze that now came. "I already told you, I'm not going back," she said stubbornly. "You don't know what he's like. I'll wait here until Pioneer 2 gets here so I can go with Mom instead of him." She looked up once more, grabbing the branch above her, her feet bracing against the bark of the trunk as she made her way to the higher branches. When she looked down, Rico still stood there.

With a sigh, Rico shook her head. "Fine. I'll clear out the rest of the Savage Wolves reported in the area and come back to check on you."

Danielle felt a bit surprised by this. "I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"Like you did with those wolves?" Rico retorted. "They nearly killed you, kid."

Danielle frowned a bit. "I'm sixteen, so don't patronize me."

Rico put her left hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing as she squinted up at her. "Maybe you should cut back on your attitude. Look, I know you hate your dad, but don't take it out on others. I was just trying to help. Is this how you thank me for saving your life?" She just shook her head now, her hand dropping to her side. "When I get back, I'm going to take you back to the Central Dome."

Danielle was about to protest, but when she looked down, Rico had already left. Danielle hesitated, a pang of guilt in her heart, along with irritation at herself.

How stupid can I get? I get saved by Rico Tyrell, the hunter that I've always aspired to be as good as, and then I go off and get into an argument with her. But… I'm not going back to Dad. I never will.

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Rico had really been irritated by the young girl. She had one serious attitude problem, and it had tried her patience. She strode through the forest, activating her comm unit. "Kyle, I found the girl, but she wouldn't go back. Dr. Sterling has one hard-headed daughter."

"Huh? Dr. Ethan Sterling? The big authority in biogenetics along with Dr. Osto?" Kyle asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You know anything about him?"

"He's been working with Dr. Osto Hyle ever since the meteor impact twenty years ago. I even heard he's been involved in some big secret project. Rumor has it that he pretty much doesn't care about his daughter at all, even though he denies it. I doubt he even told her about her mother's death."

A shiver ran up her spine, memories rising unbidden to her mind. "How did Kate die?"

Kyle's voice dropped a notch, taking on a deadly serious tone. "Black Paper."

Rico hesitated. Black Paper was an underworld syndicate that most people thought was just a group of black market traders. In truth, they were a force under direct control of the Alliance of Nations. "Why? Why would they get her?"

"A buddy of mine thinks she got too close to something they were hiding. Something big. Something about Ragol."

Rico thought about all the strange info that had been dug up regarding Pioneer 1. Dr. Sterling working with Dr. Osto, the Lab Chief of Pioneer 1, on a secret project, his own wife being killed by members of a group under government control… "We'll talk about this later, Kyle. Be careful that the wrong people aren't listening."

"Yes, ma'am." Without another word, the comm link shut off.

Rico slowly looked around, focusing on her mission once more and pushing thoughts of the strange conspiracy out of her mind. It was then she realized that it was way too quiet. Not even the song of the birds reached her ears. It was a forest of silence, and it sent chills up her spine.

The Savage Wolves aren't even around, and they were supposed to be around here in large packs!

She gripped her Red Saber a bit tighter, pushing through the branches into a clearing that allowed her to see part of the Central Dome. A red symbol was over the top of it, growing outwards around one of the towers. Pioneer 2 had arrived! A beam of red light shot straight through the air while a blue beam came down to the lower of the two towers on the Dome. With the guidance beams in place, the ship would be making its descent.

Rico couldn't help but grin. After so many years, they had finally arrived. But the grin fell away as goose bumps popped up along her skin, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Without warning, there was a massive explosion of energy that swept forth, engulfing the Central Dome and cutting off the guidance beams. The energy engulfed everything in its path, spreading forth like a hungry beast. Rico had no time to react as the bright blue light filled her vision completely.

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Danielle's legs dangled in the air as she looked out at the Central Dome from her perch on the tree branch. Her heart was racing with excitement as she saw the two beams of light. She had waited for this moment for so long. She would finally be able to see her mother's kind and loving face again.

Danielle blinked rapidly now, squinting at something she saw behind the Central Dome. It was a large transparent shape, "wings" opening up behind it. For a moment, time seemed to stand still for her. Her entire body felt cold and numb all of a sudden, and she felt something there in the distance, something ancient and evil.

As the explosion engulfed everything, Danielle felt the cold evil wrap around her, slipping into her mind and searching for something. She felt so cold and tired, and before the explosion of energy even reached her, Danielle had slipped into the darkness that had crept into her body.