Sweltering was an apt description for Roron at 11:30AM. The sections of the waste facility that were indoors weren't any cooler than outside, and Kain's uncle had forgotten to turn on the exhaust fans earlier in the morning. Kain hadn't realized this until he escorted some Motavians to the fourth floor so they could rummage for vehicle parts. Even the Motavians groaned when the service elevator opened and the wave of heat and smell of hot garbage slapped them in their faces.
Kain stepped out of the elevator, fanning his hand in front of him and coughing over the muggy, putrid air he had inhaled. "What in blue blazes? Damn it all, Jim! I guess checkin' the fans is just one more thing I's gotta jot down on my ever-growin' list of things ya can't seem to do, huh?" he cursed a non-present Jim, who was probably at that moment passed out in the main office. Kain pulled open the circuit breaker along the wall and switched on all the fans. His next order of business was to open the ceiling vents, yet another responsibility of his uncle's that wasn't taken care of earlier.
No wonder the authorities was more than eager to let Kain become an assistant at Roron. Though most of the facility was automated or android-run, the one Palman left to oversee operations, Jim, had become a liability. Kain wondered how much longer it would be before Jim was forced to retire. In all honesty, Kain thought the structure should be under the Motavians' control, but the government barely recognized the natives, preferring not to add more bodies to its payroll. Furthermore, the Motavians were mostly distrustful—and with good reason in Jim's case—of Palmans.
After the fans were busy circulating and the vents were opened, Kain looked through the many bins, being naturally fascinated with machinery and electronics. The uppermost floor of Roron was loaded with mechanical goodies, too. It was where most of the sea vessels were scrapped after the ocean ban was implemented 50 years prior, ever since some vague accidents occurred and the Mother Brain network deemed all waterway traffic unsafe for anything other than remote-controlled watercraft.
Kain dreamed of the opportunity to travel on the ocean. Who would stop him if he built his own boat, anyway? The police robots didn't faze him, and no one seemed to care that Motavians built and used jet scooters all the time to play in the ocean.
He hadn't gotten very far in his search for motor parts when one of the floor's smaller chutes came to a stop nearby. A very inebriated Jim could be heard noisily wheezing from inside. His slurry, gruff voice called to Kain as soon as the chute opened.
"How many times I gotta tell you, boy? You ain't allowed on the upper floors without a fraggin' gun!"
Kain turned around and saw his uncle looking at him through one of his half-closed, bloodshot eyes, his body swaying as he held a flask of who-knows-what in one hand. He put his other hand through his greasy, unkempt violet hair and tried walking toward Kain. Kain was amazed Jim even made it up the chute without getting lost. There was an intoxicated blush to his face, which was so puffy it looked like he was suffering an allergic reaction to something.
Jim wagged his flask at Kain. "Now go on and get yer ass down to the office and pick up one of them shazer lots!"
Kain flipped down his tinted safety glasses so that his uncle wouldn't see his look of disappointment. Shazer lots? Jim must have meant a laser shotgun, a typical weapon—along with acid pistols—for working any job that was at least partly outside or otherwise exposed to the recent biomonster infestations. Roron certainly had biomonster problems, but Kain wasn't afraid of any creatures, mutant or not. He was a quick learner. Within only a couple of weeks of working at the facility, he mastered dodging the biohazards, including hanging around the native Motavians, who went largely ignored by the beasts. How his uncle had survived the infestations, Kain was unsure. Perhaps the monsters preferred their prey not marinated in hard liquor.
Kain tried picturing his uncle in some better year to make heeding his drunken authority easier to handle. Finally, he nodded at Jim. "Sure thing. I was just comin' up here a sec to keep an eye on these Mot-"
Jim stepped forward and nearly fell into a waste compactor. "Boy, I don't care which of yer beaked buddies ya done come to watch over! You ain't their keepers! I's gonna loose my license if one of them squeals to the police about you not havin' a gun, and those blue-feathered rats is just itchin' to get rid of me!"
Kain swiped the flask from Jim, who took a pathetic swing at his nephew. Kain sighed and pushed Jim toward the chute. "Go downstairs and sober up, old man. I'll fix you some lunch and get the damned gun while I'm down there. You's three sheets to the wind and it ain't even noon."
"You's got a sass mouth just like yer momma!" Jim spat on the floor next to Kain's feet and stumbled back into the chute.
Kain waited until Jim was out of sight before he angrily threw part of a motor he was holding against the wall, accidentally releasing some of his crippling gaj technique while hurling the motor scrap. Despite being made of titanium, it broke into many pieces. The sparks of gaj momentarily ran along the wall and caused the lights to flicker for a few seconds. Some of the Motavians looked up from what they were doing and glared at Kain.
Kain let out a nervous laugh in an attempt to downplay the seriousness of the incident. "Uh, sorry, folks. Ain't sure how that done happened, but it's all right now. Don't y'all worry." He backed away slowly to the chute, pushing his glasses on top of his head. He smiled at the Motavians, who were still eying him. He turned around and pressed the down button for the chute, exhaling deeply to regain his composure.
Any mention of his mother sent Kain into a fury, especially if the criticism was coming from his extended family, who loved rubbing it into his face how much of a burden and a troublemaker she had been. According to them, she never did anything right, not the least of which was having Kain while she was a teenager and never revealing who the father was.
Kain hated dwelling on the past. He might have grown up a black sheep of a black sheep, but he never let it get him down. In fact, he used it as motivation to remain fiercely independent and strive to make it on his own. It wasn't until he picked up a criminal record—rather accidentally—in Lume that it became harder for him to find a job, finally forcing him to rely on family again for gainful employment.
The chute came to a halt on the ground floor and Kain stepped out, taking the first left toward the main office. Jim was nowhere to be found. Inside the office, Kain walked around to the other side of Jim's desk and scanned the many security monitors. He saw Jim staggering slowly down a hallway to the bathroom. That would be an all-day event, so he unlocked the gun safe and equipped a laser shot. He remained in the office to keep an eye on all of the monitors. It wasn't but a few minutes later that an eclectic group of Palmans were standing outside Roron's main gates, ringing for admittance.
A couple of mazgamma security robots were already scanning the visitors' ID cards and performing a weapons check, but Kain decided to greet them at the gates as well, in order to prevent them from running into Jim first. He flipped his dark glasses down as he left he building. Algol was unforgiving at noon, and the inside of Roron was comparatively dark due to energy restrictions on lighting. A scrap facility wasn't high on the government's list of things to illuminate. Kain ordered the mazgammas to lower their laser fields and waved the group into the main yard.
He greeted the six guests with a polite nod and a grin. "Don't get many Palmans to come 'round here 'cause of them mutated critters, but I sees you's packin' some decent equipment. What can I do fer y'all this fine afternoon?"
The Paseo agent with dark blue hair turned to the taller man—probably a hunter—dressed in black and carrying the same type of shotgun Kain was carrying. The two looked baffled, and they mumbled back and forth to each other. Kain waited for them to finish, lighting up a special Motavian cigar designed to repel biomonsters. As the two strangers were conversing, one of the females, a comely, long-haired blonde in a guardian uniform, tried to push the taller man out of the way.
"Listen, Landale," she intervened, pointing at the agent. "You're not in charge here. I was ordered by HQ to escort you to Roron, so anything you have to say to him you say to me, too."
The hunter let out an exasperated sigh. "Not this again!"
"Guardian Zirski," the agent said to the woman, "I don't see why you should have to stay with our group now that you've brought us here. You've fulfilled your duties, so you're free to leave. I'm sure there are more important matters for you to attend to back at headquarters. We've done nothing but annoy you the entire trip down this peninsula."
"My job here isn't complete until I have ensured you've left this facility with only what the Commander has authorized for you to take. Besides..." she stopped short and gave the hunter a dirty look out of the corner of her eye.
"Don't you dare give me that look, Guardian," the hunter said. "If I was anything less than honest you'd know about it already. Until that time, I sure as hell don't need you babysitting me. Why don't you run along now, like a good government lackey, and-"
"You know," interrupted the thin, purple-haired man in a mousy tenor, "I'm not sure we're getting anywhere with all of this squabbling, so maybe we should stop talking unless it's specifically about a sea vessel."
The petite redhead standing next to him nodded her head in agreement. "That sounds reasonable, right?" she said as she cast her expression toward the guardian.
Kain removed the cigar from his mouth and flicked some ashes to the ground. "That's what y'all's here for? Some kinda ship? You ain't gonna find a whole one, that I know. You's about 50 years too late fer that."
The group glanced at each other. Kain waited a few seconds, then decided to advance the conversation on his own.
"Look, them Motavians come here all the time to pick up parts fer their jet scooters and such. Just tell me whatcha need and I can help ya find it."
The agent put a hand on his hip and scratched the top of his head with the other. He looked tired. Finally, he stepped toward Kain.
"Thanks. My apologies for not introducing myself. I'm Agent Rolf Landale, and everyone except the guardian is with me. We're here because..." He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Because... well... Oh, please tell me I don't have to explain the real reason why we're here. That would make my day about a thousand times easier."
Kain grinned at the agent and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't give a rat's behind why y'all need a boat. Now, standin' 'round and yammerin' about it ain't gonna get you the parts you's looking fer any faster, so I thinks we should mosey on in and I'll take y'all to the mother lode of half-century-old scrap. It's mighty fine pickins!"
Kain nodded his head for the group to follow him inside the building. He put the cigar back in his mouth and leaned his shotgun casually against his right shoulder.
"Wait!" he heard Rolf shout from behind him. Kain turned around and shoved his glasses to the top of his head. He gave Rolf his full attention; Rolf was looking around frantically. "Where's Nei?" he asked, distressed.
Kain looked at the other group members as Rolf started darting from one scrap pile to another, searching for someone or something, this "Nei," Kain assumed.
"Who or what is Nei?" Kain asked the hunter. Before he could answer, the guardian spoke, annoyed as ever, her arms crossed in front of her.
"She's this liability the agent insists on taking with him everywhere." She rolled her eyes. The hunter let out an angry snort at the guardian and turned to Kain.
"The serious answer is she's another member of our group and she appears to be missing. She's clad in purple and has long ears," the hunter replied. He, too, searched the front yard. The others also joined in the hunt.
"Long ears? Uh, okay," said Kain. No one bothered to elaborate, so he took what little information he had and began checking the many heaps of junk. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to find a woman with-
"Hey, you!" a voice exclaimed and a body jumped out at Kain from around one of the piles, shoving an old, shiny jewelry box in his face. "Look what I found!"
Kain let out a startled yelp—losing his cigar in the process—and nearly dropped his gun. He slammed his back against the side of the building as his intruder awkwardly held the box closer to him the more he tried squirming around it. Once he regained his composure, he pushed the box away and got a good look at the person. The long ears were immediately apparent, but that wasn't the only striking feature. He gazed at this woman who was both stunning, with her long purple hair and ruby eyes, and mesmerizing, with feline features and a sprightly innocence to her moves and expressions. She seemed ignorant of personal space, just as ignorant as her surprise greeting, but Kain couldn't take his eyes off her as she smiled at him like he was King of Algol.
"Is this yours?" she asked, her eyes widening. "Is all of this yours? You must have so much fun here! May I have this, sir?" She stroked the jewelry box.
Kain laughed. "Be my guest, sweetheart. That thing could use a better home than what it done got in this here dump, anyway."
He didn't know it was possible for her to get more excited, but she squealed with delight and thanked him as she wrapped her arms around him, giving him his first hug in months.
He gently removed the girl from her grasp. "Whoa, there. You must be Nei?"
She nodded. "Did Rolf tell you we're going out on the ocean? Isn't that exciting?" Before he could reply, Nei took him by the hand and led him back to the main entrance. "Come on, silly! You have to meet everyone else!"
"I already..." Kain started, but as he looked at how excited Nei was, he decided he couldn't refuse to play along with her. "Sure thing, doll. Lead the way." Kain followed as Nei dragged him along in hand. He watched her soft, violet locks flowing in the breeze and had a brief memory of happier times with Sue. Another flash of Nei's smile, and Kain forgot he was in a junkyard at high noon, with Algol mercilessly beating down on him and a drunk uncle for a boss, who treated him like another piece of scrap. It was going to be a fine day after all.