Rudo sat on the front steps of Rolf's house and waited for Rolf to return from Central Tower. For some reason Rolf told him to wait until he got back before Rudo departed Paseo. Rudo didn't mind waiting, since he was unsure what he was going to do next. He once thought becoming a hunter would give him some redemption after he lost his family, but now that Teim was dead, he realized that hunting had a major downside. Teim might not be the only victim he would be unable to save, and reliving death was not something Rudo was very interested in.
The incident at the north bridge was still very fresh in Rudo's mind, and he couldn't help but feel like a failure. He hadn't felt this way in over two years, and it brought back a lot of painful memories he had long tried to suppress. It wasn't enough to remind himself that it was really the government's fault for not taking care of Teim's rescue immediately, rather than wait for Darum, a convicted criminal, to seize the bridge in order to collect her ransom.
Rolf, Nei and Rudo weren't skilled at handling terrorist victims, and had no clue just how emotionally unhinged Teim was until it was too late. No one was sure why the teenager hadn't revealed her true identity to her own father, but now that Rudo had time to think about it, there was no way they could have predicted she would even want to see him. Hadn't Teim called her father a "worthless thug" upon their first mention of Darum back in Nido? Perhaps her goal wasn't to act as the family diplomat and convince her father to come to his senses, but rather to take him out. Rudo was appalled he could think such a thing, however probable it might be.
Rudo would have counted his blessings his own family had been so stable and loving and not like the obvious dysfunction of Darum's, but no one was a winner here: Not Rudo, not Rolf, not Nei, not the people they were trying to help. Rudo wasn't even sure who or what to be mad at anymore. Himself? The system? The Great Light? Maybe it was time for him to live off his military pension and forget about trying to do anything or help anyone.
He looked down at the letter he had been holding, the date of which was over two years ago, and the letterhead was official military. It was the last thing the Army had given him before he was forced into early retirement. He knew that keeping it with him and reading it over and over again probably wasn't helping him move on, but it had become an object he used to motivate him in his hunting jobs. He thought that reading it right now would stir some of that motivation once again.
"…It is with our most sincere regret that we inform you of the command decision to terminate your service with the Department of the Palman Armed Forces, effective April 13, 1282…"
"Twelve years," Rudo said aloud to himself. "I gave you twelve straight, dutiful years, and all that time is reduced to this…" he paused to read more, skipping over a paragraph of what felt to him like insincere sympathy over the loss of his family.
"…Provision 8B of the Palman Military Code states that…"
"Yes, of course, let's make it official," Rudo said sarcastically.
"…because you have declined to undergo a mental health evaluation…"
"I shouldn't have to take one! Just because my family…" his voice broke off.
"…therefore your separation is automatic in accordance with…"
Rudo had tortured himself enough. He folded up the letter and rose to his feet. No one told him back at the recruiting station almost 15 years ago that if he lost his family and then refused to submit to a psychological assessment afterward the Palman government would kick him to the curb. Rudo knew why, though. Suicide across Motavia was on the rise, and one way to ensure keeping those numbers low in the military was to get rid of anyone who was even the slightest risk. Rudo's situation was probably considered very high risk. He knew this, but refused the mental services, anyway.
Looking back on it, maybe it wasn't the most rational thing to do. Why did he refuse? Pride? It wasn't pride, he decided. He knew the real reason why, but admitting it brought out a very dark side of himself that even he was scared of. He wanted out because his unit wasn't assigned to the biomonster infestations, and after his family died, he wanted to kill every last goddamn beast that even looked like it would touch another innocent creature.
Rudo tried to shake his black thoughts as he turned around and rang the doorbell. Rather than remotely unlocking the door, Nei took it upon herself to greet Rudo in person. As the door slid open, Rudo was welcomed by her cheerful smile. He hadn't been greeted like that in a very long time, and it helped wash away some of his grief. He grinned back and rubbed her shoulder on his way into Rolf's house.
"I wish you would stay," Nei told him sincerely as Rudo walked past her and into the living room. "Rolf says I'm not supposed to tell you anything, but I think he really needs your help."
Rudo sat down hard on the sofa next to his packed bag and stuffed the letter into a side pouch. "Rolf's a smart agent. Whatever it is he's assigned to, I'm sure he'll do fine without me. Besides," Rudo gestured towards Nei, "he has you, doesn't he?"
Nei seemed surprised by Rudo's comment. "Me?"
Rudo gave her a wry grin. "Nei, come on. Don't be so modest. I know you're not that naive."
"Well," Nei tilted her head bashfully, "I always want to be there for him as much as I can. He rescued me and took me in, after all. But you know what?" she asked him, lowering her voice to a whisper.
Rudo leaned over the edge of the sofa, closer to where Nei was standing in the adjoining hallway. "What?" he replied in the same whisper.
"Don't tell Rolf, but I think someday I want to be a hunter like you," she said as she walked over and knelt next to him, her face bright with excitement.
Even after the Darum incident, Nei remained resilient. She certainly had a survivalist's mentality; it made Rudo admire her even more. Whatever situation his life had been dealt, he couldn't compare it to Nei's. Despite all that she had been through, she kept on going. Rudo knew it was beyond her youth and her animal instincts, too, and that she admired him and his occupation made the last of his gloominess disappear. He suddenly wished he could help Rolf and Nei, and he had a pretty good idea of what Rolf was really assigned to. The north bridge wasn't the end of it, Rudo figured, but rather the beginning.
"You would make an excellent hunter," Rudo told Nei enthusiastically. "No, I take that back. You are an excellent hunter."
Nei beamed with pride. "I do like helping others. Only, I don't know, Rudo, but Rolf's about to do something very dangerous and I..."
Just then the front door opened and Rolf's silhouette filled the doorway. Nei immediately rushed over to him to take his bag and equipment like she always did, and Rolf, as usual, tried to tell her she didn't need to do that. A silly dance between Nei's pawing of Rolf and Rolf's dodging of Nei ensued. Rudo chuckled a little to himself while watching the whole thing unfurl. Being with Rolf and Nei over the past week had reminded him of how fulfilling it was to be a part of a team. Maybe it was time for him to stop working alone and join the hunter's guild.
Rolf finally gave in to Nei and she happily skipped away to his bedroom with his belongings. Rolf straightened his clothes and hair, and entered the living room with an exhausted look on his face.
"I shouldn't be this tired," he moaned as he plopped into an easy chair and leaned back as far as he could, staring at the ceiling. "I'm 21. Where's my energy?"
"Well, just wait until you're 35, then," Rudo remarked with a raised eyebrow. "If you want, I can name all the aches and pains that fill my days, just to give you an idea."
Rolf sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ah, I know. I shouldn't complain. You're right."
"Complain all you want," Rudo shrugged. "I have all day. In fact, my calendar is empty for the foreseeable future."
Rolf stared at Rudo curiously. "You don't have any upcoming jobs?"
"I haven't checked the listings at Roni's shop lately, just in case this last job took a while."
"About that..." Rolf continued to stare at Rudo, lowering his head. "You never told us who contracted you to rescue Teim. Her grandparents, I assume? It must have been a pretty hefty sum, the way you..."
"It wasn't about the money," Rudo interrupted curtly as he stood up with his bag and headed towards Rolf's wall safe, where Rudo had locked up his weapons.
Rolf rose from his chair as well and followed the hunter. "You're leaving? After just saying you had nothing else to do?"
Rudo pulled his rifle and shotgun out of the wall and turned around to Rolf. "Give me a reason to stay, Rolf, and I'll stay," he pushed for Rolf to divulge more information about his mission.
Rolf hesitated as he stared at the floor. He twisted his face a few times as he thought about going through the Biosystems Lab with just Nei. Could he really do that to Nei? Somewhere between pride and reason Rolf had to find a compromise. This mission wasn't about him, and the Commander already gave him permission to hire additional personnel as needed. In fact, in his pocket was Rudo's meseta card for helping with the north bridge situation. He had already worked with the hunter, so what was keeping him from asking for his continued assistance?
As Rolf looked up, he found he had hesitated too long and Rudo was heading towards the door.
"Wait!" Rolf called to Rudo as he caught up with him. "I'm sorry I didn't give this to you earlier." He pulled out the meseta card and handed it to Rudo.
Rudo stared at the card without taking it. After a few seconds he furrowed his brow and said, "I don't want it. I didn't deliver Teim safely to her family, therefore I refuse payment."
"But the mission wasn't about..." Rolf began, but then hesitated.
Rudo gave Rolf his undivided attention. "...Yes?"
Rolf grimaced as he rubbed the back of his neck. He let out a frustrated groan. He knew about Rudo's family, and was afraid that mentioning Teim wasn't what the government was really after would be too personal for Rudo. Finally he decided it was now or never. He took a deep breath and said as he exhaled, "I needed that bridge cleared to get to Biosystems."
Rudo's eyes widened. It was just as he thought; Rolf was really investigating the source of the biomonster outbreak. About time, Rudo thought. The accident at Biosystems happened over two years ago, so it was a wonder the government waited this long. However, Rudo found himself torn between wanting to help and the realization that the government really didn't care at all about Teim.
"Answer this," Rudo said as he scratched his chin. "Do you think what happened at the north bridge was a success?"
"Absolutely not!" Rolf answered indignantly. "I've replayed the whole thing in my mind several times and considered all the things I'd do differently if I had it to do all over again."
"So have I," Rudo said quietly. A long pause between the two followed; both avoided looking at the other. Finally, Rolf broke the silence.
"I'm sorry about Teim. I didn't consider her just a step in the process. I wanted her safe with her grandparents, too." There was another pause that was only interrupted after Rolf felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the hunter nodding his head in understanding.
"Keep the meseta. Put it in a fund for Nei; she deserves it. As for the Biosystems Lab," he said as he extended his other hand to Rolf, "I want to come with you."
"Welcome aboard, Rudo," Rolf said as he shook Rudo's hand firmly and grinned back at his new friend and partner.
Note: Done! Hooray! I know the circumstances presented here surrounding Rudo's separation from the military differ from the game and other Phantasy Star publications, but it's been my goal to characterize Rudo as less revenge-driven and more about being a hunter to save others from the same fate as his family.
Rudo's preliminary settei mentions he joins the military at age 20, and that's what I'm going by when I mentioned he was in the military for 12 years. Of course, that same settei also has his parents dying when he's 20 and describes him as suicidal (gee, you think? His entire family is dead). It's quite depressing, and I'm glad much of it was abandoned. It also describes him as being modeled after Rutger Hauer, being of German descent (in Algol? What were those Earthmen up to, anyway?), and having the hair and eye color of Commander Straker from the British television show UFO. In other words, I think Rudo was supposed to be the whitest white guy ever. Also, Nei is very fond of Rudo because he smells like Rolf. Anyway, just found that amusing.
While I'm typing out notes, I'd like to take a moment to thank my friend, Xander, for playing through the recently translated Rudger's Adventure and giving me a very detailed walkthrough of the game. There are a lot of interesting things in it, unfortunately I couldn't find a way to integrate them into this story. However, you all may know I'm working on another story, "Warming Up," that's more or less a Rudo/Amy ship. I'll be sure to add elements of Rudo's text game into that story, so be on the lookout!