The shuttle door slid open and the man walked out, nodding at some of the technicians in the room that were working on the repairs to the docking bay, trying to fix it up enough to get more shuttles docking in here to take the crew of the station home. The Hunters had just been given their "eviction" notice this morning, it was no wonder that everyone was so eager to leave.
The man knew that the group had fought hard the past 13 months, struggling against all odds. They had lived in this station, worked on this station, fought on this station, and even died on this station. He doubted any of them would actually be attached to this place. Just the people there, and once they were gone, the station would be a lifeless shell.
The man stepped up to one of the Hunters waiting for him there. The young man saluted him. "Welcome, sir."
The man nodded. "Paladin. Feel free to call me 'Spade'," he told him. The two began to walk further into the station together. "It looks like my assigning you here was worthless after all, eh? You really didn't get to do that much spy work on them, I'm sure. But whatever information you have on them will be very useful. I plan on stopping by the weapons locker and seeing if they left their weapons there." Paladin's face visibly shifted some, Spade noted. "I see you still have yours. Plan on joining CorSec again, m'boy?"
Paladin nodded slowly, as if digisting some news. "Yes, I am."
"Good to hear," Spade said with false cheerfullness. "We can use good people like you. With the Hunters disbanned, all the jobs they did will now fall on our shoulders. But unlike them, we won't be so inefficiant and emotional."
"Yes, sir."
"Well, I'm going to head to the control room and see if I can find one of the Generals. I need to begin the work I was sent here to do," Spade informed him.
Paladin glanced at him. "Which is...?"
"Evaluation, m'boy."
"Ah, General. I was hoping I'd get you," Spade told him.
"...Really?" Dominator asked.
"Yes, you're so much more levelheaded than Death Star. Plus you're more loyal to your cause. I like how close you try to play it by the book," Spade revealed.
"Why are you here?" asked Dominator.
"Ah, I'm sure you learned today, by the Hunters, that you all were disbanned," Spade began.
"Yes, I did," Dominator told him, clearly emotional thoughts going on within him that Spade could guess at.
"Well, then, I'm here to take everyone's weapons, who doesn't have the proper documents from EarthGov to have them or hasn't rejoined CorSec or EarthGov Armed Forces. Also, I'm to give everyone onboard this station an evaluation. Standard and everyone will have to go along with this," Spade informed him.
"I see...." Dominator hissed.
"Are you joining CorSec or EarthGov Armed Forces?" asked Spade mildly.
"Most likely not."
"Shame. Well, if you would give me the code to the weapons locker, I'll be sending appointments to all the Hunters to meet me in the Conference Room for the next few days. I'll try to hit the ones leaving in the next few days first..." Spade told him and stood up. Dominator glared at him and threw the keys. Catching them, Spade walked off.
Garland glanced at him scornfully, and not knowing what to do, he began to question him. "Are you religious?"
Death Star glanced at him. "Huh? No, I'm not..."
"So, you have no religious life?"
"....No, I do not Mr. Priest...." Death Star said weakly.
"Would you be willing to look into one?" asked Garland.
"What!? What the hell are you getting off on, anyway, kid?" Death Star shouted, breaking the glass in his hand and throwing the pieces onto the counter. "I am not religious nor do I care to listen to anything about religion...."
Garland sat there, looking into Death Star. "Though you are a reploid, you definately have a soul and that it will fulfill your life..."
"Oh, perfect, is this koombaya time too?" snorted Death Star.
"Really Death Star, that was in poor taste. The young man was just asking you a harmless question to get you to quit moping around. And my, do you look rough..." came a voice from behind them. Both turning around, Garland's eyes narrowed on Spade.
"Is the losing the Hunters actually getting you down? I would have thought you would have more of a stiff upperlip...Anyway, Garland, I need to see you in the Conference Room. I have to evaluate you before you leave the Hunters. Please head there within the next fifteen minutes." Garland frowned and began to make his way to the room.
Spade turned to Death Star. "I noticed that not all the Hunters have their weapons in the locker. I think you're getting slack on your job."
"Can I help it if they steal the keys and take their own weapons? Whadda want, me posting up security guards to watch a locker full of weapons?" Death Star countered.
Spade frowned and turned to follow Garland to the Conference Room. "Oh, and Spade?" called out Death Star. Spade turned back to face him. "May God have pity on your soul...." he said with a grin.
Garland smiled and stood up, accepting the test. Spade raised an eyebrow. "Uh, please, sit down. This'll just be verbally asking you things and you answering them back," he assured him. He motioned for Garland to sit down. "Okay, now, are you ready?"
Garland scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Oh! Heh heh eh...right Spade. Whoo, that's going to be bad for my score..."
Spade revealed no emotion as he leaned back in his seat. "Your father died while on a mission for the Hunters, is this correct?"
He immediately stopped smiling and look down at out of respect. "Yes."
"And you were found that same day, hidden onboard the shuttle for that mission?"
".....Yes sir."
"How old were you?"
"Four years old."
"And you, being four years old, were taken out on a mission to recover a chip Albert had stolen, correct? In a flooding town, to be exact."
Garland nodded. "Yes sir."
Spade shook his head. "How irresponsible. Taking you out like that, only being four years old, was a direct violation of every morale code there was. I assume Death Star was the one who allowed you to go, correct?"
Garland looked at Spade. "You say immoral, but you must take into consideration the fact that I was not exactly an....average four year old."
"But they didn't know that, Garland. But, that's beside the point. Did Death Star allow you to go on serveral missions with the group BEFORE you joined the Hunters?"
"I went without permission," Garland lied. Spade frowned and his eyes narrowed as he studied Garland's face. He didn't believe it, but he was forced to write it down.
"Alright. What is your personal feelings towards Death Star?"
"My personal feelings? He..... He means more to me than most people. I respect him more than all the other Hunters. He's lost so much, but remained on course for his mission. He's saved my life his share of times as well."
"Dominator was your adopted father, allowing you to stay on the station and with the Hunters. This was the first case ever of a reploid adopting a...humanoid child. And from the results of your decisions later in life, it was an unsecessful experiment. What are your feelings towards him?"
"I consider him my father, and to Sharlena her Grandfather. No questions asked. And as a parent myself. You always make mistakes. That's where you learn true parenting, from birth. Dominator took me on as a surrogate, and he did his best."
Spade gave a slight nod, acknowledging his small defeat on tackling Garland with personal issues. "What were your reasons for joining CorSec?"
"Emotional problems. I spent my childhood being the object of affection to the hunters. Then came Darien," Garland began and looked down, remembering Darien's bravery, "it seemed as though every one was against me. And Hodges made CorSec look like a good home.... and it was....for a while."
"So, you turned to the people your friends dispised the most. This seems so illogical, but I won't push you further on that. Afterwards, your friends attacked a CorSec base and you were sent out to fight them. You ended up killing a Hunter and fighting Dominator, your 'father', one on one. Afterwards, you ran off. You seem to have a real flair for running off when things get confusing, Garland. This makes you seem like you can't stand up to your problems. Is this true?"
Garland looked Spade dead in the eyes, his look saying more than words, completely underminding rank. "I didn't have a choice in that fight..... hyper.... that damned drug, did it to me.... I didn't even know it was in my uniform."
"However tragic, Garland, you still avoided my question on the reason you can't stand up to your problems. It seems you have some emotional trama going on. Something caused by someone close to you? Dominator? ....Death Star?"
"Spade. I know that your trying to unnerve me. I've been through hell, and I shan't think of what my friends have gone through. I don't care for running anymore in my life. I have my daughter to protect. I used to run, yes."
"So you admit that you had problems facing your problems, yet they never sought you help with the Hunters. They put you back on duty and acted like everything was fine, when you were in reality hurting inside, Garland. This was wrong. You shouldn't have been allowed on duty until they sent you through the proper evaluations. Another violation on Death Star's part in his judgement...." Spade told him.
Garland lied again. "It was my judgement to be put back on duty. Although I," he said, spatting out the next few words, "was hurting, I couldn't bear to see my friends..... my -friends- be hurt."
Spade then heard a clacking of something. Looking back at X1, he saw him unfolding a chair. "No thanks, already got my own."
Sighing, he nodded almost mournfully at what was about to take place. "Alright, lets begin....X1. How long have you been with the Hunters?"
"Would that be counting this recent bunch, or altogether?"
"This final version of the Hunters."
"Hmmm...lemme see...what's today?"
"The, uh, 27th, of December," Spade informed him.
"What? Oh damn, there goes my Christmas shopping...leave it to me to wait 'till the last minute..."
Spade frowned. "Please, answer the question about how long you've been working here..."
"Here?"
"With the Hunters...." Spade hissed.
"Here? With the Hunters? How long have I been working?"
"Yes! Now if you don't answer the question, I will be forced to write you up as unwilling to cooperate...."
"Unwilling to uncraporate? What the hell does that mean?"
Spade wrote something down in his notebook, marking off alot of x's, ruining X1's chances of ever getting a job. "How long have you been working with the Hunters this last time?" he asked again.
"Incompentant's spelled with one "n", not two," X1 commented to Spade, somehow knowing what he was jotting down. "Ho hum, since it was up and running, I guess, so however long that's been. You gonna finish that sandwich?"
"I put down one n you idiot!" Spade told him as he flipped his pencil around and erased something, rewriting it. "So, that's about thirteen to fourteen months," he went on, ignoring the sandwich remark. "What are your personal feelings to how the Hunters are runned?"
"You also also dot that "i", otherwise you're not going to look all that intelligent when you submit the report. Governmentally run, or Death Star run?"
"....Death Star runned..." Spade's voice said, dipped in venom.
"Strong, sturdy, they run like a well-oiled machine. Needs a tad bit of work, but other then that, X and Zero would have been proud of the legacy these kids carried on."
Spade's face obviously showed disappointment in the answer, but it quickly brightened as he looked over his notes. "Is it true you talk to tomatoes and can stare at walls all day long?"
"No comment." Spade had a slight smirk in his face and jotted something down real quickly.
"What are your personal feelings on Garland? Dominator? And Death Star?" asked Spade.
X1 shifted in his seat a little and rubbed his chin. "Garland. Very human for being not of this planet, dedicated, bold, and very affirmative. He's come along way from being a brash, impulsive kid when we first picked him up.
"Dominator. Model soldier, he should be made a high ranking military official or something, however the hell you people do it." Again shifting in his seat, X1 thought awhile on what to say about his long-time friend, Death Star.
"Death Star...One of the toughest, most determined, strong-willed leaders I've ever seen. Even though sometimes he lets his feelings overcloud his judgement, he always finds a way to make things right. He's been through hell, and he's handled it the best he can, as any of us could do. If there was anyone I'd want to watch my back, it's him."
"Very touching, I'm sure they would all like to know this. About Garland, however, when you mentioned the brash, impulsive kid part - he was four years old when he went on his first mission with the Hunters. What do you think of this...personally and professionally?" Spade questioned.
"It was better to take him along then to leave him at the station. We didn't know anything about him. Had they left him at the station, and he'd been a spy or something, he'd have his pickings of the station's workings. Taking him along, they could at least keep an eye on him."
"But when you all discovered he wasn't, you would have thought you would have stopped taking him. Each time you did so, you put this little four year old's life in your hands, where he could have been killed easily."
"You'd rather they had left him at the station with ME? I'm me, and I even wouldn't trust myself!"
Spade rolled his eyes. "It's Death Star's decision to allow members back onto the team, correct? When EarthGov isn't interferring."
"Or CorSec," X1 stressed as he added, "yes, that's correct."
Spade smiled coldly. "Thank you, X1. You may now leave." Thanks to X1's confirmation, he had trapped Garland in a few lies.
"You sure you gonna finish that sandwich?"
"Possibly to lie about us and give us all bad reviews so that EarthGov can keep some sort of control on us?" suggested Slash as he chuggged down his glass.
"I wouldn't put it past him. Man, does Spade ever get on my nerves..." Blackjack muttered.
"Agreed."
Spade walked into the bar and Blackjack's eyes narrowed sharply as he walked towards them. "Hello," greeted Spade with a slight tone of ice to his voice. "Slash, if you would report to the Conference Room I'll finish your evaluation up. And Blackjack, I'll see you next....say in the next forty minutes or so?"
"...Whatever you say, Spade..." hissed Blackjack.
Slash begrudgingly stood up. "Lets make this quick, Spade. I don't have time to waste with you..." he added. The two walked out of the room, leaving Blackjack alone with his drink.
Slash pulled up a seat. "Whadda you want Spade."
"I'm sure you know. I'll ask you a few questions, you answer, and I evaluate it."
Slash shrugged, and leaned back, the chair creaking with the weight of the hunter on it. "Go on then."
"You've been with the Hunters since they first began, correct?"
"Since the beginning. There were some good memories from back when I was an Ensign......" Slash laughed softly to himself. "Very good memorys indeed."
"That's nice," Spade said, cutting him off. "Alright, what are your personal feelings for Death Star, Garland, and Slasher?"
"Personal feelings? Well......Death Star I consider my friend, Garland...... Garland's the mysterious factor, I trust him, just don't completly know him.... Slasher... I think of as my brother...." Slash narrowed his eyes, thinking some private thought. "Why did you wanna know?"
"Simple evaluation. See how you think on certain matters. Does this ... bother you?"
"........ No. Just curious." Slash leaned back in his chair. "Anything else you wanna know?"
"...Yes." Spade jotted down in in his notebook.
"Then ask."
Spade rose his head up. "If you were running the Hunters, how would you run the unit differently than Death Star has?"
Slash leaned forward again, resting his elbows on the table. "He ran the unit the way he wanted to. Personally, if I ran it, there would have been a lot more stratigic moves, but he played the cards he was dealt like a pro."
"You were once created by Sigma. What makes you think you don't have any sleeper Maverick viruses in you?" Spade challenged, changing the subject.
Slash narrowed his eyes, which flashed briefly, "I have run every system check on my system possible, most of the impossible ones, and a few of the just plain stupid ones. If there happened to be any virus in me, Hell help us all."
"...I see. And there's rumors you plan on re-opening Force Works. Is this true?"
"..... I thought about it. Any reason you wanna know?"
"ANY rogue group is of interest to EarthGov and CorSec."
"I see. For your information, everyone that I asked to join Force Works, is heading to the Armed forces, and after a brief leave of absence, I probably will too."
"Then why bother recreating Force Works?"
"There always will be a threat from something that EarthGov will not wanna touch. Then the call will come in, and people will be needed to join that."
"Interesting. While I stand against it, perhaps EarthGov will pass it through. Perhaps not..." Spade said, his voice even.
Slash slowly raised an eyebrow. "I'll take into consideration."
"I'd advise you to.....I hear that a friend of yours died...Crystal, was it?"
Slash closes his eyes at the name. "Yes... she died...... Her body was sent into space after everyone got back from saving the world.."
"I'm sure her death affected you."
"Yes... it affected me...."
"Thank you, Slash....that will be all."
Slash got up from the table slowly, saluting to Spade, and strode out.
Blackjack uneasily sat down. Though he had been drunk only a few minutes before, he had quickly sobered up when Spade had called him in. "Ok, I'm here. What do you need?"
"What I need, is to talk to you. Ask you for a few questions, play around the bush, get some answers, and then send you out the door in the least amount of time as possible," Spade told him.
Blackjack clasped his hands together and popped his knuckles. "Start talking. There's a party waiting on me at the bar."
"You were one of the first people to sign up with the Hunters...let's see, you were with them on their second mission. After being with them for so long, you would think you would be rather loyal to them, wouldn't you?"
Blackjack looked at Spade warily. "Of course."
"Then why did you defect on multiple occasions?"
Blackjack closed his eye, obviously affected by the question. He slowly began. "The first time, I didn't really defect. My sister, Charlie, codename Foxfire, contacted me and told me to meet her at CorSec HQ in Mega City. When I did, the rest of the Hunters caught up with me, and I missed the contact time. Turns out Charlie missed it too, as she was suddenly placed on duty to attack a group of Hunters that had broken into HQ.
"Needless to say, we did meet up with each other. The second time... I'm not even sure what happened. The last thing I remember about that was being brought out of a brainwashing and having one hell of a headache. The last time... I left Hunter, though temporarily, because Death Star was getting on everyone's nerves and being totally heartless. I needed to get away from him for a while. Well, as things turned out, I received word from Tony Williams, a good friend of mine, that Mirri Brooks, codename Freewind, who is now my wife, was still in love with me. When Cran was killed and CorSec reformed, I figured that the best way to get back together with her would be to rejoin CorSec. I think you know the rest."
Spade shifted his facial expression slightly. "Interesting. So, what do you think of how the Hunters were handled by Death Star?"
Blackjack shifted his position in the chair. "Well... In the beginning, things were pretty rough, because none of us were willing to work as a team. It was Death Star that brought us together, though. Death Star was... he wasn't meant to be a leader, but he was thrown into the position anyway, and he adapted well. I couldn't really ask for a better commander, or a better friend."
Spade shrugged impassively. "What are your plans now that the Hunters have been disbanneded?"
Blackjack sighed. "Unlike just about everyone else, my plans are simple. I see nothing left to do except live life. Therefore, I'll probably be settling down in a small town on Earth called Vesperton, with my pregnant wife. I won't be joining EarthGov or CorSec, because I feel that I should be with Mirri for at least these nine months."
"Ah...." Spade said, leaning back in his chair and meeting Blackjack's eyes with such a look most men would turn away. "Anything else we should discuss that you feel should go on record?"
Blackjack met Spade's gaze with a sharp look of his own. "Nothing that I can think of. Though I am curious... what does all of this mean to you? Why do you care about my personal life, my plans?" Blackjack said, picking up an edge in his voice.
"The professional reason? To have information to have the files on your evaluations...for future generations to see how the Hunters thought and acted and what they were going to do," Spade told him.
"And the non-professional reason?" Blackjack made a circular motion with his hand, motioning Spade to continue.
"I always have a motivation behind everything. I'm also here on a little mission of my own, to permantly deal with a problem that might come back up later to haunt me and EarthGov. By asking my hidden questions, I'll deal with this problem," Spade told him, leaving no room in his tone to ask what the problem was.
Blackjack picked up on the hint in Spade's voice and stood up. "If that's everything, then..." The card shark headed for the door, but stopped in the doorway. "Oh yeah, off the record, watch out for Arono. You think X1's interview was bad..."
As Spade watched Blackjack leave, he felt a slight worry about what may lay in store for him in these evaluations.
"A little before that. I was around for a couple missions before Vile attacked."
"I see. Well, how do you considered the Hunters to be runned? Well?"
"Most of the top officers were good leaders, and things would have run quite smoothly if people didn't jump into things so often. Some of the rookies didn't even listen to orders."
"Probably because Death Star didn't have control," Spade muttered, not really wanting to talk about him to Ariel, considering everyone else was giving him good reviews.
"Death Star did have a couple problems himself, but we weren't really prepared for the unexpected."
"Anyway, you've been missing from the Hunters alot lately. Care to explain?"
"Well, I had something... personal, I had to take care of."
"As in....?"
"Well, originally I had left because I thought I had located my "creator's" lab... To say the least, things didn't run as smoothly as I thought they would."
"I see," Spade said, visibly bored with the interview. "What are your attitude to see of the teammates? Any you would like to comment on?"
"Most of them I would always be glad to have on my side, though some, mostly those who failed to achieve rank, ended falling on thier faces a bit too much...Blackjack and Slash were always there when you needed them though. Same with Dakota..."
"I hear you have a relation with.....Slasher. How goes that?" asked Spade, purposely switching Ariel with Cheryl.
"Slasher and I have never really gotten along...When I first joined, he made it his personal duty to pick on me."
....I see...then the rumors that you two are a couple are false?"
"WHAT?!"
"...Um, should I move on?" asked Spade.
"Cheryl has fallen for him... though I can't understand why. I can't stand the little brat."
"Oh, your 'clone' has the relation. I see. Well, what are you plans now that the Hunters are disbannded?"
"I was thinking about joining the EarthGov Armed Forces, though I may try to locate the other survivers..."
"Of what...?"
"My world... The 'T' destroyed it," Ariel told him, a slight scowl on her face.
"Ah. Most tragic. Anything you would like to tell me about it?"
"Beware of that planet killer? No, nothing I can think of really."
"...Well, I really can't think of anything else to evaluate on. You may leave whenever you're ready."
Ariel stood up and saluted, walking out the door. Sighing, Spade leaned back in his chair and wondered how many more he would have to go through before the day was over.
Leaning back on the barstool, Death Star's eyes glanced at the list. He'd made it a little job of his to ask each of the Hunters what specifically Spade was talking to them about. It seemed at first he was leaning more to questions about Death Star, but now seemed just to be leaning toward more personal issues with the Hunters.
Narrowing his eyes, Death Star found his curious, and dangerous too. Was Spade for some reason trying to gain information about him so he could do something? Please don't let that be the case, things are hectic enough around here without having to worry about Spade being on my back...
Dominator walked up behind him. "Hmmm, Spade should be finishing Dakota up in the next few minutes, leaving Slasher to go in next. I just got a call, Spade wants to see me immediately after Slasher. Then he wants to chit chat with Paladin, it seems. Still, no indication he wants to talk to you," he told him.
"Joy..." muttered Death Star, some of his fears confirmed. "Well, you better go. I'm quite sure he won't keep Slasher in there for a long time. You know how Slasher is, he won't have a bit of good information for him. Hell, I heard Spade threw Arono out in four minutes flat, beating everyone else's records by a good solid five minutes."
"Yeah, you're right. Later, DS," Dominator called out to him and walked off.
"Yeah, later..." muttered Death Star.
"I wouldn't say the Hunters were the most traditional military unit... but we did succeed where all others failed," Dominator narrowed his eyes a bit. "You'd do well to remember that."
"Would I, Dominator?" Spade said, his eyes narrowing to slits. "Is that a warning, or a threat?"
"It's neither Spade," Dominator responded cooly. "Just a reminder."
"You were a part of the original Hunters, back in the time of X and Zero, weren't you?" Spade said, changing the subject.
"I was," Dominator nodded. "I was created in 2108 and joined the Maverick Hunters soon after."
"You had a free ticket to stay outside the Wastelands, but instead you attacked a group of humans...." Spade commented, a slight smile playing on his face. "Why would you want to blow something like that?"
"I didn't 'attack' them, Spade..." Dominator hissed, knowing all to well that Spade had been leading the police force that arrested him. "The human group was trying to stone a reploid to death... My creator, Dr. Namar, intervened and tried to stop the group, but they attacked and murdered him... and closed in on me..."
"Shame the reports don't really say that, isn't it, Dominator?" Spade asked. "A dark spot on your history. And it resulted in that," he added, pointing at Dominator's eye, "as you can see. People looking at the reports might not have thought you a stable enough reploid, but Venerator pulled some strings and got you into the Hunters. You seemed to have proven your worth, too..."
"Don't take it as one," Spade countered. "While you may have proven your worth, others in the Hunters haven't, and it's your duty to see that they do. I seem to recall when you took over the Hunters, releaving Death Star of duty. Why DID you do that, anyway? It doesn't seem in your character to have your leading commander removed and then you take over to go on some dangerous mission."
"I'm not sure I agree with you, but..." Dominator trailed off, recalling the time when he releaved Death Star of command. "Iceheart, who was very close to Death Star, had died... Death Star had been suffering from a virus... Combined with even more stress on him, he wasn't leading up to his normal standards. I realized this, and decided it would be best for the team if he was removed for command, untill he was capable to lead again. X1 agreed with me. And Death Star was soon after capable of leading again..."
"Perhaps," Spade muttered. "Anyway, speaking of problems, you don't seem to have that many, except for a certain Maverick....Liberator, is it? What's the deal with that?"
"Well..." Dominator paused. "Liberator, like Venerator and I, was one of the more idealistic reploids. We hoped that someday humans and reploids could live together in peace... After Venerator's death, Liberator marshelled Venerator's old group and turned them into mavericks. He betrayed Venerator and my ideals."
"Betrayal is something that's very common. Something even the Hunters experienced a time or two, with Garland and Blackjack. Tell me, why did you decide to adopt young Garland?"
"Garland's father, who we found out was the Hunter Ultra Omega, had been killed. Like Death Star, I felt partially responcible for that. But, moreso, there was something about him..." Dominator said. "He needed a true father, which Ultra Omega had never been to him, to become someone great... Which he has."
"Really, now. I can't really picture a 'father/son' bond between you two....Why would he run away from the Hunters like he did, so many times?"
"He only 'ran away' once... And those were hard times for us all. Maybe it was partly my fault, as the war took much of my time. Perhaps he shouldn't have been Hunter in his childhood... Even though he grew up so fast, regardless of whatever race he was, it might have been a mistake. But, he came around and returned to us," Dominator answered, a bit painfully.
"He ran away and met Di'Mantha in the mall, and joined her...he returned a few days later when your shuttle got caught in the gravity field of Jupiter. He ran away and joined CorSec when Hodges talked to him. In a fateful battle between you and him, he came back to his senses and ran off to join Di'Mantha, again....there's a pattern there.
"But enough of your mistakes. Do you consider yourselves to be close, now?" asked Spade with curiousity, leaning forward some. "I mean, I'm sure your relation has changed some over the many years, so I'm curious, have you two remained close?"
"He was torn between Parnel and Earth. He found out where he came from, and had hard decisions to make for a child..." Dominator then thought over the second question. "We have... Both as teammates, friends, and father and son. True, it's changed as he grew up so quickly, but I can think of no better friend, teammate, or son than Garland."
"Nice speech," Spade said, his voice indicating differently. "What do you plan on doing now that the Hunters are disbannded? Early you told me you probably wouldn't join CorSec or the Armed Forces, so what are you planning on doing?"
"I'm not completely sure yet," Dominator answered. "I may yet stay in the military a bit longer, to help round up the final mavericks... But, I'm almost certain that I will eventually leave it and perhaps settle down. I've never had a chance to live normally, and now that Venerator's dream is becoming a reality, I want to have that chance."
"Nice," Spade said, closing his notepad and setting it down on the floor beside him. He leaned forward some. "Alright, our conversation is offically over...however, if you want to ask any questions...feel free to ask them now. I might actually answer them."
"None, Spade," Dominator shook his head and stood up to leave.
"Shame, there seems to be a lot of resentment from you to me," Spade told him as he stood up and sat on the desk.
"Maybe it's the stand you took against reploids... In favor of our exile to the Wastelands. I don't agree with your actions then, Spade, so that's why... I just hope you've changed," Dominator said
Spade reached down and grab a cigar, the first in a long time that day. "Perhaps, Dominator...be seeing you around. Count on it." He lit the cigar and took a deep breath in, blowing the smoke out as he did so.
"All right... Good bye for now, Spade," Dominator nodded, and exited the room.
Paladin nodded and sat down. "Yes, sir"
"Alright," Spade began, sitting down in his chair. "I hope you know whatever we talk about, stays in this room with us. You will not tell any of the other Hunters about."
Paladin paused for a moment. "Yes, sir."
"Good," Spade said, blowing out some smoke from his cigar. "I want you to tell me everything you know Death Star has done wrong or out of procedure so I can bury him."
Paladin formally stated, "I haven't been here long enough to see anything. I have not earned their trust. My apologies."
Spade's face fell. "I don't suppose you would have access to their hidden files that would report their actions. Perhaps get into their camera systems? I'm sure they hack and send what they want us to see back at EarthGov. And with the destruction of the station (Mission 50) we lost our direct feedback. But we know back then Death Star was screwing up alot. He's a loose cannon that needs to be fixed, Paladin..."
"Hidden files, sir? Their computers are . . . unreliable at best. They were programmed by X1, one of the weirdest . . . THINGS I've ever met. As for Death Star, I can't say he's exactly efficient in his ways of leading, but I have yet to see anything grossly irresponsible," Paladin informed him.
Spade mentally cursed, not wanting to be hearing that from the officer. "Alright, that's all. Do you plan on staying here with the others until the end or leaving sooner to head back to CorSec?"
"I don't want to stay with this bunch of undisciplined yahoos for any longer than necessary. I will leave for CorSec as soon as I find out where I'm going, exactly."
"Ah. I'll have some orders in your room in under an hour. You may leave tomorrow on the early morning shuttle flight out of here, if you like. I, myself, will be sticking around a little while longer. Well, you're dismissed."
Paladin stood up and walked out toward the door and turned around. "Oh, sir? If you consider having virtually no chain of command something worth reporting . . ."
Spade looked up and smiled. "I do at that, me boy."
Paladin nodded and exited. Spade reached over and hit the commlink, contacting Death Star. "Hello, General. I'm ready to talk to you, now......"