Well, that's the last branch... Surprised it held the bag that long. He shook his head and surveyed his prey. A dead oak tree, in the backyard of his home in Vesperton, New York. The tree badly needed to come down, as he was constantly reminded by his wife, Christine. And it wasn't like a Carter to leave a problem just sitting there. However, he, Brian James Carter, could have a little fun while doing it.
Later, tree. See you in Hell. Brian saluted, and again whipped out his beam sabre. Igniting it, he studied its pulsing blue blade. Sure, he had bought it for protection for his family. But that didn't mean it didn't also have more practical uses. With a grin, Brian held it parallel to the ground for a brief moment before jumping at the tree's trunk. Performing three quick slashes, Brian inscribed his insignia on the tree's trunk - a triangle, the Greek letter Delta. With only a second's hesitation, Brian slashed through the tree's trunk, the sabre easily eating through the old wood. Pulling it out, Brian snickered lightly, as the tree did not fall.
Stubborn, eh? he laughed lightly as he walked to the other side of the tree. With smirk and a quick yell, Brian jumped upwards and slammed his foot into the tree. The force of the kick shattered what wood was left holding the tree up, and the huge form toppled to the ground. The tree slammed into the ground, shaking the ground and sending a shockwave of noise pulsing through the neighborhood.
Yipe! Maybe I shouldn't have done this at eight in the morning... With that thought, Brian quickly retreated into his home, a small, one-story house on a quiet street on the outskirts of Vesperton, New York.
"What the hell are you doing?!" As soon as Brian stepped into the door, he met with his first protestor: Christine.
"Well... You've been on me to take that tree down, so I did," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"You didn't have to wake up the entire neighborhood doing it, though!" Christine complained. "And just be glad Eliza and E.J. didn't wake up." A wail sounded, as if on cue. "...There's E.J. now. You woke him up, you handle him."
"Ok, ok, on the way..." Brian walked out of the kitchen, an annoyed Christine shaking her head as she watched him.
I've got to break him of that...
What better way to end a long day at work, he thought. Why did I take that office job, anyway?
"...erick attack has occurred," sounded from another side of the room. Interested, Brian looked in the voice's direction, and at the gym's television. Straining to listen over the roar of the noise, Brian was able to make out most of the report.
"This time the Mavericks have struck an office complex in downtown Vesperton, New York." The camera panned to the scene of the attack, and Brian's mouth dropped open. "The William Andrews office complex was attacked at 4:32 PM today. There were eight fatalities in the attack. The identities of the dead are as of yet unconfirmed..."
"Hey, Brian, isn't that where you work?" a female voice sounded from beside Brian, knocking him out of his brief stupor.
"Y... yeah, it is... 4:32... That's two minutes after I pulled out of there!" he stammered. "Whoa... Lynn, any longer, and I could've been the ninth fatality..."
"Don't sweat it. You weren't there, and that's what matters. Though your wife and kids don't know that. Might want to call home and tell them that you're all right." With that, Lynn slapped Brian on the back and walked off. Brian whipped out his cell phone and punched in a few numbers, his life changed.
Cain leaned back in his seat, working on some new project. It sparked and he poked it. "Sigma's thinking Vile's just merely striking out in revenge for that defeat we handed them awhile back. Sigma is certain Vile's running out of resources."
Zero frowned. "I don't like that kind of thinking. I mean, you have to look at it from all angles in my personal opinion. I know I haven't been around here for very long, but I don't really like that Sigma fellow..."
Dr. Cain chuckled lightly. "Har. Har. Har. You sound like X1 now." Zero blinked, never having personally met this X1. Though his reputation was clearly spreading through the building. "Sigma was programmed with circuits that cannot let him go Maverick. He's perfectly harmless. You should all stop worrying so much."
Zero nodded. "I suppose..." He let himself out and walked down the hallway, not noticing a shadow standing outside Cain's office. Sigma's eyes flashed.
Death Star leaned back in his seat on the other side of the room, glancing at North Star. "Can you believe this guy? Ugh. He just drives me crazy sometimes."
North Star took a sip of his drink. "What do you expect from the leader of the Hunters? A quiet, shy guy who will try to talk the bad guys out of fighting?"
Death Star scowled at North Star's dry sense of humor and looked over at Zero, who was talking to a few reploids. The new reploid seemed to enjoy his duty as a Maverick Hunter. However cocky he was, at least he didn't act like Sigma.
"I don't know...North Star, do you sense something bad is coming?"
North Star glanced at him, studying his friend who was like a brother to him for several seconds. He decided that Death Star was seriously concerned about something. "No, I don't. Why?"
Death Star's eyes followed back to Sigma. "I don't know, there's something going on around here. I can feel it. But I can't place my finger on it. Also, I keep feeling like I'm being watched."
North Star laughed. "Paranoid." Death Star shrugged and looked up at the camera. It was focused on Sigma's group right this moment.
"Yeah...paranoid..."
"It's not of any human language ever recorded. Yet it was most definitely written by humans. Our experts have become extremely well trained to decipher human writing now. We've dated the tablets. They go as far back as the late 1900's to early 2000."
Sigma digested the news. "Is that so. I'm surprised it survived so long. Or that no one ever found it."
Storm glanced around. "On the contrary, it does look like there was a battle at the site, a long time ago. Maybe as far back as the time of Dr. Light. It probably was just some fighters barracaded up in there during the wars, but it could have been something more important. However, the tablets were never found nor touched. The dust on them was pretty thick."
Sigma thought. Who could have fought there? And over what? But more importantly, he had to know what those tablets said. That's when the idea hit him. "You said that there's no human language in the world that match these, right? That's recorded, at least."
Storm nodded slowly. "Yes, I did say that..."
Sigma sneered. "Then perhaps it's alien."
Storm's eyes blinked for a moment then he began to laugh. "Alien!? You believe in little green space men that walk around? Even with all the data lost on history, it was known that people believed in aliens. But so far, there's never been anything like an actual documented sighting."
Sigma glared and picked up Storm, the surprised reploid going eek. "Now listen here. If you ever laugh at me again, I'll rip you into two. Is that understood?" Storm nodded. Sigma threw him down onto the ground and stormed off, the idea of aliens forgotten...but not the thirst for the knowledge on those tablets.
Zero, X mused, was quickly becoming the strongest reploid in the complex. After all, he did defeat Sigma easily with only his bare hands and a pipe. Lately Death Star had been training Zero how to use a sabre, an enhanced version of the saber, and the pupil was excelling fast. X secretly thought Death Star was displeased because then that would make him the third best saberist in the Hunter ranks if Zero excelled. Everyone knew how good Sigma was.
Slamming his book shut, X realized he wasn't concentrating on it at all. Strolling around the complex, X sighed, wondering what he was going to do with his life. All around him people were fighting for what they believed in, going out and putting their life on the line for a cause. But X didn't believe in fighting, so how could he put his life on the line for that type of cause?
X knew that most people thought he was a coward for not taking a stand and fighting.
Lost in his own thoughts, X bumped into the person in front of him. "Ulf!" Looking up he saw a streak of blonde. "Oh, Zero, I'm sorry about that. Guess my mind was wandering."
Zero turned around and glanced down at X. He smiled. "No problem, X. I was just admiring the weather anyway." He pointed out the window at the beautiful day outside.
X stepped up beside him and looked out there. "I didn't know you appreciated things like this."
Zero chuckled. "I don't. I'm secretly day dreaming about blowing the entire land up into a hazardous wastelands where humans will turn into mutants and crawl around hissing." X looked at him horrified. "I'm kidding, X. Of course I appreciate things. Why do you think I fight?"
X shrugged. "To calm your bloodthirst?"
Zero glanced at him. "I enjoy fighting, yes, but I also fight for a cause." He pointed at the window. "I fight to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same things we do. I fight to know that my efforts will go to making sure that this beauty won't be destroyed by someone who doesn't give a damn. I fight to protect what I believe in."
X listened. The words going to his heart. He wondered if he should join the Hunters and fight for this cause too. Instead of hiding behind words of pacifism. Zero smirked as if he knew these words would have this effect on X. "Hey, blueberry boy, lets say me and you grab a drink, shall we?"
X grinned. "Sure thing, Goldielocks."
Zero got him into a headlock. "Don't 'dis the hair, got it?"
X nodded. "Alright! Alright!" Zero let him go and patted him on the back. X rubbed his sore neck and realized how pathetically weak he was at this moment.
Zero pointed ahead. "Lets go forth and drink and be merry then fall flat on our faces drunk! ... by the way, its your treat."
"What is it?" he asked, his voice no more than a growl.
"They completed construction on the new air battleship, The Fin. It's fully armed, can carry hundreds of soldiers, and it's armor cannot be destroyed! It's perfect!"
Vile lifted himself up some and looked down at the picture of the airship. "...it's a giant fish."
The Maverick chuckled nervously. "Don't ask me why they did it like that, but it's still extremely powerful. We could turn the tide of this war into our favor with something like this."
Vile nodded slowly. "We could, couldn't we?"
"Uh huh, uh huh!"
Vile allowed himself a smile, though no one could possibly see. "Excellent. Prepare to mobilize our troops. We'll attack when they begin their air show for it. That's in five days people. Get ready. Because this time, the Mavericks will win."
"I worked there before the place was attacked," Brian explained. "There are two reasons I came here, I guess. One, I knew all eight of the people who were killed, and I was good friends with all of them. Two, I'm without a job right now," he added with a grin. "Call it revenge, if you wish... I believe I was spared from the attack - I was let off early by the boss - so I could come here and join the fight against the Mavericks. You know, like divine intervention or something." The receptionist nodded.
"Yes, well, human religion is something I prefer not to tread too deeply into," she responded. "It says here that you are an ace with a both a sabre and a sniper rifle. We don't have too many jack-of-all-trades fighters around here... Let's hope you're as good as you say here." Brian laughed nervously, remembering what he had written on the paper. The receptionist placed the papers on her desk.
"Welcome to Maverick Hunter, kid. We need the fresh talent lately... It seems that everyone joining up lately is either a muscle brain or a geek with no fighting skill. It's nice to see a combination of the two for once." Brian nodded, not sure how to take that. "However, before you can officially be considered in Maverick Hunter, you require a physical." She smirked. "You may report to MedBay now. Take this, and give it to our chief medical director, X1. He will give you the physical, free of charge." The Hunters hanging around the lobby cracked up laughing, leaving Brian wondering what exactly was in store...
North Star chuckled. "Looks like we got a new piece of meat. And he's on his way to meet el X1."
Death Star studied the human as he walked off. "Huh. Wonder who he is. I'll just go pump Mira for information." He started walking to the receptionist and then glanced back at North Star. "I still have to meet this X1 fellow."
North Star shook his head. "Oh, your time will come. Just don't will it any sooner."
Death Star leaned against the desk and glanced at the female reploid. "Hello, Mira. How have you been?"
The reploid glanced at Death Star. "Save it, Star. I know what's on your mind. Sex, sex, sex, is that what all you males think of?"
Death Star smirked. "When they programmed you, did they try to make you as close to a woman as possible?"
Mira looked Death Star over again. "What do you want, Star?"
Death Star nodded toward the hallway the new recruit went. "Who's the new fellow?"
Mira sighed. "Is that what you came over here for? To find out about him? Bah, males."
"Just a second ago you were bashing me for wanting to get you in bed."
Mira glared. "Oh shut up." Death Star continued to lean against the desk. "His name is Brian James Carter. He's an ace expert at sabres and sniper rifles."
"Thanks, Mira." Ace at sabres, eh? I think I'm going to have a little contest with the new boy when I get the chance... Death Star trotted back over to North Star and the two left for a little while.
That X1 is insane... I'll be going to someone ELSE for medical work from now on... He rolled over painfully and examined his quarters. Strangely, it looked almost like a typical "bachelor pad." He'd have to have a talk with his roommate about the decorating... Sure, he was only 25, but he had already gotten used to some order.
"Yeah, sure, catch ya later, Callie!" a male voice sounded from outside the quarters. The door slid open, and Brian looked over at the door, brushing his hair out of his eyes. A Reploid dressed in street clothes stepped into the room and tossed his scarf onto a chair. He stood at around five feet, eight inches, and looked like he was built to be no older than sixteen years old or so.
Looks like this guy's quarters is party central... I'm going to love this! Brian thought as the Reploid's eyes passed over him for the first time. Surprised, the Reploid flew back and into a card table, crashing both himself and the table to the floor.
"AAAH! Who are you, and what the hell are you doing in my quarters?!" the Reploid said, quickly getting to his feet. "...Wait. You my new roomie?" Brian nodded.
"Yeah, I'm him. Brian Carter, codename Delta. Glad to meet ya... er..." Brian started.
"The name's Wildfire S.S. Just call me Wildfire," the Reploid said, offering his hand. "Oh yeah, by the way, you're paying for the damage to the card table." Brian groaned, and Wildfire snickered. "Take it easy, it's not that expensive. So, why're you here? Glory? Money? Revenge?"
"Revenge..." Brian said, and explained his story.
"Man, that's harsh," Wildfire said, shaking his head. "So, you're a sabre and sniping specialist? I'm technically intelligence and reconnaissance, but I'm good with a sabre too. What say we hit the training facilities later on? I want to see what you've got."
"Only if you really think you stand a chance," Brian said with a laugh. Wildfire also laughed.
"I like you, new kid," Wildfire said, making Brian feel a little strange. After all, he was around ten years older than his roommate was build to resemble. "We'll head there now. But, we need to be back before nine. Party," Wildfire explained.
"Hey, first day, first party. I like this!" Brian said with a laugh. "So, where at?" Wildfire motioned around him. "Here? Cool." Wildfire brandished his sabre's hilt without igniting it.
"Party later. Training now. Let's go!" Wildfire quickly slipped out of the quarters.
Eh, who says a Hunter can't have a little fun every now and then... Brian shook his head and took off after Wildfire.
Brian glanced down at it and took a sip. Wildfire smirked at him. "You have some fancy moves on you."
Brian nodded. "Thanks." He looked around the room, surveying his fellow Hunters.
Wildfire caught his look and waved his hand out. "Let me give you a quick run through of the present Hunters. Who and who not to piss off. Over there, that bald guy, is Sigma, our so humble leader of the Maverick Hunters. He's the best at everything. His favorite weapon is his sabre. The only other person to come close to his skill is Death Star.
"Those eight reploids around him is his little posse. They all sort of stick up for one another, so don't go messing with them. You wouldn't want Sigma and his goons on your case, now would you?
"Over there is Zero. That guy's exceptionally good. He excels in everything and has been training under Death Star with the sabre. We're all putting bets that Zero bypasses Death Star's skills in less than a month.
"That's North Star and Death Star there. They're like brothers. They sort of keep to themselves, but they're not stuck up. They never drop by for my parties but that doesn't mean they don't like to have a good time. Pretty easy going guys. Oh, by the way, since you're a sabre expert," Wildfire said with a grin, "Death Star will most likely challenge you to a match to see how good you are. He's always looking for a good challenge."
Brian nodded. Just my luck...
Wildfire slapped Brian on the back. "Come on, lets go back to my place. Party now, meet people later." Brian stood up and followed his roommate from the bar.
North Star glanced at him and Wildfire leaving. "Eh, looks like a runt to me. Probably won't last a week."
Death Star leaned back in his seat. "I don't know about that. There's something about him. I say he's going to show us a few things that a human can do. Lets just hope Wildfire doesn't pull any practical gags on him that could get Cain pissed."
North Star rolled over so his back was on the table. "Bah, Cain. Didn't he set up another training session with you and Zero?"
Death Star groaned. "Gah. If I keep training Zero like this, he'll become better than me."
North Star smirked. "Aw, poor baby. Get to it soldier. I think I'll go rile up Sigma's group." He stood up and walked over to Sigma's posse. Death Star wisely grabbed Zero's arm and led him out of the bar before the fight began.
The other man nodded. "I've set up everything you asked for. The entire world will have a ringside show about how dangerous these reploids are...plus they'll see them steal The Fin."
Cran nodded. "Excellent. If the Mavericks get their hands on The Fin, it'll put the world into a frenzy. That's one of our strongest airships. And I'll be there to step up and take it out and end this entire conflict with the reploids."
Spade nodded. "A good plan, sir, but is it wise to let the Mavericks get their hands on it? Who knows what they might decide to do before The Council lets you go after them."
Cran glanced at him. "Sometimes, Spade, there has to be casualties to ensure the greater achievements later on. Would you rather have this prolonged war continue on?"
Spade turned his back. "You know where I stand. If you'll excuse me, I'll be handing out to oversee the next few areas of the project." He walked out, leaving Cran alone again.
Turning back to his glass, Cran thought for a moment if perhaps Spade wasn't right. But then again, to get far in the game, you had to be ruthless. The Mavericks were thinking they were about to turn the tides of this war, the Hunters thought they were about to crush the Mavericks once and for all, and he, Cran, was really the puppet master of it all...and would be the only one to achieve the benefits.