After what felt like an eternity compared to how fast the AI could have reached the place alone, Auric and Asano arrived at the café. Luckily for her, Mana didn't seem to be in any trouble regarding the pervert captain.
"Hellloho~" the AI announced herself.
---
Mana looked up from her menu at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Oh! Hey, Asano! Over here!" She didn't need to raise her vocie and wave, but did anyway.
"Could you take a look at this? I'm still not sure what to order."
---
"Looks like the two stragglers finally came, eh? Thought you guys got arrested along the way, but guess not." Brent smiled at the two arrivees, before waving at a waitress to bring another two glasses of water. Chaining the wave with a theatrical flourish, the captain continued,
"Oh yeah, and this is Asgharro Elghis, also known as Ass. Be nice to him, cause he's our new crew member thing. Apparently a self-taught engineer from Purga-something."
---
Asgharro was more than a little dumbfounded. I mean sure, he hadn't actually done anything wrong, but still! If he'd been in the Captain's place, then some poor sap would be being dragged off to a life of hard labour. Everyone here was so trusting - probably came from having a bunch of people standing around whose only purpose was to grab people who did bad things to other people. Asgharro reached down for the menu that he'd dropped earlier, and flicked back through it.
"I'd recommend the Spiceheart Stew, if you're spoilt for choice. The spice isn't overdone, so you still get all the other flavours coming through," Asgharro said, while digesting the implications of what was just said.
"Wait, I have a job now? What exactly do you guys do, other than hang around on random planets and have your ship broken into? ...And I'm guessing you chose that shortened name because I'm going to be taking a load of shit from you as the new guy, but if you're gonna call me anything shorter, please just use Ash instead."
---
"Brent," Auric sighed,
"what have I told you about hiring random people?"
He hadn't said anything, of course, but the trick was to convince Brent that he had and he'd simply forgotten because he had no cognitive faculties to work with. He hadn't tried it before, but why not, right?
He shifted his glance over to this 'Ash' man. With the handkerchief over his face, he looked like some kind of wannbe ninja. A highly conspicous and slightly dirty ninja, but still a kind of ninja-esque... thing.
"If you're accepting the job, then we all get shit from each other. Mostly with the robot dishing it out. So I'd personally get used to it. Auric, by the way," he introduced himself.
---
"Yay! The more the merrier." Unlike her stuck up 'friend' the AI didn't mind one bit who Brent hired, because really, with just 3 people even a rat would do.
"I am Asano, I am undoubtly sure we get along way better than WE do with Mr. Oktonia." And sure, he looked kinda suspicious, but at the same time, also way cooler. Shifting her attention towards Mana, the gynoid stepped towards her, getting a better look at the menu.
"How about everything? The captain pays, right?" She also considered spilling the water over her lovely captain, given that she couldn't really drink it, and according to her encylopedias water was a important resource that should not be wasted.
"But really, just go with the fried Kaulquappe ala fonte!" Asano had no clue what that was, but being the most expensive on it, it couldn't be that bad.
---
"You're joining the crew then," Mana excitedly asked Ash.
"That's wonderful. I'm Mana. Nice to meet you." Did she introduce herself already? Better safe than sorry there.
"...Wait, does this mean I'm not the lowest ranking crewman now?" She didn't really expect an answer, and wasn't the sort to lord her newfound petty power over others, anyway.
"Uh...welcome to the crew."
She looked the menu over one last time, as if she were seriously considering Asano's suggestion to just try everything. Reason won out in the end and she decided to just order both of the more serious suggestions. If they needed to, they could just bring back leftovers.
---
"Ash then, eh? With the silent 'g' and all?" Well, it definitely was a less embarrassing nickname, but it also took a little bit of the fun out of it. Shrugging, Brent said,
"Well, right now, we're doing this whole delivery mission. Exporting some sort of meat and all that. Pretty simply stuff, but hey, it's expected, considering how we don't exactly have enough mechas to do any proper pirate-hunting."
"And Auric, I didn't even hire anyone after you and Mana, so...are you ok? Did the ship invasion scare you that much? How about you drink some water and cool down, yeah?" There was genuine concern in Brent's voice as he worried about Auric's mental health...or perhaps he was just acting because of the lolz. Before he could go further with his mother-henning, though, Asano-17, the only person who doesn't actually eat, talked about the problem of paying for the food.
Well, Brent was a generous captain, and naturally, he said,
"Yup, I'll be paying for the meal and docking your paycheck for next month, to make ends meet. Sounds great, doesn't it? Feel free to order whatever you want! Think we got some more time before they finish processing our cargo!"
"And Mana, just think of Ass, I mean, Ash, as your sidekick. You know, that nerdy slant-eyed engineer kid who always fixes up Chao's powerfists? Yeah, like that."
---
So, first impressions of this motley bunch. Auric seemed somewhat aloof, distant and uncaring. Asano seemed...a little overkeen, like a child that never quite learned when not to poke at weird things. Admittedly, the robot body looked pretty advanced...if only there were some way to convince her to let him take it apart and see how it worked. Mana, despite her ebullience, seemed to have quite the low opinion of herself and her abilities. And then there was Brent...who didn't seem like he could reliably captain his way out of a paper bag. But hey, first impressions tended to be misleading...right?
"If you need more mechs, I have one, even if it is a little...outdated. Plus, I'm guessing that the two who broke onto your ship won't be needing their mechs anymore. Since the guards are no longer after me, they'll probably be leaving the ship we arrived in alone now. So that potentially adds a functioning Type-Zero and a broken Type-Ace to the arsenal as well as the Peregrinus."
Little did Captain Deadbeat know, Asgharro still had some of the Mahz that Icturin had given him to keep him quiet and out the way. Reduced pay for the first job probably wouldn't hurt too much.
"So, where do I sign?"
----
...Wait, mechs? So this guy really was involved with the two that ransacked Asano's... other body?
He'd been trying to convince himself to think that way for a while now, but it still seemed like she was the ship and the robot was the 'other' one.
Never mind it, though. He was, while concerned at Brent, who he was now ignoring, happy to have somebody else to talk to, since the captain was apparently incapable of doing anything that would count as a conversation, and not to mention had no idea what he was talking about half the time. An engineer would be a good addition to the group, especially given the males that could actually understand one another to female ratio was slightly off.
Wait, that wasn't the point! Mechs! A broken Type-Ace... Well, that explained why they wanted the ship, or more specifically, his mecha. Although he had a hard time imagining how they would fit half of the parts on Achron to anything else, really.
And a Type-Zero? Maybe that meant that Mana or Brent would actually be able to do something. On occasion. He got the feeling that there would just be the new guy driving it, though. That, or Asano would hack it. Because she was Asano.
---
Docking their paycheck? Eh? Now she wondered if she actually had to pay for the water or not, and the chances of sharing her water with the captain just increased tenfold. Well, caring about pocket change was something those mere mortals would do, but not her. Moving on to more important matters her voice lightened significantly up.
"Not just a new playmate but also more mechs?! That's like being born all over again!" And while she wasn't now the ships engineer anymore, she could probably still tinker around with them! Though that was still not the most important subject of now, looking at Mana the AI now complained.
"But Mana already has me as a sidekick!" She wouldn't get herself outdone by some ass-ninja.
---
What was that about docking their pay? The food better be worth it... Mana shrugged it off, she couldn't exactly control Captain Brent's whims, and really, all the money did come from the same place, so she couldn't complain.
"Wouldn't those other mecha end up in police impound," she asked, bringing an unfortunate amount of logic to what would otherwise be great news. More giant robots are always better, even if one would need some repairs.
"I don't think we can just walk in and take them, but if they'll let us, that would be totally awesome."
She carefully considered her sidekick options.
"Hm...you know, I think Asano's right. Ash doesn't really strike me as the sidekick type." She smiled at him.
"Right? You seem more the type who'd want to do his own thing, instead of just chase me around."
---
"No need to sign," Brent waved, taking a sip of his drink as he leaned back so the waitress could bring down the dishes that were ordered,
"Asano will remember your face, and if you do anything annoying, she'll hunt you down and kill you. Like a time-travelling killer robot."
"And while that whole mech thing does sound tempting...yeah, it's probably going to be impounded by the military. So...Wait, actually, was your own mech with theirs?"
---
"Yeah, we all arrived together,so all the mechs are on the one ship. If they impounded them, I need to reclaim mi- "
---
"About that...from what I've heard...they don't exactly impound mechas the first place. They sorta scrap them. You know, the whole merciless dictatorship thing? Welp, at least you get to be Mana's sid- oh wait, no. Maybe Auric will take you as sidekick."
---
"Ha. Ahem," Auric mumbled.
---
"Surely there's still time, right? I mean, they only put the alert out a few minutes ago."
---
"They incarcerated those two in that same time frame..."
---
"If you'll allow me," Auric began, in the typical obnoxious-smart-guy fashion,
"I happen to be an expert on this topic. The funny thing about time is that it is still moving, so if you want to do anything, we really ought to get up and go before it moves much further."
---
Asano nodded.
"For once, Mr. Oktonia actually makes sense! And how about I also hunt you down if you fail to save at least one of your lovely assets?" Maybe she should help him? Though for now she had to reward Mana's loyality, in form of a gentle back massage.
---
Mana ever so slightly melted into the massage.
"So...does that mean we should ask for the order to go and just get a move-on, then?" If it was the time for action, food could wait. Even if it was good.
---
"It may seem stupid, but that mech is all I really have - all I've really had for the past few years. Sure, it's a hunk of junk, it doesn't work anywhere near as well as I wanted it to, but it's been like a replacement for the home I lost."
---
"Welp, I still need to go wait for the cargo to arrive, so good luck," Brent said.
"I'll keep the food nice and safe from food-stealers as well, so come back here after you're done, eh?"
"May the odds ever be in your favor."
---
Asgharro immediately leapt from the table and started running in the direction of the impound centre. Thankfully he'd wandered past it earlier that day, and could sort-of kinda remember the way. Ish.
---
Asano was just about to ask the newest member of their family where the ship even was, alas, he was already off his foot. Easily catching up to him, she asked him now.
"Tell me where I have to go!" Maybe this time she could catch the guards in time and do something about it! Maybe.
---
Mana got up on the heels of the other two.
"Hey, wait up! I'm going too!" She took off on her own, although it took her longer to catch up.
"So...where are we going?"
---
"Asano! Mana!"
Auric's face didn't even have time to sink into his hands before he was in pursuit of the three. There was no way in hell that he was stupid enough to leave Asano with both a mysterious stranger (oh god, that sounded awful even in his head) and Mana. He was reluctant to even leave her with Brent.
Unfortunately, he was having a little difficulty keeping up with them. It might've been the headstart that they'd had, but he was far behind the others and nowhere near catching up.
He sighed. Normally he'd just run faster, but this wasn't really the kind of planet where you wanted to be out of breath on. Thus, he let his legs stop moving in mid-air, but not slowing in the slightest. Instead, he began hovering slightly above the ground, moving slightly faster than his jogging, with his hands in his pockets as the smug bastard glided along the street.
---
"
We need to go left at the end of this road, take the next right, then run straight down that street until you reach the end!" Asgharro shouted, already picturing the worst in his mind.
---
A destination, like 'Cringletracker Bay' or something would have been enough, but ass-ninja's explanation wasn't that much worse. WIth the help of a digital map the AI quickly determined the destination they were racing at. That was all she needed from him for now, she quickly moved into one of the back alleys and once arrived run up a wall, jumped towards the other wall, jumped again, and again and again until she reached the
sky roof. From there on she was capable of taking a huge short-cut, jumping from roof to roof like a friendly neigherborhood gynoid.
---
Mana managed to weave her way through the traffic well enough, vaulting over the occasional hood of a car or dodging past pedestrians with little difficulty, and even made good time, until right near the end of her mad dash, when her own outfit betrayed her. She tripped. And became a rolling hazard in her own right, although one that was clearly yelling out in pain.
---
Asgharro lowered his head and bulled his way through a large group of pedestrians, scattering them. Side-stepping an onrushing scooter, he pressed forwards, his mind fixated on the end of the run. Envisaging his mech getting crushed, he ran all the harder...right up until his foot got caught on something soft and slightly squishy. "
Oh shi-" was all tha escaped from Asgharro's mouth before the upper part of his body smashed heavily onto the ground, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him lying there, gasping for breath. Thankfully, his legs seemed to have been cushioned by...Mana. Shit shit shit. She seemed ok. He could probably keep running. "
I'm really sorry!" he shouted as he ran off, leaving her lying on the floor.
---
Auric skidded to a halt behind his crewmate a moment later, glaring after the new engineer.
"Charming," he muttered, before extending a hand to Mana.
"Are you going to stay down there all day? We have got a pile of scrap metal to witness, you know."
---
Arriving at her destination without any problems the AI landed on safe ground with one big jump. Still, even with her efforts, Asano didn't make it in time, at least she wasn't completely
too late. Seeing how some trashy piece of mech was about to get worked into even trashier trash through the means of some giant mobile crusher-thing. Those people really worked fast, like, the hell, if bureaucracy would only be that fast.
"STOP!" She yelled at them as she came closer.
"This piece of garbage belongs to a very important person!"
---
Asgharro came rushing around the last bend in time to see the Peregrinus being pushed into a...crushing machine. The two guards operating the crusher were being berated by (and ignoring) Asano.
"
Hey, that's my mech you're crushing!" Asgharro shouted, runninng up to the guards. "
And? You want it back, you'll have to pay up." grunted the more senior of the two, sniggering to his comrade. For a brief moment, Asgharro contemplated releasing his power and attacking them. Even unarmed, Asgharro had a decent chance of stealing one of their weapons following the blast. Unfortunately, the problem was with more than just these two -the noise would bring other guards running. Reluctantly, Asgharro pulled out his Mahz sticks and tossed them to the guard.
With that sordid business completed, the guards began extracting Peregrinus from the machine.
Asgharro prepared to assess the damage.
Fuck. She'd always been a heap of junk, but still. The entire right hand side had been crushed, obliterating the arm, half the cabin and most of the legs. The supercomputer had been half-pulverised, with what was left being non-functional. The crusher had finished off the railgun, though it had never really worked in the first place. The scythe was bent in two and twisted beyond all recognition.
The left side was largely ok though. There was still a functioning arm, and two or three of the legs were unscathed. Not that the legs were good for much with that few, but hey, it's something right? The rifle was still fine, and the EMP harpoon had escaped any serious damage. Still. This was brutal. In one day, he'd been set up as a criminal, lost all his money
and now most of his mech too. Asgharro rolled over, and stared up at the artificial sky. This was too much. Far too much.
---
Mana yelped when Asgharro tripped over her, not that she had a clue who was responsible, still lying in a heap.
"Owww..." She looked up at Auric and gratefully took his offered help up.
"Thanks." Once she was back on her feet, she dusted herself off and continued on the way, a bit more slowly and carefully this time. She arrived in time to watch the guards remove the only partially destroyed mecha, and Ash collapse in shock.
---
Auric followed close behind, keeping half an eye on Mana to make sure she didn't collapse again. When the two actually got to their destination, the sight almost made him nauseous. It might have been Achron's mediocre AI, but Auric had come to see mechs as people in their own right, and seeing a person smashed like that made him... angry? Was that it?
Maybe it was just him. Maybe it was feeling sorry for the new guy. Either way, there was really only one thing for it.
He was going to get another paycheck anyway, right?
He produced all the Mahz he currently had on him, holding it out to Ash.
"Here," he sighed exasperatedly.
"If you're taking that heap of scrap with you, it can't stay completely useless or it's just taking up space. I've got some more on the ship when we get back, but take this for now. I want you to fix that thing up before it starts weighing us down. Got it?"
---
Asgharro took a moment to let all that sink in. Auric had a point. No point dragging a few mech parts around for sentimental value. Peregrinus had been due a refit anyway...if only it could have happened in a more...constructive manner. Asgharro reached out and took the Mahz from Auric. He tried to articulate his thanks, but the lump that built up in his throat blocked the words off. Asgharro swallowed and tried again.
"
Thanks. This means a lot to me, and I will repay you for it, no matter how long it takes." Asgharro turned over and started collecting all the salvageable bits and pieces. "
These remaining legs are only good for selling - there's not enough of them to bear the weight of a mech and you don't find them as anything less than full sets. We might find someone who wants them for something lighter though. The rest is reusable, I can tack that on to a new chassis. The crushed stuff is no good for even selling - just needs leaving."
Asgharro looked up to the sky, seeing the fierce crimson of the projected sunset. "
I guess all things must come to an end, huh?"
---
Auric tried his best to not flinch upon Asgharro's gratitude. He didn't like being thanked. It felt too much like being patronised.
"I don't believe in endings," he declared.
"This crushed stuff isn't entirely worthless. Taking it with us will be a good move if you're any good at drawing. Or remembering what things look like."
He mumbled something to himself about a total lack of dignity.
"Alright, let's go find the captain, everyone. If he's watching anything worth watching, don't disturb him. If it's anime, tell him we're on our way back. Gather up what you can, everyone. I'll be right behind with what we can't carry."
He clapped his hands twice in a no-nonsense fashion, directing everybody around in the faint hope that at least one of them would listen.
He caught sight of the simulated sunset in his peripheral vision.
What a waste of electricity.
---
Well, even if the mech was pretty much not useable anymore, this was kinda amusing in its own right. Compassion? Pfff. She was really surprised about Auric's behaviour however...kinda different? Well, Asano was still Asano.
"Well well, at least everyone can now tell which half the prettier one is! And I take Brent is still in the cafe...and nothing except Anime is worth watching...apparently." At least if it was about pretty martial arts girls!
---
