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 Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 12:23 pm
Star's new life as a Rocket had left him wondering a lot of things. Things like how such a large group of people could tolerate unacceptable treatment like being forced to share dorms. How anyone could feel pride wearing such ridiculous uniforms. And did all Grunts really have to go on Pokémon retrieval missions or was this just another facet of his ongoing encounters with disciplinary action?
The last question hung in his mind this pleasant Thursday afternoon, as the lanky Rocket found himself at the edge of the picturesque Calamus Plains near Makko Town. He'd been told it was a job all new Grunts had to deal with from time to time. Sent out into the world to collect new pokémon, whether they be wild or stolen. All that mattered was he met a quota when he returned. It was the most demeaning job he'd ever had. No... wait that was the toilets. It was the second most demeaning job he'd ever had.
Star hated dealing with wild pokémon. He couldn't handle subjecting himself to anything as degrading as sending Scream after some useless caterpie poking out of a bush. So he'd been targeting young inexperienced trainers instead. Truth be told, it didn't feel much better than going after caterpie. It wasn't dangerous work, at least... but it didn't make him proud. He hated activities that didn't bolster his ego.
The last encounter hadn't gone terribly well. Somehow in the middle of a fight with a scruffy-haired boy toting two pichu and a jigglypuff, the pink ball had managed to land a powerful lullaby attack on Scream, knocking the giant bird out cold. Of course after that Star'd just grabbed the insolent whelp by the throat and threatened to rip his eyes out if he didn't turn over his poké balls. The boy ran away crying and Star stalked away in a very sour mood.
He was at the side of a dirt road now, under the shade of a tree where he'd summoned Scream again in an effort to wake him. A dark bag filled with poké balls hung at his hip.
"Come on... wake up." He shook the giant bird gently, brow furrowed. "How could you let that boy get the better of you.. he was ten...." He sighed, shoulders sagging as Scream showed no signs of waking. He needed to start carrying pokémon gear. It was a habit he'd been meaning to get into. What he wouldn't give for an awaken right about now...
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 12:45 pm
It was a perfect day for a drive. Clear skies, a long straight road, the roar of the V12, and Orre a long long way behind him. Only way it could be better was if there was some competition, but he didn't know Kodo yet and thus hadn't been able to find any races so far. Still, the lack of gunfire and pokemon attacks blasting his Aston was a welcome change from the last few months and he was inclined to enjoy the peace of a solo drive rather than to bemoan the race he didn't have....
All good things came to an end though; some idiot was right on the edge of the road. Splattering a pedestrian his first week here probably wasn't a good idea - would dent his car anyway - and so the red eyed man gave a martyred sigh and braked; no way he was swerving off the road at two hundred mph if he didn't absolutely have to. As he drew closer to the hunched figure a frown started to tug at his brow and he braked further; that figure was... familiar. Definitely familiar. When he was almost alongside he stopped completely and stared.
"Woah...."
Well that was... unexpected. If he played this wrong it could go very badly for him... but if he played it right it could in fact be just what he needed. He wasn't stupid enough to think that the people looking for him would quit just because he'd come to Kodo, he knew they were pissed enough that moving here merely bought him time; time he had planned to use to make alliances... or apparently rekindle old ones. He had skills and assets to offer, and a million dollar grin; what could go wrong? With the man by the side of the road not too much, so long as he remembered his gallon of flattery.
The man formerly known as Naos opened the car door and stepped out. "Commander Star, it's been a while; you look like you could use the services of a doctor over there!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 12:54 pm
Star lifted his head, blinking.
Commander Star.
The two words filled him with a strange swell of happiness and bitterness. He felt elated and depressed all at once. He tried to remember the last time he'd heard that title linked to his name. So many years...
After the shock of emotion he focused instead on the familiar voice. Deep.. smooth.. confidant. "Naos." Star looked over his shoulder, arching a thick eyebrow at the smirking redhead. He hadn't changed at all. "What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:15 pm
Egh; explanations, otherwise known as bullshit and schmooze for all you're worth.
Naos smiled - he'd have to get used to the name again - and made a languid gesture with one hand. "Long story, Commander, after my... unfortunate separation from Galactic during all the commotion I've just been drifting from place to place looking for somewhere to belong again. None of the connections I managed to make really lasted through. Small time gangs are so unprofessional; nothing like dear old Galactic.... I still treasure one of the products of your department of course, nothing else has ever been able to replace it." Was he laying it on thick? Yes, yes he was, but that had never been a bad idea with Star....
Same old coat.
In good repair, but exactly the same. Who wore the same coat for over a decade? Egh. Sauntering forward Naos crouched down beside the fallen Pidgeot, whose name he strove to recall because he knew the bird meant a lot to the Commander and getting in with the Commander night just save his hide....
Ah, yes, that was it. "Hello there Scream." There were no obvious injuries; looked like the flying type had just been put to sleep. He shot a questioning glance at Star as he reached out towards the bird, touching without permission was probably a bad plan. "So what happened? Mind if I examine him?" Hummm, baggy trousers? That wasn't the Star he recalled; maybe the man had changed his style a bit, but not for the better! He hadn't be totally enamoured of the skin tight garments the Commander favoured but those were a hell of a lot more flattering than whatever sack he had on today.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:33 pm
It'd been a long time since anyone worked quite so hard to appeal to Star's ego. Somewhere in the middle of enjoying Naos' kind (and well deserved) words, Star understood what the other man was doing. He was sucking up to him. With a flash of realization he pulled his coat closed just as Naos crouched beside him. If Naos thought he was still a Lieutenant Commander and head of weapons robotics at Team Galactic Star certainly wasn't going to tell him otherwise.
When the other man asked permission to examine Scream Star eyed him a moment, then nodded. He questioned Naos' reliability on a lot of matters, but not when it came to being a doctor. He'd always been good at that. "It was just a sleep attack.. I didn't bring any gear.." He tilted his head, eyes sweeping over his fellow ex-Galactic. "You've been gone a long time. I'd assumed you'd died.."
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:44 pm
Pulse was good, limp wings flexed in all the right ways, and so did the legs. Naos faked a few more official looking checks, buying himself time to think. "I was with my old partner," he lied, "we were separated from your faction by those cretins and had to go to ground. He and I got separated then," that was true at least, "and I went looking for him... by the time I heard things were stable again I rather felt I'd missed my cue, that I'd be counted a traitor for not being there at the moment of triumph.... But now you're here to listen to me rather than anyone unreasonable I can set the record straight."
Smoothing Scream's feathers back down with the back of his hand, Naos looked back at Star. "So Commander, may I ask what you're doing out here all alone?" It was a little strange that he didn't have an entourage, but Star always had been fond of flying out alone if he remembered right; maybe they'd just encountered an antsy wild pokemon or something.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:58 pm
"It's a long story." He answered with a finality that said he wouldn't be explaining. "As to your predicament.... I suppose I might see what I can do. You realize these things take time. As you say, those who didn't return immediately weren't smiled upon. Convincing the others that you're dependable won't happen overnight. Of course any examples I can give them of your... displays of usefulness would no doubt be helpful.."
This was perfect. Having someone like Naos in his back pocket, blindly following his orders under the naive impression it'd get him in with Team Galactic could definitely come in handy.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 2:06 pm
Damn. Well, for all that his ego could be played upon Star was not an idiot; he knew when he had somebody in a corner and the man would play on that. He might not like it but right now Naos had to take what he could get; he was a survivor, and intended to keep on surviving. "Long story? Fair enough, that's your privilege Commander," he replied, at once illustrating deference, and that he knew Star was being evasive on purpose. He wasn't a fool, and if he played one Star would be suspicious.
"I would of course be grateful for any words you can put forward on my behalf," he continued, "and while I don't have anything to treat Scream on my person, I spotted a bush of Chesto berries a few miles back." Gesturing at his sleek, still purring car he smirked. "Would you like a ride, Commander?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 2:16 pm
Star eyed the nearby vehicle as Naos gestured toward it, frowning. Spending too much time with the other man while wearing this uniform was a bad idea. If the ex-Galactic spotted the large red R on his chest the facade would be undone. "No thank you... I'm sure Scream will wake up on his own. I prefer flying to driving... as you-"
"Stop! POLICE!!"
Star froze, eyes wide. It wasn't possible. He turned his head and cringed at the sight of an Officer Jenny sprinting down the dirt road in their direction. The scruffy-haired boy was with her. More important, was the large arcanine ahead of her.
"That's him!!" The little boy shouted.
"Stop! In the name of the law!!"
"Arrrrc!"
Star scrambled to his feet, fumbling for Scream's pokéball, "Nevermind I'll take the ride!!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 2:26 pm
Ooooh, well that certainly made things more interesting.
Naos grinned and made a gracious gesture to the Aston. "Hop in then Herr Commandant, your chariot awaits!" A swift motion had Duke's pokeball off his belt, and a moment later the pale Raichu manifested, cheeks crackling. "Thunderwave!"
Giving a bass 'chuuuu' of acknowledgement the electric type aimed a bolt of electricity at the approaching Arcanine.
Naos meanwhile leapt into the driver's seat and hastily slid the car into first gear. Returning his pokemon he slammed the door shut and grinned wildly over at where he expected Star to be. "Best buckle up; this could get bumpy!" Oh yeah! He really hoped he was going to get a fair chase out of this. Maybe he shouldn't have paralysed that Arcanine after all, those things could get up a good turn of speed and he didn't see that the Jenny had a car. Still, maybe she had something else with racing worth on her.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 2:55 pm
As Star returned Scream to his ball he left Naos to deal with the approaching threat. Cursing his bad luck, he clipped the sleeping pidgeot's ball back to his belt, ensured his haul of stolen pokéballs was still safely at his hip, then sprinted toward the waiting vehicle.
The arcanine roared in pain at the powerful thunderwave that had seized up its legs. Barring its teeth, it let out an enraged flamethrower. Unfortunately the electric rodent was gone and Naos had disappeared into his car, leaving only the lanky man scrambling to the vehicle to aim at.
Star gave an uncomfortably high-pitched wail as the firey attack collided with him, nearly throwing him off his feet. He thudded against the side of the car and fell into the passenger seat a moment later, hugging his midsection and smelling like a barbecue. "JUST GO!!"
He knew when he woke up that this was going to be a bad day. He should have just stayed in bed.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:03 pm
Owch!
He really hoped that hadn't left a dent in his car!
Showing his teeth Naos let the clutch up and slammed the gas down, tearing away swiftly thanks to that beautiful torque and going to second, third, forth.... "So... where exactly are we going Commander?" Naos sniffed, worried briefly that his car would stink of something reminiscent of bacon for weeks, but then at least grateful that there wouldn't be blood on the upholstery. "I'm guessing HQ isn't on the sat nav, so you're going to have to give me a clue of which way to head here." The burned smell would be mildly cooked Star. He supposed he'd have to do something about that once they were safely away from the enforcer of the law.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:07 pm
Star grit his teeth, looking furious as he watched the figures disappearing in the rear view mirror. "I don't care just anywhere that isn't here!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:09 pm
Naos shrugged and shifted into top gear, eyes fixed on the dirt road ahead. "That'll do for now, Herr Commandant." There would be backup for the Jenny, she'd be on the radio right now. Get some distance form her and then, well, maybe it was time to go off the road at two hundred. He'd done wilder things in the name of survival in the past.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:22 pm
Star kept one hand at his chest, gripping his coat closed while his other arm hugged his midsection. He was almost afraid to look at the damage... not to his torso, he'd been burned before, but to his coat. He could smell charred fabric and found himself hoping desperately that it was just his uniform.
Fortunately Naos' high speed driving didn't seem to bother him too much. While zipping along so fast at ground level was a little unsettling, Star was accustomed to speed. He winced as they flew over a bump. Flying was so much smoother...
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