Space Hunters (...hunters in SPAAAAAAACE) [1x1]

garlic

an important addition to any meal
The universe holds life, more than one could ever imagine. But not all life is able to coexist with one another. Sometimes the presence of an organism, be it naturally induced or not, can be dangerous for those living in the area. And sometimes they pose a threat to the point of needing to be contained or removed entirely.

And this is where the Interplanetary Agency of Dangerous Organism Control (IADOC) comes in. The organisation aims to call forth and organize numerous capable individuals who are willing to contain or, if needed, eradicate such organisms that pose a threat to others around it. Call it an over-glorified pest control agency if you will but ever since it's establishment a handful of decades ago, the agency had garnered both support and criticism.

-----

The IADOC base on planet Mars, was bustling with activity as always. Hunters of various species and origin gathered in the lobby - some trying to obtain companions for their mission, some asking around for information, and many using the registration kiosks to sign themselves up for available quests. And then there's those who're just there for that sweet intergalactic internet connection.

And this is where are tale begins - with a mercenary turned space monster hunter.

Anemone wasn't exactly a striking figure in the room - she was a short humanoid with a lithe body. And really she could have even passed as a human if it weren't for the short purple tentacles that grew in place of her hair (her namesake). Also the fact that she didn't have lips, leaving her broad flat teeth exposed in a permanent grin. Anemone stood well out of the way of others, glancing to and fro the monitor of her communication console and the others in the lobby. She was looking for someone. Someone who had apparently picked the same mission as her - a youngster who went by the name of Slug. They had only contacted each other online and had agreed to meet at the base, underneath that one very obviously fake potted plant that was either trying to be a palm tree or a rose bush (maybe both).


@PhantasmagoriaRain
 
The blue haired goggle wearing idiot took off his goggles upon reaching what he guessed was his destination. The boy looked around. He had almost forgotten that he was actually supposed to do anything remotely related to work. He gussed that the pile of rocks he fanboyed over twenty minutes ago probably made him lose focus.
The quite young lad remembered that he was looking for someone he had met online. Looking around for the exact place he was supposed to meet the person, he had saw someond who, in his eyes, looked like a giant rock. It took him too much energy not to immediately follow that person.
Focus, Slug, focus. He thought, shaking his head.
He wondered around the place until he saw the probably-a-plant where the person he was supposed to meet was.
Seeing them, he walked over and waved quietly. The action of lifting his arm up had caused an avalanche of rocks to spill out of his sleeves.
 
Anemone caught the sight of a young lad waving at her. Aaaaand rocks falling out of his sleeves. She blinked. What. She waves back politely and stops leaning against the wall in favour of standing straight.

"Ah, might you be Slug?" Aquamarine eyes scanned the youth. He seemed....alright. Well, she couldn't tell much from his appearance, other than the fact that this boy carries rocks in his sleeves. She briefly wonders if it would be rude to ask before deciding against it."If you're looking for an Anemone, that would be me."

She looks down at the rocks on the floor not sure if she should even help him pick them up.
 
Slug had looked down at the rocks before looking back up. He was a bit confused by the look on the person's face. He was so used to carrying rocks everywhere he forgot it was considered abnormal to carry an unhealthy amount of rocks everywhere.
He decided to act like he had, in fact, not spilled rocks absolutely everywhere and just smiled.
"Am Slug." Slug said, pointing to himself. "Nice meeting you Anemone." He said, nodding.
He desperately tried not to recollect all the rocks. He stood there, staring almost painfully into space.
 
Unfortunately for Slug, he had indeed spilled rocks everywhere. Even some of the nearby strangers have noticed, from the way they're consciously avoiding stepping on the rocks.

"Nice to meet you as well..."There was a short moment of just ...awkward silent staring. Anemone's tongue flicked out to briefly lick her front teeth, a nervous habit she does whenever she's feeling uneasy or, in this case, very awkward.

"You..uh...dropped your pebbles." She crouches down to help him regather his rocks.
 
Slug stood there, staring at her as she tried to help regather his rocks.
"Don't have to do that, I'll find more." Slug said, smiling. He had completely ignored the awkwardness of the situation and the looks from people who witnessed the reveal of the hundreds of rocks spilling out of his sleeves.
"Will always find more rock. Like, a hundred of them. Oh! Maybe thousands or millions of even a bigger number..." Slug said, his purple eyes sparkling at the thought of finding even more rocks.
He proceeded to go into a trance whilst thinking about rocks.
 
"Well...uh..someone's got to get these off the floor though." Anemone would have smiled back too her mouth wasn't already in a permanent 'grin'. She continued gathering the rocks into her hands and sighed. This was not what she was expecting. At all.

She looks up to find the boy all spaced out. Anemone clears her throat audibly. "Are you sure you don't want these back?" She holds up her handfuls of rocks. She didn't want them. She was not willing to shove these things into her pockets and pouches - those were reserved for sweets and snacks and battery packs, not rocks. "They're good rocks...."
 
He snaps out of it and looks to Anemome. "Huh?" He said, blinking.
"Keep rocks." He said, shaking his head when he saw the handful. "Will find bigger and more beautiful children." Slug said, smiling like a kid getting sweets.
He shook his head again to rid of the thought of rocks.
"Let's adventure now, adventure buddy." He said, giving a thumbs up. "Save things."
 
"Uh.. alright then, whatever it is you say..." Anemone stands up and disposes of the rocks in the nearest trash bin. Now they're gone. Rocks are no more. She looks back at Slug to see him giving her a thumbs up. Wait.

Wait.

Did he just call her "buddy"? And did he just sound vaguely genuine? But they just met. And truth be told, Anemone had never been a people person. She didn't usually make friends. So she just looked back at the boy a little weird. "Right, let's start....Okay, but first...tell me what you know about our current mission."
 
Seeing the way Anemome looked at him, he tilted his head to side, confused.
He figured it was something about the rocks. He didn't do anything else strange, did he? Maybe the rocks did something really weird and she blamed it on him?
Half ignoring what she said, he immediately walked over to the trashcan and stuck his head in it.
"Helllooooo?" He called out into the trash. Not getting a response, he looked up. "Yeah, so about the mission." He said, giving the trash a weird look. "I know as much as you know, probably." He shrugged.
 
Anemone really wasn't sure how to handle someone like Slug. But then again, she wasn't known for her people skills. She was more known for her shooting-things-dead-with-laser-weapon skills. She briefly muses if this was what people meant by 'trash talking'.

"Right. So you know about our target. Violent flame breathing Eikles...spotted around the volcanoes of planet Norasus. Odd place for an Eikles, really.." Anemone was now just mumbling to herself. "I hear they're more of a coastal species...but then again, they don't usually breathe flame either...But how to get there...how to get there fast...? "

She then perks up. "Ah, Slug...you might not happen to have a vehicle that can warp travel, would you?"
 
Slug nodded after having stuck his hands far down the trash can.
"Yeah, they aren't supposed to be what you just said." He shrugged, taking his hands out.
"I do have a way for traveling but..." He said before frowning. "It sorta, only works for people from my home. So that's a little out of the question." He sighed before his eyes sparkled.
"Unless you're actually from my home?!" He gasped. Slug's expression was comparable to an excited puppy. "That would be the best thing ever and we wouldn't have to worry about anything at all!"
 
"Home...? By that would you mean home planet? Country? Province? Building?" She hoped it wasn't as specific as living conditions. Because she's fairly sure this boy was not from the neighborhood she grew up in. Also she was just going to pretend she didn't see him sticking his hands into the trash.

"I'm from Earth's moon colony. You might not happen to be raised there too, would you?" Frankly, she had no idea what the boy was getting all excited about.
 
Hearing that, the boy frowned. "Oh, you're not from home then." He sighed deeply.
"Also what's a moon colony?" He asked, tilting his head. "Never heard of that. Wait, maybe I have." He said, thinking for a minute. "Maybe it was something I found in the trash..." Slug said, thinking out loud before shrugging.
"Maybe it doesn't matter now. We must adventure and do whatever we were doing then pet rocks." Slug said, nodding.
 
Anemone sighs. "A moon colony is exactly what it sounds like. It's a colony on the moon. You know there's a few human communities on Earth's moon, right?"

Oh, what were she to do with this boy? He had a point though. What mattered was the mission (or as he called it, the "adventure").

"Anyways, what was this method of transportation you were referring to just now? And where are you from?"
 
"Oooohhh. So it's not in the trash." He said, noddinh. Upon the question about where he came from, Slug took a step back.
"Uh, there?" He said, pointing to the red goggles on his head.
"Home, traveling, and everything is there." He said, poking the goggles.
 
Anemone squints at the goggles. What. At this point she wasn't even sure if the boy was kidding or not. She just nodded as if she understood despite the sheer confusion evident in her eyes. She sighs again and turns to the exit of the lobby.

"Okay then. I guess, we'll be taking my van then. Let's get going, fr-friend..!" Hey look, an attempt at friendliness! Not something she tried often, but the boy did call her his 'buddy' first. She really hoped she did not misread that.
 
Seeing the look on her face, he, again, blamed the rocks. He didn't say anything about the rocks, but he definitely wanted to. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea to mention the rocks again.
Noticing Anemome turn to the exist, he did the same.
"Van? Okay." He said shurgging. Realizing she had called him his friend, he smiled. "Yay..." He said quietly.
 
Anemone leads the way to her van. And by 'van' we mean a small regular use spacecraft roughly the size and shape of a van. A space van if you will. It's old and shabby but at least the dark teal coat of paint looks new-ish. And it still works.

Anemone stops before her van. "What do you think, Slug? It's not the coolest vehicle in this corner of the solar system, but it's probably the most reliable." There's a bit of a proud tone in her voice. She unlocks the door of the vehicle to reveal two simple seats with a soft fluffy cushion on the passenger seat. A bobble-headed cartoon character sat on the dashboard next to a box of tissues.

"Go ahead."
 
Upon seeing the vehicle, Slug shrugged. "I've seen more advanced." He said, pointing to it.
"It can't hold all the rocks in the universe, so it's not in the top ten vehicles in the universe." He said before pausing to think. "It could hold maybe...five bags of river rocks." Slug said. "That's a good amount of rocks, not the best but still good." He said, nodding before stepping inside the van.
 
Back
Top