I was leaning on the wall beside the door to Doc's office. Where I can hear shouting in their argument.
Situation got out of hand. Doctor saw and calmed Ch'en down as we made our way to his office instead of the conference room. I had a death glare attached to my back since I was walking ahead of the two guests.
I was then told to wait outside--pissed off, might I add--as the two guests went in his office.
Minutes later. I was walking back to the office after I bought a can of coffee. Where I saw a glimpse of Dr. Kal'tsit entering the office door. When I waited there again, I heard yelling.
It just escalated from there.
Sheesh, this entire situation is like if a kid's parents got called by the Overseer or the principal or something. Except the kid's parents is the principal and the ones complaining are the victims.
I let out a sigh at how that sounded. It sounded stupid.
I sipped at my coffee with my helmet on (do not ask, it just works).
God, how long are they going to take inside the off--
The door opened. As a Ch'en with an evident scowl and grimace on her face stomped out alongside a more composed Hoshiguma (I learned that recently).
They didn't spare a glance at me, and they seem to be heading for the conference room. Just when I thought I was scot free, Dr. Kal'tsit walked out of the office.
She didn't look at me but said it anyway. "Go in there. The Doctor wants an explanation."
She walked off, composed and collected. Yeah, she probably pissed off.
Welp, hopefully I don't get injured. If I do, I pray it isn't her patching me up. Please.
Anyway, I went inside the office of Doc. I couldn't tell but I can feel him glaring daggers at me.
I took a seat. "What do you need Doc--"
He didn't let me finish. "You're a wanted criminal?"
He pointed fingers at me. "I was. And that's a bias perspective."
"Not within the law, Six." I groaned at what he said. "But fine, you were a wanted criminal. So why is it, that the L.G.D--especially Ch'en--wanted to cut you in pieces?"
"Beats me. I ended that feud without any problems."
"Meaning?"
I sighed. "Doc. Answer this first: did those two tell you about what I did?"
"...n-no."
"Well. You want to hear a story?"
Doc didn't speak. But I assumed it's a yes.
"My time in Lungmen, I was a crime lord. We robbed small banks, traded in the black market and in drug trafficking."
Doc was speechless judging from his incoherent words.
"But you know what condition I had during that time? We didn't involve any civilians in our line of work. If we had to sell drug materials, I explicitly told my men that they don't sell to children. Or else I'd cap them."
I continued.
"I may have forced some to work with me, but soon after I gained control, I told them they can walk away from their work, get their pay, and never come back to that life ever again. Anyone who stayed behind, that was a responsibility they were willing to take.
Hell, did Ch'en tell about the first time we officially met?"
Doc shook his head.
"Thought so. Her team was securing a rival gang's headquarters. I was there with a chopper to steal the rival gang's goods. And my men and I did our best to not kill any L.G.D officers. Including Ch'en. But then, she just had to force herself to break my word."
"W-wait, what did you do then?"
"Knock her unconscious. One punch was all it took."
"Really?"
"You can ask Ch'en for yourself, and if she goes sour about it, then you can tell."
"H-hold on a minute. What does this have to do with how you ended things in Lungmen?"
"Well that, I don't know."
Doc let out a confused sound.
"We pulled off one last score. Sorry to tell you, we had no good intentions on this one. We robbed a bank, and a drug lab at the same time. Of course I knew what would happen with the city, but what Ch'en talked about is something I don't even know."
"I-I'm getting confused. What's your point with the other details?"
"Well let me ask you this one first: what the hell did Ch'en tell you?"
Doctor was quiet for a moment. Before coughing into his fist.
"I think Ch'en could better tell you what she said."
I groaned. "Look Doc, I don't have time to find her--"
Doctor then stood up. As footsteps came behind me. I turned to meet the more calmer yet fierce gaze of the one and only Ch'en.
"I'll meet you two in the conference room." Doc gathered his papers and pen then rushed out of his office.
Which left me in the office alone with her.
Ch'en took a chair and sat across from me.
Well... shit.
---
I put my bowie knife on the table. Ch'en looked at me and what I was doing.
"What do you think are you doing?"
"You want to talk with me? Then put your weapon there." I noticed her sword was still strapped to her. Any moment, she could kill me right now. Though I doubt she can draw blood of a legal Operator here in Rhodes Island.
Ch'en glared at me a while longer. Before huffing and unstrapping her sword. She placed the blade on the desk beside us.
Just in case...
I swapped the knife and the sword's position. Ch'en became wary and jumpy.
"O-oi! What do you think are you do--"
"We don't trust each other. Best we don't touch our weapons at all by switching it." I said.
"What kind of logic is that..?" She said, somewhat pissed off.
"One that you'll eventually agree with."
"I swear... your words can force me to just listen to you."
"That's magic, baby."
Ch'en coughed. Crossing her arms as she looked at me again. Her glare just becoming more firm and mean.
"So. What did happen, after I left?" I asked first.
She sighed. "This one was a tragedy."
What, a goddamn riot happen?
"One day. There were three hostage situations in three different parts of the city. All because they were looking for you."
"What, were they his last remaining men?"
"Yes." Ch'en answered. "You know who he is, best not to talk about it right?"
I nodded.
"Anyway, there were three hostage situations. Two of them inside a hotel and one inside a mall. And... there were casualties."
That didn't surprise me.
"Who's blood spilled?" I asked.
"Aren't you even feeling sorry? They killed civilians just because they were looking for you..!"
"Figures. But I'm surprised the hostages died."
"No. The hostages didn't die. Out of nowhere, these civilians played hero and saved the hostages for the cost of their lives."
What the hell?
Now that's surprising.
"So what, civilians died. Lives were saved, and let me guess, they were declared heroes?"
"You little..." She might've not liked the words I used. Excuse me for being an asshole.
She regained her composure immediately. Wow, that's surprising. "Yes. They were remembered as those. Especially Mark Tecson."
...
"Say that name again, please?"
"Mark.. Tecson?" Ch'en was confused.
I wasn't confused. I realized now.
"Were the mall and the hotels located beside the slums?" I asked. Just to be sure.
"Yes? How do you know--"
"Well, damn then."
"What's going on? What are you talking about?" Ch'en was absolutely confused.
Meanwhile, it all just came to me. It was somewhat funny, I'll tell you. And ironic too. But the thing is, it kind of saddened me.
"Ch'en. That guy, was my right-hand man back when I was doing the shady shit."
"Your.. right-hand man?" She raised her brow.
"If you remember the last heist I pulled off, my men vanished soon after without a trace. Because you were too busy catching me.
They became quiet and went back to their normal lives with money for their families and a new identity to take care of."
"That's why.. we couldn't trace them?" She asked.
I simply nodded.
"As you say, these situations happened on the poorest side of the city. That's where majority of them lived. Though as for why they... saved people's lives, hell if I know."
I chuckled. "Maybe they rubbed off on me. On how I treat lives."
"Like trash?" Ch'en added.
"Is that how low you think I am?"
"Ever since you killed three businessmen live on the news, yes."
I shrugged. Ignoring that thought. "Well, there you have it. You told me what happened, I cleared up some shit. Now.."
I sat up on my chair. And got me closer to her.
"What are you going to do about that information? Turn those heroes into villains?"
Ch'en let her glare remain at me. Though I could tell, she was thinking deeply.
I know she's not trash. She's uptight sure, but she has a sense of justice and righteousness. So she wouldn't desecrate these people's names yea--
"I'm going to report you and your information to Wei." She said. As if she decided.
When I heard that, I was surprised. For a bit.
For a bit.
Because she continued. "However, judging from how long it has been since then, I doubt our government would care about your wellbeing. And as for the civilian-turned heroes, I don't think they would see it worthy to create despair and negativity by just telling them their pasts."
She leaned back on her seat. Letting her left leg cross her right. "So as of right now, you're off the hook."
I sat there. Taking it all in.
"Cool."
Then Ch'en stood from her position and slammed her hands onto the armchairs of my seat.
"But don't think I would forgive you for those shits you pulled off at Lungmen. You killed innocent blood, and even on live TV, you both humiliated me and assaulted me. Like hell I'm going to let that pass."
She leaned forward, her face a breath away from my helmet.
"We clear?"
...
"Mou mantai."
My retort at Ch'en surprised her. As she reeled back a bit in shock.
"I understand perfectly, Miss Ch'en. We don't try talking to each other, we don't try killing each other."
Ch'en wordlessly nodded, and so she stepped back. Allowing me to stand as I grab her sword's sheathe.
I gave her the blade. "But as if I give a damn about killing you. You can go right ahead and kill me if you want. But don't go regretting those decisions, will ya?"
She glared at me one final time, before she swiped her own weapon off my hands. She didn't say anything but seeth through her teeth. Ch'en went ahead to the door while I pocketed my bowie knife and followed suit.
Up next, was to go to a briefing.
---
"..ey..! He..y. Doc, can... udge him? Oi!"
"Hm?" I lowered the Pip-Boy in front of me, and there was an angry blue-haired dragon girl standing in front of me again. Both her arms crossed, and her expression agitated.
Besides her, Hoshiguma was behind the uptight Lungmen commander.
"You sat through the briefing. Staring whatever you were staring at that device of yours." Ch'en gestured to me. How she said her sentence was surprising, I thought it'd have more aggression but she maintained a professional and composed aura.
"Wait, it's done?" I thought my Pip-Boy stops time or something. What the hell?
"Yeah. Did you at least listen?"
"Well yes," She narrowed her eyes at me. "but actually no."
Ch'en sighed. Now she looks visibly tired of me. The blue-haired dragon girl looked at her partner. The green-haired Oni.
"Inspector. I can't give this guy the briefing. You do it." Ch'en walked for the conference room's door. A second later, the door opened. And the ones left in the conference room is me, Doc and Hoshiguma.
Wait...
I turned to Doc. "Where's Dr. Kal'tsit?"
"She left immediately." He responded, before leaning close to my ear. "And I'm not gonna lie, it seems like she's pissed at both of us."
Pissed? At us? I mean I can understand why at me but for Doc...
"But we'll bother with that next time. Right now, Inspector Hoshiguma will provide you with a briefing."
"Now, now Doctor. You don't have to address me formally when Ch'en isn't here." The tall one laughed lightly.
Now I didn't say I would join the mission. But... at least not getting left in the dark isn't that bad. Right?
The green-haired Oni took one of the chairs and sat the opposite direction. She turned to me. "Well, what do I call you first?"
Hm.. Courier? Nah, there's a guy from Karlan with the exact codename. Courier Six? Too long. Six is overused. Angry mailman? Bob? Dillinger? Flynn? Taggart--
"Six. Just call me Six." I finalized. I was about to go Wild Wasteland if I continued thinking that way.
"Alright then, Mr. Six--"
"Refrain from using mister. I'm not old." I met an orphan that called me 'Mr. Six' once.
"Well, alright." Hoshiguma shrugged. "Before I begin, do you have experience in the military?"
"Yes and no. I never officially joined any military institute. But I know a lot about the how's and what's."
Well, you have a lot to learn in the Wasteland. And if I wanted to survive, I have to learn from the old world tactics.
"Alright. Guess that makes this easier." Hoshiguma pulled something out from her pocket. She lifted it up to face height and then interacted with it. A hologram appeared in front of us.
The image formed a city. A large mobile city, one that I was familiar with. "I'm guessing you already know what this place is?"
"Lungmen." I answered.
"We've encountered contact with some unknown hostiles at the east coast shipping bay. Upon further investigation, we've confirmed Reunion activity in this area."
The image on the hologram showed red blips. Indicating hostiles have taken the loading bay.
"The thing is, we don't exactly know what they're after in this place. Because it is a treasure trove of precious cargo. From Rim Billiton's mining companies, Penguin Logistics, even Rhodes Pharmaceuticals. But the most important is this."
"What are classified Lungmen documents doing in an unsecured dock?" I looked at the image Hoshiguma had presented.
"A good question to ask our esteemed leader, Wei Yenwu. But that's for another time." Hoshiguma moved the hologram towards the certain cargo crate that contained valuable Lungmen intel.
"While we couldn't confirm the contents of the other crates, we know how valuable these ones are. And if they get their hands on it, this spells disaster for Lungmen."
The map returned to fit the entire size of the loading bay.
"So our only mission objective is to get rid of Reunion forces in this area. We can't really expend the entire L.G.D to secure this small place. But if Reunion forces outnumber us 10 to 1, then our alternate objective is to P.I.D the important packages and secure them out the docks."
The hologram now displayed several faces. A lot of which I've seen and met in this place.
"A squad's already been pre-assigned for this mission. Operator Texas will be squad leader. Operator Vigna will be the other vanguard. Operator Franka, Liskarm, Croissant, and I will be boots on the ground. The rest will provide sniper assist and medical roles."
The list goes as follows: Texas as the leader. Vigna, Franka, Liskarm, Croissant, and Hoshiguma will secure the main area. Where then Kroos, Jessica, Eygaf..yalla? Eyja-girl, Warfarin, Gavial, and Angelina will be providing cover from high ground.
The hologram dissipated. Hoshiguma pocketed the device and maintained eye contact at me.
"So before I let you ask some questions, I got some questions for you." She said.
"Well, as long as it's ok to answer." I said my condition.
"Well, first of all. Why am I briefing you, when you're not a part of this mission?" She asked. Why does it feel like she's grinning at me?
"Well.."
Holy shit, I didn't realize Doc was still beside me.
"...he's not really joining the Operation Inspe--I mean, Hoshiguma. I just want--"
"No, I've decided to join the Op," I interjected Doc as he looked right at me. "Someone said there's still one spot left. And if I recall correctly, usually Rhodes Island only deploys a maximum of 12 Operators per squad? 13 if we have support?"
I've made up my mind. I wasn't really serious about not joining anyway. I figured I could get off my ass and start doing some wetwork. Like the early days.
"Well, well." Hoshiguma smiled at me. "If you're being serious, you should really sign up right now. We'll be finalizing papers today, so I expect your name on the list tomorrow. Yeah?"
"Don't worry, give or take a couple 30 minutes would be enough." I said.
"Hmph. Alright. Got any questions?"
I inwardly prepared myself. This is going to take a while. So I'll go ahead and timeskip this whole shebang.
---
We're two hours away from the evening. The whole questioning took a while. But Hoshiguma did manage to keep her answers simple. Doc was there to give some clarifications and entertain my curious mouth.
Right now, we had some lunch. Mostly I ate by myself. But soon I went back to work and take another timeskip of that, here we are. Doc and I entered his office. He yawned and stretched his arms upward a bit while I went ahead towards a vacant chair.
"Dang, Six. Can I have you as my assistant forever?" Doctor asked as he made his way to his chair.
"I'm not ready to get a vasectomy from Dr. Kal'tsit or Amiya bunny." I sat on my chair.
Doc chuckled. Before sucking a breath as he sat down on his own chair. I leaned back into my seat and faced Doc.
"Listen, Six." My ears were open. "I thought you weren't going to join the Op. What made you change your mind?"
"Are you going to expect some sort of melancholic answer? Because all I'm going to say is that what I said to you while Ms. Texas was here was just a joke."
He became silent.
"Oh." He looked down a bit. "I couldn't tell you were joking."
"You don't need to. You'll understand my tones if you keep hanging out with me." I reassured Doc. You would really have to join me in my adventures to get ahold of who I am.
"You sure you don't have any sort of ulterior motive?" He asked.
"Doc, there's a reason why I'm here. And it's to work my ass off."
"You're boring me for being so secretive."
He chuckled. I shrugged.
We wallowed in silence for a while. Before some words entered my throat.
"Doc. I don't really have an answer. Though that's the point. I'm trying to find that answer. Maybe... actually doing shit here would help me see it."
There's a reason why I'm hired here in Rhodes Island. And in order to expand that reason, I need to interact with this place. Y'know, I gotta pierce this soul. So I can get through to it.
"Huh." He looked at me, I think he's a bit surprised. "Don't worry Six. Rhodes Island here will help you. Even I need some answers."
That sounds cryptic and foreshadowing.
"Well," Doc straightened up in his seat. "before we do the evening part. You gotta do something right?"
He passed me an application form. And I knew what it was for.
"Go find the squad leader, Six. If you want, tell her that I personally recommended you."
I looked at Doc, and back at the application form.
Then I stood and swiped the form off the desk.
"I'll be back for a bit."
The door opened and I was out.
"Get back here asap!"
...
...
I went back to his office.
"Um. Where is Ms. Texas anyway?"
Doctor facepalmed.
Excuse me alright? But my quest marker didn't reveal her exact location.
---
Author's Notes: I split this into two parts because I don't know if you all want long chapters or shorter ones. Let me know.
This thing is just for fun. Arknights is awesome and epic, and I decided to screw it and make a fic out of it. Six is somewhat an OC of mine, but he's mostly from the New Vegas universe so..
Anyway, send this thing some reviews and critiques. Ideas too if you have 'em. This thing isn't entirely fleshed and I've mostly written oneshots.