The messenger wasn’t much for chatter, instead moving forward with her given task and not much for questions. Judging from how serious she took this, it was Rika’s guess that whoever was in charge knew how to pick their subordinates. Intimidation would affect lesser mercenaries, but for someone like her she was beginning to relish this chance encounter more and more. The more they traveled northeast the more she debated on asking if this meeting was even going to be in the city, but in the blink of an eye after a certain point the scenery had changed. The buildings looked much finer, the people here were in much more abundance, and the environment was less bleak. Rika suspected the wealthy in Hollow Bastion resided here. In a short amount of time they had arrived, and it didn’t take long for Rika to identity the employer; she dressed a little darker and, for her age, oddly. A sailor fuku? Someone wanted to hold into their youth, didn’t they?

Coming to the vacant seat in front of the woman, the messenger introduced her boss as ‘Master Aeva’. Well, whatever bad thing Rika could surmise, this woman carried the title of ‘Master’ well. Just standing there with a cup of coffee in hand, Aeva glanced to Pepper and nodded her head. 

[b]“There will be no need for retaliation Pepper, but I thank you for your enthusiasm. Stay close, you’re welcome to witness.”[/b] Aeva didn’t expect Pepper to be valuable in any other location right now than beside her. Setting her cup down on the table in front of her, the dark red eyes of this most promising employer took their sweet time examining the thief before her. Rika had since sat down and crossed her arms over her chest, looking her over as much as Aeva looked her over. This examination of the two had gone on for several minutes before Aeva had decided to initiate the conversation. 

[b]“I apologize for my silence, I was just looking into something.”[/b] Reaching for her cup of coffee once more, she had brought it to her lips and sipped quietly.

[b]“I’m gorgeous, I know, I get that a lot. Your robot friend here said all the right things, and here I am. What’s my job?” [/b]Rika looked from Pepper to Aeva once again. These two seemed dangerous, and all they were doing was remaining in one spot. 

[b]“Mmmn.”[/b] Aeva drew the cup of coffee from her sips and sighed in a joyful silence. Pepper had worked tirelessly to prepare this coffee for her before departing, and Aeva had taken the time to smile at her, an occurrence not frequent considering her seriousness for this job. She had left the pot inside, and the waiter she had instructed had nothing to do with it. Returning focus to Rika, Aeva had set her cup down once more. [b]“I’ll get to that after I size you up a little more. That was some nice work, trying to dissuade Pepper from recognizing your companion wasn’t worth the trouble of keeping an eye on. I almost believed your comment about her being an idiot.”[/b]

[b]“Ah, so you were listening to that? I figured as much, your ‘Pepper’ doesn’t do much talking.”[/b] Rika smirked, not breaking any sort of sweat with this new discovery. The woman before her was very articulate and calculating; what began as an opportunity to employ her was quickly becoming a contest to see who could surprise the other more. Aeva was likely to win this, because before now Rika had never heard of her. You didn’t have money, and power, and not have someone know of you. Shrugging her shoulders, Rika relaxed in her seat. [b]“Not much of a surprise you had a method of listening in on us.”[/b]

[b]“Oh? You think I had Pepper here hide a wire?”[/b]

[b]“Is there another explanation?”[/b]

Aeva closed her eyes and fell silent for several seconds, deciding on the best possible next sentence. The time it had taken was short, and the recollection of these words was seamless. It was just a matter of what would surprise her more. [b]“So either you take my help, or I walk and make it a goal to undermine you bastards out of principle from this point on.”[/b]

Rika raised an eyebrow, both shocked and suspicious. She knew the rebels weren’t the most professional, but to leave their bunker wired like that…

[b]“Let’s see, what else…”[/b] Aeva mused to herself just before deciding on another line of dialogue.[b] “Let Death know that Rika Masaki sent—“[/b] and cutting off just like Rika had done previously, Aeva opened her eyes, seeing her barrier begin to fold. 

[i]‘How the hell would she know about that?’[/i] Rika thought, trying to keep her control of the situation, but unable to deny her grasp slipping every second. The most she could do now was ask questions. [b]“…Are you with the Empire?”[/b]

[b]“No.”[/b]

[b]“The Rebels?”[/b]

[b]“…Somewhat.”[/b]

[b]“And how did you know about that last line? I didn’t say that in front of anyone, at least living.”[/b] Rika muttered, certain everyone in the room was dead. Even if they weren’t, that place was blown to hell and back, there was no way anyone could have survived to tell of it, right?

[b]“I believe the better question is how I know about that precious resource of information nestled between your breasts?”[/b]

[b]“!?!”[/b] Rika stood up, startled and effectively knocking her chair back at the same time. Completely losing the war of control, this person, this ‘Aeva’, had effectively known of information that simply wasn’t possible to know. She knew of every camera in that facility and avoided them all. The mere fact she knew of her words in the most secured locations was beginning to freak her out. [b]“…Who the hell are you?”[/b]

[b]“I have many titles …among my favorites happens to be ‘Mother of God’. What I know of you, Rika Masaki, is what someone very close to you has divulged to me, and I am not only here to hire you, I am here to show you the error of your ways.”[/b] Aeva gestured towards the fallen seat. [b]“Let us continue.”[/b]

~-~

A large gummi ship transporting denizens from other worlds had made a slow, epic descent into Hollow Bastion’s port. Families had exited, eager to meet relatives for small and large reunions. Friends came to be with other friends for holidays or get-togethers. Some people were just here to sightsee and have some fun in new worlds. And then there was the girl from China, who had hustled out of the ship as fast as she could, darting past those taller and wider than herself, making use of her incredibly dexterity to get ahead. With no bags to claim and no one waiting for her, this girl’s destination was entirely unknown, yet she continued to run and run until she was out of the port and into Hollow Bastion’s early morning air. Skidding to a halt in a location entirely unknown to her, the girl raised her arms in the air and stretched for several seconds until she had begun to bend her knees and pull her arms apart. In the middle of cracking her neck she had realized that her destination shouldn’t be too hard to pick out, especially since the food on that ship was pretty unsatisfactory. Her people never left her home much, but if they ever planned to she’d warn them to eat a good traditional meal before taking that trip.

[b]“Okay! If I was my friends, I’d be …training? No…”[/b] Meilin “Lin” Xiao Yu muttered to herself. It had been six months since she had last spoke with her dear friends, and she knew for a fact training wasn’t going to be their goal this early in the morning. [b]“Ace might be sleeping …but Shizuka would beeeee…”[/b] sniffing the air, Lin tried her best to lock on to the direction of the best early morning aromas. The girl knew how to eat, and she was proud of it too. It was no good, she was too far away to pick up anything worthwhile, and was completely lost. Huffing loudly, Lin looked over her shoulders, up to the sky, and on buildings beside her. There was no such hint to be found, except for one large smoke pillar just west of her, and rapidly dissipating. A commotion? It might be where her friends are!

[b]“Okay, find friends, find food, no problem! I’m coming guys!”[/b] The ride to Hollow Bastion was much too long and boring, she was actually demanded to hold still. The seats weren’t too comfortable and there was a man behind her snoring, making it difficult to mediate and calm herself to pass the time. With so much energy in her system that she could no longer bear it, Lin raced through the streets of Hollow Bastion, narrowly avoiding collisions with people who were both surprised and happy to see someone so cheery in the morning. Taking great leaps and bounds, the freedom of this city felt much more restrictive than the Imperial City back home, and much less clean. Things didn’t seem good, but as long as she was here, they’d find a way to make everything okay.

In time she had skid to another halt, finding a moderate gathering of individuals surrounding the wreckage that had generated the smoke pillar. [b]“Whoa…”[/b] she mumbled, hustling through the crowd and squeezing by others to get a good look at the wreckage. People were being pulled out from it, clearly dead, and that was a tragic thing to behold. [b]“What happened?”[/b] she mumbled to herself. If Ace and Shizuka were caught in that …she wouldn’t know what to do with that level of tragedy. Offering a quick prayer to those who lost their lives, Lin clasped her hands together and lowered her head, hoping the transition to the afterlife was much more peaceful than the end the deceased had found. 

[b]“Find peace.”[/b]