The Tip was a large machine and ship graveyard on the third moon of
Detrius. It was a small, wretched place but it did good business for the
colony. Only a few scavenger aliens lived on the moon, the graveyard being
completely automated. A foul wind blew around Dreena's small yacht as it
landed.
"What in Ssss'shka's Revenge are we doing here?" the Kid asked as
Gail powered down the engines.
"I told you," she smiled. "Picking up the last member of the
team."
"He lives in this junk heap?"
"He works here."
"Oh goody," the Kid snorted. "A garbage drone."
"Watch it, Kid," the Captain said. "This one deserves our
respect. Dreena wasn't lying when she said he used to be one of the best solo
fighters around." The Captain turned his gaze to Dreena as she was getting
ready to exit the ship. "Though he may be past his prime."
"We'll see," she said, smiling. "Captain, you and the Kid
stay on board. I'll take Gail with me. We shouldn't be long."
* * * * *
Dreena and Gail made their way through the piles of junk and scrap metal. A
wind constantly gusted about them. Gail held her arms out and made a little
flicking gesture with her hands. The wind continued to rage around them, but it
now seemed to stay clear of their immediate vicinity.
"Thanks," Dreena said, trying to get some of the dust out of her
hair and straightening her cloak.
She pulled a palm-sized device out
of an inside pocket and turned it on. "He's close by, just over that next
pile."
A few scavengers scurried away as the two women climbed over some discarded
engine parts, making their way to the other side of the scrap pile. There,
working on what appeared to be part of an old hovercraft, was a vaguely humanoid
construct; the robot was all hard curves and flat edges, nothing like the more
streamlined droids of today. His metal body was a series of mismatched
patchwork and poorly riveted replacement parts. Before they could get within
five meters of the robot, it spun around quickly, arms spread out before it, in
a combative stance.
"I see you haven't lost your reflexes," Dreena said, removing the hood of her cloak.
"Ms. Diamond," the robot said after a moment of indecision. It
stood up straight, lowering its arms. "You humans do age quickly, I almost
didn't recognize you." The robot's voice was male, slightly hollow, and
almost completely lacking in emotion.
Dreena smiled. She was a little shocked at the appearance of the robot; the
last time she had seen him he had had all his original parts and though he was
already old by that point, he was kept shiny and pristine. "Well, it's
been nearly ten years," she said.
"Has it?" the robot answered. "I seem to be having some
difficulties with my chronometer." He looked at Gail.
"Ah, Gail this is Johnny Alpha, my father's first creation. Johnny,
this is Gail."
Gail nodded.
"You appear human, but I detect a distinct Distari aura about
you," Johnny said.
"My mother was Distari," Gail said.
Johnny nodded. "What brings you to the Tip?"
"To put it bluntly, Johnny, you do. I want you to fight again. For
me," Dreena said.
Johnny titled his head slightly. If he had eyebrows, they would have
raised. "I would guess that I'm... slightly out of date."
"That's a matter of opinion," Dreena said. "I know that I
still have yet to see anyone who fought like you did. And I can offer you an
escape from this exile. I can offer you upgrades."
"I was under the impression that it was illegal to upgrade my
model," Johnny stated.
"You have been out of the loop for a long time, haven't you?"
Gail laughed.
"A lot has happened in the last decade, Johnny," Dreena said.
* * * * *
Captain Impressive watched the Kid fidgeting in his seat. He could see the
black mist swirling in the crystal that hung at the Kid's neck and knew that
the young lad wasn't the only one who was looking for some action.
"Don't worry, Kid," he said. "You'll get your fight
tomorrow."
"Yeah," the Kid said.
The doors to the ship opened and a stark wind blew inside. Dreena and Gail
entered, followed by the most pathetic-looking robot the Kid had ever seen.
Gail moved to the pilot's seat and prepared for takeoff. Dreena sat down as
Johnny stood near the closing door.
"So," the Kid said. "You're Johnny Alpha, huh?"
"That is correct."
"Hmmph."
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