Getting to the headquarters

We strolled through town trying to keep a low profile and out of the sights of anyone around us. There weren't many mercenary teams just casually strolling about the streets. Though the fact that there were any at all gave us some relief. It meant we weren't paid much attention as we walked towards the Flux corporation branch headquarters.

We stood out from our surroundings in a rather large way though and while no one overtly stared at us there were some sidelong glances every now and again. Luckily they didn't do much more than that and we were able to continue on our way.

My head was on a swivel taking in the surroundings as we walked. It wasn't that odd being a merc and I wanted to know how a seemingly normal city could be hiding such a dark underside. All the buildings around me seemed, if not normal then certainly practical.

They were made of base materials and nothing more. Mainly metals, rocks etc. While the main colours around me were silver and brown it was more of an accidental resemblance than any sort of deliberate design.

The types of buildings also seemed practical at first glance. If this city was actually what it seemed like I would've been perfectly happy to live here. There was a hairdressers with a massive pair of scissors on the top of a large metal box that looked a lot like the rest of the buildings here.

Many of the buildings mirrored this design principle. The base of the buildings, the giant metal boxes, were all the same. But they all had one unique feature. A bowling ball, a statue of a woman in revealing clothing, a donut, what looked to me like a giant coin from a certain video game with a very fast hedgehog.

Even these unique decorations didn't vary in colour however. They were all silver and made from the same metal as the building beneath them presumably. Interestingly enough no one placed their 'identifiers' for lack of a better word, anywhere other than the top of their buildings. It almost seemed like it was prohibited.

I figured the places around me were mainly for entertainment given how many rich people there were in this city. I was right for the most part. The problem was the entertainment itself. From the outside the buildings looked fairly normal but when someone opened the door to the building with the giant coin on it's top I saw the inside for a brief moment and instantly I lost all expression from my face.

The brief glimpse I saw of the inside was of the man who walked in being given a mask of some sort and then he was let into another door by a security guard that was only a few yards in from the door to the outside. Confused why they would have two doors in such close proximity I tried to see inside the door past the security guard and the man with the mask and didn't like what I saw.

Inside there appeared to be a massive stadium. I could only see the side opposite the door and a little below but that was enough for me to get the gist. On the other side was a number of rings at different heights each packed to the brim with people in masks holding drinks in expensive looking glasses and leaning over a metal railing watching something below them.

I couldn't see what they were looking at but I could guess. I couldn't hear them either but that wasn't too hard to surmise either. I turned my head back forwards and decided not to look into any more of the buildings. I'm not so sure these really are hairdressers and doughnut stores now and it makes me sick.

"Best to just keep your eyes forward Ams. Don't want them thinking we're here to rat 'em out or investigate them yeah?" Whispered Tommy into my ear from behind me. The implication was severe and I understood what he was getting at so I kept my eyes away from everything else slightly worried I'd been spotted.

"Never would've pegged you for a goody-two-shoes." Snarked Delilah with a little snicker of her own.

"Ams took on the more above the board jobs than the rest of us. She's skilled enough to get away with it. Means she's not used to this kinda thing ya'know. It was kinda odd that she got ALL those jobs but it could just be her luck." Explained Tommy with a gaze I towards Delilah that I couldn't quite discern. He didn't quite seem annoyed but there was certainly a hint of it there.

"Focus on the job. Both of you." Growled Marianne in a slightly threatening tone and I figured she was right so I fell in line this time. Delilah reluctantly followed my example a few seconds afterwards and we continued our walk.

Or we tried to… "My, a group of mercenaries with a few pretty ladies in the mix. How novel." Exclaimed a man with a nasely tone and a presence so icky it made me want to flee. Oh I can see where this is going and I don't like it.

We could practically feel the icky man approach us from behind and we all turned around each with a different reaction. I and Tommy had our facial expressions go utterly blank. We were used to this sort of person and we knew exactly how to deal with them. Marianne seemed to take a similar approach though really it looked more like she was ignoring him and leaving it to us.

Delilah on the other hand openly scowled and surprisingly her partner seemed almost scared. That's a first. I've never seen a merc scared by some corrupt aristocrat before. Plus weren't Dede famous criminals or something. Surely they've dealt with worse in their time?

I didn't get the chance to ask myself this question as the man approached. He was actually quite well groomed by this city's standards. Not in the hygienic sense. Everyone here was spotless in that regard for business associations and such. This guy just gave off the distinguished man of class vibe.

He was thin like a twig though. He had long blond hair and blue eyes your typical prince in a story. His face was even pretty good. But he was so thin I felt like I'd crush him if I tried to shake his hand. He looked fragile like a glass doll that you could shatter at any moment.

His smile was also oozing arrogance like you wouldn't believe and judging by the way he talked he was clearly going for the man of class vibe he was giving off. I'd guess it was a quirk of his or something. His eyes meanwhile were analytical. They looked like camera lenses and they were just there to feed information to his brain which was always firing on all cylinders.

"Thank you for the compliment. We're here to fulfil a request from a certain distinguished individual and we mustn't be late. I'm sorry but could we keep to the pleasantries for the moment. Perhaps an introduction later would be more appropriate?" I reply courteously.

Like Tommy mentioned earlier a lot of my stuff was more above board. Though to be exact it was grey areas that rich people liked to tow. So while I wasn't used to the greasiness I could feel this guy giving off I knew how to deal with people like him. In fact the orphanage used to be visited by these kinds of people all the time so we all knew.

"Oh of course don't you worry your pretty little head I shan't keep you long. I do so enjoy seeing polite young ladies such as yourselves enjoying this here city. I shall simply keep things to an introduction for now. My name is Leon 'Machina' abendroth. It's truly a pleasure." He says with a salesman's smile.

'Oh great' was my only thought at hearing this. The guy's definitely involved with the city in some way. Probably not the owner of the planet and it's surrounding area but it wouldn't surprise me if he was related to them. Son or cousin maybe? Either way he was a right pain.

Now that he introduced himself it would be extremely rude not to do the same under normal circumstances. Luckily these circumstances weren't normal. We were mercenaries clearly hired for a secret mission and giving away our names here would be a serious problem for our supposed client though we didn't mention their name.

No self-respecting black market mercenary would give away the name of their client to anyone less than stellar in the trustworthiness department and even then they'd refrain for the sake of that person's safety. The more people who know the bigger the purge when someone doesn't want them to. So goes the saying I believe.

He knew this obviously which means he was trying to dig for information and wasn't going to keep this to just the pleasantries. Realizing this I decide to get this over with so I can go on to do the job. "I'm sorry but you know the rules. I can't disclose my name or the name of my companions though if you wish for an alias to call us by you may think of us by the colour you associate with us."

That would make me red or black, Marianne yellow or blond, Delilah army green, Dahlia pitch black and Tommy purple or pink. That wouldn't give anything away and it would mean we weren't being too rude since we were still giving him something to call us should he spot us again. Still I'm pretty sure we're not going to get away with that.

"Come now miss rouge. I am of the distinguished Machina line. There isn't a transaction in this city I should be unaware of. I'm sure your client would be happy for you to divulge your names at the very least. Lest they anger my family. Why I think they would even praise you for gaining my favour." He says in a manner so slimy it makes me want to run away.

I get that you're going for the carrot and stick approach. Not telling you our names would make our client unhappy and telling you our names would make them happy. It's sure impressive you can come up with that on the fly but it doesn't help you because we don't actually have a client. So we're not actually scared of you.

"I'm afraid our confidentiality can only be broken by the one who ordered it. Please take the issue up with our client if you feel so strongly about the matter." Came my diplomatic response. I looked around at the others for a moment wondering if any of them could actually help but I could see that Delilah was ready to kill the man, Marianne was uninterested and the other two didn't want anything to do with this.

Sighing in my mind I turn my attention back to the man and catch the remains of an expression of displeasure on his face. Yep he's realized the problem here. "I supposed you would not tell me the location of your client such that I could 'take the matter up with them' as you put it." He says sounding defeated and somewhat annoyed. I don't think he was trying to show us he was annoyed but I could get the feeling nonetheless.

"I'm afraid the name and location of our current client is covered in our confidentiality clause. Should you wish to take the matter up with them I'm afraid we cannot assist you." I said laced with the feeling of 'so are we done here' which he seemed to understand and dislike.

Still annoying someone so powerful would be annoying should we wish to come here again or really should we wish to live lives anywhere this man has influence so lets try… "However should you wish, I would be glad to relay the message that you wish to talk with our client. Should they agree to meet you, they shall contact you with an appropriate time and place." This time I try and get the message across that we personally aren't hostile and should he not be contacted it won't be our fault.

He smiled at us in a way I couldn't quite understand and said "Thank you. Please do mention that Leon 'Machina' Abendroth wishes to speak with them." With that he walked off and I let out a sigh of relief. He didn't seem particularly offended. When he's not contacted by our boss he'll probably be a bit more annoyed but it'll be fine for the most part. Hopefully.

I turn to everyone and with the exception of Delilah who's still scowling at the man's back they all seem relieved that he left us alone. "With that done. Let's get back on task." I said before starting to walk off.

As soon as we started to walk however Delilah spoke up. "I hate those kinda guys. I'm warning you now this isn't over. He clearly wants control over everything here and he ain't gonna give up just like that." Her comment came out as more of a growl which is a rarity for her. Sure she complains all the time but this seemed less like complaining or arrogance and more like alarm or perhaps even fear.

"Well here's hoping you're wrong. Plus how's he gonna find us. We don't actually have a client ya'know. I for one wouldn't take that job." Explains Tommy in a seemingly carefree manner though I could see the calculations behind his eyes.

We continued our little walk across the streets of planet Machina's capital and after a little while of silent vigilance Tommy spoke up. "Oh yeah I have something for you guys. Found it on the ship and I presume it's for us." He says before handing out black things to all of us. Not sure why he hid them until now but I'd guess it has something to do with Mainframe given his wariness towards the character.

"What's this thing?" Asks Delilah as she examines the tiny pair of black things in her hand. I turn my attention towards my own and feel the plastic coating and the lines where that plastic was moulded together. It looks a little like a pair of earphones without wires. Except they have a light on the top that is currently off and I'm not quite sure on it's function.

"I dunno but I have a guess. Put it in your ear, turn it on and we'll all find out if I'm right." Says Tommy. I look at the objects once more and try to find anything that would be akin to a power switch. I turn them around in my hand and find that on the back of them is a little button. It's rather small and when I try to press it there's quite a bit of resistance.

Still press the button I do and the moment I do the lights at the top that were just glass before now do their job and become a nice bright blue. They flash in a pattern unfamiliar to me for a moment before once again going dark. Assuming this means they've turned on I put them in my ears and then something amazing happens.

Absolutely nothing. That's amazing because usually the way things like this work is that they block out all surrounding sound. Yet here are these tiny little things blocking up my ears and yet I can hear everything around me perfectly fine.

I see everyone else doing the same thing and a few moments after all of the devices are in our ears we hear a weird mechanical voice come through them and into our ears. "Hello. I believe this is the first time you've heard my voice. I am Mainframe and I shall be guiding you for the beginning and end of this mission. Orders are to be carried out immediately and without question. Should you lose contact defer to Marianne and Amelie."

As it turns out I wasn't the only one to hear that voice and I turn to face everyone else who look just as shocked as I am. The voice is clearly synthetic and so is the speech pattern if I had to guess. Still this is our employer and they are going to be indirectly participating in this operation apparently.

The mechanical voice speaks up once more once we've gotten our bearings again. "You must continue walking. Stopping will be considered suspicious behaviour by those around you. These devices must not be spotted." So as it orders we keep on walking.

We don't hear from the mechanical voice again until we arrive at our destination. The flux corporation building. Then it finally appears in our ears once more. "This is your objective. The main headquarters of the Flux corporation in this galaxy." Explains the Mechanical voice dispassionately.