Echoes of the Past; Sylina

[Kerelon]

Okay, this is the first of a set of stories delving into the pasts of my team, Cosmic Trinity (and their additional member, who doesn't consider herself part of the main three). This story is themed around the activation of Sylina, the HUcaseal, and her first days as a Hunter. Hope you all enjoy:

Chapter 1; Activation and Registration
Initiating startup procedure
Primary systems check…all systems operational, 100% efficiency
Secondary systems check…error…error…
Isolating cause of error…cause identified
Personality core…improper connection
Evolutionary Emotion Device…improper connection
AI core…improper connection
Shutting down erroneous connections
All other systems operating
Startup complete, activating systems

The android’s visual sensors came to life almost immediately, and the first thing she noticed was a young girl staring up at her. Her identification module immediately recognised the girl as Kalina, the daughter of her creators, Solana and Aralon. “Greetings Lady Kalina” the HUcaseal greeted, her voice monotone and emotionless, just like a stereotypical mindless robot. “My name is Sylina, and I am yours to command.”

Giving a sigh and a slap on the forehead, the girl in front of her could only mutter “This so-called ‘brilliant advancement in robotics’ can’t even think for itself, can it? Mom, Dad, why did you make her like this? All androids these days are self-reliant.”

“Is there a problem, Lady Kalina?” Sylina asked, her head tilting, but her voice still showing no sign of concern or any emotion whatsoever.

Letting out a small sigh, Kalina told her new android ‘servant’ “No Sylina, there isn’t. Now, could you go around the mansion and do some cleaning? I need to focus on my studies.” Watching the android bow and leave the room, Kalina slumped against the desk, studying a viewing screen in front of her, teaching her about the anatomy of several creatures from Ragol.

5 days later
“Lady Kalina, I have registered as a Hunter as you requested” Sylina reported, now sporting her Purplenum Section ID and a Saber. Floating above her shoulder, a white Mag gazed around the room, taking in all the surroundings.

“Thank you Sylina…Though I wish you could think for yourself and express more emotion, it’s nice that you’re willing to help so much” Kalina smiled warmly, her own Mag (a Bhima) gulping down a Trifluid quite greedily. “Now, I’d like you to teleport down to the Hunters Guild and get some battle training in. It’ll also help to fund this place, as I know I’m running out of Meseta.”

“As you wish Lady Kalina” Sylina spoke, trying her best to sound grateful, but again, no emotion was showing. She then used her built-in wrist interface to activate the teleporter before stepping in, disappearing in an instant. Letting out a sigh, Kalina now turned to what appeared to be the design schematics for Sylina’s android model, the Mesina class.

“Darn it, no matter how many times I look this over, I’m just not an engineer!” she exclaimed in fury, slamming her fists down on the desk. She had been spending the past five days poring over Sylina’s specs, trying to isolate the cause of the problem. From what the holo-message had told her, she should have been loaded with AI and personality cores, and an EED, but the three devices seemed to either have been lost in transport, or knocked about and disconnected somehow. She didn’t have the slightest clue where to begin, and it was driving her insane. Finally deciding to take a break, she headed towards her kitchen and poured herself a drink, thinking out loud “Maybe the mission will help her to get her systems back on track.”



Meanwhile, the android had arrived at the Hunters Guild, and had wasted no time in accepting the Battle Training mission (much to the discomfort of the woman at the counter). Soon, she had met her client, and learned that she would be paired up with another android. Immediately, she walked over to the HUcast in question, who just gazed at her.

“Are you Sylina? It’s the first time I’ve had a partner” the android told her, seeming to size her up as he looked on at the HUcaseal in front of him. “Zidd asked me to do this job first. Unexpectedly, he told me I’d have to work with someone else…I had to say YES as he is my client…” Keeping quiet after that, the two received their assignment, which seemed to be a twofold operation. The first part consisted of retrieving a data disc that the client’s cousin had set out to retrieve, only to have not yet returned. The second part was simply to bring the HUmar, named Ash, back to Pioneer 2 to tend to any injuries he may have received. Sylina also learned that her android partner was named Kireek, and that she would be training under him as well. Once everything had been cleared up, the two had headed towards the teleporter and were soon on their way to Ragol.



Down in the Forest area, Sylina wasted no time in robotically activating her Saber, practicing a few stances with it. She then decided on one that was comfortable, and turned to Kireek, who had already revealed a large scythe, holding it in one hand as though it were as lightweight as her own weapon. “Come” Kireek stated simply, and the two headed off into the area. Immediately, they were set upon by several Booma, and they prepared for battle.

“Here come the wild animals of Ragol. If you’re close enough…” Kireek had started, but Sylina had already rushed in, Saber at the ready. Her movements were slow and predictable (like some early robot designs), but her stance was highly developed, and it wasn’t long before bits of Booma started to rain the battlefield. Kireek couldn’t help but watch this strange android girl as she proceeded to make mincemeat of every Booma that got in her way. “Never mind…it seems you already have a grip on the basics” he stated, not even looking as he swung his scythe behind him, taking off the head of another Booma that had tried to strike him in the back while he was watching. After the last Booma fell, the door unlocked, and they continued onwards. In the next room, they had to deal with more Boomas, and now a weird hive looking being came down from the sky, seemingly supported by dozens of tiny insects. Sylina’s sensors identified the creature as a Monest, and immediately charged towards it, taking out the leg-like supports that held it up in three quick, straight motions. Meanwhile, Kireek was busy fending off Boomas and having a good time doing so, so much so that he left Sylina to her own devices. And while she was stabbing at the Monest, not paying attention to her surroundings, a Mothmant decided to go on a kamikaze attack and flew straight into the back of her neck with a great speed, exerting enough force through it’s stinger to send Sylina flying and tumbling across the ground and into a wall. Turning over to the downed android, Kireek simply stated “You aren’t going to be a liability, are you?”

Meanwhile, in Sylina’s systems, messages were popping up on her visual sensors;
AI core connection re-established
Personality core connection re-established
Evolutionary Emotion Device connection re-established
All systems now running at 100% efficiency

“I’ll ask you again…You aren’t going to be…” Kireek started, but he was cut short by something he wasn’t expecting; Laughter.

“…a liability, right?” the android responded, her voice sounding far different than before. It now seemed to be carrying a sense of confidence and elation, something else that Kireek hadn’t come to expect. The android suddenly leapt up, and in one sudden and fluid motion, had shot past Kireek, Saber in hand, slicing five Booma in half without even trying. “The question is, can you keep up?” Bolting through the door that had opened, Kireek couldn’t help but be interested in her now, running as fast as he could to keep up with her.



The rest of the forest was now progressing at a much quicker pace now that all Sylina’s systems were fully operational. And the HUcaseal had wasted no time in showing off even more of her skill, quickly switching to a pair of daggers she had found lying around. The carnage she displayed was far more immense than before, and soon the path was just littered with the dismembered limbs of several native creatures. Eventually, the two of them arrived at a dead end path, and Sylina’s sensors picked up a HUmar in the area. Running over to him, she checked him to see if any of his vitals were still working, which (thankfully) they all were.

“I don’t know who you are, but be careful” the HUmar warned, mentioning that something was still hiding nearby. However, Sylina ignored his warning and just strolled over to the data disc, which was sitting in a stream. The moment she picked it up, a Barbarous Wolf leapt at her from behind the trees and chomped down on her left arm. However, this didn’t seem to phase her in the slightest, and she threw the wolf into the rest of it’s pack.

“Hmm, seems I can’t use my left arm at the moment. No matter, now I can fight with my good arm” Sylina laughed, withdrawing her Saber once again.

Kireek, who had admittedly not expected half of Sylina’s capabilities so far, was just taken aback by her remark. “She hasn’t been fighting with her sword arm this entire time? Just how powerful is this droid?” he thought to himself as the wolves launched an assault on Sylina. However, it was easily repelled by several swift kicks from Sylina, before she spun around with her sword, creating a vacuum which caused the wolves to get helplessly sucked in before being diced into pieces. The HUcaseal then came to a halt, standing in what was supposed to be a victory pose.

“Heh, not bad huh?” Sylina laughed, walking on over to Ash, helping him up. She then threw the data disc to Kireek, telling him “Get this to the client. I’ll take Ash here with me, then we can finish this job.”

Giving a nod in agreement, Kireek caught the disc easily, telling her “Sylina, train yourself. Become much stronger and impress me…”

“Like I haven’t impressed you enough already?” she laughed, patting Kireek on the shoulder. “Hey, we can be sparring partners if you’d like. I’m sure we can teach each other a lot. Heck, we could even be friends.”

Thinking the offer over, Kireek simply stated “It could be a possibility, but first comes the job. Take him back to Pioneer 2” he instructed, throwing down a Telepipe for her.

“Thanks Kireek. I’ll send you a letter via BEE shortly after the mission is done” the female android stated as she gave a small salute with her Saber, before disappearing into the teleporter.



After the job had been sorted and Sylina had been paid (a measly 300 Meseta, but she felt the fact that her inactive parts were now running at full efficiency was more than enough payment), she decided to get back to Kalina’s home the old fashioned way, without the use of a teleporter. This allowed her to get a better grip of the layout of Pioneer 2 (even if the majority of it involved leaping around between columns to get better views) and eventually she found her way to the Skyly residential area. “Okay, now to find…Kalina’s…home…” she stuttered, gazing up at the huge mansion in front of her. It had never occurred to her just how important her creators had been back on Pioneer 1 to have a mansion this size for their daughter. And then a chilling thought suddenly emerged in her thought circuits; did Kalina have any friends at all? Or was she completely alone, both in family and companions? Deciding to confront her about it, she opened the doors to see Kalina waiting for her.

“Welcome back Sylina” Kalina greeted, though her voice was showing that she was a little concerned that the android may still be emotionless. “So, how do you feel after the mission…”

“Like a million Meseta” the android laughed, rushing over and giving Kalina a one-armed hug. Kalina was just taken aback, but she was so glad that Sylina was working properly now. Noticing the happiness on her “master‘s“ face, the HUcaseal felt that it didn‘t seem fair to ask about her personal life now. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go get into my recharger for the night. My power levels need topping up, and I’m sure it’s going to be another strenuous day tomorrow. Goodnight Kalina, see you tomorrow.” And with that, the android bolted up to the recharger set up in Kalina’s room, deciding to discuss things with her tomorrow.



Okay, that's the first chapter. Had it rolling about in my USB for ages, really had to put it up

[Kerelon]

Chapter 2: Salvage Run M.A.G.
The following morning, Sylina quickly reactivated from within her recharge station, eager to start a brand new day of hunting. Quickly checking up on her Varuna Mag (who she had been feeding ever since her systems were fully functioning), she headed down the stairs of the large manor, eventually finding her way to the dining hall, where Kalina was sitting at the table, already eating a breakfast consisting of many unusual ingredients. Taking her place at the table, she greeted Kalina with a friendly “Hiya” and waited for her to finish her mouthful.

When the girl had done so, she smiled and responded “Good morning Sylina. I’m glad to see you so happy now. Any ideas on what you intend to do today?”

“Well, I was thinking of heading down to the forest to get more training in, but before I do, there were a few questions I wanted to ask…”

“Sylina, you should know all about me already. My parents did program you to know about me before you arrived here, right?” Kalina asked curiously.

“Well, yes. That much about you I already know. But I mean other things” Sylina answered, quickly throwing some of the food into her mouth (her model of androids had several systems to allow for eating, as well as to give her more human movements). “For example, I know you do a lot of research, but you are also registered as a Hunter with the Hunter’s Guild. Obviously your classification is Force, but you’re registered as a FOmarl. We both know that isn’t the case, so why did you let them think that way?” After hearing nothing but silence as Kalina pondered the reason, she then asked “Do you not go out on missions as often as you used to? From what my data tells me, you’re incredibly talented with the use of Grants, yet your track record of missions seems to stop shortly after one in particular…”

“Sylina, now really isn’t the best time to talk about it, okay?” Kalina asked back, sounding a little worried about it. After seeing her android friend nod in understanding, she gave a small sigh. “As for why I let them think I was human…well, I look more human than anything.”

“That’s okay. And my last question…Do you not have any friends to hang out with?” Sylina asked, sounding a bit concerned. When the girl in front of her shook her head, the android then stood up. “Well, I’ll be heading to the forest now. But I will try to help you find some friends to hang around with in my spare time, okay?” And before Kalina could say otherwise, the HUcaseal had already bolted out of the door.



It had been roughly two weeks since Sylina and Kalina had discussed more about the girl’s personal life, and things hadn’t really gone so well in the making friends department. Sylina was now polishing a pair of dagger handles she had found off a Gigobooma in the forest (which had been identified as the Blade Dance) with a great deal of care. She was now waiting in the guild lobby, having been suggested to accept a new mission by Kalina while she headed to the residential area of the Skyly deck to try and find some friends. “Well, I certainly don’t feel like going through any of the standard missions today” Sylina laughed, heading up to the counter when she was satisfied. After being greeted by the lady, Sylina had asked if there were any special missions available, and was now waiting for the news.

“You’re in luck, there’s one special mission that came through just today” the lady at the counter told her, noticing as the android cracked a smile (which admittedly did creep her out a little). “Here’s the info on this mission, a salvage run in the mines.”

“Alright, thank you” Sylina spoke with great excitement, reading the information provided by the holopad which had been passed to her. Apparently, it was a request to take part in something called the Mines Advisory Group as they made a trip into the mines to salvage for any remnants of working technology that could be salvaged. Accepting the mission, Sylina then waited for her client, glancing a look out of the nearby window, admiring her new frame. She had admitted to Kalina that the pure white look didn’t sit well with her, and was grateful when Kalina said that she didn’t have to seek her permission all the time. And so, she was now sporting a purple and black garment look, with the rest of her body being white in colour.

Suddenly hearing a voice saying “Sylina, right?” directly behind her, she spun around in a battle stance, only to see a dark green RAcaseal standing there with what appeared to be an emblem of the Mines Advisory Group on her left shoulder panel. “I’m Tamina, your client. You and I will be working as a team today. The rest of the group are divided into groups of threes or fours, but since we are the strongest people taking part, it’ll just be the two of us. I hope that’s okay by you.”

“It certainly is, but are you sure you’ll be able to keep up with me?” Sylina laughed, tapping one of the handles of her new weapon on her own shoulder. “I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the fun.”

“Why bother keeping up when I can take them from afar?” she countered, revealing her own weapon, a Visk-235W Rifle and mounting it on her shoulder. “It’s more a matter of you being able to hit anyone before I take them all down.”

“This is going to be an interesting team mission for sure” Sylina laughed as she headed towards the teleported, ready to take a trip down to the Mines, Tamina in hot pursuit.



As the two teleported into the mines, Sylina and Tamina took a moment to prepare themselves for the challenges ahead. From what Sylina had been told prior to the warp, Tamina wasn’t a strong battler, even with her Rukmin Mag enhancing her skills (though she was apparently still stronger than the rest of the people taking part). Sylina’s own Mag had now evolved into an Ila (taking the evolutionary path that granted the ability to call Pilla) and she was feeling confident. Stepping into the first room, the HUcaseal was immediately set upon by a group of Canadine who were flying around in the air, trying to hit her with an electrical blast resembling the appearance of a Zonde technique. “Typical, the first enemies here and they can fly out of my reach” the female android grumbled, sidestepping each attack with absolutely no effort whatsoever, just waiting for them to make a mistake.

“They’re not stupid you know” Tamina piped up suddenly, releasing a volley of photon bullets from her Visk rifle, knocking the flying enemies down (who were promptly diced up by the Blade Dance Sylina was wielding). “However, they also aren’t very strong either. If everything in here is this easy, then we should have no trouble with this place. I might be able to fill the order out after all.”

“Order? What exactly do you mean by that?” Sylina asked, sounding rather curious as she jumped past Tamina, taking the heads off two Gillchic that were preparing their wrist lasers.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll tell you later when we’ve actually collected some, okay?” Tamina asked back, finishing off a Gillchic that been sent flying past her head by her companion. After several minutes of fighting, the doors finally unlocked, and they proceeded on. The journey then took a rather uneventful turn, when there seemed to be absolutely no enemies for several rooms.

“Wow, you think the other teams might have cleared things up a bit?” Sylina asked curiously, having picked up a couple of Mags in the previous dead end. “It’s getting a little boring now.” The two had now entered a small squared shaped room which had a layout similar to that of a hallway, with one strip of the floor in the middle that was slightly raised, connected to each doorway.

“It’s certainly a possibility, though I would’ve expected more resistance from the machines here” Tamina admitted, stepping forward a little bit to examine the locked door in front of them. “No enemies, yet the door is locked…Sylina, what do you make of it?”

“It certainly is unusual. There should’ve been some enemies here, unless…” If she could have gone pale, she certainly would have now, as she had just remembered something important Kalina had warned her about via BEE prior to Tamina’s arrival at the guild. “Tamina, run! They’re on the ceiling!” she called out, but it was too late, as a trio of Sinow Beat and two Sinow Gold had leapt down, and were now pinning the RAcaseal against the door. “Damn, my Blade Dance isn’t going to be enough to save her in time. I need to think quick…”

“Hurry, I can feel their blades starting to cut into my neck!” Tamina screamed, trying her best to wriggle out of their grip, but to no avail. It definitely looked like a hopeless situation now, but Sylina suddenly got an idea.

“Don’t worry, I’m on it!” Sylina yelled, throwing a Telepipe down and sticking her arms and head through.



Meanwhile, Kalina was back at her desk, doing more research on the dark creatures in the Ruins when Sylina’s head and arms came out from a Telepipe right next to her, causing her to scream and fall over in fright. “Sylina, never do that right next to me!” she screeched, trying to dust herself off.

“Never mind that now, I need something quick. Grab me those two handles I found off the dragon in my previous visit to the Forest” Sylina begged. Noticing the urgency in her voice, Kalina quickly grabbed the nearby objects and threw them to her friend, the android catching them and returning her top half to the mines.



Immediately, Sylina wasted no time in flaring the objects to life, an icy blue sword blade erupting from each handle. “Wow, these look incredible” she gasped, amazed by the weapon she had. Regaining her composure quickly, she threw the two blades directly at the two Sinow Gold, laughing as the spin of the blades easily sliced them in half. She then switched to her Blade Dance once more, and threw those as well, taking the heads off two of the Sinow Beat. But then she yelped in horror as the final enemy prepared the finishing blow on a heavily weakened Tamina.

“No, I don’t want to be destroyed here!” Tamina screamed, her optic sensors shutting off, waiting for the end. But when it didn’t come however, she didn’t understand why, and her sensors slowly came back to life. The first thing that registered was Sylina, standing over her, and holding the Sinow Beat’s arms back with her bare hands.

“You want a fight, huh? You should try me on for size you overgrown scrap pile!” she yelled, throwing the Sinow Beat straight into the wall before grabbing the blue blades from before and charging, ripping the machine into shreds before it even had the chance to recover.

“Thank you…man that was a close call” Tamina gasped, applying a Trimate to herself before standing up. “I must say though, you certainly surprised me there. Your speed is incredible.”

“I don’t think it’s anything that impressive” Sylina laughed, taking her Blade Dance back and turning it off. “I’m just glad I picked up this Yamato from one of the dragons living in the Central Dome’s underground, otherwise we would’ve been in trouble.” Walking over to the shredded Sinow Beat’s corpse, she found a pair of what appeared to be half length blades, red and yellow in colour. Picking the weapons up, she began to scan them.

“Sylina, do you know what those are?” Tamina asked curiously, watching as the HUcaseal continued her analysis.

“Yeah, these daggers are a legendary weapon. The Bloody Art, if my analysis is right” Sylina laughed, placing them down on the floor. She then withdrew a Telepipe, but didn’t drop it on the floor to activate it. “I think now would be a good time to test my Teleport Beam.”

“Your what!?” Tamina blurted out, unable to believe what she was hearing. Such a technology was unheard of for android Hunters, not to mention that it just sounded too unlikely.

“Yeah, my creators made me with many advanced systems, including a Teleport Beam that’s fuelled by Telepipes” Sylina explained, a slot on her right arm opening up. She then keyed some co-ordinates into her wrist computer and pointed her arm towards the Bloody Art, a small laser cannon emerging from her wrist. “This variation is a one-way teleport to whichever co-ordinates on Pioneer 2 or Ragol that I program in. In this case, it’ll be my friend’s place.” She then fired a small beam at the Bloody Art, watching as it disappeared from view.

“Wow, that’s simply incredible!” Tamina cheered in admiration, bouncing up and down before tripping over a dismembered arm and falling back, landing right next to a Mag box. “Hey Sylina, maybe you should send your friend a Mag too.”

“Well, she has said she wanted to get a new one” Sylina admitted, firing the rest of the beam’s energy to teleport the Mag back to Kalina’s mansion. “Anyways Tamina, what did you mean by an ‘order’ earlier?”

Slowly getting back to her feet, Tamina gave a small nod and explained “My Hunter duties aren’t really my primary job. I actually run a Mag raising organisation. We receive commissions from Hunters who want specific Mags, raised in specific ways. The commissions are either to raise the Hunter’s Mag until it evolves to a certain point, or to raise one for them by scratch. Naturally, those that are raised from scratch cost significantly more than those that are pre-raised by the commissioner, and that price varies depending on how much further the Mag has to go.”

“That doesn’t explain the nature of this order though” Sylina retorted, sounding a little concerned.

“Well, we received an order for several Mags recently. However, we ran out of Mags about halfway through the order. So I put up this quest in order to find someone who’d help me with gathering the Mags” Tamina finished, opening the door and heading on through, motioning for Sylina to follow. “We have about six of the ten Mags we need, come on.”



Now in the lower reaches of the Mines, Tamina and Sylina continued to streak through, demolishing all that stood in their path. Sylina was showing deadly efficiency with her Yamato, though her strikes were slower with these weapons than with her Blade Dance. Eventually they reached a room with a group of robots that looked like Gillchic just waiting for them.

“Hmm, a group of Dubchic…this could prove to be a problem” Tamina muttered as the robots came to life.

“Nah, these are going to be a piece of cake” Sylina laughed, charging forward with her Yamato blades, easily taking the heads off several Dubchic without even trying. Watching them fall to the ground, defeated, she let out a cheer of triumph. However, this was rather short lived, as soon the robots were getting back up, walking towards her like zombies. “Ack, how the hell are they doing that!?” she squeaked, blocking their attacks with her blades.

“I tried to warn you. Dubchic were designed to be sent into areas too dangerous to mine normally, and were equipped with the technology to retrieve any Dubchic body parts in the area if they were to fall apart from a cave-in or something. As a result, all their commands are sent via a remote server node, which should be around here somewhere…” Tamina explained, trying to focus on finding said object. Eventually, she located the node and fired a volley of rifle photon blasts at the node, destroying it. Immediately, the Dubchic group exploded all around Sylina, the node no longer able to give commands. “And as you can see, they self-destruct when the node is destroyed.”

“Thanks for that” Sylina told her partner with a small smile, entering the next room. “Umm…and this giant robot?”

Tamina rushed in immediately to see what the problem was, and gasped in horror “Oh no, not those!”. When she had heard the words “giant robot” she was expecting a Garanz. Instead, what was awaiting them was none other than a Baranz, a far more deadly variation of the robot she had suspected. “Sylina, we don’t stand a chance against this thing! We have to run!”

“There’s no way I’m going to retreat!” Sylina countered, watching as the robot fired a volley of missiles in her direction. Immediately, the HUcaseal sprinted to the side, the missiles following her path. “Tamina, get back! I’ll handle it somehow!” She skidded to a stop when the missiles exploded, only to notice another volley coming her way. “Oh man, this isn’t going to go well” she grumbled, dodging several missiles before grabbing the last two and throwing them right back. The explosions were powerful enough to rip away a few portions of the protective shell, which caused her to cheer. But then she stumbled backwards as she realised that underneath the shell were more missile launchers. “This is just not my day” Sylina sighed, loading another Telepipe into her Teleport Beam and typing in the co-ordinates. She then fired it at the Baranz before it got the chance to unleash another volley, and it was teleported into a stream of electrical energy next to the far wall, causing all the missiles inside the Baranz to explode, ripping the thing apart from the inside out. “Alright! How do you like that!?” she roared in pride, only to notice a Sinow Red drop down from the ceiling. “Oh man…why can’t you guys just give me a break?” she growled, preparing to fire the Teleport Beam once more. The Sinow Red wasn’t waiting around however, and leapt at her in an uncharacteristic frenzy, madly attacking her with everything it had, causing Sylina to have to switch to the defensive.

“Sylina, are you alright!?” Tamina cried out, rushing back in to assist. After seeing Sylina’s current position, she quickly told her “I’ll handle this, just hold on.” She then aimed at something above the two of them and began to fire. The photon bullets struck hard, and something began to creak above them. Recognising the sound, Sylina leapt back once an opening presented itself, and a large piece of machinery fell from the ceiling, crushing the Sinow Red underneath it.

“Phew, thought I was going to be a goner there. Thanks Tamina, I owe you one” Sylina gasped, placing a Dimate in an opening on her chest, the compartment closing shut and her energy and circuits being restored.

“No no, we’re even. You saved me from that quintet of Sinow earlier. If anything, I still owe you four” Tamina laughed, finding a room with the last four Mags they needed. “Awesome, this is all we need. Thanks Sylina, the quest is over now.”

“So what sort of payment are we talking about here?” Sylina asked curiously, discharging the last bit of energy from her Teleport Beam. Just then, she also noticed a strange lump of ore near the machine that had crushed the Sinow. Picking it up, her scanners identified it as Syncesta, and she was just stunned with her find, storing it away.

“Well, truthfully it’s not a payment in Meseta” Tamina admitted shamefully. “See, this order is needed to make ends meet this month. Without this order being finished, it’ll be the end of our company. So you understand if I can’t pay you in Meseta.” Before Sylina had the chance to complain, she added “However, I can at least give you one free Mag commission, a fresh one. See, it usually costs 250,000 Meseta for us to raise a Mag from scratch, so you’re getting a really good deal there.”

“That’ll do me just fine. I can head back to my friend’s place quick, pick up the Mag and bring it to your company’s building” Sylina told her gratefully, holding out a holopad. “Could you put the co-ordinates to your company down here? I can then use it to get you to the building.” Watching as the android wrote the co-ordinates down, Sylina then keyed them into her wrist computer, placing a new Telepipe into her Teleport Beam slot. She then fired the full amount of Telepipe energy at Tamina’s feet, throwing the Mags she had picked up into the Telepipe as it took Tamina away. She then placed a new Telepipe down, and went through it.



Appearing back in the mansion, Sylina found herself alone in the hallway. Heading back to Kalina’s room, she noticed her at the computer, giggling as she typed up a message in her BEE system before sending it off. “Having fun I take it?” Sylina laughed, causing Kalina to jump slightly.

“Oh Sylina, welcome back. How did the mission go?” Kalina asked with a much lighter tone in her voice, giving the android a hug.

“It went rather well. I didn’t get any Meseta for completing the mission, but I got a free Mag commission worth 250,000 instead” Sylina told her. After noting the confusion on her face, she sat Kalina down and explained.



“I see…that would explain the leaflet that came through just before you arrived” Kalina told the android after hearing the story, handing her a small holographic pamphlet that contained details about the company, named Amazing Guardians. Looking over the information about each Mag in turn, Sylina then noticed that the Sato Mag was blinking a small light behind it. “Yeah, that’s the Mag I decided on. I want that new Mag you got me to become a Sato.”

“Well, that’s certainly fine by me” Sylina laughed, finding the Mag rather cute. The white Mag then flew past Kalina’s head and over to Sylina, landing on her ponytail. “So then, I’d better be off then.” With that, she loaded her Teleport Beam, keyed in the co-ordinates, and fired the beam before stepping through the gate.



Coming out of the gate now, Sylina found herself in a rather large, beautifully decorated hallway, a desk at the far end. Seemingly thousands of Mags were flying around in the air above her, all of varying forms and colours, and it truly was a wonderful sight to behold. Making her way to the desk, she was not able to notice a relatively short FOnewearl with green hair until she got right up to the desk. “Yes, I have a free commission to redeem, given to me by Tamina” she explained, noticing the Newman’s rather sour look before she looked up at the android.

“I have to confirm this with her, one moment” the girl grumbled, punching in a few commands into the videophone in front of her, the android’s face popping up on screen. “Ma’am, an android is hear claiming to have a free commission from you. Should I blast her away with Megid, or Grants?” she asked, not bothering to hide the disgust in her voice. After hearing the android’s fury being unloaded right into the small Newman, Sylina couldn’t help but giggle, which Tamina seemed to hear and caused her to give the Force strict instructions. “Yes ma’am, sorry…” The conversation then ended, and she looked up. “I’m sorry, Miss Tamina is expecting you. Please take the elevator to her office, top floor.”

“Thank you I guess” Sylina told her, not exactly happy with her attitude, as she moved away from the desk and up to the nearby elevator. She pressed the top floor button, and waited patiently until the elevator reached it’s destination. Immediately, music began to play in the cubicle, the sort of music that usually irritates people to the point of insanity, and Sylina was no exception to this. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the doors finally opened to an office similar in shape to that of Principal Tyrell’s office, and at the desk sat Tamina.

“Ah, hi Sylina. Thanks to you, our company’s going to stay in business” she spoke with a great deal of happiness. “Now, your free commission…have you decided yet?”

“Yes, I would like my friend’s Mag to become a Sato” Sylina explained, watching the Mag fly over to Tamina, flying around her head.

“As you wish. However, Only female Forces of specific Section IDs can evolve Sato Mags, I trust you know this” Tamina said, pressing a button on an intercom system. “Aliasse, please report to my office, thank you.” She then shut off the intercom and turned back to Sylina. “Aliasse is a Redria FOmarl, she’ll be in charge of raising your friend’s Mag to Sato state.”

“Thank you Tamina. And…” Sylina started, going up close and placing a bag of Meseta on the desk. “I’d like to commission you to help my Mag upgrade too. I want a Diwari.”

“Okay then, I can sort that one out myself. Just let me change into a pure white frame” she said, stepping into a nearby teleporter. Eventually, she returned, her frame now completely white. And a minute after that, a FOmarl in a pure white robe, similar to that of Kalina’s, arrived in the room too. “Sylina, this is Aliasse. Please hand your friend’s Mag to her” she asked politely, the HUcaseal agreeing and giving a small nod to the Mag, watching it fly on over to the purple haired girl. “Thank you for your custom, we’ll send the Mags back as soon as they’re ready.”

“Thanks Tamina, hope I’ll see you around sometime” Sylina told the RAcaseal gratefully, watching as her Ila Mag went over to Tamina before she teleported back to the house, wondering what tomorrow would hold for her.



Chapter 2 is here as well