Chronicle of Camaraderie

[Mega Ultra Chicken]

---------- Chronicle of Camaraderie: Luca's Journey ----------

Formerly known as [TITLE MISSING! THE SUPER GRAND SEXY ADVENTURES OF LUCA LOVELACE!]

I mentioned in some random FKL thread that I wanted to write a fic about one of my characters... so I decided to write a short piece. A chapter 0, if you will.

I may consider making a fanfic out of it if people actually like it. But for now, I just wanted to share a little something I wrote.

Main Cast:
[SPOILER-BOX]
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Luca Lovelace: A timid young Force recruited into the Arks to “become a man” (although not by his own choice.)

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Irena Ironstar: A stern Ranger with little patience for insolent allies.[/SPOILER-BOX]

Other Characters:
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Romeo Lovelace: Luca’s suave father, who is an active Arks member and a (self-professed) lady-killer. Rumor has it that he had hundreds of partners before getting married.

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Marilyn Lovelace: Luca’s stepmother. She has somewhat of a reputation for her rather... unusual tastes.
[/SPOILER-BOX]


---------- The story: ----------

Prologue, Part 1: (Kicked) Out of the Nest
[SPOILER-BOX]A tall, roguish man casually wandered into his son’s room. The room was mostly orderly, save for his desk space. Multiple screens, snacks, and a vintage typewriter were strewn about the desk. The most prominent screen displayed various synthetic compounds and medicines.

Despite his fairly thin frame and long, luscious jet black hair, the man seemed to have an air of masculinity. His broad shoulders helped, especially since they were accentuated by his navy Punish Jacket.

Meanwhile, his son was small and scrawny. Despite technically being an adult, he would easily be mistaken for someone a few years younger than him. His black hair was long and overgrown, draping over one of his eyes. But he was less troubled and mysterious and more in need of a haircut. He was comfortably nestled in his rather roomy Twinkle Robin jacket.

“Son, it’s about time you learned how to be a real man” said the father in a crisp, authoritative voice.

“Well, I turned 18 not too long ago. And I already know what I want to do for my career.” The father’s son, by contrast, was more soft-spoken.

“Luca, don’t confuse being an adult with being a man. Any old loser can grow old and get a job. But being a man… That’s something else entirely.”

“Dad, you better not be telling me to-“

“Not that.”

Luca was confused. His father wasn’t expecting that from him? Whatever “that” is? “What do you want me to do then?”

“It's pretty simple, actually. You just gotta join the Arks.”

“Ah, good. At least you don’t want me to- Wait, what?!” Luca nearly jumped out of his chair upon realizing that his father basically wanted him to fight for a living.

“It’s everything a man could dream of! Violence, loot, glory, and the ladies love it! You’ll finally win over that girl you had a crush on in school!”

“I… didn’t have a crush” Luca replied sheepishly.

“Of course you did!” said Luca’s father, deflecting any reality that got in the way of his belief of how things should be. “Everyone’s got someone who gets ‘em aroused.”

“I don’t.”

Luca's dad suddenly gazed intently at him, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. “Remember, you are a Lovelace. And your father, Romeo Lovelace, is one of the most legendary lady-killers in the entire Oracle fleet. You have much to live up to.”

Luca picked up Romeo's hand and moved it off his shoulder. “I… don’t really care.” Luca stood up and looked his father directly in the eye. Unfortunately, his glasses and light cyan eyes diminished the effect. “And I’m not-“

“Oh yeah, that reminds me…” Romeo added, breaking out of his trance of super-seriousness. “…I already signed you up!”

Luca was dumbfounded. “How’d you-“

Romeo smirked. “Your old man has his methods.”

“…Like forgery?”

“Forgery? Nonsense! What gave you that idea?”

“Well, I was thinking that-”

“It’s time for you to finally move out to your own place!” Romeo excitedly grabbed his son and moved him out into a hallway right outside the apartment’s door.

“Oh, how exciting! Our son’s finally moving out! And he’s going to join the Arks!” The voice of Luca’s mother echoed into the hall.

Suddenly, a woman clad in a bath towel bolted to the front door. Her hair was still soaking wet and her body wasn’t much drier. In her hands was a present. “Here’s a little care package for you.” She handed the package to her son and pecked him on the cheek.

“And the rest of your things will be moved to your new room later today. Good luck!”

Luca still couldn’t believe what was happening. He was too shocked to even move.

But his dad didn’t seem to know that. His face was stuck with an overly cheery expression. “Goodbye now! On your way! …Please leave!”

And then before Luca could respond, the door slid shut. He had nowhere else to go but out of there, so he started moving. As he left the hallway, he could barely notice some loud music playing from his former home.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

Prologue, Part 2: The Ironclad Instructor (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3223064&postcount=7)

[yoshiblue]

The father is something else. I like the humor in it. Even though its a bit sad. Looking forward to more.

[Zorafim]

I always welcome new fanfics, and yours is an expressive style. I wouldn't mind reading more.

[CupOfCoffee]

The last line made me legit laugh out loud. Good show, mate.

[Mega Ultra Chicken]

The father is something else. I like the humor in it. Even though its a bit sad. Looking forward to more.

Not entirely sure how the story will play out, but this probably won't be the last of him.

Also... Edited the title and main post. Part 2 of the prologue is in the works.

[yoshiblue]

Hows that part two coming along?

[Mega Ultra Chicken]

I had part 2... technically complete for a while. But I decided to go back and edit it for the sake of actually getting something done. So here it is... long after anyone cared about seeing it.

Prologue, Part 2: The Ironclad Instructor
[SPOILER-BOX]Luca was on his way to his training mission. He found himself at the Campship gate. The gate was teeming with adventurers, doing everything from signing up to missions to negotiating with clients to lounging around and chatting with friends. Some were even dancing despite the (apparent) lack of music.

He wandered out of the elevator and into the crowd. Everyone else seemed to tower over him, even the Arks who were actually shorter than him. And they were as varied as they were numerous. Tall muscle men who could wrestle Rockbears with their bare hands, toned space-samurai who could fell any foe in a single stroke, confident young women ready to charge into battle clad in barely anything, adventurers unencumbered by bulky Rappy suits, enormous Casts with weapons capable of leveling buildings, tiny girls who could single-handedly lay waste to entire countries if they wanted to… Luca could swear that every single one of them was leagues beyond him in both power and bravery. Luca sighed, feeling the confidence drain right out of him.

Luca slowly meandered toward the counter…

“Greetings” the receptionist in a jarringly cheery tone. “You’re the new recruit, I presume?”

“Um… yes.”

“Your partner will be arriving shortly. And by shortly, I mean right now.”
The receptionist lightly directed her hand toward an armored woman with cold gray skin who approached the counter. Her armor was a cold mix of dark purple and black with eerie white glowing accents. She stood before Luca and loomed over him. Luca nervously gripped his arm and averted his gaze in response.

The receptionist then continued. “You will be traveling to the coastal area of the planet Vopar for this mission. We have had reports of a group of infected Aculpus in the area. Your mission is to find and subdue them.”

The receptionist turned to Irena. “Your partner is a new recruit, so you should help him get started in his first mission.”

The recommendation was met with nothing more than a “Hmph” from the metallic woman.

After a short bit of data entry, the receptionist was ready to grant Luca and the Cast woman clearance for their mission. “You are now ready to begin the mission. You Campship will be waiting in the hall to my left. Good luck!”

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During the grand spectacle of the Campship entering orbit in planet Vopar, Luca and his partner were silently standing still.

The silence was broken by a sudden slip of the tongue. “Recruit, what is your name?”

“I’m… I’m Luca… Luca Lovelace.”

Luca swore he could see Irena cringing a bit after hearing that name. “I am Irena Ironstar.” Irena extended a hand toward Luca. He weakly wrapped his fingers around it.

“So… Um… W-why is someone… someone like you… on this mission? Aren’t you, um, stronger?”

“Yes. I am an experienced Ranger. But I have temporarily switched classes to hone my skills as a Gunner. There are some missions that are poorly suited for a Ranger to handle alone.”

“Cool…” said Luca, not in amazement but in an attempt to carry along the conversation.

Irena noticed a slight shift in the ship. “The Campship has reached its destination” she droned. “Jump into the pool over there to begin Bursting. When we reach the ground, we can begin our hunt.” Irena boosted away on her thrusters and flipped into the pool.
“H-hey! Wait!” Luca gave chase and followed her to the pool.

Following a clumsy landing, Luca arrived to find Irena already poised and ready for battle. Luca summoned his standard-issue Rod and clutched it tightly. Irena silently motioned for him to follow her.

They searched the area for a while. No sightings of the target yet, or of any enemy. This part of the Coast seemed quite serene. There was even pretty pink flower on a patch of grass! The thorny stem did nothing to take away from its big, beautiful form.
“…I don’t think I’ve ever seen flowers that big” Luca murmured. He began to approach it…

The flower was suddenly struck by a small burst of bullets.

“Luca, That’s no flower.”

Luca flinched back as he noticed the flower moving slightly… and then a Blumegalla burst out of the sand!

Luca was backing away even faster, now with an expression of terror stuck on his face as the unexpectedly fearsome beast glared at him angrily. Just as he was about to turn back and flee…

“Stop. Now.” Irena’s voice was now much more forceful. She was clearly disappointed with Luca. “I am not going to put up with a coward. Turn around, charge your technique, and destroy it.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” Luca nervously faced the thorny Oceanid and pointed his Rod at it. The air around him began to radiate with burning energy. He focused all the spiritual energy he could into the attack. He had to slay the beast before it could take him down!

Just as the Blumegalla prepared to lunge at its prey, it was struck by a blast of flame from Luca’s weapon. It flinched from the blast, but that didn’t stop it from leaping while Luca was charging another Foie.

“Aah!” Luca hastily sidestepped the attack to avoid the crushing blow. He began to charge up another Foie, his Rod trembling along with his body.

The Blumegalla turned toward a nasty surprise: a blazing fireball that blasted it out of commission.

Luca felt as though a burden was lifted from his shoulders. He had never expected to amount to anything on the battlefield. But here he was, standing victorious over his first enemy. If he could just keep this up, if he could just keep himself out of the enemy’s reach and annihilate them with his Techniques, then he would make it out okay.

“To make it in the Arks, you must have a will of iron” said Irena. “And you must also have focus. That goes double if you train as a Force.”

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After more exploration and taking down more enemies, the pair had reached the last spot they had not checked yet.

“They… They must be here… right?” Luca deduced.

“Correct. And here they are now.” Irena pointed at a trio of reddish pink wolf-like Oceanids with massive fins on their backs. Implanted in each of them were bulbous red infection cores. Luca shuddered at the sight of such deadly-looking beasts, but now he was ready. And he knew what had to be done. At least, he knew what he had to do to not disappoint Irena again.

“Take the one on the left. I will dispatch the other two” Irena ordered, immediately opening fire on two of the Aculpuses.

Luca attempted to draw the third Oceanid’s attention with his own attack, but the beast leaped out of the way of the fiery blast. Luca fired again, and again, and again, but it just wouldn’t get hit! He now found himself unable to charge any more Techniques. Luca was on the verge of another panic until he heard Irena shout:
“Shoot it with your Gunslash to recharge Photon Power! And make sure it’s in the right mode!” Irena was rolling her way around both of her enemies’ attacks at the time.
With that bit of advice, Luca promptly switched out his Rod for a basic Gunslash. He fumbled around for the switch and activated its gun function. He pointed the blade at the Aculpus and began pelting it with bullets. He could feel the energy returning! He switched back to his Rod, but this time he tried something different.

This time, the air turned cold around him. Shards of ice coalesced around him. The energy around him was focused into a stream of ice that chilled everything in its path, including the Aculpus. Luca readied one last Foie and struck down the beast with ease.
Meanwhile, Irena was already done. She put away her customized Rifle just as Luca finished off his foe. “Mission complete.”

“So… um… How did I do?” Luca shyly inquired.

“Your performance was… decent. Competent, at least. You seem to have little trouble grasping the basics of the Force class. But you are lacking in composure. Combat skill is very important, but being too scared to think and act effectively can be fatal.”

Despite being complimented for his combat prowess, Luca couldn’t help but hang his head in shame. “Sorry ...I’ll try my best next time.”

The pair returned to the Campship, which then ferried them back to Nauthiz. The ride there was silent and uneventful, culminating in the two unceremoniously parting ways.

This void of social interaction would set the standard for Luca’s future missions.
[/SPOILER-BOX]