Intermission from Doom

[Doomguy]

Down the street from where the four primes were congregated, on the corner of some unimportant crossroad where a tax office sat closed and looking largely unused, a security camera swiveled around from it's hidden place atop the roof and watched with mechanical precision over the strange gathering. Most people would pass by the building, absentmindedly wondering why there would be a tax office in the Omniverse, but then would go on with their own pet theories and not acting on any of them. Which was a boon for its true purpose. In the second floor, a secluded room held a collection of monitors that were connected to cameras across the several sectors of the island. Leaving no action left scrutinized. The guardian tasked with manning this security array looked on in disgust, tired of the witless bystanders who have called this place their home who drowned themselves in sea scented decadence. That his superior officer had personally tasked him to look out for someone in particular was a welcome distraction from the aliens and fat people in swimsuits.

The camera zoomed in on the target, who was talking with three others. The military grade cameras had a good look of him, he matched the description down to a T (although sans the helmet he had been spotted in earlier). Sound was less the stellar, leaving only a few snippets to be heard in between static.

"Well, that's him, commander" the eagle-eye watch reported to the man in another screen. "Don't know what's so special about him. Looks like another block-headed action hero wannabe to me" He looked to the officer (or more accurately, the web cam). He tried to read the stone face and the piercing eyes, but failed as always.

"Previous reports had him socializing and leaving port with a known pirate crew. If he's part of some plot or in with Choprot, I want to know. I cannot have a Prime being friendly with the organized crime on this island, we have enough problems keeping the peace" The officer answered. The watcher nodded in agreement. With a low presence of stormtroopers in this verse compared to others, and what few they have mostly allocated to the navel wing, they had to make due with subtle tactics like this. "Who else is he with"

The watcher brings up a few files "One known Prime, has a speeding violation under their profile. Another, recent arrival attacked the guards to the Tangled Greens gate, no major injuries. One Pokemon, no known association with the PLF. If they have anything in common, it seems by coincidence" The watcher through over the possibilities, finding nothing that isn't a stretch. "So, is this something you're worried about, or is the Admiral breathing down your neck again?"

The slightest bit of anger slipped past the officer's impenetrable defenses "Report directly to me on any developments" The screen went black as communications were cut off, and the watcher kept at his charge.

---

It's strange to think that soldiers are none existent in another world, when one is so immersed in the military culture as I am. In every country and nation, soldiers were a constant. Even in fiction, soldier stayed, bar in the most gooey anti-war drek. The terrible ones were everything turned out alright if everyone just loved each other and got rid of all the guns. But there I was, sitting down as I heard Lopunny tell me about the soldiers in her world as stories. As a mythical being. As something that once was. It's strange, to put it lightly. Perhaps this is what it would be like if a black smith arrived in the future and saw all the machines that took his job. A slight tinge of feeling obsolete, and yet proud had how far they've come. Certainly, I could only be happy if a world had successfully done away with war.

But then that flew out the window, baby, bath water, and all, when she mentioned Pokemon being trained and fight each other. Now, a bit explanation. If your world is like mine, they only kind of animal fighting involve two (more more) usually abused and hungry animals tearing at each other, until one of them is dead in a puddle of it's own blood. It's considered animal abuse and illegal for good reason. While I had already decided that Lopunny wasn't just an animal, being a sentient being and all, I was still kind of in that mindset of connecting her to the closet equivalent in my own world. Even when I reminded himself that she WAS sentient, that didn't help. Because people being trained and forced to fight each other is even worse! I reached for a less terrible explanation, settling on it being like boxing, and they fought by choice. Although it didn't help when she mentioned this being the first time she's been treated as an equal by humans...

"Don't sweat it" I swallowed the anger boiling in my throat, after I decided that perhaps that wasn't a topic that needed bringing up. She already looked pretty stressed, and I didn't need to add onto that. "I guess giving everyone a chance is something Omni did right" I said with a bit of irritation in my voice. Still wasn't happy about argument.

Cinnabar Island. It sounded familiar. Was it mentioned during my time with Choprot's crew, or did I notice it when I was skimming it through the Dataverse? Beats me. "Well, it sounds like a good a place as any. There's probably at least one ship going out that way, and if not I have a favor with a local captain. Big green guy, you can't miss him"