(Preshow) Registration (Where You Sign Up IC)

[Hiro Protagonist]

Continued from Empire State of Mind

"Whoooooo!"

Hiro blew out of the Coruscant gate right into the outskirts of Carrefore, his shiny black bike kicking up clouds of dust and sand. A few rough looking types traveling along the road shot angry looks at the black streak as it passed, but Hiro was already gone further down the landscape to notice. All he could find out in terms of navigation was a general direction and distance to go, so he brought up his compass on the HUD and gunned the bike's motor. 

Maybe not the most considerate way to travel, but definitely one of the more fun ways. It reminded him of the late night motorbike races he and the other Metaverse programmers had competed in. Tearing across featureless black expanses with nothing around you except other vehicles. It had done a fair amount of good in training his reaction times. He leaned back and enjoyed the wind and sand being blasted away from his conveyance, coat whipping in the wind as he passed from the tough, dense scrubland of the Carrefore region. He could see the buildings of the small village clustered together, the shapes of people doing their daily business marching to and fro.

It was only a few miles to the Town with No Name, and from what information Hiro had read about it, it was not the type of town to leave a fancy motorcycle in. He brought the bike to a stop a few hundred yards away, and began the process of desummining it for spare OM. Just as the hacker was finishing up, a two man group approached him, dressed in long brown coats and various scarves and tatters of cloth.

"Well, welcome Stranger. We're the local tourist board, and we'd like to give you a special offer! Only three hundred OM credits for a guarantee of safety while in-"

His partner, who had been snickering during this spiel, was suddenly dumbstruck as Hiro flashed between the two men and elbowed the speaker in the ribs. Now behind them, he placed a hand on his katana hilt and scanned them with his lenses. They were concealing guns, and a knife each. Both Secondaries. Stupid Secondaries, if they really thought they would have any luck with this approach. Hiro spoke cooly.

"You really think that would work, buddy?"

The stricken man got back to his feet, wheezing and clutching his guy. "N-not really...worth a shot though, right? Hack!" He shot a look at his partner that said many things, chief of which was "thanks for the help, asshole."

Hiro sighed. He'd read about the constant bandit attacks and such that were common in this verse, but it was really a sympton of the lack of real governance. "Here. Take this and don't bother anyone else." He coalesced some of the omnilium he'd gotten from breaking down his bike into a rough cloth bag, with enough Omnilium chips to buy a few rounds at a local bar. He tossed it towards the man he'd punched, then turned away and walked into town, coat flapping behind him.

The untouched huckster turned to his partner and cleared his throat. "So, uh....technically we got away with i- ow!" The first man shook his fist and spat on the ground. "Shut up and let's go get a drink."

DANTE'S ABYSS

The words were written on a blinking neon sign above a small tent, with a booth in front of it. The booth was staffed by a couple of corporate looking types, bored and overheated. Hiro saved them the trouble of their spiel by walking up and giving them a cursory glance. "Pretty sure you know why I'm here. Sign up, and the Empire Peace Division would like to extend a few of it's Prime Agents to assist with the recovery mission. Hence, myself. And a few others probably coming soon too."

The two techs glanced at each other and slid a stack of papers towards the hacker. "Sign the release form here, initial the liability form here, and the media consent form here. Syntex claims no responsibility should you perish or injure yourselc while inside the Danteverse."

The cyber samurai signed his name on the forms, looking particularly closely at the media release. "Huh...do I get my own action figure?" The female technician smirked at him, and took the signed papers. "Only if you win....or...succeed, I guess would be the right term. Step onto the platform, Mr Hiro Protagonist." The male tech stifled a snicker as the prospective entrant took his place on the portal. "Silly name."

Hiro shot him a thumbs up as the portal charged with a whining hum, and said his last words before he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Yeah, but you'll never forget it."