05-27-2016, 10:26 AM
Striding out of the apartment, Hiro waited for his new roommate to exit, shutting the door behind her and locking it. Of course, the other tenants in the building couldn't enter without a copy of his own key, but as typical of most Tier 2 Residences, high ranking officers of the EPD could access his quarters with a master key obtained from the building code. Not that this bothered him, the only things he had that might remotely be contraband were on his computer, and he hadn't used any of that software for lawbreaking purposes. Prime EPD allies were apparently allowed a small amount of leeway in their private lives as long as they continued to serve the Empire. All in all, a much better deal than back in his home dimension.
Madotsuki walked ahead silenty and waited by the elevators for him to finish. The ride downstairs took less than a minute, and Hiro caught himself trying to get a better read on the girl. Not in a tactical sense; that struck him as somewhat rude, and it wasn't as if he was facing this girl in combat. Just with his eyes and intuition. She was quiet, probably more so than any other woman he'd known. Young too, but older than his last associate, the tween skater punk who had called herself Y.T. Still, the hacker suspected that Madotsuki had hidden depths that she just chose not to share with the world. She probably got up to all sorts of things in private.
"Good. Day. Mr. Protagonist. And. Guest." The door droid beeped a chipper farewell as they stepped out of the lobby and into the broad plaza in front of his building. A few hovercars were parked on the side of the sleek, paved walkway, one of them with a bright orange ticket on it. Hiro turned and waved his hands in the air, making a few pointing and widening gestures, then a holographic display flashed out of his goggles so that Madotsuki could see.
"So we're here. I tagged a couple locations the other day that looked like fun, but if you have anywhere you'd like to go as well, just say so."
He turned the display off after the girl had a few moments to look at the map, and set off down the street. Strolling leisurely, he kept looking back to make sure he hadn't lost the dreamer, but more often than not she was right beside him, stalking forward in her own curious way. Small plumes of smoke trailed from Hiro's mouth as they strolled down the avenue, the hacker having finished his previous cigarette and lit another one.
There weren't many people out yet, although the streets were definitely occupied. They passed a few small stormtrooper patrols, but none of them took notice except for the last one. The captain gave a curt wave to Hiro, and the hacker was puzzled for a second. His goggles gave him the explanation a moment later, though; it was the same captain who had taken Joon Yi off his hands and brought him back to the patrol station to get patched up. He'd also given him clearance to have his goggles linked with the EPD databases, so ironically he had helped Hiro identify himself just now. Perhaps a second too late the street samurai waved back, but the trooper didn't respond again as he continued leading his patrol. Oh well.
They passed by a placid public park, an ornate fountain making gentle aquatic sounds as a few children ran around it's base, their parents in nearby benches, or smelling the brilliantly cultivated flowers. It was a common scene up here on the higher tiers, and the Empire's surveillance network made it possible to stop any threats to this kind of peace Past the park was a shopping plaza, done up in an eye catching pattern of reflective mosaics, with a store directory mounted next to the sliding door entrance.
"Ooh, here we go: Drex's Tech and Hardware...Weeryarn's and Sohnohmah....I think that's a kitchen supply store....Upper Style...awesome."
Tech, kitchen stuff, and clothing. Exactly what he was looking for, and he figured Madotsuki might be interested in as well. She -was- going to be living qith him, so it stood to reason she would have her own ideas of what the sparsely furnished apartment needed.
"Ooh, there's an arcade too! Sweet!"
With a quick glance towards his traveling companion, he set off towards the first stop on his list, the hardware store. It was a moderately spacious establishment, and a few displays for all-in-one, futuristic tools and some sort of miracle adhesive ringed the entrance. Further in he could see orderly aisles of power tools, bags of other substances ostensibly used in building, and typical hardware store fare. It took him a couple minutes of browsing to find what he was really looking for.
"Lextech Surround Sound Room Speakers. Hell yes."
Hiro picked up the box and carried it under one arm, looking for the next item on his list. He soon found it among a bright, glossy aisle stuffed with all sorts of circuitry and gizmos. Flagging down a sales clerk, the man unlocked the glass case and pulled out a few of the items Hiro has pointed to. Most were computer parts, but one of them was something a little more advanced. He had been contacted by someone looking for information, and this item he was buying could prove useful in the procurement and deployment of said information. It was cheap, too, so Hiro didn't feel like he was wasting money on it.
Taking his purchases to the counter, he swiped his credcard neatly, and selected the option for purchase delivery, putting in his address and apartment number. Then, exiting the store, he realized he'd lost Madotsuki. Scanning the area around the store exit, he waited for his goggles to give him a match or not.
Madotsuki walked ahead silenty and waited by the elevators for him to finish. The ride downstairs took less than a minute, and Hiro caught himself trying to get a better read on the girl. Not in a tactical sense; that struck him as somewhat rude, and it wasn't as if he was facing this girl in combat. Just with his eyes and intuition. She was quiet, probably more so than any other woman he'd known. Young too, but older than his last associate, the tween skater punk who had called herself Y.T. Still, the hacker suspected that Madotsuki had hidden depths that she just chose not to share with the world. She probably got up to all sorts of things in private.
"Good. Day. Mr. Protagonist. And. Guest." The door droid beeped a chipper farewell as they stepped out of the lobby and into the broad plaza in front of his building. A few hovercars were parked on the side of the sleek, paved walkway, one of them with a bright orange ticket on it. Hiro turned and waved his hands in the air, making a few pointing and widening gestures, then a holographic display flashed out of his goggles so that Madotsuki could see.
"So we're here. I tagged a couple locations the other day that looked like fun, but if you have anywhere you'd like to go as well, just say so."
He turned the display off after the girl had a few moments to look at the map, and set off down the street. Strolling leisurely, he kept looking back to make sure he hadn't lost the dreamer, but more often than not she was right beside him, stalking forward in her own curious way. Small plumes of smoke trailed from Hiro's mouth as they strolled down the avenue, the hacker having finished his previous cigarette and lit another one.
There weren't many people out yet, although the streets were definitely occupied. They passed a few small stormtrooper patrols, but none of them took notice except for the last one. The captain gave a curt wave to Hiro, and the hacker was puzzled for a second. His goggles gave him the explanation a moment later, though; it was the same captain who had taken Joon Yi off his hands and brought him back to the patrol station to get patched up. He'd also given him clearance to have his goggles linked with the EPD databases, so ironically he had helped Hiro identify himself just now. Perhaps a second too late the street samurai waved back, but the trooper didn't respond again as he continued leading his patrol. Oh well.
They passed by a placid public park, an ornate fountain making gentle aquatic sounds as a few children ran around it's base, their parents in nearby benches, or smelling the brilliantly cultivated flowers. It was a common scene up here on the higher tiers, and the Empire's surveillance network made it possible to stop any threats to this kind of peace Past the park was a shopping plaza, done up in an eye catching pattern of reflective mosaics, with a store directory mounted next to the sliding door entrance.
Quote:Some Things Never Change
"Ooh, here we go: Drex's Tech and Hardware...Weeryarn's and Sohnohmah....I think that's a kitchen supply store....Upper Style...awesome."
Tech, kitchen stuff, and clothing. Exactly what he was looking for, and he figured Madotsuki might be interested in as well. She -was- going to be living qith him, so it stood to reason she would have her own ideas of what the sparsely furnished apartment needed.
"Ooh, there's an arcade too! Sweet!"
With a quick glance towards his traveling companion, he set off towards the first stop on his list, the hardware store. It was a moderately spacious establishment, and a few displays for all-in-one, futuristic tools and some sort of miracle adhesive ringed the entrance. Further in he could see orderly aisles of power tools, bags of other substances ostensibly used in building, and typical hardware store fare. It took him a couple minutes of browsing to find what he was really looking for.
"Lextech Surround Sound Room Speakers. Hell yes."
Hiro picked up the box and carried it under one arm, looking for the next item on his list. He soon found it among a bright, glossy aisle stuffed with all sorts of circuitry and gizmos. Flagging down a sales clerk, the man unlocked the glass case and pulled out a few of the items Hiro has pointed to. Most were computer parts, but one of them was something a little more advanced. He had been contacted by someone looking for information, and this item he was buying could prove useful in the procurement and deployment of said information. It was cheap, too, so Hiro didn't feel like he was wasting money on it.
Taking his purchases to the counter, he swiped his credcard neatly, and selected the option for purchase delivery, putting in his address and apartment number. Then, exiting the store, he realized he'd lost Madotsuki. Scanning the area around the store exit, he waited for his goggles to give him a match or not.
![[Image: MZSDl2O.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/MZSDl2O.jpg)