Chapter 10: The IMG
"So, what's the next step now that we're free"we had just left the station when Reina hit me with that question.
"Oh, let's see, we just have to do a bit of shopping, after we're done, we can rest up in the ship, man I can't wait to finally sleep in my own bed" two days, sleeping in a Oriculcum lined cell, had taken its tow on me.
"Oh!, I love shopping, what are you doing we buying, clothes, purses, cosmetics?"
'Huh!, whats she on about, what would we need with those?, and looking at her face I'am kinda feel bad about what I'm about to do'
"No, I was thinking less those, and more energy packs, food and the ships gonna need extra munitions, I kinda used most of them in my last fight."
"So, no new clothes?" is it me or does she look like she's going to cry.
"Don't cry it's not tee end of the world, plus do you even have the money for those new clothes"
"Of course I do, we might not be rich but we sure as hell ain't broke." she spoke with tears in her eyes while lightly striking my chest.
"Reminded me again what you said you two did, for a living?"
"we're bounty hunters" she spoke with a strange pride, she was even puffing out her, more than modest chest.
"Wait, if you were, bounty hunters, and going by your smug look I'm guessing you were that good, so what's your IMG rank"
"IMG.... Rank?, I don't have one cause, I'm not a mercenary."
I was frozen for about a few minutes, because, what I had heard was stupidily absurd.
"What?! You're a bounty hunter and unlicensed?! You need to register before we even think about bothering with shopping!"
"Oh, okay. Sorry."she seemed to be so thunderstruck by my reaction that she couldn't formulate a response and just stummered what ever came to mind.
I grabbed her jacket and dragged her back the way we came. The mercenary guild's office sat right next to the Army station we had just come from.
I fumed as I lectured her on the dangers of being unlicensed.
Mercenaries not registered to the guild would be treated basically the same as pirates, just without the bounty. In some cases, they could even be refused docking rights, and their ships could be sometimes shot on site.
"Is the universe that harsh out there," she asked.
"As it should be! What, you think they shouldn't be worried about some random weirdo flying around in a ship that could take down the whole colony in a single shot?" I then asked "How have you not been arrested yet?!".
"I don't know, big sis usually handled all of this, which is why I say I want to do something for her sometime, I don't want to be the one who's always being protected".
We reached the mercenary guild's office as she spoke.
The office was nicer than what most people imagined it would be. For one thing, it was bright. The lights reflected off shiny floors. Cushioned, backless stools and a few counters furnished a waiting room. A signboard dangled from the ceiling above each counter. There weren't too many employees, though.
Maybe because this was a minor colony.
It looks more like a government office than a merc guild," she said.
"They're pretty much the same around here. Let's go to the reception desk,".
"Gotcha, boss."
We approached a counter behind which sat a stern-looking man covered in scars. His left arm was a mechanical prosthetic.
And with the small nods Reina was giving him I was just sure she was thinking - 'Now, this was starting to look like a merc guild'.
"Hey, what d'ya want?" he asked.
"We've got a newbie!" I said. "she's been running around unlicensed."
"Damn, unlicensed? I've heard of your kind, but you're the first I've seen. Sit right over here, little lady."
"Uh, yes, sir," she said.
I sat right next to her.
"If you're going around unlicensed, you at least gotta have a Citizen ID, yeah? Give it to me your ship name and ID."
"Yes, sir," she said as she handed him her Citizen ID.
"Name Zoran, Birth place XXXX, 19 years old man your just a kid, history of (MPD) but who in their right mind decids to pick this line of work It's bad manners to bother mercs about their pasts, anyway. It looks like you have a few high level bounties under your belt, that's all, now to finish your application, you will have to take the test"
His words got varying reactions from Reina,
When he called her Zoran, that really crushed her, I might not have known her for long but, even I can tell she's suffering from their circumstances.
And when he mentioned the Multiple Personalities Disorder she gave me a pleading look as if begging me to say I hadn't been listening, I just gave her a smile.
When he mentioned a test, we'll it seemed her spirit died
"How can you ask me to do a test, out of the blue, I didn't even study?" wait does she think it a writing test.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!" the receptionist and I both laughed out loud,he then explained the situation to her "It's not a writing test, child, it's just a practical test to find out your combat potential, it's spit into three parts, combat, piloting and gunmanship, that's all".
Calling for his colleague he added "She will take you to the testing site, after you are done I can give you a run down of how the IMG operates."
It was at this point that I intervined "Can we have a moment, she will be right with you after we're done."
Taking her to a private section of the room I asked "So, who's gonna take the test, you or Zoran"
She looked a little hurt at my question, "What?, you don't think I can handle it?"
OK gotta handle this with care, "No it's just that, I just wanted to know which of you is going to take the test"
"Zoran is still asleep, so I'm thinking of taking the test."
"Are you sure it's not time to wake her up it's already been two days since she fell asleep"
At my insastant questioning she snapped back at me "I said I got!"
With that she was gone.
'I think I get whats going on, like she said she just wants to do something important for once', 'they should really fix what ever is going on with them, before it blows up in their face'.
********************************************
Three hours later Reina came out from the door she had entered a few ours earlier.
"Well, aren't you something little lady, I just got your results, and I have to say damn."
"Every, group of the test is ranked from, G-S, and you little Lady in
Zoran
Gunmanship - F
Piloting - E
Combat (Swordsmanship) - S
here's your card" she now had a black card, with her name, picture and her rankings in the test she just took.
"Hey can I see yours" ohh! It she seemed she wanted to compare our results.
I then took mine out, which was blue,
Monkey D Luffy
Gunmanship - D
Piloting - C
Combat (Martial Arts) - S
"Why is his blue?", she asked the receptionist who had been helping us
'it seems she's picked up on the differences between the cards'
"So, there are ranks that give straightforward evaluations of what you can offer as a merc. We have Black, Brown,Red,Blue,Green,White,Silver and Gold.
Black's the worst, Gold's the best," the receptionist said.
"And while you passed with results that can land you in the Gold category, but we can't just give you gold right off the bat, you can't hit gold rank without some kind of achievement," the receptionist said. "Are you picking up what I'm putting down?".
"No, I don't think so." okay, turns out they are not the brightest tol in the shed.
"He's just saying that, all we have to do is get some achievements, and then we can rank up".