Seekers: Chapter Eighteen: Falsetto
#11 of Seekers
Location: Falsetto Docks.
Time: 09:35am.
Year: 2180, March 14th.
It had been a long trip over to Falsetto; we had just arrived around the middle of the night, by which time we were left exhausted and tired, so before we headed out, we had to rest up until daytime; though I had a good look at the city through the darkness. Elise was right about the city being small; its area was no larger than three square miles, and the buildings were all made up of hard concrete, and were all rather short. The tallest building was only around ten stories tall, and looked as if it were dead in the center of the small city.
The city looked more like a large dock than an actual city; over half the place was made up of dock modules, varying from small to large as if they always had people coming in from the wastelands. It made me feel uneasy and tense; but then, it was nice to actually be able to park somewhere where there wasn't dirt or mud; it had a sense of class to it.
We had docked in what looked like a large cube with one opening facing the wastelands; the roof was open, revealing enough sunlight for us to set up the solar panels and collect some energy whilst we were here. The concrete was cloud white, which blended in with the rest of the city. It looked bright from the outside, but the interior of the city was far more unsettling than anything I had experienced during my time with Elise...
We came out facing a regular street, just like the ones in New Vega; a small road, rather large paths, and buildings on every side; but there was no one around. Elise turned and looked at me with discomfort. The air was still even though all the buildings we passed looked as if they were still in business. I turned to meet her slightly frightened gaze as she grasped my arm softly.
"The streets look abandoned." Elise whispered into my ears; "Maybe we should go..."
"We're staying whether you like it or not." I whispered back; "We need to wait for The Cradle to soak up enough solar and wind power to make another few rides."
"I guess there's no point in arguing with you." Elise sighed, letting go of my arm and looking on. "Let's have a look around and find something to eat."
I had to agree with her; we hadn't had much other than soup and bread for the last few days, and I was ready to kill for a bit of meat; any kind would do so long as there was enough of it; but before turning another corner, Elise pulled me back suddenly and pushed me up against the wall with her. She stayed silent and had a look around the corner. I joined her and had a quick peek. It looked as though half a dozen Wolves were patrolling the area, armed to the teeth with standard rifles and black body armor; but what rally caught my attention was what they were patrolling with.
The Wolves were circled around a large, metal suit of armor that was only supported by a set of large wheels; it looked like a standard Black Enforcer Mech. I had never actually seen one in person before. Its arms had been turned into a large Gatling gun and what looked like a rocket launcher; not so good in close quarters. Unfortunately, they had seen us looking at them and lifted their guns, looking ready for a fight; me and Elise ducked back incase they would start shooting.
"Step out from cover." One of the Wolves shouted over; "If you don't then we'll have no choice but to shoot."
We both exchanged glances, telling each other wit hour eyes that it was best to step out; we hadn't done anything wrong as far as we knew, and they said that they wouldn't shoot us. Besides, it was useless to resist since we didn't carry our weapons with us. I just wore a grey shirt, briefs, and over that, my Seeker jumpsuit; Elise wore a slack shirt, a black pair of shorts and her black and red cloak that reached her feet. As far as they knew, we were simple travelers.
"We just arrived here." Elise said, walking casually towards the wolves; "We've done nothing wrong."
"So you're the owners of that old ship that just arrived?" The lead Wolf asked, almost scowling at us. "Aren't you two a little young to be traveling alone?"
"First off, that 'old ship' has gotten us through more trouble than you'll ever go through." I retorted defiantly, walking further up to him almost face to face; "And as for traveling alone, we keep to ourselves."
The Wolf holstered his rifle and bent down slowly, picking something from his boot; suddenly, he lunged at me holding a knife, stopping short and trying to make me flinch. I didn't move a muscle, but growled quietly, keeping my hands firm at my side. Finally, he tucked the combat knife back in his boot and looked at me, then Elise. These weren't Enforcers we were talking to; I quickly realized that.
"I'm just the welcoming party." The Wolf sighed angrily, turning around with the rest of his group. "Feel free to go wherever you want; just don't cause any trouble, or else you'll have us to deal with. Behave yourself..."
With that, the group walked past us, leaving us in the empty streets again. I sighed and continued on with Elise, trying to find somewhere that sold food. Luckily, there was a small diner just to the left of the same street that we were on. It looked open just like everywhere else, but there was no one outside -well, from what we could see from the outside. We both sighed and walked into the empty building, sitting down in one of the small cubicles that made up the diner; Elise sat right next to me.
"So what are we going to do from here?" I asked, looking down at the bare, light yellow table in front of me. "Should we just ask around?"
"I don't know." Elise said uncertainly, running her fingers along the table; "After that run-in with those 'Enforcers' it seems like a bad idea to ask everyone we see."
I was about to discuss this more, when a white Wolf came up to us, dressed in a short apron and a small cap over her head. She looked like she worked here; Elise smiled to her, who smiled back and took out a small notebook and pen.
"You two don't look like you're from around here." The Wolf said in a friendly manner. "I'm guessing you two are travelers; am I right?"
"You guessed it." Elise laughed quietly. The white Wolf sat down opposite us and struck up a conversation.
"So where are you two from?" The Wolf asked, tapping both hands on the table with a happy look on her face; "You look like you had some trouble with the knights."
"Don't you mean the Enforcers?" I asked, leaning forwards slightly with a serious face. "They were wearing standard Enforcer equipment. The only difference was that huge bot they had with them."
"Oh, you mean the mechs." The Wolf replied lightly, turning her smile into a frown; "Falsetto is an independent city run by the Knights, a militia style police force. Most of the city is made up of factories for mechs, or military buildings. They were just provided with Enforcer equipment back when the city was constructed."
"You make it sound like more of a military operation than a city." I muttered loudly, looking out of the large glass window that looked out at the street. "So where is everyone? The place looks abandoned..."
"Well, everyone needs to work to keep the city standing." The Wolf explained, looking out of the window with me; "Most males work as one of the Knights, or they work in the factories used to create mechs. The females keep places like this open so the Knights have places to stay, spend time or just relax."
"I would have figured that everyone would be united after twenty-thirty." Elise said with a confused look, which brought my head back to the table. "So do you get many visitors?"
"Not as many for the past five years." The Wolf replied, frowning again. "It's a shame, really. I enjoyed having people to talk to regularly; like that Dragon that visited around three years ago..."
I could tell that the Wolf had begun talking to herself, reminiscing on old memories. Me and Elise picked up on those few words; she had seen a Dragon around three years ago, the same time that The Director visited. There could have been a lot of Dragons that visited over the year, but we decided to take our chances anyway and ask her about this Dragon, and hopefully end up a step further along the road.
"So who was this Dragon?" Elise asked gently, smiling at the white Wolf, who looked up with a surprised look on her face.
"He...he didn't say." The Wolf said, surprised at what she was saying. We both looked at her expectantly, but ended up having to help her find the right words.
"Did he have white scales?" Elise asked with an eager tone to her voice. The white Wolf nodded slowly, processing what was being asked.
"Did he mention where he was heading?" I asked, leaning a little further forward. The white Wolf looked at me, then Elise, and back to me.
"This sounds more like an interrogation." The Wolf said defiantly. "You work for the Knights, don't you? Some kind of loyalty test?"
"We're looking for that Dragon you were talking about." Elise reasoned, placing her hands on top of each other. "We don't work for the Knights. We're from New Vega; this man...he's my biological father."
"R...Really?" The Wolf said quietly, looking down at her hands, probably a little ashamed. "Well, I don't really know where he said he was heading, but I know where you could find out."
"I just hope it isn't too hard." I muttered; obviously, the Wolf had heard me, since she looked at me with a worried face. I groaned inside; of course it would be hard.
"Did you see the tower in the centre of the city?" The Wolf asked; we both nodded quickly and at once. "That's the main Knight complex; they monitor everything including a three mile area outside the city. You could break in, look at some recordings and find out roughly what way he went. It's a bit of a stretch, though; the area is patrolled by mechs, and there are too many recordings -at least ten per day."
"I'd rather not go through the fuss." Elise laughed, swaying the conversation in a completely different direction.
"Well, I hope you find another way." The Wolf laughed along, trying to 'comfort' Elise, and getting up. "So what would you like to order?"
"Just some toast and a cup of tea each." Elise answered for both of us; "We're on a bit of a tight budget."
"Got it; it should be with you as soon as possible." The Wolf replied, turning back and walking up to the counter, out of earshot.
"We're going to break into that tower, aren't we?" I asked. Elise simply nodded, making me groan inside even more.
Elise always had a blunt view of things; if you can't get around it at first attempt, smash right through it; but then, that was probably why I stuck around with her through the entire journey. She made things seem so simple.
Maybe I just loved her for how simple she was. Maybe I just loved her for being her. Maybe she didn't love me back, which was fine by me. I couldn't make her love a 'scoundrel' like me...