Thire and Larry, Lynx household, Mercia “Are you sure the trip is a good idea Josh?” asked a concerned Larry. “Oh, don’t worry about it Larry. Fishing at the Emerald Sea is always a fun time and it’s the one weekend we get to ourselves.” replied Josh. “And if it’s the meteorite you’re concerned with, Uncle Chuck said it should be fine as long as we keep clear of it.” “Well... alright. I guess it’ll give me some space from the other kids.” hesitated Larry. “Wait, have they been teasing you again!?” Shouted Josh. “Oh when I find Hector...” “Josh wait! It’s not that they’ve been teasing me. It’s more of... uh... just, don’t confront him please. I’ve been trying to work things out between us.” Begged Larry. Josh takes a pause. “Very well then. That’s why you come home late? And sometimes with a few bruises? You can’t hide it from me.” “I know Josh. Can we maybe talk it over on the trip?” Replied Larry. “Let’s stop by Uncle Chuck’s place before we head out.” ————— Elias, Casino Night Zone Evening in the Casino Night Zone, Elias was off to talk with his client before leaving when he overhears talking in an alley. Cautiously, he approaches unseen. “...he went on a date as Phat Tony, blew his cover!” Laughed a couple of guys working for Elias’ client. “I really respected him, but he didn’t pay. At least he showed more promise then the new guy. Hopefully soon he actually finds it so we can be rid of him.” “For what it’s worth, that guy’s got some courage walking up and accepting the job after his past with the boss man Too bad it’s over some dumb space rock. I actually liked some of his work in the past.” Said the smaller guy. “Yeah, boss man said to wait for him to leave town then follow him to the site. Then we pay him in full.” Elias’ fur stands on end. “I knew it was too good to be true. And I actually believed Valentino.” Deduced Elias. “Well not unless I out smart you dummies. Let’s see if you can track a tracker.” He starts making his way out of town under the cover of night. Making sure to keep a low profile. ————— Shard, Unknown Location Boot sequence: activate These words appear on it’s HUD (heads up display). Following it’s activation came it’s initial scan of the area. Scanner: damaged Visual sensor: damaged Location: unknown Situation: not good All of it’s modules were damaged, but how? And why was it in a crater? Nothing in Shard’s database recalls anything before now, meaning it’s memory banks were most likely corrupted. Attempting to process the situation, it activates it’s homing beacon in hopes of pinging someone. Power gem: mostly intact Initiate self repair Low power mode: activate All that could be done now, was wait. ————— Chuck’s home, Mercia “Off on your trip, I see.” Noticed Chuck. “Figured we’d stop and say bye, Uncle Chuck.” Replied Josh. “All I ask is you don’t wander TO danger this time.” “Don’t worry Uncle Chuck, I’m sure Josh will be more careful this time and not fall and break his arm again!” Said Larry. “...Really Larry?” Grumbled Josh. “As long as you boys have fun out there. Don’t forget to bring some food with you in case you can’t catch anything!” Laughed Chuck. “You too Uncle Chuck? You forget I’m a great fisherman!” Argued Josh. Chuck’s radio starts making systematic noise. “Hey, what’s that?” Asked Larry. “Probably just my radio, I’ve been working on that blasted thing from doing that at night. I’m sure you can imagine how annoying it is to be woken up late at night by that. Don’t worry about it and have fun, boys.” Replied Chuck. They then said their goodbyes and started off. “That sounds like Morse code, but I didn’t think anyone around here used that.” Thought Chuck. “I’m gonna have to check that out.” —————