5 Let's Make a Deal

Inside the cruiser, Barret was still knocked out on the ground, and Issac at the window. Issac turned around slowly, his eyes hidden from his bangs as he faced Creed. He rushed at the taller man, swinging a fist at him.

"You bastard! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?" Issac snapped, as his fist came at Creed.

Creed dodges the swing, catching Issac's hand. He bends him backward to the floor, holding him tightly. "What's your problem?" Creed asked, in a solid uncaring manner.

Issac winced, growling under his breath. Some slight blood was on the ground from the wound, that he had gotten on his back previously. "What kind of a man lets a defenseless girl end up that way?!" Issac spoke aggressively.

Creed pushes Issac into the floor more, before letting of him. "First off, this a war, people die. She was collateral damage. Second you both were scanned, Kaos got your DNA samples. So, tell me again why it was a bad idea, for me to do what I did? Granted you were taken off radar joining this organization. That DNA can lead them back to your family, but seeing how you reacted there, I guess it doesn't mean very much to you."

Issac sat up, as he sneered to Creed, "... (He has no clue... It doesn't matter now.)"

"They never told you about that, did they? Just like those scum bags, but you know now. If you were smart, you would have grabbed the girl, and fled when you had a chance." Creed says, walking away from Issac. Barret was still knocked out.

"If you knew that, why didn't you tell us before?... Keeping things like that to yourself? What, were you trying to test us, if we could figure crap like that out? Screw you." Issac growled, sitting up more, but winced slightly. He was still bleeding. "I tried to save her, but it was you who stopped me, you condescending jerk!"

Creed laughs to himself. "That's it, blame the guy who knows everything. You were put here find information, right? Count this another lesson. Also, I do hope the next person you're paired with on a mission, Well, survives long enough, or at least gives you the advise needed to get out of things. At this rate, you're still a novice, and new to the view of war."

"..." Issac turned off, his eyebrow twitching. "(I can't deal with this right now... there's too much tension...)"

After arriving back at headquarters, Barret awoke alone in his, and Issac's dorm room.

"Urgh..." Barret sits up checking his surroundings. He holds a hand to his head. "(I vaguely remember that girl getting kidnapped, but did I black out...?)" Barret receives a flash back showing Nala, and the units that had taken her. He then shakes his head, and shifts out of the bed quickly. "(Where is Issac? I need to find him...)"

Barret heads to the door, and out into the hall. A brown and green haired man happened to be walking towards Barret, one he hadn't met before. He wore a long white sweatshirt with shades of green and grey on his sleeves. He had a matching scarf as well to go with it, along with grey cargo shorts, and boots exposing his toes. His sharp green eyes loomed at Barret, as he was slowly approaching from the other end of the corridor.

"Oh, I haven't seen you around here. I'm Barret Aldric. I was moved to this part of the station with my good friend Issac recently." Barret says, keeping his composure, he still had to find Issac, but did not want to ruin his image around another field worker.

"Mantis Iro. Not too many can say they have seen me. Consider yourself lucky." The man smirked to Barret.

Barret nods, "(Quite a character we have here, he seems to lean on the type to perhaps hide himself, though it could be me over thinking...) I take it, you're very good in espionage? The comment about not being seen had struck me a little, heh."

"I'd say someone likes to ask too many questions, maybe you should explain yourself first? I mean, I AM a superior officer, newbie." Mantis pocketed his hands, as he glanced to Barret from his peripheral vision, with narrowed eyes, yet still carrying a smirk.

Barret laughs nervously, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to intrude on anything. I have a bad habit of looking to deeply into terms. It's part of my gift I suppose, when it comes to gathering information. It was my friend Issac, and myself who had come to the conclusion about Kaos..."

"An annalist, and a gloater. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're a cocky kid, who thinks he knows everything. You may have gotten here sooner than when we use the usual methods, but don't think once that you can just waltz around like you own the place. You're a little fish in a shark pond now. Careful now." Mantis teased, keeping his eyes focused on Barret.

"(Hm? What was all that about? Oh well, I need to find Issac. I'd also be best keeping my thoughts to myself more.) Hmm. understood. I had a question however, I'm looking for my friend Issac, might you have seen him?" Barret asked, keeping to his earlier word about speaking out.

"Light blue hair right? Yeah, when Creed brought you two back, the kid was taken to see the doc. Thinking. Shouldn't you still be in bad? I heard those Jumpers got pretty ballsy out there." Mantis tilted his head, as he kept the same expression poised.

"That's just it. I need to ask Issac about what happened. I was knocked out suddenly. That girl...(I'm saying too much.) Thank you. Don't worry, I'll be quite alright, they didn't get me too badly." Barret says proudly.

"Those leg lifters are curious little snots, new robots, and all. I'm keeping you from the wonders of what conked you in the head though. You should find him in the doc's office, down in the main hall between the Director's office and Asuna's." Mantis stepped off slightly, keeping his back turned, "Kid's lucky he wasn't killed out there. I'll be around." Mantis said, leaving Barret to the hallway.

"Thank you." Barret hurries to the infirmary.

Barret stepped into the elevator, to head downstairs. However, inside waiting to head down was Asuna.

She glanced to him, "Oh hey Nancy boy, going to see gloomy Gus already? I'm surprised you're up and about so soon."

Barret gasps and hides his face. "Oh, yes, it's good to see you as well. I was feeling good...Erm a little better so I-I was on my way to see Issac."

"Alright slick Rick, I believe you. Tee-hee. So, I do have to wonder. Is he always such a Debbie downer?" Asuna leaned to the wall, with her hands behind her back.

"Well umm, (Thinking, I barely know much about Issac... He was only a like that about Sion thus far. I do have to wonder.) It could just be the nature of the mission." Barret made sure not to speak too much on the subject this time.

"Jeez Louise, this elevator takes too long. We're you saying something?" Asuna looked to floor number.

"(Is she not really catching on? I suppose I'll count myself lucky for now...)" Barret says, sighing in relief.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened. "Oh finally, I need to get back to my lab. Bye bye nervous Nellie." Asuna rushed off to her workshop.

Barret waves to her silently. "(Well it's either going to be me, or her...But then I suppose it may come down to me... She seems oblivious at the moment...But...I'll....I'll have to make this work!)" He places a hand to his head, "(Priorities first though.)" Barret realized he was still in the elevator as the doors began to close, getting his attention. He quickly got out, heading to the infirmary office.

After a bit of walking he discovered the location. A door with the sign 'Infirmary, the Doc's In' hanging on it, before him. Barret walks in and spots a spiky red haired man, wearing a black sleeveless lab coat,with a bunny key chain hanging from his belt. He was kicked back in his chair, his feet on his desk. The doctor turns to Barret. "Sup?" He says, taking out a tooth pick, fixing his teeth.

"Uhh... are you the doctor?" Barret asked to the man.

"Well, I don't look like a secretary, do I? Doc is in dude, so what you need? I got some good meds if you're in the mood for that stuff." The doctor stated.

"No no, I don't need that. I'm looking for a friend. He goes by the name, Issac." Barret stated, holding his composure around the certainly loose doctor.

"Hang on bro. You're not even gonna ask me, my name? Talk about ruuude." The Doctor states crossing his arms. "What if I told you, the Issac guy I got, is dead?"

Barret's mouth drops in horror, "No! You can't be serious!? Issac?..."

The Doctor shrugs, "Not my fault, dude."

Barret storms passed the Doctor, who looks Barret's direction.

"Whoa, you can't just do that." The Doctor states, getting out of his seat.

"My friend is dead! What do you mean I can't!?" Barret yelled at the doctor.

"Chill...It's not as bad as you think." The Doctor said, boredly.

"BAD AS I THINK!? MY FRIEND IS DEAD!" Barret shouted.

"Stop yelling man..." The doctor takes out what looked to be a joint.

Barret's eyes widen. "Is that what I think it is!? I'M GOING TO HAVE TO REPORT YOU TO THE DIRECTOR!"

"Whooa, chill dude. I got prescription for this stuff. I AM the doctor. Sides the director is in my good book. We got some 'connections'." The Doctor stated slyly.

"(The Director? Connections? Are they all drug users in some odd way? I don't know what to think anymore!)" Barret thought to himself, his heart pounding.

"Name's Scape by the way ... Barret... Yeah, that's who you are." Scape says, taking another drag.

"Scape? You know me?...Okay, so is he dead or not?" Barret asked to Scape again.

"Not. I just needed a name..Ha, got you good. I need to install a scare meter." Scape says, walking to the door. "This way." Scape opening a door leading to Issac.

Inside, was various beds on both sides, with divider curtains sectioning them off. At the end of the room, was Issac. He was sitting on the bed, with bandages wrapped around his torso. He was staring off in the distance. His arms seemed to be bandaged up as well

"Welcome to my world. Your friend is over there." Scape says pointing.

"Thanks, my, quite a lot of beds here." Barret says, walking to where Issac was.

"Yeah, I gotta keep everyone accounted for. I don't just smoke weed. Stuff helps my brain power." Scape says, lazily walking after Barret.They both reach Issac's bed. "Heeey little dude, you got a visitor." Scape says taking a drag.

Issac glances over with his bangs covering his face, he exhales before looking off again. "..."

"Issac, it's good to see you're okay...What happened back there?" Barret says, as Scape brought a chair over for him.

"You dudes patch up or whatever. If you need anything just ring that buzzer man." Scape says, walking off from them.

"...Creed happened." Issac spoke quietly.

"Wait, that's right. I was about to go after those Jumpers who captured the girl...Creed must have knocked me out." Barret sighs, to himself. "What a mess this is. Did he at least make any effort to try and track them down!?"

Issac kept himself averted from Barret. "...No... worse off... The bastard forced us back to the cruiser and ... he told me everything we did was stupid..."

"Stupid how?" Barret asked, keeping his composure.

Issac shifted, leaning back on his palms, as he kept distant. "Those Jumpers have attributes we didn't know about, and Creed purposely didn't mention it.... Apparently those things could scan our DNA ... We're safe because of how we were removed from the database when we joined the Ministry... though, they can trace to our relatives connected by blood or something. They didn't give us the information, but those robots got Nala... I should have just grabbed her, and used the wing function of the power glove to get her out of there..." Issac sighed.

Barret gasps, and stands up quickly. "Our families!? Grr...Do you know where Creed is?"

Issac shakes his head, "No... after that jerk roughed me up, and we got back to base... he went off somewhere..." Issac's voice slightly cracked, and he grew silent.

"Dammit....DAMMIT!" Barret yelled in frustration. "Issac... We'll both figure something out. Don't blame yourself, that guy though... I figure you have problems with your folks, because you ran away, but you'd still want them safe, right?"

"..." Issac keeps silent.

"Issac?" Barret seemed taken by surprise.

"...It doesn't matter. Worry more about your family, okay... I don't want to talk about this." Issac kept his eyes averted.

"...(Maybe he is hiding things... I can't force it though... That would keep him distant.) If you don't want to talk, it's okay. I do have to check up on my sister... My other family, are safe off world for now at least." Barret says, turning off from Issac. "If I run into Creed, I'll give him a piece of my mind." He says, sternly standing to his feet.

"(There's not a note of mine that's worth the noting...)" Issac laid back, looking to his bandaged wrists, before closing his eyes.

Barret had decided to go call Sandra, walking passed Scape, who sat with his feet on his desk again. "You out already?" Asked Scape, taking a drag from his marijuana.

"Yeah, I have to go call someone." Barret replied.

Scape sighs to himself. "Kid is depressed dude, you sure you want to leave me with a person like that? I'm likely to give him drugs to help him calm down or something."

Barret gawks a bit, "An innocent girl was kidnapped, you'd be down too if you were in our shows."

Scape scoffs. "Chill dude. I get ya. Go take care of your phone call."

Barret hurries out as Scape scratches his head. "People man." Scape says, sitting back in his seat.

Barret gets to the calling center, and calls up his sister. The phone rings for two times before his sister picks up.

"Like hello?" Spoke a female voice on the other end.

"Sandra? Hey, it's Barret." Barret said in relief.

"Oh my gosh! BARRY! Like how are you doing? Bitch'n I hope." Sandra giggles, on the other end.

"Well yes, and no. I'm just really happy you're alright. I was thinking of asking the head here if you could come, and stay with me." Barret says, his tone becoming serious.

"Like are you suggesting I like totally ditch high school, and my cheer team? I'm so sure that's not like you, but like I don't know. It would be rad to like hang out with you, so I would totally be like down. Totally, for sure, for sure. I mean, I'm so bored of the jokes everyone makes about how I like talk anyway. It's bogus, like oh my gosh, You're lucky you don't have the val accent like I do, Barry." Sandra replied, painting her nails as she laid on her bed.

"Well, I'm sure they may have things here that you can do, I can even teach you myself. When I get things squared away here. I can come pick you up." Barret says, calmly.

"Like rad. I'll totally need to get my things together. Like, I need to get my clothes, the retro ones, and all my stuff. We can like totally have a sleepover. Oh like Barry, I'm seriously like vegan now, it's so neat-o, like you need to try it. Oh, are there any studs over there? I've been like reading these magazines about how to get a guy's attention, and I so need to like, I don't know, try it out. Like for sure. So like, this will be so totally rad. Like I'll hopefully see you soon Barry." Sandra said, cutting to dial tone. She was too excited, and seemed to be in a hurry to get ready.

Barret laughs to himself. "(I guess it's settled. I'll speak with the director to see if she'll allow it. I really hope, this isn't going to start any problems.)"

Deciding he needed to talk to Xiao about his sister, Barret made his was in the direction of her office. As he reached the door, he heard muffled dialog exchanging within.

"(Hm? Wonder what they're talking about.)" Barret thinks to himself, as he knocks on the door.

As he was about to knock on the door, however, Cravic opened it, brushing passed him without any given comment or interaction. He left in a hurry, not seeming to be thrilled.

Barret looks to Cravic, "(Hmm, well I've already been threatened by one superior officer, I'll just get my business to the director.)" Barret states to himself, walking into Xiao's office.

Xiao noticed him without delay," Barret? Creed's already informed me about the mission happenings. You should be resting." She had her arms crossed, but she seemed a little more gentler than her usual demeanor.

"Oh yes, I hope I didn't intrude on anything." Barret says, to Xiao placing a hand behind his head.

"It's quite alright, Cravic was already out the door anyway. He's such a handful sometimes." Xiao sighed.

"Hmm I see, I suppose it gets quite heavy with all the personalities you have to place yourself up with. " Barret states, as he places a hand to his waist.

"Oh, that has nothing to do with it." Xiao walked over to her desk, leaning against the edge of it. "I'm sure you didn't come here to get to know the director however. Since the mission details are covered, was that all you needed?"

Barret shakes his head and clears his throat. "That would not be all, I was curious, what are our policies when it comes to bringing people in from the outside? Family specifically."

Xiao seemed intrigued, "You're worried about the scan those Kaos robots used, I assume? Typically we're not a shelter or a hospice, however, when it directly involves our workers we have no problem usually making an exception. We always can use a few extra hands with meals, cleaning, any sort of miscellaneous task around the base. As long as they don't have any history with felonies, they typically don't have issues being allowed access. Of course, they will need to abide by rules and such."

"Hmm I see, well that's good to know. I had a related question, in regards to...Halfers. Would a human that is half Elementar qualify with the same rules?" Barret asked, his expression serious.

"..." Xiao looked to Barret, getting back on her feet. She walked over to the door of her office, closing it. Her back remained turned to him. "This is a heavy subject with some, so it's best kept to your discretion. The ministry is a human organization with the purpose to protect Terraldyn and it's people. Even though our current threat are Elementar, we are not Anti-alien. Some however, may have their own opinions, seeing how some of ours may be extremists. I am not saying 'no' by any means, merely that you do not advertise such things openly with anyone you don't know. Elementar aren't all bad, they're like us, they just have dama and a longer life span. Some..." Xiao glances to the portrait of her family, "... some even can get cancer, and die from it..."

"Wait, you were married to an Elementar? My goodness. I can't imagine how hard this has to be on you, but, if you do think this way, why then did you make this organization? I suppose we have our reasons due to how things are, but hmm.." Barret was stuck in thought.

"I do not hate the Elementar, I just do not like how some are trying to take Terraldyn away from us. My late husband was a good man, but that doesn't make all Elementar good, nor does it make them evil. There are two sides the coin. I formed Alien Ministry to help protect the innocent, regardless of race, even if it meant putting on a false extremist attitude. No one within the base even knows my son is a halfer, but if they have a concern with it, it's best kept quiet for his safety. If you have a family member who you want safe, even if they aren't full human, you needn't worry. They're welcome here." Xiao replied, pacing over to her desk once again.

"Okay, thank you, that's all I wanted to know. Though if you wouldn't mind me asking, who might your son be?" Barret asked, looking to Xiao.

Xiao peered over, pushing up her glances, "I assumed you already knew. Cravic is my son, that's why he's always in here causing me grief." Xiao chuckled softly.

"W-Wait Cravic? Oh my, it's no wonder he seems extremely on top of things. Until now also coming to mind, you both do carry the same hair color." Barret says, seeming quite interested.

"He's just as irrational as his father however, but I digress. Was that all you needed?" Xiao inquired.

Barret nods, "Yes yes! This helps me quite a lot. I suppose I'll go give my sister another call. This will stay between us."

"I appreciate that, you're dismissed Barret. Also, as a request. Since you're good with half humans, perhaps you can try to befriend Cravic? He doesn't have many friends, since we left the city and seeing how he keeps to himself in the security room most of the time." Xiao smiled.

Barret nods, "I will do all in my power lady Director!" He says proudly.

"Thank you. Since you're not a grunt anymore, please feel free to call me Xiao." Xiao said, adjusting her glasses.

Barret bows to Xiao. "As you wish Miss Xiao."

"I'll alert you when your next mission is ready. In the mean time, train and relax." Xiao replied, turning her attention to some papers on her desk.

Barret nods once again. "As you wish." He then walks off to the door exiting.

As he exits, Cravic was awaiting outside slightly down the hall. His arms were crossed, and he was staring down Barret. "..." Cravic sneered in silence, yet he seemed to be waiting for him.

Barret spotted Cravic in surprise looking to him silently. "Oh, hello there Cravic." Barret says, waving to him.

Cravic leaned off the wall, approaching Barret with a scowl poised on his face. "I know you're just doing what my mom said to do. You can forget it, I don't need you as a friend. Heck, I don't need any more friends in general. You start something with me, you can guess it won't be pretty. Only way I'm gonna play nice with someone like you, is if you get my mom to let me on the field."

"Hmm, the field? Are you sure you want to go out there? I could try to pull some strings for you, but your mother must really care for you. You don't have to make me your friend, but I will help you anyway I can, Cravic." Barret says smiling.

"It's not a matter of pulling strings, more so of convincing her I can handle myself. She's paranoid I'll end up like my old man, so she put me on security. With this I have extra power, leverage with information. Even so, I can use weapons better than you, not to mention those other 'talents' we don't speak about. I assume extra reasoning to why I'm stuck in my position. You help me, I help you. In this place, we may all be allies, but that doesn't apply to friend or foe. You and your friend have an enemy with Creed already." Cravic explained, messing with his hair.

"Hmm well said, I guess we can call this a start then. If you would like to train with me, maybe we can work out something. Creed has been on my mind, not in the best way... Thinking I also have to get to work on something. (Mentioned powers those units had..If I had something to scan them. Perhaps then we'd be even more prepared.)" Barret says placing a hand to his chin. "Oh, don't mind me, sorry something came to mind, but yes you should train with me."

"Training eh? Alright. I help you get better prepared for missions, and you get my mom to let me in on one." Cravic extended his hand.

Barret grins, "Alright, it's a deal." Barret says shaking Cravic's hand.