Initiation

YAHHOY PORT
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The Bounty Hunter Association had seen a rise in membership lately. It was a good thing, ultimately. With increased hunter presence, jobs were completed in bigger numbers, which meant quicker turnover and satisfied clientele. That resulted in more contracts, more jobs, more turnover, and the cycle continued to extrapolate. Another part of that was the inclusion of inductions, so to speak, where newer hunters were pitted against contracts that were somewhat above their estimated skill level, while being accompanied by a senior hunter for support and observation. Mainly, it was to ensure the Association's best interests were maintained, and the best quality members were promoted through the trial period, once overseeing hunter approval had been given.

That was currently Ryze's situation.

Since the Cerealian had been part of the Association for a while now, he had earned his place at the table, and was called on to assess. He didn't mind too much, especially since the contract was decent with a good reward for completion. Plus, the smuggling group operated by the individual known as Rudder had been on the contract pile for a while, with the legwork required often turning away prospective hunters - since they likely preferred a quick and easy job. Ryze didn't care one way or the other, he just wanted to get on with it. And so it was that the Cerealian finally found the prospective hunter, perched on a building top, with binoculars in hand and a check-in just shared. The emphasis on supervisor made Ryze grunt internally, bemused by the dismissive tone.

"Nice vantage," Ryze said from beside the rookie Bounty Hunter, as he peered over the same edge with one boot rested up on the building retaining wall. He was dressed in his long trenchcoat, his hair loose and had literally appeared right beside the young woman. "Amaranthe, right? I'm Ryze, the supervisor."

Ryze continued to look out over the distance, as he focused on the movement on the distant ship, seemingly with eyesight alone.

"They'll move soon," The Cerealian noted, as he glanced to Amaranthe, his red eye visible and obvious, though whether that meant anything to her was unknown. "Are you able to fly with your Ki?"

A simple question, but an important one. If tailing was on the cards, it would be far easier if the pair could maintain sky-based observation, especially since the smugglers probably suspected other crews and ships primarily. The Coast Guard were paid off, sure, but other pirates were a threat even to established smuggler groups. Either way, Ryze turned back to the distant ship at the port and continued to watch.

"So, since this is an assessment... what are your strengths and weaknesses?"

It was probably a hard question to answer, especially if Amaranthe felt reluctant to share, but Ryze wanted to surmise a few things from her response...

Ryze could appreciate that the rookie Bounty Hunter had thought ahead, when it came time to pick the vantage point. It was surprising how many didn't, honestly. So already that was a good impression, a tick as it were for the positive column. Turned out the rookie's name was Ara, since her full name was quite a mouthful. There was a brief moment where Ryze considered making the obvious joke, but decided against it, since they were on the clock and the job was difficult enough without flippancy.

"Well, Ryze works for me, Ara," The Cerealian glanced toward the young woman. "And not sure what you were expecting. You're about what I expected, anyway."

There was a brief moment of quiet, as the ship was observed, before Ara piped in with a query about Ryze's red eye. The question wasn't uncommon, surprisingly some people became curious and asked, though he could count the number of times someone asked if he was a cyborg. The most common was some kind of contact lens or piece of visual tech.

"Nope, not a cyborg," Ryze said simply as he continued to stare across the long distance, seemingly unassisted. "Maybe I'll tell you about it, one day."

When the ship moved, Ryze had a mild concern. But, yet another point in Ara's favor was she could fly, which made the tailing process a lot simpler and easier. There had been a concern that the Cerealian might have had to carry the rookie, which would have been very awkward, since they had just met and Ryze wasn't really big on touching. So, when Ara stepped off the building, there was some relief...

"Good," Ryze muttered as he followed suit and stepped off the building, before he used his Ki energy to begin moving after the rookie. "That does make it easier, right."

Ryze listened to Ara's words, as she listed off several things, both positive and negative. He remained close, so as to hear over the wind, but otherwise remained fixated visually on the ship that had started to increase speed in the more open waters beyond the port. Most of the skills listed were typical for individuals in the Bounty Hunter business, but to Ara's credit she was able to mention some weaknesses. Some refused to, out of pride or ego, so that was refreshing.

"I guess the biggest concern there is teamwork. Working alone isn't usually an option, we take on some big targets, but the Association offsets that with a bonus to payment for teams that are quick and efficient," With a grunt, Ryze glanced to Ara. "They think more hunters means quicker job turnaround. It basically does, I've never had issues, and the added fists help with the larger bounties. You can work alone, though."

The follow up questions made Ryze look back toward Ara, one eyebrow raised. A killing prodigy?

"I've done a handful of missions, did them well, so I guess that's earned me extra responsibility," The Cerealian gave a wry expression, as he clearly didn't think babysitting rookies was all it was cracked up to be. "But, no, I'm just young I guess. We've got others who are ancient, too. Takes all walks of life to do our job."

Below, the ship had settled into a cruising speed, and started to change angle. Ryze adjusted accordingly, as he motioned for Ara to maintain the height advantage with a motion to move higher. When they were back in cloud cover, he continued:

"Also, this job isn't just killing. Client's usually provide a range of contracts, so don't be surprised if you start seeing all kinds of requests," Ryze passed through a cloud with a whoosh, then reappeared on the other side, maintaining the flight line. "Bounties can be for living deliveries, assassinations, collection, examples being made, you name it... the Association just makes it easier for us to access the work orders."

Ryze looked back to the rookie.

"What made you consider this line of work? It's not for everyone, you okay with killing if you have to?"

It wasn't an unusual story, as Ryze listened to Ara explain her circumstances prior to considering the Association. Worked alone, competed with others for jobs, lost out on some contracts because of the organization of the Association. Ryze had stumbled into the occupation more than anything, so he didn't really have that independent contractor background to recall, he had just started working for the Association after falling in with the right crowd.

"I work with whoever I need to," Ryze said as he continued to fly alongside Ara. "More focused on the job getting done, so if that means a team, that's fine. Doesn't mean I have to like the team, though... and in this line of work, you find some of those."

The Cerealian glanced down to the ocean below and caught sight of the ship, as it sailed onward. The next questions brought Ryze's attention back.

"It spans the universe, from what I've seen," Ryze said as he considered. "There's an office on several planets with dense multi-species presence - Earth, Namek, even Plant I think - and some automated kiosks on more distant ones. Those update job listings in the region automatically, every so often." Ryze glanced to Ara, one eyebrow raised, but held off asking anything for the moment. "I usually find work most places. It helps."

Ryze listened as Ara began to explain why she got into the Bounty Hunting business, and nodded every so often. There were one or two parallels to his own reasons, but for the most part it seemed the Earthling wanted the Zeni. Ryze could understand that drive. And like Ryze had suspected, Ara had had some delays with contracts with the Association being faster to update and notify its own people, rather than independent listings. That was another benefit, one Ara would benefit from if she decided to stick with it; not to mention several helpful resources, such as safe houses or basic vehicle or weapon options, should they be needed.

"The Zeni from higher tier work is worth the admission, there's some rich Bounty Hunters who have earned at the top," Ryze said in a low voice, as he flew above a cloud, one that looked quite dark, perhaps even potentially stormy. "The contract listings for the Association are a lot faster than independent vendors, yeah. It's something they pride themselves on." When Ara revealed she hadn't killed yet, Ryze nodded. "And yeah, didn't think you'd killed yet. It might happen sooner than you think, people don't tend to like Bounty Hunters coming after them... but when it happens, you'll know if it's for you or not quickly enough."

For himself, Ryze had no problem killing. It was part of the job, he had accepted it. Ryze was curious about a thing or two, so he asked:

"Have you been away from Earth yet? Something you said before sounded like you're interested in travel off-world. Curious to see other planets, meet new species?"

Ryze glanced over and smirked.

"Fun? Challenges? Can't go past being a Bounty Hunter," He said with a mutter, his expression becoming wry, as he thought back to his own experiences in the occupation. ""

There had been a few contracts over the past decade that had pushed Ryze to his limit, whether it was taking on surprisingly powerful targets, or having to complete a job without alerting anyone else to the fact. The Bounty Hunter Association had a range of jobs to select from, it wasn't just hunting, but those seemed to be the main source of work, which led to the group being named after that specific purpose - or at least that's what Ryze had surmised, it wasn't as though he cared enough to ask about the Association and its entire company history.

As long as I'm paid, it could be called anything.

There was a small pause, as Ara played coy about Ryze's query regarding if she had been off-world. He suspected it was in response to the question about his eye. Ultimately it didn't matter too much if she shared, since Ryze just wanted to know more generally, mainly to inform the Association with a few ticks to the assessment, so if asked he would just say unknown. Ryze was mildly amused by Ara's sassiness, though.

"I've been around, yeah," Ryze said as he glanced to the right, as the pair flew, and caught a flock of birds passing by. "Never really visited planets for any reason other than contract work. Not sure if I have a favorite, but the war on Plant offered some interesting bounties... managed to grab a deserter or two, before the conflict ended."

Ryze looked to Ara.

"So, you're primary reason isn't money. Is it the challenge, then? Rebelling against parents? Proving something?"

"It's mainly the money for me," Ryze said after a brief consideration. "But fun? Sometimes, sure. I don't think I'm a psychopath... I just do my job, really."

Ryze wondered if Ara was used to being so forward. Granted, some of the questions he asked were aimed at getting to know her more, but that was for the assessment. Compared to some of the other rookies, Ara seemed content in having a conversation rather than an interview, which Ryze supposed wasn't a bad thing, he was mostly used to new potential members being less talkative. Perhaps it showed confidence. Or arrogance. It was hard to say, really, at least so early in the process, with Ryze requiring more time and a display of what Ara was capable of to determine for sure.

"Tuffles, sure," Ryze muttered, as he glanced to Ara, especially at her praise of Saiyans. He looked a bit closer at her features, suspicious. "Saiyans tend to be stubborn, yeah, but you might be surprised..."

In truth, Ryze had taken advantage of both sides in the war. He had gone where the contracts took him, with little care about who or why. The job needed to be done, he needed finances, so it worked out great for all concerned. The Cerealian didn't necessarily like profiting from war, but at the end of the day, people had to do what they had to do, in order to survive - and Ryze hadn't survived all these years by himself, to throw it away over feeling bad for two species who couldn't coexist. Or, at least not at the time.

"You have a goal, then? Good," Ryze said as he nodded. And then Ara changed the subject, as she asked about Saiyans and whether Ryze had killed any. "Yeah. Killed a one or two, captured a few. I don't aim to kill on my jobs, unless it's specifically stated..." His eyes narrowed though, as he curled his lip in a brief display of anger. "Unless it's pirates. I kill every pirate I find, no mercy. Those steaming piles don't deserve to live, so anytime there's a pirate bounty, I'm the first to collect."

For a moment, Ryze fell silent, as his mind went back to the past. He shook out of it, refocusing on the task.

"Why are you so fascinated with Saiyans? You've brought them up a few times now..."

When Ara mentioned the competition about the pirate contracts, Ryze became a little more interested. He raised an eyebrow, as he glanced toward the Earthling, and wondered what the story was there.

"Really." Ryze said, his face showed some curiosity. He paused, when Ara seemed to think momentarily, then returned the question about whether Ryze had a personal vendetta of his own. He supposed his statement made that obvious, but also figured there was nothing to lose by sharing a little in return. "Yeah, you could say that. A crew attacked my home, killed everyone except me... anyway, I caught up with the crew later, even managed to put the leader - a mean alien, facial tattoo, goes by Skullface - in prison."

Ryze's expression became harder, as he scowled. He continued to speak, his voice almost a growl.

"The Star Jammers. That was the crew, a lot of them, a mixture of species with a few ships. Heard the leader is going to be released... even after everything he's done. Steaming pile, if you ask me. Anyway, what specific crew are you after?"

With another glance back to Ara, Ryze raised his eyebrows, his expression still agitated but not as angry as he spoke.

"Part Saiyan, huh?" Ryze asked, though he also noted that the rookie mentioned she was part Saiyan, from her father's side. That was curious, too, and explained a few things so far in all honesty. "I wouldn't have guessed. Maybe your eyes, they look like a Saiyans, being full black like that... but the rest? Not so much. Have you met any Saiyans? How did that go?"

The Cerealian didn't know too much about Saiyan culture, but he had heard the species were big on pride and identity as Saiyans. He wondered how a hybrid from a - presumably - Earthling mother would fare, especially if she encountered some traditionalists. From what Ryze recalled, there had become a difference of opinion with how the whole Saiyan-Tuffle war had been handled, with some agreeing to the peace, and others being outraged. Ryze supposed that wasn't unexpected, given the Saiyans were so war-like...

"Who was your father? But, you don't have to share, just curious."

Hopefully he wasn't a deserter... would be awkward if I killed him.

Ryze offered a shrug, as he flew alongside Ara, when she commented on the events of his past. The Cerealian had come to terms with it, the losses had been many years ago, and he had put it out of his mind. In tuth, Ryze barely thought about his parents anymore, despite that event dictating the direction of his life, and causing the hatred he held for all pirates. But in the end, there was nothing to gain from feeling sorrow about the past, it was better to focus on the present and future.

"It's fine, it was a long time ago," Ryze said in a low tone. "The dead don't miss us, so there's no point in being sad about them, either. But yeah, if Skullface's name comes up again, I promise he won't walk away a second time... I'll make sure of that."

And if the pirate leader was, indeed, getting out of prison, the chances of his return to the old lifestyle was high. The alien was a career criminal, had been all his life from what Ryze had been able to find out, and took some sick pleasure in being a renegade to society. Pirates were the scum of the universe, and there was nothing - no opinion or person - that could chance Ryze's opinion on that. Though, when Ara mentioned her own encounter, Ryze nodded and listened silently until she had finished...

"Not sure how long ago that was, but there were Saiyans in Skullface's crew," Ryze offered, though he wasn't so ready to jump to presumptions over a few coincidences. There were a lot of pirate crews throughout the universe, after all, and while it was possible the two were the same, it was better to wait for more fact before conclusion. "If it was a handful of years, Skullface was caught by then. If we ever see any, I'll be able to recognize them, too, so we'll know if it was the same crew quick enough."

The Cerealian listened as Ara explained what little she knew about her father, if he could be called that. Not that Ryze could judge, since his own father had died a long time ago, when Ryze was a child. Seemed both of them had some parent issues, which was amusing to consider in comparison to their chosen professions and how they lived similar lifestyles - namely, centric to aggression and violence, in a morally ambiguous career. Ryze dismissed the thought, he didn't have the time or care to begin delving into that rabbit hole.

"Courge? Don't know him." Ryze said simply. "Never came across a Saiyan named that in my time during the war. If he didn't die, he might still be out there."

Below, the smuggling ship had started to round the west side of an island, to which Ryze motioned and decreased his flight speed.

"Look, the smugglers might be at the hideout... are we staying back to observe, or getting closer? Your call."