Kritikal Krysis

Chapter 3: Arrival

The walls surrounding Neo-Tokyo were enormous, nearly extending to the industrial smoke that tainted the sky with black smears. From a distance, the high-tech skyscrapers pierced the skies as bright, neon lights lit up the streets below. The hover cars were only but small specks of light moving about around the lower bases of skyscrapers, like moving stars in a nebula. It would be quite a sight to behold and embrace, if it weren’t for the haunting memories and dark secrets that dwelled here. The Nomad walked up to the East gate of the wall, which towered high above him. Several DSS troopers stood guard on both sides of the gate, all staring at him like predators watching their prey. All wore the standard issue DSS armor suits and were equipped with organic FCS-Rifles. A guard to his left approached him, followed by another to his right. The one to his right held a scanning device in one of his hands and a pistol in the other. “All civilians and guests are required to have personal ID code in order to gain entree into the city.”
    The Nomad lifted up his left arm and presented a screened device on his wrist. The screen presented a fake ID code that had been forged and given a fake name, yet the ID code and name had been registered into the Devoran Civilian Database long ago when he had intruded a registry. The guard scanned the ID, the scanner making a beeping noise until the light bar on the device glowed green. The guard placed the scanner to his side and signaled for the other to return to his post. He then looked to Nomad, gesturing his head for him to move on. In a simple response, he nodded and move towards the gate, which hissed loudly and slowly came to an open.
Light shined brightly as if he were entering the gates of Heaven. All was white for a moment until all became clear, and Nomad found himself in a haven of lights, music, and technology. People crowded the streets, all dressed in different styles of clothing and displaying a variety of hairstyles and colors.
Electronic music played throughout the streets, loud enough that the hover cars above could barely be heard. Numerous stores and shops of sorts both sides of the streets, arranging from fashion, robot repair, weapon sell & trade, sex enhancers, and so on. Nomad grumbled to himself as he moved onward, navigating through the crowded streets.
He adjusted his hood accordingly to assure nobody saw his masked face. From his point of view, his right eye scanned the environment, collecting area information for a place to stay for the night. He took heavy breaths from the O2 tank, feeling a slight loss of air from his lungs. The area was too crowded.
After a minute of walking, his HUD bought up a nearby nightclub and hotel. Nomad read the information as he walked, learning the features and aspects of the structure. ‘The Nebulae,’ as it was called, featured a bar, dance floor, strip club, a swimming pool, and a variety of hotel suites. It would have to do for the night. Closing his HUD, Nomad proceeded up the street and made a right turn to The Nebulae. The building rose to the sky, the silhouettes of female strippers casted upon the windows of the lower level windows from the flashing lights of the strip club. Sighing beneath his mask, he approached the front entrance and set foot into the building, stepping into a place of lust and greed.
The heavy beats of electronic music pulsated through his ears, they felt like they were going to burst. The room was lit with blacklights and dozens of men crowded around the stages in mesmerization, gawking to the female dancers, nearly stripped of all clothing with glowing paint on their bodies. In some corners of the room, people succumbed to alcohol and synthetic drugs. It was all a disgusting sight to Nomad.
    Changing his attention to the front desk, he approached the it and was greeted by a female dressed in similar fashion to the strippers, but dressed slightly more and showing less skin. Her hair was dyed purple, which made her glow under the blacklight. Nomad scanned the woman with his eye, receiving her personal information and speaking to himself within his mind. "Name is Sapphire... Age is 24..."
  “Welcome to The Nebulae, sir. How may I help you?” Sapphire said in a rather elegant voice. Nomad waited for a moment, biting his upper lip with the metal of his lower jaw before speaking.
    “Yes. I would like to rent a suite for a one-night rest. What will be the amount of credits I owe?”
    “One night will cost a two hundred creds, an additional fee of a hundred for VIP access.”
    “Damn… I barely have enough for cheap food, let alone anything. Should’ve thought of the price before coming in.” Nomad thought. “Quite a price for a one night stay. Is there any way I can get a way around that?”
    “Well… There is one way.”
“Which is?”
Sapphire gestured for Nomad to lean closer, which he did as she began whispering to where his ear was, below the mask. His eyes widened in surprise below his mask in what he heard come from her lips. He pulled away for a moment, looking around the strip club before nodding to the female, his cheeks reddened. She smiled and picked out a glass keycard from below the desk.