[h3][color=c13309]BzzZzZzZZz[/color][/h3]

Germ sat up with a start and nearly banging his head on the low hanging pipework. Rokk had been kind in letting the rat sleep in his basement, sure, but it was tightly packed. It was only the blessing of Germ’s rat anatomy that made a place like this comfortable. Unfortunately for him, it was also plenty comfortable for rust-gnats. Germ managed to dodge the metal pipe, but he still got a proper lung-full of gnats.

The poor rat coughed up that nasty little swarm and scrambled out of his pile of blankets. Germ slipped on his pollution mask and ear plugs, then bundled his blankets into a ball. They ended up in a haphazard ball on top of his suitcase. He was far too excited to get to work.

Ha! Work! Germ could not remember the last time he went to an actual job. Granted, that was not new. His tail whipped back and forth as he dashed through the streets. Germ’s nimble feet dodged trash and strangers with ease. His little hands clutched at the straps of his bag. Between his teeth, he chewed the remains of a whisker. Once he arrived outside of the V.E.T. building, Germ skidded to a stop. He stared up at the creaking metal structure. His heart roared in his ears. This was it. This was Germ’s new life!

[h3][color=c13309]bzzzzZzZzz[/color][/h3]

A new life looked a lot like sitting in a lobby, anxiously squirming around in a chair that did not compliment Germ’s anatomy. He pulled his feet up onto the chair with him. Germ’s nose twitched and he ran his tail between his fingertips. All the while, he counted the rings on his tail. One. Two. Three. He counted to… fifteen? Had there been that few last time? Germ’s gaze darted across the others in the room. New people. Lots of new people. Germ wanted so dearly to talk to them. It would end the painful silence. He opened and shut his mouth several times but nothing escaped. These people were scary and would probably kill him if he spoke wrong.

Just as Germ was about to speak, footsteps caught his attention. He looked up at the Captain, his ears perking up. Germ listened with an excitement that made his chair tremble. The Captain’s offer to sit on her lap instantly caught the rat’s attention. She would be such a warm lap to sit in! Big and muscular and warm and cozy. Besides, such a prospect would line up with Germ’s goals.

Germ yelped at the thunderous screech. He leapt to his feet in the chair. His hand flew instinctively to the dagger tucked into his belt, but he went still when he realized the Captain was still talking. More offers of physical touch. Germ wiggled, his tail lashing out of his fingers. He leapt from his seat, looking over at that manila folder. A small, excited squeak escaped him. With that, he scampered out of the door.

[h3][color=c13309]BzzZzz— CRASH[/color][/h3]

Germ slowed as he approached the scene of the rampaging beast. It was instantly apparent to Germ that his dagger would be about as helpful as a wet spaghetti noodle. [color=39ff14][i]Mmm… spaghetti would be good right now. Maybe garnished with this little beasty’s meat? Is garnished the right word for that?—[/i][/color]

The crashing of metal and thunks of useless spears brought Germ back to reality. He dashed over to a pile of rubble created by the beast. His fingers worked quickly, guiding chunks of shrapnel from the remains. Once freed, Germ made a grand, sweeping gesture. All of the shrapnel lifted into the air. It was a flurry of metal blades hoisted by well-practiced magic. What was combat if not a form of art?

Germ pointed toward the beast. The blur of metal shot toward the stone-horn. Even with as little training as Germ had, he knew the metal would be useless against that stone-guarded hide. That was why Germ was not aiming for that. He was aiming to gouge the beast’s eyes.