The Prodigal Son - Chapter One
22 Oct 2017XxHyde840xX
As the last of the dock-hands finished their final preparations, a strange quiet began to descend over the Leviathan Scout Regiment docking bays. Most of the operatives under his command had long since finished their preparations, and were either on leave seeing friends and family, or scouting and researching for any additional intel that would be useful for the coming series of operations. Hyde exhaled a large plume of smoke and watched with satisfaction as the final touches were applied to the LCS Highwind, its matte black paint having just barely dried. The last of his provisions and modules slated for transport to the Pleiades Sector had already been packed into sealed crates and boxes some time ago, but the pallets seemed somehow more numerous. Hyde furrowed his brow and flicked the end of his cigarette into a nearby receptacle, the lid neatly flicking open and closing with a snap. One of the last workers, a new recruit, finished his work on the port-side railgun, and beamed a salute towards his commanding officer. Hyde returned the salute with a grin.“At ease, good work today on that rail man! I know getting the firmware to sync with the new P.A.'s was a bitch but...”
Hyde trailed off as the recruit, no more than twenty, with a shock of blonde hair matted to his forehead, descended the scaffolding. He grunted a few quick orders to the small group of dock-hands that remained in the hangar. Like a colony of ants they quickly began disassembling and storing the last of the Corvettes affixations. The young man wiped his hands and chuckled as he approached.
“It wasn't that bad, I'd like to say DT helped, but he spent most of the day snoozing out on the wing of the Truthseeker...” He snorted with a bit of laughter before continuing “Besides, watching them crush Rear Admiral Megafluffyrex's shields means they're the real deal.”
Hyde winked at him and cocked his head towards the main exit. “Go on, get outta here! You know we sortie for the Pleiades on Friday right? I know you wanna see your folks before we leave.”
Hyde straightened himself and saluted crisply, and watched as the recruit quickly followed suit. He extended his hand, smiling and spoke again. “And thanks for sticking around to help. We all appreciate it, myself included.”
The young man smiled, shaking the Admiral's hand before donning a crumpled cadet cap from his back pocket, and made for the exit with haste. Hyde surveyed the quiet for a moment before producing another cigarette from his front pocket and lighting it, blowing the smoke skyward. As his eyes scanned the small fleet of ships that he would personally be fielding for Operation: Blazing Mantis, he caught an unmistakable black smudge on the wing of his white DBX. He whistled and the dogs ears immediately perked up. “Come on D.T., it's almost time to go, we've got some people to see boy.”
D.T. yawned lazily, stretching as he drew himself up to his full height. Shaking the sleep from his fur, he jumped from the wing of the Truthseeker with an audible clank onto the metal flooring below, and made his way over to his friend and master.
“I heard you weren't much help with the Highwind today bud.” Hyde smirked and ruffled the fur between D.T.'s ears. D.T. whined playfully and accepted the ribbing. He was happy in his new surroundings, not that his time with Pops had been terrible, quite the opposite in fact. But here, he had experienced a kind of freedom unlike anything he had ever known, and he was more than thankful for it.
Scanning the empty hangar, Hyde noticed a puff of smoke rise up from towards the rear of the Truthseeker. There was only one person who could possibly still have been working.
“Would you call it a night already? Besides, isn't it almost past your bedtime, you old coot?” Hyde chuckled as he made out the outline of a middle finger poke out from behind the ship in response. With a clank, Pops tossed a handful of tools into a rolling chest and flicked the drawers shut. Drawing a grubby rag from the back pocket of his tattered coveralls, Pops wiped the grime from his hands before taking a long puff of his cigar.
“Fine one to be talkin' about bedtimes you are! When was the last time you slept, jackass?” Pops shot back with a snort. “You seen the bags under your eyes, kid? Even the new recruits know you're burning the candle at both ends lately...” Hyde just shrugged.
“Someones gotta do it, you and me both know that. Besides, sets a bad example when the big boys shirk their duties.”
“Also sets a bad example being exhausted and cranky half the time...”
Defeated easily and with nothing left to say, Hyde simply stuck his tongue out at the old man and blew a raspberry his way. He knew Pops was right, and when he got like this he knew better than to argue. Pops shook his head and smiled. “Hell, we both know you, won't listen to reason...heh...well neither will I. Suppose that how I wound up halfway across the galaxy with a bunch of young-bucks like you.”
“If I remember correctly, you insisted on coming with us, something about Borr being as boring as your ex-wife...”
Pops let out a hearty belly-laugh. “I suppose that does sound about right, doesn't it? Anyways, I believe you should have something for me?” Pops rubbed his hands together in expectation, his eyes gleaming. Hyde knew what he was after.
“Can't put anything past you, can I? Come on then, just a little taste.” Hyde nodded towards a nearby workbench and the pair made their way over and sat down. Producing a mickey of Eranin Pearl Whiskey from the inside of his coat, Hyde cracked the seal, bringing the liquid to his nose and savoring the aroma before taking a large swig and passing the bottle to Pops. “Got ya two cases of the stuff. Y'know, I started doing this as a thank you of sorts, for taking care of the logistics, setting up shop here...for everything really. I got a funny feeling though you've got bigger plans for the booze I keep bringing you, especially since you started asking for it by the case.”
Pops grabbed the bottle, taking a hearty swig. The iridescent liquid swirled as he upended the bottle. Passing it back to Hyde, he wiped his mouth with a smile. “Well, you'd be right. Been thinking this place needs somewhere for us all to cut loose, a nice comfortable place, good booze, good food, pretty waitresses...” Pops trailed off, closing his eyes and taking a deep drag off his cigar. “I'm getting old kid, I might not look it but I can't keep this up forever...” Pops was certainly healthy and full of life for his age, but the creases and laugh-lines in his face, coupled with the bags under his own eyes told the story of a youth stolen by dedication, hard work, and sacrifice.
Hyde frowned as he took in the words. While the thought of a solid home cooked meal and stiff drink at base was a comforting thought, he didn't care much to even entertain the notion that Pops was aging. Quickly burying the thought he took another quick draught of the mickey, and passed it back to Pops.
“You and me keep “pickling” ourselves with this shit and we're gonna outlast 'em all!”
“Bahahaha! I'll drink to that!”
D.T. sat expectantly as the two talked and laughed. He didn't care much for the clear bottle of odd liquid, in fact, he cared little for most of what his master drank. He did however know that if he was patient, one of the two would give him something tasty. These talks were, after all, fairly routine. As if on cue, Hyde reached into his pocket and produced a strip of dried meat, extending it towards him. He anxiously took it and laid down, savoring the salty chewiness of the jerky as he ate.
“That 'vette of yours is something else kid, I still cant believe you're not finished with it...” Pops shook his head in disbelief at both the credits, and parts that had been sunk into the Highwind. “And to think you somehow managed to convince Aegis Research to not only build you a custom power-plant, but to have them stock the new experimental modules at our home system too?”
“I suspect the contract for the modules had a little greasing from you and your contacts, so don't give me too much credit. Besides, the reactor was the icing on the cake so to speak. We provide materials, fleet support, and work on saving some lives out there, and they make sure we have what we need to operate.” Hyde shrugged and continued, “Besides, they're a bunch of eggheads over there. Most of Aegis's core fleet is already preoccupied with missions so Aegis Research has been relying on groups like ours. I suspect it's just a ploy for them to collect as much data as possible though. It's certainly convenient for them, using groups like us as secondary fleets.”
Hyde lit up a cigarette. “As for the Highwind...” he took a long pull of the fragrant smoke and exhaled deeply, smiling, “I don't think she'll ever be finished...kinda like that old Python of yours...”
Pops nodded. He knew full well any commander was only as good as his ship, of course the opposite also applied as well. As their talk drifted as it usually did towards various builds, ships, and theory crafting, they were interrupted by Zaylah, one of Hyde's crew, bursting through the door to the hangar. Her eyes were red and puffy, and streaks of mascara ran down her flushed and freckled face. In her hand she nervously clutched a data slate.
“Hyde...I'm so sorry. It's your brother...”