The Prodigal Son - Chapter Two
22 Oct 2017XxHyde840xX
The journey to Mars High was uneventful, quiet, and proceeded rather quickly. The Highwind touched down swiftly and without incident. The shuttle to Mars itself, however, was excruciating. Hyde had booked a charter-flight to the planet from the orbital, rather than touching down in his own ship for the simple reason that the landing pad on his parents' piece of farmland couldn't support a ship of that size. Now, he sat in the darkened cabin wishing for the silence of his own ship. At least the sounds there were familiar.As the unremarkable Dolphin begun its approach, Hyde removed his aviators, placing them in his pocket and rubbed his eyes. He was still numb. When Zaylah had broken the news he had simply walked to his Corvette without a word, Zaylah hot on his heels and taken off, leaving Pops along with D.T. back at headquarters. They hadn't spoken a word since they took off from Diabak, but Hyde was secretly glad that she insisted on coming. At least he wasn't alone. Not with the LSR by his side.
Hyde closed his eyes, leaned back in his seat, and thought back to why he had left Mars in the first place. It wasn't as if he had it rough as a child. Far from it in fact. His father Keiji had been a military man, commissioned into the Federal Navy. Naturally his status and rank afforded him privilege, money, and status. His mother Rose, was a loving, vibrant woman, and she was enamored with both Hyde and his younger brother, Sei. They had never wanted for anything, except maybe for Keiji to come home a little more often.
After they married, his parents had purchased a quiet piece of land on the terraformed planet, one of the last few quiet places the corporations hadn't touched. None of that mattered to Keiji though, his father was a spacer through and through, he could never keep his boots on the ground more than five minutes. The mystery and intrigue of the stars was what kept calling him back. He was absent for much of Hyde and his brother Sei's childhood, and for both of their births, but what Hyde remembered most aside from working on various ships and modules with his brother and father was the gleam in his fathers eye whenever they asked him what it was like in space. He remembered the stories, the tales of friendship and camaraderie, the epic yarns of taking down scores of ships and harrowing escapes, and the sagas of molding the galaxy piece by piece with his own hands. One day his father's story had just ended, and he had never come home.
Hyde remembered the look on his mothers face when Hudson himself came to deliver the news. His father, his ship, and his crew had been shot down by “Unknown Vessels” in the Pleiades Sector. His mother never pressed for details, she just nodded and went back inside, with Sei crying in her arms as the tears silently streamed down her face. Hyde had left the next day, a mere sixteen, determined to forge his own path in the stars.
With his education already paid for, and a sizable inheritance at his disposal he distinguished himself quickly from the other potential Pilot's Federation hopefuls in his class. He had dumped his small fortune into various shell corporations, and holdings, keeping enough to pay for both his living expenses and a Viper MKIV, and relied on the dividends provided by his investments to get by. Instead of making friends, he made contacts. Rather than spend his nights like most kids his age or with other people, he spent them training, studying, and largely solitary.
He was picked up immediately after graduation by Core Dynamics, as a test pilot under contract to the Federal Navy. He had graduated with top marks, and had shown a remarkable aptitude for intelligence and fleet logistics, but Core was more interested in his fearlessness, and clear disregard for his own personal safety, not to mention rather high marks on his flight exams and a minor degree in ship mechanics. Restless, it wasn't long before he tired of the routine at Core, and armed with the skills and knowledge he had acquired, began a short career on the CQC circuit. Known for exciting matches and a solid record due to a rather unique flying style, he soon was recruited into the ranks of the Federal Navy. Despite distinguishing himself and attaining the rank of Rear Admiral, he had resigned after a series of chance encounters in the Sol system, and had forged his own PMF with the backing of key individuals from the Federation. The Leviathan Scout Regiment was born and he had never looked back, only returning to Mars for his brothers graduation and acceptance into the Federal Navy, and the occasional holiday visit.
As the ship settled into the docking clamps with a mechanical hiss, he was awoken by a slight nudge from Zaylah.
“Hey...we're here, you fell asleep. You okay?”
“Fine.” Hyde replied flatly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I'll be back in a bit...” He trailed off as he got up. Making his way to the exit he turned back to Zaylah. “Tell our pilot I won't be long. And thanks...for coming, I mean.”
Hyde opened the bay door, jammed his hands uncomfortably into his jacket pockets, and descended the ramp down to the small dock. The sky blazed with the last vestiges of a setting sun and a slight breeze blew, rustling the various species of trees and crops imported from Earth. Hyde took a deep breath and made his way towards the home of his youth, and to a visit he was dreading with all his heart.