5.1: Into the Fsylan Tubes pt 1

Lusac's breath caught in his throat. This could mean only one thing: Dasht had discovered Leviathan.

Reminding himself that feigning innocence in the whole issue was his only escape, he quickly stepped up to the comm and pressed the button to reply.

"I'm here, Dasht. What's up?" He kept his voice light, refusing to display the unease he truly felt.

"I think there's something you forgot to do, after the mission," the Nemarian cryptically replied.

Lus tensed further. "Huh? I don't remember having any post-mission assignments."

"It's about something you ended up with on the planet's surface. Something rather important that you forgot to handle properly," he continued.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lusac said. Did Zer-Dasht see him pick up the USB? But why was he bringing it up now of all times? And if it was this big of a deal, why didn't he just report Lus to Nippy right away?

"My rifle, Loser! I specifically told you I wanted it back," the Nemarian exclaimed. "And not only did you fail to do that, but you abandoned it in the kitchen of all places! When are you going to grow some sense?"

"Oh," Lus managed to say, too busy being relieved that Dasht hadn't discovered the Demon lurking in the interbox to really care about the insults. "Sorry. I'll get it put away today before I start my shift."

"No, no. I already got it, no thanks to you. But this is the last time I'm loaning you anything of mine, you hear Lus?"

"I understand, Dasht. I'm sorry."

A few mumbled insults ended the exchange as the comm went quiet. Lus checked the time. Breakfast wouldn't be ready for another hour yet if he knew Lbrvr. The Kremel had taken up the other half of the chef job upon Wlnp's death, and she was even less punctual than him when it came to getting food out on time. He couldn't blame her though. The breakfast shift was the worst. The cook not only had to get up early to make the food, but then they had to clean and do dishes since the cleaning golem only came at night, after the dinner shift. Lus had been sure he was going to lose his prime position with the evening meal after so many failed dishes, even with Lbrvr's horrible attempts, but with his handy-dandy system and actual recipes to follow, he was basically guaranteed the preferred shift.

Instead Lus crawled back into bed to pretend to sleep for a few more minutes until the computer woke him up, and he was forced to actually drag himself through the chore of getting ready for the day.

The Runner's uniform was black with thick, dark gray lines decorating it. One wrapped each of his upper arms while a pair made an X across his front and back, hooking to his belt. Two more sprouted from there to wrap holsters on his thighs that often held tools rather than guns. A shoulder pad on his left held his rank, a lowly Corporal, but that was everyone's rank who wasn't in some kind of leadership. Underneath it was supposed to be a marker for how many years he'd been with the Runners, though his was empty since it counted by fives, and he only had two years under him. It was strange to think of the Runners having so much hierarchy and organization when in reality it felt more like a formalized family in a lot of ways. Then again, it was probably different on bigger, more well-known Runner ships who ran in the populated sectors.

Once he was dressed and had attempted some kind of style with the mop of brown hair on his head, Lus dipped out of his quarters and into the morning bustle of the corridors. The hallways were wide enough that two of the broad Kremel could pass by without either having to slink to the side, making it easy for someone of Lus's size and agility to dodge into the flow without any problems.

The cafeteria wasn't overly busy, though based on the mess on most of the tables, that meant he was late getting to food this morning. That left him with the charred meats and overly soggy fruit, the humble scraps everyone else avoided by being on time to fight over the more edible portions. Still, his morning brightened considerably when he noticed Becky sitting at one of the tables near the window, engrossed in some holobook.

Her tight ringlets were dyed neon pink on the edges, slowly bleeding to its usual raven shade towards the middle and top. Her glasses reflected some of the light of the holodevice before her as she chewed her cheek, an empty plate resting to the side of a meal she long ago finished.

"Hiya Becks." Lusac plopped his tray next to her, the motion of which sent a few drops of coffee over the edges of his mug.

She mumbled what might have been a greeting as her eyes continued to scan the words of her novel.

"Argo to Becky." He once again attempted to get her attention.

After another lack of response, he risked his life and waved his hand through the screen, forcing a disruption to her reading.

"Hey!" She shouted as her brown eyes shot up to his in a moment of pure fury. They softened as she realized who'd committed the crime. "Lusac! Hi! When did you get in?"

"Just a couple of minutes ago. Not that my presence has anything on your book." He smirked.

Becky rolled her eyes and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "You wouldn't get it." Her smile resumed. "You snuck out too fast last night for me to get the chance to say it then, but great job with dinner. It was nice to finally have something…" She paused for a moment, as if deciding what word to use.

"Good?" Lus suggested, keeping a grin on his face. He'd taken enough flak from the crew to know that his food had never been what anyone would call tasty, even if Becky was too polite to say it aloud.

"I was going to see 'normal.' But, anyway, good job. Can I ask what changed? Did you get your hands on a translation program or something for Wlnp's recipes?"

"I actually found a recipe book on a data stick during the mission yesterday. Isn't that lucky?" Becky wasn't one to pry, so he didn't really worry she'd press for more details, and he did have to stick to that story if he wanted anyone to keep from discovering the truth.

"Really? Isn't it kind of dangerous to take any old data stick? And you got it cleared with Nippy or Cewi before you used it, right?"

Lus shrugged as he stabbed at a burnt hunk of mystery meat with his fork. He definitely hadn't thought about those things before he plugged it into the interbox, but there was nothing he could do about it now but play it cool. "It's just a recipe book. No harm in that."

Becky frowned, but she chose not to push the subject.

"Anyway…" Lusac cleared his throat around the large bit of char he'd just taken. "Do you have any word on what tasking we'll end up with today?"

"You mean what tasking you'll end up with today. I'm off today after pulling a double yesterday to make up for your absence. Why else would I still be in the mess hall this late in the morning?" Becky raised her eyebrows knowingly.

"Eh, Yrqw's never minded before if I was a few minutes late." Still, Lusac checked the time to ensure that he wouldn't be that late reporting to his supervisor. "And don't sound so snotty about it. If you managed to hold your stomach together well enough for off-ship missions, you wouldn't have to spend so much time covering for me. Instead, I'm the only Human grunt sent into the heat of battle." He took a sip of his coffee which was cold and flavorless.

Becky laughed. "Dasht filled me in on just how much you help out in those 'battles.' If you keep your accuracy that low, I might have to brave my g-sickness anyway just to show them what Humans are really capable of."

"Well Dasht actually likes you so he'd probably give you a decent gun and then that wouldn't be a fair comparison at all."

"You're going to be late you know," Becky nodded to the large clock on the wall to their right.

"I've never been on time before. No point in messing up tradition."

She sighed and shook her head. "Well I do have better things to do than watch you shuffle that stuff Lbrvr calls food around your plate. See you tonight, Lus."

"Bye Becks," he called after her. He continued to drag his utensil across the plate in hopes of seeming casual, but as soon as he heard the door close, Lus stood from his seat and jogged to drop his tray off. Whatever he claimed to Becky, he actually really, really didn't want to be late today. Yrqw had already warned him last time that next time he was late to shift start, he was going to have to spend an extra hour to make up for it which would then put him in a tight spot for prepping the evening meal. Knowing the Kremel, he would fulfill his word regardless of whether or not dinner for the whole crew was on the line.