Planet Aella was an Earth-like planet. With lots of bodies of water, islands... and was once Admiral Corentin's home planet. By visiting Corentin's home planet, Captain Pitch hoped he would find a place where he could relax... To be away from all the stressful situations and all.
His shuttle jumped out of hyper speed and the huge planet made its appearance in front of him. He navigated his shuttle down to the surface. A storm was in full force exactly where he wanted to land. A lightning strike zapped behind his shuttle, but the black captain flew safely through it.
As he passed the big storm clouds, a giant old village spread out in front of him on the horizon. This planet wasn't advanced regarding its evolution and technology. It felt like a time travel to ancient times for Captain Pitch. Maybe that was truly a good place to find some relaxation for now.
Nobody seemed to pay that much attention to the Lord once he arrived near the villagers' houses. Our Lord felt the rain pouring on his spacesuit after he climbed out his shuttle. Unsure, if their people might recognize him, Captain Pitch donned a black cape and hid himself inside of it. He wandered through the old village for a while, until he reached a certain building.
Mapec's Saloon.
Was the name labeled on the entrance doors above him. Music and laughs were heard from within the establishment. For a moment, hushed mouse-like creatures between wood-stairs and under Pitch's feet and ran instinctively away.
A lightning strike zapped above the village once Captain Pitch decided to slowly step into the building. He knew he had to be careful around this place. A strong smell reached his nose that wafted from certain meals and drinks which this saloon offered to its patrons.
The music around them stopped as he walked in. People on their seats looked over to the stranger, frightened and concerned. Seemed like Pitch accidentally terrified them with his sudden presence. It wasn't his intention to scare them.
Only his heavy steps and the storm outside were heard as he walked closer to the bartender's table. The melody behind him continued as he sat down.
The bartender noticed his new client and became curious. Never had he seen this guy before. A stranger, he assumed. A stranger to investigate out before he offered him a drink. Pitch was calm and quiet. He didn't pay much attention to his surroundings and enjoyed the ambience among him in secret.
An echo appeared inside Captain Pitch's mind. A voice from the past. But before he could listen to the voices inside his head, a shadow came in front of him and drew nearer. It was the bartender, a dark brown bean, who now stood in front of Lord Pitch on the other side of the table and looked sternly and skeptical at him. Slowly, Pitch moved his own head up to look at the bartender's visor. Someone, he never saw before.
"I don't believe you are from here, stranger", The bartender guessed correctly. He wasn't. "Who are you?"
But Pitch remained quiet. Too insecure to raise up his voice. The bartender became inpatient and bowed his body over the table to look closer at Pitch. As he did, the bartender noticed the black captain's half broken visor and scars which he had under his cape.
"You aren't much of a talker, hm?" The bartender kept trying to interact with Captain Pitch. Didn't seem like he recognized who he was talking to.
"I've got the fitting drink for someone like you."
The brown one said and gave Pitch an empty glass. Before the bartender filled his glass, Pitch reached into his pocket and presented five golden chips out on the table, which were formed like a square. Those squares were Pykes, Kytarium's currency.
"Five golden Pykes... Now, that's a rare amount for my old visor." The bartender became even more curious who that stranger was. Never did someone pay him so much at once for a simple drink. "However, I'm not sure if I should trust you... stranger."
Before Captain Pitch could growl at the brown bartender, another one joined in with their conversation. A somewhat dark, cyan-colored bean appeared behind the bartender and knocked him gently on his back. As a gesture to stop teasing with his new clients.
"Mapec, with all due respect but that's not how you do business with a new client." He said, kinda annoyed from his boss's attitude towards new clients. The dark cyan one moved him away from Pitch and took over the situation. Mapec only growled at his employee, not having enough energy to deal with this situation and distanced himself from the conversation instead.
"Hmph." Was the only word Mapec was able to say before he went somewhere else in the establishment.
"Please excuse my boss, sir", The cyan one apologized and filled Pitch's glass with a purple looking juice after he picked his Pykes up from the table. "Here's your drink. You must be thirsty."
No words were heard from Pitch. No answer. He only took his glass to take one sip. The flavor tasted delicious. The teal-colored bean took another glass from behind and began to clean it whilst Pitch enjoyed his drink.
An opportunity was formed for the teal bean to interact a bit more with his new client. This time, he hoped he would answer.
"My boss might be correct that you aren't from here. May I ask from where you are from?"
Pitch just finished his next sip and laid his glass back to the table. He moved his head up to the cyan bean and finally began to speak:
"From space." Pitch answered with his deepest voice he could make.
"Ah, a space traveler. I'm assuming you've lived in space for your whole life?" Curiosity increased within the cyan bean. He couldn't resist gaining more knowledge about his new client who he had to serve.
"Aye." Captain Pitch simply replied. Although Pitch wasn't here to interact with Aella's people, until the bar worker mentioned a familiar name.
"Space travelers... that reminds me of my father, Gabriel. I got told from my mother that he wanted to travel across space as well", He took a break and continued: "... and left our family."
Nothing but growling made Pitch after he mentioned about the loss of family. That wasn't a topic which he wanted to hear. Not in his presence. Not in his time where he wanted to relax. In time, the bar worker noticed that his client had sunk himself deeper into his cape. He understood immediately that he opened a mental scar accidentally.
The teal bean was done with cleaning the glass which he had in his hand during their conversation and put it back on the shelf behind him. He felt sorry that he mentioned this topic and felt empathy for the black bean.
"Anyhow... enjoy your drink, space traveler." He then said after he turned around to look at his client and went back to a separated room behind the bar shelves.
Finally left alone, Pitch could finally start to relax. Well... he tried it.
The ambience behind him made it challenging for him to keep his mindset calm and stable. Once again voices echoed inside his thoughts. Flashbacks zapped within his mind. A memory, a scream. A scream from his own father.
He wiped those memories off by taking another sip from his drink, but past memories kept appearing inside his head...
"Saros? Saros!" It was Moon who made her way through the hallways on the space station Wildwhirl, in hope to catch up with the magician.
She feared that he might have ended up in even more trouble after what Saros told her before he teleported himself to Captain Pitch's office again.
Worried and concerned, Moon caught sight of the injured red wizard in the distance. People around her did their usual work routines like nothing happened. Some of them were helping Saros to cure his scratches which were on his cheek. Not knowing what happened, the cyan commander ran to her friend.
"Saros!" Moon shouted his name loudly once again, in total discomposure and checked on him once she arrived. Saros was sitting on a bench which decorated the hallways. Besides the bench were huge plants with big leaves. The wizard held A cold towel on his cheek where he got the scratch and looked down in full agony. Mentally as well as physically.
He looked up as he heard Moon's voice shouting across the hallway. The others moved aside for the cyan commander.
"Oh Saros, what happened? Are you alright?"
"Pitch did this..." The wizard murmured. His voice was way too quiet for Moon to understand him.
"What did you say?"
With a louder voice, repeated Saros: "Pitch did this to me, Moon."
Not wanting to believe his words, the cyan commander shook her head after she finally understood his quiet words. She couldn't imagine how Captain Pitch could have possibly done this.
"I'm... pretty sure he didn't mean to hurt you, Saros." The commander tried to tell herself.
"But he did!", The wizard shouted loudly, winced painfully once he made that sudden movement and held his cold towel tighter on his cheek.
The red bean made short whimpering in agony also. "Ouch..."
Moon blinked irritated and full of disbelief with her own visor but petted him carefully on his shoulder to give him the needed comfort.
Memories still swam inside Pitch's mind and kept bothering him. Since he was alone, sitting on the bar's table, couldn't he get rid of the thoughts of how he treated Saros a while back. For some weird reason, he began to regret it.
He sunk himself deeper inside his cape the more he thought about that situation. Being aware that Saros only wanted to help.
Another voice became louder inside the saloon's kitchen and interrupted Pitch's mindful thoughts. Behind the shelves where bottles were stored was a separated entrance which led to their kitchen. He heard them arguing. Especially Mapec's voice was clearly heard. Out of curiosity stood Pitch up from his seat and eavesdropped them secretly. He saw Mapec arguing with the dark, teal-colored bean. Seemed like they were the only ones working in this saloon.
"I am your boss, Rowan", Mapec was angered. "... and you are my employee. You have no rights to roughhouse your own boss."
Rowan sighed as his boss walked closer to him to intimidate him. "I'm aware but this is not how you do business with new clients. I had to step in."
"To step in to roughhouse your own boss? The one who pays you and keeps your family alive?" Mapec reminded his employee. "You've absolutely no respect, mister."
"Boss, you'll only lose your new clients when you keep scaring them like -"
But Rowan got disturbed by Mapec's sharp claws, which he held up to threaten him. With slow steps walked the brown bean intimidating closer to Rowan. For Rowan it was an uncomfortable moment. He didn't know what his boss would do to him. He was frightened.
Suddenly, the teal-colored bean felt a wall behind his back. He wasn't able to walk backwards anymore, in hope to avoid whatever his boss was thinking to do to him. His boss's visor kept looking wrathful at his employee.
"I've never lost any clients in my entire career as a bartender, Mister Rowan. No matter how I treated them. You should have a bit more trust ..." Before he finished his sentence, Mapec's claw was on his way to grab Rowan's neck roughly. "... in your own boss."
Feelings arose inside Rowan's body. A protective feeling as he watched how his boss's claw threateningly came closer to his neck. The teal-colored bean made a sudden movement with his hands and a strong wind appeared inside the room once he did around his body. A wind which blew everyone inside the building and objects across the saloon. People screamed. Women and men alike. Table's fell by that strong breeze which Rowan created. Bottles fell and shattered.
Even Captain Pitch and Mapec had to grab on something to not get blown away by Rowan's ability.
Out of breath, Rowan looked around the mess which he just caused by protecting himself from his boss after he turned his power off.
"Argh!!", Mapec was even more livid now that Rowan destroyed his saloon. He held himself on an old kitchen table behind him and stood up. He created a fist and went to Rowan once again.
"Look what you've just done! You've destroyed my whole saloon!"
"I'm deeply sorry, boss", Rowan apologized. "I couldn't hold it back this time."
Pitch witnessed everything they said and observed how their clients inside the saloon stood up as well. They were confused and in shock. They didn't know what actually happened. The thunderstorm outside was still ongoing. Lightnings were seen behind the windows and door entrance whilst Pitch looked around the mess.
"And this time was your last." His boss meant, lividly. Not exactly knowing what he meant, Rowan asked him in confusion.
"My... last?"
"Yes, because you are fired!" He shouted angrily.
"What...? But boss, I have a family to take care of. You can't just -"
But he could.
Without any warning, Mapec slapped his employee, Rowan, square in his face.
Captain Pitch witnessed how he got slapped and thrown by the claw's impact on his face. How Rowan was thrown to the ground by that hit... It reminded Pitch about the situation which he had a few hours ago with his crew member. His fantasies replaced Rowan with Saros as he was crashing against the wall's corner. Boxes were standing there, and the teal bean landed directly on one of them.
Misery was all Rowan felt in that very moment once he crashed with his body right into the storage boxes. A thunder from outside echoed through the kitchen. The rain was pouring even louder against the windows. Except the thunderstorm, which was wildly roaring above the village, silence was the only one who kept them company.
Rowan was too much in discomfort to stay up. He was whimpering. His claws tried to go through the stones, which the saloon's foundation had, in hope to wipe off his current pain. Two scars which Rowan had on his own face, began to bleed. Some blood drops reached the foundation under him. Wrathfully Mapec looked down at his employee. He walked closer to him, to have a better look at the injured bean. Of course, Mapec felt nothing but disappointment.
After a moment of silence between them, could Rowan regain some energy to stay up. It took a long while. His legs were shaking once his feet held his body balance. Mirthlessly, the teal bean moved his visor to his boss's direction.
But he couldn't get one word out of his mouth.
With that, stumbled the dismayed bean out of the kitchen. Rowan didn't notice Pitch's figure near the kitchen's entrance once he passed by. People among them observed the teal-colored bean, how he walked out of the saloon for the last time.
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Chapter edited/corrected by: https://www.deviantart.com/spectra-shift