Chapter 8
"I can't believe you're actually here to rebuild a bedroom." Nut looked at Fang who had been in the middle of pulling out the debris by the bed, "I'm pretty sure Captain Solar wasn't being serious when he told you to do construction."
Fang grunted as he wrenched out one of the burnt metals wedged between the headboards, "Even if he wasn't. I could tell he was being serious about the whole "action speaks louder than apologies" spiel."
"Ah... well. He is a man of logic." Nut joked, "But what are you apologizing for? You helped take down the criminals, right? Damages like these are to be expected."
"Err- well I was a clutz and ended up doing most of this damage." Fang said hastily and went back to gathering more metal plates to replace, "Besides, the jerk wouldn't stop reminding me how much he misses his old room."
"Huh." Nut paused from pulling out the wires of the security panel he had been working on, "That's funny."
"What is?" Fang frowned as he turned to the mechanic, "Something wrong with his lock?"
"No," Nut went back to burying his hands into the circuitry, "I just thought it's weird he'd say something like that when he never comes to this room."
"What?! But his things are here!" Fang aggressively pressed the switch to his closet as proof.
He was also trying not to be suspicious as to how he had known that tiny bit of information.
"I usually hang out at the laboratory during my spare time or if I need an opinion in some new equipment I'm building with the other scientists." Nut stood up and walked over to the open closet,
"Most of the time I'd run into Caha- I mean, Captain Solar and there was this one time I caught him sleeping there next to his experiments! So I tried waking him up to get him back to his room, but he said he hated it there and would usually sleep in the laboratory or in his office."
Nut kneeled down and pulled out the dusty looking books from inside the drawers to analyze them, "He used to read these before he became Captain. I guess now I know where they ended up."
Then it hit Fang like a ton of bricks.
The reason why Solar's room had been the total opposite of his and Kaizo's...
It made sense now why the luxurious quarters had been so clean and free of clutter and papers which a usually busy Captain was surrounded with.
And now that he thought about it, for someone who was obviously a perfectionist like Solar, he should've been angrier that his room was trashed, and yet- he had been unnervingly calm about it the whole time they talked about the break-in.
"Wait..." Fang dropped the metal plate he had been carrying "So he's been pulling my leg this whole time?!"
Because apparently, his room had only been some sort of storage unit for his old things!
"I'm afraid so, my friend." Nut said sympathetically as he placed the book back, only to freeze when he caught sight of a familiar cap while the other took a deep breath, trying to stave off the need to punch a certain Captain for like the hundredth time since he became a part of his team.
"I swear when I'm around that selfish narcissist, I end up looking like an idiot!" Fang scowled as he kicked the debris, "Whenever I try to do him a favor it just gets thrown right to my face. No wonder he doesn't have his brothers-"
"Hey, don't be like that, Fang." Nut frowned at him disapprovingly, "There are two sides of that story and the only side you've heard are from rumors."
Fang felt himself flush in shame, before looking away annoyed "Adudu told me he abandoned them."
"And? You believe him?"
"Well the Captain did say he knew Adudu well, which also means that Adudu knew him just as much if not for all the information the alien spilled to me." Fang reasoned which Nut, surprisingly, nodded his head in agreement.
"You're right about that part. Adudu had been a nuisance to Captain Solar and his brothers since they were kids so you could say they're like- childhood frenemies."
"What?"
"Long story. Anyway- Adudu may know a lot about them, but he's not someone you can easily trust about personal things like that. He's basically their arch nemesis," The engineer placed the cap back into the drawer, "And you don't talk about personal matters like that to your nemesis do you?"
Fang paused as a certain alien popped into his mind, "How about Captain Azlan?"
He watched as Nut's back turned rigid, "What about him?"
Fang narrowed his eyes at the reaction and explained, "Yesterday, I got to learn a lot about Captain Solar because of him."
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"So, how's it like being in his team?" Captain Azlan asked Fang who self-consciously unwrapped his sandwich for his meal.
The tall alien had invited him for lunch insisting he wanted to get to know the new member of the main Headquarters. Especially since he was from Team Solar.
"Fine." Fang responded, unsure of what to expect with the very friendly guy in front of him.
Apparently, he had been the new gossip around.
The infamous Captain finally having his first-ever comrade for his non-existent team. And said member was a transfer from the popular Rebel Team no less.
Fang tried not to show how secretly pleased he was at the popularity he was gaining.
"Come on, you don't have to hold back with me. I know what that grump is like." Azlan huffed as he leaned back while taking a bite out of his own sandwich, "We used to be in the same team after all."
Fang almost choked on his food.
"The two of you?!"
"Yeah, didn't you know?" Those scarlet eyes looked back at him, twinkling with amusement, "Before he became the Captain he was now, of course he needed a team after he went and abandoned his old one."
He sorely wanted to ask more, but he didn't want to seem desperate.
And as much as he was curious about his Captain, he had been thoroughly scolded over his lack of distinguishing facts and rumors.
Though that didn't seem to stop him from looking at the older Captain with wide curious eyes, making the other chuckle good-naturedly.
"Believe it or not, we had been under Captain Papa Zola, along with two other aliens. One was from planet Ata Ta Tiga who's been transferred to a different sector a long time ago-forgot his name, and the other was the recently appointed Captain Dian herself." Azlan explained, "We were... not the most stable of teams."
"How so?" Fang couldn't help but ask, despite his struggle of trying to act all indifferent.
"Solar was very difficult to work with." The alien admitted, "Always going on about his plans that were a tad too risky and dangerous. But our Captain had this favoritism with him since he had been his student since his childhood, so he would often side with him and would cause us arguments here and there."
"Sounds tough..." Fang commented with a wince. He couldn't imagine having such an unorganized team with his previous one. They always worked well together like a well-oiled machine that hiccups in their plans were usually a rare occurrence.
"It was. Every mission was a nightmare." Azlan continued while munching on his lunch, "Whenever we fail to keep up with his unrealistic expectations, he would tell us right in our faces how incompetent we were without batting an eye. He was just not a team player."
"Huh... sounds familiar." He muttered bitterly and sighed, "Today's my first day as part of his team, and all I got was an earful of how I could've been better."
"Those were the times." The alien chuckled as he patted him on the back in comfort, "You get to save the galaxy one time by accidentally blasting yourself out to space and you expect everyone to treat you like some sort of hero and that you're always right. Unfortunately, Captain Solar doesn't seem to see his own flaws."
Fang wanted to agree to that, but he couldn't help but feel guilty talking behind his Captain's back out of spite. Especially to someone he barely knew.
What if this guy went and tattle to the human about his own misgivings about him?
He'd definitely end up getting sent back to Kaizo.
"But hey, don't let him get to your head. I know you're a talented guy especially since you're from Team Kaizo. That guy's a legend." The Captain said, mistaking his unease as insecurity, "And anyone who ever got to be a part of his team is also a legend."
"Thank you, Captain." He said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Though, really, it's all Captain Kaizo. His leadership skills are topnotch and he's good at making us incorporate our roles during a mission."
"Don't sell yourself short." The man chuckled, "But hey, here I am ranting about our past failures- I never got to hear your side of the story."
"My side of the story?"
"Well, you came from an elite team and you suddenly transferred to Solar's- THE Captain who's never had a team until now." Azlan looked at him, eyes shining with curiosity, "Obviously there's a story behind this."
"Not really. I just wanted to follow my brother's footsteps and be a Captain too." Fang shrugged, peeling off more paper from his sandwich trying to act nonchalant, "One thing led to another and apparently, the only way for me to achieve that was to have Captain Solar as my mentor."
The booming laughter almost made Fang jump in surprise.
"Solar? A mentor? HA!" Azlan shook his head in disbelief, trying to calm himself down when he noticed the attention he garnered, "I'm sorry if I sound mean. Sure the guy's smart but he's got zero patience when it comes to new recruits. He's definitely not teacher material."
"Well, yeah but-"
"And he's definitely not someone you'd want to be in a team with." All the humor left the tall alien as he pointed at his right eye, "See this scar? Solar is the one responsible for this."
Then all the tension seemed to amplify at this new discovery.
"...what?" Fang looked at him in pure disbelief, not believing what he just heard.
He never thought of someone like Captain Solar to actually cause physical harm to allies.
Though he did just threaten a whole batch of new recruits on a minefield. But Fang was pretty sure there had been safety procedures during that time and that the Captain had it under control if someone were to step out of line.
"This is the result of someone who refuses to cooperate with his team mates and disregards everyone's opinion but his own!" For the first time since they spoke, anger and bitterness laced Azlan's tone, "I know you've heard of praises about this guy but that's because they only see the surface and the results of the missions. I, on the other hand, knew what he's like. And I know, you do too."
"Captain..."
"You've seen it too haven't you?" The Captain asked, his eyes narrowing at him, "His ignorance and selfishness? His need to be always right and be the superior over everything? Even without his rank, he had always been like this. He will see you as nothing but a tool to get to his goal."
Fang pursed his lips when he remembered the sudden acceptance of his offer to be his mentor and practically complimented him with his sharp thinking- only for his opinion to turn 180-degrees the next time they saw each other.
His inconsistencies were definitely suspicious and he would be lying if Azlan's words were not getting to him.
"You still have a chance though, Lance Corporal. Don't let him get to you. He's not as perfect as you think he is." The tall alien then looked around before leaning forward to whisper, "He actually has a weakness. And if you come to watch his lesson with the recruits tomorrow morning, you'll be able to see it."
Fang frowned and was about to ask him what he meant when he saw the time and realized he was supposed to head back to the conference room to meet up with Solar.
"I should get going, thank you for your advices and inputs, Captain." Fang said with a salute.
With a nod from the other, he hastily made his way to the doors of the cafeteria only to be stopped by a familiar voice.
"For your information, the Kang Kongs from Planet Quabaq gave him that scar."
Dread filled Fang to the core as he turned to see Solar leaning against the wall near the entrance. His face unreadable and suspiciously calm.
"C-Captain! I-" How much did he hear?
The other pushed himself off the wall and started heading back to the office with a wave, "You don't need to report this afternoon, Lance Corporal. I don't want to get in the way with you making friends."
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Fang could already feel Nut's 'I-told-you-so' look as he tried kicking more debris out of the way.
"Captain Azlan of all people? He hates Captain Solar. And I've heard he's usually the reason why the new recruits get the guts to prank someone like Captain Solar." The engineer shook his head, "I did try to warn you about getting involved with all these rumors. It never ends well."
"Well- it's not exactly rumors anymore!" Fang exclaimed defensively, "Most of what he shared was true! He really was a teammate of Captain Solar before! I saw the records and-"
"Did you even try talking to your Captain?" Nut turned to him, exasperated, "You've practically heard every story about him from different people but not once did you try asking the source of it all."
"As if he'd tell me anything." Fang scoffed, but he was definitely feeling the guilt worsen at his friend's reaction.
"That's because you never tried to." The mechanic said as he sat on the dusty bed and patted the space next to him, inviting Fang to sit with him, "I said this before and I'll say it again. If you're going to be a team, you're going to need to trust each other. But if you keep going behind his back like this you might end up losing that trust. For good."
Fang sighed and sat beside him, "That's the thing though... I don't think I trust him either."
"Then talk to him. Even if you think he won't listen or understand, what matters is you're trying to make it work between you two."
Which was obviously what he had not been trying for the past encounters he had with the Captain. He really wasn't going to learn anything if all he did was go around Solar trying to avoid him, instead of facing him head on.
He is difficult, hard to talk with, and irritably snobby. But the human also had a complicated past that he obviously had to work through if he wanted to get somewhere with him.
And obviously, gossiping about him wasn't really going to get him anywhere.
He huffed, "You're right."
Nut gave him a grin before standing up to check on the security panel once more, "Now I know why you suddenly decided to head here to help with the room. The guilt is eating you alive, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but now I know that it's a huge waste of time since the jerk doesn't even go here to sleep!" Fang groaned as he massaged his head in annoyance, "I mean seriously! Why does he hate it here-"
He stopped when his eyes landed on the huge glass window situated by the head of the bed.
One of the rare features he actually gets to see in any sleeping quarters and offices.
"You get to save the galaxy one time by accidentally blasting yourself out to space and you expect everyone to treat you like some sort of hero and that you're always right-
"Nut... when you said that Captain almost killed himself during that battle with Vargoba... did he really get thrown across space?" He could feel gears turning in his head and a very bad feeling started settling in his guts...
"Oh yeah, I never told you guys about that, huh? Your brother actually saved him before it was too late- h-hey where are you going?!"
Fang made a dash for the exit and to Solar's office.
"He actually has a weakness. And if you come to watch his lesson with the recruits tomorrow morning, you'll be able to see it."
He never really thought much about that weird proposition from Azlan. Thinking he had been talking about how Solar probably couldn't stand for too long during his lectures or he'll get a back pain- or how his throat would get all scratchy when he talks for too long- basically, something stupidly minor.
But now, he was slowly putting two and two together.
His brother had talked to him about how one of the cadets had resigned TAPOPS due to his trauma from almost getting killed in one of their missions.
Because they couldn't sleep at night.
Because they couldn't control their panic attacks.
Because they couldn't stand around for too long on certain triggers.
And Captain Solar had been thrown into that dark galaxy for who knows how long. Alone in the dark- unsure if he was going to die and- and-
Captain Azlan knew Solar.
He had been Solar's teammate.
They've probably been in enough missions for him to find out or figure out that their so-called perfect teammate actually had a weakness.
And today, based on the schedule Fang saw (he was trying to check the areas he should avoid the Captain who was probably still mad at him), he was supposed to have a training schedule with the recruits in one of the simulation training rooms.
A training room where you can manipulate the entire area based on the user's preference. May it be a jungle, a deserted wasteland, the sea... or the outer space.
"Captain Azlan of all people? He hates Captain Solar. And I've heard he's usually the reason why the new recruits get the guts to prank someone like Captain Solar."
He could only hope he was wrong and that he had been overthinking the whole thing.
He barged into the office and as expected, found it empty. He had at least hoped that the light-manipulator was still around but should've known better. Instead, he rummaged through the drawers of his desk and was relieved to see the familiar power watch before quickly heading for the-
"MAKE A RUN FOR IT!"
Fang almost ran into a stampede of familiar recruits on his way to the training room.
All of them look scared and horrified and were pushing each other to get out of the way.
Fang kept himself pressed against the wall before grabbing one of them who squeaked at the sudden grip.
"What's going on?!"
"I-it's the Captain! He j-just went berserk!"
Fang growled, "And what exactly did you do that he just went 'berserk'?!"
The alien cried, "It was just a harmless prank! C-Captain Azlan said it would be funny to watch Captain Solar clumsily trying to float around outer space- so w-we locked him in the simulation room while he wasn't looking a-and-"
Fang didn't need to hear more to confirm his fears as he ran for the training room like his life depended on it.
This was very, very bad-
He finally arrived to his destination and smashed on the panel's buttons trying to get the doors open.
"-HAVE TO STOP OR YOU'LL DESTROY THE ENTIRE HEADQUARTERS!"
Fang braced himself against the rush of hot air that suddenly escaped as soon as he got in. He froze when he saw Azlan by the other side, trying to protect himself against the continuous pressure and heat lashing against the shield he held.
"SOLAR!"
And in the middle of the training room was Captain Solar himself, bright and piercing across the starry expanse that surrounded him. The hands pointing at the other Captain glowed just as bright as his eyes that Fang couldn't even see his irises anymore- and behind him was the crescent shape of the eclipse.
Fang didn't need to know that this move was bad news and slapped the watch on his wrist.
He needed to snuff that light out or TAPOPS will be doomed.
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End of Chapter
He meant the skill. Of course.