Tucked away in a booth with a window view of the Red Dwarf in the center of the system, one of the stations regulars would be sat alone, a pint of Ale and a PDA on the table his only company. He would take a sip of the Ale every few minutes whilst occasionally glancing to the PDA to check the time, as he checked it for the fourth time and saw that it was now twenty minutes past the agreed meeting time resulting in a disappointed sigh. After another five minutes had passed and the pint of Ale was almost empty the man was about to give up and leave before the bar to door would open and the woman he was waiting for would storm in.
She would be around 5,11 in height, athletic build, with hair that had recently been dyed black. She would be wearing a dark grey flight suit that would currently been pulled down to sit at her waist paired with a white t-shirt that had been worn underneath the flight suit. In her right hand she would be gripping a flight helmet that matched the colour of the space suit, the helmet would bear a drawing of a bird that would be situated just above and to the right of the visor, the bird itself would be a crude sketch of a species native to Yuma.
The pilot that had just stormed in would swiftly make their way over towards the regular who sat alone before slamming the helmet down on the table and taking a seat. The force with which she had slammed the helmet down would cause the regular to raise an eyebrow, but there would be no sign of shock or anger at the action on his face.
The two would sit in silence for a moment before the regular would open his mouth to speak.
"It's bad news then, I take it?"
The woman who sat across from him would simply stare at him, and as he searched her brown eyes, he would have his answer.
"Give it to me straight, 'Becks."
He would say with a stern voice, steeling himself for confirmation of the thing he'd feared for the last few months now. 'Becks would scowl at the man across from her before breaking her own silence.
"Bonito is off limits to anyone without authorization. And I had no luck asking around the rest of the system about Oz."
This revelation would leave the man confused at the source of 'Becks' anger, whilst it wasn't the best news it was far from confirming their worst fears.
"So what's got you so pissed off then? We were both expecting worse."
'Becks would let out a sigh, clearly hesitant to answer the question.
"Alex, if you want to know you can buy me a bloody pint, otherwise mind your own fucking business."
'Becks would hiss but unfortunately for her it would have the opposite effect to the one she had hoped for as Alex's answer would come instantly as he stood up to make his way towards the bar.
"Deal."
'Beck's head would collapse into the table as she realised just what exactly she had done, instantly regretting not just brushing the question off, she swore under her breath as she was left alone at the table.
Alex would erupt into a roar of laughter as 'Beck's finally finished recounting the events in Baffin, earning himself an icy glare in response. However, too amused to notice Alex would continue laughing and even joking about the matter.
"Wow, you really put that Harper charm to good use didn't you, Rebecca?
He would sarcastically remark, which would do no favours for Rebecca's mood as her hands that lay on the table would form into fists, fists that didn't go swinging towards Alex's jaw simply because of the fact that her temper exploding had already done enough damage for one day and she was acutely aware of that fact even now.
Her anger at that remark wouldn't go unnoticed, and as he caught sight of the balled fist, Alex would feel a twinge of guilt, only now realising just how thrown off Rebecca would be.
"Sorry, shouldn't have laughed, are you-"
He'd be cut off before he could even finish asking.
"No, but nothing you can do about it.
Rebecca would coldly state before taking a sip from her pint of Lager on the table. And while Alex went quiet trying to think of an answer, her mind would wander, the time she had spent in Baffin had left her unconvinced that Oz of all people would buy into their religion, no matter how disturbed he had become in the days since the evacuation of Leeds.
"I've got a lead on who I might be able to talk to about getting on board Bonito, but being honest, I'm not sure your intel is accurate on this one, Alex, I just can't see Oz with them."
Her voice would be calmer and quieter now and Alex would be able to pick up a note of concern as she broke the silence, seemingly not expecting much should she be able to get onboard Pueblo Bonito.
"'Becks, the war is done, it's not intel, it's exactly where he said he was going, and trust me, considering the stuff he said, I'm certain he has to be there.
Alex's insistence would be enough to momentarily distract Rebecca from her own internal drama and his comment about the war as she would shoot Alex an odd look.
"What exactly did he say to you anyway? And did he speak to any of the others?"
Alex would let out a brief sigh, but as he saw Rebecca's eye locked directly onto his, he would be able to see she wasn't asking out of just idle curiosity.
"He said plenty about how spreading discord could right the wrongs of the Sirius Sector and something about the grace of the Goddess Iris lighting the path. Isn't that literally the entire manifesto of the Discordians?"
If it wasn't for the circumstances, Rebecca might have been amused by the fact that Alex actually knew what the word Manifesto meant, but instead as of this moment Rebecca was finding her own doubts to be amplified and she grew yet more concerned.
"Iris? Not Eris?
Alex would nod in response.
"You're sure?"
"Yes, positive."
The pair would go silent for a time, and as they did Rebecca would be lost in her own thoughts, trying to avoid focusing on the harm she'd caused so many she cared for naught but a few hours ago, she'd try and distract herself from it for the moment by thinking pack on everything she'd seen of the Discordians in Baffin, but the more she thought on it, a gnawing realization would begin to build.
"Then either Oz didn't really understand the Discordians or..."
Alex would interject as she trailed off on the second possibility.
"Or what?"
"Or Oz lied."
She would brace herself for an outburst from Alex at even the thought of the possibility, but instead he would just have a confused frown on his face.
"Why would he?"
"Great question, one we can ask after I talk to these Polyfathers... Rebecca would briefly pause before she would continue, and as she'd continue her sentence in what was almost a whisper. ...and I try and unfuck half the damage I've caused today.
She stand up as she said it and she would begin to make her way to the door, Alex only able to get out an "Okay" before she left the table.
Once Rebecca had reached the exit, she would immediately set off towards the room she had rented, she was going to have a long day ahead of her tomorrow, and she was already dreading what she was expecting to come with it and she would be better off facing it fully rested, assuming of course the sea of despair she was currently experiencing would let her.
Returning to the very same spot that had paved the beginning of the implosion of the one good thing that Rebecca had going for her at the time did no favors to her currently wrecked nerves, which were terrified at the prospect of how the lie she had managed to sell for so many years was about to be unraveled entirely by her own hands of all things. Coupled with the sudden re-emergence of the guilt that hounded her for the last few months, resulted in Rebecca pacing along the hanger deck as she waited on her little brother, fresh back from what she thought was his death but actually turned out to be a life of piracy that had morphed into some sort of personal, one man war being waged against the Core out in the Edge Worlds.
When Jason finally did appear, after eventually managing to sort out a hanger spot with the station's traffic control and having landed at long last. The mixed feelings that had made it nearly impossible for Rebecca to have a meaningful conversation with the sibling she had believed to be lost years ago during the height of the war on Leeds, reared their head once more.
Resentment mixed with joy and a slight twinge of pride quickly over washed with a sea of sorrow as she recalled her conversation with Rodrigo, blaming herself for Jason's desertion due to her over-protectiveness.
The shorter of the siblings, Jason was dressed casually in a wine-red hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head paired with black cargo pants and tan work boots, leaving an unflattering and unfashionable mix of colors. Yet, it still left the impression there was some attempt at fashion compared to Rebecca's white T-shirt paired with her trademark brand of combat pants and tactical boot mix. The sentimental dog tags hanging around her neck were the last piece required to leave the impression of a ragged soldier long past caring about any semblance of fashion.
Jason was the first of the siblings to speak. His shaky voice told her he was just as nervous about what would happen as she was.
"You ready?"
"Sure."
The confidence Rebecca was hoping her voice projected fell flat in the air, but she began making her way towards the bar that had served as a rendevous since the start of this saga before Jason even had a chance to comment on it.
The bar would be quiet at this hour, leaving Alex Lynch's blonde hair and traditional IMG member's attire easily picked out by Rebecca as the veteran-turned-miner sat at a table with a pint in front of him, his view facing out one of the windows that provided a rather breath-taking view of Tau-Twenty-Nines red dwarf, unaware of the siblings approaching behind him.
"Lynchie, I've got something you need to know."
Alex stood up to turn and face Rebecca as soon as he heard her voice, stopping halfway as he saw Jason standing beside her. Alex's face turned pale, and his jaw dropped, the utter shock of staring at what he believed to be a ghost.
Rebecca cursed herself as Alex remained stuck for a moment, realizing she had just done the same thing to Alex that Jason had done to her by dropping back into her life unannounced.
Jason was about to speak before Alex seemed to regain his senses and rapidly closed the distance and Rebecca noticed Jason flinch as if he expected Alex to swing at him like she had back on Freeport 14, only for both of the siblings to be surprised when Alex would embrace Jason with a tight hug.
"Bloody hell, it's good to see you mate."
The sheer joy in Alex's voice caught both Rebecca and Jason off guard, though Rebecca wondered how long such joy might remain once she had explained the truth of what happened.
Pulling back from the hug, Alex noticed the look of confusion on both siblings' faces, and began to laugh.
"Oh, right, I bet she told you we didn't know it was you who took that ship."
"I'm sor-"
"You kn-."
The siblings were both cut off by Alex before either could finish.
"Ah, would you two fuckin' stop we can sort that shite later, got something that might lead to Oz'.'"
Alex pointed to the table he was sat at and waited for the two siblings to take a seat before he continued on.
"Had a communication's tech on Java pull Oz's comm logs, guess who the last person he talked to was?'"
Alex's mouth twisted into a shit eating grin as he watched the two sibling's faces immediately turned to scowls before he shook his head at how alike the two were, which only caused the grin to grow larger and larger. Alex clearly enjoying every moment of it before he finally let what he had left to say spill.
"The Lyttleton estate on none other than Cambridge.'"
Rebecca immediately frowned at the revelation, and Jason raised a confused eyebrow. A cautious side glance alerting him to the almost accusatory look on his sister's fac, he'd almost expected another outburst.
"You said you spoke to the captain already, are you seriously telling me Ant also lied now?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions."
"Well, that's why I was thinking me and you could pay the old bastard a visit, but hell he'd be even happier to see Jason as well as you."
Jason's glance was cast downwards but Rebecca spoke before Jason got the chance to say anything, her voice filled with determination.
"No, I'm going alone, It seems I need to have a private chat with the good captain anyway."
"But-"
"But-"
It was Rebecca's turn to cut off Alex and Jason now, her voice held a barely contained fury as she began laying down what would happen next to the two before she pulled herself up from the table.
"I haven't forgotten what we agreed, Jace, so if you two want, you can send him a message together after Jace gets all his shite off his chest."
Rebecca began marching off towards the exit, reaching Cambridge was the only focus on her mind at the moment before she stopped and turned to look at her brother and the only remaining childhood friend she and Jason had left.
"Oh, and you can let the captain I'm coming by as well while you're at it."
Was the last thing Rebecca said to either of them before continuing on her way. The two men left shared a look at each other before Alex looked down at the table in front of him and his voice barely whisper as if just realising he had unleashed something he wouldn't even wish on his worst enemy.
"Bad bloody day to be the Cap."
Jason remained silent, deeply troubled by what had just taken place until Alex looked back up from him at the table. Another almost infectious grin crossed his lips as he looked at Jason. Any internal crisis about what he had just done seemingly forgotten just as quickly as he had realised it.
"Well, mate, it's been too bloody long since we had a drink, and you bet your arse I wanna' hear what trouble you managed to find yourself in without me."
Before Jason was even given the chance to protest, Alex was already on his feet and making his way toward the bar. Watching from the table, Jason couldn't help but crack a smile at how little seemingly had changed and the weight that talking to his best friend once again had just removed.
