"Is here fine commander?"Hovering over a mostly empty civilian parking lot in the heavily populated mega city center of Cyprex the military transport created quite the comotion, but the occupants were all too used to it.
"Yeah this is perfect, see you in a few months lieutenant."
"Yes sir! Enjoy your time off."
Stepping out of the craft with those words Dax held onto his formal dress cap as he jumped down about 10 meters and landed on an empty parking spot.
"Now what to do?...."
Looking around completely ignoring the civilians that was asking if he was okay Dax was slightly lost for a moment he looked around to try and recognize the surroundings.
"Wait this is not section C32, where the h.e.l.l am I?"
"No this is section C32, they just moved around a few of the blocks to make s.p.a.ce for a new drydock."
As the crowd dispersed a man walked up to the confused Dax.
"Ah yeah I remember hearing about that…. When was that exactly?"
"10 years ago I think? How long have you been out of town?"
"For a bit yeah, I just finished a 20 year front line deployment so it"s been a while... Anyway, could you point me towards the nearest bar?"
Being one of the largest cities in the Galactic Empire, Cyprex covers most of the terran type planet where its located. Being somewhat intelligently designed the mega city has one centralized administrative zone that surrounds a truly ma.s.sive s.p.a.ce elevator used to move heavy goods into orbit. With the rest of the city spreading out in rings around that point, the city is numbered with alphabetic numbers from A to Z along the rotational axis and divided into movable mega grids that self organized based on directives from the centralized administration. The grids themselves that were numbered from their place from the center were also entirely mobile, and in the case of section C32 large population centers had been moved around to make room for a new drydock, to the great confusion of Dax. Finding the nearest bar worth his time, coincidentally located with view of the new drydock, Dax attracted much attention in his emblem-less military dress, but he quickly found a quiet corner to sit down.
"It really has been 20 years since I was off duty huh…"
Working pretty much every day for what could be considered a considerable part of a mortals lifespan, the immortal Dax didn"t really think much about it.
"Heeey do you want to order anything or are you just gonna sit there all day staring into the air?"
"Ah, yeah sorry about that."
having zoned out completely while reminiscing about the past, Dax was startled awake by a not so happy barmaid.
"So, what do want to order?"
"I"ll go order at the bar."
Leaving his jacket and dress cap at the table Dax completely ignored the barmaid"s annoyed stare as he located the bar.
"Could I have a double of that one over there please?"
Scanning the bar Dax quickly located a bottle he recognized, and then received a frown form the barmaster.
"That"ll be 20.000 credits."
"Sure~ G.o.d I"ve missed drinking."
Paying what could be used a months rent in a large apartment for a single drink without even blinking, the barmasters frown stiffened.
"H-here you go."
"Thanks~"
"You seem to be with the navy, but I don"t really recognize the uniform?"
Having looked closer at Dax after he had just added a considerable amount to the bar"s profits, the barmaster asked what branch of the navy Dax belonged to while polis.h.i.+ng a gla.s.s.
"That"s because this uniform is kind of unique, I"m from the 125th combined ops...o...b..tal drop troopers forward command."
"T-the 125th! In that case you don"t need to pay."
"No I"ll pay don"t worry."
"No there"s really no need, you"re part of the force that liberated Centrus-3a that"s my home world.. Hey Triss! This guy helped liberate our home!"
"Eh? Really!?"
Creating quite a commotion inside the bar Dax was quite distracted with something else.
(Centrus-3a…. What one was that again?)
Having liberrated about 20 systems in his last deployment Dax struggled to remember which one Centrus was.
"No really it"s fine I can pay, in fact please let me use my card I"ve been to the front for so long I"ve started forgetting how to pay for stuff… Hahaha."
Straining the smile of the barmaster (and everyone else listening to their conversation) even more, Dax enjoyed his first day off duty in a long while.
"Section C32 orphanage "Flower garden"... This seems to be it."
After waking up in the middle of the night to sober up and taking a shower, Dax made his way throughout the section and found himself in front of a large square building around noon. Making his way inside in military dress Dax once again attracted much attention and was soon stopped by a staff member.
"Welcome to the flower garden orphanage, what can I help you with?"
"Aaa good morning, my name is Dax and I"m here to pick up a kid."
"In that case please follow me to the adminastive office."
Quickly filling out the required paperwork Dax followed a care worker into the childrens area.
"Could you please tell me about the facilities you have here? Oh and about Lucy."
"Certainly. The flower garden is a joint orphanage, school and housing for kids up to the age of 16, our facilities are cutting edge and our schooling system especially producing all star graduates in all fields, with a focus on mathematics, science and human resources. We also-"
"Could you please tell me about Lucy?"
"- Yes… Lucy is… A troubled child. She s.h.i.+nes in the field of mathematics and engineering, but having been here since her birth when her mother died when she was born and her father die-"
"James and Louise where their names yeah. I was a friend of James and present when he died so I know the story, after all it was me that made sure she was admissioned to this facility. How exactly is she not thriving?"
"... She"s violent and non cooperrate with education."
"How so?"
"Lucy is an active child, in fact a bit to active. She keeps wanting to play around in cla.s.s after physical activity."
"How old is she now?"
"Lucy is 11 years old."
"So the 11 year old child is too active…."
"Yes very much so, here we are, Lucy should be playing with the other children over he- Lucy what are you doing!?"
Arriving in an artificial garden, the caretaker quickly spotted Lucy, a kid that Dax thought was short for her age with shoulder length hair, oh and she was currently beating the s.h.i.+t out of a kid twice her size.
(Impressive..)
Admiring Lucy"s ferocity Dax slowly walked over to her with a large smile on his face.
"You really are their kid huh?"
"Sir, could you please help me separate them!?"
Not able to handle the kids herself, the young caretaker pleaded Dax for help.
"Okay then…."
Walking over Dax removed the caretaker and then pulled the kids apart and lifted Lucy to his own eye level, which she responded with by punching him in the face.
"PUT ME DOWN!"
"That was a really good punch, did you guys teach her that?"
"Of course not! Lucy what have I told you time and time, violence is never the answer!"
"No miss I have to disagree at that point. Violence is always the answer, there"s nothing you can"t solve with violence. The tricky part is figuring out if the violence you need to exert is worth the result you want."
"I SAID PUT ME DOWN OR I"LL PUT YOU DOWN!"
Still punching and clawing Dax in the face as he talked Dax was getting even more impressed with Lucy.
"You really are your parents child."
"YOU DON"T KNOW ME OR MY PARENTS!"
"Lucy you need to calm down right now or I-"
"That is the last time you"ve threatened this kid, leave us for a moment."
"I-"
"Leave. Now."
With a large smile on his face Dax released enough bloodl.u.s.t to make even the caretaker s.h.i.+t her pants.
"O-okay.. Come on kids, they need a moment."
Setting down Lucy after they were left alone in the garden, Dax crouched down to her eye level.
"Hallo Lucy, my name is Dax and I was a friend of your mom, Louise, and dad, James. I"ve come here to take you with me home."
Falling silent Lucy put on a difficult face for a moment before she asked in a quiet and nervous tone.
"Did you really know them?"
"Yup~ You have your dad"s eyes and your mom"s ears."
"Really?"
"Yes. But most importantly you have inherited both their ferocity, it is really impressive."
"Is it? I found out if I punch that way it doesn"t hurt as bad after. Vicktor- the guy I was fighting- had really been annoying me for the past week saying that he at least knew his parents and kept saying that my mom was a drug addict so I punched him in the-"
Having her rage acknowledged as a positive trait for the first time in her life, Lucy"s face lit up as she made her best attempt at impressing Dax with stories she rushed to remember. Before any of them had realized half an hour had pa.s.sed and Dax felt it was time to cut to the heart of the current topic.
"Do you want to come and live with my and my family Lucy? Like it is here I won"t tolerate unnecessary violence, but I"ll promise you that you"ll get to play and train as much as you want, and I"ll even teach you how to fight like me."
"... Can I really come with you?"
"Yeah."
"I won"t be a bother?"
"Nope~ Not to brag or anything but I"m pretty rich, I even own a private resort no one else knows anything about~"
"Then I want to go with you!"
Without hesitation Lucy accepted Dax"s outstretched hand with a large and radiant smile.
"Okay then~ Let"s go and fill out the paperwork and get your things Lucy~"
"Umm."
"What is it, you can tell me."
"I don"t really like that name, it"s one the caretakers gave to me."
Making a serious face Dax quickly crouched down to Lucy"s eye level.
"Then we need a new name for you…."
"Could you give me one?"
Making a face Dax coudn"t disappoint even if his life depended on it, Dax"s answer was obvious.
"Of course. Let me see then…. How about Lux?"
"Lux?"
"Yeah, Lux is a measure of Illuminance, or how much something s.h.i.+nes, just like your smile when and when you"re fighting you s.h.i.+ne brilliant without comparison."
"Ummm, I like it!"
"Really? Okay then, from this moment you"re Lux, daughter of Louise and James, Lux Louise Jameson."
"Um!~"
Being raised by Dax, with the help from the brilliant Avoxaian sisters Ra and Mu, Lux grew up to become a brilliant marine officer and was quickly a.s.signed to Dax"s elite unit as master armourer, a result achieved completely with her own efforts.
---
"Dax, are you okay?"
"Yeah sorry Lux, I zoned out."
In the city of Kingstead Dax was startled out of his daze by his trusted second in command.
"You really are getting old dad~"
"Oh come on James is your dad."
"He is, and I have 2 dads and a mom."
"Okay then, so what is happening?"
"The kids are acting up."
Pointing behind her towards Alice and Terra that had been playing some strange sport with some local youngsters.
"Okay I"ll do something about it."
Walking over to them as Lux stood by with and watched with a smile.
"Come on Terra it"s just a fun compet.i.tion, Dax you say something to her."
Upset with how serious Terra took the game Alice called over Dax that was watching from the side lines.
"Terra my pupil, you"re doing it wrong.."
"I"m sorr-"
"No please let me finish, I remember being in a similar situation with my mom… Yeah I was playing ball with a few local kids just after we moved. Anyway I did the same thing you"re doing now, so I"ll repeat my words directly as I heard them. She told me: "Dax, my lovely son, compet.i.tion like this is not about winning or losing, it"s about making connections with new friends and learning their culture, growing a understandment of their hearts and minds... But most importantly it"s about completely and entirely crus.h.i.+ng the opponent.""
"Eh?"
Listening along with a smile forming, Alice"s expression froze when Dax took the pep talk in an entirely new direction.
"It"s about truly and utterly crus.h.i.+ng their spirit."
"I think I get it!"
"Eh?"
"Yes my disciple, it matters hardly if your winning or losing, or even having fun. The most important part is that the opponent sufferers, you must entirely crush the hostiles spirit and soul-"
"Dax!?"
"-You must make them realize that they are worthless and like dust before you-"
"DAX STOP!?"
Interrupting the tender bonding between student and master Alice shouted as she cut between them with a panicked face.
"What, you wanted me to say something to her? Anyway go out and have fun Terra, just remember what is most important~"
"Um~ I understand teacher, no, master!"
With newfound respect for her teacher Terra happily went back to the field with new and explosive determination.
"I finally feel like I understand this whole teaching thing~"
Having motivated his pupil Dax was in quite a good mood.
"..."
"What?"
But alas Alice was poking holes into his side with her eyes.
"Did you ever play with those kids again?"
"No, never.. Thinking about it that is the strangest thing, I never even saw those kids again…"
"I feel like I know why…"
Mumbling to herself as she wore a stained smile Alice learned something new about Dax that day.
"I don"t really see anything wrong with that."
"Not you too Lux…"
"Call me big sister~ It"s so obvious the whole thing going on with you~"
"EH!? Is it?- I mean I don"t know what you"re talking about!!"
"You have my support~"