It was almost the truth. All of that happened, except the explaining the mix up and coming back from the dead. In reality, when Lusac found out from the hospital staff that he was undocumented due to an error with his chip, he took the opportunity to escape the military he'd been conscripted into. He wouldn't have made it far except for finding the Argo and begging Captain Tave to take him on. After that, it'd been two years of hard work to prove himself worthy of the risk he presented to the crew. Supposedly, other, larger ships took on deserters without fear, but they had the resources to keep those crew members hidden in a way that a small crew like the Argo's couldn't match.
Shent began grinning once again. "That's some story. I imagine you've seen a lot of action. And I heard about Zarlk-Thoi's death. I was sure she'd be the one to outlast us all."
Lus swallowed, trying to accept the unexpected news about his old friend without showing any of that shock. "Yeah. I miss her. It sure sucks having all our friends die off."
His friend put his arm around Lus's shoulders. "Let's not dwell on the deaths. I deal with that crap all day. Why don't we go out drinking tonight? I can get the rest of the day off and show you the real sights around here."
"I can't believe you're in a museum at all," Lus commented, though he walked slowly, keeping Shent from leading him too far away.
"Just on my lunch break. I like to get away when I can, and museums are sort of my only option on this dump. Truthfully, it all starts to blur together anyway after two or three."
Lus stopped in his tracks and slapped his forehead. "I forgot that I already made plans with my squad tonight. And I'm due back on ship tomorrow. I'm sorry, Resiw. I really wish I could go out, but we'll just have to catch up next time."
Shent dropped his arm and his smile. "Come on, Lusac. It's been years. Blow off your squad. They'll understand."
"I can't, Shent. I'm sorry. If I'd known you were stationed here, I'd have reached out sooner." Lus checked his watch. "And I'm already going to be late meeting up with them. Next time, okay?"
"Yeah. Whatever. Get going, hotshot," Shent said, attempting to regain some of his teasing.
"Stay safe, paperboy." Lusac waved as he made his way to the stairs, but he didn't look back once he started down them. He knew Cewi was going to be pissed he didn't finish his job, but she'd probably be even more upset when she found out why.
"Good cover, Lus. But do you think he'll go to security?" Vqltrn's voice faintly asked.
"No. He has no reason to. If we're lucky, he'll go drink away his misery alone, and we'll be long gone before he decides to investigate," Lus said. Shent was thorough, but why would he start poking around in Lus's story? Plenty of mix ups with id chips happened that resulted in living soldiers being marked for dead.
Still, a pang of guilt struck through Lus as he realized his family would have been informed about what happened. Part of him hated them for what they did to him, but he did his best to redirect that anger to the real criminals: the Feds and the Corporates who started this worthless war. First the Feds mined everything that made Treft valuable and left the people to starve, and then the Corporates swooped in to "save the day" by offering food in exchange for soldiers. Since Lus was the only one old enough to serve, his family offered him up to get the bread on their table. But if the Corporates thought he was dead, his family would still be receiving his benefits, which wouldn't be true if the truth about his desertion came out.
Back out in the city, Lus slowed to a walk, though he avoided the leisurely pace he used coming to the museum. Vlqtrn was in his ear, warning him that Cewi was already back at the apartment and wanted a full explanation. It wasn't going to be pretty, but Captain Tave sent him on this mission knowing that there was more risk associated with him. That wasn't his fault.
He did take a different route to return to the apartment, checking to ensure Shent hadn't chosen to follow him after all. After a long enough detour, Lusac deemed it safe to return and face Cewi-Bano.
The purple Nemarian was simmering when he entered the shabby apartment.
"In Suns' names, what were you thinking Lusac? You can't go around buddying up with a blasted Corporate!" she shouted as soon as he closed the door behind him.
"What was I supposed to do, Cewi? He was one of my friends from training, so he recognized me. I lied my way out, though. He doesn't suspect a thing," Lus promised.
"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Cewi asked, taking a step closer to Lus. Despite being almost a foot shorter, her voice and posture did more than enough to intimidate him. Her indigo fins were quivering in frustration.
"I'm sorry, Cewi. I did what I could, but there was no easy way out," he said.
She took a deep breath and stepped back. "I understand. Stay in the safe house the rest of the day. I'll double check that this Resiw character isn't going to mess everything up, but consider the mission a go unless I say otherwise."
"Thank you." Lus ducked his head in gratitude.
"Just be ready for tonight. It'll all be on you then, and we can't afford any more close calls."
Lus murmured his agreement as she left the apartment. Surely the mission would go smoother than this.
The hours passed slowly as they waited for Cewi to return. Wsr came back after only an hour or so, and she didn't mention anything about finding Lus there before her. Rather, she sat Vlqtrn down and ensured he got every last bit of information she had on the museum. The sun was starting to set when their leader finally returned.
"Alright. We're safe. That little trip up doesn't seem to have any further repercussions. You were lucky this time, Lus," she added menacingly.
"Sorry again," he muttered from where he sat in one of the unstable dining room chairs. He was sure it would tip over at any moment, but somehow his weight kept it balanced.
"What's this?" Wsr asked, finally interested in what conundrum Lus had caused.
"Nothing that matters now. We need to leave if you two are going to get into position in time." Cewi dismissed the question with a wave of her webbed hand.
Lus scampered off to get his pack ready. Ideally he wouldn't need most of the tools he was putting in there, but it could never hurt to be prepared. Most of the work for getting in was going to be on Vlqtrn and his computer. Cewi-Bano also gave Lus some protective material to wrap the artifact in once he got ahold of it.
Backpack on, Lusac returned to the living space where the others waited. Cewi-Bano went first, and then Wsr left after only a few minutes. Lus was supposed to wait a whole ten minutes before following suit, but his nerves made it impossible to sit still.
"Stop pacing. You're stressing me out," Vlqtrn complained.
"Sorry," he apologized as he sat in a rickety chair that seemed ready to crack under his weight. He wasn't sure how the furniture managed to support the Kremel, but so far nothing had broken.
Lus continued to tap his fingers on the table, even with Vlqtrn's glares. It seemed an eternity had passed before his watch buzzed as the timer ended and he was free to exit the apartment and make his way back to the museum.
The streets were even more alive than they had been in the morning as Lus made his way back to the Southern Reach Museum of Lesser Known Galactic History. The Humans he passed all made an effort to wave, excited to see another of their species. It was a sentiment Lus had often felt himself over the past couple of years after leaving Treft behind.
He soon rounded the final corner and came to the gates of the museum grounds. From here he would have to be careful since it was nearing closing time. He passed the security guard, keeping his head down as he walked through. Lus mentally retraced the path he was supposed to take to a camera blindspot to wait for Vlqtrn's signal. Once he was settled near the tree by the far fence, Vlqtrn's voice echoed in his ear piece.
"Cameras are looped. Everyone get into position. We have about five minutes before it'll become noticeable," the Kremel said.
Lus moved from his current hiding spot and crossed the grounds in a casual manner until he was near the actual building. From there, he double checked to ensure no guards were nearby and then ducked into a thick clump of bushes, burying himself deep so he would be hidden from the cameras. He got settled as comfortably as he could amongst the shrubs and then mentally prepared himself for the next few hours. It was going to be a long night.