(GQ #8) Mingling on the Moon

6. Sticky-Fingered Bandits

Aiden and the nerd brigade stepped off of the elevator and onto the fifth floor.

"Wow, they keep the floors up here really clean. I can see my reflection!" Leon gawked as if these sterile halls looked much different from the ones downstairs. The floors did look cleaner, though.

"Don't get used to seein' it." Aiden walked ahead of him. "The only time they let us lowly rangers up here is for cleaning duty. And that's if they like you." If Captain Galhardo didn't have his dad's name to cling to, Aiden could easily see him winding up like that. A premium janitor for the higher-ups. Or worse, he could've ended up like Jun, a babysitter for problem rangers.

"Huh. I wonder if they'll ever let me clean up here!" Leon continued, completely unfazed. It shouldn't have surprised Aiden that the IF's #1 fanboy would be honored to do menial labor. "Mia, have you ever done it?"

"Wha--?" Mia snapped out of a daze.

"Have you ever cleaned--?"

"Uhh, no. I've never been here either."

"Really? You seem like someone who'd be liked by upper-level people. You're good at following rules and stuff!" Leon was right, Mia would've been the type they'd pick for busywork.

"I keep a low profile."

She ended the conversation just in time for the three to approach a guard, who just so happened to be a warrant officer. They rarely had good experiences with Aiden. Judging by this guy's face, word got around.

He stared them up and down suspiciously. "Are you here for the Celestion Conference...?"

"Yes, sir!" Leon answered. "We're with the Celestion-5!"

"Oh...!" The guard relaxed a little. "Sorry, but your captain has to be here to verify you all."

Aiden groaned. Of course he'd be punished the one time he decided to play by the rules. "What about his brother? Ain't he in there?"

"I believe so, but--"

Aiden stepped forward, only for the guard to plaster himself against the doors.

"What do you think you're doing, Ranger!?" He looked more afraid than threatening. Aiden almost felt bad.

"I'm just trying to get verification. Emil knows who we are; he can vouch for us."

"You need to be verified before you can enter the room! That's the whole point of verification!" The guard shouted so much, veins started popping out of his forehead. Why were warrant officers like this?

Leon showed up beside Aiden. "Is there a way you could get Emil to come out here and give us the okay to go in?"

"I don't even know who Emil is, but if he's not your captain, there's nothing he could say to let me let you through!"

"...Um, sir? Wouldn't it be easier if we just showed our IDs?" Mia stood far behind the others. This situation probably wasn't doing favors for her low profile.

The guard glanced down at his tablet. "We only check captains' IDs here. That's just how it's set up for today. I'm going to have to ask you to leave now before I call in reinforcements."

"Do you at least have an idea of where our captain might've gone?" Her voice could barely be heard. It sounded like she stepped back even farther.

"Yeah, then we could go find him and bring him back!" Like with everything else, Leon was weirdly excited about this.

The guard calmed down. Finally. "He took the elevator. It looked like it stopped at the first floor."

Right back where they came from. Aiden couldn't roll his eyes any harder.