Operation: Healing Shadows

Crew call

Mason's POV
       I sighed as Aaron's snoring got so loud I could barely hear the raging storm outside, cracks of thunder were overwhelmed by the power of Aaron's snoring before I gave up and checked my phone seeing that it was 5 in the morning. I sat up and shivered as my foot made contact with the floor before I turned on my lamp and pulled out some shorts, underwear and a black shirt with a tribal design before fitting my prosthetic on and walking into the bathroom. I flicked on the light and closed the door before changing, I walked out and looked hatefully at the sleeping form of Aaron before I turned off my lamp, grabbed my wallet and phone, before walking towards the door muttering hatefully "Fuckin' Aaron and his fucking snoring, can't let me get one good night of quiet fuckin' sleep. No, he's gotta have a fucking speaker in his fuckin throat so his snores are more powerful than a fucking thunderstorm. Fuckin' bullshit"
      I heard an accent behind me "Mate, you okay? You sound like you've gone mad" I turned and saw an older man with short hair and mutton chops and asked "You talkin' to me?" He looked at me angrily "You could've just answer the question ya fuckin' muppet" I looked at him tiredly "I was genuinely asking, I don't know most people here" he nodded with a sigh "Yea Mate, I was talking to you. You okay? You sound pissed" I nodded tiredly "My buddy can snore louder than the thunder outside" he asked in understanding "you got fuck all for sleep didn't you?" I shook my head yes as I replied "It's bullshit, lost a limb and now I can't get some sleep because my roommate keeps snoring" the man looked me up and down before his eyes landed on my prosthetic and his eyes widened "whoa" I nodded with a chuckle "You getting something to eat?" He nodded before he started to walk "come on let's get something, we can talk while we walk" I introduced myself "Mason King, Ozone" he shook my hand "Mike Baker, Thatcher"
      We talked as we walked "So what unit are you from?" He replied with quite a bit of pride "Britain's finest, The SAS" I cocked an eyebrow "So you're the other one Seamus was talking about" he asked "All good things?" I nodded with a chuckle before Mike asked "So where are you from Mason? Definitely American" I chuckled as I rubbed my hands together "I'm an Ex-Marine Raider and currently an Air Force Pararescue operator" he asked as his face contorted in confusion "Pararescue? Do you mean PJ?" I nodded with a confident look "That's one of our nicknames yea" he asked hopeful that I'll enlighten him "What does it mean? I've never been able to figure it out" I replied with a chuckle "Para-Jumper, since we trace our roots to the jumpers of world war 2" he nodded before asking "Who have you met? Give me their names" I replied as I recalled each name "Umm, Max, Seamus, Luna, Marius, and Jalal. Plus now you" he spoke to himself "Christ you really haven't met anyone have you" I shook my head no before speaking while I pulled the door to the cafeteria open "But the people I have were pretty cool so I hope that trend continues" he chuckled.
      We walked into the well lit room and I noticed Luna sitting away from the couple operators that were there I looked at Mike "I'm gonna go grab some food and coffee and talk to Luna so if you need me that where I'll be" he looked unsure but nodded stiffly causing me to ask "What is it?" He replied shocked "Luna's pretty quiet, she doesn't talk much to anyone" I replied surprised "huh, but she was so talkative last night" he chuckled as he walked away causing suspicion to stir in my soul but I shrugged it off and got some food. I placed my tray down across from Luna as she tensed and looked up before the tension left her body "morning" I grunted tiredly as she asked "didn't sleep well?" I shook my head no "I swear Aaron has a megaphone in his throat with the volume his snores can reach" she asked surprised "that bad?" I looked at her as I sipped my coffee "He literally drowned out the fucking thunderstorm" she coughed as she choked on her coffee "Seriously?" I nodded as I rubbed my face. I sighed as I placed my forehead on my arm "Please just make it stop, I'll give my other leg just make him stop snoring" she chuckled as I looked up wide eyed "It's not funny, I haven't slept well since I got to his team. I slept better the night of losing my leg than last night" she chuckled again.
     I looked out the window as lightning cracked in the distance before I asked "Wanna bring me to the range?" She nodded as I stood and kicked my prosthetic only to think out loud "Oh, I forgot I don't have feeling in that foot" Luna laughed at the comment as we headed to the door, I felt some eyes on me as the chill crawled up my spine before the door closed and the chill left my body. I followed Luna through the base continuing adding to my mental map until we reached the door that goes outside and she asked "You sure you want to go to the range?" I nodded before replying "I need something to do for the next hour so I might as well spend it shooting" she sighed but pushed the door open and started sprinting toward a building, I shook my head with a chuckle and started running after her. She held the door open as I ran past before shaking my body and looking around until my eyes landed on an M700 hanging on the wall, my old training resurfaced as my eyes locked on the rifle and I slowly walked forward, before lifting the rifle from its bracers before walking to the quartermaster "Can I get a full box of ammo for this?" She nodded before crouching and disappearing behind the counter, I gently held the rifle until the Quartermaster reappeared with the ammo box.
I smiled before saying "thank you" she nodded as I headed to the range and sent the target the full 100 meters before laying down and zeroing the sight before I replaced the target and looked at Luna "Wanna spot for me?" She shrugged but grabbed the spotting scope and a chair before sliding in next to me and speaking "Got the target" I chuckled before speaking "Call something out, I want to get back into my reflex shots" she nodded before glueing her eyes to the scope as I did with mine slowly feeling the curve of the polymer stock feed into the metal of the trigger guard as she spoke "Left eye" I shifted the crosshairs to where the target's left eye would be before I whispered "got it" as I squeezed the trigger and felt the rifle kick defiantly into my shoulder, I quickly pulling the bolt up and back before forcing it forward and down. She called "Hit, good shot" I smiled as I spoke "Ready for target" she called "right lung" I shifted my aim down an inch before squeezing the trigger again feeling the same kick as I chambered another round and waited for the report "Off by a 1/16th of an inch" I sighed before speaking "I'm clear" she chuckled as she spoke "Left nut" I shifted the aim and squeezed the trigger again as I chambered the last round as Luna called still chuckling "Hit" I rolled my eyes as I asked "was that necessary?" She replied confidently "Ja" I spoke "1 more" she called "Liver" I pulled my aim up and squeezed the trigger slowly releasing it as I opened the chamber and inhaled the smoke hearing Luna sounding surprised "h-hit, you actually made that shot" I laughed as I plucked a round out of the box to my right and placed it in the chamber before closing the bolt and firing hearing her call hit for another hour.
I sat up and carefully placed the rifle back in its holder before I picked up the stall and returned the unspent ammo, I looked at Luna "hey, thanks for spotting for me" she offered a soft "no problem, it was fun" I looked over and saw her tucking her obsidian hair behind her ear as her striking golden eyes locked with mine before she checked her watch "Almost time for the PT test" I sighed dramatically before I spoke sadly "Can't our fight last night count as my PT? I mean you almost murdered the cripple, which is quite fucked up by the way" she shook her head in either amusement or annoyance "you willingly got in the cage" I pointed at her as I struck a pose "and I will do it again, except next time I'll win" she spoke in a sickly sweet tone "Darling, you couldn't win if I was 80" I gritted my teeth before I spoke "you'll see, I'll get you" she narrowed her eyes at me "you can try" I laughed and she joined in before she spoke "You aren't winning though" I replied "Oh I definitely am" I headed to the door and press the small of my back against the push bar pushing it open and holding it for Luna as she walked out and got ready to run back to the main building, I looked at her "I'll race ya there" she smiled "You're on" as I counted down "3, 2, 1, go!" As I pushed off and ran as fast as I could to the door sliding to a stop and touching the door half a second before she did, feigning offense when she spoke "I won" I looked at her "oh you've got to be shitting me, no you didn't, I did" she shook her head no "I did, I got here before you" I looked at her with a sigh "you're cracked"
      We walked through the base before arriving at the gym and she turned to me "I'm gonna go change, I'll meet you guys here" I nodded before she turned and headed down the hall. I watched her walking away until my eyes drifted down before I walked into the gym speaking to myself "huh, guess Aaron was right about her ass" I heard Aaron next to me causing me to look to my right as see him leaning against the wall "Where were you?" I replied as I looked over the gym "The range" he asked offended as he gripped the front of my shirt and shook me "Who replaced me as your spotter? Mhmm? Who was it you son of a bitch!?" I laughed out as he stopped shaking me "Luna took your spot for the morning since you were busy being so fucking loud, also I'll have to write mom and tell her you think she's a bitch" he looked terrified as Harry walked through the door "Good morning gentlemen, ready to proceed with the intake?" I nodded as Aaron excitedly spoke "Hell yes, what are we doing? More mortal combat? Maybe we got to do a lethal obstacle course?" Harry chuckled as he spoke "You and James are going to do the CQB test while mike oversees it while I take Mason to the obstacle course" I gave a thumbs up.
I patted Aaron's shoulder "Good luck bro, if you die I'm teabagging your grave" he rolled his eyes with a chuckle as I followed Harry into the hallway "So I heard that officials randomly drop by and inspect Rainbow, is it true?" He nodded as he looked at the awards of the earlier iterations of Rainbow "Your father visited on business a week ago, said he'd be back with news" I nodded with a chuckle "I see mom was underselling how busy he actually is" he nodded as he paused next to a door and pulled on a rain jacket he asked me "Do you want to go change into something else?" I shook my head no "We do a lot of operations, I can handle being wet and cold" he sighed but pushed the door open and walked out into the raging thunderstorm. I braced as I felt the ice cold wet impact my exposed skin I shivered for a second "oh, oh that's nice" as I started to acclimate to the cold. I saw the beginning of the course as Harry spoke as I leaned in to hear him over the thunder "we've got a mock up of the Darby Queen course, I think you'll enjoy it" I nodded as he spoke "We've got the first obstacle, you're gonna climb up on the first board and then jump to the second pull yourself up and over before grabbing the rope and dropping to the ground below," I looked at it before nodding as he continued "the second obstacle it the reversed incline, you will climb the board before pulling yourself up and over before you go head first down the other side. It is in your best interest to slow the descent" I gave a thumbs up as I yelled over the wind "What's next?" He spoke motioning to the culvert that's under water "This is water comfortability section, the SEALs domains" I chuckled as he motioned to the final obstacle "the rope crawl, pretty self explanatory. There's a rope you have to crawl across it and touch the marker before dropping into the water below"
I asked as I bounced from foot to foot "What's the fastest time?" He laughed but replied "Meghan Castellano, Valkyrie, she's a seal from team 3. 5:49" I nodded as I walked to the starting line I looked at Harry as he held a stop watch "Go!" I started running before I jumped up onto the first log that was 3 feet off the ground before I crouched and jumped to the next log before I pulled myself up and over before I grabbed the rope as my legs swung over my head and ended up pointing to the ground. I dropped off the rope and started running to the next obstacle and inspected the obstacle as I saw 6 boards 2 feet apart on the underside of a 45 degree set of 2 by 4's I gripped the third board and quickly pushed my feet against the wood before I reached the top and kicked my legs back so I could start my descent. I felt my palm impact the board before I pulled myself to the next level picking up speed as I reached the bottom and pushed off the ground and ran towards the the culvert pond before I dived in and took a deep breath before disappearing into the darkness as the tips of my fingers grabbed the small divots and pulled my frame through the tube.
I wasn't worried about drowning since we did drown proofing training and we've trained with the Navy Rescue Swimmers to hold our breath longer, I was worried about wasting time. I saw the light as I pulled myself through and into the world of air before I climbed out of the water and headed to the last obstacle, I skipped one of the four boards that lead up to the rope and felt the prosthetic hit one of boards. I released a breath and realized I needed to slow down, I'm rushing things and I'm making mistakes. I slowly laid on the rope and pulled myself across, making sure that I kept my balance as I made my way across before I smacked the pink duct tape that wrapped around the top before I spun to my left off the rope and to the pit of water below and just sinking as I relaxed and let the cold water cool me off. I put my feet on the bottom and pushed up as I slowly rose to the surface and Harry spoke "6:11" I nodded as I climbed out before replying "I could've done better" he patted my shoulder "it's not bad for a first run, also good job assessing and fixing the problem. I saw the little reset you made" I chuckled "Wilco" he asked "Ready to do a 2 mile run?" I nodded as I stood "Always" he chuckled before starting through the wall of rain and wind. I walked after him as I saw there were some indistinct shapes moving in the lit rooms of the base, I kept looking at them until Harry yelled "You have to do it faster than 13 minutes! Get ready!" I stood on the start line and focused on the task infront of me as I heard "Go!" I pushed off the ground and started running.
         I started out strong and maintained my speed and progress for the first 7 laps but on the 8th and final lap my right leg started cramping, I sighed under my breath "Fucking prosthetics and not cramping, this feels so fucking weird"  I turned the final corner and hit the finishing line before I sat down and rubbed my leg as I grimaced, my muscle tightened with each second. I breathed deeply as I heard a voice I quickly recognized as Luna "Taken out by a small cramp? I expected more" I looked over unamused "Piss off, it's not the worse pain but it still fuckin hurts" Harry spoke "Well, do you want your time?" I replied with a question "what's the fastest time?" He replied "7:59" I asked in reply "what's mine?" He looked at the board "you're in 5th with a time of 8:21" I sighed as I stood before stretching "I'll have to beat that one next" he chuckled before speaking "Come on, we'll go set up your station in the shop and then I'll call everyone to the courtyard and we can finally get you introduced to everyone" I had to ask since the question burned inside my mind "So what all do you do for training?" Harry motioned to the building far off on the edge of the compound premises "that's one of the shoot houses, the building next to it is for our sim matches" I must've looked impressed since Luna spoke "it sound cool but do not get shot, those fucking rounds hurt" I shrugged before smirking "I wouldn't know" she rolled her eyes "says the guy who doesn't have a leg"
     I winced at the jab as Harry spoke "low blow, a good blow but low" I chuckled as we walked through the base and I listened while mapping out this new wing of the base, I noticed someone looking around the corner before she disappeared and the only sign she was ever there was the fixation of my eyes on the corner. I heard Harry "So I see you've noticed Taina, she's our resident interrogator one of the best. She'll be watching you for a while before she allows you to get close" I nodded as we came upon the corner, I noticed a speck of red on the ground and picked it up seeing it was a small patch that must've fallen off her uniform. I saw Luna and Harry looked at me in question as I flashed the patch "She dropped this, here Harry, it'll be easier for you to return than me" he nodded as I heard a familiar voice behind me sounding surprised "Mason, is that you?" I turned and saw my father in his suit and with 4 guards around him I nodded my recognition "Hey dad" he walked forward and went to give me a hug as I extended my hand to shake it, he looked at it and seemed to recognize that the connection just wasn't there. He sighed but looked up with a proud smile "so you're at Rainbow now? When'd this happen?" I replied "Last night, we did an operation and Aaron and I got selected" he looked me up and down and saw the bruises on my forearms and legs "the mission went well right? You didn't get wounded or anything?" I shook my head no "the mission went without a hitch, the bruises are from her" I said as I threw my thumb over my shoulder Luna smiled slightly "Hello Mr. King, nice to see you again" he chuckled as he said "Hello Ms. Andersen, I see you're already beating up my son" she nodded pleased as she replied "oh you know me, I see a cripple and I just gotta best em up" I pointed as I claimed "I almost had you" she adopted her sickly sweet tone again "Darling, almost doesn't count for shit" I heard Harry behind us "Children, Children it's okay. You can beat each other up later, for now behave" I rolled my eyes as Luna dragged her thumb across her neck and Dad spoke "So I see you've made friends"
     I grew my smirk "oh you know, fight everyone and see who I like" he rolled his eyes but asked "when are you coming to Washington so you can get that medal? Everyone's getting antsy waiting for you" I replied as I felt Luna and Harry staring at me "When I actually do something worth earning a Purple Heart" he spoke urgently "you lost your leg protecting people, what part of that isn't worth a Purple Heart?" I stared at him before replying "Any Raider would've done it, it's not special, the only reason they want to give me that medal is because I'm your son and they want to make it look like they care about the troops. That's why they're getting antsy about me not showing up, they want to use it as fuel for their re-election campaigns" he sighed but spoke as he rested his hand on my shoulder "Just think about it, for your mom and I" I rolled my eyes but nodded "Fine" Harry asked inquisitively "So what are you doing here Alex? I didn't think you'd return so quickly" Dad replied with a glance at Luna and I "Congress is moving quickly, they've seemed to grow a sense of urgency at developing matters" I asked inquisitively "What's happening?" Dad stole a glance at Luna "The Masks of Europe are starting a campaign in Denmark, I've asked the President and my fellow congressmen to sign some bills that offer more support to Rainbow and the danish forces." I sighed but nodded as Harry spoke "If you'll follow me, I'm just bringing Mason to the shop so he can set up his station and then we can head to my office" Dad nodded and walked next to me "So what have you been up to? I haven't gotten an email from you in a while"
I shrugged "the usual, ive gotten better with my first Aid. We've been pulling SEAL boys out of heavy combat a lot more recently, I think you guys are pushing them too hard. You're using special forces to replace conventional forces, it's not working out." He nodded slowly "Anything else you want to tell me?" I shook my head no before motioning to Luna and Harry "Maybe they have some stuff they want? I'm good for now, I might need a new Barrett soon tho" he chuckled as he asked "Ms. Andersen? Harry? Do you need anything that the US can provide?" I heard Luna "I could use a new assault rifle, for operations of course" I heard Harry "We're set on gear, Luna just doesn't like the rifles we have provided" I chuckled as did Dad until we arrived at the door and Harry opened it "Mason, the furthest table back on the right is yours set it up and begin plans for a gadget" I gave a thumbs up and walked into the room as I heard Luna, Harry and Dad talking quietly as the door closed. I sat at the bench and organized everything before I pressed my head against the table and sighed talking to myself "Why can't you ever just fade from the front page? Why do you always gain the attention? Just fade, let it disappear" I sat up and carefully placed my pistol on the table just staring at it "A man of Medicine relies on the equipment of killing, ironic really" I heard a voice behind me sympathetically "You don't seem happy with your life" I turned and saw a man a little shorter than me "Sorry didn't mean to disturb, just had to feel sorry for myself for a bit" he pulled up a stool to the other side of the bench "So who are you then?" I replied "Mason King"
He extended his hand "Gustave Kateb, GIGN" I shook it as I asked "so what are you doing here?" He replied with a knowing smile "Working on my gadget which I suspect you're trying to design" I nodded as I looked at the empty piece of paper infront of me "I figure I'll make it medically related but I don't know what it'll be" he asked surprised "You're a medic?" I nodded as I spoke "I'm a PJ, so is my partner who's around here somewhere" he nodded before speaking "Why don't we take my serum and dilute it while putting it in a mechanism like a nicotine patch? It'll heal wounds and it can be remotely activated" I looked at him "I... don't know how to make that, I'm not that good at inventing things" he nodded before leaning back "Let me call a friend, she can help us" I smiled my thanks before I looked at the pistol on the table and slid it back into the holster as a woman emerged from the shadows "I heard you found my patch" I asked "Are you Taina?" She immediately was on guard as I nodded "So you are, I gave it to Harry since I figured he'd have a better chance of getting it back to you. He's either in his office or the hall heading to his office" she nodded and I watched her walk away before I stared at my hands until the doors blew open and an excited shorter woman stood there breathing heavily "Gus, I'm here. I came as fast as I could when I heard we had a project" his walked over and spoke lowly to her.
I sat there awkwardly as they talked quickly until the small woman walked over and sat on gus's stool "So I understand you need some help designing this, correct?" I nodded like a child as she spoke "Oh where are my manners, I'm Elena the resident mechanic" I shook her hand "Mason King, a new medic" she nodded as she took the paper and spoke quickly "So gus explained the basic idea of the gadget, ill need you to walk me through its function" I replied slowly "So I kinda want it to be a patch that the team puts on and when I squeeze a trigger it slowly injects a diluted version of Gustave's serum into the team and close some wounds buying me time to get to them and treat the wound" she nodded and started rabidly scribbling on the paper as I watched the Wizard work. She worked quickly before she pushed the design forward, I looked at it and looked at her "It looks good but I'm also an amateur and have no idea what I'm looking at" she leaned over the table and walked me through everything before she asked "What do you think?" I smiled as I nodded "it's awesome, thank you" she smiled excitedly "Now we get to start the build" I stretched but nodded "Do you want to do it and I'll act like an assistant?" She replied with a shrug "Whatever you want to do" I shook my head but spoke "Alright, what do you need?" She gave me a list and I was off searching for them.
3 hours later we had a prototype, I looked at Elena as I slapped it onto my bicep "Hit me" she lifted the trigger and pressed the button, I felt the prick of the needle but not the relief of the serum. I pulled it off "The needle worked, the serum didn't feed through" she sighed as we sat down and continued working on it. 4 hours later we did test 5 as I slapped it on again and nodded, she hit the trigger and I felt the familiar prick on the needle only to immediately feel relief as every once of pain in my body slowly started to fade. I smiled as I spoke to her "it worked" she smiled as she sat down and I joined her "Thank Christ, I don't know what else we'd change to get it to work if it didn't" I chuckled as I heard an announcement "All operators report to the courtyard, I repeat all operators report to the courtyard" I looked at Elena as I asked "do you know what that's about?" She asked in reply "you just got in last night right?" I nodded as she stood "then it's probably your introduction, come on" I nodded and looked at my station before I slowly put everything back in it's position before I jogged to the door and followed Elena through the halls.
      We walked outside and found our units and started talking, I looked at Aaron "How ya been buddy?" He sighed as he rotated his shoulder "Not bad, bruised and tired but I'm hungry for more" I patted his shoulder as I spoke "Yeah, I did the obstacle course and started designing my gadget with Elena" I heard Luna next to us "So I see you two butt buddies found each other" I wrapped my arm around Aaron "Oh have you seen how hot he is? Who could resist?" She laughed as Aaron pushed me off of him "That's why my wife always thinks you're trying to steal me" I chuckled as I spoke "Well tell her to stop hogging you, anyway Luna what've you been doing for the last 7 hours?" She replied feigning confusion "Oh just talking to your dad" I sighed as Aaron asked "wait your dad's here? Why didn't you tell me?" I shrugged as I spoke "I didn't think he was still here, besides he's here on business. Like fuckin' always" I saw Harry step infront of the group of us. I heard Aaron as Harry started talking "Hey you hear they got rid of bayonet training?" I was sipping some water when he said it causing my to throw down my water bottle and yell "God damnit!" Causing Harry to look up "Mason, do you have something to add?" I sighed as I replied "No sir, just mad at the brass." He asked inquisitively as the rest of the team stared at me "What did they do now?" I sighed as I looked up "They got rid of bayonet training, do you know what makes green grass grow?" Harry replied with a chuckle "I wanna say bayonet training" I shook my head no as I replied "Blood blood blood, how the hell are we supposed to make the green grass grow if people don't know how to use a god damn bayonet?" Harry stared at me before asking "Are you done?" I shrugged before replying "Maybe, I don't know, can I get back to you in 5 minutes?" A couple people chuckled as Harry replied "Sure, just be quiet so we can finish introducing you" I rolled my eyes but crossed my arms as I looked at Aaron and Harry started talking again "You waited until now to tell me because you knew that's be my reaction didn't you?" He nodded with a shit eating grin as I glared before chuckling quietly.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Luna motioning to Harry as he finished speaking "Mason King, Aaron Wright, come forward" I patted Aaron shoulder as I passed before I walked up and stood next to him at attention while I waited for Aaron to join me. I looked over the large group of operators and saw most of them staring at my prosthetic leg, I joked "Yes yes you see it right, I can literally break my foot off in someone's ass" that got a good amount of snickers as Harry spoke "To my left, is Aaron Wright a US Air Force PJ who has served multiple tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, the US and Guatemala. To my right is Mason King, An Ex-Marine Raider and current Air Force PJ. He's served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Kuwait, the US, Germany and Russia. They are to be welcomed and I will organize a game of sorts tomorrow afternoon, dismissed" I walked back towards Luna when a new face appeared infront of me the burns on his hands drew my attention as he asked "You're the Ex-Marine right?" I nodded "And you are?" He extended his hand "Jordan Trace, Ex-Marine currently FBI Swat. My code names Thermite" I smiled as I motioned to the group "So I'm not the only crayon eater, so why'd you leave?" He sighed before looking around "I wanted something different, I was part of the invasion of Iraq and it, I don't know it didn't feel as rewarding as I thought it would be. What about you? Why'd you leave?" I motioned to my prosthetic "This old thing, lost my leg and got discharged, I did PT and now I'm back just with a different unit" he asked teasing a bit "Any reason you switched branches? Couldn't hack it as a Raider anymore?" I chuckled as I narrowed my eyes slightly "the PJs saved my life, I decided if I was rejoining I would dedicate everything to the unit that gave me the chance. Just remember, Pjs are the ones who save spec ops" he nodded with a chuckle as we heard a voice "Jordan! Come on!" He spoke to me "Hey man I'll catch up with you some other time but my girlfriend is calling" I waved as he walked off and I saw my dad off on the edge of the courtyard.
     I walked over and leaned against the wall next to him as I saw Luna hesitantly walk off "So why are you still here?" He looked up at the cloudy sky "you know, I realize the further we grow apart I wasn't a good father. I'm sorry I wasn't there to teach you things you needed to be taught until much later, I hope you can forgive me" I spoke as I crossed my arms and stared at the ground "I don't want your apologies, you're busy, you had a job to do but don't apologize like you want it to be different." He looked at me "I do want it to be different, I don't like the fact that you don't act like I'm your father, you just act like I'm a superior officer. I know I can't change the past but I want to change the future, can you grant your old man this one wish?" I looked at him before asking "Why should I? Growing up there was always something to come up" he looked down before replying "I'm sorry, I know you don't want to hear it but I am." I spoke as I looked at the sky "I didn't come here for your apologies, I came to thank you." He looked over confused and slightly worried as I spoke "Because of you I became who I am today, and without that, I don't know who I'd be so this is the last goodbye" he watched as I pushed off the wall and started walking off "Mason... Mason, please... just give me a chance..." I looked back tearing up a bit "You have to earn it this time sir, I'm done giving you free chances" he asked hopefully "How do I earn one? What do I have to do?" I replied with a snide remark "Figure it out, it's what you made me do as a kid, can't be that hard" as I turned the corner and left him standing there.