Weekends In A Small Town

Posted on Sat May 27th, 2023 @ 10:58am by Alden Loxley & Morgan Martin

Mission: Oh, Give Me a Home on The Range
Location: Ezra
Timeline: 18 November 2517 - Afternoon

As the shuttle drew closer, the lone local pilot wondered if he'd ever been to this ramshackle collection of homes before. Couldn't be more than - what? - a dozen domiciles and a couple public buildings - school, town hall. Alden didn't think so, but Ezra was big and the population was spread out as if it needed to keep small and unnoticed in order to survive - which all things-Niska considered was probably a Good Call. Still, he smiled wryly at the thought of picking up a pilot here, so relatively close to home and thankfully, well-connected in just the right kinda small circle. Confidence high, and family currently well-protected, Alden was in a good mood as he dipped the 'wings' and brought her into land.

"Hey!" Loxley called out as he stepped from the shuttle's hatch and waved enthusiastically to the lone man who stood waiting for his ride. Alden brushed dust from his shirt and grinned as he strolled closer and offered out a strong arm to be shaken in greeting. "You ready to get outta here, Morgan?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Morgan waved back, standing up from the suitcase he had been sitting on. The man didn't exactly travel light; he had a small pile of cases and bags beside him, which somehow managed the impression of both meticulously packing and all being shoved there in one haphazard pile. The bag's owner gave a wide grin, taking Alden's hand in his own and giving it a shake in return. Despite a few small scars, Morgan's hands were relatively smooth, his arms weak - the hands of somebody more accustomed to piloting work than any sort of manual labor.

"I'd say I'm about as ready as I can get," the pilot responded, dropping Alden's hand and turning around to grab a couple of his bags.

"Good to hear," confirmed Alden as he pitched in and lifted a few cases too, balancing them as best he could in an attempt to ensure they only had to make one trip. He wasn't overtly anxious, but definitely enthusiastically keen to get back to the homestead. "Travelling light, huh?" He noted, as he struggled towards the shuttle with both arms loaded up to their maximum extent.

The Echo's captain hadn't failed to notice the difference in their hands - one set rough-and-ready, the other soft-and-smooth - but soft hands didn't make a bad pilot, they simply spoke of a less laborious upbringing (and perhaps a slight concern with regards division of future workloads). Nothing they needed to worry about right now though, Morgan had a little time before the weight of harsh judgement could fall upon those shoulders.

Once everything was stowed, Alden indicated Morgan take the pilot's seat. "Heading's already loaded up," he advised. "You can take us home."

It wasn't far, maybe a 15 minute flight, but it would give him some idea of the man at least.

Morgan smiled at the man as he helped him carry his luggage. Nice. A captain willing to help out his crew, that was a good sign, and not quite as common as Morgan would have hoped. "I been in the black long enough to gather some stuff," the pilot responded with a shrug and a chuckle, taking a seat at the controls of Alden's shuttle. The blonde man smiled, testing the controls for a moment before taking off with the smoothness of an experienced, dedicated pilot.

"Nice to meet you in person," Morgan chatted as he flew.

So far, so very good, thought Alden as he paid particular attention to the way Morgan did literally everything - from taking the pilot chair to the system check and control test. Easy enough with an already up and running shuttle, but that calm and steady approach was particularly welcome.

"Likewise," Alden noted. "On both the time in the Black and good to meet ya. Soooo, mind if I ask ya something personal, now we're both here together and all?" He waited for the reaction, then continued. "What made you leave Greta?" The question was asked lightly, and with good humour, but Alden was curious, unsure whether to expect an answer or a rebuttal. Either would be okay, given the lack of knowledge with regards this fella.

Morgan gave a light chuckle, unbothered by the question despite it being a fairly personal reason. His response wasn't quite the full truth, but it was most of the truth, and the man had no need to maliciously conceal things. "Ah, well, there was just a bit too much history for us to work together, not the way she wanted to run a crew. I'm the one that sold her her first ship. Mind, it's not the ship she's flying these days. Was a much smaller one. And she was a fresh captain back then, who thought that the crew wouldn't respect her if they knew that. But that was years ago. If she were hiring now, well... it's never quite worked out where I was looking for a job at the same time that she was looking for a pilot. Life's funny that way, eh?" Morgan chuckled, continuing to fly the ship with practiced grace as they spoke.

"And if we're on the topic of personal questions - what happened to your last pilot?" The blonde man glanced back towards Alden for just a moment, gauging his reaction, before returning his eyes to the sky.

It was Alden's turn to laugh, which he did with a casual warmth that barely masked the emotional element of his partner's exodus. "Fair question," he stated, buying himself a few more seconds of time in order to gather his thoughts while he awkwardly shifted position in the co-pilot's seat.

"I guess the best way I can answer that is to say we had a series of events that ended in a difference of opinion and us both needing some space, as well as Ali needing to be her own boss for a while. We used to split the flying between us," Alden continued. "And while I really hope she'll come back some day, I guess I have to admit that's not gonna be any day soon." His smile was apologetic and followed by a lazy shrug. "So until I hear word from here, you and I can share the flight time." He realised that didn't sound very permanent an arrangement from Morgan's side of the deall, so added. "And if Ali does come back sooner than expected, I'll play Captain."

Alden looked to Morgan and tried to gauge the good/bad ratio in how that had all been received.

Morgan gave a shrug in response to Alden's answer, but that didn't wipe the relaxed smile from his face. That was about what he had expected; the man was not a fan of Alden's uncertainty, but no boss was perfect and it was better, in his mind, to work under somebody who would accept an old employee back than one who turned against them with vitriolic disregard as soon as they were out of their employ. Morgan was just glad to be flying again. As much as he had just picked up flying as a means to an end, the man liked the activity. It let him clear his mind.

"I see, I see," the pilot responded. "Looks like we're both in about the same boat then - or rather, the same ship," he gave a hearty laugh at this excuse of a joke. "'Just a bit too much history', but would join back up if asked. I can respect that. Life doesn't always go the way you plan, you know?" He spoke with a sort of a amicable trust, as if Alden was somebody he had known for years, not some new employer.

"Yeah," Alden noted the shrug and couldn't fault Morgan for that at all. "It's a big 'if' on the Ali coming back," he said. "Like me, she's stubborn and the... well situation we both reacted badly to ain't truly been resolved, soooo..." He shook his head at his own stupidity. "Well, let's just say I'm probably being overly optimistic even considering that she might turn back around any time soon. And me hiring you," he smiled wryly. "Is me kinda admitting that."

So far Alden liked the guy - Morgan - an easy touch, nothing that upset the battered little shuttle, and a laidback calmness that seemed a good edition to the little Echo family they'd been cobbling together for the last few months. "And you're right, for sure, life sure as hell don't seem to be playing to any plan that I'd make. You seem like good people, though," he added confidently, in case their new pilot was in any doubt of Alden's current assessment.

"Let's get y'all introduced, huh?" Alden noted, pointing to the homestead and broken Firefly lying in the savannah lands that sprawled out beneath them now. "Bring her in closer to the house," he said. "Just 'longside that long red barn will do nicely."

"You seem like good people," Morgan responded with a nod, mirroring Alden's sentiment. The pilot turned quiet for a moment as he brought the shuttle in to land - whether it was focus on what he was doing or an interest in their new surroundings, who could say? The shuttle landed with a quiet, graceful descent, right alongside the red barn and Morgan took a moment to power down some of the systems before turning his attention back to their conversation. He grinned. "Alright!" He patted his hands on his legs as he stood up. "This the place, eh?"

"Likewise," said Alden, as always judging someone rather more swiftly than he probably should. He nodded with contentment at Morgan's quiet, peaceful landing though and paid particular attention to the pilot's actions with regards the shuttle's systems and tech. Power saving - check. Fuel efficiency - check. And he'd not switched everything off before looking to his new boss. "You can power her down completely now," Alden confirmed, standing up and appraising Morgan with a friendly gaze. "Thanks. This is indeed the place, well... my mum's place," he added with a smile.

"Yup, this is indeed the ol' homestead, run by my mum's side of the family for a good few generations. Welcome to the crew," Alden noted, enthusiastically as they strolled the short distance from shuttle to open ground before the barn and ranch house beyond. "Hope you're ready to meet a bunch of new folks," he continued. "Family comes in all shapes and sizes, but I'm gonna let you make your own first impressions with no prejudice from me. If anyone gives you any lip or trouble you can't handle or don't approve of, just you let me know and I'll fix it."

Morgan nodded in response, looking up at the barn. It made him think of his own mother's place - not so much the similarities, but the differences. As a child, his house had just seemed like, well, his house, but compared to this homestead it was practically a mansion. He only hoped that Alden's friends and family would be as happy to greet him as his own folk would be.

The pilot smiled at Alden's welcome, turning to look at him. "Of course, of course! I do love meeting new folk. I hope I leave a good impression on em, eh?" And weren't that true. Morgan had lived on the rim for years, but there was still an unsurmountable difference between him and the farmborn folk. He could fly a ship, he could smuggle goods, he could make friends. But he couldn't, for example, quite ride a horse. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, or if it did - hopefully they found good humor in him falling off.

"I have a feeling you'll be just fine," Alden said, as he returned Morgan's direct gaze with a broad grin and a glint in those dark blue eyes. "We're a mixed bunch of eclectic souls, but I kinda like that. Just hoping you do too."


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