Marcellus paused for a short moment. He doesn’t want to kill, he thought. “Regardless, why choose this line of… work? I doubt you’d have trouble living a better life in the upper levels with your skill set.”

Declan gave a half-hearted smile that faded just as fast as it had appeared. “The planet is dying. Nobody else is going to save it. So, we have to.” He gave another short pause seeming to gather his thoughts before continuing. “What world will be left if this planet is sucked dry? Urbium is just the beginning. The land here is dead. Nothing grows. Machines can only take care of so much for us. Caelum has begun to expand their aether syphoning technology to elsewhere. We are a part of nature… so what happens when the Empire finally succeeds in killing what’s left of it.”

It was Marcellus’s turn to be ridden in thoughtful Silence. Damn, this kid is something,  he thought, a dreamer at best, naïve at worst. It almost reminded him of himself a long time ago. Though if he was being honest the feline reminded him more of an old friend he once had. Marcellus had always been a bit of a cynic from the beginning. He on the other hand…. “You really think this is going to make a difference?”

Declan paused in his typing before continuing. “Yes, I do. It all makes a difference. And even if it didn’t, we have to try anyways.”

The look of determination that was on his face as he worked was clear. It made him look a little more his age if not a bit older. Maybe he is naïve, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t have spirit, Marcellus thought. He cleared his throat. “So kid, what are you working on that has you ignoring R and R?”

Declan’s face eased up and dropped a few years back to his childish self. “Heh, I’m working on our IDs. Caelum without a doubt flagged our previous ID bands from previous missions so I am making us all new ones. You included since you’ll need one this time around.”

“You can do that from here?” Marcellus asked, kind of impressed. Not everyone could pull one over on Caelum’s security protocols so easily.

Declan laughed nervously. “Sure can. I’ve done it a few times now. So far they are clueless.”

“Color me impressed,” Marcellus offered. It was not often that he was so, and this kid certainly deserved the praise.

Declan laughed nervously. “T-thanks Marc.” He looked at the wolf ever more nervously. “I-I mean Marcellus.”

Marcellus sighed and checked the time in the corner of one of the screens. “We have four hours until the next mission right? Get some rest. You’ll endanger yourself and the mission if you aren’t fully aware during the operation,” he said as he walked off, leaving Declan feeling rather upset.

Attachment was a sure fire way of getting yourself hurt. He reminded himself of this fact, reminded himself that this was just a job and that he was moving on after this. It’s only been a few days and a single mission that he has known this group through but he forgot what it was like to be with a group who looked out for one another. He missed it, to a small degree… and for that he hated it.

He went over to the sleeping area and pulled back a corner of the curtain. Erik was snoring away on the lower bunk of a stacked bed. The sound of said snoring was loud and guttural. Ava was lying in a bed in the far right corner with a curled up Cathleen warped in her arms. The sight was enough to melt his normally cold shell. He was thankful no one was there to see it.

“Yo, pretty boy,” Tivon’s voice came from behind Marcellus.

He had hoped too soon.