Past the pristine white walls decorated with Star Command's bold colors of green and purple did he trudge behind. Lights glowing up above him, their warmth seeping into his exposed face and neck. The air flowed out of the humming vents and into the large hallway to moderate temperatures, keeping one extreme from overwhelming the other. Other than Buzz and himself, there was not a sign of anyone else in the hall.
And yet none of this was any news to Ty; this was a daily routine for all Rangers to be out and about on various missions-patrolling, escorting senators and other figures high in authority, arresting criminals. Just as he and Buzz were about to do, or at least what he imagined they'd do.
Albeit the fact that Ty was in no condition to do anything relating to the Space Ranger Corps.
The Ranger himself was slowly trailing like a nail to a magnet behind Buzz by at least thirty feet. He was able to keep up with his friend, but not at the energizing and eager pace that Buzz was heading. But he didn't care.
The trip was mostly spent in silence, although Buzz chatted with his old friend here and there on small talk, to which Ty could utter a few one worded-answers or nod or shake his head to count as responses. Luckily, Buzz was determined on getting to the Docking Bay, and thus didn't take a lot of time for meaningful conversations.
Ty was still fully waking up and snapping his body into full awareness, which would hopefully be in time for when the duo would meet with Nebula for whatever assignment he had planned for them. His mind still fuzzy from last night's events, he walked mechanically.
"..."
Except for a question that came to mind, which sparked Ty's mind to full life.
"Hey, Buzz?"
The aforementioned Ranger peeked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
The man blinked before he asked. "I was just wondering... why are WE assigned to this mission? Where's the rest of your team?"
"They've been assigned to guard duty for the LGMS. Security detail for a new invention that those little green beans are working on."
Ty shot up a brow. "Any idea what it is?"
Buzz shook his head. "Not yet. But I'm going to keep tabs on them every hour or so after a certain...incident that occurred last time when I assigned them to guard an invention. ...Which reminds me..."
Ty's brow was still up at Buzz's evasiveness while the Pride of Star Command tapped open his communicator to talk to his teammates. As Ty waited for elaboration on what his friend meant, Buzz caught him quizzically looking at him. He grinned sheepishly. "Let's just say it involved my rookies getting in a little...er...sticky situation."
"...Uh-huh..."
It was then that Ty decided that maybe it was for the best that he'd not dig too deep into this. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.
And so, aside from the bickering Buzz had to endure from his team and prompting Ty to hide an amused smile at the scenario of it all, they walked on in silence the rest of the way.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They finally arrived at the expansive Docking Bay.
The official emblem of Star Command was branded to the denim-colored walls. Giant multiples of sparkling white-colored spacecraft, individually known as Star Cruisers, stood in perfect patience at their white launching stations. They pointed upwards towards wide and well-built holes in the ceiling, open for entering and exiting the space station to travel around the galaxy and around the clock.
And there to greet them in the railway, in front of a shining Star Cruiser was an aging yet burly dark-skinned human, clad in the same official Ranger battle armor the other two men also wore. However, what stood out in his particular outfit was the purple peg leg fitted onto his left leg after he lost it many seasons ago. He possessed a grey mustache and eyebrows to mirror his determined and down-to-earth expression.
When the other two Rangers closed in on him, he stood to attention. He gruffly greeted with a salute, "Lightyear. Parsec."
The two men mentioned in name saluted back in respect.
Buzz was on the ball. "Commander Nebula. You wanted to see us, sir?"
The leader nodded. "Yeah I did. I need you two for a patrol sweep on Zenway 9. We've got trouble up there with Hornets crawlin' all over the place."
Ty and Buzz shared a curious glance at each other. Hornets? What in the galaxy would they be doing floating around in that snow-crested planet?
As if reading their thoughts, Nebula elaborated, "We don't know what they're up to, but whatever that bucket head's plannin', I wanna keep an eye on those scraps of iron of his in case he tries anything against the Galactic Alliance." That 'bucket head' the commander referred to was the galaxy's most wanted enemy, the Evil Emperor Zurg, whose sole purpose was to overwhelm and destroy the Galactic Alliance, the universal and united government. Thus, he was the top of every Ranger's list of criminals to bring to justice, but none more so than Buzz's list. As far back as anyone could remember, Zurg and Buzz have been at it for quite some time. But one thing was certain:
When Zurg was involved, all Rangers were on the highest of alerts.
"Consider it in good hands, sir."
Ty nodded numbly to show his support. He wasn't exactly up to full par yet.
Nebula saw through this. Placing his fists onto his hips, Nebula looked over Ty with a small skeptical eye. "You alright there, Parsec? You look a little...out of it."
Almost caught off guard, the Ranger blinked and cleared his throat. As professionally as he could muster, he assured, "Yes, I'm alright, sir. I'm ready to get started on this mission." Craters, he hoped that Nebula would buy it. Although he would still rather be back in bed, he was here now and he might as well do what he was called to do. Regardless of ANY problems with sleep...and nightmares.
The leader, still scrutinizing at him with his hawk eye, didn't reply.
Ty resisted the urge to gulp nervously. Whenever Nebula stared at anyone like that, it usually meant something was wrong. Even Buzz appeared a little fretful under the commander's eye.
But there wasn't.
After another minute of silent studying, Nebula calmly came to a conclusion and placed his hands behind his back. "Alright, son. Then get goin'. But not you, Lightyear. I want to talk to you for a minute alone before you join Parsec in 42."
The two men, in confusion, shared another exchange of glances. But they didn't question it. Ty saluted to Nebula with a 'yes sir' to accompany his complying response. After Nebula returned the gesture, Ty jogged inside the small launching base and climbed inside the Star Cruiser named 42.
Ty wasn't sure if he wanted to know what Nebula wanted to talk to Buzz about, but whatever it was...
...He had a funny feeling it had something to do with him.
As soon as as he was inside the silver-walled interior of the spaceship, he gingerly scaled up the makeshift wall that was the metal floor and steady furniture and reliable equipment of the Cruiser. A near tired sigh escaped from his mouth. Sometimes climbing upward to reach the seats was such a hassle. He grumbled to himself, "Craters...twenty years in the service, and even I can't stand it when I have to climb all the way up just to reach the copilot's seat. Sometimes I wonder why I do this on days like this. Why? Just...why?"
Another breath, created from frustration, escaped from him. Of all the days to feel like a pedian slug was living in his body, this was definitely NOT the day to do so. Oh well...maybe a little excitement on Zenway 9 would help get his senses on the alert. Those flimsy hornets were good for more than just target practice.
However, by the time he reached the copilot's seat, decorated in the same hue of royal purple as were all the seats and most of the equipment, his thoughts had already drifted to thoughts of exhaustion again. Laying back in his seat, the softness of his seat encourage him to relax a little while he waited for his friend to show up.
His eyes began to feel heavy.