Kaylx spent most of his time in the hangar bay of the SC Sirus. His intention was to borrow tools from the mechanics and patch up a few things on his Toolshed Mech. You know, like a responsible person. Yet as soon as he arrived, all of his attention was redirected to the crew on deck playing a game of black jack.
Oh, herbs and spices it just had to be black jack. The devil's game, the kind that pours sweet honey into Kaylx's stubborn ear, only to amass a vengeful headache like a swarm of bees waiting to burst out from his thick skull. Winning was the easy part; staying sober while doing so was like a whole other game in on itself. And boy did those officers love to drink.
"Ya'll are like the old earth sailors of the past, drinkin' up more ocean than beneath their feet." The cool, southern drawl of his accent dripped out of his mouth like a low engine hum.
"If ya'll keep this up you better *hick* have a life vest handy before you end up on the deep end of this fire water. Best I finish it for ya." He drank the contents of the random bottle in possession until it went dry.
The conversations after that were pretty much a blur. He remembered the smiles and laughter, and that's all that really mattered to him at that point. They also didn't bleed him dry, thankfully. Kaylx staggered away from the table with a little more than he came with and then some. One of the sober mechanics saw the state Kaylx was in and agreed to run a diagnostic on his mech and fix any minor repairs. It was the least he could do after receiving three high quality cigars from Mr. Ro. After several arm wrestling challenges, dance battles, and off-key singing performances, he gracefully departed from the hangar bay crew. Anubis, his synthetic hunting dog, had been playing fetch with a lone deckhand. Its long ears perked up at the familiar gait of his master, barked thankfully at the man person for playing with him, then joined Kaylx.
"You makin' friends too, buddy?" Kaylx rubbed the back of his ears. He then dropped his metal hand so Anubis could playfully bite on it. Were his hand just flesh and bone the hound's tungsten carbide teeth could rip right through it like writing paper. Anubis would never do that to Kaylx though; he'd apply the safest amount of pressure possible, or show some other means of affection. Kaylx wasn't sure if these kinds of habits were a part of his programming, or if it was something that just naturally developed over time. It was hard to forget that Anubis was grown out of a genetics lab, hardwired with an artificial intelligence core that could outsmart most people. He patted Anubis' belly, then grabbed onto his transmitter tail for balance as the hound safely directed him back to the passenger bay.
***
After a quick power nap Kaylx was on his feet and ready to seize the day. The bees were still buzzing, but not as bad as he anticipated. He cheerfully whistled as the Commander announced their arrival at Space Station Solus. Then, when the Commander gave a quick overview of today's schedule, Kaylx had a jarring question that needed answering.
"Will they be servin' breakfast?" He asked, raising his hand like a kid in a classroom.
"Because they did last time, and let me tell ya'll, their eggs Benedict would've made Lemuel himself swim in orgasmic ecstasy." The gauntlet device on Kaylx's forearm vibrated. It was a text from Anubis that read:
>Inappropriate.
"What? It's true!" Kaylx looked down at Anubis, who looked up at him with with his head cocked to the side. Another message winked onto his gauntlet.
>>False.
>Hollandaise sauce needed more...
>lemon juice.
>Bacon fries. however...
>god tier.
>hungry now.
>can we get...
>Bacon fries?
"Yeah, maybe a milkshake too while we're at it." Kaylx said as they filed behind the other hunters and exited the ship. Anubis started panting frantically.
>Yes. milkshake.
>Good. Yes.
>This is good.
