Little Secret

I walk towards the trail of trucks parked beside the base's gates. Surrounding those trucks, lie clusters of base staff, swarming for their packages and requests. Base Yurei is located in the middle of nowhere, with no civilization for miles on miles to come. And due to the large quantity of supplies needed, and the small runway of Yurei, cargo planes cant land here. Requiring trucks to replace them on the harsh journey. As such, resupplying is a costly and difficult task. To cut down on both cost and efficiency, we don't receive any supplies for months on end. So when staff want or need something, they put in a request to the logistics team for evaluation. The only exclusion to this statement is when the tech required for AeroCords is requested by their pilot or Doc's engineering team.

"Hey, Jax! Over here!"

I lookout for the caller. A boy sitting around my height wearing the standard uniform calls out to me, big grin in tow. He waves his two-tone black-red baseball hat in the air, signaling me over. In his off-hand lied a large black briefcase.

Jax: "There you are Lucky, I was starting to think you got swallowed by that mob."

I point towards the crusading staff. Nearly trampling over the poor truck drivers and escorts.

Lucky: "Hehe, I wasn't so sure I would make it out myself."

Lucky, the war orphan who has abandoned his true name. Instead, replacing his name with a single word: Lucky. From the very few stories I've heard from him, he's chosen quite the hypocritical name. Maybe it's a way he confronts his past, a way to not be swallowed by his demons. He's very upbeat and childish despite his age almost two years younger than me. Despite us not talking very much at all due to the delivery schedules, we hit it off instantly. Most likely due to us being the youngest two on base when we met. Both of us being new to our positions as well.

Lucky: "So Jax... Did you bring the stuff?"

He slides his hat over his fuzzy hair, sliding the hats bill over his eyes.

Jax: "Yep... Stopped by my room before I came out here... Did you?"

Lucky: "You know I've never failed you, Jax."

We huddle in close, looking around for any curious viewers. I reach into my jacket's inner pocket, dragging out a thick stack of pictures of Diana.

Jax: "This is what I've gathered in the three months since you've last arrived."

Lucky quickly snatches it from my hand, flipping through the stack of pictures.

Jax: "I can say wholeheartedly, I've gotten a few good ones for my good friend..."

Luckys face stops midway through the stack. Flipping back a few pictures before pausing on one. His face slowly dyes red as he fades into the picture. I peek over to see what picture caught his eye. A picture of Diana standing on top of the accommodation building as the sun sets behind her. Diana's peering over her shoulder, embracing her favorite small panda teddy bear. Its head barely pokes out from her slightly turned body. She holds a smile rivaling the setting sun behind her. Her face almost seeming glow, even through the slight haze of the camera quality.

Jax: "Ah, I managed to sneak that one when she dropped her near-perfect guard. Glad to see you like them."

He snaps out of his trance, slipping the pictures into his pocket. Attempting to hide his melting face with his hat. He clears his throat, regaining his composure.

Lucky: "These aren't too bad I guess, here."

He hands me the briefcase, I gently take it from his hand, caressing its mild weight.

Lucky: "Since the delivery was much later than what it usually is, I threw in a little extra."

Jax: "Oh? Will gladly take it then."

Boss: "What are you two doin'?"

Jax: "Ah... Boss... It's nothing, I'm just catching up on some old stories with Lucky. That's all!"

Boss: "Is that so? What's that briefcase about then?

Jax: "Ah, it's nothing! I just asked Lucky to grab me a briefcase to help organize my papers!"

Boss: "You? Doing paperwork? You kiddin' kid?"

Jax: "Nope! Well if you'll excuse me, ill be putting this briefcase to great work!"

I quickly turn and dash away, slipping around the corner of a hanger.

Boss: "So what was in the briefcase?"

Lucky: "He asked me to smuggle in a laptop for him. So I decided to play the part and asked for a little "payment"."

Boss: "And that payment was?"

Lucky: "My little secrete."

Boss: "You kids with your little games... You're a good friend to Jax, Lucky. I will do as much as I can on this side. You kids just focus on your playing around alright."

Lucky: "Of course, ill leave the heavy lifting to you all then."

Boss: "Thanks, ill be on my way now."

Lucky: "Right, cya some other time Lucas!"

After running for a little while I realize something, I COMPLETELY DITCHED LUCKY! I turn back, peeking around the corner where we held our meeting. The crowds have started to disperse and people have begun saturating the whole area. I sweep over the mass for Lucky, spotting one person standing still in the flowing crowd, Lucky. Staring directly at the tower, he holds a face filled with pure rage. But there he stands, not moving an inch with his hands squeezed so tight he could bend steel. He drops his head, soothing his molten rage. His hands drop to his side, revealing marks on his hands where his fingers drove into his palm. His sunlit smile snakes out once more from his previously baren face. He turns back towards the trucks, vanishing into the mob. I've never seen Lucky that angry before... I look up into the tower, Capt'n and Chloe stand at the window, looking down on the staff below. I guess we're both not very big fans of Capt'n huh... Or was his glare directed at Chloe? I doubt it, she's quite stern and intimidating on the outside. But deep down she's quite nice and caring. I'll ask him about it some other time today. I check my watch, just over 2:30. The convoy shouldn't leave tell around 8 to unload everything. So I have a little time to check my sweet new toy. Lucky said he added on a little something special, I'm curious about what that special something is. I scurry through the base, fluttering around the people and objects that appear. standing before my door, I peering around me to make sure no one has seen me. I unlocking the door, quietly opening and shutting the door behind me. I tiptoe to my modest desk, which sits humbly beside my kitchen counter between my table and uninspiring wall. Only holding a simple lamp and notebook I use to pass the time. I set the briefcase down, sliding myself into the welcoming seat. I unlatch the locks, probing them open. Inside laid a perfectly fitted, matted, zippered casing shielding my prize. I take out the casing, unzipping it to reveal a slim but big black laptop. Its top surface matches my shirt's design, a black laptop with a white triangle made up of smaller triangles as a decal. I do like this shirt and wore it quite often, I guess Lucky picked up on that and made the decal for me, how kind... Now, for the main course. I prop it open, I see a few folders labeled different things on the desktop. Videos, Games, Stories/books, Luckys Journey (so far). Curious, I click on Luckys Journey and find a huge wall of text. In that text lied a dairy styled day by day life of Lucky. It depicted his days on the sea, the few days it took to travel to Yurei, a few funny stories he's experienced over on his base (which I never got the name of), and even his daily life from waking up to falling asleep. Unlike the other chapters that take up nearly 3 paragraphs in a single one. One catches my eye, being unexpectedly short.

"June 30th, 2021, 3 AM

I woke up at 3 AM again... I had that same nightmare. I still remember that day as if it happened yesterday. I had a long day today, or was it yesterday? ill say I had a long day yesterday. Anyways I should go back to sleep now... I can't let that day haunt me forever, there's still work to be done."

Lucky, what traumas have you gone through... And what work must be done?.. Maybe ill ask him about it in a little bit, but first... I close the page, placing my cursor on the final folder: Good Stuff. I open the folder, scrolling through the pages of "Good Stuff".

Yep, that's the good stuff alright.