Re: Mission 18.1 - Winter Leave
The answer to that question was simple, but perhaps simple or sentimental when said. Call it wanderlust, yearning, or perhaps feeling unqualified for the task at hand after the harrowing events of the YSS Goban. He was the wrong man in the wrong place at the time and he was put even further into his place by the two NH-X that outwitted the Goban Crew, forcing them to stray into SMX space - and the 1st Fleet rescuing them incognito. "It's a bit of a story, you might want to ask SAINT about it later."
The chaos of it all caused him to go out his own way since he was fresh faced before then. He drank his troubles away with his former crew at first as they moved on within the Star Army and elsewhere. "I guess it was because I felt I couldn't contribute, so I went out and made my own future."
And on a drunken whim, Luca Pavone started the team that would end up making history as the greatest non-government odd jobbers in the universe; Responsible for bringing in murderers, destroying terrorist organisations, the containment and eventual destruction of a megavirus, evacuating a crossroads space station from the NMX and furniture delivery.
And now he had a daughter. He could feel his communicator buzz in his pocket. He was going to say something else, but he flicked it open and saw a text message from Vitalia Pavone; The NH-17 child of Luca Pavone and Naoko Aihara.
'Dad, when are you going to be home?' was the message. Her identity and species was unknown to the universe at large, and the phone simply had her tagged as 'Vita'. The picture for her looked like a Yamataian, with humanoid ears, four fingers and a thumb, curled up on a couch and smiling at the camera, face framed in hair the same colour as her father's and the length of her mother's.
He smiled and knew that he had to get a move on with his own shopping. "I have to go - my daughter needs a gift." He pocketed his communicator and made a respectful bow towards the Shosho. "Please tell Ozaki Kyosuke and Nicholas Saiga that I say Hi, and Happy holidays and thank you for your time, Ketsurui Hanako!"
And he disappeared into the crowd, with the occasional head turning to examine him and wonder if it really was him or another impersonator or cosplayer. It was still easy to spot him, and he walked into a department store, eventually meandering into the children's clothing section, receiving the occasional odd glance or speculative photograph.
