A Little Bird

== Revised text ==
Date/Timing: 4 January 2019
Setting: Hansen family suite, the Shed; Vaucluse, NSW, Australia
.
Herc slouches back into their quarters, steps aside. 
Max waddles up the stairs, whuffling and wagging his stubby tail. 
Herc closes the door, crouches, and rubs Max's ears. 
Max leans into his hand. 
Herc smiles faintly, takes a moment there, just inside the threshold, listening.
Silence from Scott's room.
Herc exhales.
Max pants happily, clambers onto the couch.
"If you insist," sighs Herc, but he keeps smiling and joins him.
Max circles twice, flops with his jowls on Herc's thigh.
Herc sighs, scratches Max's ears.
That's all they do for a few minutes.
""Incoming call from Stacker Pentecost,"" announces AGNIS, ""Marshal, Anchorage Shatterdome.""
"'scuse me." Herc slides to his feet.
Max whines.
"AGNIS, accept call on my tablet."
""Transferring. It's in the rubbish heap you call a 'desk'.""
Herc finds it right where she said he would, peeking out from under a landslide of descriptions and diagrams of upcoming upgrades for /Lucky. He thumbs the power, then 'accept'.
""Hello, Herc,"" greets Stacker.
"Stacker." Herc bobs his head. "It's stupid early there, ain't it?"
Max curls up on his feet.
""Rumours wait for no one.""
Herc raises an eyebrow.
""A little bird tells me you may be getting too old for your job.""
"Oh, really," drawls Herc.
Stacker leans back, presses the pads of his fingers together. ""Hear you almost lost a match to some upstart the other day. Or was it the hangover that beat you?""
Herc chortles. "No excuses. New guy's a beast."
""He'd /better be or I'd be asking Nguyen to evaluate your fitness for duty."" His eyes smile. ""Ramos swore up and down Vos was the best untrained fighter she'd seen at the Academy, your old friend Logan Jones excepted.""
 "So why's he only a Fightmaster?"
Stacker glances at something off-screen. ""He squeaked out of the Academy in the bottom five percent of his class.""
Herc winces. "Think he can ...."
Stacker shrugs. ""We'll have to see what he can do."" Puts some reassurance in his expression. ""Ramos /still thinks the world of him. She's been after me to hire him on.""
Herc grunts.
""What about you?""
"Seems a solid-enough guy."
""Are you comfortable with him having Chuck's back?""
Herc narrows his eyes. "Nguyen asked the same thing. You two—"
Stacker gestures for calm. ""We both care about you and Chuck, Herc, but he's asking as your C.O. and I'm asking as a friend.""
Herc ducks his head and rubs his neck. "Vos seems as good as Char—" His breath catches. He clears his throat, continues, "Chuck moves better with him, at least."
""You didn't answer my question.""
"Honestly ...."
Stacker waits.
Herc swallows, says, "Honestly, I wish the test hadn't worked out. Not that I want Vos hurt like—"
""Of course."" A beat. Stacker adds kindly, ""I've been told she's had almost two weeks of good days.""
Herc fights past the ache in his chest, croaks, "Swell."
A beat.
Stacker attends something off screen, sits straight, says to Herc. ""One moment.""
Herc grunts.
""Of course. Thank you, Officer Ginningham."" And then sits back, finds the camera.
Herc takes deep breath. "I'd rather it was you or me going out there with him."
""But that won't happen, Herc.""
"I know," sighs Herc. "At least Vos knows how to take care of kids."
Stacker snorts. "That's definitely an advantage."
Category:Ficlet
Category:Skeleton Key
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Category:AGNIS
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Category:Max
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Category:Herc (ficlet)
Category:Stacker
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Category:Chuck H (mention)
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