Chapter 1: Just a complete failure

WARNING: This story is rated T for a reason. The following reasons being: Language, violence, adult themes and situations.

Authors note: Well, hey guys! This is my first fanfic in over a year. I've recently got back into the swing of writing and boy does it feel good! Unlike my previous stories, I have taken a new approach to make sure that I update regularly. I am writing chapters in advance so that I do not fall behind. I will post them every other week so that I can give you guys the opportunity to read a chapter and review it if you wish to. Lately I have rediscovered a childhood favourite of mine. Lilo and Stitch (the films and the show) were practically my childhood. And my favourite characters were always Gantu and Reuben (and Jumba and Pleakley). I have also seen that Gantu doesn't get much love on Fanfiction, so I took it upon myself to do my own story of him. This story is set 5 years after the events of Leroy and Stitch when Gantu and Reuben have a successful 5 year career in the Galactic Alliance. I prefer to think of the Anime show as a non-existing factor of the Lilo and Stitch franchise (since Chris Sanders has already confirmed it non-canon), so I will not be making any connection to that in my story. I will however, be making regular references to the events of the show and the movies up to the end of Leroy and Stitch.

And with that note, have fun reading my story!

'Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten'. Those words actually had a very powerful meaning behind them. The girl who once used to preach it had started out with a broken family, yet she remained content with what she had and welcomed new people (or should we say aliens) into her 'ohana'. Of course the term 'ohana' basically meant your typical everyday family who enjoyed each other's company by sitting in front of the TV together or going out for a meal. It hardly had that kind of meaning for the likes of Captain Gantu of the Galactic Alliance. He was a tall, gruff alien with an unusual reputation which he had somehow gained over the past few years. He had gone from being a highly respected Captain of a highly skilled crew, to being 'retired' by the Grand Councilwoman when he took the law into his own hands and jeopardized a (supposedly secret) mission with his wild antics. Then he turned to being the villain, which did not fit him very well, to finally being reinstated to his original position once again. All in the time frame of 4 years. During this time he had lived on the planet known as Earth, serving as the poor pitiful slave to Dr. Jacques Von Hämsterviel. Being stuck on the primitive planet with a broken down ship and a flawed and lazy genetic experiment for company, Gantu certainly didn't think that it was the highlight of his chosen career path. Gantu had been the Captain of the Galactic Armada only to be reduced to an errand boy (alien) for a hacked off rodent who claimed he was hamster-like when it was pretty clear he was actually gerbil-like. He was forced to put up with Hämsterviel's verbal abuse with every time he had attempted and failed to catch one of Dr. Jumba Jookiba's evil genetic experiments. And, like the fool he was, he tolerated it! Back when he was a Captain he would have never tolerated such behaviour without either arresting or seriously damaging the person who assaulted him in such a manner. And he would have done it with physical violence. Gantu was probably the last person you would want to challenge to fight in a bar, since he was a Shaelek, a species well-known for being militarily dominant and rather bulky as well as aggressive. However the truth was, deep down, Gantu wasn't bad at all. That was why he let the trog, aka experiment 626 (known to everybody as Stitch), and his little female Human companion, Lilo, walk all over him and beat him in the battle to catch the experiments. At any time he could have squished the little Earth girl and wiped Stitch out with his blaster, but he could never find the courage to do so. It was not just his good nature that stopped him from doing this, it was also, jealousy. He was jealous of Lilo and Stitch because they had something which he hadn't had for such a long time... a loving family to return home to.

Of course, after the incident involving the Leroy clones, Gantu finally mustered up the courage to stand up for himself and turned against his former employer when he figured that he was merely a puppet in a game he had lost for so long. Hämsterviel had treated him like crap for too long and had used him till he was no longer needed. It was at this time that he realized that what Lilo had done was actually right and made the big decision to help her and her team of good experiments to defeat those clones. This decision had paid off for Gantu and had determined his future for the better. He got reinstated as Captain, after Stitch declined the job in order to return to Earth with his family. Experiment 625, aka Reuben, who had been stuck with Gantu for over 3 years, was also offered a job in the Galactic Alliance, but not by the Grand Councilwoman. Gantu admitted that he had grown rather fond of the small sandwich making experiment and had made a bargain with the Grand Councilwoman to make him his Galley Officer. Reuben had accepted this offer without hesitation. Because, like all of his cousins on Earth, he had found the one true place he belonged. With Gantu.

5 years on from the point they had been marked Captain and Galley Officer, Gantu and Reuben were as close as ever before. The pair had gained quite a reputation of being 'best pals in and out of service' and Gantu's crew were considered one of the best in the entire galaxy! Compared to all of his failures during his time on Earth, Gantu had changed dramatically with his approach while on duty as Captain. His security force was formidable and he had not lost a single prisoner or had any escapees since he was reinstated. Of course he had a few close calls, but hey, who doesn't? His job was going great! He had a great friend who always helped cheer him up in and out of work, and most of all, he had a great career and reputation going!

So yes, in some ways Gantu did have an ohana. He considered his crew and Reuben to be his little family since he had no proper family to call his own. It was an unusual sort of family for some. But Gantu was content. He had a different kind of ohana.

Location: Crab Nebula, Creb quadrant, south of the planet Yuluh.

"All security to converge to the Deck C prison block. Escapee in progress. Deadly force not authorized, fire to stun. Repeat, fire to stun!"

Gantu was face palming hard. He was sat on his space ship, the BRB 11,000, on his high commanding chair on the main bridge with some of his operating crew working vigorously to each and every command he gave. On the monitor screen above his two main technical Officers was a display of live footage being shown of a prisoner escaping out of the prison block. He watched as the said escapee was trying his best to burn through a door with an acid gun he had somehow managed to obtain from one of the weapon bays. He was a big fellow, almost as big as Gantu and had three times the strength of the security Officers converging to face him. His three beady red eyes occasionally scowled up towards the camera, knowing full well he was being watched. The whole ship was on high alert, alarms were ringing in every corner and all of the crew were rushing about frantically to do their jobs. Yet they all remained calm and attentive to their tasks. No one was panicking... well except the Captain of course. Mentally, Gantu was on melting point. He hadn't lost a prisoner since the escape of experiment 626, so of course he had forgotten what stresses an escaping convict could have on the main person in charge. In this particular case, he was that person. Gantu's heart was racing like it had never done before. He knew his Officers were good, but even he could figure out that they did not stand a chance against such a big opponent. It was a miracle that they had even managed to capture him in the first place. It took the combined strength of Gantu, his security crew and the strengths of his noble Galley Officer Reuben (who was well known for carrying three thousand times his own weight) to take the guy down. The prisoner was a well known crook, turned mob gangster called Zellious Glornack. He had just been captured on the planet of Yuluh, caught right in the act of dealing illegal space steroids to young children. This was the kind of scum Gantu had to collect and take back to Turo for trial and imprisonment. And boy did it feel good to lock them all up. But with Mr. Glornack, this was not an ordinary capture and imprisonment. Gantu had encountered him before. A year before he had been retired in fact. The first time this prisoner had been arrested he was not as strong, well not compared to how he was at present, meaning he didn't put up as much of a fight. As Gantu recalled from his past experience, he was able to apprehend the big brute himself. However, this time it was different. Zellious Glornack was even bigger and tougher than ever before. He couldn't be contained or kept under control. He was always on a raging rampage. That was what illegal space steroids did to a guy.

"I want all deck guns re-routed to lock on his genetic signature," Gantu commanded his technical crew who were frantically pushing buttons and typing all sorts of codes and coordinates into the ship's main computer. "Perhaps we can stun him long enough for him to be captured by the security."

"Yes sir," one of his crew responded before doing as instructed. The female armadillo-looking alien named Officer Armilia suddenly paused and stopped obeying her Captain's orders before passing a glance to the Officer sat next to her. Both then looked up at their Captain with a slight concern. "Sir?"

"What is it?" Gantu's eyes shifted expecting something bad to be reported.

"The prisoner has just breached the door. He's heading towards the shuttle bay."

"Blitznak!" Gantu cursed aloud slamming his fist on the arm of his seat in frustration. He then grabbed his microphone once again to give the order to his security who were now approaching Deck C. "Captain to security, convict is heading to shuttle bay. Deadly force now authorized. Fire on sight!"

"Roger that Captain," one of the security Officers' voices came through as a response.

Amidst the mayhem Gantu remained seated, keeping his gaze firmly on the monitor screen which was receiving footage from a camera which followed the fleeing convict as laser beams began to shoot past him at a excessive speed. The security guards were gaining upon him. But as Gantu feared, not in enough time. He wondered how many casualties this prisoner had caused so far and how many more were about to happen. His Chief of security had already been knocked unconscious by this scaly green brute. How many more of his Officer's was Glornack willing to take out? Gantu's gaze was briefly taken off of the monitor as the bridge door automatically opened and a well-known Officer entered. Dressed in a small red suit with yellow cuffs and buttons, as well as a black and gold belt complete with a red hat, complete with a black cap. It was his trusty Galley Officer, Reuben, and he immediately rushed to the side of his best friend with a very frantic and confused, yet concerned, expression attached to his tiny face.

"Gantu, what in the Horse Head Nebula going on?"

"Escaped convict," Gantu placed a hand to his temple, obviously stressed and wishing the whole situation to go away. "Seems like Mr. Zellious Glornack did not take to the sedatives we gave him. He's just breached our security, tried to kill our Chief and several other security crew and is on his way to the shuttle bay. Plus he is armed with a acid blaster he obtained from the weapons bay."

"Oh, Blitznak," Reuben muttered to himself as he followed Gantu's gaze onto the monitor showing the escaped convict battle with security. "Can I do anything?"

"Negative," Gantu shook his head, almost admitting defeat at this point. "By the time you get down there he will be gone."

"So, what do we do?" Reuben queried. Before Gantu could respond to what Reuben had said, the monitor feed suddenly went static when a security Officer was hurled at the camera by the brutish out of control criminal. The whole bridge then went deathly silent and all eyes turned upon their Captain. Gantu held his breath and then let out the biggest exhale he had ever done.

"We... hope for a damn miracle."

That miracle never came. Glornack had managed to escape Gantu's security crew, not without knocking half of them out first, and hotwire a police shuttle before blasting into space. He was surprisingly clever for such an alien powered on nothing but nasty space steroids and thick green mouldy skin. Of course it was not over yet. There was always the pursuing crew located in various smaller ships outside the BRB 11,000. But Gantu had already determined how this was going to go down. It was just like the time experiment 626 had escaped his custody. That was an embarrassing moment in Gantu's Galactic career, and now it was happening again but with a bigger criminal. So much for Gantu's superb record. That was now flying out of the shuttle bay along with the escapee. Oh how was he going to explain this to the Grand Councilwoman? What would she think of him for losing yet another criminal. Would be retired again or downgraded to a lower position? That was the only problem with working for the Galactic Alliance. It was so easy to break the rules and get fired or downgraded. But surely one criminal escaping wouldn't jeopardize his job... would it? Well, judging by the events of what had happened all of those years ago with Stitch, perhaps it could.

"Pursue Commander to Captain Gantu. Come in Captain Gantu," a voice came through the speakers at the front of the ship. Gantu swiftly stood up and reached down for the microphone once again in order to respond to the pursuing Commander.

"This is Captain Gantu," Gantu cleared his throat as his eyes shifted to the window as the police pursuit with the escaping convict was taking place. "Go ahead."

"He's somehow hacked the security code and is using the secure weapons in that ship," the pursuing Commander spoke, the sounds of lasers and explosions echoing in the background. "He's one heck of a smart guy to do that!"

"Keep up the pursuit," Gantu ordered "and make sure he does not engage his-"

"Um, sir?" Officer Armilia interrupted rather urgently.

"What?!" Gantu spat unintentionally. Armilia trembled a little at the way the Captain had spoke to her. When Gantu was under pressure he tended to get very aggressive and unpredictable. That was all a part of his characteristics as a Captain.

"He's just engaged his H drive."

"Double Blitznak!" He fumed, cursing in his native tongue repeatedly under his breath. Gantu rubbed his temple again roughly with his large hand before proceeding to stand and grab the microphone near the wall. He then put the microphone to his mouth again and ordered his pursuing crew to clear away from the convict's ship. The last thing he needed was more casualties from this pursuit. "Pursue Commander, de-clear that ship! It's about to engage its hyper-drive! I repeat, de-clear that ship!"

"Aye Captain," the pursue Commander responded calmly. Suddenly a rush of light in the distance shone intensely through the bridge window. It was then followed by ripples of distortion which briefly shifted the ship off course. The convict had engaged his hyper-drive and was now in deep space. Nothing else could be done other then track him and re-arrest him at a later stage. The Captain was obviously angered and disappointed with himself and his crew for letting the famous criminal Zellious Glornack escape so easily. Gantu stood, his bulky arm leaning on the core iron wall as he pressed his head against it in some sort of frustration while he still held his microphone in his right hand. He clenched his teeth and dropped the microphone down so it was now swinging rapidly below Gantu's waist. He then placed his other hand on the cool metal wall which served as the inner shell of the ship and tapped all three of his bulky fingers against it in order to let off some steam. He stood there for several moments, without movement or sound, before he finally took a deep breath which was swiftly followed with his head falling from his arm to gazing at the floor in defeat. The bridge went deathly silent again and the crew exchanged awkward glances and gestures. The two technical Officers, Armilia and Hermi, who dealt with all of the coordinates and controls in the rest of the ship, decided it was time to turn off the constant and irritating alarms which continuously echoed throughout the ship. Everyone knew this pursuit was over. Reuben daringly stepped forward and went to pat Gantu's leg encouragingly. But before his yellow paw could touch the big shark-like alien's stump of a leg, he hesitantly held back as Gantu finally made a movement after moments of deathly silence.

Reuben wasn't the only one stunned by Gantu's sudden and unexpected outburst. Gantu was that frustrated he let out a huge groan and proceeded to slam his large fist into the metal wall. Needless to say, it made a rather large dent. Reuben's ajar face and widened eyes made him tentative to speak. But Reuben was not afraid of Gantu. He was far from it. Reuben was the only one who could push Gantu's buttons and live to see the next day. It was not only his indestructible capabilities which helped him here, but also Gantu's ego. He knew Gantu would never be capable of hurting him. He cared too much for him to do that. Knowing that no one else was willing to say a word to the raging Captain, Reuben finally decided to break the ever growing deadly silence.

"Gantu, I'm sure-" Reuben began calmly. He then instantly closed his mouth and looked down at the floor awkwardly after Gantu shot him a cold glare.

"Shut it!" Gantu snapped wildly at his Galley Officer before turning to leave the bridge "I've had it with all this. I am not to be disturbed unless the Grand Councilwoman calls. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" Everyone on the bridge said in unison as quickly as possible.

Everyone watched as Captain Gantu aggressively stormed out of the room. With every large step he took, vibrations rattled throughout the floorboards. Reuben's eyes dimmed down as he watched his best friend leave the room. He had not seen him like this in a very long time. In some ways it saddened him. It was only fun to see Gantu like this when he was being teased. Not when his responsibilities backfired in his face. And being spoken to in that tone broke Reuben's tiny heart. He was Gantu's best friend. The two always spoke with such pleasantries (or un-pleasantries every time Reuben teased him) and the pair were pretty much inseparable. Sure, Reuben had watched and mocked Gantu's failures on Earth every time he lost an experiment to Lilo and Stitch, but this was completely different. This was Reuben's first time seeing Gantu fail at a job he was really good at. And it hurt him to see his friend like this.

For several hours Gantu had confined himself to his quarters. He was still extremely frustrated with the whole situation which had happened earlier. It was his first big failure in 5 whole years. And for some reason, it brought back all of the bad memories of his employment with Dr. Hämsterviel. He had even imagined what he would be saying right now if he had witnessed the escape of his fugitive.

"Oh look, you've failed again you fool of a fish-headed minion!" Just thinking of those words sent repeated shivers down the back of Gantu's large spine. He felt like a huge failure. And it wasn't his crew he blamed at all. It was just himself.

Gantu curled himself into a ball shape on his rather large double bed at the end of his cabin. He remained in this position for a very long time. His thoughts constantly driven on how much of a failure he was and what accomplishments he had not achieved in his life. He was now considering what life would have actually turned out like if he had remained on his home planet instead of enrolling for the Galactic Armada. Would it have turned out better? If he had stuck with the Shaelek police force instead of being ambitious, would he have accomplished more? Probably not. It was not in him to accomplish anything. Like Reuben had once told him after hearing his life story, his life was a "boring failure".

Gantu clenched his eyes shut and just pressed his legs tighter to his stomach as he repositioned himself on the bed. He continued to mope away for several more minutes before a sudden knock at his door disrupted him from his depressing thoughts.

"Who is it?" Gantu snapped rudely, not breaking away from his current position.

"It's me," a small voice from the other end of the door spoke out. Gantu instantly recognized the voice and opened his eyes.

"What do you want Reuben? You come to gloat about my boring failures?"

There was a pause, obviously Gantu's response had stunned his small companion. Reuben had no idea of what Gantu was thinking, let alone the grudges he still had on him from their past conversations from years before. "No," finally came a response. "I came to see if my bestest pal in the whole galaxy was alright."

"Well he isn't," Gantu retorted rather harshly before turning over on the bed "go away."

"Oh yeah? Well... what if I don't want to go away?" Reuben questioned rather boldly. Gantu re-opened his eyes and shot up after hearing this. Whenever Reuben got into this frame of mind, Gantu knew he would never win. At times the little experiment was very persistent. Gantu knew it was his concern which kept him like this, and he admired that greatly. That had shown him that he was a true friend.

Reuben was surprised when the door shot open moments after he had refused to go away. His head instantly shot up to the head height of Gantu, who now stood, arms crossed, in front of him.

"Then I'll pummel you!" Gantu protested. Reuben smirked and his tense nature instantly wore off.

"Ummm, in case you have forgotten fish-flanks, I am indestructible," Reuben remarked flexing both of his arms teasingly "and besides, you don't have the guts to pummel your best sandwich making pal. Oh, which reminds me," he then pulled out a plate from behind his back and placed it before Gantu "I made you an egg salad sandwich. You know... your favourite."

Gantu remained firm. He wasn't in the mood to be mocked further by Reuben. Not today. He knew his friend meant well, but he wasn't in the frame of mind to handle it after the day he had just had. Reuben noticed his friend's stubbornness and continued to press the sandwich closer and closer. Refusing the budge, Gantu finally spoke, much to his friend's sorrow.

"I'm not hungry," Gantu then proceeded to walk back into his room. He did not bother to close the door as he knew Reuben would only pester him further if he did anyway. Reuben followed of course. Gantu simply sat on his bed and held his hands together as he looked down at the floor glumly. Reuben climbed the bed and sat beside his companion.

"Look," Reuben placed a tiny hand on Gantu's arm comfortingly "what's up? You can talk to me! I hate it when you shut me out like this."

Gantu let out a gruff yet depressed sigh as he then gazed back at his experiment companion. "I don't know. I guess I've felt off for a couple of weeks. Today was just the tip of the asteroid, if you get my meaning."

"Uh huh," Reuben nodded getting the expression instantly. "What's on your mind Chief?"

"I'm not sure," Gantu began as he stood up and headed towards the large window at the end of his room. He gazed out of it longingly as his companion continued to sit on the bed and watch him from a distance. The Crab Nebula was very visible from the view. Gantu's glowing blue eyes were almost dazzled by the way the various colours of the gases reflected into them. It was so calm, so... mesmerizing. The universe had many natural wonders which made his job all the more beneficial. However, sightseeing was not a part of his job. Being a leader of a respectable crew was. And today he had failed. This made gazing out into space seem like a getaway from the troubles inside his head. "I guess... I just want something different."

"Like?" Reuben arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"A change from our daily routine. My life had always been full of failure and misery. Even when I was younger and living at home I never fitted in with anyone. I love my job and I love my crew. You're all like my family. But I need a change from it all. Something new in my life. I don't know what. I guess it's just the miserable failure in me realizing that this job wasn't built for me." Gantu then turned his head away from the window and his eyes shifted to his feet. "Perhaps being a Captain is a position I was not fit to be in."

Reuben, as always, listened closely to his friend as he moped about his life. He had done this many times in the past. And usually he would reply sarcastically or would mock Gantu further, but today was completely different. His friend was majorly depressed and was accusing himself of completely false and ridiculous accusations. Reuben knew that he would have to get his friend to snap out of it. "Are you kidding?" Reuben began as he leapt off of the bed and walked over to his larger companion. "You call 5 years of perfect service a complete failure? Sure you had a rough patch today, but hey, who doesn't? YOU my friend are the best Captain of the Galactic Alliance I know of. No one could do your job better. And trust me on this buddy, I know many aliens back at Turo who would kill for your job. But not one of them has the stuff to be Captain like you. You've got all the stuff and more! So cheer up!"

"I can't though," Gantu shook his head again "I keep thinking of all my failures back on Earth. I now realize why I let the little trog and Earth girl walk all over me and let Hämsterviel assault me all of those times."

"Is it because your buttookie is too soft?" Reuben joked chuckling slightly.

"Something like that," Gantu responded dimly. He then stepped away from the window and began to pace about the room. "Oh, what is the Grand Councilwoman going to think of me?"

"I'm sure she'll understand and give you a second chance to capture him," Reuben encouraged following Gantu about the room. "Surely she must understand that everyone slips up every now and then."

Gantu stopped and looked down at Reuben with the tiniest smile appearing on his softened features "Oh Reuben," he began "if only I could think as positively as you." He then bent down to pat Reuben on the head as his smile grew. "Thank you by the way. I appreciate you trying to cheer me up."

"Hey, what are pals for?" Reuben grinned then swatted away Gantu's hand in protest to being smothered. "Hey, hey! Watch the hat!"

"Sorry," Gantu drew his hand back and simply gazed upon his little friend with a much more content expression. He felt slightly happier after his conversation with Reuben. And even though the little sandwich making fiend could be a real pain in the butt at times, he always knew what to say to cheer his old friend up.

Just then, a cracking sound came through the speakers at the other end of Gantu's cabin. It was from the bridge. About a second after the cracking sound had began, a voice came though the other end. And the voice was about to speak words that Gantu was not particularly fond of hearing.

"Sir, forgive the intrusion," the voice began. Gantu arose from is crouched position and headed over to the wall to speak into the wall-installed microphone.

"Go ahead Officer Hermi."

"Well," the voice paused for a moment, the pause was brief but awkward, obviously the Officer was finding the best way to break the sudden news to his superior Officer. "We have the Grand Councilwoman on the communicator. She requires your presence on the bridge, immediately."

Gantu briefly took his hand off of the microphone and muttered a certain cursing. "Bitznak." He then re-pressed his hand on the microphone and responded, rather professionally, to his Officer on the other end. "Tell her I will be right there."

"Aye sir," came the final response. Gantu slipped his hand off of the microphone and breathed in deeply. He looked down at Reuben who returned his solemn stare.

"Well Reuben," Gantu paused as his small yellow companion climbed onto his shoulder "guess we'd better go face the fire."

"Yeah," Reuben then nudged Gantu's head encouragingly with his tiny paw "but we'll do it together."

"Thanks buddy," Gantu tilted his head and nudged Reuben in return as the pair exited the cabin to head to the main bridge. He was about to face a fear he did not wish to face. But having such a loyal companion like Reuben along with him, provided some comfort for the big alien Captain. And If, in worst case, he were to lose his job and credibility after this fiasco, he would always have his ohana (even if that were just Reuben). And as a young girl once told him "a ohana is the greatest gift of all."

Upon entering the bridge, Gantu grimaced slightly when he saw a very stubborn Grand Councilwoman await, rather impatiently, for his arrival on the main monitor at the front of the ship. Gantu rushed, rather calmly, to his seat and cleared his throat as he addressed the Grand Councilwoman with as much of a professional manner as he could possibly muster.

"Grand Councilwoman," Gantu began holding back the rising lump at the back of his throat. He was rather nervous about facing her since she looked very cross about the whole situation. He wasn't sure on how to continue his sentence. But luckily for him, he didn't have to wait long. The Grand Councilwoman herself quickly jumped into the conversation.

"Captain Gantu," she began, placing her slender green hands together proudly "I am aware of the escape of the prisoner, Mr. Zellious Glornack. I trust you are aware of the consequences of his escape?"

Gantu rubbed his temple and huffed slightly "Yes ma'am," Gantu then feared the worst. He had a feeling that she would no doubt strip away his authority and make him the laughing stock of the Galactic Empire. This had happened too many times in his life.

The Grand Councilwoman's brow shifted in confusion as her Captain was practically admitting defeat before her. This was rather unlike him to be sure. The extremely large alien she had taken on as her Captain of the Galactic Armada never gave up, under any circumstances. He was always one of the more rambunctious Officers in her forces. And though the Grand Councilwoman knew Gantu's species to be a gruff and overly-aggressive kind of sort, she knew Gantu could be trusted. But today, he just didn't seem right. She figured it was his pride being hurt after his defeat. And let's not forget that the last time a prisoner had escaped his custody, he was retired for being too erratic with his actions. The Grand Councilwoman's greenish eyes squinted slightly and her head tilted to its side as she spoke with a very unsure tone in her respectable voice. "Captain, you are taking this rather too calmly. I know this must be difficult for you to grasp, but I need to make myself clear. There is much to this that you are unaware of, and the consequences of your actions today have cost the Galactic Federation more than you could possibly begin to comprehend. Therefore I have no choice but to-"

Gantu suddenly slammed his fist down on his seat which made the Grand Councilwoman jolt in surprise and stop talking. Gantu then arose with a fuming look on his face. He pointed directly into the monitor and spoke in a tone he had never spoken to his superiors' before in his life. "You know what? Forget it! Fire me for all I care! I do one thing wrong after 5 years of excellent service and it's all 'bye, bye Mr. Gantu! Don't forget your pay check on your way out!' Well I've had it with all of that. So you can take my Captain's badge and stick it right up your-"

"CAPTAIN GANTU!" The Grand Councilwoman bellowed cutting him off in mid sentence. Gantu immediately shut his mouth and instantly regretted what he had just said. "I am not accustomed to being spoken to in that manner."

Gantu didn't know what had come over him. He could not explain his actions for speaking in such a way to his superior leader. Mentally cringing at what he had just said he thought to himself 'shit, I've really stepped my over-large foot in it now. Nice going big dummy!' And now he was referring to himself with the nickname he had been given by the little Hawaiian girl when they were enemies. What in this galaxy was wrong with him today? He certainly wasn't the normal moody self he usually was. And now he was probably going to be fired for sure. No one, not even the criminals on trial, spoke to the Grand Councilwoman like that.

"G-Grand Councilwoman," Gantu finally stammered very slowly, trying to be cautious with his wording. "I apologise. Today has been a very rough day and I did not mean-"

"Silence!" She commanded. "I understand you anguish Captain Gantu, but that is no excuse to take it out on me. Therefore you are to return to Turo immediately where I can speak to you face to face and make you aware of the full situation before you."

"B-but," Gantu argued before giving it up "yes ma'am."

"Good," she simply put. Her green wrinkles becoming less evident on her face as her features softened to the troubled Captain. She no longer seemed angry, shocked or even insulted with what the Captain had rudely said. Instead she looked rather... pitiful. "You have a lot of potential Captain, you have proved this time and time again. Don't let your disappointments get the better of you. I don't wish to see one of my finest Officers be reduced to nothing. I will await your arrival at Turo tomorrow afternoon. Report to me as soon as you arrive. From there we will discuss your future and the full situation of Mr. Glornack's escape."

And with that, the monitor went static. Gantu was now surprisingly calm. Not once had the Grand Councilwoman actually told him that he was fired. He had just assumed, from past experience, that he was a goner. But he would still have to face her tomorrow in person. And 'discussing his future' didn't sound too appealing. Though, he hoped it would all work out in the end. Like she had insinuated, there was no point in him being dragged down by one mistake. Captain Gantu was a fine Officer and had a formidable record over the past 5 years. Surely it would not be torn to shreds over just one criminal. Would it?

"Set a course for Turo," Gantu commanded his technical Officers.

"Aye sir," they responded in unison and did as instructed.

Gantu placed a grey bulky hand on his forehead and rested his head against his shoulder for several moments. Reuben now climbed to the arm of his chair and placed a comforting hand on Gantu's arm. He felt his pain. Today was not a good day for either of them. But it could only get better from this point on right? Reuben always tried to think positively about these situations. More for Gantu's sake than his own. But neither of them were fully aware of the situation before them. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. And something was about to change for them both. Something which would affect their careers and lives for both better and worse.

Authors note: Well that was the first chapter. Sorry if you guys expect most chapters to be short and sweet, but I always write a lot of in-depth details to try and make it as good as I can. I am also trying my best to keep all of the characters in character. I would appreciate some feedback on this. I love getting reviews. Constructive criticism is always taken positively. Thank you for reading and the next chapter will be up soon.