Where We Were

Observation and a good sense of perspective were the key traits Gluto possessed that allowed him to survive this long as Tetrax's partner. Of course the ability to regenerate helped but that didn't count until they encountered the human boy Ben. No, it was definitely the gelatinous alien's innate nature to study and easily relate the information to his surroundings that kept him where he was to the present.

Perhaps that was also why he seemed to get along with Myaxx.

The Chimera was, in Gluto's opinion, naturally detached from others. That is, when she wasn't being snide with Tetrax or making cynical remarks of their dismal chances of survival or going off into a tirade about Azmuth. There were moments, rare, precious few moments, when the female dropped her animosity in favor of a more pleasant countenance.

Of course the only times she ever displayed such a demeanor was when she was working on her personal project. And the only time she ever worked on her personal project was when she thought she was alone and no one was watching.

There were certainly advantages to having a gelatinous body that could shift in size and form. Not that he was spying on her, but what else was there to do on a mission where they'd spend more time travelling through space but observe and inspect?

Training with Tetrax was out of the question. Gluto had tried the Petrosapien's regimen once.

It did not end well for the navigator.

Myaxx was a far more appropriate candidate to act as Tetrax's sparring partner. In fact, Gluto had seen them go at it on one or two occasions. Unfortunately, none of these bouts were ever held in the training room.

And for the nth time since the mission began, Gluto was grateful ship maintenance and upkeep was not in his job description.

For the sake of keeping the peace (and their transportation intact), the pilot took it upon himself to bring the food whenever Myaxx locked herself in her quarters or Tetrax immersed himself in his training. And that was just what the mercenary and scientist had each done following their latest brawl.

A tentative knock with his tentacle elicited the following response from Myaxx: "That better not be you stone-breath!"

"It's Gluto. I've brought you dinner."

The door slid open just enough for Myaxx to reach out for the tray of food only to have the pilot pull the meal out of her reach. It was one of the times that Gluto's judgment flirted with the fine line between foolhardy and gutsy. "First, we need to talk."

Myaxx narrowed her gaze at him suspiciously, but eventually granted Gluto entrance.

He noticed the walls of her room were now covered in schematics, blueprints and assorted notes, neatly drawn, neatly labeled, all in the female alien's handwriting.

"I can probably guess what you want to talk to me about. I know I shouldn't be too hard on Tetrax, it's not his fault Azmuth trusts him more than he does me." The Chimera sighed, sinking down onto the bed dejectedly as the pilot set the plate beside her. It bothered her greatly that the paranoid genius would put his faith in someone who knew only a fraction of what she did.

Gluto wasn't all that surprised by Myaxx's analysis given the nature of her work. She needed to be able to pick out things that others missed, was required to have a quick mind and a sharp focus. Otherwise Azmuth would never have taken her on as his assistant or even let her become involved with any of his inventions.

Unfortunately, such brilliance always came with an ego that needed stroking. The lack of acknowledgement and respect, coupled with a constant barrage of insults and mockery must have left Myaxx on a hair-trigger and prone to lashing out whenever challenged.

She was certainly a lot more hostile now than when they rescued her from Incarcecon.

"But it's not my fault that he doesn't make it any easier for me to be nice to him." She frowns, "I mean, who tells someone that they're wasting their time moping in their room and not doing anything productive?" she grabbed a fistful of paper and practically shoves it against Gluto, "Is designing a device to widen the scope and range of this ship's trackers and frequency detection a waste of time? And to think I was going to give this stuff to you guys as an apology!"

"Tetrax doesn't mince words." Gluto explained, pushing the sheets away gently with a mechanical front arm, "And it's not as if he knows you're designing these things in your room. You don't even let him near your quarters."

"He's not my boss and he doesn't know me," She snaps, reaching for a utensil to savagely dig at the food, "Which means he has no right to assume things about me!"

The finality in her tone meant they were done talking and Gluto would be leaving, whether it was of his own volition or hurled out. With a series of clicks and squelching, the navigator wishes Myaxx a pleasant meal and exits.

One plate down, one more to go.

--

The sound of small footsteps was drowned out by a series of contained explosions and short-circuiting droids. Gluto winced as the sharp grating of solid, crystalline slicing into metal rang throughout the corridor. One of these days he was going to ask Tetrax to soundproof the training room or get himself a soundproof helmet.

Whichever came first.

There was no point knocking; it wasn't as if his partner would hear him over the ruckus. Gluto pressed the override button, instantly halting the simulation. Much to Tetrax's annoyance.

"You could have waited a few more minutes Gluto, I was almost done training." He grumbled, panting heavily as he leaned against the wall.

"That's what you always say," The pilot remarked dryly, his tentacle extending towards Tetrax to hand him his meal. "But you're never really done, are you?"

"Can't be too careful." The mercenary shrugged, digging into the food with the same fervor as he did his training. Tetrax paused mid-bite, turning his attention towards the gelatinous alien who had yet to leave. "You don't have to keep me company Gluto. I'm fine on my own."

"We need to talk."

"Something on your mind, partner?" The Petrosapien canted his head.

"You need to be nicer when speaking to Myaxx." Gluto began.

Tetrax blinked, "What do you mean? I am nice when I talk to her."

Gluto wasn't surprised by Tetrax's question, the latter's skill and talent did not go beyond the realm of combat, strategy and subterfuge. Tetrax could get past the toughest of security, read through the most complicated of plots, and hold his own against even the likes of Vilgax's army. In some ways, Tetrax was every bit an adept observer as Myaxx but his interpretation of the information always involved destroying something or someone.

Maintaining working relationships, such as his partnership with the navigator or his contacts for information, was the extent of the mercenary's capabilities in the realm of social interaction. Tetrax never did care about other people's opinions of him; he wouldn't have chosen this profession otherwise. Even after he had helped Vilgax destroy his home planet, it was how Tetrax viewed himself that prompted his change of heart.

"Then be nicer." The pilot suggested.

"I don't see why I have to put in the effort when she's the one with the attitude." The Petrosapien grumbled. "All I did was suggest she be less like the recluse she works for and spend more time doing other things. How does she respond? By throwing a chair at me!"

"Would you have preferred if she called you stone-breath instead?"

Tetrax grimaced, "She did. Right before she tried to twist my arm off." He flexed the aforementioned limb. There wasn't even so much as a scratch.

Petrosapiens in nature were a sturdy lot, tough both physically and mentally. Few things could damage them and fewer still the things that could get under their skin. But even they had their limits and the female Chimera was constantly putting a strain on the mercenary's patience. As far as Tetrax was concerned, he could justify his actions whenever he and Myaxx had their disagreements. Granted he was aware submission holds would have been far more effective in calming the taller alien down as opposed to slugging it out.

"This whole mission would go a lot smoother if she just wasn't so overly sensitive and told me what the hell it is that's bothering her." The diamond alien mutters as he exits the training room, empty tray in hand.

Gluto sighed, completely at a loss as to how he could reconcile someone so overly critical with someone so completely oblivious. The only way these two would ever settle their differences is if they somehow managed to see things through each other's eyes or sat down and talked to each other like civilized adults.

The pilot absently wondered if there was a mind-switching device or a perspective gun in their inventory.

--

Author's Notes:
Gluto takes center stage in this chapter because out of the three, he definitely has the most sense XD Also, cookies to whoever can get the "perspective gun" reference X3