A/N: I own nothing except the laptop I wrote this story on.
Not a word was spoken in the ACC.
Normally, this wasn't that unusual. After a long day of missions, the Boss wasn't particularly up for small talk or chatter. He liked to sit in the back of the helicopter, and either catch up on sleep or quietly listen to his pilot's interactions with Quiet. Or he'd be calming down any prisoners that they'd rescued in Afghanistan. It had gotten to the point where Ocelot half-jokingly suggested that they were able to recruit an entire unit out of former prisoners.
But today was different, and the prisoner sitting next to him had something to do with that.
"Landing at Mother Base in five." Pequod said. There was no mirth to his voice; he sounded rather clinical. Snake resisted the urge to sigh. He never liked it when the kid was acting cold; Pequod was better both as a pilot and as a person when he wasn't carrying a grudge or mad about something. And it was easy to read the tension in the air, and determine that the pilot was clearly stewing about something. Snake had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to find out.
"Thank goodness." The voice of the prisoner, muffled as it was by the bag over his head, said. "I'm getting sick without knowing where we're going!"
Snake didn't bother responding. Quiet just glared at the prisoner herself. And Pequod said nothing, either.
…
Five minutes later, the helicopter landed on the pad in front of the R&D platform. Normally this would be a landing that would take place at the Command Platform, but Ocelot and Kaz had both agreed that the R&D platform was the best place to drop off the target. After all, it was where Room 101 was located on Mother Base: the perfect place for a "private" chat. Snake gestured for the pilot in front of him to open the doors to the ACC.
Quiet stepped out of the cockpit, and stood in front of the trio of Mother Base soldiers that were there to meet Snake and his captive. Normally, the majority of the Mother Base staff treated her with fear or distrust if not outright disdain. But they didn't even bother to acknowledge her; it might have been the fact that they sensed she had a similar feeling to theirs. And even they could appreciate this disturbing woman taking their side on something so delicate as this.
As Snake stepped out of the ACC with his prisoner, he noticed that Pequod had turned off the helicopter and was in the middle of unbuckling his seatbeat. That struck the mercenary as rather out of character: Pequod usually docked Baby in one of the under-base garages before getting out, or kept Baby parked on the command platform if he felt like lounging around.
Finally, Snake realized that there was no putting it off. He sighed, and yanked the bag off of his prisoner's head. The prisoner winced as his eyes adjusted to the sudden incursion of light and bright colors, and blinked multiple times.
"You could have given me some warning, Snake!" Dr. Huey Emmerich said, somewhat poutingly and somewhat jokingly at the same time. He'd meant for it to come off as friendly banter; it sounded like complaining. He didn't notice Snake's glare, and looked over at the Mother Base soldiers. "H-Hey guys! You must be some of the Boss' new soldiers. He only picks the best, right?"
Dead silence. Huey gulped, and then his eyes flitted over to Quiet. He turned beat red at the sight of her.
"Um, h-hello…You…you must be-are you-?"
Quiet…well, she didn't hiss, but she made a noise of abject disgust from somewhere in the back of her throat. Not wanting to be in this man's presence any longer, she disappeared. While the rest of the people on the platform were totally used to Quiet's shenanigans, Huey was utterly terrified.
"What the-? Did any of you see that?"
Dead silence. Emmerich frowned.
"Hey, you know, it's not very nice to be so cold. I'm on your side, remember? I defected from Skull Face to help you, to help the Boss!" He turned towards the Boss with a pleading expression on his face; Snake didn't even acknowledge his presence. For a brief moment, a look of panic flashed across Emmerich's eyes. But then he saw another figure walking up to them. It was Pequod.
"Hey…I know you." Emmerich said. Pequod was now right in front of him, a look of cold fury on his face. Either Emmerich was braver than Snake thought, or he was literally incapable of seeing murder staring him an inch from the face. "You're the Boss' trusted pilot! It's…your name is Morpho, right?"
It was like lighting a match by an exposed gas line. Pequod's eyes bulged in rage and, before anyone could react, he spit right in the face of the scientist in front of him. From the look of it, he'd been building up saliva. Emmerich sputtered in shock, and took off his glasses to clean them off.
"H-Hey! What was tha-"
He didn't get to finish, as Pequod spit in his face again. It was as if the pilot had waited until Emmerich had just finished cleaning himself off before spitting, as if to maximize disdain.
"Stop that!" Emmerich yelped. "What did I do to you, Morpho? That wasn't me that shot down your helicopter all those years ago it was-"
He didn't get to finish that sentence, as Pequod swung a mighty right hook and caught Emmerich flush under the jaw. Thanks to his exo-suit prosthetics, Emmerich was kept upright but was completely unconscious at the same time.
"Well, I was gonna just tranquilize him, but that works too, I suppose."
Ocelot had walked up towards the group, with Miller hobbling right behind him. With a nod, Ocelot dismissed the soldiers. But before they did, Snake cleared his throat.
"Wait."
They stopped, and turned to look at their Boss. Snake sighed heavily, as if what he was about to speak was going to hurt him very badly.
"Take Pequod to the brig until we're done with Emmerich." He looked at the pilot and sighed again. "I understand the rage, but even so: Emmerich is still a prisoner and needs to be treated with dignity and respect. Those kinds of actions are unbecoming of a Diamond Dog."
"Even if he doesn't deserve it…" Miller muttered quietly. He was silenced by a stern look from the Boss.
"Once we're done with Emmerich, Commander Ocelot will come to discuss this matter with you." Snake said. "Do you understand?"
"One request, sir." Pequod said, his visage still cold and expressionless.
"Of course."
"Can you be present when Commander Ocelot is there for me?"
Snake nodded, and a look of relief passed across the young pilot's face. With that, the soldiers started walking away towards the brig. Ocelot patted Pequod on the shoulder in a reassuring manner, and then turned towards the three remaining individuals with him.
"You know we're mostly going to be discussing dinner plans and ways to modify Baby." He said to Snake matter-of-factly. The Boss nodded.
"I know. And I suppose the thought of doing this crossed my mind."
"Pequod just had the guts to go and do it." Miller said. "If you dare to court-martial him, I will serve as his defense and run you into the ground, Boss."
"That…won't be necessary." Snake said, trying not to smile. A look at Emmerich did the trick. "Come on. Let's get him to Room 101. I want to find out what he knows. About everything."
...
"He punched the scientist?"
"Yep! Just laid into him. BAM!" The Dog in question smacked one of his fists into his palm to emphasize the point. He did it with enough force that some of the others flinched. "I saw it with my own two eyes, cuz I was one of the four guys that led him to the brig. But if they do anything to Pequod, we'll mutiny. That was a deserved strike. Took all I had not to burst out laughing when I saw that limp-dick scientist standing unconscious." He finished with a proud look on his face. Wounded Fox laughed.
"You're shitting me. Our boy Pequod did that?"
"Damn straight." The Dog, named Stubborn Bull, said. "We were high-fiving him the whole way to the brig."
"I don't really understand." Howling Badger said, brushing a lock of her hair out of her eyes. "I get the fact that this Dr. Emmerich, this 'Huey', has been playing both sides, but what was it about him that got Pequod to snap like that?"
"He knows what happened nine years ago." The table of Dogs turned over to see old Komodo Dragon sitting by himself at the table next to them, in the middle of lighting a cigarette. He inhaled the smoke, and blew it out through his nose. Perhaps that was how he'd gotten the moniker of "Komodo Dragon," though no one was brave enough to ask. In his short time since being rescued from the Afghan desert, Komodo Dragon had quickly risen through the ranks to the point where only the Boss and Howling Badger were his superiors in the Combat Unit. And, officially, Badger and Dragon had never sparred to determine who was the leader. Bets were already being made on who was better at CQC.
"Which is what? The base got fried, right?" Wounded Fox asked, and then winced. That wasn't exactly the most polite way to put it, and even he knew it. Thankfully, Komodo didn't take offense. He did turn to look Fox in the eye, however.
"Yes." He said. "Yes, it did. And the level of depth and complexity to the attack…it suggested that there was an inside hand to help the enemy." Komodo took another drag on his cigarette. "And I wouldn't be surprised if that Emmerich had something to do with it."
"Careful, honey." Howling Badger said. "It isn't wise to engage in scuttlebutt on something that sensitive."
Only Howling Badger could get away with calling someone like Komodo Dragon "honey" and not get pasted or thrown over the railing into the sea below. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
"Maybe not for you. But I remember what it was like to call into Mother Base on my radio and get nothing but static and the emergency broadcast on an infinite loop. And if that scientist had something to do with it…"
"What? You'll take matters into your own hands?" Howling Badger asked. She was frowning. The other Dogs all got quiet out of fear. They felt like captured gazelle listening to two lions argue over how to prepare dinner. Komodo stared at her.
"I would, but what would the point be? I'd have to get in line like everyone else on base. And besides, the line starts with the Boss." He shrugged. "If Emmerich needs to die, then rest assured the Boss will be the one to kill him. And if he does that, then my problem is solved. Just because I'm not the one to pull the trigger doesn't mean I'll be upset."
"…Fair enough." Badger said after a moment's contemplation. "Just know that I'm not a fan of vigilante justice, honey. And I never will be."
"I understand." Komodo said with a nod.
The rest of the room let out a collective exhale.
…
The door to the brig opened up, and he looked in the doorway. They'd honored his request, just like he asked. Ocelot took a seat across from him at the little table, and cleared his throat.
"Before we begin, I just need to make something clear for you: we are Diamond Dogs. We aren't a tribal militia, and we aren't a bunch of cowboy cops dispensing justice in whatever manner we see fit. We have a code. And part of that code is how we treat our prisoners. We treat those that we have captured with respect, and we do not denigrate and humiliate them to prove a point. And we do not allow for any exceptions to that rule, no matter the skill of the individual that breaks our rules. Do you understand?"
Pequod nodded. Ocelot nodded sagely.
"Good. Then I guess I have one question before I let you go." He leaned in, and managed to keep a straight face. "How'd it feel to sock that son of a bitch?"
"I'm just pissed I didn't get my lower body into it." Pequod said. "I've slapped people harder than that."
Ocelot cracked up. Even Snake had to fight off a grin.
"But why did you react like that?" Snake asked quietly. He was leaning in the doorway. "What did Emmerich say?"
"…He called me Morpho." Pequod said quietly.
"Yes, he did." Snake said, in a tone that implied that he didn't really understand. Ocelot, on the other hand, felt his chest heaving in realization.
"Boss, uh…"
"Is there something that you haven't told me, Ocelot?" Snake asked. He made eye contact with his chief intelligence officer. When he saw the guilty look flash across the Russian's eyes, he just shook his head in resignation. "What am I missing here?"
"You remember Morpho, right?" Ocelot asked. "Older fella, pushing into his forties when he joined Mother Base?"
"Yeah, I remember him." Snake said. "A good man. Good pilot, but a little straight-laced. Mikolaj Krakowski. Polish. Fled the country with his family after the Soviets rolled in in the aftermath of the Second World War, whereupon he moved to…Chicago…" He trailed off. He blinked once, realization setting in.
"Morpho was my father." Pequod said quietly. He put on a sardonic smile. "Did you never notice that he and I sound awfully similar? Like, almost identical?"
"In my defense, it was nine years ago. Voices aren't exactly something that I remembered that well." Snake said. He paused. "I'm…sorry, Pequod. Your father was a good man and a brave individual. The best pilot I ever had." He paused. "Until now."
Pequod looked up at him, and his eyes were glistening.
"Thank you, sir." He said. His smile faded. "Just do me a favor, okay?"
"Anything, son." Ocelot said. Pequod looked at them, and took a deep breath.
"Don't let that bastard in my sight. Keep him locked away in R&D or whatever hell you have cooked up for him. Because if I run into him and he calls me 'Morpho' again…I'll kill him. I'll kill him like he killed my father. My father is dead because that slimy motherfucker sold you out. And I will never forgive him for that."
Snake looked at him, with a stare that seemed to pierce into Pequod's very soul. And when he spoke, there was no doubting the sincerity of his words.
"Of course, son. You're a Diamond Dog. And I look out for my own."
A/N: Just another day in the Seychelles.