The morning started early for Corso.
He managed to put the information from the previous day in the back of his mind, to focus on the tasks at hand. He had one important thing to do today.
He was currently at the firing range, going through his arsenal, carefully picking and choosing.
Whether he liked it or not, Sonny was going to learn how to fire a gun.
Corso made sure the targets were ready when Sonny arrived.
He looked drowsy from last night.
"Ready? You look tired." Corso said to break the silence.
Sonny gave a small smile.
"I know. Nothing to be done about it. So how about that training? " Sonny suggested.
Fine by him.
Corso activated the targets as Sonny looked over the guns, unsure what to pick.
Corso sighed.
"Just pick one so we can get to the shooting. Don't worry, I'll guide you. " Corso said, as he couldn't help but see the irony.
Sonny finally chose a medium size laser.
Corso struggled to hold his frustration back.
The hesitation was getting to him.
That could cost lives.
He knew all too well.
Corso nodded to the targets.
"Good, now, raise your right hand, and use your left to support it, and take aim." Corso said, keeping his voice calm and steady.
Sonny did as he was told, while Corso stood behind him, checking his stance.
"Spread your legs a little, it will keep you steady."
Again, Sonny did as he was told.
Corso looked at the target, over Sonny's shoulder.
"Now, focus on the center." He said.
Sonny took aim and fired.
Corso looked at the target.
"You pulled too much to the left. Here, let me help you." He said, getting behind Sonny, gently leading his arm.
Getting this close to Sonny made Corso feel… strange.
He could feel himself heating up.
He shook his head, trying to snap out of it.
Not the time.
Never the time, he knew.
Sonny had a wife.
He never stood a chance…
"Corso? Is something wrong? " Sonny's voice sounded a bit anxious as he turned around.
"Focus on the target Sonny. Don't feel like seeing you as another corpse to… " Corso stopped there and shook his head.
He was not going to go back to that.
Sonny kept quiet as he let Corso guide his arm, and steady it, before Corso showed him how and when to pull the trigger.
The recoil was strong, but Sonny resisted it.
As Corso retrieved the target, Sonny tried to shake off the feeling of Corso touching him.
It was a while he felt like this.
He decided to bury it.
He was still grieving over his wife.
And for all he knew, Corso would have the same feelings.
And very likely had his own demons.
Corso looked at the targets.
"Much better, just slightly off center. Still, it would cause enough damage to make an escape." He concluded.
Sonny put his weapon down to have a look.
Getting closer to him, Corso couldn't help but get that feeling again.
He suppressed it.
Now was not the time.
It would never be the time.
His student was a fast learner.
They've been training for several hours, and Sonny was able to aim, fire and get into cover.
Still a little shaky, but that would get better with practice.
Before they stopped for the day, Corso wanted to do a stress test.
He programmed a target to look just like General Bleylock to see how Sonny would react.
"You ready, here it goes." He said.
"Let's go!" Sonny answered.
He moved towards the targets, finger on the trigger as Corso taught him, his eyes, ears on alert for danger.
He saw the target flicker, before it appeared and gasped in shock.
In front of him, stood none other than the man that forced him into the life of a Pirate.
General Bleylock was smirking at him, aiming a laser in Sonny's direction.
Sonny didn't shoot back.
Then he felt someone push him aside, firing at the hologram.
Corso looked at him, as Sonny got up off the ground.
"Gotta be prepared for everything. Now that wasn't exactly a great reaction, was it?" He asked.
Sonny dropped down on his knees and looked at the gun.
"I don't think I'll meet him like that. Or ever again…" He confessed.
Corso sighed.
"That's not a luxury you can afford yourself. Especially now that you're our leader, everyone in Technoid, and even some within the Pirates, are out for your blood." He told him.
Sonny looked at him.
"Are you speaking from experience?" Sonny asked, refusing to let Corso break eye contact.
Corso closed his natural eye, clearly hurt.
He didn't like being prodded like this.
"Doesn't have to be right now, but if you want me to trust you, you're gonna have to trust me." Sonny said.
Corso sighed.
"Maybe later," he said.
Sonny nodded, as he was ready to leave the shooting range.
He needed to find this information himself.
He shouldn't have held his guns that tight.
Why was he so worried around Sonny?
That man would never hurt him.
That's what he liked about him.
The man was kind, trustworthy… if not a bit silent about his own past.
Still, everyone had his limits and if Sonny knew his past… that all might change.
If Sonny found out why he was a wanted man, he might just ditch him altogether before he even had a chance to explain himself.
He was supposed to be dead.
Such men tell no tales.
In the end, it was just better to keep silent.
It would be safer for everyone involved.
But on the other hand, he also felt bad about leaving Sonny in the dark.
Corso sighed as he gathered the weapons.
Sonny would learn how to use these soon enough.
Eventually, he wouldn't need a dishonorably discharged soldier at his side…
Corso shook his head.
No.
Sonny needed to know.
As Corso reached the Captain's cabin, he made a decision.
Once he was sure he was alone, Corso took out his cybernetic eye, attached a cord to it, and plugged it into his personal computer, downloading some visual files to a disk.
Once that was done, he took a deep breath and placed the disk on Sonny's pillow.
"It's better to show than to tell…"
Sonny was ready to drop dead on once his shift was over.
Corso looked a bit better, probably managed to get some sleep in.
That was good.
Maybe he could get the rest he needed.
Corso smiled as he patted Sonny on the shoulder.
"Sorry about what happened during training. I left something for you on your pillow. Call it a peace offering. But get some sleep first." Corso said, as Sonny got out of the commander's chair and left it to him.
Sonny gave him a tired look but patted his shoulder before he left to have his down time.
Sonny just wanted to crash and forget the galaxy for a few hours.
He hadn't had a decent night's sleep for far too long.
The fact he now knew why Corso wanted to teach him didn't help.
He knew Corso didn't like people getting close to him.
At least not since he joined the Pirates.
Why was he the exception?
Why was he like this in the first place?
He could ask around, but he felt that was too sneaky.
And he didn't want to hurt Corso like that.
He… liked him too much.
Sonny sighed as he looked at his bracelet.
Both of them were hurt.
Lost something.
Would they really be able to grow closer?
Sonny picked up the small disc on the pillow and reached for his laptop as he started playing the contents.
He was not prepared by what he saw.
Corso was looking at a smiling woman, holding her.
She was pregnant.
He kissed her hand and Sonny saw the matching rings.
That told him enough.
It was painful to see, knowing very well what this meant.
It angered him.
Another family torn apart, through no fault of their own.
There was an alarm, as the footage shot up, things becoming blurry and fast.
Sonny had to close his eyes.
It was all too familiar.
Eventually, he managed to open his eyes again.
Now Corso was in an interrogation room, looking down at his cuffed hands and some files with his name on it and…
That couldn't be right…
There was no way Corso could have committed those crimes.
Sonny paused and read the documents.
The vision faded with some of them.
Blurred.
Had to be tears.
Maybe not just Corso's.
Sonny carefully put the laptop away.
Before going to sleep, Sonny made himself a promise, that he'd do anything to help fix this.
Corso deserved as much.