Captain Max has a minion!

Tin Can the P0-T4-T0

Name: Maximillian Goldstein

Occupation: Captain

Pronouns: he/him

Age: 32 (152)

Species: Human

Sexual Orientation: Gay

Details: Sometimes shaves his beard. Has a mechanical arm (right).

The base is quiet. There is wind howling outside as the sand ricochets around the metal walls that are still up.

Inside, one room still has a light on, blinking in blue.

On this room, cryosleep caskets are lined all along the walls, one of them is the one that has a faint blue light coming from. Suddenly the lonely light stops blinking, shining bright as the casket begins to rear its engines, preparing to reanimate it's user.

After around 40 minutes, the casket gets quiet and with a loud thud and steam coming out of it, the big door on top of it opens. The person inside slowly opens his eyes, getting used to the light, and slowly begins the process of waking up from cryosleep.

After moving his limbs a little he gets up, using the casket as support, and stands by its side. His feet touching the metal ground. He stretches his arms, but stops mid movement when he hears something approaching. The sound of wheels gets closer and closer and soon he can see the source of it. A lonely robot approaches him, but one of its wheels hits a dent on the floor, making it tumble down on its side. The man sighs and approaches the machine, his walking still a little clumsy.

He pokes the robot with his foot and snarks:

- nice job, tin can!

The robot rolls its wheels on thin air in an attempt to reposition itself but nothing happens, so it slowly spins so it's screen is facing the man:

- hello Max! Glad to see that you're up and in high spirits! As you know, I have...

The robot is left babbling to itself as Max makes his way towards the common room of the base. The place is in ruins, with sand covering most of the ground and some of the walls and parts of the roof have collapsed.

He stands in the middle of what once was the office area and looks for the front doors.

He stands where the doors were and gazes in confusion at the desert that goes as far as his vision can go.

A sudden panic overcomes him and he runs back to where the robot is, hastily putting it back up:

- Yo Tin Can, what the hell happened here? Wasn't the cleaning crew supposed to come and fix the place up? And what the hell happened outside!? Where is... Everything?

He shakes the robot and as it starts to process the questions, Max's attention is drawn to something else. He runs towards the other cryosleep caskets, whipping the glass top of the nearest one.

A lonely skeleton sits inside.

Max backs away from the casket and drifts his gaze around all of them until he reaches the one he came out, a single blue light shining from it.

The only one with a light on.

Once again panic overwhelms him and he drops to his knees, gasping for air:

- what the hell happened here!?

He shouts and then turns to the robot that now is by his side:

- hello Max! Glad to see that you're up and in high spirits! As you know, I have been assigned by my creator, Doctor Sullivan, to keep you safe and to assist you in anything that you might need!

Max eyes the robot up and down:

- what happened...?

- you and the other members of this base have been assigned for 120 hours of cryosleep while a cleaning crew was dispatched here to clean and fix the base after the last rebel attack.

The robot moves slowly towards one of the control panels in the room:

- I have kept you and your casket safe and running for the duration of the sleep, as I was directed.

Max gets up and wobbles towards the control panel. The thing looks busted, with holes and exposed cables everywhere. On one of its corners, a circuit board is exposed bare, with light coming from some pieces, showing that it still works.

He hovers his hand over it and notices the cables linking it directly to the casket he was in. Aside from that, there seems to be no power running on the base. He follows another set of cables that lead to a bigger control panel on the middle of the room. He makes his way towards it, robot in tow. The visor is cracked and a static image shows in the broken screen.

Big bold letters read "120", but to Max's horror, instead of hours, it says years.

- 120 years...?

He says in a whisper, tears forming on his eyes. The robot makes its way by his side:

- I have kept you and your casket safe and running for the duration of the sleep, as I was directed.

Max faces the robot, his face red with anger as tears rolls down his cheeks:

- and what about the others!?

- I have kept you and your casket safe and running for the duration of the sleep, as I was directed.

- and what about your creator!? What about Celia!? What about - he cuts himself off, placing a hand on his mouth - what about Lionel...?

The robot stares blankly at him:

- I have kept you and your casket safe and running for the duration of the-

Max kicks the robot, making it once again roll on its side. The robot rolls its wheels on thin air in an attempt to reposition itself but nothing happens.

Max just stares at it, the only noise you can hear is his sobs and the wheels of the robot. He shoots quick glances towards the caskets, but cannot bring himself to look directly at them. After what seemed like an eternity, the robot manages to get itself back up and positions itself in front of Max, awaiting orders.

Max is now silent, his empty eyes staring at nothingness. Slowly, he limps towards the front door, passing by the common area, where a giant tree now stands right in the middle of it, top barely touching the very high roof (or what was left of it) and its roots coming out of the ground on certain patches of the floor.

When he reaches the door, he steps outside, his feet sinking lightly on the warm sand. The robot follows his lead and steps out as well, only to its wheels to quickly get clogged with sand. Max keeps walking towards the desert:

- excuse me, Max, but I seem to be stuck.

The robot says with its emotionless voice, but Max gives it no mind, still walking forward.

- excuse me, Max, but-

Soon Max can't hear the robot anymore, as his thoughts overcome his head. He is trying to remember what happened before all his crew mates were assigned to cryosleep.

His memory is foggy, but he remembers Celia and Lionel saying their good byes as they lied down on their caskets. "See you in 120 hours!" says Celia with a big smile on her face; "why can't we just say 5 days?" Max replies, snickering to himself and winking to Lionel; "the machine works like that, Maxie, there is nothing we can do." Lionel responds while leaning in for a last kiss from Max, who lightly kisses him on the lips; "I'm gonna miss you." He says while lying down and before the casket closes, Max faintly whispers "I love you."

Max's knees give up under him and he falls on the sand. He is not sure for how long he has been walking outside, but the sun is high on the sky and he is parched. He rolls belly up and looks at the sky. There are no clouds and the sun shines so strongly that he can barely keep his eyes open. He starts to sob again, his vision darkening as he drifts unconscious.

Max slowly opens his eyes. He stares at the white ceiling, wondering where was he.

A quick look around and he realizes that it is an infirmary, with many other beds and medical equipment scattered around him.

He sits on the bed, but feels dizzy and falls right back to it, making a loud thud. The noise catches the attention of someone behind the curtains as they shuffle to reach where Max is.

Max's eyes widen in surprise as the person comes to his field of vision. A tall wolf-like creature stands before him, wearing doctor scrubs and a stethoscope around their neck.

- Heya! You're awake! How are you feeling?

The wolf steps closer to Max, who flinches and raises one of his fists in a threatening manner:

- woah, stay away... Beast!

The wolf raises their hands in the air and smiles meekly at Max:

- woah there, it's okay! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm doctor Yuja. What's your name?

He says, offering his furry hand to Max.

They stare at each other for some seconds, until the door to the infirmary opens. Four men in uniform follow an old man sporting many medals on his chest. He steps inside and immediately gasps in surprise when he sees Max:

- You're... You're alive...

He says while taking some steps closer to Max, who rapidly jumps out of the bed, his legs giving up seconds after they hit the ground. The doctor reaches out to support him, but Max lunges backwards to avoid his touch.

The official puts his hand on the air and signs for the men to stand back:

- calm down sir. We're not going to hurt you. We actually saved you.

Max uses the bed to get back on his feet, eyes fixed on the old man.

- where am I? Who are you?

- you're in Galdova, the central city. This is the military headquarters. The area that we found you is of restricted access. You were all alone down there, so we rescued you.

Max squints at the man.

- I did not wanted to be rescued...

He says in a whisper. The doctor looks at the old man, tilting his head. The old man steps closer to Max and offers him a hand.

- the clothes you're wearing. They look like our uniform. I'm lieutenant colonel Hernandez. What's your name, soldier?

Max hesitantly shakes his hand.

- Ma... Captain Maxillian.

- well, Captain, what were you doing in the middle of the desert?

- I... Woke up there...

The Lieutenant looks at the men around him.

- sir, there is nothing up there.

One of them says.

- hmm yes there is! It's where our bases were!

The Lieutenant chuckles.

- no, I don't think so, Captain. Those bases up there at the desert were discontinued some years ago.

- how long?

- excuse me?

- how long ago?

The Lieutenant looks back at his men, as if looking for an answer. He opens his mouth to say something, but loud noises outside gets everybody's attention. A thud can be heard on the infirmary's door and suddenly, Max's robot bursts out of it. Its lanky arms flail around when it sees Max.

- Captain Max, you're alive and well.

The robot says, reeling its wheels slowly towards Max, making its way through the men standing in the room. They hear quick footsteps and shouting coming from outside.

A figure appears on the door, a terrified expression on their face.

- Lieutenant sir! I am so sorry! We were keeping an eye on it and I thought for sure that it was turned off!

They approach the robot, that hides behind Max. He pushes it away from him and faces the person, only to notice that the person before him wasn't a person at all, but a robot.

Max stumbles back, eyes locked on the face of the robot.

- woah woah woah, back off...!

He examines the creature. It looks just like a person, if a person had glowing eyes and a white metal skin. He gulps, but stands tall, towering over the robot.

- what the hell are you? - He then points at the doctor - and what the hell are you also?

The doctor snorts and puts his paws on his pockets, shooting a smile to the Lieutenant.

- shouldn't we know who really is he thought?

The Lieutenant slowly nods.

- yes, Captain. We still don't really know who you are.

Max scoffs, eyes locked with the robot.

- let me tell you who I am, Lieutenant. Captain Maxillian Goldstein. Head guard of the bio-sanctum facility. You don't know me because I have been MIA, probably.

- probably?

- I mean, I don't know what happens to a soldier when they stay in cryosleep for a real long time, but here I am.

Hernandez squints at Max.

- how long?

- how long has the base been discontinued?

- hundred and seventeen years.

The robot answers, a string of numbers flying around on the visor before their eyes.

- yeah, hundred and twenty years.

- that's... Impossible.

He looks at his men.

- we did a full visit to that area. There were no facilities around there.

- our job there was very confidential. Only a handful of people knew about our base.

The Lieutenant stares at Max, mouth agape as he tries to find words to say. The robot breaks the silence.

- according to old records, it seems that indeed there was a hidden facility on that area. Pulling the name of Captain Goldstein from the system only showed a small amount of info, with the rest being restricted. You, sir, can probably access it from your terminal, though.

The robot finishes with a smile. Max scoffs at it.

- you guys have walking computers and smart dogs now?

Both the doctor and the robot gasp and frown at the comment, but the Lieutenant laughs.

- I guess you can say it like that.

Doctor Yuja interjects:

- woah, I am as a man as any of you, gentlemen.

He says with a smile.

- of course, of course. Captain, things have changed a lot from a hundred years ago.

He gestures towards the doctor.

- I'm sure you were aware of the experimentation with human and animal DNA, right? I'm not sure if the people back from your lab were messing around with this kind of stuff?

- nope, they were more involved with plants and machines.

- I see. Well, not so long ago a breakthrough was made and now anyone can give birth to an animal-human hybrid. There are a lot of them in our society nowadays. They are called Anthros.

Doctor Yuja steps closer to Max and offers his paw again.

- once again, I'm doctor Yuja.

Max slowly reaches to his hand, shaking it sheepishly.

- and for your information, I am a wolf, not a dog.

He says with a smile and a wink. Max nods, trying to sink in all the information that he just got. He then gestures towards the robot.

- and this?

The Lieutenant opens his mouth, but the robot gestures to him:

- allow me, sir! You see Captain, a hundred years ago peace was established between humans and machines. We put a cease to the war and decided to live among each other.

Max snorts and lets out a loud laugh. He looks at the Lieutenant expecting a reaction, but instead he just stares at him.

- he is kidding, right?

The Lieutenant tilts his head, the men behind him whisper in confusion.

- no, it's the truth. We all live among each other. Men, Machine and Anthros live together in peace.

The smile quickly vanishes from Max's face, switching to anger.

- so, you're telling me that after everything that those piles of metal did to us, we still decided to make peace with them!?

He clenches his fists, shooting a death stare at the robot. A face emerges from the door of the infirmary. It's another robot, that replies in a shout:

- excuse me? Humans did as many damage to us as we did to you!

The men contain them, pushing them out of the door while they scream in protest. Max scoffs.

- damage? What damage? When one of you fall, all you have to do is build another. We are alive!

The robot frowns, looking at their feet.

- that's not very nice...

The Lieutenant speaks up.

- gentlemen, I want to have a word with the Captain, just the two of us, if you please.

The robot, the doctor and the men all leave. The Lieutenant shoots a glance at Max's robot, but he quickly dismisses it.

- just ignore the tin can.

Hernandez nods and gestures to Max to sit down on the bed.

- Captain, things are very different from when you're around.

- tell me about it!

Max throws his hands up, sighing exasperated.

- with that in mind, I need you to understand that there is more in our world than just humans and - Max opens his mouth, but the Lieutenant gestures to him to wait - and they deserve as much respect as any of us.

Max frowns:

- I guess I can tolerate the animal people, but I'll never respect a robot!

The Lieutenant nods slowly.

- you said you worked at the bio-sanctum facility, right?

- yes sir.

- and that they worked with plants and machine, correct?

- as far as I know. As I said, everything there was top secret, even for staff.

- is it... Is it possible that they were working with... The C1MS52?

Max remains silent. He remembers his boyfriend mentioning about that name. The C1MS52. He remembers doctor Sullivan saying that the C1MS52 was dangerous even to her machines, even thought they were built differently.

- yes, I think so. I heard that name before for sure.

The Lieutenant's eyes shine in excitement, but he quickly regains his posture.

- I'll be leaving now. You better rest, Captain. After you're fully recovered, we'll see what we'll do about you.

Hernandez leaves the room, with doctor Yuja taking his place. He approaches Max and gestures to him to get back down.

- you heard the Lieutenant. Rest up, Captain.

Max frowns as he lies down.

- you heard us?

The doctor looks at him and smiles:

- these big ears aren't for nothing, Captain.

It has been three days since Max was awoken from cryosleep. He has been taking short tours around the military base, trying to get a feel of the place. Doctor Yuja and his loyal robot follow him around.

The doctor tries to explain all the new stuff to him. The Anthros, the robots, the revolution, the war and then... Peace. So many things happened while Max was asleep.

Even though all the three species lived in harmony, there was still rebels from both sides. A unit of humans and Anthros joined forces to eradicate the robots and a group of robots are trying to expand the robot building to a level where it surpasses the birth of other species. Both fights to be on the top. The military's mission is to keep all three species at peace.

Max and the doctor arrive at the base's cafeteria, where all kinds of people are eating and chatting.

- this place right here? It's like high school all over again! The cool kids sit with other cool kids, the quiet kids hang with the other quiet kids and the weirdos? They sit alone.

Max scoffs while scouting the area with his eyes.

- and which one are you?

Yuja smiles and points at a loud group of humans and Anthros, who as they notice him, wave and shout his name, some gesturing to him to come closer.

- I hang with the cool kids, of course!

He says as he walks towards the table. Max is still keeping his eyes around, taking in all the different people. There is a table in the far corner with only robots. They all eye him up and down, whispering to each other and pointing at Max's robot, that stands silently by his side.

He scowls at them and slowly makes his way after Yuja, that is now sitting by the table making loud jokes. The people at the table all fall silent when he arrives, but Yuja quickly warms the moment.

- guys, this is Captain Maxillian Goldstein. The old man I've been babysitting.

Everybody at the table laugh, Yuja gives Max a discrete wink. A bull Anthro stands up and offers his hooved hand to Max.

- Captain! Welcome to Galdova! Yuja has been telling us all sorts of things about you. Glad you're finally here to sort these stories through.

Max shakes his hand as Yuja snorts.

- you're saying that I might have lied? How dare you! I'm a trustworthy source of information.

He says while nudging Max on the side and gesturing to him to sit. As he sits, a young man asks meekly:

- is it true that you've been frozen for a long time?

Everybody stares intently at Max, who gives a smirk.

- a hundred and twenty years, kiddo.

A girl tilts her head:

- wow, you're, like, older than all of us! You still look pretty good though.

Yuja laughs loudly, his tail swishing from side to side.

- that's what ice does to you. You don't waste any time, ay girl?

He winks at her. She blushes and looks away, whispering "I don't know what you're on about...".

Suddenly some of the soldiers stand up and Max notices that the Lieutenant entered the cafeteria.

He looks around until his gaze falls on Max, and he steps towards him. Max also stands up.

- Captain! I see you're already socializing. Very good!

He stands in front of Max.

- I have some matters that I would like to discuss with you. Please come by my office after you're done with your meal.

- yes sir.

Lieutenant Hernandez nods and leaves. Everybody sits back down and the cafeteria gets noisy again.

- what do you think the Lieutenant want?

A rat Anthro asks Max, his whiskers trembling with curiosity. Max shrugs and wolfs down a sandwich in front of Yuja, who protests loudly that that what his sandwich. Everybody laughs again and with a wave of his hand, Max leaves them.

He walks around some corridors. He is sure that Yuja showed him where the Lieutenant's office was. He decides to ask a guard nearby and after getting the right directions, follows straight to the office, knocking on the door.

The Lieutenant says that he can come in, and as he does, he notices someone else sitting in the office besides the Lieutenant. A woman stares at him with a cold expression.

- Captain, please take a sit.

Max sits by the woman's side and his robot slowly reels itself by him. She eyes the robot, a gelid smirk appearing on her face. The Lieutenant clears his throat, getting their attention:

- Captain, I have called you here because we have decided what to do with you.

Max smiles sarcastically:

- you say that like I'm some kind of toy or machine.

The Lieutenant smiles:

- not at all! You see, we came to the conclusion that you went through a lot on these past few days. I can only imagine the confusion and the pain that you must've been feeling after... Everything.

Max hangs his head down, looking at his feet. He is recollection all the stuff that happened after he woke up. The Lieutenant continues:

- the council has come to two options: you can decide to retire. No problem with that, right? I mean, you have been a soldier for quite a while now.

He smiles gently at Max, who is now staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

- the second option is a mission that we would be willing to give to you. Something related to your old base and job.

Max squints his eyes at the Lieutenant and then looks at the woman, who just shrugs at him. He stays silent for some seconds, then looks at Hernandez with a smirk.

- I don't feel like retiring yet, sir. Even though I have "been a soldier for a while", I'm still young and strong, and retiring now would just be more troublesome. I can barely understand my surroundings in an environment that I'm used to, imagine as a civilian out there.

The Lieutenant nods. He then shifts his attention to the woman.

- this is Sasha Petrova. Special forces. She is an experient shooter and an excellent sniper. From now on, she is part of your crew. You'll be assigned a ship and more crewmates that will help you in your mission.

Max offers his hand to Sasha, who shakes it but quickly let’s go.

- it's a pleasure to meet you, Captain. I can't wait to work with you.

Although her words are warm, her voice is cold and sharp, her empty eyes staring through Max.

- Nice to meet you, Miss Petrova. Likewise. So, Lieutenant, may I know what is the mission about?