"I'm a Cadet, too," he assures her, when she calls him sir. He pushes down the bitterness that comes with the admission, still grieving the loss of his blue Elite badge. "No need for nerves."

His smile, while brief and stiff, is an attempt to put her at ease.

Her question prompts a shrug, Orion returning to lean against the rail as they're carried out to sea. "Not sure. There were those cultists causing trouble a while back, the distortions, the barrier..." Take your pick, really. Hoenn's a fucking mess. He bites his tongue, unsure of how well Talia Celes would handle his acerbic attitude. "It could just be an out-of-season storm, but I doubt we'll be that lucky."

From below deck, an Absol wearing a bright red service vest pads up to inspect the other ranger, red eyes possessed of a gentleness often overlooked by superstition.

"Don't mind Altair. He's my partner."

mission: a deadly job
valor: search and rescue

Military wouldn't be terribly off-base; he had fought in a war for Hoenn's future, after all. But she doesn't ask, and he doesn't tell.

"Ah, brace yourself," he offers drily, of Slateport's squad. Yet there's a fondness there, as well, when he says, "We're an odd bunch."

Caleb Harcourt with his alcoholism and poor work ethic, Calliope Marks with the shadow of Kanto hanging over her, @arashi with his ever-changing stories about how he'd lost the arm. They were a bunch of misfits, with Tam Fawley holding them together with duct tape and dreams.

Altair nudges his head against Talia Celes's palm, a silent but affable introduction for the Disaster Pokémon. Orion lifts his hand to wave at Lyra, in turn.

"I specialized in Search-and-Rescue out of Fortree." That had been before Rocket had kidnapped him. Before he'd lost the arm. "Amazing how many people don't read trail-signs."

Skies begin to darken as they sail, a light rain shedding from the clouds.

mission: a deadly job
valor: search and rescue

It's not the sort of 'odd' Orion meant; he doesn't bother to correct her. She'll find out soon enough.

"No one does this job for the money," he agrees, then frowns. Canting his head, he amends, "Least, not when they have better options."

It wasn't as if the Rangers underpaid, it was more that they were overworked. Spread thin across a region that couldn't go a week without falling apart, with workplace hazards that should grant higher benefits than they did. Orion became a Ranger because he loved the work. He stayed a Ranger, in spite of his injury, because he'd go mad if he didn't have something to do.

"Speaking of," he agrees, frowning. "It's very... localized."

It bore the distinct resemblance of a storm caused by a Pokémon, albeit a little larger than ordinary. Perhaps many Pokémon working in tandem?

"We can send out our Pokémon, now..."

He does so, a battle-scarred NOIVERN joining Dragonair in the skies. SLOWKING and SWAMPERT are released onto the deck of the ship, while TENTACRUEL and LANTURN patrol the seas, the latter ILLUMINATING the way.

mission: a deadly job
valor: search and rescue

"What is that?"

Obscured by storm clouds, it's impossible to tell. An impression of broad wings, a flash of white, and the silhouette at the storm's eye plunges into the water below. Their boat rocks with the force of the resulting wave, and Orion grips the railing for balance.

"Don't suppose any of yours can affect the weather?"

He can make it worse, with Tentacruel, but that's hardly the goal.

"Look, there! I think I see someone in the water!" But where was the boat? "Libertas! Tailwind!"

A fierce breeze stirs beneath the Noivern's scarred wings, and after a moment the black bat swoops down to snag the panicked officer in his claws. When the half-drowned woman is deposited onto the deck of their ship, Altair blasts a FLAMETHROWER high overhead for warmth.

"Thank you." She's shivering, eyes wide. "The boat got dragged down by its WHIRLPOOL. My partner..."

"We'll do everything we can." Orion's anxiety has vanished beneath hard determination. "Celes, you're going to take over. I won't risk swimming in a storm like this." He gestures with his titanium arm in explanation. He's not yet confident enough in its use. "My Pokémon are at your disposal if you need their help."

mission: a deadly job
valor: search and rescue

Though Orion doesn't miss Talia's wide-eyed horror, there's no time to ask questions when lives are on the line. He feels powerless as she jumps into the water with her Starmie, longing for the days when he'd have followed her without hesitation.

Know your limits. A bitter pill.

Perhaps he should offer the half-drowned woman some comfort, but Orion only leans against the railing and stares anxiously across the turbulent, storm-tossed waters. His Lanturn and Tentacruel have left to assist her, and the Tentacruel's appendages lift the man's unconscious body over the rail where Orion helps to settle him down. He's not breathing.

No.

He doesn't speak, merely launching into a frantic attempt at CPR. But seconds turn into minutes, and the man does not stir.

mission: a deadly job
valor: search and rescue

It's not the first one he's lost.

It won't be the last.

Neither of these facts make it any easier when Orion's Absol takes the ranger's sleeve gently between his teeth to tug him away from the officer's still form. He slumps against the railing of the ship, suddenly feeling the exhaustion in his muscles as awareness comes back to him. He should offer comfort to the man's partner, to Talia, should do anything, really, but he only curls an arm around Altair and breathes.

If I'd just sucked it up and swam—

—then I'd be dead, and there'd be two funerals.

Altair stirs next to him when Talia Celes requests his aid, and only then does Orion pull himself back up with the aid of the railing. He recalls his Pokémon, save for the Noivern overhead and the Absol on deck, and listens quietly to the haunting song of his fellow ranger.

He doesn't know what to say, and settles awkwardly on, "That was... nice."

Altair's horn nudges his arm, and Orion drops his hand into shaggy white fur to allow himself some small comfort. To the female officer, he expresses, "I'm... sorry for your loss."

It was going to be a long trip home.

mission: a deadly job
valor: search and rescue