Galactiquest

Lorenzo stood in the barren living room of Galhardo Residence #15 for what should be the last day anyone in the family would be there. His brother tested that by rediscovering a growing list of things he wanted to take with him, none of which being the thing he dragged Lorenzo here for.

“Emil, the next shuttle to Lunaria arrives at 12:05.” He picked up a cartoon head on a spring left on one of the many hats Emil owned but rarely wore. “We can collect the rest of your belongings later.”

“Ooh~ Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” His brother’s voice rang from the room at the back of the hall.

Lorenzo sighed, trudging toward it. “What exactly are you talking about?”

“Found my jacket.” Red and blue star-shaped glasses nearly collided with his face when Emil poked his head out of the room. “Whoops.” The rest of him stepped out and tugged on an oversized jacket inaccurately styled after older, bulkier Interstellar Forces spacesuits. “How’s it look?”

“It looks like stolen valor.” Lorenzo voiced his disdain.

“Well, it’s a good thing we’re star rangers.” Emil winked, reaching out for the spring toy, then placed it in his jacket pocket. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Good. Do you have your wallet?”

“Almost forgot! Thanks.” After snatching it off of his dresser, he tried and failed to fit it into his jumpsuit pocket. He tried again. “You’d think they’d make these bigger. Almost there…”

“You can focus on that on our way to the shuttle.” Lorenzo headed toward the front door.

“Hey, wait uuup!”

Public transport was never Lorenzo’s favorite method of travel. It left him too open, yet confined. Strangers sat all around, but not enough to truly blend in. Making his way down the aisle, he felt more eyes on him than usual.

He scanned for a seat in the back, but all of them had been filled, leaving him and Emil with the next closest row. Stars twinkled from beyond the window seat. Soon, he’d be back in his element and steering among them again.

“Excuse me, young man?”

Lorenzo jolted out of his stargazing to face the voice behind him.

“Aha, did I startle you?” An old woman chuckled, the teenager beside her only briefly looking up from her phone. “I was just going to tell you that you have a nice cape.’”

In a brief moment of panic, Lorenzo forgot that he didn’t accidentally wear his usual cape outside. A reflective capelet draped over him instead. With it, he wore a matching pair of glasses, an earpiece, and a brown, patterned jumpsuit. Far too flashy and form fitting for him normally, it suited the mission, and that was what mattered. “Th-Thank you, ma’am.”

“Oh my, so polite. You must be popular with girls.”

“I, um–” How did one normally respond to this?

“He’s too modest to admit it.” Arm over his seat, Emil came to his aid.

“Aww, I’m sure that’s part of his charm. Cute hair by the way.” She pointed at the red streak in his hair that he assured would be gone after the mission.

“Thanks, I grew it myself.”

She laughed. “I feel like it’s more often that girls are dressed in your style–what’s it called?”

“Spacepunk.” answered the teenager.

“Spacepunk, thank you dear. I see more girl spacepunks, I feel. Maybe that’s just us liking to show off more. But you boys don’t seem afraid to come off as flamboyant.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, you seem like,” she snapped her fingers, “what are they called, metropolitan men? No, that’s not it.” She elbowed the teenager. “Help your auntie out, Sasha.”

Sasha looked between her and the brothers before shrugging.

“Oh well. What I meant to say is that you two seem fashion-forward.”

“Thanks, but we don’t know the first thing about that stuff.” Emil laughed off the compliment. “Our buddy Roxie dressed us up. All the credit goes to her.”

Lorenzo let his brother lie. Emil picked out clothes for him on many occasions, but he was always touchy about other people knowing it. As much as the falsehood irked Lorenzo, calling it out would cause a disproportionate scene. Why? He’d long since given up asking.

“Well, she really knows how to dress you boys. Oh, if only I were young again. I’d love to dress like that, too.”

“Hey, it’s never too late!” encouraged Emil.

“What he said.” Sasha spoke up.

“You know what?” Her aunt slapped her knees. “You are absolutely right. I might dye a streak in my hair.”

“Yeah, go for it!” encouraged Emil.

“Thanks so much. I’ll get out of your hair now.”

With the lady and her niece busy discussing dye colors, Lorenzo finally had the chance to return to stargazing. That was until he saw Emil put something into his jacket pocket.

“Is that your wallet?” Lorenzo raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah? Why?”

“That jacket is going to Summers, isn’t it? And you’re leaving your wallet inside?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll remember to take it out before I give it to him.”

Lorenzo could’ve asked him if he wanted to risk his ID winding up the hands of someone else. He could’ve asked the same of his money or whatever other personal belongings were inside. Lorenzo didn’t do any of this. Instead, he just stared.

“...Alriiight, you made your point.” Emil tore open his velcro wallet, took out the money, and put it in his jumpsuit pocket. He handed him the rest. “Here, you hold onto this for now, and I’ll get it later.”

“If you’re letting me hold it, why take out the money?”

“Just in case I forget.” he smiled. “I don’t really need the rest. It’s not like I plan on drivin’ or anything.”

“Hmm.” Though it made Lorenzo uneasy, a rental car should be unnecessary for what they had to do.

Something caught Emil’s attention. “Turn your head for a sec?” Once Lorenzo did as asked, he took the earpiece from his ear, turned the handle around, and placed it back on the left one. “There you go.”

“I do not understand the point of this.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so.” Lorenzo accepted that he may never fully understand his brother’s fashion suggestions. He had bigger things to worry about, anyway.

Summers. A name that caused him weeks of trouble. It wasn’t enough to have a possible minor weasel himself onto his crew, no, the same child had to go into hiding for six days. Once Lorenzo got the opportunity to prove his suspicions to a higher authority, Angelo Summers should cease to be an issue. His patience would reward him soon.

With that reward came consequence. Léonardo risked being discharged as well, for at this point, he had to be covering for his brother. One crew member was easily replaceable. Two might delay the ship’s schedule, though that hinged on if Command was willing to replace him.

Of course they would. Forged documents were a serious matter. Only captains were excluded from removal via misbehavior. Captains, the most important members of each ship, the ones who set the standard for their crews. They got a free pass for misbehavior. A headache came on.

Thinking about Léonardo did not help. What a shame that someone with so much passion for the Interstellar Forces got swept up in a crime like this. Lorenzo struggled to fully see him as a criminal even though he must have been. He didn’t seem competent enough. Despite that, he always committed to his endeavors and followed orders to the best of his ability. Maybe that was part of the ruse. Still, to lose a subordinate like that…

Sentimental feelings had no place in this matter. And on the subject of Léonardo, there were other feelings that didn’t belong on the ship.

“Emil, if one of our,” Lorenzo chose to remain discreet, “coworkers were to express interest in you, romantically, would you be tempted at all to reciprocate.”

“Lorie, c’monnn! I know I’m not always the most professional guy in the world, but I’m better than that. It’s too sleazy in my position.”

“I’m glad you see it that way.”

“Yeah, you don’t hafta worry about me breakin’ that rule. Or not enforcing it.” Emil folded his arms. “If I can’t find love on the job, no one can. Well, actually, it’d be kinda sweet.” he continued, to Lorenzo’s exasperation. “Why’d you ask? Somebody have a crush on me?”

It took Lorenzo a moment too long to realize his brother asked jokingly. Emil’s eyebrows raised before he had a chance to open his mouth.

“Wait, really?” He lifted his sunglasses. “Somebody has a crush on me??”

“These things go over my head,” warned Lorenzo, “so I may be wrong, but from what I overheard, I can’t help but feel that it’s possible that–”

“Woah, hey, hey, a-actually I don’t need to know.” Normally, Emil would be all for this kind of discussion, but now, his eyes darted around enough for Lorenzo to wonder if he saw a threat. His voice lowered to a whisper. “Not right now. Later.”

“In any event, if that person does come forward with it, I can trust you to do the right thing.”

“Yeah.” He looked away. “I think I know who you’re talkin’ about.”

“How so?”

“There’s only one person it can be.” Emil gave him a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

“Good.” That took care of one Summers stressor.

Their shuttle ride came to a close as they drew toward the Moon and the glowing dome that crowned it. Lunaria’s cityscape set the scenery like a snow globe with no snow. Spacecraft crowded around the metal border, piling into its loading docks. Their shuttle soon joined them.

As usual when visiting Lunaria, Lorenzo and his brother weaved their way through tourists and townspeople alike. A weight lifted from his chest knowing their loud clothes were drowned out by the noise of others dressed like them. Now to focus on their primary task, making it to the hotel.

13:19. The Galhardos set foot on the lobby’s white tiles 11 minutes before everyone was due to report there. Too close for comfort but not late. Hotels in Lunaria mainly served use to Earth tourists, so their colorful collection of crewmates should stick out like a sore thumb.

This held true, but strangely, only one stood in the seating area. Even stranger, it was Ranger Kelly.

“Ranger Kelly, where are the others?”

“And why are you standing?” added Emil. “You can have a seat, you know.”

“Staff won’t let me in these pants.” Ranger Kelly motioned to his spike-covered pants. He shrugged. “I mean, I could anyway, but they got enough people makin’ their lives hard without me.” How surprisingly considerate of him. “Jun’s right here.”

Ranger Kim materialized from a seat behind a potted plant. “Yeah, my bad–I mean, my mistake, Captain.” They pulled a UFO-shaped hat over their sunglasses. “I was just trying to avoid being recognized.”

“Ideally, we shouldn’t be recognizable in these disguises.” The person standing in front of Lorenzo, in a balloon-like purple vest and pants, looked a far cry from the person he’d first seen on television. If he hadn’t known what their hair looked like now, he wouldn’t have been able to recognize them. “What about the others?”

“Roxie said she should be here with Mia in like,” they checked their phone, “any minute now. Leon and Angelo—Oh, there they are.”

Ranger Kim pointed past the Galhardos toward the elevator, where Léonardo stepped out. Clinging to his arm was his brother, who walked with all the grace of a newborn deer.

“Emil, you’re back!” Léonardo cheerily dragged his brother toward the group. “We’re not late, are we?”

“Not at all. Catch!” Emil took off his jacket and threw it toward him. “I’ve been keeping that warm for ya.”

“Thank you!”

“Don’t you not like warm jackets?” whispered the misplaced child.

“It’s the thought that counts.” Léonardo took off a jetpack-shaped backpack and donned the jacket. “Wow, it fits perfectly!”

“We’re lucky the guy who gifted it to me got it a few sizes off. Looks great on you! It matches the white shorts and everything, just as planned.” Emil congratulated himself.

Léonardo continued marvelling at the jacket. “It’s super cool how these look like the old IF uniforms. Look at all these old patches! I’m not really much of a jacket guy, but I’d love to get one of these for myself.”

“You like it that much?” Neither Emil nor Leon seemed to hear the youngest boy volunteering to pay for it.

“I feel cooler just wearing it.”

“It’s yours.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yeah, it never went with any of my stuff, and you seem to like it a lot. Keep it. It suits you.”

“Aww geez, it feels like you’re spoiling me.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I was thinkin’ about sending it off to a new home. Now it just found its new home early.”

He opened the backpack, and took out two blue pauldron-like decorations. They looked to be the same transparent material as the visor he wore, but blue instead of yellow.

“Here’s your shoulder things.”

“Thanks for holdin’ ‘em for me.” Emil wedged them into place. “Ange, you gettin’ used to those wheelies?”

The bandage on his knee answered for him. “I-I’m trying.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Léonardo looked around. “Emil, where’s–?” His eyes locked onto Lorenzo. “Oh, hi. My name is Leon, nice to meet you.”

Lorenzo stared down at the hand he held out to shake. “Ranger Summers, it’s me.”

“Captain? Woah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without your hat before.” Léonardo gawked. “You look so cool!”

His brother straightened up and gave a salute, almost knocking off his hat in the process. It looked like an orange peel with an antenna on each side. “Ranger Summers, reporting for duty, s-sir.”

Lorenzo fought against lifelong instincts and refused to salute back. “No saluting while we’re in disguise, Summers.”

“S-Sorry, sir! Please excuse my failure, sir! It won’t happen again, sir!”

“I told you 38 pushups was overkill.” muttered Emil.

“It served its purpose.” Since giving him his birthday punishment, Lorenzo had no issues with the younger Summers aside from his existence.

“We would’ve been here earlier, but we thought we were supposed to meet upstairs.” explained his brother. “If it wasn’t for Jun, we’d still be up there.” He looked to them. “Thanks again.”

Ranger Kim fired a finger gun before sinking back into the seat behind the plant.

“I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion. Rangers Kim, Allen, Kelly, and Wattson have their own residences to stay in. Therefore, it makes the most sense to meet in a common area like this.” Most importantly, Lorenzo had no desire for anyone to know which room he stayed in. It’s bad enough that he and Emil shared a hotel with the Sketchy Brothers.

“When you say it like that, it makes a lot more sense.” Léonardo scratched at his temple. “I don’t know why I thought we were meeting by your room.”

“We never told you our room number.” After they all checked in, Lorenzo made sure to stay back with Emil while the Summers left for their room to prevent this very thing from happening. His muscles tensed. “How did you locate our whereabouts?”

The child cowered behind his brother’s arm. “Emil passed by us on th-the way down t-t–when we were going to breakfast, sir.”

“That’s right!” Emil slapped his forehead. “I was in such a hurry, I forgot I saw you.”

“Yeah, it turns out we’re next door neighbors.” Léonardo swung an arm. “Isn’t that great?”

A distraction from the entryway gave Lorenzo a way out of answering. Ranger Allen sped toward them wearing a pair of silvery pigtails he didn’t remember her having when she left. They swayed along with her waving hand while the other tugged a newly disguised Ranger Wattson behind her.

“Hiii~ We return to you having beaten the clock by the skin of our teeth~” The clock struck 13:27 just as Ranger Allen made her entrance.

“Woah, Mia! You look ready to dodge the paparazzi with a little dog in your purse.” Emil mimicked hiding his face. “Nice ‘fit.”

“Heh! No better praise could come from my rival.” Roxie folded her arms.

“But I didn’t say anything.” Léonardo pointed at himself.

“Not you this time.”

“Oh, okay.” He smiled.

“You!” She pointed at Emil, then spread out her arms. “Gaze upon my handiwork and understand what could’ve been.” Her shoulders slumped. “You could’ve at least let me dress Aiden and Junnn!” The two in question caught her attention. “Cool outfits, by the way.”

“Yeah, these are, like, sweet duds.” Ranger Kim’s arm emerged from the plant to point at Ranger Kelly. “Aiden spent most of the time checking himself out in the floor tiles. Look, he’s doing it now.”

Ranger Kelly looked back at them with a smirk. “If you weren’t over there hiding, you’d do the same.”

“I can’t argue with that. It’s a bummer, but I gotta side with the ‘enemy’ on this one, Rox. Emil really picked out some sick clothes for us.”

“Thanks, but, uh,” Emil checked over his shoulders, “actually! Hey, Roxie, just to make things up to you, I’ll let you take the credit for all this. What do you say?” He offered a hand.

“Hmph. What a dishonorable victory.” For once, Lorenzo actually understood what Roxie meant.

“C’monnn, I insist.”

“I’ll take your offer, but don’t think this means the end.” She accepted the handshake, obliterating any understanding Lorenzo had of her principals.

“Whatever you say. So everybody,” Emil clapped, “if anyone asks who picked out your clothes, tell ‘em it’s Roxie. Got it?”

Everyone answered with vaguely confused affirmations.

Ranger Allen’s eyes locked onto Lorenzo. “Captain, is that you?? I thought you were some kind of mysterious technomancer that Emil happened to bring along.”

“I know, I didn’t recognize him either.” Léonardo chimed in.

“Rookie, your outfit is finally complete!” She walked over and lifted his hands. “You look like a shonen protagonist~”

“Really?” His smile grew wide. “You really think so??”

“A what kind of protagonist?” asked Emil.

“Uh, umm–”

Ranger Allen gasped as if she’d drawn her last breath, craning around him to focus on his brother. “Oh. My. Gosh. Muffinhead, you look like such a little guy in your little suspenders and your thick glasses and your stripey shirt under your other shirt. I wanna pick you up, I wanna pick you up, I wanna pick you up–”

“My apologies for taking so long, sir.” Mia saluted Lorenzo, who forgot her presence. “We should’ve been here sooner.”

Lorenzo nodded in acceptance. “Don’t make it into a habit. And no saluting in disguise.”

“But Lorie, we just got here ourselves.” He’d rather Emil not have brought that up.

“That applies to us, too, Lieutenant. In any event,” he cleared his throat, “now that we are all gathered here, let us begin the briefing.”

Ranger Kim’s head popped out from behind the plant. “Do you want us to stand in a certain formation, orrr…?”

“No.” Lorenzo answered, though it made him ill to see such a disorganized lineup. “We are to look casual in case our,” he glanced around, “‘friend’ is in the vicinity. Our purpose today is to find her and have her report to the ‘hangout spot’ for questioning.”

“I think you would’ve sounded more spacepunk just saying base.” advised Emil.

“The lieute–Emil has sent everyone the relevant information on her via text. Make sure to pin it in order to refer back to later. As you can see, it details her full name, height, weight, and a picture of her face, among other details.”

Lorenzo pulled up said information on his tablet. Included was the photo of a Ranger Yvette Hook, a woman with dark eyes, dark skin, and dark hair pulled into a bun. Judging by the height and weight listed, she stood a little taller than him with a thinner build.

She had facial features. It’s plausible that multiple women in the city matched this description.

“She disappeared last month before a scheduled reassignment to Earth. A direct superior reported that she seemed distressed at the reassignment, so it’s likely she’s still in Lunaria. Peers mentioned her strong interest in spacepunk fashion, but gave no further information on her habits or potential whereabouts.”

Lorenzo scrolled below her information until he reached a map of the city with four points of interest on it.

“Going off of her interests, we can expect to limit our search to the metropolitan area. I’ve marked four known spacepunk gathering spots on this map. We are to split into pairs in order to search in and around these areas. Any questions?”

A hand emerged from the plant.

“Yes, Ranger K–” Using titles would blow their cover if Ranger Hook was in the area. “Yes?”

“Wouldn’t it be more convenient to communicate in a group chat?”

“Excellent question.” Lorenzo thought for a moment. “That would be more convenient, yes, but it may introduce privacy concerns.” He preferred them not having his phone number. Besides, he didn’t know how to set up a group chat if he wanted to.

“Hey, what if I set one up and report whatever we find to you?” offered Emil.

“If you wish to, you may.”

Aiden raised his hand.

“Yes, Kelly?” Surnames were as casual as Lorenzo could manage with most of them.

“What happens if we don’t find her?”

“If she isn’t found, we are to meet back here at 19:30.”

“So it’s not mandatory.” Of course he took it that way.

Lorenzo adjusted his glasses. “Technically this is true, but don’t take this as an excuse to slack off. Commander Parish entrusted us to put forth our best effort in finding her, so I expect updates on what each pair is doing. I myself will also provide updates via the lieu–Emil.”

“A question about that.” Emil raised his hand. After Lorenzo acknowledged him with a nod, he continued. “You were thinkin’ about splitting us up by our normal pairs, right? Leon and Mia, Roxie and Jun, Aiden and Angelo, and then us?”

“Yes, that was the plan.”

He pinched his fingers. “Can I make a teeny tiny adjustment to that?”

Lorenzo held back a sigh. “What is your suggestion?”

“I wanna pair up with Leon. You got to see more of Mia’s first time on Earth, and I was already plannin’ on taking him and anyone else who wanted to go around town before we got this assignment.”

“You can’t just change up the order of things based on your whims. That–” A realization stopped Lorenzo in his tracks. “Excuse me, I need a moment to deliberate.”

At this point, he did not trust either Summers. Having them go unchecked by their respective partners was not ideal. At least Emil knew of his concerns, even if he had yet to believe them. That may also give him the time to dispel the potentially romantic feelings Léonardo had.

“You may pair up together.”

“Really? You mean it? Thanks, Lorie!” Emil promptly turned to give Léonardo a double high-five.

“As for the rest of us…”

Lorenzo surveyed the group. Ideally, he’d want to keep an eye on Angelo, but he had certain plans today that he didn’t want him privy to. So that left the next most responsible option.

Ranger Kim, of course.

Unfortunately that created a new concern, namely, who to watch Ranger Kelly? Lorenzo didn’t trust Wattson to do it; back at the Moon Base, she may have been covering for Kelly in his absence, and he doubted Allen had the ability to keep him in check. As much as he’d rather it not come to this, Lorenzo had no choice.

“You are to come with me.” He pointed at Aiden. “Summers, you’re with Kim. Allen with Wattson.”

“Excuse me, sir?” An urgent question came from an unlikely source.

“Wattson?”

“Um, if I may? I think it would be a better idea if I accompany you instead.”

Lorenzo turned to face her. “State your reasoning.”

“Well, uh, as you’ve mentioned on multiple occasions, Allen and Kim have demonstrated, um, exceptional teamwork ability.” She straightened her posture. “A-And so have Summers and Kelly. So rather than disrupting their chances of finding who we’re looking for, I should join you instead, I think. And since I’m a local, maybe I have valuable insight?”

Wattson’s mission-focused approach was tempting, for certain. Lorenzo always strived to carry out any order given to him; he’d much rather focus on that if circumstances didn’t demand otherwise. Regardless, troublemakers needed to be watched. Unlike him, they had no motivation to do the right thing.

At least Ranger Kelly didn’t. For whatever internal conscious young Summers may have lacked, he did have his weaknesses. Perhaps those could keep him in line, if not both.

“A compelling argument. I will allow you to join me if you wish.” Lorenzo turned his attention to the others. “In that case, Allen, you are to partner with Kim. Summers, you will be with Kelly.”

Ranger Allen tilted her head. “Awww, Mia, you don’t have to do that for us. The position of being my sidekick is always open to you.”

“And I’m cool working with Angelo.” offered Ranger Kim.

“Um, thank you everyone, but I think I’m gonna go with the captain.” Ranger Wattson finalized her decision.

“Okie-dokie.” Ranger Allen accepted this. “Good luck!”

“You too.”

She walked over to Ranger Kim and pulled them out of their chair. After young Summers looked to Lorenzo, the captain tilted his head and sent him teetering in the direction of Ranger Kelly. Emil and Léonardo were busy having a conversation, and Ranger Wattson stood silently behind Lorenzo. Finally, everyone knew their places.

“With everyone settled,” Lorenzo began, “I will now assign your search areas. Allen, Kim, you’re to go to the northwest quadrant, near the bars and nightclubs. Kelly, Summers, you’ll be stationed in the shopping district in the southwest.”

He motioned to his brother’s group.

“You two are to go northeast around Main Street. Myself and Wattson will head to Serenity Park in the southeast. Report to the group chat once you arrive at your respective location. Failure to do so within the given time limit will be met with penalization, understand?”

The youngest boy raised his hand. “Um, s-sir? What do we do if we don’t have phones?”

“Have your partner report instead.”

He looked to Ranger Kelly. “What if my partner doesn’t have one?”

“Unacceptable.” Leaving those two uncontactable was the worst case scenario Lorenzo could imagine. “I’ll have to rearrange the pairs accordingly. Wattson, you’ll be once again assigned to–”

“Wait! Just a sec.” Léonardo texted something on his phone, then walked over to his brother. “I can give Ángie my phone.” He addressed him directly. “I just told Mamá that I won’t have my phone for a while, so there’s no need to return any texts that aren’t from us, okay? Please, please promise me you’ll take care of my phone this time.”

“I swear on my blood.”

“O-Okay. You don’t need to go that far, but I’ll take it.” He went back to Emil. “So I guess you’ll have to keep everyone updated on my end.”

“Sure thing.” Emil gave a thumbs up.

“With this in mind,” Lorenzo surveyed the crew, “I strongly advise that pairs with only one cell phone are together at all times. Refusal to do so will be met with consequence.”

Fear and shame were powerful motivators, ones that he knew well. The younger Summers feared him greatly. So greatly, he suspected, that he’d monitor Ranger Kelly in order to avoid punishment. This should do enough to ensure they stay together. There needed to be extra incentive in order to keep them from causing trouble. Luckily, Lunaria had just the thing.

“It would also do you well to know that the local police are well-acquainted with the Moon Base. Reports of misconduct from any of you will lead to the punishment of your pair. Do I make myself clear?”

Lorenzo was met with affirmatives, including one notably shaky “Yes, sir.” Perfect.

“Excellent. If there are no more questions, then we will begin the search.” After a stretch of silence, he brought up a timer on his tablet and started it. “You now have one hour to reach your destinations. I look forward to hearing from you soon.”

With Ranger Wattson in tow, he left the lobby, making his way eastward toward a task fulfilled.