John opened the door to the building, met by a human in a red uniform.
He held a pair of silver keys, sighing as he handed them over.
"Well, here you go... John Utah, right...?" He asked, seemingly apprehensive.
"Yeah, that's me. Just here to get settled in," Captain responded.
The human knelt down, narrowing his eyes.
"Settled in... right. Just don't make too much noise or use that 'Toon Force' thing that you guys have been known for--", he was cut off.
"Uhh let me just clarify real quick--... no, we don't HAVE toon force most of the time. I'm not some dangerous, manic lunatic, so PLEASE don't address me like I'm going to blow your head off for looking at me wrong," Captain suddenly interjected.
The human arched an eyebrow.
"Well, thank you for the correction, Sergeant... but I--", he was cut off again.
"Listen-- sir, I've been cordial so far, even through your dirty looks and clearly condescending attitude, so don't think I'm stupid, either.
I've noticed that from the moment I walked through this door, you immediately assumed I was going to be some dangerous, impulsive caricature rather than a human being... and that was bad enough, but you go further and mock my WAR title?
I went through hell behind the scenes while you sat comfortably at home, probably LAUGHING at what was shown on screen.
It's our FIRST DAY, man, show us some form of respect...!
Because GOD KNOWS we've done so for YOU," Captain explained as the human grew visibly uncomfortable, still knelt down.
He was quiet, standing back up...
You may continue to your quarters," he winced, clearly still uncomfortable and trying to process what he'd heard.
Another human approached as he walked away.
"What was that all about...?", she asked.
"A toon, Mrs. Johnson... thing was surprisingly well-spoken and observant", he responded.
She was quiet for a second, disgusted.
"I'm sorry-- thing...? Good God, no WONDER he was upset...!" She snapped back, scowling.
"It's a CARTOON CHARACTER!", he stammered, trying to reason.
"No, he's a fully-developed HUMAN BEING, you neanderthal!! Don't expect to keep your position, Hunt.
You couldn't follow the simple policy of making our homes feel like home.
What you did was textbook discrimination, drawing or not, he didn't deserve what you put him through," she explained, clearly angered.
He looked down, angry yet disappointed and somewhat guilty.
She noticed, turning away.
You might as well have just spat on a veteran", she finalized, walking away.
Captain was in his sector, setting his things up.
The anger had faded, but he still felt hurt and honestly, uncomfortable and unwelcome.
As he placed a large rifle above his desk, he heard a knock.
"Hello...? Sergeant John Utah..?", a voice called.
He winced, expecting the worst...
"God... bastard probably yapped off to management...", he grumbled.
He opened the door to find a woman in the same red uniform.
She had nearly black, textured hair styled in a soft afro, a roman nose and a warm yet saddened look in her hazel eyes.
"Hello, I'm so sorry to bother..!
I'm Ferrah Johnson, management here at Rockwell.
I heard you had a... rather difficult interaction before being directed to your apartment...?", she asked, calm and upright, not condescending or sarcastic like the last human.
"Yeah... yeah, I did... is there a problem..?", Captain nervously asked.
"No, not at all, Utah! I'm simply here to apologize for how our... ex-employee directed himself in front of you.
You're in good hands, so don't expect something like that to happen again as long as you stay here.
Everyone is welcome here, and I will always make sure of that," Johnson responded, a warm smile crossing her face.
Captain looked up, pleasantly surprised.
"Well--... well, that's definitely a welcome surprise, ma'am...!" He chuckled.
"It shouldn't be a surprise to begin with... for anyone", she sighed.
He nodded, holding a hand out.
She shook it before turning away.
"Don't worry, Utah... this is just a beginning step.
You may not always meet good people, but when you do, try to keep those people in mind", she stated, calmly walking away.
Captain waved, taking the words to heart.
He closed the door, looking back at his things.
"Man... maybe humans aren't so bad after all...
I can see myself getting settled in here, actually...!" He chuckled.
He went to get into bed, glancing at the window for a second.
In the corner of his eye, a shadowy figure stood.
He immediately snapped his attention to the window, startled.
It was the figure from earlier.
"What the hell...?", he muttered, getting closer to the window...
He felt a chill go up his spine as the figure stood, simply watching...
He didn't move away like last time.
It dawned on him that he was STUDYING THE BUILDING, trying to map out EXACTLY where he was.
"Okay, fuck ALL OF that!! I'm not dealing with this shit," he panicked, grabbing his phone.
He dialed the local number, his breath slightly shaky.
After a few seconds, a voice sounded.
"Police speaking, how may I help you...?", the responder spoke.
It's my first day here, and I have reason to believe that I'm being followed??", Captain spoke.
"And this is...?", he asked.
"John-- John Utah...", Captain responded.
"Like the Tankmen character??", he tried to stifle laughter.
"Yes-- why are you laughing..!? I'm pretty sure I'm being STALKED!", he choked, clearly scared.
The responder immediately snapped back to reality, stammering.
"Shit-- sorry, g-got a bit distracted-- listen, we have a detective here that specializes in stalkers, he's solved hundreds of cases.
Again, VERY sorry," the guy sounded genuinely worried and regretful as he explained.
"Alright-- yeah, get that guy on the phone...", Captain quietly requested as the figure remained standing...
A few seconds passed, the fear and tension rising steadily in Captain...
The phone suddenly picked up again.
"Hello, this is Detective Lexi,"
A tired, sighing voice responded through the phone.
