Madeline Beaufort and the Moon Thief

“Is this about the moon?” Madeline asked, hoping for some answers, “What happened to my moms?”

She had assumed this man who obviously carried some authority might know. The realization slowly dawning on her that she had no idea if he even knew anything about her parent’s predicament.

“Yes, this is about your mothers.” A brief moment of calm washed over Madeline as she realized she might get some answers.

”And more.” He added, shifting from flippant to a more serious tone. Whatever momentary calm Madeline might have had, was taken away just as quick. What did he want from her, other than to deliver the bad news? The prospect worried Madeline somewhat. Who was this man and what organization was his supposed authority even derived from?

“I'm sorry, but who are you exactly?” Madeline asked incredulously, crossing her arms.

“You don’t recognize me?” The giant looked upset, then a brief flash of understanding washed over his face “It must be the voice settings again”

The man turned to the soldier lady, who had stepped off the walkway to accommodate for his large stature. “Ha! I swear if this damn translator, goes on the fritz one more time, I'm going to eat the techs.”

He pounded his fist against his throat. For a brief moment, a distortion appeared to wash over the lower portion of the man's face, revealing something else, thought she couldn't quite make out what. Madeline blinked, What was that? She wondered if the stress of the whole situation was causing her to have visions.

“Is that better?” His dialect suddenly changing to an american one, as clear as day. Madeline resolved to confront the absurdity of what she seen with the man’s face and what had transpired with his speech later.

What was important to her in that moment was that she recognized that voice from years prior, and it suddenly unlocked the memory of where she’d seen this giant man before. He was in a photograph sitting on the fireplace mantle, posing with Madeline’s parents and various other colleagues of theirs. Madeline vaguely remembered the man, from a few occasions years prior when her family would have work friends over. Mostly she remembered playing with his daughter, a cool punk girl more than twice her age who kept Madeline at ease even with her somewhat scary appearance.

“I remember you! You worked with my parents, I played with your daughter at the barbecue a few years back. The one with the mohawk?”

The man nodded, “That’s my Liberty, she’s out traveling on her honeymoon right now actually.”

The man’s name began to come back to Madeline “And you’re ‘Uncle’ Rex?”

Obviously Rex wasn't actually her uncle, but it was what her parents told Madeline to call him, and that much she remembered clearly. He nodded and smiled. His arms opened wide and he crouched down to her level. Somehow, Rex made her feel at ease, and Madeline could almost forget about all the agents were positioned across her front lawn. Madeline flew into his arms, she needed some comfort, and a strange man from her past would have to do.

“It will be alright girl, now what do you say we go inside? I have something important to show you.”

SpoilerShow

>_ Well?