The pounding at his door woke Calvin up and he was not happy at all. "I'm comin'!" he shouted at whoever was out there interrupting his sleep. "What do ya' want?" Instead of yelling a response through the door like any sane man--at least, sane according to Calvin--would have, they just kept pounding like there was no tomorrow.
Despite serving in the last great War as a mercenary for the Empire, Calvin had fallen into more lazy habits since it ended. There was a time when he would have been instantly awake and ready to fight in his beskar with weapon in hand upon a moment's notice.
Not now.
Now he was groaning and swearing like one of those pathetic Imperial grunts. Part of him should have been almost ashamed, but that part didn't have much sway right now. Plenty of strong drink last night had seen to that.
His head throbbed and the world seemed a little too bright to be natural as he stumbled out of bed and towards his door. With bleary eyes still bloodshot from a hangover, he threw open the door and saw his neighbor, Kastein, standing there.
"Don't ya know it is far too early to be wakin' a man?" he moaned.
Before he knew what hit him, a bucket of ice cold water doused him and made him want to die from the shock. Whoever threw it on him remained silent as he cursed and shouted out his anger, but as soon as he threw a punch at the man, he found his hand caught in a grip so tight he thought it would snap his wrist. A split second later, he found himself on the ground with the wind blown out of his lungs.
"Wha--" he tried to say.
Something moved to block the sun and a gruff voice said, "Sober up, Druitt. There are more important things in life than drinking and whoring."
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that Hadrian's family has been slaughtered and he needs you."
That helped drive away the fog. "What?" he asked in a clearer voice.
"You heard me, you damn drunk," there was nothing but derision in Kastein's voice. "I don't know why I am even bothering to get you except that I think Hadrian would appreciate the support."
"What happened?" Calvin asked.
"Some raid. I'll be damned if they get away with it for long, but that is up to Hadrian to get revenge."
Calvin struggled to his feet and shook the water out of his eyes. While he was doing that, he wasn't able to see the second bucket of water until it was too late. "Alright!" he shouted. "I'm awake!"
"That was for the smell," Kastein said with a smirk. "Get your things together, we need to be there as soon as we can."
The hangover was still there, but Calvin ignored it as he would a battle injury. He wanted to get to his friend and find out what happened and who would pay for killing his family. It did not take long for him to get into his beskar and geared up for battle just like the old days. Within a few minutes, the two of them were in Kastein's speeder and on their way to Hadrian's homestead.