Well, in a neat little town they call Belfast, apprentice to trade I was bound
Many an hours sweet happiness, have I spent in that neat little town
A sad misfortune came over me, which caused me to stray from the land
Far away from my friends and relations, betrayed by the black velvet band .
Sentry swayed along with the music as it poured from the computer console in the corner of the room, cradling an M-8 Avenger assault rifle in his arms as if it were a newborn baby. The swaying soon turned into what could only barely be described as a waltz, and the assault rifle became a dancing partner. The dance became more intricate as the music continued, with Sentry spinnng and swaying along to the melody. As then chorus kicked in, Sentry brought the barrel of the gun up to his lips and sang along with the music:
Her eyes they shone like diamonds
I thought her the queen of the land
And her hair it hung over her shoulder
Tied up with a black velvet band.
"What the...?"
"Holy Christ," Sentry exclaimed. Braden's voice caused him to jolt and the Avenger slipped from his grip, but he moved with an almost inhuman speed and caught the assault rifle, ejected the thermal clip from the weapon, and caught the clip in his left hand. He turned to look at Braden and laughed heartily at the boy's expression.
"Sorry, Braden," he said as he laid the weapon on a nearby table with the thermal clip beside it. "I forgot what time it was. I was just getting some work done, you see."
"And practicing unsafe weapon procedure," EDI added.
"Yes," he added. "And practicing unsafe weapon procedure. First lesson: Don't dance with your weapon and/or sing into the barrel like a microphone. For one, it could get you hurt, and two, it makes you look like a jackass."
"Agreed, Operative Valentine," EDI replied.
"Hush, woman," Sentry chuckled. "I didn't hear you complaining
during the performance." Valentine focused his attention back onto Braden and smiled. "What's going on, big man? You look confused."
"Just wondering what kind of... music... that was," Braden replied.
"It's a traditional Irish song called
The Black Velvet Band," Sentry said with a smile. "See, I'm a spacer. I was born and raised on Alliance stations and Alliance ships, but my mother and father, they were both from Dublin. My father was an engineer who was extremely grounded in all of Ireland's history, especially the music, and my mother was a nurse who was a little more 'with the times' than my father happened to be."
Sentry brought his arm up and his Omni-Tool sprang to life. He tapped a few buttons on the interface and the music started playing again, only at a lower volume this time.
"I was raised almost the same way wither of them had been raised, and I was brought up with a lot of the traditional things from back home," he continued. "Especially the music. I know it's a lot different than anything you might've ever heard, but I love it."
"Only music I really know is the club and trance played on Omega...," Braden said, casting his eyes across some of the weapon racks to distract himself from what appeared to be a creeping thought.
"Looks like there's a story there," Sentry said with a soft smile as he noted Braden's expression. "We'll get to that another time. Till then, let's get to teaching you about shooty things, kay?"
And the lesson began.