CH4: Closure of a Long Day (Cain + Kara)
Jun 27, 2018 13:27:27 GMT -6
Post by Linkyu on Jun 27, 2018 13:27:27 GMT -6
[05:30 -- Menaulion, Pilot lounge.]
Cain’s brief medbay encounter hadn’t been the most pleasant, but at least it had been over.
Actually, that sort of sentiment probably could be shared with most of what occurred today. The phrase, ‘I’m not being paid enough’ was certainly the motto of the day. With that too came the reminder, ‘it’s not about the payment’, but even that poster-worthy saying was failing to gain traction. That raging headache he was nursing though? Oh yeah, that definitely had a foothold.
The pilot’s lounge was probably not the best place to nurse a headache, but it had orange juice- a commodity he was relying on in excess to get through the morning. Common sense dictated he should sleep, but it was early enough that it would risk burning an already incredibly bad sleep schedule.
He rested his head along the mini (non-alcoholic) bar’s counter, an unsurprising groan fighting its way out of his throat. At most, he had managed to get out of his pilot suit and into what amounted to his pajamas. There was a certain faux pas to being in the lounge in what was essentially a t-shirt and boxers, but he had surmised that it was a mood that many of the other pilots would carry, anyways.
It was about on par for Kara, at least. She had headed for the lounge as well after she finally managed to get a shower. She sat down on a couch near the bar, a sigh of relief as she rested her head back, and a towel folded behind her neck to keep things more or less dry.
After a short minute, she turned to him.
“You look terrible”, she said, visibly exhausted. “Thought I caught a glimpse of you going to the medbay earlier; you doin’ alright?”
The pilot tapped the counter, then tapped his left leg, particularly the thigh area- where it had been rather viciously bandaged up.
“I’m fine, minus the gunshot wound.”
He lifted his head up from the counter, turning to meet the gaze of the other pilot. Though he was clearly tired, at least he seemed present. Still, he couldn’t help but to cock a brow. Had she really enough time to take a shower? Huh, maybe it was just them that got saddled with a rough time.
“How about you? I heard you guys had to get carried by the Lucky.”
“Whhh-how did-- Ah-- That. Yes.”
Kara had wanted to ask about his wound, how it happened, but his last sentence froze her shut.
“Yeah. It’s-- We… Well. It had to be done to save time. It’s… Hm. The uphill firefight we went through in that building sits a lot better with me, to be… quite honest.”
“Yikes…” Were the first words to leave his mouth, the pilot opting to instead massage his forehead as he mulled over what she had said. “I can imagine, I wouldn’t want to get carted underwater in an AA’s hand, no matter how slow it was going.”
He paused on the words ‘uphill firefight’, right, he had heard something about their group encountering resistance… It was only natural that his curiosity took the better of him. Besides, maybe it would be better to shift the topic, given Kara’s response.
“Uphill fight, huh? Did they have a lot of personnel in the building…?”
“Not really; only two, as far as I could tell, but they were well armed and had trapped the whole place with mines. That and we were slightly underprepared. No NVG, no fiberscope, no armour, not even any grenade… Not my proudest prep, honestly. We went in like it was a civil war and supplies were short, like if we had to make do with one gun, three rocks, and an empty can of soup. Oh and the gun’s empty too.”
She sighed.
“It’s been a long day.”
He rubbed his neck.
“...Yeah, that sounds rough.”
There was probably a hefty divide between how the two defined the extent of their bad days, but Cain was willing to give this one to Kara.
“Still, must have given them a run for their money if you were able to go in and out in minimal equipment. Glad to see you in one piece, too.” He raised his glass to that, taking a hearty gulp not long after.
She nodded in response before continuing.
“Well. I did keep the explosives with me, so. It’s some unfortunate damage that was caused though; my report tries to be as justifiable as possible, but I’m sure the captain will make a note of the destruction.”
The pilot tensed up, his eyes locked on that glass of juice in front of him.
“I wouldn’t worry about that. There was already heavy destruction in the city.”
If he meant to say that as a comfort, it didn’t sound like it. The pilot’s tone was too… Pained, maybe, for that to be comfort. He tapped the counter. “Unfortunately.”
“...oh.”
Silence grew. The only thing the pilots could hear was the low humming of the mini-bar and the occasional footsteps from a nearby corridor.
She broke the silence. “I take it it…. went more awry than planned?”
“Awry is putting it lightly. Ever see an AA surf on a skyscraper?”
As if to make a point, he pulled out his PDA, pulled up an image, and slid it partially down the counter, motioning for her to give it a peek. “White, tall, strange. I don’t know what to say, but it showed up on the battlefield and gave some of us a hard time.”
She sat down next to him and observed the picture, intrigued.
“I don’t recognize anything on this machine… Custom Athen?.... No… Even a heavily modified custom wouldn’t... ” She looked at Cain, puzzled. Her eyes were telling a lot however; both of them understood the gravity of the situation. “This isn’t good, is it.”
All she got was a shrug, the pilot finishing up his juice, letting the glass sit on the table for a few moments before the urge to spin it around arose, his attention clearly shifted.
“Don’t know. The way the joints are hidden made me think it was an Athen too, but it’s something entirely new. Too tall. Too fast. Way more flexible, way more precise.”
Kara grimaced and shook her head slightly. She grabbed a small bottle of apple juice in the fridge and sat back down.
“Guess we’ll have to be on the lookout for this machine then.”
“Mhmm,” Came his response, the pilot finally sitting up straight, stretching his arms.
“It’s because of it that we lost the Highlander, and my Wolfsbane is wrecked. It’s worth keeping an eye out for.”