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 Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:47 pm
Zed walked back up though the ship, looking for Koko as she'd stolen all the towels and he desparately needed a shower.
He walked into the crew's quarters to find Koko mumbling and rolling on the bed.
"Hey Koko, where did ya hide the towels?... you okay?"
The pilot sat down beside Koko and gently placed a hand on her back, stopping her from tossing and turning. He then tapped her on the shoulder a couple of times, attempting to wake her up.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:11 pm
After a couple of taps on her shoulder, Koko suddenly sat bolt upright, a short, sharp yell escaping her lips. A bead of sweat trickled down her cheek from her forehead & she panted slightly. Her pupils were dilated as she slowly turned to face Zed, reaching out a shaky hand & placing her fingertips against his face. Her body shook slightly & the mercenary moved her body so that she was kneeling on the bed while reaching out to the Captain. She was looking at him as though she thought he was going to disappear any second. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but didn't spill over yet.
Without a word she lurched forwards, wrapping her arm's round Zed's waist & burying her head in his torso. She continued to shake, as though she were cold.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:54 pm
Zed slid his arms around Koko's back and held her close. He thought to ask her why she was upset, but decided that it wouldn't help the situation.
"Its okay Koko... everything is okay..."
The pilot looked down at Koko, who had buried her head somewhere between a badly drawn star and a bunch of random squiggles that she'd drawn on him not long ago.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:08 pm
It took a while for Koko's shaking to subside. She didn't say anything while being held, nor did she cry, she seemed almost in a state of shock. When the girl did finally lift her head she looked up at Zed's face & her own contorted with pain.
"I attacked you....."
Her words were said steadily but she looked distraught. Taking the pilot's arms in her hands she leant her forehead against his chest, clenching her eyes tightly shut. Her head was in turmoil. She had a vivid memory of trying to attack, to kill, Zed in a moment of madness.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:12 pm
Zed thought for a moment then made a shrugging motion.
"I get that all the time, no big deal... Anyway, it was obvious that you were way out of it..."
He smiled and looked back down at Koko.
"I aint holding it against ya."
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 12:32 pm
Jackal gritted his teeth as he staggered through the undergrowth unsteadily, clutching the wound to his chest with a large, bloody hand. Grunting as he tripped over a stone, the raider threw himself forwards, arms outstretched to catch himself on a nearby tree. In his groggy state, he misjudged his collision, finding himself spinning quickly towards the ground.
Jackal let out a growl as he lay on his back looking up at the sky. Through the gaps in the foliage surrounding him, Jackal could still see the Aiolos looming menacingly in the distance, the daunting metal structure seeming to take on a life of its own, a great bird of prey hovering in the sky, its keen eyesight scanning the land for its prey.
"I ain't no bird food," the raider told himself firmly, "It's a dog eat dog world, and I've got bigger teeth than those f***ers" with this Jackal rolled over slowly over and pulled himself into an unsteady crouch...
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 12:49 pm
After a while Koko lifted her head again, a smile on her face - though the smile didn't reach her eyes, proving it was forced. She seemed a little too cheerful when she spoke,
"Well, thank you Zed. I'm sorry... for that strange outburst, I must've been more tired than I thought."
She stood up, rather abruptly, & continued the strange smile.
"Well, I best be gettin' to work. Got a lotta stuff to do, ya know?"
With that the mercenary turned & strode off, heading first to the washer room to fetch her clothes from the washing machine. She was lucky, it had just finished the wash & she took her wet clothes from the machine. She needed to dry them somehow...
Searching around, she managed to find a bit of rope-type-stuff (god knows where it had come from) & walked through the Aiolos until she found a warm vent. Tying the rope so that it spanned just above the vent she hung up her clothes. The warm air should dry them.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:59 am
Zed sat on the bed for a while before sighing and heading to the cockpit to see where Jackal had gotten to.
The pilot pressed a button on the monitor that was linked to one of the turrets cameras, switching the view to a thermal image, in which Jackal was visible amongst the undergrowth.
Well, I guess I'd better go pick him up then...
He sat down in his chair and pressed a few buttons, watching the monitors as the ship slowly approached the raider.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 2:45 pm
After sitting on the floor for a while - seemingly staring into space - Koko eventually rose to her feet & headed in the vague direction of the cargo bay. She seemed slightly disoriented & wasn't really taking notice of her surroundings.
Upon reaching the cargo bay, the mercenary looked briefly around the room & her eyes widened a little, as though she was surprised she was here. Shaking her head she let her gaze settle upon the bike she'd taken from that raider. For about a minute the girl didn't move, she simply stared at the vehicle. It was resting on the, now closed, cargo hatch doors having nearly fallen out of the Aiolos earlier. Suddenly, Koko strode purposefully towards it, a look of determination on her face. She needed something to distract her & gaining control of that bike would be the perfect way to do so.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:29 pm
John sighed, bored with waiting in the ship. He headed to the crew quarters and stripped off his weapons, bar his shotgun and his clothes, save his underwear, pants and socks. He settled on a bunk that hadn't been claimed and drifted into a deep sleep, his shotgun cradled in his arms.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 4:50 pm
Jackal heard the distinct sound of the Aiolos' powerful engines getting closer and gritted his teeth. His fists tightened, knuckles popping and cracking with the sudden flex, and the raider got up from his crouch quickly, ignoring the head-rush from his movement, spinning on the spot to find himself face to face with his enemy, the ship hovering over him unsettlingly.
A tremor rolled down his spine, and Jackal was suddenly very aware that the Pilot was watching him, no doubt on a camera hidden somewhere on the great flying monolith. This knowledge made him feel sick, and more than this it made him angry, he now understood that he had nowhere to run, not in the immediate vicinity at least. The raiders chest heaved as he let out a heavy hearted sigh, and with a grimace he raised his left arm in a mock salute, a gesture to be quickly replaced by a defiant, and furious salute of a different variety: A two fingered one.
So there he stood, with a heart of lead molten with hatred, and a crass gesture raised, made rigid with resolve and defiance, the raider had made his move, the rest was up to the pilot...
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:37 pm
A small grin crept across Zed's face as Jackal 'saluted' him. He looked at his metal arm, noting the lack of index finger that he'd lost in the gunfight at Jackal's hideout.
The pilot clicked a button on the ship's dash so he could talk over the loudspeakers.
"Pleasantries aside, I think it's about time I left this damn rock. You can stay and die here alone if you want, or you could let me drop ya back home on Ares, bike and all..."
The Aiolos' engines began humming as Zed powered them up.
"So, what'll it be?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:01 pm
Koko dragged the bike away from the cargo hatch & further into the bay, near to her 'corner'. She had a vast array of random pieces of metal, tools, discarded weaponry & a hoverboard that she used to slide under certain things she was working on. Once she had the bike positioned, the mercenary secured it & used a maintenance stand to lift it off the ground slightly.
"That should do it..."
With almost desperate urgency, the mercenary began to work on the bike, trying to block out the memories that kept flashing before her eyes. Since the motorbike had a computerised system, she slid underneath - using the hoverboard - & opened up the circuitry. Just as she was about to start decifering it, an unknown image appeared before Koko's eyes; she couldn't tell if it was a memory, or something her brain had made up, but it seemed real enough. Her hands - if they were hers - had been much smaller, like that of a child & she had been looking at a fairly simple set of computer circuits. Shaking her head to rid herself of the image, the mercenary continued her work.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 2:00 pm
Jackal winced as the pilots words echoed around his aching skull. He weighed up his options quickly but thoroughly, looking at it from a survivalist (meaning from a raiders) perspective. The pilot had said it all, though he'd never admit it, he could stay on this lonely planet and no doubt perish in this new and unfarmiliar habitat, or alternatively he could hitch a ride home on the very ship he'd been attempting to sabotage, and later escape.
The thing that had made the decision final for Jackal was to be reunited with his beloved bike, he couldn't stand to think of his baby being played with like a toy by the infuriating girl-merc.
With a growl, and a few mumbled obscenities, Jackal nodded once, lowering his arm and backing up unsteadily against a tree, at which point he slid to the ground, laying his head back against the bark. Whatever the pilot was planning on doing, the raider hoped it wouldnt take too long. He was tired, tired of thinking, tired of running, even tired of fighting... for now at least.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 2:40 pm
The Aiolos lowered, rotating so that the side airlock, that was now open, was accessable from the ground.
Zed at back in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief, watching the monitors that were still fixed on Jackal. He watched the Airlock camera and waited for the raider to get onboard, debating whether to lock him in the airlock or let him roam around freely in the ship.
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