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The sound of Jackal's bike revving aggressively travelled for miles around on the stillness of the cool night air.
The raider's wounds were wrapped in clean dressing, his weapons were in full working order, and he was wearing a fresh polo shirt, over the top of which he wore a large M65 parka ready to protect him from the fast approaching winter.
A radio transmission crackled into life from the bike's HUD, which Jackal immediately intercepted with a passive flick of a switch.
"...s is Alpha Company calling on Jackal 5, do you recieve our transmission? Over-"
Jackal smirked from behind his bandanna, leaving a few seconds silence before answering.
"Loud and clear Alpha..."
"Jackal 5, do you have the girl? Over-"
"Only if you have the amount we agreed." He smirked slightly, "Over."
"Affirmative, sending coordinates for transaction. Be there at 03:00 hours. Over and out."
Jackal laughed quietly to himself as the connection cut out. This plan had worked out better than he could have hoped. Just one lie, and enough balls to mess with the right people was all it took to be rich beyond your wildest dreams.
Tapping the HUD of his bike, Jackal brought up the coordinates for the meeting place, simultaneously releasing the clutch on the bike. With a roar the bike went from nought to 80mph in just under three seconds. It only took an extra two seconds for the wheels to retract and the powerful hover function of the hulking machine to kick in, propelling the raider to impossible speeds as he soared over the desert sands...

Ilyse looked up at the large metallic object, sporting a number of dangerous looking implements, all aiming squarely at her. And a smile crept on to her face. It was the coolest thing she had ever seen. The colourful bursts had declined at this stage, so she waved frantically, motioning their previous place of rest as a landing pad, unable to hide her incredible excitement. A real life ship! She had always wanted to see one up close. They had flown overhead, and once she caught a glance through a dock's door, but this one was so close she could almost touch it, every contour of its metallic build setting her inquisitive mind alight. Despite its shadow engulfing her, Ilyse could feel the heat of the airbound veichles engine against her face, it was inconsequential in her eagerness however, and she quickly sought to learn more about it.

"Hey, Mr Pilot, cool ship!", was the only think Ilyse could think to exclaim, exuberantly, a bright smile painted across her face.

Smiling, Ilyse found herself pleasantly suprised by the revelation of the pilot. He was rather bizarre in appearence, rather like herself, and showed an immense pride of his technological belongings. "Wow, so she's quick too? That's awesome!" She tilted her head a little, her grin revealing an immense satisfaction at their meeting. She scratched her head a little, before realizing she had forgot something. "Oh, my name's Ilyse. I'm an inventor. By the way you look I guess you're a genius just like me!"

From a young age Ilyse had linked madness with genius. She had had a kooky uncle who came up with the most incredible stories. She supposed this had made her aim for irregularity, and enjoyed the results. "Where are you going, Mr Pilot? I want a ride on this awesome ship!"

Angie's eyes widened as the blade flew past her face, the movement of air it created hitting her skin. "Woah..." she breathed, before rushing over to the beetle and retrieving the blade, clumsily tossing it back to Koko. The fan girl beamed as she then stomped on another beetle that had apparently been following the first, and she giggled before jogging to her idol. "Never let your guard down...got it!" she repeated, before bending down to draw out her own knife, and held it in front of her face. "What's next?" she asked, her mind bending around what Koko had said about being alone for 100 years.

Dimitri gawped as Thane called to the pair of them, and he ran to where the boy stood smiling. "Hol-y fist paste...it's i'm" he murmered, swatting away some more dust. "But er...Thaney lad...whadda we do with 'im now?" Dimitri asked, pushing some inky black hair behind his left ear, and folding down the collar of his beloved jacket.

Jackal's bike purred loudly as it came to a stop just outside what appeared to be the rusted remains of a tiny settlement. Punching a command into the bike's HUD, the raider double checked that he was in the right place, crossreferencing the coordinates sent to him with a small map which had appeared on one of the side-screens of the bike. When he was fully satisfied that this was the meeting place, he drove forwards slowly, ejecting his magnum from its compartment, and warily placing it in a shoulder harness hidden beneath his parka.

Suddenly, Jackal was rendered blind as a powerful spotlight fell upon him. Instinctvely he brought a hand up to shield his eyes, an action which prompted several rifles to be cocked on the other side of the powerful light.
"Mr. Jackal, I presume?" A military-esque voice enquired from a powerful speaker.
Jackal smirked as his eyes adjusted to the light. He could make out the outlines of a large armored vehicle, from atop which the spotlight shone. Behind this, there appeared to be a sort of mobile command centre, barricaded with several lines of sand-bags. Jackal could make out several sharp-shooters hidden behind the makeshift barricades, all with their sight's aiming directly at him.
"My employer I presume?" The raider laughed.
"Where's the girl?" The voice boomed.
Jackal drummed his hand on the largest storage compartment of the bike, a large metal compartment behind where he currently sat. "In here, and safe for now. But you dont see her until I see my money." The air was silent for a while, silent enough to hear the soft whirring of the spotlight's electrics, before the voice spoke again.
"Very well..." Two briefcases were tossed from behind one of the sandbags, landing just short of Jackals bike, some dust being kicked up as they impacted upon the soft desert sand. They'd obviously decided that Jackal wouldnt try anything funny, seeing as how they had him out-gunned and out manned. They were wrong...

Picking up the briefcases, Jackal weighed them in his hands, finding them both adequetly weighted, he smiled, inclining his head acutely towards the spotlight.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you sir." Walking over to his bike slowly, the raider inhaled and exhaled deeply. He hadn't expected this much firepower, if he had, he'd of called in some of his old raider friends. But there was no turning back now, he'd already told the lie, already taken the money. He had to stand and fight.
Jackal opened the compartment slowly, reaching in and wrapping his fingers arount the stun grenade. At the same time he reached over and opened the compartment containing his Bren Gun.
Everything changed within a second, he'd thrown the stun grenade high into the air after toasting it for a few seconds, the resulting flash disorientating the marksmen behind the spotlight. Simultaneously, whilst leaping for cover behind a large piece of debris, Jackal brought his Bren Gun to bare and fired a short burst at the spotlight, which shattered in a shower of sparks.
Jackal's maniacal laugh equaled the volume of the company's returning fire as he landed behind a large piece of rusted metal. He could feel the night air being torn apart around him with bullet fire. He could hear the tiny projectiles whistling through the air over his head.
Jackal smirked. F**k it, he thought to himself. If I'm gonna die, at least Im gonna die rich...

Zed stood in the airlock for a moment as Ilyse boarded his ship. After the moment had passed, he shrugged and walked back into the ship.
"I guess I could take you to the city... just don't touch anything."
The pilot headed up to the cockpit and slumped in his chair. The cockpit of the Aiolos was a darkened room, lit up by various monitors that all seemed to glow green due to the video feed from the night vision cameras on the exterior of the ship. A small ivy plant grew from under a panel on one of the walls, giving the cockpit a rather disconcerting feeling to those who were not familiar with it.
Zed sat before the huge dashboard that was covered in buttons, dials and monitors that seemed to shimmer in the almost ominous green glow.

Koko turned her back to the fire & sat with her legs drawn up in front of her, resting the arm with the knife held on one knee. She glanced back at the girl & said quietly,
"G'night Angie."

It was a little while before the mercenary noticed anything. She'd somehow fallen asleep & was, once again, plagued by visions of a man she somehow knew - even though she couldn't see his face. He was speaking to her, but his voice was muffled, as though he were on the other side of a glass window. He leant closer to her & a smile formed on his lips & she raised a hand out to him; but it was a child's hand, not her own. Before Koko found out what was going to happen, she was woken by the unmistakable sound of gunfire. The mercenary's eyes snapped open & she held very still, listening. No matter how deeply she slept, she always woke if their was any sign of danger - even if it was far away. She looked around herself, noting how the fire had burned away to cinders & Angie was still nearby.
Dammit... must've been out for a while...
When there was another burst of gunfire, the girl decided she couldn't just ignore it. If there was a raider party heading her way, she wanted to know where it was. She glanced back at Angie again, feeling strangely responsible for her.
If I can find 'em, maybe I can lead 'em away from her.

Getting to her feet, Koko crouched low & headed across the desert, her trench coat hiding her well in the low-light. The sounds of gunfire were getting louder &, as the mercenary reached the top of a sand dune, she knew they were over the other side. She lay in a prone position, taking her semi-automatic rifle from where she placed it on her back, under her trench coat. Slowly, she crawled forwards until she was able to look over at the scene below. In an instant, she knew who was involved. The bike was unmistakable. Jackal. She cursed under her breath.
Honestly! We leave the guy alone for 5 minutes & he goes & starts a bloody gunfight!
It would be best if she didn't get involved, but she wanted to see where this battle would lead. If they began to head in the direction of her camp, she'd have to try & stop them. To make sure she was ready, Koko inserted a magazine & pulled back the cocking handle on her gun.