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 Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 12:41 pm
A few moments later the ship's engines jolted into life, lifting the ship up from the soil with a series of loud groaning sounds and holding it a few meters above the ground. The Aiolos emitted a number of rather unhealthy sounding rattling and humming noises as it struggled to stay airborne, the ship occasionally drifting slightly from side to side as the pilot attempted to keep it stationary.
A few moments later, with the Aiolos safely hovering fairly still, work could begin on re-attaching the lost hull panels.
Zed jumped out of the cargo-hold which was on the ship's underside, landing neatly on his feet.
"Okay, now we can reattach these panels, then we'll just have to wait for the FTL core to recharge."
He quickly got to work welding the hull fragments back onto the ship.
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 12:47 pm
Jackal ran the back of his hand across his forehead quickly, suddenly aware of how dangerous this situation could be. He'd taken on multiple foes before, but not a battle-ready military force.
"Grenades," he thought to himself. "I should definitely have brought grenades."
Shrugging off the thought, the raider snarled and pulled himself into a run. He closed the distance between himself and the first barricade quickly, zig-zagging slightly in his path to avoid the gunfire. Upon reaching the line of sandbags, Jackal snarled, leaping into the air and clearing the barrier, simultaneously double-footing one of the soldiers in the face.
Landing neatly, the raider levelled his magnum at a nearby marksman, firing off a single shot, and tearing a ragged hole through his chest.
Jackal smirked, and moved to turn around, but instead felt a sharp pain in his back, accompanied by a loud bang. Opening his mouth, he tried to inhale a breath of the cool night-air, but found himself incapable of anything but short gasps.
The raiders piercing blue eyes narrowed as he brought his hand to the wound. Torn flesh, thick blood; "s**t." He murmured inaudibly, "I've been shot..."
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:03 pm
Having watched as the Aiolos struggled into the air, Koko set about dragging other sections of the shattered hull out of the earth. Some pieces were fairly small, others required a fair amount of effort to shift. When she'd managed to move all of the shards she could find, the female mercenary set about welding. She located another welding torch & hoisted a few of the smaller metal fragments into her arms. It took a while figuring out where the various pieces were supposed to go, but once she'd worked it out she began 'flitting' round the underside of the ship so that she could weld the pieces.
At the rate they were going, the hull would be repaired in no time; Koko had no idea, however, just how long it would take for the FTL core to recharge. The girl wondered how long Zed & herself would be away from Ares - would it be a few hours, days, weeks? For a few moments, while she worked, she wondered what Jackal was up to,
Surely he wouldn't 'ave continued to take on all those men by himself?
Then she frowned to herself, shaking her head as she thought,
Then again, this is Jackal we're talkin' about, he's probably killed the whole lot of 'em. Damn raider just doesn't seem to die.
Having welded another section, Koko took a step back to inspect what she'd done. Having inhuman speed sure did help when it came to fixing things, but she knew she wouldn't be able to lift any of the large pieces of metal & keep it up while she welded it, so she'd have to let Zed do that.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 1:22 pm
Zed picked up one of the larger hull fragments and held it up for Koko to reattach.
"You did one hell of a good job fixing this arm up for me"
He smiled at the woman whilst holding the panel above his head.
"I hope this arm doesn't run outta power on me."
A worried look crept onto his face for a moment.
The two of them worked into the night on re-attaching the panels and making the ship airtight.
They sat in the darkened cockpit wearing their spacesuits, watching the main monitor as the ship sucked all of air from some areas of the ship, testing how airtight it was by detecting where air was entering from.
The pilot looked at Koko and waved as the words NO LEAKS DETECTED flashed up on the screen.
They removed their helmets as the air rushed back into the cockpit.
"Well, now we know that both the ship and my spare spacesuit are airtight"
He leant back in his chair and yawned loudly.
"Riiight, I think I'm gunna call it a night..."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 2:21 pm
Having not said anything while the airtight tests were carried out, Koko slowly removed her helmet when Zed did, her dark brown hair cascading down her back. Her gaze was lowered a little & she exhaled slowly, placing her helmet on her lap. When the pilot spoke she lifted her head a little to look at him,
"I think I'll stay up 'ere.. if you don't mind o' course."
She looked down again, rubbing her thumb lightly over the fingers on her other hand. She didn't want to go to sleep right now... fear of the visions returning keeping her awake. Despite how beautiful this planet was, she wished Zed would take them back soon so that she could distract herself back out in the Arean desert.
Spinning in her chair, Koko turned towards the large cockpit window & gazed out at the starry sky; the shattered remains of what she assumed this planets moon was floated almost ominously, as though it held the secrets to some horrible story from the past. The mercenary placed one elbow on the control panel, resting her chin in her hand. A couple of times while she had been working she had experienced some visions flashing in front of her eyes, thus her mood had hit nearly rock-bottom; while the other visions had been strange & a little odd, these ones had been outright disturbing.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 4:38 pm
The pilot sighed and stood up and approached Koko, who was still acting rather strangely.
He leant on the dash beside the woman, resting his non-metal hand on the top of her head, rubbing it slightly.
"Koko... We'll be home in no time... I promise."
Zed looked down at Koko's face, the shattered moon reflecting in her perfect eyes.
"You have beautiful eyes... Uh... I bet you're wondering why the moon is all broken like that..."
He looked out of the window at the sky, which was filled with lunar fragments.
"It's the reason we left this place, the moon was falling, it looks like it hit too, but every prediction and calculation pointed to the complete destruction of the planet... But that obviously didn't happen, so what softened the blow? I have no idea."
He took his hand from Koko's head and rested it on her shoulder.
"I... um... need help getting out of this spacesuit. I know, I know it sounds bad, It's just, I can't get to the damn zippers on the back..."
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 4:58 pm
At Zed's touch, Koko started slightly, having 'zoned out' while looking out of the window. She had turned her head towards him as he spoke, blinking her 'beautiful' eyes at him slowly, wondering if she'd heard him right. As he began his explanation of the planet's near destruction the girl had turned her attention back to the fragmented moon, trying to envision what it must have been like for the residents of the planet as that huge rock began to hurtle towards them; what could have had enough power to stop it? She had no answer to that. She murmured softly,
"It must have been terrible...."
Feeling the pilot's hand move to her shoulder, Koko once again turned her attention to him, unable to stop the smile that crept onto her features at his predicament. Shaking her head, the female mercenary sighed at him,
"Honestly, what would ya do if I wasn't 'ere to help ya?"
She paused, before answering her own question,
"Somethin' stupid probably..."
Having placed her helmet on the floor next to her seat, Koko pushed up from the chair & moved round so that she was stood behind the pilot. It didn't take her long to unzip the suit, but she didn't move for a while; instead, she let her fingers linger on the man's back, admiring the muscles fanning up to his shoulders and down his spine. For a moment she wondered why he was wearing no shirt under his suit but soon dismissed her thoughts as she focused on moving her fingertips along his skin. When she reached his shoulders she slipped the space suit down a little bit, revealing more of his shoulders & arms as she did so. It was at this moment that she realised what she was doing & quickly pulled her hands back, mumbling quickly,
"Well.. there ya go, ya should be able to get it off now..."
There was also the predicament of her own space suit, but Koko figured she'd be able to get it off herself. Possibly.
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 4:06 pm
The pilot shook off what the woman had just done and pulled his arms in towards his body, pulling them out of the sleeves of the spacesuit before wiggling his top half out of the suit, which then hung loosely around his waist.
"Thanks for the help... last time I had a considerably harder time getting out it..."
He spun around to face Koko and pointed to a jagged line of stitching along the front of the suit, where he had previously used a knife to escape from the suit.
Zed grinned then stepped closer to Koko, looking over her shoulder at the zip on her back, which was thoroughly jammed.
"Mine was the easy one, yours might be a little tougher to get you out of... Uh..."
He stepped back and blinked at Koko, his face a little bit red.
"...Seriously though, you might need a knife or something."
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 2:04 pm
With a slight laugh, Koko reached behind herself & managed to get hold of the zip,
"Surely I can...."
After attempting to move the zipper a few times the girl realised that it was, indeed, well & truly stuck. She dropped her arms, looking at Zed in exasperation.
"I don't believe this! Oh bloody hell... well I sure as hell ain't fixin' it afterwards!"
Striding over to one of the other instrument panels Koko snatched up her combat knife from where she had left it (since she always made sure it was close by) & looked over herself, trying to figure out the best place to cut into the suit without causing too much damage to the shirt underneath. After a moment she sighed & decided to cut into the shoulder of her left arm, if she could get one arm free she'd be able to get the rest off as well.
Without wasting much time, the mercenary made a quick slice into the suit from the neck to about half way down the arm. With the new gap in the suit she was able to wriggle her arm out & then maneuvered the rest of the suit off herself, realising then that she had indeed sliced her shirt as well, causing it to fall sideways.
"Goddammit I liked that shirt...."
Placing her combat knife back on the counter, Koko moved back over to the pilot & held out the ripped spacesuit, her eyes flicking over his torso.
"Here..."
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:38 pm
Zed gave a deep sigh as he took the, now ripped, space-suit from Koko.
"Uh... Thanks."
He held it on one hand for a moment then tossed it to his side, looked back over at Koko and stepped a little closer, pointing to her shirt that she'd cut.
"How'd you even manage that?"
He laughed a little, before realizing how close he'd actually gotten to the woman, there was now little over half a meter between the two of them.
The pilot looked back into Koko's eyes, he wondered whether she'd heard what he had said about them. He then caught himself staring.
"Uh... I'll just... be going to bed now... I think..."
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 5:12 pm
Koko looked down at her now ruined shirt when Zed pointed at it, shrugging a little & laughing nervously.
"My knife's kinda sharp... I guess I was just... distracted."
When she raised her gaze again, she was surprised by the pilot's closeness & felt her cheeks redden slightly; he was staring at her intently & she wondered whether she'd gotten something on her face. Absentmindedly she pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear, moving her fingertips across her face afterwards in case there was something there to get rid of. Just as she'd been about to question him, Zed stopped his unwavering gaze & she found she had to look down. It was frustrating, never knowing whether or not she could make a move, or if he was interested or simply staring off into space. It was just so damn annoying! She wasn't psychic, she never knew what he was thinking, for all she knew he was just messing with her!
She began to shake slightly, her hands balling up into fists as she continued to look at the ground. Hot, prickly tears threatened to form in her eyes, so deep was the sudden anger rising within her. At this particular moment in time, Koko felt a burning, overwhelming hatred for the man before her - a dangerous mix of all the various emotions & experiences she'd had over the past few days, coupled with Zed's confusing signals towards her just twisted & turned their way inside her with no way out. She lifted her head, her darkened face glaring at the pilot as though her ferocious gaze alone could destroy his very existence. One of her shaking fists began to rise, her eyes closed & her muscles primed themselves to unleash all of her negative feelings upon his person, to finally find an outlet.
It was only when she opened her eyes a moment or two later that the mercenary realised what she had done... As though of their own accord, her lips had found his & she'd wrapped her arms almost frantically round him, the fingers of one hand becoming entangled in his hair. It wasn't that her punch had failed to hit, it had just never begun. In an instant her hatred & anger had found a completely different path, one that made her heart flutter & her face redden. Even if she'd wanted to, Koko didn't think she'd be able to pull back now. She let her body lean into his, connecting with him as much as she could...
She couldn't explain why & it was almost damn certain that her life would be easier if it wasn't the case, but goddammit... she loved him.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:25 pm
The pilot, who was both shocked and relieved, returned Koko's kiss, placing his hands on her hips as his mind left his body on autopilot for a moment to watch from a different perspective.
He was fairly used to out-of-body experiences, he had them quite often due to the rather odd nature of his and Koko's relationship.
Thank ******** she didn't punch me, I coulda sworn she was gunna punch me... Jesus I'm one lucky b*****d... Right, I best take the helm once again... I hope my breath is okay...
His consciousness eventually rejoined his body after watching for a few moments, continuing the kiss with the mercenary who was once hired to kill him and take his ship.
Zed smiled as he disconnected the kiss, laughing slightly.
"Damn it Koko... I honestly thought I was gunna get punched..."
He shook his head, whilst still resting his hands on Koko's hips.
"Koko, I'd say how I feel about you, but it's far too cliché. The kiss says it all really..."
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:00 pm
When Zed had returned her kiss, Koko's heart practically skipped a beat, she still hadn't quite got to grips with the way he made her feel. It was strange how life worked sometimes, considering the circumstances she'd originally met Zed under, she'd never have believed she could feel the way she did around him. When the pilot pulled back she looked up at him, a faint, yet warm smile appearing on her features.
"Yeah... sorry about that. Thought I was gunna punch ya too..."
She put one hand behind her head, being careful not to hit Zed with her elbow since she was still so close to him & laughed nervously. At his second statement, the female mercenary dropped her arm again, looking at the pilot for a while as though to judge whether or not he was being sincere. After a while she leant her head against him, resting her cheek on his shoulder & sighing contentedly.
"I know... but, just for the record, I love you."
Her previous turmoil had faded, having been replaced by a kind of calmness & serenity that seeped into her body & made her realise just how tired she had become. There was also another, slightly stranger feeling that her body was experiencing, almost like a need for something. Leaning slightly more of her weight onto him, Koko closed her eyes, smiled & whispered.
"I might join ya in goin' to bed now..."
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Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:28 pm
Thane gulped and stared down at the ground below them. It was an awfully long way down.
"I-I guess we keep going along there?"
Thane pointed along the walkway, unfortunately the pathway seemed to narrow. Thane began fiddling with a button on his jacket, as he so often did when he was nervous. The young man ran a hand through his hair, he could do this, he wasn't about to let his fear get the better of him. Glancing up at Lance he forced a smile before speaking.
"That's Ares, otherwise known as the Sleeper Ship City. There are a few other cities, so I've heard, but none as big as this one."
He paused taking it a deep breath before continuing along the walkway.
"That's where we'll be living for the rest of our lives, most likely."
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SCF_Pinstripes Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:40 pm
Dimitri followed Thane's eyes and noted the narrow path. It looked dangerous, but he was NOT willing to go back inside. Moving his good hand underneath him, he hauled himself to his feet, and glanced at Lance. "So...suggestions from you Lance?" he asked. "Im perfectly happy to take it easy along there, unless anyone wants to go back inside?" he proposed, waving his hand towards the hole back in.
Dimitri pushed his hair from his face and started to walk along the very narrow walkway. His stump was nearing numbness, and as Thane mentioned the city, he had a question. "Thane...there any hospitals down there?"
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