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On a lonely stretch of road a roaring engine sounds its charge. The rider holds tight to the handles. In his heart he knows no good can come from this day. Tolly Marcius had been laying low in the town of Del Ceilos for over three weeks. Other than the regular night bombardments from the military no one had approached the ruins of this once great city.

Today that had changed. Radar had picked up ships approaching on the main Trapar line. It was unknown how many would be coming, but one thing was for sure. Ciudades Del Cielos was in for visitors.

Arriving at the edge of town he slowed the blue motorcycle and came to a stop. Turning on his comm he tried radioing the incoming ship. They were still to far off to reach.

"Nothing to do now, but wait." He thought.

Realizing it would be awhile before the group arrived; Tolly reached into the back compartment of the Motorcycle and pulled out his Ref board.
"Might as well get some waves in before they get here."

Hoping on the board he skimmed the asphalt of an abandoned runway darting up and down he practiced a few moves and watched the trapar flare out behind him.

"Arek, look...we're here..." Nicole said looking out. It seemed different compared to what she thought it might look like, A little more peaceful.

At the edge of the town an abandoned runway sat unused. The flare of trapar could be seen at a distance.

"Alright Nicole, approach cautiously. If you sense anything out of the ordinary, tell me and we'll turn around... or fight."

"Mmmhmmm." With that Nicole slowed down and watched for anything.
"Hey Arek look at that...are those trapar..."

Looking up towards the ships, Tolly headed back to his Motorcycle.
"I guess they're close enough by now" he thought. As he rides, he flares out as much trapar as he can. Just to be showy. Reaching the cycle he hoped off and grabed a bottle of water.

Nic was the first to land, but waited for Arek before getting out.

As Arek came in for a landing he cursed himself for coming in to rough. That was always a problem he had: landing. It never damaged the LFO, just... shook him up. He opened the cockpit and slid his headset down around his neck.

By then Nic was already on the ground waiting for Arek. Hand ready to grab her gun if there was any sort of threat. Nic flashed an, ’are you going to be alright?’ look at Arek.

Tolly saw this and smiled. He leaned his board up against the motorcycle and, grabbing two more bottles of water, he walked them over to the side of the 909. "Welcome to Del Ceilos. We don't get many visitors these days." He let his smile grow wider and waved a bottle at Nic and looked over towards Arrk on the 808.

Without her expression changing she nodded at Tolly and politely took the water. She wasn't going to drink it now Hilda's soup and bread was still there, and Nic didn't feel like making a bad impression by throwing up.

Nic nodded acknowledging him and shoving her empty hand into her pocket. "Nic..." Her gray eyes looked at his through her hair that was covering it because her head was down.

After a few moments he spoke back to her, "Tolly Marcius. The pleasures all mine." Taking another swallow of water he walked towards Arek.

Arek jumped out of the 808 and walked towards the man. "Hey, I'm Arek," he said, yawning widely.
Tolly offered his hand to him. "We are well met Arek. I'm Tolly. Hap told me he was sending two crewmen. He gave me your name to recognize you by." Looking up at the 808 he grinned slightly. "Course, the LFO's were a pretty good clue as well."

"Yeah, he sent us," said Arek, smiling. "Although he never told us exactly what we were supposed to be doing."

"We'll I suppose there's no point in keeping it a secret." He looked between Nic and Arek, "You're here to protect a freight shipment. The freight is in my research lab back in Del Ceilos. The ship is still enroot and should be arriving her tomorrow. Once we're underway you'll be responsible for keeping any pirates or military squads from stopping the ship.

Nic walked over closer to Tolly and Arek no longer leaning against the 909. Hand still in her pocket but taking a sip of water.

As they group discussed the job Nic and Arek stretched and relaxed. Eventually Tolly looking at his watch and realized how late it was getting. "The sun’s moving. We should get your LFO's parked before dusk. The raids always start on schedule but they have been known to circle for awhile before they start."

"mmmm." Nicole said quietly and turning walking back to the 909. Jumping in and waiting for everyone else.

Walking back to his bike Tolly climbed up to the seat. Before getting in he paused. A worried look crept onto his face. Looking to the screen and pushing a few buttons, he motioned to the two pilots. "Was there anyone else with you?"

Nic gave Arek then Tolly a funny look and shook her head no.

"No, not that we know of," said Arek, getting back into the 808 and starting it.

Lost in thought of what was going on Arek took to parking the 808 and Nicole snapped back and parked the 909. Still a little off in her own world she started to hum a song she heard. She only knew the tune and nothing else. She didn't even know where she heard it from.

Renton Thurston was laying on hill at the Del Cielo one of my favorite reffing spots, just look at the sky and thinking it would be awsome to land a double cut back drop turn, I said to myself "why can't have this happy feelings everyday with out disturbance". I love that feeling when your soring though skies with no care in the world. I closed my eyes slowly starting falling into a gentle slumber......THEN BOOM "what the hell whats happening!? bombs are being drop I looked for the nearest area to take cover. I reffed into the nearest ditch but it was so deep i had no choice i jumped down. While i was falling i lost grip of my ref board, i couldn't save my self from falling. My body hit the side of the ditch and rolled down to the bottem laying there motionless.

Looking at his controls still Tolly shrugs. "I'm not sure what this is. It looked like another ship on the edge of radar. Maybe It was just skyfish. They're bad about setting off the radar systems. Anyway. Lets hurry before we get caugh in the bombing."

Jumping into the cockpit of the bike he heads towards the bridge leading into Del Ceilos. He See's Renton in the Ditch on the way.



"What...Who is that?" Nicole asked surprised and confused. Oh dear god its Renton...Nic tought to herself. "Arek!!!!"



i layed there on the floor out cold, but was dreaming i was reffing out in the open skies, then the sky turn all of the sudden gaint black a dark figure appeared and i gasp its gaint dark gloomy hands came across towards me I tried running away but i couldn't i yelling in my sleep "help please me!!" then i woke up.

Tolly walks over to Renton. "Are you alright?"

Nic walked over concern on her face. Her eyes intense when she looks at Renton. Hands in her pockets as usual.

Arek noticed Renton. "What the..." said Arek, running over. "Renton, what are you doing here?"

i looked around where am i... wait I remeber i fell down to this ditch i looked around and said who are you people and what was that bombing about?

Helps Renton up,"Bombing? The bombing happened last night. You've been here for awhile. I guess you must have been pretty banged up."
Goes back to his bike and gets some water. "Here, we need to get you out of here though. Otherwise we could all be caught in the next bombing."

Looking up at the sky he see's the sun is almost setting.

"yeah and thanks for the water" *takes a drink* "i geuss its getting dark"

Nic was standing close by shaking her head. "come here I wanna take a quick look." she said lightly while walking over" wanna make sure your not broken thought it doesn't seem like you are." She looks him over quickly and gives a small half smile. As they make thier way to a safer area.

"i gotta go get my LFO nirvash if its ok, see ya" he gets his reff board and reffed to the north were the setting sun was

"i gotta go get my LFO nirvash if its ok, see ya" he gets his reff board and reffed to the north were the setting sun was

Standing still he watches the kid jump on a Ref board and take off. With a puzzled look he turns to Nic and Arek. "Um, do you two know that kid? "

Looking to the sky he hopes up onto his bike. He's listening to them, but watching the radar. "This is not good."
Nic looks at tolly and nodds a slow yes. And then when he said hose four words the four words that could mean death or life to her. Her mind started to work over time.

over head the sound of engines can be heard. two UF forces ships can be seen against the blaze of the setting sun. There course is steering them around the gate of Del Ceilos. Coming in from the left side plums of smoke and fire are already starting to appear directly under the first ship.
The bombing has started.

The ground vibrates slightly.

Tolly: "We'll, that settles that. I knew this day wasn't gonna go easy. We've got two boggies incoming." Leaning close to the screen,"Looks like KLF's in formation up high too."

A look of worry crosses over Nic face if only for a moment. It was long enough for anyone to notice it.




Konner stepped out on the gravel road. The rocks beneath his feat crunched together. He pulled out a map and began to look over it carefully. The wind softly blew across the area, making the hair on his head shift.

"Well... if I go this way." He mumbled quietly to himself and looked up. The road seemed to stretch on forever. All around him grass grew in large fields. The place was relaxing and gave off a refreshing feeling. Konner reached up and scratched the back of his head in frustration. "What would be a good place to go?" He grumbled to himself and pocketed the map. With a shrug he turned around and climbed up into his KLF. The cockpit fitted him well enough when he sat in. Most of the usual devices on the KLF were broken. None of the scanners worked, and communications were shot. The thing was really only good in moving around and reffing. Finally the cockpit shut and the outside faded into view.

"Good... I think I know where I'm going to go." He said with a short grin and tightened his hands aroudd the controls. "The great city where choices are made." The grin on his face turned into a challenging smile. Pulling back on the controls the KLF shot up into the air and gripped its wave board. Then it sailed off into the distance.

when I got to the point where the Nirvash was hidden inside the cave.... it was gone!!! "What the hell where is the Nirvash!?" all of the sudden the ground was shaking I looked back it was the bombers again! I hid inside the cave where nirvash use to be. The Earth shattering sounds began by the bombs, the ground started shaking violently. Parts of the cave ceiling cave started to crack and the rubel of the ceiling cave landing on top of my head, tried to cover my head as best as i could...then the shaking stopped ran out checked carefully out to the skies, then i took my reff board reffed back to the direction where i have came from and look for civilisation. When i saw some buildings when i reached for the building ive noticed they destroyed. I said to my self "where is everybody?". I was walking around yelling "hello anyone here, Hello?...."i looked down with disapointment"I guess not"

Arek sat back in confusion.

The skinny KLF glided on the invisible winds. It's been several hours sense he'd made his decision. His eyes had slowly slacked off during the travel. His mind needed sleep, but he was unwilling to stop. Suddenly there was a loud bang. The whole cockpit shook with fury. His eyes shot open with full alertness. Quickly his head twisted around in different directions to see what was going on. Finally he realized that his KLF was on the ground. Tiredly he groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Give me a break.” With annoyance he gripped the controls and righted the KLF. The board had landed some where off in the distance. Walking over he reached down and picked it up. “Now what crashed me?” Squinting he looked about the area. In the middle of no where, a large boulder was implanted in the ground. Rolling his eyes he decided to figure out where he was. The KLF turned slowly until it came to a stiff halt. Konner suddenly found it hard to keep his grip on the controls. In the distance he spotted a chaotic picture. The great city was being attacked. He saw ships flying forward, dropping bombs of pure destruction. KLF’s swerved around the sky in small swarming clumps

“Dangit.” He said barely able to catch his breath. “This isn’t what I wanted…” Gently he let go of the controls and took a few breaths. He knew he could fight with this thing, he’d done it before. But it was a long time ago, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to go down that path again. He was a thrill seeker, always moving and never stopping. But battle was different for him. It scared him, and he didn’t like the feeling when he fought. But yet again it concerned other lives then his own… again… So his decision was made. Slowly he gripped the controls. “Again.” He whispered coldly. The word echoed in his thoughts. It felt like a secret haunting. Finally with a burning fury he picket up his board and ran forward. The KLF charged with massive speed. It then picked up its feet and landed in a horizontal position against the board. The trapar splashed out of the way of the overwhelming force. Then with the wind rushing past he charged forward.

“I’m such an idiot.” He mumbled.

Arek sat on top of the 808, looking out into the sky. He pulled at his collar so it stood up, it was starting to get chilly outside.

Nic was leaning againts the 909, right hand held in a tight fist. Every now and the looking up or over to Arek instead of straing into space. Slowly humming the song that she could never forget.

Arek didn't realize it, but he had almost falling asleep. Making sure it wouldn't happen again, the boy got up and stretched, then walked over towards Nic. "Do you know what we're supposed to be doing?" he said, yawning.

Nic looked over at him and shook her head a simple no. Looking back out to nothing she opened her mouth and it seemed like she was going to say something but closed it. She looked back at him crossing her arms and standing straight up.

As the two main UF ships move over the ruined city, they steer towards it's center. Flames can be seen easily against the darkness of smoke and ash. An opening in the explosions is appearing and it seems to grow quiet near the two LFO's. Above you two KLF's appear. They leave a trail of green trapar behind them.

Renton, the basement seems warm and everything stops shaking eventually. A single glass window once looked out onto the street above. The glass had long since been shattered and a pale glow seems to flow down onto the floor. A light wavers and dances slightly from above.

Tolly cusses and jumps into the cockpit of the motorcycle He slams the top closed. Within seconds the cycle changes into a mecha and stands. Three missiles launch from the top of the Mech.

Flying in formation a three member squad comes up on your sensors. They are firing on several buildings below. Short bursts of rounds from there guns. One out of the group seems to veer off and move towards your location.

If there is anything left to your comm system you would be receiving a signal at this point.

From the two KLF's flying in from above a clatter of bullets appear. They create a dotted line up one side of the LFO. The damage doesn't seem that bad, yet.

A few blocks into the city, you can see a building collapse in on itself. Fire has engulfed it and burning embers are raising high into the sky from the wreckage. The dots of light mix with the burst of mecha gunfire. Several of the KLF's are firing down into the streets of the city. At a distance you see figures running. Once falls and doesn't get back up. The rest keep moving and don't look back.

Above you a KLF flies over and bullets rain down all around.

Without out saying anything Nic is up and in the cockpit heading towards the figure, not really caring that she was heading straight into chaos. She had no idea if she'd get there in time but she was sure as heck gonna try.
"Holy Rubble Cakes!" He yelled and pulled on the controls tightly. The KLF ducked and tipped its board upward. It took a sharp turn up, barely missing the onslaught of bullets. Konner gritted his teeth and pressed a few buttons on the sides. Reality was starting to wash itself away from around him. With the little grasp he had left, he pondered what was about to come to pass.

"People are going to die here... no matter what." He said with a cold voice. No response came, he suspected none... "But I have to do it..." With that the rest of reality faded. All that was left was the enemy, and him. His hand gripped the controls with sudden fury. The KLF flew above and suddenly turned upside down, falling upon of the enemy KLF. For a while the two struggled with each other. Konner's KLF reached around and yanked the gun from the enemy. It then twisted it around and aimed at the cockpit. With out hesitation he pulled the trigger. Bullets busted from the tip, imploding the inside of the opposite KLF. Then violently it grabbed the enemy KLF and ripped it off its board. It fell down and exploded before it even had the chance to hit the ground. Konner moved his own KLF to lock its feet to the board. One advantage he had with his own KLF.

Without delay the other two from his squad turn their boards. Their attack on city forgotten, they both fire a dense fan of missles towards you. Several explode early and the rest rush throught the cloud of smoke. They form a wide mass and start honing in towards you. Behind these come bullets. The KLF's have spread. One coming in high from the left. The other low from the right. As they close in they make a corkscrew path. The higher one prepares another barrage of missles.

As you move closer you see a dozen people all running down the main street. The buildings flames are high and cast everything in a blazing orange glow. Faces are swallowed in the shadows, but among the group you see a woman carrying a child. Her clothes are brightly colored and a scarf covers her hair. Her long dress trips her up and she falls. Several others run on trying to escape the bullets and heat.

From your screen you can still see the KLF in pursuit. Two missles come down near you and incinerate a building. The debree flys in every direction.





"Gah thoes idiots!!!" Nic yells stopping the 909 close to the lady and helping her backup, covering her eyes she can bearly see the 909 still. Holding the ladys arm I lead her there "Here get in but dont touch anything ok?" Nic says loudly in a clam yet assertive voice. And waited for the woman to nodd before closing the cockpit. Qucikly checking to see where the KLFs were and then hitting the deck not expecting them to come back so quickly

Konner reacted as fast as his body would allow. He crouched and turned his board up. Then, while loosing complete momentum upward, he pushed off, falling down. The missiles soared up and hit the board. The explosion caused a force to speed him downwards. He turned in the air and slammed against the ground. A large cloud of dust shot up, completely submerging him. Quickly he looked around, hoping to spot his board. He caught it only a little ways off, half submerged in the ground. Barely he stood up in the massive crater bellow him. The sound of steaming missiles could be heard. His KLF shot forward, leaving deep imprints in the ground. Explosions burst behind him, tailing him in a mad chase. The sweat on his hands were forming. Finally the board was right next to him. He reached his hand out and snatched it. Then quickly he jumped and put the board in front of him and leaping against it. The force against the trapar caused a large splash of glowing green. He then swerved in the air, doing a cork screw upward. Then with a few spins, he turned his board down and swooped towards the ground. It then turned up with little speed. It curved to the right and burst forward. Bullets flew behind him. He did a complete 360, now facing the enemy KLF's. His speed was massive, sending him forward like a bullet. Gun fire flew past him in bright blurs. He picked up his own gun that he stole and started shooting it at them. An enemy KLF fell off and exploded against the ground. Konner turned his KLF and had it speed towards the next enemy. Instead of firing, he lifted his gun and stabbed it right into the cockpit of the enemy. The whole thing went lifeless. It went limp and then let out a massive explosion of fiery chaos. Konner was breathing hard. Sweat had completely covered his hands, making the controls slippery

The heat from the fire is overwhelming, when you leave the 909 it feels like the skin is being seared off your face. The roar of flames makes anything else hard to hear. The lady rises and a young girl is in her arms. The girl is unconcious. The lady has a vodarac symbol painted onto her forhead. Her eyes are bright but fearful. At your command she nods and moves towards safety.

Above another explosion echoes. When you look up you see a battle between the KLF's. They seem to be attacking one of there own. The one from earlier is on the ground now. It comes marching up the road from the direction you came from. It's rifle is leveled at the 909. Instead of firing though it looks up. It seems to be preoccupied with something in the sky.



With all three members of the first squad destroyed a deceptive calm filled the air. The smoke from the fires below was drifting high and covering the fire of distant mechs. Some could still be seen though and they were making a bee line for him.

The impact from earlier had left it's mark. A warning message on the main screen was flashing that the right arm of the KLF was leaking machine oils. (the red stuff) The leak was in the shoulder socket and would eventually cause limited mobility.

The approaching KLF squads had come within several hundred yards and then fanned out. None were coming close enough to be in firing range. As they circle, more seem to appear out of the smoke and haze.

Konner took a few second to gain his thoughts again. He looked down at the warning sign. A short breath of annoyance exerted from his lungs. The advancing KLF's were becoming too much. His odds were starting to bring him back into reality.

"Idiot..." He laughed and leaned back in his chair. His tight hands let go of the controls. The skin on the inside of his hands were pulsing a soft red. For a few moments he looked down at them. Then he reached back down and gripped the controls. "You’re going to have to guide me through this one Nelek." He said quietly looking around the cockpit. Nelek was the name he had given his KLF. Nelek suddenly tipped its board down, soaring in a strait path. It then curved up slightly, aimed at one of the enemy KLF's. "I know what I have to do." He muttered one last time. The bullets flew by, reflecting off his moistening eyes. His KLF flew by the enemy. It quickly turned and stabbed the tip of its board right into the cockpit. It then couched grabbed the head and span. Acting like a catapult, it uncurled and put his board out. The enemy KLF shot off from the new momentum. It flew through the air and hit another KLF, exploding with massive fury. Konner didn't wait for reactions. He could already feel his KLF failing to comply with the controls. Everything was starting to fall apart. His right arm was no longer complying to commands. Bullets continued to fly by. They pierced the sides of the Nelek, leaving deep scratches. With what little control he had left he moved his KLF forward. It swerved around lazily. For a moment the KLF's had stopped shooting. He saw an enemy gun by him. Gently he moved the left arm to grab it Konner stopped, thinking about some way out of this chaotic situation.

The enemy KLF, close enough almost to touch, veered in and attempted to fire at point blank range. Only one bullet left the barrel before is was empty. It quickly kicked up on its board and attempted to gain elevation. As it did so it flew directly into the line of fire of another KLF and was cut to ribbons. The explosion rocked Nelek hard almost sending him off his board. As the cockpit rattles and alarms scream at you the board seems to tip downwards of its own accord. You plunge towards street level.
To the watching squads it seems you’re out of control and crashing. If you try to pull out of the dive, the controls won’t respond and the impression is the same. But since Konner doesn't seem to be a guitar he continues to pull on the controls all the way down and at the last moment Nelek pulls up. Missing the ground does little to help though as the rider and board crash head long into a row of two story homes. The momentum of the fall drives you through two buildings before the board is ripped from the feet of the KLF. After that the buildings can’t be counted. An unending barrage of impacts assault the mech. eventually it comes to a halt in a mound of rubble

Konner looked up, the world spinning around him. The sound of explosions and gun fire were piercing his ears. He also couldn't believe how dark it was. When everything was coming to a blazing chaos. His alarms were sounding, and he tried to cope with them. Then he lost all control, the board swiveled down into a chaotic storm of cracking stone. He felt each jolt as the Nelek smashed through another wall. Finally the board fell out from under him and he flipped around, breaking through one more wall and landing upon the rubble of a shattered home.



"Everything is falling..." He whispered to no one. Finally it all came to. The Nelek was completely powered off. Konner looked up to see a gun pointed directly down at his KLF. An enemy, Konner didn't react. there was nothing he could do. The KLF stared down at him, as if searching for a sign of life. It then slowly lowered the gun and walked away. "Alive... no way, I better check the scores again." He laughed just before darkness gathered around him. His mind gave in under the pressure, and he fell asleep.

“Arek, where are you?” Nic thought to herself. She hoped that the woman and young girl were ok. Pulling out her gun and holding it in her left hand, her right some how was slightly burnt and she could feel the sting of air hitting it. Hand steady and praying that at any moment Arek would come and be able to take the girl to safety

The woman climbs into the cockpit as you direct her. She holds the girl in her arms still. From above you hear more explosions and can tell the KLF is still distracted. Burning remains of KLF's are starting to fall from the sky. The woman is secure. Another explosion issues from the skies and something big and fast starts falling. You can make out the green streaks of trapar as it picks up speed on it's way down. It arcs out from it's fall at the last second and destroys several buildings. The KLF moves turns it's back to you as if to investigate. The gun it holds is still pointed at the 909.

I've got only one shot at this Nic tought to herself. Opening the cockpit again she looks straight into the womans, eyes searching for something to say anything at all. Nic grabs the headphones and tried getting intouch with Arek "Arek are you there? Can you here me? If you can get over here i need your help." Oh please get this Nic tought to herself. Waiting for Arek faceing the KLF gun in hand, ready to shoot.

From behind you the woman begins to mutter a prayer. She holds her daughter close to her and asks for Voderack to protect and guild all of you through this trial. Her words are woefull and sad, but filled with love.
"I will trust in the will of Voderack." she says and is suddenly quiet.

In front of you the KLF has taken notice again. It fires on the 909





"All hell no!" Nic yells holding up her gun she takes three shots two hitting one of the KLF's in the arm the other a leg. Waiting to see where she would have to hit next to make the KLF fall or fail somehow Nic held the gun up with both hands, stood right in front of the cockpit and said to her self, “Let my aim be true.” She pulled the trigger and watch as the KLF slowly wobbled and then started to fall. All those hours at target practice really paid off, Nic thought to her self. Looking over her shoulder she saw the woman was still praying. Nic knew that this was only the beginning of this all.

Arek shook his head, as if awakening from a bad dream. "Wha..." was all he could say, as the KLF's around him were confusing. He suddenly remembered where he was, and in a split second became focused. He dropped sharply towards the ground, trying to get away from the KLF's. He took aim and shot at the KLF going after Nic.

from behind the KLF Nic saw the shot and then the mech taking off straight into the air. Around him six KLF's spin and three take off after him. The other three attack Tolly on the ground. One of these explodes as it's hit by a blast from a KLF gun Tolly has started using.

In the air you see Arek slip into a cloud. The KLF's quickly surround it

Arek knew that the 808 was not effective in close combat. Not only that, but it wasn't the fastest LFO, due to the large amount of firepower it packed. He glanced around to see if any KLF's were after him. After a quick scan, he shot off into the clouds. After a several seconds, green lasers shot down from them.

'great what am im going to do now?' Nic thought to herself. I can't just leave now but i can't let them try and take all those KLF's by themselves. Nic started to put her gun away with out knowing it. Looking in the direction the two ships she frowned. Her eyes went to Arek and Tolly and she spoke to the woman in the rear cockpit. "Hey you ok? I have to go help my freinds, but do you need anything before i go?

In the womans arms the girl seemed to stir. Her eye lids fluttered and she looked around a little confused. "Momma?"
"Oh, my darling, you're awake. Are you alright?"
The girl nodded and rubbed her head. "Where are we?" she asked.
"We're safe. This woman saved us dear." Looking to Nicole she smiles and lifts her daughter up. "Thank-you so much. I owe you my life and my daughters. You have done so much for us already. We couldn't ask for more. Lilly dear say thank-you to the nice lady."
The girl looks at you through sleepy eyes and over dirty cheeks. She's maybe 10 and her dark hair is hanging in her face. She stands in the cockpit and stares at you bravely. "You gonna fight them?" She looks up at the night sky and the smoke of her burning home. "Thank-you."

With that she starts to climb down and off of the 909, her mother close behind her. "May Vodarack guild your way.” the woman says and after a moment they run up the street away from the fires.

"Uhhh..." Nic said looking around for an answer"...yes i am going to fight them, your...welcome?" Nicole watched the two to make sure that they get to a safe area before jumping in the cockpit herself and closing it. Here i come Nicole thought to her self as the headed off towards Arek and Tolly.

Once in the air the KLF's seemed to come from every direction. Many had started firing on the buildings below. Others were flying in formation and moving back towards the two main ships. The laser fire falls hitting there marks.

In the distance you see that the main ships have moved to the far side of town and are continuing to drop bombs on the city. There are less KLF's around the ships.

Three have followed you up from the ground and are circling the clouds the 808 is in.

The sensors in the 808 started going off. He quickly ceaesd fire. The cloud was now completely surrounding him, and the only thing he could rely on was the radar. He pulled out the boomerang knife and spun around slowly to see if there was any chance he could see them.

Within the cloud everything was black. On radar one craft shows to be making a close fly by right outside. The other two are circling around up higher.

On the comm Tolly hails you, "Arek, be careful up there. They're still swarming from that dog fight from earlier."

Arek saw the shadow of one of the KLF's right next to him. He shot forward and grabbed it from behind, sticking his boomerang into it's back. Then, as the mech was struggling, he took aim and shot it through the chest with the cannon. Flying back, he could see the KLF bleed for a few seconds then explode.

As the first falls the other to drop down from above the cloud line. They fire on you but the bullets go wide and miss. One passes you and the other pulls up early. One below you, one above.

On the ground Tolly's mech fires a torrent of missles up at the skyline. A row of KLF's are coming in from that direction. One is blasted early and falls from the sky.

Over the comm signall Nic heard Tolly’s voice, "Hey, I've got things covered down here. Go help your partner."
“Right,”she says and makes a quick turn for Arek.
Heading straight up from below. Seeing the KLF that is below Arek Nic takes a shot at it with the cannon hoping that it will hit the KLF and not Arek. Hitting the KLF twice in the back Nic speeds upwards watching the KLF fall to the ground.

Nic nodded at what Tolly said, while checking out the condition of the 909. Enough to hold out Nic thought to herself. Might as well, jumping in the cockpit and closing it Nic took off twoards the LFO.
"What the...?" The LFO wasn't moving like it should.

Ok lets not hold back on this. Pulling up on the 909s board heading for the other LFO. Once level with it Nic tried to get the pilots attention.
"Hey need some help?" Nic asked quickly.
Taking a look down on the leg of the other LFO Nic saw that it was badly damaged and if any wrong move or another hit could send it down.

For a minute, Kayako wasn't sure what to do. In the two years she'd been awake, not many people had tried to help her.

But quickly she noticed that the LFO that was along side her wasn't a military spy, and sigh a little before replying.

"Oh...sure. Could you help me get in for landing? I don't know if this leg will hold on the ground."

"sure..."

Nic steered the 909 closer and slowly and carefully got a hold of the other LFO. Trying not to shake the pilot to much and started to decend to the ground. Once on the ground Nic opened the cockpit muttered some odd non sense to her self in a different language and the tried to get in contact with either Arek or Tolly

"I got the other...person."

Then Nic looked over at the black and violet LFO. Wonder what the pilot is like. Well at least they aren't dangerous Nic said to her self and let go of her gun.

Arek sat angrily on the ground. If he went up to fight, he would run out of power and surely crash. He jumped in the 808 and drove it into the hangar, plugging a charger into the side of it. Apparently, it had recieved some battle scars, with large scrapes along the side of the cockpit.

Tolly pulled in ahead of Arek and pointed out the chargers. Batteries were scarce and recharging would take atleast two hours on the slow trickle.
Tolly knew a hard boost could get him back in the air in about 20 minutes but it would also reduce the charge time on the battery.
It was an emergency procedure that they didn't need to go through now.
Jumping out of the hatch he yelled for a mechanic to take care of the minor repairs to the 808.
"Arek" he yelled. "I've get someone on the repairs. Listen don't worry. Your partner knows to get in here as soon as she can. In the mean time we've got injured coming in. I need to see it the doctor is handling it alright."
A younge boy with a tack weld set came running out of a corner of the hanger. The boy wore a set of welding goggle over his eyes and a pair of heavy gloves covered most of his arms. He ran up to Arek with a grin on his face. "Wow! a real 808. It's terminus series right? Cool." The kid put out his hand to Arek. "I'm Topher. I'll patch it up sir... good as new."

"Uh, yeah, it's a real 808," he said, still dazed and confused from all the action going on. "Uh, could you take care of this real quick?" he told the boy, running off to the infirmiry.

All around people were moving quickly. Few seemed without purpose and quite a few were hard at work bringing in wounded from the streets of Del Cielos. They came in the front hanger in two's.
The hanger itself was more of a bunker than a workshop. The ground was steelplates and stretched on nearly 50 yards into the underground facility.
On the left side of the floor were stacked an extensive line of crates. Each large enough to hold a vehicle or maybe an elephant. Tolly's motorcycle was parked at the end of the line of these and barely hid the last one.

The people who rushed in all seemed to head towards this point. It was at the back wall of the hanger and two swinging doors rocked back and forth as they moved through it. Over the doors was a simple lit up sign that said "Infirmary". To the right of this door the wall stopped and the ground slopped downwards drastically to allow vehicles a path to the lower levels.

Following Tolly you are led into the medical area of the hanger. Equal in size to the hanger where the LFO's were parked this gym sized room was set up with rows and rows of beds. nearly all were full or had people being layed on them. Caretakers walked around tending to the wounded. Some were nurses, some seemed to be Voderack priests, even others were dressed in brown and yellow body armor and were bandaging arms and legs.

Close to the door and to the right stood Tolly. He was beside a man in a white coat. Tolly's voice was becoming loud. "Dammit Doctor. I don't care what your oath is. We don't tend to the enemy! You think those bastards would help these people." his hand motioned out to the room and it was then that he saw Arek.

Tolly scowed and turned on the doctor. "Lentin, let Vodarack's Hand deal with the UF forces. Your job is to tend to the people of this city. Do I make myself clear!" Without giving the man a chance to respond he said, "Those are your orders" and walked towards Arek.

"Come on. We have to see what our recon has picked up. I'd imagine your job tommorrow has just gotten tougher."

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Kayako jumped out of her LFO and took a closer look at the Senturi's damaged leg.

"That IS messed up....."

She looked up at the cockpit and glared at the LFO's emotionless face.

"And, WHY don't you tell me these things?? Just for that I should leave you that way!! Gaaah....I'll get the stuff...but you owe me!"

She turned and began digging through her backpack for the heap of tools she'd need to fix this mess.

Muttering slightly and pausing to send angry glances at Senturi from time to time, she continued to pull item after item out of her bag, oblivious to everything around her.

The boy named Topher Dragged the battery out from the underside of the 808. Carrying it over to the chargers he plugged it in and watched the other two LFO's as they drove into the hanger.

He pulled up his welding goggles and ran over to Kayako. "Hey lady... you're... hey you don hafta do that.. Hey are you with the Gekkostate? My dad said there'd be a damaged LFO coming in that needed to be serviced."

Nicolle looked over the bays of the hanger. Both Arek and Tolly's vehicles were parked. and the cockpits open. However there was no sign of them. As she watched the boy Topher ran over to Kayako.

He looked at the LFO. "Never seen one like that before.. Looks like the Servo link took a bullet. You got no fluid trail though so the hydraulics are probably okay." scratching his head with a screwdriver he kealt down beside her. "I don't know if I'm qualified. It looks more like something my dad would handle. You want to take it down to the racks? We got all the tools and parts down on level 1."

Nic jumped down and shoved her hands in her pockets, while walking over to the two looking at the LFO. 'Never seen anything like that before.' Nicole thought to herself. Wonder if its better than the 909. Nic stopped just short of the two. Opened her mouth shut it and shook her head turing twoards the 909.
"might as well take the time to fix up my hand." Rummaging through the 909 lookin for the medical bag she threw in there before they left for some gause and tape.

"Oh, it's alright. I can fix it,' Kayako said smiling a bit, "I just need to get some new parts. But....I don't think he's going anywhere like that. Oh and.....I don't think I've ever heard of the Gekko State before, except maybe once...."

She looked back over to Senturi and slipped quietly back to her thoughts.

Rue took careful note of all that the commander said. He nodded almost without realizing it. He never liked how the commander babied him, but he figured that it would have to be a part of being on the Rehk. He sighed after Victor left.
"Why do I always have to do all the work around here? Oh well...I'm sure it'll pay off in the end..."
Rue thought for a minute on the words of Victor.
"Tolly...well....I have no idea where i could find him...."
He looked around the room for anyone who seemed very well informed and spoted Nic, though he didn't know her either.
"Excuse me, miss. I'm looking for a man named Tolly? Do you know him? And...could you possibly show me where he is??"

When Nic turned to look at who was talking to her. She unknowingly gave Rue a cold stare and slowly started to reply while walking forward in an odd manner.
"I know Tolly...last time I heard him he was talking to crazy pants over there." Nic nodded twoards Captain Zato and her eyes softend a bit. Lowering her head she turned slightly to talk to the capitan.
"you better give their bodies back." Nic said clearly clemching her hands into fists while she spoke, then slightly smirking. Turning back around Nic started to walk out of the infirmary head down hands in pockets. Then stopped and waited for Rue to catch up.
"Come on..."

Rue nodded after Nic's actions. He wasn't taken the least bit surprise by the look, she seemed much more important than himself. He was used to it, he even got the same look from Victor who knew him. When her eyes softened, however, is when she took Rue by shock. It seemed as if she was being friendly in an odd way. The talk of bodies made him wince, not wanting to know of the talk that was going around. He began to leave with her but than heard Victor's words.
"And Rue... please... please don’t get distracted."
He stopped.
"Um...ma'am, could you please wait just one minute? I have to ask you something else, but i need just a moment"
He didn't wait for a response, knowing full well that she would probably leave at his child like rudeness. Rue didn't have time to ponder it, he ran over to the one called Tolly.
"Excuse me, Mister Tolly? The Rehk would like you to know that we're um..."
He stopped to think as he began to draw a blank on what Victor said.
"We...um...are setting up....for the transfer, but...what was it he said...oh yeah! We want our payment now!"
He smiled, proud of himself, but now unsure if he had interrupted anything important.

Mean while Nic took to leaning against the closest wall. Trying to keep out of everything, she had had enough of people for one day. People are so predictable that they are almost unpredictable in Nics toughts. All Nic wanted to do at this point was get everything over with and get back to the gekko-go.

Tolly looked down at the boy in front of him. He stared hard and seriously into the young mans eyes. After a few moments he looked up at the group that had collected and took in what he could.

Without looking at Rue he spoke to him softly but firmly,"Young man, Inform the captain that landing at the main dock can proceed as soon as UF forces are off there radar. In the mean time I want them to hold a flight patern while we prepare the cargo for loading."

Staring at Commander Zato, Tolly continued,"Tell him also that payment will be received when the cargo is in air space near Warusawu."

Zato seemed to stiffen and met Tolly's eyes. "You're treading a dangerous path Mr. Marcius." Turning to Nic, Zato continued. "And you young lady. You are as well. We know of the Gekkostate and what they are about. There battles are nothing compared to the war we Voderak have fought for this world. You wish for the bodies of our would-be killers... they are yours. I only hope you know what you're doing." With that he turned and walked out of the room. A waved of mixed feelings seem to flow over his three companions. Each seemed more torn than the last but they followed him and left as well.

Tolly turned to Nic then and to Arrek. "Well you two. I wanted to do this under differant circumstances but as it is, welcome to the home of Marcius Archetype Technologies. We need to get ready as the UF are making there break as we speek."

Tolly turned then to Kayoko (If she's still here) "And greetings to you as well young miss. I saw your manuveurs earlier in the skies. I could use an LFO of your abilities if your for hire." Seeing the lack of understanding he continued,"That is, would you like to help?"

In Nics eyes the flame began to burn again. Through clenched teeth and shaking hands Nic turned to look at Zato "You know nothing of me the Gekko is a place to me. Not who I am..." Nic straightened out and took a step foward but stopped as he started to leave.

Commander Zato listened but didn't respond. He left quickly. In his heart there was a feeling of regret. Regret at what causes had brought him to do. He could not change the past and it was to late to change the future. Heading back out into the dawn of Del Cielos he moved forward.

Rue's head was spinning as he tried to figure out what just happened. He was instantly baffled at the mention of the girl's residence on the gekko and realized that it was Capatin Gail who had mentioned he was looking for someone from the gekko. Forgetting to demand payment earlier, Rue ran to the girl.
"Oh, excuse me. I really would like it if you came with me to see my captain. I promise it will only take a few minutes okay?"
His eyes held a pleading posture but his voice was as calm as ever.

Nic didn't want to seem me to the boy but it just happened. Nic turned to Arek, Nodded her head to the door and waited for Rue to lead the way. Hands still shaking with fury, Nic dare not speak for she had no idea of what might come out. Walking with her arms crossed over her chest and head down asusual Nic followed Rue.

Rue felt awkward walking next to such a girl and not being able to say anything. He started thinking of anything to say as the dim sound of his steps pierced his ears.
"So anyway how'd you end up on the gekko, miss?"
The hall was longer than he remembered, but he hoped the hanger would be able to kill this awkward moment.

"There wasn't anything left for me were I used to live." Nic replied uneasy of the question. Shifting her arms a bit and looking out of the coner of her eye at Rue. She tried to loosen up a bit but just ended up shoving her hands into her pockets. And only lifting her head enough so her hair wasn't in her eyes.

The conversation had hit a dead silence. Rue was left to his own thoughts of how to make the situation a bit brighter, but they had reached the hanger and his thought process had completely changed. He needed to inform the captain of what had occured in the infirmary and most importantly introduce the strange girl he had met.
"um...i hope you don't mind my asking, miss...but what's your name?"

"Uhh, names Nicole you can call me Nic if youd like." Nic replies shortly looking up only long enough to finish her sentence. Then again letting her head drop while all of her memories of home came back. Nic did feel bad for letting Rue hang there "whats yours I missed it." Nic asked calmly though she felt far from calm. Looking up she tried to force a smile out but then stopped.

"Oh, i'm sorry i forgot to say. My name's Rue. I'm a...well grunt for the Rehk and that's why i need to get you to talk with my captain. I guess i wasn't very forward with information..." For the second that Rue caught Nic's eyes, he could swear he saw a struggle within them. As if something was fighting to keep her down. He stood there staring, though he knew better than to. "I'm...sorry if i offended you..."

Nic's eyes started to grow wide and she shook her head no. And tried to find someway to break from the conversation. "It...wasn't you." Nic couldn't look up she didn't want to look up. "Uhh should I go talk to him now?" Nic asked while motioning to the hanger. Anything to keep him from lookin at her. Anything to get this boy away, he was starting to get to closer to her. or that's how she felt.

Rue thought, if only for a second, he may have broke through her defenses. But then the cold response was enough to burst that dream. He nodded.
"right, i wasn't supposed to get distracted ^_^;; "
He lead the way to the captain in silence. He called to his superior.
"Captain Gail! I've located a member of the gekko, also i've been told that the shipment will be here soon and that we will get paid when........."
He scratched his head. It was only a few minutes ago, but the details were so blunt that he didn't remember the discussion, if you could call it that, on payment.
"I believe we'll get paid when the....um....cargo is....near....Warasawue?"
He said it wrong, but he hoped that Gail would know what he was talking about.

Gail’s eyes were quickly darting back and forth across a small piece of paper. His head instantly shot up at the sound of Rue, but the news he recieved wasn’t exactly what he had wanted to hear.

“I see…” Gail smirked and stood up, almost seeming to be amused. “He doesn’t know how things work with me… I’m passed the days of my generosity and patience.” His smirk revealed his teeth tightly clenched behind his lips. A fury started to burn in his eyes as he tucked the chair under the table. “Please Rue… if you would, show me to this Tolly.” He stood ready to follow the smaller being, but then his eyes wandered to the girl behind him. A frown formed on his face as he examined her. It didn’t seem to bother him that he was very rude, just staring at her with out saying a word.

“Who is this girl?” Gail asked curiously from the side while looking her up and down. He then steadily turned to Rue and waited for an answer.

"Oh! This is Nic, from the gekko-go! I thought you were looking for someone who was aboard the gekko so when i found out about her, i asked if she'd come with."
There were few reasons for Rue to respect Captain Gail. He was rude and uncaring to those he didn't know, those he did, and those he liked. He knew that the captain held little to no respect for Rue and that he looked down upon him. But still...in those brief seconds where the captain had smiled at Rue, it was as if all of that was gone, the rude uncaring side, and a kinder more mentoring person had emerged. It was what Rue strived to make happen, but seldom did. He stopped his thinking on this and immediatly looked to see what the captain would do with the new comer.

Nic looked up at the sound of her name. She would say anything at that point just to get away. Forcing a smile onto her face stepping foward and holding out a hand "Nice to meet you." Inside she was cursing at herself. And ruining any plan to get her self out of there and let her have some alone time.

Rue saw Nic's smile and pleasant welcoming and could tell it was all fake. Why? Why didn't she just walk away? Was she too kind to, or was there something else? He had a strange urge to help her get away, but with the captain there he wouldn't want to seem insubordinate... Too bad, he wished he could help her.



----------------------------------------------

Kayako listened to Tolly's words carefully. With all the ruckus going on with Nic and Commander Zato behind her, she payed special attention to be sure she didn't miss anything important.

When he finished, she looked up at him.

"What exactly would I have to do? These men are saying something about a shipment....So does that mean I'd help you transport it?"

She had to admit, she was quick to want to join anyone that wasn't out to harm her, but in any case she couldn't get ahead of herself. She knew as well as anyone that people were sometimes more than they appeared.

----------------------------------------------------


Tolly watched the radar in the comms room. The UF had finally run there course and made it out of Radar range. Gail must be landing he figured and picked the radio back up, "Topher."

A younge voice came back quickly,"Sir."

Tolly knew in the word that his son was unhappy but he had to move past it. "Are the LFO's ready to go?"

"Yeah, the batteries are charged and loaded up. The black and Violet one needed a new linkage, turned out the servo was okay." Topher said back alittle perved.

"Good, listen son. We'll talk later about Zato. For now get the loaders over to the Crates in the main hanger. Captain Gail will want them loaded as quickly as possible."

"..."

"Topher. Please, I need you to be an adult about this."

"Okay." came back the small voice.

Tolly stood up quickly and turned to Arek then, "Do you understand what needs to be done younge man. For now, I won't be needing you to escort the shipment. Take the package back to Hap and give him the lists. He'll know what to do with them. I don't expect we'll see each other again for awhile. Take care of yourself and take care of those around you."

He watched the younge man yawn one last time and head for the hanger with the payment for Hap. Tolly knew that whether Nic survived or not he owed it to the Gekko to make the payment. Gail on the other hand....
One of the camera's in the building show the old captain on screen.

Tolly knew the ol' pirate was ill at him. He chuckled and walked out of the room. Making his way to where the captain and his group was he walked up just in time to see Rue introduce Nic.

"Captain Gail, Nic is your backup. She's there to make sure your ship makes it to Warusawu. I hope you don't mind if a third party helps protect our precious cargo. After all, I know 30 armed men who are waiting for there mechs and would be very upset if they didn't get them."

He continued quickly,"Our skies are clear of enemy radar and you can land in the main hanger when ready. We will have the crates on the left wall loaded as quickly as possible."

Nic knew that voice it was Tolly she turned slowly letting her hand drop while she did. And listened, or pretended to no matter where seh went there was always someone that would find her and try to talk to her. And so many people around her caring for each other it almost made her sick to herself. She had never had any chance to live a normal childhood. With all of this going through her mind Tolly had finished speaking "I need to find Arek." Nic lied and tried to get away with a fairly fast paced walk. She could feel Rue's eyes on her, he was begining to figure her out. And it was creeping her out.

At the hanger doors Arek can be seen in the cockpit of the 808 (?) His face seemed stoney and tired. Without a word he hit the gas and peeled out. Once under the open skies he switched to humanoid form and a line of tapar raced out behind him as he fly off.

Nic saw Arek take off withou a word. It really didn't surprise her much but she was walking the the opposite direction. If anything she would just sit in the 909 slouching in the seat so that no one would be able to see her. Unless they really did need her. Nic's hand started to sting she pulled it close to her holding on to her wrist and having her hand close to her shoulder.

Rue saw Nic leave, and having no other orders, walked after her to find out what was going on. He saw her grab her wrist as she began to ache and he ran to her.
"Are you okay?"
He didn't know what compelled him to do it, but she looked as if she could use someone, at least for the time being.

She looked at Rue and was starteld. Looking at her hand covered in the off white wrappings and some blood showing, she shoved it into her pocket hoping that Rue hadn't seen it. "Uhhh yeah it's just a little...cold in here that's all." Nic slowed down a little realizing that he wasn't going to leave anytime soon.

Rue hadn't a chance to see the hand or the wound it concealed. He just thought she believed it was truly cold. He caught her slowing down for him and smiled. It seemed that maybe he was going to make an acquaintence that could someday be a help to him. He walked with her.
"I'd hate to be a bother, but i was wondering where you were going."

Nic couldn't make herself smile and she couldn't tell the truth "I...was going to find my partner." She turned her head slightly to look at him. The last thing she wanted was someone to ask about her history. And for everything she owned she hoped he wouldn't get onto that topic. A slow silence started to set over, and it was oddly comfortable for her. But Nic was sure it was probebly the opposite for Rue.

Rue just wished he could get a sign from her that she didn't want him to vanish. He could tell that she didn't want to talk, but maybe if he was careful he could avoid an unpleasant event.
"So...do you...um...pilot? An LFO?"
He hoped that this was a safe subject, but the silence that he had broke left him wondering otherwise.

When Nic looked over at Rue to see his facial expression, she couldn't help but let a little laugh start inside her, never making it out tough. Stopping she turned to face Rue
"I don't scare you do I?" Nic asked with a slight smile in her eye's. Though her face said nothing Nic continued on
"Yes...I do pilot an LFO..." She let her sentence trail off not sure wether she should metion that it was the 909 she piloted. She couldn't help but be slightly amused by the boys want to talk to her. It really did sort of make her laugh.

"Oh really!? That's great! I love piloting my LFO, but...Captain Gail doesn't let me out as much as i'd like because he says its a waste of battery power."
He continued after her, allowing her first question to go unanswered. Not because he didn't know, but because the answer was 'No, but for some reason afraid for you.' He knew he would never verbalize this. He caught something in her eyes. A faint...happiness. He smiled. He was finally getting to her. Aparently his choice of topic wasn't that bad.
"So what type are you piloting? Is it an antique or more of a power based model?"

Nic didn't pay attention to what she was doing, and cleared her hair from her eye's letting both of her hands come out of her pockets. "It's the 909 out there. Not really my favorite type of transportation, but it works." Looking up to see where they might be heading, even though Nic was walking around aimlessly. And slowly letting all emotions slip out of her and back to her stone like looks.

Her hand emerged from her pocket which she carefully kept hidden away, Rue gasped.
"Oh no you've been hurt! Are you okay? What happened?"
Not sure where his sudden burst of concern stemmed from, Rue instantly stopped Nic from walking to the 909, an impressive and famous LFO. Rue took no note of this, as to him all except his were obsolete. He looked deeply into Nic's eyes, though they didn't meet his. He hoped that she would just look at him in the eyes, if only to see his concern.

"Uhhhh, its someone elses blood, I just have the wrap so...I can have a steady hand...to shoot that's all." Nic lied looking up to see who else was around. Trying to see past Rue she thought she could see the 909. "I have to go...talk to my...supervisor, excuse me." Nic said quietly and lightly laying her hand on Rue's shoulder in order to move around him. And never let herself look at Rue's face.

Rue stared after the mysterious girl. She had lied to him, that much was certain, but Rue had wished that she was better about it. He let her walk away without so much as a word to stop her. He just hoped that one day he could possibly figure out why she had such a hard tiem letting him in. He turned and left for the hanger again, no point in being in trouble that was unnecessary.

Nic wasn't sure if she had hurt Rue or not, letting it slip her mind. Nic slouched down as far as she could into the cockpit of the 909. But yet no matter what she tried to do, she would seem to let her toughts slip back to why was he so curious. Could he just always be that way? Was there something that made him want to know more? Nic scared herself, 'thinking so much of one person, what are you doing?' she thought.

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Gail tilted his head and nodded after a moment of thought.

“The Gekko-Go seems to be lowering their standards.” He mumbled as saw Tolly advancing out of the side of his eyes. A smirked formed on his lips as he turned to him.
“Tolly I assume. I recognized you from the video feed.” Gail left the two and conversed with Tolly.

An hour or so later, Gail walked out, each of his steps tired and weak. He and Tolly had conversed a long while, more then Gail had predicted. Softly he rubbed his hands together and lazily turned his eyes to Rue. A frown formed on his face when he saw the strange expression on the boy’s face. But it disappeared just as it had come. Silently he walked up next to Rue, with out saying much of word.

“It’s funny… that Tolly was a little more professional then I thought. I assume we can trust him… and the shipments are ready.” He glanced down at Rue, seeing little response. “As it is, the Rehk will soon be coming in for a landing. We have our money, gratitude of the Vodarek Hand. That little group is slightly strange, a little fierce in their common nature. But before I wander to far in thought, I have mission for you Rue.” He stopped and turned to the boy, a look of absolute seriousness crossing his face. His eyes scanned the boys face, carefully searching for the answer that was needed.

After a moment or so passed, Gail’s eyes switched between the Gekko-Go behind Rue, and then back down to Rue himself.

“Rue, I want you to take your LFO and tag along with that Nic girl. You’re to help her in protecting the shipment. Not only that, I trust that you will show her the proper way of doing so. Reason being, I don’t exactly trust their tactics. But you know the Rehk’s style, so introduce to them how it’s truly done.” Gail turned around and started walking away before Rue even had the chance to say otherwise. But just as he left to turn a corner, he stopped and turned back to Rue. There was a mischievous smile curling at the tip of his lips.

“By the way Rue, if she reject the offer. Tell her that I will automatically be cutting off half the payment. I’m sure that her captain will be pleased to hear that she just lost them their desired money.” Gail almost laughed as he turned back around and started for the small shuttle.