THE HIGHER YOU GO, THE HARDER IT IS TO BREATHE
Chapter 1: Chicks Dig Ships
Flying a cargo ship to and from cities had seemed like such an easy job when he had first taken it. Delivering shipments of dust back and forth was probably the plushest line of work a middle class Atlas citizen like himself could settle for. After all, when he was a kid he'd always thrown paper airplanes at his parents and zoomed around the house, jumping off any piece of furniture high enough to try and imitate the sensation of flight. Being a pilot was always something he had wanted, and having enough savings to wriggle his way through flight school and a non-Faunus heritage in Atlas was always something to put on a resume.
To be honest, it was awfully boring, just toting around dust in debatably the most guarded continent in Remnant without any sliver of action. Call him a sadist, but his favorite days were when he ran into some Grimm, gladly jumping at the chance to outmaneuver a Nevermore or even a small swarm of Lancers. While the insect-like Grimm had to be his least favorite, watching them crash into the ground while he escaped with most of his precious ship intact was more satisfying than anything else in the world.
He'd always treasured his one and only, a standard issued cargo ship he'd affectionately just called Baby, refusing to part with her even when other cargo pilots in the business had upgraded to the newer, faster models. If you could work a wrench and some wires worth a damn then the year of your ship shouldn't matter. He knew his Baby was the best ship out there, cause chicks dig ships, especially his ship.
However, one chick in particular did not seem all that interested in Baby, all she cared about was if she worked or not and if he would accept 300 lien to get her out of Atlas undetected. He had been fully prepared to say no, to tell her to find someone else, but the desperation behind her professional blue eyes, not to mention the cash she was flashing, had persuaded him.
So here he was, smuggling the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company into Mistral and risking his job, his paycheck, and his Baby in the process. He'd say he did it for the adventure, a chance to finally see the action he had been craving, but the girl's lien had spoken louder in their conversation so he chose to listen to that. She had promised him 300 now and 500 when they reached Mistral, and he was not one to look a very rich gift horse in the mouth, or wallet.
It had been awkward those first few days, knowing there was another person in his cargo hold as opposed to the normalcy where he would sometimes talk to himself or even Baby, but actually trying to start a conversation with the kid was proving to hit more and more walls. He'd decided to just not bother her; the solemn expression she wore screamed for time to herself. She came into the cock pit a few times to stretch her legs or to accept rations from him and his trusted 30-second-meals, the flavors were bland and tasted more like their plastic wrapping than the food they attempted to imitate, but they filled the stomach and she never outwardly complained.
They had been flying in a straight line for a few days, not close enough to speak casually, yet not estranged enough to not warrant an ice-breaker.
"So, how much further?" she asked, leaning against the far wall of the cock pit, just watching the scenery float by with the steady rumble in Baby's belly.
They had left Atlas behind hours ago, the dull icy tundra fading into the greener, more vibrant blend of colors that was Anima. He adjusted his hold on the throttle, loosening his fingers before tightening them again. "We're in the home stretch now." He explained, keeping his eyes on the sky despite feeling her presence behind him like a cold wind down his neck. Uncomfortable but not entirely unpleasant.
He'd flown through Anima a few times, it was certainly the more overgrown part of the Mistralian continent, more forests than there were civilizations, with enough Grimm to account for them. As much as he would have loved a Nevermore to come out and end this agonizing silence, he had important cargo to get to Haven, and Grim would only delay his paycheck.
"No more stops from here to Mistral," he turned his head to glance at her, her ponytail brushing against the floor by a hair or two, the image obscured by his visor and helmet. "Sorry for the long trip, keeping us off the radar's been harder than I thought… lots of air traffic around northern Anima."
He barely caught a glimpse of her looking down at her winter blue pumps, that solemn look easing into her eyes again. "It's fine," she assured. "I… just hope I haven't been a burden."
Her words caught him a bit by surprise, so much so that he couldn't help the throaty chuckle that escaped his mouth. He never would have thought a Schnee to be self-conscious about anything, let alone hitching a ride for a hefty price. Sure they had their reputation and all that, but the kid had been as much of a burden as the dust collecting on his dashboard. So little that he didn't even notice until she mentioned it. "You and your money are more than welcome on this ship, kid."
She didn't pick up the conversation after that, continuing to look out the window, probably deep in thought if her tense shoulders were anything to go by. Part of him felt like he should say something, a word of encouragement or even a question about the weather, and they weren't strangers, but they weren't friends either. It was not his place to offer comfort where comfort was not warranted.
Instead he went back to his Baby, fixing the thrusters from some turbulence they had experienced earlier, when his radio suddenly sparked to life. Static and the whirring of frequencies filled the room, even when he turned the knobs to try to find a free channel the crackling didn't stop. "What the…?" he tried adjusting the slider, evening out the wavelengths on the radio.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, taking a step towards him to try to listen in on the possible transmission.
Nothing but static was coming through, "I'm not sure, we're still over Lake Matsu, shouldn't be picking up broadcasts this far from Mistral… someone must be close." His trigger finger was itching, but no matter badly he wanted something to happen, keeping himself, his Baby, and the kid out of trouble was his top priority.
"Som… n't… elp!" a voice suddenly came through the transmission, clearly in distress as they tried to get their message through. The girl stood up straight to listen closer, when the voice of a Mistral Pilot, female, finally cut through the static. "Mayday, mayday! We are a small passenger flight, and our Huntress is down! We aren't equipped to deal with this!" they cried, sounds of struggle and even shouting could be heard behind her voice.
His itch to fight became silent, "Oh man…" he muttered under his breath.
"The Grimm his us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline!" the sound of an explosion rumbled through the radio and the pilot could be heard grunting and gasping for breath. He did not have to look at the kid to feel her shock and horror at what they were hearing. "Get them off us! If anyone can hear this… Ah!" the Mistral Pilot screamed loudly before the transmission cut out completely.
Her expression became extremely concerned when he turned off the radio and veered the ship sharply to the side, enough to make her grab onto a support handle on the ceiling. When he didn't say anything she grew anxious, confused and worried for the people on that passenger flight that were being attacked. "We're going to help them. Right?" she asked, her voice taking on an edge to it that he had not previously heard before. She sounded expectant, and determined to get into the fray to kill some Grimm and save some lives.
It was almost enough to make him regret what he was actually doing. "What? No, I'm trying to avoid them."
The kid looked appalled at him, not expecting him to just blindly turn away from a literally call for help. He did not love it himself, but as he said, getting her to Mistral safely was his top priority. If she got hurt or killed by Grimm, or if his ship was destroyed with him with it, then everything he'd risked to do this for her would be for nothing.
"But… they'll die."
Her voice left a dull sting in his chest, one he was reluctant to admit as guilt. Weiss Schnee was a media endorsed name he rarely payed close attention to, having listened to one of her singles on the radio when literally nothing decent was playing. Outwardly, he expected her to be as groomed and spoiled as any other child of wealth, but the soft-spoken horror underlining the concern she had reverberated like a raging river against a cracked slab of stone.
He wanted to turn the ship towards that SOS call, if only to get her to stop looking at him like that. She at least understood that he wasn't scum of the earth who only cared about saving his own skin, but she had disappointment written all over her face.
A sigh ripped its way out of his throat, "Look, if we picked up their transmission, I'm sure someone else did too." he didn't know why he tried to reassure her, offer some comfort where it was certainly not welcome. Maybe it was the look on her face, that really did make him feel like flaming crap mixed with garbage. "Besides, this is a cargo ship, not much good in a fight, I just want to finish this job and go home."
Now he really did look pathetic, justifying his own actions. Just what was he trying to prove? Who was he trying to convice, the girl or himself? He chose to keep his eyes on the sky and not look at her. "Sorry kid, my ship, my rules."
He didn't feel like his words did either of them any good, only furthering the guilt boiling in the pit of his stomach. Staring into the clear skies ahead of him did little to pull his thoughts away from her, her reflection in the glass compelling him to stare at her instead. The sadness in her blue eyes and the way she blinked slowly before turning away from him to look out the window, made him feel like the slimiest person alive.
I really am pathetic…
I really am useless…
HI! I saw this ship on Tumblr and have not stopped shipping it since! The moral ambiguity between Pilot-Chan and Weiss was very intriguing and I sincerely hope he is alive. It seems like a dick move for Weiss to in a sense just "forget" about the guy who may or may not be a corpse in his own ship. So I wanted to explore his character more, and it was confirmed by his voice actor that he personally called him Fenix Atar, which I love. This ship is called High Altitude and I challenge ALL of you to write more fics for this! Anyway, whether I make this longer than a one-shot is up to the reviews and likes I get! So click those buttons! Ciao for now!