Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks or any of its characters. I do, however, own my own character and plots.
Chapter 2
Piper lead me toward the first-aid area, passing through the long passages of the Condor. I remembered the stories of the original Storm Hawks, and the story of the new ones said that this was the original carrier from all those years ago. For a ship that old, it flew rather smoothly; I didn't feel any tilt whatsoever as we steered out of the storm. We arrived at a door, and when it opened, I discovered it to be a bedroom of sorts, or a study. There was a bed at the end of the room, shelves lined with boxes on the sides, and maps on the walls. The boxes were open, and I could see the glow of crystals emitting from them. A desk littered with more crystals and instruments was beside the bed. There were only a few books, but I recognized them to be for navigating.
"Since I know more about First-Aid than the rest, I hold it in my room," Piper told me with a smile. She still seemed jittery, excited about showing me around. I smiled at her. She stepped aside and gestured me in first, and after a moment, I took the bait. I didn't like having people behind me, due to some paranoia I inherited, but I knew Piper meant me no harm. I just had to be extremely careful; I didn't want her to just happen and bump into my tail, which was obviously hidden under my cloaking crystal. When the both of us were inside, she went to the desk and opened the drawer that contained the first-aid. I looked around at my surroundings closely.
"You study crystals?" I asked her. She set the box on the desk and turned around, eager to explain herself. I always liked such enthusiasm.
"Yes! They're one of the most fascinating things to me. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about them. Well, without any books on them, I base it on trial and error."
"Impressive." She grinned bashfully. Then I shuddered. "You don't happen to have... any Leachers, do you?"
A frown tugged the corners of her lips. "No. We had a mishap with them, what with the Condor getting totally drained. Why?"
"Well, let's just say I don't feel too well with them around," I said, relieved. Piper tilted her head.
Truthfully, not only did Leachers interfere with my disguises sometimes, but I was sort of... allergic to them. Not your normal case of sneezing or hives, mind. I went through a complete shut-down. They were my greatest weakness, and I had to remove myself immediately if I was anywhere near them.
"Um, do you need any help wrapping your shoulder up?"
"Oh, no, I'll be fine doing it myself."
She stepped aside as I walked forward. I reached for the box and unclipped its lid. Staring at the contents, I looked at what I had to use. I pulled out the bandaging, a small mirror, some disinfectant and cotton balls.
"Okay. I'll be right back, then; I'll go up to the bridge to see our positioning," Piper said, and she turned to leave.
"Wait." She stopped and looked at me. "Do you remember the coordinates of where we met?"
Piper's orange eyes looked up to consider the ceiling. She made a face. "I'm not entirely sure. About forty-five, forty-six degrees north, seventy-five degrees west... or was it seventy-six? Well, I'll check when I'm up there."
"Thank you."
Piper smiled at me and left, letting the door close. I hoped that she'd be able to remember them, or had them recorded somewhere. I didn't have it in me to simply turn my back on Cloud Nine. That ride held many memories I didn't want to leave behind in the fires of the Wastelands. If she had miraculously avoided a lava pit, then I was going to get to her... somehow.
I guess it's about time I told you of what I was wearing. Well, the sleeves that I wore were white, and long enough, as I've mentioned, to cover the majority of my hands. These sleeves were removable, and not necessarily connected to the orange tube-top I wore. Below all that were my navy capris pants and high-heeled boots —which were an illusion; I never actually wear shoes— but those have nothing to do with what covered my wound.
In order to look to my wound, I had to have to dismiss my cloaking crystal. I hoped that the bridge was nowhere nearby, because if Piper had come in on me in my real form, well... she would have flipped. I had to work quickly. I took off the sleeve of my left arm, briefly irritating my wound, and then took a look at it. It looked nasty against the pale flesh of a human.
I pinched my cloaking crystal, and in place of human flesh came in my natural auburn hide, the ridges of my scales shattered where the Firebolt slashed me. I used the mirror to look at it from a more straight-forward approach, and I looked cautiously at it. It was a wide one, and for it to heal more effectively, I would have had to sew it shut. But I was clumsy with a needle —it was especially hopeless, because I'd have to use my deformed hand—, and no one on this ship would have sewn it. They'd do so for Maia, for sure, but not me, and I wanted it done accurately. I guessed I just had to do what I could with it, until I returned back to Terra Atmosia. Besides, my wounds scabbed over much faster than most, so I wouldn't have to worry about losing any more blood once it was bandaged.
With those thoughts in mind, I proceeded in cleaning my wound.
Piper finally entered the bridge, after getting some things taken care of. Aerrow, Radarr and Stork resided there, and she went straight for her navigational instruments without consulting them. Aerrow had expected her to at least report on the situation when she came in, but instead she picked up the readings that recorded the Condor's past coordinates. She looked for the pause in their movement, from when they had to station themselves and fight the Talons. The thin roll of paper passed through her hands quickly.
"Piper?" Aerrow approached her but she seemed too concentrated to respond at first. He said her name again and snapped her out of it.
"What is it, Aerrow?"
"Well? How is Maia?"
"Oh! Well, I set everything up for her. She asked me to go and record the coordinates we found her at, so once I do that I'll go back and see her."
"How is her wound? Is it serious?"
"Um... I didn't see it for myself."
"She got banged up by a Firebolt, so I thought she'd need some help with that..." Aerrow perched a hand at his chin in thought. Piper found sense in her friend's reasoning, and returned back to the scrolls, so she could find the coordinates faster.
"Did you give her any disinfectant?" Stork asked indifferently. Piper verified that Maia had indeed pulled out some of it from the First Aid box. One of those bleak smiles crossed Stork's features.
"Good. She wouldn't want to have that... infected."
Sometimes, Piper knew not to question what Stork had in his mind. He knew practically everything about things that she'd rather not think about. Laughing nervously, she looked back to the scroll, and finally found the numbers hovering in a relatively-solid range. Forty-six degrees north, seventy-three degrees west was the most common pair. She was close in her estimate, she noted proudly.
She turned around and passed by Aerrow, announcing, "Okay, I'll go check on Maia—"
When she got to the door, which opened up with her approach, she crashed into someone. With an "Oof!" she turned to realize that it was Maia, looking down at her. She blushed at little as the older one recovered from a look of alarm. She was awfully hard to crash against, like a wall.
"Oh! So you're already done?"
"As much as I needed to," Maia replied at last, gesturing to the bandages on her shoulder. They weren't professionally-done looking, but still rather neat, better than most people could accomplish on their own. They weren't soaking up the blood just yet, so it proved that they'd last long. In one hand she held her bloodied sleeve, waiting to be washed. She must have left her bag of parcels and envelopes in Piper's room. Aerrow found it strange that Maia managed to bandage herself so quickly and actually find her way to the bridge.
She lifted up her sleeve. "I was wondering if you had a sink I could wash this in..."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll take care of that for you," Piper said quickly. She recovered from her anxiety and smiled nervously. She took the sleeve with her fingers, careful not to touch the blood directly yet. Maia protested against the hospitality, but Piper insisted on it. "I'll be right back. Just make yourself comfortable."
Piper was gone in a flash to go and wash the cloth. Maia was left in the bridge with Aerrow, Radarr, and Stork. Aerrow smiled at Maia and gestured to the table, where Junko and Finn were playing cards before their encounter with the Talons. Maia smiled in return and went to it, where she paused for a considerable moment before sitting down carefully. Stork didn't pay the newcomer any heed and continued navigating out of the storm, which started to thin. Radarr accompanied Aerrow as he, too, sat at the table, and the little animal stared at Maia warily.
They didn't say anything for a few moments. As Maia busied herself with analysing the interior of the room, Aerrow finally cleared his throat.
"So, your wound is all taken care of?"
Maia turned her eyes on him, and she collected breath, the small bulb on her choker glowing in response. "Yes. It's nothing serious. I get stuff like this from time to time."
Aerrow stared at her collar as the light faded. "I see. So a life of a mail carrier is still a dangerous one."
"It depends on who notices you. I try my best to take different routes from what others normally take. It's another reason why you haven't seen me before, most likely."
The sky knight nodded. That explained things to an extent, but he had many other questions. Some of them seemed rather personal however, and the one he thought of at that moment hesitated on his tongue. Maia seemed to have noticed it.
"Is there something you want to know?"
Radarr watched the collar very keenly, transfixed. "Well," Aerrow started. "I was just wondering... what happened to your... um..."
"You're wondering why I have to wear this?"
The boy nodded again, and Maia smiled knowingly. "I'd be curious too. Well, you can't see it, but there's a hole in my throat. I had a problem with my voice box as a kid, and they had to terminate the problem before it spread. This collar simply helps me speak by regulating what air goes where."
It was the first time Aerrow heard of anything like that, but it seemed like it could happen to anybody. He didn't even think it to be a lie.
"And the lisp is a by-product?"
"Oh, well I've had this lisp for far longer than that." After saying that, Maia had a smile that implied she knew something he didn't. Aerrow misinterpreted it, and thought she was just enjoying herself, explaining her origins.
"How long have you had that?"
"The collar? Only recently. Before that, I had to cover the hole myself to speak."
"How big is it?"
"Oh, a little bigger than my thumb, I suppose," she said musingly, but she made a face. "You seem really interested about it. First time hearing of it?"
"Yeah. I didn't think something like that was possible."
"There are many intellectuals on Atmosia. You're aware of the medical facility there?"
Aerrow shook his head. He only knew of the Sky Knight Council.
"The facility is not open to the public yet, so that's understandable. They look for cures of diseases and convenient solutions to things, such as my collar. I've seen some synthetic limbs here and there, but they're still developing."
"And you go there often? You seem to know so much about them."
"I take orders from the Chancellor, as you know. He funds their research, and in return he gains some benefits. He sends any of his workers there if they're sick or in need of something, and frankly, I basically visit it every time I'm back in Atmosia. The Chancellor looks out for his workers. Which reminds me..." Maia sat up straighter and inclined her head slightly. "I'd like to use the radio, if I may."
Personally, Aerrow had many, many more questions to ask her. What was like to be a mail carrier, to work under a senior politician like the Chancellor? Why did she have to go to the facility often? Perhaps he could ask later. She didn't seem to mind his pestering, or think that he was annoying, which relieved him a little. The least he could do for her was indulge her request. He nodded with a smile.
"No problem. It's over there; I'll get it ready for you. Do you know which frequency?"
"It only needs to be to Atmosia. All that comes next is requesting for the Chancellor."
"Okay."
Aerrow stood up and went over to the radio at the corner of the room, next to a small cushion. Radarr had jumped off his shoulder to roam along the ground, keeping an eye on Maia. She looked down at him gently as she went to follow the Sky Knight, but she stopped near Stork, glancing at him. He noticed her gaze, and gave her a suspicious expression.
"Do you... need something?"
"You're Stork, yes?" she asked. He narrowed his eyes slightly, tilting his face. "Did you get your package?"
"Package?"
"I gave it to that one guy." She snapped her fingers, although it sounded a little different than a normal snap. "Finn was his name. You ordered something from Cagey Catalogue."
At once, Stork's eyes widened. He laughed excitedly, almost like a child. "The New and Improved Survivor Kit for the Doomed? Already?"
"Well, if Finn still hasn't given it to you yet..." Maia sighed. "He probably opened it himself. He looked like the type to open things."
Stork appeared to be thinking very quickly, switching glances from the wheel he was holding and the door that led out of the bridge. He looked out the window and also noted the thinning weather. With great consideration, he flipped the Condor into autopilot and ran for it, exiting the room in search of the unwelcomed one opening his parcel. Maia grinned to herself. Radarr growled at her from beneath, suspicious of her mirth. She winked at the small one and walked over to Aerrow, who missed that whole exchange and was twisting the knob for Atmosia.
Soon enough, the voice of the airspace control crew spoke up, static distorting the sound. "We have you, Condor. How may we help you?"
"We would like to speak with the Chancellor," Aerrow started, waiting for an obliging reply.
"Sky Knights have no authority to speak with him without an appointment," the man droned instead, and the comment made Aerrow stare at the microphone in a stung manner. "The Chancellor is a very busy man—"
"Maia, Number Two-One-Four, wishes to speak with him," Maia interjected over Aerrow's shoulder immediately. She sat down cautiously on the cushion after a momentary pause, and politely took the microphone from Aerrow. "I have some matters to report."
"Y-Yes. Of course. I'll connect you to him immediately."
The cut of the static implied he was changing the channel for them. Aerrow looked down at Maia in surprise. "They treat you like you're an official yourself," he observed. She smiled sheepishly.
"I'm a regular. And usually the receiver isn't as polite as this one."
Aerrow didn't think 'polite' was the right term, but he was still impressed. After a few more moments, the static picked up again, and an deeper, elderly voice passed through.
"Maia?"
"Speaking. Hello, Chancellor."
"Maia, why are you contacting me from the Condor, of all places? Has something happened?"
"I had a little predicament, and the Storm Hawks kindly let me aboard their ship. I'm currently in another dilemma..." Maia looked up at Aerrow, and requested privacy with her eyes. He managed to get that much from her gaze, nodded, and moved away from her. Curiosity still burned in his blood, and though he felt guilty, he stayed within earshot.
"Dilemma?"
"My ride took a dive into the Wastelands. I can't move at all at the moment..."
"Cloud Nine? That's a pity... and you're immobile and vulnerable now."
"Well, for the time being, the Condor will make a good haven for me."
"What exactly happened?"
"Cyclonian troops spotted me, and tried to take me. They wounded me and damaged Cloud Nine, but luckily the Storm Hawks came right in. I have all of my mail accounted for, so don't worry."
The Chancellor seemed more concerned with me, which can obviously prove that he and I were on more familiar terms: "You're wounded? Are you alright?"
"It's nothing. I'll have it looked at on Atmosia."
"Nakoto—"
"—won't want to hear it!" I said quickly. I glanced at Aerrow's back, and saw his head tilt slightly. I knew he was eavesdropping. It was a tactical move on his part—I mean, I was a stranger on his ship—, but I couldn't allow him in on all of my conversation. I breathed in deeply, then spoke more slowly. "I know, I know. Please don't tell her. Let's not speak of her."
There was a pause on the other side of the speaker, and I knew that the Chancellor was getting my hint. No one outside the medical facility was to know my true name, or so the Chancellor ordered. Again, it was for my safety.
"... I see. Well then, how will we fix things here?"
"Well, I was hoping you could send someone to The Wayside. I believe I'm going in the same direction... I don't want to inconvenience this squadron any longer than needed."
"Of course. Then I'll have you return to Atmosia."
"... not immediately."
"Hm?"
I hesitated. "I want to get her back."
"Who?"
"Not who. Cloud Nine. I don't think she's gone yet."
"Maia..." the Chancellor sighed, as if he was reprimanding me. "Leave it alone. It's lost..."
"We don't know that for sure. I can survive in the Wastelands. Have one of your people give me a ride down and see if I can find her. If I do, I'll fix her! I have everything I need in her inventory. The Condor's navigator is getting the coordinates for me..."
The elder grunted on the other side, knowing he couldn't fight my stubbornness. I smiled with triumph a little before he scolded me quietly, "Control yourself. You're hissing rather strongly."
I bit my tongue, cursing it. I glanced at Aerrow again, and I guessed he was confused, because he couldn't hear what we were talking about anymore. Radarr, however, decided to linger closely to me, and the little creature gave me a paranoid look. My tongue slipped out my mouth for a brief second, out of habit. Needless to say, it must have looked strange with a human guise. Radarr jolted straight, a look of bewilderment on his face. I forced a smile to make it look like I was joking. I cursed my tongue again.
"Sorry, Chancellor. So, you'll have someone come up to The Wayside?"
"I'll be sending several up there, and I'll inform them of your crazy idea."
My smile died. "That would just attract attention..."
"They know to look inconspicuous."
"Chancellor—"
"You're too precious to risk. You have to come back safe."
If that didn't tip you off more than what's necessary... the Chancellor and I had a special bond, which seemed impossible to have between our kinds. He was like a grandfather to me. He was a kind man, and knew nothing of prejudice. I was not simply a powerful pawn or special specimen to him.
I smiled tenderly. "I will."
"Good. I'll send them off soon."
"Thank you."
He chuckled, and it was then that we disconnected. I put the speaker in its place and stood up. Aerrow turned around from where he stopped, meters from the radio, and tilted his head.
"And how are things?"
I simpered simply. I had a feeling that he already knew, but he wanted to appear courteous. I answered him kindly, "The Chancellor will send for me. I know I should have asked you first, but I'd really appreciate it if you dropped me off at The Wayside."
"It's no problem at all," Aerrow smiled in return. "The Wayside is far from here, but we'll get there. It sucks that we don't have any Velocity stones. We'd get there in an hour if we did."
"Thank you. Well... at least I can spend more time with the greatest squadron in Atmos," I chortled. I nudged his shoulder. "Even Raptors don't have a chance against you."
After just having a close encounter with the Talons, he probably expected me to say 'Cyclonians', but you know, rogues could be a real pain.
Especially when Repton led them.
End of Chapter
A/N: Dun dun duuuun.
Currently I'm beyond busy —it's not even funny!— but I shouldn't be complaining. I'm sorry for all of you who are waiting for I Was Sent to Kill You. That will come soon, after I post Chapter 3 of this story. I do NOT want this story to die so early, you know? And I've had great scenes appear in my mind, and I want to give them life. I don't want this story to be on permanent hiatus. And at the same time, I don't want my other story to be either.
I read it over, but please, if you find any grammatical or spelling errors, telllll me!
Okay, I'll be right back then. I'm off to post the next chapter... I hope you liked this one, and I hope you'll like the next one too.
~Vixen
