Return
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The patrol had been basically quiet. After the excitement of Radarr's new upgrades, there wasn't a whole lot that could call up the adrenalin so quickly. After flying around for a few hours, scouting the skies with his trained eyes, Finn decided to call it a day.
"Ready to head home buddy?" He asked Radarr, who had be leaning back in his seat, half asleep.
At Finn question, the monbit jerked slightly, becoming reanimated. Eyes a little red from tiredness, Radarr made no verbal response, but nodded slowly towards the sharpshooter, who chuckled.
"Yea, I'm a little tired of this too." Leaning over, Finn stroked the monbit's fur, gently smoothing it down. "And thanks again for the engine upgrade Radarr. I think I could be faster than Aerrow's bike now!"
Radarr nodded mutely, raising a paw in a 'thumbs up' gesture, before sitting up in his seat, grabbing for his handlebars.
Smiling, Finn turned his ride back towards the Condor, ready to be home again. Radarr gave a quiet chirp of relief as they pulled closer to the old carrier, and Finn's smile widened.
Glancing in the big, front window, Finn could just make out Stork's slim form, standing at attention in his usual spot, at the wheel. Finn grinned, holding back laughter. Even when the Condor was in park, Stork was rarely seen very far away from the carrier's controls.
Gliding down the runway, Finn gently tapped the brakes, a proud grin on his face as he listened to the engine purr. Pulling slowly into the hanger, Finn glanced over to Radarr, his wide grin still covering his face.
"Radarr, I don't know how you did it, but this is the best my ride has ever preformed. You are so awesome!" He exclaimed, blue eyes alight with excitement. Pulling to a stop, he noticed a third Storm Hawk in the hanger, watching him and Radarr with interest. "Junko! Buddy! Check out what Radarr did for my ride!"
Junko's face light up with a wide smile as Finn revved his engine, the rumble reverting across the hanger. "Woah! Wow Finn, your bike sounds awesome!"
"Yea! All thanks to my little buddy here." That said, the blond ruffled Radarr fur, as he chirped modestly, a happy smile on his little face.
"Cool! Radarr has been getting pretty good at working on the skimmers. Soon he's gonna be better than I am!" Junko noted, no hint of envy in his voice.
But Radarr seemed to disagree with the wallop, and leaping down from his sidecar, scuttled across the polished floor of the hanger to climb up the bigger being's shoulders. Chattering rapidly, the monbit shook his head rapidly, gesturing at the wallop, then to himself, then to the nearby skimmer Junko had been working on.
Finn smirked as he killed his engine, "Looks like Radarr disagrees with you Junko. For now, you've still got him beat when it comes to skimmer work."
Junko chuckled, gently patting Radarr's head, "Maybe. Oh, and guess what Finn!"
"What's that?" Finn responded distractedly, climbing off his bike. He was really pleased with how Radarr had made improvements on it. It wasn't often that he or the rest of the team paid much attention to Finn's skimmer. Before Radarr had started working on it, it was basically a hunk of bolts that could sometimes fly. Now, however...
"We got a radio transmission from Aerrow today! He and Starling are coming back!" Junko nearly shouted this statement, joy and excitement evident in his voice.
All movement from Finn stopped as the Wallop's words sunk in. "Oh. Th-That's great man! That means we'll have the team together again!"
Still on Junko's shoulders, Radarr peered curiously at the sniper, docking his head to the side as he watched him. Finn's movements were quick, jerky and tense. Jumping down from the wallop, Radarr continued to eye Finn.
Clearing his throat, Finn said, "Wh-why don't you go into the kitchen, Junko, and cook something special for Aerrow and Starling when they get back?"
"That sounds like a great idea Finn! You comin'?" The wallop was already halfway out the door, a happy smile on his face.
"No, I'm gonna work on my ride for a few minutes." Finn's response was given enthusiastically, but from Radarr's position, standing right beside him, he could see the youth's hands squeeze into fists.
The door closed with a mechanical whoosh and Finn's shoulders slumped.
