"Wheeeeee!" Mini sang, spinning the steering sideways. The steering wheel corrected itself, and Mini tried to spin it again, to no avail. The pelican had taken off a while ago, and Mini was already bored with Hawaii's strict lessons. They both had their helmets off - as the pelican was airtight. And with how bored Mini was, it was time to have some fun. "Oooo, what are those?" She pointed to the large rectangular button on Hawaii's right, leaning forward to press it.
"Do not." Hawaii knocked her hand away, and Mini slouched back in her seat, placing her hands back on the steering wheel. She watched Hawaii level the pelican out again, placing her hand on the throttle to speed it up. Mini grinned, reaching forward to lay her hand over Hawaii's. Her eyebrows raised as Hawaii tensed up ever so slightly, shooting her a quizzical glance. Mini shrugged.
"I gotta learn how to speed up sooner or later." She smirked, winking. Hawaii blinked at her, before turning back to face forwards. Mini recoiled slightly, surprised that the number one freelancer didn't take the chance to knock her hand away again. She thought she caught Hawaii shooting her yet another glance, but the freelancer's robotic stillness convinced her otherwise. She contemplated ruffling up Hawaii's mohawk. That would get a reaction.
Might I suggest not annoying your Captain? Delta spoke up, a pleasant tone masking his monotone voice.
But I want to. Mini mock-whined back at Delta, tilting her head to the side so her bright blue bangs fell over her pale face.
Why don't you go interact with Agent Utah? Correct me if I am mistaken, but you two are good friends. Delta suggested mildly.
Yeah, we are, but… Mini let her thoughts trailed off. She felt guilty just thinking of leaving the cockpit to hang out with her friends when Hawaii was being so kind to her. Anxiety pricked at her mind as she thought about how one wrong move could send their pelican crashing straight into an asteroid or unknown planet. Maybe it was best if she was more cautious from now one.
"No wonder this Pelican ride has been fucking awful." Cali's voice made her whirl around. He was standing in the entrance to the cockpit with his hands on his hips, "For a while there I thought Hawaii was drunk." Mini glanced to see if Hawaii had reacted. It didn't even look like she had heard.
"Nope! Hawaii's teaching me how to fly!" Mini declared proudly, looking around for another button to push.
"I know. It's terrifying." Cali mock-shuddered. Mini hummed, spotting a button on the dashboard in front of Hawaii. She reached forward to press it, and Hawaii grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the co-pilot's seat. Mini yelped as she tumbled out, hitting the floor.
"Enough." Hawaii sighed, shaking her head. She twisted in her seat to look at them, her hands remaining steady on the steering wheel in front of her, and muttered something. Cali muttered something back, and Hawaii replied. Mini stared up at her with wide eyes, not comprehending a single word. Hawaii glanced down at her and murmured one more thing.
"Wait, what?" Mini stared from Hawaii to Cali and back again, perplexed. "What freakin language was that?"
"Italian." Cali said flatly.
"Gesundheit."
"No. Italian you idiot." Cali huffed.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhh," Mini breathed, "Hawaii speaks another language! Kinda like how I speak spanish! I speak taco, but I am not taco." She crawled back into the co-pilot's seat, placing her hands back on the steering wheel.
Cali facepalmed, sighing frustratedly, "That's not how that works. And - what?"
"Sure it isn't." Mini snarked, "Hawaii speaks lasagna."
"Once again, not how that works!" Cali snapped, looking more irritated than amused.
"How would you know?" Mini smiled at him coyly, giggling as the assassin grew even more frustrated.
"Every other sentence she says is in fucking Italian!" Cali shouted, throwing his arms into the air exasperatedly, "And news flash, I speak just about every fucking language."
"At least she's still American. She knows english."
"Not American." Hawaii spoke up quietly, making Mini jump slightly. "I speak English for only a few months now."
"That's what I was trying to say." Cali hissed through gritted teeth. Mini instantly recognized his anger, and started counting under her breath, timing how long it takes for the assassin to explode. Cali noticed her counting, and bared his teeth.
"Okay." Cali seethed, breathing heavily "Listen here you little-"
"Hey! Leave my height out of this."
"Fuck you!"
"Calm. Down." Hawaii suddenly ordered, her firm tone startling Cali out of his anger. The black-armoured freelancer narrowed her emotionless ice blue eyes at Cali. He opened his mouth to retort, almost shaking with annoyance, but Hawaii raised one hand for silence, speaking in Italian once more. Mini watched, surprised, as Cali's shoulders slumped. He muttered something grouchily back to her, and Hawaii snapped again. Cali growled, before turning away Hawaii sighed, shaking her head.
"...What just happened?" Mini inquired quietly, shaken.
"You two are children sometimes." She sighed, her facial expressions almost fond. "Cali", She added, turning to watch the assassin walk away, "Apologize please."
"Unfuck you, I guess." Cali grumbled, disappearing.
"Honestly, us acting like children isn't new." Mini snorted, grinning. Her heart fluttered strangely as Hawaii gave her a small smile back. "What did you tell Cali?"
"Prepare for battle." Hawaii twisted back around, "And let us fly."
She took Hawaii's cue of turning back to the wheel as time to get back to learning. "Okay, steering wheel, throttle, altitude gauge, that big grey button must be the missiles, meaning that those two red buttons are the regular guns…" She started muttering the list under her breath, Hawaii nodding along and correcting gently whenever she messed up, until she stopped responding and Mini assumed she had lost track of what Mini was saying. She slowed down, letting Hawaii catch up again. She frowned sympathetically, wondering how hard it was for her to communicate with everyone while hardly knowing their language, before snapping back into focus. After several more minutes of Mini reviewing everything she knew, Hawaii stood up, replacing her helmet.
"I'll be back." She said.
"Wait. You trust me with this?" Mini gaped, her heartbeat starting to pick up. Hawaii gave her a shrug that said 'why wouldn't I'. Mini gazed in front of her with wide eyes as Hawaii placed her hand gently on the back of the co-pilot's chair, reaching forward to grab the wheel as she gestured for Mini to change seats. Gulping, Mini slid out of her chair and dropped down in the pilot's seat, placing her hands on the steering wheel. She took a moment to look around, intimidated by the vastness of space around her. Hawaii laid a hand gently on her shoulder, and she glanced up at the black-armoured freelancer with wide eyes.
"You'd be wise to not trust me with this." Mini cautioned. She turned back to the wheel as Hawaii turned away without replying, disappearing into the back. Her hands trembled slightly on the wheel, and she pulled back the throttle to slow the Pelican down slightly to a more comfortable speed.
You're flying a Pelican in a straight line with nothing in front of your except space. It is not nearly as difficult a task as you make it out to be. Delta pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, reminding Mini of her father as he projected himself onto the dashboard in front of her.
"Shut up, midget." Mini grumbled, taking one hand off of the wheel to swat it through Delta's projection.
You're one to talk. Delta's strange reply had her opening her mouth indignantly, and she twisted violently to face him head-on. Too late she realized she had jerked the wheel to the side, and hastily turned to correct it. She swore her green-armoured A.I was giving her a smug look.
Hawaii reappeared shortly, giving her a concerned look, "Everything alright?"
"No. Delta called me short." Mini grumbled, using humour to cover up her nervousness.
Hawaii didn't laugh, though. She saw right through her joke, "Do you want me to take over again?"
Mini pursed her lips, her heartbeat racing as she contemplated the question. Would Hawaii mind if she said yes? Would she admire her bravery if she declined? Did she need more time to talk to Cali and Utah? Would she be frustrated if Mini asked her to take over again? Worries flooded her mind as she hesitated to answer, and the words on her lips died away as Hawaii slid to stand directly behind the pilot's seat, reaching over easily to place her hands over Mini's in silent reassurance. Mini didn't know why, but she instantly felt herself relax, soothed that Hawaii was in charge again. She gazed back out towards space, and spotted a dark green planet growing larger in the center of their path. Rather quickly, in her opinion.
"We're going to land." Hawaii said matter-of-factly.
"Together?" Mini cautioned. Her chest started to grow tight again. What if she messed something up, and Hawaii got angry at her? Or they crashed? Somehow, the first worry upset her more.
"Of course." Hawaii responded in a tone that indicated she was unsure why Mini was even asking that question in the first place. Mini nodded, tensing up, gripping the steering wheel even more tightly.
"One hand on the throttle." Hawaii murmured gently. Mini instantly shifted her hands into the proper position, feeling Hawaii's tighten over hers once they were in place. "Bring us in gently."
Mini nodded again, holding her breath as she pulled back gently on the throttle, watching the approaching planet slow slightly. Suddenly, Hawaii started breathing unusually loud behind her- taking long, slow, sighing breaths - and Mini took several seconds to realize that she wanted her to copy. Mini forced herself to breathe out and in again, matching Hawaii's pace. Her shoulders loosened, and her chest relaxed, until she was breathing normally again. Hawaii fell silent. The remaining edge of her anxiety started to ebb as the lush forest canopy of the planet came into view, distracting her from the flames circling the edge of the cockpit for a split second before disappearing again.
As Mini slowed and steered the Pelican towards the targeted location (which appeared to be a large gap in the thick forest), she noticed that Hawaii had yet to move at all, instead just reaching up one hand to press the occasional button. As Mini pivoted the engines to bring the pelican into a safe descent, she caught sight of the small meadow underneath them, a surprisingly sturdy concrete base hidden in the shadows on one side. They landed smoothly, and cut off the engines.
"We're here." Mini breathed a sigh of relief, the tension she didn't know she held in her shoulders easing. Hawaii paced backwards slightly, holding out one hand to help Mini out of the pelican's seat. Her knees weak with relief, Mini gladly accepted it.
"Everybody out." Hawaii ordered the instant they crossed into the seating area.
"We've got some new freelancers to meet. Yay!" Mini gave a little jump, before sobering up as the situation hit her. They were in the middle of a warzone now. Who knew what would happen in the next few days.