Chapter Five
Ivory's arm ached but she could tolerate the pain for a short flight. The cockpit was made to fit two people, a pilot and a shooter; however both could be done from the pilot's seat. Duo sat in the beak area, surrounded by beeping radar and uncountable buttons for who knows what purpose. Ivory made him swear on his future children's heads that he wouldn't touch a thing or else he wouldn't have any children. (If you know what I mean.) From the outside, the beak seemed as solid as the rest of the bird, but it was transparent from the inside.
"What's the beak made of?" he yelled up to Ivory.
Ivory stuck her head into Duo's compartment. She had donned a pair of goggles and a pair of gloves. "I think its some kind of special fiberglass. They put reflective stuff on the outside or something. It's pretty strong though. Don't worry." Ivory went back up. If Duo turned around and craned his head up a little, he could see her feet. He heard her talk to whoever was in the control room in the base and the roof opened up. The engines roared and Duo felt a vibration along the sides that he assumed must be the wings opening.
In seconds, the two were airborne. He could see everything from his seat and watched as the Halcyon circled higher into the sky. The Halcyon glided with ease and the usual roar of engines was dulled. He turned around and yelled up again.
"What are we doing?"
Up in the cockpit Ivory had on her helmet and gloves. She let the Halcyon go on autopilot and explained to Duo how the Halcyon worked. The helmet had a digital view screen that was used to aim and had maps and other screens for direction. The gloves had magnets in the fingers and palm that directed the Halcyon on a pad that connected to the helmet screen. It could also be steered manually with levers and buttons like the Gundams. Right now, there was no one for miles around and Ivory just felt like gliding.
The Halcyon was lighter and more flexible than the Gundams. It was about half the size of the Deathscythe and because it was small, used less power. On earth, it glided like a real bird and thus, used even less power. Its speed was impressive and had a lot of maneuverability. Ivory explained that there were extra engines underneath that were used in space, but they were never really used. Space travel wasn't for her.
There was silence between the two for a while. Both just spent time gazing out of the Halcyon and enjoying the feeling of flight. An hour passed and Ivory was starting to slow the Halcyon to pull it into a dive and return to the base.
There was a small beep from the console. A red light turned on and a new screen popped up on Ivory's helmet. She pushed more buttons and called up a few more maps.
"There's someone out there tailing us."
Duo looked up at her and muttered an explicative. "It probably has something to do with that girl who shot you a few days ago." Ivory grimaced and started to fly away from the base.
"We can't let whoever is out there find out where the base is. They'll blow it up for sure." Ivory headed east, toward the ocean. She instructed Duo to put on another helmet that was hidden under his seat and start learning what the controls did. The helmet was quite instructive and gave Duo a tour of the console in front of him. The console beeped again and a visual of the pursuer came into view on the screens. It looked like a dark green and black dragon, not far from Wu Fei's Gundam.
Ivory recoiled. "It's a Serpent!" There was no doubt about it now. The Barton Foundation was truly against her. Question was, were they out to kill her, or capture her?
-------
"Hey guys! Something's happening up there!" Quatre shielded his eyes against the sun and the glint off the Halcyon. The pilots gathered outside and looked at the mysterious Gundam trailing the blue bird. Meanwhile, Trowa jumped into the Heavyarms and took off.
Ivory's arm ached but she could tolerate the pain for a short flight. The cockpit was made to fit two people, a pilot and a shooter; however both could be done from the pilot's seat. Duo sat in the beak area, surrounded by beeping radar and uncountable buttons for who knows what purpose. Ivory made him swear on his future children's heads that he wouldn't touch a thing or else he wouldn't have any children. (If you know what I mean.) From the outside, the beak seemed as solid as the rest of the bird, but it was transparent from the inside.
"What's the beak made of?" he yelled up to Ivory.
Ivory stuck her head into Duo's compartment. She had donned a pair of goggles and a pair of gloves. "I think its some kind of special fiberglass. They put reflective stuff on the outside or something. It's pretty strong though. Don't worry." Ivory went back up. If Duo turned around and craned his head up a little, he could see her feet. He heard her talk to whoever was in the control room in the base and the roof opened up. The engines roared and Duo felt a vibration along the sides that he assumed must be the wings opening.
In seconds, the two were airborne. He could see everything from his seat and watched as the Halcyon circled higher into the sky. The Halcyon glided with ease and the usual roar of engines was dulled. He turned around and yelled up again.
"What are we doing?"
Up in the cockpit Ivory had on her helmet and gloves. She let the Halcyon go on autopilot and explained to Duo how the Halcyon worked. The helmet had a digital view screen that was used to aim and had maps and other screens for direction. The gloves had magnets in the fingers and palm that directed the Halcyon on a pad that connected to the helmet screen. It could also be steered manually with levers and buttons like the Gundams. Right now, there was no one for miles around and Ivory just felt like gliding.
The Halcyon was lighter and more flexible than the Gundams. It was about half the size of the Deathscythe and because it was small, used less power. On earth, it glided like a real bird and thus, used even less power. Its speed was impressive and had a lot of maneuverability. Ivory explained that there were extra engines underneath that were used in space, but they were never really used. Space travel wasn't for her.
There was silence between the two for a while. Both just spent time gazing out of the Halcyon and enjoying the feeling of flight. An hour passed and Ivory was starting to slow the Halcyon to pull it into a dive and return to the base.
There was a small beep from the console. A red light turned on and a new screen popped up on Ivory's helmet. She pushed more buttons and called up a few more maps.
"There's someone out there tailing us."
Duo looked up at her and muttered an explicative. "It probably has something to do with that girl who shot you a few days ago." Ivory grimaced and started to fly away from the base.
"We can't let whoever is out there find out where the base is. They'll blow it up for sure." Ivory headed east, toward the ocean. She instructed Duo to put on another helmet that was hidden under his seat and start learning what the controls did. The helmet was quite instructive and gave Duo a tour of the console in front of him. The console beeped again and a visual of the pursuer came into view on the screens. It looked like a dark green and black dragon, not far from Wu Fei's Gundam.
Ivory recoiled. "It's a Serpent!" There was no doubt about it now. The Barton Foundation was truly against her. Question was, were they out to kill her, or capture her?
-------
"Hey guys! Something's happening up there!" Quatre shielded his eyes against the sun and the glint off the Halcyon. The pilots gathered outside and looked at the mysterious Gundam trailing the blue bird. Meanwhile, Trowa jumped into the Heavyarms and took off.