Jet lied out on his bed gaining some sleep while he waited for the ship to reach their next stop. They were trying to get to a new town called Fenix so that they may see the new casino that was established there. Jet was expecting a big pay-off.
It was about a two-day journey to get there though by foot. They were going by craft though so they expected to be there within the next two hours. Everything was going smoothly too. Jet was napping, Virginia was taking a nap as well, Emilia was busy working on the craft, Clive was writing down some details about Leviathan for later study, and Gallows was bored.
As the quiet afternoon went it shortly came to an end when the ship is rocked by an obvious missed shot at them. In mere moments the group had regrouped to see what was going on as Emilia took to the helm and took it from auto-pilot to manual.
"Who are they?" Virginia wondered.
"Ark of Destiny." Clive confirmed. "They are utilizing their forces this time it would seem."
"There's that many?" Virginia wondered.
"No, the problem is that we face what looks like a mobile remote base. It's large enough to put our own craft within." Clive commented as he sized up the enemy. "We are outmatched it would seem. Emilia?"
"We are." She agreed. "I'm not giving them my ship though!"
"Well, let's get faster then." Jet interjected.
Emilia nodded and was about to try to pick up speed, but the group found themselves stalled. "They...harpooned us." She replied.
"What else can we do?" Virginia questioned. "This isn't over!" She bellowed as everyone looked lost as to what to do. The morale was broken. "We lost today guys. Hide your stuff."
"Y-You're giving them the ship?" Emilia questioned with trembling lips. "You can't do that!"
Virginia looked to her with a saddened face. "We are not able to fight." She calmly said. "We can't risk having anyone die. There will be more chances, but we have to give in to the situation right now."
"No!" Emilia shouted as she hung her head low. "Why?" She cried. Virginia could only offer a supporting hand.
"We threw our stuff into hiding." Clive returned.
"What's wrong with you?" Virginia asked to Jet.
"They made me hide my ARM." He said in a voice that would hold a pout instead of his face.
"Well, you don't want them to steal it do you?" Gallows urged. Jet just looked away.
It was at that time the craft was taken by the Ark of Destiny group and their team leader stepped onto the scene. A man who once was a Drifter named Grant. Already made the Commander of the naval forces with orders to catch the Maxwell Gang.
The five members of that same gang were apprehended and taken onto the 'Gian Ve' sandcraft that had caught them. Their sandcraft was taken into custody within the same ship. Clive was right to mention that the size of their ship was large enough to do so.
It was at this time that a member of the Ark of Destiny met up with Grant. "Sir, the ship has been secured and...those people are in the jail." There was a pause. "There has been an evident upgrade to the craft that made us doubt whose it really was."
"We will commence a search of the ship tomorrow morning." He commented noticing it's closeness to dinner time right now.
"What do we do with those murderers?"
"We will leave them in the middle of nowhere and let them die after shooting them. I do not want them standing a possible trial from Albert. They don't deserve it." He rudely ordered.
"I'll prepare a unit to do just that."
"Oh, and throw in that other man as well."
"That guy? If you say so sir."
Deep within the craft there was a hall of darkness that one could only see through the dimly lit light fixtures placed all too little about the room. Sitting on the dirty floor behind a set of bars was Jet and Virginia who had not talked much since being placed there. It was a sort of reflective time for everyone who was trying to figure out ways out as well as thoughts about what would happen if they did not get out. The latter being a last ditch option made by them out of fear.
The leader of their group being just a slight worried and scared about their outcome tonight. They had slept at Jet's insistence that they take a nap and figure out later what to do with fresh minds. Now it was about six in the morning. Two hours before Grant had ordered the search of their craft.
She looked to Jet. "What...do you think will happen?"
"I don't know. I just know we're going to get out of here somehow. I...just haven't figured that part out yet. This place is new so there is no substantial design flaws that I can find except that the bars are poorly built and weak, but...they are still too strong for me to try and break or anything." He regrettably noted.
"So...we may never get out of here?" She said with downcast eyes.
His eyes pierced her own with intensity. "No!" He forcefully replied shaking her. "We are getting out of here. Give me time." She nodded and the two returned to sitting normally. "What do you have with you?" He searched his pockets for anything left over. The Ark of Destiny had nothing to seize since they left their weapons, mediums, and tools back on the craft. All except Jet who had kept his boomerang hidden in his shirt at the time. He took that out and attempted to break the bars. Nothing. It was good thinking, but it did not make a good result. "No good. What do you have?"
"Let me look." She looked to his eyes. "Turn around."
"Huh? Why?"
"I hide my bag under my skirt."
"Oh...uh...okay." He slowly turned around noticing a reflective piece of junk off to the side. Too bad it was fogged over and it obscured his view.
"You can look now." He turns back around as she looks through a bag. "No good. It's just some of the cooking ingredients I was using at the time."
"Like what?"
"Oil, oregano, utensils...nothing."
Jet grit his teeth. "Damn."
It was silent a moment. "At least...At least we're not alone." She softly states.
He nods. "Yeah."
She makes her way for the ground level bed off to the side and sat down only to be thrown to the floor. A man with tan skin and dark greasy hair and moustache was lying there. "Watch where you sit."
She sat up with a nervous look. "I'm sorry. I didn't know there was another person here."
"So...you people new?" The man questioned while Jet was still in a defensive pose.
"I'm Virginia Maxwell and that's Jet Enduro."
There was a noticeable look that came when the name 'Enduro' was mentioned stemming from the mysterious man, but only Jet caught it. "I'm Rian Ortego."
"You been here long?" Jet wondered.
"Nope, and soon I'll be free." The man gave a laugh.
"How's that?" Jet asked as if accusing Rian of something.
"Because you're here now." Rian simply replied.
"What do you mean?" Jet asked with a similar confused look as Virginia's own.
"Jet Enduro. It is a good name, and I know all about the reputation of the man with it. I also know a man named Clyde. Clyde Enduro. Your brother. If you're anything like that guy we'll be free in no time at all." Rian smugly replied.
"My brother?"
"I knew your father as well." Rian noted.
Jet figured that Rian must have met each of them before the Yggdrasil event. "Is that true?" Rian nodded.
"Your brother and I were good friends. While your father was worried about the planet's health I was worried more about that second Twilight fiasco."
"Twilight fiasco?" Jet and Virginia questioned.
Rian dismissed that. "Nothing that concerns us." He replied. "So...you two together?"
"What?" Virginia nearly choked.
"We aren't." Jet simply said though he was red under that mask. "Just...team members."
"Right." She nodded with excessive force too many times. "When we met he was ready to kill me! Like we could ever be a couple." She defended. "Of course, he was already ready to kills someone else."
Rian let out a hearty laugh. "You are just like Clyde."
"About Clyde."
"Do you have a plan on how to get out yet?" Rian questioned.
"Not really." Jet replied in quieted frustration. Rian so ignored him.
"We have nothing of use. Just junk."
Jet sat with crossed arms in the quiet before moving for her bag after moments. "I'm just going to act on impulse and see where that leads me." Jet commented as he took the bag and sat by the bars. He looked at the various ingredients.
Rian leaned over to Virginia. "What's he doing?"
"I would think...trying to free us." She replied.
"This will be interesting." He noted in response.
Jet took out various herbs and spices and tossed them all over the place before splashing it with oil and vinegar as well as some lemon juice. Following that he took out the ladle and spatula and began banging them into the bars. "Come on!" He urged just as the spatula put a dent in the bar. From there he snatched up his boomerang and began pounding at that spot until they broke. "Okay, let's go." He suggested crawling out into the hall leaving a dazed Virginia and Rian who were not sure what just happened.
The girl and the older man joined him. "That was...interesting." Rian commented.
"So, you two decide to make an appearance." Clive noted from his own cell diagonally across from their old one that was built for oen person. "You gonna do the same for me?"
"Okay." Jet and the other two came to Clive and with help from all four the bars were broken and Cliev freed. "What now?"
"Clive, you and I can go find Emilia and Gallows. Jet, you and Rian should look for our ship and get it ready to run. We'll meet there as soon as possible so you better be ready." Virginia ordered and they all nodded and went in two separate directions.
Jet and Rian made it to the hanger where the sandcraft was hidden with no problems. Too easy it would seem, but it was early in the morning Rian commented. "That's your ship?" Rian said in disbelief. "Good ride."
"We should get it down from there." Jet noted as he saw how it was up on an elevator platform above the sand below it. They make it to a console that looked like it should be investigated.
"We'll have to unlock the ship." Rian stated. "This will lower the platform, but that won't do us any good if we're locked in."
"How do we get it unlocked?"
"One of us will have to climb up that." Rian motioned to a metal rung ladder off to the side that went up what looked twenty feet at least. "That room up there has that console."
"I'll do it."
"No." Rian replied. "You make sure your craft is ready. I'll unlock it."
Jet stared at him. "Right." Jet darts for the ship while Rian begins his way up the ladder. The first thing Jet was sure to do was grab his ARM. He was about to get his mediums, but he heard the doors open to the hanger and noticed that there was too many feet for it to be his four teammates.
Six of the Ark of Destiny had entered the room and began firing upward at the slowly ascending Rian. In annoyance Jet rolled out from the sandcraft and carefully went to firing their weapons away and then hitting the non-vital parts of them. It took some concentration.
Rian took that chance provided by Jet and got up into the control room only to find Commander Grant ready and waiting. "You?" Rian uttered only to be answered with a shot to the chest. As he attempted to stay level he swayed and landed on a knee glaring at his enemy. "I won't fail." Rian simply said taking the leftover spatula and jamming it into an exposed area of the control panel. As it illuminated with sparks red was shed across them as well as Grant continues to leave memories in Rian's body. Grabbing Rian by the collar the Commander simply tossed the man from the room to the floor below where the ladder that Rian used started. An echo of the snap from Rian's breaking neck rang out.
"Rian!" Jet began to run over.
Rian stirred slightly. "R-Run...Stupid." He said as parting words.
"Jet!" Virginia and the rest had entered the room.
"We don't have time. We have to get on the ship." Jet replied rushing to their side.
In record time the five were on the ship and leaving a hole in the hanger door as they made their escape. Virginia looked to Jet. "Where's Rian?"
Jet had continued to hang his head low. "It...wasn't supposed to be that way." Jet mumbled.
"We can't get away from Gian Ve." Emilia brought to attention. "Not only do we have three other crafts on our case we just don't have the capacity of it's engine. We could go faster, but they can pass that as well."
"I'm not letting Rian's sacrifice mean nothing." Jet calmly said. With one final look to Virginia he grabs his ARM and opens the door.
"Jet!" Virginia called.
"What's he doing?" Gallows called in response. "Don't be crazy! This isn't like the last time!"
Jet just sent them one final look that said he knew what he was doing and jumped to the roof. Ignoring the pressure of the winds on him at such speeds he made a running jump to the closest enemy ship. The second ship aim for him and in stupidity fire. Jet had already made another running jump for their ship so the first craft was taken out by their own allies. Grant was not happy about that as he shouted orders over the radio. Jet shook his head at their stupidity as well before crossing to the third ship and then onto Gian Ve.
While Jet was off being stupid the rest had to make do without him. The first order of business was for Clive to take out the other two crafts that dogged them. Since the cannon would have to be head on (and they could not afford to do that) Clive fired out with the machine guns which were on the sides. The first one was easy to take out since they started getting paranoid about what they attack.
Jet was having his own problems as he ran through the halls of the enemy ship. There were three men at the other end with ARMs ready to kill him. Jet tossed his boomerang for them which one dodged and laughed at him for bad aim. In the moment Jet rushed them and took out the other two with wisely used punches and kicks. As the remaining third went to aim his rifle the boomerang came back and knocked him out. Jet simply caught it like nothing happened and burst into the bridge of the ship. Commander Grant seemed to be the only man left there.
"It's you." Grant simply uttered. "So...you're here to kill me?"
"I...don't want to kill anyone."
"There is no other choice. You will die, or I will!" Grant fired out at Jet who moved to the left of it. "You will fight me and kill me! That's the only way you can leave this ship."
"You're just one crazy bastard aren't you?" Jet shouted as he dodged another shot.
"I have waited all my life for the chance to die in one decent battle. The problem is, that I win all of those battles. Do not disappoint me this time!" He charges for Jet and a shot rings out. He and Jet just stared at one another. "Thank you." He fell to the floor.
Jet turned to the ship's helm and let loose a vast amount of shots. By doing so he stops the ship, but there is still the last one as well as two more smaller ships that were after his team.
"It stopped. We should go back for Jet." Virginia replied as the ship was rocked by a missed shot.
"Do you honestly think we can?" Emilia questioned. There are still these three as well as eventual backup. We can't go back to get him." She sternly said. "If we do we all die. I'm sure...he doesn't want that."
It was quiet for a moment. "I didn't realize...we are the sort who give up on the people we care about." She said with malice.
"Hey!" The ship was rocked again. "I would love to go back and pick him up! Don't make me out to be heartless and against you. I feel just the same." Emilia argued. "It's just too risky." She calmly enforced. Silence took the two as anger cooled. "It's Jet. I don't know him so much...but I have a feeling he escaped from that mess and we will meet him again. You just have to have faith."
Virginia nodded. "I do."
After two hours, what was once a battlefield had quieted. The Maxwell Gang had gotten away again. The best ship Ark of Destiny had was left useless. In the wake of that a man with gray hair stepped onto the continent. Onto the shore nearby. A scoff leaving his lips.
"I...guess I can't blame them." Jet said grabbing his temples to fight off an imaginary headache. "Whatever." He said with no emotion. "I should be getting going too if I don't want to be in prison again."
It was also at this time that his team was sitting around the kitchen area. It was quiet for the most part now that they had taken out the other craft and left them behind. Still, it was safer to get furthest away from there. It was time to make plans for the future.
"What do we do now?" Emilia wondered.
"Pheh. I don't know why...but I miss the punk." Gallows noted.
"You're not the one he owed 500 gella to." Clive pointed out with a grin. "He still owes me that. Just for this I'll have to add interest." He laughed. "We can't just sit here though. We should continue as planned to Fenix. Jet would logically head there I would think if he wanted to meet back up with us."
"That's at least three days away for him to get to." Emilia noted.
"What if he doesn't want to come back?" Virginia finally said.
It was silent for a few seconds. "We just have to have trust that he will show up there in three days. We will wait for him that long. Fenix should be full of outlaws so we should have a little more safety there." Clive replied, seated like he did not care much. Like he was resting. He was not worried at all about Jet. He did not feel he had the need to worry about someone who did not need such.