DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, locations, equipment etc used in this story, it exists purely because I want it to
WARNING: This Story contain themes of violence, torture, segregation, slavery and death (not necessarily in that order). Graphic content has been kept to a minimum to avoid M rating, even so, viewer discretion is advised
GREETINGS ALL, got a special treat for you today
This chapter turned out WAY longer than I originally intended, so your getting two uploads for the price of one
This will of course bring us to the end of the Terra Mesa segment, and we'll be moving on to the next segment in my synopsis plan next upload, which they'll be a couple of small teasers for over these two chapters (Top marks to those who can shout the name of the Character we'll be meeting in the next segment in their reviews)
Also by special request of Kinglan10, we have some shipping occurring over these two parts, it's not much, but expect a slightly tangy taste (I apologise in advance for the specific scene this chapter, but I just couldn't resist ; P )
No chapter song for this chapter, it's not that I don't like this one, I do, but nothing really fit well enough with the chapter, so no song for this one (the next one though will have TWO ; P )
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all, welcome back to... The Storm and the Hawk
Chapter 10: Terra Mesa Part 2
The next morning – Terra Mesa
Starling got everyone up early so they could get into the markets and shops during the morning rush, her case for this, the more people that were around; the less likely it was that they'd be picked out of a crowd
As they approached the main settlement, Starling turned to them all again, "Ok, so we've all got our tasks for today right?"
Everyone nodded, as Aerrow spoke first, "Me, Junko and Stork will go round the dealers, see if we can get some upgrade parts for the Condor," he paused as he glanced at Stork, "And find some cannon upgrades while we're at it."
Stork cringed at that as Junko continued, "We'll also scope out the water pumps to find where we can tap in," he said
Starling nodded, "Meanwhile, me and the girls will make sure we're stocked on fresh food and medical equipment, as well as crystals," Starling now glanced at Lark, who was wearing the thickest cloak, to better hide her prison uniform that she was wearing. "We'll also work on getting us all some new wardrobes," Lark rolled her eyes as Starling grinned
She then turned to the boys, "Sure you guys are okay with us shopping for you?"
Aerrow waved her off, "It saves time, the less time we have to spend around other people; the less likely we are to be recognised and alerted to the authorities."
Starling nodded at that, it made sense logically, "Alright then, we'll meet you back at the ship later today then, and compare whatever we've learned and what we still need," she replied
With that, they split up upon reaching the edge of the main settlement, the boys heading for the dealers, the girls heading for the main market quarter
"I'm not coming out!" Lark stated firmly
Piper sighed as beside her Starling shook her head; they'd been at this for nearly half an hour already
"Oh come on Lark, it is not that hard, think of it like... changing costumes," Dove called through the curtain
"Come on Lark, you heard Aerrow earlier, the more time we spend out and about, the greater the risk we take," Starling insisted
"Alright fine!" Lark grumbled
The curtain swished back, and the three girls immediately covered their faces and Lark as they tried to push her back in
"Lark! what in the wastelands, get back in there!" Starling exclaimed, as they got the curtain closed again
"What, first you tell me to get out, now you push me back in, make up your minds!?" she snapped back
"Lark, Mon Cheri, your only wearing your underwear," Dove said quietly so as not to attract any more attention
Silence settled over them for some time, behind the curtain, Lark's pale complexion was turning a very deep shade of crimson, "These... these are what Piper gave me," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper
Starling turned a steely gaze on Piper, whose own cheeks were now very dark, "Take another look in the bag Lark, I got you other things."
There was some muted rustling, before a very quiet "Oh," followed by, "I'll be out in a few minutes."
The three girls breathed a sigh of relief, and began to relax, moving slightly away from the changing cubicle, "Nine years a prisoner, with nothing to wear except that affreux prison uniform, and knowing nothing else," Dove said sadly
Starling nodded mutely, "Lark get's to decide what to do with it, no one else."
Neither of them argued, none of them could really begin to put themselves in Lark's shoes, what she'd been through. They were broken from their morbid thoughts however, when Lark emerged for the second time, now, thankfully dressed
"Well, what do you think?" she asked nervously
She was now dressed in a light, flight-jumpsuit, similar to the Academy sports uniform that Starling, Piper and Dove had all been wearing during – and since – the raid on the facility holding Lark hostage. Unlike the uniform however, this was purpose built to protect the wearer from the biting winds and other dangers flying through the Atmos presented
For one, it was thicker, and possessed light leather armour padding in places like the shoulders and right side of the chest, the forearms, thighs and shins. It also had an internal fur lining for warmth, and a more decorative but also functional fur lining around the collar
All three of them were wearing variants of the same design, Piper's was next to identical to Lark's, both of theirs also had a special weave running through them to protect against crystal blasts. Starling's was designed for frontline combat, with additional armour padding and a thicker, but simpler weave, and was a variant popular with mercenaries and bounty hunters. Not quite military grade, but it would do
Dove's was somewhere in the middle, she had more armour padding than Lark or Piper, but also had a multitude of pockets like their jumpsuits. Lark and Piper's jumpsuit pockets were for holding crystals however, Dove's was purpose built for medical equipment
Apart from all this, the only differences were the colour. Piper had switched out her deep sea blue and orange, for a navy blue with yellow trim, the fur lining was a dark red. Dove had chosen a forest green to match her hair, while purchasing, Dove noticed – much to her approval – that the jumpsuit was multiple shades of forest green, giving a pseudo-camouflage effect, the fur lining was also a deep, rich, brown.
Starling had also gone green, but hers was closer to emerald, with a purple trim, the fur lining was white. Finally, Lark's outfit was a collection of deep, dark shades of violet with a black trim, and black fur lining, hers also came complete with a detachable hood, which could be secured to prevent it being blown off while on a skimmer
Piper had to admit, Lark now officially looked normal, and it looked good on her. She smiled, as the perfect response to Lark's question came to mind, "How do you feel?"
Lark blinked, but she saw all three of them smiling, slowly, she began to smile back, "Like a million bucks," she joked, causing the others to laugh. Things turned serious though as they picked up their bags, in them was Lark's prison uniform
There hadn't even been any kind of identification on it, there hadn't needed to be, she'd been Long Feng's personal prisoner
Not anymore
"And free, as soon as we burn this," she stated firmly, holding up the bag with the offending item
Starling, Piper and Dove all nodded, "Come on, let's find some place we can get rid of it," Starling said
With that, items paid for, they left the shop, the only thing marring the moment... the wanted posters glaring at them across the street, forcing them to wrap their cloaks around themselves once more
Terra Atmosia – Long Feng's facility
Ace was dumped back into his cell after yet another torture session, with each passing one; Ace seemed to lose a little bit more of himself
"How easy it would be to give in, there would be no more pain, no more suffering, and we'd be on the winning side." The words were dark and cold, but worst of all, spoken in his own voice
"No! You mustn't give up, Starling will find a way, she'll see that her sister isn't herself, she'll figure it out." Came the immediate response, from a voice which sounded a lot like Starling's
"If you really believed that, you'd have killed yourself already, you wouldn't have let this go on, you wouldn't allow Long Feng the pleasure of breaking your mind."
"Kill himself with what!? His bare hands, the guards would stop him before he even got close!"
"Or could it be that secretly, you WANT Long Feng to succeed, you want him to win, to BREAK you, it would be the simple option, you get to live, and you betray no one."
"THAT'S A LIE!"
(Chuckles) "Oh really, then do it, end your life, take the noble way out like Osprey did, don't let them use you for their own ends, go ahead, KILL YOURSELF AND END YOUR TORMENT!"
...
"Just as I thought, you're weak and a coward... Osprey would be ashamed if he knew he'd put his trust in such a pathetic excuse for a soldier... but do you know who would TRULY feel betrayed by your weakness..."
"Please, don't," Ace begged weakly
"Starling Cyclonis."
Ace curls into himself, tears tracking down his cheeks
"She put her faith in you... she TRUSTED you... and you FAILED her... you FAILED Osprey... you FAILED the Cyclonians... you PROMISED them their freedom... all those people you left behind in that camp... you PROMISED them they would be free... you promised STARLING they would be free... you PROMISED her that her SISTER would be free..."
"But she isn't... she's still a puppet of Long Feng's... an assassin... that Starling is unwittingly bringing RIGHT to her grandmother's doorstep... ALL. BECAUSE. YOU. WERE. TOO. WEAK!"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Ace screamed, the sound bouncing off the cell walls, as he collapsed back to the floor, harsh sobs wracking his frame, "Just go away," he sobbed quietly
"Oh, but I' am a part of you... I've always been a part of you... Ace... and TOGETHER... we're going to do GREAT and TERRIBLE things."
A shadow stretched from Ace then, casting itself upon the cell wall opposite the door, the shadow was Ace's, but rather than the broken man on the floor, this one showed a tall, strong, powerful, Dark figure, looming above all, a two pronged sword held in his hand, glowing red, as Ace's form began to still, save for his slow steady breathing
Terra Mesa
A small spark tossed into the metal drum containing Lark's prison uniform, and a fire roared to life, the grey fabric quickly consumed by the hungry flames
The four girls stared into the drum, each held a different look, but it was Lark's hard eyes that scared Piper most, they fitted onto her face too well for Piper's liking. As if in another life, she could have been the weapon Long Feng tried to create... of her own free will
Piper quickly pushed that thought away though as Lark's expression softened, and tears began forming in her eyes
"Lark, you okay?" Piper asked
Lark looked up, and met Piper's eyes, Piper was shocked to see terror in them, "I don't feel free... I thought I would... but I don't... why don't I feel free?" Lark replied, fear coating every syllable
Piper took her hand, and Starling – feeling brave – laid a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. Lark glanced at Piper's hand, then Starling, before turning back to Piper at the sound of her voice, "It'll take time, you've been through so much, and it takes time to heal, more so the mind than the body, the body is easy, the mind is hard..." Piper trailed off, and looked over Lark's shoulder to Starling, who now spoke
"But we'll be here to help, we'll always be here, and whether you believe your my sister or not, you still are, and I'm never abandoning you again," she said, a comforting smile gracing her lips
Lark stared at her wide eyed, she then glanced to Dove, who also nodded with a smile, they then turned back to the drum, as the last remnants of the prison uniform turned to cinders
Lark wiped the tears from her eyes "Thanks guys," she said, a smile slowly beginning to form, she then brought a hand up to Starling's, and after a moment's hesitation, laid hers over Starling's
Starling blinked, then smiled, it wasn't much, but it was a start. There was still a long road ahead, and it was possible that Lark would never fully recover, but for now, this was enough
Once the fire died down, they decided it was time to go, the boys were probably back at the Condor by now and wondering where they were
Before they could leave the alley however, a voice alerted them to another's presence, "No, way."
All four girls whipped round, to find a lanky, blond haired boy around the same age as Piper, Dove and Lark, standing a short distance from them. Before anyone could say anything, the boy spoke again, "Piper... is that, really you?"
Piper's eyes widened as recognition dawned, "Finn?" she ventured
The boy simply nodded in reply, then the two gave cries of happiness and rushed to embrace the other. Dove, Lark and Starling looked on confused, and a little worried
"I can't believe it's you, your back after five years!" Finn cried
"I can't believe you even recognise me, you've got a brain like a sieve, Mr Class Clown!" Piper shot back, smiling and ruffling Finn's hair as she did
"Haha laugh it up Piper, but I'll have you know, I'm a rock star now," Finn returned, looking pretty pleased with himself
Piper burst out laughing, "A rock star, you couldn't hold a note if your life depended on it!"
"Oh yea, well then check this out," Finn countered, reaching for something on his belt
Starling reacted on instinct, leaping forward and tackling Finn before he even knew what hit him
"Starling, what are doing?!" Piper cried, concerned for her friend
"He was reaching for a weapon, or a radio, either way he was going to turn us in for the reward," Starling shot back, pinning Finn to the ground in a classic hold
Finn looked back at her from the ground indignantly, "Dude, not cool, I'd never turn in a friend, Piper and I have been buddies since kindergarten!"
"And I'm sure you'd still remember that friendship after five years apart and a huge bounty on offer," Starling snarled back
"Starling Cyclonis, let, him, go!"
Everyone froze, Dove and Lark stared at Piper in shock, Finn too, Starling's face was one of incredulity. Piper spoke again before anyone else could
"No I will not apologise for what I just did, yes I trust him, and he wasn't about to attack us, the only type of weapon Finn has ever been able to handle is his dart crossbow, and that thing is clunky as all wastelands, no way he'd be able to hide it on his person," Piper stated, arms crossed, "So I'll say it one more time, let, him, go."
Starling stared at Piper, her face impassive as her brain processed what Piper had just told her, then she looked back at Finn, which is when she saw what he'd been reaching for, it was a pamphlet. Starling sighed in defeat
"Sorry, to both of you, I jumped to conclusions and reacted on instinct," Starling said as she released Finn and helped him to his feet
Piper's expression immediately softened, "No problem Starling," she replied, then turned to Finn, "You ok?"
"Yea, just some bruising really, mainly my pride," Finn answered, rotating his shoulders to bring the feeling back, then he paused, as something Piper had said came back to him, "Wait... Cyclonis... as in... THE Master Cyclonis?"
Starling sighed, then levelled a stare at Piper, "We'll talk about this later," she grumbled as Piper looked away sheepishly. "No, not yet, I'm her eldest granddaughter, Starling," she then gestured to Lark, "And this is my sister Lark."
"According to you," Lark muttered in response, though the words weren't quite so, combative as they had been
Dove leaned over to Finn, "She is suffering amnesia, my names Dove by the way," she stated with a happy smile
Finn smiled back, "Pleased to meet you," then something else twigged in his brain, "Wait, you said reward... and bounty earlier... and you two are both called Cyclonis," he now turned to Piper, his face looking crestfallen, "So everything they've said about you on the news is true, you joined the Cyclonian rebels?"
Piper sighed, "Finn, it's a long story, one we don't have the time or luxury to explain now, the condensed version is this," Piper began, and seeing that Finn was listening – a rare occurrence for him – continued. "Lark was kidnapped by Long Feng about nine years ago, he took her back to his lab on Atmosia where he tortured and experimented on her," Piper noticed Lark wince at the mere mention of the events, so she quickly moved on, "Starling started up a plan to rescue her, but it took time to prepare, finally after nine years of work, she and her team were ready, at about that time, I was in my fifth year at the Academy and had already gotten onto good terms with Starling, she asked for my help, which at first, I refused to give."
Finn frowned, perplexed, "That doesn't sound like you?"
Piper shook her head, ashamed, "No it wasn't at all like me, but I was scared... not as scared as I was after meeting Long Feng himself though, and with Starling's information about him still running rampant through my head, I was able to see past the achievements, past the facade, and see the man beneath... and he terrified me."
"Didn't help that Long Feng was probably going to do to Piper what he'd done to Lark," Starling put in
Finn gained a disgusted look at that, "So what did you do?"
"I followed after Starling and her Cyclonian friends, Dove here, along with another friend from the Academy followed after me. Long story short, we helped Starling get her sister out, and even met two new friends along the way and got ourselves a ship," Piper paused here and glanced to Starling, who sighed before nodding, "Now we're trying to find the resistance and get back to them, it's the only place we'll be truly safe, and once we've found them, we can start trying to find a plan to stop Long Feng's plans and expose him and the Senate as the monsters they are."
Finn stared in shock at Piper, then his face became thoughtful, before he closed his eyes and took a breath, "Thank Atmos."
Piper raised an eyebrow here, "What do you mean by that?"
Finn leaned against the alley wall, "The news has been making you, all of you, to be some sort of mass murderers, a bunch of unstable youths who freed some dangerous if young convicts. The security forces have had to take your parents into protective custody for their own safety Piper; otherwise, people would have lynched them right in the street, just because of you."
Piper felt her world get ripped out from under her, "Their alright though, right?" Piper pleaded desperately
Finn looked away, "Last I heard, they were in an ALF safe house on the other side of the Terra, I went over there once, got a ten minute visit, their being well treated, but beyond that I can't say."
Piper's knees began to shake, and she had to lean against the alley wall for support, Dove quickly came to her aid. Piper had known this would happen, had known her family would pay the price for her choice, but it was one thing to know it was going to happen, another altogether to hear it actually had
Then something Finn had said piqued Starling's curiosity, "You said we're being called mass murderers, care to elaborate?"
Finn held up his hands placatingly, "Heh, I didn't believe it, neither did a lot of people who knew Piper personally."
"I didn't ask what you believed, I asked you what the news is telling you to believe," Starling replied, sternly, her eyes hard
Finn sighed, "Just this morning, a news report came in about a band of Murk Raiders found slaughtered on some un-named Terra not far from here, a Cyclonian transport shuttle was also found on the Terra, a pile of burned Murk Raiders nearby, and about half a dozen fresh graves," he said
All four girls started, "Wait, a group of Murk Raiders besides the ones on the funeral pyre!?" Lark exclaimed
Finn frowned, "Yea, you didn't know about them?"
"We ran into the main group shortly after leaving that Terra, everyone aboard the shuttle, besides the pilot, was already dead when we got to it," Dove began
"We disabled their ship, and unseated and injured about half a dozen Murk Raiders from their skimmers, but that was it, the moment we knew we could get away we made a break for it," Piper completed
Finn's frown deepened, "Then you don't know about Captain Scabulous?" he half asked, half stated
The looks on the girl's faces was answer enough. Finn quickly pulled out his phone – a new model if Piper had to guess – and quickly brought up the latest headline, it read
"CAPTAIN SCABULOUS DEAD, THE BLOOD CROW DESTROYED"
The eyes of all four girls widened in shock as Finn began scrolling through images of destruction and death
"What is this?" Starling breathed
Three pairs of eyes turned to Lark, "Heh, don't look at me, I'm pretty sure I don't – or even can – 'sleep fly'," she shot back at the looks
"If it wasn't Lark..." Starling began, once again examining the images, "Then this is bad."
Piper, Dove and Lark exchanged confused looks, "What do you mean Starling?" Dove asked
Starling straightened herself up to her full height, she then took a breath, before turning to look at them, "We have a tail, someone sent by Long Feng to capture us, and they don't want the Senate getting in the way," she stated
Piper frowned, "That doesn't make sense, why would Long Feng, deliberately hinder our capture?"
"Because he doesn't want to share," this from Lark, who now had a dark look covering her features
Starling nodded, "Correct, if the Senate capture us, Long Feng has to convince them, to hand us over to him, something they're not inclined to do after we made a mess of his facility," she explained, "But if Long Feng's own agents capture us, without aid from bounty hunters or ALF, he can just whisk us away to wherever he likes, and the Senate wouldn't be able to do a thing about it."
Silence settled over the group as this sank in, then Starling spoke again, "This is a race, first to their respective finish wins."
"And in the meantime, we're taking the rap for these agent's wholesale slaughter, making it more difficult for us to move through Atmos without alerting someone," Lark added
Starling nodded, then turned to Finn, "Anymore bad news for us?"
Finn rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Well there's a rumour going round that you took out three ALF cruisers as well," he said
"THREE!" Piper cried
"More like one and a half," Lark muttered
"Erm?" Finn responded confused
"Long story," Starling replied, "Let's just say for now, Lark was under a lot of stress, and circumstances pushed her too far," Starling said, then frowned, "But out of curiosity, where did three come from?"
Finn shrugged here, "Don't know, all I know is that the tower lost communication with a heavily damaged cruiser and its sentinel cruiser sometime last night, they'd also reported losing a cruiser two days ago. The press ran with it and decided it must have been you guys."
Starling gave a tired sigh, "Of course they did," she then looked up at the sky, and saw that the light of day, was turning to the orange dim of sunset. "We need to get back to our ship," she stated turning to the others, then glanced at Finn, "Thanks for the info, and again, sorry about earlier."
Finn waved her off, "Don't mention it, not the first time a chica has put me in the hurt locker, am I right Piper?" he said, waggling his eyebrows, causing Piper to groan
"Sometimes I don't know how I was able to stand you all these years," she replied, to which Finn just chuckled, then remembered something
"Oh yea, I forgot to show you this," he quickly whipped out the pamphlet from his belt
"No, way," Piper breathed, parroting the same words Finn had first said when they met
On the pamphlet, was Finn, guitar and all, on an official Rock Cafe pamphlet, surrounded by a cheering crowd
Finn chuckled, "Now what was that bet we made five years ago... oh yea, I remember," Finn said, a sly smile on his face
Piper's eyes widened, then gained a panicked look, "Not now Finn," she hissed through gritted teeth
"Come on, just a little one, on the cheek," Finn returned smugly
Dove and Starling had both gone red, and quickly turned away
"Not getting involved," Starling stated
"Idem," Dove agreed
Lark looked at them confused, "What are you talking about?" she asked, before Starling quickly grabbed her and pulled her a short ways with them, "Heh Starling, just tell me what's going on!"
"Guys, don't leave me!" Piper exclaimed, turning after them, until Finn cleared his throat
"To the victor, go the spoils," he said cockily
Piper rounded on him; fists clenched as she glared at him, Finn just returned her glare with a smug grin. "Ugh fine, a small one, on the cheek," she agreed
Finn smiled triumphantly, and turned his cheek to face Piper, who quickly leant in and gave it a quick peck
"Now was that so har- ow, ow, Piper that hurts!" Finn cried, as Piper grabbed hold of his ear
"Don't play dumb with me, we both know you only committed yourself to becoming a rock star so you'd win the bet," Piper said icily
"Okay, okay yes, yes, just let me go, please Piper," Finn pleaded, which Piper promptly did
As Finn recovered and Piper picked up her things, he held out the pamphlet, "In all seriousness though, it might have started like that, but I really started to enjoy it, the only other thing I still enjoyed more were our target practice contests," Finn stated, "I got really good Piper, and I'd be honoured if you came by the cafe to hear a performance."
Piper now looked at Finn seriously for the first time since they reunited. Despite still retaining the goofy look and attitude, he did seem to have matured some since they were kids. Sighing, she took the pamphlet, "I'll think about it, but it might be a while before I enjoy a performance," she replied
Finn just nodded, smiling as he did so, "So... see you round I guess?"
Piper nodded, "Hopefully... take care of yourself Finn."
With that, Piper turned to leave and catch up with the others. Finn watched them go, before leaving himself, in the opposite direction, and feeling... like he was going the wrong way
As Piper caught up with the others, Starling opened her mouth to speak, but Piper beat her to the punch, "If I hear one boyfriend comment, I'm going to smack whoever said it in the mouth," she growled
Starling's mouth quickly snapped shut; unfortunately, Lark was still confused, "What's a boyfriend?"
There was a moment of silence, before three girls broke into hysterics, leaving the fourth, even more confused than before
"Seriously!" Lark exclaimed
Starling, doing her best to reign in her laughter replied, "We'll tell you when you're older," before bursting into a fit of hysterics again with the others, while Lark just glared at them, not amused
That night - The Condor
After returning to the Condor, the girls shared what they'd learned with the boys. All three of them were upset to hear about the rap they were taking – even if it was Scabulous and his Murk Raiders they were being blamed for killing – though they were more worried about the unknown group tracking them
"That bastard captain didn't deserve to go out like that," Aerrow had growled, to everyone's surprise
In response to their surprise he had continued, "A Skyknight doesn't seek revenge, I've moved passed it guys, it'll never fully heal, and I'll never forgive Scabulous, that doesn't mean I wanted him dead."
Stork also voiced concern over Finn, "Are you sure we can trust your friend Piper, I mean, if he squeals..."
Piper's response had been logical, "He doesn't know where we are, and he's not expecting to see us again, it was a chance meeting that isn't likely to be repeated, so we're in no danger," she paused here as she took a breath, "And yes, I trust him... he might be an idiot sometimes, but he's also loyal, and devoted to his friends, he won't give us up, not even if his life depended on it."
Other than this, their talk had mainly revolved around the supplies they needed. Lark and Piper had spotted a good looking Crystal store that would likely hold some useful items for them, Dove and Starling meanwhile would handle food and fuel, having stopped by some depots that supplied ships
"All we need to do is scrounge a licence, and we're set," Starling stated
The guys had fared well during their browsing of the dealers too
"We got some choice parts which Stork's going to install tomorrow," Aerrow said
"And I spotted some cannons that we might be able to trade for our own to discount the price, with that licence of course," Junko added
Piper leaned forward here, "That means we'll need a licence for a combat ship, only two types of ships have those, military and bounty hunters, both of which are people we want to avoid."
Starling nodded, then turned to the boys, "What about the water?"
The boy's faces fell, "No go," Aerrow said
"Why?" Dove asked
Stork stepped up here, "Because all the pumps are under 24 hour watch by ALF, that's why."
"And the pipes go straight down, there's nowhere we could tap in without being spotted," Junko added
Starling swore, "They might not know we're here, but their playing it smart, they know we'll have to get water eventually, so their placing all nearby clean sources under guard... clever bastards," she growled
Lark looked between Starling and the others, "So... what do we do?"
Stork straightened up here, "Well, we were able to siphon some smaller water sources, not enough to fill our tank, and we had to spread out our capture area to make sure the discrepancies aren't noticed... so we have enough for... two days," he said, performing some calculations on his fingers as he did
"That buys us time," Starling stated, "We may have to think about getting water another way, perhaps even rig up something to catch rain water.
"Sorry to burst your bubble Starling, but there's a reason that Terra Mesa relies on its reservoir for like a third of its economy," Piper cut in, causing all eyes to move to her, "Terra Mesa has only two seasons, a long, hot dry season, where the only surface water on the Terra can be found near the edge in small quantities. Interrupted by a short violent wet season, where the Terra gets soaked, but it only lasts for a max of about a month, and the water that collects on the Terra, quickly dries up, or gets used up after the rains are over."
Starling groaned as she replied, "Let me guess, we're in the middle of the dry season."
"Worse, we just missed the wet season, why do you think everything looks so green on the surface," Piper answered
Aerrow shook his head, "That leaves us no choice, we either steal some water from the pumps, or we look elsewhere, we don't have enough water or money to last until next year, not to mention those Agents could come here at some point, and we need to be gone when they do."
Starling sat in silent thought for a moment, then she noticed that Piper still had the pamphlet Finn gave her. "Piper... how high end is Finn's venue?"
Piper frowned confused, "What does that have to do with water?"
Starling smiled here, "It's a Rock Cafe yes?" Piper just nodded, "That means they serve drinks, correct me if I'm wrong, but standard Atmos health regulations state that all alcohol served in regions with hot climates must be watered down in order to provide adequate hydration, yes?"
Piper blinked, still not understanding what Starling was getting at, then the penny dropped, with a clang, and a slow, mischievous smile spread across her face. "Why Starling, that's positively evil, and wouldn't you know it, Finn loves pranks."
Everyone else looked between the two, still not getting it. Starling continued speaking before anyone else could, "It seems Finn just unwittingly gave us the solution to our problem, we can snag a licence for our fuel and cannon upgrades, and get ourselves a way to tap into Mesa's water supply, all from one location."
The Next Day
Finn hadn't ever really been a morning person, but becoming the main guitarist at Mesa's signature Rock Cafe meant his daily timetable was a lot more full, when he wasn't performing shows with the other musicians – either as a group or solo – he was either practicing, or tuning his guitar
This meant Finn had to be up, if not with the dawn, then at least not long after it, which is what lead him to be walking down Main Street towards a local music studio where he rented out a room for practice at 9:00 am
His journey was interrupted however, when a Wallop stepped into his path, arms crossed, and a sly grin on his face
"Err, can I help you?" Finn asked confused, he didn't know this Wallop; at least he didn't think so, the cloak and hood made it hard to discern facial features
The Wallop's grin simply widened as he nodded off to the side. Finn followed where he indicated, bringing his gaze to a nearby alleyway, where another cloaked and hooded figure stood, the figure pulled the hood back slightly, to reveal Piper
Finn stifled a gasp so as not to draw attention, with the way things were now, the last thing Piper wanted was to be spotted by someone who might turn her in. The Wallop nodded again towards Piper, Finn got the message, and made his way over
Once he reached Piper, who had pulled her hood back to its original position, he opened his mouth to speak. Piper beat him to it though, "Not here Finn, just follow me."
Confused, both as to what Piper wanted, and why they were meeting again only a day after a short reunion, Finn followed, the Wallop taking up the rear
After walking a short ways down the alley and turning a corner, they found themselves in a back space between two rows of buildings. Doors, now unused, marked each separate building, but it was the people gathered in the centre that really got Finn's attention
He instantly recognized the two Cyclonis sisters and Dove, but there was also a red haired guy around his own age standing with them, but what made Finn curious, was they all seemed to be waiting for him
Starling smiled as she saw the three of them approach, "Hello again Finn, sorry for dragging you away like this, but we need to ask a favour."
Intrigued, Finn stepped forward, "I was just heading off to practice, nothing I need to show up on time for, what can I do for you?" he replied
Starling nodded, then got straight to business, "We need a licence, one that clears us for ship weapons, in order to acquire the supplies we need, and we were wondering... what kind of patrons you get at your Cafe?"
Finn shrugged, "All sorts really, it's not a posh place by any means, but it's not some run down bar either, if you've got money and you at least look decent you're in," he answered
The red haired guy now spoke up, "What about mercenaries, bounty hunters, that sort of thing, or even military officers?"
Finn thought for a moment, "Well, ever since you're posters have gone up, there has been a large influx of bounty hunters, but there's only one group that visits the Cafe, the manager is kinda annoyed they do as well and he's made complaints to ALF but nothing's been done about it," Finn replied
"Who exactly?" Piper asked curious
Finn sighed here, "Raptors, specifically, Repton and his boys."
"Merde, that is all we need, the guy is a psychopathe," Dove swore
"No argument there," Starling agreed, then sighed, "But we don't have a choice, if we really do have a tail, we need to be gone from here tout suite."
Dove blinked at Starling, who simply smiled, "I'm picking up the odd word here and there listening to you all the time," she stated, causing Dove to blush
"How many words, because some of them were a little..." Dove trailed off, her cheeks getting redder
Everyone got a laugh out of that, except Finn of course, "Yea yea, leave me out of your little inside jokes why don't you."
Starling shook her head, getting her laughter under control before turning to Finn, "Sorry," she apologised, "Anyway, despite who it is, we don't have much choice, as I said, we can't afford to go looking for anyone else." Starling then paused, collecting her thoughts, "Does Repton stop by the Cafe every evening?"
Finn nodded, "Yea, mostly by himself, he only brings the boys along if he thinks they've earned it, he'll order a drink and sit down by himself."
"And he has a ship?" the Wallop asked
Finn snorted, "If you could call it a ship, it's a transport platform really, his weapon licence is mainly for their skimmers, but since all weapon licences are universal, it really wouldn't matter what kind of weapon you're buying with it, unless it's something super-crazy powerful."
"Then Repton will do, he'll likely have the licence on his person at all times, something important like that is not something he wants to lose, he'll look after it personally," Starling stated
"All we're going to need from you tonight Finn, is a distraction, think you can pull that off?" Piper asked
Finn chuckled, "Sure, anything to get that lousy Raptor to leave, he's a terrible tipper, and he eyes all the waitresses like their pieces of meat, guy makes me sick."
"Well aren't you the chivalrous one," Lark said
"Don't be fooled Lark, Finn's a skirt chaser too," Piper replied dryly
"Heh, at least I don't look at girls like Repton does, wait till you see, it'll put a chill up your spine," Finn retorted hotly
Starling snapped her fingers to get everyone's attention, "Can we focus here people, thank you," she said snappily before turning to Finn. "There is one other thing, you may not like it as we're basically going to be temporarily harming the place where you work," she continued
Finn raised an eyebrow here, giving her a quizzical look. Starling continued, "We need water, and obviously we can't go to the pumps, and we can't tap in to the pumps supply pipes because they go straight down to the reservoir so there's no easy way to access them."
Finn nodded at this, this was information he already knew, "Yea, they upgraded the system bout a year after Piper left, straight shafts going straight down, only completed them last month."
Starling nodded, "We gathered... but, there are pipes that can be connected to the pump systems during an emergency – like a water shortage – that run along the surface," she stated
Finn frowned, as he processed what she had just said, then his eyes widened as realisation dawned, "Wait... you want to drain the water from the Cafe's tanks to force them to get more from the pumps, then tap in as the water's going through?"
Starling nodded, "Precisely."
"We need that water Finn, if we don't get it here, we have to go searching elsewhere, and we won't have a lot of time to do that," Piper explained
Finn stared at them shocked, on the one hand, he got it, they needed water, and it wasn't like they were going to deprive the Cafe of it completely, they were just going to siphon some to fill up their ship's tanks. On the other hand however, it would mean deliberately sabotaging his place of employment to help a group of rebels
He took a step back, rubbing his head nervously, "I don't know Piper, I mean, stealing from a no good bounty hunter like Repton is one thing, but my manager is a nice guy and if he finds out I..." Finn trailed off
Starling sighed, "We understand Finn, we're not going to force you to do this if you don't want to, we'll find another way." Starling glared down the incredulous looks the others gave her
Then surprisingly, Finn spoke, "Look I want to help, I do, Piper is my best friend... my only friend, and I can tell the lot of you are tight already, so I know your all good people," Finn said, "But I just don't feel comfortable stealing from my manager."
Dove suddenly blinked, as an idea came to mind, "Maybe there is a way we could do this," she said, a smile slowly forming on her face
"Come again?" Finn asked
Dove now walked up to Finn, her eyes half-lidded, her hips swaying slightly, causing the cloak to swish to and fro about her, Finn was transfixed in an instant, in the background, Piper rolled her eyes
"You said you were not comfortable with stealing right?" Dove asked, to which Finn just nodded, not taking his eyes off Dove or daring to speak, lest he wake up from whatever dream he'd walked into. "So we will pay for the water, anonymously, and even compensate for any damages that were incurred in the process of getting the water," she explained, still keeping the look she had cultivated, her voice low and seductive
"And if you help us pull it off, I might even reward you with a kiss, not a little peck on the cheek either, but a proper kiss," Dove finished, as she stood directly in front of Finn, and laced her arms around his neck, bringing her lips within ghosting distance of his
Behind her, Piper stared incredulously at Dove, "The little-" she didn't get to finish that breathed expletive, as Starling elbowed her to shut her up
Aerrow and Junko simply smirked, while Lark was still looking terribly confused as to what was going on
Finn gulped, you could just see the gears turning in his head as he thought this idea through, weighing all the pros and cons. Finally, he spoke, his voice slightly higher pitched than before, "You'll pay my manager for the water you take?" Dove nodded, her seductive smile still plastered across her face, "And compensate for any damages to the pipe system?" another nod
Finn took a deep breath, then finally answered, "Okay, I'll do it."
"Fantastique!" Dove exclaimed, before giving Finn a quick peck on both cheeks, before backing away smiling from a stunned Finn, "That is just a small sample of your reward should this work out mon heros," she said smiling as she detached from him
Finn just stared dumbfounded into space, until Starling grabbed his attention again by snapping her fingers in front of his face
"So," she began, "We can count on your support then can we?" she asked
Finn nodded, "Alright then, we'll need to hit the water first, we want to make the loss of water look like an accident or unforeseen circumstance, that will assuage suspicion somewhat," Starling stated. "Unfortunately, that will also mean it will take time for the Cafe to notice something is wrong with their water."
She now turned to Finn, "What's the best way to go about that?"
Finn had to shake himself to get the image of a seductive Dove out of his head before replying. "Well, the tank is kept round the back of the Cafe, behind a locked gate, you'll need the keys to get to it, I can handle that. Once you're in, your best bet would be to make it look like a part of the tank was shoddy and had failed under the strain of holding the water, on the underside would be best, as not only will that drain the tank faster, but it will also look more like a design flaw than sabotage, so long as you cover your tracks," Finn said
"Sounds like a plan," Aerrow commented, "Between draining the tank and the repair work, they'll start refilling just before their business hours start."
"Which gives us plenty of time to prepare a siphon, and scope out Repton's ship while we're waiting, heck, while we're at it, we could see if we can pinch any of Repton's funds, makes it harder for him to chase after us, and gives us a means to pay for the water and damages," Piper stated
Starling nodded in approval, "Sounds like a mission team, let's snap to, first things first, those keys," she turned to Finn at this, "Lead the way Maestro."
Don't go anywhere, Part 3 is right around the corner ; P
French translations
Mon Cheri = Honey
Affreux = Horrid
Idem = Ditto
Merde = S(not safe for little Larks ; P )
Psychopathe = Psychopath
Tout suite = Right now (Thought I'd spice things up a bit ; P )
Fantastique = Fantastic (Yes I know, I've used these before, but heh, if it ain't Baroque, don't fix it ; P )
Mon Heros = My Hero
Let me know what you guys think in your reviews, as always constructive criticism is welcome, and I'll see you all next time ; )
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