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
(And now we return you to... The Storm and the Hawk)
HELLO! we're back, but since I've already talked about these two chapters last time, lets just jump straight in
As for the chapter songs, one is written into the chapter itself and is specific for the scene it's in, but the main song Ladies and Gentlemen, is none other than the remix version of Immortals made for the credits for the Disney movie, Big Hero Six, and originally made by Fall Out Boy, enjoy
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all, welcome back to... The Storm and the Hawk
Chapter 11: Terra Mesa Part 3
The Condor
Stork was busy working, installing the upgrades they'd got yesterday, busily humming away to himself while he worked
He was so preoccupied, he failed to notice a small shadow careful make its way up the ramp into the ship, the caster of the shadow glanced at Stork as he worked, then proceeded deeper into the ship, a hungry belly rumbling for food
Stork saw a flash of blue out the corner of his eye; he stopped what he was doing and looked around, all he saw was the empty hanger. He shrugged, and continued working
Terra Mesa Rock Cafe
Finn took a calming breath as he walked into the Cafe's employee entrance, justification and promises aside, he was still feeling guilty about what he was about to do. Not so much for Repton, but his manager... yes, very guilty
So deep into his own thoughts he wasn't aware of someone calling his name, until that person was standing in front of him. Finn looked up to see his manager Carl, eyebrow raised
"Finn, your here early, really early, it's only 9:30am, shouldn't you be at practice right now?" Carl asked
Finn panicked internally, he'd spent so much time worrying about what he was doing, he hadn't actually thought about how he would pull it off
"Erm... I was on my way to practice, when I found out I didn't have my guitar pick, can't really play without it so..." Finn trailed off as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Carl's eyebrow rose higher
"I thought about where I might have lost it, so since I was close by, I decided to have a look round the Cafe, see if I dropped it anywhere," Finn continued, hoping his explanation sounded convincing
Carl was silent a moment, then replied, "Can't you just use another one, this is a Rock Cafe, we've got no shortage of them, and surely the studio you practice at has them?"
Finn would have panicked again, had a memory not come to mind while he'd been talking about his guitar pick. "Well yes, but you see, the thing is, my pick is sentimental... my granddad gave it to me, he was a musician and the only person to really support me wanting to be a guitarist," Finn explained
Carl's eyes softened instantly, he was well aware that Finn's granddad had passed away not long ago, so this information made things more serious
"Oh, of course Finn, I'm sorry, please, have a look around, if you need any help, let me know," Carl said
Finn nodded, "I will, and thanks Carl." With that Finn made for the employee lounge, which was next to Carl's office, where he'd find the keys for the water tank gate
I'm sorry Carl, but Piper's a close friend, and I promise to make it up to you
Just outside the Cafe Piper, Lark and Aerrow waited for Finn. They'd all heard the exchange, thanks to the ear bud radio that Finn was wearing
The two of them looked to Piper, who had a mournful expression across her features, "It hurts more because it's the truth," Piper said to their silent question, "Even I treated his obsession with music as something of a joke, Finn had heart, but he couldn't hit a note – any – note, no matter how hard he tried."
Piper went quiet for several moments, before taking a breath, "His granddad passed away a couple months before I left for the Academy, he'd be proud of Finn achieving his dream, he must have put a ton of work into it to actually get hired as a professional musician."
The others didn't speak for several moments, then Lark spoke up in a quiet voice, "Think we have time to catch a performance while we're here?"
Piper and Aerrow both blinked as they looked at Lark, who blushed and looked away, "I've never actually heard any music before," she said sheepishly
Piper and Aerrow now both smiled, "We do still need to nab Repton's licence, so we can catch Finn's performance then, at least for now," Aerrow replied
All three smiled at that, then concentrated again on the task at hand
Terra Mesa Dockyard
Starling carefully moved between the ships, being careful to look inconspicuous, not easy to do when you had to cover your face to prevent people recognising you from your wanted posters
Somehow, Starling made it to where the Claw was docked. Finn had been right, the ship was little more than a floating platform designed to move their Skimmers from Terra to Terra. The only enclosed space, was Repton's cabin itself
Literally, that's all it was, a cabin constructed directly onto the deck, the rest of the ship was simply a platform that could be covered with a giant gazebo for shelter from the elements, and four ramshackle cannons on each corner
Heck the only reason the Raptors didn't fly everywhere they went on their skimmers was because crystal fuel was expensive, all thanks to the Senate squeezing everything they could out of the Terra's. Without this platform, their crystal fuel expenditure would skyrocket, as it would only take a couple trips between even close Terra's to empty a skimmer's tank, and the Raptors had four skimmers
In contrast, the Claw could go for longer without refuelling, making it a far more efficient and cost-effective means of getting around
In the middle of the platform, just in front of Repton's cabin, slept three Raptors. One was a skinny shrimp of a Raptor, another was bulkier, and had muscle's to speak of, but also a pot belly, the third was the largest and most overweight of the three
Suddenly, the door to the cabin burst open, and Repton strode out, Starling ducked her head back below the rim of the platform enough to go unseen, but just enough to see over. Repton was an intimidating figure, he had not an ounce of fat on him, just muscle, his scales gleamed in the morning sun, shiny and green, and his eyes held a cruelty and malevolence, but also a strength and determination, that was legendary among the great leaders of the Raptors of old
And look at what the Senate has turned them into, bounty hunters, scrabbling in the dirt for their next meal, Starling thought
"Get up you layabouts!" Repton snarled, "There's work to do, we need to do a sweep of the Terra, there's a possibility that those brats on the wanted posters might be here, so let's get to work, and nab ourselves our biggest pay day yet!"
The other Raptors quickly got to their feet, no one disobeyed Repton, they made a quick inspection of their skimmers, before mounting up, and taking to the skies
As they left, Starling emerged from hiding somewhat, "We're closer than you think Repton," she said to no one as she stared after the departing Raptors. Her eyes were then drawn to Repton's cabin, he had closed and locked the door before leaving, but Starling doubted it was anything she couldn't handle, "You don't mind if I take a look inside your cabin do you?" she asked the air
When there was no response she spoke again, "I'll take that as a no."
Terra Mesa Rock Cafe
Piper and the others were just starting to worry when Finn arrived, keys in hand, and a despondent look on his face. Piper took the keys from him, and handed them to Aerrow, "Take Lark and get started, I'll be right there." Aerrow nodded, and he and Lark made for the water tank
Piper then turned to Finn, "Finn, thank you for doing this, I know it can't have been easy, and I promise, we'll make it up to your manager." Finn just nodded silently
Piper then shuffled uncomfortably, "And you know, I never congratulated you yesterday." Finn blinked, and he finally looked up at Piper, "You know, for the whole 'becoming a guitarist', like your granddad said you would."
Finn looked away here, tears beginning to form in his eyes, "You don't have to do that, not after I made you go through with our bet."
Piper waved it off, "Forget the bet, you still achieved your dream, I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work you had to put in to do that... but I know that your granddad is proud of the dedication you've displayed."
Finn gave a small chuckle at that, "Thanks Piper, that means a lot," he said, smiling
About thirty minutes later, they were finished, and Finn had left the keys somewhere they would be found and believed they had just been misplaced. Finn then headed off to practice, while Piper Aerrow and Lark met up with Starling
"Well, we were right, Repton has already collected quite the nest egg which I relieved him of, if he follows the pattern that Finn gave us, he won't check it, or the licence, until he gets back to his ship tonight," Starling stated
"Which means, all we have to do, is steal the licence from him without him noticing this evening, then we grab our supplies tomorrow, and then split, before Repton tears the whole Terra apart looking for us," she finished
Everyone else nodded, and then Lark took over, "We made a small hole near the base of the water tank for the Rock Cafe, when examined, it'll just look like wear and tear, and it'll drain the tank fast enough that they'll notice a problem about two hours before main business hours begin."
"Then let's get back to the Condor and see how Junko and Dove have done on their end, then we just need to come up with a way to steal the licence from Repton," Piper said to nods from all, before they began making their way back
That night
Junko, Dove and Stork, had set themselves up along the main pipeline, their timing on Terra Mesa almost seemed like destiny. With the wet season just over, everyone's water tanks were full thanks to the overabundance of water
This meant that the pipelines that fed the settlement with water from the underground reservoir were currently inactive... except one. As predicted, the Cafe had noticed the low level of water in its tank about two hours before they were due to open for the evening business
After determining that the leak was not the Cafe's fault, the pump company had begun feeding them water. The three of them had been siphoning the feed for the entire duration, 10 huge 20 gallon drums loaded onto a trailer as Dove held a hose over the drums, transferring it to the next whenever the current drum was full
"We are almost there, just four more," Dove called
Stork gave a thumbs up, and got on the radio to Starling, "We're almost done on our end, how about you?"
"We're working on it," Came Starling's reply
Starling, Aerrow, Piper and Lark, had been seated in the Cafe for the better part of half an hour now, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and steal Repton's ship licence
The Raptor in question was, as Finn had said, sitting on his own, nursing a drink. The girls were disgusted to learn that Finn hadn't been joking about the looks Repton gave the waitresses, it wasn't just the normal look of lust a man usually gives a woman, no, Repton actually looked like he wanted to rip the throat from the waitress serving him, and turn her into his main course
"Does anyone have anything, because if I have to keep staring at that bastard for much longer, I may just lose it," Starling growled
Piper took a breath, "Trust me Starling, I know how you feel, but you have to remember our situation, it's not like we can just waltz up to him and beat him till he gives us the licence, that would attract far too much attention."
"Then what do we do?" Lark asked
Suddenly, the Cafe manager began speaking into a mike as the performer currently on stage, took their bow and applause, before leaving. "And that was Miss Gomez everyone, wasn't she a stunner," a fair amount of assent greeted the manager's words before he continued, "Now though, we have our very own local guitarist, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Finn!"
Aerrow suddenly got an idea as Finn walked on stage, greeted by a raucous applause, "Wait here," Aerrow said, as he quickly made his way to the side of the stage where the manager was standing. The girls saw him whisper something to the manager who simply nodded, before smiling
Confused, the girls stared at each other, as the manager followed after Finn, whispering something into his ear. "A request already," Finn said into his ear piece mike so everyone could hear, "Well who am I to deny my adoring fans."
"What are you doing?" Starling asked Aerrow as he came back to the table
Aerrow just smirked as he glanced towards Repton, "Piper's right, we can't take Repton in here, for multiple reasons," he then looked back towards the girls, "But if he was somewhere isolated, then we could take him, and deprive him of the licence."
The girls all now looked at one another, "And how is a special song request going to help us with that?" Lark asked
Aerrow glanced back at Repton, "Look at him, his only barely holding himself back, all we need to do, is make him lose control... and provide some bait."
"Bait?" Piper asked
Aerrow nodded, and then turned to Starling, "You're about the same age as the waitresses, right Starling?"
Starling's eyes grew wide, "Oh no, no, no, No, NO-"
Five minutes later, Starling was dressed in a waitress uniform, her hair colour altered through the use of a Chroma crystal that Lark and Piper had picked up earlier during the day. "Aerrow, this had better work," Starling growled
The waitress that Starling had swapped with was happy to let Starling take over serving Repton, and none of them blamed her. Just as they finished Starling's disguise, Finn's song started
(Skillet's Monster begins)
The secret side of
Me
I never let you see
I keep it caged
But I can't control
It
So stay away from
Me the beast is ugly
I feel the rage and
I just can't hold it...
It's scratchin on the walls
In the closet, in the halls
It comes awake
And I can't
Control it
Hidin under the bed
In my body, in my
Head
Why won't somebody
Come and save me
From this, make it end!
As the chorus picked up, Starling made her way over to Repton's table, looking for the entire world, like just one of the other waitresses. Repton looked up at her approach, his pupils dilating some, before contracting, and bringing Starling into sharp focus
Starling didn't have to follow his gaze, to know he was examining every inch of her he could see, nor did she miss the literally hungry look in his eyes
"Can I get you anything?" Starling asked, over the noise of Finn's stellar performance
Repton was at a loss for words for a handful of seconds, before raising his empty bottle, "Another of these sweetheart, and hurry back."
Starling nodded and quickly made her getaway, aware that the whole way to the kitchen door, Repton's eyes were on her the entire time
My secret side I keep
Hid under lock and
Key
I keep it caged
But I can't
Control it
Cause if I let him out
He'll tear me up,
Break me down
Why won't somebody
Come and save me
From this, make it end!
Starling entered through the doors that led to the kitchens just as the chorus picked up again, the doors had barely swung shut, when Repton was up and following her
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath
The skin
I must confess
That I feel like a
Monster!
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just
Begun
I must confess
That I feel like a
Monster!
Repton spotted his little morsel heading for a door to the back of the Cafe
Perfect
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath
The skin
I must confess
That I feel like a
Monster!
Repton followed Starling outside; he immediately spotted her by some drinks crates, looking through them now doubt for his drink, well, that wasn't really what Repton had in mind anymore
He snuck up behind her, his appetite already wetted by the pounding music still coming from the Cafe, and by the smell of his prey
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just
Begun
I must confess
That I feel like a
Monster!
Just when he was directly behind her, she straightened up, as if she heard something, and turned around, her expression caught Repton off guard, he'd expected fear, or terror. Instead, she was smirking
"Hook, line and sinker," she sneered
Repton only had a second to comprehend her words, before Aerrow struck him from behind, snarling Repton stumbled, before rounding on the two of them, "You'll pay for that!"
I, I
Feel like a monster
I, I
Feel like a monster
Starling and Aerrow tag teamed their larger, stronger, and more aggressive opponent, skillfully dodging Repton's clumsy attacks, drink and rage, dulling his senses and causing him to over commit respectively
Even so, Repton was a more experienced fighter; he grabbed a hold of a nearby crate, and lobbed it at the two teenagers. Aerrow and Starling jumped out of the way in time, but the move left them exposed, and Repton seized his chance
Or he would have if he hadn't found himself floating in mid air, held aloft by a grinning pale girl with a red crystal in hand, who looked an awful lot like the waitress who first lured him out here
It's hidin in the dark
It's teeth are razor
Sharp
There's no escape for
Me
It wants my soul, it
Wants my heart
No one can hear me
Scream
Maybe it's just a dream
Maybe it's inside
Of me
Stop this monster
The music from Finn's performance, effectively blocked out all noise of the confrontation, even as Lark began using the levitation crystal to fling Repton about like a rag doll. She was careful to pull her punches though
A corpse would attract too much attention from the authorities tomorrow, something they didn't need
With one final fling, Repton fetched up against the wall of the alley they were standing in, dazed and bruised, he was teetering on the brink of passing out, as he looked up at his third assailant
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath
The skin
I must confess that I
FEEL LIKE A
MONSTER
As Repton felt consciousness slipping away, he realised he had just been tricked by the very brats he was chasing. That and the feeling of someone rifling his pockets for something, followed by a comment of "Got it," before his world became darkness, and the end of the blasted song
I hate what I've become
The Nightmare's just
Begun
I must confess
That I feel like a
Monster!
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath
The skin
I must confess
That I feel like a
Monster!
I've gotta lose
Control, he
Something radical
I must confess
That I feel like a
Monster!
I, I
Feel like a monster!
I, I
Feel like a monster!
I, I
Feel like a monster!
I, I
Feel like a monster!
30 minutes later
Starling, Aerrow, Piper and Lark joined, Dove Stork and Junko out by their siphon set up, Starling held Repton's licence triumphantly, "We need to thank Aerrow and Finn for this, Aerrow's plan, Finn's stellar performance," she said, handing the licence to Stork
"Excellent, I can begin adapting this for our own use, once it's done, all we'll need is a believable story, money, and no one should give this a second glance," he stated
Dove jumped down from the trailer, having now finished filling the drums, "We are all good to go here too, mission accomplished."
"And if tomorrow goes smoothly, you owe Finn a kiss," Aerrow chuckled, causing Dove to go bright red
A yawn from Lark interrupted the celebratory mood, "That's great, but can we go back to the Condor now, I need a rest after tossing that Raptor around."
Dove, Junko and Stork all blinked in surprise, Piper just rolled her eyes, "Long story, we'll tell you on the way back."
The others nodded, and with that, they all got aboard the trailer, with their 200 gallons of water, and one ship licence, with weapons clearance. Not bad for a day's work
The next morning
The whole gang was gathered in a breakfast cafe, coffees in hand, and food in their bellies, when Finn strode in. They'd agreed on this meeting point yesterday, and after everything Finn had done for them yesterday, they weren't about to bail on him
"So, mission accomplished?" Finn asked
"Almost, after we're done here, we're going to gather the supplies and equipment we need, using Repton's money of course, after all, it is his licence," Starling answered
Everyone got a good chuckle out of that, "You should know Finn, me and Lark stopped by your Cafe on our way here," Piper began, Finn now gave her his full attention, "We paid for the damage to the water tank, told him we were practicing our 'recently' discovered Crystal Magecraft in secret and accidentally hit his water tank."
Finn looked surprised here, because that was technically a half truth, "And how did he take it?" Finn asked
"He was happy we paid him back for the damage, and cautioned us to be more careful in the future, and that we really should have a teacher for something dangerous like Crystal Magecraft, but ultimately, he let it slide, seeing as his business ran smoothly enough last night, and we owned up and apologised," Piper recounted
Finn frowned here, "He didn't suspect me at all?"
Piper shook her head while shrugging, "If he did, he didn't say anything about it, I guess you'll know when you next see him."
Finn nodded, then Starling spoke again, "We're grateful for everything you've done for us Finn, truly, but this is where we part ways, once we have what we need, we'll be leaving Terra Mesa, we've stayed too long as it is, if we really do have a tail, we can't afford to stay in one place too long."
"I get it," Finn replied, then glanced at Piper, "Just keep Piper safe, she's always been like a sister to me, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her."
Piper's cheeks darkened, but Starling kept a serious look on her face, "Don't worry, we'll look out for each other, the best thing you can do after we've gone, is forget you ever saw us, if Long Feng ever hears about this, and finds out you were connected..." Starling trailed off, unable to finish the sentence
Finn just nodded, "I get it, I'll be careful," he replied
With that, they said their goodbyes, as they all left, Finn again felt, like he should be following. He glanced at his guitar case, thoughts he never thought he'd have, swirling through his head
The Claw
"GET UP YOU LAZY BASTARDS!" Repton roared as he marched onto his ship, jolting his men awake
"Err what's up boss?" Horek asked
"And why do you look beat up?" Spitz added
Repton rounded on him, "I look beat up Spitz, because the brats we're chasing ambushed me last night, and stole our ship licence, without it we won't be able to buy fuel, or ammo, or ANYTHING!"
"Err that's not all they took boss," came Leugey's voice as he carefully opened Repton's cabin door. Lying on the floor in the centre of the cabin, was an open chest, a chest that had been filled with gold coins
Repton gained a look of pure fury on his face, before letting out a roar that scared the birds from their morning perches
Terra Mesa – Main Street of the Settlement
Finn was heading over to the studio, when a sight that chilled his blood came marching from directly ahead of him
Finn quickly ducked underneath a nearby stall as Repton and his Raptors marched past. Repton paused for a moment just past the stall; Finn prayed he would go unnoticed
Then Repton continued onwards, towards the Dealers quarter
"Piper," Finn breathed
Terra Mesa – Cruiser Parts Dealer
With fuel and utility crystals purchased, all that was left were the cannons. However, upon reaching the dealer, they found the cannons had already been purchased by someone else. So instead, the dealer was taking them over to a garage, to see what he had traded the cannons for
The dealer opened the garage, to reveal two – almost new – skimmers. One was an Air Skimmer III EL, it was a variant of Aerrow's skimmer that sacrificed speed and manoeuvrability for missile attachments and armour, and it was also equipped with Nimbus 7 engines for stealth approaches
The second was a standard Air Skimmer III, which was a slightly lighter version of Aerrow's own skimmer, the Ultra. Like the EL, it had Nimbus 7 engines, and also had the interesting addition of a retractable crossbow built into the bow
All in all, they were very impressive rides, but Starling didn't want to trade their cannons for them, "How much would they cost straight up?" she asked
The dealer thought about it, "Hmm, well their not mint condition, but considering these are both fine vehicles, let's see... 100 Atmos' each."
Starling and the others gave the grinning dealer incredulous looks, a standard model skimmer fresh off the assembly line, was worth only a small margin less. As good as these rides were, and despite their customisation, the dealer was still ripping them off
Starling turned to the dealer with her arms folded, "Well I say their worth 80 Atmos' each and no more, I mean, come on, who trades away perfectly good rides for cannons, something smells rotten here."
The dealer put a hand to his heart, as though wounded, "Miss, you would take me for a common crook," at Starling's continued glare, the man raised his hands placatingly, "Feel free to inspect them yourself," he said, gesturing towards the bikes
Starling and Aerrow had just begun to move towards them, when a shout came from the front of the yard. Then, to the horror of everyone but the dealer, Repton emerged, flanked by his men; he spotted his prey, and made a beeline for them
"You have something that belongs to me!" he roared, weapon drawn
Starling and the others backed up towards the wall, while the dealer got out of the way, not wanting any part of this. Soon Repton and his men had the youngsters penned in against the back wall of the dealer
"Any ideas?" Starling hissed to Piper
"Working on it," Piper replied
Repton now stepped forward so he was standing directly in front of Starling; he smirked down at her, "Don't think I didn't recognise you last night... Starling Swiftflight."
Starling grimaced, now knowing why Repton was here, "It's a shame I won't get to kill you myself, I was quite looking forward to my own plans for you last night," he sneered, "But you stole money from me as well, and the only way you can pay me back with interest, is if I collect your bounty."
Small specks of lightning began to crackle around Lark, but Piper stopped her with a hand on hers, "Not here, even if we manage to get out of this, we need to leave as little trail for Long Feng's agents as possible, which means we can't expose your abilities."
Lark gritted her teeth in frustration, but she knew Piper was right, and powered down. If Repton had noticed their little exchange he didn't show it, instead, he simply began walking up and down the line they'd made against the wall
He stopped in front of Dove, who looked up at Repton in terror, and grabbed her chin, "Though I suppose I could forego one bounty for a little snack on the way to Atmosia," he said, his forked tongue darting out to taste the air around Dove's face
Dove flinched, whimpering, Piper wracked her brain, trying to desperately think of a way out of this situation. Unfortunately, they had no weapons, they hadn't wanted to be discovered with them, and Piper and Lark had left their crystals aboard the Condor, not thinking they'd need them
Now here they were, unarmed and defenceless against four Raptors
There has to be something, Piper thought, and then something behind the Raptors caught her eye; it was a collection of staves, crystal staves. Close by was a collection of other weapons, if they could just reach them
Suddenly, her eyes registered movement, she looked towards it, and saw Finn, hefting a crossbow, carefully from a pile of weapons, fitting a bolt to the weapon, and aiming at Repton. She nudged Starling, who noticed shortly afterward
"Oi, scale face, get back over here and pick on someone your own size!" Starling snapped
The outburst had the desired effect. Snarling, Repton returned to where Starling was standing, perfectly centred in the gap between his men, and in Finn's sightlines
"I sincerely hope the Senate sentences you to my custody, I'll teach you some manners before you die!" he snarled before raising one clawed hand
Before he brought it down however, Finn finished lining up his shot, "Chica cha."
The bolt flew from the crossbow, the sound causing Repton to turn his head slightly towards the noise, his eyes widened at the sight of the bolt flying towards him. With a bang and a cry, Repton was flung against the wall between Starling and Aerrow, who didn't hesitate
Starling delivered a vicious uppercut to the Raptor's jaw, while Aerrow kicked out his legs, Repton collapsed to the floor
"Boss!" Horek shouted, him and the other Raptors stunned from the sudden attack
"Oh yea I' am so good," Finn yelled, the sound caused all three Raptors to turn around and face him, looking very angry, "Uh oh."
Starling was already moving however, racing towards Horek she stamped on his tail with her foot, causing him to let out a shriek of pain, before whirling round to face her. "Junko, Finn get Stork and Dove out of here, take the skimmers!" she shouted, as she began her fight with Horek
Neither of them argued, as they both raced for the skimmers, Stork and Dove being carried by Junko for sake of speed. There was a distant cry of protest from the dealer as they mounted the skimmers and fired up their engines
Leugey and Spitz attempted to stop them, but were intercepted by Aerrow, Piper and Lark. Aerrow was still unarmed, and so squared off against Spitz, being a similar size opponent, Piper and Lark however had both grabbed crystal staves from the nearby pile and faced off against Leugey
The staves may not have had crystals attached, but both girls knew how to fight with the weapons, against the waddling Leugey, it was no contest, as Leugey tried and failed to grab hold of them, while they just danced around him, striking him with their staves whenever an opportunity presented itself
Spitz lunged at Aerrow; both were fast and manoeuvrable fighters, so it was a fairly even fight. The same could not be said for Starling and Horek
Starling's combat training exceeded Horek, but he was the stronger and larger opponent, and Starling knew she wouldn't be able to dodge forever. Worse, Repton was getting to his feet, shaking off the attack he'd received and taking in the fight before him
Repton's recovery was noticed by Finn and Junko too, "We gotta do something to help them," Junko said
Finn nodded and began looking around, on a nearby self he saw a pair of strange looking knuckle dusters, they looked too heavy for Finn, but maybe. "Junko, grab those," Finn said, pointing towards the dusters
Junko looked to where Finn was pointing, and then back to Finn, who was smiling, "I got an idea."
Repton was making his way over to Starling and Horek, every step was surer and stronger, until finally he was almost upon Starling. He was about to lunge, when the sound of revving engines alerted him to danger
He turned to see Finn – Dove hanging on behind him – racing towards him on the Air Skimmer III, vehicle crossbow drawn, and fitted with bolts. Finn began firing, yelling as he did, the shots were wild though, and Repton easily dodged them, before Finn and Dove shot past towards the exit
"What was that, it's like you're not even trying to hit me?" Repton sneered
"Exactly," Finn called back, "Just wanted to get you away from Starling!" Finn called back
Repton looked confused, until the sound of a second skimmer reached his ears. He turned around to see Junko racing towards him – Stork hanging on for dear life – Knuckle dusters equipped, and glowing as Junko uttered a Wallop roar before swinging as he passed
Repton went flying from the blow and collided with yet another wall, and this time slid to the bottom, out cold
"Thanks you two, now get back to the Condor and get her airborne, we'll meet just outside the settlement!" Starling called, before refocusing on her fight with Horek. Junko and Finn nodded, and sped from the dealer and into the street, the sound of alarms and sirens already echoing over the settlement
Hearing the sirens, Piper and Lark knew they had to wrap this up quickly; they both looked towards each other, nodding as Leugey recovered from being landed on his backside for the half-dozenth time. Once he'd turned around, it was to the sight of the two Crystal Mages rushing him, charging energy blasts in their staves, before swinging up and into his jaw at the same time, the energy releasing, sending the Raptor flying towards the same wall as his boss
By sheer luck, Leugey landed directly on top of Repton, causing the lead Raptor to come round with an explosive gasp, but now be trapped underneath Leugey's mass. Piper and Lark now turned to Spitz, tapping him on the shoulder as he wound up for another attack against Aerrow
When the Raptor turned, Piper delivered a blow to his gut, winding him. Aerrow then rushed up and followed through with an uppercut, which sent the lightweight Raptor into the air a short ways. Lark then finished with a charged blast from her staff, which landed Spitz on top of Leugey
"Oh come on!" Repton growled
Now it was just Horek left, he desperately tried to get the upper hand on Starling, who just kept avoiding his attacks, knowing help was on the way. Aerrow then leapt into the fight, launching himself off a nearby platform and coming down on Horek to deliver a powerful downward strike
Starling then followed with a blow to Horek's guts, before Lark and Piper repeated their final attack on Leugey with Horek, finishing with a dual powered strike from their crystal staves. This sent Horek over to join his compatriots, and complete the Raptor pile up
With the fight over, the sound of approaching sirens was now very clear and getting closer. "That's our cue to leave," Starling stated, no one argued, as the four of them ran from the dealer, and disappeared down the nearest alley, just before half a dozen ALF skimmers arrived
Condor – Leaving Terra Mesa
The team met up just outside of the settlement, in plain sight of the patrolling cruisers, meaning they didn't stick around to say hello. The moment everyone was aboard, the Condor rose into the air, and shot away from the Terra
Only once the Terra was to their rudder, did anyone relax. Starling sat at the table on the bridge, an exhausted breath escaping her. "Well, that could have gone better," she said despondently
Aerrow chuckled as he sat down next to her, "Could have gone a lot worse too, as is, we're fully stocked on food, fuel, and water," he listed
"We picked up some more crystals for the lab," Piper added
"And some new weapons," Lark completed, twirling her new staff experimentally, "Can't wait to try this out with some crystal attachments."
Starling rolled her eyes, "Okay yes, it could have been a lot worse-" she began, but got cut off by Junko
"We also picked up two new skimmers, meaning we have five now," he said
"Okay that too-" Starling started, only to be interrupted by Stork this time
"And okay, we didn't get new, more powerful cannons, but that upgrade I installed yesterday not only increased their shot efficiency, meaning we'll get more out of them with every charge, but I was also able to adjust their software with it as well in conjunction with that targeting program we set up while fighting the Murk Raiders. If we need, both cannons can be operated by a single person right here at the controls," Stork informed, a smile on his face
"And let us not forget, we picked up a new crew member as well," Dove added, turning to Finn, who looked like he was in deep thought
"Atmos I forgot," Starling exclaimed, "Finn, if there's anywhere we can drop you off just say, we never meant to drag you into this."
Finn glanced at Starling, then looked out the window, at the clouds going by, then he took a breath and faced the rest of them. "Ever since I met you guys two days ago, every time we've parted, I've felt like I was going the wrong way, like I should be going with you," he made eye contact with each of them, "I don't really care for causes or anything, I couldn't care less if the Senate is in charge or not..." the final person he made eye contact with was Piper, "But I do care about my friends, and I'll do whatever I need to do to help them."
Piper smiled at that, as Finn turned his gaze back to Starling, "I let Piper leave on her own once before, and if it hadn't been for you, then judging by what you've told me, she'd have ended up in the clutches of a madman," Finn stated, "I'm not going to make the same mistake twice, so wherever this goes, whatever happens, I'm with you, till the end."
Starling now smiled, "Thank you Finn, that means more than you know," she said nodding
"Welcome to the crew Finn," Aerrow said, holding out his fist towards him
"No place I'd rather be," Finn replied bumping his fist to Aerrow's
Junko then clapped Finn heavily on the back, causing the air to get knocked out of him, "Great to have you... oh, sorry," Junko said, then noticed Finn's wheezing
"No problem," Finn wheezed back
"Looks like we found our Marksmen," Lark commented
"If Finn was good at one thing, it was hitting a bull's-eye," Piper chuckled
Stork just nodded approvingly, then looked on shocked with the rest of them as Dove launched herself at Finn, wrapping her arms around his neck, and planting her lips on his. When they separated, Finn had this dumbfounded look on his face
"Didn't actually think you were serious about that," he said quietly
Dove blushed as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "Why would I not be, mon heros," she said smiling
A goofy grin began spreading across Finn's face as Piper groaned, "Get a room you two."
The bridge burst into laughter at that, and echoed down the ventilation system, where it reached a small ball of blue fur, whose large ears pricked at the sound, before it raised its head towards the sound, a curious look on its furry features
And that's a wrap for now folks
Additionally, I think I should mention the ages of our Heros
Starling - 17
Stork - 21
Junko - 19
Aerrow, Piper, Lark, Dove and Finn - 15 (post edit, forgot I mentioned Lark's age at the beginning, whoops)
Probably should have done that a while ago, but hey, live and learn
No need for French translations today, as there's only one instance of French this chapter, and it was covered last chapter, so I'll just refer you to that one
Thank you all for reading, please don't forget to leave a review so I can see what you guys think and become a better writer to better entertain you guys
As always constructive criticism is welcome, and I will see you all next time ; )