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
IMPORTANT - READ FIRST!
The Terra and its single dark tower were surrounded by dark storm clouds. The tower itself, had many metallic rods attached to it, pointing skywards, attached to these rods were long thick cables, that ran into the building to a room at its centre. The room was a lab, filled with all sorts of strange apparatus, but the crowning glory of the lab, was a large table, covered by a massive sheet. beneath the sheet, lay a large form, at the edges, a few black feathers could be seen.
As the storm above increased in intensity, a man in a white lab coat, wearing goggles with swirly lenses for eyes, approached a bank of controls. As the first lightning strikes, lit up the sky, the man pulled a lever, magnetizing the rods, and pulling the lightning to them. The electricity from the lightning traveled down the cables, raced towards the table, and under the sheet. The form beneath, twitched from the surge, but did not move. The man pulled the lever again, causing yet another surge of electricity, and another, larger twitch
Again and again, the lever was pulled, again and again, the power of the storm was fed into the form beneath the sheets, until it was almost a continuous stream. Then, the form began to shift, the sheet rose as the thing beneath it, lifted itself from the table. At the controls, the man began to cackle manically, "Its alive, MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The dark shape suddenly threw off the sheet, and a gigantic bird of prey was revealed, lighting coursing along its body, no longer being drawn in, but actually coming off it, being generated by the creature itself. With an almighty screech, the bird struck the ceiling with a storm of it's own lightning, causing the entire top half of the tower to explode outward, reuniting the creature with the storm above, as lightning filled the sky
(Stage goes black)
(Stormhawk fan SHhype enters from stage right, looking... charred)
(Cough) Note to self... wear Faraday suit... when next performing surgery... on 'The Storm and the Hawk' (coughs again, before collapsing to stage)
(Medics rush from stage right, and whisk Stormhawk fan SHhype off stage, Piper emerges as they leave)
Er, hi there everyone, sorry about that, this chapter was a tough one to get sorted, Stormhawk fan should be fine, but we'll need to give him a chance to recover
(Stormhawk fan's voice can be heard from off stage) Mommy he followed me home can I keep him
(Piper winces) Yea, don't expect the next chapter for a bit... still, we got this one done, and just like Stormhawk fan I'm very pleased how this one turned out, despite the time this one took, it really came together well in the end, and we think you guys are gonna love it. This one is a bit more comical than previous chapters of this story, and we'll also be introducing the final member of the crew this chapter
We all had a ton of fun with this one despite how much trouble it gave us... speaking of fun, we're also working on another project with Stormhawk fan. Its a Sci-Fi AU, where some of us get to have actual wings... I'm not gonna lie, but that alone makes everything else about that story worth it. If you wanna check it out, the name of the story is 'Stellaris: Book 1: The Fledging', its right here on the Storm Hawk's story listings, and it even recently got it's own cover image, courtesy of 'Mythorie'. Stormhawk fan will be putting up the dedication on that story during the next update for that one
On an unrelated note, we are very pleased to announce that Stormhawk fan's first project 'Choices' broke the two thousand views mark some time in April just gone. 'The Storm and the Hawk' is about to break the two thousand mark as well, and 'An Atmosian Tale is close to breaking the one thousand mark. On behalf of all of us here at SHhype productions, I'd like to thank all you of, our faithful readers, it means so much to all of us that you give our projects such attention, and don't forget, views and reviews encourage more, so keep em both coming. Now without further ado-
(A sudden crash comes from back stage, followed by an angry yell) Alright that's it you little fuzz ball come here!
(Piper's eye twitches as the sounds of a commotion come from back stage) excuse me for a little moment (rushes quickly back stage as a recorded message takes over)
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all, welcome back to... The Storm and the Hawk
P.s. all underlined text is a character talking through a radio to the one holding it
P.P.s this chapter is brought to you by the 'Benny Hill theme'
Chapter 12: Chase through the Condor!
Un-named Terra: the next day
"Any sign of pursuit?" Starling asked as she took her Slip-Wing on a lazy circuit of the Terra they had stopped on
"Not that I can see," came Aerrow's reply, Starling looked over towards the other side of the Terra where she could make out the speck that was Aerrow's Skimmer
"Nothing on my side either," Finn stated
"Got nothing here?" Junko informed
"And the Condor's scopes are clear, looks like we got clean away," was Piper's optimistic reply
"Let's not celebrate just yet, we are still wanted criminals after all," Stork put in
"We haven't forgotten Stork, that's why we're here, this Terra is nice and out of the way, hopefully low on ALF's search priority, which gives us a few days to lay low while I try to crack the map's code," Starling said
She gazed once more at the skies around her, off in the distance were a number of smaller un-named Terras, a wild zone, off the beaten path that could give them some shelter, at least, that was the hope. They were still too close to Terra Mesa for Starling's comfort, but she needed peace and quiet to crack the code, if they were on the move, they ran the risk of running into something, which would more than likely, then require her attention
If they wanted to find the Resistance, they needed to crack that code as quickly as possible, which meant they had to hide
Starling took a breath, then spoke into her radio once more, "Ok, let's get back guys, we'll figure out a lookout shift and combine that with the proximity alarms, then we'll get settled, all agreed?"
"No argument here," Aerrow replied
"Ditto," Finn agreed
"Great, lunch time!" Junko exclaimed, his skimmer making all haste back to the Condor to the chuckles of everyone else
Starling shook her head, an amused smile plastered over her face, before scanning the horizon one last time, then turning back towards the Condor
Two hours later
"Ok, who took my wrench from engineering?" Junko said as he walked into the kitchen, a stern look on his usually carefree face
All eyes turned to the head of blond hair tucking into a bowl of ice cream at the kitchen table, said blond head, looked back up at all of them when he noticed they were looking
"Hey don't look at me, I've been helping Piper 'Calibrate' the guns for the past two hours," Finn replied
Starling glanced at Piper, who just shrugged in response
"Where was the last place you left it Junko?" Aerrow asked
"On my worktable in engineering, where I always leave it," Junko replied
"Now that he mentions it, I did have a water bottle go missing from the Med-Bay as well, I could have sworn I put it down next to the cabinet, but when I turned around it was gone," Dove said
"People misplace things, I'm sure they'll turn up, probably be in the last place you expect as well," Lark stated, her focus staying on her sketch pad in front of her
Starling sat back in thought for a moment, before turning to Junko, "Keep an eye out for it, if it doesn't turn up within the next few days, we'll make sure to get a new one the next time we can."
Junko gave a sigh, before turning round and heading back to engineering
Lark went back to her sketching, as she did, Finn nudged Aerrow, "Does she ever put that thing down?"
Aerrow chuckled, "It helps her to relax, and trust us, a relaxed Lark is a good Lark," he replied
"You wouldn't like me when I'm angry," Lark commented with a smirk, while Piper beside her, rolled her eyes exasperatedly
The next morning
Piper and Lark woke bright and early to watch the sunrise together, as Piper had promised.
The two of them simply sat there, enjoying the sight of the world slowly waking up, the dew glistening in the trees and on the grass. Song birds filling the air with music, it was a beautiful scene
But none of it compares to her, Lark thought, as she glanced sideways at the girl who rescued her, who'd given her something to shield her from her nightmares – which hadn't so far returned since Piper gave her the drawing pad – who now sat next to her, the first rays of the sun setting her eyes a flame, and causing her hair to shine and shimmer
Piper noticed Lark staring at her, "What?"
Lark quickly snapped her eyes back to scene in front of them, a light blush spreading into her cheeks "Nothing," she replied, a little too quickly
Piper was confused slightly by that, but shook her head and thought nothing of it, also turning back to admire the view
Afterwards, Piper went to shower, while Lark went back to their room to grab her sketch pad, saying something about a new inspiration
Piper had only just reached the girls shower however, when a scream tore through the ship, instantly waking everyone
Piper, hurriedly ran down the hallways back to her and Lark's room, only to be greeted by a thunderous looking Lark coming the other way, holding a torn and shredded paper pad, that had some odd looking, suspicious stains on it
"I'm going to fry whoever did this Piper, now get out of my way!" she screeched
Piper wisely stepped aside, but quickly raced after her, "Lark I'm not going to stop you, but will you please at least think about this before doing something rash, everyone knows what happens if they mess with your drawing pad," Piper pleaded
Lark slowed for a minute, then a stony glint sparked in her eyes, "Everyone but one," she growled, and immediately made for Junko and Finn's room
The two boys in question were already standing outside their room, Junko looked afraid, while Finn was just confused. When they saw Lark come steaming round the corner, Piper running desperately to catch up with her, their looks changed to terror
"Finn, get in the room, hurry!" Piper called
Still not knowing what was going on, but smart enough not to argue, Finn dashed back inside the room. Junko wisely took off down the other end of the corridor, towards where Stork, Aerrow and Dove had just appeared, rubbing the sleep from their eyes
"FINN! Get out here and take your volts like a man!" Lark yelled through the door, pounding on it as she did so
"How bout no?" Finn called back
"Finn, I swear, if you don't come out, I'm going to blow this door off its damn hinges, and I don't care if you're standing behind it or not!"
Piper could just imagine Finn paling behind the door, probably on the edge of fainting, she was about to jump in and stop this, when Starling intervened
"Whoa, okay that's enough, what's going on?" she said, walking straight up to Lark and Piper
Lark whirled towards her, holding up her ruined pad. Behind Starling, the others gasped in shock, "That little weasel ruined my sketch pad, and everything I drew has been torn out and is missing, he has to suffer for it!" she yelled
"WHAT!? I didn't touch anything of hers, I've barely been here two days, and I've been kept busy helping out, when would I have gotten a chance too!?" Finn yelled from the other side of the door
"Everyone else knows not to mess with my drawing pad, you're the only one who didn't receive the memo, so if not you then who!?" Lark shot back
"Look, I like a good prank as much as the next guy, but even I know that this goes way beyond that, this is pure vandalism, I'd never deliberately trash someone's stuff, especially not a treasured possession," Finn replied
"He's right Lark," Piper said, causing Lark to turn towards her now, "Finn might be a little immature sometimes, but he's not a jerk, this is way beyond what he'd call 'Just a prank'." The others nodded in agreement, "And besides, Finn wasn't entirely in the dark about the pad, he did ask about it the other day."
More nods and murmurs of agreement followed this
Lark stared hard at Piper for several moments, the gears turning in her head. Then she deflated, the anger leaving her as she realised they were right, when she looked at Piper next, her face was a mask of confusion, "If not him, then who?" she asked
Piper put a reassuring hand on Lark's shoulder, "I don't know, but we'll find out, I promise."
Starling nodded in agreement, "Alright everyone, lets gather on the bridge," she then turned to the door, "It's safe to come out now Finn."
The door opened a crack, and Finn peeked out, he saw Lark standing in front of the door, tears in her eyes as she clutched the ruined pad tightly. "I know it wasn't my fault, but I'll get you a new one, I promise," he said, as he opened the door wider
Lark looked up at him, both surprised, and grateful, she smiled happily back and nodded her thanks, before everyone began moving to the bridge
"Alright people, what do we know?" Starling asked once everyone was seated
Stork held up the ruined pad for inspection, "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say we probably have an infestation of Gorga Mites on board, probably picked them up from Terra Mesa, we'll have to have the whole ship sanitised if we want to stand any chance of survival."
"And terrifiant Stork is back, genial," Dove sighed
Junko took the pad from his neurotic partner, and gave it a sniff before recoiling, "Yep, something took a bathroom break on this," he stated, Lark shuddered at his words
Aerrow sat forward, "You mean we might have an animal on board?" he asked
Junko nodded, "It's common for most animals to find something that will be absorbent, if push comes to shove they'll let loose anywhere, but if they find what their looking for, they'll use it as a bathroom till it becomes un-useable," he answered
"Well that explains this," Finn said as he held up the cereal box he'd snagged from the kitchen on the way here. As he held it up, cereal began to fall from a hole in the side of the box that he hadn't noticed before
Starling groaned, they had enough to deal with without some hungry critter running amok aboard their ship, eating them out of house and home. "Okay, we have to find this thing, before it does anything more serious than what it's already done," she stated
"But it could be anywhere aboard the ship, and if it's small enough, it could be using the vents," Piper replied, before Stork appeared between her an Lark
"I'm telling you, Gorga Mites," he insisted creepily
Lark gave an annoyed frown, grabbing the Merb's ear while sending a small spark through her fingers. Stork gave a yelp as Lark pulled him towards her, "Get the ship's scanners up and running and turn them inwards, I want to find this thing so I can rotisserie it for tonight's dinner," she then turned her dark eyes on Stork, "Or are you volunteering to take its place?"
"I'll get right on it," Stork whimpered, at which Lark released him so he could go about his work
Piper and Starling stared at Lark disapprovingly, "What? You want to catch this thing too right?" she said
"Not the issue here," Starling replied, nodding to the now shaking Stork
Lark blinked, her dark eyes becoming lighter as they did, then realisation crossed her face, "Sorry Stork, I didn't mean it, just a little angry still," she called. Stork gave a thumbs up from the ship's controls, and his shaking lessened considerably
Lark then turned back to Piper and Starling, "I'm working on it okay, nine years remember," she stated, going into a huff and folding her arms
Piper laid a gentle hand on one of her arms, "That's why we remind you, you're getting better, but it'll still take time," she replied, to which Lark just nodded mutely
"I think I've got something," Stork suddenly called from the controls
Everyone was instantly up and crowding around the controls. Stork had brought up a top down plan of the ship on the main console screen, all life signs aboard were displayed as green dots. Eight of the dots were gathered at the very front of the bridge, but a ninth was further back, closer to... Suddenly a crash came from down the hallways, towards Dove's room and the... "MED-BAY!" Dove yelled, sprinting off at breakneck speed. Aerrow, Finn, Piper, Lark, Junko and Starling were right behind her
As Starling sprinted out, she grabbed a radio and called back to Stork, "Stay on that console; we'll keep in touch via the radio!"
Stork simply stared after them, suddenly feeling vulnerable all alone, "Okay, so maybe it isn't Gorga Mites, but what's worse than Gorga Mites," he said absently to himself, he's knees already shaking
The small figure looked down at the metal tray with its strange glass objects that it had accidentally pushed off the edge of the small table. The floor was now littered with strange looking berries that the figure somehow doubted were edible, among them were also shards from the now broken glass objects containing said berries. Suddenly, a shout came from the hallway, followed swiftly by pounding feet. Panicking, the small figure quickly leapt towards the large soft ledge near the corner of the room, and used a combination of its momentum and the springy surface to launch itself into the metal tunnel it had come from
Dove ran into the Med-Bay, but came up short, throwing her arms out wide to signal those behind her to stop. Everyone skidded to a halt, peering over her shoulder to see what was inside
"I had this place perfectly commande, and now look at it, pills and broken glass all over the floor," Dove said despondently, her shoulders sagging at the prospect of cleaning up
Starling squeezed past Dove and surveyed the damage, then her gaze drifted to the vent over one of the beds. She pulled up her radio, "Stork, any reason the vents aren't covered?" she asked
"Never got around to installing the covers, was a low priority job, we weren't meant to have our first test flight for at least a few weeks when you guys showed up," Stork replied
Starling sighed, on the one hand, she couldn't fault Stork or Junko for that, they'd focused on the more important things. On the other, it meant that Piper was right, there was no way an animal would have gotten away unseen through the Med-Bay door, they'd responded too quickly. The only way it could have escaped unseen, was through the vent, it was the only other way out, which meant it was small enough to use them, and if none of the vents had covers on, that meant no room aboard the ship was secure. She turned to the others; Lark and Piper were helping Dove clean up the mess, while the guys were just standing around. "Junko," Starling called, causing the Wallop in question to turn to her, "Do we have anything we can put in front of these, something that can't be chewed through?" she asked, jabbing a thumb at the open vent
Junko thought for a moment, then he snapped his fingers, "We've got some spare sheet metal down in storage from the ship's construction, they were due to get taken to general storage in the facility before you showed up," he replied
"Perfect," Starling stated, "Take Finn with you and start making some vent covers, once their done, start sealing the vents up, we're going to flush our little stowaway out into the open."
Junko and Finn nodded, before making their way to engineering. Aerrow then turned to Starling, "What do we do in the meantime?" he asked
Starling walked past him back out into the corridor, "We keep it on its toes, try to minimise the damage it causes," she then turned to the girls, "You three stay here till Junko and Finn get back to cover the vent, should keep the little gremlin from venturing back here."
The three of them nodded, then Stork's voice came back over the radio, "It's on the move, headed towards the hanger."
Aerrow and Starling set off in pursuit of their unwanted house guest
Repton scanned the skies ahead of him, the little brats couldn't have gotten far, sure they'd had a day's head start thanks to him having to answer questions to ALF, and the absence of a licence had not done them any favours. A quick call to Terra Bogaton however had cleared most of it up, they'd still had to pay for damages incurred to the dealer they'd been in, as well as the theft of the items the brats had taken, purely because there was no one else to lump the blame onto, since the brats had gotten clean away
"Anything yet!?" Repton yelled into the radio of his ride
"Nothing boss," Horek replied
"I got nothing either," came Leugey's despondent voice
"Spitz, report, do you have anything!?" Repton yelled, when his last man failed to answer
"Got a Terra boss, I'm going in for a closer look," Spitz replied
Repton felt a surge of anticipation at the news, "Report back if you find anything," Repton ordered
"You got it boss," Spitz affirmed
Repton then refocused on the skies ahead, one way or another; he'd make those brats pay for humiliating him
Aerrow and Starling arrived in the hanger bay, making sure to close and lock the door behind them, before turning to the rest of the room. Their five skimmers were arranged on either side of the room, with spare parts and maintenance tools placed in boxes and cubby holes by each bay. Currently, all was silent, and nothing moved
"Where is it Stork?" Starling whispered
"Somewhere near the front, by the hanger door," Stork answered quietly
Starling glanced to Aerrow, and silently directed him to approach a stack of crates at the far end of the hanger, while she went round the other side. Aerrow nodded, and began moving in the direction indicated. Silently, they approached the crates, eyes peeled for any sign of movement
The small figure watched the two creatures approach, it knew they couldn't see him, yet, but if they got much closer they would. It looked around for some way to distract them, then noticed a precariously balanced crate near the top of the pile. Carefully, it began climbing, making sure to keep one eye on the approaching creatures. The closest was clearly male, with striking red head fur and deep hazel eyes, his body fur was a deep blue with small red highlights, and he had a mane of black fur around his shoulders. He reminded the small figure oddly of his last troop's defender, at least, that was the sense and smell the small figure got from him. The female was clearly the leader of the troop he had stumbled on; she had striking purple head fur, with equally striking emerald eyes and body fur, and a mane of white fur around her shoulders.
He finally reached the top, and began pushing on the crate, it was heavy, but with a small groan, he began to tip it over, as soon as he felt gravity take over, he stopped pushing and ducked back down. The two creatures cried out as the crate toppled off, before a crash signified its meeting with the floor. He heard the two creatures land heavily as they jumped out the way, as he rushed from his hiding place and made for one of the metal tunnels. He heard a shout from behind him, just as he reached the vent, and the sound of a body thumping into the ground behind him, as he scrambled into the vent and out of sight
"Damm it!" Aerrow exclaimed
"Did you get a good look at it?" Starling asked
Aerrow shook his head, "I saw blue fur and a tail but that was it, little bugger is a smart one I'll give him that," Aerrow said, standing and dusting himself off
Starling snarled in annoyance, "How big do you think it was?"
Aerrow glanced at the smashed crate and the nuts and bolts now spilled across the floor, "Judging from the fact that it was able to push that, and the length of the tail, I'd say our little stowaway is at least a couple feet tall, maybe three, which makes it just small enough to use the vents, but big enough to do serious damage to the ship... or us."
Starling gritted her teeth, that was all they needed. She grabbed her radio again, "Talk to me Stork, where's it going?"
"One moment..." came Stork's reply, before his voice came through urgently, "It's heading for the crystal lab!" he cried
Starling and Aerrow were running the moment he finished
Lark was also up and running the moment she heard what Stork had said, ignoring Piper as she called after her. Lark reached the lab first, in time to see a shadow duck down into the storage area at the back. She quickly closed and locked the door. "Nowhere to run now, my little gremlin," she growled menacingly as she used a Levitation crystal to block the vent with a crate lid. Once she had it secured, she released the levitation energy, and put the crystal back into its pocket, before striding into the room
Now this one was a problem, the small figure could smell the hostility coming off her, and see the dark menacing gleam in her eyes. With its only escape route blocked as well, this new female had him trapped. Suddenly however, a loud banging came from the door
Lark started as Starling banged on the door, "Lark, open up!"
Lark glared at the room keeping her back to the door as she approached it again, "No can do Starling, I got that little gremlin trapped in here."
"And how exactly are you going to catch it!?" Starling retorted, "You're in a room full of volatile crystals, remember!"
Lark went a little paler than usual as this fact solidified in her mind. Letting out a frustrated growl, she turned around and marched back to the door
The small figure saw his chance, with surprise on his side he could probably make it between them once the door opened, he'd have to be quick though, and lucky
Lark unlocked the door, to see Aerrow and Starling standing on the other side, "Happy now?"
Starling made to reply, but didn't get the chance, as a ball of blue fur suddenly leapt onto Lark's head, pulling her hood up and over her face, while at the same time, causing her to stumble straight into Starling and Aerrow. The three of them collapsed to the floor, Lark on top of the two of them, limbs tangled
Aerrow saw the blue fuzz ball leap off Lark's head as they fell, and looked up after the fall, to see it disappearing down the far corridor, which he knew, lead downstairs. "It's heading to engineering!" he cried
"Confirmed, Junko, Finn, heads up."
Lark was up first, a bloodthirsty look pouring from her eyes now, "That little bastard, I'm going to fry it!"
She took off down the corridor, before Starling or Aerrow could untangle themselves from one another sufficiently to follow
As they stood up, they saw Piper arrive, a small smirk on her face, "Is this really the time or place guys?" she asked suggestively
Aerrow's face went as red as his hair, Starling wasn't much better, but she got control faster, "Not now please Piper, we've got a gremlin to catch, and a pissed off Crystal Mage to calm down."
At Starling's words, Piper instantly sobered, and took off right behind them towards engineering
Finn and Junko had only just finished the first vent cover when Stork confirmed where their unwanted house guest was heading next. Both of them dropped what they were doing and made for the door, standing either side of it. As they waited, they heard something approaching, as well as a small shadow, move through the door. As one, they leapt out, shouting at the top of their lungs, pouncing on the approaching figure. Only to trip on the lip of the door and tackle Lark to the ground, who gave a startled yelp as they collided with her. None of them noticed a blue furred figure, jump down from the overhead pipes and dart into engineering
Starling, Aerrow and Piper came round the corner to find the three of them in a dazed heap on the floor
"Well, isn't this karmic," Starling said amusedly, forcing Piper and Aerrow to suppress sniggers
"It was an accident, we swear," Finn groaned
"I don't care if it was an accident or not," Lark growled, "GET OFF!"
The harsh yell was enough to send both boys springing upwards, Lark glared at them from the floor as she sat up
"Heh, sorry," Junko said, embarrassed
Lark just shook her head, as she stood up, the majority of her anger extinguished from the humbling incident. "Forget it, just point me towards the gremlin," Lark replied
"We didn't see it," Finn said, "We thought your shadow was the gremlin's shadow, that's why we jumped out."
Starling gave a frustrated sigh as she pulled out her radio again, "Stork, talk to me."
"Oh, it's in there, luckily, it has nowhere else to run," Stork replied
Starling raised an eyebrow and glanced to Junko, "Cause of safety reasons, the vent covers for engineering had to be installed during initial construction," he explained
"Meaning this door is the only way in or out of engineering," Piper stated
"Perfect," Lark growled as she advanced into the room before the others could stop her
Starling gave another sigh, before following her little sister, the others filing in behind. Finn was the last in, and made sure to close and lock the door behind them as the others spread out into the room
"Be careful in here guys, there's a lot of dangerous stuff in here, and a lot of dark corners," Starling warned
"Quick question," Piper asked, "When we catch this thing, what do we keep him in?"
"Got ya covered Piper," Junko called, producing a cage from beneath a desk, at the looks they gave him, he shrugged and continued, "Had a rat problem at my home when I was young, since then, I've learned it pays to be prepared."
Starling merely nodded approvingly, before turning to Lark, "Crystals, Lark, now."
Lark looked at Starling aghast, before she could voice her objection however, Starling explained, "We don't need you setting anything off with an errant crystal blast, so hand them over."
Lark growled in annoyance, but didn't argue, pulling out the Levitation crystal from before, along with a Solaris and Firebolt, and putting them in Starling's outstretched hand. Starling merely raised an eyebrow, "All of them."
Lark gave her an affronted look, but Starling just stared her down, her eyes hard. Finally, Lark relented and pulled out a leech crystal, causing everyone but Starling to suck in a breath. "Piper," Starling said mechanically
Piper quickly darted forward and took the leech crystal, before sticking it in a sealed container, as Starling put the other three into a small empty crate. "You do realize how dangerous that was?"
"I had it contained," Lark shot back, looking away
Starling just shook her head, and turned back to the others, "Alright, now that's done, let's get to searching, split up and try to find this thing."
The small figure was getting increasingly worried, there was no escape from this room, all the metal tunnels were sealed off, and the troop who lived here had shut the only other way in. Its only chance was to remain undetected, but considering they knew he was in here, he did not think he could hide forever. Well, if he was going down, he was going down fighting
The six of them proceeded to move through the room, checking every nook and cranny, it didn't help that the lighting in this room wasn't the best, there were some particularly dark areas. To combat this, Junko produced some crystal powered torches and handed them out. They were nearing the back of the room, near the large Arclight Crystal Engine, when Lark spotted something just behind it
She held up a hand, causing the others to freeze, then indicated a point, just behind the engine
"Finn," Starling whispered
Finn nodded, and began to make his way over carefully. He was a few feet away, when a two-three foot figure jumped from behind the engine. Its fur was blue and it had a svelte build, with two large ears, and a long bushy tail. It collided with Finn's shoulder and sent him spinning into the wall, before launching off him and onto the overhead pipes
All of them looked up, their torches tracking it, able to get their first good look at their unwanted house guest. "A Lemur-Rabbit!" Starling shouted
"But how, we're nowhere near their native Terra!" Piper exclaimed
"I don't care how it got aboard, I'm still going to turn it into a nice hat!" Lark snarled, lunging for it
The Lemur-Rabbit, scurried along the pipes however, just out of Lark's reach, but not Junko's
Being taller, Junko was able to take a swipe at it, seeing the danger, the Lemur-Rabbit, jumped away, ending up on the floor, and with Lark hot on its heels. It gave a startled cry, before running in the opposite direction, only to skid to a stop as Piper came the other way. A quick direction change at the last minute had Lark and Piper colliding, while the agile little simian ducked beneath a worktop. Aerrow and Starling kept the pressure on though, as Junko lifted the worktop off the floor, and they dived underneath. The Lemur-Rabbit anticipated the move however, and Aerrow and Starling ended up butting heads, and finding nothing underneath. They looked up to see the Lemur-Rabbit hanging on to the underside of the worktop
"Grab it!" Starling barked
Aerrow lunged, but the little guy was just too quick, scurrying out on the opposite side of the worktable to Junko. Finn had recovered from being smacked into the wall, and came running at the little terror, which proceeded to jump away as Junko swung the worktop, in an attempt to dislodge the Lemur-Rabbit. This then caused the worktop to connect with Finn's stomach, and knocking the air from his lungs
"Ooh, sorry," Junko cringed
The Lemur-Rabbit landed on a stationary worktop, just as he heard an angry yell. He turned to see Lark running at him. He gave another yelp, running for the edge himself in an attempt to escape. Lark surprised him though, as she took a running leap, sliding across the surface of the worktop, and grabbing the Lemur-Rabbit by the tail
"Got you!" Lark snapped as she dragged the Lemur-Rabbit to her
The little guy knew that Lark was stronger than him, there was no way he was struggling out of this, time to go on the offensive. Without warning, he lunged for Lark's head, punching and kicking, doing everything he could to make her let go
"Argh, stop that!" Lark yelled as she got to her feet, and began desperately trying to dislodge the Lemur Rabbit with one hand, while keeping a hold of its tail with the other. The two flailed around the centre of the room, and as Lark's anger grew, small sparks of electricity began shooting off from her
"Piper, break them up, quick!" Starling cried, realising the danger those sparks could pose if they hit something
Piper nodded, and attempted to get the Lemur-Rabbit off Lark, but all she achieved was getting dragged into the struggle herself. Then, Piper and Lark tripped on one of the lower pipes, which sent all three of them sprawling. Lark and the Lemur-Rabbit ended up close to the crystal engine, while Piper landed on the other side, and knocked over the crate with the crystals in. Everyone watched in stunned horror as the three crystals tumbled from the crate. The Firebolt hit the floor first, causing a small burst of energy which hit the levitation crystal, activating it. This caused the Solaris crystal above it, to shoot into the air, while its forward momentum carried it across the room, and straight for the crystal engine
The crystal clattered into the engine, and for a moment, all was still. Before anyone had a chance to relax however, a bright light shone from the engine, and every gauge flew instantly to the red zone. Lark's eyes widened as she realised what was about to happen, and knew she'd never avoid it in time, this same realisation occurred for the Lemur-Rabbit as well. Before either had time to contemplate this revelation however, Aerrow slid between them and the engine, even grabbing the Lemur-Rabbit and holding it close to his chest, while his back faced the engine. Seeing Aerrow, Lark ducked down, making herself as small as possible behind him, just before a gout of steam, vented from the engine, slamming into Aerrow's back, causing him to cry out in pain
It lasted all of two seconds, as Junko had rushed to the engine controls the second he'd seen the gauges change and had enacted an emergency shutdown. Starling, Finn and Piper rushed forward the moment the steam shut off. Piper came to Lark's side
"Are you alright?" Piper asked concerned, Lark just nodded numbly, her voice failing her currently
They looked up at Starling's voice, "Finn, go get Dove!" Finn didn't argue, and was running from the room and unlocking the door in seconds. "Aerrow, Aerrow talk to me," Starling pressed
From the floor, Aerrow croaked out a response, "You know, I think I've had enough of the sauna for one day, or maybe a year."
"Aerrow this is no time for jokes!" Piper exclaimed
Aerrow gave her a wry grin, "Sorry Piper, I'm okay, just a bad burn."
"We'll let Dove be the judge of that," Starling replied, "How's the Lemur-Rabbit?"
Aerrow looked down into his arms, where the Lemur-Rabbit was still curled; it was shivering slightly, with wide eyes and ears flat against its head. "A little spooked, but none the worse for wear I think," Aerrow answered
"A-Aerrow, I'm really sorry, I-I didn't m-mean..." Lark tried, but her voice was shaking so badly she couldn't finish
"It's okay Lark, it wasn't your fault, accidents happen," Aerrow said, a sincere look on his face, despite the pain he was in
Lark nodded, but still was unable to hold back the sobs that had been building for the last minute. She crumpled into Piper's arms, who held her, gently rocking her back and forth, while stroking her back and the back of her head, soothing her
"I think we make it a rule from now on, 'No Crystals in the Engineering room'," Starling stated
"Sounds good," Junko agreed as he inspected the engine
"How's it look?" Starling asked
Junko opened the main hatch for the engine, causing a gout of black smoke to pour out, he quickly closed it again, coughing as he beat at the smoke with his hand. "Not good," he coughed, "I'm going to have to find that Solaris crystal and remove it, then I'll need to inspect the whole thing for damages. If we're lucky, I won't need spare parts."
Starling sighed resignedly, "Let me know as soon as you know the extent of the damage."
Junko nodded, and then proceeded to hook up an emergency vent to the engine to draw away the smoke. As he worked, Dove rushed back in with Finn
"Mon Dieu, Aerrow," she exclaimed, as she got down next to him, setting down her first aid kit, "I need some light."
Finn was right on the ball, pulling out his own torch, and taking Starling's as well, shinning both on Aerrow's back from different angles. Dove sucked in a breath as she cut open Aerrow's jumpsuit and inspected Aerrow's back, running her fingers around the affected area with a feather light touch. "Pour l'amour de Dieu Aerrow," she breathed
"How bad is it?" Starling asked
"Bad, but not untreatable," Dove replied, as she pulled a bottle of cool water from her first aid kit, "This is going to sting you idiot temeraire."
Before Aerrow had a chance to respond, Dove was pouring the water on the affected area, trying to get the temperature down. Aerrow hissed through his teeth, his entire body tense. In his arms, the Lemur-Rabbit began purring and rubbing its head against Aerrow's chin. Dove noticed as she emptied the bottle, and pulled out a basic burn salve
"Oh, who is this mignon petit gars?" she asked
"That," Starling said, her voice strained, "Is our unwanted house guest who's been running rings around us."
Dove looked at her shocked, "This petit gars, but he is adorable," she said, as her free hand scratched his head
"That's one way of putting it," Finn mumbled
Dove swatted him on the leg, "Do not let the torch drift please."
Finn snapped his attention back to what he was doing, as Dove finished by applying the salve to Aerrow's burn, "That should keep it from getting any worse for now, but I need to get him to the med-bay stat."
Starling nodded, "Finn, give me a hand."
Working together, they got Aerrow to his feet, as carefully as possible. Once he was standing, Starling nodded to Piper, "Take the Lemur-Rabbit would you, and put him in that cage."
Piper nodded, getting up, and helping Lark at the same time. As she moved to take the little guy from Aerrow though, the Lemur-Rabbit began whimpering and holding onto Aerrow tighter. "It's okay little guy, I'm not gonna hurt you, you just need to come with me for a little while," Piper said, her voice calm and soft
The Lemur-Rabbit shook its head though, and gripped the front of Aerrow's jumpsuit tighter. "It's okay," Aerrow said, "Let's just get to the med-bay first."
No one was really in the mood for a debate, so without a word, they began making their way out of engineering towards the med-bay
Spitz landed on the small Terra, at first it didn't look like anything special, then he'd remembered that they were chasing fugitives. Nondescript and out of the way were the qualities one looked for when hiding from the law. He'd been on the Terra all of five minutes, when suddenly a loud noise, like rushing air, blasted from a short distance away, and a multitude of birds took to the skies around the location. He turned his ride in the direction of the disturbance, coming to a clearing near to a set of cliffs. Nestled at the clearing's centre, was a sleek silver-grey and blue ship, which matched the descriptions of the ship the brats had stolen
A slow toothy grin spread onto Spitz' face, as he turned on his radio, "Boss, its Spitz... I got an early birthday present for ya," he said as he continued to observe the ship, which now began to leak black smoke from a dorsal vent
"MY SHIP, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SHIP!" Stork cried as he burst into the med-bay
"Not now please Stork, and don't worry, Junko's working to fix the damage," Starling replied as she and Finn set Aerrow down on the bed
Stork's eye twitched, but before he could launch into another rant, Lark spoke up. "I'm sorry Stork, it's my fault, I brought crystals into the engine room and in the ruckus, one ended up falling into the engine."
Stork blinked, nonplussed at Lark's confession, before sighing and hanging his head, "Well, with that being the case, I suppose I should be thankful the damage wasn't worse." He then turned from the room, "I'm going to go down to engineering to help Junko, see if we can't get this girl flying again, we're sitting ducks at the moment."
Starling nodded, "Alright, meet on the bridge in an hour for debrief."
Stork nodded in reply, and then left
"Aerrow you need to lie down, I cannot treat you sitting up," Dove insisted
"I'd love to Dove, but..." Aerrow trailed off as he looked down at the Lemur-Rabbit, still clutching his jumpsuit tightly
Starling sighed, and moved to take the Lemur-Rabbit, "Come on little guy, you need to come off."
But the little simian just gripped Aerrow tighter, unwilling to let go. "It's fine, just treat me like this," Aerrow said
"It is not that simple Aerrow, I need to check the extent of the damage and apply gauze, if the injury is severe enough, you may need to see an actual doctor," Dove stated
"Can't you treat him?" Starling asked
Dove sighed, her shoulders sagging, "Yes, and I have treated minor burns before, both on myself and others... but those were from household appliances, I have no idea what complications might arise from the fact that this burn was caused from an overheating engine." She then turned to Aerrow, her eyes and voice stern, "So I need you to lie down, I need the injured area to be as visible as possible and be in a position that makes it easy to inspect and treat."
It was Aerrow's turn to sigh, "Well unless you've got an idea about how to dislodge this little guy..." he began, before Piper suddenly reappeared, having broke off from them on their way to the med-bay
"I knew I saw some, bet you had trouble getting to this, huh little guy," she said, walking in carrying a jar of honey and some bread sticks
Everyone looked at Piper as she pulled up a chair near to Aerrow, before opening the jar. The moment it was open, the Lemur-Rabbit's head moved slightly away from Aerrow, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air. Piper just smiled, as she dipped in a bread stick, coating one end in honey, before holding it out towards the little guy. Everyone watched in fascination as the Lemur-Rabbit began tracking the bread stick, leaning further and further out from Aerrow. Finally he gave a cautious glance around the room, but when no one else moved, he jumped from Aerrow's lap, and into Piper's, taking hold of the bread stick, and beginning to nibble on the honey coated end
Everyone – bar Aerrow – stared in shock and amazement as the Lemur-Rabbit sat contentedly in Piper's lap, Aerrow simply smiled. "How long have you known that would work?" he asked amusedly
"Since we learned what we were dealing with," Piper answered with a smile, "Lemur-Rabbits have an irresistible sweet tooth, comes from where they live. Once a year, every year, the plants of the forests they live in produce the sweetest berries and fruits you've ever tasted." Piper looked down at the blue furred little guy in her arms, "The Lemur-Rabbits go absolutely nuts for them, and spend the next month harvesting as much as they can before their gone. This is also one of the main reasons they haven't been hunted to extinction for their fur."
"What do you mean?" Lark asked, genuinely curious
"When they were first discovered, people hunted them for their fur, and also to eliminate the competition for the fruit. Plantations that sprang up to harvest the fruit, saw the Lemur-Rabbits as pests, when actually, their important for the survival of the plants," Piper explained
"How?" Starling this time
Piper shook her head, "We don't know the specifics of the relationship, all we know is that as the Lemur-Rabbits were hunted, the plants began dying, fruit production came to a grinding halt. The Senate was pushed by an animal welfare society to launch a study of the Lemur-Rabbits and the fruit bearing plants." Piper paused as the Lemur-Rabbit finished off the first stick, and handed him another, it quickly dipped the stick into the honey jar, and continued nibbling. "While they didn't find the reason why, they did find that there was a correlation between the Lemur-Rabbit's harvesting, and the success of the plants. They released their findings, and suddenly, plantation keepers became desperate for Lemur-Rabbits. Preservation areas were set up, and new strategies implemented to ensure the Lemur-Rabbits could carry out their harvests, while ensuring there was enough fruit for the plantations to sell on. It made the fruits rare, which – along with how good they are – also made them valuable, increasing the price, and indirectly the importance of the Lemur-Rabbits, ensuring the plantations would protect them."
All of them stared from Piper, to the Lemur-Rabbit, happily nibbling away at his honey sticks. Starling made her way over, slowly, then reached out and began to scratch the little guy behind the ears. He tensed for a moment, then purred while leaning back into Starling's hand. "Wish we'd known what we were dealing with when we first learned we had an animal on board, would have made today so much easier," she said, smiling
Aerrow and Dove also smiled, while Finn gave a small chuckle, Lark was the only one not smiling, instead, she was scowling. Suddenly she stood, causing the Lemur-Rabbit to tense, "I'm heading to the lab, I've got some ideas that might help should we need to defend ourselves in a hurry," she stated crisply
Starling and Piper both glanced at one another, before turning back to Lark and nodding, with that, she marched from the room, the Lemur-Rabbit began to relax again the moment she was gone
Once she left, Dove turned to Aerrow, "Alright mister, on your stomach now please."
Aerrow chuckled, "Yes ma'am."
About an hour later, everyone was gathered on the bridge, except Aerrow, who was still in the med-bay, under doctor's orders. The Lemur-Rabbit was still in Piper's arms, not having left since finishing off the bread sticks. It was currently grooming itself as it sat contentedly in Piper's lap, from across the room, Lark was staring daggers at the little guy, for a couple of reasons
"Alright, what's the situation people?" Starling asked, beginning the briefing
Junko started, "The engines are completely shot, the Solaris crystal overloaded the internal mechanisms, which increased the pressure, forcing an emergency vent, if we hadn't shut it off, the engine could have exploded."
Starling groaned, "How long would it take to fix it?"
"Fix it?" Stork began, "I don't think you quite understand."
"Enlighten me then," Starling replied
Stork stood here and went over to the controls, calling up a schematic of the engine on one of the screens. "This isn't some engine we bought on the market, or a prototype from Long Feng's labs, Junko and I designed and built this one ourselves, it's what makes the Condor the ship she is, there's nothing else remotely like this engine in the entire Atmos."
His words slowly began to sink in for everyone, if the engine was unique, it would be difficult, if not impossible to acquire spare parts to fix it
"Alright, let me rephrase the question, how long would it take to get her airborne again?" Starling asked
Stork looked like he was going to continue his rant of how impossible that task was, but Junko intervened. "As much as Stork gripes, it would be possible to perform a temporary fix with more common engine parts, but seeing as they aren't fully compatible, we'd have to get a decent supply, switching out the burned out parts with the fresh ones, while Stork and I work on rebuilding the original damaged parts, which for the record, will takes us at least a week with the right resources."
Stork shook his head at his partners attempt at peace-making, before finally relenting, "Correct, though I must point out there are a multitude of problems which could occur from using sub-standard parts in the engine."
"Noted," Starling said, before turning to Dove, "How about Aerrow, how is he doing?"
Dove sighed, "The burn was not as bad as it could be, he still has basic feeling over the affected area, so it is just the surface nerve endings that got damaged, but they should repair over time. I have cleaned and cooled the burned area, and applied a salve to keep away infection and reduce both the pain and inflammation. However, because of the area the burn is in, I have to stress that Aerrow remains in bed for at least three days, as the skin over the affected area is very delicate right now, and if it tears, if will increase the risk of infection, and could result in more permanent damage."
Starling sighed, then turned to the Lemur-Rabbit, "You've caused quite the mess, you know that right."
The Lemur-Rabbit's ears drooped and it let out a little whine
Starling just smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry, what's done is done," she then turned to the others. "Okay, so we need parts, meaning we'll have to go find a dealer somewhere, any suggestions?"
"There's a small settlement not far from here, it's technically a part of Terra Mesa, so it doesn't have its own security force, instead it relies on the troops on Terra Mesa to come to its aid if there's a problem," Piper said
"So as long as we're careful about our identities, we can go there, grab what we need, and come back without raising too much suspicion," Lark stated
"You're staying," Starling ordered
Lark looked at her aghast, "What, why!?"
Starling held up a hand placatingly, "Two reasons, one, you're still angry, don't try to argue that, you've been staring daggers at the little guy the entire debrief." Lark looked away at that, chagrined. "And two, we can't leave the Condor undefended, Aerrow's out of action, at least Junko and myself will need to go to get the parts we need," Starling continued, before Dove cut in
"I'd also like to grab some medical books and additional supplies for the med-bay, there are some things that need replacing as it is," she said
"I'd like to see if there's an animal shelter that will take this little guy," Piper said, indicating the Lemur-Rabbit in her arms
"And I have a message I'd like to send to my parents, seeing as we kinda left Terra Mesa in a hurry," Finn added
Starling sighed, then waved to the room at large, "You see, that would just leave Stork and Aerrow aboard the Condor, Aerrow is in no condition to fight at the moment if the ship is attacked, and Stork is by no means a fighter... no offense Stork."
"None taken," Stork replied
Starling then turned back to Lark, who finally sighed in exasperation, "Alright fine."
Starling nodded, "Good, then let's get moving people, the quicker we're done, the faster we can get the Condor sky worthy again."
As everyone dispersed, Piper set the Lemur-Rabbit on a nearby table, "Okay little guy, you've gotta stay here for now, while I go find you a better home okay."
The little guy whined, and tried to follow Piper, but she simply gave it a stern reply, "No, stay, I won't be gone long, you'll see."
"You're not taking it with you?" Lark asked, still staring daggers at the little guy
Piper merely shook her head, "Be a little difficult to fly while holding him, and if he was hanging onto my back, I'd be constantly worried about my scooter's rotor blades. Also, I don't know if there even is an animal shelter that will take him, I'm just holding out hope, I don't want to get there, find there's nowhere that will take him, and then have to just bring him back. This is easier," she explained, then a sly grin spread across her face, "So play nice you two, I don't want to find this place turned into a battlefield when I get back."
Lark's cheeks went bright red at that, while the Lemur-Rabbit gave a sheepish grin. Piper merely chuckled, before following the others to the hanger bay
Lark and the Lemur-Rabbit watch Piper and the others leave on their skimmers, with Dove riding shotgun on Piper's scooter. They continued watching till they were out of sight, before Lark sighed and turned back to the now empty bridge. Aerrow was still in the med-bay, and Stork was outside, checking the incident with the engine hadn't caused additional damage to the rest of the ship
She looked at the Lemur-Rabbit, which was still staring forlornly in the direction their friends had gone
Kill it, get rid of it, it's the cause of all of this, hissed the dark voice in Lark's head
No, Piper would be beyond unhappy if we did that, the little guy didn't mean to cause so much trouble, he's probably lost. Remember what Piper said 'We're nowhere close to his home Terra', argued the other voice, the voice which had been getting stronger since she'd met Piper
Lark still didn't understand what was happening to her, it was like she was itching to unleash her power on everyone and everything around her. Only Piper's words kept her at bay, "There are other ways."
Lark shook herself as the memory played back, had it really been just over a week ago, it felt so long, like another life. She glanced again at the Lemur-Rabbit, which was now looking at her, its head tilted to one side curiously. The dark voice once again began baying for the animal's blood, but Lark forced it down, before eying the little simian with hard eyes
"I've got my eye on you, gremlin," she snarled, before marching off
The Lemur-Rabbit watched her leave, not understanding why the dark haired and eyed female was so hostile towards him. He looked one more time out the window, before jumping down from the railing and padding off towards the med-bay
Repton landed in the small clearing at the edge of the Terra where Spitz was waiting, the rest of his boys coming in behind him
"Well, where are they?" Repton snarled
"This way boss, follow me," Spitz replied, before turning his ride around and moving off through the trees
The other Raptors followed, they'd been moving for about ten minutes, when Spitz suddenly stopped at the edge of another clearing. Repton guessed they were now approximately in the centre of the Terra. He was about to ask Spitz why he'd brought them here – for nothing – when he sighted the ship, and his eyes gained a predatory gleam
"Well done Spitz, well done indeed," Repton praised, "Are they aboard."
Spitz shook his head, "I think the ship is damaged, they left about an hour ago on their skimmers," he began. Before Repton could round on him in anger though, Spitz continued, "But not all of them left." As he said this, he pointed towards the ship, specifically around the legs, where they saw Stork inspecting the outside of the ship
Repton's grin became malicious, "I see, so they've left the pilot to watch the ship, while they go get parts." Repton began to chuckle darkly as his boys all grinned behind him, "Perfect."
Stork was examining the exterior of the ship, checking to make sure the damage was confined to the engine, when he heard the sound of skimmer engines. He turned his eyes skyward, but saw nothing, and a tingle of paranoia raced up his spine. It was too early anyway, the others wouldn't be back yet. He quickly looked around, searching for the sound, then he saw it, four ramshackle rides, at the edge of the trees, with riders Stork instantly recognised. His eyes locked with the leader, and immediately the jig was up. All four Raptors came roaring out of the tree line, barrelling for the Condor. Not wasting any time, Stork raced for the ramp, reaching it just in time to raise it behind him and lock it. As it closed, he heard a snarl of anger from below, he ignored it, and raced up to the crew deck of the ship
"EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY!" Stork screamed as he arrived on the main deck, and barrelled into the med-bay
"What, what's going on Stork?" Aerrow asked, carefully sitting up, the Lemur-Rabbit huddled behind him
Before Stork could reply, Lark came running in, staff in hand, "What is it, did that rodent break something else?"
Aerrow was about to say something in response to that, but Stork's next cry cut him off, "RAPTORS!"
That caused both Lark and Aerrow to freeze, "Damm it, now of all times," Aerrow growled
That scaled bastard Repton, let's go teach him a lesson, none of them would care if we killed that one, Lark's dark voice growled
No, killing is not the answer, there has to be another way, we just have to find it, the other voice insisted
Her internal monologue was interrupted by Aerrow, "Lark, help me up, I need my weapons."
Lark started, "No way, Dove gave specific orders for you not to do anything strenuous."
"How are we supposed to defend ourselves then?" Aerrow asked, "Without you going Crystal Mage psycho on them," he added
Lark cringed at that, Aerrow had a point, she could handle them alone, but not necessarily in a controlled fashion, which could cause additional damage to the ship, and other forms of collateral damage. "That doesn't mean you're going out there to fight them, in your condition, you probably wouldn't win anyway," Lark countered
"Well then, what's your bright idea, we can't just let them stroll onto the ship," Aerrow replied
Lark opened her mouth to retort, when she suddenly froze. 'Let them stroll onto the ship', she turned the thought over in her mind, weighing all the pros and cons. Finally she spoke, "Stork, we're still on emergency power right?"
"Yes," Stork answered, clearly still worried about the Raptors right outside
"Are there any systems that would work on emergency power, systems we could rig into traps?" Lark asked
Stork opened his mouth, but then stopped short himself, his look turning thoughtful. "Not on emergency power, but if we could hook up an additional power source, then maybe," he finally replied
A sly grin began spreading across Lark's face as she conjured a few sparks around her finger tips, "Oh, I got power covered."
The sly grin spread to Stork's face now, then suddenly it fell, "No wait, we'd need someone to trip the breakers locally so I'm able to access the systems."
"I can do that," Aerrow said
"NO!" both Stork and Lark barked before Aerrow could do so much as move
"Your injured Aerrow, you need to remain as still as possible," Lark insisted
"Well who else is going to do it?" Aerrow demanded
The three of them were silent for a moment, then they heard a light purring. They turned to look at the Lemur-Rabbit who was trying to comfort Aerrow after hearing his angry voice. The little guy quickly noticed them staring at him, and stared back nervously
"Would-would that work?" Aerrow asked
"You know... it might," Stork said, "We already know he can move through the vents, he'd be able to get to the breakers completely unseen by the Raptors."
"No, I'm not trusting my life to that fur ball," Lark growled, which caused the Lemur-Rabbit to cross his arms and glare angrily at her
Aerrow chuckled, "I don't think he likes you calling him a fur ball, besides, it's not like we have much choice."
Lark gritted her teeth, before relenting, "Fine."
Aerrow smiled, before turning to the Lemur-Rabbit, "What do you say little guy, gonna help us out?"
To their immense surprise, the little guy nodded, a big smile on his face
"Alright, if we're doing this, then let's get Aerrow to the bridge, if this works, it's going to be the only safe place on the ship," Stork said
No one argued, as Lark helped Aerrow up, and helped him to the bridge
Repton banged a fist angrily against the bottom of the ramp, they'd been so close to getting aboard, now they had to find another way in
"Heh boss, I think the ship is out of power, the hanger door isn't locked," Horek called from up on the runway
Repton looked up towards Horek, "Well get it open then!"
"You're not going to damage that, right?" Stork asked, concerned, as Lark took hold of the power cable, running through the back of the control console
"I can keep the voltage low, so it shouldn't damage it, still, won't hurt to give it a test once we're done, just in case," Lark replied
Stork nodded as he turned to where Aerrow was sitting next to him, hooking up the Lemur-Rabbit with a small camera and radio, so they could see what the little guy saw, and communicate with him.
"Okay, you're all set little buddy," Aerrow said
The little guy stood at attention and saluted as Aerrow finished wiring him
As Horek held open the hanger door, Spitz and Leugey jumped through, with Repton right behind them
"He won't know what hit him," Repton chuckled maliciously
As Repton jumped in, Horek followed behind, the door closing shut as he let it go
An alarm began blaring through the ship as what systems were still working, detected the intruders
"They found a way on board, oh this is really bad news... for them," Stork said, adding a creepy tone and look to the last part
Both Aerrow and Lark grinned, happy that for once, Stork's neurotic behaviour was working in their favour. Aerrow then turned to the Lemur-Rabbit, "Okay buddy, you're up."
The little guy nodded, before leaping up into one of the vents, and making his way to the hanger bay. He reached it, just in time to see the Raptors carefully making their way through the room, then he heard Aerrow's quiet voice in his ear. "The breaker should be just to your left," he said
The Lemur-Rabbit turned, and saw the breaker, and flipped the switch indicated, with a deft swing of one leg
"Okay, not bad," Lark muttered as they watched the little guy work. Sparks travelled slowly down her arm, and into the cable she was currently holding, keeping the power levels at the minimum Stork required for their plan
With a few quick button presses, Stork cut all power to the hanger bay, plunging the Raptors into darkness. Through the Lemur-Rabbit's night-vision camera, the three of them saw the Raptors crash into each other, causing a round of sniggers, before Stork silenced them, and turned on the ship intercom
"Erm, hello, is this thing on," he tapped the mike a couple times to check, "Yea... I think it's only fair to warn you that, pain, and misery, is about to be inflicted."
"That's right toad, to you!" Spitz shouted back
"Spitz, quit yammering and find a light switch!" Repton growled in annoyance
"I got it," Spitz replied, before grabbing a nearby wall switch and pulling down, turning the lights back on
Stork's only reaction on the bridge was to casually flick a switch of his own. Spitz suddenly began convulsing as the metal switch he was holding had its safeties removed, and he was exposed to the voltage running through the circuit. Had he been human, the voltage would have been fatal, as it was; he was just in immense pain. Horek and Leugey looked on in horror, hands just in front of mouths, while Repton just stared, a look of bewilderment on his face. The lights then suddenly shut off again, before a now smoking and scorch covered Spitz turned them back on, being sure to let go of the switch this time, his left eye giving a minute twitch
"That the best you got?" Horek asked, drawing his blade, as Leugey next to him did the same
"Oh, not really," Stork responded, while behind him, Aerrow and Lark were doing their best to contain their laughter. Stork then flipped another switch
The sound of something powering up filled the hanger bay, as several metallic objects began moving towards Horek and Leugey. Repton figured it out instantly, "Horek, Leugey, MOVE!"
Neither of them understood what the danger was, until their weapons were pulled onto a small round platform that they were standing on. By then it was too late, as boxes and crates piled around them, before one above them, tipped over and spilled its metallic contents on their heads
"Ouch," both groaned
"Idiots, you're standing on a magnetic lift," Repton growled, despairing at his boy's incompetence. "What's the matter with you all; for once could you show a little stealth?" as Repton spoke, he walked forward into a string the Lemur-Rabbit had set up while they'd all been distracted. As Repton felt his leg hit the string, pushing it forward, he heard a beep from above, and looked just in time to see a bucket, tip over, and dump its oily contents all over him. A couple seconds passed, before Repton let out a frustrated roar of fury
Starling kept a wary eye out as a small ALF patrol passed by, they weren't real ALF soldiers, just some locals drafted to wear the uniform and keep the peace, they didn't even really have any proper training, so it was easy to avoid them. Still better safe than sorry
She turned as she heard Junko approach, he had a large box in his arms, which he began strapping to his ride. "That's everything, with this I should be able to keep the Condor flying until Stork and I are able to rebuild the damaged parts," he said
Starling nodded, then saw Dove walking up with Piper in tow, both were carrying medical supplies. "Got everything you need?" Starling asked
Dove nodded, "Oui, we do, but unfortunately..." Dove trailed off as she glanced towards Piper, who now sighed
"There was an animal shelter here which would have taken the little guy, but it's shut down, and has been for the last three years," Piper said
Starling just waved it off, "So the little guy will be staying with us a little longer, so what?"
Piper rolled her eyes, "Come on Starling you know why, you said it yourself at the debrief."
Starling frowned, then caught on, "Lark."
Piper nodded, before sitting on her scooter, "I don't know what to do, she clearly doesn't like the little guy, and he's scared of her. If he stays it could have a detrimental effect on Lark," she said despairingly
Starling sighed as she stood up and prepared to leave, "Don't worry about it too much, Lark never was really that keen on animals, and considering the little guy was probably responsible for trashing her sketch pad, I can understand her attitude."
"I guess," Piper replied, before Dove cut in
"Heh, where's Finn?" she asked
They all looked around; surprised their newest member wasn't back yet. "Right here," came a call from behind them, they turned to see Finn walking up to them from the other end of the alley, holding a small bag in his hand
"What took you?" Starling asked
Finn gave a wry grin, "Sorry, saw a shop on the way back here, thought I'd pick something up for Lark, I did promise after all." He held up the bag for emphasis, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what was inside
They all smiled at that, as Starling nodded her thanks, "Well alright then," she then turned to the others, "Shall we get going then, we shouldn't keep the others waiting too long."
"Are you kidding," Finn interjected as he mounted his skimmer, "Their probably bored out of their minds."
Lark and Aerrow were roaring with laughter as the Raptors encountered obstacle after trap, after pitfall, after rigged switch. Meanwhile the Lemur-Rabbit was ducking in and out of vents, flipping breakers, setting traps, and following all directions given to him by Stork and Aerrow. He wasn't even an unknown quantity anymore; the Raptors had spotted him several times now, and tried to grab him whenever they saw him. Things were starting to get tense though, Repton refused to give up or surrender, and the four of them were steadily drawing closer to the bridge. Finally, their luck ran out, as Repton surprised the Lemur-Rabbit, only the little guy's quick reactions and agility kept him out of Repton's grasp. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of the camera and radio he'd been wearing
Repton picked up the camera and radio, as the Lemur-Rabbit escaped into the vents once again. He glared into the lens, all patience gone, "No more games, we're coming for you, and when we find you, you'll wish you'd never been born."
With that, he crushed the camera, blinding them
"Now what?" Aerrow asked, as the Lemur-Rabbit came running back in, heading straight for Aerrow
"I'm nearly out of juice as is, anyway," Lark said tiredly
"So... you can't take them on now?" Stork asked concerned
Lark shook her head, "This ship needs a lot of power just to run basic systems, if we survive this, I'm going to need to rest to restore my energy."
Stork rolled his eyes and gave an 'of course look'
"Any ideas Stork?" Aerrow asked
Stork thought for a moment, then his eyes drifted to the table behind them, "Just one, it's a long-shot, but it might just work."
Aerrow glanced to Lark, "Think you've got one more trap in you?"
Lark gave him a wry grin, "How much you need?"
"Boss, don't you think we should get outta here, before the others show up?" Horek asked
Repton whirled on him, his face a mask of fury, "A RAPTOR NEVER ABANDONS ITS PREY!" he roared. "We leave when we're finished," he stated, Spitz and Leugey nodding nervously. Repton then snarled in Horek's face before turning and leaping up one of the ship's larger vents, reaching the very top of the ship, the others right behind him
Stork stood causally at the controls, whistling away, Aerrow and Lark relaxing next to him, outwardly, all three were calm. Inwardly, they were tense, there was so much that could go wrong with this plan
Suddenly, the sound of clanging reached their ears; they turned to the briefing room behind the bridge. They watched as out of one of the larger vents, Repton and his boys emerged, grinning victoriously
"End of the road toad," Spitz growled, putting one arm on Repton's shoulder, which was shrugged off as all four of them began advancing, chuckling maliciously
"Any last requests?" Repton asked darkly as he brought the Raptors to a halt in the centre of the room, just within striking distance of their prey. Stork, Aerrow, Lark and the Lemur-Rabbit all smirked, as they saw the Raptors had stopped exactly where they'd wanted them too
"Erm, yea, get off my ship," Stork replied, flipping one final switch, and causing what the Raptors had thought to be a circular plate on the floor, to drop by a couple of inches, as it prepped to release. Yet again, Repton realised their fate instantly, and gave a tired, resigned sigh, before the spring loaded table launched all four of them through the open skylight and into the air. They flew a fair distance, before landing haphazardly in the trees
"Whew, nice one," Aerrow cried, while the Lemur-Rabbit began dancing and chirping in joy
Stork simply leant back against the controls, chuckling to himself, while Lark let up on feeding the Condor power and joined the celebration. Then her fatigue set in and Stork got her settled on one of the couches, before helping Aerrow back to the med-bay. The others would be back before the Raptors recovered, so for now, they were out of danger. As Lark lay down to sleep, she felt something small and furry curl up next to her, by this point, she was simply too tired to care, so she wasn't even aware that she wrapped her arm around the little guy, as the two of them drifted off
Piper had to bite her lip to suppress the giggles that so desperately wanted to burst forth as she observed Lark and the Lemur-Rabbit curled up on the couch. She and the others had returned just a few minutes ago, to find the entire ship in disarray, and four Raptor skimmers parked outside. Stork had given them an immediate break down of what happened, causing them all to stare at him in shock and amazement. After Stork's debrief, Starling had ordered him and Junko to get the engines working ASAP, while Dove had gone to the med-bay to check on Aerrow, and Piper had gone to the bridge. Where she had found Lark and the Lemur-Rabbit
Starling came and stood next to her, staring down at the two of them, "Well what do you know," she chuckled
"I know right," Piper giggled, "Their so cute."
Their voices stirred the Lemur-Rabbit awake, and upon seeing Piper, he instantly leapt into her arms, purring as she caught him. "Heh there little guy, I missed you too," Piper laughed
Lark was jolted a little by the little guy's sudden leap, and slowly came round herself, to see the three of them standing in front of her. Her cheeks gained a small blush, "Erm... how long have you two been there?"
"Not long," Starling replied, but smiled knowingly none the less, causing Lark's blush to deepen
"Sounds like you two did some bonding while we were away," Piper said cheekily
Lark looked away, embarrassed, "I wouldn't call it bonding, he helped us see off the Raptors, that's it."
Starling and Piper shared a look, "Still, would you mind at all if... I don't know... the little guy stuck around for a little while longer?" Piper asked
Lark's gaze snapped back to them, "What about the animal shelter?"
"Shut down," Starling answered, "Which means he'll be staying with us for a little while at least."
Lark clearly didn't know what to think about that, so in the end, she opted for default, "Well just make sure he doesn't touch my things," she replied huffily
Starling and Piper shared a chuckle, "Of course," Starling replied. "Speaking of, Finn got you this," she continued, before holding out the bag Finn had brought, its item still inside
Lark looked at it curiously, then the shape of the item registered, and she lunged for it. Starling released the bag as Lark grabbed it, and they watched her pull out a brand new 250 page, plain white paper, sketch pad. A few tears formed in Lark's eyes as she clutched the pad to her chest, before Starling spoke, "He did promise you," she said smiling
Lark nodded, "Where is he?"
"Down in engineering with Junko and Stork, giving them a helping hand," Piper responded, not noticing the curious look the Lemur-Rabbit in her arms was giving Lark and her sketch pad
"I'll thank him when I get the chance," Lark said
Starling and Piper both nodded, smiling at that, before suddenly, the Lemur-Rabbit leapt from Piper's arms and scurried into a nearby vent. The three girls stared curiously after him, before they heard sounds of movement overhead. Then suddenly, a ceiling panel came loose, and the Lemur-Rabbit gave a startled cry as it fell through, several sheets of paper clutched in one hand
"That's where he's been hiding?" Starling asked, as she looked up into the crawl space that had been revealed. Inside, Starling could see several items that had gone missing since they left Terra Mesa, including Junko's wrench, and an empty bottle of water
The little guy shook himself from the harsh landing, before standing up and approaching Lark. Once he was standing in front of her, he held out the sheets of paper, a guilty look across his furry features, with ears drooped and everything. Lark, cautiously took the papers from him, then gasped as she realised what they were
Piper and Starling stood confused for a moment, before Lark lunged for the little guy. At first, they thought Lark was going to hurt him, as evidenced by the Lemur-Rabbit's sudden startled cry. Rather than attack him though, instead, Lark was hugging him, "Thank you, thank you for returning them," she breathed
Starling and Piper both connected the dots, and breathed a sigh of relief, as the Lemur-Rabbit patted the back of Lark's head comfortingly. Then Lark released him, and stood up, holding both her new pad, and her old drawings close, "I'm just going to put these in mine and Piper's room... then I'm going to sleep for a week."
Starling and Piper smiled and nodded, "You do that," Piper said encouragingly, "Sleep tight."
Lark nodded, and left, tears of joy brimming at the corners of her eyes
The Lemur-Rabbit watched her leave, then winched as Starling spoke, "You're going to return everything else you've taken from around the ship mister, unless you wanna stay on this Terra with the Raptors?"
The little guy instantly snapped to attention, saluting Starling, before darting back into the vent to retrieve the other items from his nest. Piper just chuckled as they watched him scurry back and forth, "Looks like we have a new recruit," she said smiling, "What are we gonna call him?"
Suddenly, Aerrow's voice came through on the intercom, "Radarr, his name is Radarr."
Starling laughed out loud at that, "Well that's that," she said, as they watched Radarr run back in, fleeing an angry Finn, who had only just realised that Radarr had taken his guitar pick
"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'RE GONNA WISH THE RAPTORS HAD GOTTEN YOU INSTEAD!" Finn yelled, as Radarr gave a startled cry, leaping all about the ship to avoid Finn
Laughter echoed around the ship, as Stork and Junko got the engines working. A few minutes later, and the Condor was rising into the skies once more. It was only as they flew away though, that Starling realised she still hadn't made any progress decoding the map. She gave a groan as she slammed her head onto the table in front of her in frustration
And that's a wrap
Heh guys, Stormhawk fan SHhype here, sorry about earlier, and my thanks to Piper for taking over the intro, this one was a tough one to complete, it really shouldn't have been so difficult, but it was (sighs). Anyway, done now, so I can finally relax
I'm sorry to say that the next chapter won't be out for a while, I need a break after this one, I may possibly do chp6 for Stellaris next, and then proceed in an alternating fashion, but we'll see
Still, rather than a set back, I'd like to see this as an opportunity, as this chapter marks the end of the first third of 'The Storm and the Hawk', the whole gang is together now, Piper, Aerrow, Starling, Lark, Junko, Stork, Dove, Finn and Radarr, the crew of the Condor for this story. Now we move into the second third, which is where I planned our heros to meet various characters from the cannon series
Some of these characters will help them, some will hinder them, I won't say who does what, but I can tell you who I've already planned to have. We have the Rex Guardians, Triton of the Neck deeps, as well as Dove's family and her Terra's squadron the Rebel Ducks, the Interceptors will also be making an appearance, but won't be meeting our heros till the final third
As I was writing this chapter though, I felt myself wondering, was this enough? So since I'm putting this story on the back burner for now, I'd like you guys to give me you're opinion. Should I include more characters from the cannon show, if so, who? and in what context? Let me know in you're reviews, or PM me, and as always, constructive criticism is welcome
French Translations
terrifiant = Creepy
genial = great (in this context, it has other translations)
commande = ordered (google gives me order, but I originally asked what the french word for 'ordered' was, and it gave me the same thing as the french word for order)
Mon Dieu = My God
Pour l'amour de Dieu = For God's sake (could have sworn this was 'for the love of god' last time, argh french, never liked the language, sounds lovely, never could get my head around it though)
mignon petit gars = cute little guy
Oui = yes (why do I even feel the need to put this one here)
and there we have it, hope guys enjoyed, remember, views and reviews keep the inspiration flowing, and as always, constructive criticism is welcome, see you all next time ; )