A/N: Alexa and Speedy the Skell are having a fine time in Noctilum, until someone cuts in. Some swears and extreme skell geekery. All things wonderful belong to the geniuses of MONOLITHSOFT.
Alexa was panting when she climbed into the skell. She hadn't exactly run all the way to her locker and back. Not exactly. Jogged. Ran. Raced. It was a matter of vocabulary. Doug was already asleep, snugged into the very small emergency side seat. Even without his ridiculous armor, he was taking a good chunk of space. Alexa spared a moment to check his harness before snapping on hers. Just in case. It didn't wake him the slightest, and there had been no need, really. He'd latched it perfectly, even getting the high altitude ditch linkage set correctly. A brand new version, and he had nailed it. He might be fussy and glum, but he knew his way around the inside of a skell. Alexa was glad she'd gone with him as emergency partner. Frye might have fit better, but he probably would have been way more trouble.
Alexa turned on the skell, which she had already nicknamed Speedy, and turned her attention fully to the machine. Almost no vibration at the start. She checked to see if it really was on, no, it was all lit green. When she eased on the controls, the skell lifted up more smoothly than any other she'd ever piloted. She felt the ballet toe shoe feet lift from the ground with only a whisper of sound. Smooth and quiet, already she was in raptures with this ninja of a vehicle.
She took it very slow as she left the hangar, very slow as she lifted out of New Los Angeles. The city winked below her, the BLADE tower now a confident misty green. No sudden turns, just a very slow twist as she oriented herself. The skell still was quiet enough that she could hear Doug snoring very very softly. Well, good for him, he'd get a nap and she'd have a blast.
She had her night planned. First Primordia, mostly simple ground maneuvers and some regular lifts and landings. Nothing too high, because she was in no mood to tangle with the sky whales. Those critters were very peaceable until they were suddenly not. Speedy did not disappoint. The transition from ground to flight mode went smoothly, no matter how quickly she repeated the shift, and over what bumps she landed or launched from. In fact, it seemed to lean into the transition. Usually there was a stutter, a pause, as the flight module took over, but this was so quick she didn't even notice it. Another approving and flowery remark entered her testing log. Most of the report still was numbers and scales, yes or no to this issue, ability met or missed, but occasionally she'd let loose with what the rest of her division called "Classic Alexisms." Whatever. "Transitions flow like glorious shafts of light, like that undeterminable shift between dawn and morning." If they didn't get what she meant, then no numbers were going to help either. God, she was falling hard for this skell.
Then she decided that both she and Speedy deserved more. Noctilum, here we come. A deep breath beside her had her turning her head for a second. Oh right, Doug. Still asleep, even more deeply. She'd wake him if it got really fun. Maybe.
She wove her way towards the jungle continent, but at the last minute she dodged the narrow entrance and punched the skell hard up and into the sky. It went to maximum speed without complaint. Standard maximum speed, she reminded herself with a grin. No one watching her would fault her lack of patience, lack of control. She had all night and all day to test every gram this baby had. Speedy lifted them up and over the giant leaves that marked the entrance. Then she descended, landing lightly on the petal of a large and luminous flower, taking a moment to recheck the records of the engine's performance. No overheating. Fuel usage a tad high, but nothing the lowest level augment wouldn't fix. Weapon systems still ready, not that she cared, but she figured Doug might ask, if he ever woke up. Plus, it was on the list of boxes to check off. Wasn't she being a good little test pilot? She deserved a cookie. Or something more fun.
She hopped over indigen, raced through narrow passages tangled with vines and dropped branches. She swore Speedy ducked itself lower to get through. Maybe it did. She made a note. They could call her crazy later, so long as they also checked to see if it was true.
But Noctilum also revealed problems. She wasn't so enchanted as to be blind to Speedy's faults. On the ground, switching speeds during a sharp curve had caused the skell to spin in a circle as it slowed, swinging almost like a pirouette. Actually rather fun, but she guessed some pilots with weaker stomachs wouldn't much care for that.
A more serious issue developed a few minutes later. After she'd sped through the narrow spaces of the Canopied Nightwood, she launched down towards the water. No problem there, so she'd headed straight towards the waterfalls, one impressive level after another. When she finally reached Everwhelm Falls, she took the skell right into the downpour, ascending straight up into the water. Even the weight of an entire river didn't make Speedy hesitate more than a fraction, but she noticed some droplets on the inner windows with some dismay. The seal left something to be desired, apparently. Maybe it had to do with having two people in the cab, because, yup, Doug, still breathing, still unaware of just how fabulous this night was turning out to be. She suddenly wished that her partner Tika was here, but the little hypochondriac had ditched her for a workup at the Mimeosome Center, something about a twitchy left arm. Alexa wanted somebody to share just how awesome this all was, to complain about those stupid droplets. She focused on the report with added zeal.
Did she dare? Hell yes. She followed the river, not quite as thoroughly submerged now, to the Celestial Ascent. When they reached it, she pushed it to maximum speed. Real maximum speed. Because that was the secret behind Speedy: not a nimble body or a quiet ride, sweet though those were, but a good 50% increase in velocity. Maybe she should have waited for a clean straight ride. Aw, screw that, floor it baby. As they climbed and climbed, up straight into the night sky with its impossible moon rainbows, spray slicing along the sides, she couldn't help but give a joyous whoop of laughter. At last. At long, long last, something perfect in her life. She'd forgive Speedy any amount of condensation, any weird shimmy on landing, just for this minute of amazing.
Only a minute though, because they were up and over, and skimming around the Celestial Roost. She regretfully slowed Speedy to a more restrained speed, because there were indigen up here that made sky whales look like guppies. Still, it was fun to weave around the roots, swerving left and right effortlessly. Once more, she parked the skell under a pagoda of scarlet tangles to review her flight notes. Yup, all good, fuel usage had really peaked though, just for that little bit of fun. If she kept that up, she'd have to check in long before her intended early morning pit stop. Well, that wasn't a surprise, although it was going to keep this darling from general usage unless Sakuraba came up with a solution. Oh please, let that happen, she prayed, because this was unspeakably fine.
She let the skell drift up, twirling daintily among the vegetation, neither branches nor roots, but something in between, when she saw it. Glinting like diamonds against the night horizon. Wings like a fan of knives. And headed straight toward her. Not what you'd call a surprise, but not welcome. Alexa calmly swerved down and away. When left alone, it would continue its majestic if deadly way.
Not this time. This time, it tracked the skell.
Alexa felt something sickly in her stomach. She shifted Speedy lower, closer to the branches. The Endbringer shifted to meet her. She did a tight loop, heading back the way she had come. She couldn't see it directly, but the rear cameras showed that it was following. Possibly gaining. She couldn't look to make sure.
"This doesn't make any sense," she said out loud. "It isn't aggressive. It should just leave me alone. Why aren't you leaving me alone?"
"S'okay, I'm here," muttered a voice next to her.
Great, moral support from a passed out Harrier. She almost giggled, it was so stupid. Right, enough of this. No time like the present to get the hell out of Dodge. She pushed Speedy to standard, then to true maximum. Even through her fear, she made a professional note that the transition continued to be smooth, the engine remained astonishingly quiet. She aimed the skell higher and higher. The telethia followed still, but the gap between them must be increasing. If she got far enough away from Noctilum, it wouldn't dare to follow. Or at least, that's what she hoped.
Speedy performed brilliantly. She kept an eye on the dipping fuel level, but felt confident that they'd be okay. Hell, she could high tail it all the way back to New LA this way if necessary, this fast, with a telethia on her butt. Oh, wouldn't that get her in a world of trouble? Once BLADE had fought the beast off, with who knows what casualties and damage, Nagi would turn and kill her where she stood, before she knew what happened. She really wasn't happy with that whole image.
But, never fear, just as she crossed into deep ocean, the telethia swept its way back towards its roost, smoothly, as if it had never deviated from its standard, stately route. Alexa dropped the speed (not a shudder, still perfect), and leaned back in the seat. She felt immense relief, which forced her unwillingly to admit how terrified she'd been.
"Test flight encountered Telethia over Noctilum, was able to evade it using maximum speed. However, it is possible that the creature was attracted to this skell. Perhaps because it flies so quietly." She made this verbal note, fully realizing that whoever transcribed it would think her utterly insane. But she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, the Endbringer wanted Speedy as a friend. With benefits. She could not repress a full laugh at that thought.
Who knew indigens had Friday night rituals too?
She was both very glad and somewhat sorry that Doug had missed it all. Except to comfort her in a fully useless way. She sure wasn't going to mention it to him for a couple weeks at least, because she had to admit it had been a little too risky for her tastes. Bailing out, that high, was not a sure thing, and Speedy would have definitely been a scratch. She didn't like the fact that she'd put this darling skell in such danger. She didn't need Doug nagging her about that kind of carelessness. Really, people, take a chill pill, she had done nothing too edgy and had responded wisely and successfully. Bad luck and good luck ran wild on Mira. All these thoughts ran through her head as she glided over and down towards the ocean surface.