With City Shadows arc 1 concluded, D-Sniper and I are taking a wee little break before we start arc 2. In the mean time while we plan out arc 2, we figured we'd give some of our other characters some attention.
"Ok, according to the information we scored from that Talon, the Cyclonians have set up a crystal mining site on this small terra called Terra Mineros," Crow explained, opening a map on the main table of the bridge.
"Mineros? Is it cold there?" Lily Ray asked with an anticipated smile.
"Actually, it's just hills and dirt, but there's a huge mine filled with raw crystals there," Crow clarified.
"Good, the last thing we need is horrible cold weather," Basil hissed.
"What you call horrible, I call comfortable and familiar!" Ray barked.
"Ok, don't you two start this again!" Osprey shouted, coming between the two. "Ok Crow, what's the plan?"
"Krane will stay with the Frigate out of sight; we don't want the Cyclonians spotting our ship and figuring out the plan. The rest of us will travel to the Terra on our skimmers. I'll stay back and provide cover while you three move up into the mine's camp site where you can take out the Cyclonians. One less crystal mine for them is a good thing for all of Atmos."
"Good. Krane, set course for Terra Mineros!" Krane silently acknowledged Osprey's order.
As the Frigate was making it's way to Terra Mineros, Crow walked down the halls of the ship near their quarters and noticed Ray and Basil crouched by Krane's door. "Uh, what are you two doing?" he asked.
"Oh jeez! Crow, you nearly gave me a fright there, eh," Ray responded.
"We're trying to get into Krane's room," Basil said.
"Yeah, I can see that… but why?" he asked again.
"Ok, we all know Krane never talks right? All we know about him is that he used to be in the circus at Terra Neon, but that's it! Something fishy is going on with him and we want to get to the bottom of it!" Ray exclaimed.
"You guys, Ossy's not going to like this! You have to respect Krane's privacy," Crow scolded them.
"That's right!" Osprey suddenly appeared from the other end of the corridor as Ray and Basil shrieked in surprise, quickly standing up straight. "I can't believe you two! Breaking into Krane's private quarters? Krane has a right to his privacy and if he doesn't want to tell us about it, then that's his choice! Krane will tell us about his past when he's good and ready. Until then, I don't want to see anymore of this sneaking around and snooping through Krane's things! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," Ray and Basil muttered.
"Good, now get ready. We're almost at Terra Mineros." As the others gathered with their gear and weapons in the bridge, Osprey walked up to Krane as he piloted the Frigate. "All right, this is as far as the Frigate goes. Let's anchor her down over there," she said, pointing to several rock pillars to the West. She Frigate's anchor hooks dug into the rocks as Krane shut down the ship.
"We're all ready to go," Crow said.
"Good, Krane, you stay here and keep watch. If anything goes wrong, you know what do to," Osprey said as Krane nodded. The Jaegers rode their Skimmers towards Terra Mineros, staying low to avoid any watching Cyclonians.
Crow put on his goggles as he zoomed in on the Terra. "There's a small ledge just below the main surface of the Terra. We can park our rides there and move toward the camp."
"Good work, Crow," said Osprey. They landed where Crow instructed them to and parked their skimmers before climbing up the rocky side of the Terra. "Ok, Crow, you set up here and watch our backs as we advance."
"You got it!" Crow said with a thumbs up.
Osprey, Ray and Basil slowly advanced into the mine camp site, carefully ducking behind mine carts and sheltered structures to avoid guards. "Wait, something's up… where are all the guards going?" Osprey whispered. "Crow, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure. All the guards are leaving the main camp," Crow responded over their radio.
"Hmm, something doesn't feel right here," Basil hissed.
"You said it," Ray added.
"Oh no, guys we've got-" Crow cut out before he could finish.
"Crow? Crow! Come in! What's going on?" Osprey cried into the radio.
"This can't be good," Basil muttered.
"You said it Bas," Osprey said as the three came out of their hiding spot and into the open of the empty mine camp. All of a sudden, figures in black appeared all around them. They aimed crossbow-like weapons mounted on their forearms at the three as their eyes glowed purple and the growled menacingly. "NightCrawlers," she muttered.
"You're surrounded," the NightCrawler leader came forward as he spoke, his eyes glowing red instead of purple. Two NightCrawlers walked forward, roughly throwing Crow to their feet. Osprey quickly helped him up, "Crow! Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, Ossy. I didn't see the NightCrawlers until they jumped me!"
The NightCrawlers placed them in a metal cage as the leader radioed back to Cyclonia of their capture.
"That Talon we got the information from must have known it was a trap," said Crow.
"Ngh, what do we do now? We can't just sit and wait for them to ship us off to Cyclonia!" Basil shouted.
"How are you gonna get out of this one? Those hosers took our weapons and we're stuck in here," Ray grumbled.
"Relax everyone. You're forgetting that there's still one Jaeger," Osprey said.
"Krane? No offence Ossy, but Krane's just a carrier pilot!" Basil argued.
"He's a real stand up guy, but I doubt he could hold his own against a NightCrawler," added Crow.
Krane looked through the binoculars of the bridge, noticing the two black gliders flying towards the Frigate. He pulled away from the binoculars and narrowed his eyes in a glare. The NightCrawlers landed on the ship's exterior runway, before blasting open the hangar doors. Krane opened the gate of the ventilation shaft and climbed in before putting the gate back in place. He crawled through the vents as silently as he could until he came to the grate right over the bridge.
"The boss said to check their ship, but I don't see anyone on board," said one NightCrawler as they searched through the bridge.
"We've checked the ship and there's no sign of additional members to that squadron we just captured. Let's head back," said the other as the two left. Once they left, Krane kicked out the grate and climbed down into the bridge.
The others were captured and he was the only one who could help them. And if NightCrawlers were here to do clean up, chances were that there would be more on Terra Mineros. There was only one thing he could do.
Krane made his way to his private quarters, which he always kept locked. Once inside, he walked over to the chest that held his treasured momentos from his time in the circus. He emptied the contents before peeling back a hidden compartment at the bottom of the chest. Inside lay a black hooded robe, black armor and two mini crossbow gauntlets. Krane was so sure that he would never have to lay eyes on this uniform again as he lightly traced his fingers over the scratched out symbol on one of the armor pieces. He took a deep breath and sighed before donning the black cloak and armor. He adjusted the two crossbows to make sure they were aligned and properly functioning before throwing the hood over his head. Krane silently mused to himself how the uniform still fit after all this time as he adjusted the hood to allow his ponytail to flow through a hole he cut out for his hair.
But this time would be different. He wasn't going to raid a Terra or destroy an Atmosian facility. This time, he was going to save his friends. He made his way down to the hangar bay, noticing the destroyed bay doors courtesy to the invading NightCrawlers. He walked past where the others' rides would usually be parked to a spot against the wall. He pressed his hand into a spot on the wall as a small compartment opened up. Krane punched in a code on the keypad as the wall suddenly indented and slid open, revealing a black Skimmer identical to the ones the NightCrawlers came on. Krane had found this hidden compartment on the Frigate within the first few days of and thought it would be the best place to hide his old ride. He lifted his leg over the body of the Skimmer and planted himself firmly in the driver's seat. He couldn't remember the last time he mounted his old Skimmer, but the feeling of being back on it and in his old uniform was so familiar that it felt like yesterday. With hesitant hands, he gripped the handles and started up the Skimmer, feeling the hum of the engines vibrate through his body.
He brought the Skimmer out to the landing strip and stared at Terra Mineros in the distance. If there was another we he could do this, Krane would have already taken it, but this was the only option. He silently prayed that his teammates would not think any less of him before hitting the accelerator as his Skimmer zoomed off the Frigate. Krane nearly became lost in the feeling of the wind running through his hair and filling up his hood. He closed his eyes, relishing the freedom he felt before quickly coming back to his sense. He hit the transformer switch and pulled the handlebars up as the Skimmer morphed into a glider. Terra Mineros was only a few seconds away as Krane narrowed his eyes, steeling himself for the ordeal ahead.
Uh oh, the Jaegers have been captured by Nightcrawlers and only Krane can save them. But in order to save his new friends, Krane must confront his past.