Before they left, Rorack insisted that they are well-armed. Viper was fine, but Dustin, who had no weapons, was not according to Rorack, so he took him to one of the weapon shops to get him a weapon. In the end, Dustin opted for a short sword and got a red striker crystal. Rorack did comment on how, despite Dustin's lanky and lengthy features, his movement did suit someone of a smaller size. Viper, however, Rorack can read easily since he has seen some raptor raiders and how they fight.
After this, Dustin was put to work with Viper on how to fight. On the first strike, Dustin ended up down on his back with a flimsy spear tip against his throat. At that point, both Viper and Rorack knew Dustin needs this training to handle his new weapon. So they continue for the rest of the day, honing Dustin's skills enough till what they both deem as passable is achieved. After this, Dustin takes a long-needed break and goes to the guild to pick up the mission and cargo orders for where they need to go next. When he saw that one of them goes to terra Mesa, it made him wonder how Starling is doing and imagines her still working with her squad, but more respected and a more significant rank. Dustin lets out a chuckle as he believes Starling has a more substantial ranking than him and being able to order him around like he was her recruit if they do meet up. Nonetheless, it was late enough, and they had spent enough time on the terra, so Dustin came back to the ship with cargo in tow behind him.
"Okay, guys, I hope you can get settled in quick enough because we are heading out tomorrow morning. I don't want to do a sleeping flight tonight," Dustin explains when he comes back to the bridge to find Viper mostly lounging, and Roark is looking interested at his map. "So make sure to sleep. Unless you have something you need to do, go ahead and head out. Just be sure to make it back before dawn," Dustin finishes as he goes to make some final checks to the bridge systems and navigation back checking the cargo. After a bit, he then made his way to the radio and pulled out the frequencies that he wrote down and started tuning to the Interceptors one.
"This is the ship The Last Crux calling Interceptors. Repeat, this is the ship The Last Crux calling Interceptors over," Dustin says.
The radio crackles before a voice speaks through. "Interceptors, reading The Last Crux. Who is this?"
"Captain Dustin. We have accepted a contract to be delivering supplies, so keep an eye out for us. We will be arriving in about a week," Dustin informs before describing the ship.
"Copy. We will expect you soon," the voice reports.
"Also, is Starling there?" Dustin asks.
"Yes. She is currently out on a scout mission," the voice replies.
"Alright, when she gets back, tell her Dustin called," Dustin informs.
"Sure thing," the voice says before the radio crackles.
"I bet that Starling is most likely out training or on patrol," Dustin says, putting the transmitter back as he goes back to steering the ship.
The pounding footsteps reach Dustin's ears as he keeps his eyes to the sky. "I am guessing this is an old friend of yours?" Rorack asks, standing behind him and watching his movements.
"A member of the squadron who's terra we are going to visit. So Rorack, what do you think of the war that we are in?" Dustin asks.
"War?" Rorack questions. "This 'war' you speak of has no battles, and yet others are suffering."
"The war has never ended. No peace treaty was ever signed. We have just shifted into what I would call a cold war phase. Neither side currently has the strength to press the advantage. The sky knight forces lost many veteran knights, and the storm hawks themselves were wiped out completely. Cyclonia also lost many in that battle when the Sky knight forces pushed right to their capital. Now both sides are just sitting and glaring at each other, waiting for their forces to recover enough to strike once more. In the meantime, both sides will most likely start competing with each other over everything, trying to show up the other and prove their dominance," Dustin informs.
Rorack looks on questionably to Dustin as he keeps steering. "You seem to know even politics. Strange. I pegged you for mostly a merchant who wanted their pay."
"That's my father's influence, but it's because he took me everywhere on his business. I have no real stake in any terra and have gotten a good feel for the situation or at least a good overview of it. Mark my words, though. Cyclonia will most likely be the first to recover from the last round," Dustin informs.
Rorack sighs. "The question is when."
"It will take years, at least. By that point, the sky knight's unity will fractored once more as there is no unifying force like the storm hawks anymore," Dustin says.
"Pity. We see them as great warriors to test our skills," Viper notes as he walks up beside them. "And now, we mostly have recruits. Not as fun."
"This is what happens when both a pyrrhic victory occurs," Dustin says, getting a confused look from them. "A victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat," Dustin informs. 'How…did I know that?' Dustin thinks to himself.
"Interesting. That would be detrimental to anyone. But I would say it's not only them that suffered but also the Atmos as a whole. The end of this fighting war left even terras in shambles," Rorack points out.
"Thus, why it was a pyrrhic victory. Both sides took it so far that they both lost. Cyclonia barely managed to destroy enough of their enemies to make it a 'victory' basically," Dustin explains.
Viper hisses deeply. "Well, we got the wrong end of the deal. Our tribes are now more separated and in conflict with each other."
"Which is why I have reason to hate both sides equally," Dustin informs to their surprise.
"You…" Rorack starts in disbelief. "You don't want to be part of any side?"
"Cyclonia as a whole is too focused on dominance. It has let corruption snake its way in and turned the focus away from domestic and beneficial pursuits in favor of ministers or powerful officers pursuit of greed and power. The sky knights, for the most part, are idiots who stopped wanting to advance and so focused on their terras they have lost sight of the greater community as a whole," Dustin informs.
Viper lets out a hissing chuckle. "Then why not make your very own empire? At least you can follow your own rules," he laughs at the absurdity of the claim.
"I am not a fool who thinks he can do better. That is every single would-be conqueror in our history, but if neither of these bratty children we call nation would change, they will collapse if not the starting up of fighting again then soon," Dustin says seriously.
"Collapse?" Rorack asks, surprised.
"If they continue like this, then Cyclonia will eventually overwhelm them with their numbers. Then they will overextend themselves trying to hold the entire Atmos itself and collapse from the fighting that the remaining forces give and the infighting for wealth and power," Dustin informs.
"Isn't that every single terra's lifestyle?" Rorack proposes.
"To the extent of betraying and killing each other?" Dustin asks.
Both Viper and Rorack look to each other while Dustin keeps steering. "Welcome to terra life," they both say.
"You both are sounding like a certain squaddie I know," Dustin says, shaking his head.
Weeks seem to become routine as they travel to terra Mesa. Rorack was busy training Viper hard on how to be a sailor, which for the first part, involved making him learn how to swab the deck and clean properly. For Dustin, it was training him how to use his weapon more and more. Dustin had a bit of trouble figuring out training at first but was making a bit of progress. When they got close to terra Mesa, they spotted a patrol of the Interceptors flying around. They figured they would report spotting them and that the harbor workers would be ready to receive them.
Rorack tries to use a spyglass and peer ahead of them. "Nice city. I always wondered about this terra," he says. Before the three, laid a large vast expansive terra that had a city spread out across the various flat areas while any mountainous or hills were overtaken by farm and grazing lands. As for the docking area, it looks over near the largest of the buildings, so it could be concluded that the city district near the docks is the 'center' of the terra, even if on edge. "Seems they have it made."
"It seems like it, but they still haven't recovered. The storm hawk's leader convinced around forty percent to enlist to fight in the last great battle. Can you guess how many made it back?" Dustin asks.
"None of us were there for it. Zero?" Viper guesses while mopping the floors.
"Only one for every ten. Most were on board ships that were completely outclassed by the Cyclonian destroyers. I will let you fill in the blanks on what happened from there," Dustin says.
Rorack groans that send rumbles through the two others. "You have a bleak outlook on the past, don't you?"
"Why not? When it's because of Lightning Strike, my mother died?" Dustin asks.
The two remain silent but return to watching and cleaning.
Dustin pulled them into the harbor, where many were waiting to start unloading their delivery. "Alright, you two. You got shore leave. Just try not to get into trouble," Dustin says, putting the Last Crux into park and taking out the key.
Rorack eyes Viper, who looks offended now. "Why are you looking at me like that?" the raptor demands.
"You know why," Rorack informs.
Viper mutters and turns away before going back to cleaning the last sections of the deck. Roark meanwhile chooses to walk to his room to pick up a few things. A while later, Viper sees the considerable wallop walk out towards the cargo bay and then towards the city. Viper huffs before packing the mop and bucket away and going to his room as well. On the way, he passes by the door to the cargo bay and sees Dustin talking to people and exchanging papers while they seem to be engrossed in things to notice him. Viper's tail wags behind him before he grabs his things and heads out to enjoy himself in the terra city.
"That leaves me with locking up," Dustin says, taking the payment to the safe onboard.
After he has made sure everything is back where it should be, Dustin walks toward the cargo bay doors and starts to close them. With only a few feet left, he faintly sees a skimmer ride towards his direction but doesn't think much of it as the door shuts. "Finally. Some peace. Never thought I miss it," Dustin says to himself and walks towards his room. Only for a couple of knocks to pound the bay doors. Dustin groans and opens the doors again. "Unless you have cargo, I can safely and legally deliver, I…Starling?" he asks after seeing the girl standing there in her sky knight uniform and smiling at him.
"Hey. Been a while," Starling greets, giving a small wave.
"Hey, tried contacting you," Dustin says. "So what do you think of my first ship? It might be old and a bit small, but it is a start."
Starling smirks and looks around. She then gives a kick to the ground and makes some dust fly around. "Could do with some cleaning."
"Yeah, one of the crew is constantly doing that. He is a bit green when it comes to being a sailor," Dustin explains.
Starling chuckles and walks in, still looking around the area. "Any trouble for your first ship and life out here, somewhat alone?"
"Well, I can tell you this. Cyclonia is having a hard time internally. Heard someone tried to assassinate the current heir to the empire," Dustin informs, trying to change the subject.
Starling turns to him on a heel and looks at him questionably. "Want to talk more over a meal or drink?"
"I am game," Dustin says, getting on her skimmer.
Starling smiles before getting on and starting it up. "You have practiced on your dad's junker skimmer, right?"
"Not a chance, and besides, this is your ride. The truth is that my ship doesn't even have a skimmer," Dustin says as Starling cranked the skimmer.
Starling rides off as Dustin holds her around her waist. "You should get one. Even if it is very cheap."
"Even if I did, my crew only consists of three people. Kinda need all hands on the ship, and the cargo space is needed," Dustin explains his situation.
Starling nods. "Then I will see if I can get you one someday."
"Maybe one day, but it's also not in the budget currently. So how are you? Become a sky knight yet?" Dustin teases.
Starling grins. "Yep. You are looking at a full-fledged sky knight."
"Oh? So will you be given command of your formation soon, or your captain still think you need more training before you take command like that?" Dustin asks.
Starling rolls her eyes. "Still more training. Think of it like officer training."
"So, you want the details I can't say in public while we go flying alone?" Dustin asks.
Starling keeps smiling. "Yeah. I would like that," Starling informs before taking to the sky and flies from the terra.
"Alright, I met the child. She is like twelve. I saved her life and returned her to the empire," Dustin informs.
Starling looks back at him, but hardly holds any form of emotion. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, I am fine. She was the only one who lived through. I buried four other Cyclonians, though. It's bad, Starling. To attempt something so bold and fail is going to cause ripples with the current leader. I can imagine that heads have already rolled over this. Literally," Dustin informs.
Starling now looks at him with a hint of worry. "As long as you stay safe and out of the way, okay?"
"I think I am good. Heck, you saw those two cannons on the deck of my ship, right?" Dustin asks.
Starling looks back to where they should be. "Yeah. Must have cost your savings for it."
"Cyclonis, the heir, ordered them to give me them and crystals for ammo as a thank you for saving her and talking to her about things giving her a better understanding of some things," Dustin informs.
"You are a lucky guy," Starling almost chuckles at, but can't shake the feeling there should be more about this.
"Yeah, but if Cyclonis dies, we are in for a real rough ride. There will be an idiot in charge or several idiots who will start fighting each other over territory and will start raiding the rest of the Atmos," Dustin says, voicing his thoughts.
Starling remains quiet for a few moments before looking back at him. "Have you ever taken time to relax?"
"Well, I have fun, which is better than relaxing," Dustin counters.
Starling slowly smiles and then grins. "And this counts as…?"
"Talking to you is almost always fun," Dustin assures.
"Almost?" Starling asks sarcastically and spins the skimmer around, making him cry out and hold on tightly to her with his head buried into her back. "Now, is it fully fun?"
"The almost is when we have to have serious talks…so how is your terra? They are still reeling from the losses?" Dustin asks.
"We are getting back on our feet finally," Starling assures.
"Good to hear. So how are the squadrons? Have they started falling back into their old divided ways like I theorized they would do?" Dustin asks. Starling is silent, showing she didn't want to answer that one. "I see. So I was right on the money then," he notes grimly before looking to the side. "I now wish we had more of an army than separate squads."
"The rest of the squadrons would never go for it as you have said in the past. You were right. They are too individualistic, preferring to stay in their territory than doing the job," Starling finally admits.
"Just because I am right doesn't mean I am happy about it," Dustin informs.
Starling slowly shakes her head before looking back at him. "But it also means something else. We need more like you. And think like you even that leads us."
"That won't happen. Everyone is too set in their ways to listen to me. And many of the younger generations that would listen to me won't go after that battle. Too many lost parents and siblings to do so. It will take both sides finally collapsing for people to start coming around, I think," Dustin theorizes.
Starling looks worried at him before sighing. "So…are you still eating some old gruel?" she asks, giving a small smile.
"No, we have been eating some sky shark that we killed when it attacked our ship," Dustin informs.
Starling giggles. "Then, I have some delicious food if you want."
"We mostly have jerky right now. So when are you going to get yourself a new custom skimmer? This one is nice and all, but it's a stock one, and you are a sky knight now," Dustin points out.
Starling gives a happy hum. "Soon. Maybe you can make some recommendations, places to buy parts even?"
"You want speed, maneuverability, or reliability as the main deciding factor?" Dustin asks, letting her know that it would dictate his answer.
"Speedy. I was never one for pure firepower," Starling sighs and wonders how far she can make her skimmer.
"Then I suggest going for a Slip-Wing Fighter Ultra. Fast with good fuel consumption ratio, but will need to work on it a bit if you want decent maneuverability from what I have heard," Dustin informs.
Starling nods before chuckling. "Want to help build it? Maybe once done, I can give you this one," she suggests, patting the side of the skimmer they are riding.
"You can't afford that Starling. You will need to give this to another squaddie as your squad is scraping by for money as it is," Dustin says, shocking her he knew this.
Starling looks back at him as she steadies the flight. "Did you look into our finances somehow?"
"It's the price for the job that was posted and knowing what has happened to you guys. You paid over the market price for what we delivered, letting me know you are desperate. It's the little details that tell the most Starling," Dustin informs.
Starling raises an eyebrow before sighing and hanging her head. "Nothing gets by you, huh?"
"I am an explorer. Besides, are you surprised after knowing me for so long?" Dustin asks.
Starling lets a small smile through. "Nah. Are you still hungry? Maybe I can treat you to a better meal, and we can talk about my future skimmer over it."
"Alright, and maybe you will tell me about the latest guy you laid out when they wouldn't take no for an answer to date them," Dustin teases.
Starling blushes. "Come on. Does everyone know that?"
"It's happened more than once," Dustin teases.
Starling smirks and starts to push him to the side, but he quickly grabs onto her arm to stay upright in the air. "Who's the best pilot around?"
"You are Miss KO," Dustin teases.
Starling rolls her eyes and lets her grip slip a little, making him cry out in fear and hold on tighter. "Sorry, what was that?"
"Wh…why is it so c…c…cold?" Viper asks, shivering as he tries to wrap himself in blankets.
Dustin hums and smirks. "Visiting a good friend and dropping off more cargo. Don't worry. We have a heater."
"Work, you blasted thing!" Rorack yells, smacking the heater.
"Correction. We will have a heater," Dustin quips, and Viper screeches in frustration. "Look on the bright side, Viper. I promised you a predator to hunt. You will have one," Dustin adds as the large snow-covered terra comes into view.
"What predator?" Viper growls as he grabs another blanket.
"A large one with two teeth nearly as long as your arm and can run at nearly the speed of a skimmer," Dustin informs. Viper hisses in satisfaction now. "So best get that spear of yours. I will be doing paperwork with the Blizzarians and Rorack will be doing his own thing," Dustin assures.
"Work!"
"So yeah, look forward to that," Dustin says as they come in for a landing.
As they land at the port, Dustin notices the terra has been built up since he was last here. More buildings and homes, of course, with most of them having open windows in the cold. Another set of warehouses have been built up near the docks as well, with piles of frozen and snow-covered cargo inside the wide-open gates. And there are many more Blizzarians walking around than before. At this point, Dustin wants to crack a joke about reproduction numbers but holds his tongue. And he does so in a time when he notes a couple of skimmers heading his ship's way—a set with certain color schemes. "We got their sky knights coming our way. I think Absolute Zeros," Dustin calls as he parks and shuts off the engines. "Happy hunting and fixing guys," he says to his crew while heading down to the cargo bay.
On his way out, he spots a very familiar Blizzarian leading them. "I see you got here fast, Suzy," Dustin comments.
Suzy smirks while walking up and blowing some bubble gum. "And you still look like you crashed and burned your ride five times. It should be three based on what I saw," she shoots back.
"Yeah, yeah. It's not pretty, but it's my ship," Dustin says, shaking his head.
Suzy hums and looks behind him at the cargo unloading at the moment. "You got the paperwork done, eh?" she asks, chewing away after popping the bubble.
"As you would know about paperwork," Dustin jokes.
Suzy gives an animated flick to his head. "Come on, hoser. I have been planning a ride with you."
"You mind getting on your squad to give one of my crew a lift? He wants to go hunt one of the big cats," Dustin explains.
Suzy raises an eyebrow. "Our biters? Is he serious?" she asks while one of her squadmates walks into the ship to grab Viper.
"He is a Raptor," Dustin clarifies.
Suzu shrugs. "Explains a lot. Say, did you get a skimmer with that ship?" she asks, looking up at the cargo ship.
"Only room for cargo and only three crew on it, including myself," Dustin informs, moving her a bit along.
Suzy nods along while following him. "And keeping up the fun times?" she asks, grabbing her skimmer and rolling it along with them.
"Trying to, but Starling clued me in. Cooperation has hit an all-time low," Dustin says after Suzy starts to lead him around the city.
"Why do you have to be right so often?" Suzy asks, sighing.
"Because we have idiots in charge of some squadrons now, and the council is useless and has no true power over the squadrons," Dustin points out.
Suzy slowly nods her head before smirking. "How about this? I can give you a proper ride this time. No crashing. Promise. And maybe some hotdogs, eh?" she nudges, giving a shoulder bump.
"Sounds fine. So what has happened around here? Because Starling became a sky knight," Dustin says, smirking.
Suzy grins and blows a bubble. "You are speaking to a captain, rookie."
"You are now the leader of the squadron? You, who they called Crasher Lulu?" Dustin teases.
Suzy shoves his shoulder hard and almost makes him trip. "Oy. I am good at what I do," she states before seeing him now really looking at her. "Whatcha looking at, hoser?"
"You have a leftover sandwich in your pocket," Dustin points out, trying to save face.
Suzy shakes her head before looking down at him. "So, where are you going next after this, eh? Cyclonia?" she questions, looking curious.
"Just came from there," Dustin informs before staring to tell her what happened down there, which shocked Suzy Lu a bit.
"Ya reckon we could take advantage of that infighting?" Suzy asks.
"Sure, if you can unite all the squadrons together and scrape together another invasion force like last time," Dustin says with a bit of sarcasm.
Suzy frowns at his tone before sighing. "Don't have to be that rough to me. I can take much more."
"Just be happy they aren't pushing their advantage. I am sure they know by now the state the Atmos is in," Dustin says.
"Not like we are hiding it," Suzy admits scratching her chin.
Dustin sidesteps some guys carrying a crate as he wonders about the little things they have changed and hopefully made a real obstacle course in that amount of time. "No. You guys don't. You leave yourself wide open for the Cyclonians to get you. Maybe try to hide and barricade yourself or at least cover up what's obvious."
"Don't cha ya know?" Suzy asks, grinning. "This is life. We are used to things. Start to take away the freedom and views; they will see only walls, walls, and more walls. And I learned that day one as captain."
"How is that working out for the Rex Guardians?" Dustin asks, making her chuckle nervously.
"Well…" Suzy tries to start, but a look from him makes her look away. "We can't all be defending and hiding behind walls, Dustin. If we wanted that, you wouldn't see our smiles here," she admits downtrodden as he notices her ears flop down behind her head. "And we do need smiles. Keeps us going," she chuckles a little before sighing. "Fighting a war is never easy. Nor is fending off some attacks by the Cyclonians. But we do what we can."
"Not saying you do, but there is a question of putting up some defenses. Some might just save the day in the end, but it's not my place to lecture. This is just a friend offering some advice because he doesn't want to see his friend hurt," Dustin says, making her smirk.
Suzy gives some chuckles. "Aw. You care. Does that mean you will start dating us?" she teases and boops his nose with a finger.
"Cool the hormones a bit girl. Not looking for anyone yet," Dustin replies.
Suzy giggles before shoving him away playfully. "There must be someone. It must be getting lonely on your own in that ship. There is also you traveling everywhere, mostly on your own."
"Too busy living my dream right now. Besides like we would have time. I would be away months at a time. So real talk, are we going for that ride or what?" Dustin teases.
Suzy rolls her eyes and sighs. "Get on," she orders, starting up her skimmer as they reach the edge of town.
"Yes, Lulu," Dustin teases.
Suzy frowns and looks at him with a certain look. She then sighs and gets on the skimmer as well. "You don't pull my ears; I won't toss you away like last time," she warns while feeling him wrap his arms around her waist.
"I have grown a bit," Dustin informs, smirking.
Suzy slowly smiles. "I have noticed. But I am still bigger."
"Oh, big girl, are you? Well, I guess it takes one to lead a squadron right," Dustin compliments.
Suzy somehow makes one of her ears smack into his face as they drive off, making it appear that it flopped in the wind. "Shut up, hoser," she laughs off.
"You know you love having me around," Dustin reminds.
Suzy whips her head around and gives another smack of her ears in his face. "Relax and enjoy the ride casanova."