"Are you feeling better now?" Dustin asks Starling.
Starling holds a frown as she sits on the medical bed with Roger sitting beside her. "If you mean injuries, yes. Pride, no."
"Pride will heal. By the way, I repaired your skimmer. If you had flown with it, you would have just done a nose dive to the wastelands," Dustin says.
Staring sighs softly and closes her eyes. "Sure. Just give me the tools."
"I fixed it. Now how are you feeling? Ready to get up and explore the ship?" Dustin asks.
Starling takes a deep breath before turning her head and looking at him. "Yeah. Where are we going first?"
"Come on," Dustin says, helping her up.
Starling grunts lightly as Dustin helps her up. She turns her head to look at him and now notices that he is a bit bigger than to her surprise as she remembers him being smaller than herself. Dustin sets her upright, and she sees that even his clothing has changed. From his old regular cheap stitched shirt and pants to a fancy one with hardly any seams. Even more, so that it looks like Dustin is wealthy like a noble or high valued merchant. But from what she knows, he is still getting on with what he has. Though, she is impressed that he has surpassed her in height despite being younger than her.
"Starling?" Dustin asks, waving a hand in front of her face.
Starling blinks before noticing she has been staring for some time. "Oh. Sorry. Just remembering," she apologizes.
"How I was a shrimp?" Dustin teases, folding his arms with a smirk.
Starling blushes and looks away, embarrassed. "N-No…"
"Sure," Dustin says, teasing as they head out to the hall, and he leads her to the hanger bay, which now has five Skimmers being worked on and tuned and Starling's personal skimmer to the side.
"I want to mount some of these trophies on the skimmer," one of the raptors says to another as they work on the remaining skimmers.
Starling passes by them with Dustin as they walk over to her skimmer to check on it. "You heard the captain. Too much drag," another raptor hisses at the first raptor.
"Then make the stinger into a weapon or the chitin into a shield," the raptor says.
"Here, she is. Your ride," Dustin says, showing it to Starling.
Starling hums as she looks over the bike and smiles as she runs her hand over it. "Yeah. Almost looking like new," she says happily, looking at the new metal where the old damaged pieces were or replaced as a whole.
"You also had a problem with the brakes. Should be a lot more responsive," Dustin informs.
Starling leans around and looks at the brake discs to see they are shiny and new. "Wow. You made it better."
"I may not see much of a future for these things in their current role, but it doesn't mean I can't repair and make them better," Dustin reminds her of his very unpopular opinion about skimmers.
Starling gets a small frown on her face at that notion before sighing. "Right…"
"So, now we have a kitchen, a lounge, a wreck room, and an R&D room. Those two in the middle see a lot of use on long voyages," Dustin comments as Starling sees he had to replace one of the handlebars.
"I bet," Starling comments while she still looks at the rest of the work done on her skimmer.
"So what will you do now? Your squadron is gone, and do not answer with just going after Repton. You are a sky knight. I doubt that any squadron would turn you away if you seek to join their ranks," Dustin offers.
Starling frowns while keeping herself hidden behind her skimmer. "No, they won't. But I still have a terra to protect. And there are some places sky knights can't reach in time."
"A terra is just a piece of land. I thought it was the people that the sky knights protected, not land," Dustin reminds her of what she once told him.
Starling stops before frowning heavily and grips her hand on a piece of her skimmer. "I will still do that. But that terra is now a permanent home to five people still."
"No. Starling, we checked. Terra Messa is deserted. You were the only one," Dustin informs.
Starling finally stands and looks at him dead in the eyes. "Who said they had to be alive?"
"Starling," Dustin says with authority. "Don't go down that path. It will destroy you, and I would lose the friend I have," Dustin informs, showing apparent worry on his face as they don't notice that the crew is sneaking away silently.
Starling clenches her fist as she takes a deep breath. "I can't let my team down. No matter what Dustin, with or without you, even if you shoot my skimmer down, I am going to make sure they don't suffer in the wastelands, and no one else ends up like this either across the Atmos," she proclaims, visibly agitated.
Dustin, seeing this, raises his hand and smacks her across the face. "Starling, look at me," Dustin says with a bit of anger. "What will rushing to your death do? It won't bring them back. Can you look me in the eye and tell me that your team would want you to throw away your life for revenge? You are the last Interceptor. If you die then, then Mesa indeed will die, but if you live, then you have the chance to rebuild and one day get your revenge. For now, you must bide your time. Be patient, train, and prepare for the day you will have your revenge," Dustin says.
Starling grits her teeth as anger starts to well up inside her before stopping as she notices a glinting trail on Dustin's cheek. Her anger softens, and she relents, bowing her head and sniffing a little. "Dustin…who would want a sky knight that had this much done to them?"
"If no one else, I would," Dustin says, shocking her.
Starling stiffens up and has her muscles locked at that moment when she heard what he said. "I-I-I can do more. More w-without a team Dustin," she tries to tell, but it sounds broken and almost unsure.
"How much can you do alone, Starling?" Dustin counters.
"More than you think," Starling answers, not liking that Dustin is countering her every step.
"That is not an answer, and you know it. Starling, let's be real. You and Suzy are the only knights I have any respect for. Without you around, I would wash my hands of the sky knights for good," Dustin informs.
Starling frowns and glares at him. "Dustin…!"
SMACK
Starling gasps as she holds her face and looks at Dustin in even more of a surprise. "Dustin…"
"Starling, how long have you known me?" Dustin asks.
Starling blinks slowly and stares at him. "Five years."
"I am over eighteen now. And from as long as I can remember, I have despised the sky knights, and you know why after they stole my mother from me to be literal fodder for their damn war. Cyclonia may have killed her in battle, but can you tell me that the sky knights are innocent of pressing civilians into war to die?" Dustin asks, and Starling, for the first time, sees genuine hatred burning in his eyes. Not a bright, passionate flame, but a simmering blaze that may never truly be extinguished. "Do you want to be like me?" Dustin asks, entirely serious.
Starling slowly tears up as she keeps watching in a sad shock. "Dustin…I…"
"As I said, you and Suzy are the only reason I have any faith in the Atmosian side of this war and haven't just said to hell with them," Dustin informs, the hatred starting to fade.
Starling sniffs and breathes in as the gripped hands shake against the skimmer. "Dustin…I can't let others suffer the same thing."
"It's too late for that. This has happened so many times before. The best way you can honor their memory right now is just live and be an example of what they stood for," Dustin says.
Starling shakily sighs. "That's the idea. But on my own."
"And not just for revenge," Dustin says before pulling her into a hug.
Starling gulps and tries to stay calm but only lets through a few tears down her cheeks. "Dustin…I am so sorry."
"It's ok," Dustin says, holding her.
"So, what do you think?" Dustin asks, having shown her the cannons of the Tailwind.
Starling faintly smiles while looking out to the passing scenery. "It's nice."
"We will need to give it a color scheme…we also need to decide on a uniform as well," Dustin mutters to himself.
"Take blue," Starling mutters to herself.
"Blue, huh?" Dustin says, mulling it over.
Starling nods while still watching how the canons move and work without having to fire them. "Yes. Blue and another color to make a good pair."
"Will bring it up at the next meeting," Dustin says as Starling realizes these were mostly heavy cannons…the kind that Cyclonia uses.
"Dustin?" Starling starts, unsure how to phrase the question.
"Yes, bought in Cyclonia. We are the exploration guild and are neutral. Besides, the best the Atmosia side can build is medium cannons when it comes to reliability. Wouldn't trust a heavy cannon they made with my life," Dustin explains.
Starling frowns. "Not that hard when it is your life."
"Well, if Atmosia could make better quality weaponry, this wouldn't be an issue," Dustin says.
Starling takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself. "Dustin, they will stab you in the back one day."
"And sky knights like the Rex Guardians will stab you in the front," Dustin says.
"Dustin," Starling starts in a scolding tone.
"Look, it doesn't matter where they came from. What matters is the quality. Have you ever heard of a Cyclonian made cannon being faulty?" Dustin asks.
Starling can't say anything and shuts her mouth at that point. She ends up listening to the wind and clouds rolling by them to gain some peace in her mind.
"Ok, if this is going to be an issue, I will pose a hypothetical to you. Say the sky knights win. What then? Will you kill all Cyclonians or what?" Dustin asks.
Starling turns a glare towards him. "That's not fair, Dustin. You know they keep attacking first."
"I am sorry, who was the one who initiated the last big battle between both sides over Cyclonia?" Dustin asks.
"To take the fight to them, so they don't come after us again," Starling argues.
"And doesn't that mean they attack Cyclonia?" Dustin points out.
Starling growls and yells in frustration, but that is drowned out by a massive and hot gust of wind that flutters their clothing. "Dammit, Dustin. We had to face attacks even before that. You think it's a one and done fight."
"No, but you are cherry-picking. Both sides are guilty. If we were to follow the law, many of the sky knights from that fight would be executed for war crimes," Dustin informs.
"Captain, we are receiving a notice from the guild over the radio. Payment is ready to be picked up," a voice calls over the voice pipes.
"Sorry. I have to take this. If you want, you can walk around more. Just be careful," Dustin informs before turning and walking back into the ship. This leaves Starling staring at the door as it shuts before she turns around to look at the airship's armaments and what else they are using. At this point, she is convinced all of them are Cyclonian made and hardly a shred of Atmosian even built-in.
"Look, the fault has to be somewhere around here," a voice calls down the hall, getting Starling's attention.
Starling raises an eyebrow at the voice before entering the hallway after opening the door before following the voice source. At the moment, she merely walks as familiar as ever, passing groups of the crew members, as Dustin's words still ring in her head, but what this person said makes her wonder what else is going on.
"But to get to the wiring, we will need to pry off the wall," Another voice says as Starling comes around the corner to see a female Aquanos giving orders.
"We could just use a grabber and do it that way," one of the maintenance raptors suggests. "Reach in around one of the maintenance panels."
"I don't care how you do it. Just get to the wiring. We need to fix it," Daria informs before noticing Starling.
"Hey," Starling greets with a wave as she walks over. "Sorry for disturbing you," she apologizes as the others went to try and fix the problem.
"You're not. We are just doing maintenance on the Tailwind. She is still new, so we have some kinks to work out of the girl. You're the sky knight the boss brought on board," Daria says, realizing.
Starling smiles and gestures to herself. "Yep. All here and still ready to fight too."
"Well, it's a bit of a surprise. All the crew should know about the captain's hatred and distrust of sky knights by now. All the more evident when we caught a few trying to sneak into our ship after the race to try and steal it," Daria informs off handly.
Starling stops and blinks, confused at her. "What do you mean sky knights stealing this ship?"
"It's as it sounds. After finishing the race, some sky knights so impressed and envious of our ship tried to board and steal it while we were still understaffed per the race's rules and before the other ship arrived. They didn't expect our crew being fighters, though," Daria informs.
Starling holds a furrowed brow before sighing. "And Dustin? How did he react?"
"His words. 'Clearly, the sky knights mostly employ bandits and pirates nowadays. So give them that punishment if their squadrons do not post bail.' After that, he left it to Rorack as he didn't trust himself to handle them well after that," Daria informs.
Starling sighs and looks away slightly. "So the Cyclonians were always good to him, huh?" she asks, now looking troubled he would go towards their side.
"The princess came to meet him when we finished. Not sure what they talked about, but they talked for long periods. Sometimes it seemed the captain was even reluctant to speak to her, though," Daria informs.
Now Starling becomes even more worried as she nervously scratches her hair. "Okay. And you guys are set, right? Do you have a deal and contract?" she asks, trying to turn her worry into another subject.
"I think the captain turned down a position in the empire," Daria informs, shocking her a bit.
"A position?" Starling question, now looking interested. "What position?"
"This is only a rumor floating around the ship, but I heard Cyclonis wanted him to become the head researcher of her R&D division," Daria informs, leaning over and whispering.
Starling looks utterly shocked and shaken from her place, trying to comprehend it all. "Why did he turn it down?"
"Rumor says it's because it would push the war to turn hot once more. The captain hates the war more than either side and knows that, no matter what, his brilliance will be used to push it forward. So he has refused to sell anything like an engine or our ship's designs—especially the weapon he made. I kinda feel sorry for your profession as it kinda makes them obsolete from an engineering standpoint," Daria says as they finally removed the panel.
Starling slowly nods as Daria turns to the crew. "Guess you have to deal with them."
"I can still talk to you and watch them if you want," Daria assures.
Starling shakes her head. "No. It's fine. I have heard enough for one day."
Daria watches, starting to walk away before Viper moves into view behind her. "You sure that was wise?"
"Yes, it was clear to me that she thought that the captain might have sold out for Cyclonia. This gives her more to consider and think on at least," Daria says, seeing Starling walk away back down the hall.
Viper hisses, concerned. "If Starling wants to try sneaking around, she has to control her anger."
"I think the captain has already seen to it. Also, I know you and the raptors have a betting pool going. I will weigh in as well for the one being the captain's girl," Daria says, holding out some money.
Viper laughs and takes the money. "And that adds to the odds."
"With this, we are finally out of the red," Dustin says, doing some accounting at a workstation on the bridge.
"Dustin?" Starling asks, walking onto the bridge towards him.
"Right here," Dustin says, lifting his arm as he continues to work, not looking up.
Starling gawks at the sight of so many books in front of him on the workstation. Then she sees the papers littering the floor and tops of the books. "Dustin…I wanted to talk to you."
"Go ahead. I am just doing some accounting," Dustin says.
Starling remains silent for a while. She listens to him, scribbling on the books and paper for a time before sighing. "I'm sorry," she admits, downtrodden.
"For?" Dustin asks, stopping and closing the book he was writing in before turning to her.
Starling sighs softly and looks up at him. "Everything. I have been pushy. Trying to get you stuck on our side only."
"That you have, but I hold no ill feelings towards you. Your honesty and commitment are why I valued your opinion. Even if rose-colored glasses influenced it, but that is behind us now…but do pass along that Cyclonia has salvaged a derelict destroyer of theirs to the council," Dustin informs.
Starling scoffs. "Yeah. Right," she mutters, looking to the side.
"They did. I sold them the location of a more than a decade year old one," Dustin informs.
"Doesn't matter. Does it?" Starling questions.
"Everything matters, Starling. With this information, maybe the council will do something useful," Dustin points out.
Starling shakes her head. "It's only a ship to them. They need more."
"Then get more. They want information, and there is a way to get it. Especially if you have no squadron or terra to keep you," Dustin says.
Starling scoffs, amused. "And here you want me to stay somewhere nice and safe."
"I know asking that is like asking the sun not to rise. I only asked you not to do a suicidal run. You are a smart girl. You will figure out how to do this," Dustin says.
Starling shakes her head before sighing. "Maybe you should try some softer side of you more."
"Would you have listened with your state of mind?" Dustin asks.
Starling rolls her eyes. "You can try."
"You are a bit too headstrong, and you know it," Dustin teases.
"All officers, meeting reminders in a few minutes," someone calls through the voice pipes.
Starling smiles gently. "You best get ready."
"Feel free to sit in," Dustin says, getting up and starts heading to the door. "Hey, Rilock, put up the books, and if anything is missing, I will have your raptor tail served as the next entree," Dustin calls out.
Starling smirks as she sees the raptor hiss nervously while he sits next to the doorway behind a desk piled with paperwork and books. "Right. Yes, sir," he answers rather quickly.
Dustin yawns as he walks through the hallway, carrying a case of food from the mess hall. "Condor, status on next stop?" he asks while passing a voice pipe.
"Give it about an hour, boss," Condor replies, happy to be sailing around again.
Dustin hums as he reaches the infirmary that became Starling's room while she is here. "Starling…" he pauses and yawns again while knocking. "Breakfast. Hope you like eggs," he adds with a little joke before opening the door and blinks as the room is empty. "Starling?"
Daria smiles as she waits on a crate in the cargo bay while Viper carries some cargo around. "Hello, boss," she greets as Dustin runs in and sees that Starling's skimmer is gone. "Yeah. Don't bother. It was hours ago," she chuckles while picking up a clipboard.
Dustin looks worried as he stares at the area before looking at the door. "She's not the type to leave without saying anything."
Viper hisses and drops his crate. "No. She is not. But she did say that the longer she is on here, the more challenging to find a starting point," he recites before smiling. "And no. She did not say goodbye."
"She is a smart girl. I will hear from her again. Also, have you informed the rest of the raptors of the uniform we are instituting?" Dustin asks.
Viper laughs. "As long as they can customize it with their trophies."
"Just make sure that not all the raptors go hunting the cats like you did last time we were here," Dustin comments.
Viper tries to look innocent. "Who? Me? I didn't get all of them. I got part of them," he says jokingly before catching the food box that was meant for Starling. "Clan's honor," he says before quickly opening the food and devouring the meal inside.
Daria shakes her head and looks at Dustin. "Onto one girl from another. What are you going to do first?" she asks curiously.
"Right now, we will be looking for a pilot. The Absolute Zeros lost all their cruisers in the last set of battles, but they still have a pilot or two. Going to see if we can't sweet-talk them into letting us hire one," Dustin informs.
Daria grins. "Right. I think just letting them have fun once in a while and allowing them to be carefree would do it," she teases.
"They will also most likely recognize our ship. By now, the ship's image should have circulated amongst the Atmos," Viper says.
Dustin smiles. "Designs might change still. This is still the first version." He sighs and looks around at the rest of the crew milling around. "Right. What about shorts? How is it going on searching out and finding them?" Dustin asks.
Daria hums as she looks at her list. "Fifty."
"How many more do you estimate?" Dustin asks.
"That was the estimate," Daria says snarkily. "We found over a hundred."
"Oh, perfect. Someone better start up the heaters. Let's see if any of those cause a short next," Dustin calls.
Daria smiles and tosses the clipboard over her head. "Marked and ready," she says, smirking as the board bonks someone on the head and sends them down.