"Ok forward is down...and backwards is up?" Alex questioned Angel as he played with the control stick of the Jumpship.
"Yea...it can be a little confusing for a newly risen but with the ship as busted as it is we have to fly manually. After your little princess nap I figured I should wake my sleeping beauty and show you the ropes" Angel playfully retorted to the begrudged Alex.
He slept for a little over 2 hours and woke to the ship being shaken rather hard. Angel explained to him that without proper shielding the turbulence could get a little...
The ship suddenly dropped a good 10,000 feet as Alex barely lessened the throttle and dipped down. He moved the handle that controlled the engine output forward quickly and gripped the control stick tightly hoping to control the almost broken ship.
The ship soon steadied out as Angel floated over just aside Alex's peripheral vision. "You know...you fly like that and "Air Angel" will lose all our future fliers. Really bad for business Goose"
Alex rolled his eyes as his companion snickered. Angel had taken to calling him pilot nicknames as he practiced flying. She was especially fond of doing it when he messed up or the ride got even a little bumpy.
"Yea...no. Definitely don't like Goose. Or any kind of animal nickname" Alex looked down at his holo-map and adjusted his pitch to teeter to his right a bit. He looked out the cockpit and saw his wing flap rise slightly and his plane slowly began to deviate to the right.
"I'll find one that suits you...honestly though, your pretty good at this for being newly risen. Might give Mrs. Holiday back at the tower a run for her glimmer of you keep this up Rooster." Angel commented as she stared out of the cockpit. Alex idly wondered if the little blue lenses she had really acted like an eye or just a scanner or sorts. I mean he never saw it blink, would it blink?
His attention was drawn back as his comm radio suddenly began to flicker to life, a male static like voice coming in and out.
"This is...Han...looking for...stationed it Cosmodrome...please advise...help"
"It sounds like we entered the Last Cities radio space finally. I mentioned earlier that most of our circuits are shot so we can only talk to others when we're closer to a radio signal. Let's see if he can receive us"
Angel buzzed happily as her lenses scanned the communicator.
" Han! Are you receiving our transmission? Can you hear us?"
The radio was filled with static with no response. It wasn't until Alex got a little lower his voice came in a little clearer.
"I repeat...Shaw Han of the Last City Van...for my fireteam... Steppes in the Cosmodrome...Hive and Fallen in...help"
"I don't think he can hear us Angel. Do you know where Steppes is in the Cosmodrome? Sounds like the guy needs some help."
Angels fragments whirred before Alex's holo-map changed coordinates. It seemed he was a lot closer than he anticipated.
"Don't worry Shaw...we're coming" Angel spoke with confidence as she looked down at the broken buildings from before the collapse.
"Um Angel..." Alex said a bit worriedly. He had begun to slow and pitched down as they neared there destination.
"How do I land this?"
And with that, her confidence left.
"Shit! We don't have any landing gear do we!?" Angel shouted as she hurriedly buzzed around the controls, an unlit button rapidly being pressed down.
The altitude sensor began beeping as the faraway buildings began to look a lot closer. Alex frantically moved the stick dodging broken structures and pulling up hard to slow their descent.
A small tingle began to make its way up from his abdomen. Alex began to slow his breathing letting his mind have a moment to think. He scanned the ground that was quickly approaching noticing a plateau that was clear with seemingly even ground. He angled the ship towards and set his plan in motion.
"Angel!" Alex barked out as he pulled back on the engines output control cutting the power.
"I need you to rotate the thrusters to the bottom of the ship now!"
Angel didn't question whatever half cocked plan Alex was concocting. It was a plan and that was better than what she currently had. She scanned the controls and watched through the back window as the thrusters pitched downwards.
"Done! What now!?" Angel whirled around looking at Alex who was hitting the flap controls.
"Pray!" Alex pulled back in the stick as the ship began to slow and glide upwards gaining a bit of altitude before coming to a stop in the air.
"oh traveler...I trusted an idiot"
Alex threw the output control to max while the ship began to fall belly first. The vessel began to shake and pitch down as the back engines propulsed them upwards.
Angel laid face...lenses first against the glass as the ship slowly descended onto the plateau scorching the grass below.
Just as the bowstring began to touch the ground, Alex lessened the output as the ship creaked and evened out before settling.
Alex breathed out a sigh, more of a groan, of relief as he laid his forehead on top of the control stick.
"We're...we're alive...ahah...ahahahah!" Ángel floated up from her spot and began laughing hysterically.
"That actually worked! Holy shit!" Her fragments whirled happily as she buzzed over to Alex.
"You just...ahahah!! That, was one hell of a landing Maverick!"
Alex scoffed and smiled as he raised his head "Your really still on that..."
"Wasn't an animal this time now was it!?"
The guardian shook his head hiding his smile as he made his way from his seat to the cockpits latch popping it open.
"Sure sure...better than the last hundred I'll admit"
Alex crawled out of the ship and jumped to the scorched grass below taking in his surroundings. He could make out a tinge of purple and white in the distance, possibly a Fallen patrol.
"Angel! Got a clue where Shaw is from here?" Alex called out to his crew mate. The feminine robot floated through the opening and seemed to look around like how Alex did before.
Angel then disappeared in little motes of light as Alex felt her voice in his mind.
"I got a lock on Hans ghost signature. He's in the building just north of us past the-"
"Fallen patrol...great" Alex finished her sentence as he cracked his neck and descended the previously grassy area.
Angel gave a small hum of agreement as Alex summoned his hand cannon. From what he could make out of the approaching patrol, he would likely have an easy fight if he caught them off guard.
3 dregs, a vandal, and 2 shanks.
"Hmm...actually Angel, think you can make me some ammo for my rifle?" Alex question his friend as he re-quipped his Wire rifle. It was still out of ammo from his previous fight against the captain and his platoon.
A dark grey magazine materialized in his hand filled with pointed brass bullets. The tips were coated an almost neon blue and gave a small buzz of electricity.
"We have enough transmat data to make 2 Magazines of 7 rounds each, 14 shots total. If we come across certain fallen with stronger prowess we can create more ammo."
Angel had already de-materialized and spoke inside Alex's mind as he loaded his rifle. The patrol was roughly 110 meters give or take and he had the high the ground on them.
Alex rested his gun on one of the larger rocks near him and looked through his scope eyeing the Vandal first.
He knew from his previous encounter that if he took out the Vandal first, the rest would be mere cannon fodder for him.
Alex took a breath attempting to slow the fire that coursed through his blood, his reticle slowly lining up with the unsuspecting Vandals head.
And then he pulled the trigger.
Alex watched the arc round travel across the valley as a thunderous crack echoed in his ears. A cruel grin made a way to his face as he watched the Vandals head be pierced by his bullet before being reduced to iridescent matter.
The Dregs huddled together and raised their pistols looking for the source of their comrades death. One of the Shanks took a bullet to It's propulsor causing it to sputter and throttle to the ground in a small explosion.
The 3 dregs moved behind a cluster of rocks causing Alex to click teeth.
"Should've taken out one of the Dregs instead. Shanks can't take cover" Angel hummed in his mind with an almost snarky tone.
Alex grunted in irritation at his oh so brilliant friend and shot the last Shank in its left propulsor. The shot seemed to short circuit it's engine as it shot out dark Smaug and teetered to its left. Right where the Dregs were hiding.
Alex didn't see exactly what happened, but he caught the shrapnel explosion through his scope and saw one of the Dregs hands suddenly fall to the ground.
Angel materialized next to Alex and squinted off into the distance where the patrol originally was. Her fragments whirred before she spun and levitated down to a smug looking Alex.
"Son of a bitch...you actually got them with that. There's no way-"
"Planned" Alex said pretending to check his nails while leaning against the rock where his rifle laid.
Angel buzzed erratically and her pitch raised "Excuse me!? Planned! As in you planned that!? We both know that is a hunk of bull-"
"Shit! Whichever guardian took out the fallen patrol in just north of me. You should be able to see me in the remnants of a broken building on the 2nd level."
Shaws voice cut off Angel from inside the ships communicator. Alex chuckled as Angel fumed to his "much" needed amusement. He looked through his scope dialing in on a broken building and saw the waving form of Shaw in the 2nd floor window.
"Angel I got eyes on Han, anyway we can communicate with him?"
"Not currently as we are no. If we have a minute we can stop by one of the radio beacons and I can get us linked into the system. My scans show one just a bit past Shaw. I say we get some info from Han and then link into the comms. Does that sound like a plan?"
Alex snickered and avoided looking at his companion much to her dismay. He hopped down from his small perch and materialized his hand cannon. The Guardian felt his companion re-enter his body with a small shiver and adjusted the grip on his gun. He headed towards where the patrol originally was on guard in case Angel was wrong.
As Alex came over the rocky crest where the Dregs had hidden, he slowed his gait and held his gun at the ready. Slowly, Alex peered over the rock and saw the partially charred remains of the Dregs and broken components of the Shank. And to his confusion, a blue hexagonal...sphere?...shape? He couldn't quite describe it but his chittering companion helped.
Angel materialized and scanned the small shape before letting out a large buzzing whoop. Alex raised his eyebrow but smiled none the less trying to calm his eccentric partner.
"Angel! Angel!...What is it?"
"It's an engram! Ahhh! Our first one!!"
Angel spun in the air as the blue shape de materialized in motes of blue light. Alex felt a strange tingling sensation as his grey and brown vambraces dissolved before being replaced to his amazement.
A blue hue enveloped his arms as new vambraces quite literally began to form up his arms. Dark leather brown coated his under arm up to his elbow while the top was a mix of gunmetal silver.
"Woah...that is so wicked...and I actually kinda feel stronger. Like my arms...I don't know I feel like I could punch out a captain Angel" Alex said mystified as he flexed his arms.
"I don't know about Captain's kid...but maybe someday" A rough southern voice said from behind him.
Alex whirled, hand cannon drawn, and almost dropped it in shock. A man with a strange bone like vambrace was resting his leg on top of a broken window above him.
He smiled and jumped down landing rather quietly in front of the cautious guardian, Angel appearing at his side.
"Names Shaw Han kid, and I suppose you must be my rescue party?"