Hello!
I feel like starting to sound like an old record here, but once again, I'm so so so sorry for the loooong wait. Man, if there ever was a need for a ghostwriter... Just been super tired and busy.
But I'm very grateful for all of you readers out there who have faved, reviewed and cheered and everything. Really, means so so much to me. Thanks to Vlaatjee, Flowangelic, Sisternature365 and MargaritaRey for the latest reviews and the continuos support, warms my heart, thank you so much.
And to answer Sisternature365 your question, actually...the humans are from different ethnic backgrounds, well, in my head they've been at least, but since I'm so super slow updating this might come as an error from my part that I've not been telling too much about half of the humans still...Because I didn't want to have a chapter like "let's meet the gang" where it would have taken me five pages to describe everyone, even if now it would've been a great thing since I'm so slow at this updating that all the readers have already painted a picture maybe how does everyone look like in their head. Most of the descriptions have been about their haircolour or eye colours, height etc...Well, anyway, it was my intention to describe the humans more from the mice' viewpoint whenever we'd get there but of course, it took this long to really get "here" and yeah, maybe we're getting more descriptive in the future about all of these nine astronauts...But hey thanks for the question, I'm willing to answer your folks' questions if you have any :D
Yeah, about that slowness... I hope this story don't take too long to evolve.. I just didn't want to hurry with it. That plus my slow updating might feel that this story doesn't evolve at all XD But I can assure you that already I have quite a long storyline in my head, so... let's see how long a story this will end up being.
Anyway, hopefully you'll like the next chapter.
Until next time, folks!
-SpaceFlora
The Story of Rebellion and Hope
13.
Noah could feel his heart do the quickstep and his breathing was shallow as his brown eyes were now keenly suspecting this newcomer they'd welcomed to their tent. Well, technically the alien had just barged in, in a blink of an eye. First, there had been only two supersized mouse aliens to trouble their heads with, and suddenly there were three. And yes, like Sophia, their middle-aged red-headed physicist, had already pointed out, these aliens just kept on getting bigger. And this one was even a bit taller than the crew's metal twins and with those pointy red appendages that were pointing out of the tan-furred male's long due, he was way over 6 '5. Impressive looking by all standards. But the aliens' looks weren't the thing that Noah felt different about the male. No, there was something different with this one, Noah could feel it. From the moment this big alien had stepped into the tent, the atmosphere had changed, and the demeanor of the other two aliens had changed as well. And they were regarding this newcomer with...respect? Maybe. Anyway, even the loud white one had stayed relatively quiet since this big male had entered the tent. He was along with the female throwing looks at this tall alien every once in and while, like waiting for something, orders maybe? Maybe the tall guy was somehow higher in the ranks. Yeah, ranks of what? Noah couldn't say. But it was worrying, to say the least, to see that the first alien lifeform the human race ever encountered was in fact armed to the teeth. Each one of these giant furries looked like a one-man's Army, which didn't really erase the bad vibes from Noah's head…Something was very wrong here. And he wasn't referring to the fact that on the red planet there seemed to live gigantic mice. Something else was off. Something that gave Noah an ominous feeling.
Yeah, but speaking of the weapons, even if Noah tried to concentrate his eyes on million places right now, the barrel of a gun which was now only some inches away from his head kind of stole the attention. The big alien that held the gun wasn't that interested in what was happening around him as his two eyes, behind those dark shades, were observing Noah's every little movement. Noah could feel the stare even if he couldn't see the eyes. As he gave the barrel of the gun another look and seeing that the owner of the said gun wasn't faltering or wavering at all, he slowly but silently lowered his gunhand that had been pointing at the female alien. In the end, he dropped the gun on the tent floor, on a pile of whatever scattered items had fallen from the shelves in the weird earthquake. What had that been? None of the aliens seemed to act like there was anything happening outside that should make them worry. What the hell was happening in this planet?
"Good boy." The big tan-furred male's raspy voice snarled, the voice reminding Noah of an old record, bringing into mind whiskey and tobacco, although the alien reeked of neither…The smell was something else he couldn't really put a pin on. Maybe smoke and unwashed clothes mixed with something earthy. Like the alien had been dragged through an underground tunnel filled with smoke, well, he looked like it though as there was greasy smut all over his fur.
"You're in charge here?" The tall burly alien asked, the gun still not lowered so now there were two guns pointing at Noah, as the female kept pointing at him, too with a gun she had stolen from the humans. It was hard to gain trust here, Noah figured. Not that he trusted these creatures one bit himself.
"Yes." He answered, clearing his throat, his slightly hoarse voice not matching the big alien's gruff sounds.
"I'm the Captain of this crew."
"Oh, a Captain, hu…? The place miked?" The tan alien seemed not impressed as he continued to question Noah.
"Miked?"
"Someone can hear us talk?"
"No." Noah answered, although kinda wishing that the Space Institute would've taken that step to violence their privacy right now...The historical audio they'd be getting...Although Noah believed everyone back on Earth would think this as the April Fools' joke, even if it wasn't Spring.
"No?" The tall alien's gun was still just an inch away to touch Noah's head and Noah gave it another look before turning his eyes back on the alien.
"Trust me."
The alien had a tiny twitch, an uncontrolled and quick spasm of a tiny muscle in the corner of his mouth that told Noah: no, the alien did not trust him one bit, and to even suggest anything like that was foolish. Noah hadn't even meant it that way, stupid expressions...
"Vinnie!" The big mouse-alien rasped without taking his eyes off this little kitchen nook area that currently held the red planet's small share of the human race.
"Hm?" The white alien stopped playing with the gun, which was a relief to Noah as it looked very sloppy the way he handled the gun like the weapon was as deadly as a wooden stick.
"Check out if you can find any mikes or wiretaps."
Vinnie rolled his eyes but started to slouch around the tent, checking every nook and corner even if it was kind of hard as the tent looked like it had been turned upside down already with the previous quakes...Noah cleared his throat.
"So...Before you came..."
"Did I ask you a question?" The big male looked Noah dead in the eye, well that's what Noah believed since the dark specs covered the alien's eyes, but he could feel the relentless stare behind them, scrutinizing his every minuscule move. Noah could see the tip of the alien's tail moving slowly but in a rhythm, like waiting and pondering and Noah prayed the alien wasn't pondering whether they should kill the humans now or later…
"I ask the questions here, meanwhile, you stay quiet." The tall impressive-looking alien told and Noah gave his crew members a look, and he got fearful looks back… It kind of seemed to him like the others had taken a step back, too...It was now Noah and this tall raggedy-looking alien soldier standing so close to each other that Noah could hear it breathing.
"How will I know what a wiretap from Earth looks like anyway?!"
They all heard Vinnie's sharp voice somewhere before there was a crash that made the humans startle and turn their heads where this white-furred alien was roaming around, kicking and throwing things, just for the heck of it, it seemed.
"I doubt the mikes will be hidden…!" The female alien wondered out loud and Noah met her eyes.
"Since they didn't know they'd encounter anyone here to hide the mikes from..."
"Good thinking, Harley." The tall alien rasped and the female gathered a teasing smirk on her features.
"What I always say… The war would be over by now if you knucklehead-machos let more women into the ranks..."
Noah blinked at this. War? His brown eyes scanned the two aliens still in the presence quickly since Vinnie was doing his tour of mayhem out of his field of view… It all added up, the guns, the combat clothes…
"There's a war on Mars?" Noah asked, momentarily forgetting that the tan alien had requested him to shut up. What can he say, this shit was making even the most experienced ones lose their cool and sense.
"Hey, we've got a smart one here, Throttle..." Harley purred, raising her eyebrow, looking straight at Noah who looked away under such an invasive stare. The tall one, apparently named Throttle, made a small chuckle even though the features still lacked all the humor.
"Vinnie!" He raised his voice again.
"Yeah, what now…?" A disgruntled voice was heard from somewhere.
"Check the computers and such… Most likely the mikes are in the IT stuff..." Throttle advised.
"Check this, check that...ugh, I didn't graduate from cool school to be a damn search dog...Why are we even looking for this shit?!"
"...we wouldn't want anyone in the blue planet to think that they found life..." The big male answered, and Noah think he saw a hint of curling of a lip, a mockery, sarcasm, whatever it was… But the sound of his voice did rub Noah the wrong way a bit. He was a bit too self-assured in this situation. And why not? He was the one holding the gun.
"I think even if we had a video record of us two talking here… Noone would believe us..." Noah stated but kept his voice down. He knew when he didn't have the upper hand.
"Possibly." The tan male muttered, not looking too interested in what the Captain had to say.
Their attention was drawn towards the other side of the tent where suddenly they heard loud noises, cracks and thumps, and things falling off the shelves and tables as the younger mouse alien was destroying stuff while looking for those wiretaps, the sounds telling that the alien wasn't too sure what he was looking for but that didn't stop him smashing stuff with billion dollars' price tags in them… The humans shared worried looks, trying to find out what the white alien was doing but focused their attention back on the tall alien as soon as his gruff voice spoke up again.
"Harley."
"Yeah?" The ginger-furred female was still pointing the gun at the humans.
"I think you can lower your weapon..." Throttle said and Harley faltered a little, making the humans falter, too when the gun in her hand was doing a small dip.
"You're sure?" Harley sounded a little reluctant.
"I'm sure. Or what do you say, Captain? You're going to start a riot?" The tall alien had that hint of sarcasm in his voice again like he already knew the humans couldn't really do much. Like they wouldn't stand a chance. Like they were no threat at all, which to be fear they really weren't. Even if there were three times more humans than aliens inside the tent at the moment.
Noah gave the others a look who all shook their heads like they were having a seizure.
"No!"
"Good… Because otherwise we'll have to call in the riot control from outside and you don't want that. Trust me." The alien sneered, and Noah's previous line shot back at him.
Noah furrowed a little. So, there were more aliens waiting outside… He wished he'd know how many they were talking about. Maybe that didn't matter, maybe they were screwed either way.
But as the big male stood there, staring and observing the humans he too lowered his gun, the same time showing them that everything was okay but that they really shouldn't try to do anything stupid now that they'd gained this small speckle of a trust, that this situation didn't at least need guns pointing at each other, not that the humans had any.…
Their focus shifted to the young alien who was walking their way almost lazily, holding a big bunch of different colored wires that were brooming the floor behind him.
"Well, T-Man..." Vinnie walked back to the taller male whose look indicated that he didn't appreciate this nickname but had heard it million times nonetheless.
"I can confirm that this place is pretty unwired now...hehe..." The white alien snickered and showed the wire bouquet in his hands.
"Didn't find any bugs but snapped all the wires off I could find just in case, if these guys wanna connect with their folks they have to write a letter..."
"Subtle." Harley huffed.
"Hey, pretty lady, I'm as subtle as it gets..."
"You're as subtle as a landmine.."
For proof of the damage done, the lights in the ceiling were buzzing and blinking and the monitors they had still on… were all shutting down one by one, like they were all disconnected from a power source.
"All of the wires…?!" Charley suddenly spoke up and got all the attention she wasn't necessarily craving.
"I'm sorry...I'm… We need oxygen…We need the oxygen tank going or else…!" The auburn-haired engineer closed her mouth as she could feel the aliens' eyes on her figure, studying her. And not just the aliens' but the humans' attention was on her too, as they suddenly realized just how close to death they suddenly were again.
"Oh my God...No, no, no, no..." Sophia closed her eyes and slumped on the floor in a rather dramatic style that only got a small lift of a brow from Throttle who let a rather annoyed sigh while turning to Vinnie.
"Vin? The oxygen tank?" The big alien asked, not concerned but merely just repeating the words to the shorter one who only shrugged his shoulders.
"Ozone Gene?"
"Oxygen." Throttle almost spelled out and that got the younger male only in defense mode.
"How on Deimos' name I'd know what an oxygen tank looks like?! If I wanted to know about science I'd have grabbed a book instead of a gun when I was five!"
The tall alien could see the rising panic amongst the people and he could understand why… He wasn't in total lack of sympathy here even if he didn't show any emotions towards their anguish…
Throttle looked at Charley from head to toes and saw her wearing a toolbelt where a couple of tools were hanging.
"You're a mechanic?"
"An engineer." Charley blurted out but had an instant reflex of mentally kicking herself, why go status-flaunting with an alien? But seemingly the alien wasn't impressed as he merely gave more orders to this shorter and younger Martian.
"Vin, take this one here and go check that the oxygen tank is still rolling..."
Vin gathered a smile and winked at Charley but it only got the young woman to take a hasty step back.
"C'mon, doll…! Don't look so shocked, it ain't like it's the end of the world here..." The youngster babbled.
"Well, it kinda is to them, see they'll die without oxygen.." Harley talked while going through some papers on a desk the humans had left there but stopped as the big tan-furred male gave her a stern look and the female only waved her hand back, not really that concerned.
"Just telling like it is...Gee, Throttle, lighten up, we don't wanna have your pretty face all filled with worry lines..."
As Charley was not really sure whether to go or not with the alien, the alien in question got in control and gently grabbed her by her hand she felt like an electric current went right through her and her green eyes flew wide open, staring at this alien specimen in front of her.
"Don't be shy, doll! C'mon, let me assist your legs in moving…Here we go! We'll be right back, T!"
"Great..." The big male replied. Again, no emotions, or maybe just a hint of devil-may-care.
They were all silent, so long that Noah started to exchange looks with other crew members but as they heard a singsongy voice from the other side of the tent informing them that the tank had missed Vinnie's tour of mayhem around the tent and the humans all let out a sigh of relief. They wouldn't be dying in suffocation in the very near future anyway. Luckily that was ruled out, not like there wouldn't be a hundred other ways to die staring right back at them in the form of some kind of badass alien soldiers.
A thousand questions were burning inside Noah but he didn't know whether it was wise to throw the tall alien with a question or not. Yes, it didn't point a gun at them but it still looked like it observed and waited for a wrong move on their part...Suspicion was written all over his body. But now that they'd come to learn the ultimate answer the universe had to offer… Noah felt like he wanted to know all the rest of the answers as well. Yes, humans and their curiosity… Why had God given them the curiosity if it only got them killed?
Anyway, he still believed that they had a chance to survive and in order to do that, they needed the communication to work. How lucky that the aliens spoke English…It truly was an international language... Yeah, about that…
"How can you speak English?" The Captain asked.
"We can't."
Okay, what? Noah blinked. Hadn't the white alien confirmed when asked that the Martians did speak English. Noah was to fire another question, as he was on the roll here but was defeated by another crew member who was faster.
"But you do speak English right now..." Lucas asked but zipped his mouth as the tall alien looked his way and the short curly-haired geologist raised his hands up, apologizing.
"Yeah, sorry, no talking..."
Throttle looked like pondering something but then seemed to ease up a little, clearly forgetting also his previous request to every human to shut the fuck up. Maybe he relaxed a bit. Maybe.
"See these." His raspy voice started and he poked his two red antennae and they hummed and glowed for a brief moment. The humans nodded, of course, they hadn't missed out that this alien life form had antennae sticking out of their skulls.
"These come with a purpose..." Throttle only stated.
"Oh, they do stuff!" One of the metal twins cheered like he had just cracked the code but Sophia slapped his thigh, still sitting on the floor. She was very willing to obey every rule these creatures had in store if it only meant that they would spare their lives, even a few moments longer.
Throttle stared blankly at the tall long-hair. Not even bothering to answer that.
Noah felt someone parking right next to him and turned his eyes to meet Charley's beautiful yet confused eyes. She was back. And the white alien was back also, with an open can of soda he had found.
"You're okay?" Noah asked the young engineer.
Charley nodded but turned her look to the white-furred alien who was gulping the soda, seemingly enjoying that.
"Gods, Vin, that could be poisonous..." Harley mumbled, looking slightly disgusted by the sounds the young mouse was making.
"Oh, c'mon, if it was poisonous it wouldn't taste this good..." Vinnie shrugged and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Harley only rolled her eyes.
"That isn't even remotely accurate."
Throttle wasn't paying attention to them but still had his ever-observing look staring at the humans.
"There's just one more thing to be done here before I'm mildly happy with the situation..."
Noah raised his brow, judging by the big aliens' behavior, he wasn't sure what would actually make him "happy"...
"Vin. Search them." Throttle suddenly ordered, thoughtfully tapping the gun against his thigh but this didn't spark joy in his younger brother in arms.
"Hey, what gives?! Ordering me around? Do this, do that…! Do it yourself, man!"
"For starters, I outrank you." Throttle had a lot of weight in his voice but Vinnie only snorted back.
"Uh-huh, I already told Harley that Fighters don't use ranks!"
"And yet...I outrank you. Search them."
"This is bullshit..." Vinnie threw the empty soda can into the pile of debris that already filled the tent floor.
"Look at it as a penalty for your transgression." Throttle stated.
"Hu?"
"Fighter never leaves his bike."
"We were attacked!"
"Hey, I don't make the rules..."
Vinnie snorted but headed towards the humans anyway.
"How convenient that suddenly when it's about me, we suddenly have rules..." His voice was heard behind Zack as he went through his body in search of weapons.
Vinnie was doing the checks in rather a rough and devil-may-care attitude, rushing through the task, nearly pushing people over and grabbing the next one rough-mannered. He grabbed Lucas by his arm who nearly lost his balance and fell in the alien's arms.
"And who do I outrank?" Vinnie then asked as he was done with the search and nearly pushed short poor Lucas who still had his head wrapped with a bandage on the floor as he strode to Throttle.
"The janitor." Harley crackled and Vinnie placed his palms on his hips.
"Oh, she's a comedian too..." Before he gave the waiting tall mouse alien an uninterested glance.
"No guns."
"Good. Well then, Vinnie you stay here and Harley, you could go outside and tell that everything's under control here, but we need to have our guards up out there..."
"Okey-dokey." Harley left to go outside but as she noticed some weird looking goods wrapped in tin foil on the table nearby, she took one and carefully sniffed it, and when smelling food that for starters didn't smell like saber squid or anything Venusian, she started to stuff her pockets with them before heading outside.
The tan leader of this alien pack kept his hidden glare on the humans.
"You picked a crazy time to visit Mars, folks...Gotta give you that..."
x
x
It was a nasty job but somebody had to do it.
Throttle and Modo had rode to the scene of action just in time to witness that a lone saber squid had been on a hunt and it was probably thinking to have Earthlings on its' menu, judging by the way it had charged towards the tent the two seasoned Fighters had figured the humans were using as their base camp since no Martian was doing camping. Not in these weathers, and not with these huge predators ready to kill an innocent camper. So, after Throttle had shouted an even mildly reasonable attack maneuver to take down this beast, they had taken separate ways to ride down the dune and attacked the saber squid from two sides, and both of them fired a clean shot at one of its' heads. It had taken only two bullets to make the beast slump to the ground even if the third head remained untouched. The beast still breathing but severely injured Vinnie had chosen this time to run outside and had stolen the Fighters' attention as they knew the monster was already past of no return. First Vinnie had stated a little annoyed that they could've at least waited for him to join in on the fun while regarding the big half-dead behemoth but he had brought them quickly up to date on what was happening inside the tent which sounded like chaos and panic but it had made Modo and Throttle more at ease to hear that both Vinnie and Harley were okay and the humans weren't heavily armed. Throttle had turned to Modo to tell him to wait outside, to keep guard, and silently also telling him to finish the job as the tan leader and Vinnie had hurried inside the tent...Leaving Modo to deal with this gigantic near-corpse.
So that's where he was now... He was a little anguished to join his bros, to see with his own eyes that everything was okay, "okay" meaning that Harley was safe which according to Vinnie she was although he figured that he and Vinnie might have different ideas about what "safe" meant. But apparently, the young Fighter had managed to free her from the ropes...Which brought a slight furrow on Modo's forehead as he regarded the dying animal in front of him. He didn't really like the fact that Harley had been tied up but he'd be dealing with that later, right now he was only happy to hear that she was okay.
Modo inhaled deeply like you do when you have something to do that you're not really too keen on executing but you'll do it anyway. He walked beside the creature's massive body, which put his own already impressive size to shame, and after giving the creature's third head a last glance as it was breathing with difficulties, Modo loaded his gun and pointed it towards its' ribcage area, under where the big still barely beating heart lay.
"Ah'm sorry." Modo mumbled and fired, turning his head away from the possible blood splashes that soon decorated the left side of his face and neck. The animal made a last horrid scream before the eyes even in the third head turned back and it froze. Modo turned away to give the tent a look, as to hear what was happening inside but partly he wanted to shift his concentration on something else than death for a few seconds, he didn't want to get used to it, even if he had hunted for all his life and even if he knew he had killed many on the battlefields, he would never want to get used to death or killing. And if firing the gun made him still shiver a little, he took that as a good sign.
Throttle had ordered him to finish the job outside and he was quite sure that his bros and Harley didn't need any help, not urgent one at least as he couldn't hear any screaming, or gunshots... It was silent. Also, he knew that someone should keep guard outside, anyone could have spotted the humans' basecamp and it could attract some unwanted company...Rats, sand raiders, other saber squids, Plutarkians... Or Gods forbid: the Army. The Fighters weren't persecuted for being guerilla soldiers, not yet that is, even if there had started to be rumors that they should be held accountable for their rebel actions that some might even see as treason against their own folks...But it was safe to say it never was that pleasant thing to meet with the Army, fighting against the same enemy but with different ideologies, they had a bit of a rivalry thing going on. Modo didn't care that much, he knew the Army guys were okay. He wasn't looking for trouble or fights with them. Which was more than one could say about Stoker, who usually got into fights with the Army Sargeants which was just inconvenient at times but mostly just tiresome. Modo couldn't remember just how many times he had gotten his eye black when only trying to get Stoker out of a sticky situation with the Army soldiers.
He could only hear the wind whistling as it rode the wide deserts and surfed along the dunes around him. The wind had certainly picked up again, the new storm, bigger this time, was already getting closer and small sand and dust particles started the dance in the air again. The grey-furred male lifted his deep purple bandana to cover his snout as he had already taken off his helmet, he could feel the little particles with tiny sharp edges hitting the part of his face that wasn't covered. He'd join the others just in a second, to check the situation, but there was still one thing he needed to do since food was scarce these days...
He flung a big knife from his belt and walked over the first head that was lifelessly lying there on the red sand. He knelt down and brought the knife on the creature's throat and sliced it open, to let the blood start its' rapid stream down the beast's long neck and finally drop on the red sand, making the rusty-colored desert underneath the beast turn a slightly deeper red. Modo did the same quick task to the other two heads before he got up and after a quick search grabbed a wrinkled cloth from one of his pockets to wipe the knife clean, setting his jaw as he let out a long exhale. The saber squid's meat starts to grow bacteria pretty quickly but it had to wait a little while before he'd have the time to field dress it any further, to gut it and cut it. He placed the cleaned knife safely back on the leathery knife case that dangled from his belt.
While looking at the tent door absent-mindedly, pricking his ear again from any worrying noises that might come inside, he was to put the wrinkled piece of cloth back into his pocket. Still, he gave it a last wondering look, not really remembering that he even had had that... He opened it up and was a bit taken back by its' floral patterns, not any fabric choice he would have ever picked up before his two garnet-red eyes stopped on the carefully stitched rows of baby blue stitches that decorated the center of the cloth and he silently mimed the words "Goddess be on your side." Modo could nearly hear his Mommah's voice while he read the words. His Mommah had a tendency to slip these small objects of good luck inside his pockets when visiting home, or the Camp. Modo could see that the cloth was actually a ceremonious table cloth used underneath the religious figurines and whatnot...Now, it was like it had been dipped in blood. He cringed slightly while regarding it, hoping that his Mommah didn't want it back...
He tucked the cloth back into his pocket, fighting the flood of emotions and memories the cloth had stirred up in him, not really wanting to even go there now... It already hurt too much to know that right now some of the Fighters were heading to Camp to visit their families as Stoker had told them earlier. He could admit he was jealous and above all...angry. Angry to whom? He didn't know. Maybe to himself. Maybe to the world. It had been too long since his last visit home. Well, the Camp was actually just a big underground network that was far away from home, but it was a place where their families lived, the ones still alive. But, his family was his home, no matter how deep underground he'd have to dig himself to meet them…
And he needed his family to recharge his batteries that were right now threatening to die out... The things they've seen, the things they've done... War could be many things but it wasn't pleasant in any aspect. It was all-consuming. Modo could describe the feeling of fighting the war as if trying to walk in the quicksand that drags you down with every step and you keep on sinking while trying to scramble forward and keep your head above just barely...You win, you lose, and you win seldom. And the longer the time ticks by you feel like your luck is running thin with every near-miss bullet that scrapes the leaf of your ear, and Modo already had a bullethole in his right big ear to prove that right. You couldn't get distracted.
Modo was turning twenty-two soon but after spending already four years in the military, the first six months in the Army before he had had a change of heart or after a bit of self-intervention he had packed his bags and joined the rebel side, the usual way to get into Freedom Fighters... and as war treated time in curious ways...Modo felt like he had lived double his age. While being able to count the times he'd seen his family during these four years using only one hand's fingers...Gods, he missed them so much.
But all these tormenting thoughts came to a sudden stop as he heard someone stepping out of the tent and with a quick glance behind him, his troubles seemed to vanish a little further away, if only to the back of his mind.
"Harley!"
"Hey, Big Guy!"
"Oh, am Ah glad to see ya okay!" Modo grabbed her into his arms, lifting her up and holding her like a long-lost sibling. Harley snickered but hugged back before her feet touched the ground again.
"I'm okay...Sorry if I got you worryin'..."
"Nah, that's okay...Anyway, someone else should feel sorry about getting you into this mess in the first place..." Modo mumbled with a deep growl.
"Hm? Who? Oh, you mean Vin… Yeah, kids, hu...what can ya do?"
"Ah can think of plenty Ah could do..."
"Oh, don't be like that… He just got overcome by the urge to explore..."
"Urge to explore? Martians have kept their existence a secret from humans for the entire history of time and here comes this geezer who can't follow simple orders and reveals us all in a heartbeat..."
"Can't follow orders..." Harley guffawed and playfully poked Modo's wide chest.
"And you can?"
"...well, most of the time..."
"Us rebels we are already going against the grain just by existing, none of us can follow orders…or laws for that matter." Harley sighed while standing there in front of the giant who blocked the sunlight leaving the ginger-furred female in his massive shade.
Modo shrugged his shoulders, not denying that...But he wasn't done blaming the young daredevil for all that day's misfortune. His anger starting to find its' target. In his heart, he knew it wasn't right to point his finger at the youngster but the anger was like an uncontrollable stream that didn't obey anyone.
"Well, you can't deny that he acted recklessly… and put you in danger too… Someone should teach the kid some sense..." Modo muttered and turned back to the big saber squid corpse and Harley could feel the sunlight on her face again while looking at the dead thing, too. It had started to reek a little. A living kicking saber squid was no field of roses but a dead one was even worse.
"You know, I'm a big girl and can punish him on my own..." Harley stated and the comment made Modo shake with inner laughter a little, his tension already loosening.
"Ah know you can." Modo smiled back and after their eyes met Harley turned her attention back on the dead animal.
"So...what's this carnage here?"
"Me and Throttle thought you guys were hungry and got you lil' take away..." Modo joked and Harley shook her head in amusement but then remembered the wrapped goods and she went through the pockets and pressed a wrapped food item to his big palm.
"Here. I figured you were starving out here."
"Thanks… Ah guess...What is it?" The grey giant asked as he squinted his eyes, trying to read the English text on the package's side. He had never really learned to read that language but he thought it said "Chocolate chip cookie flavored protein bar" Modo had no idea what this chocolate stuff was but was willing to take his chances with it as his stomach made already a big rumbling noise when in presence of food.
"I don't know." Harley said her mouth munching the same food product already.
"From Earth?"
"Hey, not like these people have been to any other planet..."
"True dat..." Modo gave a guffaw and after a sniff at the aluminum package, he pulled down his bandana and tore the package with his front teeth open and Harley, nodded at his incisors which were chipped.
"What happened to your teeth?"
"Had a bump-in with a sand raider… They really are hard-heads..."
Harley gave the chipped tooth a small look but shrugged.
"Don't worry. Looks badass."
"Thanks, was aimin' for that..."
"Hey, I know you guys..."
They were eating the protein bars in silence while regarding the dead thing in front of them.
"So. What's new?" Harley then changed her tone and Modo, after eating the last bite of the protein bar, wrinkled the aluminum foil into a ball and let out a sigh.
"The Army found their way to the battlefield at last and we won...this round...so, Stoker let some of the Fighters visit the Camp."
"I'm sorry, Modo..." Harley answered already knowing how that piece of news had been received by the grey-furred Fighter.
"Yeah, well...What can ya do..." Modo answered gloomily.
"Maybe we could go visit the Camp after we are done here..."
"Done? Ah don't even know what we're supposed to be doin' here? Give these folks a tour around Mars?" Modo then added with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah, true… Maybe we should call Stoker..."
"Ah can do that. We were supposed to do that anyway when we found you guys... Maybe you could check on your bikes since...we found them from that dune over there and well...they didn't look too good." Modo tried to use gentler words, in truth if it had been his bike he'd encountered in that silent nonresponsive state...he'd be on his knees, crying for the Gods' help. He quickly gave his beloved Lil'Hoss a look that had been parked outside the tent with Throttle's ride.
"What? Gods...I can't even remember what happened..." Harley wondered out loud.
"Maybe these people here have tools that you could borrow?" Modo drawled, trying to tempt down the emotions that threatened to rise inside him when reminded of the cruelty the humans had arguably shown to his fellow Fighters...and their bikes.
"Borrow? Hey, we didn't invite them here, they only make us lose valuable time, and on top of everything else we lost our vacation time with the families, I take what I want." Harley snorted and then turned on her heels and walked towards the tent door again. Modo shook his head, chuckling.
"When you're right, you're right..."
As Harley stepped in, Vinnie came rushing outside, briefly stating something nonrelevant and flirty with Harley who only closed the door after her, not interested in chitchat. The youngster parked himself next to Modo and placed his hands inside the pockets of his camos. He gave a whistle, looking at the big slain behemoth in front of them.
"Well, it ain't looking too good..."
"That's because it's dead." Modo mumbled arms crossed but then looked over Vinnie, which was easy as the youngster was way shorter than him and he nodded towards the tent.
"Ya left Throttle there alone?"
"What ya mean alone? Harley just went in."
"Why you here?"
"It's a free country, ain't it?"
"Did Throttle tell you to come out?"
"Ugh, here we go again... Is Throttle some kinda God we all have to obey? What are these damn rules all of a sudden?! I thought we were the Freedom Fighters but I'm starting to hear the Jailhouse rock ringing in my head..." The younger mouse grunted and crossed his arms.
Modo studied the shorter male, who was still in the middle of his growth spurt. His lips curled into an almost brotherly smirk.
"You've got a problem with authority?"
"Hey, I don't have problems! But I'm starting to think the authority has a problem with me!" Vinnie muttered looking away. Modo still observed him and then gathered a smile and placed his big hand on Vinnie's shoulder.
"You know... You're alright..."
"Alright? I'm pissed! That's what I am..."
Modo chuckled shaking his head. He then gave the saber squid a look and nodded towards it.
"Ever field dressed?"
Vinnie made a little disgusted look.
"Hu? No."
"C'mon...Ah'll show you..."
"Why?"
"Why? So ya can learn somethin' new, that's why!"
"I already know everything I need to know."
"Well, now's your chance to learn something that you didn't know you'll need to know."
Vinnie didn't look too excited.
"Fine, if it'll make ya happy..."
"It'll be the high point of my career, trust me..." Modo mumbled and then gave Vinnie a small push towards the corpse.
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Okay, that was it for now...
Please leave a comment and have a nice week!
I'm hoping I can update sooner!