Xenotober 2024 12 Frye & Irina part 6 (Jungle)
a/n: Frye drives, Irina naps. I miss Noctilum.
It wasn't ten minutes before Frye was glad Irina had insisted that they take her skell. The steering on the Versus was touchy, leaping to respond, but at a settled speed it cut through the Miran landscape obediently. Irina was sound asleep, not muttering or stirring. Yet her face still had the same worried look, the same sorrow that Frye had seen mirrored in the transport window. He swung a large arc through the shallow lake between NLA and the entrance to Noctilum, curling inward so that Irina's head bumped gently against his shoulder. She sighed and relaxed, and her brow smoothed.
She was a good person, reflected Frye. She could have told him to stuff it, to take the demotion he deserved and never bother her again. She could have insisted they bang out a nearby mission, without thinking why Frye preferred clearing paths to distant caves. She was good that way, too good for her own safety. She was ready to protect her team and anyone her team cared about, no matter what her personal opinions were. She deserved rest and comfort, even if it was only a short skell ride and his mangy shoulder.
Noctilum's foliage should have made the pilot's capsule grow dark, the way the huge leaves blocked the light from the five moons. But the Night Glow Forest didn't work that way. The bioluminescence of the vines and leaves and animals filled their capsule with colored flickers and slants. Frye picked up a little speed, partly to avoid curious indigen, partly to settle Irina more firmly into the jump seat when her head started to nod.
He almost woke her when they cleared the densest part of the jungle. A rare energy mist filled the atmosphere with drifts of tiny white flickers, a world of intangible fireflies. The silvery trails condensed around their path, and Frye let the skell skid slightly to enjoy the effect. He checked Irina's face, pale from the pure soft light. She hadn't moved, but the pucker of worry was back. He smoothed the course of the skell and kept driving.
He finally ended the drive at an away station just outside their target area, but not without a flourish. He turned a nice tight circle some distance from the cluster of tents and crates. The turn pushed Irina solidly against the side window, so she wasn't jostled when Frye unbuckled his restraints. They were far enough away that no one stationed there would come to greet them or shout questions about their visit. People at remote stations always did that, pestering you before you had even turned off the engine. Frye didn't blame them; some of these spots were dead boring. He paused before hopping out, considering his sleeping teammate. He shrugged off his plated jacket and tucked it around Irina. Then he popped open the capsule.
He was glad he had done it. Noctilum nights were warm, but this area was exposed enough to catch some fresh ocean breezes. He didn't want anything to disturb Irina, not before it was absolutely necessary.
He didn't think about a little kid wearing an oversized jacket. A kid with twice as much blonde hair as Irina's neat bob. It had been Frye's jacket, four sizes too big, but it had worked fine on a cold autumn nights. That had been another planet ago. It wasn't a thing Frye thought about anymore.
a/n: I like Frye, although he can be a jackass. I do believe I managed to drop my Verus into the Yawning Gap more than once, alas my skell insurance.
Next up: Random Mediators and Irina wakes up.