The quintet's cruiser drifted through the sky at a conservative speed. The flames coming from the rear mounted crystal conversion engines were minimal. Behind the small flames were large, black plumes of smoke. Inside the bridge, the tension clearly made the air thick as soup. Ravess stood still at the front, arms crossed behind her back, with a stern concentration upon her face. Stan was at the helm, controlling the ship, frantically monitoring all of the gauges and adjusting minutiae to keep the aircraft as its name sake, in the air. Lester sat at a fold out chair and table, furiously checking multiple charts and maps with compasses, rulers, a sheet of paper, and various other navigational devices; the paper furiously being scribbled upon on the odd occasion. Leila, a little panicked, stood still in the centre of the bridge; awaiting orders. 'Altitude and velocity' Ravess called out.
'Velocity is still stable for gliding. We're about three minutes from dropping below the cloud line' Stan replied, with a bit more frenzy in his voice.
'Lester, distance' Ravess demanded in a regimented manner, still facing the front.
'We should see a rest stop... a few ticks away, slightly to our left' Lester replied.
'Ma'am' Stan addressed, bringing Ravess' gaze to him. 'We don't have the altitude to land if we travel for three ticks. We need that final crystal'
'Very well. Leila!' Ravess barked, making Leila jump in surprise. 'Tell Rez to throw the last crystal in' Leila stuttered out an affirmation and walked toward the door the the side of the bridge.
The door opened to a narrow, meshed metal platform with a guardrail. The platform travelled from the side of the bridge, down to the lower level, and around the rear; below the crystal conversion engines' exhausts. In the centre was a door, walking through it lead to the engine room. A large room only by height and width, only having the depth for the engine's size before a dividing wall would seperate it from the cargo hold. Leila entered the engine room, and spotted Rez waiting nonchalantly for any news. 'Ravess said to use the last crystal' Leila quickly blurted out.
'Crystals, my dear bandmate' Rez replied with a smile, placing emphasis on his mention of a plural of crystals. He reached into his suit jacket pockets with both hands, and retrieved a fuel crystal in each. 'I apologise for the extra dismay it caused, but we simply needed the extra oomph at the end, just in case. Now...' Rez handed one of the crystals to Leila, 'Would you mind dropping this into that engine's manual feed pipe?' Rez pointed to a small funnel mounted atop a small box, with a pipe that runs the height of the engine and into the top of it. Leila dangled the crystal over the top, waiting for Rez to do the same. At the signal of a nod, both of them dropped their stones. They clinked as they fell into the engine, and at the tune of a grinding noise, the engines sputtered from the power surge. 'Wonderful! Now. To the bridge, hmm?'
Leila and Rez walked the platform back up to the bridge, getting about halfway until Leila felt a tug on the back of her shirt. Looking back at Rez, she followed his finger as he pointed to a Sky knight squadron. The skimmers all flew in formation. They had a single pair of wings, and long, yellow trails from behind them. The squadron approached from the rear on the starboard flank. The side that Leila and Rez's platform was. The squadron repositioned itself on approach, moving directly to the rear, before the leader of the squadron rolled upside down, and flew over the top, keeping close to the cruiser's roof. The rear most squad member dipped under the cruiser in a straight line, and the two on each flank started to pull into a series of barrel rolls that enveloped the cruiser as they passed through. Once the squadron reached the front of the cruiser, and in Stan's view, the entire cruiser jerked down and to port before correcting back to its original altitude and direction. The sudden movement nearly causing Rez and Leila to lose their footing, risking a perilous fall.
Once Rez and Leila made their way back into the bridge, Rez immediately cursed the Sky knight squadron's recklessness. Choosing a couple of unsavoury words to sprinkle into his exclamation. 'That's Sky knights for you' Ravess dismissed. 'It's worst still that these ones can be of a particular nuisance. Thankfully, Rex Guardians are most always bark over bite' Ravess added, still looking forward and out into the distance. 'Lester!' Ravess called in growing anger. 'Where is that rest stop?'
'It should coming up, eleven o'clock!' Lester responded, head still buried in the charts and tools he had been using to navigate.
Ravess looked slightly to the port side, and noticed a small terra appear from the clouds. 'There it is. Stan. Take us in' Ravess ordered.
The small terra was a rock spire, holding a suspended runway on the side of the spire, and running tangent to it. The runway seemed to only be big enough to fit three or four copies of the quintet's already undersized cruiser. On the spire itself, taking up most of its square footage, was a small shop that would be similar to that expected of a refuelling station.
The cruiser set itself down near the closest end of the runway. The cargo ramp deployed, and the quintet aboard all dismounted. Ravess started to immediately walk to, and enter the shop. Rez and Lester immediately walked to the crates that sat close to the shop's side wall. With a degree of heft, they both started to carry a crate each and walk back aboard the cruiser with them. Stan, holding his groin, bolted away from the cruiser and around the opposite side of the shop, over to a small outhouse. Unfortunately occupied. Forcing Stan to wait with impatient fidgeting. Leila, unsure of what to do, followed Ravess into the shop. The entire ensemble were oblivious to the four Rex Guardian skimmers parked on the opposite end of the runway.
Inside the shop, Ravess did not stop or slow, she headed to the cashier with a determined look. Leila, behind her, took her time to look around the shop. The shop was small, only able to have three cramped aisles. These aisles, and the whole walls, as well, were brimmed and packed with lunch foods, treats, confectionary, drinks, and lower quality travel utilities. She noticed three men, donning the, to Leila at least, unfamiliar Rex Guardian uniform. The all suffered a moment if awkward silence as Leila squeezed past.
Ravess walked towards the cashier in a nonchalant way. The cashier at the till was a light green skinned Merb. Hair swished over their left side. They wore a uniformed polo shirt, and very clearly did not show any enthusiasm. Once she approached the cashier, Ravess spoke, in a low, neutral tone. 'I'd like ten crates of silicated crystals'
The cashier looked at her slightly confused, before looking out at the cruiser. The cashier's confusion dissipated and he refocused on her. 'It'd be cheaper in the long run to have that thing scrapped, unsilicated is so much cheaper now, not to mention better for the envir-'
'-Trust me, I've said this before' Ravess quickly agreed. 'Are you going to serve us? Or am I going to tell my boys to start unloading?' The cashier once again looked out to the cruiser, and watched as Rez and Stan loaded the last crates into the cargo hold. The cashier let out an annoyed sigh as they pressed keys into the till.
Once the fuel was paid for, Ravess exited the shop. She watched as her bandmates all boarded the cruiser. She looked out ahead of the cruiser for a second, seemingly lost in thought. Her thought would be interrupted by yet another british accent. This time, coming from a male.
'Fancy finding you here' He said. Snapping her gaze at him, Ravess recognised the male as the leader of the Rex Guardians, Harrier.
'Well, let's just say that you're not the only Sky knight who happened by. What are you doing out here? I thought the Rex's got anxious when their precious home is out of sight' Ravess replied with a cocky grin. Harrier gave a jovial chuckle.
'Training exercises. Hence the show we gave your rust-bucket of a cruiser. Sad, really. I had hoped you were able to afford something a little less squalid' Harrier turned up his nose as he gave his snooty, yet playful remark. 'I hear you're back on your music career. Were it not for your ego, you may well be on a path of redemption' He added, smiling as he looked down on her.
'Judging by who I'm talking to, ego isn't the handicap it used to be' Ravess snapped, watching as Harrier rolled his eyes. Ravess turned and took a few steps towards her cruiser, before stopping and twisting to face Harrier again. 'By the way, Terra Aquinos is our next proper gig. It'd be nice to see you there, given that you've always been a fan of more... tasteful music' Ravess straightened herself out and continued to walk onto the cruiser, leaving Harrier behind to consider whether or not to go. He stood still for a second and pouted whilst he raised his eyes. Maybe seeing her act for himself wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea.