"Do I look like a Cyclonian to you!?" The blonde flailed his arms. Still sitting on the catapult, Jack recoiled as the blonde started him dead in the eyes. The smell of his breath assaulting his nostrils as the Sky Knight glared at him.
Just say sorry. He opened his mouth but nothing. The Sky Knight in his blue and white colored sigil on his armor inched closer, pressuring Jack for a response.
"Any reason why you are shooting at us?" Said the redhead.
Finn looked back at his teammates. "That log missed by inches! I almost lost my head, man!" He responded, pointing at his cranium.
"Sorry, I wasn't aiming at your friend here. The Cyclonian I was shooting at decided to pull some fancy maneuvers." Jack defended himself.
"And I would have gotten him if you hadn't fired!" Finn turned, jabbing his index finger into Jack's chest.
A deep sigh escaped young Darby's lips as he threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine, just leave me alone." Jack added before stepping past the blonde Sky Knight.
He parked himself next to Wren and turned his attention to the other two Sky Knights. Behind them was a blue knee high creature with a fox-like face, rabbit-like ears, blue fur and ape-like hands and feet. Both Jack and the small creature locked eyes for a moment as the boy held back his tongue. What kind of Alice in Wonderland reject is this? Jack thought as he turned his attention to the group's lone female who, like her male counterparts, looked to be around his age.
"Sorry about the miss-fire. Jack here is fresh behind the ears." The old Sky Knight apologized.
The boy nodded before adding. "I had to fill in for Dove," Jack paused for a heart beat. "Do you want me to tell them or do you want to do it?"
"I'll do it," Wren drew a deep breath. "Jack, grab some wood and get a fire ready."
Jack threw a log into the newly made fire. The log almost flew out of the circle. Jack looked at the vehicles the Sky Knights came in on. His arms shaking as he noticed keys still in the ignition before letting out a sigh and turning back to Grandpa Wren filling the team in.
"Dove, my granddaughter, was also taken by the Cyclonian's. That damned Dark Ace taking her to be a slave at the smelting plant." Wren wrapped up.
The redhead stiffened as his two companions looked at one another with unease. That definitely can't be good. Jack wiped some of the dirt from his hair. He had only gotten a glimpse of Dark Aces evil and their reactions made his stomach turn. The old Sky Knight then pulled a photo from his pocket and handed it to the redhead. His expression shifted to pure determination.
"That's Aerrow's "We're-Going-On-A-Dangerous-Mission" look." Finn sighed.
He looked at the photo for a handful of moments before looking back up before handing it off to Finn. "We'll get your granddaughter back, Wren." The Sky Knight reassured the old man.
"I'm in!" Finn's eyes lit up with a renewed sense of eagerness.
The old Sky Knight's eyes also lit up before shaking Aerrow's hand. "Oh thank you! I can't thank you enough!" He joyfully said.
"We do this sort of thing all the time." said the girl who smiled at Wren.
"Well you can count me in. Dove knows me and I doubt she'll be too fond of lover-boy over there." Jack interjected to the surprise of the others.
Finn looked hurt as he went to respond. Only stopping when the girl's elbow hit him in the chest. He glared at her for a moment before giving up. Aerrow shook his head and folded his arms across his chest.
"No way you're coming! It's way too dangerous. You could be killed." Aerrow said, earning a nod from Finn.
"You better just leave this one to the pros." Added Finn, gesturing to himself while holding up what looked to be a crossbow.
Jack held back a sigh, standing from the log he had been sitting on, "Because you don't look like fighters any more than I do. I've risked my life before. I've met monsters twenty times taller than me and stood my ground. You screamed like a girl when a log was thrown your way. I've even been on a mission to sabotage an enemy dreadnought the size of a city."
He looked to the red haired one called Aerrow who was clearly the leader, "I owe Dove and the last thing I want is for anything bad to happen to her."
"Fine, you can come," Aerrow relented. "But you follow my orders and stick to them. Do you understand?"
"Crystal clear, sir."
Jack watched Wren shrink away as they lifted off from the Terra. Surrounding the Terra was a thick layer of clouds that seemingly stretched on forever in all directions. Holy hell! They really weren't kidding! Jack had never flown before. Especially on a jet powered motorcycle with helicopter blades. It somehow wasn't the strangest thing he's ever seen.
"Never flown before?" Piper said, seemingly noticing the wonder in his eyes.
"Depends," Jack shrugged. "Will you rat me out to Aerrow if I do?"
"Tell me about the monster's and I'll keep your little secret."
Jack grabbed his belt tightly. "The short version is, I got a bike and it turned out to be an alien robot. Which wrangled me into its mess of a war." he replied quickly.
"So what happened to your friend?" Piper looked at the rear view mirror to see Jack nod before gasping.
Ahead Jack saw the Condor in all of its patchworked glory. Looking like two metal balloons tied together by a runway and a hanger and with a bridge that rested over said hanger. That thing makes the Millennium Falcon look like it's fresh off the line. Jack thought as they went in for landing. The metal doors in the center of the blimp opening to a wide hanger bay where the three veichles came in for a landing.
As soon as they rolled into the hanger while turning off their engines, were greeted by an anthropomorphic rhino who stood a whole two heads taller than Jack with broad shoulders who looked up in stunned silence at the giant. The horn on his nose no bigger than a pinkie but giving him a fearsome persona contrasted with the light smile he gave them.
"Hey guys. Everything go all right?" Asked the anthropomorphic Rhino.
"Not quite. We have a rescue mission." Aerow said. Then added after a pause, "And possibly a new Sky Knight."
The big guy nodded. Then spotting Jack turned his attention to the newcomer. Worry on his face, "You ok, dude? You look like you lost a fight with the ground."
"Oh I sure did," He replied, hopping off the bike and extending his hand. "I'm Jack Darby, here to help with the job."
"Hey, I'm Junko," He introduced himself, shaking Jack's hand. "So you're the guy who shot at Finn?"
Jack closed his eyes and sighed deeply. I'm never gonna hear the end of it, aren't I? He withdrew his hand and reluctantly nodded.
"It was an accident," Jack said, shifting nervously on his feet. "I was filling in for a friend. She was taken by the Cyclonian's."
"Aw, sorry to hear that. but welcome to the team, Jack." Junko welcomed him.
"I'm just doing this one job," He explained, noticing the dirt falling from his hair. I definitely need a shower. "You guys have a shower I can use?"
"Sure, I'll show ya." Junko said, gesturing to Jack to follow before walking down the hallway.
Jack nodded to Piper as he began after Junko who paused to allow him to catch up. Both resumed walking when Jack caught up. Piper watched them go. Aerrow joining besides her skimmer. He leaned against it, watching Jack and Junko move out of earshot.
"How many people have we met with two names?" Inquired Aerrow, curiously.
"None that weren't just titles." Piper said after a moment of thought.
Biting the inside of his cheek, Aerrow shifted his gaze to Piper. "I don't think he's from around here," he stated. "And is not good at hiding it."
"I don't think he's even trying." Piper responded, also leaning against the bike.
Aerrow glanced over at Piper, not expecting Jack to be more open with her. He wasn't sure what to think about Jack Darby. His clothes looked both durable and fragile at the same time and clearly without combat in mind. His shoes were the same but had thin ropes keeping them on his feet.
"He's strange." Was all Aerrow said.
"At least he isn't a Cyclonian." Piper said, looking to the brightside.
Aerrow nodded in agreement. "Just keep an eye on him." He told her, pushing himself off the bike and walking deeper down the corridor.
Stepping out from the shower, Jack moved silently to the sink and wiped away the fog from the mirror. His once dirt covered head was now more inline with how he was before coming to Atmos. Now that's much better. He thought, grabbing the towel off the hook and drying himself off. Once he was done he found a pair of black pants and an orange long sleeve shirt folded neatly next to the door. On top of the small pile of clothes was a note.
Jack picked it up and quickly realized he couldn't read it.I really need to learn how to read. Jack grunted before getting changed.
Aerrow looked at the layout of the smelter plant with Piper who stood across from him. The smelter plant was larger than the two of them had expected. There were dozens upon dozens of rooms and not one of them was a detention area. Finding Dove isn't gonna be easy. Aerrow thought as he saw Jack entering the room from the corner of his eye. He quickly noticed the two and walked over.
"How out of date the map is?" Jack inquiries, looking down at the layout.
"Pre-Cyclonian. Meaning we don't know where Dove is being held," Piper explained, looking up at Jack. "Where did you get those?"
Jack looked down at the outfit he had been given with a confused look. Aerrow looked up from the map, looking over to Jack before snickering at the sight.
"What?" Asked Jack who looked at Piper whoes arms we're cross in an unhappy manner. The pieces slowly clicked into place. "Oh… I should have known!"
It was then Finn entered the room with Junko. The former immediately began laughing upon seeing Jack. God I am an idiot. His cheeks burned red as he forced his gaze back to the map. Finn then wrapped his arm around Jack's shoulder with a happy-with-himself grin.
"Well Jack, I think we can forget the you-almost-shooting-me thing," Finn said. "Also orange looks good on ya."
"That's good." Jack dryly replied as relief washed over him that Finn was no longer mad at him.
He still burned with embarrassment as Aerrow was still snickering while Junko at least tried to hide his amusement. Piper on the other hand didn't look happy. She glared at the two of them with a look that reminded him of Ratchet whenever he was mad. It was a look Jack had been lucky to avoid… up till now. Piper was just about to speak when another person entered the room.
"Who's the stranger and why is he wearing Piper's clothes?" the new arrival asked.
Jack turned and was met by a lanky humanoid creature with a long face, dark sickly green skin, dark slick black hair and pointed ears that faced the ceiling. Another strange creature Jack didn't even know existed until now.
Despite the alien psychic, the biggest thing that stood out about him was how mopey he looked. His shoulders sagged forward as if he just worked an eight hour shift with a face that was so bored with everything. Barely giving Jack a glance before continuing his walk to the wheel of the ship.
"Stork, this is Jack. He's staying on for a bit." Aerrow introduced.
Stork stopped his walk and nodded. Then looked to eye Jack with suspicion. "I'll be watching you." he pointed to his eyes and then to Jack.
"So," Jack turned. "What's the plan?"
"Not much. Even if we get in, we don't even know where to start." Aerrow responded.
Piper nodded in agreement. "One of us will have to go ahead and scout it out." She added.
"So who's gonna be the one to do it?" Finn asked, looking from Aerrow to Piper every few seconds.
A thick silence hung through the air. It was a silence that spoke louder than any shout could. Jack's eyes swept across the table, taking in the layout of the smelting plant. Taking a calming breath, Jack then looked up to the group.
"I'll do it. I can go back to Wren's and get nabbed by the Cyclonian's. Nobody will know." Another silence hung for only a handful of heartbeats this time.
"Why not one of us? Surely I or Finn would be better?" Aerrow asked, wanting to hear what he had to say.
"Yeah, unless you're widely recognized by them. Think about it for a second. If any of you get nabbed, there is a certain chance that you'll be recognized. Especially if Dark Ace is involved." Jack explained, making his point clear as crystal.
Aerrow looked at Piper and then to Jack who was giving him the you-know-I-have-a-point look. He wasn't sure what to say. Jack was willing to be captured just to make sure the mission was a success. Someone who Aerrow had only met a few hours ago and wasn't fully sure he could trust. All Jack was looking for was a chance and Aerrow could see it in his eyes. It was the same look he had when the council had rejected him. Don't make me regret this, Jack. Aerrow thought as he straightened himself.
"Alright Jack, let's go over the plan."
End Chapter