[i]Collab with [@Lo Pellegrino][/i]

Gripping the pistol with both hands, Owen led the way from the vertibird. He understood the importance of the lancer if they hoped to survive. Their one and only chance to get out of this hellhole. Maybe their only chance to find the rest of the squad. Seeing the ghouls shuffling around the ravine, certainly more than fifty now, Owen struggled to imagine any other way of getting out alive.

The scribe  kept low, hugging the outer wall of the vertibird as he crept around the side. There should be a ladder. Something for the engineers to use for repairs.  He considered breaking silence to ask Sami, but then it appeared. Simple metal rungs like the handlebars on the paladin’s T-60. A little bent up from the crash, but usable. 

“Climb up,” Owen whispered. “Focus on getting us airborne, okay? I’ve got your back down here.” 

Sami obliged, silently. His stomach had begun twisting in knots as soon as they left the relative safety of the Vertibird, but here, at the precipice of the key moment, it had begun to do so violently. Right foot and left hand first, he pulled himself up onto the first stage of the ladder. The handles were slippery from the moisture of being in that deadly red cloud that had caused this situation, and Sami took care in his climb. 

As he did that, Sami could hear a barking in the distance, surely Chowder enacting his orders from the good doctor. [i]What a dog[/i], Sami thought to himself, wishing the best of luck to the canine champion. 

Upon the fourth cycle of his vertical movement, one of the rungs snapped off from his weight, and for a moment Sami was in freefall, until his reflexes managed to catch one of the lower rungs. However, the sudden jarring stop resulted in the Lancer's body and head swinging into the hull of the Vertibird with a loud clang. Sami's head had hit the cold steel on the same point it was bleeding, intensifying the throbbing pain he was already feeling. His right thigh became deadened and numb from the impact, and overall, Sami was even more rattled than before.

He cringed as he expected the noise to attract the remaining ghouls, but nothing seemed to happen, miraculously. Surely Chowder couldn't have encouraged ALL the rotskins to chase him? Regardless, Sami regained his footing and continued to climb. Not long after, he reached the top of the wing, and instantly saw where the lightning had collided with a crater of pierced metal still smouldering. Placing his tool bag in front of him, he  frantically but quietly tried to find the opening of the panel. 

However, the hushed nature of his actions wasn't required for very long. He heard Patty announce the opening of the minigun's bullet parade and braced his eardrums for the thundering sound of thousands of 5mm bullets being emitted from six steel barrels. But such a noise did not arrive. 

Sami didn't have time to think about it, he quickly got to work on repairing the broken servos, redirecting electricity and power away from the destroyed circuits and replacing what he could in terms of hardware. He wasn't a specialised electrician, but he could do the job well enough for them to attempt to get airborne once again. He exchanged tools skillfully, like a gunslinger draws his weapons, and soon enough, he believed he had done all he could. He fucking hoped so. 

Amidst the chaos of whatever the Knight and the Doctor were getting up to on the other side of the Vertibird, Sami descended hastily from the wing, but again slipped off the ladder and landed awkwardly on his ankle, twisting it. Sami cried out in pain and cursed in frustration, leaning against the Vertibird after performing obligatory hops and hobbles. After wincing, Sami informed the Senior Scribe of his apparent success.

[b]"All done. Let's help them out and get the fuck out of here."[/b] After saying this, he cocked his MP-40 and prepared himself for combat.
 
Owen fired two quick shots and watched the feral tumble into the dirt.  Another came up the side, flinging its withered arm faster than the scribe could guard and clapping him on the ear. He stumbled back, fired low, then kicked the ghoul back. A shot from inside the vertibird burst the creature’s head into a pulpy red mist. 

“You get inside. Nobody else can fly this thing,” Owen shouted, doing his best to emulate a competent knight. “I’m right behind you.”

They moved slowly around the vertibird toward the open door. The pilot sprayed his submachine gun, covering their entry and downing two ghouls. Sami clambered in,  ran towards the pilot's seat and took his seat, balancing the gun on his lap. He uttered a quick prayer aimed at the Vertibird gods as he prepared the vessel for takeoff. The next flip switch would determine whether or not his repair efforts bore fruit, the lives of the whole team on the line.

He held his breath as he flipped the ignition.

The engines roared to life, audibly not damaged, but functioning well enough. Sami couldn't contain his ecstasy of the angelic sound. [b]"WOOOO! WE'RE GOLDEN, BABY![/b]". He wasted no time in getting the Vertibird to lift off of the ground, hovering just out of the reach of a feral. After checking that Owen followed him into the ship, he concentrated on locating the two women causing a ruckus somewhere nearby. Slowly rotating the airborne 'Bird, he pinpointed Kinsley and Patty not too far away, surrounded by dead ghouls in all manner of states, almost unanimously bloody or dismembered.

He lowered the Vertibird carefully near them, so that they could get on comfortably. As he did, Sami shouted "[b]I've got one order of 'the fuck outta here' for two wonderful ladies![/b]" Sami was aware of the vulnerability the ship was in if another ghoul horde came out of nowhere, so he followed that remark up with "[b]Take it or leave it, let's go![/b]"


Tattered cables from the safety harnesses waved outside of the vertibird. Owen managed to tame the cable on the right long enough to tie it off around his belt. With no small amount of uncertainy, the scribe leaned out from the edge of the door and grabbed the doctor’s hand. She climbed aboard with ease, but her eyes remained fixated on the field. He thought something was wrong with Patty until the knight boarded through the other door, weapon waving side-to-side as she demonstrated just how little help she needed. 

Just as the gratitude for their survival surfaced, Owen realized what held the doctor’s concern. Not all of them had made it. Her dog, Chowder, was still out there. 

“We’re all here. Take us away, Brown!” Owen gripped her hand a little tighter, despite Harper sitting firmly inside the vertibird. Turning toward her, he whispered, “There’s weakness in crying. It’s okay.” His brow furrowed. “Nobody’s going to judge you. I’m not going to judge you.”

The engines roared as the vertibird ascended. Patty, ever vigilent, fired down onto the ghouls chasing below. Lancer Brown insisted on flying just high enough to clear the trees. Whether this was a product of fear about his inexperience or that the bird might still fail, nobody knew. And that was fine. What mattered was finding the rest of the squad. They all scanned the ground below for signs of where the others might have landed. For the dog instrumental in their escape who at least some of them believed might have survived as well. After all, the wasteland had already given its challenge. Weren’t they due some reward?