[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/nOAKdIx.png[/img]
[sub][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpwer4u6e1c]is no one going to mention//how loud the planet is screaming[/url][/sub][/center]

[color=ed1c24]"You really think they know what's happening here?"[/color] she asked rhetorically, in response to Adam's musings. 

[color=ed1c24][i]The brass.[/i][/color] It was funny, the things that military men sought in their superiors. She supposed that such a rigid environment, armored as it was in the simplicity of orders and higher callings, felt a bit like a theocracy. You served your life in service of gods, and then you got to die feeling meaningful. It wasn't such a bad gig. But [i]Pandora's[/i] captain didn't seem like much of a god at all. Maybe when you gathered all [i]the brass[/i] in one place they looked a little more divine. But to look at the captain, in his oversized coat and quaint officer's cap, he hardly had the presence of an oracle. He could have at least glowed a little or something.

[color=ed1c24]"I guess, maybe,"[/color] Gypsy Alexandros responded to herself, punctuating her ambivalence with a shrug. She swallowed and got a faint, savory aftertaste of chocolate from her food. One of the other pilots had broken ranks early to go check on the state of the hangar. It would probably be smart for her to do the same.

Her gaze fell back to the planet, spinning on the nearest screen, and though her mask was inscrutable the face of distaste she made underneath was anything but. The sight of the planet in its current state saddened her. Uneven browns and swathes of sepia had left the surface of Proxima Centauri b looking like an unleavened pizza crust - some parts crispy to the point of crackling, some parts still doughy and raw. Her mouth tightened again, and she took a deep breath to compose herself.

She would be fine by the time she reached the hangar.

[hr]

[color=f7976a]"Heyyy, it's Ziggy Stardust!"[/color]

The potent combination of a cheerful greeting and an affectionately mocking nickname brought a wan smile to Gypsy's face. Her hands were in her pockets as she approached her Orbital and its support staff, but her head mechanic had stepped forward with an arm raised cheerfully over his tanned face, beaming like a sun beneath close-cropped blonde hair. Gypsy, with her begrudging little grin, drew a hand from her pocket and high fived the mechanic up top. Together, the two blondes stared up at the fey-looking Orbital they were charged with. 

[color=f7976a]"How'dja sleep?"[/color] asked Nat Cole, as he wrapped both arms behind his head and looked the Atrox Fortuna up and down with a whistle. With his pierced midriff on full display, his bright tan, and an irreverent disposition, it was hard to imagine what such a gentle kid, lacking in decorum, was doing onboard an expedition like this. The answer, as with most things to do with the more secretive corporate presences onboard, could be taken at face value as 'cash.' Nat was the child of two Jawaid & Jawaid executives who had done much of the overclocking work on the Atrox Fortuna, closely in collaboration with Chiron Works. He had also been a misfit, suffering from anxiety, dysmorphia, and a host of other insecurities that required a lighter touch than throwing cash at psychiatry. Instead, his parents had thrown cash at the Atrox Fortuna, funding further improvements on Chiron Works' design as long as their problem child was taken on as a mechanical designer and tech. He had been working alongside Gypsy Alexandros for [s]eighteen[/s] three years. In that time, Nat had transitioned and matured in ways that made him unrecognizable in ways beyond the physical. His gigawatt smile remained the same, though, and right now it was a spotlight, casting extra sheen upon the lush scarlets of the Orbital.

[color=ed1c24]"Slept?"[/color] Gypsy asked. [color=ed1c24]"Oh, yeah. 'Slept.' Did you?"[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Mhm."[/color] Nat hummed to himself. [color=f7976a]"You see the planet?"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Looks like hell. But we knew it might."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Mhm."[/color] Nat hummed to himself. [color=f7976a]"Well, you're in luck. 70% through pre-flight check, and [i]Gypsy Soul[/i] seems ready to rock. She's even feeling a little talkative. I don't blame her. I had the weirdest dreams all the way--"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Talkative."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Mhm."[/color] Nat hummed to himself. [color=f7976a]"She won't shut up, actually. I'm glad you're here, she might calm down a little."[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"What about combat?"[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Mmmmm."[/color] Nat stopped humming. [color=f7976a]"Well, she's definitely ready for that, too. 'Jawaid & Jawaid--"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"'--we'll work if we're paid,'[/color] Gypsy finished, wry smile on one end of her face.

Nat giggled and began to hum again. [color=f7976a]"I don't think they're after combat this soon, though. At least not from what we gathered back in Sol."[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"You don't think? I do."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Hmmm. I [i]guess.[/i] But if they wanted to shoot up aliens you think they would have kept the Ozzies around. Although I guess two hundred and sixty four years is a long time to wait to shoot--"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Oh. You meant them. Yeah, you're probably right."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Yeah. What, did you mean [i]them?[/i]"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Mhm."[/color] Gypsy hummed, too. Her eyes were looking the Atrox Fortuna up and down. Nat giggled, a little nervously, and ran his fingers through the back of his golden hair.

[color=f7976a]"Well, try chatting first,"[/color] the head mechanic advised, punching his pilot and surrogate sister on the shoulder affectionately. [color=f7976a]"We came all this way, it would really suck if she didn't get to talk."[/color]

[color=ed1c24][center][i]'Now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel;
What hath God wrought?'
Pre-flight checks are now complete.
Anemoi-001 is now alive.[/i][/center][/color]

The two blondes turned to face each other. Their stares connected for a long, long second - a second that stretched into untold more.

[color=ed1c24]"I guess that's my cue,"[/color] Gypsy Alexandros said calmly, breaking the stare. She put her hand back into her jacket and walked towards her Orbital. The mechanic, brows furrowing a little in anticipation, stayed put as he watched her go.