[center][h1]Skybound![/h1][/center] [center][h1]Fireteam Icarus[/h1][/center] [center][h1]35,000 Feet over Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada 0645 Hours Local Time [/h1][/center] [center][h1][color=lightblue]Skye Rosalind Lyons[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h1][color=Goldenrod]Athena Anna Kanataario[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h1][color=Chocolate]Purna Chai Gurung[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h1][color=ec008c]Samantha Dalton AKA Chaos[/color][/h1][/center] [@LadyAmber] Samantha was alive but unconscious and in a lot of pain. Her heartbeat was steady. Skye saw her choke awake, her eyes shut, as she looked her over, checking her pulse, feeling it beat, but Sam still out. She was likely suffering with shock, as Skye looked her up and down, checking her vitals, dragging her over into a recovery position, her hand below her head, resting up, her pulse steady, and gentle. What she had of her medical kit was now back away, as she breathed a hard sigh of relief, fully aware of how much worse that could have been. [color=lightblue]“That’s better….fuck, you had me proper scared there.”[/color] The Scot exhaled, brushing her hair, gently pulling a few strands back looking into Sam's eye. She adjusted her comm line, seeing that their resident medic, thankfully, was online. Whilst she was experienced in field first aid, this was going to be a nastier one. [color=lightblue]“Soph, you on this line? Chaos is unconscious but heart is good, big electrical shock to her system.”[/color] Skye called into the comms, the Swiss Doctor replying in turn. She had access to Sam’s diagnostics, via a parsed link that Skye allowed her to see. “Loud and clear. Is she stable?” Sophie’s voice was a beacon of calm, given she wasn’t the one getting shot at, and had done this, many, many, many times. Didn’t make it easier. [color=lightblue]“Affirmative. Unconscious, but breathing, heartbeat is back, rate is panicking but okay.”[/color] Skye replied, as Sophie knew immediately, almost as if by her own instinct, immediately what she was seeing. “Okay, antiarrhythmic drugs will be needed after an electrical shock like that. It’ll stabilize her heart. She’ll take a minute or two to wake up, if all is well. Stay with her, and keep an eye on her vitals. She’ll be feeling it.” Skye heard, the Scot already looking for them in her extensive first aid kit, pulling the small vial out and gently hooking it into a pocket IV line, pricking Sam’s exposed hand, pulling out some of the damaged armour out of the way where it had arced off her and back to ground, and sticking it in. [color=lightblue]“Got it. All set up.”[/color] Skye replied, as Sophie’s voice reassured. “Okay, all good. Now just wait with her. You’re still alive, which tells me things went well? What happened to her?” Skye heard, as the Scot nodded to nobody in particular. [color=lightblue]“Yeah, mostly. Ship is clear. And she hit a trap.”[/color] “Is Lynx...dead for good?” [color=lightblue]“Sort of. Looks like we killed her network. But one of her bodies got away. She’s in the wild now.” [/color] Skye replied, Sophie’s voice certainly not hiding the worry. “Understood. Shit, Skye. I really hope this time we can put it to an end. Glad you all saved the world, though.” Sophie’s dry Swiss accent made Skye giggle, even in a time like this. [color=lightblue]“Such optimism. Keep on the line, Soph.”[/color] Skye replied, looking over to Sam, hoping she could hear. [color=lightblue] “Come on, Sam. Come back to us. Come on…..you’ve done far sillier things.” [/color] She cracked a smile, even though deep inside, a lot of her was broken right now, and fuelled by the last trickles of adrenaline she seemed to have left deep inside her. Athena somehow, was keeping actually quiet, as Purna and Oliver came back, with nothing to report of value, checking corners, and any more hidden aspects. It was clean. For that part. Athena took that lead from Skye with the Scottish team lead giving the nod, as Athena called it in. [color=Goldenrod]“Oracle, Queen’s recovering the casualty, ship is clear, we lost Lynx, but her system is dead. We haven’t got any further updates….we think she stole a wingpack and escaped. But the rest of her online presence is out. No more servers left online, or bodies to get to.”[/color] “Shit. Understood. We need to find her, immediately, and put an end to this. Get the airship grounded, and return to base, check your casualty and then get out.” [color=Goldenrod]“Affirmative. Valkyrie out.” [/color] Athena looked to Skye, and watched on at the scene below her seven and a half foot frame. Samantha struggled to wake up. Her eyes twitched. As she became more aware, her whole body was twitching minutely. She was in a lot of pain. Her nerves still felt like they were on fire. There were parts of her body that felt like they had been burned. It was really hard to push through that pain. She became aware that she was on her side. Someone was holding her head. She tried moving her head experimentally. She took a deep breath as the pain had her taking shallow breaths. Her chest felt tight. Samantha’s voice came out very weak and soft as her eyes fluttered open. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “Oww… it hurts.” [/color] Skye didn’t hug, but her eyes wanted to, and just stayed close, albeit not too in Sam’s face. Coming back from that was going to be surreal, after all. [color=lightblue]“Okay, steady, steady now, Sam. I can’t give you any big painkillers yet, your heart is just recovering. Nice, easy breaths. We can do this, Sam.”[/color] Skye gently spoke, her Scots accent like buttered gold, gentle and nothing too much to bear now. Not in this moment. Samantha’s body was on autopilot as she recognized Skye’s voice. Her body began taking deeper breaths subconsciously following Skye’s. Samantha was more aware and feeling stronger. She tried to sit up and almost made it before her arm trembled. Her mind finally started working again. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “What about Rose?” [/color] It was an effort but she managed to sit up. It was easier to breathe. She felt dizzy and wobbled for a moment. She put her hands down beside her to support her body. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “Did we find her?”[/color] Skye shrugged, looking over, getting behind and helping her up, keeping an eye on her lungs, and her breathing. [color=lightblue]“Careful now Sam. We lost her. Took a wingpack it looks like and left. We took her main system down. You did.”[/color] Skye smiled, coming around. [color=lightblue]“We’ll get her. All of us. She’s a cornered rat without her bodies. Guess it means she’ll get to feel what it’s like to be mortal now. But, you live twice too, Sam. Not bad.”[/color] Skye quipped, letting her take breaths in, Athena heading towards the pilot’s cabin to secure that, and start to bring it down. Piloting an airship may have not been something that came easily, but between the two of them, they’d be resourceful enough- the latter could fly aircraft, so no doubt from there something would come. Skye turned back to Sam, knowing she was slowly, but surely coming back. [color=lightblue]“Other team’s going to be finishing up around now. We did a really good thing. She tried to bite back at us, but you’re still here. Thank God….” [/color] Skye smiled, a crack revealing itself in her demeanor. She was often heartless, relentless, unstoppable. Yet here she was shown nearly losing someone she’d mentored, shown a lot of rope to. Seen change from someone broken, to someone carrying. And Sam had carried plenty. One mistake was all it took, Skye knew that much, but to have her back was a relief. Even if they’d succeeded, it would have still had a bitter taste to lose someone over that. Samantha listened while focusing hard on getting her body to cooperate with her. She wanted to curse Rose’s resourcefulness but she didn’t have any energy left to spare for that. With Skye’s help she had managed to stand up. She swayed a little unsteady on her feet. Her muscles were still twitching like her nerves were misfiring. She automatically reached out a hand to steady herself. She closed her eyes for a moment and she heard a haunting echo. Did she really hear it or was it because she wanted to believe it so badly? Jake Dalton: “We will always be near you Sam. Go save the world.” Samantha winced in emotional pain. But she shook her head and put as much steel into her spine as she could. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes. She turned to Skye. [color=ec008c]Samantha: “Where do you need me? I am not up for much though.” [/color] Skye helped her up, knowing she was struggling. Yet still wanting more. Still wanting to do something. And she wasn’t in any fit shape. [color=lightblue]“I’d say take a rest, Sam. We’re going to go to land. Then home.” [/color] The Scot replied, as she came back to Sam’s side, Athena clambering out, Skye realizing…ah, that might be easier. [color=Goldenrod]“Yeah, I thought I might be able to help. Where’d you need her?” Athena smiled, adjusting the headset on her head before coming over, and like that, the giantess scooped up Sam into her hands, passed from Skye, the Scot pointing it out. [color=lightblue]“Couch.” [/color] And that was where Sam went, with Athena gently laying her against it, with the view of the sky outside the lounge that made up Rose’s penthouse in the sky, the pink sunrise turning to gold, a bright one that burned through into the interior. [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMfznSOk-t0] Parra for Cuva- Manila Palm[/url] [/b] [color=Goldenrod]“Had me worried a lot there too, Sam. Good to have you back!”[/color] Athena hugging tight, albeit careful considering that well, she could have easily squished her. And probably that was not the best considering her ribs were probably weak from Skye pushing against them momentarily. Skye followed in, sitting by Sam, laying her M31 on the couch, looking out at that sunrise, and holding Sam, shoulder to shoulder. Samantha was surprised when Athena showed up and picked her up. She felt somewhat like a ragdoll. She was put on the couch and Athena sat down next to her with her arm around her shoulders. [color=lightblue]“I didn’t check this sofa for explosives. But I guess we’re about even. You saved me. And I saved you. Not bad for this game.” [/color] Skye giggled, knowing Sam wouldn’t fully appreciate it now, but with it, Skye rested her hand in Sam’s burnt one, the first aid kit not too far from where she’d zipped it up and brought it onto the thing. Pulling the IV out, Skye ran fluid through and then replaced it with some light painkillers, a very, very dilute morphine drip, gently pulling it in. Samantha squeezed Skye’s hand weakly but enough to let her know she appreciated the gesture. Samantha’s consciousness was fuzzy. She was trying hard to focus on the here and now but it felt like that focus kept slipping away. [color=lightblue]“That might help with the pain. For now though, chill.”[/color] Her tone was motherly, almost as if for a moment, Skye felt like she was looking after kin. More than Rose ever was, anyway. “Signs are looking good. Nice work, all of you.” Sophie’s voice was reassuring, as Skye smiled. [color=lightblue]“Yeah. Not bad at all either. We have it from here. We’ll see you back home.”[/color] “See you.” Skye sighed, exhaling. Thinking. Reflecting on it all. And no doubt appreciative of the person she had an arm around. Samantha looked out at the sunrise and thought well at least the world saw another sunrise. She turned to Athena. [center][h1][color=ec008c]Samantha: “Well we already had that situation happen at Kaitaki. I hope there aren't any explosives in this one. Boomer is not available this time.”[/color] Skye added an IV drip to the port in her hand. She let her body relax. The painkillers at least took the edge of that burning pain she was feeling. [color=ec008c] “That is what teammates do Athena. We take care of each other.” [/color] She nodded to Skye and let the others do the work around her as she watched the sunrise and thought about that voice she heard. [hr] The airship began to drop down to a lower level, and Skye had taken her oxygen mask off completely now, the dawn growing more and more in light, the redhead's hair almost pixie-like, brushing out a little but with strands poking all over the place from having it shaven barely a few days before. She had left the M31 by side and with the help of Athena, dragged the rest of the wingpacks up into the main cargo area, past the useless servers, and at least pulled the bodies into one place to be recovered for later. Going through them, the mercs were incredibly diverse- Artemis's inner circle, and clearly here to guard what was a last resort for Rose in terms of defences. If an infiltrator came here alone, they'd have been cut apart, and that was fully the intent. Perhaps they'd underestimated just how good Purna was with the outside, and well, Skye, Athena, Sam and Oliver as a fireteam. Bringing minimal gear, and cutting through maximum carnage. It was a strange thought to consider, as Skye put ear to hand, hearing the static kick in. "Rig is down, repeat, rig is down." The voice was a crackly one from Oracle, as Skye looked out into the sky, a smile forming. "Thank fuck for that. Looks like we did what we had to. Just have some girl that looks like me on the loose, Oracle." Skye replied, Oracle. "We'll hunt her down. Newfoundland is a small island, she can't go far." "You always underestimate the pair of us. You're going to be very busy. She's a hurt animal. She'll make a mistake. But let's not make one ourselves." [hr] [center][h1]Somewhere[/h1][/center] The frail redhead hobbled down the coastline, the parachute and wingpack left behind on the beach, the cold wrapping against her, the loose fitting clothing soaked from the cloud, and from the spray that was now across the dawn rise of the Newfoundland coast. Pulling herself through, she came across the car park at the small lookout point, the crashing of waves audible. With a spluttering cough, she pulled out the nearby binbag and wrapped it around her hand, and with it, smashed the F150's cab, the alarm blasting, but cut away quick enough as she clambered in, and ripped out the console under the dash, quickly bringing two wires into place, and overriding the old truck's security mechanism. And with another two wires, the engine purred into life, the diesel engine coming alive. She sighed. A deep, hard exhale. It felt strange, like there wasn't anything more running through her head, like there wasn't this constant rush, or any link at all. Like it felt like a part of her was severed, a part she had never felt before. With the gear in reverse, she pulled back out, and cranked the heater up. And flicked on the radio, the static cutting in. [b]Soundtrack: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fregObNcHC8] The Man Who Sold The World - Nirvana[/url][/b] Rose smirked, shaking her head, looking up into the sky, and then back across. Eyes on road. And she had no exact idea of where she was, but she had some. She'd been so close, so unbelievably near to it. [hr] The phone rang, and the Danish banker sighed as he picked it up. The phone only one person would ever call on. Or know how to get to. Sitting in a bunker, he was just as dejected as Rose was, but angry to hear her voice at all. Spectre, or Christian, had many a reason to be pissed. "Hey." Rose's voice seemed a little more timid than usual. "You have some gall to call me now. Your whole plan. All of what we worked for. We are done. Are you calling to say you've come to your senses? Maybe you rushed a little?" "No." "And you have nothing to offer, Rose Lyons. You must be delusional. You and your plans, kidnapping me, putting me at risk for some folly, then pulled me out to undo all we worked for, for decades. Decades! This wasn't meant to be like this....you went too fast. Not some slow change, you did this, like some rush. And now what?" "Actually, I beg to differ." Rose replied, adjusting the handset. "There's a contingency. I guess you wondered if I was willing to die for what I believe in." Rose looked into the horizon. "I suppose I'll have to now. Can't talk over the phone. I guess in other ways, we're bound now. I suppose I underestimated them. No matter. I always have a backup." Rose's thoughts seemed to drift to that thought in particular. "And what's that?" Spectre's voice was inquisitive, genuinely so. "It's a messier option. You still got your friend in the People's Liberation Army?" "Just about." "Time to call in a last favour. Not that I ever wanted to go back to it."