[center][h1]Vulpine Space Command Centre, Île de la Tempête, Reunion [/h1][/center] [center][h2] Suited and Booted [/h2][/center] [center][h2] 0800 Hours [/h2][/center] Skye watched as the team got ready, Purna coming back in. Sam was right, these were bulky, modernised sure, but EVA suits were always going to have the weight that came with life support systems. Vulpine had clearly gone for bulk over cheaper, thinner models as a form of longevity, that compromise came with more modular spacesuits that alone must have cost hundreds of thousands of Euros. That thought went, as Skye smiled at the smaller Nepali. "Thanks, by the way. Both you and Eloise did good." Skye added, as Purna nodded, a smile back. He was quiet, and understated. "My pleasure. It was tough with Bakker, but....we did what we do best. Heard what happened and....well, fuck. As if you weren't there enough to this mess. Go get it done, Queen. Still seems to be you in there." "Thanks. Look after yourself. When we're back, go have yourself some time off. Enjoy those things you talked about. Life's more than slitting throats." Skye added, knowing his history, Purna nodding in return. "It is. We need that world to exist first. Good luck." Purna added, as Skye smiled, letting him move on as he had another group to attend to, moving across. She next saw Adam come back in, exo still on, rifle in hand, mind on the mission still. "You guys ready?" "Almost." "Good, just wanted to say, with what happened...." "I know, not ideal." "No, not really. But you're still in there. And don't let it distract." Adam added, as Skye reached out, and hugged him, sighing. "Look, sorry. I probably should have forgiven you." "You don't have to say anything. You have this. We'll sort out the mess down here. There is a lot of mess, Skye. Go get this done and we'll talk in a bar, in Scotland, when this is finished." Adam replied, Skye giving a silent nod, as him moving away revealed one last person that wanted to say goodbye. Tahlia, who reached up and hugged Skye, sighing hard. "How the fuck did we get here? I mean, you managed to coax my arse into fighting, sniping people...we were in a hairy one earlier, but got out of it. Bloody hell, Skye." The Kiwi uttered, almost disapointed with Skye, but the Scot knew that Tahlia was happy to be along. "Saving the world business, Tarly. We do it well. You do it well. Nice work out there. And you got Shimura out alive too. Thought he was a goner. Look after them while I'm away, yeah?" Skye asked, as Tahlia nodded, resting an arm on her boss's shoulder. "Sure. What's a rocket launch to us? So yeah....see ya later." Skye with it, felt the embrace of the sniper, the mobile bush nodding as she gave a salute, and moved away. On that note, Skye moved up to the truck, and where people were getting moved into it, via the portable lift that was Athena. Athena was keeping her eye on something in the meantime, where she pretended to do something else, loading a crate up into the truck. Seeing Eloise walk over, Athena casually picked her up when close enough and put her on the back seat, leaning in, her head level still at Eloise's chest in spite of the rise on the truck. "There you go, Eloise. Uhh.....well, given we're both alive, I thought I'd mention....I saw that origami on the suit this morning. Do you know how many people send fan mail? Drunk guys try it on? You have any idea how many comments I've had about my arse?" Athena looked around, as if she forgot she was the tallest person in the room outside of Freya. It sounded scary at first. But Athena meant well. "That's the cutest thing I've seen anyone do. And I know that took a lot of thought on your side. So if we come home, just say the word if you want to go out sometime. Because....nobody's ever done that. Not when I can see how you feel, you see through that. I might be a giant but I can see through people, even quiet infiltrators, you know. You don't have to say anything....just know, I appreciate it and beyond all this, there's someone in there that's got time for a romantic." The blonde smiled, knowing she let on a little more than perhaps anyone was typically used to, especially given her poster-girl image to the other mercs. There was a little bit of a socialite in there, perhaps, someone who knew how to talk. Athena turned around hearing other footsteps coming, seeing Skye struggle to clamber onto the truck, Athena straight up picking her up and pushing her in, before offering a hand to Ebrima, turning and casually just picking him up like a weight anyway, heaping him onto the bench. "Heard you talking shit about me." Athena glared into his eyes with a deadpan look, before a smile cracking, her visor and helmet opened still. "Wouldn't be the first one either. But....if you want a job after this is all done, I know a Managing Director who might be hiring for miserable looking mercs chasing a paycheck. Or is that less your thing these days? I mean, I heard you were done with this...." Athena giggled, knowing she was being annoying, as she turned and punted Sam up, before clambering in. "You playing fair, Valkyrie? I thought we said you'd stop talking bollocks?" Skye asked, as Athena shook her head. "Hey, he star..." Athena started, as Skye looked at her, then at Ebrima. "I swear, the Service would just have me whoop out a can of kick ass on both of you, but I'm out of body and out of my fucking mind with this whole mess. Go fuck or fight it out already. But we have a version of me to wipe clean first before you do." Skye held her authoritive, sharp tone with more than a little tongue in cheek knowing she could pull that joke on them, as she slid along, looking to Eloise, the small framed light perhaps not the first pick for something like this, but something Skye recognised as required for this particular job. "Anyway. Don't mind those two. Looks like you're holding up well, despite....well, what went down. Glad you got it done, and trust me, Purna appreciates you a lot more than he'll let slip. You know how it is." Skye added, exhaling, checking the SIG MCX in right hand, laser attached to it, adopted mag carrier on front of suit, and stock folded in. "We've got this, Archer. I know it seems like a lot of weight up here, but up there, you'll know how to move like a cat better than anyone. I saw it in your preliminaries in our testing. So when it comes to it, you'll make it work." Skye reassured her, knowing with each member of the team, she had to take on a different approach, as she looked over to Sam, giving a nod back, knowing she was going through in her mind all the steps involved in what was next. No doubt it would be a lot, but Skye trusted her with technical bits, knowing the lengths Sam went to in order to get it right. With it all done, Adam stepped into the driver's seat and turned the key, and off to the launch pad they went. On the way, Athena turned to Freya, smiling, wrapping an arm around her. Athena had gone for a M2 Browning she'd looted off a dead heavy on their way in, with a top up of her movement jets and her missile systems for good measure via a supply drop. "Sis, this is fucking insane, I mean...this must be something you were dreaming of, right? Always dreamed of being an astronaut when you were little, and I guess you got it?" Athena chuckled, asking her, the golden retriever not entirely leaving her, as she looked her up and down, smile still etched on. "We got this. Battering fucking ram. Save the world. Get home. Then we gotta talk about finding JamJam someone to love too, right?" Athena kept it light, in spite of just how insane the stakes were, beyond the two mechs on fire still in the launch pad opposite their rocket, and the absolute carnage that looked like an army had run through here, instead of just a dozen highly trained black-ops, special forces degenerates. [hr] [center][h1]Launch Pad, inside an Arianne 7, Île de la Tempête, Reunion [/h1][/center] [center][h2] T-Minus.....Raven One [/h2][/center] [center][h2] 0830 Hours [/h2][/center] Walking out as the lift opened doors, the feeling was just ridiculous. Like something in the movies, Skye, Ebrima, Eloise, Sam walked across the gantry, and with it, past the door, and into the upward facing seats, through the mesh-lined metal and into a straight up rocketship. Helmets in hand, they'd go on as soon as they were sat, and with the bulky backpacks, they'd be ready for EVA activities the moment they got out, once in orbit. Athena and Freya were inside the cargo hold of the hybrid crewed capsule and satellite carrier, a novel design that would be like sitting inside a sardine tin for the two giants. A little like the Space Shuttle's doors, the system was designed for an orbiting crew to release a small satellite manually, particularly those with complicated folding and instrumentation. That was now two giantesses in armour. Clambering in, Skye harnessed herself up, exhaling hard, looking to Sam, helmet on. A rudimentary HUD was on her visor, that bit significantly updated over older spacesuits. "Alright then. All you, Sam. Give Keller signal we're ready, and she'll sends us to the stars.....and hopefully on Rose's X." Skye added, exhaling hard, and looking forwards to the displays and panels, the AR and LCD panels around dislaying readouts, and most of all, the condition of this. They were nearly ready. And as Keller stayed on the comms with Sam, she'd no doubt give the go signal. And that countdown. "Anyone else feeling like they're a child again?" Skye joked, knowing that perhaps in more ways than one, that had a meta, literal and rather figurative meaning.