Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

The initial dramatic plunge was only the start of it, with asteroids all around them, it seemed like it would be impossible to fly through at regular speed, let alone at the crazy speed Jay insisted on flying it. At this speed the asteroids were just blurs. The ship turned, weaved and spun around every asteroid, very nearly scraping off the asteroids, Jay choosing to turn at the last possible moment the ship jerking away from the crater pocked surfaces just in time. The ship obeyed every command Jay gave it, executing perfect hairpins and arcs. It was terrifying yet strangely exhilarating.

Jay's eyes remained focused straight ahead, but Chas in the front seat could see the pure adrenaline filled joy racing through her eyes. This was what she was meant to be doing. John was treating the whole thing like one crazy roller-coaster ride, choosing not to dwell on the fact that one mistimed turn would result in their demise. Well this would be one hell of a way to die he thought to himself.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay used to like rollercoasters, but this was a whole different kettle of fish. This was like the one time she did one particular coaster with Sam, much to her distain, and came out a shaking vomiting mess, but this time it was like that but amped up hundredfold. She just kept telling herself not to be that mess in front the three of them or she'd never let herself live it down. Hell, she knew John wouldn't particularly, let alone the other two.

She just hoping she wouldn't die then remembered she couldn't die in here in this way, which didn't make her feel any better. She would have closed her eyes but she knew that's make her feel worse so she just hummed to herself instead to keep her nerves from being shot.

 

[_gallifrog_]

They shot out of the asteroid field at incredible speed. There before them was the binary system, each planet was about a third of the size of Earth. The smaller of the the two was Tor 2, taken over with mechanics workshops and amphitheatres. The larger planet was Tor 1, a water world covered in a network of floating platforms and walkways which were home tobustling streets. The natural land there was minimal and consisted of open plains of red-orange land. Both planets had off world and on world ship parking. There was all manner of ships parked, ranging from single seaters to freighters that had stopped for refuel.

Jay slowed down the ship dramatically, the deceleration throwing everybody forwards. She landed the ship on one of the on world spots on Tor 1.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was glad when they got out of the asteroid field. She sighed relief and took in the sight before her. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before which wasn't really a surprise. When Jay slowed down dramatically, she was glad they were coming to a stop very shortly. She never wanted to experience that again but she had a feeling Jay would be thinking differently.

When it was safe to, she unbuckled herself from her seat, releasing her tight grip on her safety harness. She didn't say anything, deciding to stay quiet. She just wanted to stretch her legs and know what the game plan was now. She felt like this was the start of getting real answers finally and just wanted to get it over with. Though she wasn't naive enough to think she didn't need Jay to lead this whole thing.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Remind me never to let you drive Chas's cab" John commented, running a hand through his hair. He was seriously impressed with the whole ordeal, but he wasn't going to actually say that. Jay smirked at that, her eyes alight with the joy that only comes from doing so something so completly terrifying. "Are you kidding me? Jamie can drive the cab any day, that was insane!" Chas on the other hand had no such qualms about showing how impressed he was.

"Pilots are all about respect, especially when it comes to fighters and racers. This asteroid field, it's a test and a determination of status. That's why criminal and non criminal pilots get on so well, it's not about moral compasses or past life choices. It's about skill, speed and guts." Jay explained, swivelling around in her chair. it was clear from her tone that she had nothing but respect for pilots. She could see that Kay was in a state, but made no comment, it would draw (unwanted) attention. "Down there, it'll be kinda chaotic, you'll get a lot of strange looks, just ignore them. Don't get into a fight, don't insult anybody's ship, follow my lead and it'll be fine"

 

[MzHyde]

When Chas said Jay could take control of his cab anytime, she was 100% with John in his opinion. She just didn't want to say anything for worry of it coming off as she's only agreeing with him because of their bond, which wasn't the case at all. She glanced at Jay and noticed instantly that she could tell Kay was not of the best state but was thankful she didn't say anything, deciding to keep it between themselves. Her look at Jay conveyed that.

Kay took note of Jay's explanation, finding how it all made sense. It would have been strange to her if there want a mutual respect between pilots. She also was t fully surprised to hear it would be chaotic down there and they'd probably get strange looks. To her, she guessed it'd come across as they were the aliens, not anyone else. She half expected this to be the case. "Fine by me" she spoke finally, proving she hadn't intact lost her voice through this latest adventure.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"You're crazy Chas, you won't let me drive it, yet Jay can?" John shook his head in mock delief "you can't even drive in a straight line, she on the other hand can avoid asteroids in a high speed space ship." the cabbie smirked, knowing there was no way John could deny that. As John and Chas spoke Jay had attached a selection of knives to her leg holsters, attached a sword to her back and holstered two pistols in the customs holsters on her boots. She grabbed her leather jacket (the one with all the pilot patches seen on) and slung it over one shoulder. The final touch was the aviators glasses. "c'mon then, let's go."

The first noticeable difference was the gravity, it was much less than that of Earth. The second was the sheer size of the constructions. The planet was mostly water, so everything was build on giant floating platforms. The highest buildings were fours stories. There were ladders upwards and people could be seen walking on top of the rooves. Bridges crossed between different buildings and different levels. Some were official constructions, others merely ropes and planks. It was almost a 3-D maze. The air filled with a mix of rocket fuel, burned metal and all kinds of food being cooked. The people were mostly humanoid, with all kinds of additions, extra limbs, different skin colours, different hair colours. Then there were the stranger ones, animals, birds, insectoids and gilled creatures. The air was abuzz with noise and the different languages mingling together. The one universal thing was the attire- aviators and leather jackets being a must for all pilots. The while place felt alive.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smirked at Chas pointing out a valid fact at John about the driving capabilities. She hadn't experienced John's driving of a car, only a bike so she couldn't say much but it did amuse her when John admitted defeat at Chas' comeback. She had to take Chas' word for John's driving.

She stood up when Jay was finished kitting up. She was so greatly tempted to make a top gun reference and she had to bite her tongue to stop herself. Didn't stop her thinking it though! She followed everyone off the ship onto the planet. The difference to earth's atmosphere was noticable straight away but the whole outlook and life on it stood out to her the most. It was chaotic just like Jay states, and buzzing but seemed incredible. The different races, the languages, the smells, the sights...it honestly blew Kay away. She was still feeling like this whole trip was some.sort of weird dream in many ways. Though the crowds was still a slight issue for Kay so she made sure to stay really close to John.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both John and Chas were trying extremely hard not to look like the awestruck tourists they were. The whole place was so overwhelming. It was like something out of a sci-fi novel and John was fully expecting to wake up in The House at any minute, realising that the whole thing had been one crazy hallucination. "Bloody hell...... " Chas trailed off. "It never gets old" Jay admitted, noting the awe on everybody's faces.

Jay lead them deeper into the spiralling Warren of the city. As she had warned, they did receive strange looks, but many were directed at Jay. The people seemed to fall silent and move back slightly as she walked through them. And there were faint whispers as they passed by. Jay was completly at home, fist-bumping and high-fiving a few old friends, occasionally exchanging words with them. They drew up outside a huge glass building. The Vault was written over the door in large letters. Inside were vertical stacks of safe boxes, vaults, post boxes and even large containers.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay kept walking feeling glad she wasn't the only one who looked utterly awestruck. She noted how everyone was looking at Jay, and how they either whispered or loved back or greeted her. It was clear to her how well known she truly was and how comfortable she felt here.

She looked up at the glass building they reached and the name of it. "Of course it's called the vault" she thought to herself. Walking in behind Jay and Chas but beside John she looked around amazed. She felt like she was seeing The House's library all over again with her reaction.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Welcome to the vault."Jay gestured at the expanses of columns stretching up and down. "It's a cross between a post address and a secure bank. Pilots are always moving around, so we use vaults like theses as places to leave unimportant messages for each other, to store documents or weapons or any other important things for safekeeping."

From around her neck she pulled out two keys on a leather strap. "It's illegal to open somebody else's vault without their permission. And yes, this honesty system does work" she added with a look at John who appeared skeptical.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay looked so around thinking it's actually a pretty cool system. She watched as Jay pulled out the keys from round her neck and glanced at John. She wondered if there anything he wasn't skeptical about. Though she did think he had a point to be skeptical in this instance.

It was a farfetched idea to think no one would break into someone else's vault on a planet like this. Especially considering the kinds of people that would visit this place. But if it did indeed work the way Jay says, then she was impressed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's box was located on the third 'story', the divisions between box levels weren't exactly clear. Each box/vault/container was labelled with the call sign of each pilot. The labels ranged from white sticky labels to elaborate light up LED signage to custom glowing wire signage. Jay's just so happened to be near one of a person who was known as 'Maverick' "I still haven't decided whether that person is extremely classy or totally stupid for choosing that name." she said with a half smile.

Jay was in possession of both a postal box and a container a metre and a half in height and sixty a metre in the other directions. The call sign on hers was 'Blue Jay'. The postal box contained various letters, while the container was full of neatly stowed weapons, a set of light weight fighter armour, some cardboard boxes and a selection of miscellaneous objects. Judging by the volume of letters it hadn't been opened in a while. Some had an official appearance but most were on pages torn from notebooks. She split out the letter pile "look for anything signed with numbers 8332." she instructed.

 

[MzHyde]

Noticing the name 'maverick' she had to stifle a laugh. She leaned into John and Chas and whispered, "knew there was a Top Gun vibe going on here". She watched as Jay brought out what she was after. Noticing the sign on her box, she smiled. "Naturally" she thought to herself.

Seeing all the contents more film references were buzzing round her brain. She had a feeling she'd get the dirtiest look ever if she said the current one in her mind but she had stifled a hell of alot of references so far and she couldn't resist to say at least one, "let me guess... You think your collection is complete but you could have more?" Referencing a certain Disney song.

When she told them to look for anything with the number on, she nodded and started helping to look.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"This really is just Top Gun in space." John agreed fully with her. "You two too? I thought that was just me" All three were in agreement on this it seemed. John saw the call sign and remembered that that same name had come up as Elliott's contact name for Jay "That brings a whole new meaning to the word call sign" "He was stupidly proud of that double joke"

Jay just tipped her glasses forwards slightly and gave Kay a withering look over the top of the aviators, before turning to the letters. The majority of the notes were offering condolences for her loss, acknowledgements of some thing or another, notes on mundane happenings and gossip. There was even one telling her that they would be keeping a place on the team for her until needed. There was also notes that were written on blank playing cards. But there was nothing from 8332.

"Damn it! That bitch! " Jay sighed "I swear she'd better not have put it in his box just to get me to open it" she gestured at the box beside hers, the one labelled 'Black Jackal'.

 

[MzHyde]

It definitely wasn't just Chas, and she glad they picked up on the whole Top Gun thing as well.

When Jay gave her a withering look she just smirked, expecting that kind of reaction from her. She also decided to not do it again as she was pretty sure that she wouldn't survive a second reference like that. She rifled through but did the courteous thing of not reading any details, just skimmed through for the number but to no avail. Jay's little outburst confirmed there definitely wasn't anything relating in her box.

She glanced over at the other box with the name. "You may make me regret asking but whose black jackal?" She asked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Yes, you are" was her response, not looking at any of them as she pulled out a second set of keys from around her neck. They were differently styled to her own. and prepared to open the two boxes. John's face wrinkled in confusion. "I thought you said you couldn't open somebody else's box?" She nodded "I did... but there is one exception to the rule."

"Death?" Chas questioned. She nodded, unlocking the boxes "exactly. Black Jackal was the owner of the shotgun." Inside the postbox was a handful of letters. She flipped through them and pulled out a single page. "This is it" She read it and passed it over. It read:
Jamie,
If you're reading this, then Elliott has been taken to Attil and you know who I am or are close to figuring it out.
Yes I have explaining to do
I'll be at Tungsten docks.
8332- Rinaa

 

[MzHyde]

Kay also wondered how she had a set of keys to this box addressed to someone else but John beat her to it in asking. The moment Chas replied with his correct guess she realised she should have guessed that would be the case. "Makes sense" she just said.

The moment Jay said who black jackal was, she remembered when Jay said about someone being dead before during their private chat. "Right" she just said. She took the letter and let both John and Chas lean over her shoulders so they could read it all together. "To these docks then" she commented, thinking an explanation being needed was an understatement.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay unlocked the container. There was very little in it, just weapons and some spare clothing, which she piled into two gear bags. Taped up on the inside of the door were a set of photos. She took those down too, then pulled out her knife. "I'm sorry" she whispered so quietly that it wasn't audible. Jay then removed the two metal plates. And with that, she left the two doors open and descended downstairs. She dropped off the keys at the main desk "the boxes are cleared"

They walked back out to the bustling streets. "I know you have questions, so let them out, I might n't answer them though"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay observed what she could see inside the box discreetly. Her old habit of making mental notes of what she sees coming back into play again. She noticed her whisper something to the box but couldn't work out what. Whatever it was she knew it was a personal moment and that was one thing she knew Jay needed to herself.

She with everyone, followed her out the building and through the bustling streets. She didn't want to ask anything so she let both John and Chas ask any if they had anything. She was too focused on not losing sight of anyone of her group. She didn't want to come across as weak or afraid of the crowds but it would be clear she still had a lot to work through.

(Apologies for being slow replying, my mate has come over to pick up her car and has been round longer than I thought she'd be lol)

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas spoke first, his burning questions not being ones involving her past or anything too personal "How was this whole place created? And why is loyalty so effective here, considering that it is a rare trait elsewhere?" Practical knowledge gathering questions, typical of Chas. "This place started off as a fuelling outpost, it is positioned between five major star systems. The dual planets provided a perfect halfway house and meeting point, from there it just grew. They started on Tor 2, but as more civilisations became advanced, more and more started to come, so it just grew into this. People built what was needed, with no thought on placement hence why this place is such a spiral maze. As for loyalty? When you fly with a pilot, you trust them with your life. Almost all pilots fly in twos, either as captain and cocaptain or as a team of two ships. Without trust the partnership cannot work. So if they die, you die. You just learn to trust them. And as I said before, respect is key, we respect solid fliers and loyal fliers."

As she spoke she led them through the city in the direction they had come from. John was next to question, and in his usual manner with absaloutly no regard for whatever Jay might have been going through he asked "was the dead guy, Black Jackal, whose containers you've just cleared out your partner?"


(it's fine, I ended up watching a movie with my brother, so I wasn't on either)

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was thankful Chas took over the questions as she wouldn't have known where to start even if she could think of anything. She then listened to Jay's answers trying to take it all in. She continued walking making sure to not accidentally bloom at someone the wrong way or bump into them or the likes.

She made herself stick between Chas and John so she could pretty much guarantee not doing anything that would start anything negative. She was not in the mood for more conflict. Then John just went and asked the one personal question Jay probably didn't want to be asked. Glancing across at him she sort of daggered him for it. "You need some chill sometimes" she thought to herself, but as quickly as she glanced at him, she looked back forward toward Jay.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Under the aviators her eyes went dark, almost gunmetal in colour. Typical of John to ask that. Her first instinct was to hit him so hard he'd fly to Attil unaided and burn up as a comet upon entering the atmosphere. And she would derive great satisfaction from that. At his words, her hands clenched into fists, her fingernails digging into her palms. But through an immense show of self restraint, she decided not to deck him and start a fight in the middle of Tor 1.

Chas looked like he wanted to deck John for asking too, giving his mate a look similar to Kya's and mouthing the words "well done you arsehole, of all the things to say, you picked that." John just shrugged in an infuriating way only hr could pull off. Jay took a breath, setting her shoulders. "Yes, but he's dead now, and I'm still alive. The past is the past, shit happens, so you pull your life together and move the fuck on"

 

[MzHyde]

Just as she predicted, Jay wasn't taking the question well one bit. She saw how her entire body language changed and she was ready to step in to stop any kind of fight and protect John, despite thinking he'd no doubt deserve a decking. She had a promise to keep to Elliott and she was damn well going go to do her damndest to keep it.

Luckily she noticed Chas was also annoyed at him for asking such a question. At least she wasn't alone in her annoyance at John having no filter in this moment in time. She could tell from the abrupt way Jay answered, Jay didn't want to go into anymore details. "Now drop it" she whispered to John. "Or you'll be joining the black eye club" she added, linking her arm through his. She was pretty damn sure that even Chas would Jay punch him if he asked anymore personal questions.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Okay, I will" for now. He added internally. The group fell into silence after that. Jay's hands had unclenched, but there was still a stiffness to her shoulders that suggested she wasn't entirely normal. Her eyes had lightened too, but the advantage of aviators meant that nobody could see them in the first place.

They arrived back at the same dock area they had landed in, a sign announcing various languages that these were the tungsten docks. and leaning up against their ship was a very familiar figure. White mask, shotgun strapped over one shoulder, and like Jay, various other weapons holstered across her body. She wasn't wearing the suit, instead having opted for combat trousers and a t-shirt, very similar to Jay's attire. They had a hoodie on the hood pulled up over their head. "Took you long enough"

(last post)