Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was spent by the time the training had concluded. He didn't know that his mind would be able to process so much information in such a short timeframe, or that his body could handle so much strain. And to think that this was just the first day. He couldn't imagine how far he'd be pushed in a few short weeks.

After they had been dismissed for the day, Kairo stayed behind. There really wasn't much reason for it, unless you counted being too lazy to walk the distance to his quarters. Sitting on a box just slightly too tall for his feet to reach the floor, he stretched out his arms. The onset of muscle ache already starting to get to him. A few moments later, he took a quick glance to see if anyone else was still in the hangar.

 

[Da Doofus]

There were a few volunteers chatting next to a mounted map of the local area on paper on Kairo's left. Further to his right, Stryx was torso-deep in the interior of the dropship with a scattered collection of tools at his feet.
Many others were departing for rest or relaxation.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo saw the conversation that was going on between the volunteers. They looked like they were pretty into it. He didn’t feel like barging in unwelcomed.

Meanwhile not to far away, he could make out the figure of Stryx inside the dropship. He couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing. Maybe it would be a good idea to leave him alone.

Then again, sitting here by himself did look a bit pathetic. Maybe it would be a good idea to make some of conversation. Besides, he was genuinely interested in what Stryx was doing. Normally, he wouldn’t approach someone of Stryx caliber outside of professional reasons. But they’d conversed before, and with everything that’s happened lately, an awkward conversation would be the least of his worries.

He pushed himself off the box and made his way towards the dropship. When he arrived, he gave the metal of the ship a bit of a knock to grab Stryx’s attention.
“Mind if I come in?”

 

[Da Doofus]

"Hello Kairo." Stryx answered from behind steel playing and gears. He tapped the ground with his shoe.
"Hand me that magnetic Phillips head, will you?"

A screw clinked down the interior and onto the floor.
"Monkey-faced son of a BITCH!" The Commander roared, his rage echoing through the airship's interior.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo had walked into the dropship. He was about to hand Stryx the Philips head when he heard the distinctive clink of the screw. He expected some kind of response from Stryx, but definitely not something so intense. It made him jump a bit.

“Yeaaaah. That doesn’t look good.” He looked at the fallen screw.
“You want some help with that?” He asked.

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx grunted as he crawled out from the upper workings of the dropship, his back to the pilot seat.
"Yeah, you can give me a hand." He pointed to the screw. "Just don't break anything." He crawled back up. "These things have to be refitted after sitting for 10,000 years. Lucky it's not just a wreck."

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Yeah. Repair definitely sounds much more fun than reassembly.” He went to pick up the screw. It’s been a while since he’s last done any mechanical jobs, and it felt nice to get back into things. He looked up onto the ceiling to try and locate where the screw had fallen from.
“I never knew you were a mechanic too. Man of many trades huh.” He said, trying to make some casual smalltalk.

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx's metal hand reached for the screw.
"When you're a Crusader pilot . . . You tend to take care of your armor." He said, manually refitting the screw. "Sure there were mechanics at base, but I've always been paranoid of them missing something."
He handed the screwdriver back.
"Get me some fuses. Box is in the pilot seat."
More clanks and quiet curses from the Commander. "Field repairs on a mech was something I did, much to the criticism of my superiors."
He paused. "I didn't put them back together, you know. All I did was keep the hinges from locking.
Shit like that." He returned to his work.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo grabbed the screwdriver and carefully placed it on the floor, then walked over to the pilot seat.
"I mean, you're self taught right? That's respectable in itself." He said, rummaging around the pilot seat until he found the box. He was about to open the box, but decided against it. Might as well take the whole thing, not like it was that heavy.
"And If the mechanics at the base were anything like me, I'd be weary too." He heaved as he carried the entire box over. He dropped the box lightly onto the floor, then he opened it and grabbed a few fuses, handing them to Stryx.

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx took them, and shortly after handed Kairo a rotted mess of degraded wiring.
"You're a mechanic?" He asked as he installed the new wires.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"I'd like to think that I was." He took the older wires, and deposited them onto the floor.
"I was never at such a high caliber though. I did some odd jobs here and there, fixing washing machines, bikes, if I got lucky, maybe some kind of vehicle."

 

[Da Doofus]

"Hmm . . . Tell you what?" An arm came out to point to the floor. "I got a panel loose to the landing gears, they need some work so feel free to give em a tune up." He returned to his own repairs. "I'll check after you, but the way they are now you can't really screw em up."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was definitely a bit taken back by that, but in a good way. He never expected Stryx to even let him touch the ship. But now that he did, he wasn't going to let that opportunity go to waste. A bit of a smile was forming on his face.
"Well, if you insist. I'll try my best." He said, his tone betraying how excited he actually was. His expression comparable to a kids on Christmas morning. He quickly went outside. Getting down low, he crawled under the ship to inspect the loose panel.

 

[Da Doofus]

It was a mechanism more complex than most of what Kairo had worked on in the past, but there was an understanding of the inner structure that he had.
The two performed repairs on the Albatross dropship for a while until Stryx emerged from the carrier compartment to stand below the panel Kairo was working on.

"Not bad." He inspected his repair work. "Not bad at all."
He tested the stability of a few pneumatic pumps.

 

[Chai_T3a]

A smile was on his face. He seemed to take pride in the work he’s done.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen anything this complicated” He stood besides the dropship, raising his arms in a stretch to ease the tension he’d built up in them.
“You see anything I missed?”

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx nodded and coaxed him to where he now stood.
"You didn't miss it, but it's something you need to know." He reached for one of the landing gears and knocked against it with his metal knuckle.
It made a solid dinging sound.
"See . . . Takahashi Industries makes their pneumatics with a slight design flaw." He gripped on the Albatross's landing bads and tugged firmly. "They wind the joints too tightly so if there's a rough landing, they'll snap the gears loose and they'll pop up into the ship, shredding the weight distributors."
He expressed every hypothetical movement with gestures.
"I always ordered Acedyne Supply's brand of pneumatics for the St. George."
He pulled a wrench from the ground.
"Since we can't do that, we can compromise by loosening this joint here a few notches." He adjusted the referred pressure valve slightly. "Then just keep an eye on it. Oil it once a week to be safe." He lectured.
"That flaw only happened a few times, so it's not an extreme hazard. Still, gotta take precautions." He handed Kairo the wrench. "Put that back in the toolbox, would ya?" He asked as he began checking the other valves.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo grabbed the wrench from Stryx. He placed it back into the toolbox beside him. After that, he continued to observe Stryx’s inspection. Ready to hand him whatever tool he needed next. He made sure to make a mental note about tightening the pneumatics a little less than he normally did.

He stayed like that for a while, attentively observing Stryx’s inspection. Being too focused on the task at hand, he didn’t mutter a single word. He would stay that way until Stryx had finished up.

 

[Da Doofus]

Once the 'necessary' adjustments had been made, Stryx climbed down the landing gears and looked at Kairo.
"Thank you." He offered a handshake with his right arm.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He reciprocated the gesture.
“There’s no need for that. I’m happy to help out.” He answered, looking at the now less damaged dropship. He couldn’t help but feel proud for being able to help out.
“Besides, It’s nice to be able to repair something again.” He lightly knocked on the exterior hull of the ship.

 

[Da Doofus]

"Nice to know there's some of these volunteers who are willing to put in some actual work this early." He glanced at the group of young recruits who were laughing at what could be interpreted as inappropriate humor.
He returned his gaze to Kairo.
"I notice you didn't ask about the breach incident. I thank you for that." He nodded.

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Yeah, it’s no issue.”
He gave him a thumbs up, but his expression seemed to change slightly. He had been conflicted about that matter just this morning. He understood the reason as to why it was being kept a secret, and he wouldn’t ever speak out of turn like that. But it was difficult being one of the only people to know of the Guest’s existence.

“Still though, I’m a little scared. Wouldn’t know what to do if we ran into it again on the expedition.” He looked away for a few seconds, almost as if he was embarrassed to admit it.

 

[Da Doofus]

"From what I saw, it can't fly." Stryx pointed to the Albatross. "And there will be more than enough defenses to take it if it should show up near the site." He patted Kairo's shoulder. "It got the drop on us all. Won't do it again."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo gave him a slight nod. He still wasn't completely sure, but Stryx's confidence did help keep him grounded.
"Yeah. You're right." He said to himself, his eyes gazed forlornly at nothing in particular. The pause lasted a little while before he finally seemed to be back in the real world. He shook the thoughts out of his head, keeping his mind focussed on the present.

"I should probably head back to my quarters. It's been a long day." He stretched out his back a bit. It ached in protest. "Hey, since I helped you out with the ship. Could ya return the favour and cut down on the drills tomorrow?" He asked in a joking manner.

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx cocked an eyebrow.
"I have so say no." He said blankly.

Another round of laughter from the rowdy youths, and Stryx stomped his right foot into the floor. The metal prosthetic under the shoe pounded into the metal loudly.
"Don't you boys have somewhere to be?" He roared. "Cause I'd like some goddamn quiet in this GOD-damn hangar!"

The boys parted and quickly vacated the hangar.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo had barely walked a few feet from drop ship when he heard the booming command. He barely stopped himself from physically jumping. He looked between Stryx and the two boys, who were now walking out of the Hangar in a frantic hurry. Stryx definitely fit his role as a commander. From the small amount of time he'd known the man, he'd been respectable, kind, but also very easily provoked. He wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of his anger.

He looked back at Stryx and gave the man an awkward smirk and a thumbs up.
"Very intimidating." He commented, before continuing his walk out of the hangar.