Private Crashes to ashes

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

RESTLESS​

"I'll have no more of this, Corporal. Just follow orders. Dismissed."

Sunshine was at his bloody best today. Mischa just let out a "Yes, sir," with a salute, turned and walked out of the command centre.

It was a hot and humid day on Camaas with midges all over the place. With a huff, Mischa pulled her helmet over her head to keep the bugs out of her face. She then met up with the rest of the squad as they all huddled underneath the thin stream of water spilling over from the supply tank.
"So what's the verdict, Aiden?" asked Eddy Bouchard.
"Follow orders. That's it. We gotta do patrol. And he refuses to give us cammo. So this white shit will stand out on a mile in this greenery." Mischa said, the irritation in her voice clear.
"We don't even got a Sergeant." Bouchard protested.
Mischa shrugged. "Orders are orders. I can't do anything about it." she said.
Bouchard sighed. "Right." he said before turning to the rest of the squad. "We're moving out, ladies. Enough showering!" he ordered. Groans and grumbles answered him as the Troopers reluctantly started to gear up to move out.

It was a quiet patrol aside from the occasional animal call and the far off roar of a Behemoth. The squad fanned out some to avoid clumping while they were deep in the jungles of Camaas.
"There's no Alliance presence on this planet. Why do we have to keep doing this?" Bouchard grumbled not too far from Mischa.
"You're asking the wrong person, mate. I don't know any more than you do." Mischa said as she scanned the area around them as they moved.
"This stinks. I'd rather be in the thick of it on the borders, you know?"
"Tell me about it." she said.

All of a sudden, there was a massive BOOM in the sky while communications got knocked out before it sounded like an engine was about to burst, coming down. And the next, everything went red-hot then black as something big fell from above right onto the small squad of Troopers.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

This was supposed to be an easy mission — a quick drop into the jungles for a routine patrol on a border planet. But everything turned to shit real fast after they had pulled their shuttle out of hyperspace.

"This isn't good!"

"Yeah, no fucking shit!" Aiden called out as the ship violently trembled on entry of Caamas' atmosphere. On their approach to the jungle world, a critical malfunction of their thrusters had caused them to get trapped in the planet's gravity field, and with less than a minute of time left before impact, everybody understood there was nothing they could do. The marines buckled up closed their eyes and hoped for the best.

Soon enough, the bottom of the shuttle clipped the tops of the highest trees, snapping them instantly. But it also worsened the vibrations of the hull immensely and affirmed that this was going to be it. "We're going to die! We're going to die!!" One of the other younger Marines cried out, and as much as Aiden wanted him to shut up, he couldn't get himself to say something now. He was drawn into his own mind far too much, as memories of the ambush on Selvaris repeated over and over again.

Was he going to lose people again, or would he finally die himself alongside them?

Only seconds later, everything went black as the shuttle crashed into the jungles below and was ripped apart in the process. Burning engines were rolling for half a mile across the ground while the fuselage with passengers had cracked wide open, and thrown out most of those inside, killing them instantly. But once again, it seemed that destiny had other plans for Aiden Rennek, who had survived the deadly crash.

With a sharp inhale of air and smoke, Aiden's eyes opened to see nothing but flames and debris around him. The small compartment of marines he had seen a split-second ago was gone, and with just a quick glance around, he realized they were gone for good. Severe pain began to rise up inside of him, both from having to relive a moment like this again and from the fact that his body was beaten and bleeding.

His body armor was practically gone, most of his shirt and some of his pants were either ripped to pieces or burned away, and a stream of blood was running down over his eyes, and across his left cheek.

He was in serious trouble.

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

GYPSY MEETS THE BOY​

A cough escaped from under some tree branches.

Dust and leaves were still filtering to the ground as fire raged nearby. She had to see what was going on. With some trouble and groans of pain, the blood-soaked white armour finally emerged from between the branches of the downed trees. She was baffled that she hadn't been completely crushed, her only saving grace being that two trees collided against one another and propped one another up enough to not be flat on the ground.

Stumbling into the more open area, Mischa was finally able to see what had happened - a shuttle had crashed on top of them. No-longer-white-armoured bodies were strewn around the shuttle and crushed underneath trees.
"What...the...fuck?" she gasped, a sharp pain in her side warning her to not breathe too deeply before she pulled the almost totaled helmet from her head.

Everyone seemed dead, including the passengers that were inside the shuttle. There was only the sizzling of flames and the occasional clang of a piece of Impervium falling to the floor of what was left of the shuttle. But then something stirred within the corpse of the ship.
"Impossible." she said as she stumbled toward the ship, hand on her side as pain shot through her body.

Almost falling into the shell of the shuttle, she caught sight of a man attempting to sit up straight. With a quick scan, the Trooper realised who was in the ship.
"You're an Alliance marine." She didn't frame it as a question. Why the hell did he get to survive while her own comrades were all dead?
There was a burst of something toward the back of the ship, which sent a shudder through Mischa. She had to get out of the area before the ship blew itself apart. Dark, bloodshot eyes looked back at the Marine and Mischa hesitated for a moment.

The fire raged in the silence.

Until...

"C'mon. This thing is going to blow." she said stepping forward despite her own pain to try and help him to his feet.

"If anything gets to kill you, it'll be me and not this ship."

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

Aiden coughed, looked around, and tried his best to move, but his body wasn't cooperating at all. Each attempt to get up to his feet resulted in him stumbling back down to the ground, and with the sound he was hearing from the burning vessel behind him, he realized that it was likely going to be the end. He couldn't get up and run away, so it was only a matter of time before the flames would consume him as well.

Perhaps it is what he deserved — to have lived through an ambush as the sole survivor while his brothers in arms were slaughtered by the Maw, and now this? Maybe burning alive was exactly what faith had in store for him. But then a voice called out through the chaos, and he couldn't believe it at first.

"You're an Alliance marine."

He looked at her with widened eyes, knowing that if she had any kind of weapon on her, it would be easy for her to kill him right here. At least it would be quicker than burning to death. But to his surprise, it seemed that death wasn't going to take him today quite yet — she approached to help him.

"Are you insane?" he asked, his deep voice resonating above the noise around them. "You'll get yourself killed too, this place is about to blow." Not that he necessarily cared about her living through this, but to accept help from her and then watch her get killed would not sit well with him.

"If anything gets to kill you, it'll be me and not this ship."

He let out a soft chuckle and got up to his feet with her help, "Fair enough, I guess," he said as his heavy body leaned on her shoulder a little too much. But she was even stronger than she looked, so the two were able to clear away slowly, and soon heard a gigantic explosion behind him. Even at their distance, they could feel the shockwave, but it was luckily far from lethal.

"Are you at least going to give me your name before you kill me?" He asked now that the danger had subsided, "Mine's Aiden," he said before he took a moment to give her a look over. "You also look like shit, so we might need to scavenge some medical supplies if something survived."

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

GYPSY MEETS THE BOY​

With a bunch of protests, she got him out of the ship.

And just in time.

As they were both limping away, the shell exploded where fire had gotten to the fuselage.
"Shit that was close." Mischa groaned as she plopped them both down on a tree stump, her dead squadmate's hands sticking out from under the tree. She grimaced. What a bloody situation. Comms out and no backup and the two living people were sworn enemies and injured to hell and back.

"Are you at least going to give me your name before you kill me? Mine's Aiden."

Mischa looked at him, her neck aching from the strain. Now why'd he have to go and do that now?
"LS-553." she said after clearing her throat. Ah hell. She'll probably have to tell him. If she was going to execute him anyway, it didn't matter. She sighed before grimacing at the immense pain in her side. That's a few broken ribs right there. "It's Mischa." she finally said.

"You also look like shit, so we might need to scavenge some medical supplies if something survived."
"Yeah, you're not exactly stellar either." she said before she slowly struggled to her feet to look around. Breezy had the medipack for the patrol. She just had to find him to get it. "One of my squadmates had a medipack. You think you can help me look? He had green inlets on his armour unlike the rest of our blue." she said, heart clenching momentarily, It was difficult thinking that Breezy and Bouchard and the rest were gone.

Fuck.

Staggering around, she tried to fight back some tears welling up in her eyes as she checked the bodies of her mates. A sniffle did escape slightly as she fought back a sob.

Finally, she caught sight of Breezy's armour underneath some branches. Falling to her knees next to him, she rummaged through the branches but couldn't find his pack.
"It's not with him. It's got to be lying around someplace. I hope."
Just then another roar came out of the jungle, this time slightly closer than it was before on the patrol.

Mischa's head snapped up at the sound.
"Shit." She rummaged through the branches again until she came across Breezy's particle rifle that had miraculously survived. Struggling to her feet again, she then looked around some more, rifle in hand.
"We need to get underground before sunset." she mused and then realised what she was saying.

"Don't worry, I'm still going to kill you - eventually."

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

After making it to the tree, he plopped down with her and finally caught his breath a little. The adrenaline running through his body was starting to fade, so the pain was rushing in quickly, and a quick glance in her direction made it clear she was biting back the pain of her own injuries as well. "Yeah, I can help you look," he said but with a more careful tone. He got up to his feet and watched her closely for a moment, knowing that this was likely much more difficult for her than she cared to openly show him.

The two looked around, and after she dropped down beside the body of her fallen squad mates, he could hear the sniffle. Even if she was technically his 'enemy', he had gone through this pain twice now and understood what it really meant.

"It's not with him. It's got to be lying around someplace. I hope."

"Hey..." he said carefully as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "If you need a minute, I can look around and find it. I know this isn't easy." His tone and the look in his eyes were likely enough to prove his understanding of her pain, but he expected her to still reject the offer. It wouldn't bother him at all, but if they were to survive this together, he figured it was best for him to get on her good side a little.

Then a roar echoed through the jungle, drawing his eyes up and in the direction of the source. Much like any jungle, Caamas had plenty of dangerous predators, so they would have to be extremely careful. Especially at night, when those beasts could easily see them, and they were practically blind. The light reflected by moons generally had a tough time illuminating the ground in a jungle because the trees and thick vegetation blocked so much.

Drawing a basic pistol, he looked at her and nodded, "Underground or maybe a cave somewhere," he said in agreement, which also made him realize what they were proposing — keeping each other alive.

"Don't worry, I'm still going to kill you - eventually."

"Don't threaten me with a good time," he said with a grin before he went down to his knees near some of the wreckage, and dug around after he had spotted something. Less than a minute later, he slowly struggled back up to his feet and showed the medkit they had been looking for. It was a bit beaten up, but everything was still inside. "Let's find shelter first, then I can patch you up. I'd rather not try here with a predator so close."

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

GYPSY MEETS THE BOY​

"Don't threaten me with a good time,"

Mischa had to duck her head to hide the struggle to fight back a grin at his words. He sounded so much like Bouchard in that moment that it alleviated some of the sorrow at the loss of a good friend.

When she was able to compose her face, she turned back just in time to see him pulling Breezy's pack from under some of the wreckage.
"Let's find shelter first, then I can patch you up. I'd rather not try here with a predator so close."
Ah damn, they were really doing this. Sworn enemies and sole survivors of a shipwreck that now had to survive while miraculously not killing each other. Micsha hesitated for a heartbeat until another behemoth roar made up her mind.
"Right, let's get out of here. We can argue about patch ups later." she said, struggling to her feet. "There's a stream about a klick north-west of here in a ravine. If I remember right, it had what looked like a cave. We should be all right if we move through the stream." she added, motioning in the general direction before grimacing as her broken ribs protested.

She threw another glance over him before they moved out. With a sigh, she looked over to where Bouchard was lodged under some wreckage.
"Here, help me with this. You'll freeze to death once night hits." she said, voice a little hoarse. "He was about your size and he won't...he won't need it anymore."
She started to drag Bouchard out from under the wreckage, her whole body protesting at the strain. When he finally came free, Mischa nearly ended up on her ass.
"I'm sorry, Eddy." she said before she started to strip him from his armour.

Finally they had the armour and Bouchard was left behind in his civvies as the two took off as the sun was starting to dip lower in the afternoon sky. Her body was aching with every step she took, the impact jarring through her. By the time they reached the ravine, she was coughing up some blood.
Yeah, there goes a puncture, she thought as she wiped her arm against her already grimy armour.

Upon reaching the low-hanging ledge that led into a cave, Mischa slid down against the damp wall.
"Hopefully our scent will be masked now with the water." she said hoarsely.

Though her experience in the Empire gave her another feeling.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

She didn't have to show him her grin for him to know that his joke had been amusing. If it hadn't been, she would have likely gotten snappy with him, after all. But when she looked back at him, he also noticed something else - apprehension. He understood what caused it, and if it hadn't been for him keeping himself distracted looking for the medical kit, he probably would have felt the same way. As much as it made sense for them to work together now, it still felt... wrong, in certain ways. Sadly, neither of them had the luxury to dismiss the need for help.

"There's a stream about a klick north-west of here in a ravine. If I remember right, it had what looked like a cave. We should be all right if we move through the stream."

Aiden nodded in agreement, knowing the water would help mask them against predators, "Alright, sounds like a plan." There was the brief thought to look around for more supplies, but the second roar made him just want to get the hell out before they'd regret lingering in one place for too long.

With some effort, they began to move, but Mischa had other plans first and stopped by the body of one of her squad mates. A little reluctantly, Aiden helped her free him from underneath, and watched her take off the armor. What really caught his attention, though, was just how much she struggled to move, and it nearly caused her to end up on her ass... which definitely drew a brief snort out of him. But for now, he decided against commenting on it too much and started armoring up. "Yeah, this is a lot better, thanks... I know this isn't really great for you to see."

Who would like to see their enemy in the armor of a fallen friend?

Soon enough, they were on the move again, and it seemed her situation was only getting worse. Sure, he looked beaten up too, but it was mostly skin burns from the fire and other surface-level problems. She had definitely sustained internal damage, which was far more dangerous and difficult to treat. "Coughing up blood is a really bad sign," he began carefully as they approached the cave and used the water to clear their scent.

"If you take it easy and remove off some of the armor, I can help." Broken ribs were easy enough to heal, and there were a few things he could do to take away some of the pain as well. "If you'll let me take a look?" He opened the medkit and already began to grab a few things together. Most importantly, the bone-knitter he'd use to fix up whatever was broken. "You can keep the shirt on if you want, just the armor needs to be removed."

Crouching down, he inched closer and closer to her with the tool in his hand, hoping she'd allow him to help despite their differences.

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

GYPSY MEETS THE BOY​

"Coughing up blood is a really bad sign,"

Mischa looked at him for a heartbeat.
"I'll survive, don't worry." she finally said, but it seemed Aiden was adamant in his ways.
"If you take it easy and remove off some of the armor, I can help. If you'll let me take a look?"
He was careful, as if talking to a skittish farthier. And like a skittish, cornered animal, she was watching him as he dug into the medpack.
"You can keep the shirt on if you want, just the armor needs to be removed."
Fear flashed through the Imperial for a moment. Fear of removing her armour, becoming vulnerable in front an enemy. But then again, if he wanted her dead, he'd had ample time to do it already.

And then she realised it ran vice versa.

With a pained sigh, she relented. With a slight struggle, she removed her battered cuirass and zipped down the padded undersuit to the tank-top underneath.
"Try anything funny and I ring your bell past consciousness." she warned him.

As she watched him get to work, she noticed the caked blood in his golden-bronze hair from the gash in his head.
"Ah hell." she grumbled as she reached for the bacta-spray in the pack. "Can I?" she asked him as she looked down at him where he was working on her midriff while she held up the cannister. "Before you pass out. I ain't dragging your sorry ass anywhere."

Before long, another roar ripped through the trees from the direction of the crash site before another answered it in the same area.
Mischa's throat tightened. The behemoths had probably come across the bodies of the two's comrades.
"That should..." she started almost voicelessly before clearing her throat. "That should keep them busy for a while. We should get deeper into the cave though. They're too big to get in here. I hope." she said. She had that nagging feeling the predators would find them regardless of the water and just wait them out.

The bloody things were smarter than they should be.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

It wasn't too surprising to him that she was a bit hesitant — not only were they technically sworn enemies, but every soldier also hated admitting to injuries and getting proper treatment unless walking became literally impossible. Luckily though, she set it all aside and allowed him to get closer with the bone-knitter to fix the ribs.

"Try anything funny and I ring your bell past consciousness."

"No funny business, just fixing the broken bones," he assured her as he worked slowly, allowing her to follow each step he made so there weren't any surprises. Sadly, it was a fairly slow process, so while he held the tool against her midriff, he just sorta sat there awkwardly and waited.

"Ah hell." she grumbled as she reached for the bacta-spray in the pack. "Can I?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure. Just don't get that crap in my eyes," he said with a smirk before he sat still enough for her to apply the bacta spray to his head injury. It stung a bit, so he gritted his teeth, but he was a tough dude and made no comment while he continued to work on fixing up her ribs. "There, that should do it..." he trailed off and gently placed several strong fingers against her side, and felt whether or not it had worked.

A risk, because if they were still broken and sparked pain, he'd likely get a fist to the jaw. But it was his lucky day — the ribs were patched up, so she'd hopefully be able to move without it hurting. Just in time too, as another set of roars drew their attention back to the entrance of the cave. "Aye, let's take shelter as far away from the entrance as we can. I doubt we're entirely safe, but it'll give us time to respond if something comes through."

Together with her, he moved ahead and found a spot near the back of the cave. It seemed there was no way to get deeper, so he sat down, let out a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair. But rather quickly, his green eyes turned back to Mischa, "This your first time? Losing squadmates like that..." It's the one thing he could very much sympathize with, and if his own troubles were anything to go by, it might help her to talk about it.

But as they talked, another, much louder roar echoed through the ravine, causing Aiden to almost jump up to his feet, "Karking hell, I really hope the water covered our blood trail. I'm not sure if those beasts can be killed with a pistol."

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

GYPSY MEETS THE BOY​

His fingers on her side sent an odd jolt through her.

Goosebumps sending the hair on her arms on edge had her awkwardly zipping up her undersuit again.
"Thanks." she said as she tried to hide the slight blush creeping into her collar by struggling to pull her cuirass back on

Luckily the roars had drew the attention away.

"Aye, let's take shelter as far away from the entrance as we can. I doubt we're entirely safe, but it'll give us time to respond if something comes through."

Mischa nodded before she got to her feet, already moving slightly better with her ribs healed. Together, they both moved deeper into the cave as some bats complained about their presence.

Delving deep into the low cavern, the two of them settled down. It was bloody dark aside from the faint light of sunset shining through from the entrance. She should have scoped for firewood, but there had been little time for that.

"This your first time? Losing squadmates like that..."

Aiden's voice broke the silence. With the bit of peace they had, the weight of what had happened had started to weigh on her.
"I have lost squadmates before on Kuat. But nothing like this, no. Not an entire squad at once." she finally said, heart heavy as she thought back on her squad. They had all been so naïve almost, not expecting much to happen on the desolate planet. "You?" she then asked after a heavy breath.

It was almost normal talking to him now.

Were they really that different?

Just then, another roar ripped down the ravine, making them both jump. Mischa's hand immediately struck out to the rifle next to her, pulling it towards her.
"Karking hell, I really hope the water covered our blood trail. I'm not sure if those beasts can be killed with a pistol."
Her eyes turned toward him in the dim light. It seemed that he was more on edge than she was in that moment.
"They can't get in here. Not the big guys. They'd rather wait us out." she said, putting down the rifle. "So come daytime, we'll have to move quickly. They don't like the particle rifles. And if you have a sonic setting on that pistol, even better." She and her squad had dealt with more than enough behemoths to know. They weren't push-overs, but they weren't Sith Hounds either.
"I'm sorry I didn't grab rations, by the way. I...things were a bit confusing there." she apologised, settling into a more easy-going attitude with him. It was more familiar than treating an almost carbon copy of Bouchard with aversion in any case. And they had helped each other so far. Might as well strike up some conversation while the six-legged predators roamed outside.

"Why'd you come here, by the way?"

It wasn't framed as a confrontation - just a curious question.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

"I have lost squadmates before on Kuat. But nothing like this, no. Not an entire squad at once."

"You?"

Aiden noticed the difficulty, both in her voice and in her eyes, and nodded sympathetically. Right now, it mattered nothing to him that they were fighting on opposing sides — losing brothers and sisters in arms was a pain any soldier could understand, regardless of the side they were on. "I only just returned to action. I lost all my squad mates in an ambush on Selvaris and was injured badly, so I was on forced medical leave." He let out a soft sigh and broke eye contact for a moment as memories invaded his mind against his will.

But his deeper thoughts were interrupted by the loud roar and her reassuring words that followed quickly after. He hadn't actually seen any of the predators himself before, so he relied purely on what she knew about this place and its dangerous beasts. Given the fact they had just patched each other up, he felt no tension in placing that trust in her.

"No sonic setting, but it should be fine. I can keep them focused on me while you hit them with your rifle." He didn't particularly like the idea of playing bait, but for some odd reason, he was feeling a need to be protective. Perhaps in some way, he considered her a squad member right now, and so it was only natural that he wanted to keep her safe as well.

"I'm sorry I didn't grab rations, by the way. I...things were a bit confusing there."

"Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out together," he said with a reassuring smile. "Maybe we can kill one of those predators, although I'm not sure if they'll taste that good." A slight smirk flashed through the cracks, and he found himself getting a lot more comfortable around her as well. No longer did he just see a soldier sitting with him in a cave - he saw the human behind the armor, and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about what that sparked in him.

"Why'd you come here, by the way?"

"A simple insertion into dangerous territory as part of our training. This was supposed to be easy for us, routine work," he rested the back of his head against the cavern wall and sighed, "Nobody was supposed to die, not for this." Soldiers died for battles that mattered, which only made him feel terrible about all of this. "You and your squad are far away from home as well. But I'm sure the reason why is classified, hm?" He shot her a slightly teasing wink to make sure it came across as a joke.

Then he remembered something he wanted to bring up, and looked over at her again, "Before I forget, should we get a fire going soon? I don't know cold it'll get here at night, but I didn't bring warmer clothes or blankets."

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

GYPSY MEETS THE BOY​

She had noticed the 1000 yard stare when he spoke of his mates.

Losing mates in an ambush like that must have been shit. She'd been in an ambush before, but an entire squad wiped out hadn't happen before.

How easy it was to settle into conversation with him now. She'd sure as shit get court-martialed or even executed for not killing this man. Good thing the only eyes ISB had on her is now totaled on the ground at the crash site where she had pulled it from her head.

Fuck the spooks.

"Maybe we can kill one of those predators, although I'm not sure if they'll taste that good."
A grin spread on her face. "Now there's a thought. Damn animals." she said. "And we'll cook 'em 'til they taste good, simple as." A joke to alleviate the situation somewhat. They sure as hell needed to lighten the mood a bit.

But then they were back to the dark.

"A simple insertion into dangerous territory as part of our training. This was supposed to be easy for us, routine work. Nobody was supposed to die, not for this."
She nodded as she looked towards him. "Yeah same. If we even ran into some animals it would have been a lot." she said.
"You and your squad are far away from home as well. But I'm sure the reason why is classified, hm?"
She caught the wink he gave her, knowing he didn't mean it in a hostile way. But she did feel like she owed him a reason for their presence.
"Fuck classified - we're probably going to die anyway." she said. "We're a platoon that had been inserted here quite a while back already to establish a base for Imperial Military Operations into the Core. This planet was selected because of the low Alliance Military presence on it. But we still need to do patrols to keep it clean until the big brass decide what they want to do." she explained, giving him an apologetic look. "Guess our Lieutenant just picked the wrong day to send out a squad in this direction." She looked down at her hands for a moment, her squad fresh in her mind again.

"Before I forget, should we get a fire going soon? I don't know cold it'll get here at night, but I didn't bring warmer clothes or blankets."
She looked up at the fading light in the mouth of the cave before looking back toward Aiden.
"We technically should, but collecting firewood might be an issue with those behemoths out there." she said. "We'll have to act quickly - one keeping watch and one picking up wood."

She got to her feet before bending to pick up the rifle. It was a big gamble to go out there with the sun that had finally dipped behind the hills. She looked down at him.

"You up for doing this?"

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

"Fuck classified - we're probably going to die anyway."

The answer was somewhat surprising but also showed how much the dynamic had already changed between them. He felt awfully comfortable, to an almost alarming extent, but given the fact their chances of survival were pretty slim, he figured that there was no real reason to care about how this whole situation could be perceived.

So he just listened and met her apologetic smile with a comforting one of his own. If he somehow ever escaped this place alive, he wondered what he'd do with this intel — reveal it or keep it concealed to honor her being honest with him? It was a difficult question he decided was best left unanswered for now.

"Aye, we both shit out of luck," he said to try and lighten the mood a little. But seeing her look down at her hands brought back the more caring side in him again, so he reached out to place an encouraging hand on her shoulder, "We'll get out of here, no matter how many of those karking things we have to kill."

The two then got up to their feet once a plan was established, but her suggestion got his eyes to shift to her rifle, "You've got the better gun, so I'll pick up wood if you keep me covered." It meant he was placing his life in her hands, but at this point, it felt as comfortable as relying on the squad mates he had known for years.

"You up for doing this?"

He grinned, "Let's get moving,"

Without any further delays, Aiden led the way back out of the caves without a pistol in hand. The beasts were nearby — he couldn't see them but he just had this feeling they were being watched. Despite it though, he moved a decent distance away from the water stream and began to pick up pieces of wood, preferably ones that looked dry enough. What he didn't know, however, was that one predator was already lurking nearby.

A sudden growl caught his attention, but by the time he looked up, the massive beast was already jumping at him from behind some bushes, its claws and teeth ready to tear him apart.

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

GYPSY MEETS THE BOY​

"You've got the better gun, so I'll pick up wood if you keep me covered."

Mischa looked at her rifle briefly. The fact that he was suggesting that course of action meant that they have at least settled enough in each other's company by now to not feel threatened by one another anymore. Or it would seem that way at least.
"You got it." she said before they headed out.

He took point out of the cave with Mischa bringing up the rear, rifle already halfway against her shoulder to just aim and shoot - particle setting on full and the infrared-sights powered up. She missed her HUD, but at least she could manage without it.

She stayed behind him, eyes scanning the area while he got together some wood. They were definitely being watched. It was way too quiet for her liking.

When the growl pierced the silence, her blood went cold as she snapped up the rifle to rest her cheek on it. She caught the eyes of the predator in the infrared a split second before it launched itself at Aiden.

She held down the trigger without hesitation, golden bolts ripping forth to pepper the behemoth hard. With a snarl, the beast missed his jump to touch ground slightly to the right of the marine, glowing eyes looking straight at her.

Heart beating in her throat she stepped up toward it, still peppering at its durable skin with the particle bolts, little explosions erupting on it.
"GO ON, GIT!" she yelled at it.
Its tail whipped for a heartbeat before it turned to take off with its 6-legged speed.

In an instant, Mischa whipped around to check their backs.
"Get that wood and get back in the cave. They won't stay away for long." she said to Aiden as she still swept the area.

There was a reason why they had never camped overnight on patrol.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

For a second, he believed this was it.

The beast jumped straight at him from cover, and all he could do was just stand there and let it happen. With its immense strength, claws, and sharp teeth, it'd be over quickly but it would be an incredibly painful way to go out. So Aiden's eyes closed, and he braced himself for whatever was going to come next.

But rather than a sharp nail ripping him apart, it was the sound of a particle round hitting the beast's tough skin that forced his eyes to open again. The creature landed to his right with pure anger in its eyes but was immediately pressured away by Mischa and her relentless barrage of well-placed shots.

"GO ON, GIT!"

He couldn't help but smirk a little at how she carried herself, but the threat wasn't over yet, so he listened to her instructions and quickly gathered up his firewood again. "Move!" he called out as he began to run along with her. But only seconds before breaching the bushes along the waterline, a second predator jumped out, its side slamming into Aiden to knock him onto the ground, while its real target was the woman who had shot his buddy.

"Mischa!" Aiden called out, as he drew his pistol. But he was too late. The beast's claws lashed out towards her torso, looking to tear apart the armor and person underneath before she had a chance to open fire and force it to retreat as well. All Aiden could do was level his pistol and watch in horror, as he hoped to gain a clear shot.

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

DANGER ZONE​

"Move!"

Without looking, Mischa started backtracking with him - heading for the cave as she covered the rear. No use getting attacked from the back. Until suddenly...

"Mischa!"

She spun around only to get knocked to the ground by another behemoth, rifle flying from her grip from the force of the impact. Its claw dug into her cuirass to rip from her chest in a swift move before coming down again to try and tear her apart. It took all her strength to grab onto the paw to prevent it from getting to her unarmoured chest.
"Shoot it!" she gritted through clenched teeth.

But the beast shifted again to try and snap at her face, ripping its paw free from her grasp. Her hands immediately tried to keep its maw at bay, the putrid breath almost suffocating her as saliva spattered all over her as it struggled against her. She couldn't even dare to reach for her vibroknife and with her helmet gone, she couldn't remotely activate a vambrace either.

Fear, true fear, coursed through her - something she had not experienced yet in the few engagements she had been in. Her arms were on fire as it started to set in while she fought against the beast, ripping sounds from her that was a combination of panic and struggle.

"Please just shoot it!" she almost cried.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

Aiden watched with widened eyes as the beast knocked her down to the ground. He climbed up to his feet, steadied his pistol, and opened fire right as she asked for him to shoot it. The pistol bolt, however, wasn't nearly strong enough to pierce the creature's thick hide. In fact, it did so little damage that it hardly phased the beast, who clawed away Mischa's armor and tried to tear her apart completely.

It was in that very moment that Aiden could hear true fear in Mischa's voice, as she desperately fought to keep herself alive. Her arms were likely getting shredded by nails and teeth, her body was covered in the creature's saliva and slowly but surely, she'd lose the strength to resist it.

"Please just shoot it!" she almost cried.

Without fear of losing his own life, he explosively sprinted forward and moved to flank the beast from its right side. Using every bit of momentum he could create, he bashed into the side of its face, knocking it off of Mischa but in the process, he found himself rolling along with the beast over the ground

Exactly as planned.

The predator was quicker to roll back onto its feet with a loud growl and now moved to get on top of Aiden, who was still on the ground. But as it did, the Marine shifted and drew his pistol in both hands, the barrel aiming straight up as the maw of the creature opened. Claws dug into his shoulders, but he bit away the pain and pulled the trigger, sending the bolt into the beast's mouth, where it burned its way up until pierced the skull at the top of the head, killing it instantly.

"Mischa!" Aiden called out, as he snaked his way from underneath the beast and dashed over to her. His shoulders were bleeding badly but the adrenaline kept him from feeling any of it, as he moved to help her back up one way or another, even if he had to carry her back. "Come on, we gotta go, there are more of them," he tried to encourage her.

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

DANGER ZONE​

She could hear the bolts pelting the hide to no avail.

Her strength was failing as she tried to keep the beast away from her face while her arms were being ripped to shreds as it tried to claw them away from its ever-approaching maw.

Just as she thought that this would be it, the beast was slammed off of her from the side. Breathing heavily, she rolled onto her side in time to see both beast and Aiden rolling away from her.

Everything inside her went numb as the predator got to its feet faster than the Marine. She tried to struggle to her feet to rush to his aid, but she slipped on her own blood mixed with the beast's saliva.
"Damnit." she cursed.

Then she heard the shot go off.

She froze, holding her breath as Aiden disappeared under the behemoth's body as it collapsed.
"Shit." she finally breathed, everything numb.

"Mischa!"

She let out a relieved breath as he struggled out from under the dead beast.
"Thank the stars." she said, despite the amount of blood from his shoulders as he rushed toward her.
"Come on, we gotta go, there are more of them,"
"Right!" She gripped his forearm to help stabilise her as she got to her feet on the slippery ground,

Together they rushed toward the cave, leaving wood and rifle behind in their haste. They were in no shape for another spat with more beasts with the moons rising into the sky. The growls in the shadows of the jungle added urgency to their steps.

They reached the safety of the low cave just in time as more predators started to converge on them. Venturing deep into the back, they finally slinked to the ground as the adrenaline finally started to subside while growls could still be heard just outside the entrance.
"Well that went well." Misha said with a sarcastic chuckle before she turned to look at him fully in the dark, barely making out his outline. "You....thank you. Truly." she said softly after some hesitation. Then it hit her. "There should be a small surgical light in that medipack. Let's get you patched up." she said as she struggled to her tired feet again to feel around for the pack.

What a shit day this has been.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

There was a lot of relief in his expression when she grabbed his arm and pulled herself up to her feet. He could have carried her back if needed, but it would have slowed them down and left them far more exposed to more attacks from the predators around them. Now, they could run together, and even though the predator had gotten them both to bleed, they probably ran faster than they ever had before.

After weaving through trees, and bushes and crossing the water again, they finally entered the cave only seconds before the predators made their move to intercept. They could still be heard growling outside as the pair moved far into the darkness of the cave, but at least they couldn't get inside.

"Well that went well."

Aiden slowly sat down and let out a soft, pained chuckle in response, "Aye..." he muttered before he turned his green eyes her way. In the dark, it would be hard for her to see the pain written all over his face, but he expected her to be in a similar state, "We're getting out of this one together," he said. "You had my back there too, and I will have yours."

"There should be a small surgical light in that medipack. Let's get you patched up."

"No," he said with a tone that suggested he didn't want this questioned, "Your arms first. My shoulder is just a flesh wound." He had a feeling they were both stubborn, so he gave her little time to react, and crouched over to reach for the pack. The little light he found, he put between his teeth so he could hold the Field cauterizer and get closer to her. "Give me your arms and try to sit still," he said as he used his free hand to gently take her own, allowing him to close the wounds with the laser beam from the medical tool.

"We're going to have to sleep here without a fire tonight. Let's hope it won't get too cold," he said while he continued, "Food... we can worry about tomorrow as well." Now closer to her, he could actually look up into her eyes, "How are you feeling? Any other wounds?"

Mischa Korvan ​