The night was black as death on the Atlantic ocean that night. The members of The Bleeding Rose had taken a hard hit on their last mission, of all the members MooK felt the worst. Being at the center of it, and almost getting Dakka killed in the process due to her lack of skill overall.MooK went over the events of yesterday in her mind again, trying to see where she could've done better, given her circumstances she at a loss for positivity. The mission was over, they had driven back Corporates forces long enough for the Government to come in with a fleet of core Grinders. What wasnt expected was Corporates special forces intervening towards the end. MooK had been in the forward most position of the others. After getting stunned she had been taken captive by CSF, and if it hadn't been for Dakka and Breech working together MooK would've been executed under Corporate law or used as a bargaining chip for damaged caused.
was there somewhere in there MooK could've done something different? if she wasn't at the front with nobody to cover her, she wouldn't have been taken with such little effort. Kata said it was important for them to work in pairs whenever possible to keep situations like this from occurring. MooK was determined to show her worth by covering a wider area and pushing the enemy further back. She had her riot shield and her Remington, all was going well. She heard over the communicator she had that Royal grinders were en route to her position, but over the gunfire and rattling of her shield the warning didn't click with her until she was being looked down on by one of the most effective combat vehicles in the field, the most simple and easy term to say was, giant robot. Almost as tall as a house with a shield of its own and a sword equal to that of a rapier she had been bested. Infantry came and took her away, but not before she sent a distress call. By the time she sent the call to the time she got back to the aircraft carrier she lived on it was all of fifteen minutes, but to her it was more of an eternity. MooK had been placed in a transport and was almost off the field when a giant robot came to rescue her. Not as impressive as the Royal but their Bowler was a machine to be reckoned with. Almost all of it was comprised of parts from other grinders, Dakka had named it Chaos cause that was the exact purpose it had.
Dakka ripped the top of the truck off and pulled MooK out, From there on it was a mad dash to the harbor. Bouncing and rolling and dodging everything that was thrown at them Chaos made some fancy footwork in their escape, but superior weaponry got the best of her more than twice. By the time they set foot on the harbor ground Dakka and Chaos were in pretty bad shape. MooK who had been carried like an infant in the arms of Chaos was for the most part unharmed. as the two of them were about to set foot on their ship a Royal had engaged them, determined to stop the Neutral group from getting away. Dakka had fended off the enemy for a mere matter of seconds before being impaled through the back. The way the grinders are set up is that while piloting a grinder you are synchronized with it and feel that you are the grinder and not a pilot sitting in it, Dakka felt the pain in double as Chaos was struck and Dakka herself was struck, all in the same move.
its been two weeks now and Dakka is still in the medical wing, the ship had become overridden with an air of tension and melancholy. MooK had gotten her ass chewed out by Kata, the unofficial leader of their group. unofficial in that no one was of a higher rank than the other in technical terms but considering she had been doing this the longest of everyone on board she gets looked up to for instructions, and she is more than happy to give them. MooK was in need of a morality boost, and the best place to go for that was the repair and storage wing of the ship.
She opened the door and the first thing she heard was the passionate crying and yelping. Ratchet was off in her own world as she worked on Chaos. MooK never thought that a mechanic could be so passionate, so engaged in their field as to chop off their own arm and replace it with a limb made of metal and wire so to be closer to their work on a more personal and spiritual level. Ratchet was a one of a kind, she was the one person who seemed to not quite fit into this group. Being so positive and happy and all around good natured and yet willing to lob her own arm off to make a new metal one to become more in touch with herself and her work, there has to be something a shade of dark under her tough, near unbreakable positive demeanor. Ratchet was dancing and singing as she worked over Chaos. She leapt back and twirled like a ballerina.
"OH hi MooK how are things?"
"hello Ratchet, Kata really drove into me so I thought I would come down here to get a picker upper" Ratchet's eyes widened almost as wide as her glasses. she mashed a button and one of her 'toys' rolled over and unfolded.
"you havent lived until you've had one of my Super Omega Screwdriver Deluxe's, you'll be feeling like a new set of air tools" Ratchet tossed her tools to her assisting toys and stopped to make her favorite drink. MooK took out her packet of snuff and inhaled a pinch for each nostril. Ratchet on the other hand once done with the drinks prepared her favorite pipe.
"there you are MooK, one Super Omega Screwdriver Deluxe, drink one of these and you'll be running on the deck nekkid screaming that all the dry land is gone" Ratchet took a long, delicate sip of hers and reared her head back. MooK watched the technique and followed suit. MooK had never had something so strong, there was so much mixed in she couldn't tell what was there. After a few seconds she didn't care what was in it, her shoulders started to get heavy, her elbows and knees started to feel like they were loose.
The main door opened, Kata strode down the large hallway and MooK's relaxed state became an immediate panic, she thought they were in trouble. Kata's posture and expression looked like she might be mad or she might be stressed or she might be concerned. Once she got to the two girls she remembered what a smile was.
"feeling relaxed are we?" Ratchet answered without missing a beat.
"as snug as a bug in a rug... care to join in?" MooK was white as a ghost, she thought they were dead for sure. Kata looked back and forth between them, grabbed a glass and poured in a clear drink.
"as long as I don't have to have that nasty concoction of yours Ratchet" MooK didn't quite get that things were okay for a second not until she watched Kata finish a glass. Then she remembered about Dakka.
"um... Kata... is, Dakka going to be ok?" MooK hid behind her glass as much as she could, afraid of what might happen next.
"Dakka is born from a family of tanks, it'll take more than getting stabbed in the back to put her down. Another week and she'll be as good as new" MooK didn't know if it was the alcohol but she felt better. Kata wasn't mad anymore and Ratchet was cheerful as always, she was happy here she was home.
