[IC] Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

[Rhona W]

March 12th, 2014
Shattered Steel Headquarters, 'The Forge'
Unnamed island in the Bahamas

Just after Valkyrie's Gripen had touched down and taxied away from the runway, the squadrons' C-130J thundered down the strip and lumbered into the air with a growling of propellers, followed by a bigger, four-jet Antonov transport that took off with a rumbling roar.
As the sound died away with the planes receding in the sky to the east, Kat arrived at the hangar the Gripen was parked outside of and where Ayvee's fighter was waiting. The tall woman stuffed her kitbag into the baggage pod hung on one of the Super Tomcat's hardpoints, before her attention was taken as well by the newly arrived sleek little delta-winged jet and its' pilot. She hung her helmet on the end of one of the missile rails and walked over to the pair, arriving just as Ayvee introduced herself. She smiled at the pair hesitantly as she stepped up close, and gave a nod to Freyja.
"Oh, hey;" she said in her rough, husky voice. "Valkyrie, good to meet you. And you're Stingray, saw you at the briefing but didn't get a chance to get introduced. Looking forward to working with you both"

---

Meanwhile, Scott had taken care of his own business; he grabbed some chow, took a shower and packed a bag with the essentials from his quarters. Such as they were; most of his stuff was still in storage in the US. He hadn't decided so far on whether to invest in a house on the island, or rent one, or just stay in the base housing. Whatever; he was all-but ready to head for the ready-room to suit up but with a little time to spare.
He headed out of the quarters and took a walk that'd take him in the direction of the ready room, hangar and the rest. He was eager to strap into the Tomcat again and get into the air, and for the mission to come - although before he got too far, he was distracted by the sight of Mykhailo and Fuka hanging on a bench with their kit bags. He stepped up just in time to hear Myk's clumsy pass - or joke, he wasn't sure - at the Japanese-American pilot. He couldn't help but raised an eyebrow and laugh as he leant on the edge of the bench.
"Well, good to see you two are getting acquainted fast," he said with a growing grin. "So, how's it going; am I seeing a romance about to bloom here?"

[Letter Bee]

Mykhailo Martinez

"Just joking around," Mykhailo said. "An idle thought, that's all."

Besides, I prefer men, and she may not like that, the young man was thinking to himself. Then he sighed, relaxed, and admitted, "That said, I don't mind pretty folk."

Don't come out of the closet yet, Myk, he thought. You know they might not like you if you do it.

He decided to be careful; it's not as if Amazonian warrior women, like Fuka was one, weren't appealing to him. But honestly, if only a young man 'so inclined' was in their Squadron; that would make him even happier than he was now. But alas, all the men here were either: 1.) Straight, and 2.) Old.

So he faced Scott and said, "No romance yet, Sir. Besides, not ready for it."

This was a truth, considering how he had to get over Artemio first, and the ghost he represented...

@Smike@Rhona W

[Smike]

March 12th, 2014
Shattered Steel Headquarters, 'The Forge'
Unnamed island in the Bahamas

Whatever she expected him to ask, that wasn't it. The audacity was almost respectable even while baffling, and Fuka raised an eyebrow at the 'joke'. Of all the times for the boss to appear, now would not have been Fuka's first pick. Peacenik turned to face Scott and gave him a wry smirk, not believing the claim that it had all been a joke but nevertheless amused.

"Casanova here would like that, I'm sure, but going on a date with someone half my age at most, who lacks life experience and has, until this point, only ever hooked up with tittering high-schoolers? Somehow I'm not hearing wedding bells."

[Letter Bee]

Mykhailo Martinez

Mykhailo chuckled and said, "Understandable, Amazon," giving Fuka an affectionate (well, 'affectionate') pet name of his own.

He then turned to Scott and decided to ask, "So, what got you into this line of business in the first place? I already told Amazon why I am, but what about you? I presume you have your own story as to why you chose the high-flying life?"

Glancing at Fuka, Mykhailo was slightly wary that Fuka might have been too annoyed by his 'needling'; well, Mykhailo liked mischief when he can get away with it, and he liked to think that he fit a sharper niche of humor that Circus the Flying Circus had neglected to fill. Not that he disliked that guy, even though he found the slapstick genre to be bland, precisely because he had liked it when he was six or eight and those were days that he was ashamed of.

He was a grown-up boy now; nineteen. But he was still a boy and he needed to learn from those more experienced than him if he was to survive long enough to avenge Artemio and bring order to his mother's country and contribute in some small way to the defeat of the NCAA and their friends in Russia and China.

Let go, Mykhailo, he thought. Amazon - Fuka - was right that you have to take things less seriously; focus on the job - Not an imaginary fight between good and evil. Calm down, listen to the commanding officer's story.

If there was anything Mykhailo was proud of, it was letting go, shedding his anger even against a target that did him and those he loved harm - And in doing so, lightening his own pain and saving his mind the stress and trouble of someone who hated beyond reason.

@Smike@Rhona W