Ariin heard Katya speak, he heard how she tried to sound commanding yet in truth she wasn't sure of her own orders. He opened a private channel and spoke, in friendly and advising tone. "Breath, relax, you know what your doing and you'll get us through this fine, commander." He added the last part to try and boost her moral, the truth was Ariin expected himself to be the first to get wasted if things went wrong.
He'd landed not far from the others and was slowly looking over his visual readouts as he rotated cameras. "By the way, I'm not going to be much use out on the front line. However with you can give a position to defend I can lock down and cover it. Paladin's specialized for defense rather than offense, since we also have Logic Gate on hand perhaps task Elora with getting us synced with PDF? Hero and Twilight would make excellent scouts while you could ready up with me and work with Elora to get out team ready for any and all attackers." Ariin finished his assessment of the team.
"Of course that's just my opinion commander." He said signing off, and waiting either be reprimanded or thanked.
Hearing Ariin speak up telling her to breath and relax, made the young woman frown. Really not wanting to hear those words as it reminded her that right now she was ready to snap. The word commander really hammering in the fact that right now she was leading these people.
Sitting in her cockpit in silence, she noticed Zim sent her a message but payed it no mind. Hearing him asking permission to scout the PDF lines, moments later.
"Granted." she simply stated before thought she should at least acknowledge Ariin.
"Thanks Ariin ... your faith is ... well I'm grateful for it ..." she said trailing off not really sure what to say to the young man.
Going quite she merely listened to Ariin as he started to speak aware of what he was saying was true. Having already planned to use Paladin defensively ... well mostly. Truth be told any battle plans she was thinking of where still in their early stages. As Ariin spoke Katya frowned again, feeling rather bad that someone else was having to provide her with what she considered advice. Katya sighing heavily as he finished speaking.
"Thanks Ariin, your opinion is ... at the moment helpful. I'm already planing on contacting the PDF. I can pick up nearly all their comm's on my hyper-wave. Knowing where they are getting hit hard was kinda a core thing, even before I ended up ... leading bravo. As to where to put you ... I'm working on that, hence the scouting. Outside of that I just dunno yet. I'm trying to working stuff out that really I'd of done before we landed." Katya stated, followed by another sigh.
Ariin smiled, she had changed from the girl he fought beside on the practice field before. He wondered if she was really ready for this, if any of them were ready for this. "I'm here to help. I know I've been a little distant from everyone since training day. I've had a lot on my mind." He said, not wanting to admit he had worried about the program itself and even skeptical of Lorenzo.
"So how is Caretaker? I remember last time were in the field we tries to work together and it didn't go great. Granted I still think were going to do great things, hell after this we ought to celebrate." He laughed a little and then checked his camera's yet again moving slowly looking around area seeing if their was anything worth looking over. He was in truth looking for any civilian that might not have reached the shuttles yet.
"Hey Katya... Did they burn your world too?" He asked as he kept scanning for any humans around them, he didn't find any. He just remember his own world, the shuttles full of children and adults rocketing into the sky. Cruxi ships bursting the ships just before they broke orbit corpses and debris raining down on the city. He remembered his mother smiling as she ushered the students from her class on board then told her children she loved them. Ariin remembered watching every other but the one they were on burst and fall back towards the planet. He was of three hundred survivors from the planet, a high number compared to the other planet in his system. "Because they burned mine, I don't want to see any more parents send their kids up in a shuttle before they die."
The second the words "I'm here to help" where uttered Katya felt grateful to Ariin and felt bad she had made little effort to interact with him. Maybe he wasn't such loner after al.
"Yeah I think we all have. This whole squad Sigma stuff been a big change ... still get stomach ache from the bases food." she said a little laugh aware he meant something different, but wasn't in the mood to pry.
The moment Katya heard Ariin ask how Caretaker was. Katya ran her hand along console in front of her.
"She's good. Working well, although I still not used to this left leg. It just feeling clunky, I dunno. It just different, maybe it me. I've spent far too much time in Caretaker in the last year. It almost feels like it my skin." Katya stated remembering she needed to active her rifle at some point before the fight. Thumbing a few controls mindlessly, Katya heard a question that sounded really personal. Which Ariin confirmed when he mentioned they burned his home world.
"No my world is lucky. It's well protected, considered important because of the raw ore it provides to the war effort. The worst we worry out back home are worms that could eat a werk like it was nothing and those that would rather steal then work. Assholes, I hated dealing with them. But I'll admit it was good training, had to be it got me noticed and into Sigma." Katya stated smiling slightly, at the thought of her world. She missed it, Katya hoping she get to see the sand dunes again and the mining outpost that was her home.
Giving a moment of thought Katya felt she wanted to ask one question that popped into her mind when Ariin mentioned his world got burned.
"So is that why you fight? Not for revenge but to protect other family's?"
"Yeah, I had to raise four younger siblings alone. No money, no help, and no friends." He explained as he continued to wander around the area. "My world was this huge farming center, provided food around the sector. My father worked the land, my mother was school teacher." He chuckled a little. "I used to complain about living in the middle of nowhere and not having big cities." He sighed and touched his false eye before pushing his hair back carefully.
"I had to beat other orphans, steal from others, and lie to officials. Just to keep them fed, clothed, and safe." He explained as he began to towards the edge of the city to look out. "Broken families never heal. So I want to prevent what happened to me from happening to others." Ariin explained as he moved looking at things. "That's good you know? You've got people to go home to... I'm not going home, not even to Mars. Military owns me, I'm a convicted murderer, so I guess that just expect me to die out here fighting." He said as he finally stopped looking out sighing.
"Probably want some context to that. I stole from an officer, two MP's chased be down and beat me. My sister saw me and screamed... They got the look like men about to do something despicable, pulled a knife. So I took the knife and killed them, of course one managed to shove the knife in my eye." He said touching the implant again. "When I woke up the guy I had pick-pocketed was sitting beside me. Told me he owned me, I was to enter the Framewerk program. That was three years ago, they send my pay to my siblings." He finished doing his best not to sound upset about the whole thing.
Katya listened to Ariin speak, the young woman thinking at their core they where not all the different. Although their reasons where different for being here. They both wanted to protect others.
"I can respect someone who fights for someone other then just himself." Katya stated not sure what to say about his story, feeling she should tell him something in return. Double checking her comm's muting everything but the private to Ariin.
"I would say sorry for what you've had to go thought, but at this stage I doubt it would mean anything but pity. However I'll let you in on a secret. I had a choice to be here, in the military. Truth be told I'm actually running away from home. If I wasn't here I be digging for ore like my mother and my mothers mother. I doubt I'll ever go home. I don't think I could face what I have coming. Anyway that's a secret. Sooooo Ariin your werk, is it fast? I'm thinking this battle might require us to move to different positions quickly. I know tight streets are a no go for you, down to size. Still I don't to push your werk to do something it not made to do. I learned that never ends well the hard way." Katya said as she began to do a rifle check. Unmuting her comm's.
"Ah, well if you ever leave the military. My sisters would be happy to have you if you don't want to go home. You could find work on Mars plenty of pilots jobs." He told her as he moved again wandering a little. "No it's not very fast. Faster than you would think but still hardly fast when compared to other Framewerks. However it can take punishment, strongest armor fresh from the forges of Mars. Paladin's a tough guy always has been." He answered as checked the railguns and shield set up. "...And thank you Katya, for listening. If we both make it out I'll treat you to something not made by mess hall cooks." He answered as he got ready for orders. They would be here soon, the time for talk was over.
The moment Ariin mentioned Paladin wasn't fast, Katya wasn't surprised. It didn't look fast but she though it was best to ask, given she hadn't looked at it specs having no need to before. Maybe it was something she need to do, after this provided Ariin didn't die on this world.
"It's fine, I'm always happy to listen to others. I'll hold you to that promise, I always like eating food those butchers don't make." she said, sighing.
Ariin had provided a distraction given her time to bury her feelings. While still not confident in her ability to lead, she felt calmer. Giving a deep breath. Katya decided she should provided Ariin a task then set to work on her own.
"Ariin I want you to look for points we can set up defensive positions. Also any area's you think might work well for that rail gun of yours. I expect to see you working hard, slacker ... thanks" She said with a laugh closing the channel setting to work to get into contact with the PDF commander. Thinking for a moment Katya opened a channel to Mai and Elora.
"Cadet Twilight, get moving. I want you hunting for place's Cruxi might land ground forces. Cadet Liu'un I want you to find the places in the colony the Cruxi will try to attack." Katya stated sounding a tiny a little more confident.
Ariamis
The Raven Calls
StitchedOwl