Diana reached the cockpit and saw that the pilot and co-pilot were still belted into their seats and that their heads were hanging at awkward angles. That was a sure sign that they had been killed on impact, but the mage would at least check if they were really dead before moving onto the cargo hold. She checked for a pulse and both men did not have a pulse... they were truly dead. Diana had all but given up on the prospect of finding any survivors among the crew when she heard noises coming from the cargo hold again. Diana slowly made her way to the cargo hold to investigate the source of the noise.
Diana carefully made her way to the back of the airplane and began slowly moving along the corridor left by the fallen crates that dominated the space. She was wary of the cargo shifting and slamming into her with enough force to break limbs, so Diana did her best to stay away from crates the best she could. Once she reached the back of the cargo hold she found a long blue capsule that was open. It was long enough and wide enough to accommodate a single person.
Red lights were dancing across a small control panel situated on the side and the word "OPEN" flashed in green letters in a little box next to the panel. What had been in here? What could be so important as to merit a special capsule for transportation? Diana heard the sound of footsteps behind her and spun to meet the threat with her weapon held at the hip.
"
Hello!" A female with long brown hair and green eyes greeted Diana. The young woman was wearing a blue dress with red and pink and a red beret on her head. She was definitely not part of the flight crew.
Diana lowered her weapon and spoke to the person.
"
Who are you?" Diana asked her.
"
I'm FLO-1856, part of the Nightingale series of combat medic androids. If you need to call me something, call me Florence. That's all I can tell you." "FLO-1856" said to Diana. Diana looked back at the capsule, then at "FLO-1856." The android had to have come from within the capsule, but how did she get out if she was sealed within it? Diana did not get a chance to ask that question because she heard a WHUMP from a sudden landing and heard footsteps echo from the front of the plane.
"
Diana, it's me, Ami! We've got company!" Ami warned Diana. Diana walked past the android and towards Ami to find out what exactly they were dealing with.
"
I saw a bunch of dudes in white winter camouflage packing heat. I counted twelve, twenty-four, maybe even more than that. They're headed this way and they don't look like they want to talk about this." Ami spoke up. Moments later a bullet punched through the fuselage and whizzed by Ami's head, just narrowly missing her forehead before embedding itself in the opposite end. Diana had reason to suspect that The Shadow Collective had finally caught up with her and was looking to take her down.
"
I can't carry both you and whoever that chick is. I also don't think that we can fight our way out of this, not in a head-on fight. How are we going to get out of here?" Ami asked Diana. Florence went into action by retracting her left hand and forming an arm cannon, then firing a thin blue laser that began to melt the metal of the fuselage. Diana noticed the pattern was shaping up to look like a door... Florence was cutting them a way out!
"
I'll go outside and buy you guys a bit of time, but don't take too long!" Ami said before proceeding to equip a large arm cannon of her own and making her way out the door. She took off in a hail of gunfire while Diana dispelled the Suppressed Submachine Gun and brought out the Suppressed Assault Rifle for a long-range shootout with the attackers. It was risky, but she had to show them that she was willing and able to fight back.
Diana crawled over to a window and carefully popped her head up to get a glimpse of the situation and almost got it shot off. What she saw were most of the men staying behind to provide suppressing fire while a team of eight moved up to the passenger door Diana had used to get in the plane. These guys were no average hired guns. Unfortunately for them, Diana was no average mage.
Diana heard a groan from outside and briefly popped up to see one of the eight-man team dead on the snow with a giant hole through his torso as the other seven continued to advance. Presumably Ami had made a diving attack with her arm cannon that killed one of the men of the team that would storm the plane. Diana appreciated that intervention because it kept the attackers on their toes and made them divide their attention between her and Ami. Diana ducked back down and avoided more gunfire that was sent her way.
"
I'm a quarter of the way through." Florence informed Diana. Diana turned to see that the android had indeed carved through a quarter of the fuselage. It was up to her and Ami to keep the mystery men busy while Florence went about her work. The huntress heard another groan and heard more gunfire that was directed away from her, meaning that Ami must have claimed the life of another boarding team member. That was good because the escape route would take a little more time to be cut open.
Diana heard the crunching of boots in snow and knew that the boarders were starting to get very close. She shifted her attention from the outside to the door to get ready for close-quarters fighting. If these goons thought that they were going to just swoop in and steal the android after all the work she had put into traveling through Silent Glaciers to find it, they would pay for their folly with their lives.
- Florence:
[Post Word Count: 1,034]
[Total Word Count: 3,996/12,500]