Angels of Death (Anija Ordo)

[Arrbi Betna]

"Yeah, hopefully no more tweaking with these things," he said with a grin. They'd pulled the starfighters apart and put them back together enough already. It was the tail end of the job, finally, which meant they could take a rest for a short bit. Hopefully.

"Looks like everything is good to go. I checked my engine earlier, I just gotta put the plates back on. There's one more thing I wanna show you on the two of these, but really quick, how's your HUD. Is it working in sync with your helmet systems?" he asked.

The starfighter Head's Up Display syncing with the beskar'gam helmet systems was an important attribute with Mandalorian pilots. The ability to give voice commands to your ship, whether you were in it or not, was indispensable at times. Especially when you had your hands full, needed an immediate reaction, or were wounded. That, and it gave huge amounts of helpful data to overlay on top of the displays already showing in the cockpit's systems. It was like a constant flow of data on whatever was around and near you while in the fighter. It took some getting used to, but once you were, it was a highly useful tool and gave an excellent edge against other pilots.

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

Sighing heavily, she turned and leaned against the fuselage of the ship before she reached up to pull off her helmet and run her fingers through her hair. "It looked to be working alright. I was able to see the power gauges as an overlay on the HUD, and the engine power levels too. So, I think it'll be alright." She laughed slightly. "ANNE seemed excited about interfacing with the bes'uliik's systems, actually.." she admitted after a moment, reaching out to take [member="Arrbi Betna"]'s hand and trace her thumb over it lightly. Honestly, she was excited about the prospect of a new ship all her own - one she'd pretty much built from scratch, save the frame itself and the hull. "What was it you wanted to show me...?"

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Glad to hear the updated systems aren't giving you any problems," he said with a smile. "As for what I wanted to show you, it's on the underside of the fuselage."

With that, Betna moved to the side and grabbed a pair of mechanic's creepers. He set them down on the hangar floor and immediately took a seat on one, then laid back. He gestured for Anija to do the same and then slid the rolling platform under the bes'uliik's hull.

"I added this in the other day," he called from under the starfighter. "You love it, I promise."

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

Grinning a bit at his enthusiasm, she set her helmet down atop the landing gear and sat on the empty creeper. It took her a moment to get situated. When she did, she laid back slowly, and then used her legs to push back under the bes'uliik's fuselage and come to a stop next to [member="Arrbi Betna"]. When she did, she leaned over and stole a quick kiss before turning to look above them to where he was pointing. it took a moment for her eyes to focus on where he was pointing. And when she did, she laughed softly. "Is that... an extra hardpoint for a weapon?" It was, upon closer inspection. She smirked at him. "Considering what types of things we might get into.... Maybe a heavy laser or a missile tube would be a good idea.."

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Nah, not enough room for a missile tube. No space for a magazine, really," he said sadly after enjoying the kiss. "It's reinforced though, so you can mount a heavy weapon. Or a repeater if you want. Or you can just use a standard cannon, too. I swapped out the four blaster cannons and used some updated stuff to replace it. There's now three heavy blaster cannons on both of the starfighters. Also, the hardpoints I found enough room for a magazine, so you can mount proton torpedoes or concussion missiles there if you want. They can also hold standard weapons, though you'd have to reconfigure the layout for a heavier weapon. Each hardpoint can carry a 250kg bomb, though, so that's always an option. Also, the weapons are linked to your helmet systems so you can fire them verbally, too."

He'd been hard at work for this part. It took almost as much effort as the engine, though far less time. It was less rewiring the whole thing and more adding on or swapping out parts. Thankfully, it was far simpler than the engine was.

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

Anija listened to his explanation for a few moments and nodded. It made sense. The bes'uliik wasn't a large craft, and there wasn't really room for a missile tube. That being said, it did look like it could fit a concussion missile tube. Those tended to be smaller than most. She studied the weapons hardpoint for several seconds as she considered the options.

Absently, she continued to trace the back or [member="Arrbi Betna"]'s hand with her thumb. She found the action somewhat calming.And oddly, that small repetitive motion helped her to think. She was really leaning towards the concussion missiles. It never hurt to have a bit of extra firepower. She thought for a few seconds longer. "I think... maybe a heavy blaster cannon. Can never be too careful these days.."

She reached over to trace his cheek for a moment before she scooted back out for a moment and grabbed her helmet, slipping it over her head. it took a moment for the HUD to come up, but once it did, she whispered a command into her HUD's audio pickup. A few seconds later, the faint whine of the bes'uliik's systems could be heard. she carefully went through the preflight, letting the engines warm up as she did so. When they were warm enough, she whispered another command, and looked above her. Slowly, the bes'uliik rippled and vanished from sight. She swore softly. "Does it only affect visual. or does it mask emissions as well?"

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Stygium cloaks hide host ship emissions and also render it invisible," he said as he pulled himself out from under the starship. He sat up, smacked his head on the fuselage, cursed quietly, then slid out further and sat up all the way. "There are still ships that can spot you, but they have really specialized equipment and those are pretty rare. That said, bad luck can still get you spotted. Just gotta be careful on what you do while cloaked. For example, no comm messages. Tightbeam laser communications are good for cloaked communications as they're invisible and almost impossible to intercept, much less spot on sensors, but they do require line-of-sight to the receiving target. Anyways, I think we're good for the project. Everything's installed, everything checks out, and everything works. Looks like it's a good day with no problems."

With this, he stood and offered her a hand in standing up. The work was done, the ships were finished short of few aesthetics like paint and such, which meant he could move on to more... interesting things.

(The Dev thread portion of this thread ends here. Anything beyond is intercharacter relationships and, if Betna plays his IC cards right, perhaps a fade to black.)

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

"That.. .could prove useful..." she said after a few moments to consider the information. She honestly was glad they had decided to finish this project. It had been kicking around, and the parts sitting around... for months now. And it was finally done. With a sigh, she sat up, wincing as she smacked her forehead unto the lower fuselage. "Feth... gotta watch that.." After her vision cleared, she took [member="Arrbi Betna"]'s hand firmly and scrambled to her feet next to him. Once she was, she leaned in to kiss him deeply. "Vor'e.." she whispered.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna returned the kiss in response to her thanks and loosely wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned up against the starfighter's hull and grinned.

"Always glad to help out, cyar'ika," he said softly. As he spoke, a small twinkle came to his eyes. "Did you get to see the updated HUD? Specifically the tinkering I mentioned earlier. The thing normally brings up the HUD wherever you look in there, but it was a bit slow. Wanna take a look-see?"

It was a ploy, he'd be honest with himself. He did upgrade it earlier like he said he did and he was sure she didn't spot that particular aspect, but he had ulterior motives in the end.

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

An eyebrow crept upwards then, and she looked over his shoulder for a moment at the bes'uliik. "I... don't think I saw that," she admitted after a moment. In all honesty, she had been rather focused on other things at the time. Though, she had to admit that now that the majority of the work was done, she welcomed the distraction. "Why don't we go take a look at it, then..." The canopy of her bes'uliik was still open, and after a moment to kiss [member="Arrbi Betna"] again and grab her helmet, she clambered up the ladder and dropped into the cockpit. "The HUD works without my buy'ce..?" she asked after a moment.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"It works with and without your buy'ce, yeah," he said as he climbed up next to the cockpit. "The areas you turn your head to will automatically turn on when you look at it, helmet or not. It's pretty in depth and all of it is put together with new parts and new systems."

Betna grinned and nudged Anija, motioning for her to sit on the edge of the cockpit for a moment so he could slip into the seat really fast.

"There's one more thing I found out when I was fiddling with all the components and the designs. I gotta sit in the seat to show you, though. Just sit up on the edge of the cockpit canopy, it'll be fast," he said with a smile.

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

Her eyebrow rose at his comment, and for a moment, she studied the bes'uliik's control panel closely before moving aside to let [member="Arrbi Betna"] sit in the seat. She perched easily on the edge of the cockpit canopy, and balanced. When he was settled she leaned over and kissed him lightly. "What was it you wanted to show me?"

 

[Arrbi Betna]

He returned the kiss with a grin and made sure he was settled and secure. Satisfied that he was comfortable, he snaked an arm out around her waist and pulled her into his lap in the cockpit. Before she could do much else, he hit the canopy controls to close the cockpit followed by the stygium cloak.

The starfighter was now sealed, soundproofed, and hidden from view. With that, so were Arrbi and Anija within the cockpit.

He leaned into nibble her ear with a grin.

"Oh, just a few things," was his only response.

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

For a moment or two, her eyes widened in surprise. She'd not expected [member="Arrbi Betna"] to pull a stunt like that. All she had really sensed was that he was feeling a bit... mischievous. So, when she landed in his lap, she laughed a bit nervously before leaning into him. "Well, hello there..." she whispered. And then... the canopy closed. Her eyes widened again, and she began to realize his plan. When she did, she punched him lightly in the arm before kissing him again, deeper this time. "So, that's how it's going to be, is it...?" she whispered next to his ear. Her hand gently gripped his chin and she leaned in again.