Private Crashes to ashes

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

CRUEL SUMMER​

"Yes Ma'am."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth but her cheek remained on the rifle as she scanned the area as she backtracked with him.

She heard Aiden get into the tree, yet she remained at the base of it as cover. And a good thing too as she heard the rustling in the underbrush coming ever closer. Her rifle swung in the direction of the noise.

Only for the foliage to reveal a rodent.

Mischa let out a sigh of relief as she lowered the rifle slightly, her shoulders relaxing a bit.
"It's just a fluff-ball, Aid--"
"Mischa!"
His warning along with the sudden shadow overhead had her head snapping upward just in time to see an immense eagle diving toward her.

The only thing she could do was dive.

Not that it was fast enough with the speed the bird was reaching the ground. Her movement managed to avoid her getting impaled, but a giant talon closed around her body in an iron grip anyway while the rodent wasn't so lucky to avoid a taloned death. The rifle cluttered out of her hands, to the ground, as she was lifted off the ground.

"Shiit." she grunted, only one arm free while the rest of her body was having the breath gripped out of it. With immense struggle and wriggling, she managed to reach for the vibroknife on her hip.

Gripping the blade tightly, she plunged the blade hard into the scaled toe curled around her chest, even though they had just breached the canopy. The bird let out a great screech as its talon shook.
"Let...me...go...bastard!" she clenched, plunging the blade into the next toe.

That did it.

The talon opened with another great screech. Mischa tumbled out of it along with the gushing blood coming from the wounded bird's foot. Mischa crashed through the branches, shielding her face as far as possible, before she hit the ground with a dull thud, covered in a cocktail of bird blood as well as her own from the branches.

For the longest moment, she couldn't get a breath out.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

From high up in the tree, Aiden could only watch as the eagle descended rapidly for its attack run, now with two targets to go after. Mischa rolled and avoided otherwise certain death, but was caught by the talon while the rodent was ripped to pieces. Its toes curled around the woman, trapping her under immense pressure before it tried to depart and take her somewhere quieter for the kill.

"No!" Aiden called out, as he jumped down from the tree and transitioned into a roll to keep his joints from shattering. He got up to his feet, sprinted, and slid over the ground to grab the rifle as quickly as he could. But the second he took aim, he realized there was a huge problem — there was no way for him to take a shot that didn't put Mischa at great risk. If he killed the bird, they'd plummet down to the ground together, and if it moved too much, he could end up just blowing her brains out.

He gritted his teeth, but finally lowered the barrel in defeat.

Mischa, however, was a fighter, and even in her situation, she managed to stay calm and retrieve her blade. She plunged it into a toe, then into another, and was released from its grip. With fear in his eyes, Aiden watched her fall down, and burst through branches, leaves, and bushes, until he heard her body hit the floor. He immediately began to sprint over and fired several rounds in the beast's direction, making sure it wouldn't dare come back around.

"Mischa?!" Whether she moved or not, he crouched down beside her and quickly looked her over, making sure he'd find any severe injuries if she had sustained them. "Hey come on, stay with me here," he continued, as he leaned in close with his ear to check for breathing, and even move on to check for a pulse if he couldn't hear anything.

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

CRUEL SUMMER​

Breathe...just breathe.

Breath struggled to find its way out, the wind completely knocked out of her. The underbrush had broken the worst of the fall, but everything still felt momentarily crushed while Mischa was merely semi-coscious.

"Mischa?!"

It echoed from afar.

"Hey come on, stay with me here,"

Finally, a breath fought it's way out, violently pulling her back to full consciousness. Another painful breath to clear the dark haze and stars to reveal Aiden hovering over her, concern written all over his face.
"Morning...starshine..." she struggled, everything starting to hurt with the consciousness. A pained groan escaped her. Why'd it have to be a bird?

"Could you...get me...a stim?" she gritted as she attempted to prop herself onto her elbows, her body protesting against the movement. She was going to need that energy real bad. If she knew Breezy, there would at least be a few stims in the pack. He was a meticulous damn medic to the point where he had annoyed Bouchard.

So much for their bickering now.

The stim's effect was near instantaneous, jolting energy through her and dulling the pain to that of stiff muscles. Finally sitting up, she dragged her fingers through her hair.
"Is it possible for you to be both a good luck and a bad luck charm?" she teased him, mustering a smirk. "Who in the hell randomly gets grabbed by a ginormous bird?" She held out a hand so he could help her to her feet.

"Please make that be the last life threatening shit we get before I get rid of you." The smile on her face, however, would tell him that she wasn't serious of getting rid of him. She then looked down at herself. "I just love being covered in blood." she quipped before looking at him again.

"C'mon. While this stim lasts."

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

There was a breath.

Faint but audible enough to take away all his concerns instantly. Sure, she was probably beaten to hell from the fall through the underbrush, but she was tough as nails, so he knew she'd live. "Sorry for waking you early," he chuckled but nodded at the request and quickly reached for the medpac to retrieve a stim.

Thank God for overly prepared medics.

Aiden turned back to Mischa, injected the stim, and watched it take effect almost immediately. She sat upright, but to be safe, Aiden placed a hand behind her back and remained ready to catch her if she lost her strength again. "I've heard it before, so maybe," he joked in return before he grabbed her hand and pulled her up along with him. "But I can't say it has ever gotten someone to be snatched by a gigantic beard before, so that's good to know," he winked and began picking up some of the gear that had fallen onto the ground.

"I think we'll be fine now, though. It can't possibly get worse, can it?" he grinned, knowing that he was playing with fire by jinxing it like that. But realistically, they should be getting close to the outpost, and animals typically kept their distance from people if they know it could be dangerous for them to get close.

"C'mon. While this stim lasts."

"Aye, I'd rather not have to carry your ass outta here," he grinned and stepped passed her to get moving again. But unlike before, he was keeping an eye out just a bit more. She wasn't the type to tell people when she struggled, and would rather bite herself through pain and discomfort than ask for help. It was something he could respect, but out here, it could get her killed too. Soon enough, though, the first signs of civilization were becoming visible — smoke trails, trees being cleared, and the outlines of simple buildings.

"Hmmm, you don't think they'd shoot us on sight if we approach armed to the teeth, right?"

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

CRUEL SUMMER​

"I've heard it before, so maybe. But I can't say it has ever gotten someone to be snatched by a gigantic beard before, so that's good to know,"

Even falling to her near-death couldn't stop the smirk from spreading on her face at his words. Thank the stars for them both being soldiers who could take the threat of death and make a joke out of it.
"Yeah yeah, pretty damn sure you've taken girls on even better life-threatening rides than getting nabbed by a killer bird."she quipped right back as she was helped to her feet.

It took her a heartbeat to let the world stop spinning. From now on she'll shoot every damn bird that crosses her path - be it a chicken or a cuckoo. War was fine, behemoths were fine, midges were fine. But getting nabbed by a huge bird out of nowhere was not.

"I think we'll be fine now, though. It can't possibly get worse, can it?"

A bubble of laughter escaped her as she stood with her hands on her knees while the spinning world started to slow.
"You better not have jinxed us right there. I'll harass you in the afterlife for all of eternity if you did." she chuckled before straightening up.

But it seemed as if he was just suddenly overflowing with quips as carrying her ass was brought into the deal as well.
"Your loss then." she jabbed back in stride with a smirk.
The energy from the stim helped a lot though as they gained ground quickly. And the back and forth between them, made the hike all the easier. Before long it became clear that they were getting closer to the village.

"Hmmm, you don't think they'd shoot us on sight if we approach armed to the teeth, right?"
Mischa slowed to a stop as she looked at him.
"Good point." she said. Especially her gear. By all accounts, she wasn't even supposed to be anywhere near here anyway. "Let's uh...stash the Imperial stuff. I'll grab em when I come back this way. You're an Alliance Marine, at least. The chances of them shooting at you are slim, right?" she asked him.

It would be a shitshow if they had come this far only to get killed by pitchforks.

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Caamas

​

"Maybe..." he began with a shit-eating grin spreading across his face, "But I've never crashed a shuttle on a girl, had her fight some six-legged beast, and then be snatched by a bird." He winked and tried to sharpen his focus again right after. It was too easy to get too comfortable around her and just keep joking around forever. But he wasn't exactly looking to get snatched by a bird as well or have them get caught by other predators.

However, his moment of focus didn't last long, as she threatened to haunt him in the afterlife. "Hmm, that does sound unfortunate," the teased, now unable to stop himself from grinning like a complete fool. It sure broke his tough-guy exterior a little, but he was okay with her having that effect on him.

"Your loss then."

"You know, fair point, but it's still easier if you can walk." He shook his head and turned his eyes forward to keep the grin to himself a little this time. They were approaching the settlement, so they actually did have to focus again. "They won't shoot me, and just leave all your stuff behind. We can get a shuttle out of here and you can make it back to the Empire after that. No way I'm letting you walk back through this jungle alone." It would likely force her to either spend another night here or walk through the darkness, which would be far riskier on her own.

Whether she agreed to come with him all the way or not, they still ditched the Imperial gear soon after, and finally continued their path towards the settlement, which had been walled off to keep dangerous creatures out. He spotted a pair of guards at the top of the gate and turned to Mischa. "I can approach first with you behind me, but please, do come with me."

Mischa Korvan ​

 

[Mischa Korvan]

RAVEN
THE EMPIRE
OUTSIDE HIDDEN IMPERIAL BASE | CAMAAS
TAG: Aiden Rennek

CRUEL SUMMER​

His grins weren't lost on her.

They brought her own smug grin to the fore as they moved through the underbrush. After the amount of life threatening situations they have had in a short space of time, it was extremely difficult to still see him as a stranger. How it would change once the threat of death was no longer hanging over their heads, however, was a good question.

As they ditched the Imperial gear, however, he surprised her with a comment she was not expecting.
"They won't shoot me, and just leave all your stuff behind. We can get a shuttle out of here and you can make it back to the Empire after that. No way I'm letting you walk back through this jungle alone."
She looked at him for a heartbeat.
"Let's see what happens first." she finally said before she moved forward again.

Before long, the village's walls came into view with some guards on top of the gates to boot. She stopped just before the edge of the jungle, still out of sight. Aiden stopped next to her. Now was the moment of truth.
"I can approach first with you behind me, but please, do come with me."
Mischa's mind raced - the ramifications if she did choose to go with him in that moment. Or what plan could be made for her to get back to the base without raising too many questions.
"I'll stick with you until you can get a ride off this planet. But I can't get on a shuttle with you, Aiden. They won't stop coming if I do." she finally told him, her face falling. The Empire was relentless when it came to deserters or traitors. "If the villagers don't shoot me on sight, I'll borrow a speeder to get back to the base. It'll raise less questions that way." she added. The less details people knew about what happened, the better.

She motioned for him to go first while mustering a smile.

"Let's get you off this piece of dirt, shall we?"