5th Sortie

[solowingpixy]

[Larry's off in the Game Room today, and with the journal open nearby, you may hear sounds varying from explosions, missile launchings, machine gun fire, pilot chatter and music, as well as the occasional proud 'heh' from Pixy himself. Anyone who may meet him in the Game Room will see him playing Aerial Fighter 4, and being damn good at it too. He's even playing on the highest difficulty and getting through with flying colors. It's just a game, sure, but he's not about to let his piloting skills go to waste here. The mission soon draws to a close and Pixy glances over towards the open journal.]

This castle's got an odd taste in humor. I'd ask why there are pies all over the castle, but there's no point. Judgin' from the date, I'm assuming there's some kind of mathematical joke involved. Very funny, castle.

[Only he doesn't sound amused at all as he says that so dryly, glancing over to the nearby air hockey table that has a pie sitting smack dab in the middle of it.]

Someone do me a favor and let me know if any of those are safe. Can't say I necessarily trust random food from the castle, especially when it's got a theme goin' on.

[Aaand, he'll be right back to his game.]

Comments

[pint_sized_carnivore]

AAAAAAAHHHHHH!! Gotta keep my reflexes sharp!

[BAM! There is that loud blast again, just behind the flight sim arcade machine. Chie was on the iFight machine]

[solowingpixy]

[Pixy's head shot up as he quickly looked over his shoulder, gritting his teeth; his pilot instincts were kicking in on that one. Man, this is gonna be a repeat of that previous night... he wanted to yell at that kid back there, but he kept calm.]

You don't have to yell at the machine, kid!

[Then he heard a missile alert from his game and he quickly turned back to it, yanking back on the flight stick to barrel out of the way--hopefully.]

Do me a favor and miss!

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Unfortunately, Chie is so in the zone that she didn't hear Pixy. So she releases another side kick that is louder than the last one]

Tomoe!

[solowingpixy]

[Ugh, that had to be that one kid he'd recently spoken to. No one else could be that loud. If nothing else, she at least added atmosphere, as annoying as it was. Battles in the skies were never quiet, either.

He managed to barely avoid that missile. There was no doubt that thing must've grazed his wing; he'd have to see the replay later to see just how close that was. If it went on real world physics, he'd probably have earned his 'Solo Wing' title twice over.]

Hah. That was closer than I would have liked.

[He may be tempted to curse at you under his breath, Chie.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[It seems Chie's workout is done for now. She got the high score on the machine too, so it added more awesome to her feeling of accomplishment]

Whew! Alright! That should be enough for today.

[Then she heard a noise coming from just behind the machine she was using... So she decided to check it out. She saw a man in there. Being friendly like usual, she waved hi]

Hey there!

[solowingpixy]

[He'll hear her coming over and shoot her a quick glance before his eyes went right back to the screen. Aw shit, railguns.]

Sounded pretty intense back there, kid.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Oh. Ha ha... You heard that.... Yeah, I like to train hard and give it my all, sir!

[solowingpixy]

It was hard to miss. [His tone was half amused and half annoyed, but it'll start leaning over on the 'amused' side now.]

At least you've got fire, I'll give you that.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Yep. That's the secret to great training!

[solowingpixy]

Don't have to tell me that. Just make sure you don't lose it.

[Aaaaand, another mission complete. While the game's going over his results, he'll turn and look at her.]

So, you that kid that was making all of that noise last night?

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Huh? Noise?

[solowingpixy]

[He'll roll his eyes then.]

There was a noise over the journal last night that practically sounded like someone fired a shotgun in their room. And judging from your voice, I'm guessin' it was you.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Oh-- Yeah, about that... I freaked out! I never been in a castle before that isn't in the TV. Sorry.

But like a shotgun, huh? I should call that my "Shotgun Kick"!

dictated

[last_rat_standing]

[... what. He tried to ignore it but, well, you're giving him a headache and the damn journal just won't stay shut]

What are you doing?

[solowingpixy]

[Yeah, he's just... not going to touch the TV thing again. He heard it from Rise, Mitsuru and now this kid. They're all crazy.]

There is such a thing as overreacting, kid. Actin' like that could get you killed.

forever

[solowingpixy]

[Yeah well maybe you just shouldn't be so sensitive to flight simulator sounds, Mr. Agent.]

What do you think I'm doing? I'm up in the game room.

[last_rat_standing]

[Psh. He's used to the real thing. This fake shit is nothing.]

There's a game room?

[solowingpixy]

[Bitch please, you act like you're the only one 'round with real experience in the skies.]

On the seventh floor.

[last_rat_standing]

[he never presumes to guess how much experience someone has unless he has some way to assess it himself.

He wasn't expecting to be told where it was. Ugh. If M hadn't ordered him to perform reconnaissance he wouldn't bother, honestly. Games are a waste of time, after all. He doesn't reply. He simply shuts the journal and heads for the 7th floor.

It doesn't take him very long before he finds the room. He looks significantly better than he did when he first arrived. He's showered and wearing a tailored suit. He slips his hands in his pockets as he looks around, wondering why on Earth anyone would want to play games that didn't involve a pack of cards and a stack of chips]

[solowingpixy]

[After the journal went quiet, he'd assumed the guy just went to do something else. Or closed the journal so he'd stop hearing the sounds from Aerial Fighter 4. But when he hears someone walking in, he'll take a quick glance over his shoulder. He gives a bit of a smirk before looking back at the game's screen.]

Quite the attire you've got just for a trip to a game room.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie simply pouted. He's got a point, she can be a little reckless]

Yeah. I will be more careful next time, Mr... What is your name again?

[last_rat_standing]

[He raises an eyebrow at him]

I wasn't aware there was a dress code.

[solowingpixy]

[He looks away from Chie and back at the game screen, which is still displaying his results from the last mission. Check that S rank.]

Just call me Pixy.

[solowingpixy]

[He just laughs.]

There isn't one, but it's not every day you make a trip to the game room and see a guy that sharply dressed.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Pixy? What kind of name is that? Your parents must have a terrible sense of humor to name you like that.

[solowingpixy]

[Did she really think his name was REALLY Pixy..?]

It's my callsign, kid. Solo Wing Pixy.

[last_rat_standing]

[He frowns, strolling towards him]

I wasn't about to change my clothes simply because I was walking to another room.

[solowingpixy]

Hey, I'm not about give you any flak if that's how you dress all the time. Not my place to judge.

[Guy must be of pretty high class to dress like that all the time, though. Aaand he gets a barrel roll in in that game of his.]

After spendin' so much time in air bases, seeing people in suits is a bit of an uncommon sight for a guy like me.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Well you should have said it's your nickname the first time!

But Solo Wing? And you're playing a game with air planes... Are you a pilot or something?

[solowingpixy]

[He'll just roll his eyes at her thinking he should have stated it was a nickname. With a name like 'Pixy', how could she NOT realize it from the start?

When she mentions the pilot portion, he reaches over and taps the Galm Team patch on the arm of his flight jacket.]

Bingo, kid. Served as a mercenary pilot for a while.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Oh, that's neat. You're the first pilot I saw in person.

You might like this then. One sec. [Chie walked a few steps back near the machine she was using earlier to pick something up]

Here ya go! [Chie hands Pixy a plushie F-15 Eagle] I won that at the UFO catcher earlier. I don't really want it, 'cause I was hoping to get the frog instead.

[last_rat_standing]

[Don't dis the suit, man. He'll cut you.


Maybe.


Probably.


You'd at least get a very disapproving frown.]

You were part of the Air Force, then?

[solowingpixy]

[Hey, last thing he'll do is diss the suit. He appreciates suits as much as any other man.]

Served in the Belkan Air Force for a short period, then went to being a mercenary pilot. Flew last with the Ustio Air Force.

[solowingpixy]

[He has a bit of a puzzled expression on his face when she carries the plush over, before it becomes an amused sort of puzzled. He reaches over and take it from her, looking it over and keeping back a laugh.]

A plush Eagle? They actually make these things?

[He finally laughs and looks back at Chie.]

Thanks, kid. It oughta keep the other Eagle on my desk company.

[Yes. Because that little popsicle stick needed a wingman so badly. He may have to get you that frog himself. After she realizes she didn't tell him her name.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

I didn't know they made plushies like Eagle-kun too. I guess they don't want kids to get interested in war at a young age, or something.

And you're welcome!

[solowingpixy]

What, you named it already? [He gives a small laugh, but he immediately frowns.] You don't have to be interested in war to be interested in aircraft.

[...eh. She seems kinda daft, so he decides to ask-]

What is your name anyway, kid?

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Oh, right. It's Chie Satonaka.

[last_rat_standing]

[He raises an eyebrow]

Royal Air Force.

[It's good to see another military man, really.]

[solowingpixy]

[Man, what an uninspired name.

He'll complete the mission he was doing in his game (aww yeah another S rank) and finally turn to Bond fully.]

You're the second guy I've run into in this place that has an air force background. Do any flying or did you spend most of your time on the ground?

[last_rat_standing]

[hey man don't knock the RAF]

Who is the other?

[He nods]

I'm a pilot, yes. Although I doubt there's much of a need for that here.

[solowingpixy]

Guy named Beckett. [saying that name was so weird when he remembered it WASN'T linked to PJ.] Said he worked with the 'US' Air Force where he came from, never did any flying though. He was just a doctor, even patched me up when I got here.

[Having a medic that worked with the Air Force certainly made Pixy more comfortable with getting treated by him.]

I haven't found any call for it yet. I kind of feel like I'm out of work.

[He'll nod towards the game he was playing.]

But that's why I've been spendin' time on this. It's not a proper simulator, but it at least doesn't let my skill deteriorate.

[solowingpixy]

Chie, huh? [He'll glance at his game before looking back at her, then nodding towards the machine.]

Since you managed to land a plush one, care to try your hand at tryin' to fly an Eagle?

[Not that it was a proper one and it's really got nothing on flying an actual aircraft, but watching a kid play the game would probably be pretty amusing.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

What? Sure, I guess.

[solowingpixy]

[Oh, this oughta be worth a watch.

He'll restart the game and get up from the seat, standing over beside it and waving a hand to the screen.]

Have at it, nugget.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

["Nugget"? Seriously? Whatever, she just sat in front of the screen and put her hand on the controls. She never played a game like this before]

Okay. So what am I gonna do?

[The game started with the mission briefing. And Chie is already confused, with the military lingo being thrown at her.]

Whaaat?

[Uh-oh! Missile lock]

[solowingpixy]

[Hey, you're a newbie. That means Pixy's got every right to call you 'nugget'.

He just smirks a little as he leans against the side of the chair. Man, those bandits were on her already.]

It helps to have your hand on the trottle, kid. By the way, you're gonna want to dodge that.

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Uh, how? [She pulls the throttle and her jet took a sharp turn upward. Already, she's out of control of her jet. The alarms were blaring, and suddenly. Kaboom! She's been hit]