Gigas Ferro
#6 of A Beautiful Galaxy
"That's a kill." Yuuki confirmed, peering through a scope as he stood near a prone lithe hyena, her scarlet hair held up in a purple bandanna to keep it out of her matching eyes. Rysk fired another shot, blasting a mannequin's arm clean off from about 500 meters away with her Gauss rifle.
"That's a hit." The crocodile stated plainly, glancing over at the tomboyish hyena.
"Not a kill? I took his damn arm off!" Rysk growled indignantly, squinting up at the reptile.
"You can live without your arms, dumbass. You should always be going for the head shots. Anything else and you'll end letting the enemy escape or call for help." Yuuki elaborated.
The two freelancers were taking a weekend off, spending a day training marksmanship on the dunes of Varda Osyr, an arid desert world with very few oases scattered across the landscape. The hot sun glared down upon the two, the hyena grumbled as she rubbed her eyes. She was lying prone on a sandy hill, her rifle propped up on a tripod for leverage.
"Aye, I get it. Can we go now? I've been laying here forever... You can handle this heat, but some of warm-blooded folks need some shade!" Rysk fanned herself with her small lithe hand, her bandanna looking damp around the edges.
"Quit complaining, it's only been about an hour. Fine, one more shot. Make it count." He looked through the scope and pointed in the distance. "Hit that funny looking cactus over there, right in the center. Then we can go."
The lithe hyena scowled and tried to find what cactus the crocodile was talking about. Her purple eye scanned and surveyed until her gaze ended up on a peculiar figure 8 shape in the distance.
Rysk let out a slight scoff of irritation as she lined up her rifle, aiming just below the first loop of the figure 8 shaped cactus. Her small finger curled as she squeezed the trigger, letting a single short beam of energy bark out of the barrel of her Gauss rifle, cutting the cactus in two. The hyena let out a slightly triumphant grunt, then began to disassemble her rifle and pack it away in its case. "I'm done, fuck this heat!"
Suddenly the ground began to tremble, the bright golden sand shifting around almost rhythmically. It almost felt like footsteps. Yuuki peeked through his scope and looked around for what was creating such a disturbance. Soon he saw what looked like a suit of armor running, from what he couldn't yet see. Rysk squinted in the distance, picking up her rifle case.
"What the hell is that?" she inquired, shading her eyes with a slender hand to her forehead.
The suit of armor continued to sprint until it faded into the distance. Yuuki shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk back to the hovercraft, settling in behind the yoke. Rysk wasn't pleased, grumbling under her breath as she hopped in the passenger's seat. "Oh yeah, just ignore me...dick."
"Mech suit, probably hot if it was running from something. Damn tin cans are expensive." Yuuki rolled his eyes and started the hovercraft's engines.
"We're chasing after it then?" The hyena's ears twitched, glancing over the in the direction where the mech suit ran off towards. "Might be a reward..."
"Nope. Not our problem. Besides, you wanted to go home." The crocodile retorted, shaking his head. "Last thing you need is a suit that can shoot missiles and fly."
Rysk's eyes lit up brightly, her gray spotted tail swaying incessantly. "Oh no, I need it, and I'll save every last Unit I get my hands on!"
Yuuki groaned with exasperation, rolling his crimson eyes. "You're gonna have to learn some restraint. You've been blowing your money on random junk you don't even touch, it just piles up in the ship."
"It's a project...I'll get to it when I get to it." The lanky hyena retorted, folding her slender arms over her chest.
The hovercraft began to make its way back to Ouroboros, but before they could even board the ship, another craft joined them, its insignia resembling a local constable force. The inhabitant of the vehicle looked rather peeved as they approached the two freelancers. Stepping out of the hovercraft, a stocky equine grumbled, irritated and overbearing in his much too heavy uniform. Planetary defense unions love to arm their troops with anything that'll make them look even more tyrannical than they already are.
"You two see anything strange around here? Saw your cruiser a few miles back." The equine inquired, staring down both freelancers with a curious eye, his brown mane plastered across his head.
Rysk simply shook her head, then Yuuki shrugged lackadaisically, "Just a little tremor, not sure that counts as strange..." the reptile replied.
The uniformed officer's eye drifted to the inside of their hovercraft, his attention turned to their weapons, particularly Yuuki's sword. "Y'all bounty hunters?"
"Kinda, more like jack of all trades, we do what we can for a price." Yuuki shook his head and shrugged once again.
The officer nodded briefly and then handed them what looked like a flyer for something missing or stolen, apparently a reward for the apprehension of said thief. The pictures displayed the same suit of mechanical armor that Yuuki spotted running off in the distance. The reptile took the paper and began to fold it up, only to have it snatched by Rysk.
"Hang on a second, I know this design. Or at least I know the engineer who built this. I've purchased some of his stuff before. This is a Lucky Lukka!" The hyena exclaimed with enthusiasm despite the heat bearing down on her.
"Sergei lost himself a mech suit, what an idiot... How about we pay him a visit, since you're such a big fan of his?" Yuuki chuckled softly, shaking his head as he guided his hovercraft into the belly of his light freighter class starship, leaving the uniformed equine standing by his hovercraft in silent irritation.
Standing in front of a large warehouse with several windows on its side, Rysk was having trouble containing her excitement, her tail wagging incessantly. Yuuki groaned, beginning to regret bringing the tomboyish hyena along. "Geez, Rysk. Calm down. I didn't think you actually knew him."
The smaller lithe freelancer quickly turned her head towards him, her ears swaying and twitching with her erratic movements. "I've actually never met Lukka. Just bought his products in the past. I'm jealous that you're on a first name basis with him."
Yuuki shook his head and knocked a few times on the door in front of him. Soon afterwards, it opened and on the other side was a short red furred vulpine, an eye-patch over his right eye, the remaining one had a piercing golden color. He wore an oily and stained gray shirt with tan overalls, a pair of safety goggles sat haphazardly on top of his head. The fox smirked when he saw Yuuki, eliciting a short gruff chuckle.
"Look at this scaly bastard, slithering around my workshop! Let me guess, need new toy? Or upgrade for that blade on your hip?" He spoke in broken common, but well enough to be understood.
"Nah, not right now at least... But I did hear you might be having some problems of your own. Someone take off with one of your toys?" He chuckled and gestured towards his shorter companion. "Got someone who's a big fan of your work, and she's volunteered on behalf of the House of 1000 Trades to help you out. Don't be so damn shy, Rysk. Come on."
Rysk's ears perked up when she saw Yuuki gestured towards her, her eyes darting from him to the vulpine engineer in front of her. She struggled to find the words, tensing up at her own introverted personality. "Aye...I'm uh, wait what?" Rysk tilted her head slightly at the crocodile.
"Give her a moment, she doesn't really do face to face stuff all that well." Yuuki chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.
"Come, Rysk. I'll show you my workshop, the suits do the talking." Sergei smirked and led the hyena deeper into the warehouse, Yuuki following close behind.
Shelves upon shelves were filled with various junk and other scraps with no discernible structure or organization. In the back end of the warehouse was a door leading to a large garage, which housed Sergei's famous "Lucky Lukka's" mech suits. Rysk's purple eyes widened behind her glasses, her tail flicking wildly. She approached each suit with wonder and curiosity, darting from station to station. Sergei let out a short chuckle and glanced over at Yuuki, who just shook his head.
"You just unleashed a monster. She won't leave. You're stuck with her now. I'll go pack her stuff." The reptile snickered, rolling his eyes.
"She seems...very interested in machines, yes? Could be good investment." Sergei laughed, keeping an eye on the hyena as she diligently inspected every station.
The hyena wasn't paying too much attention to whatever was being said about her, but her gray spotted ears twitched slightly as she made her way back to Yuuki and Sergei.
"Err...I was wondering if I could... perhaps sit in one? I won't touch anything I swear! Yuuki doesn't let me drive anything so I'm always riding shotgun, and your suits are so amazing...I mean, all your stuff is top notch, who am I kidding? I buy a lot of your ammo online and I'm rambling, aren't I?" The lithe hyena's face dropped, and her ears folded slightly, glancing from the snickering crocodile to the smiling vulpine.
Sergei nodded silently, gesturing towards a smaller framed suit, its color a deep blue with dark green accents. It came equipped with powerful thrusters capable of flight, small missile launchers in the wrists for offense. The suit stood well over 2 meters, Rysk climbed as carefully as she could into the cockpit, settling herself in the seat, wide eyed and almost breathless.
"I...I need it. Yuuki, I need this in my life!" the hyena exclaimed, her tail flicking happily.
"Not happening. Look what you've done, Sergei." the crocodile snapped back, glancing at the one-eyed fox.
Sergei let out a low raspy chuckle, probably smokes more than Yuuki. "I give to you, Rysk. As reward for fetching my MK 17 frame that my assistant took off with!"
Rysk's eyes sparked with enthusiasm and determination, her ears and short tail flicking madly as if she herself was about to take off any minute. "You mean it? No bullshit, no pulling the rug from under my feet? Let's do this!"
Yuuki groaned once more, definitely not looking forward to having a heavy tin can of a suit in the Ouroboros. "Dick move, Lukka... Dick move."
Rysk sat in her armored suit, feeling rather powerful. And much taller. The hyena grinned, surrounded by metal and electrical workings, and staring out into the desert. Suddenly, a voice barked and filled the inside of the cockpit.
"Let's see what you can do. Pedals for acceleration, yoke for maneuverability. Try walking before you run." Sergei's instructions seemed pretty vague, at least to the lanky hyena. She slipped her tiny arms into the hand controls on either side of her and gently pressed her feet onto the pedals. She miscalculated the sensitivity of the controls and soon the suit went dashing across the sands with no sense of direction.
Both Yuuki and Sergei laughed as the hyena yelped from inside the cockpit, her voice squawking in their headsets. The one eyed vulpine regained his composure first, speaking into the mic clearly despite his amusement.
"Ease off the pedals, use your heels."
Rysk pressed her heels onto the pedals, the suit slowing down in response. She heaved a sigh of relief as she managed to bring the hulking suit to a stop, then turned around to walk back towards her original position, taking her time to adjust to the sensitivity. The hyena grinned to herself as she began to get used to it. She tapped the pedals twice and soon was airborne, the thrusters activating as the mech suit was lifted above the sands.
Sergei's eye widened as the mech suit began to fly erratically, immediately regretting his decision. He glances over at Yuuki, still laughing and shaking his head.
"See why I don't let her drive?" the crocodile shrugged and continued to watch the hyena fumble with her controls.
After a few trials and more than enough errors to count, Rysk managed to maneuver her armored suit with relative ease, being able to perform basic movement and evasive tactics. She was taught how to use the armaments and how to effectively use the machine's weight to throw punches if need be.
"So now we just wait until he pops up again? How do you know he hasn't left or sold the suit?" Rysk inquired, her ear folding slightly.
Sergei simply shook his head. "I know my assistant, stubborn. But short sighted. Would rather come spill blood."
Yuuki lets out a snort and a small chuckle. "Well, what does that say about you as an employer?"
The one-eyed fox smirked just slightly. "Hm, you have a good point. Must be a horrible judge of character."
"So, your disgruntled employee just needed to get the hang of the tin can. Great, two rookie pilots." Yuuki shook his head, sparking up a cigarette as he watched the hyena do some more practice runs in her new toy.
The sun eventually began to retreat over the horizon, the sky a deep orange. Yuuki zipped up his dark red coat and pulled his hood over his head. Soon, Rysk's voice could be heard, but it wasn't as confident as earlier. "Uh...guys? There's something on the radar... It's coming from the southeast."
Both Yuuki and Sergei turned their heads in that direction, then the one eyed vulpine walked briskly towards his hovercraft. "You're on your own. Try to keep the fighting away from my workshop." He chuckled to himself as he sped off, leaving the crocodile and hyena behind.
"That sonuvabitch... Rysk, I'm taking cover! You got this!" Yuuki hissed into the headset, quickly stepping away from the mech suit, ducking down behind a large boulder and keeping his eyes on the southeast.
Soon the large suit of armor came dashing in like a madman. The stolen mech suit closed the distance, stopping just a few meters away from Rysk. The dull silver monstrosity had the advantage of height, adding a full meter to its bulky frame. The hyena sat in her cockpit, her ears flattening on her head as her opponent sized her up. Rysk then heard a voice chirp out from her headset, but not one she expected.
"I told you I'd be back, Lukka." No doubt, the voice was feminine, high pitched and a bit raspy.
Rysk's head tilted slightly to the side, then quickly responded. "Sorry, Lukka's not available at the moment, but if you'd like to leave a message, I'll be sure..."
"Oh, great... another pretty little thing to keep the engineer distracted." The voice scoffed at the hyena.
"You must have me mistaken for some other sleaze who's only redeeming quality is her slightly above average looks. I'm just a simple errand girl." Rysk manipulated the yoke and pedals, causing the mech suit to assume a ready stance. "I'd rather not get my new toy damaged too much, so if you can just..."
The larger mechanical suit rushed forward, obviously not in a surrendering kind of mood. Its large bulky arms reached out and grabbed the smaller blue machine, attempting to throw Rysk to the ground. The lanky hyena fumbled with the controls for a split second before readjusting her grip, pushing the massive silver suit away. Rysk then pressed the pedals and dashed fiercely towards her opponent, giving the hulking mechanical monster a firm shoulder check.
The silver suit staggered backwards a few steps, then grabbed the smaller blue mech by the arm, attempting to tear it clean off. Rysk's suit reared back and delivered a stunning kick to free itself from the larger suit's grip. The assailant yelped in frustration and surprise as her machine fumbled and fell to the sandy ground, the bulky legs crumpling under the weight. She lifted the arm, the palm glowing as it began charging power. Soon a large beam of energy blasted from the large mechanical hand and struck Rysk's suit in the legs, crippling the machine in return.
Rysk cried out in panic and fear as she was rattled inside the cockpit, frantically trying to figure out the weapons systems as the larger mech suit struggled to get on its feet. Soon both Rysk and Yuuki heard the whine of a hulking spacecraft descending towards their direction. It didn't seem to notice the smaller machine, instead had its sights on the bulky silver suit. It dropped a few rappel lines and several armor clad individuals came down and subdued the silver machine with what looked like EMP blasts from their rifles. Once the suit ceased to move, the armored group quickly retrieved the pilot. Yuuki peered through his scope, getting a decent look at Rysk's opponent. She had a feline like face but long drooping ears of a lagomorph. She struggled and kicked against the armored group as they carried her out of the mech suit and up to their spacecraft. Once the large spacecraft ascended out of view, Yuuki dashed towards Rysk's mech, climbing onto the destroyed suit.
"Rysk! You alive in there?" he began to pry open the cockpit with his vibrosword. He heard a small groan from inside as he continued to wrench the mech suit open.
"Uhnn, I'm fine... I think." she struggled to move, a small splotch of blood covered the side of her face, just above her left eye.
"Try not to get up, just let me help. Goddamn it..." Yuuki growled in frustration, prying the hyena from her seat and lifting her out of the cockpit. The crocodile pressed a button on the console wrapped around his wrist, bringing the Ouroboros to their location. He'd worry about the machines that littered the desert later.
Once inside their ship, Yuuki carried Rysk to the small infirmary in the lower deck of the freighter, setting her down on the long operating table. The hyena groaned, her vision blurry as she looked up at the reptile.
"I'm fine...I just need to lay down for a bit... I kicked her ass, didn't I?" she chuckled weakly, then groaned once again.
"Yeah, you sure put it to her, that's for sure. Now shut up, take this and let me strap you in." Yuuki retorted, giving her some painkillers and a small cup of water. Once he made sure she was secured, he quickly made his way to the cockpit, fired up the engines and took off towards Sergei's workshop, no doubt furious at this whole situation.
"What in the fuck were you thinking, just leaving us out there?! Rysk is hurt, both your suits are toast. And your little assistant, kidnapped by some armored fucks. Hey, don't just walk away, asshole!"
Sergei was in his garage, tinkering with another suit, repairing the suspension and thrusters systems on its bulky metal legs, going from his tool station back to the suit, completely disregarding Yuuki.
"That's probably why your assistant wanted to kill you with your own fucking machines, you've always cared so little about anyone but your own damn self."
The fox glanced over at Yuuki, then shrugged and went back to his repairs, then scoffed, "Says the asshole who volunteered the little hyena for the job. Your little friend is probably fine, you would've already killed me if she was hurt. So did you bring the MK 17, or-"
Sergei's sentence was cut short as a large scaly fist collided with the side of his head. The fox was sent reeling until he landed on the floor, his one eye gazing at stars as he blinked groggily.
"You want your shit, you go out and get it yourself." Yuuki glared at the dazed vulpine, cold fury in his crimson eyed gaze. The reptile reached into his jacket pocket, retrieved his cigarettes and lit one, exhaling smoke from his nostrils.
Sergei soon came to, then slowly stood up and dusted himself off. The one eyed fox calmly reached inside his pocket, pulled out his cigarettes and sparked one up as well. He let out a sigh and resumed repairing his machines, tools in hand. "I apologize for what happened to the hyena... But, I'm not the only one to blame for her misfortune."
"Don't lecture me, Sergei. You didn't see me pull her from the wreck." Yuuki snapped back.
"It's not his fault, Mr. Lukka. I knew what I was getting into." Rysk came into the workshop, a bandage over her left eyebrow. She wobbled slightly as she stepped towards them.
"What the hell are you doing up?" Yuuki turned to her, eyebrow raised.
"Whatever the hell I want, I'm not a child!" the lanky hyena barked back, her ears pinned back. "I don't need anyone to apologize for anything. I fucked up, plain and simple. But as agreed, I get the suit if we deliver the stolen one.... We did get it, right?" she glanced towards the tall reptile.
"Uh...we gotta make a trip back... Had something more important to deal with than some machines." Yuuki scratched the back of his dreadlocked head, shrugging his shoulders at Rysk's inquiry.
The lithe hyena groaned in exasperation, "Come on, Yuuki! Someone could snatch them both from under our noses, we gotta go back now!" Rysk turned and practically ran back to the Ouroboros, leaving Yuuki and Sergei behind.
The crocodile took a drag from his cigarette and let out a tired sigh, smoke billowing from his lips. He glanced at the one eyed fox and shook his head. "You see what I gotta deal with? Never can get a break. Try not to lose any more of your shit, alright?" he smirked and made his way back to his vessel.
Rysk sat on the floor of the large storage room in the belly of the ship, sorting through the destruction that was her brand new mech suit. She had a slight pout, but was diligent in her work. Her gray spotted ears twitched as she heard the sound of heavy boots approaching her.
"No, don't come in here!" the hyena barked behind her shoulder.
Yuuki raised an eyebrow and looked down at the tiny lanky tomboy surrounded by dust and metal, shaking his head.
"Damn, relax. I was just checking up on you, have a beer." the reptile retorted, tossing a large can of alcohol into the hyena's hands.
Rysk popped the tab and took a swig before setting it down and resuming her sorting and organizing, completely zoned in. Yuuki took a generous swig of his beer and watched his lithe partner as she became at peace with her task. Soon, her tiny hands stopped, then reached for her beer. She took a bigger swig than before and let out a sigh.
"That...that was scary... I never felt so helpless before. I'm...I'm grateful that you had my back. I appreciate it, Yuuki."
"I'm still not letting you drive." Yuuki smirked slightly.
"But I can pilot this!" she gestured to her broken suit of armor strewn across the room.
"Barely." he quipped back.
"It was literally my first day, so you kinda have to give me some leniency here." Rysk shrugged, her smile slightly sheepish. "I guarantee I'll be able fly this thing better than you fly Ouroboros."
Yuuki let out a hearty chuckle, "Hah, you might be a good shot, but you don't see many pilots with glasses."
Rysk shot him a rather nasty look and rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'll just get them replaced with cybernetics. Have better than perfect vision."
The reptile shook his head and took another swig of his beer. The hyena did the same, sipping her alcohol and taking another long look at her giant machine. She let out a sigh and stood up, stretching her tiny muscles. The lithe tomboy fixed her crooked glasses and glanced over at the tall crocodile. "I think I'm gonna finish this in the morning. My hands are getting greasy..." she grimaced as she picked up her tall can of alcohol, stepping past Yuuki to head to her bedroom. "Don't touch anything!" she snapped in a playful manner, a small giggle escaped from her lips as she left to retire for the night.
Yuuki let out a snort and a short chuckle at the hyena's impish behavior, especially after the situation she just endured. Despite the chaos that happened, he was satisfied with a job somewhat well done. Grinning to himself, he turned off the lights in the room and closed the door as he went to his own bedroom with his beer in hand, ready to put this arduous day to rest.