The Frozen North Sidethread: Wings and a Prayer

[Miltonian]

Black Hawk walks stiffly back up the ramp and out of the bunker. She shivers a little as the cold washes over her, bare except for her flight-suit. She stands at the entrance, faced raised towards the sky, and stares at the sky above her with blurred vision.

Her wings unfold from her sides and she takes to the air, not bothering to see if Pepper is following her, and she quickly gains altitude until she draws even with the surrounding cliffs. She wings her way over the edge and flies low to the top of the plateau, ignoring the biting wind, until she finds a small alcove not too far away. With little warning, she dives. The alcove is small, cramped, but warmer than the surrounding area. Black Hawk presses herself near to the edge.

"What did you want?" she asks, eyes on the ground.

[tonberryking]

Pepper never had taken her coat off, even after Doc was trying to administer treatment to her, but now everything seems all the more colder in a mocking way. She would never lower herself to entertain thoughts of actually shooting Oddy, but she had to leave just as much as Black hawk lest things turn violent some other way.

When the pegasi land, Pepper remains silent for a moment, letting Black hawk settle, patiently waiting to see if she needs to say anything else first. Her lips quiver for a moment, nearly asking Black Hawk if she's okay. ...What a dumb question. Of COURSE she isn't.

"Before anything else is said," she turns over words in her head carefully, "I know we just met, but I certainly think you deserve better than a hole in the ground. I believed you when you said you had to give up so much, sacrifice so many good things, like family... Job security. A halfway decent armory. The diner that's not stupidly tourtisty expensive... The few birds--crows or dravens I think they're called-- that even bother to land anyplace nearby, only to scatter at the slightest noise..."

She breaks eye contact. "So yeah, I believe we gave up alot to be here right now. ..And while I kinda suck at this, I think you'd be better talking to somepony. Me. More than anypony else you've met..."

[Miltonian]

"Ravens," Black Hawk mutters. Her eyes meet Pepper's for a moment. "They're, um, called ravens."

She turns her head sideways and flicks a strand of mane out of her face. "It was...a whole other world up there. We had light, we had hope that tomorrow would be better. Every day, we worked hard to make it better. New technology, new houses, new schools. Sure, everything was rationed. And the military ran everything. And ponies that disagreed with command 'disappeared'. But it was..." She chokes. "It was really nice. No, more than nice."

"And then, we learned that we'd been hoarding it all to ourselves. That was where we went wrong. We tried to keep all the happiness to ourselves." She lets out a raspy chuckle. "I've...had a lot of time to think out here, I guess."

[tonberryking]

Pepper trots over and has a seat, hoping that Black Hawk sits as well. She just listens, no snark, no eye rolls. She just tries to lend an ear. Until...

"You're like the 7th pegasus I've ever met," Pepper eventually admits, not asking what Black Hawk did to bail, or earn her Cutie mark getting burned off. "My ancestor Blue Breeze was a winged stallion who got stuck in a Stable when the megaspells hit, and while he certainly kept his legacy going... There still aren't many of us. My uncle was the only pegasi relative I had and my family pretty much dumped me on his doorstep as soon as I started walking on the ceiling. Hell, you're the only pegasi close to my age I've seen for that matter."

" Talk about nice. Uncle Straight Arrow told me never to fly above the cloud cover," she waves a hoof at the sky, albeit solemnly, "he always said it was too dangerous. I think he kept telling me the same story of how a friend of his never came back from there, only he'd change the name, sex, and what the hell they were trying to prove in order to ground me... I dunno what he'd make of it being "nice." I'm sorry you had to leave that."

"Are they looking for you?"

[Miltonian]

She scoffs. "The Enclave doesn't really exist anymore. The day I...ran off, well, it didn't last long beyond that. I wasn't the only one, though I was one of the first to leave the ship I was on."

Her gaze shifts to the sky, looking towards the west. "It crashed, you know. Somewhere over there. I...don't know how many survived."

She falls silent for a moment. "Well...your feathers are well preened for a pegasus who lived...groundbound."

[tonberryking]

Pepper looks down. She may or may not be blushing.

"Actually... We came out of the Stable a couple generations ago. I never lived under ground but... All I know about preening I learned from Uncle Arrow," she scoffs into the wind, "He memorized damn near every grooming tip my great grandmother showed him because where the hell else would he pick them up? I... just follow the basics. Too much of a gunslinger to be really good at it..."

She looks down at her hooves for a moment, before back up. "I can't go back and see him again, though. The rest of my team doesn't know this--I've been keeping it a secret, but I can't go back home. Ever. Just like you, I guess."

[Miltonian]

Black Hawk unfolds her own wing and inspects the feathers. They are neatly arranged, attached to a toned, muscular limb. However, she seems to find fault with it and sighs. "I had a special brush for feathers once. They were so common up there. Down here, though? Gold bars pop up more often." She folds her wing back and sits.

Pepper's news causes her ears to droop. "I'm so sorry," she says quietly. Her voice brightens, trying to offer a positive spin on things. Trying to cheer Pepper up a bit. "But at least you...found a group that will accept you and seems to like having you around. I never found that."

[tonberryking]

"Not really ...we're both in the same haycart." Pepper tries to smile. It doesn't quite work. "Gotta be honest, I've only been on the run less than a week and kept my team at wing's length. At least two of them are alright but... They hired me because I have a very big gun that I know how to use. I didn't tell them what I did before I went on the run; dunno if they'd accept me. I've just been treating this like a job, not ... not as if we're all friends or anything. Especially the reindeer. She's got some kinda crazy bug up her--"

She sighs, letting the words drift off into the wind.

"To be even more honest, we were planning on exploring your bunker for pre-war stuff, and heard an armored pegasus was up here. Please don't hate me but we thought you were just exploring the bunker like we were and we had a bunch of ...stupid... plans to beat you to the punch. The reindeer was in on those and given how crazy she is, she still probably thought you still were an unknown enemy or some horse crap ...We didn't know you lived here and I... I abandoned the plan the moment I saw that crystal witch force your helmet off. Everything about the op felt wrong when that happened.

She feels super embarrassed, clearly not sure why she's telling somepony she barely knows something she'd otherwise take to the grave. She shoves her hat down over her eyes for a moment.

"Don't tell nopony that, okay? I mean... I don't want them to see me as a loose cannon or a softie. But, well, if you want, you can see me as a friend. So you can at least have one and aren't empty hoofed anymore."

[Miltonian]

"Your secret is safe with me," Black Hawk promises. She looks up at Pepper and gives her a small smile. "And I...think I would like a friend." Her smile twists and fights to remain, but a grimace and then a sob take it over. "I...I've been out here, alone, for months now. No one to talk to. No one to...to laugh or hug or anything. Just me." She draws herself inwards, huddling close to herself. "...Just me."

She sniffs. "A-and it's probably just the strain of combat and almost being killed, but all of that is just hitting me all at once and I'm very sorry because this is probably not the best way to...to start a friendship, but--"

[tonberryking]

Pepper doesn't say anything.

She doesn't act immediately either, rubbing the back of her neck with a foreleg, trying to look away to give Black Hawk her privacy, but even a flint heart like her has her limits. Something melts inside of her and quite suddenly she grabs Black Hawk with her hooves, wrapping a wing around the both of them and just tries--however awkwardly-- to hold her new friend.

"I really suck at this," she whispers in embarrassment, "But just take your time..."

[Miltonian]

Black Hawk lets out a surprised little gasp at the sudden physical contact. It takes her a moment to fully grasp what is happening. When she does, though, she throws her hooves around Pepper and holds her tightly. Almost rib-crackingly so. The mare is pretty strong. She doesn't sob or anything dramatic like that. She just holds Pepper and quietly shakes for a few minutes.

With a sniffle, she releases Pepper and softly says, "Thank you."

[tonberryking]

Pepper shrugs with a smirk. "Y'welcome." Damn. Presumably you have to be really strong to wear that Enclave armor all day long.

"You gonna be alright, carrying on?" her tone sharpens a little more serious, but she clearly is still showing concern to Black Hawk, sitting hip to hip next to her. "I can try to get the reindeer to shut her ass up, but we're all still here to do a job. I mean, I'll split my take with you, try to see if the others can help reimburse you too, and get you all the laser batteries you can carry but after that? I figure two gun wingers like us could make a pretty cap or three. Hell if we stick to taking freelance gigs we're bound to find other pegasi, we could all start over fresh..."

[Miltonian]

Black Hawk lets out a small, hoarse laugh. "If you CAN get her to shut up, I'll be really impressed," she declares. Her eyes wander outwards, towards the gathering night. "I'll be better tomorrow," she decides.

"Heh. I don't need money," she says, "I have a friend now. I had money before. This is better." She nods. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. Real good, even." She gives Pepper a light punch on the shoulder. "Looks like you've got yourself some heavy fire support."

[tonberryking]

Pepper laughs and playfully shoves Hawk back. it's actually nice to strong arm someone like this--the boys back in the precinct did it to each other all the time. They never did with her...

"I think I can count on you... Although.. speaking of firepower..." Pepper stands on her four legs, flapping her wings, "You said you lost one of those rifles you bought out there, right? You wanna go see if we can get it before it gets dark? I may be able to turn it into parts for a better weapon; I've got a crapload of spare parts it would seem..."

[Miltonian]

Black Hawk looks out and shivers a little. "For a little bit, sure," she says, "But I don't have the clothing to stay out as it gets dark. My suit was insulated, but it's going to need a few days to run its repair routine before I can use it again."

She unfolds her wings and steps to the edge. "Ready?"

[tonberryking]

Pepper stands and shakes out her own wings, and nods with a mean grin.

"Ready." she says, taking off like a shot the moment Black Hawk gives a cue! She can't remember when she had this kind of fun flying with another pegasus, and she hopes it's a sign of fewer solo ones.

[Miltonian]

And together, they take off, rising up into the air. Their eyes peer down into the snow, searching for the discarded weapon. With their combined powers, it is not long before they spot a glint of metal buried in the snow.

They descend and find one of her discarded weapons. Not one of the rifles, actually, but a H&K MP5A3 in decent condition, if a little scratched.

[tonberryking]

Pepper will probably never admit without the influence of cider just how much fun she has flying with somepony else this way. She's not even upset when the search comes to an end; there are other days, other chances to soar...

"Whelp. You had one of these?" as is her custom she gingerly uses her wing tips to lift the gun off the ground, though she ejects the clip and makes sure the firearm is empty before dry clicking it up at the sky. "You know, even if we get that laser canon of yours some batteries, I'd still suggest you hang onto this piece; it's reliable, 9mm bullets are really easy to come by down here and it holds alot of bullets. Plenty of cops I worked with carried one--... Oh." She blinks, realizing she had a big mouth moment and pauses.

"...So yeah, it's a good gun. But, um... Black Hawk? I'm not ready to tell the others this, but.. Glint's an alias my uncle gave me to travel under. In case someponies were looking for me. ...My real name is... it's... Pepper Burst. I don't wanna keep that a secret from you. Well... not anymore..."

[Miltonian]

"Yeah," Black Hawk says, "I picked that one up because there was a metric ton of ammo for it in stock at the store I traded at. I...went through it pretty quickly, though."

She opens her mouth to say something when Pepper says too much, but closes it again shortly thereafter and listens closely to Pepper's request. "Sure," she says, "I can keep a secret." She smiles. "Nice to meet you...Pepper."

[tonberryking]

"It's nice to met you too," "friend" goes unspoken, but Pepper's eyes betray that she certainly means that. She offers the gun to Black Hawk, "Here; get used to holding onto this. Now lets go back to the idiots before we freeze. There's still more bunker to explore."

[tonberryking]

First watch begins with the Pegasi, as Pepper continues work on making a duplicate of the anamatronic arm she's now using as a tool rather than a weapon. She ate a short while ago, but continues work no more satiated than when she started from the intent focus she's putting into her work, until she nearly botches something. With a light grunt she looks over, perhaps awkwardly, at Black Hawk, realizing she doesn't even know what the other pegasus is up to.

"Um..." she brilliantly starts, realizing she's barely ever had a chance to talk with a co-worker that she remotely likes in years, "You know, I could probably make one of these arms for your rifle. Might be tricky with that needle barrel but...it doing okay over there?" she feels like a doofus, but unique and altogether powerful guns is common ground for them...

(3d6)[14] v 13 Small arms engineering (taking time)
(3d6)[15] v 11 Electrical Engineering (also taking time)

[Miltonian]

Black Hawk has mostly stripped her rifle and is checking each individual part carefully, cleaning it if necessary. Or if she feels like it. In short, she's scrubbing down every part.

"My armor has a battle-saddle integrated into it," she responds grimly, rubbing away some grease, "Of course, to use it, I have to be able to wear the suit."

[tonberryking]

Pepper looks down at her own efforts, trying to clean up the mess scattered over her gun case. She still thinks she did an impressive job, even if she's on a lower tech level, strictly speaking.

"Well, offer stands in case ..um... nevermind," she sighs, shaking her head, Let's not jinx the magical repairs necessary to keep up Black Hawk's spirits.

...However...

"Like I said earlier today, I think we should stick with this team for a little while longer. Not just cause of the dea--Bluebell, cause of her. We can stay safe in numbers and... I kinda figure Golden's the type to have more work planned for us. Won't have to try too hard to add to our nest egg, you know?"

She goes back to working, if barely, on the gun arm, measuring parts of it in conjunction with the Colt rifle.

"Although... Erggh. I feel responsible for that filly, you know? If we get her in a robot body, what are any of us gonna do after that? Teach her to shoot? Take her with us? I have enough problems sleeping without thinking about it, but here I am."

She gulps and figures that since she already shared her loss, she can ask: "My brother was my own age so I don't have a point of reference on taking care of surrogate siblings. Do you have any little sisters? Brothers? ...Cousins?"

[Miltonian]

"I could use a job," Black Hawk agrees solemnly, "Steady supply of food would be nice. Pretty sure I ate everything that WAS here, once upon a time." She looks up, eyebrow raised. "Our nest egg? How many ponies are you including in this 'our'?"

On the topic of Bluebell, she shrugs non-noncommittally. "Not a clue. I figure I'll cross that bridge when we get there, you know?" She pauses for a moment, then looks up, a sheepish expression on her face. "I...I do care, Pepper. It's just that, well, we weren't taught to do much independent thinking in the Enclave. I got no idea what to do here. I'll probably just accept whatever doesn't seem immoral."

[tonberryking]

Pepper blinks, and looks down at the pile of junk slowly taking shape (emphasis on slowly) into a cybernetic attachment. She seems embarrassed as she tugs her hat over her eyes for a moment.

" Well, unless you wanna see if we can get a...a jet pack or something on Bluebell and take her with us... um... I just meant the two of us. If we stick together, I mean."

She sighs and starts calibrating something, still unsatisfied with the results, "Hey, you're doing okay. Back on the force I did alot of things without questioning them, but we both seemed to have hit a point where we started questioning what was really right and wrong. As long as you take time to analyze where you're going, how you're surviving now and then and don't lose sight of what you feel is good or bad, it'll... work. Yeah..."

[Miltonian]

"And even then, she couldn't exactly land on a cloud," Black Hawk agrees. She studies Pepper for a long moment, longer than Pepper is comfortable with. "I was planning to stick with you for a bit," she says.

Pepper's assurance seems to lift a bit of the weight off her shoulders. She sits up a little straighter and her lips flick upwards into a smile for a moment. "Thanks," she says.

With a final 'click', she finishes reassembling her rifle. Her legs swing out from the chair and she hops to her hooves. "So!" she says, "Let me see if I can give you a helping hoof here."

[tonberryking]

Pepper is clearly blushing even if she shakes it off after a moment when Black Hawk sits down next to her. "Thanks, 'Hawk. I've got my other arm right here, but this is the frame and this is the Colt carbine that's gonna go into it..." she goes on at length showing her the 'ropes' and basics of the construction, really getting into it.

It would take an army of brigands to distract her now...

[Miltonian]

Fortunately, no army of brigands seem to be available to comply.

Black Hawk pays attention to the best of her ability, but it's soon clear that most of this is over her head. She asks about parts that, quite frankly, don't exist to Pepper's knowledge. Furthermore, making them apparently involves clouds and literal lightning.

Enclave construction must be one heck of a sight.