ABS FIESTA REDUX

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko glares at his former comrades. A sick feeling wells in his gut.

[Ad Bot]

[NoZoner]

Lorens briefly raises his brow in surprise. "Major Kirves," he addresses his former squad leader flatly.

[Operator¹]

: Don't worry, I'm not going to try to chew you out like Kommandmant might, if they end up fishing him out of the ocean.

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko looks between Lorens and Bell. He says nothing, and doesn't move, looking away towards the wall. His hands tighten into fits in his lap.

[Operator¹]

Bell waves at Jaakko, trying to get him to look at her.

: Between you and me, I think I made the wrong decision back there.

She looks back at Snowman and back at Jaakko again.

: No wonder they couldn't convince the Sky Marshal that there was a dead man's switch, since he set off a nuke remotely like that.

[NoZoner]

Lorens looks between the Major and the Colonel. With both halves of Mjolnir in one place, it seems unreal that just moments prior everyone involved was primed to kill each other. In an effort to try and find common ground, he tries to think of something to say to supplement Bell's statement.

"Major, before you and the others left, you said to Colonel Kibble and Zolnerowich that you were an Aesthian at heart, and that you won't allow harm to come to your country, am I correct? It's true that we were at each other's throats just moments ago, but I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we were fighting for the same cause."

He pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"You weren't wrong for doing what you did, I don't think."

[Mr. Hurricane]

"And what's with the change of heart?" Jaakko asks sternly.

He continues glaring at the wall.

[Operator¹]

: It's easier to believe that the Sky Marshal is in the wrong when he's willing to use a nuclear weapon to destroy a single cruiser, full of people like you and me.

She stares down at the floor, tapping her foot and taking a brief look around the hangar.

: I think it's readily apparent that he's putting his own pride over his men's lives, and probably our own country's.

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko shifts his glare to Bell.

"He's lost his air cover now. A push would be suicidal. If he pushes, we'll break the back of the Aesthian airship arm. Do you think he's still committed to an attack?"

[Operator¹]

: Of course he is, I don't think he'll give up after all of the losses that have been sustained so far.

She stares back at Jaakko.

: If Takirov resorted to destroying the Brynhildr with its own nuclear payload, what else do you think he'll do?

[Mr. Hurricane]

"End the world,"

[Qwepir]

The VTOL returns about half an hour later, and its occupants disembark. Kommandant and Fang appear uninjured, but the other two have to be unloaded on stretchers. There's a commotion on the other side of the drone racks as the SAR team argues with one of the airship's crew about one thing or another. The two healthy members sit with their backs resting against the drone rack, glaring at Jaakko in his spiffy new duds.

[Operator¹]

Bell tries to listen in on the SAR team's argument with the crew member.

[Mr. Hurricane]

Jaakko glares back at Kommandant and Fang.

[Qwepir]

Bell tries to listen in on the SAR team's argument with the crew member.

: [...and multiple deep lacerations, all infected from floating on her back for the better part of an hour. We need to get her to an actual medical facility, your ship's medical ward should suffice.]
: [I'm sorry, it would be a breach of security to allow an enemy combatant on board, regardless of their physical state. You'll just have to make do until we get to the-]
: [Make do!? With what, a bottle of antiseptic and a prayer? Dammit man, we are talking about someone with minutes to live!]
: [Then I suggest you follow proper triage protocols and worry about him instead.]