WIP Wednesday
thank you for the tag @therealgchu!
Today's peek has been chilling in my Libertatia project. Not sure where exactly in the fic it will be but it was a funny idea I got after an eventful survey in the game...
---
“Sure the scans shows a lovely beach but Becker’s already confirmed that beach is heavy rock stalker territory,” Bella said as she gently bounced little Rafa in her arms, “She said they barely made it a dozen paces from their landing bay before a whole herd of them came rushing their location and they had to retreat, that big model-A Constellation loaned Jay giving cover fire while they climbed inside.”
“There were only two of them,” Del said as he stepped close, giving Bella a kiss followed by a kiss on the top of Rafa’s head, “I’m bringing a whole team. We’ll be fine.”
“I don’t think numbers are going to help,” Bella looked out the windows of the cockpit at the moving stone in the distance, “honestly I think it’ll just piss them off more.”
“We survived Suverov, we’ll survive this,” he kissed her cheek.
“Not everyone did,” she looked back at him, “I vividly remember there being only me and you when that whole trip was over. I’d prefer to not lose all our rooks before we’ve even dug in roots, Gran Jefe.”
“Please stop calling me that,” he sighed and started walking for the fuselage.
“Lo siento, mi Rey,” Bella sassed her husband.
He glanced over his shoulder, trying to look irritated but a grin gave him away.
“Just be careful,” Bella said as Rafa started to fuss, “don’t do anything reckless.”
“I can handle some hostile xeno, Bella,” Del assured her as he walked toward the ladder down, “we’ll be fine.”
*Spongebob narrator* Several hours later
“It’s just a few rock stalkers, I’ve got a whole team, how hard could it be?” Del grumbled at himself as he sat atop a large boulder leaned up against a smaller rock. He was reloading his rifle and listening as another unlucky rook cried out in agony before the gnashing sound of rocks rubbing against one another drowned him out.
“It’s not like we didn’t come prepared,” Rokov said from the other side of the rock, “Jazz and I split a small crate of impact grenades thinking that would shatter the fucking things.”
“Yeah, look how that turned out!” Jazz stood up and overhand pitched a grenade at an oncoming cluster of rock stalkers. It exploded on the middle rock stalkers, kicking up dirt and sand, and when the air cleared only the middle xeno was dead, “Luckily they can’t climb.”
“Shhh, chitón!” Del hissed at her, “don’t fucking jinx us.”
“Hey Boss!” Seumas called over from other boulder, “Wrecker got a headcount, we’ve only lost three bastards, everyone else managed to scramble up to high ground.”
“Well that’s good to hear,” Jazz sat back down next to Del, “now we just need the fucking things to leave.”
“We’re going to wait for them to leave their house,” Rokov asked, clearly amused, “we’ll be sitting here a while.”
“Maybe we should radio The Siren’s Song,” Jazz started.
“No,” Del and Rokov both said in unison.
Jazz looked at them both, a wild goofy smile lighting up her face, “you’re scared of Bella, aren’t you?”
“Shut up,” Del snapped as he took aim at a nearby rock stalker camping their boulder.
“She has enough on her plate,” Rokov was looking through binoculars back toward the landing spot, “plus it’s clear of anything rock stalker shaped once we clear that hill. If everyone is smart with their boosts we should be able to make a collective break for it and run back to the ship.”
“She’s still going to find out what happened,” Jazz was busy packing up her gear.
“Not if we don’t tell her everything,” Del snapped.
“She’s going to find out when three rooks don’t make it back,” Jazz said before shouting moving orders over to Seumas.
“Oh come on, it’s a dangerous planet, that won’t tell her anything,” Rokov said as he chucked an impact grenade at the remaining rock stalkers.
The grenade exploded, followed by a larger explosion that rippled out into smaller explosions. A dense cloud of dirt and sand filled the air, causing everyone on the boulders to begin couching and choking.
“What the fuck did you throw?” Del shouted at Rokov.
“Same as all the rest!” Rokov insisted.
“Howdy, howdy, howdy,” a familiar voice called out over a helmet speaker, “got word of a missing scouting party so I came out to see what help you needed.”
“Missing?” Rokov mumbled between coughs, “we haven’t been gone that long.”
“Eh, it’s been most the day,” Jazz had pulled on a respirator and held out one to Rokov, “told you she’d know.”
Del had pulled on his own respirator and called up the newcomer on a private channel. She answered simply, “yes?”
“Who called you? And why are you in your Mantis gear?” he asked sharply.
The dust had settled enough for him to see Jay standing there in her Mantis helmet and matching gray spacesuit with green trim. She held her ridiculous coachman, Hornet’s Hymn, with it’s hornet’s nest exploding shots. That explained the show.
“Sophie called me while Beck and I were trying to scan another location for you,” Jay sounded annoyed, “She said Papa went out before lunch to walk the beach without her and hadn’t come back yet. When I checked her location Becker took us down immediately: I thought we told you to stay the fuck away from this stretch of land?”
“I don’t need shit from you,” Del snarled.
“I remember you telling Bella and me a few weeks back that you wanted Cassiopeia I because of everything you gleaned from that nature doc Sophie was obsessed with. Were you not paying attention at the twenty minute section talking about how ruthless and relentless these fucking rocks were?”
Del spoke through clenched teeth, “I said I don’t need shit from—“
“Get moving before more show up, Becker and I cleared the path but more will be here soon,” the Mantis was motioning for those on the other rock to come down, “you’re welcome, Delgado.”
“We didn’t need your fucking help!” Del snapped, “we had everything under control.”
“Which is why your surviving crew are up on boulders and not exploring the beach?” Jay tilted her head to the side, “keep going and I’ll leave you to explain yourself to Bella alone, Mr. How-Hard-Could-It-Be?”
“I’m not afraid of my wife,” Del insisted as he jumped off the boulder, boosting down to the ground.
“Mhmm,” Jay was looking around, her shotgun at the ready for any incoming xeno, “which is why I picked up chatter about you not wanting to tell her about your ass being stuck up on that rock?”
“How did you…” he stopped next to the Mantis and looked around with her, “Did you find any better spots?”
“Yeah, three or four,” she sighed, “I still can’t believe I let you two talk me into this.”
“Oh, come on, the arrangement is perfect for you and your brother,” Del clapped her back and ignored the unseen glare under her helmet, “enemy of my enemy and all that shit. Plus how many old Earth artifacts have the Liberated gifted to Constellation since we started.”
“Just get moving, the girls and Rafa await your return.”
10 notes
·
View notes