| Ngātahi |
| Summary: | In the aftermath of the battle on Areion's hangar deck, husband and wife (in all the ways that matter) are reunited. |
| Date: | 15 Apr 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | I will seriously add the linked logs later. |
| Players: |
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| Areion Hangar Deck |
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| Blood and guts and debris everywhere. Also a very dead former Commander. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #413 |
When the execution is over, people begin to scatter towards taking care of their own jobs. Marines move through executions of the defiant and zip-cuffing those who surrender. Pewter moves off to do his own thing while Mark stands over the body of Kepner with the shot gun still held in one hand by his side, face impassive. Those eyes, though. There is fire there. Righteous anger. He's stooped over forward a bit and now that its over the bruises across his face and the blood dried from his nose becomes more obvious. Dried blood mats his hair from the crown. He's been shot a few times but the man looks more beaten to hell than actually wounded. Except for that bleeding arm - which isn't too bad. He'll need stitches at the very least.
With the fighting finally suppressed, for the most part, Leyla is still making her way through the hangar, making sure the way is clear for the escaping personnel, putting down what little resistance remains. Many of the Areion marines lie dead and dying, and even a lion with its canines pulled can still be dangerous. So focused on getting the job done, it almost comes as a surprise when she catches sight of that familiar orange-clad body, eyes drifting down to the dead man on the ground, and for a moment, there's that urge, to lift the gun and wipe the remnants of his expression from Kepner's face. But no, the droplet of blood that takes this moment to splash down onto the deck from her wounded hand seems to snap her out of her track, and for a little while, she softens. "Tahu."
Mark barely notices the approach of Leyla until she stops and says something. The man lifts his head and looks to her, the fire and hate slowly easing. His wounded arm wraps around his ribs and he breathes a sigh of relief. That shot gun still hangs in his right hand, grip looking like he isn't quite willing to give it up yet, though. His voice is easy and simple, though a little forced against the pain while his adrenaline ebbs. "I love you, Ley."
Leyla remains where she is, despite everything inside of her that wants to forget about the battle, the dead, the still dying. How many has she killed today, how many since Zooms started the avalanche. She doesn't know. Guns in either hand, she just studies the man standing across from her over the body of the dead Commander, now bereft of his rank pins. Holes in her flight suit, over her chest, through her glove, though only the left hand bleeds enough to escape the confines of the no longer space worthy clothing. She looks small, barely bigger than a child, with her rumpled hair, sooty face and blood stains. "I love you too, Mark."
The Captain smirks and looks down to Kepner once more and pokes the man's shoulder with his shotgun before stepping- hobbling, really- slowly towards the woman he loves. He takes hold of the butt of the gun and uses it for a crutch. "I told Major Cavanaugh you were gonna be pissed. Didn't think you'd actually be angry enough to voluntarily walk into hell. Silly me, right?" By the way he moves its plain as day that he's at least bruised his ribs. Maybe broken a few. "You okay?" There's a glance to her hand.
"He tried to take you away from me." That's said so coldly, so inhumanly, with a voice so full of all of the anger and hatred boiling away inside of her, there's no doubt of the extent to which Leyla would have gone to get to the Chief Engineer. "They all tried to take you away from me." A soft muffled sound, someone, or something rustling against the floor, and Leyla's head turns, that uncanny direction sense allowing her to pinpoint the sound almost immediately. Left hand rises, the sound of her gun loud in the stillness, the way a loud voice sometimes rises over the sudden hush of conversation. A single round from her sidearm, and the rustling is silenced, her eyes moving back to the man now approaching her, the body in her wake dismissed as if it were entirely meaningless. "We had to get the escape route clear. They shut down the elevators, and locked down the airlock. Didn't have any other choice. Left Shakes manning Bertha while I came up. Didn't think I'd leave anything mechanical for the marines to deal with, did you?" A glance down at herself, her chest, her hand, "Nothing time won't heal." Finally, she drops the rifle from her right hand, moving to meet the approaching man, sliding her arm around him, "We need to get out of here. This shitcan won't last long under the flak fire it's taking."
Mark smiles a bit when she gets mad, though he flinches slightly when she fire into the dying Marine. No remorse. He's done as much today, as well. "I think you're crazy to come down here with a bunch of Marines, but that's one of your better qualities. Think you're crazy enough to stick with me." He winks. "Careful," he breathes as she puts her arm around him. "Apparently they don't like people who resist arrest." Mark blasting away with a shotgun like he was, he probably wasn't exactly amenable to following direction when he didn't have one. "Yeah, babe. Let's get back. Just wanna make sure these wounded people get out of here before me. Ain't nothin but a graze." He swallows, taking measured breaths. The shotgun makes a handy crutch. "Didn't think they could keep me away from you, did you? That there is crazy talk."
No, no remorse. Not now, not ever. "I did what I had to do. I couldn't ask Shakes to do it and sit back, safe from harm." Leyla is careful, however, moving easily, as the marines help everyone that needs evac. "Everyone who needs to get out will get out. The raptors are waiting for us. You just worry about yourself right now. I heard there's a lot of weird shit going down in CIC they might need you for. Once they get you out of sickbay." Slowly, but surely, the pair are making their way out of the hangar, heading for the elevators and the SAR raptors waiting beyond.
Mark moves with some trouble, but he's on his own power. Mostly. Having Leyla helps in more than a few ways. Definitely a boost to his spirits. "Yeah. We heard Kepner's announcement. We couldn't be sure how you guys were going to manage it." The man coughs a few times, grunting afterwards with the stress to his ribs. "Weird shit in CIC? Fantastic. Well I could stand to be bandaged but I should be okay to help out." Nevermind his bleeding arm. At least is isn't as bad anymore. "I tackled a couple Marines when the alarms went," Mark offers lightly.
"And who says Engineers aren't good for anything but fixing loose wiring?" Slow and steady wins the race as the pair get closer to the elevator, finally moving to pile in with the group making its way down, Leyla's voice, momentarily going to the comm unit still hooked to her ear, "Shakes, we're on our way down. Leave room in 307 for one more. The Captain is coming with us." No way in hell is Mark going in some other raptor. "You're going to sickbay, just like me."
The ChEng chuckles, leaning into her for a moment to kiss her head gently. "Got that right, babe," he says quietly. "Nobody else seemed like they were gonna do anything and I was too mad to just sit there. Heard the alarms and just went. Guy would have had me but Pewter shows up in the doorway and took his head off. Couldn't damned believe it." Mark shakes his head. The last gets a smirk. "Takin' me home personally, huh? And Sickbay? Tahu, love, my glorious, brave, beautiful lady in green.. We're going to need some privacy sometime very soon."
The ride down on the elevator is relatively short, even given the crowding, the smells of blood and cordite, the sounds of pain and loss and still simmering anger. "Needs must, when Hades drives. You did what you had to do to save yourself and our people." Finally, the door swivels open, to reveal the SAR raptors waiting for their passengers, those that have not already filled out and flow off. The bright flashes of their FTL drives are hidden by the hull, but no doubt, they're speeding their way back to the Cerberus. And waiting there, distinct, if only because of the 'tatau' on her nose, marking all of her victories and missions to date, is Bertha, looking big as ever and twice as angry as her pilot, all kitted out with every weapon that could be mounted to her space frame. Including the tactical nuke, and all. On they go, Leyla leading Mark back to the trundle-y ship, "I'll pull a curtain around our beds."