first sortie.

[unbr8kable]

[Six hours previous, everything had been so much simpler. The Eta cohort had made it to live combat training, out in one of the few areas the Tenno had claimed back from the invaders. Xia had been vibrating the whole day, grinning wide as she suited up in the boring steel training mech (hers would be blue, she decided, or maybe black, with bold red stripes on the limbs) and deployed to the field, not even cracking on Wimperson, the Support (not his real name, but it may as well have been).

The Heralds didn't come up on radar until they were practically on top of the trainees. Maybe if there'd been more lead time, it would've been less of a shitshow, but who the hell knows.

The grimy details aren't important, but they aren't great. Damage to all suits, with two damaged beyond repair; the Leader froze under pressure, the Shadow couldn't keep up with the speedy Heralds. Wimperson actually came through. Johnson the Medic went down right there, in front of them.

Xia and Jacob have only just gotten out of their debriefing, another unexpected first for the day.

She and Jacob did good, Xia knows. They kept their heads, were barely hurt, they moved together well. "You'll make a good team," Corporal Kuwahara tells them before turning towards the medical ward to check on Johnson's surgery. "Go get some rest."

But no, rest is pretty much the opposite of what they need right now, Xia thinks. She turns to Jacob, giving her best attempt at a normal expression.]

Wanna get out of here?

Comments

[unbr8kable]

Seriously!?

[she jams on the open door button, kicks the door]

Come on!

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Still laughing.]

Maybe we'll have to do the action movie thing, after all.

[unbr8kable]

It's different when you have to climb up however many stories instead of rappelling down.

[undaunted--well, only a little daunted, she scrabbles at the door, attempting to pry it open since surely that isn't hard to do...]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Coming over to try and pry at the other side.]

We'd only have to get up to the second story... right?

[unbr8kable]

True... Guess it wouldn't be that bad...

[but just then, their efforts come to fruition and the door begins to shudder open--

--then snaps back shut. Hope you watched those fingers!]

Ow!

[...someone didn't watch her fingers]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Neither did this guy. He curses and snatches the hand back.]

...this is the worst door ever.

[Starts jamming at the open door button.]

[unbr8kable]

Tell me about it! --I'm stuck!

[indeed, the door seems clamped quite neatly around the joint at the tip of her fingers! luckily it's her artificial left hand, so it's irritation she's squawking with, not pain]

How is this even happening?

[crossmyheartandhope]

We need like a crowbar or something.

[Gives the open door button one last halfhearted push.]

Hey, how strong's your hand?

[unbr8kable]

Strong enough. ...What're you thinking?

[crossmyheartandhope]

I dunno... can you get your other fingers in there? Maybe you could buy yourself enough space to slip out.

[unbr8kable]

Like, with my other hand? That one's a lot squishier, you know.

[she gives it a go anyway, slowly easing apart her caught fingers with an angry scrape of metal against metal, in the hopes of gaining enough space to stick her other fingers into the gaps]

[crossmyheartandhope]

Yeah, well. The goal is no squishing.

[Getting both hands in there, too, to try and help. His right foot is standing by to jam into the doors if they DO manage to get some space.]

[unbr8kable]

[with effort, because there's no need for them BOTH to get squished]

Works for me...

[and slooowly, it opens...?????]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Sticks his foot in there as soon as there's space to keep them from losing any fingers... and keeps on prying.]

[unbr8kable]

[good thinking... as they wrench the door open even further, she wedges her elbow in to make a bigger space... perhaps soon they will be able to squeeze out...???]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Gets both arms through the open space and continues to haul.]

...think you can fit?

[unbr8kable]

[she shrugs, which is less useful of a gesture while physically yanking on an elevator door. they've got it open a decent amount, though, a+ teamwork, but it'd still be real tight. real tight.]

Think you can fit?

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Eyeing it dubiously.]

We fit up in the vents, right? We'll be okay.

[unbr8kable]

[that is appropriate]

That's before you ate like fifteen parfaits. Maybe your butt's too big to fit now.

[crossmyheartandhope]

Guess we better see if my butt's up to it, then.

[Wedges his leg in all the way up to his knee and turns sideways to try and sidle through.]

Don't squish me, kay?

[unbr8kable]

I suppose.

[she shoves harder to try and make extra space, since spoilers, she doesn't actually want him to get stuck. unless it's funny. and even then, only a little.]

Alright, suck it in, let's see what you can do!

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He makes it... farther than you would think!]

[Which is to say, it's looking pretty good until about halfway. Then he has to move the wedged knee to actually get through, and the door, accordingly, slips closed a little to take the space back.]

....crap.

[unbr8kable]

...Well, there's the proof. Your butt is a failure. You'll never make it as a male model now.

[she does keep tugging on the door, bracing her legs to pull harder, but there's only so much she can do with him taking up most the space in the gap.

On the other side of the door, a small dog walks up and sniffs at his trapped leg]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Barely paying attention to the dog; kind of busy right now.]

Okay. Okay. Here's the plan.

I'll sit down with my back to one door, and shove it open with my leg. Should be able to get it pretty far. Then on three, we let go and I throw myself through. Then we'll pry it open again for you.

[unbr8kable]

...If you're gonna kick it open anyway, why not I jump out before you throw yourself through?