relay314: generation1point5:relay314: LONG OVERDUE birthday gift to @generation1point5 of his awes
relay314: generation1point5: relay314: LONG OVERDUE birthday gift to @generation1point5 of his awesome turian Koter Modalius! <3<3<3<3<3<3 It was much greener than he thought. He had always intended to visit the plains of humanity’s Earth, and observed plenty of stills and holographic displays of some of it’s natural wonders. What he saw and felt was not Earth, but to his eyes, a soon-to-be colony was good enough. The grass was soft beneath his feet. It was nothing like the hard earth that he so often tread on Palaven. The air felt more refreshing, the cool breeze did not sap his strength as it did back home. He could stand and observe the mountains behind his fighter without having to divert his hardsuit’s power towards temperature regulation. Nestling his helmet into his side with the help of his claw, Koter was content to observe the landscape. He knew that he would not have to answer the comms for some time; the rest of his squadron were still sweeping the poles of the planets for other resources and points of interest for their allies back in the Alliance. It was quiet, nothing like the hive of the activity he was used to back at the Dreadnought. The thought occurred to him to invite the Admiral down to find some peace and relaxation, but quickly dismissed it with a chuckle to himself; Providentius would only grow anxious over all the responsibilities that would be pushed to the forefront of his mind. Koter could afford to simply let go and watch the clouds drift on by. “Firefly Lead. Koter?” Koter’s omni-tool glowed for a brief moment as the pilot brought it up to his face. “Firefly here. Go ahead.” “We finished our sweep of the poles. Multi-spectrum scanners didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Typical garden world, ice at the poles, healthy river systems that deposit into some big oceans. The humans would love it here.” “They’re not the only ones,” Koter murmured with a chuckle. “What, want to make a claim here and settle it when you retire?” “I’m thinking about it.” Koter heard laughter from his earpiece. “Never took you for the farm boy type.” Looking up, Koter scoffed. “Don’t be absurd. Nice as it is, the grass isn’t what appeals to me here. Skies like these? Can you think of anywhere in Hierarchy space you can just take your fighter out on a pleasure cruise?” “So you’re a romantic then.” “Whatever. It’s called ‘enjoying the moment’, not that I’d expect you to know about that.” Koter could almost hear the grin coming from the other end. “Suit yourself. We should probably head back and report back to Provi sometime. I’ll finish up here and meet you back on the Justice, yeah?” “Solid copy,” Koter replied. “Enjoy the rest while you can. I’m sure some idiot on the Terminus is going to actually give us some work once we touch back on the fleet.” “And that’s why I love my job,” Koter’s wingman replied, and then silence blanketed the pilot’s senses again. He took one last look at the jagged, distant mountains before trudging back to his parked fighter. With a sigh, Koter nestled his helmet back over his fringe and reattached the oxygen hoses back onto his hardsuit with a hiss. It was second nature for him to scale the side of his fighter that led up to the cockpit, pressing the release-latch firmly to open the cockpit and settling into his seat. With a light exhale, Koter’s eyes shot to the various lights and switches that snapped to life as he began the familiar power up sequence. The tint of his visor reflected, to his satisfaction, the full range of warning lights, still working as intended. Soon after, the familiar of hum of the engine grew in intensity, and with another switch the class canopy closed and sealed shut. With his claws on the stick and his feet on the pedals, Koter quickly checked his flaps and stabs, glancing to his right and to his left. By the time that his fighter’s guns and missile systems went online, his claw was already on the throttle, ready to take off. Koter took a breath, looked up, and accelerated skyward. The sensation of weightlessness came only as a passing notice to the experienced pilot, but his happy grin never lessened from the day that he first flew among open skies. The grass below him blurred into a green sea, and Koter brought his fighter between the jagged peaks of the mountains, glancing every so often at the white caps and the snowy crevices that passed him by. They fell away to vast stretches of open fields and a cloudy, sunny day. “Firefly.” Koter put a talon to his helmet. “Admiral Providentius. Go ahead.” “Status report; your wingman is already on approach back to the Dreadnought. Are you alright?” “Yeah, just enjoying the view,” Koter said, absentminded as his gaze was drawn all around the sights through his canopy window. “Need me for something?” “The Alliance wants an update, so I will relay your reports as soon as I get them. Do you have anything in particular to report?” Koter glanced back at the green and blue planet. “I mean, it looks nice. It’s going to be perfect for a colony, and as long as they keep patrols running through this system every now and then, they shouldn’t have much to fear from the Terminus.” “We’ll have to arrange particulars with your liaison himself,” Providentius said tersely. “Contact Aeos as soon as you return, so we can hand this matter off to the specialists.” “Solid copy,” Koter replied. He pulled back gently on the throttle, the blue glow of the engines burning all the more intensely as he passed the fog of the clouds and the fading of the blue until the white lights twinkled before him. “I’m on my way back now.” “I’ll prep the hangar crews. See you home, Koter.” The pilot huffed. He did not want to retort Providentius, but the Admiral was wrong all the same; he was flying through the skies and space, without a care as to what duties would soon call him to. He was already at home. Once more with feeling because I love this so much! ❤️ -- source link