Post by dj1678 on Feb 19, 2010 1:29:06 GMT -5
Arieta stirred woozily in the cockpit of her Land Combat Type GM. Her forward monitors showed nothing but a thick curtain white and gray flecks falling lazily from the sky.
Ash and snow. Arieta thought, realization of where she was finally coming to her in spurts.
Her mobile suit lay prone, now partially buried under ash and snow. Arieta checked the systems of her MS and deciding it was still mostly operational, she slowly started to move it into a standing position. The legs creaked and alarms went off announcing that certain systems were either damaged, overheating, or freezing. Her MS was definitely not combat ready anymore. Arieta prayed she wasn't found by the Zeon fleet that had besieged New Amsterdam.
Once she finally had her MS standing and stabilized, she looked around at the snow and ash covered landscape, trying to more precisely place where she was, and remember what happened. Bits and pieces of rubble stuck up haphazardly through the snow. Most looked extremely worn down like they'd been the target of a continuous blast of energy for an extended period of time. Arieta looked at her own mobile suit's exterior more carefully and noticed that much of the armor had worn away from the limbs, leaving some of the internal structure exposed; only the heavy armor of the torso had spared her life. It was a wonder the machine was still working.
Blood trickled down Arieta's face, now that she was sitting upright in her cockpit. She reached up and tentatively touched her head, feeling for where the wound was, and trying to ascertain how bad it was. She recoiled when she eventually found it. It wasn't too bad, but it still hurt. She dug out the first aid kit in her cockpit and carefully wrapped a bandage around her head in an effort to help keep it clean until it could be dressed properly by someone who could actually see the wound.
Arieta began mentally tracing her steps backward, trying to figure out how she had gotten here.
She had been at New Amsterdam, having been called to defend the base against a Zeonic fleet that they had followed from South America. She was standing with Aurem, searching for possible orbital drop components of the enemy forces as Intel had said there might be. Fighting had broken out outside the base, and during that fight 'it' had come. Whatever 'it' was, it had been large, green and fired a gigantic beam directly at the base. Aurem had tried to stop it by shooting- Wait... Where was Aurem?
Arieta felt ashamed that she had nearly forgotten someone so dear to her. Frantically searching for signs of his sniper unit. With a deep sense of panic rising in her, she eventually found it, a little further from the crater than her own unit, and despite the luna titanium armor, his unit looked even worse for the wear. The units left leg an right arm were completely missing, and the armor was even thinner on his unit than hers.
Ignoring the freezing cold, Arieta opened the hatch to her cockpit, only barely remembering to grab the first aid kit in case Aurem needed it, before charging out into the ash assisted blizzard.
Upon reaching his suits cockpit, her panic grew. The cockpit hatch bore several small holes in it. None larger than her fist, but it worried her that the blast had eaten away so much of the armor. Setting the first aid kit aside she struggled to open the hatch. She was nearly to the point of tears when her numb hands finally convinced the hatch to cooperate with her.
Arieta leaned over the side of the cockpit, much as she had done the first day she had been assigned to work with him as his partner in Southeast Asia, back before he could remember her. She gasped in shock at the sight of him.
No...please, no... Arieta thought finally giving way to tears.
Blood was scattered everywhere across broken instrument panels and Aurem himself. A deep gash ran vertically across Aurem's face over his left eye, the eye itself swollen shut. Pieces of glass stuck from him in numerous places, making him look like a pin cushion. A particularly deep one protruding from his left leg. His right arm bent at an odd angle.
Arieta knelt by the side of the cockpit, weeping, unable to decide what to do. She was sure he was dead. He didn't look like he was breathing. Ash and snow continued to fall, starting to cover both her and Aurem in a thin layer.
At the sound of Arieta crying, Aurem stirred slightly in his seat. His head moved a little toward the sound of her sobs. Blinded by the blood in his eyes as well as the swelling, he only had his ears to go by.
"Arieta?" He asked weakly, still not sure of his surroundings.
"Aurem!" Arieta exclaimed hopefully. "You're alive! I'm here, Aurem!"
A pained, yet genuine looking smile appeared on Aurem's face.
"I love you..."
That was all he could say before fell unconscious again, blacking out from the pain.
Arieta was stunned. He had never been so direct before. A sinking feeling in her stomach grew before she could form a verbal response. Aurem thought he was dieing. Now that she knew he was alive, she wasn't going to let him.
Not knowing exactly how bad his wounds were, she decided that even if she had nursing training, he was going to need professional help. She ran toward her own mobile suit, intending to call one of the patrols for help. With the base gone, they'd be leaving the area. Perhaps they could help take Aurem to a hospital on their way out. Her thoughts raced in a thousand directions as she hurried on.
If Aurem dies, I'll make sure that he doesn't go alone. I'll make sure the pilot of that thing goes to the grave with him! Arieta thought darkly, hoping it wouldn't come to that. She would certainly show the mobile armor no love the next time she found it.
Some time later a patrol finally responded to Arieta's pleas for help over the radio. They fortunately had a doctor in the unit with them. When they arrived, the doctor remarked that it was a miracle that Aurem was still alive, but with care, they could probably extract him from his cockpit and treat his injuries. The doctor was sure Aurem would recover to full health after an extended period of resting and healing, but thought the gash across his eye might develop into a scar. Only time would tell.
Arieta wept with relief.
Ash and snow. Arieta thought, realization of where she was finally coming to her in spurts.
Her mobile suit lay prone, now partially buried under ash and snow. Arieta checked the systems of her MS and deciding it was still mostly operational, she slowly started to move it into a standing position. The legs creaked and alarms went off announcing that certain systems were either damaged, overheating, or freezing. Her MS was definitely not combat ready anymore. Arieta prayed she wasn't found by the Zeon fleet that had besieged New Amsterdam.
Once she finally had her MS standing and stabilized, she looked around at the snow and ash covered landscape, trying to more precisely place where she was, and remember what happened. Bits and pieces of rubble stuck up haphazardly through the snow. Most looked extremely worn down like they'd been the target of a continuous blast of energy for an extended period of time. Arieta looked at her own mobile suit's exterior more carefully and noticed that much of the armor had worn away from the limbs, leaving some of the internal structure exposed; only the heavy armor of the torso had spared her life. It was a wonder the machine was still working.
Blood trickled down Arieta's face, now that she was sitting upright in her cockpit. She reached up and tentatively touched her head, feeling for where the wound was, and trying to ascertain how bad it was. She recoiled when she eventually found it. It wasn't too bad, but it still hurt. She dug out the first aid kit in her cockpit and carefully wrapped a bandage around her head in an effort to help keep it clean until it could be dressed properly by someone who could actually see the wound.
Arieta began mentally tracing her steps backward, trying to figure out how she had gotten here.
She had been at New Amsterdam, having been called to defend the base against a Zeonic fleet that they had followed from South America. She was standing with Aurem, searching for possible orbital drop components of the enemy forces as Intel had said there might be. Fighting had broken out outside the base, and during that fight 'it' had come. Whatever 'it' was, it had been large, green and fired a gigantic beam directly at the base. Aurem had tried to stop it by shooting- Wait... Where was Aurem?
Arieta felt ashamed that she had nearly forgotten someone so dear to her. Frantically searching for signs of his sniper unit. With a deep sense of panic rising in her, she eventually found it, a little further from the crater than her own unit, and despite the luna titanium armor, his unit looked even worse for the wear. The units left leg an right arm were completely missing, and the armor was even thinner on his unit than hers.
Ignoring the freezing cold, Arieta opened the hatch to her cockpit, only barely remembering to grab the first aid kit in case Aurem needed it, before charging out into the ash assisted blizzard.
Upon reaching his suits cockpit, her panic grew. The cockpit hatch bore several small holes in it. None larger than her fist, but it worried her that the blast had eaten away so much of the armor. Setting the first aid kit aside she struggled to open the hatch. She was nearly to the point of tears when her numb hands finally convinced the hatch to cooperate with her.
Arieta leaned over the side of the cockpit, much as she had done the first day she had been assigned to work with him as his partner in Southeast Asia, back before he could remember her. She gasped in shock at the sight of him.
No...please, no... Arieta thought finally giving way to tears.
Blood was scattered everywhere across broken instrument panels and Aurem himself. A deep gash ran vertically across Aurem's face over his left eye, the eye itself swollen shut. Pieces of glass stuck from him in numerous places, making him look like a pin cushion. A particularly deep one protruding from his left leg. His right arm bent at an odd angle.
Arieta knelt by the side of the cockpit, weeping, unable to decide what to do. She was sure he was dead. He didn't look like he was breathing. Ash and snow continued to fall, starting to cover both her and Aurem in a thin layer.
At the sound of Arieta crying, Aurem stirred slightly in his seat. His head moved a little toward the sound of her sobs. Blinded by the blood in his eyes as well as the swelling, he only had his ears to go by.
"Arieta?" He asked weakly, still not sure of his surroundings.
"Aurem!" Arieta exclaimed hopefully. "You're alive! I'm here, Aurem!"
A pained, yet genuine looking smile appeared on Aurem's face.
"I love you..."
That was all he could say before fell unconscious again, blacking out from the pain.
Arieta was stunned. He had never been so direct before. A sinking feeling in her stomach grew before she could form a verbal response. Aurem thought he was dieing. Now that she knew he was alive, she wasn't going to let him.
Not knowing exactly how bad his wounds were, she decided that even if she had nursing training, he was going to need professional help. She ran toward her own mobile suit, intending to call one of the patrols for help. With the base gone, they'd be leaving the area. Perhaps they could help take Aurem to a hospital on their way out. Her thoughts raced in a thousand directions as she hurried on.
If Aurem dies, I'll make sure that he doesn't go alone. I'll make sure the pilot of that thing goes to the grave with him! Arieta thought darkly, hoping it wouldn't come to that. She would certainly show the mobile armor no love the next time she found it.
~
Some time later a patrol finally responded to Arieta's pleas for help over the radio. They fortunately had a doctor in the unit with them. When they arrived, the doctor remarked that it was a miracle that Aurem was still alive, but with care, they could probably extract him from his cockpit and treat his injuries. The doctor was sure Aurem would recover to full health after an extended period of resting and healing, but thought the gash across his eye might develop into a scar. Only time would tell.
Arieta wept with relief.