Meia

[Rezantis]

Waiting until the sphere was off the starboard wing of the Dread, Meia pressed both the balls down, cutting off the roll and curving the dread upwards.

[Bean Bandit]

As Meia cut off the roll, there was a distinct grinding sound, and her system display flashed indicating a shield power drop, tracing the problem to a deformity on the hull.

As she began the sharp upward curve, two things happened at once. The spined enemy changed course to follow behind her, and her com screen burst to life.

Hibiki's image flared in front of her, silently moving it's mouth, yelling silently at her.

[Rezantis]

'Meia' blinked, then whipped her right hand towards the console and tabbed the same part she'd hit to mute Hibiki in the first place.

[Bean Bandit]

"FINALLY!" Hibiki roared. "Would you hold still?? I can't ride this thing with you jerking around like that!"

The tactical display flashed, showing two friendlies moving in at a high rate of speed, on a different intercept course. The map had them tagged as Hibiki ad Dita...but they were too close to be flying together.

As soon as they got to within visual range, the video feed switched to a realtime view. Sure enough, they were racing in toward her, Hibiki's Vanguard using Dita's Dread...as a surfboard?

As soon as Meia registered that, her comm flashed again, and Dita appeared, a cheerful grin on her her face.

"Don't worry, Meia! We're coming to save you!"

[Rezantis]

Keeping the Dread accellerating at full power and taking a quick glance over 'her' shoulder, Meia whipped her head back to the comm windows and nodded.

Oh, goodie.

[Bean Bandit]

Hibiki grinned fiercely. "Now!" he shouted, looking offscreen. Dita bobbed her head once.

"Right!" She fired her afterburner, and her speed tripled...and she suddenly swerved out from underneath the Vanguard...sending Hibiki rocketing toward Meia's dread, while Dita's dread veered off to harry and distract the spined sphere.

As Hibiki arced through the intercept course toward Meia's dread, he drew the Vanguard's vibro-blade...

And slammed into Meia's hull with startling impact, driving the blade through the enemy that clung tenatiously to her hull, and it blew apart in a brief flare, starting alarms as the stressed sheild collapsed.

Meia involuntarily squeezed the orbs as the flash erupted right outside her cockpit...and the entire dread seemed to pulse in response, and shift...

After a long moment, the odd sensation stopped, and though Meia's eyes were still filled with blotches of flashing, colored light, she could feel something warm and firm press into her chest, compressing it slightly...

[Rezantis]

Having seen the series, Rez was... well aware of what had just happened.

"This day just gets worse..."

And not really watching his/her/whatever's tongue, either.

[Bean Bandit]

"That's SOME gratitude you've got, lady. I just saved your butt, and not even a thank you?" Hibiki snapped.

[Rezantis]

'Meia' winced.

"Sorry.  Thanks." A slight pause.  "Now what?"

[Bean Bandit]

Hibiki was momentarily nonplussed by the ease that the thanks was offered up...but then he shook his head and blinked at the question. "What do you mean, now what? We go save the UFO girl from that thing and kick it's ass!" He said, as though explaining something very simple to an obsinate child.

[Rezantis]

"Sounds like a plan, except," a hint of urgency crept into 'her' voice, "you'll need to tell me how to fly this again."

[Bean Bandit]

Hibiki blinked and wore a stunned expression.

"You? Miss I don't need help from any man...? Wait. How the hell could you forget how to fly it?"

[Rezantis]

"When I said I was having a bad day, I wasn't kidding."

[Bean Bandit]

Hibiki rolled his eyes. "It's just like flying your dread." he replied, "but we both gotta do it."

He reached behind her and grabbed her hands and placed them on a set of orbs quite similar to the ones on her dread, then placed his own hands over hers.

"Don't push these ones though...Just concentrate." He warned.

[Rezantis]

'Meia' nodded - which Hibiki couldn't actually see, being in front - and concentrated, trying to feel the same connection with this as previously with the dread...