Arcand - Arcand airbase grounds
December 24th @ 1800 hours.

Two armed guards talked soundlessly to each other behind razor-wire fencing, as snow-tracked vehicles attempted to keep runways clear of ice and snow with bumper-mounted scoops and heat-guns. Relentlessly, snow fell from the sky, whiting out the world. Taking his eyes from the high-zoom goggles, Demetrius picked up a handful of snow in a snow-white glove, and stuck it in his mouth to chill his exhaled breath, and stop his breath from turning to mist as it hit the air.

Adjusting his snow-white gillie suit, Demetrius turned on the headpiece and throat-mic, before cuddling the Dragunov into his shoulder and staring down the sight, folding a snow-white eye-patch over his other eye so he could leave both eyes open. Twisting the variable zoom gently until he could see the two guards in detail, he whispered into the microphone, whilst adjusting the windage and elevation, the knobs clicking as they turned. It didn't matter how loud he spoke - all that mattered was the microphone picked up the vibrations from his throat.

"Capt'n? I see airbase. And two guards." Demetrius muttered with a mouthful of snow. Everything, from the rifle, to his clothes, and even the magazines and bullet cases were snow-white, leaving for the perfect camouflage. Searching with the scope, he soon saw the needlessly large hanger, containing their prize. It was Christmas eve, it was snowing, and they were about to 'acquire' a modified Lancaster gunship nicknamed 'Blitzen'.

All Demetrius wanted now, was Lepper dressed as Santa, and his Christmas was made.

Felix was sat upon a stall against a bar, his ears folded back against his head in protest and tail protectively wrapped around his waist. In front of him gently steamed a warmed glass of chocolate-liquor. Bringing it to his lips slowly, Felix soon forced the glass away again, gently placing it down with a 'Nyah' sound and a protestant expression. "This Alcohol-stuff stings my nose!" Felix whined, turning to glare at the glass as if it was actively plotting against him.

It was six hours until Christmas - but, this Christmas-Spirit thing seemed more like a poltergeist than a joyful jolly spirit... The alcohol stung, the decorative bells and smelly things confused his scent-and-acoustic-based vision, and all the coloured lights and tinsel burned his eyes if he tried to remove his blindfold. But, everyone else seemed to enjoy it - more than they usually enjoyed their days - and Felix wanted a part in it, too. he just wasn't sure how...

The Ruby had been decorated from top to tail, and was still being decorated on-and-off. it seemed Felix's cabin was the only room not appropriately decorated with bright-lights and tinsel, although he had tried to put up a few semi-decorative things, and a string of low-voltage lights replaced with infra-red bulbs... A majority of it though just seemed... Excessive.

Lepper looked up, hearing Demetrius in his ear piece. He scanned the area ahead of him, slowly trying to make out something in the blizzard. The radioman triangulated his position, as the helmsman made the adjustment to go towards that heading. "... Roger. We are en route. Prep for support if needed. I think it's about to get hot once we get into view."

Stealing planes was nothing special with the Foxes, however a heavily modified heavy plane tended to come only once in a blue moon. Despite it being Christmas Eve, the Foxes still had work to do. Plus the money they dished out for the last shipment of alcohol and Christmas decorations took a toll on their wallets (Lawrence's new friend insisted on decorating the airship, however both he and Lep strictly forbade her from touching the outside of the airship with Christmas decorations). Now here they were, on a job to "pick up" and deliver this very same Lancaster. It had to be the Blitzen, no other bomber would do.

"Sure hope we get it up without a scratch this time. Last one we tried to get ended up at the bottom of the Dezari canyon."

"Eh, even if it gets dinged up a bit we can always part it out.." Seba said into her microphone. She was positioned a bit to the south of the hangar, and was watching a group of six or seven guards huddle around a bonfire, getting wasted. She grinned as she watched the guards apparently decide to play "run around the fire", some of them apparently getting burned due to the sudden recoils.

"This maay be a bit easier than we expected... Then again, with Lepper? Nothing's ever not been complicated."

"You don't have to drink it if you don't want to." Medic smiled, taking the offending glass away from Felix. "It was just a suggestion. On those lines though; don't try the egg nog if you didn't like this. One of the lieutenants put waaay too much rum in it."

She was completely sober; intending to stay that way. Medic didn't drink, she was too cautious of a person and didn't want herself to be in a stupor if she was needed on some emergency operating table.

"Aye, Capt'n." He replied with s faint smile. On the other side of the hill, hidden out of view, was a snowmobile he'd borrowed, now covered in a white sheet to hide it from view. Taking out the guards now would cause more trouble than it was worth - and hey, it was their Christmas, too. Maybe they would get off alive this time. Maybe. "Be careful. Snow is real thick. Bet your engine like cold air we having, though." He grinned.

"This maay be a bit easier than we expected... Then again, with Lepper? Nothing's ever not been complicated." Came Seba's voice over the earpiece. Demetrius grinned. "One thing you learn, by being sniper, is plans never go planned... Things... Always, change." He said.

Felix frowned. "But its Christmas..." He said quietly, before wrinkling his nose again. He could still smell the alcohol from here; although admittedly it was less... Offensive. Raising an eyebrow behind his blindfold, Felix took a breath. "Egg-nogg?" He asked, "What the hell is that?"

In all this joy they were having, he found a deep-set hate for how... Jolly, it all seemed, although he tried to ignore it. He doubted slaves celebrated this Christmas thing - or, if they did, not in this extravagant fashion. He found himself wondering how his own kin would be doing this Christmas...

Shaking his head to bring himself back to reality, his ears perking up, Felix gave a huff. "Is tuna Chriastmasy?" He asked, "I really like tuna..."

Mac looked over at Felix with a bit of a laugh, shaking his head. "Kitty can't play with the big boys?" He took a healthy drink of his dry stout. He looked back at the two, then at Medic. "Just try a bit, it won't kill ya. Trust me, she's a killjoy when she ain't allowed to drink." He set the pint down on the counter, pulling out a cigarette and lighting the tip. "If it ain't for the fact we were workin' tonight, I'dve been passed out in my room hours ago."

He looked at Medic, thinking to himself, then set his gaze to the pint again. "... you know, it IS Christmas, and I'm sure someone's hung some mistletoe over a doorway or on a wall or somethin', Medic. Just givin' ya a heads up on that..." He laughed a bit again, puffing away at the cigarette.

"I. Am. Armed. Just givin' ya a heads up on THAT." Medic glared, then turned to Felix in an attempt to ignore Mac.

"Egg nog is.. something made of eggs and milk, and rum. I can be good, but only if it's made right; otherwise it's terrible. Aaand, I have this for you actually, since you mentioned it.." Medic reached into one of her lab coat pockets and pulled out a can of tuna that had a bow stuck on it, and handed it to Felix. "I thought it was funny.."

"This maay be a bit easier than we expected... Then again, with Lepper? Nothing's ever not been complicated."

"One thing you learn, by being sniper, is plans never go planned... Things... Always, change."

Lepper frowned a bit at the comment. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Sir, we're coming up on the air field."

"Alright, just keep to the plan. We're only here to refuel. Tell the raiding party to go for the Blitzen, and not any other plane. I don't want to keep our 'customer' waiting. We want to get this right, and if and when everything falls into place, hello big payday. You two Dessarians catch all that, or do I have to send someone down there to fly the plane with you?"

"Lepper, you know I don't fly. If your plan is for me to get this thing out of here, we're in trouble." Seba snickered quietly, then watched as a jeep rolled up to the South entrance of the hangar. There was some sort of cargo covered by a tarp in its back, but it was unclear what it was. The doors were promptly opened by guards that had been inside the building, and the jeep was let inside, the doors closing tightly after it.

"Looks like Blitzen's got other plans for tonight, a cargo jeep just rolled up; couldn't tell what it was carrying.. Is that guy peeing on the bonfire?"

"Probably bullets, and pressurized canisters of water." Demetrius replied in strong Dessarian. "The engines have been modified with many things including water injection to add power." He added. Demetrius had done some of the research using various lines of contact, calling in favors and so forth. "Tell you what... Arcand know how to build plane..." He added in Arcand, in an awed tone.

Sweeping over the grounds with the scope, he soon put the rifle butt down and picked up the binoculars again, which gave him a wider angle of view. "Want me to take out radar tower, Capt'n?" Demetrius asked, looking towards the radar tower, and the people within.

Felix blinked. "Egg, Milk and Rum?" He asked, sounding bemused, "Who first thought of combining that and drinking it?" He asked, rubbing one of his eyes through the blindfold. After Medic held out the Tuna, Felix giggled with a grin and gently took it from her, before giving her a quick, shy cuddle. His ears folding back and tail flicking in a feline blush, Felix soon sat back, and ran his hands over the fish with a smile.

"So... Is it true that, you give people presents on this Christmas thing?" He asked. "I, I didn't get anything for anyone - I didn't know, see," He added, sounding a little worried. If you could ban someone from Christmas - chances are, he would indeed get banned.

"Yes, but take it out DISCRETELY! I don't want the entire Arcand Royal Air Force on our asses once we get this thing on a roll." He looked out at the direction of the air field. "Miracle they hadn't realized we're this close to them by now. Maybe the radar operator's drunk." He looked around, someone was humming. It was the same radio operator that cooked s'mores over his burning console. It was another Christmas tune.

"Shut up over there. It's bad enough I have to hear it 24/7 on the radio, now I have to listen to you?" The radio operator shut up.

"As for flying the thing out of there, fine. If you want, I'LL go down there myself and fly you two out on that thing. Unless our beloved Demetrius has other rides arranged?"

Mac snarled a bit, glaring at Felix after the little cuddle he gave Medic. "Yes. Be lucky it ain't Hanukkah, cause I got 8 gifts I'm willin' to give 'specially for ya, furball." He took another drink of his stout, saying nothing more as he crushed the smoldering bit of the cigarette into the ashtray. He looked over at Medic for a while, but went back to staring at his drink.

He never really liked Christmas. Mostly on the count that his ex-wife was being a bitch, especially during this time of the year. Oh, how he dreaded reading those letters from home, but how he felt oh, so much better after torching the paper and letting the ashes scatter in the wind.

"I really have no idea, but, they were probably already intoxicated at the time of its concoction.. " Medic said, patting Felix between the ears during the cuddle. "And yeah, during Christmas people give each other presents; sometimes small things, sometimes big things, sometimes just a card. Don't worry about it though Felix, no one expects to get anything, especially being in this field of work."

Looking over at Mac, Medic rolled her eyes. "Seriously, it's Christmas.. Can't you NOT make death threats against him for at least one time of year? Just because you're cranky doesn't mean everyone else has to be..."

Felix nodded slightly, looking up at Medic. "I'd imagine so... Doesn't sound like a sober man's choice of things." He said with a smile. "Since we're in Arcand... Maybe I should go shopping then? Y'know, when we're not trying to rob stuff?" He added. "I mean, I get wages, but, never know what to do with it..." He added with a frown.

"Discreetly it is." Demetrius replied, his voice dripping in the harsh tones the thick Dessarian accent brought along. Pulling back the charging handle gently, he cuddled the Dragunov into his shoulder. Adjusting the scope's elevation and windage, he soon held his breath, lining the scope up with one of the radar operator's. Working quickly, he pulled the trigger, before moving aim and firing again, the bullets passing through the glass and silencing the men quickly, and effectively, leaving blood and organic matter over the controls.

"Its done." He grinned into his microphone.

"Here's an idea how to spend that money. Buy yourself a leash and tie yourself to the post outside. If we're lucky, you might spend enough time out there to get a bath..." He snarled a bit, finishing the pint and wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He got up in a bit of a hurry, heading back to his room.

"And I'll be dead long before I stop makin' death threats to that walkin' carpet, Medic. That furball's been nothin' but a pain in the ass since he got here.. Merry fuckin' Christmas..." With that, he disappeared down the corridor towards the personnel quarters. He REALLY wasn't too jolly tonight.

"Nice job" Seba said in Dessarian with a grin. "No one here was alerted. Then again, they're getting more and more drunk. Probably wouldn't notice if we just walked down there and joined them."

Putting her binoculars down for a moment, she watched as flurries started to fall from the sky, and the wind began to pick up.

"You don't have to buy anything Felix, don't worry. Save your money for when you get your kittens back..." Medic watched as Mac stormed off angrily, obviously upset. Picking up the now empty pint, she started cleaning it, and then returned the mug to the shelf.

"Don't worry about him either, he gets even angrier this time of year because of his ex-wife."
Medic didn't know if she was saying that for the reassurance of Felix, or herself.

Felix nodded slightly. "Alright then." He said with a faint smile, starting to take the ribbon off his tuna. "Christmas is sensually confusing..." He said quietly. "So many different smells... Everything is like a huge... Multi-coloured mist now. Like trying to see through fog..." He added, looking around the room with his ears and nose. "Its fine, just... Different." He said with a smile, before looking up at Medic. "How does it look to you? Your eyes work differently to mine."

Christmas had definitely been designed for those with human sight in mind - the smells, the sounds, the glittery ribbons, the trees... It must all look nice, he supposed, when it wasn't in an infra-red shading.

"It's not fun for an epileptic, but other than that it's not too bad. People are wearing silly elf or Santa hats, trying to get people of the opposite gender under doorways for make-out sessions, The fake gifts that decorate the tree are just weighted boxes so no one wants to really run off with them, and my workload tomorrow involving alcohol poisoning will be through the roof, not including the fact there's probably going to be ACTUAL wounded.." Medic was drolling on about the negatives, staring at the counter; still unhappy about Mac before she stopped herself, knowing Felix wanted to hear more positive things.

"People are taking pictures, I'll make sure I get copies of them, then you can look at them under the infra-red lighting, so you can see for yourself... It's a great holiday, really."

Felix blinked a little at her list of rather negative... Things, Christmas seemed to bring. Like all days, even Christmas seemed to have its downsides, along with its upsides. Leaning up slightly, Felix patted her gently on the back. "I, can try and help if you like?" He asked, "I can, fetch stuff, or ask whats wrong, or... I can, I don't know... Do something," He said with a faint smile. He had gotten a reputation on board, gained from his first few hours on the ship, for cutting people to pieces with the wrist-blades he still wore now. Maybe a little helping would help straighten that out - maybe even with Mac, although he doubted it.

Smiling faintly at the offer to show him pictures, Felix nodded. "I'd like that," He said, "I'd like that a lot." He added with a smile. "I... I tried decorating my room a little bit, but, its... Its difficult, when, you don't know what it should look like... Everyone else did theirs, but, I can't do any real lights, apart from the infra-red ones one of the mechanics rigged up for me..." He said, giving a faint, almost chuckle.

Rubbing his neck gently after a few moments of silence, Felix took in a breath. "Do, you think, they celebrate Christmas in those slave house things, too?" He asked.

"Thanks." Demetrius grinned, before taking stuffing more snow into his mouth. "Cpt'n, Radar is out. Or, it users are out. I shall keep eye on air-defense. Maybe get some boom on them, Da?" He asked, covering the barrel in snow to keep it cool, and make sure it didn't actually start steaming after any more use... The snow around him had already been patted down to limit snow being kicked up after the fire, and the muzzle flash hider - well, it did its job...