Mac lifted up the stretcher with the other guy, his head turning to hear the aircraft's engines starting up. He laughed a bit, looking back to the TLC. "Seems we're gonna be hitchin' a ride with ya back to the Ruby! You mind?"

He looked at her with a bit of a grin, then back towards the runway, seeing the plane taking off.

"It's all good." She called back to Mac. "The more the merrier."

With that, she helped the men on board and eased the wounded trooper into his spot. Jordan fastened the strappings to secure the patient in, then waited for the other two.

"Ready when you are."

Valerie grabbed onto the overhead railing within the Lancaster bomber as the Dessarian accented sniper took the controls and piloted the aircraft into the blizzard conditions. She bit her lip slightly as the plane shuddered at the high winds as it became airborne, hoping this guy would be able to pilot well through the heavy snow.. She was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea after all.. But they all seemed like good people, and the medics at work on the injured in the plane seemed to know what they were doing.

Glancing over to one of the unmanned guns on the right side of the Lancaster, she took it upon herself to buckle herself down with the beltstraps and take hold of the large equipment.

Demetrius soon grinned as the pressure-sensor under one of the seats turned on a small light in the cabin labelled 'Port Gun Emplacement', and grinned. That was nice, that was; having someone on guns. "twenty millimetre rounds will be held in box on floor in big chain! Feed it into breech, pull the handle and ready to fire!" He shouted, over the noise of the engines and the rattling, creaking metal framework of the Lancaster.

It was indeed, blizzarding. Winds collided with either side of the plane at random intervalls, trying to pitch it this way and that. The controls shook, but a steady hand kept the metal giant climbing at a 45º angle; and soon, the clouds were pulled through the blades, vortexing like all the other air and smacking into either side of the gunship, before the nose burst from the top of the low-lying cloud layer.

Sun shone down onto the Avro Lancaster Beta, the skies bluer than possible from a ground perspective. The gunship stopped shuddering and shaking, now out of the storm's reach, and the pressure-switches fired up in-cabin compression systems, causing Demetrius to frown slightly. Compression was good; but it brought trouble...

Leveling the Lancaster out, he gently reigned back the engines, and idly started setting up compasses to their intended co-ordinates - which had been drawn in marker upon his arm.
"If you've got quarrels about where we head, Capt'n; now the time to speak." Demetrius said, looking troubled in his eyes but calm as a rock in voice, no longer having to yell over the sound of a storm.

Valerie looked back over at the Dessarian, nodding at his instructions and began to hurriedly yet carefully pull the chain of ammunition out of the nearby box, feeding it through the breech before yanking back the handle. She moved the gun to look through the ironsight atop of the gun, wrapping a finger over the trigger at the ready incase they were fired at..

Though, the airbase behind them and the land below soon disappeared after rising above the thick blanket of snow cloud.
"..Should be safe if no-one follows us up here.." she said quietly, mostly to herself but also to anyone else nearby her.

Felix Soon rested his chin against Valerie's shoulder as if staring out of the shooter's window, although the blindfold around his eyes hindered most, of not all, of his sight. The faint ultrasonic whistling the air made as it passed by various objects were picked up by Felix's ears and turned into an image, instead of a true sound. Before him, the image of the gun boiled and warbled, filled in with the different coloured accents of its scent; the smell of steel and iron, of grease, lead and copper, patch-working it through his "eyes" like an infra-red image.

Around the edges of the aircraft was chaos. The wind constantly battering made the metal ring and howl at a subsonic and ultrasonic level, translating in Felix's vision as a violent storm of movement, as if the walls were trying to destroy themselves in a violent fit. "Y'know, I don't like this place.." He muttered quietly. "Its too loud. Everything is just, so loud." He added, flicking his tail in an aggravated manner. "..And, I left my cigarettes at home and my mind is burning.." he added with a huff.

Even so... This new woman was interesting; she smelt of the environment she had come from; of snow, of people, of engines, gunpowder and brass. Akin to everyone else, she had no features to Felix; just a sonic signature; a particular frequency. She... Warbled, in a particular way as the air whistled differently over different physical features, accented moreso as air currents changed; but in general, the frequencies stayed as a constant pattern...
Through his time in the Foxes, the ex-slave had learnt to trust people in their company a little more, and expect less clouts from most of them - Mac being an acception so far. Even so; there was one he trusted more.

She blinked a little as the feline-sapien rested his furred chin on her shoulder, looking at him before nodding in agreement, and looking back out at the snow cloud just below the aircraft.
The Pantherean was no surprise to her; she had seen dozens traded and sold at the Norune markets of which she once lived. The slave trade was an appauling thing in her eyes... It was pretty much the only thing within the black market she deeply felt against.

"I'm not exactly in favour of flying in these conditions either.." Val replied, tightening her hands on the large weaponry in front of her. It was just as well she was wearing leather gloves, keeping from the palm to her fingers warm with their suede lining on the inside.
"Either way, we're out of the worst of the storm anyway. Just the wind's we've got to contend with now.." she added with a small sigh, hoping the Dessarian was as good a pilot as he looked at the moment, glancing over to him.

After a moment though, Val looked back at the Pantheran beside her.
"So.. What's your name?" she asked him curiously with a warm smile, wanting to know who more people in the crew were... it was such a nice feeling seeing different individuals, and getting the chance to talk to them. She had been by herself far too long.. She made a mental note to herself too to see the Captain - whoever he was.. she had no idea if he was even here - about joining this crew.
Valerie hoped she was eligable in his or her eyes..

Felix nodded a little as the new girl spoke, his ear twisted towards her. "I wouldn't mind if the walls kelp still, but.. They're scary.." He sighed quietly, before smiling at the question. "Its Felix. Felix Carinae." He replied with a faint smile, adjusting his blindfold. She seemed nice, as people went. She hadn't smacked him on the nose yet, or called him cat in spite...
"What about yours?" He asked, reaching over her shoulder to run furred finger along the gun's body out of interest, its smooth, motionless feeling quite the opposite to the constantly shifting image he was being given by his senses.

he hadn't been in a proper aircraft since the days of the slave trade, moved from one place to the next by rickety aircraft. The walls hadn't stopped moving then... The slavers had wondered why none of the Pantheran would go close to the walls, too...
Reaching into a pocket, Felix pulled out a thin piece of silver foil, and after removing it from around its content, popped the severely flattened brownie into his mouth, and placed the foil away, chewing upon the treat. it had been many hours since his last fix; his mind was burning and the sensation of sickness was brewing in his belly. Hopefully, it would go soon.

"Valerie Echo," She replied with a smile of her own which accompanied to the tone of her voice, finding it quite cute the way his ears twisted toward her like they were his pair of eyes. Valerie found it was a very skilful talent to be able to know your surroundings and what was happening when you were blindfolded. Even if his natural biology was in his favour for that, she still thought it was clever.

"So, do you know where we are heading?..." Val asked Felix, actually having no clue of what the crew's objectives now were, or if they had a base to land at.. preferably somewhere that snow wasn't falling, too... or at least, not as heavily as it had been at that airbase they had just taken off from.

Val wasn't particularly a plane person, she preferred the ground where she had been born and raised.. or even anything that was sturdy enough to feel like it was ground beneath her boots. Though, a short hour or two flight on a plane wasn't as bad for herself as it seemed to be for Felix...

Mac and the other airborne trooper got onboard, the doors shutting as the wind picked up. The prop on the Huey span faster, the chopper beginning its ascent back to the Airship, the pilot gripping tightly to the controls as the craft was jostled about by the wind.

Mac kept an eye on the wounded man, who shuddered some, whimpering his "I don't wanna die" mantra over and over again. He gritted his teeth, patting the wounded man's shoulder, keeping kneeled down next to him. "Take it easy, buddy. We'll be at the Ruby in no time, and Medic'll fix you up, so you'll be drinkin' and partyin' again."

The chopper began to clear the storm, a massive ominous shape seen over them. It wasn't the familiar bulky form of the Carrier Class Refuel ship that was converted for their services as pirates. It was a sleeker form, heavily armored, bearing the familiar markings of the "Crowned Eagle" seal most pirates learned to avoid if at all possible. The familiar eagle with wings spread, looking poised to strike at the center, a crown sitting atop the seal. Flanking that were a Lion gripping tightly to a scepter on the right, the left a dragon gripping to a bundle of arrows. Below the words Audaces fortuna iuvat were written on a scroll under the seal. The pilot cursed under his breath, as Mac quickly grabbed the radio set, getting on the horn.

"This is the TLC, we just spotted an Arcand Air Naval ship. Looks like the damn Hood's comin' out for us. Suggest you guys with the package start figurin' out how to get the bucket of bolts flyin' faster."

"This is the TLC, we just spotted an Arcand Air Naval ship. Looks like the damn Hood's come out for us. Suggest you guys with the package start figuring out how to get the bucket of bolts flying faster." Buzzed from the radio and into Demetrius' headset, mac's voice overlaid with the sweet song of static.
Swearing in Dessarian, Demetrius cleared his throat. "Thanks for update TLC. You get your passengers back safe now; we try nd do the same.."

Reachingng down to the central control column, Demetrius grabbed all four throttled and forced them forward, maxing the superchargers out to their highest possible speeds, taking altitude and speed into account. Orange flames spat from the short exhausts sprouting from the engines as extra fuel was dumped into the twelve cylinders, the propellers accelerating visibly, and the gunship starting to pull forwards.

"Hate to alarm you guys, but, Arcand Navy is on our ass and wants our brain-stems for trophies. We're a little faster, but, they much better armoured, and much better armed... Gunna take some fancy footwork, and all the bullets we can spare. Grab a gun and don't be shy with bullets!" Demetrius called from the cockpit over the sound of the roaring engines. Then, almost without warning, Demetrius forced the controls forwards, dipping the nose of the craft down and racing towards the ground at a 45º angle of decent, hoping to use the ground as decoy, and reason not to shoot.

Valerie looked from the patherian over to the pilot, biting her pink bottom lip at the bad news before gripping the handle and trigger of the weaponry tighter again.
"I don't do shy," she grinned to herself a little, shifting the gun's position and looked though the ironsight to see if she could spot any of these apparent Arcand Air Naval ships..

"Where are you.." she mumbled quietly to herself as the plane began a nosedive, glad she had already strapped herself into the various buckles and straps provided. Val would have rather not been thrown about like a rag doll at a 5 year old's birthday party...

She had experience with firearms, though not so much with large weaponry such as this.. but heck, she'd give it a go..
In truth, Val had never shot a person despite having her own firearm - a .45 magnum revolver. If she did ever get into a pickle of a situation, Valerie would probably have the guts to at the very least shoot someone in the foot before making a run.. though Val doubted she'd ever have the welly to kill someone..

Lep stared at the radio for a moment as his mind registered what it just said. "HMS Hood!?" He cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth as he tried to get a glimpse of it, finding it rather difficult with storm clouds obscuring his field of vision, and having been made somewhat weightless with the sudden drop back down towards lower altitudes to escape the Arcand naval airship. The winds buffeted the craft they were in a bit, tiny pinhead sized hail rattled about the outside of the airframe.

He had heard stories of the Hood. It's flawless record, its never ceasing pursuits of Air Pirates and smugglers. Most the trophy pirate airships it brought back were grounded along the Arcand military airfields she would visit. There was also one particular person that had served on the Hood Lep did not want to see again mostly because she was the jealous type and did not forgive and forget so easily, but that is a story for another time.

A thousand thoughts ran through his mind as he slowly lost his calm. That was, of course, until he saw the lovely red locks of hair of their new guest. His heart rate dropped slowly as he took in a breath, leaning over and looking back at her. "You know, I don't think we ever got your name, miss..." His Aekean Accent was notable when he spoke to anyone, mostly to those that didn't know him... or the Dessaris. He gave a bit of a smile towards her, his dark blue eyes keeping locked on her form.

She glanced over her shoulder at a man who asked for her name, looking away from the ironsight of the large weaponry she sat behind. Val recognised him as the same guy who looked at her with strange interest before getting into the plane.. Though she smiled back at him at his accent as she replied to him.
"Valerie," she said.

In taking her eye away from the crosshair, by the time she introduced herself a line of fire opened on the Lancaster swiftly. Bullets screamed as they tore through the port-side, and smashed through the glass of which the in-operation port gun was fixed.
Smartly, the medics aboard ducked down staying low as the fire opened on the plane, though for some of who were aboard it happened too quickly to react..

Val gripped at her waist tightly with a wince, the sensation of warmth treakling down her side and soaking into her clothing made her stomach turn in disgust.
"For, crying out loud.." she mumbled, before bravely turning back to grip the gun with both hands, pulling the trigger once the iron sight lined up with its target and began defending the crew's position in the stormy skies.

Demetrius winced as he heard metal shredding metal, the ground speeding closer, revealing more and more detail with every passing moment. "Stop shootin' my fuckin' ship!" He roared in Dessarian, before pulling on the controls. The aircraft's frame screamed in protest as the over-heavy craft changed direction rapidly - compared to its size and weight - sitting a few hundred feet above the ground. The wing-in-ground effect taking play, dust rose up in huge clouds behind the craft, the engine's roaring hum bouncing off the ground and back at the craft, making the engines louder still.

"How're we doin' there?" He called back at the crew, "Try, I dunno, shootin' the fuckin' thing! We've lost cash! They shot m'ship!" He added angrily, pushing upon the left foot pedal and tilting the controls to the right, causing the craft to pivot horizontally to the left and travel that way - whilst the wings stayed level. "Get in th'top gun! Shoot up! Down th'fuckers!"

Eyes blinking over the dials, everything seemed fine engine wise... Structurally, he couldn't tell - but... For now, things might work.

Nodding and getting up from one of the guns, Seba clambered up into the bubble surrounding the top gun. Loading and swiveling the huge artillery piece around after some careful thought she aimed at what seemed to be their hangar; and kept firing until a large explosion was seen. An outer fuel tank had been destroyed.

"That should slow them down a bit.." She called to Demetrius, watching the Hood for any sign of immediate retaliation.

The Hood shook violently with the explosion in the hangars, the command staff nearly getting knocked off their feet. Down below them, the Marines braced themselves with what they could, as Tom groaned, his ears flattening on his head, his tail going limp. He hated battles dearly, especially when the explosions started coming in. The blackout goggles over his eyes were a welcome change from his old blindfolds, but the air was violent with the scents of burning oil, metal, and steaming chemical water. His head swiveled about, taking in the auroras of the crew running this way and that, trying hard to put the flames out as best they could.

He quickly scooted away from the heat and the noise, moving closer to what he sensed was safer. The Hood was slowly coming to a stop, and the intercom came over, making his paws go over his ears. Oh, how he hated that intercom.

"Attention all personnel. General Quarters, we are on Red Alert." The fire crews continued to busy themselves with the hoses pointed at the fires, and the vibrations of feet pounding on the catwalks above and below Tom were seen rippling through the air. The Hood went slowly, as smoke poured from her hangar doors, leaking into the cold air.

"I think they're busying themselves dealing with those fires we've caused. They're slowing." Valerie said as she looked through the magnified iron sight, moving the gun a little as she scanned the Arcand airship for any other guns in use. Especially the one that goddamn shot at her..!

She winced at the strong wave of pain that hit her as she moved to get into a better sitting position, cursing quietly under her breath.
Val made a mental note to herself to in future avoid being shot.. it was not a pleasant experience. She didn't complain about the wound to anyone else, though the blood stain was becoming larger and more obvious, dampening the bottom of her shirt and trousers..

Pestering the medics of the crew aboard the Lancaster right now wasn't what she wanted, they had enough on their hands as it was, and she didn't want to add to their stress.
Valerie was still conscious, and that was enough for her to carry on her current role on the bomber plane.