Chapter Text
The hangar isn’t a quiet place, but activity certainly picks up a considerable amount when the Freelancers show up. They’re on the hangar floor less than three minutes and in that small time slot, all hell breaks loose. Things get placed in the incorrect order, or on the wrong side of the hangar altogether, people forget what they’re supposed to even be doing, even the- wait. “WHERE THE HELL IS MY SHIP?”
479er stared, dumbfounded, at the lack of her ship in the hangar. It was five minutes to wheels up and her ship was missing. And not one single incompetent soldier could do more than offer a nervous shrug as an answer.
“Out,” Niner instructed, her voice quivering, “get out, all of you.” If they didn’t leave immediately they were at risk of losing their lives, she was that pissed. “GET OUT!” Everyone dropped what they were doing and 479er decided it was time to get the spare ready for flight on her own. If she had to spend another minutes with morons, she ran the risk of being too angry for flight.
Things ran smoothly when it was just her and the pelican, and she was ready to leave before the Freelancers arrived. But the minutes passed and no one arrived. What was going on? Why was nothing going smoothly? This was so unlike any experience she had with Project Freelancer in the past.
Niner leaned against the ship, her arms crossed, staring at the hangar entrance. Three minutes later Carolina appeared.
“What are you doing here?” Carolina asked, “and...” she looked around, “where is everyone?” Carolina crossed the hangar and Niner raised her brows behind her helmet.
“Well, my ship is missing, nothing is where it belongs, you’re all late, and I told them to leave. I probably would have shot them otherwise. Idiots.” Niner’s eyes narrowed, “where’s the rest of your squad?”
“Oh they’re around. Probably in the mess hall right about now.. I gave you the wrong day and moved your Pelican to Hangar Five.” Carolina removed her helmet and revealed a quirky smirk played on her lips. Once again, Niner was dumbfounded.
“You set all this up?”
“I’ll walk you to your pelican,” Carolina said, her voice laced with amusement. How else was she supposed to get a little alone time with Niner?
“You know I almost killed people over that ship,” 479er informed Carolina when she conceded and pushed off where she was leaning on the spare pelican.
Carolina hooked her arm around Niner’s shoulders and kissed the side of the pilot’s helmet vizor. “Would it help if I said sorry?”
“You could just find simpler ways to break the rules,” Niner said, removing Carolina’s arm from her shoulders with a shrug, “or we’ll both be without a job.” This made Carolina laugh, and the foul mood that Niner was harboring evaporated. Carolina was lucky. If anyone else tried that they’d be shot. Niner finally removed her helmet and pulled Carolina in for a quick kiss before they moved through the sliding doors.