Post Tenebras Veritas (Planes/Cars RP)

[Dusty Crophopper]

((Yes, Oskar had to cry XD))

Dusty Crophopper - Propwash Junction - Tags: Lucas, Raven, Aero, Lightning

Dusty was about to answer when two new vehicles came up, and while the aircraft seemed totally... self-absorbed, the car at least... seemed to have manners. "Uh... that's... that's OK!" the firefighter quickly responded, even as the imperious looking plane just brushed by all of them. Dusty cringed here... something about that plane... reminded him of Ripslinger. Perhaps it was the silent treatment that said "I'm better than all of you", or maybe it was just... the mannerisms, but it didn't sit well with Dusty, and he found it was grinding his gears. Nevertheless, he tried to be polite. "Uh wait! You can stay at the Landing Zone Motel! We have inflatable hangers if they run out of room so... yeah..." He said, noting the plane was paying him no mind anyway. "Uhhh..." he trailed off here, turning his attention back to the other three, plus Skipper and Lightning.

He decided to answer Aero's question first. "Uh well... this is my home! It's Propwash Junction... not known for particularly... well anything aside from corn and bluffs, but... if you're a fan of mine... then... it's quite the draw... as you can probably tell." Dusty began, slipping back into his uneasy and humble voice. "We actually have an airshow going on today, but yeah... it's... uh... well usually a quiet place to stay. Oh! And the name's Dusty Crophopper!" he introduced himself here, just in case none of the newcomers recognized him, which might explain Aero's lack of knowledge of the place. Still, he braced himself for any extreme fan reactions too...

"So!" He turned to Lucas and Raven here, giving a terse smile. "You two mentioned you were coming here looking for... jobs?"

"Heh! That's a first!" Skipper added, chuckling a little. "Not many come here to work!" he pointed out.

"Yes well... it's not... out of the question I suppose." Dusty added. "So... uh... what kind of talents do you two have? Any... job in particular you'd be looking for?" he asked them, looking from one to the other as his blue eyes swept back and forth.

Miles Axlerod - Belmarsh Prison

The first sensation that came flooding back to Axlerod was the immense pain he was feeling all over his body. It felt like he'd flipped and rolled in a bad crash several times, and as he struggled to open his eyes, he groaned. "Ohhhhh... wh... what... where am I?" he asked softly, blinking to see... white all around him.

"You're in the prison infirmary." was the response. Miles tried to swivel his eyes to look at the voice, and could see a murky shape before him.

"I am...?" he asked.

"That you are. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been put in a trash compactor..." Miles answered weakly.

"I'm not surprised... you were beaten within inches of your life. Just... take it slow... try not to stress yourself out... you're safe now." The voice was warm, reassuring... but despite its encouragement, Miles let his eyes close again.

"What happened to me?" he asked.

"You were attacked by a group of inmates... or so we thought... but we've been having trouble locating exactly who the offenders were. Did you recognize them?" the voice asked now. Miles could hear the voice was definitely male... and was most likely the prison doctor. He kept his eyes closed, resting.

"No... I don't think I've ever seen them before in my life... didn't the guards find them? They were right behind me..." he pointed out here.

"Well... they got a brief glimpse of them before they turned tail and drove off... and when the guards rounded the corner... they saw no trace of them. It was... quite unusual. Apparently the guard who normally watches that segment of the wall was also... away from his post at the time." the doctor explained.

"But why would he be... away from... his... pos..." Miles couldn't finish, because he'd slipped back into sleep, unable to keep himself awake any longer.

[Lance-McClain]

F 2-1
Looking back at Dusty, the plane turned around. She didn't speak but decided to give him the light of day when hr memtioned "air shows".

Aero
"A motel, you say?" The small car said, sounding excited. "That would be great. Thank you!" She said cheerfully. It had been a while since she got a goods night of rest without having turbulence. "Propwadh Jinction?" Finally taking a moment to look around, she noticed it had a homie feel to it. "Lovely." She said with a relieved sigh. "Can anybody enter these air shows?" She asked, glancing to the plane behind Dusty. "Nice to meet you Dusty. I'm Aero and that's F 2-1." The mechanic motioned to the mismatched plane.

{OOC;; Nope}

[adelphi prime.]

{Shows how much I know about the Japanese side of things. XD I also recall that in the novelization (it's been a while, so don't quote me on that) it said they saw what looked to be a supply ship at the start. I don't know, though. Good to know for future reference... besides, when it comes to battleships I know next to nothin'. XD

Also, sorry if anything sounds like rambling. I've got the flu right now, or rather flu like symptoms, so I'm struggling to write. Doesn't help that Rush is incredibly hard to write for, even if I'd had him for three years now (his backstory was only developed after Planes came out... long story)}

Rush - Propwash Junction, MN - Tags: Horah, Oskar

The Corsair stared at Oskar for a long time, his thoughts teetering on the edge of trust and hatred. The Japanese were those that killed his squadron, yes, and those who had shoved the United States into the war in the first place, and yet he felt as if what had been hammered into him was not hatred for one enemy, but all of them. When the war had ended, even if not officially, Rush had not been able to see it through, not been able to stand there proudly knowing that he'd helped fight. Shame over what had happened was not what fueled his anger, however, as Oskar had suggested, but rather his hatred of the enemy. Hearing Oskar's story now, the ending... at least Rush's expirience had been rather short lived, but for Oskar... the screams of dying comrades still echoed in his own ears, and Rush knew that horrid feeling himself. Horah's story had not moved him quite so much, but he gave the younger fighter a look of understanding. Rush's silence continued, his emotions running high, confusing him to no end. Unable to express what was running through his thouht, he wanted only to dissappear, to slip out of there and be on his own.

Otter - Arriving in Propwash Junction, MN - Tags: Blade Ranger

Calming again, or at least as much as he'd allow, and listening to Blade speak, he smiled half heartedly. "Heh... it's easy for you to say that," he said, but his voice was less serious than joking. "You should try being blind for a day, it's not all it's cracked up to be!" He spoke as if referring it to be said to be fun or entertaining. In one way, it was a way to encourage himself, viewing his disability as something less pressing than it actually was. When Blade'd finished, Otter'd moved a bit closer to Blade, tapping the helicopter lightly with his wing. "Glad you think that, though. At least one of us think I can get somewhere." Luka barked at the fighter, almost nastily, telling him to move away from his position. Otter knew well that if he stayed less than a foot or two away from any vehicle at one time, with his lack of control, it could end up with someone getting hurt, more commonly himself in his clumbsyness than anything else.

When Blade had told him to mind his wingspan, Otter folded his wings up. It took him a moment to adjust his balance to accomidate for this, and when he had he'd nodded. "Sounds like the best plan we've got right now," he agreed. Luka did well with leading him, but when it came to a new place she often times didn't know where to lead him.

[Dusty Crophopper]

((It's all right, heheh. XD I own models of like every major ship class for multiple sides from WWII, so I'm pretty good at detecting them XD As said, it's not really consistent though, since I saw way more Yamatos in that fleet than the Japanese actually had. XD Aww! Sorry about your flu like symptoms! I hope you feel better soon!))

Dusty Crophopper - Propwash Junction - Tags: Aero, Raven, Lucas, Lightning, F 2-1

It was about this time that Dusty noticed the other plane had stopped. She seemed to be interested when he'd mentioned the air show. "Nice to meet you too!" Dusty responded, providing a blanket statement for Aero and F 2-1. So far... no extreme reactions to his name... that was good. "Huh... can anyone join the air show?" he repeated the question, thinking about this himself. "Uh... not really sure on that! I think Leadbottom organizes these things, and I know I'm performing with a few others but I mean... I'm not really sure if it's open to all! Wouldn't hurt to find out!" he said here, shrugging his ailerons. "I mean personally I don't really mind being joined by others, so long as you're good. Maybe we could create another segment or something, since I've already rehearsed my segment pretty well." He explained. "I know it's kind of last minute, but hey... I wouldn't mind seeing others perform too!"

He glanced around at the gathering crowd. Hmmm... it was drawing close to the start of the show... so he'd better go and get ready. "If you want to come with me, I can see if I can sign you up." He turned to F 2-1 here. "I assume you're the one interested in joining?" He inquired, hoping she wouldn't bite his head off with a short remark or some other such thing.

Oskar - Above Propwash Junction - Tags: Horah, Rush

Oskar listened to Horah's tale, and found it was basically the same as his own, and was a bit surprised at the similarity in details, and wondered if perhaps it was more common than he thought. He wasn't aware that ISIS had any aircraft flying for them, but then again, it wasn't a conflict he'd been closely following. His knowledge really only extended to knowing the US had sent airstrikes and that was about it. But when Rush remained silent, Oskar figured he'd have to gently prod the Corsair along. "Thank you both for sharing those stories..." Oskar began, speaking softly through his radio. "Herr Rush... you seem to be... thinking. That is good... it's good to reflect on your experiences. We are now flying... together... not enemies but veterans who are sharing our stories from the same war from opposite sides of the planet. Who ever could've foreseen this? It is being up here... gliding without much noise around me save for the wind keeping my relatively lightweight frame in the air... that I truly am thankful for surviving so I can share my experiences. It is not just the screams of my friends I remember though..." He said, blinking the last of his tears away.

"I still remember the agonizing shrieks of the bombers I downed... and every time I did... I wondered what it was... to be shot down... to be plummeting helpless to Earth... knowing your end was only seconds away... it... it stayed with me... I never took pleasure in it... ever. I only did it... to protect my homeland... my family... by the time I actually joined the war we were already losing... and... well I was more fighting to just protect my homeland from the bombing raids at that point. Every bombing killed hundreds... sometimes thousands... and... to me, killing civilians is wrong... it doesn't matter what side you're on... but the Americans were trying to destroy our will to fight not just by destroying our armies... but bombing our cities as well... we were just as guilty of this of course but... still... seeing those who weren't even involved die... it was... it was rough... it made me want to fight... to try and stop that. Knowing I largely failed... well... I suppose it doesn't matter now..." Oskar said sadly. "Every time I shot down a bomber and heard his screams of pain and fear... I just... I told myself I was saving lives... I was saving the lives of civilians who would otherwise die from this bomber's payload... it was... it was not a good war..." Oskar's voice wavered again, and he felt his throat closing up as he thought about how many died overall, and he tried to fight back the tears once more.

Blade Ranger - Propwash Junction - Tags: Otter

"Well OK... fair enough point... I admit I'd hate losing my eyesight. I... yeah you're right. But still... I don't think it's the end of the road for you... or the end of the runway, in your case." Blade cracked, smiling to himself here as he began guiding Otter towards the bleachers. "Just follow my voice!" Blade spoke louder now to guide Otter. "I'm right ahead of you! Slightly to your right!" He tapped Otter's nose with his immobile tail rotor. "Got it?" he asked.

"So I'm actually performing in this air show!" Blade said now, keeping his voice raised so Otter could hear him over the din and yammering of the voices all around them. He also kept his tail rotor right in front of Otter, in case the plane needed the physical guide to lead him. "So I'm gonna have to leave you soon, but I'll find you after the show's over! Introduce you to a few others... maybe help get you settled here when everyone else starts filing out!" He continued to lead the F-18 towards the stands, and fortunately, the bottom tier was still relatively open, as seating hadn't completely opened up yet, but Blade was recognized as one of the performers, and the event staff let him through. He bumped into a car who wasn't paying much attention, getting a dirty look from the vehicle.

"Hey! Watch it!" the car snapped.

"You watch it!" Blade snapped back, glaring. "Got a disabled vet here! Show some respect!"

"Oh... uh... sorry!" the car said, noticing Otter now, and moving over.

"Don't take no crap from anyone..." Blade murmured, stopping and letting Otter know by tapping him with his tail again. "Got ya into the handicapped section! You're only a short distance from the ramp leading down, in case you need you anything else. I'm gonna talk to the staff and tell them to remember you're here... maybe get you a drink or something if you want it." Blade informed him. "You good to go?"

[Lance-McClain]

F 2-1
"Yeah. I'm the one that's interested, thought, I might need to have another mechanic, one with a real shop, look at my engine first." She started. "It gives out on me more often than I'd like to admit and we rarely have the right parts to fix it properly." F 2-1 said, blinking with a slightly interested gaze.

Aero
"Lead the way, Mr. Crophopper!" The car said with a smile to the plane. "It's always worth checking out and even if we aren't allowed, we'll stay for the show!" Aero added with an enthusiastic voice.

{OOC;; Sorry it's really short and that I more than likely didn't reply to half of what you typed. I'm getting a bad headache and I've been really distracted lately!}

[Dusty Crophopper]

Dusty Crophopper - Propwash Junction - Tags: F 2-1, Aero

"Oh! Well if you need a mechanic, we have a rather good one here at the Fill N' Fly." Dusty nodded in the direction of the gas station, which was practically where they were right now anyway. "And all right, follow me then!" he exclaimed eagerly, and nodded at Lightning. "I gotta get ready, but look for me in the sky! Heheh... you won't be disappointed!" Dusty began rolling towards Leadbottom's office, which also doubled as his hanger. The old crop duster ran his business out of there after all, but also sold tickets and managed these events pretty well.

He enjoyed riding much higher off the ground than he used to thanks to his pontoons, and as he moved through the gathering crowds, he stood out among them, though cameras began flashing as he rolled by, causing him to cringe and blink as he tried to steer a course to avoid them. He ignored the questions lobbed his way, as he didn't have time to answer each and every single one of them.

As he approached Leadbottom, the old biplane regarded him with a warm smile, despite Dusty no longer working for him. "Ahhh Dusty! Just about ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep! Uh so... we actually have any more open slots? Seems this plane would like to join the show!" Dusty motioned with his eyes behind him, and Leadbottom studied her.

"Hmmm... open slots? We don't usually..." he began, but Dusty cut in.

"Uh she might also need to see a mechanic first though, so I was gonna refer her to Dottie!"

"Well... I don't have a problem with others joining... but she better be good!" Leadbottom insisted here.

"Uh, well... apparently she is!" Dusty replied hopefully here, moving aside to let F 2-1 explain if she so wanted.

[Alfor]

(No internet for almost 2 full days yippee)

Lucas didn't know how to reply to the questions Dusty asked. As far as he knew they were talentless, having no real opportunity to find them. "Well, that's the problem. We don't know what our talents are," Raven stated quietly. She showed no emotion, but if someone looked hard enough they would see the sorrow in her eyes. It was hard for them to gain a job in the first place, much less figure out their talents.

(Idk how to introduce Aeris XD)

[Dusty Crophopper]

((I'm sure we can figure something out!))

"Oh you know, come to think of it..." Leadbottom continued thoughtfully. "There IS a competition going on today as well... best aircraft wins a prize! You might be able to compete in that if you were interested." he informed F 2-1.

Dusty listened with some sympathy to Lucas and Raven, and bit his lower lip thoughtfully. "Huh..." he began, thinking about what she had said. "So... you aren't sure what your talents are." That meant one of several things. "No worries!" Dusty said cheerfully. He thought he detected something... off about Raven's eyes. Was it... sadness? "We can help you figure out anything you'd like to do! I'll show you around after the... madness dies down, and show you what you could potentially do for us! How does that sound?" he asked, offering them a friendly smile to hopefully reassure them.

[Alfor]

Raven responded with a small smile, nodding. "I think that sounds wonderful," she said, relieved that they hadn't been turned down. Lucas smiled as well. Maybe they could finally start anew here and move on from the past.

(sorry, bit of writers block for these two and my ear is causing a lot of pain >.<)

[adelphi prime.]

{Sorry 'bout that! Had a good two days where I only got about an hour of computer time then I've just been all over the place! i think I've got past a fit of writer's block, so let's hope I'll be more active. Geez, though, Rush is hard to write for.}

Rush - Propwash Junction, MN - Tags: Horah, Oskar

Rush glanced back at him, now having overshot the gliding warplane. He sighed, the breath long and thoughtful. "I know what it's like to fall like that -to think that this would be your last moment. When I awoke on that sandbar of an island at first I didn't even realize I was alive." If he'd been on the ground, he'd have shuddered a little. "You... you really didn't know what was happening on your side, did you? How millions of lives were being killed under the command of your people... all because of someone's sick viewpoint of perfection. So much oil shed... but so much more would have blackened the ground if your country had won." Rush knew that there was truth in his words, but also felt an ache of sorrow for what he might have once considered his enemy. There was not a friendly trust -not yet, and perhaps not ever- but a developing respect for his fellow soldier. Noticing how everything was clearing and many were clumping to the stands below, he shook off whatever emtions he was feeling and added, "We've got to get down there and out of the sky before they start their show."

Otter - Propwash Junciton, MN - Tags: Blade Ranger

Otter allowed the helicopter to lead him, thankful for the tap on his nose to guide him. At this point, Luka stayed very close to him, so close, in fact, that he could almost feel her presence against his nose gear. If Otter could have had a walking stick, he'd have used it instead of the dog, but then again, Luka was his only steady company now in life. Being situated in the front, he smiled a bit, not quite sure what to say. It was difficult to know that he was handicapped, and to accept that, but at the same time it was nice to have an easy way in or out if needed. "Thank you," he said, "I can't wait to hear you up there." He pointed his nose towards the sky in a gesture. "If ever I could get up there again..." he spoke softly, "If there's anything I miss, it's that." Shaking off his complaint, he added, "But hearing others up there -that's almost as good."