Looking Down

[smelltheashes]

The door opens from Milliways onto a chill evening somewhere in a vast and open space. "All right," says Shephard. "We're a good few miles outside'a what used t'be Fort Collins here. Doin' our best to build up our lines 'fore the big throw-down. Iffen it turns out you can't git yourself hidden, that's all right by me, I'll just take you back to Milliways. How's the place feel?"

Comments

[smelltheashes]

"So no having to ride," says Manny, looking visibly relieved. "Okay. I can do that."

There's a pause.

"Ah- question. Do you speak Spanish, maybe?"

[brave_kreyu]

"Not yet," she replies with a shake of her head. "But I can...acquire the ability temporarily, if you're willing to assist?"

[smelltheashes]

"It would make it easy," Manny admits. "What do you need me to do?"

Shephard's just gonna lean back and watch. He gave Manny the best longrange high speed camera and video they could manage. If the man's willing to actually take overhead footage of the area then more power to him.

[brave_kreyu]

"Nothing terribly complicated," she explains. "I just need you to speak in your native tongue for a few minutes. It doesn't really matter what you speak about, so long as there is a variety of words and it resembles normal speech."

[smelltheashes]

Manny considers this for a bit, then shrugs. "[Whatever you say, lady,]" he answers. "[I was born in Mexico City in 1988...]"

She'll get a pretty full family history by the time he's done.

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu listens intently to his family history. "[You have a fascinating family, Manny. I thank you for sharing that with me.]"

Whatever she did, it worked.

[smelltheashes]

"[You're welcome,]" Manny says. "[Not like I've seen any of them in years. Somebody should remember them besides me.]"

He turns and looks to Shephard, switching back to hesitant English.

"I think we can go now. The video-" He taps the side of his hat, where the same vid rig Shephard wore for his and Chell's scouting trip to the geneworm facility is hidden now. "-that should work without me, yeah?"

"Yep. You just look, it'll do the focusing'n recording," says Shephard. "Take pictures if you can, too."

"Will do." He offers Shephard a thumbs up before looking back to Kreyu. "[Okay. I'm ready to go now if you are.]"

[brave_kreyu]

"[I will remember,]" she promises. Kreyu is, in a sense, eternal. That story will endure in her memory while great nations rise and fall and the sea ever so slowly wears away the mountains.

Kreyu reaches out and, very carefully, picks up Manny in one hand. She turns to Shephard, "Will I need to hide us immediately, or do we have some breathing room?"

If possible, she'd like to give Manny a bit to get used to the flying before things get any weirder.

[smelltheashes]

"Combine've got some aerial surveillance over the urban area but there ain't much 'round here," says Shephard. "Stay down low'n you won't git noticed for a bit, I think."

Manny's just going to do his best not to squirm. Being dropped is not on his agenda for today.

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu nods in understanding. "Thank you. We will scout the area and return."

She crouches for a moment, muscles tensing, before launching herself skyward with a great leap and snap of membranous wings. We hope there aren't any loose items in the area to get tossed about....

[smelltheashes]

Manny lets out an involuntary squeak of surprise, but manages not to otherwise disgrace himself as they clear the ground. Shephard... he's just gonna watch until they're out of sight, and then he's gonna go throw up. It's a thing.

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu appreciates that.

They glide over the treeline, cruising along at about 85mph. Thankfully, her flight is more akin to that of a hawk than a songbird, so there's not much in the way of jouncing up and down.

"[Are you well?]" she inquires.

[smelltheashes]

"[Jesus, you're fast,]" Manny answers. His hat's long since gone. The vid rig is still strapped to his head but the hat, yeah, he's gonna have to get a new one. "[I'm okay. Reminds me of my uncle Raul's motorcycle rides.]"

[brave_kreyu]

"[I can go faster than this, but I do not think it would be wise to waste the energy,]" she says with a chuckle. She drifts left, catching a thermal.

Their destination draws closer moment by moment. "[I will need to hide us from prying eyes soon,]" she explains. "[I am uncertain how it will feel to you, but you won't be harmed.]"

[smelltheashes]

"[Hey, you're the one flying. I'm just here to take pictures and tell you what's trouble and what just looks scary,]" Manny says. "[What kind of hiding are we talking about?]"

[brave_kreyu]

She chuckles at his comment about being here to take pictures.

"[We are going to be traveling along the...edge, for lack of a better term, where the physical world meets the spiritual one,]" she explains.

"[That will make it difficult for them to sense our presence, but still allow us to see what's going on below us.]"

[smelltheashes]

"[You know what? I'm going to take your word for it,]" says Manny. "[Let me know when you're about to do it so I can shut my eyes or something.]"

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu rumbles an affirmative.

"[You may wish to close your eyes now,]" she remarks a minute or so later. After that warning, there are words that sound, almost, like French, and the world shifts.

The land below seems ever so slightly unreal, as if muffled and shrouded with a thin layer of gauze. With concentration, though, the world will come back into focus.

[smelltheashes]

"[Holy cow.]"

Manny's only got one eye open, but from the sound of things, that's probably enough.

"[You do this kind of thing often?]"

[brave_kreyu]

"[Not often,] she replies. "[It takes large amounts of energy to maintain this state, so I generally use other methods of avoiding notice.]"

[smelltheashes]

"[Gotcha. In that case we should make this quick,]" says Manny. "[I don't have a compass on me I can reach, but Fort Collins was northwest of where you picked me up by a couple of miles. You want to keep an eye out, the Combine have gunships in the air.]"

[brave_kreyu]

"[Indeed,]" she agrees, swinging slightly northwest to correct her course. "[I have no desire to do battle tonight, if it can be avoided.]"

It shouldn't be long before they're coming up on Fort Collins...

[smelltheashes]

There was a time when Fort Collins was the fifth-largest city in Colorado. It was a college town then, a candidate for one of the best places in the United States to live. It was a sprawling city that grew out from an army encampment that never had walls. It never needed them.

But that was long ago, before the Combine came and the Citadel tower got teleported in. That was when it was Denver sixty miles to the south, not City 29. What lies ahead on the horizon is buildings, yes, many buildings, and some of them are even in use; but the handful that still stand whole are crusted over now with modifications and agglomerations applied by alien overlords, and the rest... well.

This is not a city where anyone would want to live. That's assuming there's anyone left who does live there, beyond the forces of the enemy.

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu growls in anger at the sight below them.

"[They have made a corpse of this city, and like vultures they hover over its bones.]"

[smelltheashes]

"[More like maggots,]" mutters Manny. "[Vultures are at least beautiful when they fly.]"

Someone spends a lot of time looking up.

"[We should see how much presence they have. Sergeant Shephard and Dr. Freeman are going to need to know where to strike.]"