(no subject)
Title: Little Black Box.
Fandom: Red Prowling Devil.
Genre: Friendship
Rating/Warnings: Suitable for most - adult series, but this fic is suitable for all.
Summary: The aftermath of Target 4, Vol 1. I am totally addicted to depicting the Cyrus/Franz friendship.
Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing the characters for this little story.
It was not standard procedure to check the black box recording and Cyrus couldn't even justify it as a spot check - they'd had two already this past month. He was curious and that was all that could be said of his motives. He plugged the bulky thing into the computer and pulled on the headphones.
Tcheh, there was a lot of vibration about that half-way point on the flight. Naomi was experienced enough not to have been fatigued by that stage, was she losing her nerve?
-The plane is a little shaky.- Now that was mildly put, Franz' voice was calm as he made the observation, not sounding like he was emotionally invested in his next statement. -It seems we'll fall apart in the air.-
The gasp that followed worried Cyrus. Franz had obviously been on-target, intuitively putting his finger on the crux of the issue.
-Perhaps it's the best way to die. We're just disgusting bugs swarming at the dump.- The timbre of his voice changed, even as the shaking eased somewhat as Naomi's attention focussed on him. Cyrus smiled wryly at that, even as his stomach clenched at the dead tone of voice Franz spoke in.
-We're not allowed to exist in the normal world.- So was that what Naomi was struggling with? Her response bore it out.
-W...what?- She sounded sick with shock and horror, Franz had confirmed her guilt-stricken musings than. Cyrus had to wonder what his old colleague was up to now.
-I...I was a pilot in the East German Air-Force.- Cyrus had to grin at Naomi's shock, how did she think he'd got where he was?
-But I was marked by the secret police for no reason and my whole family was sent to prison. My loyalty towards my country didn't count and my parents died in prison.- A pause for Naomi to grasp and flounder at her commanding officer's revelation before he continued in a worryingly philosophical tone of voice. -Perhaps to the country I'm just a useless bug.-
Interesting, all he'd told Cyrus to explain his stint in the Red Army had been 'conscript'. Cyrus wondered what details were missing from this account as well.
The brief evasive manoeuvre and second leg of the journey had little to write home about and Cyrus hummed thoughtfully to himself. That very brief exchange explained why Franz hadn't just flown himself to the emergency meeting. Cyrus sighed and shook his head as he disconnected the flight recorder and carried it back through to the MIG. Naomi was one of the best pilots he'd seen in his many years of service.
'You think too damn' much, kid.' He remarked out loud as he approached the fast jet.
'What do you suggest then?' Franz asked as he rounded the door, looking pointedly from Cyrus to the MIG.
'Well, having a boyfriend hasn't helped.' Cyrus brazened out having being caught red-handed. 'Pet goldfish?'
Franz pushed his hands down into his trouser pockets and watched Cyrus replace the flight recorder. 'It is good that she has doubts, given her origins. It distances her from the fanaticism of her youth.'
'It was a risky move, you might have gotten both of you killed. Putting two of our prime eggs in one basket? You might be cracking.' Cyrus believed nothing of the sort, but it got his point across. He regretted his place in life on days like this, using double-speak to try and get his message across.
Franz' expression was amused by that tactic. 'Naomi might be.' His voice was low, pitched to carry no further than Cyrus' ears. 'You see it too, she's got a conscience and honed her raw talent for piloting; but it's easy to over-estimate her actual combat experience and kills. We can't pull too hard on her conscience or her nerve will go. Your camaraderie helps.'
Cyrus snorted. 'Of course it does. I might have accepted this mission for the chance to see my baby flown by a master, but I like the kid too.'
'She is our ace, a precious thing.' Franz agreed easily.
Cyrus gave him a sideways glance. That was unusually fulsome praise from his usually stoic colleague. Franz caught the scrutiny but did not rise to it. 'She needed to have reason to... recognise the man within the officer.' He explained, picking his words carefully.
'You showed her something in which she could see an echo of her circumstances. It might backfire - she's seen how you turned out, after all.'
'She's still here isn't she?'
Cyrus sighed. The battle might be won, but their precious ace looked to be quite the handful. 'I'll draw the crew into her circle for additional support.'
'I'm going to have to start buying aspirin in bulk aren't I?' Franz deadpanned.
Tchech, between the two of them, Naomi and Franz were going to drive him to an early grave at this rate. He grinned, what a way to go, though!