She watched him fall only for a short moment, returning her focus to the task at hand. Hearing his request she looked for any hints that would tell her which building was what. One slightly bigger building had no guards but a few entered and left it. So she figured that'd be the barracks. Nothing would reveal the security center to her though so it had to be within or under either of the other buildings.

— I see the barracks further up but I have no idea where the network is...

She hadn't given up yet though, scanning the area but without success. She'd have hidden it somewhere safe too. And they had to be certain or they would probably both die very quickly. These turrets did look nasty.

Waiting for a few more moments, he began to move through the grass. Close enough to the edge to remain obscured but begin to see the compound ahead of him more clearly. One of the turrets came extremely close to noticing him and locked onto a moving clump of grass, it alerted a nearby guard but when the turret went back to idle spins he presumed it must have been the wind tripping the motion sensor. But Gabriel had seen what he needed to.

— Turrets have wires. Best bet is that if I follow the wires, I'll find their network hub.

It was the best lead he had to act on, it was also the riskiest, because it meant exposure.

— Guide me past the turrets and into blind-spots.

This was where she'd prove most helpful, she would have to guide him step by step, tell him when to wait and when to move. He was putting his life in her hands now.

Luckily the ship could hold itself in the air on its own. Observing him and everything around was just way too stressful to do something else. If it was herself on the line it would be fine but she was responsible for someone else here. And she really didn't do well with that. The zoomed in images constantly made her feel like she'd miss something important. What if she'd fail to inform him about a guard or a defense system?

Still she told him to go, passing the turret he'd just distracted. The guard continued his patrol enabling Gabriel to hush past him. The cables went into the main building, a bit haphazardly. Had the Don been informed about this attack or was this always such a mess? She nearly missed the guard coming around the corner, informing Gabriel of him just in time for him to hide. Zoe wasn't doubting his ability to fight them but alerting the whole area would be a disaster.

In a way though it was fascinating to watch him move from cover to cover. He was so quick and controlled that even though she informed him very late in some cases, he had no issue avoiding the patrols. The issue now was getting inside.

— There is a guard next to the entrance. And another one will pass by in... Maybe half a minute? I can't help you in there at all.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, that phrase had true meaning now. If he stepped out into the open and killed the man serving as an obstacle then he risked detection and alarming the entire compound. But if he stayed then he would be discovered regardless. Since his options were to either take a chance and fail, or do nothing and fail regardless, he chose the more primal option and pulled a knife free. It was perhaps equally as painful to watch as it was for him to pull off, but he lunged out into the open and tackled the guard unsuccessfully. He had surely thrown him off balance, but he still reached for his radio and was successful. A punch to the throat ensured a lack of any coherent message. But the other guard was edging closer to the site of the struggle. He had thirty seconds, of which twenty had been spent on this attempt. Five more went towards dismantling the guard's jugular and five more to get through the door.

— Through.

Just as he said that the second guard passed by the former scene of the struggle, taking note of the empty post where someone should have been stationed. The guard assumed it was negligence and held his position to report it over the radio, asking for his commander to verify where the missing guard was. The time spent growing more suspicious and aware that the compound was infiltrated was time that Gabriel used to not only find the network hub but start compromising it.

— Working now.

Gabriel's smooth work in getting this far had only been partially successful. The guard from outside eventually noticed the signs of the struggle, namely the blood and called it in. Which in turn prompted the guards to begin mobilizing in force just outside their barracks. Apparently they even had heavy armour. Zoe would notice the other guard entering the main building and reported it to Gabriel and it was likely she also noticed the concentration of guards that were just about ready to close on Gabriel's position.

Her own heart was pounding as she saw him so barely escape into the building. That had been reckless but strangely successful. She turned the ship slightly to get a better view at the entrance he'd probably have to exit through. That way she noticed the eventual guards slowly approaching it too. If those got in, Gabriel would be done for. But if she fired now she would have only a moment until the turrets would open fire.

— There is a lot of them coming your way... You, have to hurry.

She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed before looking back at the scene. Guards taking position, ready to enter the building. So she broke the cloak's protection to open fire. These cannons were dreaded among Outcasts and in atmosphere the noise was shockingly loud. She'd never aimed at people directly with her ship's guns and the results were terrifying as the guards, unprotected from shield weaponry, were mowed down.

She grimaced at the scene but had no time to think about it much, powering up her engines in an attempt to dodge the beginning defense fire.

She had bought him more time to work on compromising security. But now she'd alerted everyone to the presence of an enemy spacecraft. Even if the guards had been slaughtered by her strafing run, more had been called to action and fighters were being launched to intercept her. This was a less than ideal situation. By saving him, she had put herself at extreme risk. There were several missile warnings, flak and now the rapidly approaching interceptor wing on her six. It wouldn't take long for them to get into range, and if this continued then they would rip her out of the sky. The most insulting thing was that despite her sacrifice, Gabriel would be surrounded again, and this time the building was mercilessly riddled with gunfire. This was a distinct failure, and he'd told her to just turn away if such was the case. She assured him that she wouldn't just abandon him here, and stayed true to her word. But now it seemed like she would just die here with him.

— Light them up.

The fireworks display that was previously coming after her was now being redirected at the pursuit wing, a glorious display of destruction that would fling chunks of burning metal from the skies. The interceptors would find themselves ill prepared for the eventuality, and a brief glance at the situation on the ground revealed constant sprays of orange bolts. Turrets were firing down from all directions at the guards, turning most into culinary accidents. Vehicles were reduced to scrap and pristine decor was scorched and ruined.

For a short moment she was certain that she'd die here. The shields weren't even fully up yet and they were already taken down again. The sounds of impacting projectiles was just so much louder and threatening here on the planet. She did her best at moving irregularly, trying to throw the automated weaponry off. And just as she heard the hissing of inside air escaping outside the gunfire just stopped.

She sighed heavily, feeling excited and confused with the sudden relief. Zoe was turning the ship around sharply to see wreckage plummeting down onto the plains as the defensive emplacements ripped the defense vessels apart. Shocked she saw the display of defense weaponry fighting their protectees with mercilessness only a machine could deliver. Well and Gabriel probably.

— It stopped.

She sounded out of breath and then realized why the gunfire stopped. That crazy Outcast actually did it! So she pushed the ship to get back quickly but everything and everyone hostile in the outside area was already dealt with.

— You... did it.

She said, too shocked to sound excited or anything else right now, merely circling the area to check for any further threats. There were surely still some inside.

Gabriel appeared to walk back out of the exit, strolling quite casually through the scattered and horribly burnt corpses. Some guards still lingered, crying out in pain. He didn't seem to care and let them continue to suffer rather than wasting time putting them out of their misery. The residential portion of the estate was relatively untouched given where it was situated, that being directly being the main complex that housed the network hub and even served as a warehouse. Sure enough, standing in the center of a courtyard that must have played host to numerous events in the past was the Don himself. He seemed to be looking around, as if reminiscing of the former glory that his estate likely used to have.

When Gabriel approached, he turned to face him and then drew a gun. It was unsurprising that he wouldn't simply die without trying to kill his would-be assassin in the process. But he was just as fast, if not faster than Gabriel and this contest of who could draw and fire the fastest ended in a draw. With both participants striking a decisive blow to the right side of the of their respective torsos. Gabriel staggered backwards but kept a grip on his gun, while the Don lost grip of his own firearm and instead opted to charge his assailant. He was strong, immensely strong. They would trade numerous blows, with Gabriel seeming to suffer from them the most. It was likely that Zoe wanted to help, but they were too close together and it was likely that she'd kill Gabriel in the process. It was also perhaps some kind of cultural anomaly, where someone of the Don's status should only be killed by another pure native.

If Zoe wanted to help then she would need to land, and land she did. Close enough that she could rush towards the struggle quickly. She would arrive to see you Don wrenching Gabriel's pistol from him and lining up a shot at her, only to have Gabriel kick his hand aside and cause the shot to miss entirely. But in doing so he had made himself vulnerable, punished by being dragged into a struggle for the gun. The Don had the advantage, slowly but surely raising the pistol towards Gabriel's head, and there was very little to be done about it from the angle Zoe was at. Gabriel himself would not be able to twist the gun in any way that put the Don at risk, he was locked like this and being choked as well. He would have to let go, and that would mean certain death.

The situation was dire yet again. But by contrast Zoe could see that Gabriel was looking right at her, his eyes wrinkled with amusement like when he had smiled at her hours ago. In one deft motion, he dropped down, twisted himself and audibly dislocated his shoulders. But now his head was absent from the firing solution, the Don did not have this luxury. And soon enough, he had no head either.

At this point, Gabriel simply dropped his gun and slumped down to his knees. His head swayed as if he might pass out at any moment from the immense pain. But at least it was done.

That was the third close death today for both of them and just as she was certain that the fourth time was the end of their luck, Gabriel just... smirked? What insane person would smirk at dying? She'd know the second after, cringing in shock as well as staring in surprise as he just, dislocated his own shoulders. And soon after the Don died.

— Gabriel!

She screamed at him in a mixture of shock, disgust and relief, not quite sure what emotion she felt the most, running toward him. Helplessly she looked down at the mess of a man who had so coldly hurt himself heavily to not only survive but kill a man.

— What- do I do?

She asked, dreading to hear the answer she already knew as she slowly crouched down next to him. Her expression clearly showed her discomfort with seeing his arms like that.

Even in this state he seemed mildly amused by what she'd just asked him. Though he seemed remarkably more human when he was broken like this.

— Suppose you can take revenge for how uncomfortable I've made you feel thus far and.. pop my shoulders back into place. That and.. get this damned helmet off.

It wasn't exactly a comfortable request, but if she actually tried to help then he would provide her further instructions to actually accomplish the task.