Jesse Casas

[Tequilla.Sunrise]

My quick and ragged breathing fogged the glass of my flight helmet. Tiny warning lights blinked all over the cockpit of Rebel which informed me of numerous problems. Problems was an understatement. My hand shook as I tried to steady the ship, wrestling with an unresponsive joystick. A Titan zoomed past the cockpit view, and the HUD in my flight helmet was showing four more Corsair Titans -- all elite pilots.

I was alone.

Taunts poured through the comm channel, but I could hear none of them. My ears were ringing and filled with my tremulous heartbeat. The entire cockpit was bathed in red as the most important warning light (hull breach imminent) activated. Then my entire body seemed to crumple as the ship lurched; a stream of Salamanca fire blew a chunk out of my engine block. Drifting, I knew Death to be near. I could see Him, bathed in a black, unholy light. The ship shook again as it drifted into an asteroid, then another; it came to rest. And I waited. All systems were offline, I could see nothing but the swirling green cloud outside. The killing blow never came.

And so I waited.

---

"It's a another hollow feeling... when it comes down to dealing friends..."

Rebel-II (Manta)
Snow.Wyrm (Chimera)
Fire.Wyrm (Katana)