Free Bird 4:55

10:30

Maeve plummeted through the open air, the wind roared past her ears, tearing at her clothes as she tumbled toward the earth. The chaos of the moment barely had time to settle in—one second she was fighting for her life, the next, she was free-falling.

Above her, the massive battle station shifted, its modular design breaking apart as drones and aircraft flew away like a thousand bees leaving the hive.. And yet a different thought ran through her head.

-FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK…..

She yanked her jacket open,in hopes of gaining more drag.

God, I hope that 'water hits like concrete' crap isn’t true.

Then, a voice crackled from above.

Maeve's ears were pierced by a loud yell.

-"Hold on!"

Her heart skipped a beat, overwhelmed with emotion. She yelled, turning around, eyes squeezed shut.

-"MAX, YOU FREAKING IDIOT! IF YOU DIE BECAUSE OF ME, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Her watery eyes slowly opened and assumptions quickly shattered,it was none other than Captain Richard hurling toward her at an alarming speed

-"Oh, GOD, IT'S YOU!" she shouted, disgust creeping into her tone, completely unnoticed by the captain.

-"IT IS I!" he yelled, still charging toward her.

Grabbing her by the waist, Captain Richard grinned.

-"Don’t worry, for it is I, Captain—"

-"I got it. Maeve snapped, cutting him off. Don’t get grabby with me,"

The scent of cologne, booze, and sweet filled her nose, a dizzying mix that overwhelmed her senses. Even the impending doom couldn’t shake her mind from the strange concoction of smells.

-“GOD, YOU SMELL!”

-“LIKE A MAN SHOULD,” the Captain said proudly.

Her nostrils, burning.

-“JESUS... just let me die at this point,” Maeve grumbled, barely holding it together.

Ignoring her comment, Captain Richard pulled her closer, twisting in the air while shooting his hook into the side of the ship, securing them both.

The cable extended, their descent slowed, sparks flowing from the end. A sharp pain cut through the Captain’s body as he struggled to control their fall.

Heat pulsed from the nub at the end of his arm as they closed in on the water.

They were less than a couple dozen feet from the water when the hook reached its full length.

In a mere moment, it snapped, breaking in place just as they hit the water, legs first, with a massive splash.

Meanwhile, on the breaking carrier, Max muttered,

-“Where the fuck are the lifeboats?”

He turned his head, scanning left and right, then glanced at Twinkle Toes, who pointed toward the dismantled robots.

-“Oh yeah, why the fuck should those lifes matter?” Max grumbled, running out onto the main deck, cursing under his breath.

The ship quickly losing altitude Max stepped out on the main deck, chaos continued to unfold around him.

Robots and drones were flying away, leaving the man behind.

Different groups were fighting against each other, and a mishmash of languages filled the air.

-Max yelled, "ARE YOU STUPID? WE'RE ON THE SAME SIDE!"

For a brief moment, everyone stopped, only to share a laugh before the fighting resumed.

-"God, fucking damn it. What now?" he muttered, frustration evident in his voice.

Max frantically searched for anything that could save his skin.

His eyes landed on hooks suspending from the side of the ship.

He sprinted to the railing, only to spot a makeshift contraption dangling below—an old wooden dinghy, barely held together, propelled by two ropes.

It was stacked to the brim with a dozen old men, all clothed in worn-out Russian uniforms, gripping the ropes for dear life.

Max blinked.

-"You have got to be kidding me."

For a moment, Max locked eyes with Twinkle Toes, who shook his head furiously, desperately trying to convey a message.

-"I kept you alive till now, didn’t I?" Max said, grinning.

Upon hearing this, Twinkle Toes shook his head even harder, his eyes nearly bulging out of his skull. He began flailing his arms and screeching in a manner that could only be described as the panicked squeals of a dying mouse.

-"I’ll take that as a yes!" Max declared.

The ransacked dinghy drifted closer, now only several feet from the deck.

He slowly got over the railing.Heart pounding out of his chest, the kid losing all hope covered his eyes.

Max took a deep breath -Here goes nothing then- jumped overboard, he rushed through the air slamming into the vessel with all the grace of a falling anvil.

In an instant, it dropped, the rope burning through the hands that gripped it

Holy shit, that wasn’t half bad, Max thought—right before realizing he had crash-landed directly on top of one of the old men.

The unfortunate soul let out a long, drawn-out groan of pain.

For a brief moment, the entire dinghy fell silent, the ragged Russian crew starring in stunned disbelief. Then, chaos erupted.

Shouting, cursing, and frantic scrambling filled the air as the small vessel rocked violently in every direction. Fists shook, threats were hurled, and Max barely managed to keep his balance before a booming voice cut through the mayhem.

-"THERE HE IS!"

Max’s head snapped up just in time to see Bobby and Fred pointing straight at him from the main deck.

Before Max could react, an overwhelming shadow loomed over the dinghy.

He barely had time to glance up before Bobby and Fred came crashing down, leaping simultaneously from the ship above.

Max, still sprawled across the unfortunate man he had landed on, groaned.

-"Oh, for fuck’s sake—"

The two came crashing down,crushing the men beneath them snapping the grip on the ropes, sending the dinghy plummeting toward the water below.

A chorus of screams erupted from everyone aboard, their voices rising in pure terror as the vessel tumbled through the air.

Max barely had time to grab onto anything before—

-SPLASH!

The dinghy slammed into the water with a brutal impact, sending a massive wave rippling outward. Bodies flailed, supplies scattered, and for a moment, it was unclear if the battered little craft would stay afloat.

The debris from the craft above quickly followed, crashing into the water, sending waves rippling in every direction. The dinghy rocked violently, tilting from side to side, barely managing to stay afloat.

For a moment, everything was chaos—splintered wood, tangled ropes, and half-drenched men scrambling to steady themselves. Max coughed up a mouthful of seawater, wiping his face as he looked around.

-"Well... that could've gone worse," he muttered, only for Twinkle Toes to groan beside him, clearly unimpressed.

The yawning of battered steel, the screams, and the deafening crashes were the only sounds that filled the air as the main unit—or what remained of it—came tumbling down.

It plummeted directly onto the solar farm beneath, crushing the delicate structures on impact. A chain reaction of explosions erupted, sending fire and debris shooting skyward. The shockwave rocked the dinghy, nearly flipping it as Max and the others clung to whatever they could.

-"Yep… definitely could've gone worse," Max muttered, eyes wide as he watched the fiery destruction unfold.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the solar farm…

Maeve gasped for air as she surfaced, quickly clinging to a floating door to catch her breath. Saltwater burned her throat, and her soaked clothes clung uncomfortably to her skin.

She barely had a moment of respite before a massive wall of water crashed over her. Coughing and sputtering, she wiped her face just in time to see Captain Richard launching himself from the water like a damn sea lion.

-"Oh god, it's you again," the disappointment pierced through Maeve’s voice as she watched Richard struggle to keep his head above water. His arms flailed slightly, and for a moment, his bravado faltered as his face broke the surface, gasping for air.

-"May I come aboard, my lady?" he asked, still trying to look dignified, even though his head kept bobbing in and out of the water.

-"The hell you can. Find your own floating door!" Maeve snapped, exhaustion creeping into her tone.

Fatigue started to set in, and Richard tried to laugh it off.

-"Aha, there’s plenty of room! No reason not to share…"

-"OH NO YOU DON’T!" Maeve shouted, pushing his hand away with all the strength she could muster. "THERE’S NO ROOM!"

Richard snapped, his voice cracking as he struggled to pull himself up.

-"THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM!"

-"NO!" Maeve insisted, kicking him square in the face. "Not on this door!"

Richard, his temper boiling over, snapped completely.

-"MOVE, YOU FAT COW!" he screamed, his face contorting in rage.

They tussled, Mave shoving him back as he scrambled for a grip to haul himself up.

-HA HA HAAA he yelled as he climbed.

In a moment of misplaced triumph, Richard managed to pull himself up onto the floating debris. With his victory almost complete, Maeve landed one final, powerful kick across his face, sending a sharp crack through the air as his nose snapped instantly.

As she moved her boot, smearing the blood across his face, leaving Richard very unpleasant as blood soaked into his pampered mustache.

Staring at each other with great hatred.

The loud silence, quickly broken by huge explosions, followed by shockwaves, sending them into a frenzy.