"Clear," Jak reported to the Captain. Ejecting the mag from his rifle, he walked back to the field where the starship was.
Around the airship were tents, foldable tables, and the cooks readied a pot of soup for the fighters. Yuki sat on the table with a frown pointed at the cooks.
Jak walked in with his rifle slung around his hip. Her eyes swiveled and landed on Jak. She raised a hand. "You took long."
"There was a nest around the area I was fighting. Emptied most of my bullets, have to go melee."
Coming from Jak was this nasty smell of blood and viscera. Her face twisted as Jak neared. Noticing that look on her face, he had the suit take care of the stench by purging it. Electricity run across his ghost suit before it released this dank smell.
"Convenient," Yuki spat. "Must be damp inside of that thing."
"A cooling system is a convenient tool," Jak pulled one of the chairs close to her. "Looks like you've got the job done."
"I am still a good operative before you appeared and fucked things up. It must be nice to rub in on my face."
"You must hate me," Jak shrugged.
"I don't. Do not mistake my hurt pride for hate," Yuki said with an assertive tone. "Black hand took care of me, but that does mean that I have absolute loyalty to them? No, I was in that organization because I had a debt. Besides, the black hand exists, and we are allies now. And I hate that I owe you for that night. Could have beheaded me and be done with it, but you spared me because of some bullshit reason."
Jak snorted. A cup of hot soup filled with beef broth. Rarely do they have good soup when doing missions. Jak took the soup with his palms and took a sip. Yuki followed and stuck out her tongue. Froze crept to her soup, and her soup became mild instead of piping hot.
"They say that this place is supposedly not like the wetlands," she looked up in the sky. "But we're still in the wetlands."
"The ship's not flying that fast unless you want to deal with the airship shot down mid-flight?"
"Bah, not that we'd need it when we have you around."
"I am not that strong."
She looked at him as if that was the oddest thing he had said to her. "Nice joke."
Jak locked his eyes on her. "I think you're starting to forget that I am just an enhanced human, Yuki. I do not have ether running in my veins."
"Why does it matter?" Yuki asked sincerely. She had that curious look on her face as if what Jak was trying to tell her was all nonsense. "You do not have the capabilities of an etherian, but your arm-strength alone is comparable to even the stronger etherians I know. Not to mention that you have that suit enchanting your innate strength, making you strong enough to face a beluaman."
"I have reached my limits," Jak said with certainty. "You may think that I am strong for now, but the limits of what I can do are limited to what this suit can do. Beyond the sixth layer of the etherian layer, I am helpless. But you are infinite, Yuki. You can probably kill me the moment you reached that layer of power. I'd be like a helpless pup before you when that time comes."
"That is if I could reach that height of power," she sipped on her soup. The confidence in Jak's voice as he said that she would reach that level of power confused her. "I don't understand what makes you so confident."
Jak's face changed. There was a solemn gaze on him that seem to pierce through her. Yuki raised a brow at that gaze. "What?"
"When I spared you that day. It was because someone did spare me that way," he almost fumbled to get the words out. "Honestly, it makes me wonder if you have an older sister because of how the same you two look."
"Some that looked like me," she lowered her head and shook her head. "I'm afraid I am the only one in this world. Still, what a coincidence that someone looked like me saved you.."
The sincere looked on Jak's face was hard to argue. "I don't care if you do not believe me," Jak said with a monotonous voice. "But the truth is that if I didn't have that promise. You would have ended up dead."
Yuki folded her arms. "Hard to believe it, but I guess I have no choice to believe it now. If this is you trying to bullshit me, then I'd still believe it."
"Your choice. But if you want to return the favor, then we can always fight it out to see who's the strongest. That way, you wouldn't have any complaints about losing or something."
"Bold words for someone who just admitted he had reached his potential."
"Doesn't mean that I'd lose either. Besides, I think I can handle those who are above me with enough preparation. It's not that hard to take a step back into concealment. Would you believe me if I say that I specialize in support?"
"You support?" Yuki stayed her gaze on her. "I would believe it. You have the right skill set to make good support. How about you watch my back while I do the work? That way, you can be my sidekick on this mission."
"Not a goddamn chance," Jak said almost teasingly.
Yuki shook her shoulders. "It's your loss. It is annoying, but we got to stay professional." She looked at the airship. "We'd be the first ones to enter this new world officially. No, we are just reconnecting the world, and we bring with us our news. They would have been able to connect with that satellite, but the question is if they are amiable enough to welcome us with open arms?"
Jak nodded. People are fickle, and it would be a surprise if they suddenly come and just welcome them after a long absence.