Hey ho, let's go!

[Anonymous]

Bart stretched his arms as he headed to the garage. Today was going to be a fun day. Nuriel had just let him know a small riot had broken out in the lower levels. While normally that wasn't something they needed Pilots for, it was a lovely opportunity to give a Stage 5 candidate some hands on training. Make sure they got that field time in.

He had stopped by the armory and picked up some armor and a few suppression weapons. Best to avoid deadly force when they could. Didn't look so good on the news. And beating people with batons was way more fun then shooting them. At least Bart thought so.

The kid was supposed to be meeting him at the garage. Take a nice big van this time. Drive like a fucking tank, but it was kinda fun. Though he might be nice and let the kid drive. Most of them liked the chance to be in charge of something.

He had already sent the kid a message that he had better have coffee with him when he met up with Bart and he expected to not be disappointed.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"G'mornin', sir!" Dakota chimed happily as he approached, a cup of coffee in hand. Or rather, a thermos in hand.

A pink polka dotted thermos.

He'd brewed a pot of coffee before he'd come, just for Bart, and it had seemed practical to have a thermos on duty when it might spill. Keep it nice and warm for hours! In his other hand, he held a plastic bag. He'd baked banana bread the night before--his bananas had finally come to optimum ripeness after days of restless waiting--and he figured it would be nice to share. Nothing like a good banana bread before a day of mayhem and beat-downs!

He handed the thermos off to Bart with a smile. "I got you your coffee, as requested. And some banana bread I made last night. It's practically a balanced breakfast--fruit, grains, and dairy."

Though he was in his candidate uniform, Dakota didn't really look like someone getting ready to smack people with batons. His uniform was clean and perfectly pressed, his hair neat with a couple clips put in it to keep the curls out of his face, and he had the attitude of someone getting ready to take a pleasant morning stroll.

[Anonymous]

Bart approved of a positive attitude and approved even more of banana bread. The fact that the kid was a bit...odd didn't matter much to him. Long as the coffee in the thermos tasted good, Bart couldn't give two shits about what the thing looked like.

"Well, looks like yer drivin' then. I'm gonna be eatin' breakfast." Strolling over to the large, heavy SUV, Bart hopped into the drivers seat. He actually liked driving, but it always seemed to make the younger ones happy, so it was an easy concession to make.

"Ya all read up on what we're doin?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Driving? Really?" Dakota blinked in surprise but climbed into the SUV anyway. Well, orders were orders, and Bart did need to eat. And part of being a Pilot--when he did become a Pilot!--was rolling with the punches and expecting the unexpected and...adapting.

He settled into the seat and put on his seat belt, then fiddled with the settings to adjust all the mirrors and raise the seat. "Yes sir! We're to take care of a small riot in the lower levels. Nothing big, a couple injuries and some property damage but no deaths or critical injuries. Police are already on the scene and we're there more for the scare." He threw a glance Bart's way and grinned, then held his hand out for the keys. "Correct, sir?"

[Anonymous]

"Yup. Pretty much." Bart settled into his seat, buckled in and already getting into the banana bread, "This here is mostly for you, so I'm gonna be here, but I wanna see ya in action. I'll make sure things don't get out of hand."

He chewed, washing it down with some coffee, "This is real tasty!"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Of course it is! It's homemade from scratch," Dakota said proudly as he turned the key in the ignition. "Family recipe, passed down from my grandma and beyond. She taught me herself. Oh, hey..."

Dakota had just started to back the SUV out of the space, a bit jerkily, and he looked over at Bart then. "I guess now is a bad time to say I've never driven one of these?"

[Anonymous]

"Well, ya better get learnin'. If ya don't feel up to it now, I can drive. But I'll be fixin' yer schedule so we can get ya some lessons in. Yer gonna have ta drive some bigger things than this." Bart reached up, scratching his chin, a bit of stubble there, "Think if I got ya my grandmama's recipe, ya could make it for me?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"I think I have it now," Dakota said, and it was a miracle that he didn't hit any other vehicles getting out of that space. Brow creased with concentration, he straightened the SUV out, gave it some gas, and steered it out of the parking lot.

He drove like an old person.

"Oh, sure! If you have a recipe, I can make it! And banana bread's really simple, just with a few twists here and there depending on who's making it. Remind me when we get back."

[Anonymous]

Bart shook it head, watching the kid drive, "Kid, we're headin' to a riot. It ain't exactly gonna wait for us ta get there. Step on the damn gas."

Ah candidates. They were so cute in their own way. He might have to take over if the kid wasn't going to get them there in time.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Dakota jumped. "Ah! Apologies, sir," he said, then pressed down on the gas a little too hard.

The SUV lunged into motion and Dakota nearly took off a side mirror as they sped past a parking garage pillar. He brought them to a lurching, whiplash inducing stop right before they entered into traffic and, like the responsible driver he was, he used his turn signals before pulling out into the street and taking off again--carefully, though. Or as carefully as he could with the pressure of getting there on time.

He accidentally cut off another driver and winced. "Sorry!"

[Anonymous]

"Kid, I hate to be an asshole, but if ya don't get a handle on this in the next ten seconds, you better pull over and let me drive." Bart felt a little bad, he hadn't realized he couldn't drive well. He had just assumed.

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Sorry, sorry, sir. Just haven't driven something this big before." Mostly smaller vehicles, which he was fine with. Dakota reached up and adjusted his rear view mirror, trying to get a handle of judging space and distance in this beast. Once they were on the road, though, in steady traffic, he leveled out after that shaky start.

[Anonymous]

"It's fine that ya don't know, but if ya can't drive it, I gotta take over. We don't have all day ta get there. This ain't a simulation. You don't get there, people gonna riot without us. So I expect ya to turn that siren on, step on the gas and get us there in ten minutes."

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Yes sir!" Dakota said, holding back a wince, and promptly flipped on the siren. It came howling to life and the other vehicles pulled aside to make way, and as they did he pressed the gas and hoped for the best.

[Anonymous]

"Yer doin' fine. Just relax." Bart felt a little bad, but at the same time, there wasn't time from grandma driving. The riot was already threatening, with mobs starting to form and police were having trouble keeping them in check.

Once they arrived, slower than he would have liked, but not too bad, Bart gave the boy a nod, "Ya all set then kid?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

Dakota hopped out of the driver's side and double checked his gear before flashing Bart a thumb's up. "All ready, sir!"

A little nervous, especially after the rough start, but ready nonetheless. It wasn't his first mission, but it was his first mission of this scale and it was a little nerve-wracking knowing that in just a couple minutes he was about to be in heading out into an angry crowd of hundreds.

[hr:2k9x22ar][/hr:2k9x22ar]

He came out of it unscathed. Basically. Almost.

Aside from the part where one angry rioter decided to chuck a chunk of concrete at his head. It hit him in the jaw and was leaving a nice, dark purple bruise, but as far as battle wounds went he'd come out pretty well and had to knock only a few heads.

When they finally got it under control and the crowd dispersed or arrested, the police carting off the unruly ones, Dakota was sooo ready for it to be over and was glad when they could finally leave. They hung around a bit after just to make sure before they were finally given the clear.

Heading back to the SUV, Dakota unlocked it and then flopped into the passenger's side. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he just felt boneless and tired.

And dirty.

Some girl had spit in his hair at one point! Yuck!

"Whew. You can drive now!" he told Bart, stretching out.

[Anonymous]

Bart inhaled deeply on his cigarette. Times like this, it was important to remain calm or ya just ended up shooting people and that wasn't nice. He had managed okay, gotten in a few tussles, but mostly he had put a lot of people to sleep. And beat the shit out of one protester with a crowbar. But that was because the man had punched another protester, a teenaged girl. And Bart just wasn't alright with that.

He slid into the drivers seat and grinned at Dakota, "Ya did good kid. Got a decent head on yer shoulders. Just gotta stop bein' so damn prissy about stuff. Now, lets go get cleaned up. I donno about you, but I could use a beer."

[Rhi-Rhi]

Dakota grinned over at Bart, tired but proud. "Thanks!" he said, buckling his seat belt and stretching out his legs. "And hey, she spit in my hair! I don't think that's prissy. No one likes that!"

He shuddered, making a face. "I'm sooo ready for a shower. And no beer, but I will take a wine cooler!"

[Anonymous]

"Prissy." Bart smiled and reached over, tugging on a hunk of the kids hair, "Gotta learn ta not care. See, some girl gonna spit in my hair? I don't give a shit. Gonna come out in the shower."

He then frowned, "What the fuck's a wine cooler?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Huh? Oh, it's like...it's like wine and juice, almost like a soda. Sweet and delicious! Anyway, let's hurry so I can get a shower! Come out in the water or not, it's still disgusting, and it's still just...sitting there! In my hair!"

Dakota shuddered and waved his hands, doing his own version of the 'just saw a spider' dance. "I don't wanna think about it!"