It's still dark when the beeping of Jessica's omni-tool fills the cabin of the truck. The woman beside Yan Sun stirs, rustling Yan Sun as she does in an attempt at untangling herself on the tiny bench they shared through the night. It probably wasn't the comfiest of sleeps either of them had and there's sure to be plenty of body aches to follow. The temperature dipped during the night and the cabin reflects as much, a chill permeating in the
#Kirill'sTruck – January 12, 2019
Yan Sun doesn't even react to the beeping at first, but the being robbed of full blanket-coverage causes her to let out a displeased groan, although she doesn't move. What made for cozy cuddles did unfortunately not make for comfortable sleeping. Yan Sun lies with her back towards Jessica, squished against the backrest. Her pillow is displaced and face pressed down into the corner where the seat and the backrest meet. She's also managed to
Jessica tugs at her arm a couple times as she attempts to sit up. When she gets nowhere with it, she tears it free from beneath Yan Sun, jostling her about as she does. Once free, she sits up proper and begins the process of blinking away the sleep. A deep scowl is etched into her features as she begins to chicken wing her tingling, sleeping arm, only interrupted by the long, tired, yawn that escapes her. The constant beeping of her
omni-tool elicits a frustrated groan from her before she reaches out to silence it. She's still sans clothes, which is a decision she's rapidly regretting as goosebumps threaten to overtake any skin that hasn't been marred by burns. She sits still, swaying in place slightly, both eyes slowly closing once more as she teeters dangerously close to falling back asleep right where she sits. Without the cover of the blanket, however,
Yan Sun stirs and grunts as Jessica pulls her arm free. "Gh-... Whaaat...? I'm getting up..." she mutters, rolling over. She grimaces as she becomes increasingly aware of the cold air, the lone tanktop she's wearing doing little to help, especially when it comes to her lower body. She lets out a 'brr', a shiver running through her body before she reaches for the blanket to try and wrap herself up again, making disgruntled noises in the
Jessica continues to sit- eyes closed and swaying- for a number of moments, Yan Sun's complaining going unanswered. Eventually she opens her eyes once more and reaches out towards the dashboard, fiddling with a few buttons. The dashboard is an amalgamation of buttons, switches, and knobs. It's a decidedly homemade custom job. Function over fashion. After a couple button presses, a holographic display opens outward, hovering just in
front of the panel. She gives a few swipes at it to turn up the heat. "Is fucking cooooooollllllllld!" she groans, her husky voice sounding a bit hoarse amongst the sleep that has settled in. She shifts back a bit, leaning ever so slightly against the bundled-up Yan Sun, trying to steal a little heat from her. But soon enough she scoots away in search of her clothes. It's strewn about the cabin. Bra on the dashboard. One sock
poking out from the crevice where the bench meets the backrest. Pants on the ground. She doesn't have the patience to invest in a scavenger hunt this soon after waking up and just pulls her cargo pants on, shifting awkwardly on the seat in order to dress herself in the limited space.
Yan Sun curls up into a ball of blanket, shivering again. "Why's-... why's it so cold?!" she complains, rubbing her arms as she looks around for her own clothes, no less strewn about than Jessica's. She reluctantly extends an arm from the safety of the blanket to retrieve her panties and socks, hurriedly slipping them on underneath the blanket and struggling with Jessica for the limited space in the process. "Turn the heat on!" she urges,
Jessica shoots Yan Sun a glare as she collects her shirt from the passenger's side, wedged between the seat and the door. "The heat is on!" she shoots back. "I think it get more cold in the night or something. I turned it up." she adds, gesturing towards the dashboard with her shirt, causing the sleeves to flop about. She begins to put her shirt on before realizing it's inside out and stopping to right it before tugging it over her
head. Her bra is left on the dashboard and there's a pair of panties hiding somewhere, but she doesn't have the energy to track them down right now. She collects the sock poking out from the seat and begins glancing about for the remaining one in confusion.
Yan Sun takes a moment to rub her hands to get the blood flowing before reaching for her jeans, shoulders immediately dropping in despair when she realizes they're inside out. "Agh... why... shit..." she mutters as she starts to invert them, the process taking a little longer than she'd like right now... and it may involve an accidental elbow or two in Jessica's direction brought on by the confined space.
Jessica uses her foot to lazily scoop her jacket up off the floorboard, snagging it with her hand once she's lifted it high enough and setting it on the bench beside her. Aha! Sock discovered! She quickly leans over to collect it and armor up against nature's cruelest of curses: Cold toes! No sooner is she finished when she catches an elbow in the side, causing her to wince and lean heavily to the side in an attempt to put distance
between her and Yan Sun. "Gah!" she growls. "You already give me too many bruises!" she complains, though there's a hint of fondness over the previous night resurfacing beneath the grogginess.
Yan Sun can't help a small snicker as she glances over toward Jessica. "Sorry!" she exclaims. She resorts to lying down across the length of the truck seat as she wiggles into her jeans, the clinging cold cloth not exactly pleasant right now but its better than bare legs. She's far from keen on bothering with her bra in this weather, so instead she just slips on her hoodie, which is blessedly warm thanks to having been nestled among the
Jessica shifts to accommodate Yan Sun as she sprawls out across the seat. She turns her head to the side, a small smile finally manifesting as she watches Yan Sun wiggle into her clothing. There's a slight steam in the air when she lets out a breath, the heat still not quite having heated up the truck's cabin. Once Yan Sun has sat up and put on her hoodie, Jessica brings a hand over to her side and leans over, pressing her head against
Yan Sun's lazily. "Put on your boots." she hums in little more than a groggy mutter and goes to kiss her, but isn't quite awake enough to invest the energy into moving enough to press it fully against her lips, so it ends up only partially hitting its mark- half on her lips and half on her cheek. "We are going outside."
Yan Sun 's lips shift into a small smile in response to Jessica's lazy kiss, but the words that follow cause her to pull back and frown. "What-... whyyy...?" she whines. There's no hint of grogginess to her, the cold seems to have vanquished any sleepiness from her mind.
Jessica removes her hands from Yan Sun's side and gives her a couple small slaps on the thigh. "Do it, slut." she says without much conviction as she scoots further down the seat and begins to do the same. The winter boots she bought back in Freedom Falls come about half way to her knees. They're most likely locally made. No brand. No manufacturer label. Just a zipper up the length of the inside of the plain black boots. But they're
Yan Sun scoots over to the passenger side of the cab with a light grumble, leaning down to start putting on her own boots, bought alongside Jessica's. She grabs her coat next, eager to put on as many layers as she can get her hands on. Her gaze goes out the windshield as she zips it up, looking out into the dark. "Sun's not even up yet... what are we-..." she grunts quietly, blinking hard a few times before a yawn slips out. "...can we not
Visibility is only just beginning to pick up as the very first signs of light begin to show from the east- to their backs. Off to the passenger's side the mountains- which were a sight to behold even in the region around Freedom Falls- are downright towering now that they're off the plateau. Tucked against the foothills as they are, it's not even possible to see the top of the mountains without getting out of the truck.
Jessica takes her sweet time in shrugging her own winter jacket on and zipping it up near the driver's side door. When she's finished, she glances out the window into the darkness outside and lets out a sigh, clearly not looking forward to the harsh cold she'll be greeted by when she opens the door. "Stop complaining and get out." she grunts. The cab is once again filled with a gust of wind as soon as Jessica opens the driver's side
door. This close to the mountains, when the wind is blowing right it's not uncommon to catch a gust strong enough to take a car door out of your hands. And that's what just about happens to Jessica, causing her to stutter step out of the truck to maintain her grip on the truck door. "Out!" she calls into the cab, "Or I am leaving the door open and you are going to freeze anyway!" she threatens, good eye narrowed as she peers
Yan Sun takes the opportunity to reclaim her beanie, putting it on along with her mittens. After tasting the inside of her mouth she grimaces and digs around a bit among her things in the cab before finding her toiletry bag, bringing it with her as she shuffles over to step out of the truck. "I'm coming!" she says, hopping out, snow crunching under her booted feet.
The tracks behind the truck aren't quite as deep as they should be. Must have snowed a bit during the night. The snow is soft, but nearly knee-high in places. As one might expect, it's pretty cold. Almost painfully so when a gust of wind comes through.
Jessica shuts the door, having to fight the wind for a moment to do so. Jaw clenched against the cold, she hurriedly pulls her hood up and shoves her hands into her pockets to collect her gloves as she starts towards the tailgate. "We are needing to-... clear the wheels." she says as she unsnaps the tarp and folds down the tailgate, locking it in place. The tarp is pretty much instantly taken by a gust of wind, folding it over on
itself. Thankfully the tarp is held down in many places all around the edge of the bed. She leans over the tailgate, stretching out so she can grab a shovel by the handle and pull it closer. She does the same for a second shovel. They're the sort used for digging, not shoveling snow. "Is not going to take much. Just a little bit around the tires so it can-..." she trails off as a second heavy gust comes through, taking her hood
off and causing her to lose her train of thought momentarily as she tugs it back on and tightens it with a scoff. "...So it can get going!" she concludes. Tips and tricks picked up during her many trips with Kirill. Of course back then she could just pretend to be asleep until he took care of it. Yan Sun isn't getting that luxury.
Yan Sun grits her teeth as the powerful, ice-cold wind hits her, crossing her arms as she looks around. She stuffs the toiletry bag into the pocket of her jacket, deciding they may as well get this over with first. "Uhh... okay." she says, looking down aimlessly at the wheels, her hair whipping around in her face, only partly contained by the beanie. "How do we-... crap its cold... uhm..." She reaches for one of the shovels, seeming
Jessica takes the other shovel, instinctively putting her back to the wind. "Just-... do like this." she says, digging the spade into the wheel of the truck and dragging a line of snow away from it. Just making a short path way for the wheels to build up a little speed unimpeded. It's not like she has much experience with this sort of thing, but it's pretty self explanatory.
About ten yards away there's a trail of animal tracks. It's hard to tell just how many without examining them, but there's quite a few. Looks like they just strolled right past at some point in the night, westbound. Outside of that and the truck's tracks, the sheet of snow that surrounds them on every side is untouched. Unbroken. A fact that's becoming more clear as the morning light grows.
Yan Sun watches for a moment before going to try and do her part. It's the first time she's ever shoveled anything in her life, but she makes do. Not exactly a complicated task. She's too cold and tired to enjoy their surroundings, and she continues to look a little miserable over being out in the early morning cold at all the entire time she does though. A glance is cast towards the tracks when she first notices them, a hint of unease
crossing her face as Jessica's less-than-reassuring words about the local wildlife comes to her mind, causing her to cast a few more glances around as she shovels. Just in case.
If there's anything around, it's well hidden. Snow as far as the eye can see (Which is rapidly growing). To the south it's almost as if it goes on forever. And like Jessica and Yan Sun have the entirety of Aite to themselves.
Jessica doesn't seem to be any more pleased about having to shovel snow than Yan Sun, and does her best to speed through the process. Once finished with both wheels on her side, she's quick to stow the shovel back in the truck's bed. As Yan Sun finishes up, she returns to the driver's side and stands on the outer step-up and with one hand holds onto the arm of the side mirror which, as with the rest of the hulking vehicle, is a custom
piece that has a long arm to allow the driver a good unimpeded view behind them. It makes the entirety of the vehicle much wider than a normal truck and would never be allowed on a road back on Earth. She uses her one handed grip to keep from falling as she wipes at the snow that has accumulated on the roof with her other gloved hand.
Yan Sun puts the shovel back, heading over to the passenger side. She opens the door, grabbing a water bottle and putting it and her toiletry bag on the hood of the truck as she gets to work brushing her teeth, impeded by the unruly winds constantly blowing hair into her mouth. With mittens dangling from her wrists now fingers quickly start to get quite cold as she keeps hastily brushing.
Jessica works at wiping the snow away from the roof of the cab and the hood and then hops down and heads back to the bed of the truck. She has to climb into the truck to get to the bag she had packed, but she begins going through it, stowing a new pair of underwear in her jacket pocket to replace the lost pair with and collecting her own toothbrush. She follows Yan Sun's trail over to her side of the truck, stealing her toothpaste and
bottle of water to brush her own teeth. She keeps her free hand tucked into her pocket and bounces a bit in place to try and stave off the cold as she tries to speed through the process.
Yan Sun spits into the snow, packing her things up as soon as Jessica is done. "Kh-.. winter might be pretty but it sucks." she concludes, fingers a little stuff as she slips her mittens back on, flexing her now mitten-clad hands goofily.
Jessica follows suit, spitting a mouthful of water and toothpaste into the snow. Fortunately she has a functional pair of gloves since nobody cut the tip of the fingers off of hers, so she hasn't needed to remove hers. "Mmm." she hums in agreement and opens the passenger's side door. She takes Yan Sun's bag and underhands it onto the seat and climbs up onto the step, leaning into the cab a bit to grab her omni-tool from the dashboard.
And then, she drops back down into the snow and closes the door behind her. She gives Yan Sun an expectant look, blinking a few times as if she should be doing something.
Yan Sun returns Jessica's look, still flapping her hands as confusion crosses her face. "...what?" she asks, almost shouting as a strong wind hits.
Jessica scoffs, gesturing to the roof of the cab as she braces herself and turns her back to the wind once more when the wind blows through. "Go!" she growls. "The sun is going to be out soon! I need pictures!"
Yan Sun 's confusion only grows. "Go-... what, the roof?" she asks, looking over the truck as if trying to figure out what angle she would even approach from to get on top of the oversized vehicle.
Jessica gives a raise of her brow through the circle of her hood that she's peering out through. And not one of those seductive 'lose the clothes' brow raises. It's one of the bad ones. One of the, 'I am most displeased' ones. With a frustrated sigh, she jams her omni-tool into her other pocket and grabs onto the mirror, pulling herself up to the step. She uses the large arm of the passenger's side mirror to step onto, hand on the
mirror to steady herself, and steps onto the hood of the truck. The truck's hood doesn't show any sign of buckling under her weight. Considering the build of the truck, it could probably hold a krogan. She rises onto her toes and falls on her heels a few times as if to show the stability. "Is fine!" she assures, leaning over and placing a hand on the roof of the cab and hopping up. She sits at the edge facing the bed and scoots
over towards the passenger's side, legs dangling over the side as she extends a hand down towards Yan Sun to help steady her. "You will be fine." she continues, her tone more frustrated than encouraging, "Just try and not be-..... you. Only for a minute."
Yan Sun looks a little embarrassed as she frowns. "Wh-... I'm not-... I can get up!" she insists, specifically refusing Jessica's hand as she climbs onto the hood. One of her booted feet slip off the sideview mirror, but she recovers without comment, absolutely refusing to acknowledge the fact that she bruised her shin. A moment later she's joined Jessica on the roof, standing up as she looks around, a part of her undeniably fascinated by the
Jessica retracts her hand, brow cocked as she watches Yan Sun. Fully expecting her to bust her shit at any moment. The slip gets a judgmental snort out of Jessica and she's quick to toss out a sarcastic: "Mmm. You are doing very good, kitty cat. Verrrry good." As Yan Sun climbs up onto the roof, she looks up at her with a big, goofy, judgmental grin on her face. She pats the section at the edge of the roof next to her.
Yan Sun brushes a bit at the roof with a mitten-clad hand in the hope of minimizing leftover snow before taking a seat next to Jessica. Fortunately her jacket is long enough to keep her from immediately suffering a case of frozen butt upon sitting down atop the metal roof. "I got up, didn't I?"
The rising sun to the east carries with it a vast array of colors. Pinks, blues, purples, and oranges all intermingle where the curve of the planet falls out of sight. There's no chatter. No vehicles. No streetlights. No buildings. Just the majesty of the mountain on their left. Fields of snow that stretch on for what seems like forever on their right. Litae, all seeing, watching at their backs. And the light of a new day before them, slowly
inching over the horizon and causing the white that blankets everything around them to glisten like diamonds.
Jessica snickers to herself. "Mmm. Barely." she says as she scoots over until she's up against Yan Sun and rests her boots against the edge of the truck's bed below. Her gaze falls to the omni-tool in her lap. Given the lack of haptic feedback, she has to remove a glove to navigate the menu. Her attention shifts back to the horizon as she lifts her omni-tool, watching the viewfinder as she lines up the shot. "You are a fool." she
Yan Sun 's legs dangle off the truck as she watches the horizon, a faint hint of a smile spreading across her lips despite the biting cold as she takes in the colorful, brightening sky, the vast, never-ending fields of snow and the sharp, towering young mountains to their side. "Yeah..." she mumbles distractedly, captivated expression growing stronger in defiance of her sleepy, cold, slightly grumpy state.
Jessica's omni-tool gives a few more audible clicks before she allows the glow of the holographic interface to dissipate and tucks it back into her pocket. Her left hand moves to the edge of the roof beside her, gripping it as she rhythmically taps the heel of her boot against the back window of the truck's cab. She merely watches in silence for a few moments as the light of the planet's sun slowly begins to wash away the shadow of the
mountain. She's seen it plenty of times before. But today, it carried a reminder that her time on Aite is limited. The thought causes her to glance Yan Sun's way, forcing a smile into place as if that may blanket her troubled thoughts from her. With her ungloved hand she reaches over, gripping the edge of the beanie that can't seem to retain an owner for more than a few hours and casually tugging it down over Yan Sun's eyes.
Yan Sun frowns as her gawking at the alien view is interrupted, swatting an arm in Jessica's general direction. "Asshole." she replies, unable to keep a grin from spreading across her lips as she reaches up with both hands to adjust the beanie. When her eyes are freed she looks toward Jessica, grin lingering.
Jessica is quick to snap back: "Whore." as she puts her glove back on. The incoming swat causes her to rock back to avoid being slapped upside the head. She ends up leaning back slightly, palms flat against the roof behind her to keep her upright. Her gaze lingers on Yan Sun for a moment longer once the beanie has been adjusted. Just... looking at her, an uncharacteristically soft look in her eye and dumb grin. But she eventually tears
Yan Sun almost looks a little flustered when Jessica meets her gaze and notices the look in her eye, a quiet, brief chuckle slipping out as she turns her gaze to the sunrise along with Jessica. She lets silence take over for a while before speaking up. "Pretty cool view..." she says quietly, hands resting in her lap as she watches, the cold forgotten for the moment.
Jessica continues to watch the sunrise, the sound of the wind only joined by the rhythmic tapping of her boot against the window. Yan Sun's comment is met with a silent nod of her head that will probably go unnoticed. It's not long before her gaze is back on Yan Sun, silently studying her against a backdrop of white.
Yan Sun doesn't seem to notice Jessica's shift in attention. She's leaned forward a bit, looking out across the snowscape, obviously captivated by the scene in front of her. She's not exactly one to be up for the sunrise all that often, and with the vast majority of her time on Aite spent in Freedom Falls, this is a brand new sight to her. Her cybernetics are lit up, a glimpse of glowing patterns visible on her neck between beanie and
Jessica sucks in her lips when she realizes just how big of a grin has overtaken her face, a brief moment of embarrassment washing over her- despite nobody being able to see it- and averts her gaze back towards the sunrise. For a short while she just enjoys the view, her body tensing to brace itself each time a gust of wind blows through. Eventually she pokes at Yan Sun's boot with her own in an effort at getting her attention.
Yan Sun tears her gaze away from the sunrise, looking to Jessica when her boot is nudged. "What?" she asks, flashing a small smile as she studies her instead now.
Jessica is still leaned back, gloved palms flat against the roof and hood secured tightly. She shrugs her shoulders, merely scanning the details of Yan Sun's face for the moment. Her smile. Her eyes. The cybernetics peeking out over the collar of her jacket. But soon enough she seems to find her words with a reluctant sigh. "We should probably get going, yes?" she asks. "Maybe if we get far enough we can find a place to make the tent so
we do not have to fuck in the truck again tonight." she says, arching her back slightly and giving a pained wince in reference to the aches and pains she's paying for the previous night with.
Yan Sun lets out a snicker, gaining a sheepish smile as her gaze falls away from Jessica for a moment. "Yeahh... my back's not too happy." she agrees, albeit without any real regret. She looks over towards the sunrise again, gaze lingering for a couple of seconds before she scoots over to the side of the truck and jumps down, taking a moment to stretch.
Jessica remains atop the roof of the truck for a few more moments, her gaze shifting back to the sunrise. She draws in a deep breath, letting the cold air fill her lungs, and holds it. She releases it slowly, watching her breath as it turns into steam when it leaves her mouth. "I'll get some foods!" she calls out as she scoots to the edge, swinging her legs from the backside of the truck's roof to the side, and hops off. She heads
towards the back of the bed to get their breakfast and lock everything down, raising her voice to be heard over the wind as she does, "You are driving today!"
Yan Sun blinks, stopping mid-stretch as she looks over to Jessica. "What?" she blurts out, obviously not having expected this.
Jessica's voice is a bit muffled as she rolls back the tarp and ducks her head beneath it to go through supplies. "You are driving today!" she repeats, even louder this time as if assuming Yan Sun just didn't hear her right but providing no additional context.
Yan Sun seems baffled, as if the possibility that Jessica might expect her to take the wheel for longer than a couple of seconds hadn't even entered her mind. "What?" she says again. "No, that's-... I don't-... I can't drive." she says with a shake of her head.
Jessica's head pokes up above the tarp, brow deeply furrowed in confusion. "What you are meaning you can't drive?!" she calls back, tucking a couple of bags under her arm to free her hands so that she can lift the tailgate and lock up. "You just-.... gah-... you know. Drive! Is easy!" she assures. She gives the tailgate a couple of tugs to make sure it's secure before rounding the truck towards Yan Sun and urging her inside.
Yan Sun does not seem to share Jessica's confidence. "Wh-... but-..." she starts as Jessica urges her into the truck, and she ends up taking the driver's seat despite her protests. "I've never driven a car! And this isn't even-... this is a really big truck!" she exclaims, eyeing the heavy-duty steering wheel skeptically.
Jessica places a full-palm on Yan Sun's asscheek as she climbs the step into the driver's seat, giving her a firm push through the door to 'help'. "Stop bitching!" she exclaims as she scurries around the front of the truck, somehow feeling even colder now that she's so close to getting back inside. Once in on the passenger's side, she closes the door, sets the bag aside, and does the universal sign for escaping the cold. Which is, of
course, folding your shoulders forward and rocking in place for a moment while performing an exaggerated chattering of your teeth and rubbing your hands together. Thankfully since they left the cabin, the heat has caught up with the change in temperature and- at least for now- the cabin is comfortable. Maybe not warm, but not cold any longer, either.
Yan Sun is too distracted by the prospect of driving to relish being out of the freezing cold. "I'm not bitching!" she exclaims defensively. "I just don't wanna crash Kirill's truck! Or... get us killed!" she adds with a shrug, looking over towards Jessica before eyeing the wheel and the dashboard again.
Jessica tugs her gloves off, tossing them on the seat beside her before warming her hands up with deep breaths. The bag she set down on the seat is dried, salted meat. Dried varren meat, to be exact. An acquired taste. They haven't really eaten an actual meal since leaving. Just junk food and a sandwich. Once her hands are nice and toasty she picks up Yan Sun's bag of toiletries and stows it away on the dashboard. She scoots over
towards the driver's side as she listens to Yan Sun bitch about not bitching. "Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch." Jessica groans as Yan Sun speaks. She gestures towards the wheel. "This is to control it." she explains simply. "This?" she grips the handle coming out of the dashboard beside the steering wheel. It's most certainly a custom job since it looks more akin to the throttle in a shuttle than anything in a car, "Is
the-... the-..." she stammers, furrowing her brow, "....when you are wanting to go faster? But it is not going any faster? Shooooooo." she makes a vaguely spaceship noise as she pushes the lever that acts as a shifter forward. "And then that is to go-..." she leans down, head hovering over Yan Sun's lap as she gestures towards one of the pedals and then to the other, "...and this is to stop." After a moments consideration, she
continues, "...Or-... Or maybe is the other way? I don't fucking know, you will figure it out." she decides as she sits back up.
Yan Sun 's eyes dart from element to element as Jessica explains how to control the truck. "I know!" she protests. "I've-... I've seen people drive in vids!" She removes her mittens, hands hovering over the steering wheel without actually touching it, as if afraid she's going to make the truck explode just by putting her hands on the controls.
Jessica reaches out, poking at an element on the dashboard. It causes a holographic display project above it. Unfortunately, it just hangs there rather than showing off whatever it was Jessica had expected. She shuts it down and opens it again. Nope. No luck. With a sigh she slaps a hand against the dashboard and reopens it once again. This time there's a map of Aite. The same map Jessica had previously showcased on her omni-tool.
There's a red dot south of the mountains. Their location. It's unlikely that Jessica's percussive troubleshooting is what solved the problem, but she gains a pleased expression and gives a single, stern nod. "The bloop is us." she explains with a glance to Yan Sun. Something she was probably able to discern on her own. "We are going-..." she trails off, navigating the maps interface west. She stops in a random spot southwest of
Adrasteia. Given the snow, it's unlikely they'll make it there by nightfall. But they could probably make it there by early morning the following day. It is decidedly not the coast, however. "There. Sometimes the map does not work right. If you need it? Just keep turning it off and on and it will work. Maybe slap it a few times." she explains with a shrug, though it's almost certainly just a case of there being something loose
Yan Sun watches the map disappear and appear until finally working. She studies the projection and the area Jessica indicates, nodding a couple of times. "Yeah... yeah, okay. Uhm... yeah, how do we get there?" she asks, her skepticism definitely lingering. She seems more concerned about the how than the where.
Jessica blinks a couple of times, furrowing her brow on Yan Sun like she's some kind of moron. With a sigh, she leans forward once again, gesturing to the two pedals. "One of those!" she explains, as if that's all Yan Sun needs to know. "You turn on the truck-..." she points at a button to the left of the steering wheel, "...and you press one of those." Yep, that's the pedal again, "Then it goes!"
Yan Sun looks unamused by Jessica's explanation. "Yes, I-... kh..." she trails off with a grumble, taking a deep breath and trying not to seem nervous as she places one hand on the wheel, the other reaching towards the power button. "I-... should I start it?" she asks, shooting Jessica a sidelong, uncertain glance.
Jessica glares at Yan Sun, jaw tightening. "Unless you are wanting to get out and push it? Then yes, you should probably start it." she says through her teeth.
Yan Sun winces slightly. "Okay, okay!" she exclaims, pressing the button and then gripping the wheel with both hands, holding it as if she expects the truck to jerk out of her control before she even touches the gas pedal.
The truck roars to life. Whatever circuitry issues the map might be having certainly don't extend to the engine. Reliable as ever. A vibration can be felt emanating through the steering wheel and the entire cabin rumbles beneath them. The steering wheel itself is like a large, thick circle with a horizontal line through it. The line is like a handlebar, complete with grips for handholds.
Jessica gives an eyeroll when Yan Sun finally starts up the truck. "There is only one rule." she explains as she gestures towards the windshield briefly amidst shrugging her jacket off, "Do not run into anything unless we can kill it more than it kills us."
Yan Sun flashes a clearly uncomfortable smile in response to Jessica's words, just sitting there for a moment as she feels the vibration of the engine in her hands. A far cry from the sleek, quiet, VI-piloted skycar that would take her to school back in Hong Kong. The intimidated feeling does remind her of another vehicle from her past though... but that was a swift predator, not a hulking beast, and her only attempt at driving it was
short-lived to say the least. "Oooookay..." she says to herself, looking over the dashboard as if hoping to discern whether everything is as it should be. Her foot inches closer to the pedal, but she hesitates, glancing to the gearshift. "Uh... should I...?" she asks, glancing Jessica's way again.
Jessica's response is another judgmental, unamused raise of her brow. "I know you like it when I choke you, kitty cat." she says, getting a cheap jab in, "But I am going to be choke you to death if you are not moving us soon."
Yan Sun nods several times. "Okay! Moving!" she replies, rather quickly pressing the throttle-like gearshift forward and stepping on what is hopefully the gas pedal.
Jessica draws in a long, deep breath. Just sucking all of the air out of the cabin. Loudly. "Gooooooooooo!" she growls, jamming an index finger into Yan Sun's side.
Yan Sun squirms away from Jessica, her midsection arcing away from her finger. "I'm trying!" she almost yells, stomping rather hard on the other pedal out of sheer consternation.
The truck jerks forward as Yan Sun stomps the pedal. Thanks to their work on the snow around the wheels, it catches traction instantly and shoots forward, kicking snow up all around it as it begins to power through the sheet of white in front of it. It can be felt through the entire truck when the front wheels hit the snow. A slight shift in momentum. But the truck makes short work of it. Of course, in conjunction with the jerk forward from
Jessica is pushed back slightly and then instantly jerked right back forward, causing her eyes to go wide and for her to nearly slip off of her seat, resulting in both hands shooting to the dashboard to keep herself stable. A very panicked, "Gaaah!" slips out.
Yan Sun 's expression turns to panic as the truck jerks forward, her hands gripping the steering wheel as hard as she possibly can, and her foot only pressing down harder on the pedal as her body stiffens. Jessica's panicked shout does nothing to help her calm, and a "AAAH!" of her own immediately joins it.
In response to the pedal being pressed harder the truck, as one might expect, goes faster! The uneven, frozen, rocky ground beneath the snow makes it a bouncy, bumpy ride, only worsened by the added speed.
Jessica leans back, hands pressed firmly against the dashboard and eyes the size of saucers. "No-... not-..." a long string of throaty, guttural noises escape her as she temporarily slips into a batarian dialect to deliver a string of expletives in a panic. And mid-sentence, she's right back to broken English, "...motherbitchingfucker! Not so much fast! Not so much fast!" she repeats, her English only seeming to worsen when she finds
herself more focused on the possibility of slamming full speed into an outcropping of rocks tucked against the foothills of the mountains.
Yan Sun seems none to happy with the bouncy, panicked ride, eyes wide as she holds on for dear life to the wheel. She suddenly seems to realize that she's pushing the gas pedal down, lifting her boot from it and shifting to the other in the process, breaking rather aggressively.
The truck bumps and bounces forward, rocking like a rollercoaster right as it traverses the uneven terrain and then, suddenly with the drop of a boot, stops. Hard.
Jessica continues her panicked muttering that has devolved into little more than half-batarian-half-english cussing when she suddenly finds herself moving forward even when the truck no longer is. She gets an intimate introduction to the dashboard, bouncing off of it chest-first and sending her crumbling to the floorboard. Despite the sharp pain settling in she bounces right back up, one hand shooting to the dashboard and the other
against the seat as if to brace herself for continued mayhem. It takes a solid second or two for her to realize they're no longer moving. She draws a few deep breaths in through her mouth, head slowly swiveling until her single brown eye locks on Yan Sun. It's a look of terror. It's a look of rage. We'll call it terrage. "You almost killed us!" she says, unaware that she has slipped back into that deep, throaty batarian dialect.
Yan Sun fares a bit better than Jessica thanks to the steering wheel, although the air is still knocked out of her as she's pushed into it. Her hands are somehow still gripping the wheel tightly as she takes several deep breaths, heart pounding. "Sorry." she whimpers, barely audible, gaze focused straight ahead.
Jessica remains in place, gaze shooting from Yan Sun to the windshield. She straightens her back to try and peer over the dashboard to make sure they didn't hit anything. Once she's sure the truck is safe she seems to notice the pain in her chest and winces. "Gaaaah." she groans, using her hand on the seat to help pull herself back into the seat, the adrenaline still pumping through her veins. "You press one fucking thing! One! I see
you all day on your computer pressing hundreds of buttons! Thousands of fucking buttons!" she begins to to ramble. "I say to you to press only one-..." she gestures towards the pedals, "...and you almost kill us!" It's not even really anger in her voice. Just... shock. "Is one button!"
Yan Sun removes her hands from the steering wheel, opening and closing them a few times as she keeps trying to settle down. "Sorry." she repeats more loudly, followed by an adrenaline-fueled shudder. "Sorry. W-... W-... uhm..." she looks over towards Jessica. "Are-... is-... are you okay?" she asks as the initial shock starts to wear off.
Jessica draws in a few deep breaths and swallows hard. Yan Sun's question causes her to furrow her brow for a moment before registering it. Her hand moves to her chest and she presses on it a bit. Gonna be sore, but nothing serious. She gives a few shallow nods, gaze turning towards the windshield. For a number of moments, the engine of the truck is all that can be heard. And then, finally, the monotony is broken by laughter. Low at
first but it quickly rises and, before long, Jessica's shoulders are bouncing. Elbow rested against her knee, forehead against her hand, laughter bellows forth. "How you are-..." she begins between breaths, "...How you are soooo bad at everything?!" she asks.
Yan Sun at first lets out a bit of quiet, relieved chuckling, more nerves than anything, but Jessica's words cause her to frown. "I'm-... I'm not-... I've never driven before!" she complains, sounding defensive. "I-... I'm sorry." she quickly blurts out again, however, clearly still a little rattled. Another chuckle follows, half-relieved and half-embarrassed.
Jessica draws a few more deep breaths in as her laughter tapers off, numerous shakes of her head following. "You are clumsy even when you are driving." she says, slouching back against her seat. She rolls her head against the backrest to look towards Yan Sun. "Slowwwwwwwwwly!" she says, though a small- if frazzled- grin is still present on her face. "Now go." She brings a hand over to Yan Sun's upper thigh and gives it an encouraging
squeeze. "But you hurt my tits, so I am going to kick your ass later." she adds non-chalantly, like that's just the way things have to be. Nothing personal.
Yan Sun 's embarrassment grows as she calms down, nodding several times in response to Jessica. "Slowly..." she repeats to herself, taking a deep breath and gripping the steering again. She gently, gently presses her foot against the gas pedal.
The hulking piece of machinery rocks momentarily due to the snow that's now pressed up against the wheels. But since the snow hasn't had time to settle, stick against the wheels, and bury them, soon enough the truck lurches forward, crunching snow beneath its massive wheels.
Jessica seems to brace herself as the truck begins to move, expecting another burst of whiplash at any moment. "See?" she asks, gaze remaining locked to the windshield, "Is not so hard, yes?"
Yan Sun flashes an unsteady smile, nodding a few more times. "Right..." she almost-whispers, entirely focused on driving now. She slowly, slooooooowly presses the pedal down a bit more. After a moment's hesitation she even reaches over to shift gears as they gain a little bit more speed, although she keeps a leisurely pace, generously put. Baby steps.
The truck gains speed steadily this time rather than throwing its occupants about. It works much better this way, surprisingly.
Jessica still seems a bit worried about moving. She remains pressed tightly against the backrest in silence. Once it seems like Yan Sun is getting the hang of it, she seems to release the breath she was holding. "You almost make me piss my pants." she says. The comment seems to make her realize something and she shoves her hand into her discarded jacket pocket to pull free the pair of plain black hipster panties. "I am okay to finish
getting dressed, yes?" she asks, cocking an eyebrow Yan Sun's way as she hesitantly shifts forward as if to stand up. "Or you are planning on running us into a rock soon?"
Yan Sun shoots a quick glance Jessica's way before almost immediately looking back to the terrain ahead of them, focused to an almost comical degree. "Yeah. Yeah, go-... go ahead." she says with a couple of nods. A slight, uncertain chuckle slips out as it starts to look like they're not, in fact, about to crash.
Jessica looks unconvinced, gaze fixed to Yan Sun for a number of moments before giving a shake of her head and leaning forward to remove her boots. "You never drive trucks on Earth?" she asks as she stands up, perhaps unaware that what they're in barely even qualifies as a 'truck' by Earth-standards. She lifts her shirt up a bit, bracing herself against the ceiling of the cab with a palm. She uses one hand to undo the button on her
cargo pants. They hug her hips pretty loose and low and, once the button is undone, gravity does the rest to take them to the floor. As should be par for Jessica by now, she seems completely unashamed of the fact that she's standing in the middle of a moving truck completely naked from the waist down. She steps in place a few times to free her feet from the bundle of clothes and begins the process of stepping into the fresh pair
Yan Sun shoots a couple of sidelong glances Jessica's way at the question, her answer taking a moment because of her focus on the driving. "Uh... no? Why-... why would I drive a truck?" she says, the tone of her voice implying that the idea is silly to her. "I mean, I don't even have a car license for one."
Jessica furrows her brow, perhaps only just now finding out you even need a license to drive on Earth. "To go places? I don't fucking know." she says as she tugs her panties up. She masterfully steps back into her pants and squats down to grab the waist of them with one hand. Her other hand- now free of the ceiling- moves right to the seat, unwilling to trust Yan Sun's driving or give her a chance to topple her over. She makes the
transition to standing once again, bringing her pants with her and buttoning them in place before falling back into her seat. "How did you get around?" she asks as she collects the bag of jerky and scoots over to Yan Sun.
Yan Sun furrows her eyebrows. "How I got around? Uhm..." she shrugs, not having considered that it might seem odd to Jessica that she's never driven. "I mean... I'd either walk or take the skycar I guess?" ...or ride the back of Changying's bike, but she forgoes mentioning that. Her eyes remain on what's outside the windshield, doing her best to split her attention, probably giving more to the terrain than she really needs to all things
There's not a whole lot that could go wrong. There's not a whole lot that could pop out at Yan Sun out here. Just the occasional rocky outcropping this close to the mountains. It's a mostly open- if a little bumpy- ride.
Jessica cocks an eyebrow in surprise, her gaze turning to Yan Sun. The conversation seems to, at the very least, be easing her concerns and she begins to ease up slightly. Stretching out, she rests her feet on the dashboard and begins to open the bag of jerky. "You are knowing how to fly a skycar...?" she asks. "How you have not killed yourself yet? Mmm?" she's quick to add with a snicker. "But I have seen you trying to walk, so maybe
Yan Sun lets out a surprised snort of laughter. "Fly it?!" she says amid laughs. "No, I-... no, Guang would drive me." she explains, furrowing her eyebrows when she realizes that probably doesn't tell Jessica much. "Uh, my dad's VI assistant." she elaborates with a gesture of her hands (although they don't leave the wheel), shooting Jessica a quick glance out of the corner of her eye.
Jessica sinks against the seat to get comfortable as she listens to Yan Sun. Having finally freed the jerky from its sealed prison, she shoves a hand down into the bag and pops a piece into her mouth. The mention of a personal VI assistant that flies a skycar for her causes her to look Yan Sun's way as she chews. "Mmm. Yes. Of course. Guang. The VI assistant." she repeats matter of factly and gives a few small nods as she dips another
hand into the bag. Her gaze turns back to the bag so she can find a nice big piece and she gives a shake of her head. "How rich are you, kitty cat?" she asks as a follow up, and there's certainly a negative undertone to it. Probably not intentional, but it's there.
Yan Sun 's eyebrows furrow a little, a hint of... shame, maybe? ...entering her face. "I-... I'm not." she's quick to point out. "My parents are. And-... and that really doesn't matter anymore." she adds, a slight tinge of hostility in her voice.
Jessica either doesn't seem to catch the hostility or just doesn't care. After fishing through the bag with her hand she seems to find a piece of jerky that she has deemed breakfast-worthy and plucks the large, dried varren meat from the bag. "Mmm." she hums in disinterest at Yan Sun's explanation-slash-deflection. But she doesn't press on. She saw where that got her the previous night. So instead she reaches out, poking at Yan Sun's
Yan Sun can't help the small smile that creeps across her lips once they're poked with the jerky. She turns her head a little and opens her mouth to chomp down on the offered food. She reaches up with her right hand to grab the jerky and tear the part she didn't bite down on away. "Thanks..." she says between chews, shooting Jessica a look, small smile lingering. "...kinda starving." She's been on Aite long enough to get used to varren,
It's not unsimilar to most other jerky. There are some local spices on it that have a distinct odor. There's a bit of zing to it, but it's not unpleasant. Almost garlicy.
Jessica licks at her fingers when she pulls them back and then dives back into the bag for another piece for herself. "Mmm." she agrees. "If we find somewhere we can stop, maybe we can cook some real food." she muses, though she hasn't seemed particularly bothered by the stream of junk food, either. The cabin has climbed to a rather comfortable temperature. Of course, running the heat like this constantly is going to drain the power