"I'm just saying Benji, if Brent finds out you're letting me sit in his baby he'll eat both of us, no matter how un-hungry he's feeling at the moment,” Bay looked around nervously.

"Hey - the Tegu's my baby too! Co-Captain remember!" Benji beamed.

"Sure Benji," Bay rolled his eyes grinning. He had to admit though, for all the stick he gave Brent and Benji about the Tegu not being flight-ready yet, she was a pretty slick looking machine.

There were some technological modifications and software upgrades that the Ibis and Bobcat didn't have, not that Bay would trade his baby Ibis for anything.

"Well...?" Asked Benji, "What do you think?"

"Yup," Bay replied, looking around the cockpit, "It's a fifty million dollar helicopter that doesn't fly. So it's basically a car. That doesn't drive."

"Asshole!" Benji laughed punching Bay in the shoulder. "When I get up there you guys are going to see some real flying."

"If that's the case then I'm looking forward to being on your team," a voice came from behind them making them both jump, Bay nearly hit the wrap-around display and remembered Luca's warning - $120 000.

"Merit!" Benji beamed. "What are you doing here? I was just showing Bay the Tegu."

"Hi Bay," Merit smiled at him. Bay only wished high school him would one day know a pretty girl would voluntarily make eye contact with him.

"Hey Cooper!" Bay replied brightly.

"I've come to do set up for tomorrow night on Ibis," Merit explained.

"Yeah? Where's Aziz?" Bay frowned.

A slight blush crept over Merit's porcelain skin, "I said I'd cover for him. He’s busy elsewhere.”

Bay snorted, he figured his winch man was probably ‘busy’ with Lily.

"Well he keeps his shooty death-rays over there." Bay gestured towards a padlocked weapons cage.

Merit pulled out a small silver key, grinning at them, "Thanks!"

"God, she's beautiful," Benji sighed.

"She is currently disassembling an HK417 semi-automatic rifle, the fact that you find that beautiful is worrying to the extent that perhaps they were right in suggesting a medical discharge," Bay shook his head.

"But just...the way she moves." Benji was staring with his mouth slightly open in adoration at Merit.

"The way she moves with a deadly assault rifle. Seriously Benji, you need to think this one through."

"I think it through all the time," Benji grinned sheepishly.

"Oh Jeez," Bay rolled his eyes and slid out of the Tegu. "I'll give you, Merit and the semi-automatic weapon a moment. Just beware of quick fire buddy."

Bay cackled proudly as he ducked out of the way of Benji grabbing at him and legged it out of the warehouse, straight into Luca Jeong.

"You can't be serious?" Bay asked Luca, squinting up at him in the low light of dusk, "You cannot be going up again? Dude, you look like an extra from the Walking Dead."

Luca blinked at him, Bay was pretty sure Luca said a multitude of words with his blinks. Unfortunately, Bay couldn't understand half of them.

"Earth to Luca?" Bay attempted.

Luca sighed and rubbed his hand across his face, "Sorry. Just wrecked today. I've got the approval from Ops to take Ibis up for a spin at 2000 hours."

"Seriously? Ops approved you? Did they see you?" Bay made a frantic gesture.

Luca blinked again.

"Sheesh, okay fine, but I'm not trusting you alone with my baby right now, let me suit up and I'll come with you." Bay shook his head.

"You don't have to..." Luca started but Bay cut across him. He was used to dealing with rejections, nip 'em in the bud.

"No really! Any excuse to get more flying hours right?” Bay plastered on a wide smile.

Luca swayed slightly and his lips twitched. Bay decided to take it as "Why yes, Systems Operator Pereira, it would be a pleasure to have you join me today for a turn about the Base."

Or maybe something that sounded slightly less like it came out of steampunked Jane Austen novel, but you get the gist.

Bay ran across the warehouse into the locker room only to realise that Luca wasn't suited up either and it now looked like Bay was awkwardly racing him or had something to hide, like a third nipple or bodily scales.

Sure enough, thirty seconds later Luca swung open the locker room door, his eyebrows perched in a slightly bemused frown at Bay who now realised that by standing, not moving, in the middle of the room it looked like he had purposefully waited for Luca to get changed.

Bay couldn’t help but steal a few peeks at the pilot before the flight suit went on because you never knew, Luca's flight suit could have just been like one of those cheap Batman costumes you get at a fancy dress stores with the six pack pre-sewn in.

It was not.

That physique was all natural.

Bay wondered if he should start going to Mikos' gym with Benji, although he was pretty sure Benji only went because Merit did.

***

"Ibis you are clear for lift."

"Roger that Base."

They nudged up into the sky above the grey desert sand. Bay sighed, running his finger across the display, a trail of neon light followed its path.

He looked over to Luca, who was holding them in hover with his eyes closed. The dash was changing though, the fluid control panels dissolving and re-morphing in front of them. Bay knew Luca was using the cerebral link, the pilot’s closed eyelids twitched rapidly.

Luca would have looked almost peaceful if it wasn't for the frown. Suddenly, his eyes flicked open and his gaze shifted sideways towards Bay.

"The systems okay, Bay?"

"Sys...er yeah! Everything's looking pretty good," Bay scrambled to start pressing buttons, hopefully one of them might launch his emergency ejector seat.

Luca nodded, seemingly satisfied, and blinked again to change the radio frequency. He began conversing with Ops.

Maybe that was why he kept blinking at everyone instead of talking? Perhaps he was so used to using it to control stuff up there...?

"Mikos Base, this is Ibis."

"Hello Ibis, this your fat controller here."

Luca chuckled softly, clearly he had already established a firm friendship with the night controller seeing as he had been doing so many test flights recently, he probably spoke to them more than anyone else.

"Hello Zach, so what's the score?"

"No change, you're gonna lose and you already owe me $20!"

Another uncharacteristic chuckle, who was this elusive Zach and his power of laughter over Luca? Bay couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous, the most he ever got from Luca was a half smirk.

"Roger that Command."

Bay glanced at Luca, "Baseball?"

"Yeah. You follow?"

"Hell yes, Dodgers fan right here."

Luca made a 'Tsch' sound before closing his eyes again.

Well fine then.

The rest of the flight progressed smoothly, Bay began telling Luca about some of the ultra-cool modifications he had seen in the Tegu, "But I mean of course those losers are still grounded!" Bay added hastily after seeing Luca's frown get even more creased. Wouldn't want Luca thinking Brent had more 'shiny' in his aircraft than him.

"So, does it feel like part of you yet?" Bay glanced at the pilot. "Are you one with the machine?"

Luca's lips twitched, making Bay’s chest jump in triumph.

"There is...a connection." Luca looked at Bay as if waiting for the sarcastic Matrix reference or something, but it wasn’t coming, because this 'connection' between the pilot and the aircraft, actually activated via a cerebral control system - that Bay could understand way more than his dopey roommate thinking he had a connection with some girl he barely spoke to.

"Half man, half Ibis." Bay said instead, smiling faintly at Luca, who had closed his eyes again, his face illuminated by the soft moonlight outside. Although perhaps the Ibis was taking over a little too much?

They landed back at Base just before 2100 hours. Merit was waiting for them in the warehouse as they taxied in. She smiled at them and waved a machine gun... well that was a welcoming greeting for you.

"I didn't get a chance to finish prepping the weapons before you guys took her out!" Merit called across to them.

"Oh shit - sorry Merit, we didn't mean to keep you waiting!" Bay said as he jumped guiltily out of the cockpit.

"It's okay, I had some company," Merit beamed at him and Bay noticed Benji standing over near Tegu smiling ecstatically and giving him a thumbs up.

Oh well get in there you son of a gun! I take it all back!

Bay grinned at his friend and followed Luca into the locker room, promising himself he would do a better job of diverting his gaze this time.

Promises are sometimes made to be broken.