So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last.

[youfallback]

Who: Carolina and open!
What: Carolina doing maintenance on vehicles in the hangar. People dropping by. Awkward talks.
When: All day (Jan 20th)
Where: Noble Two's hangar, which Carolina has essentially taken charge of
Rating: Updated to R/NC-17 in the York and Carolina thread. Otherwise PG/PG-13 for most others.


After training and a few other things she needed to check in on, Carolina was back in the hangar, outside of her armor for the first time in a few days. While there were obvious uses for said armor, it made her current task of vehicle maintenance much more difficult. So, the Freelancer could be found in the various vehicles in the hangar, dressed in mildly civillian-esque uniform she'd worn out on the expedition, with the addition of a thicker jacket. After all, she couldn't run vehicles without proper ventilation and the only ventilation was opening the garage door a little.

She didn't plan on being bugged, but things were rarely as she planned them as of late.


(ooc: I'll slap up times below with Carolina's location/the vehicle she's working on below!)

Comments

[youfallback]

Carolina glanced over at the door opening, raising an eyebrow at the penguin seated on Jorge's helmet before he pulled it off. Another thing that didn't quite make any sense about this place. Leaning against the side of the Warthog, Carolina regarded Jorge with a curious expression.

"Noble Two built almost all of these, as well as the hangar." She wasn't about to take credit for something that wasn't hers.

[noblefive]

"The castle let her build this stuff?" He asks, wandering a bit further in, and he takes his helmet off.

"Need some help with anything? I'm pretty good with mechnanics."

Considering the fact that he modified his own MJOLNIR armour.

[youfallback]

"It did," Carolina answered, not at all wanting to go into how some wishes can be answered and the like. She'd been avoiding the Castle and that ability to make wishes for a reason; it didn't help her trying to work through her doubts about the Castle's realness.

"Most of the vehicles aren't in need of major repair, just some maintenance. Two built these to last." If the other woman ever came back, Carolina would have to give her a big thank you, and not just for the vehicles.

[noblefive]

"Yeah, Kat always took pride in her work, at the least."

There's something about that sentance that seems a bit...sad? Depressed? It's gone in the next, however.

"Maintenance or not, two heads are better than one, no?"

[youfallback]

With a raised eyebrow, Carolina regarded Jorge with some slight curiousness. Soldiers were allowed to feel just as much as any civillian, even if she didn't uphold that same rule for herself.

"Depends on the second head," she replied simply, but not dismissing him either. If he wanted to help, she wouldn't complain.

[noblefive]

"I'm no techie, but I've studied enough blueprints for UNSC gear that I know my way around a Warthog or Mongoose." There was always the possibility of the enemy commandeering one of their vehicles. It made sense to know how to blow up your own kit.

[youfallback]

Carolina nodded slightly with approval, stepping to the side of the Mongoose to make room for Noble Five. As long as nothing got broken, she'd be okay with him working on the vehicle. "Seen plenty of manuals myself."

[noblefive]

It's true that the rumours say that Noble Five is one of the more laid-back of the SPARTANs, but a SPARTAN he was. He was as stubborn as anything, but he does seem willing to try and make amends with Carolina over that little stand-off they had in training.

...By not mentioning it, ever.

"The manuals are handy, but the shop guys never quite wire them up just right. I'm wondering if Kat's done it by the book, if I'm honest."

[youfallback]

Hey, Carolina could deal with that strategy. Not talking about stand-offs was one of the things she did best. The question about Kat has the Freelancer raising an eyebrow. "Is she the type to go by the book?"

She'd had such a limited (and relatively negative whoops) experience with Noble Two, but that came with having someone to actually challenge the Freelancer. Someone to tell her no pushed Carolina to work harder, which the woman was just now coming to appreciate.

[noblefive]

"That depends." What was in the book, was generally done by the book. "Kat was our tech expert, after all. I didn't pry too much into what she actually did."

That, and she was usually able to convince Carter to do whatever she wanted.

[youfallback]

Carolina snorted lightly in amusement, yeah that sounded about right. As long as the job got done, who was going to really start digging into how it was done. "I might have better luck, then." As Freelancers were meant to be good at everything, even though there were certain skills she was better at. Mechanics happened to be one she was significantly less good at.

[noblefive]

"Well, you might be able to notice that this gear-" He knocks on his armour, "-Isn't exactly standard issue. All the work I've done here was done by myself."

He takes a look around the hangar. "I'm sure this stuff isn't as complicated as MJOLNIR armour. How hard can it be?"

[youfallback]

Carolina raised her eyebrows at that. A SPARTAN who worked on his own armor, not bad. Not bad at all. She had at least the decency to look impressed by his statement; she'd make him prove it, though, no doubt about that.

"Depends on Noble Two's style of building," she replied as she sat beside the rear axel of the Mongoose.

[noblefive]

"Did she keep the blueprints anywhere? Upload them onto the CastleNet or something?"

[youfallback]

"Not on CastleNet that I've seen, but she has a room in here still. Plans could be in there." Carolina hadn't gone into Kat's room yet, more out of respect for the other woman than a lack of curiosity.

[noblefive]

"I'll ask Six about getting access to that, then. Kat would have likely left any information with Six."

He does, however, take a look around the Mongoose. "Where do you want me to start?"

[youfallback]

"Copy that," Carolina spoke with her usual efficiency, taking a step back to give him room if he wanted it. After all he was freaking huge, man. "I've checked the fuel lines, starter, battery, and transmission. Anywhere else is still free game."

[noblefive]

"I'll check the oil and brake fluid." Jorge says, moving around to where the engine is located.

He takes a moment to locate the dipstick to measure the oil. "I take it these are always fuelled up, ready to go?"

[youfallback]

"Yeah, if there were an emergency, we'd need to be able to respond at a moment's notice," she replied efficiently, watching as he worked, more out of curiosity than suspicion.

[noblefive]

Even being as big as he is, and knowing the serious strength boost MJOLNIR armour has, Jorge works deftly and carefully, managing to perform the tasks as well as if the suit was his own skin.

"Ever been a need for this hardware?" Just idle chatter as he checks the oil, moving onto the brake fluid.

[youfallback]

"Not yet, but I'm not counting on that lasting long." Carolina kept her attention focused on the SPARTAN, watching how he moved. Well, at least he'd been in the armor long enough to feel natural in it. Another bonus point to the UNSC crew at large.

[noblefive]

30 years is a rather long time, yeah. Jorge gets down onto the ground to check the brake line and pads, making sure they were all still working.

"I'm sure the castle'll take stuff like this into consideration. From what I've heard, anyway."

[youfallback]

Carolina, for all her stern attitudes, had at least had a real childhood on Earth. Not one raised in armor, essentially.

"We can bring residents out here and head off to a secure location if the Castle's ever compromised." She moved to pluck the shop rag from the seat of the Mongoose, just to have it out of the way.

[noblefive]

"You got any backups in case the hangar is inaccessible?"

This is said from beneath the Mongoose as the bulky SPARTAN has slid himself underneath, checking the brake pads and lines.

"Everything seems to check out here..."

[youfallback]

"There's not much space to store them outside of the TARDII in the Castle," she replied as efficiently as ever. This kind of work talk, though, was extremely nice and a great distraction from a few of the lingering doubts in her mind. "Good. Better to have it checked."