When Mei arrived on the desk, she took note of the tarped aircraft on one of the decks. “So, this is where you were,” she said lightly to herself as she watched the Starwolf leader tinkering with the craft. She tilted her head a bit as she examined the craft, which initially looked similar to a Messiah from this distance, but despite any similarities it shared with the Messiah, there were many notable differences that told her that it was something else. She recalled the conversation from the bar earlier and wondered if this was the mysterious crafter they had been talking about.<br/><br/>As she continued to look around, she noted that the flight crew was preparing one of the catapults for launch. She glanced back to the Starwolf leader as he backed away and pulled the tarp from the craft. So, it was a new craft after all. She sighed to herself, muttering something about how she wanted something new as she watched the man jump up and climb into the craft. As they all prepared for launch, she glanced at the Starwolf mechanic who appeared to be jotting stuff down on a tablet.<br/><br/>She walked casually to her own craft as the plane was locked into the catapult. Her attention returned to the other craft as she felt the heat and vibrations it gave off before it launched. She muttered something to herself again as she looked over her own craft, making sure everything was in order, that nothing had been missed during the repairs before. She looked up from her inspection when she heard some of the nearby crew talking amongst themselves.<br/><br/>Looking out, she saw the smaller lights the separated and split apart. She chuckled lightly, shaking her head as she finished the last of her inspection before hopping down and disappearing for a minute and returning in her flight suit. She could hear explosions rumbling over the mountains, and in the distance the explosions could be seen. She watched for a moment as the pale blue streak darted through the sky, smiling lightly when the alarms suddenly blared.<br/><br/>“Well, well. It looks like the fun is finally beginning,” she said as she looked at the nearby flight deck crew. “Alright, let’s go,” she told them, prompting them to prep for her launch. As they prepared the catapult and got everything set, she hopped up and climbed into the plane. Closing the canopy and buckling in, she began to go through the procedures of checking everything before she moved the plane up into position for the crew to lock her into the catapult and get her ready to launch.<br/><br/>Around her, she could see other pilots scrambling to their own planes and preparing for launch. She wondered briefly what their odds were this time but dismissed the thought, since it didn’t really matter. As usual, she felt anticipation building as she waited. When the crew gave her the go ahead, her engines roared as they wound up in a scene far less dramatic than the previous fighter’s launch. She gave the crew her typical two-finger salute and a grin before she launched and took to the sky.<br/><br/>Ahead, she could see the crafts firing on the Starwolf leader, as well as dozens of assault ships and other crafts entering the atmosphere above. Behind her she could see other fighters launching from the Elysion. “My, my. It looks like our peaceful little planet isn’t so peaceful anymore,” she mused to herself as she headed off towards the nearest group of fighters, preparing for the fight ahead.<br/><br/>She dove straight into the fight, taking out two fighters as she approached before rolling and dodging the attacks that came her way with as much grace as her fighter allowed. Much like in previous fights, she displayed a propensity for smoothly between her fighter and guardian modes often during the fighting. “We have to quit meeting like this,” she said in a teasing voice to the Starwolf leader over the comm after taking out two of the fighters heading his way, “Surely there are some less dangerous places we could meet.”<br/><br/>It wasn’t as though she thought he needed her protection, or like she was trying to protect him or anything. The fighters had simply ended up being the closest ones to her, so it was only natural that she would take them out. Even so, it helped her to tease and joke around, and she wouldn’t miss an opportunity to lighten the mood a bit, even if it might not seem like an appropriate time.<br/><br/>Of course, he might not appreciate her humor and it might do nothing to lighten the mood as far as he was concerned, but she wasn’t particularly worried about that right now. They all had their ways of coping and keeping their heads clear and focused. Weird though it might seem, this was her way of doing that.