Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in side - sim: New Flight Paths

Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in side - sim: New Flight Paths
Helena let out a low moan as the docking bay door for the transport ship came into view. She despised these hazardous environment training exercises. As much as she loved camping and navigating by the stars without a computer to tell her how to get there, she was certain that the officers in charge of these trainings out here on Titan enjoyed torturing them. A young fresh faced, full of himself, ensign held up a hand. “Sorry miss. Ship’s not ready to board yet. We’re waiting on the pilot. No one gets on till the preflight check is done. You’ll have to go wait in the lounge.”

Just to be sure she wasn’t dreaming and would wake up to find herself still in that crater hole and explosive still going off, Helena glanced down at her jump suit. Yep, there it was, her insignia badge marking her as a Fleet Pilot. She sighed. “Ensign…”

“Jaleery. Ensign Jaleery, miss. I really am…”

Helena cut him off. “Look here Ensign. First of all, I’m not a ‘miss’, I’m a Lt. If you cared to pay as much attention to the uniforms and ranking on other officers as you do that data on your clipboard there, you would know that. Second I am the pilot. So if you want this bucket of bolts to get off the surface, get outta my way so I can get my preflight done. Captain Marceau Renault and passengers have been ordered and cleared for immediate departure.” She passed over the letter with the official United Earth Star Fleet seal. “I am not going to be the one to tell the Captain his transport back to Earth was delayed because the pilot of his transport was denied access to the ship.”

The ensign stared at the paper. That was…was…the admiral’s signature…and a lot more authority than he had. But…this was Lt Laursen? He thought Laursen was…well a guy. Like a BIG guy who did all kinds of amazing and crazy things from the pilot’s seat…not…well this woman standing in front of him. “I…I need to see your…ID.” Helena rolled her eyes so hard it almost knocked the poor ensign to the floor. She reached into the left pocket of her jump suit, and yanked out the ID card. It seemed primitive but they still worked. Wow it really was Laursen. His bunkies would never believe him. He entered the key code and the doors slid open. “Sorry mi…Lt.”

Helena nodded, “Thank you En. You have the engineer’s clearance check for me?” He nodded and handed another paper and her orders over to her. “Safe flight, Lt.” Helena returned the awkward salute the kid gave her and lugged her gear bag with her down the docking tube and to the door. She swiped her card on the access panel and their was a hiss as air escaped as the door opened. She stepped in and took a deep breath as a grin spread across her face. Weariness gone, Helena loved to fly! She tossed her bag into a storage compartment with a grunt as the door closed behind her. She sat down in the pilot’s seat and swiveled toward the controls as she buckled in. =C=Titan flight control this is Lt Laursen beginning preflight engine start-up and flight check.=C=

Lt Laursen, pilot

=C= Flight control to Transport, you’re good to go when ready.=C= was the response.

Helena looked around, what were they calling this bucket of bolts? She’d been given the registry number and there were close to hundred of these warp 1 transports in the system. Ah there it was. =C=Thank you Flight Control, commencing engine start up. Dayrunner out.=C= The engines started with a slight whine that turned into a low level hum that Helena could feel like a tickle on her finger tips. It was almost meditative for Helena as she ran through checking the flight control, navigation orientation, emergency power checks, and the like. Then with that done her fingers danced across the controls and the engine began to humm a little louder as she slid her seat to the right and the ‘yoke’ column popped out and she wrapped her hands around it. With a grin the shuttle lifted about a 2 feet off the bay floor and with a twitch of her hands Dayrunner gave a shake, like a dog shaking and stretching after a long nap and then settled down to the dock.

Titan was not Marceau’s favorite place to be… In fact, he hated the place. But, Command had decided some last minute training was in order so here he was. He had been all too happy when new orders had come through: to return to Earth immediately. Now, the transport ship had arrived, and last he heard, preflight checks were nearly done. That meant he’d soon be able to board and get off this rock.

He was familiar with the pilot. Then again, he at least knew the names of most anyone at the rank of Lieutenant or above. Starfleet was not a large organization. Not yet. But Lieutenant Laursen he knew, they’d met previously. She was a good pilot, a great one, really, and that’s why she was here on Titan with him. When he reached the shuttle, he was asked for ID. “Captain Marceau Renault.” His accent was still fairly strong and it made the R in his last name sound distinctly French.

He showed his card and was let aboard where he took a seat and buckled in. “Salut, Helena,” he said as he settled into the seat. He was tall, fit but not very athletic (though he could be), and fit easily into the seat. He had medium length reddish brown hair with a bit of natural curl to it. Green eyes studied whatever was outside the shuttle’s front window.

“Góðan daginn, Marceau,” he could almost hear the smile in her voice as she concentrated on the controls in front of her. She and Marceau had gone through training together, come up as cadets and through the ranks. He was used to her excitement at being behind the ‘wheel’. Marceau was a top notch doctor, but he was made for command, even in those early days. She cleared her throat and turned in her seat to look back at him. “Apologies, Sir. Góðan daginn, Captain Renault.” She almost got the trill of the ‘R’ right. She’d had years to learn, but languages and native inflection was not one of Helena’s skills.

At this point in time, Marceau did not know why he was being called back to Earth so urgently, so he was interested to find out. Nothing bad, he hoped, but when he thought about what it could be, nothing came to mind. He was newly promoted to the rank of Captain, it was not a rank he’d had for long. Congratulations had been had for his promotion already, but there had, so far, been little to do with that new rank. There were no ships he knew of in need of a Captain.

“Any idea why we’ve been recalled, Sir? Not that I’m complaining, or really care the reason. Titan trainings aren’t something I look good doing.”

“They’ve moved all other passengers to another transport. We have a direct flight to Earth.”

The ride between Titan and Earth Marceau found to be like a long, boring car ride. Except, in space. Hopefully it would go quickly. And thankfully he was travelling with someone he knew. Marceau liked people, but was not the most extroverted nor talkative person around. He could hold a conversation, but he was not always the one to start it.

~ Captain Renault

Helena got up from her seat and closed and secured the door and heard the mechanical whirl of the docking tube retracting. Taking her seat she strapped in. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Dayrunner with service from Titan directly to Earth. We are currently first in line for take-off and are expected to be in the air right now. I ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. I also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off. Thank you for choosing Dayrunner. Enjoy your flight and hang on.”

The transport rose slowly and steadily, and then rocked, gave a shudder and broke free of Titan’s gravity. Then they were traveling at a steady warp 1, until they dropped out of warp after passing Jupiter. Helena turned on the outside mics as they slowed and began to weave through the belt. “Did you know that if you pass by an asteroid at the correct angle so that the wave from the impulse engine bounces off the surface just right, it sounds like playing crystal glasses? It’s because it’s nothing but rock crystals and ice in there.” After a moment, where she was slowly adjusting the speed, pitch, and yaw and then passing around the next asteroid Renault could hear the hum and chime as it sounded behind them, each a different note on the scale.

Lt Laursen, pilot