Bridge - Deck B

This was immediately followed by Sue's voice:

=!Ling to Bridge; we've got a water leak in my room!"=

- Sue

The warning lights flickered on across her flight board. If she had been less of a lady a colorful chinese expletive would have been heard. Her fingers moved deftly across the controls. "Shutting thrusters down and disengaging all engine functions. Our course is true for docking." She shook her head at the litany of errors coming off the engine readouts. She was no mechanical engineer, but she knew her warning lights and what they meant.

The large blip of Brad's wrecker was moving up on the scope. "Looks like lunch will be a little late."

-Poppy

Mark began cursing in Chinese as he got duplicates of alerts on his command console , then the call from Sue and a corresponding error light that the water pressure was falling for domestic water supply for the freshers
Mark brings up the engineering control and isolates the water then hits reply

=" Bridge to Sue we got that leak, looks like we lost the domestic water supply in your area "=

Mark was expecting feed back to confirm that they had stopped the leak , then he ques Ryan

=" Bridge to engineering , Sue lings domestic water has sprung a leak, I have isolated the loop in her area and awaiting her feed back "=

Mark watched as the Wrecker swung over the Atlantis in the classic tow/docking maneuver, the ship would open it's arms and literally hug the Atlantis until planet fall, whoever was flying that boat was good,Mark listened to Poppy and the other pilot talk and soon the two ships became one , Mark cues the shipwide

=" Attention all hands we are hard docked with the Wrecker, We are still on schedule for Persephone and will effect repairs in flight enough to get us down "=

Mark gets out of the seat and heads for the starboard hatch

" Poppy the bridge is yours, I'll personally beat the tar er I mean escort Brad aboard "

Mark escorts Dale off the bridge at this time and Kundan could be seen getting a shop vac ready to clean Sue's quarters

Mark Ho Chang

A few moments later the lights go out and all power fails, the after a few seconds the power comes back for all bridge systems, and alarm shows Poppy that they were running on the back up generator, at least it would not be a dead stick landing, for now it was run a check list
Then Mark's voice comes over the ship wide

=" Attention all hands, we have lost primary power and are running on back up, looks like supper is postponed, please stay alert for further instructions "=

James / GM

Morgan stalked angrily on to the Bridge, where she was able to see the familiar sight of the Wrecker attached to the Atlantis. She took that to mean their ship was dead in the water.

"Hi Poppy," she said, doing her best to sound like she knew what she was doing and was totally in control of the situation. "The comm unit in my room is busted, so all I've heard about this is what Mark broadcast on the ship-wide. Is he down in the Engine Room?"

Morgan O'Doyle

Poppy was rubbing the flight consul in a reassuring nurturing manner. The lights had gon down, but the old girl was still responsive at the stick. Poppy smiled at the development. At least they had some chance. The bigger wrecker currently grappling her would seriously mess up aerodynamics once they were in atmo. Poppy didn't really like limping in wrapped int eh big arms of a wrecker. She'd rather fly it free on instruments. Hell even by sight. Atlantis had a smoother more graceful form than nearly any ship currently plying the black. Poppy knew she could land her, even without power. She'd done worse.

Morgan entering jarred Poppy's awareness back to the bridge. "Oh hi!" she replied with a resplendent smile. "The Captain is escorting Brad to the engine room. They should be there by now. It seems our girl has a bunch of bad parts in her. But no worries, she'll see us down the whole way." She commented with confidence and a little eagerness to do something risky and dangerous.

It was no secret that Poppy got a huge rush out of flying, especially landings, they really got her going. Speaking of land, Persephony was rapidly filling up the front viewport. She triggered the intercom. =Captain, we are fifteen minutes from dropping into the world. Do we want to do with with a wrecker on our back?=

-Poppy

Morgan took a seat in the co-pilot's chair in anticipation of a bumpy ride. She grinned at Poppy.

"So, how interesting do you expect this landing to be?" Poppy's cheerfulness was contagious, and Morgan found herself enjoying the thrill of possible danger as well.

Morgan O'Doyle

"Well, I don't think I would count it as 'my god, my god, we're all going to die' interesting, but it's not likely to be for the faint of heart." She said with a mischievous smile. "I'm not worried, I can get her down. She just might throw some interesting twists in on the way. But that's ok too." She was happy to have a pleasant conversation with Morgan. Poppy really did like her, despite the obvious difference on politics.

-Poppy

"Fantastic," Morgan replied with a wry smile. "It's been over an hour since our last major catastrophe, so we're overdue."

She watched as Persephone grew larger in their viewscreen. It had been a long time since she'd been on the Bridge during a landing, and the view was both breathtaking and vertigo-inducing.

"You ever been to Persephone before?" she asked Poppy.

Morgan O'Doyle

"No I haven't. I hear they have lovely gardens and a canopied mist forest. It sounds so wonderful. I've seen the fire falls on Shinon and I swam in the biolumenscent lakes on Aerial when I was in college. Ok it was on a skinny dipping dare after too many wine coolers at the sorrotiry house. But it was magnificent. Funny thing is I've actually been more places on the Rim now than among the border worlds. The only place I've been there is Aker's Bluff. It'll be great to see a more developed planet." Poppy related with starry looking eyes.
-Poppy

The message came through that soon the Wrecker would be off their back. Those were joyous words for Poppy, but it also meant there was work to do.

=Copy that Captain. I'll keep you informed. Won't be long though. We are
almost in Persephone Alpha ATC zone. I'll set the ground boys up for a
hot landing.=

She smiled and lifted an eyebrow to Morgan. "Now the fun starts." She toggled on the com system.

=Persephone Alpha, this Atlantis Heavy. I am calling a Mayday Mayday Mayday. We have limited engine function but should be able to maintain a consistent glide angle for entry and descent. Please have emergency crews and flight assist drones ready. I'll need 15,000 feet of runway if you got em.=

-Poppy

It was'nt long when Mark entered the bridge and called out

" Captain on the bridge "

Then as if on cue the lights came back up, it was a delay on the back up power switch over circuit , Brad commented

" We better check that out "

" Well first fix my engine "

Mark takes the command seat while Brad takes a jump seat

Poppy gets a signal that the Wrecker was separating and soon the Atlantis was on her own

" OK Poppy take us in "

Mark Ho Chang

Poppy's smile grew as the bulky wrecker moved off. The sleek little underpowered darling that was Atlantis slid closer to Persephone.

=Attention all hands this is your Pilot. We are beginning our descent into the Eavesdown Docks vicinity of Persephone. If you all have not heard already, we are having a bit more motor trouble. Please make your way to the nearest jump chairs and secure harnesses. I'll try and keep her smooth, but we are relying more on physics than finesse. We should have you on the ground soon. Thank you for flying with us and Welcome to Persephone.=

"Ok, Captain we are on our way!" She shouted out enthusiastically to Mark.

=Persephone Alpha, Atlantis heavy is coming in. Talk to you after the chop.=

As if on cue the nose of the ship began to shudder as they rubbed against the outer ionosphere. She checked her angle of her entry trajectory. The Atlantis heat shield should easily take the atmospheric entry. Good quality ceramic tiling from the technicians at Higgin's Moon. The vibrations increased as a warm orange glow began to be seen in the viewport.

Her grin grew wider as flames began to lick up the side of the nose. She held the stick firmly in her diminutive hands, feeling every vibration of the journey through her body. She often felt like she became one with the ship, or at least it was a large extension of her own body. It was exhilarating to plunge through the upper atmosphere with the forces of nature grappling and clawing at her. The flames reached up filling the viewport, a steady vibration coursing through the spine of the ship. For a mere moment she closed her eyes, caught up in the instant as death and life hung apart by a flimsy veil. And then she pressed downward.

"Firing breaking thrusters." She called out to no one in particular, merely from habit. The flames subsided and the the wide arch of Persephone stretched before them. A beautiful day in the upper stratosphere. =Persephone Alpha, Atlantis is clear of the cooker and is in the chute. I am holding to the directed coordinates.=

The pulled the nose up and let the aerodynamic shape of the mighty vessel soar at hypersonic speed through the heavens. She gave a brief smile to Morgan who had strapped into the co-pilot's chair. She resisted the urge to barrel roll her. On the scope she could make out the northern land mass holding Eavesdown. She began to apply the airbrakes and compensated as the nose began to drop one more. She was a dream to fly. Atlantis danced in the air currents like a natural bird, none of the crude raw force of bulky freighters. This was landing in style.

They continued their descent. Below them thin clouds drifted like a milk sea. A sea that was rapidly approaching them. Visibility might be an issue but the instruments were still showing true. She trusted Atlantis. They would find their way. =Persephone Alpha we are 400 miles out and coming in fast. Make some room down there, we can't move much.= The dangerous part was just about to start. She pressed the reaction thrusters, which fizzled as her fingers feathered over them. So much for the easy way. "I'm pulling us up to shed some speed." The altimeter began to climb once more as she used the planet's gravity to further brake their descent. The sudden lurching upward would be apparent to the crew and likely not too welcomed. They could complain to her when they learned to fly a ship without power.

Atlantis tipped up to a near stall. She pushed the nose down and let gravity pull her down to retake a respectable glide velocity. This once more was very apparent to the passengers. She waggled the wings a little as she came back to the proper vector for landing. In a matter of minutes the distant shape of Eavesdown became apparent. There was little room for error now and now pulling up for a second try. The strain of the maneuvers were showing some on her, but her face remained in a mask of bliss.

=Persephone Alpha, we are on final approach switching to Eavesdown control for landing, thanks for the assist.=

The emergency drones and fire ships soon pulled along side. Poppy waved to them out the window with a quick thumbs up and a broad grin. The runway stretched out before them. It was seldom used except in emergencies, most craft had little issue with precision set downs under power. But that wasn't the situation today. The ground came up closer and closer. She tipped the nose up and extended the landing gear. Flaps were at full and the air brakes extended. It was just a matter of time.

With a surprisingly light bump, Atlantis touched down on Persephone. Poppy was so excited from the experience she just waved her hands in the air. She so wanted to do that again. 14,730 feet later Atlantis rolled to a stop.
-Poppy

Morgan had strapped herself in for the ride, and she spent the entire descent grinning like a lunatic. She could see Poppy in her peripheral vision, controlling the nearly powerless ship with surprising skill for someone so young, but mostly she was watching the scene through the viewport.

When they finally slid to a full stop, Morgan laughed. "Jing tsai! That's the most fun I've had in years!" She unstrapped herself from the co-pilot's seat and stood up. The floor beneath her feet seemed to sway as her body compensated for all the gravity changes they'd gone through, and she laughed again as she stumbled and had to grab the chair to steady herself.

Morgan O'Doyle

Poppy was certainly giddy from the experience. She unbuckled the harness from the pilot's couch and stretched her arms and back before checking over the flight systems. "Captain, we are at level 000, and the flight clock is deactivated. We don't really have maneuverability at the moment, so Brad if you want to call us up a tow to our berth we would greatly appreciate it."

She grinned as she turned her attention back to the chatter on the com channels as the rescue and landing crews moved into position around Atlantis.
-Poppy

Mark enjoyed the mostly unpowered landing much like the space shuttle from Earth that was , Mark unstrapes and notices a mule attaching the the nose gear much like the large aircraft from Earth that was

" Looks like they're on the game Poppy, you got us pretty close to our Berth, Nice work chief pilot "

Mark was smiling even though his boat was hurting, Brad stands up

" I'll make sure your next landing is with full power, If I have to I'll make a new engine for this boat at no charge to you folks "

Soon the Atlantis is in her berth and tied into port power, the switch over was flawless, outside was their customer with a five ton mule to haul the cargo away, there were also a couple of large service mules with Brads company name on them and it was clear that they were at one time the builders of the raider class, Brad had connections

" Well Poppy I'll escort our body builder to get his cargo off our boat . then we get paid for the job, Once I settle things down below with Dale, and Brads people, I'll come take the bridge, I imagine you'll want to get some fresh air "

Mark was hinting at Morgan as well, he knew the ladies would want to check out the pretties about, Once they had some R and R he would go out and get some clothes to fit his muscular body

Mark exits the bridge and heads for the cargo bay with Brad, he calls Ryan

=" Captain to Ryan, Care to meet me in the cargo bay "=

Mark Ho Chang

With the external umbilicals attached and the Atlantis now pulling power from the ground hook ups, she deactivated the rest of the instruments or set them to station keeping. Her job was mostly done. She finished up the registration with the Dockmaster and cleared the crew to disembark at the port. It was a bit more complex than most of the Rim worlds had been, but a cake walk compared to a formal landing in the Core. She transfered the trip logs and flight information to her Cortex account. Once she got it ok's by Mark she would get it sent off to the Guild.

She turned to Morgan. "So do you know of some good places to eat in town? I am famished after missing lunch."

-Poppy

Morgan smiled. "Sure, there are a bunch of good restaurants in the Docks. If you like Chinese food, there's a great little hole-in-the-wall cafe that shouldn't be too far from here. Lemme just run down to the Cargo Bay to make sure someone's been assigned to watch duty, then we can go eat."

Morgan O'Doyle (continued in Cargo Bay)

Poppy smiled graciously to Morgan as she left the flight deck. Going into town would be fun. She was hungry and liked the idea of getting some new clothing from Persepone. They were rumored to have good dressmaking shops. She finished up the lock down of all the flight controls. There was now realistically nothing much to do on the Bridge. She climbed out of the Pilot's couch and gathered up her courier tube from where she had stached it under the consel. She needed to grab her things up on A deck to move them into her new room.
-Poppy

Brandon popped his head through the door onto the bridge and looked around.

"Oh, hey Poppy! That was a fun landing! Uh... I was looking for Morgan." Unless she was hiding under the flight console, it was obvious she wasn't there. "I thought she was up here. You know where she went?"

If Poppy didn't know, he'd go check Morgan's room. He wasn't too happy about having to tell her they probably wouldn't be going shopping together. For the first time in his entire life, he wasn't looking forward to an engine rebuild.

~Brandon~

Poppy had gathered the quick armful of her belongings and turned when Brandon poked his head in. "Oh, Hi Brandon. Morgan went down to the Cargo Hold or something. Propbably making sure we get all that equipment offloaded safely. We were looking at running into town soon, would you want to go with us?" She politely asked.

-Poppy

That last bit caught him by surprise. His smile faded. "Oh, you and Morgan, going into town?" He faltered. He had thought it was just going to be him and Morgan. He hadn't thought Morgan would invite others into town with them. He had thought of it as a date, but it seemed Morgan didn't feel the same way. Maybe Poppy knew about them? How much had she told Poppy already? Poppy wasn't treating him any differently, but Brandon still went a bit red in the ears at the possible awkward situation. He realized Poppy was still waiting for an answer, and he was certain everything he was thinking was clearly written on his face.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I'd like to go into town with you both. Get a bite to eat, or shop, or something..." His mind was reeling. Maybe in all the excitement.. and boy had their been some excitement!.. Morgan had forgotten about inviting him into town. Surely she wouldn't have, but what if she had? Brandon's stomach was knotting up, and compounded by his hunger was making him feel a bit ill. Was what they shared just a quick fling? A result of the emotional roller coaster Morgan had been on with Gunther leaving? Brandon's apprehension was growing quickly.

"Um, but the Chief may need me to stay to help fix the engine. So I'm not sure if I'll actually be free to go." Not that it mattered now, Morgan had already lined up an alternate. Maybe she was already aware that he'd need to stay behind. She was the XO now, after all. Maybe it wasn't as dark as what it seemed like right now. The only way he'd find out was to ask Morgan about it.

"Well, uh... guess I'll go look for Morgan in the Cargo Bay. See you later, Poppy."

With a sense of dread, he left the Bridge.

~Brandon~

"Hope we see you later." Poppy waved to Brandon as he turned and left. He seemed rather shy. That was sweet. She gave the flustered man a kind smile oblivious to the turmoil she had inadvertently caused in the young man. She gathered her belongings up to take to her new cabin.
-Poppy

Poppy found her new cabin clean and swept, Mark had moved everything out and it appeared that Kundan had given it a cleaning , it was a nice room, with a nice bed, fresher and a large desk built into one wall
All she had to do was make it hers and add her pretties

James / GM

Three trips, four extra-large dufflebags and two suitcases later, Poppy had managed to move her belongings to the Chief Pilot's cabin on B deck. Although it was a smaller room overall, it felt more open and spacious since it didn't need to fit three more crew members into the same space. She took immediately to arranging her clothing in the wardrobe and dresser drawers built into the wall unit. She was always amazed she could get by with so few possessions. She smiled in private satisfaction at the simple way she was living her life.

Speaking of simple, she was greatly lacking in decorations for a private cabin. She had been on the move so much the last eight months, she had never really had much chance to settle in. She placed Mr. Campbell, the stuffed llama she had bought in Aker's Bluff on the desk. She also had an elaborate lava and pearlescent seashell frame from St. Michael, just no image to put inside it yet. She also had one wall hanging woven by the Anabaptist community on Jayanjin. They were all mementos of her travels and adventures. She pushed back the thought of the body count that each object had attached to it. Her eight months in the Black had certainly brought her to a heap of trouble. But it was exciting.

She looked over her clothing. It was still looking rather timid by her Core standards, but it was improving. She hoped Morgan would have some good tailors and seamstresses in mind once they got into town. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was in dire need of a bath, and the fresher station needed a good try out. It took her a few moments to get undressed and to put her clothing in the hamper for washing. The warm water from the shower head was luxurious as she felt it's firm spray across her body. She wasn't one for Navy showers. She enjoyed the long minutes of self indulgence.

-Poppy