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View Full Version : The Albatross



Khendon Sevon
Nov 15th, 2007, 10:31:14 AM
The molded synthplast quaked violently in his leather gloved hands as he wrestled with the u-shaped control. All around him the sound of a wind tunnel resounded. It blotted out his patrons' frantic shouts and screams.

"DON'T WORRY!" He exclaimed. "THIS IS ALL PERFECTLY NORMAL."

Just then there came a loud VWHOOOM from the starboard side of the ship. Ned smiled at the suddenly pale-faced pair. “It’s not a problem, really. Hey, could you come here a sec?” He nodded to the husband and inclined his head toward the control.

“What?!” The whites of the man’s eyes grew like a reactor about to burst.

“Get over here!” Ned grinned again. “Please.”

The man walked over, sending tentative glances at his wife. The pilot took the husband’s hand and slapped it onto the control.

“Whatever you do, don’t turn it. And, for God’s sake, don’t let go!” Ned stood before the man could protest and ran from the cockpit as fast as he could. He sprinted past the meeting room, the navigation closet, and the crawl space that passed as an emergency escape vessel when inspectors checked the Albatross. He wished for a moment that all the creds he’d used to grease the officials had been spent on an actual escape cylinder or two.

“JINX!!” He screamed at the top of his lungs over the roar. “JINX! Where is your mangy butt!?”

Ned skidded to a stop and nearly fell into an open floor panel.

The pink haired technical office pulled herself from the hole and huffed at him. “WHAT!” She shouted with irritation. Her purple eyes shot bolts at him.

“If you haven’t noticed,” his control vanished, “we’re CRASHING!” Ned shook a fist in the air. “I told you we needed to replace the shielding on the starboard wing!”

“You mean,” she blew a strand of hair from her face, “I told you.”

“Whatever,” he waved the comment from the air, “fix it. Just. Fix it.”

She stuck out her tongue and disappeared down the hole. Ned flexed his hands and looked around for someone to yell at. He was reaching his limit. “Dirk! DIRK!” His throat was beginning to hurt from screaming.

A door slid open and an annoyed Dirk walked out. His shirtless, muscled stomach was coated in honey and his raven black hair was disheveled as a squirrel’s nest.

“Yeah, Boss?”

“Pull on some pants and get to the cockpit, I’m going to need your help to wrestle her down.” Ned looked at the smeared honey. “And put some pants on.”

“Boss!” Dirk protested; but, Ned didn’t wait to hear. He ran back the way he’d come, took a last longing look at the escape shaft, and stepped back onto the cockpit.

“Alright, there’s nothing to worry about. Take your seat, sir. Don’t ever touch my controls again.” Ned smiled and took the helm. “Uh,” he glanced at the husband, “you can let go.” The man’s eyes were wide with horror and he was shaking visibly. “Really, sir, you can let,” he plucked the man’s hands from the controls, “go. Thanks.”

The Albatross plummeted through the atmosphere, red ribbons of flame streaming from her singed skin. She rattled and listed as bits and pieces pulled apart and tumbled around her in a cloud of broken parts.

“JINX,” shouted Ned over the comm., “what’re you doing down there?”

The girl’s voice came back to him calm and annoyed, “I’m going to reroute thrust from the rear engine’s expansion chamber directly into the forward propo—“

Ned blinked hard, “Great. Just do it.”

“You’re the boss, Boss.” She was far too calm for Ned’s liking. He wanted his crew to be sweating bullets with him.

Dirk stormed into the cockpit, a shirt over his chiseled form. “Boss, you know Shirley.”

The stick-thin, brown haired girl waved silently at the captain.

“Hey, Shirley. You’ve got some honey on your lip.” The controls jostled around in his hands and tried to pull free. “Dirk, get in the co-pilot’s seat.” He looked to the husband and wife. “Strap yourselves in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

Shirley helped them buckle up then took a seat near them.

“JINX! How’s that recalibrating, rerouting, re—WHAT IN THE?!” A burst of flames spewed from the vessel’s nose as thrusters suddenly tripled in power. The craft reoriented and slowed its descent.

The Albatross limped its way into the starport and Ned landed it with a little bit of applied effort.

“Thank you for flying Albatross Airways, I hope to see you again,” he said with a grin as his passenger’s walked off the ship.

“You!” The husband shook a finger at Ned.

He pointed a finger at himself. “Me?”

“YES! YOU! I’VE NEVER!!!!” The husband was shaking again; but, this time not with fear. “YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR LICENSE REVOKED! THE PORT AUTHORITIES ARE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT THIS!” With that the man turned and stormed off with his wife.

“Okay,” Jinx and Dirk appeared from within the ship, “Jinx, you get whatever is needed to fix the ship. Dirk, get Happy Shirley to pick up food and water supplies.”

“What should I do, Boss?” Asked the big man. “You’re coming with me to get another job, and quick. We need to get off this rock before they try taking away a license I don’t have. Alright, let’s go. Back here in an hour.”