Log:Space Team, Scene 3

Space Team 2015/08/31 Breach Griffin Malcolm Indira 3

"Wait- did you bring Space CHurros?!" Griffin asks faux-citedly before his voice gets very droll, "Of course not. I jumped out of planes and helicopters for a living. This is a dream come true." Griffin responds to Rick's question.

Rick starts to respond to Griffin, casting a suspicious glance toward Violet and the zero-g sick bags.

Malcolm Gibbs ensures that Rick Mason doesn't get very far through his response. The tall man, in the cockpit, kick-flips off of the ceiling toward the command chair as something ripples out in space. He doesn't seem to need any more warning than that to know he is not in the position he should be. Grabbing the controls, Malcolm abruptly sends the UESS Pyle hurtling through a very fast barrel roll long before his voice crackles over the loud speaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your personal belongings. Things have just gotten real."

Rick may look a little green around the gills at the moment, from that hard maneuvering. One hand comes up to cover his mouth as he fixes his brown eyes on a very interesting spot on his harness. Harnesses, you know, are very important pieces of technology. Where would mankind be without the invention of the harness or the seatbelt?

Red light illuminates the cockpit and the cabin, first from the front "windows" of the Sky Saber. Malcolm is quite inexplicably tethered to his command chair by 8 steel cables whose origins remain mysterious. They certainly weren't there a few seconds ago. He grits his teeth and fires the thrusters as the Sky Saber pulls out of its roll and banks hard to port, letting the luminous red orb streak past the Pyle just outside of the windows behind Griffin and Rick.

Continuing to bank hard, Malcolm guides the Pyle through an extended, possibly corkscrewing arc before it suddenly levels out again. A dull, bass rumble permeates the cabin as the engines fire up to something like full thrust again. Something that Rick and Griffin will identify as 'combat alarms' start to sound as Malcolm sweeps toward the space station, trying to keep it between him and that mysterious ripple out in space.

Violet makes immediate use of the space bags half-way through the barrel roll. Indira's perpetual zen is broken by the maneuver. She doesn't look afraid; just very, very alert. A life time in space gets one used to such things. Fortunately, her race doesn't have the internal organ issues that humans do, or else she'd be looking more green than blue.

Griffin stays true to his word, and holds on to his seat while breaking his neck to see what the hell it was he just saw fly by the window.

He's terrified, scared out of his Starguard issue space-drawers. But he keeps his cool, and focuses on being aware of what is happening, so that way if there is an opprotunity to help he can act in the most efficent way possible. He'll have to trust Malcolm's helmsmanship to get them through this.

"Are you alright, Mr. Mason? Mr. Freeman?" Indira asks more urgently than her usual placid tone.

Up ahead, Malcolm can see the space dock coming up on his starboard. There's two long extended bridgeways that are currently half-collapsed. They look like they should extend out further, meant to reach the hatches of giant starships. They're not built for a shuttle of this size. In between the two docks is a shuttle bay, meant for slow entry because of the tight fit. This may be a rough ride as Malcolm comes in hot.

Everyone noticed damage along the hull of the space station. Or maybe it's construction work. It's on the exterior before you reach the docking bay 3. During your round about the station, you noticed 3 other docking bays.

You also recall docking bay 1 had one of the bridges extended. But no docked ship.

"I'm fine, ma'am. Thank you for asking." Griffin says with a confident look in his eyes. "We'll get through this, just you wait and see, Ms. Violet." He adds while hoping like hell he's right. 'Come on Malcolm!'

Then he sees the damaged space station, and his jaw drops. Suddenly he's not feeling so confident inside. He does his best to put that deep down inside and deal with later or never.

Seeing the other docking ports gives him a bit of an elated feeling, bringing the corners of his mouth into a slight smirk. He crumples the edges of the seat he's sitting on with his super strength... obviously not hiding it all that well.

Ms. Violet's moved on to back number two, the other tightly closed. Her eyes peer pitifully at Griffin as she's jostled in her seat from the rumbling engines. Being the one normal on the flight, she's not feeling all that confident or great.

"Brace yourselves," calls Malcolm. He remembers that fully extended bridge, but his thought bubbles are revolving around the potential for another cloaked ship and how vulnerable that would leave the Pyle. It'd just be out there, waiting to get blown to hell - at least in the space station, he could defend the damned thing.

"Are you two okay?" counters Rick, brown eyes suddenly intensely focused on Violet and Indira. He lifts one arm and elbows Griffin in the elbow as that super-strength gets exerted to crumple the reinforced metal, plastic, and stuffing. "Get your gun unganked. Looks like Mogadishu."

"Blackhawk Down," agrees Malcolm from the cockpit. He barrel rolls the Pyle again, adjusting the ship's heading and position relative to the shuttle bay doors. There are more toggles switched and buttons pressed as Malcolm prepares the Sky Saber for what feels like it could be a messy landing.

Rick offers an agreeable grunt toward Malcolm. He starts unharnessing himself, brown eyes skipping around from person to person in the cabin. The Undead Soldier bolts out of his seat and flies across the cabin before he braces against the ceiling and scuttles along the gently rounded overhead to get at his attache case. It's probably a good thing that Malcolm can't see in the cabin at the moment, he'd be bellowing at Breach to get off of there.

With his attache case freed from the overhead cargo nets, Rick throws himself (and his carry-on) down toward an empty seat. Rick starts strapping in just as Malcolm shouts, "HOLD ONTO YOUR ASSETS, FOLKS!"

Everyone can feel the gut-shifting lurch when Malcolm fires the retro-rockets. The Sky Saber creaks and groans ominously as it rapidly decelerates - Rick inexplicably is not ejected from his seat from the sheer force of the sudden deceleration - and Malcolm mutters something that may be a Hail Mary as his hands move from control yokes to buttons and back again. Maneuvering thrusters fire, almost sedately, as Malcolm centers the craft again and again and again and again and again.

Rick tangles his hand and arm in the harness as he feels the initial lurch of deceleration. His feet and untangled elbow brace against the floor and the seatback as force continues to increase. Griffin's probably pretty sure he heard the sickening, gut-churning snap-crackle-pop of Rick dislocating a few joints and/or tearing the ligaments and tendons around those joints. Indira senses more than a few bright flashes of pain searing through Rick's psyche, just as Violet can see the way the Undead Soldier has his face set in a rictus of pain and determination.

There is a sudden and stark *WHOOMPF* as the Pyle passes within inches of another enormous mass. It's possible there's atmosphere outside of the craft, allowing for that sound, or maybe Malcolm cut it even closer than he's letting on - it's impossible to say from inside of the Pyle.

Momentarily, Rick releases his stranglehold and bracing as the ship seems to glide along, passing into the shuttle bay. Everything about him *POP*s and *SNAP*s back into place as he very quickly jams buckles together to cinch himself into his (new) seat. Rick wraps his arms around the attache case and brings his knees up to secure it against his torso. Indira gets a half-second to realize that Rick knows something that corresponds to a fleeting surface thought in Malcolm's head. Griffin can probably guess what's about to happen too.

Inhaling sharply, Malcolm abruptly fires the maneuvering thrusters again. This time, the Pyle whirls around like a car in a Transporter movie, sailing through the shuttle bay backwards. Almost immediately the main thrusters fire hard, replacing the retro-rockets to slow the Pyle to a smoking, steaming stop in the dead center of the shuttle bay.

Under a second later, the landing struts extend and the Sky Saber lands on the deck plates with a sharply metallic *WHUD*. Malcolm releases that breath he's been holding since just after they entered the bay.

Griffin nods knowingly at their references and says little through the manuevering, its over before he can offer an arm for Rick to brace himself on.

The rolling, and changing of center of mass sends Griffin's stomach churning but pure willpower keeps him driving forward. After Rick's display of Herculean will his resolve is renewed.

He wraps his ankles around the base of the seating and begins removing zip-ties from hos sidearm as if his life depended on it. In his hands it comes alive, having lost its charge decades ago. The gun is a matte black, overunder. He switches off the safety and twists the dial to laser-mode. He gulps.

As the ship comes to a halt, he unsnaps his harness and stands, moving directly towards the entry bay doors, putting himself between whatever lies outside and his VIPs.

At Rick's first intense question, Indira answers, "I am fine. But Violet is not doing well. She's terrified and very ill." Too ill to answer for herself; Violet is trembling and has nothing left to deposit into the bags, even though she feels like it's needed.

While at first verbally, Indira does not understand the Mogadishu reference or Blackhawk Down, her neurochemical receptors pick up on the meaning and she braces herself in her seat. And puts out a hand to Violet to help hold her steady as the Pyle goes through some intense maneuvers.

Half-way through the landing, Indira flinches as if pained herself as she picks up on Rick's pain. It gets her attention and she looks at him with concern, even as they're being tussled about by the engine forces at work. Once the ship finally lands on the deck, she gently rubs the back of a shaking Violet. Indira closes her eyes a moment as foreign words escape her; sounding something akin to a prayer maybe?

When she opens her eyes again, she asks even though she already knows the status of the passengers, "Is everyone alright?"

Rick's pain fades away with startling speed, Indira will notice. He heals at a patently astounding rate. Once the Pyle *WHUD*s down on the deck, Rick uncurls himself and flips open his attache case, pulling out his particle revolver first and foremost. It's quickly followed by his combat knife, which is set to the task of cutting tags and ties off of the energy weapon in his lap.

"Do we have atmosphere out there?" inquires Rick of... Anyone. He assumes Malcolm will be the one to make that call, but who knows? Maybe Griffin feels like poking his head out of the side of the ship.

Malcolm drags himself out of his seat, metal cables rapidly retreating into his flight suit. He's visibly sweaty as he climbs from the cockpit into the cabin, ducking his head to avoid cracking it against a couple of structural supports over head. The tall man crouches in front of Violet and Indira, offering a polite smile as he intones, "It's okay. We're stable for now. The rough part is over. Let's get you two unharnessed and we can figure out our next move."

Indira smiles kindly to the crouched tall man. "You did an amazing job getting us in safely, Special Agent Gibbs. Please, help Violet first. I think she is really wanting to lie down now."

Violet couldn't agree more. Or less. She looks woozy and worn out, and too dazed to unbuckle herself. Indira, while also a bit shaken, has stern constitution than Violet. "That red light looked like an attack. Did anyone see anything?" Indira asks.

Griffin nods but doesn't look away from the air lock hatch. He ignores Indira's question, certain that Rick will attest to his 'O.K.-itude'.

He keeps his weapon at the ready and answers Rick, "Can't tell if there's air or note."

Hearing Malcolm speak he says, "That was some serious piloting there, Gibbs."

"All I saw was the glow- but I'm not sure about much else." He says assumably to Indira.

"There should be an atmo out there. We passed through an atmosphere-retention forcefield," comments Malcolm. He gently unbuckles Violet and extends those metal cables again, cradling her with them as he lifts her from the seat and starts duckwalking down the way toward the rear of the cabin. For some reason there is what might pass for a medical triage area back there. It might also pass for a dining space.

"I'm fine," intones Rick. At Malcolm's assurance of atmosphere, Rick gestures for Griffin to pop the airlock doors. He finishes cutting the particle revolver free of its restraints and promptly sets both of his weapons down on the seat to his right. The attache case goes on the seat to his left. Rick stands up a few seconds later, having popped his harness open, and collects his combat harness from the attache case.

Efficiently, Rick straps up in his combat harness as he waits for a sitrep from Griffin.

Griffin sees some other civilian shuttles, and some powerloaders. Cargo crates and construction tools. No people though.

Griffin relaxes visibly as he checks the perimeter. Once more for good measure he does a circle around all the portholes of the cabin.

He returns to his original position and says, "Not a soul in sight. I'd say we're clear, at least for now." He says succinctly. "Though I wouldn't trust that any."

Indira unfastens her harness and stands up slowly. Unnaturally slowly. Well, natural for her. Her kind aren't usually known for being hurried. She watches Malcolm carry Violet off. "Take good care of her, please. She is a friend."

Violet looks grateful for being carried, since she's still experiencing vertigo from all those barrel rolls. She's limp and listless in Malcolm's arms.

Indira starts to walk towards the open hatch and steps out into the bay area, looking around with a mystified expression.

Opposite the atmosphere-retention field, there's a sliding blast door that's currently shut. There's some other civilian shuttles, and some powerloaders. Cargo crates and construction tools stored about.

There's scrapped off paint on the blast door that's some foreign symbol. Most of the paint is gone, but there's still a faint impression of the old icon. Next to it is a large number 3 stenciled on with yellow paint.

"Ma'am, please don't lead," intones Rick, serious. He pops on his smartshades as he steps toward the door, after Indira, and reaches out to grab her by the shoulder with one hand. Rick's other hand rests on the butt of the particle revolver in the unsecured hip-holster hanging from his combat harness.

"I'll take good care of her, don't worry," offers Malcolm with a smile to Indira. He sets to work providing basic, inexpert medical attention to Violet. Mostly this revolves around laying her out on the slab and providing pillows. Eventually he'll get around to providing a small cup of water and dramamine.

Looking over his shoulder, Malcolm intones, "We got shot at once. It was some kind of cloaked ship that didn't pop on sensors. If it weren't for the ripple of the background across its hull, we'd probably be hosed right now."

Rick glances toward Malcolm, nodding slightly. He gently tries to tug Indira back into the ship as he keeps an eye out for... Trouble.

"I don't know if you guys noticed, but there might be another cloaked ship docked here. One of the other docking bays had fully extended bridges. Could be a big ship, if that's the case."

As if that were some kind of sign, Griffin taps his own headset flashing his display to infra-red and steps out of the ship. Passin Indira he nods. His head and shoulders never stop swivelling. Always looking for the slightest motion out of the ordinary.

He raises his pistol and keeps his eyes down its sights as he moves.

Indira is stopped by Rick before she manages to run off again. Good call, Rick! He knows his mischievous charge very well. It's difficult for Indira to not look disappointed, because she looked intrigued and almost excited by the mystery. Rick's comment is a reminder that she's not a low-ranking crew member on a mission anymore. She's an ambassador now. She has responsibilities. "Yes, of course. You're correct," she bows her head in deference to Rick as he tugs her back into the ship.

When she straightens up, she smiles to Malcolm. "Thank you again, Special Agent Gibbs. I know you will." She frowns at the additional information Malcolm provides. "A cloaked ship...?" She falls silent and ponders.

Rick makes sure that Indira is well inside of the ship before he swings past her and out of the ship. He bangs a button that he assumes will close/lock the door behind him on his way out. Moving in the opposite direction of Griffin, Rick draws his particle revolver and starts sweeping it in time with his cautious movements through the shuttle bay. Like Griffin, Rick moves with a practiced assurance in trying to secure the bay and establish a perimeter.

Malcolm finishes with Indira for the moment, letting her rest as he moves back through the cabin. Passing Indira, Malcolm gently pats her on the shoulder and comments, "Don't look so disappointed. Plenty of adventure to go around today, I'm sure."

Violet curls up on the slab, rolling on her side and groaning softly as she curls up with the pillows. Despite sounding miserable, right now she's happy to be still and horizontal.

With a team sweep with Rick and Griffin, the pair can be assured that at least Docking Bay 3 is clear for the meantime.

"Nothing on infrared, Mason." Griffin says aloud glumly- he sounds almost disappointed.

Indira nods and smiles somberly to Malcolm. "That's what I fear."

Rick nods to Griffin and gestures, with his head, toward where they exited the Pyle. He promptly queues up with Griffin, letting Griffin lead whilst Rick covers their six with his revolver. During the wait for the access door to open, Rick secures his holster and his sheath around his legs.

Malcolm climbs back into the cockpit and takes stock of the Pyle's systems. He pops the airlock door for Griffin and Rick in the process, noticing them waiting on the ship's external sensors.

Griffin lets Rick walk through hatch doors as he covers the ship. Someone is obviously not taking any chances.

Indira finds a seat near the front of the ship, close to the cockpit, and sits down. She closes her eyes and tries to extend her senses while meditating silently.

Rick re-enters the ship and looks around. This is not an ideal situation, no sir. He resists the urge to rub Indira's shoulder and instead climbs into the cockpit with Malcolm to talk about the longevity of on-board supplies.

Indira finally opens her eyes and cranes her head to peer out to where Griffin is. "Any sign of the station workers?" she asks.

Griffin remains at the airlock hatch obviously content to speak into the ship from out there. The accousitics & his volume level insure everyone can hear him. "No one's home ma'am. Haven't been for a while it seems. Infra-red shows everything's the same temp." Griffin explains, still scouting for movement Infrared now a smaller image on his HUD.