Log:Space Team, Scene 18

Space Team 2015/10/15 Breach Griffin Quiet Malcolm Indira

18 Griffin cheerfully tells the station survivor's a rousing tale of storming an rebel base in Fallujah back in the early 2000s to distract them from the dangers still ahead of them.

"This is going to be a blast- you'll see. We'll be planetside in no time, and y'all will be having drinks with your families telling this story til you're blue in the face." He says as they cower at the sight of the netted bug. "Just a bit longer guys."

He pats them each on the shoulder as he meets up with the rest of the crew to discuss details, options and the plan going forward.

"The crowd is definitely getting a bit tattered around the edges." He reports to the others, "So whatever we do we'll have to keep them /OUT/ of the loop."

With everyone in and the engines powered up, Quiet closes up the hatch and checks for atmo integrity while trying to query the bay doors for response. If she can't get them to open, it'll be a little more difficult to get out. As much as she's ready to get out and nuke the site in orbit, she's also reluctant to leave. No matter how likely they're KIA, there are two MIA, but the math just doesn't add up with two vs everyone in the shuttle. Though only those who can see through her helm or her head would catch her regret.

The outer bay doors are already open. There's just an atmo-field that the ship can easily pass through. Muller is unhappily talking to his fellow survivors and is starting to sound irrationally agitated. Something about his wife still being missing and 'out there' as Pollox and others try to hold him down.

Forge peers into the passenger cabin from the ceiling. His metal body is wedged in as thoroughly as possible, all eight of his cables helpfully lashing him into place in various fashions. Whilst Quiet is trying to open the bay doors, Forge takes the opportunity to WARP the metal around the fringes of the damage to further envelope his body and keep him from getting sucked out into space.

Breach is the last person to board the U.S.S. Pyle. The Undead Soldier looks up at Forge, then toward the others in the cabin. With a shrug, Breach moves to take up a seat and lash himself into place. Netted or not, lashed in or not, Breach keeps his particle revolver aimed at the worker bug tangled into place over there.

Helpfully, Breach points at Malcolm and the netted bug in turn to indicate Muller's options.

Quiet gets green across the important part of the board: namely that of life support seal. In lieu of calling out a warning, she taps a key. The FASTEN SEATBELT icons illuminate in the main cabin before she adds thrust to lift off the bay deck and rotate the craft to get the hell elsewhere, even as Muller's complaints cause a spike in her feelings of guilt.

Griffin can't help but smile as his Army bro puts the civies in place in a fashion totally opposite his own.

"Train's leaving the station folks... we've got a responsibility to get you guys landside as quickly and safely as possible. But you have my word we'll do what we can for any others we may have missed- but they'll have to hold on until we can mount a prepared mission to clear this station out."

He looks to the man who's now likely a widow as he speaks, "You have my word- if you guys can hold tight til we get home- I will come back for any other survivors or to avenge them. But first we have to make sure you all make it home to carry on their memories. Now please strap in." He says before turning back to the pilot's cabin. He looks up to Malcolm Gibbs and says, "So if you're our patch- who's flying the bird?"

Indira starts to slowly pull herself together. She braces a hand on the wall behind her and pushes herself up to her feet. "Mister...Muller, is it?" Indira asks gently. "I'm so sorry."

Muller is angrily trying to tug himself free and glaring back at Breach's comments when he suddenly goes still with wide eyes. He looks over at Indira and looks awash with relief. "Cheryl! My god, how did you escape? Did that metallic hero save you?!" He exclaims in joy as he rushes Indira to hug her.

Indira doesn't expect the reaction, and as she's hugged and her face obscured from Muller's line of sight, she suddenly looks pained and sad. This is one of those painful adverse affects of her people's evolution.

Quiet now focuses on the task at hand, which is something, if not terribly difficult so far. She points the shuttle at the bay airlock and punchesit forward and out into space. As they break the forefield, she does lean over to glance back and up at Malcolm. His is just one of the asses on the line.

Breach frowns sourly as Muller embraces Indira. He pulls back the hammer on his particle revolver, keeping the gun pointed at the netted bug as he watches Indira and Muller for a long, long moment. "Why don't you two lovebirds sit down and strap in then?" intones Breach.

Even with less than half of his face visible, Indira can read Breach's expression. It is, without a doubt, 'Keep him calm. Keep us safe. That's your thing, not mine.' Oh that Breach, is he ever polite and congenial?

Some of the civilians begin to get into seats and buckle down. Indira tries to calm down Muller. "I'm sorry, but I--"

"I'm just so glad you're alright, honey!" Muller gives Indira another squeeze.

Indira opens her mouth to correct him, but she catches Breach's look, and more importantly, sense what it is Breach is communicating. She gives a very slight nod to Breach, but she doesn't look happy at all at the deception. "Yes, let's get strapped in quickly so we can go home." She plays along. Muller lets go of her, but holds both her hands and guides her to a seat. He makes sure Indira is strapped in safely, then kisses her on the forehead before sitting down beside her and strapping himself in. Afterwards, he takes her hand and holds it.

Quiet watches for telltale signs up trouble when they hit vacuum, but when nothing immediately shows, she returns her focus to piloting. Should something go around, there will be fairling obvious sounds. Screaming, yelling, explosive decompression. Quiet angles the craft for a direct approach planetside, or as direct as they can make with all the rotational and orbital velocities involved.

If it makes Indira feel any better, Breach does feel guilty for both forcing her to continue this deception and for what horrible pain the deception will put Muller through. He does have a soul in there... Somewhere.

Breach very uncomfortably watches Muller hold Indira's hand while he maintains a laser-assisted bead on the netted bug. He considers just killing the thing and calling it a day. That, however, is just his frustration, Breach decides. It's not the correct move; it's not what he should do and it's not what Indira would want.

Forge, for his part, tries not to think about how cold his keister is getting nor about how much he wants to be in the pilot's seat at the moment. Instead, Forge focuses on trying to recite the lyrics to every Led Zeppelin album.

There's is a very slight whistling sound in a small, tiny gap somewhere between Forge and the warped hull. It must be tiny, but its high pitch -is- audible.

Griffin groans as the tiny sound fills the small cabin. He looks up to Malcolm with a worried look- if he knew Mal was reciting Led Zeppelin in his head he'd join in too.

He leans forward against the straps and looks to the piloting systems in hopes of finding something that might help. Then it occurs to him - his STIMpak hardens with contact with the air! His eyes light up as he has his 'brilliant idea.' Though not being a scientist he has no idea if this will work at all.

"Do we have anything else that'll patch that leak?" He asks as he pulls his STIMpak out and activates it.

That would be one of those obvious warnings that Quiet took for granted, and hoped she wouldn't hear. She's about to rap on the bulkhead in case others missed it, but when she hears Breach, she stops short and just works on piloting. Possibly a wee bit faster.

Muller gives Indira's hand a gently squeeze. "Don't worry, honey. It'll all be alright," he tries to reassure Indira as Griffin is on the case. Indira offers an uncomfortable smile, which Muller assumes is nervousness. He cups her cheek gently and says, "Promise. We'll be fine. They'll keep us safe." He's much more rational now that he thinks he has his wife back.

Indira is finding this very difficult. She continues to go along with it, reluctantly. To keep Muller calm and the others safe. Her subtle neurochemical connection with Muller grows stronger as she focuses on Muller, teaching her more about him. And of his memories of his wife. "Promise, George?"

Did he ever say his first name aloud before? No. Not even on the base. Indira has more than a few secrets.

"Promise," George Muller vows before giving his 'wife' a quick kiss.

"I, uh... Sorry folks. I swear that's just outer space, not me," offers Forge. He may or may not be blushing under the biometallic membrane as SPACE FARTS continue to issue from next to him. Forge frowns a little bit, grey eyes scanning over toward Griffin, who appears to be up to shenanigans. A gigantic question mark appears over his head in the comic as Forge tries to figure out what Griffin's trying to do.

"I dunno. I might be able to warp the metal sheathing a bit better if you help isolate where we're leaking."

Breach rolls his eyes. Shiny Pete is not doing a good enough job as a rubber stopper. He's going to have to be sure to put down several more poor marks in the Bad Company dossier on this guy, so he can be sure not to let Indira on any other missions that feature this... This... Metal Misanthrope. No, that's not right. Metal... Maniac? Yes, that feels better.

Griffin ignores the confusing scene behind him as the whistle continues.

He unstraps himself from his seat and heads for Malcolm's 'perch.'

"Alright Big Guy..." Griffin says to the taller man, "...seems you missed a spot. Let's see if we can find that hole shall we?"

Despite the dangers present- his tone is as chipper as ever.

First he decides to test for the leak directly by turning to the emergency rations in the cabin. Removing a pouch of water from the kit, he tears a small hole in pouch and lets a small stream of water out drawing Forge's outline with it.

As he nears Forge's right hip, the water begins to disappear out into the void behind.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Griffin says as he whistles a long dead song, The Black Eyed Peas 'Lady Lumps'... "All that junk inside that trunk..." he says trying not to laugh.

Then he realizes he's about to spray a man's keister with unknown biological matter that happens to look like a thick white foam. The boys in the barracks would never let him live this one down.... he prays he makes it through this with what's left of his honor.

"Wait- you can ... ugh warp the metal? Oh thank God." Griffin says. "Well my friend you might want to.... umm pop that ass a bit more." He says trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "Let's hope we don't need to fall back on plan B because I'm not sure it'll hold- especially once we hit the atmosphere." Griffin says earnestly.

Quiet would point out that it won't matter as much once they hit atmo, but she can't. Instead, she just works on getting them to that atmo as sanely swiftly as possible. The interaction between Muller and Indira is... a mixed blessing, at best, and still doesn't ease the know in her gut.

Forge looks at Griffin the way a teenager might look at a parent or grandparent trying to sound street. It's somewhere in the neighborhood of aghast. After a few seconds of staring in blank horror at Griffin, Forge's metallic cables start to warp and bubble, trying to synchronize themselves further to the metals that surround him. Seconds after that, metal starts to warp and bend and reshape itself to fit flush against Forge's metal body.

Breach tries not to laugh. Griffin will not ever live this down. NOT. EVER.

The whistling stops. And just in time. Quiet is about to guide them into reentry and things are about to get bumpy.

And that cold vacuum of space outside? It's starting to feel a little warmer for Forge.

"Oh thank God. Someone turned up the heat outside," intones Forge. It takes him a couple of seconds to process the words that just came out of his mouth. Grey eyes swivel to meet Griffin's as his metal expression shifts to one of surprise. "Sit down, strap in, and hold on. We're entering the atmosphere."

Quiet thups the builkhead this time in warning before they hit the atmosphere. An abrupt lurch follows as the shuttle hits it, and rather hard... harder than she intended. If there's any swearing, it's unheard, but her hand snaps back to the controls as she works to adjust their course. Too shallow is bad. Too steep is bad. Not alot of room for error, and who knows how bad the aerodynamics are with a metal moon sticking out the sunroof?

Griffin doesn't hesitate to jump back in his seat as they hit atmosphere. The cabin shakes as the forces involved batter their small lifeboat.

He straps in quickly with practiced efficency.

"Alright Civies! Halfway home!" Griffin shouts to the back compartment. He turns and smiles warmly ignoring the blazing heat engulfing the ship that is clearly visible through the forward facing panel.

The ride is even bumpier than Griffin had anticipated. He begins breathing slowly and deliberately to keep his heart from beating out of his chest.

Surely that's the cause of the problems with the aerodynamics. With the ship turned down too steeply as it hits the atmosphere, Forge's exposed parts are further exposed to direct heat. It's already getting uncomfortably warm. That doesn't bother Forge. But then there's the sudden searing heat of a blast furnace.