[The Frontiers Saga 03] - The Legend of Corinair (2012) by Ryk Brown

Author:Ryk Brown [Brown, Ryk]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ryk Brown
Published: 2014-06-13T06:00:00+00:00

As the shuttle rolled out of the transfer airlock and onto the open flight deck, Jessica—who was sitting in a jump seat directly behind the flight crew—couldn’t help but notice that neither of the pilots seemed to know exactly where every control was located in their cockpit. “Uh, you guys have flown one of these before, right?”

“Define flown.” Loki asked, a bit of uncharacteristic sarcasm in his voice.

“You know, launch, fly around, and then land again… safely, I might add.”

“No worries, love,” Josh chimed in with his usual arrogance. “They all fly the same way.”

“Yeah, it’s just figuring out where all the little buttons and switches are that’s the tricky part.”

Jessica looked at Loki, then Josh, then back to Loki again. “You guys are messing with me, aren’t you?” She leaned back into her seat, either confident in her revelation or just not wanting to know the truth.

Loki glanced back over his shoulder, “Of course we are,” he assured her. He shot a guilty look over to Josh, who returned the expression in kind. Loki repositioned his helmet mic and contacted the Aurora. “Aurora, this is Shuttle One. We are in position and ready for departure.”

“Copy that, Shuttle One, Stand by. Oh, and guys, don’t forget about the flash,” Nathan reminded them over the comms. “We don’t need two blind pilots.”

“Copy, Aurora,” Loki answered as he dropped his darkened visor from the compartment along the top of his helmet down to cover his eyes.

“What’s with the Shuttle One?” Josh asked as he dropped his own visor into place.

“What was I supposed to call us? Shuttle Two?”

“Well what do we need a number for? We’re the only bleedin’ shuttle around.”

“In case we get another shuttle later, I guess. What do you care?”

“At least you could’ve come up with something cool, like Recon Shuttle or something.”

“Listen, you just fly this thing, let me talk on the radio, okay?” Loki insisted.

“Standby to jump in five,” Abby’s voice counted down over the comm.

“Don’t get all testy,” Josh teased. There was nothing he liked more than pushing Loki’s buttons.

“Four.”

“I’m not getting testy.”

“Three.”

“Yes, you are. Like a little girl you are,” Josh prodded.

“Two.”

“Everyone close your eyes,” Jessica instructed the passengers.

“One.”

“Little girl, am I?” Loki said, beginning to take offense.

“Jump.”

Outside the shuttle, the bluish-white light again shot out from the emitters on the hull, quickly connecting them and covering the ship in a light that almost instantly intensified into a brilliant white. Through their polarized visors, Josh and Loki could see the hull of the Aurora outside, a momentary white halo covering and contouring to her hull lines. When the light subsided, the black star field was instantly replaced by the image of the massive, turquoise gas-giant that filled the sky in front of them, except for the blackness off to their starboard side.

The sudden arrival of the massive gas-giant gave them both a start, causing them to jump slightly in their flight couches.

“Whoa!” Loki screamed.

“Jesus! That’s the coolest thing ever!” Josh exclaimed.

“Cool? I just about pissed myself!” Loki admitted.

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