A/N: This section fairly unchanged from the original. XD
Reynold's Maneuver: The act of 'catching' a smaller ship and docking it to a larger vessel in mid flight, particularly during the process of leaving the planet. It's a legendary trick known by all but attempted by few, mostly smugglers, due to the skill and precision required by both pilots. It takes a steady hand and good eye to not only get close enough to latch the ships together, but to then collide the ships in such a way that they sealed together instead of sending them both spiraling to the ground below. Too hard, and there was the possibility of damaging the delicate systems of either ship, too soft and the ships would bounce away from each other, the forces involved in escaping the planet's atmosphere pulling them apart forcibly and, again, causing more damage than either could afford at that stage of leaving the gravitational pull. It was a trick only attempted by the desperate and failed more often than succeeded but when accomplished, was a marvel of speed and surprise that was sure to leave planetary security blinking in its wake and wondering what had just been stolen or lost.
Atemu had always wanted to try.
He sat strapped into the pilot seat, waiting for the okay from Mana who chattered away with ground communications beside him.
She paused to listen momentarily, gave him the thumbs up, and after a quick check with the third member of the crew in the control room over the internal comm channel, hit the launch sequence, lifting off with far more power than was necessary, or standard regulation. Atemu could hear the immediate protests over Mana's link and her hurried apologies and excuses. She blamed everything in rapid radio chatter ranging from having a new 'hot shit' pilot to an incompetent mechanic who couldn't get the thrusters working properly, all with a grin on her face and a mischievous glint in her eye as she verbally abused her crew mates. The man on the other end seemed mollified and the link grew silent until they were about halfway out of the planet's atmosphere and another, smaller craft could be seen on a rendezvous course.
The link sprang back to life with demands for information and that they return immediately to the planet and Mana began to argue amiably and play the oblivious female until Atemu gave her the signal to cut communications all together, which she did gladly while her captain worked furiously to override the mandatory launch settings.
"Alright Ryou, she's ready! Give it all she's got!" he yelled into the comm and the ship's engines flared to full power, shaking the vessel unsteadily for a moment before her flight path evened again.
Nearby, the smaller ship's thrusters responded with a similar burst of speed and the two sped toward each other as a lone security skimmer streaked to their position from too far away to intercept before they reached the atmosphere's edge, Mana easily blocking the emergency cease and desist signal that it beamed toward both crafts.
After Atemu had insisted that Seth join him in a drink or two the evening before, the man had done a bit of boasting as to his own piloting ability and it was apparent now as he eased the planet skipper right up under Atemu's ship and hooked the airlocks together before the two ships collided. And held.
Mana's cheers and Atemu's whoops could be heard throughout the craft as the two vessels broke atmosphere together and sped through the nearest star portal before it could be locked down and prevent their escape.