Unknown Skies part 8
Sam couldn't help but feel absolutely terrified as he was escorted through the streets of Arendelle and into the castle. His heart was pounding in his chest and it took all of Sam's concentration not to hyperventilate.
To be honest, Sam had every right to be nervous, he was about to meet Queen Elsa of Arendelle, a person thought to be fictional until last night and present data from Quebec Echo's Flight recorders which would hopefully convince Elsa and her council that Quebec Echo and everyone on-board it were ordinary civilians. Well, that was the plan anyways.
The Citizens of Arendelle all stared at Sam as he walked past them, he waved at them with a smile but none acknowledged him.
"Can't blame them" Sam thought to himself.
The guards led Sam onto a long, thin stone bridge which lead to a small island where Arendelle's castle stood tall and proud against the mountain range. Sam looked up in wonder as he approached the castle. Even though he wasn't a big time Frozen fan, he was in awe at how amazing the whole of Arendelle looked in real life.
The Guards lead Sam past the gates and in through the Castle's main doors. Inside, the whole building was extremely well furnished, artwork was either hung from the walls or resting on small tables here and there, the floor had obviously been polished very recently as Sam could see his own face in the shiny wood!
As he looked, Sam couldn't help but feel a strange sensation of déjà vu. He couldn't figure out why, but with Quebec Echo out of action for now, he was sure that he would find answers.
Sam, after being escorted through multiple corridors and ascending a flight of stairs, finally arrived in front of a large set of oak doors. There were voices coming from within, although he couldn't hear what anyone was saying, he could recognise Elsa's voice.
The lead guard knocked on the door and the voices beyond the door stopped. Elsa said something which Sam guessed was,
"Come in"
The lead guard opened the door and walked into the room. He said something to the room's occupants, Elsa replied and the guard came back out of the doors.
"They are ready for you" he said to Sam.
Sam nodded and followed by the guards who escorted him from the aircraft, he stepped slowly and nervously into the room.
Inside was a long wooden table lined with chairs and every single seat was filled. Elsa was sat at one end with Anna sat on her right. The rest of the people there, both men and women were obviously either members of the Military or rich members of society.
Everyone looked to Sam and his heart was beating so rapidly with nervousness that Sam thought he was going to collapse right then and there!
Elsa looked at him and smiled at him,
"Sam, Welcome. I trust you slept well last night?" She asked.
"Well, as best as one can in an aircraft seat not designed for sleeping in" Sam replied.
"It was for the best, no one here is sure that you and your fellow people on that flying machine are indeed civilians" Elsa said back.
"I assume that is the evidence that Queen Elsa said you would bring?" one of the councillors asked, gesturing to the laptop case that Sam was carrying.
"Yes, it is all here" Sam replied and moved forwards to the table and unzipped the bag. He carefully withdrew the laptop and several confused murmurs rippled through the room.
Ignoring them, Sam opened the lid and hit the power button on the laptop. The computer whirred into life and the screen lit up, both actions earning surprised gasps from everyone in the room.
"Just give me a minute please" Sam said to the gathered council.
As he typed in the password and set up the media player in order to set up the Flight recorder evidence, several council members spoke quietly with each other,
"What is that rectangle thing?" one asked, referring to Sam's laptop.
"I have no idea. It doesn't appear to be a weapon" another replied.
"It might be though, we must be on guard" another said, Elsa heard this last one and shot the councilmen a glare which told them to be quiet.
Sam finished activating the laptop and the media player software and had placed the cursor over the play button.
"You might all want to gather round for this" he said to the council and they all immediately left their seats to crowd behind Elsa, in order to get a view of the Laptop's tiny screen.
"If you would like to do the honours you majesty?" Sam asked as he gestured to the cursor's left click button.
Elsa looked hesitant before Sam said,
"I promise you it is not a weapon. All you need to do is press that button" whilst gesturing to the left click button.
With a shaking hand, Elsa reached over and pressed the button.
The footage opened with the CVR playing, beginning whilst Quebec Echo was still at the gate at Boston Logan international. The nose gear camera switched on as well, showing a view of the terminal, the rest of the footage played out. It had been shortened to include only the most important parts. For example when the aircraft first lost radio contact, the many transmissions made between the thousands of different aircraft played out. If you asked anyone who was in that council room, they would be lying if they said that they didn't shed a tear at the desperate and fearful conversations between the different pilots of all the different aircraft, both civil and military.
The footage then moved to when Flight 595 flew through the storm. Sam thought that Bruce had done a good job animating that part.
Finally the footage moved to the landing, it included the practice approach and the actual landing.
The nose gear camera showed the final approach and landing of the aircraft, the light located on the nose gear illuminating the ground in front of the plane. Just before the footage ended, Elsa, Anna and Kristoff all briefly saw themselves in the Camera before the footage ended. Silence fell across the room.
Elsa was shocked to say the least, her magic started to seep out, coating her chair in a fine layer of frost.
No-one dared speak, until Elsa cleared her throat and said in a quiet tone,
"You have some solid evidence there. I am inclined to believe you when you say that you and the others on your aircraft are civilians."
"I'm sorry that I had to show you all that. But it was the only way" Sam replied in an apologetic tone.
"We have to do something. They're civilians; they lost their home because of war!" Anna said to Elsa.
By this point, the rest of the council moved back to their seats and sat down.
"You don't need to Princess Anna. The passengers, crew and I can figure something out" Sam interrupted.
Both Sisters immediately snapped their attention towards Sam.
"That is not an option. You are refugees. You'll have a home here in Arendelle" Anna told Sam in a commanding tone.
Sam smiled warmly at the Princess as she said this, he now felt as if himself and the rest of the passengers on Winter Airways flight 595 were now safe and had hope.