Pris closed her eyes as the small ship was once again buffeted by a strong
gust of wind. She had to admit, she wasn't much more experienced in flying
through atmosphere than Greer. Especially through this weather. She glanced
over to Lennier, who was sitting next to her at the controls, perfectly
still and focused on what he was doing.
She guessed that was part of his training as an acolyte, or whatever. Frankly she was starting to suspect that there was more to his story than he was letting on. The fact that he purposely avoided rangers was a dead give-away to something bad. Of course it wasn't her business, yet.
Behind them sat Greer, who was gripping her seat with white knuckles. Oh yeah, she would not have made it. Pris also fancied the kid was looking a little green too. Great. As long as she waited before tossing her cookies.
A sudden beep from her control panel demanded her attention. She looked down at it and read what it had to say.
"Energy signal up ahead, about 40 kilometers, 6 degrees to the east," she turned to Greer, "is that them?"
She opened her eyes, "Should be," she said a little shakily, and then closed her eyes, as if talking made her nauseous. Pris glanced at Lennier who was already shifting course.
Pris looked ahead, "There," she said pointing ahead. There was a small cluster of buildings to the right, one large one and four or five smaller ones. On the large one was an antenna array. On the far side was a ship, slightly larger than theirs and seemingly better suited for the weather.
Lennier circled around the complex once. There was no sign of life, but there weren't any signs of violence, at least from where they were. She looked back at her panel and scanned the place. There was power, no damage to the antenna, this looked less than promising.
The ship landed next to the larger ship with a bit of a jolt. Pris pulled on cover for her head and a pair of goggles, made sure her gun was nice and accessible, and prepared to step outside.
They already had on skin tight thermal suits which were light-grey, and fit over like a second skin in a rather unflattering way. Pris always thought she had a nice body, but in these clothes....even Lennier's well-built body looked faintly ridiculous. Unfortunately, these were the only worthwhile protection in this climate.
There was also a tight hood which fit over the head. Pris once again, cursed herself for not cutting her hair as she stuffed a few stay curls under. Lennier fore swore the hoods, because there were none that would fit his head right, and he insisted he didn't need one.
Pris hesitated before placing the oxygen mask on. She hated these things, and would rather gasp in the thin air than deal with having this on her face, but Greer insisted that she would suffocate without it, as the air this far north was too thin.
Finally, she put on the goggles and was completely cut off from the outside air. Goddess, she hated this. She looked like a bug. Because they were unable to speak, they had to communicate by hand signals.
The wind was biting cold and cut through her like a knife, thermal layers and all. She gritted her teeth and headed over to the other ship, walking at an angle against the wind.
The ship looked undamaged, as far as she could see. She was about to head into the main building when something odd caught her eye. It was a puddle of fuel which was growing underneath it. She turned to Lennier, who'd seen it too, and they ducked under the ship to investigate.
The underbelly of the ship had a giant tear running across it. Cables hung out like intestines and had long iced over. Pris went through all rationales she could think of for this, but none really stuck. She gave Lennier a very worried look, who returned it.
Greer was already heading toward the main building, obviously unaware of their discovery. They rushed over to her and, through a series of hand gestures, told her she shouldn't rush it. Pris readied her gun as they opened the door and went in.
TBC....
She guessed that was part of his training as an acolyte, or whatever. Frankly she was starting to suspect that there was more to his story than he was letting on. The fact that he purposely avoided rangers was a dead give-away to something bad. Of course it wasn't her business, yet.
Behind them sat Greer, who was gripping her seat with white knuckles. Oh yeah, she would not have made it. Pris also fancied the kid was looking a little green too. Great. As long as she waited before tossing her cookies.
A sudden beep from her control panel demanded her attention. She looked down at it and read what it had to say.
"Energy signal up ahead, about 40 kilometers, 6 degrees to the east," she turned to Greer, "is that them?"
She opened her eyes, "Should be," she said a little shakily, and then closed her eyes, as if talking made her nauseous. Pris glanced at Lennier who was already shifting course.
Pris looked ahead, "There," she said pointing ahead. There was a small cluster of buildings to the right, one large one and four or five smaller ones. On the large one was an antenna array. On the far side was a ship, slightly larger than theirs and seemingly better suited for the weather.
Lennier circled around the complex once. There was no sign of life, but there weren't any signs of violence, at least from where they were. She looked back at her panel and scanned the place. There was power, no damage to the antenna, this looked less than promising.
The ship landed next to the larger ship with a bit of a jolt. Pris pulled on cover for her head and a pair of goggles, made sure her gun was nice and accessible, and prepared to step outside.
They already had on skin tight thermal suits which were light-grey, and fit over like a second skin in a rather unflattering way. Pris always thought she had a nice body, but in these clothes....even Lennier's well-built body looked faintly ridiculous. Unfortunately, these were the only worthwhile protection in this climate.
There was also a tight hood which fit over the head. Pris once again, cursed herself for not cutting her hair as she stuffed a few stay curls under. Lennier fore swore the hoods, because there were none that would fit his head right, and he insisted he didn't need one.
Pris hesitated before placing the oxygen mask on. She hated these things, and would rather gasp in the thin air than deal with having this on her face, but Greer insisted that she would suffocate without it, as the air this far north was too thin.
Finally, she put on the goggles and was completely cut off from the outside air. Goddess, she hated this. She looked like a bug. Because they were unable to speak, they had to communicate by hand signals.
The wind was biting cold and cut through her like a knife, thermal layers and all. She gritted her teeth and headed over to the other ship, walking at an angle against the wind.
The ship looked undamaged, as far as she could see. She was about to head into the main building when something odd caught her eye. It was a puddle of fuel which was growing underneath it. She turned to Lennier, who'd seen it too, and they ducked under the ship to investigate.
The underbelly of the ship had a giant tear running across it. Cables hung out like intestines and had long iced over. Pris went through all rationales she could think of for this, but none really stuck. She gave Lennier a very worried look, who returned it.
Greer was already heading toward the main building, obviously unaware of their discovery. They rushed over to her and, through a series of hand gestures, told her she shouldn't rush it. Pris readied her gun as they opened the door and went in.
TBC....