Druid

[Ash]

Errol was making his way down the thoroughfare when the floor suddenly lurched. Metallic clunks echoed through the bulkheads as docking clamps released the ship from the spaceport. Errol steadied himself on a nearby support beam and gripped it as the gravity shifted with the ship's departure manouevres. After a few minutes the ship steadied and Errol cautiously found his footing. He proceeded to the base of the ladder and peered upward. It didn't extend very far, ten feet at the most, but what struck him was that he was peering up into open space. He ascended the ladder and immediately found himself inside what appeared to be a grand and sophisticated cockpit. The room itself was a dipped cone shape, with enough space for a pilot's seat down at the front. Behind it a second seat with a vast array of control panels arranged 180 degrees around it. Errol appeared to be standing at the top step of a narrow stair that descended around both sides of the cockpit.

"Enjoying the view?"

Errol swung around to see a man sat on a swivel chair. Behind him was a console host to an array of screens with targeting reticules and weapons schematics. Various sticks, levers and buttons were built into the desk below them.

"Hello sir"

"Hello again'"

The man before him was of an average build, relaxed in his composure and commanded a remarkable aura of quiet confidence. His strong nose and brow were framed by waved locks of hair and a ragged beard, giving his visage the likeness of an ornate frescoe or classical bust. Incidentally his stone gaze locked onto Errol like a statue, fixated.

"I have been told.."

"Tell me Errol, what is it that makes you a Gaian?"

Errol hesitated at the interruption.

"I've.. fended off attempts to exploit Gaia for four years. Three of them under the Watchers in Tendril squadron. Until yesterday I was stationed at Glendale"

"Glendale.."

The man made a wincing look.

"Interesting"

The man crossed his legs and hung his arms over his lap.

"I am Martin Silenus, an Acolyte to Gaia. You, Errol are going to be my co-pilot"

Errol stood firm, awaiting his orders. Martin stood and jogged down to the pilot seat where he dropped in and began tapping commands into a console.

"Well? Take your seat"

Errol coyly approached the second seat behind him and and gently lowered himself in. The flight-seat dipped down at the back, acting as a cradle for the the spine. Errol wriggled, finding it awakward to position himself with his thighs propped upward. For the first time he took in the forward view of the cockpit. The ice clouds were giving way to the vastness of space as they emerged from the nebula. The panorama was spectacular through the great curved windows. Planet Cambridge lay ahead, a sphere of blues and greens on a cosmic backdrop of red and grey. All the while distant stations glowed in the Cambridge sunlight.

"Set a course for Edinburgh"

Errol's eyes darted from panel to panel looking some sort of navigation console. He found it and opened up the nav map. For a moment he hesitated when he saw the map was populated with data from systems far beyond the Bretonia; Omicron space, parts of Gallia and some Tau systems he didn't recognise. He selected Edinburgh and the computer plotted a course.

"Now let's get moving" Martin adjusted the throttle and the ship hummed, resonating with the cruise engines. Then the burners kicked in and Errol's head hit the headrest.