Flora looked at her "tourist guide" and smiled. She hoped that at least Apfel isn't going to talk about green and non-green melons.
"..you must be that sweet Gaian looking for Drachen..." - Flora wasn't exactly sure if that was a change for better or worse. And that name, "Apfel Lady". Flora had an unexplained feeling that she's going to learn quite a lot about apples during this trip...
Hey! Uhm... Yeah, I assume that I'm the Gaian you're talking about... Anyway, few hours? Excellent! My ship should be ready by then. Also, how many other people are supposed to go with us? We can't really take a whole school trip, you know. - Flora was already visibly excited. - We can take only 3 additional passengers. And we kinda don't have any spare suits... - She slowed down and stopped, waiting for Ilse's reaction.
Ilse looks at Flora and tries to fix her own hair on the left. "Suits won't be a problem, space on your ship won't be a problem either. We will launch our own Deep Atmosphere Explorer with needed stuff. However one rule. We would like to get your results of expedition, is that alright?"
Ilse looks at her again and takes a sip of Chyo's bier.
Sure, there'll be no problem with that. - Flora ate the last bit of the sausage. - So, I assume that we're ready to start final preparations and get going. - she stood up and looked at both Chyo and Ilse. - I doubt there's any reason to postpone our departure? Excellent! I'll be around the Albatross sorting last few issues out before we'll move out. - she smiled and started to walk towards the exit.
Ilse and Chyo nods and looks at Flora carefuly. "We should depart in 3 hours, untill then feel free to look around and get some famous meal or drinks... We will contact you later"
The wind was blowing through the wide, hellish grasslands. The sky was clear, with only few faint orange nebulas in the distance were messing it's clear, red tint. A wave of crimson light flooded the grasslands as a small, red sun raised from behind the mountains. Yet another calm day on a partially forgotten world, hidden within the hot nebulas and asteroid fields, far from any signs of civilisation.
A faint roar reverberated through the plains as a large, black object was making it's way through the upper atmosphere, leaving a trail of smoke and vapour behind it. It's huge wings were spread majestically, and it's large head was stubbornly pointiong towards the mountains despite the fact that the planet was doing it's best to drag it down to the ground. It's surface was shining metallically, with the exception of few black stripes above it's nose. Even though they were covered in dust and some scratches, one could still see faint lights coming from inside.
For Mother's sake, my back... - Sherman's groans yet again made their way through the internal comms. - Does it have to shake that much? Gettin' old huh? C'mon granpa, we're almost there. - Sherman sighed. There was no point in arguing with Trevor. Not at this moment at least. - I'm wonderin' if our princess is still alive. She ain't really talking much, and this shaking hell doesn't differ much from falling. Be quiet, or we'll start falling. - chuckling was the only answer to that.
Interior was extremly noisy and the groans of the ship's structure didn't made the situation comfortable. Trevor cursed silently. The atmosphere was so dense that it felt like flying underwater. He didn't doubted in Flora's ability to land here, but rather in Albatross' ability to withstand the landing. He looked through the front window. The mountain range was very close now. He cursed again as the ship started to make a wide circle around the landing zone. It was a small plateau surrounded by mountains, with a small river cutting it in half. As much as he wasn't so enthusiastic as Flora, he was still curious about the famed "Drachens". He looked through the side window as much as his helmet was letting him to turn his head. He looked closely at one of the higher mountains surrounding the plateau. He blinked few times as the top of it suddenly spread it's wings and flied away, leaving his field of view. As the ship made another circle around the landing zone and started to slow down he looked at the mountain once again. Consirdering how much smaller the mountain was now, the thing that flied away wasn't just big. It was huge.
Okay... It's that time, Sherman! Let's see if your fancy gadgets will work after 5 years of rusting on Torshavn. They should... "Should"? - Trevor snorted with annoyance as no one answered.
Flora was getting nervous. She knew how to land this ship in theory, but well, just in theory.
Flora, remember, it's just like normal landing. Just mind the fact that it'll react bit slower than usual. Okay... - she took a deep breath and pressed few buttons. Part of each wing's hull retracted, unveiling two examples of a very archaic technology. - I still cannot belive we're using this... It's way more eco-friendly than spilling plasma all over the place. - a loud hiss filled the plateau as the rotors on both wings started to spin, and suprisingly, effectively making the ship hover over the ground. Six heavy landing legs deployed from beneath the ship as it slowly descended to the ground. The touchdown, as ususal, was a very hard one. Sudden silence filled the cockpit as rotors' hiss faded out. Three sighs of relief could be heard shortly after, and the crew started to look at each other.