give an awkward answer. "Emitters set to minimum null." The minimum null setting would zero out the gravitational pull of the planet in relation to the ship. It allowed them to stay aloft without needing repulsors and reduced the engine output needed to push them along, but since the gravimetric drive wasn't actually propelling the ship they were still hidden from most sensors.
"Very good," Jason said. "Ok everyone, tighten it up. We're still in the middle of an op." He looked pointedly at Twingo at that last part. He then realized that he hadn't heard from Lucky since they had begun atmospheric entry. When he looked over his left shoulder the stoic synth was in his usual spot, to the left and behind his captain. "Lucky, how the hell did you stay planted during all that?"
"I have mag-locks built into my feet, Captain," he said, raising one foot as if to show Jason. "It makes EVA operations much easier." As a synthetic, a race of constructed, sentient beings, Lucky didn't need to go through the rigmarole of suiting up for extravehicular activities, or EVA. He could just walk out the hatch as if he were taking a stroll down the street.
"Yeah, and you also weigh a ton," Twingo said irritably. "You keep warping the deck wherever you drop anchor when we're maneuvering without artificial gravity. I don't know why you can't just sit in a damn chair."
"I do not weigh anywhere near a..."
"ENOUGH!" Jason barked over the brewing argument. It was harmless banter, but it was a dangerous distraction. "You do still remember that we're in the middle of a dangerous mission, right? Get serious, and get to work. I don't want to hear another word that isn't related to our target until we're meshing out of this system."
"Sorry, Captain," the pair said in unison.
It's like babysitting a bunch of damn children sometimes .
The crew sat in silence as the Phoenix pushed north while the terminator crossed over them and the sky darkened. Jason swung the ship west as soon as they crossed their last waypoint and bled off some more airspeed, wanting to keep the noise signature to a minimum as they headed back towards land. He also tweaked the engine configuration, closing the exhaust nozzles down to about twenty percent and putting them into a low-power mode. They would have to pass quite closely to someone to be spotted from the ground while flying thusly.
They approached the coast right on target, their goal was a river mouth that led inland from the Western Sea. This particular river not only was close to their target, but it was too small to be used for any real commerce, just the occasional fisherman. The Phoenix ghosted up the river at only three-hundred kilometers per hour, her engines almost idling, Jason wanted to eliminate the high-pitched whistle of air moving over the hull that occurred at high subsonic speeds. Supersonic was obviously out of the question; it was important they get in and out without being detected on this job. Fortunately, the night had decided to cooperate and, as the air cooled, a dense blanket of fog had settled over the landscape.
"Turn off in twenty seconds, fly to the indicators," Kage said.
"Copy," Jason replied. "Ground team, go suit up and prep the party bus." Crusher and Lucky immediately left the bridge to get ready for the next phase of the operation. After another few seconds Jason banked gently north and climbed up and over the hills that lined the small, muddy river. While his eyes had been improved to see in an expanded spectrum thanks to the nanotech implants that were in him, for now he was
"Very good," Jason said. "Ok everyone, tighten it up. We're still in the middle of an op." He looked pointedly at Twingo at that last part. He then realized that he hadn't heard from Lucky since they had begun atmospheric entry. When he looked over his left shoulder the stoic synth was in his usual spot, to the left and behind his captain. "Lucky, how the hell did you stay planted during all that?"
"I have mag-locks built into my feet, Captain," he said, raising one foot as if to show Jason. "It makes EVA operations much easier." As a synthetic, a race of constructed, sentient beings, Lucky didn't need to go through the rigmarole of suiting up for extravehicular activities, or EVA. He could just walk out the hatch as if he were taking a stroll down the street.
"Yeah, and you also weigh a ton," Twingo said irritably. "You keep warping the deck wherever you drop anchor when we're maneuvering without artificial gravity. I don't know why you can't just sit in a damn chair."
"I do not weigh anywhere near a..."
"ENOUGH!" Jason barked over the brewing argument. It was harmless banter, but it was a dangerous distraction. "You do still remember that we're in the middle of a dangerous mission, right? Get serious, and get to work. I don't want to hear another word that isn't related to our target until we're meshing out of this system."
"Sorry, Captain," the pair said in unison.
It's like babysitting a bunch of damn children sometimes .
The crew sat in silence as the Phoenix pushed north while the terminator crossed over them and the sky darkened. Jason swung the ship west as soon as they crossed their last waypoint and bled off some more airspeed, wanting to keep the noise signature to a minimum as they headed back towards land. He also tweaked the engine configuration, closing the exhaust nozzles down to about twenty percent and putting them into a low-power mode. They would have to pass quite closely to someone to be spotted from the ground while flying thusly.
They approached the coast right on target, their goal was a river mouth that led inland from the Western Sea. This particular river not only was close to their target, but it was too small to be used for any real commerce, just the occasional fisherman. The Phoenix ghosted up the river at only three-hundred kilometers per hour, her engines almost idling, Jason wanted to eliminate the high-pitched whistle of air moving over the hull that occurred at high subsonic speeds. Supersonic was obviously out of the question; it was important they get in and out without being detected on this job. Fortunately, the night had decided to cooperate and, as the air cooled, a dense blanket of fog had settled over the landscape.
"Turn off in twenty seconds, fly to the indicators," Kage said.
"Copy," Jason replied. "Ground team, go suit up and prep the party bus." Crusher and Lucky immediately left the bridge to get ready for the next phase of the operation. After another few seconds Jason banked gently north and climbed up and over the hills that lined the small, muddy river. While his eyes had been improved to see in an expanded spectrum thanks to the nanotech implants that were in him, for now he was
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