Post by faultylogic on Oct 27, 2009 20:15:03 GMT -5
Minutes before leaving Von Braun City
Roslyn sighs as she eases into her chair. It wasn't as grand and elaborate as the captain's chair, but it gets the job done. She tried to relax in her chair, but the air of excitement and nervousness in the air is making it hard to. It wasn't the first time they launch from the lunar city, but it is the first time someone else other than the captain is piloting it.
She glanced over at their newest crew mate, a Mr. Jack Jameson. Not the best pilot, but out of everyone here besides herself and the captain, he is the most knowledgeable person on the ship. That and he actually wants to work for John after meeting him and that shows he is either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish. Both assured him a spot on the ship regardless.
She was about to turn her attention back to double checking the ship's cargo manifest when she sense movement from the captain's chair. The captain, wearing his usual blue mantle, was fidgeting and shifting around in his seat. John Cassidy..., or rather, Captain John Cassidy is restless from having his job of piloting the ship taken away from him. He doesn't admit it, but he liked being in control.
He was relentless when she told him of her intentions of hiring more people for the ship. He was there whenever she was interviewing applicants and drove them all to madness. She managed to distract him long enough by saying how the old captain's chair was too unsightly to befit someone of John's stature.
He left her alone for a glorious few days and she managed to hire a few more competent people for the ship. He eventually return with something called a lazy boy, a very big and comfortable looking chair of sorts. He got a few mechanics to rip out the old chair, install some new swivel joints and just welded the lazy boy on top it. And now, here he is, after claiming how comfortable and luxurious it would be when he sits in it to command the ship, he's inching to get out of it and back into the helmsman's seat. She smiles as she watches him fidget around, suffering from the lack of doing something. When she is satisfied he has suffered enough, a small payback for the many times he had annoyed her, she decides to give him a way out.
"Captain, I think it's about time we contacted the spaceport for clearance to leave the city."
The captain finally stops moving, a smile finally on his face. "Ah yes, of course." He sits up straight in his chair, or least try to, since he keeps sinking into the cushions. Roslyn finally decides that she has got to get one of those chairs for herself one day, as she pushes a button on her control station.
"You can speak when ready, captain."
"Ahem." He clears his throat, "This is Captain John Cassidy of the flagship Armageddon."
Roslyn sees Jack freeze in his seat and peers slowly around his seat at what the captain said. Roslyn shot him a glance at him, trying to get his attention.
"The first of many ship of the future great Cassidy fleet. As captain and leader, I hereby ask for permission to leave this city so I can continue my mission to bring a little order in this chaotic world, to give hope to the hopeless, to bring..."
Roslyn, finally having caught Jack's attention, coughs ever so slightly in response to the captain's long winded speech.
"Er.., in short, I ask for permission to leave the city."
Roslyn waits a few seconds before replying, "Permission received, captain. We can leave when ready."
"Ah, good to hear, XO... So, is there anything else I..."
"Captain, if I can spare a minute of your time, perhaps the other crew member aboard the ship could use your personal supervision. Maybe Santiago and his team could some words of encouragement to bolster their moral."
"But of course, while my time is more precious than gold, I can always spare some for my crew. Well, if you need me, you'll know where you can find me." He gets up from his chair and almost ran to the door. He almost ran into a confused looking mechanic that was entering the bridge. Before he could get a word in, the captain was already out of sight. He instead turned to Roslyn, and she already knew what he was going to ask.
"Hey Roslyn, why did the captain send a message to me, asking for permission to leave the city?"
"Seems like I pushed the wrong button. You can go back to what you are doing."
He shrugs and walks back out the door. When he finally left, she turned toward her control station and pressed the correct buttons to contact the spaceport.
"This is the X.O. Roslyn O'Hara of the transport Dendrobium. We request permission to..." She completes her usual routine of requesting clearance to leave the spaceport. When everything is said and done, she gives a sigh of relief and leans back into her chair.
"I can understand the subterfuge to prevent the captain from talking to the spaceport, but isn't the name of the ship Workhorse?"
She turned her neck and looked at Jack before replying, "Yes, or it used to be. We put in an application to change the name, but as usual, the wonders of bureaucracy has made a minute of effort into a 10 year wait. They decided to let us use the new name for now until the changes are official."
"But still, Armageddon? Dendrobium? The captain sure has weird taste when it comes to naming ships."
Roslyn frowns before answering. "All the other crew member agreed that Armageddon is the worst name possible for a freighter." She turns away from the helmsman, "And they decided to let me name the ship instead."
She couldn't see it physically, but she was sure the helmsman is trying his best to get his foot out of his mouth.
Roslyn sighs as she eases into her chair. It wasn't as grand and elaborate as the captain's chair, but it gets the job done. She tried to relax in her chair, but the air of excitement and nervousness in the air is making it hard to. It wasn't the first time they launch from the lunar city, but it is the first time someone else other than the captain is piloting it.
She glanced over at their newest crew mate, a Mr. Jack Jameson. Not the best pilot, but out of everyone here besides herself and the captain, he is the most knowledgeable person on the ship. That and he actually wants to work for John after meeting him and that shows he is either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish. Both assured him a spot on the ship regardless.
She was about to turn her attention back to double checking the ship's cargo manifest when she sense movement from the captain's chair. The captain, wearing his usual blue mantle, was fidgeting and shifting around in his seat. John Cassidy..., or rather, Captain John Cassidy is restless from having his job of piloting the ship taken away from him. He doesn't admit it, but he liked being in control.
He was relentless when she told him of her intentions of hiring more people for the ship. He was there whenever she was interviewing applicants and drove them all to madness. She managed to distract him long enough by saying how the old captain's chair was too unsightly to befit someone of John's stature.
He left her alone for a glorious few days and she managed to hire a few more competent people for the ship. He eventually return with something called a lazy boy, a very big and comfortable looking chair of sorts. He got a few mechanics to rip out the old chair, install some new swivel joints and just welded the lazy boy on top it. And now, here he is, after claiming how comfortable and luxurious it would be when he sits in it to command the ship, he's inching to get out of it and back into the helmsman's seat. She smiles as she watches him fidget around, suffering from the lack of doing something. When she is satisfied he has suffered enough, a small payback for the many times he had annoyed her, she decides to give him a way out.
"Captain, I think it's about time we contacted the spaceport for clearance to leave the city."
The captain finally stops moving, a smile finally on his face. "Ah yes, of course." He sits up straight in his chair, or least try to, since he keeps sinking into the cushions. Roslyn finally decides that she has got to get one of those chairs for herself one day, as she pushes a button on her control station.
"You can speak when ready, captain."
"Ahem." He clears his throat, "This is Captain John Cassidy of the flagship Armageddon."
Roslyn sees Jack freeze in his seat and peers slowly around his seat at what the captain said. Roslyn shot him a glance at him, trying to get his attention.
"The first of many ship of the future great Cassidy fleet. As captain and leader, I hereby ask for permission to leave this city so I can continue my mission to bring a little order in this chaotic world, to give hope to the hopeless, to bring..."
Roslyn, finally having caught Jack's attention, coughs ever so slightly in response to the captain's long winded speech.
"Er.., in short, I ask for permission to leave the city."
Roslyn waits a few seconds before replying, "Permission received, captain. We can leave when ready."
"Ah, good to hear, XO... So, is there anything else I..."
"Captain, if I can spare a minute of your time, perhaps the other crew member aboard the ship could use your personal supervision. Maybe Santiago and his team could some words of encouragement to bolster their moral."
"But of course, while my time is more precious than gold, I can always spare some for my crew. Well, if you need me, you'll know where you can find me." He gets up from his chair and almost ran to the door. He almost ran into a confused looking mechanic that was entering the bridge. Before he could get a word in, the captain was already out of sight. He instead turned to Roslyn, and she already knew what he was going to ask.
"Hey Roslyn, why did the captain send a message to me, asking for permission to leave the city?"
"Seems like I pushed the wrong button. You can go back to what you are doing."
He shrugs and walks back out the door. When he finally left, she turned toward her control station and pressed the correct buttons to contact the spaceport.
"This is the X.O. Roslyn O'Hara of the transport Dendrobium. We request permission to..." She completes her usual routine of requesting clearance to leave the spaceport. When everything is said and done, she gives a sigh of relief and leans back into her chair.
"I can understand the subterfuge to prevent the captain from talking to the spaceport, but isn't the name of the ship Workhorse?"
She turned her neck and looked at Jack before replying, "Yes, or it used to be. We put in an application to change the name, but as usual, the wonders of bureaucracy has made a minute of effort into a 10 year wait. They decided to let us use the new name for now until the changes are official."
"But still, Armageddon? Dendrobium? The captain sure has weird taste when it comes to naming ships."
Roslyn frowns before answering. "All the other crew member agreed that Armageddon is the worst name possible for a freighter." She turns away from the helmsman, "And they decided to let me name the ship instead."
She couldn't see it physically, but she was sure the helmsman is trying his best to get his foot out of his mouth.