Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Nobody had any objections, espescially among those who had already travelled on such a flight. The views were spectacular and on take off, looking out of the corner of your eye one could just about see the retreating planet through the red glow of the heat shield. A first flight should be memorable (espescially if it was happening as a teenager). "You're not going to regret seeing this for a first flight." "How are the seats arranged in the rows?" Rinaa asked, already thinking on what would be the best way to arrange everybody. In response Cliff flipped through the tickets matching up the seat numbers and positions in her head. "We got one full row of four and two rows of three."

Rinaa nodded in thought. "That means the most logical seating plan would be.....these three in one row of three." She gestured at Fia, John and Kay. "With Fia at the window seat. Then the two groups of two go in the same row." She indicated Dan and Chas as one group , with Cal and Cliff as the other. "Which leaves the three of us in the final row. Sound about right?" "Sounds spot on" Cal nodded, then turned to Chas. "As a) the only one who hasn't been on one of these before and b) the only one of us with a half decent camera, you should take the window seat." "If that's okay with everybody else." Chas replied, internally thrilled to be getting the window seat. "I'd rather not have the window seat." Elliott said quietly, as he knew it would remind him of the last time he saw Attil retreating into the distance. "Can I have it then?" Rinaa asked, hoping that her instant teenage greediness for the window seat would distract the others from Elliott, but at the same time she knew it wouldn't. "It's all yours."

 

[MzHyde]

When none of the others had any objections of Fia taking one of the window seats, Fia couldn't stop the grin from appearing on her face. When Cliff said she wouldn't regret it, she nodded. She listened to Rinaa's question about the way the seats were arranged, which was a good question now that Fia gave it a thought. With it being explained, Fia listened as did Kay, both happy with the seating plan. Like Rinaa said, it was the most logical one in their eyes.

When Elliott stated he didn't want the window seat, Kay wasn't surprised to hear it. It was obvious to her that it was down to the fact he had already seen the exiting of Attil from a window and it brought not so good memories. She noted Rinaa's attempt to take the attention off of Elliott saying he didn't want it by asking if she could, but she said nothing on it. In her kind she didn't need to say anything on it, she could tell why Rinaa spoke up and that was enough. "Two teenagers and Chas by the windows, sounds about right" Kay smiled.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John knew exactly why Elliott didn't want the window seat, he could only imagine what kind of memories it would bring back, and breaking down on a shuttle with a whole load of strangers wouldn't help matters. He appreciated Rinaa's nifty diversion, even if everybody else had already picked up on what was going on. "I hope that's not an insult, comparing me to the crazy teenagers" Chas smirked, teasing both Kay, Fia and Rinaa in the process. "First off one, I'm not crazy, I'm a high functioning sociopath." Rinaa retorted, jumping at the opportunity to quote Sherlock. "And two, if I'm being compared to you Chas, I'll take it as a compliment." "Damn right you will." Chas smirked.

Cliff distributed the tickets giving everybody a look of 'don't you bloody dare lose this.' The tickets were labelled and numbered in Attili, but like with all passenger flights, the seats were labelled with matching numbers. "I'd recommend taking out whatever you want with you on the flight now, chances are you won't be able to access the baggage during the flight, what with everybody else's being in the way." There was nods at that and the others began taking out what they suspected they'd need. "Important question, is there WiFi on this ship? Or should I download my music now?" "Typical teenager priorities" Cal smirked fondly. She liked Rinaa, even with the prickly exterior. "There should be, but do it here anyway."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked at Chas' attempt of teasing her and the two kids in the process as response to her comment. She would have said something but Rinaa got there first, Fia sniggered at the whole thing, and nodded in agreement with Rinaa. "I'm with Rii on this one" Fia chimed in with a smirk. "As if I could ever insult you Chas" Kay just added. She was just glad that Chas wouldn't have to deal with a kid any younger than a teenager sitting behind or in front of him, as she could only imagine how restless Fia would get and try to bug him for the sake of it.

She took her ticket when Cliff handed it to her, putting it in her jacket pocket for now so not to lose it. Luckily she didn't have a habit of doing such a thing with important documents or anything in general, so wasn't too worried. When the suggestion of taking out whatever was needed for the flight now was given, she nodded in recognition, whilst pulling her bag off her shoulders and round to her front so she could pull out her sketchbook and just a couple of pencils to do rough sketches. She didn't really have music on the phone yet as she just never got round to it. So it was sketching or nothing for her.

Fia pulled out her MP3 player as she liked to keep her music completely separate to everything else on her phone. She was old school in that sense, and even used big chunky headphones, rather than earbuds. She put her headphones round her neck and her player in her pocket, along with her phone whilst tucking a small book she had (she had 3 books in her bag with her when she came over).

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others all pulled out some combination of book, phone and headphones. The notable exceptions were Cliff (who had her laptop), Chas (who had his camera) and Rinaa who pulled out her two leather bound notebook, one that was her general project book containing ideas and sketches and the second one that contained notes purely about time travel and similar plotting. It was a risk to take it out in the first place, but she needed to consult it. Its presence was also comforting in a weird way, knowing that the end was near was wrecking her head, Rinaa didn't want to die at all, but knowing that the end was going to be on her own terms helped her to deal with it. She set the music to download, taking out both her headphones and her earbuds, not sure which she'd actually use.

"And another, you can't wear headphones around during take off. When you get into the seating from the gantry, they'll be horizontal and anything around your neck will hinder the shock absorbers in the seats, plus the g-force will press it into the back of your neck." Elliott added, remembering one of his school teachers well worn phrases for when the school trip required a shuttle. Cal could see he was thinking of some past memory. "What are you thinking of brother?" "My old teacher Mr Herz, and how he used to say in that really gruff, tired of life tone- "wear 'em if you want, just don't come crying to me when you have a broken neck"." Cal laughed, remembering who she was talking about. "He's still going y' know, scaring another generation of kids shirtless with his worst case scenario horror stories." "Is he? Wow. I'd have thought he'd have retired by now." "Well, he hasn't, lucky school kids." "Lucky indeed."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia had a feeling she wouldn't be able to have her headphones round her neck during take off, she just always found it easier to wear them round her neck whilst walking, especially if she had other stuff in her hands at the same time. She noted the leather bound books that Rinaa took out also, recognising one of them as the one she borrowed to know how to get through the barriers to get here. She listened to what Elliott said though, taking it all on board as well as hearing Cal telling him, that specific teacher was still going. "I'll take them off when we board, its easier to carry everything else like this at the moment that's all" She then told him.

Kay noted what Elliott said, and Fia's reply, weird proud that her kid was listening and taking on board everything being told to her. It was also clear to her that Fia really take anything Elliott said on board in the teenager's timeline and looked up to him greatly. She was still impressed that doing this type of take off would even be safe for people like her, who were pregnant, when on Earth they like to try and stop pregnant women from flying at all.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia's love for Elliott didn't escape the notice of John, Chas, Rinaa and Elliott himself. They all took it as a good thing, a sign that on the timeline where he survived he was still a good person and worth looking up to. Normally they wouldn't think something could radically change Elliott's personality, but given what had happened in Rinaa's timeline, they were looking at things in a new way. "True, but it's better to say it now than on the shuttle itself." Or have a crew member try to explain this and hitting a severe language barrier. The boarding off the shuttle was staged, starting from the furthest back seats (the ones closest to the large rocket nozzle) and moving towards the front. As they were late booking the only ten seats Cliff had been able to get in a block together were over the wing.

Cal kept an ear out, listening for the announcement that their rows were boarding. 'Shuttle Flight 714 to Space Gate 07-FR-Beta now boarding rows in group five. Group Five boarders taking Shuttle flight 714 to Space Gate 07-FR-Beta now boarding." The announcement was read in a clear and steady voice and broadcast across the terminal. "Right that's our call. Copy what we do, and you'll be fine." There were nods as Elliott and Rinaa pulled the guitar cases onto their backs. Neither were risking putting such an item in the hold. They had great sentimental value and the real owners of the instruments would not be happy to see them greviously damaged.

To get to the shuttle they had to walk across the launch complex. The giant gantries that housed the rockets and rocket umbilical grew gradually bigger as they approached them. The ship was monolithic, looming above them, condensation dripping off the outers tanks. Up close it could be seen that the heat shield was made of multiple tiles and that the booster rickets were assembled in sections. It was a triumph of engineering and the admiration was clear in Rinaa's eyes. The ship was vibrating ever so slightly as the final filling checks were carried out. There was an atmosphere of quiet respect overlaid with a hint of fear at the launch site. The other passengers were subdued, understanding that this machine could kill them, blowing them into meaty pieces. No space suit could protect them from that.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded at Elliott's reply, understanding why he said it anyway now rather than on board. When the announcement was made, she listened despite not understanding it, it was just a thing she felt to do. If she heard an announcement she perked up out of habit. When Cal confirmed that was them, she nodded and lifted up her bag back onto her back, as well as the dress bags over her shoulder, balancing everything else in her spare hand.

Kay walked with everyone else across the launch complex looking up at everything as she did so, amazed at the engineering of it all, even though she wasn't that way inclined mentally like Rinaa was. She could notice the ever so slight vibrations of the ship as they boarded, and saw how subdued the other passengers were. Fia looked at everything like the others but kept her amazement discreet so she didn't look too much of a tourist and first timer, even though she knew if she was flying on a normal plane on Earth she would be reacting exactly the same way.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The heavier items of luggage were taken, tagged and stowed. Cal knew from experience that all bags were weighed and distributed across the hold in order to ensure the weight was properly balenced. The lighter items were taken by the passengers to their seats. Boarding wasn't exactly the most dignified process, as the seats were lying horizontal so there was an element of climbing over certain seats to actually get into place. Handles and rungs had been put into the walls of the ship to make the process easier and safer. If the ship had been lying horizontal, then boarding would have been just like that of a plane, but it was deemed too risky to take the whole craft filled with people and re-orientate it. Cal and Cliff directed the others in where to go and which seats were theirs. Cal and co's row was furthest back, then Elliott and co's row and then John and co.

The seats had a backing of memory foam so they moulded to the body of the person. There was storage on the seat backs in front of them, big enough for the bags and garment bags to be stored in. The seats themselves were considerably larger than aeroplane seats, fitted with various shock absorbers and suspension designed to lessen the vibrations of launch. The seat belts were heavy duty, one crossing the chest in an 'x' shape to be worn during take off and a second regular waist belt for the rest of the flight. Each seat had foot rests and cushioning made of the same memory fabric in the leg part of the chair. The ship had rows of twelve broken up into three groups of four seats. The windows were relatively small and covered by a transparent heat shield layer.

The experts made themselves comfortable, adjusting straps, the length of the leg sections and the height of the head and neck supports. It was disconcerting being strapped in, lying on your back and John found that he really couldnt believe this was happening, he fully expected to be woken up any second. "Bloody hell, sure we aren't dreaming?" "I'm seriously questioning it mate, this is mad!" Chas called from below them. "It's real alright." Rinaa's voice came from slightly closer. "You're not dreaming, this is actually happening."

 

[MzHyde]

Getting to their seats, Kay and Fia both put the bags they had into the designated storage area behind the seats and then got into their seats, Fia by the window, and Kay on the outside of the row, only because Fia insisted on also sitting next to John, being the typical daddy's girl she was. Kay didn't mind at all, as she knew just like the rest of them that she was naturally closer to John in her timeline, so Kay half expected Fia wanting to sit next to him.

They both buckled up, and Kay was very much enjoying the whole memory foam on the leg rests and back, finding it giving her the support for her back not just because of the take off that they would endure but also because of her pregnancy meant she got back ache every now and then. She was trying to get used to the idea of being strapped in laying on her back, so when John spoke up about it feeling a dream, she chuckled. "Normal earth flights are gonna seem so incredibly boring after this" she smirked. "Still wanna experience that though" Fia added. "We'll see baby girl" Kay replied. "Change of subject, I want memory foam everything now, my back is loving it" she chuckled.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"They aren't necessarily going to boring, you'll just never fret about a plane flight again, its a good cure for a fear of flying actually, going in one of these, or so I've heard." Elliott called from behind John's head. Their row had adopted a similar arrangement- the teenager at the window, Elliott in the middle and Jay beside Elliott. "There could be something to that." Chas called up from even further down. He did possess a fear of flying on planes, but hadn't been phased at all by going on spaceships, maybe he was finally getting over it, or maybe there was something to it. "If you really want a flight, go up in Toby's stunt plane, when she's doing bombing moves." Rinaa called out, getting in on the action, she was utterly at home in the shuttle.

John chuckled at the memory foam comment. It really did mould comfortably around him. "This industrial, high-end stuff is awesome, and it's miles cheaper in the long run than making a customised seat moulding for every single passenger." "If you like this stuff you'd love the hammocks made out of a very similar material. Very useful for just stringing up in a spaceship hold when you can't be arsed to do anything else." Jay commented, as she made the final strap adjustments. "Or having it in shoes, most comfortable thing ever. Great for combat boots actually, just rip out the insoles and replace 'em with this stuff. You can have that advice for free."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked at Elliott's comment, taking his word for it. She didnt know about Chas' fear of flying, but she did she would have thought that his remark about there being something to Elliott's comment a lot more solid. She just always assumed he didn't mind flying in general as he had no problems with space travel. Fia listened to what Rinaa said, which made her smirk, "I would soooo do that if I could hang out with that lot" Fia replied.

As for the memory foam comment, Kay listened and smirked, even though they couldn't see her reacting to it at all. "Good to know! Whatever decent memory foam I can get my hands on from anywhere for pillows or anything else I can get away with, I'm having. And yes I'm totally abusing the 'I'm an pregnant woman who needs comfort' trope!" She commented smugly. She really would make everything out of memory foam or top everything in memory foam in The House if she could get away with it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Just don't eat before going in the plane, she takes immense joy in doing the craziest stunts." Rinaa called up, she'd flown with Toby many times, being born into the pilot lifestyle meant it was invaluable experience for her. She also noted how Fia didn't know A.J's crew anywhere near as well as she did, and considered that quite surprising, given that they were Elliott's closest friends. Fia in her timeline didn't know them personally, they'd taken Jay's side in the whole thing. It was terrifying in a way just how deep the divide caused by Elliott's death was. There were times where it was quite clear that the family and associated friends had to pick a side. The only one Fia would have known by reputation was Kane, given that he had his whole industry empire.

"I might know a person who can source the good foam in its raw form, then you could simply just add it to whatever you want." Jay mused with a shrug from behind Kay's head. "Sourced legally or illegally?" Elliott asked, raising an eyebrow, knowing Jay's off-world contacts had stretched across all areas when she was active as an assassin. "Both, but I'd have to check it out. If not, memory foam can just be bought from wherever, but it won't be this high-end industrial stuff." "Or you could just raid a scrap heap" Rinaa shrugged, not that anybody outside of her row could see the gesture. "Not only is it free that way, you can get the industrial stuff. It might be patchy, but it's nothing a good stint with a sewing machine cannot fix."

 

[MzHyde]

With Fia and Elliott's closest friends, it was a case of he introduced her to them all, they all knew her, and she knew them and if it really came to it, she could hide out at AJ's restaurant if she needed to, but she didn't make it a point to hang out with them like Rinaa did. She was just the kid sister of Elliott, and she knew if she was in trouble Elliott had made sure they all looked out for her, just like he did with John, Chas and Kay and everyone else. Yet for her, they were his friends, not hers. "Duely noted!" Fia called back.

Kay listened to what Jay was suggesting and she had to admit she was very intrigued and curious about being able to get some of this industrial memory foam for herself. The thoughts were going round in her head of imaging her with this quality of foam in a nice body pillow or something similar. "Not gonna lie, a body pillow for my back with this stuff would be a dream" she called back with a smile, still imagining how comfortable she'd be.

(Sorry for late reply, got distracted doing a balayage ombre on a wig for the last three hours XD)

 

[_gallifrog_]

"We'll see what we can do." Cliff called up from her seat. Above them the other rows could be seen filling with passengers, mostly Devra, but there were other races among them. Filling the rest of the ship took just under half an hour before the crew carried out final checks, both on the cargo hold and the passengers, climbing nimbly up and down the ladders on the ceiling of the craft. The more junior crew members were tasked with examining the passengers and were colloquially dubbed 'spiders' as they clambered all over the ceiling. With the final checks complete, the doors were sealed and the crew retreated to the cockpit. Then came the safety briefing as the gantry was removed and the rocket was left suspended only by its umbilicals. John translated as best he could, it was the same things Cliff had told them earlier along with naming the captain and the ship, giving an estimated flight time and explaining that they would be switching to ion thrusters once safely outside the boundaries of Attili.

And then it came to the launch itself. In typical space style a countdown was given. From there the first vibrations could be felt, starting off slow and barely noticeable, but growing faster and stronger as they approached the three and a half minute mark. At that point the whole rocket seemed to be swaying back and forth. That was when the shaking properly started. The rocket seemed to be straining against its restraints, everything shaking in front of their eyes. It really did seem like anything that wasn't properly secured would be shaken apart by the bucking craft. At fifteen second to go the engines were properly fired, a monsterous roar that John would never forget as long as he lived.

The umbilicals dropped back, the rocket released and shot upwards with incredible force. Although the force could be felt puhsing them from begin, the passengers were pressed firmly into their seats. John's eyes felt like they were being held open and his chest felt crushed by some unknown force. His teeth seemed to rattle in his skull a. There was a distinct sense of leaving, that this was so undeniably real, and that if this wnet wrong they had no chance of survival. Moving an arm upwards was a fight and it was clear now why the memory foam was so important and why wearing things around necks was not advised. The passengers were almost fused to the seats. The pressure just mounted and mounted and mounted, the air filled with the roar of the boosters outside.

(a worthy cause for distraction)

 

[MzHyde]

Hearing Cliff say they'd see what they could do about getting a memory foam body pillow made Kay stupidly happy. It really was the silly little things sometimes that brought the most joy to her, and she couldn't even try to deny that. She glanced around aimlessly as she saw the other passengers started getting to their seats, and seeing how they had to, before she saw the staff doing the same thing. It really was something to see, and she wouldn't forget any of what she was witnessing. "Sam...if you could see this for yourself" she thought to herself knowing her sister or any of her family would never believe her for a million years, even with the photos.

When the announcement came on, she was thankful as s was Fia for John translating it all as best as he could, so they knew what was being said and advised. The swaying equally didn't take Kay by surprise and did at the same time, she couldn't explain why though. As it all roared to life and the shuttle did indeed take off, she too could see instantly why being told to keep things like headphones off your neck was a very legitimate thing. She felt her whole body pressed firmly into the seat, which lead to her feeling their unborn version of Fia also feeling the g-force in her womb. It was insanely uncomfortable but she definitely wouldn't regret experiencing flight like this. In her head she told the unborn version of Fia it was going to be okay and it was only temporary. She would have closed her eyes if she even could, but she couldn't because of the force.

Fia was similar the whole time, feeling so incredibly glad that she had her headphones in her lap and not round her neck now. She never doubted Elliott though as she knew g-force was not something to be messed with. She couldn't believe this was even real and this was in fact happening. She was experiencing so much more than if she stayed in her timeline, something she knew deep down she may forget or get blurred when she went back. The force against her chest was uncomfortable but nowhere near as bad as Kay would have felt it. She just found herself hoping nothing would go wrong as they certainly wouldn't make it. Both her and Kay definitely would be glad when they got high enough to level off.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Leaving the atmosphere and passing suitably out of Attil's gravitational influence took approximately eight minutes. As they climbed higher the pressure first increased, then gradually began to decrease as the g-force lessened. For the passengers all they had to do was sit back and not move for the crew it was harder, they had to actually operate the ship, running through various procedures, flicking switches and pulling levers. The two side boosters (which used solid fuel) were jettisoned with explosive bolts and the shudder as they detached could be felt right through the ship. That left them with just the main liquid tank, which pushed them higher into orbit.

There was little visible out the windows during the launch, most of it obscured by the glow of the heat shield as it passed through the atmosphere. But what little view there was was spectacular, first the continents becoming visible, then the curve of the planet and the thin veil of atmosphere that surrounded it. (They weren't quite far enough to see the planet in its entirety). Attil wasn't the same as Earth from above, the landmasses were utterly different shapes and colours, there were various red and orange hues mixed with dark greens and the whites of the mountain plateaus. The water was a different colour, distorted to a darker shade by the atmosphere. It was a beautiful sight.

The solid booster disengaged and for a brief moment the forces stopped, the noises stopped and there was nothing, some of the passengers scarcely seemed to be breathing. A loose piece of paper tucked in the seat back began to float upwards due to the lack of gravity, as did the long hair of the passengers. An announcement told the passengers they'd be in microgravity for three or four minutes, passengers weren't allowed to leave their seats, but photography and leaning over others to take in the view was allowed.

 

[MzHyde]

Through this whole part of the take off, Kay was glad she wasn't one of the staff, as she certainly envy them having to still try and work through it all. She had a lot of admiration for them being able to however. Fia found herself looking out the window at the bright glow of the shield, then at anything else she could just make out through it. This was a memory she wished to never forget even though she knew she probably would. Yet, deep down something told her because if her other self being here too, Kay and John would be able to tell them about this hopefully sometime in her life.

When the microgravity kicked in, she felt her hair fly upwards, glad that she tied it into a low side ponytail before all of this so it was a lot more controllable. Kay hadnt done anything to her hair, not thinking about it at the time, but now wished she had, especially when she saw Fia's. The moment the announcement was spoken that photography was allowed, Fia didn't waste any time in taking photos, doing it straight away. Kay smirked at Fia doing as such, seeing just your average teenager in her all of all sudden. "That is one hell of a sight" Kay said, leaning across slightly to see the view that they had.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"It bloody well is, I totally see why the Watchtower hovers above Earth, I don't think it's possible to get sick of such a view." John found himself drawn to the view, it was spectacular, seeing the planet below him, a strange mix of frailty and strength, set against the black, black backdrop of the universe. The stars didn't twinkle as there was no atmosphere to refract their light. He had to push Kay's hair out of his face in order to actually see as the lack of gravity meant that every single hair took the opportunity to try and get away from every other hair as possible. All the others knew in advance to tie their hair back, except for Elliott who was sporting a strange floating mane, which Jay immediately photographed, before leaning across him to get a better view out the window.

Chas was glued to the window and as the only one with a proper camera, he felt it his duty to take as many clear photos as possible of the trip. He'd taken some of the exterior of their shuttle along with the interior before launch. Rinaa was also staring out the window, but for different reasons. She'd seen this view many times before, but this time it felt different. This was her first time seeing it in this timeline. It was a reminder of just how insignificant one being was. From this distance cities couldn't even be made out, let along individual people. It was awe-inspiring and striking.

The shuttle had no engines firing, it was running on the momentum it had gained leaving the planet. With no air resistance it would continue at its current speed unless it was acted on by another force. The planet shrunk behind them, until it was possible to make out the whole globe suspended against the cosmic darkness. "The Pale blue dot quote is applicable here, bloody hell, its beautiful." "I'm not the only one reciting it in my head while looking at this view then?" "Can't speak for everybody, but I certainly am."

 

[MzHyde]

"yeah, there's no way a sight like this gets old" Kay replied to him, so she could easily see why the watchtower overlooked Earth. When he pushed her hair out of his view, she quickly remembered she had a tie in her jacket pocket, and she gathered all her hair as best she could and quickly braided it over her shoulder, tying it up. She wondered why she didn't even think of it before now. It was messy and not perfect at all, but she didn't care, it was now mostly contained. As she leaned forward slightly, she placed her chin on John's shoulder, her braid on the other side so not to get in his way, taking in not just the view but the sheer joy and amazement in Fia's face. "This is pretty damn perfect right now" she thought to herself

Fia made sure she wasn't taking up the whole window space so John and Kay could see out of it, whilst putting her phone away, now she had taken what photos she wanted of the view. She wanted to take it all in with her own eyes and not through a phone screen now. She couldn't really speak about it, as it left her speechless, which didn't happen that often, considering she loved to talk when able to. She was just over whelmed slightly that she was indeed experiencing this with both her parents and extended family. She glanced back at her parents smiling, before looking back out the window. "I'm actually speechless right now" was all she could say.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Words damn well don't do it justice." "You think this is awesome? Wait til you get the chance to view a while planet while properly floating in zero-g." Cliff called from below them, she'd taken her hearing aids out for the launch, but had put them back in once she knew they were in the cruising period before the ion thrusters were turned on. "Or viewing from outside the spaceship itself. Floating on a tether and taking in that view, you can't best it." Jay called from in front, the view was beautiful and even Elliott brought himself to look at the marble of his birth planet for a few moments, though he kept his hand firmly locked with Jay's as he did so. He was experiencing a surge of emotions, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. "Being able to survive in space without a spacesuit is so underrated as an ability."

Their awe was cut off by another announcement from the crew which John translated for Kay and Fia. "They are engaging the ships thrusters in approximately thirty seconds which will massively accelerate the ship, from there its about two hours of cursing straight to the gate. The speed of the ship will ensure there is sufficient gravity, but it is recommended to stay seated during the duration of the flight. And for now the harness belts have to be kept on. But once we're at proper cruising speed they can come off and you can unstow things and enjoy the flight." He explained his eyebrows knitting in concentration as he translated.

Just like the last time a countdown was given so passengers were given enough warning to properly settle back into their seats. The force caused by the ion thrusters engaging wasn't anywhere near as strong as that if the main booster engines. There was an intense feeling of acceleration, but once the speed levelled out it didn't feel as if they were moving at all. Attil was fast retreating into the distance and the him of the engines could be heard in the shuttle, but apart from that, it wasn't too different to a normal plane flight.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to what Cliff, Jay and Rinaa all said. She could imagine the view being incredible in those instances, and took all their words for it. She remembered when Jay and Rinaa went out on their journey to Attil, so when Rinaa said what she did, she definitely believed it. When the announcement came on, she listened to John as he translated for her and Fia, to which Fia already sat back straight in her seat. She quickly kissed his cheek, then sat properly in her seat as the familiar countdown was given.

She felt the acceleration but noticed how it was nowhere near as strong as before. It soon reminded her of a normal earth flight when the speed levelled out, she noticed how Attil was quickly vanishing I to the distance and it was only by that that she knew how fast they were moving. Fia waited until the speed levelled out then glanced out the window yet again to see Attil getting further and further away. "Higher, further, faster baby" she muttered to herself with a smile, as Carol Danvers came to mind, and she felt like she got a taste of what it was like to be Captain Marvel. "Did you just quote Captain Marvel?" Kay asked, raising an eyebrow whilst side glancing at Fia. "Yeah I did" Fia smirked. "Then I hope you've Top Gun where most of her little references came from" Kay told her. "Of course I did, I'm not uncultured" Fia chuckled. "That's my girl" Kay replied proudly.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John smirked at the reference and as soon as the title 'Top Gun' was mentioned the song Danger Zone began looping through his head and he had a feeling it wouldn't leave for a few hours. Fia's words were followed by a crew announcement that the harness seat belts could be removed. John didn't bother translating as it was quite clear what was said as the other passengers unbuckled themselves. "And now I'm going to have Danger Zone running through my head for the majority of this flight." John smirked as he unbuckled the harness. He crossed one foot over his knee, then slumped into a more comfortable position in the seat. "Could be worse, both are great movies." Chas replied, undoing the harness, and pulling out his camera again. Beside him Dan pulled out a notebook and began to work on his speech for the wedding.

"Appropriate, but I'd say David Bowie or Chris Hadfield would be a better choice of song for this kind of travel. Danger Zone is far better for being in a fighter plane." Rinaa called out, propping her feet up on the back of the chair in front of her (which was Fia's). Once comfortable she began to use her legs as a makeshift writing table. "I second that choice. Though playing it in a fighter plan environment is literally the whole reason the song was written." "Though I wil admit to be being biased towards that particular Canadian astronaut when it comes to anything related to Earth's space travel programmes and programs. That man is truly a cultural treasure." Despite growing up off world both Rinaa and Leah had a great interest in the space travel programmes of Earth and the people who took part in them.

 

[MzHyde]

The fact that Fia said she had watched Top Gun, Kay instantly knew they brought her up on good films. She didn't care that her daughter made a reference to more fighter plane Earth flight, rather than space travel, she got why she mentioned the first bit. As they really were going higher further and faster than an earth plane would take them. She just used it to fit their scenario, rather than an Earth scenario. As the announcement came that they could unbuckle, Kay and Fia both unbuckled the harness to be more comfortable, and Fia brought out her MP3 player whilst putting her headphones on, with one ear free to hear what was being spoken.

She also felt Rinaa putting her feet on the back of her seat but she didn't mind as it wasn't an issue for her at all. Kay readjusted herself to be more comfortable and crossed one leg over the other, after pulling out her sketch book and pencil. "I get that, I was just using my initial to fit our scenario as it does still fit and Carol does fly through space so.. yeah" Fia finally said. "And having that song stuck in your head isn't the worst thing. You could have much worse songs in your head" Kay commented to John. She could literally think of much worse songs like Devour by Shinedown or anything from Wednesday 13 initially came to mind, as she flipped open her sketch book to a blank page and thought about what she could draw.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal and Cliff got comfortable, wrapping an arm around one another, happy to spend the whole flight watching a movie on Cliff's laptop. Like Rinaa, Cliff had chosen to pre-download what she needed for the flight. The film had subtitles, so Cliff tucked away the hearing aids and put her focus on the movie and the woman beside her. They were both old hats at finding a way to keep entertained on a shuttle flight. Chas had one earphone in and spent his time switching between glancing out the window, reading and talking to Dan, who was trying to perfect his speech. He'd been writing this speech ever since Cal proposed and he was determined to get it right. His notebook contained various drafts and lines, but he still wasn't quite happy with it yet.

Rinaa was leaning against the window, comfortably curled up as she wrote, headphones firmly on. She was listening to a play list of her own devising with various sci-fi movies scores on it. She wrote with her right hand, not wanting to smudge the pages with ink. Beside her Jay and Elliott were both reading, their arms pressed together from shoulder to wrist. They were reading different books and every so often one would turn and look at the other with a small, loving smile. John stretched out his legs into a more comfortable position. The design of the shuttle seats meant that he had excellent leg room (far greater than that of a normal plane and this meant he could stretch his legs out almost completly straight. Had this been a regular plane he'd have simply nodded off, but he was quite frankly too high on adrenaline to do that, so he decided to read a book instead.