Preparing For Liftoff (Tag: Hayate, William, Open)

[Hayate Tenoh]

"You're too slow, William!" Hayate taunted as she reached the hangar first. Inside were four ships, but the most important one was the captain's vessel. It was a large black spacecraft that was older than the other vessels present. It looked more like a troop transport than a personal craft, but aesthetics were not everything. Much like Hayate's Kyofu and William's Hayabusa, it was likely extensively modified to suit the preferences of its owner.

"C'mon, William! We don't have all day!" Hayate said as she began inspecting the outside for any structural faults. Before she looked at the other components, ensuring the integrity of the fuselage was important. She also had to buy time for her slowpoke brother to get to the hangar. Hopefully he did not get sidetracked by Freya's "assets" or some other distraction.

[William Tenoh]

"I'm here!" William shouted as he raced through the hangar doors. He found Hayate inspecting the captain's personal vessel, a large black spacecraft that looked like an Ancient Terran stealth fighter in terms of aesthetics. It looked older than the vessels of Chisana, Hayate, and William. Then again, the captain himself was from another age.

"Well, it's not gonna get itself started. Unless it has an A.I. too. It probably does. Everything around here has an A.I." William said to Hayate, who was inspecting the fuselage. He began visually inspecting the engines. From the outside they looked to be in good shape, but he would find out for certain when he checked the systems before takeoff.

Before he did that, he had to wait for Hayate to finish her inspection lest he fry her by accident with the engine ignition. To give her time, he started inspecting the wings. The captain kept it in pretty good shape. There was only minor cosmetic damage, but nothing that would compromise structural integrity. He would not repair anything without the captain's express permission.

[Jacob Marconi]

Jacob had left his office and went directly to the hanger bay. He didn’t see the need to bring everyone just Sakuya and her rifle. She was enough especially since he chose the spot for the meeting. When he entered after getting off the lift he noticed William and Hayate already combing over the Black Swan. That wasn’t the ship he wanted but he didn’t tell them which one so he wouldn’t grouse about it. He walked over and looked at them as they were being throrough with their inspections. He waited a moment.

“I suppose you’d want to fly this thing since your prepping it huh?”

He left it open as he started the inspection on the starboard side since Hayate was on the port side working her way back. These two didn’t get enough flying time so he might as well let them fly the friendly skies.

“Alright pilots you’re up and the ship is yours. Just no scratches.”

[Hayate Tenoh]

Hayate paused in her tracks. Did Jacob just offer to let them fly a personal craft of his? That made her worried. Very worried.

There had to be strings attached. Never mind strings. There were ROPES attached. Steel cables even. She shuddered to think of what they were.

Then again, it had been awhile since they last flew for real. Simulators were barely cutting it. For experienced pilots like Hayate and William, they were practically video games.

This might be the last chance they get for awhile. For once no one was shooting at them and no lives were on the line. Well, that was not entirely accurate. The lives of the Tenoh siblings would be on the line should Captain Marconi's craft be damaged.

"Uh..." Hayate started.

"Thanks Captain!" She gushed before settling down again. Everything had to be in order before they took off. They would be flying someone else's property.

[William Tenoh]

William blinked. Had the captain been replaced by the Tube People from Planet Dooplikayte? The Tube People were long, skinny gray aliens who abducted and replaced humans with tube-grown clones called Dooplikits. The Dooplikits looked like the originals but were subject to the bidding of their masters back on Dooplikayte. He doubted that they could have abducted him... on the contrary, Captain Marconi would have invaded their planet and killed them all in a single day.

Jacob gave them permission to fly his personal craft. Wiilliam was both excited and frightened. Maybe it was not a joke. Maybe the captain was serious. Then the blond realized something.

Captain Marconi was always serious.

"Uh, Hayate... the wings are in good shape. Just minor cosmetic damage, nothing that'll threaten their integrity." William reported to his sister. He was thrilled. He had to play it cool and not say or do anything dumb.

"Thanks Captain!" William called out. He had better not look a gift horse in the mouth.

[Jacob Marconi]

Jacob looked at the two doing the preflight walk down on The Black Swan and smiled. They were pilots alright and that meant they needed flight time. The Tangs job would hopefully get them the much needed sensor and replicator upgrades. That and then some. The holodeck could use some upgrades as well. He hoped he could at least get that on this run as well. It would help augment their down time with better simulations that were nearly real and could leave a lasting impression.

“The Black Swan is a gem. She was an old Earth governments idea of a multirole stealth observation platform. I found it when digging through the asteroid belt in a mothball facility with the recipe for the stealth coating. That with schematics for electronics suite and you have The Black Swan for stealth insertions and extractions. The thing is we haven’t had many jobs like that. It’s because we are fighting an unconventional war.”

He had finished his inspection and was checking the landing struts. Everything was in place. He nodded and looked at them.

“When you finish report to the Armory and draw weapons. We are going to a somewhat unfriendly place. No need to act shy.”

He motioned both over.

“Hey,” he pressed the code in and let them see, “don’t abuse this. It might be something that you need one day.”

[Hayate Tenoh]

Hayate listened to the captain's explanation of the Black Swan's special properties. So it WAS a stealth vehicle. An old one for an old mission, but a stealth vehicle nonetheless.

"You know the old saying, Captain. Military establishments are always preparing to fight the last war." Hayate mused to the captain.

"Still, stealth capability is seldom a bad thing to have." She quickly chimed in. She saw the captain enter an access code. He meant for them to see that.

"Don't worry, Captain. I'm not flying the Black Swan without permission. I wouldn't want to be the one who lost or crashed it." She assured him. Hearing that they were going to head into somewhat hostile territory interested Hayate. It was going to be one of those trips.

"I take it the Black Swan doesn't have weapons of its own?" Hayate asked the captain.

[William Tenoh]

William listened to the captain talk about the Black Swan and what it could do. It was an interesting lesson in old technology brought into the modern era. William wished that he could find something cool in an abandoned military facility.

"Yeah, Hayate's right. I don't think Ancient Terrans had to deal with magic-using enemies, but the statement's still accurate. There's a lot of study on what worked and didn't work in the last war, then all of a sudden the old stuff becomes irrelevant when the next war breaks out. You'd think that someone would pick up on the fact that each war's fought in a different way, but you know what they say about hindsight." William chimed in. That sounded like their situation. Maybe the Sailor Senshi had expected Death Phantom to stick to the same routine as the last time they had clashed, but he did not. William and the other royal children witnessed the result of that firsthand.

"And the captain's right too. This is an unconventional war. We're not lining up in ranks and files popping away at each another with muskets on an open battlefield. We don't have the numbers and logistics for a stand-up fight, so we have to do things differently." William added. He jumped track when he saw the captain put in an access code. The older man had deliberately let them see it.

"I'm not touching the Black Swan without your permission, Captain." William said. He kept quiet about the fact that transports were not his style. He jumped track again when the Tenoh siblings were told to get weapons after finishing the flight check. Things were going to get interesting.

"So it's one of those special trips, huh? I hope the Black Swan's got armor and weapons. We just might need them." William mused.

[Chisana Usagi]

Chi made her way to the hanger bay with a slight spring in her step. Her fingers brushed over her nose and cheek as there was a phantom throbbing. Freya and Sakuya had put everything behind them which made things feel better. With the energy shot, she was ready for whatever else came next. She was sure that the captain had some sort of game plan.

She heard the tail end of William talking about this being a special trip. She went straight for where the fuel reserves were. She opened the mini hanger door which stored the tubes. She unhooked most of the tube as she dragged it over to the tank. She remembered the days in which it used to take her awhile to lift everything. Now she was stronger as she was able to do things in have the time even when she was exhausted.

She placed the nozzle into the flap, making sure it was very secure. She didn't want to have to clean up another spill. She had come along way since the days when their training had first started. She waited patiently by the tank until the other two cleared out of the way. She wanted to to calculate how much fuel was needed for the mission plus a little extra.

[Jacob Marconi]

Jacob listened with half an ear and nodded at their thank you’s. Chi arrived and he didn’t say a word. She had trained on flight with the Black Swan and well she knew her systems pretty well. Today though she’d be running secondary systems while Sakuya and himself were dropped to get the work done. He didn’t need the Tang’s daughter giving William calf eyes literally. They were a bovine race after all and well she was coming up on her race’s coming of age cycle. He had attended the festival at the Tang’s urging and learned for a very subdued and quiet people that the festival was one of the few times they let loose. It was a good time.

“To answer your question Hayate and William, no. It’s meant to observe and insert stealthy and leave in the same manner. It’s an oddity because of its profile and how it confuses even the sensor suites. We won’t need it unless we run afoul of trouble. That won’t happen because they aren’t going to know we are there. That’s why we’re using it.”

He looked over at Chi dragging the hose and fueling it up. She always was one to ensure they had extra just in case you had to do some fancy flying. He hoped that the extra wasn’t needed this trip.

“Chi you’ve got the sensor and stealth station this trip. You’ve been up and even if Blue did give you shot to keep you awake you’re not flight ready.”

He knew she would understand and not take it personally. The fact was she had been up for 12 hours and he usually suspended watch the night before a mission. Good sleep equaled sharp minds.

“We are getting intel on a factory so we can get a new replicator system and sensor upgrade. I’m sure everyone is tired of every fifth cup or bulk batch of coffee tasting a little off. Plus the eggs are starting to look a little more green than I like them Sam I am.”

He had finished and knew that since the bird was older you had to let the engines do the work with taking on fuel. He looked at Hayate and William because they may not know it.

“Chi it’s great you put the fuel on but could you enlighten our two pilots about how to make the Swan drink her juice please?”

He smiled as he walked over to the com panel on the wall and checked over the list of parts they were getting to. Nice they had the a dealer for weapons. They would be off there when the team was rested.

“Alright after preflight is done every get your tac gear and then to the armory for weapons. I’ll headed there myself.”

[Chisana Usagi]

Chi swallowed as the captain turned his attention to her. She knew better then to try and be invisible around him. She nodded her head as he mentioned her station. His logic made sense even though she felt fully awake at the moment. Even if she had gone back to her room, she still would have been up for another hour or so. She could feel her nerves a little jumpy.

"Yes, sir!" She gave him a little salute as she headed to the hatch. It was interesting that he was going to be training two more on the Black Swan. It made her a little sad to know that she was not the only one trusted with this even it if was good to have back up.

She walked into the ship as she checked the gauges. She made a few quick mental calculations while checking them twice against the computer. She exited the ship as she heard the captain finish his instructions. She smiled at the children from Urnaus, "I will meet you inside after I get the fuel finished up. She maybe old though she could out fly our ships with ease."

She headed back to the fuel panel as she punched in the numbers she needed as well as the code to get the fuel flowing. She waited a moment as she saw the readings all turning green. She let it auto shut off when everything was empty. She headed back into the cockpit of the ship.

[Hayate Tenoh]

Hayate was happy when she heard that that they might be getting a replicator upgrade. It certainly needed it.

She was less thrilled to hear that the Black Swan did not have any weapons. If they were attacked, the most they could hurl at the attackers was harsh language. They needed at least an autocannon, but that might compromise the carefully considered fight characteristics.

"Oh well, we'll just have to avoid getting shot at." Hayate mused to William.

"We'd better go get our gear while Chisana's doing her thing. The captain's already there!" Hayate reminded William. Not waiting around for her slowpoke sibling, she raced for the armory. Hopefully she was not too late.

[William Tenoh]

William listened to Chisana explain that the Black Swan was better than she looked. He hoped so. It did not even have an autocannon for self-defense.

After Chisana ducked back inside the ship, he wondered why it did not have one. There were at least three aircraft mechanics on board. Between the three of them, they could rig something for self-defense without compromising flight characteristics.

That would have to wait. He needed to grab his gear. Hayate was right... as usual.

"I'm on the way!" William shouted as Hayate disappeared from view.

"Chisana, make sure everything's ready! We'll be back as soon as we can!" William shouted before sprinting off to the armory. That advice was unnecessary. Chisana knew what she was doing.

[Chisana Usagi]

Chi nodded as she watched the other two head off to the armory. She knew, in time, she would have to go there as well. The only reason why she ever carried a gun was because it was required. She practiced with it, just like all the other skills they needed, just hoped that she never had to use it. Mizuki was the fighter which she was more than happy to let her do it for the both of them.

She sighed as she entered into the cockpit again. She grabbed the data pad which had the checklist. She had it memorized though with all the excitement, she was sure she would forget something important. She would not be the reason they fell out of the sky.

She sat in the pilot's chair as she looked at the first item on the list. She pushed all thoughts of what happened this morning and fighting out of her head. She had a job to do which she would as mistakes where not tolerated. She clicked a few switches as lights came one. There was a slight buzzing sound as things started to warm up. She clicked a switch over head as the gauges in front of her lit up. She took down the readings as everything looked in good shape. This ship was always in good repair.

As things warmed up in the cockpit, she started up the secondary systems. There was another familiar buzzing sound coming off of them after a few more clicks. She smiled as she headed out of the ship to check the exterior. She heard the loud alarm to let her know that the fueling was complete. She placed the pad down as she removed the nozzle with a few taps on the side. She rolled up the tube with a good yank on the line. She walked it back as she was careful with it. She hooked everything in place as she closed the hanger door once again.

She grabbed the pad as she slowly made her way around the ship. Her hands ran expertly across the surface for any damage to the hull which would cause issues in space. She found a few dents and cosmetic scratches though nothing of great note. It was a ship that had seen more than it's fair share of adventures.

She whispered, "Maybe someday you could tell me where you have been. I bet it they are quite the stories."

She sighed as she looked over the wings with great care. She tested the flaps for transversing the atmosphere of different planets. Things looked good as everything worked smooth as silk. She headed back into the ship as she worked on turning everything else back on. The soft sound of clicks and whirls could be heard as she was deep into the preflight checklist. She found herself lost in the her duties, forgetting about the world around her.

[Sakuya]

“And you’ll always be willing to listen...” Sakuya said softly as she stepped into the ship “If these ships could talk, huh?” She asked sweetly as she sat on a stool. Unzipped her top slightly, she leaned back as she looked up to the ceiling “This one is gorgeous. I’ve always been fascinated with flying.” She gushed happily “Are you coming along too, Chi?” She asked warmly as she looked on.