Pilothouse

[Chronos]

The highest point on the ship, and located directly down the barrel of the MAC gun, the Pilothouse has direct command and oversight over all functions of the ship. Located directly in the middle of the the frigate, the pilot can oversea and fly the ship from its natural center of gravity. The pilothouse is one of the few rooms on the ship to utilize actual windows instead of cameras, giving it a large, but more dangerous view. HUD on the viewports assists the pilot in handling and weapons operation.

Lt. Alinko, the ships co-pilot, can help train Agents in spaceship and aircraft operation.

[Aaron Church]

January 14th, 2254. 1245 Hours

As Aaron climbed the stair to the Pilothouse, he finally got a scope of how big the ship was. He looked out the massive viewports over the ship before he was greeted by his co-pilot, Lieutenant Alinko.

"I've flow all kinds of ships, but never anything this big." Aaron told him.

"Well, I got to test her this past week, and she maneuvers like a ship a quarter of her size though, especially in space." Alinko replied. "Here, take a seat, and we can go over the basic procedures you have to follow. I'm sure they made you read all the regulation and checklist stuff back at the station."

Aaron sat down in the pilot's seat, and took a good look at all the controls. Alinko questioned him on the ships he had flown, then tried to draw comparisons so Aaron could get a hold of it. After a few minutes, Aaron felt he had a good understanding of most of Sojourn's operation, and decided it was time to depart.

Aaron went over the pre-flight checklist, and then told engineering to start the engines. After he had confirmed with Astreaus Station's tower that they were go, he sealed the airlock. Slowly, with Alinko guiding him, he pulled away from the station. He gave the ship throttle, and brought it out of the field. They looked over their star-charts, and lined the ship up for a straight shot at Alpha.

"Now, we get to activate the Alhan Fusion Engines. Go ahead and tell the crew to bolster themselves down over the radio."

Aaron grabbed the comm, and said, "We are ready for fusion blast. All crew, please assume safety positions." After waiting a minute, Aaron pushed the heavy throttle level forward, then activated the drive. The ship's engines emitted a powerful fusion explosion, and the Sojourn was thrown forward at tremendous speeds.

Alinko patted Aaron on the shoulder and said, "Nice work. We'll be their in eight days. Keep practicing."

[Aaron Church]

January 21st, 2254

After eight days in space, Aaron climbed back into the cockpit for the final approach on Alpha.

As he settled in, he could see the small green planet in the distance, with Titan as a backdrop.

"Entering Titan's gravitational pull." Alinko said.

"Compensating." Aaron replied.

Together, they brought the frigate in towards the moon. Once they were in radio range, Aaron grabbed the comm and began hailing Hell's Gate Research Base, the largest human encampment on this side of the moon.

"Hell's Gate, this is UCV Sojourn, do you read?" A moment passed before Aaron tried again. "Hell's Gate, this is Unified Coalition Vessel Sojourn, do you read?" After a second of static, a voice replied,

"Uh, yes Sojourn, we read. Sorry about that. This is Hell's Gate. Over."

"Hell's Gate, we are requesting a flight path to the nearest local landing location, over."

"Sorry UCV Sojourn. There is no area within three hundred miles that can land a ship of your berth. You'll have to shuttle down, over."

"Yeah, we copy Hell's Gate. Over and out."

Aaron switched the comm channel.

"Shore party, assemble in hangar bay 1."

[Sponsored content]