IC - Chapter 2
the captain screams at Shiriki, and the elder elf shurgs internally. Flat, and flat, alright then. A moment later, before he's had a chance to slow by more than 50 kph, she screams again, this time throwing coordinates at him.
<<@Chante, [Shiriki] This would go a lot easier if you'd just comm the damned pin>>
Followed by:
<<@Chante [Shiriki] nvm got it>>
Shiriki takes the turn sharp, but cools the rotors, not wanting to waste any of the precious fuel sloshing in the Dragon's reservoir. Finding a good tail wind, Shiriki adjusts his altitude slightly and increases speed. He double-checks the fuel gauge, but with the buffeting and irregular wind, getting a direct read is impossible.
<<@Team [Shiriki] Estimated ETA bearing 40.206443°N 100.964598°W. in 8.5 minutes. Quicker if the tailwind holds. Estimating 8.75 min of fuel. A breeze this way or that will be the deciding factor.>>
A hush falls over the interior of the helicopter, if you can the Wildcats' silence a hush over the blizzard and screaming engine. Even inhabiting a 15,000 kg Dragon Shiriki feels small, impotent, rudderless. Ité is barely clinging to life. They're alone, unsupported, and now the team is all counting on him to make it -- the what? -- 65 remaining km to their landing point. And Shiriki's piloted enough rigs to know that will has nothing to do with. The rotors will take them there, or it won't. And if it doesn't. . .
And then it looks like it won't. Their tailwind dissipates like so many prayers whispered through smoke, and the interior of the Dragon begins blaring emergency sirens and red flashing lights.
48 km to go.
<<@Team [Shiriki] That doesn't mean we're going down, only that the sensors can't detect fuel. A subtle but important difference. Attn: all personnel, the pilot has turned on the seatbelt lights. Strap in. Things are about to get a lot less comfortable>>
<<ISSUE COMMAND: Power Down Secondary Sensors // Completed>>
<<ISSUE COMMAND: Power Down Weapons Systems // Completed>>
<<ISSUE COMMAND: Power Down Alert Systems // . . .>>
<<WARNING: Alert Systems are necessary for -- // Command Override>>
<<COMMAND OVERRIDE: Accepted>>
<<ISSUE COMMAND: Power Down Interior Systems // Completed>>
The interior of the Dragon becomes pitch black as first the alarm lights and then the interior lights blink off in quick succession. The whine of the engines gives the only sense to the rest of the team that they're not yet falling, or already dead. The helicopter rocks violently as a crosswind hits, and then lifts considerably as it becomes a tailwind, urging them toward the canyon.
37km to go.
The engines don't stutter necessarily, but their pitch rolls like a wave as the fuel-starved rotors buck against the limitations of the internal combustion engine.
<<@Team [Shiriki] Shutting down comms. You won't be able to reach me, so I hope to be speaking with y'all chummers in the meat shortly. ETA 3.75 min>>
<<ISSUE COMMAND: Power Down Communications Systems (All) // Completed>>
With secondary sensors down, and comms disabled, Shiriki is in the void, only the radar and map softs left to aid him. The silence is like being in a dream, no wind, no rotors, no horizon. Without the pressure sensors to aid him, the ride becomes much rougher than before,
as he doesn't know when to keel or otherwise brace the craft. All he can do is fly straight. Where in the drek are we going anyway?
22km to go.
Just east of Trenton, by the Republican river, at least it's still pretty flat. Wait, that fragger's taking us to Massacre Canyon. Not now, Shiriki, let's get this bird down. Shiriki scans out their heading, drift, distance, and elevation, stores it in the working memory of his cerebral boosters, and takes another gamble.
<<ISSUE COMMAND: Power Down Radar // Completed>>
<<ISSUE COMMAND: Power Down Primary Sensor, Exception BowV1,BowV2, BowV3 // Completed>>
14km to go.
When Shiriki first learned to fly, this is how it was done. With the border disputes, the thought that war could break out again at any moment, and before the wireless matrix, they'd often have to shut down their radar for intrusions as well as patrols. Only way to keep out of sight, and even then only if he could keep his altitude down. Of course, that wasn't often done in blizzards. Even a minor squall could push you a few km here or there, and that would make all the difference between coming home or being scattered across the countryside if you were spotted. He's grown lazy, relied on the tech too much. He notes that his heart rate is approaching 180, and he's not even moving, just sitting there throwing the Dragon, and hoping it'll stick. Well, hoping it won't depending on what one might mean by "sticking." He adjusts his approach by 4 degrees, noting the rocking of the craft, hopes he's reading the wind correctly.
8km to go.
Just under a minute to go, and they're still airborne. So far, so good. Shiriki powers on comms, sensors, and radar with a quick mental command. The sudden power drain takes its toll on the engines, which whomp with less regularity, but he can see it, a break in the clouds and to his east Trenton. The radar places them almost on top of the destination. The tailwind held.
<<@Team [Shiriki] Brace yourselves. Touch down in 20 sec>>
He eases up on the rotors, and the craft drops at an alarming speed. A little power, and it slows, riding the wind, and the process is repeated. Only 35 meters up now, and the Dragon slows, slows, holds steady as he eases it down. In the end, there's barely a pop when they touch down on the frozen grass. Shiriki exits hotsim immediately, pops his harness, and stands to face the team. Flight time: 8 minutes, 52 seconds. His head swims as the sensations of hotsim recedes, made worse by the vertigo of his feedback coming in from so few sensors. He takes a knee and vomits, his empty stomach giving up little more than a string of bile behind the pilot's chair.
"Sorry about that, cap. I don't know what, I don't know. I. . ."