Benjamin burned with the gentle warmth of contentment. In the last three days, himself, Gina and the Magnificent Midnight had been celebrities. He himself had spoken with the Prime Minister on a variety of topics, met the Emperor (and boy, did he feel giddy for not doing something stupid during that meeting), been the subject of several interviews, recieved numerous gifts, signed Skuld-only-knows-how-many autographs (though he's pretty sure Gina signed more), and did some serious shopping in Akihabara.
Indeed, the Midnight's hold was filled to maximum capacity with all the swag they'd acumulated.
Benjamin swore to himself that once they had the chance they would return to the Land of the Rising Sun.
For now though, Benjamin gave one last jaunty salute to the cheering crowd before he triggered the canopy hydraulics and began the powerplant start-up sequence.
"I had fun," said Gina as she monitored the Cola/Un-Cola reactors and relayed directions from Ground Traffic Control to Ben's monitors. Ben was still vowing to find something better the odd 'Wave-tech reactors - the fuel tanks were a pain in the ass to keep clean.
"Me too, love," said Ben, the smile audible in his voice as he guided the Midnight precisely along the taxi ways.
Gina then felt something register in the system as the hardware was connected. "You aren't going to use your iPod again, are you?"
The Midnight cruised on with all the grace of a wraith to the end of the airfield under Ben's steady hand.
"Sure am, but don't worry," he said with a grin. He then put on his best Joker imitation. "It's ahhll pahhrt of thuh plauhn."
They stopped at the turn around, waiting for the traffic pattern to open up.
"Benjamin, since when is anything part of the plan when the 'Wave is involved? I'm living proof, you know. (Not that I mind, really...)"
Gina received clearance to enter the runway and relayed it to Ben's screen. Right away, he nudged them out into the runway proper, then set the brakes as he throttled up the ion drives for the big push. The bogies, modified from the standard Blackbird configuration to handle a much greater payload (two-by-two up front, two-by-three on the aft struts), held like they were bolted to the tarmac.
"Gina, my love, really. Don't worry. This one is already proven. Have we recieved the tracking signal from Senshi's transport yet?"
Gina blinked and diverted a thread of her attention to search for such a signal, and another to marvel at the strange human she'd fallen in love with. "Yes, and may I say that you're a sneaky bastard."
"Damn straight."
"I should have known from the flight plan."
"Nah, it looks the same as any ascent-to-orbit followed up by a docking." Benjamin then saw the clearance to take-off appear in his hud. He grinned and hit the play button on his iPod.
Echo Slightly - Birds Fly South - 3rd Way
The moment the synths and drums hit, the brakes unlocked and Midnight rolled gracefully down the tarmac.
There's a land that shines
(I can see it)
On another shore
(And it burns my eyes)
She swiftly gathered speed and magestically lifted into the air, only barely raising her nose - she seemed almost as though she was gaining altitude by pure ballistic force. In seconds, she was screaming out over the open ocean.
As far as I can tell
(It's always been there)
Waiting
Searching for
The perfect frequency
To catch my eyes
Now that I've seen it
I know that
I know I've got to get back
Once she was a safe distance from shore, she spends a few seconds making her final trim for her orbital burn. And then the Magnificent Midnight suddenly stood on her tail and did her best impression of a Saturn V rocket.
It's keeping me up.
It's taken over.
I'll swim across the ocean,
I'll swim across the sea.
No storms or no waves
are gonna keep me back.
I'll swim across the ocean
to be in your arms.
Within seconds he was floating free in orbit - no one doubted it when they saw the sonic boom she left in her wake, thunder rolling for miles around her much to the delight of her ardent fans. Gina noted that they were being hailed and forwarded the message to Benjamin, who asked if she could open an audio channel to them.
"Crystal Shuttle, this is Midnight. We are on approach for docking as schedule. Maintain course and head and accelerate to maximum Delta-V. Also, make sure that everyone's belted in properly. This is gonna get a bit bumpy and her Majesty would kill me if I let anything hapen to you ladies."
A chuckle came back over the speakers. "Don't worry, we all know she's a mother hen, but that's why we all love her. Accelerating to maximum Delta-V and standing by for docking. Crystal Shuttle over and out."
Now that I've seen your face
so close, like inches away,
I know
I know that
I know I've got to get back.
As the Midnight's form raced to the boxy looking shuttle, the docking aparatus unfolded itself from the aft-dorsal area of the fuselage. Laser guides appeared, allowing the two ships to line up, and then they carefully locked together. Once the interlocks were all confirmed by Midnight, she charged up the overdrive capacitors on her ion drives once more, and floored it.
It's keeping me up,
it's taken over.
I'll swim across the ocean,
I'll swim across the sea.
No storms or no waves
are gonna keep me back.
I'll swim across the ocean.
Together, the mated ships raced off, blasting out of orbit in a style that only the Midnight could accomplish. When asked about it later, Sailor Atalante only said that she couldn't wait to do that again.
It's keeping me up,
it's taken over.
I'll swim across the ocean,
I'll swim across the sea.
No storms or no waves
are gonna keep me back.
I'll swim across the ocean
to be in your light.
"This is SS Magnificent Midnight to 36 Atalante Area Control. We are enroute with passengers and we'll be home in a few hours. Y'all make sure you keep the light on for us, ya hear?"
"10-4, Midnight. It'll good to have you back, Boss."
"Amen to that, sister. It'll be good to be home."
Indeed, the Midnight's hold was filled to maximum capacity with all the swag they'd acumulated.
Benjamin swore to himself that once they had the chance they would return to the Land of the Rising Sun.
For now though, Benjamin gave one last jaunty salute to the cheering crowd before he triggered the canopy hydraulics and began the powerplant start-up sequence.
"I had fun," said Gina as she monitored the Cola/Un-Cola reactors and relayed directions from Ground Traffic Control to Ben's monitors. Ben was still vowing to find something better the odd 'Wave-tech reactors - the fuel tanks were a pain in the ass to keep clean.
"Me too, love," said Ben, the smile audible in his voice as he guided the Midnight precisely along the taxi ways.
Gina then felt something register in the system as the hardware was connected. "You aren't going to use your iPod again, are you?"
The Midnight cruised on with all the grace of a wraith to the end of the airfield under Ben's steady hand.
"Sure am, but don't worry," he said with a grin. He then put on his best Joker imitation. "It's ahhll pahhrt of thuh plauhn."
They stopped at the turn around, waiting for the traffic pattern to open up.
"Benjamin, since when is anything part of the plan when the 'Wave is involved? I'm living proof, you know. (Not that I mind, really...)"
Gina received clearance to enter the runway and relayed it to Ben's screen. Right away, he nudged them out into the runway proper, then set the brakes as he throttled up the ion drives for the big push. The bogies, modified from the standard Blackbird configuration to handle a much greater payload (two-by-two up front, two-by-three on the aft struts), held like they were bolted to the tarmac.
"Gina, my love, really. Don't worry. This one is already proven. Have we recieved the tracking signal from Senshi's transport yet?"
Gina blinked and diverted a thread of her attention to search for such a signal, and another to marvel at the strange human she'd fallen in love with. "Yes, and may I say that you're a sneaky bastard."
"Damn straight."
"I should have known from the flight plan."
"Nah, it looks the same as any ascent-to-orbit followed up by a docking." Benjamin then saw the clearance to take-off appear in his hud. He grinned and hit the play button on his iPod.
Echo Slightly - Birds Fly South - 3rd Way
The moment the synths and drums hit, the brakes unlocked and Midnight rolled gracefully down the tarmac.
There's a land that shines
(I can see it)
On another shore
(And it burns my eyes)
She swiftly gathered speed and magestically lifted into the air, only barely raising her nose - she seemed almost as though she was gaining altitude by pure ballistic force. In seconds, she was screaming out over the open ocean.
As far as I can tell
(It's always been there)
Waiting
Searching for
The perfect frequency
To catch my eyes
Now that I've seen it
I know that
I know I've got to get back
Once she was a safe distance from shore, she spends a few seconds making her final trim for her orbital burn. And then the Magnificent Midnight suddenly stood on her tail and did her best impression of a Saturn V rocket.
It's keeping me up.
It's taken over.
I'll swim across the ocean,
I'll swim across the sea.
No storms or no waves
are gonna keep me back.
I'll swim across the ocean
to be in your arms.
Within seconds he was floating free in orbit - no one doubted it when they saw the sonic boom she left in her wake, thunder rolling for miles around her much to the delight of her ardent fans. Gina noted that they were being hailed and forwarded the message to Benjamin, who asked if she could open an audio channel to them.
"Crystal Shuttle, this is Midnight. We are on approach for docking as schedule. Maintain course and head and accelerate to maximum Delta-V. Also, make sure that everyone's belted in properly. This is gonna get a bit bumpy and her Majesty would kill me if I let anything hapen to you ladies."
A chuckle came back over the speakers. "Don't worry, we all know she's a mother hen, but that's why we all love her. Accelerating to maximum Delta-V and standing by for docking. Crystal Shuttle over and out."
Now that I've seen your face
so close, like inches away,
I know
I know that
I know I've got to get back.
As the Midnight's form raced to the boxy looking shuttle, the docking aparatus unfolded itself from the aft-dorsal area of the fuselage. Laser guides appeared, allowing the two ships to line up, and then they carefully locked together. Once the interlocks were all confirmed by Midnight, she charged up the overdrive capacitors on her ion drives once more, and floored it.
It's keeping me up,
it's taken over.
I'll swim across the ocean,
I'll swim across the sea.
No storms or no waves
are gonna keep me back.
I'll swim across the ocean.
Together, the mated ships raced off, blasting out of orbit in a style that only the Midnight could accomplish. When asked about it later, Sailor Atalante only said that she couldn't wait to do that again.
It's keeping me up,
it's taken over.
I'll swim across the ocean,
I'll swim across the sea.
No storms or no waves
are gonna keep me back.
I'll swim across the ocean
to be in your light.
"This is SS Magnificent Midnight to 36 Atalante Area Control. We are enroute with passengers and we'll be home in a few hours. Y'all make sure you keep the light on for us, ya hear?"
"10-4, Midnight. It'll good to have you back, Boss."
"Amen to that, sister. It'll be good to be home."
