Mantrin Imperial Guard - Pilot Episode - 001 Darkening Sky

Chapter 6: The Darkest Night

The shuttle deck was one of the few areas of the ship Raeth had visited only once since he knew she would be his to command. The two sleek craft capable of atmospheric flight stood side by side on their landing gear. Their hulls were without so much as a scratch on the fresh coat of paint.

The seal of the Imperial Guard adorned the side. Painted in color, it pictured the silhouette of a warrior wearing a battle helmet on a dark blue background, looking up at what symbolized the sky at night. Near the top left were three four-pointed stars of different size, and two moons, representing those of Sogowa Prime. To the right of these was the silhouette of a starship flying by. A red circle bordered this scene, the symbols that made up the Saerinian language forming the words 'serve', 'fight' and 'protect' following its curve, leaving equal space between each word. Shuttle one, the craft closest to him as he approached the rear was being prepared for launch as ordered.

"All good, sir. Ready for launch."

Raeth responded with a quick nod as Itan, the large Goureg engineer, who had some experience with maintaining small craft gave a few quick taps on a holo-pad as he completed his walk around the machine.

"Sure we don't need to go EV?"

"No sir," Jetreycka answered.

This would shave a couple of minutes off their prep work so they could get underway without further delays. The room adjacent to the shuttle bay was especially dedicated for EV activities. As their species was so diverse, with its vast differences in bodily proportions between races and even individuals themselves, an environmental suit was a costly and customized piece of equipment. To save valuable time, every ship was equipped with at least two automated dressing rooms, storing two sets of EV suits for each crewmember. A series of manipulator arms were capable of applying each piece in little time with the wearer in the right position. It was a convenient system, saving everyone the struggle of putting on a space suit.

"Bynali Four is very well capable of supporting life. The extra injection should provide sufficient protection."

Heading over to the nearest equipment locker, she retrieved a trio of scanners. At the same time, Trezka opened the arms locker and grabbed a pair of pulse rifles. Although they had retrieved their blasters on the way back, she longed for more firepower, tossing her Ginjha a bit of a cheeky grin.

"Could come in handy." Making eye-contact with Jirro she threw him the second rifle. Without moving from his spot, he caught it, despite the weapon's considerable weight. "You do know how to use that, do you?"

"More than you know," Jirro muttered, a hint of agitation coating his voice. Activating the gun, he checked the battery level and aimed through the scope.

Right at that moment Moa arrived, making them repeat the earlier procedure of enhancing their immune systems.

"Doc confirms that you should be okay," she said, throwing back a loose strand of hair. "Let us know in case things do get iffy."

"We will," Raeth promised. "Let's go!"

Moving as a group, they walked to the shuttle's open tailgate. The heavy thumps of their footsteps echoed through the bay, the sound changing as they stepped on the platform. What he noticed immediately was that the craft still had that fresh out of the yard 'new' smell. Next to the pilot and co-pilot's seats in the front, two more rows of seats were placed behind them, still leaving plenty of cargo space in the rear. In case of emergencies, extra straps lining the left and right walls would allow more passengers to secure themselves for a short trip. With Le'tan as the ship's second pilot on bridge duty, Freya had installed herself behind the controls. As the group entered, she had finished the preflight checks.