Board Thread:The Mech Bay Bar'n'Grill/@comment-24930445-20140526230330/@comment-24866242-20140614025040

Arrival at Nash

“Vextis control, this is Darwin. We are beginning our approach.”

''“Acknowledged, Darwin. You are cleared for landing in hangar bay two. All other traffic has been diverted and you have a clear path.”''

“Thank you, Vextis control.” Sandra glanced over her shoulder at Ben who was leaning between the two seats, one hand on either shoulder rest, watching Vextis grow larger as they closed the distance. “I’ll have us down in about a minute,” she told him.

He nodded and squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll be in the cargo bay,” he told her. “I’ll be back after we get our cargo unloaded and get us cleaned up.”

“I’ll be waiting. I’m ready to head back to the cabin.”

At the bottom of the ramp he glanced through the door into the center room to make sure Korbin and Kat were still strapped in. The scientist had objected to halting his work for even a moment so they could dock. Ben thought he might have slept for about four hours but beyond that he’d spent every waking moment cataloguing and sorting. Jarrid had finally convinced him everything needed to be put back into the boxes on the palette so it could be moved to his lab barely an hour ago.

“We’ll be down in a few seconds,” he told them. “All good here?”

Kat grinned, fingering an odd black pendant that was found in the vault room. “We’re good. Hae some interesting things left t’archivovať but tha’ can wait until we get back t’ th’ laboratórium.”

Ben nodded, concealing the frown that wanted to pop up at her response, and ducked into the cargo bay. The pedestal had been secured to the pallet that had originally transported Korbin’s equipment. It was barely visible under boxes of artifacts and crates of said equipment. The pallet was stacked about twice as high as it had been when they had left Vextis a week before. He walked past to the bay door controls and waited for the green light to confirm it was safe to open up. A soft bump told him Sandy had them on the hangar floor and the pumps whirred as the pressure equalized. The green light turned on and he started opening the doors. Outside the loader was already waiting for them, and the cargo was on the ground moments later.

Kat and Korbin had already unstrapped and were impatiently waiting for Jarrid to lower the ramp. Ben followed them to the hangar floor and watched as the equipment was loaded to an antigrav cart so it could be moved to the lab. The Pedestal took up the majority of the space and eventually another cart had to be pulled over to get everything.

Kat kept a hand on Korbin’s arm to keep him from getting in the middle of the techs. She knew he wanted to make sure it was all cared for, but she knew her techs. She trusted them with her ships, they’d be extra delicate with the artifacts. They’d handled them enough.

“Y’ comin wi’ Ben? I’m thinkin Lawrence wants yer správa on wha’ we found, though I’m sure he’ll see th’ 3D renderin once its compiled.” She smiled at Ben, though he noticed her fingers on Korbin’s arm tensed for a moment as if she expected the scientist to make a run for the pedestal.

“Sandy wants to get home, so I’ll let you two handle it. Just have some housekeeping to take care of before we lift back off.”

Kat chuckled, then smirked. “Housekeepin?”

Ben nodded. “We picked up a nice coat of ash down there. Gotta clean her up.”

Kat nodded. “Aye, I only plan on droppin her off and headin back ta Haven. Korbin’ll be at it all night.. “ she leaned closer and lowered her voice. “M’thinks I’ve hae enough fer th’ day.”

She glanced at the pallets, her fingers absently playing with the odd little pendant. “Y’want me ta comm ye ifin we find sumthin in those translations?”

He nodded. “If it’s something I can help with. It can probably wait until tomorrow otherwise.”

She laughed. “Oh aye. T’morrow is soon enough t’be sure. I dinnae plan on lookin at another rock, stone, carving or wha’ever until then. Need a bath, a soak in th’ hot tub, a decent dinner an’ m’soft bed… throw m’husband near th’ beginin o’ tha’ and I’ll nae be seen until after m’mornin coffee.”

She guided Korbin through the bay doors, making sure he kept a respectful distance from the techs operating the carts. Ben watched them go and set about opening up filters and access ports on the outside of the ship, making sure they were free of ash. While he worked outside Sandy worked inside, making sure everything was ready to launch again.

Jarrid strolled down the ramp and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m all finished. Gonna head down and see how Marissa handled being a single mom for a week.”

Ben grinned and closed up the last hatch. “She’s probably pulled all her hair out by now,” he said. “Do me a favor… Mention Kat’s language thing to her. That’s got me worried.”

“Ry’ll probably have her in a med bay before she knows what hit her. He doesn’t usually wait too long when she starts something new like that.”

Ben nodded. “Just the same. Good for the doctor types to have some advance notice if he does.”

Jarrid nodded and started for the door. Ben waived over the wash crew and hit the button to close the ramp so they could hose the ship down. He moved out of the way as they got started.

That’s when the lights went out and everything went to hell.