Dec 6, 2016 12:00 pm
The ship's clock had been set to that of New Avalon's capital. It was early morning, barely after 00:00, but the ship's crew had planned it this way. Jumps weren't pleasant even for the most hardy, but those who suffered from TDS, which surely some of the passengers did, always had a rough time of hyperspace jumps. Setting the clock to New Avalon time before the jump had meant that everyone would be asleep when the jump was made, everyone but essential crew of course. All of the passengers and most of the crew would awaken in New Avalon space never even knowing the jump had been made.
Leslie, being a commissioned officer in New Avalon's fleet, would have no such luxury. Until recently she had been stationed aboard a space station orbiting Bristol. It was a dull assignment far from combat and filled with a tedious life on base. She can only imagine this inactive assignment has come from her recently inherited dependent, yet another thing to blame her for. Of course Leslie has responsibility on base, but teaching cadets the ropes wasn't what she had signed on for. Thing only changed about a month and half ago when she received orders to board the jumpship Columbus during its recharge at Bristol's nadir point and come to New Avalon. Leslie had never been to the capital before, though she did train at Armstrong Flight Academy on Galax which was the next best thing. Being called to New Avalon usually meant promotions or important assignments, but they instructed her to take her sister with her and so she could not imagine what kind of assignment she would be getting. She would find out soon enough.
While everyone else was afforded the luxury of sleep Leslie was up and in full dress uniform. Her hair was pinned tightly in a bun, her jacket and skirt perfectly pressed and wrinkle free. She took a lot of pride her appearance and has never failed a uniform inspection. She floated down the hallway of the ship using the handholds as both a guide and method of locomotion. At this time the ship's jumpsail was likely at full deploy and with everyone sleeping all lights and non-essential power consuming objects were dimmed or shutdown. The ship was able to recharge faster when less energy was used by other systems. Leslie was quite comfortable in zero-G, she spent much of her youth aboard her parents' ship and much of her adult life in a cockpit or aboard warships/space stations. She effortlessly guided herself to the ladder that led down to the grav-deck without a strand of hair out of place. It had been a while since she had any scheduled time on the grav-deck during the 5 jump journey from Bristol. It felt good to once again have the weight of gravity on her, even if the centrifugal force of the grav-deck felt somewhat unnatural and took a moment to adjust to.
The grav-deck was largely empty, save a maintenance worker or off duty crew members using the recreation area. It was strange to be walking again and it took Leslie a few clumsy steps to adjust to gravity and the small heels on her dress shoes. The emptiness of the grav-deck stole all sense of stealth from her as her shoes clanged audibly against the metal walkway and echoed about the entire grav-deck. She walked a bit of a way until reaching the cafe, it was a small eatery in the center of the grav-deck with ample seating, good food, and a massive window that looked out toward the planet below. Leslie could see that even at this time other jumpships were recharging near New Avalon and the hustle and bustle of dropships could be seen throughout the area. New Avalon was a beautiful blue world and beholding it from here was an awe inspiring sight. She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a small envelop. It was the orders she had receive just yesterday before the jump. "Come to the cafe at 01:00, we willing be transferring by dropship no later than 03:00." The paper had all of the official markings that indicated it was official orders but it was an odd instruction, with limited information, and no indication of whom she would be meeting. She was early as usual, and little did she know four other FedCom soldiers had received the same orders and were likely getting ready to come to this meeting at that very moment.
Leslie, being a commissioned officer in New Avalon's fleet, would have no such luxury. Until recently she had been stationed aboard a space station orbiting Bristol. It was a dull assignment far from combat and filled with a tedious life on base. She can only imagine this inactive assignment has come from her recently inherited dependent, yet another thing to blame her for. Of course Leslie has responsibility on base, but teaching cadets the ropes wasn't what she had signed on for. Thing only changed about a month and half ago when she received orders to board the jumpship Columbus during its recharge at Bristol's nadir point and come to New Avalon. Leslie had never been to the capital before, though she did train at Armstrong Flight Academy on Galax which was the next best thing. Being called to New Avalon usually meant promotions or important assignments, but they instructed her to take her sister with her and so she could not imagine what kind of assignment she would be getting. She would find out soon enough.
While everyone else was afforded the luxury of sleep Leslie was up and in full dress uniform. Her hair was pinned tightly in a bun, her jacket and skirt perfectly pressed and wrinkle free. She took a lot of pride her appearance and has never failed a uniform inspection. She floated down the hallway of the ship using the handholds as both a guide and method of locomotion. At this time the ship's jumpsail was likely at full deploy and with everyone sleeping all lights and non-essential power consuming objects were dimmed or shutdown. The ship was able to recharge faster when less energy was used by other systems. Leslie was quite comfortable in zero-G, she spent much of her youth aboard her parents' ship and much of her adult life in a cockpit or aboard warships/space stations. She effortlessly guided herself to the ladder that led down to the grav-deck without a strand of hair out of place. It had been a while since she had any scheduled time on the grav-deck during the 5 jump journey from Bristol. It felt good to once again have the weight of gravity on her, even if the centrifugal force of the grav-deck felt somewhat unnatural and took a moment to adjust to.
The grav-deck was largely empty, save a maintenance worker or off duty crew members using the recreation area. It was strange to be walking again and it took Leslie a few clumsy steps to adjust to gravity and the small heels on her dress shoes. The emptiness of the grav-deck stole all sense of stealth from her as her shoes clanged audibly against the metal walkway and echoed about the entire grav-deck. She walked a bit of a way until reaching the cafe, it was a small eatery in the center of the grav-deck with ample seating, good food, and a massive window that looked out toward the planet below. Leslie could see that even at this time other jumpships were recharging near New Avalon and the hustle and bustle of dropships could be seen throughout the area. New Avalon was a beautiful blue world and beholding it from here was an awe inspiring sight. She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a small envelop. It was the orders she had receive just yesterday before the jump. "Come to the cafe at 01:00, we willing be transferring by dropship no later than 03:00." The paper had all of the official markings that indicated it was official orders but it was an odd instruction, with limited information, and no indication of whom she would be meeting. She was early as usual, and little did she know four other FedCom soldiers had received the same orders and were likely getting ready to come to this meeting at that very moment.
