Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
Capellan said:
Always the penalty of moving from radio to TV... Radio pictures could always be so much more extravagant
Capellan said:
He wasn't Captain James T Fury by any chance
-
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[Spaceship Zero] Q-Ship (actually updated 19 May 2007)
- Thread starter Capellan
- Start date
Always the penalty of moving from radio to TV... Radio pictures could always be so much more extravagant
He wasn't Captain James T Fury by any chance
Capellan
Explorer
"Space Tomb" - Part 1
The episode begins with a black screen, on which letters of white glow briefly:
Special Guest Star
Paul Darrow(1) as Xinthon
Then the black fades up to the interior of the Pathfinder, to reveal Doctor Gustav in the act of tossing a wrench back into a metal toolbox by his side.
"I think zat should do it, Captain."
"Roger, Doc. Everyone take your seats and we'll give it a try." Fury is already belted into the pilot's chair. Leaning forward, he flicks three switches in succession, then turns his head to glance at Archie. "Your boards all green, old boy?"
"Diagnostics all nominal." Archie confirms from his place at the systems console. "However the fuel gauges are very low. We consumed most of our reserves in dealing with the mould on Venus."
"Damnation, you're right." Fury punches up the fuel display. "Plenty to get us to Jupiter, though, where we can refuel."
"There are no refuelling stations there in this universe, Captain." Archie reminds him.
"That's true, but I'm sure you boffins can work out a way for us to get some Xenon once we get there, right?" Fury is a man of action, and he's itching to be on their way. "We've been stuck here for over a week while you make repairs."
"No-one could have done it faster." S'Ondra loyally defends her foster-father.
"Not without a ship yard." Fury agrees, with the look of a man who's suffered a lot from the Venusian's temper, of late. S'Ondra subsides; at least a little.
"I am ready, Captain." Gustav buckles himself into his chair.
"Let's get this baby underway." Fury pushes the power levers forward and the Pathfinder's engines slowly begin to hum, the noise rising steadily until it becomes a whine that would make conversation difficult. Fury leans back and shouts over his shoulder, "Implementing inertial suppression now."
The whine is suddenly all but muted.
"All systems look good." Fury reports, "Engaging thrust."
Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, the ship peels out of its long orbit of the Earth. A stream of flame jets out of the exhaust ports, and the silvery vessel plunges past the rocky face of the moon.
"Estimated time to Jupiter, eleven hours." Fury punches buttons and flicks switches as he speaks, "We could probably do it in less, but I'm going to ease her in for the first few hours, make sure all the kinks are worked out."
"You mean you're going to waste time playing dodgems in the asteroids again." S'Ondra sniffs.
"Now, now, Princess." Fury doesn't bother to deny the charge, "It's not a waste of time. I need to know I can rely on the ship in a combat situation."
"Combat? Who with?" S'Ondra gives an un-ladylike snort. "All the humans here are dead and I don't think my people will be discovering space flight any time soon."
"I zink ze Captain is suggesting zat we should leave zis reality, once we have refuelled." Gustav interjects.
"Leave?" S'Ondra looks upset at the idea, but before she can say any more, Fury explains.
"It seems the sensible course. As you've noted, there's no intelli-" he coughs, "- no advanced life, in this reality. I think we should try using the Q-Drive again. There's a small possibility it will get us home, but even if it doesn't, there will hopefully be better access to technology there."
"And we will be away from that unhygienic mould." Archie shudders.
"But that's just it!" S'Ondra protests, "We can't just leave this reality like this! We have to find a way to stop the mould, or my people could be wiped out just like yours."
"I can find ze chemical to stop ze mould, leibchen." Doctor Gustav tells her gently, "But even if I do, how do we make enough of ze fungicide? We do not have ze facilities, and if zere is no advanced -"
"I am detecting an anomaly." Archie interrupts.
"What is it?" Fury scans his panel, "Everything's green here."
"It is not an anomaly with the vessel." The robot makes some adjustments to the display before him, "It is outside, in the asteroid belt."
"What kind of anomaly could there be out there?" Fury wants to know, "It's all just rocks and ore."
"I am detecting an energy signature." Archie transfers his display to all the other consoles, "Very weak, but regular and consistent. It appears to be coming from this point here." He zooms the display in on the wire-frame graphic.
Fury squints,
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes, Captain. There is a pyramid in the asteroid belt."
The credits roll.
(1) Darrow played Kerr Avon in the BBC series Blake's 7.
The episode begins with a black screen, on which letters of white glow briefly:
Special Guest Star
Paul Darrow(1) as Xinthon
Then the black fades up to the interior of the Pathfinder, to reveal Doctor Gustav in the act of tossing a wrench back into a metal toolbox by his side.
"I think zat should do it, Captain."
"Roger, Doc. Everyone take your seats and we'll give it a try." Fury is already belted into the pilot's chair. Leaning forward, he flicks three switches in succession, then turns his head to glance at Archie. "Your boards all green, old boy?"
"Diagnostics all nominal." Archie confirms from his place at the systems console. "However the fuel gauges are very low. We consumed most of our reserves in dealing with the mould on Venus."
"Damnation, you're right." Fury punches up the fuel display. "Plenty to get us to Jupiter, though, where we can refuel."
"There are no refuelling stations there in this universe, Captain." Archie reminds him.
"That's true, but I'm sure you boffins can work out a way for us to get some Xenon once we get there, right?" Fury is a man of action, and he's itching to be on their way. "We've been stuck here for over a week while you make repairs."
"No-one could have done it faster." S'Ondra loyally defends her foster-father.
"Not without a ship yard." Fury agrees, with the look of a man who's suffered a lot from the Venusian's temper, of late. S'Ondra subsides; at least a little.
"I am ready, Captain." Gustav buckles himself into his chair.
"Let's get this baby underway." Fury pushes the power levers forward and the Pathfinder's engines slowly begin to hum, the noise rising steadily until it becomes a whine that would make conversation difficult. Fury leans back and shouts over his shoulder, "Implementing inertial suppression now."
The whine is suddenly all but muted.
"All systems look good." Fury reports, "Engaging thrust."
Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, the ship peels out of its long orbit of the Earth. A stream of flame jets out of the exhaust ports, and the silvery vessel plunges past the rocky face of the moon.
"Estimated time to Jupiter, eleven hours." Fury punches buttons and flicks switches as he speaks, "We could probably do it in less, but I'm going to ease her in for the first few hours, make sure all the kinks are worked out."
"You mean you're going to waste time playing dodgems in the asteroids again." S'Ondra sniffs.
"Now, now, Princess." Fury doesn't bother to deny the charge, "It's not a waste of time. I need to know I can rely on the ship in a combat situation."
"Combat? Who with?" S'Ondra gives an un-ladylike snort. "All the humans here are dead and I don't think my people will be discovering space flight any time soon."
"I zink ze Captain is suggesting zat we should leave zis reality, once we have refuelled." Gustav interjects.
"Leave?" S'Ondra looks upset at the idea, but before she can say any more, Fury explains.
"It seems the sensible course. As you've noted, there's no intelli-" he coughs, "- no advanced life, in this reality. I think we should try using the Q-Drive again. There's a small possibility it will get us home, but even if it doesn't, there will hopefully be better access to technology there."
"And we will be away from that unhygienic mould." Archie shudders.
"But that's just it!" S'Ondra protests, "We can't just leave this reality like this! We have to find a way to stop the mould, or my people could be wiped out just like yours."
"I can find ze chemical to stop ze mould, leibchen." Doctor Gustav tells her gently, "But even if I do, how do we make enough of ze fungicide? We do not have ze facilities, and if zere is no advanced -"
"I am detecting an anomaly." Archie interrupts.
"What is it?" Fury scans his panel, "Everything's green here."
"It is not an anomaly with the vessel." The robot makes some adjustments to the display before him, "It is outside, in the asteroid belt."
"What kind of anomaly could there be out there?" Fury wants to know, "It's all just rocks and ore."
"I am detecting an energy signature." Archie transfers his display to all the other consoles, "Very weak, but regular and consistent. It appears to be coming from this point here." He zooms the display in on the wire-frame graphic.
Fury squints,
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes, Captain. There is a pyramid in the asteroid belt."
The credits roll.
(1) Darrow played Kerr Avon in the BBC series Blake's 7.
Zaruthustran
The tingling means it’s working!
Capellan said:
Dun-dun DUN!!!
Capellan
Explorer
"Space Tomb" - Part 2
Fury sets the Pathfinder down about half a mile from the pyramid.
"Sorry I couldn't get us closer, folks." He apologises as he unstraps himself from the pilot's chair, "But there weren't any suitable places to set her down."
"Zat is quite alright, Captain." Gustav waves off the apology, "Ze walk will do us all good, after being so long cooped up in the ship togezzer."
"The scans of the pyramid are ready, Doctor." S'Ondra waves her foster-father over towards her.
"Excellent." Gustav peers around the Venusian woman's shoulder as she punches up a series of slightly grainy black and white images on the console. "Zere, you see - zere are hieroglyphics on ze pyramid, like ze ones of ancient Egpyt."
S'Ondra peers at the crude carvings of birds, ankhs and jackal-headed people.
"Venusian cave painting are much better drawn."
"Are they real Egyptian markings, Doc? Or just copies?" Fury pauses in his double-check of the ship's systems.
"Zat I do not know." Gustav shrugs, "I am a physicist, not a historian, ja?" He turns his attention to a more pressing matter, "Archie, what kind of conditions are zere outside?"
"There is no atmosphere, so suits will be required." The robot reports, "However, the gravity is unusually high for such a small planetoid. It must be comprised largely of heavy minerals."
"Is zat so?" Gustav hurries over to one of the consoles and snatches up a small, silver scanner, "Zen zere may be materials zat will be of use to us, for ze ship. I will take this analyser along, just in case."
"I doubt there'll be any Xenon here, old boy."
"Zat may be true, but ze analyser can be used to look for many ozzer things, as well."
"Will we still have enough Xenon to reach Jupiter?" S'Ondra asks, as she slides into her space suit. It takes Fury a few moments to gather his wits and reply,
"No cause for concern there, Princess. We've got plenty of juice to get off this rock, and point ourselves toward the big red ball." Fury picks up his own suit and shakes it out, "We'll need to conserve fuel for manoeuvring once we are there, of course, but between here and there we can mainly let our inertia carry us along. There's nothing in space to slow us down, you see, so we actually need very little fuel -"
"I do understand the concept of physics, Captain." S'Ondra's tone is flint-like.
"Uh, yes ... quite." Fury finds something to occupy himself, as far across the cabin as possible.
The crew don their suits in a tense silence, then make their way out of the airlock, and onto the airless surface of the asteroid. Few words are exchanged: a frosty silence has settled between Fury and S'Ondra, while Archie's usual monologue on the evils of dirt and germs is temporarily suspended, the robot being quite taken with the lifeless, sterile rock on which they have landed. Only Gustav speaks, exclaiming over this or that reading from the scanner in his hand.
As they slowly pick their way across the landscape, the four remain wrapped in their own thoughts, and none look back toward the silvery shape of the Pathfinder.
And thus none of them see, when something stirs in the shadow beneath the vessel, and then goes scuttling across the surface of the planetoid, behind them.
Fury sets the Pathfinder down about half a mile from the pyramid.
"Sorry I couldn't get us closer, folks." He apologises as he unstraps himself from the pilot's chair, "But there weren't any suitable places to set her down."
"Zat is quite alright, Captain." Gustav waves off the apology, "Ze walk will do us all good, after being so long cooped up in the ship togezzer."
"The scans of the pyramid are ready, Doctor." S'Ondra waves her foster-father over towards her.
"Excellent." Gustav peers around the Venusian woman's shoulder as she punches up a series of slightly grainy black and white images on the console. "Zere, you see - zere are hieroglyphics on ze pyramid, like ze ones of ancient Egpyt."
S'Ondra peers at the crude carvings of birds, ankhs and jackal-headed people.
"Venusian cave painting are much better drawn."
"Are they real Egyptian markings, Doc? Or just copies?" Fury pauses in his double-check of the ship's systems.
"Zat I do not know." Gustav shrugs, "I am a physicist, not a historian, ja?" He turns his attention to a more pressing matter, "Archie, what kind of conditions are zere outside?"
"There is no atmosphere, so suits will be required." The robot reports, "However, the gravity is unusually high for such a small planetoid. It must be comprised largely of heavy minerals."
"Is zat so?" Gustav hurries over to one of the consoles and snatches up a small, silver scanner, "Zen zere may be materials zat will be of use to us, for ze ship. I will take this analyser along, just in case."
"I doubt there'll be any Xenon here, old boy."
"Zat may be true, but ze analyser can be used to look for many ozzer things, as well."
"Will we still have enough Xenon to reach Jupiter?" S'Ondra asks, as she slides into her space suit. It takes Fury a few moments to gather his wits and reply,
"No cause for concern there, Princess. We've got plenty of juice to get off this rock, and point ourselves toward the big red ball." Fury picks up his own suit and shakes it out, "We'll need to conserve fuel for manoeuvring once we are there, of course, but between here and there we can mainly let our inertia carry us along. There's nothing in space to slow us down, you see, so we actually need very little fuel -"
"I do understand the concept of physics, Captain." S'Ondra's tone is flint-like.
"Uh, yes ... quite." Fury finds something to occupy himself, as far across the cabin as possible.
The crew don their suits in a tense silence, then make their way out of the airlock, and onto the airless surface of the asteroid. Few words are exchanged: a frosty silence has settled between Fury and S'Ondra, while Archie's usual monologue on the evils of dirt and germs is temporarily suspended, the robot being quite taken with the lifeless, sterile rock on which they have landed. Only Gustav speaks, exclaiming over this or that reading from the scanner in his hand.
As they slowly pick their way across the landscape, the four remain wrapped in their own thoughts, and none look back toward the silvery shape of the Pathfinder.
And thus none of them see, when something stirs in the shadow beneath the vessel, and then goes scuttling across the surface of the planetoid, behind them.
KidCthulhu
First Post
And why do I think this is not a friendly welcome wagon and casserole type of something?
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
Capellan said:
Capellan, I think you've got some masterly writing talent. These few words paint such startlingly vivid visuals!
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