as written by barney_fife and Tiko
Nagala nodded, and then she turned back to Steele.
"Josh, we're going to go on a little excursion." Nagala said curtly, before she turned towards the main turbolift, Steele simply shrugged, and then turned to Kuruka.
"Dont mind her, she can be a bit short but she's not going to hurt you." Steele said, gesturing towards the lift, boarding it after Nagala.
Kuruka hesitated as it sounded like Steele intended for him to accompany them to the Amarathian settlements. A place as foreign to him as the ship he now stood within.
"I know nothing of the lands beyond the forest," he informed them as he followed them towards the lift. "I will speak with my brothers and sisters about aiding you in returning to your lands, and await your return here in the forest."
Both Nagala and Steele frowned, neither of them could allow this native to remain on the bridge of a highly sophisticated Imperial warship, they talked among each other for a moment in Anquietas, and then Nagala switched to Common. “I can stay here and work on restoring astrometrics and navigation, as well as plot exactly where the hell we are.”
Steele nodded and made his way over to the Lift.
It was a short ten minute ride, with the lift doors opening up to reveal a small hangar bay. Most of the vehicles inside were wrecked in the crash, smashed into each other and the walls, but secured to docking clamps and facing the hangar door was a single condor VTOL.
Steele quickly made his way to the aircraft, checking around it in what seemed like excitement, and then immediately going to the door controls and opening the bay, bathing the interior of the hangar in sunlight.
Steele then stepped forward next, gazing on the aircraft, and opening the rear ramp, which hit the ground with a thud. A moment later, Steele was climbing into the belly of the ship.
Once seated in the cockpit, Steele began flipping switches, controls beeped and chimes, displays came to life, and a low hum was heard throughout the cabin.
"Power, fuel, weapons capacitors, everything's in order." He said, reaching out to put a flight helmet on.
And then Steele flipped a switch, and the craft shuddered, and then silence, and then shuddered again, a howling coming from the inside of the craft that gradually got louder and higher in pitch, until it turned into a shrill deafening scream.
At that moment Steele got onto the radio. “Marathon Actual, this is Condor One, I’ve finished my pre checks and am preparing for departure.”
Once Steele taxied to the outside of the bay, on a small pad on the back of the ship, he increased the throttle, the engines screaming as the VTOL lifted off.
With the flip of a switch, the VTOL took off in a westerly direction.