Night was falling on the City; Jim and his team had just managed to get unpacked and start making the lounge, office and briefing room look a bit more homely, by 'sticking stuff on the walls' as Jan put it.
Jim looked from his office window on the second floor, which overlooked the landing pad. Stood proudly in the center was his own little bird, USS Pennine. The navigation lights on the pad flashed red, lighting up the walls of the office. The runabout was a spectacular sight, fresh from drydock, no scratches, dents, welded holes, not like the last shuttle he'd flown. The hatch to the runabout was open and he could just make out the figure of Crewman Marc Hedley standing at the Ops console. He had been busy 'playing' with the runabout since he unpacked, the young 19 year old seemed to enjoy making sure things were ready.
Jim turned away from the window and smiled to himself at the commitment, remembering he was once the same as a fresh-from-the-academy Ensign. He walked towards the office door and through it onto the briefing room balcony and made his way down the lift.
"Sir," Hedley called out as he saw Lieutenant Stone approach.
"How many times have you checked the equipment now?" Stone asked sarcastically.
"Four," Hedley replied with as much sarcasm. "And I still think we've forgot something."
"Let's have a look," Stone said as he walked inside the runabout.
Hedley passed him the PADD. "Run through it with me, sir."
Stone sighed. "Armory, four times enhanced compression rifles."
"Check!" Hedley replied, still enthusiastic.
"Eight times type three handheld phasers and a pile of other weapon-like stuff."
"Check."
"Are we going to war or rescuing people?" Stone muttered. "Five times Med Tricorders, one major incident kit, one crash kit, two multi-person survival packs."
"Check."
"Is all this necessary, isn't rope and a bandage good enough anymore? Two bio-beds, and medical drugs packs."
"Yep, we can't go throwin' ropes around, sir."
"Well, all the rest is here, I can see it!" Stone said and put the PADD down on top of one of the biobeds.
"Are you sure?" Hedley asked.
Stone nodded and turned towards the hatch.
"You're the boss," Hedley said and walked behind.
As Stone exited the hatch, the klaxon started sounding outside, signaling for the landing pad to be cleared. Stone turned towards Hedley "What the....?"
The doors to the offices slid open and Watson and Fisher came running out, utility belts in one hand, field jackets in the other.
"Get the bus started, Marc!" Watson shouted as he approached the hatch.
Hedley was already at the co-pilots console engaging the runabout's systems. Watson and Fisher ducked inside almost pushing Stone out of the way.
"What's going off?!" Stone shouted, getting slightly agitated.
"The mountains near that deserty place, there's some guy missing up there," Watson replied.
"Fantastic location, Rich!" Stone exclaimed as he sat down in the co-pilot's seat Hedley had just vacated. "Marc, take Ops, Rich you're the driver, Jan get the sensors warmed up."
The crew were already at their places, as Watson sat down the engines were ready. Stone felt proud of the efficiency of the team. He tapped the comms button on the co-pilot's console. "Serenity control, this is USS Pennine, rescue one, request emergency departure for planetary flight."
The reply was instant, as soft but firm female voice replied, "Rescue one flight cleared."
Watson heard the reply and tapped his console. The runabout responded and lifted into the air. The engines whirred to life as they lifted clear of the buildings and headed out over the city.
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