[hr][center][h1]On Board the Apophis[/h1][/center]
[hr]


Captain Aloisius Bagwell sat upon the pilots' seat in the second deck of the Apophis Hovercraft. A blinking green light on the command console, next to the control surfaces and camera feeds, indicated a message waiting for him from homebase. Green meant it could wait a few minutes. He leaned back in his chair and placed his feet up on the console.

The ship lurched to the right a bit, and he quickly moved his feet [i]off[/i] of the steering joysticks. Even in low power settings, the Apophis was stupidly responsive to the slightest touch, and he tapped his communications headset. As Captain of the Ship, he sent out a message to the skeleton crew.

[color=f6989d]"Sorry about that! Hope nobody spilled anything. Still getting used to this ship."[/color]

The few crew members manning the Plug chamber and engineering stations were visibly bothered. They'd just transferred aboard a few days ago and so far, Captain Bagwell hadn't shown himself to be anything more than a complete incompetent. But orders were orders, and they kept their complaints to themselves.

Doc Harding, the current medical officer, entered the cockpit and offered the Captain a drink in a tin mug. It was something akin to coffee and tea, and it smelled absolutely [i]foul[/i] to the uninitiated, but the Captain took it and chugged it down in a matter of seconds.

[color=f6989d]"Thanks, Doc. I'll let you know if I need anything else."[/color] The Captain hadn't turned off his comms and the message was broadcast to the rest of the crew, complete with the sounds of gulping and the clatter of the tin mug on the floor. Doctor Harding rolled his eyes and reached over Captain Bagwell's shoulder to tap the communicator's transmission switch. [color=9e005d]"Keep this up and you'll be facing a mutiny soon. Do me a favor and don't screw anything up more, alright?"[/color], the Doc said. The Captain simply grunted in response and lit up a cigar. The first puff brought on a fit of violent coughing, sending the ship rocking from side to side, with the tin mug clattering about on the floor and getting stuck under the brake pedal.

[hr]

An hour later, the Captain finally got around to pressing the button with the flashing green light. Alexandria had an update for him and his mission, which scrolled down on the console's screen in front of the rearview camera feed.

[quote]We've found a live one. Battery complex 03-A22, near your position. We're not sure about his name, but there's a marker on his position in the Matrix. Pull this one out for us, and don't screw it up. Your father wouldn't be happy to hear if you botched your first mission.[/quote]