Neil breathed in that sweet ozone, and an iron-like taste entered his mouth. There were only a few things he liked more than the smell of a fresh ship. Instantly his eyes met every wire and cable that hugged and slithered along the Xarconian metal. By the grade of the wires this ship had a design he'd only heard about. The metal should have been a dead giveaway, just as the weapon placements should have been, and the overall shape. 

This ship was made before the fall.

Gorlan must have scavenged the [i]Highlander[/i] and rebuilt it. Sure it looked like junk, but it had a real quality once you dusted it off a bit. These wires must have lead to the fuel generators that aided the R.I.P. drive in the back, and these along here were meant to give an extra bit of energy to the shields. He wondered who had designed the shields, because as far as he could tell judging by these XL2 wires, it was made in the past century. Must be made by Zolton Security, he told himself. 

He followed the new boss lady into the cockpit, and he grinned at the familiar layout. It was top notch and a different design to be sure, but if you've flown one Freighter, you've flown most of them. To the left was the Orbital Maneuvering Display System. The Velocity indicator was in the center, next to the sublight engines and the auxiliary power switch... The Galaxy map up at the top left was different, though. It was good thinking on Gorlan's part, however. Or whoever had designed the ship. Were they standard on thousand year old ships? 

"Wow..." he said aloud.

“I’m a little wet right now,” Sayeeda said with such a quiet breath Neil blinked, wondering if he'd heard what he thought he had. He looked at her while she stared at the cockpit, and he knew then and there that he heard right. 

He whispered as well. "Note to self..." 

He blinked again once the AI popped on, and wondered if it remained active as long as the ship was, or if there was an off switch. "AVLN-22-Kelo, ship status." 

"Maximum functionality, First Mate Edwards." 

The AI had not even finished speaking before Neil found himself in the Pilot's chair, turning on the Display Moniter and pulling the level to start the engines. He then punched the auto-pressure and artificial gravity generator so they wouldn't need to worry about it when they left the atmosphere. "Hang on babe. I m- I mean Captain." He didn't look back at her, instead running his finger over the display moniter as he read the coordinates, and with the slightest shift in gear, the ship began to float upwards in a light hover. It's legs folded in, and Neil turned the Highlander toward the exit. 

It took less than 3 seconds before they were out of the hanger in its entirety and arcing 45 degrees upwards. The sky was orange and grey from the constant pollution of the manufacture-cities that dominated the landscape. The jungles here were the hardiest Neil had ever seen. "They might be mutated..." he thought aloud, and then shrugged. The ship juttered and shook with turbulence as they raised higher and higher into the sky. 

"Might want to sit down until we're out of Orbit."
[@Penny]