[center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/diF6hFs.png[/img]
[h3]Settlin' In and Pre-Flight Checks[/h3]
[/center]
[hr]

There was a nice sort of routine Penelope had gotten into, waking up in her own quarters with no fear of who might be lingerin'. As she woke from her nap, cat-like stretches commenced beneath the weight of the new blanket between her and her quilt. With a soft sigh, hand running through her loose hair, she looked up at the metal ceiling thinking that it was darned-near perfect as could be. 

According to the time, she had a little over an hour or so before take-off. Gave her plenty of time to sort through her new clothes she'd left piled in their bags by the base of the ladder. If she ended up staying on with the China Doll, she'd have to actually fill this room up proper. Seemed the way things were shaping up, so she let herself idly consider a moment as her eyes roved around the structure. It'd been quite some time since she found herself making any plans, looking on past the day before her. 

Just the room, Penelope told herself, as she sat up. It was more difficult with the weighted blanket, something she'd bought at the last second because she knew it was something she couldn't carry in her bag. That tendril of permanency, roots, starting to spread and dig into the China Doll. 

It wasn't like she instantly trusted Cal, but she meant what she'd said to the doc. He seemed like a good man, and had potential to be a great captain. Just had to work on that need-to-know business between the brains and limbs of his ship’s workings. They’d sorted that, she’d given him the benefit of the doubt there, and maybe she’d made it clear enough there’d only be the one chance. 

It seemed like a fair trade, she mused, as she let her feet feel the cool steel beside her bed a moment. He’d earned at least a bit of faith and a fair amount of respect. Weren’t any easy thing to ask for his help, havin’ stubbornly refused anything less than independence. And he didn’t even look down on her for how silly her plan seemed now that she looked back on it. He’d told her straight and honest, and kinder than expected.

[i]Yep, a pretty good man,[/i] She repeated to herself as she ran her hand over the quilt. The square was faded, the only grey one on the entire piece. Embroidered into a corner of the jersey fabric was a bundle of hyssop bound with a stitched pink ribbon. [i]Wonder how many of them are in the ‘verse.[/i]

The little smile was on her lips again, and off she went to sort her haul before it was time to work. Once it was all put away, what she wasn’t going to be using for the flight to Greenleaf, she decided to trade her [url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/2e/74/d0/2e74d01b469839f72eba27e822b23c4a.jpg]green dungaree[/url] out for the new [url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/82/95/39/8295391011f759f3353b2ff619f482fd.jpg]brown faux leather jacket[/url] and single pair of jeans she owned and had [url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/16/85/9d/16859d54cbff863b95eb778886742561.jpg]embroidered sunflowers[/url] into at the hip and cuff. The plush microfiber blanket was left in its bag along with her slouchy knit earth-toned beanie and matching gloves. That’d be for later when it started getting cold. But, she lugged it up the ladder all the same with her usual bag of supplies to keep busy during a flight. Wouldn’t take long for things to cool down at all, so it’d be good to have it close by for when the time came.

As she came up the short steps and in through the hatch door, she spoke aloud to the room, crossing to set the bag down nearby the pilot seat just before she took that for herself. “Hey, Sam - anything excitin’ happen since last I was visitin’ with ya?” 

“Good afternoon, Penelope. Since you were last here with Cal, many things have transpired. Would you like me to catalog the events?” The disembodied voice responded while the pilot started running systems checks unnecessarily as the AI was perfectly capable of doing so.

“I have a feelin’ a great deal of it wouldn’t be what I considered excitin’.” She grinned with a glance over the console and down in the direction of where Sam was stowed away. “Ah, I gotta clear off that brush ‘fore we take off.”

As Penelope approached, barefoot and silent on her light feet, Sam whirred a moment and then reported: “Our cargo manifest promises a new haul of oysters, being delivered soon. Joe Hooker has loaded many different types of green edible flora to the kitchen’s inventory. The secondary shuttle has been retrofitted with new living commodities, and one of the residents -”

“There.” Penelope said as she dusted off the remnants of beach from Sam’s box. The angel wing shell remained, as promised. “Now what was that about a passenger?”

“I have been in communication with someone on the ship, but they refuse my assistance.” Sam spoke as the pilot went back topside with the beach fittings. She’d save those for her room.

“Most folk ain’t keen on AI, Sam. Might not be good to go lettin’ ‘em know you’re here.” Penelope didn’t realize Sam was saying they had been talking on more her plane. “Cap’n hid ya down there for your safety, ya know.”

Sam must’ve been considering, but the momentary lapse of speaking didn’t bother Penelope. She was back to checking on the flight instruments and reviewing the China Doll’s log report. Idle system didn’t mean no problems. “Cap’n says we’re gonna be flyin’ downwind a storm a’way’s off. I’m going to input the coordinates for ya to monitor now, just in case somethin’ changes. Everythin’ is lookin’ good where we are now. How ‘bout on your end?”

“Systems show operational functions at idle are not optimal but will function.” Sam responded after a moment. “Cal has Abigail scheduled to replace essential equipment before take-off, so it is recommended to run another diagnostic at the conclusion.”

“Thank you, Sam.” Penelope said as if speaking to a copilot. To her, that is what Sam was. “Hey, Sam… if needed, could ya fly the China Doll without me?”

It wasn’t a worry the pilot had, but rather a curiosity. Cal didn’t seem like the sort of man to trust an AI to his ship entirely, and Penelope questioned logic programming in hairy situations. It was more a point of interest for them to discuss while she settled in before another long flight. A conversation.