[h2] Captain John Lockman[/h2]

The rest of the preflight process went off uneventfully. John taking down weight, calculating mass and trying to balance the load within the shuttle’s bay. 

Once he had something approaching acceptable; it was a simple matter for him to give his passengers a succinct “touch nothing” and retreat to his cockpit.

The take off was slightly trickier on account of the shuttle being a larger dimension then the bay’s designed model. But the craft soon slipped the ship’s confines and fell to the planet below. A slow controlled descent as John followed the coordinates he had been passed. 

The readouts all normal even as they began to break into the thicker part of the atmospheres. 

Re-entry had him rely on instruments as they jolted and tumbled through clouds and burning atmosphere. A teeth rattling few minutes as he fought the stick slightly and the flight computer filled in where he failed. 

Then they were through. 

“Atmos insert complete. Fifteen out from coordinates.” Those within the bay that had donned any of the headsets or had borrowed a flight helmet from a crew station would have heard the announcement. Any who had not would only have noted the ship’s sudden cessation of shaking. 


****

The passengers would feel the slightest sense of vertigo as John feathered the Kestrel in for a landing. Heady duty tires extending from recessed inner bays as he flipped the switch for the main ramp.

“Shamrock 1 on the deck. Ramp down and asses out.”