Stories from Astyria

[New Edom]

Lake Hai'lu'kai
Rail Interchange
Midnight

Tim wasn’t a travel writer, but he was getting a picture of things in his head if he needed to write about the place; it was the way he thought. The sheer size of the platform, the convergence and clear timetables of the trains connecting with city trains gives a clear understanding of why the travel here is so efficient and uncrowded…

“Good bye, thank you for your friendly help!” called Catalina to the three women, Tim and she waved to them. The crowds around them of confusing people, all dressed so individualistically was overwhelming.

The Minister and his party were heading briskly to where they had (hopefully) a car waiting for them that had been hired.

“Um…what do we do now? Where do we go from here?” Catalina asked. “How do we claim our baggage?”

“I suppose we look for the signs, try to follow them…” said Tim confused but not letting it worry him. He just kept an eye out for pickpockets, thieves, rogues, or anyone who might try to extort them.

[Aurora Confederacy]

baggage was handled by porters (for those in first class), coach class passengers already had their bags, for they had the task of unloading the bagage racks themselves, First class however was a little different, an Electric baggage car was being loaded gently at the side of the train on the platform with bags. It then made its way to the luggage belt and baggage claim.

Karen smiled at cat and Tim, "No problem and take care, oh baggage claim, top of the stairs turn right and follow the concourse to the front, you cant miss it, the'res a big gold clock in the middle of the booking area, when you get to there hang a left and go down the ramp. Its all sign posted" she said before slinging her bag onto her shoulder and walking off with Sharron and Miranda up a stairs and out of the station complex, passing a waiting black Diamond Star Tambora that was flying two flags from its wings.

Two police officers were however frisking someone on the station concourse, however the notable thing, though the train station police are armed, just like airport police, these two officers were wearing flourescent stab vests and their duty belts had tazers, pepper spray and handcuffs off them as well as a radio, your usual police gear, they however were unarmed as they were from the outside of the station and chased someone in for being drunk in public. Places like Krjder would be beating the guy to a pulp, not here, Aurora Confederacy is more civilised than that!, they however escort the youth off the station, he will be held in the cells and charged in the morning for disorderly conduct.

A young guy walks past Cat and Tim sporting flouresceng green hair, black tight leather pants and a rock band T-shirt though most of the folk in the station are dressed casually. From above them is the soft music of Arvo Part's Speigel im speigel. By the time they had walked to the baggage claim, Catalina and Tim had walked a kilometer from the train.

The minister however, walk??, oh no! he was collected by a station VIP agent in basically what is a bright yellow electric golf buggy, where from the train he was driven past everyone else to the waiting VIP car, accompanied by the *beeeeep beeeeep beeeeep* of the warning siren. The car however had its engine running and the chauffeur of Asian, possibly oriental descent wearing a black suit, black shoes with a shine so clear you could use them as a mirror, a white shirt and black tie with white fabric gloves, bowed his head once then opened the door, "good morning, May I take your baggage sir" he said, seemingly calm, extremely polite. (think parker from thunderbirds and you won't be far wrong).

[ViZion]

(Zitru)

The black Ando Chieftain pulled up to BLUE C-100-252 parking spot on the first floor. Nick Turner stepped out of the vehicle, his finely tailored black pinstripped suit fitting his lean body just perfectly. Pulling out his Sunbeat M100 phone, he called Arnold Böhler's assistant. After a couple moments on the phone, he was able to locate where Arnold was - Hillden Restaurant. While it was a bit on the expensive side, it was one of the better choices in that area of the airport.

After several minutes of walking, Nick walked up to the hostess at the Hillden. "Hello, I'm here to meet Arnold Böhler." he said. "Oh, yes. Right this way, sir." the young girl said, smiling. He followed the friendly brunette to the table Arnold was sitting at, waiting for his steak. "Mr. Böhler, Nick Turner. Sorry about the wait, we hit some traffic, stuck behind an accident." Nick mentioned, reaching his hand out to shake.

[New Edom]

The Night Before, Aurora

Tim had been so aroused by all the clothed women, by Catalina’s proximity,and they had seemed close over dinner, enjoying their wine, laughing and relaxed. She seemed to be so happy, and he held out hope. He wanted to love his wife. He did not want to love Keth. The children, his responsibilities—no, this was his woman.

In the hotel room, she hugged him, she put her arms around his neck, kissed him on the mouth, but she seemed to freeze when he kissed her hungrily, opening her lips with his.

”Cat, I missed you so much…I’ve missed being with you so much, I love you darling…”
However she simply let him undress her. She had her eyes lowered. He paused, “Cat, is everything alright.” She met his eyes and smiled. “It’s fine.” However he sensed it wasn’t fine and said, “do you want me to stop?” Catalina said, softly, “No, it’s fine.” He didn’t know what to do.

When they were both undressed, she sighed and rubbed the little marks where her clothing had felt tight on her, and went to the bathroom, he waited for her. Catalina brushed her teeth, washed her face, then seemed to hesitate. “Do you still want sex” she asked, looking at his obvious arousal.

Tim lay with her on the bed, attempting to rouse her, but her response was gentle and quiet. She did not resist him spreading her thighs, but he felt his desire wilting at her passivity. He suggested, “Why don’t we try later, or maybe you’re tired.”

She shook her head. What was with her? She was not even close to being ready. Tim felt ready to scream at her with frustration, he said quietly, “Why don’t I give you a mssage.” Catalina shrugged. She finally said, “Tim, you’re my husband. You have every right to take your pleasure with me.”

Tim felt a dark thought. Was it the money? This vacation, their bungalow in Glasstower, his job, not wanting to lose her lifestyle? Joint ownership of their beautiful new SUV from Costa Alura?

“I don’t want an unwilling woman,” he finally said. “Cat,let’s just sleep. It’s been a long year and a long flight. I love you.”

Catalina watched him with unreadable eyes. “I love you too…”

Thoughts of Keth’s lean body, her startled passion, even having dinner with Keth was more sensual, more close in heart and mind than lying in bed in an Edenic state with Catalina.

“Do you?” he whispered.

Catalina put an arm across his chest and said, “Of course I do. You are mine, and I am yours.”

He had no idea what that meant anymore, but he felt s though he could not do anything other than what he was doing. There was a curious mix of comfort with his being troubled—this body that he was so familiar with, the voice he knew so well in the darkness beside him. Letting her hand move downward, she comforted him in the dark, and he accepted it.

The Train Platform

They were used to walking, a mile in this confusing but safe place was fine.
“Do you think they’re all lesbians?” asked Catalina of the women they had said farewell and thanks to.

“That’s a terrible thing to say, and how would I know?” Tim asked. “Here’s the baggage claim.”

He had his usual backpack along with a suitcase, she had a suitcase that rolled on wheels she had gotten as a gift from a friend who worked with the Isidium Foundation.
“I’m so hungry,” Catalina complained. He had always loved watching Cat eat. She smiled at him, toyed with her auburn hair. “Let’s get to our hotel?”

“Yes, then we’re going to the trucking firm in three hours, so we’d better get showered, changed, eat and I have to coordinate with the Minister’s Press Secretary.” Tim replied.

“And I want to call the littles, make sure they’re doing alright.” Catalina said.

“Of course,” Tim thought of Tabby and Alby with a pang. “I can’t wait. Let’s find a taxi…I love the taxis here…”

The Minister

Nathaniel said, “Yes please, our bags…” to the sleek attendant. “Thank you very much.”
“Well, this is quite the place,” observed John Carmel. “Imagine a network of these in Fineberg, Sterry, Reme, Calafia, Padan, even Dundabend and places like that…”

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was in awe. New Edom had made enormous progress over the last few years but it was sobering, how advanced and modern such places as this were, even more than the richest nations in Cornellia. So much wealth in this place. The strength of it, to not even have to have your police armed.

But in New Edom, they had one advantage—just as in establishing a cellular phone network they had skipped other stages of communications they could do the same with transport. In many areas of their country, few elements of infrastructure to changed compared to establishing it in the first place. That was why he was here. It was a brave new world.

"I've had Tim Stanton on the phone, he's coordinating arrival with ours at Space Night," said the press secretary brightly.

"First class. Let's go!" said Carmel cheerfully.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Tim's Taxi - 00:30
Outside the station even at Midnight, there is a line of brand new taxis, mostly Toyota Hiace minibuses and driven by well presented drivers, some male, some female but all well attired wearing identical looking uniforms, as people pile into one taxi and it moves off, the line moves forwards. Busses here are also busy and compared to Valeria Port Aurora where the New Edomite party had landed, Lake Hai'lu'kai at midnight could easily be midday as the street outside the station and the taxi rank is busy with cars.

The cabbie however takes a look at the reservation and smiles before setting the meter to run and then heading off down to the hotel. The minibus would normally seat around 8 people in the saloon in soft leather seats and in air condioned comfort. Playing from the stereo is Beethoven, something as such that is politically neutral and so likely to offend nobody and so you were driven switftly to the hotel, the 50 floor Hai'lu'kai Grand Hotel and Tim's room is on the 49th floor, and it is not a bad hotel room either.

Ministerial car
Like any foreign envoy, Carmel's car is escorted through the city swiftly to his hotel, the Black Tambora is escorted by 4 motorcylce outriders out front and two Mitsubishi Lancer police cars up front, a police BMW X5 and 4 other motorcycles following behind, all conducting a well choreographed routine to stop and block traffic to ensure the minister is driven from the VIP entrance lobby to his hotel in as little time as possible, regardless of what colour the traffic lights are on, the police BLOCK traffic coming from the sides so even if the lights are on red for the mini motorcade, they are able to pass swiftly through the lights, made even swifter by the fact that ALL the vehicles, including the Tambora have their blues on!

Carmel is a minister of an overseas government, and so is afforded a degree of protection, not quite the same level as would be given to a ruling head of state but even so its still one swift way to get through traffic. At the hotel, the police stop traffic from entering as the car is driven around the back entrance for VIPs rather than the front lobby which is exposed, and so the motorcade comes to a stop and a man comes down a set of polished stone stairs.

"Good morning Minister, Welcome to the Lake View Hotel, your room is waiting for you" says the concierge, he then looks at two men who take the baggage that the minister has "please, this way sir" says the concierge, gesturing to an elevator that rises up the outside of the building, this elevator gives a panoramic view, it has no hydraulics or cables, NO not this lift, for it uses magnetic linear induction propulsion just like the Shanghai Maglev, giving fast, smooth accelleration up from the ground floor to the assigned floor. 68 floors in around 30 seconds before gradually slowing as it reaches the floor and the hold brakes come on. There is an almost inaudible hiss as the brakes take hold and the doors slide open.

The view of the city below is one of a busy city by night, for even now just after Midnight there is in some places a traffic jam whilst in the far distance, the airport can be seen out in the lake on its large artificial island, (and where the press are gathered waiting for Carmel to arrive, yep coming to the WRONG airport does have its advantages!), Further round is an industrial site with one dark building with a glass front and a roof that looks to be filled with PV panels, whilst a short distance from the hotel is a funfair, a Rollercoaster going round its track at quite a speed.

The hotel room however can only be descrived as regal, with stunning views of the lake during the day for out in the darkness of the southern night as Hai'lu'kai is far enough south to have a temperate climate and proper nights, the city lights just STOP and there is just blackness beyond except for the airport.

[Aurora Confederacy]

MV Precision
Somewhere between Nikolia and Aurora Confederacy
06:00

A few hours earlier the sun had risen whilst Scorpio and Joanne made the best of their accommodation, lying each on a bunk, Ravage, Scorpio's little dog was lying on the pillow next to Joanne's head with her head on Joanne's soulder, a scene that looked quite peaceful, however the silence in the cabin is broken by the alarm, if you can call it that, as even when the cabin radio is turned off, the steady throb of two large diesel engines is never far away, gently vibrating the hull, it was this steady rhythmic vibrato that Ravage had tuned into, and much like when she is in the cab, settled off to sleep, though the beeping of the alarm brought Scorpio around, so she turned onto ViZion based news channel GNF.

The news was dominated by the Arklay Airlines jet that had crashed on its way from Woodstead, a chain of islands a few hundred kilometers to the north.

"Jo, Oi! JOANNE!" said Scorpio

Jo groaned "what now?"

"Check the news out" said Scorpio, pointing to the images of the burning jet

"oh bugger", said Joanne "Thats not good, how old is the jet?"

"Maybe a few months old" replied Scorpio, "now where's the lead?"

The very mention of "lead" brought Ravage's interest, she knew what that meant and started to jump and yap

Joanne picked up the lead, then holding one and and pulling it taught drew aim on Scorpio

"no Jo, please....." said Scorpio

Joanne then used the lead as a makeshift whip, striking, though not very hard, Scorpio's thighs

"OW!" said Scorpio

"revenge!" joked Joanne. The whipping was not meant to be hard or malicious, just minorly playful due to Scorpio waking Ravage up and causing the little dog to jump ON joanne!

Ravage soon calmed down when the lead was clipped to her collar and so with a couple of small bags in hand Scorpio went to the upper deck to walk the dog. Stepping outside, the air was frash thanks to the cool breeze that was blowing down from the south as well as due to the wind generated by the very movement of the ship moving forward. Joanne also followed Scorpio, locking the cabin behind her and taking time to relax, leaning on the rail, for this time tomorrow Nikolian FM radio signals will be in easy reach.

Out on the deck, Scorpio stops and leans on the railings, Joanne, a very close friend and confide, stands aside Scorpio with an arm across her shoulder,
"something's on your mind Scozzie, what is it?" asked Joanne

"Nothings on my mind, Just thinking. Thats All, every time I go quiet you think there's something wrong and so you worry too much Jo. Trust me I am fiiiine" was Scorpio's reply in a slightly tense voice, "anyway whats breakfast?"

"dunno, toast sounds good, perhas cereal, maybe a bowl for the dog, anyways lets head inside, its cool here" replied Joanne, "though we'll give the truck a check over first"

"yeah sounds a good idea", and so Scorpio with Joanne and Ravage made her way down to the truck. The trailer had now been sat for over 12 hours and so the suspension had dropped, not so much as being lowered but bottomed out though the cab had steel suspension so was sitting more normal. Scorpio handed Joanne the leash and unclipped the bullbar hinge, allowing it to hinge forward where she then flipped the grille up, pulling a rag that she keeps stuffed behind the grille, she also removed the oil stick, wiped it before putting it back in for a second to then remove it, with the fresh dip, Scorpio took a look at it.

The Oil was 3/4 full and black, Scorpio smiled and put the dipstick back, but also checked the reservoir for the wash tank before closing the grille and folding the bullbar back in place. Walking around the trailer Scorpio took measurements of the tyres, they seemed to be in parameter so as far as Scorpio was concerned she is good to go when she finally reaches Nikolia.

"Right, breakfast" said Scorpio, and so Scorpio and Joanne went inside the ship, unclipping Ravage's leash once they were inside the accomodation area allowing Ravage to follow behind Scorpio.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Project Aurora Earthwatch
South Sands

Shortly after the news came in of the airliner crashing, the head of scientific operations recieved a pager alert, so whilst lying in his bed he grabbed his phone and dialed the office.
"You rang" he said

"yes boss a plane leaving woodstead bound for Londsdale crashed in Zitru I think, they are not sure what happened but we do have the Nordic Challenger at sea, want me to divert?"

"yes Divert the ship to head town to the possible path of any debris, did it crash in Zitru waters?"

"No not exactly, news media shows the plane was tore open over water then limped into an airport where it then crashed"

"okay, right that may be indication of a pyrotechnic device, may be worth trying to see if something can be found IF it can be found, Where is the Nordic Challenger?"

"right now Sir, she's about a thousand kilometers West of new Heysham carrying out seabed mapping work under the command of Gavin James"

"yes, send him towards Zitru, see if you can get the course of the airliner and a time line, maybe we can work out where the bits fell into the ocean"

"yes sir", and so the office agent hung up allowing his boss to get back to bed, there was nothing he could do at this time so staff at the office took control.

Nordic Challenger, open ocean
Captain Gavin James stood confidently on the bridge as, though it was not his ship, for he is the captain of B-crew, the offical crew for the ship being A-crew under the command of Captain Robin Mariner, though she and the rest of her crew are undertaking a 90 day period of shore leave whilst B-crew take the vessel out to sea. Several decks below the bridge, the heat of this ship beats, two pressuriesed water reactors powering steam turbines to produce enough power to run a small city help power the ship sedately through the water for 2kms below the ship is ISIS, the Immersed Side-Scan Imaging System, this device resembling a V-tailed torpedo with wings is being gently pulled through the water gathering data of the sea bed as the ship moves slowly through the water.

It was at this point that the phone goes off.
"Nordic Challenger, Good morning. Captain Gavin James speaking"

"Good morning Gavin, can you pull what you are doing now please, We are going to reassign your operation"

"If you are pulling us like that, its got to be urgent"

"Sure is Gav, An airliner lost some bits and we want to send you to find them, possibly bodies too"

"jees thats not good, this the one thats all over the news?"

"yes, thats the one, now I will give you a couple of hours to pack up your experiments and start heading down towards ViZion's straits, in that time we may be able to get the rough data as to where the plane suffered the incident"

"okay, thanks, Nordic Challenger out"

Captain Gavin Jameson picked up the intercom
"ISIS crew, return ISIS to her cradle we have an important job on where ISIS could be bloody useful"

On the deck the deckboss gave the signal to winch the ISIS array back to the surface, and so the winch operator began to reel in the cable, a process that would take the best part of 20 minutes.

Back in the offices, Ed Harper picked up the phone and gave Arklay Airlines a call.

"Good morning, Sorry about the call, we heard about one of your planes on the news, I am Ed harper of Project Aurora Earthwatch, we have an asset in the water between Woodstead, Nikolia and Aurora Confederacy, Can I speak to your operations director please" asks Ed Harper

Back aboard ship
As soon as the yellow sensor unit came up onto the surface the large A-frame that was used to swing ISIS over the water was swung back over the ship and so crews secured ISIS for travel, Deck Boss Den Skar picked up his walkie talkie,
"Captain, Deckboss"

"Go ahead"

"Sir, ISIS is back aboard and stowed for transit"

"very well Den, bring your crew in"

"okay, Skar out" Den then waved his crew inside as the captain picked up the intercom, "Engineering, make revolutions for twenty five knots"

"Twenty five knots aye" came the reply and the line went quiet again

Down in the engine room the reactor technician turned advanced the engine controls and adjusted the pitch of the two screws. As the revolutions increased, 20 RPM, 25RPM 30RPM 40RPM and so on, the pitch increased in line with the rise in speed, 5 degrees, 10 degrees 30 degrees pitch, this loaded up the turbines and began to slow them, the circulation slowed a little allowing the coolant to get hotter and generate more steam which in turn helped speed up the turbines again, a further boost was also given when the control rods were withdrew a little further, exposing more of the enriched uranium fuel. It wasn't long before the Nordic Challenger responded with a steady increase in speed, 5 knots, 10, 15, 20 then eventually the maxumum speed of 25 knots!

[New Edom]

Tim and Catalina

The first movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony was a piece of music that Catalina genuinely loved. It was so joyous, and so fitting for their explorations of this wonderful space age city. She found herself brightening, lightening, and enjoying the sights around her. While home would always be home, she was nevertheless entranced and the bus itself was wonderful.

When they arrived, they both looked out at the view, at the beautiful room and smiled at one another. “Wow…look how high up we are, oh my gosh!” cried Catalna, slipping off her shoes and running barefoot to look at their view. “How high up…this must be one of the tallest buildings in the world.”

“No…it’s tall alright, it’s a huge hotel but it’s not even among the tallest,’ Tim said, putting an arm around her. She did not flinch, and for a short moment he was content. “This is a lovely room. I could get used to this.”

“It is, but you know, we did say we would call the children,” agreed Catalina. They both showered, and were relaxed without their confining clothing, and called Tim’s parents’ house in Lookinghaven.

“Hello!” roared his father.

“Papa, you don’t have to shout, this is not the old phone system, I can hear you perfectly,” said Tim, grinning.

“Oh, right. Hello son, how was your trip?” his father asked.

“It was great, we’ve traveled almost the length of Southern Acheron—this country is huge, unbelievable, we rode the same train the whole way, almost twice as fast as one of ours.” Tim said.
“That sounds too fast for me,” said his father. “I like to enjoy a leisurely journey, see the sights, stick my head out the window.”

“How are you doing Papa, how are Mama and the littles?”

“Doing fine, they’re just finishing breakfast, and then some gardening. Do you know I think this will be a very good season, it’s rained so much the tomatos are already shooting up.”

He and his father talked a little more; his father was working on a book on medicinal spices, his mother had taken over the neighborhood library and was writing an appeal for more funding. The kids, Tabby and Alby, had helped pick out some chickens at a local market to replace the ones that had been killed by metatheres. His parents complained that he and Catalina seemed to be ranging farther and farther away. The job market was improving in Lookinghaven, they were urged to return when Catalina’s term of service in Glasstower was up. Tabby and Alby talked about a soccer match they had played, about crafts they had done at school, and about the pet quail they had adopted from a local family that had to move. Catalina reluctantly said good bye last, and then they spent some time tidying up and getting ready to have a light snack before bed.

The Minister

“Thank you. Good morning,” said Carmel, nodding his head courteously. The Edomites were very polite, but in fact they were also terribly impressed with their surroundings. It made the Majestic Hotel, the best hotel they had, look very old fashioned (though it was still very beautiful and luxurious, it had a more old world slow feel to it.)

Nathaniel made sure that the staff were tipped appropriately, having checked with the hospitality industry’s chamber of commerce to find out what kinds of tips were liked—it was generous but not ridiculously so. The security staff had called ahead and coordinated with the hotel’s security, explaining that there would be two men outside the Minister’s door at all times. There had been a web of terrorist threats the previous year—they had quieted down significantly, but attacked embassies and abducted officials meant that they had to take few chances. The Council Police chosen were intimidating men with hard flinty eyes, alert minds and a readiness to use force, though they were also polite and well dressed.
“Plenty of time to rest, then have the meeting,” said the press secretary, “And you have calls from your wife, your sister, and the Senior Undersecretary, do you want to review them now?”

“Yes,” said Carmel, suppressing a yawn, “Let’s do that, then I want to get to bed, and the rest of you need some rest too. Looks like we narrowly avoided the scrum. I’d like a quick recap on the briefing on local and regional press please…”

[Aurora Confederacy]

Lake View Hotel
(Ministerial hotel)
Security at the Lake View Hotel is pretty clever, Guards on the hotel suiite door are just part of it, to even get into this part of the hotel there is a seperate security screen to go though consisting of 3 interlocked doors of which only one can be open at once, and only security can let you though. Again here, because this part of the hotel is used by VIPs, it has a dedicated police team. at each end of the corridor as well as by elevator doors. These are rotated every couple of hours and NEVER at the same time to keep any possibility of a routine down to zero, so all because one set of guards changed at 13:00 yesterday doesn't mean it will happen at 13:00 today. Usual hotel guests who may be on the same floor will never see the VIP part of the hotel for it may as well be a seperate building all inside one common shell.

Careful inspection of the glass reveals that this quinplex glass, yes 5 layers, is made of layers of laminated glass and ballistics resistant lexan, 3 layers of glass, 2 of lexan, and its double glazed, a clever feature is the electric screens that come down with the sun so that as the sun comes up in the morning the blinds are at their lowest, then as the sun rises they retract, and lower in the evening. taking the glare of the sun when its at low angles and so shining into the hotel room, for this suite has 7 rooms in it going from the eastern fascade to the western facade of the hotel across the southern facade so you get the sun in the morning, across the day and in the evening and a view of the lake.

Come the morning, the true size of the lake is evident, for it reaches out beyond the horizon making the lakeside city of Lake Hai'lu'kai feel like its on an ocean coast, which in someways is true as the sheer size of the lake means that on some days in winter, the lake can get quite rough.

---

As for tim and catalina, the bed is remarkably comfortable, the HGH as its known may have a grandiose name, and indeed excellent rooms though the price is also not too bad either. $100 per night.... NO the hotel, despite its luxury tops the prices at a mere $50 per night though to look at it you would not think so, which is partly why iots so big as it allows more people to be catered for. A cold breeze however is blowing onto the bed as the air conditioning of the room is blowing down onto the bed, making it a little more bareable. This can of course be turned off by Tim or Catalina, and in keeping with the surroundings, by remote control.

[Londsdale]

Arklay Airways Campus - Central Operations Center, Arklay, Londsdale

---

"Yes. Thank you. We appreciate all the help we can get at the moment. Goodbye."

Martin Dalton rubs his forehead and sighs while a smartly-dressed young woman approaches him.

"What is it?"

"Someone from Project Aurora Earthwatch called. He said they had a ship that could help find parts of 308 and...bodies. Any update on the situation in Zitru?"

"Nothing new apart form what you're seeing on the screens."

Martin stares at the large main screen hanging from the ceiling of the operations center. On a normal day, it would be showing the positions of every Arklay Airways aircraft in flight around the world, but today, it was showing the images of a burning wreckage with an iconic purple tail barely visible through the thick, black smoke rising in the sky.

"What a mess. Have the press been rounded up in the conference room?"

"Yes."

"Thanks Gabrielle. You take over while I handle them."

Arklay Airways Campus - Conference Room A2 , Arklay, Londsdale

---

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being patient. As you know, we've had a plane go down in Zitru. Now we still don't know much at this point, but from our communications with the aircraft before it went down, we can say that a mechanical failure has caused a explosive decompression onboard. Emergency services in New Massenee are doing their best to put out the flames as we speak. We have heard that there have been 7 fatalities, but have do not know who they are yet and if there are more from the crash itself. There were 163 passengers and crew on the flight and we are working on contacting the families of those people.

We will be keeping you updated on the situation and I trust that you will not listen to speculation. All information not coming from us are assumed to be coming from unreliable sources unless otherwise specified. Thank you for your time."

The typical hubub of the press fills the room as Martin leaves.

Arklay Capital International Airport - Terminal 1, Arklay, Londsdale

---

Despite the crash of AW308 being on almost every screen in the airport, it was business as usual. At the check-in counters of Arklay Airways, the lines were still there despite a few dozen passengers cancelling their tickets. Meanwhile, a ground service agent makes an announcement at one of the gates.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Arklay Airways flight 310 to Oppidum is now boarding for First Class. Passengers occupying rows 1 to 6, please approach the gate. Thank you."

As the plane slowly fills with people, the flight attendants onboard smile and greet the passengers like they usually do. Eventually, everyone is seated and the attendants make their final rounds. As one of them goes around, a young man calls her.

"Good morning, sir. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Rather glumly, he responds. "Are we safe? Are we going to be safe?"

With a comforting smile, the attendant nods. "There's nothing to worry about, sir. This is a new aircraft with the best pilots onboard."

"New...just like the one that crashed..."

[Aurora Confederacy]

As the Nordic Challenger forged headlong through the water, its two reactors pushing 40MW of power out of their cores, the captain calls a meeting in the rest room
"okay guys, here's the rub. An airliner tore itself apart over open ocean, we are steaming as we speak to the area where we believe it came apart, our job is to locate any debris that may lead to clues, after which we are then to retrive the piece without damaging it, after that we are to sail to Londsdale, the debris is then to be transferred to the Londsdale TSA. Its going to take a couple of days I think to get to the search area so on the way down, we will get the satellite data to find out where it came apart. Aparently it is now just a burning hulk of an airliner at an airport somewhere in the USZ. There is a good chance we may find bodies, we don't know how many, like Aloha airlines seven three seven that lost its top there may only be one fatality, but there may as many as thirty depending on how many seats came out. As it stands now, all options are open and foul play has not been ruled out so work hard to preserve any forensic evidence, crew DiiiiisMISS!"

[The Dogma States]

"You have quite the schedule ahead of you, Father." Mac was reminded about his own hardships when he was a little boy, abuse and poverty and such. That was when the government and the economy just completely crashed in Dogma when a bunch of pro-democrats overthrew the government. A Secret Police was going around, making people disappear, including his older brother. But since then, the original government regained power, and managed to fix everything again. Mac's eye's started to tear up a little when he thought about his childhood, but he managed to hold back his tears, as he too emotional about it. "Maybe sometime i'll visit your parish, while i'm still in Aurora.." he said, with a soft smile on his face.

"No worse than any other priest who has duties" says the priest, "after all it is not my work, but God's calling, and its not a bad job either, the lord gives his perks, I don't even have to pay for trains, the church pays that by giving me a rail card. I don't agree with secret police, it brings so much anxiety within a country, here you can say what you want about the government and when you want, or even HOW you want and you won't get arrested, the police won't even come and bug your house. We do have cameras watching our every move however and you will have to get used to speakers playing music in every hotel and public building, but thats the price of civil freedom" By now Mac's train is around a third of the way to South Sands as the catering trolley was pushed down the corridor, stopping at Mac's cabin, there came a knock on the door.

"Speaking of Secret Police, i grew up in a brutal one when i was a child," "A bunch of Pro-"Democrats" overthrew the government back then and were afraid that there were "terrorists" who would endanger Dogma's newfound "Freedom". It didn't feel like it, the economy completely crashed and a lot of citizens disappeared.." Mac stared out blankly, hi eyes were kinda glassy looking. "Including my older brother unfortunately, i don't know what happened to him. No One even knows what the "police" did." Mac sighed, as the catering trolley came around knocking. He asked the guy if they carried liquor of some sorts.

Sorry for not posting lately, i am busy this week.

[Londsdale]

The wreck of Arklay Airways 308, New Massenee, Zitru

---

"Urrrgh..."

Rich groans as he regains consciousness. He sees his reflection in the broken screen in front of him and notices he's bleeding heavily from his forehead. Beside him, the pregnant mother is slumped over in her seat and eerily still. The groans and screams of other passengers in the plane complement the noise of the roaring blaze outside. Despite being huge, the fire has miraculously not broken into the cabin...yet.

"Mum? Mummy? Help me..."

The small voice of a child comes from across the aisle. One of the pregnant woman's kids is pinned in between her seat and debris. Getting his seatbelt off, Rich reaches over and pulls the trapped child free.

"Hey. Let's get you out, alright?"

Heading through a break in the port side of the cabin, Rich and the child make their way outside.

"M...my mum and brother...They're still in there..."

"I know. I'm going back for them alright? What's your name?"

"Anna..."

A short distance away, Rich spots Grace telling survivors to get away from the aircraft. He shouts to get her attention and brings the child to her.

"Grace, this is Anna. Her family's still trapped inside. I need you to watch her while I go get them."

"Are you crazy?!" Grace protests. "It's too dangerous! The emergency services are coming. I need you to get away from this plane!"

Ignoring her orders, Rich runs back to the plane despite his own injuries.

"RICHARD! Oh...Oh honey. C'mon. We have to move."

Looking back at Rich entering the plane again, Grace bites her lip and takes Anna with her away from the burning aircraft. Back inside the cabin, Rich finds Anna's mother crying as she panics while trying to undo her seatbelt.

"Hey...let me help you. Your daughter's safe with a flight attendant."

"Oh god! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! Please get me out! My Kids!"

"Shhh. Calm down. It's gonna be okay. What's your name? Are you hurt?"

"Alice...and...n..no. I don't think so."

Rich gives her a quick examination and is relived to find she's alright. The seatbelt finally frees the panicking mother and Rich leads her outside.

"Get away from here as far as you can. I'm going to go get your son."

For a second time, Rich goes back into the cabin where Alice's son was. Pulling debris off him, he's sickened to find that the child has been badly injured. A piece of debris has pierced the child's side and his shirt is soaked with blood. He's a deathly pale color and Rich fears the child is dead. With trembling hands, he feels for a pulse and finds it, though it's very weak. He carefully lifts the child with the debris still through his side since it acts as a plug to stop further bleeding. Outside, he finds Grace running back towards the aircraft.

Panting, she tells Richard the news. "Anna's safe with her mother. I had to come back."

"Here, take him to a medic quickly. He's lost a lot of blood."

"You take him. I'm going in to see if everyone made it out. You're also hurt."

"It's too dangerous now. The smoke's too thick."

This time, Grace ignores Rich and makes a dash towards the aircraft. He's forced to pull her along with him as thick smoke escapes from the break in the fuselage he just went through.

"No! No! There are people in there!"

A medic who's just arrived sees them and runs towards them with a few other men. He takes the child from Rich's arms.

"Here, We'll take him. Get this kid to an ambulance!"

With the child in safe hands, Rich starts pulling a hysterical Grace away from the plane just as the flames finally push their way into the cabin and ignites it. The burning fire rolls through the plane like a train, incinerating everything - and everyone - inside. The resulting blast of the fuel tanks exploding afterwards knocks Rich and Grace to the ground as shrapnel is launched into the air. An engine fan embeds itself into the ground mere inches away from them as a mushroom cloud rises into the air.

Temporarily deafened and disoriented by the explosion's shockwave, Rich feels himself being half-dragged and half-carried away from the wreck. He notices Grace being carried on a fireman's back, screaming. a short distance away, Alice and her children are getting into an ambulance. She manages to mouth "thank you" to him before they are taken away. As his vision and hearing improve, he's bombarded by the sounds of sirens and emergency workers shouting and the sight of survivors frozen in place, staring blankly at the burning aircraft.

"130...131...132..."

As Richard finally completely recovers from being dazed, flight attendants are counting the number of survivors.

"133...134...135...136..."

He thinks to himself, "There's got to be more. There's got to be more than that."

"137...138...139..."

A flight attendant places her hand on his shoulder and offers him a bottle of water.

"Thank you..."

"No, thank you..."

He looks up and sees Grace smiling at him.

"If you hadn't pulled me out...I...I would've died. Thank you, Rich..."

[Zitru]

United States of Zitru
John F. Kennedy International Airport - New Massenee City, Zitru
Saturday, June 1, 2014 - 10:22AM EST

The fire service and the paramedics drove along the main runway of John F. Kennedy International Airport toward the crashed Arklay Airways plane. “There seems to be a lot of wreckage,” said one of the paramedics, Stephen Anderson, “but we’ll need to help the survivors before we do anything else.” His partner in the ambulance nodded. They could both see that there were maybe a little more than one hundred survivors, fighting for their lives, escaping the aircraft in a hurry - both adults and children, some who couldn’t even walk yet. It brought back a horrific memory for Stephen. Both his parents dying in a crash at the very same airport. Today, he could make up for his loss by saving the lives of others.

Five fire trucks and six ambulances, with more on the way, were stationed around the plane putting out fires and dragging bodies from the wreckage of the plane. Stephen lifted up a child and placed her on a stretcher while he wheeled her over to his ambulance. “What’s your name, little girl?” he asked. The girl coughed and said in a croaky tone, “Anna. My mom is in there!”
“Your mom will be fine, Anna. And so will you. We’ll get you and your mom to the hospital and we’ll make sure you’re both alright.”

OOC: Apologies for the rather short and boring reply. I’d do more, but I’m on my phone at work so this is the best I could do under the circumstances. I’ll get another much more detailed one up by either later tonight or early tomorrow morning - before I leave for work.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Project Aurora Earthwatch offices
Saturday Morning

Ed harper, sat at the desk of a large office as he manned the night shift had a lot of calls to make, he then rang back the offices of Arklay International Airlines

"Good morning, Sorry to bother you, but do your aircraft give live feed telemetry data? if so can you find the time and location as to where the plane suffered the depressurisation, that will hopefully enable us to narrow down the search area. Our ship, Nordic Challenger, is heading to the search area right now at around twenty five knots I am also about to dispatch a second survey aircraft to follow the course of the airliner from Woodstead, I will keep you informed of any progress" he says in a calm, matter-of-fact voice.

As soon as he is off the phone to Arklay he is on the phone to Lake Hai'lu'kai "Doug, Have you got the TriStar ready? put the optics pod on its wing and head to woodstead then get the flight path to Arklay International Airport, After that I want your pilot to follow the path at five hundred feet over the water, there may be oil, debris or anything on the water that may or maynot be airliner related, if it is make a note of it and the direction of waves so when the Challenger gets on scene it has a narrowed down search area"

"Okay Ed, Have you informed the Transport Safety Board?"

"Not yet Doug, just get a pilot out there and see what you can find"

Doug then hung up and made his way to the hangar where a white Tristar L1011 sat in the hangar, shortly arriving at the airport Doug made his way quickly to the pilots lounge where he began to file a flight path to Woodstead airport, during this time he was also joined by a couple of other crew members,

"Okay, we have to help locate debris for the Nordic Challenger, its still a few days out but if we can get there and get a good look of debris on the water it will be idea, we will be quite low so it may well be a bumpy flight"

"how high we gonna be sittin' Doug?"

"Bout five hundred feet at around two hundred or two fifty knots"

"Departure time Doug?"

"soon, thats all I can say"

And so it was, Doug and his team prepared to get airborne in the L1011.
Down in the hangar technicians were in the process of removing the covers and going over the aircraft ready for Doug to inspect and remove the red tags, its APU sits humming away keeping the air conditioning running, and so keeping the aircraft cool inside....

[Ghant]

"A Ghantish Visit to Nikolia"
Beograd, Nikolia

Odo Grizulmak had a big task ahead of him, one that filled him with apprehension. He was scheduled to meet with Viktorija Petrovic, Prime Minister of Nikolia. He was whisked away from the airport in Beograd straight to the Capitol Building in a black Mercedes provided by Petrovic herself. Upon arriving at the seat of government, and walking in, he could feel the anxiety build up in his chest, his heart pounding like a drum and his skin feeling cold.

Viktorija was sitting in her office and waiting for a diplomat from Ghant to arrive, while watching the news about the recent air crash of Arklay Air. She was not nervous about the meeting as she already had a lot of diplomatic talks in before. Finally, the office assistant entered her office and notified her about the arrival of the diplomat. She straightened her skirt and left the office to the meeting hall of the parliament building where diplomat would be welcomed. The meeting hall was a big, well decorated room with journalists at the right and three flags at the left, the flag of Nikolia, Astyria and Ghant respectively. In front of the flags, two lecterns with coat of arms of both nations put on the outer side. She stood in the middle of the room waiting for the doors in front of her to open.

Upon finally reaching the door of the Prime Minister's office, he began to tremble. Then the door opened, and waiting inside was a tender looking woman with a big smile, blond hair and bright blue eyes. He was immediately disarmed.

After a minute of waiting, which is enough from the main entrance to the room, the door was opened by the two Royal Guardsmen revealing a tall, dark haired diplomat. He approached the Prime Ministress and offered a handshake while introducing himself to the blonde Prime Ministress.

"Greetings, Lady Prime Minister. I am Odo Grizmulak, a diplomat in the service of Ghant. And please, call me Odo." He offered a handshake and a warm, affectionate smile. She returned with a handshake and a smile, and then looked at the journalists for the picture.

"Welcome Mister Odo, I am Viktorija Petrovic, Prime Minister of The Nikolian Empire...Shall we?" she said while showing towards lecterns.

"Yes, please. It would be an honor, my lady."

They then headed towards lecterns, each on their side to answer some questions for journalists. Viktorija took her place, moved the microphone closer to her mouth and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for coming. Today we are welcoming our long awaited guests from the nation of Ghant. In the recent memory we had visits from Ghant, but now we are opening and spreading new ways into the world.”

“We will work on upgrading the relationship between our nations with more frequent visits from both sides, as well as series of bilateral agreements between our two nations that will be discussed with Mr. Odo today. Any questions?" She said in Serbian.

In the crowd of journalists a raised hand could be seen. Viktorija pointed out towards it and the person emerged from the crowd. "Hello, Milos from RTN, I have a question for Mr. Odo Grizmulak, Mr. Odo, what interests or benefits do your nation see in having a diplomatic relations with Nikolia?"

"Nikolia, like Ghant, is an Empire. We share common institutions as a result. Monarchies in the world are decreasing as republics emerge in their place. Birds of a feather must flock together, after all. I am sure many in Nikolia might agree with me on that."

"I must agree with Mr. Odo, I also think that monarchies, as the dying trend must stick together in order to preserve their power, people and surely the long history behind them. That is the main reason of Mr. Odo's visit today" added Viktorija, then asked "Any more questions?" then searched the crowd for raised hand.

A hand shot up. "For Mr. Odo. What was your first impression of the Prime Minister?"
Odo laughed. "She is a beautiful woman, and gracious as well. I think that if all the women of Nikolia are like her, I can see our nations getting along very well."

Viktorija looked at Mr. Odo with a bit mad look then replied: "Of course, our women are very beautiful...any more questions?"

Another hand shot up. "This question is for Petrovic. How else do you think Nikolia can benefit from having a relationship with Ghant?"

"Well, our largest benefit is opening a new market for our industries, spreading them to other regions so we can have more customers. Also, we will try to discuss export/import policies that apply to our nations."

"This question is also for Petrovic. Will the Nikolian Imperial Family be attending the ball in Albicia?"

"Well, that question is for the Family, I am not adequate person to answer that question"

"Would you be open to a visit from the Ghantish royal family?"

"Well of course! I prefer going on meetings where I am invited. So, if the royal family invites me, I will gladly accept the invitation."

"This question is for Petrovic. How do you feel about Ghantish Prime Minister Yula Zimya, who is not only a socialist, but the primary architect of the Ghantish Republic Referendum, which failed narrowly? What was your reaction to the referendum?"
"I must admit I was rather happy to see that people of Ghant had trusted in the monarchist system and their Emperor. I am also happy to see that Nikolia is politically very stabile country, and its people don’t have any objections on our Tsar."

"Anymore questions?" No more hands shot up. "That will be all, then." And with that, Odo waltzed over to the Prime Minister for the private meeting.

"Mr. Odo, this way" Said Viktorija and pointed towards the doors of her office which were guarded by the two Royal Guardsmen. The couple entered the big, well decorated and well lighted room filled with books. At the left corner was a big desk with bunch of papers and at the right were two sofas with a small desk between it.

Viktorija pointed towards two sofas, and then she sat on the left one, waiting for Mr. Odo to sit as well.

Odo took a seat, and put his feet up. "Nice office you have here, my lady."

"I really love it, it has a nice view." Replied Viktorija then continued "Would you like something to drink?"

"Please, I would love something to drink."

"Marija, come please. Could you bring me the coffee, and what Mr. Odo wants? Mr. Odo, coffee?"

"I was hoping for some wine, my lady. Coffee is not very popular in Ghant."

"Oh, I didn't know that, I am sorry. Marija, bring us the '62 Katovice wine. I hope you will like it Mr. Odo."

"Oh, I am sure I will. I have found that there are few things about Nikolia that I dislike."

"Really? What do you dislike about our wonderful motherland?"

"Not a thing, my lady."

"I thought so." She replied with a smile then continued. "What shall we discuss Mr. Odo?"

"Anything that pleases you, my lady."

"Please, tell me more about your government's policies."

"Well, Nikolia is absolute monarchy, so government has limited jurisdiction. Most of the stuff we decide to do must be approved by the Tsar personally, so it’s a bit tiring."

"Ghant was similar to Nikolia in that respect, up until the Mad Emperor of Ghant and his reign of terror. After his death, the people and the lords both insisted on the Obsidian Throne having reduced powers. They still have many, granted, but their role in government and in the military is now what it used to be."

"There is also one thing in Nikolia. Although it is absolute monarchy, it has a Constitution which gives rights to civilians. We have the democratic part of the government, which consists of me and my ministers. We have jurisdiction on our areas, which is doing the internal businesses, of course with the consent of the Tsar."

"What about Ghant? How is it there? I always wanted to visit Ghant but never had an opportunity. I hope I will visit soon."

"Ghant is very big, and very cold, and sparsely populated. Most people are governed locally, and the Empire's jurisdiction is tenuous at best."

"Reminds me to ask you, what is Ghant's policy on Imperialism and having colonies?"

"Ghant has a series of ancient laws, referred to as the "Old Laws". Being Imperialistic and having colonies beyond the continent of Ghant is condemned by them and the Ghantish states have always respected and honored that. As a result, Ghant is not imperialistic, nor has it ever had colonies."

"Having said that, what other countries choose to do, that is up to them, and Ghant has respect for that."

"So, Ghant won't have problems with Nikolia I guess... Anyways, tomorrow we will go to visit some important places in Beograd as per plan"

"No problems whatsoever, my lady. Ghant's first priority is to make friends, and keep them. Especially with like minded nations with monarchies."

"It would be an honor to see Beograd and all that it is to offer. Are you from Beograd, perchance?"

"Yes, I was born in a northern suburb of Beograd. Very nice place filled with parks and small ponds. I know Beograd very well actually, as I was born, and lived here my whole life. Where are you from, if I may ask?"

"That sounds very pleasant, much like Ghish from your description. I was born in Ashengard, my lady, on the lake."

"I just love long walks by the river in Beograd, especially at fall. It makes the whole city to be covered in yellow and red leafs that basically color the whole city. Unfortunately, cause of the nature of my work, I have no time for walks anymore." Viktorija said, sighing.

"Perhaps we can have that walk tomorrow, then. State business, after all." Odo smiled.

"Oh, I will be honored!" Replied Viktorija with a visible joy on her face

"Good. And if at some point I might gain an audience with the Emperor, I would be much obliged. I come bearing fruits from our own Emperor."

"Well, His Royal Highness is currently in his Palace in Carigrad, roughly 500km northeast from Beograd. If that is your wish, I will try my best to meet Him."

"Very good. I appreciate your efforts. Tell me, my lady, is there anything else that you wise to discuss at this time?"

"Nothing is coming on my mind. Do you have any more questions, or something you want to discuss?"

"Not at the moment. I am sure that you are a busy woman, and have other important tasks at hand."

"Actually yes, but I don't want to drive away our new guest, it will be rude."

"You are too kind, my lady. I can see why you are Prime Minister. I shall excuse myself, so that you may be free."

"I hope that I was a good host today, excuse me if there were any inconveniences...."Smiled Viktorija and offered a handshake to Mr. Odo

"You were a most gracious host, and I was not inconvenienced in anyway." Odo returned the smile and shook her hand. "All of Ghant shall know of how delightful you are."

Viktorija then moved towards the doors, knocked twice, which caused the big wooden doors to open, then escorted Mr. Odo to the car. They left the building to the rear exit where 3 black cars were waiting for Mr. Odo to drive him to his suite in Golden Eagle hotel.

"Mr. Odo, I really enjoyed today, see you tomorrow" smiled Viktorija

"And I as well. Enjoy the rest of the day, my lady" smiled Odo. Then he got into the car.

The cars started moving away from the doors around the big fountain and off the complex with the sound of gravel being pressed by the weight of the cars. As the cars left the complex, Viktorija returned to her office to deal with her daily routine.

[Zitru]

United States of Zitru
John F. Kennedy International Airport - New Massenee City, Zitru
Saturday, June 1, 2014 - 3:50PM EST

It seemed to Stephen and his partner, Jack, that most of the passengers aboard the crashed plane survived. Which was quite miraculous considering how hard the plane hit the ground, and seeing the raging fires that were being put out, as well as the huge explosion. Both men, as well as a large number of other paramedics, continued to carry wounded and injured passengers from the runway into the ambulances, as more had arrived from the local hospital to help. Stephen noticed there was a pregnant woman sitting on the runway, looking pale and very traumatized. “Hello ma’am, what’s the matter?” asked Stephen.
The woman responded with a whimper, “I think I’m about to give birth!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you to the hospital. Come on, I’ll take you there in the ambulance right now.” Stephen said as he put his arm over the woman’s shoulder and walked her over to Jack to put in the ambulance.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Lake Hai'lu'kai airport

In the Tristar L1011, the pilot, Douglas Snow and copilot, Amber Johannssen, went through the checklist as the engineer began the job of starting the engines. First to wind up into life was the no2 engine situated deep in the tail of the Tristar, this was followed by the no1 and no3 engines

Amber keyed the mic "Lima Hotel Kilo tower, Geostar one"

"Roger Geostar one" came the reply from the tower

"request permission to taxi to runway zero nine, over"

"Geostar one, proceed to holding point bravo runway zero nine"

"hold point Bravo Runway Zero nine confirm"

Amber leaned over to the throttles and flicked the brakes off and slowly advanced them as Doug eased the steering to begin taxiing, slowly the white 3-engined aircraft made its way to the hold point as an Avija Valkyr 777 followed in behind a Krjdan airlines aircraft and given the distance between the area used primarily by Project Aurora for its various operations, and the runway which is some 6km in length, it took 25 minutes to taxi.

"Geostar one, at hold point"

"Roger Geostar, after this landing proceed onto runway and take off when ready"

"roger, proceed onto runway after landing aircraft and take off when ready, confirmed"

Doug took the controls as the Trans Polar Airlines Comet 4 kissed the runway then as instructed followed the comet onto the runway and turned the aircraft to face down the runway, he looked at Amber and nodded.
"here we go" says Amber as both her and Doug push the throttles forward.

The 3 engines wound up to full power and though slowly at first the Tristar soon starts to charge down the runway and lifted off well before half way down the runway, and so as the plane lifted off Doug eased back on the stick as Amber brought the wheels up, watching Lake Hai'lu'kai dissappear into the distance below as the Tristar climbed out bound for woodstead. The aircraft was not scheduled to actually land at Woodstead but follow the course of the Arklay Airlines airliner.

"Geostar one, handing you over to one four five decimal six zero" called the tower

"One four five decimal six zero, roger. Have a nice day Geostar one handing over" called Doug who then dialed in the UHF frequency 145.60.

"Control one four five decimal six zero, Geostar one good morning"

"recieving you Geostar, proceed to flight level three two, heading two seven zero, maintain flight level three two, that will keep you below the commercial traffic"

"Control, geostar, proceed flight level three two, heading two seven zero, maintain level three two and heading, confirmed, have a nice day"

And so it was, the first of many search aircraft was now in the air, heading to the location where the Arklay jet came apart, the crew settled into their routine, preparing the equipment for the search, in a few hours they will be flying over the search area in a race-track pattern whilst the Nordic Challenger some 35000 feet below, when it arrives at least, will begin a pattern known simply as "mowing the lawn".

[Aurora Confederacy]

Ludwig's family home
As the sun rose, Nebo stirred and began to wake, yet somehow she could not feel her arm, not because of any medical reason, more because she had been lying in a strange position and so when she moved, there was a hot tingling sensation as circulation was returned to her arms, "yowa bloody hell, pins and needles god dammit!" she says as she reaches over for a long T-shirt to put on, the fact that the T-shirt belonged to Ludwig did not matter, she put it on anyway.

ever the joker however, Nebo reaches down for a bra, then as Ludwig sleeps she places the cups across Ludwig's chest and reaches around behind him to try and get the clasp done up, oh dear what will he think when he wakes up IN A BRA!, she also gets her lipstick and puts a hindu spot on his forehead whilst Ludwig is fast asleep, trying desperately hard NOT to wake him!

Once dressed, wearing a pair of trainers, jeans, one of luddie's T-shirt and a white blouse, Nebo, innocently walks down stairs to the kitchen just waiting to hear what Luddie is going to say when he wakes up. Upon entering the kitchen she smiles to whoever is in there as she walks to the kettle and begins to bring it to the boil.

[Zitru]

(Zitru)

The black Ando Chieftain pulled up to BLUE C-100-252 parking spot on the first floor. Nick Turner stepped out of the vehicle, his finely tailored black pinstripped suit fitting his lean body just perfectly. Pulling out his Sunbeat M100 phone, he called Arnold Böhler's assistant. After a couple moments on the phone, he was able to locate where Arnold was - Hillden Restaurant. While it was a bit on the expensive side, it was one of the better choices in that area of the airport.

After several minutes of walking, Nick walked up to the hostess at the Hillden. "Hello, I'm here to meet Arnold Böhler." he said. "Oh, yes. Right this way, sir." the young girl said, smiling. He followed the friendly brunette to the table Arnold was sitting at, waiting for his steak. "Mr. Böhler, Nick Turner. Sorry about the wait, we hit some traffic, stuck behind an accident." Nick mentioned, reaching his hand out to shake.

---

Constitutional Federal Republic of ViZion
Vitalita International Airport - Vitalita, ViZion
Saturday, June 1, 2014 - 9:22PM EST

Arnold smiled and shook Nick's hand as he greeted him. “Hello Mr. Turner!” he said as he let go of his hand, “I must say I’ve been looking forward to meeting you in person.” The two had a short conversation while Arnold finished his meal and Nick had a few drinks. When the men were finished, they both left the restaurant for Nick’s car. While they were walking, Nick spoke, “I heard about the unfortunate accident at JFK yesterday, almost hitting a Destiny plane!”
“Oh, yes. It was a very close call! Mr. Eisner phoned me while I was waiting on my meal to tell me about the incident!” Arnold replied.
“The passengers aboard the Arklay Airways flight seem to all be alright, which is good,” Nick said as he smiled at Arnold.

It was going to be a good trip for Arnold, especially getting to meet the president of the largest airline in the world - which was an honor. It would also be an enjoyable trip since he’d get to see Vitalita, one of the most well-known cities in the nation of ViZion. They reached Nick’s car, a black Ando Chieftain, a very nice car indeed. Before he stepped inside, Arnold admired the car closely, bending down slightly to get a quick look at the wheels. “We’d better hurry up Arnold. We’ve got a lot to discuss!”
Arnold nodded at Nick, “Apologies. I was admiring your beautiful car, Mr. Turner!”

[Aurora Confederacy]

Saturday
11:30 Hrs
1200km East of Nikolia

As the ship headed on its course, Scorpio was expecting a night time arrival, probablly somewhere between midnight and 3am, that is only twelve hours away and so with Joanne still trying to sleep, Scorpio makes her way to the dining hall with Ravage following close behind though the little dog stopped to sniff at various doors though soon she runs back up to Scorpio.

Passing Ivan's cabin she scribbles a note down and slips it under the door

Ivan

Meet me in my cabin or the lounge
later on today before we berth

Many Thanks,
S. Mirala

in the dining room Scorpio is greeted by the humm of the vending machines that help keep the chocolate cold, walking over to the vending machine she puts a few Dirham in it and presses her selection. It takes a moment or two for the vending machine to process her request then the spiral rotates and the cold chocolate bar rattles to the bottom, Ravage runs to the vending machine, her tail wagging for she knows that her owner has just had some food and is hopeful for some choc to eat however Scorpip has other ideas

"Sorry dog, this one is MIIIIIINE" she says as she retrives the Squirrel Bar from the vending machine then her change which was then used to get a couple of coffees in the morning. Placing the coins in the coffee machine, again Scorpio made her selection and looks down at the dog as the vending machine delivers its drink of coffee, a repeat selection is ordered off the machine and when that is made Scorpio makes her way to a table, again followed by Ravage who puts her paws on Scorpio and gives a wide-eyed look.

The look is irresistable and so Scorpio places the plastic cup on the floor, clicks her fingers and points at the cup, it didn't take long for Ravage to get the hint and so her snout goes in the cup and the drink, well that is soon lapped up for the little Bichon Frise has developed a taste for uniquench! As Ravage laps up the coffee, Scorpio drinks hers and so relaxes.

[Neu Engollon]

CATCHING UP
THURSDAY NIGHT
ZURICH CANTON, NEU ENGOLLON

As Nebo curled up on Luddie's lap, he stroked her head, for lack of hair to stroke. It had been a long day of travel for both of them.

His mother walked into the room a few minutes after,
"Honey, will you two be ne...awww. Well. Tough day, huh?" She looked down on Nebo, "Well...I was going to say I was going to fix dinner for you two, but that your brothers and sisters might not make it in tonight, but...well..."

"Yeah, Ma. I think Nebo's just wiped here. I don't know that she'll wake up until later...or even be hungry." She was quietly snoring from exhaustion.
"I'm a little hungry, though."

"I'll bring you a plate. I'll save some for her for when she wakes up. I think we'll shoot for a brunch instead to have everyone meet."

"Good plan, Ma."

"What a dear. She's a cutie, son."

"Thanks, Ma."

Luddie ate while Nebo slumbered on in his lap. Experience with eating on the go paid off as he didn't get a crumb on her.
Pops sat in a recliner, sipping a 81 Ale, a Burgunden Breu favorite that Luddie kept the family well stocked on with his major company discount. Pops regailed him with stories and caught him up on the general state of the family.
Eventually, Pops retired to join his wife in bed. Luddie scooped up Nebo and moved her to the guest bedroom where they slumbered until the morning.

FRIDAY

The next morning, as Nebo boiled water for tea, Mrs. Reltz walked in, grabbing a tin filled with different tea packets.
"Here ya go, dear. Take your pick." She put the tin down on the counter near her, "We have a pretty good selection. The boys like coffee, so I tend to treat myself to a few different kinds and stock up.
I'm glad you and Luddie found each other. I know he likes being on the road and the carefree lifestyle, but I've always hoped he would settle down...I guess. Maybe I've said too much. Anyway, we'll be having brunch in a couple hour-."

"WHAT THE COZZFICK?!!" came distinctly from upstairs, as Luddie could be heard echoing from the bathroom. He had caught sight of himself all dolled up by Nebo. Later, as Nebo and his Ma were sipping tea at the table and chatting, he came down, looking as if nothing had happened, but hair a bit ruffled. He poured a mug of coffee, fixed it up and sat, glaring at Nebo.
"Funny." Was all he could manage to say.

At brunch, Nebo met the whole family. Uncle Harald and his grown kids, and some of their kids came over, along with Luddie's sister and family came over and they laughed, ate, then played card games afterwards. Someone put music on and a few of the younger ones danced in the living room. The adults had coffee, then desert liqueur and tasty cakes as they chatted, played cards and shared stories.

Later, Luddie and Nebo went out and toured Burgunden, taking the Metro back in towards the city. They saw the Giger Art Museum, walked around Confederacy and Mierholdt Parks; Ran around Toft Circle; They went to the main Burgunden Breuerie and had late snacks and beers at the adjoining BreuPub, the original. Nebo snapped lots of pictures with her camera and Luddie talked about his city. They went by massive skyscrapers, as Burgunden had learned to cram 14 million people vertically in order to fit in all the work, recreational and living space possible. From the elevated parts of the Metro, one could view mid-building level gardens or pools, with massive pillars supporting the rest of the enclosed floors. Then they took a brief visit to the East side, where decay had started to set in and gritty living could be seen everywhere. People went about their business, but they didn't wear suits or check the time on fancy watches. There were bright spots on the East side, too, like impressive old architecture and old theaters that hadn't quite hit their structural decline, yet.
After riding the Metro back to Hirzenbach, they changed, refreshed and went out to the clubs like Nova, Black Box and Starsquint.
Luddie wasn't much of a club guy, but watching Nebo's first visits to Neu Engollian clubs was quite worth it.
Eventually, even though she probably wanted to stay out longer, they made it back as Ludwig couldn't take it anymore.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

The next morning, Saturday, Nebo and Luddie finally rolled out of bed. His Ma and Pops had the television on and were enraptured and horrified by the coverage of the Arklay Airlines crash. Danny was there too, as he sometimes stayed over at his parents' place.
Apparently, a passenger jet had crashed in Zitru, having flown out of Woodstead.

"Arklay...Ya, that's in Londsdale, right? I think so."

"Yes, dear, they already said that on the TV." His Ma turned up NETV News 4, the major news channel of the Confederacy. Not consciously trying to drown out Ludwig, but sort of annoyed by his hungover fuzziness.

They were going to get set for their train journey north to the KERZ region that day, and as they packed, they checked up on the news throughout the morning. It sounded pretty bad.

Luddie gave Nebo a hug.
"Kinda glad we're not flying now. Taking the train and all. Not to make light of events, but you're going to love it up there."

[Costa Aluria]

19 June 2014
South Sands, Aurora Confederacy
Early Morning

Teovasi awoke to the sounds of the wind whipping the tent fly. With the heavy wind rolling out with the tide at the point a few miles outside the city, the sound was greatly amplified inside his temporary home. "Why they chose nuclear power from this site is beyond me; all this wind goes to waste," Teovasi thought to himself. But the fact remained: he could no longer sleep. The term "sleep" was a bit of an overstatement as it was, what with all the light. Aurora Confederacy, with its namesake in light, might get its share of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. But this time of year it is about light of a different kind. With the summer solstice just two days away, this part of the Confederacy would receive some twenty hours of daylight, making it near impossible for Teovasi to rest, being used to what seems like a reliable on/off switch to the daylight hours that his home in tropical Costa Aluria brought on a daily basis. It was a a bit unfamiliar to Teovasi, and while he thought it made for a fun day, it was a bit unsettling when it came time to bunk down. Given the option, he would have chosen the familiar tropic 12 hour day.

To add to the light, the addition of a tent was a bit foreign to Teovasi as it was. An indigenous Costa Alurian of Polynesian heritage, he was accustomed to shelters built of thatched palm fronds, the kind he had built dozens of times. He could be at home in a modern structure, to be sure, but to practice the traditional skills of his culture was an ordeal of great importance to Teovasi. While he could have chosen a local hotel, the humble Teovasi chose to enjoy the local scene a bit more in character and in ways that the locals might in their summer recreation. And so, a tent it was.
It was still early in the morning, relatively speaking, given the late night on the town that the long daylight hours afforded; Teovasi's watch marked just 7:42 AM. But with no sleep to come, awakening it would be, even though Teovasi had nowhere in particular to be for two entire days. He had come to South Sands for the as-of yet still little known S⁵, The South Sands Solstice Surf Soiree--an international surfing competition which highlights the unique waves in this Northern locale. It was Teovasi's first time in the competition, invited after many years of placing in the international stage. Accustomed to more tropical wave breaks, he thought this might be a fun opportunity to get some additional exposure to a climate of a different sort. He still did not know how his body would adapt to the body suit which he had been fitted for just the week before. Unnecessary in the tropical waters of Costa Aluria and most other destinations with which Teovasi was familiar, the suit was a near necessity in the colder waters of the Aurora Confederacy. This competition would be the first time Teovasi had worn a bodysuit, this one provided by Teovasi's main corporate sponsor, South Seas Soda Company. Would it be second nature, or would it be a bit cumbersome? The near future would tell.

[Costa Aluria]

19 June 2014
South Sands, Aurora Confederacy
8:12 AM

Heading off to the local bistro for breakfast, Teovasi noticed the higher altitudes inland to the North. "Certainly they see their fair share of snowfalls," Teovasi quietly mused to himself. But not today, with the summer solstice two days away. With temperatures expected in the mid fifties (F), the day would be a typical summer offering for the local residents. This Northern clime was a bit odd for Teovasi, and he did not know how best to experience it. While he had done his share of enjoying the daylight the night before, it was hard for him to comprehend the nature of the locals in making late summer nights on a daily basis, considering them a tad bit of crazy lunatics. It was true, of course, that the locals were in a bit of pandemonium about the summer daylight. Long winter nights on the other end of the calendar will do that to you. And with the solstice approaching it seemed the frenzy was increasing exponentially. "Crazy" might be a bit harsh, but it was certainly a bit of a wild local scene--one must make the most of summer while it is here.

At the bistro, Teovasi gave a good study of the menu, but quickly had his decision made with one noticing glance. Margaret, or so said the waitress' nametag, came to take his order. "What may I get you, sir?"

"I'll have the crab legs, please, " he responded.

There were several things on the menu that Teovasi could have tried. But the crab legs were a familiar sight, a food he had known and loved since a child. And he was not known for his experimenting with new things. It was one of the reasons he continued with his cultural heritage and traditional skills. And it was one reason he became a professional surfer in the first place--to continue the sport he had grown up with. Now, at age 45, Teovasi knew his professional surfing days must be coming to an end. But for now, the crab legs were a familiar comfort.

The waitress gave a confused expression at Teovasi's order. "Sir, it is barely 8:00 in the morning, and the dinner menu is..."

The mild-mannered Teovasi retained his composure, insomuch as one can as he cut the waitress off mid-sentence. "I'll have the crab legs please," he calmly repeated, "and thank you."

[Aurora Confederacy]

Ludwig's house
Saturday afternoon

"Luddie, what time we going to Kerz? im sure we can spend some time today at a movie or something?" asked Nebo as she made herself, and anyone else around her a drink, "oh Luddie, we will have to get a new pair of boots I think to go with my catsuit if we're gonna be hitting the night clubs there, I noticed my current boots are wearing a bit in the sole"

Then her thoughts turned to the plane crash and Nebo went a little quiet for a moment, "I would have never thought that of a Montelucci, certainly not a new one, anyway fancy a kick about in the garden before we head to the station?" she aksed, keeping totally quiet about the red spot she had placed on Ludwig's head that morning with her lipstick, though hopefully Ludwig has by now calmed down over Nebo's morning prank as she cuddles up to Ludwig

"catsuit or jeans and blouse?" she asks